Reach key decision makers with sales-ready leads that shorten your sales process. Move the needle by delivering funnel qualified leads to your sales team. Learn more Rancher Labs and Fujitsu on Tuesday announced an alliance to hasten the adoption of Kubernetes container orchestration technology industry-wide, starting within public sector institutions in the U.K. and Ireland. The alliance was forged partly in response to the growing requirement by the U.K.s Government Digital Service for public organizations to embrace a cloud first policy. Dealing with the urgent need for an agile DevOps approach to digital transformation was another driving factor of the alliance. With the global economy and cloud storage providers extending beyond national borders, the innovations will influence uses in other countries as well. Rancher Labs has offices in London and California. Fujitsu is headquartered in London. In a related development, Rancher Labs CEO Shang Liang announced on July 8 an agreement for Suse to acquire the six-year-old company. However, that planned acquisition is not expected to change the goals of the Rancher Labs Fujitsu partnership, company officials said. We have been open-source advocates for many years. Rancher is a monumental fit for us in monetizing Kubernetes, Jason Daniels CTO, Public Sector, Law and Order at Fujitsu UK, told LinuxInsider. Daniels said his company is asked the question often about the impact of the Suse acquisition. The three companies are all huge advocates of open-source, and Fujitsu has partnered with Suse in the past. He called the acquisition a win-win deal for all involved. Acquisition Details Rancher Labs, a privately-held open-source company, and Suse, the largest independent open-source software company and a leader in enterprise Linux, shared close ties from earlier open-source activities. The acquisition will further their mutual goals with this arrangement, said leaders of both companies. Rancher is a widely used enterprise Kubernetes management platform. By combining the two companies, Rancher Labs gains substantial engineering resources to further strengthen its market-leading product. The company also is able to preserve its unique 100 percent open-source business model, according to Shang Liang, CEO of Rancher Labs. Rancher Labs mission was to develop the next generation enterprise computing platform built on a relatively new technology known as containers. As a startup, the company could not have anticipated the tremendous growth and popularity of the Kubernetes technology, Liang added in announcing the pending acquisition. The acquisition is expected to close in October 2020. When it does, Liang will lead the combined engineering and innovation activities at Suse. He expects an accelerated pace of product advancement. Given Suses 28-year history building a highly successful open-source business, Ranchers commitment to open source will remain strong, he said. Liang described the pending acquisition as a launch point for further growth of Rancher. Rancher and Suse will help organizations control their cloud-native futures, Liang added. A D V E R T I S E M E N T Rancher often engages with government agencies around the globe. He sees that as an asset, for instance, in doing business with firms based in the U.S. and Canada, he told LinuxInsider. Suse Gains The acquisition price was not disclosed. The deals final approval is subject to customary regulatory closing conditions including receipt of regulatory approvals, according to Suse officials. This is an incredible moment for our industry, as two open-source leaders are joining forces. The merger of a leader in Enterprise Linux, Edge Computing and AI with a leader in Enterprise Kubernetes Management will disrupt the market to help customers accelerate their digital transformation journeys, said Melissa Di Donato, Suse CEO, in a blog announcement posted on the Rancher Labs website. Only the combination of Suse and Rancher will have the depth of a globally supported and 100 percent true open-source portfolio, including cloud-native technologies, to help our customers seamlessly innovate across their business from the edge to the core to the cloud, she said. This combination is also a big win for Suses global partner ecosystem which will now be able to provide an even broader range of solutions to their customers with Ranchers solutions. It marks the first step in Suses Inorganic Growth Strategy since becoming a fully independent software company in March 2019, according to Suse officials. It also follows Suses strong fiscal momentum. Suse recently reported an excellent second quarter of its fiscal year 2020. That performance saw annual contract value bookings increase 30 percent year-over-year and global cloud revenue rise 70 percent year-over-year. Essential Solutions Public sector computing involves inherent complexities. Adopting Kubernetes makes clear rationale. Government departments and agencies operate highly complex IT estates. They run hybrid IT and multi-cloud environments across different geographical locations. All of these address different security classifications, Fujitsus Daniels explained. Adding macro-level changes to the equation, such as the uncertainty associated with COVID-19 and Brexit, heightens the challenge of modernizing existing and legacy infrastructure. Containerization addresses this complexity by abstracting development away from the underlying hardware and tactical cloud investments so that developers can focus on developing their applications, he said. Containers allow developers to create highly portable code that can be developed once but then deployed to multiple environments or hybrid infrastructure, across multiple security classifications. Add Kubernetes, and it is possible to scale across disperse datacenters with consistent networking and access control. A D V E R T I S E M E N T However, Kubernetes requires a certain skill set, and working with an orchestration partner like Rancher can dramatically reduce the management overhead, suggested Daniels. Here is the crux of the issue. If a company deploys Kubernetes on-premise in a private cloud and then needs to port an application to Amazon Web Services or Azure, managing the complexity of having multiple Kubernetes deployments is hugely problematic. The solution to supporting developers in this challenge is Rancher, he proclaimed. Members of Ottawa's Iranian community were disappointed by a recent report from the Iranian investigators of the plane crash that killed 55 Canadians and 30 permanent residents. Masoud Pourjam's brother, Mansour, was killed when Ukrainian International Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down near Tehran last January. "After six months, the regime put their best foot forward," Pourjam told CBC Radio's All In A Day last week. "And they come up with this fabrication." At least 8 people with Ottawa ties on plane The report from Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, released on July 11, comes months after the deadly Jan. 8 crash. Iranian authorities initially denied responsibility for the crash, but after Western nations presented extensive evidence that the plane had been shot down, said it mistakenly shot down the flight with missiles shortly after takeoff. Iranian investigators now blame a misalignment of a radar system and miscommunication between an air defence operator and commanders for the shooting down of the plane by Iran's Revolutionary Guard. Mansour Pourjam lived in Barrhaven. He was an alumnus of Carleton University's biology program and worked as a technician at an Ottawa denture clinic. At least eight of the 176 victims of the attack had ties to Canada's capital. "The report raises more questions for the victims' families because they didn't clearly specify which kind of mistakes had happened," said Mohsen Ahmadipour, whose wife, Roja Azadian, perished in the crash. "They just said they calibrated wrongly the air-defence systems. "They just want to paint the tragedy as a mistake," he continued. "Because if they accept that it [didn't] happen accidently, they have to respond to all the world." Ahmadipour was supposed to join his wife on Flight PS752, but didn't board the plane because of a ticket mix-up. 'I was expecting this kind of response from them, but I really disappointed.' - Masoud Pourjam, brother of crash victim Story continues The plane's black box is now in Paris, where it will be examined by international investigators. Audio from the cockpit was successfully downloaded Monday, according to the chair of Canada's Transportation Safety Board, but it's still not clear if the data is salvageable. France's aviation accident investigation agency is considered one of the best in the world at reading flight recorders, but Canadian officials have warned the findings would likely be anticlimactic. Countries needs to 'put pressure' on Iran: Mohsen Some, including Masoud, worry the box has been tampered with in the past six months. He also worries about the box's condition, which was recovered from the wreckage six months ago, but believes that sending it to France is a positive development. He hopes Canada plays a role in the investigation. "All the countries involved in the matter they have to make a coalition and put more pressure to Iran to find the truth and to help victims' families get more information," he said. Masoud said he wasn't optimistic the report would result in any concrete action since he doesn't trust the regime in Iran. "I was expecting this kind of response from them, but I'm really disappointed." Mansour Pourjam/Facebook Still, he said he can't shake the feeling that, somehow, the truth will come out about his brother's death. "I don't know. I have a feeling, or I'm cheating myself to pass the days," he said. Mohsen hoped Iran would tell the truth in its report, but now believes the regime is hiding something. He said the Ottawa community wants answers, not just for themselves, but for the safety of others travelling through Iranian airspace. "For me, I lost my wife, my best friend," Mohsen said. "I have to try and find the truth," he continued. "Just for my confidence. Just for my love. For everything we had. We had a lot of plans for our future, but all of them are gone." In his speech, Mr. Biden recalled the years after the accident and other difficult periods in his life, like when his son Beau Biden had brain cancer. We know what its like, Mr. Biden said. We know so many of you are going through the same thing without the kind of help I had. To address care for older people and people with disabilities, the Biden campaign announced proposals to eliminate the waiting list for home and community care under Medicaid, which has roughly 800,000 people on it; provide fresh funding to states and groups that explore alternatives to institutional care; and add 150,000 new community health workers. The campaign said that coronavirus outbreaks in nursing homes had highlighted the necessity of providing care for aging adults at home. For young children, Mr. Biden is proposing to start with a bailout for child care centers, many of which are at risk of closing amid the pandemic because they are financed almost entirely by private payments. Even before lockdowns began, they operated on very small profit margins. Mr. Biden also proposed national pre-K for all children ages 3 and 4, and his campaign pointed to research that has shown that such programs help women work and shrink racial and socioeconomic achievement gaps. For parents of younger children, he proposed an $8,000 child care tax credit per child, up to $16,000, for families earning less than $125,000. It would be refundable so parents who did not pay much in taxes could still collect it. Or families earning less than 1.5 times the median income in their state could choose subsidized child care, so they would pay no more than 7 percent of their income. The lowest earners would pay nothing. The plan would address the dearth of child care by providing financing for the construction of new child care facilities, including at workplaces and in rural areas, and expanding after-school and summer options and care for people who work nontraditional hours. From 1980 to 2018, the income per person in New Yorks metropolitan area rose from 118 percent of the national average to 141 percent, according to government data. Bostons rose from 109 to 144 percent, San Franciscos from 137 to 183 percent, and Seattles from 120 to 137 percent. But if big-city businesses find that work from home doesnt hit their productivity too hard, they might reassess the need to pay top dollar to keep employees in, say, Seattle or the Bay Area. Workers cooped up in a two-bedroom in Long Island City, Queens, might prefer moving to the suburbs or even farther away, and save on rent. Mr. Glaeser and colleagues from Harvard and the University of Illinois studied surveys tracking companies that allowed their employees to work from home at least part of the time since March. Over one-half of large businesses and over one-third of small ones didnt detect any productivity loss. More than one in four reported a productivity increase. Moreover, the researchers found that about four in 10 companies expect that 40 percent of their employees who switched to remote work during the pandemic will keep doing so after the crisis, at least in part. Thats 16 percent of the work force. Most of these workers are among the more highly educated and well paid. Will they stay in the city if they dont need to go to the office more than a couple of times a week? Erik Hurst, an economist at the University of Chicago, argues that people will always seek the kind of social contact that cities provide. But what if their employers stop paying enough to support the urban lifestyle? Young families might flee to the suburbs sooner, especially if a more austere new urban economy can no longer support the ecosystem of restaurants and theaters that made city life attractive. The overall economy might be less productive, having lost some of the benefits of social connection. But as long as the hit is not too severe, employers might be better off, paying lower wages and saving on office space. And workers might prefer a state of the world with somewhat lower wages and no commute. Municipal governments in superstar cities might have a tough time doing their job as their tax base shrinks. The survival of brick-and-mortar retailers will be threatened as social distancing accelerates the shift to online shopping. Her classroom is the 60-acre Bondurant School of High Performance Driving in Arizona. This state-of-the-art facility includes a 1.6-mile, multi-configuration road course that can provide just about every combination of turns that a racer will face. Advanced degrees from prestigious universities don't carry any weight at this school. Academic achievement takes a back seat to years of hard-earned experience and proven results in a race car. You can't teach anyone how to handle a car at 150 mph unless you've been successful at it yourself. Gray's teacher, Buddy Rice, knows what it takes to win at the highest level. He was the Indy 500 Champion in 2004 after starting from the pole with a blistering speed of 224 mph. Indy is one of the crown jewels of racing. In academic terms, one could consider winning Indy to be the equivalent of earning a PhD in Physics from an Ivy League university, only much more difficult. In 2009, Rice added another impressive accomplishment to his resume by winning the grueling 24-Hours of Daytona. Now, at the age of 44, Rice is using his considerable experience to groom a new generation of young racers, like Gray. Driving around a racetrack in a Dodge Challenger Hellcat may sound like fun, but it is seriously hard work. Gray is not there to play. As a professional driver, she is under great pressure to go faster and faster, still. Improving lap times can be a tedious task. It requires driving with great precision, corner after corner. There is no letting up. The degree of concentration required is immense. "When I'm travelling at 100 mph, an improvement of just one second is worth about 150 feet on the track," says Gray. "One second faster, or one second slower, is sometimes all it takes to win, or lose a race." So, while her friends back home head off to the lake this summer, Gray will be quite happy refining her skills at the summer school of her dreams. Follow Gray at: grayleadbetter.com Click here to follow Gray on Instagram Click here to follow Gray on Twitter SOURCE Gray Leadbetter Racing Related Links https://www.grayleadbetter.com American actor Wesley Snipes on Tuesday honored the life and career of late South Korean television producer and father-in-law Park Cheol, praising him for being a key driving force behind today's wide popularity of Korean culture overseas. In a Korean-language eulogy in honor of Park, Snipes applauded his late father-in-law for leading South Korea "to the forefront of cultural history" and pushing the country forward as "a great powerhouse that created the Korean cultural wave that has captured the world's attention." Park died on July 13 at 82. He was responsible for creating the TV drama series "What is Love" on MBC TV, which had ratings as high as 64.9 percent during its 1991-92 broadcasts. "What is Love" is often cited as one of the first successful Korean cultural export products, having attracted some 150 million Chinese TV viewers on China's CCTV in 1997. Snipes married Park's daughter, Na-kyung, in 2003. The American actor noted that Park's works provided comfort and solace to the South Korean people during the country's era of post-war reconstruction. "From the era of reconstruction in Korea, through the years of turbulence, through vision, courage and creativity, you helped the people cry, laugh and grow," Snipes said. He added that Park would be remembered by his family and that his fans "praise and thank you." (Yonhap) A lawmaker in the Lagos State House of Assembly, representing Lagos Mainland Constituency 2, Hon. Moshood Oshun has declared that there was no rift between him and the Speaker of the House, Rt. Hon. Mudashiru Obasa. Oshun, who was reacting to a report that he walked out on the Speaker few weeks back, said that nothing could have warranted him to walk out on the Speaker during plenary. I can tell you that there is no personal issue between the Speaker and myself, he is my leader, he is the Speaker of the House, and I was the one that actually nominated him. So, what issue are you talking about, we are one. There is no personal issue between the Speaker and myself, he said. Oshun stressed that he did not walk out on the Speaker, and that what happened was that he had earlier gone to the Speaker and explained some things to him about, where he was sitting. When I got to the chamber, the Speaker told me to leave the seat, where I relocated to and I was surprised. So, on the following Monday, I spoke on the floor and explained to members, my constituents and Nigerians generally that I had actually told the Speaker that he should let me sit somewhere else because of the Pandemic. I tried to clear that at the plenary. We should all know that all the seats in that chamber are the same. One is not more comfortable than the others. I only asked the Speaker to let me sit somewhere else because of the Pandemic, he said. The lawmaker, who was also quoted to have said that a lawmaker in the Assembly, who died penultimate week, Hon. Tunde Braimoh died of COVID-19, denied ever saying such to any reporter. He revealed that he didnt know anything about the death of Braimoh, who represented Kosofe Constituency 2 in tje House, and that he usually tells everybody in his constituency to be careful about Coronavirus. While speaking against fake news and its perpetrators, Oshun urged journalists to play their parts well, and investigate any story they are told to avoid any issue. If anybody says that one has done anything, try and investigate, you can come to me or call me on the phone. The report said that I spoke with a journalist after I left the chamber whereas I did not speak with anybody. The person was being malicious. If we say anything on the floor and you are not clear, you can go back to the recording and get what happened, he said. The lawmaker, however advised members of the House that they should be accountable for whatever they do, and that it is easy to malign somebody. He added that it is easy to spoil somebodys reputation with one line, but that it is not easy to amend that damage. Many people would have seen this and you can imagine what the family of the late lawmaker would be going through. I dont think it is fair on them, it is not fair on the children, and it is not fair even on us as his colleagues. I am not a medical doctor, I did not see his death certificate, so how would I say he died of a particular disease. I dont know why I am a victim of fake news. I come here to do my job to the best of my ability. I dont think any journalist would say I have shunned him unless you want me to talk about something and I dont know anything about it, I would tell you I cannot talk about it. I dont talk about anything I dont have any information about, he said. (Newser) A Detroit police corporal is charged with felony assault after allegedly shooting three journalists with rubber bullets. Nicole Hester of MLive and two photojournalists, Seth Herald for AFP and Matt Hatcher for Getty Images, encountered Cpl. Daniel Debono and two other officers while leaving a protest over the death of George Floyd in the early hours of May 31. All three journalists were wearing press credentials and identified themselves as press as they asked to cross a street, their hands in their air, reports the New York Times. As they moved to cross, Debono fired rubber bullets, striking all three, according to Wayne County prosecutor Kym Worthy. "There are simply no explicable reasons why the alleged actions of this officer were taken," Worthy says. She adds the journalists "were a threat to no one" and "there was almost no one else on the street." story continues below MLive reports Hester, 30, was hit with up to a dozen projectiles, with some "narrowly missing an eye." Hatcher, 29, experienced bruises on his face and ribs and a mark on his nose, while Herald, 28, suffered an injured wrist. A department rep says Debono, 32, was suspended during an investigation. The results were then presented to the prosecutor's office "for review and charging recommendations," per the Times. Debono was charged Monday with three counts of felonious assault, which could bring a maximum sentence of four years. Even so, Police Chief James Craig claims the departmentfacing more than 20 allegations of misconduct"performed in a spectacular manner." "You've got to remember, we have a youthful workforce, and I don't know of a time in the recent past that we've had to deal with violent protesters," he tells the Detroit Free Press. (Read more felony assault stories.) The federal government has announced $8.4 million in funding for Manitobas urban and off-reserve Indigenous organizations, including more than $250,000 for the Bear Clan Patrol to further expand the organizations food-hamper program. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. The federal government has announced $8.4 million in funding for Manitobas urban and off-reserve Indigenous organizations, including more than $250,000 for the Bear Clan Patrol to further expand the organizations food-hamper program. Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal made the announcement outside Bear Clan Patrols Selkirk Avenue headquarters Tuesday morning on behalf of Indigenous Services Minister Marc Miller, alongside members of the Bear Clan board of directors and some of the provinces regional chiefs. "Today Im very pleased to announce support for organizations and projects like the Bear Clan Patrols community food bank as part of the additional supports available to urban and off-reserve members through this fund," said Vandal, MP for Saint Boniface-Saint Vital. "Through this important response program, Bear Clan Patrol will be able to provide the delivery of weekly food supply to vulnerable people here in Winnipeg's inner city." According to Bear Clan board chair Shaneen Robinson-Desjarlais, the funds will be used to expand the organizations food-hamper program, which provides bread, fruit, diapers and other supplies to more than 1,500 Winnipeggers each week. The extra funds which total $251,850 will be used to employ four part-time staff to co-ordinate hamper deliveries, alleviating the need for vulnerable community members to leave home to access food, and to provide an additional 400 hampers per week. Northern Affairs Minister Dan Vandal announced $8.4 million in funding Tuesday for Manitobas urban and off-reserve Indigenous organizations. (Ruth Bonneville / Winnipeg Free Press) "I'm a mother, an Indigenous mother here in the North End, I know first-hand the struggles of the reality of living in this community sometimes," Robinson-Desjarlais said. "I'm just so thankful to our board and our volunteers of Bear Clan Patrol, and thankful for the investment that has been given to our community so that we can continue to employ people, to deliver food hampers to our elders, our mothers, our children, the people who call the North End home who might need a little bit of help, and the hundreds of people who walk through these doors for food, to eat." 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. This funding comes in addition to a $228,000 federal contribution earlier in the year, totalling almost $500,000 from Ottawa for the organization. "This is not about anything more than respecting our people that might not have enough and respecting the lives of human beings that live in this community. We are a community and it takes a huge effort of all the people that live here at every level to make sure that we all live a good life and... our children are fed and safe," Robinson-Desjarlais said. Bear Clans slice of the funds is part of a long-standing federal commitment to provide $1.7 billion in specific support for Indigenous and northern communities in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, with $90 million allocated specifically to urban and off-reserve members under the Indigenous Community Support Fund. The money is intended to support essential services for vulnerable people and to prevent and respond to potential COVID-19 outbreaks. Manitobas Southern Chiefs Organization will also benefit from the federal funding package, Vandal announced. More than $775,000 of the total $8.4 million will be allocated to the group to be distributed among 34 Anishinaabe and Dakota First Nations across southern Manitoba. Other recipients of the funding package will include the Aboriginal Health and Wellness Centre of Winnipeg, the Aboriginal Senior Resource Centre, the Assembly of Manitoba Chiefs Secretariat, Interlake Reserves Tribal Council, Manitoba Inuit Association, MKO, and the North Point Douglas Women's Association. julia-simone.rutgers@freepress.mb.ca Mother-In-Law Units Helping to Fill Housing Demand One of the trends in attempts to provide more affordable housing is the growth of accessory dwelling units (ADUs) such as granny flats, garage apartments, or in-law suites. These aren't a new thing, Freddie Mac points out, in a research paper on the subject, that Fonzie occupied an above-garage apartment at the Cunningham home, but they have been somewhat invisible, and often illegal. The invisibility was often linked to their illegality. Zoning laws passed during the postwar rise of suburbs often limited construction of high-density housing and because so many ADUs were built against city ordinances, without required permits, little research literature was published. Freddie Mac could account for only three or four papers in the 1980s and 1990s and they were mostly small in scale and based on limited data. The data for the new paper was gathered from property descriptions on Multiple Listing Service (MLS) boards. It looks at the growth of these units, the various structural types of ADUs in use (both permitted and illegal) and discusses the measurable benefits of having ADUs in our communities. ADUs are broadly defined as secondary, self-contained housing units located on the same lots as the primary single-family home. Size and structural form vary, but in most cases, ADUs include the following amenities: a bathroom, kitchenette, living area, and separate entrance Freddie Mac's Economic and Housing Research Group, which authored the paper, said the biggest challenge of collecting ADU data from MLS unstructured text was understanding the multitude of terminology and physical forms applicable to ADUs in different locales. In addition to the three mentioned above, these included guest cottage, guest quarters, carriage house, separate entrances, and a number of variations using either in-law or garage. The authors mined a national database of 600 million MLS transactions dating back to the late 1990s, Once the terms were identified, parsed into different parts of speech and frequency distributions determined, they were left with a total of 1.4 million distinct single-family properties with accessory dwellings. Prior studies on numbers of newly built ADUs have typically used building permits, but that data is for permits issued, not units completed. Also, illegal or shadow housing is not represented in the data and most studies agree those are prevalent in neighborhoods that lack affordable housing. A 2009 field survey of three foreclosure plagued neighborhoods in Los Angeles found that 34 to 80 percent of the single-family houses were likely to have illegal ADUs. A survey in San Francisco in 2011 found that more than 90 percent of secondary units lacked building permits. Using first-time listings on MLS, Freddie Mac estimated that there was a national growth rate of ADUs averaging 8.6 percent annually between 2009 and 2019. They found additional evidence of a rise in supply and demand by looking at the percentages of total homes listed and closed. In 2000, 1.6 percent of active MLS listings had ADUs. That grew to 6.8 percent in 2019. In terms of numbers sold, less than 9 thousand or 1.1 percent of homes sold on MLS in 2000 had ADUs. By 2019, sales of homes with ADUs grew to nearly 70 thousand or 4.2 percent. From 2003 to 2019, the percentage of active rental listings increased from 1.8 percent 4.1 percent and the number of leased rental listings increased from 1.2 percent to 2.9 percent. Freddie Mac admits that their research methods has several sources of error. If, after construction is completed, owners hold on to their units, rent or sell them outside of MLS, or the listing descriptions do not match search phrases, then activity will be understated. Overstatement bias will occur when existing, older units are listed for the first time on MLS. However, these figures are backed by permit data from numerous "ADU-reformed" cities. By "ADU-reformed," Freddie Mac means cities where ordinanes have been pased to reduce restrictive zoning. The demand for accessory dwellings is highest in the fastest growing regions of the country and population growth, in both absolute numbers and percentages has been overwhelmingly higher in the South (11 million net increase; 9.6 percent growth) and the West (6.4 million and 8.9 percent) according to Census Bureau estimates for 2010 through 2019. The number of for-sale listings that mention ADUs has risen correspondingly, increasing in the Sun Belt (from 4.3 percent in 2010 to 9.2 percent in 2019) faster than in the North (2.7 percent to 4.1 percent). Similarly, shares of sold listings for those homes rose in the Sun Belt from 3.2 percent to 5.6 percent while in the Northern they increased from 2.2 percent to 2.6 percent. Half of the 1.4 million ADUs Freddie Mac identified are in the Sun Belt states of California, Florida, Texas, and Georgia. The same trend was observed in rental listings and for leases. The share of the latter declined slightly in the North. Drilling down to metropolitan-level detail, 23 of the top 25 metro areas with the highest number of first-time ADU listings occurring between 2015 and 2018, are in the South and West regions. Portland, Dallas, and Seattle metro areas rank highest in terms of year-over-year growth, at 22.3 percent, 18.8 percent, and 17.5 percent, respectively. The authors also looked at the ways in which ADUs are produced in different parts of the country. They can be attached or detached, carved out of interior space, or connected to the main structure such as basement apartments or above garage units. Others are free-standing, such as guest cottages and carriage houses, typically located in a backyard or over a detached garage. In Exhibit 9, states with green-shaded circles have higher shares of detached ADUs, while states with blue-shaded circles have higher shares of attached ADUs. The highest concentrations of accessory dwellings, as noted by the size of the circles on the map, are located mainly in coastal regions, where most of U.S. households reside. As expected, detached ADU housing stock occurs more prevalently in sprawling western cities, characterized by large, low-density lots and plenty of open space. Homeowners living in older, denser industrial cities along the East Coast, by contrast, are more land-constrained and more commonly create units through conversion of existing space in basements or attics. Opponents of ADU development argue that they mainly serve as extra living spaces, offices, or sources of short-term rental income for the owners, not long-term housing for additional families, however, a survey of ADU owners in Portland, Oregon in 2013 found nearly 80 percent of units were used as long-term residences. Costs to build an ADU were also significantly cheaper in Portland than traditional single-family housing because no extra land needed to be purchased. The median cost of attached units was $45,500 and the median cost of detached units was $90,000. Portland's median home price at the time was $290,000. At less than one-third of the price of traditional primary residences, ADUs are an affordable alternative for families wishing to provide living spaces for family members who are elderly, young adults, or single. Freddie Mac tested whether the same long-term use applied to other locales and found about 40 thousand repeat or paired rental listings between 2015 and 2018. About three quarters were in Texas, California, Florida, Georgia, and Arizona. The median number of days between paired listings in these 5 states ranged from 262 days to 371 days, and shares of short-term rentals-defined as properties reposted in less than 30 days-ranged from 7 percent to 15 percent. These estimates do not account for properties that are solely posted on short-term rental sites. Nonetheless, the results support the view that ADUs are helping to fill the gaps in long-term affordable rentals. A man was arrested Monday in connection with a fatal shooting in Montgomery County, authorities said. Montgomery County Police said in a statement that officers found a man dead after responding to the report of a shooting at around 11 a.m. in the 9100 block of Gue Road in Damascus. View live politics updates ChevronRight A suspect in the shooting was arrested after a vehicle and foot pursuit that ended near the 14700 block of Good Hope Road, the statement said. Florida had 134 deaths on Tuesday, bringing its daily average to 115 in the past week, beating Texas in the same period. Floridas skyrocketing coronavirus death rate is now higher than any other US state, edging out Texas, which has about 25 percent more people. Florida recorded another 134 deaths on Tuesday, bringing its daily average for the past week to 115, topping the 112 deaths a day Texas reported during that time, Associated Press statistics show. A month ago, Florida was averaging 33 coronavirus deaths a day. Overall, 5,317 people have died in Florida from COVID-19 since March 1 and nearly 370,000 have tested positive for the disease. About 19 percent of tests have returned positive in Florida over the last week, compared with 10 percent a month ago and 2.3 percent in late May. The state reported that an additional 517 people have been admitted to hospitals with the disease. Governor Ron DeSantis expressed confidence that Florida will soon contain its coronavirus outbreak and that hospitals can handle the current influx of patients at a news conference on Tuesday afternoon. He said that hospital admissions and the percentage of tests coming back positive seem to be plateauing or declining in much of the state and that hospitals have sufficient capacity in their intensive care units and overall. The trend is much better today than it was two weeks ago, DeSantis said. I am confident that we will get through this. I am confident that the folks in our hospital systems will continue to do a great job and meet the demand. There is a lot of anxiety and fear out there and I think we are going to be able to get through it. We are not there yet. The Florida governor has been slow to reduce his states reopening praised by President Donald Trump in the face of surging coronavirus numbers. DeSantis had faced a tense news conference on Monday afternoon, when hecklers shouted: Shame on you Ron DeSantis and Youre lying to the public. The Republican governor is also under fire from the states teachers union, which sued DeSantis and other officials on Monday, seeking to halt the resumption of classes at school. The suit claims reopening them would jeopardise the health of staff and students. With school due to resume in August or September, many teachers across the country are offering only remote learning or limited in-class instruction. Florida is allowing local school districts to establish their own rules on reopening. The state reported Tuesday that another 517 people have been admitted to hospitals with COVID-19. Still, the number of people being treated for COVID-19 in Florida hospitals was stable over the past 24 hours, for the first time since the state began releasing the statewide, hour-to-hour census of patients on July 10. At the time, that number was about 6,800 and rising by several hundred a day. The number hospitalised late on Tuesday morning stood at 9,436, down a notch from the 9,452 patients 24 hours earlier. The capacity of the healthcare system is strong, said Mary Mayhew, the secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. I know people are scared around the state, but they should have confidence in the healthcare. Chris Plance, a healthcare analyst in Miami-Dade County, said Florida hospitals will see high patient demand for the foreseeable future, which he believes could result in burnout among doctors, nurses and other staff. You can run these beds forever, but you cant run a person forever, said Plance of Hialeah-based PA Consulting. Staff is going to get sick and theyre going to have problems staffing at the level they are. This is going to become more and more of a problem. DeSantis said he feared some patients suffering possible heart attacks, strokes and other medical emergencies are not going to the hospital because they are afraid of contracting the virus. COVID is very important but COVID is just one aspect of the overall healthcare system and the health needs of Floridians, he said. Meanwhile, some in Florida were still hitting the beaches, including in Miami Beach, though streets appeared relatively empty on Monday, Reuters reported. On Saturday, Miami Beach was forced to issue a mandatory curfew in response to soaring case numbers. The state reported more than 10,000 new cases for the sixth day in a row on Monday. The virus has killed at least 141,000 people in the US and infected some 3.8 million, both figures leading the world, according to the Johns Hopkins University tally. TAOISEACH Micheal Martin was accused of "spoofing" in the Dail when he was asked about government proposals for a 'staycation subsidy' that's expected to form part of the 'July stimulus' package. The Irish Independent today reported that the plan which would see families able to claim back part of the cost of a meal out or hotel stay with a tax rebate is not expected to be implemented until September. Sinn Fein TD Imelda Munster asked Mr Martin if it's the case that "there is absolutely nothing in the plan for families who are taking their holidays in the peak summer season?" Read More She said: "Children have been out of school for six months and hopefully, they will be able to return come September. "That means that families are not in a position to take their holidays in September. " She asked: "Are you deliberately, Taoiseach, introducing measures you know the majority of people will not be able to avail of?" The Louth TD claimed this would "add insult to injury". Ms Munster asked if the plan would be amended to include the peak summer months. Mr Martin said: "I am not going into the details or announcing anything here when the Cabinet will be meeting to discuss this to finalise a variety of measures which are really about sustaining jobs and trying to create alternative employment opportunities for people over the next 12 months." Ha added: "There will be an immediate impact from shovel-ready projects and various initiatives, but it's not just for this month. It 's right through to the end of the year and beyond." Ms Munster attempted to press the issue. She asked Mr Martin if he would "answer the question instead of spoofing around it" but she was told by Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghail that she had run out of time. Earlier Mr Martin told Tipperary TD Mattie McGrath that there are various mechanisms being explored by the government to stimulate domestic tourism including developing incentive to encourage people to take a weekend away in Ireland. Mr Martin noted that the hospitality industry has been "most severely hit" by the Covid-19 pandemic. CANTON, Mass., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Massachusetts Nurses Association (MNA) today endorsed Jesse Mermell for Congress in the Fourth Congressional District. The 23,000-member union of nurses and healthcare professionals chose Mermell out of the crowded field because of her commitment to championing labor rights, fighting for an affordable and accessible healthcare system, and leading an equitable recovery to COVID-19 that centers the voices of healthcare workers. "The nurses and healthcare professionals of the Massachusetts Nurses Association stand proudly behind Jesse Mermell because we know she will stand behind us in Congress," said MNA President and RN Donna Kelly-Williams. "Jesse's experience and vision for this district have demonstrated to us that she has what it takes to stand up for what is morally right and make sure that nurses on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic have the protection and support they deserve." "With the federal government failing to protect nurses and healthcare professionals on the front lines of COVID-19, it is crucial we have a powerful advocate like Jesse Mermell in Congress standing by our side," said Karen Coughlin RN, member of the MNA Board of Directors and former longtime Department of Mental Health RN, and resident of Mansfield, MA. "Jesse knows and will fight for what caregivers need to provide safe patient care, protect our communities and keep our families healthy." Mermell is a Democrat from Brookline who has been leading on the progressive issues that matter most to Massachusetts families for 20 years. She fought for contraceptive coverage in the Affordable Care Act at Planned Parenthood League of Massachusetts, spearheaded local climate change initiatives on the Brookline Select Board, led Governor Deval Patrick's Strong Women Strong Families Initiative, and helped negotiate Massachusetts' Paid Family and Medical Leave law as President of the Alliance for Business Leadership. "Donald Trump has abandoned our nurses while they fight COVID-19 on the frontlines," said Mermell. "With the Massachusetts Nurses Association as my partner in Congress, I'll take on Trump and fight for the protective equipment, paid leave and hazard pay that nurses deserve and make sure they have a seat at the decision-making table. Nurses have had our backs during this crisis, and I will be proud to have theirs. I'm grateful for their support and look forward to working together to create a better future for everyone in the Fourth Congressional District." The MNA is the largest union and professional association of registered nurses and health professionals in the state, and the third largest in the nation, representing more than 23,000 members working in 85 health care facilities, including 51 acute care hospitals, as well as a growing number of nurses and health professionals working in schools, visiting nurse associations, public health departments and state agencies. The primary election for Congress in Massachusetts is on September 1st, but voters can apply to vote-by-mail immediately. MassNurses.org Facebook.com/MassNurses Twitter.com/MassNurses Instagram.com/MassNurses Founded in 1903, the Massachusetts Nurses Association is the largest union of registered nurses in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. Its 23,000 members advance the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the economic and general welfare of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Legislature and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public. SOURCE Massachusetts Nurses Association Related Links http://www.massnurses.org Amidst the widespread flooding that has cost lives and has almost drowned several parts of the country, Central China authorities decided to blow up a dam in order to release the surging waters that are behind it, Sunday. According to Aljazeera, China state broadcaster CCTV stated that the dam that was destroyed was located in Anhui province on the Chu River. After the destruction of the dam, a drop in the water level by more than two feet is expected. Torrential rains have caused the unexpected rise in water levels on many Chinese rivers including the Yangtze. As a response to the flooding, China resorted to the same response that it did back in 1998 when more than 2,000 lives were taken by the floods and more than 3 million homes got destroyed. The strategy was to discharge water from dams and embankments by blasting them. What happened? Rising waters across eastern and central China have wreaked havoc. More than 140 people have been missing, some have been presumed dead due to the disaster. Since the beginning of July, more than 24 million residents have been affected as stated by the Ministry of Emergency Management. Authorities have already different measures to control the surge of water such as trying to divert water back into the reservoirs. This is to keep the water levels manageable with the rise of water in lakes and rivers reaching a record high Read also: Hong Kong's New Security Law Threatens Political Freedom, Teacher Arrested Over Differing Views Demolishing the Chu River Dam With the levels of water rising out of control, the authorities were left with no other choice but to demolish the Chu River dam. However, safety precautions were taken before doing so, in order to make sure that people who live within the proximity stayed safe. According to LA Times, authorities stated that upon blasting the dam, the water level in the river and nearby reservoirs are expected to subside by at least 28 inches. It was also noted that the water that was released by the destruction of the dam was channeled to go to two downstream storage ponds. According to Channel News Asia, in Anhui at least 35 rivers witnessed watermarks go way beyond warning levels on Saturday. These rivers included the mighty Yangtze and Huaihe. In addition, three floodgates of the Three Gorges Dam were also opened after water level want higher than the flood level by 15 meters. Meanwhile, in other areas, workers and soldiers have been tasked to test the integrity of embankments. They are also making sure that they hold up to the surging water by shoring up rocks and sandbags on them. Based on reports, around 1,8 million citizens have been evacuated from their homes. The estimated losses that have been caused by the flooding has reach more than 49 billion yuan or around $7 billion. It has been noted that major cities have been safe from the floods. But there is still rising concern about other downstream cities which are home to tens of millions of people, including Wuhan. Related article :Arson Investigated as Possible Cause of Nantes Cathedral Blaze @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. But what you do with the attention turns out to matter, at least when the stakes are hundreds of thousands of lives, not a game-show prize. It matters if you suggest that household disinfectants could be a medical treatment. It matters if you go to war with your own medical experts. It matters if you minimize, on Page 1, a terrible reality that everyone can read about for themselves in the obituaries. Judging by the presidents decision, he doesnt see this as the problem. Instead the problem is not enough him on TV, giving the people what worked for him before zinging, blustering, pointing fingers and fighting. His plan to return to prime time was not accompanied by an announced shift in public-health policy. The thinking simply seems to be: People want to see the president doing something. And to Donald Trump, going on TV is the doing-somethingest thing of all. Thus we saw him on Sunday, sitting for an excruciating interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, doubling down on blatant disinformation like his claim that the United States has the lowest Covid-19 mortality rate in the world in the face of ruthless fact-checking. As in his Youre fired days, he fell back on his trusty catchphrase, calling Mr. Wallace fake news as if the words could dispel the interviewer from the boardroom. At one point, Mr. Wallace brought up the presidents past criticisms of him, asking if he understood that it was a journalists duty to interview the presidents rivals, too. A more blunt way of putting it would be: Does the president think its Foxs job to help him win the election? He seems to think so. He tweeted a complaint in May that Fox was doing nothing to help Republicans, and me, get re-elected. But in a broader sense, he has suggested that TV itself owes him payback for all hes given it. TV networks, he has said, will miss the ratings he brings if he is voted out of the White House. Actor Sonu Sood took to Instagram to remember his mother Saroj Sood on her birth anniversary on Tuesday. Sonu shared pictures from his childhood, where he could be seen spending time with his mother. He penned an emotional note saying, "Happy birthday Maa...just keep guiding me always the way you have been doing all my life. Wish I could give you a tight hug and tell you how much I love you..but I am sure you must be missing us where ever you are. Life will never be the same but be my guiding angel always till I see you again maa. Miss you (sic)." Take a look below: Meanwhile Sonu has been working tirelessly to help migrant workers and people stuck in different cities to go back home during the Covid-19 outbreak. Recently, a migrant labour, who was helped helped by the actor during these difficult times, has expressed his gratitude by naming his welding shop 'Sonu Sood Welding Work Shop'. The signboard has been adorned with a picture of Sonu as well. Reportedly, the concerned person was airlifted by Sonu from Cochin to Odisha. Take a look: Sonu recently addressed the love and support he is receiving for his good work with a statement declaring that he will be writing a book about his experience. "I want to thank God for making me a catalyst in helping the migrants. While my heart beats in Mumbai, after this movement I feel a part of me lives in the villages of UP, Bihar, Jharkhand, Assam, Uttarakhand and various other states where I have now found new friends and made deep connections. I have decided to put these experiences, stories that are embedded in my soul forever, in a book. I'm excited, nervous and overwhelmed, and I can't wait to connect with you through my book. I look forward to your support-and love you all, the statement read. (With inputs from IANS) A group of young, ambitious new activists emerged in San Antonio, seemingly overnight, after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Few if any of them had organizing experience, so they led with their hearts and feet. Like the rest of the world, they responded to a video of a killing that amounted to a modern-day lynching by the police. The Black Lives Matter movement threw them into action, but since those early protests, Young Ambitious Activists has grown in scope. Theyve brought attention to the killing and disappearance of a young Army soldier named Vanessa Guillen. They fed the homeless and cleaned up different areas of the city. They registered new voters and drove them to the polls. Theyve maintained a social media presence and collaborated with other activist groups. On Monday, its leaders got together in a studio just east of downtown for a more personal event. They looked directly into a camera and talked about their ambitious plans to serve San Antonio and why they need help to do it. Its a short film that will be used for fundraising. Torry Sledge, 30, and a co-founder of YAA, spoke of plans to continue taking their message to the streets and helping low-income students cope with distance learning and lack of internet access. Thats injustice, too, said Sledge, who runs a small company called Tutors4U. Sledge said though YAA started in response to the Black Lives Movement stand against police brutality, it plans to expand in various directions, including bringing attention to under-served areas where the city has failed, he said. YAA is still collaborating with other activist groups, including Reliable Revolutionaries and No MAS, which rallied around Guillens disappearance, Sledge said. Many of these activists have personal moving stories about why they became involved. Amanda Moon, who grew up in Schertz and works in the film industry, was behind the camera Monday. The 29-year-old graduate of Schreiner University runs a Los Angeles-based company called Reflection Productions. She chose the name because she wants to better reflect those who are known by inaccurate stereotypes in film. A queer, biracial Mexican American, Moon has worked on commercials for Coca-Cola and Target, on the Amazon series Panic and short-term projects for the Travel and Discovery channels. She has acted, done stunt work, carpentry and production design. The latter put her in Corsicana, a small East Texas town, in late May, just after Floyds death. She lost her job or left it, depending on whos talking, and came back to San Antonio in time to join Young Ambitious Activists. She said the loss of her job was related to her own small Black Lives Matter protest. She said both involved the police chief of Corsicana, who also was a producer of the film and someone she already knew. I wont quote what Moon said he said. But Moons YouTube video describes their heated exchange. Police Chief Robert Johnson didnt respond to requests for comment, though he had the movies producer call in his stead. It seems clear, though, he didnt want a Black Lives Matter protest in his town. Corsicana isnt the only small Texas town that felt that way. Jasmine White, 20, and a student at Navarro College, helped organize a protest in Corsicana. When she first met with the police chief, she says, He asked me not to do the protest. When the protest was designed as a march, White says the chief was against the format. He gave several reasons, she said, including the risk of inviting paid Dallas rioters to Corsicana and the potential of disturbing mourners at a funeral home nearby. The chief was concerned about potential violence and wanted to be able to control the protest in one location, White said. In my opinion, a lot of important people were involved, and they didnt want the real Corsicana to come out the prejudiced, racist, homophobic Corsicana. On police social media pages and newspaper sites, They showed their true colors, White added. Since those events and the challenging conversations that followed, it has been quiet. But the reasons for protesting police brutality are all still out there. Thats why Moon and her crew were at work Monday to document those still on the front lines of YAA who are bracing themselves and outlining new objectives. They may be less noisy these days, but Sledge said its not for long. Stay tuned, he said. eayala@express-news.net The 1990-built Bremen will not sail for Hapag-Lloyd Cruises again, the company announced. While some of the brands ships are returning to service later this month, the 155-guest vessel is currently out of the plans. Sold to Scylla in 2019, the Bremen was previously scheduled to leave the fleet in May 2021. Once delivered to Scylla, the ship will split time on charter to VIVA Cruises as well as Polar Latitudes. According to the cruise line, the coronavirus pandemic hasnt helped. The company did not say if Scylla would now take delivery of the ship earlier. The conditions on board currently do not allow the applicable social distancing and hygiene rules to be implemented. So, it's goodbye, the company said, in a statement. Currently docked in Rostock, Germany, the Bremen has been in service with Hapag-Lloyd since 1993. It was scheduled to sail in Antarctica during the 2020-2021 season. In 2021, Hapag-Lloyd is welcoming a new expedition to its fleet. Under construction at VARD, the Hanseatic Spirit will be a sister to Hanseatic Inspiration and Hanseatic Nature, which entered service in 2019. "We are proud to consistently continue to modernize our fleet and look forward to the Hanseatic Spirit in spring 2021", said Karl J. Pojer, CEO of Hapag-Lloyd Cruises. "From now on, we will focus on our expedition class in the five-star category and will continue the pioneering spirit of the Bremen. Tennessee is among the states that moved to expand access to mail-in ballots because of the coronavirus pandemic, but some nursing home residents might not be eligible under current rules, A view of burned building during a protest in Minneapolis, United States, on May 30, 2020 during a demonstration to call for justice for George Floyd, a black man who died while in custody of the Minneapolis police. Shay Horse/NurPhoto via Getty Images Minneapolis police discovered a dead body in the debris of a pawn shop that burned down during George Floyd protests in May. CBS Minnesota reported the body of the unidentified man was found at Max It Pawn shop on Monday morning. Local authorities said they "have somebody charged with setting fire to that place," according to the Star Tribune. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. Police discovered a dead body on Monday at a pawn shop that burned down during the turmoil following George Floyd's death in Minneapolis. According to CBS Minnesota, the body was found in the debris of Max It Pawn near the Minneapolis Police Department 3rd Precinct and is believed to be that of a man. Police spokesman, John Elder, said homicide detectives are investigating this incident, Star Tribune reported. The body will be identified after an autopsy to determine the cause of death, according to the report. "The body appears to have suffered thermal injury and we do have somebody charged with setting fire to that place," Elder said, according to the report. Last month, Montez Terrill Lee was charged with arson for burning the pawnshop on May 28, during the same time period when unrest erupted in Minneapolis after Floyd's death, according to the outlet. Terrill was seen on video "pouring liquid from a metal container throughout the pawnshop," according to Star Tribune. Police and fire departments in Minneapolis are investigating the incident, along with the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives, according to CBS Minnesota. Read the original article on Insider A savvy rideshare driver who was called to the same property almost daily for three weeks has helped uncover an alleged drug trafficking operation. The driver was called to an address in Malvern East in Melbourne and was always asked to deliver packages, but no passengers. Victoria Police said the man became suspicious after he was called to the Sylvester Street property almost daily over the three weeks. A savvy rideshare driver who was called to the same property almost daily for three weeks helped uncover an alleged drug trafficking operation (stock image of a rideshare car) When he arrived on Monday the driver allegedly heard a man tell someone repeatedly on the phone to 'check the pockets carefully'. He was handed a bag to transport and left the address before deciding to check for himself. 'The driver left the address and checked the pockets, locating several snap lock bags containing white powder,' police said. The rideshare driver took the package straight to Malvern Police Station and reported it to officers. Stonnington Crime Investigation Unit detectives raided the property he picked up the package from and allegedly uncovered cocaine, cannabis, magic mushrooms and cash. Two 21-year-old men have been charged with drug-related offences and bailed to appear in court in September. A coronavirus vaccine being developed by scientists at Oxford University has been shown to produce a strong immune response, according to early-stage clinical trials. The results, published Monday in the British medical journal The Lancet, found the vaccine developed by pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca and Oxford University generated both antibody and T-cell immune responses, which are hoped to be key to stopping an infection. We hope this means the immune system will remember the virus, so that our vaccine will protect people for an extended period, Andrew Pollard, lead author of the Oxford study, said in a statement released by AstraZeneca. The trial, part of Oxfords Phase 2 testing, did not look at whether the vaccine actually protects against coronavirus infection, a question that will be answered in Phase 3 trials that have already begun. The fast pace of the vaccine effort has been cheered by officials around the world, however health experts warn that much remains unknown about the virus, and more testing is needed to understand how to offer people long-term protection against COVID-19, clinically known as SARS-CoV-2. We need more research before we can confirm the vaccine effectively protects against SARS-CoV-2 infection, and for how long any protection lasts, Pollard said. About 1,000 people ages 18 to 55 were involved in the Phase 2 Oxford trials, with about half of the subjects receiving the experimental vaccine. Scientists say immunity was detected in subjects for at least 56 days after getting the shot, but say further tests are needed to determine how long the immunity will last after that period. The experimental vaccine was shown to cause only minor side effects, including fever, fatigue and headaches. Phase 3 trials of the Oxford vaccine have already begun in Brazil, South Africa and Great Britain, and will soon be expanded to the United States. These trials each involve up to 30,000 volunteers who will help scientists understand whether the experimental vaccine can really prevent people from catching coronavirus and whether it is safe. How long the Phase 3 trials will last depends on how high the transmission rate is in the test countries. Oxford scientists have said if the transmission rate remains high, they may be able to get enough data in a couple of months to see if the vaccine is working. But if transmission levels drop, it could take up to six months. The experimental vaccine is made from a weakened form of the common cold virus that has been genetically modified to carry the coronaviruss spike protein into the body, which is believed to trigger an immune response. AstraZeneca has signed agreements with many governments to supply its vaccine if it is proved to be effective and granted regulatory approval. The company has already committed to making 2 billion doses. The United States has been promised 300 million doses, a European alliance has secured 400 million doses, while Britain has claimed 100 million doses. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson tweeted about the latest trial results Monday, This is very positive news. A huge well done to our brilliant, world-leading scientists & researchers. Countries around the world have also been developing their own experimental vaccines in a global race to stop the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 600,000 people worldwide. The World Health Organization lists 23 vaccines in human tests, including the Oxford one, and 140 more in lab studies. Chinese researchers also published a study Monday in The Lancet of their own experimental coronavirus vaccine. The study showed modest positive results. However, some scientists have expressed concerns based on the early trials that the experimental vaccine might not work on all people because it uses a harmless virus at its core that many people already have immunity to. China approved the use of its vaccine for its military in June. U.S. drug maker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech also reported positive progress Monday on their vaccine candidate. The Naira on Tuesday exchanged at N472 to a dollar at the parallel market in Lagos, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports. The Pound Sterling and the Euro also exchanged for N575 and N530 respectively. The Naira, however, traded at N388.17 to a dollar at the investors window. The market turnover at the window stood at 38.72 million dollars. In his reaction to the fall of the naira at the parallel market, Sheriffdeen Tella, a Senior Economist at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye, Ogun, attributed the volatility to the antics of currency speculators. Mr Tella, a professor, said speculators had huge funds for various currencies for the purpose of speculating for future returns. He said the speculation could be caused by the official depreciation of the naira recently. NAN reports that since the COVID-19 pandemic, the country has been struggling to sell its oil at the international market. Foreign exchange earned from such sales are used by the apex bank in the defence of the naira at the FX market. (NAN) SALT LAKE CITY - The National Cancer Institute (NCI) has renewed the designation of Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah (U of U) as a Comprehensive Cancer Center, the highest federal rank possible for a cancer research organization. This grant awards HCI more than $29 million over seven years, an increase of 84% in annual funding from the previous award cycle. The renewal of its Comprehensive Cancer Center designation is the result of an extensive grant application and review process that culminated with an on-site visit by a team of national cancer research and care experts in fall 2019. HCI earned a near-perfect overall score, placing it within the highest-possible exceptional score category that signifies virtually no weaknesses in the organization's research efforts. HCI's overall score is the best in the history of the cancer center. "This prestigious award is a testament to HCI's longstanding commitment to conduct life-saving research and how our teams, right here in Utah, are having an impact on improving cancer outcomes in the Mountain West and across the world," said Cornelia Ulrich, PhD, executive director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center at HCI, who also serves as principal investigator of the grant. "We are immensely grateful to the NCI for this renewal, which highlights the exceptional performance of our team of scientists, faculty, staff, and administrators. It will allow us to accelerate and advance our work to improve the health of our communities and ease the cancer burden for all." The Comprehensive Cancer Center recognition provides funding to support HCI's cancer research programs and research resources to enable cutting-edge scientific discovery. In its review, NCI cited that "HCI has demonstrated an exceptional cancer focus, high level of translational science, and exceptional population science impacting the state of Utah and the vast Mountain West region of the United States." "Huntsman Cancer Institute was established with a vision to eradicate cancer," said Mary Beckerle, PhD, CEO of HCI. "More than twenty years later, our vision remains singular as we work toward delivering a cancer-free frontier through scientific discovery and human touch. As we celebrate this remarkable achievement, we reinforce our pledge to bring science-powered medicine, linked to compassionate human connection through collaboration and partnership at all levels." The U of U obtained Cancer Center status in 1986. In 2015, HCI was elevated to Comprehensive Cancer Center designation, the highest level possible. This Comprehensive designation recognizes a cancer center's ongoing accomplishments and worldwide impact in improving cancer prevention, screening, and treatment strategies. Renewal of its Comprehensive designation maintains HCI's place among a peer group of national cancer research and treatment centers that include MD Anderson Cancer Center, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, and Dana-Farber/Harvard Cancer Center, among others. Since its last NCI review in 2015, HCI has recruited more than 70 new cancer researchers. HCI oversees the work of more than 200 cancer research teams drawn from 34 academic departments and nine colleges at the U of U. HCI's research impact in the last five years includes increasing the annual number of externally funded cancer research projects by 57% and more than doubling the number of patients participating in clinical trials based on HCI science that test news ways to improve the treatment of cancer. "A key asset at HCI is that we partner with our patients to inform our cancer research strategy," said Ulrich. "More than 95% of HCI patients volunteer to participate in research, making a true difference for those affected by cancer in the future." In addition, HCI invested in training for underrepresented high school students and expanded community outreach and engagement efforts. This cultivates new, mutually beneficial partnerships with community-based organizations to address health equity and engage rural, frontier, and diverse populations. HCI has also doubled the size of its research facilities, opening the Primary Children's and Families' Cancer Research Center in 2017, which was designed to enhance collaboration among research teams. Today, HCI spans more than one million square feet of contiguous state-of-the-art cancer research and care space. HCI's research excellence is made possible by the generosity of Huntsman Cancer Foundation, which supports HCI's research through philanthropic contributions. A 10-member External Advisory Board, comprised of NCI Comprehensive Cancer Center directors, administrators, and scientists, provides planning and evaluation; a 21-member Internal Advisory Board of U of U leaders guides strategic collaboration across campus; and a 38-member Community Advisory Board offers input and fosters community engagement in cancer research, services, and prevention efforts. Other state and federal leaders shared their thoughts on the meaning of this Comprehensive Cancer Center designation: * "Huntsman Cancer Institute provides stellar cancer research, education, and patient care and is a crown jewel of the University of Utah. Huntsman Cancer Institute continues to achieve new heights in excellence, serving as a model high-impact facility that benefits residents of Utah and surrounding states whose lives have been affected by cancer. We are proud of its continued success." Ruth V. Watkins President, University of Utah * "Huntsman Cancer Institute is a national exemplar, drawing excellence in its cancer-focused missions through institutional collaboration between clinicians, researchers, educators, and staff; working together on a shared and common goal - defeating cancer. University of Utah Health is proud to be a partner in this journey and congratulates Huntsman Cancer Institute on this impressive national recognition and achievement." Michael L. Good, MD CEO, University of Utah Health Senior Vice President for Health Sciences Dean, University of Utah School of Medicine * "Huntsman Cancer Institute has experienced phenomenal growth over the past five years, including international recognition and a donor base of one million individual donors who support the creativity and intellect of our researchers, the cutting-edge skills and collaboration of our doctors and providers, and the leadership and devotion of our administrations and staff." Peter R. Huntsman Chairman and CEO, Huntsman Cancer Foundation * "It is an honor to the state that Huntsman Cancer Institute holds the highest federal recognition possible for a cancer center and is the only such center in Utah and the Mountain West. We are proud to have Huntsman Cancer Institute as the official, legislatively designated Cancer Center of Utah." Gary R. Herbert Governor, State of Utah * "The Huntsman Cancer Institute has been a critical resource for many in Utah and the greater Mountain West region. Meeting the requirements for this grant (and outperforming other entities) recognizes that Huntsman Cancer Institute meets the highest standards of excellence as it delivers exceptional research, care, and expertise to so many." Michael S. Lee Senator, United States of America * "Congratulations to Huntsman Cancer Institute, and especially to Dr. Ulrich, for her leadership. The External Advisory Board is unanimous in our conviction that the future of Huntsman Cancer Institute is to be among the top echelon of cancer centers in the nation." Edward J. Benz, Jr., MD President and CEO Emeritus, Dana-Farber Cancer Institute Chair, HCI External Advisory Board * "This national designation demonstrates high-quality collaborative research from dozens of disciplines across departments at the University of Utah, including the colleges of law, science, and nursing, and schools of computing and business. This funding will continue to support innovation through collaboration across campus." Elizabeth K. Warner, JD Dean, S.J. Quinney College of Law, University of Utah Member, HCI Internal Advisory Board * "We are proud of this remarkable accomplishment and look forward to our continued partnership with Huntsman Cancer Institute to better serve our underrepresented communities in Utah and beyond." Alan Pruhs Executive Director, Association for Utah Community Health Member, HCI Community Advisory Board NCI is part of the National Institutes of Health, one of 11 agencies within the Department of Health and Human Services. It was established in 1937 as the federal government's principal agency for cancer research and training. There are 51 NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Centers in the United States. With this renewal, HCI remains the only cancer center to be designated by the NCI in the Mountain West, an area that includes all of Utah, Idaho, Montana, Nevada, and Wyoming. ### Huntsman Cancer Institute (HCI) at the University of Utah is the official cancer center of Utah. The cancer campus includes a state-of-the-art cancer specialty hospital as well as two buildings dedicated to cancer research. HCI treats patients with all forms of cancer and is recognized among the best cancer hospitals in the country by U.S. News and World Report. As the only National Cancer Institute (NCI)-Designated Comprehensive Cancer Center in the Mountain West, HCI serves the largest geographic region in the country, drawing patients from Utah, Nevada, Idaho, Wyoming, and Montana. More genes for inherited cancers have been discovered at HCI than at any other cancer center in the world, including genes responsible for hereditary breast, ovarian, colon, head, and neck cancers, along with melanoma. HCI manages the Utah Population Database, the largest genetic database in the world, with information on more than 11 million people linked to genealogies, health records, and vital statistics. HCI was founded by Jon M. and Karen Huntsman. Scranton, PA (18503) Today Mostly sunny skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 41F. Winds SW at 10 to 15 mph.. Tonight Cloudy with periods of snow after midnight. Low 24F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. The Charger Blog Nicole Charbonneau 21 M.S. says completing an internship with the Waterbury Police Departments forensic division during the global coronavirus pandemic has taught her resilience, in addition to offering myriad opportunities to apply what she has learned in the classroom. By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications Nicole Charbonneau retrieves cones and placards at a crime scene. After Nicole Charbonneau 21 M.S. earned her bachelors degree, she spent three years working in the emergency department of a hospital, often encountering trauma patients with injuries such as gunshot or stab wounds. She saw firsthand how a forensic team collected evidence, and she was interested in doing similar work. After researching opportunities in forensics and reaching out to police officers she knew to learn more, she enrolled in the Universitys graduate program in forensic technology. This spring, she began an internship with the Waterbury Police Departments forensic division. I have been able to apply the skills and techniques Ive learned in the classroom and see them executed in real-life scenarios, she said. I am a very hands-on person who likes to be involved, so seeing the processes Ive read about makes me eager for my future when this will be my daily life. Nicole Charbonneau at her internship with the Waterbury Police Department. Her internship enables her to follow cases from start to finish, accompanying crime scene technicians and exploring topics such as ballistics, evidence processing, and computer crimes. Although Charbonneau is grateful the global coronavirus pandemic did not stop her from competing her internship, she says it has had an impact. For example, since courts have been closed, she has not been able to witness courtroom testimony firsthand. She has, however, still been able to go out on calls and visit the State Forensic Science Laboratory. I was the first intern to be at a police department in the state of Connecticut, she said. The pandemic has taught us all how to make the best of the situation. Crimes do not stop for a global pandemic, and I view it as an advantage in that it gave me a challenge to face early on in my journey, which made me realize I can, in fact, face unforeseen challenges. Charbonneaus internship has enabled her to have a wide array of opportunities, such as test firing seized firearms, inputting fingerprint cards, observing evidence packaging and processing, crime scene documentation, and report writing. She enjoys the variety, and she believes she was well prepared for her work as an intern. Nicole Charbonneau (left) has test fired seized firearms at her internship. The University of New Haven has prepared me for my internship by providing me with a solid foundation of knowledge that I am confident will help me accomplish my future goals, she said. I have learned the necessary terminology and guidelines to follow in order to complete my delegated tasks. I am confident that, upon graduation, I will be ready to face all challenges a crime scene presents. The logo for Australia's public broadcaster ABC is seen on its head office building in Sydney on September 27, 2018. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images) Beijings Gestapo Leverages ABC Report in Propaganda Campaign Against Falun Gong Torture survivor is reminded of his experiences and the Chinese regime's propaganda A program by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) has been leveraged by the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) notorious 610 officean extralegal secret police force akin to the Gestapoto justify its 21-year persecution of the Falun Gong spiritual meditation practice. Last week, the Australian Falun Gong association warned the ABC that the program they intended to broadcast could be exploited by the CCP in its ongoing propaganda and disinformation campaign against the practice. The 610 officenamed for the date it was created on June 10, 1999was set up under the mandate of former Chinese leader Jiang Zemin to carry out the work of eradicating Falun Gong in China. The offices formal name is the Central Leading Group on Dealing with Falun Gong (later changed to Central Leading Group on Dealing with Heretical Religions). It is directly accountable to the Central Committeeone of the most powerful political organs in the CCP regime. Police detain a Falun Gong protester in Tiananmen Square as a crowd watches in Beijing in this Oct. 1, 2000 photo. (AP Photo/Chien-min Chung) According to a China Tribunal report, the 610 office along with the Political and Legal Affairs Commission, is believed to have the power (pdf) to mobilise personnel and resources in the police, Ministry of State Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the fields of finance, culture, education, science and technology, and health departments throughout the country. The regime mobilised the entire state apparatus in the campaign against Falun Gong, the report said. ABC Program Assists Beijings Propaganda Efforts On July 17, a website set up under the umbrella of the 610 office with the express purpose of defaming Falun Gong, championed ABCs new program Dark Karma saying it justifies the CCPs 21-year persecution of the practice. Dark Karma (and The Power of Falun Gong) is a joint investigation by ABCs Foreign Correspondent and Background Briefing that looks into Falun Gong through the experiences of individuals who interacted with practitioners and their activities. The website associated with the 610 office published an article claiming the CCP has been warning the world about the practice. Two Chinese police officers arrest a Falun Gong practitioner at Tiananmen Square in Beijing on Jan. 10, 2000. (Chien-Min Chung/AP Photo) Now a whole 21 years later, Australias national broadcaster has just begun to face up to and expose the Falun Gong the 610 article continued. Dark Karmas trailer has been heavily criticised by the Falun Dafa Association of Australia for basic factual errors and inflammatory representations of Falun Gongs beliefs. John Deller of the Falun Dafa Association of Australia said on July 21: It reflects a deep cultural illiteracy, bordering on anti-religious bigotry. This will obscure far more than it will illuminate, and only the Chinese Communist Party stands to gain. On July 20, 1999, the CCP launched a nationwide campaign to eradicate Falun Gong, a Buddhist qigong discipline that was once practiced by tens of millions of people. Since then, through the 610 office, millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained without trial in black jails, prisons, and re-education-through-labour camps. Chinese authorities have sanctioned the use of torture, extrajudicial killings, and state-sanctioned organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners for profit on the organ black market. 610 Leverages Overseas Media to Export Persecution The 610 office coordinates the CCPs propaganda channels and leverages Chinas newspapers, television, radio, and websites to demonise Falun Gong. It has direct access to major state-owned news outlets Xinhua News Agency and China Global Television Network. At the same time, it maintains links with embassies, consulates, student associations, and most notably the United Front Work Department. All agencies are tasked with reinforcing the CCPs narrative on Falun Gong. Professor Clive Hamilton, author of Silent Invasionwhich details Beijings influence operations in Australiasaid United Front operations in Australia encompassed influence of not only Chinese-language media but also mainstream media outlets. He pointed to a Media Watch report in 2016 that claimed the ABC was censoring news content in order to gain access to Chinese consumers. The logo for Australias public broadcaster ABC is seen at its head office building in Sydney on Sept. 27, 2018. (Saeed Khan/Getty Images) Deller said they had written to the ABC last week warning them the program would be picked up by the CCP and was going to be used to validate the persecution. Were seeing now on the 610 office website that theyre picking up on the ABCs storyexactly as we warned them, he added. There are obvious consequences of further harm for people in China, and those given refugee protection by the [Australian] government. It has really opened up old memories and wounds when many felt safe here, he continued. Tony Liu, a survivor of a forced labour camp in China who was detained for practicing Falun Gong said he was shocked and heartbroken when he saw the trailer for the ABC program. Liu, who suffered horrific torture at the hands of both guards and other inmates, said: It reminded me of being back in China when the Chinese Communist Party media spread propaganda about Falun Gong and deliberately turned people in society against us. They intentionally tried to destroy our good reputations as well as destroy us physically. I did not expect that this would happen in Australia, he added. International Pressure Heats Up to Stop the Persecution Deller believes the CCP is becoming desperate as international attention bears down on Beijing during the 21st anniversary of the persecutions inception. On July 20, in a rare move, the United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called on the CCP to release imprisoned Falun Gong practitioners and to account for those still missing. Twenty-one years of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is far too long, and it must end, he said. Over one hundred of Falun Gong practitioners are meditating on the grass in front of the Washington Monument to urge the stopping of the CCPs persecution of their spiritual practice, in Washington, D.C., on July 19, 2020. (Lisa Fan/The Epoch Times) Extensive evidence shows the PRC [Peoples Republic of China] government continues to repress and abuse this community to this day, including reported torture of Falun Gong practitioners and detention of thousands. On the same day, 20 current and former Australian lawmakers joined a group of 606 lawmakers from 30 countries to sign a joint statement calling for an end to the persecution in China. 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. French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel towards the end of the meeting (John Thys/Pool/AP) EU leaders have finally struck a deal on a 750m coronavirus rescue package - and a 1.8 trillion seven year budget plan taking the bloc up to 2027. The deal came after five days of talks which stopped just short of an 85-hour talks record set at a summit in the year 2000 in the French city of Nice. The outcome was warmly welcomed by Taoiseach, Micheal Martin, who said it would also bring huge benefits to Ireland. But in the immediate marathon summit aftermath few details were available on Irelands fund share. The summit chairman, Charles Michel, announced the outcome just before 6am today. We did it Europe is strong again, the former Belgian premier said adding it was a historic day for Europe. But the deal came after days of sometimes bitter debate with two major rows. In the first row, north European states led by Netherlands, fought to impose tough fund rules and also reduce the number of grants by putting more emphasis on repayable loans. In the second, EU states wanted to attach human rights clauses on funding for countries like Hungary and Poland. Compromises saw the grants portion of the rescue package cut from 500bn to 390bn. There was also a clause allowing any member state to object if a funded country did not stick to economic rules but an investigative process was time-limited to three months. On the human rights issue, a number of countries constituting a qualified majority under EU rules can trigger investigations. The Taoiseach said the talks outcome was very positive. "I welcome what is a very substantial and significant package of measures - 1.8 trillion - which I think will go a long way to help to reboot and re-engineer economic recovery within the European Union, Mr Martin said before jetting back to Dublin. "It has been a very challenging number of days negotiating this package, but it has been worthwhile," he added. Ireland originally stood to gain 3bn from the draft aid package announced in late May. This may be enhanced by a 5bn emergency Brexit fund for countries and sectors worst hit by the UK departure, and also by rule changes holding back 30pc of funds until 2021 and 2022 to assess the Covid impact. A concrete signal Summit chairman Charles Michel tweeted "Deal" shortly after the 27 leaders finally reached agreement at a 3.15am plenary session. Read More "This agreement sends a concrete signal that Europe is a force for action," Michel said at a dawn news conference. "It is about a lot more than money. It is about workers and families, their jobs, their health and their well-being. I believe this agreement will be seen as a pivotal moment in Europe's journey, but it will also launch us into the future." The deal marks the birth of a new Europe, French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Info radio on Tuesday. Le Maire said the deal would result in a Europe with greater solidarity among member nations, more environmentally-friendly policies and a stronger Franco-German relationship at its core. European Union leaders reached an "historic" deal on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus-hit economies at a pre-dawn meeting on Tuesday after a fractious summit that lasted almost five days. French President Emmanuel Macron said the deal was "truly historic" and that he was convinced the recovery plan and budget could meet the challenge of the coronavirus pandemic. "This was a summit whose conclusions are truly histroric. We have put in place the capability to borrow collectively, to put in place a collective recovery plan, for the first time," Macron said. "With this recovery plan, we will reach a near doubling of the European budget over the next three years." Officials said the deal, which came after Michel presented compromises on a 750bn recovery fund, is critical to dispel doubts about the bloc's very future. Michel proposed that within the 750bn, 390bn should be non-repayable grants, down from 500bn originally proposed, and the rest in repayable loans. News of the deal saw the Euro rise to a fresh four-month high of $1.1470. The EU was slow to coordinate its initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, already weakened by Britain's departure from the bloc, a united front on economic aid would demonstrate that it can step up to a crisis and stay united. But the tortuous summit looked like failing at times with Europe split between north and south. "It's breathtaking to see that we have done it. We have reached a huge milestone setting up the future of the European Union," said European Commission Presidentr Ursula von der Leyen, after almost 100 hours of negotiations. The summit approached the record length set at a 2000 meeting in the French city of Nice of almost five full days. European nations have done a better job of containing the coronavirus than the United States after a devastating early few months that hit Italy and Spain particularly hard, collaborating on medical, travel and economic fronts. The stakes at the summit were high with EU economies in freefall as Europe faces its deepest recession since World War Two, initial relief measures like short-time work schemes running out this summer, and fears that autumn could see deep economic malaise and social discontent. Diplomats said failure would have risked further damaging a bloc struggling with Brexit and bruised by crises from the financial meltdown to migration feuds, exposing it to more eurosceptic, nationalist and protectionist forces. Emotions had ran high at a dinner on Sunday as a group of fiscally frugal northern nations led by the Netherlands stood their ground on the level of free grants within a proposed special recovery fund of 750 billion euros overall. Macron lost patience in the early hours of Monday, banging his fist on the table in frustration at "sterile blockages" by the "frugals", two diplomats said. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also railed against the "frugals", branding them "a group of stingy, egotistic states" that looked at things through the prism of their own interests. Poland would be a top beneficiary of the recovery package, receiving tens of billions of euros in grants and cheap loans, along with high-debt Mediterranean-rim countries that have taken the brunt of the pandemic in Europe. But the rhetorical skirmishing faded on Monday, and the leaders homed in on an agreement on the stimulus package and, linked to it, the EU's 2021-2027 common budget of around 1.1 trillion euros. Little Traverse Bay Humane Society hires training and behavior specialist Sarah Schertel will serve the training needs of Little Traverse Bay Humane Society, in addition to offering classes to the public. The June 29 terrorist attack on the Karachi Stock Exchange does not only testify that Baloch Liberation Army (BLA) has strengthened its terrorism onslaught but it has also intensified its domain. According a report published by Pakistan based National Initiative Against Organized Crime, BLA's onslaught is not only limited to Balochistan but is opening its claws to other parts of the country. Worth mentioning here is that the attack on Karachi Stock Exchange was accomplished by Majeed brigade of BLA which killed 3 security guards and one police officer besides 4 terrorists. The report also entails that the said attack has not only helped in intensifying BLA's self profiling but also unearthed objectivity of the group. The report further claims that the BLA has formed the Majeed group to target China Pakistan Economic Corridor and other ongoing projects in Pakistan in collaboration with China. Meanwhile, in 2018 also BLA had attacked the Karachi based China consulate where 3 attackers will killed. In that attack one of the attackers was found to be wearing suicide vest. BLA likely to intensify attack during the pandemic In order to bring instability and a sense of lack of security in Pakistan the BLA is likely to intensify its terrorist activities taking the advantage of the pandemic situation arising out of Covid-19, the report titled - Terrorism in Pakistan During Covid-19 further states. During the pandemic, from March to June 20, the Baloch attackers undertook 7 attacks which killed 17 and injured 9 persons. Three organizations namely Baloch Liberation Army, United Baloch Army and Laskar-e-Balochistan were behind these attacks. Moreover, from March to June 30, Balochistan based insurgents have accomplished 10 attacks and in 6 of them they have targeted Pakistani security personnel. 18 people were killed and 14 injured in those attacks. During the pandemic, 74 incidents of terrorist activities took place in the entire Pakistan that killed 134 people besides injuring 101. The report is conspicuously silent on organizations that have pursued terrorist activities in India. The report mentions and cites activities by Tahreek-e-Taliban, BLA, Laskar-e-Balochistan, Sindhu Desh Liberation Army etc, but the same is silent on organizations including Laskar-e-Tayeba, Hizbul Mujahedin, Al Badar etc which are indirectly supported by Pakistan to carry out terrorist activities in India. For the past 15-plus months, marijuana stocks have been on a mostly precipitous downtrend. After years of (pardon the pun) flying high, growing pains finally caught up with the industry. To our north, regulatory-based supply problems created bottlenecks in select provinces and shortages in others. Meanwhile, high tax rates on legal U.S. cannabis have allowed cheaper black-market pot to thrive. But make no mistake about it, this is a fast-growing industry that should deliver especially impressive sales figures in the United States. Marijuana sales in the U.S. are on track to soar Last month, Marijuana Business Daily released its 2020 "Marijuana Business Factbook," which comes complete with cannabis sales projections between 2020 and 2024 for the United States. After generating as much as $13 billion in total weed sales in 2019, the report calls for between $15.5 billion and $18.9 billion in legal sales in 2020, and $30.2 billion to $37 billion in total sales by 2024. In other words, pot sales in the U.S. could potentially triple in just a five-year stretch. The vast majority of this growth is likely to come from the recreational market. Although medical sales are expected to more than double to a range of $9.5 billion to $11.7 billion by 2024, it's adult-use cannabis sales that will steal the show. After generating as much as $8.1 billion in U.S. sales in 2019, recreational weed is estimated to bring in up to $25.3 billion in 2024. Perhaps it's not surprising then that not a single Canadian pot stock is expected to bring in $1 billion in sales (in U.S. dollars) by 2024. Comparatively, estimates from FactSet call for four U.S. cannabis stocks to tip the scales at more than $1 billion in annual sales by 2024. Curaleaf Holdings: $2.54 billion sales estimate for 2024 No cannabis stock is expected to generate more robust sales by 2024 than Curaleaf Holdings (OTC:CURLF), which could well surpass $2.5 billion, if Wall Street analyst's prognostications are correct. Right now, Curaleaf has more operational dispensaries (57) than any other U.S. multistate operator (MSO), and it should continue to grow its retail store count organically and through acquisitions. On the acquisition front, Curaleaf completed the purchase of the popular Select brand of cannabis products earlier this year, and should close on its buyout of privately held MSO Grassroots soon. Once the deal is finalized, the combined entity will have 89 operational dispensaries and the ability to open as many as 135 stores in 23 states. Aside from being a dispensary leader, Curaleaf is focused on opening retail locations in markets that matter. Curaleaf is one of the largest players in Arizona, which could very well be voting to legalize recreational marijuana come November. It also has a sizable presence in medical marijuana-legal Florida, which is expected to generate the third-most sales of any state by 2024. Cresco Labs: $1.76 billion sales estimate for 2024 According to Wall Street, Curaleaf's closest competition on the sales front will come from Cresco Labs (OTC:CRLBF). Like Curaleaf, Cresco plans to use organic expansion and acquisitions to build up its business. The most transformative acquisition occurred in January, when Cresco Labs closed on its all-share deal to buy Origin House. Though this deal added cultivation space, the real treasure in buying Origin House was gaining access to its cannabis distribution license in California. There are only a handful of companies in the Golden State allowed to transport marijuana, and Cresco is now one. Best of all, it can now place its proprietary products in close to 600 dispensaries throughout the state. And, in case I failed to mention it, California is the biggest legal weed market in the U.S. (and world) by a longshot. In terms of organic growth, Cresco Labs has 18 operational dispensaries at the moment, with a particular focus on the Illinois market, where the company recently opened its eighth location. Illinois is the first state to OK the consumption and sale of adult-use weed entirely at the legislative level, and it opened its doors to recreational sales on Jan. 1, 2020. By 2024, the Land of Lincoln is projected to generate more than $1 billion in annual pot sales. Green Thumb Industries: $1.54 billion sales estimate for 2024 Perhaps my favorite U.S. MSO is also on the list: Green Thumb Industries (OTC:GTBIF). Wall Street will be looking for Green Thumb to top $1.5 billion in sales by 2024, which'll be a significant jump from the $455 million estimated in full-year sales for 2020. When it comes to operational dispensaries and licenses, Green Thumb is a major player. It has 48 operational dispensaries at the moment, but holds licenses to open as many as 96 in a dozen states. Like Curaleaf, Green Thumb has been very methodical about the markets it's choosing to open new locations. Green Thumb is likely to maximize its storefront presence in Illinois, and it bought its way into the tourist-friendly Nevada market. Within the four years, Nevada should be leading the country in per-capita cannabis spending. A big key to Green Thumb's success is that a majority of its revenue is derived from derivatives (i.e., non-dried-flower products, like edibles and vapes). Not only are derivative a higher-margin product, but they usually bear higher price points, which'll make it easier for Green Thumb to grow its sales. Trulieve Cannabis: $1.06 billion sales estimate for 2024 Finally, MSO Trulieve Cannabis (OTC:TCNNF) is expected to clear the bar with a little over $1 billion in total sales by 2024. What makes Trulieve such an interesting case is that nearly all of the company's operational dispensaries are located in a single state -- Florida. Trulieve announced last week that it was opening its 52nd dispensary in the Sunshine State. Comparatively, it only has two open dispensaries outside of Florida. This laser-focus on the Florida market has allowed for effective branding and kept the company's marketing expenses relatively low. In fact, among pure-play pot stocks, none is more profitable on a nominal basis right now than Trulieve Cannabis. At some point soon, Trulieve is going to hit a level of saturation in its home market that'll require the company to execute its blueprint in another market. Chances are this new target will be Connecticut or Massachusetts, albeit the company does have an open dispensary in California. Trulieve Cannabis' success in moving beyond Florida will ultimately decide whether it hits $1 billion in annual sales. In a major goof-up at the Government Medical College Jagdalapur, a person was released from the hospital saying he was negative for Covid-19, but later turned out to be positive after which the patients village was declared as a containment zone. The district administration has sealed the village and ordered an inquiry into the issue. Similarly, a coronavirus positive man from a different district was shown a resident of Narayanpur district triggering panic within the administration. A patient, who was kept in the quarantine centre of Negangar and came from some other state on April 2, was found positive. Later, the administration staff who were deployed at the quarantine centre were also kept in isolation for 14 days. On July 17, one of our staff was sent home after he was found negative but on July 18, the hospital told us that he was positive. Subsequently, we have taken all precautionary measures and sealed the village, said Praveen Verma, deputy collector of Jagdalpur. He further said that collector Jagdalpur has sought a report from the Dean of the Medical College. On July 19, deputy director of Baliram Kashyap Memorial Government Medical College, Jagdalpur wrote a letter to the College and expressed his displeasure over the issue. He said that these mistakes are unfortunate. I have got information from the district officials because of a mistake in the detection of Covid-patient done by your department, a patient has been discharged from the quarantine centre, which can lead to spread of the disease. Second, the entry of Covid-19 patient of Bastar was shown in records of different districts... These mistakes are unfortunate, the letter stated. The deputy director further said that an internal inquiry will be launched so that departmental action can be taken against those responsible. We have ordered an inquiry over the matter. As soon as we came to know about this mistake we have sealed the village and made it a containment zone, Rajat Bansal, Collector Jagdalpur, told Hindustan Times. On Monday, Chhattisgarh reported a total of 173 new Covid-19 cases and the total count increased to 5,598. Eleven Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF), nine Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) personnel and one Chhattisgarh Armed Force (CAF) jawan were among the new cases. Of the fresh cases, 66 were reported from Raipur district, 27 from Dantewada, 22 from Janjgir-Champa, 13 from Rajnandgaon, nine from Bilaspur, eight from Durg, seven each from Bijapur and Jashpur, four from Surguja, three from Mahasamund, two each from Raigarh and Sukma districts. Meanwhile, in Chhattisgarh, a seven-day fresh lockdown restriction will be imposed in nine urban areas of Chhattisgarhs five districts following a spike in coronavirus cases for the past month. In Raipur, Surguja, and Baloda Bazar districts, the lockdown will be imposed from Wednesday for the next seven days following the orders of the respective collectors. While in the urban areas of Durg, Korba, and Bilaspur districts, the restrictions will come into effect from Thursday, state officials said. All government, semi-government and private offices will remain closed during the re-imposition of lockdown restrictions. The public transport vehicles will remain off the roads as well. SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Netlify, originator of the modern Jamstack web architecture, today announced new platform features and a self-service Business plan that enable enterprises to adopt modern Jamstack development tools and workflows while staying in compliance. The new Business plan includes advanced security and collaboration features and introduces support for enterprise self-hosted instances of GitHub and GitLab . It's available for $99 per member so even smaller businesses can start with this plan and add team members as they grow. Businesses are already building mission critical web projects faster on Netlify. Empowered with developer-friendly workflows, TunnelBear was more productive with Netlify, reporting 10x faster builds and deploys. Loblaws reported 92% better site performance and Citrix reported 65% cost savings after switching to Netlify. Netlify's web development platform provides the glue for all modern Jamstack technologieswhether it's a Gatsby.js, Next.js or Vue.js application, or running Contentful or decoupled Drupal CMSand delivers seamless, git-based workflows for an effortless developer experience. Enterprise plan: For mission critical sites and large teams Netlify introduced a new Enterprise plan that includes everything in the Business plan, plus a custom package of Netlify's High-Performance Edge, High-Performance Builds and Premium Support. This plan also includes upfront security and architecture reviews, ongoing load and penetration testing, and access to a dedicated account manager. With new support for self-hosted GitHub and GitLab, Netlify now offers the most comprehensive enterprise Jamstack platform, including: Compliance and security : With SOCII Type 2 compliance, SSO and SAML support, role-based access control, two-factor authentication, user audit logging and network pentesting. : With SOCII Type 2 compliance, SSO and SAML support, role-based access control, two-factor authentication, user audit logging and network pentesting. Uptime assurance : With 99.99% uptime SLA providing enterprises with the service required for their mission-critical sites. : With 99.99% uptime SLA providing enterprises with the service required for their mission-critical sites. 24x7x365 support : Netlify delivers enterprise support, backed by SLAs via phone, Slack and email. : Netlify delivers enterprise support, backed by SLAs via phone, Slack and email. High Performance Build environment: 12x higher build concurrency and 5x higher CPU and Memory deliver faster builds and help larger teams work together more effectively. 12x higher build concurrency and 5x higher CPU and Memory deliver faster builds and help larger teams work together more effectively. High Performance Edge network: 50% faster site response times and resilient to large traffic spikes and DDoS attacks, Netlify's High Performance Edge network is coordinated across multiple cloud providers and has built-in intelligence to handle complex tasks at the edge. Self-service Business plan: For companies and agencies as they grow The new self-service Business plan is designed for development teams that need to maintain best practice enterprise security requirements, and includes: GitHub Enterprise and self-managed GitLab : Netlify now supports integrations of two deployment options for users of GitHub and GitLab : SaaS and self-hosted/self-managed. Enterprise-ready integrations for top git platforms are enabled and managed through the Netlify UI and support all of Netlify's features and workflows. : for users of and : SaaS and self-hosted/self-managed. Enterprise-ready integrations for top git platforms are enabled and managed through the Netlify UI and support all of Netlify's features and workflows. Advanced Team Security : DevOps teams can enable features for security best practices including single sign-on (SSO), role-based access control, unlimited audit logging, and identity services for enterprise web properties and applications. : DevOps teams can enable features for security best practices including single sign-on (SSO), role-based access control, unlimited audit logging, and identity services for enterprise web properties and applications. Analytics: Analytics data is captured directly and presented in the context of the Netlify workflow to give developers a more accurate picture of performance. Fueled by server-side data collected directly from Netlify's worldwide edge nodes. Business users get Netlify's enterprise features at $99 per user per month. Developers and small teams can start small with Netlify on the free Starter plan or new Pro plan at $19 per seat per month. Learn more about Netlify at www.netlify.com/products/ . Get started with Netlify at www.netlify.com/pricing/ . Supporting Quotes Mathias Biilmann, CEO, Netlify "Businesses need web applications that load fast, respond instantly, and are easy to update as customer and market dynamics change. Netlify's platform is uniquely designed to deliver this experience, empowering developer teams to use a modern Jamstack approach alongside legacy web stacks. Our latest updates accelerate development even further and lower the price barrier to use Netlify's most advanced features at scale." Jason Warner, CTO, GitHub "GitHub Enterprise gives organizations of all sizes the ability to code, scale, and work better together. With Netlify's announcement, organizations on GitHub Enterprise Server now have the opportunity to build and ship high-performance websites and web applications much faster. Together GitHub and Netlify will continue to improve developers' workflows and provide the tools developers love." Brandon Jung, vice president of alliances, GitLab "We are excited that Netlify now offers GitLab SaaS and self-managed integrations for users looking to use the Jamstack architecture. As today's enterprises look for new ways to enable teams to use git-based workflows, Netlify can help users develop, build, secure and deploy websites and web apps faster." Additional Resources Connect with Netlify About Netlify Netlify is the fastest way to build the fastest sites. Used by more than 950,000 web developers and businesses, the Netlify platform provides modern build workflows, serverless functions and a global multi-cloud Edge network to deliver the most performant, secure and scalable websites and applications. Netlify originated the Jamstack category, a modern web architecture that marries the best practices of pre-built sites with the API economy and serverless functions, to deliver the faster load times and dynamic content, without worrying about web servers. Founded in 2014, Netlify is a venture-backed software company headquartered in San Francisco with a global team. For more information, visit www.netlify.com and follow @Netlify on Twitter. SOURCE Netlify Related Links https://www.netlify.com/ 21.07.2020 LISTEN Pressure group OccupyGhana has called on the Police Service to prosecute the Special Development Minister Hawa Koomson if she found guilty in the shooting incident at a registration centre at Kasoa. The MP who has confessed firing a warning shot at the centre claimed it was to defend herself after feeling threatened while touring registration centres in the constituency Monday. Im a Member of Parliament, I need to protect myself. It was at dawn; my police escort had not started work yet. So, that is the modus operandi I engaged in his absence, she told Accra-based Adom FM. In a statement OccupyGhana said: The use of force or violence is a crime under our laws, unless there is reasonable justification, and within the strict bounds provided by law. Specifically, it is a crime to fire a weapon in a town without lawful and necessary occasion. Possession of a firearm without lawful excuse is a first-degree felony. And it is also a crime to have an offensive weapon while in a public place, public meeting, or at a public assembly of people, without lawful authority. We condemn all election-related violence. We also condemn the inexplicable circumstances under which the Minister took a loaded weapon to the registration centre in the first place, when the Minister has police guard, paid for by the state and whose job is to protect her. Further, the law that regulates the registration of voters also provides a process for challenging ineligible people who register or attempt to do so. That is what should be followed, if people are breaking the law. No individual has the mandate or power to seek to prevent others from registering simply because that individual believes that the law is being flouted. It added: We cannot have a registration exercise and then an election where people would feel so threatened that they would either stay at home and not vote at all, or go to the registration or polling stations armed. Ghanaians are already battling the spread of the dreadful coronavirus. This should not be combined with needless threats to our lives and safety. We call on the police to quickly investigate the circumstances under which this incident occurred. If it is found that the Minister breached the law, she should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible under the law. ---starrfmonline Amaravati, July 21 : The YSR Congress Party's rebel MP, Raghu Ramakrishna Raju on Tuesday sought President Ram Nath Kovind's intervention to stop the Andhra Pradesh government from trifurcating the state capital. The Lok Sabha member from Narsapuram called on the President in Delhi and submitted a memorandum, seeking his immediate intervention to retain Amaravati as the only state capital. He alleged that the YSRCP government in the state is resorting to a series of unconstitutional and anti-public acts and said they warrant the President's intervention to safeguard constitutional rights of people and to save democracy. He pointed out that Amaravati was declared as the new capital of Andhra Pradesh in accordance with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 as passed by the Parliament. Many developmental decisions were taken during the last six years and a tremendous amount of infrastructure was established in Amaravati. Raju, in his memorandum, wrote that the Andhra Pradesh Decentralisation and Inclusive Development of All Regions Bill, 2020 and Andhra Pradesh Capital Region Development Authority Repeal Bill, 2020 to trifurcate the state capital were passed with "an absolute and most disdainful contempt". The MP said the move would divide the people on the lines of region and caste and would also lead to utter administrative vacuum and mismanagement as executive, legislature and judiciary would be scattered hundreds of kilometres apart. He pointed out that the Legislative Council, by its majority ruling, referred the bills to the select committee but the government by wielding muscle power unconstitutionally and illegally stalled the process and went to the extent of recommending dissolution of the Legislative Council. Raju said the government again passed the two bills in the Assembly during the budget session in June and despite failing to push them in the Council, sent them to the Governor for his assent. He argued that the matter of Amaravati is pending in the high court and hence subjudice. The MP said the Bills would be in direct conflict with the Andhra Pradesh Reorganisation Act, 2014 which clearly mentions that Andhra Pradesh will have one capital. He urged the President to direct the governor to refer the two Bills to him. He also suggested that the President seek the opinion of the Attorney General on the matter. Raju said he also briefed the President on the threats to his life from his own party leaders for speaking out on various issues. She has been embracing family time with her five-year-old Alfie and husband Tom Pitfield. And former Coronation Street actress Catherine Tyldesley cut a casual figure as she stepped out in Cheshire on Tuesday after undergoing an acupuncture treatment. The mother-of-one, 36, donned black leggings and a vest top with oversized shades as she carried her essentials in a 415 raffia Celine bag with tan leather detailing. Radiant: Catherine Tyldesley, 36, cut a casual figure as she stepped out in Cheshire on Tuesday after undergoing acupuncture while carrying a 415 Celine raffia bag Catherine looked radiant as she went without a scrap of makeup for the appointment at Altius Healthcare in Hale. She wore her brunette tresses in loose waves over her shoulders and added a splash of mustard yellow to her black activewear with a sweater tied around her waist. The actress opted for comfortable grey trainers as she clutched her keys and headed to her car following the treatment. Glowing: The mother-of-one donned black leggings and a vest top with oversized shades Catherine posted a mid-treatment snap on her Instagram and was pictured with four tiny needles in her face captioned: 'Getting fixed @altiushealthcare.' Earlier this month Catherine revealed her husband Tom and Alfie, five, tested positive for coronavirus antibodies. She had previously voiced her concerns that her family had fallen ill with the virus back in November, after a man on their flight collapsed. Open: Catherine posted a mid-treatment snap on her Instagram undergoing acupuncture and was pictured with four tiny needles in her face captioned: 'Getting fixed @altiushealthcare' Casual: She wore her brunette tresses in loose waves over her shoulders and added a splash of mustard yellow to her black activewear with a sweater tied around her waist Catherine wrote on Instagram: 'We have just got our test results back. I thought Tom and Alfie had it in November and nobody quite believed it. It turns out I was right. 'This ugly little b*****d of a disease has been flying around longer than we have been told.' Catherine said earlier this year Tom had to be hospitalised after complaining 'I can't breathe', while paramedics were later called out to look at Alfie after his temperature went up to 40 during the family holiday. Active: Catherine looked radiant as she went without a scrap of makeup for the appointment at Altius Healthcare in Hale She said on Good Morning Britain: 'We travelled to Dubai in November, and when were on the flight there was a young chap who collapsed several times. 'He was receiving oxygen from the amazing staff on board. We made it to Dubai and he got whisked away. 'The following morning Tom was in the spare room and he said, "I can't breathe". He was wheezing, and he's never poorly. So I knew something was really wrong. Worrying: The former Coronation Street star previously voiced her concerns her family had fallen ill with the virus back in November 'He got taken to hospital. They thought initially it was some kind of pneumonia. By day four Alfie's temperature went up to 40 so we had the paramedics out once again. 'I revealed this on Instagram once the holiday was over, and at least eight people DM'd me and said, "I was on that flight, and I got it, or my wife got it, or my child go it." 'So, for me, I think this has been knocking around probably since September or October, and it's gradually been building. 'I've never seen Tom that poorly and he had every symptom of the coronavirus. Alfie wasn't as bad, but as we now know it doesn't tend to affect children as badly, in most cases. Catherine also revealed that her grandfather tragically passed away after contracting coronavirus. She revealed the sad news on Good Morning Britain just weeks after her mum also spent six days in intensive care after contracting COVID-19. CRAWFORD COUNTY, MI A motorcyclist was thrown 30 feet after he crashed in Crawford County. The 36-year-old man from Grayling crashed on W. 5 Mile Road near Marrio Road in Beaver Creek Township at 10:41 p.m. on Monday. Troopers from the Michigan State Police Houghton Lake Post responded to the scene and determined that the man lost control of his motorcycle, causing him to be ejected from the bike. The man was transported by MMR ambulance to Grayling Munson Hospital where he was then airlifted to Traverse City Munson for further care. Alcohol, speed, and road conditions are all believed to be factors in the crash, according to police. Troopers were assisted on scene by Crawford County Sheriffs Department, MMR and the Beaver Creek Fire Department. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Nearly two months after George Floyd died at the hand of Minneapolis police officers, Minnesota state leaders approved a comprehensive police reform bill that included a ban on chokeholds and what it deemed "warrior-style training." The state Legislature passed the bill during the early morning hours Tuesday. Gov. Tim Walz said he will sign the legislation, calling the reforms "overdue," in a statement. Among the 14 reform measures in the bill are a ban on police use of chokeholds, a ban on "warrior training," increased de-escalation training and a new unit that will investigate police use of force incidents. "After decades of advocacy by communities of color and Indigenous communities, the bipartisan passage of these measures is a critical step toward justice. This is only the beginning," Walz said in a statement. MORE: George Floyd's relatives watch as 4 officers charged in killing appear in court Floyd was killed on Memorial Day when four officers arrested him following a 911 phone call from a convenience store over a counterfeit bill. The arrest was filmed by bystanders and security cameras and showed white Officer Derek Chauvin putting Floyd on the ground and placing his knee into the suspect's neck as he gasped, "I can't breathe." PHOTO: Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin in an image from the video during arrest of George Floyd, May 25, 2020, in Minneapolis. (Darnella Frazier via Storyful) Chauvin was later arrested and charged with second-degree murder and manslaughter, while the three other officers, Tou Thao, J. Alexander Kueng and Thomas Kiernan Lane, were charged with second-degree aiding and abetting felony murder and second-degree aiding and abetting manslaughter. Floyd's death sparked massive protests around the country calling for police reform and an end to use of force during arrests. The Minnesota legislative package addresses some of those concerns. Under the legislation officers in the state cannot perform a chokehold, tie "all of a person's limbs together behind the person's back to render the person immobile" or secure "a person in any way that results in transporting the person face down in a vehicle." Story continues The legislation also bars police forces from offering "warrior-style training" to its members, which is defined as "training for peace officers that is intended to increase a peace officer's likelihood or willingness to use deadly force in encounters with community members." Any member who conducts the training on their own will not receive education credits or tuition reimbursement from their departments, according to the legislation. PHOTO: Marchers walk on the lawn of the State Capitol during a National Mother's March in St. Paul, Minn., July 12, 2020. (Amanda Sabga/AFP via Getty Images) Minneapolis's police department had previously banned "warrior-style training" last year but the Minneapolis police union offered to pay for the training for any member who wanted to partake in it on their own time. MORE: Police chokeholds banned in emergency Minneapolis City Council vote Minneapolis Mayor Jacob Frey said in a statement the state bill did not go far enough, especially since his city enacted similar reforms. He also called out the lack of reform when it came to police arbitration. "At the local level, change-oriented leaders like [Minneapolis PD] Chief [Medaria] Arradondo will continue to see their ability to effect a culture shift limited without changes to arbitrators' authority to overturn disciplinary decision for egregious misconduct," Frey said in a statement. Representatives from the Police Officers' Federation of Minneapolis, the union representing the city's officers, didn't immediately return messages for comment. Another reform in the package includes retraining officers on the way they handle persons suffering from mental health issues and persons with autism. It also requires the state to come up with a pilot program where officers work with county mobile crisis mental health services. Minnesota leaders ban chokeholds, 'warrior training' in comprehensive police reform bill originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Brenda A. Allen will get another chance to remain at the helm of Lincoln University. Lincoln agreed Tuesday to hold a board of trustees meeting by July 31, during which another vote on renewing Allens contract is expected, according to Allens lawyer and a spokesperson for Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro. This time, five state-appointed trustees barred from participating in the earlier vote on her contract this month will be allowed to vote, Allens lawyer and Shapiros spokesperson said. Weve received assurances that that is going to happen, said Riley H. Ross III, Allens lawyer. The about-face came after Allen sued Lincolns board of trustees, and Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Wolf and Shapiro followed with their own lawsuit. Both suits allege that Lincoln violated the states Sunshine Act and the universitys own bylaws by conducting a vote in private this month on whether to retain Allen. Ross said he requested a stay for the lawsuit he filed on Allens behalf, given that the matter may resolve itself. A Chester County Court judge granted a stay through July 31. That was the outcome of a telephone conference Tuesday with lawyers before Chester County Judge William Mahon. Thomas Collins, a lawyer for Lincoln, who Ross said also participated in the call, did not immediately return a request for comment. A university spokesperson also did not respond to a request for comment. The board has not commented on why it didnt renew Allens contract. Todays order to stay the Lincoln University decision until a proper vote is conducted with all members of the board seated is a good part of what my office has been fighting for, Shapiro said. Lincoln is a jewel of our commonwealths heritage and the students, alumni, faculty and staff deserve a board that makes decision in accordance with state law. Controversy erupted at Lincoln earlier this month as rumors circulated that the board planned to not retain Allen, who has led the school for three years, earning widespread support among faculty, students, and alumni. More than 14,000 people signed an online petition backing Allen, whose contract ran out June 30. Allen, a 1981 Lincoln graduate, sued the board last week, saying members illegally voted to end her tenure. Allen, her supporters say, has improved student retention and alumni giving. In their lawsuit, Wolf and Shapiro asked Commonwealth Court to declare the July 10 vote on Allen invalid. Lincoln, a historically Black university in Chester County, is one of four state-related institutions on which the governor serves as an ex officio board member. At the July 10 meeting, board chair Theresa R. Braswell said the vote on whether to negotiate a new contract for Allen failed by 52% to 48%, with 21 of 23 members voting. But that did not include the five state-appointed trustees. Braswell excluded the five trustees, according to the attorney generals lawsuit, because they had not been vetted by a board committee, but there is no provision that requires such vetting. By Jennifer Okundia Nollywood actress, Mercy Johnson Okojie and her new born daughter Divine-Mercy have a striking resemblance between mother and child. Sharing on social media photos of her baby girl whom she welcomes in the U.S. with her hubby Odi Okojie some months back, she wrote: Never apologise to others for their misunderstanding of who you are?? Happy New Week Everyone.. Okojie hails from Okene in Kogi State. She was born in Lagos to a former naval officer, Daniel Johnson and Elizabeth Johnson, she is the fourth child in a family of seven. The 35 year old acted in movies like Dumebi The Dirty Girl, The Maid among others. Mercy and Odi married in 2011 and they have 4 kids. Related FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- VitaBounty is expanding their online reach, with products now available through Overstock.com, as the health and wellness brand continues to increase their e-commerce presence throughout 2020. Partnering with Overstock has been a smart move for VitaBounty, as the retail giant boasts one of the largest followings on the web. With more people staying safe and buying from home, maintaining a diverse selection of e-commerce listings is critical to any brand's success, but selling through massive online retailers like Overstock also comes with some other benefits. Exposure is a major factor in expanding VitaBounty's customer base, since their all-natural supplement line has a greater chance of connecting with new buyers if it is sold through websites where people are already buying their household essentials. In the last four months, Overstock has gained popularity, with their value rising by more than double since May of 2020. This makes it an integral time to sign on with this industry giant and make connections for the future of web-based commerce. The customer base for nutritional products is broadening as more people are looking to stay healthy, with the convenience of shopping online. VitaBounty's strength has always been in the uniquely beneficial nature of their products, and the high level of research that goes into the development of their products. One of their most unique products is their VitaImmune Syrup, which combines the power of VitaImmuneXP with some of the best-known ingredients that nature has to offer, like elderberry and loquat, which together form a safe and effective liquid to help fortify the body's natural defenses. VitaImmuneXP, previously sold under the brand name Lentinex, is a purified version of the supplement Beta-glucan with a triple helix structure, which maximizes the efficacy of this natural compound. Beta-glucans have been heavily researched for their beneficial properties and are most often consumed as a health supplement. Beta-glucans are found in a variety of food sources, from cereals, like wheat, to yeast, bacteria, and fungi. The Beta-glucan in VitaImmune comes from fermented shiitake mushroom, which is highly potent and the most allergy-friendly source. Supplement sales of all types have been on the rise in the United States, but it can be difficult to find all-natural remedies that meet the high standards and nutritional needs of many customers. Making products available through a host of different mainstream sellers has set VitaBounty up to flourish in the coming year, as web-based sales continue to rise. Find VitaBounty's VitaImmune and other products, now for sale through their company website, vitabounty.com, and Overstock.com. Please direct inquiries to: Marcello Lowey (954) 739-2248 [email protected] SOURCE VitaBounty Related Links http://www.vitabounty.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 23:28:43|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese Premier Li Keqiang holds talks with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith via video link at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing, capital of China, July 21, 2020. (Xinhua/Pang Xinglei) BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Chinese Premier Li Keqiang held talks with Lao Prime Minister Thongloun Sisoulith via video link on Tuesday. China and Laos are friendly neighbors linked by mountains and rivers, and have witnessed their even stronger relations withstanding the test of time, Li said. The third Lancang-Mekong Cooperation (LMC) leaders' meeting was postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Li said, stressing that his virtual meeting with Thongloun aims to facilitate coordination, make preparations for the LMC leaders' meeting, increase regional connectivity and trade exchanges, and send out a positive signal of seeking mutually-beneficial cooperation and jointly combating challenges. Saying LMC is an integral part of China-ASEAN cooperation, Li voiced China's willingness to work with relevant countries, including Laos, to successfully hold the series of leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation and promote the signing of the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) within the year. The countries should also jointly work for the success of the 2020 China-ASEAN Year of Digital Economy Cooperation, to achieve sustainable development of China-ASEAN relations and promote regional peace, stability and prosperity, Li said. China attaches great importance to relations with Laos and stands ready to work with Laos to advance cooperation on the China-Laos economic corridor and the construction of key projects, assist Laos in increasing its capacity of sustainable development, and elevate the two countries' ties to a new level. Thongloun spoke highly of his country's relations with China and voiced appreciation of China's valuable support to Laos. Reaffirming Laos' solid support on issues concerning China's core interests, Thongloun said his country will work with China to build a community with a shared future, and actively implement major cooperation projects. To promote ASEAN-China relations, Laos will make concerted efforts with relevant countries for the success of the LMC leaders' meeting and the series of leaders' meetings on East Asia cooperation, as well as the signing of the RCEP as soon as possible, the Lao prime minister said. Enditem KFC. A world-renowned fast-food chain selling Colonel Sanders' famous fried chicken. Today's food continues to elevate itself in more ways than one. And the move by KFC is no surprise as the company is attempting to manufacture chicken nuggets using a 3D bioprinter. According to a report from Business Insider, the fast-food chain announced on July 16 that it would begin its testing this fall in Russia together with 3D Bioprinting Solutions to create a chicken nugget that will mimic the taste and appearance of its original nuggets at a fraction of the environmental cost. All3DP defines bioprinting as an additive manufacturing process where biomaterials such as cells and growth factors are combined to create tissue-like structures that imitate natural tissues. The technology uses a material known as bioink to create these structures in a layer-by-layer manner. "Crafted meat products are the next step in the development of our 'restaurant of the future' concept. Our experiment in testing 3D bioprinting technology to create chicken products can also help address several looming global problems," said the CEO of KFC Russia Raisa Polyakova. The CEO of KFC Russia and Commonwealth Independent States expressed her gladness in contributing to its development to the economy not only in Russia, but maybe around the world. Yusef Khesuani, who serves as the co-founder and managing partner at 3D Bioprinting Solutions, is hoping that the venture will jumpstart research towards lab-developed meat which will be commercially available. Memphis Meats, a cell-based meat startup, raised $161 million in its latest funding round, and major investors include CPT Capital, a venture fund that has also backed Impossible Foods and Beyond Meat. Partnering up with Beyond Meats, a Los Angeles-based producer of plant-based meat substitutes founded in 2009 by Ethan Brown, KFC has already begun its innovations to mimic the taste of fried chicken in its nuggets without using the animal itself. You can check out the tweet below. The Kentucky Fried Miracle will be available at 50+ select KFC SoCal locations starting Monday - while supplies last. SoCal, meet Beyond Fried Chicken. We teamed up with our friends at @kfc to bring a sneak peek of our delicious plant-based chicken to our hometown.The Kentucky Fried Miracle will be available at 50+ select KFC SoCal locations starting Monday - while supplies last. pic.twitter.com/tJ0C2iLtjN Beyond Meat (@BeyondMeat) July 16, 2020 Read Also: [Hack] Animal Crossing: New Horizon's KFC Location: How to Win 8 Piece-Bucket of Chicken Advantages of Bioprinting In the press release from KFC Global, there are numerous advantages to bioprinting with the first being that the lab-developed meats have exactly the same microelements as the original product without the additives that are used in farming making it a chemical-free product. Environmentally, it is more ethical in preserving the chicken's life since the number of chickens consumed will gradually decrease over time. A study from the American Environmental Science & Technology Journal noted that energy consumption to will be cut by more than half, while greenhouse gas emissions to be reduced 25 fold and 100 times less land to be used than traditional farm-based meat production. Read Also: [SPECS in Detail] Joke or Real? KFC Console Reportedly Can Store Games More Than Double of What PS5 or Xbox Offer ATLANTA, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Workmanship quality and customer satisfaction are important to any professional contractor, and to be recognized for these year-after-year are testaments to hard work, commitment and dedication. It is certainly true for Superior Roofing Company of Georgia, which has won its 14th consecutive Consumers' Choice Award, recognizing it as a top business in the Greater Atlanta area. Superior Roofing Company of Georgia received the award in the Roofing Contractors category based on consumer feedback in regard to value, professionalism and service. "Superior is committed to providing the best experience possible for homeowners," said company president Ron Herring. "Gaining a homeowner's trust and their confidence in our work speaks volumes to all of the hard-working men and women at Superior. We take our jobs and our customers seriously and we are humbled that our efforts are recognized once again." For more than 18 years, the Consumers' Choice Award has been considered a business seal of excellence. This year, more than 15,000 votes were cast in the Consumers' Choice Award campaign for Atlanta's favorite businesses, and numerous voters called attention to the due diligence, honesty and straightforward customer service routinely exhibited by Superior Roofing Company of Georgia. In addition, the award-winning company is a CertainTeed SELECT ShingleMaster, a notable credential which represents the highest standards of excellence, quality and knowledge in the shingle roofing industry. Superior also scored an average of 4.93 out of 5 on CertainTeed's Customer TrackRecord Survey, ranking it #1 in the State of Georgia and #6 in North America. They also provide extra value to their customers by protecting their roofs with CertainTeed's SureStart Plus warranties; they ranked #1 in the State of Georgia and #8 in North America. "Year after year, Superior Roofing Company of Georgia continues to do it the right way," said Jay Butch, director of contractor programs for CertainTeed Exterior Products. "We are very proud to work with Ron Herring and his team because of their commitment to their craft, their business and their customers." About Superior Roofing Company of Georgia Superior Roofing Company of Georgia is a full-service residential roofing company dedicated to providing customers the highest standard of service and workmanship. Founded in 1990, Superior Roofing Company of Georgia aims to exceed the needs of its customers. In addition to its fourteen Consumers' Choice Award honors, the roofing business has an A+ rating with the Atlanta Better Business Bureau and is five-star rated on kudzu.com. For more information, visit www.superiorroofs.com. About CertainTeed Through the responsible development of innovative and sustainable building products, CertainTeed, headquartered in Malvern, Pennsylvania, has helped shape the building products industry for more than 110 years. Founded in 1904 as General Roofing Manufacturing Company, the firm's slogan "Quality Made Certain, Satisfaction Guaranteed," inspired the name CertainTeed. Today, CertainTeed is a leading North American brand of exterior and interior building products, including roofing, siding, solar, fence, decking, railing, trim, insulation, drywall and ceilings. A subsidiary of Saint-Gobain, one of the world's largest and oldest building products companies, CertainTeed has more than 6,900 employees and more than 60 manufacturing facilities throughout the United States and Canada. The group had total sales of approximately $4.1 billion in 2019. www.certainteed.com. SOURCE Superior Roofing Company of Georgia Related Links http://www.superiorroofs.com (Natural News) There are a lot of lawmakers in Washington, D.C., who think theyre smart and wise, but few who actually are. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) is one the few. Since the George Floyd incident, Democrat Marxists who are using that unfortunate tragedy to push for a full-blown Left-wing cultural revolution in America have begun pushing initiatives designed to bring chaos to our streets and anarchy to our cities because remember, you cant push for a revolution when things are fine and the country is prosperous and stable. Whats more, theyre pushing these initiatives under the guise of needed reforms due to systemic racism (that doesnt exist). Its all a lie. In any event, sane, thinking Americans can predict the effects of actually getting rid of the police: Widespread chaos, violence, destruction, anarchyand death. Cruz is well aware of the consequences of defunding police. But hes also got a plan for residents to push back against the Lefts attempts to make our society so chaotic Americans will scream for the Marxists to storm in and restore order. Minnesota Dems willfully allowed Minneapolis to burn & then blamed the police whom they demonized. Now, they want the fed govt to pay the bill. Im introducing legislation to make local govt liable to private property owners if officials deliberately withhold police protection, Cruz tweeted July 12, after the Trump administration denied Minneapolis request for emergency funds to rebuild the widespread destruction wrought after the Floyd incident. Minnesota Dems willfully allowed Minneapolis to burn & then blamed the police whom they demonized. Now, they want the fed govt to pay the bill. Im introducing legislation to make local govt liable to private property owners if officials deliberately withhold police protection. https://t.co/fZZCYgekMI Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) July 12, 2020 The Daily Wire noted: The Trump administration rejected a $500 million federal aid request from Minnesota after Democrat Governor Tim Walz and Minneapolis Democrat Mayor Jacob Frey failed to stop significant damage from being inflicted on the city in response to the death of George Floyd. Were asking our federal partners to step up and help our communities recover, Walz said in a statement at the start of the month. 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. Added Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan: We are committed to helping our communities rebuild, but we cant do this on our own. While state, tribal, and local budgets are stretched thin by COVID-19, we need everyone to step up, including the federal government, to restore safety and critical infrastructure to our communities. Federal partners. Remember when Walz was telling President Trump to stay out of Minnesotas businessas Minneapolis burned? According to the Washington Examiner, more than 1,500 buildings were either damaged, looted or burned to the ground following Floyds death at the hands of a Minneapolis police officer. And under normal circumstances, that kind of destruction would surely warrant federal assistance. But there was nothing normal about what happened in Minneapolis, a city that has long been run by the same Democrats who are now claiming to be so woke after the death of Floyd. At least one Republican lawmaker from Minnesota prodded the president to decline the request, adding that the response of the city and the state needed to be reviewed first. If the federal government is expected to assist in the clean-up of these unfortunate weeks, it has an obligation to every American prior to the release of funding to fully understand the events which allowed for this level of destruction to occur and ensure it never happens again, Rep. Tom Emmer wrote in a letter to the White House. No question about that. And as to Cruzs legislation, we can only hope it gets approved, though its likely to be killed off by House Democrats who are enabling the Leftist cultural revolution. Sources include: LawEnforcementToday.com WashingtonExaminer.com WashingtonTimes.com DailyWire.com WASHINGTON - A major intraparty rift widened between the White House and Senate Republicans on Tuesday as they stumbled to formulate a unified coronavirus budget plan, lacking agreement on policy goals, budget parameters, or even deadlines. The Republican and White House positions changed multiple times as the day went on, with some GOP lawmakers refusing to rally behind the White House's demand for a payroll tax cut while others worked to convince President Donald Trump's emissaries that more money was needed for testing and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Other Republican lawmakers appeared mortified about the growing size of the spending bill, bickering over which policies to remove and warning that miscalculations could allow Democrats to seize control of the White House and the Senate in November. "What in the hell are we doing?" Sen. Ted Cruz, R-Texas, asked his colleagues at the lunch with White House officials, according to several participants who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the exchange. Cruz was incensed at the push among his colleagues to boost spending levels even more. The whole process now appears likely to spill into August, something the White House and congressional Democrats had hoped to avoid, because it would mean more than 20 million Americans would lose emergency unemployment benefits when they expire at the end of this month. They have not mapped out a plan for what would happen to these people as the pandemic's turmoil continues to weigh on the U.S. economy. White House officials did not go into the talks with a preset strategy or a list of proposals that they knew GOP lawmakers would rally behind. This miscalculation created immediate problems. Numerous demands the White House had tried to formulate over the weekend were erased within hours. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that the goal was to keep the spending bill at about $1 trillion, but by Tuesday he had abandoned that mantra. White House officials also backed away from demands for cuts to testing and health funds, and they retreated after a barrage of criticism of President Donald Trump's tax cut demand. "I think we're going to spend what we need to spend, and we're going to make sure we don't spend more than that," Mnuchin said. Democrats pointed fingers at the Republican infighting and said the White House and GOP leaders were unprepared to handle the country's mounting economic and health-care challenges. House Democrats passed a $3 trillion spending bill in May that would send another round of stimulus checks, provide more money to states, and help hospitals, among other things, but the White House has vowed to block it. "Republicans are in complete disarray," Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said. "Totally incompetent. Totally in disarray. Totally at war with one another." In an effort to bridge differences, Mnuchin, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow met with Senate Republicans over lunch. But that led to little progress; Republicans made clear to Mnuchin and Meadows that they were not supportive of Trump's insistence on a payroll tax cut or curbed funding for coronavirus tests and the CDC. Mnuchin on Monday had insisted that the payroll tax idea was in the bill, but he did not bring it up during the lunch as the opposition snowballed, two people briefed on the interaction said. "We haven't reached a conclusion on anything," Sen. John Neely Kennedy, R-La., said when the lunch ended. Meadows acknowledged the discontent, telling reporters, "Well as you can imagine, any time you have Senate Republicans there, you have a number of different thoughts on what should or should not happen." The White House and Senate Republican leaders had tried over the weekend to put together a joint deal to bring to Democrats, but those efforts did not lead to a unified GOP position. Talks bogged down over Trump's insistence for the tax cut, something he has pushed since last year to force into law without any success. Some also bristled at Trump's insistence for curbing coronavirus testing funds and a new requirement that aid to schools would be contingent on reopening plans. Underlying the confusion surrounding the GOP stimulus package are tensions among Trump administration officials about their priorities. Trump is being represented on Capitol Hill by Mnuchin and Meadows, a tandem that has not brokered a deal jointly with Congress. Trump has for months worried privately that Mnuchin, his chief negotiator with Democrats, was giving away too much to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., leading conservative lawmakers to push for Meadows to have a more active role in this round of talks. Before joining the White House, Meadows was a congressman and leader of the conservative House Freedom Caucus. Mnuchin, meanwhile, has a background as a banker and a Hollywood producer with few ties to the conservative movement. On Tuesday, Meadows sat toward the back of the room and deferred to Mnuchin as he led the conversation with the GOP senators, according to two people aware of the meeting who spoke on the anonymity to share private conversations. Mnuchin discussed the importance of sending another round of stimulus checks and providing more money for the Paycheck Protection Program. Mnuchin also told reporters that it was important for lawmakers to reach an agreement before the supplemental increase in unemployment benefits runs out by the end of this month. Republican lawmakers, including Trump, have consistently criticized that benefit increase because they think it makes it more lucrative for workers to stay home than reenter the labor market, but Mnuchin stressed the importance of providing some financial cushion for the jobless. "Our objective is to try to get something done before the enhanced unemployment insurance expires. There's a lot of people who are still out of work," Mnuchin said. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters, though, that it was very unlikely a deal would be reached by the end of next week, laughing and saying no when asked whether that was possible. Within a few hours Tuesday, it became clear that the White House was already backpedaling on several demands - before negotiations with Democrats had begun. Mnuchin and Meadows met with Senate Republican appropriators in the morning and appeared persuaded to reverse course on the funding curbs; Republicans had sought $25 billion for states for testing and tracing that the administration had initially opposed. "We're moving in the right direction on all fronts. . . . We are making good progress," said Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., a senior Appropriations Committee member, when asked about the disagreement over money for testing. Participants said that talks were ongoing, and that nothing had been finalized. White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday that the White House is seeking "targeted" money for testing, and that "we're willing to put in money for targeted testing that makes sense, not just dumping money into a pot that contains $10 billion." Some experts said lawmakers should approve more money and have the administration send it out quicker. "States have been using some of this money, but the problem is that it's not enough and easy for the states to draw down," said Sam Hammond, a policy expert at the Niskanen Center, a think tank that has been working with Senate Republicans on bolstering testing. "The scale of the problem will require a lot more money than they have so far." These programs are just one part of what the administration and McConnell had envisioned as a $1 trillion package that is likely to be the last major coronavirus relief bill before the election. After attending the Senate Republican conference lunch, the White House envoys met with Pelosi and Schumer. "We will begin our conversations today. It is my hope that we can resolve our differences and have a bill by the end of next week," Pelosi told fellow Democrats on a conference call Tuesday morning, according to a person on the call who spoke on the condition of anonymity because the person was not authorized to discuss internal conversations. There has been little GOP enthusiasm for the payroll tax cut plan, even though Trump has said he might not sign a bill that does not include it. And GOP leaders are expecting a hard sell Tuesday but appear unwavering. A few Senate Republicans - including Lindsey Graham of South Carolina and Steve Daines of Montana - have endorsed the payroll tax cut as a sound policy. But senators and aides said Mnuchin did not talk about the payroll tax cut during the Senate GOP lunch. Instead he was confronted by complaints about the size of the emerging package, with some lawmakers who had voted for the $2 trillion Cares Act in March saying they could not support the new package if it exceeds $1 trillion. During the lunch, GOP senators voiced discontent over several components of the emerging aid package, whether it involved provisions pushed by the administration and the apparently ballooning size of the plan, according to officials directly familiar with the private gathering. All of the officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the closed-door discussion. Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, argued against the payroll tax cut, making the case that no voters would notice the tax relief and that he was skeptical that the policy changes could even be implemented before October. Although the payroll tax cut remains a top priority for Trump, his top lieutenants inside the meeting made little apparent effort to sell the policy to Republican senators, who largely remain opposed to the proposal. Electoral politics were also in consideration. Sen. Tom Cotton, R-Ark., urged other GOP senators to be attentive to what Republicans in competitive reelection bids are hearing on the ground from voters, and he made the case that if the GOP loses the majority, Democrats in control will implement policies that are much more costly to the national debt. So spending a bit more money now in a rescue bill that would aid Republicans in their races would be cheaper in the long run, he argued. Cotton is also up for reelection in November but is not considered to be in a competitive race. His viewpoint appeared to clash with that of Cruz, who vigorously warned against spending too much money on the package. Cruz said the GOP should be focused on a safe restart of the economy and warned that if the economy remains shuttered in November, Democrats will win both the White House and the Senate, and that Republican senators, who usually meet in the ornate Mansfield room in the Capitol, will "be meeting in a much smaller lunch room." Mnuchin, who met with Republican senators before he was to huddle with the Democratic leaders, stressed to the GOP lawmakers that he will not launch into negotiations Tuesday afternoon with Democrats and that he would be in more of a listening mode with them. Earlier Tuesday, McConnell gave some details of the emerging GOP plan in remarks on the Senate floor. He said it would include $105 billion to help schools reopen, another round of funding for the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, more stimulus checks to individual Americans, incentives for hiring and retaining workers, and reimbursement for businesses to establish safety measures. "The American job market needs another shot of adrenaline," McConnell said. "Senate Republicans are laser-focused on getting American workers their jobs back." Trump has enacted four laws that provided close to $3 trillion in new tax cuts and spending to try to help the economy and the health-care industry navigate the coronavirus pandemic. The economy remains weak, however, with an unemployment rate of 11.1% and about 20 million people collecting unemployment benefits. Lawmakers are split over what to do next. When he was heading into a meeting with Senate appropriators, Meadows was asked about the highest price tag they could agree to. "Obviously everybody looks at a trillion-dollar stimulus plan as the goal, but that's going to be up to the senators and the House," Meadows said. "It's going to be a Senate- and House-led process." Mnuchin said he would be there to see the talks through, having been through numerous rounds of frantic negotiations in the past. "We're shooting to get something done by the end of next week," Mnuchin told reporters as he entered his first meeting. "I'll be here for the next two weeks until we get this done." Royal Bank of Scotland has told more than 50,000 staff to work from home until next year, in a blow to Boris Johnson's hopes of kick-starting the economy by getting people back into the office. The Natwest owner, which is one of the UK's biggest employers, informed staff in a memo they could work from home until 2021. The decision flies in the face of the Prime Minister's pleas for white-collar workers to return to the office. He last week urged employees to 'try to lead their lives more normally' amid fears that the economy is suffering because so many are working from home. The Royal Bank of Scotland has told more than 50,000 staff to work from home until next year The Natwest owner, which is one of the UK's biggest employers, informed staff in a memo they could work from home until 2021 The move by RBS to hold back its employees will be worrying for local businesses around its major headquarters in Edinburgh and on London's Bishopsgate, who benefit from the custom of thousands of bank workers every day. RBS has around 63,000 staff, and around 10,000 have been going into work throughout the pandemic. Mr Johnson said the Government's guidance on home working would change from August 1, so rather than telling staff to work from home where possible, the decision would be left with employers. But the Government's chief scientific adviser Patrick Vallance said he saw 'absolutely no reason' to change the advice to work from home. Meanwhile a survey revealed one in three office workers want to continue working from home after Covid. The study from the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) found 32 per cent are expecting to at least partially work from home even after lockdown. The survey also showed a strong demand from Brits for more flexible working, up from a tenth in 2019. Pablo Shah, a senior economist at the CEBR, told The Telegraph: 'This seismic shift, taking place in months rather than decades, will transform the worlds of property, transport, retail, leisure and, not least, fashion. Ten years ago, this would not have been possible.' The research further indicated between 25 per cent and 30 per cent of employees will be working from home on any one day in 2021. It comes as Boris Johnson altered guidance on Friday for home workers in an effort to get them back to offices and save Britain's High Streets which continue to be deserted despite the easing of lockdown restrictions. Commuters wearing face masks walk through the ticket barriers at Waterloo Station in London on June 15 Public debt will soar as the UK reels from the coronavirus crisis, according to the Office For Budget Responsibility's central scenario. By 2023-4 the liabilities will be around 660billion higher than forecast in March before the chaos hit - and that does not include an extra 50billion from the mini-Budget The OBR's downside scenario sees unemployment rising to more than four million next year - with a rate higher than seen in the 1980s Some of UK's largest firms will allow staff to work from home for months Some of Britain's largest employers say they will allow staff to work from home for months to come. In London, only one worker in eight has gone back. In the City, just 800 of Goldman Sachs' 6,000 London staff have returned. Fewer than 2,000 of the 12,000 at JP Morgan are back. The figures come from an analysis of mobile phone data in 67 cities by the Centre for Cities think-tank on behalf of the Times. The data suggests that Basildon in Essex has seen the highest proportion of staff go back, at 49 per cent, and Edinburgh the least at 12 per cent. Workers in the biggest cities are the least likely to have returned amid fears over the risk of long commutes on public transport. The figures correspond with official data showing that rail services were operating at only 16 per cent capacity. The roads are back to 86 per cent of normal levels. Fewer than one in six workers in cities have returned to the office fuelling fears over the survival of cafes, pubs and restaurants. But Mr Johnson's new guidance put him at odds with Sir Patrick Vallance, the Government's chief scientific adviser, who told MPs on Friday working remotely 'remains a perfectly good option'. He said many companies had found working from home had not been 'detrimental to productivity' and as a result there is no need to move away from the policy. The Foreign Secretary admitted on Sunday there will be more remote working even after the coronavirus threat has passed. But he stressed the country was in the middle of a 'severe economic downturn' and it would help if fewer people worked from home now that the virus is receding. However attitudes to returning to the office appear to be changing, the poll released at the weekend has suggested. It found 54 per cent believed it was worth the risk of travelling back to work to avoid an economic crash, the Sun on Sunday found. In an interview at the weekend, Mr Johnson said he wanted to avoid a second nationwide lockdown, comparing it to a 'nuclear deterrent'. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab admitted on Sunday there will be more remote working even after the coronavirus threat has passed Commuters wearing a face mask travel on TfL Victoria Line underground train carriages, heading towards central London, on June 15 He told the Sunday Telegraph he 'certainly' does not want another blanket shutdown and 'nor do I think we will be in that position again'. The new guidance states from August 1 employers can urge workers to come back to their office so long as it is Covid-secure. Mr Raab said on BBC1's Andrew Marr Show on Sunday: 'What we have said is from August 1, while we're carefully monitoring the virus, we do need to get the economy back firing on all cylinders as best we can. 'We know we're in the middle of a severe downturn. And so we're making sure, with employers, that they've got the Covid-secure workplaces in place and we've had great co-operation from business. 'And we're also saying to employers you've got this remote working facility, we know that's important. I think we'll all do a bit more remote working in the future. 'But we also trust employers to say, 'Actually, do you know what? We do need more people coming back to work'. And therefore we're giving them that discretion. I think that's right.' Some of Britain's largest employers say they will allow staff to work from home for months to come. In London, only one worker in eight has gone back. In the City, just 800 of Goldman Sachs' 6,000 London staff have returned. Fewer than 2,000 of the 12,000 at JP Morgan are back. The figures come from an analysis of mobile phone data in 67 cities by the Centre for Cities think-tank on behalf of the Times. The data suggests that Basildon in Essex has seen the highest proportion of staff go back, at 49 per cent, and Edinburgh the least at 12 per cent. Workers in the biggest cities are the least likely to have returned amid fears over the risk of long commutes on public transport. The figures correspond with official data showing that rail services were operating at only 16 per cent capacity. The roads are back to 86 per cent of normal levels. Andrew Carter, of Centre for Cities, said: 'Many office workers understandably will continue to work from home even as Covid-19 restrictions lift, and whilst this may well be the right decision for them as individuals, for the national economy the sum of these decisions will have a cost.' The decision has had an impact on London's iconic skyline as the future of new skyscrapers was thrown into doubt due to the work from home culture. Among the major buildings currently under construction in the capital are 1 Undershaft (highlighted red, left) and the Diamond (highlighted red, right) The 56-storey tower The Diamond (centre) is among the skyscrapers set to change the London skyline in the coming years, and it will be the City of London's third tallest building at 814ft Many companies are giving up or downsizing their offices as they change their working structure following the coronavirus lockdown. And there are fears huge developments still under construction in the City could be put on hold with developers concerned about opening empty. Some firms have already left their London offices while others are looking at 'workplace clubs' where they would use a building for a few days each month. It comes amid fears for the likes of gyms, sandwich shops and bars in city centre areas near offices, whose trade is likely to remain low in the coming months. Among the major buildings currently under construction in the capital are 1 Undershaft, the Diamond and the Bishopsgate Goodsyard towers. Deloitte's London crane survey estimates construction delays of up to six months, with 22 Bishopsgate in the City among those which could be pushed back. It said at the end of last month: 'While there will inevitably be delays in construction programmes, permanently stopping construction that is already underway is unlikely. 'There were ten schemes equating to 1.4million sq ft on the verge of commencing in mid-March which will undoubtedly be subject to review with on-site work delayed accordingly, whether that be a near-term postponement or a comprehensive rethink. 'We foresee very few developments being launched in the next six to nine months as decisions will be deferred until there is more stability in the market.' It is also becoming ever clearer the return to the office for some companies may not be the same as before. The Bishopsgate Goodsyard towers development is another that could have to be paused Cranes next to skyscrapers in the City of London today, as the capital remains eerily quiet Bishopsgate Financial Consulting is among the London-based firms downsizing, and has cut its annual costs by a quarter by giving up its head office in the City. Mike Hampson, of Tonbridge, Kent, who is chief executive of the firm which employs 65 staff, told the Guardian: 'We were planning to move offices. 'We'd given notice just before the lockdown came in. When we started working remotely, we realised we were working very effectively as we were.' It has bought desks, laptops, screens and printers for staff to create a home office, but kept a 'virtual office' in the City along with access to meeting rooms. Another company that has given up its City head office is Vantage Point Global, which trains graduates for banks and employs 45 people. Chief executive James Brincat told said: 'We are working perfectly well, almost better than before. People are happy they can cut out the commute.' The company is using a 'workplace club' which means it can have access to meeting rooms and lounges for some days of the month, greatly cutting costs. Barclays chief executive Jes Staley said in April the bank will not revert fully to its pre-January working habits when the pandemic is over. He added the 'notion of putting 7,000 people in a building may be a thing of the past' and investment bankers could work instead from branches. In addition, Lloyd's of London expects just 20 per cent of it staff will return to its building, and Facebook said up to half could be working from home by 2030. Critics have already called on civil servants to lead by example and save Britain's high streets by getting back to the office. City centres are facing financial ruin after officer workers were told to continue working from home until next summer, despite the easing of lockdown. There are fears such a move could spell disaster for shops, bars and restaurants reliant on trade from commuters and office workers. A look at todays top stories from select sources around the world. Coronavirus pandemic: Updates from around the world By Ben Westcott, Brad Lendon, Zamira Rahim and Ed Upright, CNN Updated 11:58 a.m. ET, July 20, 2020 Brazils Minister of Citizenship Onyx Lorenzoni said he tested positive for Covid-19, in a Twitter post on Monday. In a series of tweets, Lorenzoni wrote that he was tested after his symptoms started last Friday. Trump says the US has the best mortality rate in the world. Thats not true During a meandering and occasionally hostile interview with Fox News on Sunday, President Donald Trump made a very bold claim: that the United States has the lowest mortality rate from Covid-19 anywhere in the world. Chinas ambassador to the US: Is America willing to live with China? Chinas Ambassador to the United States, Cui Tiankai, said America must make a fundamental choice about whether it can live peacefully with a modernized, strong, prosperous China. Denmark is a liberal paradise for many people, but the reality is very different for immigrants Muhammad Aslam loves his home an apartment in a low-rise public housing estate at the heart of the diverse and gentrifying Copenhagen neighborhood of Norrebro. Gap shares fall after Kanye West threatens to walk away from Yeezy deal Kanye Wests threat to walk away from his fashion companys fledgling partnership with the Gap has sent shares sharply lower. Police in Italy find shipment of coffee beans stuffed with cocaine Police in Italy discovered cocaine stuffed inside individually hollowed-out coffee beans, after opening a parcel addressed to a fictional Mafia boss from a Hollywood movie. Nicki Minaj announces pregnancy First came love, then came marriage and soon will come Nicki Minaj with a baby carriage. Amber Heard says Johnny Depp threatened to kill me many times US actress Amber Heard has alleged in court that her ex-husband Johnny Depp threatened to kill her many times, especially later in their relationship, UKs PA Media reported on Monday. Oxford coronavirus vaccine triggers immune response A coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford appears safe and triggers an immune response. Trials involving 1,077 people showed the injection led to them making antibodies and T-cells that can fight coronavirus. The findings are hugely promising, but it is still too soon to know if this is enough to offer protection and larger trials are under way. Why some Kenyans still deny coronavirus exists In our series of Letters from African journalists, Waihiga Mwaura asks why so many Kenyans are not taking the global coronavirus seriously. Despite global scientific data showing that Covid-19 is a deadly new strain of coronavirus, which has killed almost 600,000 people, if you publicly declare in Kenya that you have the virus then you are in danger of being castigated as a liar desperate for attention or a government stooge. Coronavirus updates: Positive signs in Oxford coronavirus vaccine trial BBC News One of those who volunteered to take part in the Oxford University vaccine trial is Lydia Guthrie. She was injected on April 30th with either the experimental Covid-19 vaccine or a placebo vaccine that protects against meningitis. Lydia says she developed flu-like symptoms after having her vaccine, but was warned by the research team that this might happen. Kenyans mourn the man who made acting cool Popular Kenyan comedian Charles Bukeko, known to many as Papa Shirandula, has been buried after dying from breathing complications on Saturday. His self-deprecating humour made Papa Shirandula one of the countrys best known TV characters. The 58-year-old actor played the role of a stereotypical security guard living the daily hassle and bustle familiar to a majority of Kenyans. TikTok: We are not under the thumb of China Video-sharing app TikTok has denied accusations that it is controlled by the Chinese government. Theo Bertram, TikToks head of public policy for Europe, the Middle East and Africa, said it would refuse any request from China to hand over data. John Oliver explores the murky world of coronavirus conspiracy theories From Wayfair to 5G, conspiracy theories seem to have been more popular than ever in 2020. And as the coronavirus continues to spread in America, they show no sign of slowing down. Dont shame people who dont wear masks. It wont work. Before the coronavirus pandemic, Americans were already an angry lot. The past four years unleashed a nightmare in the United States: a tyrant president determined to set the countrys clock back to a time when inequality was common and accepted, and willing to do just about anything to realize his vision. KFC moves to add 3D-printed chicken nuggets with lab-grown meat to its menu If youre craving chicken nuggets, perhaps I can interest you in some 3D-printed ones from KFC. The fast-food restaurant chain has officially announced its partnering with a Russian research laboratory, 3D Printing Solutions, to develop technology for what it calls meat of the future. Or, in other words, laboratory-produced chicken nuggets. Disney has reportedly joined the Facebook ad boycott If you thought #StopHateForProfit was over, think again. The Walt Disney Company has reportedly joined the long list of companies that are pushing Facebook to get its platform under control. A Saturday report in the Wall Street Journal reveals that Disney has dramatically slashed its ad spending on Facebook Inc. During the mid-1970s, a few folks spawned a vision of a 1,200-mile hiking trail from Olympic National Park to Glacier National Park, followed by the creation of a political support organization, the Pacific Northwest Trail Association based in Washington state. At the appeal of Congress, from 1977-1980, the U.S. Forest Service and the National Park Service conducted a feasibility study of several prospective routes, concluding no recommendation for hiker thru-travel, citing each would be too expensive, economically and environmentally, and that it would gut susceptible grizzly bear habitat and working timber management lands. In 1980, renowned grizzly bear biologist Dr. Charles Jonkel recommended a "southern route" for the Pacific Northwest Trail, avoiding what the U.S. Forest Service deemed Grizzly Core Habitat. Then, in 2009, the Pacific Northwest Trail Association lobbied their Washington legislators to attach a rider to the Ominbus Public Land Management Act authorizing the creation of the Pacific Northwest Trail with the "northern route" through the Grizzly Core Habitat in the Yaak Valley, without nary a visit or consultation with Montana's legislators and citizens, heads of business; city and county leaders; or trail, recreation, timber management, or conservation organizations. Today's proposed "southern route" travels through Troy and Libby, generating business and creating jobs. It would also ease potential constraints and conflict on the timber industry and public access in the area. Finally, the "southern route" roams Lake Koocanusa and the Kootenai River, the Columbia River's largest tributary; past waterfalls, swimming holes, and fishing spots; by ghost towns, summits peaks with splendid views, and through exceptional bird-watching areas and ecologically unique rainforests. Has Montana devolved back into the Washington Territory? The Pacific Northwest Trail Association would like to believe so. History affirms that the Montana Territory was born in 1864, after leaving the Washington and Dakota Territories in 1863. Statehood bloomed in 1889. Despite that, here we are in 2020 with government agencies, individuals and organizations from Washington encouraging a "northern route" trail blaze through our mountains, valleys, forests, and rivers for an astigmatic vision of a long thru-hiking trail with a clear disdain of the people, wildlife and land of our state. There may not be grizzly bears in Olympic National Park, but there are in the Yaak Valley of Montana, and these grizzlies are a treasure and symbol of wildness worth more than Starbucks coffee, development, or gold sluiced from the creek. Interstate 90 may connect us, just as the Mullan Road yoked us in 1862, but the existing route of the Pacific Northwest Trail through the Yaak Valley does not. The transparent, uncomplicated "southern route" is recommended for the Pacific Northwest Trail. But it needs congressional legislation for change, and this is paramount because the Yaak Valley has little to concede in her badge of a wild, free-roaming grizzly bear population. Please consider and help re-route the Pacific Northwest Trail by contacting our elected officials and let those bears have a chance to represent to the world the true wild of Montana. Matthew Chappell has been published in The Hungry Horse News, The Missoulian, The Montana Standard, The Whitefish Review, The Seeley Swan Pathfinder and The Ravalli Republic. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 The NIA sleuths investigating the Kerala gold smuggling case say the racket may have been part of a systematic conspiracy to destabilise India's economy as they estimate that 250 kg of gold was smuggled into the country by using some employees of the United Arab Emirates diplomatic mission since July 2019. "Terrorism is not just about carrying out bomb blasts or providing arms and ammunitions. Under UAPA, there is a broad definition of terrorism and terror financing. The suspicion is that this was being done to monetarily destabilise India," an officer in the know about investigation told News18. Two parallel investigations in the case are currently underway. While the Customs Department is investigating violation of the Customs Act, the National Investigation Agency is looking at the possibility of larger conspiracy - the purpose of the gold smugglers, whether it was for personal benefits or to destabilise India. Sources in Customs Department have said that 180 Kg of gold could have been smuggled since July last year in 20 different consignments via the diplomatic route. But NIA officials, who are also looking at the same timeline, said the amount of gold smuggled in could be around 250 kg. "The modus operandi was the same each time, to use the diplomatic baggage of the UAE attache," a source said. The NIA has arrested four persons while the Customs have nabbed 13 people so far in connection with the gold smuggling case after the seizure of 30 kg of the yellow metal from the Thiruvananthapuram airport on July 5. Swapna Suresh, a key accused in the case, has told NIA that the entire smuggling racket was being carried out at the behest of Sandeep Nair, another accused in NIA custody. While Swapna Suresh and Sarith, the accused from whom the gold was initially seized at the airport, were associated with the UAE consulate, Sandeep Nair is a businessman based in Kerala. "She was not cooperating initially but in subsequent rounds of questioning Swapna put the entire onus on Sandeep. They have known each other for years," the official told News18. NIA, however, is not yet treating any of the accused in custody as the kingpin since the investigation is still in early stages. The NIA team is also waiting for official word on arrest of one Faisal Fareed from Dubai. Fareed, who hails from Thrissur, is a resident of Dubai. He is suspected to be the point of origin of the gold filled bags that were flown in from Dubai to Kerala. SCHWENKSVILLE If you walked into The Duck Inn Taproom today, a thriving family-friendly restaurant and bar thats located right on the banks of the Perkiomen Creek on Route 29 in Perkiomen Township, youd have no idea what type of hell the owner and his loyal staff endured just a few short months ago. In [] The second phase of the Nationwide disinfection exercise in the Ashanti Region has been done successfully. Over three hundred and thirty market centres were disinfected. Speaking at the commencement of the exercise, the Ashanti Regional Minister, Hon. Simon Osei Mensah expressed his appreciation to all Assembly Members, MMDCEs, and the general public for their support during the exercise. Hon. Simon Osei Mensah further commended the Minister for Local Government and Rural Development, Hon. Halima Mahama and the Minister for Sanitation and Water Resources, Hon. Cecilia Abena Dapaah, for their great work in ensuring a successful second phase of the disinfection exercise in the Ashanti region. The Military and police personnel provided security and supported the exercise. Zoomlion Gh LTD played a pivotal role in the exercise and supported with equipment and cars. Some of the critical business centres disinfected were Dr. Mensah Market, Adehyee Market, Krofrom Market, Kejetia Market, Adum etc. The Minister reiterated the need to obey all the Coronavirus Pandemic protocols because regular hand washing under running water will help each and every individual in the fight against the virus. The exercise was used to educate Market men and women to adhere to strict Social distancing and compulsory wearing of nose masks. This is not the time to joke with the deadly Coronavirus Pandemic. ---ThepressRadio.com The New York Times building is seen on June 30, 2020 in New York City. (JOHANNES EISELE/AFP via Getty Images) Rights Groups Denounce NY Times Report for Open Display of Religious Bigotry Two human rights groups have condemned a recent New York Times report for what they described as an open display of religious bigotry against the spiritual group Falun Gong, which is severely persecuted in China. U.S.-based nonprofits Lantos Foundation and 21 Wilberforce said a July 4 New York Times article unfairly singled out developers of an internet firewall circumvention tool, Ultrasurf, due to their personal beliefs in Falun Gong. Adherents in China have been persecuted by the communist regime for the past 21 years. The article highlighted a recent change of leadership at the Open Technology Fund (OTF). The internet freedom group is overseen by the U.S. Agency for Global Media (USAGM), a federal agency that also supervises government-funded media outlets such as Voice of America. Citing experts, the article authors suggested that circumvention tools such as Ultrasurf were not suitable for funding from OTF. In describing tools used to circumvent the internet firewall in closed countries, the reporters made no fewer than 9 references to the personal beliefs and religious practices of two developers, the joint statement said. Though several other technology companies, NGOs, and other individuals were written about, none of their religious affiliations were mentioned. The nonprofits said that if the report had applied the same treatment to developers who were Catholic, Muslim, or Jewish, there would have been an outcry, and rightly so. Yet the Times denigrating coverage of Falun Gong is no different and should be condemned in equal terms, they said. Choosing a small, persecuted religion to single out does not make the bigotry any more palatable. They said that the way the article was framed implied that the developers faith in Falun Gong had a direct bearing on the legitimacy of the tools that they have developed and whether they deserve to be among those that receive funds from the U.S. Government. The groups said that while they welcomed open debate on the merits of technology aimed at advancing internet freedom, it remains entirely unacceptable, and frankly un-American, to dismiss or disqualify or even describe an individual or product largely on the basis of religious affiliation or belief. We would never have imagined such a lapse in journalistic ethics from Americas self-proclaimed newspaper of record, the statement said. Both nonprofits advocate for technology to circumvent Chinas Great Firewall, the regimes massive internet censorship apparatus, so that Chinese citizens may access unfiltered information about the CCPs abuses. In a June 9 letter to the State Departments Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, the foundations president, Katrina Lantos Swett, proposed dedicating $20 million of federal funding to the censorship circumvention initiatives Freegate, Lantern, Psiphon, and Ultrasurf. Their statement in response to The New York Times was released on July 20, which coincided with the 21st anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party launching its campaign of violence against Falun Gong. Since then, millions of practitioners have been detained in Chinese labor camps, prisons, and brainwashing centers, according to estimates by the Falun Dafa Information Center. Inside these facilities, adherents are tortured and abused in an attempt to coerce them into giving up their faith. More than 4,000 practitioners are confirmed to have died from torture, according to Minghui.org, an online clearinghouse for information on the persecution of Falun Gong, although the actual figure is likely to be far greater given the tight controls on information in China. The United States on July 20 called for an immediate end to the Chinese regimes persecution and unconditional release of all detained practitioners, joining hundreds of officials from dozens of countries in their condemnation of the regimes actions. The New York Times did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The nonprofits said the New York Times article was not an isolated case of religious bigotry against practitioners of Falun Gong. In recent interviews with several reporters regarding the future of the Open Technology Fund, the same inappropriate questions about the developers religious beliefs have been raised time and againthough occasionally strong pushback against such bigotry has encouraged journalists not to include this angle in their reporting, they said. This has clearly become part of the narrative being pushed, and bought in to, across the journalistic world. The advocates said they have also witnessed over the years disparaging remarks about certain developers religious affiliation by U.S. officials who control funding for internet freedom initiatives. They called on those in positions of power, such as editors and policymakers, to take an unwavering stand against this form of intolerance. To allow such prejudice to persist against a small and persecuted spiritual movement will erode this nations longstanding commitment to ensuring that a persons religious beliefs cannot be used as a justification to delegitimize them or deny them opportunities, the statement read. We must not allow efforts to open the internet across the globe to be marred by religious discrimination at home. The family of James Jay Garcia, who was fatally shot by Phoenix police while parked in a driveway, is demanding the department release all unedited body camera footage of the incident, though police said the footage was available upon request. The mans mother, Denice Garcia, and sister, Jacqueline Fernandez, told reporters Tuesday that the summarized footage released by Phoenix Police Department on Monday was not enough to provide answers in his death. Denice Garcia demanded that unedited body camera footage for all the officers involved and any dash camera footage be released. It is not uncommon for young Latinos and Blacks to die at the hands of law enforcement, Denice Garcia said. As with other police shooting cases, our family and the community are unjustifiably left without answers. She described her son, the father of three children, as a kindhearted and compassionate man who they are now left to grieve without answers for his death. Phoenix police released a nearly 12-minute video summary of body camera footage on Monday, which showed officers asking James Garcia to leave his vehicle as they looked for a possible stabbing suspect in the Maryvale neighborhood of Phoenix on the Fourth of July. The video contains disturbing footage and profanities. Sgt. Mercedes Fortune, public information officer for the Phoenix Police Department, told NBC News on Tuesday that the departments vehicles are not equipped with dashboard cameras. Fortune also told NBC News that all body camera footage from all the officers directly involved in the incident were released to those who requested them, outside of the critical incident briefing posted Monday. NBC News has reached out to the citys department of public records Tuesday for a copy of the unedited body camera footage of the officers directly involved in the shooting. The video showed an officer speaking to James Garcia in an attempt to get him to exit his vehicle, which the 28-year-old did not want to do. Garcia told officers he preferred to wait the situation out in his car and gave a false name when asked to identify himself. Story continues At one point in the video summary, an officer said Garcia had a gun in his right hand, pointed down and in his lap, and several officers surrounded the vehicle. The windows of the vehicle were rolled up, obstructing the right side of Garcias body from view. Officers then shot Garcia through the window after asking him to put the gun down, according to the footage. In a different clip, an officer is seen reaching in with a gloved hand and pulling a gun out of the car. Police also said in the release of the video that detectives were able to identify Garcia through his fingerprints after the shooting and found outstanding felony and misdemeanor warrants for his arrest. Denice Garcia said after numerous viewings of the video, she did not see a gun in her sons hand, and nowhere in the video did it show him pointing a gun at officers. But what I did see was my son doing was talking with his hands, holding a cigarette, and then trying to defend himself, she said to reporters Tuesday. But at no point did I ever see a gun, which is extremely important that we see all of the body cams. Jacqueline Fernandez, James Garcias sister, also stated that the family wanted to see footage from an SUV parked in front of her brothers car that was seen in the video. The story that theyre portraying my brother to be some bad person, its all false, Fernandez said. And those body cams and that camera from that truck will give us the truth. Garcias death was met with public outrage as Phoenix residents expressed their distrust in the police department, demanding more transparency and accountability through protest. Denice Garcia, mother of James Garcia, who was shot last week by Phoenix police, speaks during a news conference in front of police headquarters on July 8, 2020. (Ross D. Franklin / AP file) A vigil was held for Garcia at the home where he was shot, and a group of protesters gathered at Phoenix police's Maryvale precinct two weeks ago to demand that the department release full videos of the incident. Williams responded to the demands with a promise to release the body camera footage within two weeks, an accelerated timeline to the standard 45-day policy the department has in place. Instances of lethal force by police, particularly when minorities are involved, have come under heightened scrutiny since late May when George Floyd died while in custody of Minneapolis officers. Floyd's death has sparked protests against police brutality and systemic racism across the world. Activists have called for a number of police reforms, including more oversight and reducing funding for departments across the country to be diverted into more community programs. The Phoenix City Council approved funding last month for the city's first police review board, the Office of Accountability and Transparency. The civilian-led board will receive $3 million from left over coronavirus relief money, though activists pushed for the funding to come from the police's budget. French President Emmanuel Macron (R), Sweden's Prime Minister Stefan Lofven (C), and Denmark's Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen (L) speak during a round table meeting at an EU summit over a post-virus economic rescue plan in Brussels, on July 20, 2020. EU leaders were gathered for a fourth day on July 20 during a summit to try to unblock a multi-billion-euro bundle of loans and direct aid to drag Europe out of the recession caused by the pandemic.(Francisco Seco / POOL / AFP) The latest round of negotiations takes place over three days in the British capital, with stalemate in key areas stoking fears of a no-deal scenario. Britain formally left the EU in January, following 47 years in the European project but agreed to a standstill transition until December 31 pending new trade terms. After the coronavirus pandemic combined with the two sides' entrenched positions to stall progress, London and Brussels last month launched five weeks of intensified negotiations. Prime Minister Boris Johnson in June vowed to add "a bit of oomph" into the gridlocked process, and predicted talks could conclude as early as this month. But several face-to-face sessions since then have yielded few signs of compromise, and the two sides remain far apart on various issues, with only two further rounds of talks left. Britain steadfastly refuses to extend the transition period and insists it will not let the negotiations "drag on" towards the end of the year. "Significant differences still remain on a number of important issues," Johnson's official spokesman said on Monday, citing in particular EU access to UK fishing waters. The UK would "continue to engage constructively" with the EU, he added, but warned time was running out. "We've said we don't want the talks to drag on into the autumn, that we want to make progress as quickly as possible in order to give certainty and clarity to business and there's no change to that," he told reporters. - 'Chasm' Brussels appears less pressed for time and believes the necessary ratification by the European Parliament and others would require a deal by late October. Weekend reports in British newspapers said Johnson is "reconciled" to the talks ending after the final scheduled round in mid-August, because of the "chasm" between the sides. Britain's chief negotiator David Frost and his EU counterpart Michel Barnier kicked off this week's talks with a joint dinner on Monday evening. Their teams are set to discuss a host of issues, from fisheries and so-called level playing field rules on fair competition to law enforcement and judicial cooperation. Without a new agreement, the two sides would see ties reduced to minimum standards set by the World Trade Organization with high tariffs and serious disruptions to business. London last week unveiled its first detailed proposals for managing Britain's post-Brexit borders, insisting they would be implemented regardless of whether a deal was struck. The blueprint confirmed the adoption of a staged approach to border enforcement over the first six months of 2021, with initial "light-touch" checks on goods from the bloc. But a leaked letter from International Trade Secretary Liz Truss to ministerial colleagues said the proposals risk smuggling, damaging Britain's reputation and could face a legal challenge from the WTO. Business in Northern Ireland, whose frontier with southern neighbours Ireland will be Britain's only land border with the EU, have also demanded more clarity about arrangements. The raft of proposed border measures set out in the 206-page document laid bare the added paperwork -- and costs -- many firms will face in trading with entities in the EU. One key plank of anti-EU "leave" supporters' campaign was against Brussels bureaucracy. How do Iranian Jews, living in Israel for decades, feel about their adopted homeland? For the documentary From Tehran To Jerusalem, RFE/RL's Radio Farda spoke to members of the community about their split identities and their struggles to build a new life in the Jewish state. Abuja, Nigeria (PANA) In an unprecedented move in the history of Nigeria since independence on October 1, 1960, the nations upper legislative chamber, the Senate, has passed a motion asking the Chief of Defence Staff (CDS) and the Service Chiefs to resign from office Rating Action: Moody's confirms three ratings and affirms one rating on PTCs issued by 3 Shriram-sponsored Sansar Trust transactions Global Credit Research - 21 Jul 2020 Singapore, July 21, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service has confirmed the ratings of three Pass Through Certificates (PTCs) issued by Sansar Trust December 2017 II, Sansar Trust June 2018 II, Sansar Trust March 2019, and has affirmed the rating of another PTC issued by Sansar Trust March 2019. All three Sansar Trust transactions are backed by a static pool of commercial vehicle loans serviced by Shriram Transport Finance Company Limited in India. Today's rating action concludes the downgrade review on three of these PTCs. All four PTCs were placed on review for downgrade on 24 December 2019, because of the risk of payment default upon the bankruptcy of their non-bank financial institution sponsor. On April 1, 2020, we announced that the then outstanding downgrade review for three of these PTCs, which ratings have been confirmed today, was also driven by increased risks in loan performance deterioration and reduced loan collections caused by the ongoing lockdown in India and the payment moratorium for term loans announced by the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) in late March. On 19 May 2020, we announced that the risk of payment default upon the bankruptcy of the sponsor was mitigated for the four PTCs and confirmed the rating of Sansar Trust March 2019 - Series A3 PTCs, while maintaining the three other PTCs on review. The complete list of rating actions is as follows: Issuer: Sansar Trust December 2017 II ....Series A2 PTCs, Confirmed at Baa2 (sf); previously on May 19, 2020 Baa2 (sf) Remained On Review for Possible Downgrade Issuer: Sansar Trust June 2018 II ....Series A2 PTCs, Confirmed at Baa3 (sf); previously on May 19, 2020 Baa3 (sf) Remained On Review for Possible Downgrade Issuer: Sansar Trust March 2019 ....Series A3 PTCs, Affirmed Baa2 (sf); previously on May 19, 2020 Confirmed at Baa2 (sf) Story continues ....Series A4 PTCs, Confirmed at Baa3 (sf); previously on May 19, 2020 Downgraded to Baa3 (sf) and Remained On Review for Possible Downgrade RATINGS RATIONALE Today's rating action reflects the high level of credit enhancement available to the PTCs, allowing the transactions to be more resilient to performance deterioration and higher expected losses in the future. It also reflects the amendments to the PTCs' scheduled principal payments, which reduce PTCs' liquidity risk. After the investor payout in June 2020, the three Sansar Trust transactions have available cash credit enhancement of between 24%-41% of the outstanding PTCs. This rating action has taken into consideration the increased likelihood of a deterioration in the performance of the underlying commercial vehicle loans, because of the expected contraction in India's economy in 2020 due to the coronavirus outbreak. Moody's assumed a starting expected loss of between 8.5%-12.7% for each securitized pools, based on the pre-moratorium 90+ day delinquency rates. To evaluate the resiliency of the ratings amid the uncertainty surrounding the pool's performance, Moody's has considered stress scenarios with 50% and 100% increase in expected losses for the commercial vehicle loans. The ratings of these PTCs did not show any rating sensitivity to these stress scenarios. Today's rating action also reflects the investor approved amendments to the terms of the PTCs. Under the amended terms of the PTCs, no timely principal is due on the PTCs for the payout dates falling in April to September 2020 for the three Sansar Trust transactions. Interest on the PTCs is still due on a timely basis at all times. If collections are insufficient to meet the monthly interest payment, the trustee will draw on the first and second loss credit facilities to cover any shortfalls. During the moratorium period, loan principal collections received will be distributed on a pass-through basis to pay down the PTCs principal, and credit facilities cannot be used to cover principal payment shortfalls. Starting from the payout date in October 2020, the PTCs will revert to paying timely interest and timely principal based on updated repayment schedules reflecting the moratorium granted to some of the underlying loans. For Sansar Trust March 2019, April 2020 payouts were made as per the original schedule and resultantly, the PTCs' legal final maturity date has been extended by five months to match the extended repayment schedule of the underlying loans in accordance with RBI's six-month loan moratorium from March until August 2020. For Sansar Trust December 2017 II and Sansar Trust June 2018 II, the legal final maturity of the PTCs has been extended only by three months, which is shorter than the six-months repayment schedule extension available to underlying loan borrowers under RBI's six-month loan moratorium period. As a result, a small proportion of underlying loans principal repayments (equal or below to 1.6% of current pool balance) will be due beyond the PTC's legal final maturity dates. In its analysis, Moody's did not give credit to these loan principal payments due beyond the PTCs' legal final maturity date. The average collection rate during April and May was low at around 30% when compared to pre-covid collection levels. The updated transaction structures are more resilient to cash flow disruptions caused by reduced collections linked to the remaining lockdown restrictions and the ongoing loan payment moratorium in India. The three Sansar Trust transactions now have enough liquidity to cover all scheduled principal and interest payments for at least 11 months assuming 50% collection rate post-moratorium and no further collections until the end of the moratorium in August. The rapid spread of the coronavirus outbreak, the government measures put in place to contain it and the deteriorating global economic outlook, have created a severe and extensive credit shock across sectors, regions and markets. Our analysis has considered the effect on the performance of commercial vehicle loans from the collapse in India's economic activity in the second quarter and a gradual recovery in the second half of the year. However, that outcome depends on whether governments can reopen their economies while also safeguarding public health and avoiding a further surge in infections. As a result, the degree of uncertainty around our forecasts is unusually high. We regard the coronavirus outbreak as a social risk under our ESG framework, given the substantial implications for public health and safety. The principal methodology used in these ratings was "Moody's Global Approach to Rating Auto Loan- and Lease-Backed ABS" published in July 2020 and available at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBS_1236186. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. Factors that would lead to an upgrade or downgrade of the ratings: Factors that would lead to a downgrade of the ratings include a deterioration in the credit quality of the sponsor, a deterioration in loan portfolio performance and sustained low collections post loan moratorium. Factors that would lead to an upgrade of the ratings include an improvement in the credit quality of the sponsor and a significant build-up in credit enhancement available to the PTCs. REGULATORY DISCLOSURES For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004. 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For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. 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The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com. Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating. Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating. Dipanshu Rustagi Asst Vice President - Analyst Structured Finance Group Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. 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Houston Mayor Sylvester Turner announced Monday that there are 884 new cases of COVID-19, which has brought the city's total to 36,985. Turner reported an additional seven deaths due to COVID-19, bringing the total now to 329. Turner was joined Houston Fire Department, Samuel Pena and Houston Health Department's, Dr. David Persse in the Monday afternoon press conference. "COVID-19 continues to affect our families, friends, neighbors and co-workers," Turner said. "That's why as a city, we're asking everyone to continue to take this virus very serious. To slow the progression of the virus in the month of July. That is our goal. To flatten and start reducing this curve in the month of July. In order to achieve that, we're going to have to work collectively and be very intentional about putting on these masks and engaging in social distancing." Dear Reader, Business Standard has always strived hard to provide up-to-date information and commentary on developments that are of interest to you and have wider political and economic implications for the country and the world. Your encouragement and constant feedback on how to improve our offering have only made our resolve and commitment to these ideals stronger. Even during these difficult times arising out of Covid-19, we continue to remain committed to keeping you informed and updated with credible news, authoritative views and incisive commentary on topical issues of relevance. We, however, have a request. As we battle the economic impact of the pandemic, we need your support even more, so that we can continue to offer you more quality content. Our subscription model has seen an encouraging response from many of you, who have subscribed to our online content. More subscription to our online content can only help us achieve the goals of offering you even better and more relevant content. We believe in free, fair and credible journalism. Your support through more subscriptions can help us practise the journalism to which we are committed. Support quality journalism and subscribe to Business Standard. Digital Editor The signing of the so-called "Hong Kong Autonomy Act" into law by the United States blatantly interferes in China's internal affairs, and seriously violates international law and basic norms governing international relations, experts have said. The move attempts to sow chaos in Hong Kong, reflecting the U.S. Cold War mentality and zero-sum game ideology, and is a play of double standards worldwide, Humphrey Moshi, a professor of economics at Tanzania's leading state-run University of Dar es Salaam, said. Gyula Thurmer, president of the Hungarian Workers' Party, noted that the issue of Hong Kong is China's internal affairs and the U.S. move seriously violates international law and basic norms governing international relations, posing a severe threat to world peace and stability. What the United States has done impaired its long-term cooperative relations with China, said Nasr Arif, former executive director of the Institute for Islamic World Studies of Zayed University in the United Arab Emirates, noting that the world needs China-U.S. cooperation instead of confrontation in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ahmad Majdalani, secretary general of the Palestinian Popular Struggle Front, expressed his strong support for China to defend its sovereignty, territorial integrity and national security, and voiced his opposition to foreign interference in China's internal affairs with any excuse. The U.S. move has nothing to do with democracy and human rights in Hong Kong, but aims to contain China's development, Tursunali Kuziev, a professor at Uzbekistan State University of World Languages, pointed out. TAOISEACH Micheal Martin has apologised to the late Ruth Morrissey, her family and other women affected by the cervical screening scandal for the "litany of failures that took place". Young mother Ms Morrissey (39) - who fought high profile court battles over the errors in the screening service - passed away at the weekend. Her husband Paul said on Sunday that neither the HSE nor the State had ever apologised to her and that "now it is too late". Read More Former Taoiseach Leo Varadkdar had made a formal State apology to all of the women and their families affected by the CervicalCheck crisis in October 2019. Mr Martin this afternoon apologised to Ms Morrissey and her family directly before TDs rose to their feet in the Dail for a moment's silence. Expand Close Ruth Morrissey and husband Paul outside Dublins High Court in 2019 (Michelle Devane/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ruth Morrissey and husband Paul outside Dublins High Court in 2019 (Michelle Devane/PA) Later there was criticism from the Opposition about the continued outsourcing of cervical cancer lab tests and the nature of the delayed Tribunal aimed at reducing the need for women to take court actions amid claims it will also be adversarial. The Taoiseach said: "I was deeply saddened to learn of Ruth Morrisseys passing on Sunday. "I know that her husband Paul and her daughter Libby and all her family and friends are truly devastated. "No words of mine will provide them with any consolation at this heart-breaking time." He said Ms Morrissey was a "courageous woman who worked tirelessly for others and for the future generations of women in this country." Mr Martin added: "She fought a long hard battle with her illness and also fought very hard for her own rights". He said that Ms Morrissey and other women worked together to highlight the diagnostic failings in the CervicalCheck screening programme "so that others would not have to go through what they went through." He said: "On behalf of the State I would like again to sincerely apologise to Ruth, to Ruths family, to all the other women and their families for the litany of failures in relation to the operation of cervical screening operating in Ireland. "This government, like the previous government, acknowledges the failure that took place in the CervicalCheck programme and are profoundly sorry for what was allowed to happen. "Too many women who should be here and enjoying life with their families are gone because of those failings," he said. Mr Martin said there is a responsibility on politicians to "to learn the lessons of these errors that were made, to reform the system, and make to sure they never happen again. He said the government will ensure that the CervicalCheck service is improved and can save more lives. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald said Ms Morrissey "paid the ultimate price" for failings in the screenings service. She argued that instead of "holding its hands up" and admitting liability the State joined with labs based in the United States and fought Ms Morrissey "tooth and nail every step of the way". Ms McDonald said that even after Ms Morrissey won her High Court action the outcome was brought before the Supreme Court in what's been described as "death bed litigation". She said there are 203 active claims relating to CervicalCheck and she said the State shouldn't be "joining with negligent labs" to fight these women. Ms McDonald claimed the outsourcing of screening has been a "disastrous failure" and called for US labs to face be inspected by Irish officials. Mr Martin said the Tribunal delayed by the Covid-19 crisis - will be a mechanism to avoid women having to go to court though he said that some may still wish to do that. He said that if there hadn't been outsourcing there would not have been a cervical screening programme as labs here did not have enough capacity but admitted it's "not optimal". He also said that quality control and oversight are essential but also said the existing screening service has "saved many lives". Ms McDonald argued that the planned Tribunal will be adversarial and there will be no means to fast-track cases. She claimed "the truth is that the State has not made available a non-adversarial mechanism". Mr Martin insisted that a Tribunal is "far less adversarial than any courts system". Labour leader Alan Kelly said that after the case taken by another woman impacted by the scandal, Vicky Phelan, Mr Varadkar said no woman would have to go through that again. "It never happened. He should never have said it. He couldn't deliver it," Mr Kelly added. He said three things must happen to ensure Ms Morrissey's legacy is to change the Civil Liabilities Act in order for dependents of a dying person to claim for losses in one action rather than having to go through the courts again after they've passed away. "I know that's what Ruth Morrissey wanted because she told me," he added. The second one is to ensure that testing is brought home to Ireland and the third is to ensure that the Tribunal is "not an adversarial Tribunal which it quite evidently is and will be unless its changed." Mr Kelly said that Labour will bring forward legislation on changing the Civil Liabilities Act and he said he expects the Taoiseach to support it. Mr Martin said he would commit to having the government work with Labour to examine possible changes to the law. 1st LD-Writethru: Senior political advisors brainstorm ideas on consultation rules - China.org.cn A brainstorming session for members of the chairperson's council of China's top political advisory body was held Monday to discuss formulating the rules of consultation. Wang Yang, a member of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) National Committee, presided over the meeting and delivered a speech. The principles, contents, forms, and procedures of the CPPCC's consultative work were also discussed, among other topics. Applauding the achievements in the institutional construction of the CPPCC, the political advisors called for strengthening the awareness of consultation, and improving consultation capability and effectiveness. Noting that a wider range of topics should be covered, the advisors called for increasing the proportion of culture and ecology-related topics while continuing to focus on economic and social progress and people's wellbeing. They pointed out that various forms of consultation, including online consultations, should be promoted. Prior to Monday's brainstorming session, Wang also presided over a meeting held by the Chairperson's Council of the CPPCC National Committee. It was decided at the meeting that the Standing Committee of the 13th CPPCC National Committee will convene its 13th session in Beijing from Aug. 25 to 27 to discuss the formulation of the 14th five-year plan for economic and social development. The meeting approved the draft agenda and schedule for the upcoming standing committee meeting as well as a report on the work of the first half of 2020 made by the Chairperson's Council. (TNS) Marin County, Calif., officials are eyeing a $1.6 million proposal to have a Bay Area health technology company take over the countys drive-thru coronavirus testing site at the Civic Center.The move could speed up the turnaround time for coronavirus tests in Marin. Amid a surge in COVID-19 cases, residents are waiting up to four times longer for test results than they were in early June a trend that could cripple attempts to contain the virus.The county Board of Supervisors is set to approve a three-month agreement on Tuesday with Burlingame-based Color Genetics, which processes testing samples at its own laboratory and delivers results to patients within one to two days in most cases, according to a county report. The company runs virus-testing sites in San Francisco and Alameda counties.Color Genetics would take over the testing operation at the Civic Center on Wednesday, according to the countys public health officer, Dr. Matt Willis. The company would administer 300 tests per day on weekdays. The site would remain closed on weekends.At maximum capacity of 300 daily tests, the company would administer 18,000 tests total over the three-month period. Color Genetics would charge the county $1.6 million for all testing and logistics, the equivalent of about $90 per test, according to a county report. The costs are expected to be reimbursed by a combination of state and federal revenue, the report says.While the county is covering the cost of this testing in the interest of public health, Color will collect resident insurance information so the county can seek reimbursement from their insurance providers, the report says.The Marin County Public Health Department opened the drive-thru testing facility at the Civic Center in early March. Residents initially needed a doctors recommendation to get tested there, but now they can sign up for an appointment without one. Nearly 9,000 tests have been performed there.The testing at the Civic Center is free for residents, but running the facility over the past four months has cost the county about $950,000, or about $108 per test, according to Assistant County Administrator Dan Eilerman.That includes $250,000 in pay for county employees who have been tapped as disaster service workers during the pandemic, Eilerman said. Those workers would now be able return to their normal jobs with the county, Eilerman said.The public health department sends testing samples to three different labs for processing, and typically gets results back in two to three days, according to Willis. But the departments staff is stretched thin, and in some cases is unable to communicate test results to patients on the same day the results come back from the lab, officials said. That has elongated the turnaround time.Appointments for testing at the Civic Center fill up quickly, which also adds to the time it takes to confirm a coronavirus diagnosis. Lately, patients are finding that appointments arent available until a week out, according to Willis.Color will offer 80 more tests per day than the 220 that the public health department is capable of administering. The company has superior scheduling tools for appointments and it inputs testing results directly into an electronic system, according to the county report. It also transports testing samples to labs more frequently than the county does, the report says.The countys public health workers and volunteers will continue to administer coronavirus tests by setting up mobile testing sites in locations experiencing outbreaks, Willis said. That includes skilled nursing and residential care facilities, which account for about 10% of Marins confirmed cases, and workplaces, which also have been a major source of transmission in Marin, according to Willis. Mobile testing will also continue in San Rafaels Canal neighborhood, where cases are surging, Willis said.The state has set up a testing site in the Canal neighborhood with the capacity to test about 130 people per day, but the turnaround time is even longer than at the countys site. Appointments must be booked a week in advance and test results come back a week after that, according to health officials. In some cases, patients are waiting up to 12 days to get their results from the states site, said Dr. Lisa Santora, the countys deputy public health officer.Anyone can get tested in Marin if the person has COVID-19 symptoms or has been exposed to somebody with a confirmed diagnosis, Willis said. County health officials are also encouraging anyone working for an essential business who cannot work from home to get tested for the coronavirus once a month, even in the absence of symptoms.Marin County set its record on Sunday for the highest number of new coronavirus cases recorded in a day, with 107 newly reported infections and one new death. The county reported an additional 54 cases and another death on Monday, bringing the total to 2,288 confirmed cases and 31 deaths since the beginning of the pandemic.According to health officials, 1,699 people have recovered from COVID-19 in the county and 32 people with the coronavirus were being treated in Marins hospitals on Monday. The course is being co-developed and co-delivered by faculty and experts from IIT-Madras and Great Learning. The Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras has launched an Advance Certification Programme in Software Engineering for IoT (Internet of Things), Cloud and Blockchain. It is a nine-month online programme offered through Great Learning, which is a professional learning firm. According to a report in The Times of India, the course is being co-developed and co-delivered by faculty and experts from IIT-Madras and Great Learning. The report quoted Great Learning as saying that the certification programme commences with knowledge of software engineering such as Data Structures, Software Architecture and Algorithm Design. It then delves deeper into IoT data sources, networking, Big Data and Analytics, Cloud Deployment etc. The report added that on completion of the programme, the students will get a certificate from IIT-Madras. Janakiraman, Professor, Department of Computer Science and Engineering, IIT-Madras told The Indian Express that it is "important for software engineers and software professionals to master technologies" such as Cloud Computing and Blockchain. Janakiraman added, "It is important if India has to retain its edge in a software dominated world." "As Indias pioneering institution, we, at IIT Madras are happy to offer this Advanced Software Engineering program in collaboration with Great Learning," he said. According to the Great Learning website, the faculty includes Programme Director Dr Janakiram D, who is Professor, CSE Department, IIT Madras and Dr Abhinandan Sarka, who is the Programme Coordinator and Academic Director of Great Learning. The programme will see industry experts from Microsoft, Walmart, Linkedin, Nissan and IBM among others offering mentorship and guidance. Twenty-five people tested positive for Covid-19 in Himachal Pradesh on Tuesday, taking the states tally to 1,656. Ten cases have been reported in Sirmaur district, seven each in Kangra and Solan and one in Kullu. Siramaur deputy commissioner RK Pruthi said 10 people have tested positive in Govindgarh locality of Nahan town, the administrative headquarters of the district. Govindgarh has emerged as a new Covid-19 hotspot with 68 people from the locality testing positive for the virus in less than a week. Pruthi said 51 samples from the locality had been sent for testing of which 41 turned out negative. Two children aged 2 and eight, five women and three men were found infected, he said. THREE OF FAMILY, ARMY PERSONNEL TEST POSITIVE IN KANGRA Three members of a family and an army jawan are among seven new cases in Kangra district. Deputy commissioner Rakesh Kumar Prajapati said a 38-year-old man, his 32-year-old wife and son aged eight have tested positive. They were primary contacts of a Covid-19 patient and have been shifted to Covid-care centre Bainjath. An army jawan, 33, with travel history to Nagaland has also contracted the disease. He was home quarantined and has been shifted to Military Hospital, Yol. The remaining three patients also have a travel history to Maharashtra, Delhi and Uttarakhand. In Solan, seven people have tested positive in Nalagarh area. The patients are workers of a textile company. One case has been detected in Manali of Kullu district where a girl tested positive. Active cases in the state have jumped to 561 while 1,068 have been cured. 75-YEAR-OLD WOMAN DIES, DEATH TOLL 10 A 75-year-old woman from Sarkaghat sub division of Mandi district succumbed to Covid-19 at Lal Bahadur Shastri Government Medical College, Nerchowk, on Tuesday, taking Himachal Pradeshs coronavirus toll to 10. Nodal officer Dr Jeevanand Chauhan said that the woman was diabetic and suffering from renal failure. She tested positive on July 16 and had a travel history to Chandigarh. Her condition was unstable for the past two days and she passed away early on Tuesday, Dr Chauhan said. The womans 44-year-old daughter-in-law is also under treatment for Covid-19. The first Covid-related death in Himachal was reported on March 23 when a US-returned Tibetan man from McLeodganj died of the contagion. A 21-year-old youth from Sarkaghat, who was also suffering from a kidney ailment, died of Covid-19 at Indira Gandhi Medical College, Shimla, on May 5. A 53-year-old man from Hamirpur died of severe respiratory distress caused by the virus on May 15, taking the states death toll to three. Two women died of the contagion on May 25 at hospitals in Shimla and Mandi. Both were suffering from kidney-related and other ailments. A 57-year-old man from Kangra, who passed away on June 25, was the seventh casualty due to the virus, while an 80-year-old woman died on June 30 and a 70-year-old man on July 4. 0.61% DEATH RATE IN HIMACHAL The death rate in Himachal due to Covid-19 is 0.61% lower than the national average of 2.46%. The state has 223 cases per 10 lakh people. The recovery rate is higher at 65.42% and there are 33% active cases. The state has conducted 15,999 tests per 10 lakh people. Solan is the worst hit district with 381 cases followed by Kangra with 353 cases. Hamirpur has 283 cases, Una 164, Shimla 94, Sirmaur 110, Chamba 80, Bilaspur 66, Mandi 50, Kinnaur 39, Kullu 22 and Lahaul-Spiti district four. TRAGIC SCENE DESCRIBED Witness recounts woman's last moments after shooting outside KC 7-Eleven KANSAS CITY, Mo. - A drive-by shooting claimed the life of a woman pushing a baby in a stroller Monday. The shooting happened in broad daylight outside the 7-Eleven near 27th Street and Van Brunt Boulevard. A person at the scene tells FOX4 the victim was only 20 years old. MORE DEETS ON HORRIFIC URBAN CORE SHOOTING!!! KCPD: Woman pushing a baby in a stroller dead after shooting at eastside gas station KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - Police in Kansas City are investigating the city's latest homicide after a woman died after being shot outside of a gas station on the city's east side. Officers said the incident happened just before 11:30 a.m. Monday at the 7-Eleven Conoco store located at 2636 Van Brunt Boulevard. Meth Town Shootout Independence police investigate Monday night shooting KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Independence police are investigating a shooting that occurred Monday night. Officers responded to the 2200 block of South Sterling Avenue around 8:40 p.m., where an adult male was located "in the driveway of a residence," according to police. The victim was taken to an area hospital and is in serious, but stable condition. Deadly Grandview Double Shooting Metro squad investigating fatal Grandview double shooting Grandview, Missouri police say a metro squad has convened to investigate a fatal double shooting that happened late Sunday night.Police said the incident happened around 10:30 p.m. in the Briarwood apartment complex in the 6100 block of East 126th Street.Officers were dispatched to the area on a shots fired call and found two men suffering from apparent gunshot wounds. Summer Repair Warning Metro contractor has history of taking thousands, making excuses - then disappearing GRAIN VALLEY, Mo. - AJ Zawisza has a warning for others after he hired a contractor and gave him $4,200 in May and has never seen since. Zawisa and his wife hired Jerry Wayne Walter Thomas in May to tear out his old deck and build a new one in the backyard of their Grain [...] East Patrol Postscript Parson emphasizes violent crime and homicides during Kansas City visit (AUDIO) - Missourinet (Audio is courtesy of Missourinet Kansas City television partner KMBC) Saying that violent crime and homicides are escalating across Missouri, Governor Mike Parson traveled to Kansas City and Springfield on Monday afternoon to meet with local leaders and law enforcement officers about next week's special session. Crash Aftermath Metro man charged in DUI crash in Olathe had 10 beers before driving OLATHE, Kan. - Court documents say a 29-year-old man had drank at least 10 beers when he allegedly caused a crash in Olathe that injured nine other people last month. Miguel Perez-Ramirez, 29, faces 10 counts of DUI aggravated battery and two counts of aggravated child endangerment. Angry America Lashes Out Crime Has Declined Overall During The Pandemic, But Shootings And Killings Are Up Across the country, we've seen massive change brought on by the coronavirus pandemic, including a dramatic drop in the overall crime rate. David Abrams, a University of Pennsylvania law and economics professor, has been keeping an eye on numbers across the country. Quick peek at mug shots, crime news and info from across the metro as the political push to remove the KCPD Chief moves forward along with the local homicide count . . .Developing . . . A man was arrested Monday evening for possession of an explosive device after he left a live, homemade bomb in front of an Antioch business that recently fired him, police said. Officers responded around 5:45 p.m. to a business on the 1000 block of Apollo Court, where an employee called to report a former employee was on the scene with a potentially explosive device, according to Antioch police. The Iredell County Health Department received notice of a COVID-19 outbreak at Brookdale Peachtree II- Memory Care, a long-term care facility. A worker at the facility tested positive, and testing of all staff and residents was recommended, the health department reported. At this time, North Carolina Department of Health and Human Services considers two or more cases in a long-term care facility to be an outbreak. The facility has willingly worked in conjunction with the Iredell County Health Department to have all residents and employees tested for COVID-19 as a precautionary measure. For more specific information, view the NC DHHS outbreak report by visiting: https://files.nc.gov/covid/documents/dashboard/Weekly-COVID19-Ongoing-Outbreaks.pdf The Iredell County Health Department is working with this facility to conduct contact tracing to determine who else may have been exposed to COVID-19. The facility continues to implement strict visitor restrictions and infection control precautions to help prevent any further spread of COVID-19. Other than the initial case, residents and staff who have tested positive have been without symptoms. Zelensky: We are doing the utmost to settle situation with hostages in Lutsk without casualties President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has taken the situation with the hijacked passenger bus in Lutsk downtown under personal control. The head of state said that everything possible is being done to settle the situation without casualties. "Alarming news from Lutsk. This morning, at 09:25, a citizen called the local police and said that he had seized a bus with hostages. Shooting was heard, the bus is damaged. The police have announced a hostage alert, the SBU introduced the Boomerang plan. We are doing the utmost to settle the situation without casualties. I have taken the situation under personal control," Zelensky said on his Facebook page. At midday on Friday, July 18, 2003, Lord Hutton was working quietly in his office in the House of Lords when he took a call from Charles Falconer, the Lord Chancellor, which would reshape his 50-year legal career and book him a place in British political history. Falconer was ringing on behalf of his former flatmate, Tony Blair, to ask Hutton to chair an inquiry into the death of Dr David Kelly, a government weapons inspector who'd been found dead in an Oxfordshire wood at 9am that day. Dr Kelly had been unmasked by officials a week previously as the assumed source of a highly damaging BBC report which suggested Blair's government had 'sexed-up' the case for the Iraq war. Government weapons inspector Dr David Kelly was found dead in an Oxfordshire wood He always denied being the BBC's prime source, yet its report added to mounting questions about the existence of the infamous weapons of mass destruction (WMD), used by the then Prime Minister to justify sending British troops into the conflict. Fateful Thrust into the limelight against his will, Dr Kelly's sudden death which some believed might be murder threatened to derail Blair's premiership. The stakes could not have been higher. Hutton, then 72, was a former Lord Chief Justice of Northern Ireland who had been a Law Lord since 1997. The product of a middle-class Protestant Ulster family, he had won scholarships to Shrewsbury School and Balliol College, Oxford, and he was unequivocally an Establishment man. Naturally, he agreed to do his duty on the spot. Last week, 17 years after he took that fateful call from Charles Falconer, Lord Hutton died at the age of 89. But his bombshell report will live long in the memory, not for shaking the government to its foundations but for exonerating it of virtually any blame and seeing off its accusers with devastating efficiency. Within 24 hours of its publication on January 28, 2004, Andrew Gilligan, the journalist behind the BBC report, had resigned. And his was only the most minor of the scalps Hutton claimed: both the BBC's director-general, Greg Dyke, and its chairman, Gavyn Davies, were forced to go, too. Firstly, it was surprising to discover that Hutton was asked to chair his inquiry less than three hours after Dr Kelly's body was found, for no medical professional had yet examined it, there had been no formal identification, and no one knew how he had died. Police are seen standing outside his home in July 2003 To appreciate how one man could pull off such an extraordinary reversal of fortune, we need to go back to that August day in 2003 when the Hutton Inquiry began hearing evidence at the Royal Courts of Justice in London. Interest from the public in the eight-week examination of events which led to Dr David Kelly's death was so intense, it quickly became a summer spectacle. How could it not, when the circumstances of Dr Kelly's death were believed by many to be so suspicious? Witnesses included Blair himself; his controversial spin merchant Alastair Campbell, who had been intimately involved in the Dr Kelly affair; and Sir Richard Dearlove, head of MI6 and a man whose voice had never been heard in public before. It was exceptional. On January 28, 2004, Hutton delivered his findings. Over 750 pages comprising 13 chapters and 18 appendices, he determined that Dr Kelly had taken his own life. 'The principal cause of [Dr Kelly's] death was bleeding from incised wounds to his left wrist which Dr Kelly had inflicted on himself with the knife found beside his body,' he wrote. His report added: 'It is probable that the ingestion of an excess amount of co-proxamol tablets coupled with apparently clinically silent coronary heart disease would have played a part in bringing about death more certainly and more rapidly than it [sic] would have otherwise been the case. 'I am further satisfied that no other person was involved in the death of Dr Kelly.' Having decided that Dr Kelly was responsible for his own death, Hutton lambasted Andrew Gilligan, the BBC journalist who had met with Dr Kelly in May 2003 and subsequently reported the allegation that the Government had 'sexed up' the case for war. (As we have seen, Gilligan quit the BBC immediately.) He also castigated the BBC's management and editorial processes, labelling them 'defective' which ended the careers of Dyke and Davies. At the same time, Hutton cleared the Government of any 'underhand strategy' to name Dr Kelly as Gilligan's source. In Hutton's view, the case for war had not been 'sexed up', as Gilligan had claimed, but reflected the available intelligence. Thrust into the limelight against his will, Dr Kelly's sudden death which some believed might be murder threatened to derail Blair's premiership. The stakes could not have been higher Having absolved the Government, Hutton said that any failure of intelligence assessment was outside the remit of his inquiry, essentially allowing the intelligence services to escape censure. These findings were widely derided, including by this newspaper. The overwhelming view was that his inquiry had been an Establishment whitewash. Hutton soon retired from public life and was seldom heard of again, but the sense of rage against Blair for sending the Armed services into battle on what was considered a false prospectus has only intensified since then. Toxic Indeed, given that no WMD have ever been found in Iraq, this easily remains one of the most toxic political controversies since World War II. As for the claim that Iraq could attack Britain in 45 minutes, then-Foreign Secretary Jack Straw admitted to a committee of MPs in October 2004 that it was untrue, yet it formed a key part of the Government's strategy for war. It was followed by the so-called 'dodgy dossier', published under the direction of Alastair Campbell in February 2003. Campbell's staff lifted much of the material it contained from the internet complete with grammatical errors and presented it as their own careful analysis. Added to all this, the notion that Dr Kelly's death was mired in mystery has merely grown. Sadly, for Hutton, this heightened scepticism would appear to be his chief legacy. In 2007, I embarked on a lengthy investigation into the Hutton Inquiry. What I found was that it was itself, to use Hutton's own word, 'defective'. Firstly, it was surprising to discover that Hutton was asked to chair his inquiry less than three hours after Dr Kelly's body was found, for no medical professional had yet examined it, there had been no formal identification, and no one knew how he had died. If Hutton ever thought it strange to have been asked to preside over a matter so soon without a proper police inquiry, he never said a word about it. Second, Hutton's inquiry was fixed so that it would assume the status of a coroner's inquest, the centuries-old proceedings used to establish how, where and when a sudden or unnatural death has occurred. The upshot is there has never been a full coroner's inquest into Dr Kelly's death. This has proved disastrous for public trust. Third, Hutton's terms of reference were so vague as to be oblique compared with what a coroner sets out to achieve. Also, unlike a coroner's inquest, no witness who appeared at the inquiry was required to swear an oath before giving evidence. This removed the threat of anyone being found guilty of perjury. In any case, Dr Kelly's death certificate was registered more than five weeks before the Hutton Inquiry stopped hearing evidence, so Hutton may as well have not been running his inquiry. As far as the authorities were concerned, they already 'knew' how Dr Kelly had died. On top of this, Hutton excluded dozens of key witnesses, including Mai Pederson, a former U.S. Air Force officer and close friend of Dr Kelly who has revealed he had an arm injury which prevented him from holding a knife properly and that he suffered with 'unexplained dysphagia', meaning he couldn't swallow pills. Lord Hutton (pictured) excluded dozens of key witnesses from his inquiry, including Mai Pederson, a former U.S. Air Force officer and close friend of Dr Kelly Questions also remain over whether he could have died by cutting his ulnar artery, as Hutton deduced. It is so small, many medical professionals have said it is impossible to bleed to death by cutting it. Such electrifying points make the testimony of high-profile witnesses like Blair and Campbell almost irrelevant. Indeed, they were effectively red herrings. There are other reasons speculation about Dr Kelly's death has never evaporated. One is the discovery there were no fingerprints on the knife he allegedly used to kill himself even though he wore no gloves. This was never mentioned at the Inquiry but was known to police. When he had finished his report, Hutton made a secret request to the State. He asked that all records which were not produced in evidence be closed to the public for 30 years and for all photographs of Dr Kelly's body and all medical reports relating to his death to be sealed for 70 years. Having served the Establishment so faithfully during his career, it is ironic to reflect that Hutton will be remembered by many as one of its victims, albeit by virtue of having been willing to do its bidding in its hour of need. Miles Goslett is the author of An Inconvenient Death: How The Establishment Covered Up The David Kelly Affair. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! Gage Roads Brewing Co. Limited (ASX:GRB), might not be a large cap stock, but it saw significant share price movement during recent months on the ASX, rising to highs of AU$0.066 and falling to the lows of AU$0.047. Some share price movements can give investors a better opportunity to enter into the stock, and potentially buy at a lower price. A question to answer is whether Gage Roads Brewing's current trading price of AU$0.047 reflective of the actual value of the small-cap? Or is it currently undervalued, providing us with the opportunity to buy? Lets take a look at Gage Roads Brewings outlook and value based on the most recent financial data to see if there are any catalysts for a price change. Check out our latest analysis for Gage Roads Brewing Is Gage Roads Brewing still cheap? Gage Roads Brewing appears to be expensive according to my price multiple model, which makes a comparison between the company's price-to-earnings ratio and the industry average. In this instance, Ive used the price-to-earnings (PE) ratio given that there is not enough information to reliably forecast the stocks cash flows. I find that Gage Roads Brewings ratio of 51.71x is above its peer average of 22.24x, which suggests the stock is trading at a higher price compared to the Beverage industry. If you like the stock, you may want to keep an eye out for a potential price decline in the future. Since Gage Roads Brewings share price is quite volatile, this could mean it can sink lower (or rise even further) in the future, giving us another chance to invest. This is based on its high beta, which is a good indicator for how much the stock moves relative to the rest of the market. What does the future of Gage Roads Brewing look like? Investors looking for growth in their portfolio may want to consider the prospects of a company before buying its shares. Buying a great company with a robust outlook at a cheap price is always a good investment, so lets also take a look at the company's future expectations. In the upcoming year, Gage Roads Brewings earnings are expected to increase by 93%, indicating a highly optimistic future ahead. This should lead to more robust cash flows, feeding into a higher share value. Story continues What this means for you: Are you a shareholder? GRBs optimistic future growth appears to have been factored into the current share price, with shares trading above industry price multiples. However, this brings up another question is now the right time to sell? If you believe GRB should trade below its current price, selling high and buying it back up again when its price falls towards the industry PE ratio can be profitable. But before you make this decision, take a look at whether its fundamentals have changed. Are you a potential investor? If youve been keeping tabs on GRB for some time, now may not be the best time to enter into the stock. The price has surpassed its industry peers, which means it is likely that there is no more upside from mispricing. However, the positive outlook is encouraging for GRB, which means its worth diving deeper into other factors in order to take advantage of the next price drop. So if you'd like to dive deeper into this stock, it's crucial to consider any risks it's facing. To help with this, we've discovered 5 warning signs (1 doesn't sit too well with us!) that you ought to be aware of before buying any shares in Gage Roads Brewing. If you are no longer interested in Gage Roads Brewing, you can use our free platform to see our list of over 50 other stocks with a high growth potential. 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. 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 Central Regional Police Command has invited the Minister for Special Initiatives, Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson, after she confessed to have fired a gun at a registration centre at Kasoa on Monday. Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Monring Show, DSP Irene Oppong, the Public Relations Officer of the Central regional Police Command said the Minister has been invited to help with investigations. She is a Member of Parliament and so there is a procedure to follow before you can invite her and so we are currently through that process to invite Hawa Koomson to help with investigation, DSP Oppong hinted to host Kwame Nkrumah Tikese on Tuesday morning. The MP has claimed she gave the warning shot to defend herself after feeling threatened while touring registration centres in the constituency Monday as some thugs on motorbikes surrounded her car. Im a Member of Parliament, I need to protect myself. It was at dawn; my police escort had not started work yet. So, that is the modus operandi I engaged in his absence, she told Accra-based Adom FM. Call to resign Meanwhile, Security Expert Prof Kwesi Aning has urged Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson as Minister of Special Development Initiatives to resign her position after she admitted firing a gunshot at a registration centre in Kasoa, claiming she cannot be trusted with the position. It is my hope that the President will ask Hawa Koomson to step aside or probably dismisses her, the security expert called. Hawa Koomson has done her party, constituents, and certainly the good people of Ghana a great disservice, Prof. Kwesi Aning. His comment comes on the back of the Ministers admission of firing gunshots at a voter registration centre in Awutu-Senya East Constituency in the Central Region. He spoke to Joy FM's Evans Mensah on PM Express. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[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 Dave Goldiner Dave Goldiner is a political reporter at the New York Daily News. A 30-year newsroom veteran, he believes he is the only reporter to cover both the Sept. 11 terror attacks and the death and funeral of South African freedom icon Nelson Mandela on the ground. 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. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. One of the Armenian servicemen wounded in the military operations unleashed by Azerbaijan on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border is still in critical condition, the others show a positive dynamics, 4 servicemen already feel well, Armenian defense ministers spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan told Armenpress. A total of 36 Armenian servicemen were wounded from the recent shooting of the Azerbaijani side. 20 of them have received a medical care, but the remaining 16 immediately returned to the military service as they suffered minor injuries. Currently 10 out of these 20 receive a treatment. One serviceman is in critical condition, the others have a positive dynamics, show signs to a moderate condition. 4 more soldiers already feel well, Stepanyan said, expressing hope that they will soon be discharged. Since July 12th, Azerbaijan has launched a series of cross-border attacks against Armenias northern Tavush province, targeting civilian settlements and infrastructures. Overnight July 20-21 the situation has been relatively calm on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime 17 times from firearms in different parts of the border, firing nearly 183 shots at the Armenian positions. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan ST. LOUIS, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With roots dating back to 1925 as the parent of Sachs Electric, ArchKey Solutions (www.ArchKey.com), North America's premier electrical and technology provider, has become one of St. Louis Region's largest companies. Headquartered in St. Louis, MO, ArchKey Solutions is one of the largest electrical and technologies contractors in the U.S. With revenues exceeding $1.3B, ArchKey Solutions is redefining what it means to be a national contractor. Sachs Electric Company, Inc., a St. Louis, MO based company celebrating its 95th anniversary, served as the foundation for what would later become ArchKey Solutions when business leaders, Clayton Scharff, P.E., President and CEO, and Patrick Kriegshauser, Executive Vice President and CFO positioned their company on a new trajectory. Using the stellar reputation and national presence of Sachs Electric as the starting point, Scharff and Kriegshauser carefully scaled this new business with the addition of Parsons Electric of Minneapolis, Minnesota, Sprig Electric of San Jose, CA and Mona Electric of Maryland to expand its reach coast to coast. Today, ArchKey Solutions has 13 office locations, more than 5,000 employees, and has completed worked in roughly 3,100 cities across the U.S. "The response from the market to what we are building has been overwhelmingly positive," says Clay Scharff, CEO of ArchKey Solutions. "By combining the expertise, experience and ingenuity from our platform companies (Sachs Electric, Parsons Electric, Sprig and Mona Electric) and a bonding capacity of over $1.2 billion dollars, our enterprise is capable of executing any electrical and/or technologies project anywhere, regardless of size or geography." And while we work nationwide, we are extremely proud to call St. Louis home," says Scharff. "St. Louis is where Sachs Electric and ArchKey Solutions began and where we will be for decades to come." ArchKey's company name and logo highlights our roots in St. Louis. Everyone will recognize the familiar Arch in the logo, while the Keystone represents our new entity and ties all the companies and their expertise together." Organizationally, ArchKey Solutions continues to evolve to meet changing market and customer needs. The executive leadership team, led by President and CEO, Clayton Scharff, P.E. is made of up diverse and experienced leaders that have been promoted from within the platform companies. Notably, Patrick Kriegshauser, long-time Executive Vice President and CFO at Sachs Electric serves in that same capacity at ArchKey. Joel Moryn, former President & CEO, Parsons Electric, has been promoted to Sr. Vice President, Operations. Steve Stone will continue in his role as Sr. Vice President, Sales and Marketing for the enterprise. Finally, Monica Ross has been named Vice President, Strategic Projects and Dave Nielsen, Vice President, Preconstruction. Coupled with the changes at ArchKey are several executive appointments at the platform companies, positioning each with the right team, for a long future. In addition to his role at ArchKey, Steve Stone has assumed the role of President, Sachs Electric with Joe Barnard being named Chief Operating Officer. Rich Ross has been named President, Parsons Electric and David Howell has been promoted to President, Mona Electric. Finally, Mark Mandarelli will continue in his role as President of Sprig, while Wendy Boosalis has been named President, ArchKey Technologies. In addition to succession planning, ArchKey Solutions has solidified its core focus. The strategy is built on the philosophy that we live in an ever-changing world, and now more than ever, customers need trusted partners. "ArchKey is not just an electrical and technologies contractor," says Steve Stone, SVP ArchKey Solutions. "We strive to help our customers with three main objectives: Digitization, Unification and Electrification. "Digitization and technology adoption is happening faster than any point in history as a means to stay connected and collaborate in real-time from anywhere in the world. The unification of these systems and platforms are vital for technology to be truly useful and transformational. And, finally, electrification is essential as all this is driving a deeper need for clean and reliable power," say Stone. With the driving forces of digitization, unification, and electrification changing how we act as a society, ArchKey is poised to help. ArchKey solves these problems for customers using The Power of Scale - leveraging a lean/continuous improvement culture and unmatched experience to solve challenges in new and efficient ways. "We encourage our people to follow their curiosity and explore new ways of performing construction activities," says Scharff. "Ultimately, we want to lead change and remain relevant for our customers and our employees for years to come." ABOUT US ArchKey Solutions is one of the largest electrical and technology construction firms in the United States. As a platform for growth and the parent company for Sachs Electric, Parsons Electric, Sprig Electric, and Mona Electric, ArchKey Solutions' diversified offering provides scalability that is unmatched in the industry. Media Contact: Karen Danielson (P) (763) 528-2836 [email protected] www.ArchKey.com SOURCE ArchKey Solutions Related Links http://www.archkey.com The MasterChef 2020 cast returned to the kitchen on Monday night to watch Laura Sharrad and Emelia Jackson compete in the grand finale. But eagle-eyed viewers were quick to notice that former star Ben Ungermann was nowhere to be seen in the gantry. The 34-year-old was absent as the 24 other cooks returned to support the two finalists. The only other absentee was Brendan Pang, who couldn't travel from Perth to Melbourne because of state border closures. Absent: MasterChef fans noticed Ben Ungermann's (pictured) absence from the finale on Monday night, after he was charged with the alleged sexual assault of a teenage girl 'Everyone is back. Except for Ben,' one fan tweeted. 'Anyone had eyes on Ben yet? #MasterChefAU,' another asked. 'Just curious...Is Ben Ungermann there?' a third viewer wrote. 'Anyone know where Ben Ungermann is?' a fourth questioned. Several people asked 'Where's Ben?', but it's possible they were being facetious as the circumstances of his departure from the competition have been widely reported. 'Where's Ben?' Eagle-eyed viewers were quick to notice and point out Ungermann's absence from the show Ungermann was charged on March 6 with two counts of sexual assault, following an alleged incident in Melbourne's Docklands on February 23 involving a 16-year-old girl. At the time, he was filming the latest series of MasterChef - but was removed from the competition once producers learned of his arrest. On March 20, it was first reported that Ungermann had been arrested. At the time, a spokesperson for Endemol Shine described his arrest as being 'of a personal nature' but didn't provide further details. Case: Ungermann was charged on March 6 with two counts of sexual assault, following an alleged incident in Melbourne's Docklands on February 23 involving a 16-year-old girl He was expected to appear before Melbourne Magistrates' Court on June 25 but he is believed to have been holed up in Queensland and was not present at the web hearing. His lawyer Sarah Condon told the Melbourne Magistrates Court via video link that Ungermann intended to fight the charges. Court documents state police allege Ungermann intentionally touched his alleged child victim without her consent - and he knew it - at least three times. British-Pakistani businessman Zulfikar Bukhari on Tuesday made a delusional statement fraying the lines between Imran Khan being Pakistan's Prime Minister or 'king', saying that if Imran wanted, even Donald Trump would attend their cabinet meetings. Bukhari who presently serves as a Special Assistant to the Prime Minister on Overseas Pakistanis and Human Resource Development said that anyone could attend Pakistan's cabinet meetings on the extension of an invitation and that the US President could be one of them if invited. "If the PM wants, even Donald Trump can sit in the cabinet meetings. Under rules of business, anybody can be allowed to sit in the cabinet meetings under the invitation of the Prime Minister. I am not a member, yet I can attend the meeting on the invitation of the PM. Weekly invitations are sent," said Zulfikar Bukhari, responding to criticism of his attendance, given his nationality. Read: Pakistan's Coronavirus Tally Reaches 263,496, Says Health Ministry Read: Imran Khan's Party Suspends Senior Party Leader Uzma After 'Jinns' Remark On Pak PM's Wife If PM Imran Khan wants even Donald Trump can sit in the cabinet meetings, advisor Zulfikar Bukhari, a UK national. pic.twitter.com/yN9KmXTUTa Naila Inayat (@nailainayat) July 20, 2020 Earlier Bukhari had ardently supported Imran Khan's 'Naya Pakistan Calling' job portal which received a tepid response from overseas citizens calling it an initiative that will carve the path for expatriates to engage in the decision and policy-making process of the country. Bukhari has also been supporting Imran Khan and Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party's leadership in handling the Coronavirus crisis, saying that "Pakistan could have been in an entirely different place today, had it not been for the right leadership." His pride in the nation's handling of the Coronavirus comes as Pakistan's coronavirus tally crosses 263,496 with the detection of 1,579 new cases in the last 24 hours along with a nationwide death toll of 5,568. Meanwhile, top leadership in Pakistan and members of the parliament have also tested positive for the disease including State Minister of Health of Pakistan, Zafar Mirza Pakistan's Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi testing COVID positive. Read: Elderly Pashtun Confronts Shahid Afridi Over Pakistan ISI's Oppression; Exposes His Sham Read: Rare Buddha Statue Found & Mindlessly Destroyed In Pakistan; Video Of Act Sparks Action A construction worker was airlifted to a hospital after firefighters freed him from a trench Tuesday afternoon. The man, approximately 50 years old, was standing near a 10-foot-deep trench when the side caved in, officials said. He fell into the hole and was buried waist deep by the falling dirt. Firefighters were called to the scene at 12:45 p.m. They worked for over two hours until the man was flown by helicopter to a local hospital at 3:30 p.m., according to Chief Kevin Clarkson of District 7 Fire Rescue. The San Antonio Fire Departments Technical Rescue team assisted in the extrication effort. Firefighters tied ropes to an aerial ladder and lifted the man, strapped to a stretcher, out of the trench. The mans coworkers, who had been excavating at the site, used a crane to help stabilize the trench as the firefighters worked to free him. He was conscious throughout much of the process, officials said, and in stable condition when the helicopter lifted off. Physicians on scene hooked the man up to an IV and tracked his vitals while he was stuck. Assistant Chief Neal Ague said the effort was very challenging because first responders could not give him a lot of water ahead of a possible imminent surgery. Saul Hernandez, a mason working on a separate site across the street, said he sees the trench workers each morning. I know these guys work with pretty dangerous equipment, Hernandez said. Hopefully hes okay. The Occupational Safety and Health Administration will be notified of the incident. Ague noted that soil is prone to collapse any time workers are digging with heavy equipment. Officials did not immediately identify the company the man worked for. The Indian Navy is deploying its MiG-29K fighter jets to key air force bases in the northern part of the country amid border tensions with China in the sensitive Ladakh sector, people familiar with developments said on Tuesday. The navy has a fleet of more than 40 MiG-29K fighters, of which 18 are deployed on the countrys sole aircraft carrier, INS Vikramaditya, and the rest are based in Goa. Some of the Russian-origin jets are being moved from Goa to Indian Air Force (IAF) bases in the north, keeping in mind the security scenario, an official said. The IAF has moved several fighters from airbases in north India to Ladakh sector as part of a plan to strengthen the military posture there, said a second official. It couldnt immediately be ascertained what role the naval fighters would be used for. If assets and operational pilots are available, why not utilise them, said naval affairs expert Captain (retired) DK Sharma. The Indian Navy has been part of the militarys ongoing efforts in Ladakh sector, which has been the focus of the standoff since 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a violent clash on June 15. The navys P-8I maritime patrol and reconnaissance aircraft have been used for surveillance of Ladakh sector, while their primary role encompasses carrying out anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and surveillance and reconnaissance of the oceans. The P-8Is, imported from the US, carried out similar surveillance missions during the 2017 Doklam standoff with China. The navy has also been active in the Indian Ocean, where it is keeping a close watch on possible Chinese naval activities. On Monday, a US Navy carrier strike group, led by USS Nimitz, conducted maritime drills with Indian warships in the Indian Ocean. The passage exercise involved a total of eight Indian and US warships. The drills came at a time when tensions have mounted over Chinas activities in South China Sea, where the US Navy has conducted a major exercise involving two carrier strike groups. The navy has been on operational alert in the Indian Ocean, where scores of warships are ready for any task in the aftermath of the border row. It has positioned warships along critical sea lanes of communication and choke points under its mission-based deployment model, and the vessels can be diverted for any mission. Indian warships are deployed from as far as the Persian Gulf to the Malacca Strait, and from northern Bay of Bengal to the southeast coast of Africa. Control of environmental assessments will be handed to state governments in return for a new system of national standards under a Morrison government plan to speed up major developments. Environment Minister Sussan Ley said the government was consulting with the states over the "one-touch" regime, which would "devolve" the Commonwealth's legal responsibilities to them. Graeme Samuel said the EPBC Act "does not enable the Commonwealth to protect and conserve environmental matters that are important for the nation". Credit:Nick Moir The mining and agriculture sectors welcomed the changes, while environmental groups expressed concern Ms Ley had ruled out an independent watchdog to ensure the states complied with the new standards. Ms Ley revealed the plan as former Australian Competition and Consumer Commission chairman Graeme Samuel released the interim findings of his review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act, which he found was "ineffective and inefficient" and created significant extra costs for business. The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, said quite a lot of things on Monday, some of them startling, about the Niger D... The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, said quite a lot of things on Monday, some of them startling, about the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), the former managing director Joi Nunieh and allegations of looting at the agency. Here are some highlights: 1.Rep. Olubumi Tunji-Ojo did not get NNDC contract: At the investigative hearing on the alleged N40 billion irregular expenditure in the NDDC, Akpabio said that he was yet to see contract documents made to Tunji-Ojos company. I am not sure if NDDC awarded contract to the Chairman, House of Representatives Committee, Rep. Olubumi Tunji-Ojo. For me to say that, I need to see that contracts were awarded to his company; may be the contract was awarded in the area where he comes from in Ondo, he said. Tunji-Ojo was accused of executing contracts by the Interim Management Committee of the NDDC. As a result of the allegation, Tunji-Ojo stepped aside as chairman of the committee to allow for a free and fair hearing and not to be a judge in his own case. The acting Managing Director of the NDDC, Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, had accused Tunji-Ojo of corrupt practices in the commission. 2. 60 percent of NDDC contracts go to National Assembly members: After refuting the accusation that Tunji-Ojo got contracts from NDDC, Akpabio dropped another bombshell, that 60 percent of contracts by the agency go to you, National Assembly members. A member of the committee took him up on his you people allegation and asked him to clarify. I just told you that we have records to show that most of the contracts in the NDDC are given out to members of the National Assembly, he said. 3. Joi Nunieh: Akpabio said the former acting Managing Director of NDDC, Ms Joi Nunieh, Akpabio was sacked for insubordination, among other sins. He also claimed Joi does not have the National Youth Service Corps, NYSC, certificate. She also did not possess an exemption letter from the NYSC. He said Joi was sacked when he received a letter from the late Chief of Staff to the President, Abba Kyari that she does not have the requisite qualifications to remain as NDDCs acting Managing Director. He explained that he wrote to the NYSC twice and was told twice that she never served and that she did not have the NYSC certificate or exemption letter. 4. Forensic audit of NDDC: Akpabio said that the forensic audit directed by President Muhammadu Buhari is ongoing and that the process had not been hijacked as alleged in some quarters. 5. NDDC Funding and Budget Control He explained that the NDDC draws its funds from two sources, the Federal Government and the oil companies. Akpabio recommended that the budgeting system for NDDC be changed so that it will reflect budget lines in the Appropriate Act. He also recommended some amendment to the NDDC Act to prevent the management from spending beyond its threshold by splitting big projects into small components. Akpabio said that management of the NDDC had spent N4.2 billion, which is beyond its threshold by splitting projects into small components of N49 million to evade the approval of the supervising minister. The minister said that no member of staff of the NDDC had been sacked under his watch, saying that even those on leave got COVID-19 allowance. 6. NDDC Interim Management did not spend N81.5b in five months Contrary to allegations claiming that the IMC had spent N81.5 billion between February to May, Akpabio said only N23 billion had been spent. The minister said that only three contracts had been approved since he was appointed as minister of the ministry. According to him, the contracts include the procurement of forensic auditors, purchase of official cars for NDDC and the award of emergency project on the control of COVID-19. He told the lawmakers that all contracts were approved by the Federal Executive Council (FEC); except of the emergency COVID-19 project. Akpabio said that at the time of his appointment, there was no budget running and could not have compelled the then IMC to pay N10 billion for Christmas largess to all state. He said, prior to the implementation of the of the TSA account, the NDDC had over 300 accounts across commercial banks saying that with such systems, monies could get missing. What Pondei said: Prof. Kemebradikumo Pondei, the Acting Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) on Monday, collapsed during investigative hearing while answering questions from lawmakers at the ongoing N40 billion irregular expenditures in the commission. The members had asked Pondie to explain the N642 million paid to a company known as Clear Point Communication. The lawmakers also asked the Pondie to explain the N536 million paid for Save Life Campaign in the oil rich region and to prove that there were all budgeted for in the 2019 Appropriation Act. Pondie told the lawmakers that N642 million paid to Clear Point Communication to train locals and to help locate and identify NDDC projects in the area. Pondie, however, could not confirm that the payments were budgeted for, asking the lawmakers to give him time to provide the budget. In the process, Pondie collapsed, sweating profusely and was carried out for first aid and medical attention. The hearing was then adjourned for 30 minutes to all members and guest go for tea break. Details later. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves says he is likely to extend the time for restrictions in counties with rapidly expanding cases of the new coronavirus, and he could add several other counties to the list. The current restrictions started last week in 13 of the 82 counties, and they include a requirement for masks in public and a prohibition on large gatherings. The existing restrictions are in some of the most heavily populated counties in the state: Hinds, Madison and Rankin in the Jackson area, DeSoto County in the north and Harrison and Jackson counties on the coast. The restrictions are also in smaller counties with high rates of the virus: Claiborne, Grenada, Jefferson, Quitman, Sunflower, Washington and Wayne. The Republican Reeves said Friday that he is also looking very closely at setting the restrictions in 12 other counties: Bolivar, Covington, Forrest, Humphreys, Jones, Lamar, Panola, Simpson, Sunflower, Tallahatchie, Tate and Walthall. Mississippi recently has had several day-to-day increases of 1,000 or more reported cases. Several hospitals have also reported having a shortage or complete lack of beds in their intensive care units. The state health officer, Dr. Thomas Dobbs, said that on Thursday night, one Mississippi patient had to be sent to Alabama after officials were unable to find an intensive care bed in either Mississippi or Louisiana. Every day we add 1,000 new cases, statistically thats another 170 patients that are going to likely be in the hospital in the next couple of weeks, Dobbs said. So, we anticipate significant ongoing stress within our hospital system. Mississippi has a population of about 3 million. The Health Department said Sunday that the state has had at least 42,638 confirmed cases and at least 1,335 deaths from the coronavirus as of Saturday evening. That was an increase of 792 cases and 10 deaths from numbers reported the day before. At least 3,142 cases of the virus have been confirmed in long-term care facilities such as nursing homes, with at least 647 virus-related deaths in those facilities, the department said. The true number of virus infections is thought to be far higher because many people have not been tested, and studies suggest people can be infected without feeling sick. While most people who contract the coronavirus recover after suffering only mild to moderate symptoms, it can be deadly for older patients and those with other health problems. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics COVID-19 Mississippi Samajwadi Party national president and former chief minister of Uttar Pradesh, Akhilesh Yadav alleged that under the anti-people BJP government, the state has become unsafe for everyone, including farmers, Dalits, upper castes, backward, minorities, youth and journalists. He also stated that the government has lost its control over the atrocities, corruption and injustice in the state. In a statement issued on Tuesday evening, the SP chief said, "In the presence of the police in Jaunpur, bullets were fired upon Dalits and they were also beaten with sticks. In Kasganj, the gangsters raped and the police harassed the family members of the victim instead. Last night a journalist was attacked by miscreants in Ghaziabad. Two days ago he had complained to the police, fearing an attack on him, but the police remained inactive and the journalist was shot. Attacking the Yogi Adityanath-led government in the state, Akhilesh Yadav said, "In Nighasan police station area of Lakhimpur Kheri, 2 minor sisters were first kidnapped and then gang-raped. The police wrote the report 18 hours later and also forcibly changed the complaint. The family members of the victim were harassed by keeping them in the police station for hours just to pressure them." Yadav also alleged that the government is indulging in liquor smuggling in the state. "In the midst of the spread of the deadly coronavirus, the BJP has become busy in smuggling liquor rather than helping people. After Kanpur, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, BJP's sector coordinator was caught doing illegal liquor business in Kishni. Liquor smuggling, illegal mining and other crimes are flourishing under the protection of power, he said and also added that the BJP government is not serious about the coronavirus pandemic in the state. Highlighting the healthcare concerns in the state, he said, "Even in these days of crisis, the post of Director General of Medical Health is vacant for more than 20 days. The government has not even been able to select a qualified director general. When there is no head in the department, how will the work be managed?" Hyderabad, July 21 : With Telangana High Court repeatedly pulling up the state government for its poor handling of COVID-19 situation, top officials on Tuesday said that despite their untiring efforts to check the pandemic, the court's remarks were "painful". A day after the High Court summoned Chief Secretary and five other top officials and warned that heads will roll for not ignoring its directions repeatedly, a meeting presided over by Chief Minister K. Chandrashekhar Rao reviewed the situation. Officials who attended the meeting felt that everybody is filing Public Interest Litigations (PILs) and the High Court continued to accept them for hearing. Medical and Health Minister E. Rajender, Chief Secretary Somesh Kumar, Principal Secretary (Medical and Health) Syed Murtuza Rizvi, Principal Secretary (Finance) Ramakrishna Rao, several heads of medical departments, Srinivas, Ramesh Reddy, Karunakar Reddy, Gangadhar and others attended the meeting held at the Chief Minister's official residence Pragati Bhavan. According to a statement from the Chief Minister's Office, several participants expressed their opinions on the High Court expressing its anger despite the fact that the government and medical staff are working with commitment with regard to taking measures to contain the virus, conducting the tests and the treatment. "On the Corona issue, every other person is going to the High Court. So far, the High Court has admitted 87 Public Interest Litigations. Due to the daily hearings, the officials are facing problems and hardship. Senior doctors and other officials, who are working day and night giving treatment to the needy, are forced to spend more of their time running to the Court. In this hour of crisis, these senior officials had to leave their primary duty and are spending time to prepare for the court hearing and to attend the hearings. With this, they have not been able to render cent percent justice to their duties." They claimed that compared to other states in the country, the situation in Telangana is better. The mortality rate is low but yet the state government and the medical officers are working to the best of their ability. The state administration is ready to provide medical treatment to any number of patients whatever may be their number. "Everyday thousands of tests are done. It is painful that though so much has been done, yet the High Court made some comments." They pointed out that earlier someone filed a petition seeking directions to conduct tests on the dead bodies. "The High Court gave orders in their favour. Taking into consideration the factual situation, the Supreme Court had set aside the High Court orders. But yet, PILs are being filed in the High Court and the High Court is admitting them. With the Court hearing 87 PILs, it is inconvenient for the Chief Secretary, principal secretary, hospital superintendents concerned when the High Court is summoning them. The precious time of the medical and other senior officials is spent on attending the Court hearings." "Based on the comments made by the High Court, some media organisations are also reporting in such a way to convey that the state government is not doing anything on the matter. This is shattering the morale of the medical staff who are rendering the services putting their own lives at stake." According to the statement, the Chief Minister gave a patient hearing to the opinions expressed and directed the officials concerned to file an affidavit in the High Court on conducting the investigative tests, treatment given and precautions taken while administering the treatment with all facts. For the High Court hearing, the officials should submit all the information that the Court sought and inform it about the work done, he said. The High Court on Monday directed six top officials, including the Chief Secretary, to appear before it on July 28. The court asked the government to respond why no action should be taken against the officials who are repeatedly ignoring its orders. A division comprising Chief Justice Raghavendra Singh Chauhan and Justice B. Vijaysen Reddy expressed its unhappiness over the government not implementing orders passed by it on earlier occasions. This is the fourth time the court has pulled up the government and expressed its displeasure over the poor handling of the pandemic in the state. "This is the fourth and last chance given to the government ..or else the court would make sure that heads start rolling," the bench remarked. The court made some serious remarks on the way the government is handling the situation and took it to task for not implementing its earlier orders for conducting more COVID-19 tests, providing better treatment facilities, maintaining transparency and disseminating all the information to people. Dublin, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The "Advanced Analytics Technologies: Global Markets" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. In this report, the market has been segmented by type, deployment, organization size, industry vertical and geography. The report provides an overview of the global market for advanced analytics technologies and analyzes market trends. Using 2019 as the base year, the report provides estimated market data for the forecast period 2020 through 2025. Revenue forecasts for this period are segmented based on type, deployment, organization size, industry vertical and geography. Market values have been estimated based on the total revenue of the advanced analytics software providers. The advanced analytics solutions covered include all those solutions which have the capability of not only descriptive and diagnostic analytics but also to solve predictive and prescriptive analytics. Further information on this has been provided in the Market Overview section. The report also focuses on the major trends and challenges that affect the market and the vendor landscape. The report includes: Descriptive study and quantitative analysis of the global market for advanced analytics technologies Analyses of the global market trends, with data corresponding to market size for 2019, estimates for 2020, and projections of compound annual growth rates (CAGRs) through 2025 Regional market share analysis of the advanced analytics technologies Discussion on the technology innovations and advanced analytics solutions with regards to their applications in various industry verticals across different regions Insight into viable technology drivers with emphasis on major trends and challenges that affect the future marketplace Impact of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic outbreak on the global economy and overall analytics industry Competitive landscape of leading vendor companies and their market share analysis within the advanced analytics technologies Profile description of major market players, including Alteryx Inc., International Business Machines Corp., Microsoft Corp., Oracle Corp., Qliktech International AB, SAP SE and SAS Institute Inc. Over the last few years, there has been a significant increase in the volume of both structured and unstructured data which is being generated by companies on a daily basis including customer data, product data, social media chatter and data from various digital channels in business operations. Advanced analytics helps an enterprise gain insight into such diverse data and gives them a competitive edge to drive growth. Advanced analytics helps enterprises drive growth by providing deeper insight into customer behaviors. These features enhance cost management by optimizing operations and improving risk management through better regulatory compliance and internal risk control. The global market for advanced analytics has been segmented based on type, deployment, organization size, end-user industry and geography. Based on type, the market for advanced analytics technologies has been segmented into big data analytics, business analytics, customer analytics, risk analytics, statistical analytics and others. The market for advanced analytics technologies based on deployment has been segmented into cloud deployment and on-premises. Cloud deployment model currently accounts for the dominant share of the market and is expected to maintain its position over the forecast period. The global market for advanced analytics technologies based on organization size was categorized into large enterprises and small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Large enterprises currently dominate the market for advanced analytics and are expected to maintain their dominant position over the forecast period. They have large volumes of structured data and a skilled workforce and have significantly increased the adoption of advanced analytics solutions such as customer analytics and business analytics to efficiently manage vast databases of customers and assets. Based on end-user vertical, the overall market was classified into banking, financial and insurance (BFSI), healthcare and life sciences, retail, IT and telecommunications, government and defense, manufacturing, energy and utilities, and others. Financial institutions over the years have been compelled to incorporate analytics and data-driven technologies to fuel development and productivity, lower costs and increase efficiencies, accelerate digital transformation, and promote risk and regulatory priorities. Banks also deploy advanced analytics to improve customer targeting, enhance risk assessment and improve productivity and decision making. Healthcare and life sciences is estimated to be the fastest growing end-user industry. In the healthcare sector, analytics is being used at both macro and micro levels to effectively streamline operations, improve patient care and lower overall costs. The application of advanced analytics in healthcare improves performance by delivering data-based quality care, reducing patient wait-times by measuring and leveraging scheduling and staffing procedures, and improving patient satisfaction and quality of care by streamlining tedious processes related to making appointments, processing insurance and providing referrals. Key Topics Covered Chapter 1 Introduction Study Goals and Objectives Scope of Report Reasons for Doing the Study Intended Audiences Methodology Geographic Breakdown Chapter 2 Summary and Highlights Chapter 3 Overview Technological Background and History of Advanced Analytics Technological Background and History of Machine Learning Future of Advanced Analytics Future of Data Governance in Advanced Analytics Types of Advanced Analytics Descriptive Analytics Diagnostic Analytics Predictive Analytics Prescriptive Analytics Machine Learning Process Impact of COVID-19 on the Analytics Industry Market Drivers Increasing Computational Power Increasing Adoption of Cloud Analytics Increasing Internet of Things Adoption Increasing Focus from Organizations Developing a Data Driven Strategy Market Restrains Lack of Skilled Professionals Chapter 4 Market Breakdown by Type of Analytic Introduction Big Data Analytics Business Analytics Customer Analytics Risk Analytics Statistical Analytics Others Chapter 5 Market Breakdown by Type of Deployment Introduction On-premise Cloud Types of Cloud Deployments Chapter 6 Market Breakdown by Organization Size Introduction Large Enterprises User Acquisition Customer Support Forecasting Security and Fraud Detection People Management Small and Medium Enterprises Declining Costs of Data Sources Chapter 7 Market Breakdown by End-user Industry Introduction Banking, Financial Services and Insurance (BFSI) Risk Management Credit Risk Analysis Fraud Detection and Management IT and Telecommunication Churn Prediction Customer Profitability Analysis Network Dynamics Healthcare and Life Sciences Predictive Modeling Clinical Analytics Bioinformatics Consumer Packaged Goods and Retail Supply Chain Analytics Customer Insight Dynamic Pricing Government and Defense Others Chapter 8 Market Breakdown by Region Introduction North America Europe Asia-Pacific Rest of the World (RoW) Chapter 9 Company Profiles Altair Engineering Alteryx Inc. Fair Isaac Corp. International Business Machines Corp. Knime AG Microsoft Corp. Oracle Corp. Qliktech International AB Rapidminer Inc. SAP SE SAS Institute Inc. For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/qi1cv8 Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Thank you for reading! Please log in, or sign up for a new account and purchase a subscription to continue reading. As many as 76,000 small businesses in New York City - a third of the 230,000 citywide - may never reopen after forced to close during the COVID-19 lockdown, business leaders have warned. The Partnership for New York City, a not-for-profit organization that connects business leaders with local government, predicted that 76,000 small businesses will never be able to reopen in a report produced by 14 consulting firms. 'Borough chambers of commerce estimate that as many as a third of local small businesses will permanently close as a result of COVID-19. 'Most small businesses have less than three months of cash reserves, the entire length of NY PAUSE. 'That means that funds to restart, pay back rent and buy inventory are exhausted, leaving tens of thousands of entrepreneurs at risk, particularly business owners of color,' the report reads. It also pointed to the loss of revenue from the 65million tourists the city relies on every year for money as a source of worry for many hotspots. A restaurant on May 24 in New York City, one of the thousands that had to close their doors for the 14-week lockdown. As many as 76,000 may never reopen Among them is St Patrick's Cathedral which has lost around $4million - a quarter of its annual income - because no one has visited for four months. The church is among the most famous in the world but it sits on Fifth Avenue in Midtown, surrounded not by residents but businesses and offices that have been deserted since March. Now, it cannot pay its bills. 'We have never had anything like this before. All the traditional things we have had in the past, dinners and things like that, we cant do. 'The options are to beg, which is what I have been doing since March 15,' Msgr. Robert T. Ritchie, the rector of the cathedral, told The New York Times. Mass resumed at the church on June 28 but only at a 25 percent capacity. Before the pandemic, the church pulled in $1million a month from people visiting. Sunday masses drew crowds of between 10,000 and 15,000. The church received a PPE payout from the federal government of between $350,000 and $1million but it would not say exactly how much it received, only that the money was used to continue paying staff. An empty St Patrick's Cathedral on April 12. The iconic church was forced to close along with every other one in New York City Mass resumed on June 28 but at a 25 percent capacity. Now, the church says it is struggling to pay bills A separate trust that maintains the facade of the building received another loan of between $1million and $2million. According to the report, 5million fewer international tourists will visit the city this year which will amount in a loss of $8billion. The firms which produced the report said the recovery plan must be led by businesses and not the government, and that it must focus on healthcare and tracing, along with making digital commerce more available to independent businesses. They are; Accenture, Aon, BCG, Dalberg, Deloitte, Ernst& Young, Kearney, KPMG, McKinsey, Mercer, Oliver Wyman, PWC, West Monroe, Willis Towers Watson. The report also revealed; A predicted $8billion tax revenue decline in 2021 and 2022 A 32 per cent in ales tax decline in New York City in May - $196million More than 900,000 jobs are predicted to be lost by the end of June Gross City Product decline from between 6.0% to 12.9% ( $54 billion to $115 billion from 2019 levels) by the end of the year A prediction that the MTA will lose $14billion through 2021 and Port Authority and PATH will lose $3billion New York City has seen more than 18,000 deaths since the pandemic began. It imposed one of the strictest and the longest lockdowns across the country, which had a devastating effect on the economy. While the infection rate has been almost squashed, the city is a far cry from what it was at the start of the year. NYC will lose 10 percent in revenue in 2021 but New Jersey is predicted to lose far more BSEH 12th result 2020: The Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH) declared the Class 12 board examination results on Tuesday. A total of 2.12 lakh students had appeared in the examination out of which 80.34% have passed. A total of 89.43 % student with commerce background passed the exam followed by 82.55 percent in science stream and 78.08 percent in Arts. Follow BSEH 12th result 2020 live updates The pass percentage has gone up by 5.86% as compared to last years 74.48%. However, as many as 9,451 students have failed the examination and 32,361 have got compartments. This years results are the best in terms of pass percentage in the last four years. In 2017, the pass percentage stood at 64.5% and in 2018, it was 63.84%. Also Read: HBSE 12th Result 2020: Haryana Board class 12th result declared at bseh.org.in This year too, girls have outshined the boys by 11.24 percentage points. The 86.30 % girls have passed the board examination as compared to 75.06 % boys. The urban students did better than rural counter parts by 3.14 percent. The urban students pass percentage stood at 82.28% against rural students 79.14 percent. A total of 79.78 % students studying in government schools cleared the exam, while 80.97 percent students of private schools were successful. Manisha of government senior secondary school in Mahendergarhs Sihma topped the Arts stream by securing 499 marks out of 500. In non-medical, first position was bagged by Bhawana Yadav of government senior secondary school in Rewaris Bodia Kamalpur. She secured 496 marks out of 500. Also Read: HBSE 12th Result 2020: How to check Haryana Board class 12th result online and offline In medical stream, the first position was jointly secured by three students- Amit of Saraswati senior secondary school in Milakpur of Bhiwani district, Kajal of the heights senior secondary school in Jhajjars Khudan and Shrutika of government senior secondary school at Beholi in Kurukshetra by securing 495 marks out of 500. In commerce first position was secured by Pushpa of KVM Senior secondary school, Pal in Kaithal. She got 498 marks out of 500. Board secretary Rajiv Prasad said that the results were declared on the basis of average marks of already given exams by the students. This year students have performed much better despite pandemic situation. We are very happy with the outstanding performance of government schools whose pass percentage is less 1.19 less than private ones. We have declared the results following the footsteps of the Central board of secondary education (CBSE), Delhi, the secretary added. Five best performer districts Name Pass percentage Panchkula 90.01 Jind 86.53 Yamunanagar 85.92 Kaithal 84.70 Sirsa 84.32 Worst performer five districts Name Pass percentage Sonepat 71.83 Rohtak 71.90 Dadri 71.99 Mahendergarh 74.65 Jhajjar 76.19 SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON We are thrilled to begin our work with Colangelo & Partners. We feel confident that with their expertise in integrated communications for fine wine brands, we have the best ally to introduce our wine brands to a wider audience. - Ray Stoughton, Executive Vice President of Disaronno International Disaronno International has announced that Colangelo & Partners, a fine wine, spirits and food-focused integrated communications agency, will be its agency of record in the United States for the companys imported portfolio from Sicily: the Duca di Salaparuta Group (Corvo, Duca di Salaparuta and Florio Marsala), to develop and execute a comprehensive communications strategy targeted to key media, trade and influencers. The partnership will focus on engaging new and current consumers through strategic media and trade relations, events and partnerships and influencer marketing. We are thrilled to begin our work with Colangelo & Partners, stated Ray Stoughton, Executive Vice President of Disaronno International. Sicilian wine has been growing in popularity, and Corvo and Duca di Salaparuta represent quality and authenticity. Furthermore, Florio Marsala, with its deep roots in Sicilian history, is poised to make a strong emergence on the wine market, with consumers expanding their palates and searching for wines with cultural significance. We feel confident that with Colangelo & Partners and their expertise in integrated communications for fine wine brands, we have the best ally to introduce our wine brands to a wider audience. The Duca di Salaparuta Group consists of three historic wine brands that represent Sicily and Italy worldwide: Corvo and Duca di Salaparuta, founded in 1824, and Florio Marsala, founded in 1833. Gathered into one group by the Reina family, the three brands together today constitute the first private wine group formed in Sicily. They express the islands history and its land through the estates and the range of wines that represent Sicilian terroir at its best. Disaronno Internationals wine brands join a strong roster of prestigious domestic and international accounts at Colangelo & Partners, many Italian, including Ornellaia, Frescobaldi Toscana, Tenuta di Arceno, Trentodoc, Empson USA and Maisons Marques & Domaines. Florio, a brand with a heritage woven into the fabric of Sicily, is one of the oldest and largest producers of authentic Marsala in Sicily. The campaign will aim to increase brand awareness and visibility around its high-quality, versatile Marsalas, as well as introduce them to a new generation of wine drinkers. Corvo has long been a staple Italian wine brand, consistently offering quality and value. The program will center around revitalizing Corvos brand image among influencers in the market as well as consumers. The brand will also see a package refresh to launch later this summer. Duca di Salaparuta produces high-quality wines with native varieties from three estates around the island, exemplifying the expression of Sicilian terroir. The program will focus on establishing the brand as a prominent wine estate and a leader in Sicilian winemaking, keeping it top-of-mind for key media and trade. We are excited to begin working with Disaronno Internationals Sicilian wine portfolio, and welcome our first Sicilian wine client, says Colangelo & Partners President Gino Colangelo. We look forward to implementing our collaborative partnership to help the estates tell their stories, achieve their goals and reach new audiences. About Colangelo & Partners http://www.colangelopr.com/ Colangelo & Partners specializes in premium food, wine and spirits brands, and has long established relationships with the key press that drive these business categories and help determine the industry leaders. Agency principals have years of experience in retail and distribution as well as communications, a rare combination that gives Colangelo & Partners invaluable insights into consumer purchasing behavior. The agency focuses on 'closing the loop' between creative communications programs, distribution, promotion, publicity and the consumer in order to maximize the efficiency of its communications programs and deliver measurable results. Founded in 2006, Colangelo & Partners was honored as one of the years top integrated communications firms at the 2013 Agency Elite Awards and for one of the best digital marketing campaigns at the 2014 Digital PR Awards. About Disaronno International http://www.disaronnointernational.com/ Disaronno International LLC is a NJ-based subsidiary of ILLVA Saronno S.p.A, a leader in the global wine & spirits business. Disaronno International is the exclusive importer & marketer of Disaronno the Worlds Favorite Italian Liqueur, Tia Maria Coffee Liqueur, Rabarbaro Zucca Amaro, Duca di Salaparuta & Corvo Wines from Sicily, and Florio Marsala. (Reuters) - Taxi and private hire vehicle drivers in the United Kingdom will have to undergo criminal record checks every six months and cabs could be fitted with CCTV under fresh regulations to improve the licensing system, the country's transport ministry said. A recommendation for licensing authorities that CCTVs would be "beneficial or proportionate" in their areas has also been included, the ministry said in a statement (https://bit.ly/3jqnWdW) on Tuesday. The new government standards were recommended after a raft of abuse cases in UK cities. "We know the majority of drivers provide an important and safe service for communities, but in light of appalling incidents in places such as Rochdale, Oxford, Newcastle and Rotherham, more must be done to protect passengers from those who abuse their position of trust," Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said in the statement. "That's why we're looking to licensing authorities to enforce these rigorous new standards, ensuring drivers are fit to transport passengers in a safe environment and to stop those who aren't." Local authorities are expected to implement these tough standards that could help improve consistency in the licensing system and reduce the risk of harm posed to children and vulnerable passengers. Taxi and private hire vehicle drivers are required to be trained to help them identify and respond to passengers that may have been abused, the ministry added. Uber Technologies Inc was stripped of its licence to carry paying passengers in London for the second time last November in just over two years over a "pattern of failures" on safety and security. The Silicon Valley ride-hailing firm has roughly 45,000 drivers in London, one of its most important markets, and is now trying to win back its licence. (Reporting by Rama Venkat in Bengaluru, Editing by Sherry Jacob-Phillips) As the nation continues to grapple with racial unrest, one Pennsylvania lawmaker is pushing to protect state memorials and monuments from vandalism. Sen. Doug Mastriano, R-Franklin County, whose home district includes the Gettysburg National Military Park, will formally introduce a bill in the next two weeks. Though the details are still being finalized, the bill would authorize the states attorney general to prioritize the prosecution of any matters related to the vandalism of monuments in Pennsylvania. Mastriano said he has heard from citizens across Pennsylvania imploring him to take action to protect the states history and to oppose attempts of the mob to rewrite it. These monuments are part of our history, a history that changed our nation and the world, said Mastriano, a retired U.S. Army colonel. As a historian, I see the value and importance of these monuments, which tells part of our national and state history. It is not up to us to rewrite our history, but rather try to understand it and come to terms with it. The Gettysburg Battlefield, a defining point in the Civil War in which the North successfully held its ground in an attempted invasion by the South, is home to 1,325 monuments 40 of which honor Confederates. But because the 6,000-acre park is on federal land and is operated by the National Park Service, Mastrianos bill would not apply to the famous site. Instead, it is relevant to monuments and memorials on state and local public land. The National Park Service said in a statement it has no plans to remove any monuments from Gettysburg. A hallmark of American progress is our ability to learn from our history, the NPS said in its statement. One Adams County commissioner who had previously called for the removal of Confederate statues at Gettysburg appears to have softened his tone. Commissioner Mark Qually said after learning more about the Confederate monuments, he now sees an opportunity to use the monuments for educational purposes about the racist roots of the Civil War. He said his main concern is the presence of racism, racist symbols and racist organizations using Gettysburg to highlight their message. Their message of hate is incongruous with our community values, is not welcome here, and harms the quality of life of our residents, he said. But Qually also proposed a path forward when it comes to Confederate monuments at Gettysburg. He said hed like to see permanent signage alerting visitors of the pro-slavery stances of those who created the monuments, the language used on the monument and the individual celebrated by the monument itself. These lessons are important and need to be a part of the Gettysburg experience, Qually said. But after a swarm of protesters arrived at the battlefield and a few scuffles broke out over the July 4 weekend, Mastriano said the debate is not actually about Confederate memorials. He pointed to the fact that a statue of Matthias Baldwin was defaced in Philadelphia last month, which city officials confirmed. Baldwin was an outspoken critic who opposed slavery. He also mentioned the statue of abolitionist Frederick Douglass that was torn down in Rochester, New York, earlier this month. A new statue of Douglass, the former slave who became a champion for equality, was recently erected in its place. This illustrates that the attacks on our history have nothing to do with facts, or what people stood for, but rather an assault on all things American, Mastriano said. 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. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Julia Suryakusuma (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, July 22 2020 To construct and reconstruct is a basic human activity. We build physical things, they deteriorate and get destroyed, so we reconstruct and build them up again. But when we talk about social constructs, they exist in peoples minds to interpret the world. In no field is this so true as in history and politics with regard to both events and figures where interpretations can be distorted and manipulated, and you can even kill someone more than once. This happened to Sukarno, Indonesias first president who served from 1945 to 1966. His obituary in The New York Times in 1970 by Alfred Friendly Jr., noted that he gave the 110 million inhabitants of Indonesia's 3,000 islands a common language, a sense of shared identity and a vision of exuberant destiny. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login SEOblog.com, a fast-growing website providing the latest SEO news, tips and resources and helping business owners connect with leading SEO agencies, has released its exclusive 2020 ratings identifying the 15 best SEO companies in the United States. SEOblog analysts determined the 15 best SEO companies in the U.S. based on dozens of key quantitative and qualitative factors. SEOblog industry experts examined each digital marketing agencys website, industry experience, market presence, client list, portfolio, expert certifications and authorship among other factors in its ranking system. SEOblog has provided an in-depth view of companies in a particular city or focus area on various directory pages to help business owners find the expert help they need to grow. This was a new, free offering added by SEOblog in 2019. SEOblogs comprehensive SEO expert directory helps businesses easily connect with leading digital marketing agencies. SEOblog.com rankings are updated regularly as the market shifts and new players emerge. SEOblog.com has published more than 1,500 SEO agency listings with more added every day. There is no fee to participate, and the website welcomes all qualified agencies to apply. SEOblog.coms leaders list below recognizes the top 1% of all U.S.-based SEO companies: SEOblog.coms 15 Best SEO companies in the United States in 2020: Ignite Visibility, Brick Marketing, Straight North, Doctor Multimedia, CommonMind, Townsquare Interactive, CGI Communications, BizIQ, Vivial, Click Here Digital, Blue Ocean Global Technology, NEXT! Ad Agency, iMatrix, OPANCO and Egochi. Link: https://www.seoblog.com/best-seo-companies/ About SEOblog.com SEOblog.com is a leading thought leadership site with a rich history of publishing educational and informative articles about SEO and digital marketing topics. In 2019, SEOblog.com answered the call from buyers of digital marketing services that lacked unbiased, informative online resources and launched a comprehensive directory to highlight the best SEO agencies in the United States. SEOblogs mission is to connect businesses with qualified digital marketing agencies while also offering further SEO education, best practices and industry trends. SEOblog.com is a one-stop shop for educational SEO and digital marketing content, research, ratings and reviews for the best agencies in each local market across the United States. The website will be increasing its coverage of agencies in North America and accepting more guest posts in the coming months. Contact SEOblog if interested in getting involved. Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi This period drama, starring Kangana Ranaut in the lead, was a much-awaited film simply because no mainstream film on freedom fighter Jhansi Laxmibai had been made in recent times. Manikarnika received praise from critics as well as audiences. It was directed by Krish, who shared directorial credits with Kangana. The rest of the cast, including Mishti Chakraborty, Ankita Lokhande, Atul Kulkarni, Jisshu Sengupta, Mohammed Zeeshan Ayyub and others gave life to the film with their performances. Uri: The Surgical Strike Vicky Kaushal won not only his first National Award, but also the hearts of audiences with Uri: The Surgical Strike. Uri was based on India's retaliation to the 2016 attack near the town of Uri, in Jammu & Kashmir. It was helmed by first time director Aditya Dhar, and it also starred Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal, Kirti Kulhari, Mohit Raina and others. The film won three other National Awards, for Best Director, Best Audiography, and Best Music Director (Background Score). Article 15 Directed by Anubhav Sinha, Article 15 broke the streak of mainstream Bollywood films holding back from addressing the caste-system. The film featured a moving performance by Ayushmann Khurrana, who won his first National Film Award for Best Actor. Article 15 was much appreciated for its sensitive but impactful portrayal of the subject of caste-system and allied social ills. 72 Hours: Martyr Who Never Died This biographical drama, based on the life of rifleman Jaswant Singh Rawat, who fought against the encroaching Chinese army alone for 72 hours, during the Sino-Indian War in 1962, was received positively by critics and audiences. 72 Hours: Martyr Who Never Died was directed by Avinash Dhyani and also starred him in the lead role. The film also starred Mukesh Tiwari, Alka Amin, Shishir Sharma and others. Super 30 A biographical drama based on the life of mathematician Anand Kumar, who devoted his life to tutor underprivileged students for the IIT-JEE exams, with incredible results. Hrithik Roshan gave one of his career best performances as Anand Kumar in Super 30, which was directed by Vikas Bahl. Super 30 also starred Pankaj Tripathi, Mrunal Thakur, Amit Sadh, and others. Sonchiriya Sonchiriya, a movie about a band of dacoits, turned out to be more than just that. Touching upon topics of caste, religion, gender, and politics, this film, based in the heartland of India, was showered with praises for being very moving. The cast, including Sushant Singh Rajput, Bhumi Pednekar, Manoj Bajpayee, Ranvir Shorey and Ashutosh Rana, were particularly hailed for their gripping performances. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Overnight July 20-21, as well as this moment, the situation is relatively calm on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Armenian defense ministers spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan said today. The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime 17 times from firearms in different parts of the border, firing nearly 183 shots at the Armenian positions. The adversary fired twice at the military positions located in the direction of Sotk and Artanish communities. It also fired 9 times at the military positions located in the direction of Movses, Aygepar, Vazashen, Dovegh, Barekamavan and 6 times at the combat positions located in the direction of Yeraskh, Chiva, Zangakatun, Stepanyan said. The Armenian Armed Forces keep restraint and respond only to the fire that targets the military positions. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung at the event (Photo: VNA) Hanoi Nguyen Quoc Dung, Deputy Foreign Minister and head of SOM ASEAN of Vietnam, as the Chair of the ASEAN and the ASEAN+3 cooperation framework, chaired an online meeting of ASEAN+3 Senior Officials Meeting with China, Japan and the Republic of Korea on July 20. Dung shared orientations to promoting ASEAN+3 in the near future, highlighting a need to step up regional connectivity, tap achievements in digital technology in regional economic recovery, and improving the regional capacity to response to emerging challenges. He also made known Vietnams proposal to issue an declaration of leaders at the 23rd ASEAN+3 Summit on improving economic-financial resilience amid emerging challenges. On regional and global issues of shared concern, ASEAN+3 countries shared the importance of maintaining dialogues and cooperation, building trust, upholding international law, forming and sharing the standards of conduct in relations with nations so as to maintain a regional environment of peace and stability for prosperous development. Participants committed to promoting regional economic linkage and striving to complete the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) as scheduled. The ASEAN suggested China, Japan and the RoK enhance coordination in the research and production of vaccines against COVID-19, as well as in regional common efforts to mitigate the impact of the pandemic. On the evening the same day, Dung also chaired a meeting of senior officials of 18 countries attending the East Asia Summit. Pep Guardiola took a swipe at the Arsenal board on Monday, further underlining Manchester City's displeasure with the London club. City believe the Gunners were ringleaders of the so-called 'Hateful Eight' cabal who attempted to obstruct the ultimately successful Court of Arbitration for Sport appeal, as revealed by Sportsmail. Guardiola, whose side lost Saturday's FA Cup semi-final against Arsenal, made a thinly veiled dig before Tuesday's trip to Watford. Pep Guardiola has hit out at Arsenal's board over actions taken behind the scenes He is unhappy with their role in the 'Hateful Eight' and prising Mikel Arteta (L) from the club 'The opponents always deserve my respect and credit,' he said. 'Arsenal, I have all the respect for what they are on the pitch, not much off the pitch - but on the pitch, a lot.' There is also understood to be consternation at City with the way in which Arsenal recruited former assistant manager, Mikel Arteta, last December. Guardiola also queried last week whether Arsenal would back Arteta sufficiently in the transfer market. The Catalan has bigger issues right now, however, with the European date against Real Madrid drawing nearer following two meaningless Premier League games. City's players will not be afforded any time off before the home Champions League last 16 second leg with the LaLiga champions on August 7. They hold a one-goal lead from the Bernabeu and by contrast, Zinedine Zidane is able to give his players rest this week given the Spanish season finished earlier. City have two league games remaining but Guardiola is focused on the Champions League 'We'll have two days (off) after Watford but after Watford we'll have two weeks of training sessions,' Guardiola said. 'We are going to try to maintain our rhythm in our sessions. We are going to find a specific way to play against Madrid. 'They have no (Sergio) Ramos, so we'll see how (Eder) Militao and (Raphael) Varane have joined together in their games together. It's an advantage that we have more time to prepare specific things about them. 'We are excited and optimistic against Madrid. If we play at a decent level we'll have our chance, if not we'll be out. Saturday was not good enough.' JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Board Class 12 Arts result 2020 will be declared by the Rajasthan Board Secondary Education (RBSE) in a few minutes at RBSE official website. The result date and time confirmation was given by Rajasthan's Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra who said that the RBSE 12th RBSE Chairman DP Jaroli will release the result at 3.15 pm today. Once declared the students will be able to check their result at Rajasthan Board Secondary Education (RBSE) official websites are - rajresults.nic.in and rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in. The criteria to pass both class 10 and 12 exams of Rajasthan Board remains the same. To pass the exam, students need to obtain at least 33 per cent marks in each subject as well as on an aggregate. For subjects having different theoretical and practical aspects, students will have to clear both the exams separately. Check live updates on Rajasthan Board Class 12 Arts results 2020 Here's how to check your RBSE Class 12th Arts results online: 1. Go to one of these official websites of the RBSE rajresults.nic.in; rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in 2. Click on the 12th Arts results option. 3. Enter your roll number and other required details. 4. Your result will display on the screen. Official documents supporting the result will be issued by the RBSE after the result declaration. Notably, Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12th Science results 2020 were declared on July 8 and the overall passing percentage was recorded at 91.96. On July 13, the Rajasthan board had announced class 12 commerce results. The Class 12 examination was conducted in March 2020. Some papers were then cancelled due to the outbreak of the pandemic followed by a nationwide lockdown. The remaining papers were conducted from June 18 to 30, 2020 following all the social distancing guidelines. The Senate Committee on Niger Delta has walked out the Executive Director of Projects of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Dr. Cairo Ojougboh, during the committees meeting. The drama took place on Tuesday during the Budget defence of the NDDC before the Senate Committee. Trouble started when Ojougboh asked the Chairman of the Committee on NDDC, Senator Peter Nwaboshi, to step aside. The Committee told Ojougboh that they are not investigating the financial recklessness in the NDDC, adding that it was about the sacking of some staff of the Commission. Angered by the Ojougbohs submission, the Committee said he cant be dictating to the lawmakers. It then asked him to leaving, continuing with the meeting with other representatives of the NDDC. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has arrived in London, for a two-day visit to the United Kingdom and Denmark. Top of the trip agenda for Pompeo includes meeting Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in London to discuss global priorities including the coronavirus, economic recovery plans, issues related to China and Hong Kong, and the US-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations. The Secretary of State will then head to Denmark to meet with Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen in Copenhagen to discuss matters including coronavirus and China plus meeting his Danish counterpart Foreign Affairs Minister Jeppe Kofod. Last year, President Donald Trump announced that the U.S. was interested in buying the autonomous Danish territory of Greenland as 'a large real estate deal', but, when PM Frederiksen called the suggestion 'absurd', he canceled a planned state visit to Denmark. Shanghai (Gasgoo)- Dongfeng Motor Corporation announced on July 17 its all-new premium EV brand dubbed VOYAH(in Chinese, "Lantu") with the logo unveiled in the meantime. VOYAH, the homophone of blueprint in Chinese, is positioned as a premium smart EV brand that completely eliminates range and charge anxiety for drivers. According to You Zheng, deputy general manager of Dongfeng Motor Corporation, the newborn brand is fire new in such aspects as strategy, organization mechanism, business model and operational team. Regarding the corporation strategy, VOYAH will integrate core resources and advantages to furnish unique and differentiated EV solutions based on its deep insight into market opportunities and blue ocean market demands. The new brand will explore an innovative development model that draws on the advantages of both a mature traditional automaker and an EV startup and adopts OKR (objectives and key results) goal system which is popular among many Internet firms. (You Zheng, deputy general manager of Dongfeng Motor Corporation) As for the all-new business model, VOYAH aims to develop upscale electric vehicles with great competitiveness and a brand image boasting unique charm. Building innovative sales models and offering ecosystem services are also part of the targets. (From left to right: Jiang Tao, Lu Fang, Shen Jun, Lei Xin) The core executive group of VOYAH include Lu Fang (chief executive officer & chief technology officer), Lei Xin (chief brand officer), Shen Jun (chief financial officer), Jiang Tao (chief operating officer) and Huang Weichong (senior director of operations and spoksman). Dongfeng Motor said earlier this month it was going to launch in mid-July the "h" brand, namely, VOYAH, that focuses on premium new energy PVs. Dongfeng's "h" business unit was founded in April 2019 for the development of "h" brand. According to earlier reports, the new brand would work as an independent PV unit, while it would be affiliated to Dongfeng's Hong Kong-list subsidiary, Dongfeng Motor Group Company Limited. Reportedly, the "h" brand will inherit Dongfeng Renault's Wuhan plant, which will be renovated later. The plant to-day features annual capacities of 150,000 complete vehicles and 50,000 engines. The state-owned automaker is operating four self-owned PV brandsFengshen, Fengguang, Fengxing and Venucia, most of which are priced below 150,000 yuan ($21,452). With the consumption upgrading in China's automotive marketing, the share of mid-/high-end vehicles priced between 200,000 yuan ($28,603) and 350,000 yuan ($50,056) is growing rapidly, and this is the only market where Dongfeng's electrification and intelligent connectivity technologies can be developed with a proper cost effectiveness, said You Zheng, deputy general manager of Dongfeng Motor Corporation (photo source: Dongfeng Motor's WeChat account). Advertisement July is high season for party hotspot Ibiza and it would normally be thrumming with tourists with a yen for sun, sea and unbridled hedonism. This summer, however, the island has a very different tempo. The streets are quiet and while some places are open, the superclubs like Amnesia and Privilege remain shut until at least next year. So, is it all masks and antibacterial gel on the White Isle? Well, sort of. MailOnline Travel's Samantha is pictured here being served breakfast at Hotel Torre del Mar Pictured left is a member of staff at Covid-ready London City Airport. Samantha snapped the image on the right, of the closed duty-free shop, as she passed through the airport to her BA flight to Ibiza A BA stewardess greets Samantha as she boards her flight, left. Pictured right are the anti-coronavirus products given out to passengers for free London City Airport is the only airport actually in London. It lies three miles from Canary Wharf and six miles from the City of London I travelled to Ibiza a few days after the air bridge to Spain came into effect, which means Britons can now visit without having to quarantine on their return. I was excited, but a little anxious, arriving at London City Airport. Check-in was deserted and I breezed through without having to queue. The duty-free shop was closed, but you could grab a coffee and last-minute toiletries if needed. Everywhere was very clean and people were being sensible about social distancing as we waited in the departure lounge. My BA flight was almost full, so I was sitting next to someone - but masks are mandatory and were worn throughout the entire flight. Dont expect an onboard tipple as alcohol isnt being served but you are provided with a carton of water and pack of biscuits, alongside a sachet of antibacterial gel and a wipe. Aquatic attraction: The stunning outdoor swimming pool at Hotel Torre del Mar in Playa den Bossa The hotel was 30 per cent full, so it was easy to social distance, writes Samantha Masks at the hotel are compulsory, except for the swimming pool and restaurant The scene was similar when we landed at Ibiza Airport. There wasnt the usual gaggle of hen parties and lads on tour, just a few people milling around. You have to fill out a mandatory health form and have your temperature taken - but its a swift process. From there we headed to our hotel, Hotel Torre del Mar in Playa den Bossa. The hotel was 30 per cent full, so it was easy to social distance. The Spanish are stricter about wearing face masks, which meant we had to wear them around the communal areas except for the swimming pool and restaurant. The glitzy reception desk at Hotel Torre del Mar, with a staff member in a mask and social distancing markers on the floor There were slot times for breakfast at Hotel Torre del Mar and the menu was accessed via a QR code (left). Pictured right is the breakfast basket of pastries Guests at Hotel Torre del Mar can dine and sponge in views of the glistening Mediterranean And relax... Samantha writes that life at the hotel felt 'reassuringly normal' Rooms at Hotel Torre del Mar start at around 198 per night and magnificent sea views are available Samantha wandered around Ibiza Old Town (this image was taken by her during the stroll) and enjoyed a coffee at Croissant Show, known for providing revellers with post-clubbing sustenance. Sam writes: 'I didnt spot any bleary-eyed customers, but the coffee was superb' Samantha dined at legendary party hotel Pikes, pictured. And 'got the best seat in the house at the new Pamelas restaurant' TRAVEL FACTS BA CityFlyer operates two services per day from London City Airport to Ibiza (www.ba.com). Tickets cost around 145 (based on an economy fare between Aug 4-7). For information about how London City Airport is prioritising passenger safety, click here. Rooms at Hotel Torre del Mar start at around 198 per night. Advertisement Other marked changes included booking slot times for breakfast and no soft furnishings in the room, but otherwise, it felt reassuringly normal. Later that night we dined at legendary party hotel Pikes in the San Antonio hills. Youd normally struggle to get a table here, but we had the best seat in the house at the new Pamelas restaurant. The menu (accessed digitally using a QR code) is 1970s-inspired: think prawn cocktail and knickerbocker glory. The next day we wandered around Ibiza Old Town and enjoyed a coffee at Croissant Show, another infamous spot. The French-style cafe is usually open all hours and known for providing revellers with post-clubbing sustenance. I didnt spot any bleary-eyed customers, but the coffee was superb. My overall verdict? Ibiza felt a little soulless. However, its a perfect time to visit for a slower and more peaceful experience on the island if you feel comfortable to travel. As a movement to defund police and fire agencies sweeps across the nation, the city of Conroe is including raises for police and fire in its Fiscal Year 2020-21 budget. In addition, Mayor Toby Powell also made sure non-civil service employees also received both merit and cost of living raises stayed in the budget. City staff presented the draft budget to the council last week. The $235 million Fiscal Year 2020-21 budget is a 1.2 percent decrease from the citys actual Fiscal Year 2019-20 budget of $237 million. The city is proposing the same tax rate of 43.75 cents per $100 property valuation. I understand the movement around the country is to defund police and service departments, Powell said in a statement. I want to send a strong message to our police department, fire department, staff, and others. As mayor, I will stand beside our police department, fire department and our staff and will not support cutting their funding or reducing step, merit or COLA payments. Powell noted the current pandemic has created challenging times, but city staff continued to do their jobs while balancing their families. We cannot ask them to sacrifice over and again, to do more with less, to respond faster, and better, to show up, and take care of it at our request without recognizing their effort, he stated. It has never been more clear to me than in these difficult times, our staff is our best asset. While the budget retreat resulted in little discussion from the council as it was presented by Chief Financial Officer and Assistant City Administrator Steve Williams, Mayor Pro Tem Duke Coon had concerns over a proposed 16 percent increase in sewer rates for residents. We are going to have to do something with this 16 percent increase, he said. There was no appetite for it last year. We are going to need a plan to get that reduced. I dont know if our citizens can bare that increase this year. According to information provided by Williams, the sewer rate is proposed to take rates from $71.94 per 10,000 gallons to $83.47 per 10,000 gallons. However, Williams cautioned the council that reducing that percentage could cause financial problems for the city since that percentage reflects what is needed to cover the existing debt. We can maybe squeeze that a little bit but I wouldnt recommend that financially for the city, Williams said. Coon stood firm and asked Williams to revisit that percentage for any reductions and bring that information back to the council. The budget includes $139 million in new capital improvement projects, including several water and sewer projects. The council will discuss the proposed budget at its regular meeting at 9:30 a.m. Thursday. The city will host a public hearing Aug. 6 on the budget and tax rate with the council scheduled to adopt next years budget Aug. 13. The citys fiscal year begins Oct. 1. cdominguez@hcnonline.com New Delhi: The Central government on Tuesday removed the export ban on surgical drapes, isolation aprons, surgical wraps and X-Ray gowns. All other items including other types of medical coveralls of all classes and categories continue to remain prohibited for export, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification. A notification dated June 22 is amended "to the extent that only surgical drapes, isolation aprons, surgical wraps and X-Ray gowns are removed from the prohibition under the medical coveralls of all classes and categories," it said. Morena: Sacks of salt kept outside shops at two locations here were reportedly looted by unidentified men amid rumours about shortage of the essential commodity. However, no complaint has been registered so far, police said. The incidents took place at Sabji Mandi (vegetable market) and Jiwajigang Market under Kotwali Police Station area around midnight, eyewitnesses said. Masked men in pick-up vehicles came to the two markets, where shopkeepers keep gunny bags of salt outside their outlets at night, and looted those, eyewitnesses said. On getting information about the loot, some traders residing nearby, rushed to the spot and chased the masked men but they managed to escape. "The shopkeepers have not yet reported about the loot. If they approach us we will investigate the matter," Kotwali Police Station Inspector Ajay Chanana said. Two days ago, the Centre had dismissed rumours of shortage of salt in the market and said adequate stocks are available across the country. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. All eyes are on Congress to see what they will include in the next coronavirus stimulus bill. That could include a second set of stimulus checks. Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said on Tuesday that lawmakers want to send another round of direct payments to Americans. For some, that could mean a new chance at the first $1,200 payments. About 12 million people who were eligible for the first checks are at risk of not receiving them, according to estimates from the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, a non-partisan research and policy institute. More from Personal Finance: Unemployment crisis hits big cities hard Will there be a second $1,200 stimulus check? Government relief is coming to an abrupt end To date, about 160 million payments totaling $270 billion have been sent in "record time," Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin said at a congressional hearing last week. But some Americans were excluded from that first set of payments. That included dependents ages 17 and up, including college students and disabled adults. Americans who filed their income taxes jointly with non-citizen spouses were also left out of the money. Now, efforts are underway to get missing money into the hands of those who should have received checks. Some lawmakers are hoping to use the upcoming legislation to help fill in some of those holes. T he UK will "bear the consequences" if it continues to go "down the wrong road, China has warned after Britain announced the suspension of its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. Dominic Raab confirmed the move would be taken "immediately and indefinitely" amid rising tensions after Beijing imposed a draconian new security law on the former British colony. A spokesman for the country's embassy to the United Kingdom said on Tuesday that China would resolutely respond to acts of interference in its internal affairs. He said the UK has repeatedly violated international law and the basic norms of international relations, and will "bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road". Dominic Raab is suspending the UK's extradition treaty with Hong Kong / REUTERS The extradition treaty allows a person from Hong Kong suspected of a crime in the UK to be handed over to face justice and vice versa. The Foreign Secretary said the Government will also extend the arms embargo that currently apples to China to Hong Kong. He this would include a ban on exporting equipment that could be used for internal repression. The new security law prompted the UK Government to offer three million Hong Kong residents the chance to settle in Britain. Mr Raab warned: "There remains considerable uncertainty about the way in which the new national security law will be enforced. I would just say this: the UK is watching and the whole world is watching. The Government has shelved the extradition arrangement, which has been in place for more than 30 years, rather than completely tearing it up. It is thought the latter option is being held back as a final lever to pull if China fails to change direction. Outlining his announcement, the Foreign Secretary was keen to stress that "we want to work with China. However, he told the Commons they were clear sighted about challenges ahead and singled out China's treatment of Uighur Muslims. Mr Raab said the Government has "grave concerns" about the "gross human rights abuses" taking place in China's Xinjiang region. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in the UK on Monday night ahead of a meeting with Boris Johnson to discuss "shared security challenges". He is expected to discuss China with the Prime Minister in a Downing Street summit and he will also meet with Mr Raab. Spoiler alert: none of the potential couples in Indian Matchmaking, a new reality TV series on Netflix, lasted. The show has been drawing criticism since its Friday release, for reinforcing cultural stereotypes about India, celebrating casteism and colourism, and for being a prime example of a phenomenon known as aunty gaze. The show introduces a diverse cast of characters, all looking to get hitched. Theyre united by a common matchmaker -- Sima Taparia, from Mumbai, which is how she introduces herself to her clients, as she hobnobs with the rich and doles out questionable advice. Compromise, adjust, be flexible, Sima says to her clients, as she reduces them to a string of adjectives and visits face-readers and pandits for suggestions. I have found matches for people when I was on vacation in Zermatt and in Interlaken and even when we were in the Canadian Rockies, I was on duty matching people up. Hell, I have even matched people up while waiting at the luggage carousel at Mumbai airport, she told Conde Nast Traveller in an interview. Also read: Netflix reality show Indian Matchmaking is making Twitter shake with cringe: Full body mortification Some of them, like Vyasar (a public school teacher from Austin, Texas) Sima seems to like, while others like Aparna (a lawyer) Sima openly expresses her irritation with. Like Sima, the audience has also developed clear favourites among the cast. Heres an update of where they stand in their quests to get married. Aparna Shewakramani Aparna, the lawyer from Houston, told Oprah Magazine that shes single, but still in touch with the three men she was set up with on the show. Were actually good friends. Thats a positive experience that came out of the show. To walk away with three people you can relate to, and who are good and kind and grounded, is a success in my book, she said. Pradhyuman Maloo The jewellery designer from Mumbai ended his arc on the show with a date. Things seemed to be going well for him and Delhi-based model Rushali. But Pradhyuman, who had turned down over 150 girls before giving his nod to Rushali, told the Los Angeles Times that they werent together. We had different paths in life and we respected that and moved ahead. Im still looking for the right one, he said. Nadia Jagessar Nadia, a wedding planner from New Jersey, gave Sima quite the challenge when she informed her that while she was of Indian origin, she is actually Guyanese. Over the course of the show, Nadia dated Vinay, with whom she had an abrupt falling out, but later seemed to really like the lawyer Sekhar, but it apparently didnt work out once the cameras stopped rolling. Being off camera definitely changed the dynamic between myself and the matches that I had continued talking to, and obviously, the change was not positive, she told the LA Times. But it helped me learn more about myself and what Im looking for in a future partner. Vyasar Ganesan Sorry about my mouse being in screen, but this is the best of all possible intros #indianmatchmaking pic.twitter.com/C23FTsrsaY Vyasar M G OMG (@NotVyasarG) July 17, 2020 Vyasar was by far the most likable person on the show, and easily the audiences favourite. Even Sima seemed to have nothing but nice things to say about him. But as promising as things looked for him towards the end of the show, he told the LA Times that he is still single. Its no ones fault. Matchmaking really is tough. Both people I was matched with were truly wonderful, inspiring individuals who Im proud to call friends, Vyasar said. The only person who seemed to be well and truly on his way to get hitched is Akshay, the 25-year-old from Mumbai who said he wants his wife to be like his mother. At the end of the show, he got engaged to a girl from Udaipur, but he cryptically told the LA Times, A few days later, there were some things which we found out that did not go down well with us, and eventually I called it off. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A man was transported to hospital with serious injuries after a shooting in Lawrence Heights early Tuesday morning, Toronto police say. Police got calls several from people reporting sounds of gunshots heard around 1 a.m. When they arrived, police found several shell casings and a man suffering from a gunshot wound at Bagot Court and Varna Drive. The man was taken to the hospital by Toronto paramedics with serious, but non-life-threatening injuries. Police looking for three male suspects who fled the scene. The K-9 unit was also at the scene assisting the investigation. Anyone with information is asked to contact Toronto police at 416-808-2222. Passengers on China-bound flights from abroad will need to carry a negative Covid-19 test report, the civil aviation authority announced Tuesday as the Chinese government steps up measures to control imported coronavirus cases. The nucleic acid tests would have to be carried out within five days before the scheduled flight at institutes vetted by Chinese embassies in the host countries, the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) announced on Tuesday. The new rule will apply to both Chinese citizens and foreigners travelling to China amid a graded increase in international travel. Passengers who are Chinese citizens are required to take photos of and upload the nucleic acid test results via an epidemic prevention mini program on the Chinese instant messaging platform WeChat, the announcement said. Foreigners have to contact the Chinese embassy to get the process started. Overseas travelers need to apply for a declaration of health status from the Chinese embassy with a valid written report of a negative test result, the announcement added. Local Chinese embassies have been tasked with assessing the testing capacity of host countries and formulate travel procedures when testing conditions are met, CAAC said. According to Reuters, the CAAC has allowed more foreign airlines to resume services in China and add flights to the country as the economy recovers. Deutsche Lufthansa AG on Friday said it would double the number of flights to and from mainland China in coming weeks, and Air France KLM SA said it has received approval to add more China flights, the news agency reported. Last week, health authorities announced that all overseas arrivals still need to undergo quarantine and medical observation at designated sites. However, entry with diplomatic, service, courtesy or C visas were not affected, the ministry of foreign affairs had announced. According to the national health commission (NHC), by the end of Monday, a total of 2,015 imported cases had been reported on the mainland. As of Monday, the overall confirmed cases on the mainland had reached 83,693, including 242 patients who were still being treated, with seven in severe conditions. The death toll remains at 4634. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday took on the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, saying it had deprived Bengal in every possible way. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief also launched her party's election campaign for the 2021 Assembly elections. "They are playing dirty game of politics. The BJP is trying to break Bengal. The Centre has not given anything to us. The BJP is purchasing MLAs in different states to topple governments," Banerjee said addressing a virtual meeting on the occasion of July 21 Martyrs' Day celebration. She said the BJP thought they could rule all the states, but that won't be possible in Bengal. "They are maligning our government. The Centre has insulted us by not giving anything even after the devastating Cyclone Amphan. But they will not be able to capture Bengal," Banerjee said. She asked party members to take a pledge to defeat the BJP in the Assembly polls, scheduled next year. "I urge everyone to gear up for the next's Assembly polls so that we can again assemble here on July 21 next year and celebrate our electoral victory. We will defeat them in such a way that all BJP candidates will lose their poll deposits," she said, pointing out that a wounded tigress was even more ferocious. Banerjee said she was not scared of the Centre and urged people to keep faith in the TMC. "I know they (BJP) will start fresh conspiracy against me after this. But I am not scared. I know how to fight and I will not budge. They might torture me also, but I am not scared," she said and added the TMC would form the government in West Bengal in 2021 defeating the BJP and other political formations. "If you trust the BJP, you will suffer and finally end up losing everything. I welcome everyone from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the Congress and the BJP to come and join the TMC. They might have made mistakes, but it's still not too late. The TMC is the only political alternative in Bengal," she said. Reacting to Banerjee's attack, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said, "She has understood that the people of Bengal don't trust her government any more. That's why she has targeted the BJP. This is our political success. Earlier in 2019, she had claimed the TMC would secure all 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal. But the BJP bagged 18 seats." Senior CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty said the people of Bengal had come to know that the TMC was a platform for political extortionists. "She is lying. Whatever she is saying is absolutely false. People will give her a befitting reply at the right time," he said. Allentown, PA (18103) Today Turning out mostly cloudy and not as cold. There might be a rain or snow shower late.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with some rain and snow showers. Any rain will be early in the night. Open Briefing Interview with MD Andrew McLellan Melbourne, July 21, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Bluechiip Ltd ( ASX:BCT ) Managing Director, Andrew McLellan on Labcon's purported termination of chip supply agreement and Bluechiip's market opportunities.In this Open Briefing(R), Andrew discusses:- Labcon North America purports to terminate chip supply agreement- New developer kit sales and current market engagement strategy- Financial positionTo view the full briefing, please visit:About Bluechiip Limited Bluechiip Ltd (ASX:BCT) understands that every sample - stem cells, blood, eggs, sperm and other biospecimens - is critical, so our objective is to manage each one with optimal quality in the most efficient way. Bluechiip's advanced management solution is the only one that provides sample temperature with ID in cryogenic environments to. Most importantly, this delivers confidence in every sample. Bluechiip's unique patented technology is a MEMS-based wireless tracking solution that contains no electronics. It represents a generational change from current tracking methods such as labels (hand-written and pre-printed), barcodes (linear and 2D), and Radio Frequency Identification. Bluechiip tags are either embedded or manufactured into storage products such as vials or bags. Each product can be easily identified, and critical information such as sample temperature, is detected by readers and stored in the Bluechiip software. In addition to functioning in extreme temperatures, the Bluechiip(R) Advanced Sample management solution can survive autoclaving, gamma irradiation sterilization, humidification, centrifuging, cryogenic storage and frosting. Bluechiip's technology has applications in healthcare, including in cryogenic storage facilities (biobanks and biorepositories), pathology, clinical trials and forensics. Other key markets include cold-chain logistics/supply chain, security/defence, industrial/manufacturing and aerospace/aviation. Bluechiip: Delivering confidence in every sample. Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday issued a stern warning against foreign interference in U.S. elections, singling out Russia and promising swift retaliation against any nation that attempts to meddle in the American democratic process. In a lengthy statement, the presumptive Democratic nominee lambasted the Trump administration for failing to take action to prevent foreign election interference, and said that he is putting the Kremlin and other foreign governments "on notice," as a matchup with President Donald Trump looms just over 100 days away. "If elected president, I will treat foreign interference in our election as an adversarial act that significantly affects the relationship between the United States and the interfering nation's government," Biden wrote. MORE: Russia tried to hack coronavirus vaccine research, US, UK and Canada say "I will direct the U.S. Intelligence Community to report publicly and in a timely manner on any efforts by foreign governments that have interfered, or attempted to interfere, with U.S. elections. I will direct my administration to leverage all appropriate instruments of national power and make full use of my executive authority to impose substantial and lasting costs on state perpetrators," he added, noting that the potential costs could include "financial-sector sanctions, asset freezes, cyber responses, and the exposure of corruption." PHOTO: Joe Biden arrives to speak about modernizing infrastructure and his plans for tackling climate change during a campaign event in Wilmington, Delaware, July 14, 2020. (Leah Millis/Reuters) The statement aimed at Russia and other foreign governments comes just days after Biden revealed that he has been briefed by a team of experts on the topic of foreign election interference. "We know from before and I guarantee you I know now because now I get briefings again. The Russians are still engaged in trying to delegitimize our electoral process. Fact," Biden said Friday evening at a virtual fundraiser hosted by a group of top lawyers. "China and others are engaged as well in activities that are designed for us to lose confidence in the outcome," the former vice president, who served for multiple stints as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee during his 36-year career in the U.S. Senate, added. Story continues MORE: Pandemic surge damages Trump, boosting Biden's White House bid: POLL In his statement issued on Monday, Biden wrote that he has "no desire" to escalate tensions between the U.S. and Russia, or any other country, and would prefer to work together with the nations of the world to fight the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, but warned that he would impose punishments on any nation that interferes in American democracy. "(I)f any foreign power recklessly chooses to interfere in our democracy, I will not hesitate to respond as president to impose substantial and lasting costs," Biden wrote. Since his election in 2016 over former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, Trump has largely rejected the conclusion of the U.S. intelligence community that Russia interfered in the election to aid his candidacy, and said at a 2018 press conference along Russian President Vladimir Putin that he believes his denials that his country was involved in election meddling. "My people came to me, (Director of National Intelligence) Dan Coats came to me and some others and said they think it's Russia. I have President Putin. He just said it's not Russia. I will say this. I don't see any reason why it would be (Russia)," Trump said at the time. PHOTO: In this July 16, 2018, file photo, U.S. President Donald Trump, left, and Russian President Vladimir Putin shake hands at the beginning of a meeting at the Presidential Palace in Helsinki, Finland. (Pablo Martinez Monsivais/AP Photo) Throughout the 2020 campaign, Biden has sought to cast Trump as soft on Russia, and recently excoriated the president over reports that Russian intelligence officers offered to pay Taliban militants to kill American troops in Afghanistan over the past year. "(Trump) has cozied up to Putin from the very beginning, giving Putin a standing that he does not deserve, undercutting our alliances in Europe and other parts of the world," Biden said during a virtual fundraiser in late June. "When I'm president, this and so many abuses will not stand. Make no mistake. I'll confront Putin. I'll strengthen NATO. I'll make clear to Putin that they'll have a price to pay for interference in our democratic processes," Biden said. MORE: Russians offered Taliban bounties to kill US troops: Military official Trump has insisted he was never briefed on any alleged Russian bounty program, and the White House has maintained that the information regarding the program was not verified by U.S. intelligence agencies. "I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level," Trump tweeted on July 1. "No corroborating evidence to back reports." Department of Defense. Do people still not understand that this is all a made up Fake News Media Hoax started to slander me & the Republican Party. I was never briefed because any info that they may have had did not rise to that level Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 1, 2020 Biden warns against foreign interference in US elections: 'I am putting the Kremlin and other foreign governments on notice' originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Accusing China of not being transparent about the COVID-19, US President Donald Trump has said that Beijing could have stopped the deadly virus from spreading across the world but they "chose" not to. Trump has in the past expressed disappointment over China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, he claimed that it was the incompetence of Beijing that led to the mass killing across the globe. More than 600,000 people globally, including 143,000 Americans have died due to coronavirus that emerged from China's Wuhan city. Over 14 million people across the world, including over 4 million in the US, have tested positive with this deadly virus that has brought the global economy to standstill. China has denied US' 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. It came from China. It should have never been allowed to get out. They could have stopped it. They could have stopped it easily. They chose not to, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. We'll have further reports on that. But it came from China. They could have stopped it, but they didn't. They stopped it from going into China, but they didn't stop it from going to the rest of the world. It didn't stop it from going to Europe, to us, he said. They should have stopped it. They could have stopped it. They weren't transparent at all; they were the opposite. It's not good, Trump said. Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Monday over the pandemic. And all of us, and all of us together -- I've had many conversations with leaders all over the world over the weekend, and over the last couple of weeks in particular. And this is a pandemic that is flaring up all over the place. Countries thought they were in good shape and then, all of a sudden, they have a big flare-up, he said. Coronavirus, he said, is a worldwide problem and the US is helping other countries with ventilators. We're helping a lot of countries. They don't have ventilators, and we're sending thousands of ventilators to different countries. But I do want people to understand this is a worldwide problem caused by China, but it's a worldwide problem, Trump said. Countries are going through hell. We're going to give you a lot of briefings in the next week and over the next few weeks as to -- I think it's very important to do it, the vaccines and the therapeutics. I think I'm going to bring some of the great companies that are working, and very successfully in the past have worked on these things, and they're going to tell you very specifically what they're doing and how they're doing. But we think we're doing very well in that regard, said the president. Meanwhile, the State Department on Monday announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his July 20-22 visit to the UK will meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to discuss global priorities, including coordination on COVID-19 recovery and issues related to the People's Republic of China (PRC). He will also discuss the ongoing negotiations for the US-UK Free Trade Agreement, an official statement said. In another development, Congressman Michael Burges said that China and the Chinese Communist Party continues to threaten American national security with cyber-attacks. The US should get more specific with sanctions and use our economic power to punish hackers, he demanded. Also read: Coronavirus crisis exposing inequalities; world at 'breaking point', says UN chief President Donald Trump plans to sign an executive order on Tuesday that aims to prevent migrants who are in the United States illegally from being counted when U.S. congressional voting districts are redrawn in the next round of redistricting. U.S. Census experts and lawyers say the action would be legally dubious, likely benefiting Trump's Republican Party by eliminating the largely non-white population of migrants in the United States illegally. Redistricting occurs both at the state level to draw maps for state house legislatures and at the federal level to draw maps for U.S. congressional districts. The latter are known as congressional apportionment. Proponents of citizens-only voting districts argue each vote should carry the same weight. If one district has far fewer eligible voters than another, they say, each vote there has more influence on election outcomes. Democrats and immigrant rights activists say including non-voters ensures that elected leaders represent everyone who depends on public services like schools and trash pickup, regardless of voting eligibility. Trump planned to sign the order at 12:15 p.m. ET (1615 GMT) in the Oval Office. A senior administration official said Trump was expected to argue that eliminating illegal immigrants from congressional apportionment maps is necessary to ensure that only legal U.S. residents have a voice in federal politics. "President Trump's Executive Order on Excluding Illegal Immigrants From the Apportionment Base is another decisive step toward fulfilling his solemn pledge to ensure only American citizens have congressional representation, not illegal aliens," the official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. But the move carries major legal questions, and will probably draw litigation. Citizens-only voting districts are viewed as potentially legal for state-level voting districts, but the U.S. Constitution explicitly says congressional apportionment should be based on the whole number of persons in each state. Multiple federal laws have reinforced that reading, and the U.S. Supreme Court has upheld that interpretation. All of this makes Trumps position outrageous, said Joshua Geltzer, a constitutional law expert and professor at Georgetown Law, adding that the move will almost certainly be met with litigation. Another question is how the Trump administration would acquire data on undocumented immigrants. The 2020 U.S. Census does not ask respondents whether they are citizens, legal or otherwise. In theory, officials could determine citizenship data through such administrative records as drivers' license databases, along with citizenship estimates gathered in other Census Bureau surveys. But that data is incomplete, and demographers and immigration advocacy groups have argued they are unreliable. The government's census count helps in determining where taxpayer money is spent for building public facilities like schools, hospitals and fire departments, as well as calculating states' apportionment in the U.S. House of Representatives. The U.S. Constitution mandates that the United States count its population every 10 years. Trump's planned executive order could prove popular with the presidents base of support as he tries to generate enthusiasm for his re-election in November. Trump has spent much of his presidency seeking to limit the number of migrants who illegally enter the United States, particularly from Central America, and his executive order was another part of his immigration agenda. It has long been a Trump administration strategy to use the census to identify, and limit the political power of undocumented immigrants. But the efforts have faced roadblocks. In 2018, the administration said it would ask respondents to the 2020 census whether they were citizens, a move ultimately nixed by the Supreme Court. Following the defeat, Trump issued an executive order in July 2019 aiming to determine citizenship status through a trove of administrative records. The order, which called on states to turn over such data to the U.S. Census Bureau, is still facing litigation from immigration advocates including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Search Keywords: Short link: China is using Uighur labor as part of the global supply chain for personal protective equipment in an effort to combat the coronavirus pandemic, the New York Times reported on Sunday. The workers are assigned as part of a Chinese program to turn Muslim minorities in Xinjiang Province, mostly Uighurs and Kazakhs, into factory workers and indoctrinate them to become more obedient and loyal to the state. The program is considered by observers to employ forced labor, in an attempt to eradicate the workers ethnic and religious identity. Out of 51 companies in Xinjiang that currently produce medical equipment, primarily for domestic use, 17 participate in the labor program. Several other companies outside of Xinjiang that produce supplies for export also make use of Uighur labor. The Times traced one shipment of face masks that ended up in Georgia in the U.S. to a factory in Hubei Province. That factory uses a contingent of Uighur laborers who are required to learn Mandarin and pledge loyalty to the Chinese state. Much of the tape on the play equipment at Cathraw Playground, in midtown, is in disarray and may need to be restrung now that it is clear childrens playgrounds will remain closed during Phase 3 of the reopening. COVID-19. CORONAPD Toronto Star/Rick Madonik (Rick Madonik/Toronto Star via Getty Images) Half of Canadians are confident their communities would take a second lockdown seriously if another wave of COVID-19 hit later this year. A new survey from Angus Reid Institute took the temperature on how people across the country feel now that were several months into the global pandemic. Provinces like Alberta, Saskatchewan and British Columbia which has been applauded for its handling of the virus have recently seen an uptick in cases. In total, 50 per cent of people surveyed say they felt confident others in their community would follow the same protocol with measures like as social distancing, hand-washing, and avoiding public spaces if they were asked to do so again later this year. People in B.C. and Manitoba were feeling the most confident in how those around them would respond to such a scenario, but less than half in other parts of the country felt the same. The main concerns Canadians have around the possibility of a second wave revolve around the economy and mental health. Just over half 51 per cent feel the economic devastation from a second wave in the fall or winter would be more problematic than the first. The anxiety around this scenario was most noticeable in Alberta and Atlantic Canada. When it comes to personal finances, 22 per cent of Canadians say a second wave would have a very negative impact, while 35 per cent say it would be slightly negative. As for issues relating to mental health, most Canadian say having to go through a second lockdown would be difficult for them. Twenty-eight percent say it would have a very negative effect on their mental wellbeing, while 43 per cent say it would be negative to a lesser extent. Other notable findings from the survey: Young women are most likely to say that a second lockdown would have a very negative effect on their mental health 42 per cent say this would be the case. One-in-five Canadians (22 per cent) say it would not affect them One in five Canadians (20 per cent) say they think Canada would fare better with respect to deaths and illness in the event of a second wave. Two in five (39 per cent) anticipate that it would be about the same, while one in three (33 per cent) feel it would be worse One in three (34 per cent) say a second lockdown would have no effect on their personal finances, while the majority 57 per cent say it would have a negative impact The full survey can be found here. (TNS) Chilton County officials hope to reopen tag and probate office services early next week after a nearly two-week closure caused by a ransomware attack.Commissioner Joseph Parnell said the countys first priority is to reopen to tag office by early next week and open to probate office at some point next week. Residents have been unable to renew their tags since July 7 when the attack was discovered. Until the computer system is back online and offices reopened, residents cannot renew tags or do any other county business.Parnell said the officials dont yet know what information was compromised, but he said around 70 computers were hit. He said the county system hard drives on Tuesday were sent to be processed by an IT company in New York. He did not identify the company.In a ransomware attack, hackers deliver a file to unsuspecting users that once downloaded is used to commandeer and lockup a network. Hackers generally demand payment return access to files and the system to its owners. In 2019, the City of Leeds paid $12,000 to regain control of its files. Governments and businesses have been targeted in Alabama, including DCH Health System in Tuscaloosa, also in 2019.The county did not pay the ransom demanded by the hackers, who Parnell called terrorists. He said hed rather use taxpayer money to recover data than to give taxpayer money to the hackers.Were feeling very blessed. It could have been a lot worse, Parnell said.The county has ordered updated computer equipment for many county offices to better protect against another attack.We really learned where our weaknesses are, Parnell said.It could be a month or more before all the computer systems are upgraded and the system is up and running at usual capacity. The wild spider monkeys living in a protected area near Punta Laguna, Mexico, collectively figure out good ways to divide up and conquer the forest. These monkeys live in a special type of society called a "fission-fusion" society. The group breaks up into little teams to find food -- called, "foraging" in the world of ecology -- but there is no "gym teacher" or "popular kid" picking teams. Rather, the monkeys each make decisions about how long to stay on foraging teams and when to switch to another. It turns out the collective effect of these individual decisions is to produce a range of foraging team sizes. And this range works well given how many trees in the forest have tasty fruit ready to eat. The monkeys are collectively computing good team sizes given the availability of food in the forest. The findings are published this week in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI. The researchers -- from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Santa Fe Institute, in Santa Fe, NM -- report that monkeys make use of the smarts of their group mates to inform their own decisions. "By forming these subgroups -- constantly coming together and splitting -- the spider monkeys develop a more thorough knowledge of their environment," says the study's lead author, Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez at UNAM, who studies animal communication, social complexity and networks. "They seem to be pooling information about resources, so that as a group they know their environment better than any individual does on its own." Ramos-Fernandez and his group recorded the interactions of 47 monkeys for five hours per day over two years. He says the monkeys, which are accustomed to being observed by people, typically formed subgroups of 2 to 17 animals, but those subgroups typically stayed together only for 1-2 hours. "We noted who was where, and with whom, at any given time," he says. To understand how the monkeys to collectively compute team sizes, Ramos-Fernandez's team collaborated with SFI Professor Jessica Flack and SFI President David Krakauer. Flack leads SFI's Collective Computation Group, and Krakauer is co-developer of the collective computation ideas with Flack. The researchers used an approach called inductive game theory, developed by Flack and Krakauer in collaboration with another SFI researcher, Simon DeDeo, to figure out what decision rules the spider monkeys use in deciding to stay on or leave a foraging team. In traditional game theory, researchers make assumptions about the strategies in play. Inductive game theory, in contrast, asks what strategies are the animals (or cells or neurons) actually using--what do we see in the data? Inductive Game Theory starts by specifying in advance a space of decision rules the study subjects -- here spider monkeys -- could be using given their cognitive and behavioral sophistication and, ideally, for which there is already some empirical support. The researchers search the data for evidence of these strategies and then ask how the strategies the individuals are found to use, combine to produce social structure. "This kind of methodology is useful for studying optimal foraging because it requires no a priori assumptions about benefits and costs," says Ramos-Fernandez. The researchers found individual monkeys' decisions to stay or leave a foraging team were influenced by the stay and leave decisions of other individuals on the team. This result suggests spider monkeys take into account the opinions of their group mates about what a good team size is and use those opinions to inform their own decision-making. The collective effects of these decisions produced a range of team sizes that worked well given the availability of fruiting trees in the monkeys' forest. But the researchers also found that the spider monkeys' "collective intelligence" had room for improvement! The team sizes the monkeys collectively computed were not a perfect match to the availability of fruiting trees. A similar approach might help researchers understand other collective systems, including flocks of birds, groups of fish, or financial markets. Insights from this study also reinforce an idea in the collective intelligence literature that in decentralized systems when individual parts or agents have imperfect knowledge or only partial windows on the world, collective pooling of knowledge can be beneficial. Questions for future work include studying how individuals optimally combine the knowledge of group mates, depending on how diverse the group is, and how costly it is to make mistakes. ### Country United States of America US Virgin Islands United States Minor Outlying Islands Canada Mexico, United Mexican States Bahamas, Commonwealth of the Cuba, Republic of Dominican Republic Haiti, Republic of Jamaica Afghanistan Albania, People's Socialist Republic of Algeria, People's Democratic Republic of American Samoa Andorra, Principality of Angola, Republic of Anguilla Antarctica (the territory South of 60 deg S) Antigua and Barbuda Argentina, Argentine Republic Armenia Aruba Australia, Commonwealth of Austria, Republic of Azerbaijan, Republic of Bahrain, Kingdom of Bangladesh, People's Republic of Barbados Belarus Belgium, Kingdom of Belize Benin, People's Republic of Bermuda Bhutan, Kingdom of Bolivia, Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina Botswana, Republic of Bouvet Island (Bouvetoya) 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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 Chinese Communist Party General secretary and PLA commander-in-chief Xi Jinping became paramount leader of the Middle Kingdom in 2012. That President Xi thought himself second to none in the Chinese communist pantheon that includes founding father Mao Zedong and economic revivalist Deng Xiaoping became evident on Monday when the Xi Jinping Research Center for Diplomatic Thought was inaugurated within Chinas foreign ministry. Foreign minister Wang Yi, who inaugurated the center in Beijing, said Xis diplomatic doctrine embodies 21st century Marxism and transcends traditional theories regarding international relations, Wang said, describing Xis doctrine as the ultimate guiding principle for Chinese diplomacy. According to China watchers, the new institute of research into Xi Jinpings thought virtually places him on par with founding father Mao Zedong who led the cultural revolution in the Middle Kingdom that snuffed out millions of lives. Maos thought was incorporated into the Communist Party of Chinas charter in 1945. Also read: From Ladakh to Japans Senkaku Islands, bully China is in an overdrive In October 2017, Xi Jinping was the first Chinese leader since Mao to have had an eponymous ideology included in the charter while in office. Dengs name was added to the charter after his death in 1997. Deng Xiaoping, the man who led the rise of China as an economic power, stands below the pedestal with his doctrine that put economic development at the centre of party work and provided the ideological roadmap for the modernization of the Chinese economy. The research centre was opened around the time China is in confrontation mode with several countries While the world sees Xi Jinpings aggression in Ladakh and South China Sea as divergence from struggles within the party, this move clearly cements his position as the first and most powerful Chinese emperor. In the Indian context, it may be recalled that Mao Zedong mounted the aggression on India in 1962 after the failure of Great Leap Forward agriculture revolution in which millions died of hunger and famine, the PLAs aggression on the India-China border under the garb of peace and tranquility has come after millions have been infected due to the coronavirus that originated in central Chinas Wuhan. At Mondays event, President Xi who aims to turn China into an eminent global power, upending Deng Xiaopings approach to adopt a low profile to expand Beijings trade was described as a great strategist with vision. Dengs doctrine advocated that China should keep a low profile and bide your time to stay focused on economic revival. Xi, however, wants that China should take an active role as a contributor to development of global governance and what he had described as a protector of international order. Also read: In renewed attack on border row, Rahul Gandhi connects PMs image and Chinas plan The theory of international relations has achieved a historic leap in the field of diplomacy in the localization of Marxism, said foreign minister Wang at Mondays event on XIs approach. This wasnt the only aspect of Deng Xiaopings efforts to reform China that President Xi has reversed. Two years ago, President Xi had removed the constitutional bar introduced by Deng in 1982 on the Chinas president serving more than two terms. This will allow him to continue as Chinas president for lifetime, quite like Mao. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Millions of children fail to reach their developmental potential worldwide, in part due to higher rates of exposure to current and legacy pollutants. Researchers studying chemical exposures among children in Uruguay turned to an unlikely data collection device as part of a recent study: silicone wristbands. These wristbands -- the kind many people around the world wear to show their support for a cause or organization -- are extremely effective in capturing certain types of harmful chemicals, and they're easy for children to wear. Researchers from the University at Buffalo and the Catholic University of Uruguay used the wristbands to examine the extent of chemical exposure among a small group of children in Montevideo, Uruguay. The 6- to 8-year-olds wore the bands for seven days. After analyzing the wristbands, researchers found an average of 13 pollutants in each one collected. Some of the wristbands showed exposure to DDT, a harmful pesticide that has been banned for use in many countries, including the U.S., since the 1970s. The study, published recently in the journal Science of the Total Environment, is the first to apply silicone wristbands to measure children's exposure to chemicals in a country outside of the U.S. The study was conducted as part of an ongoing research project in Montevideo led by Katarzyna "Kasia" Kordas, PhD, the paper's senior author. Kordas is an associate professor of epidemiology and environmental health in UB's School of Public Health and Health Professions and co-director of UB's Community for Global Health Equity. The UB RENEW (Research and Education in eNergy, Environment and Water) Institute provided funding for the study. "One of the key findings from this research is that we still observe industrial and agricultural chemicals that have been banned from production for years and even decades," said Steven C. Travis, the study's first author, who is a PhD student in the Department of Chemistry in UB's College of Arts and Sciences. "We were also able to find specific differences between chemical exposures of the children in our study compared to children in the U.S., and identify potential reasons for differences in exposure," added Travis, whose major PhD adviser, Diana Aga, Henry Woodburn Professor of Chemistry in UB's College of Arts and Sciences, is a paper co-author. Silicone wristbands have become a popular method in recent years to measure personal exposures to organic chemicals because they are easy to wear and are a non-invasive sampling method. They also have a greater capacity to hold semi-volatile chemicals, and can capture chemicals for a longer period of time. More than 1,500 chemicals have been sampled using silicone wristbands, Travis said. Researchers analyzed wristbands in this study for 45 chemicals from among five groups: polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), pesticides, polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), organophosphorus flame retardants (OPFRs) and novel halogenated flame-retardant chemicals (NHFRs). NHFRs were the only chemical group not detected. Anywhere from eight to 19 chemicals were detected in each of 23 wristbands collected. The use of wristbands as a personal sampling device is an excellent alternative for assessing what harmful chemicals are accumulating in children's bodies, rather than the old-fashioned way of collecting blood and measuring the chemical concentrations in the blood." Diana Aga, Henry Woodburn Professor of Chemistry in UB's College of Arts and Sciences PCBs were found in 19 of the 23 wristbands. The researchers noted that the entry and trade of PCBs wasn't regulated in Uruguay until 2007, and that there were an estimated 40,000 transformers -- a major source of PCBs -- operating in the country in 2006. The presence of PBDEs was confirmed in 22 out of 23 wristbands. Concentrations of this chemical group, however, were much lower than those found in U.S. studies. That was surprising, according to the researchers. "With this study, we've been able to link different exposures to certain lifestyle characteristics," Travis said. "For example, we are able to suggest that not having carpets in the home may lead to lower exposure to brominated flame retardants, which were used widely in the production of carpet padding. Also, with the use of other studies, we can uncover differences in exposure based on various modes of transportation." Eleven wristbands contained all six OPFRs analyzed. Pesticides were also present, including DDT, which was found in 20 wristbands. "It is very concerning that young children are exposed to multiple chemicals, including those that have been banned in the U.S. because of demonstrated harms to health," said Kordas. "We know that when chemicals occur together in so-called mixtures, they could be more detrimental to children's development than each chemical alone." Travis added, "This emphasizes that we need to be more careful with the chemicals that we use for industrial and agricultural purposes, since they have the potential to remain in the environment and can affect people over decades." 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. August 13 Webinar Speakers Green Button Go softwares tremendous flexibility and extensibility allows us to build any automated process we can dream of. Great for power users and beginners alike. Personalized medicine is a growing healthcare trend dependent on analyzing vast numbers of samples quickly. In Bioseros upcoming webinar on August 13, the company and its customer Notable Labs will discuss how laboratory automation software can automate decision making to personalize and predict effective cancer treatments. Pharmaceutical and biotech executives, laboratory managers, scientists, researchers and automation engineers are invited to attend the complimentary webinar, Automate Your Lab with Software for Data Decisions: The Power and Flexibility of Green Button Go Software. Register at https://app.livestorm.co/biosero/the-power-and-flexibility-of-green-button-go-software for the webinar on Thursday, August 13, at 11 a.m. EST. Transon Nguyen, Head of Laboratory Automation, and Jordan Mancuso, Automation Engineer, at Notable will discuss how the company leverages Green Button Go Automation Scheduling Software to drive high-throughput cellular screening and compound management workcells. Notable is redefining cancer treatment by taking a functional approach to precision oncology in hematological cancers. Notables testing platform combines machine learning, automation and high-throughput screening directly on patient samples to predict responses to potential therapies, and ultimately determine which therapies will be most effective for specific cancers. Green Button Go softwares tremendous flexibility and extensibility allows us to build any automated process we can dream of. Great for power users and beginners alike, said Nguyen. During the webinar, Corey McCoy, Lead Software Engineer at Biosero, will also share how laboratory automation scheduling software: Maximizes walk away time with automated decision-making Minimizes the risk of errors and wasted samples Optimizes lab equipment and workcells with timing and workflow modifications After the presentations, Integrations and Engineering Manager, Steve Testen, and Director of Customer Success, Imad Mansour, will lead a virtual tour of the Biosero Acceleration Lab. Located at Bioseros San Diego headquarters, the first-of-its-kind lab that showcases robotics and real-time data. Register today and read more about the speakers at https://app.livestorm.co/biosero/the-power-and-flexibility-of-green-button-go-software. The last webinar in the series will be held at 11 a.m. EST on September 17. About Biosero, Inc. Biosero, Inc. develops automation software people use to make better decisions, in less time, using more data. The companys software enables complex, data-driven decisions to be made instantaneously, keeping workflows and operations in life science, pharmaceutical and industrial manufacturing moving. Bioseros device-agnostic Green Button Go Automation Scheduling Software integrates hardware solutions from different OEMs to create cohesive technology ecosystems that accelerate operations and increase productivity. Biosero is based in San Diego, Calif., with offices in prominent biotech and pharma hub regions around the world. For more information, please visit http://www.biosero.com. My Criminal Record Doesn't Make My Life Any Less Valuable A Black Man's Experience of the American Justice System Being a Black man in America is hard. The odds are stacked against you from birth, up until you reach your final resting place. The terrain is filled with various landmines: be it impoverished living conditions, single-parent homes, a society that was built to systematically oppress you and impede your ability to build generational wealth. These themesthough nothing neware permeating conversations across the media today, not to mention dinner tables of those who have not been directly exposed to injustice. RELATED: How Black Men Move Through the World While being a Black man is a continuous struggle in itself, being a Black man with a criminal record is a whole different animal. In my experience, it can expose you to the worst that the American criminal justice system has to offer. Before My Incarceration As a youth, I can vividly recall various occasions when the presence of law enforcement felt more threatening than reassuring. I once witnessed my fathera convicted felonbeing led out of our home by officers after violating his parole. The charge stemmed from an incident between my father and a fellow colleague who referred to him in a racially-derogatory manner. My father, who admittedly threw the first punch, was fired and sent back to prison. The other employee was issued a warning and sent back to work. Although he later explained to me that he could have handled the situation better, the lesson I took from it was that there are different sets of rules for Black men and those of other races. As I peered out the window and looked at my father in cuffs, a deep sadness came over me. The altercation would go on to affect my immediate family economically and emotionally. Years later, that moment would also prove to have an adverse affect on my view of law enforcement and the criminal justice system. At the age of nine, I understood the impact that removing a father from the family unit has on a household. He wasnt the only of my relatives and friends' fathers who was absent due to the legal systemminor or non-violent infractions, mind you. Experiences Magnified Outside of my own experiences, tragedies like the deaths of Sean Bell, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks are also reminders of how Black men are a target. According to the research group Mapping Police Violence, who are able to track over 90% of killings in the United States, of more than 1,000 American civilians killed by police in 2019, 24% were Black (though Blacks comprise only 13% of the population). Like my father (and me), Sean Bell was a convicted felon who had been previously arrested on drug and firearms charges. He was fatally shot by undercover cops on the morning of his wedding day, when they wrongly suspected he was carrying a firearm. In the aftermath of that shooting, his reputation was tarnished, and his efforts at reforming his life ignored or downplayed. As I watched the medias portrayal of what happened to Bell, a question crossed my mind: Should having a criminal record make your life any less valuable? My Rights As I grew older, the experiences my father faced (plus, other men in my community) gradually became my own. My friends and I would often get harrassed and profiled by local patrolmen. We were young, brown and mischievous. As I came of age, I admit to making some bad decisions. A joyride in a stolen car led to my own arrest, leaving me with the first real blemish on my adult criminal record. I was tased after I gave up the chase. Lucky for me, the "resisting arrest" charge was ultimately dropped. I didn't face any significant jail time as a result. Years later, I would go on to have multiple encounters with law enforcement, judges, and prosecutors. A Black man with a criminal history tends to put a target on your back. Regardless of how long you've been out of trouble, your past can haunt you. Cops will ask, have any priors? When the answer is yes, the line of questioning deepens even when youre not doing anything wrong. So I ask this: People who have been convicted of crimes and paid their debt to society by serving timeare they ever fully cleared? From Mike Brown to Rayshard Brooks who have perished at the hands of others, were their lives valued? Were their lives perceived as important as people without criminal records? Now, change their skin color. How would you answer? Would their lives be valued then? At 32, I am a decade removed from my last criminal conviction. I've turned my passion for storytelling into a career as a writer and journalist and by most accounts am a law-abiding citizen. However, every time I'm ever asked about my criminal history and ethnicity during the application process for a job or opportunity, it gives me cause to pause. Will I be less valuable? And if I ever find myself staring at the barrel of a police officer's gun, they wont ask about my character, inquire about my past contributions to my community, or consider that Im a productive member of society. They'll just ask if I have a criminal record. You Might Also Dig: Artist Paints Baby Lives Matter Mural Outside Planned Parenthood Office An artist painted a mural that said Baby Lives Matter outside a Planned Parenthood in Utah. Nobody wants to Address one of the biggest human rights crisis that goes on around us daily, Tayler Hansen, the artist, told The Epoch Times over Twitter direct message. Hansen painted the mural last week outside the Salt Lake Health Center, a Planned Parenthood location in Utah. Planned Parenthood workers carry out abortions, among other duties. He created it around 1 a.m. on July 15. The mural was removed later in the day. It was either Planned Parenthood or the city. All the workers were on their phones freaking out when they came into work and saw it, Hansen said. BABY LIVES MATTER MURAL pic.twitter.com/owqjQxQ1qL Tayler Hansen (@TaylerUSA) July 17, 2020 Lorna Vogt, director of Salt Lake Citys Department of Public Services, told The Epoch Times in an emailed statement that city law prohibits placing signs or defacing public property and streets. The City regularly removes signs and graffiti from its property as part of its routine maintenance, she said. Planned Parenthood didnt respond to a request for comment. The painted words mimicked the Black Lives Matter murals being placed on streets in various cities. New York City workers, for instance, have painted the words in all five boroughs. Baby Lives Matter was painted in blue and red. Hansen said in a video statement that he painted the mural to raise awareness for one of the most egregious human rights violations that has not been properly addressed. Because of the number of abortions around the world, he felt motivated to demonstrate a true peaceful protest dedicated to those abandoned without a voice. Panellists in a virtual conference have jointly called for the translation of the zeal that triggered the rise to the challenge of the COVID-19 fight in Africa to catapult it into a self-sufficiency zone. The Leadership, Ethics and Values-Initiative conference on the theme, Home-Grown Solutions for the Socio-Economic Transformation of Africa post-COVID-19, aimed to realign Africas transformation through leadership, values, public good and resources, which was monitored by the Ghana News Agency. The panellists said many global speakers from the developed world referred to the continent in a derogatory manner suggesting that the pandemic would sweep through Africa but the reverse is the reality. They said the resoluteness with which Africas leadership rose to the challenge without available resources and equipment and improvised, stunned the world and that that enthusiasm must be applied to the new normal post-COVID-19. They believed Africas home-grown solutions could be systematically identified, developed, resourced and scaled up for the collective good. Ms Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations, a panellist said the Coronavirus pandemic was deepening poverty, malnutrition and hunger in Africa and urged leaders to rise to this challenge by turning the fortunes of the continent around. She said the process of undertaking this enormous task requires a particular type of values, mindset consciousness, self-belief and self-confidence especially within leadership at all levels and spheres. She called for radical investment in ICT and IT infrastructure as well as technical and vocational studies to bridge the vast potential of the continent to leapfrog into finding home-grown solutions to its issues. Ms Mohammed said only 20 countries were contributing to the ICT platforms with 66 innovative products in e-health, e-participation, e-agriculture, e-payments and e-commerce. The Deputy Sec-Gen said Africa and Africans must look within themselves with their shared values, ideas and ideals, knowledge innovations and ingenuity for solutions. Mr Wamkele Keabetswe Mene, Secretary-General, Africa Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) Secretariat said the COVID-19 crisis demanded that Africa should reconfigure its existence as weaknesses in industrialisation has exposed the continent to the global supply-chain, exacerbating the crisis and called for the establishment of manufacturing centres of excellence across Africa. He said the future for Africa is heavy industrial development, investment in the capacity of health and agriculture and safeguarding the intellectual property rights across the public health spectrum. He said Africa needs the legal framework and appropriate instruments to leverage on Chinas influence on the continent, which suggests we build stronger safeguards to avoid over-dumping that could lead to job losses when the AfCFTA is tended to create more jobs for the teeming population of the continent. He said transhipment of goods and preferences are not permitted under the AfCFTA. Mr Kojo Parris, Chair-person of KBA Africa, a business incubation entity was excited how African leaders are handling the pandemic. Ndidi Okonkwo Nwuneli, co-Founder of Sahel Consulting based in Niger advocated that agriculture should be taught in schools as agribusiness in Africa rather than being a science subject saying treating agriculture as a business broadens the scope of the subject and becomes attractive to the youth to explore. She said Africa is resilient, resourceful and brave, what we need is to redesign and recreate the destiny of the population of the continent to collaborate and connect. She said food insecurity has doubled rendering the continent fragile with the lockdown situation having a negative impact on food production, access to soft loans flaccid and pointing at increasing hunger and malnutrition. Madam Nwuneli said Africa needs data, scorecards to improve productivity for shorter value-chains that have the potency to open up the food ecosystem, ensure local sourcing policies to unlock local value-chains. Madam Bridgette Motsepe Radebe, South African Businesswoman, said western solutions cannot work for Africans and time has come for Africans to look for home-grown solutions to fix its challenges because we know our environment. She said though 53 per cent of the global cobalt comes from Africa, the end product is missing in the production chain, which demands a change in mining laws so industrialisation and productivity could be enhanced. She said COVID-19 pandemic is a wake-up call for Africa to integrate. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A recent article in the New Yorker wrongly claims that two-thirds of emergency room visits by Americans aged 15 to 34 were the result of police violence. The article, written by Harvard University history professor and longtime New Yorker staff writer Jill Lepore, tells of a crisis in policing which Lepore says is the culmination of a thousand other failures failures of education, social services, public health, gun regulation, criminal justice, and economic development. The killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis, she writes, cannot be wished away as an outlier. Then she cites a 2016 paper which she wrongly uses to suggest that two-thirds of Americans between the ages of fifteen and thirty-four who were treated in emergency rooms suffered from injuries inflicted by police and security guards, about as many people as the number of pedestrians injured by motor vehicles. After being asked to clear up the meaning of the statistic on Twitter, Justin Feldman, the lead author of the paper, replied, Oh weird, the rate being the same as car accidents is true, but the other part is definitely not. Freelance reporter Louise Perry, who discovered the error, points out that while Lepore rightfully draws a comparison between the rate of legal intervention injuries and the rate of pedestrians injured by motor vehicles though only among men aged 15-34 that it is unclear where Lepore arrived at the two-thirds figure. Perry suggests that Lepore misunderstood a line from the paper that says 61.1% of people injured by police were between 15 and 34 or another statistic from a Harvard press release about the study, which says 64% of the estimated 683,033 injuries logged between 2001 and 2014 among people in that age bracket resulted from an officer hitting a civilian, rather than another form of force. After undertaking her own arithmetic, Perry finds the true proportion of 15-34 year olds visiting the ER who had suffered legal intervention injuries at 0.2%, which varies from Lepores two-thirds figure by a factor of several hundred. Story continues The New Yorker has long been considered the gold-standard of fact-checking by many in media. Perry suggests it was political bias that led Lepore astray and allowed the mistake to slip through the cracks. Lepore read Feldmans research and she misunderstood part of it, despite being an exceptionally intelligent person, Perry writes. Like many other Left-leaning Democrats, she is convinced that police brutality is a huge, under-acknowledged problem in the United States, and she therefore jumped to the conclusion that this wildly inflated two-thirds figure was plausible. More from National Review The state-run Southeastern Veterans' Center in Chester County suffered a devastating outbreak of coronavirus cases in spring 2020 that took dozens of lives. Read more The Southeastern Veterans Center (SEVC), a state-run nursing home in Chester County where dozens of residents have died of COVID-19, failed to protect elderly residents from the coronavirus outbreak and continued to place them in immediate jeopardy by flouting infection-control guidelines, according to state and federal health inspectors. The scathing inspection report, based on an early June inspection but only posted recently on the state Department of Health website, said SEVC officials did not consistently screen the temperatures of staff entering the building each day or enforce social distancing; allowed employees to work in both COVID-positive and COVID-negative units in the same day; and maintained a work culture in which staffers were afraid to speak out about problems for fear of termination. We will be fired for talking to you, a licensed practical nurse told an inspector. Watching people die was awful. We were told to wrap the residents in a body bag and meet the undertaker at the elevator. For weeks, the 238-bed facility, run by the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs (DMVA), kept many relatives and residents in the dark about how widely the virus had spread. The Inquirer reported on April 17 that at least 10 residents had already died, citing an internal report. The coronavirus death toll continued to rise rapidly, with as many as four residents dying in a single day. By late May, after 37 residents had died of the virus, the head of the facility, Commandant Rohan Blackwood, and his director of nursing were suspended. The states five other veterans nursing homes, including the one in Philadelphia, had fewer than five deaths among them, state data showed. At the time, The Inquirer also reported on widespread concerns about mismanagement of the nursing home, which employees attributed largely to Blackwood and his administrators. Besides a flawed strategy to contain the coronavirus, the employees allegations included the altering of medical records, wage theft and retaliation, and chronic understaffing, which studies have found can worsen infectious outbreaks. READ MORE: We have no idea what is going on there: Pa. and local officials call for probe of veterans nursing home The commandant and director of nursing did not effectively manage the facility to make certain that proper infection control procedures were followed, the new health inspection report states. Specifically, inspectors said the veterans center failed to consistently maintain an infection prevention and control program, which placed residents in immediate jeopardy. The facility staff failed to ensure proper screening of staff entering the building, failed to implement tracing and investigation of positive COVID-19 residents/staff, cleaning and disinfecting of multiuse equipment, staff failed to use proper PPE, proper hand-hygiene, and store/handle linens in the proper manner to prevent the potential for cross contamination. The report also said the nursing home did not have a policy for separating residents who tested positive and negative, a problem first made public by The Inquirer, based on complaints from those with family living at the nursing home, in East Vincent Township. According to the report, The commandant and the [director of nursing] failed to fulfill their essential job duties to ensure that the federal and state guidelines and regulations were followed. Blackwood did not respond to requests for comment Tuesday. DMVA spokesperson Joan Zlogar Nissley said the nursing home disagrees with the inspection and has submitted a request for informal dispute resolution. When areas of concern are identified, we take immediate action to address and rectify them, with a continued focus on the safety and care of residents, Nissley said in a statement, adding that DMVA has hired a temporary management team to assist the staff. READ MORE: Inept boss, altered records, ignored warnings at Pa. vets' nursing home with 38 COVID deaths Fran McDermott, whose 91-year-old mother, Josephine McKeon, has lived at the home for several years, said her mother weathered a traumatic spring in which both of her roommates became sick and died as residents and staff members went without masks. It was not clear whether they died from COVID-19, though McDermott said her mother reported that both were put on oxygen and were showing symptoms of the infection. At first, staff would not test McKeon, McDermott said. After the National Guard was deployed to the facility, her mother tested positive for the virus, though she remained asymptomatic. On Tuesday, McDermott said her mother had recovered and has since tested negative several times. She was one of the lucky ones, McDermott said. READ MORE: Its a sinking ship: COVID-19 deaths triple at state-run vets nursing home in Chester County as families clamor for information Since the nursing home has been under new leadership, McDermott said, the staff has kept her well informed about her mothers health. An outside law firm hired by Gov. Tom Wolfs Office of General Counsel is conducting an investigation of the COVID-19 outbreak at SEVC, according to a spokesperson for the Department of Military and Veterans Affairs. State Sen. Katie Muth, a Democrat whose district includes SEVC, said Tuesday that she wasnt completely satisfied with the latest report or the states response to the ongoing issues at the home. The report mentions the failures by the commandant and the director of nursing, but those arent the only problematic people who allowed this to happen, she said. Im fearful that because this is a state-run facility, a true assessment of whats happened already and whats continuing to happen wont take place. Muth was one of the first elected officials to publicly raise concerns about SEVC after being contacted by staff members. She said those employees, including nurses, were still complaining about shortages of PPE as recently as this past weekend. She said she had begun drafting a letter to the Senate Veterans Affairs and Emergency Preparedness Committee to formal requesting a hearing on the nursing home. I think there are still a few more avenues I can exhaust, she said. The silence of the DMVA leadership and the governors office is damning. Ian Horowitz, whose father lived at the veterans center and died of complications of the coronavirus in May, said Tuesday that he wants to see higher-ranking DMVA officials held accountable, in addition to Blackwood. He believes his father became infected from his roommate. ASK US: Do you have a question about the coronavirus and how it affects your health, work and life? Ask our reporters. There are too many red flags flying around this administration, and its frustrating, Horowitz said. Chester County Coroner Christina VanDePol said Tuesday that 42 residents of the home died of COVID-19. No new deaths from the pandemic have been reported there in several weeks. Tokyo, July 22 : Japan raised its travel advisory for Palestine and 16 countries, with the Foreign Ministry warning against visiting them due to concerns over the continued spread of the coronavirus. According to Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, the latest areas to be put under advisement are at Level 3 of the ministry's four-tier scale for infectious diseases, Xinhua news agency reported on Tuesday. The total number of countries and regions now at the ministry's second-highest level stands at 146. "We are seeing a resurgence of infections in the United States, and it is continuing to spread in South America and Africa," Motegi told a press briefing on the matter. Following talks to be held by Japan's National Security Council, the 17 new additions are also likely to be added to the list of countries and regions under Japan's entry ban. Currently, there are 129 countries and regions covered by Japan's entry ban, with foreign nationals who have been to any of the areas within two weeks of arriving in Japan being denied entry. Members of Oregons congressional delegation on Monday unveiled a bill to curb federal use of force against protesters in Portland and other U.S. cities and require federal officers to clearly identify themselves. The effort, led by U.S. Sen. Jeff Merkley, comes as federal agents deployed by President Donald Trump continue to escalate tensions during nightly demonstrations outside the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse and Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown. Clad in camouflage and other military gear, federal officers in the last week shot one demonstrator in the head with a crowd-control munition and were accused of sweeping others off the streets into unmarked vehicles. They also have repeatedly fired tear gas and pepper balls into large crowds decrying police violence and supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, including one on Saturday night that counted a Multnomah County commissioner among its participants. What we have seen in the last 10 days in Portland has been horrific and unconscionable, Merkley said in a statement. These are the actions of an authoritarian regime, not a democratic republic. This gross violation of Americans civil rights must end immediately. The bill, called the Preventing Authoritarian Policing Tactics on Americas Streets Act, would prohibit federal officers from conducting crowd control activities such as firing munitions and making arrests outside of federal property and the immediate vicinity, unless a mayor or governor asked for direct assistance. It would also force federal officers to display their name and law enforcement agency on their uniforms, prevent them from using unmarked vehicles in making arrests and require federal law enforcement agencies to publicly disclose any deployment within 24 hours. Any arrest made in violation of those provisions would be deemed unlawful, according to a copy of the legislation. Joining Merkley on the bill are Sen. Ron Wyden and Reps. Earl Blumenauer and Suzanne Bonamici, all Democrats. More than a dozen Congress members from other states also signed on as cosponsors. We must hold law enforcement accountable for violating the constitutional rights of Oregonians and for escalating tensions in our community, Bonamici said in a statement. We must pass this legislation to block Trump from sending unidentified officers to operate with impunity in Portland and other cities across the country. Under an executive order, Trump earlier this month sent officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protections tactical team known as BORTAC, the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to support Federal Protective Service officers in policing federal property in downtown Portland. Some protesters have thrown bottles, shot fireworks and pointed lasers at officers while others have vandalized the federal courthouse and set fires outside of it. At least a dozen people are now facing federal allegations stemming from the late-night and early morning confrontations. Still, the aggressive tactics by federal officers have drawn national headlines, generated a lawsuit by the Oregon attorney general and prompted city, state and federal elected leaders to call on the officers to leave Portland. But the president has no plans to pull the forces out of the city and is looking to send federal officers to other cities that have been hotbeds of protest in the wake of George Floyds death at the hands of Minneapolis police. They really have done a fantastic job in a short period of time, Trump said Monday of the federal officers in Portland, adding a few jabs at the citys demonstrators. These are anarchists. These are not protesters. These are people that hate our country. -- Shane Dixon Kavanaugh; 503-294-7632 Email at skavanaugh@oregonian.com Follow on Twitter @shanedkavanaugh Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. We believe we have put together a plan that allows flexibility, allows parent choice and student choice, and allows flexibility for our staff, Harris said at a July 14 virtual school board meeting. What we have learned over the last several months is we have to be agile, and we have to be able to pivot quickly depending on what information is shared with us, and depending on the situation our community is in. President Trump speaks in the Oval Office last week. (Patrick Semansky / Associated Press) President Trump on Tuesday directed his administration to exclude immigrants who are in the country illegally when calculating how many seats in Congress each state gets after the current census, a decision that critics denounced as unconstitutional and one that will likely face a swift court challenge. The president's directive, which would adopt a practice never before used in U.S. history, faces several major hurdles legal, logistical and political. If successfully carried out, however, it could have far-reaching effects by reducing the political clout of states with significant numbers of immigrants, including California and Texas. It could also shift power toward whiter, more rural areas of states at the expense of more diverse cities. The move also provided the latest example of Trump's embrace of divisive issues as he slides further behind Joe Biden in polls of the presidential race. In recent days, Trump has promised to deploy more federal forces to cities led by Democrats, he's falsely denounced mail ballots as a source of pervasive fraud and he's repeatedly described himself as the last line of defense against left-wing radicalism. Within hours of his signing of the directive on the census, the White House also threatened to veto bipartisan legislation to fund the Pentagon because it would require renaming military bases currently named for Confederate leaders. Whether Trump's shrinking base of conservative, mostly rural, white voters will rally around such scorched-earth politics remains unknown. Some polls suggest that at a time when the country is reckoning with the deadly coronavirus crisis and resulting economic devastation, some of Trump's supporters have turned against him over his divisiveness. But the moves signal a focused effort by a president to ratchet up the nation's tensions, rather than calm them, which is without recent precedent. As hundreds of Americans die each day from the COVID-19 virus, and thousands more become infected, President Trump continues to play political games," said California Secretary of State Alex Padilla, a Democrat. Story continues "Trumps nativist dog whistle has turned into a bullhorn, and most Americans are tired of the act, he added. According to a presidential memo released by the White House on Tuesday, census workers would continue counting immigrants who are in the country illegally, but they would not be factored into decisions about congressional representation. The Census Bureau would have five months to come up with a way to accurately estimate the number of residents illegally in each state in order to subtract them from the overall count. "Respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base," the memo says. Trump followed up his memo with a statement claiming there's "a broader left-wing effort to erode the rights of Americans citizens." "My administration will not support giving congressional representation to aliens who enter or remain in the country unlawfully, because doing so would create perverse incentives and undermine our system of government," he said. "Just as we do not give political power to people who are here temporarily, we should not give political power to people who should not be here at all." Excluding immigrants here illegally from the count would likely cost California at least one congressional seat, maybe more, demographers say. Texas also likely would lose representation, while states with few immigrants, including Alabama and Montana, most likely would gain. Democrats and civil rights organizations blasted Trump's decision as illegal and harmful. This order isnt worth the paper its printed on and will be struck down by the courts," said a statement from Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.), the Senate minority leader. "Attempting to weaponize the Census for political gain is yet another racially driven attack by a president and administration that wrongly views immigrants as the enemy, when they are a vital part of our society." Michael McDonald, a political science professor at the University of Florida, doubted the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau, could even meet Trump's timeline for quickly developing a methodology for estimating the number of immigrants without legal status in various areas of the country. "There are just so many moving parts here," he said. Dan Stein, president of the Federation for American Immigration Reform, supported Trump's decision. "The process of including illegal aliens in the census count for the purpose of reapportionment, as it has been practiced in recent decades, is fundamentally unfair to law-abiding Americans, and the president should be applauded for taking long overdue action to safeguard their interests and constitutional rights," he said in a statement. The Constitution mandates an actual Enumeration every 10 years of all persons in the country, but the president has repeatedly tried to limit who is counted. He's sided with immigration restrictionist groups that have argued that the constitutional language was not intended to include people in the country without legal authorization. The administration attempted to include a question about citizenship on the census form, a move that was ultimately rejected by the Supreme Court in 2019, with Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr. ruling that Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross had failed to honestly explain why he sought to change the census forms. Roberts called the stated reason a need to have information to enforce the Voting Rights Act contrived. Democrats and other critics of the administration said that effort was an attempt to suppress census response rates in states with large immigrant communities. Advocacy groups remain concerned that the publicity around Trump's push for a citizenship question already has made millions of immigrants or mixed-status families reluctant to respond to the census. In addition to the Supreme Court case, Alabama went to court in 2018 seeking to have residents illegally in the U.S. excluded from the census count. Alabama officials argue that doing so would mean their state would keep an extra congressional district after the next census that would otherwise go to a state with a large number of immigrant residents. More than a dozen states, including California and New York, have opposed Alabama's effort, which is still pending in federal court. Officials from Democratic states and immigrant advocacy groups pledged to oppose Trump's latest directive as well. The Constitution requires that everyone in the U.S. be counted in the census. President Trump cant pick and choose," Dale Ho, director of the American Civil Liberties Union's Voting Rights Project, said in a statement. "He tried to add a citizenship question to the census and lost in the Supreme Court. His latest attempt to weaponize the census for an attack on immigrant communities will be found unconstitutional. Well see him in court, and win, again. Trump's order comes months after the federal government began conducting the 2020 census in March. Nearly two-thirds of households nationwide have already responded to the survey, which is a key tool for determining how federal funds are distributed. The Trump administration has asked Congress to give it four additional months to complete the 2020 census, blaming the COVID-19 pandemic and the need to delay in-person outreach. At the end of July, census takers are expected to begin knocking on doors of people who did not respond by mail, phone or online. By Express News Service SIDDIPET: Days after over 700 outsourced work inspectors of the Mission Bhagiratha scheme were fired by the State government, many of them climbed atop the projects head regulator tank at Komati Banda in Gajwel mandal demanding that they be reinstated. The team of work inspectors from districts across the State travelled to Chief Minister K Chandrasekhars constituency to protest their termination. Outsourced employees of Mission Bhagiratha project stage a protest atop a water tank at Komati Banda in Gajwel on Monday They said they ensured that tap connections were provided to every household, despite the risks posed by Covid-19. It is unfair of the government to fire us at a time like this. We have stood by the State all through the pandemic, a protestor said. The protesting employees arrived in Komati Banda at 11 am. Most of them stayed on top of the tank up until 7 pm. Police got to the spot in the afternoon and told the workers they were tarnishing the reputation of the State government by staging the protest. Later, as many as 60 work inspectors were arrested. The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that his organization is deeply concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on indigenous peoples in the Americas, the current epicenter of the pandemic. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference on Monday that as of July 6, over 70,000 cases and more than 2,000 deaths have been reported among indigenous peoples in the Americas, Xinhua news agency reported. "Most recently, at least 6 cases have been reported among the Nahua people, who live in the Peruvian Amazon," the WHO chief said. According to him, there are up to 500 million indigenous peoples worldwide in over 90 countries, who often have a high burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and both communicable and non-communicable diseases, making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and its severe outcomes. Dr. Tedros stressed that one of the key tools for suppressing transmission in indigenous communities, as well as other communities, is contact tracing. "No country can get control of its epidemic if it doesn't know where the virus is," he noted. WHO's Regional Office for the Americas has recently published recommendations for preventing and responding to COVID-19 among indigenous peoples, and WHO is also working with the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin to step up the fight against COVID-19, Tedros said. Last week Indian Navy had carried out an extensive exercise in Andaman and Nicobar islands. New Delhi: In a strong message to China amidst heightened border tensions, Indian Navy warships and US Navys carrier strike group led by nuclear powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz on Monday carried out passage exercise (PASSEX) in the Indian Ocean Region (ICR). Indian Navy units undertook Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with units of US Navy-Nimitz Carrier Strike Group as they transit through Indian Ocean Region, said a senior official from Indian Navy. He said that four Indian Navy warships and four US ships took part in the exercise. India and US navies have been increasing their interoperability through a series of exercises in the past few years. Last week Indian Navy had carried out an extensive exercise in Andaman and Nicobar islands which dominate major sea trade routes for the Chinese ships. Indian navy is already at a high alert due to the India-China military stand-off in the Ladakh sector. Indian Navy and Japanese Navy (Japan Maritime Self Defense Force) had conducted a similar exercise in June. Indian Navy conducting an exercise with US navy ships which have been sent particularly to the South China Sea to keep a check on Chinese Navys activity is a strong message to the Chinese government, said sources. India is also looking at inviting Australia to join the annual Malabar naval exercise which includes Japan and the US. If the proposal is approved by the government all members of Quad will be carrying out military exercises in the Bay of Bengal in a signal to China that its aggression in sea will not go unchallenged. The US had deployed its aircraft carriers USS Ronald and USS Nimitz along with their escorting cruisers and destroyers in the contested South China Sea to challenge the Chinese Navys hegemony in the region which has been threatening its neighbours. For the first time in six years, USS Nimitz and USS Ronald Reagan, with more than 120 aircraft deployed between them, had carried out military exercises in the South China Sea between July 4 and July 6. However, last week the United States had again deployed the two aircraft carriers to the South China Sea, to reinforce its commitment to a free and open Indo-Pacific, a rules based international order, and to our allies and partners in the region. Sushant Singh Rajputs sister Shweta Singh Kirti has changed her Facebook profile picture to a throwback picture with the late actor. She wrote in caption, I wish I could just hold you one more time... The picture shows Sushant posing with Shweta at a family function. The brother-sister duo can be seen flashing big smiles for the camera. Shweta had recently shared a special video created in the actors memory with the caption, My Forever Star. A pain so precious so close tat u wldnt trade the world for it!! A wound so deep, so grave you wouldnt and couldnt ever share it! It shows several candid moments of his personal life with Don McLeans song Starry, Starry Night from the album American Pie playing in the background. The video begins with a quote in the beginning, Somewhere between neurons and narratives I was born, lived (dreamt) and die - Sushant Singh Rajput. Sushant can be seen reading on his tablet, playing a guitar, stargazing with his telescope, playing with his dog and dancing with him to Govindas song, Sona Kitna Sona Hai. Sushant was found dead at his Mumbai apartment on June 14. He was suffering from depression. The Mumbai Police has recorded statements of many filmmakers, actors and friends of the actor in this regard. However, actor Shekhar Suman and a few others have demanded a CBI probe into the actors suicide case. Also read: Saif Ali Khan to move to bigger apartment with Kareena Kapoor, Taimur, actor overseeing renovation during free time The police have now recorded statements of three psychiatrists and a psychotherapist as part of their probe, a senior official said on Monday. Their statements were recorded over the last three- four days by the Bandra police who are probing the case, said Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Abhishek Trimukhe. The late actor was consulting these mental health professionals and hence their statements were recorded as part of the ongoing probe, police said. If you need support or know someone who does, please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918 (With PTI inputs) Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Traditional state unemployment insurance benefits replace, on average, only about 40 percent of a workers lost wages. As concerns about the pandemics impact grew in March, Congress created a federal top-up payment to supplement state-level unemployment benefits. Congress wanted to give workers enough money to replace 100 percent of their lost wages, but embarrassingly ancient government IT systems made it virtually impossible to link benefits to a specific share of workers lost pay. Lawmakers instead settled on a flat $600 extra per week, for every worker, an amount chosen because it was roughly enough to make the average jobless worker whole. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Virginia's moratorium on evictions during the pandemic expired on June 23, rattling renters who lost their jobs because of the crisis. (The Washington Post) Inevitably, some idled workers have been receiving more in unemployment benefits than they did in their pre-pandemic paychecks. Now, economic advisers to President Trump argue that these benefits are too generous and are the real reason unemployment remains so high: Workers are allegedly being treated to a collective, government-sponsored vacation and refuse to return to their jobs. Full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic Outside adviser Stephen Moore even recently claimed that the single most important thing we have to do going forward to improve the U.S. economy is to stop the $600-a-week payments. Not, say, curbing the spread of covid-19 or safely expanding child-care reopenings. During normal times that is, in a healthy economy, with ample job opportunities it would be reasonable to worry that generous unemployment benefits discourage recipients from taking available jobs. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement But the main problem now is that there just arent many jobs available. Follow Catherine Rampell s opinions Follow Add Job vacancy postings are still down about a quarter from precrisis levels. And while it seems possible that, on the margin, some workers might turn down work because they want to keep getting that government cheese, the generosity of benefits do not, on net, appear to be holding back employment growth. So far, there is no evidence that the [federal $600 payments] had either job finding or job leaving effects in the May and June data, according to a detailed analysis of Labor Department data from Ernie Tedeschi, Evercore ISIs head of fiscal analysis. Even Republicans star witness in a recent Senate hearing about whether benefits were too lavish a small-business owner whose employees had grumbled because their laid-off colleagues were earning more on the dole acknowledged that he had no trouble rehiring all his workers: I was very happy that no one refused to come back, he testified, and everybody when I talked to them was in agreement and said Fine, well see you tomorrow. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement This makes sense, given current economic conditions. Fatter though those benefit checks may be, workers know that theyre temporary. Most dont want to burn a bridge by turning down a job offer when unemployment remains at its highest levels since the Great Depression. And federal and state rules already require people to lose their benefits if they refuse suitable work. Besides, to the extent that people are reluctant to return to work, concerns about infection risk and lack of child care may weigh more heavily on their decisions than unemployment checks. Story continues below advertisement Research from the JPMorgan Chase Institute suggests that the additional $600 has had a huge bang for its buck and has been a major contributor to the recovery thus far in consumer spending. We are interested in hearing about how the struggle to reopen amid the pandemic is affecting people's lives. Please tell us yours. Tedeschi, of Evercore ISI, estimates that allowing the enhanced benefit program to lapse would lead to a 2 percent reduction in gross domestic product by years end. Even scaling back the federal aid by, say, halving it to $300 per week, as lawmakers are reportedly considering would result in a sizable hit to GDP, around 1 percent this year. Advertisement The blow would be especially painful in some states with high unemployment; in Nevada, for instance, these enhanced benefit payments are the equivalent of 11 percent of personal income statewide. Story continues below advertisement Look, the current benefit design shouldnt continue as-is forever. At some point, as economic conditions normalize, jobless benefits greater than workers expected wages will disincentivize work. Thats why its a good idea to phase out the $600 bonus as the economy recovers, and link benefit levels to state economic and public health conditions. Also helpful would be some kind of pandemic-related earned-income tax credit, to reward (and enhance the spending power of) those who do get jobs. But with the U.S. economy still in a coma, its not the time to withdraw life support. Sign up to receive Catherine Rampell's columns by email as soon as they're published Read more: Andy Puzder: Dont extend the Cares Acts $600 weekly bonus Letters to the Editor: A callous position on unemployment David Von Drehle: Weve unleashed a second pandemic: Unemployment Megan McArdle: What the covid-19 unemployment crisis means for young people Helaine Olen: Unemployment is a national emergency. Why arent we treating it like one? A police force has announced they won't crack down on shoppers not wearing masks in stores after retailers also said their staff would not intervene. Devon and Cornwall police said its officers don't have time to respond to calls about the face coverings, unless they involve a public order offence. From Friday, masks will be mandatory for people going to shops and other enclosed places in England, with 100 fines in place for non-compliance. Scotland imposed a facemask rule for shop-goers on July 10, while the devolved governments of Northern Ireland and Wales are still keeping it under review. Police wearing face masks patrolling Soho in London. From Friday, masks will be mandatory for people going to shops and other enclosed places in England, with 100 fines in place for non-compliance. The move by Devon and Cornwall police comes amid criticism that Downing Street's latest coronavirus measure is confusing and that shop workers cannot be expected to enforce it. Alison Hernandez, police and crime commissioner for Devon and Cornwall, was in Truro yesterday meeting with 'street marshalls' who are helping in the policing effort during the pandemic. Ms Hernandez said: 'The expectation is that they (police officers) will only come if there is disorder or violence or something associated with it, they are not going to come to every phone call that someone is not wearing a mask. 'Partly that will help with the street marshall teams because that will help to encourage people to follow the guidelines as well.' She added that they'd come up with the idea of 'street marshalls' because having armed response officers patrolling beaches 'looks a bit policey.' The move by Devon and Cornwall police comes amid criticism that Downing Street's latest coronavirus measure is confusing and that shop workers cannot be expected to enforce it (pictured: Boris Johnson wearing a mask during a visit to the headquarters of the London Ambulance Service in London last week) Andrew Goodacre, CEO of the British Independent Retailers Association, told The Telegraph: 'This is not the role of retailers and we would be concerned any such enforcement may lead to a further increase in the number of threats and abuse shop workers in the UK are currently experiencing.' A survey by the Institute of Customer Service has found that three-quarters of those in the service industry said they'd faced abuse from customers since the virus outbreak. And more than a quarter reported that they'd been physically attacked while working. A childcare centre in Melbourne's north with seven confirmed COVID-19 cases will require all children and staff to be tested for COVID-19 and return a negative result before being allowed back into the centre. In a letter sent to parents on Tuesday night, Only About Children in Coonan's Hill in Melbourne's north, said the mass testing requirement had come as a result of Department of Health and Human Services "being inundated" and acknowledged a delay in communication from the department. "Specifically, the instruction from the DHHS reads: 'All staff and children must demonstrate evidence of a negative swab after today (day 11 of closure) if they are to attend from the reopening'," the letter reads. The guidance applies to all families whether they were identified as close contacts of the seven confirmed cases or not. "This advice is a substantive change from the previous advice we have received from DHHS," the letter states. A fight immediately ensued, and he began rolling around on the ground with Mr. Natale Hjorth, clumsily, he said. Then, he said, I heard Mario scream, Stop, stop, Carabinieri, with a voice that wasnt his own, so he let the teenager go and attended to his partner. Prosecutors played the anguished telephone call Officer Varriale made for an ambulance as Brigadier Cerciello Rega lay dying. His widow, Rosa Maria Ersilia, wept, clutching a laminated photo of her dead husband in uniform. The emotion was too much for Ms. Ersilias father, Mario, who collapsed and had to be taken to a hospital last week, abruptly ending that days proceedings. Image Finnegan Elder, left, and Gabriel Natale Hjorth in their hotel room in Rome, in a combo photo released by Italian Carabinieri last year. The death of Brigadier Cerciello Rega was the last act of a convoluted drama that began in a trendy Rome neighborhood full of nightclubs where the two Americans had gone to buy drugs earlier in the evening. The teenagers were sold an aspirin substitute instead of cocaine, and they grabbed the backpack of Sergio Brugiatelli, the Roman who had acted as a middleman in the deal, demanding money and cocaine for its return. The officer died during an operation to recover the backpack. Over two full days on the stand, defense lawyers pointed to inconsistencies in Officer Varriales earlier depositions and critiqued actions they said were inappropriate. Mr. Natale Hjorth was at one point blindfolded and handcuffed while he was detained, raising accusations of unlawful treatment. Officer Varriale made a video of Mr. Natale Hjorth in that moment, asking the defendant several questions, but he said in court that he had not wanted to interrogate him. He admitted that treating a detained person in such a way seemed strange, but he said many of his superiors were in the room, so he didnt think there was cause to intervene. The jury also heard that when he was first interrogated in the days after the crime, Officer Varriale told his superiors that he and the brigadier had brought their guns with them that night, a detail that was later found to be false. He is currently on trial in a military court for not carrying his service weapon. On the stand, he said that he had made a mistake in lying to his superiors, calling the decision thoughtless and foolish. The Aquaman actress told the High Court she rushed to her sisters aid after she remembered the information during an alleged nasty row with her ex-husband, when she thought he was going to push her sibling down a flight of stairs. On her second day in the witness box, Ms Heard, 34, alleged her former co-star James Franco asked her what the f***? when he saw her face the day after a separate alleged incident in which she claims Mr Depp was violent towards her. She has also faced questioning over her relationships Mr Franco and Tesla founder Elon Musk, as well as the infamous defecation incident. Mr Depp, 57, is suing The Suns publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN) and its executive editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article which labelled him a wife beater. Advertisement On Tuesday, Eleanor Laws QC, representing Mr Depp, asked about the stairs incident in Los Angeles in March 2015, when Ms Heard has said she believed Mr Depp was going to push her sister, Whitney Henriquez, down the stairs. The barrister said: This was a very nasty row between you and Mr Depp and it was you who was the violent one. Ms Heard claimed Mr Depp hit both myself and my sister, before denying that she spat at the Pirates Of The Caribbean star, or threw a can of Red Bull at him. Telling the court she did strike Johnny that day in defence of my sister, Ms Heard said: He was about to push her down the stairs and, the moment before that happened, I remembered information I had heard (that) he pushed a former girlfriend I believe it was Kate Moss down the stairs. I had heard this rumour from two people and it was fresh in my mind. She added: In a flash I reacted in defence of her. Ms Heard went on to allege that Mr Depp had punched her for years and for years I had never even hit him. She said: I never so much as landed a blow and I will never forget this incident it was the first time after all these years (I hit him). Advertisement Ms Laws said Ms Heard had never mentioned the story about Ms Moss before and accused her of making this up as you go along. Earlier, Ms Laws read out text messages between Ms Heard and Mr Musk from May 22 2016, in which Ms Heard tells Mr Musk that she is going to obtain a restraining order against her then husband. This was the day after an alleged incident at the Eastern Columbia Building in Los Angeles, where Mr Depp and Ms Heard lived, in which the actress claims Mr Depp threw her mobile phone at her, hitting her in the face which the actor denies. Questioning Ms Heard, Ms Laws said Mr Musk offers to arrange 24/7 security for you, adding: The offer would stand, even if you never wanted to see me again anyway, sorry for being an idiot. The radio silence hurts a lot. It only matters because I really like you. The barrister then referred to evidence given by Alejandro Romero, a concierge at the Eastern Columbia Building, who said he saw Mr Musk visiting Ms Heard when Mr Depp was in Australia. Ms Heard responded: Hes wrong. I wasnt even in communication with Elon until 2016. Advertisement The court was shown CCTV footage of Ms Heard in a lift to her penthouse with Mr Franco, 42, at the Eastern Columbia Building on May 22 2016 at about 11pm. Asked about the footage, and if the pair, who starred together in The Adderall Diaries in 2015, were trying to avoid being seen by the camera, Ms Heard said: We were talking. He was saying to me oh my god, what happened to you? He saw my face when I let him in. He saw my face and he said what the f***? Ms Laws asked: Thats not secretive talking on that camera? Ms Heard said: Yes, its discreet. Ms Heard also told the court the suggestion she left faeces in the bed she shared with Mr Depp at the Los Angeles apartment is absolutely disgusting. She said it is unimaginable that one of her friends left the excrement, which the court has heard was found the day after her 30th birthday party in April 2016, and that she cant fathom what adult would ever do such a thing. The actress also insisted she had visible injuries in the days following the alleged incident on May 21. Ms Heard is being questioned over 14 allegations of domestic violence, which NGN relies on in its defence of an April 2018 article that called Mr Depp a wife beater. She has accused Mr Depp of verbal and physical abuse throughout their relationship, including screaming, swearing, punching, slapping, kicking, headbutting and choking her, as well as extremely controlling and intimidating behaviour. Mr Depp, however, says he was not violent towards Ms Heard it was she who was violent to him, and claims his ex-wife was building a dossier of false allegations as an insurance policy for later. The actor is suing NGN and Mr Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27 2018 with the headline: Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be genuinely happy casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film? His lawyers say the article bore the meaning there was overwhelming evidence Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on a number of occasions and left her in fear for her life. NGN is defending the article as true, and says Mr Depp was controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Ms Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Pompeos January visit was far chillier. The top U.S. diplomat effectively accused the British government of jeopardizing a long-standing intelligence agreement by allowing Huawei, seen as close to the Chinese state, to be a part of Britains 5G network. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement But much has changed in half a year. Britain, like the United States, has been one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic that began in China. It finds itself increasingly at odds with Beijing on several fronts, including not only Huawei and the new national security law that tightens Beijings grip on Hong Kong but also growing public outrage about human rights violations. British leaders were a receptive audience for the secretary of state, who chastises the Chinese Communist Party almost daily and plans to give a speech Friday on Communist China and the future of the free world. Pompeo met privately with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and spoke to hawkish members of the governing Conservative Party at a roundtable hosted by the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank that is critical of China. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement He was scheduled later to meet with Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, and Nathan Law, a pro-democracy politician from Hong Kong. Pompeo and Raab spoke to reporters at Lancaster House, a dazzling neoclassical mansion in Londons West End. When Raab was asked if the United States had pressured Britain to reject Huawei, Pompeo responded. I think the United Kingdom made a good decision, the secretary of state said. But I think that decision was made not because the United States said that it was a good decision. Raab said he didnt think there is any question of strong-arming. He and Pompeo always have constructive conversations, he said. Johnson, whose government hopes to secure a trade deal with the United States that could shape its post-European Union economic future, told reporters Monday that he did not want to be a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement But the British leader also said there were real concerns about China, and his government had to respond. Britain announced the suspension of the extradition treaty and the extensions of the arms embargo Monday. The week before, Britain announced it would suspend new deployments of Huawei equipment to its high-speed 5G network, in line with long-standing U.S. requests that allies isolate the Chinese company. China has repeatedly reprimanded Britain for its actions. In a statement Tuesday, an unnamed spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London warned Britain will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road. China has never interfered in UKs internal affairs, Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to Britain, wrote on Twitter. The UK should do the same to China. Otherwise it must bear the consequences. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement But the moves enjoyed broad support among British politicians. Conservative Party lawmaker Tobias Ellwood, who met with Pompeo on Tuesday, told the House of Commons on Monday that Britain needed a strategic overhaul of our foreign policy in relation to China. Keir Starmer, the leader of Britains opposition Labour Party, who also met with Pompeo, said Britain needed to go further and impose sanctions on Chinese officials suspected of human rights abuses. At the Henry Jackson Society, Pompeo described success against China as a long game that would stretch beyond the Trump administration, according to a person in the room. That outlook is necessary, the person said, because Chinas President Xi Jinping sees Chinas rise as a multigenerational effort. There was a general sense of anxiety about the need for an international coalition to confront China, the person said. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Lawmakers also asked Pompeo about Africa and how the United States and Britain can beat the Chinese there. China has cultivated bilateral relationships in Africa to secure its energy needs. Some U.S. officials appeared relieved by the new stance in Britain. A pair of conservative-leaning British newspapers reported that Henry Jackson Society meeting was intended to ensure Johnson keeps a hard line on China. Britain bars Huawei from its 5G wireless networks, part of a growing shift away from the Chinese tech giant U.K. suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong amid public outrage over human rights in China U.S., Britain and Canada say Russian cyberspies are trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research A former Fox Business associate producer has accused former Fox News correspondent Ed Henry of raping her while they both worked at the network. The lawsuit, which was filed Monday, claims Henry "performed sadistic acts on her without her consent that left her injured, bruised and battered with bloody wrists" after placing handcuffs on her. A second plaintiff in the lawsuit, frequent Fox News guest Cathy Areu, also accused Fox News hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Howard Kurtz of harassment. All three hosts and Fox News are named as defendants in the lawsuit. The lawsuit alleges that beginning in 2014, Henry who at the time was Fox News' chief White House correspondent attempted to "groom" the producer, Jennifer Eckhart, and "coerce" her into a sexual relationship. Henry was married at the time. When Eckhart refused his advances, the lawsuit alleges Henry "sexually assaulted her on office property, and raped her at a hotel where Fox News frequently lodged its visiting employees." The lawsuit claims Henry put Eckhart in handcuffs and took photos of her prior to the assault, which Eckhart believes Henry kept as a way to blackmail her or keep her from speaking out. According to the lawsuit, a few months later in September 2015, Henry physically forced Eckhart to perform oral sex on him at Fox News' New York offices. When it was over, Eckhart "immediately ran out of the office in a state of shock, panic and fear," the lawsuit alleges. Henry continued sending Eckhart "lewd and graphic sexual messages" over the next few months, the lawsuit claims. The lawsuit also claims that, prior to the assault, Henry sent "inappropriate, flirtatious and, at times, sexually graphic text messages to Ms. Eckhart." She claims she felt compelled to respond to Henry's texts due to his position within Fox News, but always made it clear she was not interested in pursuing a sexual or romantic relationship. Story continues This 2019 photo shows Ed Henry on the Henry, who also served as co-host of the "America's Newsroom" for five months beginning in January, was fired from Fox News on July 1 following allegations of sexual misconduct. "On July 1, 2020, Fox News disclosed to the public that it had terminated Mr. Henry based on the findings of an internal investigation, and purported to take credit for acting appropriately. However, nothing could be further from the truth," the lawsuit says. "In reality, Fox News knew that Mr. Henry had engaged in sexual misconduct as far back as early 2017." Eckhart posted a statement to Instagram on Monday: "My decision to speak out was not an easy one, but I refuse to let fear of retaliation, victim shaming and further attacks intimidate me into remaining silent. I am hopeful that my decision to file this action will result in positive change for women at Fox, and for all victims in the workplace." An attorney representing Henry said in a statement that "The evidence in this case will demonstrate that Ms. Eckhart initiated and completely encouraged a consensual relationship That evidence includes graphic photos and other aggressively suggestive communications that Ms. Eckhart sent to Mr. Henry." Areu, a frequent guest on Fox News, claimed she was sexually harassed by several prominent hosts at the network, including Henry. The lawsuit alleged "Mr. Henry sent Ms. Areu a slew of wildly inappropriate sexual images and messages," including a video titled "fastest interview" where a woman interviewing for a job is hired after exposing her genitals to the interviewer. "Immediately after Mr. Henry sent Ms. Areu this video, he texted her, 'Are you avail for anchor interview,'" the suit alleges. Areu also claims that in 2018, Hannity, who hosts his self-titled show, threw down $100 on his set desk and "began calling out to the men in the room and demanding that someone take Ms. Areu out on a date." According to the lawsuit, Areu could not leave because she was still wearing audio equipment that had to be removed by a stagehand. After a guest appearance on Carlson's program in 2018, Areu claims she was told to stay until the end of the show and had no choice but to comply because, once again, she was wearing audio equipment that the show's crew hadn't removed. Areu claims Carlson told her he would be staying in a hotel that night "without any wife or kids." "Without question, Mr. Carlson was probing to see whether Ms. Areu was interested in a sexual relationship," the lawsuit alleges. "Ms. Areu awkwardly sidestepped Mr. Carlson's advances and declined to spend the night at his hotel." The lawsuit blames Areu's lack of appearances on the show following the alleged incident on her response to Carlson. The lawsuit claims a similar incident occured between Areu and "Media Buzz" host Howard Kurtz. He allegedly asked Areu to meet him at his hotel room after she had asked his advice on securing a full-time position at the network. Areu declined, but invited Kurtz to come to dinner with her and a friend, the lawsuit claims. Kurtz declined the invitation and the next day said he didn't have time to meet with her at the office, according to the lawsuit. Areu believes Kurtz was simply trying to get her alone in his hotel room for sexual reasons, and when she declined, she believes Kurtz retaliated by cutting down on her appearances on "Media Buzz." "I chose to file this complaint because no woman should have to suffer the conduct to which I was subjected, much less the egregious conduct suffered by Ms. Eckhart," Areu said in a statement. Wigdor LLP, the law firm representing Eckhart and Areu said Monday, "What this lawsuit reveals is that today's Fox News is the same old Fox News. Some of the names in leadership may have changed since Roger Ailes' regime, but Fox News' institutional apathy towards sexual misconduct has not." "We expect Fox News to claim as it almost always does that an 'independent' investigation found no evidence of wrongdoing," the attorneys added. Fox News vehemently denied the allegations brought forth against their current employees. It said in a statement: Based on the findings of a comprehensive independent investigation conducted by an outside law firm, including interviews with numerous eyewitnesses, we have determined that all of Cathy Areu's claims against FOX News, including its management as well as its hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity & Howard Kurtz and its contributor Gianno Caldwell, are false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit. We take all claims of harassment, misconduct and retaliation seriously, promptly investigating them and taking immediate action as needed in this case, the appropriate action based on our investigation is to defend vigorously against these baseless allegations. Ms. Areu and Jennifer Eckhart can pursue their claims against Ed Henry directly with him, as FOX News already took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckhart's claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network. A summer song: Jimmy Buffett Is the United States "hitting bottom"? Invasion! Asian giant hornets have arrived Technavio has been monitoring the vanilla market and it is poised to grow by USD 219.7 million during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of over 4% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200720005735/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Vanilla Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 on COVID-19 Impact The market is fairly concentrated, and the degree of concentration will accelerate during the forecast period. Frontier Co-op, MacTaggart's Brand, McCormick Company, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, and Touton are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. The health benefits of vanilla have been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Vanilla Market 2019-2023: Segmentation Vanilla Market is segmented as below: Application Food and Beverages Pharmaceuticals and Cosmetics Geographic Landscape MEA APAC Europe North America South America To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download latest free sample report of 2020-2024: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30794 Vanilla Market 2019-2023: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our vanilla market report covers the following areas: Vanilla Market size Vanilla Market trends Vanilla Market analysis This study identifies the increasing application of vanilla in cosmetics as well as the food and beverage industries as one of the prime reasons driving the vanilla market growth during the next few years. Vanilla Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the vanilla market, including some of the vendors such as Frontier Co-op, MacTaggart's Brand, McCormick Company, Nielsen-Massey Vanillas, and Touton. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the vanilla market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Vanilla Market 2019-2023: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023 Detailed information on factors that will assist vanilla market growth during the next five years Estimation of the vanilla market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the vanilla market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of vanilla market vendors Table Of Contents: PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT 2.1 Preface 2.2 Preface 2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis PART 04: MARKET SIZING Market definition Market sizing 2018 Market size and forecast 2018-2023 PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY APPLICATION Market segmentation by application Comparison by application Food and beverages Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Pharmaceuticals and cosmetics Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Market opportunity by application PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison North America Market size and forecast 2018-2023 APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Europe Market size and forecast 2018-2023 South America Market size and forecast 2018-2023 MEA Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Key leading countries Market opportunity PART 09: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challenges PART 10: TRENDS PART 11: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview Landscape disruption PART 12: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Frontier Co-op MacTaggart's Brand McCormick Company Nielsen-Massey Vanillas Touton PART 13: APPENDIX Research methodology List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200720005735/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Miami, July 21 : A teachers union in Florida, which has become a global coronavirus epicentre, sued the state's Governor and education officials, in order to prevent schools from reopening next month as the pandemic was raging. The lawsuit, filed on Monday by the Florida Education Association (FEA) in a state circuit court in Miami, sought to challenge Governor Ron DeSantis' order requesting all schools in the state to open for in-person learning five days a week starting from August, reports Xinhua news agency. The lawsuit intends to stop the reckless and unsafe reopening of public school campuses as coronavirus infections surge statewide, according to the FEA. It is supported by the affiliates of the American Federation of Teachers and the National Education Association. In addition to the Republican Governor, the suit also listed Florida Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran, Florida Department of Education, Florida Board of Education and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez as defendants. With cases - now more than 355,000 in total - increasing by over 10,000 daily for the last six consecutive days and death toll topping 5,000, Florida has emerged as a new global epicentre of the contagion. It is against this backdrop that DeSantis, on July 6, ordered schools to reopen, doubling down on his request in the following days. "Governor DeSantis needs a reality check, and we are attempting to provide one," FEA President Fedrick Ingram said. "The governor needs to accept the reality of the situation here in Florida, where the virus is surging out of control," Ingram said, adding that while reopening schools is a common aspiration, Florida teachers "don't want to begin in-person teaching, face an explosion of cases and sickness, then be forced to return to distance learning". Senegal and the International Olympic Committee (IOC) have mutually agreed to postpone the Youth Olympic Games (YOG) tagged Dakar 2022 to 2026 due to the COVI-19 pandemic. President Macky Salls proposal was welcomed by IOCs President Thomas Bach, following in-depth discussions on the subject. This postponement meets the requirement of responsibility and the concern for efficiency imposed by the current situation. READ ALSO 2020 Tokyo Olympics Will Be Simplified Officials Advertisement The postponement of Dakar 2022 allows the IOC, the National Olympic Committees (NOCs) and the International Federations (IFs) to properly plan their activities, which have been strongly affected by the postponement of the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020, by the subsequent postponements of major international sports events, and the operational and financial consequences of the global health concerns. Advertisement An old home built in 1920 has been given a fresh facelift by its decade-long owners, with Grecian-inspired white arches surrounding the living room and a resort-style swimming pool. Guy and Susannah Kits originally bought the heritage Brisbane masterpiece nicknamed 'Toowong Light House' to accommodate their growing family, but when they realised that the building couldn't be lifted because of the concrete walls they had to get creative. So they called on Brisbane architects Alcorn Middleton Architecture Office to build a two-level, L-shaped extension that slotted between the house and the pool so the original structure didn't have to be moved. The front facade: A Queenslander built in 1920 has been given a fresh facelift courtesy of its decade-long owners, with Grecian-inspired white arches surrounding the living room and a resort-style swimming pool Slide me Guy and Susannah Kits originally bought the heritage masterpiece nicknamed 'Toowong Light House' to house their growing family, but after 10 years they needed more space (the pool before and after the renovation) The results - a four bedroom, two bathroom suburban resort with a spectacular outdoor dining area - are an entertainer's dream and one that the family regularly receive compliments on. White painted bricks and archways in the outdoor seating zone were the original idea of Mr Kits, who told Domain that his family's holiday house in Mykonos, Greece, had inspired him. 'Part of it was that I love bricks - coming from Greek heritage and a Greek father who loved to concrete everything,' he said. The results - a four bedroom, two bathroom suburban resort with a spectacular outdoor dining area - are an entertainer's dream and one that the family regularly receive compliments on (the kitchen leading into the outdoor space) White painted bricks and archways in the outdoor seating zone were the original idea of Mr Kits, who told Domain that is family's holiday house in Mykonos, Greece, had inspired him (kitchen and living room) 'Part of it was that I love bricks - coming from Greek heritage and a Greek father who loved to concrete everything,' Mr Kits said, describing the outdoor area (pictured) 'We wanted a white resort-ish feel and we wanted to be able to use the outdoor space all year round, which was something we were never able to do on the deck of the original house.' The formal lounge and dining rooms showcase ornate plaster ceilings and give the home's occupants more than one place to relax of an evening. A well equipped kitchen faces a light washed breakfast booth, perfect for conversing with the cooks as everyone eats and socialises together. The bedrooms are spacious and have views of the tree-lined backyard, with the master bedroom in particular winning points for its walk-in robe. The formal lounge and dining rooms showcase ornate plaster ceilings and give the home's occupants more than one place to relax of an evening (pictured) Balconies from the bedroom give the house a Mediterranean vibe, despite it being in Australia's north The bedrooms are spacious (pictured) and have views of the tree-lined backyard, with the master bedroom in particular winning points for its walk-in robe The luxury bathrooms have been precision laid with Italian vogue series tiles, bringing the blue theme of the pool into the interior decorating The luxury bathrooms have been precision laid with Italian vogue series tiles, bringing the blue theme of the pool into the interior decorating. The renovation itself took six months to complete and set the Kits' back $500,000+ but they don't regret the investment they made into the property. 'It's always been a beautiful neighbourhood, a beautiful house but the renovation turned it into a wonderful entertaining home sitting around that fireplace, by the pool, with the kids playing inside has been brilliant,' Mr Kits said. After 12 years and countless memories the Kits have put the mini mansion on the market, with asking offers over $2.25 million. Jun Ji Hyun is reportedly the next female lead of the upcoming third season of Netflix hit Korean series, "Kingdom." Reports stated on July 20 that the actress is currently in talks to be cast as the female lead of the forthcoming new installment of the zombie-themed series. It is disclosed that the new season is the prequel of "Kingdom." While it was confirmed beforehand, Jun Ji Hyun shocked the viewers with her riveting appearance at the latter part of the sageuk's second season. And because of her brief cameo, the general public can't contain their excitement and anticipation for Jun Ji Hyun to potentially be the third season's main lead. Fans expressed their enthusiasm and took to their SNS to comment on this possibility. "We are hoping that our dear Jun Ji Hyun will make a drama comeback through this show," one netizen commented. "JUN JI HYUN AND KINGDOM? WE LOVE TO SEE QUEEN," a Twitter user wrote. "This will be a new genre for her," added another, and much more positive feedback poured in. Meanwhile, Netflix's "Kingdom" released its response for the possibility of actress Jun Ji Hyun to be part of the cast. This news popped up when Munhwa Ilbo released reports that the series was getting ready to launch a new prequel with Jun Ji Hyun as part of their cast since she was seen in the second season's finale. A source from the show claimed that the third season would feature the character of Ah Shin, which will potentially be portrayed by Jun Ji Hyun. It will show the story of how she became a warrior. The source shared that it is quite hard for the same lead actors of both seasons to start their filming process of the third season ASAP since most of them have scheduling conflicts. So, most probably, the story's continuation would come in two or three years. The source stated that the show will feature the prequel story starring Jun Ji Hyun, and joining her will mostly be a new roster of characters. Another report released by Star News claimed that the prequel would be a 70-minute short film and is already in the last stage of discussions. They also claimed that the filming is going to start in October for the prequel of the series. To reply to these reports, one source from Netflix expressed that as of the moment, there has been no decision made on the future plans for "Kingdom." Currently, there's nothing to confirm concerning the cast, most especially the lead actors, the screenwriter, or even the show's director. And lastly, it hasn't even been decided if there's a prequel or not. In a newer update, Jun Ji Hyun's representative stated that the actress had received the casting offer, but they haven't talked about it in detail. So, guys, let's just stay tuned for more updates to come! Photo credit: Courtesy of Dior - Getty Images From Esquire After a fashion week that sat within a "phygital" settingwhich roughly translates to a show season that's part in-person, part viewed from afarDior still managed to catapult the menswear crowd to lands anew from afar, via one very dreamy, very well-dressed video. We went to Ghana, and the gates of heaven, and were formally introduced to artist Amoako Boafo, who graced the designs of creative director Kim Jones with his own work. It was a lot of traveling despite the flight restrictions. But it seems in the non-fashion world beyond Dior's world tour, social distancing remains. Good luck with that flight to Miami. But, following the collection's release, that didn't stop Amoako from catching-up with actor, DJ, and Wayfarer emperor Idris Elba over Zoom (social distance!), with the video released exclusively to Esquire. As a longtime fan of Dior, Elba congratulates Boafo on his work with the brand, and the two discuss inspiration, getting into character, the cross-pollination of design and acting, and how important it is to connect with the world. Watch now below. You Might Also Like The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has condemned the recently passed bill on sexual harassment and rape, alleging that it is targeted at lecturers. Speaking at a Town Hall meeting with critical stakeholders in Jos on Monday, July 13, the National President of ASUU Prof. Biodun Ogunyemi said the bill which is yet to be signed into law is discriminatory and also targeted at the male lecturers. Ogunyemi stated that the bill is capable of making male lecturers reject female students. READ ALSO School Reopening: FG Planning To Gamble With Lives Of Poor Nigerians ASUU President Advertisement Speaking, he said: Our reaction to that Bill is that, it is discriminatory and is targeted at male lecturers. We dont want a situation, where male lecturers will begin to say they dont want to teach female students, because they say we should not smile to female students. So time may come, when male lecturer will say, we wont teach female students, let them get female lecturers, let them get female supervisor. RBSE Rajasthan Board 12th Arts Result 2020: Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) will announce the RBSE class 12th arts results on Tuesday, July 21. Rajasthan Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra informed through a tweet on Tuesday that the Rajasthan board 12th arts results will be declared at 3.15 pm today. Follow RBSE 12 Arts result live update After the results are announced, students who have appeared in the RBSE 12th arts board examination will be able to check their results online at our HT results portal. How to check RBSE Class 12th Arts Result 2020 at hindustantimes.com after it is declared: Step: 1- Visit the official website of Hindustan Times at hindustantimes.com Step: 2- On the home page, go to the Education section and click on the Exam Results section Step: 3 -- Go to the Rajasthan Board tab Step: 4-- Click on the link that reads RBSE 12th arts result 2020 Step: 5-- Key in your roll number in the rectangular box provided and submit Step 6 --Your RBSE Class 12th arts Result will be displayed on the screen. The Rajasthan board declared the RBSE class 12 Science and Commerce results on July 8 and 13 respectively. A total of 36,551 students appeared in the Rajasthan Board Class 12th Commerce board examination. Out of this, 94.49% of students passed. On the other hand, 239,800 students appeared in the Rajasthan Board class 12 science exam this year. Out of these, 91.96% of students passed. Students can also check the results of class 12 arts examination online at rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine has lodged complaint against yet another visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the annexed Crimea and city of Sevastopol. The relevant statement is published on the website of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Ukrainian side considers the mentioned visit and other trips of Russian officials to the Russian-occupied Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which are made despite repeated warnings and protests of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine, a gross violation of state sovereignty and territorial integrity of Ukraine and the Russian sides cynical and demonstrative disregard of the universally recognized norms of international law, the statement reads. The visit is also a violation of UN and OSCE Parliamentary Assembly resolutions. The Foreign Ministry has repeatedly emphasized and continues to adhere to the principled position on the inadmissibility of visits to the territory of Ukraine within its internationally recognized borders, including the Autonomous Republic of Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, which are not agreed upon with Ukrainian officials. The Foreign Ministry underscored that Ukraine again condemns the measures taken by the Russian Federation to further militarize Crimea and Sevastopol, which poses a significant threat to regional security. In this regard, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine demands that the Russian side immediately stops international illegal actions and eliminates all the outcomes they have caused. The Ukrainian side also reminds that the responsibility for the outcomes in the whole region rests, in accordance with international law, with Russia as an occupying power, its officials, illegal "Crimean authorities" and their representatives who make illegal decisions and commit illegal acts. "In connection with the illegal visit made on July 20, 2020, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine expresses a resolute protest to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Russian Federation," the statement reads. Putin arrived in Russian-occupied Crimea on Monday, July 20. ol On June 17, Color Of Change along with the NAACP, ADL, Sleeping Giants, Free Press, and Common Sense Media authored an open letter asking corporations to cease advertising on Facebook for the month of July. These are the key figures behind those organizations: Rashad Robinson - Color of Change President Founded in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, Rashad Robinson joined Color of Change in 2011. Rashad Robinson An American civil rights leader, Robinson has been behind a number of the organizations initiatives, including a campaign to pull funding from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), an organization responsible for the 'Stand Your Ground' laws implicated in the Florida death of Trayvon Martin in 2012. Robinson was also behind the group's successful efforts to persuade businesses, including Mastercard and PayPal to stop accepting payments from white nationalist groups. Of the social media ad boycott campaign leveled against Facebook, Robinson insisted it has been 'a long time coming'. 'Facebook has given [advertisers] no other option because of their failure, time and time again, to address the very real and the very visible problems on their platform.' Jim Steyer - Common Sense Media CEO Steyer, an American civil rights attorney, founded Common Sense Media in 2003. Jim Steyer The non-profit focuses on the effects that media and technology may have on young users. Steyer played a major role in in the passage of a 2005 California law restricting the sale of violent video games, which was later struck down by the Supreme Court. He was also a supporter of California's Eraser Bill, which allows children in the state under 18 to remove their postings from social media websites. Steyer said his decision to support the Stop Hate for Profit Campaign was spurred by the protests against police brutality. 'I will admit, we did not expect that this would take off to this extent so quickly with so many of the most important advertisers in the United States and globally joining in,' Steyer told NPR. 'It just shows that they are frustrated, too, and that they share our concerns about democratic norms, about civic discourse and about what's going on Facebook and Instagram.' Derrick Johnson - NAACP CEO Johnson became the President and CEO of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People in October 2017. Derrick Johnson He is also the founder of the Mississippi nonprofit group One Voice Inc., which aims to improve quality of life for African Americans through public engagement. Johnson, with the NAACP, was behind the June 18, 2020 Supreme Court case in which SCOTUS prevented President Trump's administration from rescinding the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program for young immigrants. Johnson has since blasted Facebook for a 'flagrant disregard the website has shown the Mississippi nonprofit group One Voice Inc., which aims to improve quality of life for African Americans through public engagement. 'Facebook is ultimately damaging its credibility with the American public, and any company that wants to avoid doing the same should send a message that we will no longer accept disinformation during this critical time.' Jonathan Greenblatt - Director and CEO of the Anti-Defamation League Prior to heading up the ADL, Greenblatt served in the White House as Special Assistant to Barack Obama and Director of the Office of Social Innovation and Civil Participation. Jonathan Greenblatt As Director, he led the efforts to utilize human capital and financial capital to bring attention to community solutions, focusing on issues such as national service, civil engagement, impact investing and social enterprise. Greenblatt was involved in a number of administration priorities, including gun violence prevention. He left the administration in 2014 and was succeeded by David Wilkinson. Greenblatt also founded All for Good (AFG), an open source platform dedicated to enable more Americans to serve and volunteer within their communities. Matt Rivitz - Sleeping Giants founder Rivitz initially operated Sleeping Giants completely anonymously until July 2018, when he was identified by the Daily Caller. Matt Rivitz The social media activism organization aims to persuade companies to remove advertisements from conservative news outlets. Rivitz campaign started shortly after Donald Trump's election in November 2016, in which he called for brands to boycott Breitbart News. Rivitz successfully convinced the likes of AT&T and Kellogs to cease advertising on the news website, with thousands following suit by May 2017. Sleeping Giants was involved in the campaign pressuring advertisers to drop The O'Reilly Factor after the discovery of five sexual harassment settlements by host Bill O'Reilly and Fox News, which resulted in the show's cancellation. Jessica J Gonzalez - Co-CEO of Free Press Gonzalez is an attorney and racial justice advocate, who was announced as Co-CEO alongside Craig Aaron in January 2020. Jessica Gonzalez A former Lifeline recipient, Gonzalez has been behind a number of efforts to prevent President Trump from making substantial cuts to the program, which provides phone-and-internet access for low-income people. She was part of the legal team that overturned a Trump FCC decision regarding net neutrality. Gonzalez also co-founded Change the Terms, a coalition of more than 50 civil- and digital-rights groups that works to disrupt online hate. Responding to the news that Facebook was addressing concerns raised by the Stop Hate for Profit campaign, Gonzalez said: 'While these changes are important, Facebook is doing the bare minimum to stop hate on its platform. Well be watching carefully to ensure that Zuckerberg follows through on these promises, and well carry on with our fight for more holistic change at the company through our work with the Change the Terms and Stop Hate for Profit coalitions. 'Facebook must understand that enabling the spread of hate speech comes at a huge financial cost. The country is changing. Were at a pivotal moment in the fight for the rights of Black and Brown people. Unless Facebook changes and takes crucial steps to curtail the spread of racism and bigotry, it will continue to suffer consequences. 'Our fight for justice at Facebook is far from over. Until we see far more comprehensive reforms to Facebooks policies and practices, our advertiser boycott and our push to get Facebook to adopt Change the Terms corporate model policies to disrupt hateful activities on its sites will remain in effect' Judge John OConnor said in the Circuit Civil Court that 24-year-old former waitress Daniela Tricolici ought to have received training in the safe way of polishing wine glasses when she worked in Ravellos Restaurant, Clonsilla, Dublin, five years ago. I am satisfied on the balance of probability that the defendant in this case was negligent I am satisfied on the balance of probability that the defendant in this case was negligent. There was no training provided and it should have been, Judge OConnor said in awarding Ms Tricolici 25,000 damages and her legal costs. Forensic engineer Conor Murphy, giving evidence on behalf of Tricolici, said she had demonstrated how she had been holding and polishing the glass with a towel when the accident occurred. He told barrister Conor Kearney, who appeared with Seamus Maguire Solicitors for Ms Tricolici, that in his opinion she had been doing it wrongly and should have been stopped by her employer and shown how to do it in a safe manner. She should have been trained initially how to do it safely. Advertisement Mr Murphy said Ms Tricolici, as demonstrated in a photograph provided to the court, had held the base of the wine glass in one hand while polishing the bowl with her other hand in a twist and turn fashion when the stem had snapped. Had she been shown how to do it safely she would have been cupping the bowl of the glass in one hand while using the polishing cloth with her other hand. Having polished the glass in such a manner it would have been highly unlikely on the day that the stem, even if it had a hairline fracture invisible to the naked eye, would have snapped and injured her. He told Philip Fennell, who appeared with Ambrose OSullivan Solicitors for the restaurant owner, that while he could not pin-point any specific provision in legislation or a particular manual on glass polishing he had seen proper and safe methods of glass polishing demonstrated on video by glass manufacturers. Mr Fennell told the court it would be imposing a heavy burden on an employer to ask them to train someone when there was no accepted training regime or accepted pattern of training in existence as to how a particular task should be performed. Ms Tricolici, of Ravenswood Road, Clonsilla, Dublin, who now works for a bank, said the stem of the glass had snapped as she polished it in the bar area of the restaurant on September 18, 2015 and punctured her left little finger. She had immediately been taken to Connolly Hospital, Blanchardstown, where the wound was sutured. Medical reports revealed she had been left with a small scar and that damage to a nerve in her finger had not properly healed and she still suffered hypersensitivity in the area of the injury. She told Judge OConnor her finger was affected when touching items and in cold weather she often had to wear a glove. Judge OConnor said he was satisfied the defendant, ABE Restaurant Limited, Weavers Row, Clonsilla, had been negligent. It was accepted that training for Ms Tricolici had not been provided and it should have been. Britain is one of a growing number of countries to have denounced the security law in Hong Kong, which was introduced after months of pro-democracy demonstrations London: In an escalation of tensions with China, Britain on Monday suspended an extradition treaty with Hong Kong to protest a new security law that gives China sweeping powers and is seen by critics as imperiling basic freedoms in the former British colony. The move, announced in Parliament by Dominic Raab, the foreign secretary, was prompted directly by fears that anyone extradited to Hong Kong from Britain could be sent on to mainland China with ease. Raab also announced an extension to Hong Kong of a long-standing arms embargo against China that has been in force since 1989. Both measures underscore a hardening stance among British politicians across the political spectrum over Chinas treatment of Hong Kong, a former colony that returned to Chinese control in 1997, and growing worries about more assertive behaviour by Beijing on the global stage. The announcement came as Prime Minister Boris Johnson of Britain prepared to welcome Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, to London for a two-day visit. China is expected to be high on the agenda, and consensus on a tough posture looks likely. Hours before Pompeo was scheduled to arrive in Britain, Raab told lawmakers that the extradition treaty would be suspended immediately and indefinitely, and would not be reintroduced unless and until there are clear safeguards. The UK is watching and the whole world is watching, Raab added. The extension to Hong Kong of the arms embargo, Raab said, would include the ban of potentially lethal weapons, their components or ammunition, or any equipment not already banned which might be used for internal repression. Shackles, intercept equipment, firearms and smoke grenades would be covered by the embargo, Raab added, describing the British move as part of a proportionate response to Chinas failure to observe its international obligations. The measures were met with condemnation in China. Asked about the issue, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry, Wang Wenbin, urged Britain to stop going further down the wrong path. Britain is one of a growing number of countries to have denounced the security law in Hong Kong, which was introduced after months of pro-democracy demonstrations. It suddenly transformed the city by effectively criminalising an array of political activity, including many of the tactics used by protesters. But Britain has special concerns and sees the new law as a breach of the terms of a joint declaration that set out the semi-autonomous status of Hong Kong after the colony was returned to Chinese rule in 1997. In response, the government in London has offered a pathway to citizenship for many Hong Kong residents. Under that measure, 350,000 people who hold British National (Overseas) passports and an additional 2.5 million who are eligible for them would be granted 12-month renewable visas that would allow them to work in Britain with the possibility of eventual citizenship. Chinese anger over that move deepened last week when the British government reversed a decision to allow Huawei, a Chinese technology company, to play a limited role in establishing Britains 5G high-speed wireless network. The US has pressured Britain to exclude Huawei and, through its own measures against the Chinese technology firm, forced the British government to reconsider its initial decision to allow Huawei to participate in the British 5G network. Now British 5G providers will not be able to buy Huawei products after the end of the year, and will have to remove the companys technology completely by 2027. Raabs statement on the extradition law and arms embargo was widely welcomed in Parliament, an indication of how far sentiment on China has shifted recently. It was also widely hailed across ideological divides, with a growing consensus on the need for toughness. Lisa Nandy, who speaks for the Opposition Labour Party, called on the government to go further and apply sanctions against senior Chinese officials responsible for human rights abuses. That underscored the more hawkish stance of a Labour Party whose new leader, Keir Starmer, has tried to strike a very different tone from his left-wing predecessor, Jeremy Corbyn. The transformation is just as striking within Johnsons ruling Conservative Party. Under previous governments led by David Cameron, who was prime minister between 2010 and 2016, Britain pursued what a former chancellor of the exchequer, George Osborne, called a golden era in relations with China. Chinese investment was courted, and China became a player in some sensitive sectors, including Britains nuclear power programme. But discontent among Conservative lawmakers has been rumbling since Johnsons initial decision in January to allow Huawei into Britains 5G network. Internal opposition was one reason for Johnsons policy reversal on Huawei last week. The discord has grown because of Chinas increased pressure on the pro-democracy movement in Hong Kong, its early response to the coronavirus, and its overall human rights record. On Sunday, Chinas ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, dismissed accusations of abuse against the countrys Uighur minority, despite being confronted in a BBC interview with images that appeared to show blindfolded Uighurs waiting to be loaded onto trains. Xiaoming suggested that the video footage was fake and accused western nations of making repeated false allegations against China. Few British politicians are convinced. In Parliament on Monday one Conservative lawmaker and former minister, Tobias Ellwood, questioned whether this might be a turning point where we drop our pretence that China shares our values, and called for a strategic overhaul of foreign policy in relation to China. That hardened sentiment is reflected in the growing influence of a new caucus, the China Research Group, that draws support from a range of opinion within the Conservative Party. Chris Patten, Britains last governor of Hong Kong and a former Conservative Party Cabinet minister, described Xi Jinping, the Chinese leader, as a dictator, and said that China under its communist leadership, cant be trusted. Right across the board China has been picking a fight with anybody who passes by, said Patten, citing tensions between Beijing and countries ranging from India and Japan to Australia to Canada. Xi had managed to unite in opposition both wings of a British Conservative Party that was divided over Brexit, just as he had done across the board in American politics, Patten said. They have gone out of their way to behave loutishly, Patten added, and I dont think it is surprising that right across the board, politically, in this country politicians have seen the real nature of Chinese communism in the 21st Century. Stephen Castle c.2020 The New York Times Company Greece receives the first batch of French Rafale fighters NEWS.am daily digest: 19.01.22 Azerbaijan hopes Pope to mediate in relations with Armenia Talks between presidents of Russia and Iran start in Kremlin Armenian FM: This is not first time Baku makes nonconstructive statements Ombudsman: I urge not to give in to Azerbaijani manipulations, to visit Artsakh Armenian FM: Armenia passes a package of proposals to Azerbaijan France names the main favorite of presidential election Garo Paylan concludes address in Turkey parliament in Armenian Russian Foreign Ministry believes there is no risk of large-scale war in Europe Dollar goes up in Armenia Sharmazanov: Armenia ex-President Sargsyan did not decide to hold press conference, he did not change his mind Blinken: Russia has plans to increase force on Ukraine borders : Azerbaijani military participate in Turkish drills Taliban say all conditions for recognizing legitimacy of government are met Azerbaijan MFA statement distorts events of Armenian massacres in Baku 32 years ago Karabakh ombudsmans office: Azerbaijans anti-Armenian, genocidal policy has clear chronology US official, Barzani are photographed against backdrop of Greater Armenia and Kurdistan map Armenia ex-defense minister, army General Staff chief, some others criminal case court hearing kicks off FM: Most important direction continues to be international recognition of Artsakh Armenia revenue committee chief on opening of Turkey border: Shall we live with closed borders? In fear? US selects Los Angeles to host Summit of the Americas in summer 2022 Karabakh Foreign Minister: Return of refugees can only be like mirror Iranian president arrives on official visit to Moscow All CSTO peacekeepers leaves Kazakhstan Artsakh Foreign Minister: Unacceptable to bracket NKAO and NKR together Karabakh FM: Format of OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs' visits needs to be restored Media: Air communication between Turkey and Armenia will start on February 2 Artsakh FM: Azerbaijan attack on Karabakh will mean attack on Russia Gold prices hardly change American professor angers Erdogan's son-in-law Hovhannes Khachatryan is elected Armenia Central Bank Deputy Governor 15 years pass since Hrant Dink assassination 563 new cases of COVID-19 confirmed in Armenia Guterres offers Merkel job at UN Armenian church revamped in Iran World oil prices going up Newspaper: ECHR rulings increase after Armenia revolution in 2018 Newspaper: Armenia ex-President Sargsyan to give interview instead of press conference Azerbaijan MFA falls into hysterical rage by France FM statement The Pope to donate 100,000 to help migrants on border of Belarus and Poland Fourth vaccine against COVID-19 is not enough for Omicron World is on verge of country defaults French Foreign Ministry considers unacceptable Azerbaijan statements about Pecresse US to return two valuable artifacts over 4,000 years old to Iraq Germany may consider halting Nord Stream 2 if Russia attacks Ukraine Israel successfully completes test of anti-ballistic missile system Plane landing in Sochi struck by lightning Putin and Aliyev discuss Ukraine situation Greek PM Mitsotakis threatens Turkey with sanctions Handelsblatt: US and EU abandon idea of disconnecting Russia from SWIFT international payment system Artsakh President meets representatives of non-governmental organizations Avalanche kills person in Iran Erdogan says he is pleased with decline in volatility of lira NEWS.am daily digest: 18.01.22 Turkey and Azerbaijan to start laying gas pipeline to supply Nakhichevan UK begins to supply Ukraine with anti-tank weapons Armenian PM holds meeting on Armenia's Transformation Strategy until 2050 Nagorno-Karabakh: Remains of another Armenian soldier found in Jrakan region Tehran to not accept any border change in South Caucasus Dollar holding relatively steady in Armenia Armenia special representative: Future process depends on Turkeys constructiveness degree Erdogan: Gas from Mediterranean to Europe can only be pumped through Turkey Iranian Consul General discusses customs cooperation in Nakhijevan Inecobank brings Apple Pay to customers Parliament vice-speaker says he is familiar with Armenia proposals on border demarcation commission work US Secretary of State to visit Kyiv Russia, Iran and China to hold joint naval drills OSCE Chairmanship on Aliyev statement: We reiterate our full support to Minsk Group Co-Chairs Artsakh NSS denies rumors about penetration of Azerbaijanis into Karabakh villages Indonesian parliament approves bill to relocate capital Armenia PM to Bulgaria colleague: Our interstate relations are marked by continuous development of cooperation Armenian President meets Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Azerbaijan to ban foreigners from visiting Nagorno-Karabakh occupied part European Parliament new speaker elected Armenian National Interests Fund participates in Abu Dhabi Sustainable Development Week summit North Korea fires missiles for fourth time this year ECHR recognizes violation of Armenian PM's rights after 2008 elections Turkey reveals plans to produce combat aircraft Listen to This Article To hear more audio stories from publishers like The New York Times, download Audm for iPhone or Android. In February, Jamie Margolin gave a talk at the Seattle middle school from which she graduated just a few years before. As a founder of Zero Hour, a youth-led group advocating for climate action, she does a lot of public speaking in a few days, she would help warm up a crowd of 17,000 for Bernie Sanders but her talks with younger children are special. She often feels, she says, as if shes speaking to her former self. She always starts with an apology: I know this is unfair. I wish the future could be better than this. And then she ends by telling kids that they, too, have the power to take action. Before becoming an activist, she tells them, I was sitting in your seats, not knowing what to do. Her message, about the scary realities of climate change and the need to do something about them, is a big one for children to take in. One fifth grader, teary-eyed, asked her, Do you think were going to make it? But Margolin thinks that young people, armed with information and outrage, have a unique role to play in combating the environmental crises that will define their lives. One middle-school student at the event raised a hand to ask why polluting the earth, because its so dangerous and so unfair, isnt illegal, which struck her as a pretty reasonable question. Children, she told me, think about it in a logical way thats more scientific than adults with Ph.D.s. Adults, they go into a whole explanation, but kids will just be like, This is wrong. Now 18, Margolin has been helping run a large organization for years. The Zero Hour Slack group, where leadership and core organizers communicate, has more than 100 members. She has met with politicians and celebrities, helped plan international protests from her high school and joined a group of children suing her home state, Washington, for violating their constitutional rights by contributing to climate change. She has seen change be slow and disappointing and watched herself become more jaded, more aware of the impediments to the kinds of transformation she is seeking. To be a teenager in the climate movement is to balance innocence and pragmatism, to inhabit a strange but also deeply useful dual perspective. Im not like, What are taxes? she said. Im not that young. But shes also able to hear the question from the middle schooler and imagine that the world could still be different, to think: You know what? Youre absolutely right. It should, and even could, be illegal. I still have the outrage, she said. Its not like Im 40. When I first met Margolin, on a rare day of winter sun in Seattle, it had been three weeks since a resident of the county just north of the city became among the first Americans to test positive for a new virus circulating in China. That threat still felt far off, theoretical, and we focused instead on the one that defined Margolins adolescence. Wearing a purple winter coat that brought out the dyed magenta streaks in her hair, she ate Valentines-themed cookies at the bakery near her high school and tried to explain what its like to grow up in the shadow of worldwide environmental destabilization. The defining feeling of her generation, she said, is not really believing in the future. Margolin arrived from school with an empty lunch bag and a stuffed backpack. Occasionally, she paused to answer messages on her phone: Zero Hour was hiring fellows to do voter-turnout work in Philadelphia, and she needed to approve the language of the ads before they went out. The mundane interruptions made it feel awkward to ask about grief and anxiety and fear, but Margolin shrugged. It was pretending that everything was fine when it clearly wasnt that she found exhausting, she said. When adults ask her, as they often do, when she first became worried about climate change, Margolin has a go-to answer: Climate change, she explains, is like Beyonce. When youre a member of her generation, both are facts of life, things you just know, fundamental to the way the world functions. There was definitely a time when I first heard of climate change, Margolin told me, just as she wasnt birthed knowing about Beyonce. But in neither case can she remember a moment of first awareness. For her and her peers, Beyonce has simply always existed. And so has the fear of growing up and making a life in a world rendered unrecognizable by climate change. Then came Hurricanes Harvey, Irma and Maria, which hit in 2017, the same summer Seattle was choking on wildfire smoke so thick it turned the sun red, blotting out even nearby buildings and sending people to the hospital. For Margolin, the world suddenly seemed more dangerous, the future less stable, the people in charge far less capable. She began to wonder what she could do about it. By the next year, when she was 16, she and other organizers she met online were leading their first international climate protest. Last month, Margolin published a guidebook, Youth to Power: Your Voice and How to Use It. In the foreword, the Swedish activist Greta Thunberg writes that it took getting involved with Margolin and the Zero Hour marches in 2018 to realize that she wasnt alone in being deeply worried about what was happening to the planet on which she still had her entire life to live. As she met more young people through her activism, Thunberg writes, she began to see that, the world over, many in her generation shared her anger and despair. They just didnt know what to do with those feelings. Margolin with the climate activist Greta Thunberg in September, during a joint hearing before congressional committees at the Rayburn House Office Building in Washington. Alastair Pike/Agence France-Presse, via Getty Images Young people have been frustrated about the worlds inaction on climate change long enough for there to be former youth climate activists with gray hair and children of their own. In the last couple of years, however, in part because of the sudden celebrity of Thunberg, the role has become something of an archetype, a phenomenon underscored by the arrival of the 19-year-old German climate-change denier Naomi Seibt, who was pitched by the conservative Heartland Institute as an anti-Greta a comic-book counterpoint, like Captain Pollution or Supermans nemesis Bizarro. (Seibt reportedly left the institute in April.) The contours of the backlash, too, have become familiar: Critics argue that young people are manipulated by adults; that they put on a nice show but have accomplished very little; that their fears are hysterical and their demands extreme. Last winter, when Thunberg was selected as Time magazines person of the year, President Trump responded to her message of urgency with smug dismissal. Greta must work on her Anger Management problem, he wrote on Twitter, then go to a good old-fashioned movie with a friend! Chill Greta, Chill! Margolins answer to this sort of criticism is that she would love, very much, to chill; there are any number of things she would rather be doing, if only adults would make that possible by running the world more responsibly. And isnt it a bit rich to criticize a bunch of teenagers for what theyve accomplished, when theyre going up against a well-funded fossil-fuel industry from their bedrooms and homerooms, all before being old enough to vote? And wouldnt you be angry, too, if the generations before you built and benefited from an unjust and unsustainable system and then left you to deal with the mess when it started to break down? Wouldnt you, like Thunberg, want to stand up before the people who were supposed to be looking out for you and the world youd someday inherit and demand to know, with fire in your eyes, How dare you? Its difficult to measure the success of any activist movement. For years, Black Lives Matter, with its call to stop police violence against Black people, had more detractors than supporters. Through organizing and education, approval of the movement grew slowly but steadily, before skyrocketing after the killing of George Floyd. Within two weeks, reforms that seemed next to impossible began to feel inevitable. Last falls explosion of youth climate marches, school walkouts and media coverage of youth activism followed a similar, if less spectacular, course. Climate change, which went unmentioned during the 2012 presidential debates and received less than six minutes of airtime when Trump and Hillary Clinton debated, became a major issue during the 2020 primary season. Candidates climate proposals became far more ambitious than they were just a few years before though still short of what science tells us is needed. So what has changed between then and now? the historian Thai Jones asked ABC News. The answer is activism. Margolin at a rally in New York City last September. Brittainy Newman/The New York Times Yet many youth climate activists feel that their work is still misunderstood: A diverse movement with dispersed leadership and a complex critique of the racial and economic injustice of climate change gets boiled down to just a few faces and slogans. Margolin has watched Thunberg purposefully avoid giving speeches, trying to pass the microphone to other young activists from parts of the world hard hit by the climate crisis, only to see the media quote Thunbergs quick comments instead of her peers carefully written statements. When The Associated Press cropped the Ugandan activist Vanessa Nakate out of a photo taken at the World Economic Forum in Davos, leaving only white activists in the frame, it was both infuriating and unsurprising. So is coverage that ignores the effort that goes into organizing and treats youth protests as a mere novelty. All this, too, Margolin finds exhausting. The story shouldnt be, Oh, isnt it cute that these kids are standing up for something, she said. It should be, What are they standing up for? One afternoon, I met Margolin at her bus stop after school. She had just taken an American-history exam but wasnt sure how she had done she had been working on spreadsheets for an upcoming Zero Hour campaign way too late the night before, then woke up at 5:30, as she always did, to join a car pool to school. She had just stopped by the bakery again; the cute counter girl with the pink hair, on whom Margolin had the beginnings of a crush, was working, but Margolin felt too shy to say anything to her. She joked with a friend that she needed to find out when the counter girl was there, so she would know ahead of time whether it was worth making the effort to look cute. Today she was too tired. She had 345 unread emails, a Slack that was bursting with messages, a conference call with the Zero Hour leadership that afternoon and a growing backlog of homework. The bus pulled up, and she squeezed into a seat and leaned back. Part of me feels like staging an angsty teenage getaway from my own life, she said. My joining Margolin on the bus was her idea. When I first called her and suggested covering whats behind the scenes of youth activism, she offered suggestions of what a photographer could shoot and what I might want to observe to see the work hidden behind the headlines about colorful street marches. I said Id like to sit in on her conference calls with other organizers, and she said, If youre coming over, why not take the bus home with me so you can see me take calls and answer emails there? It was clear that I was in the hands of a person who had studied the media. I messaged another writer, impressed and amused that my teenage subject was stage-managing my interview. Margolin talking with Al Gore at a climate crisis event last year. Erik McGregor/LightRocket, via Getty Images On this day, though, Margolin felt too wiped to work on the bus. We got off downtown and then waited to switch to another bus, ducking into a sandwich shop to keep warm. By the time we got to her house, a modest wooden two-story in an outlying neighborhood, it was almost time for the call. In the kitchen, Margolin grabbed a handful of cookies and an apple-juice box Im addicted to these things. They slap. She paused to translate: I mean, theyre good. Then she logged into Zoom, which, in February, was still new to me. The screen showed a grid of teenagers: Zero Hours leaders and managers, who are spread out across the United States. Did everyone get a chance to read through that obnoxiously long email that I sent? asked Jonah Gottlieb, then 17. His organization, the National Childrens Campaign, was partnering with Zero Hour for an upcoming campaign. This is going to be a grueling few weeks, and we have to be holding each other accountable. The project at hand was a six-city bus tour from New York to the Rust Belt, part of a project called #Vote4OurFuture, an effort to get young people involved in civic action. An added bonus might be renewed press attention for the youth movement as it showed it could organize on multiple levels not just mass protest but also legislation, voter mobilization, local action. People are getting tired of, Oh, kids are in the streets, Margolin said. She wanted to offer a new narrative. Each city had point people assigned. There were logistics to plan, local partner organizations to connect with, news releases and graphics to prepare. A website, in the two organizations trademark colors, was already live. When did you jam that out? Margolin asked Gottlieb. Last Friday, he answered. I was bored in history class. I watched as the array of organizers seamlessly pivoted between teenagehood and big-stakes action. As they ran through which national and regional climate organizations they had and hadnt reached out to yet, the screens showed everybody sweatshirted, lounging around in bedrooms with posters on the walls. One director absent-mindedly braided her hair. When Margolins mother, Janeth, returned home from work, she didnt want to interrupt the call, but Margolin pulled her in for an on-camera hug anyway. Do we have an official stance on offshore wind as an energy source? someone asked, and a short discussion ensued. One teenage director briefly froze on their feed, and Margolin pointed out their awkward expression. Thats the first time Jamies not liked something thats Frozen themed, Gottlieb said. Har har, har har, Margolin replied. Natalie Sweet, Zero Hours communications director, who was then 16, had to leave early to speak to someone at N.Y.U. Tell them to accept me to their school! Margolin pleaded, only half joking. A lot of the young organizers with whom Margolin works have a story like hers: Some particular natural disaster or event made the future seem shakier and action more urgent. The October that Gottlieb was 15, he woke up at 3 in the morning because people fleeing from what was then the most destructive wildfire in California history were pounding on the door of his familys house. Over the next couple of years, a string of brutal fire seasons eclipsed that fires distinction, and Gottlieb would become used to thinking of October as the season of smoke and school closures. Frustrated that his government wasnt dealing with the emissions that he saw as the root cause of the fires, he went to the office of his congressional representative to read what he had written while his house was still full of refugees and the air still filled with smoke. Soon he was doing advocacy days in Washington with Schools for Climate Action and then helping found the National Childrens Campaign, a nonprofit that advocates for youth issues in Washington. Eventually Gottlieb estimated that he was spending 60 to 80 hours a week on his activism, typing out emails under his desk at school or taking calls during P.E. class. We all have our little place that weve carved out at school, and then we get home and work until 2 or 3 in the morning, he said. He alternated between the nurses office and the schools front desk, while Margolin used the room where the drama department stored costumes. Thats just the youth-activist life. In 2017, a report from the American Psychological Association included a new word, ecoanxiety, which the A.P.A. defined as a chronic fear of environmental doom. It was only the latest in an emerging lexicon of life in the age of planetary disruption. The most famous of these neologisms is probably solastalgia, a word invented by the Australian philosopher Glenn Albrecht to describe the homesickness you feel for a place that you have not left but that has transformed beyond recognition around you. Theres also shadowtime, which manifests as a feeling of living in two distinctly different temporal scales simultaneously, or acute consciousness of the possibility that the near future will be drastically different than the present. That one was created by the Bureau of Linguistical Reality, a California-based conceptual-art project that works with the public to coin words for our disorienting new experiences. They also came up with blissonance (what you might feel while enjoying a pleasantly warm day in winter but wondering what unpleasant things it bodes about the future) and jestope (an attitude of hope mixed with cleareyed honesty about difficult realities). To be a teenager in this moment is, to put it teenagerly, a lot. Youre supposed to be planning for your future at a time when its scary to imagine what that future will be. Models that predict world-changing sea-level rise and droughts and wildfires and ocean acidification tend to use dates that feel very real to you: 2030, when you might be starting to have children; 2050, when you might be reaching middle age. Other generations, like those practicing duck-and-cover under their desks or facing a wartime draft, had plenty to worry about, too, of course. But its a unique experience to know that every day the world is generating the emissions that will disrupt the basic workings of your only home, and that many of the things that adults treat as normal are actually making things ever more precarious. It makes you feel negative and resentful and angry, Margolin told me. It also makes you feel scared and uncertain in a time that, adults keep telling you, should be about dreams and goals. A 2018 paper in the journal Nature Climate Change warned that the grief associated with anticipated ecological losses may be especially acute for children and youth. It is likely to be particularly difficult to articulate a sense of grief felt over the loss of the future, the authors wrote. But Gottlieb told me that he hears his peers articulate precisely that grief all the time. That fears always in the back of our minds, he said. I wont have a future. Its this constant anxiety, this thing at the back of your head. In recent years, researchers have called for more study of how big planetary changes like climate change affect mental health. A recent survey by the Kaiser Family Foundation and The Washington Post found that when it comes to climate change, the emotions that most teenagers report feeling are anger, motivation and, above all, fear but that they are actually less likely than adults to feel helpless. It also found that nearly a quarter of them had taken some kind of direct action related to the climate crisis: walking out from school, joining a protest, writing to the officials they were not yet old enough to elect. Margolin is an only child, and she is close to her parents. Her father, Mark, is an engineer; her mother, Janeth, works at a food bank. Janeth grew up in Colombia, and she and Margolin speak Spanish to each other. Her parents didnt pay much attention to climate news until their daughters ardor compelled them to. Now theyre proud, if slightly bewildered by it all. Mark does what he can to help out with Margolins intense scheduling and to keep her from overcommitting herself, and Janeth likes to deliver bowls of fruit when her daughter is stuck on a conference call. They both wish she would sleep more. Since she was little, Margolin has suffered from depression, anxiety and obsessive compulsive disorder: Im literally like, What up, fam, I have depression. But she throws herself headfirst into whatever she cares about. When she was in middle school, an obsession with the Olympics Theres something for me almost religious about them, she said, the best of the best, the nations coming together led to a die-hard dedication to competitive rhythmic gymnastics. She wasnt the best on the team, but she was known as the hardest worker. She worked out so much that she got a six-pack as a 12-year-old and then juvenile arthritis, a concussion and a stress fracture in her pelvis. But as an all-or-nothing person, she quit only later, when she realized she had fallen out of love with the sport. It wasnt long after that her worries about climate change began to occupy more and more of her thoughts. Margolin joined a local environmental advocacy group, started going to lobby days at the State Legislature and writing columns for the magazine Teen Ink. But no one seemed to be taking her seriously, and it all felt inadequate to the size of the crisis she was reading about. She posted on Instagram, calling for a youth march on Washington, and then started connecting with other young activists around the country to make it a reality. Zero Hour, so named to convey the urgency its founders felt, was off and running. Margolin says that climate change is like Beyonce: For members of her generation, its existence has always been a basic fact of life. Holly Andres for The New York Times When I asked Margolins parents how they felt about the incredible amounts of time she now pours into her activism, Mark brought up the intensity she once felt for gymnastics: Shes traded that for this, he said, shrugging a little. (In Margolins bedroom, where she hasnt gotten around to replacing the horse-themed bedspread she got when she was 4, her name tags from climate conferences and events hang off a row of old gymnastics trophies.) When I asked Margolin the same question, she answered that focusing on the work of organizing helps her deal with emotions that would otherwise be overwhelming. In another world, she would rather be concentrating on her other interests, like writing or film or L.G.B.T.Q. rights, or just on being a teenager, the kind who plans dates instead of marches. But, she said, If youre like, People are messaging me about this document that needs to be fixed, youre not stressing about life on Earth. The bus tour eventually went online, of course. Like a lot of groups, Zero Hour struggled, as the novel coronavirus spread in the disorienting days of March, with knowing when to pull the plug. Margolins high school announced that it was planning to stay open, but two days later, it sent everyone home, for what turned out to be the rest of Margolins senior year. I called Margolin the day Washingtons official stay-at-home order went into effect and heard loud rustlings on the other end of the line. Im stress-eating Popsicles, she said. For Margolin, years immersed in the politics of climate change meant that there was a lot about the pandemic that felt familiar. Scientists warnings went unheeded; government was slow to take the threat seriously; people protested that measures meant to protect them were infringing on their personal rights. A global danger initially dubbed a great equalizer turned out to be far more dangerous for people who already had less wealth and power. Then the stock market tanked, and the president and other public figures started calling for the economy to reopen long before epidemiologists believed it was safe: another sacrifice of life for money. Familiar, too, were the dread and uncertainty, the frustration of seeing disaster looming and not being able to stop it. It was, in other words, as if more of the world were learning what it felt like to be her. By the end of the month, Margolin was as swamped as ever. Classes had moved online, and she had papers due, on top of nonstop conference calls and emails as Zero Hour figured out how to pivot its work online. Im still hustling, she said on the phone, just inside and in baggier clothes. The group helped plan an online strike, a big livestream for Earth Day and a series of weekly webinars called Get to the Roots, a broad analysis of the climate crisis or, as Margolin put it, the grand culmination of all our societal systems of oppression. Margolin worried about her mother, who is immunocompromised but was still going to the food bank it was busier than ever while she and her father stayed holed up at home. She also lamented the loss of prom and the senior retreat and all the other events shed been planning to finally take some time off to enjoy. Theres no guaranteed tomorrow, and I havent lived, she said. In April, I texted Margolin to see how things were going and got a despondent answer. Bernie dropped out, my grandpa has the virus, she wrote. Her grandfather had gotten sick while living in an assisted-living facility nearby, and she wasnt allowed to visit him. After three weeks, he died, and the family held a funeral that felt sad and strange: just them, a rabbi and no guests, gathered around a grave. The world had shrunk to the walls of her house, and sometimes Margolin felt the need to withdraw from it altogether. She watched all five seasons of the series She-Ra and the Princesses of Power in one three-day period: I was like, I hate the real world. I want to live on Etheria. By the time we met in person again, Margolins anger was palpable. The pandemic was exposing the same pattern of [expletive] as the climate crisis, she said: Politicians would rather turn a blind eye and pretend it doesnt exist, at least until things got so bad they couldnt deny them any longer. She had recently gotten into film school, but so many things she once looked forward to had simply vanished that she couldnt bear to talk about it. What if her big chance at adulthood turned out to be more Zoom classes from her childhood bedroom? Im scared Ill let myself get excited about something, she said. We were at a park in her neighborhood, on a peninsula that juts westward from Seattle, sitting far apart. It had taken me a long time to get there: The high bridge that connects the area to the rest of the city recently developed visible cracks in its concrete, and suddenly thousands of cars had to squeeze through a congested detour. The best estimate was that her section of the city would be cut off in this way for years. Margolin joked that given the way 2020 was going, an alien invasion might be next, but the truth was that she no longer found big cracks in the basic infrastructure of life to be surprising. Lately, though, she had been thinking about the value of uncertainty: that big, sudden shifts could mean progress as well as disaster. Margolin had recently been to a Black Lives Matter march in her neighborhood, had seen public opinion race toward recognition of emergency at warp speed. Even when she felt her most tired and cynical, she could still imagine the world transforming becoming new, becoming better. The goal wasnt to go back to normal, after all: The status quo was people being murdered by the police. The status quo was the climate crisis. It was still frightening to think about the future, but part of that fear had to do with understanding the perils of hope. Im trying not to feel, she said. Instead, her plan was to focus on just doing the work that she could do, because she no longer knew what to predict. Brooke Jarvis is a contributing writer for the magazine. She last wrote a Screenland column about a livestreamed performance by the Seattle Symphony orchestra. A paramilitary policeman stands guard outside the Great Hall of the People ahead of the closing session of the National People's Congress in Beijing on May 28, 2020. (Nicolas Asfouri/AFP via Getty Images) Chinese Regimes Abusive Rhetoric Shows Its Tyrannical Nature Commentary Dotard! What is the United States but a thatched barn where brigands drink in the reek, and their brats roll on the floor among the dogs? Chinese diplomats may not be using precisely the language Saruman aimed at King Theoden from the top of a smouldering Orthanc, but the tone is unmistakable. The kid gloves are off and the iron fist is pumping. Consider this weekends outburst from the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar, reported in the National Post on July 20, in which some wolf-warrior diplomat howled that the United States was outrageously smearing China, and that American agencies were doing disgusting things and showing a selfish, hypocritical, contemptible, and ugly face. The United States has, of course, been very vocal about Chinas encroachment on its neighbours and its conduct in Hong Kong. As have others including the United Kingdom, which just suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. But where American diplomats speak of a larger pattern to undermine the sovereignty of its neighbours, their Chinese counterparts snarl, The U.S. should first look in the mirror to see whether it still looks like a major country now. When I refer to Chinese diplomats in Myanmar, to borrow a phrase from Captain Blood, I state rather the purpose for which they were [placed there] than the duty which they fulfilled. If Talleyrand exaggerated in saying A diplomat is given a tongue in order to conceal his thoughts, it is certainly true that they are normally expected to be diplomatic, that is, to express even forcible points in soothing, often soporific language. They should not sound like Andrei Vyshinski berating a helpless, doomed prisoner in a Stalinist show trial, pausing only to wipe foam from his lips. Of course, if it were just some guy in the Myanmar embassy tweeting while drunk and choleric, it would not mean anything except that he was going home on the next flight to embark on a new career involving hand-held implements. But its not, and it matters. To browbeat, insult, and threaten someone reveals that you regard them as a captive, cuffed and blindfolded, who may be kicked at will and must beg even for the boot to strike somewhere less painful. Which very pointedly corresponds with something Id just gone to the trouble of locating in The Lord of the Rings because of the increasingly ataxic way the Chinese leadership is trying to cajole and threaten at the same time. After Sarumans disastrous performance in front of representatives of various free peoples whose ruin he had been plotting, Gandalf comments, He cannot be both tyrant and counselor. When the plot is ripe it remains no longer secret. Yet he fell into the trap, and tried to deal with his victims piece-meal, while others listened. To some extent the Chinese regime is doing the same, posing as peaceful and misunderstood while having apoplexy when criticized. Back in June, a spokesman for the Chinese foreign ministry ordered Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to stop making irresponsible remarks about a hypothetical connection between Chinas brutal treatment of Michael Spavor and Michael Kovrig and our arrest of Huawei CFO Meng Wanzhou. Never mind the sneer that Canada is playing the role of an accomplice to the U.S. Imagine their reaction if some Global Affairs Canada functionary mentioned in the course of a briefing that of course Xi Jinping should shut up. Even though he should. Or maybe not, because the truth is now coming out among the grunts, hisses, and snarls. For instance, the same Zhao Lijian who told Trudeau to hold his insolent tongue also smoothly allowed that the two cases were connected, and if Trudeau would just bow down to Beijing, interfere in the judicial system and free Meng, it could open up space for resolution to the situation of the two Canadians. Tyrant and counsellor practically in the same breath. Canadian diplomats use language like concerned by the arrests of political figures and close scrutiny of extraordinary measures. But Chinese diplomats growl about dangerous activity in the same thuggish language used in deadly intra-Communist Party melees. Who can forget when Chinas ambassador to Canada did not merely blurt out, but wrote in a carefully crafted op-ed, of our demands to free the Two Michaels that The reason why some people are used to arrogantly adopting double standards is due to Western egotism and white supremacy. It may wound our pride to think of such things. But in theory, the regime in Beijing might feel free to treat Canada with open contempt because we are not a major power or even, despite our conceit, a middle power nowadays. What really can we do to them if they accuse us of rolling on the floor among our dogs, except hope that others notice the language the Chinese communist regime uses once it thinks it has you at its feet? To speak thus to the United States is another matter. Even Saruman, after giving Theoden the rhetorical business, pulled himself together and said softly But you, Gandalf! For you at least I am grieved, feeling for your shame. How comes it that you can endure such company? But the Politburo is no longer using such language even to the American hyperpower because the plot is ripe and, though it periodically forgets and trips over its forked tongue, Beijing is now openly tyrant, not counsellor. One of Talleyrands masters in his long and slippery career, Napoleon, had as his maxim to talk peace and act war. But once the armies are across the borders, slaying and burning, as Sarumans were in Rohan, the talk of peace has no further purpose. Thus Theoden responded to his one-time counsellors treacherous offer of peace by saying Yes, we will have peace, when you and all your works have perished, and declaring that You are a liar, Saruman, and a corrupter of mens hearts. But I fear your voice has lost its charm. It had, and as Sarumans wrath burst forth, To some suddenly it seemed that they saw a snake coiling itself to strike. So do I. John Robson is a documentary filmmaker, National Post columnist, contributing editor to the Dorchester Review, and executive director of the Climate Discussion Nexus. His most recent documentary is The Environment: A True Story. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. Bachelor in Paradise was rocked by scandal on Tuesday night after ex-lovers Ciarran Stott and Renee Barrett had a very emotional reunion. Now, rumours are swirling that Ciarran and Renee's former relationship was a lot more serious than has previously been reported. On Monday, Woman's Day published photos that purportedly showed Ciarran proposing to Renee during their trip to Bali in August last year - about two weeks after he left The Bachelorette. Secret engagement? Photos have surfaced of Bachelor in Paradise Ciarran Stott (left) 'proposing' to his ex-girlfriend Renee Barrett (right) on holiday in Bali late last year 'Onlookers reveal the funnyman, 26, got down on bended knee for the brunette beauty who appeared elated by the proposal,' the magazine reported. Despite Woman's Day's claims, however, the photo actually looks like Ciarran simply fell over in front of his girlfriend. On Tuesday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise, Renee was in two minds about whether she should reveal a 'secret' about her relationship with the former Army rifleman. Anything to tell us? 'Onlookers reveal the funnyman, 26, got down on bended knee for the brunette beauty who appeared elated by the proposal,' Woman's Day reported Romantic getaway: In August, about two weeks after he left The Bachelorette, Ciarran enjoyed a romantic holiday in Bali with Renee, who had briefly appeared on Matt Agnew's season of The Bachelor earlier that year. Pictured together with friends The newcomer eventually caved in and revealed that Ciarran had been speaking to her while he was filming Angie Kent's season of The Bachelorette, and even suggested he left the show to rekindle their relationship. When he quit The Bachelorette in July 2019, Ciarran explained to Angie that he was grieving his grandmother, who had just died in England. What he failed to tell Angie was that he was also nursing a broken heart following his split from Renee, whom he'd previously dated when they were both living in Darwin. Making waves: On Tuesday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise, Renee was in two minds about whether she should reveal a 'secret' about her relationship with the former Army rifleman. Pictured together in happier times Dramatic exit: When he left The Bachelorette in July 2019, Ciarran explained to Angie Kent (left) that he was grieving his grandmother, who had just died in England Just days after leaving the mansion, Ciarran reunited with Renee. Speaking exclusively to Daily Mail Australia last year, an insider revealed: 'All Ciarran wanted to do when he found out the news [about his grandmother] was get away from all of the cameras and just be with Renee. 'As soon as he arrived in Darwin, they got back together. It was like the death had put everything into perspective for them. 'They were together for years and their split was still relatively fresh. There was no doubt they still loved each other despite both trying to move on.' Cheating scandal: However, things soured between the pair around September when Ciarran cheated on Renee - an incident for which he profusely apologised on Tuesday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise In August, about two weeks after he left The Bachelorette, Ciarran enjoyed a romantic holiday in Bali with Renee, who had briefly appeared on Matt Agnew's season of The Bachelor earlier that year. However, things soured between the pair around September when Ciarran cheated on Renee - an incident for which he profusely apologised on Tuesday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise. Ciarran flew to Fiji on November 5 to begin filming Bachelor in Paradise. Renee joined the cast later, flying out on November 10. Bachelor in Paradise continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten The University of Utah is refusing to release the counseling records of murdered student-athlete Lauren McCluskey, who had spoken to a school psychologist hours before she was murdered, claiming they're confidential even in death. McCluskey, 21, was shot several times by her ex-boyfriend Melvin Rowland, 37, on October 22, 2018, outside her dorm room in Salt Lake City. He later died by suicide. They met at a bar and their relationship crumbled when she learned Rowland lied about his name, age and status as a registered sex offender. She had confided in campus police that he was extorting her and threatened to release personal images of her if she didnt pay him $1,000. McCluskey went to the counseling center twice. Once on October 15, 2018, three days after she first talked to campus police about Rowland, and again on October 22, 2018, hours before she was killed. The University of Utah is refusing to release the counseling records of murdered student-athlete Lauren McCluskey, 21, who was killed in October 2018. The school says the records are confidential, even in death She visited the counseling center on campus twice, including the day she died. Her parents Matt and Jill McCluskey (together at her vigil above) first petitioned for the records to be released in December 2019 Her parents Matt and Jill had gone to court to demand the school hand over counseling records from McCluskey's visit to the counseling center. 'We believe she went to the counselor on the day of her death to express her concerns,' Jim McConkie, the attorney representing the family said. He says what she said in that meeting is 'really relevant', according to the Salt Lake Tribune. In a filing Monday the university said the school cant release those counselling reports to McCluskeys parents and their attorneys because theyre considered confidential. Last month Utahs State Records Committee ordered the university to release the reports, but in the filing the school is appealing the decision. 'Mental health records often contain highly sensitive and personal information, the disclosure of which would constitute a gross invasion of personal privacy,' the university argues in its lawsuit. Theres no record of any school psychologist calling police based on what McCluskey said that day. The family believes this points to negligence on the counseling centers part. McCluskey, 21, was shot several times by her ex-boyfriend Melvin Rowland, 37, on October 22, 2018 outside her dorm room in Salt Lake City. He later died by suicide. They met at a bar and their relationship crumbled when she learned Rowland lied about his name, age and the fact he was a registered sex offender On Monday the school filed an appeal saying counseling records are confidential even in death. University officials say releasing them would have 'chilling effect' on students who may avoid going to counselors for fear what they say could be released McCluskeys parents are separately suing the university for $56million saying the school didnt take their daughters concerns and reports of her ex-boyfriend seriously. That lawsuit focuses on how the campus police department did little to investigate McCluskeys multiple calls for helps after reporting she was being harassed and extorted by someone she briefly dated. In May it was revealed that when McCluskey reported to one of the officers how she was being extorted, the cop Officer Miguel Deras, who went on to work for the Logan Police Department, allegedly saved the photos to his phone and showed at least one male co-worker, according to the Tribune. The lawsuit is in part against Deras after an independent review found Deras did very little to investigate McCluskey's complaints. The student died nine days after filing the report. One of Deras' colleagues confirmed to campus police that he had been shown the images by Deras, with another officer confirming he had heard the conversation taking place. McCluskey's parents believe other school officials, including campus housing, were aware of the threats against their daughter and failed to act. Her parents are also seeking to know if McCluskey told the counselor anything about her concerns that hasnt already been brought to light. 'The idea that a parent could not see the medical records of their deceased daughter seems unjustifiable, especially in this case where a crime has occurred,' McConkie added. The family first asked for the counseling records in December 2019 through a public records request, but the school denied it. McCluskeys parents are separately suing the university for $56million saying the school didnt take their daughters concerns and reports of her ex-boyfriend seriously. That lawsuit focuses on how the campus police department did little to investigate McCluskeys multiple calls for helps after reporting she was being harassed and extorted by someone she briefly dated. McCluskey pictured signing a letter of intent to attend the University of Iowa in 2014 After appeals the attorneys representing the family took the case to the State Records Committee, which oversees and rules on disputes over public documents. They argued that the students mother Jill is her daughters legal representative in death and she should be able to access the counselling reports. Utah state code allows for such an exception saying 'the authorized agent of the client or patient' has the same rights to medical records as the patient does. Then in June the committee voted 5-1 to have the school turn over the records. The universitys lawyers are pushing back against releasing the documents saying it would 'violate ethical standards for patient confidentiality'. 'All adult students deserve the right to seek mental health counseling knowing that what they disclose in confidence with a therapist or counselor, including concerns about school, parents, family or friends, will remain private,' the school said in a statement. The school says in the new lawsuit that releasing the records would have a 'chilling effect' on other students. If the records are released other students may avoid seeking help from a therapist for fear what they say could be released. The case will now be heard before a 3rd District judge. McCluskeys parents have filed two lawsuits that are pending in the courts. One in the state and one in the federal system arguing the school could have done more to protect their daughter given she spoke with campus police. The University has denied any responsibility in the murder. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz and his wife, Gwen Walz, attended a memorial service for George Floyd at North Central University in Minneapolis on June 4. Read more The Minnesota legislature overwhelmingly approved wide-ranging police accountability measures late Monday, including a ban on chokeholds and neck restraints, almost two months after George Floyds death in Minneapolis sparked nationwide protests against racial injustice and police brutality. The Minnesota Police Accountability Act passed in the Democratic-led House by a 102-29 vote just before midnight, and was then approved in the Republican-led Senate in a 60-7 tally around 2 a.m. Tuesday. It will be sent to Gov. Tim Walz, D, who is expected to swiftly sign it into law after months of pushing for police overhauls following Floyd's death on May 25. The deal struck in the legislature which also prohibits warrior-style training for officers, increases data collection surrounding deadly police-involved incidents and requires officers to intervene among other measures represents one of the most significant changes in the history of Minnesota's criminal justice system, backers said. "Today, we're beginning to make the overdue changes Minnesotans have been demanding to help ensure no more lives are lost due to police violence," said state Rep. Carlos Mariani, D, author of the bill, in a news release early Tuesday. "By passing this bill into law, we're taking the first steps toward major changes to hold police officers accountable for harmful acts, and we are committed to continuing our work for safer communities." He added, "It wasn't safe for George Floyd or for Philando Castile, and they deserved a better way to police that builds community." The House bill, which was authored by members of the People of Color and Indigenous Caucus, also creates a new state unit to investigate deadly police-related incidents, and adds funding for crisis intervention training and incentives for officers to live in the communities where they work. The bill also calls for establishing a council of arbiters to handle cases of police misconduct. "We have heard the cries for justice, and I'm pleased we have reached an agreement to begin ensuring police are more accountable to the communities they serve," said Minnesota House Speaker Melissa Hortman, D, in a statement. The agreement in the state's divided legislature comes after negotiations had previously stalled due to partisan finger-pointing, even amid an outcry for unity and immediate action. As The Washington Post's Holly Bailey reported, the state GOP initially refused to ban warrior training for officers, which was formally prohibited by the Minneapolis Police Department but offered as a course by the police union. Democratic-led initiatives to restore voting rights to tens of thousands of convicted felons and appoint Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison, D, to prosecute police killings were also rejected by Republicans. Minnesota Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R, told local outlets that Republicans had imposed a midnight deadline for the House to pass the bill or go home. Although the legislature had faced an extended impasse, House lawmakers continued to push behind the scenes in recent days to find a resolution for police accountability, Gazelka said to the Star Tribune. "We've never stopped working on this, whether we were in session or out of session," Gazelka said to the newspaper. "That's something we all felt was important." While Republican Senate leaders mostly hailed the bill as a success, some Democrats in the body said the police accountability measures were "insufficient." "This is not good enough," said state Sen. Patricia Torres Ray, D, before voting against the bill. State Sen. Jeff Hayden, D, who is African American and whose district includes the neighborhood where Floyd was killed, said that while he voted for the bill, he was disappointed that it took months to create and feared that it doesnt rise to the national moment on policing. "While this bill sets the groundwork for the work that we know needs to continue after this, the conversation cannot and will not end there with the passage of this bill," Hayden said in the Senate chamber. "There's a lot of work to protect black bodies." _____ The Washington Posts Holly Bailey contributed to this report. A number of Ukraine- Switzerland bilateral documents have been signed during the state visit of President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga to Ukraine. "President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of Switzerland Simonetta Sommaruga have signed a Memorandum of Partnership between Ukraine and the Swiss Confederation on the implementation of the Swiss Cooperation Program in Ukraine for 2020-2023," the press service of the President of Ukraine informs. The document covers cooperation in the implementation of technical and humanitarian assistance projects under the three-year Swiss Cooperation Program in Ukraine. The document also identifies the main directions of further development of relations between the two countries and cooperation in a wide range of issues on the agenda of international forums. In addition, the parties reaffirm their readiness to hold annual consultations in order to assess the progress of implementation of the agreements reached and to exchange views on topical issues of international relations. The Presidents of the two countries also signed a Memorandum of Understanding between Ukraine and the Swiss Confederation on the preparation and content of the 2022 Ukraine Reform Conference. The document defines the main directions and timeline of preparation for the 5th Ukraine Reform Conference in the Swiss Confederation. Head of the State Border Guard Service of Ukraine Serhiy Deyneko, Head of the State Migration Service of Ukraine Maksym Sokoliuk, and Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Ukraine Claude Wild signed the Implementation Protocol to the Ukraine-Switzerland Readmission Agreement in the presence of the presidents. The start of the Readmission Agreement implementation will also trigger the implementation of provisions of the Visa Liberalisation Agreement between the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine and the Swiss Federal Council of June 7, 2017, which regulates the simplified visa procedures for Ukrainian citizens and the abolition of visa fees for certain categories of Ukrainian citizens. It is expected that the implementation of the provisions of the Agreement will contribute to the further development of friendly relations between Ukraine and the Swiss Confederation, the development of economic, humanitarian, cultural, scientific, and other ties between the states. In addition, Prosecutor General of Ukraine Iryna Venediktova, Director of the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine Artem Sytnyk and Ambassador of the Swiss Confederation to Ukraine Claude Wild signed a Memorandum of Understanding between the Office of the Prosecutor General, the National Anti-Corruption Bureau of Ukraine, and the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation on the implementation of the project Asset Recovery and Public Sector Integrity in Ukraine (Phase 1). On July 20-23, President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga makes a state visit to Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelensky. ol China on Tuesday sought to defend its recent claims over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan, saying the boundary between the two countries is yet to be demarcated and it has proposed a "package solution" to resolve the border dispute. In a surprise move, China recently staked claim over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council and opposed funding to the project. Asked about China's claim over the sanctuary in Bhutan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that the boundary between the two countries is yet to be demarcated. "China's position remains consistent and clear. The boundary between China and Bhutan has not been delimited and there are disputes in the middle, eastern and western sections," he said. "So, China advocates a package solution to resolve the dispute, he said. "China is opposed to making an issue of these disputes at multilateral forums and China remains in communication with the relevant parties on this issue, the spokesman said. Asked about reports that China is making fresh territorial claims in its boundary dispute with Bhutan, Wang said, "I (have) already made China's position clear". "The boundary between China and Bhutan has not been demarcated. There are disputes in the central, eastern and western sections of the boundary, he said. According to reports, Bhutan's embassy in New Delhi issued a demarche to the Chinese Embassy over Beijing's claim over the sanctuary. The GEF Council has reportedly cleared the funding for the Sakteng sanctuary after Aparna Subramani, the World Bank official representing Bhutan, as well as India, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka, said that Bhutan totally rejected the claim made by China. China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations but maintain contacts through periodic visits by officials. The two countries have held 24 rounds of boundary talks in a bid to resolve the boundary dispute. China's claim over Bhutanese territory came in the midst of Beijing's aggressive moves in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control. China is also engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area. Millions of Australians are still showing up to work with coronavirus symptoms despite pleas for them to stay home, a survey has found. Prime Minister Scott Morrison, state premiers, and health officials have from early in the pandemic begged anyone with even the mildest symptoms to call in sick. The vast majority of coronavirus patients only experience mild symptoms they think are just from a cold, and spread the disease by soldiering on. Even amid a renewed outbreak with hundreds of people testing positive every day, most Australians still say they would go to work with symptoms. Millions of Australians are still showing up to work with coronavirus symptoms despite pleas for them to stay home, a survey has found A new survey asked Australians if they would go to work when suffering nine symptoms associated with the virus, or call in sick. An alarming 38 per cent said they would show up if they had a stuffy or runny nose, a sore or tingly throat, or fatigue, and 32 per cent with a cough. These are classic coronavirus symptoms commonly experienced by patients with a mild but still contagious case, or in the early stages of a more severe infection. A further 20 per cent would shrug off muscle or body aches and chills to go to work and 10 per cent even if they had a fever. Others would go to work with less common symptoms including a headache (54 per cent), a stomach ache (22 per cent), or nausea (14 per cent). All up, 70 per cent of survey respondents said they would go to work with at least one of those nine symptoms. Young people under 30, who statistically pass the virus on more often, were unsurprisingly more likely to go to work even if they were unwell. Among those, 47 per cent would work with a sore or tingly throat, 46 per cent with a runny or stuffy nose, 40 per cent with a cough, 27 per with a stomach ache, and 18 per cent with nausea. Health warnings plead with workers to stay home and get tested 'even with the mildest of symptoms'. However, this is the reason 58 per cent of Australians cite for working while unwell - they don't think their symptoms are bad enough. Forty-two per cent felt they had to much to do to not be at work and that no one would be able to cover for them. Pressure from bosses was the next biggest driver with 29 per cent fearing their employer wouldn't think their symptoms were bad enough, and 24 per cent felt generalised pressure from above to show up. Another quarter didn't have any sick leave left, and 21 per cent were casual workers who couldn't afford to not be paid for days they called in sick. Australia has more than 2.6 million casual workers, so this would mean 546,000 staf would go to work with coronavirus symptoms. Casual workers are mostly employed in sectors workplaces that are generally difficult to operate with workers in self-isolation. An alarming 38 per cent said they would show up if they had a stuffy or runny nose, a sore or tingly throat, or fatigue, and 32 per cent with a cough WHAT ARE THE CORONAVIRUS SYMPTOMS? The virus, called COVID-19, is transmitted from person to person via droplets when an infected person breathes out, coughs or sneezes. It can also spread via contaminated surfaces such as door handles or railings. Coronavirus infections have a wide range of symptoms, including fever, coughing, shortness of breath and breathing difficulties. Mild cases can cause cold-like symptoms including a sore throat, headache, fever, cough or trouble breathing. Severe cases can cause pneumonia, severe acute respiratory illness, kidney failure and death. Symptoms may appear 2-14 days after exposure. Advertisement Many, like hospitality and retail, also come into contact with many people other than their colleagues and could spread the virus wider. Victorian Premier Dan Andrews offered a $1,500 no-questions-asked hardship payment to convince casual workers to stay home and get tested. 'I think there might be some people that don't have access to pay, whether it be sick pay or holiday pay,' he said on The Project earlier this month. 'Their economic circumstances might be very uncertain and the notion of having two days away from work while you wait for your test result may be a big challenge.' Lisa Macqueen, director of anti-viral cleaning firm Cleancorp, said it was even more important to stay home when sick during the second wave of the virus. 'Many employees come to work when sick because of feelings of guilt or a fear of being judged by their bosses,' she said. 'However, now that we're in a pandemic, going to work sick because you feel obliged to is no longer acceptable.' Ms Macqueen said employers also needed to make sure workplaces were safe, thoroughly cleaned, and shared spaces minimised. 'Shared desks, meeting rooms, and breakout spaces may no longer be safe to use and occupy, and those old spray-and-wipe principles will also be inadequate for keeping surfaces virus-free,' she said. She said surfaces like door handles, light switches, elevator buttons, and microwaves needed to be frequently disinfected. Some of Australia's biggest outbreaks were among coworkers and spread throughout workplaces when the infected reported for work. A cluster at Cedar Meats abattoir in Melbourne in May reached more than 100 cases among employees and their close contacts. Sydney's growing second outbreak was aided by an 18-year-old bartender at the Crossroads Hotel who was infected by a truckie arriving from Melbourne. The worker interacted with hundreds of patrons over the week after he was infected. 50 cases are linked to the pub. 'If you cannot work from home and you are sick, you must not attend your workplace. You must stay at home and away from others,' Health Department coronavirus directives state. Sydney's growing second outbreak was aided by an 18-year-old bartender at the Crossroads Hotel who was infected by a truckie arriving from Melbourne. A testing clinic was set up in the car park and has found 50 people linked to the cluster NSW Health Minister Brad Hazzard on Friday reiterated this advice as his department scrambled to contain the outbreak and avoid another lockdown. 'We need people to do the right thing: follow the rules; stay home if unwell and get tested, even with the most minimal of symptoms,' he said, Premier Gladys Berejiklian said preventing the spread of coronavirus through workplaces was essential to avoiding lockdown. 'I don't ever want to be in a situation again where we have to lockdown NSW. We've done that, we did it well, we came together and now what we need to do is keep working together. 'Take the health advice, get tested, stay home keep everybody safe.' KEY HIGHLIGHTS A survey has estimated 2.5-3 crore job losses in the MSME sector by June-end Another 1-1.5 crore workers could be handed out pink slips by next month as financial health of MSMEs remains precarious As much as 61% of the MSMEs have said that they are not in the position to service the debt from September once the moratorium period expires 42% of all MSMEs surveyed said that reducing imports from China will not help their business With micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) grappling with coronavirus pandemic woes, a private survey has estimated 2.5-3 crore job losses in the sector by June-end. Another 1-1.5 crore workers could be handed out pink slips by next month. With the cash position of the MSMEs remaining precarious due to delayed payments from buyers, as many as 37 per cent firms surveyed in June said that they needed to cut upto 50 per cent salaries to remain afloat. There are, however, signs of green shoots given that business sentiment in the sector has marginally improved since the worst month of April when 42 per cent firms wanted to slash employee salaries by half. ALSO READ: Banks sanction Rs 1.27 lakh crore to MSMEs under credit guarantee scheme; SBI top lender The survey stated that minimal hiring has started in the sector, and while businesses are restarting, they remain acutely stressed. The Rs 3 lakh crore package announced as part of Atma Nirbhar Bharat scheme, term loan moratorium and deferment of taxes have enabled some liquidity for the struggling sector. The survey carried out jointly by industry body Federation of Indian Micro and Small & Medium Enterprises (FISME), SKOCH Group, Bhartiya Vitta Salahkar Samiti (BVSS) and Tax Law Educare Society (TALES) found that a large number of MSMEs need credit given that the Rs 3 lakh crore package had fulfilled only 19 per cent of the demand. Further, the sector is likely to see huge non-performing assets (NPAs) and there was need to restructure all term loans under moratorium. As much as 61 per cent of the MSMEs have said that they are not in the position to service the debt from September once the moratorium period expires. While 37 per cent of the MSMEs want the moratorium to be extended by another 6 months, 32 per cent respondents last month suggested a 1-year extension. The MSMEs continue to complain about delayed payments from corporates and government entities adding to their stressed finances. ALSO READ: India signs $750 million deal with World Bank to support 1.5 million MSMEs "Cash flows and delayed payments remain a huge problem. Government payments and tax refunds completely (also remain) unsatisfactory," noted the third multi-institutional survey on MSMEs in the country for the April-June period. In June, 35 per cent MSMEs said that they received payments for supplies in 90-180 days while 24 per cent claimed their dues remained pending for more than 180 days. Stating that business confidence was bleak in the sector, the survey said that MSMEs need Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) like job scheme for urban India which could be used for MSME wages. In an interesting finding, the majority of the MSMEs supported the move to stop imports from China. However, 42 per cent of all those surveyed said that reducing imports from China will not help their business. ALSO READ: RSS trade body calls new MSME definition detrimental to Atma Nirbhar Bharat, seeks PMO intervention Flash Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the Palestine question has always been the core issue in the Middle East region, and China supports the "two-state solution" as the right direction. During his phone talk with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, expressed sincere condolence and firm support to the Palestinian government and people in their fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. Xi said China and Palestine are good brothers, good friends and good partners, and the two sides have always firmly trusted and supported each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns. Since the start of the outbreak, China has provided multiple batches of supplies and sent medical experts to Palestine, organized video conferences between Chinese medical experts and their Palestinian counterparts, and offered anti-epidemic assistance to Palestinian refugees, Xi said. The Chinese side will continue sharing its experience with Palestine with no reservation, and doing what it can in providing material and technical support, said Xi, adding that his country will, according to Palestine's needs, keep on implementing the projects that are conducive to advancing Palestine's economy and improving people's livelihood so as to bring more and better benefits to the Palestinian people. China is ready to work with Palestine and other countries to strengthen cooperation, support multilateralism, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, he said. Xi emphasized that the Palestine question, which has always been the core issue in the Middle East, concerns regional peace and stability, international fairness and justice, as well as human conscience and credibility, saying that China's position on the Palestine question is consistent and clear. China firmly supports Palestine's just demands, as well as all efforts conducive to resolving the Palestine question, Xi said. China supports the "two-state solution" as the right direction, and sticks to dialogue and negotiations on an equal footing, Xi said, adding that the international community should take an objective and fair position and build up efforts for promoting peace. He also said that China is ready to continue making active contributions to a comprehensive, fair and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question at an early date. Abbas said that the Palestinian side speaks highly of China's important achievements in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, and sincerely thanks China for providing timely and invaluable support and assistance to Palestine in its epidemic battle. He also appreciated China's efforts to uphold justice on the Palestinian issue, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the Palestinian people, saying that facts have proved time and again that China is the most reliable friend of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian side will continue to stand firmly with China, and support China's legitimate position on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other matters concerning China's core interests, said Abbas, adding that his country expects China to play a more important role in promoting a just settlement of the Palestinian issue. At least one lawmaker, Mr. Gaetz, called for her to step down as the chairwoman of the House Republican Conference, the position that has made Ms. Cheney the highest-ranking Republican woman in Washington. And Representative Jim Jordan of Ohio flatly said that Republicans would be better served by a leader who was helping Mr. Trump instead of going after him. Ms. Cheney, whose own combative partisanship has turned heads in the past, punched back and departed with the apparent support of her fellow Republican leaders. She later defended Dr. Fauci and said she had to do what she thought was right, including helping to re-elect Mr. Trump. But the ugly familial showdown, which was described by four people in the room and was first reported by Politico, reflected a simmering power struggle and sour mood among Republicans. They are watching their electoral prospects sag ahead of Novembers elections and pondering their future in the minority, potentially without Mr. Trump in the White House to define their party. With their hopes of reclaiming the House all but dashed, Republicans are now fighting to avoid shrinking their numbers in that chamber and losing the White House, their majority in the Senate or both and looking for people to blame. The fight also highlighted deeper divides within the Republican Party three years into Mr. Trumps presidency, particularly over foreign policy and the role of money in politics, that have left Ms. Cheney on uneasy ground with the partys base. To members of the ultraconservative Freedom Caucus, Ms. Cheney is the ultimate avatar for the old Republican establishment: the daughter of a political dynasty who supports an aggressive role for the American military abroad, rubs elbows in the world of big donors and has vocally supported the kind of career nonpartisan government officials leading the coronavirus response that they view as undermining Mr. Trump. At one point, Representative Ralph Norman of South Carolina tied Ms. Cheney to George W. Bush and his family, who have cold relations with Mr. Trump. Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw sparked controversy when she said she was intent on going on holiday to Italy even though the Executive guidance said foreign travel should only be taken if essential. Critics pointed out that she is a member of the Assembly's health committee at Stormont and was therefore sending out the wrong message to the public. Later she announced she was cancelling her trip. We asked a selection of other local politicians where they fancied going on a break this summer and this is what they said. Jim Rodgers Ulster Unionist councillor and former Belfast Lord Mayor Jim Rodgers says he had planned to fly to Puerto Pollensa in northern Majorca, as he does every year, but it has been cancelled. Expand Close Majorca is a favourite of Jim Rodgers / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Majorca is a favourite of Jim Rodgers "We've gone there during the month of July for the last 25 years, I really love Majorca," he says. "It's easy to get to, it's just under three hours' flight time and another hour-and-a-half to go up to Puerto Pollensa from the airport. It's a really lovely seaside resort, very peaceful. "We go there virtually every year, but our holiday was cancelled, not by us, but by the tour operators, understandably because of Covid-19. Basically, I am just holidaying at home but not travelling very far. "It's been disappointing, but I'm one of the lucky ones to have survived. It's nice to have a holiday but your health is much more important." Councillor Rodgers says he hasn't planned any staycation either. "I am just more or less doing constituency work and going into the City Hall, but not travelling to Bangor or Newcastle or Portrush, even though I love those places. I'm switching off completely from any staycation." Commenting on the headlines about Ms Bradshaw's holiday, he says: "I am not going to interfere in anyone else's holidays, whether they're in politics or sport or industry. "No matter what you do, there's always someone who will criticise you. People are entitled to breaks. But this year holidaying outside Northern Ireland is a thing of the past." Kellie Armstrong Alliance MLA for Strangford Kellie Armstrong says she had no holiday plans for the summer. "To be honest, I don't know what we are doing, I didn't even think we were going to have a recess. It would be lovely to go away, but I've no idea what's going on with schools going back and exam results coming in the middle of August. It would be lovely to get away but we've nothing booked at this stage. "Things have been busy morning, noon and night and I'm probably busier than I was in previous years. We haven't had a chance to breathe. My only break away has been driving up to Stormont on Tuesdays." Ms Armstrong says that like party colleague Ms Bradshaw, many parents have been left stuck because holiday companies have stalled on cancelling bookings. "She's exactly the same as half the countryside. I've been getting calls from parents whose children have left school and the holiday companies aren't cancelling their holidays. They keep saying: 'Let's wait and see'," she says. "If you look at the guidance from Northern Ireland and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office, they say two different things. It's confusing, but the Executive can meet this week and decide something else. "Paula is not going away now because the guidance is that we're strongly being advised no foreign travel abroad." She says people are almost having to wait until they're in the airport before their holiday is cancelled. "It's not a nice situation for anybody to be in." Bernice Swift Sinn Fein Fermanagh and Omagh councillor Bernice Swift says she is normally in Malta at this time of year to coincide with the annual festivals and celebrations in the sun. Expand Close Rain or sun (usually the former) the Erne County is great spot to visit, insists Bernice Swift / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rain or sun (usually the former) the Erne County is great spot to visit, insists Bernice Swift "This year we are very concerned about the ongoing global pandemic and the seriousness of adhering to health guidelines, and therefore have opted for a hotel staycation booked for five nights in the west of Ireland (left). We have already checked with our accommodation that all satisfactory safety measures have been put in place," she says. "We are acutely aware of the health and scientific evidence, and particularly our own safety, that of our families and the wider community, therefore at this time taking holidays abroad is not an option. "Given the fact that the R-rate has increased largely due to complacency, I feel strongly that individuals can manage to make the necessary sacrifices for this year and opt for staycations, or indeed, hopefully if the sun continues to shine, definitely our own beautiful counties are the place to explore and enjoy. "Fermanagh, even on a wet day, is the perfect place to be with the beautiful lakelands and world recognised Global Geopark. "While some countries do not pose a high risk, the fact that there is even any risk should be guideline enough for people to opt to stay at home, particularly as quarantine has not been enforced for entry yet, an issue I hope to see addressed as soon as possible." Jim Shannon DUP MP for Strangford Jim Shannon says he has nothing planned at present. "At the most I will probably be going to the north coast. I'm thinking about the Bush Hotel. My mother was there and it's all been refurbished, so I expect that's where I'll be, probably for three or four days," he says. "I think anywhere out of the country would be impossible at this moment in time. First of all because of the uncertainty, and secondly because you just want to stay at home, really. It doesn't matter whether it is raining or not, home will be the place to be." Mr Shannon says the family normally goes away with his son and grandchildren, but his wife had recently suggested the two of them go away together. "It's interesting that after 33 years of always going away with my son and the grandchildren, I was quite pleased that my wife still wants me to go on holiday!" Expand Close Claire Hanna has deep family roots in Galway / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Claire Hanna has deep family roots in Galway Claire Hanna SDLP MP for South Belfast Claire Hanna says she and her family were planning to holiday in Galway this summer. "My family lived there until I was four and we still have our house, so that's what we usually do anyway," she explains. Dolores Kelly Her party colleague, Upper Bann MLA Dolores Kelly, says she had been hoping to go to Portugal but the holiday has been called off. "I've nothing planned at the minute. We had booked a family holiday with my daughter and her children to Portugal, with me doing some childminding, but it was cancelled. It was due to happen around Easter - I think it was April or May - but we got our money back, though. Expand Close Dolores Kelly was planning trip to Portugal / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Dolores Kelly was planning trip to Portugal "The whole guidelines at the time were that nobody was going anywhere and that was just it. It was very clear that nobody was going anywhere at any time. "Nothing has been put in place at the minute. I haven't given it much thought. Where can you go, really, if you are at home? I wouldn't mind trying to get away, my daughter and son live in the south so I could end up visiting family for a few days. "If you go to a hotel there isn't much to do now - you can't go out for meals. I've absolutely nothing planned, except childminding at home to give my daughter a break." Mrs Kelly says there is a problem with clarity over the guidance, especially now that the Government has lifted a lot of the restrictions. "Over the last number of weeks things have been changing so rapidly that it's hard for anybody to make a best guess," she says. "There needs to be greater clarity, but at the end of the day people have to make up their own minds. A couple of weeks ago there was a huge campaign by travel companies, so you can see how people find it confusing. But I will be on this island. I could even be right where I am now." Edwin Poots DUP Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots says he has nothing planned. "At this moment in time it's just a day here and a day there. I've travelled extensively around the coast of Northern Ireland, but that's it," he says. "If Paula follows the rules, she's entitled to go wherever she wishes. "I've no plans for anything at home or abroad this year as things stand. I haven't booked anywhere to stay. I've quite a lot to do at the minute so I'm getting on with it. "I've a grandchild due in January, who will be born on the other side of the world, and I may want to go and see my grandchild as opposed to worrying about holidays this year." Rachel Woods Green Party MLA for Ards and North Down Rachel Woods says she is hoping to travel to the wilds of Co Donegal for a few days with her family. "We will stay in a remote house that we have been using for over 40 years," she explains. Expand Close Rachel Woods adores Donegal / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Rachel Woods adores Donegal "It's far from glamorous but perfect for us to enjoy as a family with no internet or television. "I love the chance to reconnect with nature, swim in the rock pools, eat lots of food and enjoy a few drinks." Roy Beggs Ulster Unionist MLA for East Antrim Roy Beggs says he had booked a trip to Canada to see his son this month, but had to cancel it. "Traditionally, we would have holidayed in Benone and Castlerock when we had a touring caravan, and then subsequently to that we would have taken a break for a few days when we dropped the kids at university or collected them from it. I would have probably once every five years had a sun holiday or something like that," he says. "But for the first time ever, in September last year, I booked a holiday to Canada because my young fellow was working there for four years, and we'd booked to go out in July. The rest of the family were to join us for a bit of a trip to British Columbia and finish up in Calgary, where my son was working, but all that has been cancelled." Expand Close Roy Beggs had to cancel trip to Canada to visit his son / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Roy Beggs had to cancel trip to Canada to visit his son Mr Beggs says he has been doing some work on his father's farm, but he and his wife were considering taking a break at the Radisson Roe Hotel in the north west. "No sooner had we booked it than the outbreak in Limavady was announced, so we cancelled it. But last week we walked the Ulster Way from Ballyboley to Cairncastle, a four-hour walk. We saw only two people and were able to safely distance, so it was a great day." He says he was surprised that Italy would have been chosen as a destination for Ms Bradshaw, as it has been a Covid hotspot. "I personally would be uncomfortable travelling, not least because of the risk in travelling to and from the airports themselves. Undoubtedly there would be a risk factor involved in keeping social distancing through airports," he says. "Going through airports in any case would be a risk factor, and I would try to avoid any destination where there is high risk of transmission." Mr Beggs says the guidelines have been changing in different places and can be confusing. "This is a moving area and I wouldn't be booking a foreign holiday until there is greater clarity. I would have grave concerns about foreign travel at this stage," he adds. Expand Close Roy Beggs did manage to walk part of the Ulster Way from Ballyboley to Cairncastle / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Roy Beggs did manage to walk part of the Ulster Way from Ballyboley to Cairncastle Gerry Carroll People Before Profit MLA for West Belfast Gerry Carroll said he will be staycationing this summer. "Staycation is my plan, hopefully Donegal, but I'm having a bit of difficulty trying to find somewhere. If I am not going to Donegal, it will probably be somewhere up the Antrim Coast," he says. "I don't imagine I'll be taking any big breaks this summer, with being an MLA and having an important scrutiny role to play during this crisis, such as I do on the health committee, as well as constituency duties. But if I am lucky enough to take some time off to relax and unwind, I'll be staying as close to home as possible. This virus is very much still a danger and I certainly wouldn't consider getting on a flight any time soon." Claire Sugden East Londonderry Independent MLA Claire Sugden normally goes abroad but always booked last minute, so has nothing planned. "We usually go from around now to the end of August. I was conscious that the Assembly might not have broken up for recess, so we just hadn't planned anything. I hope to take a weekend off in August and will just chill out, probably around the house. I'll be happy to be at home, with a couple of phone and laptop-free days and maybe a road trip or walk somewhere. "We live on the beautiful north coast, so we're spoiled most of the year anyway; maybe this year is a good opportunity to appreciate what's on our doorstep." She said she wouldn't have considered a holiday abroad this year. "We are a year married and we were due to have family round but we made the decision to cancel, certainly from personal responsibility because people have made so many sacrifices and it was the least we could do. "I don't begrudge anyone wanting to go away on holiday because politics can be an all-consuming job. "Paula has reflected on that and maybe decided this isn't the right time to go, which is fair enough. "I think the communications around all the regulations are very poor, I think everybody's confused. People are jetting away thinking it's fine and I know a number of people who have made the decision to continue their travels. It's hard to know." Details added: first version posted on 12:19 BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijani armed forces never shell civilian objects, Assistant to Azerbaijans President, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said. He made the remark at a press conference held on July 21, Trend reports. Hajiyev noted that Armenia is deliberately spreading such disinformation in order to politicize this issue. He added that the Azerbaijani side has never made statements about possible strikes on Armenian civilian objects. However, Armenia has repeatedly made threatening statements related to strikes on Azerbaijans Mingachevir reservoir, oil and gas pipelines, and Azerbaijani cities. All this shows the insidious goals of the Armenian military-political leadership. With these issues the Armenian side is trying to hide its crimes and divert the attention of the international community." 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. How Manageable Was the Pivot to Remote Teaching at Your Institution? The biggest challenge institutions faced was a lack of preparation with many institutions reporting that neither faculty nor students were prepared for the sudden, unexpected pivot. Time was another issue. The need for academic continuity allowed for only a cursory conversion of courses. In response to this years unprecedented shift to remote learning, Quality Matters and Eduventures Research issued a special edition of the annual Changing Landscape of Online Education (CHLOE) Survey. CHLOE 5: A Special Pandemic Survey was administered to 308 chief online officers (COO) representing 2- and 4-year public, private and for-profit institutions. The results available in CHLOE 5: The Pivot to Remote Teaching in Spring 2020 and Its Impact send a strong message. While many colleges and universities are announcing a return to campus for the fall, COOs know that forms of remote learning will play a major role in a socially distanced student experience. Over 80% of COOs are working on specific improvement to remote learning plans, including conversion to true online learning: Thirteen percent improving remote instruction courses that need it Thirty-five percent planning incremental improvement for all remote instruction courses Eighteen percent gradually converting remote instruction courses to fully online learning Seventeen percent converting all remote instruction courses to fully online learning Only four percent of respondents indicated that their priority is returning to conventional in-person instruction as soon as feasible. The report also provides insight into the successes, challenges and priorities for quality improvement related to remote learning, including the tools and technologies deployed. Despite widely observed deficiencies in remote courses as compared to fully online courses, schools with greater online learning experience were more likely to be positive about the logistics and perceived success of spring remote learning. According to Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer and co-lead of the project, The biggest challenge institutions faced was a lack of preparation with many institutions reporting that neither faculty nor students were prepared for the sudden, unexpected pivot. Time was another issue. The need for academic continuity allowed for only a cursory conversion of courses. "While chief online officers acknowledge specific challenges, the majority portray a largely positive view of online learning in the wake of the pandemic crisis. Many also expressed optimism about the future of online learning, which should reassure the online community that some benefit will come from their hard work in these perilous times, said Ron Legon, QM Executive Director Emeritus and co-lead of the CHLOE project. As institutions look ahead and plan for the possibility that remote instruction or expanded online learning will continue into fall 2020 and beyond, COOs are outlining their priorities, which include: Providing enhanced faculty development and training Employing common tools and technologies Setting minimum expectations for faculty-student interaction The CHLOE Report is the only publicly available resource that provides an unfiltered view of the online learning landscape through the lens of todays higher education decision makers, said Brad Gibbs, Chief Growth Officer at Archer Education, a CHLOE 5 platinum sponsor. In our charter to accelerate growth for our partner institutions, Archer relies on the report for guidance in developing innovative marketing and enrollment services and strategies that align with the top opportunities and trends impacting todays colleges and universities. To download the full report, visit the Quality Matters website or the Eduventures Research website. This report was made possible through the support of platinum sponsors iDesign and Archer Education. The principal authors of the report are Richard Garrett (Eduventures Research) and Ron Legon (Quality Matters) with contributing editors Eric Fredericksen (University of Rochester) and Bethany Simunich (Quality Matters). Ron Legon and Richard Garrett are available for comment: Ron Legon, Ph.D., Executive Director Emeritus, Quality Matters (rlegon@qualitymatters.org; 312.545.2325) Richard Garrett, Eduventures Chief Research Officer, ACT | NRCCUA (rgarrett@eduventures.com; 617-704-8481) About Quality Matters Quality Matters (QM) is the global organization leading quality assurance in online and innovative digital teaching and learning environments. It provides a scalable quality assurance system for online and blended learning used within and across organizations. When you see QM Certification Marks on courses or programs, it means they have met QM Course Design Standards or QM Program Review Criteria in a rigorous review process. About ACT | NRCCUA Now part of ACT, The National Research Center for College and University Admissions is an educational data science and research organization serving over 2,000 member institutions comprised of public and private colleges and universities across the nation. Since 1972, NRCCUA has been a leading provider of data, technology, and programs serving students, high school educators, colleges and universities from its offices in Lees Summit, MO, Boston, MA, New York, NY, and Austin, TX. These solutions represent the link between students making important life decisions and those providing the resources and information they need to succeed in their post-secondary educations and careers. With the launch of Encoura Data Lab, the company now combines data science, advanced analytics, Eduventures research, predictive modeling and omnichannel enrollment services in one platform to enable institutions to make real-time strategic and operational decisions to meet their unique enrollment goals and create the highest probability of student success. For more information, visit https://encoura.org. Owning any business in the US will require an investment in insurance; as businesses are expanding and the markets are rapidly changing, it is also often necessary to turn to more than one insurance option. This article will discuss the top Insurance companies in the US as well as the most prominent insurance coverage when starting your LLC. In 2019, 2.8 million people were employed in the insurance industry, from these 1.6 million people worked for insurance companies and 1.2 million either worked for agencies, brokers or other insurance-related businesses. The five most common types of insurance coverage in the US are Health, Life, Property, Travel, and Automobile insurance. According to recent statistics, there are around 5,954 insurers in the US; some of the top insurance industries operate in P/C (Property and Casualty), which is usually comprised of auto, home, and commercial insurance, is estimated at about 42%, 15% are in the health industry, and 14% operate in the L&A (Life and Annuity) industry. Top Insurance Companies in the US According to statistics released on May 2020, for the time period of 2019, the top five insurance companies in the US, by total assets, were the following (among these were also New York Life, TIAA, Northwestern Mutual, Manulife Financial, and State Farm Group): Prudential Financial Part of the Fortune 500, Prudential Financial tops at one of the biggest insurance companies in the US, ranking 1st in Fortune magazines 2020 list of Most Admired Companies in the Insurance: Life and Health category. Prudential Financial is one of the biggest life and health insurers in the US, their total assets for the quarter (ending March 31, 2020) grossed at $873.712 billion, this increased by 2.87% year-on-year. Prudential Financial offers services for individuals, advisors, employers, and institutions ranging from Life and Health insurance, Annuities, Investments, Group insurance, and Workplace Benefits, Prudential LINK offers a customer service experience where clients can track their coverage and investments, as well as set goals for their future. Berkshire Hathaway - GEICO Berkshire Hathaway is a multinational conglomerate holding company, with various subsidiaries, including insurance companies. For the quarter ending March 31, 2020 Berkshire Hathaways assets grossed $760, 448 billion. GEICO (Government Employees Insurance Company) is the second largest Auto Insurance company, based in Maryland, United States. GEICO covers around 27 million vehicles; their Private Passenger Auto Insurance is a well-known coverage option, however, their insurance coverage ranges from Flood insurance, Overseas insurance, Business Owners insurance, Professional Liability and General Liability insurance and more. GEICO also provides their clients with a mobile app that allows them to track their car insurance details and offers immediate access to important information like ID cards and roadside assistance, in addition to this, the mobile app offers a virtual assistant for any other queries related to payments or particular insurance coverage details. MetLife MetLife is a holding corporation for the Metropolitan Life Insurance Company, based in New York, United States and is recognized by Fortune magazines Fortunes World Most Admired Companies. Their total assets for the quarter (ending March 31, 2020) grossed at $737, 741 billion. MetLife is one of the global insurance coverage companies and offers support ranging from Home, Auto, Life, and Accident and Health insurance, including Long-term care, Annuities, Pet, Vision, and Disability insurance. Small Business Solutions are also offered by MetLife, with options for employees and for businesses; clients can get in touch with brokers through the website to determine the best insurance coverage strategy and business plan for them, this is offered through the MetLife Simply Smart Bundles and it can be for business group of 10 to 99 employees. American International Group (AIG) The American International Group (AIG), based in New York, United States, is a global insurance company (operating in over 80 countries). AIG offers insurance for Individuals and Families, as well as Business and Enterprise. Their total assets for the quarter (ending March 31, 2020) grossed at $510, 48 billion. For Individuals and Families AIG offers Personal Accident and Health, Life and Travel insurance among others, and for Business and Enterprise AIG boasts a wide range that covers almost all the necessities for a well-run business; from Accident and Health, Cyber, Casualty, Management Liability, Warranties, Professional Liabilities, Mergers and Acquisitions, Property, Trade Credit, Political Risk, Fronting and Captive Service, Surplus Lines, Surety, including Kidnap and Ransom insurance. Taking a closer look at the subset Professional Liability Insurance, business owners can be ensured that they will be covered with options like Specialty Professional Liability Insurance (E&O), Technology Services, Robotics Services, Media Content, Publishers and Broadcasters, Reputation Guard, Manufacturers E&O, Employed Lawyers Professional Liability, and Leaders Risk coverage. Lincoln Financial Group The Lincoln Financial Group is part of the Lincoln National Corporation (LNC) and its subsidiary companies, located in Pennsylvania, United States; it was nominated in the Forbes JUST 100 as the leader in insurance companies from a customer perspective. Their total assets for the quarter (ending March 31, 2020) grossed at $318.649 billion. LFG offers insurance coverage for Individuals, Employers or Organization, and Industry Professionals. Insurance options include Life insurance, Annuities, and Employee benefits, along with these more professionally-based options range from Product and Solutions to Business Insurance. There are also different insurance options, or products, available for small businesses to choose from; clients can contact a Lincoln Small Business Solutions representative to discuss what option will be more suitable. A General Liability Insurance is recommended for small business owners, with this insurance your business will be covered for matters like lawsuits or additional costs, not only will this indicate that you are planning ahead for your business, but it will enable you to work with / for certain clients or employers that require liability insurance coverage. For more information about liability insurance visit TRUiCs website, including further guidelines about how to set up your LLC and other types of insurances needed to provide the best coverage for your business. Mrs. Mercy Adomaa Beseah, Ashanti Regional Director of the National Population Council (NPC) has asked men to support women in their communities to develop their potential. She said women empowerment should be a priority concern of all since that was the surest way to gain their socio-economic freedom and improve on their living conditions and that of their families. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency in Kumasi, Mrs Beseah also urged men to lead the crusade against domestic violence and abuse of women in their communities. She said most women suffer indignity and maltreatment such as rape, physical assault, defilement, and others, which often affected their social, emotional, and psychological lives. Active involvement of men in the fight against this inhuman treatment would help women gather the courage to unearth and develop their God-given potentials for the benefit of the larger society. Mrs Beseah also stressed the need to empower adolescent girls to know their reproductive rights to be able to assert themselves and make informed choices on their sexual rights. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles (Bravo at 9) Josh Flaggs resort-style trophy listing proves more challenging than expected. World of Dance (NBC at 10) The Duels continue with the judges having picked which acts go head-to-head in epic dance battles for a spot in the semifinals. Story continues below advertisement When Sharks Attack (Nat Geo at 9) From the coast of United States to beaches around the world, the number of reported shark attacks has increased in the past half-century, with many attacks in new and surprising places. Advertisement Sharkcano (Nat Geo at 10) Investigating the link between sharks and volcanoes, with species of the group found living near geological hot spots around the world. Shark scientist Michael Heithaus travels the world looking at how species of shark have taken to submarine volcanoes conditions. How to Sell Drugs Online (Fast) (Netflix) Season 2. Conan (TBS at 11) Patton Oswalt. Daily Show/Noah (Comedy Central at 11) The Daily Social Distancing Show. Tonight Show/Fallon (NBC at 11:34) Andy Samberg, Jose Andres, Perfume Genius. Late Show/Colbert (CBS at 11:35) Greta Thunberg, Keegan-Michael Key. Jimmy Kimmel Live (ABC at 11:35) Paris Hilton, Phoebe Robinson, guest host Nikki Glaser. Late Night/Meyers (NBC at 12:37) Chris Evans, Action Bronson, Elle King, Nikki Glaspie. Nina Zafar In the mid 1960s France was searching for new Formula 1 stars: Maurice Trintignant had retired and Jean Behra was dead. Jean-Pierre Beltoise and Henri Pescarolo were rising stars but there were still chances for veterans to grab a moment of glory. Guy Ligier was one who tried and his friend Jo Schlesser was keen to do the same. Schlesser was born in the French colony of Madagascar in 1928. It was only after the war that he moved to France and studied in Nancy before getting a job in a factory which manufactured adding machines. He began racing only when he was 24, driving a Dyna-Panhard in the Rally of Lorraine. He was then posted back to Madagascar and his career in the sport stopped until he returned and bought himself a Triumph TR2. He promptly destroyed it and several other cars and so went back to Madagascar, flying to France to race only during his holidays. After surviving an accident when he drove a Ferrari into a ravine, he decided to become a professional racing driver and bought a Cooper Formula 3 car from Harry Schell. He was quick but had a lot of accidents. He was seriously injured in a crash in practice for the Le Mans 24 Hours in 1961 but he refused to give up and went into business with Ligier in a Ford dealership in Paris, a connection which helped him land a job with the Ford France team in 1963. In 1964 he went to the United States and raced stock cars, an unusual move at the time. In 1966 he raced a Formula 2 Matra in the German Grand Prix and he did the same the following year but his desire to be a Grand Prix driver, despite being 40, led him to accept an invitation to drive the untested air-cooled Honda RA302 in the 1968 French Grand Prix at Rouen. Built of magnesium - to reduce weight - the car was tested by John Surtees who felt that it was not ready to race but Honda wanted to push ahead and so the car was given to Schlesser. In the famous fast sweepers going downhill at Rouen Schlesser lost control of the car. It hit a bank, overturned and caught fire. Schlesser was killed. Ligier later designated all his cars "JS" after his friend Schlesser. Schlesser's nephew, Jean-Louis, also became a racing driver. Mallory Cayon, who helped create the cult-favorite brunch recipes at Sunday in Brooklyn, in Williamsburg, has remained head pastry chef as the Sunday Hospitality group grew to four restaurants: two in Brooklyn and two in Los Angeles. She said that for the first time since she entered the profession, she is in a workplace where the pastry operation (mostly staffed by women) is on equal footing with the savory side of the kitchen (mostly men). It starts in culinary school, because you look around and all the bakers are girls, said Ms. Cayon, 30, who said she was surprised at the time that gender imbalance in the field remained so persistent, long after most workplaces had become more inclusive. The men who do it are deemed less masculine. Dianna Daohueng, the culinary director at Black Seed Bagels in New York City, said that working your way up in the restaurant business as a woman, as a person of color or as a first-generation American or, in her case, all three means confronting prejudice every day. Just being a minority in the kitchen and in life turns you into a natural activist, said Ms. Daohueng, 38, whose parents immigrated from Thailand before she was born. Ms. Day, of Back in the Day Bakery in Savannah, took a different path to protest baking. She was raised in Los Angeles, but spent summers in Tuscaloosa, Ala., learning to bake from her grandmother. That was my culinary school, she said. She also came to see how baking skills have defined Black womens lives, especially in the South. My great-grandmother was both enslaved and a pastry cook who was famous for her biscuits and cakes, she said. There is power in that. (Ms. Day, 59, has just completed a cookbook based on her Southern lineage, to be published by Artisan next year.) COVID-19 Prevention Service Overview Since the service allows companies to alert those who are highly likely to have had close contact with a person infected by Covid-19 in the office building, it enables them to implement infection prevention and control measures for Covid-19 rapidly and in an intended manner. transcosmos inc. has deployed a new alert feature to "DEC Connect," its proprietary platform for message delivery, operations and management. With the new feature, the company has released a new service which enables businesses to send LINE alerts to their employees who may have come into close contact with a person confirmed with coronavirus disease (Covid-19), in the event of an outbreak of Covid-19 in their office building. Service overview 1. Setup a card with a QR code issued by an admin screen on each desk in a free address workspace. 2. Once seated, each employee scans the QR code on a card set on their desk space with their smartphone. 3. Once an employee scans the QR code, a desk number and date and time will be registered to the system automatically. 4. In the case of a Covid-19 outbreak in the office, the service immediately identifies employees who may have come into close contact with an infected employee based on the seating data. 5. Send LINE alerts to target employees via LINE Official Account, Slack or LINE WORKS. Today, businesses are required to take various infection prevention and control measures for Covid-19 including the introduction of work-from-home and staggered work hours programs, and social distancing in the office. Among such measures, an increasing number of businesses are trying to implement a free address workplace strategy for the purpose of social distancing as well as to utilize their office space more effectively. Yet, if there is any Covid-19 outbreak in the office, identifying employees who may have come into close contact with a Covid-19 infected employee remains a challenge. To solve their challenge, transcosmos has developed a service that integrates DEC Connect, LINE Official Account, Slack and LINE WORKS to identify and notify employees who potentially have come into close contact with an infected employee in a free address workspace. With this service, businesses can confidently go with their free address workspace strategy. By setting up signs with a QR code in a free address workspace including the break area, the service enables businesses to send a notice to members who are highly likely to have had close contact with a person infected by Covid-19 in the case of an outbreak of the disease in their office building. As a result, the service lets businesses implement infection prevention and control measures for Covid-19 rapidly and in an intended manner. transcosmos has been awarded with a certification badge for Customer Care in the Technology Partner category under the LINE Biz Partner Program, a program LINE has initiated to encourage their partners to proactively sell, and add and improve features of various enterprise services by LINE. transcosmos has received the badge for its excellence in streamlining call center operations and delivering user experience that boosts customer satisfaction. Building on its expertise in LINE-related technologies, support experience and extensive service implementation records, transcosmos continues to help clients across a broad range of industries implement LINE-related services. transcosmos is a trademark or registered trademark of transcosmos inc. In Japan and other countries. Other company names and product or services names used here are trademarks or registered trademarks of respective companies. About transcosmos inc. transcosmos launched its operations in 1966. Since then, we have combined superior "people" with up-to-date "technology" to enhance the competitive strength of our clients by providing them with superior and valuable services. transcosmos currently offers services that support clients' business processes focusing on both sales expansion and cost optimization through our 168 bases across 30 countries/regions with a focus on Asia, while continuously pursuing Operational Excellence. Furthermore, following the expansion of e-commerce market on the global scale, transcosmos provides a comprehensive One-Stop Global E-Commerce services to deliver our clients' excellent products and services in 49 countries/regions around the globe. transcosmos aims to be the "Global Digital Transformation Partner" of our clients, supporting the clients' transformation by leveraging digital technology, responding to the ever-changing business environment. https://www.trans-cosmos.co.jp/english/ 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 A 'gargantuan' mansion with 10 bedrooms has finally sold after spending 600 days on the market. The property in Keilor East, 13km north-west of Melbourne's CBD, first went up for sale in August 2018. The home was sold on Friday for an undisclosed amount that is believed to be close to $2million, according to the Herald Sun. It was first listed in August with a price guide of $2.2million to $2.4million. The home was first listed for 291 days without a buyer before being listed again for an additional 309 days. The property, in Keilor East, 13km north-west of Melbourne's CBD, first hit the market in August 2018 However, the selling agent expected that the home might be a bit too out of the ordinary for some people's taste. Moonee Valley Real Estate selling agent David Gigliotti told the Leader in 2018: 'It's one of the biggest homes in the area. It's gargantuan and huge one out of this world. 'There has been interest in the house but this is not a property that you'll get 500 buyers for. 'It's an eccentric house but it will probably only appeal to a few people because of its difference.' The home, which the vendor began to build 15 years ago, sits on a 1,410sqm block and has three levels. It includes ten bedrooms, four bathrooms and two huge kitchens. The home was sold on Friday for an undisclosed amount believed to be close to $2million The home, which the vendor began to build 15 years ago, sits on a 1,410sqm block and has three levels There is an open-plan living area with 'sensational views', according to the listing. The home also includes two balconies and a garage that can fit seven cars. However, the home does need some finishing touches, as it needs to be painted and have landscaping done. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says she is considering closing the border with more parts of NSW if hotspots continue to develop. Queensland recorded no new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday, while NSW saw 13 new cases, 12 of which were locally acquired. The source of those cases is known, but NSW health authorities are struggling to trace a number of other cases to existing outbreaks. Ms Palaszczuk said Queensland authorities were monitoring the situation closely and would make changes immediately if they felt it was necessary. An Oakland nurse who cared for COVID-19 patients died after contracting the disease, becoming one of more than 100 California health care workers who have lost their lives due to the coronavirus. Janine Paiste-Ponder, 59, who worked as a nurse at Sutter Alta Bates Summit Medical Center, died on July 17, according to the Alameda County coroner. She was a member of the California Nurses Association union for more than 25 years. She took care of our patients and she died doing it, said Adetola Akindele, the supervising nurse on Paiste-Ponders unit who worked with her for 15 years, crying as she remembered her colleague. On Tuesday afternoon, at least 100 coworkers and community members gathered outside the hospital to remember Paiste-Ponder. Her two daughters clutched hands beside her husband as the crowd raised cell phones in a moment of silence. A handmade sign read, Janine Sleep in Peace, surrounded by a dozen bouquets of flowers, a red stethoscope, and a pair of white sandals. Co-workers mourned the loss of a feisty and compassionate friend. Union leaders called on management to make changes to protect staff, including separating negative and positive COVID-19 patients, providing more personal protective equipment, and testing asymptomatic employees. Some said Paiste-Ponders death reflects the reasons behind ongoing protests for more protection. All the nurses have been pleading and expressing their fears of what could happen, said Toya Randle, a nurse who worked with Paiste-Ponder for around two decades and also tested positive. It falls on deaf ears. When asked about Paiste-Ponder, a Sutter Health spokeswoman said that the hospital couldnt share any information out of respect for privacy laws, but was well-prepared to care for patients. When caring for suspected or known COVID-19-positive patients, staff are supplied with new N95 masks along with other appropriate (personal protective equipment), spokeswoman Monique Binkley Smith said. Our supply is adequate to meet demand at this time. Paiste-Ponder worked on the hospitals medical/surgical unit. She was assigned five patients at once, including positive and non-positive patients, fellow nurses said. The number of COVID-19 patients has been rising, nurses said, prompting some workers to get tested on their own. The hospital prioritizes testing symptomatic health care workers, the hospital spokeswoman said, which is similar to other local medical facilities. Paiste-Ponder let her colleagues know she tested positive on Monday, July 13. By Thursday, she was admitted to the hospital. She died on Friday. Paiste-Ponder attended the Church of Christ in San Leandro. She was a godly woman and a loving woman ... and a fighter, said her elder daughter Dominique Paiste-Ponder. That was my mom, just putting others before herself. Now Playing: Jessica Boykin, 32, had stuck plenty of people with needles by the time she graduated from the nursing school at Los Medanos College in 2018, but nothing prepared her for the coronavirus pandemic. Now she's an ER nurse on the front lines, where equipment and staff are short. Many nursing students who are just inches away from graduation are hoping to join her, and begging the state to bend its licensing rules so they can work. Video: SFGATE Paula Lyn, a nurse at the hospital and board member of the California Nurses Association, said other nurses are left wondering whether theyll be next. I feel an injury to one is an injury to all and it could have been any one of us, she said. I believe nurses are stressed. Theyre tired. Theyre frustrated. Theyre scared. 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. Lyn wanted the hospital to create a separate COVID-19 unit, provide N95 masks for all nurses, and test employees regularly. We need to make sure that we have optimal protection and testing so that we can save the rest of the nurses there at Summit, she said. Nurses concerns are not unique to Summit. Also on Tuesday, half a dozen San Jose nurses spoke at a Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors meeting asking for more staff testing at Good Samaritan Hospital and Regional Medical Center. Nurses said they, or their colleagues, had not been tested when they felt they had been exposed. Some said they were scared to go to work and feared infecting their families. They demanded the hospital test all workers. Instead of calling us heroes, I call for change, one nurse said. Good Samaritans Chief Nursing Officer Mark Brown said only one out of about 1,500 employees has tested positive as the result of exposure to a patient. The hospital follows Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, testing workers with medium or high-risk exposures defined by the proximity and length of contact and what kind of protection the worker was wearing. We want to be good and mindful stewards as far as our testing resources, Brown said. Across California, 19,930 health care workers have tested positive and 108 have died, according to the states public health department Tuesday. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench Pakistan: A wake-up call for Sindh government July 21,2020 | Source: Pakistan Observer Sindh Government is asleep, as Karachis mandis are fast becoming breeding grounds for Covid-19 With the country already in the terrorizing grip of COVID-19, most people are strictly following Government SOPs even whilst doing day to day errands like buying fruits from the street vendors or purchasing vegetables from the local grocer; all for the sake of their family and loved ones. Little do they know that their efforts to keep safe are in vain because of the silent killer that they are bringing inside their homes. Karachi is the hub for vegetable, fruit and fishing markets alongside having the biggest sabzi mandi located on the Super Highway. This makes it one of the most vulnerable places for the spread of covid-19. Every day, thousands of people ranging from upcountry growers, brokers to general public visit the sabzi mandi, all of whom are at a high risk of being infected by the virus. Despite social distancing orders, the mandi is brimming with crowds of people each day, none of whom are wearing masks let alone using hand sanitizers or disinfectants. While the Government is focused on implementing SOPs in temporary cattle mandis, already established mega markets like; sabzi mandis and fish markets are not given much heed importance and attention in terms of problem solving. The sabzi mandi and fisheries are packed with people, with no sanitization gates, sanitizers, masks or gloves, people bargain in crammed spaces, spreading germs to people around them and also to the goods being sold. In conversation with a local vegetable hawker we were informed, I go each day to the sabzi mandi, where there are millions of people. None of the SOPs are being followed, people buy/sell goods with their bare hands, prayers are offered in the masjid with people standing shoulder to shoulder in a single file. In addition to this there are huge crowds in the food stalls where people sit together with no trace of social distancing. The same situation can also be witnessed in the fish markets where the non-existence of SOPs have made it a breeding ground for the corona virus. The question is, with the whole country wrapped in fear of growing covid cases, why are the concerned authorities failing to take strict measures to implement SOPs in mandis and fish markets?; who is to blame for this utter negligence in their duty towards the public? Sindh Governments indifference towards the severity of the issue is putting people in danger. Their ignorance will cost the general public their lives, since it gives rise to a chain of events. Farmers and growers from Punjab and upcountry bring their harvest to Karachi mandis where transactions take place without any precautions against Covid-19. These same infected goods are then sold brazenly on the streets or shops to people who are unaware of the silent killer that they are buying. Who is to blame for this?; Obliviously, it is the Sindh government, local bodies and the illiterate sellers who are trying to make a living for themselves in these difficult times? Before people start losing their lives further, Sindh Government and concerned authorities must wake up and spring into action. They should act immediately by ensuring that SOPs are strictly being followed in such public places alongside issue separate SOPs for buyers, sellers and everyone who visits the mandis and fish markets. In addition to this the SOPs of wearing a mask must be made a law and thus mandatory for all. Those who fail to do so may be punished accordingly alongside those authorities who fail to do their duty by ensuring that SOPs are being followed vigilantly. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 08:34 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667fde0f 1 National Papua,West-Papua,human-rights-abuse,human-rights-violations,Jokowi,Joko-Widodo Free Experts have made fresh calls to push for the immediate establishment of an independent fact-finding and reconciliation body as part of a long-overdue effort to resolve past human rights violations in Indonesias easternmost provinces of Papua and West Papua. Beka Ulung Hapsara, a commissioner at the National Human Rights Commission (Komnas HAM), emphasized the urgency of the initiative as he called for President Joko Jokowi Widodo to address past rights abuses in Papua and West Papua through a truth and reconciliation commission (KKR) in accordance with Article 47 of the 2000 law on human rights courts. Considering the urgency of resolving gross violations of human rights and the absence of any legal umbrella for the formation of a KKR, the President may issue a regulation in lieu of law [Perppu] on a KKR, he said during the Papua Strategic Policy Forum online discussion held on Monday by Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada Universitys Papua Task Force and the School of Social and Political Sciences Capacity Building and Networking Center. Read also: Papuan groups voice opposition to special autonomy status He added that Komnas HAM had recommended the establishment of a KKR to Jokowi and several of his aides in 2018. Beka said it was also crucial for the central government to consider a reparations mechanism designed to compensate Papuans who had been impacted by past human rights violations. Democratic Alliance for Papua director Latifah Anum Siregar echoed Bekas sentiments, saying that a KKR and a human rights court were crucial to impunity eradication efforts so that all victims of past rights abuses could get justice. However, Latifah pointed out a number of roadblocks that had made it difficult for the government to accomplish said ideals, including the states own efforts to protect perpetrators of rights abuses. Theres still a major stigma against Papua. Consequently, all public movements in the region have been lumped in with separatism, she said during the same event. The government is limited by its own paranoia over Papuan separatists, fearing that such reckoning with past rights violations would only serve to enable counter-insurgency. The two provinces have been the scenes of serious past human rights abuses, including incidents in Wasior in 2001, Wamena in 2003 and the Paniai shooting in 2014 in which five people, including four students, were allegedly shot by members of the Indonesian Military (TNI) during a protest. Read also: 'We demand proof, not promises': Papuans urge Jokowi to bring justice to Paniai tragedy The central government announced in 2016 that it intended to resolve 12 cases of past human rights abuses in Papua, but no significant progress has been made. Beyond these unresolved serious rights abuses, Papuans have faced decades of discrimination and injustice. Gabriel Lele, a researcher at Gadjah Mada Universitys Papua Task Force, said any reconciliation attempts should not stop at legal proceedings, urging the government to engage in consistent dialogue with victims of rights violations. Such engagement was vital for a collective recovery, as reconciliation was a psycho-social process, he said. To quote Nelson Mandela, There is no peace without forgiveness, there is no forgiveness without justice, Gabriel said. According to Amnesty International, at least 100,000 West Papuans have been killed since the Indonesian takeover of West Papua in the 1960s. The most recent bout of violence was sparked by racial attacks on Papuan university students in Java last year, which prompted thousands of Papuans to protest against the government. The protests brought renewed media attention to human rights violations in the region and Papuans decades-long fight for autonomy. By Emma Donoghue Little, Brown. 297 pp. $28 --- Set at a Dublin hospital in the grip of the 1918 flu pandemic, Emma Donoghue's 11th novel, "The Pull of the Stars," grimly foreshadows present-day circumstances. "If In Doubt, Don't Stir Out" warn posters affixed to streetlamps; overwhelmed hospital staff are bedding patients on the floor, and stores have run out of disinfectant. Yet the pandemic is simply a backdrop for Donoghue's searing portrait of women's lives scarred by poverty and too many pregnancies in a society that proclaims, "She doesn't love him unless she gives him twelve." The Catholic Church is called to judgment as well, for its brutal treatment of unmarried mothers and their offspring. From these dark materials, Donoghue has fashioned a tale of heroism that reads like a thriller, complete with gripping action sequences, mortal menaces and triumphs all the more exhilarating for being rare and hard-fought. Her hero is Julia Power, a maternity nurse striving to save the lives of pregnant women at even greater risk than usual during labor and delivery because they have the flu. She has to care for them in a converted supply room barely big enough for three cots. Equipment and personnel are both scarce, due to the pandemic and the world war that has taken many doctors to the front. When Julia arrives at work on Oct. 31, 1918, she's saddened but unsurprised to learn that one of her patients died overnight. Flu-induced pneumonia is the immediate cause, but if she'd been completing the paperwork, Julia thinks bitterly, "I'd have been tempted to put: Worn down to the bone. Mother of five at twenty-four, an underfed daughter of underfed generations . . . this flu had only tipped her over." Julia has little use for the pious resignation of sanctimonious night nurse Sister Luke, though she's grateful when the nun grudgingly sends her a desperately needed aide. Bridie Sweeney is unqualified and uneducated but quick to learn, and Julia warms to her as they deal with three harrowing deliveries (sources of the aforementioned action, menaces and triumphs). Squeamish readers may blanch at Donoghue's graphic accounts of childbirth, with fatal results in two cases, but the messy particulars underscore Julia's angry rejoinder to an orderly who argues that women shouldn't be allowed to vote because they "don't pay the blood tax" that soldiers do. "Look around you," she snarls, indicating one patient in hard labor and another who has borne a dead baby. "This is where the nation - every nation - draws its first breath. Woman have been paying the blood tax since time began." Many novels depict the brotherhood of men at war. Donoghue celebrates the sisterhood of women bringing life into the world and those who help them along this perilous journey. She stacks the deck slightly by making the hospital's only capable doctor female, but Kathleen Lynn was an actual person, a member of Sinn Fein released from jail after the Easter Uprising so she could combat the flu. As she has in such previous historical novels as "Life Mask" and "Slammerkin," Donoghue makes deft use of real-life figures for her fictional ends. In addition to her crucial role in saving several patients, Dr. Lynn gives the novel its central metaphor when she explains to Julia that the word influenza comes from the medieval Italian belief that the influence of the stars made people ill. "As if, when it's your time, your star gives you a yank," Bridie remarks when Julia passes on that information, with blunt lyricism characteristic of Donoghue's eloquent, no-frills writing style. The two women are trading confidences on the hospital roof, getting some air after two grueling days have made them friends. Bridie is one of the abused "boarders" at Sister Luke's convent, unwanted or illegitimate children left to be beaten, starved and used as enslaved labor in the same repressive, patriarchal system that consigns married women to endless childbearing. This system oppresses men and boys as well, Donoghue acknowledges. Julia's brother Tim returned from war shellshocked and mute; the infant boy whose unwed mother died during delivery is judged by Sister Luke as "unlikely to thrive . . . his kind generally have more than one hereditary weakness." But the novel's focus is on the hard-won strength of its female characters, especially Julia's fierce dedication to her patients and Bridie's cheery enjoyment of each simple pleasure denied her at the "Motherhouse." Their tender relationship stands at the novel's heart and adds poignant satisfaction to Julia's final faceoff with Sister Luke. As in her best-known work, the deservedly megaselling "Room," Donoghue infuses catastrophic circumstances with an infectious - but by no means blind - faith in human compassion, endurance and resilience. "The Pull of the Stars" closes with a final surge of plain-spoken poetry, as Julia looks toward the future while walking "through streets that looked like the end of the world." --- Smith is the author of "Real Life Drama: The Group Theatre and America, 1931-1940." Too many young adults are going hog wild at parties and spreading COVID-19, Premier Doug Ford says as Canada notches an alarming one-quarter rise in cases over the last few days. The numbers include a big daily jump in Ontario that saw the province top 200 new infections for the first time in three weeks with partygoers under 40 getting much of the blame. The trend is raising red flags for public health authorities as more of the country reopens for business, but the problem is people in the 20 to 39 age bracket letting their guard down when getting together with friends, according to a federal analysis of new infections. While Canadas efforts to flatten the curve of COVID-19 have been good, that success remains fragile, warned the countrys deputy chief public health officer. It only takes a few sparks to backslide and create a situation we dont want, Dr. Howard Njoo said Tuesday. We were averaging about 300 cases a daymore recently thats increased to 350. Now were in the neighbourhood of 450, 460 cases per day for the last four days. That is of concern. Ontario reported 203 new cases Tuesday with Ford also singling out young adults in the party scene for much of the sharp increase from 135 the previous day. Guys, you got to rein it in. Simple as thatyou may get through it, but maybe your grandparents wont, Ford pleaded during a stop in Mississauga. We have to keep this in control. Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott noted the increase to more than 200 cases a level not seen consistently in the province in five weeks is only one day of data but said 116 or 57 per cent were 39 years old or younger. Elliott singled out a spike in Ottawa, to 43 cases from 20 the day before, for part of the increase that has largely involved indoor parties of people in their 20s. Maintain only one social circle of 10 people, physically distance with anyone outside of it and wear a face covering when doing so is a challenge, Elliott said on Twitter. About one-third of the cases across the country had been among young adults for months but has now risen to 55 per cent, said Njoo, who raised the possibility that the openings of bars and restaurants to indoor service in many parts of the county is sending a signal for people to think I can let go. Toronto, Peel Region and Windsor-Essex have been held back from stage three reopenings coming to other regions include Halton, Durham, York, Hamilton and Niagara this Friday, where bars and restaurants will be allowed to resume indoor service. The province said Peel had 57 new cases but Mississauga Mayor Bonnie Crombie said that was a misrepresentation because it included a backlog as the region moved to a new data collection system and the actual number of new cases was 22, with just four in her municipality. She had her own warning for young adults who thinks its summertime and want an opportunity to go out and party. This is no time for partying. This is very serious. A separate Star compilation of data from Ontarios 34 regional public health units at 5 p.m. Tuesday found 188 new and probable cases in the previous 24 hours, pushing the province to 40,005 infections of COVID-19 since late January. There were three more deaths for a total of 2,788. The Ministry of Health released figures showing the number of patients in hospital for COVID-19 increased by five to 120 with 36 in intensive care and 23 of them on ventilators. Four more nursing-home workers tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total to 2,484. No new cases were reported among nursing-home residents. There were 1,404 active cases of the virus across the province, including the 203 new infections reported by the Ministry of Health based on data provided by health units at 4 p.m. Monday. The ministry said 33,605 cases are considered resolved. Read more about: How to help prevent increasingly rampant brand exploitation The age of phishing has brought about a litany of sophisticated and disruptive attack methods that have directly led to some of the most devastating cyberattacks. Brand exploitation lures, in particular, can be especially damaging to a companys reputation and trustworthiness. In this white paper, take a closer look at this growing threat vector by highlighting the guidance and expertise necessary for identifying and mitigating these attacks, such as: A comprehensive definition of brand exploitation Key challenges that malicious actors look to exploit 4 recommended solutions & prevention tactics & more He has never been lonelier. In the 15 cumulative years he has been leading the country, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu was always surrounded by exclusive coteries and phalanxes of advisers and associates. While the quality of some was debatable, given Netanyahus preference for yes-men over independent professionals, he always had a reasonable, intimate consultative forum. He has always had a cabinet of selected ministers, a mini-cabinet for sensitive security matters, a forum of seven and then eight serious, experienced advisers just a phone call or a meeting away. The most beautiful years were those of the secret seven between 2009 and 2013. Netanyahu was in a new term after a decade-long political exile. He established a government with the Labor Party led by former Prime Minister Ehud Barak, and a consultative forum dubbed the Septet that included such respected Likud politicians as Dan Meridor and Benny Begin, decorated security experts such as former army chief Moshe Yaalon and Defense Minister Barak and maverick hawk Avigdor Liberman. In total, these men had hundreds of years of experience and responsibility, a well-defined worldview and a robust scale of moral values. They stood up to Netanyahu and prevented him from achieving his greatest and probably most unrealistic dream of mounting a military strike on Irans emerging nuclear infrastructure. This restraint is no longer in place. The Benjamin Netanyahu of 2020 is a lonely person. He still appears very popular, but he has long stopped relying on an organized consultative framework, on an optimal work environment, on reasonable advisers or a decision-making process worthy of its name. These have all fallen by the wayside. Anyone capable of independent thinking and responsible insights or guided by some sort of moral compass has fled or been exiled. The list of directors of the prime ministers office under Netanyahu is a telling illustration of the vacuum. Liberman was his first. He was followed by Moshe Leon, currently the mayor of Jerusalem. Then came Eyal Gabbai, a highly regarded economist, followed by Harel Locker, currently director of the Israel Aircraft Industries, who was followed by the talented and respected Eli Groner and then by former Avis director Yoav Horowitz. Each fled after being exposed to the chaos and lunacy in Netanyahus environment. Since his major 2015 victory over Isaac Herzog, the lunacy has turned from anecdotal disruptions to a perpetual storm. The person directly responsible for this upheaval is Netanyahus son Yair Netanyahu, who at 29 has become a dominant force in the prime ministers milieu, bolstering and even overtaking his mother, Sara Netanyahu. Together, Yair and Sara hold what senior Likud party officials call a controlling interest in the familys board of directors, frequently influencing the prime minister to reverse or reconsider decisions. The current Netanyahu government, installed in May, does not have a functioning security-foreign affairs cabinet, nor a permanent security consultation forum or any framework resembling the Septet. All the experienced senior Likud politicians with proven ability have been pushed aside or exiled. Former Minister Gideon Saar, once a popular Likud figure, is an enemy for daring to display independent thinking and ambition and was denied a ministerial portfolio in the current government. Gilad Erdan, a senior politician and experienced minister, has been exiled to an ambassadorial appointment. Likud lawmakers such as former Shin Bet director Avi Dichter and former Jerusalem mayor and high-tech millionaire Nir Barkat have also been left out. The equation is simple, a very senior Likud source told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. Anyone who provides Netanyahu with special services is in; anyone who maintain a modicum of respectability and independent thinking is out. I asked the official what he meant. Anyone willing to take part in the incessant attacks on law enforcement authorities, on the law, the police, the state prosecution, the attorney general and the judiciary is promoted. Anyone unwilling to participate in these festivities, even partially, finds his or herself shunted to the margins, he said. Former justice minister and current Internal Security Minister Amir Ohana and coalition chair Miki Zohar are prime examples of this policy. Ohana, a junior backbencher with little experience, was named to the senior Justice Ministry post last year despite his relatively low primary rankings. Overnight he was catapulted into the position of the minister in charge of the entire legal system. He did indeed deliver the goods for Netanyahu during his brief stint in office. While Ohana was forced out of the ministry by the complex machinations required to form the current power-sharing government with the rival Blue and White Party, he has emerged unscathed. In his new position, Ohana now has the Israeli police with its extensive files on Netanyahus alleged corruption under his purview. Brash young politician Miki Zohar emerged from the Likud sidelines to become the lawmaker closest to Netanyahu and chair of the coalition, mostly because there is no message, no matter how superficial or violent, that he is unwilling to personally convey. Beyond the quality of the political system and effectiveness of the decision-making mechanism, the above dynamics pose a real danger to the resilience of the government and the state system. Netanyahus decision-making process, dependent on the sometimes unstable whims of his family members, has become more chaotic than ever. It has become particularly evident in the handling of the coronavirus crisis, with its on-again, off-again decisions on lockdowns, closures, aid packages and more. The question of whether and when this chaos will also affect security issues is of increasing concern to many top figures in Israels security and defense agencies. Right now, a former senior security official told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, Netanyahu has successfully kept security issues away from the regular circle of disruptions, but there is no telling how long that will last. Will the continued effect of Netanyahus family on his decisions and the growing burden of his control over top Likud figures generate some sort of quiet rebellion at some point among the partys top lawmakers and officials? This is the most intriguing question being whispered about within the ruling party. The answer is simple. As long as Netanyahu brings the Likud to power and his poll numbers are good, he will continue to do whatever he wants, a senior Likud figure told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity. The question is what happens on the day his popularity sinks to a troubling level and the number of Likud Knesset seats in the polls continues to decline. That will be his true test. When teachers chose to give our lives to teaching, this wasnt what we had in mind. We knew wed work long hours for low pay. We knew wed navigate damaging policies crafted far from the world of the classroom. We never anticipated being told to report to work in conditions that could sicken or kill us by politicians far removed from the risks and realities of our schools. Across a nation with so many COVID-19 hot spots theyre starting to bleed together, teachers have had very little say on two critical questions: when and how to return to face-to-face teaching. For many teachers facing the imminent return to school, the customary combination of nerves and excitement has been replaced by mortal terror. That fear is far from abstract. In June, three Arizona teachers who taught remote lessons from a shared classroom contracted COVID-19. One of them, Kimberly Lopez Chavez Byrd, died. We all went into teaching prepared to give our days and years to a demanding yet rewarding profession. But asking us to serve as guinea pigs in the most dangerous national experiment ever attempted is a bridge too far. Cracks Into Canyons The pandemic has stress-tested every American institution, from our economy to the social fabric of our neighborhoods. Washington Post columnist Monica Hesse wrote in a recent piece on the struggle of working moms: The novel coronavirus has put sticks of dynamite into the cracks of our society, turning them into the canyons that must be navigated. One of those canyons, the fundamental inequities in our system along lines of race and class, has been ripped wide as COVID-19 ravages communities of color at wildly disproportionate rates. In the region of Arkansas where I teach, the Latinx community has been hit hard, and half the deaths have been people from the Marshall Islands a community that makes up only 3 percent of our region. On the same day that my county saw 199 predominantly Latinx workers in an 1,100-person chicken- processing plant test positive for the virus, Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson announced the move to Phase 2 of reopening the states economy, loosening restrictions as the number of infections surged. The pandemics disparate impact, wrought in part by failures of political leadership, has profound implications for the risk of infection posed to teachers who serve children of color living in poverty. Increased risk for these children and their families means greater risk for their teachers as well. How Much Worse Will the Teacher Exodus Get? Before the pandemic ever began, teachers had been leaving our profession at alarming rates. Sixteen percent of teachers leave the classroom every year , and half the teachers currently in the classroom have considered quitting. Tim Slekar, the dean of education at Edgewood College in Wisconsin, explains the distinction between a shortage and an exodus: When we have a shortage, say, of nurses, pay goes up, conditions get better, and enrollment in nursing programs skyrockets. So if we have a teacher shortage, pay would go up. Its not. Conditions would get better. Theyre not. And enrollment in teacher education would go up. Its declining." Now we have a return to classrooms still fraught with the risk of infection, via policies enacted often with little input from the teachers who will take on that risk. It doesnt take a prophet to predict a surge in the teacher exodus this school year. Twelve percent of teachers who had planned to remain in the classroom are already considering a departure from teaching because of the pandemic, according to an Education Week Research Center survey. If we see a spike in coronavirus cases as schools reopen, that number may rise dramatically. Treating Symptoms vs. Curing the Disease Even before the pandemic struck, the push for teacher self-care often seemed to address the symptoms of burnout rather than its root causes. The disconnect between prescriptions for self-care and the harsh conditions teachers face can be jarring. In the face of a mortal threat, tips like laugh and learn from your mistakes and find ways to work on and improve your self-image seem absurd. With new infections still surging, our nation has to adequately address teachers concerns about whether the return to school will damage their health or even claim their lives. So how can we avert another crisis within a crisis, a worsening teacher exodus nested within the global catastrophe wrought by COVID-19? How can school leaders help teachers care for themselves when, more than ever, their lives are on the line? 1. Provide teachers with decision-making power on when and how to resume in-person instruction. Teachers understand the realities of the classroom. We know what kind of personal protective equipment students and staff will need when they return to face-to-face teaching. We know whats realistic when it comes to social distancing in a kindergarten classroom, as opposed to a middle school. We can also translate emerging knowledge about the spread of COVID-19 into practice, like planning more instruction outside and designing classrooms so that each student has their own space, distanced from other desks or even surrounded by shower curtains, where they can do their work safely. Returning to school will inevitably be a fraught proposition. But giving teachers a say in when and how it happens could go a long way toward averting the kind of massive teacher strike or exodus that would cripple our school system. 2. Provide options. One of the laudable responses to the pandemic has been the sensitivity and flexibility shown to families in many school districts. My own district has provided three options for the fall: in-person school, distance learning from home, and a hybrid model in which students attend school in smaller groups two or three days a week. We need to be equally thoughtful in providing options for teachers. My school districts leaders have offered a humane gift to every teacher in our district: the option to take a years leave while their job is held for the following year. Many teachers, of course, cant afford a year without pay. But the option to teach virtually or find safer employment for a year could potentially be lifesaving, particularly for those at elevated risk. 3. Proceed with caution. Theres a long history in education of rolling out tests, programs, and policies before theyve been adequately researched, developed, and proven. When it comes to reopening schools, we have to base our decisions on research and proven practices, not political talking points or a fevered rush to get the economy rolling at any cost. Theres plenty of emerging information on how to reopen schools safely when the time is right, from Centers for Disease Control guidance to successful models in other countries for example, opening a limited number of days per week and waiting to reopen until the number of new cases has shown a steady decline. We have to act on that information as we make decisions about when and how to return to in-person school this year. We have no choice but to get this right. Its a matter of life or death. Bachelor in Paradise star Abbie Chatfield has revealed the real reason she regrets going on the raunchy reality show. The 24-year-old appeared on Channel 10's 'Have You Been Paying Attention?' on Monday night, where she called the dating show a 'free for all.' 'I think it was too soon after my heartbreak on the rock in Africa with Matt,' Abbie told the show's host, Tom Gleisner. 'I didn't get any beach humping in [too].' Honest: BIP star Abbie Chatfield, 23, (pictured) has revealed the real reason she regrets going on the raunchy reality show while appearing on Have You Been Paying Attention on Monday Brisbane-based Abbie went on to call The Bachelor 'more civilised' as it's more about finding romance rather than just sexy hook-ups. 'There is more much structure. Where Bachelor in Paradise is kind of like a free for all. And it's not really more kind of thing, I think.' Abbie wore a tight white top on the program which featuredcut-outs around the cleavage. The blonde beauty failed to secure a rose after just two days on the reality show. After being booted from the rose ceremony, the buxom blonde said: 'I'm fine. I'm fine. I'm fine. I cannot believe this.' Not for her! 'There is more much structure. Where Bachelor in Paradise is kind of like a free for all. And it's not really more kind of thing, I think,' Abbie said of the show Love match? During her two-episode stint, Abbie (R) showed a keen interest in Ciarran Stott (L), but he was more interested in Jessica Brody During her two-episode stint, Abbie showed a keen interest in Ciarran Stott. The pair had a raunchy bedroom session and went on a date but Ciarran later showed more interest in co-star, Jessica Brody. Since appearing on Paradise, Abbie has come out as bisexual on Instagram. She urged women to send her Direct Messages. Bye: Abbie failed to secure a rose from Jamie Doran (R) before her departure from Paradise Sharing a selfie of herself lazing on a couch in a pair of floral pyjamas, writing: 'FYI I'm bi so...' She complained only men seemed to hit on her: 'Women also pls [please] dm me?' she continued. Abbie said she wasn't interested in the men who contacted her, and confessed she was 'very single and very horny'. Looking for love: Abbie said she wasn't interested in the men who contacted her, and confessed she was 'very single and very horny' 'Can't hit on women bc [because] ethereal creatures and men are not enticing soooooo leaves me very single and very horny,' she wrote. In a post on Instagram on Thursday, Abbie revealed she was 'still banned' from Tinder after months of inactivity on the popular dating app. '@bachelorinparadiseau journey is over but at least I can let you know ya girl is single and ready to mingle,' she wrote on Instagram following her exit. The incumbent governor of Ondo State, Rotimi Akeredolu, has won the All Progressives Congress (APC) primary. He will be the ruling partys flag bearer for the October 10 governorship election in the state. The indirect primary election took place at Dove Centre in Akure. Mr Akeredolu won in all the local government areas of the state, defeating seven other aspirants. Speaking earlier, Mr Akeredolu told journalists that God would make all plans for him to be victorious at the end of the poll. Asked if he had any complains about the primary, he said he had none. I never wanted to be involved in all the complaints because I know that a farmer goes to farm with implements. The farmer only complains when he is not ready. In the APC, we know those who have been delegates over the years since APC came to be. We all know who the delegates are. I know the God I serve, He will do me well and all plans will fall in place. The chairman of the primary committee, Governor Yahaya Bello of Kogi State, was set to formally announce the results at the time of this report. Details soon Officials in Hidalgo County issued a shelter-in-place order Monday that includes a curfew and travel limitations. The new emergency order, which also mandates wearing facial coverings, arrives as the Rio Grande Valley battles a spike in coronavirus cases. Hidalgo County had 12,787 cases and 318 deaths as of Tuesday. "Our rise in numbers and fatalities says that we need to take action now and do whats in the best interest of our community," said County Judge Richard F. Cortez. "This action will help us do the right thing to save and protect each other from this deadly disease by sheltering at home." READ ALSO: Old Navy, McDonald's and Fred Loya among COVID-19 complaints The new orders begin Wednesday and remain in effect until Aug. 5. Individuals are ordered to shelter-at-home, while nonessential businesses are "highly encouraged" to cease all activities besides curbside, drive-thru or take-out services. There will be a curfew for all adults from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. except for essential activities, like buying medicine or taking care of a family member. Travel should be limited to obtaining or providing essential services, the order states. Outdoor gatherings of 10 or more people are prohibited unless the mayor of the locality approves. Following a warning for a first-time violation of the mask mandate, a person's second violation will be punishable by a fine up to $250. The order notes that no law enforcement official may arrest or jail anyone for violating the order. John Wittman, a spokesperson for Gov. Greg Abbott, told the Texas Tribune that Hidalgo's order is "simply a recommendation." "This order has no enforcement mechanism, which makes it simply a recommendation for those to stay home if they can, which Governor Abbott supports," Wittman said. "However, this order does not force businesses to shut down in the Rio Grande Valley." Three bills which fundamentally change Samoas constitution are nearing their final reading in the countrys parliament. Critics, including the Samoa Law Society and members of the judiciary, assert that the COVID-19 pandemic is being used to push through the amendments without the mandatory public consultation. Introduced by Prime Minister Tuilaepa Sailele Malielegaoi, the Constitution Amendment Bill 2020, the Land and Titles Bill 2020 and the Judicature Bill 2020 divide the judicial system into two parallel courts of equal standing, one to deal with criminal and civil matters, the other with customary land and titles. The changes will assert more direct government control over the legal system, reflecting growing authoritarianism and appeals to tribalism by governments across the Pacific in response to rising poverty and discontent caused by the escalating economic crisis. Over 100 people protested outside Samoas parliament last month when the amendments were presented at a select committee hearing. Currently the Land and Titles Court, composed of lay judges appointed on the basis of traditional hierarchical Samoan custom, has jurisdiction over customary land disputes and matai (chiefly) titles. Under the new amendments, the Land and Titles Court would be entrenched in the constitution, gain a new appellate court, and have supreme authority over the subject of Samoan customs and usages. The current ability to appeal decisions of the Land and Titles court to the Supreme Court is removed. Furthermore, a government-appointed commission will be empowered to dismiss judges. These measures have been condemned by international legal organisations, including the South Pacific Lawyers Association and New Zealand Law Society, claiming they erode the independence of the judiciary and threaten the rule of law, while subjecting judges tenure to political pressure. The changes elevate tribal custom as a source of law and integral part of the constitutional system. Tuilaepa bluntly declared that the constitution in its present form expressed unfounded palagi [white foreigner] thinking, when it was framed under pressure from the New Zealand colonial ruler and the UN as Samoa assumed formal independence in 1962. The move also follows a controversial 2017 constitutional amendment which formally declared Samoa a Christian state. Christianity was expanded with European colonisation, and the churches remain a powerful force for social control today. The powers of sections of the traditional Samoan elite, centred on the hierarchical matai system, will be further entrenched. Matai are the holders of chiefly titles and play the key role in the regulation of social life. There are nearly17,000 matai out of a total population of 202,000. Importantly, the matai administer family property including customary land. About 81 percent of Samoas land is under customary ownership, with only 4 percent freehold and the rest public lands. From independence only matai could vote and stand as candidates in elections to parliament. Limited universal suffrage giving the right to vote to adults aged 21 and over was only introduced in 1990. The right to stand for elections, however, remains with matai. In the 49-seat Legislative Assembly all 47 members are matai, with the exception of two seats reserved for non-Samoans. The new laws will entrench the control of this tribal elite over land ownership. A former head of state, Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi, has asserted that the real purpose of the bills is to enable the government to sell land to fund overseas debts and infrastructure developments. In December 2017, hundreds of people protested in the capital Apia against the Lands Title Registration Act 2008, which they claimed violates customary land rights by breaking communal land into individual titles. The government denied the claims, saying it only applied to freehold land. Throughout the Pacific, disputes over the control of land have increasingly been at the centre of competing sections of the ruling elites. The traditional tribal hierarchy and customary landowners are pitted, not only against each other, but against business leaders, state bureaucrats and middle-class layers who resent the monopolising of the countrys wealth and political power. With foreign investors barred from buying land, demands have also been raised by international financial agencies and the local imperialist powers, Australia and New Zealand, for programs of economic liberalisation to privatise the public sector, combined with hollow calls for more democracy. In a 2008 report, the Asia Development Bank (ADB) praised Tuilaepa as an economic reformer. State-owned enterprises were corporatised, government ministries contracted out work, international air routes sold off and a new private mobile network operator licensed. However, ongoing criticisms over the size of the public sector, the cost of doing business and poor quality infrastructure remained. The ADB report identified weaknesses in the land leasing framework as adversely affecting large parts of the economy, particularly finance, agriculture and tourism. It called for policies to make leasing more flexible to make the substantial land holdings of the state available to private investors. In a 2016 report, the ADB again warned about Samoas high transaction costs inefficiencies in state-owned enterprises, an underdeveloped finance sector, and poor access to secure land titles. Samoas pro-business economic drive attacking the social position of the working class has been accompanied by increasingly autocratic measures. University of Auckland law lecturer Fuimaono Dylan Asafo told Radio NZ that Tuilaepa, who has been prime minister for 21 years, has instituted a rise in tyranny in Samoa, including the suppression of free speech, curtailment or abolition of civil liberties and laws passed by decree without public debate or popular approval. Asafo, however, also defended the governments record of economic development. Escalating tensions have seen divisions erupt inside the ruling Human Rights and Protection Party (HRPP). Former parliamentary speaker and cabinet minister, Laauli Leuatea Polataivao Schmidt announced that under pressure from his constituents he had quit the party and would oppose the bills. Another dissenting MP, Faumuina Wayne Fong, has been sacked. Laauli claimed Samoa had become a one party state under Tuilaepa and he intends to establish a new party to contest next years election. Laauli represents sections of the ruling elite that have no fundamental differences with Tuilaepa, in particular its economic agenda, but are seeking to establish new safety valves for opposition among the working class and rural poor. Popular hostility to the government is simmering over its disastrous mishandling of last years measles epidemic, in which 83 children died and 1,868 were admitted to hospital. The deaths were a profound shock to the tiny countrys 200,000 people and Tuilaepa has dismissed widespread calls for an official inquiry into the disaster. The dire economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic are exacerbating already severe social inequality. The COVID-19 State of Emergency has been extended for another month, taking the country to an unprecedented four-month lockdown. The collapse of tourism and remittance income, which together account for 40 percent of Samoas GDP, will thrust thousands even deeper into poverty. The ruling elites across the Pacific, whether archaic relics of authoritarian tribal elites, privileged layers of business and the law and the upper middle class or, as in Fiji, military dictatorships, have all proved incapable of meeting the democratic aspirations and basic social needs of the mass of their oppressed populations. Kings Lynn Foodbank are urgently seeking a new Trustee Treasurer to work with a fun, friendly, team who are all passionate about combating food poverty in Kings Lynn. Kings Lynn Foodbank are urgently seeking a new Trustee Treasurer to work with a fun, friendly, team who are all passionate about combating food poverty in Kings Lynn. Christian pregnancy charity gets Yarmouth hub TimeNorfolk, the Christian pregnancy loss charity, has opened a space dedicated to counselling for bereaved parents in Great Yarmouth. Read more Family days at Norwich Cathedral The schools and families learning department at Norwich Cathedral are holding two sessions morning and afternoon for a Family Activity Day at the Cathedral on Wednesday February 16. Read more Churches prepare Queen's Platinum Jubilee plans Churches, Christian charities and youth organisations are working together to celebrate the Queens Platinum Jubilee over the four-day Bank Holiday from June 2-5 and a new website has been created to celebrate the Queen's 70 years of faith and service. Read more Eckling Grange cares for the elderly Despite some bad press, there are some Care Homes where 'Care' really does mean 'what it says on the tin', and a star example of this is the Norfolk Christian residential care home, Eckling Grange, at Dereham. Read more New Commission to look at use of Norfolk churches A new Church Buildings Commission has been launched with the purpose of looking at the church buildings across Norfolk and Waveney in terms of their use and sustainability. Read more Norfolk link to teaching opportunity with TCKs A Norfolk couple working in Asia have been helped by teachers of Third Culture Kids, and a programme is now inviting more people to get involved with it. Read more Norfolk charity seeks mentors for prison leavers Community Chaplaincy Norfolk (CCN) continues to provide a Both Sides of the Gate Mentor support service to people leaving prison in Norfolk. Read more Prayer and Worship week for Sheringham church Lighthouse Community Church in Sheringham has launched a Prayer and Worship week as they seek Gods guidance for 2022 Read more South Norfolk church schools are set to merge The Diocese of Norwich St Benets Multi Academy Trust has been given the green light to amalgamate Harleston CE Primary Academy and Archbishop Sancroft High School into one All Through School. Read more Norwich conference looks at how to tackle spiritual abuse Following a series of revelations about high-profile Christian leaders, a group of Norfolk churches is organising a conference to look at spiritual abuse and godly leadership. Read more Revelation vacancy for Centre Manager The Revelation Christian Resource Centre and Cafe is seeking to appoint a Centre Manager. Read more Gardening morning at N Norfolk Christian centre The Pleasaunce Holiday Centre in Overstrand is holding a work-party morning on Saturday February 5 and would like as many people as possible to join in to help get the gardens ship-shape. Read more Poringland Bible teachers look at a building project The Way of the Spirit is starting the New Year with a meeting in Poringland to explore the Book of Nehemiah. Read more House of Genesis needs part-time support worker The House of Genesis is seeking a part-time (20 hours per week) Support Worker to contribute to the day-to-day running of the charity, which provides accommodation to homeless adult men in Norwich. Read more Church marriage open to all? Regular contributor Philip Young shares with us his personal view on whether churches should marry same-sex couples. Read more Christian retreat centre has new Chair of Trustees Paul Dunning has recently been appointed as Chair of Trustees of the Quiet Waters Christian Retreat Centre. He explains how he got involved and how others can do the same. Read more Magdalene Group: Women's Specialist Practitioner The Norwich-based Magdalene Group needs a Womens Specialist Practitioner to provide gender and trauma-informed support to women experiencing multiple disadvantage and provide support to female sex workers and victims of sexual exploitation and coercion. Read more The Muck: Poker Players Sound Off on Their Cheap Peers July 21, 2020 Poker players can be a spendy bunch when the heater is rocking. Many are the tales of unchecked spending and lavish living after a big score or a cash game win that needs five racks for the pick-up. However, when the downswing inevitably hits, many of these same players can turn into penny-pinching misers. Just ask their friends. Melissa Burr did so this weekend on Twitter, and the responses proved as amusing as expected. The impetus came from a Luke Vrabel tweet in which he related a story of a friend who won $500K, only to request $7 for an Uber shortly thereafter. Tales of Cheapness Scores of tales of lifestyle nittiness followed. From players trying to save a dollar here to collecting tax receipts for pennies there, PokerNews collected some of the best responses: @burrrrrberry Playing 400-800 with jimmy riendeer. He looks at a half eaten Caesar salad on a table behind him, https://t.co/X1HDe8lUoO Todd Brunson (@ToddBrunson) @burrrrrberry The first time I went to the casino in Costa Rica with @tchanpoker in 2003, we were in a foreign coun https://t.co/AVIthGAUTg David Ottosen (@dottosen) @burrrrrberry I genuinely gave a guy a 220 ticket for a live tourney as he was broke, he won the tourney (3 way ch https://t.co/grzHFVW55f Gary Walsh (@GaryWalsh16) @burrrrrberry At grocery store in Vegas, pro (who owns multiple houses in Vegas) 2 ahead of me in line, cart full o https://t.co/tDTS3W8iV6 Dan Ross (@HoldemMedia_Dan) @burrrrrberry Went on a double date. All 4 of us "pros". Me and male friend never played lower than 100/200. Our gf https://t.co/pJVE22PXJP Sean Snyder (@seansnyderpoker) @burrrrrberry Pay for a $1 bottle of water with a cc and ask for a receipt because its a write off. (@MrPensa) @burrrrrberry Leave $10 towards the bill to pay for his $15 + tip meal the day after winning the Sunday million # Katie Dozier (@Katie_Dozier) @burrrrrberry I saw Men the Master stand in a rather long line for a $6 Comp at a circuit event, which he won. It struck me funny Christopher Lee (@cklee423) @burrrrrberry Bud wins NL tourn at S. Point for 5k, joins me in racebook, takes 50% of my Pick-4 (10-1 winner alrea https://t.co/yXkNcaiPaJ Greg Sellgren (@underweargreg) @burrrrrberry I know somebody who walked from Aria to Rio every morning (obv heat is ridiculous) for 3 weeks during https://t.co/yTDifGzGkd Patrick Leonard (@padspoker) @burrrrrberry This is @quadfours_kin fav story. He once saw me drive my car back in reverse to a tollbooth to get a https://t.co/0SY4mKvmlE Ada Friedan (@AdamFriedman119) Click here to read other answers on Melissa Burr's Twitter Thread The Health Ministry on Tuesday reiterated that an asymptomatic person, infected with the coronavirus COVID-19, wearing a valved N-95 mask is more likely to infect others. "Evidence suggests that with a valved mask the person wearing it is safe but if they are asymptomatic person then propensity of that person infecting others is there. This is an evolving situation," said Health Ministry Officer on Special Duty (OSD) Rajesh Bhushan, addressing a press conference. On July 20, the Centre had written to all states and union territories warning against the use of N-95 masks with valved respirators by people, saying these do not prevent the virus from spreading out and are "detrimental" to the measures adopted for its containment. The Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) in the Ministry of Health, in a letter to the Principal Secretaries of health and medical education of states, said it has been observed that there is "inappropriate use" of N-95 masks, particularly those with valved respirators, by the public other than designated health workers. The DGHS referred to the advisory on the use of homemade protective cover for face and mouth available on the website of the Ministry of Health. "It is to bring to your knowledge that the use of valved respirator N-95 masks is detrimental to the measures adopted for preventing the spread of coronavirus as it does not prevent the virus from escaping out of the mask. In view of the above, I request you to instruct all concerned to follow the use of face/mouth cover and prevent inappropriate use of N-95 masks," DGHS Rajiv Garg said in the letter. The government had in April issued an advisory on the use of homemade protective cover for face and mouth, asking people to wear it, particularly when they step out of their residences. The advisory stressed such face covers must be washed and cleaned each day, as instructed, and stated that any used cotton cloth can be used to make this face cover. The colour of the fabric does not matter but one must ensure that the fabric is washed well in boiling water for five minutes and dried well before making the face cover. Adding salt to this water is recommended, it said. It also listed the procedures of making such homemade masks, asking to ensure it fits the face well and there are no gaps on the sides. It urges people to wash their hands thoroughly before wearing the face cover, switching to another fresh one as the face cover becomes damp or humid, and never reusing it after single use without cleaning it. "Never share the face cover with anyone. Every member in a family should have separate face cover," the advisory stated. India's COVID-19 case tally reached 1,155,191 on Tuesday, while the total number of active cases stand at 402,529, according to the Union Health Ministry data. The death toll due to the disease rose to 28,084. NEWS PROVIDED BY ConservativeHQ.com July 21, 2020 MANASSAS, Va., July 21, 2020 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following is submitted by Richard Viguerie, Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com: The continued incarceration of former Rep. Steve Stockman, the only over-60 diabetic prisoner remaining at the Beaumont, Texas federal prison facility, is inhumane. Beaumont has the highest per capita COVID-19 infection rate of any prison in the country. Conservative movement champion former Congressman Steve Stockman's situation grows perilously close to a death sentence by the day. Stockman was told by prison officials he will not be leaving on orders "straight from the top" in Washington! It's clear someone wants him dead. There needs to be investigations in Washington into who is ordering that his life not be saved by being released to home detention. Both Stockman and Roger Stone are/were American political prisoners. Stone's sentence has since been commuted. Stockman's situation has only gotten worse. As of July 14, the number of prisoners infected with COVID-19 at Stockman's prison facility was 432, up from 180 earlier this month. Stockman's age (63), multiple co-morbidities (diabetes, hypertension, osteoporosis, asthma, and more), and the nonviolent, non-sexual nature of his conviction (charges after three grand juries refused to indict him, involving campaign finance and fundraising from two wealthy Republican donors, neither of whom filed complaints) clearly make him eligible for release to home detention, consistent with a March 26 directive from Attorney General William Barr to the Director of the Bureau of Prisons for "at risk" inmates. Despite the known positive benefits of sunlight to fight off coronavirus, he has not been allowed outside in many weeks. Given his age and health, Stockman is a sitting duck in the COVID-19-ravaged Beaumont prison. Releasing him to home detention would be a no-brainer. An UCLA COVID-19 Behind Bars Data Project reports that over 70,000 people have been released from jail due to the COVID-19 threat, and over 33,000 were released from prison consistent with federal "compassion" guidelines directed by Attorney General William Barr. Stockman filed and re-filed papers for release to home confinement, including a petition for "Compassionate Release" with Warden F. J. Garrido on April 4. Garrido responded on April 20. Stockman was told he'd be placed in pre-release quarantine on April 24, but was turned away at the door by prison staff. Several times since, Stockman has been advised by prison officials he will not be leaving on orders from the top. On May 21, Garrido responded to an inquiry about Stockman's release, noting that Attorney General Barr authorized the Director of the Bureau of Prisons to "maximize appropriate transfers to home confinements of all appropriate inmates" at certain prisons where "COVID-19 is materially affecting operations." Garrido's letter stated the Beaumont prison "will take swift action to exercise its expanded home confinement authority for any inmate who is found to be at risk for COVID-19 and suitable for home confinement." Stockman fits the criteria for release to home detention. The directions "from the top" that he not be released are a death sentence. Dead men, after all, tell no tales. After various published articles described his unfair politicized treatment in the justice system, Stockman was told by one prison official that he has a "publicity problem." Once he was sent to solitary confinement. Then he was placed in a jail cell with a notorious murderer. Why is Steve Stockman being treated in such an obviously discriminatory and almost certainly deadly way? Writing in The Washington Times, Rebecca Hagelin explained, "The 2018 criminal trial of Stockman has laid bare the underbelly of political targeting by the Obama administration's Department of Justice. As a congressman, Stockman exposed many instances of high-level corruption by Obama officials. His ability to chase down and hold accountable Obama officials is legendary. Stockman called for the impeachment of Attorney General Eric Holder for obstruction of justice and contempt of Congress." The Epoch Times' Matthew Vadum reported how Stockman's many supporters in the conservative movement describe him as "a victim of a complex, politically motivated runaway prosecution" who "is being punished for his zealous pursuit of Obama-era wrongdoings." Former prosecutor Rachel Alexander wrote on Townhall.com, "[Steve] was known for boldly opposing President Obama. He was a Congressional whistleblower on Obama administration corruption, with such actions as calling for the House Select Committee to investigate the government's handling of the Benghazi embassy tragedy of lost American lives, exposing President Obama's payment to the Haqqani terrorist network in exchange for the release of Army deserter Bowe Bergdahl, and revealing Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's violation of the Iran sanctions to allow the sale to Iran of specialized steel used in nuclear weaponry." General Michael Flynn's superstar lawyer Sidney Powell was quoted by Michael Tennant at The New American, "It is highly likely [the Justice Department Public Integrity Section] targeted former Congressman Stockman and have been extremely and unreasonably harsh toward him because he was so outspoken in trying to hold Lois Lerner, the Clintons, and Obama accountable." Stockman's enemies in the Deep State go right to Hillary Clinton and the Clinton Foundation. He pushed to expose their ties to Ukrainian oligarch Victor Pinchuk. Pinchuk was the largest non-state donor to the Clinton Foundation, donating between $10,000,000 and $25,000,000 according to ABC News. His Interpipe company engaged in possibly illegal Iranian pipeline transactions under Hillary's watch and approval while she was Secretary of State. Rory Ross at Newsweek wrote in 2015, "In November 2014 . . . Steve Stockman wrote to the US Department of the Treasury, questioning Interpipe's dealings with Iran." Newsweek has seen a copy of that letter, in which Stockman refers to a "body of evidence" detailing "exports from Interpipe to Iranian entities" that "may have contravened US sanctions to Iran." This stinks, and fits with the larger exposure of how the corrupt Deep State under the Obama administration and the corrupt Clinton rein at the State Department used nefarious government tactics to target their political enemies. Steve Stockman was an outspoken critic of their corruption, and now someone in Washington's Deep State wants their political prisoner to die in jail, when instead he should be released to home detention. Conservatives take action; protect life, especially for those who can't help themselves. The entire conservative movement needs to demand investigations into who ordered what is essentially a death sentence for Steve Stockman. Please reach out to people you know who believe that corruption exists in the Deep State, including Republican senators, and conservative or any honest independent journalists. Ask them who is executing Steve Stockman? We want names. U.S. Attorney General William Barr 950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20530 Phone: (202) 353-1555 Chief of Staff Mark Meadows The White House 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW Washington, DC 20500 (202) 456-1414 Pease contact the Bureau of Prisons officials below, who may know who ordered that Stockman remain in prison. Tell them that we want names, and that we will push for investigations into major abuses in the prison system. Hugh J. Hurwitz Assistant Director, Reentry Services Division Federal Bureau of Prisons 320 1st Street, N.W. Washington, DC 20534 (202) 307-3198 Juan Baltazar, Jr. Director, BOP South Central Region US ARMED FORCES RESERVE CMPL 344 Marine Forces Dr. Grand Prairie, TX 75051 (972) 730-8600 Glam Squad, a business consisting of two makeup artists who provide their services for special events, was born in an unlikely setting: a law office. Alexis Pettis, a paralegal, met Frank Revesz when he was a temporary worker at the law office where she is a paralegal. Revesz would comment on her makeup and they began chatting about new trends, brand releases and more. When a new Morphe palette came out, both Pettis and Revesz could not wait to talk about it with the other. We just clicked over makeup, Pettis said. Both Pettis and Revesz were freelance makeup artists who sometimes found it difficult to do the makeup for large groups of clients in short windows of time. They decided to work together, allowing them to tackle bigger jobs and share their passion for makeup. Four years later, The Glam Squad is continuing their freelance makeup work, continuing to book appointments in the greater Harrisburg area for special events, weddings, dances and photo shoots. Their busiest time is spring through fall during wedding season, but the duo keeps busy throughout the year with other events. Pettis and Revesz maintain the business while continuing to work at their full-time jobs. Pettis said she, an African American woman, and Revesz, a Caucasian male, are sometimes questioned as to whether they can effectively apply makeup on people who are not their gender or race. Clients will sometimes look at me and say, Oh youre not going to do my makeup? Youre going to let him do it? and Frank will have to pull out a picture and show what he can do. I have to do the same thing, Pettis said. Theres no difference in face, its about complexion. Thats why they make millions of colors. I wish they would make more but thats more the beauty industrys fault, not mine or my clients. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the Glam Squad has had to turn down clients and lost bookings for weddings that were originally scheduled for 2020. For a wedding, we may have booked for July, theyre now not doing it until 2021 or 2022, Pettis said. The pair only recently started booking clients again. They say they are focusing on sanitation and keeping their clients healthy while following guidelines of the state Department of Health. Pettis spoke with PennLive about her business on July 1: Q, What motivated you to start this business? A, Mostly, to fulfill my happiness. I have an interest in law and am trying to dabble into what I want to do with it, but I think at the end of the day I know that I have satisfaction with makeup. Im happy doing it. Im interested in it and the new products and am always watching YouTube videos by makeup gurus. To start the business on the side was not to only make more money to feed my habit for makeup, but to also do something I knew I enjoyed. Q, Has it been the success you had hoped? A, Yeah, you know doing makeup can be easy and sometimes it can be hard; It can be an emotional roller coaster. You have to have tough skin because sometimes you can get a client that may be super particular. You know your stuff, your craft and your products and you are confident in what you are doing but that particular person can just throw you off your game. But at the end of the day when you turn a client around and youre like, Are you ready to see your face? Are you ready to see the transformation? and then they have that smile on their face or they cant put the mirror down, or they say, Oh Ive got to take pictures You know youve done the right thing. That makes it worth it to me. Q, What is the most significant factor in your success as a business? A, Reputation. I think that is big. A lot of the clients Frank and I get are by word of mouth and the things we post on our Facebook and Instagram. Q, The most hindering factor? A, Sometimes the amount people want to pay for the service. Just like anything, you want to know the price and if its not in your window that can be troublesome to us. Even though we are using top-notch products, that person may not be willing to spend what we charge. Q, Were you prepared for the demands of running your own business? A, Yes and no. Sometimes its a lot when you have back-to-back events on Saturday and Sunday and then you turn around and go back to your full-time job on Monday. Q, What would you have wanted to know when you started your business that you know now? A, Dont give up and stay focused. Dont let the day-to-day of your full-time life get into your hobby. In the first year we only had maybe three or four weddings. It was a tough year and we kind of got discouraged but we decided we would keep going because we knew we were good at what we did. Want to book the Glam Squad? Contact them at glamsquadpa@outlook.com or connect with them on Facebook. WASHINGTON - The price tag for the next COVID-19 aid package could quickly swell above $1 trillion as White House officials negotiate with Congress over money to reopen schools, prop up small businesses, boost virus testing and keep cash flowing to Americans while the virus crisis deepens in the U.S. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. WASHINGTON - The price tag for the next COVID-19 aid package could quickly swell above $1 trillion as White House officials negotiate with Congress over money to reopen schools, prop up small businesses, boost virus testing and keep cash flowing to Americans while the virus crisis deepens in the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday promised a new round of direct payments to earners below a certain income level, similar to the $1,200 checks sent in the spring. President Donald Trump insists on a payroll tax holiday for workers. And Democrats want billions to outfit schools and shore up local governments. FILE - In this Tuesday, July 7, 2020 file photo, Rachel Bardes holds a sign in front of the Orange County Public Schools headquarters as teachers protest with a car parade around the administration center in downtown Orlando, Fla. As pressure mounts for teachers to return to their classrooms this fall, concerns about the pandemic are pushing many toward alternatives, including career changes, as some mobilize to delay school reopenings in areas hardest hit by the coronavirus. Teachers unions have begun pushing back on what they see as unnecessarily aggressive timetables for reopening. (Joe Burbank/Orlando Sentinel via AP, File) Regretfully, this is not over, McConnell said after a raucous private GOP lunch, urging Americans to learn to live with the new virus by wearing masks and practicing social distancing until a vaccine can be found. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows spent the day on Capitol Hill, meeting separately with McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others trying to broker a compromise between the GOP's emerging $1 trillion proposal with the House's more sweeping $3 trillion bill. The lunch session grew heated as key Republican senators complained about big spending, vowing to stall the relief bills passage. Supporters of the package should be ashamed of themselves," Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said as he emerged. Paul compared GOP backers of the spending to Bernie bros referring to the young supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. This is insane. ... There's no difference now between the two parties. As a long line of senators rose to speak about aspects of the bill, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz asked his colleagues, What in the hell are we doing? Cruz warned if the economy is still shut down come November, Joe Biden will win the White House, Democrats will control the Senate and "well be meeting in a much smaller lunch room, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door session. Sen. Rick Scott of Florida left saying its wrong to bail out cash-strapped states. Florida taxpayers are not going to pay for New Yorks expenses," he said. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, wears a mask for protection against the coronavirus, next to members of security, as he rides the Senate Subway between meetings, Tuesday, July 21, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) With the pandemic showing no signs of easing, officials acknowledge the daunting challenge of trying to contain the coronavirus and prevent further economic distress. The U.S. has rising infections and a death toll nearing 142,000, more than anywhere else in the world. The health crisis is worsening just as emergency aid is about to expire. Meadows told reporters the president wants to ensure the funding package meets the legitimate needs that are before the American people. Democratic leaders said the Republicans are in disarray, and Pelosi later blamed the pandemic's mounting toll on the president's inaction. It is the Trump virus, she said on CNN. The Republicans are poised to roll out a $1 trillion package, what McConnell called a starting point in talks. It's a counter-offer to Pelosi's $3 trillion House-passed plan as they race to strike a deal by the end of the month. That's when a $600 weekly unemployment benefits boost and other aid, including a federal rental moratorium on millions of apartment units, expires. McConnell's package would send a fresh round of direct cash payments to Americans below a certain income level, likely $75,000 for singles, extend small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program and create a five-year liability shield against what he warns is a potential epidemic of coronavirus lawsuits. It's also expected to include at least $105 billion for education, with $70 billion to help K-12 schools reopen, $30 billion for colleges and $5 billion for governors to allocate. The Trump administration wanted school money linked to reopenings, but in McConnell's package the money for K-12 would be split 50-50 between those that have in-person learning and those that do not. Republicans want to replace the $600 weekly federal jobless benefit with a lower amount, to prevent the unemployed from receiving more aid than they would through a normal paycheque, Republicans said. Over lunch, Mnuchin explained the unemployment boost could be phased down to a percentage of a worker's previous income, according to a Republican granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting. Some Republicans prefer simply eliminating the $600 benefit. But the presidents priorities are splitting his GOP allies and giving momentum to Democrats. Trump wants a full repeal of the 15.3% payroll tax, which is shared among employers and employees, and funds Social Security and Medicare. Experts say that alone would cost $600 billion. At a White House meeting on Monday, GOP leaders told Trump they preferred to include only a partial payroll tax cut. Easing the payroll tax is dividing Trumps party because it does little to help out-of-work Americans and adds to the debt load. The tax is already being deferred for employers under the previous virus relief package. Supporters say cutting it now for employees would put money in peoples pockets and stimulate the economy. The administration also panned McConnell's proposed $25 billion for more virus testing, saying earlier allotments remain unspent. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday the administration wants targeted funds for the next round of aid, rather than adding more to the existing pot. She said no one is holding it up. Senate Democrats began investigating why the Trump administration has left almost half the testing money unspent. After meeting with Mnuchin, Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said Republicans must quit stalling. They broadly dismissed the emerging GOP effort as inadequate. The political stakes are high for both parties before the November election, and even more so for the nation, as amid the virus crisis and economic fallout. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Biden, the Democrats presumed presidential nominee, stated his own priorities, urging a lifeline to those who need it most: working families and small businesses. Trump's renewed focus on therapeutics and a vaccine is falling flat among lawmakers who understand that any COVID-19 cures remain months, if not a year, from widespread distribution in the U.S. The federal government is still struggling to provide basic medical supplies and personal protective equipment to health care providers. Mnuchin vowed to stay on Capitol Hill for the next two weeks, determined to reach a deal by month's end. The proposed virus aid package would be the fifth, following the $2.2 trillion bill passed in March, the largest U.S. intervention of its kind. The jobless rate has remained in double digits, higher than in the last decades Great Recession, and a federal eviction moratorium on millions of rental units approved in the last bill is about to expire. ___ Associated Press writers Andrew Taylor, Darlene Superville, Alexandra Jaffe and Padmananda Rama in Washington contributed to this report. The St. Louis couple who confronted Black Lives Matter protesters with firearms after they breached a gated community have been hit with weapons charges, with a city attorney insisting the demonstration was peaceful. The two residents, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, were charged on Monday following an incident late last month in which the couple met protesters outside their upscale home wielding firearms after demonstrators entered their private community to protest at the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson. 1/ Statement from Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner - Today my office filed charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey following an incident involving peaceful, unarmed protesters on June 28th. Full statement below: pic.twitter.com/zPucQ3MHs5 Circuit Attorney (@stlcao) July 20, 2020 It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in a nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis, wrote circuit attorney Kimberly Gardner in a statement. The McCloskeys were charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon and misdemeanor assault. Gardner, however, suggested the case could be handled out of court through a diversion program, saying that would serve as a fair resolution, though did not elaborate what that might entail. The June 28 protest sparked a storm of controversy after footage of the incident went viral, showing the couple outside their mansion pointing a rifle and pistol into a crowd of demonstrators while telling them to leave the neighborhood. The McCloskeys say they felt threatened by the protesters claiming they openly threatened to kill them and burn down their house. A lawyer representing the couple, Joel Schwartz, said the charges were disheartening, insisting unequivocally that the McCloskeys committed no crime. He added that the right to free speech ought to be balanced with the Second Amendment and Missouri law, which entitle each of us to protect our home and family from potential threats. Fulton County DA Howard faces a financial investigation and contested runoff election in his quest for a seventh term. A lawyer representing the former Atlanta police officer charged in the alleged murder of Rayshard Brooks has requested the prosecutor on the case be recused, citing ethically inappropriate conduct, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (AJC) reported Monday. The motion, filed by lawyer Noah Pines, claims that Fulton County District Attorney Paul Howard has systematically sought to deprive Garrett Rolfe of a fair trial and impartial jury since the day he announced his decision to arrest Garrett Rolfe, the newspaper reported. Rolfe shot and killed Rayshard Brooks on June 12 at a fast food parking lot where Brooks was reportedly asleep in his vehicle in a drive-through lane. Video of the incident appears to show Brooks fleeing from police after allegedly attempting to steal a taser from one of the officers when the shots were fired. Former Atlanta Police officer Garrett Rolfe, left, who fatally shot Rayshard Brooks in the back after the fleeing man pointed a stun gun in his direction, was charged with felony murder and 10 other charges, officer Devin Brosnan has been charged with aggravated assault [Fulton County Sheriffs Office via AP Photo] Rolfe was charged on June 17 with 11 counts, including felony murder and five counts of aggravated assault. Rolfe, who was fired after the shooting, was granted bond on June 30. Pines also stated that Howard would be a necessary witness for the defence, which plans to question the DA on public statements he made, which they claim are contradictory. Howard said publicly that Brooks posed no threat to officers after allegedly stealing a stun gun. The motion claims that Howard previously said a taser is a deadly weapon some 10 days previous, the newspaper reported. Howards office was not immediately available for Al Jazeeras request for comment on Tuesday. A statement attributed to Howard in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reads: When the motion is assigned to a Superior Court Judge with appropriate jurisdiction, the Fulton County District Attorneys Office will respond at that time. Election challenge Howard, who has held office for six terms, faces a tough primary challenge this election season after a three-way vote in the June 9 polls caused a runoff between him and Fani Willis, a former chief deputy prosecutor. Howard received 36 percent of the vote, trailing Williss roughly 42 percent. A third challenger, Christian Wise Smith, another deputy prosecutor, garnered about 23 percent of the vote in the June polls. Smith has endorsed Howard in his quest for a seventh term. Willis had out-fundraised Howard as of June, according to the AJC, but Howard has cast her as an ally of the police union as the country increasingly calls for comprehensive police reform. Howard faces challenges from both sides of the aisle. Republican Senate hopeful and current Representative Doug Collins has criticised Howards handling of the Brooks case. Collins wrote a letter (PDF) to US Attorney General William Barr, dated July 8, that asked the US Justice Department to investigate Howard. I ask that you engage any and all Department of Justice resources you consider appropriate to ensure that these officers are treated fairly under the law, and are not subject to abrogation of their right to be treated fairly under the law simply because they are law enforcement officers, Collins wrote. Howard has faced further controversies, including allegations of violations on financial disclosures from the state ethics commission. The Georgia Bureau of Investigation is currently investigating the use of a nonprofit to allegedly funnel roughly $140,000 to supplement his salary. Howard has previously stated that he expects to cleared of any wrongdoing. By Express News Service Gumma banda Gumma Gumma... The phrase echoed in the background of the 30-second video clip released by the makers of Phantom, which was posted by Sudeep. This aint a teaser, its the excitement of me starting the shoot, the star posted. The first lines in the clip also showed the state of happiness the actor is in, ahead of getting back to the film sets. Directed by Anup Bhandari, the shooting of the film was resumed at Annapurna Studios, Telangana, on July 16. A glimpse of a night-shot featuring Sudeep as Vikranth Rona was also showcased. The shot shows the actor in a boat amid a forest with a little girl and in the background is a flaming torch. The scene for the adventure drama is accompanied by a thrilling background score by music director B Ajaneesh Loknath, along with artwork by art director Shivakumar. William David has captured the frames. According to makers, who have begun the shooting with safety norms in place, there is a sense of excitement amongst the team members. The star himself is happy to get back to the sets. Sharing the video on Twitter and Instagram on July 19, Sudeep also said, Putting on makeup today was an awesome feel. Felt I was in an elaborated holiday away frm my passion. A passion called cinema. So here iam...being,,,,,,, VIKRANTH RONA ,,,again.#PhantomBegins. A sneak peek of the actors look from the movie brought cheer to his fans, who kept the post trending. The film is produced by Manjunath Gowda under the banner, Shalini Artss. The team has taken a limited crew from Bengaluru for the 50-day schedule at the studio, where they have created different huge set-ups at different floors. Meanwhile, the production house is said to be in the process of finalising the female lead and a couple of actors, who will be seen in prominent roles. Before the ceasefire on Feb 24, Pakistan resorted to over 4,000 border violations Amidst ceasefire claims, Pakistan continues to keep J&K on the boil 664 ceasefire violations this year in Jammu and Kashmir by Pakistan: MHA No ceasefire violation along LoC in Kashmir since February agreement Ceasefire violations: Indian diplomat summoned by Pakistan International oi-Vicky Nanjappa Islamabad, July 21: Pakistan on Monday summoned a senior Indian diplomat to protest against the alleged ceasefire violations by the Indian forces along the Line of Control. The Foreign Office (FO) said due to "unprovoked firing" in Bagsar Sector, a 20-year-old man sustained serious injuries. A senior Indian diplomat was summoned to the Foreign Ministry to register a protest. Zero tolerance policy towards ceasefire violations says General Naravane The FO claimed that India this year committed 1,732 ceasefire violations, resulting in 14 deaths and serious injuries to 134 innocent civilians. "These egregious violations of international law reflect consistent Indian attempts to escalate the situation along the LoC and are a threat to regional peace and security,"it said. The Indian side was called upon to respect the 2003 Ceasefire Understanding; investigate this and other such incidents of deliberate ceasefire violations and maintain peace along the LoC and the Working Boundary. Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News The Indian side was also urged to allow the United Nations Military Observer Group in India and Pakistan (UNMOGIP) to play its mandated role as per the United Nations Security Council (UNSC) Resolutions, said the FO. Ceasefire violations by Pakistan goes up amidst China stand off India maintains that the UNMOGIP has outlived its utility and is irrelevant after the Simla Agreement and the consequent establishment of the LoC. Since April 2020, COVID-19 has been rewriting the career paths and destinies of thousands of students across India. Final-year college students are concerned as exams have been made mandatory by the University Grants Commission, irrespective of the rising number of COVID cases in the country. Stories of prospective employers revoking job offers, and overseas education plans getting scuttled are being heard from all over. While some students have alternate plans, several don't. Moneycontrol brings you seven such accounts. Madhumita Naskar, West Bengal For 19-year-old Madhumita Naskar, 2020 has been the worst year. She couldnt appear for her Class XII state board examinations because of her mothers death. The post-death proceedings took two weeks. 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 Her father is the only earning member in the family of seven, including her three younger brothers and grandparents. She can take a re-test only in 2021, and she is hoping to save some money for her higher education. Naskar is now seeking a part-time job. However, she has not been lucky so far. Even BPO jobs require 24/7, stable internet connectivity, which is tough in her area. Her ambition is to become a history professor. Naskar is now in talks with a few social service groups for financial aid. Pradeep Rao, Maharashtra Fifteen-year-old Pradeep Raos father was to be transferred to Switzerland by his bank. However, the Coronavirus outbreak postponed the decision by six months. Pradeep was keen to study at Brilliantmont International School in Lausanne, Switzerland, from his ninth grade. His father had also informally told Pradeeps principal at the international school in Mumbai about this shift. The original plan was that Pradeep would complete his education in this school and then pursue a hotel management programme at either Les Roches International School of Hotel Management or Glion Institute of Higher Education. Now that the entire familys plans have gone haywire, he has to continue in his current school. His hotel management career plans, however, are still alive. Subham Satpathy, Odisha Since he fell sick during his Class XII board examination and missed his Physics paper, 18-year-old Subham Satpathy has to repeat a year. The compartment exam dates are not yet announced and Satpathys anxiety levels are high. The only child to doctor-parents in Bhubaneswar, Satpathy was eyeing a medical degree and had started preparing for NEET 2020. He is now looking to pursue some free online courses and wait to clear his Physics paper. What if he doesnt get through NEET even in 2021? Satpathy said that he will be open to branching out and looking for a pharmacy programme. He is firm that his profession has to be connected with what his parents do. Blessie Sequiera, Karnataka Twenty-one-year-old Blessie Sequiera from Mangaluru is enrolled for a technology course with a Hubei (China)-based educational institute. She completed just a few months in the programme in January 2020. She came home during the Chinese New Year break. Soon after, the Coronavirus outbreak occurred and she was forced to stay back. It has been more than six months and she has been unable to go back even as her institute reopened physical classes in batches in June 2020. The June stand-off between India and China at Galwan Valley, where 20 Indian soldiers were killed, made her family even more worried. Sequieras family now wants her to drop out of the programme but she is worried about her academic future. Well-versed in Mandarin, Sequiera was keen to take up a research position in China after her education. Prerna Nath, Jharkhand Ranchis Prerna Nath had secured admission in a UK-based research institute on the basis of her doctoral programme performance in radiology. But her PhD mentor in her university in Jharkhand has contracted Coronavirus and her future looks uncertain. Nath has already received three e-mails from the UK institute, seeking an update on her doctoral degree and her probable joining date. She was hoping that the university would be able to assign another mentor but owing to the lockdown, communication with the authorities has been tough. If she loses out on the UK opportunity, her plan is to join a social impact project on water management in Ranchi for a year and then try again in 2021. Rehan Patel, Madhya Pradesh Bhopals 21-year-old Rehan Patel had fought with his parents in 2019 to come to Mumbai. He had then hoped to pursue a screenplay writing programme in FTII, Pune, but was unable to get through. Instead of going back home, he stayed back in the hope of getting writing assignments in some small projects or short films. Though nothing working out, Patel stayed back and searched for freelance jobs. He was also pursuing a six-month online writing course that promised a 'guaranteed placement'. The course cost almost Rs 30,000. But COVID-19 dashed Patels hopes. The online institute halted placements since nobody was willing to risk giving new projects to freshers. After he missed two months rent in March and April, in May 2020, Patel went back home and joined his familys insurance advisory business. Samar Jain, Tamil Nadu Twenty-year-old Samar Jain was originally supposed to join his fathers jewellery business in Madurai. He was to complete his B.Com degree this year, but the exams were postponed. He is now wondering when he will get his degree. Jains father has a few other businesses like food storage units and wholesale grocery supply. Soon after, Coronavirus hit and a lockdown was announced from March 25. Now, the jewellery business is almost down to zero. Jains father used to tie up with wedding planners to design and supply wedding jewellery for North Indian brides but that has also come to a standstill. Jains Plan B is to pursue a management programme from the United States as he is not keen to manage the grocery supply unit. Kolkata, July 21 : West Bengal Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar on Tuesday spoke out against the deteriorating law and order situation and said that political violence has gripped the state like never before. "Every such incident reflects worrisome law and order," Dhankhar tweeted. The Governor said that the treatment meted out by a politicized police to the opposition leaders and MPs is alarming. "Police officials carrying out political errands are unmindful of law," he said. On Monday, Dhankhar held a meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah about the "worrisome situation" in Bengal. Dhankhar said that the welfare of the people of the state was always uppermost in his mind. The Governor had also said in his tweets that he will protect and defend the Constitution to the best of his ability. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Gardai were patrolling beaches in the sunny south east today to ensure social distancing is being maintained during the spate of good weather after 'crazy' crowds gathered over the weekend. County councils are urging people to avoid congregating in large crowds on beaches and are expected to send out warnings in advance of the August bank holiday next week. Temperatures hit highs of 22 degrees across the country today and Curracloe Beach in Wexford was awash with sunseekers on staycation. Expand Expand Previous Next Close Liam Cloke, owner of the Strand Shop and Takeaway, is urging beachgoers to wear a mask inside his shop Photo: Gerry Mooney Liam Cloke, who runs the Strand Shop and Takeaway, is urging beachgoers to wear masks inside his shop Picture; Gerry Mooney / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Liam Cloke, owner of the Strand Shop and Takeaway, is urging beachgoers to wear a mask inside his shop Photo: Gerry Mooney Read More The main car park was full by 12pm but families were well spread out across the beach as they stuck to social distancing guidelines. Sinead Dunne, her husband Daniel and their two children arrived on Saturday and said they had to leave the beach at 1pm as the beach got so busy. Weve been coming early every day and leaving before lunch to avoid the rush, it was crazy on Sunday but overall its been fine, Ms Dunne said. We were meant to have a holiday in Lanzarote this year but were enjoying our staycation. Expand Close People enjoy the good weather on the beach. Picture; Gerry Mooney. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp People enjoy the good weather on the beach. Picture; Gerry Mooney. Liam Cloke, owner of the Strand Shop and Take Away, said he is concerned about some beachgoers not wearing masks in his shop. Generally Ive found the youngsters have been better than the adults for wearing masks and putting on hand sanitizer, he said. A few people are genuinely forgetting about it but then theres a few who just arent doing it. Its been very busy the last few days. Theres been people from all around but overall everything has been running smoothly. Expand Close Curracloe beach feature. Nicola Chaplin and her son Luke 4) from Broadford Co. Clare on the beach. Picture; Gerry Mooney. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Curracloe beach feature. Nicola Chaplin and her son Luke 4) from Broadford Co. Clare on the beach. Picture; Gerry Mooney. Were going to put another ice-cream cone machine outside the shop to stop crowds gathering inside and were putting up seated areas with perspex screens outside the takeaway. Im telling people to put on their masks before they come inside. Children in the arcade were all wearing masks and everyone is asked to sign a form for contact tracing purposes. . Expand Close Curracloe beach feature. Ken and Brenda Lane from Limerick with their three children on the beach. Picture; Gerry Mooney. **parents did not want to give children names** / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Curracloe beach feature. Ken and Brenda Lane from Limerick with their three children on the beach. Picture; Gerry Mooney. **parents did not want to give children names** People need to social distance, not the machines, a sign at the arcade entrance reads. Ken and Brenda Lane from Co Limerick said this is their third year in a row holidaying in Wexford and their first trip away since lockdown. Its been brilliant, were staying in Wexford town and generally its been quiet. We havent chanced eating out or anything yet and opted to stay in self-catering apartments, Mr Lane said Jack Murphy, owner of the Surf Shack, resumed surf lessons on June 8 and is taking all bookings online to help manage crowds. Were busy but were only operating at about 50pc, everything is being done online to allow us to control it better. We usually have around 32 people in a group but at the moment we are only taking eight and staggering out the times of classes. Expand Close The packed carpark as people enjoy the good weather and make their way to the beach. Picture; Gerry Mooney. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The packed carpark as people enjoy the good weather and make their way to the beach. Picture; Gerry Mooney. On Sunday, gardai were drafted in to direct traffic at Duncannon beach in Wexford after large crowds congregated. Gardai had to turn people away shortly after lunchtime and urged people to avoid the area. Wexford County Council said it was one of the busiest days of the year at the beach as hundreds gathered. David Minogue, communications manager with Wexford County Council, said theyll be sending out warnings to avoid a repeat this weekend and over the bank holiday weekend. Meanwhile, in Co Wicklow the council has decided not to allow outdoor swimming lessons to go ahead off Greystones beaches. Social Democrats councillor Jodie Neary said the decision doesnt make sense. We are currently in touch with Water Safety Ireland to get some clarity on the situation for outdoor swimming lessons, she said. It doesnt make sense that indoor pools are open but outdoor swimming lessons cant be carried out. Families have told us how important this activity has been for their kids whove been away from their friends and clubs for so long since the pandemic. The Deputy Minister of Health, Dr Bernard Okoe Boye has debunked claims by some persons, especially the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) that government has abandoned contact tracing as part of measures to fight the Covid-19 pandemic. are untrue. Speaking on the floor of Parliament, Dr Okoe Boye said the process only slowed down in the past weeks after the country run out of reagents for testing and not true that the government has abandoned contact tracing. It is not true that contact tracing has been abandoned. Government policy of tracing testing and treating still remains, it is unfortunate that testing done on citizens some four weeks ago either delayed or did not arrive at all. This was due to the delay in the supply of chemical reagents and some tool used in testing, he said. The Deputy Health Minister, who is also MP for Ledzokuku explained that the slowdown in the contact tracing was due to the fact that the whole world is chasing the same items from the same few companies that are into the production of the reagents, thus, a shortage should be expected during this time. He added that the government has worked hard to resolve by securing the supply reagents sufficient to do some 500,000 PCR test in the next few months. The MP also told Parliament that the claims that government had refused to pay contact tracers qualifies as an inaccurate narration composed to create the impression that contact tracing has been abandoned. For the records the Ghana Health Service recruited 2,000 volunteers to help trace and test the 30,000 plus travellers who entered Ghana before the airports were closed. The assignment for these volunteers was to last for the three-week period of the lockdown. After the lockdown was lifted and most of the travellers traced and tested, the Ghana Health Service instructed district to discontinue their engagement with the contracted contact tracers and revert to the use of their community health nurses for the purposes of contact tracing, he added. These trained staff, he further explained, who were and are still on government payroll took over the task of contact tracing which they have been doing till date. The contracted provisional contract tracers had a defined assignment within a defined period and government has and is committed to honouring its part of the bargain, he said. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[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 Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he is in favor of a second round of direct stimulus payments to Americans after months of uncertainty within about the next coronavirus-relief bill. Speaking of building on what worked in the CARES Act, we want another round of direct payments, direct payments to help American families keep driving our national comeback, McConnell said in a floor speech. The massive $2.2 trillion coronavirus-relief package passed by Congress in March provided funds for a one-time $1,200 check for Americans who make $75,000 or less a year, with smaller payment for those who make more than that but less than $99,000 a year. McConnell said the second round of payments could only apply to Americans who make $40,000 or less a year. The Trump administration has called for a second round of payments since March but in recent weeks has put more emphasis on payroll-tax cuts for workers. The fifth coronavirus stimulus package, for which Republicans have proposed a $1 trillion price tag, will also include more funding for the Paycheck Protection Program, which aims to help small businesses with fewer than 500 employees that are struggling during the pandemic to meet payroll without furloughing or laying off employees. With a majority of businesses expected to exhaust their initial paycheck protection funding this summer, well also be proposing a targeted second round of PPP, with a special eye toward hard-hit businesses, McConnell said. Trump said Monday that good things were planned for the upcoming Republican coronavirus aid bill and assured that weve made a lot of progress. The package is also expected to provide $75 billion to help schools reopen, five years of liability protections against lawsuits relating to the coronavirus, and $25 billion more for virus testing and the Centers for Disease Control, a proposal to which the administration voiced objections. We shouldnt lightly add more to the national debt, but Im predicting that we will have one more rescue package, which well begin to debate and discuss next week, McConnell said last week at a press conference in Kentucky. Story continues The next round of economic aid comes as many southern and western states are seeing their coronavirus cases and deaths spike, causing governors in several states to reimpose restrictions on businesses, houses of worship, and group events that were allowed to resume operations in recent weeks. More from National Review Thermal Printing Market Growth Predicted at Over 7% Through 2026 The North America thermal printing market will witness significant growth with the development of manufacturing, industrial, retail, and healthcare sectors in the region. July 21, 2020 - According to a report by Global Market Insights, the market valuation of thermal printing will cross $50 billion by 2026. The market growth is attributed to the increasing demand for high-speed operating printers that produce high quality & durable tags, labels, and receipts. The thermal printer segment will experience high growth through 2026 due to the demand for high-quality printed labels and tags from the logistics & transportation sector. Barcode labels are used to track goods or packages for efficient inventory management and asset tracking. The barcode tags interact with sensors attached to doors and provide a robust access control system to ensure safety in a facility. Players, such as Sato Holdings Corporation and Zebra Technologies, offer thermal printers specifically developed to work in rugged industrial environments. The rising usage of thermal printing in the healthcare sector will propel market growth in the coming years. The healthcare sector employs the product to identify lab samples, access medical records, and track surgical implants, imaging equipment & consumables. The equipment is designed by incorporating a medical-grade power supply and complies with IEC 60601-1 regulations. This reduces the risk of electrical shock to patients and the staff. The developing transportation & logistics application segment globally will provide immense growth opportunities to the thermal printing market. The logistics sector is adopting automated technologies for enhancing inventory management in warehouses, real-time tracking of packages, and ensuring on-time shipments to improve customer satisfaction. Thermal printers produce labels with sharp print images that can withstand different weather conditions during transportation. Real-time tracking also ensures improved supply chain management. Elimination of manual involvement streamlines the overall workflow and speeds up operations for increased productivity. The rising consumer electronics industry in countries including China and Japan is driving the thermal printing market share. Thermal printers are adopted for labeling barcode tags on electronics and electrical components. The need for high resolution and high contrast coding in these components will boost the usage of thermal printing technologies to aid production processes. In addition, the growing retail industry in countries including India and South Korea will also support the market size. With increasing development and popularization of RFID, several industries are replacing traditional barcode to RFID technology. These printers can print 1D & 2D barcodes along with human readable numbers, information, and graphics. They are widely preferred for quickly & precisely identifying large volumes of tagged items. RFID printers seamlessly integrate into manufacturing, warehouse & logistics applications and offer high-speed information transparency. The equipment ensures all items are labeled and tracked through RFID for fast & precise data collection. Some major findings of the thermal printing market report are: Mobile printers will gain traction owing to their portability and ease of operation. The development of wireless technologies has improved the portability for labeling, documentation or ticketing on mobile printers. POS printers will gain popularity with the growing adoption of POS terminals in restaurants, retail & hospitality sectors. They enable on-demand printing of receipts, allowing restaurant owners to avoid long customer queues for billing. The North America thermal printing market will witness significant growth with the development of manufacturing, industrial, retail, and healthcare sectors in the region. The adoption of advanced technologies across industries for enhanced operational efficiencies will support industry growth. Players operating in the market are focusing on launching innovative solutions to strengthen their market presence. They are offering solutions through an extensive network of partners to expand their market reach globally. About Global Market Insights Global Market Insights, headquartered in Delaware, U.S., is a global market research and consulting service provider, offering syndicated and custom research reports along with growth consulting services. For further information, visit: www.gminsights.com . SOURCE: Global Market Insights, Inc. Shares is the leading weekly publication for retail investors. It is packed with investment ideas, news and educational material to help build and run portfolios and get more from your money. Shares puts on free Investor Events throughout the year across the country. They provide an opportunity for investors to learn more about companies on the stock market and hear from a range of investment experts including fund managers and Shares journalists. In the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy, the Andhra Pradesh government signed an MoU with cooperative giant AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited) today. The process would give a big boost to empowering farmers and women self-help groups. Andhra Pradesh government has signed a MoU with cooperative giant AMUL (Anand Milk Union Limited), in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy at the camp office. The step would give a great fillip to the empowerment of women self-help groups by encouraging the milk cooperatives in government sector. Terming Andhra Pradesh as the gateway to the South, the Chief Minister said that the coming together with AMUL will help the women groups and dairy farming in cooperative sector an opportunity and exposure to world class infrastructure, technology and marketing opportunities which would improve their standard of living and self reliance of women. The MoU was signed by Special Chief Secretary Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Poonam Malkondaiah on behalf of the Government and AMUL Chennai Zonal Head Rajan on behalf of AMUL. The Chief Minister spoke with Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, Managing Director RS Sodi, and Chairman of Sabarkant District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited, Sambalbhai Patel through video conference. It was during the 3,648 km padayatra that the dairy farmers has said about the exploitation of dairy units to benefit the private company Heritage and the price of one litre water bottle was Rs 22 and one litre bottle of milk was sold at the same price as the government of the day exploited the dairy sector in cooperative sector to the hilt to benefit Heritage Foods. All dairies under State Diary Cooperative Federation have been put in the red. Though the State stands fourth in milk production, only 24 per cent was going to the organised sector. The partnership with AMUL will help farmers to get good price and women groups. Under YSR Cheyutha the State is giving to SC, ST BC, Minority women in the age group of 45 to 60 years Rs 18,750 per year each and in four years it would work out to Rs Rs 75, 000. About 25 lakh women are getting the benefit. Under YSR Aasara the State is providing 90 lakh women belonging to Self Help Groups Rs 6,700 crore. The two schemes put together the State gives Rs 11,000 crores per year. The State is gateway to the South with Ananthapur, Chittoor, Visakhapatnam being closer to the neighbouring states and Telangana being very close and the State has the potential of being a marketing hub. The Chief Minister said that IRMA (Institute of Rural Management) should be started in the State and Pulivendula has all the facilities which can host the unit for research and training, he said. We have 10, 641 Rythu Bharosa Kendras (RBKs) in the State which will have Agriculture and Veterinary Assistant. The State has a good future for Dairy development. RS Sodi on behalf of AMUL said that the State has been producing 4 crore litres of milk per day and appreciated the State Government initiatives towards women self reliance. The MoU will further their cause, he said adding that the pact will be mutually beneficial. Minister Peddireddy Ramchandra Reddy, Agriculture Special Chief Secretary Poonam Malkondiah, AP Dairy Development Cooperative Federation (APDDCF) MD Vani Mohan, AMUL representatives were present at the function. For all the latest National News, download NewsX App View live politics updates ChevronRight A statement reporting the youths arrest and other police accounts indicate that several people were involved in at least some of the robberies, including the Monday holdup in Georgetown. That incident was reported about 1:35 a.m. in the 1000 block of 31st Street NW. Story continues below advertisement In addition to being charged with armed robbery in that incident, the 15-year-old was also charged in connection with a robbery by force reported about a half-hour later in the 1100 block of O Street NW, in the Logan Circle area, according to the police. Advertisement The youth, a resident of Northwest Washington, was also charged in a gunpoint robbery Sunday about 3:30 a.m. in the 1700 block of Park Road NW, the police said. The address is in the Mount Pleasant area. The first of the 11 robberies was carried out with a knife about 4:25 a.m. in the 1800 block of 14th Street NW, the police said. The address is between Columbia Heights and Logan Circle, police said. The Peoples Democratic Party caucus in the House of Representatives said it will commence impeachment proceedings against President Muhammadu Buhari if the calculated blackmail against the National Assembly and insecurity in the country is not checked. The caucus, in a statement issued on Monday by its leader, Kingsley Chinda, gave a four-week ultimatum to the Executive to provide security to Nigerians and commence proper cleaning of the embarrassing and notorious corruption cases (EFCC and NDDC). It said if not, we shall revert to the relevant sections of the constitution and commence impeachment proceedings in the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. To impeach a sitting president will require the assent of two-thirds majority of each House of the National Assembly. Both Houses have 469 combined lawmakers. The National Assembly website shows that the PDP is in the minority in both Houses with 174 lawmakers (House, 134; Senate, 40), while the APC has 274 (House, 210; Senate, 64). Nonetheless, the opposition caucus said it will instigate the impeachment process due to the the behaviours of appointees of the Executive arm. who continue to show disrespect for the constitution. Recall three of several events of the past few weeks. On Thursday 16th July 2020, a Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Labour walked out on the House Committee on Diaspora unprovoked, the statement read. Festus Keyamo, Minister of State for Labour, who appeared before the Joint Ad-Hoc Committee on Employment, Labour and Productivity walked out on the Committee over disagreement that arose between him and the Committee on two specific questions. A few days ago, the Acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Daniel Pondei, walked out on the Committee of the House of Representatives charged with the responsibility of investigating the financial scandal that has rocked the Commission. Again, regardless of his reasons, a walkout on the Parliament is inexcusable. The caucus said while the three arms of government should work as one, no one arm is superior to the other. The opposition lawmakers also accused the Executive of taking the legislature and judiciary as prisoners in order to hijack them, supplant them into obsequious rubber stamps arms, thereby subverting the constitution. They also bemoaned the spate of killings of Nigerians by both state and non-state actors. Security is at its lowest ebb. Terrorists, kidnappers and bandits have taken over vast ungoverned swathes of our country. Katsina, the home state of the Commander-in- Chief is on its knees. In fact, everywhere is unsafe in our country. The internal security of the country has been compromised as Boko Haram continues to inflict violence and death on Nigerians, while President Buhari continues to sound like the broken record. All these drama are moves to change the current narrative of bad, corrupt and inept governance and turn the attention of Nigerians away from the main issues of unpardonable deceit and deep rooted corruption that bedevil this government. The caucus called on the leadership of the National Assembly to take back its independence from the Executive and desist from making such statements as I will approve whatever GMB asks for; better to be a rubber stamp and get what we want.' We cannot as Members of the PDP Caucus, watch from the side-lines as if nothing is happening when the tenets of democracy are being subverted and the Constitution desecrated. The snub of the National Assembly by the Executive and the unconscionable and obsequious behaviours of appointees of Executive arm have to stop forthwith. President Muhammadu Buhari has rejected a call by the Nigerian Senate to sack all serving service chiefs due to the recent spate of insecurity in the country. On Tuesday, the Senate issued a resolution for the removal of the service chiefs, a resolution the President has now rejected. In a statement sent to POLITICS NIGERIA on Tuesday, the Presidency notes that the removal of service chiefs can only be done by the President who is also the chief of armed forces. The Senate Tuesday adopted a resolution calling on the Service Chiefs to resign or be sacked due to the multi-pronged security challenges in the country. The Presidency notes the resolution and reiterates that appointment or sack of Service Chiefs is a Presidential prerogative, and President Muhammadu Buhari, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, will do what is in the best interest of the country at all times. the statement read. Palm oil has earned a bad reputation for causing deforestation, destroying the habitats of Orangutans, pygmy elephants, and the Sumatran rhino. But a recent study says coconut production poses five times greater threat than palm oil to biodiversity. The research, which was led by Erik Meijaard, the chairman of the Palm Oil Task Force of the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN), was published on July 6 in Current Biology. The study had since sparked a lively debate on social media as critics claimed that the authors were presenting dubious statistics and are attempting to whitewash palm oil. This posing fear that the study might be used to undermine efforts against unsustainable oil palm practices in Indonesia. The study cites that 12.3 million hectares around the world are devoted to coconuts, while oil palm is cultivated in 18.9 million hectares. The number of species under threat from the cultivation of seven vegetable crops were listed and divided by global production. The study concluded that for one million tons of coconut oil produced, 20.3 species are threatened. Meanwhile, sunflower oil has threatened 0.05 hectares, while olive oils and palm oil threatened 4.1 and 3.8 species, respectively. READ MORE: More and More Pesticide Mixtures From Waterways Are Being Discharged Into the Great Barrier Reef The paper's supplementary information, however, cited that the coconut's number is 18.3. When asked about the difference, the co-author Jesse Abrams of the University of Exeter admitted that there is indeed an error in their calculation, and they would ask the journal to correct. When asked why the threatened species of the coconut is very high, Meijaard explained that coconut is grown on tropical islands where a remarkable number of endemic species thrive. Meijaard lists the following species as threatened by coconut palm: Marianne white-eye (Zosterops semiflavus), a bird in Seychelles; Ontong Java flying fox (Pteropus howensis) of the Solomon Islands, It also claims that coconut plantation causes a threat to the Balabac mousedeer (Tragulus nigricans), which is endemic to the Philippines, and the Sangihe tarsier (Tarsius sangirensis), a primate and Cerulean paradise flycatcher (Eutrichomyias rowleyi), a small primate and a bird endemic to Sangihe, respectively. Environmental impacts of other vegetable oil are impaired by shortsightedness and double standards, the authors say. The millions of songbirds killed during olive oil harvest in Spain, for example, merited little attention. ALSO READ: Worldwide Methane Emissions Reach Record-High Due to Fossil Fuels and Certain Farming Critics, however, say that the study is misleading. According to Meine van Noordwijk, a senior research fellow at the World Agroforestry Center, most of the species threatened by the coconut palm are from small island nations that provide only 8 percent of the global production of coconut oil. Indonesia, Philippines, and India are where 80 percent of the coconut oils are sourced. Coconuts are often intercropped with other crops, so it is difficult to assess the harm done by the coconut. Sheherazade, a field biologist from Indonesia, said that there is a need for a finer spatial analysis to determine which crop causes deforestation. But he also cited that the study is different from what is commonly cited: palm oil threatens 17 species per million hectares of the cultivated crop, while coconut oil only threatens 5.3. Other critics also point that palm oil production is expanding faster. Meijaard said that quantifying species on the context of oil produced is more relevant than per hectare covered by the crop because it is the consumers that determine the demand. READ NEXT: Ancient Patagonia Communities Offer Insights on Adapting to Climate Change The end of the Marine Corps' tank missions has officially begun. Marines with 1st Tank Battalion recently watched the last of their unit's tanks depart Twentynine Palms, California. Photos taken of the event show Marines surrounding an oversized flatbed as the tanks were loaded up onto the vehicle and driven away. Read Next: Miramar-Based Marine Aviation Unit Deactivated as Corps Gets Smaller Less than two weeks later, Alpha Company, 4th Tank Battalion, held a deactivation ceremony at Camp Pendleton, California. The unit is the first of several companies with 4th Tanks facing deactivations this summer, Maj. Roger Hollenbeck, a spokesman for Marine Forces Reserve, said. The changes are part of an aggressive plan the Marine Corps' top general set in place earlier this year called Force Design 2030. The plan, leaders say, will set Marines up for future fights, defending ships while at sea and operating in hotly contested spots near the shore. To be ready for those missions, Commandant Gen. David Berger said the Marine Corps must get smaller to get better. That includes cutting all tank battalions and getting rid of the vehicles. U.S. Marine Capt. Chandler Brown, the executive officer for Alpha Company, 4th Tank Battalion, 4th Marine Division, Marine Forces Reserve, with the color guard during the companys deactivation ceremony on Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, California, July 18, 2020 (U.S. Marine Corps/Lance Cpl. Andrew Cortez) "Remember that our tanks were just weapon systems," Capt. Mark Rothrock, commander of Alpha Company, 4th Tank Battalion said when the unit deactivated on Friday. "[Tanks are] a damn fine weapon system, but nonetheless, just equipment. You individual Marines were always the key to the company's success." Retired Master Sgt. Jay Corroccia had a similar message for members of 1st Tanks as that unit's vehicles rolled away earlier this month. "Take the standards and the pride you had here and apply it to whatever you do," he said. "Whether you stay in the Marine Corps or you get out, nobody can ever take Tank Battalion away from you." More than 1,300 Marines will have their careers affected by Force Design 2030. Service officials announced in May that four military occupational specialties would be cut because of the changes, and several more would see their billets reduced. The Marine Corps Reserve, Hollenbeck said, has created a team to help provide any Marines affected by unit deactivations or other changes information on career options. Those options include lateral moves into other fields or transfers to other military branches. All of 4th Tanks' six companies, along with its battalion headquarters, are expected to deactivate by the end of 2021, Hollenbeck said. Tank battalions aren't the only units deactivating because of Force Design 2030. Several combat logistics regiments, an engineer support battalion, and a Marine wing support group have also cased their colors in deactivation ceremonies this summer. Lt. Gen. Eric Smith, the head of Marine Corps Combat Development Command, is overseeing many of the Force Design 2030 changes. Tanks leaving the Marine Corps, Smith told Military.com in May, could be sold to foreign militaries or to the Army. The Marine Corps could also sell their parts or store the vehicles, he said. Smith added that the Marine Corps' decision to move forward without tanks doesn't diminish their importance in past missions. "They were of massive value, I mean huge value, in the past," he said. "I used them in and around Ramadi and in and around Fallujah [in Iraq]. They've paid their dues in blood. These are Marine warriors from the Korean War until now. "It's just that for the future fight, [tanks] are of less value than the things that we need most, such as long-range precision fire," Smith said. -- Gina Harkins can be reached at gina.harkins@military.com. Follow her on Twitter @ginaaharkins. Related: Marine Corps to Shut Down, Cut Back 7 MOSs as the Force Prepares for Change Democrats Want To Face Kobach In Senate Race, But A GOP Group Is Spending Millions To Stop Him TOPEKA, Kansas - Kris Kobach, a lightning rod throughout his political career, finds himself at the center of a Republican primary battle for the U.S. Senate. That includes independent groups spending millions on ads for and against him. The alt-right politico confronts the political status quo . . . However, he's the only candidate in this contest with any political name recognation. Read more: Thousands of people in Barcelona are ignoring government advice to stay home despite coronavirus cases surging in recent days. Alarming images over the weekend in the city, one of Spains worst-affected areas, show hordes of people socialising across the city, while many flocked to the beach with little social distancing in place despite a plea from authorities to avoid public spaces. The growing crowds at several beaches in the city left police no choice but to shut them down. Hundreds of people are seen sunbathing at the Barceloneta beach on Saturday despite the government's warning to stay home. Source: Getty Images Spain is one of several countries now fearing a second wave after it eased restrictions when it successfully drove numbers down significantly by the end of May. And like Melbourne, Barcelona from Friday was subject to new restrictions in a bid to curtail the viruss spread. More than four million residents in the Catalan capital have been told to only leave home for essential reasons, avoid travel, and keep indoor and outdoor groups at no more than 10 people. Yet while the Victorian government has implemented a mandatory six-week lockdown for Melburnians with a heavy police presence, three regions in Catalonia are subject to far less stringent measures, which authorities say are simply recommendations. Large crowds forced police to close down several beaches. Source: Getty Images Over the last week, Catalonia has recorded 7,007 cases. In the same period, Victoria had 2,010. The situation is very worrying, Fernando Rodriguez-Artalejo, the director of the Preventive Medicine and Public Health Department at the Autonomous University of Madrid, told El Pais. The virus rate has now tripled from late June to mid-July across Spain, deputy health emergency chief Maria Sierra told a news conference on Monday (local time). The rate of COVID-19 has jumped from eight cases per 100,000 inhabitants at the end of June, when the country's state of emergency ended, to 27 per 100,000. There are now more than 200 clusters with Health Minister Salvador Illa calling on residents to respect the health measures. Story continues People have drinks and food as they enjoy the view over the city during the first day the new Catalan government recommendations. Source: Getty Images With fears the rules could soon become enforced, a growing number of people have left the city to either enjoy their last days of free movement in nearby holiday towns or evade them completely. We know that they recommended against leaving because there are outbreaks in Barcelona, but we decided to give ourselves a weekend of freedom precisely in case they confine us, one resident told El Pais. Spanish authorities have identified hospitality venues as one of the main sources of infections. Restaurants and bars have been told to only allow 50 per cent of capacity while several nightclubs across the nation have been shut after large clusters centred around the venues. Nightclubs in metropolitan Barcelona were closed over the weekend as a preventative measure. The closed places, with many people, without a mask and without keeping them at a distance, is where the outbreaks are taking place, Ms Sierra said. with Reuters Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. A monument to Private Alexander Watson stands on the lawn at St Catharines city hall. Maybe youve seen it. It made the news when it was unveiled in 1885. Its in the news again. A petition has requested its removal. All monuments tell stories through art and symbolism. The Watson monument tells at least two. The first is obvious: Watson was a Canadian soldier who died during the Northwest Resistance in 1885 at the decisive Battle of Batoche. As a soldier, he served his country by enforcing government policies on the Prairies. As a young man from St. Catharines, he became a symbol of the citys contribution to national security and progress. The sponsors of the monument wanted to preserve this story. The second story is less obvious. If you know the tragic details of the Northwest Resistance, however, then you know the monument marks a pivotal moment in Canadas long oppression of Indigenous communities. Story 1: The citizen soldier After Confederation in 1867, Great Britain expected Canada to defend itself. The Canadian militia believed it could. They took pride in their service during the War of 1812 alongside British regulars and warriors from Six Nations. They also celebrated their own success against the rebels of 1837 and Fenians invaders in the 1860s. For a new nation an emerging democracy it was reassuring to know its own young men would volunteer to protect its borders. The Watson Monument embodied this democratic ideal in timeless stone placed strategically at city hall. It symbolically declared that citizens of St. Catharines accepted their responsibility to the nation. Not just economically through agriculture, industry, and the canal, but also militarily. For this reason, the monument is a nationally historic artifact. It does not honour a worthy king or victorious general. It honours a commoner, a rank-and-file citizen soldier. The Welsford-Parker Monument in Halifax (raised in 1860) honours two Nova Scotian officers who died in Crimea serving with the British army, and the Ridgeway Monument in Toronto (raised in 1870) honours militia volunteers who died repelling the Fenians in 1866. The Watson Monument is, to the best of our knowledge, the first erected to an individual soldier serving in the Canadian military. Locals gradually forgot Watson, but the monument remained a symbol of service. Ridgeway veterans proudly staged reunions there. The militia left flowers on June 2, Decoration Day. Local men who fell in the Boer War had their names inscribed on its pedestal. And after the First World War, the citys earliest Remembrance Day services were held in its shadow. Today it is still acknowledged in June and November, but the focus of local observances shifted when the cenotaph was unveiled in 1928. Story 2: A terrible shadow While the monument honours Watsons service, the historical context is lost: the story of the Northwest Resistance. The Metis and First Nations had ancestral claims to the Prairies. Through the 1870s and 1880s, they struggled to protect their communities as the federal government expanded its jurisdiction west. In 1885, events came to a head. The Canadian Pacific Railway was forging an all-Canadian link from British Columbia to Central Canada. Prime Minister Sir John A. Macdonald wanted it finished as quickly as possible to encourage white settlement along its length and boost investment in the national economy. The Metis and First Nations were displaced with treaties and promises of aid while the railway and white settlers were granted free land. The governments promises were quickly broken. Aid was insufficient or simply not provided. When Metis and First Nations leaders complained locally, they were ignored. When reports reached Ottawa, they were shelved. And when desperate members of these communities sought help for their families, violence ensued. They were quickly labelled traitors. Macdonald did not ask local police to intervene. He sent in the army. This is not a heroic narrative. The action at Batoche saw five militia units supported by cannons and a Gatling gun overwhelm perhaps 200 men with well-worn hunting rifles. Eastern Canada celebrated this achievement while the troops pillaged farmers homes and the parish church. The general in command was later charged for misappropriating the stock of a Metis merchant. And all along, it was acknowledged that Macdonalds government was responsible for the desperate plight of the Metis and First Nations. Just days after the battle, the Welland Tribune bluntly stated that Macdonald deserved blame for the entire episode. His inaction had prompted the resistance. Historians Blair Stonechild and Bill Waiser, after reviewing government records, have recently argued this was a deliberate strategy to justify a military action. Residents of St Catharines in 1885 might have sympathized with the resistance but they condemned its violence. They honoured Watson. A century later, many Canadians now sympathize with the resistance and seem prepared to excuse its violence. They honour resistance leaders. Louis Riel has been named the Father of Manitoba; statues honour him there and in Saskatchewan. Poundmaker was exonerated by the federal government in 2019. And a push may come to exonerate Big Bear. A new context Both stories resonate today in St Catharines. In 2005 we surveyed local knowledge of the monument. Only six per cent of participants knew Watsons personal story, but the vast majority felt the monument was an important reminder of service and sacrifice in Canadas armed forces. Even so, one resident asked us: How can Watson be a hero when he fought against the good guys? This misgiving was common even 15 years ago. In the wake of Black Lives Matter, international concern over systemic racism has only heightened awareness of Canadas oppression of Indigenous peoples. Perhaps the current petition is long overdue. St Catharines city council must now decide the monuments fate. The international research on public commemorations may offer guidance. Removing a monument is a symbolic act. It does little on its own to reconcile social divisions or to address social inequality. Indeed, removing a monument mimics raising a monument: both acts assert a single point of view. And removal can reduce the publics opportunities to engage with the past, whether to honour or to mourn. Most scholars suggest that a controversial monument be placed in a new context. This new context must allow its hidden stories to be told as forcefully as the monuments intended story. In effect, the monument would be preserved as a teaching tool. Doing so may prompt viewers to acknowledge that reasonable yet competing interpretations of the past exist. It may also prompt viewers to bear witness to shameful or traumatic events that were previously celebrated. Of course, this advice must be tempered by the nature of the intended story and the artists original depiction of it. Whatever decision council makes, we hope in the spirit of truth and reconciliation that representatives of the Metis and First Nations will be consulted. We also hope council consults representatives of the local militia and veterans associations. Last, its worth remembering that the monument was financed by citizens. It would be encouraging to see engaged citizens co-operate to revise and refinance it now. This historic artifact can tell many stories. We hope it will remain, somewhere, to tell all of these stories. Despite sharemarket volatility as investors came to grips with the implications of the global COVID-19 pandemic, some active fund managers still achieved stellar investment returns of 20 per cent or more in the 2019-20 financial year. The latest Mercer report for managed funds that invest in Australian shares shows that those who invested heavily in the healthcare and technology sectors tended to perform the best, while those heavily weighted to energy and financials did worst. In investing, it is the returns over the long term that matter. Credit:Bloomberg Mercer Pacific head of portfolio management Ronan McCabe says investment reaction to the coronavirus has been unprecedented but healthcare performed well as the market focused on healthcare solutions. A favourable view towards online and remote working products and services provided a major boost for technology related shares, he says. US Sanctions Chechen Leader Kadyrov for Alleged Human Rights Violations, Pompeo Says Sputnik News 14:40 GMT 20.07.2020(updated 15:14 GMT 20.07.2020) Washington has sanctioned a number of Russian citizens and entities under the so-called Magnitsky Act, which allows it to impose restrictions on individuals and entities whom it considers to be human rights abusers. The US has imposed sanctions on Head of Russia's Chechen Republic Ramzan Kadyrov for alleged human rights violations, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said in a statement. "Today, the Department of State is publicly designating Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic of the Russian Federation, under Section 7031(c) of the Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2020", Pompeo said. "This designation is due to Kadyrov's involvement in gross violations of human rights in the Chechen Republic", the US secretary of state in a release. Pompeo said that the State Department possesses extensive credible data that Kadyrov is responsible for numerous human rights violations, including torture and extrajudicial killings, dating back more than a decade. The new sanctions also target the head of the Chechen Republic's wife, Medni Kadyrova, and his daughters Aishat and Karina (aka Khadizhat) Kadyrova, according to Pompeo. "We will encourage likeminded countries to take similar measures", the secretary of state said. Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova has commented on the matter, saying that "it will be hard to respond reciprocally, but we will figure something out". In May 2019, the US Treasury Department announced that it had imposed sanctions on the Terek Special Rapid Response Team along with five individuals, including three Russians. Kadyrov was first included in the sanctions list in 2017 along with Russian nationals Yulia Mayorova, Andrei Pavlov, Ayub Kataev, and Alexei Sheshenya. The Treasury Department claimed in the release that Kadyrov had personally participated in the torture of a member of the opposition. Kataev, a law enforcement official in Chechnya, was designated by the Treasury over alleged involvement in extrajudicial killings, torture, and human rights violations, as well as abuses against gay men in the republic during the first half of 2017. In late 2012, the United States adopted the so-called Magnitsky Act, which imposes travel bans and financial sanctions on Russian officials and other individuals believed to have been involved in the death of Sergei Magnitsky, as well as in the case against him and related issues. In 2015, the US Senate adopted the Global Magnitsky Act, which expands the Russia-specific human rights and corruption sanctions to other countries. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Strategic investor, GSH Private Capital led by Kenton Fine, takes ownership of Dutch headquartered IT services business, Getronics, safeguarding thousands of jobs across Europe, Asia Pacific and Latin America*, in a deal worth 200M. Founded in 1887, Getronics is one of Europe's oldest technology services firms. The business provides a full suite of ICT services for many global brands and organisations. Previously a minority shareholder, GSH takes control of Getronics, injecting energy, time and long term investment, following a challenging period of transition for the business. The business has annual revenues of circa 300M. Its 4000 strong team serves over 2000 customers globally. On top of this, Getronics leads the GWA (Global Workplace Alliance), a partnership of 11 key strategic Alliance Partners, which jointly delivers services in more than 180 countries, offering one single point of ownership, end to end visibility and accountability for the services it delivers. Kenton Fine will lead the group in the capacity of Executive Chairman. Says Fine, "We're proud to be custodians of this venerable business we have thousands of colleagues looking to this new management team for consistency and continuity." Fine spent 25 years building Servest. Also joining the team as CFO is Mike Field, previously CFO at RMBCIB, and Andre Ribbens as Group Transformation Director. They will work alongside current COO, Rogier Bronsgeest and CTO, Harsha Gowda, to steer the company, installing robust processes, firm governance and operational stability. Rogier Bronsgeest, COO says "Kenton is bringing ideas, people and much needed capital to bear. It's a great time for Getronics and our stable of valued clients." Fine summarises, "Getronics is a fantastic business driven by brilliant people. Client-focused services are deeply embedded in its DNA. It's up to us as the new leadership team to put the action behind the talk and make sure we keep our people and our customers happy." -ENDS- Notes to Editors: * The acquisition includes all geographies (Argentina, Brazil, Chile, France, Germany, Hungary, India, Ireland, Italy, Korea, Malaysia, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, UK) aside from Belux where due diligence has yet to be completed. Click here for more about Getronics Click here for more about Global Workspace Alliance View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005424/en/ Contacts: Nadia Gabbie nadia.gabbie@getronics.com t +44 7973 177323 Stephanie Kronson stephanie.kronson@getronics.com t +447931577367 She's been documenting her idyllic French holiday with her over the past week, and enjoyed a very boozy night out with pals on Sunday And Georgia Harrison looked sensational as she posed in a clashing animal-print bikini on the beach in St Tropez on Monday. The former Love Island star, 25, showed off her toned abs and slender figure as she posed up a storm on the sandy shore before enjoying a dip in the sea. Wow! Love Island's Georgia Harrison showed off her enviable figure in a clashing animal-print bikini during her St Tropez break on Monday after THAT boozy night out Georgia's ensemble paired a puffy-sleeved, plunging bikini top with high-waist briefs that had a zebra, tiger, snake and leopard-print pattern. She accessorised her look with a pair of chic shades, and wore a simple silver pendant necklace to add a glittering touch. Georgia wore her brunette locks in a loose bun atop her head, and she used a natural palette of make-up for the occasion. Stylish: Georgia's ensemble paired a puffy-sleeved, plunging bikini top with high-waist briefs that had a zebra, tiger, snake and leopard-print pattern Fashionista: Georgia accessorised her look with a pair of chic shades, and wore a simple silver pendant necklace to add a glittering touch Glamorous: Georgia wore her brunette locks in a loose bun atop her head, and she used a natural palette of make-up for the occasion Modelling skills: After posing on the beach, Georgia headed to the ocean to model there Enviable figure: Georgia's high-waist ensemble highlighted her toned figure Georgia's outing comes after she truly got into the holiday spirit on Sunday as stumbled out of Saint Tropez nightclub L'Opera. The bleary-eyed Love Island star looked distinctly disorientated as she wandered over towards a curb and attempted to fix her Sophia Webster heels. Needing a little help from her friend, Georgia eventually got to her feet to join the rest of her gal pals while the leg of her white sequin trousers remained rolled up to her thigh. The ITV2 star was seen looking worse for wear after rejoining her pals and sat on a cement bollard with her hands on her knees waiting to go back to her hotel. Radiant: Georgia's ensemble accentuated her sun-kissed skin during the day at the beach Strike a pose: Georgia made sure to highlight her slender figure as she modelled the outfit Boozy night out: Georgia's outing on the beach comes after she truly got into the holiday spirit on Sunday as stumbled out of Saint Tropez nightclub L'Opera (pictured) Raucous night out: The ITV2 star was seen looking worse for wear after rejoining her pals and sat on a cement bollard with her hands on her knees waiting to go back to her hotel Great trip: Despite her bleary-eyed appearance, Georgia seemed in high spirits as she playfully rolled along the marina, pulling faces and lifting her leg up in the air Luxury getaway: The reality star jetted off to France last week after lockdown restrictions eased with her pals and recently enjoyed a luxury yacht in St Tropez Despite her bleary-eyed appearance, Georgia seemed in high spirits as she playfully rolled along the marina, pulling faces and lifting her leg up in the air. At one stage, she even rolled over onto her stomach and posed for a photo with in front of a luxury yacht. The reality star jetted off to France last week after lockdown restrictions eased with her pals and recently enjoyed a luxury yacht in St Tropez. The former Love Island star recently flaunted her long legs in an aqua blue swimsuit from GIGI C Bikinis for the day out on the ocean. Cruising! The former Love Island star recently flaunted her long legs in an aqua blue swimsuit from GIGI C Bikinis for the day out on the ocean Chilling: The former Love Island star shared a second snap showing off her pert posterior in the summery one-piece Georgia's trip away comes after she revealed she was made homeless at one point during her late teens when she lived in Marbella. Speaking to The Sun about her experience earlier this month, she said: 'I was living in Marbella with a friend and this guy who would have really crazy parties with strangers coming in and out of our room in the night. It was scary. 'In the end after a massive argument we had to leave but we had just given him a whole month's rent. We didn't have enough money to live somewhere else, so we literally moved into my car. 'We had to wash in a nearby hotel. At one point security even caught us and said "we know you don't stay here" and they chased us out, it was crazy. Adding: 'I would go to work in a club all night, it was so stressful. One time I came back to the car to sleep and it had been towed with everything we owned inside. 'That's the point I was at but I turned my whole life around within a year.' The TV personality said she ended up using a self-help book, The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, to turn her life around. Georgia first found fame with a brief stint on The Only Way Is Essex in 2014 before becoming a household name with an appearance on 2017's Love Island. Egypt's Parl't Approves Permission to Deploy Troops to Carry Out Combat Missions Abroad, Reports Say Sputnik News 17:04 GMT 20.07.2020(updated 18:22 GMT 20.07.2020) Egyptian President Abdel Fattah Sisi said on 16 July at a meeting with Libyan sheikhs and elders that Egypt would quickly reverse the military situation in Libya if it sends troops to the North African country. The Egyptian parliament has unanimously approved permission for a possible dispatch of the country's troops to carry out combat missions abroad, state television reported. During the session, the parliament discussed the results of a meeting of the Egyptian Security Council that was held on Sunday under the leadership of President Abdel Fattah Sisi, and threats to the state from the west, the broadcaster said. The matters were discussed behind closed doors without the presence of the media. According to the Egyptian constitution, the president of the country can declare war or send troops to carry out combat missions outside the country after obtaining the consent of the parliament. The report comes after President Abdel Fattah Sisi said that Egypt "will quickly and decisively change the military situation", in Libya, adding that the Egyptian Army is one of the strongest in the region and Africa. Prior to this, Libya's Tobruk-based House of Representatives, supported by the Libyan National Army (LNA), gave permission to the Egyptian Armed Forces to intervene in Libya if Cairo sees reasons for a pre-emptive strike against an imminent threat to the national security of the two countries. Earlier in July, the Egyptian Armed Forces conducted an exercise near Libya's border. The drills, codenamed Resolve 2020, took place in the north-western district of Qabr Gabis, some 37 miles from the Libyan border. In June, Sisi met with the LNA's commander, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the eastern parliament's speaker, Aguila Saleh. After the meeting, Sisi announced the so-called Cairo peace initiative, which includes a ceasefire throughout Libya and the terms of a political settlement. The initiative was backed by Russia, the United States, and several Arab states, but was rejected by Turkey and its ally, the Government of National Accord (GNA). A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A major portion of a Haridwar boundary wall built in the British era, separating the sanctum sanctorum Brahamkund at Har-Ki-Pauri with the remaining city, collapsed due to incessant rains accompanying lightning strikes in the wee hours of Tuesday. Built in 1935, the boundary wall was allegedly struck by lightning around 3 am, believed to have triggered the collapse that led to a scattering of debris at the ghats and up to the Ganga Sabha office. Local priests, police personnel, Ganga Sabha office bearers and residents arrived at the spot after hearing the explosive sound. Ganga Sabha president Pradeep Jha said no one was near the spot at the time of the incident. Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad and Ganga Sabha have demanded an inquiry into this incident at this ancient religious place in the context of the structural strength of the wall housing a pilgrimage thronged by millions every day. Watch: Landslide in Uttarakhands Chamoli following heavy rain Akhada Parishad demands an inquiry into this incident as Har-Ki-Pauri is a place where thousands of people arrive on a daily basis. Mahakumbh is just five months away so construction of a stronger outer wall and related infrastructure works should be carried out in such a manner that safety of pilgrims and Har-Ki-Pauri personnel is ensured, said Mahant Narendra Giri, president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad. Har-Ki-Pauri police station in-charge Amarjeet Singh said that the police personnel have cordoned off the whole area as the remaining portion of the wall, too, seemed vulnerable. Also Read: Uttarakhand HC upholds constitutional validity of Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act Former municipal chairperson Satpal Brahamchari alleged that the wall caved in due to pressure from rain water which had accumulated due to uncovered digging work currently being undertaken for the underground laying of power cables and piped natural gas lines. A section of local traders seemed to agree with Brahamchari. Mayor Anita Sharma, too, weighed in and blamed the haphazard laying of underground power, piped natural gas lines and sewer lines for water logging and the subsequent caving in of the wall. District authorities said an expert opinion was needed to confirm if the collapse was indeed a result of lightning strike. District disaster management officer Haridwar Meera Kainthura said the reason will be known after submission of a report by disaster management experts and geologists. Local priests have interpreted the collapse as a bad omen and an expression of wrath by Ganga Maa, upset at the move to not to allow devotees to take a holy dip and offer Ganga Jal at Shivalingams on the pious festive occasion of Shravan Shivratri and Somwati Amavasya. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A week after Amazon asked sellers to display the country of origin of products listed on its site, rival Flipkart has also asked sellers to comply, adding that this will allow customers to make an 'informed decision'. In an email sent to the sellers on July 21, Flipkart said, "Legal Metrology Amendment Rules, 2017 mandates every imported product listed on an e-commerce platform to have the 'country of origin'. Additionally, having the country of origin for all your products allows your customers to make an informed decision. Therefore, we urge you to add the country of origin for all your products." "Providing inaccurate country of origin might lead to delisting of your products," it added. Moneycontrol has seen a copy of the mail. Unlike Amazon, which has mandated sellers to do this from August 8, Flipkart has not mentioned any deadline. The move comes a few days after e-commerce companies, including Amazon and Flipkart, held multiple meetings over the labelling with the government as anti-China sentiments run high in the country. The government has already mandated its online marketplace, GeM, to enter the country of origin while registering new products. In June, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in a clash with Chinese troops in Ladakhs Galwan Valley along the Line of Actual Control, worsening the already strained ties between the two neighbours. Flipkart did not immediately respond to our email. David Umahi Ebonyi state Governor, David Umahi, has sacked over 1,000 aides from 350 local government area liaison offices and development centres management committee in the state. In a report by the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN), this was disclosed by Governor Umahi on Monday, July 20, during a virtual swearing-in of some special assistants and caretaker chairmen of local governments. The categories of sacked aides include technical assistants, senior technical assistants, and executive assistants. According to Umahi, the aides of the Ebonyi state government were relieved of their jobs over non-performance and would take effect on August 1, 2020. He said: We have over 1,000 of you, over 350 LGA liaison officers and several development centres management committee members, yet myself and my deputy threw ourselves in the ring on the COVID-19 issue. I dont know where else you will get a position, where you will just sleep and wait for bank alert. The Ebonyi state governor went on to note that any of the affected aides can reapply only if they are endorsed by the ministry or department of a state government. This is coming after Governor Umahi suspended the state auditor general, Innocent Nweda, indefinitely with immediate effect. He also suspended the auditor general for local government in the state, George Ukpai. The secretary to the state government, Kenneth Ugbala, announced this on Monday, July 13, in a statement in Abakaliki, the state capital. The statement said their suspension was as a result of their failure to perform duties of their offices. Polish President Andrzej Duda has declared victory in a runoff election in which he narrowly won a second five-year term, acknowledging the campaign he ran was often too harsh as he appealed for unity and forgiveness. The close race followed a bitter campaign between Mr Duda and Warsaw mayor Rafal Trzaskowski that was dominated by cultural issues. The government, state media and the influential Roman Catholic Church all mobilised in support of Mr Duda and sought to stoke anti-Semitism, homophobia and xenophobia to shore up conservative support. Andrzej Duda in Pultusk (Czarek Sokolowski/AP) Mr Duda celebrated what was seen as a mandate for him and the right-wing ruling party that backs him, Law and Justice, to continue on a path that has reduced poverty but raised concerns that democracy is under threat. It was a very sharp campaign, probably too sharp at times, he told supporters in Odrzywol, a town near Warsaw. If anyone is offended by my words, please forgive me. And give me the chance to improve in the next five years. He received 51.03% of Sundays vote, while Mr Trzaskowski got 48.97%, according to final results from the state electoral commission. Mr Duda told supporters in Odrzywol that he was grateful and moved to winning the support of more than 10 million voters. He said that with the race now over, it is time to turn to the difficult job of returning the country to strong growth after the economic blow of coronavirus. Rafal Trzaskowski concedes defeat (Czarek Sokolowski/AP) Mr Trzaskowski conceded defeat and congratulated Mr Duda. He thanked his supporters and said his strong showing would be the catalyst to fight to keep Poland from becoming a one-party state. This is just the beginning of the road, he said. But Adam Michnik, a prominent anti-communist dissident and the founding editor of the liberal newspaper Gazeta Wyborcza, said the result bodes badly for Polands young democracy. Andrzej Dudas victory will be understood by his voters, and first of all by those in power, as a permission for the kind of politics that Law and Justice has been pursuing for almost five years, and that is a policy of the destruction of the democratic system, of isolating Poland in Europe, of homophobia, of xenophobia, nationalism and of using the Catholic Church as a tool, he said. I would not even rule out a situation in which, if this policy is continued and we see an attempt on the free media, culture and science, there could be another Maidan, he said, referring to the bloody 2014 pro-Europe protests in Ukraine. Ivanka Trump lent a helping hand on Monday to the distribute food boxes to families in need amid the coronavirus pandemic. President Donald Trump's daughter - and his adviser on job creation, economic empowerment, workforce development and entrepreneurship - appeared at the Washington D.C. Dream Center to give out meat and dairy as part of efforts with Farmers to Families. Ivanka paired her white shirt and jeans with floral print face mask as she interacted with recipients. She was seen bending down to load the boxes filled with produced into car trunks, back seats and directly into the hands of locals. Ivanka Trump helped distribute food boxes as part of the Farmers to Families food box program, at the D.C. Dream Center, on Monday The Farmers to Families Food Box program, which was developed by the Department of Agriculture in April, aims to provide food banks and community organizations with surplus produce, dairy, and meat to people in need throughout the nation Ivanka Trump (L) and Pastor Paula White, leader of the White House's Faith and Opportunity Initiative, distribute food boxes The First Daughter was joined by Pastor Paula White, leader of the White House's Faith and Opportunity Initiative. Prior to gathering produce from the various stands and loading up boxes, the pair took part in a meeting with community leaders. Through the program, the USDAs Agricultural Marketing Service (AMS) has partnered with national, regional and local distributors, whose workforces have been significantly impacted by the closure of restaurants, hotels and other food service businesses, to purchase up to $3 billion in produce from American producers of all sizes. In round one of the project from USDA, 34.5 million boxes were purchased under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act as part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program announced by Secretary Perdue in April and executed from mid-May until the end of June. The purchases totaled $1.2 billion. This second round began July 1 and will see 6.9 million boxes go out over the course of two months. Those purchased totaled $1.47 billion. Ivanaka, the First Daughter, is seen going back and forth in flat pumps during the visit She is seen passing a box into a car trunk amid the food drive in Washington DC Ivanka Trump ducks down as she loads milk into a car on Monday as part of the initiative Ivanka Trump speaks to a woman in her car as she distributes food boxes at the drive On Monday 1,000 boxes supported by the likes of Operation Blessing, Blessings of Hope, City Serve and Whites church, City of Destiny went out. 'Great day volunteering at the local @DCDreamCenter and distributing Farmers to Families Food Boxes to the last mile of need,' Ivanka tweeted on Monday. 'This program is creating a link between hungry families and struggling farmers affected by COVID-19.' Ivanka reportedly stayed for 45 minutes. She also retweeted a video that showed a community member expressing her thanks for the food drive. 'I am so grateful, and thankful, for Ivanka Trump coming here with everyone today to partner with DC Dream Center that has been awesome to get food out into the community,' Kiesha Davis, a 41-year-old D.C. resident and community advocate said in the footage. Ivanka added in a statement: 'Millions of families across this country are benefitting from the Farmers to Families Food Box program, with nearly 40 million boxes of fresh, locally sourced produce, meat and dairy delivered so far. 'I am excited to witness first-hand the good work of faith-based and non-profit organizations in the District to help propel our shared mission of feeding those most in need.' The presidential adviser was the subject of plenty of attention. A woman is seen taking pictures of her Ivanka said she had a great day volunteering as they handed out 1,000 boxes in total Laura Anderson returned to the UK on Tuesday days after her boyfriend Tom Brazier was attacked by a mugger during the first night of their trip to Barcelona. The 31-year-old was pictured walking through London's Heathrow airport while her other half pushed a trolley filled with their luggage. The Love Island star sported an oversized denim dress with a pair of tan-coloured trainers and draped her designer bag over her shoulder. Flying safe: Laura Anderson returned to the UK on Tuesday days after her boyfriend Tom Brazier was attacked by a mugger during the first night of their trip to Barcelona Keeping safe, Laura donned a blue face mask while her caramel-hued hair fell down her shoulders in a mermaid-inspired wave. Complementing Laura's travel style, Tom wore a white T-shirt and a pair of sage-coloured shorts. He also noticeably sported his 22,000 Hublot watch, which a thief attempted to steal on their city break, through the terminal. Last Friday, Lauren revealed she and her boyfriend had been left extremely shaken after they were targeted by the thief as they enjoyed a late-night walk in the Spanish city. Denim days: The Love Island star sported an oversized denim dress with a pair of tan-coloured trainers Taking his time: Tom wore a white T-shirt as well as the watch a thief attempted to steal on their city break Taking to her Instagram stories, the emotional star urged her followers to be safe as she recounted the terrifying incident. She said: 'So last night was horrible. Me and Tom decided to walk for a bit, try and get a photo and basically got mugged 'Nothing like this has ever happened to me before. You just get this gut feeling these two guys were watching us. Tom kept saying "it's fine, it's fine" and we hailed a cab to go home. 'Tom opened the door for me and was like "in you go" and I was like "it's fine, I'll go round to the side" which I'm glad I did because when Tom went to get in, the guy came from nowhere and pushed him.' Watch out: Tom's timepiece is a Hublot Big Bang Maradona watch, which costs from 22,000 Time to retreat: The 31-year-old was pictured walking through London's Heathrow airport while her other half pushed a trolley filled with their luggage Laura revealed she had intervened when she saw her boyfriend fighting off the attacker, saying: 'Tom pushed him because he was coming at him. 'The guy was trying to get his watch off his arm and I ran round the back of the cab and yelled "f**k off" and whacked him on the shoulder with my phone. 'He sort of scuffled off. It was horrible. Tom told me to get in the car and we didn't know where this guy's friend was or if he was going to come from behind me or if they had any weapons. 'All of that for a watch. Tom was attacked. They didn't get the watch. I think my swearing is what scared them off, I am loud. Masked up: Laura donned a blue face mask while her caramel-hued hair fell down her shoulders in a mermaid-inspired wave In the aftermath of the attack, Laura said she and Tom had been left uneasy about going out to public places. She said: 'I think we both reacted pretty well but I just couldn't sleep. We feel like we can't go out without looking over our shoulders. We wanted to go to the beach and workout and I don't feel like we can do that, leave our stuff unattended.' Laura later revealed a cut on her hand from striking the attacker with her phone. The star also posted a snap taken shortly before the incident, writing: 'Keep your eyes open . This was about 10 minutes before Tom and I got mugged last night.' Walk on: She kept her accessories to a minimum and and draped her designer bag over her shoulder Styling: Tom complementing Laura's travel style 'Moral of the story If youre travelling abroad just have your wits about you and look out for each other. . We were one of the lucky ones, minus a bit of rough & tumble #staysafe. 'P.s The low life didn't get what he was after.' Tom also wrote: 'Dinner at @bocagrande on our first night in Barcelona.... Right before we had an attempted mugging whilst getting a taxi back to the @wbarcelona 'They wanted my watch but thankfully we managed to fight off the dirty scoundrels. Myself and my @lauraanderson1x are fine and well.' Deoband : , July 21 (IANS) Islamic seminary Darul Uloom Deoband has sent a letter to the Yogi Adityanath government with five demands for the upcoming Bakrid festival. Darul Uloom spokesman Mufti Ashraf Usmani said in the latter that, it has been said that namaaz should be allowed in mosques with proper social distancing. He said arrangements should also be made for slaughter of animals and the ban on sale of goats should be lifted. Markets and shopping malls should remain open for the festival and the imposition of 'five persons in a mosque' rule should be lifted. The Mufti further said that in view of the festival being held either on July 31 or August 1, the government should shift the weekly lockdown to Tuesday and Wednesday. Meanwhile, Samajwadi Party MP from Sambhal, Shafiqur Rehman Barq has also demanded that Muslims be allowed to offer community prayers in mosques on Bakrid. Barq, 90, submitted a memorandum to Sambhal district magistrate Avinash Krishan, and said that offering individual prayers at homes is not enough. "Only limited people are allowed to offer prayers in mosques. This won't be sufficient. Authorities must allow all Muslims to offer namaaz in order to get rid of Covid-19 pandemic and save the world," he later told reporters. The Samajwadi Party MP said, "When Muslims pray together and seek for forgiveness from Allah, especially on this day, it never goes in vain. I request authorities to grant permission to offer community namaaz on the day and let people pray together to make the world free from this pandemic. We will ensure that all precautionary measures are taken and Covid-19 protocols are adhered to." The festival is likely to be celebrated on July 31 or August 1. The Samajwadi Party leader also urged the district magistrate to grant permission for opening of animal markets ahead of the festival. The district magistrate, Avinash Krishan, meanwhile, said the state government's guidelines prohibit assembly of more than five persons in mosques and all other religious places. "As of now, no direction has been issued from the UP government in this connection and action will be taken accordingly if we receive any orders for Eid," he said. Concept called key to addressing global challenges; research center inaugurated As the international situation becomes increasingly uncertain, diplomats and experts said Xi Jinping Thought on diplomacywhich puts the building of a community with a shared future for mankind and the building of a new type of international relations featuring fairness, justice and win-win cooperation at its coreis of great significance in coping with global challenges. The theoretical achievements in China's diplomatic work that were developed following the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China in 2012, when Xi Jinping became general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, have become the fundamental guideline for the country's diplomacy, State Councilor and Foreign Minister Wang Yi said on Monday. Xi's thought on diplomacy, taking the perspective of the progress of humanity, considers a synergy between China's development and that of the rest of the world, and also the alignment of the interests of the Chinese people with those of people from other countries, Wang said at the launch ceremony of a research center on Xi Jinping Thought on diplomacy in Beijing. It goes beyond traditional theories on international relations, which find it harder to interpret today's world as views such as the zero-sum game ideology don't conform with the trend of the times, he added. The research center was established by the Foreign Ministry to coordinate nationwide academic resources to have an in-depth study of Xi's thought on diplomacy to make it better serve the country's diplomatic work. Since becoming general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in November 2012, Xi has used bilateral or multilateral diplomatic occasions to propose a series of ideas and visions on what kind of relationship China should have with the rest of the world and how it will work to build such a relationship. Common aspirations He proposed the idea of building a community with a shared future in 2013. When visiting the United Nations Office in Geneva in January 2017, he delivered a keynote speech that called for building an open, inclusive, clean and beautiful world that enjoys lasting peace, universal security and common prosperity. In his diplomatic insights, Xi sees countries forging partnerships in which they treat each other as equals and engage in mutual consultation and understanding, create a security architecture that features fairness, justice, joint contributions and shared benefits, and promote open, innovative and inclusive development that benefits all. Xi's concepts on global governance, security, development and interactions among different cultures reflect the common aspirations of all countries in pursuing development and progress, Wang said, adding that they have unique Chinese characteristics and also demonstrate the common values of humanity. Belt and Road Initiative Wang said the Belt and Road Initiative, which Xi proposed in 2013, has become a new public good for the world to promote international cooperation for common development. By the end of January, 138 countries and 30 international organizations have signed 200 cooperation documents with China on joint building of the Belt and Road. In 2019, trade in goods between China and BRI partners topped $1.3 trillion, up by 6 percent year-on-year. Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, trade between China and BRI partners in the first quarter of this year rose by 3.2 percent, and direct investment by China increased 11.7 percent on a yearly basis, according to the Foreign Ministry. Wang expressed concerns over the current international situation, saying the COVID-19 pandemic is still raging globally, economic globalization has encountered unprecedented setbacks, the world economy is in deep recession and unilateralism, protectionism and bullying are wreaking havoc in the existing international system. Ruan Zongze, executive vice-president of the China Institute of International Studies, said amid the complex changes in the international landscape resulting from the novel coronavirus pandemic, Xi's thought on diplomacy has great relevance in addressing global challenges. Xi's vision focuses on problems relating to human development, particularly common challenges that the world faces today, so his insights not only offer China's solution to those problems, but also have a global significance in international cooperation, Ruan said. Ruan mentioned Xi's proposal for building a community of health for all as the pandemic rages globally and China's firm support for the World Health Organization in playing a leading role in dealing with the public health crisis. "China has been working to find ways to make it happen by providing more than 100 countries with medical supplies and also sending medical experts to some countries to help them fight the virus," he said. As global problems are on the rise, international cooperation is the best way to solve them and unilateralism and self-isolation are doomed to fail, Ruan added. Tenderloin The Jones Street sidewalks expansion project would run from O'Farrell to Golden Gate | Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline A proposal to "expand" sidewalks on Jones Street by closing parking and limiting traffic lanes for four blocks is in limbo, as community organizers say city agencies are demanding further changes to the plan, after months of discussion. The third phase of city street closures was proposed last week to provide added open space to communities during the ongoing pandemic. But the new routes, which the SFMTA board will vote on tomorrow, still skip over the Tenderloin, despite continued requests from the neighborhood for a Slow Street. Community organizers have called for traffic slowing and more space for pedestrians throughout the Tenderloin since shelter-in-place took effect. As tents and encampments exploded on neighborhood sidewalks in April and May, the calls became even more urgent. As time has gone by, the need has shifted from leaving home just to make essential trips, to needing space because families and children have been trapped inside for more than four months, said Evan Oravec, community organizer with the Central City Single Room Occupancy Collaborative (CCSROC) and facilitator of the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Task Force. The neighborhood task force was launched by the San Francisco Bike Coalition, Walk SF, CCSROC, and other community organizations in 2018 to demand more city investment in making Tenderloin streets safer. All of the streets in the Tenderloin are considered part of the high-injury network identified by the city's Vision Zero plan, which aims to reach zero vehicle-related deaths by 2024. All Tenderloin streets are part of the Vision Zero high-injury network. | IMAGE: Vision Zero SF SFMTAs website says its targeting lower-traffic residential streets for the program, and organizers say SFMTA considers all the streets in the Tenderloin thoroughfares to get people to Market Street or otherwise across the city. But SF Bike Coalition Tenderloin community organizer Claire Amable, who was born and raised in the Tenderloin, argues it is a residential neighborhood, and one currently in extreme and growing need for space to recreate and interact at a safe distance. Story continues The Tenderloin has the lowest amount of open space per person of any San Francisco neighborhood in the best of times, and playgrounds and parks have largely shuttered during shelter-in-place, according to Amable. The Tenderloin has the densest SRO population in the city, and residents lack any living space, let alone any space to socialize outside, Oravec added. The Tenderloin also houses a dense, large population of seniors and elderly residents, according to Eric Rozell, Tenderloin Community Benefit District (TLCBD) safety campaign worker, co-facilitator of the task force, and neighborhood resident. Seniors with mobility issues that depend on canes, walkers, or in wheelchairs have to walk into traffic to get around encampments, Rozell said. When the Slow Streets concept was first announced in April, the task force partnered with 15 other neighborhood organizations, including the SF Bike Coalition, the CCSROC, and the TLCBD, to send a letter to SFMTA director Jeffery Tumlin pushing for one to be sited in the Tenderloin. Oravec said the lack of response and effort to install a slow street in the Tenderloin shines a bright light on how the citys transportation design impacts the Tenderloin, and more importantly, how the neighborhood and its residents are treated by the city. Current and planned Slow Streets map | Image: SFMTA The city treats the Tenderloin as a thoroughfare, not a place for people to live, so any residential street-focused programs arent going to work, by design, Oravec said. The challenge, he said, is finding a way to convince SFMTA and other city services to change their view of the Tenderloin as the hub of the citys whole traffic grid. Tumlin and other city officials walked through the neighborhood with District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney in late May to try to identify other options to offer residents more space to walk through the neighborhood at a safe distance. Oravec said the walk-through prompted discussion around expanding the sidewalks on Jones and Turk streets. A proposal, developed through conversations between the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Task Force and city agencies, calls for removing the parking lane on the west side of Jones Street to offer a larger bike path and sidewalk, slimming vehicle traffic down to one lane between OFarrell Street and Golden Gate Avenue. According to Oravec, the San Francisco Fire Department responded that it needs all of the streets throughout the Tenderloin for emergency response, and requested the removal of all the parking on that stretch of Jones Street, on both sides of the street. Removing all of the parking is a much bigger lift, Oravec said among other things, it would require SFPD to move all of their cars off of Jones Street near the Tenderloin Station. So even the compromise, not a full Slow Street but just more space for non-vehicular traffic, may not move forward, even after months of discussion. SFFD did not respond to requests for comment on the proposal, or the allegation that it was requesting major modifications to the strategy that community organizers say was agreed upon two months ago. In many other neighborhoods, weve seen the Slow Streets installed and then they find a work around for any situations or congestion issues after its launched, Rozell said. But city agencies haven't allowed that approach for the Tenderloins busy streets. Protestors called for lane closures at Eddy and Taylor Streets on nearly two months ago | Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline The situation highlights the growing inequities the Tenderloin faces. Oravec said city agencies have historically and consistently asked Tenderloin community organizations to identify solutions for the neighborhoods issues. Early in shelter-in-place, the city turned to the same community organizations to find strategies to create slow streets in the neighborhood. Community organizations are already overburdened," he said. "How can we take this extra effort on by ourselves? Partnership is key but in our instance, it feels more like a way of saying no without actually saying no. No one from the city's Emergency Operations Center, SFMTA, or District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney's office responded to multiple requests for comment as of press time. SFMTAs board meets to hear the third round of city streets closed to vehicle traffic at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and the task force and the Bike Coalition encourage community members to offer public comments calling for action in the citys densest neighborhood. As we reported last week, 14 new Slow Street routes are up for approval tomorrow, and implementation of new routes is planned to continue through October 2020. DENVER, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A critical element to a child care center's success is its ability to hire staff who provide an educational and nurturing environment for the children in their care. To help child care businesses ensure the quality of their staff while mitigating risk, Procare Solutions, the leader in child care management software for more than 30 years, has teamed up with Checkr, the leading technology company in the background check industry, to deliver an enhanced background check solution to Procare customers. Get more information about the new integration here. "A report by the U.S. Government Accountability Office acknowledges that many criminal records in the FBI's fingerprint system have incomplete information, which means child care centers may not be getting the full picture of their new hires' history," said JoAnn Kintzel, CEO of Procare Solutions. "Procare's integration with Checkr lets our customers easily automate the initiation, review and adjudication of background checks within the Procare software platform, helping centers grow their talent pools with confidence." "Having accurate, up-to-date and complete information on your candidates is critical to making successful hiring decisions," said Sohee Lacey, Senior Director of Revenue Partnerships at Checkr. "Procare customers can now leverage Checkr background screenings in their existing workflow increasing productivity and improving process efficiency. Checkr's technology helps Procare customers make safe and informed hiring decisions while reducing bias in the hiring process." KEY FACTS Using fingerprinting alone as the only screening method for new and current employees can miss important information that appears on a more thorough background check. The Procare and Checkr partnership helps child care businesses: Easily stay on top of background checks for current and future employees to keep child care businesses secure Put parents' minds at ease with quick, accurate and enhanced background checks Spend less time manually reviewing background check results with easy-to-read and clear statuses, updated automatically inside the Procare system Checkr leverages artificial intelligence and machine learning to ensure maximum speed, accuracy and scale of background checks, so child care centers can quickly deploy and maintain talent with greater trust and compliance. Checkr background check services are available for customers who use the Procare Connect software platform. NOTE: Checkr's background check screening provides enhanced and holistic views of an individual's criminal history; however child care centers, preschools, daycares and before and after school programs are often required to do additional screening beyond standard employment screenings. It is recommended these child care businesses review the federal and state requirements to make sure they are in compliance with the appropriate regulations. ADDITIONAL RESOURCES For more information on the integration, click here. Procare also offers an entire hub of child care resources for child care providers, parents and administrators as they navigate this new environment. ABOUT PROCARE SOLUTIONS For more than 30 years, Procare Solutions has been the leading provider of child care management software, integrated payment processing, technology and services. The company supports over 30,000 child care centers, preschools, daycares, afterschool programs, camps and related facilities with comprehensive software that has the power to manage every aspect of their business, enrich classroom and parent interactions, and automate the payment process. Procare offers web-based, on-premises and cloud hosting solutions, and supports customers of all sizes from single-center operations to complex multinational enterprises. For more information, please visit www.procaresoftware.com. ABOUT CHECKR Checkr's mission is to build a fairer future by improving understanding of the past. Our platform makes it easy for thousands of customers to hire millions of people every year at the speed of the gig economy. Using Checkr's advanced background check technology, companies of all sizes can better understand the dynamics of the changing workforce, bring transparency and fairness to their hiring, and ultimately build a better future for workers. For more information, please visit: www.checkr.com. MEDIA CONTACTS Procare Solutions Francie Dudrey [email protected] Checkr Natalie Pridham [email protected] SOURCE Procare Solutions JOHANNESBURG - Ethiopias prime minister said Tuesday his country, Egypt and Sudan have reached a major common understanding which paves the way for a breakthrough agreement on a massive dam project that has led to sharp regional tensions and led some to fear military conflict. The statement by Abiy Ahmeds office came as new satellite images show the water level in the reservoir behind the nearly completed $4.6 billion Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is at its highest in at least four years. Ethiopia has said the rising water is from heavy rains, and the new statement said that it has become evident over the past two weeks in the rainy season that the (dams) first-year filling is achieved and the dam under construction is already overtopping. Ethiopia has said it would begin filling the reservoir of the dam, Africas largest, this month even without a deal as the rainy season floods the Blue Nile. But the new statement says the three countries leaders have agreed to pursue further technical discussions on the filling ... and proceed to a comprehensive agreement. The statement did not give details on Tuesdays discussions, mediated by current African Union chair and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, or what had been agreed upon. But the talks among the countrys leaders showed the critical importance placed on finding a way to resolve tensions over the storied Nile River, a lifeline for all involved. Ethiopia says the colossal dam offers a critical opportunity to pull millions of its nearly 110 million citizens out of poverty and become a major power exporter. Downstream Egypt, which depends on the Nile to supply its farmers and booming population of 100 million with fresh water, asserts that the dam poses an existential threat. Negotiators have said key questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs and how the countries will resolve any future disputes. Ethiopia rejects binding arbitration at the final stage. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi stressed Egypts sincere will to continue to achieve progress over the disputed issues, a spokesmans statement said. It said the leaders agreed to give priority to developing a binding legal commitment regarding the basis for filling and operating the dam. Sudanese Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas told reporters in the capital, Khartoum, that once the agreement has been solidified, Ethiopia will retain the right to amend some figures relating to the dams operation during drought periods. Generally, the atmosphere was positive during the talks, he said. Abbas said the leaders agreed on Ethiopias right to build additional reservoirs and other projects as long as it notifies the downstream countries, in line with international law. There are other sticking points, but if we agree on this basic principle, the other points will automatically be solved, he said. Both Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Ethiopias leader called Tuesdays meeting fruitful. It is absolutely necessary that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, with the support of the African Union, come to an agreement that preserves the interest of all parties, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the AU commission, said on Twitter, adding that the Nile should remain a source of peace. Years of talks with a variety of mediators, including the Trump administration, have failed to produce a solution. Now satellite images of the reservoir filling are adding fresh urgency. The latest imagery taken Tuesday certainly shows the highest water levels behind the dam in at least the past four years, said Stephen Wood, senior director with Maxar News Bureau. Kevin Wheeler, a researcher at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, told the AP last week that fears of any immediate water shortage are not justified at this stage at all and the escalating rhetoric is more due to changing power dynamics in the region. However, if there were a drought over the next several years, that certainly could become a risk, he said. ___ Meseret reported from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Heres what you need to know on 21 July. This article was updated at 5pm. Deaths: The Government said 45,422 people had died in hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus in the UK as of 5pm on Monday, up by 110 from the day before. Just over 56,100 deaths involving COVID-19 have now been registered in the UK. Figures published on Tuesday by the ONS show that 51,096 deaths involving COVID-19 had occurred in England and Wales up to July 10, and had been registered by July 18. All but one region in England has fallen below the five-year death toll average. Office for National Statistics data published on Tuesday shows the one exception was eastern England, where deaths are 0.2% above the average. Read more here. Face coverings: Devon and Cornwall Police have said they wont respond to reports of people not wearing face coverings in shops unless its also a suspected public order offence. It becomes mandatory to wear one from Friday, but there are concerns about how it will be policed. Read more here. Vaccines: Chris Whitty, Englands chief medical officer, has said chances of a vaccine by Christmas are low, a day after hopes were raised by positive news. Whitty said he was proud of the work of the teams, but he didnt want to people to be under any illusions. Read more here. Politics: Kit Malthouse has denied that the chief nurse Ruth May had been silenced over her failure to back Dominic Cummings. She said she was dropped after practising for a government briefing and not lending her support to the adviser. Malthouse said there wasnt an intention to restrict her. Read more here. Cabinet met in person for the first time since March, with ministers gathering in the Foreign Office where there was enough space for them to sit 1m apart. Hand sanitiser was available on entry and exit and they were all given individual water bottles rather than sharing jugs. Read more here. Crime: Carly Lane, 31, from Rugby, Warwickshire, has been jailed for five months after she spat blood at two police officers and shouted theres your corona. She pleaded guilty to two charges of assaulting an emergency worker during the incident in April. Read more here. Story continues Business: The cost of working from home is adding up for UK workers, who are spending 24m more on tea and coffee and 19m more on biscuits in the four weeks to the 12 July compared to the same period last year. Take-home alcohol sales are still doing well despite pubs reopening. Read more here. Government borrowing between April and June was more than double the whole of the previous fiscal year according to official data. It comes as the chancellor put government departments on notice for budget cuts, part of cost-saving measures to tackle the UKs ballooning national debt and deficit. Read more here. Education: GCSE and A-level students results are likely to be higher after exams were cancelled because of the pandemic. Ofqual has said it is not surprising that grades calculated by many schools and colleges were more optimistic, as teachers naturally want to do their best for their students. Read more here. Read more about COVID-19 How to get a coronavirus test if you have symptoms What you can and cant do under lockdown rules In pictures: How UK school classrooms could look in new normal How public transport could look after lockdown How our public spaces will change in the future Rest of the world After weeks of refusing to wear a face covering, Donald Trump tweeted a photograph of himself wearing one, and called it patriotic. He also referred to himself as your favourite president. Read more here. After almost five days of intensive wrangling, the leaders of the 27 EU member states finally reached an agreement on the of 750bn (676bn, $859bn) stimulus package to help the European Union get back on its feet economically after the devastating coronavirus pandemic. The leaders also signed off on a seven-year budget for the bloc of over 1tn. Read more here. Positive news Nearly 900,000 public sector workers, including those on frontline of tackling the coronavirus pandemic, will receive above inflation pay rises this year, the UK government announced on Tuesday. Employees benefitting include doctors, the armed forces, teachers, police officers, the National Crime Agency staff, prison officers, dentists, the judiciary, senior civil servants and senior military personnel. Read more here. McDonalds is reopening 700 stores for sit down meals from tomorrow in the latest show of a return to normality. It will be table service only at the restaurants, and from next month, it will be taking part in the chancellors Eat Out to Help Out scheme. Read more here. Coronavirus: what happened today Sure, it might be warm Wednesday, but what about the rest of the week? CHICAGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly Moore, President and Founder of KDM Engineering, PLLC, is honored to be this year's recipient of the 2020 Illinois Rising Star Small Business of the Year award, presented by the U.S. Small Business Administration's (SBA) Illinois District Office. This award recognizes the hard work of a local small business and its founder's entrepreneurial success. Moore was also named one of Crain's Chicago Business 2020 Notable Women in STEM, a special feature honoring 32 accomplished women representing a variety of STEM fields. All those included in the list strive to bring more women into traditionally male-dominated STEM fields. "It's always an honor to be recognized for the hard work you're putting in every day, especially when those accolades encompass two of your passions: Building a business and changing the face of engineering," said Kimberly Moore, President and Founder of KDM Engineering. "And of course it's always inspiring to be honored alongside so many women working with their companies and communities to bring diversity into STEM." The SBA's Illinois District Office had planned to recognize this year's honorees at a breakfast and panel discussion during National Small Business Week in May, which was unfortunately canceled due to COVID-19. The Crain's Chicago 2020 Notable Women in STEM feature was published in early June. "As a black woman engineer and entrepreneur, it is so important for me to show young girls that they can be the engineer or the business owner or both," said Moore. "While having a successful business is a major highlight of my career, I am even prouder of the work we do through my nonprofit, Calculated Genius, Inc., to introduce underrepresented youth to engineering and entrepreneurship." About KDM Engineering, PLLC KDM Engineering, PLLC is a WBE/MBE engineering firm, focusing on power distribution design, gas distribution and telecommunications design. Headquartered in Chicago with branch offices on the east coast, KDM specializes in full-service engineering consulting and design, project management, utility coordination, drafting, and permitting. An Engineer of Choice (EOC) for several large utilities, KDM is committed to re-engineering the future, together. Learn more at kdmengineering.com. SOURCE KDM Engineering Related Links http://www.kdmengineering.com The big picture: With Huawei slowly losing its biggest telecom customers in Europe, the direct beneficiaries of such a decision are Nokia and Ericsson. Both share one common vulnerability, though, they both use China as an important part of their supply chain, and could always be hit with restrictions on exporting network equipment made in the Asian country. The United States introduced a new set of restrictions on Huawei and other Chinese tech giants last May, effectively blocking their ability to do business with American software companies and chip makers that use American intellectual property or equipment. Most notably, the new rules brought an end to Huawei's ability to tap into TSMC to fabricate the chips that go inside its devices. Naturally, this raised some eyebrows in Beijing and gave way to discussions among Chinese officials about imposing a similar ban on American companies like Apple, Qualcomm, and Cisco. Earlier this month, Huawei received another blow in Europe where the UK decided to phase out Chinese-made 5G equipment from its networks due to national security concerns. The move will deprive the company of one of its largest customers for network equipment, and this is just the beginning. In France, government officials are considering a similar decision, and in the meantime have issued recommendations for telecom providers to avoid building out their infrastructure using Huawei equipment. The same guidance is slowly being issued across other countries in the European Union. According to a Wall Street Journal report, this has turned Beijing's attention towards the EU, and is ready to retaliate against similar measures being adopted by member countries. One set of measures would target two big telecom equipment makers -- Nokia and Ericsson -- preventing them from exporting hardware manufactured in China to other countries. The two companies reportedly reviewed their options to deal with potential restrictions, and are considering moving production elsewhere in Asia or even Europe. This process had already started last year as a way to avoid US tariffs and is likely to accelerate, should China decide to interfere with Nokia and Ericsson's Chinese operations. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Yunindita Prasidya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 12:29 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066811b38 1 Business Pupuk-Indonesia,bonds,corporate-bonds,bond-issuance,state-owned-enterprises,SOEs Free State-owned fertilizer holding firm PT Pupuk Indonesia will be offering bonds worth Rp 2.5 trillion (US$169 million) as part of a funding diversification strategy, a company executive has said. The bond offering is the first phase of the shelf registration of conventional bonds (PUB) II for 2020 with a total value of Rp 8 trillion and is scheduled for Aug. 14 to 18. We are planning to use the proceeds to refinance our loans, either for the holding company or its subsidiaries. This is part of the companys strategy to diversify external funding, aside from banks, Pupuk Indonesia president director Aas Asikin Idat said during a virtual press conference on Monday. The bonds will be issued in three series: the A series bonds have a tenure of three years with a coupon rate of 6.25 percent to 7.50 percent, the B series have a tenor of five years and a rate between 7 percent and 8.30 percent, while the C series will mature in seven years with a rate of 7.50 percent to 8.75 percent. The coupon payments will be made quarterly. Read also: House approves $10.32b stimulus for state companies Rating agency Fitch Ratings Indonesia has assigned a national long-term rating of AAA (idn) for Pupuk Indonesias Rp 8 trillion bond program, as well as its first issuance under the program, as stated in a rating action commentary published on July 15. The triple-A rating is the highest rating assigned by the agency, which indicates the lowest expectation of default risks relative to other obligations in the country. Indonesian rating agency Pemeringkat Efek Indonesia (Pefindo), on the other hand, has assigned the company a rating of idAAA, Pefindos highest rating, and said in a press release published on March 26 that the outlook for the companys corporate rating was stable. The corporate rating reflects the strong support Pupuk Indonesia has received from the government, given its important role in providing and distributing subsidized fertilizer in the country, analysts Niken Indriarsih and Umar Harreddy said in the press release. Pupuk Indonesia finance director Indarto Pamoengkas said during the press conference that the pandemic had adversely affected the companys sales but it was still able to record growth during the health crisis. As of May, we saw a 10 percent annual increase in revenue, Indarto said. Read also: Indonesia raises record high $1.27b from retail bonds sale According to Pupuk Indonesias statement published following the press conference, the companys net profit grew 11.7 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 1.6 trillion from Rp 1.43 trillion during the January-May period. Its revenue from the sales of commercial fertilizer rose by 38.35 percent to Rp 7.54 trillion as the volume of the commercial fertilizer sold soared by 47.45 percent to 2.01 million tons. Meanwhile, the company reported that the sale of its subsidized fertilizer or public service obligation (PSO) product from January to May amounted to 3.93 million tons. In 2019, the company booked a net profit of Rp 3.71 trillion, down by 11.9 percent from 2018s net profit of Rp 4.12 trillion. Its total sales and other revenue, including from products sold and subsidy reimbursements from the government, amounted to Rp 71.31 trillion, up 2.68 percent yoy. View this post on Instagram Im moving different bcos a real man dates a woman with children, and he accept them as if they were His own. Dont forget, old keys cant unlock new doors! #toGodbetheglory photo by @bobpixel styled by @nineteen57_africa EAST HAVEN Firefighters are crediting a local teenager with saving the life of an elderly man whom he pulled unconscious out of the water off Morgan Avenue Sunday as firefighters were responding to a reported drowning. The young man, identified as Davin Garamella, 14, already had pulled the drowning man out of the water by time firefighters arrived, East Haven Firefighters Local 1205 said in a Facebook post. Firefighters immediately evaluated the unconscious man and assessed that he wasnt adequately moving air and inserted a nasal airway and assisted the patients breathing with bag valve mask to assist with his breathing, Local 1205 said. While that was being done FD medics simultaneously started an IV and put the patient on the heart monitor, the post said. Necessary drugs were given and the still unconscious patient was loaded into a Stokes basket and carried across the beach to an AMR ambulance. While loading patient in ambulance patient began coughing and regained consciousness, the union post said. The single action that made this call so successful was the heroics of that teenage boy. Kudos kid! Fire Chief Matt Marcarelli said the Board of Fire Commissioners will honor Davin with a Civilian Lifesaving Award at its meeting next Monday. I think its great. Im glad he jumped in to help out, Marcarelli said Monday. Between Davin and the firefighters who revived the man later, it was successful rescue. Davin seems like a very impressive young man, Marcarelli said. For Davin, who graduated from East Shoreline Catholic Academy in Branford last month and will attend Notre Dame High School in West Haven, it was just a matter of being in the right place at the right time, he said Monday. I was at the beach, just spending the day like I normally do, Davin said on a phone call that also included his parents, Shawn and David Garamella. My dad said, Go check if the groceries are here, so Davin went to see whether the familys delivery had arrived. As he did, My neighbor was sitting there by the beach and said, Go see if that man is OK, he said. He turned around and saw a man floating face-down in the water, as if he was snorkeling. Davin tapped the man on the shoulder and he didnt respond, so I flipped him over, he said. I could see that he was unconscious. It took all of my might to push him up so that the water wouldnt get in his mouth. Meanwhile, he screamed for someone to call 911, and later called himself but he had plenty of help once he got the man out of the water. Davins mother, Shawn Garamella, is a nurse practioner. Another neighbor who was paddleboarding nearby is a state trooper. Another is a nurse, and yet another is an EMT. But firefighters were there in the blink of an eye, Davin said. They responded so quickly and I was so glad and grateful and relieved, he said. He doesnt yet even know the name of the man whose life he saved. Hes just in my thoughts and prayers for him to feel better and all that. Shawn Garamella said the incident really brought home to her the idea of serving people in the midst of a pandemic. When you need to save someone, thats all out the window, she said, referring to social distancing and all the safety precautions and guidelines. You just have to get the job done. David Garamella said of his son, Im not amazed that he did it. Hes a good kid like that. Scary. He was just in the right place at the right time. It was just amazing, David Garamella said. ... Hes kind of humbled by all of it. ... Were just hoping that the gentlemans OK. mark.zaretsky@hearstmediact.com World China Blasts Britain's Suspension of Extradition Pact With Hong Kong -- LONDONChina on Tuesday blasted Britains decision to suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong over Beijings recent imposition of a sweeping national security law in the territory. Britain blatantly interfered in Chinas internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the new law, a spokesperson at the Chinese Embassy in London said in remarks posted on the embassys website. The Chinese side strongly condemns and firmly opposes this. Read more. You may also like these stories: Chinas Huawei Deepens Ties With Europes Top Telecom Firm: Reports Ukraine Welcomes Iranian Handover Of Flight Recorders As Data Extraction Begins By RFE/RL's Ukrainian Service July 20, 2020 KYIV -- Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy has welcomed Iran's handover to France of the flight recorders from a Ukrainian airliner that was downed shortly after taking off from Tehran on January 8. French investigators have begun working on extracting data from the black boxes recovered from the Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) jet that was downed by a missile, killing all 176 people on board. France's BEA accident investigation bureau said on July 20 that the cockpit voice recorder will be accessed first, and then the flight data recorder, in a process that is expected to take several days. Iranian forces say they downed the Boeing 737 on January 8 after mistaking it for an incoming missile at a time of high tensions with the United States. Iran later called it a "disastrous mistake" by forces who were on high alert. Zelenskiy said Ukrainian experts would take part in decoding the black boxes, alongside air accident investigators from France, the United States, and Canada. Iran agreed in June to send the black boxes to the BEA for analysis, ending a long dispute with Canada, Ukraine, and France over access to the data. Many of the crash victims were Canadian citizens or permanent residents, or had Canada as their final destination. Iran's Civil Aviation Organization last week issued an interim report blaming the tragedy on the misalignment of a radar system and lack of communication between the air-defense operator and his commanders. With reporting by Reuters and AFP Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/ukraine-welcomes -iranian-handover-of-flight-recorders-as- data-extraction-begins/30737368.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 Fish market favourites such as orange roughy, common octopus and pink conch are among the species of fish and invertebrates in rapid decline around the world, according to new research. In the first study of its kind, researchers at the University of British Columbia, the GEOMAR Helmholtz Centre for Ocean Research Kiel and the University of Western Australia assessed the biomass--the weight of a given population in the water--of more than 1,300 fish and invertebrate populations. They discovered global declines, some severe, of many popularly consumed species. Of the populations analyzed, 82 per cent were found to be below levels that can produce maximum sustainable yields, due to being caught at rates exceeding what can be regrown. Of these, 87 populations were found to be in the "very bad" category, with biomass levels at less than 20 per cent of what is needed to maximize sustainable fishery catches. This also means that fishers are catching less and less fish and invertebrates over time, even if they fish longer and harder. "This is the first-ever global study of long-term trends in the population biomass of exploited marine fish and invertebrates for all coastal areas on the planet," said Maria "Deng" Palomares, lead author of the study and manager of the Sea Around Us initiative in UBC's Institute for the Oceans and Fisheries."When we looked at how the populations of major species have been doing in the past 60 years, we discovered that, at present, most of their biomasses are well below the level that can produce optimal catches." To reach their findings, the researchers applied computer-intensive stock assessment methods known as CMSY and BSMY to the comprehensive catch data by marine ecosystem reconstructed by the Sea Around Us for the 1950-2014 period. The greatest declines in stocks were found in the southern temperate and polar Indian Ocean and the southern polar Atlantic Ocean, where populations shrunk by well over 50 per cent since 1950. While much of the globe showed declining trends in fish and invertebrates, the analysis found a few exceptions. One of these was the Northern Pacific Ocean where population biomass increased by 800 per cent in its polar and subpolar zones, and by about 150 per cent in its temperate zone. Despite these pockets of improvement, the overall picture remains a cause for concern, according to co-author Daniel Pauly, principal investigator at Sea Around Us. "Despite the exceptions, our findings support previous suggestions of systematic and widespread overfishing of the coastal and continental shelf waters in much of the world over the last 60-plus years," said Pauly. "Thus, pathways for improvements in effective fisheries management are needed, and such measures should be driven not only by clearly set total allowable annual catch limits, but also by well-enforced and sizeable no-take marine protected areas to allow stocks to rebuild." ### "Fishery biomass trends of exploited fish populations in marine ecoregions, climatic zones and ocean basins" was published in Estuarine, Coastal and Shelf Science. Poll Did you know about the 'faulty' merchandise trolley at Kmart? Yes, I've looked through it No, this is news to me Did you know about the 'faulty' merchandise trolley at Kmart? Yes, I've looked through it 63 votes No, this is news to me 125 votes Now share your opinion A Kmart shopper has alerted fans of the store to a 'secret section' of marked down goods, with people saying they had 'no idea' the area existed. The Australian woman, who is from Perth, told followers of the Markdown Addicts Facebook group that she picked up a drinks trolley for $7.50 after it was relegated to the sale area. 'Don't be afraid to buy from your local Kmart "Soiled/Damaged/Faulty" merchandise trolley or section,' she said. 'Because of someone's inability to assemble this cute drinks trolley, I got it for only $7.50 and managed to assemble it while my baby napped.' A Kmart shopper has alerted fans of the store to a 'secret section' of marked down goods that rarely disappoints, with people saying they had 'no idea' the area existed 'Don't be afraid to buy from your local Kmart "Soiled/Damaged/Faulty" merchandise trolley or section,' she said The merchandise area, which is in different parts of the store depending on where you live, is frequently refilled with 'broken' returns and mismatched toys, bedding and clothing. But, as some people have discovered, the products aren't as 'soiled' as their labels would make you believe. 'Reminds me of years and years ago I got a framed New York picture reduced because the sales person saw a scratch in the corner. I didn't notice until I got home it was the artist's signature,' one woman said. 'I got one of the huge circle mirrors for $11 because it had a black mark on it. The mark was smaller than a 5c piece and is almost unnoticeable,' said another. 'I got this for my daughter from my local Kmart's markdown trolley right next to the customer service photo counter,' another woman said, sharing a photo of a LOL Doll 'The box was damaged and said there were only four items inside but it was complete with all eight pieces there. Always worth a look,' she said A third added: 'I got a Breville slow cooker nearly two years ago... full price was $169 and it was down to $42. It had a dint on the side, we were able to fix it, and it still works perfectly fine. 'Also I got a knife block set down to $7. It had a missing parts sign but nothing was missing in the box.' Others have said it's their 'first port of call' whenever they walk into the discount retailer, although sometimes the merchandise area is filled with 'garbage'. 'I love the faulty trolley. It's the first place I go when I get a chance to have a Kmart shop. We don't always get big discounts though,' one lady said. 'I got this for my daughter from my local Kmart's markdown trolley right next to the customer service photo counter,' another woman said, sharing a photo of a LOL Doll. 'I got a Breville slow cooker nearly two years ago... full price was $169 and it was down to $42. It had a dint on the side, we were able to fix it, and it still works perfectly fine,' one woman said 'The box was damaged and said there were only four items inside but it was complete with all eight pieces there. Always worth a look.' Another said: 'Every time we walk into Kmart my partner goes "you're going straight for the reduced section aren't you?" 'Damn straight I am! I got a king-sized doona less than half price as it was out of its packing and dirty. I just had to wash it.' Some people were devastated they were only just learning about the section now, and said they will keep an eye out for the special area when they're next in store. The much-awaited meeting of Nepal's ruling communist party on Tuesday failed to sort out the differences between Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and the rival faction led by party executive chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" as political issues did not figure during the brief deliberations held in the absence of the premier. The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) was held at the Prime Minister's official residence at Baluwatar in the national capital but it did not discuss political issues, said Ganesh Shah, member of the Standing Committee and a senior party leader. Prime Minister Oli did not attend the meeting of the 45-member Standing Committee, he said, adding that the next meeting of the top body of the NCP will be held a week later. The meeting took place after it was postponed seven times to allow Oli and Prachanda more time to sort out their differences. However, on Tuesday also the meeting was deferred by two hours as Prime Minister Oli held a one-on-one meeting with party's executive chairman "Prachanda" to settle key issues over power-sharing. The meeting mainly discussed the natural disasters that have hit the country, he said. The next meeting of the Standing Committee was decided to be held on July 28 at 11 am at Baluwatar to review the party's activities, government's performance, finalising division of work among party's cadres and leaders, and proposed general convention among other issues, he said. However, "informal meetings may take place among the senior leaders of the party before the Standing Committee meeting with the view to resolving the internal feud in the party," Shah said. The members at the meeting expressed sadness over the loss of life and property due to the floods and landslides in different parts of the country as a result of continuous rains and urged the government to carry out relief works in a speedy manner. "There was only one agenda for today to direct the party members to respond to natural disasters," said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, party's spokesperson. "The meeting also expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives to floods and landslides and wished speedy recovery of the injured," Shrestha said. At the meeting, a proposal to direct the party members to involve in rescue and relief was tabled, as 233 people have been killed, 98 have disappeared and 99 have been due to the floods and landslides, the Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted Shrestha as saying. Top NCP leaders, including Prachanda, have been demanding Oli's resignation, saying his recent anti-India remarks were "neither politically correct nor diplomatically appropriate." They are also against Oli's autocratic style of functioning. The differences grew further after Oli said that some of the ruling party leaders are aligning with the southern neighbour to remove him from power after his government issued a new political map incorporating three Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. The Prachanda-Nepal faction rejected Oli's allegations, saying it is them who have asked for resignation, not India. Prachanda has said that he will not allow the party to split and any attempt from anywhere to weaken its unity would hurt the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters. Prachanda on Monday said efforts were going on to resolve the intra-party differences and ruled out an early general convention of the party as proposed by embattled Prime Minister Oli. "Going for the general convention is not a bad idea but without proper preparations, it is not possible as various issues including the party ideology also need to be sorted out," Matrika Yadav, a Standing Committee member, quoted Prachanda as saying at the meeting. Prachanda's remarks came amid reports that he had reached an understanding with Oli on holding the general convention by November/December and that the prime minister would back him as the party chair. Premier Doug Ford has ejected Cambridge MPP Belinda Karahalios from the Progressive Conservative caucus for voting against controversial legislation expanding his governments emergency authority. Belinda Karahalios will no longer be sitting as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus, Ford said in a terse statement issued Tuesday night, less than an hour after Karahalios broke ranks. Our governments first priority is the health and safety of all Ontarians, and Bill 195 is an important piece of legislation that protects each and every citizen during the pandemic, the premier said. With Ontarios state of emergency, which began March 17, set to expire Friday, the government pushed through the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act. Karahalios voted against the legislation, warning it was unnecessary overreach on our parliamentary democracy. At its core, Bill 195 takes away the legislatures ability to vote on the use of extraordinary emergency powers on Ontarians for the next year, she said. By transferring away the ability for Ontario MPPs to consider, debate, and vote on how emergency powers are used on Ontarians, Bill 195 essentially silences every single Ontario MPP on the most important issue facing our legislature today. Independent MPP Randy Hillier (Kingston-Lanark-Frontenac), who was expelled from the PC caucus last year, said Tuesday night that Ford is relentless in his demand for total compliance and subservience. Caucus members are not people, but chess pieces at his disposal. Representing constituents is unacceptable and anathema to his addiction to absolute authority, said Hillier. Green Leader Mike Schreiner praised Karahalios for voting her conscience and opposing the governments power grab in Bill 195. MPPs should not be punished for thinking freely or representing the views of their constituents. This says a lot about how freedom of speech is received in the Ford government, said Schreiner. NDP house leader Gilles Bisson hailed Karahalios for her principled stand for which Doug Ford has punished her by kicking her out of his caucus. Its clear that Ford is still on a mission to attack anyone who disagrees with him, said Bisson. Karahalios, who was first elected in 2018, is the wife of Jim Karahalios, a prominent maverick who was disqualified from running for the federal Conservatives in May after suggesting a rival candidates campaign chair supported sharia law. He was runner-up in the provincial partys 2018 presidential race. Under Bill 195, emergency orders to close public places, restrict large gatherings and prohibit personal-care workers from being employed in multiple nursing homes could be on the books for years. Ford has said the bill is totally misunderstood by critics. Were doing it to help the people, he said earlier this month. I dont want a power grab. Im just not into big government, Im just not, but we have to do it. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association also opposes the legislation, warning that the government is trying to extend emergency powers while leaving the label of an emergency behind. Later on Tuesday night, the Tories passed omnibus legislation amending 20 existing laws in order to tackle the fallout from COVID-19, which has killed almost 2,800 Ontarians. MPPs then rose for the summer. The legislature resumes on Sept. 14. The COVID-19 Economic Recovery Act is aimed at speeding up construction projects, including the building of thousands of homes at more than a dozen new transit stations. The Tories say affordable housing is part of the plan. It streamlines environmental assessments, gives the municipal affairs minister more power over development and planning, makes it easier to appoint justices of the peace to help clear court backlogs, allows the city of Toronto to hold online council meetings, and ensures school boards can hire directors of education who have never been teachers. But NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said the new law doesnt help long-term-care residents or struggling small businesses. What Mr. Ford has decided to do here is use COVID-19 as a way to put 150 pages of legislation forward that have nothing to do with COVID-19, but rather to help their developer friends, to gut the environmental assessment process, to privatize our transit systems, Horwath told reporters. Its a shameful, shameful day. Ford, for his part, spent most of Tuesday in Mississauga, the latest stop on his campaign-style summer tour, which will take him to 38 of Ontarios 124 ridings during an eight-week, 5,000-km blitz. In Mississauga, he pledged that two nursing homes with up to 640 new beds first announced last December on Speakman Drive property owned by the Trillium Health Partners hospital system will be fast-tracked using modular building techniques and round-the-clock construction with opening targeted next year. The system is in desperate need, he said. More than 30,000 people are on the waiting list for nursing home beds and there is pressure increasing for modern facilities to help deal with the highly infectious nature of COVID-19. The virus spread rapidly in long-term care, scene of almost two-thirds of Ontarios pandemic deaths. With files from Rob Ferguson Read more about: Indian and Southern African Customs Union trade officials have held online meetings to discuss a Preferential Trade Agreement (PTA); if implemented, it will reduce tariffs on a variety of products. The Southern African Customs Union (SACU) is the worlds oldest customs union, and includes South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, Lesotho, and Eswatini (formerly Swaziland). It was established in 1910. Both India and the SACU lead nation, South Africa, are members of the BRICS grouping of countries. We examined the FTA potential among the BRICS nations in the article BRICS 2019 Summit Declaration Free Trade Agreement on the Horizon? and also noted that by 2030, BRICS nations will account for 50 percent of all global trade. According to Srikar Reddy, Indias Joint Secretary at the Department of Commerce, 2019-20 trade between India and Africa as a whole stood at US$66.7 billion, including US$10.9 billion in specific India-SACU trade. Steve Katjiuanjo, the Executive Director at Namibias Ministry of Industrialization, Trade, and SME Development called India a strategic partner, noting that the region is benefiting from access to the vast Indian market. According to trade officials, India stood fully committed and ready to support manufacturing and industry in Namibia in areas as diverse as agriculture, irrigation, renewables, ICT, pharma, and medical supplies. Bilateral trade between India and Namibia reached US$135.92 million in 2018-19. Indias exports were valued at US$82.37 million, while imports stood at US$53.55 million. The mining sector is an area of mutual interest for the two countries. Namibia is rich in uranium, diamonds, copper, phosphates, and other minerals. Bilateral cooperation in the energy and agricultural sectors also has good prospects. Statistics showed that trade between India and South Africa also grew to over US$10 billion during the Indian fiscal year of 2018-19. Exports from India to South Africa included vehicles and components, drugs and pharmaceuticals, engineering goods, footwear, dyes and intermediates, as well as chemicals, textiles, rice, gems and jewelry, etc. India imported gold, steam coal, copper ores and concentrates, phosphoric acid, manganese ore, aluminum ingots, and other minerals. It is relatively easy for African companies to enter the Indian market, with inexpensive options, such as establishing Liaison Offices, which are able to access market entry at low costs and is a suitable strategy for trading businesses. Larger businesses may use a variety of investment options in India, such as setting up Wholly Owned Companies or a joint venture. An explanation of the Indian corporate income tax regime can be seen here; coverage on new corporate tax cuts that were introduced in 2019 can be read here and the definition of medium, small, and micro scale enterprises that was changed in 2020 can be read here. Related Reading ALBANY Bars that only serve alcohol to patrons were never authorized to reopen during the ongoing pandemic, but have seized on a loophole in New York law in which there is no distinction between restaurants that serve food and establishments that primarily serve drinks, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said. "We never authorized bars to reopen. Most states have not allowed bars to operate," Cuomo said Tuesday morning. "New Jersey doesn't allow bars to operate. Bars are congregations of people milling about and that is exactly what we're trying to avoid." He said it "was just a violation from the beginning" for bars to open outdoor areas to allow patrons to gather and drink. (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) "Outdoor dining is different. You sit down at a table and you eat," he said. "When you are dining, you are at a table; youre not getting up and going table to table not standing, hobnobbing." The governor stopped short of saying that bars would be forced to close, but noted that 27 liquor licenses have been suspended across the state and more than 400 establishments have received citations. "They were never supposed to institute outdoor drinking. The words are 'outdoor dining,'" he said. "They took outdoor dining and used it as an opportunity to do outdoor drinking. That is not what the regulations permitted. ... I'm not changing the rules. They exploited the existing regulation." Also Tuesday, the governor said 31 states are now on the state's quarantine list, as 10 more were added Tuesday and only one Minnesota was removed. Delaware was returned to the list after being removed last week. "Our future is in their hands," Cuomo said of other states where coronavirus is surging. "We may not be unified as a nation the way we should be, but we're going to have national unity in the trajectory of COVID. One state cannot protect itself from this virus." New York's infection rates remained steady and low Monday at 1.2 percent, with 724 people hospitalized and two fatalities. "Remember, at one time we had over 800 deaths in a single day," Cuomo said. On Monday, Cuomo had threatened to roll back the phased reopening by closing down bars and restaurants if social-distancing rules aren't adhered to more strictly. "These restaurants and bars are breaking the law and they are going to make it bad for everyone else, because if this continues we're going to have to roll back the reopening plan and close all bars and restaurants," he said. West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday asserted that the Trinamool Congress (TMC) will fight against all odds and defeat the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) to win the Assembly Election in 2021. Addressing a virtual rally of the TMC on 'Martyrs' Day', CM Banerjee said, "Today on the solemn occasion of July 21, Shahid Divas, we could not organise a huge rally due to COVID-19. But, next year (2021) we will hold the biggest rally on July 21 after winning elections fighting against all odds." On the current COVID-19 crisis in the state, she said that the focus of her government is "on testing, tracking and tracing". "We are going to ramp up our testing. Most naturally, the more we test the more people will test positive. By August 15, we will test 25,000 people per day and by August 31, we will have more beds. Those with co-morbidity are finding it difficult." She added that West Bengal has a population of 10 crore and is surrounded by Nepal, Bhutan and Bangladesh and North Eastern states. "Because of movement of people, there has been a spike," she added. On the funds from the Centre after Cyclone Amphan, she said, "Has Bengal received what it deserved from Centre during Cyclone Amphan? We have released funds for migrant labourers, cyclones and combating COVID-19." Training her guns at the Centre, the CM said, "Centre has slammed us all the time and has always maligned West Bengal. We are going to take revenge but by celebrating mankind and love. There are political parties who are only creating trouble. Just because you are in power at the Centre, you are going to bulldoze our rights?" "Centre hasn't given us money, they have looked down upon us. I'm a human. I have reached this stage after getting bashed up brutally all over my life. Now BJP abuses me. They desire to play communal clashes and dislodge the government. Don't let them do this," she added. Hinting at the recent row over the death of BJP MLA Devendra Ray, she said, "Before post mortem, they're saying its a murder." She spoke about the National Register of Citizens (NRC) and National Population Register (NPR) stating, "We havent forgotten the fight against NRC and NPR. We remember so many were killed in Delhi. Dont think we will forget NRC and NPR in the garb of COVID-19. What citizenship are you going to give us when we are already citizens. The refugees are all Indians. They are only wanting to create rifts between Rajbonshis and Kamtapuris. Im born to a Hindu family, but give equal respect to Sikhs, Muslims and Jains." Taking a jibe at the BJP, she said, "A party after securing some seats, think they have won the world. Party in power at the Centre, are resorting to 'goondaism'. Some people saying there is no law and order in the state. Why dont you visit the districts and check for yourself whether there is any law and order? If there's no law and order in West Bengal, then see what is happening in UP, Bihar, Tripura and Assam. In Assam, in the name of NRC, so many names of Assamese, Bengalis and Gorkhas omitted in the NRC list. Those from Bengal went to work in Kashmir were brutally killed." The novel coronavirus will disappear if Muslims are allowed to offer namaz at mosques, said Shafiqur Rahman, Samajwadi Party MP. Bakra Eid festival is on August 12 and Rahman demanded that markets should be opened for this festival. The saga of Indian politicians and their strange cures for fighting Covid-19 continues. The novel coronavirus will disappear if Muslims are allowed to offer namaz at mosques, said Shafiqur Rahman, Samajwadi Party MP on Monday. Bakra Eid festival is on August 12 and Rahman demanded that markets should be opened for this festival. He represents the Sambhal constituency in UP. He also said that coronavirus is a punishment from God for peoples sins. Also read: AP signs MoU with Amul to benefit farmers and women Also read: Black clouds over Gurugram: Netizens term it an apocalypse scene, see photos The MP also said that markets should be opened in the first week of August so that people can buy animals. He said that he wants markets to open on the occasion of Bakra Eid so that they can easily purchase animals for the purpose of sacrificing them during the festival. Mosques and eidgahs should be opened for people so that they can offer prayers to end coronavirus. In UP, strict lockdown has been implemented on weekends by the Yogi Adityanath-led government due to the rising coronavirus cases in the state. There is no cure for the Coronavirus yet. In India, public gatherings are still prohibited, particularly in religious places where social distancing cannot be maintained. Awanish Awasthi, Additional Chief Secretary (Home and Information) said that the markets and offices will remain closed on weekends. Many politicians have come up with strange treatments to fight the novel Coronavirus. Rahman is not the only one. Dilip Ghosh, West Bengal BJP President, and Lok Sabha MP, also recommended a solution for the virus a few days ago. He said that to fight the virus, people should drink cow urine. Also read: After Taapsee Pannu and Swara Bhasker, Jacqueline Fernandez responds to Kangana Ranauts statements For all the latest National News, download NewsX App An Iranian delegation may arrive in Ukraine this week to negotiate compensation for relatives of those killed in the shooting down of a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane near Tehran in January, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said. "Yesterday we received information that the Iranian delegation is ready to arrive in Ukraine this week to negotiate with us on compensation. We have long insisted on such a visit. We are ready for these negotiations and hope that today Iran is already officially will confirm the visit of their representatives, and such negotiations will take place in Kyiv this week," he said at an online briefing on Tuesday. The minister stressed that for Ukraine and the countries whose citizens were also killed on this flight, justice regarding the victims of the tragedy and their relatives and friends is a fundamental goal. "All we want is justice in all its aspects," he added. Kuleba also noted that Ukraine does not accept arguments about human error, as a result of which the UIA plane was shot down, but wants to raise the question of the functioning of the Iranian airspace control system in general. "Iran must explain in all details what happened. In the modern world, just one person cannot simply take and shoot down a plane, even if this person is extremely cunning, talented and full of evil intentions. We must raise the question more broadly: not about human error, but in general about the functioning of the Iranian airspace control system," he said. According to him, Ukraine wants to hear an answer to the question: was this system functioning at the time of the downing of the plane, whether it functioned correctly, whether there were any interference in its activities, and the real reason for downing of a peaceful Ukrainian plane over Iran. "It was this plane, not other aircraft in the Iranian space," he stressed. The minister also added that Iran is expected to conduct a high-quality criminal investigation and bring all those responsible to justice. According to him, Ukraine is still determined to cooperate with the Iranian side on the basis of the principle of reciprocity. Kuleba also recalled Ukraine's demands on Iran. "First, Iran must admit its international legal responsibility for shooting down the Ukrainian plane. Second, Iran must apologize and provide assurance that such events will never happen again. Third, Iran must conduct a technical investigation in accordance with the requirements of the Chicago Convention. Fourth, Iran must conduct an impartial and independent criminal investigation and bring all the guilty to justice. I emphasize, all the guilty. Fifth, Iran must pay proper compensation," Kuleba said. Editor's note: Tom Fowdy is a British political and international relations analyst and a graduate of Durham and Oxford universities. He writes on topics pertaining to China, the DPRK, Britain and the U.S. The article reflects the author's opinions, and not necessarily the views of CGTN. In February 1974, the Conservative Party led by Prime Minister Edward Heath called a snap general election under the slogan "Who governs Britain?" as the government faced off against an energy crisis compounded by conflict in the Middle East and industrial action from the country's National Union of Mine workers. The shortages were so severe that the country was forced to adopt what was known as "The Three Day Week," which restricted the use of electricity to 72 hours. Heath sought to take back control in the election, but however the electorate found him unconvincing, leading a hung parliament and another vote later that year, in which Labor attained power. The slogan itself is significant to today's events. We have another Conservative government and the prevailing question of "Who governs Britain?" Particularly this time on the issue of Foreign Policy. On suspending Britain's extradition treaty with Hong Kong, and just a week after announcing a Huawei ban, Prime Minister Boris Johnson stated he wanted a positive relationship with China, to maintain engagement and to avoid what he describes as "Sinophobic" and "anti" attacks on anything to do with the country. But increasingly, it seems as if the Prime Minister, or his Foreign Secretary Dominic Rabb, is not in control of the country's foreign policy anymore. There are two major problems derailing British's China policy, one of them is a group of hardline right MPs in the Conservative Party, and the other sits in Washington with an administration who is actively coercing and bullying Britain into taking a harsher line on Beijing. Arriving Monday in London, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet with the government to "thank" them for agreeing to Washington's demands on Huawei, but not first before he meets with this very same group of MPs, known as "The China Research Group," as well as several from the opposition Labour Party, and hold a meeting. Several media outlets have described it as a "snub" to the government. When one looks at that, one wonders who is truly in control here. Pompeo is actively encouraging rebellion against the British government's foreign policy by encouraging and supporting a block of insurgent MPs who are eager, as they did with Brexit, to drag Britain's foreign policy rightwards and burn bridges with another major market. There seems to be no limit to what they are prepared to try and force on Downing Street. MPs in this group have called for Chinese students to be banned from Britain and portrayed them as an "influence operation," and have demanded Huawei not just be replaced in 5G, but in all the previous networks as well. They were calling in the Times last Sunday for the application TikTok to be banned and coordinated with the right wing press in vilifying the country daily. Whilst it is obvious that Boris Johnson does not personally subscribe to this, and the Huawei decision appears to have been forced upon him from this group, he nevertheless seems to lack any kind of political will to stop this and enforce in discipline to the Conservative Party. As former Chancellor Philip Hammond warned, anti-China sentiment in the party is getting out of control and of course out of political expediency, the opposition parties including Labor and the Scottish National Party, are encouraging it. The China debate in Britain is being hijacked, and the narrative has become regretfully very one sided, there appears to be no effective opposition or check on it whatsoever. The government realizes, despite rising tensions, that this will be disastrous for the country economically, but they do not have an answer to it. As a result, Boris needs to harden his position against both Washington and the rebels. To do so, he needs to be more bold and clear in setting out Britain's national interests. Pompeo's intervention into British Parliamentary politics and encouragement of rebels should be a warning, and the Prime Minister has miscalculated the fact that Huawei will not be the last demand from Washington. The administration will insist on more and more against Beijing. The Prime Minister's attempt to pursue a fast trade deal with them has subsequently been a mistake, and the result is that the U.S. is threatening British foreign policy on multiple fronts. The government should seek to respond to this in a shrewd and diplomatic way, seeking to find distance from the Trump administration and creating political space to move away from their demands. In addition, the Prime Minister ought to handle the rebels by taking a more definitive and clear position on what is Britain's national interest and what isn't, and enforce party discipline. As a whole this boils down the same question 46 years ago: "Who governs Britain?" Is it Boris Johnson and his cabinet, or a coalition of Cold War hungry rebels and Mike Pompeo? Either way, the Secretary of States' manipulation of British politics is completely unacceptable. Washington and its supporters do not represent Britain's national interest, and they are on the verge of pulling the country off a cliff and into a row with the world's second largest economy and a key export market, a battle which Britain simply can't afford. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: The Azerbaijani Ministry of Defense has issued an official statement in connection with the information spread recently on social networks that allegedly, First Deputy Minister of Defense, Chief of the General Staff of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, Colonel-General Najmeddin Sadikov was dismissed, and that his brother holds a high position in the Armenian army, Trend reports on July 21 referring to the ministry. These are lies, slander and misinformation spread by Armenia for provocative purposes, the ministry said. Unfortunately, such news has been often spread and discussed on social networks recently. This is clearly done with malicious intent to cause confusion in the society. We inform that Sadikov is performing his official duties at his post, the ministry said. Sadikovs brother died in early 1980s. We call on the media outlets to be extremely careful and use the official sources when covering the activity of the Ministry of Defense. *Warning - this article contains a graphic image* Police are searching for more information after a vehicle drove onto a farm and ran over sheep, resulting in three dead and eight others missing. Lincolnshire Police said they were investigating a 'horrific' incident that had caused 'much upset' to the farmer. The incident was reported to have taken place between Friday 17 July and Saturday 18 July at Surfleet Marsh, in between Surfleet and Fosdyke. The force believes a 4X4 entered a field and ran over three of the resident sheep. One sheep died as a result of the collision. One of the other two injured sheep was set on fire while it was still alive, Lincolnshire Police added. This sheep, along with the other injured sheep, had to be put to sleep. The incident comes just days after North Wales Police reported a disturbing case of sheep cruelty involving teenage boys. Wildlife crime officer, PC Martin Green said the Lincolnshire case was likely a deliberate act: "We are carrying out investigations to bring the offenders to justice. We believe a 4X4 was driven into the field where the sheep were kept sometime between Friday and Saturday (Photo: Lincolnshire Police) "Three of the flock were knocked down and have sadly died," PC Green added. The farmer also reported eight sheep missing. Lincolnshire Police said the animals could have been chased into the River Welland or they may have been stolen. We would like to hear from anyone who may be able to assist with our investigation," PC Green continued. "Any information no matter how insignificant it may seem, may help us to investigate this cruel act and identify those responsible. Lincolnshire Police would like to hear from any witnesses, anyone who may have seen anyone acting suspiciously in the area or anyone who has dashcam footage. Those with more information can email force.control@lincs.pnn.police.uk with the reference 168 of July 18 in the subject box, or via the non-emergency number 101, quoting reference 168 of July 18. SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Crosschq, pioneers of a new software category for the recruiting industry called Human Intelligence Hiring, announced today a new round of financing that includes investment from Tiger Global Management and Rocketship.vc. This latest round comes immediately following a strategic financing from Slack and SAP.iO in June which also included re-investment from GGV Capital and Bessemer Ventures. "We are proud to be partnering with these two great firms as we enter the next phase of our growth," said Mike Fitzsimmons, CEO of Crosschq. "If we have learned anything from the last several months, it is that the future of work is ripe for disruption. Our use of human intelligence is becoming a foundational element of modern company building." Crosschq brings speed, efficiency, accuracy, transparency and accountability to the obsolete, manual process of vetting new job candidates. The new investment comes as Crosschq crosses the 100 customer milestone with customers including Dish, NBA, Upwork, Snowflake, NerdWallet and Glassdoor using the platform to enhance recruiting and make better hires. "SAP strongly believes that the future of work is inclusive and diverse, and that starts with removing biases in the candidate experience," said Ram Jambunathan, SAP senior vice president at and managing director of SAP.iO. "Crosschq will bring increased objectivity and consistency to the candidate reference checking process, thereby improving outcomes for both candidates and SAP customers." Crosschq will use the new cash injection to strengthen its core product, grow its team, expand partnerships and focus on building out additional data and analytics capabilities. "The team at Rocketship got excited when we realized how insightful Crosschq's data is in predicting new hire success," added Anand Rajaraman, co-founder and partner Rocketship.vc and a pioneer in data science. "Over time, this data-driven approach to hiring has the ability to fundamentally transform the $74B recruiting industry." About Rocketship.VC Rocketship.vc is a global early-stage venture capital firm that is pioneering the use of data in making investment decisions. Rocketship uses machine learning to find and partner with some of the world's most exciting companies in technology, consumer and healthcare. Founded by a world class team of data scientists and entrepreneurs at companies like Amazon, @Walmartlabs and Kosmix, the firm helps founders get to unprecedented scale through a combination of data, ML expertise and deep experience in building companies. Rocketship is based in Silicon Valley with more than 40 investments across India, Southeast Asia, Latin America, Europe and North America. About SAP.iO SAP.iO is SAP's strategic business unit to accelerate innovation and drive new business models for SAP. The SAP.iO Fund makes investments in early-stage startups building innovative solutions that enable customers to receive highly incremental value from SAP platforms and applications. The SAP.iO Foundries are a global network of equity-free accelerator programs in strategic startup hubs providing startups access to mentorship, exposure to SAP technologies and integration support, and opportunities to meet and collaborate with SAP customers. Learn more at https://SAP.iO/ About Slack Slack has transformed business communication. It's the leading channel-based messaging platform, used by millions to align their teams, unify their systems, and drive their businesses forward. Only Slack offers a secure, enterprise-grade environment that can scale with the largest companies in the world. It is a new layer of the business technology stack where people can work together more effectively, connect all their other software tools and services, and find the information they need to do their best work. Slack is where work happens. About Tiger Global Management Tiger Global Management, LLC is an investment firm that deploys capital globally. The firm's fundamentally oriented investments focus primarily on the global internet, software, financial technology, consumer and industrial sectors. The private equity strategy has a ten-year investment horizon and targets growth-oriented private companies. Such investments have included Spotify, Harry's, Warby Parker, Peloton, JD.com, Facebook, LinkedIn, Yandex, Mail.ru Group, Despegar, Ola and Flipkart. The public equity efforts emphasize deep due diligence on individual companies and long-term secular themes. Tiger Global Management, LLC, was founded in 2001 and is based in New York with affiliate offices in Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangalore and Melbourne. About Crosschq Crosschq has pioneered Human Intelligence Hiring, the next essential software category for building great companies. Through proprietary software and science, Crosschq gathers people-driven insights from job seekers and those who know them best and converts those insights into predictive data. Crosschq data can be used to ensure people and businesses are well-matched, creating long-term, successful employees and winning workplace cultures. The company's cloud-based SaaS solutions were built with a talent-first approach that prioritizes trust and transparency, minimizes bias and protects privacy. Founded in 2018, Crosschq is backed by GGV Capital, Bessemer Ventures Partners, SAP, Slack and other well-known Silicon Valley Investors. To learn more, visit crosschq.com . Media contact: Elena Arney [email protected] 415-361-0001 SOURCE Crosschq AGRIGENTO - Six small boats were rescued at dawn on Tuesday off Lampedusa by coast guards and finance police. Overall, 102 Tunisians landed on the island. The largest boat was carrying 30 people. All the migrants were taken to the hotspot of the Imbriacola area which is currently hosting 108 people. The center is fitted to accommodate a maximum of 95 people. More boats have reportedly been sighted off Lampedusa. Finance police in the night between Monday and Tuesday apprehended a seven-meter-long boat carrying 19 people on board, all Algerian nationals, off southern Sardinia. The migrants were taken to the port of Sant'Antioco, in Sulcis, on Tuesday morning. The Algerian migrants, all men in good condition, after a medical screening and identification procedures will be taken to the hosting center of Monastir where they will be quarantined due to the Covid emergency. ALBANY New York farmers havent seen lower demand at the grocery stores due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, the virus and its associated shutdown of the economy earlier in the year hurt agricultural sales to schools, restaurants and other institutions, which comprise a big chunk of their business. In fact, half of the states farm production goes to institutions, and with restaurants and schools closed, farmers from Niagara County to Long Island saw their sales drop sharply in recent months. That was one of the findings of a survey released Tuesday by the state Farm Bureau. Overall, 65 percent of those surveyed said their business has been negatively or very negatively impacted by the pandemic. Thirty seven percent had cash flow issues and 35 percent have cut spending, which reverberates across the states many agricultural and rural areas. That ripples through the entire rural or local economy, said Jeff Williams, the Bureaus director of public policy. For North Country dairy farmer Tony LaPierre, the slowdown has delayed plans to expand his dairy barn. That has all been put on hold, and local electricians, plumbers and milk equipment companies have also postponed sales due to that. There is a bright spot: Farmers who sell directly to the public have seen an increase in demand. Thats especially noticeable in places like the Hudson Valley, where scores of New York City residents have relocated during the pandemic. Sales at our market have increased dramatically, said Sarah Dressel Nikles, whose Dressel farms in New Paltz offers a variety of fruits. Other farm markets around here have told us the same thing, she said, adding that breeders of chicks, which grow into egg-laying hens, are seeing massive demand. Direct marketing has been a bright spot, added Niagara County orchardist Jim Bittner. There has been some government help as well, such as the Nourish New York program that buys milk and produce from farmers for 10 regional food banks. The states Environmental Protection Fund earlier in the week released another $1.5 million for that effort. Still, there are other challenges. Bittner expects to bring, as usual, about 20 workers from Mexico in to help with the fall harvest. But due to COVID precautions, they will have to remain isolated from other employees for a two-week period. Farmers in much of the state also are grappling with an unusually hot and dry summer that has cut down crop yields. And they all wonder what will happen to their markets if the schools dont open up to some extent in the fall. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Farm Survey by rkarlin on Scribd Farmers, like others, are also facing mental health challenges, made more difficult by the relatively isolated conditions that some work in, along with the financial pressures brought on by slower sales. Forty six percent of respondents say they are concerned about their own mental health or that of someone they know. Participants in Tuesdays presentation said it was important to reach out to one another to let fellow farmers know they are all facing similar issues. Youre not the only one with these problems, Long Island greenhouse operator Bill Zalakar said. They also noted that many products such as meats come from out of state, where most of the nations large packing plants are located. If there are COVID disruptions in, said, an Iowa or Pennsylvania packing plant, or a California orange-shipping facility, there is little that New Yorkers can do about it. A lot of people dont realize the volume of food that comes into the state, said Farm Bureau president David Fisher, a St. Lawrence County dairy farmer. Its another example of how extremely efficient our system is, but at the same time it makes it quite fragile. rkarlin@timesunion.com 518 454 5758 @RickKarlinTU Canola has become one of the world's most important oilseed crops and the most profitable commodity for Canadian farmers. (The Canadian Press/Jeff McIntosh) Over 80 Percent of Canadians Say Canada Should Lessen Trade Reliance on China An overwhelming majority of Canadians say Ottawa should lessen its trade reliance on China, a new poll shows. The poll, conducted by Ipsos for Global News, says 82 percent of Canadians think reliance on China should be lessened, while 38 percent think all economic ties with the communist country should be cut. The Chinese Communist Party (CCP) has taken a hard line against Canada following the 2018 arrest of Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou in Vancouver on a U.S. extradition request. Shortly after the arrest, Beijing warned Canada of serious consequences if Meng is not released. Nine days after Mengs arrest in Vancouver on Dec. 1, 2018, two Canadian citizens, former diplomat Michael Kovrig and businessman Michael Spavor, were detained in Beijing. The two have been behind bars ever since and were recently charged with spying. The CCP has also blocked Canadian agricultural imports, dealing a hard blow to certain sectors such as canola producers. According to the Canola Council of Canada, China accounted for around 40 percent of the demand for Canadas canola exports, valued at $2.7 billion. The import blockade resulted in a 70 percent cut in exports in 2019, costing $1 billion in lost revenue. The latest poll is part of a growing trend of Canadians negative views toward China. A poll by Angus Reid in May showed that Canadians opinion of China had reached a new low, with 85 percent of respondents saying Beijing hasnt been honest or transparent about the COVID-19 pandemic. The CCP has been criticized by several countries for its handling of the pandemic, including the United States, Australia, the U.K., and others. A poll by Nanos Research earlier this month showed that the majority of Canadians think Ottawa should take a more aggressive stance against China to ask for the release of the two arrested Canadians, such as blocking Chinese companies from buying Canadian firms and denying entry to Chinese officials and their families to live or study in Canada. Another poll by Angus Reid published last month showed that over 70 percent of Canadians support the extradition case against Meng to continue in court without government intervention. This goes against Beijings push to release Meng in exchange for the release of Kovrig and Spavor. China has warned Britain will 'bear the consequences' of suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. Yesterday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the suspension of an extradition treaty with Hong Kong, amid anger at alleged Chinese human rights abuses in the region, as well as against its Uighur Muslim population. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London said in a statement Beijing had expressed its concerns over the UK interfering in Hong Kong matters 'which are internal affairs of China'. The statement also warned that the UK will 'bear consequences'. It comes as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepares to meet the Prime Minister and Mr Raab today, with China high on the agenda Mr Pompeo was pictured disembarking while wearing a face covering decorated with the stars and stripes of the US flag after his plane touched down at an unnamed airport in London. Liu Xiaoming has been critical of Britain's suspension of the extradition treaty with Hong Kong in his role as China's ambassador to the UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the suspension of an extradition treaty with Hong Kong The Chinese Embassy spokesman said: 'Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of China's solemn position and repeated representations. 'It once again contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong SAR and undermine the city's prosperity and stability. 'China urges the UK side to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs, in any form. 'The UK will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road.' All eyes are now set to be on Mr Pompeo's visit to the UK, with the US Secretary of State expected to praise Britain's stance towards Russia. Why is the UK suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong? China imposed a new national security law on Hong Kong at the end of June this year. The controversial legislation criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces but also curtails rights to protest and freedom of speech. Crucially, the rules apply outside the borders of China. This has stoked fears Beijing could try to use the extradition mechanism to drag any overseas residents involved in pro-democracy activism back to Hong Kong. The UK does currently have an extradition treaty with Hong Kong but it does not have one with China. There are fears that people could be extradited back to Hong Kong to be unfairly punished. Canada and Australia have both already suspended their extradition arrangements with Hong Kong with the US currently considering whether to also follow suit. Advertisement Mr Pompeo wrote on Twitter: 'Great to be back in London to reaffirm the special relationship we share with our closest ally. 'Looking forward to meeting with Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab as we tackle our most pressing global issues in combating Covid-19 and addressing our shared security challenges.' The arrival of the former US army officer comes after the UK not only suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong but also slapped an arms embargo on the territory in response to China's national security law. Mr Raab said the measures were a 'reasonable and proportionate' response to the law imposed by Beijing a law Washington has joined in criticising. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the BBC's Newsnight programme that many countries were concerned about the government in Beijing. He said: 'This is a problem for the free world right now, so France and Germany are having to make decisions. 'You've got other countries elsewhere in Europe and in the far east that are all worried about the dominance and the dependency that China is putting people into given the nature of its regime.' Writing in The Daily Telegraph, former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper said countries like Britain 'must avoid a China-centric view' and called on Mr Johnson to help the UK 'assume a much greater role in global affairs than has been the case in many years'. Frosty relations between the US and China led to President Donald Trump's administration imposing sanctions on Huawei over security concerns a decision that played a major part in the UK Government's move last week to demand that the Chinese technology giant's equipment is stripped out of the country's burgeoning 5G network by 2027. Backbench Tories, including Commons Liaison Committee chairman Sir Bernard Jenkin, have been pressing for a tougher approach to Beijing, particularly in relation to its role in building nuclear power plants in Britain. The U-turn on Huawei a reversal of the announcement in January allowing it a limited 5G role has left China aggrieved. The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, criticised the Government's approach in a combative BBC interview on Sunday, denouncing Britain for 'dancing to the tune' of the US and accusing Western countries of trying to foment a 'new cold war' with China. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a Downing Street summit on Tuesday Uighur men resing in front of a coffee bar in Kashgar, western Xinjiang. China denies abusing the Uighur population and says such accusations are slander But on Monday, Mr Raab took further action when he told MPs the extradition treaty with Hong Kong was being suspended 'immediately and indefinitely' because of concerns the security legislation could allow cases to be transferred to mainland China. An arms embargo with mainland China has been in place since 1989 and that will now be extended to Hong Kong because of the extra powers Beijing now has for the internal security of the territory. Mr Raab's actions came after Mr Johnson promised a 'tough' but 'calibrated' response to Beijing. In an interview before Mr Raab's announcement, the Prime Minister had promised to strike a balance in his approach to Beijing, resisting pressure from China hawks to take a hardline stance. 'I'm not going to be pushed into a position of becoming a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China,' he said. 'But we do have serious concerns.' Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy suggested the Government could take steps to bar Chinese Communist Party officials from the UK and called for a 'new era' in terms of the Britain's relationship with the country. LUTSK, Ukraine (AP) An unstable armed man who seized more than a dozen hostages on a long-distance bus in Ukraine's western city of Lutsk was detained late Tuesday after a standoff that lasted for over 12 hours and all hostages were freed unharmed, officials said. The assailant agreed to release the hostages following a 15-minute phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiy's deputy chief of staff Kyrylo Tymoshenko told reporters. Shortly after the call, Zelenskiy posted a brief video message on his Facebook page to urge Ukrainians to watch Earthlings, a 2005 American documentary exposing humanity's cruel exploitation of animals - as the hostage-taker had wanted. Minutes later, the assailant walked out of the bus and surrendered to the police. Authorities said all 13 hostages he held were freed and no one was hurt. Earlier, following negotiations with the first deputy chief of national police, Yevhen Koval, the man had released three of the hostages, including a pregnant woman. At one point during the conversation, he fired his gun through the bus window and a bullet narrowly missed Koval, who also brought water for the hostages. After the drama ended, Zelenskiy hailed law enforcement officers for saving the hostages. Human life is the most important value, he said on Facebook. Now families can finally hug their relatives who spent the entire day on the bus in anguish. Speaking to reporters, Ukraines Interior Minister Arsen Avakov described the assailant as "an unstable man who painted his vision of the world and invented a revenge for it. He had his own vision of justice and the value of human life, Avakov said. Ukrainian media said the man was an animal rights activists who helped protect stray dogs. As the hostage drama unfolded, police sealed off the center of Lutsk, 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of the capital Kyiv. At one point, the assailant threw explosives out of a bus window, but no one was hurt. He also fired several shots at a police drone. Story continues The man called the police himself at 9:25 a.m. (0625 GMT) after taking control of the vehicle and introduced himself as Maksim Plokhoy, Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said on Facebook. According to Gerashchenko, police have identified the man as Maksim Krivosh, a 44-year-old Ukrainian born in Russia. Krivosh had reportedly been convicted twice on a wide range of charges robbery, fraud, illegal arms handling and spent a total of 10 years behind bars. According to reports, Krivosh tried to reach out to journalists through hostages and their phones, demanding that they spread the word about his demands and get more reporters to arrive at the scene. Claims of 'forced sterilization' in China's Xinjiang utter nonsense: FM Global Times Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/20 17:46:02 UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab's claims that China violated the human rights of its Uygur minority in the Northwest Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region are complete smears and the so-called "forced sterilization" is "utter nonsense," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a press briefing on Monday. Wang said that China has reiterated its stance on Xinjiang many times, as the Xinjiang-related issues are not about human rights, religion or ethnicity, but about counter-terrorism and anti-separatism. The so-called "forced sterilization" mentioned by UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and related reports are utter nonsense, the spokesperson said. The fact is that for the past 40 years, the Uygur population in Xinjiang has increased from 5.55 million to 11.65 million, accounting for 46.8 percent of the total population in the region. The so-called "forced sterilization" reports were first circulated in June by the Associated Press and German scholar Adrian Zenz, who has been exposed as a far-right fundamentalist Christian "led by God" against China. A Global Times investigation into Zenz's report showed that it was filled with flawed statistics, incorrect calculation methods, misleading figures and untrustworthy interviewees. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A recent segment (The Lost Music) on 60 Minutes, the American television news magazine, featured the 30-year-long campaign by Italian composer and musician Francesco Lotoro (born 1964) to rescue and revive music composed and performed by prisoners in the Nazi concentration camps. Lotoros effort, which has continued throughout his adult life, began in 1988, when he learned of music that was composed by prisoners at Theresienstadt, the Nazi concentration camp in what is now the Czech Republic. Theresienstadt has achieved a degree of historical notoriety because of its use by the Nazis in an attempt to obscure their campaign of mass murder. This was the place where at least some of the prisoners received less brutal treatment, but only so that they could be featured in musical performances for Nazi propaganda purposes. Theresienstadt itself was not an extermination camp, but tens of thousands were later deported from there to Auschwitz. Francesco Lotoro (Credit: Giuseppe Marchisella) There are other important efforts to revive music that was lost or forgotten because of the Nazi genocide, but Lotoros is the most unusual for its focus on the concentration camps themselves. Based in the southeastern Italian city of Barletta, he has labored with his wife Grazia, who works in the local post office to support their family, to track down survivors of the camps. Many of them were already in their 80s and 90s when Lotoro found them. He has also spoken to many family members who did not even know the significance of musical scores in their possession. Over the course of decades, searching in countless attics, archives and libraries, Lotoro has collected and recorded 8,000 pieces of music. According to Lotoro, as quoted in the British Guardian in 2018, some [of the music] was written in notebooks, on coal sacks, food wrappers, tickets. A five-act opera was written on sheets of toilet paper. There are more than 10,000 more waiting to be deciphered that I have not yet touched, he said in 2018. Lotoro is building what he calls a citadel, whose formal name is Istituto di Letteratura Musicale Concentrazionaria. Using a grant from the government in Rome and also seeking to raise additional funds around the world, the composers plans include a library, museum and theater, all devoted to concentrationary music. The 60 Minutes broadcast featured the testimony of 94-year-old Anita Lasker-Wallfisch, one of the last surviving members of the womens orchestra at Auschwitz. The conductor of this orchestra was Alma Rose, niece of Gustav Mahler, and an accomplished violinist in her own right. The amazing and harrowing story of the orchestra, and how some of its members survived the Holocaust, was told in the 1980 television film, Playing For Time, written by Arthur Miller and starring Vanessa Redgrave. Anita Lasker-Wallfisch (Credit: CBS News) Soon after her own arrival at Auschwitz, Lasker-Wallfisch was led to a girl, also a prisoner, and a sort of normal conversation took place. And then she asked me what I was doing before the war I said, I used to play the cello. She said, Thats fantastic. Youll be saved I had no idea what she was talking about. Salvation was only possible, for some, because the Nazis had need for music. A report in the New York Times quotes Guido Fackler, a professor at the University of Wurzburg in Germany, explaining that [music] was a constant and crucial component of the everyday life in the Nazi-run camps. The orchestra was used to play marches for prisoners, literally to set the tempo for a day of work. It also played when new prisoners arrived, during the height of the gassing to death of tens of thousands of men, women and children every day. We were based very near the crematoria. We could see everything that was going on, Lasker-Wallfisch explains. Fackler contrasts the awful and painful task of playing music to discipline and organize their fellow prisoners with the times when prisoners played music on their own initiative, which generally gave them consolation, support and confidence. It reminded them of their earlier lives. Lotoro converted to Judaism nearly two decades ago, and found that he had some Jewish ancestry as well. His work of rescue and revival, however, grew to encompass the contributions and the suffering of other victimsRoma, political prisoners, soldiers in prisoner-of-war camps and more. As the Times reports, Lotoro started interviewing Holocaust survivors [but] later expanded it to include political or other religious prisoners in many countries by musicians of any national, social or religious background. In the camps, there was an explosion of creativity, said Lotoro. When your life is in danger, you create more as a testament for the future. 60 Minutes highlights Jozef Kropinski, a young Pole caught working for the resistance and sent to Auschwitz and later to Buchenwald, as perhaps the most prolific and versatile composer in the entire camp constellation. Lotoro found Kropinskis son, Waldemar, who lives in Nuremburg, Germany. Jozef Kropinski wrote hundreds of pieces of music during four years as an inmate, including tangos, waltzes, love songs, even an opera. Kropinski smuggled his violin and hundreds of pieces of music out of Buchenwald when the camp was evacuated in April 1945 and the prisoners were forced onto one of the death marches organized by the Nazis in the last weeks of the Third Reich. Grazia and Francesco Lotoro (Credit: CBS News) As noted above, there are other important efforts to revive music that was either lost, forgotten or suppressed during the Nazi terror. James Conlon, the American-born conductor, has been the most prominent voice from the podium working to revive the performance of works suppressed by the Nazis, increasing awareness of composers like Erwin Schulhoff and Viktor Ullmann, who perished in the Holocaust, and Walter Braunfels, Hanns Eisler, Mieczyslaw Weinberg and many others who were forced to flee. Conlons Orel Foundation provides a wealth of information and resources on the subject. Also noted in the Times report is the work of exil.arte, at the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna, created several years ago to revive and study music that had been banned. Michael Haas, the author of the important book Forbidden Music: The Jewish Composers Banned by the Nazis (2013), is the co-founder of exil.arte. The work of Lotoro, Conlon, Haas and others is contributing to a greater understanding of music history, and especially of music in the 20th century. As Lotoro states, some of this music, if it had not been buried for many decades, could have changed the path of musical language in Europe. The work of composers who lost their lives or whose careers were diverted or completely derailed could also have had an enormous impact on the fate of music in the post-World War II period and up to the present day. The task of rescuing this music is not only a matter of paying tribute to and commemorating the lives of its creators. It also can assist in orienting composers and musicians in the 21st century. And it is bound up with learning the lessons of the barbarism that descended in the 20th century, in order to prevent its return today. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Victor Mambor (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura Wed, July 22 2020 Elias Karungu and Selu Karungu, two civilians from the conflict-prone Nduga regency of Papua, were shot and killed by Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel on Saturday. The father and son were killed as they were returning to Keneyam district, the capital of the regency, after hiding in forests for more than a year to avoid conflicts between the TNI and an armed group linked to the Free Papua Movement (OPM). A witness said that Elias and Selu had made the trip with dozens of other displaced locals from the districts of Paro and Yengelo who had been taking refuge in the forests. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login MBS is prepared to pursue nuclear weapons if Iran gets them. But could he end up making the kingdom a nuclear pawn? When countries start dabbling in nuclear energy, eyebrows raise. Its understandable. Stopping the spread of nuclear weapons while allowing countries to pursue civilian nuclear programmes has proven a tough and sometimes unsuccessful balancing act for the global community. So when atom-splitting initiatives surface in a region with a history of nuclear secrecy and where whacking missiles into ones enemies is relatively common, it is not just eyebrows that are hoisted, but red flags. Right now, warning banners are waving above the Arabian Peninsula, where the United Arab Emirates has loaded fuel rods into the first of four reactors at Barakah the Arab worlds first nuclear power plant. Barakah is the first commercial nuclear power plant in the Arab world, and experts question why the UAE pursued nuclear energy over cheaper, safer renewable options more suited to the Gulf climate [File: Barakah Nuclear Power Plant/AFP] Roughly 620 kilometres (388 miles) west, Saudi Arabia is constructing its first research reactor at the King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology. The UAE has agreed not to enrich uranium or reprocess spent fuel. It has also signed up to enhanced non-proliferation protocols and even secured a coveted 123 Agreement with the United States that allows for the bilateral sharing of civilian nuclear components, materials and know-how. But that has not placated some nuclear energy veterans who question why the Emirates has pushed ahead with nuclear fission to generate electricity when there are far safer, far cheaper renewable options more befitting its sunny climate. Like the UAE, Saudi Arabia insists its nuclear ambitions extend no further than civilian energy projects. But unlike its neighbour and regional ally, Riyadh has not officially sworn off developing nuclear weapons. The kingdoms de facto leader, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman (MBS), has publicly declared his intention to pursue nuclear weapons if Iran gets them first. The spectre of the Saudi-Iran Cold War escalating into a nuclear arms race is not beyond the realm of possibility. There are growing concerns over the nuclearisation of the Arabian Peninsula and where it could lead the Gulf and the Middle East a volatile region that experts warn could be opening itself up to superpower proxy fights on a nuclear scale. The economic case against nuclear Saudi Arabias nuclear ambitions date back to at least 2006, when the kingdom started exploring nuclear power options as part of a joint programme with other members of the Gulf Cooperation Council. More recently, the kingdom laced its nuclear plans into MBSs Vision 2030 blueprint to diversify the countrys economy away from oil. Nuclear energy, the kingdom argues, would allow it to export crude it currently consumes for domestic energy needs, generating more income for state coffers while developing a new high-tech industry to create jobs for its youthful workforce. But if a bountiful economic harvest is the goal, nuclear energy is a poor industry to seed compared with renewables like solar and wind. Every state has the right to determine its energy mix. The problem is this: nuclear costs are enormous, Paul Dorfman, honorary senior research fellow at the Energy Institute, University College London and founder and chair of the Nuclear Consulting Group, told Al Jazeera. Renewables are maybe between one-fifth and one-seventh the cost of nuclear. Utility-scale, average unsubsidised lifetime costs for solar photovoltaic were about $40 per megawatt-hour (MWh) in 2019, compared with $155 per MWh for nuclear energy, according to an analysis by financial advisory and asset manager Lazard. There are no economic or energy policy or industrial reasons to build a nuclear power plant, Mycle Schneider, convening lead author and the publisher of the World Nuclear Industry Status Report, told Al Jazeera. If countries decide to build a nuclear power plant anyway, then we have to discuss other issues that are actually the drivers for those projects. Saudi Arabias King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy did not respond to Al Jazeeras request for an interview. The Saudis have invited companies to bid on building two power reactors but, to date, have not awarded a contract. While those plans remain on the drawing board, the kingdom is pressing ahead with construction on its first research reactor. And there are troubling signs surrounding the project. No IAEA monitoring The Saudis announced in early 2018 that they had broken ground on a small research reactor that would be operational by the end of 2019. Like most nuclear projects, Riyadhs has fallen behind schedule. But there is strong evidence that the Saudis are pressing ahead with renewed vigour. Bloomberg News reported that satellite photos taken in March and May of this year revealed that the Saudis have built a roof over the reactor a development that is alarming nuclear experts because Saudi Arabia has not yet invited the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to monitor the site and inspect the reactors design. King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology, Riyadh: a satellite image from May 16, 2020, right, shows an almost completed roof now conceals the cylindrical reactor vessel, which was visible through roof beams in a satellite photo from March 15, 2020 (left) [Sources: Google Earth (March 2020); Planet Labs (May 2020) via Bloomberg] What it does tend to infer is problematic, said Dorfman. Key to IAEA surveillance and regulations is signing up to non-proliferation treaties. In other words, questions of enrichment and how you deal with substances that flow out of nuclear reactors in terms of future weaponisation. Saudi Arabia has signed the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT), which obligates it to have a Comprehensive Safeguards Agreement with the IAEA. But those agreements do not allow IAEA inspectors to visit whenever they like on short notice. That level of access is only granted when a country signs an Additional Protocol with the IAEA something the UAE has done, but which the Saudis have not. Nor is Riyadh obligated to make this move, because it is currently operating under a Small Quantities Protocol (SQP) that exempts states with nuclear ambitions from IAEA inspections. The presumption is that the countries operating under the SQP do not have enough nuclear material to warrant that level of intrusiveness. But experts say the Saudis will not be able to hide behind the small quantities fig leaf once they switch on the reactor. It will have more than a small quantity of material, maybe not a large one, but more than the limit under this [SQP] agreement, Henry Sokolski, executive director of the Nonproliferation Policy Education Center, told Al Jazeera. Instead of owning up that they need to change the agreement and reaching an understanding with the people in Vienna [where the IAEA is based], theyre playing this out to the last second. Thats not a great look. US President Donald Trump and Saudi Arabias Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman at the 2019 G20 leaders summit in Osaka, Japan [File: Kevin Lamarque/Reuters] Procrastination is not without its downsides. Riyadh does not have a 123 Agreement with the US that allows for bilateral civilian nuclear cooperation, despite efforts to negotiate one. A 123 Agreement would give Riyadh a seal of approval from Washington and would open the door for US companies to throw their hats into the ring to reap profits from building reactors for the kingdom. While US lawmakers in Congress have not been willing to turn a blind eye to Saudi Arabias bad behaviour, the administration of US President Donald Trump has not let it get in the way of fostering closer ties with the kingdom. Trump, for example, has vigorously supported conventional weapons sales to the Saudis despite Riyadhs abysmal record on human rights, while his son-in-law Jared Kushner has forged a close relationship with MBS. This disconnect between Congress and the White House on Saudi policy was noted in a recent report by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) a non-partisan Congressional watchdog that found that the Trump administration may not have been as transparent as it should be with Congress over nuclear negotiations with the Saudis. According to the GAO, the sticking points holding up a 123 Agreement between the US and Saudi include Riyadhs failure to agree to refrain from enriching uranium or reprocessing plutonium key ingredients in nuclear weapons or to sign an Additional Protocol with the IAEA. They dont want to sign up to that. And youve got to ask the question: Well, why? Whats the problem?' said Sokolski. We know that looking at other military acquisitions, particularly in the missile arena, that the Saudis have a bad habit of doing things in secret if they think its controversial, Sokolski added. Would nuclear be treated the same way as missile acquisitions? If so, this is another lack of transparency youve got to be concerned about. Steeped in nuclear secrecy Saudi Arabia is not the only Middle East nation playing its nuclear cards close to the vest. The region has a well-established history of it. An Israeli military photo of a suspected nuclear reactor construction site in Syria destroyed by Israel in a 2007 air raid [File: Handout via AP Photo] Iraq had a covert nuclear weapons programme that was dismantled following the US invasion during the 1991 Gulf War. Libya came clean about its clandestine nuclear weapons programme in 2003. In the early 1990s, Algeria signed the NPT and agreed to IAEA inspections after it came to light that it had built a nuclear research reactor with Chinese help. A suspected reactor under construction in Syria was destroyed by the Israeli military in 2007, though Damascus insisted the facility was non-nuclear. Iran built nuclear facilities that were not declared until 2002. In 2005, after the IAEA determined that the country had breached its obligations under non-proliferation protocols, the US, United Nations and European Union economically pressured Tehran to the negotiating table, resulting in the 2015 Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action with world powers to curb Irans nuclear ambitions. This photograph of the construction site near Dimona in the Negev Desert for Israels then-secret nuclear reactor was taken during 1960 [Courtesy: The National Security Archive] That deal is now slowly unravelling under the Trump administration, which unilaterally withdrew from it in 2018 and launched a maximum pressure campaign of relentless economic sanctions in an attempt to bend Iran to Washingtons will. Iran is serious, and it is a huge concern, said Dorfman. It is also a huge concern that America has withdrawn from active engagement. Though Washington has taken hard lines against Iraqs and Irans nuclear programmes over the years, it has benignly neglected what is arguably the granddaddy of nuclear cat and mouse in the Middle East Israel. Israel has not signed the NPT, nor does it allow IAEA inspections. And for decades, it has neither confirmed nor denied it has a nuclear weapons programme, even though it is widely believed to have an arsenal that the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute numbers at 90 warheads. US President Trump and Israels Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Israels long-standing policy of nuclear opacity and Washingtons acceptance of it sets a poor precedent, say experts [File: Brendan McDermid/Reuters] Israels long-standing policy of nuclear opacity and Washingtons acceptance of it sets a poor precedent, say experts, for nuclear transparency from other Middle Eastern nations. Its unhelpful, said Sokolski. It may well be that its in their [Israels] interest not to admit that they have them [nuclear weapons], but I think other countries, including the United States, their credibility talking about this is at risk when we arent willing to say, officially, yeah, of course, they have nuclear weapons. Sokolski believes Israel may even have come to regret going nuclear. Suppose the Israelis with 20-20 hindsight, some of them ought to be scratching their head on just how useful their own nuclear weapons have been, said Sokolski. Theres an argument that they actually would now, at a minimum, and maybe before, been better off not bothering. Nuclear pawns MBS has been candid about what would drive the kingdom to pursue nuclear weapons, telling US news outlet CBS in 2018 that without a doubt, if Iran developed a nuclear bomb, we will follow suit as soon as possible. The argument channels the 20th-century theory that owning nuclear weapons acts as a deterrent against enemies using them against you. Deterrence theory has many critics because it is impossible to prove that it actually works. One thing that is irrefutable, however, is that nuclear-armed nations or those believed to be are still attacked with conventional weapons. Iraq lobbing scuds at Israel in 1991 is just one example. But developing nuclear weapons in the name of deterrence has an even greater potential downside for Middle East nations, say experts, because it sets them up to become pawns in a potential superpower nuclear proxy fight. The greater likelihood of tactical exchange if the worst happens between Iran and Saudi would not necessarily be a function of problems between those two nations, Dorfman noted. It would be more likely to be a proxy war, a proxy exchange associated with Russia on the one hand and America on the other both of whom would be more happy to sacrifice Gulf states than their own. With coronavirus cases and deaths in the United States continuing to climb, President Trump said on Monday that he will resume holding daily briefings on the COVID-19 crisis within the next day or two. The daily televised briefings were once a staple of the Trump administrations response to the pandemic. But critics often panned the presidents performances for downplaying the seriousness of the virus and for spreading misinformation. They were discontinued shortly after Trump made his now infamous comments about treating coronavirus infections inside the body with bleach or ultraviolet irradiation. I was doing them and we had a lot of people watching, record numbers watching in the history of cable television, and theres never been anything like it, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. So I think well start that probably starting tomorrow. Ill do it at 5 oclock like we were doing we had a good slot. A lot of people were watching. Ill be discussing the China plague and perhaps some other things, he added. President Trump participates in a daily briefing of the coronavirus task force at the White House on April 23. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) Trumps announcement of the daily coronavirus briefing comes after the New York Times reported that some of the presidents closest advisers, including chief of staff Mark Meadows, believe the White House should downplay the dangers of the disease and avoid drawing attention to the virus. It also comes on the heels of an interview with Fox News host Chris Wallace in which Trump cited false and nonexistent data on COVID-19. According to Johns Hopkins University, there have been more than 3.7 million confirmed cases in the United States, and over 140,000 Americans have died. Worldwide there have been more than 14.5 million confirmed cases and over 600,000 deaths. ___ Read more from Yahoo News: BOSTON, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Voatz, a leading mobile voting platform, meets the applicable requirements for U.S. voting systems, according to Pro V&V, an independent, federally-certified Voting System Test Laboratory (VSTL). Pro V&V recently completed comprehensive testing of the Voatz Remote Accessible Ballot Delivery, Marking and Return (RABDMR) System. In a 47-page report, Pro V&V concluded that the Voatz platform "meets the applicable requirements set forth for voting systems in the U.S. Election Assistance Commission (EAC) 2015 Voluntary Voting System Guidelines (VVSG), Version 1.1, with clarifications or exceptions noted in Section 4.0 of the final version of Pro V&V Test Report." A summary of the report has been made public on the Voatz website, along with a link to the full report . Conducted over a five-month period, Pro V&V's testing included Accuracy testing to verify specific voter selections and that the "voter's encrypted, emailed ballot receipt and jurisdiction's printed ballot match the voter's choices." Their testing also included an analysis of the Voatz mobile applications' use of native smartphone accessibility capabilities, including screen readers, predictive layout and navigation, voice control, and flexible session timeout limitations, as well as the application's language capabilities (Spanish). Security Testing involved an audit of the Voatz application source code, testing procedures and compliance with industry standards. As the report states, "Pro V&V verified various controls and measures to meet the required security standards including: protection of the critical elements of the voting system; establishing and maintaining controls to minimize errors; protection from intentional manipulation, fraud and malicious mischief; identifying fraudulent or erroneous changes to the voting system; and protecting the secrecy in the voting process. During the security evaluation, Pro V&V was able to verify that the Voatz RABDMR utilized a blockchain-based infrastructure from the server throughout the remainder of the process." "We are pleased with Pro V&V's conclusions that Voatz operates exactly as it's designed to operate," said Nimit Sawhney, Voatz's Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer. "Their findings confirm our expectations, and add further fuel to support our mission that citizens can vote securely using a smartphone application and have total confidence their ballot is counted while remaining fully secret." Voatz has completed 67 elections to date, performing as expected in each of them, including 11 governmental elections. In 2018, Voatz partnered with the West Virginia Secretary of State's office to enable a first-in-the-nation mobile voting pilot, which allowed deployed military service people to vote for the first time using an app on their smartphones. About Voatz Voatz is an award-winning mobile elections platform that leverages cutting-edge technology (including remote identity verification, biometrics and a blockchain-based infrastructure) to increase access and security in elections. Since 2016 Voatz has run 67 elections with states, counties, cities, towns, universities, nonprofits, and both major state political parties in multiple states for convention voting. Learn more here . About Pro V&V Pro V&V is one of only two testing labs that is both certified by the EAC as a Voting System Testing Laboratory (VSTL) and accredited by NIST through the National Laboratories Accreditation Program (NLAP). SOURCE Voatz Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi will abolish certain types of announcements made via its public address (PA) system starting July 30 in an effort to reduce noise at the airport. A representative of the airport said on Monday that the announcements, including final boarding calls for passengers and flight landing notifications, will only be shown on the flight information display system as per its plan approved by the Airports Corporation of Vietnam. Flight statuses, including delays and cancelations, will be detailed on screens available in both Vietnamese and English. Likewise, screens installed at baggage claim areas will keep passengers informed of the status of their baggage. Other announcements, including boarding gate changes, emergency bulletins, and fire alarms, will still be relayed through the PA system. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, deputy director of Noi Bai International Airport, said announcing flight information via screens has become a global trend adopted by many international airports, helping to reduce noise pollution and improve airport service quality. Noi Bai has reduced the frequency of PA announcements through its loudspeakers since September 2016. Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City has also gone silent since July 2019 as flight status updates are no longer made with PA announcements. Da Nang International Airport in the namesake central city followed suit in May this year. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 16:14:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MALE, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Maldives will receive a grant of 1 million U.S. dollars from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) to combat COVID-19, local media reported here Tuesday. In a statement, the ADB said that it had approved a grant of 1 million U.S. dollars through its Asia Pacific Disaster Response Fund (APDRF). "The grant, which is financed by the government of Japan, will help alleviate financial, logistical, and other constraints that the government is facing," the statement said. Funds from the grant are to be used to purchase test kits, personal protective equipment (PPE), laboratory equipment, and other essential goods. Funds will also go towards the salaries and transportation costs of frontline workers, including health staff and laboratory technicians. "Our support will help the Maldives improve its emergency response with the resources and expertise that are needed to fight the spread of the coronavirus and protect the livelihood of its people," ADB's Unit Head for Project Administration M. Shahadat Russell said. The ADB has previously approved grants amounting to 26.3 million U.S. dollars and a concessional loan of 25 million U.S. dollars in order to strengthen the Maldives' response to the pandemic. Enditem After I wrote this morning about this mornings lame DFL press conference yesterday afternoon I received Blois Olsons morning take on the race as set set forth in his emailed Fluence Media tip sheet (you can sign up for it here). I thought readers might find it of interest. I am quoting it at length below with the kind permission of Blois: CD5: The DFL primary in the Fifth District could be getting close. Signs that the Rep. Ilhan Omars campaign and her supporters are pulling out new stops to push back against a potential surge from challenger Antone Melton-Meux. On Saturday, Attorney General Keith Ellison appeared to sub-tweet a shot at Melton-Meaux. Then on Monday, the DFL Chair Ken Martin and Ellison called a news conference to speak about the millions of corporate and Republican dollars being spent to unseat Rep. Omar in the 5th Congressional District. While watching the news conference, which garnered no questions from media in attendance, very few if any details were given about the claims in the news advisory. That doesnt seem like the DFLs style, the pushback lacked punch a traditional news conference on such a topic would pack. Meanwhile, a breakdown of fundraising numbers provided by Melton-Meaux campaign showed that the campaign has outraised Omar in CD5 and in Minnesota donors. In Q2, Melton-Meaux raised $237K from within CD5 and Omar raised $8K. For Minnesota, Melton-Meaux raised $323K and Omar raised $11K. This combined with Omars burn rate of money suggests that at least in one category the challenger has momentum. In an email, the Melton-Meaux campaign says that the Republican donor that Omar is claiming have given money to both the GOP and Democrats. Furthermore the corporate money, is the same PAC that has donated to Sen. Tina Smith and other Democrats. A request for the details of the claims from the DFL and the Omar campaign returned only examples of wealthy donors who have given to Democrats and Republicans. Omar has received money as outlined by MinnPost from Hollywood actors, who could be framed as just as out of touch with CD5 as any of the Melton-Meaux donors. Furthermore, a quick search of Omar on Open Secrets says her top donors from corporations are from Apple and Microsoft. Isnt that corporate money too? Mail showing up in mailboxes shows both candidates taking shots at the other. The theme of Melton-Meaux campaign Focused on the Fifth, plays into the perception that Omar is more focused nationally, which could be a very effective attack without being mean. Over the weekend, Omar did more local media than shes traditionally done for months at a time touting many Sanders-like proposals shes pushed in Congress. She clearly sees a need to be more visible locally. She still hasnt sat down with anyone from other outlets in recent months. Anecdotally, the CD5 DFL primary is becoming a common conversation across the district. The question, from suburbanites is Could he beat her?. Thats a question that many are trying to figure out, as the dynamics are not traditionally in favor of the challenger. After all, Omar won big in the 2018 primary against well-known opponents that year there was also a gubernatorial primary. This year, there are a couple of urban primaries where more progressive DFLers are challenging Sens. Bobby Jo Champion and Jeff Hayden as well as Rep. Ray Dehn. Those races wouldnt suggest a surge for Melton-Meaux, someone lesser known than Omars 2018 opponents. That said, Melton-Meaux has been running TV for weeks and each campaign has been spending big on radio and in digital channels. One sign that there may be some DFL voters that will support a DFLer but may not trust Omar was the DFL primary earlier this year in 60A where Rep. Sydney Jordan, a progressive supported by Education Minnesota defeated Omars pick, Sonia Neculescu (she finished 3rd). Omar pulled out all the stops in her endorsement of Neculescu, a self-proclaimed Democratic-Socialist. It wasnt enough. Party primaries can be very heated, this one seems to be passive-aggressive. That said it could be a revealing look into how one of the most Democratic districts in America feels about the left edge of the party right now and how the split breaks down for more centrist Democrats, none of whom will vote for Trump. Through this partnership, Novant Health reduced the time needed to thoroughly test our EHR application upgrades and future rollouts while minimizing disruption of clinical staff. Ryan Neaves, vice president of product development at Novant Health Santa Rosa Consulting, Inc., a leading provider of management consulting and information technology (IT) services for the health care industry, successfully implemented its Epic Test Automation service at Novant Health, a four-state integrated network of physician clinics, outpatient facilities and hospitals. Large health systems like Novant Health are always looking for ways to bring greater efficiency into their quality assurance processes, especially when it comes to testing its electronic health record (EHR) system and existing infrastructure, says Laura OToole, president for Santa Rosa. We were energized by the challenge to help them save time, minimize disruption and increase testing scope both immediately and over time with our first-to-market Test Automation as a Service Solution. Working together, Santa Rosa and Novant Health determined which workflows, or scripts, would be automated and which would remain manual. They converted captured workflows into automated scripts and validated them with Novant Healths application teams. Santa Rosas provision of automation testing software within Novant Healths infrastructure makes it possible to schedule or run scripts on an ad hoc basis. Adding to the challenge for Santa Rosas test automation team was Novant Healths full version upgrade from Epic that included a major user interface design change. The Santa Rosa team incorporated the changes and closed the gap with minimal engagement of Novant Health staff resources. We are excited to partner with Santa Rosa to implement Epic Test Automation and increase the efficiency and reliability of our testing process, said Ryan Neaves, vice president of product development at Novant Health. Through this partnership, Novant Health reduced the time needed to thoroughly test our EHR application upgrades and future rollouts while minimizing disruption of clinical staff. Santa Rosa estimates that with the 40% of Novant Healths eligible Epic scripts automated in the initial phase of the effort. Novant Health experienced a time savings equivalent to approximately 1,100 labor hours. A manual approach to test the workflows with the level of rigor of the new automated approach, would take an additional 35,140 hours of testing per year. Novant Health is currently working with Santa Rosa Consulting on additional phases to automate testing for 80% of its Epic application in order to fully maximize the value of the program. ABOUT SANTA ROSA CONSULTING: Santa Rosa Consulting provides management advisory services and technical consulting expertise across the full range of IT vendor products and systems, and empowers better healthcare by designing, creating, staffing and sustaining IT solutions that help make healing happen. Founded in 2008, Santa Rosa Consulting is managed by industry veterans with an average of 20 years of healthcare information technology experience. Santa Rosa is recognized for delivering world-class services and solutions and has received Modern Healthcares Best Places to Work in Healthcare award for nine consecutive years. For more information, visit our website at santarosaconsulting.com or call (866) 944-4772. You can also follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. ABOUT NOVANT HEALTH: Novant Health is an integrated network of physician clinics, outpatient facilities and hospitals that delivers a seamless and convenient healthcare experience to communities in Virginia, North and South Carolina, and Georgia. The Novant Health network consists of more than 1,600 physicians and over 29,000 employees that provide care at nearly 700 locations, including 15 hospitals and hundreds of outpatient facilities and physician clinics. In 2020, Novant Health was the only healthcare system in North Carolina to be included on Forbes Best Employers for Diversity list. Diversity MBA Magazine has also ranked Novant Health third on its 2019 list of Best Places for Women & Diverse Managers to Work. Novant Health provided more than $993.2 million in community benefit, including financial assistance and services, in 2019. For more information, please visit our website at NovantHealth.org. You can also follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Gorakhpur, July 21 : On August 5, with the laying of the foundation stone for the Ram temple in Ayodhya, the role of Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's Gorakshnath Peeth in the temple movement will also be in focus. The Gorakshnath Peeth played a vital role in the Ram temple movement. Prime Minister Narendra Modi could possibly consecrate the land for the construction of the Ram temple. Adityanath will also witness this historic day. This day will be very special for him and the Gorakshnath Peeth of which he is the 'Peethadheeshwar'. However, there is as yet no official confirmation of the Prime Minister coming to Ayodhya. In the days when the temple movement was at its peak, Gorakshnath Peeth or Gorakhnath Math located in Gorakhpur was the centre of the movement. People like Ashok Singhal, Mahant Ramchandra Paramahansa, Uma Bharati, and Vinay Katiyar were associated with the temple movement, and they often used to visit Gorakhnath temple to discuss it with Mahant Avaidyanath, Adityanath's guru and mentor. Senior journalist Girish Pandey, who has been associated with the Gorakshnath Peeth for two-and-a-half decades, said, "This was the biggest mass movement since Independence and Emergency. Such a movement that changed the state and direction of the country's politics. The selection of a person to lead such a big movement was not easy. In such a situation the name on which everyone agreed was Mahant Avaidyanath." He said, "There were also reasons for this. Earlier, Avaidyanath had launched a public awareness campaign against the evil practices like untouchability in Hindu society and brought all the Dharmacharyas on one platform. The result was in Ayodhya on July 21, 1984 when Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Mukti Yagna Samiti was formed in the Valmiki Bhavan, he was unanimously elected the chairman. Since then he was its president for life. He made it a mass movement. He had a dream for Ayodhya - construction of a grand Ram temple on Janmabhoomi. " "After the historic decision of the Supreme Court, on August 5, the temple of his dreams will also take shape. This was Avaidyanath's life's mission. Later Yogi Adityanath as his successor made it his life's mission. As a leader of a mass base, he gave this movement a further edge." Pandey said, "Even after he became the Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh in March 2017, Adityanath never concealed his heartfelt fondness towards Ayodhya and the Ram temple. The regular visits to Ayodhya and the development work done there are proof of this. Not only this, through 'Deepotsav', he made the identity of Ayodhya known even more in the country and the world." -- Syndicated from IANS A Central teams visit to Bihars first dedicated coronavirus disease (Covid-19) facility, Nalanda Medical College & Hospital (NMCH), in Patna, on Sunday was relegated to the back-burner and exposed the sorry state of pandemic management in the state. TV news channels on Monday telecast the horrific footage in a loop of the body of a Covid-19 victim lying in the middle of a ward while the delegates were making rounds of the hospital to assess the ground reality about the contagion management in the state. A Central team member was aghast to see an unrestricted movement of attendants and sundry other people in Covid-19 wards. Such reckless acts are like superspreaders. The hospital needs to guard against the spread of infection. Else, it will be difficult to break the transmission pattern, the member was quoted as saying during his interaction with a healthcare professional from Patna. Later, the delegates underscored that it is imperative to strengthen the hospitals infection control policy; and instill confidence among frontline healthcare workers, who are battling the pandemic, during a meeting with Bihar government officials. Dr. Neeraj Nischal of New Delhi-based All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) said a strict hospital infection control policy is the top priority and doctors and paramedical staff need to undergo exhaustive training to implement it. The policy implementation will ensure that doctors and healthcare workers will work without any fear and hesitation amid the spread of the viral outbreak. All healthcare personnel will perform better, if they are made to feel safe, said Dr. Nischal. The delegates have taken strong exception to the unfettered movement of attendants in the Covid-19 facility. The wards are prohibited areas. The attendants unrestricted movement makes them potential superspreaders, Dr. Nischal said during the meeting, while efforts are on to boost the morale of the hospitals healthcare staff. Dr. Nischal is believed to have advocated for a mechanism to train doctors and healthcare workers in infection control in Bihars medical colleges that can function as nodal centres. The Central team members reinforced the concept of aggressive daily testing while citing that Bihar has been lagging behind in optimal utilisation of its test potential. Bihar needs to conduct around 18,000 daily tests, which must be further increased. Test-contain-treat should the simple three-step formula to treat Covid-19 patients. An uptick in aggressive daily testing count is the need of the hour, as the state had to cope with a massive influx of migrant population amid the easing of nationwide lockdown restrictions, said Dr. Nischal, who also interacted with civil surgeons and others involved with the bid to contain the contagion, in the presence of Manoj Kumar, executive director, Bihar State Health Society (BSHS). SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-20 21:33:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Visitors view exhibits during an Italy-themed exhibition held at the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center in east China's Shanghai, May 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) Analysts said the Chinese market will play an important role in the recovery of Italy's agriculture sector. ROME, July 20 (Xinhua) -- As Italy seeks to boost its agriculture sector and the "Made in Italy" brand as it relates to high-quality foodstuffs, analysts say the Chinese market will play an important role in the sector's recovery. Earlier this month, government officials and private sector representatives held a special meeting -- mostly with online participation -- focusing on updating and modernizing the "Made in Italy" brand, through promoting products and innovation, such as the use of blockchain technology as a way to guarantee authenticity and freshness. On July 6, the government set aside 1.15 billion euros (1.31 billion U.S. dollars) in aid to farmers as part of its relaunch decree. But the consultancy Nomisma said in a report recently that it could take even more resources to help Italy recover from the damage from the coronavirus lockdown. Analysts said the export sector would be a key part of the recovery, with trade to China a key aspect. Visitors watch a chef preparing Italian food during an Italy-themed exhibition held at the Hongqiao Import Commodity Exhibition and Trade Center in east China's Shanghai, May 8, 2020. (Xinhua/Fang Zhe) "The 'Made in Italy' brand is already well known and well respected," Giorgia Palazzo, a partner with Expense Reduction Analysts who focuses in part on export issues, told Xinhua. "But the brand has to be modernized, publicized, and made to be more focused." Palazzo said exports to China of high-end Italian food production -- wine, cheese, cured meats, and other such products had been steadily rising through last year. The trend has reversed so far in 2020, due mostly to the worldwide economic slowdown related to the coronavirus pandemic. Palazzo said Italian agricultural exporters should take specific steps to assure that when global economic growth restarts that "Made in Italy" agricultural exports to China and other countries pick up where they left off. "There are new ways to innovate, such as blockchain, as well as traditional methods, like the participation in trade fairs," Palazzo said. "Chinese consumers are spending more on high-quality goods. Italy has to stand ready." A worker harvests carrots in Maccarese near Rome, Italy, May 5, 2020. (Photo by Alberto Lingria/Xinhua) Denis Pantini, head of the agro-industry division for Nomisma, said it made sense for "Made in Italy" food exports to China to be a priority. "All export markets are important, but in the case of China there is a great deal of room to grow," Pantini said in an interview. "Before the pandemic, Italian wine imports made up only around 6 percent of the Chinese import market; Italian food products were only around 2 percent. That shows how much potential there is." Pantini said Italy should work to promote "Made in Italy" products online in China while relying more on that brand rather than on regional equivalents. "In many international markets, consumers don't know what it means for a product to be from a specific region of the country," he said. "But they do know what it means when something is produced in Italy." White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany speaks at a news briefing at the White House, in Washington on June 17, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) White House Says Trump Has the Authority to Send Federal Agents to Portland White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany on Tuesday said the Trump administration has the legal authority to send officers to Portland and potentially other cities in response to crime and unrest. When she was pressed on whether the Constitution gives the federal government the ability to send agents to cities without the approval of their respective mayors, McEnany cited a provision of 40 U.S. Code 1315, that says the Department of Homeland Security secretary shall protect the buildings, grounds and property that are owned, occupied, or secured by the federal government and the persons on the property. When a federal courthouse is being lit on fire, commercial fireworks being shot at it, being shot at the officers, I think that falls pretty well within the limits of the law, McEnany told reporters in a televised news conference, referring to nights of riots and violent demonstrations in Portland following the death of George Floyd in May. Under the aforementioned law, she said the administration can use agents to conduct investigations of crimes committed against federal property or federal officers. Agents from several federal offices were deployed to Portland in an effort to stop unrest and attacks on the federal courthouse. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, both Democrats, have decried the move as unconstitutional. McEnany added that these officers dont identify themselves to crowds because it would put them at great risk. Her comments came amid a rise in crime, shootings, and murders across several major cities in recent weeks following the death of Floyd in Minneapolis. Trump on Monday afternoon vowed that he would send federal officers to those cities in an attempt to quell unrest and deal with the spikes in crime. Federal agents disperse demonstrators who used fencing to block entrances and exits to the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, in Portland, Ore., on July 20, 2020. (Noah Berger/AP Photo) Grafitti is shown during a demonstration outside the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Ore., July 20, 2020. (Noah Berger/AP Photo) Trump suggested that New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Chicago, Baltimore, and Oakland could see federal agents in the coming days. We will have more federal law enforcement. That I can tell you, he added. Governors and mayors really need to step it up, particularly in Democrat cities where Democrat streets are out of control, she said. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot on Tuesday said the White House is sending agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Lightfoot confirmed that Chicago will not receive DHS agents. Unlike what happened in Portland, what we will receive is resources that are going to plug in to the existing federal agencies that we work with on a regular basis to help manage and suppress violent crime, she said. Ive been very clear that we welcome actual partnership, but we do not welcome dictatorship, USA Today reported. Sensex, Nifty Updates: Sensex and Nifty ended majorly bullish on Tuesday, amid buoyed global equities. Sensex ended 511 points higher at 37,930 and Nifty closed 140 points to 11,162. Yesterday, Sensex rose 398 points to 37,418 and Nifty ended 120 points higher to 11,022. Global equities were buoyed today amid first successful human trials of COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and hopes of economic stimulus from global central banks that boosted investor sentiment and increased their risk appetite. In India, AIIMS-Delhi also began recruiting volunteers for conducting human clinical trials of the indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate Covaxin. Meanwhile, Axis bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, CRISIL, DCM Shriram, HDFC Life, HUL, Hindustan Zinc, ICICI Pru life, SBI Life, SML Isuzu are among the top companies that will be reporting their April-June quarterly earnings. Here's a look at the updates of the market action on BSE and NSE today 3.45 PM: Closing session Sensex and Nifty ended majorly bullish on Tuesday, amid buoyed global equities. Sensex ended 511 points higher at 37,930 and Nifty closed 140 points to 11,162. 3.20 PM: Telcom shares drop Shares of telecom services providers Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel were trading lower the otherwise bullish market on Tuesday after the Supreme Court on Monday reserved its order on a petition related to allowing telcos to make staggered payments of adjusted gross revenue (AGR) over a 20-year period. Vodafone Idea stock price opened at Rs 8.99 today and later fell to the intraday low of Rs 8.15, down 9.8% as against the earlier closing of Rs 9.04 on BSE. Similarly, Airtel shares were trading 1.6% lower at Rs 566.45 as against its earlier close of Rs 575.57 on BSE. 3.00 PM: Market update Sensex and Nifty traded majorly on a bullish note on Tuesday, amid buoyed global equities. Sensex traded 500 points higher at 37,925 and Nifty was rising 133 points to 11,155. 2. 50 PM: Rossari Biotech IPO The allotment status of the initial public offering (IPO) of Rossari Biotech is likely to be announced today. The IPO was subscribed over 79 times on the last day of bidding on Wednesday. Net proceeds from the issue will be utilised for funding working capital requirements, repaying certain debt availed by the company and for general corporate purposes. The equity shares will be listed on the NSE and BSE. 2. 37 PM: Quote on Bajaj Fianance 1QFY21 results Commenting on Q1 results by Bajaj Finance, Jaikishan Parmar, Sr. Equity Research Analyst, Angel Broking said,"Bajaj finance reported a mixed set of numbers considering lockdown led lower retail and business activity. AUM grew 7% YoY however declined 6% QoQ. NII grew by 10% in line with AUM growth. Controlled opex helped Bajaj finance to report the growth of 25% in Pre provision profit. Spike in provision of almost 2x of Q1FY20 impacted profitability. On the asset quality front, lower slippages and write-off led to a decline in GNPA from 1.6% in Q1FY20 to 1.4% in Q1FY21. Moratorium books reduced from 27% to 15%. Credit cost guidance has been revised from Rs.5400 -Rs.5700cr to Rs.6000-Rs.6300cr. Given the lockdown, the Company decided to convert some of its existing customers with no overdue and good repayment track record from the term loan to a Flexi loan. In Q1 FY21, the company converted Rs.8,600 crore of term loans into Flexi loans." 2.17 PM: Wipro - Q1FY21 Result Update Centrum Broking in its Research report on Wipro's Q1FY21 result said," Wipro's Q1FY21 results were a beat on IT Services EBIT margin which helped deliver PAT beat. USD revenues were in-line with estimates. We believe risk return and margin of safety remains favorable. Raise TP by 15.5% to Rs275/sh (14.5x June 22E EPS vs 14x June22E EPS earlier). The brokergae rated the stock BUY ( vs Add earlier)." 1. 50 PM: ACC share price gains 7% despite 40% decline in Q2 profit, here's why Share price of ACC gained 7% in early trade today after the firm reported a 40.53 per cent decline in consolidated net profit to Rs 270.95 crore for the quarter ending June. However, the cement maker logged a marginal 16% dip in net profit in Q2 against profit of Rs 323 crore in Q1 of current year. ACC share price gains 7% despite 40% decline in Q2 profit, here's why 1. 40 PM: PSU shares gain momentum Shares of state-owned lenders were trading higher on Tuesday's early deals following reports that the Indian government is currently formulating a new privatisation proposal of selling the unmerged banks to private players or divest stakes. The Nifty PSU Bank index jumped over 2% led by gains in State Bank of India, Union Bank of India, Bank of Baroda and Indian Bank. The BSE PSU index was rising 2.62% higher at 5,104, with 44 stocks rising and 33 stocks falling in today's session. Bank of Maharashtra share price rose 14%, followed by 12% rise in Central Bank, 10% in UCO Bank. Bank of India and Indian Overseas Bank shares gained in the range of 7% to 5%. 1. 29 PM: Jubilant Life Sciences' shares hit 52-week high Share price of Jubilant LifeSciences hit a fresh 52-week high in trade today after ace investor Rakesh Jhunjhunwala raised his stake in pharma firm for June quarter. Jubilant LifeSciences share gained up to 4.44% to Rs 753.4 against previous close of Rs 721.50 on BSE. Jubilant LifeSciences stock is trading higher than 5 day, 20 day, 50 day, 100 day and 200 day moving averages. The stock has risen 8.56% in 3 days. This pharma stock hits 52-week high after Rakesh Jhunjhunwala raises stake 1. 15 PM: SBI Cards share price rises over 5% SBI Cards share price rose over 5% in Tuesday's trading session after the subsidiary of SBI announced 14 per cent rise in Q1 net profit at Rs 393 crore compared to Rs 364 crore in the corresponding period last year. Total income fell to Rs 2,196 crore in Q1 compared to Rs 2,304 crore in Q1 FY20. SBI Cards share price rises over 5% on strong Q1 earnings 12. 58 AM: Rupee gains 18 paise Indian rupee, the domestic currency benchmark gained 18 paise to 74.73 per dollar on Tuesday, tracking positive domestic equities and hopes of COVID-19 vaccine. At the interbank forex market, rupee opened at 74.79 per dollar and later gained further ground to touch 74.73 per dollar, up 18 paise over its previous close of 74.91 on Monday. Positive domestic as well as global equities, foreign fund inflows and hopes of COVID-19 vaccine supported the domestic unit. Rupee vs dollar: Rupee gains 18 paise to 74.73 per dollar amid positive global equities 12. 28 PM: Stocks to watch today on July 21 IndiGo, SBI Cards, ACC, Indian Oil, Jubilant Life among others are the top stocks to watch out for in Tuesday's trading session. Stocks in news: IndiGo, SBI Cards, ACC, Indian Oil, Jubilant Life 12. 17 PM: Q1 Earnings scheduled for today Axis bank, Bajaj Finserv, Bajaj Finance, CRISIL, DCM Shriram, HDFC Life, HUL, Hindustan Zinc, ICICI Pru life, SBI Life, SML Isuzu are among the top companies that will be reporting their April-June quarterly earnings. 11. 55 AM: Quote in real estate sector Commenting over the outlook for real estate sector, Manoj Gaur, MD, Gaurs Group & Chairman, Affordable Housing Committee, CREDAI (National) said, "Coming year is crucial for the real estate sector which has been demanding for a relief package from the government to overcome the COVID-19 impact. Demand-wise the sector is well placed as people are seeking real estate assets like never before. People have realized the importance of owning a property as they have seen many investment vehicles go down during the last few months. The safety of the real estate investment has dawned on people, and this has made them seek out properties that fit their budget. Commercial will see an increased participation from people, who want to have an additional option of income." Gaur noted that his company booked 700 units valued at around Rs 225 crore during lockdown (March 25 onwards) with around 70-75% being residential and the rest commercial. 11. 46 AM: Quote on SBI Cards 1QFY21 results Commenting on 1QFY21 result of SBI Cards, Jaikishan Parmar, Sr. Equity Research Analyst, Angel Broking said,"SBI Cards reported an overall good set of numbers for Q1FY21. When lockdown begun investors were concerned about asset quality issues, however, SBI cards positivity surprised by reporting a very low number of the moratorium. Moratorium % to loan book declined from 29% in Q4FY20 to 6.7% in Q1FY21. Its active credit cards increased by 20% despite the lockdown. NIM Improved 260bps QoQ/414bps YoY as SBI card able to reduce the cost of fund and able increase yield on loan book. Total income declined by 5% YoY, primarily driven by plunge in other income 82% YoY. Controlled operating expenses helped cost to income ration to improve by 635bps to 47.2%. And finally, the Lower tax rate of the new regime helped SBI card to report PAT growth of 14% YoY." 11. 30 AM: Overseas gold Comex Gold traded steady at 1,815 an ounce on Tuesday in overseas markets, although, above its eight-year high mark at $1,800 per ounce. Spot gold was up 0.1% at $1,817.23 per ounce, after hitting its 9-year high record of $1,820.06 on Monday, while US gold futures reamined unchanged at $1,817.80 per ounce. Gold prices in the commodity market have been scaling fresh highs as traders shunned risk and sought safe haven during coronavirus crisis. 11. 27 AM: Quote on 1QFY20 results of ACC Commenting on 1QFY21 result of ACC, Keshav Lahoti, Associate Equity Analyst, Angel Broking said,"ACC reported a 37% YoY decline in standalone revenue to Rs.2601 crore for Q2CY20. Company reported EBIDTA and PAT of Rs.525 crore and Rs.268 crore for the quarter, down by 34% and 41% YoY respectively. Revenue for the quarter was adversely impacted given that there was no production and sales for the cement industry during the first 20 days of April due to the lockdown. However, margins improved from 19.1% to 20.2% YoY due decline in power and fuel cost along with other expenses. Revenue for the quarter was below street estimates though EBIDTA and PAT were above street estimates. Going forward demand revival will be key for the Company." 11. 12 AM: Silver prices today Silver futures in domestic market too gained 2% or 1,126 to trade at 55,131 per kg today. Overseas, silver also traded 2% higher at $20.19 per troy ounce, after hitting a near four-year peak as amid spike in COVID-19 infections on a global scale. 11.09 AM: Gold near term outlook On gold's near term outlook, Geojit Financial in its daily note said, gold is required to continue further upticks towards $1830 followed by $1882 levels. Else, a drop below $1785 expect corrective selloffs which may extended towards $1770 or even more for the day. For MCX Gold August futures, the agency suggested resistance at Rs 49,300 and support at Rs 48,220. 10. 57 AM: Gold trades near record high In line with overseas commodity markets, Gold futures on MCX were trading 83 points higher at 49,110 per 10 gm today against the previous close of 49,027 per 10 gm, after hitting a lifetime high of 49,348 earlier this month. Gold August Futures today touched an intraday high of 49,169 and a low of 49,036 today, after opening at 49,078 per 10 gm. Gold price today: Yellow metal trades near record high 10. 46 AM: Global equities rally European Union leaders were close to reaching an agreement on a massive stimulus plan of 750 billion euro for their economies. Meanwhile, US is expected to adopt its $1 to $1.5 trillion stimulus by the first week of August. Hopes for a coronavirus vaccine further lifted risk appetite. MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan gained 1.5% to edge near its four-month peak hit earlier this month. On Wall Street, benchmark S&P500 hit a five-month peak. Euro Stoxx 50 futures were also trading 0.25% higher, nearing their highest since early March. 10. 37 AM: Brent crude rises 0.5% The international oil benchmark Brent crude futures rose 0.18 per cent to USD 43.36 per barrel. 10.17 AM: Coronavirus toll Worldwide, the number of COVID-19 cases linked to COVID-19 disease surpassed 1.46 crore. In India, the number of coronavirus infections jumped to 11.55 lakh, after recording 37,148 new cases in the last 24 hours, while the total number of recoveries increased to 7,24,577. 10.00 AM: Why markets rising today Global as well as domestic equities were buoyed today amid first successful human trials of COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and hopes of economic stimulus from global central banks that boosted investor sentiment and increased their risk appetite. On its first phase of "promising" human trials, the coronavirus vaccine appears safe and induces a strong immune response within the body. In India, AIIMS-Delhi also began recruiting volunteers for conducting human clinical trials of the indigenously developed COVID-19 vaccine candidate Covaxin. 9. 46 AM: Top gainers and losers ICICI Bank, followed by Maruti, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, Power Grid and HDFC Bank were among the top gainers today, while Bajaj Finserv and ITC were the top laggards. 9. 35 AM:Market Update Sensex and Nifty opened on a bullish note on Tuesday, amid buoyed global equities. SGX Nifty was rising 100 points higher at 10,690, indicating positive trend in domestic grounds today. Sensex traded 389 points higher at 37,808 and Nifty was rising 114 points to 11,137. 9. 12 AM: Market technical NSE-NIFTY extended gain post a breakout from its long-term moving average 200-day SMA and regained 11,000 mark. We believe the index will continue its current up-move as its major technical indicator on the near-term timeframe chart remained in favour of bulls. This could lead the index towards 11,120 and 11,435 levels. In case of decline, the index will initially find support at around 10,870 mark and then at around 10,560 level. As for the day, support is placed at around 10,971 and then at 10,919 levels, while resistance is observed at 11,056 and then at 11,089 levels 9.09 AM: Opening session Sensex pre-opened 404 points higher at 37,823 and Nifty gained 103 points higher to 11,126 8. 55 AM: Nifty outlook "The short term trend of Nifty continues to be positive. One may ride the uptrend and continue long trading positions with the stop loss of 10900 levels. The next crucial resistance to be watched is around 11250 this week. Key support is placed around 10900-10850 levels," said Nagaraj Shetti, Technical Research Analyst, HDFC Securities. Share market expectations: 5 things to know before tomorrow's opening bell 8. 50 AM: Earnings So far, the companies, especially the IT firms have posted better than expected results. The investors would be keenly awaiting earnings releases from firms such as Axis Bank, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, HDFC Life Insurance, ICICI Prudential SBI Life, among others. 8. 45 AM: Market outlook Ajit Mishra, VP - Research, Religare Broking said,"Markets are largely focusing on the earnings and the recent announcements from the index majors have positively surprised the market, which in turn fueling the recovery. Besides, the global markets are also not showing any signs of slowing down, helping the index to maintain the prevailing momentum. However, the rising COVID-19 cases and talks of community transmission could dent the pace ahead". 8. 40 AM: Rupee closing On the currency front, Indian Rupee ended higher at 74.92 per dollar as against the last closing of 75.02 per dollar. Rising rupee had a rub-off effect on investor sentiment, analysts said. The domestic currency is at near the strongest level recorded during the session. 8. 35 AM: Global cues Global equities were buoyed today amid hopes of economic stimulus from global central banks that boosted investor sentiment. SGX Nifty was rising 100 points higher at 10,690, indicating positive trend in domestic grounds today. 8. 30 AM: Closing Sensex and Nifty closed higher on Monday amid heavy buying in IT and banking stocks led by better-than-expected earnings in Q1. Extending last week's gains, Sensex rose 398 points to 37,418 and Nifty ended 120 points higher to 11,022. Sensex ends 398 points higher, Nifty at 11,022; IT, banking stocks lead gains The Samsung Galaxy Note20 Ultra passed through the FCC and confirmed some suspicions that the rumor mill had. The chipset is explicitly listed as Qualcomm SM8250 thats Snapdragon 865, likely the plus variant and the modem is an X55. This enables not only sub-6 GHz 5G but also mmWave. The FCC tests were performed on the SM-N986U, the general US version of the phone, so the choice of Snapdragon isnt surprising. What is surprising is the mmWave support, which is currently reserved for Verizon models (which end with a V). The FCC testers also had the new Samsung LED View Cover on hand as this uses NFC to communicate and power the LED grid on the front of the cover. They also tested the S Pen and its operation its Bluetooth-connected to the phone, which uses wireless charging to top up the stylus internal battery, same as on current Notes. The new S Pen may have learned new tricks, however, rumor has it that it can be used as a pointer. The FCC also tested the new LED View Cover You can have a peek at the Galaxy Note20 Ultra spinning in 360 degrees for a closer look at the new design. That is an unofficial leak, of course, there wont be official image until August 5s Unpacked event. Source | Via Drilling Contractors Secured and Pyramid Lake Update Melbourne, July 21, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - Cohiba Minerals Limited ( ASX:CHK ) is pleased to announce that a drilling contractor has been secured for the upcoming drilling programs at Horse Well and Pernatty C.Cohiba Minerals has signed an agreement with DRC Drilling to undertake the drilling at both Horse Well and Pernatty C. The Horse Well holes will target deeper (~1,000m) Iron Oxide-Copper-Gold (IOCG) mineralisation similar to BHP's nearby Oak Dam West deposit while the Pernatty C holes will target shallower (~300m) sedimentary-hosted Mt Gunson-style copper-cobalt-silver mineralisation.DRC Drilling has significant experience in both IOCG and sediment-hosted environments in South Australia and with major companies such as FMG Metals, OZ Minerals and BHP Billiton. Cohiba is currently aiming to commence drilling in the next 2 weeks.Cohiba has also signed an agreement with Groundwork Plus to deliver the Mining Operations Plan (MOP), Mining Lease (ML) application and associated Mine Closure Plan for the Pyramid Lake (WA) gypsum project. The successful completion of this program of work will provide Cohiba with a Mining Lease (ML) over the primary gypsum resource and enable the Company to progress its plans for the mining and processing of gypsum for the agricultural markets in Western Australia.Pyramid Lake has the potential to generate consistent returns for the Company and showcase the Company's ability to span the value chain from explorer to minerals producer.Cohiba's CEO, Andrew Graham says, "After waiting for some time to obtain the necessary permits, we are pleased to finally secure the drilling contractor for the Horse Well and Pernatty C drill holes. We are excited about testing our multiple target zones and look forward to reporting updates as they emerge."About Cohiba Minerals Limited Cohiba Minerals Limited (ASX:CHK) is listed on the Australian Securities Exchange with the primary focus of investing in the resource sector through direct tenement acquisition, joint ventures, farm in arrangements and new project generation. The shares of the company trade under the ticker symbol CHK. The Company recently acquired 100% of the shares in Charge Lithium Pty Ltd, which holds exploration licences in Western Australia. WASHINGTON - Federal investigators are examining whether a suspect in the ambush shooting of a federal judges family in New Jersey also killed a fellow mens rights lawyer in California, a law enforcement official said. The federal agents are trying to determine whether Roy Den Hollander, who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound the day after an attack that killed the judges son and wounded her husband, had any role in the killing earlier this month of Marc Angelucci. Angelucci, like Den Hollander, was involved in lawsuits alleging gender discrimination against men. He was shot to death July 11 at his home in San Bernardino County, California. The official cautioned the investigation was in its early stages and federal officials were working with local homicide detectives. In both cases, the suspect appeared to pose as a delivery driver, the official said. Investigators are also examining Den Hollanders financial and travel records, as well as misogynistic screeds he posted online, said the official, who could not discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. The San Bernardino County sheriffs department referred questions to the FBI. Den Hollander, 72, described himself as an anti-feminist attorney who filed lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of ladies night promotions at bars and nightclubs, sued Columbia University for providing womens studies classes, and sued news organizations over what he said was biased coverage. The FBI said Den Hollander was the primary subject in the attack Sunday at the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in North Brunswick, New Jersey, where 20-year-old Daniel Anderl was killed and his father, Mark Anderl, 63, was wounded. Mark Anderl remained hospitalized and was expected to have more surgery Tuesday, according to Mayor Francis Mac Womack, a family friend. Salas, 51, was in another part of the house and was unharmed. Den Hollander was found dead Monday in Sullivan County, New York. Investigators found items in his possession that raised concerns about whether he had targeted, or planned to target, other people, including a photograph of New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore and the address of a state appeals courthouse, a state court spokesperson said. Both Den Hollander and Angelucci, 52, were involved in lawsuits seeking to force the U.S. government to require all young women to join men in registering for a possible military draft. Den Hollanders lawsuit, filed in 2015 on behalf of a woman in New Jersey, was assigned to Salas. He withdrew as the lawyer in the case a year ago after being diagnosed with cancer. Harry Crouch, president of the National Coalition for Men, told The Associated Press that Den Hollander was furious that he hadnt been involved in a similar case being handled by Angelucci. Roy was just not happy that we did not involve him as a co-counsel. I think unhappy is an understatement, Crouch said. He called me up and threatened me. Crouch said Den Hollander did not have a good reputation among other mens rights advocates. I think he was very hostile, very, very hostile that he finally went over the hill, Crouch said. In more than 2,000 pages of often misogynistic, racist writings posted online, Den Hollander had sharply criticized Salas and other female judges. He also wrote about wanting to use the rest of his time on earth to even the score with his perceived enemies, using cowboy justice. J. Steven Svoboda, a spokesman for the National Coalition for Men who said he was speaking personally and not on behalf of the organization, said Angelucci was beloved for his groundbreaking legal work all. in his mind, to make the world a better place. ___ Dazio reported from Los Angeles. Associated Press reporters Michael R. Sisak in New York and Maryclaire Dale in Philadelphia also contributed to this report. Unchecked bureaucracy, diplomatic immunity helped Kerala Gold Smuggling accused thrive India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 21: The Customs Department probing the Kerala Gold Smuggling case has made further inroads. It has found that scores of hawala operators were involved in this racket and were directly in contact with the accused persons. It has been found that the hawala operatives were in direct contact with P S Sarith Kumar, the former PRO at the UAE Consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. The hawala operatives had plenty at stake in this racket and had invested large sums of money. They were moving both the gold and money and a large part of it was even moved outside Kerala, people familiar with the investigations told OneIndia. The Kerala government which has been accused of being complacent in the case by the Opposition parties is now in damage control mode. Some within the ruling coalition feel that there was too much free hand given to the bureaucrats, as a result of which this racket went on with ease. The CPI (M) has called for a meeting of the staff members of all ministers on July 23. The meeting is aimed at chalking out a strict code of conduct. Also Read: The Customs on the other hand will book the arrested persons under Sections 112 A, 112 B, 132 and 133 of the Customs Act. The officials also questioned the gunman of the UAE Consular's attache, who had attempted suicide on July 17. During the questioning he said that he had escorted some consignments and had done so on the directions of some consulate officials. He however added that he did not have any idea about the contents and got to know about them only later through media reports. Based on his statements, the officials feel that the gunman could have attempted suicide as an attention diverting tactic. The officials would question him once again, once he is discharged from hospital. However the bottom line is how did so many consignments dodge the eyes of the security agencies. There were at least 13 consignments that came into the country in one year. Each of these passed without any security check and this was owing to diplomatic immunity. The National Investigation Agency, which joined the probe last week found that some of the consignments were extremely heavy. The heaviest consignment weighed 70 kilograms. The NIA has so far arrested four persons, while 13 are in the custody of the Customs. There would be more rounds of questioning an investigating officer confirmed. M Sivasankar, the former principal secretary to Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan and a minister, whose call records with accused, Swapna Suresh are under scrutiny will also be questioned. Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News It has also been found by the investigators that many of the accused were in close contact with the government officials. The agencies are now probing the events that were organised by the state government departments. This would be an important aspect to the probe as it will help ascertain as to what the accused persons were doing at these state government organised functions, the source cited above also said. Plans to build a luxury "eco-resort" on a South Carolina barrier island have attracted attention and opposition from thousands online since developers first started seeking approvals for the $100 million project. The resort is slated for Bay Point Island, just northeast of Hilton Head. Bay Point is uninhabited and only accessible by boat or aircraft. In early November, an online petition calling on the development to be stopped had about 2,600 signatures. The post, which was created by the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition, continued to gain traction, and, on Monday, online signers had surpassed 21,500. Some left comments with their names. "Im Gullah, and Im a Sea Island native! This has to stop! We must save our land and preserve our culture!" one person wrote. "Development on shifting sands is irresponsible and leads to costly damages that are often placed on taxpayers," another said. The list of Lowcountry organizations that have publicly opposed the project has also been growing. The Coastal Conservation League, the South Carolina Environmental Law Project, the Gullah/Geechee Sea Island Coalition and the Gullah/Geechee Fishing Association have vocally denounced the project for months. The Port Royal Sound Foundation, Beaufort County Open Land Trust and Hilton Head Island Land Trust have also recently issued public statements against the proposed resort. The debate, which runs the gamut of Lowcountry issues from shifting sands and fragile habitats to the preservation of Gullah-Geechee spaces and ways of life, has only become more intense as the project advances. The Beaufort County Zoning Board of Appeals will soon review the plans to determine whether the project will receive its special-use permit for ecotourism a key decision in determining if the development will become a reality. Board members were originally scheduled to hear the request on Thursday, but the full agenda was pushed forward to the next meeting in August. The meeting was going to be held at Beaufort High School, but the district's school buildings are currently closed to the public. The plans Since Bay Point is zoned as a natural preserve, county law only allows for accommodations to be built there if they qualify as "ecotourism." According to Beaufort County staff, the resort plans can qualify, but late last year, they didn't pass muster. Beaufort County community development director Eric Greenway wrote in a December letter that "after careful review," he concluded the resort wasn't ecotourism. But when the plans were resubmitted this spring with help from Jon Bruno, the executive director of The International Ecotourism Society, or TIES the same group that wrote the definition of ecotourism used in the county's code that decision was reversed, allowing plans to advance to the zoning appeals board. The development plans include 50 villas, wellness centers, restaurants, and an "earth lab" and cooking school. Structures will be built off-site "to minimize site impacts," according to the plans. No paved roads are included, and only bikes and small electric vehicles will be allowed. A helipad would be installed for emergencies. A resort has been proposed for Bay Point before. Its principal owner, European investor Philippe Cahen, proposed a plan several years ago. This time around, he intends for Six Senses, a Thailand-based luxury resort company, to run it. Most existing Six Senses resorts are in Asia or on islands in the Pacific, with some locations in Europe, Africa and the Middle East. Bay Point would be Six Senses' first U.S. property. It's not uncommon for a one-night stay at a Six Senses resort to cost upward of $1,000. For many who oppose the development, the issue is rooted in its proposed location rather than backers' plans to reduce waste and educate guests about ecology. Bay Point is a barrier island, constantly experiencing shifting sands and vulnerable to hurricanes. Waters around the island are used by the Gullah-Geechee community as a fishing ground and have been for generations. The community says putting a resort there would threaten that livelihood. Bay Point is also an important habitat for shorebirds and sea turtles. Species conservation plans submitted to the county lay out general plans for how the development would handle vulnerable wildlife, but, according to Justin Stokes, the executive director of Audubon South Carolina, the organization is "unconvinced that the proposal is compatible with protecting the bird species that rely on the island." Some of those species include those that are federally listed as threatened or endangered, like the piping plover and red knot, and other state-listed species such as the least tern and American oystercatcher. At the county's request, Audubon S.C. met with the developers and "raised several questions and concerns related to birds and important bird habitat" on Bay Point. "Since then, we have not received any commitments, revisions or responses that would address our concerns, which was also communicated to the county," Stokes said. Conservation or 'greenwashing' Early last month, a Facebook page titled "Saving Bay Point Island SC" appeared, touting the purported benefits of the proposed eco-resort and the results of the "stewardship" by owners of the island. The page includes links to a website for a newly formed "Beaufort County Ecotourism Association." An email circulated to potential members said that the Beaufort County Ecotourism Association is not associated with the Bay Point project. But an information sheet about the association says it would be "allied closely" with TIES, the group that was brought on to consult Bay Point owners before resort development plans were resubmitted to the county. One of the five members listed online is landscape architecture firm J.K. Tiller & Associates. Company president Josh K. Tiller is, according to a post on the "Saving Bay Point Island SC" page, a "strong believer that the current proposal is the most sustainable choice for the island." He is also an official applicant listed on resort development plans submitted to Beaufort County. Seth Pritchard, the chair of the College of Charleston's Biology Department, said the narrative of sustainability being presented by Bay Point is one that looks like "greenwashing," sharing misleading information that makes a project appear sound when it has real environmental consequences. The Bay Point Island group had approached the college's career services office about working together, and that office passed along the materials to biology faculty members, Pritchard said. "Barrier islands are so ephemeral. It just makes no sense," he said of the resort plans. One of the things that stuck out, Pritchard said, was the emphasis TIES director Bruno put on the benefits the resort would bring to the local community. But, based on the widely-circulated petition and multiple opposition statements from local groups, it appeared the community "didn't really support the project at all." Another ecotourism group, the Global Ecotourism Network, has put substantial effort into warning others about working with TIES. In February 2015, TIES's advisory board resigned en masse. One of those board members, Glenn Jampol, who now chairs the Global Ecotourism Network (GEN), a group formed with other ex-TIES board members, said their resignation was due to "grave ethical concerns." Jampol specifically cited a lack of financial transparency as a reason for the schism. TIES had its tax-exempt status revoked in May 2015, according to the Internal Revenue Services's auto-revocation list. No reinstatement date has been listed. Bruno denies GEN's claims and says the board did not resign but rather was fired. Bruno did, however, confirm that TIES is not a 501(c)3 nonprofit. Going forward, Bruno said there is no formal relationship in place between TIES and the proposed Bay Point resort. He described the work he did for the developers as a temporary gig. A co-owner of Bay Point contacted Bruno earlier this year for assistance on resubmitting the project plans that were turned down by county staff in December. "I was paid my expenses and a daily rate to fix up the communications materials, which is what I saw the weakness was," Bruno said, explaining that he thought the plans were initially rejected not because they didn't match the ethos of ecotourism but because the project's backers didn't communicate their conservation plans clearly enough to the county. Jampol of GEN said that he strongly recommends that a "credible and professionally researched" environmental impact assessment be done on the resort proposal. He also said that climate change should be considered as a major risk factor. "We feel that any community or investor serious about development on a barrier island that is susceptible to hurricanes and affected by rising sea levels, should have made this a key component of their evaluation," Jampol said in a letter sent to the Coastal Conservation League, one of the earliest and most ardent opponents of the Bay Point Island project. From a "purely financial standpoint," Jampol added, the developers could be assuming a big risk. Juliana Smith, south coast project manager with the Coastal Conservation League, said it concerned their group to see island owners turning to an organization with "questionable credibility" instead of "local organizations that have deep-rooted relationships with the community, land and wildlife." She described it as "even more troubling" that Beaufort County turned to TIES for expertise, too. According to emails shared by Bruno with The Post and Courier, Beaufort County staff was in touch with him in mid-January to get his opinion on the resort plans. Bruno also participated in a county review meeting in early May ahead of staff's official decision to allow the plans to advance to the zoning board. The permit In recent months, the coronavirus pandemic has made it impossible to host the type of town hall-style meetings that developers said they intended to have as a way to discuss concerns with local residents and groups. In May, some virtual sessions were hosted with community members, but objections were raised then about who was able to participate. Many native Gullah-Geechee people don't have online access in their homes, Marquetta Goodwine, who goes by Queen Quet as Chieftess of the Gullah/Geechee Nation, had pointed out. Since Thursday's Zoning Board of Appeals meeting was canceled, the board will hear the request no earlier than next month. Beaufort County staff is recommending that the Bay Point proposal does satisfy county requirements, but only if specified conditions are met, like the creation of a foundation that would be responsible for overseeing conservation efforts. According to staff's analysis of the application, the proposal is appropriate "only if the conditions, safeguards and agreements" staff laid out for the board are imposed as part of the special permit approval. Allowing the resort to proceed could set a precedent with wide-reaching implications in the county, said Smith of the Coastal Conservation League. "We hope the Zoning Board will recognize this project for what it is a resort and deny permission of the ecotourism special use," she said. The Coastal Conservation League hosted a webinar Tuesday afternoon to discuss the ways the group anticipates the resort could be costly to Beaufort County residents. Queen Quet said the Gullah/Geechee Nation's position on the project has not changed and said they also hope the Beaufort County zoning board will reject the plans as an appropriate use for the island. The environmental groups that have come out against the plans, and the native Gullah-Geechee people who have put their names to the petition "should be the voices that are heard," she said. "We refuse to back down from our position." A delegation led by Ismaila Isa-Funtua tried to talk Omoyele Sowore out of his call for revolution for which he was detained illegally for over four months in 2019, the Sahara Reporters publisher said Tuesday. Mr Sowore recalled the incident in the wake of the death of Mr Funtua, a close associate of President Buhari and Second Republic minister, who died on Monday from suspected cardiac arrest. In an interview Mr Sowore had with SaharaTV, a sister platform of Sahara Reporters, he said the Mr Funtua-led emissary told him they had come to discuss his freedom from detention. But Mr Sowore, a former student union activist, who confronted military regimes and suffered attacks and persecution for it, said he rejected their offer. You cant defeat the government, he said the late octogenarian who was one of the most influential men around the president, told him, with a note of finality. Well, you are about (to) find out that the people can defeat any government, no matter how powerful you guys think youre, he said he responded, enraged. Mr Sowore, who contested in the 2019 presidential election and lost, in an account he gave on his Facebook page, said another member of the emissary, Nduka Obaigbena, the publisher of Thisday Newspapers, also tried to persuade him, but he stood his ground. At the time, PREMIUM TIMES exclusively reported how President Muhammadu Buhari sent emissaries to the activist to extract commitment from him to back down on the revolution now protest as a precondition for his release. The presidents emissaries were said to have visited Mr Sowore where he was at the time, illegally held at the State Security Service Abuja Headquarters to broker, a peace deal in return for his freedom. Apart from the late Mr Funtua and Mr Obaigbena, others who took part in the botched negotiation included Sam Amuka, publisher of Vanguard Newspapers and presidential spokesperson Garba Shehu, Mr Sowore said. While Mr Ogbaigbena denied being a part of the delegation last year November, Mr Funtua told PREMIUM TIMES then: I went to meet him (Sowore) with Sam Amuka, Nduka Obaigbena and some others. We were there for two hours to discuss with him that there was no need to be grandstanding with his lawyers. Read Mr Sowores account below: After spending two weeks in DSS detention 2019, one afternoon I was called downstairs, early. Upon reaching the office of the two senior officers saddled with my detention, I was accompanied to the office of the Director Operations. a few minutes later there was this towering figure in white dress arriving with a delegation. It was Isa Funtua (now late) accompanied by Vanguard publisher Sam Amuka, Buharis spokesman, Garba Shehu and Nduka Obaigbena, owner of THISDAY and ARISEtv. I was meeting all these men for the first time in my life. They said they had come (to) discuss my freedom from detention, while I thanked them for their kind intervention. I made it clear that it was wrong to come meet with me in detention without first consulting with my lawyer, Femi Falana. We (were) already in court challenging my unjust detention, but Isa-Funtua, haughty and condescending, was dismissive. He started berating my lawyer, claiming hes only grandstanding and to me, he stated with a note of finality, you cant defeat the government. I was enraged, and told him, Well, you are about (to) find out that the people can defeat any government, no matter how powerful you guys think youre. As we argued back and forth, Nduka (Obaigbena) intervened and took me to an ante room in the office of the DO and pleaded that I shouldnt argue with the old man that I should just play along and get released. I repeated to him that Id considered the consequences of my actions and I am not interested in negotiating my liberty with anyone. I asked him why he didnt think it was necessary to contact my attorneys before embarking on such a mission, he said he will get to Femi Falana and thats was the end of my encounter with the team. Coronavirus infection numbers arent letting up in and around Lynchburg, and area healthcare workers are expressing concern for hospital demand with flu season on the horizon. Centra Health officials said Monday its ICU saw a record high of 20 COVID-19 patients at the beginning of July, and numbers have remained high since then. We do need to still be aware and perhaps even vigilant again now that were seeing the highest volumes that weve seen of COVID-19 cases in the community and our healthcare facilities, Centra Chief Medical Officer Dr. Chris Thomson said in a news conference. Dr. Christopher Lewis, Centras VP of Medical Affairs, said Lynchburg General Hospitals ICU had 16 patients at the end of last week and now has 12 patients, with nine of those individuals using ventilators. The designated COVID-19 unit for those with less severe symptoms has another 12 patients, making for a total of 24. Five additional patients are awaiting test results. The number of COVID-19 patients has ebbed and flowed since the pandemic hit the U.S. in March, Lewis said, but what we saw somewhat recently was concerning in that we were seeing [upward] trends in our numbers. Data from the Virginia Department of Health show that in and around Lynchburg, the percentage of people testing positive for the disease has been climbing since late May. Now its at an all-time high, with 5.1% percent of tests coming back positive. Between Friday and Sunday alone, 78 new cases have been reported in Lynchburg and surrounding counties. Statewide percentages are higher overall, but have followed the same general trend. More people testing positive has given way to more people admitted to the hospital, which in turn has given way to more ICU patients, Lewis said. Weve had folks that are here for weeks just in our hospital and that can then be played out further for weeks in the rehab setting, he said. This is a mean disease hopefully we can get folks to survive and get strong again, but its a tough fight. To date, 57 Centra caregivers have tested positive for coronavirus, which Lewis said is about on par with numbers among asymptomatic people in the community. He said almost all of the staff members whove tested positive have contracted the disease outside of work, and none have needed hospitalization. Cases in the Central Virginia Health District, which includes Lynchburg and surrounding counties, have become increasingly prevalent among young people, according to data from VDH. As of Monday, 149 people in the region aged 20 to 29 have tested positive, and people younger than 30 make up almost 40% of all cases in the region. Lewis said the youngest person to be admitted to LGH with COVID-19 was 19 years old, and the youngest person to be intubated was 24 years old. Both have recovered, he added. Centra CEO Dr. Andy Mueller said the surge of adrenaline among workers and energy from supporters at the outset of the pandemic has faded, and caregivers continue to be dedicated to their work despite being exhausted. And while those caregivers are prepared and well-stocked with protective gear and ventilators, Lewis said everyone can do their part to help keep people out of the ICU. It makes our job a lot easier if the community can keep each other safe and protected by masking and doing all the right things, he said. We stress that here at the hospital on a daily basis it just has to be a community-wide standard of care, basically. The VDH said Monday the total number of COVID-19 cases reported in Virginia so far rose 945 to 78,375 from 77,430 on Sunday. There were 7,201 hospitalizations statewide reported to date, an increase of 36 from Sunday. The VDH reported 2,031 statewide deaths to date as of Monday, an increase of four from Sunday. State health officials have said theres a lag in the reporting of statewide numbers on the VDH website. Figures on the website might not include cases or deaths reported by localities or local health districts. The 78,375 cases consist of 75,415 confirmed cases and 2,960 probable cases. The VDH defines probable COVID-19 cases as people who are symptomatic with known exposure to COVID-19 but whose cases have not been confirmed with a positive test. The latest seven-day trend for the positivity rate of PCR tests only excluding antibody tests rose to 7.7%. Thats down from a peak of 20.8% April 21 and up from 5.9% June 24. Rachel Mahoney covers courts for The News & Advance. Reach her at (434) 385-5554. Rachel Mahoney covers courts for The News & Advance. Reach her at (434) 385-5554. 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. A Dalit man stripped and thrashed by a group of people in this district in Karnataka for allegedly touching the motorbike of a person from another community. As a video of the incident went viral on social media, a counter-complaint was lodged, claiming he was assaulted for teasing two girls of Minajagi village, the police told news agency PTI. The video showed a group of people stripping the man and beating him up with sticks. The man's father lodged a complaint claiming his son was beaten up for touching the bike of a man belonging to another community. While the police have registered a case against 13 persons and two have been arrested, there have been several cases of atrocities against the Dalit community over the past few months: MP Dalit couple consumes pesticide In a shocking case of police brutality that was caught on camera last week, Madhya Pradesh police were seen beating up and dragging a Dalit couple through the ground after they resisted eviction from the land. Screengrab The family was reportedly living on land which was allocated for the construction of a college. They claimed that they have been living and farming on the land for years. When the police team reached the spot to clear the encroachment, the couple refused to move out, after which the cops ran a JCB over their crops destroying them. The couple, Rajkumar and his wife were seen pleading with the cops, which failed to stop the police action. Rajkumar and his wife then consumed pesticide, and the police tried to force them to their vehicle. Dalit youth beaten to death for relationship with upper caste girl A Dalit youth was lynched over an alleged relationship with a girl from the 'upper caste' community. The incident took place on the night of June 7 in Pimple Saudagar, a suburb of Pune district in Maharashtra. Representational Image A report in The Indian Express said the police have arrested four accused including the father of the girl and two other minors. The accused have been booked for murder and other provisions of Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribes (Prevention of Atrocities Act). Dalit teen shot dead for entering temple A Dalit teen was allegedly shot dead by some youth after refusing him entry in a temple in Uttar Pradesh's Amroha. According to various reports, four youth in the Domkheda village came to 17-year-old Vikas Jatav's house at night and shot him dead while he was sleeping. The accused belongs to an upper caste. The incident took place on May 31, according to the father of the deceased. "On March 31, some youth from the Chouhan community prevented my son from entering the temple. We don't know why they did this. We have never been discriminated against like this before. They later beat up my son and used casteist slurs but he was saved by some locals," the victim's father was quoted as saying by India Today. Jatav was profusely bleeding after being shot by upper caste men and succumbed to the injuries before he could reach the hospital. She's been in a legal dispute with the Kardashian family for the past few years, but Blac Chyna appears to be putting the drama to one side for now. On Monday, the 32-year-old star put on a very sexy display as she took to her Instagram account to share a number of sultry looks to her 16.4 million followers. Chyna - real name Angela Renee White - looked stunning as she posed in a slew of different outfits, including swimwear, from her own fashion range BlacChynaCloset. Stunning: Blac Chyna, 32, models swimwear for her fashion range BlacChynaCloset Rob Kardashian and Chyna welcomed their daughter Dream Renee Kardashian in 2016, but announced their split as a couple just a month later. Their reality series Rob & Chyna premiered in September 2016 and concluded in December the same year. Meanwhile, Rob's sister Khloe Kardashian revealed this week that he is set to return to their reality series Keeping Up With the Kardashians. He's back! Chyna's ex Rob Kardashian (pictured above for their 2016 show Rob & Chyna) is said to be making a return to reality television Putting the drama aside: Blac Chyna shared these sultry snaps of herself to Instagram on Monday Shape: The star showed off her stunning figure in a range of swimwear items from her new collection Khloe, 36, made the announcement while calling into SiriusXM Hits 1 to tell The Morning Mash Up hosts that Rob, 33, will be returning to the E! show. 'My brother is coming back like he's feeling safer and more comfortable, I think, you know, he just started a whole new season, so here we go,' she said. Rob was recently looking healthy and slimmer in a family shot shared by his sisters at Khloe's recent birthday. Pose: Rob's ex struck a number of cheeky poses for the new fashion shoot Model looks: Blac Chyna shows off the latest looks for her fashion range Swim style: She appeared to be wearing her swimwear underneath a snakeskin skirt Despite appearances here and there, Rob has taken considerable time out of the reality TV spotlight over the years. He was most active in 2011, when he appeared in the spin-off Khloe & Lamar, as well as competing in Dancing With The Stars the same year. However, Rob has so far stayed silent on confirming the news himself. Striking a pose: Blac Chyna models the latest collection of her new fashion line Former Vice President Joe Biden on Monday warned foreign governments particularly Russia that any entity found to meddle in the 2020 presidential election will face repercussions. On Friday night, Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, said security experts have told him that "the Russians are still engaged in trying to delegitimize our electoral process." In a statement released Monday, Biden said the Trump administration is not doing enough to safeguard the election, and he is putting the Kremlin and other foreign governments "on notice," ABC News reports. If elected, Biden said he will "treat foreign interference in our election as an adversarial act that significantly affects the relationship between the United States and the interfering nation's government. I will direct the U.S. intelligence community to report publicly and in a timely manner on any efforts by foreign governments that have interfered, or attempted to interfere, with U.S. elections." Biden said he would also direct his administration to "leverage all appropriate instruments of national power and make full use of my executive authority to impose substantial and lasting costs on state perpetrators," which could include "financial-sector sanctions, asset freezes, cyber responses, and the exposure of corruption." He doesn't want to escalate tensions between the United States and any foreign country, but if one "recklessly chooses to interfere in our democracy," Biden said as president he will "not hesitate to impose substantial and lasting costs." More stories from theweek.com CNN's Brianna Keilar cuts off live interview with 'lying' Trump campaign official 39 Miami police officers to form mask enforcement unit Serena Williams' 2-year-old daughter is now the youngest owner in pro sports Britannia Industries, FMCG major, has planned a capital expenditure of around Rs 700 crore over the next two-and-half years for its new facilities and is bullish on the rural demand during the COVID-19 crisis, a company official said on Monday. The rural demand remained stable during the coronavirus outbreak and the company will focus more on its core products, its managing director Varun Berry said. "The company is looking at some capex (capital expenditure) of more than Rs700 crore over the next two-and- half years," he said at a virtual press conference. Britannia plans to set up new manufacturing facilities in UP, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Odisha, he said. In the first quarter of the current fiscal, the company's net profit increased by 118% to Rs542 crore and the turnover was Rs 3,420 crore, up by 26.6% over the corresponding period last year. Since the future is uncertain for the next six to nine months, the company will give priority on the core products, and less focus will be on innovation, Berry said. According to him, the rural demand was not affected by the coronavirus pandemic and it will continue to grow at a higher pace than urban. Berry said the COVID-19 crisis will cause permanent changes in consumer behaviour, and home consumption will increase. "During the first quarter, the company has been able to unlock efficiencies and prioritised on high gross margin and premium products," he said. The fast-moving consumer goods company had focused on cutting costs by way of reducing working capital as the inventory levels were low, he added. Regarding commodity prices, Berry said there was deflation in flour and milk products, while sugar saw a three per cent price rise. Also read: Amazon's total exports from small, medium sellers in India surpass $2 billion Novartis lowered its 2020 sales outlook after a second-quarter fall as the Swiss drugmaker counts the cost of exiting the vaccine market six years ago. Novartis employs about 1,200 people in Ireland but said late last year it plans to cut 320 jobs at part of its Ringaskiddy facility in Cork over two years. Sales of the cancer therapy Lutathera and eye drugs Lucentis and Xiidra, for which it paid $3.4bn (3bn) last year, all fell as patients avoided trips to the doctor. Its net income fell 4% to $1.9bn on sales off 1% at $11.35bn for the three months to June 30. Chief executive Vas Narasimhan, who once headed the companys vaccine business, said Novartis now expects mid-single-digit percentage sales growth this year. It had previously expected mid- to high-single-digit percentage growth. In contrast, rivals including Johnson & Johnson have raised their 2020 forecasts. Novartis has tested some of its older medicines, including generic malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, against the new coronavirus, but failed to recruit enough patients for that study and had to abandon it. My own experience in vaccines teaches me that it is difficult to de novo build scale and expertise to be able to develop large-scale vaccines successfully without the deep expertise that the three or four top manufacturers have, Mr Narasimhan said on a call with reporters. In addition to its absence from the race for a Covid-19 vaccine, Novartis payments of about $1.1bn to settle corruption cases including in the US and Greece have weighed on investor sentiment, analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank said. - Reuters. - Additional reporting Irish Examiner Chinese security researchers recently demonstrated how the firmware of some fast chargers can be modified to cause damage to connected devices by delivering more voltage than they can handle. The method dubbed as BadPower, was discovered by Xuanwu Lab, a research unit of Chinese tech giant Tencent. The team mentioned their findings in a detailed report last week that showed how a large number of fast-charging devices have security issues. According to the researchers, the firmware of a USB fast charger can be altered to damage connected (charging) systems, which can cause components inside the affected devices to spark, crackle, melt, or even set devices on fire. For instance, some fast chargers can push 12V, 20V, or higher, but some devices can only safely accept the standard 5 output. The researchers found that BadPower alters the default charging parameters and overloads a device with more voltage than it can handle causing it to burst into flames, which can be extremely dangerous. The researchers explain that the BadPower attack is lethal, as it is invisible and can be performed in a way that will not raise any suspicion. All the attacker needs to do is attach the attacking rig to the fast charger, which leaves the firmware modified in a few seconds. With some fast chargers, the attackers dont even require any special equipment. They can silently load the malicious attack code on the targeted smartphone or laptop to modify the fast chargers firmware. When the user attaches the compromised device to a fast charger, it would execute a power overload causing it to go up in flames. The team at Xuanwu Lab reported that they tested BadPower attacks with 35 types of quick chargers from over 234 models available in the market. The researchers found 18 models from eight vendors were vulnerable to BadPower, which could update the firmware through the USB port that the phone was plugged into. Fortunately, the manufacturers can fix most BadPower vulnerabilities by applying the firmware update on fast chargers, researchers say. Sadly, the 18 affected models Xuanwu tested came from vendors that do not offer a firmware update, which means those manufacturers cant update those charger models. In such a case, the user has no other option but to dispose of the charger. Xuanwu Lab researchers have notified all affected vendors about their findings, as well as the Chinese National Vulnerabilities Database (CNVD) about the potential danger. Further, the researchers recommend fixing the problem by hardening firmware to prevent unauthorized modifications while also deploying overload protection to charged devices. Further, the researchers suggest fixing the BadPower problem by hardening firmware to prevent unauthorized modifications, while also deploying overload protection to charged devices. Check out the demo video below of the BadPower attack: Washington Rep. Anthony Brindisi challenged Claudia Tenney on Monday to a series of four debates before the November election in the 22nd Congressional District. Brindisi, D-Utica, said he sent Tenney a letter calling for debates in each of the districts media markets Syracuse, Utica and Binghamton and a fourth debate to be determined later. With one debate in the Mohawk Valley, one in the Southern Tier, one at the Syracuse Post-Standard, and one to be determined later, we can ensure a geographic diversity that highlights each community in our district that makes it so special, Brindisi wrote in the letter. Tenney, a Republican from New Hartford, immediately accepted the offer to debate and upped the ante. She asked for eight debates. The voters of New Yorks 22nd District deserve to hear directly from those who seek to represent them in Congress, said Sean Kennedy, Tenneys campaign spokesman. Our campaign looks forward to working directly with media and civic organizations who wish to host debates, Kennedy said. In fact, there should be at least eight debates, allowing voters across the district to hear from both candidates on a range of important issues in the lead-up to the election. Political analysts in Washington have listed the 22nd District election as one of the 10 most competitive House races in the nation this year. Tenney is seeking to reclaim the seat she lost to Brindisi in the 2018 election. Brindisi won by 1 percentage point in a district that President Donald Trump won by 15 points in 2016. Tenney easily held off a Republican primary challenger this year by defeating George Phillips, a former congressional aide and history teacher from Broome County. Tenney won the June 23 election with almost 70% of the vote. Brindisi told Tenney in his letter Monday that he hoped both candidates could run a spirited, energetic, and respectful campaign. I am hopeful that you will join me in this pledge. The 22nd Congressional District spans all of Madison, Oneida, Cortland and Chenango counties and portions of Oswego, Broome, Herkimer, and Tioga counties. MORE ON THE CAMPAIGN FOR CONGRESS Anthony Brindisi can outspend Claudia Tenney 4-to-1 in campaign for Congress Republicans bet $5.5M on Tenney, making race against Brindisi one of nations hottest George Phillips concedes to Claudia Tenney in 22nd Congressional District primary Rep. Anthony Brindisi launches early TV ads for his 2020 campaign Got a tip, comment or story idea? Contact Mark Weiner anytime by: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 571-970-3751 H1 2020 REVENUES: 109.6M SALES RECOVERY CONFIRMED: RECORD ORDER INTAKE IN JUNE CASH AT 30 JUNE UP 9.2M (excl. PGE LOAN) Paris, 21 July 2020 ROCHE BOBOIS SA (ISIN: FR0013344173 - Ticker symbol: RBO), a global benchmark on the high-end furniture market and the name behind the French Art de Vivre, today announces its revenues and retail sales for H1 2020. Roche Bobois SA today publishes first half revenues close to 110 million, down 18.6%, reflecting the impact of temporary store closures and delays in deliveries; factories gradually resumed operations in May. As such, the order backlog at 30 June 2020 for Group stores stood at 103 million, up sharply by 12.1 million from the same time last year. This represents revenues not yet collected which will be recognised over the coming months. All Group stores gradually reopened after the lockdown, from the end of April in Germany and from mid-May in most other regions. The Group noted a significant overall recovery in sales in June, recording a +65% increase in retail sales over the month across all brands and regions. June 2020 also marked record high retail sales for the month, enabling the Group to partly catch up on delays caused by temporary store closures. This effect was particularly notable in France for Roche Bobois and Cuir Center, where owned stores posted overall sales growth of +126%. Finally, the Company posted cash of 40.2 million at 30 June (excluding the 25 million PGE state-guaranteed loan), up 9.2 million, from 31.1 million at 31 December 2019, a remarkable performance reflecting a sharp upturn in sales (in particular the effect of customer down payments). Review of H1 revenues Revenues (unaudited - m) 2019 2020 Change at current exchange rates (%) Change at constant exchange rates (%) Q1 60.3 61.8 +2.5% +1.2% Q2 74.4 47.8 -35.7% -36.1% H1 134.7 109.6 -18.6% -19.3% The breakdown of H1 2020 revenues by region is presented in the appendix. Roche Bobois SA posted first half 2020 revenues of 109.6 million, down 18.6% at current exchange rates from 134.7 million (down 19.3% at constant exchange rates). This includes a decline in sales during the second quarter (down 35.7%) while the Group's stores (and European factories) were closed, partly offset by the catch-up on deliveries towards the end of the period. June accounted for over 40% of deliveries worth approximately 20 million. H1 2020 revenues in France amounted to 36.6 million, down 16.1% from 43.6 million in H1 2019. Deliveries slowed significantly from mid-March, while May and June saw a gradual recovery following the government's end-of-lockdown announcements. North America (United States and Canada) posted total H1 2020 revenues of 29.4 million, down 16.1% at current exchange rates, impacted by the Q2 slowdown in deliveries after a robust first quarter. The UK posted revenues of 5.0 million compared to 8.2 million in H1 2019. This decrease was due to the early March shutdown of operations at the London warehouse in response to a suspected case of COVID-19 and the general pace of deliveries in March and April. Finally, Other Europe posted revenues of 20.4 million in the first half of 2020, down 15.6% at current exchange rates compared to H1 2019. In the first few months of the year, business was concentrated in Belgium and Switzerland, with Italy going into lockdown at the end of February 2020. However, deliveries in these two countries slowed significantly following the implementation of local lockdown measures. Order intake at an all-time high in June 2020 The Group saw a strong recovery in business in June 2020, helping curb the delays expected in retail sales[1] in the second quarter. As such, in June the Group's owned stores[2] in France recorded an order intake of 15.3 million, up 126% compared to June 2019 (magnified by the relaunch of Les Tentations operation suspended in March) and a total order intake of 27.3 million including international sales (up 62% from 16.9 million in June 2019). Group retail sales1 totalled 53 million in June 2020 alone (France and international), up 65% versus June 2019. This remarkable performance has enabled the Group to partly catch up on lost business due to store closures. Over the first half of the year, total retail sales1 for the entire network amounted to 208.0 million, down just 15.4% from 245.9 million over the same period last year. Owned stores2 posted retail sales of 108.7 million compared to 129.0 million, including a limited 9% decline in France. Factories are now operating at full capacity to ensure the ramp-up of order backlog deliveries. At 30 June 2020, the Group recorded a total order backlog of 103 million across all brands, up 12.1 million from 90.9 million one year ago. This positive result was driven by the strong momentum recorded in France and Europe in June and represents revenues that will be recognised gradually over the coming months. Finally, the Group had a strong cash position at 30 June 2020, posting cash of 40.2 million (65.2 million including the 25 million PGE state-guaranteed loan), up 9.2 million from 31.1 million at 31 December 2019 mainly due to the effect of customer down payments, further strengthening the Company's financial situation. Ongoing plan to open owned stores in the international market The Group is continuing its plan to open owned stores in the international market, in line with its business plan: 3 new stores in Europe: Switzerland (Sion) opened in May 2020, Portugal (Lisbon 2) opened in June 2020 and Germany (Cologne); 1 new store in the USA: Minneapolis; 3 franchises integrated within the consolidation scope (San Francisco, Portland and Seattle). Roche Bobois SA reminds that the signing of the share purchase agreement (SPA) for the acquisition of these US franchise stores has been postponed, however the Group intends to finalise this transaction in 2020. Meanwhile, the Group is on track towards maintaining a rhythm of 5-10 new franchises per year. At 30 June 2020, the Group had 330 stores in 54 countries[3]. About ROCHE BOBOIS SA ROCHE BOBOIS SA is a French family business founded in 1960. The Group operates in 54 countries and has a network of 330 owned stores and franchises (at 30 june 2020) marketing its two brands: Roche Bobois, a high-end furniture brand with a strong international presence, and Cuir Center, positioned in the mid-range market segment with an essentially French customer base. Through its Roche Bobois brand, the Group embodies the French Art de Vivre whose presence can now be felt on the world stage, with original and bold creations from talented designers (Bruno Moinard, Jean Nouvel, Ora Ito, Sacha Lakic, Christophe Delcourt, Stephen Burks, Kenzo Takada, Bina Baitel...) and partnerships with fashion and haute couture houses. Roche Bobois is also a committed partner in the world of culture and the arts. Including franchises, these two brands posted 2019 revenues of 490 million excluding VAT, to which Roche Bobois contributed 398 million and Cuir Center 92 million. Roche Bobois SA 2019 consolidated revenues came to 274.7 million. For more information please visit www.finance-roche-bobois.com CONTACT Actus Finance - Anne-Pauline Petureaux Investor Relations Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 67 36 72/ apetureaux@actus.fr Actus Finance - Serena BONI Press Relations Tel.: +33 (0) 4 72 18 04 92 / sboni@actus.fr APPENDICES Revenues by region and by brand (unaudited - m) H1 2019 H1 2020 Change at current exchange rates (%) Change at constant exchange rates (%) Roche Bobois France 43.6 36.6 -16.1% -16.1% Roche Bobois US/Canada 35.1 29.4 -16.1% -18.0% Roche Bobois UK 8.2 5.0 -39.1% -39.0% Roche Bobois Other Europe 24.2 20.4 -15.6% -17.2% Roche Bobois other (overseas) 3.0 1.8 -38.9% -38.5% Cuir Center 19.1 15.0 -21.2% -21.2% Corporate 1.5 1.3 -11.3% -11.3% TOTAL 134.6 109.6 -18.6% -19.3% Reconciliation between retail sales and revenues (m) H1 2020 Retail sales 208.0 Franchise retail sales -99.3 Retail sales of associates -0.6 Impact of pace of orders and deliveries -12.8 Royalties +5.2 Other services +9.1 H1 2020 consolidated revenues 109.6 [1] Orders received excl. VAT throughout owned store network and franchises for both brands [2] As a reminder, retail sales at owned stores account for the bulk of the Group's revenues, with a delay of a few months, while franchises contribute through royalties. [3] Over the period, Roche Bobois opened two new owned stores (Sion in Switzerland and Lisbon 2 in Portugal) and closed four non-strategic franchises (France (Bordeaux city centre), Italy (Perugia) and two stores in Argentina (Buenos Aires Puerto Madero)). ------------------------ This publication embed "Actusnews SECURITY MASTER ". - SECURITY MASTER Key: mmtxkZZvY2zJnnJtl5dlbmRlmphqlGKbmJedmGadZMmZnJ2WmWaWa8ieZm9lmGtu - Check this key: https://www.security-master-key.com. ------------------------ Copyright Actusnews Wire Receive by email the next press releases of the company by registering on www.actusnews.com, it's free Full and original release in PDF format:https://www.actusnews.com/documents_communiques/ACTUS-0-64368-pr_rochebobois_h12020_def.pdf Sunbathers enjoy the warm weather on the beach in Barcelona. (AP) Authorities in Barcelona have been forced to cut the number of people allowed on the citys beaches over fears of a second spike in coronavirus cases. Barcelona, Spain's second largest city and one of Europe's most visited destinations, would typically have around 40,000 people on its ten beaches at this time of year, a city spokeswoman said. But on Tuesday, authorities slashed the number of subathers allowed on the beach to 32,000 from 38,000. Crowds flocked to the sea at the weekend despite advice to stay home to curb a local rise in coronavirus infections. Police officers patrol the beach. (AP) Cinemas, nightclubs and gyms in Barcelona have also been forced to close their doors again because of the recent surge in cases. Spain has been one of Europe's hardest-hit countries by the pandemic, with more than 28,000 coronavirus deaths. It thought it had left the worse behind when it lifted a national lockdown in June but close to 200 new clusters have sprung up, mainly in Catalonia, prompting authorities to impose a patchwork of restrictions. Catalan authorities on Friday urged some four million people, including in Barcelona, to leave their home only for essential trips, banned gatherings of over ten people and limited the occupancy of bars and restaurants. Spains coronavirus rate went up three-fold over the last three weeks as its authorities struggle to contain the rash of fresh clusters, Health Ministry data showed on Monday. Since restrictions on movement were lifted and Spaniards relaxed back into daily life, some 201 new clusters have appeared, with heavy concentrations in and around the Catalan cities of Barcelona and Lleida. The occurrence of the novel coronavirus has jumped from eight cases per 100,000 inhabitants at the end of June, when the country's state of emergency ended, to 27 per 100,000, deputy health emergency chief Maria Sierra told a news conference on Monday. Over the weekend 4,581 new cases were recorded, bringing the total to 264,836, she added. More than 28,000 people have died. Story continues "Where measures have been relaxed is where these clusters appear," Health Minister Salvador Illa said. "We're talking about gatherings of extended family and spaces associated with nightlife." Describing the situation in Catalonia as concerning, he appealed to residents to respect health measures. Coronavirus: what happened today Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter A federal judge has denied Move Oregons Border petition to bypass state-required signatures to qualify as a ballot measure its proposal for 17 counties to divorce from Oregon and become part of Idaho. U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane ruled Monday that the petitioner, president of Move Oregons Border movement, was not reasonably diligent in attempting to collect signatures, even amid the unusual limitations due to the coronavirus global pandemic. While the judge found that the right to petition the government is at the core of First Amendment protections, he found Move Oregons Border provided scant evidence of a conscientious effort to obtain signatures thus far. The plaintiffs only held one rally in Roseburg on March 7, collecting 389 signatures from about 500 people who attended. The group also pointed to the approximately 9,195 members on its Facebook group, the judge noted. The state mandates petitioners obtain a minimum number of signatures in order to qualify for the ballot. But Move Oregons Border had argued COVID-19 restrictions had made the usual methods of signature gathering impossible. In stark contrast, a separate petitioner People Not Politicians Oregon, gathered over $500,000 in support of its effort, sent out tens of thousands of mailers after Gov. Kate Brown issued COVID-19 social distancing orders, and collected more than 64,000 signatures, McShane pointed out. It needed almost 150,000 signatures by a July 2 deadline to put the proposed change to Oregon voters. Currently, the Legislature is responsible for redrawing electoral district lines. People Not Politicians wants an independent citizen redistricting commission to do it instead, and seeks to have voters approve an amendment to the state Constitution that would allow that. Last week, McShane granted People Not Politicians, the right to send its proposal to voters in November in a ballot measure. He offered Oregons secretary of state two options: allow the proposal on the ballot or lower the signature threshold required by 50 percent and push back the deadline to Aug. 17. Oregons attorney general, though, last week appealed McShanes ruling on the People Not Politicians petition to the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals. Petitioners there were experienced in placing past initiatives on multiple ballots, and presented sworn declarations outlining plans, undertaken before the pandemic, leading to a reasonable likelihood of success on the current initiative,' McShane wrote of People Not Politicians. But Move Oregons Border, McShane added, presents no such evidence. Holding one rally, collecting less than 400 signatures, and hosting a Facebook page does not constitute reasonable diligence when compared with other initiative proponents, the judge ruled. Because Oregons secretary of state holds a vital interest in regulating the petition process and McShane doesnt believe the federal courts should take it upon themselves to rewrite state election rules, particularly on the eve of an election, he denied Move Oregons Border motion for relief. As Plaintiff has not demonstrated reasonable diligence, and because the state clearly has important regulatory interests in enforcing the signature requirements, Plaintiff fails to demonstrate any likelihood of success on the merits,' his ruling said. -- 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. Grinning with evil, Adolf Hitler smiles in a chilling image meeting the Nazi air fleet he would send to kill thousands of innocent people. The newly-unearthed picture shows his twisted delight as he and Joseph Goebbels inspect the Luftwaffe and air crew at the start of World War Two. These previously unseen images were taken by an unknown Luftwaffe pilot and feature Hitler and his right-hand man days after the Nazis invaded Poland. The grainy black-and-white snaps show Hitler and Goebbels chatting to air force force chiefs Joseph Goebbels smirks alongside Luftwaffe officers in the picture of the secret visit The chilling look into the Nazi war machine were kept by a private collector until now The photos were taken by an unknown Luftwaffe pilot on September 14, 1939, when Hitler flew into 'Airfield Yellow' - a temporary airstrip possibly in Poland. Days earlier the Allies had declared war on Germany yet the photographs show Hitler and Goebbels laughing and posing with the air crews. The visit was a closely guarded secret and no exact records exist of Hitler's movements in the early days of the war. Luftwaffe crews wearing just shorts posing next to a bomb under the wing of their huge plane Goebbels appears to be looking for something in his pockets as he chats to a commander Hitler's big gamble: How Nazis' Poland invasion saw a quick surrender - but spurred Allies to declare war The German invasion of Poland on September 1, 1939, came after it signed a neutrality pact with the Soviet Union. It meant Poland ended up being bombarded from all sides by two vastly more powerful hostile powers with Russian troops invading the country on September 17. But Hitler's decision was risky because his army was not at full strength and he was unsure how Britain and France would react. The throw of the dice backfired with British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain - a man who Hitler thought week - formally guaranteeing Poland's borders in the face of aggression The defence treaty between Britain and Poland also added weight to signals that it would react offensively to more German aggression When the Nazis invaded, the Polish government immediately requested military assistance from Britain and France and two days later the two countries declared war on Germany While they were unable to stop Hitler in Poland it galvanised the Allies against him, which would result in his eventual defeat in 1945 Advertisement The grainy black-and-white snaps show Hitler and Goebbels in full uniform chatting to air force commanders while inspecting the planes. Other photographs reveal Luftwaffe crews wearing just shorts posing next to a fearsome man-sized bomb under the wing of a huge plane. The 9cm x 6cm photographs were uncovered inside a battered leather bound pocket-sized photo album with annotations on the back. Fourteen other images show bomb damage, aircraft (Bf 109, Heinkel 111, Fiesler Storch, Ju52), Luftwaffe ground crew and a shot of Hitler's FW200 Condor 'Grenzmark'. The owner of the album is now putting the pictures up for auction and they are tipped to sell for hundreds of pounds. Military antiques expert Adrian Stevenson, on Hansons Auctioneers, said: 'This is a unique, private album of unseen photos of Hitler and Goebbels and I expect interest to be strong. 'Yellow Airfield is a code name for what would have been a temporary airstrip, possibly in Poland but we cannot be sure. 'Interestingly, if you research Hitler's movements around September 14, 1939, it is not clear where he was, which makes these photos even more historically significant. 'The owner is a private collector from the East Midlands who is now liquidating his collection. 'He purchased the album at auction. 'The previous seller may not have fully appreciated the historical significance of the contents of this little pocket album. 'There is a deep fascination with all aspects of wartime history and items relating to Hitler attract intense bidding from collectors all over the world. 'These grainy, black and white images capture the Nazi leaders at a pivotal point in history - just a few days after the start of the deadliest conflict in human history, the Second World War. Propaganda ministry chief Joseph Goebbels poses in uniform in front of a Luftwaffe plane 'It lasted until 1945, involved more than 30 countries and led to 70 to 85 million fatalities 'On September 1, 1939, Germany invaded Poland. 'The UK and France declared war on September 3 after Hitler ignored an ultimatum to withdraw forces from Poland. The pilot and crew stand leaning near the front propeller of their Luftwaffe aircraft in one shot The collection of pictures, kept in a leather-bound photo album, are now up for auction 'Despite the dramatic world events, Hitler and Goebbels appear in good spirits on the photos.' The photo album will go under the hammer on August 7. The moment a significant presence of the Muslim Brotherhood group is found within a country is the moment a fifth column is created within that country. That has been the modus operandi of this Islamist group since its inception and throughout its spread across the world to over 80 countries over the course of the last century. The Muslim Brotherhood was founded by Hassan Al-Banna, its cult-leader until his demise in 1949. His written works also became the guidelines of Islamists and terrorists over the decades to come. From the early days after its inception in 1928, the group promoted the idea of reviving the past Islamic caliphate, which saw its last days in Turkey in 1923 with the establishment of the modern secular republic. Spreading the belief that Muslims cannot live as proper believers without a caliph ruling over them, the group then acted as an agent of mayhem in Egypt and across the Middle East from the early 1940s after having failed to persuade Egypts former king Farouk to become the next caliph of Muslims. The group went on a terrorism spree in the country that ended in the assassination of former prime minister Mahmoud Al-Nukrashi in 1948, just days after he had outlawed the Muslim Brotherhood. This was not to be the last of the terrorist groups political assassinations in the country, however, as it went on to attempt to assassinate former president Gamal Abdel-Nasser in 1954 in Alexandria. It was successful in its attempt to assassinate his successor, the Egyptian war and peace hero president Anwar Al-Sadat, in October 1981. This assassination was carried out through the Muslim Brotherhoods offshoot group Islamic Jihad. History seemed to repeat itself after the 30 June Revolution in Egypt when the Muslim Brotherhood assassinated Egyptian attorney-general Hisham Barakat in June 2015. Barakat had banned the group as a terrorist entity in 2013 following a horrific series of terrorist attacks in the country. The hierarchy of the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt was destroyed after June 2013, but as a result it has been resorting to the role of a fifth column in the country, meaning that it is now acting for the benefit of the countrys foreign enemies and even paving the road for the country to be attacked by those enemies. From the early beginnings of the present Turkish military intervention in Libya, for example, Muslim Brotherhood members have been praising this twisted interference on social media, claiming that it is integral to restoring order in Libya after a near decade of civil war. Of course, the truth is the complete opposite. Messages and other posts can be found on Twitter and Facebook and other social-media sites by Islamists and Muslim Brotherhood-affiliated groups that do not attempt to hide their daylight treachery and their hatred for Egypts army, siding with the Turkish invasion of Libya against their own compatriots who have been protesting against it. This fifth-column strategy has carried a message of discouragement towards a possible Egyptian military confrontation with the Turkish army, pretending instead that it is only concerned about Egyptian lives in the face of the powerful Turkish army. These Brotherhood fifth-column messsages ignore the fact that the Egyptian army is currently ranked ninth in the world. The groups treacherous role is backed by some Egyptian media anchors situated in Turkey on Brotherhood-operated TV networks such as Mekameleen and the terrorist-supporting TV network Aljazeera, which broadcasts almost daily reports on the perils that will befall the Egyptian army if it faces up to Turkey from the networks base in Qatar. These twisted reports have also tried to magnify the crisis over Ethiopias building of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam, when Egypt is using all the diplomatic means at its disposal to resolve the crisis peacefully. They are trying to belittle Egyptian national security, claiming that Egypts forces are faced by the forces of the Islamist Turkish state near the western border backed by tens of thousands of terrorist militias. TREACHERY: Such blatant treachery can be traced back to the Muslim Brotherhoods roots and ideology. The average Muslim Brotherhood member is a cult follower who does not believe in a nation-state or borders except those drawn up by the conquests of an Islamic caliphate. Members of the Brotherhood believe they are on a mission to carry out Gods work on Earth by establishing a fabled caliphate that will bring justice and spread Islams dominion across the world, and this entails that they do not believe in the sanctity of their nations borders or its sovereignty. They would rather serve a foreign invader who calls himself a caliph as loyal minions rather than the elected president of the country in which they were born and raised. It is from here that stems the danger of the Muslim Brotherhood to the integrity and security of not just Egypt but also other countries worldwide. Those Western countries that are still harbouring elements of the Muslim Brotherhood or its Islamist affiliates such as the Salafis face the same danger. For decades, Muslim Brotherhood leaders have worked vehemently to convince the Muslim masses of the importance of their caliphate, despite the fact that this was never a part of the Muslim religion and was merely a form of imperial rule from the Middle Ages until the fall of the last caliph in Turkey. The existence of Muslim Brotherhood elements in the world today constitutes a security breach that could lead to chaos in certain countries. However, there has been a late awakening of the dangers the Brotherhood represents in Western countries such as France and Germany, where the existence of people who are members of the Muslim Brotherhood or who pledge allegiance to terrorist-supporting leaders such as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has too long gone unconsidered. But if these elements are willing to betray their own native countries to foreign invaders and terrorist-supporting regimes such as that of Erdogan or the regime in Qatar, what might they be willing to do in countries that they deem to be run by kafirs or unbelievers according to their beliefs? The horrific waves of terrorism that many Western countries have witnessed over the past two decades are part of the answer to that question. The case of the United States appears even more tragic, as some terrorist elements of the Muslim Brotherhood group are already supporting Democratic Party presidential nominee Joe Biden, who has sought the support of American Muslims, some of whom are supporters of the Islamists, including US Congresswoman Ilhan Omar. The Council for American Islamic Relations (CAIR), an Islamist body affiliated with the Muslim Brotherhood, is endorsing hundreds of Islamist and Muslim Brotherhood candidates for political office in the upcoming US elections, spelling disaster for the United States in the shorter and longer term should they be elected. The Muslim Brotherhood may have found the answer to its nine-decades dream in the person of Erdogan, who follows the teaching of terrorist figures such as Brotherhood ideologues Al-Banna and Sayed Qutb. Erdogans fantasy of reviving the Ottoman caliphate and his megalomaniacal ambitions are music to the ears of the Muslim Brotherhood, and its members are willing to endorse it wherever they are found. However, the Egyptian people are not falling for Muslim Brotherhood fifth-column games and treacherous propaganda, as all patriotic Egyptians are rallying behind their army and their president in the face of threats by Erdogan and his terrorist allies. That said, the current crisis in Libya is an existential crisis for Egypts security, and it cannot be taken lightly, even as the Egyptian army, backed by a strong nation, will ultimately prevail. *The writer is a political analyst and author of Egypts Arab Spring and the Winding Road to Democracy. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Interview with Neil Sweeney, Founder and CEO of Killi, explains the new model that allows consumers to take back the power of their data New York, New York--(Newsfile Corp. - July 21, 2020) - Killi Ltd. (TSXV: MYID), a global leader in consumer privacy, announces that its Founder and CEO, Neil Sweeney, was featured in Forbes magazine to discuss the Company's Fair-Trade DataTM program. The article highlights how the Fair-Trade DataTM program redistributes wealth via the Company's Data DividendsTM and allows consumers to see what personal data is being bought and by whom. Article Highlights: "Killi's fair-trade data program runs off the back of the data dividend concept referenced by California Governor Gavin Newsom, which proposes California residents be paid a 'dividend' for the use of their data. Similar to former Presidential candidate Andrew Yang's Universal Basic Income concept, which pays users for the use of their data, every time a brand or platform uses the user data shared with Killi, those users will be compensated. Unlike Gov. Newsom and Yang's proposals, which lack a mechanism for delivery, Killi's product is currently live and paying users weekly while providing a full transparency report that outlines what data was purchased and by whom. Please find the article here. To learn more about Killi's Data DividendTM and more extensive Fair-Trade DataTM program, please visit https://killi.io/earn. About Killi Killi is a consumer privacy ecosystem that aims to put people back in control of their data. Killi allows consumers to take back control of their consumer data from those who have been collecting it and selling it unbeknownst to them. Available on iOS, Android as well as the web, Killi is available internationally. With Killi, consumers can opt-in and link specific pieces of personal information from various financial and social accounts that they would like to put under their control and share with companies and be compensated directly in the form of cash for its use. Story continues Download Killi here. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: Andrew Elinesky, CFO +1-416-904-2725 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. Forward-Looking and Other Cautionary Statements This news release may contain "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable securities laws, including, but not limited to, the Company's financing plans. Forward-looking statements may generally be identified by the use of the words "anticipates," "expects," "intends," "plans," "should," "could," "would," "may," "will," "believes," "estimates," "potential," "target," or "continue" and variations or similar expressions. These statements are based upon the current expectations and beliefs of management. They are subject to certain risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those described in the forward-looking statements. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: the uncertainty surrounding the spread of COVID-19 and the impact it will have on the Company's operations and economic activity in general; and the risks and uncertainties discussed in our most recent annual and quarterly reports filed with the Canadian securities regulators and available on the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com, which risks and uncertainties are incorporated herein by reference. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Except as required by law, the Company does not intend and undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements to reflect, in particular, new information or future events. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60139 House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., speaks during a news conference on Capitol Hill in Washington on July 16. Read more WASHINGTON Democratic leaders said Monday they are concerned that Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign interference campaign to influence the 2020 presidential election and have asked FBI Director Christopher Wray for a classified counterintelligence briefing. The letter to Wray from House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and the top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees contains no details about the threats, though they describe them as serious and specific. They requested the briefing for all members before lawmakers leave Washington for their August recess. We are gravely concerned, in particular, that Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign interference campaign, which seeks to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity, public debate, and the presidential election in November, wrote Pelosi, Schumer, House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff, D-Calif., and Virginia Sen. Mark Warner, the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence panel. The letter comes after Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden said Friday that hes begun receiving intelligence briefings and warned that Russia, China and other adversaries were attempting to undermine the upcoming U.S. election in November. Biden gave no evidence, but he said that Russia was still engaged after a bid to disrupt the 2016 election and that China was also involved in efforts to sow doubts in the American electoral process. A congressional official familiar with the letter said that there was a classified addendum to ensure a clear and unambiguous record of the counterintelligence threats of concern. The person, who was granted anonymity to describe the confidential letter, said the addendum largely draws from the executive branchs own reporting and analysis. The FBI said it had received the letter but declined further comment. While the Democrats' exact concerns were unclear, there have been worries since President Donald Trump was elected that Russia is continuing to try and interfere with the American electoral process after a targeted effort in the 2016 election to help Trump. Democrats, including members of the Senate intelligence panel, have also voiced concerns that an ongoing probe into Bidens son, Hunter Biden, and his work in Ukraine would amplify Russian disinformation. That probe is being led by Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Chairman Ron Johnson, R-Wis. Associated Press writer Eric Tucker contributed to this report. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! David Cicurel is the CEO of Judges Scientific plc (LON:JDG), and in this article, we analyze the executive's compensation package with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also assess whether Judges Scientific pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns. View our latest analysis for Judges Scientific Comparing Judges Scientific plc's CEO Compensation With the industry According to our data, Judges Scientific plc has a market capitalization of UK327m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK243k over the year to December 2019. That's a notable increase of 11% on last year. We note that the salary portion, which stands at UK190.0k constitutes the majority of total compensation received by the CEO. In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations ranging from UK160m to UK638m, the reported median CEO total compensation was UK693k. In other words, Judges Scientific pays its CEO lower than the industry median. Furthermore, David Cicurel directly owns UK37m worth of shares in the company, implying that they are deeply invested in the company's success. Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary UK190k UK170k 78% Other UK53k UK48k 22% Total Compensation UK243k UK218k 100% Speaking on an industry level, nearly 62% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 38% is other remuneration. Judges Scientific is paying a higher share of its remuneration through a salary in comparison to the overall industry. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance. A Look at Judges Scientific plc's Growth Numbers Judges Scientific plc's earnings per share (EPS) grew 417% per year over the last three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 5.9%. Story continues This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. It's nice to see revenue heading northwards, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings.. Has Judges Scientific plc Been A Good Investment? We think that the total shareholder return of 203%, over three years, would leave most Judges Scientific plc shareholders smiling. As a result, some may believe the CEO should be paid more than is normal for companies of similar size. In Summary... As we touched on above, Judges Scientific plc is currently paying its CEO below the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. When taking into account the company's strong earnings growth over the past three years, it appears CEO compensation is modest. Plus, we can't ignore the impressive shareholder returns, and won't be surprised if some shareholders were to reward such excellent all-around performance with a raise. CEO compensation can have a massive impact on performance, but it's just one element. We did our research and spotted 1 warning sign for Judges Scientific that investors should look into moving forward. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. 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. An estimated 300,000 chickens were killed in raging fire at an egg farm in Salem County, according to a report. No people were hurt in the fire which broke out shortly before 8:30 p.m. at Red Bird Egg Farm on the 100 block of Cemetery Road in Mannington, State Police said. One barn was fully engulfed in flames with the fire spreading to a neighboring barn. Departments from Gloucester, Cumberland and Salem counties assisted in knocking down the massive blaze, State Police spokesman Trooper Alejandro Goez said. Firefighters were still at the farm early Tuesday checking for hot spots, according to CBS-3 in Philadelphia. Chickens that survived could be seen wandering around the scorched property. Roughly 200,000 chickens died in the fire while another 80,000 were killed when a neighboring building lost power, the television station said. Fans in the building were then unable to cool the chickens, who couldnt survive the combination of heat from the nearby fire and a hot evening, CBS-3 reported. The state fire marshal is leading the investigation. Some of the chickens that survived the massive fire at a farm in Pilesgrove, NJ. The chief tells @CBSPhilly hundreds of thousands of chickens were killed. pic.twitter.com/kUrTbP74TZ Steve Lindsay CBSPhilly (@SteveLindsayCBS) July 21, 2020 Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. On July 20, Saudi Arabia announced that it will allow only 1,000 pilgrims from different nationalities residing in the Kingdom to perform Hajj and would bar the overseas travellers from being issued a Hajj permit amid the COVID-19 crisis, as per a news agency report. Last year, over 2.5 million people attended the pilgrimage. The Hajj authorities, however, havent issued the details of the selection process yet. Pilgrims, who will be allowed to perform the Hajj this year will be below 65 years of age with no co-morbidity, Health Minister, Tawfiq al-Rabiah, reportedly said. Further, the expatriate residents will be asked to adhere to the health safety measures issued by the Ministry of Health of Saudi Arabia, he added. The Ministry of Hajj and Umrah will shortlist the names of those approved for Hajj, as per reports. On arrival to the holy city of Mecca, pilgrims will be tested for COVID-19 and are required to quarantine afterwards. Additionally, the authorities banned any kind of touching or kissing of the Kaaba stone and made face masks mandatory while performing all rituals. Moreover, according to the new guidelines, pilgrims will be allowed to drink holy water from the Zamzam well in Mecca which is packaged in plastic bottles. Further, the pebbles for casting away evil that's picked up along hajj routes have to be mandatorily sterilized and bagged ahead of time, as per reports. Pilgrims will also have to bring their own prayer rugs and will not be allowed to gather. The number of pilgrims will be around 1,000, maybe less, maybe a little more Hajj Minister Mohammad Benten was quoted as saying by ANI. The number will not be in tens or hundreds of thousands this year, he added. Read: Saudi Arabia Makes Masks Compulsory As It Announces Health Measures For Hajj Read: WHO Backs Saudi Decision On Hajj More than 161,000 cases According to a statement by the Center for Disease Prevention and Control (CDC), the social distancing of 1 and a half meters is required during the Kaaba circling ritual as well as prayers. Access to holy sites at Mina, Muzdalifah, and Mount Arafat was only given to those with hajj permits from July 19 till August 2. This would be the first time that Saudi Arabia has barred foreigners to a limited capacity since the founding of the Kingdom in 1932. As of July 20, Saudi Arabia recorded more than 161,000 cases, and as many as 1,300 deaths related to COVID-19 were registered, the highest in the Gulf region. Read: Solar Eclipse Time In Saudi Arabia: How To Watch Solar Eclipse Safely Read: Saudi Arabia To Launch $4 Billion Tourism Development Fund To Revive Hard-hit Economy (Image Credit: AP) A workers compensation insurer cannot charge an employer an extra $1.7 million in premiums for the risk presented by employees who were exempt from coverage under Iowas workers compensation law, a federal appellate court ruled Monday. The 8th Circuit Court of Appeals rejected LM Insurance Corp.s argument that it is entitled to premiums for covering the Newt Marine Service employees because it had been forced to pay claims for other exempt workers. The extra premium had been billed for employees classified as seaman, who were covered by a separate Jones Act policy. Both the district court and appellate court said in their decisions that the Liberty Mutual unit did not provide any clear explanation as to why it paid claims for the exempt workers. Attorney David J. Dutton, who represents the Dubuque-based dredging and marine construction company, said he believes LM voluntarily paid benefits under state only so that it could charge the company for extra premiums. They did not seek dismissal of the workers comp claims, Dutton said. If they had, the Iowa Workers Compensation Commission would have said, youre right, and dismissed the case. LM insured Newt Marine from 2013 to 2016 through Iowas residual market plan, which assigns risks to carriers to ensure that coverage is available to employers who cannot purchase a policy in the voluntary market. Newton, based in Dubuque, Iowa, does most of its construction and dredging business from a barge that works the Mississippi River. Most of Newt Marines employees are classified as seaman who are covered under the federal Jones Act. The policy issued by LM exempts any employee classified as a seamen. Newt Marine purchased a separate policy from American International Group to insure those workers. Despite the exemption, Newt Marine filed state workers compensation claims on behalf of three injured workers who are classified as seamen. General Manager Marcus Murphy told the insurer that the workers had been reassigned and were working on land at the time they were injured, so the Jones Act coverage didnt apply. LM didnt contest that argument. It paid the claims even though the workers were supposedly exempt from the policy. But the carrier got its revenge. LM conducted a premium audit for the 2013, 2014 and 2015 policy years and decided that premium was owed for all of the workers who had been classified as seamen because any of them could be reclassified at any time. LM sent Newt Marine a bill for $1,675,260.94 in additional premiums and interest. The carrier filed a lawsuit to collect after Newt refused to pay. LMs central argument in the suit was that Section C2 in the insurance policy stated that premiums would be owed for all other persons engaged in work that could make (the insurer) liable. Newt Marines decision to file claims under the state workers compensation law showed that the insurer could be liable for injury claims even if they were classified as exempt seamen, the carrier argued. U.S. District Court Judge Mark A. Roberts in Dubuque noted that LM did not seek to recover the claim payments that were made for the employees who were exempted from coverage, nor did it explain how it could have been held liable for their injuries. Iowas workers compensation law clearly exempts workers who are covered under a federal work-injury plan, including the Jones Act, Roberts said. All of the case law that LM cited to support its argument related to independent contractors who were deemed eligible for coverage even though no premium had been collected for them. The judge said none of the cases involved employees who were specifically exempt from state workers compensation law and excluded from coverage by the policy in question. Because the premiums LM Insurance charged to Newt Marine were not merited, Newt Marine did not breach its obligations under the workers compensation insurance policies by refusing to pay, the 8th Circuit panel concluded in its opinion. Summary judgment was therefore appropriately granted to Newt Marine because LM Insurances breach claims fail as a matter of law. I said it two months ago, and Ill say it again today: There aint no way schools are opening in September. For a minute there, I wavered, when Gov. Phil Murphy announced that schools were disallowed to offer a virtual-only program and had to open their doors. Then he doubled down on that, last week telling superintendents that parents couldnt opt for a vritual option either. In short: For a while there, if youre kid was enrolled in public school, public schools were going to be open and your kid had to be there. But on Monday Murphy backtracked, and said parents could choose the remote option for their children. And that, as they say, is that. First off, he had to make the decision. If he didnt, the entire public education system in New Jersey consistently one of the best wouldve crumbled. Why? Because parents who wanted the virtual option and werent allowed to have it and who could afford to do so, economically or time-wise wouldve dis-enrolled their kids from school and gone the homeschooling, micro-schooling, or private school route. And the result? Next year, when the state doles out school funding, all of a sudden districts that saw 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 percent of its children dis-enroll would get 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 percent less in funding. But the school districts would still have salaries, building costs, health insurance, all the obligations. So what would happen? Mass layoffs and 50-to-1 student to teacher ratios, thats what would happen. In other words: The total destruction of the New Jersey public school system. So theres that. But thats next year. This year is of more concern, and this year, theres a spoiler alert! global pandemic. So yes. Murphy says he plans to open schools. But my guess a solid half of students will be going virtual. So whats a teacher to do? How will this half the kids here, half the kids there model of teaching work? Answer: Its not going to work. Not only wont it work, but theres no way the NJEA is going to allow it. And why arent they going to allow it? Two reasons: For it to work, teachers would probably have to double their workload, and thats not happening. Second reason? Ill eat this very newspaper if the NJEA allows their teachers back in the classroom, period. The union has been quiet about this lately but Im not buying it. Ill go back to the May column for this quote from NJEA director of communication Steven Baker: When the time comes for the state to make decisions about what school will look like next year, our advocacy will remain the same: the health, safety and wellbeing of students, staff and families must come first. Pretty sure that standard hasnt changed, and pretty sure the coronavirus spreads mostly indoors in close contact situations. How can Murphy send 1.4 million students, 200,000 teachers, and assorted support staff back inside and assume the NJEA is going to roll over? When it comes to the coronavirus, being inside in close quarters does not exactly scream health, safety, and well-being. Besides, how can Murphy send millions of people inside when I cant get a tomato pie inside DeLorenzos? Answer: I dont think he can. Which brings me to this: This might all be smoke and mirrors, a piece of performance art Murphy is putting on for the benefit of a one-man audience, a certain President Donald Trump. What if Murphy believes (probably rightly so) that schools should remain closed? What if this is all being done because the president wants it to happen, and Murphy knowing better than to pick a fight with Trump is continuing to play ball with him in an effort to help get federal money to the state? Is that so far-fetched? But time is running out. I expect, in the coming weeks, to see the following: Increasing numbers of parents will choose remote learning, teachers will individually wonder how to teach in that atmosphere, the NJEA will push to keep their teachers out of harms way. And lets not forget a good chunk of the rest of the country is either going virtual or postponing the start of school because their coronavirus cases are soaring. We beat this disease back, for the time being. Murphy has proven to be ultra-methodical in reopening anything and everything. With parents, teachers, and the NJEA all fighting (both together and at cross-purposes) and the near-lunatic idea of sending nearly 2 million New Jerseyans into indoor petri dishes, I really cant see a path to schools opening in September. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Emma Farge (Reuters) Geneva, Switzerland Tue, July 21, 2020 08:50 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40668005ef 2 Business WTO,leaders,candidate,global-trade Free Kenya's candidate to the World Trade Organization's (WTO) top post said on Monday she is seeking Washington's backing and expressed some sympathy with its criticism of the global body as she emerges as one of two reform-minded African female frontrunners. Amina Mohamed told Reuters a closed-door vetting session last week went "really well" as she outlined her platform to steer the body out of crises from global trade tensions and rising protectionism to a COVID-induced dive in business. Delegates say Mohamed, a 58-year-old minister and former WTO chair, is one of the favorites alongside Nigeria's Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala to replace Brazil's Roberto Azevedo as director general, although weeks of campaigning lie ahead. The WTO has never been led by a woman or an African. "The rulebook needs to be upgraded because of the concerns that are being expressed about the rules not being fit for purpose," she said, adding that resuming the top appeals court would be a priority and that she hoped this would be on the agenda of the next major WTO meeting in 2021. The United States has paralyzed the Appellate Body by blocking new judges. In an apparent nod to Washington, she referred to concerns about the body's "overreach". Asked if that meant she sympathized with the US position, she said: "Those concerns that have been raised, they would not have been raised if they did not have solid reason to raise them." The US mission did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Mohamed's supporters say she combines deep WTO knowledge with a drive to overhaul its 25-year-old rules. "The difference between me and them is I have worked this system," she said. However, she must win over those African countries who have expressed support for Okonjo-Iweala. Over the past week, countries have been hosting Geneva cocktail parties to showcase candidates. The WTO eliminates them in batches, starting with those unlikely to win consensus from 164 members. 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. Is he building a sandcastle while the second wave rolls in? This is a huge bet on the recovery, which Morrison calculates will continue at the very time large parts of the country are still trying to stop a spike in coronavirus infections. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is banking on the economy improving in his changes to JobKeeper and JobSeeker. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The Prime Minister thinks 2 million workers can be taken off the JobKeeper wage subsidy by Christmas. Scott Morrison has made a crucial decision about income support on the basis of an optimism other Australians may struggle to feel. The changes to the wage subsidy are founded on Treasury forecasts for the steady return of workers to employers who are open for business. The full JobKeeper payment falls from $1500 per fortnight today to $1200 from the first week of October and $1000 from the first week of January, before stopping at the end of March. There is greater pain for anyone on JobKeeper who was working fewer than 20 hours per week before the pandemic. Their new rate will be $750 from October and $650 from January to March. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg says this is because many companies that are now struggling will be viable again. These companies have 3.5 million workers on JobKeeper today but the government expects the number to fall to 1.4 million by December and 1 million by the end of March. The speed of that turnaround is open to question. It suggests the 3.5 million may already be too high and that an eligibility check right now would find some employers no longer need all the help from taxpayers. ABC placed Barbara Fedida on leave last month while it investigated the allegations ABC News, a Walt Disney Co unit, said senior executive Barbara Fedida is leaving the company after an independent investigation alleged she had made racially insensitive comments and used inappropriate language, according to an email. Fedida also managed in a rough manner and would not return to ABC, Disney executive Peter Rice told staff in an email which ABC shared with Reuters. Fedida, the networks former senior vice president for talent, editorial strategy, and business affairs, denied the allegations when they surfaced in media reports in June, describing them as incredibly misleading. She said she had been a champion of diversity with a track record of hiring and promoting journalists of colour. Reuters was unable to reach Fedida for comment on Monday. Disney did not immediately reply to a request for comment. The investigation found no basis for allegations that Fedida was the subject of dozens of HR complaints, Rice said. He also said there was no evidence that ABC had spent millions of dollars in settlements related to her. ABC placed Fedida on leave last month while it investigated the allegations. In the wake of the death of African American George Floyd, other media outlets from the New York Times to Refinery29 and Bon Appetit are also facing criticism over how they have handled the issue of race. Rice said that serious work needed to be done to enhance the culture of inclusion at ABC. Fedidas role would be split, with business affairs separated from talent relations and recruitment, each with its own head, he added. In a lacerating comeback, Union minister Prakash Javadekar listed out Rahul Gandhis achievements over the last six months to counter what the former Congress chief called the Centres achievements in the time of coronavirus. Launching a counter-offensive, the minister found fault with Gandhi tweeting daily, prophesying that the Congress will be reduced to a party that only tweets. Gandhi, on a daily basis, has been challenging the Centres narrative on various issues and raising questions. Asking the Congress MP to take note, the information minister, answering in identical fashion as Gandhis tweet, listed out six achievements of the 50-year-old leader. The list went like this: Feb: Shaheen Bagh & riots March: Losing [Jyotiraditya] Scindia and MP government April: Instigating labourers May: 6th anniversary of historic poll defeat [Congress] June: Advocating for China July: Party [Congress] destroyed in Rajasthan Going further, the BJP leader then asked the Congress leader to also note the countrys achievements in war against coronavirus. India has the least average cases, active cases and death rate than the US, Europe and Brazil. By making fun of candle lights, RahulGandhi ji you have insulted the people of India and brave Corona warriors, said the minister. The torrents of criticism followed Rahul Gandhis satirical dig to highlight priorities of the central government amid the fight against the coronavirus pandemic raging in the country. It also included a reference to Rajasthan Congress crisis. Achievements of the government in the Covid-era: February -- Namaste Trump, March-- toppling the government in Madhya Pradesh, April -- making people light candles, May -- governments sixth anniversary, June -- Bihar virtual rally, July -- Attempt to topple the government in Rajasthan, Gandhi said in a tweet. Click here to read the full article. Southern California independent label Burger Records has announced a series of structural changes after a number of young women came forward with accusations of sexual misconduct and predatory behavior amongst artists and employees associated with the label, its events and its Fullerton offices. As first-hand accounts continued to grow on social media many gathered under @lured_by_burger_records on Instagram the label released a long statement apologizing for the role Burger has played in perpetuating a culture of toxic masculinity. Acknowledging that words can only go so far in repairing any damage that has been created, the statement goes on to outline a series of changes. Co-founder Lee Rickcard who is among those accused of sexual misconduct will be stepping down from his role as label president and fully divest all interest in the label. Co-founder Sean Bohrman, will move to a transitional role with the label, while Jessa Zapor-Gray becomes interim label president. The label will also rebrand itself as BRGR RECS and launch an all-woman imprint under the moniker BRGRRRL. The statement did not mention any artists by name, but did promise to evaluate the whole of the existing label catalog and artists therein, discontinuing the distribution of artists according to our zero-tolerance policy. The statement also promises to set up a fund to help pay for counseling services for those who experienced trauma at the hands of the Burger scene. In addition, BRGR sanctioned events will provide a dedicated safe space for women to enjoy music without fear of invasion to their personal space, as well as a dedicated safe space for those under the age of 18. The statement faced criticism from fans online. One user, @soy_orbison, pointed out youre starting a separate label to focus on women? Why cant you just have more inclusion on your main label??? This is severely missing the mark. There are tons and tons of interviews where women in bands talk about being tired of being labeled female fronted etc. Starting a GIRLS CLUB isnt how you make the BOYS CLUB less violent. @whitney_azizi added, all space should be safe space for women, segregating women because you feel you cant manage to hold men accountable is not helpful. Story continues Read the full statement from Burger Records below: Dear Burger Community, We understand that we will never be able to comprehend the trauma that women have experienced while trying to find a place in the music scene. We are profoundly saddened and sickened by the pain suffered at the hands of a toxic male music culture that does not value women as equals. We extend our deepest apologies to anyone who has suffered irreparable harm from any experience that occurred in the Burger and indie/DIY music scene, the latter of which we take part. We are also deeply sorry for the role Burger has played in perpetuating a culture of toxic masculinity. We are sorry that we did not actively monitor this behavior well enough to make the Burger music scene safer for you. You should never feel you have to sacrifice your personal space to be able to enjoy music, for your career or in pursuit of your art; you shouldnt feel you have to choose between music and your comfort. But words can only go so far in repairing any damage that has been created. It is the ability to put past behaviors under a microscope, and to fully listen to those who have suffered as a result of such behaviors, in order to be able to truly make meaningful changes so that not only do those behaviors no longer occur, but real positive change can be made to meet the moment. It is with this in mind that we have decided to make major structural changes to the label and create and implement active policy measures to address the culture that allowed such harm to occur. To begin, Burger Records co-founder Sean Bohrman will move into a transitional role with the label. Label co-founder Lee Rickard will immediately step down from his role as label president, and fully divest all interest in the label. Jessa Zapor-Gray will assume the role of interim label president. Jessa comes to Burger with extensive experience in the music industry and an extensive familiarity with the Burger catalog. We look forward to having her take the helm at the label. In the spirit of change, here are the other actions we will be taking moving forward: To create a clear delineation between the old and the new Burger Records, the label will become BRGR RECS. Furthermore, we will be adding an all-woman imprint to the label, BRGRRRL, which will serve to give many more women artists a platform and support for growth as musicians. BRGR will be instating a standard artist agreement, something we did not previously do. This will include clear statements regarding unlawful and predatory behavior. By doing so, we will create a clear path to restorative justice against predators in the future. BRGR will also begin working with experts in trauma and sexual assault awareness and consent education. BRGR will set up a counseling fund to help pay for counseling services for those who suffered such trauma while engaging in the Burger scene. The Burger Records shop, which is not a part of Burger Records, will no longer have any affiliation to the label and will change its name. The shop will also no longer host in-store performances of any kind. BRGR sanctioned events will have a dedicated safe space for women to enjoy music without fear of invasion to their personal space. An educated member of the community will be present at all BRGR sanctioned shows over 1000 attendees. BRGR sanctioned all-ages shows will have a dedicated safe space for those under the age of 18. BRGR will provide ongoing education and training to artists, management, and venues we work with on sensitivity and the effects of trauma. BRGR will evaluate the whole of the existing label catalog and artists therein, discontinuing the distribution of artists according to our zero-tolerance policy. BRGR will work with women in the industry, artists, and fans to create further actionable goals for educating our bands and the music community on recognizing abusive or predatory behavior. We thank you for coming forward and for your courage to speak up, and want you to know that we are committed to doing real work to improve the culture of BRGR RECS and the indie music scene for all of us. We want to be leaders in the industry and a model for other labels to effect real, lasting change. Best of Variety Sign up for Varietys Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Tuesday, July 21, 2020 Kevin Jae, a member of our Emerging Fellows program inspects the role of migration in causing conflicts through his seventh blog post. The views expressed are those of the author and not necessarily those of the APF or its other members. Migration and conflict seem to be intrinsically connected. Intra- and inter-state conflicts around the world have devastated livelihoods and led to displaced peoples both inside and outside of home country borders. One can think of the civil war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Rwanda, and recently, Syria, as examples. The converse appears to be the case as well. The recent movement of migrants into the borders of the West have shifted domestic politics. In the United States, President Trump has vowed to build a wall to keep Mexican migrants out. In the European Union, there has been a similar political realignment. In the absence of an appropriate European response, nationalist responses have threatened to unravel the fragile political tapestry that is the European Union. Europe ended up paying Turkey to host migrantsthe solution was figuratively displaced. The vicious cycle of conflict, forced migration, and further conflict threatens to spiral out of control, particularly due to the unresolved threat of climate change, which may worsen food stability and literally render some areas of the world uninhabitable. According to a commonly cited figure, there will be over 200 million forced displacements related to climate change by 2050. The current figure is at 80 million forced displacements (both internal and external) today. A brief sketch of 2050 may frighten the reader into believing in an apocalyptic image of the future, in which over-migration will lead to resource scarcity, societal disorder, and violent conflict. However, one can temper this image of 2050, where migrants storm the gilded gates of the West. Despite popular conceptions, the share of migrants as a percentage of the global population has hardly changed since 1960. It has remained at 3% of the global population, from 93 million out of a population of 3 billion in 1960 to 244 million out of a population of 7.3 billion in 2015. However, the flow of migration has changed. The European continent has changed from being a source of migration (due to colonization and push factors) to become a destination for migrants. It attracts 1.5 to 2.5 million migrants per year today, which equates to 0.3% to 0.5% of the entire European Union population. Forced displacements have occupied a powerful image in the public imagination. However, Europe and the West is not the final destination of all of the nearly 80 million displaced people in the world. According to the UNHCR, at the end of 2019, 45.7 million were displaced internally, and 26 million were considered refugees (being displaced externally). Of the 26 million people, 73% were hosted in neighbouring countries, and 85% were hosted in developing countries. While climate change threatens to create forced displacements, the majority of those displaced will be displaced internally and most of them will be displaced into neighbouring countries. Finally, additional context about the present discourse around migration and conflict needs to be discussed. While migrants may create some legitimate cultural and structural tensions, it is also important to explore the economic context underlying the recent shift in public discourse about migrants. Research suggests that the inhabitants of regions hit by economic insecurity, due to the 2008 financial crisis and the outsourcing of supply chains, are more likely to be anti-migration. Insecure livelihoods and scarcity revive the well-worn trope of the lazy, but job-stealing migrant, who simultaneously takes jobs from locals but also undermines the welfare state. The migrant has perhaps returned to the position of the scapegoat. These economic conditions contribute to the perception of the conflict-bringing migrant in political discourse. Migratory movements in the future may lead to conflict; however, we can also imagine and create a future in which migration and conflict are not inevitable. One must escape the confines of the present economic and political context to think more rationally about migration and potential conflict in the future. Kevin Jae Priceline has been slammed for selling face masks for $250, five times the normal price, just hours before the coverings become mandatory. Residents in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire will need to wear a face mask when leaving the house or risk a $200 fine from 11.59pm Wednesday. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews warned retailers about price gouging as people rush to get their hands on face masks and material to make their own. Images circulating social media show face masks being sold at Priceline from $51.99 before soaring to $249 for a pack of 50 x N95 masks Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews enters the press conference wearing a face mask on July 20, 2020 Images circulating social media show face masks being sold at Priceline from $51.99 before soaring to $249 for a pack of 50 x N95 masks. Customers slammed the company, accusing them of pandemic profiteering. 'Better of buying a few reusable cotton masks or buying material from Spotlight and hand making some,' one person wrote. 'Priceline is now black-banned. That's appalling,' another wrote. 'Shame on you Priceline, shame on you!' another commented. 'They can't do this...Completely illegal,' someone else wrote. Others however said it was a reasonable price pointing out that it amounted to $5 for one mask. 'So that's $5 per face mask (pack of 50). People are asking for more than that at other places,' someone wrote. '$249 for 50 N95 masks makes $5 a pop which isn't unusual,' another commented. People wearing face masks walk through Melbourne on July 20, 2020 Priceline explained that the price of the masks represents the quality, price and number of face masks in each pack. 'Additionally, many stores have sourced their own products for their communities, in a time where securing inventory has been difficult,' a spokesperson told Nine News. 'We would encourage any customer seeking to understand which face mask is appropriate for them to have a conversation with their pharmacist who will happily explain the differences between masks and the reasons for cost variations.' 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 Daily Mail Australia has contacted Priceline for further comment. Aldi, Bunnings and Woolworths have already put limits on face masks to ensure a fair distribution. Victoria recorded an extra 374 cases on Tuesday and a further three deaths as the state battles through a second wave of the virus. The latest victims, women aged in their 80s, 90s and 100s, died overnight, bringing the number of deaths in the state to 42 and the national death toll to 126. One of the women was an aged care resident. There are now 3,078 active COVID-19 cases in the state and 174 people in hospital, 36 of whom are in intensive care. 'It's always challenging to analyse any one day's results, you'd like to see numbers coming down,' Mr Andrews said on Tuesday. 'At the end of the day, we're not seeing the doubling and doubling again. 'So what that says to me, and I'm sure the chief health officer can speak to this in more detail, is that the sorts of measures we have put in place are having a direct impact.' Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said community transmission did appear to be heading down. 'We have seen some stabilisation in some postcodes especially the postcodes where there have been restrictions for a long period of time,' Professor Sutton said. 'That's encouraging. 'There are other postcodes where the restrictions for stage three have been in place for almost two weeks, but that's not as long as the some of the other postcodes are destabilising, so I'm still hopeful that we can see some levelling off in decreasing numbers in those areas.' Imperial Valley News Center Former Federal Corrections Officer Sentenced for Lying to Federal Authorities Petersburg, Virginia - A former corrections officer with the Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) Federal Correctional Institution in Petersburg, Virginia (FCI-Petersburg), was sentenced Tuesday to 54 months in prison for willfully making false statements to federal agents during a federal criminal civil rights investigation, announced the Department of Justice. On Feb. 12, 2020, a federal jury convicted Chikosi Legins, 41, of willfully making materially false statements to federal investigators during their investigation of allegations that Legins had sexually assaulted a prisoner, B.L., on two occasions. Specifically, the jury found that Legins falsely denied that he had engaged in a sexual act with any inmate at any time at FCI-Petersburg, and that Legins lied about what he was doing with B.L. in an unattended office in the prison at the time B.L. said that Legins had assaulted him. The jury acquitted Legins of one count of depriving B.L. of his civil rights, one count of aggravated sexual assault, and two counts of sexual abuse of a ward. The Department of Justice will ensure that those who willfully mislead officers to prevent justice for victims of civil rights violations are prosecuted, said Assistant Attorney General Eric Dreiband of the Justice Department's Civil Rights Division. Legins abused the power and authority of his office to mislead law enforcement, said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. When confronted by federal agents about alleged abuses, he lied - repeatedly and emphatically. His abuse and obstruction were a complete rejection of his law enforcement oath, and this prosecution and today's sentence demonstrate our commitment to protecting all members of our society. Legins lied to investigators in an attempt to cover up the truth. Today, justice is served. He will rightly serve time for his willful attempt to impede a civil rights investigation, said Russell W. Cunningham, Special Agent in Charge of the Department of Justice Office of the Inspector General Washington Field Office. The jury heard evidence that, on one occasion, Legins took B.L. into an unmonitored, unstaffed office area of the prison after staff in the office had left for the day. Legins told federal investigators that he and B.L. were engaged in conversation while Legins tried to use a computer and printer in the office, but a BOP computer expert testified that computer records showed that no one had attempted to use the computer in question at that time. Evidence presented at trial included the testimony of a DNA expert, who testified that DNA matching Legins had been recovered from the victim and from the victims clothing. This case was investigated by the Department of Justices Office of the Inspector General and FBIs Richmond Division, and was prosecuted by Assistant U.S. Attorney Thomas A. Garnett and Trial Attorney Kathryn E. Gilbert of the Civil Rights Division. As South Africa becomes the fifth worst-affected country globally in terms of coronavirus infections, Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, decries the legacy of colonialism as one of the prime reasons for the continents inability to respond adequately to the emergency. By Linda Bordoni The number of registered coronavirus infections in Africa has crossed the 700,000 mark. Half of the cases are recorded in South Africa where there are over 350,000 confirmed infections. According to the WHO, 10 African nations account for 88% of all reported Covid-19 cases on the Continent. They are South Africa, Nigeria, Ghana, Algeria, Cameroon, Cote dIvoire, Kenya, Senegal, Ethiopia & DRC. The crisis is compounded by the fact that Sub-Saharan Africa hosts more than 26% of the worlds refugees and around 19 million internally displaced people. Theese populations are particularly vulnerable and at risk, not only of contracting the disease, but also of receiving adequate health-care. Colonial legacy Speaking during a press conference to present Caritas Internationalis annual report, Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier, Archbishop of Durban and President of Caritas South Africa, said the pandemic highlights the parlous state of relations between the countries of Africa and the international community. That is particularly true of former colonizers of the Continent, he said. Listen to Cardinal Wilfrid Fox Napier The Cardinal went on to say that because of that relationship, there is a huge gap in the sharing of knowledge and information, as well as expertise and the means to respond and to fight off Covid-19. He said that in most cases, former colonial relationships have mutated from occupation and control to quasi freedom which is characterized by near-total dependence on the former occupying power for virtually everything, noting that most African countries are, de-facto, still occupied by Europe and by the west. The burden of International Debt Cardinal Napier pointed to the burden of International Debt as the main factor holding African nations back from taking their place in the world community as worthy and equal partners. He acknowledged that there have been instances in which knowledge and information have been readily shared, but pointed to the huge problem of communicating the requisite knowledge and information to people living in very different social and cultural contexts. Specifically, he added: How covid is spread, how it affects the body, what simple safety measures can be taken to avoid being infected and to pass on the infection. Throughout Africa, the Cardinal said, anti-covid action has been thwarted by the inability to access the know-how: material and other resources known to be effective in dealing with the pandemic. Role of the Church In all of this, Napier continued, the Church is called to be an important actor in bringing about a change of mentality, and consequently of action. I believe that the church can do an enormous amount to close the gap in Africa's ability to fight off the virus, he said. Right now, he explained, the challenge for the Church is to help remove the lack of information, the lack of expertise, the lack of resources, the lack of personnel and the lack of economic strength to apply that know-how, and the authority to do so. Cardinal Napier explained a second key area in which the Church can and must intervene in changing the relationship between Africa and the world community: from colonisation to political independence, from political independence to economic self-determination, from the theory of self-determination for the real and effective action against Covid-19. A third. and vital area of remedial action, which the Church can take up and run with, is that of working towards making Africa self-reliant, he said. Globalisation of Solidarity Cardinal Napier called for a sharing of resources and international solidarity so aptly summed-up by St. Pope John Paul II as the Globalisation of Solidarity. Even in the secular world, he said, many have adopted the language of globalisation of solidarity. So it is time for the Church to show us how to take the steps to apply that globalisation of solidarity in a changing period in history,. he said Endemic corruption Cardinal Napier, pointed to endemic corruption at a political level as one of the main reasons for the countrys inability to cope. He explained that as soon as it became clear that the new coronavirus was going to be a major problem in South Africa, Christian leaders across the board got together to formulate the Churchs response. Representatives of that ecumenical group, he said, then met with the Premiere of the province. The message they came away with was that the ground was being laid for optimum response and that the strict lockdown had been imposed to enable health and medical personnel to prepare themselves for what was coming. We kept being informed that this was happening and that when it came to this point we would be adequately covered, he said. However, the Cardinal pointed out, time has passed, the lockdown has gone through different phases, but now that the infection rate is spiking, the death rate is also doubling. We are finding now, that preparation was not done, he said. Sadly, a lot of that lack of preparation was due to the fact that funds were being embezzled or stolen in one form or another as demonstrated by the fact that the situation is most critical in those parts of the country where there is an endemic problem of corruption. Covid-19 in South Africa As South Africa becomes the fifth worst-affected country globally in terms of coronavirus cases with over 364,000 infections in the country, with a rapidly spiking infection curve. This weekend the health minister appealed to South Africans to adhere to health regulations that will help curb the spread of Covid-19 at a time in which fatigue seems to have set in and citizens appear to be letting down their guard. His appeal comes as reports emerge of a collapsing health system and a serious deficiency in tackling the crisis notwithstanding an early response to the global crisis. (Alliance News) - China has warned Britain will "bear the consequences" of suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo prepares to meet the prime minister. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London said in a statement Beijing had expressed its concerns over the UK interfering in Hong Kong matters "which are internal affairs of China". The spokesman said: "Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of China's solemn position and repeated representations. "It once again contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the National Security Law for Hong Kong SAR and undermine the city's prosperity and stability. "China urges the UK side to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs, in any form. "The UK will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road." The warning came hours after Pompeo was pictured disembarking while wearing a face covering decorated with the stars and stripes of the US flag after his plane touched down at an unnamed airport in London. Pompeo wrote on Twitter: "Great to be back in London to reaffirm the special relationship we share with our closest ally. China will be high on the agenda when Pompeo meets Boris Johnson during a Downing Street summit on Tuesday, while a meeting with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab is set to follow. Pompeo added on Twitter: "Looking forward to meeting with Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab as we tackle our most pressing global issues in combating Covid-19 and addressing our shared security challenges." The arrival of the former US army officer comes after the UK not only suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong but also slapped an arms embargo on the territory in response to China's national security law. Raab said the measures were a "reasonable and proportionate" response to the law imposed by Beijing a a law Washington has joined in criticising. The frosty relations between the US and China led to President Donald Trump's administration imposing sanctions on Huawei over security concerns a a decision that played a major part in the UK government's move last week to demand that the Chinese technology giant's equipment is stripped out of the country's burgeoning 5G network by 2027. Backbench Tories, including Commons Liaison Committee Chair Bernard Jenkin, have been pressing for a tougher approach to Beijing, particularly in relation to its role in building nuclear power plants in Britain. The U-turn on Huawei a a reversal of the announcement in January allowing it a limited 5G role a has left China aggrieved. The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming criticised the government's approach in a combative BBC interview on Sunday, denouncing Britain for "dancing to the tune" of the US and accusing Western countries of trying to foment a "new cold war" with China. But on Monday, Raab took further action when he told MPs the extradition treaty with Hong Kong was being suspended "immediately and indefinitely" because of concerns the security legislation could allow cases to be transferred to mainland China. An arms embargo with mainland China has been in place since 1989 and that will now be extended to Hong Kong because of the extra powers Beijing now has for the internal security of the territory. Raab's actions came after Johnson promised a "tough" but "calibrated" response to Beijing. In an interview before Raab's announcement, the prime minister had promised to strike a balance in his approach to Beijing, resisting pressure from China hawks to take a hardline stance. "I'm not going to be pushed into a position of becoming a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China," he said. "But we do have serious concerns." Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy suggested the government could take steps to bar Chinese Communist Party officials from the UK and called for a "new era" in terms of the Britain's relationship with the country. source: PA Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Marcin Goclowski (Reuters) Warsaw, Poland Tue, July 21, 2020 09:30 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066804927 2 World Poland,gay-marriage,same-sex-marriage,same-sex-couples,same-sex-partners,same-sex-relationships,LGBT,LGBT-rights,LGBTQ Free Poland's justice minister said on Monday the European Union may be in a position to force Warsaw to legalize gay marriage if EU leaders make financial aid conditional on upholding democratic norms, and warned that this was unacceptable. At talks in Brussels on the next EU budget and an economic recovery plan, some leaders have demanded that payouts be blocked to member states which the executive European Commission (EC) deems to be undermining democratic values. Justice Minister Zbigniew Ziobro said this would give Brussels the possibility of "arbitrarily" blocking payments worth billions of euros. "There is a real risk that we may find ourselves in a situation where the EC will effectively force us to introduce the so-called homosexual marriages with the right to adopt children," he told a news conference. "Well, we cannot agree to this under any circumstances." The ruling Law and Justice party (PiS) came to power five years ago on a pledge to defend traditional family values. Gay marriages are illegal in Poland and President Andrzej Duda was re-elected this month after saying he would not allow adoptions by gay couples or permit classes on gay rights in state schools. Gay rights activist Alicja Sienkiewicz of the Lublin Equality March Association, which supports lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people, said members of the LGBT community were being portrayed as enemies of the state. "This is bizarre. If you want to get these [EU] funds, you should automatically accept how the EU expects them to be spent, because adhering to the rule of law means adhering to basic human rights and it is about respecting them," she said. Poland is at loggerheads with the European Commission over several issues, including judicial reforms which Brussels says undermine the independence of the judiciary. The government says the reforms are needed to overhaul the communist-era system. The Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), says it has so far funded 20 projects valued at N26.278 billion under the N100 billion credit support intervention for the health sector. The CBN Governor, Mr Godwin Emefiele disclosed this during the inauguration of the Body of Experts (BoE) for Healthcare Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme in Abuja on Monday. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that CBN had introduced a N100 billion credit support intervention for companies in the Health and Pharmaceutical sector in the country. Emefiele explained that some of the firms that had been able to obtain funding included hospitals, research centres and pharmaceutical industries. He said that the primary challenges in Nigeria's healthcare sector were inadequate funding, poor medical infrastructure and supplies, and inequitable distribution of health workers. According to him, these problems contributed to the rise in medical tourism. He said the programme was CBN's proactive measures to cushion the impact of COVID -19 on the economy and to support the growth of the healthcare sector. The CBN governor noted that the intervention fund would help improve healthcare delivery capacity, while supporting improved production of health related products and services. Emefiele said to address the health challenges, the apex bank had also initiated the Healthcare Sector Research and Development Intervention Scheme (HSRDIS) to develop vaccines and drugs for infectious diseases. NAN reports that Prof. Mojisola Adeyeye, the Director-General of National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC) was appointed to head the body of experts which comprised academics and health experts.(NAN) ATLANTA - After one judge recused herself at the states request from hearing a lawsuit filed by Georgias governor over measures taken by Atlanta in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, a second stepped aside because she used to work for the governor. Atlanta is among at least 15 local jurisdictions statewide that has ordered people to wear masks in many public places to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. In a lawsuit filed last week against Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and the members of the City Council, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp argues that local leaders do not have the authority to impose measures that are more or less restrictive than those in his executive orders. Fulton County Superior Court Judge Kelly Ellerbe had scheduled a hearing for 11 a.m. Tuesday on an emergency motion in the case. But in an order filed less than two hours before it was to begin, Ellerbe said she was recusing herself after consulting with the lawyers in the case by telephone conference and email. An email exchange attached to Ellerbes recusal order indicates the judge made a disclosure to the lawyers for both sides Monday afternoon that prompted the state to ask her to recuse. This particular case has drawn significant attention at the state and national level, and therefore, we believe for all parties concerned, that even any potential perception of impropriety could be problematic, Deputy Attorney General Julie Jacobs wrote in an email Tuesday morning. Ellerbe told the attorneys she had spoken to an appellate judge about a prior opinion that might have bearing on the case, the attorney generals office said in an emailed statement. Ellerbe then became concerned about having had the discussion and notified the lawyers in the case. Our office appreciates Judge Ellerbes transparency and professionalism, the statement says. Lawyers for the city of Atlanta said in an email attached to the order that they had no objection to the judge hearing the case. The case was reassigned to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Shawn LaGrua. But LaGrua issued an order Tuesday afternoon recusing herself, saying she wanted to avoid any appearance of impropriety or bias. She noted that she had worked for Kemp as an inspector general when he was secretary of state and has been and remains under consideration for appointments by Kemp. Online court records showed the case was reassigned to Fulton County Superior Court Judge Jane Barwick. Attorney generals office spokeswoman Katie Byrd has said the state would seek another emergency hearing on the governors motion after Tuesdays hearing was cancelled because of Ellerbes recusal. A pandemic-related executive order issued by Kemp last week strongly encourages but does not require the wearing of face coverings and suspends any local laws or rules that are more restrictive, the lawsuit says. Bottoms and some other mayors responded by saying they would continue to enforce local mask mandates. Bottoms orders and statements to the press have created uncertainty and confusion, the lawsuit says. The lawsuit asks a judge to overturn Bottoms orders that are more restrictive than Kemps, block her from issuing any more such orders, instruct the City Council not to ratify Bottoms actions or adopt any ordinances inconsistent with Kemps orders, to prohibit Bottoms from making public statements asserting she has authority that exceeds Kemps, and to require city officials to enforce all provisions of Kemps existing orders. The governor filed a motion for emergency interlocutory injunction the following day, essentially asking the judge to order that all those requests take immediate effect while the lawsuit is pending. Tuesdays hearing was to focus on arguments on that motion. The board of commissioners of DeKalb County, which includes part of Atlanta, on Tuesday approved an amended mask ordinance that requires people over 8 years old to utilize a face covering or mask which covers the nose and mouth when in any public place, according to a news release. County CEO Michael Thurmond says the amended ordinance is consistent with Kemps executive order, the release says. The ordinance says a written warning will be issued for the first violation, while a second violation will require attendance in a COVID-19 prevention class, the release says. Failure to attend the class is punishable by a $250 fine. The DeKalb County mask ordinance includes a conscientious objector clause to exempt anyone from the penalty if they present a sworn statement in court that says they wont wear a mask for health, religious or ethical reasons. ___ Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak. The simplest way is take them on virtual field trips to museums fossil collections, like at the Smithsonian or at the Natural History Museum of Los Angeles County. While youre there, take a moment to share some fun dinosaur facts. For instance, Johnson-Ransom is fond of telling kids that T. rex did not roar. They didnt have a larynx or a voice box like mammals do, he said. Instead, they probably made a guttural sound like a bird, which Johnson-Ransom demonstrates by sucking in his gut, puffing up his chest and letting out a deep pigeon-like coo. Think of a giant angry duck, he said. Ashley Hall, a paleontologist and author of Fossils for Kids: A Junior Scientists Guide to Dinosaur Bones, Ancient Animals and Prehistoric Life on Earth, has her own favorite piece of dinosaur trivia: You are closer in time to T. rex than T. rex was to Stegosaurus. The hulking herbivore lived some 150 million years ago while T. rex roamed the Earth around 66 million years ago. The time comparison gets kids thinking about how long dinosaurs ruled the world. Hall was obsessed with dinosaur toys when she was a child. Her favorite was a pink Parasaurolophus, which is a duck-billed dinosaur with a long curving head crest. Years later, as an adult, Hall went on a fossil dig with a team from the Raymond M. Alf Museum of Paleontology and helped excavate the only known baby Parasaurolophus, which they affectionately named baby Joe. Keep your kids interested in dinosaurs said Hall, who has a tattoo of a Parasaurolophus skull on her arm. Paleontology is the gateway to science. Amy Atwater, a paleontologist at The Museum of the Rockies in Montana, suggests answering your childs dinosaur questions with more questions of your own. That gets them thinking and helps them develop hypotheses and ways of testing their hunches. Essentially youre priming them for the scientific method, which is great for their future. Atwater loves to share fun facts, like how the T. rex had a mouth full of ferocious teeth and if it lost a tooth, one would grow back. On her museum tours, she shows children examples of actual fossilized T. rex teeth. The company responsible for maintenance of a recently overhauled helicopter that crashed and killed a member of a prominent Queensland beef family did not "record or track" all work done in the months-long process, a report into the incident has found. The Australian Transport Safety Bureau investigation, published on Tuesday, found the helicopter piloted by 40-year-old Brent Acton "broke up in-flight" during a mustering preparation flight near Cloncurry almost three years ago. Helicopter pilot Brent Acton and his wife, Shona. Credit:Facebook It was concluded that a fastener nut which formed part of the Robinson R22 Beta II helicopter's controls had "likely" not been reinstalled or was not tightened enough as part of the maintenence work. ATSB director of transport safety Dr Stuart Godley said the separation of this bolt would have caused the main rotor to tilt back beyond its normal limit and hit the aircraft's tailcone which was found severed at the crash site. US-China hostility continues; US now targets additional group of 11 Chinese companies imposing trade sanctions, restrictions from using American technology owing to alleged involvement in furthering violence and gross violation of human rights against the Uyghur minority community in Xinjiang province of China. The United States on Monday (local time) announced sanctions against a new group of 11 Chinese companies for their alleged involvement in human rights violations in Chinas western province of Xinjiang, home to about 1 million Uighurs Muslims. The Commerce Department added those 11 companies to a trade blacklist, bringing nearly 50 Chinese entities on the list, and restrict them further from access to American technology as well as other goods, The Washington Post reported. Beijing actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labour and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross said in a statement. This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Partys despicable offensive against defenceless Muslim minority populations, the statement read. Also read; Ugly faces: US, China embassies lash out at each other in Myanmar Also read: Canada to review security equipment deal worth $6.8 million with China The Department said nine of the companies were involved in forced-labour activities involving Uighurs and other Muslim minority groups. Ross said the step was taken to ensure that American goods are not used by the repressive Beijing regime. Beijing actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labour and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens, Ross said. This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Partys despicable offensive against defenceless Muslim minority populations. The restrictions hit Changji Esquel Textile Co. Ltd., Hefei Bitland Information Technology Co. Ltd., Hefei Meiling Co. Ltd., Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories Co. Ltd., Hetian Taida Apparel Co., Ltd., KTK Group, Nanjing Synergy Textiles Co. Ltd., Nanchang O-Film Tech and Tanyuan Technology Co. Ltd., over forced labour. Xinjiang Silk Road BGI and Beijing Liuhe BGI were also sanctioned over conducting genetic analyses. Xinjiang region is home to around 10 million Uighurs. The Turkic Muslim group, which makes up around 45 per cent of Xinjiangs population, has long accused Chinas authorities of cultural, religious and economic discrimination. About 7 per cent of the Muslim population in Xinjiang, has been incarcerated in an expanding network of political re-education camps, according to US officials and UN experts. Also read: Covid-19 hits Xinjiang: China declares wartime situation after spike in cases For all the latest World News, download NewsX App Washington, July 22 : President Donald Trump's ex-lawyer Michael Cohen has sued the US attorney general for a so-called 'gag order'. Cohen said he was sent back to prison as retaliation for writing a tell-all book that reportedly details alleged racist comments made by the president, the BBC reported. Cohen had been released in May from a three-year sentence for charges including Trump campaign finance violations, due to coronavirus. The suit claims Cohen's re-arrest violates his right to free speech. The Bureau of Prisons director is named along with US Attorney General William Barr in the lawsuit filed by Cohen's lawyers and the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) on Monday. The lawyers have requested Cohen's immediate release from prison. The 53-year-old has a history of respiratory issues and is vulnerable to Covid-19, they said. Cohen was taken back into custody on July 9, after authorities said he refused the conditions of his home arrest. Days earlier, on July 2, Cohen tweeted that was "close to completion" of a tell-all book. In court documents filed Monday night, Cohen wrote that his book - tentatively titled Disloyal: The True Story of Michael Cohen, Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J Trump - will describe first-hand experiences with Trump and his family, the US media reported. The book will "provide graphic and unflattering details about the President's behaviour behind closed doors," the documents said. Among these details are descriptions of "the President's pointedly anti-Semitic remarks and virulently racist remarks against such Black leaders as President Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela, neither of whom he viewed as real leaders or as worthy of respect by virtue of their race". Cohen's attorneys said his constitutional rights were violated when probation officers asked him to sign a gag order that would prohibit him from "speaking to or through any media of any sort", including social media or publishing a book, as a condition of his prison release. When Cohen asked for clarification about this "unusual agreement", he was handcuffed and returned to federal prison in Otisville, New York, his lawyers said. "The government cannot imprison Michael Cohen for writing a book about President Trump," said ACLU Speech, Privacy and Technology Project director Ben Wizner. "The gag order that the government sought to impose on Mr Cohen was an unconstitutional prior restraint, and his continued imprisonment is part of a dangerous pattern of retaliation against Trump critics." The Department of Justice did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the BBC. The White House has not yet commented on the allegations. Cohen has served a year of his three-year sentence. The former fixer admitted to lying to Congress about a Trump Tower project in Moscow, and to campaign finance violations for his role in making hush money payments to women alleging affairs with Trump. He also admitted to other tax and bank fraud charges unrelated to the president. Check windows and doors for leaks, and seal any you find. Additional attic insulation also might be called for. Finally, as simple as it sounds, a cool evening breeze can replace the air conditioning. So, open a window! Story continues below advertisement Barry in Missouri Dear Readers: If you have an issue with a company, they may offer a live chat forum on their website where you can chat (message) with a representative who can help resolve the problem or direct you to someone who can. Advertisement The best part of the chat is that youll have the conversation in writing, so you can save the transcript for future reference. Dear Heloise: I love those cloth dish-drying mats, but they can get stinky and moldy if not dried properly between uses. So, I have two mats that I alternate, hanging the damp one on a pants hangar (with clips). Mama Betty in Texas Dear Heloise: I NEVER open my door to a stranger, even if it's a kindly lady poised at the peephole. A team of bad men could be crouched down out of sight. Story continues below advertisement Hilda in Alabama Hilda in Alabama: Sad but true. These people often work in teams, and although Southern hospitality is a wonderful thing, its always important to put safety first. Dear Heloise: Why do I get blasted with air when I walk through the door at my grocery store? What's going on? Advertisement Ida in Texas Ida in Texas: What youre experiencing is called an air door (or air curtain), which uses a downward-facing blower fan. And while it is strong (itll probably undo a beehive hairdo in a hot minute), it serves important purposes. Air doors work to keep birds and flying insects out of the store for your safety and for the safety of the creatures as well. It also helps to keep the air-conditioned air inside and the hot air outside. Story continues below advertisement Restaurants, airlines and loading docks also use air doors, and many businesses where the doors are open often. Dear Readers: Youre thinking about running a 10K race, but just how many miles is that? Well, one kilometer is about .62 miles. So before you put on your running shoes, you should know that a 10K run is 6.2 miles, which might require some training beforehand. You may want to start off with a 5K (3.1 miles), which many runners complete in about 30 to 40 minutes. Whichever you choose, wear the proper equipment, and run safely. Heloises column appears six days a week at washingtonpost.com/advice. Send a hint to Heloise, P.O. Box 795001, San Antonio, TX 78279-5000, or email it to Heloise@Heloise.com. 2020, King Features Syndicate (Newser) Fox News host Tucker Carlson spent the final moments of Monday's show attacking a New York Times reporter, whose personal informationincluding home addresswas soon after shared online. Carlson said freelance writer Murray Carpenter was "working on a story about where my family and I live" so as to intimidate Carlson, per the Washington Post. A Times spokesman clarified Monday that the paper "has not and does not plan to expose any residence of Tucker Carlson's, which Carlson was aware of before tonight's broadcast." Nonetheless, Carlson told millions of viewers that the story would run this week with the goal "to inflict pain on our family, to terrorize us, to control what we say," per the Daily Beast. He then showed Carpenter's photo. "How would Murray Carpenter and his photographer, Tristan Spinski, feel if we told you where they live?" he said. story continues below "What if we published the home address of every one of the soulless, robot editors at the New York Times, who assigned and managed this incitement of violence against my family?" Carlson continued. "We could do that. We know who they are." Several Twitter users then shared addresses and phone numbers for Carpenter. "Give him a taste of his own meds," wrote one user, per the Post. Acting Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security Ken Cuccinelli claimed the Times meant to encourage violence against Carlson. GOP Rep. Eric A. Crawford of Arkansas noted the Times "should be condemned." Meanwhile, Don Moynihan, a professor of public policy at Georgetown, concluded, "Tucker got his followers to do what he falsely accused reporters of doing." (Carlson, returning from vacation, made no mention of a new sexual harassment lawsuit naming him.) RTHK: Let's build an world alliance against China: Pompeo US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday the United States wants to build a global coalition to counter China as he accused Beijing of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further its own interests. US President Donald Trump identifies China as the United States' main rival, and has accused President Xi Jinping of taking advantage over trade and not telling the truth over the novel coronavirus outbreak, which Trump calls the "China plague". Pompeo, on a visit to London, lauded Prime Minister Boris Johnson for ordering a purge of Huawei gear from its 5G mobile phone network, saying it was the right decision as data could have ended up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. The secretary of state cast China as an aggressor, saying it had made illegal maritime claims, bullied Himalayan countries, covered up the coronavirus outbreak and exploited it to further its own interests in a "disgraceful" way. "We hope we can build out a coalition that understands the threat and will work collectively to convince the Chinese Communist Party that it is not in their best interest to engage in this kind of behaviour," Pompeo told reporters alongside British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. "We want to see every nation who understands freedom and democracy...to understand this threat that the Chinese Communist Party is posing to them." Pompeo offered no evidence of how China had exploited the coronoavrius. As Britain toughens its stance on China due to its handling of the coronavirus epidemic and a crackdown in the former British colony of Hong Kong, Pompeo's visit is an attempt to stiffen Johnson's resolve and dangle the potential reward of a post-Brexit free trade deal, diplomats say. Pompeo said a deal could be finalised before too long. "A third round (of negotiations) scheduled for later this month, a primary focus for the United States is to see that we can make progress on this and bring this to a closure just as quickly as possible," Pompeo said, adding that he had discussed this with Johnson. Beijing says the West - and Washington in particular - is gripped by anti-Chinese hysteria and colonial thinking about the communist state. China, whose US$15 trillion economy is five times the size of the United Kingdom's, says the decision to exclude Huawei, the world's biggest telecoms equipment manufacturer, will hurt Britain's economy, set back trade and discourage investment. Pompeo is also due to meet Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law and the last British governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten. (Reuters) This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. With the Farm Lease Pro platform, farmers finally have the solution they were looking fora professionally managed, easy-to-use and fully integrated farm leasing platform. Similar to leading internet service companies that came out of the Great Recession of 2008, Farm Lease Pro has turned crisis into opportunity, bringing modern technology to a staid industry that is ripe for innovation. According to Farmlandinfo.org, 38 percent of land being farmed in the U.S. is leased. The USDA predicts that this will only increase, having estimated that 93 million acres of farmland would be transferred between 2015-2019, often to family who would then look to sell or lease. Unfortunately, despite its size, the industry continues to be very opaque and operate much the same way it did 30 years ago. Farm Lease Pro recently launched its novel online service to bring clarity, ease, and trust to the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic farmland leasing markets. This online platform for farmland rentals promises to change the landscape of farming and help millions of farmers and landowners solve problems they have faced for decades. The country remains mired in a deep economic recession. However, property taxes continue to rise, and bills keep coming. Land is the most valuable asset for most people, whether retired farmers or investors, and landowners do not want to have to sell. Today, however, many must consider that difficult option. Farm Lease Pro provides these individuals a new avenue to not only profit from their land while continuing to own it, but to also find the right person to farm their property. With this new platform, landowners can take comfort in having another option to monetize their land. At the same time, farmers are in an exceptionally difficult position. For decades, land access has been one of their most challenging issues. Farmers used to find land by networking at feed mills, churches, auctions and the like, but with social distancing a new norm, that is much more difficult. Many young farmers are in distress about being able to find land to begin their career or to expand their operations. With the Farm Lease Pro platform, farmers finally have the solution they were looking fora professionally managed, easy-to-use and fully integrated farm leasing platform, explains Farm Lease Pro partner Marshall Woodward. While the current economic conditions are difficult, we are proud of our country, and optimistic about its future when we see new technologies like Farm Lease Pro emerge out of the darkness. Billionaire Business Owner Mark Cuban recently said, Five years from now were going to look back and point to 10 to 20 companies that were created during the pandemic of 2020. We get to do America 2.0. We get to go through a unique reset. Farm Lease Pro cannot help but be excited for all the participants who stand to benefit from this game changing technology. About Farm Lease Pro Farm Lease Pro is a full-service online leasing platform built to bring the farmland rental market into the 21st century. It was developed to benefit both landowners and farmers of all sizes and their unique circumstances. By using the companys proprietary service, landowners can quickly and easily list their land for free, garner interest from local farmers, book their property, store documents, and even receive payment, all in one place. Farmers find the service incredibly powerful due to their ability to find affordable and accessible land to either begin or expand their operations. For more information, please visit http://www.farmleasepro.com. By Abankula President Muhammadu Buharis longtime friend and political ally, Malam Ismaila Isa Funtua did two things before he died on Monday night. After feeling uncomfortable around 4pm, he told his family members he needed to do a medical check. But strangely he drove himself first to his barber. It was from there he drove himself again to his doctor in Abuja. Mallam told his family members that he wanted to see his doctor but decided to visit his barber first. He drove himself to the hospital, one of his brothers told Daily Trust. It is difficult to confirm what really happened but he lost the battle after getting to the hospital, said The Nation. Some said it was cardiac arrest but only his doctors can conform what went wrong. Hours earlier, he promised to speak to Senator Ben Murray-Bruce, on telephone today. I spoke to him just three hours before his reported death, and he promised to further call me tomorrow, the Senator tweeted on Monday night. Isa Funtua, who was also President Buharis in-law will be committed to mother earth today. He died Monday night, following sudden cardiac arrest. He was 78 years old. Isa Funtua founded The Democrat newspaper in 1984 and after the newspaper ceased publishing, his interest in the media never waned. He was a former President of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria(NPAN). He was also life patron of NPAN and the International Press Institute. As a businessman, he was the founder of Bulet Construction based in Abuja and built iconic structures in the city. Related Maharashtra government on Tuesday issued a government resolution (GR) stating that it is not expected of the government officials to be a part of the meetings and officials visits organised by the leaders of Opposition (LoP) in the state legislature. The decision by the Uddhav Thackeray-led government overturned the decision taken by the erstwhile Devendra Fadnavis-government in August 2018, which had made it compulsory for state officials to remain present in such meetings called by LoPs and member of parliament (MP), members of legislative Assembly (MLA) or members of state legislative council (MLC). The decision also comes after the leader of Opposition in the legislative Assembly Devendra Fadnavis toured Raigad and Ratnagiri districts after Cyclone Nisarga and his visits to various parts of the state to review the Covid-19 situation. Leader of Opposition in the legislative council Pravin Darekar too has visited various Covid care centres and hospitals. The GR issued on Tuesday directed officials to follow the guidelines issued by the Fadnavis government on March 11, 2016. The ministers in the government have the powers to oversee the administrative work of a department, organise meetings of the department-concerned, or call them for meetings, and give them orders or instructions after due consultation. However, leader of Opposition in the Assembly and legislative council, who have the rank of a minister, do not have these powers. Therefore, government officers are not expected to be a part of the meetings or visits organised by such non-governmental members, MPs, MLAs, MLCs, the GR stated. Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has criticised the decision and said it is akin to strangulating democracy. BJP spokesperson Keshav Upadhye said that instead of taking the Opposition along at a time of such a calamity, the government has decided to ban the meetings organised by the Opposition. In a statement, the BJP spokesperson targeted chief minister Uddhav Thackeray and said, In these times [of pandemic], it was expected of the ministers to tour the state and check the ground realities. But the chief minister is not showing the courage to even roam in Mumbai. In this scenario, the Opposition has to see the measures adopted and bring its shortcomings before the government. It seems that the chief minister fears that the shortcomings of the government will come to light by the tours of Devendra Fadnavis and Pravin Darekar, therefore, the government has taken the decision that would dent the democracy. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Chicago police released a shocking video which showed protesters aiming fireworks and frozen water bottles at officers while hiding under a canopy of umbrellas during a protest in Grant Park on Friday night. The otherwise peaceful protest descended into chaos when it reached the park's statue of Christopher Columbus as demonstrators used an assortment of dangerous missiles to push back cops. Police say that 49 officers were injured as protesters they branded 'criminal agitators' attempted to clear the area so they could try to tear down the monument. Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown claimed that the protest descended into a 'mob action' that 'deliberately sought to injure officers'. He added that members of the group could have been injured or killed if they have been successful in toppling the statue. Scroll down for video Police say that 49 officers were injured as protesters through fireworks, frozen bottles, cans and other items during a protest in Grant Park, Chicago, on Friday night Video of the protest released by police shows officers fighting against dangerous projectiles Chicago police and protesters face off in Grant Park after protesters attempted to topple a Christopher Columbus Statue Friday. The protest had remained peaceful until this point Police walk around at the site of the covered Columbus statue after protesters attempted to topple it Friday. Police were guarding the monument when they were hit with fireworks 'This is what our officers faced on Friday night at Grant Park. Criminal agitators pelted fireworks, frozen water bottles and other projectiles at our officers, injuring 49 of them,' Brown wrote on Twitter Monday. 'This is unacceptable and we cannot stand for this.' Brown added that 12 people were arrested for charges including mob action, battery to a police officer and criminal damage to property. 'We do not want to engage in violent clashes with protesters, but when the law is being broken, our oath demands that we act to uphold the law,' Brown said. 'The rule of law has always been, and remains today the essence of policing and the foundation of our democracy. 'We deeply respect an individual's right to peacefully protest and we will do everything we can to protect that right. But, we will not stand by, and in fact we are obligated to act, while City or private property is being damaged or while violent acts are being committed.' The police department shared a six-minute long video to social media which showed the moment the peaceful protest turned violent as a group all wearing black and holding black umbrella began to pelt officers with fireworks and other items. 'Chicago Police officers had fireworks, frozen water bottles and other projectiles thrown at them in what started as a peaceful protest,' the department said. '49 CPD officers were injured, and 18 were sent to area hospitals for their injuries during this violent mob action.' The video starts with an aerial view of the protest as it made its way down Columbus to Grant Park. Chicago Police Superintendent David O. Brown claimed that the protest descended into a 'mob action' Friday night that 'deliberately sought to injure officers' Superintendent Brown tweeted the footage of the fireworks being thrown on Friday The protest began peacefully with speeches before walking toward Grant Park Officers shown running from a metal bar thrown at them by protesters As the protest stops at the park, it shows one demonstrator change into black clothing and join another large group, all wearing black and carrying black umbrellas. Under the canopy of umbrellas, the group pushes to the front of the protest as it gets closer to the statue. A protester in the back is highlighted emptying out what appear to be bottles or cans onto the ground, that other protesters can then use as projectiles against the police. Officers stationed behind a barricade are then seen trying to pull the umbrellas from the group as more and more bottles and cans are thrown, until a firework erupts right beside them. One officer is said to have suffered a broken eye socket from the shrapnel. The video then moves to the other side of the statue, where cops are again trying to fend off the objects being thrown at them, including a firework that lands right between them. Videos of Friday's unrest comes as Chicago's Mayor said Tuesday she would take President Donald Trump to court if he sent U.S. government agents to police their city. The group covered by black umbrellas had moved to the front of the barrier with the cops Officers are seen running from projectiles before they eventually pulled back from the area The video shows a firework exploding just beside the officers guarding the statue The video also identifies protesters believed have been changing into black clothes Mayor Lori Lightfoot slammed Friday's protest as 'anarchy' and said 'we are going to put that down'. 'We are actively investigating, and we will bring those people to justice. We want people to feel safe,' the mayor added. Yet she predicted that Trump would not follow through on a threat that has sparked widespread controversy over the use of federal force. Trump has said he would send federal law enforcement to several cities including Baltimore, Chicago, New York and Philadelphia to crack down on protests against racism and police brutality ignited by George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. 'Unfortunately there's been a lot of saber rattling about that coming from the president and members of his team,' Lightfoot told reporters. 'What I understand at this point, and I caveat that, is that the Trump administration is not going to actually deploy unnamed agents in the streets of Chicago.' Instead, Lightfoot said reinforcements which come from the FBI, the Drug Enforcement Administration and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives will 'plug into' federal agencies already coordinating with the city on crime. Police returned with riot gear and tear gas to clear the area of protesters Teargas was unleashed on hundreds of protesters after the fireworks were thrown One protester is said to have been handing out frozen bottles or cans to throw at police However, the White House administration said it is planning to send 150 federal agents to combat violence in Chicago, but for now is not saying which agency they will come from or what their mission will be. White House spokeswoman Kayleigh McEnany told a briefing on Tuesday that dispatching agents was justified by a federal statute empowering the secretary of Homeland Security to deputize agents to protect federal property and people on that property. 'It's egregious what's happening,' McEnany said, rattling off a number of incidents where people who joined protests have thrown objects at officers. 'President Trump is taking action in Portland, even though you have a Democrat mayor and Democrat governor unwilling to work with us in the situation. We are surging resources along with secretary [Chad] Wolf at DHS and augmenting the federal protective service to safeguard federal property,' she said. Chicago cops unleashed tear gas and charged at protesters later Friday night after they attempted to tear down the statue of Columbus. At least four protesters were injured after chaos erupted when hundreds of demonstrators gathered around the Columbus statue and vandalized it with graffiti. The protesters aimed fireworks at police guarding the statue to push them back before they tied the monument up with ropes and tried to drag it down. CBS reported that at least a dozen people were arrested. One also sustained injuries. Protesters hurled fireworks at police in Chicago on Friday night The protest attempted to pull down a Christopher Columbus statue Shocking video showed fireworks exploding beside officers who were forced to retreat At least four protesters were injured in the chaos in Grant Park on Friday night According to WGN9, officers attempted to guard the statue but were hit with fireworks, bottles, full soda cans and other items and forced to back away. They returned with pepper spray and clashed with protesters as authorities regained control over the area and pushed the demonstration away from the monument. Protesters on bikes blocked of an intersection close by from around 9.30pm as they faced off with police and drove motorists away. The large group was seen lining up along the four sides of the intersection in a circle as cars and emergency services looked on. Protesters in the center were seen waving a large black flag as more demonstrators joined. The main demonstration began earlier in the evening with rally planned for Black and Indigenous people in Buckingham Fountain, according to ABC 7 Chicago. The group was calling for the defunding of the Chicago Police Department, saying the money should be invested in neighborhoods. Hundreds gathered to hear speeches at about 5pm before peacefully marching toward Grant Park. 'There is a long list of names that will never be a hashtag... we cannot be out here every single time they kill one of us... thats why we need to have community control of the motherf*****g cops ,' one speech said, according to reporter Grace Del Vecchio. The officers pulled bikes from protesters and they forced them away Protesters linked arms at they tried to stand down police but were eventually forced to move as more tear gas was used as police herded them away from the statue A great number of cops returned to secure the area around the state using tear gas Some taunted the cops present by shouting, 'You're about to lose your jobs.' Many traveled with bikes as they chanted 'Black Lives Matter' and held signs reading 'Defund the Police'. Cops lined the path being taken by protesters but the demonstration remained peaceful until it reached the Columbus statue and the fireworks were unleashed on officers surrounding the monument. A heavy barrage of other items continued to be thrown at officers until they backed away. As cops fled, protesters surrounded the statue pulling off the covering over it to vandalize it and begin attempts to pull it down. 'Bring it down,' was chanted as two groups tried to dismantle the statue. Some shouted at those filming the attempt and the earlier vandalization to stop. Protesters on bikes blocked off an intersection later in the evening Protesters are now working to pull the statue down #ColumbusStatue #ChicagoProtests pic.twitter.com/qKkXFNxQXp Grace Del Vecchio (@delvecchiograce) July 18, 2020 The demonstrators gathered in a circle forcing cars on four sides to turn around The group marched along Columbus Ave after being forced away from the statue Chicago police quickly returned in greater numbers, however, and used batons and tear gas to beat back the protesters. Protesters linked arms at they tried to stand down police but were eventually forced to move as more tear gas was used. Angry clashes were seen as the protesters were herded out of the area and cops removed the ropes from the statue. Video footage showed bikes being pulled from protesters by police officers as they were charged in riot gear and more fireworks exploded close by. 'Who do you serve, who do you protect?' protesters shouted as they backed away. A large number remained watching outside the periphery, still choking on tear gas, as the Chicago police took control of the area. A group then turned to Columbus Avenue where they continued a stand off with officers and planned to march back to Buckingham Fountain. According to ABC7, four protesters were injured during the chaos and transported to a local hospital. They were said to be in a good condition. Officers have now been told to wear their protective gear at all future protests. Statues of Christopher Columbus have been torn town and targeted across the United States in recent weeks amid ongoing protests against racial injustice. Columbus is seen as a figure of white supremacy and protesters are calling for his likeness to be removed from monuments. THE Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD)-Central Visayas is supporting the ongoing blood donation campaign in the region, as it has provided food packs to blood donors. In a statement Monday, July 20, 2020, the agency said a total of 399 food packs, worth P159,193, were given to donors during the first three days of the blood-letting campaign. The blood-letting campaigns were held in Mandaue City last July 10 and 19, and in Hoops Dome in Lapu-Lapu City last July 16. DSWD-Central Visayas Director Rebecca Geamala thanked the blood donors, whom she referred to as heroes. "These people, they are also in need, but they choose to give more by donating blood. The food packs we gave them is nothing compared to what they shared -- and we are all participating in helping one another," she said. The blood-letting campaign is a joint initiative of the Office of the Presidential Assistant for the Visayas and the Department of Health (DOH)-Central Visayas, supported by the DSWD-Central Visayas and Armed Forces of the Philippines. It aims to supply the possible lack of blood in blood banks in the region. It also aims to support the cause of Convalescent Plasma Therapy, a kind of therapy that helps boost the immune system of Covid-19 patients. A blood-letting activity was also done Monday, July 20, in Talisay City, while another blood donation drive is scheduled on July 23-24 in Balamban, Cebu. Dr. Mary Jean Loreche, of the DOH-Central Visayas, said the campaign garnered a total of 321 bags of blood already: Hoops dome - 171 bags; Police Regional Office 7 - 30: Paknaan, Mandaue City - 110, and Talisay City - 10. (WBS with PR) Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal SANTA FE Almost 15 years ago, they practiced sitting quietly in a circle and learned shapes and colors. Now the 4-year-olds from New Mexicos first state-funded prekindergarten program are old enough to have just finished high school. And the results are promising, legislative analysts say. A study of the states first pre-K cohort found long-lasting academic improvements including an 80% graduation rate for those in the inaugural group, or more than 6 percentage points better than students who didnt participate in pre-K, according to analysts for the Legislative Finance Committee. The improvement is even more dramatic for English-language learners and children from lower-income families, where analysts found an 11-point increase in graduation rates. Other benefits include a reduction in chronic absenteeism and improved odds that a child will exit special education services. One of the children enrolled in the first pre-K cohort was Julian Soto, who graduated from Albuquerque High School last year. Yamel Soto, his mom, said Monday that she would encourage other parents to pursue prekindergarten for their kids. Years ago, she had hoped to enroll her older daughter, but there wasnt room. Then her son landed in the first state-funded pre-K cohort at Eugene Field Elementary in August 2005. Im pretty sure it does make a difference, Soto, now a clerk for Albuquerque Public Schools, said in an interview Monday. I wanted him to get started on his basic learning. An early start, it turns out, can produce lasting gains for New Mexico students. Analysts for the Legislative Finance Committee tracked the states inaugural prekindergarten class for 14 years, using state data. In addition to graduation gains, they also found increases of 2 percentage points in students proficiency in math and English, measured by standardized tests in the third grade. Math proficiency climbed to 34% in the 2018 school year for pre-K students, compared with 32% among students who hadnt participated. We spend a lot of time in New Mexico and rightly so addressing chronic failures of our K-12 system, said Amanda Aragon, executive director of NewMexicoKidsCAN, an education advocacy group. We talk a lot about it, we hear about it, and we should, but I think theres also a moment to say, Hey, were doing some things right. The LFC report, issued this summer, comes as Democratic and Republican legislators alike turn to prekindergarten and other early childhood education programs as a key strategy for improving academic outcomes and closing the achievement gap. The program started in 2005 when then-Gov. Bill Richardson and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, both Democrats, pushed for the first state-funded prekindergarten program. About 1,500 students were covered. Pre-K services have grown since then through Republican and Democratic administrations, reaching about 11,000 students by the 2020 school year. In a recent six-year period through 2019, state spending on pre-K more than doubled. The state expects to spend about $95 million on prekindergarten programs over the next year some delivered through public schools, others by private providers. Legislative analysts estimated the state will get a positive return for the money, generating nearly $6 for every dollar spent through tax revenue on the higher earnings of participants and reduced social costs. But the analysts also cautioned that the state must maintain high-quality programs as it expands prekindergarten to more children. They also said its important to help students maintain their gains. The positive effects of prekindergarten, for example, seem to be amplified when students also participate in K-5 Plus programs that extend the school year for students in kindergarten through fifth grade. The program was canceled this year because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Elizabeth Groginsky, secretary of the states new Early Childhood Education and Care Department, said its a credit to New Mexico that the state could track the first cohort. Some communities, she said, have had trouble keeping the data. Groginsky has worked in Washington, D.C., and elsewhere. I was pleased to see that New Mexicos results were so strong, she said Monday. The LFCs findings include: About 80% of children in New Mexicos first prekindergarten cohort graduated from high school, compared with 74% of students who didnt participate. The difference was statistically significant, even after controlling for demographic and other factors. About 83% of the pre-K students who were English-language learners graduated from high school, compared with 72% who werent in pre-K. Participation in prekindergarten was associated with a 50% reduction in the student being held back a grade. Pre-K students had chronic absenteeism rates 25% lower. A larger percentage of prekindergarten students exited special education services by third grade. New Delhi: In a shocking report from Dhanbad, Jharkhand, six members of the same family have succumbed to coronavirus in Katras area has shocked the entire state. The COVID-19 made inroads in the family a fortnight ago when the eldest member of the family, an 88-year-old woman, succumbed to the deadly virus. Residents in Dhanbad are shocked to know about the incident and the district administration has issued alerts and has asked people to avoid unnecessary visits to the city. The border areas along the West Bengal touching Dhanbad has also been completely sealed. Coronavirus first snatched the mother and then took the life of four sons and now the life of another member has claimed by the deadly virus. After the death of the mother and five sons of the same family, the administration has sealed the entire Katras area. The people living there are scared and they have urged the state government to provide an ex-gratia to the victim's family besides embarking upon a massive COVID-19 test drive in the area to contain the spread of the deadly virus. The latest victim of the deadly virus is the fifth of the elderly woman. He died on Sunday night in RIMS, Ranchi, after contracting the coronavirus from his mother. Earlier this month, four other sons of the 88-year-old woman succumbed to the deadly virus creating a wave of shock in the entire area. The fifth son was earlier admitted to PMCH of Dhanbad but shifted to the RIMS after his health deteriorated. Earlier, his brother also died in RIMS due to the COVID-19. The 88-year-old woman succumbed to the virus at a nursing home in Bokaro. The old lady got infected after attending a wedding of a relative in Delhi. After returning from Delhi, she died on July 4 during treatment and was cremated without any protocol, as her report came only came after her funeral, and the family was shocked to know about her being coronavirus positive. Since then, five out of six sons of the woman have died due to the coronavirus one by one in the last 16 days. Dr. Brijesh Mishra, Nodal officer of RIMS, who treats COVID-19, infected patients, said that doctors pour their heart and soul while treating a patient. This shocking news has affected doctors and has also sent a message to society that coronavirus is a deadly disease and it needs to be avoided, he added. Dr. Devesh of the COVID Department of RIMS said that coronavirus infection has its effect on physical health as well as on society. Senior nurse Ramrekha Rai of the COVID ward in RIMS is also a sad moment on this development. She feels that despite their dedicated services, they could not save the members of this family. The fifth son (sixth member of the family) died on Monday in the COVID ward of RIMS. Dhanbad Civil Surgeon Dr. Gopal Das told Zee Media that six members of a family from Katras have died so far and the two other members recuperating at the COVID Hospital are in a better condition. He added that the other members also had other diseases and they all were above 60 years of age. In the last 24 hours, six deaths have been reported and more than 225 people have been found coronavirus positive in Jharkhand, according to the state health department data. The number of active cases in the state is 2,889, while the total number of deaths due to COVID-19 currently stands at 55. The maximum number of 71 cases was reported in the Ranchi district followed by 35 in Garhwa district in the last 24 hours. A total of 117 people were discharged from various COVID-19 facilities in the state including 30 from Pakur, 27 from Lohardaga, and 26 in Ranchi, said the health department data. (Natural News) Bodycam footage showing the final moments before a knife-wielding suspect was shot by a Michigan police officer following a bizarre face mask encounter that went violently south has finally been released, and all we can say is viewer discretion is advised. The below image depicts a still of the suspect approaching the officer, who had simply responded to a 911 call from a clerk at a local Quality Dairy in Eaton County about a stabbing that took place inside the store during this employees shift. Reports indicate that this knife-wielding lunatic had earlier approached a 77-year-old man at the Quality Dairy for not wearing a face mask. The suspect confronted the elderly man and ordered him to put one on or else leave the business, and when the elderly man refused the suspect pulled out a knife and thrust it into the victim. A customer just stabbed another customer over a mask and then took off out of the parking lot, the clerk reportedly told a 911 operator before officers were sent to the scene. Because the suspect had already fled, officers had to track him down. They eventually apprehended him in a nearby municipal neighborhood, but not before the suspect stepped out of his vehicle wielding what news reports are describing as a long knife. When the suspect refused to drop this large weapon and proceeded to start rushing the officer, he was met with approximately 10 bullets that were discharged, stopping him in his tracks. Based on the footage, the suspect was told at least 10, and possibly 15, separate times to drop his weapon or else police were going to pull out their firearms and subdue him. He did not listen, and thus was shot multiple times. Wait, dont people who support masks want to SAVE lives rather than END them? The female officer who shot the suspect is seen in the video footage quickly remediating a failure-to-feed jam on her weapon, demonstrating impressive tactical skills. However, she was later placed on administrative leave following the incident, which Eaton County Sheriff Tom Reich says is standard procedure following any officer-involved shooting. The suspect was later identified as 43-year-old Sean Ruis, who is said to have died at an area hospital not long after the incident occurred due to serious injuries. The deputy has also been identified as a 22-year veteran of the force, whom we cannot imagine would face punishment for her act of self-defense. If you are interested in seeing what happened inside the Quality Dairy, surveillance footage from the scene of the crime can be found online. The Quality Dairy clerk who made the 911 call, we have since learned, told reporters that she was fearful Ruis might try to come back to the store to attack her next. This never happened, of course, because Ruis was subdued and later passed. The clerk was calm and she was able to provide key details to the dispatcher after 43-year-old Sean Ruis stabbed someone after being asked to wear a mask, reported ClickOnDetroit.com. As for the 77-year-old man who was stabbed, reports indicate that he suffered numerous injuries to the neck. The dispatch then told the clerk to get a clean, dry cloth and put it over the wounds. Try to keep him comfortable, the dispatcher stated. Dont let anyone touch anything. They are going to want to see the videotape, all that good stuff, okay? The good news is that the elderly man is still alive as of this writing, and is now being treated for his injuries. For more related news on the craziness of the day, be sure to check out Violence.news. Sources for this article include: BigLeaguePolitics.com NaturalNews.com ClickOnDetroit.com A city councillor who did not pass a police security clearance says shes concerned by the public scrutiny facing her family and friends, while she still lacks answers for the decision. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A city councillor who did not pass a police security clearance says shes concerned by the public scrutiny facing her family and friends, while she still lacks answers for the decision. Coun. Vivian Santos (Point Douglas) revealed last week that she failed a security check that was required for her to become a member of the Winnipeg Police Board. In an exclusive interview with the Free Press on Monday evening, Santos said police still have not revealed why her clearance was denied. She noted she has never been arrested or charged with a criminal offence. On Monday afternoon, a Global News report linked the security issue to a friend of Santos, a man who has been accused of trafficking cocaine. On two separate occasions, that report states vehicles owned by Santos and her husband were lent to someone who was allegedly involved in the drug trade. The councillor said she and her husband are no longer associated with the friend in question. "Were not associating ourselves with him anymore. We were not aware that he was (accused of) doing any illegal activity and we dont even know if its true. So I think its just best if we cut our ties," she said. Global News states the councillor and her husband were also at one point under surveillance during a police investigation, a report Santos said also came as a surprise. Jay Marte Santos, a friend who is not related to the councillor, was charged with possessing cocaine for the purpose of trafficking in March. Police say they found two suspects with 19 kilograms of cocaine, with a street value of $1.5 million. None of the allegations has been proven in court. The Global story included a photo of Jay Santos at the councillors destination wedding. Vivian Santos said the vehicle loans were simply the result of her husband doing a favour for a friend. Santos says she and her husband are no longer associated with a friend who is accused of selling cocaine. (Mike Sudoma / Winnipeg Free Press files) Police have not told her if the friendship played a role in why she was denied the security clearance, she said. Santos said she is concerned by the public scrutiny of her friends and family members. "All this information now coming out in the public about my familys personal life and our friends gives me some really grave concerns because I do have to think about them. My life is an open book. I have nothing to hide," she said. The councillor said she believes its up to a city council vote to decide whether or not to replace her with a new police board member, despite the fact she had considered rescinding her resignation. She said shes still considering legal action to clear her name. The Winnipeg Police Service declined comment on Monday. The chairperson of the Winnipeg Police Board said background checks are necessary for board members, with whom police must sometimes share sensitive information. "The police background checks are necessary to manage those risks... so the board (can be) informed to make decisions," said Coun. Markus Chambers (St. Norbert-Seine River). 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 chairperson said he does wish Coun. Santos had disclosed the friendship in question before council voted to appoint her to the police board in June. "It would have been a different conversation... Its about that transparency piece of it," he said. Chambers said he expects a new Winnipeg Police Board member will be chosen. Joyanne.pursaga@freepress.mb.ca Twitter: @joyanne_pursaga I guess we will see in a couple of weeks if there has been any fallout from the election as far as illnesses, Van Wolfe said. I guess we will have to wait to see how this affected the state, not just McLennan County. Election workers wore face shields and masks and wiped down voting machines after each voter. Voters were able to sign in with a pen that they could keep and were given a pencil to use to dial in their votes on voting machines. I am very fortunate that they were willing to come out, she said. I appreciate that they want to come and help. We cant do it without those workers. They are the most important asset we have and I hope they dont get sick from this. Van Wolfe said she is hopefully optimistic that plenty of election workers will be available in November and that those sites willing to be used as polling locations will continue to offer those services. As of today, we are all booked up, Van Wolfe said of polling locations. It is a wait-and-see game with COVID because we dont know what tomorrow will bring. Things change daily. It will be interesting to see if we have any more cases statewide because people came out to vote. China has warned that the U.K. will "bear the consequences" of its decision to suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong amid fears that the city's courts are no longer independent of the ruling Chinese Communist Party. Britain suspended the treaty and blocked arms sales to the former British territory after China imposed its national security regime on the city, which has been rocked with anti-government and pro-democracy protests since . Liu Xiaoming, China's ambassador to London, said via Twitter that the U.K. would "bear the consequences of damaging bilateral relations." He described the decision as "gross interference in China's internal affairs." In Beijing, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said China "urges the British side to abandon the illusion of continuing colonial influence in Hong Kong ... so as to avoid further damage to China-Britain relations." Announcing the move on , foreign secretary Dominic Raab cited a draconian national security law, which allows China's feared state security police to take over in Hong Kong-based cases deemed "serious" by Beijing, and which bans peaceful dissent under the banner of "secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign powers." The law applies to anyone of any nationality criticizing the Hong Kong or Chinese authorities anywhere in the world, sparking concerns that an extradition to Hong Kong could see a case brought under the national security regime, possibly even in a mainland Chinese court. The U.K., which has no extradition accord with mainland China, is the latest country to revoke its extradition arrangements with Hong Kong after Five Eyes partners the U.S., Australia and Canada made similar announcements. "We will protect our vital interests," Raab said. "We will stand up for our values and we will hold China to its international obligations." U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in London on to discuss China-related issues with Raab and prime minister Boris Johnson. "Extradition, at the bottom of it, is a political act. Its a political act whether or not you surrender a person, Philip Dykes, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association (HKBA) told the Associated Press. "Extradition treaties with Hong Kong were always on the basis that whatever happens, a person will not be removed to the mainland." 'Vote of no confidence' in Hong Kong courts The vice chairwoman of the Association, Anita Yip, said the U.K.'s decision was a "vote of no confidence" in the citys courts in the wake of the national security law taking effect. Yip said some countries fear their nationals may not get a fair trial, especially in cases brought under the law, which applies mainland Chinese standards of justice directed by ruling Communist Party officials. The law also allows some cases to be heard in mainland China on orders from Beijing, breaking a promise enshrined in Hong Kong's mini-constitution, the Basic Law, that Chinese government departments would refrain from involvement in the city's affairs for at least 50 years after the 1997 handover. "Even though rights guaranteed under the Basic Law and the ICCPR (International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights) are supposed to apply to Hong Kong ... we see within the [new law] provisions which are inconsistent or may even contravene the ICCPR," Yip said. She cited clauses which say that, when local laws are inconsistent with the new law, the new law will prevail, and that the ultimate power of interpretation of the new law lies not in Hong Kong courts but with National Peoples Congress Standing Committee in Beijing. "Now all these may give rise to legitimate, grave concerns in these overseas countries," she said in comments reported by government broadcaster RTHK. Yip also said she wont be surprised if more countries follow suit, though some may adopt a wait-and-see approach to see how the implementation of the new law pans out. It is like putting Hong Kong on probation, she said. The review of the extradition measures came just days after the U.K. backtracked on plans to give Chinese telecommunications company Huawei a role in the UKs 5G mobile phone network amid security concerns. The U.K. has previously accused the Beijing government of a serious breach of the 1984 Sino-British Joint Declaration governing the handover, under which Beijing promised Hong Kong would retain its traditional freedoms and a high degree of autonomy under its "one country, two systems" pledge. Reported by Fong Tak-ho and Wu Hoi-man for RFA's Cantonese Service, and by Cai Ling for the Mandarin Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Spains King Felipe VI on Thursday presided over an official state tribute to the victims of the Covid-19 pandemic and essential workers on the frontline of the crisis. During the ceremony, held in the Plaza de la Armeria of Madrids Royal Palace, the monarch praised the Spanish peoples spirit of resistance and unity during the epidemic, which has left an official death toll of 28,413 victims in Spain. It has been very, very difficult, said King Felipe. Many people were alone, many others suffering from the disease [...] and adding to this situation have been the logical feelings of fear, concern about work, fatigue and uncertainty. And yet, in these months, our society has provided a lesson of immense courage. Spain has shown its best spirit. With the passing of time, we will remember that we were an example of civic responsibility, maturity, resistance and commitment to others. King Felipe VI during his speech at the tribute in Madrids Royal Palace. Mariscal (EFE) This, he added, showed that the Spanish people would put all their effort and ability into looking toward the future with confidence and hope, from a position of respect and mutual understanding. Felipes speech brought an end to the ceremony, which was attended by more than 400 people, including all the members of government, the leaders of the top state institutions, and every one of Spains 17 regional premiers, an occurrence that has not been seen for years. There were also family members of the victims and representatives of a long list of social collectives and professionals who worked throughout the lockdown, from healthcare workers and members of the military, to supermarket cashiers, cleaners and security guards. NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg, World Health Organization (WHO) chief Tedros Adanom Ghebreyesus and the president of the European Commission, Ursula von der Leyen, were among the international leaders who also attended the event. The ceremonys stark setting rows of chairs in concentric circles in an immense stone-floored square took away from the emotional impact of the tribute, but it was given a more human touch by Hernando Calleja, the brother of journalist Jose Maria Calleja, who died from Covid-19 in April, and Ana Lopez, a supervising nurse at the emergency ward of the Vall dHebron hospital in Barcelona. Members of government arrive at the ceremony on Thursday. JuanJo Martin (EFE) After naming some of the more well-known victims of the pandemic including actress Lucia Bose, former minister Enrique Mugica, writer Luis Sepulveda Calleja paid homage to the thousands of anonymous victims, saying the best tribute to them would be to maintain their memory and build a country that they would have wanted to share. Lopez, meanwhile, thanked the Spanish people for coming out to their balconies and windows every night during the coronavirus lockdown to applaud for essential workers such as healthcare workers. After the ceremony, Spanish Deputy Prime Minister Carmen Calvo praised the spirit of unity, while Catalan premier Quim Torra said: It has been a tremendous tragedy and I believe acts like these, in which we can say goodbye to the people who died, help us with the collective condolence that we need so much. In the nearby Oriente square, around 20 people, some waving Spanish flags, cheered King Felipe and yelled insults at the prime minister and Unidas Podemos leader and deputy prime minister Pablo Iglesias when they left the palace. English version by Melissa Kitson. The Midland Health Department reported a new single-day high for coronavirus cases Tuesday. The 82 new confirmed cases pushed the total to 903 in July and 1,604 during the pandemic. In the same report, the health department showed 630 recoveries, 29 deaths and 945 active cases. Other standards topped Tuesday included 400 confirmed cases for those in a single age range. There are 411 cases involving those 20-29 (the most of any age range). There were more than 700 cases in which the source of exposure was community transmission. The 742 cases were 135 more than those whose source of exposures was contact to a known case. Lastly, the numbers show that Midland County residents can expect the number of cases to top 1,000 this week, especially if the 43-case-a-day average holds true. Heading into June, there were 701 cases inside Midland County. That was an increase compared to the end of May when there were 129 positive cases reported. Health department officials reported Monday there were more cases from the weekend and Monday 135 -- than during the first 2 months of the pandemic in Midland County. Cases Tuesday: 82 Total cases 1,604 Total tests: 9,129 Gender Monday Tuesday Male 728 767 Female 794 837 Age range Monday Tuesday 0-19 168 176 20-29 392 411 30-39 353 367 40-49 225 234 50-59 170 180 60-69 113 124 70-79 56 65 80-plus 45 47 Patient status Monday Tuesday Home isolation836 857 Recovered 578 630 Death 28 29 Hospital 28 35 Under investigation 40 40 Unable to locate/refused 9 9 Nursing rehab3 4 Source of exposure Monday Tuesday Community transmission 683 742 Contact to a known case 587 607 Travel-related 199 201 Under investigation 44 45 Unable to locate/refused 9 9 Source: Midland Health Department A Russian tycoon who bought former Rangers owner Craig Whyte's Highland castle has admitted carrying out an 8 million fraud. Sergey Fedotov organised a massive embezzlement while he was head of the Russian Authors' Society, which collects royalty payments on behalf of writers, a court was told. He formed a scheme to transfer authors' payments totalling 8.4 million into accounts controlled by him and then withdrew the money. The 43-year-old businessman hit headlines in 2014 when he purchased Castle Grant, which he still owns, near Grantown-on-Spey in Moray for 1 million. There is no suggestion it was bought with money embezzled in this fraud. Sergey Fedotov organised a massive embezzlement while he was head of the Russian Authors' Society, which collects royalty payments on behalf of writers, a court was told Fedotov has already served a prison sentence for a 3.6 million property fraud which he committed while running the organisation. He then pleaded guilty to the latest fraud during a hearing at Moscow's Presnensky District Court last week. He has been held in custody since his arrest in December, 2018, following a raid by police in Moscow. The court heard Fedotov created and headed an organised crime group in 2011, whose members looked for authors who sold the rights to their unpopular works for a small fee. False information was provided about the repeated reproduction of these works on radio, television and in public places. This resulted in royalty payments being transferred to bank accounts under Fedotov's control and stolen. No date for Fedotov's sentencing has yet been set. In June 2017, he admitted fraud during a hearing at Moscow's Meshchansky Court and was jailed for 18 months. However he was released on parole after serving just six months. The 43-year-old businessman hit headlines in 2014 when he purchased Castle Grant, which he still owns, near Grantown-on-Spey in Moray for 1 million Prosecutors told the court that Fedotov deliberately misled the society's board, encouraging them to transfer properties held by them to a private company. The company then sold the property to third parties, leaving the organisation out of pocket to the sum of 3.6 million. The Russian Authors' Society is a non-governmental organisation created in 1993 for collective management of author's rights and has more than 25,000 members. Fedotov bought Castle Grant, a 16-century A-listed pile, in 2014 after it was repossessed from Whyte when he failed to keep up with mortgage payments. He spent thousands of pounds refurbishing the property after it fell into disrepair during Whyte's ownership. He installed modern en-suite bathrooms and a fitted kitchen and one of the rooms features a tartan carpet. The grand property, which is set in 35 acres of grounds, also boasts a ballroom, drawing room and billiard room. Fedotov put it up for sale for offers over 850,000 in 2018 but it has since been taken off the market. Craig Whyte bought Castle Grant for 720,000 in 2006 but fell into arrears with the 7,000-a-month mortgage Russian police started investigating Fedotov in 2015 after concerns were raised about where he got the funds to buy the castle and other properties in the south of England. Fedotov has previously insisted that Castle Grant was bought lawfully and said the purchase was modest as the castle was only worth the price of a small apartment in Moscow. He said: 'That castle in Scotland I have, I acknowledge. 'But this property is irrelevant. The cost corresponds to the cost of a two-bedroom apartment in the centre of Moscow.' Whyte bought Castle Grant for 720,000 in 2006 but fell into arrears with the 7,000-a-month mortgage. The Bank of Scotland took legal action to recover it after his Ibrox reign ended. In 2018, he was cleared of charges related to his takeover of the club. The UK's Supreme Court will this week rule on a key employment rights case. Photo: Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP The UKs Supreme Court on Tuesday will begin hearing an appeal brought by Uber (UBER) against an employment tribunal decision that found that the ride-hailing firms drivers are workers and not independent contractors. The landmark case, which is expected to last just two days before a ruling is handed down, will have significant ramifications for the rights of millions of workers in the so-called gig economy, most of whom are not entitled to traditional employment protections. The appeal follows a 2016 ruling at an employment tribunal that determined that a group of 19 Uber workers were actually employed by Uber, and not working for themselves. Uber drivers are entitled to the minimum wage, paid holidays, and rest breaks, the tribunal found. The original case was brought by two Uber drivers, James Farrar and Yaseen Aslam, on behalf of the group. READ MORE: UK incomes suffer biggest drop in half a century The ride-hailing firm subsequently lost two successive appeals at both the Employment Appeal Tribunal and the Court of Appeal, before being granted the right to appeal to the Supreme Court. Judges at the Court of Appeal found that there was a high degree of fiction in the standard contract that Uber signs with its drivers, which supposes that they are self-employed contractors who do not accrue many employment rights. The court is expected to rule in the case on Wednesday. Its decision will be closely watched by the companys 60,000 drivers in the UK, as well as the estimated five million workers who earn their living from insecure contract work. The case has the potential to upend the fundamental tenet of the gig-economys business model, which depends on flexible arrangements with workers, many of whom have other sources of income. Uber believes that it should be treated more like an agency that connects passengers with drivers, and not as a firm that employs drivers. READ MORE: EU agrees on 'historic' 750bn recovery package Story continues Lower courts have simply misunderstood this relationship, Uber believes. The ride-hailing firm notes that most taxi and private-hire drivers are self-employed, an arrangement that existed years before Uber arrived on the scene. In March, Francess Supreme Court equivalent found in favour of an Uber driver who wanted to be recognised as a full driver, paving the way for other drivers to be classified similarly. In California, a judge could in August issue an injunction against Uber unless it decides to reclassify its workers as employees. The California Public Utilities Commission last month ruled that drivers with Uber and rival ride-hailing firm Lyft were employees under a new law that categorises many independent contractors as employees. The Bloomsburg Fair has responded to criticism about photos on its Facebook page that showed a person impersonating Pa. Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine while in a dunk tank, according to the Times Leader. The statement provided by the fair includes the frequent misspelling of Levines name. It also does not include an apology but says the dunk tank was not a commentary on Dr. Lavines transgender identity. According to the Times Leader, the dunk tank was at a firemans relief carnival held Saturday at the fairgrounds. The Facebook post, which has since been removed, showed photos of a person in a flowered dress and wearing a blond wig sitting in the dunk tank. The caption read: Dr. Levine? Thank you, you were a hit and raised a lot of money for the local fire companies. Wonder why so many were trying to dunk you. As the images circulated on social media, the fair was sharply criticized and accused of transphobia. Some comments demanded apologies for Levine and the LGBTQ+ community. Pennsylvania State Rep. Brian Sims, a graduate of Bloomsburg University, made the following statement: Sen. Bob Casey last night Tweeted that Levine is owed an apology. Dr. Levine is an honorable public servant whose tireless work to keep PA safe and healthy has saved countless lives. She is owed an apology. https://t.co/VMzwuDn6Ue Senator Bob Casey (@SenBobCasey) July 21, 2020 The full statement from the Bloomsburg Fair, according to the Times Leader, says this: On behalf of the Bloomsburg Fair, we are responding to a series of inquiries and comments regarding using the likeness of an individual dressed as Dr. Rachel Lavine in a dunk tank at the Columbia Montour County Firemans Relief Carnival. The sole purpose of the dunk tank, which was operated by the Bloomsburg Fair, was to utilize the likeness of a public figure in an effort to raise monies for local fire companies. The fundraising activities of such organizations have been greatly impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and the governmental restrictions which have been imposed, accordingly, our intention was simply an effort to raise money to assist these organizations. At no time was it the intention of Bloomsburg Fair, anyone affiliated with the Fair, including any sponsors of the carnival, to knowingly utilize the likeness of Dr. Lavine in a dunk tank as any form of commentary on Dr. Lavines transgender identity. The Bloomsburg Fair and the sponsors of the event do not endorse any comments which arose subsequent to the event which disparage Dr. Lavines transgender identity or any other discriminatory comments. Levine, a transgender woman, has been at the forefront of Pennsylvanias coronavirus response as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health under Gov. Tom Wolf. This has led to her being targeted by critics of the states shutdowns and health mandates, criticism often accompanied by attacks on Levines identity. 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. Defence secretary reviews US global military footprint with an eye to competing more effectively with China and Russia. The Pentagon is considering adjustments to its military presence in South Korea and around the globe as it shifts from years of countering insurgencies and armed groups in the greater Middle East to focusing on China, the defence secretary, Mark Esper, said on Tuesday. Esper said he has issued no order to withdraw from South Korea. Without discussing specifics, Esper said he favours more emphasis on rotational deployments, as opposed to permanent stationing, of American troops because it gives us, the United States, greater strategic flexibility in terms of responding to challenges around the globe. The US has about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a bulwark against North Korea, but the US-South Korea treaty is under great strain, mainly because of the Trump administrations demand that Seoul vastly increase the amount it pays for the US presence. Negotiations led on the US side by the State Department have been at an impasse for months. The Pentagon said Esper spoke by phone on Monday with his South Korean counterpart to discuss the payment issue and other matters, including the deadlocked US effort to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons. It gave no details. President Donald Trump has questioned the value of stationing US troops in South Korea and elsewhere in the world, saying Seoul and other host governments must pay more of the cost. In his remarks in a webinar hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Esper said that since taking office a year ago he has sought to review the global US military footprint with an eye to competing more effectively with China and Russia. That has included looking for ways to bring more US troops home so that they can train more directly for missions related to potential conflict in the Asia-Pacific region. Esper said he hopes to visit China this year to enhance cooperation on areas of common interest, improve crisis communications systems, and reinforce our intentions to openly compete in the international system in which we all belong. Earlier this month Esper approved the withdrawal of 9,500 troops from Germany, although he has yet to publicly disclose how many of those will be brought home and how many will be shifted to other parts of Europe or elsewhere. He also has reviewed the US presence in Africa. We will continue to look at adjustments in every command we have, in every theatre, to make sure we are optimising our forces, Esper said in Tuesdays webinar. The US military presence in South Korea dates to the 1950-53 Korean War in which American forces fought in support of the South after North Korean troops invaded and were later supported by Chinese troops. (Newser) One of Ohio's "three most powerful lawmakers" was arrested Tuesday in a raid of his rural Glenford farm, reports NBC News. House Speaker Larry Householder was taken into custody as part of a $60 million bribery investigation, as were adviser Jeffrey Longstreth, former Ohio GOP chair Matthew Borges, and high-profile lobbyists Neil Clark and Juan Cespedes. The AP reports Householder, a Republican, was a "driving force" behind the $1 billion bailout of the state's two nuclear power plants, which was funded in part by adding a new fee to all electricity bills. Previous attempts to bail out the nuclear plants had stalled in the Legislature before Householder became speaker. Months after taking over in 2016, he rolled out a new plan to subsidize the plants and eliminate renewable energy incentives. story continues below The proposal was approved a year ago despite opposition from many business leaders and the manufacturing industry. Generation Now, a group that successfully fought an effort to put a repeal of the bailout law on Ohios ballot, was charged as a corporation in the case. A criminal complaint filed by the FBI says Generation Now received $60 million from an unidentified company over the past three years. In exchange, Householder and the other defendants worked to pass the nuclear plant bailout and block attempts to overturn it. Householder and the others used the money to preserve and expand his political power in Ohio, the complaint said. US Attorney David DeVillers described the ploy as likely the largest bribery scheme ever perpetrated against the state of Ohio. (The AP has more here.) Representative image Real estate non-broking consultancy firm The Guardians Real Estate Advisory has bought a 7,500 square feet office at ONE BKC, one of the prime commercial buildings at the Bandra-Kurla Complex in Mumbai, for Rs 30 crore. The deal culminated at a price of Rs 40,000 per sq ft, the company said. The office has been purchased in Tower C of the building and it plans to turn it into their head office. The firm is currently based out of another marquee project in BKC called The Capital from where it plans to shift out in the month of September. The purchase has been made to reduce the recurring cost of the lease and comes at the back of the firm announcing record sales of Rs 318 crore on Akshaya Tritiya, during the lockdown, the company said in a statement. The firm plans to close the purchase with internal funds and has already made a substantially large down payment. Around 70 percent of the payment for the property has been made and we plan to shift during the auspicious days of Navratri this year, said Kaushal Agarwal, chairman, The Guardians Real Estate Advisory. The response at our mandated projects post the lockdown gave us the confidence to proceed with the purchase, he said. ONE BKC is among the most sought-after commercial projects in BKC. The building has noteworthy clients like Bank of America, Facebook, Merril Lynch, Cisco, Amazon and also Brett Lees F45 Gymnasium and Fitness Studio. Recently, Canadian investment fund Brookfield Asset Management won the bid to acquire two floors of office space in Mumbai's business district of BKC from the grounded Jet Airways recently for Rs 490 crore, a price which is roughly 25 percent lower than the market price. JLL India had facilitated the sale of IDBI Towers spread across 3 lakh sq ft to Securities Exchange Board of India in the third quarter of 2018 that had fetched over Rs 900 crore at Rs 30,000 per sq ft. The Citigroup Centre office spread across 1,30,000 sq ft had fetched over Rs 400 crore at a capital value of Rs 36,500 per sq ft in the third quarter of 2019. Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) initiated BKC in the 1970s to decongest the existing office hubs like CBD in the city. Initially, oil companies, consulates and banks occupied this district. In 2010, the Bharat Diamond Bourse (BDB), the worlds largest diamond bourse started operations to facilitate diamond traders in India. This attracted many other related companies to BKC to start operations in this area. A few iconic buildings One BKC, The Capital, Maker Maxity, Godrej BKC, TCG Financial Centre, Platina and FIFC Tower were developed in the last decade. BKC houses large corporates primarily from non-IT categories such as Banks, Insurance companies and other government institutions. The growth driver for this area has been large industries and high-quality office buildings followed by better connectivity infrastructure. The average rent for the business district is in the range of Rs 275 to Rs 350 psft pm. With no addition to the supply in the second quarter of 2020, the BKC sub-market stock stood at 9.8 million sq ft. The vacancy rate of BKC is the lowest in Mumbai which is below 5 percent. European vessels laying the pipeline halted work in December following the first round of U.S. sanctions targeting their efforts to help Russia. The U.S. House of Representatives has approved an amendment that would impose new sanctions on companies assisting Russia in completing a controversial gas pipeline to the European Union bypassing Ukraine. Legislation is yet to be approved by the Senate and signed by President Donald Trump before new sanctions are enforced, according to RFE/RL. European vessels laying the pipeline halted work in December following the first round of U.S. sanctions targeting their efforts to help Russia build a pipe that would effectively absolve Ukraine of its gas transit country status and strip the country of billions of dollars in annual fees in this regard. Russia is hoping to complete the project using own pipe-laying vessels, prompting the United States to widen the sanctions beyond vessels to any company. The nearly $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would have an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters a year, is more than 90 percent built. Read alsoU.S. Department of State prepares sanctions against companies investing in Nord Stream 2 Pompeo The United States opposes the project on the grounds that it strengthens the Kremlin's grip on the European energy market and punishes Ukraine, which is battling Russian-controlled forces in its eastern region of Donbas. "Russia is trying to develop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to exert undue control on our European allies and their energy supplies. We must stop [President Vladimir] Putin's hostile influence strategy," Representative Steve Womack said in a tweet after the vote. Russia has accused the United States of using sanctions as a weapon to boost its energy exports. The United States is seeking to increase liquefied-natural-gas exports to Europe. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned companies last week against helping Russia finish the pipeline, is scheduled to travel to Denmark this week. The portion of the pipeline that remains to be built lies in Denmark's economic waters. In the wake of rising coronavirus cases, many state governments and union territories have decided to reimpose lockdown in several districts and cities. India's COVID-19 caseload surged to 11.55 lakh on Tuesday. The country has seen a surge of more than 5 lakh coronavirus cases from July 1 to date. State governments have opted for 'lockdown' as a strategy to contain the spread of the virus. Some states have opted for a weekend or bi-weekly lockdown, while others have extended the lockdown for weeks. Here's a list of the states that extended lockdown or put in strict restrictions: 1.ARUNACHAL PRADESH The Arunachal Pradesh government has extended the ongoing lockdown in the Itanagar Capital Region (ICR) till August 3. During the lockdown, the movement of people and vehicles will not be allowed. However, essential services will be allowed during the period. 2.WEST BENGAL West Bengal government has announced complete lockdown across the state for two days every week in the wake of a spike in coronavirus cases in the state. This week, the state government declared full lockdown on July 23 and July 25. Next week, the shutdown will be clamped on July 29. However, the state-wide lockdown in containment zones will continue till July 31 3. SIKKIM A complete lockdown will be enforced in Sikkim from July 21 to July 27. During this lockdown, all government offices, commercial establishments, institutions, factories, markets will remain closed. However, shops dealing with medicines, dairy products, and other essential items will remain open. 4.KERALA Kerala's capital Thiruvananthapuram will stay under a strict lockdown up to midnight of July 28. Thiruvananthapuram's District Disaster Management Authority (DDMA) has allowed the construction activities, essential services, and reopening of government offices with 30 per cent staff. 5. UTTAR PRADESH The Uttar Pradesh government has imposed lockdown in four areas of capital Lucknow--Ghazipur, SarojniNagar, Indira Nagar, and Ashiyana until July 24, 10 pm. Amid the lockdown, services of railways and transport corporations will continue in these areas as before. Expressway, major bridges, construction projects will continue to operate. 6. GOA Goa government extended the lockdown at the Mormugua Taluka on July 24. 7. MAHARASHTRA In Maharashtra, lockdown is extended till July 31. The state government has restricted inter-district travel. However, the lockdown will not be extended in Pune beyond July 23 8. ANDHRA PRADESH Lockdown has been imposed in Srikakulam district in Andhra Pradesh for 14 days. The lockdown will continue till July 31. Only dairy, vegetables, and medicine shops will remain open from 6 am to 1 pm, according to state government's order. 9. CHHATTISGARH A seven-day long lockdown will be reimposed in Raipur and Birgaon Municipal corporation from July 22. The lockdown will stay effective until July 28. 10. KARNATAKA The lockdown imposed in Kalaburagi district has been extended till the midnight of July 27. 11.JAMMU A weekend lockdown has been imposed in Jammu from July 24. According to a notice by the District's Disaster Management Authority (DDMA), Section 144 of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC) would be enforced in Jammu from 6 pm on Friday and Monday from July 24. Also read: Delhi rains: Heavy showers bring respite to Delhiites; IMD predicts more rainfall in next 24 hours Also read: Every fifth person in Delhi already had a brush with COVID-19: Study HIGH POINT The death of a monk at a Buddhist temple on Saturday is being investigated as a homicide, police said in a news release. Officers responded to a Buddhist temple 605 S. Scientific St. at about 7:40 p.m. to assist EMS on scene performing CPR on Tam Dinh Tran, 50, a Buddhist monk serving the temple, police said. Another monk, Vu Ta, found Tran kneeling at the altar in a praying position with blood coming from his nose and called 911, police reported. Tran had a traumatic injury to his right side that was first thought to be a puncture wound but later discovered to be a gunshot wound, police said. Tran was pronounced dead at the scene, according to police. Other than a single wound to his side, Tran had no other injuries and there were no initial signs of violence in the temple, police said. Officers treated the death as a homicide and searched the temple, locating two bullet holes in an exterior wall, police said. The bullets appeared to have been fired from or near the roadway on Scientific Street, according to the release. WASHINGTON - Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., came under fire Tuesday from the far-right flank of the House Republican caucus, who accused her of disloyalty to President Donald Trump and a GOP incumbent, prompting calls for a challenge to her leadership position. Cheney, the chairman of the House Republican Conference, stood her ground and fired back at the conservative agitators, countering that they lacked loyalty to Trump and to fellow Republicans. The unusually sharp clash occurred in the first in-person meeting of the House Republican Conference since the coronavirus pandemic shut down such large gatherings more than four months ago. "Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda. House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair. Liz Cheney should step down or be removed," Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., wrote on Twitter late Tuesday morning. Cheney, speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, said she was "honored to serve as House Republican Conference chair" and the people of Wyoming. She said she takes her "position in leadership very seriously" while defending "a healthy exchange of views." Cheney holds the No. 3 post in GOP leadership, and, after having turned down a chance to run for an open Senate seat, she had been viewed as someone who wanted to rise into one of the top two posts. She's been discussed as possibly the first female Republican speaker, a position that her father, Richard B. Cheney, had once aspired to when he was in the House, until he became secretary of Defense in 1989. In recent weeks Liz Cheney has been openly critical of several Trump foreign policy decisions, taking a traditional military hawk position that her father embodied as George W. Bush's vice president. She also has defended Anthony Fauci, the nation's leading infectious-disease expert, after some in Trump's inner circle launched broadsides against his prescriptions for how to handle the epidemic. On other issues, however, Cheney has consistently backed Trump's policies while being highly critical of Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden. The president's son, Don Trump Jr., joined Gaetz in calling for her ouster, comparing her to Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, for his vote to convict Trump during the impeachment trial. Cheney pointed out that Trump Jr. is not a member of Congress. In Tuesday's closed-door session, Gaetz had helped start the rebellion when he used the open-microphone portion of the GOP meeting to accuse Cheney of not supporting Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., in his primary. Massie had angered Republicans, including Trump, and Democrats by using a parliamentary maneuver to force a majority of the House to convene in late March to approve the more than $2 trillion Cares Act. House leaders wanted to pass the legislation by voice vote with just a few lawmakers on hand because it was deemed unsafe to have several hundred lawmakers travel back to the District of Columbia and gather in person to vote. Cheney later recanted her endorsement of Massie's opponent once his racist and anti-Semitic writings were discovered. "Your problem is with the president, not me," Cheney shot back to Massie, according to a Republican who participated in the meeting but requested anonymity to talk about the sensitive meeting. Several other Republicans joined in the criticism, most notably Rep. Jim Jordan, R-Ohio, a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, the group of several dozen of the most conservative lawmakers who promote themselves as Trump's loyal foot soldiers in Congress. Jordan, who has ambitions to join leadership, credited Cheney with a strong defense during Trump's impeachment but listed a series of actions that he considered not being a "team player." "We've got to be supportive of the president," Jordan said, according to several Republicans in the room. Cheney replied with a cutting remark that, to those in the room, was a jab at how he had spent eight years undermining John A. Boehner, R-Ohio, and Paul Ryan, R-Wis., when they were House speakers and the GOP held the majority. "Jim, I look forward to hearing your comments about being a team player when we're back in the majority," she said, according to a GOP participant in the meeting. Ric Orlando throwing Puerto Rican party in Coxsackie The chef Ric Orlando, who left New World Bistro Bar in Albany last month, will host an event called Rics Puerto Rican Party from 6 to 10 p.m. Friday and Saturday, July 31 and Aug. 1, at the Lower Landing event space in Coxsackie. The price is $60 per person ($20 advance deposit, $40 at the event, plus tax, tip and beverage). Limited to 40 people per night, with indoor and outdoor seating available. Details, reservations via facebook.com/downtowncoxsackie. The menu will include bacalaitos, tostones, empanadillos de pollo, pernil of pork, arroz y dandules, flan and more. Lower Landing is at 7 Mansion St. Caribbean restaurant opens in Hamilton Hill Franks Caribbean Fire Grill opened earlier this month at 905 Albany St. in the Hamilton Hill neighborhood of Schenectady. The large menu offers many staples from the cuisine of chef-owner Frank Browns native Jamaica, including jerk chicken, pork and fish; brown chicken; curry chicken, goat and fish; tripe and beans; whole snapper; saltfish with ackee or callaloo; patties and more. The restaurant is open 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. daily. Call 518-901-0016. Online ordering is forthcoming, according to the restaurants website, franksfiregrill.com. Pizza pop-up at Katchkie Farm in Kinderhook Starting this week, Katchkie Farm in Kinderhook will host a pop-up for wood-fired pizzas Berkshires-based by Hilltown Hot Pies from 4 to 8 p.m. Thursday to Sunday, through Sept. 20. There typically will be seven, 12-inch pies available weekly, all cooked in a wood-fired oven and incorporating vegetables from Katchkies 60-acre organic farm. Pies costs $14 to $17, and a small selection of soft drinks is available. Customers may also use the order form to add a donation of The Sylvia Center, an educational component of the farm, or a $20 box of Katchkies produce. Orders must be placed online, via hilltownhotpies.com, by 4 p.m. on the day of pickup. Takeout is preferred, although there is a socially distanced picnic area. The farm is at 745 Fischer Road. Brady Duhame takes over Sperry's kitchen Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. The chef Brady Duhame is back in his Saratoga Springs stomping grounds, this time as executive chef of Sperrys Restaurant, open since 1932. Duhame, who started at Sperrys last week, is introducing an American brasserie menu this week, with a more formal dinner menu launching in a couple of weeks, he said. Located at 30 Caroline St., Sperrys is open for lunch and dinner Wednesday to Sunday, closed Monday and Tuesday. Call 518-584-9618. Duhame most recently was head chef of Karma Bistro in Niskayuna for a few months earlier this year. Before that he was head chef at 15 Church in Saratoga for three years, was director of culinary operations for Saratoga Hospitality Group (Max Londons, Saratoga Stadium) in 2017 and later ran his own contemporary-Asian concept called Buddha Noodle as a pop-up. Compiled by Steve Barnes. Items to be submitted for publication should be emailed to sbarnes@timesunion.com. Visit his blog, blog.timesunion.com/tablehopping. The House passed legislation today that would force President Donald Trump to slap sanctions on Turkey over its purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system. House lawmakers unanimously adopted the bipartisan amendment, introduced by Reps. Adam Kinzinger, R-Ill., and Abigail Spanberger, D-Va., as part of the annual defense authorization bill, which passed 295-125 today. Turkey ignored warnings from NATO members about this arms deal with Russia and accepted their first installment of the Russian-made S-400 missile defense system, Kinzinger said in a statement upon introducing the legislation last week. We need to make it very clear that their actions will not be tolerated and will be met with serious consequences. Our legislation does that and makes the actions by Turkey an explicitly sanctionable offense. Why it matters: Turkey tested the powerful S-400 radar on US fighter jets last year, stoking fears that Russia could spy on American military hardware. The Trump administration has refused to place legally mandated sanctions on Turkey over the S-400 missiles despite pressure to do so from some of the presidents closest Republican allies in Congress. The 2017 Countering Americas Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) mandates penalties on any country that engages in a significant transaction with the Russian defense sector. The administration must impose the sanctions required by law in response to Turkeys acquisition of the S-400, unless and until Turkey takes the steps outlined in this bill to repair the damage this purchase has caused, said Rep. Mike McCaul of Texas, the top Republican on the Foreign Affairs Committee, who helped draft the Kinzinger amendment. The Kinzinger amendment reiterates that Turkeys multibillion-dollar S-400 purchase qualifies as a significant transaction under CAATSA and requires the president to sanction Ankara within a month after the defense bill becomes law. However, it also provides Turkey with an off-ramp by authorizing the president to remove the CAATSA sanctions if Ankara gets rid of the S-400 system. Turkey had originally planned to activate the S-400 system in April but has not yet done so, citing the coronavirus pandemic for the delay. Whats next: Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman James Risch, R-Idaho, has introduced a similar amendment to the defense bill in the upper chamber. It remains unclear whether the Senate will add the Turkey sanctions amendment to its version of the bill, but the strong bipartisan support improves the odds that the language will survive compromise negotiations between the two chambers. Know more: A bipartisan group of senators has also berated the Pentagon for its failure to fully sever F-35 fighter jet ties with Turkey over the S-400 issue, Bryant Harris reports. Additionally, Nilsu Goren and Dalia Dassa Kaye lay out a path forward for the United States and Turkey. President Donald Trump thinks the prosecutor who charged a Missouri couple with unlawful weapon use for pulling guns on protesters outside their home is abusing her power, White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said on Tuesday. Trump told McEnany that 'it is absolutely absurd what is happening to the McCloskeys,' referring to the St. Louis couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, and that 'this is an extreme abuse of power by the prosecutor,' she said. 'He noted that this is an extreme abuse of power by the prosecutor and noteworthy that there have been many cases brought to her attention of violent rioters that she's failed to charge and instead she's charging the individuals who are defending themselves from violent protesters,' she said. The couple pointed guns at Black Lives Matter protesters and were charged Monday with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during the racial injustice protest June 28. McCloskey accused St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner of siding with 'criminals' in an appearance on on Fox News Monday night. The white couple have claimed the protesters were trespassing on private property. Missouri attorney general Eric Schmitt, a Republican, told The St Louis Post-Dispatch he wants the charges dropped because of 'the chilling effect' a conviction could have on the right for people to bear arms. Defending his decision to weigh in he said: 'There is a common law interest if the attorney general feels that the broader interest of Missourians are affected, like the chilling effect that this might have with people exercising their Second Amendment rights.' Position: Kayleigh McEnany said that Trump had told her felony gun charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey were 'extreme' and 'egregious' abuse of power by the St. Louis prosecutor Mark and Patricia McCloskey (pictured) have claimed the protesters, who were marching in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, were trespassing on private property Mark and Patricia McCloskey (pictured) have claimed the protesters, who were marching in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, were trespassing on private property Mark McCloskey (pictured on Fox News Monday night) accused St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner of siding with 'criminals,' after he and his wife were charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest June 28 At the White House press briefing Tuesday McEnany offered as fact McCloskey's account of what happened. 'You have 300 to 500 protesters who stormed the gates, tore down the gates, and trespassed on their property,' she claimed. One protest leader claimed the gate was open when they arrived. 'You have Patricia McCloskey who said that they were telling her that they were going to kill them, these protesters, at the moment they were waving their guns to protect themselves,' she went on. Video footage of the confrontation does not record any threats to kill. 'They were going to come in here, she said, they were going to burn down the house, they were going to be living in our house after I was dead and they were pointing to different rooms in the house saying that's going to be my bedroom, that's going to be my living room and I'm going to take a shower in that room,' McEnany said. Patricia McCloskey's account has been challenged by demonstrators. McEnany concluded: 'So they were completely with in their right and it's an egregious abuse of power on the part of the McCloskeys.' She apparently meant the prosecutor. McEnany left before she could take more questions. Her claims echo those of Mark McCloskey during a Fox News appearance Monday night. 'The circuit attorney has apparently decided that her job as a prosecutor isn't to keep us safe from criminals but to help keep criminals safe from us,' McCloskey said on Tucker Carlson Tonight. Gardner, who announced the charges to the Associated Press Monday, said it is 'illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner - that is unlawful in the city of St. Louis.' She is recommending a diversion program such as community service rather than jail time if the McCloskeys are convicted. Typically, class E felonies could result in up to four years in prison. Gardner, a Democrat, declined to answer when asked why Missouri's 'Castle Doctrine', which allows homeowners to defend their intruders, did not apply to the McCloskeys. The prosecutor's move was called 'outrageous' by Missouri Governor Mike Parson, a Republican, who co-authored the doctrine law while in the state Legislature. As the governor mentioned his displeasure with the prosecutor in a tweet Monday, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt, a Republican, had already moved to take legal action to dismiss the decision. Schmitt, who revealed to Fox News that he had filed a brief Monday to throw out Gardner's decision, told the cable news network that 'the right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine.' The state attorney general said in a statement to Fox News that the doctrine law, 'provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm'. 'Despite this, Circuit Attorney Gardner filed suit against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety. As Missouri's Chief law enforcement officer, I won't stand by while Missouri law is being ignored,' Schmitt said in the brief, which requests an immediate dismissal. But that decision has sparked concern among some lawmakers. Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, a Democrat, said: 'The eagerness with which the governor and Attorney General Schmitt attacked Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner for standing up for her constituents First Amendment rights is alarming.' Former federal prosecutor Rich Finneran said: 'Yet again, he has put his partisan political agenda before the judicial process.' As Parson tweeted his disapproval over Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner's decision to prosecute Mark and Patricia McCloskey, State Attorney General Eric Schmitt (right) was already taking legal steps to have the move dismissed The prosecutor's move was called 'outrageous' by Missouri Governor Mike Parson in a tweet he wrote Monday An attorney for the McCloskeys, Joel Schwartz, in a statement called the decision to charge the couple 'disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed.' Supporters of the McCloskeys, both personal injury lawyers in their 60s, have agreed the couple were legally defending their $1.15 million home. Protesters have challenged many of their claims. Photos and video footage emerged from the incident, generating memes on both sides of the gun debate. Around 300 protesters made their way into the closed-off community and marched in front of the property. The couple said they were defending their home St. Louis, like many cities across the country, has seen demonstrations in the weeks since George Floyd's police-related death in Minneapolis on Memorial Day. The McCloskeys' neighborhood ended up getting caught up in one of the demonstrations as marchers passed through on June 28. Several hundred people at the time were marching to the home of Democratic Mayor Lyda Krewson, a few blocks from the McCloskeys' home. Krewson had angered activists by reading on Facebook Live the names and addresses of some who had called for defunding police. The McCloskeys, who live on a private street called Portland Place, heard a loud commotion and say they saw a large group of people break an iron gate marked with 'No Trespassing' and 'Private Street' signs, according to a police report. A protest leader, the Rev. Darryl Gray, said the gate was open and that protesters didn't damage it. Video posted online showed Mark McCloskey wielding a long-barreled gun and Patricia McCloskey waving a small handgun. No shots were fired. On July 10 the McCloskeys' home was searched, and Mr McCloskey's AR-15 assault rifle was seized. Arrangements were also made to turn over the handgun wielded by Mrs McCloskey. In a separate interview with Fox News on Saturday, McCloskey expressed pride in his wife for her gun-wielding actions. 'I was always surprised to see her out there facing off [the] welfare crowd,' he said. 'I grabbed my rifle and I was standing up on the porch - and all of a sudden I see her in the front yard with our pistol in her hand. What a woman.' Trump spoke by phone with Parson last week to criticize Gardner's investigation. Parson also had said that the McCloskeys 'had every right to protect their property.' Mark McCloskey appeared on Fox News on Saturday to discuss the July 10 raid on his home and said about his wife, 'I was always surprised to see her out there facing off [the] welfare crowd' The couple's attorney Schwartz said the McCloskeys 'support the First Amendment right of every citizen to have their voice and opinion heard. This right, however, must be balanced with the Second Amendment and Missouri law, which entitle each of us to protect our home and family from potential threats.' Another attorney for the couple, Albert Watkins, has said they grabbed their guns when two or three white protesters threatened the couple, their property and that of their neighbors. Gardner, St. Louis' first Black circuit attorney, has been at odds with some in the St. Louis establishment since her election in 2016. Most notably, her office charged then-Gov. Eric Greitens with felony invasion of privacy in 2018 for allegedly taking a compromising photo of a woman during an extramarital affair. The charge was eventually dropped, but Greitens resigned in June 2018. A private investigator Gardner hired to investigate the claims against Greitens was later indicted for perjury for allegedly lying during a deposition. His case is pending. Gardner also has butted heads with police leaders, especially after she developed an 'exclusion list' of more than two dozen officers who were barred from serving as primary witnesses in criminal cases over what Gardner called credibility concerns. The move angered Police Chief John Hayden, who also is Black. In January, Gardner filed a federal lawsuit accusing the city, the police union and others of a coordinated and racist conspiracy aimed at forcing her out of office. The lawsuit also accused 'entrenched interests' of intentionally impeding her efforts to change racist practices. Several Black leaders in St. Louis have expressed support for Gardner, including Democratic U.S. Rep. William Lacy Clay, who has said protesters 'should never be subject to the threat of deadly force, whether by individuals or by the police.' The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has empathised with the acting Managing Director, Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), Kemebradikumo Pondei, following his collapse at the ongoing N40 billion probe. Mr Gbajabimila, who made a surprise appearance at the venue of the hearing on Monday in Abuja, also apologised for the poor ventilation in the hall. The parliamentarian said that he had instructed doctors at the National Assembly to see to Mr Pondeis speedy recovery. He said that documents submitted by the ailing acting managing director will be used to carry out further investigations. READ ALSO: The speaker, however, said that the investigation was about fact finding and that the facts must come out for the good of the Niger Delta people. He wished Mr Pondei, speedy recovery and empathised with members of his family and entire NDDC family. (NAN) A German man went on trial Tuesday for a Yom Kippur attack on a synagogue that is considered one of the worst anti-Semitic assaults in the country's post-war history. The trial comes at a time when anti-Semitic crimes have reached their highest level since Germany started tracking such crimes in 2001, amid an overall increase in right-wing extremist criminality. Stephan Balliet, 28, is alleged to have posted an anti-Semitic screed before carrying out the October 9 attack in the eastern German city of Halle. He broadcast the shooting live on a popular gaming site. The attacker tried but failed repeatedly to force his way into the synagogue as 52 worshippers were inside. Prosecutors allege he then shot and killed a 40-year-old woman in the street outside and a 20-year-old man at a nearby kebab shop as an appropriate target with immigrant roots. Balliet is charged with 13 crimes including murder and attempted murder, along with bodily harm, incitement and other charges. Forty-three victims and relatives have joined the trial as co-plaintiffs, as allowed under German law. The start of the Magdeburg state court trial was delayed for two hours due to the intense interest from dozens of national and international reporters and others who lined up for hours in front of the court building to get through security. The suspect, clad in all black, with a blue face mask and shaved head, was taken to the court room by special forces with bullet-proof vests and covered faces. Balliet was handcuffed and his feet were shackled, the German news agency dpa reported. Igor Matviyets, a member of Halle's Jewish community, who stood vigil with dozens of others outside the court building, said he worried the assault would be considered a crime against Jews only and not as an attack on the entire society. That is something I'm trying to fight against, Matviyets told The Associated Press. Because everyone could become a target of far-right crime, of far-right terrorists. Story continues During his attack, Balliet was armed with eight firearms, several explosive devices, a helmet and a protective vest, according to the indictment. Prosecutors have said the weapons were apparently homemade. Following the attack, the suspect fled the city, wounding another two people in a small town near Halle where he abandoned his car and stole a taxi. Balliet was arrested about 1 hours after the attack as he got out of the taxi, which had been in an accident. 'One of Germany's worst anti-Semitic attacks' The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Joseph Schuster, called the attack one of the worst anti-Semitic incidents of the last years in Germany. "The suffering of the people in the Halle synagogue on Yom Kippur remains inconceivable, Schuster said in a statement. It was a miracle that they could evade this massacre. As the suspect tried to break into the synagogue, terrified worshippers inside were able to watch him through a surveillance camera. Schuster demanded that the court looks into all aspects of the attack, and continues to investigate whether the suspect had any support from others. He lauded the German government for making the fight against far-right crimes one of its top priorities in recent months and said that while the sense of security among Jews in Germany had taken a hard hit after the attack, it was now almost back at the level before the attack, though additional security measures have partially led to restrictions in community life, dpa reported. German authorities vowed to step up measures against far-right extremism following the killing of a regional politician by a suspected neo-Nazi, the attack on the Halle synagogue and the fatal shooting of nine people of immigrant background in Hanau over the past year. A lawyer for the co-plaintiffs, Juri Goldstein, said the trial was also about trying to find out how somebody could develop so much hatred for people that he doesnt know at all. (AP) Arabtec Holding, a UAE-based contractor for social and economic infrastructure, said one of its units, Target Engineering Construction Company, has been awarded a SR200 million ($53.2 million) contract by Saudi Aramco for the replacement of five storage tanks at Ras Tanura Refinery in Eastern Province, Saudi Arabia. The scope of works includes the replacement of three naphtha storage tanks and two slop oil storage tanks, it stated. On the contract win, Arabtec Group CEO Wail Farsakh said: "We are delighted to be continuing to build our relationship with Saudi Aramco in the kingdom." "In line with our strategy, this important award further builds the groups presence in the oil and gas sector" he added.-TradeArabia News Service Mumbai, July 22 : Tempers have been flaring in the Hindi film industry lately on social media, and in a latest burst of obvious emotional rage, filmmaker Anubhav Sinha has tweeted to declare he is resigning from Bollywood. Sinha, who has garnered a lot of fame and adulation directing "Mulk", "Article 15" and "Thappad" in recent years, is known for his straightforward posts on social media. Never one to shy from even getting abusive occasionally, the filmmaker has not minced words to declare that he his calling it quits. "ENOUGH!!! I hereby resign from Bollywood. Whatever the fu*k that means," he wrote on his verified Twitter handle. For the records, he has even changed his Twitter profile from Anubhav Sinha to Anubhav Sinha (Not Bollywood). His official twitter identity, of course, remains the same -- @anubhavsinha Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra tweeted a reply: "What's Bollywood?I came 2be part of Cinema inspired by Satyajit Ray, Raj Kapoor, Guru Dutt, Ritwick Ghatak, Bimal Roy, Mrinal Sen, Hrishikesh Mukherjee, K Asif, Vijay Anand, Javed Akhtar, Tapan Sinha, Gulzar, Shekhar Kapur, Ketan Mehta, Bharatan n Aravindan etc. That's where I'll always be." Filmmaker Hansal Mehta responded: ""Chhor diya (left it)... It never existed in the first place." Most fans urged Sinha to continue filmmaking, even if it meant from outside Bollywood. "Resign from Bollywood but continue ur good work in Hindi Film Industry or just Film Industry," wrote a user. Others made light of his comment. "Sir ab Acting matt try kriyega.. Ijjat Nahi Krte log.. BTW, Wo Toh Director ki bhi nhi krte (Sir, don't try acting now.. no one will respect you.. By The Way, no one respects directors either)," tweeted a user. Most people, however, were urging Sinha not to seriously carry out his declaration. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text 21.07.2020 LISTEN Chairman of the National Peace Council, Rev. Prof Emmanuel Asante has advised the Minister of Special Development Initiatives, Mavis Hawa Koomson, who is also the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East (Kasoa) to resign for acting dishonourably by firing gunshots at a registration centre in her constituency. The minister admitted on Monday that she fired the warning shots that marred the voter registration exercise at Kasoa. She said she took a gun to the centre for personal protection in her attempt to stop the parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Phyllis Naa Koryoo, from busing aliens to the area to register. None of my men carried guns to the centre, she told Accra-based Adom FM, adding: I fired the warning shots myself. Im a Member of Parliament, I need to protect myself. It was at dawn; my police escort had not started work yet. So, that is the modus operandi I engaged in his absence, she said. There was confusion at the Step To Christ registration centre during the voter registration exercise on Monday, 20 July 2020, when heavily-muscled gun-wielding men stormed the premises to disrupt the exercise. Officials of the Electoral Commission took to their heels when the men, numbering about 15, ransacked the place. According to eyewitnesses, this led to a scuffle and pandemonium as the live bullets wrung into the air. At least, three motorbikes were burnt in the mayhem. Speaking in his personal capacity rather than for the National Peace Council, which he chairs, Prof Asante described the incident as very very very worrying. I saw this very late last night before I slept and really, I was disturbed about the whole thing, he told Benjamin Akakpo in an interview on Class91.3FMs Executive Breakfast Show on Tuesday, 21 July 2020. Why? For the simple reason that we have an honourable minister, an honourable member of parliament also, and I believe that shes also the NPPs parliamentary candidate for Awutu Senya East Constituency. We would expect that such honourable people would provide leadership, no matter the provocation, he explained. And, for her to have said that she felt threatened, so, she pulled a gun and fired it and created chaos in that place; what if, in pulling the gun, others, whoever the detractors may be, even if they were around, ... also pulled a gun? What would have happened? he asked. Prof Asante wondered if pulling a gun was the only option the minister and MP had under the circumstances. Even if her bodyguard was not around, couldnt she have gone to the police station to inform the police about what was happening? As far as Im concerned, it cannot be justified in any sense, he said. She should do the honourable thing, and for me, resign, Prof Asante demanded. Apart from that, he said the police must also investigate the matter and let the law take its course for that matter, especially, the context within which this was done in a situation where tension is rising and were doing all we can, people from different angles are doing all they can to ensure that there would be peace and tranquility in what we are doing; we will not expect our leaders, honourable people to do things of this nature. We expect our honourable people to do honourable things, not dishonourable things, he added. If Im an honourable person and Ive done a thing of this nature, then I need to sit back and consider what I have to do. As for her being a minister, can she still maintain that dignity of an office? This is the thing. Beyond asking for her resignation and the police taking her on, Prof Asante said Parliament must also sanction the MP for her dishonorable action. Parliament must also have a say on such matters. Parliament cannot sit down and think that parliamentarians can do whatever they like and there will be no sanctions whatsoever. I would think that parliament, the executives, the speakers and all the leadership of parliament, will have something to say to this person because she brings the name of parliament into disrepute by her action. I mean, so, in any panicky situation, you pull a gun and shoot it? If an ordinary citizen does that, what is going to happen? ---classfmonline Bengaluru, July 21 : In an address to the people of Karnataka through television news channels and social media platforms, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday said there would be no more lockdowns in the southern state from Wednesday. "As lockdown is not a solution to defeat COVID-19, there will not be anymore lockdown in Bengaluru or anywhere in Karnataka," Yediyurappa told the people in a 20-minute address in Kannada from here. The nine-day renewed lockdown in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts ends at 5a.m. on Wednesday. "The only way to fight corona virus pandemic is to compulsorily wear mask, wash hands and maintain social distancing by every citizen. Each citizen has to take care of his/her health by strictly following the guidelines," asserted the Chief Minister. Restrictions on movement of people and vehicles will continue in containment areas across Bengaluru and cities and towns where more Covid cases are reported. Admitting that there was a delay in getting test reports earlier, Yediyurappa said steps have been taken to ensure they (reports) were delivered in 24 hours. "We have been taking measures to contain the virus spread in the state since mid-March and control the situation in hotspots. A real-time dashboard has been set up to track beds for COVID-19 patients," the Chief Minister reiterated. Referring to reports of Covid positive patients attempting to commit suicide, Yediyurappa appealed to them not to resort to drastic action but recover soon. Refuting the opposition Congress charges of irregularities and corruption in the purchase of medical equipment, Yediyurappa said not a rupee had been misappropriated and all expenditure had been accounted for. "I appeal to the opposition to make constructive criticism but not hinder our work and service to the people in this hour of crisis. This is not the time to bicker but cooperate with the government in fighting the pandemic," he added. Noting that reviving the state's economy and restoring near normal life were equally important, Yediyurappa said the people have to adopt to the new norm of wearing mask, maintaining physical distancing and avoid crowds when outside. "The onus of avoiding the infection is on every citizen across the state, especially in Bengaluru, which has 120-lakh population, with maximum movement of people, vehicles and activities. As prevention is better than cure, each person is responsible for taking care of his/her health," he pointed out. Observing that life and livelihood have to be taken care of by everybody, the Chief Minister advised the people to go out of house or travel only if it was must to avoid being exposed to the virus and till a vaccine to treat it is found. "Though we were able to contain the pandemic during the extended lockdown from March 25 to May 31, positive cases surged since unlock 1.0 began June 1 and shot up from July 1 when unlock 2.0 began due to violation of lockdown guidelines by the people and virus spread by those returning from Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu, which are the worst hit by the Covid," he recalled. Expressing confidence that the state would win the war over the pandemic, the Chief Minister said trace, track, test, treat and technology would be the 5T mantra of his government in reducing the virus fallout. "Strict action, including hefty fine will be levied on violators of guidelines. All have to cooperate with the state authorities like police, healthcare personnel and officials in following the safety guidelines," Yediyurappa noted. Seeking cooperation of opposition leaders Siddaramaiah and D.K. Shivakumar of the Congress and H.D. Kumaraswamy of the Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) in jointly fighting against the virus spread, the Chief Minister he would implement any advice or suggestion they give for restoring normalcy at the earliest. Yediyurappa also advised senior citizens above 60 years and children below 10 years to avoid going out to prevent being exposed to the virus and getting infected by it. With 3,649 positive cases on Tuesday, the southern state's Covid tally touched a whopping 71,069, including 44,140 active after 25,459 were discharged till date, with 1,664 during the last 24 hours, while 1,464 succumbed to the virus, with 61 since Monday. Of the new cases, 1,714 were reported from Bengaluru, taking its tally to 34,943, including 26,746 active after 7,476 were discharged so far, with 520 in the last 24 hours, while 720 succumbed to the infection, with 22 in the day. According to the state health department bulletin, of the 43,904 samples tested during the day, 35,780 turned negative, while 1,23,900 primary and secondary contacts were under observation across the state. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) The Government has decided on a 'green list' of countries deemed safe to visit, advising travellers to take normal precautions. These include Malta, Finland, Italy, Cyprus, and Greece, which are among a total of 15 countries whose category of risk has been downgraded. The decision was made at Cabinet last night. However, the general advice still being given to passengers and those leaving the country is that the safest thing is not to travel and to holiday at home this summer. The change in advice also means that people arriving here or returning from the 15 named countries will not have to quarantine for two weeks. The decision comes after the first split of the new Government emerged, with Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly, both of Fianna Fail, accused of making a balls of the green list travel issue by Fine Gael colleagues. The row exploded ahead of last nights delayed Cabinet meeting, at which the list was discussed and clear tensions emerged between the parties. Rowing in behind Tanaiste Leo Varadkars politically explosive criticism of the Governments mixed messaging, Fine Gael ministers have hit out at the confusion caused in recent days. Speaking to the Irish Examiner, one minister said: Dealing with a pandemic is about clear communications and they have made a balls of it. Holding a Cabinet meeting at 8pm at night is bullshit, just stupid. What the Tanaiste said makes sense. What is the point of a green list when the public advice is still 'do not travel'? Things have gotten sloppy." Another minister said Fine Gael had no choice but to have this row in public. People had faith in our handling of the pandemic by and large. There is a sense that is slipping and there is anger, said the minister. And despite denials of division at Cabinet by some, openly different views have been laid bare. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar, who was taoiseach in the previous administration, suggested the green list should possibly be scrapped. Read More Coronavirus: Health professor says people should be told not to travel outside own counties He said it was wrong to send out mixed messages about international travel, adding: But if the travel advice for countries on the green list isn't different to advice for other countries, then we would be better off not having a green list at all. Mr Varadkar had originally favoured an 'air bridge' system for flying, where advice for countries with low levels of the virus would be relaxed or people would be told to just exercise caution. Mr Martin, in the Dail, seemed to lay blame for the confusion at his predecessor's door, saying: This is something that had been articulated some time back in terms of a green list being published. The challenge is living with Covid-19 and getting the balance right. Mr Martin ruled out testing at airports, saying health chiefs had advised against this. He also played down mandatory quarantine, noting this had increased the spread of the virus in other countries. Consumers and airlines in recent days were left perplexed by shifting positions on travel advice Travel agents declared that the list could cause confusion for both inbound and outbound travellers, unless advice relating to countries identified as safest to travel to changed. The Irish Travel Agents Association said that a decision must be made between cancelling flights and offering compensation, or lifting the non-essential travel ban for green-listed countries. Of particular concern is the fact that many customers were not entitled to a refund if they choose to cancel their flights. The idea around the green list is that countries with similar or lower virus rates would be deemed safest to visit. Anyone travelling to these would not need to self-isolate for two weeks when returning home. Equally, travellers arriving from them don't have to quarantine. The latest European data shows in the two weeks up to July 21, Ireland confirmed 4.79 cases for every 100,000. Countries with lower levels included Malta (1.01), Finland (1.18), Norway (1.84), Cyprus (3.88), Slovakia (3.94), Greece (4.2) and Italy (4.65). However, other popular holiday spots and countries have much higher rates for the same period. These include France (12.56), Spain (27.8), Portugal (45.17), the UK (14.41) and Turkey (16.74) while the US, recorded 270 cases, some 55 times higher than the level in Ireland. These latter countries have not been put on the new list. Read More July stimulus package to feature another 750m in capital spending - This story was first published at 11.17pm on Tuesday Hello Mirror Doctor, I have a little problem I want to seek advice from you. My fiancee and I are both sickle cell traits (AS). We have been to a doctor somewhere in Accra who said it can be eliminated from our children. Once the baby is 16 weeks, there is a test to be done on the foetus to see if it has the sickle cell disease or just the trait. The other option is to go in for an artificial insemination with a donor sperm. Please I need your help as I am very confused. What would be your advice? Evelyn Dear Evelyn, From your mail, you are both AS and so the chance of each pregnancy resulting in a foetus with sickle cell disease is 25%. This gives various combinations I believe the doctor you visited explained to you hence the suggested options to avoid sickle cell disease in the child. Why avoid giving birth to a child with sickle cell disease? Because of the complications associated with the condition. The underlying abnormality in sickle cell disease is that the red blood cells (RBC's) are abnormally shaped. This abnormality can result in serious infections, chronic anaemia and damage to body organs. Each person can have different forms of complications from the disorder. Some remain relatively stable, while others are frequently hospitalised. Management in children has focused on prevention of stressors that tip children into attacks or crisis. This can take different forms depending on which particular organ or system in the body is involved. Most people with sickle cell disease have anaemia and may develop one or more of the following conditions and symptoms as part of the disorder: Painful swelling of the hands and feet is a common symptom Acute chest syndrome - Inflammation or trapped red blood cells in the lungs. Aplastic crisis - Bone marrow temporarily slows its production of RBC's due to infection. Hand-foot syndrome (dactylitis) - Painful swelling of the hands and feet. Infection - People with sickle cell disease are at an increased risk for certain bacterial infections. Painful crises - Can occur in any part of the body and may be caused by cold or dehydration. The pain may be so severe that hospitalisation would be required. Splenic sequestration crises - The spleen becomes enlarged by trapping the abnormal RBC's. This leads to fewer cells in the general circulation and worsens the anaemia with sometimes fatal consequences. Stroke - Poor blood flow can occur in the brain when sickle cells block small blood vessels. This may lead to stroke. Other possible complications can include leg ulcers, bone and joint damage, gallstones, kidney damage, painful prolonged erections in males, eye damage and delayed growth. Besides bone marrow transplantation, there is no known cure for sickle cell disease. Transplant are complicated procedure and are not advised for everyone. To qualify the person would need bone marrow from a "matched" donor with low risk of rejection by the recipient. Bone marrow transplant is currently in its infantile stages at the Accra Regional Hospital and even after transplant, the risk of transmission to the children still persists. It is in light of these challenges that certain options are explored for couples who are both traits or one with the disease who have the desire to have children. There is absolutely no problem if the couple decides not to have children but once they desire to have children, then the various combinations come in. In your case, with each pregnancy, there is a 25% chance of the foetus being SS, 50% chance of being trait AS and 25% of having normal combinations of AA. So, the technology of sampling the foetus at 16 weeks to determine if it has SS combinations is available. The more ethical dilemma which you both have to consider is what next in the event of the foetus coming as SS? Are you both willing to have that foetus aborted? In addition, the sampling itself carries a small risk of losing the pregnancy, are you happy to go with that knowing that a foetus with normal combination or trait can be lost from complications of the procedure itself? These are a few questions for you both to consider. I am aware of technology in an assisted reproductive technique where before the embryo is implanted, a portion is sent for analysis to determine the genotype to prevent giving birth to a child with sickle cell disease. Im not sure if this technology is available in Ghana and it has a huge cost implications in addition to the failure rate of these assisted reproductive techniques. This is also something to consider. The final consideration from your mail is to use the sperm or egg of a donor, Again, this is something to consider seriously because what it means is that one of you will not be the biological parent of the child. From your mail, you mentioned artificial insemination which suggests a possible male sperm donor. First, the person has to be AA, and secondly, the father (your husband) will have to be absolutely sure that he is ready to accept the baby as his. Also, the donor would have to understand and possibly sign an undertaking that he has no claim to the child after the procedure in the future. It would be worth having a serious discussion on these angles and possibly seek the opinion of a professional counsellor. Another option available is adoption which is available in Ghana for you to explore. Irrespective of these options, the choice still remains yours to consider as a couple. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Jordans Prime Minister Omar Razzaz said the Hashemite Kingdom would view a one-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict positively if Israel goes ahead with its annexation plans in the West Bank. Speaking to the British news outlet The Guardian, Razzaz said that annexation would doom the two-state solution. You close the door to the two-state solution, I could very well look at this positively if were clearly opening the door to a one-state democratic solution, Razzaz told The Guardian in an interview published today. Razzaz said forgoing the two-state solution would push the region toward chaos, however, and also said that annexation would create an apartheid state referring to the race-based segregation South Africa had in the 20th century. The Israeli unity government between the Likud and Blue and White planned to start annexing Israeli settlements and the Jordan Valley in the West Bank on July 1. However, the plan faltered and there have been no annexation moves to date. Blue and White leaders have backtracked from the deadline, and the US insists Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gets their support before moving forward. The West Bank is mostly inhabited by Palestinians. Most of the international community considers it occupied by Israel. Israel captured the territory from Jordan during the 1967 war and began building settlements soon thereafter. Jordan is one of the most vocal critics of annexation, and much of its population is of Palestinian descent. Earlier this month, the country signed a joint statement with Egypt, France and Germany saying annexation would derail the peace process and violate international law. In May, Jordans King Abdullah II warned of a massive conflict if Israel annexes. British, Emirati and other leaders have leveled similar criticisms. Peace efforts in Israel and Palestine have traditionally focused on two states: Israel and a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza. US President Donald Trumps deal of the century plan unveiled in January also envisioned an eventually independent Palestine. Support for one state in present-day Israel and the Palestinian territories is growing among Palestinians and Israelis. Decades of negotiations have failed to yield two states, and the growth of Israeli settlements in the West Bank has rendered two states more unlikely. Palestinians would likely constitute the majority of the population in one state. All this has led some Palestinians to believe a one-state solution would more likely give them self-determination. Some Israelis also want one state because of the failure of the negotiations and because it would allow them to retain control of the settlements. Many Israelis also oppose a Palestinian state for security reasons. As Razzaz pointed out, there are concerns one state would result in fewer rights for Palestinian citizens vis-a-vis Jews. An alternative to this would be a democratic state where each citizen has one vote regardless of their religious or ethnic background. Another idea that has been put out there is a confederation between Israel and Palestine. Visions of one state differ between Israelis and Palestinians. Israelis are divided on giving Israeli citizenship to Palestinians in the West Bank, for example. SPRINGFIELD Baystate Health has selected Kindred Behavioral Health as its partner in a long-sought standalone behavioral health hospital project that was put on pause last year. The plan is to build a $43-million, 120-bed behavioral health hospital from the ground up, opening two years from the start of construction. The new hospital would employ 220 people, Baystate president and CEO Dr. Mark A. Keroack said. Its upsetting that we dont have more to offer for people with these problems. I think mental health has always been the poor stepchild in a traditional health environment, he said. The rate of compensation is low. (Practitioners) pay a financial penalty to get into this area. Baystates capital contribution to that $43 million is up to $5 million, Keroack said. The new hospital will have a pediatric unit to provide care for children and adolescents. Western Massachusetts has no pediatric inpatient behavioral health hospital beds. Kindred Behavioral Health is a year-old division of the larger Kindred Healthcare, which reported revenues of about $3.2 billion for the 12 months ended March 31, 2020. For 2019 it reported revenues of $3.2 billion. The project goes before state regulators starting next month. Completion is expected in the fall of 2022. Kindred Behavioral Health has the WellBridge Greater Dallas and WellBridge Fort Worth behavioral health hospitals in Texas. Each hospital has 48 licensed beds. It manages, according to the company, Riverside Medical Centers 64-bed behavioral health unit in Kankakee, Illinois, and a 31-bed behavioral health unit within Kindred Hospital Chicago North, also in Illinois. Kindred is investing to build the Western Massachusetts facility, and a joint venture between Kindred and Baystate will operate it. The staff doctors, nurse practitioners and physicians assistants will be contracted to work at the facility. Baystate is also participating in the design process. Its a really exciting process, said Dr. Barry Sarvet, who chairs Baystate Healths department of psychiatry. There are not that many opportunities to be involved in the development (and) the design of a brand-new psychiatric facility with a new model of care. Sarvet said the need for psychiatric services will increase in a world continuing to deal with the coronavirus. Here at Baystate weve had a strong commitment to behavioral health for many years, he said. We believe the mind and body are connected. We really want psychiatry to be connected to the health care system, he said. The former Holyoke Geriatric Authority site is Baystates primary target for a location. The new partnership has not yet purchased the property from the city, Keroack said. If the site is chosen, the existing Geriatric Authority buildings would be demolished. Marcos A. Marrero, Holyokes director of planning and development, said in an email that the city is reviewing a proposal for the site and is doing its due diligence. Keroack said the Holyoke location is ideal because its central to the region and situated with easy access to the Massachusetts Turnpike and Interstate 91. The Geriatric Authority site at 45 Lower Westfield Road was once the location of a city-owned nursing home that closed in 2014 after struggling for years. It was identified as potential location last year when Baystate first went public with the idea for a new psychiatric facility. The former Holyoke Geriatric Authority property at 45 Lower Westfield Road is Baystate Health's primary choice as a location for a new behavioral health hospital. The old building, shown here, would be demolished. (Don Treeger / The Republican) But Baystate put those plans on hold in August 2019 after the company it had identified as a partner, US HealthVest LLC, was the subject of published reports alleging substandard care at the for-profit companys facilities in other states. Baystate subsequently severed its partnership with HealthVest in November and launched a search for a new partner. The Holyoke City Council had approved the sale of the Geriatric Authority property for $250,000 to B2 Health, a partnership between Baystate and HealthVest, before that partnership was dissolved. In the nine months since the end of the partnership, much has changed in the landscape of behavioral health care in the region. The coronavirus pandemic and related shutdowns first caused fewer people to come forward seeking treatment for mental health issues, Sarvet said. Now, there seems to be a rebound of need in the community, he said. Whats more, restrictions due to the pandemic mean that some treatment programs are closed or operating at less than normal capacity so psychiatric facilities have no place to discharge patients to, and no way to free up beds, Sarvet said. Providence Behavioral Health Hospital in Holyoke permanently closed all 74 of its inpatient psychiatry beds at the end of June, including a 12-bed pediatric unit. The hospital, owned by Trinity Health Of New England and part of Mercy Medical Center, cited a lack of psychiatrists, the age of the building and financial concerns. Separately, Holyoke Medical Center plans to work with its own partners to build a behavioral health hospital on its campus. That project would replace Holyoke Medicals existing behavioral health beds, bringing the total number from 20 to 84. The medical centers partners are Signet Health Corporation and Leo Brown Group.. Like the Baystate project, Holyoke Medical Centers plan is about two years in the future. Keroack said he does not see Holyoke Medical Centers plan as a problem for Baystates proposal. I think there is enough work for all of us, he said. We need beds, and there simply are not enough beds. Baystates plan also involves closing psychiatric beds at its outlying hospitals, but officials say the construction of the new facility will result in a net gain of 51 beds. When the new hospital opens, the health system will close 22 psychiatric beds at Baystate Franklin Medical Center in Greenfield, 20 at Baystate Noble in Westfield and 27 at Baystate Wing in Palmer. Baystate will retain 28 psychiatric beds at its main campus in Springfield. Community opposition to Baystates plan has centered on concerns about closing beds in the community hospitals. "Let's acknowledge those concerns," Sarvet said. "Those are legitimate concerns." The trade-off of having a new, standalone hospital makes it worth it, Sarvet said. Small psychiatric facilities, he said, just tend to replicate the same programs over and over again. By centralizing the operation, Baystate and Kindred will be able to create specialized programs and not have, for example, someone who is depressed and withdrawn with someone who is aggressive. So when we build a brand new psychiatric hospital from the ground up, we can design outdoor spaces, we can design spaces for group therapy that would be impossible in a general hospital, a medical, surgical building, Sarvet said. Keroack said something as simple as a patient cafeteria rather than having food brought to a room on a tray, as is done in a hospital setting can be therapeutic in psychiatric care. "It's kind of less like a hospital and more like a residential setting," Keroack said. The existing psychiatric units in the community hospitals are also not up to modern standards. "Like most psychiatric units, they are in old parts of the hospital that would require considerable upgrade to get them to be decent," he said. Keroack said closing beds in Greenfield, Westfield and Palmer is also a condition of working with a partner like Kindred that is making a big financial investment. What they wanted from us, of course, is that we not compete with them, he said. Sarvet said families may encounter challenges, including transportation issues, in visiting loved ones in Holyoke and there is a benefit to offering treatment in the regional hospitals. But again, he said, its a trade-off and Baystate is working with organizations in the communities to provide transportation plans. Following the end of the HealthVest partnership, Baystate took its plan to the market as a request for proposals, Keroack said. It received 11 responses, narrowed the list to four finalists and did site visits. Kindred stood out because of its robust electronic medical records program and its commitment to quality, according to Keroack. Sarvet cited the organizations management of quality, and what he called a sophisticated infrastructure for quality oversight. Kindreds history has been in providing physical rehabilitation in inpatient settings, he said. Keroack said Kindred is already a partner with Baystate in providing physical rehabilitation services at Noble Hospital. Sarvet and Keroack acknowledged Mercys difficulty in recruiting psychiatrists, but Keroack says Baystate is in a good position to recruit them, in part due to Sarvets work. Sarvet said Baystate provides opportunities that some smaller hospitals cannot because it has residency programs and fellowships for doctors. Its harder to have an academic career (at some hospitals), he said. You are distant to academic programs. But with all the learners we have at Baystate, we can offer those teaching opportunities. If you can marry the teaching, the research opportunities, and the clinical opportunities, you can attract the right people. Those programs -- the psychiatric residency has 16 students and graduates four people a year -- also provides a pipeline of new psychiatrists, Sarvet said. After months of resistance to masks, President Donald Trump on Tuesday urged Americans to wear them to help contain the coronavirus outbreak that's rapidly spreading throughout the U.S. "We're asking everybody that, when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask," he said at White House news briefing. "Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact, they have an effect, and we need everything we can get." Trump's comments come after the president has sent mixed messages for months on whether he supports the use of masks as a strategy to prevent the spread of the virus. Members of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, including Dr. Anthony Fauci, Dr. Deborah Birx and Director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Robert Redfield, have repeatedly urged the public to wear masks while Trump boldly disregarded their advice at public rallies and elsewhere. Masks and face coverings, especially in indoor and crowded environments, have been touted by health officials across the world as a low-cost and effective tool in lessening public transmission "I have no problem with the masks. I view it this way, anything that potentially can help ... is a good thing," he said Tuesday. "I have no problem. I carry it. I wear it. You saw me wearing it a number of times and I'll continue." But Trump remained skeptical about the use of masks in a Fox News interview that aired Sunday. "I don't agree with the statement that if everybody wear a mask, everything disappears," he said in the interview, responding to remarks made earlier in the week by Redfield, who said that if everyone wore masks, the U.S. could bring the outbreak under control in as little as one to two months. Trump has repeatedly noted that health agencies, including the CDC and the World Health Organization, originally did not recommend the use of masks to prevent the risk of infection. Such agencies have now said they failed to do because they were concerned that the public would pressure the supply chain, preventing health workers from getting the equipment they needed to safely care for Covid-19 patients. "We've had experts in the recent past that masks aren't necessarily good to wear ... but now they've changed their mind," Trump said Tuesday. "If they've changed their mind, that's good enough for me." Trump has previously criticized his own health advisors, including Fauci, Director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, because they "changed their mind on masks. It's one point of contention between the president and his advisors, none of whom were present at the briefing. Fauci said earlier Tuesday that he wasn't invited to the briefing. "I was not invited up to this point and I'm assuming I'm not going to be there," Fauci said in a CNN interview less than an hour before the 5 p.m. briefing was scheduled to start. In recent weeks, top Trump administration officials have stepped up their calls for Americans to wear masks. Assistant Secretary for Health Adm. Brett Giroir said last week that closing indoor bars and getting about 90% of Americans to wear masks in public would "shut down the outbreak." Despite Trump's endorsement of masks, he has still declined to issue a national mask mandate, as some other countries have. Many governors have issued requirements to wear masks, but some have declined to do so, with Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp even suing Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms over her issuance of such a mandate. The continuation of Trump's involvement in coronavirus press briefings, which he has not participated in for months, comes as the virus continues to infected tens of thousands of Americans daily. The virus has infected more than 66,550 people in the U.S., on average, over the past seven days, up more than 8% compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Cases are rising by at least 5% on average in 34 states and the District of Columbia, according to CNBC's analysis. And deaths, which lag behind diagnosis and hospitalization, have been steadily rising nationally in recent days, driven by a handful of hot-spot states. "We're instead asking Americans to use masks, socially distance and employ vigorous hygiene. Wash your hands every chance you get, while sheltering high-risk populations," Trump said Tuesday. "We are imploring young Americans to avoid packed bars and other crowded indoor gatherings. Be safe and be smart." By Express News Service CHENNAI: After being trolled in social media as "anti-Hindu", the DMK on Tuesday trained its gun against the BJP on the issue of reservation for the disadvantaged sections and accused the central government of working against the welfare of the "majority of the Hindus". In a statement, the party president MK Stalin said the central government has been denying the due reservation to the backward and the Dalit communities in education and job opportunities. Stalin said reservation has been affirmed not only by the Constitution but also by the Supreme Court as a "right". Various Acts adopted by the Parliament also supported this. However, the BJP is making efforts to destroy the values of social justice. People from backward class and Dalit communities were losing their reservation rights in education and job opportunities due to the decisions of the BJP-led-government, Stalin said. He further said that the BJP claims that they work for the welfare of Hindus, but they have now prevented the people from the backward and Dalit communities from getting the reservation benefits. Are they enemies of Hindus? If BJP's claim that it is working for the Hindus is true then the Prime Minister and the BJP-led Central government must ensure reservation for the backward and sC communities and give them their due share in access to education and employment, the statement said. Naga Munchetty has been savaged over her 190,000 salary after saying the BBC licence fee 'is worth it' to ensure viewers are 'educated'. Twitter users blasted the Breakfast host, 45, for backing the 157.50 charge for colour TV and 53 for black and white channels. The end of the licence fee has been mooted by the Government, with a threat to turn the BBC into a subscription service. Munchetty told Radio Times magazine: 'There's been noise about the licence fee for decades. 'But at Breakfast, we're not ratings-driven, we're not there to garner attention on social media. 'We're there to provide a service and make sure people are informed, educated and entertained. I think a licence is worth that.' Naga Munchetty (pictured with co-host Charlie Stayt) has been savaged over her 190,000 salary after saying the BBC licence fee 'is worth it' Twitter users blasted the Breakfast host (pictured at the British Academy Television Award last year), 45, for backing the 157.50 charge for colour TV and 53 for black and white channels But social media users pointed out the journalist would say that due to her 190,000 income. Co-founder of Vote Leave Douglas Carswell wrote: 'If the BBC licence fee is 'worth it', as this well-paid BBC presenter insists, they'd have no difficulty getting folk to pay it as a voluntary subscription without criminal records for non-payment #DefundTheseTroughersNOW.' Another person put: 'She would say that, wouldn't she? #nagamunchetty.' Retired Met Police officer Duncan Reid posted: 'I might pay a little more on my licence fee if I didn't have to see #NagaMunchetty again.' While a retired British Army warrant officer commented: 'Naga Munchetty is paid in excess of 200,000 per year. Over 75s state pension is ~ 9000 per year. 'Of course she wants pensioners & the British public to keep funding her lifestyle, whilst allowing her to be a mouthpiece for the left wing. #DefundTheBBC.' The Defund The BBC Twitter account said: 'Let people decide that for themselves, Naga. 'Stop trying to coerce people to pay for it with harassment and intimidation. And make the BBC licence fee cover BBC channels only, like any other broadcaster. #DefundTheBBC.' An account under the name Cancel Your TV Licence tweeted: 'Here is another reason to cancel your TV Licence. 'While over 75's will have to start paying TV licence from 1st August this useless presenter gets 190,000 a year of YOUR money.' And one woman from London added: 'Certainly worth it to Naga Munchetty and her bank account.' Her comments on Breakfast not being ratings-driven also appear at odds with fellow presenter Dan Walker. Walker, 43, took to Twitter last month to reveal his programme was ranked the 'number 1 breakfast show on TV' 'by some distance'. He later added: 'They do a great job on GMB but it's worth looking at the comparison figures.' Social media users pointed out that the journalist would say that due to her 190,000 income Earlier this month the government threatened to ban the BBC from taking viewers to court if they do not pay their TV licence. It came a day after the corporation announced the end of free TV licences for everyone over the age of 75 from August. It means more than three million households have to find a way to pay 157.50 for the service, or risk criminal prosecution. Only those who receive pension credit - estimated to be around 1.5million - will still be able to access live TV and BBC iPlayer for free. The PM's spokesman said it was 'the wrong decision' while Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said he feels 'let down' and the decision will 'have an impact' on proposals to decriminalise the licence fee. Julian Knight, chairman of the Commons' digital culture, media and sport committee, told the Telegraph: 'It will be an own goal of epic proportions to start hauling people over 75 in front of the courts. There needs to be common sense here.' Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden, pictured at Downing Street earlier this month, said he feels 'let down' and that the decision will 'have an impact' on proposals to decriminalise the licence fee The BBC, based at Portland Place, London, made the announcement earlier this month but has faced a fierce backlash Anyone who watches or records TV, or uses the BBC's streaming service, without a licence could be prosecuted and even jailed. But ministers have spent months consulting on changing the law to eliminate prison sentences. The number of people prosecuted for not having a licence was down on previous years to just under 129,000 in 2018. The row came after Dame Esther Rantzen said the BBC should have waited to means-test the TV licence for over-75s and that the timing is 'insensitive'. But the broadcaster and Silver Line founder, 80, claimed politicians were trying to 'scapegoat' the BBC and doing so was a 'slap in the face to older people'. She said: 'The BBC probably feel that their reputation is very high at the moment. They've been a fantastic source of news, they're offering educational programmes for children who can't go to school. 'So they're taking advantage of this moment but I think that they should have left it until September, when life would have eased up a bit for all of us, particularly for older people. 'I think if the BBC had waited until the autumn it would have been kinder. But my main criticism at the moment is for the politicians. 'I do think that (Culture Secretary) Oliver Dowden, who said he felt let down by the BBC was shifting blame... 'It was Gordon Brown who decided to make this gift of free television licences, and it was George Osborne (then chancellor) who took it away and said the government would no longer fund it. And that's what feels like a slap in the face to older people.' The row comes as Dame Esther Rantzen, pictured, said earlier this month the BBC should have waited to means-test the TV licence for over-75s and that the timing is 'insensitive' The BBC's plan was in chaos as it emerged the system used by 4.5million pensioners to pay their levy before August 1 was unable to meet demand due to staff cuts. Over-75s will receive letters to advise them of the decision and the next step they need to take, namely phoning the TV Licensing call centre. But a message on its website had said they are 'prioritising customers in most urgent needs' due to reduced staffing levels, adding this could lead to them being 'unable to answer all your calls' and a delay in responding to emails and letters. The message was later changed to: 'Covid-19 and your emails: Our team are working hard to respond to a large backlog of emails. There may be a long delay in responding to you.' What over-75s will need to do to secure a TV licence from August 1 I've not paid the TV licence before, how much is it? A TV Licence costs 157.50 (53 for black and white TV sets) for a year. Do I need to act now? TV Licensing said it will write directly to over-75s customers with guidance 'highlighting that no-one will need to take immediate action'. No-one will be expected to pay for a new licence until they have been contacted by letter from TV Licensing, it says. People 'will be given plenty of time to set up their new licence', they say. Will I need to leave my home to sort out my free TV licence or pay for one? TV Licensing says that no-one will need to leave their home, to claim a free TV Licence or to pay for one. How do I start paying for my TV licence? Information on payment options will be sent next month. They will include the launch of the 75+ Plan, that will allow over 75s switching from a free licence to a licence they pay for, to spread the cost in weekly, fortnightly or monthly payments. How else do you pay? People will have the option to able to pay in one go by cheque, debit/credit card or annual direct debit, set up a monthly direct debit or pay through the 75+ Plan which allows them to make smaller more regular payments including weekly, fortnightly or monthly. What if I am not online? Customers who would prefer not to pay online will have the option to use a different method including mailing a cheque, paying by card on the phone or by cash/card at their nearest PayPoint. How do I claim a free TV licence? Pensioners must be in receipt of Pension Credit to apply for a free licence. Information on how to claim will be sent to customers from next month. TV Licensing says it is operating a 'self-verification system' for people to 'simply' demonstrate that they receive Pension Credit. Pension Credit can be in the name of the licence holder, or in their partner's name if they are a couple and TV Licensing say it is writing to all over 75s to explain how they can demonstrate they receive the benefit. It says 450,000 have already applied for a free licence under this scheme. How many people will be eligible for a free TV licence? The BBC says around 1.5 million households with residents aged over 75 will be eligible for a free TV Licence funded by the BBC if they receive Pension Credit. What if I need extra support? TV Licensing says it has increased the size of its customer call centre and launched a free telephone information line with recorded information on the new policy and advice to customers (0800 232 1382). Information and frequently asked questions can also be found on the TV Licensing website, tvlicensing.co.uk/age. TV Licensing says it worked with the Alzheimer's Society and other groups working with older people to ensure that needs of vulnerable older people have been taken into consideration. Advertisement The move sparked criticism, including from the PM, whose official spokesman said: 'This is the wrong decision. 'We recognise the value of free TV licences for over-75s and believe that they should be funded by the BBC.' Asked if the government would intervene, the spokesman added: 'It is the BBC which is responsible for the administration of the over-75s concession but we are clear that this is the wrong decision and that we believe the value of free TV licences for over-75s should be funded by the BBC.' Culture minister Matt Warman also challenged the corporation in the Commons, arguing it has had 'a generous licence fee settlement', that it was 'deeply disappointing' to see the change being made, adding: 'I would hope that there is yet time to reconsider.' But leading age charities and Labour's shadow culture secretary rounded on the Government, accusing ministers of 'passing the buck' and calling a refusal to fund the service a 'betrayal'. The free TV licence was introduced in 2000, but the BBC took on responsibility for funding the scheme as part of the charter agreement hammered out with the Government in 2015. Corporation bosses argue it was the Government which took the decision to stop funding for free licences five years ago and Parliament - through legislation - gave the responsibility to the BBC Board to make the decision on the future of the concession. Britain's elderly population has seen free access to live television and the BBC iPlayer service as an invaluable lifeline during lockdown but many are now facing another bill to deal with. An estimated 1.5 million households could still be exempt from paying to watch live television or use the BBC iPlayer service, however, if someone over the age of 75 receives pension credits. Age UK, which inspired more than 630,000 people to sign a petition against the proposals when they were first announced last year, described the announcement as 'a kick in the teeth for millions of over 75s who have had a torrid time during this crisis'. The change was originally due to be made on June 1, but the move was put on hold back in March, with bosses claiming the coronavirus pandemic had created 'exceptional circumstances' and that 'now is not the right time'. Delaying the move has cost the corporation 35million a month, and, with an ageing population, the total cost to the BBC could have reached 1billion a year, bosses insist. There have previously been warnings that allowing the licence to continue being free for all over 75 would lead to 'unprecedented closures' of services. The broadcaster, which faces increased competition from streaming giants, has said it cannot afford to take on the financial burden from the Government. Continuing with the Government scheme would have cost the corporation 745million the BBC said, meaning the closures of BBC Two, BBC Four, the BBC News Channel, the BBC Scotland channel, Radio 5 Live, and a number of local radio stations, as well as other cuts and reductions. But the move provoked a swathe of criticism, with the likes of Dame Helen Mirren calling the end of the universal entitlement 'heartbreaking', and former prime minister Gordon Brown saying 'costs should be covered by the Government'. The decision comes as the Government is set to announce its response to a consultation on decriminalising licence fee evasion. The Government launched an eight-week consultation in February which received more than 100,00 responses. A report in May suggested hundreds of people had opted to cancel their TV licence each day over the past five months. Meanwhile, the broadcaster launched a programme of voluntary redundancy as it attempts to make 125million in savings this year - on top of the previous 800 million savings target - due to the pandemic. It has also announced job cuts in TV news and local radio in England and said it was axing more than 150 roles in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. And it plans to cut around 450 jobs in BBC News. The broadcaster said safety would be at the 'heart' of the scheme', as 'no-one needs to take any immediate action, or leave their home, to claim for a free TV licence or pay for one'. BBC Chairman Sir David Clementi said: 'The decision to commence the new scheme in August has not been easy, but implementation of the new scheme will be Covid-19 safe. 'The BBC could not continue delaying the scheme without impacting on programmes and services. 'Around 1.5 million households could get free TV licences if someone is over 75 and receives Pension Credit, and 450,000 of them have already applied. The proposals sparked outrage when they were announced last year, with more than 630,000 people signing a petition set up by the charity Age UK, calling for action to be taken 'And critically it is not the BBC making that judgement about poverty. It is the Government who sets and controls that measure. 'Like most organisations the BBC is under severe financial pressure due to the pandemic, yet we have continued to put the public first in all our decisions. 'I believe continuing to fund some free TV licences is the fairest decision for the public, as we will be supporting the poorest oldest pensioners without impacting the programmes and services that all audiences love.' Mr Knight described the decision as a 'body blow to millions of British pensioners', saying he had hoped the Government and the BBC would thrash out 'a fresh deal'. A look at the history of the TV licence In the 1920s, the Government took the decision not to allow the fledgling BBC to fund itself using commercial advertising and instead required people to buy a licence in order to receive their broadcasts. The first wireless licence was issued in November 1923 for 10 shillings (50p), and by the end of that year 200,000 had been issued. The number of active licences continued to rise dramatically, with 2.5 million issued in 1928. The first combined radio and television licence was issued in 1946 for 2. A supplementary licence for colour TVs was introduced in 1968. Black and white TV licences still remain available, and as of the end of September 2019, 6,586 were being used. In 1971, radio-only licences were abolished, along with the requirement to have a licence for car radios. The BBC was made responsible for administration of the licence fee as a result of the Broadcasting Act 1990, and the corporation now sub-contracts the work. In 2015, the Government and BBC reached a settlement which meant the broadcaster had to find savings of 800 million by 2021/22. It also saw the corporation commit to taking on responsibility for the funding of free licences for the over-75s. The corporation subsequently announced that the free licence benefit would be restricted to those in the age bracket who claim pension credit, because the financial burden of providing it to all those eligible was too great. The policy change was due to being in June, but was delayed because of the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, with many over-75s forced to stay at home and shield. Anyone who watches or records programmes on a TV, computer or other device must buy a TV licence - along with those who watch or downloads shows on BBC iPlayer. There were 25,752,560 TV licences in force in the UK in 2018/19, according to TV Licensing, a decrease on the 25,836,495 in 2017/2018. In April, a Government consultation on decriminalising licence fee evasion closed after receiving more than 100,000 responses. Advertisement The Tory MP said: 'This mess is a result of a poor decision struck by the outgoing director-general and now Britain's pensioners are having to pick up the cost.' Fellow Tory Andrew Rosindell, MP for Romford, tweeted: 'Considering the substantial salaries of some BBC presenters, the scrapping of the over-75s free TV license is absolutely unacceptable! 'This decision rubs salt in the wounds of the generation hardest hit by the coronavirus! Maybe it's time to scrap the license fee altogether!' Caroline Abrahams, Age UK charity director, added: 'We're bitterly disappointed by this decision on behalf of the millions of over 75s who have had a torrid time over the last few months and for whom this must feel like another kick in the teeth, during a terrible year. 'Many older people on low incomes have told us that if they have to find 150 plus a year to pay for a licence then they will have to forego some other essential, or try to survive without TV at all. 'We genuinely worry about the mental health of older people living on their own in this situation if they have to give up their cherished TV - for some it really is all they have and their main way of alleviating their chronic loneliness. 'Everyone needs to understand that under the BBC's scheme many hundreds of thousands of the poorest pensioners will be facing a bill they will simply be unable to afford to pay. 'That's due to its flawed design - you only get a free licence if you are receiving Pension Credit but as many as two in five of all the pensioners on the lowest incomes do not receive this benefit, even though they are entitled to it. 'We know from talking to older people that many are feeling anxious and depressed, and frightened about the future - they are being told to be cautious because we are not yet 'out of the woods.' 'Everyone in this age group has more than enough to worry about already , particularly those who are alone, for whom their TV is more of a lifeline than ever. 'We regularly hear from older people who are still too afraid to go out much, if at all, and so the TV really is their window on the world. 'The BBC has taken this decision but in reality the principal responsibility lies with the Government. 'Until a previous administration transferred these free licences to the corporation under a tapering funding arrangement they had taken the form of a welfare benefit for a generation, and to have done that without any consultation left a really bad taste in the mouth. 'The Government cannot absolve itself of responsibility for the upset and distress being caused to many of our over-75s today, the poorest and most isolated above all. And the sadness is that these older people have already endured so much over the last few months. 'The Government needs to sit down with the BBC urgently to keep these TV licences for over-75s free.' Before the announcement was made, shadow minister Christian Matheson told the Commons the proposals meant pensioners could be 'forced to choose between eating and watching TV'. He added: 'The BBC is cutting jobs and content to pay for the cost of the licence dumped on them by the government.' Culture minister Matt Warman replied: 'The fact is that the BBC has had a generous licence fee settlement and it is deeply disappointing that they have chosen to go down the path that they apparently are going down. 'I would hope that there is time to reconsider that because [Mr Matheson] is right to say that television has been a vital comfort for many people in the last few months and it's a vital part of our national economy as well.' TV Licensing, which runs its collection activities, will write to those affected and give them 'clear guidance'. Telephone contact centres have also been set up to assist. Munchetty was rebuked by the BBC last year after commenting on President Donald Trump's call for a group of female Democrats to 'go back' to their own countries. The corporation initially ruled that the presenter had breached editorial guidelines before director-general Lord Tony Hall reversed the decision. She said: 'There are lessons to be learnt. The Breakfast team was very supportive at the time and, since then, I've had regular conversations with Tony Hall and other BBC bosses. 'My whole strategy was to just keep my head down because I didn't want to be the story.' BBC Breakfast assistant editor Mark Grannell said of the long-running morning programme: 'We're not the Today programme on television. 'Depending on what the main news is, we try and inject a bit of light into the shade. The interaction between the presenters is really important.' 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... China warns of "resolute response" over possible UK sanctions over Hong Kong Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming on Sunday warned that if the British government imposes sanctions on any individual in China over Hong Kong, China will make a "resolute response" to it. He made the remarks in an exclusive live interview on BBC's Andrew Marr Show, answering a question regarding China's reaction if the Magnitsky act is used to ban individual Chinese people from British territory and reports that the extradition treaty between Hong Kong and Britain is going to be torn up. "We never believe in unilateral sanction," Liu said. "We believe that the UN (United Nations) has the authority to impose sanctions." The senior diplomat said that the United States has sanctioned Chinese officials and China in turn sanctioned their senators and officials. "I do not want to see this tit-for-tat between China and the U.S. happen in China-UK relations," he said. "I think the UK should have its own independent foreign policy rather than to dance to the tune of Americans, like what happened to Huawei." Talking about Britain's recent drastic policy change regarding the Chinese tech giant, Liu called it "a very bad decision." "It's a dark day for China-UK relations ... you will miss the opportunity to be a leading country," he said. He stressed that there is no hard or solid evidence to say Huawei is a risk to Britain. China does not want to politicize the economy, Liu added. LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Vivienne Westwood, dressed in yellow, was locked into a giant bird cage outside England's Old Bailey court on Tuesday, a stunt to show her support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who is fighting extradition from Britain to the United States. "I am Julian Assange," fashion designer Westwood said. "I am the canary in the cage. If I die down the coal mine from poisonous gas, that's the signal." "Free Assange," she said. Assange is wanted by U.S. authorities to stand trial for 18 offences including conspiring to hack government computers and espionage. Last year, the United States began extradition proceedings after he was dragged from London's Ecuadorean embassy where he had been holed up for almost seven years. Assange made international headlines in early 2010 when WikiLeaks published a classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff. To some, Assange is a hero for exposing what supporters cast as abuse of power by modern states and for championing free speech. But to others, he is a dangerous rebel who has undermined U.S. security. (Reporting by Guy Faulconbridge; editing by Sarah Young) The parent company of Dreamworld faces up to $4.5 million in fines after being charged over the 2016 ride tragedy that claimed the lives of four people, but the development gives no closure to at least one of the families. Queensland's independent Work Health and Safety Prosecutor Aaron Guilfoyle confirmed on Tuesday the three charges brought against Ardent Leisure will be the only ones laid over the incident. Sydney mother Cindy Low, along with Canberra mother Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi, were all killed on October 25, 2016, when Gold Coast theme park's Thunder River Rapids ride malfunctioned. Kim Dorsett, the mother of Ms Goodchild and Mr Dorsett, told Nine News the charges were just the "end to a legal process". Click here to read the full article. The #BlackLivesMatter protests that have been gaining momentum across the country these past weeks reached a frightening turning point in Portland, Oregon, recently as federal officers began showing up in unmarked vehicles and essentially kidnapping peaceful protesters. The officers have not been providing the individuals theyre detaining with any reasoning as to why theyre being arrested, NPR reports. In an attempt to protect these (often teen or young adult) protesters from unjust arrest, a group of Portland moms hit the streets this weekend to create a human shield with their bodies. The dozens of mothers wore bike helmets, face masks, and were chanting, Moms are here, feds stay clear. More from SheKnows A crowd of about 400 has now occupied both SW 3rd and SW Main. The moms are chanting, Feds stay clear! Moms are here! at the federal courthouse. All three fences are still up. pic.twitter.com/jhJ09NUxGW Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020 Sunday Evening downtown Portland pic.twitter.com/WOab47AQls Michael Galimanis (@Cougphotog) July 20, 2020 This group, who says theyre moms against police brutality, is making a human barricade at 3rd & Main. pic.twitter.com/k5gJ8Tyt3c Lindsey Smith (she/her) (@LindseyPSmith7) July 19, 2020 Wall of Moms organizer Bev Barnum told BuzzFeed that she created the initiative in response to this weeks random detainment of protesters by police. Shed seen video footage of officers grabbing people and taking them into unmarked minivans. Story continues We are about protecting peaceful citizens right to protest, Barnum told the publication. In her Facebook post organizing for the event, Barnum wrote: As most of you have read and seen on the news, protestors are being hurt (without cause). And as of late, protestors are being stripped of their rights by being placed in unmarked cars by unidentifiable law enforcement We moms are often underestimated. But were stronger than were given credit for. So what do you say, will you stand with me? Will you help me create a wall of moms? After theyd been standing outside the courthouse for a few hours on Saturday, the Wall of Moms was gassed by feds. According to a statement by the Oregon Department of Justice, even the state attorney general believes the feds are overstepping their powers and injuring or threatening peaceful protesters on the streets of Downtown Portland. Thats right: Both the states citizens and its justice department are in agreement that the federal government has gone too far and is stripping Oregonians of their rights. Its time for the feds to start doing their job: protecting citizens, not gassing them. If youre thinking of going to a protest with your family, follow these safety tips. Keep others safe, too with the help of these kids face masks from Black-owned brands. kids face mask black owned brands Best of SheKnows Sign up for SheKnows' Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Former Big Brother Naija housemate, Ifu Ennada has advised ladies to remain single because no man is faithful. In a recent post on her Instagram stories, she advised women to focus on themselves and live their lives. She wrote, Men will embarrass you! I have finally come to the conclusion that no man is faithful. I swear men will embarrass you for small P*ssy and b**bs. No good lady deserves to be with a stupid ass, shameless, cheating, bastard. Better to remain single and have kids by yourself if you really want kids. Just make your money, live your own life. A while back, she took to her social media page to berate broke people whose focus is to get into a relationship. According to the reality tv star, if you want a successful partner, you should be successful first. She further stated that broke men and women have no business being in a relationship or marriage. In her words, When I was terribly broke, I was focused on changing my situation, not looking for a meal ticket, or looking for a rich man to date. Related KAMPALA The Deputy Government Media Council Director and former army Spokesperson Col Shaban Bantariza has announced he will run for the position of NRM Vice Chairman, Western. The position allows the bearer to be a member of the ruling partys Central Executive Committee, its highest policy making organ. According to a statement issued by Col. Bantariza on Monday, July 20, he made the decision after making consultations. Comrades, allies and friends in the common struggle, to continually make Uganda qualitatively better, after some useful consultations, high and low, above and below I have made a decision to offer myself for leadership as vice chairperson NRM, representing western region!. Your Usual unwavering support, in all forms and ways will make my aspiration a resounding and victorious reality, for the greater glory of our nass and mighty NRM, and the great future of our notherland Uganda! Allutta continua! Col. Bantatiza will run against current office holder Gen. Matayo Kyaligonza and Minister Chris Baryomunsi who has too expressed interest in the position. Col. Bantariza served as the UPDF spokesperson from 1995 to 1997 and from 2001 to 2006. For a period of time, prior to February 2009, Batanzira, at the rank of lieutenant colonel, served as the commander of the Oliver Tambo Leadership School, in Kaweweta, Nakaseke District, in Ugandas Central Region. On February 26, 2009, he was appointed commandant of the National Leadership Institute (NALI), in Kyankwanzi, Kyankwanzi District. He served in that capacity until he was relieved of his duties on October 7, 2011. In June 2013, he was appointed as Deputy Executive Director of the National Media Centre. On July 2,2013, at the rank of colonel, he was arrested, charged with embezzlement and remanded to Makindye Military prison by the General Court Martial on charges of alleged fraud. After proceedings that lasted nearly three years,the Court Martial, chaired by Major Gen. Levi Karuhanga, acquitted Colonel Bantariza due to lack of evidence against him, on 14 April 2015. On June 24, 2015, following his acquittal by the general court martial, he resumed work at the Uganda Media Centre, the president of Uganda having directed in writing that Col. Bantariza resumes work. Related Attorney General Nessel Joins Lawsuit Against Federal Government for Allowing Health Care Discrimination Attorney General Nessel Joins Lawsuit Against Federal Government for Allowing Health Care Discrimination July 21, 2020 LANSING Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has joined 22 other attorneys general in filing a lawsuit to stop the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) finalized regulation, Nondiscrimination in Health and Health Education Programs or Activities (Section 1557 Rule) which rolls back protections put in place in 2016. Section 1557 is an anti-discrimination provision of the Affordable Care Act (ACA) that prohibits discrimination in health care based on gender, race, ethnicity, sex, age or disability. The lawsuit filed Monday against HHS, HHS Secretary Alex Azar, and the head of HHSs Office of Civil Rights, Roger Severino argues that the new rule emboldens providers and insurers to discriminate against communities of color, women, LGBTQ individuals, those with limited English proficiency, and people with disabilities by undermining critical legal protections prohibiting discrimination in in the provision of health care services. By striking down anti-discrimination protections for women, minorities, LGBTQ individuals and others, this new rule exposes a deliberate and persistent theme of prejudice by our federal government under the Trump administration, and it is something I am obligated to oppose, Nessel said. The original intent behind the Section 1557 provision in the Affordable Care Act is to prevent discrimination in our nations health care system, yet this administrations new rule instead revokes those protections and advances an agenda that welcomes bigotry. At a time when were reminded every day of how barriers to health care threaten the lives of adults and children alike, the federal government continues to show a blatant disregard for those most at risk. My colleagues and I have no other choice but to challenge this rule in court. Before the rule was finalized, the coalition previously called on the Trump administration to withdraw the rule. The coalition submitted a comment letter to HHS in August, and then sent another letter to HHS in April asking that they not finalize the rule while the nation is in the midst of a public health crisis. The Obama administrations HHS issued regulations implementing Section 1557 of the ACA in 2016 to stop the ongoing threat of discrimination in the nation's health care system. HHS itself has long noted that discrimination within the health care system contributes to poor coverage and health outcomes, and exacerbates existing health disparities in underserved communities. Individuals who have experienced discrimination in health care often postpone or forgo needed care, resulting in adverse health outcomes. Specifically, Section 1557 prohibits discrimination by any health care program including providers and insurers against individuals on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability or age. Federal courts have also held that the statutes prohibitions on sex discrimination protect transgender and other LGBTQ+ individuals from discrimination, which was confirmed in last months Supreme Court decision in Bostock v. Clayton County. In Bostock, the Supreme Court held that discrimination based on sexual orientation and transgender status are forms of sex discrimination prohibited by federal civil rights law. Despite numerous failed legislative and legal battles to repeal and dismantle the ACA, the current administrations new rule would now eliminate many of the express protections contained in the Section 1557 regulations, unlawfully exclude many health insurers from Section 1557s scope, and would allow health care providers and health insurers to deny care and insurance coverage. The new rule would also impose unreasonable barriers and impede timely access to health care for Americans, in violation of Section 1557 of the ACA. In the lawsuit filed in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York the coalition argues that HHS has unlawfully ignored the harms that the new rule will impose on vulnerable populations. The coalition additionally contends that HHS has failed to justify why it abandoned its prior policy, which, among other things, explicitly prohibited discrimination in health care and required health entities to provide meaningful language assistance services to individuals with limited English proficiency, including notifying them of their rights to translation and interpretation services. The lawsuit also alleges that the Trump administration was motivated by animus toward the transgender community in issuing this rule. The coalition specifically argues that the new rule is arbitrary, capricious and contrary to law under the Administrative Procedures Act (APA), and that it violates the equal protection guarantee of the Fifth Amendment. Nessel joins the attorneys general of Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, the District of Columbia, Hawaii, Illinois, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and the District of Columbia in filing this lawsuit. ### Courtney Covington 517-335-7666 Attorney General The Google Assistant on KaiOS is an incredibly useful tool for users with feature phones, to get things done with just their voice. Google is now integrating features from Google Lens into the Assistant on KaiOS, specifically the ability to read out loud and translate real-life text using the phones camera. To begin, the user needs to trigger the Assistant by long pressing the centre button from the phones home screen. When the Assistant is active, users can simply click the camera icon and point their phone at real-world text like a product label, street sign, or document. Google will then read the text out loud in the users preferred language, or have it translated to another language. Users can also select a particular word, click the right soft key to have Google provide a definition of the selected word. This feature is currently supported with English and a few Indian languages like Hindi, Tamil, Telugu, Marathi and Bengali, with support for Kannada and Gujarati coming soon. Source Mathura, July 21 : The district court in Mathura, on Tuesday, delivered a verdict on an incident of 1985, convicting 11 police personnel for an encounter in which Raja Mansingh was killed in Bharatpur, Rajasthan. Raja Mansingh was killed in a police encounter in Bharatpur, thirty-five years ago. A day before the encounter, he had banged his jeep into stationary helicopter of then Rajasthan chief minister. The Supreme Court had transferred the case to Mathura from Rajasthan. The quantum of punishment for the convicted police personnel will be announced on Wednesday. Mr. Kessler, who will be retiring at the end of the year, will assume the role of Chairman of Westchester, where he will remain active in the business and focus on key industry issues, strategic planning, and as a senior advisor to Mr. Meyer during the transition. In addition, the company announced Steven Goldman as successor to Mr. Meyer as Vice President, Chubb Group and Division President, North America Financial Lines. In this capacity, he will have executive oversight of Chubb's management and professional liability lines of business, which spans public, private, not-for-profit, and financial institution directors and officers coverages, transactional risk, as well as its errors and omissions and cyber products. Both Messrs. Meyer's and Goldman's responsibilities will include oversight of strategy, product and business development, underwriting operations, and profit and loss performance for their respective divisions. They will report to John Lupica, Vice Chairman, Chubb Group, President, North America Major Accounts and Specialty Insurance. "Scott and Steve both bring extensive leadership, underwriting and P&L management experience to their new roles. They are proven leaders in our company and will make an immediate impact in their respective businesses. Scott has done an excellent job building our financial lines business into the market leader it is today, which positions Steve well to further build upon those successes," said Mr. Lupica. "Bruce Kessler helped shape Westchester into one of the leading wholesale and excess and surplus markets in the U.S. I am confident he will continue to serve Westchester well in his new role, and I am looking forward to continuing to work closely with him, Scott and Steve as they make the transition into their new roles. I wish Bruce well in his retirement and thank him for 20 terrific years of service to Chubb." Mr. Meyer has close to 30 years of underwriting and risk management experience in professional lines. He joined Chubb in 2008 as Executive Vice President, Professional Risk, ACE USA, and was promoted to Division President of Professional Risk, ACE USA in 2012, and subsequently named Division President of North America Financial Lines after ACE's acquisition of Chubb in 2016. Mr. Meyer holds a bachelor's degree in economics from New York University. Mr. Goldman has nearly 20 years of underwriting and risk management experience and is a lawyer with a graduate degree in taxation. Prior to this new role, he served as Executive Vice President, Financial Lines, Chubb Overseas General, the company's international general insurance business with operations in over 50 countries, where he oversaw Chubb's international financial lines division including directors and officers liability, financial institutions, errors and omissions, transactional risk and cyber risk businesses. He joined the company in 2008, as a Senior Vice President, on the ACE Professional Risk team at ACE USA, leading the U.S. Financial Institutions business. He has a bachelor's degree in economics from The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania and a juris doctor degree and LLM in taxation from New York University School of Law. About Chubb Chubb is the world's largest publicly traded property and casualty insurance company. With operations in 54 countries and territories, Chubb provides commercial and personal property and casualty insurance, personal accident and supplemental health insurance, reinsurance and life insurance to a diverse group of clients. As an underwriting company, we assess, assume and manage risk with insight and discipline. We service and pay our claims fairly and promptly. The company is also defined by its extensive product and service offerings, broad distribution capabilities, exceptional financial strength and local operations globally. Parent company Chubb Limited is listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: CB) and is a component of the S&P 500 index. Chubb maintains executive offices in Zurich, New York, London, Paris and other locations, and employs approximately 33,000 people worldwide. Additional information can be found at: chubb.com . Chubb Insurance Company of Canada has offices in Toronto, Calgary, Montreal and Vancouver and provides its products and services through licensed insurance brokers across Canada. For additional information, visit: chubb.com/ca. SOURCE Chubb Related Links https://www.chubb.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Jessicha Valentina (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 09:30 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066805352 1 News Malaysia,medical-tourism,health,healthcare,coronavirus,COVID-19 Free Malaysia has reopened its borders partially to medical tourists, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) stated in a virtual media briefing on Friday. The organizations chief commercial officer Nik Yazmin Nik Azman said that it had allowed Indonesian patients to enter Malaysia, starting on July 1. However, they will need to comply with several conditions. In the new standard operating procedure, medical tourists will need to obtain an approval letter and undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19. MHTC vice president of facilitation Norhaslina Othman said it had received inquiries from foreign patients since Malaysia imposed the Movement Control Order (MCO) in mid-March, following the COVID-19 outbreak. As the country is now in Recovery Movement Control Order (RMCO), the Malaysian government has allowed more activities to resume, including medical tourism. Norhaslina explained that the Malaysian healthcare system was entering Phase 1, where only medical tourists with critical health problems, including those hailing from Indonesia, may apply for entry to Malaysia during the RMCO period through the MHTC, adding that only MHTC member hospitals were allowed to receive foreign patients. An appointment letter from any MHTC member hospital called the Malaysia Medical Care Entrance Permit will be issued for patients effective July 1, she added. Phase 1 itself is divided further into two categories, namely categories 1A and 1B. Category 1A refers to patients who require treatment at intensive care units [ICUs] and have been referred by a hospital. Category 1B patients are those with critical health problems such as cancer, heart disease and other conditions, she said. To get the permit, patients will need to make an appointment with the assigned hospital and submit all the necessary documents. Currently, several hospitals in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Melaka, Penang, Sarawak and Johor Bahru are ready to welcome foreign patients. Doctors at the hospitals will review the condition and write a letter to the MHTC. The organization will continue to work with Malaysian immigration to issue the Malaysia Medical Care Entrance Permit. Read also: Indonesia's medical tourism potential may be silver lining of pandemic Once patients receive the permit, they can travel to Malaysia by chartered flights, air ambulance or private jet. At the moment, medical tourists are not allowed to use commercial flights or land or sea transportation to enter the country. Moreover, only one caretaker is allowed for each patient, while patients aged 12 and below are allowed to have two caretakers. It is mandatory for the patient and their caretakers to take PCR tests three days before arriving in Malaysia. Norhaslina also suggested that patients and caretakers download the MySejahtera application prior to flying to Malaysia. Norhaslina said a MHTC representative would assist the patients and caretakers when they arrived in Malaysia. They will need to take another PCR test in the hospital on the arrival day and enter 14-day isolation. On the 13th day, they will need to take another PCR test before going back to their home country. Norhaslina said the estimated cost for the 14-day isolation and PCR tests for both patient and caretaker would be around RM 6,000 (US$1,408). During the isolation, they cant leave the hospital room, she added. Yazmin said that the Phase 1 was not meant for patients who wanted to undergo medical check-ups in Malaysia, as the cost was too high. Norhaslina added that some of MHTC hospital members also provided teleconsultations. Its not a consultation per se, more like a second opinion [or] advisory as the doctors cannot physically examine the patients, she said. Malaysia was among the most popular medical destinations for Indonesians in the pre-coronavirus days. The Star reported that Malaysia welcomed over 1.2 million medical tourists in 2018 and 56 percent of them were Indonesians. More than half of Indonesian patients reportedly sought medical treatment in Penang. (wng) On July 9, 2020, Asia's biggest and densest slum shocked the world by announcing just one new positive COVID-19 case despite being a cluster and hotspot. Dharavi is no ordinary slum. It is one of the densest in the world, housing more than a million people. It provided some of the background for the Oscar-winning movie Slumdog Millionaire. Dharavi contains pockets where as many as 650,000 people are crammed into 2.5 square kilometers. In comparison, New York City has only around 95,605 people for 2.5 square kilometers. India feared the worst when a cluster outbreak of COVID-19 was reported in Dharavi. It could have become the biggest COVID-19 disaster zone in the world. But by using proactive measures, Dharavi contained the virus. Media around the world, like the Los Angeles Times, have reported the success. Even the World Health Organization praised Dharavi. Reports credit the huge turnaround to various factors. Most focused on Dharavi's use of widespread testing and contact tracing. One is the use of an anti-malarial drug. But they ignored the policy most responsible. Indian doctors used hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) for prophylaxis (preventive) treatment the same drug the American media have politicized. Dharavi's COVID-19 infection rate dropped drastically from April through June. In July, new infections were very low, almost reaching zero on July 9. Officials have credited this turnaround to "[a] combination of hydroxychloroquine, vitamin D, and zinc tablets along with homeopathic medicines." HCQ has been widely used across India to treat early-stage COVID-19. It is also prescribed for prophylaxis among those who have come into contact with people who have tested positive. In India, HCQ has always been legal. The government's official COVID-19 task force, the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), highly recommends it for high-risk people like medical practitioners. The ICMR guidelines recommend prophylactic use of HCQ for the following categories: "all asymptomatic healthcare workers involved in containment and treatment of COVID19 and asymptomatic healthcare workers working in non-COVID hospitals/non-COVID areas of COVID hospitals/blocks"; "symptomatic frontline workers, such as surveillance workers deployed in containment zones and paramilitary/police personnel involved in COVID-19 related activities"; and "symptomatic household contacts of laboratory confirmed cases." In other words, HCQ is for anyone with the slightest chance of contracting COVID-19. Not all are on board with its use. When doctors began using HCQ in Dharavi, anti-HCQ advocates approached the Bombay high court. But the court ruled in favor of HCQ: Now, in a given case, if abiding by the law stricto sensu and waiting for a clinical trial of a drug would result in loss of valuable time for saving a patient and the choice is between the devil and the deep sea, i.e., no other drug except an HCQ sort of a drug, though not clinically tried for treating the disease, is the last option left for a doctor to save the life of such patient, should the doctor fold his hands and leave the patient to the mercy of the Almighty on the ground that the relevant drug has not been registered for use as prophylaxis? The answer, we are minded to hold, should be in the negative. The court could have informed the challenger about the track record of efficacy of HCQ. ICMR's observational study of 334 health care workers at AIIMS hospital (10 minutes from my home in Delhi) revealed that 248 who took HCQ prophylaxis had lower incidence of infection than those who didn't. A similar study in three other hospitals in Delhi had similar results. There have been only 27,497 COVID-19 deaths in India through July 19. With a population of 1.3 billion, that is an extremely low death rate of 19 per million, or 0.002 percent. (That is much lower than for tuberculosis, which kills 440,000 each year in India.) The use of HCQ could be one reason why India's death rate is dramatically lower than that of some European countries, like Spain, with 607 deaths per million, and France, with 461. The 139,659 deaths reported by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control by July 19 represent a rate about 20 times India's. Doctors have shown that HCQ, in combination with zinc and azithromycin, can be very effective in early stages of COVID-19: Risk stratification-based treatment of COVID-19 outpatients as early as possible after symptom onset with the used triple therapy, including the combination of zinc with low dose hydroxychloroquine, was associated with significantly less hospitalizations and 5 times less all-cause deaths. HCQ may be saving millions across the globe except in countries where it remains controversial. White House Office of Trade and Manufacturing Policy director Peter Navarro pointed out the same last week: It's the politicization of this medicine by the mainstream media and portions of the medical community that somehow made this a battle between President Trump and them and created this undue fear and hysteria over a drug, a medicine that has been used for over 60 years relatively safely and is regularly prescribed to pregnant women if they are going to a malaria zone. India has exported tons of HCQ to the U.S, Canada, and dozens of other countries in the past few months. Despite having stockpiles, these nations have resisted its use. The American media and bureaucracies should move beyond their obsession with politics and honestly consider HCQ's efficacy. WATERLOO A move is afoot to allow short-term free parking in downtown Waterloo. City Councilman Pat Morrissey unsuccessfully attempted Monday to tie renewal of the management agreement with Republic Parking System Inc. to free one-hour parking at on-street meters. His resolution was shot down by City Attorney Martin Petersen, who said the council had not given appropriate public notice about a potential change in downtown parking policies. But other council members and city staff also said more discussion about the budget impact was needed before making such a major change. Morrissey had suggested allowing one hour of free parking on Fourth Street between Franklin and Washington streets along with several cross streets. He also wanted to boost fines for repeat violators in hopes of keeping downtown workers from taking up on-street spaces. Councilman Dave Boesen supported the move, which has been requested by several downtown retailers, and suggested the city could remove meters on Fourth Street and enforce a two-hour free parking limit. Councilwoman Sharon Juon said more input and information is needed before she could support the change. How do we anticipate making up the lost revenue? she asked, noting removing meters would remove revenue but not expenses. Chief Financial Officer Michelle Weidner said the city may need to buy new equipment to enforce a free-parking window. I dont know that our meters can be adjusted for one-hour free parking, she said. Some of our meters are very old. It may require a pretty large capital investment to start doing that. Mayor Quentin Hart said he is talking with Main Street Waterloo about possible grab and go zones, where customers could park free for 15 minutes to pick up items from downtown merchants. He said he would schedule additional work sessions where council members can discuss the other parking ideas. Meanwhile, council members rejected a proposed five-year renewal and instead voted 4-3 to approve a one-year contract with Republic Parking System, which has managed the downtown parking since 2015. Council members Morrissey, Boesen, Jonathan Grieder and Jerome Amos Jr. voted for the one-year renewal, while council members Juon, Ray Fuess and Margaret Klein supported the five-year extension. Ive heard a lot of good things about how well theyve done with the management of our downtown parking, Juon said. It was unclear whether Republic would accept a one-year extension since the $40,000 annual payment to the firm was based on a five-year contract. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 A young farmer from country Victoria who was at "rock bottom" when he accepted $5000 to take the fall for slain underworld figure Nabil Maghnie in a high-speed crash was caught out during a covert police sting. Nicholas Alexander Ruaro, 32, told police he was responsible for a 209km/h car crash in Woodstock, north of Melbourne, on May 25 last year. In Melbourne's County Court on Tuesday, judge Carolene Gwynn said she accepted that Ruaro did not know the scale of the offending he was helping Maghnie conceal. Nabil Maghnie (centre) was a feared crime figure. Credit:Chris Hopkins "Really he had a carrot dangled in front of him and he grabbed it, thats how I see it," Judge Gwynn said. Punjab and Haryana have turned down the UT administrations proposal to impose a weekend curfew in the tricity from Friday 7pm to Monday 6 am, scuttling its plans to put stricter measures in place to control the spread of Covid-19. UT Adviser Manoj Parida talks to Hindustan Times regarding the rationale behind the proposal and strategies going forward What made the UT propose a drastic step like a weekend curfew? For four months we have been successful in containing the spread of the disease in the city. But with borders opening and inter-state travel now allowed, there was sudden spike in cases. A majority of new cases are coming from people with travel history and their contacts. This has been indicated by contact and source tracing. We have stopped bus operations but other modes of transport are open. While you are attributing the recent spike to open borders, a weekend curfew will only put restrictions on locals. What can be achieved by imposing it? A weekend curfew cannot break the chain. It will convey a message of awareness to people. With lockdown restrictions eased, people somehow think that they can go back to normal, celebrate, and they can gather in large numbers. It (weekend curfew) is just to remind them that the battle is not over. On weekends we can effectively implement (rules) as government offices and markets are closed. Does it mean that the administration has failed to strictly enforce social distancing norms and that there has been poor monitoring of those coming from other places? The administration has not failed. We cannot post a policeman outside every house to enforce social distancing and wear masks. We are making surprise inspections, challaning people and running awareness campaigns. But, it is the failure of the people, families and social leaders like resident welfare associations. In an educated city, a sense of responsibility is expected from residents. With Punjab and Haryana saying no to a weekend curfew, whats the administrations strategy now? The administration will take the advice of medical experts and decide on Chandigarh going it alone in imposing the curfew. A final decision will be taken at Wednesdays war room meeting. Why dont you go in for a Sunday curfew like Punjab? Chandigarh will take its own decision, and a decision has to be a two-day curfew. There is no question of diluting it to one day. We will not take a token step. Is there any plan to restrict public dealing also in offices such as registering and licence authorities? We have introduced online system for appointments, and for grievance redressal. People have to register their vehicles and their properties. We cannot stop that. These were stalled for several months, we need to bring some normalcy in these affairs. The administration has come under criticism for the level of testing being undertaken in the city. Why is it shying away from vigorous testing? Chandigarhs testing rate per day is more than double that of stipulated by the World Health Organisation. For instance, yesterday, there were 600 odd tests. We are screening the entire city for the second time now. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Pilot vs Gehlot: Raj HC verdict on Friday, Speaker told not to act on notices until then India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Jaipur, July 21: The Rajasthan High Court has said that it would deliver its verdict in the Sachin Pilot case on Friday. It has also directed the Speaker of the Rajasthan Legislative Assembly not to act on the disqualification notices until then. Earlier, senior counsel Mukul Rohatgi arguing for Sachin Pilot and camp said that the Speaker issued notice on the same day of the complaint. While showing grounds of malafide, he said that there was less time granted for a reply than has been stated in the rules. There was no material to show application of mind before the notice of issued and the notice just paraphrased the words of the complaint. Further no reasons were recorded to issue notice and the notice says if the reply is not in writing it will be decided expert. Rajasthan political crisis: CM Ashok Gehlot assures party's safety; Urge supporters to 'stand firm' The submissions were made in the Rajasthan High Court, which is hearing the petitions filed by Pilot and the rebel MLAs against the disqualification notice issued by the Speaker of the legislative assembly. On Monday, the HC had said that a whip cannot be issued for a party meeting. The observation came in the wake of the Congress submitting that disqualification notices were issued to Sachin Pilot and others for anti-party activity after they skipped two meetings of the Congress MLAs called by Chief Minister of Rajasthan Ashok Gehlot. Pilot's team argued that such notices cannot be issued by the Speaker, when the assembly is not in session. The matter is being heard by a Bench comprising Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta. Appearing for the Speaker, senior advocate, Abhishek Manu Singhvi said that there is limited ground to challenge the Speaker's order in court. There is limited ground to challenge the order of the Speaker. Moreover the petition filed by Pilot is premature, he also said. The Speaker has the right to be wrong, Singhvi also said. On Friday the court directed the Speaker not to act on the disqualification notices issued to Sachin Pilot and rebels till Tuesday. Pilot, who was sacked as deputy chief minister of Rajasthan has said in his petition that dissatisfaction against the party's leadership cannot be a ground to make an MLA amenable for disqualification. He also speaks of freedom of speech and expression in his amended petition before the Rajasthan High Court. Mere expression of dissatisfaction or even disillusionment against the party leadership cannot be treated to be conduct falling within clause 2(1) (a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India. The petition also challenges the validity of the clause under the 10th Schedule, while stating that this provision can be so widely construed that the very same fundamental freedom of speech and expression of a member of the House is jeopardised. While dealing with this in the past, several Supreme Court judgments have held that indulging in any anti party activity tantamount to voluntarily giving up membership of the party, the petition also read. The basis of the disqualification notices by the Speaker was expressions of dissent by some MLAs. It is necessary that the High Court examines the validity of the same under the 10th Schedule. Further Pilot has also sought for declaring 1(1) (a) of the 10th Schedule as ultra vires since it impinges upon the fundamental right of free speech. Attorneys for Donald Trumps former lawyer have demanded his immediate release from prison, claiming he was taken back into custody because he began promoting a tell-all book he was planning to publish about the president. Michael Cohen, who previously described himself as Mr Trumps personal fixer and was sentenced to three years in jail for providing false statements to Congress, tax fraud and campaign finance violations, received a furlough from the Bureau of Prisons in May at the request of his lawyers, citing the coronavirus pandemic and his risk of contracting Covid-19 in prison. Cohen and his attorneys were at a federal courthouse earlier this month so he could be fitted for an electronic monitoring device, as well as to transfer his status from furlough to home confinement, when he was taken into custody by US Marshals. Probation officers were requesting Cohen sign a Federal Location Monitoring Agreement form, which included a provision described as unusual by experts. The provision would bar him from speaking to the press or posting on social media, CNN reported. While his attorneys told the news outlet they did not refuse to sign the agreement, instead requesting they check whether the provision could be removed, a Bureau of Prisons spokesperson said Cohen was detained after he declined to agree to the terms required for the programme and home confinement placement. Cohens lawyers filed a petition on Monday afternoon that named US Attorney General William Barr, Bureau of Prisons director Michael Carvajal and the warden of the federal prison where their client was held in Otisville, New York. The petition, which has been backed by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), argued Cohen was being held in retaliation for his protected speech, including drafting a book manuscript that is critical of the President and recently making public his intention to publish that book soon, shortly before the upcoming election. Cohen had been tweeting out his support for the presidents niece, Mary Trump, who went through a bevy of legal challenges before she could publish her own tell-all book about her uncle, titled Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the Worlds Most Dangerous Man. He also expressed on social media that he was planning to release a book about the president, with the lawsuit indicating it would reveal how Mr Trump made racist comments about Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela. The ACLU confirmed it was joining the petition in a statement on Monday night that read: We're suing the federal government for imprisoning Michael Cohen in retaliation for his plans to publish a book critical of Trump. The group added: We will defend the First Amendment from government censorship as we have for a century now. Cohens lawsuit also argued against the White Houses apparent attempts to quash other books about the president prior to their release, citing Mr Trumps niece, as well as his former national security adviser John Bolton, who published a book about his tenure in the administration earlier this year. 19 Davis SD schools to go online due to COVID-19; Roy HS also going remote FARMINGTON Nineteen Davis School District schools will move to remote and online learning starting Wednesday due to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases among students. Remote learning will go through Friday, when school officials hope the active case counts fall below the thresholds spelled out in state law that required the move. Students "will be back on Monday," said Chris Williams, the district spokesperson. At the same time, though, Williams said district officials continue to monitor case numbers and he left open the possibility that additional schools may join the 19. "There may ... Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday added a reference to the political crisis in Rajasthan to question the priorities of the central government amid the fight against the coronavirus pandemic raging in the country. Gandhi in a tweet in Hindi listed the achievements of the government from February till July as he blamed the Centre for trying to destabilise the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government in Rajasthan. The former Congress president also mentioned Madhya Pradesh, where the 15-month-old Congress government led by Kamal Nath fell in March after a rebellion by 22 party legislators. Achievements of the government during the Corona period: February - Hello Trump March - Toppled government in MP April - Lighting candles May - 6th anniversary of the government June - Virtual rally in Bihar July - Attempt to topple the government in Rajasthan, Rahul Gandhi said in a tweet in Hindi. This is the first time Rahul Gandhi has spoken publicly about the crisis in Rajasthan triggered by Sachin Pilot and other MLAs of the party revolted on July 10. He also added an atmanirbhar jibe to continue his attack on the government. That is why the country is 'self-sufficient' in the battle of corona, the lawmaker from Keralas Wayanad added. Before this, Gandhi had Prime Minister Narendra Modi in his direct line of attack as he released a video on Monday to throw a jab at the Centre on the ongoing border row with China. He had said the Chinese are attacking PM Modis image as they understand that for him to survive as a politician, he has to protect the idea of Chhapan Inch (56-inch). The video was the second of his series to share his thoughts on national issues. The Congress has targeted the Prime Minister since the June 15 clash in the eastern Ladakhs Galwan Vallery in which 20 Indian Army soldiers were killed, accusing him of giving away Indian territory to China. The attack has mostly been led by Rahul Gandhi and the verbal duel has been on since then. The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), on its part, has accused the Congress of lowering the morale of the Indian Army and politicising a critical national security issue. Netflix (Credit: Getty) Netflix has axed its plans to produce an original drama series made in Turkey after pressure from authorities to remove a gay character. According to the Financial Times, the drama, called If Only, was even refused a production licence to film the show because of the character's sexuality. In a translated quote for Turkish film site Altyazi Fasikul, the show's creator Ece Yorenc said: Due to a gay character, permission to film the series was not granted and this is very frightening for the future. The show, which starred actress Ozge Ozpirincci, pivoted on an unhappily married woman who is shifted back in time to the moment when her husband proposed to her. In a statement, Netflix said: Netflix remains deeply committed to our Turkish members and the creative community in Turkey. Read more: Brazilian supreme court overturns gay Jesus comedy ban We are proud of the incredible talent we work with. We currently have several Turkish originals in production with more to come and look forward to sharing these stories with our members all around the world. It's thought that rather than bow to pressure to alter the story, the project was cancelled instead. The Turkish arm of the streaming giant was also targeted in April this year, after rumours began spreading on social media that a gay character was set to appear in the teen drama Love 101, and was set to air on 24 April, the beginning of Ramadan. At the time, Ebubekir Sahin, president of the Radio and Television Supreme Council, told Turkish newspaper Yeni Akit: We will not tolerate broadcasts that are contrary to the national and spiritual values of our society. Many also weighed in on Twitter, branding the streaming platform 'Islam's enemy' and calling for it to be banned, claiming that the Ramadan air date was planned on purpose. Netflix Turkey responded: A lot of false information is spreading from fake accounts... believe only what you hear from us about the series and the characters, not the rumours. The streamer aired its first ever Turkish original series The Protector last year. India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist Govt removes export ban on surgical drapes, isolation aprons India pti-PTI New Delhi, Jul 21: The government on Tuesday removed export ban on surgical drapes, isolation aprons, surgical wraps and X-Ray gowns. All other items including other types of medical coveralls of all classes and categories continue to remain prohibited for export, the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification. Masks do not prevent coronavirus spread: Centre's waring against using N-95 masks A notification dated June 22 is amended "to the extent that only surgical drapes, isolation aprons, surgical wraps and X-Ray gowns are removed from prohibition under the medical coveralls of all classes and categories," it said. Meanwhile, partially relaxing export norms, the government on Monday permitted shipments of Personal Protection Equipment (PPE) medical coveralls for COVID-19 with an export quota of 50 lakh units per month. The product was banned for export earlier, but has now been moved to the restricted category, under which an exporter would have to seek a licence from the government for shipments. Earlier on June 22, the government had decided to continue exports ban only on specific PPE such as medical coveralls of all classes and goggles. For the first time, on January 31, India had banned export of all PPE including clothing and masks. Hailing the decision, Apparel Export Promotion Council of India (AEPC) Chairman A Sakthivel said the government should also allow export of N95 masks. The decision to permit export of PPE medical coveralls has opened the entire global market for domestic players who were fast enough to seize this opportunity of producing and supplying PPE kits as the world struggles to control coronavirus pandemic, Sakthivel said. Serum Institute to begin trials of Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine candidate by Aug-end The production of PPE is more than sufficient to cater to the needs of the country and allowing exports of such items will not only help the health workers across the world, but also support the revival of the apparel industry in the country, he added. The council has been requesting the government to allow these exports as the production of PPE has increased to over 8 lakh units per day. "A single mask manufacturing machine can produce one lakh pieces per day and we have more than 200 such machines currently," he said. The government should soon extend the export opportunity for N95 masks as well, he said, adding that the size of the global market for PPEs is more than USD 60 billion for the next five years. Amarnath Yatra cancelled amid Covid-19 pandemic & surge in cases | Oneindia News The chairman further said that India is in competition with countries like Bangladesh, Indonesia and Pakistan as they have lifted the ban on PPE exports and are receiving huge orders from large buyers in the US and Europe. The US has finally agreed to discuss the vexed social security tax issue, which is a first step towards arriving at a totalisation agreement that could allow Indian professionals working in America to get beck their social security deposits after their working visa expire, three officials said. According to an industry estimate, Indians working in the US forfeit almost $1 billion annually as social security tax. For the first time in almost a decade, the US has recently acknowledged that social security tax is a bilateral issue and has agreed to discuss it, which is a major feat, said the officials working in three different ministries, requesting anonymity. Last week, commerce secretary Wilbur Ross told commerce minister Piyush Goyal that the issue of social security tax could be discussed. This signifies India and USA are increasingly having stronger ties. It is certainly an extremely important development that India was trying bring on the table for several years without much success, one of the officials mentioned above, who works in the ministry of external affairs (MEA) said. Indian workers, particularly IT professionals, make huge social security contributions in the US social security scheme while they work in America, but most of them come back home before they are eligible to withdraw money from their social security contributions, leave their savings behind. A Totalisation Agreement between the two countries would save them from this financial loss. A second person, who works in the commerce ministry, said Goyal had raised the matter in a tele-conversation with Ross on July 16 and the US commerce secretary response was positive. Ross offered to arrange a meeting between the US Social Security Administrator and Indian officials to discuss the matter and find a possible solution, he said. It is expected that a team of Indian officials representing ministries of external affairs, commerce and labour would take this matter further. This has opened up the possibility of initiating exploratory talks. A final solution would emerge after several rounds of talks, which may take several months. But, at least we are moving in the right direction, the first official said. India and USA have totalisation agreement with several countries, some of them are common, hence a US-India totalisation agreement depends more on political will, which appears positive from both ends, a third official working in the labour ministry said. India has bilateral social security agreements (totalisation agreement) with several countries such as Belgium, France, Germany, Switzerland, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Hungary, Denmark, The Czech Republic, Republic of korea and Norway. It was a lost issue until Prime Minister Narendra Modi brought this up in February this year during President Donald Trumps India visit. Addressing a joint press conference with the US president at Hyderabad House in New Delhi on February 25, PM Modi had said, I have requested President Trump that the contribution of our professionals, in terms of social security, should be discussed further within the framework of a totalization agreement. This will be of mutual interest to both of us. Shivendra Singh, vice president and head -- global trade development at NASSCOM, an industry association representing 180-billion dollar technology industry, said, a totalisation agreement would provide huge relief to the Indian employee population in the US and also make it competitive for US employers to employ Indian citizens. Further, in order for the negotiations to proceed, as we are told, considering that statute dictates the requirements, it is the U.S. Congress need to pass legislation to change these regulations, he said. Using existing laws as an exception to deny Indian workers their own contributions and not extend any benefits to those who contribute towards the U.S. Social Security system cannot continue forever, he added. Divakar Vijayasarathy, founder and managing partner of consultancy firm DVS Advisors LLP said, Social security contributions (SSC), similar to EPF and ESI in India, are prevalent globally. In a world where employees are globally mobile, the case for SSC deductions in multiple jurisdictions become unavoidable. India is one of the largest exporters of quality talent globally and Indian employees are more prone to double deduction of SSC than citizens of most jurisdictions. Unlike the case of tax credits, there is no case for SSC credits in either jurisdiction. Hence countries enter into SSAs [social security agreements] to ensure that, based on the fulfilment of certain conditions, the concerned employee would be subject to SSC deduction in only one jurisdiction, he added. It seems like moving to Stage 3 reopening, which Niagara will do starting Friday, might test our balancing skills. Gyms and movie theatres will finally be allowed to reopen, bigger crowds can congregate indoors and outside, and customers will again be allowed to eat their meals at a table inside a restaurant. Its another good sign that life continues to work its way back to normal, whatever that might end up looking like. What has to be balanced is enjoying the freedom and for businesses, the chance to earn more revenue versus the responsibility to ensure we make this work. We all want to get out; weve been cooped up inside too long and been kept from doing many of the things weve always done during the summer. But so have people in Toronto and Peel, and they remain at Stage 2. Theyve already been pouring into Niagara every weekend just look at the heavy traffic on the QEW on Saturdays and Sundays for evidence. Its mid-July, its very hot outside and were just a short drive from Toronto. Niagara, especially Niagara Falls and Niagara-on-the-Lake, will be a very, very busy place this weekend. Businesses will be working under the new Stage 3 guidelines, all the while having to control bigger crowds and enforce physical distancing. But the responsibility isnt all theirs. Its up to everyone who plans to be a customer or a tourist or a visitor this weekend. Were all familiar with the rules maintain two-metre distance from strangers, cover our coughs, wear a mask in an indoor public place and we have to keep following them, strictly. Just as the provincial government hasnt hesitated to hold some regions back while others continued to reopen, its a good bet it wouldnt be shy about sending us back to Stage 2 if we cant handle Stage 3 and more cases of COVID-19 are reported across Niagara. Now that would be depressing, in a year that in some ways has redefined that word. Niagaras acting medical officer of health has already sounded the alarm about that, albeit gently. Dr. Mustafa Hirji noted that in each of the past two weeks, while Niagaras daily COVID case count has been low there have been occasional days when higher-than-usual numbers were reported. Each week, the regions acting medical officer of health said, saw 12 new cases reported overall, which was higher compared to previous weeks. That would coincide with Niagaras step in Stage 2 of reopening. So, yes, to some extent the occasional higher number was to be expected. Until there is a vaccine for the coronavirus and it is put into wide public use, there will be days and weeks like that. Perhaps we should expect it again in mid-August, a couple of weeks after entering Stage 3. But allowing for a slight rise in numbers doesnt mean we can relax our vigilance. We need only look to the United States to see just how bad things can get when you take your foot off the pedal. But the numbers dont lie Canadians have handled this pandemic in a much more serious, responsible way than our friends down south. Weve proven we can do this, and we can hope that on Thursday Niagaras regional council will enact a bylaw that would make mask-wearing mandatory in all indoor public places. So when we enter Stage 3 we will be walking a bit of a fine line. But Niagara has proven it is ready. TACOMA, Wash., July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sterling Reference Laboratories, which operates as Cordant Health Solutions, announced today that it has reached an agreement with the United States Department of Justice and the United States Attorney's Office for the Western District of Washington to settle a civil investigation stemming from two lab marketing service agreements the Company had in place in 2013-2015. Under the agreement, Cordant will pay $11.9 million to resolve the investigations that have been pending in Washington and Tennessee for more than five years. The settlement was reached without any admission of wrongdoing and reflects the Company's desire to put the matter behind it and avoid the expense of further litigation so it can focus on supporting clinicians with solutions to help them effectively care for patients. Cordant also entered into a Corporate Integrity Agreement with the Office of the Inspector General for the United States Department of Health and Human Services, under which the Company will strengthen specific corporate compliance obligations and undergo periodic audits of its compliance and other financial arrangements by an Independent Review Organization. "Cordant is pleased to reach a resolution of the investigation and looks forward to continuing to put patient care first and provide innovative tools for monitoring and managing behavioral health and chronic pain patients through our unique programs," said Sue Sommer, CEO and president of Cordant. "At the same time, we will maintain our historical commitment to conduct our activities according to the highest ethical standards and to follow our comprehensive compliance program." About Cordant Health Solutions Based in Denver, Cordant Health Solutions provides innovative tools for monitoring behavioral health, chronic pain and criminal justice cases. Our unique pharmacy and drug testing programs provide accurate, actionable results to protect prescribers, hold patients accountable and optimize quality of life. As a leader in quality standards, Cordant is committed to developing solutions for payers, clinicians and organizations involved with substance use disorder, pain management and criminal justice agencies. Cordant is one of the only healthcare companies that offers monitoring and risk assessment tools through its innovative drug testing options and full-service, high-touch pharmacies, which specialize in the complex management and dispensing of controlled substances. Cordant's testing protocols and digital case-management tools help clients become more efficient and effective in using drug testing programs to monitor patient adherence, reduce risk and improve patient outcomes. Media Contact: Tiffany Tuetken [email protected] 303-570-4585 SOURCE Cordant Health Solutions Its called The Littlest Bailout and its Country Time Lemonades way of helping little entrepreneurs during the coronavirus pandemic. According to the U.S. Sun, Country Time will distribute stimulus checks to lucky kids under the age of the 14, an effort to support the smallest of small businesses: lemonade stands. The program would give $100 to lemonade stand owners that have been affected by strict social distancing rules and other restrictions connected to the pandemic. Country Time has a history of helping lemonade stands when they are in trouble, like stepping in to pay for permit fees or fines, and this year is no different, Country Times Andrew Deckert said in a press release. Due to social distancing guidelines, lemonade stands arent what they used to be, and we want to help kids foster their entrepreneurial spirit by offering a small relief to those who cant operate their lemonade stands this summer. Big restaurant chains and pro sports teams taking small business loans? That isnt right. Introducing #CountryTimeBailout, relief checks for lemonade stands. NO PURCHASE NECESSARY. Ends 8/12/20. For Official Rules, visit https://t.co/HBOpUX3Jco. CountryTime (@CountryTime) July 15, 2020 For a chance to be awarded a $100 check, applicants must submit a maximum 255-character essay in English at countrytimebailout.com. Kids must answer, How would your child use their stimulus check to juice the economy? in the essay and submit a photo of their lemonade stand. The deadline is Aug. 12. According to the website, 1,000 grand prize winners will be announced Aug. 13 and receive a $100 Visa prepaid card. Legal residents of all 50 states and Washington D.C. are eligible to apply if they are the parents or legal guardian of a child working a lemonade stand. The Buhari administrations business reforms, through the Presidential Enabling Business Environment Council (PEBEC), is an opportunity to significantly boost local and foreign investments in the country, according to Vice President Yemi Osinbajo. Mr Osinbajo spoke Tuesday at a virtual meeting of the PEBEC to review the state of the reforms across a number of government agencies, noting that the Federal Government will continue to take the opportunity and ensure that more results are recorded. As a result of the work of PEBEC, the World Bank has praised the economic direction of the Buhari administration and ranked the country higher in its annual Ease of Doing Business Rankings. According to the vice president, This is a country with so much promise, this is a country that has so much resources and our administration has every opportunity to do something profound about investments in Nigeria. We must focus on how to get our business environment working. Earlier in his presentation, the Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo, expressed optimism that the challenges observed in sustaining the successes recorded in the reforms will be addressed. On his part, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Mohammed Bello, said sustaining the PEBEC reforms is a priority for Nigeria as the country would not have risen in the Ease of Doing Business rankings if not for PEBEC. The Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Jumoke Oduwole, said the Enabling Business Environment Secretariat (EBES) will continue to drive the mandate of PEBEC through extensive collaborations, adding that the National Action Plan 5.0 has been extended to July 29, 2020. Attendance at the meeting, chaired by Vice President Yemi Osinbajo, included Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, Niyi Adebayo; Minister of Interior, Rauf Aregbesola; Minister of FCT, Mohammed Bello; Minister of Communication and Digital Economy, Isa Pantami; Minister of Information, Lai Mohammed; Minister of State for Industry, Trade and Investment, Mariam Katagum; Head of Civil Service of the Federation, Folashade Yemi-Esan; Special Adviser to the President on Ease of Doing Business, Jumoke Oduwole, amongst other members of the council. FREDERICTONNew Brunswick Premier Blaine Higgs says his province is hoping to create a mini bubble with Quebec by Aug. 1. The bubble would allow residents who live near the Quebec-New Brunswick border to travel back and forth between the provinces without having to self-isolate for 14 days, Higgs told reporters Tuesday. Higgs said the agreement would only allow for day trips. New Brunswick is currently part of whats called the Atlantic bubble, which allows Atlantic Canadians to travel within the region without having to self-isolate. Higgs government has been in recent talks with Quebec about easing travel restrictions that were imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Higgs said Quebec visitors would first need to register online and would be screened at the border. He said there is a strong sense of community between Quebecers and the New Brunswick cities of Campbellton and Edmundston. This will be controlled, the premier said. It will be isolated in the region and we do rely on the integrity of individuals not to bring (COVID-19) across the border. Quebecers who live by the New Brunswick border would not be able to travel to other provinces in Atlantic Canada without self-isolating for two weeks. The agreement, Higgs said, doesnt open up the rest of Quebec to New Brunswickers, either. Were not there at all, said Higgs. And I dont think the public in New Brunswick is there either. I do think its important to the northern region. I think its important to their social life and important to their economy. Campbellton Mayor Stephanie Anglehart-Paulin said many families straddle the provincial border. Cross-border travel is important to the survival of businesses in her community, she said. She said while there are 15,000 people in her city, she considers the 7,500 people on the other side of the Restigouche River also part of her community. The two sides are linked by the J.C Van Horne bridge. Anglehart-Paulin said the Quebec residents are used to shopping and accessing health services in Campbellton. Its been really hard, she said Tuesday. Theyve had to go far, and at the time that COVID was down the coast we were forcing them to go down the coast. They were scared to death and you couldnt blame them. People that we can see, 800 metres away, cant come here. Our restaurants are hurting, everything is hurting, she said. Anglehart-Paulin noted that while Quebec has had the most COVID-19 cases in Canada, the majority of the infections have occurred in the more southern parts of the province. Montreal, which was the epicentre of the pandemic in Canada, is 12 hours away. Quebec reported 180 new cases Tuesday. There have been 57,796 cases in the province including 5,658 deaths. There were no new cases in New Brunswick Tuesday. There have been 170 cases in the province, including two deaths. The other Atlantic premiers have stated they do not want to be part of the tentative agreement between Quebec and New Brunswick. Prince Edward Island Premier Dennis King said Tuesday other provinces may choose to expand the Atlantic bubble, which he said is their jurisdictional right. But P.E.I. for the meantime will maintain the status quo, he said. There were no new cases on the Island Tuesday. Read more about: More snow on the way in Pennsylvania; here's how much to expect In the wake of the killing of Fort Hood soldier Vanessa Guillen, a group of Democratic congresswomen is trying to revive legislation that would create a special prosecutor to handle military sexual assaults, allow victims to file confidential reports to the militarys database of accused abusers and enact other reforms. Guillens murder by a fellow soldier while on duty at Fort Hood has become a rallying cry for survivors of sexual violence in the military. The Army says it has no record of her reporting sexual harassment but her family says she told them of abusive behavior. Vanessas dream was to join the Army and that dream was shattered, said U.S. Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Houston, at a press conference Tuesday at the U.S. Capitol. The Army failed to keep her safe. It failed to meet the basic bargain of the armed services and young men and women who enlist. Garcia is working with U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier, a California Democrat, to introduce a comprehensive bill that will address how sexual harassment is handled, investigated and prosecuted in the military. The militarys approach had failed-- an epic failure that is a stain on military leadership, said Speier, who is chair of the House Armed Services Military Personnel Subcommitee. We have a moral imperative to act. Guillen went missing in February and her remains were found two months later. A suspect in her death, Aaron Robinson, died by suicide as police were preparing to arrest him. A second suspect, Robinsons girlfriend Cecily Aguilar, faces federal conspiracy to tamper with evidence charges. There is an investigation into Guillens reported sexual harassment in the army, as well as her murder while on duty at the post. Secretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy has agreed to an independent review of the command culture at Fort Hood. The family has been critical of what they said was an inadequate search for Vanessa and investigation of what happened to her. The culture in the military allows abuse to continue because the system punishes victims and protects predators, said Lindsay Church, a U.S. Navy veteran and executive director of Minority Veterans of America. Retaliation is what everyone fears, said Speier. Reporting is a career-ending act for many. More than 76 percent of victims did not formally report their assaults in 2018, according to an estimate based on a Department of Defense survey of active service members. Last year, Speier introduced an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act that would have created a pilot program to introduce a special prosecutor within the services. The reforms she is advocating would include such an independent prosecutor. Speier said the legislation also will include a measure that would allow victims to file confidential reports to the militarys database of those accused of abuse. Survivors will know if their harasser has been reported by other service members, said Speier. Another measure would require the U.S. Government General Accountability Office to examine the militarys procedures for finding missing service members and compare them to state and local enforcement and best practices. Democratic U.S. Rep. Elaine Luria of Virginia, a Navy veteran who served as a commanding officer, said at the press conference she now regrets voting against it previously. I was part of the problem and I feel like I need to be part of the solution, she said. I believe in the chain of command. But we must do more to keep victims safe. Luria said its essential there is an environment in which victims feel safe coming forward and have faith that they will see justice. Vanessa and thousands like her cannot die or have their lives destroyed in vain, said Speier. We must offer justice while sending a strong message to the forces that harassment and assault will not be tolerated. hannah.dellinger@chron.com ENON, Pa. Somewhere along the line, the little village of Enon was reclaimed by the land. For years, this was where the hopes and dreams of immigrants were realized, the dreams of many Welsh Baptists and Quakers who fled their homeland when the British government persecuted them for their dissent from the Church of England. That same government also wanted to force them to adhere to English culture. All that is left standing is the Enon Baptist Church, a tidy, white, clapboard structure that, starting in 1848, offered the faithful the ability to practice their religion freely, without fear of imprisonment or flogging, in the wild frontier of a country that had barely passed its 50th year of existence. Five years after shutting its doors for good, the Enon Baptist Church stands on the precipice of either returning to the soil or finding an enterprising buyer to plunk down $50,000 and bring it back to a new life. While the structure, like the people who founded it, is sturdy, the ground it sits on is encroaching at a rapid pace. It is lost on the loudest voices in our modern culture what religious liberty means to people of faith. Perhaps it is because those curators of popular culture do not practice a religion, have never associated with anyone who has and/or live in a community in which adherence to ideologies such as climate change or social justice have replaced adherence to a belief in a higher being. Religious liberty is enshrined in our Constitution. The First Amendment declares the right of all to exercise religion freely, without being coerced to join an established church, something the early Welsh settlers fled. People also hold the right to abstain from action in accordance with ones religious beliefs. Freedom of religion exists for organizations as well as individuals. After nearly a decade of asking for a religious exemption from a contraception mandate in the Affordable Care Act and subsequent litigation, the U.S. Supreme Court reinforced our foundational freedom of religious liberty in a 7-2 decision that upheld the right of the Little Sisters of the Poor to follow its religious convictions. As a sign of our deeply disturbing, polarizing times, instead of everyone celebrating liberty from an unconstitutional government mandate, it became a partisan mocking of people of faith. There were headlines such as The Supreme Court Sidelines Women in Favor of Religious Bosses at Slate, Supreme Court Birth Control Ruling Shows How Civil Rights and Abortion Access Will Be Limited at NBC and The Roberts Court Curtails Birth Control Access. Again from The New York Times editorial board. Instead of celebrating our religious liberty remaining intact, Joe Biden said in a statement he was disappointed and that the ruling would make it easier for President Donald Trump to continue to strip health care from women attempting to carve out broad exemptions to the Affordable Care Acts commitment to giving all women free access to recommended contraception. Biden completely dismissed the fundamentals of our Constitution in favor of a political wedge issue. No one is taking health care away from women, nor is mandated birth control supplies a right. Furthermore, this battle was never about Biden or former President Barack Obama; it was always about a government policy that required religious organizations to violate their moral and religious convictions. The press, Biden, Democrats and the curators of our popular culture did not frame this as the Supreme Court protecting our religious freedoms. It is as if none of them had any historical knowledge of how much that very freedom is what led waves of immigrants here. Of course, we know thats not true. These are very smart people who went to the best universities money can buy. It is just that this constitutional freedom has little meaning to many of them, so, therefore, it should not be celebrated. The fear among people of faith in this country is that the irreligious and prejudiced viewpoints of those who control our culture (such as much of our larger news organizations, entertainers, corporations and the Democratic Party) will erase those protections for religious freedom, leaving that constitutional right extremely fragile. And like the town of Enon, reclaimed by the environment, the right may succumb to the virtuosity of the liberals. Salena Zito is a CNN political analyst and a staff reporter and columnist for the Washington Examiner. Salena Zito is a CNN political analyst and a staff reporter and columnist for the Washington Examiner. Yesterday, protests took place in Portland, Oregon, as they have every day since late May. Community leaders led chants of Black Lives Matter. Wall of Moms, a mothers group, linked arms and sang a haunting lullaby: Hands up, please dont shoot me. In the early days, members of the Portland police department fired tear gas and impact munitions at the crowds. Officials justified their aggression by tweeting pictures of projectilesa part-eaten apple, a brick, a can of White Clawthat they said protesters had thrown at cops. As June progressed, the protests settled into an odd rhythm, Bellingcats Robert Evans, who has been covering the scene, writes; they sometimes ended in police violence and sometimes ended in parties. In July, the federal government got heavily involved. Its agents joined local forces in using gas and munitionsone of which left a protester, Donovan LaBella, in need of skull and facial surgery. According to The Oregonians Maxine Bernstein, federal officials also surveilled protesters and sent undercover officers into the crowd to make arrests. Last week, the situation came to national attention after news emerged that federal immigration officers in unmarked vehicles were snatching protesters off the streets. In recent days, media critics have argued that federal agents in Portland were trying to get national attentionnamely from right-wing media. Right-wing outlets have been on top of the story. Sean Hannity and others have provided wild descriptions of Portland as a war zone where the Trump administration has bravely fended off leftist mobs hell-bent on anarchy. As The Oregonians Eder Campuzano reported over the weekend, thats nonsense: a majority of protesters have been peaceful; violent clashes have been limited to a small section of the city during nighttime hours. Since the truth does not match Trumps preferred narrativethat Democratic-led cities are on fire, and only he can put out the flamesit appears that his administration is using blunt force to put on a show of his law-and-order bona fides. On Sunday, Anne Applebaum, of The Atlantic, told CNN that the crackdown on Portland amounts to performative authoritarianism. Will Bunch, of the Philadelphia Inquirer, called it made-for-TV fascism. ICYMI: The mystery of Tucker Carlson TV authoritarianism is still authoritarianism. Local outlets, in particular, have done an excellent job documenting federal agents chilling behavior in Portland. But the national conversation has arguably been slow to catch up to the severity of whats going on. Bunch and others argue thats due in part to how few national reporters are based in Portlandand, to an extent, Fox and others have taken the opening to frame the story. Some journalists have expressed a feeling that if this were all happening in New York or DC, it would be covered as a much bigger deal. The story certainly merits more urgent attention: about two months after a white officer named Derek Chauvin killed a Black man named George Floyd, prompting a national reckoning with white supremacy, federal agents are using chemical weapons against Americans marching for Black lives, and spiriting some away. The stakes are rising by the day. Yesterday, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Trump administration is now preparing to send federal agents into Chicago; Department of Homeland Security officials subsequently confirmed those plans to the Washington Post, and Trump said publicly that New York might be next. We cant say we werent warnedafter Floyd was killed, Trump said repeatedly that he was considering sending troops into major cities, and, as Josh Sternberg, of The Media Nut, pointed out yesterday, Sen. Tom Cotton advocated as much in his infamous New York Times op-ed, which was published in early June. Around the same time, Trump staged a photo-op that involved teargassing protesters in Washington; later that month, he vowed to jail vandals, hoodlums, anarchists, and agitators around the country. Bunch points out that, by July 1when Trump established an Orwellian new task force, ostensibly to protect statues and monuments, with worryingly broad law enforcement powersthe story got almost no attention. Media coverage is habitually reactive. The aggressions of federal agents in Portland arent happening in a vacuum; as Tuck Woodstock, a local journalist, pointed out last week, This is the natural escalation of the last seven weeks. This is what has come of Portlanders protesting police brutality for 50 days: more bizarre acts of police brutality. Right-wing outlets have continued to obsess over the ongoing protests, through a distorting lens, while their reality-based counterparts interest in the protests has waned. Its taken people being snatched off the street to begin to rectify that. We cant let our attention drop again. Whats happening in Portland will keep happening, there and elsewhere. As Woodstock said, Portlanders are risking everything every day. Please notice. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Below, more on Portland, protest, and race in the media: Media criticism: Campuzano, of The Oregonian, spoke with Portland residents about their impressions of media coverage of protests in the city. Some residents argued that local outlets, as well as national media, have been overly focused on scenes of violence and vandalism. It misses the point, one protester, Katherine Sherman, told Campuzano. It misses the beauty of this cultural moment. In June, after readers expressed similar concerns to editors at The Oregonian, the paper changed the way it displayed protest photos online, Campuzano reports. Campuzano, of The Oregonian, spoke with Portland residents about their impressions of media coverage of protests in the city. Some residents argued that local outlets, as well as national media, have been overly focused on scenes of violence and vandalism. It misses the point, one protester, Katherine Sherman, told Campuzano. It misses the beauty of this cultural moment. In June, after readers expressed similar concerns to editors at The Oregonian, the paper changed the way it displayed protest photos online, Campuzano reports. A strike: Yesterday, at least twenty thousand workers in the service industry and gig economy walked off the job in protest of systemic racism and inequality. The Strike for Black Lives was organized or supported by more than 60 labor unions and social and racial justice organizations, which held a range of events in more than two dozen cities, Aaron Morrison reports for the Associated Press. Support swelled well beyond expectations, organizers said, although a precise participation tally was not available. Yesterday, at least twenty thousand workers in the service industry and gig economy walked off the job in protest of systemic racism and inequality. The Strike for Black Lives was organized or supported by more than 60 labor unions and social and racial justice organizations, which held a range of events in more than two dozen cities, Aaron Morrison reports for the Associated Press. Support swelled well beyond expectations, organizers said, although a precise participation tally was not available. On the subject of the AP: After moving recently to capitalize the word Black as it pertains to race and culture, John Daniszewski, the APs vice president for standards, confirmed yesterday that his organization will continue to lowercase the word white. (The APs style guide remains a baseline for many US newsrooms.) Following internal discussions, the AP concluded that white people generally do not share the same history and culture, or the experience of being discriminated against because of skin color. In addition, we are a global news organization and in much of the world there is considerable disagreement, ambiguity and confusion about whom the term includes. After moving recently to capitalize the word Black as it pertains to race and culture, John Daniszewski, the APs vice president for standards, confirmed yesterday that his organization will continue to lowercase the word white. (The APs style guide remains a baseline for many US newsrooms.) Following internal discussions, the AP concluded that white people generally do not share the same history and culture, or the experience of being discriminated against because of skin color. In addition, we are a global news organization and in much of the world there is considerable disagreement, ambiguity and confusion about whom the term includes. A firing: Last month, Yashar Ali reported, for HuffPost, on allegations of abusive and racist behavior by Barbara Fedida, a senior executive at ABC News who was in charge of the networks talent. (Fedida called the claims heartbreaking and incredibly misleading.) After Alis story came out, Fedida was placed on administrative leave, pending an investigation. She has now been fired. Ali has more details. Other notable stories: ICYMI: Twitter hates me. The Des Moines Register fired me. Heres what really happened. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Jon Allsop is a freelance journalist whose work has appeared in the New York Review of Books, Foreign Policy, and The Nation, among other outlets. He writes CJRs newsletter The Media Today. Find him on Twitter @Jon_Allsop. She's alone in Sydney while husband Tim Robards is stuck in Melbourne filming Neighbours amid the city's reintroduced lockdown measures. And on Monday, a pregnant Anna Heinrich cheered herself up by heading to her parents Southern Tablelands home to indulge in some comfort food. The 33-year-old lawyer looked resplendent in a yellow dress as she showed off her burgeoning baby bump. Resplendent! On Monday, Anna Heinrich (pictured) looked sensational as she showed off her baby bump in a yellow dress while visiting her parents home in the Southern Tablelands The mother-to-be looked sensational in a selfie she shared to Instagram, in which she flaunted her growing bump in a yellow mock turtleneck tiered dress. Already a doting mother, Anna lovingly placed a protective hand over her stomach. Anna wore her blonde locks in a half-up hairstyle, letting it cascade over her shoulders in loose curls. Her makeup was glamorous, with a full coverage foundation and a smokey eye with plenty of mascara. Comfort food! Anna was able to indulge her pregnancy cravings with a sweet treat that her mother Judith, a cookbook author, whipped up for her. Anna shared an image of a delectable looking chocolate cake covered in cream and raspberries that she enjoyed 'Dinner at my second home,' she captioned the image taken in her parent's dining room. Anna was able to indulge her pregnancy cravings with a sweet treat that her mother Judith, a cookbook author, whipped up for her. Anna shared an image of a delectable looking chocolate cake covered in cream and raspberries that she enjoyed. Forced apart: Anna and Tim have been forced apart as she remains at their Sydney home while he is in Melbourne to film Neighbours. Last week the city was locked down for six weeks following a surge in coronavirus cases Anna, who is expecting the couples first child, has been excitedly preparing for the baby's arrival despite her separation from Tim. Last week, the blonde stunner showed off some new baby clothes that she purchased. While revealing some hand-knitted toys, Anna couldn't stop gushing about a sweet denim jacket which had 'Baby Robards' stitched on the back. Making the best of it: Last week Anna couldn't stop gushing about a sweet denim jacket which had 'Baby Robards' stitched on the back as she prepared to welcome their child 'Can't wait to dress up my little girl!' Anna captioned a short clip of herself showing several muted yellow outfits. In the following clip, she showed off her unborn child's new denim coat. 'How cute is this little denim jacket? But the best part is on the back... Baby Robards!' she proclaimed. Sunny disposition! Anna showed off some super cute muted yellow outfits The pregnant beauty also showed the small collection of toys she had already acquired - including a hand-stitched piece of art from her mother-in-law. A fortnight ago, Anna revealed the sweet gift her hubby sent to cheer her up as he remains in Melbourne to film for Neighbours. Anna shared a photo of a gorgeous bouquet of flowers along with a heartfelt note from Tim, 37, to Instagram. 'So talented': The pregnant beauty also showed the small collection of toys she had already acquired - including a hand-stitched piece of art from her mother-in-law 'When your hubby lives in Vic and you live in NSW. Love you @mrtimrobards Pregnancy hormones on the rise,' Anna captioned the post. The bouquet included pink gerberas, white daisies and lilies, which are yet to bloom. 'Keep smiling. I'm never that far away xoxo Love you. Your hubby,' read the touching note from Tim. 'I'm never that far away': This comes after Anna shared the charming bouquet included pink gerberas, white daisies and lilies, which are yet to bloom. 'Keep smiling. I'm never that far away xoxo Love you. Your hubby,' read the sweet note from Tim Anna has remained at the couple's home in Sydney, while Tim is based in Melbourne to continue production on Neighbours. Fremantle Australia, the production company behind the long-running soap, has confirmed that Neighbours will continue filming scenes in Melbourne as the Victorian capital goes into stage three lockdown beginning midnight on Wednesday last week due to the sudden surge in cases of COVID-19. Following the surge, Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews announced that the whole of Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire will be placed back into lockdown for six weeks. Anna and Tim announced their pregnancy in May. US urged to reflect and coexist Global Times By Chen Qingqing and Zhang Han Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/20 22:33:41 Cautious China won't sit still to provocation: expert While the world closely watches whether China-US relations - the most important bilateral ties - would drift toward war, the Chinese envoy to the US called on Washington to make a fundamental choice about coexisting with China. The US should act in a restrained manner and give up on challenging the bottom line of China before the situation gets out of control, Chinese observers warned. Faced with growing tensions with China, the US has to deal with a fundamental question whether it is ready to live with another country with a very different culture and political and economic systems, Chinese Ambassador to the US Cui Tiankai told CNN in an interview over the weekend. Chinese diplomats have been voicing their concerns over deteriorating China-US ties, which are considered at an all-time low in decades as the Trump administration has been taking a harsh stance on a series of issues, such as China's national security law for Hong Kong region, the South China Sea, the island of Taiwan, and the human rights in Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region. Before Cui commented on China-US relations, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi harshly criticized Washington for pursuing its egoism, unilateralism and bullying policy to the extreme. China's policy toward the US is consistent, which is to take divergences under control without seeking confrontation. However, as the US presidential election approaches, it's hard to ease tensions, especially in terms of US politicians' rhetoric concerning China, Lu Xiang, a research fellow on US studies at the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday. "Such rhetoric is driven by emotions, considering that the US is facing growing chaos and panic amid the COVID-19 epidemic. It's hard for them to be rational at this point," Lu said. Sunday marked the 41st straight day that the seven-day average for new daily coronavirus infections in the US trended upward, the Washington Post reported on Monday. More than 3.7 million cases have been detected in the US, and at least 137,000 people have died, the report said. The disastrous handling of the outbreak has left the Trump administration much more eager to shift the responsibility to other countries, and China has become its primary target. The Washington-led smear campaign has been escalating into a war of words between the two countries. More recently, as the presidential campaign heats up, Trump's team is also using China as one of its lines of attack against Joe Biden, while Republicans' internal memo earlier exposed their anti-China strategy serves as a strategy for running the campaign. The election creates uncertainty for bilateral relations, but confrontation is inevitable no matter which party wins, Li Haidong, a professor at the Institute of International Relations of the China Foreign Affairs University, told the Global Times on Monday. China has been cautious in responding to US provocation and hate policies. But it is uncertain what the other side would do afterwards, and China will not sit still if the US makes further military provocations in the South China Sea or tears the three Joint Communiques and takes action over the Taiwan question, Li said, noting the risk of regional skirmishes is escalating. No matter what card the US plays and what strategy it takes toward us, domestic stability, prosperity and cohesion are the key to China's dealing with sinking China-US relations, Li said. Cui emphasized that China is always ready and open to work together with the US government, with any administration. "And we still have confidence in the goodwill of the American people, and have the same kind of goodwill toward the American people," the ambassador added. As great powers, big countries bear heavy responsibilities not only for ourselves but also for the world, we really have to base our policies on common interests, on growing global challenges and what the international community expects us to do, and not allow suspicion, fear, or even hatred to hijack our foreign policy, Cui noted. "As long as the US does not further provoke China, it's likely the two sides would handle the situation in more peaceful way," Lu said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address UPPER THUMB Despite state officials dealing with a projected $3.6 billion deficit and the coronavirus pandemic, a major construction project in Tuscola County is still scheduled to begin. After more than three years of wrangling with the state, construction of the long awaited new state psychiatric hospital in Caro is scheduled to start this fall, said Tuscola County Controller-Administrator Clayette Zechmeister. In October 2019, lawmakers authorized construction of a $63 million, 100-bed state psychiatric hospital to replace the current Caro Regional Mental Health Center on the Caro site. The new facility is on schedule with no delays or issues," Zechmeister said. "A fall start for on-site pre-construction activities are still on target." Three years ago, the residential facilities at the center were demolished in preparation for construction of a new hospital, which was later halted when Gov. Gretchen Whitmer took over and Rick Snyder left office. Site demolition bids have been awarded," Zechmeister said. "Building number one and building number 106 are being removed. The demolition of those buildings started and will be completed in 90 days. Currently, there are 20 uninhabitable and unusable buildings of the 38 buildings on the 650-acre hospital site in Indianfields Township. The Caro Center houses about 102 patients and has a staff of about 404. The numbers fluctuate slightly month to month. Despite the recent plan for a new state hospital in Tuscola County, locals remain cautiously optimistic. There was a groundbreaking in 2017 to build a $115 million, 200-bed, 225,000-square foot hospital; but just as construction was to start, Whitmer, and Department of Health and Human Services Director Robert Gordon halted the project and hired a consulting firm to review it. Had that project moved forward, it would have been completed in 2021. Waffling over the need, size and other issues of a new facility delayed the project and put it in jeopardy because other possible sites were being considered. Several Tuscola County officials had to prove for a second time the need to have a local psychiatric hospital. The state agreed in October 2019 to build the hospital in the county and to have the money to do that in the 2020 budget. This years budget, which started in October 2019, outlined $63 million to replace the current Caro Regional Mental Health Center, and about $5 million in one-time funding for demolition of vacant/uninhabitable facilities at the Caro site. Also, the city of Caro hired DTMB to study extending the municipal water line 1.9 miles to the Caro Center in Wahjamega. Municipal water would replace the existing system of wells, pumps and a water tower that has been used since the original Caro Farm Colony for Epileptics opened in 1914. The union representing pilots at Alaska Air Group (NYSE:ALK) said Tuesday they have reached a deal with the airline to avoid pilot furloughs. Alaska and other airlines are making plans to contract this fall due to a lack of travel demand. The COVID-19 pandemic has hit airlines hard, but the industry is prohibited from doing involuntary layoffs through September 30 as a condition for receiving government assistance. As of October 1 all bets are off, and with demand under pressure again as new COVID cases spike higher, airlines are expected to shrink by 30% or more before year's end. The Alaska arm of the Air Line Pilots Association (ALPA) in a statement released Tuesday said it has reached agreements with the airline on a number of incentivized leave and early retirement programs designed to address the company's need to downsize without layoffs. The union said strong pilot participation in those programs has "effectively avoided" the threat of furloughs by the airline. "We've always maintained that there was a smarter way to address our company's staffing issues than furloughing pilots," Will McQuillen, chairman of ALPA's Alaska master executive council, said in a statement. "Ultimately, our senior management agreed with our point of view and worked with us on implementing these programs." The airlines and their pilots are looking for ways to get creative as they deal with the ramifications of COVID-19. Due to the global nature of the pandemic, avenues typically available to furloughed pilots, like going overseas for work, are not options. Airlines, meanwhile, are eager to preserve a period of relative peace with labor and retain flexibility to expand if demand returns faster than forecast. Southwest Airlines on Monday said more than 25% of its workers had agreed to take buyouts or temporary leave, boosting that company's effort to avoid layoffs. And Delta Air Lines last week proposed cutting pilot-guaranteed minimum pay in an effort to avoid furloughs. CROMWELL The Cromwell Creative District is highlighting the people and organizations that support its mission to promote economic vitality by celebrating the towns vibrant history, bolstering resources and revealing chances for future growth through creative programs, tours and special events, according to a press release. Cromwell artist and business owner Jen Tallman exhibited a creative streak from early childhood. By the time I hit elementary school age, art and music were my main outlets, she said in a prepared statement. Along with a passion for drawing, Tallman played clarinet, saxophone and string bass. Eventually, she added piano to her skills just for fun. Born in Norwich, Tallman attended college in Maine and then moved back to Connecticut. She persisted in her love of drawing and often found herself in the company of artistic friends, the district said. One of those friends introduced her to miniature painting, a nontraditional art form that is not well-known. Theres a whole world out there of war gamers and miniature collectors who commission work from Jen. Of all the work she does, this commission work is her favorite, the release said. Tallman loves bringing other peoples ideas to life, the district said. At the moment, she does this primarily through miniature and model painting, but she has done simple CAD design/digital sculpture for 3D printing and canvas/surface painting. Shes painted for gift shops and various sculptors. One commission, which included Harry Potter figures, involved working with an artist for Disney and Warner Brothers. When asked, What influences the work you create? Tallman shared that since her work is mostly commission, its guided by the imagination of her customers, but when shes given freedom on a design she pulls references from nature and other works of art. Sometimes its other miniature painters or video games. Sometimes I just throw paint at a mini until it tells me what to do, she said. The artist continues to strive for a life where she can create and enjoy her day-to-day existence. Having commissions, a full desk, and her 3D printers humming brings her joy, the release said. Making money is a goal, but her greatest reward is receiving a grateful response from an excited customer. What I do and how I got here is a long story full of key people who have helped me along the way, Tallman said. My art and knowledge base has evolved a lot over the years, and its not finished doing so. I love to learn new things and eventually want to teach others. She is always a willing volunteer, and recently hung her work on the rail of the police station, a heart she created to thank first responders. For information, visit cromwellcreativedistrict.org or email cromwellcreativedistrict@gmail.com. A Statement Issued by the Prominent Civil Rights Advocacy group-: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA) Calling for A Judicial Commission of Inquiry on Niger Delta Development Commission and the Immediate Arrest of the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs; Godswill Akpabio and all the National Assembly Legislative Contractors to Ensure all the Monies are retrieved to the Last Penny. The North East Development Commission is also said to be swimming in massive corruptions. We urge for immediate investigations of that commission too. WE URGE ACTIVISTS FROM THE NIGER DELTA TO TAKE STEPS TO PROTEST THESE CORRUPTIONS SO THE REST OF THE ORGANISED CIVIL SOCIETY ORGANISATIONS CAN KEY IN AND ESCALATE THE CIVIL ACTIONS. Background: The Niger Delta Region of Nigeria is the storehouse of Nigerias crude oil, which accounts for approximately 90% of the countrys revenue, providing more than 90% of total exports. Despite this, the people remain poor, marginalized and restive. Unlike most oil producing areas, the world over, the Niger Delta is the least developed in relationship with what it generates to the national coffers. It is in realization of this that the federal government of Chief Olusegun Obasanjo set up the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) as an intervention agency to correct the anomaly and speed up the development process of the region However, the reverse has been the case as every meaningful step taken to better the life of the citizens in that region is marred by corruption. The intervention agency created by the federal government to engineer the rapid development of Niger Delta, is being seen as a goldmine and fraud centre where every man and woman of fraudulent disposition fervently prays to be sent. In Nigerias continued ridiculous drama, mostly in governance, the latest gripping chapter on which all eyes are focused is the sordid details of financial violations at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), by the ongoing inquiry by federal lawmakers. The Drama at the National Assembly, which has entangled the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs; Senator Godswill Akpabio on all sides has many foundations which includes alleged quest for power, big money, sex and deceit. That a shocked nation, like Nigeria is gripped by the overwhelming revelations coming out of the National Assembly Probe on NDDC has become a matter of interest to us as a foremost civil rights group with no political affiliations but are passionate about achieving just and equitable development in our country. The Issue: In the last couple of weeks, the news of how the NDDC has been mismanaged and financial improprieties by its managers have left Nigerians shocked at the rot in the management of the national commonwealth by officials saddled with the duty by the government. The drama emanating from the ongoing National Assembly's probe over alleged Financial recklessness to the sum of N40 billion Naira by the Interim management Committee of the Niger Delta Development Commission between January and March this year has given Nigeria a bad name in the international community and has once again called for questioning on the sincere disposition of the administration of Muhammadu Buhari, which rode to power on the mantra of integrity. The ongoing National Assembly's probe has made open, allegations and counter allegations of misappropriation and misconducts between a former Managing Director of the Commission; Dr. Joy Nunieh and the Niger Delta Affairs Minister; Godswill Akpabio. We are not advocating for the former Acting Managing Director of the NDDC; Joy Nunieh who served from October 29, 2019 to February 17, 2020, but her testimonies are weighty. She is neither an unspecified nor a nameless petitioner; she is the former head of the agency with access to firsthand information and undeniable facts, complete with names of persons, dates, figures and places. And she has been speaking under oath. According to Nuniehs testimony before the federal lawmakers, Akpabios first actions was to call for files of certain companies that were linked to him. As a former governor of Akwa Ibom State, Akpabio had the privilege, at different times, to nominate Managing Director of the NDDC, Chairman of the NDDC Board and Executive directors. By asking for those files, our understanding is that she is alleging that he sought to bury any shred of information that may indict him. To achieve this, he ensured the transfer of top directors from the headquarters of the NDDC in Port Harcourt, Rivers State to less dignifying offices in the other states which constitute the nine Niger Delta states. More than one year after he assumed office, Akpabio has done none of the major things he was cocky about on his first day at work at the NDDC headquarters. Also, from Nuniehs version at the National Assembly, Akpabio had finalized a grand structure to allegedly deceive all stakeholders in the NDDC with the impression that a forensic audit was going on. According to her an audit cannot be going on at the NDDC because the instrument used to secure it was defective. It would be recalled that part of what the audit was to unravel is how the NDDCs current debt profile of about N2 trillion and the liter of over 12,000 uncompleted and abandoned projects. In addition, Nunieh revealed how the Minister allegedly pressurised her to convert Dollars in the NDDC account and give it to him. He also allegedly asked for Hundreds of Millions of Naira in Christmas gifts. She further informed that the reason why all attempts to connect the office building to public power supply where frustrated by Akpabio is allegedly because his girlfriend supplies diesel to the NDDC headquarters. The former NDDC Acting Managing Director accused the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, of pressuring her to employ people outside the Niger Delta. She said Akpabio told her to indict Senator Peter Nwaboshi as the owner of 98 companies working as contractors for the NDDC Her refusal to do the ministers bidding of course, drew Senator Akpabios anger allegedly. Her insistence to be kept out of any illegality allowed Akpabio to conveniently turn his back against her, while finding a way to circumvent due process, she further alleged. Again, another ugly twist to the NDDC probe was apparent when the management of the commission last week walked out on federal lawmakers probing the commission alleging that the chairman of the committee on Niger Delta is a party in the workings of the commission and therefore not in a position to be an unbiased arbiter in the crisis rocking the commission. The action of the directors is telling an accusation on the integrity of the lawmakers. This is not the first time that members of the Senate and the House of Representatives will embark on the investigation of financial recklessness only to be trapped in the same web. OUR POSITION AND DEMAND The statements and counter statements from the National Assembly probe on NDDC are beyond scandalous and shame. With these scandalous revelations, it becomes extremely worrisome the way and manner the NDDC expends monies without recourse to prioritization of projects that will impact on the people of the region. The NDDC is a very sensitive Commission and should not be treated in isolation when so many financial infractions are been committed on a daily basis. With all of these disclosures such as claims of giving monies to the Nigerian Police up to the tune of N475 million to buy sanitizers and face mask, N3.14billion expenditure for Covid-19 pandemic palliatives to selected staff of the Commission when their salaries subsist, the issue of attending graduation ceremony in the united kingdom in the months the entire world was on lockdown and payment of scholarship grant into personal accounts of top officials of the commission and other sundry expenses to the tune of N81.5 billion Naira, nothing was spent for the common man for whose purpose the Commission was set up. These schemes follow a pattern that are ingrained in the NDDC, which have become institutionalized corruption where the purported beneficiary Agency of government does not get the items claimed to have been requested for. We need to hear from the Nigeria Police what they actually got from the NDDC; is it cash or the physical items of sanitizers and face mask? These are proving questions which answers must be provided for. Again, the National Assembly is a major problem affecting the delivering of development in the Niger Delta region. Aside the current leadership or chairmen of NASS Committees on the NDDC, the previous ones are equally culpable in terms of negative influence on the Commission. When one considers the level of underdevelopment of the Region, level of poverty and ecological devastation, which is tantamount to environmental massacre to the people of the region, then all those who have got anything to do with that Commission should be jailed, mostly those that have got to do with its mismanagement from inception till date. Former Olusegun Obasanjo did not make any mistake when he established the Commission to be used to touch the sufferings of the people who lay golden eggs upon which the Nigerian nation harvest the money to run this country. We are therefore calling for the constitution of a Judicial Commission of Inquiry to probe alleged financial malfeasance at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). We are of the firm belief that such independent commission will do a more thorough job than any other panel and shall also allow more locals in the south- south to make their contributions to the probe of NDDC. More so, since the National Assembly has been caught up in the web of the corruption in the Commission, therefore not in a position to be an unbiased arbiter in the crisis rocking the commission. Furthermore, we wonder why the substantive Board of the Commission approved by the Senate on November 5th, 2019 was not allowed to work. we do not see why a forensic auditing cannot take place when you have a regular board in place. President Buhari must have now realized that the contrived Interim Management Committee was sold to him with dubious and unpatriotic purpose going by the absurd revelations coming from the Committee members at the NASS probe. Also, the NDDC Act needs to be amended to make it more effective in blocking leakages and frittering of the Commissions resources. Going forward, The Interim Management Committee (IMC) should be dissolved because it has completely lost the confidence of the Nigerian people and people of the region. The appointment of lead consultant for the forensic audit should be reviewed immediately and an audit firm with pedigree engaged. We would like to appeal to the President His Excellency Muhammadu Buhari (GCFR) to take a close look at suggestions and submissions from his appointees to avoid the numerous flaws in his government. Most appointees put their personal interest first and foremost. Furthermore, he should allow due process to take center stage from now on. Finally, it is shocking with the revelation that NDDC has not been audited in the last 20 years. This practice alone is a recipe for corruption and mismanagement. All hands must be on deck to empower the office of the Auditor General to do her work of ensuring integrity and transparency in government. *Comrade Emmanuel Onwubiko; National Coordinator: HUMAN RIGHTS WRITERS ASSOCIATION OF NIGERIA (HURIWA); *Miss. Zainab Yusuf; National Media Affairs Director. Editor's Note: Get caught up in minutes with our speedy summary of today's must-read news stories and expert opinions that moved the precious metals and financial markets. Sign up here! (Kitco News) Bullish sentiment in the precious metals space will take gold prices to their all-time highs, according to Citigroup Inc., which views the upward move up as only a matter of time. Nominal gold prices have already posted fresh records in every other G-10 and major emerging market currency this year, Citigroup analysts said in a report. It is only a matter of time for fresh [highs in USD-terms]. The record-high price to beat is around $1,920, which was reached back in 2011. At the time of writing, August gold futures were trading near nine-year highs of $1,840.80, up 1.29% on the day. Citi projects gold to reach its all-time highs in the next six-to-nine months, the report stated. On top of that, analysts see a 30% chance that the yellow metal tops $2,000 an ounce in the next three-to-five months. The drivers pushing gold higher are loose monetary policies, low real yields, and increased allocation to gold. Rising safe-haven demand will also continue to lift silver prices, analysts added, projecting for the precious metal to rise to $25 within the next six-to-twelve months and even possibly reaching $30 in a bullish scenario. At the time of writing, September silver was up nearly 7% on the day and trading at $21.540 an ounce. Tuesday, the market is focused on a potential agreement between the European Union leaders for a massive stimulus package that deals with the coronavirus-related economic fallout. Markets are optimistic that the 750 billion euro ($857.33 billion) recovery fund and its related 1.1 trillion euro 2021-2027 budget will help the EU economy recover after the COVID-19 pandemic. In the U.S., investors are carefully watching their own stimulus talks. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and other key players, are scheduled to meet in the White House on Tuesday. Republicans are expected to propose a $1 trillion rescue package, which is much less than the Democrats proposal of $3.5 trillion. Texas: A disturbing video showing a Texas mother kicking her son out of home has gone viral on the internet. What is even more shocking is the reason for doing so. The 7-year-old was thrown out of the house by his own mother because he voted in favour of Donald Trump in a mock election at his school. The woman posted the video on Facebook last week after which it caught the attention of the Fort Bend County Sheriffs Office, KPRC reported. Get out, the woman can be heard yelling at the child as the kid sobs in a hallway. Your suitcase is packed by the door. Been packed since 10 a.m. this morning, she shouts. The boy can be seen holding a cardboard sign that reads, My mom kicked me out because I voted for Donald Trump. So when the people see you outside, they know why youre standing out there, she tells him. She asks the boy why he voted for Trump, to which he replies that because he saw him on TV a lot. Fort Bend County Sheriff Troy Nehls says his office has launched an investigation into the incident. As a parent, I find the video appalling. As your Sheriff, I have ensured the child is safe, Nehls said in a Facebook post. We all agree the video is absolutely disgusting and that child should not have been subjected to such awful behavior by his Mother, Nehls concluded. For all the Latest Viral News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 19:06:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close The year 2020 was designated as the China-ASEAN Year of Digital Economy Cooperation. China and ASEAN will expand cooperation in 5G, Internet of things, AI, industrial internet and digital epidemic prevention. Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of digital economy in economic recovery, job creation and improving people's well-being. Two B-1B Lancers, assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing, Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., arrive at Andersen Air Force Base, Guam, as part of a Bomber Task Force deployment on July 17, 2020. (U.S. Air Force Photo by Airman 1st Class Christina Bennett) B-1 Bombers Return to Guam for Pacific Exercises Several of Americas heaviest lifting bombers, the B-1 lancers, have headed back to the strategically located island of Guam in the Pacific along with over 150 airmen, as the Air Force continues testing out its new Bomber Task Force approach, designed to keep adversaries on their toes. The return of the B-1 bombers to the island, which lies in what military strategists call the second island chain out from China, also comes as the geopolitical spotlight falls on the South China Sea. Guam has been without a permanent bomber presence since April for the first time in 16 years. Instead of being stationed on the island, where they lie in reach of Chinas so-called Guam-killer D-26 missiles, U.S. bombers are instead flying into the region directly from bases in the United States, such as in South Dakota. That change was part of a strategic pivot that the Pentagon says will keep Chinese and Russian generals guessing, and which analysts say will help keep the aging bomber fleet in better health. The strategy did not rule out bombers returning to be stationed on Guam from time to time. It just introduced greater unpredictability and flexibility. A B-1B Lancer assigned to the 28th Bomb Wing is taxied to parking at Ellsworth Air Force Base, S.D., April 30, 2020. (U.S. Air Force photo by Tech. Sgt. Jette Carr) On July 17, according to a statement from the Air Force, over 150 Airmen from a variety of career fields and several B-1B Lancers from Ellsworth returned to the Indo-Pacific to conduct what are known as Bomber Task Force operations out of Andersen Air Force Base on Guam. According to the Air Force, the mission was to support training efforts with allies, partners, and joint forces, and also to provide strategic deterrence missions to reinforce the rules-based international order in the region. That last rationale echoes recent statements made by the Navy as it carries out exercises in the South China Sea. Our team has been actively preparing for BTF operations to ensure were ready and capable of meeting any requirement across the globe, said Lt. Col. Lincoln Coleman, 37th EBS commander. We are excited for the opportunity to integrate with our partners and allies in the Pacific theater and increase our joint lethality. With the largest conventional payload of both guided and unguided weapons in the Air Force inventory, the multi-mission B-1 is the backbone of Americas long-range bomber force, said the Air Force statement. It can rapidly deliver massive quantities of precision and non-precision weapons against any adversary, anywhere in the world, at any time. A U.S. Air Force B-1B Lancer assigned to the 37th Expeditionary Bomb Squadron, deployed from Ellsworth Air Force Base (AFB), S.D. to Andersen AFB, Guam, prepares to fly a bilateral mission with Japan Air Self-Defense Force F-15s in the vicinity of the Senkaku Islands, on Aug. 15, 2017. (U.S. Air Force photo/ Airman 1st Class Christopher Quail) In the past few months, the Air Force has been sending bombers from the mainland United States to both Europe and the Pacific on bomber task force missions to demonstrate a new strategy known as dynamic force employment. The new strategy, created in response to the National Defense Strategy in 2018, allows the military as a whole to launch more deployments and missions unpredictably from the mainland. The U.S. military has pivoted during the Trump administration to face what it describes as renewed Great Power Competition with Russia, and even more significantly with China. The Navy also has its own version of the strategy, dispensing with previous clockwork deployment cycles for more flexible, unpredictable deployments of carriers and ships. China has continued to push its territorial claims in the South China Sea in recent months during the pandemic. Some military leaders and analysts suggest this is a response to the upheaval of the pandemic and the backlash over Beijings cover-up. Others say it is simply a continuation of a much longer-term ramp-up of aggression by Beijing in the region. The United States and its allies have been carrying out their own naval and military exercises in the region, including what the U.S. Navy refers to as Freedom of Navigation Operations. The United States on July 13 formally rejected nearly all of Beijings major territorial claims in the South China Sea. Beijings claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement. While U.S. officials have previously described the regimes activities in the region as unlawful, Pompeos remarks represent the United States official rejection of specific claims made by Beijing, by aligning with a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal. The Philippines had challenged Chinas claims in the waterway and brought the dispute to international court. WEST PALM BEACH, FL / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Global Digital Solutions Inc. (OTC PINK:GDSI), a company that is positioning itself as a leader in comprehensive security and technology solutions, is issuing this update to acknowledge a formal relationship with Consolidated Oceans Technologies (CoTs), https://www.cots-inc.com/, to jointly develop the software for PALS Artificial Intelligence, based upon HarmAlarm Intellectual property acquired by GDSI. Gary Ball, GDSI's inventor of PALS, commented, "The relationship with CoTs will support our PALS efforts by bringing unique expertise to the development effort. This venture will also expand the Harm Alarm intellectual property into new applications that build upon the existing base." CoTs, President, Mr. Todd Patten, has assembled a technical team with the experience and expertise to develop the software for PALS that will provide an option to provide automatic verification for a single piloted aircraft. Mr. Patten sees the potential positive impact for PALS. "I have already identified new application potential for PALS, with the first being the operation of Drones," said Mr. Patten. "We believe our team of software experts will be able to expand PALS to other markets as well. Our agreement with GDSI is a joint collaboration, with specific terms on sharing future benefits from this joint effort," added Mr. Patten. Under terms of this collaborative agreement, GDSI's obligations will be limited to bearing the expense of participation, and CoTs will be responsible for all software development and engineering resources. About Consolidated Ocean Technologies (CoTs) CoTs is a Veteran-Owned Small Business (VOSB) experienced in the development, assembly, integration, test, deployment, and operation of proprietary and commercial systems. CoTs provide the most advanced control system software available for submerged mobility systems. Their state-of-the-art control system and simulation capabilities have been used in the development & analysis of over 390 manned and unmanned systems. Story continues CoTs develops the most advanced flight control software commercially available. The software has been rigorously tested, accepted and delivered to the fleet for two U.S. Navy Programs. The CoTs team has delivered flight control software for over 20+ undersea vehicles. CoTs leverage advanced computer-aided design software to create complex, reliable software. In total, 95% of the core flight control software is common across autonomous and towed systems. The CoTs engineering and management team are leading experts in control system software available in a variety of applications for Ocean and flight analysis. About Global Digital Solutions, Inc. Global Digital Solutions, Inc. (OTC PINK:GDSI), a company that is positioning itself as a leader in comprehensive security and technology solutions, continues to enhance shareholder value in these areas. In addition to our acquisition strategy, the Company has been granted a judgment for damages against Grupo Rontan Metalurgica, S. A, ("Rontan") and that company's controlling shareholders, Joao Alberto Bolzan and Jose Carlos Bolzan. The Company engaged the law firm of Boies Schiller Flexner LLP to represent it in this action. The case will be handled by William Isaacson of the firm's Washington office and Carlos Sires of the firm's Fort Lauderdale office (Their professional profiles are available at https://bsfllp.com/lawyers.). The action had been filed in the United States District Court for the Southern District of Florida. The complaint alleges that "Rontan is wholly-owned by Joao Bolzan and Jose Bolzan. It is one of the world's largest manufacturers of original equipment for specialty vehicles for emergency management, first responders, national security, and law enforcement operations. The company also acquired NACSV, a supplier of Mobile Command Centers to Military, Law Enforcement, and First Responders. In March of 2019, the Company acquired HarmAlarm. HA was formed in 2002 as a private Texas company to pursue Infrared commercial applications in the aviation services area. HA has developed a system known as Pilot Assisted Landing Systems (PALS). The precision and robustness of PALS has generated a host of new applications mainly through "landing trajectory" optimization which provides additional safety margin against weather related hazardous conditions, like wind shear, wake turbulence, icing, as well as low ceilings and fog. For more information about GDSI, visit http://www.gdsi.co. SOURCE: Global Digital Solutions Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/598251/Global-Digital-Solutions-Inc-Announces-Joint-Collaboration-on-the-Development-of-Artificial-Intelligence-AI-for-PALS In a strong worded reaction to the Drugs Controller General of India (DCGI)'s move to pull up drug major Glenmark on charges of alleged overpricing, false and misleading claims related to its COVID-19 drug Favipiravir, the company has responded to the apex drug controller saying it was "dismayed" over the careless, unsubstantiated allegations that are devoid of merits. In a letter to DCGI V.G. Somani, Glenmark said compared to other therapies approved for emergency use in COVID-19 in India, FabiFlu is much more economical and an effective treatment option. The estimated total cost of therapy for full course is only Rs 9,150, when compared to the prices of Remdesivir (Rs 24,000-30,000), Tocilizumab (Rs 44,000) and Itolizumab (Rs 32,000). Further, given that Favipiravir is an oral therapy, patients can be treated on an out-patient basis without incurring additional hospitalisation expenses, unlike other approved drugs which are injectable and hence require administration at hospitals. Despite significant investment in developing it, Favipiravir in India when launched was priced at the lowest market cost of Rs 103/tablet/200mg compared to its cost in other countries where it was approved. The drug's price was further voluntarily reduced to Rs 75 per tablet. Comparatively, 200 mg per tablet prices in Russia is Rs 600, Japan Rs 378, Bangladesh Rs 350 and in China Rs 215. The DCGI, in a letter to Glenmark on July 17 based on a representation from a Parliament member, had asked to clarify on the allegation that the drug was unaffordable due to its high pricing. Reacting to the allegation of misleading/false claim that Favipiravir is effective in COVID-19 patients with co-morbidity like diabetes, hypertension as Phase 3 clinical trial was designed to evaluate the efficacy in these co-morbidities, Glenmark said the reference to co-morbidity was clearly based on data from Japanese registry - the largest collection of real-world evidence on clinical use of Favipiravir in COVID-19 and was not linked to its trial. Glenmark clarified that none of the product promotional literature, Summary of Product Characteristics (SmPC) or product information leaflet makes any such claim that Favipiravir can be used in mild to moderate COVID-19 patients with co-morbid conditions such as diabetes and heart disease. Reacting to the DCGI concern on Favipiravir being not tested as monotherapy in Phase 3 clinical trial in India, Glenmark said it has not made any claim at any point in time that "Favipiravir alone" is effective in treatment of COVID-19 patients with mild to moderate disease. In the Glenmark study, as per the guidelines issued by ICMR/ MoH&FW, patients with mild to moderate COVID 19 symptoms were treated with Favipiravir plus recommended standard supportive care versus standard supportive care alone, said Glenmark. In the letter, Glenmark noted that it was the first to bring an oral anti-viral agent in less than three months of the pandemic in India with end-to-end synthesis and active pharmaceutical ingredients (API) and formulation catering to Indian populace and even export markets. It is also the first and only company to conduct a robust 150-patient randomised controlled trial. Also read: Glenmark reduces price of COVID-19 drug FabiFlu to Rs 75 from Rs 103 per tablet A man shot at Laredo police officers in the Green Ranch Subdivision in northwest Laredo, authorities said. LPD officers responded to an assault report at about 6:47 p.m. in the 17500 block of Rock Port Road. A male assailant met first officers on the scene with gunfire, according to police. READ MORE: Triple shooting reported in west Laredo Sunday The assailant then fled on foot but was apprehended shortly after. During the process of detaining the male subject, one officer was injured. No officers fired their weapon during the incident, LPD said in a statement. The investigation continues. Iran always prepared for dialog with regional states: Foreign Ministry Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 10:09 AM The Foreign Ministry says Iran is always prepared for dialog with the countries of the region, considering negotiation to be the sole way out of existing differences among regional states. Spokesman Abbas Mousavi made the remarks in Baghdad, where he was accompanying Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif during an official trip to the Iraqi capital. "Concerning Saudi Arabia, we have tried time and again [to engage in bilateral negotiations] and have declared our principled and changeless policy," Mousavi added. "It depends on the country (Saudi Arabia)'s government and authorities, how and based on what perspective, they would choose to respond to our proposal for regional cooperation and negotiations," he added. Relations began to seriously strain between the two sides in 2015, when Saudi mismanagement of the annual Hajj pilgrimage led to a stampede that killed about 4,700 people, including more than 460 Iranians. In the same year, Saudi Arabia and its allies launched a war against the kingdom's southern neighbor Yemen to try and force Riyadh's desired officials back into power there. Riyadh has repeatedly accused Tehran of "arming" Yemen's popular Houthi Ansarullah movement that has been defending the impoverished nation in the face of the invaders. Tehran roundly rejects the accusation, while decrying the warfare that has killed tens of thousands of Yemenis. Saudi Arabia cut its ties with Iran in early 2016 following angry rallies in front of its diplomatic missions in the capital Tehran and the holy city of Mashhad against the kingdom's execution of senior Shia cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. Ever since, Switzerland has been representing Iranian interests in Saudi Arabia under an agreement reached with Bern. Mousavi, however, said Iran is always prepared to hold negotiations with "all regional countries" as long as they respect the Islamic Republic's policy. The Islamic Republic invariably favors regional stability, security, and calm, he added. 'No to extra-regional interference' Speaking to IRNA during the trip, Mousavi said he considered dialog to be the only "peaceable" way out of regional misunderstandings and differences. No other course of action would prove beneficial in this area, Mousavi added. He, however, cautioned that any regional dialog has to avoid extra-regional interference. "We consider the only means of [establishing] stability and returning security, and even [bringing about] economic boom in the region to be regional cooperation and synergy," he noted, insisting that the Islamic Republic attaches importance to the existence of a "powerful and determined" region. While in Baghdad, Zarif held several meetings with high-ranking Iraqi officials, including Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi and President Barham Salih. The Iranian top diplomat's meeting with PM Kadhimi was held ahead of the latter's trip to Riyadh. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, professor Dorsey Armstrong (at Stonehenge in England) has gained acclaim for her expertise as the lecturer on a video series called "The Black Death: The World's Most Devastating Plague." (Ryan Schneider/Special to The Times) Before COVID-19, Purdue University English professor Dorsey Armstrong was well known in a way that only other enthusiasts of medieval literature and culture might appreciate. That is to say, she once got a discount on a replica of an Anglo-Saxon drinking horn made from an actual cattle horn because a guy at a conference recognized her. Thats the only time I felt famous, said Armstrong, an expert in medieval studies who heads the English department at Purdue in Indiana. I got a really cool drinking horn. And whenever I teach Beowulf, I bring it out and I pass it around. But since the start of the pandemic, Armstrong, 49, has gained a whole new level of acclaim for her old-world expertise. Shes the lecturer on The Black Death: The Worlds Most Devastating Plague, a video series that became must-see TV this spring when it streamed on Amazon Prime, just as stuck-at-home 21st-century humans were reeling from the novel coronavirus crisis. In 24 surprisingly compelling episodes, Armstrong introduced the devastation of the mid-14th century to doom-obsessed modern viewers. The flea-driven plague, also known as the Great Mortality, overran Eurasia and North Africa from 1347 to 1353, killing tens of millions of people and wiping out half of Europes population. The series was filmed before the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2016, as part of the Great Courses, a compendium of college-level audio and video lectures. But The Black Death has spurred a broad cult following for Armstrong even as it underscores the dismaying parallels between the great plague and the deadly disease now circling the globe. I just wish that the course were not quite so relevant at the moment, said Armstrong, whose parents and siblings are among those who have contracted COVID-19 and recovered. Since March, she has received a stream of daily emails from people who binge-watched The Black Death, all wanting to know whether things are as bad now as they were back then. Story continues The answer, thankfully, is no, Armstrong said. Though COVID-19 has infected more than 14.5 million people and killed at least 600,000 worldwide, the proportion of deaths doesnt compare with the devastation caused by the Great Mortality. The ferocious pandemic was dubbed the bubonic plague, reflecting the painful and (at the time) mysterious swellings, known as buboes, that developed in the lymph nodes of the neck, armpits and groin of those infected. The swellings oozed blood and pus, even as the unfortunate patients suffered other terrible symptoms: fever, chills, body aches, vomiting and diarrhea often followed quickly by death. As Armstrong notes, the disease could take other grisly forms: pneumonic plague, which infects the lungs, and septicemic plague, where the infection spreads to the blood, often causing skin on the fingers, toes and nose to blacken and die. The Black Death originated in China and spread along trade routes, turning the Silk Road into a superhighway of infection. It arrived in many places via trading ships, the disease long believed to be carried by the fleas on rats that coexisted closely with humans. A more recent theory contends that fleas and lice on humans themselves helped spread the disease widely. As deaths mounted, populations in region after region struggled vainly to understand its cause or cure. The good news is that, all things considered, we are in a much better position than those poor people who had to survive the Black Death, Armstrong said. The mortality rate for the Black Death, for those who contracted it, was something like 80%. And were still in single digits. The modern world also has the advantage of seven centuries of scientific discovery that can root the current pandemic in a rogue coronavirus and target a treatment and ultimately a cure based on that understanding. By contrast, humans suffering through the Black Death blamed an unfavorable conjunction of planets, bad air, earthquakes and Gods wrath. It wasnt until 1894 that Swiss scientist Alexandre Yersin discovered the bacillus that caused the plague: Yersinia pestis, named in his honor. During the Black Death, what was really terrifying about that is they really had no idea at all what it was, Armstrong said. They had no good science to help them figure out how to cope with it. Still, there are some unsettling similarities between societal responses to the plague and COVID-19. In both cases, some officials tried to downplay the severity of the outbreak and the far-reaching economic and social effects. In Florence, Italy, for instance, members of the elite ruling class, decimated by the plague, faced a rebellion from the newly powerful working class, Armstrong said. Many people, from ordinary peasants to local religious leaders, took the plague seriously and tried to carry out their normal duties. Clergy members were called to the homes of the ill to provide last rites, often contracting the disease in the process. Others, however, ignored the calamity, turning to hedonism and debauchery, figuring that if they were going to die, they might as well enjoy themselves, Armstrong said. What I would say is that people are the same then as now, she observed. Humans, when theyre together in a large group, often do dumb things. And its frustrating that so many people dont seem to be learning lessons from the past. It has been particularly horrifying, Armstrong said, to see Asian Americans targeted as the presumed cause of the COVID-19 crisis. During the plague, Jews were scapegoated and killed as the possible source of the scourge. To think that anyone thinks you can call it kung flu, which is so racist, Armstrong said, referring to President Trumps characterization of COVID-19. Its really distressing. We have international travel. Wherever it originated, it would have spread around the globe. Amazon Prime officials wouldnt say how many people have viewed the series since March. But Cale Pritchett, vice president of marketing for the Great Courses, said tens of thousands of viewers have watched the show each month for the last four years. It has been a constant in our top 10, he said. For a while, it was No. 1. Armstrongs clear mastery of the subject her doctorate is in medieval literature and her easygoing teaching style make for engaging TV. The show is set in an office decorated with replicas of skulls, bones and a distinctive beaked doctors mask that was filled with sweet-smelling flowers to ward off the plague. Prop rats migrate around the set. Armstrong, who favors brightly colored blazers, stands to talk through the 12 hours of lectures, striding back and forth across an ornate woven rug. She leavens the often-grisly subject matter with dark humor, reminding viewers, for instance, that the bodies of plague victims have been described as being layered in mass graves the way cheese is layered in lasagna. In the more than 300 reviews of the series online, viewers note her approachable style. She doesnt come across as an intellectual snob, wrote one. I wish I would have had her as a professor when I was in college. Because of her familiarity with the plague, Armstrong was alarmed this year when early reports emerged of an unknown virus spreading through China. Im always worried about pandemic, said Armstrong, the mother of 13-year-old twin girls. I have peanut butter and toilet paper and water in a cabinet in the basement, even when there is no threat of a pandemic, because that is the situation that is the scariest. Especially if its a novel virus, which is what this is. In recent months, Armstrongs fears were realized as four family members her parents in Seattle, her brother in New York and her sister in the Bay area contracted COVID-19. Theyve all since recovered, though her mother was hospitalized and received the antiviral drug remdesivir to aid her healing. If theres one strong parallel between the Black Death and the current pandemic, its the social upheaval spurred by both, Armstrong said. The 14th-century plague upended the rigid social structure of the era, which had confined people to narrow roles of clergy, nobility and peasant. Humanity came back after that, said Armstrong. And some people would argue that it was that external pressure that changed society so radically that gave us eventually things like the Renaissance and the Protestant Reformation that all have their roots in that major event. Perhaps current protests and calls for political, economic and social change may have lasting impact too. My hope is that we get something good out of this, Armstrong said. KHN (Kaiser Health News) is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation) that is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. Two stalwarts of the 1960s civil rights movement notable for achieving great progress while practicing nonviolence in the face of brutal attacks died last Friday. Rep. John Lewis, D-Georgia, 80, and the Rev. C.T. Vivian, 95, were lieutenants of the Rev. Martin Luther King, but formidable leaders worthy of the Presidential Medal of Freedom bestowed by President Barack Obama While growing up on an Alabama farm, Lewis dedicated himself to good trouble in the pursuit of civil rights. He was arrested 40 times and often beaten senseless by police and white hoodlums. In 1986, he became the second Black elected to Congress from the South since Reconstruction. His efforts on behalf of the disenfranchised made him the conscience of Congress. Vivian grew up in Macomb, Illinois, and graduated from Western Illinois University. He would become Kings spiritual adviser. Vivian visited Waterloo frequently to conduct two-day Urban Potential seminars organized by local civil rights leader Anna Weems and sponsored by the Waterloo Chamber of Commerce. He spoke at Wartburg College. Their paths crossed at American Baptist College in Nashville. They earned their initial civil rights stripes by leading three months of nonviolent sit-ins in Nashville, which became the first Southern city to desegregate public facilities. As a Freedom Rider seeking to integrate interstate transportation, Lewis was among those attacked by whites and left unconscious in a pool of blood outside the Greyhound Bus Terminal in Montgomery, Alabama, in 1961. Attorney General Robert F. Kennedy responded by petitioning the Interstate Commerce Commission to ban segregation in interstate bus travel and remove bus station signs for separate waiting rooms, water fountains and restrooms. In 1963, as head of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, Lewis helped organize the March on Washington which attracted 200,000 and is remembered for Kings I Have a Dream speech. Lewis energized the crowd by demanding an end to segregation. We must say, Wake up, America. Wake up! For we cannot stop, and we will not and cannot be patient. In February 1965, Vivian was engaged in a voting rights protest at the Dallas County Courthouse in Selma, Alabama. You cant keep anyone from voting in the United States without hurting the rights of all the other citizens, he said. Democracy is built on this. This is why every man has the right to vote. Minutes later in an attack captured on video that replayed on network newscasts, Sheriff Jim Clark hit Vivian in the face. Vivian, although bloodied, maintained his composure.Were willing to be beaten for democracy, he said. Clark couldnt recall hitting Vivian until his doctor diagnosed a fractured finger. As The Rev. Joseph Lowery, who co-founded the Southern Christian Leadership Conference with King, put it, I always tell C.T. that Jim Clark didnt hit him. He hit Clark in his fist with his chin. It got worse on March 7, 1965. During the Blood Sunday march across Selmas Edmund Pettus Bridge state troopers told protestors to disperse. Instead, they stood silently, only to be accosted with tear gas, bullwhips and rubber tubing wrapped with barbed wire. Lewis was felled by a blow to the head, then hit repeatedly as he tried to stand. After making it across the bridge, he challenged President Lyndon Johnson to take action. Johnson push through the bipartisan Voting Rights Act that August. By 1998, things had changed. Selma Mayor Joseph Smitherman, an ardent segregationist while in office on Blood Sunday, gave Lewis the key to the city. Back then, I called him an outside rabble-rouser, he said. Today, I call him one of the most courageous people I ever met. In his Waterloo workshops, Vivian challenged members of the business community, police officers and others with a variation of Riceville educator Jane Elliotts Blue Eyes/Brown Eyes exercise on white privilege. On an intense Day One, which invariably caused some uneasy participants to leave, Vivian told those present: I made you the n-----r and I became the oppressor. Nothing you did was quite right. He continued, Whatever problems you have, add black, and the nature of the problem changes. A female participant said, One of the things I gained is a better understanding of the frustration Black people experience. A Waterloo police officer added, I guess I really wasnt prepared to examine my own conscience. Vivian said whites must tell other whites discrimination is wrong, that apathy is really frozen hate. These two civil rights giants endured great pain while parlaying a commitment to nonviolence into societal gains. Their spirit needs to be embraced during current struggles. Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic, Lewis said. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Hand axe made 1.4 million years ago shows unexpected Haaretz (Chuck L) Are UFOs a threat? We need to investigate, says former head of secret US program Live Science New Map of the Universe Fills in Some Troublesome Gaps Gizmodo (Kevin W) What Buddhism and science can teach each other and us about the universe The Conversation (Chuck L) Tulane scientists build high-performing hybrid solar energy converter Eurekalert (Chuck L) A Nixon Deepfake, a Moon Disaster Speech and an Information Ecosystem at Risk Scientifc American (Kevin W) Patients Arent Being Told About the AI Systems Advising Their Care STAT New psychedelic research sheds light on why psilocybin-containing mushrooms have been consumed for centuries PsyPost (Chuck L) #COVID-19 GOP signals Trumps payroll-tax cut in Republican coronavirus bill for now The Hill. UserFriendly: LOL. How did Trump go from defier of Gop orthodoxy to being mocked by prominent Senate Republicans for being its most stringent adherent? Regardless, undercut by: The people with hidden immunity against Covid-19 BBC. Focus on T-cells instead of antibodies. Confirms our sighting of the significance of reinfections in Israel after 3 months: Longitudinal evaluation and decline of antibody responses in SARS-CoV-2 infection MedRxiv. Preprint, but the decline in antibodies over time strikes the authors as awfully common-cold like. Safety and immunogenicity of the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine against SARS-CoV-2: a preliminary report of a phase 1/2, single-blind, randomised controlled trial Lancet. Lambert featured this in Water Cooler yesterday. Due to time constraints, I only read the abstract but am confused by the n. 1077 enrolled. 543 received the vaccine. So why are the efficacy %s based on 35?: China? EU leaders reach deal on recovery package DW From Politicos morning European newsletter: FRUGALS OVER THE MOON: The Frugal Four became the Frugal Five over the course of the weekend, a senior diplomat said late on Monday, and that may have been because we started off on this discussion already months ago together with some other member states. This group, the diplomat said, increased in size by 25 percent. And I think the group of countries, who had a similar interest in this combination of issues and decided in the meetings of the European Council to really stick together and not be allowed to be tackled individually by the presidency, really gave the results we can now see in the nego box. The frugals rebates are also there to stay. DUTCH EVEN HAPPIER: Michels proposal includes several key concessions to Dutch PM Mark Rutte. Chief among them: The Netherlands gets to keep a bigger portion of the customs revenue that comes through Europes largest seaport, Rotterdam, meaning a reduced amount will flow into the EUs coffers. The rule of law? Not enough of a reason to disagree, in the end. CRYING VICTORY? Grants are at 390 billion. Thats a fair bit lower than the 500 billion originally proposed, and err quite a bit higher than the 0.00 the frugals said they wanted in grants. Most potential recipients took it as a silent victory. The Loeries recently held its annual general meeting where a new board was appointed for 2020/2021. Fran Luckin, chief creative officer at Grey Africa and new chairperson of the Loeries board for 2020/2021. Fran Luckin : Chief Creative Officer, Grey Africa and Loeries Chairperson A day in the lockdown life of Grey Africa CCO Fran Luckin : Chief Creative Officer, Grey Africa and Loeries Chairperson Preetesh Sewraj : Chief Executive Officer, The Loerie Awards : Chief Executive Officer, The Loerie Awards Tseliso Rangaka : Chief Creative Officer, FCB Joburg and Hello Computer : Chief Creative Officer, FCB Joburg and Hello Computer Neo Mashigo : Chief Creative Officer, M&C Saatchi Abel : Chief Creative Officer, M&C Saatchi Abel Gareth Leck : Group CEO, Joe Public : Group CEO, Joe Public James Barty : Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, King James : Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer, King James Gaby de Abreu : Creative Director, Switch Design : Creative Director, Switch Design Linda Bogle : Executive Producer, Your Girlfriend : Executive Producer, Your Girlfriend Dawn Rowlands : Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network Sub-Saharan Africa : Chief Executive Officer, Dentsu Aegis Network Sub-Saharan Africa Suhana Gordhan : Executive Creative Director, FCB Africa : Executive Creative Director, FCB Africa Sydney Mbhele: Chief Executive: Brand, Sanlam Fran Luckin, chief creative officer, Grey Africa, was elected as the new chairperson, taking over from Tseliso Rangaka, chief creative officer, FCB Joburg and Hellocomputer. I am delighted to be joining this incredible team of industry captains to propel the Loeries vision forward and nurture budding creative talent, commented Luckin. Also joining the new board is Sydney Mbhele, chief executive of brand at Sanlam.The new board comprises:In his Chairpersons Report, Tseliso Rangaka reflected on the success of Loeries Creative Week in 2019: Around 2,500 entries were received. A total of 646 brands were represented by 281 agencies from 15 countries across Africa and the Middle East. The awards were judged by over 140 regional and international industry leaders in their fields including international Jury Presidents Nedal Ahmed, Tara McKenty, Ralf Heuel and Katja Thielen.He further added: 2020 is no-doubt a defining year for the Loeries. It has also shown itself as a year of many firsts. For the first time ever, entries to the awards are free. This is to assist agencies with a cost burden many cannot afford to have right now."We would like to thank the outgoing Loeries board for its hard work, commitment and guidance over the last 12 months. The board made immense strides to deliver on its mandate of supporting creativity across Africa and the Middle East, said Loeries newly appointed CEO Preetesh Sewraj.The new board's focus now turns to delivering on the aptly named theme of #CreateChange for Loeries 2020. This years Loeries Creative Week will deliver deep insights into how creativity helps business and society in general move forward, even if they face of one of our toughest challenges, he concluded.Under the board's leadership, the Loeries will deliver an innovative roadmap with the aim of recognising, rewarding, inspiring, and fostering creativity for positive change within the Africa and Middle East region. WASHINGTON - Because it's 2020, anyone anxious about this year's presidential election has a new problem to worry about: the possibility that a defeated Donald Trump won't be willing to leave the West Wing. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, July 20, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON - Because it's 2020, anyone anxious about this year's presidential election has a new problem to worry about: the possibility that a defeated Donald Trump won't be willing to leave the West Wing. Almost since his inauguration in 2017, the U.S. president's detractors have speculated that Trump might simply refuse to emerge from behind the Resolute Desk should he lose the support of American voters, who head to the polls in November after a head-spinning 45 months. On Sunday, Trump himself joined their ranks. "I have to see. Look, I have to see," he said when "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace asked point-blank if he would accept the election results. "I'm not going to just say yes, I'm not going to say no." The spectacle of a commander-in-chief refusing to publicly promise to abide by the will of the American people "fundamentally threatens the peaceful transfer of power," said Joe Goldman, president of the public-policy-oriented Democracy Fund, a non-partisan centre-left foundation in Washington, D.C., created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. "For it to take place at a time when we are rushing to implement pretty substantial changes to how our election system is going to work, and the president's out there undermining faith in that process, these things come together in a way that's pretty alarming." As U.S. states, many confronting dramatic increases in COVID-19 cases and deaths, prepare to stage a federal election in the midst of a pandemic, Trump has repeatedly claimed that mail-in ballots are a vector for electoral fraud, without citing any evidence. Because a strong ballot-box turnout is seen as favouring liberals, conservatives have been known to make it harder to vote including in Canada, where the previous Conservative government's 2014 Fair Elections Act, which banished voter identification cards as acceptable ID and banned vouching for another voter, was largely undone in 2016. Experts say Trump's campaign against mail-in ballots appears aimed not only at limiting turnout, but also at establishing a plausible narrative with which to proclaim the results are fraudulent, which he did again Tuesday on Twitter by claiming they would lead to a "rigged election." Fold in a deeply divided and motivated U.S. electorate, seized with the significance of the 2020 vote, and chaos could ensue, Goldman said. "Both sides believe this election represents an existential threat to the country, that if the other side wins, it threatens the republic at its core." Democracy Group's latest focus-group research, conducted late in 2019 and released last month, found overwhelming support for America's democratic values. But it also found deep dissatisfaction with how democracy is working in the U.S. nearly half the survey's 5,900 respondents expressed dissatisfaction, eight percentage points more than the same survey found in 2018. The research also found that one in 10 participants, Democrat and Republican alike, said there would be "a lot" or "a great deal" of justification for violence if their party loses in November. "We are living through the worst health crisis in recent memory, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and some of the worst social conflict since the '60s and '70s," Goldman said. "Put all of that in combination with a very close election in which neither side trusts the other or the institutions, informational environments in which misinformation spreads very, very quickly, and at least some political leaders who are willing to play fast and loose with the truth that, to me, represents kindling." The actual chance of Trump refusing to vacate the White House likely only becomes a danger if the election produces a close result and legitimate doubt can be cast on the result, said Peverill Squire, a political-science professor at the University of Missouri. To remain in office, he would need support from his Republican backers in Congress support that polls suggest is now steadily bleeding away as the president's response to the pandemic continues to drive down his support, both outside his party and within, causing some measure of panic in the Republican-controlled Senate. "If the result seems clear, both in the popular vote and in the electoral college, I doubt many people will rally to the president's cause, no matter how much he might complain," Squire said. "President Trump may be shocked to find how few friends he has if he loses." That said, U.S. history provides little guidance for what happens when a president refuses to leave office. Contested elections in 1800, 1824, 1876 and 2000 were all resolved when "the losing candidate conceded without calling his supporters to the streets," he said. Lara Brown, a politics professor at George Washington University in D.C., said if a disagreement were to persist into January, when a joint session of Congress gathers to formally count electoral college votes, a central character could well emerge: Vice-President Mike Pence. As president of the Senate, it falls to the vice-president to oversee the count and decide on the validity of the votes. "It could well come down to Pence," Brown said. "And it's hard to imagine any sort of more traditional politician like Pence would adhere to something that he would understand would break the American system." Former vice-president Al Gore had the chance to do just that in 2001, after a protracted court battle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, when he presided over the count that sent his rival George W. Bush to the White House. But he knew it would be pointless and destructive to do so, Brown said. "It would be seen as essentially upsetting the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power, and it would also show him to be wildly ambitious and willing to kind of burn the field in order to try to claim it," she said. "President Trump has not shown that level of statesmanship in any of his actions as president." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2020. Follow James McCarten on Twitter @CdnPressStyle Hospital officials in Madagascar's capital Antananarivo say they are struggling to cope with a rush of coronavirus patients despite the distribution of a herbal drink touted as a remedy by the president. President Andry Rajoelina has been promoting an infusion derived from artemisia -- a plant with proven anti-malarial properties -- as a homegrown cure for COVID-19. He has brushed off warnings by the World Health Organization (WHO) that there are no published scientific studies of the drink -- which has been called Covid-Organics -- and that its effects have not been tested. But COVID-designated hospitals in Antananarivo warn they are starting to run out of beds. "We are now only accepting severe cases," Andohotapenaka Hospital director Nasolotsiry Raveloson told AFP on Tuesday. "The number of cases is increasing more and more," he explained. "We now have 46 severe cases and so we only have four spaces left." At Joseph Raseta Befelatanana Hospital, director Mamy Randria said the facility was "overwhelmed". "It is impossible to free up spaces for the moment," he said. The head of Anosiala University Hospital, Rado Razafimahatratra echoed the concerns, noting that the facility was "constantly overwhelmed". To date the Indian Ocean island-nation of Madagascar has recorded 7,548 coronavirus cases, including just 65 deaths. Infections have spiked over recent days, however, raising concern in a country where three-quarters of the population live on less than $1.90 per day, according to the World Bank. - 'Notable flare-ups' - In a letter on Monday, the health ministry made an "urgent appeal" to development agencies to support its "fight" against coronavirus. "Over the past weeks, the COVID-19 epidemic has evolved in a very critical way in Madagascar with notable flare-ups in certain regions, particularly in Antananarivo," said the letter. The ministry asked for oxygen bottles, 227 ventilators, 2.3 million face masks, 697,000 pairs of gloves and 533,200 medical blouses. Government spokeswoman Lalatiana Rakotondrazafy said the state was aware it faced "certain shortages" but was working hard to "find solutions" -- citing new treatment centres in the capital and eastern city of Toamasina. "Two factors have contributed to the spread of this disease," said health department official Zely Arivelo Andriamanantany on local television. "Firstly... people took CVO (Covid-Organics) and then didn't respect social distancing. Secondly, CVO only guarantees protection for two to three weeks," he said. The government, meanwhile, has blamed the rise in cases on "increased testing capacity". "Positive COVID-19 cases did not take CVO or only took it sporadically, without following the prescribed dosage," said official documents sent to AFP on Tuesday. "Almost systematically, within the same family unit, those who result positive were not drinking CVO -- or at least not regularly -- while those who tested negative were taking the solution (and) remained negative despite living together without necessarily social distancing." Health personnel have been giving samples of the Covid-Organics herbal drink to patients in the capital's hospitals Photo: (Photo : pexels.com) New Jersey Judge Ester Salas' home in North Brunswick Township was attacked by a man last Sunday. This incident resulted in the death of her son and the injuries of her husband. The FBI is now investigating the incident. They gather information on the gunman who is believed to be wearing a courier company's driver uniform. READ ALSO: Son calls dad for help after being beaten and shot with two best friends Salas home shooting incident According to reports, the 20-year-old son of Judge Salas, Daniel, was killed during an altercation between him and the gunman. NJ Judge's husband, Mark Anderl, sustained injuries and is currently recovering from surgery. When the incident happened, the NJ Judge Salas was in the basement of their home. According to a neighbor of Salas, the incident happened at around five in the afternoon, last Sunday. Her neighbors described Salas and her family as good-natured. In a report from The New York Times, a neighbor said, "They would do anything for anyone." In the same report, the neighbor mentioned that they knew that Salas had worries about being in danger, considering the nature of her job, "She had some high-profile cases, and she was always a little concerned." READ ALSO: 3 Family Members Found Dead Near Edmonton: A Possible Murder-Suicide Case FBI investigation Many reports have mentioned that the suspect in the shooting incident was wearing a courier company's uniform. Investigations have not yet proven if the perpetrator is an actual employee or was only disguising as such. According to CNN, the courier company is aware of the shooting incident and has expressed full cooperation. There is also no known motive for the crime as there are no reported threats to the NJ Judge. In a Tweet posted by FBI Newark, they shared the ongoing investigation of the shooting incident that happened at the NJ Judge home. They have also disclosed that they are looking for one suspect on the incident. The FBI is gathering all information that they could, asking for the help of the public. They encourage everyone who thinks they have information on the shooting incident to call at 1-973-792-3000. READ ALSO: 6 children [from different incidents] fall victim to gun violence during the 4th of July weekend Support to the NJ Judge's family Government officials in New Jersey have expressed their sympathies toward the NJ Judge Salas' family. US Senator from New Jersey, Robert Mendez, mentioned in his tweet that he continues to pray for the arrest of the person responsible for the crime committed. My prayers are with Judge Salas and her family, and that those responsible for this horrendous act are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice. I know Judge Salas and her husband well, and was proud to recommend her to President Obama for nomination to NJs federal bench.My prayers are with Judge Salas and her family, and that those responsible for this horrendous act are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice. https://t.co/bUko4WLNJW Senator Bob Menendez (@SenatorMenendez) July 20, 2020 New Jersey Governor, Phil Murphy tweeted, "Judge Salas and her family are in our thoughts at this time as they cope with this senseless act." Judge Salas and her family are in our thoughts at this time as they cope with this senseless act. https://t.co/3mOYBSd6TA Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) July 20, 2020 North Brunswick Mayor Mac Womack also reacted about the incident on Twitter. He said that he would commit to supporting NJ Judge Salas' family in this trying time. No words can express the sadness and loss we share tonight as a community after senseless shootings of the husband and son of USDC Judge Esther Salas. We commit to do all we can to support the family in this time, as well as all law enforcement agencies involved. Mac Womack (@MacWomack) July 20, 2020 READ ALSO: Family in Texas Found Dead in Their Garage, Police Says It is Not An Accident In a famous parable, three blind men encounter an elephant for the first time. Each touches a part -- the trunk, ear, or side -- and concludes the creature is a thick snake, fan, or wall. This elephant, said Kang-Kuen Ni, is like the quantum world. Scientists can only explore a cell of this vast, unknown creature at a time. Now, Ni has revealed a few more to explore. It all started last December, when she and her team completed a new apparatus that could achieve the lowest temperature chemical reactions of any currently available technology and then broke and formed the coldest bonds in the history of molecular coupling. But their ultracold reactions also unexpectedly slowed the reaction to a sluggish speed, gifting the researchers with a real-time glimpse of what happens during a chemical transformation. Now, though reactions are considered too fast to measure, Ni not only determined the lifetime of that reaction, she solved an ultracold mystery in the process. With ultracold chemistry, Ni, the Morris Kahn associate professor of chemistry and chemical biology and of physics, and her team cooled two potassium-rubidium molecules to just above absolute zero and found the "intermediate," the space where reactants transform into products, lived for about 360 nanoseconds (still billionths of a second, but long enough). "It's not the reactant. It's not the product. It's something in-between," Ni said. Watching that transformation, like touching the side of an elephant, can tell her something new about how molecules, the foundation of everything, work. But they didn't just watch. "This thing lives so long that now we can actually mess around with it... with light," said Yu Liu, a graduate student in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and first author on their study published in Nature Physics. "Typical complexes, like those in a room-temperature reaction, you wouldn't be able to do much with because they dissociate into products so quickly." Like Star Trek tractor beams, lasers can trap and manipulate molecules. In ultracold physics, this is the go-to method to capture and control atoms, observe them in their quantum ground state or force them to react. But when scientists moved from manipulating atoms to messing with molecules, something strange happened: molecules started to disappear from view. advertisement "They prepared these molecules, hoping to realize many of the applications that they promise -- building quantum computers, for example -- but instead what they see is loss," Liu said. Alkali atoms, like the potassium and rubidium Ni and her team study, are easy to cool down in the ultracold realm. In 1997, scientists won a Nobel Prize in Physics for cooling and trapping alkali atoms in laser light. But molecules are wonkier than atoms: They aren't just a spherical thing sitting there, said Liu, they can rotate and vibrate. When trapped together in the laser light, the gas molecules bumped against each other as expected, but some simply disappeared. Scientists speculated that the molecular loss resulted from reactions -- two molecules bumped together and, instead of heading off in different directions, they transformed into new species. But how? "What we found in this paper answers that question," Liu said. "The very thing that you use to confine the molecule is killing the molecule." In other words, it's the light's fault. When Liu and Ni used lasers to manipulate that intermediate complex -- the middle of their chemical reaction -- they discovered the light forced the molecules off their typical reaction path and into a new one. A pair of molecules, stuck together as an intermediate complex, can get "photo-excited" instead of following their traditional path, Liu said. Alkali molecules are particularly susceptible because of how long they live in their intermediate complex. advertisement "Basically, if you want to eliminate loss," Liu said, "you've got to turn off the light. You've got to find another way to trap these things." Magnets, for example, or electric fields can trap molecules, too. "But these are all technically demanding," said Liu. Light is just simpler. Next, Ni wants to see where these complexes go when they disappear. Certain wavelengths of light (like the infrared the team used to excite their potassium-rubidium molecules) can create different reaction paths -- but no one knows which wavelengths send molecules into which new formations. They also plan to explore what the complex looks like at various stages of transformation. "To probe its structure," Liu said, "we can vary the frequency of the light and see how the degree of excitation varies. From there, we can figure out where the energy levels of this thing are, which informs on its quantum mechanical construct." "We hope this will serve as a model system," Ni said, an example for how researchers can explore other low temperature reactions that don't involve potassium and rubidium. "This reaction is, like many other chemical reactions, sort of a universe in its own," said Liu. With each new observation, the team reveals a tiny piece of the giant quantum elephant. Since there are an infinite number of chemical reactions in the known universe, there's still a long, long way to go. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 19:36:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LISBON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Portuguese President Marcelo Rebelo de Sousa on Tuesday hailed as "historic" and "excellent" the result of the meeting of the European Council in Brussels, Belgium, which approved the economic recovery plan for the European Union (EU). "By agreeing on a budget of 1.82 trillion euros (2.08 trillion U.S. dollars) for the next seven years, the European Union is demonstrating its strength and dynamics, its ability to democratically decide in the difficult but fruitful dialogue between its 27 member states, with respect for all and in the pursuit of common interests," the president said in a message published on the presidency's official website. The Portuguese president was referring to the value of the total approved package, which provides 750 billion euros for an economic recovery plan of the member states, plus the budget for the next seven years (2021-2027) of 1.074 trillion euros. "For Portugal, it is also an excellent result with the prospect of receiving more than 45 billion euros, a decisive aid to combat the social and economic crisis that the pandemic has caused," said the president. According to him, the country will now have the "duty to use it with rigor and discretion, constituting a new hope for the future of all of us." Leaders of the EU reached a landmark deal on Tuesday after four days of intensive negotiations over the EU budget for the next seven years and the massive recovery fund amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (1 euro = 1.14 U.S. dollars) Enditem Max Mining's Easy-to-Start Bitcoin Mining Packages This is a chance to make bitcoin mining more available. We have miners and mining partners ready now, but for most consumers, it's difficult to connect with professional mining resources, especially with most manufacturers located in China. Max Mining Hardware, a Wyoming-based bitcoin mining corporation, has launched a simpler way to mine bitcoin without purchasing a large number of miners. The mining hardware company recently announced that they will sell bitcoin miners directly to the public in packages that include miners, hosting placements, and a mobile management app. The company uses the mobile app to simplify the management of client bitcoin mining operations and has recently launched in the U.S. Lowering the starting costs of bitcoin mining and providing enterprise resources to consumers will help change the current industry model. Today, most professional mines require a minimum of fifteen to fifty miners to host, and without industrial electricity, many bitcoin miners cannot operate. These high electricity costs keep home-based miners out of the mining industry. With Max Mining, consumers can start with three miners and will have year-round access to industrial electricity rates under five cents per kWh. When asked why he started the company, Max Mining owner, Christopher Manzano, said, "This is a chance to make bitcoin mining more available. We have miners and mining partners ready now, but for most consumers, it's difficult to connect with professional mining resources, especially with most manufacturers located in China. The companys mining partners, including the XMAX mining project, invested years into simplifying bitcoin mining. Part of their system includes using a mobile app (https://handymining.io) to monitor miner stats remotely. And as the world's bitcoin miners continue to earn approximately 900 bitcoin daily, over eight million dollars worth at current prices, more miners have started mining. However, manufacturers and large-investors continue to operate most of the machines. Max Mining provides an alternative to home-based mining by supplying the advantages of a large-scale mining operation, without the start-up costs, in an easy-to-manage package. The company sees consumer markets as the future for bitcoin mining and continues to develop services to simplify mining and share their experience with tomorrow's miners. Max Mining Hardware (https://maxmining.io) is a Wyoming corporation partnered with professional miners to provide easy-to-start and simple-to-manage bitcoin mining direct to the public. [Partner Offices throughout Asia] ### For more information, the owner Christopher Manzano is available Monday through Friday, 8 PM to 12 PM EST at (212) 210-2155 or by email at press@maxmining.io. *Disclosure: The CEO of Max Mining is also a member of the XMAX Team She reportedly split from husband Liam Macaulay, earlier this year. And, Bake Off star Candice Brown has indicated that she feels 'hopeless' and 'no good' following recent reports that her marriage of less than two years has crumbled. Taking to Twitter on Monday, the TV personality, 35, liked a post by artist and author Charles Mackesy, which encouraged 'holding on' when 'your mind plays tricks on you.' Sad times: On Monday, Bake Off star Candice Brown, 35, indicated that she feels 'hopeless' and 'no good' following recent reports that her marriage of less than two years has crumbled It read: 'Sometimes your mind plays tricks on you. It can tell you you're no good, that it's all hopeless. 'But remember this; you are loved, and important and you bring to this world things no one else can. So hold on.' The same day, claims emerged that Candice and her tree surgeon beau had secretly split earlier this year, after less than two years of marriage. The report asserts that Liam has moved out of the pub - The Green Man in Eversholt, Milton Keynes - where the couple previously lived together, and back to Ampthill, Bedfordshire. Heartbreaking: The TV personality - who reportedly split from husband Liam Macaulay, earlier this year - liked a post by artist and author Charles Mackesy, which encouraged 'holding on' Hold on! The sweet inspirational message was initially posted on Twitter by the author According to The Mirror, Candice Brown's representative said: 'I can confirm Candice and Liam separated earlier this year.' MailOnline has contacted Candice's representative's for comment. The Bake Off star first met Liam in the bar where he worked while studying for a degree, back in 2012. After five years of dating, the couple announced their engagement in October 2017, just over a year after she first appeared on Bake Off. OVER!?Bake Off star Candice Brown has reportedly SPLIT from husband Liam Macaulay Secretly separated? It's claimed that the TV personality, 35, and the tree surgeon secretly split earlier this year, after less than two years of marriage (Pictured: Candice on Friday in London) In September 2018, Candice exchanged nuptials with her longtime love at Chateau de Varennes in Burgundy, France. Candice revealed the happy news on Twitter, simply writing: 'Got married, didn't we?' She later wrote: 'The congratulations & love we have received is incredible! Thank you so much for all your kind words! 'I keep bursting into tears (of complete overwhelming happiness & joy) -to anyone posting negative comments- I hope one day you experience the love and happiness we have #wife.' Speaking shortly after the ceremony, Candice said of their relationship: 'We have always said we work better together than we do apart. Being able to say we are now husband and wife is such a lovely thing.' Already moved out? The report asserts that Liam has moved out of the pub - The Green Man in Eversholt, Milton Keynes - where the couple previously lived together The TV star revealed Liam popped the question where they shared their first date in Bedfordshire. She told Hello! at the time: 'I get emotional. Because it's been such an amazing year. I feel very lucky. I've had such incredible opportunities GBBO opened so many doors and to top it off he puts a ring on it. He reached into the glove compartment, got out the ring, got down on one knee and said, 'I love you, you are my world. Will you marry me?' Liam continued: 'So I proposed in a car park. But it really meant something to us. Candice just cried for five minutes before she could say, 'Yes!'' Following her 2016 Bake Off victory, Candice and Liam sparked engagement rumours when she wore a show-stopping ring to the National Television Awards. Business Mogul: Candice grew up in a pub run by her parents in North London, and last year opened her own tavern, The Green Man in the scenic village of Eversholt, Bedfordshire Candice grew up in a pub run by her parents in North London, and last year opened her own tavern, The Green Man in the scenic village of Eversholt, Bedfordshire. The star previously admitted she will be taking a leaf out of Dame Barbara Windsor's EastEnders landlady of the Queen Vic Peggy Mitchell book when it comes to pub management. The baker claimed she is 'dying' to use Peggy's famous words 'Get out of my pub' when tossing out any rowdy customers. She told BANG Showbiz: 'I've just bought a pub, I want to do the best Sunday lunches, and comforting, warming and hearty food. 'I'm an ambassador for Love British Food, so I work with the farmers to promote that seasonal and local produce is when food is at its best. 'It's called The Green Man in Eversholt, I'm hoping it will be open in mid-February, it's so exciting. I was brought up in pubs with my brother and I want this to be a real family affair.' Candice's husband Liam threw his support behind his wife's business venture, and her brother Ben and his girlfriend Sophie also got on board. She added: 'It's been a real family affair. A real baptism of fire but it's going to be amazing. I got it with my brother Ben, so his girlfriend Sophie is involved too.' New coronavirus rules require Melburnians to wear face masks while practicing social distancing inside at work or risk a hefty fine. Face masks will become mandatory for all Melbourne and Mitchell Shire residents aged 12 and up from 11.59pm on Wednesday. Everyone outside of their home must wear a protective mask or cover their face in an effort to stem the horror second wave of coronavirus in Victoria. Students and people riding public transport are required to wear masks, as well as all workers regardless of whether they are complying with social distancing sanctions. Victorians breaking the mandatory mask rules will cop a $200 fine, while workplaces that do not comply will face a $9,913 fine. Face masks will be mandatory for all people aged 12 and up in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire from 11.59pm on Wednesday. Pictured: a woman wears a mask while walking in Melbourne on Monday Exemptions will be given for medical and practical reasons, including exercise or for proof of identification, but people must carry a mask with them at all times. Victoria recorded its second biggest spike in new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday with 374 infections and three deaths, taking the national death toll to 126. WHO advisor Mary-Louise McLaws said Sydney should follow Melbourne's lead with mask rules 'within days' to prevent the Victorian outbreak from infiltrating NSW. 'I know this will be criticised because it's across a wide geographical area, but that's the point,' she told ABC. Recent research suggests covering your face with fabric can offer significant protection against infectious diseases. 'They do work. Some of the new studies show that some three-layered fabrics give you up to 70 per cent protection,' Professor McLaws said. 'So if everybody is wearing them, that's doubling your effectiveness really.' Thick crowds stroll along the promenade at Sydney's Bondi Beach on Sunday as the second wave coronavirus outbreaks threatens to spread north from Victoria into NSW WHO advisor Mary-Louise McLaws said Sydney should follow Melbourne's lead and implement a mandatory mask rule New South Wales recorded 13 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday - with 10 linked to the Thai Rock Restaurant in Stockland Mall at Wetherill Park in Sydney's west. Professor McLaws believes once the number of active cases of community transmission over a two week period exceeds 100 we will reach an alert level where NSW Health will not be able to effectively contact trace infected patients. She said wearing masks will provide the greatest defence for Sydneysiders against the disease without closing the border or segregating communities. 'We don't know how to ring-fence to get the most bang for our buck, so therefore the next best thing is to protect people from breathing it in for at least a week,' she said. Professor McLaws advice has not been backed by NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian or NSW Chief Medical Officer Kerry Chant, who both believe masks aren't essential. Australia's Deputy Chief Medical Officer Nick Coatsworth said wearing a mask would not stop you from getting coronavirus. 'We want Australians to be absolutely clear that their primary mechanism of defence against COVID-19 is distance physical distance, getting themselves tested when they're unwell and supporting our contact tracers,' he said. Sarah Ferguson's reinvention amid the coronavirus lockdown has won over a new legion of fans, according to a royal expert. Camilla Tominey told how due to the circumstances surrounding her ex-husband Prince Andrew's links to convicted paedophile Jeffrey Epstein, it would have been all too easy for the Duchess of York, 60, to have used lockdown as an opportunity to evade the public eye. Instead, she has been at the forefront of the Royal Family's response to the global crisis with her volunteering efforts, and even launched a daily YouTube show, where she reads a series of different children's books to help keep the little ones entertained during the pandemic. 'Like a sort of wonky Phoenix, rising from the flames of Andrews car crash Newsnight interview, Fergie appears to have turned a crisis into an opportunity by using the lockdown to reinvent herself,' said Camilla, writing for The Telegraph. Royal expert Camilla Tominey has claimed that Sarah Ferguson's reinvention amid the coronavirus lockdown has won over a new legion of fans. Pictured, the Duchess of York, 60, during her YouTube series The mother-of-two has been at the forefront of the Royal Family's volunteering efforts amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured, Fergie with some of her deliveries To date, the mother-of-two boasts an impressive 4,500 subscribers, with 480,000 people across the nation having watched some of her videos. The royal's stories have also featured an array of different guest hosts - including the likes of Stephen Fry and Prince Harry's ex girlfriend, Cressida Bonas. In one of the episodes the royal, who is in lockdown with ex-husband Prince Andrew, daughter Princess Eugenie and her husband Jack Brooksbank at Royal Lodge, Windsor, dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood and was joined by a mystery guest in a wolf mask and nightgown. Elsewhere, she posted a make-up free snap before putting on a very animated reading of a children's book with the help of a toy unicorn. Sarah Ferguson dressed up as Little Red Riding Hood (pictured) to read the classic children's tale on her YouTube channel on 11 June During lockdown, Sarah Ferguson spoke on Haircuts4Homeless's recent Hear Me, See Me Podcast about her new charity Sarah's Trust - before sharing a short video on Instagram (pictured) A friend went on to tell the publication that there's 'no vanity' about Sarah and that 'what you see is what you get.' She continued: 'Some people may look at the videos and ask: "Who the hell advised her to do that?" but you can't stop someone from being themselves. 'And to be fair to the Duchess, she's gained a cult following because she's completely authentic on there. Some people call her eccentric, I say she's an individual. She is this weirdly creative sort of person and so what you get is this form of wacky storytelling.' Sarah's daughter Princess Beatrice, 31, tied the knot to Italian property developer Edo, 37, at a ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints in the grounds of her home of Royal Lodge, in Windsor Great Park, on Friday. During lockdown, Sarah Ferguson has been active on Instagram - and in April, she even posted photos of her doing the dishes and mopping the kitchen floor (pictured) And following the surprise ceremony, Prince Andrew's ex-wife made no mention of the nuptials, and instead could be seen dressed in an orange cold-shoulder ensemble and a flower hairband, as she prepared to read Peepo! by Allan and Janet Ahlberg, a book describing a glimpse into the daily life of a baby. During lockdown, the Duchess of York has also launched a new charitable foundation 'Sarah's Trust' with aim of making 'a long lasting difference to vulnerable communities'. The Trust describes its works online as providing a 'vital bridge' between 'individuals with social responsibility and the financial ability' to give philanthropically with charities in need. She revealed her new charity made 150,000 donations to frontline workers during the coronavirus pandemic and said hundreds were 'personally funded' by Princess Eugenie and Princess Beatrice. Pottawattamie County listed three new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, according to coronavirus.iowa.gov. The site listed 926 cases, up from 923 roughly 24 hours earlier. With 12,389 tests, the county's positive rate remains at 7.5%. There have been 707 recoveries in the county, up 11 from Monday, and 15 deaths. On Monday, the state site reported an outbreak at Risen Son Christian Village, a long-term care facility in Council Bluffs. The company said 19 residents and 11 staff members tested positive for COVID-19, the disease caused by the novel coronavirus. The state site listed 13 recoveries among residents on Tuesday. The state reported an additional 366 new cases, for a total of 39,474 out of 423,862 putting the positive rate in Iowa at 9.3%. The state reported five new deaths as the number in Iowa climbed to 802. The state listed 28,379 recoveries. COVID-19 in southwest Iowa In the region tracked by the Nonpareil, , Harrison and Montgomery County reported one new case apiece, according to coronavirus.iowa.gov. Crawford County was the only county to report more than 10 new tests. Page County Public Health reported two new cases, both adults between 18 and 40 years old. Heres a look at numbers in southwest Iowa, based on data from the counties and the state website: Pottawattamie County 923 cases, 696 recoveries, 12,365 tests, 7.5% of those tested have come back positive, 15 deaths Mills County 60 cases, 32 recoveries, 2,323 tests, 2.6% Harrison County 71 cases, 51 recoveries, 1,334 tests, 5.3% Cass County 30 cases, 28 recoveries, 1,102 tests, 2.7% Shelby County 125 cases, 121 recoveries, 1,306 tests, 9.6% Montgomery County 21 cases, 14 recoveries, 1,006 tests, 2.1%, two deaths Monona County 81 cases, 65 recoveries, 1,025 tests, 7.9% Crawford County 689 cases, 645 recoveries, 3,287 tests, 21%, three deaths Page County 33 cases, 20 recoveries, 1,430 tests, 2.3% Fremont County 14 cases, six recoveries, 518 tests, 2.7% In Regional Medical Coordination Center region four which includes Pottawattamie, Mills, Harrison, Cass, Crawford, Shelby, Fremont, Montgomery, Page, Adams, Audubon and Taylor Counties there were eight patients hospitalized with COVID-19 and three in intensive care. The region has 206 inpatient beds available, 22 intensive care beds available and 60 ventilators available, both comparable to Friday. There is one hospitalized COVID-19 patients on a ventilator. Information about COVID-19 Symptoms in people who have been exposed to coronavirus can include fever, cough and shortness of breath, according to the Iowa Department of Public Health. The symptoms may appear in as few as two days or as long as 14 days after exposure. Most people experience mild or moderate symptoms that clear up in two to three weeks. Older adults and people with existing health problems are among those particularly susceptible to more severe illness, including pneumonia. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommend the use of masks when out in public. Make sure it covers the mouth and nose. Face shields are an option as well, as they cover the eyes. Public health officials recommend: Stay home as much as possible. Self-monitor for symptoms. Call your physician if symptoms appear. Cover coughs and sneezes with a tissue or your upper arm/elbow. Wash hands frequently with soap and water. Clean and disinfect frequently-touched objects and surfaces. COVID-19 testing is available in Pottawattamie County via two TestIowa locations: All Care Health Center, 902 S. Sixth St., and Western Historic Trails Center, 3434 Richard Downing Ave. To get tested, residents must complete the online assessment at testiowa.com to schedule an appointment. For those struggling with mental health during the pandemic, yourlifeiowa.org has several resources, including a hotline at 855-581-8111 and a text-friendly line at 855-895-8398. The University of Nebraska Medical Center has a COVID-19 screening app 1-Check COVID. 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. Islamabad: The Pakistan government said on Monday that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan will visit Pakistan this week to improve ties in various fields. The Foreign Office said Erdogan will visit the country on November 16-17 at the invitation of his Pakistan counterpart Mamnoon Hussain. "While the Turkish President has been to Pakistan on a number of occasions, this would be his first bilateral visit to Pakistan since assuming office," it said. Erdogan will be accompanied by a high-level entourage, including ministers and senior officials, as well as a large business delegation. Besides meeting with Hussain, Erdogan would be holding talks with Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif and is also scheduled to address a joint session of Parliament. The exchange of views between the two leaders would cover the entire range of bilateral matters, as well as regional and international issues. Erdogan will also travel to Lahore. The Foreign Office said that Pakistan and Turkey are bound by an exemplary relationship characterised by warmth, cordiality and mutual trust. "Frequent exchanges at the leadership and ministerial levels and growing cooperation in diverse fields are the hallmarks of the unique bonds between Pakistan and Turkey," it said. It said the leadership of both countries is committed to transforming this historic relationship into a strong strategic partnership, in line with the realities of the 21st century. It said bilateral relations between Pakistan and Turkey have witnessed tremendous growth and dynamism in recent years. Both sides are working to give powerful thrust to bilateral trade, investment and commercial cooperation as part of the efforts to build a robust economic partnership. Both countries closely collaborate with and mutually support each other at regional and international forums. The Foreign Office said that Turkey has steadfastly supported the people of "Jammu and Kashmir in their just struggle for the right to self-determination in accordancewith the relevant UN resolutions". Turkey plays a vital and active role as a member of the OIC Contact Group on Jammu and Kashmir, it said adding Erdogan's visit would contribute substantially to further solidifying the relationship between the two countries. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Plan International Ghana, a child-centered Non-governmental Organisation, in collaboration with the Upper West Regional Information Service Department (ISD), has intensified public education on the COVID-19 in the region. The sensitisation and awareness creation campaign conducted in over 80 deprived communities in five municipalities and districts, was geared towards educating the public on the COVID-19 pandemic and its preventive measures. Mr Sinto Mustapha, the Upper West Regional Director of the ISD revealed this to the Ghana News Agency in Wa on Tuesday. The municipalities and districts were Wa and Sissala East, Wa West, Wa East, and Sissala West districts. He said the ISD, with support from Plan International Ghana, embarked on the campaign using the information cinema vans as some individuals and communities could not get vital information about the COVID-19 through the television, social media, and radio broadcast. COVID-19 is preventable through observing the preventive protocols line such as hand washing under clean running water with soap, avoiding handshake, observing social distance, using alcohol-based sanitizer, coughing or sneezing into tissue paper and the continuous use of a face mask as it has become mandatory, he explained. Mr Mustapha added that the communities were also sensitised on the need to avoid stigmatising persons who had contracted the virus as every person could be a victim. The campaign messages were: Stop giving names to people infected with COVID-19; spread calm and not fear, COVID-19 is not a respecter of persons, lets come together to fight it, we are all at risk, Dont stigmatize me, it is me today, it could be you tomorrow; lets unite against COVID-19. Others were COVID-19 is not a death sentence, stop the stigmatization, support victims of COVID-19; and their families dont stigmatize them, families of affected persons need social support and not figure pointing and discrimination and health workers are there for you, support them to care for you. The sensitisation campaign also urged the public to avoid Gender Base Violence and child abuse, particularly amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Parents should also desist from any form of abuse against their children. Both partner and child abuse are criminal and could land the perpetrator in prison, Mr Mustapha said. On E-learning, the Information Officer urged parents to regularly encourage their wards to participate in both radio and television teaching and learning activities. 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 NEW YORK (AP) Christopher Nolan's Tenet, which had hoped to herald Hollywood's return to big theatrical releases, has yet again postponed its release due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Warner Bros. said Monday that Tenet will not make its Aug. 12 release date. Unlike previous delays, the studio this time didn't announce a new target for the release of Nolan's much-anticipated $200 million thriller. Tenet had already shifted from July 17, then July 31 and then Aug. 12. Nolan, a staunch advocate for the big-screen experience, has strenuously hoped that Tenet could lead the resumption of nationwide and global moviegoing. But the surge of the virus across much of the U.S. has upended the industry's aims for even a late-August return. Last week, California ordered its cinemas closed. Warner Bros. Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich said the studio will soon share a new 2020 release date for Tenet." It may be a much different rollout, with the film opening in staggered international release. "We are not treating Tenet like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that, said Emmerich. Switzerland, as agreed with Ukraine, helps civilians on both sides of demarcation line in Donbas. "Since the conflict is a violation of international humanitarian law, we are making every effort to help the civilian population affected by this conflict," President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga said at a joint press conference with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky following bilateral talks in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Switzerland helps civilians living on both sides of the demarcation line and is happy it can do so in agreement with Ukraine, President Sommaruga clarified. She added that Switzerland supported the peaceful settlement of the conflict in eastern Ukraine and took measures to provide humanitarian assistance to the civilian population, in particular, to help get access to clean drinking water. On July 20-23, President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga makes a state visit to Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The program of the visit includes face-to-face talks and negotiations as part of delegations. It is planned to discuss a wide range of issues of bilateral Ukraine-Switzerland relations, as well as cooperation at the international level. During the visit, Zelensky and Sommaruga are expected to make a joint working visit to Donbas to get acquainted with the security and socio-economic situation in the region and the progress of implementation of Swiss humanitarian aid projects. ol The opposition National Democratic Congress in the Awutu Senya East constituency has accused the Member of Parliament (MP) for the area, Mavis Hawa Koomson, of instigating the tensions in the area. Delali Seworkpor, the NDC Communications Officer in the constituency, lamented on Eyewitness News that his partys members were at the mercy of the MPs antics. He was speaking after a shooting incident at a centre for the voter registration exercise in the constituency. Four persons were arrested after the gunshot that led to a halting of the registration exercise. Mr. Seworkpor said the incident was another testimony that going into the 2020 election, for the NPP led by Mavis Hawa Koomson, the basic strategy is to wage violence against members of the National Democratic Congress. He claimed the MP had men with her who used pepper spray and shockers on NDC supporters. The cars that actually brought the thugs were part of her convoy, Mr. Seworkpor added. According to him, there were attempts to secure visual evidence of the incident, but persons with phones faced intimidation and had their gadgets destroyed. She doesn't want an instance where there will be evidence to buttress the fact that the led the thugs to come and attack the people, he said. Mr. Seworkpor further said the police in the areas had not been effective enough despite complaints. The next moment, when we report the matter to the police station and they effect arrests, after less than an hour, these people are set free and the next day the commit worse crimes. The Electoral Commission has since come out to condemn the violence at the registration centre. The Commission condemns such acts during a civil exercise like the Registration of Voters and calls on security agencies to investigate the issue as a matter of urgency to bring the perpetrators to book. The Commission calls on the public to condemn the violence and urges all eligible voters to turn out in their numbers to register to vote in the 2020 General Election, it said. ---citinewsroom Iran has accused Israel of being responsible for a series of incidents at its nuclear and other facilities, thus far without response, writes Haitham Nouri Iran has seen a series of mysterious incidents at its strategic nuclear, military and civilian installations recently, with some 12 having been recorded in a series that culminated on Sunday at a half-century-old power station in the central province of Isfahan. Official statements from Iran have been contradictory, and no country or party has claimed responsibility for the incidents which have resulted in unexplained explosions and blazes. The Islamic Republics official media, as well as some of its figureheads, have blamed the US and Israel for the series of incidents, while Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has spoken of Tehrans strategic patience and mentioned no particular culprit. The New York Times quoted an anonymous Middle Eastern official as saying it was probable Israel was behind the incidents. The US Vox Website said head of Israeli intelligence Yossi Cohen had likely orchestrated the attacks, but it presented no proof of the accusation. The Isfahan power plant blaze came a day after the burning of seven ships in the port of Bushehr on the Gulf. Neither incident resulted in casualties. The first in the series of incidents took place on 26 June in fires at the Shiraz power station, reportedly because of hot weather, and at the Khojir missiles facility near Tehran, reportedly due to a gas leak. The Iranian media reported the authorities as saying that the gas leak had taken place at the military complex of Parchin, even as satellite images revealed the damage was at Khojir. Tehran had refused to allow inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to visit the Parchin complex, where Iran is believed to be conducting experiments related to its nuclear programme. A few days after the Shiraz fire, an explosion at a medical facility in Iran killed 19 people. Then a building under construction near the Natanz nuclear enrichment facility also exploded, with the authorities claiming that no damage had been caused to the building housing the countrys centrifuge-assembly centre, vital to its nuclear programme. However, a report from US think tank the Institute for Science and International Security said the Natanz facility had suffered significant, extensive and likely irreparable, damage to its main assembly hall section. The report added that the buildings replacement would be expected to take at least a year, if not longer Its destruction must be viewed as a major setback to Irans ability to deploy advanced centrifuges on a mass scale for years to come. The official Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) said the fire that broke out at Natanz was the result of sabotage by an enemy state, particularly the Zionist regime and the US. The head of the Iranian Civil Defence Authority also promised to retaliate if it turned out Iran had been the victim of an electronic attack. In response to the question of whether Israel was behind the incidents, the Israeli foreign minister answered that we take actions that are better left unsaid. Tehran has claimed that Israel and the US are behind events in the Islamic Republic, but it has stopped short of making specific accusations against Tel Aviv. The Israeli media quoted Israeli officials as saying that the number of centrifuges Iran had declared will allow it to build not one nuclear bomb, but an entire arsenal. Israel has a long history of targeting nuclear programmes in the region, starting with the 1981 aerial attack on the Osirak facility in Iraq. Between 2010 and 2012, Israel also assassinated at least four Iranian atomic scientists, including Mustafa Ahmedi Roushan. In a cyberattack, Israel destroyed at least 1,000 Iranian centrifuges out of a total of 6,000 using computer viruses such as Stuxnet and Flame. In 2018, Israel stole detailed documents on the Iranian nuclear programme, the majority of which relating to research conducted prior to 2003. In addition to Iran, Israel has also conducted attacks against sites in Syria that Tel Aviv has said were facilities with ties to the Iranian nuclear programme. On 4 July, the power station at Zarghan in Iran exploded, this supplying the region of Khuzestan on the border with Iraq with electricity. On the same day, a petrochemicals factory in Karun on the Gulf exploded, leaving a number of workers injured. On 7 July, an explosion took place in an industrial area near Tehran, and three days later a residential building was destroyed. Gas leaks resulted in two buildings being destroyed in Tehran on 11 July, and there was a third in Mashhad on 13 July and an oil leak in Mahshahr. A number of reports have stated that an electronic war between Iran and Israel started in May with the announcement of a failed attack on the Israeli water network. Israel retaliated with a cyberattack against the port of Shahid Rajaee, through which pass 50 per cent of Irans imports and exports. The attack resulted in blockages in the ports channels, causing enormous damage. These incidents are believed to be a continuation of the maximum pressure policy that US President Donald Trump has adopted against Iran to force the country to alter its stances on Middle East issues and bring a halt to its nuclear programme. The policy was first adopted in 2018, when Washington withdrew from the nuclear agreement that Trumps predecessor Barack Obama had signed in 2015. Earlier this year, Qassem Al-Suleimani, leader of Irans Revolutionary Guard Corps, was assassinated in Iraq. There has also been a tightening of the US sanctions against Iran. The US is backing an ongoing Iraqi-Saudi rapprochement at the expense of Iran, evident in the policies being adopted by new Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. Al-Kadhimi has been supported by a months-long uprising against Iranian influence in Iraq, during which hundreds of people have been killed. It appears that a conflict between Iran and Israel has now begun, with many fearing that Iran may use its proxies such as the Lebanese Shia group Hizbullah to respond to Israel, pushing the region towards further conflict. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: After initially mandating that all customers wear a face mask while shopping, retailers Family Dollar and Dollar Tree are now changing up its policy. Instead of making face masks mandatory to enter, the two stores are now just requesting customers wear one while inside shopping. The retailers updated their face mask policy on their coronavirus response page. Face coverings will still be mandatory where required by state or local ordinance, which includes all of its stores in Pennsylvania. More and more national retailers have been implementing face mask requirements over the past few weeks. Starting this week, Lowes and Home Depot joined the growing list which includes Kohls, Walmart, CVS and Target. On Monday, Disney World tightened up its face mask restrictions to clarify that all park guests must wear a mask at all times. 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. READ MORE Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! A look at the shareholders of International Tower Hill Mines Ltd. (TSE:ITH) can tell us which group is most powerful. Generally speaking, as a company grows, institutions will increase their ownership. Conversely, insiders often decrease their ownership over time. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low insider ownership. International Tower Hill Mines is not a large company by global standards. It has a market capitalization of CA$499m, which means it wouldn't have the attention of many institutional investors. 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 International Tower Hill Mines. Check out our latest analysis for International Tower Hill Mines What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About International Tower Hill Mines? 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. International Tower Hill Mines already has institutions on the share registry. Indeed, they own a respectable stake in the company. This can indicate that the company has a certain degree of credibility in the investment community. However, it is best to be wary of relying on the supposed validation that comes with institutional investors. They too, get it wrong sometimes. 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 International Tower Hill Mines, (below). Of course, keep in mind that there are other factors to consider, too. Story continues Since institutional investors own more than half the issued stock, the board will likely have to pay attention to their preferences. It looks like hedge funds own 32% of International Tower Hill Mines shares. That catches my attention because hedge funds sometimes try to influence management, or bring about changes that will create near term value for shareholders. Paulson & Co. Inc. is currently the largest shareholder, with 32% of shares outstanding. The second and third largest shareholders are Sprott Asset Management, LP and Sprott Inc., with an equal amount of shares to their name at 16%. After doing some more digging, we found that the top 3 shareholders collectively control more than half of the company's shares, implying that they have considerable power to influence the company's decisions. While studying institutional ownership for a company can add value to your research, it is also a good practice to research analyst recommendations to get a deeper understand of a stock's expected performance. As far I can tell there isn't analyst coverage of the company, so it is probably flying under the radar. Insider Ownership Of International Tower Hill Mines The definition of company insiders can be subjective, and does vary between jurisdictions. Our data reflects individual insiders, capturing board members at the very least. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. 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 International Tower Hill Mines Ltd.. It appears that the board holds about CA$2.8m worth of stock. This compares to a market capitalization of CA$499m. Many tend to prefer to see a board with bigger shareholdings. A good next step might be to take a look at this free summary of insider buying and selling. General Public Ownership With a 13% ownership, the general public have some degree of sway over ITH. While this group can't necessarily call the shots, it can certainly have a real influence on how the company is run. Next Steps: While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider for instance, the ever-present spectre of investment risk. We've identified 1 warning sign with International Tower Hill Mines , and understanding them should be part of your investment process. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking elsewhere. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. 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. Farmers could lose control over the shooting rights on their land under current Garda guidelines for firearms. The IFA met with An Garda Siochana last month over the issue which centres on the wording of the Garda Commissioner's 'Guidelines on Firearms'. The guidelines state "written authorisation from the person entitled to grant the shooting rights must be provided if the Garda Superintendent requests him or her to do so." However, as it currently stands, when farmers allow a Gun Club access to lands, they are effectively granting them a "bare licence". This is the lowest level of right that a landowner can grant to an individual to enable them to come on to the land to do a specific task. This licence can generally be revoked on very short notice. However, if a landowner was to grant a "shooting right" as set out in the guidelines, this is something that in theory should be registered on the farm folio and sold or transferred on to third parties. The IFA is seeking a change to the wording which would see farmers grant 'permission' rather than 'shooting rights'. Transport It is also understood concerns about the guidelines for the transport of firearms was raised in the meeting. Under the Guidelines during transport, firearms should always be stored in a case/sleeve, out of sight in a locked vehicle boot and should not be immediately accessible to the driver or any passenger. However, the IFA argued that this is impractical for farmers and an allowance should be made to include crew cab, van-type jeep vehicles and tractors where it is not possible to have a firearm or ammunition out of sight of a driver or passenger. Farmer concerns relating to the use of silencers/moderators was also highlighted to the Gardai. Farmers have reported more difficulty in obtaining permission to use the devices for vermin control. The IFA said the devices are particularly useful when it comes to the control of foxes, who spread neospora in breeding livestock. Meanwhile, concerns are also mounting over a proposed EU ban on the firing of lead ammunition on wetland. TikTok tells Axios it plans to add thousands of jobs in the U.S. over the next few years ripping a familiar page from the "companies under fire" playbook. The big picture: Chinese-owned TikTok is working to distance itself from Beijing in the face of a threatened ban from the Trump administration and broader scrutiny out of Washington, where policymakers are looking to blunt China's influence and economic might. Driving the news: TikTok plans to add 10,000 jobs in the U.S. in the next three years as user growth explodes, spokesperson Josh Gartner told Axios. TikTok's U.S. job growth has already nearly tripled this year, going from almost 500 employees Jan. 1 to just under 1,400. The company plans to hire for jobs in engineering, sales, content moderation and customer service, with a focus on growing workforces in California, New York, Texas, Florida and Tennessee, Gartner said. "Its supporting the tremendous growth in the country and follows our strategy of building out teams where we have users," Gartner told Axios. Between the lines: TikTok's ongoing hiring spree also includes the addition of more than 35 lobbyists meant to convince the Trump administration and lawmakers of the company's independence from China, according to a New York Times report. The company also plans to open transparency centers in Los Angeles and Washington, D.C., to allow outsiders to observe its content-moderation process. Context: U.S. policymakers are suspicious about the privacy practices and potential Chinese government ties of TikTok's Beijing-based parent company ByteDance. TikTok doesn't operate in China, where ByteDance instead maintains a near-identical app called Douyin. TikTok says it doesn't share user data with China or even store any there. There's no evidence to date contradicting those claims, but China hawks in Congress and the Trump administration remain skeptical, given the expansive powers Beijing has asserted over companies that do business in China. The House on Monday approved an amendment to a must-pass defense bill banning federal employees from downloading TikTok on government-issued devices, while the Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee will vote Wednesday on similar legislation from Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.). The big picture: TikTok's hiring plans follow the playbook of other tech companies highlighting their role as job creators and investors in local economies. Google, facing antirust investigations at the federal and state level, pledged a $10 billion investment in expanding its footprint across the country earlier this year. Apple in 2018 announced plans to build a $1 billion new campus in Austin, Texas, while also setting up new offices in several cities. Amazon's competition for its second headquarters saw dozens of cities vying to be the tech giant's choice. Yes, but: Job promises don't always pan out. Just ask the folks in Wisconsin still waiting for the job postings from that big Foxconn factory. Go deeper: TikTok caught in a U.S.-China vise Some 25 million US workers are facing a reduction or outright elimination of a $600 weekly federal addition to state unemployment benefits when the supplemental payment authorized by Congress under the CARES Act expires on July 25. In the midst of a raging pandemic and the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, with at least 30 million out of work and new jobless claims surpassing one million a week, the supplement is all that has been keeping many families above water. Coinciding with the impending end of a federal moratorium on evictions and the expiration of state moratoriums, the cut in jobless pay will propel millions into destitution and homelessness. One survey found that 37 percent of renters and 26 percent of homeowners feared they could be homeless by the end of the year. Researchers at Columbia University say they expect US homelessness to increase by 45 percent compared to 2019. Hunger, already on the rise, will spiral further upward. Feeding America reported that the vast majority of food banks were still experiencing a big increase in demand in early July compared to a year ago. Almost 30 percent of those lining up for food were new clients. Congress has convened this week in advance of the August break to consider a new coronavirus stimulus bill that will contain, in addition to another mammoth handout to big business, either a sharp reduction or total elimination of the unemployment supplement. Congressional Republicans want either the elimination of the supplement or a reduction to between $200 and $400. The Trump administration is calling for the elimination of the supplement and a cut in the federal payroll tax, which would slash funding for Social Security and Medicare. Both the White House and congressional Republicans are demanding corporate immunity from coronavirus-related lawsuits. This amounts to a carte blanche for companies that refuse to take measures to protect workers who are being given the choice of returning to unsafe jobs or starving. The Democrats have introduced a bill tying the supplement to the official unemployment rate in each state. It would cut the benefit by $100 for each percentage point decline in a states unemployment rate, starting at 11 percent. That would mean an immediate cut in many states. As part of his war against science and coronavirus testing and tracking, President Trump is also demanding that no additional funding go to the Centers for Disease Control. There is a strong possibility that the $600 supplement will be allowed to lapse before a new bill is passed and signed into law. One thing is certain: workers living standards will be slashed in order to break down resistance to returning to workplaces such as meatpacking plants, auto plants, Amazon distribution centers and schools that are breeding grounds for the deadly virus. The corporate elite and its political stooges in both parties are irate that many workers are actually taking home more money with the current federal unemployment supplement than they did working for the near-poverty wages that prevail in most workplaces. That is why the supplement has come under attack by both Democratic- and Republican-aligned newspapers, from the New York Times and Washington Post to the Wall Street Journal. In a particularly cynical opinion piece, the Times called for turning the $600 supplement for the unemployed into a supplement for employers to encourage them to hire laid-off workers. The Democratic governor of Connecticut, Ned Lamont, won press accolades for a speech opposing an extension of the supplement on the grounds that it discouraged work. While Congress dithers when it comes to a supplement that has enabled millions of workers to keep a roof over their families and put food on the table, it snaps into action and joins hands across the partisan aisle when it comes to extending the Paycheck Protection Program, a slush fund for millionaires and billionaires packaged as a boon to small business. Last week the program was extended by a unanimous vote. Corporations are using the pandemic as an opportunity to carry out a brutal restructuring involving wage cuts and the elimination of millions of jobs. Companies that received billions of dollars in the CARES Act corporate bailoutjustified in the name of saving jobsget to keep the handouts even as they announce huge layoffs. The airline industry, which received $25 billion in federal bailout money, is leading the way. American Airlines has announced that it will furlough up to 25,000 workers once the federal Payroll Support program ends on October 1. United is threatening as many as 36,000 job cuts. Delta is demanding that pilots take a 15 percent pay cut. Meanwhile, the pandemic is allowed to explode out of control as the ruling class pursues its criminal policy of herd immunity, i.e., killing off excess workers, especially older people who are no longer a source of surplus value and profit. Wall Street applauds as the Dow rises in tandem with the number of COVID-19 infections and deaths, buoyed by unlimited cash supplied by the Federal Reserve. Since the start of the pandemic, the overriding concern of the US ruling elite has been to protect its wealth. Once the CARES Act bailout package was signed into law in March, the main focus of both big-business parties turned to forcing workers back into the factories to produce profit and back up the ever-expanding mountain of debt. The homicidal back-to-work campaign is entering a new and even deadlier stage with the drive to force teachers and school workers back into unsafe and dilapidated schools. The ruling elite could care less how many workers are sacrificed in the manic drive for profit and the further expansion of the fortunes of corporate oligarchs. The attack on the $600 unemployment supplement is a major component of a policy of class war directed against the entire working population. The slashing or termination of the jobless benefit is a weapon in this war. As the World Socialist Web Site wrote on July 16: It would be hard to imagine a more corrupt social order than currently exists. The pandemic has become a favorable factor for enriching the financial oligarchy. As long as the crisis provides the pretext for massive bailouts by the Federal Reserve, there is no incentive to bring it under control. The Socialist Equality Party and its candidates in the 2020 electionsJoseph Kishore for president and Norissa Santa Cruz for vice presidentdemand an end to the premature and unsafe back-to-work and back-to-school campaigns. The SEP candidates call for the repeal of the CARES Act and the seizure of the trillions handed over to the corporations and the banks. That money must instead be used to protect and expand jobless benefits to the unemployed and halt all layoffs. Full income must be guaranteed to nonessential workers sidelined by the pandemic, along with a safe workplace and hazard pay for essential workers who remain on the job. The money must also be used to finance a globally coordinated effort to contain and eradicate the coronavirus, carry out a crash program to expand and refurbish the health care system, organize on an international and nonprofit basis the development of curative treatments and a vaccine, and provide quality and equal medical treatment for all those affected. The capitalists response to the pandemic has exposed the bankruptcy and rottenness of the entire system. There is no way out of the miasma of disease, death and poverty outside of a direct struggle against this system, the class of parasites who rule over it and the parties and politicians who do their bidding. RACINE Staff members at Kortendick Ace Hardware, located less than 1,000 feet south of Racines northern border on Douglas Avenue, are already wearing masks on the store floor. Transparent plastic barriers near registers separate staff from customers, who are encouraged to, but not required, to wear face coverings. Customers would be required to wear masks if the City Council approves an ordinance crafted by Mayor Cory Masons office, which would require masks to be worn in public spaces starting Monday. Masks would also be required in other business settings, including offices when employees are unable to maintain a 6-foot distance except for infrequent or incidental moments of closer proximity within a workplace. At Dimples Fine Imports on Main Street, masks arent required for customers or staff, but staff has masks handy for when they are in close proximity with mask-wearing customers, said co-owner Denis Navratil. Should the city start requiring masks for everyone, Navratil doesnt look forward to being thrust into a law enforcement position where he will be legally required to tell people to cover their faces. Im put in a position of enforcing laws. Thats not what Im meant to do. Im a retailer, he said. The mayors proposed ordinance details fines for those who dont follow the ordinance and businesses that ignore the order could lose their license, but does not detail who or what governmental entity would actually carry out enforcement. Navratil added that some shoppers might just end up spending money in nearby communities like Mount Pleasant and Caledonia to avoid wearing a mask, further hurting businesses in the city. If they dont want to wear a mask, theyll just depart Racine, Navratil said. John Dunk, the president of the Racine chapter of the Tavern League of Wisconsin and owner of Dunks Public House in West Racine, said that he has talked to bartenders in locations where masks are required, and that those requirements have slowed their business additionally compared to the widespread slow business attributed to COVID-19. The Tavern League itself doesnt have an official stance on mask requirements, Dunk said, but he said that he thinks a mask ordinance wouldnt do much to protect people while only hurting businesses, since he said most business owners are doing everything we can to provide a safe environment for our customers and our staffs. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention continues to recommend that all Americans who can wear masks should do so while out and about. Alderman weighs in Within minutes of the mayors office announcing the already drafted ordinance, members of the Racine community began voicing both support and dissent for the idea. Alderman Henry Perez, who has repeatedly raised constitutional concerns about orders and ordinances restricting citizens and businesses amid the COVID-19 pandemic, is again opposed to the proposal coming from the mayor. For one, he said that most businesses hes been to in recent weeks have been following social-distancing guidelines by erecting transparent barriers and having employees wear masks. They (most businesses) are taking precautions to keep their businesses afloat, Perez said Monday after the ordinance was proposed. The businesses are already hurting. He also questioned how the ordinance would be enforced, considering the proposal released Monday listed no form of enforcement for the proposed fines. In a text message, city spokesman Shannon Powell said that details regarding enforcement would be discussed at Tuesdays Executive Committee meeting. The ordinance, according to the current proposal, wouldnt be able to go into effect until Monday, July 27, but it was set to be voted on by the Executive Committee, then the City Council. The proposal only said that the city attorney could revoke businesses respective licenses if they ignore the ordinance, if the ordinance is passed, a concept that Perez felt was a grab for power by the mayor. Perez said it reminded him of Communist-controlled Cuba, where he was born but left as a child with his mother; he grew up in Miami. I think that its just wrong. I think its a violation of rights, Perez said of requiring masks in Racine. Online discourse Initial responses to the proposal on social media have been mixed. A woman, whose profile photo shows her posing with four kids, praised the ordinance for its aggressiveness in trying to contain the virus while allowing businesses to limitedly remain open. Thank you for helping to protect me, my kids and family from contracting a highly contagious deadly disease. I know what precautions I take but at least this will keep other peoples spit inside their face covering and away from me, she wrote. That comment received about 20 positive reactions in two hours. Another man commented on the same post, with his comment getting 38 likes in 2.5 hours: Nope. Not the governments job. If stores want to thats on them but the government needs to back off. Racine County Executive Jonathan Delagrave said last week that he has no plans to impose a countywide requirement. Proposed ordinance details According to a draft of the ordinance, if passed, it would require face coverings to be worn over the nose and mouth by everyone in an indoor or outdoor public space. The ordinance includes public transportation, taxis and ride-sharing vehicles, such as those operated by Lyft and Uber. Face coverings include, but are not limited to, bandannas, medical masks, cloth masks, scarves, and gaiters, provided that they are worn such that they securely cover the persons nose and mouth. Under the ordinance, businesses are allowed to refuse service to any person who doesnt wear a mask when otherwise required to. Several school districts and schools have already decided to require masks on their own if students return to campus in the fall, including Gateway Technical College, Racine Unified, the Burlington Area School District and Union Grove High School. In a statement, Gateway Technical College President and CEO Bryan Albrecht said Gateway supports all COVID-19 recommendations provided by the CDC including wearing face masks. Students, staff and visitors to any Gateway Campus are required to wear a face mask for their protection and the safety of those around them. Face coverings would also be required inside businesses at certain times, including when: Employees are working in any space visited by customers or members of the public, regardless of whether customers or members of the public are present at the time. Employees are working in any space where food is prepared, And when employees are unable to maintain a 6-foot distance except for infrequent or incidental moments of closer proximity within a workplace. Face coverings are not required in certain situations, including: Children 4 years old or younger. The short list of people who the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidance says dont need to wear mask because of a medical condition, mental health condition, developmental disability, or are otherwise covered under the Americans with Disabilities Act and those who have chronic upper-respiratory conditions. People who are hearing-impaired and those who communicate with someone else who is hearing impaired where the ability to view a persons mouth is essential for communication. When someone is seated at a restaurant or similar establishment while they are eating/drinking. Those whose religious beliefs prevent them from wearing a face covering. Persons for whom wearing a face covering would create a risk to the person related to their work, as determined by workforce safety guidelines and regulations. Persons obtaining a service related to the nose, mouth or face where temporary removal is necessary. When law enforcement deems it necessary to verify a persons identity. While exclusively with members of your family or household. Persons present in government facilities closed to the public, institutions of higher education, public and private kindergarten, through twelfth grade schools, and licensed childcare or youth facilities that are following Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation or Wisconsin Department of Children and Families guidelines as applicable. Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 6 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. ALBANY After more than 20 people were infected with COVID-19 earlier this month at a large July 4th party, city and higher education officials said they're warning college students that they need to follow the state's pandemic safety guidelines as campuses prepare to welcome them back next month. The concern is that with thousands of students returning, the city could see a large spike in the number of coronavirus cases. Albany County has seen 2,098 positive cases since the pandemic began and 122 deaths but as of Monday, had only 67 active cases. At a news conference on Monday at the corner of Hudson Avenue and Quail Street, Mayor Kathy Sheehan and officials from several colleges and universities warned that they would have little patience for students who violate COVID guidelines, which call for social distancing, mask wearing and a ban on large gatherings. "We can not allow ourselves to backslide now," said Michael Christakis, vice president for student affairs at the University at Albany. "We will not tolerate off-campus behavior that needlessly endangers the health and safety of others." The warnings came two weeks after photos surfaced of a large number of college-aged people gathering for July 4th parties in that neighborhood. And while officials estimated that as many as 200 people showed up to party at several houses, no one called police. County officials said 22 people so far have tested positive after attending the party. The sharp jump in cases after the party left neighbors on edge, said John Clarkson, the current Pine Hills neighborhood association president and former Bethlehem town supervisor, who moved to the city neighborhood a few years ago. "This has been a huge incident in our neighborhood, people are frightened," he said. Students share the streets with all of us, including a fairly large concentration of elderly and other medically vulnerable people. So its very important that we get a hold of this problem and stop it." City colleges and universities, including the University at Albany, are working with the city's police department and will be enforcing rules around gatherings of more than 50 people and other state rules. Students at several schools are being asked to sign a pledge agreeing to abide by the state's COVID-19 guidelines; those who are found to be violating the rules could face on and off-campus consequences. And city officials urged neighbors who see large parties to call the police department. Mayor Kathy Sheehan said no one called the city's police department for the July 4th parties. "We don't have any record of any call to our police department," Sheehan said. "So we weren't able to come and shut that down." Police Chief Eric Hawkins said his department's approach would be to first ask the students to break up any parties or large gatherings. If they refused, officers will write tickets for violating the state's pandemic guidelines, he said "It's in everybody's best interest to have voluntary compliance for these sorts of gatherings," he said. The schools also have the ability to limit and monitor off-campus gatherings by sanctioned groups, including Greek life and clubs. This year, the University at Albany is requiring those who hold off-campus gatherings to lay out their coronavirus preparations, including plans for social distancing and mask usage. Albany Councilman Owusu Anane, who represents the Pine Hills neighborhood, said the danger is that the students will become complacent as the school year starts and things begin to return to a pre-coronavirus normal. "We do know how easy it is to spread, as we've seen a spike in our region from just one party," he said. "So all of you, especially people in my age group, take this seriously. Because if you don't...you're putting everyone else's life right on the line." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Nursing home death in Rensselaer County, but active cases fall Meanwhile, coronavirus case loads in the Capital Region remained stagnant Monday, as they did statewide. New York hospitalizations Monday were at the lowest level since March 18, at 716. Eight people died statewide. But there are concerns locally after a second resident died from a Rensselaer County nursing home. Thirty-six new cases of novel coronavirus were confirmed Monday across the eight counties that make up the Capital Region under the states reopening guidelines, for nearly 5,700 to date. There were 266 active cases in the region Monday, down 25 from the day before. Thirty-four residents were hospitalized with the virus, down four from Sunday. The region recorded another death due to COVID-19 on Monday. The victim was a 91-year-old resident of the Riverside nursing home in Castleton-on-Hudson, which is battling a large outbreak of the virus among residents and staff. Rensselaer County Executive Steve McLaughlin has called for the state to intervene at the private nursing home facility, which first detected the cases earlier this month and has had 34 residents and 19 members of staff test positive since. Mondays death was the second virus-related death at the facility. Late last week, a 95-year-old woman who resided at the home died. "My concern about the situation at Riverside only grows by the day as there are more and more cases from the facility," McLaughlin said Monday. "I have real concerns about the residents now at the facility. I believe the state should intervene, review operations at Riverside and take whatever steps are necessary to ensure the health and safety of those at the facility." The state did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. US President Donald Trump said Monday he will soon resume his televised coronavirus briefings, signalling a bid to regain control of the message when public dismay at his handling of the pandemic risks sinking his reelection bid. A fierce surge of COVID-19 case in populous states like Florida and Texas is straining Trump's sunny insistence that the virus will just "disappear" to its breaking point. Polls show public trust in his management of the crisis plummeting and predict a drubbing by Democratic challenger Joe Biden in the election in just over 100 days. Trump, a lifelong real estate salesman and more recently reality TV performer, says the real problem is that Americans just aren't hearing the right news. So probably from Tuesday, he will resume the regular evening televised briefings from the White House that he did until late April -- often finding himself accused of giving confusing or misleading information. "I think it's a great way to get information out to the public," he told reporters. "We're doing very well in so many different ways." Trump acknowledged a "big flare-up" of cases across the south and west of the country but once again distanced himself from responsibility for the problem, underlining that the disease is also ravaging "Mexico, Brazil, many countries in Europe, all over, Russia." "When you watch the news, the local news, and you see it, and it's, it's like all about the United States. They never like to talk about what's going on in the world," he said. Trump said the briefings would focus on good news regarding vaccine development and therapeutics. "We think we're doing very well in that regard," he said. "I think I'm going to be bringing in some of the great companies that are working very successfully." "We're really coming up with some very good answers," he said. - PR fiasco - Trump has great faith in his ability before the cameras. He has transformed the image of the US presidency during his first term with unprecedented streams of press conferences, tweets and rallies. But his previous spell as the nation's pandemic-spokesman in chief ended badly in late April. Trump often turned what were billed as opportunities to provide the anxious public with information into testy exchanges with reporters in the White House briefing room. He finally ditched the events after a PR fiasco where he mused on air about the possibility of injecting household disinfectant to combat COVID-19. He later said he had been speaking "sarcastically," although there was no evidence of that at the time. - Polls slide - The president has consistently sought to play down the severity of the health crisis, hoping that voters will instead focus on what he touts as his good management of the economy. In an interview with "Fox News Sunday," he once again claimed that the virus, which has killed more than 140,000 Americans and caused massive economic disruption, would somehow go away by itself. "I'll be right eventually," he said. But with the virus on the rebound, he finds himself accused of failing to lead. Biden has opened a double-digit lead in election polls, and an ABC/ Washington Post poll released Friday showed nearly two-thirds of Americans mistrust Trump on the coronavirus. Trump, nevertheless, appears to be looking forward to his chance to get back to the briefing room podium. "We had very successful briefings. I was doing them and we had a lot of people watching, record numbers watching. In the history of cable television, there's never been anything like it," he said. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Fabby Tumiwa and Marlistya Citraningrum (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 11:09 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406680de33 3 Opinion economic-recovery,green-economy,green-economic-recovery,COVID-19,pandemic,climate-change,greenhouse-gas,carbon-emission Free With the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic felt far and wide, almost all countries are now in combat mode: issuing and implementing various policies to stop the spread and to cushion the impacts on the economy and peoples livelihood. For that purpose, governments have allocated more than US$12 trillion in the form of direct budget support, loan and equity injections, guarantees and other incentives. According to Energy Policy Tracker only a small fraction of $88 billion is aimed at clean energy, which is only half than stimulus for fossil fuels. Learning from the past recession, there will be a spike in human and industrial activity post-crisis along with a bounce back in the economy. Carbon emissions dropped 1.4 percent in 2009 after the 2008 financial crisis, but rose 5.1 percent in 2010. While many have prematurely celebrated the predicted 8 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions this year, the world needs to remain watchful. Green growth, as a means of doing the best for people and the planet, has been proven to be economically effective, particularly in response to crisis. The International Energy Agency (IEA) highlighted how green stimulus programs in response to the 2008-2009 economic crisis had played an important role in recovering the economy in China, Japan, Korea and the European Union. A recent study from Oxford University, co-authored by prominent experts including environmental economist Cameron Hepburn and Nobel laureate Joseph Stiglitz, also found large support for green economic measures from the respondents of the study (central bankers, finance ministers and academics). Their key question did not solely mention climate targets, but also the speed of implementation, long-run economic multiplier and policy desirability. Clean energy policies, particularly clean energy R&D, infrastructure and clean connectivity infrastructure, were listed in the top 10 desired recovery policies, considered having large long-run multipliers and a strong positive impact on the climate. Just last month, the IEA also issued its Sustainable Recovery Report, echoing the need to push for climate-oriented recovery and to build back better. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) predicted that Indonesias economy would grow 2.5 percent in 2020, a stark contrast to 5 percent growth last year. Economic growth in the second quarter is negative and future growth remains bleak. Undoubtedly, the Indonesian government needs to disburse economic stimulus to create growth. The growing voice to encourage greener measures, however, has yet to resonate in Indonesia. The government has designated Rp 695.2 trillion ($48 billion) for COVID-19 measures and economic stimulus packages, yet none was allocated to green stimulus. Vivid Economics has been reviewing the greenness of 17 major economies COVID-19 stimulus injected into sectors that have long-term impacts on nature, and it suggested that Indonesias stimulus falls into the brown category (and has the lowest score), dominated by support for the high-carbon industry and energy sector. Indonesia should opt for renewable energy for economic development, particularly in this difficult time and to reduce future greenhouse gas emissions. Currently, the share of renewable energy in Indonesias power sector is only 2 percent of total potential - a result of intertwining factors: a lack of consistent and supportive policies, market barriers, as well as concerns about human resources and grid readiness. Solar energy, with the highest potential (of more than 200 GW nationwide), has yet to boom despite the global trend showing the exact opposite. Benefiting from massive deployment globally and a sharp decline in technology prices, solar energy could play an instrumental role in reviving Indonesias economy - and by extension, opening the doors to rapidly develop other renewables, keeping on track with our national energy target and climate pledge. The Jakarta Post reported on June 19 that the Energy and Mineral Resources Ministry was working on a $1 billion solar program. It targets 1 gigawatt-peak (GWp) annual installations of rooftop solar for households receiving electricity subsidies. If prepared and implemented properly, this national solar program could be the answer to Indonesias absence in disbursing green stimulus: providing energy safety nets, boosting domestic solar industry and creating employment. We estimate that this program could generate up to 30,000 green jobs per annum, much needed to fill in the gaps in recovering the economy. The program is only one form of strategy for green economic recovery, and it is clearly not sufficient. As Indonesia aims to reach a 23 percent share of renewable energy in the primary energy mix by 2025, an additional $3 billion to $5 billion investment (in the renewable energy sector alone) is required. Building gigawatt solar plants and rooftop solar could be the fastest way to meet this target in due time. Unfortunately, Indonesia's renewable energy investment attractiveness is pretty low. The long-awaited presidential regulation on renewable tariffs and procurement of renewables, as well as the newly announced cooperation between the IEA and Indonesia should come to aid, as they are expected to increase investment attractiveness. Financing support for residential and commercial solar installation could also spur interest in installing rooftop solar, along with removing barriers to connect rooftop solar to state electricity company PLNs grid. Given the opportunity and the potential, we call on President Joko Jokowi Widodo to set green economic recovery strategies and to take the lead in accelerating energy transition in Indonesia. Putting the stimulus money into fossil fuels and dirty industry is not an option. The pandemic has given us an opportunity to rethink our development, and we cannot just do business as usual. Carpe diem. *** Fabby Tumiwa is the executive director of the Institute for Essential Services Reform (IESR), Marlistya Citraningrum is the institutes program manager for sustainable energy access. Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Medical Adhesives Market Overview Wound healing, which is a crucial part of the medical treatment portfolio, has led to the growth of the Medical Adhesives Market Size. Reports that appraise the chemicals and materials industry have been presented by Market Research Future, which creates reports on industry verticals that assess the market development and prospects. The markets growth is expected to be fast-tracked at an accelerated CAGR in the forecast period. The increase in healthcare spending is anticipated to lead to an increased demand for Medical Adhesives. The rise in surgical procedures conducted requires Medical Adhesives to close the opening after being operated. Moreover, the development of innovative, biocompatible, and biodegradable medical adhesives is expected to promote market growth in the forecast period. Competitive Analysis: The Global Economies are reacting to the market forces by implementing favorable policies and cutbacks so as prevent a slowdown in the progress of the market. The enhancement of the distribution channels is projected to motivate market growth relatively. The conducive nature of the monetary and fiscal policies is likely to lead to solid growth in the market. Moreover, the rise in International transactions is anticipated to bolster the expansion of the market considerably. The positive effect exerted by governments in the development of the market is expected to guide the market towards sound progress in the coming years.The changes in the income levels globally are contributing to the growth of the market. The rise in individual discretionary spending is anticipated to lead to the progress of the market. The disequilibrium noticed in the forces that are backing the growth of the market is expected to lead to a relatively slow pace of the growth. The well-known players in the Medical Adhesive Market are Covidien plc (Ireland), B. Braun Melsungen AG (Germany), Cohera Medical, Inc. (The Netherlands), Baxter (U.S.), Henkel AG & Co. KGaA (Germany), Ethicon US, LLC (U.S.), Gem Srl (Italy), GluStitch (Canada), Chemence (U.K), and Adhezion Biomedical, LLC (U.S.), among others. Get a Free Sample @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/sample_request/4941 Segmental Analysis: The Segmental Study of the Medical Adhesive Market is carried out on the basis of Technology, Resin Type, Application, and region. On the basis of Type, the market for Medical Adhesives is segmented into synthetic and natural. Based on Technology, the Medical Adhesive Market is segmented into hot metal based, water-based, and solvent-based. Based on the Application, the Medical Adhesive Market is segmented into metal container, polyethylene terephthalate (PET), and polyolefin bottle. By Geography, the Medical Adhesive Market is segmented into the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Africa, and Latin America. Detailed Regional Analysis: The Regional Assessment of the Medical Adhesive Market covers regions such as the Middle East, Asia Pacific, Europe, North America, Africa, and Latin America. The Asia Pacific is the swiftest growing market responsible for over 30% portion of the Medical Adhesive Market globally. The progress of this regional market is principally driven by the increasing public investment in healthcare sector together with an evolving healthcare infrastructure. The North American region closely follows the Asia Pacific region to be the next largest market. This is credited to the constant innovation in the field of Medical Adhesives and growing consumption of portable medical devices. The European region is also a noteworthy region in the Medical Adhesive Market due to regulatory mandates such as Child Resistive Packaging (CRP) that are motivating the manufactures of medicines to pack products in a resistive package. The market for Medical Adhesives in the Latin American region is projected to develop at a considerable CAGR due to the resolved economic and political scenario. The Middle East and Africa region is responsible for the minimum share of the Medical Adhesive Market which is anticipated to observe a significant change in the approaching years. COVID-19 Study in Detail: Impact of COVID-19 on Iso-Propyl Alcohol Market @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-iso-propyl-alcohol-industry Impact of COVID-19 on Steel Extruded Products Market @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-steel-extruded-products-market Corona virus Outbreak and Plastic Films Market @ https://www.marketresearchfuture.com/report/covid-19-impact-plastic-films-market NOTE: Our teams of researchers are studying COVID-19 and its impact on various industry verticals and wherever required we will be considering COVID-19 footprints for a better analysis of markets and industries. Cordially get in touch for more details. About Market Research Future: At Market Research Future (MRFR), we enable our customers to unravel the complexity of various industries through our Cooked Research Report (CRR), Half-Cooked Research Reports (HCRR), Raw Research Reports (3R), Continuous-Feed Research (CFR), and Market Research & Consulting Services. MRFR team have supreme objective to provide the optimum quality market research and intelligence services to our clients. Our market research studies by Components, Application, Logistics and market players for global, regional, and country level market segments, enable our clients to see more, know more, and do more, which help to answer all their most important questions. Contact: Market Research Future +1 646 845 9312 Email: sales@marketresearchfuture.com Sinn Feins Louise OReilly wants us to avoid foreign hot spots and holiday at home instead There are serious concerns over the high number of countries exempt from quarantine rules in the North. It comes as Taoiseach Micheal Martin prepares to announce a list of destinations where Irish people can travel to without having to self-isolate on return. However, the Government is facing accusations of mixed messaging as it is still advising against unnecessary foreign travel despite plans to produce the 'green list'. People visiting from these countries will be exempt from the two-week self-isolating period required of most passengers arriving in Ireland. It is expected the list will be fewer than 20 countries and be based on rates of infection. However, 59 countries have been cleared for travel without quarantine to Northern Ireland where Sinn Fein shares power. There are no restrictions on people moving from the North into the Republic. Yesterday, a senior Government source said there was a need for "more cohesion" on North/south travel restrictions. "There is a memorandum of understanding with Northern Ireland and we need to build on that," the source said. "We need better cooperation North and south and we need people to be on the same page." There were no new deaths from Covid-19 yesterday, however six new cases of the virus were diagnosed. The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control monitors the rate of Covid-19 infections per 100,000 people in 31 countries. The 14-day cumulative number of Covid-19 cases per 100,000 in Ireland stood at 4.8 last night. Eleven countries, including popular holiday destinations like Italy, Greece, Cyprus and Malta, had a lower rate of infections as per the latest figures. The other countries with lower rates are Norway, Finland, Hungary, Estonia, Slovakia, Lithuania and Latvia. The UK's number stood at 14.1 per 100,000 last night and would be highly unlikely to be included on any green list. Popular Meanwhile, other locations popular with holiday-makers like Portugal (46.1), Spain (18) and France (11.5) would not make it on the list. Sinn Fein health spokeswoman Louise O'Reilly said the green list of approved travel destinations does not make any sense in light of current health guidance. "The advice on travel is that the planes can take off - but you can't be on them," she said. She was referring to the advice from the National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) that people should avoid all non-essential foreign travel, despite the readiness of ministers to produce a green list for travel. She called for the island of Ireland to be treated as "one epidemiological unit" for the purpose of restricting the spread of Covid-19. However, she resisted the suggestion that it would be unpatriotic for citizens from this jurisdiction to travel through Belfast to take advantage of the 59 destinations available through the UK list of travel-approved countries. Ms O'Reilly said New Zealand had made maximum use of the strength of being an island in keeping Covid-19 at bay, but Ireland had not. "At the moment the situation is the planes can take off, but people can't be on them. Dr Gabriel Scally is right, we should be regarding the island as one epidemiological unit." Meanwhile, supermarkets have seen a number of Covid-19 outbreaks around the country as staff became infected with the virus, it emerged yesterday. Fast food outlets are also among the workplaces where cases of the virus have been found. One of these outbreaks was at a fast food outlet in Kildare, but is now under control. Guard Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said as people return to work they need to remember to maintain physical distance with colleagues. "People know their co-workers and can drop their guard," he warned. He said he was not aware of any customers in shops getting the virus. Over the past 14 days, a total of 270 new cases have been diagnosed. Seven in 10 of those diagnosed were aged under 45. The new cases were spread across 20 counties. More than half were in Dublin, 10pc in Kildare and 6pc in Cork. Elsewhere, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said 65pc of nurses who have recovered from Covid-19 are still experiencing post-viral fatigue. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 22:13:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Much still needs to be done for Africa to increase internet penetration as the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted the continent's trade and socioeconomic condition, the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) said on Tuesday. According to figures from the ECA, Kenya, Mauritius, Namibia and South Africa are the only countries where the share of online shoppers exceeds 8 percent, while the trend is below 5 percent in "most other countries" in Africa. "The COVID-19 pandemic changed the way we do business, and this should be an accelerator for digital transformation. Sectors like education, health, trade, food delivery, events and conferencing experienced unprecedented demand for technology," an ECA statement quoted Mama Keita, director of ECA's Eastern Africa region, as saying on Tuesday. The ECA director made the statement during a virtual dialogue on how women digital entrepreneurs are contributing to Africa's digital transformation on the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. Recent figures from the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) showed that only 28 percent of Africans used the internet in 2019, while online shoppers are relatively still few in the continent. Experts attending the virtual dialogue also stressed that in the wake of COVID-19, there is an urgent need for African enterprises to digitalize and tap into enormous opportunities offered by e-commerce. Noting the socioeconomic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic in Africa, Keita also stressed that Africa's projected GDP growth of 3.2 percent for 2020 is now expected to be a sharp contraction. Keita further emphasized how COVID-19 crisis and containment measures have upended almost every aspect of life, affecting big and small enterprises, disrupting supply chains, causing the decline of export revenues and interrupting the tourism, transport and logistics sectors significantly. The ECA director, however, noted that East Africa's economic growth, although highly impacted too, is expected to remain the largest in Africa. "COVID-19 pandemic should be used as a game-changer. It should serve as a wakeup call underscoring the urgency to turn Africa's structural vulnerabilities into opportunities" she noted. The ECA director also said that the overreliance on imports from the rest of the world of essential goods such as medical, pharmaceutical and food items, should be reduced considerably and gradually be replaced with local production. The online dialogue event was organized by the United Nations and provided a platform for women founders of digital businesses from different African countries to reflect the dynamism and variety of the digital landscape in the region, it was noted. As of Tuesday, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases across the African continent reached 736,288 while the number of deaths related to the pandemic rose to 15,418, the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) said. The Africa CDC said 391,898 patients who tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered across the continent. Enditem LEXINGTON For a spot thats become the latest eye in a gathering storm, a small patch of ground in uptown where a Confederate monument stands was noticeably peaceful on a recent Wednesday. The mid-week, lunch-day rush such as it was in a town of 18,917 pandemic-weary souls drove and strolled by with nary a protest or argument in sight. Few, if any, passersby appeared to even notice the generic old rebel stashed between two tall trees. But that detente, such that as it is, may not hold much longer. Not with the collision course set last Monday night between the Lexington City Council and the far more conservative county board of commissioners. Council wants the old rebel moved; commissioners arent likely to go along. For standing in the school-house door has long been the official starting position of county leadership when moments of racial reckoning arise. Growing discontent The stage for this particular intra-government conflict started being set weeks, if not months, ago when locals once again took notice of a Confederate monument on county-owned land smack in the heart of the city. Gov. Steve Bullock has filed a lawsuit to block the acting director of the U.S. Bureau of Land Management, William Perry Pendley, from leading the agency while his confirmation sits pending before the Senate. The move increases pressure on Republican Sen. Steve Daines, who sits on the Senate Energy Committee reviewing Pendleys nomination and faces Democrat Bullock in his bid for a second term in Congress. Although no date has been set for the confirmation hearing, Bullocks lawsuit is the third challenging Pendleys acting leadership as a violation of federal law. Americans and Montanans deserve a Bureau of Land Management director who values the publics role in managing our public lands, Bullock said in a press release on Monday. During Pendleys unlawful tenure, the BLM has interfered with Montanas collaborative efforts and public access priorities. This decision-making by unconfirmed federal officials stands to create long-lasting and irreversible injury to our states lands, economy, and wildlife. This is just an election year, political stunt, Daines spokeswoman Katie Schoettler said on Monday. If Pendley does come before the Committee for a hearing, the Senator is going to have very tough questions for him to answer. Interior Secretary David Bernhardt named Pendley as acting director a year ago, and has reappointed him four times. President Donald Trump didnt formally nominate him until last month. Pendley led the Mountain States Legal Foundation and was defending an energy developers claim to drill for oil in the Badger-Two Medicine region considered sacred land by the Blackfeet Indian Tribe. A federal appeals court rejected that claim in June. Since becoming acting director, Pendley has overseen a transfer of BLM headquarters from Washington, D.C. that resulted in nearly half the bureaus career staff quitting. He has also made numerous controversial comments, including writing a National Review article titled The Federal Government Should Follow the Constitution and Sell Its Western Lands. Democratic U.S. Sen. Jon Tester and former Blackfeet Tribal Chairman Harry Barnes plan to join Backcountry Hunters and Anglers President land Tawney and National Wildlife Federation President Collin OMara in protesting Pendleys nomination in a conference call on Tuesday. Bullocks lawsuit before the U.S. District Court in Great Falls accuses Pendley of violating the Federal Vacancies Reform Act, which prohibits acting officers from running agencies while their nominations are pending before the Senate. The lawsuit also claims Pendley directed BLM actions that threaten sagebrush habitat that was previously identified by Bureau as a conservation priority and increasing the risk that sage grouse will be listed under the Endangered Species Act, prioritizing access to extractive industries over all other land use and conservation goals (which) undercut the States ability to preserve and protect areas that have special fish and wildlife, archaeological and recreational values, and improperly rewrote resource management plans produced after years of work at the Lewistown and Missoula field offices to ignore or reject thousands of acres of proposed land protections. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 13 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 Get local news delivered to your inbox! Subscribe to our Daily Headlines newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Once the pandemic is over many industries will surely recover, but the travel--and the airline segment in particular--will be doing it at a pace that doesnt exactly inspire confidence. The Fourth of July holiday brought record traffic to airports with the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) reported a nearly 400% increase from April, but it may have been a blip in the recovery radar. Since that--and likely because of that--a resurgence in coronavirus cases has raised fears that air travel may not rebound this year after all. According to a new report from Moodys Investor Services, the airline industry will continue to suffer well into 2023 because of the current coronavirus pandemic. And that is the best-case scenario. In the worst-case prediction, the industry will not rebound to last years levels until 2024 or 2025. "Recent experience of increasing rates of infection concurrent with loosening social distancing and quarantine protocols indicates that passenger demand will likely align more with our slower recovery case," the report said. The International Air Transport Association (IATA) has predicted airlines could lose $84 billion just this year. That could very well mean bankruptcy for some airlines, whose only play left may be to sell shares to the government. Last month, six U.S. unions representing aviation workers told top lawmakers that another $32 billion in payroll aid is needed. Under the CARES Act passed earlier this year, Congress gave the aviation sector $32 billion to cover six months of payroll through late September. Both the government and industry hoped air travel would regain some lost momentum by October, but an ongoing resurgence is not comforting. Major U.S. airlines are offering voluntary exit packages in an effort to slim their workforces before October, and tens of thousands of employees are already taking temporary leaves. Related: Are Gold Stocks Still Undervalued? As it stands, over 60,000 airline workers at American Airlines and United Airlines alone are facing furlough warnings, while Delta Air Lines is hoping to avoid furloughs after about 17,000 employees volunteered for buyouts. Southwest Airlines, which has so far managed to avoid layoffs, has also warned job losses will be hard to avoid. Despite the early July excitement, then, passengers may not give airlines enough of a boost. According to a study on travel behaviors during the pandemic by The University of South Florida, some 63% of the travelers surveyed plan to reduce their travel plans in the next 12 months. More than half canceled their business travel immediately due to the coronavirus. Another study by Longwoods International found that 82% of travelers polled had changed their travel plans for the next six months. Prior to the pandemic, some 87% of Americans were planning trips this year. According to travel experts, for the next 12 months Americans will travel mostly locally. Longwoods International found that 22% of Americans had switched to driving from flying. The IATA says that passenger revenue for airlines is expected to shed some $314 billion (55%) from 2019. The number of passengers passing through TSA checkpoints at airports in April and May was down 93% over last year. By Tom Kool for Safehaven.com More Top Reads From Safehaven.com: Felony charges have been filed against a St. Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters marching past their home last month in an episode that was captured on video and drew the attention of a divided nation, including President Trump. The couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, were charged on Monday by the Circuit Attorneys Office in St. Louis with unlawful use of a weapon, for exhibiting a semiautomatic rifle in an angry or threatening manner, according to the complaint. The charge is a Class E felony that carries a possible penalty of up to four years in prison. The circuit attorney in St. Louis, Kimberly M. Gardner, said the couple created a dangerous situation involving peaceful, unarmed protesters. It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, she said in a statement. If things do not change, relations between the EU and Turkey are on a collision course. This was the grim assessment, according to European officials, of the relationship between the European Union and Turkey, with many thinking the mistrust between the EU and Turkey has reached a new level and anticipated tough times ahead. Relations with Turkey have never been so bad. They have reached rock bottom, and they could get even worse, one European diplomat told Al-Ahram Weekly. The list of contentious issues is long and is getting longer Libya, gas resources in the Mediterranean, Syria, the Kurds, Russia, NATO, support for radical Islamist groups and illegal immigration to Europe, he added. The situation in Libya is the latest flashpoint between Turkey and the EU, and it is going to test the relationships to the limit. The EU finds itself unable to influence recent developments in Libya, and it therefore depends on the manoeuvres of regional powers that have significant stakes in the conflict and the future of the country. The EU should blame itself first and foremost, for there is no single European policy towards Libya. France has strategic goals and has supported parties in the conflict different from those supported by Italy, for example. Germany has not pulled its weight in the crisis and has not specified its strategic interests, the diplomat said. This vacuum has given Turkey the opportunity to intervene in Libya. Ankara has complex geopolitical aims, and this makes the EU and close regional allies such as Egypt face tough choices in restoring stability in Libya. Turkeys goals in Libya are to use its influence as leverage on several vital issues, above all its attempts to secure a share of natural gas resources in the Mediterranean, impose itself as a pivotal regional power that the West cannot do without, and blackmail the EU using the immigration card to gain preferential treatment. The discovery of huge natural gas deposits in the Eastern Mediterranean over the past 10 years has created the potential to transform energy supplies in the region. But Turkey because of its deteriorating relations with many of the regions countries has failed to co-operate with its neighbours. Meanwhile, Egypt, Cyprus, Greece and Israel forged a joint plan to extract and export gas from the region. Last year, they were joined by Italy, Jordan and the Palestinian Authority in establishing the East Mediterranean Gas Forum. Faced with being left out, Turkey decided to play its favourite game of sabotage. Under the direction of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Ankara has embraced an increasingly aggressive response to being excluded from regional efforts to exploit the areas gas resources by sending the Turkish navy to intimidate ships belonging to international oil companies and dispatching its own exploration vessels. Turkeys aggressive ways threaten billions of dollars of investment as countries seek to boost their energy security. For the EU countries, the link between Turkeys intervention in Libya and its wider agenda in the Middle East is alarming. Turkey has overlapping political, geopolitical and business interests in Libya, but these can be summarised in a desire to attain regional hegemony. Intensifying its involvement in the Libyan conflict, Turkey has sent military support to the Government of National Accord in Libya (GNA). In November last year, the two sides signed an agreement that delineated new maritime boundaries between them. Nikos Dendias, the Greek foreign minister, dismissed the deal as verging on the ridiculous as it ignored the existence of the Greek island of Crete. And diplomats are braced for a serious escalation of tensions if Turkey pushes ahead with its plans to conduct exploratory work in Cretes waters. The EU said the deal between Turkey and GNA infringes upon the sovereign rights of third states [and] does not comply with the law of the sea. But Erdogan has reinforced his backing for the administration in Tripoli, sending more military equipment and advisers as well as several thousand Syrian mercenaries who had earlier fought under Turkeys aegis in Syria. Cyprus, Greece, Egypt and France have all condemned Turkeys regional ambitions, accusing it of illegal activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and of seeking to undermine regional stability through its actions in Libya. German Foreign Minister and chair of the EU Council of Foreign Ministers Heiko Maas visited Greece on Tuesday for talks with Dendias. Top of the agenda was relations with Turkey and the pressures the tensions with Ankara were putting on the EU and the NATO alliance. It is a concern shared with France, where French President Emmanuel Macron said at the beginning of this month that the EU needed to rethink its relations with Ankara. He emphasised that he wont tolerate the role that Turkey is playing in Libya, calling it an obstacle to peace. Macron also accused Turkey of ignoring a UN arms embargo against Libya and calls by the EU for an end to all foreign intervention in the country. A French Defence Ministry official urged NATO to address its Turkey problem. We have known complicated moments in the alliance, but we cant be an ostrich and cant pretend there isnt a Turkey problem within NATO. We have to see it, say it and handle it, the official said during a NATO defence ministers conference last month. Earlier this month, the worsening dispute between France and Turkey over a naval standoff in the Mediterranean shone a searchlight on NATOs struggle to keep order in its ranks and exposed the weaknesses in a military alliance that can only take action by consensus. The dispute has revealed NATOs limits when its allies are, or are perceived to be, on different sides of a conflict, in this case in Libya, and especially when a major nuclear ally like France has lamented the brain death of the worlds biggest security organisation due to a lack of American leadership. At the heart of the France-Turkey quarrel is the question of whether the NATO allies should respect the UN arms embargo on Libya. NATO Secretary-General Jens Stoltenberg said last month that the alliance of course supports the implementation of UN decisions, including UN arms embargoes. With no firm US guiding hand, however, divisions among the allies over how the Libyan situation should be handled and a decision-making process that requires everyone to agree make it difficult to see when NATO might debate the embargo in earnest. The dilemma for the EU is that the Turkish intervention opens Libya up to potentially catastrophic consequences. The Turkish intervention impedes the possibility of a political solution in Libya, complicates disputes over the natural gas resources in the Mediterranean, threatens Libya with thousands of mercenaries from terrorist groups from Syria and reinforces Libyas coastline as the epicentre of trafficking routes from Africa to Europe. With the situation in Libya deteriorating fast, the EU needs to agree a comprehensive strategy towards Turkey, in which it can use its military, economic, trade and financial tools to force Ankara to engage more positively. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Gunmen killed 18 guests at a wedding celebration in northern Nigeria's Kaduna state. The armed men arrived on motorcycles and stormed Kukum-Daji village in Kaura district before opening fire on the guests at 10.35pm on Sunday. 'The gunmen killed 18 people at the wedding party and injured 30 others, most of them young men,' said Bege Katuka Ayuba, the administrative head of the district. 'Fifteen died on the spot while three more died at the hospital,' he said. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack but the area has recently been a hotbed of deadly violence between Muslim Fulani herders and ethnic Christian farmers. The bodies of the victims were laid out on the ground and covered in brightly coloured fabrics as mourners gathered around them The state police spokesman confirmed there had been deaths without giving a toll. 'There have been reports of loss of lives in the attack but we don't have a definite casualty figure yet,' Mohammed Jalinge said. The mainly-Christian Southern Kaduna area has been wracked by a long-standing dispute between farmers and herders over grazing and water rights. There has been an upsurge in tit-for-tat killings between the two groups in recent times, prompting the state authorities to initiate an unsuccessful truce. A community leader in the area, who spoke to The Cable on condition of anonymity, said 30 people who sustained serious injuries were taken to Throne Room Hospital, Kafanchan, St. Gerald Hospital and Barau Dikko Specialist Hospital in Kaduna. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack but the area has recently been a hotbed of deadly violence between Muslim Fulani herders and ethnic Christian farmers. Pictured, friends and relatives of the dead surround their bodies 'The attack took place around 10pm and lasted for about an hour. The herdsmen came in a convoy of motorcycles and they were armed with guns,' he said. 'We had a wedding earlier in the day and the youth continued with celebrations into the night. Everybody here is enraged by this attack.' Some villagers are believed to be missing and security forces have been drafted to the area. It comes a year after hundreds of men and boys were freed from a 'house of torture' Islamic school where they were kept in chains, sexually abused and beaten in Kaduna. A sub-inspector and a constable were suspended in Andhra Pradeshs East Godavari district on Tuesday for allegedly beating up and tonsuring a Dalit youth in the police station on Sunday night for allegedly confronting a local YSR Congress Party leader. The incident happened at Seethanagaram police station. The victim, I Vara Prasad from Vedullapalli village, was admitted to Rajahmundry government hospital for treatment. Prasad told reporters that he and three others had stopped the movement of sand trucks passing through the lane of his residence because of a death in the area. He had asked the truck drivers to wait for some time till the body was moved from the place for the last rites. A local YSR Congress leader came there and questioned us for stopping the sand trucks. This led to an argument. On Monday morning, Seethanagaram sub-inspector police Shaik Feroze Shah, along with two other constables, came to the village and took me and two others to the police station in the name of investigation, he said. Prasad alleged that the SI had beaten him up severely with a belt and kicked him. He later called a barber, got my head tonsured and my moustaches removed forcibly, he said. Telugu Desam Party president and former chief minister N Chandrababu Naidu condemned the tonsuring of the Dalit youth. Jungle Raj has returned to AP. Vara Prasads head was tonsured by leaders belonging to YCRC, Naidu tweeted. The TDP chief said that the incident happened in the presence of policemen who heckled and beat the man to pulp and thus destroying the self-esteem of a Dalit man. His only mistake was to question the illegal sand mining in the region. What is happening to the policemen? Why have they become toys in the hands of the corrupt ruling party men? This is a serious violation of rights, he said. Following protests by local Dalit organisations, deputy superintendent of police PSN Rao conducted an inquiry into the incident and announced suspension of Feroze Shah and another constable. Eluru range Deputy Inspector General KV Mohan Rao said a case had been booked against the sub-inspector and two others under Sections 324, 323 and 506 of Indian Penal Code and also under SC/ST Atrocities (Prevention) Act. We regret the incident of humiliating a Dalit youth by the Seethanagaram police. We shall take stringent action against the accused police and ensure that such incidents do not recur, the DIG said. Andhra Pradesh director general of police Gautam Sawang also condemned the incident and ordered a comprehensive inquiry into the incident. Former Amalapuram MP GV Harsha Kumar demanded that stringent punishment be awarded for all the police officers responsible for the humiliation of Dalit youth. : The online admissions for Class 11 to 40 Chandigarh government schools started off with some technical glitches on Tuesday with many students complaining that they were unable to access the website. Despite this, 2,800 candidates registered on Day 1. Talking about the issue, district education officer (DEO) Harbir Singh Anand said, There was a technical fault initially, as a large number of people tried to access the website. It was sorted out within a couple of hours. The online registration process will be open till July 30. Director of school education, Rubinderjit Singh Brar, added that there will be ample time for students to apply in the coming days. As many as 12,500 seats are available at government schools in four streams- science, arts, commerce and skill courses. As per the prospectus, provisional merit list will be out on 7 August, while the list indicating allotment of schools and streams after taking objections of students, will be out on August 13. The details for counselling will be notified later. Candidates have to submit online registration forms with scanned documents as per details mentioned in the prospectus. To help students complete the process, admission help desks have been set up in 20 government schools. The desks will be operational from 9am to 1pm on all working days. The online prospectus is available at www.chdeducation.gov.in and www.nielit.gov.in/chandigarh. There have been more than three million confirmed coronavirus cases and 32,495 deaths here in the United States. And yet some people still refuse to mask up. How do we change this? How do we convince others to do something that benefits all of us? According to one expert, we must avoid the appearance of disappearing those we asking to help us. SFGATE's Dan Gentile talked to FBI hostage negotiator Gary Noesner, who explained various techniques to convince people to wear a facial covering. The first thing, Noesner said, is to address the situation in a non-critical manner. Remain calm and refrain from displaying a harsh attitude, instead opting to come from a place of genuine curiosity and understanding. Retail Wire's Tom Ryan recently reported that anti-mask shoppers all over the country were being publicly shamed and in return, they resorted to the same tactics. You'll be happy to know that there's a different way to handle the situation. You might say, Excuse me, could I chat with you for a second? I see that you dont have a mask on, and I know thats a personal choice, and a choice that you need to make. But I have this vulnerability medically. Or my son does. Or my daughter. If not for yourself, you might make others feel more secure,'" Noesner said to Gentile. COVID CASES: Eighty-five infants have tested positive for COVID-19 in Nueces County According to Nosener, the "I message" is also a working technique. Instead of blaming the person who is not wearing a mask, make it seem like you're just concerned for yourself. It could work out in your favor if they see how nervous and afraid you are about the virus. You can also try hearing things from their point of view. Noesner explained that people who are angry often times feel that they're not appreciated, but its really hard to argue with someone whos asking you in a sincerely genuine, very non-confrontational way to share your thoughts on something. Noesner said you influence by creating a trusting bond with the mask-less individual. Be non-threatening and non-aggressive. You ask them to consider wearing a facial covering, but don't make it seem like they're obligated to do so. Lastly, Noesner said to accept that there's only so much you can do, and some people won't take necessary precaution until the virus hits home. "You stay calm and patient and understanding and acknowledge their points of view, and ask them to consider thinking a little differently," Noesner said. "Thats the best you can do. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 13:14:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The United States is likely to be hit by a double-dip recession if its national spread of COVID-19 is not brought under control soon, the Financial Times has warned. Despite the continued rise in COVID-19 cases, fatalities and hospitalisations, U.S. markets remain relaxed because investors are optimistic about trials for vaccines, said an opinion piece written by Gavyn Davies, chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management, and published in the British newspaper on Sunday. Nevertheless, "even the most favourable outcome in vaccine development would come too late to save the U.S. economy from the spread of the virus over the next three months," the article pointed out. "Unless public policy can control the rate of infections across the American sunbelt, there could be adverse consequences for any U.S. economic recovery over the rest of this year," it said, adding that experience has shown that delayed lockdowns will result in worse outcomes for cases and fatalities, at least in the short term. Based on a model which tracks the epidemic on a state-by-state basis, Fulcrum economists forecast that a combined response of full lockdowns, partical lockdowns and no lockdowns to the virus in different U.S. states "would lead to a large drop in activity -- in effect, a double dip -- of about 7 percentage points through the whole economy while the lockdowns last," the article said. If the situation lasted for three months, it would knock almost 2 percentage points from this year's growth rate, it added. Enditem Acting Homeland Security chief Chad Wolf and President Donald Trump. Kevin Lamarque/Reuters Acting secretary Chad Wolf emphasized that the Department of Homeland Security had the authority to provide security for federal buildings in any state amid the ongoing protests. State leaders have condemned the deployment of federal agents to quell the protests, setting up a looming legal showdown over states' rights and federal overreach. "We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not," Wolf said during a Fox News interview. "That's our responsibility." Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Acting secretary Chad Wolf emphasized that the Department of Homeland Security had the authority to protect the roughly 9,000 federal buildings located in any state, regardless of how state leaders felt about a federalized presence. Video: How the U.S. military came up with its salute Speaking to Fox News hosts on Monday morning, Wolf blamed state leaders for the ongoing protests that has prompted the deployment of DHS agents to federal buildings last week, including a courthouse in Portland, Oregon. State leaders have "fostered this environment that allows these individuals to attack the courthouse," Wolf said during the Fox News interview, adding that,"I don't need invitations by the state, state mayors, or state governors to do our job." "We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not," Wolf said. "That's our responsibility." Wolf's comments come as protests persist throughout the country after the death of George Floyd in late May. In Portland, the ongoing protests have continued past its 50th day, where public buildings have been defaced and some protesters have clashed with local and state law enforcement officials. "Each night, lawless anarchists destroy and desecrate property, including the federal courthouse, and attack the brave law enforcement officers protecting it," the department said in a statement on Thursday. "This siege can end if state and local officials decide to take appropriate action instead of refusing to enforce the law. DHS will not abdicate its solemn duty to protect federal facilities and those within them." Story continues PreviousNext Police respond to protesters during a demonstration, Friday, July 17, 2020 in Portland, Ore. Dave Killen/The Oregonian via Associated Press The DHS's move sparked concern from a number of legal experts, particularly after video footage of protesters being whisked away in unmarked minivans emerged on social media. The videos showed at least one protester being taken away by masked personnel wearing US Army uniforms and a nondescript "POLICE" patch, both of which are available online for purchase. The Customs and Border Protection agency later confirmed its agents apprehended a protester who was "suspected of assaults against federal agents or destruction of federal property," and that it concealed the names of its agents at the time due to "doxing incidents." State leaders have condemned the deployment of federal agents to quell the protests, setting up a legal showdown over states' rights and potential federal overreach. Oregon's attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, sued the DHS on Friday and claimed it was unlawfully detaining protesters without probably cause. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler during a CNN interview on Sunday accused the DHS of "sharply escalating the situation" and said he believed "their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism." "We haven't asked them here, in fact we want them to leave," Wheeler said, adding that he was imploring the Trump administration to "take these people our of our city." Speaking to reporters on Monday morning, President Donald Trump compared the protests across the country to the conflict in Afghanistan, and said he would mobilize additional federal agents to stop the demonstrations. Trump's comments comes as DHS prepares for the possibility of deploying around 150 agents to Chicago, according to a Chicago Tribune report published Monday. Read the original article on Business Insider Former President John Dramani Mahama says he has decided to suspend his unannounced visits to registration centres over the lack of regards to COVID-19 safety protocols at polling centres. The NDC flagbearer began the announced visits in the Volta region last week to personally observe the ongoing voter registration exercise. But in a Facebook post, Mr. Mahama said there is low awareness of the COVID-19 protocols among the citizenry. I have cut short my unannounced visit to some voter registration centres in Accra and Tema this afternoon. This is because of the very low awareness of the #COVID19 protocols including physical distancing and the wearing of masks. We have to step up public education on COVID-19 so that people can appreciate the risk reduction protocols Mr Mahama wrote on Facebook. ---Starrfmonline Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Thomas Urbain (Agence France-Presse) New York, United States Tue, July 21, 2020 12:41 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066814214 2 Entertainment Kanye-West,presidential-bid Free US rapper Kanye West's chaotic launch of his unlikely campaign to oust Donald Trump in November's presidential election has sparked anger, concern for his mental health and questions about whether he is seriously running. Wearing a bullet-proof jacket marked "security," West broke down in tears during a rambling speech in Charleston, South Carolina on Sunday that was supposed to kickstart his White House bid. Instead, controversial comments about renowned American abolitionist Harriet Tubman enraged attendees, provoked scorn online and left political analysts scratching their heads about the mercurial musician's true intentions. For Jeffrey McCune, who teaches a course on West at Washington University in St. Louis, the topsy-turvy nature of the event was typical of the hip-hop star. "All things Kanye are impulsive. I have never been a fan of 'throw-your-towel-in' political entries. However, this is Kanye's brand completely," he told AFP. With "2020" shaved onto his head, West veered between several subjects during the hour-long rant, including claiming that he had wanted his wife, Kim Kardashian, to get an abortion. But it was his comment that "Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves, she just had the slaves go work for other white people," that grabbed most headlines. West "has lost his mind," tweeted historian Kate Clifford Larson, author of "Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero." "HARRIET TUBMAN FREED enslaved people. You, Mr West are a jerk and not worthy of uttering Tubman's name. You have not freed anyone," Larson wrote. Tubman is known for helping free dozens of black people from slavery by using a network of activists and safe houses known as the Underground Railroad. She fought for the Union in the Civil War, as well. West also told the event that he had wanted his wife to get an abortion when she was pregnant with North, their oldest daughter. He then revealed his father also had wanted to abort him. "My dad wanted to abort me. My mom saved my life. There would've been no Kanye West because my dad was too busy," West said, bursting into tears. He later shouted, "I almost killed my daughter! I almost killed my daughter!" 'Provocateur' West's speech, clips of which went viral on social media, provoked bewilderment, as well as concern for the musician, who has talked about his struggles with bipolar disorder. The event also offered little insight into what policies he might put forward, although he did propose that "everybody that has a baby gets a million dollars." West has also talked about prison reform in the past. The 43-year-old caused further confusion Monday night by posting a series of cryptic tweets, including one accusing his wife of trying to have him committed to a hospital. "Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday," he wrote, referring to the 2017 thriller. West raised eyebrows on July 4 when he announced on Twitter he would challenge Trump. He has offered virtually no details about his campaign, but the hip-hop star -- who famously wore a "Make America Great Again" cap to a 2018 Oval Office meeting with Trump -- said he no longer supports the president. Reports began circulating in US media last week that West had dropped out of the race. He missed the deadline in several states to be listed on the presidential ballot, but he is listed on the ballot in Oklahoma. West needed to collect 10,000 signatures by midday Monday to appear on South Carolina's ballot. "Kanye West did not submit a petition," a spokesperson for the state's election commission told AFP. Analysts are reluctant to write off West completely, aware that Trump's run in 2016 wasn't considered particularly serious until he won the Republican nomination. They say West doesn't have to win the race to influence it. "Kanye's personal resources and visibility and track record of generating media attention for himself, he could be the wild card in enough places to have an impact on the race, even if he only gets on the ballot in a few key states," said Robert Yoon, an elections specialist at the University of Michigan. McCune says that although he believes West has "many brilliant ideas," he "will be a minor player in the field, if one at all." He describes West, who is due to release a new album this week, as "a performance artist" who may be viewing his run as another show. "After all, Kanye being a provocateur in many ways has made him more profitable." Jaipur: Amid the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, a meeting of the Congress Legislative Party (CLP) started at a hotel in Jaipur on Tuesday (July 21). The meeting began at around 1 pm after about a two-hour delay at the hotel where Congress legislators supporting the Gehlot government are camping. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Congress leader Ajay Maken, Rajasthan party president Govind Singh Dotasara, national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande, KC Venugopal and others were present at the meeting. This was the third CLP meet to be held since the political crisis began in the state. CM Gehlot, while addressing the supporting MLAs said, "No person is bigger than a party. Loyalty to the party should be the biggest goal. The manner in which BJP is plotting conspiracy, Congress leaders need to be vigilant and aware. Congress is the only party that can compete with BJP's conspiracies in the country." "It is a fight for truth and this battle will continue. Legislators' camp will continue," CM Gehlot added. Legislators present at the meeting showed their support to Gehlot by raising their hands. CM Gehlot will chair a Cabinet meeting at his residence at 3:00 pm today. After the CLP meeting concluded, the Chief Minister left from the hotel to his official residence. According to reports, ministers will be taken to CM Gehlot's residence on a bus. Political turmoil is raging in Rajasthan because of a tussle for power between dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot and Gehlot. Last week, Pilot and 18 other MLAs rebelled openly, defying a party whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings. He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and state Congress chief. On Monday, Gehlot openly outbursted his anger against Pilot and went on to call him 'useless' (using Hindi word nikamma). Referring to the dissident leader's tenure as the Pradesh Congress Committee president, Gehlot claimed nobody had raised questions on his functioning for the sake of the party even when they knew he was not delivering. We knew he is 'nikamma' (useless), he is 'nakara' (idle) and not doing any work," the CM told reporters, in uncharacteristic acerbic remarks against Pilot. My dog Charlie is long gone. But Charlie, who was a brown Great Indian Mongrel, was wise in the ways of the world. He taught me a lesson in public policy I will never forget. Corruption is Indias favourite conversation topic. We love discussing it and bemoaning its all pervasiveness. We are experts at it and have all experienced it in some form or the other and at all levels. Yet with so much collective experience, its a difficult topic to write about. Like our gods, it takes so many myriad forms. It defies a simple definition. But we all know what it is. What Justice Potter Stewart of Americas Supreme Court said in the context of obscenity I know it when I see it is equally applicable to corruption. It is the most obscene of obscenities but a fairly common one. Economists prefer to bandy about a different term when referring to corruption. They call it economic rent. The IMF says it is the extra amount paid (over what would have been paid for the best alternative use) to somebody or for something useful whose supply is limited either by nature or through human ingenuity. Quite clearly this definition excludes the moral dimension. But then our problems get even more compounded when we realise the moral dimension is very elastic and varies. Take, for instance, the case of Manmohan Singh. He is now a member of the Raya Sabha from Rajasthan, after claiming to be ordinarily a resident of the state. Before that he was ordinarily a resident of Guwahati in Assam. L K Advani was just as peripatetic. At one time he declared he was a resident of Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh. Then he was a resident of Ahmedabad. Both were ordinarily residents of New Delhi. But if you and I were as cavalier as this in declaring our place of residence, say for the purpose of a passport, we could end up in prison. Economic rent takes other forms, which tax the common good far more. High import duties, for instance, meant to restrain imports, actually serve to increase prices and profits for domestic manufacturers. The Ambassador car, that immortal symbol of a mindless and rapacious bureaucracy, actually gave its manufacturer and employees as much joy as it gave sorrow to those who owned or drove those cars. Did you notice how all car tyres or batteries cost about the same? Or how all similar sized air-conditioners and refrigerators cost about the same? Adam Smith explained it best by noting that people of the same trade seldom meet together, even for merriment and diversion, but the conversation ends in a conspiracy against the public. Our MPs have much to thank Dr Manmohan Singh for conjuring up MPLADS (MP Local Area Development scheme), but the then finance minister probably never contemplated the likes of Sakshi Maharaj, who turned it into one of personal development. The business of taking money for sking questions in Parliament is as commonplace as a traffic cop collecting money from errant drivers. In the former, its an extra-legal payment for a service. In the latter its an unofficial punishment for truancy. In both cases, the money is tax-free and hence in the same class. People who build or make alterations without the sanction of the authorities pay underhand for deviations, knowing it was against the law. But it is commonplace, and that seems okay. But when a high court orders them demolished, we are outraged. What if the same high court ordered that MPs making false statements about their place of residence must quit? It might make us happy. This is clearly a subject that needs far greater deliberation and discussion. Opinion polls show that there are some professions we believe to be almost entirely corrupt. Politicians and policemen top this list, with 99 per cent of those polled believing them to be crooks. Much of the corruption we witness in everyday life is a result of their unnecessary exertions. When I lived in Gurgaon, I had an opportunity every morning to contemplate a vacant plot of land in the neighborhood. Roads bound the plot on all four sides and people walking to work naturally took a shortcut across it. Some officious soul had taken it upon himself to put an end to this practice. First a sign came up demanding that people not do the most rational thing, that is taking a shortcut. The sign was ignored, and my dog Charlie began using the signpost to leave his signature. Then a small length of barbed wire pegged between two poles appeared astride the path. The people who use the path still found it convenient to go around the poles and take the shortcut. Good old Charlie just slipped under the wire and seemed quite happy that he had two more poles to leave his daily markers. The nature of most of our lawmaking is just like this. They are irrational and people will respond rationally to them, by circumventing them if not completely ignoring them. The only way that plot could have been prevented from being used as a shortcut was to build on it. If the empty plot is just walled up, the walls will encourage another use, which will be odious to boot. Which brings me to another aspect. We have laws that prohibit pissing in public and on walls, private and public. Pissing is meant to be a private business. But where are people to pee when you just dont have enough public urinals? A law against pissing in public therefore makes sense only when you have enough public urinals. Thoughtless laws corrode a state thoroughly. Thats why states built around tight regulations and appeals to a higher human idealism fail. Corruption is all-pervasive and a worldwide phenomenon. It comes built in with nature. Animals steal food from each other just as humans extort from others. But human beings live in organised societies, which are nothing but systems based on laws. For laws to work, it must be clear that if caught, trials will be swift, and if found guilty retribution will be commensurate. Thats where we have serious problems. Who makes the law? Politicians. Who enforces the laws? The various policing agencies. Both are believed to be overwhelmingly corrupt. Anna Mascitelli puts herself in harms way daily, working with patients in the St. Catharines hospital intensive care unit. The speech pathologist sometimes wonders how she has repeatedly managed to avoid being diagnosed with COVID-19, when many of the patients she has treated were previously on ventilators recovering from the potentially deadly virus. Speech pathologists also work directly with COVID-19 patients, often extremely close to their faces. Weve been exposed multiple times. Luckily, no one has gotten sick, she said. Mascitellis colleague Alex Veitch works in the other hot zone the hospitals emergency department. You dont really know what youre walking into in emerg, thats the scary part, she said. A lot of them have the COVID test pending. You just dont know. You really have to protect yourself. But like many other front-line hospital workers, speech pathologists do not qualify for $4-an-hour provincial pay increases despite the increased risk they face. Mascitelli said the provincial governments pandemic pay was obviously developed without adequate research about what constitutes a front-line team. Despite their disappointment about being omitted from the plan as well as concerns about their own health, she said front-line hospital staff for the most part have quietly continued to do their jobs to the best of their ability. But as new provincial legislation Bill 195 threatens to extend emergency orders that undermine collective bargaining agreements with health-care workers until well into 2021 they are no longer content to remain quiet. About 30 health-care workers diagnostic imaging staff, physiotherapists, occupational therapists, dialysis techs, biomedical techs and other professionals gathered for a rally at St. Catharines hospital to oppose Bill 195 while demanding fair treatment. Dozens of staff participated in similar rallies at Welland and Niagara Falls hospitals, as well as at hospitals across Ontario in a day of action protesting the provinces plans to extend emergency regulations for another year, overriding staff schedules and force redeployments. Ontario Public Service Employees Union Local 215 president Brenda Allan said most of the health professionals unions have faced hardships as a result of the pandemic, missing out on planned vacations, facing scheduling changes and being redeployed. And you know what, theyve not really complained. Its been chin up and lets get through it together because thats what were here for, were professionals, she said. Although they dont ask for a whole lot, she said staff have earned respect for the work theyre doing. However, she added, the provincial governments actions are not showing respect for hospital professionals. Allan, who works as a senior occupational therapist at St. Catharines hospital, said Niagara Health management is 100 per cent behind this. St. Catharines MPP Jennie Stevens said Bill 195, which she expects to be passed this week, contains the poison pill which is ignoring the rights and the respect of the collective agreements for the workers within the hospitals. Its not the money its the principal of it. If youre the government and youre going to say you respect us, youre our heroes and then you turn your back and then you push through a huge bill like this with no public consultation this is common of this government just to push bills through and not get the voice of the people that democratically elected you. Developmental support workers Brittany Nisbett and Courtney Salomons, represented by Canadian Union of Public Employees Local 2977, joined the hospital workers during Mondays protest. RELATED STORIES Niagara Region Niagara health-care workers from OPSEU Local 215 protest lack of pandemic pay colleagues are receiving Its been absolutely ridiculous, Salomons said. Bill 195 is affecting all the workers, not just a specific sector, Nisbett added. Its just going to affect everybody. In an email, Ministry of Health spokeswoman Alexandra Hilkene said the proposed legislation its called the Reopening Ontario (A Flexible Response to COVID-19) Act, 2020 is part of the governments plan to cautiously reopen Ontario in a way that recognizes the ongoing impacts of COVID-19 even after the provincial declaration of emergency has ended. The bill, if passed, would allow Ontario to continue its path to recovery by easing restrictions where appropriate, while maintaining important select tools to address the ongoing threat of this deadly virus and protect Ontarians, she wrote. Additionally, the government is investing $3.3 billion more in health care this year, the largest year-over-year increase in a decade. She said Ontario was one of the first provinces to roll out pandemic pay the largest program of its kind in the country and unprecedented in the provinces history benefiting over 375,000 employees, many of whom are hospital workers, across 2,000 employers. With Haldimand-Norfolk cleared to move into Stage 3 of the provincial reopening this Friday, there could soon be many more opportunities for residents to rub elbows inside bars, restaurants, gyms and performance venues. That adds some urgency to the question of whether it should be mandatory for face masks to be worn inside retail stores and other public spaces to help prevent the spread of COVID-19. Health unit spokesperson Matt Terry said that while Dr. Shanker Nesathurai, Haldimand-Norfolks chief medical officer of health, encourages residents to wear masks when physical distancing is not possible, an order from the health unit mandating mask use would be difficult to enforce. That leaves it to the two councils to consider enacting legislation about masks, as has been done in municipalities across Ontario. Mandatory mask bylaws in Hamilton and Burlington came into effect on Monday, while masks are also legally required in Brantford and County of Brant. Face coverings are on the agenda for Tuesdays Norfolk council meeting, where Coun. Kim Huffman will argue that masks should be mandatory inside Norfolk businesses and public spaces. Worldwide, the consensus is that masks work to slow the spread of COVID-19. I think its definitely the way to go, said Huffman. We have been inundated with emails from the public who are requesting, begging, pleading to make masks mandatory in Norfolk County. While many businesses already wont admit patrons who arent wearing masks, Huffman said a bylaw would remove confusion and make life easier for employees. I think right now, people are feeling unsure and might feel self-conscious if theyre wearing a mask and no one else is, she said. If its mandated, I think more people will know the expectation is if youre going into a store or a mall, you have a mask. She said the focus of Norfolks mask bylaw should be on educating the public. Business owners wont be fined if customers refuse to wear a mask, for example, and exceptions would be made for children as well as residents with medical conditions, including mental health concerns. Im not naive enough to think there will be 100 per cent compliance, Huffman said. But with Stage 3 now just days away, she added, I see it now as more important than ever that we get this bylaw in place. Haldimand Mayor Ken Hewitt encourages individual mask use but isnt personally in favour of a bylaw, citing the challenge of enforcement. However, he said on Monday that the majority of business owners in Haldimand have told council they would like to see a bylaw. In light of that, Hewitt said he asked county staff to review mask bylaws in other communities with an eye toward drafting one that best meets the needs of Haldimand. A recent Abacus poll found that while most Ontarians are in favour of mandatory mask rules, just 40 per cent of rural residents say they always wear a mask when inside stores and other public places, while 40 per cent say they never do. Haldimand-Norfolk has had a total of 446 lab-confirmed positive COVID-19 cases since the pandemic began. There are 18 active cases in the region, while 32 people have died of the disease. Beijing, July 21 : The United States should discard its Cold War mentality, zero-sum game mindset, and ideological prejudice, and correctly view China and China-US relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference here. The website of the US Department of Defence published an article which cites US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper as saying that the United States is in an era of great power competition, which means that the US's top strategic competitors are China, then Russia and that China is the bigger problem. He also accused China of wanting to rewrite the rules of the international order that have served the nations of the world, including China, so well since the end of World War II. In response, spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday said certain individuals in the United States always viewed China-US relations from the perspective of Cold War mentality and zero-sum game mindset, and advocated containing and suppressing China's development. "It is one of the important reasons why China-US relations are facing severe challenges," he said, Xinhua news agency reported. Wang said China has upheld the international order all along, and always advocated international fairness and justice, which was in sharp contrast to the United States, who frequently pulls out of international treaties and organisations, abides by international law that suit its purpose, and discards those that it finds obstructive. "The international community knows well who is the troublemaker." China wants to rewrite, if anything, the obsolete model of a country seeking hegemony when growing stronger, and is firmly committed to working with other countries to find a new path of peaceful development and win-win cooperation, the spokesperson said. Noting that the leadership of the CPC is the defining nature of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Wang said the CPC is the fundamental guarantee of China's development and rejuvenation, and also an active force in safeguarding global peace and promoting common development. The United States should respect and accept the reality that the CPC is endorsed and supported by the Chinese people, instead of wantonly slandering the CPC, sowing discords between the CPC and the Chinese people, and creating ideological confrontations and forming a clique on the international stage, the spokesperson said. "China's policy toward the United States is consistent and clear," Wang said, adding that China is committed to developing a China-US relationship featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. Meanwhile, China firmly safeguards its sovereignty, security, and development interests. "We urge the United States to discard the Cold War mentality, zero-sum game mindset and ideological prejudice, correctly view China-US relations, stop those negative words and deeds, and work with China to move bilateral relationship back onto the right track of coordination, cooperation and stability," Wang said. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text ATLANTA, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Edible, the world's largest franchisor of fresh fruit arrangements and all-natural fruit snacks and dipped treats, today announced a record-breaking performance across the organization for the first six months of 2020. Over the course of the first half of this year, Edible sales were up 18% in total, with U.S. company sales since April 1 up 70% as the brand continues picking up steam. Edible Brands President and COO Cheikh Mboup credits the impressive results to the company's commitment to being a trusted and comforting brand in times of need, as conveyed by the brand's evolution to meet changing business demands of a loyal worldwide customer base at the height of the COVID-19 crisis. "Across all industries, this year has presented its fair share of obstacles due to the coronavirus," Mboup acknowledged. "As the crisis began to unfold, we focused on doing what we could as a QSR to support society as a whole. We pivoted our business in many ways so we could serve communities, families and friends in ways like never before in our 20-plus years, and we are grateful those efforts paid off." Highlights of achievements across the Edible network from January June of 2020 included: the launch of whole fruit and produce boxes, free delivery and curbside pickup initiatives to serve customers at-large during the pandemic; best April sales in company history, up 38% YOY; best single sales month in company history in May, up 45% YOY; an all-time high Mother's Day with more than 700,000 orders fulfilled; best June sales in company history, up 55% YOY; the launch of the Manage-to-Own Program that will award existing Edible stores to select candidates who otherwise could not afford to open a franchise. "Our collective accomplishments so far this year directly reflect the hard work and dedication of our franchise partners, the dependability of our vendors and a support team at headquarters that embraced every challenge to move our organization forward," Mboup added. "For the remainder of 2020 and beyond, we will continue to champion the perseverance of small business, customer service and community support at every opportunity." Edible forecasts more franchise expansion in 2020 through traditional channels as well as through the Manage-to-Own program as sales continue to shine and demand for more stores grows. People interested in applying to the Edible Manage-to-Own program can submit their resume to the Edible franchise team at [email protected]. For more on Edible's franchise opportunities, visit ediblefranchise.com. About Edible Brands Edible Brands is the parent company of Edible, the world's largest franchisor of stores offering all-natural fruit snacks, dipped treats and fresh fruit arrangements with more than 1,100 locations worldwide. Since its founding in 1999, the company has been recognized as an industry leader, ranking first in its category in Entrepreneur magazine's annual "Franchise 500," Entrepreneur's Top 40 of "Fastest Growing Franchises" and "America's Top Global Franchises" as well as being included among the "Inc. 5000" list of the fastest growing privately-held companies. Edible fresh fruit arrangements, chocolate Dipped Fruit, fresh fruit smoothies, fresh produce boxes and other treats can be ordered through any local Edible store or online at edible.com. Edible has franchise opportunities available in a number of key markets in the United States and Canada. For more information about owning an Edible please visit ediblefranchise.com. SOURCE Edible Brands Related Links https://www.ediblearrangements.com/ California-based media and tech service provider Netflix has denied rumors it is exiting Turkey after it came under attack over a controversial Turkish TV series to feature a gay character. The company in statement issued Monday re-assured its members that it is committed. Some Turkey have lambasted the streaming giant prior to the release of Love 101, a Turkish TV series that was expected to include a gay character among the main roles, Daily Sabah reports. The release will however go ahead, the media notes adding that Turkeys Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTUK) had confirmed earlier this month that the character was removed after a request from the council. We are proud of the talent we work with. We are very excited for projects both in production and scheduled to soon begin shooting and are looking forward to sharing these stories with our members all across the world, the Netflix statement said. Ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) of President Erdogan also confirmed the American companys commitment to the Turkish market. Mahir Unal, deputy chairman of party indicated that he believed that the company would show higher sensitivity toward Turkish culture and arts with deeper cooperation. - Catriona Gray was asked by the press about her former partner Clint Bondad - She was specifically asked if she is bothered by the actors recent cryptic posts on social media - The Miss Universe 2018 did not hesitate to air her honest thoughts about the issue - According to Catriona, people must be careful with how they discern information PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Catriona Gray was straightforwardly asked by the media about her ex-boyfriend Clint Bondad and his cryptic posts on social media. KAMI learned that the handsome celebrity has been making headlines recently because of the intriguing statements that he wrote on Instagram. Many people speculated that the mysterious messages have something to do with the Miss Universe 2018, especially since Clint mentioned about being just an ex. Catriona Gray (Courtesy of Google Images) Source: UGC PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! MJ Felipe of ABS-CBN News was able to interview the Pinay beauty queen about the series of much-talked-about posts made by the actor. Catriona admitted to hoping that every person will keep an open mind to certain issues and to be careful with how they interpret things. She also stated that she wants to continue what she has been doing from the start amid the current controversies that she is facing. I just hope that everyone would really keep an open mind to whats being talked about and I hope that we would also be careful with how we discern information, she quipped. I just want to continue my efforts towards my work and towards helping the causes that are near to my heart, she added. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback Watch the video below: Catriona Gray is considered one of the best beauty queens that the Philippines has sent to compete in the prestigious Miss Universe pageant. She recently went to the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to file a legal complaint against the uploader of her fake malicious photo. Meanwhile, Clint willingly showed to the public the total number of people who visited his Instagram posts. POPULAR: Read more news about Catriona Gray! 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 Convenience stores are community stores: 93% of Americans live within 10 minutes of one of the 152,720 convenience stores in the United States. Cumulatively, the industry serves 165 million customers per day, sells 80% of the fuel purchased and dedicates more than $1 billion a year to advance the futures of individuals and families by supporting local organizations and charitable causes. More than 30,000 convenience and fuel retailer locations are participating in the celebration. Brands that are joining together with the NACS Foundation to support 24/7 Day by participating in all or most of their locations include ampm, BP and Amoco, California Fuels and Convenience Alliance (CFCA), ExtraMile, High's, Huck's, JJ's, Kwik Chek, Loop Neighborhood Market, Pilot Company, Rapid Refill & Garrett's Family Market, Rutter's, Sheetz (Community Leader Sponsor), Shell, The Markets of Tiger Fuel Company, Thornton's, Wawa and Yesway. Each participating retailer is supporting 24/7 Day in its own unique way, including offering free in-store offers for first responders, medical personnel and Red Cross volunteers on July 24 to thank them for their work in our communities. In addition, GSTV, the national video network entertaining targeted audiences at scale across tens of thousands of fuel retailers, is supporting the NACS Foundation's #247Day social media campaign via awareness video content at fuel dispensers across the U.S. as the non-profit's official 2020 media partner. People face emergencies every day that affect nearly every community the convenience store industry serves. On average, more than 30,000 people a day receive assistance from the Red Cross, whether they need lifesaving blood, relief after a disaster, support with the challenges of military life, skills that save lives or international humanitarian aid. Every Red Cross donation helps change lives, and 90 cents of every dollar the Red Cross spends is invested in delivering care and comfort to those in need. "Each day, families rely on community heroes for support during disasters and other crises," said Don Herring, chief development officer for the American Red Cross. "That's why we are so grateful for this partnership to help ensure people don't face emergencies alone. We hope you will join us on 24/7 Day, along with the NACS Foundation, to support this work and to thank our local heroes who help when it's needed most." The NACS Foundation invites the public to take part in 24/7 Day by: Donating to support the American Red Cross' work in communities around the country; in communities around the country; Visiting 247Day.org to find a complete list of participating convenience stores, their unique local offers and ways to support their in-store 24/7 Day efforts; to find a complete list of participating convenience stores, their unique local offers and ways to support their in-store 24/7 Day efforts; Visiting a participating convenience store. Many 24/7 Day partners are donating a portion of sales for certain products to the Red Cross on July 24 and the remainder of the month of July; Many 24/7 Day partners are donating a portion of sales for certain products to the Red Cross on and the remainder of the month of July; Sharing your #WeHeartHeroes story. Join the conversation on social media, share photos and stories on social with the #WeHeartHeroes and #247Day tags to honor a first responder that holds a special place in your heart. "The NACS Foundation is proud to unite the convenience and fuel retailing industry to support the American Red Cross, its volunteers and the first responders who support our communities 24/7," said Stephanie Sikorski, executive director at the NACS Foundation. "Convenience stores are often seen as the first supporters to first respondersserving as the only locations that remain open in a crisis and ensuring that fuel, food and other necessities are available for emergency workers and customers seeking a return to normalcy. And with their extended hours of operation, our stores are often the only place open to serve first responders and medical personnel working overnight. That's why the NACS Foundation honors first responders who work around the clock and is committed to amplifying our industry's reach and impact of its positive charitable efforts in communities across the country." Sikorski noted a special thank you to Sheetz on behalf of the NACS Foundation for supporting 24/7 Day as a Community Leader Sponsor for the second year, with a generous donation to the NACS Foundation and the Red Cross. About the NACS Foundation NACS Foundation is the 501(c)3 charitable arm of NACS, the global industry association dedicated to advancing convenience and fuel retailing. In partnership with fuel retail, convenience, and suppliers across the U.S., the NACS Foundation propels brighter futures by unifying and amplifying the philanthropic and charitable activities of the industry in communities across America. To learn more, visit conveniencecares.org, or visit us on Facebook at @TheNACSFoundation and Twitter at @NACS_Foundation. SOURCE NACS Foundation Every single week since buying my first copy of Smash Hits, Id walk into the newsagents a little lighter in the pocket, and leave weighed down with music magazines and weeklies. From the stalwarts (Q, Melody Maker, NME, Rolling Stone) to the more obscure titles (Circus, Select, Vox), my Leaving Cert year wasnt spent reading about trigonometry or Sean OCasey, but Blur, Pearl Jam and REM. I was giddy, and almost sick to my stomach with envy, as journalists jetted around the world, hanging extensively with their rock and pop idols. They had a ringside seat to the Bacchanalia, and they often delivered their dispatches from there with an arched eyebrow and a lyrical flourish. I vowed Id become a music journalist one day, and even though every soul in school laughed at the idea, it eventually came to pass. By the time I reached my dream in the early Noughties, music journalism wasnt what it once was. There were still tour buses, backstage chats and colourful tales of craziness, but access to big-name artists was being curtailed. Encounters with our musical idols were reduced to round-table interviews; 20-minute pockets of inane chat with artists who were media trained to the point of blandness. We certainly didnt become friends with any of them, as the old guard seemed to. In any case, it all rushed back to me this week when I heard that Q Magazine, the monthly glossy once touted as a Smash Hits for grown-ups, was winding down its publication. Launched in 1986, the magazine will release a commemorative issue on July 28, running some of its biggest features and interviews. Read More The pandemic did for us and there was nothing more to it than that, its editor Ted Kessler tweeted earlier this week. But the thing is, Q, and music journalism in a wider sense, is definitely the victim of a changing music industry and a culture unrecognisable to what it was during the magazines heyday. Its like your favourite pub closing, Today FM presenter/musician Paul McLoone observes. I was the perfect age for Q; I grew up reading Smash Hits and Q retained that irreverence. They loved music and rockstars, but they werent afraid to take the piss and poke fun. It certainly wasnt just a vehicle to sell records. Like most of us, McLoone read the music press for many reasons. There was a sense of belonging to a certain tribe (though, McLoone admits, he was more of a floating voter), but it was also about finding out about the characters of musicians, and learning what to buy. Q was quite on the money with all that stuff, and as the first big monthly, it felt more all-encompassing, recalls McLoone. Expand Close Q Magazine will release a commemorative issue on July 28, running some of its biggest features and interviews. / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Q Magazine will release a commemorative issue on July 28, running some of its biggest features and interviews. Video of the Day Similarly enamoured with the music press as a teen, Phil Udell went on to write for Hot Press, before striking out and founding the Irish monthly magazine, State, in 2008. We were on the cusp of change even then, Udell recalls. When we started State, we always dreamed of producing our own physical magazine. Yet even in States early days, the age-old experience of hanging with rockstars for days at a time, Almost Famous-style, was coming to a close. For our first issue we had the chance to do a face-to-face with REM, but no one would pay for that kind of stuff anymore, recalls Udell. In the end, a writer in New York did the story for us. When we started, there was a 50/50 split on whether we should even have a website, Udell recalls. Its no secret that the internet has taken over the job of the music press in many ways. Q, famously, was slow to adapt to new media, and theres a sense that many of the music magazines missed the change to stake their land online. Where decades ago youngsters would devour the press, now social media is leading many young music fans to the music they love. Youd buy the NME on a Wednesday and buy a record on the strength of what someone had written about it, without even hearing it, says Udell. These writers were having to paint a picture and create an image in someones mind about what a record sounds like. Thanks to technology, that has largely done. Ask most teens about where they hear about new music, and TikTok and Snapchat feature heavily in their replies. And when a direct conversation with Billie Eilish or Dua Lipa is merely a tweet away, the music journalist becomes even more redundant. McLoone believes that there are still pockets of youngsters who are every bit as enamoured of music and good writing as their predecessors were. Theres a definite sense that music journalism has become less important, McLoone surmises. From a radio perspective though, I get a sense of a certain type of fandom. I know its not gone; I know theyre still out there, but its much less visible. Less visible to me at any rate, and thats no bad thing. Perhaps thats exactly how it should be. A husband and wife caught on video brandishing firearms at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their St. Louis home were charged with a felony Monday. Mark and Patricia McCloskey were each charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon by St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner, according to a statement and documents from her office. The couple forfeited their weapons to police earlier this month after a warrant was issued. The decision to file charges came after an investigation into the June 28 confrontation by St. Louis police, Gardner said in a statement Monday. It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis, Gardner said. Her office said it is willing to recommend a diversion program for the couple, a deal that avoids a court trial and conviction record often offered for first-time offenders of certain non-violent crimes. I believe this would serve as a fair resolution to this matter, Gardner said in her statement. We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation will not be tolerated. Image: A couple draws guns at protesters in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 28, 2020. (Lawrence Bryant / Reuters) Attorney Joel Schwartz, who is defending the couple, said in a statement to NBC News on Monday that he feels unequivocally that no crime was committed. I, along with my clients, support the First Amendment right of every citizen to have their voice and opinion heard, Schwartz said in his statement. This right, however, must be balanced with the Second Amendment and Missouri law, which entitle each of us to protect our home and family from potential threats. Protesters entered the affluent St. Louis neighborhood of West Central End through a gate that opened onto Portland Place, according to the criminal complaint Monday. Protesters were then confronted by the McCloskeys, who stood on their property with a semi-automatic rifle and handgun. Story continues A statement released on behalf of the couple after video of the incident circulated on social media said the McCloskeys were in fear of imminent harm." Police have said that the McCloskeys told officers during an interview that the protesters were yelling obscenities and threats of harm as they broke into the neighborhood. Daniel Shular, a freelance photojournalist who was at the protest, disputed the account. Schular said he didn't see anyone breaking into the neighborhood and recalled seeing protesters simply strolling through an open gate. "I kind of turned around to take some pictures of people coming through the gate, then I turned back around and by then he had his long gun in his hand," Shular told NBC News at the time. "And the woman came out with a pistol and started pointing it with her finger on the trigger at everybody." The Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a brief Monday seeking to dismiss the charges against the couple based on Castle Doctrine law, according to a release from his office. The brief states that citizens have the right to use firearms "to defend ones person, family, home and property" and the law authorizes them to use firearms to deter assailants. "This provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm, Schmitt said in a news release. Despite this, Circuit Attorney Gardner filed charges against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety." Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said in an interview with "Marc Cox Morning Show" on 97.1 FM on Saturday that hed consider a pardon for the couple if they were convicted of a crime from the incident. We will not allow law-abiding citizens to be targeted for exercising their constitutional rights. https://t.co/6t5dUxdVgp Mike Parson (@mikeparson) July 18, 2020 Parson told the interviewers that the couple had a right to protect themselves and that Gardner was making the situation more political with possible charges. When asked whether he could pardon the couple upon a conviction, Parson said that he expected he would. Right now, thats what I feel, Parson said. You dont know until you hear all the facts and all that, but right now, if this is all about going after them because they did a lawful act, then yeah. If that scenario kept, then I dont think theyre going to spend any time in jail. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook's chief executive, has said he wants to reconfigure the company so half its employees could work from home within the next decade. Twitter has said it will allow employees to work from home indefinitely. Jonathan Dingel and Brent Neiman of the University of Chicago estimate that almost 40 per cent of the nation's jobs can be done from home. If this model catches on, it could reconfigure the tech industry geography. A survey by the market research firm Reach Advisors found that companies facing high real estate and labour costs were the most interested in pursuing remote work into the future. "The biggest shift away from density will likely be in markets such as the Bay Area and New York City," said the company's president, James Chung. By shifting to remote work, "they can dramatically widen their labour pool and evade the labour-wage trap that they are in." Paradoxically, America's big cities are becoming more valuable, churning out an increasing share of the nation's economic output. They have benefited from the rise of economic complexity and the explosive growth of technologies that reward the most highly educated workers. Complex industries like information technology, biotechnology and finance concentrate in large cities where they can find the most skilled employees. These cutting-edge businesses don't mind paying top dollar for the talent, not least because research has found highly skilled workers tend to be more productive and innovative when they are surrounded by others like them. Suburbs' time to shine Despite the stratospheric rents, which have been pushing low-wage workers out, highly educated workers have continued to flock to the nation's megalopolises in search of the high pay and urban amenities that have emerged to serve this affluent clientele. From 1980 to 2018, the income per person in New York's metropolitan area rose from 118 per cent of the national average to 141 per cent, according to government data. Boston's rose from 109 per cent to 144 per cent, San Francisco's from 137 per cent to 183 per cent, and Seattle's from 120 per cent to 137 per cent. But if businesses find that work from home doesn't hit their productivity too hard, they might reassess the need to pay top dollar to keep employees in, say, Seattle or the Bay Area. Workers cooped up in a two-bedroom in the Long Island City neighbourhood of Queens, New York, might prefer moving to the suburbs or even farther away, and save on rent. Glaeser and colleagues from Harvard and the University of Illinois studied surveys tracking companies that allowed their employees to work from home at least part of the time since March. Over half of large businesses and over a third of small ones didn't detect any productivity loss. More than 1 in 4 reported a productivity increase. Moreover, the researchers found that about 4 in 10 companies expect that 40 per cent of their employees who switched to remote work during the pandemic will keep doing so after the crisis, at least in part. That's 16 per cent of the workforce. Most of these workers are among the more highly educated and well paid. 'Where are the tipping points?' Will they stay in the city if they don't need to go to the office very often? Erik Hurst, an economist at the University of Chicago, argues that people will always seek the kind of social contact that cities provide. But what if their employers stop paying enough to support the urban lifestyle? Young families might flee to the suburbs sooner, especially if a more austere new urban economy can no longer support the ecosystem of restaurants and theatres that made city life attractive. The overall economy might be less productive, having lost some of the benefits of social connection. But as long as the hit is not too severe, employers might be better off, paying lower wages and saving on office space. And workers might prefer somewhat lower wages and no commute. Municipal governments in superstar cities might have a tough time doing their job as their tax base shrinks. The survival of brick-and-mortar retailers will be threatened as social distancing accelerates the shift to online shopping. Smaller cities might benefit. If they don't have to go into the office more than a couple of times a year, highly skilled workers in places like Seattle or Los Angeles might prefer Boulder or Vail, Colorado. "Everybody agrees on what are the key forces," said Gilles Duranton, an economist at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. "The question is which will play out, and where are the tipping points?" One of the big remaining questions is whether remote work will be sustainable. The productivity increases captured in the surveys examined by Glaeser's team might prove fleeting. "In the more likely state of the world, we realise that we can carry on a project remotely for one or two days but ultimately we do need face-to-face interaction," said Enrico Moretti, an expert in urban economics at the University of California, Berkeley. Remote education has proved inferior. In the long run, people may still need to live close to where they work. Opportunity for redemption And yet, technology continues to improve. "There are more incentives to invest in more technologies to stay at home," Rossi-Hansberg said. So what would the post-COVID city look like? Rossi-Hansberg suggests that a reconfigured urban America could look a bit more like the 1980s, before technology set in motion the forces that produced the present-day superstars, leaving other places behind. "This would flatten the distribution of cities and reduce the occupational polarisation of cities," he said. It would be a different world. But it might not be too terrible for urban living. Loading Consider life in a reconfigured New York City. Rents are lower, after the departure of many of its bankers and lawyers. There are fewer fancy restaurants, but probably still many cheaper ones. People with lower incomes, including the young, can again afford to live in town. City services may be reduced, but if a fifth or more of workers aren't going to the office on any given day it will be easier to get around. Duranton argues that the cities that will be devastated by COVID-19 are the ones that have been falling for a long time: the Rochesters and the Binghamtons, which lost their sustenance once the manufacturing industries that supported them through much of the 20th century folded or moved away. But for a city like New York, he said, COVID-19 offers an opportunity for redemption. "New York was running into a dead end, turning into a paradise for the rich," he said. "Culturally dead." Moving back to a cheaper, messier, more diverse equilibrium may carry a silver lining. TAMPA, Fla., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Osceola Capital, a lower middle-market private equity firm, announced today that its portfolio company I&I Sales Group has acquired Apex Reps ("Apex"). Founded in 1980 and headquartered in Chicago, Apex is a leading provider of outsourced sales and marketing services for janitorial and sanitation manufacturers in the Midwest. Further, I&I Sales Group has completed a rebrand to Avision Sales Group. The rebrand includes a new name, logo, website, and mission statement to better align the company's brand and value proposition across all of its acquired businesses. Avision has acquired five businesses since inception, growing from a single location in 2017 to now covering 32 states and representing over $500 million of gross sales across a footprint that includes the Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, Midwest and South. Patrick Watkins, Vice President at Osceola Capital, said, "The acquisition of Apex expands Avision's geographic footprint into the Midwest and further strengthens our offering in the janitorial and sanitation sector. Apex's shared clients and shared values make this a highly strategic and exciting combination with Avision." Ben Moe, Managing Partner at Osceola Capital, said, "The rebrand to Avision Sales Group is a bold declaration of the Company's integrated platform, fresh perspective, tech-enabled offering, and forward-thinking approach to delivering client-centric solutions. The Avision brand is a testament to the culture and vision for growth our leadership team has established across the entire company. As the Company continues to grow its footprint nationally through both acquisitions and de novo expansion, this rebrand is an important step for our employees and clients to show a consistent, cohesive and scalable DNA across our entire organization." DLA Piper provided legal counsel to Osceola Capital. About Avision Sales Group Avision Sales Group provides outsourced sales and marketing services to manufacturers to help them grow their businesses more efficiently and effectively. The Company acts as a representative of its manufacturer clients and facilitates relationships with customers across a range of services, including business development, sales planning and marketing efforts. Avision represents manufacturers in the janitorial, sanitation, foodservice disposables, safety, equipment and supply industries. Its product offerings include cleaning chemicals, hand hygiene, mops, mats, trash liners, gloves, take-out packaging, and disposable cutlery and tableware. Please visit www.avisionsales.com for additional information. About Osceola Capital Osceola Capital is a Tampa-based private equity firm that invests in lower middle-market services companies, typically with EBITDA of $2 million to $10 million. Osceola has extensive experience partnering with management teams to execute buy-and-build strategies and drive long-term value creation. Visit osceola.com to learn more. For additional information about Avision Sales Group, please contact Ben Moe or Patrick Watkins at Osceola Capital. Contact: Chris Tofalli Chris Tofalli Public Relations, LLC 914-834-4334 SOURCE Osceola Capital Management, LLC Related Links http://www.osceola.com MILFORD A woman is calling her boyfriend a hero after being killed trying to protect her when police say Peter Manfredonia barged into their Derby home while on the run. After Manfredonia, 23, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to killing Nicholas Eisele and kidnapping the mans girlfriend, the woman spoke out for the first time since the May 24 incident in a statement read by her attorney. The woman, who has not been identified, said the 23-year-old Eisele will forever be remembered as a loving, protective boyfriend, but also a hero. If there is a face or name to be remembered, it should be his, she said in a statement read by her lawyer, Gene Riccio, outside state Superior Court in Milford. Her statement, which thanked the multitude of law enforcement agencies involved in the case, said, the healing process cannot begin until we can be assured that justice has been served and Peter Manfredonia is held accountable for his actions that altered and destroyed the lives of Nick, myself and countless others. The statement concluded by saying Manfredonia should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and that justice for all victims be served. Manfredonia, a 2015 Newtown High School graduate and University of Connecticut student, was on the run for six days across four states before his May 27 arrest in Hagerstown, Md. in connection with a crime spree that included two homicides, an assault, home invasion, abduction and assorted other charges. Since being extradited to Connecticut, Manfredonia has been held at the Garner Correctional Institution in Newtown where he, Eisele and the mans girlfriend grew up. Manfredonia is being tried separately for the crimes police say occurred in Willington and Derby during a three-day span in late May. Last week, Manfredonia pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, first-degree assault, home invasion, kidnapping and other offenses related to the Willington crimes. Hes being held on $7 million bond in this case. Manfredonia was charged Monday with murder, felony murder, first-degree kidnapping, home invasion, first-degree robbery and carrying a pistol without a permit in connection with the Derby crimes. Manfredonia appeared Tuesday for his arraignment on the new charges via video conferencing from the courthouse lockup due to COVID-19 restrictions. He stood silent during the hearing as his attorney, Michael Dolan, entered the not guilty pleas on his behalf. The judge upheld Manfredonias $5 million bond for these charges. Manfredonias parents were in the courtroom, but left before the arraignment. Outside the courthouse, Dolan said it was just a very sad day. The entire Manfredonia family is just heartbroken, he said. I know both families have gone through a lot of pain. I think it was just too difficult for them to stay in the courtroom. To see their son in custody was very difficult. Dolan declined to comment on his clients frame of mind or not guilty plea. Eiseles family declined to comment as they left the courthouse. Their lawyer, Gene Zingaro, later said Eiseles parents and one of his three siblings were in court and were pleased with the judges handling of the hearing, which went as expected. I was happy, as was the family, with the judges decision to put a $5 million bond on the case, which is over and above the $7 million in bonds already on him, Zingaro said. From the familys perspective, we were happy with that decision by the judge. According to his arrest warrant, Manfredonia was on the run when he barged into Eiseles Derby home during the early-morning hours of May 24. Manfredonia was wanted in the killing of 62-year-old Ted DeMers and critically injuring the mans neighbor in an attack in Willington on May 22, police said. Manfredonia then held another man captive in his Willington home for more than a day before stealing his truck and guns early on May 24, according to the arrest warrant. Manfredonia was trying to find a hiding spot in Osbornedale State Park in Derby when he crashed the stolen truck and changed his plans, the warrant stated. He walked to the nearby home of Eisele, a childhood friend who sold him marijuana in the past, according to the arrest warrant. Eiseles girlfriend told police she had met Manfredonia once, two or three months before the incident, when he bought marijuana from her boyfriend, the warrant stated. She said they had locked all the doors of the house and Eisele blocked Manfredonia on social media when they heard he was wanted for murder, the warrant stated. But the woman said she woke up around 6 a.m. May 24 and Manfredonia was inside the Roosevelt Drive home, arguing in the other room with Eisele, the warrant stated. Eisele told his girlfriend to call 911, but Manfredonia ran into the bedroom and ripped the phone out of her hands and started tussling with Eisele, the warrant said. Moments later, the woman heard gunshots and saw Eisele motionless on the floor, the warrant said. After killing Eisele, Manfredonia stole about $2,000 in cash that was on a table and put it into a duffle bag, the woman told police, according to the warrant. The warrant said Manfredonia, holding the gun he used to shoot Eisele, then ordered the woman to get into her car and drive him toward Newtown. As she drove, Manfredonia detailed the previous 36 hours, telling the woman that DeMers was not an intended target but he said something that triggered (Manfredonia) and he snapped, the warrant stated. Manfredonia said he was trying to escape and innocent people got in the way, the warrant says. Manfredonia told her that he killed the people, including Nick, because they said something that triggered him and he snapped, but he did not elaborate. The woman drove into New York and then New Jersey as Manfredonia held the handgun between his legs and repeatedly said: I dont want to have to kill you, the warrant stated. Seven hours later, Manfredonia allowed her to drop him off at a New Jersey truck stop near the Pennsylvania border, where he hailed an Uber with the help of a bystander, the warrant stated. He left her with $200 for gas money, the warrant said. In her statement, the woman thanked the Good Samaritan who helped her at the truck stop, along with the Connecticut State Police, FBI, Derby Police, and New Jersey State Police, for capturing Manfredonia several days later. We can never erase the pain, heartache and trauma that occurred as a result of Manfredonias actions on May 24, the woman said in the statement. But we will insist that Peter Manfredonia is prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law and that justice for all victims is served. Asked how the woman was doing, Riccio said his client has undergone a terrible situation, which has had a devastating effect on her but shes also very concerned about Nicks family and the other families that have been affected by this tragedy. The Nationalization of State Politics Theres No Place Not Home It Pays to Have Friends Franccesca Cesti-Browne is a Democrat running for a seat in the Florida House. During an online fundraiser last week, she talked up her ties to her Miami district, noting her service as a Girl Scout troop leader and highlighting Florida issues such as the health of the Everglades and the states troubled unemployment system. This was only remarkable because she was talking to people who live in New England.Cesti-Browne has been endorsed by Sister District Project, a group that links Democratic legislative candidates with donors and volunteers who live in safely blue districts but want to assist campaigns elsewhere that are competitive. About 20 people from the groups Massachusetts-Rhode Island chapter connected with Cesti-Browne over Zoom, contributing about $3,000 to her campaign.Out-of-state donors aren't new, but in a year when almost all campaign activity has by necessity moved online, having a physical connection to a state or district is no longer a requirement for any type of participation. Now, rather than knocking on doors or showing up at county fairs, legislative candidates are sharing their messages with people theyll never represent.With the increase in online campaigning, campaigns have a much larger swath of donors they can tap into across the country, says Tori Taylor, co-executive director of Swing Left, a group that directs Democratic donors and volunteers to legislative, presidential and Senate races in a dozen super states. In-person contact is not going to be as readily acceptable as it was in years past.Both Swing Left and Sister District Project, along with a number of other Democratic groups, rose out of the ashes of the partys defeat in the 2016 presidential election, tapping into the increase in activism and engagement among Democrats during Donald Trumps presidency. They see a clear opening this year to get more people engaged in state races, when most of the legislators involved in redistricting will be elected.While some of these races are very local, they can still have national implications that make them very important to you, Taylor says. No matter where you live, gerrymandering has an effect on you.For years, Republicans have been better organized at the state level, with Democrats mostly fixated on national elections. The new groups are seeking to remedy that, but they havent made up their partys fundraising gap. The primary outlet for support of GOP legislative candidates, the Republican State Leadership Committee, raised $10.5 million in the second quarter nearly double the haul at the Democratic Legislative Campaign Committee ($5.8 million). The Republican Governors Association also outraised its Democratic counterpart, although not by as much.While Democratic donors all over the country are donating millions to U.S. Senate races in states such as Arizona, Kentucky and Maine, it seems theyve yet to get as excited about this years contests for governor.Much to our frustration, Democratic donors, large and small, still place vastly more importance on federal races, says David Turner, communications director for the Democratic Governors Association. Are we getting liberals in California or New York to engage in the middle of the country? Not yet.Turner notes that people are still willing to vote differently for governor than they do in national contests. There are eight Democratic governors in states Trump carried in 2016, including victories for the party last fall in the otherwise bright red states of Kentucky and Louisiana. Four Republicans are governors of states that supported Hillary Clinton four years ago.The same is not true about legislatures. Currently, the GOP controls the legislature in every Trump state (with an asterisk on the coalition-run Alaska House, where theres a Republican majority on paper). Democrats control the legislature in every Clinton state, with the sole exception of the Minnesota Senate.The vast majority of legislators represent districts that their party carried in the last presidential vote. While there is still significant ticket-splitting between federal and state legislative races, it has continued to dwindle since the turn of the century, says Chaz Nuttycombe, director of CNalysis, an elections forecast site.Legislators always like to say that they have their own identities, that their constituents know who they are and can stop and talk to them at the grocery store. The reality, however, is that most people cant name their own legislators. Survey after survey shows that even people who spend hours a day on national politics know next to nothing about local politics, says Dan Hopkins, a political scientist at the University of Pennsylvania.Federal politics have become the sun around which everything else revolves. Voters are likely to vote either R or D, depending on their inclinations, with less room for centrist Democrats in red states or centrist Republicans in blue states to carve out their own niches.State legislative races are almost entirely an artifact of the presidents popularity or unpopularity, says Sam Rosenfeld, a political scientist at Colgate University. Already the campaign effects you see downballot seem much more muted than they were in a less nationalized and less polarized era.Right now, people dont want to stop and talk at the grocery store. They might not even recognize their state representative in a mask. And theres little to no chance for legislators to make themselves known by speaking at high school graduations or service clubs.Candidates have lost their superpower, which is knocking on doors, says Daniel Squadron, executive director of Future Now, another group seeking to elect Democratic legislators.Squadron notes that as in-person organizing faces obstacles, virtual organizing has become easier. It does open up that geography and the networks to everyone who has Zoom or a Web browser, Squadron says. Volunteer engagement is vastly increased in both potential and importance.Its also easier to raise money. Many campaigns have outsourced their donation collection to third-party sites ActBlue for Democrats, WinRed for Republicans. Its easy these days for candidates to get big names to show up for a 20-minute appearance on Zoom, since theres no travel involved. Some political celebrities are making multiple appearances per night.(Photo: David Kidd)But donors drawn in by big names arent likely to care much about the dynamics of a local district. They are committed to their party and want it to win, even in places where they may never set foot. More and more of the donations to candidates are coming from people those candidates dont represent, says Hopkins, the Penn political scientist. Now candidates have to figure out how to get somebodys attention in a new world that is online, so theres less incentive to focus on a particular place.The Wisconsin Democratic Party raised a record $10 million during the second quarter, with donations coming into the presidential battleground state from around the country. Some donations were as little as $1.50, but about $2.5 million came from the governor of another state J.B. Pritzker of Illinois.Out-of-state donations will further nationalize legislative elections. Money will be particularly important in legislative races this year, Squadron says, given the absence of traditional campaigning. Digital ads and mailers and television are more expensive than shoe leather, he says.As a longtime activist, Aleta Borrud has been knocking on doors for 20 years. Now, as a Democratic candidate for the Minnesota Senate, she cant.She's backed by Sister District Project, which is helping her raise money and get her message out. Shes received donations from California, New York, Massachusetts and other states. I was surprised even before Sister District came in that I got a very large donation from somebody Id never heard of in Ohio, she says.But Borrud understands something obvious: She has to win votes from people who actually live in her district. She knows yard signs dont vote, but she believes they lend her campaign visibility, along with supporters wearing matching t-shirts along roadsides.To a large extent, she is having to rely on other people to make her case for her. Its what campaign consultants call relational organizing getting people to vouch for candidates to their friends and acquaintances. With luck, those people in turn will hit up their friends. You bring in supporters and ask them to reach out to the people they already know and have conversations through email or posts on Facebook or text, Borrud says.Theres still no substitute for being able to draw on local connections, but successful campaigns have to find support beyond the candidates immediate friend circle. Weve all learned that a person calling up to sell a product might well be sitting in Manila or Bangalore. Now its possible that people calling voters in Miami could live in Massachusetts.The people attending the Sister District fundraiser for Cesti-Browne acknowledged that they have no special connection to Florida. Some flubbed the Florida trivia quiz that kicked off the event. One participant said Florida feels like a foreign country to those of us born in Boston.But several committed to participate in phone banks for her anyway.Anything you can do to help us connect with voters, especially in these times when we cant knock on doors, that is the best thing you can do, Cesti-Browne said. The Registrar of Marriages has alerted all celebrants to the fact that marriages contracted at unlicensed venues or by officiating ministers not gazetted by the Attorney-General to become marriage officers are invalid under Section 74 of the Marriages Act 1884-1985, Cap 127. She added that marriages celebrated under the act were to be celebrated on premises with the doors open between 8 a.m. and 6 p.m. on any working day, except Sundays or public holidays, and in the presence of two or more witnesses besides the officiating ministers and any other persons who might wish to attend the celebration. Officiating ministers and churches are also required, under sections 65 and 67 of the Marriages Act, to transmit the counterfoil and duplicate Marriage certificates to the Registrar of Marriages for the district in which the marriage took place within seven days after the celebration of the marriage, the Registrar of Marriages at the Registrar-Generals Department (R-GD, Mrs Jemima Oware, told the Daily Graphic in an interview in Accra last Friday. Invalid marriages The caution follows the realisation that many people are contracting invalid marriages under Section 74 of the Marriage Act because of non-compliance with the strict requirements under the Marriages Act,1884-1985, Cap 127. There are alleged reports of marriage ceremonies being held in private homes under the supervision of some officers of some metropolitan assemblies without a special licence issued by the Registrar of Marriages, which makes those marriages invalid. Mrs Oware advised those planning to enter into marriages, especially the ones celebrated under the ordinance, to be sure that the venue was licensed and the officiating minister gazetted. She said the doors of the department were open for enquiries and advice in the event of uncertainty of validity of the venue and the status of the officiating minister. Marriage certificates Mrs Oware said registrars of marriages in the metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies were required under Section 71 of the Marriages Act (Cap 127) to forward books of marriage certificates, counterfoils, duplicate certificates and certified copies of all entries made during the preceding month in the Marriage Register book of the district to the Principal Registrar of Marriages within 10 days after the last day of each month, and the Principal Registrar of Marriages was to file same in its office. We are hereby requesting churches, denominations, fellowships, mosques, metropolitan, municipal and district assemblies (MMDAs) to comply with the sections of the Marriages Act that refer to them. Additionally, they should give representatives and officials of the Registrar-Generals Department unhindered access to their premises for education on the requirements of the laws of Ghana on marriages under the Marriages Act 1884-1985, (Cap 127), she explained. Contracting valid marriage Throwing more light on invalid marriages, Mrs Oware explained that under the Marriages Act of Ghana, in order to contract a valid marriage, the officiating minister should be gazetted by the State. She said additionally, the venue where the marriage was to be celebrated should be licensed by the State. The officiating minister/registrar requires a Registrar Officers Certificate, a Marriage Officers Certificate or a Special Licence, she added. She explained that those were the three types of licences for ordinance marriages and marriages under the registrars certificate, which are under the sole authority of the metropolitan assemblies. Marriages under the Marriage Officers Certificate are also under the authority of the churches and religious institutions which have been licensed and their pastors gazetted by the Attorney-General, through the Registrar-General, to officiate marriages, she explained. To all churches She drew the attention of all churches to purchase from the department the books used to issue out notices in Forms E to J for the publication of banns in the churches, with the resultant Marriage Officers Certificate being issued to officiate the marriage in the licensed church premises. She intimated that for a long time, most churches had not used those books specifically prepared for the use of churches for the publication of banns but rather relied on the Registrar Officers Certificate issued by the MMDAs, which was most inappropriate. Special Licence Mrs Oware said the third type of marriage was one under a Special Licence, which was a form of marriage officiated under the ordinance under the sole prerogative of the Principal Registrar of Marriages, who is also at the Registrar-Generals Department. With the Special Licence, a representative of the Principal Registrar of Marriages is able to officiate marriages on any unlicensed premises, unlike marriages under the Registrars Certificate, where a marriage is supposed to be officiated on the premises of MMDAs. This should also be officiated within three months after the 21-day notice, and if for any reason there is a caveat, the whole process has to be commenced all over again, she explained. She said the Special Licence also demanded that the marriage be solemnised within 20 working days on a licensed premises or any unlicensed place. Mandate of R-GD She said the R-GD was mandated, among other things, to register marriages, hence the role of the Principal Registrar of Marriages in the country. She outlined some of the functions of the R-GD as the Principal Registrar of Marriages to include educating churches and Ghanaians on the laws on marriages. Additionally, she said, the department was also mandated to grant special licences to churches and other licensed premises with gazetted marriage officers for the purpose of officiating marriages under the ordinance. We are also mandated to assist in the gazetting of church ministers and Islamic priests for the purpose of officiating marriages under the Marriages Act (Cap 127), she added. Mrs Oware said Customary Law Marriage and the Ordinance Marriage were both recognised by all and sundry, adding: This goes a long way to tell us marriage is essential for human existence. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video In-person signature gathering is about to restart for a Michigan campaign seeking to put a LGBT rights proposal on the ballot for Michigan voters. The campaign, called Fair and Equal Michigan, is getting a $100,000 boost from Business Leaders for Michigan. The endorsement is proof the issue has wide support, said campaign Co-Chairman Trevor Thomas. This isnt a Democrat or Republican issue anymore, as shown by endorsements weve received from business groups like Business Leaders for Michigan, Thomas said. If passed, the ballot initiative would amend Michigans Elliott-Larsen Civil Rights Act to extend discrimination protections to LGBT people. To do so, all that is needed is to redefine sex to include gender, sexual orientation and gender identity or expression, in the act language, per the group. Business Leaders for Michigan is a state business roundtable, with goals of making Michigan a top ten state for jobs, personal income and a healthy economy. Its members drive nearly 40 percent of the states economy and generate over $1 trillion in annual revenue, per BLM. There is more we can do as a state to demonstrate that Michigan is a state accepting of ALL residents, said Patti Poppe, Consumers Energy president and CEO and BLM PAC co-chairwoman, in a news release. Anyone who wants to make Michigan their home to start or continue a career, grow their family, or move to our state simply to enjoy our bountiful natural resources they need to know they will be welcomed and treated with equality under the law. The Fair and Equal Michigan campaign launched in January with hopes of getting the proposal on the November 2020 ballot. Then COVID-19 happened, and the group fell short of the nearly 350,000 signatures needed by late May to get on the ballot. It gathered roughly 30,000 online signatures in the interim, claiming those would be valid. The campaign is now reverting to in-person signature gathering to avoid legal questions and delays, and will seek out the 30,000 people who signed online to sign again in person, Thomas said. "That is simply out of an abundance of caution," Thomas said. "We are certainly not suggesting in any way that online signatures are not valid." The campaign is close to 200,000 in-person signatures, Thomas said. It has until early October to submit them, before the first signatures begin expiring. In June, a Michigan judge granted the campaign an additional 69 days on top of the normal 180 days for signatures to be valid, accounting for the length of Michigans stay-at-home order. While the ballot initiative pushes for a 2022 vote, Fair and Equal Michigan is hoping for sooner action. If the group can demonstrate statewide support, Thomas thinks the legislature could take up the issue and pass it in lame-duck session after the November election or in January with the new legislature. The campaign has received support from more than 20 major Michigan organizations and businesses, including Dow, the Big Three automakers, Kellogg Company, both major energy providers, the Michigan Education Association and Whirlpool. COVID-19 PREVENTION TIPS In addition to washing hands regularly and not touching your face, officials recommend practicing social distancing, assuming anyone may be carrying the virus. Health officials say you should be staying at least 6 feet away from others and working from home, if possible. Use disinfecting wipes or disinfecting spray cleaners on frequently-touched surfaces in your home (door handles, faucets, countertops) and carry hand sanitizer with you when you go into places like stores. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer has also issued an executive order requiring people to wear face coverings over their mouth and nose while inside enclosed, public spaces. Additional information is available at Michigan.gov/Coronavirus and CDC.gov/Coronavirus. RELATED STORIES Backers of Michigan LGBT rights initiative granted extra time for ballot petition signatures Small farms the latest sector to get Michigan CARES Act funding A local law enforcement commission voted Tuesday to restore the employment of a former Harris County deputy who fatally shot an unarmed Black man in 2018, a case that garnered national attention after video emerged showing the 34-year-old wandering the street with his pants around his ankles just seconds before being killed. The Sheriffs Civil Service Commissions decision comes almost one year after a jury found the ex-deputy, Cameron Brewer, not guilty of aggravated assault by a public servant in the death of Danny Ray Thomas . Brewer was fired in April 2018 for failing to follow the Harris County Sheriffs Offices use of force policy in the March 22, 2018, deadly shooting. Jason Spencer, sheriffs office spokesman, on Tuesday again defended the termination. The Harris County Sheriffs Office stands behind its decision in this case, he said. We are unable to comment further on this personnel matter at this time. The commission holds hearings on deputies terminations and demotions and votes to either uphold those or reverse them a practice that reformers have criticized since the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Its unclear when or whether Brewer will actually return to work. Witnesses told police that Thomas was walking in the middle of an intersection in Greenspoint, talking to himself and hitting vehicles as they passed. Thomas hit one car, leading the driver to get out and engage in a physical altercation. Brewer stopped his car and issued verbal commands to Thomas, who continued to advance toward him, according to the Houston Police Department, which led the investigation because it occurred in city limits. He shot Thomas once in the chest, police said. Jurors in August 2019 determined that Brewer didnt commit aggravated assault by a public servant in the killing. Brewer suspected that Thomas was high on PCP and feared for his life based on a previous, separate encounter with a suspect who didnt respond to the less-lethal Taser, according to his defense. The deputy, who is Black, was indicted by a grand jury in October 2018, marking the first time in 15 years that Harris County prosecutors had secured an indictment on a peace officer for an on-duty fatal shooting. samantha.ketterer@chron.com Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) - The Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday that 476 inmates have died inside Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) prisons since January, with 45 of them linked to COVID-19 infection. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra said the data from BuCor was recorded from January until July 19, 2020. Also citing data from BuCor, Justice Undersecretary Markk Perete told CNN Philippines that 21 inmates were confirmed to have died of COVID-19 infection, while 24 others were suspected cases. Perete added that the DOJ already requested BuCor to give the department a detailed list of inmates who died of COVID-19 infection. Humingi kasi si Secretary Guevarra ng detailed documents which would show not only the names, the offense, but also the cause of death and kung may existing comorbidities yung PDL. At the same time, hiningi rin ni Secretary Guevarra yung death certificate ng bawat PDL, he said. Perete said the DOJ is expecting to receive the documents from BuCor anytime soon. On the other hand, Senate Blue Ribbon Committee chairperson Richard Gordon said BuCor chief Director General Bantag and other bureau officials may face charges for mishandling the deaths of the high-profile inmates. Im really scandalized na they think they can pull one over us. Im not saying they did it already. But at the very least, ine-expect ko pag may namatay na high profile prisoner (I was expecting that if high-profile prisoner dies), they should report it to the DOJ, they should report it to the SC (Supreme Court). Because if the SC asks them, yari sila (they are done), said Gordon. You know damn well and good that he is a high-profile prisoner. You know damn well and good that there is track record na naglalagayan dyan (there is corruption inside). Ang lakas ng loob mo. Dapat nag-iingat ka (You are so complacent. You should be careful). he added. Guevarra recently directed the National Bureau of Investigation to investigate the death of high-profile drug convict Jaybee Sebastian and nine other inmates, who reportedly died due to COVID-19. CNN Philippines' correspondents Joyce Ilas and Anjo Alimario and multi-platform news writer Vince Ferreras contributed to this report A Queensland man in hotel quarantine has been fined $800 after clashing with police over a rule banning him from going outside at night for a cigarette. Dylan Guy, 29, has forked out more than $2,000 for mandatory quarantine at the Brisbane Airport Novotel after fleeing coronavirus-hit Melbourne where he was visiting his daughter. 'We're here doing the right thing. We're here in isolation doing the right thing by the state, by the government, trying to do our bit,' he told 7NEWS. 'And we just get treated like criminals.' Mr Guy said quarantine started off 'fine' because 'we were told we were allowed to go out for fresh air breaks and cigarette breaks whenever we wanted'. Dylan Guy, 29, was fined $800 after becoming 'verbal' when he wasn't allowed to go outside for a cigarette during hotel quarantine Dylan Guy has forked out more than $2,000 to be quarantined at the Brisbane Airport Novotel (pictured) after leaving coronaviurs-hit Melbourne where he was visiting his daughter But on Saturday, five days into his two-week quarantine, the rules were changed and returned travellers were no longer allowed to go outside after 7pm. 'I said, 'I'm not very happy about that and I'd like to speak to someone about that',' he said. 'They came up, about six officers at my door. They used standover tactics and generally just treated us like we were doing something wrong or had done something wrong. 'I got a bit upset about that and I got verbal, and they ended up turning me around, putting me in handcuffs. Mr Guy said it felt like he was being stripped of his 'basic human rights' to access fresh air. 'I just wanted five or 10 minutes out in the fresh air, have a smoke, come back to my room and I would have been happy.' Mr Guy said he was handcuffed for about 30 minutes before a police officer 'had the nerve to ask' if he wanted a cigarette. 'It just feels degrading, from day one when we got off the plane, we haven't felt like human beings. We felt like we've done something wrong,' he said. Mr Guy was charged with public nuisance and slapped with an $800 fine. A Queensland police spokesperson confirmed he was arrested on Saturday night prior to being issued his fine. Queensland has just two active COVID-19 cases while 90 people are being treated for the virus across NSW. Pictured: Brisbane Airport 'Initial inquiries indicate the man was arrested after ignoring repeated warnings in relation to his behaviour towards community members and hotel staff,' the spokesperson said. Mr Guy also slammed the 'dreadful' food provided to returning travellers in the hotel. CORONAVIRUS CASES IN AUSTRALIA: 27,244 Victoria: 20,269 New South Wales: 4,273 Queensland: 1,161 Western Australia: 692 South Australia: 473 Tasmania: 230 Australian Capital Territory: 113 Northern Territory: 33 TOTAL CASES: 27,244 ESTIMATED ACTIVE CASES: 269 DEATHS: 897 Updated: 5.31 PM, 11 October, 2020 Source: Australian Government Department of Health Advertisement 'I wouldn't feed it to my dog. We're paying for this stuff. I wouldn't pay five bucks for it,' he said. Queensland has just two active COVID-19 cases while 90 people are being treated for the virus across NSW. In Victoria, Melburnians are in lockdown again as the state government takes the unprecedented step of mandating face coverings to curb the spread of the virus. Queensland has declared the whole state of Victoria a hotspot, as well as the Liverpool and Campbelltown areas near a popular pub in southwestern Sydney which is linked to about 50 cases. There were no new coronavirus cases recorded in Queensland overnight on Tuesday. A cargo ship crew member in his 20s tested positive on Monday, but authorities believe there is no risk to the public. All other crew members onboard returned negative results on Monday, but will be tested again on Tuesday. NSW has recorded 13 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, while Victoria recorded 374 new cases and three deaths. 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. By Ayya Lmahamad Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Leyla Abdullayeva has said that Armenias cross-border military provocation that started on July 12 amounted to a terrorist act committed in attempt to use force. She noted that the international community is also concerned about that military provocation committed by the Armenian side. Moreover, she added that the Turkic Council, OIC, Non-Aligned Movement, GUAM and other international organizations have issued appeals strongly condemning this provocation and shelling by Armenia of Azerbaijani civilians. "Armenia's attempt to make a new provocation, use force and seize new territories is strongly condemned by the international community, she emphasized. The cross-border fighting between Armenia and Azerbaijan started on July 12 with Armenia's firing artillery at Azerbaijan's positions in the direction of Tovuz region. Azerbaijani army lost 12 servicemen as a result of Armenian attacks. One civilian was killed as a result of artillery fire by the Armenian armed forces. ___ Follow us on Twitter @AzerNews Fishermen without fish as Cambodia's river reversal runs late by Prak Chan Thul July 21,2020 | Source: Reuters Crucial water flows to the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asia's largest lake, have been delayed for a second consecutive year according to river experts, severely disrupting fishing and threatening the food supply of more than a million people. The river reversal vital for Tonle Sap Lake may not happen until next month, officials said, owing to drought conditions and more than a dozen hydropower dams in China and Laos which are blamed for disrupting the natural flow of the Mekong River. The Mekong typically swells in rainy season where it converges with Cambodia's Tonle Sap River, causing an unusual reversed flow into the Tonle Sap Lake, filling it up and providing bountiful fish stocks. But that hasn't happened yet and people who depend on the lake are struggling to get by. "I went out fishing for two nights and couldn't catch enough," said 37-year-old Khon Kheak, repairing a fishing net under his stilt house at Kampong Khleang, a floating village with little water to float in. That trip earned him 12,000 riels, or about $3, compared to $12-$25 a day last year, enough to support his family of six. His wife Reth Thary worries those days may be over. "If it continues like this we would be finished, we also owe people money," she said, referring to a $1,000 loan. Water typically flows into the Tonle Sap lake for 120 days, swelling it six-fold before running back into the Mekong as the monsoon season ends, usually in late September. Based on rain forecasts and rainfall data, the river's unique reverse flow should happen in August, said Long Saravuth, a Deputy Secretary General of Cambodia's National Mekong Committee. The Mekong River Commission (MRC) attributes the delay to lower 2019 rainfall and operations of upstream Mekong hydropower dams, two of which are in Laos and 11 in China. "From now on, the reversed flow timing will likely not be the same as it used to be," the MRC said. Laos and China say the dams bring vital economic benefits and regulate water flow, helping to prevent severe floods and droughts. But fisherman San Savuth, 25, wants Cambodia's government to negotiate the release of water from those dams to help Kampong Khleang's 2,000 families. Savuth may go to Siem Reap, a city 55km (34 miles) away, to find construction work. "We can't catch anything. There is no water, there is no fish," he said. Even without the coronavirus squeezing international travel, there is no hope of attracting local tourists for boat trips from Kampong Khleang, which would normally handle 600 passengers a day. There is a padlock on the abandoned tourism office surrounded by overgrown grass and about 130 tour boats are lying idle. "People in Kampong Khleang are fishermen without fish," said tour boat owner Ly Sam Ath. "There is no farming for them to do." 2020 WKZO - WKZO Theme(s): Fisheries Resources. Chinese Communist Party members and their families may face new restrictions on traveling to the U.S. that would be a dramatic expansion of current limits. Why it matters: U.S. law, on paper at least, has long prohibited CCP members from immigrating, but the proposed policy could gut people-to-people ties between the two countries and mark a near-break in diplomatic relations. Driving the news: The Trump administration is considering banning CCP members and their families from entering the United States, according to a New York Times report. It would invoke the same provision in the Immigration and Nationality Act as President Trump's 2017 travel ban on people from several Muslim-majority countries. The ban could apply to as many as 270 million Chinese people, according to an administration estimate. But such a broad measure is raft with problems. It doesn't take into account the fact that party membership in a one-party state is a structural part of life for many people that is often necessary to have a successful career. It's also a primary way to participate in community organizing. Membership can even provide some political protection for people who want to push the boundaries. Some well-known critics of CCP policies, such as now-jailed Uighur scholar Ilham Tohti, have been party members. Party membership usually isn't publicly disclosed, especially among the rank and file, making it difficult for U.S. consular and border officials to check the veracity of some applications. Yes, but: Party membership would likely be identifiable in enough situations to have a major deterrent effect on party members attempting to visit the U.S. What they're saying: Analysts have widely criticized the proposal as discriminatory, needlessly broad and harmful. Such a move would more or less augur an end of the [U.S.-China] bilateral relationship, Richard McGregor, a senior fellow at the Lowy Institute in Sydney, told the South China Morning Post. It could damage people-to-people exchanges, gut academic programs, hinder business deals and separate Chinese families, as well as make face-to-face meetings between top U.S. and Chinese officials fraught with logistical difficulties. Background: U.S. immigration law contains a decades-old provision making anyone affiliated with a communist party ineligible for a green card or citizenship. But in practice, "very few people get excluded on the basis of party membership," Gary Chodorow, a U.S. immigration attorney in Beijing, told Axios. That's due to a variety of factors, including light enforcement, waivers and because the immigrant visa form only asks about current, not past, membership. "A person could truthfully answer that question, no Im not a member, if they quit yesterday," said Chodorow. The proposed policy would expand this ban to both immigrant and nonimmigrant visas, such as tourist, study and work visas. Beijing has dealt with this restriction for decades. The CCP has a set procedure that allows members to apply to have their party membership canceled in advance of temporary travel abroad. The process allows party members to remain in good standing so that they can rejoin the party after they return. Party members often aren't able to fulfill membership requirements while abroad, such as participating in meetings and paying dues, so this procedure gives members the ability to go abroad without facing disciplinary action for allowing their membership to lapse. But the procedure also benefits party members who are traveling to countries where membership could cause them problems. The big picture: The Trump administration has already placed numerous travel restrictions on Chinese people from a variety of groups and backgrounds. All Chinese nationals in the U.S. on a journalist visa must apply for visa renewal every 90 days. Chinese graduate students pursuing degrees in certain sensitive science and technology fields must now renew their visas each year. The State Department restricts visas for CCP officials deemed complicit in China's authoritarian takeover of Hong Kong or in human rights abuses in Xinjiang. On July 15, the State Department also announced visa bans for certain employees of Chinese tech companies involved in human rights abuses. The bottom line: As U.S-China rivalry heats up, it's getting harder and harder for citizens of both countries to travel between the two, threatening the economic, educational, cultural and family ties that have formed the foundation of the bilateral relationship for decades. The Australian Federal Police has asked the US government to block the sale of a multimillion-dollar New York apartment as part of a long-running and politically sensitive bribery investigation into an Australian mining company. US court documents reveal that in February, Attorney-General Christian Porter requested American authorities obtain judicial orders to prevent members of the wealthy Gupta family from offloading a $US3.67 million ($5.2 million) condominium apartment in Manhattans prestigious Upper West Side. Attorney-General Christian Porter. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen The US court documents provide the first glimpse since 2015 into the federal polices long-running probe into allegations that mining company Getax bribed multiple senior politicians in Nauru, including members of the current cabinet to monopolise the countrys phosphate supply. The US documents name Getax director Amit Gupta as the "target of a criminal investigation who is alleged to have conspired with others to bribe foreign public officials and to have engaged in money laundering and other offences". NORTH BRUNSWICK, N.J. A men's rights attorney who is suspected of fatally shooting a federal judge's son and injuring her husband is being eyed as a possible suspect in the shooting death of a fellow men's rights attorney in California. Roy Den Hollander, who was found dead Monday in Sullivan County, New York, is suspected of posing as a FedEx driver, approaching the home of Federal District Court Judge Esther Salas and shooting her husband, defense attorney Mark Anderl, and son, Daniel, 20, who died from his injuries. Federal investigators are looking into whether Hollander had any role in the killing of Marc Angelucci, who was killed this month in San Bernardino County, California, a federal law enforcement official told The Associated Press. An attacker invade the North Brunswick, N.J., home of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas and attorney Mark Anderl. The official cautioned the investigation was in its early stages and federal officials were working with homicide detectives. In both cases, the suspect posed as a delivery driver, the official said. What we know: The shooting at a federal judge's home in North Brunswick Investigators are examining Hollanders financial and travel records, as well as misogynistic screeds he posted online, the official said. Hollander had a link on his website to a document called "Girl Jokes" where a list of sexist jokes were posted. The official who spoke to the AP could not discuss an ongoing investigation publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. Hollander was a self-described anti-feminist attorney who filed multiple lawsuits challenging what he called unfair treatment of men. One suit alleged that ladies night promotions at bars and nightclubs were unconstitutional. New Jersey shooting:Anti-feminist lawyer is suspect in killing of judge's son Contributing: The Associated Press Follow Nick Muscavage on Twitter: @nmuscavage. This article originally appeared on Bridgewater Courier News: Esther Salas: Roy Hollander eyed in fatal shooting of California attorney Net new enrolments with the EPFO (Employees' Provident Fund Organisation) rose to 3.18 lakh in May from 1 lakh during April, the official data by the retirement fund body suggests. The latest data provides a glimpse into employment situation in the formal sector amid the COVID-19 crisis. The body has also revised the official employment data for April to 1,00,825. The provisional employment data released by the EPFO last month showed the net new enrolments at around 1.33 lakh in April. Amid the coronavirus pandemic, the net new enrolments with the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) had dropped to 5.72 lakh in March 2020 from 10.21 lakh in February. The EPFO has added 1.39 crore new subscribers in the previous two financial years. The net addition to the subscriber base surged from 61.12 lakh added in FY19 to 78.58 lakh in FY20, a 28 per cent growth. The EPFO has been releasing the payroll data of new subscribers since April 2018, covering the period starting from September 2017. The data also showed that during September 2017-May 2020, the number of net new subscribers was around 1.59 crore. The estimates are net of the new members enrolled, members exited and rejoined during the month, as per records of EPFO. As per the EPFO, the payroll data is provisional as updates in employees' records is a continuous process and get updated in subsequent months. The EPFO manages social security funds of workers in the organised/ semi-organised sector in India and has more than 6 crore active members. Also read: Cabinet approves extension of EPF support for 3 months till August Acting Police Commissioner McDonald Jacob has been given notice by leader of The First Wave Movement, Umar Abdullah, that there will be two more peaceful marches this month. It comes on the heels of Abdullah being charged on Monday for leading a march around the Queens Park Savannah without permission from the acting police commissioner. Tuesday, July 21, 2020 at 1:00PM This article is dedicated to Mark, one of our subscribers (thank you!), who requested a piece on River Phoenix -Editor. by Claudio Alves It's difficult to write, it's difficult to think, about River Phoenix without the tragedy of his premature death casting a dark shadow over all other considerations. His acting is often talked about in terms of wasted potential, another facet of the same mythos that James Dean inhabits in the public consciousness. Sure, his film work is important, but only as far as it adds to the narrative of a flame that burned too bright and died out too soon. That can be a blessing to one's legacy, a promise of cultural immortality. However, it's also a curse that makes a young actor's amazing career into a footnote of a Hollywood tale of doom and gloom. River Phoenix was and is more than the protagonist of a real-life story about dying young. He's a great actor, one whose performances still have the power to amaze and impress, to enlighten and hurt. This piece is about such a feat of acting, one that takes my breath away every time I gaze upon its magnificence. It's about River Phoenix in Gus van Sant's My Own Private Idaho This classic of early 90s New Queer Cinema is a hybrid of form and text whose wild experimentations can be hard to stomach. Working from two different screenplays, a short story and the ghost of Shakespeare's Henriad, van Sant tells the story of two male hustlers living in contemporaneous America. Phoenix is Mike Waters, a narcoleptic teenager born of oedipal parentage into the kind of squalor that seldomly shows its face on the silver screen. Like many youths in similar destitution, he sells his body as subsistence, walking through the urban darkness in search of some interested client that wants to enjoy him, if only for a night. It's an existence of constant helplessness and hunger, be it for food or the sustenance of affection that one cannot buy. Still, when we first meet him, Mike's not in the city. We meet him on a road, alone, a speck of life in a landscape of desert dirt slashed by the highway. Like he often does, he coughs and fidgets about, a beautiful icon of consumptive frailty with wispy blond sideburns and a pasty complexion. Whatever unstable sense of peace the deserted tableau might suggest, it's quickly broken when Mike seizes, his body trembling. Muscles tense and face scrunched, it seems as if the boy might explode from accumulated tension like a rope wound up too tight or a bomb ready to go off. However, Mike doesn't explode. He implodes, collapsing unto himself and falling to the ground, even more helpless than before. Then, he orgasms. The sexual climax is from another scene altogether, a meeting with a generous client who likes to blow the young hustler. Van Sant's transitions in My Own Private Idaho are never gentle, even if the way he looks at his characters might be. Like a shattered mirror, this indie flick is a storm of jagged edges ready to draw blood, full of weird stylistic inventions that are as abrasive as they are dazzling. Such a directorial approach could result in an alienating disaster, but the project's actors hold it together. Phoenix, in particular, is both anchor and glue, grounding the experimentation in visceral humanity and joining its disparate faces in a coherently incoherent union. He's not alone, not in that regard. My Own Private Idaho might be a story philtered through the perspective of Mike, but it's a two-lead movie. Keanu Reeves is the other hero, a modernized Henry V by the name of Scott Favor, now the prince of Portland, son of an American mayor instead of an English king. He's Mike's best friend, his protector, and companion. He's also the focus of his unrequited love, a desire bound to end in heartbreak for the man to whom poverty is a way of life and not a distraction. You see, for Scott, misery is a hobby to indulge in before the advent of adulthood. Mike's not stupid, he knows his feelings are not mirrored by the insouciant Scott, and that their worlds aren't the same. Still, he longs for the other man. We can't control who we want. Nobody can. That attraction is at the center of the movie's most famous and best scene, a campfire confession made in the embrace of a lonesome desert night. There, shrouded in apparent isolation, Mike opens up to his friend, slashes open his own heart with honest words, and lets Scott see the bloody mess inside. He speaks of love that needs no payment, of a need that the character seems unable to fully put into words but that the audience can clearly understand. He never looks at Scott, he shrinks, limbs hugging each other in a desperate attempt at shielding himself from some cruel aggression that might come. Shielding himself from the cold light of the fire. At that moment, River Phoenix's Mike is a scared animal covering his soft belly and hoping that pain isn't on its way. Physically there's no issue, but, emotionally, Mike's in for a world of pain. Art can sometimes articulate what our mind cannot, reflecting and revealing who we are to ourselves. When I first saw Phoenix play that campfire scene, many years ago, it was like a lightbulb going off in my head. There it was, that need for someone to see me, to love me and touch me, to make me feel normal. A need I didn't comprehend but this film did. The fear of rejection was also there, the fear that the loneliness I felt was permanent. River Phoenix's take on Mike is one of the most honest representations of that need and of that terror I've ever seen on film, be it his desultory odyssey-like pursuit of an absent mother or that amorous want confessed by the campfire. Often, throughout My Own Private Idaho, Van Sant brings the camera close to Phoenix's face and the actor always turns his eyes downward, keeping his gaze private from the audience. I find myself thankful for it since I fear what I might have felt if he had allowed me to look directly at Mike's pain crystalized in close-up. It might have been too much. After all, the campfire scene is almost too much already. Phoenix looks away so we don't have to. I'm also thankful for the glimpses of childlike innocence he allows to show through his epic painting of American misery. It's the glee of a bubble bath, the adolescent joy of a well-executed prank, the rebellious smile during the funeral of a vagabond Falstaff, the playful swats when Scott pulls on his chest hair. Such details allow Mike to feel human, to feel real, painfully so at times. Thank you, River, for this lost boy that let me understand myself a bit better. Thank you, for everything. My Own Private Idaho is available to stream on the Criterion Channel. You can also rent it from Amazon, Apple iTunes, Google Play, Youtube, and others. The Police have begun investigations into the death of one of its officers at Abeka Lapaz in Accra. The deceased, Abdul Rashid, of the Police Headquarters Counter-Terrorism Directorate, was found dead with a gunshot wound at his residence at Abeka Lapaz. The incident is said to have occurred on Sunday, July 19. A statement from the Ghana Police Service said the sister of the deceased, Shakira Nasir, 21, is in police custody assisting with investigations. It added that the pistol, which is believed to have been used is also in police custody. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Peel police recovered what they described as three military-grade devices that dated back to the Second World in Mississauga on Monday afternoon. The items were found after police received a report around 4 p.m. of a potentially explosive device located near Silver Dart Drive and Airport Road. Three businesses were evacuated and nearby roads were closed as officers investigated. At around 5:30 p.m., police said in a tweet that 3 WW2 military-grade devices had been retrieved by the forces emergency disposal unit. Const. Heather Cannon said the explosives were live. There were no injuries. David Venn is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @davidvenn_ Read more about: Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) Evidence shows that nine policemen killed four soldiers in Jolo, Sulu in late June, the National Bureau of Investigation said in a complaint filed with the Justice Department on Tuesday. The NBI lodged a complaint for murder and planting of evidence against the police officers. After a thorough perusal of the records of this case, we are convinced that the evidence presented amply demonstrates that the victims were killed and that it was the nine police officers who killed them, the NBI said. The respondents are Senior Master Sergeant Abdelzhimar Padjiri, Master Sergeant Hannie Badiri, Staff Sergeants Iskandar Susulan and Ernisar Sappal, Corporal Sulki Andaki, and Patrolman Mohammad Nur Pasani, all from the Jolo municipal police, as well as Police Staff Sergeant Almudzrin Hadjaruddin, Patrolmen Alkajal Mandangan and Rajiv Putalan from the Sulu provincial drug enforcement unit. Although not all of them fired their government-issued firearms, the others assisted the police officers who shot at the soldiers, the NBI said. The nine police officers simultaneously attacked the victims who were not given the opportunity to defend themselves, the NBI added. READ: Jolo encounter shows 'excessive' use of force by PNP vs slain soldiers Citing eyewitness accounts supported by evidence, one of the victims, Major Marvin Indammog did not carry any firearm when he alighted from the vehicle, leading the NBI to conclude that the rifle recovered in his left hand was indeed planted. Also facing a case for neglect of duty are Sulu provincial police director Colonel Michael Bayawan, Jolo Municipal Police chief Major Walter Annayo, and provincial drug enforcement unit head Captain Ariel Corcino. They failed to inform their subordinates of the June 29 military operation which was being conducted against two female suicide bombers and the maker of their vests, the NBI said. Aside from Indammog, Captain Irwin Managuelod, Sergeant Jaime Velasco, and Corporal Abdal Asula, all from the 9th Intelligence Service Unit of the 11th Infantry Division, were killed. The cops earlier claimed self-defense. The Philippine National Police agreed that the soldiers did not fire a single shot at the police. They have since ruled out the misencounter angle and called it a shooting incident. According to the initial results of an autopsy conducted by NBI, one of the soldiers suffered eight gunshot wounds, while the others had at least three each. President Rodrigo Duterte has appealed to both the military and police to remain calm amid the ongoing investigation. CNN Philippines' Anjo Alimario and Eimor Santos contributed to this report. The global death toll from the coronavirus is more than 610,000, with nearly 15 million infections confirmed, causing mass disruptions as governments continue to try to slow the spread of the respiratory illness. Here's a roundup of COVID-19 developments in RFE/RL's broadcast regions. Central Asia A group of medical personnel working at the ambulance service center in Tashkent have complained to President Shavkat Mirziyoev about what they called the government's "failure" to increase their salaries during the coronavirus pandemic, a move promised by the president since March. In an open letter addressed to Mirziyoev posted on Telegram, the medical workers said that "despite being on the frontline in the fight against the coronavirus, we are not tested for COVID-19 ourselves, and not fully equipped with protective garments." The letter also says that compensation promised by Mirziyoev to medical personnel infected with the virus have not been paid, while the number of physicians and nurses not receiving the increased funds is on the rise. "We have been working [with COVID-19 patients] for four months, but our salaries have not been increased and there were cases when our wages were delayed," the letter says. "Also, we, the medical personnel, had to be tested for coronavirus once in every 14 days, but in the last four months we were tested only once. We may have contracted the virus and passed it on other people while walking around, as our bodies may have developed immunity to it, but we do not know," it adds. "After all, we are human beings and we must be with our families. For how long shall we live in fear, anxiety, and suspicion?" On July 20, Mirziyoev ordered mayors of cities and districts to personally monitor the situation in each hospital around the clock, adding that they were responsible for creating conditions for the nonstop operation of hospitals. Mirziyoev also said that 80 percent of lethal COVID-19 cases had been registered in Tashkent, the capital. As of July 21, the number of coronavirus cases in Central Asia's most populous country of 32 million was 17,590, including 91 deaths. In neighboring Kazakhstan, Health Minister Aleksei Tsoi said on July 21 that the coronavirus situation in the country had started stabilizing after a spike in cases. According to Tsoi, the number of people who recovered from the coronavirus in the last two weeks increased 60 percent, while the number of new coronavirus patients per day decreased from 4 percent to 2.5 percent. Tsoi asked the government to allocate an additional 47 billion tenges ($113 million) for coronavirus testing. As of July 21, the number of cases in Kazakhstan was reported at 73,468, including 585 deaths. In Kyrgyzstan, Prime Minister Kubatbek Boronov said on July 21 that construction on two new hospitals, each with a capacity of 100 patients, will start in Bishkek and the second-largest city, Osh, this week. Boronov also said that all buildings in the regions that aren't in use must be turned into hospitals to treat COVID-19 patients. The Health Ministry said on July 21 that the number of coronavirus cases in the country reached 28,251, of whom 14,776 patients recovered and 1,079 people died. In Tajikistan, as of July 20 the number of coronavirus cases was officially reported as 6,921, including 57 deaths. However, an investigative report by RFE/RL last month revealed that the real number of lethal cases of COVID-19 in the country might be several hundred. Turkmenistan is the only country in the region that has not officially registered any coronavirus cases, but RFE/RL correspondents have reported that local hospitals have been overwhelmed with patients with pneumonia symptoms, some of whom, including medical personnel, have died. In some parts of the country, so-called quarantine zones have been established and some industrial facilities are being shut down, RFE/RL correspondents report. Romania A new law has come into effect to enforce the mandatory quarantine or hospitalization for those infected with the coronavirus, after thousands of sick patients were allowed to walk out of hospitals or not be treated at all. EU-member Romania had stemmed the spread of COVID-19 under a strict two-month lockdown, but cases have jumped since it was lifted in mid-May and reached record-high levels this month, with a peak of 994 new infections and 36 fatalities on July 21. The new law was fast-tracked in parliament after the country's Constitutional Court on July 2 ruled that authorities could no longer enforce mandatory quarantine or hospitalized care based on government decrees, and that such containment measures could only be taken through a parliamentary legislation. Following the ruling, almost 1,000 people who had tested positive were released from hospital at their own request -- even against medical advice -- between July 2-20, while almost 3,700 infected people were not hospitalized at all, data released late on July 20 showed. At least one patient released from hospital at his own request subsequently died of COVID-19 at home, while several others were readmitted to intensive-care units. "We need to remind Romanians that, as a result of the court's decision, more than 900 patients were let go at their own request and more than 3,000 of those registered as infected were not even admitted to hospital," Prime Minister Ludovic Orban, who has repeatedly criticized the ruling, told a cabinet meeting on July 21. The government has yet to estimate the impact of the legislative void on the growing number of infections, Orban said. Health Minister Nelu Tataru on July 20 warned that Romania could see a spike to more than 1,000 new daily cases in the following days and that the government could decide to quarantine specific outbreaks in companies or neighborhoods. The caseload spike also came against a backdrop of multiplying conspiracy theories peddled online and in the streets. In Bucharest, a few hundred so called "coronaskeptics" -- holding religious icons, the national flag, and signs that read "I believe in GOD, not in COVID" -- frequently protest against what they call a "sanitary dictatorship." Romania, with a population of almost 20 million, has to date reported more than 39,000 coronavirus infections and more than 2,100 deaths. With reporting by RFE/RL's Kazakh, Kyrgyz, Romanian, Tajik, Turkmen, and Uzbek services, Digi24.ro, Hotnews.ro, AFP, and Reuters Borsa Italiana non ha responsabilita per il contenuto del sito a cui sta per accedere e non ha responsabilita per le informazioni contenute. Accedendo a questo link, Borsa Italiana non intende sollecitare acquisti o offerte in alcun paese da parte di nessuno. Sarai automaticamente diretto al link in cinque secondi. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas and Marchio Irfan Gorbiano (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 18:28 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066831132 1 Business BPK,audit,WTP-opinion,Jiwasraya,Asabri Free The Supreme Audit Agency (BPK) has given the 2019 central governments financial report an unqualified opinion (WTP), the best audit grade, despite irregularities found in several issues, including the recent financial scandals involving state-owned insurance companies. The rating is based on the audit of 88 financial reports from ministries, government institutions and the state treasury, according to the agencys chairman, Agung Firman Sampurna. Of the 88 financial reports, 85 received a WTP, compared to 81 in 2018. Meanwhile, the BPK gave a qualified opinion (WDP), the second-best audit grade, to two other financial reports and a disclaimer for one financial report. We have audited the governments financial reports and there are several problems, ranging from internal monitoring systems to unlawful practices, Agung told reporters in a press briefing on Tuesday, adding that the agency found irregularities in the handling of government accounts, as well as financial mismanagement of state-owned insurance companies. The agency has raised concerns over the financial reports on two state-owned insurers, PT Asuransi Jiwasraya and Asuransi Angkatan Bersenjata Republik Indonesia (Asabri), stating that the governments long-term obligation on the pension program had yet to comply with accounting standards. Irregularities in the pension program have been occurring for years, Agung said. Therefore, reform on pension funds management is crucial to managing the problems in Jiwasraya and Asabri. Both Jiwasraya and Asabri have been implicated in financial fiascos after losing trillions of rupiah through investment mismanagement. Jiwasraya is embroiled in a corruption and money laundering case following its failure to pay out Rp 18 trillion (US$1.21 billion) in matured policies due in May to policyholders. Meanwhile, Asabri suffered a loss of about Rp 10 trillion from investing in stocks allegedly used for pump-and-dump schemes, sparking a similar corruption allegation. So far, the State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Ministry plans to restructure Jiwasrayas policies before carrying them over to a new company, PT Nusantara Life, and then dissolving the ailing insurer. The BPK also found that several public officials in five ministries or government institutions including in the Defense Ministry and Religious Affairs Ministry had yet to obtain permission from the Finance Ministry to use their personal bank accounts to store Rp 71.8 trillion in state funds. We have yet to find state losses from these irregularities, but there is a risk [of corruption] from using personal bank accounts to store state funds, Agung went on to say, adding that the audit on the financial reports had yet to yield findings of any fraud or corruption. In total, the agency found 31 irregularities in the governments financial reports, ranging from tax refunds to land procurement for national strategic projects, among other irregularities. Meanwhile, President Joko Jokowi Widodo lauded the government for securing the highest audit rating for the fourth time in a row since 2016. I am asking all ministers and agency heads to use the BPK audit as a parameter to conduct reform and make improvements in managing the state budget, the President said on Monday, adding that ministries that received a WDP and disclaimer from the BPK should immediately start making improvements to create significant changes in managing their budget. Ministries should immediately improve their budget management so that the peoples funds, managed by the government, can be accounted for and benefit everyone. The BPK should further investigate unlawful practices that may result in state losses, said the University of Indonesia (UI) public policy expert Agus Pambagio. The use of personal accounts to store state funds has been happening since the Soeharto era. This means that the current government has yet to learn from past mistakes, Agus told The Jakarta Post, adding that the government should take the money back immediately to prevent corruption. Agus also raised concerns over the management of pension funds, calling for government reform to restore confidence and accountability. Authorities are searching for a suspect wanted in the shooting death of a man earlier this month in a west Birmingham home. Birmingham police on Tuesday announced a murder warrant against Keleen Connell. The 25-year-old is charged in the slaying of Mikos Lebron Lewis, 30. Just after 11:30 p.m. on July 7, officers from West Precinct responded to a residence in the 5300 block of Court Q on reports of a person shot. Upon arrival officers discovered the victim inside the residence on the floor. Lewis was unresponsive and suffering from a gunshot wound. Birmingham Fire and Rescue responded and pronounced him dead on the scene at 11:43 p.m. Another resident had arrived home and made the discovery. Authorities have not released a motive in the slaying nor said what led them to identify Connell as the suspect. He remains at large and police say he may be armed and dangerous. Police say do not approach him. Connells last known address is in southwest Birmingham. Anyone with information is asked to call 911 or Crime Stoppers at 205-254-7777. TICKERS: BRC; BKRRF Source: Bob Moriarty for Streetwise Reports (7/21/20) Bob Moriarty discusses the company's off-the-charts drill results at its Nevada silver project. Blackrock Gold Corp. (BRC:TSX.V; BKRRF:OTCMKTS) announced the first drill results from their latest program at their 100% controlled Tonopah West silver project in Nevada. Hole TW20-001 showed two massive silver intercepts. The highest grade was the 2,198 g/t Ag over 3.04 meters. Another layer that was the actual target of the drill hole reported 29 meters of 965 g/t Ag where it intersected the Victor silver vein. No wonder the shares were up 102% on the day. The company has about 20 million warrants outstanding with an average exercise price of $0.25 and some warrants can be forced so the company can count on having another $5 million brought it. It might be time to change the name of the company from Blackrock Gold to Blackrock Silver because they just brought the Tonopah silver district back to life in a bigly way. Blackrock is an advertiser. I have participated in several private placements so naturally I am biased. Their website is pretty good and presentation excellent. Blackrock Gold Corp BRC-V $0.87 (Jul 20, 2020) BKRRF-OTCBB 69.4 million shares Blackrock Gold website Bob Moriarty President: 321gold Archives 321gold Bob Moriarty founded 321gold.com, with his late wife, Barbara Moriarty, more than 16 years ago. They later added 321energy.com to cover oil, natural gas, gasoline, coal, solar, wind and nuclear energy. Both sites feature articles, editorial opinions, pricing figures and updates on current events affecting both sectors. Previously, Moriarty was a Marine F-4B and O-1 pilot with more than 832 missions in Vietnam. He holds 14 international aviation records. [NLINSERT] Disclosure: 1) Bob Moriarty: I, or members of my immediate household or family, own shares of the following companies mentioned in this article: Blackrock Gold. Blackrock Gold is an advertiser on 321 Gold. 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(Bloomberg Opinion) -- Having sent officers from the Department of Homeland Security to Portland, Oregon, President Donald Trump is now saying that he will send more federal agents to other U.S. cities to fight crime. His actions, already heavily criticized by elected officials in Oregon, raise serious constitutional questions. How and when may the president deploy armed federal officers across the country? What are the limits? And, what if anything, can states or citizens do about it? The president, as head of the executive branch, has the constitutional duty and authority to take care that the laws of the United States are faithfully executed. This includes sending federal officers to protect federal property and enforce federal law. Good examples arent hard to find. When President Barack Obamas administration sent federal officials to confront Cliven Bundy in 2014, that was perfectly lawful and constitutional. When a citizen claims that the federal government does not own federal land, it can be appropriate for the government to demonstrate that it in fact does own that land. Similarly, although of much greater moral significance, President Dwight D. Eisenhower sent the 101st Airborne to enforce federal law and the Constitution by integrating the Little Rock schools in 1957. This was an extraordinary act, but entirely legitimate in light of the state of Arkansass open resistance to the authority of the U.S. Supreme Court. Most famously, President Abraham Lincoln sent federal troops to suppress the secession of the Confederate states based on the argument that he must enforce federal law and protect federal property, including Fort Sumter. Yet these executive rights and responsibilities are extremely different from what Trump is presently doing. In Portland, it appears that no federal property has been jeopardized by any failure of state or local police. As for the enforcement of federal law, that is restricted to crimes affecting state commerce and specifically enumerated in federal law or in the Constitution. That does not include ordinary criminal investigation or the policing of the streets. It certainly does not include the exercise of protected constitutional rights like peaceful protest. Story continues It follows that it is unconstitutional and unlawful for DHS officers to enforce non-federal law unless they are deputized by state or local officials not the president to do so. And Portland officials, far from making the DHS officers into deputies, have instead publicly expressed their outrage at the officers presence and demanded their removal. In an attempt to push back, the Oregon attorney general Ellen Rosenblum announced Friday that she planned to file a lawsuit in federal court, and on Monday, she asked for a temporary restraining order while that lawsuit goes forward. Read closely, the lawsuit does not directly challenge Trumps authority to send the DHS officers to Portland. Thats because the AG understands that the president may send the officers to protect federal property and enforce federal law. Rather, the lawsuit alleges that DHS officers, unidentified because they were not wearing name tags, violated the federal constitutional rights of Oregon citizens by arresting them and detaining them without cause while they were exercising their constitutional right to freedom of speech and movement. On its own, the lawsuit is unlikely to have much of a deterrent effect on Trump. A possible next step would be for the state to file a fresh lawsuit challenging not only the officers conduct but their very presence to the extent that they are not protecting federal property or enforcing federal law. A federal court could conceivably issue a declaratory judgement restricting the DHS officers function to its appropriate constitutional limits. There would be a question of whether the state had standing to challenge the officers presence; to address that concern, the state would presumably allege that its citizens were being hampered in the exercise of their rights and that the state was obligated to expend resources on monitoring the DHS officers. Nonetheless, any lawsuit will be hard to win as long as the Trump administration can state some legitimate basis for the presence of the DHS officers. It might make a difference that Trump has been talking openly about these federal agents as though they were ordinary crime fighters, a function clearly outside their constitutional authority, or his. Some lower federal courts have on occasion treated Trumps pronouncements as indicating his intent for purposes of constitutional analysis. However, it is also very possible that courts would want to avoid getting into the business of monitoring federal officials as they do their jobs across the nation. The upshot of all this is that Trump has once again found a soft spot in the system of constitutional order that he can exploit for what he hopes will be political gain. That said, the effort could potentially backfire even with his hardline supporters. Federalism is traditionally a conservative standpoint in U.S. politics. At least some Trump voters have libertarian instincts and will not like the idea of unidentified federal officers roaming around and making arrests. They have a constitutional point. The challenge now is to see if the courts can help draw a line that protects the Constitution while preserving appropriate executive discretion for future, more normal presidents. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Noah Feldman is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist and host of the podcast Deep Background. He is a professor of law at Harvard University and was a clerk to U.S. Supreme Court Justice David Souter. His books include The Three Lives of James Madison: Genius, Partisan, President. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Last person to see Jason Gale said he showed no signs of being distressed The last person to see supermodel Megan Gale's brother before he went missing more than a week ago says he showed no signs of being distressed. Family, friends and West Australian police are desperately searching for Jason 'Galey' Gale, the 49-year-old 'very private' sibling of one of Australia's most famous women. Mr Gale was reported to be 'really struggling' before his disappearance, having witnessed a colleague's death in a gruesome workplace incident and grieving his pet dog's death. But when he stopped to buy petrol and water at the Popanyinning General Store 180km south-east of Perth on Tuesday July 14, owner Stan Maughan said Mr Gale looked fine. He pulled up to the bowser just before 10am and the short stop in the bush town was the last time he was seen. Mr Maughan told The West Australian the 49-year-old filled up his Honda CR-V and entered the store about ten minutes before 10am. 'He got one bottle of water. It was $50 worth of fuel and $3 for the water. He was doing a bit of fidgeting there while he was waiting for me,' the store owner said. 'He was stretching and walking around but a lot of people do that. He was quite cool.' Megan Gale (left and right) is the supermodel younger sister of Mr Gale - but unlike his star sister, the tradesman is described as 'very private'. Ms Gale has, via a spokesperson, thanked family, friends and workmates for searching for her sibling, who lived on his own in WA When Gale stopped to buy petrol and water at the Popanyinning General Store (pictured) on Tuesday July 14, owner Stan Maughan said the missing man looked fine Mr Maughan described Mr Gale's clothing as 'ordinary civvies' and said he wasn't wearing anything too 'flash'. Mr Gale did not talk to any of the other customers in the store during his two-to-three minute stop. 'Then he just casually went out, hopped in his car and drove north,' he said. Narrogin police have examined the store's CCTV footage to examine whether someone else had been in the car. The industrial mechanic was known for 'going bush' but Gale's friend Belinda Murray said he had never disappeared like this before. 'He hasn't been the same since witnessing the death of a co-worker a few years ago, then the death of his beloved Doberman (dog) Badge on top of that,' she said. 'I wouldn't be so worried normally if it hadn't been for that terrible accident and what it did to him.' Murray said Gale lived on his own and his dog Badge was his constant companion, 'but he has passed away as well, so Jason will be feeling very isolated inside'. A security camera still showing Mr Gale and his car in Pingelly, where he picked up water and petrol about 9.40am on June 14 Ms Murray said Mr Gale 'really struggled' after the tragic 2018 incident at a wastewater plant south of Perth. Daily Mail Australia understands Mr Gale was one of a group colleagues who were there with the victim when he was struck and killed by a pipe. WHAT POLICE KNOW ABOUT JASON GALE'S DISAPPEARANCE Mr Gale was last seen on Tuesday, July 14, in Pingelly, south-east of Fremantle, Western Australia. He was behind the wheel of a 1999 silver Honda CR-V sedan, with plates 1BOI107. Mr Gale, from Bibra Lake, is known to frequent areas including Collie, Pemberton, Manjimup Bindoon, Gin Gin, Narrogin and Wandoo. Advertisement Ms Murray said Mr Gale is 'such a gentle soul' and was a 'very skilled, very clever' mechanical maintenance worker. Friends believe it would not be out of character for Mr Gale to have 'gone bush' but said he might have 'gotten a bit lost' in the process. He 'loved all nature and animals,' according to Ms Murray, and 'wouldn't hurt anyone or anything'. Mr Gale's famous sister lives in Melbourne with her family and has passed on their appreciation to everyone searching for her sibling. 'They (the Gale family) thank everyone for their support especially Jason's neighbours, close friends and work colleagues who have been assisting,' manager Lara Messenger said. Mr Gale, her mother, May, and the rest of her family live in the West and have kept low public profiles despite her incredible international success. A West Australian Police Force spokesperson said Mr Gale was last seen about 9.40am on July 14 in Pingelly. He was driving a 1999 silver-coloured Honda CR-V SUV, with plates 1BOI107 He is described as Caucasian, 180cm tall, with short grey-brown curly hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information regarding his whereabouts is urged to call 131444 immediately. For confidential crisis support, contact Lifeline on 13 11 14. An affectionate letter from Sir Winston Churchill to his first great love has come to light. The future wartime prime minister was a 22-year-old junior officer when he met Pamela Bulwer-Lytton (nee Plowden), Countess of Lytton, in India in 1896. He was instantly infatuated, and told his mother in a letter on October 26, 1896 that she was 'the most beautiful girl I have ever seen - bar none'. They dated for several years and the future Prime Minister is said to have proposed marriage to her in a punt on the river at Warwick Castle. Although she declined, a letter has now revealed that they were still good friends 60 years later. In the letter, dated July 13, 1957, he refers to her as 'dear Pamela' and signs off with: 'You were wonderful as a companion.' Winston Churchill was a 22-year-old junior officer when he met Pamela Bulwer-Lytton (nee Plowden), Countess of Lytton, in India in 1896 An affectionate letter from Sir Winston Churchill to his first great love has come to light. He was a 22 year old junior officer when he met Pamela Bulwer-Lytton Churchill also comments on the death of the British physicist Frederick Lindemann, his scientific advisor during World War Two. He wrote: 'Poor 'Prof' was a great sorrow to those who knew him & worked with him. 'We had a jolly dinner together notwithstanding.' Lindemann supposedly often quarrelled with other advisers and bureaucrats, but maintained a close friendship with Churchill which began in the early 1920s. They saw each other almost daily during the war and also worked together during Churchill's post-war peaceful administration. The one page handwritten letter, marked 'private', has been signed with his initials WSC and was sent from his Kent country house Chartwell. It is now being sold by a private collector with International Autograph Auction, of Malaga, Spain, where it is expected to fetch 1,500. Auctioneer Francisco Pinero said: 'The letter from Churchill to his early lover is of interest to collectors as it is a far more personal letter than those that are usually encountered, which tend to be much more formal. 'He felt personal sorrow at the death of his colleague Frederick Lindemann, which had occurred ten days earlier.' June 1961: Sir Winston and Lady Churchill leaving their Hyde Park Gate home for an Ascot race meeting Pamela married Victor Bulwer-Lytton, the 2nd Earl of Lytton, in 1902, with Churchill tying the knot with Clementine Hozier six years later. Churchill, who was serving with the 4th Hussars, was first introduced to Pamela at a polo tournament in Hyderabad. The society beauty who appeared on the front page of County Life Pamela Chichele Plowden was born in British India in 1874 as the son of the aristocrat Sir Trevor Chichele Plowden and Millicent Frances Foster. A society beauty, she first caught Churchill's eye in 1896, and they dated for several years before she turned down her marriage proposal on a punt in the river by Warwick Castle. Pamela married Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, in 1902 at St Margaret's Church in Westminster. The couple lived in India for periods throughout their marriage, including when Victor was Governor of Bengal from 1922 to 1927. Pamela appeared on the front page of County Life in 1911 alongside her youngest daughter, whose full name was Lady Davidema Katharine Cynthia Mary Millicent Bulwer-Lytton. She was later appointed Dame of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. She was also awarded the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, which is the only British order of chivalry exclusively for women. Pamela died in 1971, six years after Churchill's passing. Advertisement Their first date was an elephant ride through Hyderabad, and afterwards he frequently dined with the Plowdens, providing a welcome change from Army rations. On November 28, 1898, Churchill wrote a letter to her from Egypt in which he touched on a sensitive topic in their relationship. He wrote: 'One thing I take exception to in your letter. Why do you say I am incapable of affection? Perish the thought. I love one above all others. 'And I shall be constant. I am no fickle gallant capriciously following the fancy of the hour. My love is deep and strong. Nothing will ever change it.' The pair corresponded while Churchill was stationed in South Africa during the Second Boer War but when they both returned to England, she turned down his offer of marriage. Churchill later met his wife, Clementine, at a ball in 1904, before meeting her for a second time at a dinner party in 1908. He proposed that same year. Pamela married Victor Bulwer-Lytton, 2nd Earl of Lytton, in 1902 at St Margaret's Church in Westminster. The couple lived in India for periods throughout their marriage, including when Victor was Governor of Bengal from 1922 to 1927. A society beauty, Pamela appeared on the front page of County Life in 1911 alongside her youngest daughter, whose full name was Lady Davidema Katharine Cynthia Mary Millicent Bulwer-Lytton. Pamela was later appointed Dame of Grace of the Most Venerable Order of the Hospital of St. John of Jerusalem. She was also awarded the Imperial Order of the Crown of India, which is the only British order of chivalry exclusively for women. She died in 1971, six years after Churchill's passing. The sale takes place tomorrow. EMMET COUNTY, MI A Michigan man was arrested after a year-long investigation revealed he allegedly sent sexually abusive material to a minor on Snapchat. Aaron Matthew Aument, 23, of Allendale has been charged with one count of accosting a child for immoral purposes and one count of possession of child sexually abusive material. The lengthy investigation into Aument by the Michigan State Police posts in Gaylord and Rockford began in July 2019 when the parent of the victim informed troopers that their child had been sending an unknown man explicit photos on the popular instant video and photo sharing app, Snapchat. Police say the child received and accepted a friend request from a stranger after which the conversations eventually became sexual in nature. The victim was eventually coerced to send explicit photographs of herself, according to police, and the victim also received explicit photos from suspect. Auments cell phone was seized, and several search warrants were executed for evidence through Snapchat. The MSP Computer Crimes Unit completed the forensic exams on the electronic devices to find further evidence. Aument was brought to Emmet County this month to face charges. He was arraigned in the 90th District Court in Emmet County on July 16. His cash bond was set at $25,000. His next scheduled court appearance is on July 29 at 9:15 a.m. READ MORE: Wrong turn into U.P. turns into prison sentence for Canadian opium smuggler Man arrested for drunken driving causing injury after crash near Michigan speedway President of the European Council Charles Michel (L) meets with (from R) Czech Republic's Prime Minister Andrej Babis, Poland's Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki, Hungary's Prime Minister Viktor Orban and Slovakia's Prime Minister Peter Pellegrini during an European Union Council in Brussels on July 19, 2020. (Francois Walschaerts/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) EU Summit Breaks Up After All-Night Talks, to Resume Later BRUSSELSWeary and bleary European Union leaders temporarily broke up their summit at dawn on the fourth day of acrimonious haggling over an unprecedented 1.85 trillion-euro ($2.1 trillion) EU budget and coronavirus recovery fund to tackle the crisis. They committed to picking up the fight again later on July 20. In a two-day summit scheduled to have ended on July 18, deep ideological differences between 27 leaders forced the talks into July 19 and then through the night until the sun came up again over the EU capital. Grumpy, some leaders lashed out at each other when the common middle ground was still out of reach. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, defending the cause of a group of five wealthy northern nations seeking to limit costs and strict reform guarantees, came under criticism from Italy and Hungary, whose Prime Minister Viktor Orban asked why the Dutchman had such hate toward him. Rutte took it in stride. We are not here because we are going to be visitors at each others birthday party later. We are here because we do business in our own country. We are all pros, he said. The leaders were teetering on the brink of collapse though, Rutte said, before things somewhat turned around before dawn on July 20. It looks more hopeful than when I thought during the night: Its over,' he said. On the night of July 19, after three days of fruitless talks, EU Council president Charles Michel implored leaders to overcome their fundamental divisions and agree on the budget and recovery fund. Are the 27 EU leaders capable of building European unity and trust or, because of a deep rift, will we present ourselves as a weak Europe, undermined by distrust, he asked the leaders at the end of another day of divisive negotiations. The text of the behind-closed-doors speech was obtained by The Associated Press. I wish that we succeed in getting a deal and that the European media can headline tomorrow that the EU succeeded in a Mission Impossible, Michel said. But early on the fourth day of talksthe summit was meant to last only twothe leaders still had not reached a compromise. As dawn broke on July 20, they were still haggling over the size and terms of the recovery fund. The debate centered on whether needy nations should get between 375 billion euros to 390 billion euros in grants, officials said. Even with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron negotiating as the closest of partners, the traditionally powerful Franco-German alliance could not get the blocs 27 quarreling nations in line. At their dinner table on the night of July 19, the leaders could mull a proposal from the five wealthy northern nationsthe Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Sweden, and Denmarkthat suggested a coronavirus recovery fund with 350 million euros of grants and the same amount again in loans. The five EU nations nicknamed the frugalhad long opposed any grants at all. We are ready to take the leap from loans to subsidies. If there are reforms, they need to be strictly defined. And, two, they need to be able to be enforced, Rutte said. The pandemic has sent the EU into a tailspin, killing around 135,000 of its citizens and plunging its economy into an estimated contraction of 8.3 percent this year. The blocs executive has proposed a 750 billion-euro coronavirus fund, partly based on common borrowing, to be sent as loans and grants to the countries hit hardest by the pandemic. That comes on top of the seven-year 1 trillion-euro EU budget that leaders have been haggling over for months even before the pandemic hit. All nations agree they need to band together, but the five richer countries in the north, led by the Netherlands, want strict controls on spending, while struggling southern nations such as Spain and Italy say those conditions should be kept to a minimum. Rutte has long been known as a European bridge builder, but this weekend, his tough negotiating stance was being blamed for holding up a deal. He and his allies have been pushing for the labor market and pension reforms to be linked to EU handouts and a brake enabling EU nations to monitor and, if necessary, halt projects that are being paid for by the recovery fund. He cant ask us to do specific reforms, Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said, complaining it may look like hes a hero in his home nation, but nowhere else. Rutte also wants a link to be made between the handout of EU funds and the rule of lawa connection aimed at Poland and Hungary, countries with right-wing populist governments that many in the EU think are sliding away from democratic rule. That drew Orban into anger. I dont know what is the personal reason for the Dutch prime minister to hate me or Hungary, but hes attacking so harshly and making very clear that because Hungary, in his opinion, does not respect the rule of law, [it] must be punished financially, Orban said. By Raf Casert & Mike Corder Egypt has agreed with Ethiopia and Sudan to prioritise reaching a binding deal on the filling and operating of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), a statement from the Egyptian presidency read on Tuesday following an African mini-summit on the issue. It was agreed to continue the negotiations in the current time to reach a binding legal agreement on the rules of filling and operating the Renaissance Dam, while work will continue later to reach a comprehensive agreement on the types of joint cooperation between the three countries concerning the use of the Nile, the Egyptian statement read. Over years of negotiations, Ethiopia has always backtracked on signing a binding deal, including during the talks brokered by Washington that faltered in February, and the round of talks in June that led to Egypt's escalating the matter to the United Nations Security Council. Cairo, Addis Ababa and Khartoum said that they have agreed to resume technical talks concerning some outstanding issued following the Tuesday summit between the three countries, but without giving more details about the date. The mini-summit was hosted by South Africa President Cyril Ramaphosa, the current head of the African Union, and saw the participation of five other African heads of state as observers. The Egyptian statement also highlighted President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisis appreciation for the efforts of Ramaphosa, and stressed "the continued sincere desire of Egypt to achieve progress on the contentious issues, which are essential in any fair and balanced agreement reached on the Renaissance Dam." The statement said that doing so requires the political will to agree on the outstanding issues to reach a desired agreement and achieve the common interest between the three countries. In a separate statement, Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok also said that the technical talks on the mega-dam would be resumed. First-year filling target achieved In a statement on Tuesday, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed said that its first-year target for filling the GERD has been reached, and that Egypt and Sudan have agreed to further technical discussions on outstanding issues as part of an African-led process. The statement said that the current rainfall and runoff situation in the region have made it "conducive" to fill the dam, and that it has become evident over the past two weeks in the rainy season that GERD first year filling is achieved and the dam under construction is already overtopping. I appreciate my brothers [Hamdok and El-Sisi] for common understanding reached on continuing technical discussion on filling, Abiy tweeted on his official account on Tuesday. Tensions had escalated last week after reports that Ethiopia had begun filling the dams reservoir, based on an officials claim that was later retracted. Ethiopian state TV had quoted the countrys Water Minister Seleshi Bekele as saying that the country had started to fill the GERDs reservoir. Hours later, however, the minister denied that the filling process had started. Satellite images of the Ethiopian dam showed its swelling reservoir, while Sudan said it had recorded a decline in the water level of the Blue Nile coming from Ethiopia. Egypt has voiced its concern over Ethiopia's failure to address rules regulating the filling and operation of the GERD during drought and dry years. Cairo is also concerned about future projects on the Blue Nile, a main tributary of the Nile, and demands binding dispute settlement mechanisms, which Addis Ababa has refused to include in a deal. Despite the repeated concerns of both Egypt and Sudan, Ethiopian officials, including Abiy, had stated that the GERD filling operation would start with or without an agreement. 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 or dry years. Ethiopia, on the other hand, says the project is key to its development Sudanese proposal on future projects Hamdok also revealed on Tuesday that Sudan had reasserted its rejection of any unilateral actions concerning the filing of the dam. In addition, in press statements reported by the Sudanese news agency SUNA, Sudans Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas announced that the experts appointed by the African Union in the last round of the talks had supported Sudans suggestion concerning future projects on the Blue Nile. According to Abbas, Ethiopia's argument is that a binding agreement on the dam would restrict any future development on the Blue Nile, but the Sudanese suggestion gives Ethiopia the right for future development projects, whether reservoirs or other projects, on the condition that those projects are in compliance with international water law and the downstream countries are notified. The Sudanese irrigation minister said that if the suggestion was approved, it would give Ethiopia the right to amend some numbers concerning the operations of the dam, and would disengage the two demands for first filling and operation and the right to future development projects. Abbas added that Ethiopia had promised to consider the Sudanese proposal and that solving the main issue would facilitate reaching a compromise on the other issues. Search Keywords: Short link: , We're sorry, this article is not currently available The British government failed to investigate whether Russia interfered in the Brexit referendum and a full intelligence inquiry must now take place, a panel of lawmakers said. Members of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee accused ministers of deliberately avoiding the question because they did not want to know whether Russia had tried to interfere in the European Union referendum. The government dismissed the findings and refused to authorize a retrospective investigation into the 2016 vote on European Union membership. The recommendation for a full-scale review into Brexit is a key point in a long-delayed report on Russian involvement in British politics by the watchdog which oversees the work of the U.K. intelligence agencies. It is a politically explosive subject and one that Prime Minister Boris Johnson will be reluctant to revisit. The aftermath of the referendum split the country, leading to years of turmoil and uncertainty for business and bringing down two prime ministers. Johnson, who led the controversial pro-Brexit campaign, is now in charge and seeking to negotiate a future trade deal with the EU. He will want to avoid reopening the debate about the vote as he has pledged to move the country on from the past divisions over Brexit. But the panel of politicians said a full inquiry -- with findings made public -- would be essential. "It is important to establish whether a hostile state took deliberate action with the aim of influencing a U.K. democratic process, irrespective of whether it was successful or not," the ISC report said. Members of the panel criticized the government for failing to try to establish what had happened sooner. "The report reveals that no one in government knew if Russia interfered or sought to influence the referendum because they did not want to know," Stewart Hosie, a Scottish Nationalist member of Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee said in a briefing. "The committee found it astonishing that no one in government had sought beforehand to protect the referendum from such attempts or investigate afterwards what attempts to influence it there may have been." The study, which was delayed by nine months, threatens to further damage relations between London and Moscow, which have been in deep trouble since the 2018 Salisbury poisonings. Last week, the U.K. accused Russia of trying to interfere in the 2019 election and presented findings, backed by the U.S. and Canada, of Russian hackers' attempts to steal coronavirus vaccine research. In its report, the ISC said Russia is so embedded in the British establishment that attempts to curb its influence are focused on damage limitation rather than prevention. The committee found the British government has failed to tackle the threat to democracy from Russian interference. The cross-party committee called for a full intelligence report on Russian attempts to influence the 2016 Brexit referendum along similar lines to investigations in the U.S. into meddling in its democracy. Some sections on the ISC report that deal with the Brexit vote were redacted. In its response, Johnson's government said it had so far seen nothing that warranted an inquiry into Brexit. "We have seen no evidence of successful interference in the EU Referendum," the government said in a written statement. Ministers will always consider "new information" and how to use "any intelligence" they receive, the government said. "Given this long standing approach, a retrospective assessment of the EU Referendum is not necessary." The ISC report examines the sweeping extent of Russia's involvement in British public life. It said the U.K. intelligence services were too focused on counter-terrorism and not enough on protecting democracy. "Russian influence in the U.K. is 'the new normal', and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the U.K. business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth," the report said. "This level of integration -- in 'Londongrad' in particular -- means that any measures now being taken by the Government are not preventative but rather constitute damage limitation." The Russian government dismissed report before it was published. It will contain "more unfounded accusations" against Russia, Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov told reporters on a conference call earlier on Tuesday. "I hope that at least this time -- after the rich experience of Britain's allies with investigations of interference, which later led to negative results and didn't confirm anything -- at least that there'll be some documents devoid of unfounded accusations and insinuations." "Russia has never interfered in the electoral processes of any country in the world: not in the United States, not in the United Kingdom, nor in other countries," Peskov said. "We don't do this ourselves and we don't tolerate it when other countries try to interfere in our political affairs." Many in the intelligence community regard the findings as already out of date. Yet Johnson, who said last year he had read the document, dragged his feet over its publication, only agreeing the nomination of new members for the committee needed to publish it earlier this month. "The U.K. is clearly a target for Russia's disinformation campaigns and political influence operation," the report said. "Its lack of democracy and rule of law allows its intelligence agencies to act quickly, without constraint or consideration." The prime minister's eventual efforts to reconvene the cross-party panel with a friendly chairman were embarrassingly thwarted last week, when members voted for Conservative MP Julian Lewis, instead of former Transport Secretary Chris Grayling. Lewis was promptly kicked out of the Party for standing against Johnson's chosen candidate. The lawyer that shot and killed the son of a federal judge may have been hunting down his enemies after learning he'd been diagnosed with cancer. Law enforcement officials believe Roy Den Hollander a "men's rights" attorney that once sued bars and nightclubs for offering "ladies' nights" on the grounds that it violated the 14th Amendment was responsible for shooting federal Judge Esther Salas' husband and son after breaking into their home. Ms Salas' son was killed in the shooting. Investigators are now exploring a possible link between threats and attacks on other lawyers to Den Hollander, according to the New York Post. When police found Hollander dead in his car from a presumed self-inflicted gunshot wound, they also found a photo of New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore. Investigators have not indicated that they believe Ms DiFiore was a target. Recommended Son of US federal judge killed and husband wounded in attack by gunman In another incident, attorney Marc Angelucci another men's rights' attorney was killed in his California home by someone posing as a delivery man. Investigators are exploring whether or not the murder was tied to Den Hollander. Harry Crouch, the president of the National Coalition for Men and a friend of Mr Angelucci, told CBS Los Angeles that he "immediately saw a link" and claimed that Den Hollander was once a member of the organisation, but was removed after threatening Mr Crouch. "But I want to be real clear, [Den Hollander is] not a NCFM member. Why isn't he? Because I threw him out five or six years ago, because he was a nut job," Mr Crouch said. Den Hollander held deeply bigoted opinions towards women. The attorney's website contained a 152-page manifesto he called the "Evolutionarily Correct Cyclopedia" filled with rants and veiled threats aimed at women and "Political Commies." Included in his ravings were references to acts of revenge he wanted to mete out to his enemies. "Death's hand is on my left shoulder ... nothing in life matters anymore," Den Hollander wrote. "The only problem with a life lived too long under Feminazi rule is that a man ends up with so many enemies he can't even the score with all of them." In another chilling entry, Den Hollander said that "things begin to change when individual men start taking out those specific persons responsible for destroying their lives before committing suicide." Law enforcement officials are investigating whether Hollander's acts of violence were a revenge plot ignited by his terminal illness. There is no competition. Armando Rubio and Kenneth Niedermeier have become the favorite couple of this season of 90 Day Fiance: The Other Way. Even fellow members of the cast like Brittany Banks are obsessed with them. On the July 20, episode of the show, the two were finally reunited. And while the initial reunion was beautiful, there were a number of red flags that started to show up. 90 Day Fiance Kenneth Niedermeier and Armando Rubio | TLC Kenneth and Armando gave up a lot to be together One reason fans have been so obsessed with the couple is that they have each gone through so much to be together. Rubio came out to his parents so that Niedermeier could move to Mexico. I havent talked to my family in three years about me being gay, because Ive heard comments about them still not accepting it, still not wanting to see it, he said on the show. Im very scared. I dont know what to expect. I just do not want them to keep denying it. When he did come out, it was an extremely emotional moment that left both his family and viewers in tears. As you know, weve talked about it once before, he said to his parents. Ive spent my whole life hiding who I am. I know that maybe having been married may have confused you, but I did it for you so that people wouldnt talk about you. There were nights where I cried alone because of hiding who I was. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: All the Signs That Brittany Banks and Yazans Relationship Is Headed Toward Disaster Rubio wasnt the only one who gave things up for the relationship. Niedermeier is extremely close to his children and grandchild. In fact, one of his daughters and his grandson were living with him before he decided to move. But he left them all behind to be with Rubio. Kenneth isnt adjusting to Mexico so well At the beginning of the episode, Rubio and Niedermeier were excited to see one another. To give up everything for one personI never would have dreamed I ever would have done something like this in my life, Niedermeier told the cameras. But Niedermeier was also quick to note that there will be a lot of things he will have to get used to, like his house not having central heating or air and the bank being a 30-minute drive away. I realize Im going to have to make a lot of adjustments after moving here to Mexico, he said.I just hope it wont take me a long time. As the episode went on, it was revealed that Niedermeier knew almost no Spanish and was not really used to the differences in living in Mexico. Its rundown, he said of the area. It looks like someplace I would avoid in the States but this is where Im living now. RELATED: 90 Day Fiance: How Does Ariela Really Feel About Biniyam After Learning He Has an American Ex-Wife and Son? When the two went out to eat, Niedermeier was shocked to realize that most of the food he would be eating from now on would be Mexican food. In America, restaurants serve all different kinds of things, he told the cameras. So does every restaurant here just serve Mexican? Niedermeier also had to depend on Rubio to order and translate everything for him. I am surprised how uncomfortable I feel because I have been here on vacation but I guess its the mindset that its vacation, hes paying and ordering for me, he said. But now that Im here, Im realizing that this is my life and I cant live my life through him. Somehow, someway, I have to get by and its scary. Hopefully, Niedermeier is able to adjust quickly, or else a lot of fans are going to be disappointed. Victorian businesses relying on wage subsidies to survive the COVID-19 pandemic fear they will have to lay off staff and take longer to recover under the revised JobKeeper scheme. "Were a JobKeeper business at the moment," says Sarah Moran, chief executive and co-founder of Melbourne-based tech start-up Girl Geek Academy, one of many small businesses that will be worse off under changes to the JobKeeper program from October. Sarah Moran's tech business is reliant on the JobKeeper subsidy Credit:Chris Hopkins Girl Geek Academy, founded in 2014, provides technology education for women and girls across the country. Ms Moran says it had an annual turnover of about $650,000 and was "thriving" before COVID-19 but since March had lost 99 per cent of its trade. As long as travel restrictions and social-distancing measures remain in place, Girl Geek Academy, which runs face-to-face workshops, can only survive thanks to government support. Bengaluru, July 21 : The Karnataka government will conduct the Common Entrance Test (CET) for admission into professional courses on July 30 and 31 despite the Covid pandemic and opposition from some sections of students and parents, said a Minister on Tuesday. "The state government will be taking all the precautionary measures in conducting the CET as it did during the SSLC examination," said Deputy Chief Minister and Minister for Higher Education C. N. Ashwathnarayan. As many as 1.94 lakh students are expected to write the entrance test at 120 places in 497 centres across the southern state. Of the 1.94 lakh, 40,200 students are expected to write the exam at 83 centres in Bengaluru. Already, more than 1.3 lakh students have downloaded their hall tickets in preparation for the examination. According to Ashwathnarayan, the Kannada test for Gadinadu students will be held on August 1st. The 188 Gadinadu students who are supposed to appear for KCET are required to come to Bengaluru. "We have made arrangements for them to write the exams at the centres in border areas such as Bellary, Belagavi, Bengaluru, Mangaluru and Bidar," he said. Gadinadu people are Kannadigas living in other states. Meanwhile, the government has postponed PG-CET and Diploma - CET examinations as final year exams are yet to be held for the students. "The fresh dates will be decided after the final year exams of the PG and Diploma courses will be held," said the Deputy Chief Minister. CET counselling and verification of documents will be held online this year, enabling the students to complete these formalities from their homes itself. "Finally, they can directly go to the colleges they have decided to get the admission. The admission process has already begun in all the universities. Likewise, activities at the Department of Higher Education have also started," said Ashwathnarayan. Another Black Lives Matter march is due "next week" (Sydney protest not COVID-19 risk, July 21). I support the cause but this is not the time with all that is going on. Please. Think about what you are marching for. If black lives matter, then getting together in big numbers at this time is posing a very real threat that black lives will be needlessly and tragically sacrificed to this virus. I promise you the march will be viewed by the majority as totally irresponsible when you really need majority support. Please reconsider the timing, for all our sakes. - Leigh Botterill, Balgowlah The BLM protest scheduled for next Tuesday cannot be allowed to proceed. The lives of all who dwell in NSW are at risk when 4000-5000 people disregard the safety and well-being of others. It is reckless endangerment and appalling timing. - John Partridge, Manly Inmates before profits Privatisation is killing people, especially black people (Jail death prompts familiar questions, July 21). Serco and any company that secures a contract to supply services has only one thing in mind: profit. We have seen it many times, shareholders first, inmates down the list when governments abrogate their responsibilities, but we get what we vote for. - Steve Johnson, Elizabeth Beach Face up to virtual reality While our leaders have generally done a good job (Letters, July 20) with the COVID-19 catastrophe, Australians generally seem to have lost respect for our politicians. However, there are moments when it is clear as to why. Why refuse to hold virtual meetings or some other means of Parliament sittings? The general public is expected to do this. Obviously much is lost by not being able to discuss things one on one with a colleague, but surely some things could be dealt with in a virtual get-together. Why have politicians not taken a pay cut? Many in society have had to trim their financial sails. It would be nice to see some respect regained in an otherwise largely cynically disillusioned society. - Joanna van Kool, Crows Nest People are essential The words "automated kiosk" capture the insidious way in which self-service culture is taking over aspects of our lives and removing people from essential social interactions (Australia Post cagey on staff spying claims, July 21). Those charging forward to replace the post office with an array of automated voices need to consider the needs of all in our communities inclusive of the elderly, those from non-English speaking backgrounds and people with disabilities who visit the post office for help, to ask questions, seek advice and solve problems. - Rod Leonarder, Roseville Science is key: ask an HIV survivor As a long term survivor of HIV/AIDS (I was one of the first 400 people diagnosed with HIV/AIDS in 1984) I am flabbergasted at the reaction in many quarters to the mandatory wearing of face masks in Victoria (Premier expresses frustration as clusters double, July 21). It is not a matter of freedom of speech or taking away our rights, it is medical science and the government trying to save lives. It is exactly the same as back in 1984 when medical science and the government encouraged people to wear condoms to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS. This prevented the AIDS pandemic from taking countless thousands of lives in Australia until medical science was able to give us the modern miraculous medications we have now. Had that knowledge about condom use been available before 1984, I, for one, would certainly have taken heed and saved myself considerable pain and suffering over the last 36 years. Medical science and the Victorian Premier, backed by the federal Health Minister and his Chief Medical Officer, are all trying to save lives. Making face mask use mandatory isn't being done for political benefit, it is being done as one of the tools to help prevent the spread of this ghastly virus. Wake up people. - David Polson, Potts Point The Premier expresses her frustration with those ignoring social distancing as NSW is on the verge of a disastrous rise in daily infections. Tightening a few regulations is simply not good enough. She has too many members of her cabinet unable to send a united message to the people. The Premier has to show stronger leadership and stop dithering before this current outbreak spreads like wildfire. - Denis Suttling, Newport Beach With the likelihood of compulsory face masks being introduced it is hoped that grants and assistance to small business continues. Our daughter runs a bistro where the kitchen staff wear masks every day. On July 9 she purchased 100 for $35.95 including delivery. Last night she went to order another 100 but the price is now $99.90. Without the continuation of government assistance how will the profiteers flogging these essential items make a profit? - Helen Lyons-Riley, Springwood Masks do afford some protection to the wearer, we are now told by medical experts. This was known as front-line health workers were issued with masks as part of their Personal Protection Equipment (PPE), from the beginning of the pandemic. But the Premier Gladys Berejiklian and senior Health Department officials persistently advised against the public wearing of masks as there was no need and could cause a false sense of security. Surely, now the Premier will fully support and mandate the wearing of masks in public. Her government's handling of the pandemic has been found wanting in a number of instances including the Ruby Princess and Newmarch Nursing Home fiascos. She dithered over closing the Victorian border for many days which allowed new pockets of virus into NSW and which are now spreading. Time to get serious and not wait until the crisis stage. - John Morrison, Kings Point There seems to be a disconnect between evidence and action currently with regard to wearing masks. A correctly made mask reduces the aerosol spread from 1.5-2 metres to 10cm and cuts the infection rate for the wearer by 60-70 per cent. Put these two together and a mask wearer is lessening the infection rate many times. However, without the direction from the top and that means by Scott Morrison and Gladys Berejeklian, this message is not reaching the public. I have made my masks and wear them, but see very few others doing the same. All the elastic has disappeared from the shops but is apparently not being used for masks. It is time NSW pulled its socks up and got serious about COVID-19, or rather put on the masks and banned the mass close social mixing that has been going on for the past weeks. If not we will be in for months more of rising infections and deaths mostly of our vulnerable elderly and the economy will still be in tatters. - Pamela Wood, McMahons Point Talk about mixed messages. The Premier says she is dismayed at the number of people going about business as normal but it was the government that took their foot off the brakes and opened the pubs, clubs restaurants and gyms to hundreds of people and kept their borders open. Then, when the people go to these venues, she says they are being irresponsible. If they wanted people to stay home, why open up venues and allow hundreds of people to gather? The people are only doing what the government encouraged. People are not perfect and there will be some that make mistakes or do the wrong thing, but I believe the majority are caring, responsible people just doing what the government encouraged. The reactionary process of letting go of the brakes, careering towards the edge and then futilely stamping on the brakes is madness. Slow and steady should have been the way forward, and if and when we manage to bring this latest threat under control, that will be the progress for the road ahead. - Joy Paterson, Mount Annan Sadly the name calling and stupidity regarding wearing face masks doesn't just apply to Asians (Why we shouldn't see face masks as an Asian thing, Herald, July 21). My husband and I are over 75-year-old Caucasians and face regular derision and ridicule by uneducated people about wearing masks. This group, plus the anti-vaxxers and others of their ilk, are why Australia is nowhere near containment of this virus nor will be until a vaccine is found. - Elizabeth Kroon, Randwick If we are to eradicate the pandemic, we must all act responsibly. If we are to expect this from the ordinary people, then our senior decision makers must lead by example. Gladys Berejiklian, please resign for your failure to close the border with Victoria in time. - Rasmus Torkel, Rockdale Blowin' hot air A message for President Trump (How Trump ceded control of virus battle, July 21) from the Nobel laureate Robert Zimmerman (aka Bob Dylan): "How many deaths will it take 'til he knows, That too many people have died?" - Anthony Cooper, Armidale Cost-benefit analysis Perhaps while they are not working (Letters, July 20), our parliamentarians should be on the JobKeeper allowance instead of their normal salaries. - Marie Grady, Frenchs Forest Building resentment Perhaps the MLC Building in North Sydney (Letters, July 21) should be preserved as a reminder of how appalling architecture can be sometimes. - Tony Powell, MacMasters Beach Bandit country With the direction the COVID-19 outbreak is taking, the term masked intruder will have lost its sinister overtones and become just any old intruder or perhaps one concerned for their health. - Louise Dolan, Birchgrove Captain Cooked My parents both loved the name William (Letters, July 21) but when I was born Billy Cook was a top jockey, so they decided not to cause embarrassment by naming me after someone "famous". - James Cook, Kalaru Stranded for six months in Bangladesh after going there on a business trip, Nguyen Quoc Toan also contracted the novel coronavirus. Early morning one day in the middle of July Toan folds his blankets and steps outside to catch some sun. After spending eight days in the emergency room with oxygen therapy, the man who feared he would die of the novel coronavirus can now enjoy the summer breeze back home in Vietnam. "In the last seven months I have experienced many things and realized that life is strange and beautiful simultaneously," the 42-year-old engineer says. Born in Hanoi, he now lives in Saigon's District 4 and works for a project funded by the Bangladesh government and the World Bank. After the Lunar New Year in January, the chief consultant to the mechanical engineering team left for the Bangladeshi capital Dhaka, hoping to return to Vietnam on February 28. But a visa issue caused him to miss the return flight, which was then postponed to March 26. But that did not go too well either. In late March the first Covid-19 case was confirmed in Bangladesh, and the government decided to impose a lockdown to contain the pandemic. On March 26, the day of his flight, the country suspended flights to all countries except the U.K. and China. Toan's group, which had four people in the beginning, grew larger after 11 more Vietnamese from construction sites across Dhaka came. The 15, comprising three women, shared a 250-square-meter apartment. Without enough beds in the four-bedroom apartment, some had to sleep on the floor. Stranded, with no idea when they could come return home, and anxiety due to the raging pandemic stressed some of them out, and arguments and conflicts broke out constantly. Toan, understanding that people were worried because they did not know when they could return to Vietnam, tried to comfort his fellows but also told them to stop fretting to reassure their families. After the first week things got better as they realized they had no choice but to put up with the hardship. Nguyen Quoc Toan works out on the roof of his house while stranded in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Quoc Toan. Dividing themselves into groups of three to five people to cook and clean, they bought gloves, protective clothes and face masks for those going out to shop. They went to the supermarket once every four days. When there was too much to carry, they would rent a trolley to bring the stuff home. Toan was working and reporting to his manager, and spending time reading and working out. Every day he would exercise looking at a YouTube video and jog on the roof, and urge his housemates to join. The rooftop quickly became their favorite place as they worked out and watched planes fly in the sky, nursing their dreams of returning home. After more than 100 days they were told there would be a flight to Vietnam on July 2. But the good news from the Vietnamese embassy was quickly replaced by bad: Covid-19 had arrived at their apartment. On June 24 one of the group got a fever. Within five days 14 or 15 of them had Covid-19 symptoms like fever, body ache and tiredness. "We did not think we could be infected since we were taking serious precautions," Toan recalls. They bought medicines, made soup to be given as comfort food, used homemade herbal steam baths, and took care of each other. The fever vanished after two days, giving them reason to believe it was just the flu. At 10 p.m. on July 2 they were taken to Dhaka airport in protective clothes. Nguyen Quoc Toan's group prepares to leave for home from Bangladesh on July 2, 2020. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Quoc Toan. Toan, following his long journey from Dhaka to Van Don International Airport in Quang Ninh Province in northern Vietnam and transfer to a quarantine facility in Thanh Hoa Province, almost passed out of dehydration. The next morning medical workers came to take their samples for testing. On July 5 the results came, and 14 of them had Covid-19. They were taken to the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi immediately. That night Toan felt his body ache, and he struggled to breathe. All he could eat was soup. The next day doctors decided to put him in the emergency room as his oxygen level was too low. "You must breath on your own to increase your oxygen level," they told him. Doctors and nurses were around him that night, but the machine indicated that his oxygen level went too low every 10 minutes. The doctors told him to get down on his knees and lie face down to breathe, but the exhausted Toan could not remain in that position for long. "You must try, you must breathe on your own." "I can only kneel, I have no energy," he complained. The next morning he felt better, but doctors told him his lungs were severely damaged by an acute complication caused by the virus. "You have to try to eat no matter how tired or uncomfortable you are," they told him explaining he had to keep his strength up. Nguyen Quoc Toan recovered after spending several days in the emergency room at the National Hospital for Tropical Diseases in Hanoi. Photo courtesy of Nguyen Quoc Toan. Toan, despite his constant headache and 39-degree Celsius fever and sometimes bloody sputum in the mouth, never skipped a meal. After three nights without sleep, his condition got better. On July 15, after eight days of fighting with death, he could finally be taken off the ventilator and discharged from the emergency room. After losing eight kilograms in 15 days since contracting the disease, he tested negative for the first time. He was so happy that he began to write poetry, something he had never done before. He had been speaking with friends and colleagues around the world, and they had constantly encouraged him to fight the deadly virus. He now wants to spend more time with his family, especially his two young daughters. He plans to meet and thank all the doctors and nurses who helped him get well when they can finally discard their protective clothing for good. "The most valuable thing we have is not a mountain of cash or a massive house, it is our health and the safety of our family," Toan wrote on his Facebook page, saying the Covid-19 infection and the hardship he suffered made him realize those things. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has accused the opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) of being afraid of indictment in the ongoing probe of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the House of Representatives. At a sitting of the House panel conducting the probe on Monday, the NDDC acting Managing Director, Daniel Pondei, suddenly slumped and was rushed to the hospital. In its reaction, the PDP had said the dramatic development underlined the weight of corruption in the ruling party. The situation in the NDDC is just a tip of the iceberg on the humongous corruption, looting spree and concealments going on in ministries, department and agencies of government being perpetrated by @OfficialAPCNg leaders and their cronies, PDP spokesperson, Kola Ologbondinyan, said in a statement on Monday. But the APC has dismissed the statement as self-indicting and a reflection of the PDPs antics during its 16 years in power. In recognition of the ongoing forensic audit and a legislative inquest into the operations of the NDDC, as a party, we have no intention to trade words on how successive PDP administrations and their cronies institutionalised a culture of contract fraud and other corrupt practices which has robbed the Niger Delta region of badly-needed development. We will rather monitor and await the findings of the ongoing audits. The ruling party said it is now clear that no vested interest will continue to turn the NDDC into an Automated Teller Machine ATM while multi-faceted development eludes the Niger Delta region, APCs spokesperson, Yekini Nabena, said. The ruling party accused the main opposition party of attempting to sabotage and frustrate the probe to shade its past misdeeds. The PDPs tales of unbridled treasury looting, illusionary fraud and other fictitious allegations are part of their tired, baseless and tactless attempts to get public reckoning, cover past fraud and play the role of opposition which it has shockingly failed at, Mr Nabena said. He reiterated the partys commitment to President Muhammadu Buhari-led administrations acclaimed total, unsparing fight against corruption. COLUMBUS, Ohio The powerful Republican speaker of the Ohio House and four associates were arrested Tuesday in a $60 million federal bribery case connected to a taxpayer-funded bailout of Ohios two nuclear power plants. Hours after FBI agents raided Speaker Larry Householder's farm, U.S. Attorney David DeVillers described the ploy as "likely the largest bribery scheme ever perpetrated against the state of Ohio." Gov. Mike DeWine, also a Republican, called on Householder to resign immediately, saying it would be impossible for him to be an effective legislative leader given the charges against him. Householder was one of the driving forces behind the nuclear plants' financial rescue, which added a new fee to every electricity bill in the state and directed over $150 million a year through 2026 to the plants near Cleveland and Toledo. Also arrested were Householder adviser Jeffrey Longstreth, longtime Statehouse lobbyist Neil Clark, former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matthew Borges and Juan Cespedes, co-founder of The Oxley Group, a Columbus-based consulting firm. Previous attempts to bail out the nuclear plants had stalled in the Legislature before Householder became speaker. Months after taking over, he rolled out a new plan to subsidize the plants and eliminate renewable energy incentives. The proposal was approved a year ago despite opposition from many business leaders and the manufacturing industry. Generation Now, a group that investigators said was controlled by Householder and successfully fought an effort to put a repeal of the bailout law on Ohio's ballot, was charged as a corporation in the case. A criminal complaint filed by the FBI says Generation Now received $60 million from an unidentified company over the past three years. In exchange, Householder and the other defendants worked to pass the nuclear plant bailout and block attempts to overturn it. Householder and the others used the money to preserve and expand his political power in Ohio, the complaint said. FirstEnergy Corp., whose former subsidiaries owned the plants, donated heavily to Householder's campaigns and his backers in the Ohio House. The utility's political action committee contributed $25,000 to Householder's campaign in 2018, according to an analysis by Common Cause Ohio, a government watchdog. Householder flew to President Donald Trump's inauguration on the company's plane in 2016. Just months later, Householder began receiving quarterly payments of $250,000 from the unidentified company sent through Generation Now, the complaint said. The group then spent millions backing Ohio House candidates who would back Householder's bid for speaker and support the bailout legislation. FirstEnergy Solutions, the subsidiary which has since changed its name to Energy Harbor and now operates the nuclear plants as an independent company, spent millions on lobbying and campaign contributions while trying to persuade federal and state officials to give the nuclear plants a lifeline. FBI agents were at Householder's farm in Glenford on Tuesday morning in rural Perry County. FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren said only that they were carrying out "law enforcement activity." The Perry County Sheriff's Office confirmed that it was assisting. Attempts to reach Householder, Borges and Clark were unsuccessful. A message seeking comment was also left with the House communications office. The defendants appeared in court and were not required to enter a plea. The judge ordered Householder released on his own recognizance and directed him not to obtain a passport, to restrict his travel to the southern half of Ohio and not to contact any other defendants. The judge also ordered him to remove any guns from his home. Similar restrictions were imposed on Longstreth. The next hearing was tentatively set for Aug. 6. Borges has increasingly been on the outs with the Ohio Republican Party establishment since it was taken over by devotees of President Donald Trump. He was recently censured by the party's central committee, including for helping launch a PAC in June to turn out GOP voters for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. The PAC is backed by a group of prominent Republican operatives that include a former White House communications director, Anthony Scaramucci. Clark is one of Ohio's best connected lobbyists, representing a high-powered stable of clients from the pharmaceutical, gambling and alcoholic beverage industries, among others. Cespedes is a former investment officer with the Ohio Treasurer's Office who was appointed by then-Gov. John Kasich as commissioner for the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, where he oversees a team effort to stop discrimination in the state. His term ends July 29. Householder is a veteran state lawmaker who's in his second stint as speaker. He held the same position from 2001 to 2004. He left state politics more than a decade ago because of term limits and returned in 2016 and took up a contentious fight to win back the chamber's top job. At the time he left office, he and several top advisers were under federal investigation for alleged money laundering and irregular campaign practices. The government closed the case without filing charges. Householder is the second Ohio House speaker to come under investigation in just over two years. Former Republican Speaker Cliff Rosenberger was investigated in 2018 amid an FBI inquiry into his travel, lavish lifestyle and a condo he rented from a wealthy GOP donor. Rosenberger, who has maintained he broke no laws, has not been charged, but the investigation remains open. Seewer reported from Toledo. Associated Press Writer Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus and AP/Report for America reporter Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report. Amiri is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. For more coverage, visit our complete coronavirus section here. A Placerville restaurant is receiving backlash for placing signs around its business that encourage customers to not wear masks as coronavirus cases continue to rise throughout the state. Apple Bistro, an American breakfast restaurant and bakery, hoisted signs around its storefront that told customers, No social conditioning. No oxygen deprivation mask. No latex dirty germ spreader. It added, NOT REQUIRED HERE. THIS MAY NOT BE FOR YOU. According to KOVR, the owner said that he disagreed with El Dorado County health rules and that hes not going to implement them. Since March, about 20 complaints for Apple Bistro have been made to the El Dorado County health department, KOVR reported. Some customers even claim they were refused service for wearing a mask. ALSO: An FBI hostage negotiator explains how to persuade people to wear masks He asked me if I had seen the sign, a customer told KOVR. I was definitely not welcomed to stay with my mask on. Other customers took to Yelp to post negative reviews about the signs, while some called for a boycott on Twitter. Twitter user @hterblag1 wrote, #boycott the Apple Bistro in Placerville #wearamask and #socialdistance #Covidiots. Twitter jabs aside, the restaurant is in real jeopardy of losing its business license according to KTXL. The environmental management department of El Dorado County plans to visit the restaurant sometime this week to issue a warning, but they could suspend Apple Bistros license if a second visit is required. El Dorado County is currently not on Californias coronavirus watch list, but reported its first COVID-19 death on Saturday. ALSO: 3 Bay Area counties now on California's coronavirus watch list Its not the first time a restaurant has rejected current health safety guidelines during the pandemic. Last month, The Tuck Box in Monterey County was slapped with penalties up to $35,000 for allowing dine-in service before the county was allowed to do so. Its unclear if Apple Bistro has removed its signs at this time. The restaurant could not be reached for comment by the time of publication. Apple Bistro is located off Highway 50 at 2740 Hwy 50 in Placerville. Susana Guerrero is an SFGATE digital reporter. Email: Susana.Guerrero@sfgate.com | Twitter: @SusyGuerrero3 MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. San Francisco's health director discourages 'hard-to-resist' gatherings Gauging the early impact of Fourth of July gatherings on Bay Area coronavirus spread 'The PPP thing was a joke': Why gov't loans did nothing for this SF neighborhood Were going to be put on the watch list any day now: July 4 COVID-19 transmissions worry officials Calif. Lt. Gov. Kounalakis refutes CNN's characterization of state's virus surge View live politics updates ChevronRight EssilorLuxottica said that despite repeated requests, the target has failed to provide this. GrandVision said it strongly disagreed with the allegations and it remains committed to the deal. Even so, its shares fell 5% on Monday. This drama brings to mind earlier tussles between Italys Luxottica and Frances Essilor, which merged in 2018. Last year, Luxotticas billionaire founder Leonardo Del Vecchio had a bitter falling out with Essilors boss Hubert Sagnieres. At one point Del Vecchio threatened arbitration over alleged breaches of the companies merger agreement. The two have since reached a truce. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Its not clear if the current spat with GrandVision will come to a peaceable end. The requests for information could simply be to help conversations with regulators, as the European Union is investigating the GrandVision deal for potential antitrust violations. The current deadline for the probe to wrap up is August 27. If competition authorities do require remedies, such as selling off stores, having the most up-to-date picture of the business is essential. But surely the two groups would want to work together to minimize the regulatory hurdles. EssilorLuxotticas more aggressive stance might instead be an attempt to renegotiate the deal, either because regulators want large numbers of stores offloaded, jeopardizing its economics, or because in the wake of Covid-19 the price tag now looks too steep. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Indeed, demanding information on how GrandVision has managed the business, and alleging it breached an agreement to keep EssilorLuxottica up to date, has echoes of the argument Sycamore Partners used to walk back its acquisition of Victorias Secret from L Brands Inc. The private equity group argued that actions taken to protect the lingerie retailer during the pandemic actually damaged its value. EssilorLuxottica acquiring GrandVision still has strategic logic, in that it gives the group an optical retail presence in Europe. But the acquisition always looked like a bold move, coming so soon after the companys original merger and the rapprochement between Del Vecchio and Sagnieres. Now the pandemic has made integrating GrandVision even harder. It conducts eye tests in its stores, bringing people into close contact. New, and likely more expensive, ways of working will be needed. This comes as competition intensifies and consumers are pulling in their purse strings, perhaps explaining why Walgreens Boots Alliance Inc. recently said it would close 48 optician practices in the U.K. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement But by being too heavy-handed, EssilorLuxottica risks souring the relationship with GrandVision and puts the deal in peril. It is understandable that it doesnt want to overpay, but it likely doesnt want to jeopardize any strategic benefits it would gain either. The case of Victorias Secret should serve as a cautionary one. In the end, the agreement was terminated, costing Sycamore the opportunity to reinvigorate the famous name. The widespread expectation was that the deal would be renegotiated at a lower price. So EssilorLuxottica should tread carefully if it wants to prevent what happened in bras from taking place in bifocals. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Andrea Felsted is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering the consumer and retail industries. She previously worked at the Financial Times. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) President Rodrigo Duterte, who previously opposed physical classes until a coronavirus vaccine becomes available, has approved the proposal of the Department of Education (DepEd) to hold limited face-to-face classes in areas deemed to have low-risk COVID-19 transmission. The President met with members of the COVID-19 task force on Monday night. Education Secretary Leonor Briones presented the advantages and disadvantages of allowing face-to-face classes in some areas, as she detailed the health protocols to be carried out. "I am with you on this," Duterte told Briones and his Cabinet in the same meeting aired on Tuesday morning. "Let's try to make ourselves productive even how constricted the times are. Okay ako [I am okay with this]." Face-to-face learning can only be carried out starting January 2021, but private schools which have started physical classes last June will be allowed to continue. Briones said local executives and several international schools in the country are requesting for limited face-to-face classes, but students will not be required to attend physically for the entire school week as teachers will also carry out alternative modes of learning. Citing studies, the education chief said children are not as affected by the health pandemic. "Children are not as badly affected by the COVID phenomenon as compared to adults," she said. However, she said minimum health standards will be strictly enforced in schools that will be allowed to hold face-to-face classes. Briones added that schools in areas under moderate general community quarantine will be inspected by DepEd personnel and members of the National Task Force for Coronavirus Disease-2019 (COVID-19) if they can observe minimum health standards, such as having running water wherein students can religiously wash their hands. She also said that public schools will have an easier time adjusting as classrooms are open and without airconditioning, which is ideal to curb the spread of COVID-19. The size of classes also have to be reduced to a maximum of 20 students to observe physical distancing in classrooms. Despite all the precautions to be undertaken, Briones said parents who feel uncomfortable will not be forced to send their children to physically attend classes. Yung mga parents na ayaw ng face-to-face (classes), may choice naman sila sa online halimbawa," she said in a separate media briefing on Tuesday. "Kung hindi pwede ang online dahil hindi pwede ang connectivity nandiyan ang telebisyon, nandiyan ang radyo. [Translation: The parents who don't like face-to-face classes can opt for online learning. In the absence of online connectivity, they can also use the television or radio to learn.] Classes are slated to start on August 24. DepEd reported that over 21 million students have enrolled for school year 2020-2021 compared to last year. But Briones revealed a "phenomenon" in which over 347,000 students of private schools opted to enroll in public schools this year due to the effects of the COVID-19 crisis to their parents' livelihood. "The private schools have been affected by the downturn in the economy," the secretary said. "There are parents who lost their jobs and cannot already fund the studies of the students." The Philippines has a total of 68,898 confirmed COVID-19 cases, with 23,072 recoveries and 1,835 deaths as of Tuesday. By Online Desk Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon, a veteran political figure in Uttar Pradesh where he had served as a cabinet minister, died at a hospital in Lucknow early Tuesday. The 85-year-old was admitted to the hospital on June 11 with breathing problems, fever and difficulty in urination. was getting treated in Lucknow since last month. He died at 5:35 am in Medanata Hospital, according to his son Ashutosh Tandon, a UP cabinet minister. According to reports, Tandon was admitted to the hospital after complaining of breathing problems, difficulty in urination and fever. Lalji Tandon's son and Cabinet Minister in UP Government Ashutosh Tandon announced the demise of his father. Shri Lalji Tandon was well-versed with constitutional matters. He enjoyed a long and close association with beloved Atal Ji. In this hour of grief, my condolences to the family and well-wishers of Shri Tandon. Om Shanti. Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 21, 2020 Tandon is survived by wife and three sons. His body will be kept at his official residence in Hazratganj and later at his Sindhi Tola residence in Chowk to enable people to pay their last respects. The last journey will start at 4 in the evening for the Gulala Ghat where his last rites will be performed later in the day, Ashutosh Tandon said in a statement. Condoling the demise of the governor, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. In a series of tweets, Modi recalled that Lalji Tandon played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. UP Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and BSP President Mayawati also expressed grief over Tandon's death. The UP government has announced three days mourning as a mark of respect to Lalji Tandon, a former cabinet minister, a government spokesman said. Ashutosh also said that his father's last rites will be performed while following the COVID-19 guidelines on Tuesday evening in Lucknow and requested everyone to pay homage to the leader while remaining at home. Belonging to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani era of BJP leaders, Lalji Tandon proved himself as an able administrator during his decades-long political career in Uttar Pradesh. A former Lok Sabha MP, he was later given gubernatorial responsibility. He took oath as Madhya Pradesh governor on July 29, 2019, when the Congress was in power in the state, after serving in the same post in Bihar for nearly 11 months. Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan too on Tuesday condoled the death of Tandon, saying he will always be remembered for his contribution towards the nation's progress. "He will be remembered for his contribution in the progress of the nation. Though, he is no more with us, he will be in our memories forever." "He guided all of us for a long time and served the nation and the people by presenting an amazing example. He also played an important role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh," he said. Chouhan will be going to Lucknow to attend the last rites of Tandon. State Home Minister Narottam Mishra also expressed grief at the demise of the governor. He prayed for the departed soul and asked God to give enough strength to the family to bear the loss. Former Madhya Pradesh chief minister Digvijaya Singh in his condolence message said, "The generation of BJP/RSS leaders with a character to serve the people is getting ended now. I pray to God to give peace to the departed soul and enough strength to the family to bear the loss." Madhya Pradesh Public Works Department Minister Gopal Bhargava said Tandon was a fearless leader and his contribution to the nation is unparalleled. State Agriculture Minister Kamal Patel termed Tandon's death as an irreparable loss for the state and the country. BJP general secretary in-charge of West Bengal Kailash Vijaywargiya, Madhya Pradesh party unit president Vishnu Dutt Sharma and state ministers Vishwas Sarang and Ramkishore Kanvre also expressed their condolences. (Inputs from ANI and PTI) The acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Kemebradikumo Daniel Pondei has reportedly left the hospital where he was rushed to after he slumped during the panel session at Abuja. KanyiDaily had earlier reported how Pondei slumped during interrogation by the House of Representatives Committee over alleged missing of N40 billion naira. Mr Pondei slumped when he was answering questions posed by the investigative panel over alleged misappropriation of funds amounting to billions of Naira. According to Channels TV, Daniel Pondei already left the hospital where he was taken on Monday night, July 20, 2020. A statement issued by the Director of Corporate Affairs of the NDDC, Charles Odili, said Pondei was ill for the past two weeks, a development that made his doctors advised him to stay clear from the probe. The statement added that the NDDC boss collapsed because he ignored his doctors advice not to attend the session. It reads: The commission wishes to disclose that Prof Pondei has been ill for the past two weeks. This morning, his condition deteriorated, and his doctors advised against attending the hearing. However, he ignored his doctors advice because of the realisation that his accusers will use his absence at the hearing to soil his name and reputation. He thought he could make it through the hearing and take care of his health later. As it turned out, his doctors were right. Prof Pondei is in a stable condition at a clinic in Abuja. Meanwhile, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Hon. Femi Gbajabiamila, has said that Pondei will not appear before the committee again. According to Gbajabiamila, the investigative committee will adopt the written response of the NDDC managing director. The researchers on Monday announced the results of the first phase of a Covid-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford. The vaccine appears safe and induces a strong immune response within the body, the results published in leading scientific journal The Lancet show. The results are based on the doses given to 1,077 healthy adults aged between 18 and 55 in five UK hospitals in April and May as part of the phase one clinical trial. The results show they induced strong antibody and T-cell immune responses for up to 56 days after they were given. T-cells are crucial for maintaining protection against the virus for years. Here are the main details about AstraZenecas experimental vaccine: The shot, AZD1222, is a recombinant viral vector vaccine developed by Oxford University. It is licensed to British pharma giant AstraZeneca. It is a chimpanzee adenovirus viral vector (ChAdOx1) vaccine that expresses the SARS-CoV-2 spike protein. The experimental vaccine uses weakened version of a common-cold virus that infects chimpanzees which are given encoded instructions for making proteins from the novel coronavirus to build immunity. It is likely to provide protection for about a year. An AZD1222 shot would cost about 2.5 euros ($2.8) per dose in Europe, according to Italys health ministry. AstraZeneca does not expect to profit from it during the pandemic. The costs in other regions have not been disclosed. Late-stage trials are currently underway in Britain, Brazil And South Africa and are due to start in the United States. Data showed that the vaccine was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials in healthy volunteers, with a stronger immune response in 10 people given an extra dose of the vaccine after 28 days. Data from late-stage studies is expected by August to September. Delivery of first dose expected between September and October. (With inputs from agencies) (Natural News) It is time to take the bull by the horns to conquer the Wuhan virus. Drastic action is necessary, like on December 8, 1941 after Japan bombed Pearl Harbor. (Article by John and Andy Schlafly republished from TownHall.com) President Trump should order immediate public access to hydroxychloroquine (HCQ) by making the medication available over-the-counter (OTC). Liberals have interfered with public access to this medication for COVID-19 through the old-fashioned route of requiring a prescription and then having a pharmacist fill or reject the prescription. Millions of Americans do not visit physicians, and cannot obtain a prescription for HCQ if they did. Even if you have been exposed to COVID-19, you cannot obtain a prescription for HCQ in most states because regulators prohibit dispensing it without a positive test result, which typically cannot be obtained until late in the progression of the disease. No one credibly doubts that HCQ is safe, and safer than many medications currently available OTC. No one credibly doubts the dozens of studies showing that early use of HCQ, pre-exposure and immediately after exposure to COVID, has helped many overcome this dreaded disease. Americans do not need a prescription to obtain hundreds of medications which once required a prescription. Nexium, Prevacid, Prilosec, Claritin, Flonase, and Primatene Mist are medications that have been shifted from Rx to OTC in recent years, not because the medical establishment pushed for the change, but because of public demand for it. No demand is higher at this time than for a medication which helps prevent against COVID. Yet Americans are not being allowed to access the medication which they want and need, and instead are being told by FDA and state officials that they cannot have it. Last month the Oregon pharmacy board, for example, blocked HCQ access as follows: Prescription orders for chloroquine or hydroxychloroquine for the prevention or treatment of COVID-19 infection may only be dispensed if written for a patient enrolled in a clinical trial by an authorized investigator. They based their ban on an improper statement issued by FDA, which is controlled by opponents of Trumps reelection. Of course, many government officials in Oregon are against Trump, too. Every state board of pharmacy or medicine is controlled by left-leaning government workers who, by and large, despise President Trump and hope he loses in November. They are accomplishing their dream by choking off public access to HCQ. In other countries, such as Costa Rica and Honduras, HCQ is being given freely to the public to successfully defeat coronavirus there. In some countries officials are even going door-to-door distributing HCQ to build up protection against the virus, with great success. The mortality rate from COVID-19 in the United States is far higher per case, and per million of residents, despite how we have the finest hospital system in the world. We dont currently have public access to HCQ to protect against the disease, however, and that is what is needed at this time. An executive order by President Trump, through use of his full emergency authority, could give Americans the same rights to HCQ for COVID which some of the poorest people in the world enjoy. Trump could even dispense HCQ at his rallies, which would both restore their massive numbers and help safeguard against spread of the virus. But the medical establishment, such as Dr. John Fleming who is advising Trumps Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, is impeding this solution to the crisis. As a physician, Dr. Fleming is instinctively trained to oppose OTC status for most medications, and he is beholden to the mindset of requiring people to see physicians first. Americans are accustomed to being advised to consult a physician before starting a weight-loss plan, an attorney before writing a will, and an accountant before filing a tax return. In ideal situations, recommending use of a professional is non-controversial. When there is a crisis, however, the dynamic is different. When thousands are dying unnecessarily, and millions are paralyzed by fear, directly alleviating that mortality and fear becomes paramount. There is no valid reason to deny public access to low-dose HCQ, which studies show can protect against COVID, just as there is no legitimate reason to require a prescription for low-dose steroid cream (Cortisone) and many other over-the-counter medications. The political motivation to block access to HCQ justifies making it publicly available. This is not a decision for Anthony Fauci or the medical establishment or FDA to make during a national crisis. This is for President Trump to decide, and make HCQ available quickly to the public. If an intruder is discovered in ones home in the middle of the night, no responsible father tries first to call an expert to get an opinion about what to do. Instead, quick and decisive action is taken, and that means OTC status for HCQ to conquer COVID. Read more at: TownHall.com For Subscribers Aberdeen filmmakers release trailer for latest work called 'Homebody' The group is currently crowdfunding and hopes to begin production of the film in late spring. Representative image live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Ventilators are critical for those affected by lung failure one of the major complications suffered by patients with severe COVID-19. There was a global shortage of these mechanical breathing devices, which blow air and oxygen into the lungs, in March-April, as countries began to stockpile them and curb exports. The shortage presented an opportunity for Indian companies to move in and replace the multinational corporations (MNCs), mostly based in the US and Europe. The MNCs had a firm grip on the Indian ventilator market. But, due to obligations to first serve their home markets, constraints in capacity and restrictions on exports, they had given up on supplying India. In fact, India was at the bottom of their supply list, given the low margins they got here. And when ventilators were available with dealers, they were quoted at 2-3 times the original price, which ranged from Rs 10-18 lakh. An opportunity for Indian companies With the MNCs in no position to step up supplies, the government turned to domestic manufacturers such as BEL-Skanray Technologies, Agva and APMZ. The domestic manufacturers looked all set to make the most of the opportunity. 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 More than three months on, however, the reality on the ground tells a rather different tale. The manufacturers now say that arbitrary changes to specifications have led to delays and cost overruns. To be sure, no manufacturer globally has had to handle this kind of scale. Nevertheless, say analysts, the planning and process laid out for ventilator procurement could have been better. Skanrays story Skanray Technologies, a Mysore-based medical devices company that manufactures X-Ray machines and ventilators, was in the spotlight in March, when the Indian government was scrambling to buy ventilators. We got a call from the government in March. They asked us how many ventilators we could deliver. We told them we could move a batch of 5,000 at the most. They asked what we were doing now with the ventilators. I told them we were exporting them. So, on the same day, March 19, they banned exports, said Vishwaprasad Alva, Founder and Managing Director of Skanray. Alva had quit a high-paying job with GE's healthcare division to start his own X-Ray equipment venture in 2007. Skanray was built on a series of acquisitions, including its 2012 buyout of Larsen & Toubro (L&T's) medical equipment business. The device maker, with Rs 220 crore crore in revenues in FY20, makes an array of 45 products, with applications in areas such as radiology, cardiology, respiratory support, and diathermy. Alva said the government was talking about 30,000- 50000 ventilators. We didn't have that kind of a capacity, he said. Tie-up with PSUs So, Skanray tied up with public sector undertakings BEL and DRDO. As part of the agreement, Skanray transferred manufacturing technology for the CV200 model to BEL. The company also based its team at the BEL factory in Bengaluru to train personnel from BEL and DRDO in software and hardware manufacturing, testing and sourcing of components. Orders for 30,000 ventilator units were placed by HLL Lifecare (a PSU under the Ministry of Health) with BEL, with a June 30 deadline. The order was placed under the aegis of the PM CARES Fund, which had an outlay to procure some 60,000 ventilators from Indian manufacturers. Alva says that as per the supply agreement, the government had agreed to buy each unit at Rs 4 lakh. He added that for a Government bulk order, it was rather rare, in the sense that there was no scope for graft or corruption. Frequent specification changes The HLL unit under the Health Ministry was entrusted with designing specifications and placing orders. Alva says HLL chose the leading ventilator brand in the world, went to its website, took down their specifications and told us that is what they want. It was like this: you have a budget for a basic car (like a Maruti 800) that runs efficiently, but you want a Toyota Camry specification. Not just that, if you put Camry specifications, only Toyota can supply others can't supply, said Alva. Reality soon dawned, and the government adopted a more consultative approach. They called the manufacturers and asked them what was required for COVID-19 and what could be provided in a short timeframe. Eventually, it took about 3 weeks, after the order had been placed, to finalise the specifications. Hang on, theres more Then, after the units were ready, there was to be another round of approvals from an empowered committee of the Government of India, said Alva. This committee consisted of doctors from AIIMS-Delhi, Safdarjung and other government hospitals. Once you give specifications, you are supposed to test as per the specifications. Not as per the new requirements. The empowered committee began independent assessment. Each member had a different set of suggestions, Alva said. From that meeting came seven points relating to specifications and functionalities. The committee said some were absolutely necessary, and some were desirable to have. BEL, being a Government of India unit, cant push back, and the Skanray, DRDO and BEL teams had to quickly design, test and release new versions, Alva said. Some of the specs were useful to simplify the process and it was not a bad idea to go beyond the contractual terms for the cause, he added. The problem, however, didn't end there. When the ventilator shipments began to reach hospitals, the doctors who used them came out with another set of specifications. They said: You should have this beep; you should have that screen. We know these are good things to have, but those ventilators are selling at Rs 10-12 lakh. You are paying 1.5 lakh to Agva and 4 lakh to BEL. If you ask for a sunroof and seat massager in a Maruti 800 how are they even necessary, says Alva. The ventilators, said Alva, are now undergoing the fourth round of specification changes. Delays in deliveries The changes in specifications have taken a toll on the delivery timelines and led to cost overruns. According to an industry insider, only one-fifth of the 60,000 ventilator units ordered have been delivered. BEL has orders for 30,000 units, of which 12,000 units have been delivered, and another 8,000 are at an advanced stage of production. Full delivery is slated to be completed by the end of August. Agva is still struggling to deliver its 10,000 orders. Sources say that AMTZ, which has orders for 13,500 units, is yet to deliver a single ventilator. Calls and messages to Agva Co-founder Diwakar Vaish did not elicit any response. Jitendra Sharma, the CEO of APMZ, is yet to respond to Moneycontrol. In the field of healthcare, no two doctors agree on a spec. That is why we see so many contradicting requirements and opinions on the same treatment. This is not new to us. BEL found it tough to handle this since they were vulnerable to the government on the one end and the customers on the other, said Alva. There is another big problem, a shortage of doctors and trained paramedics, says Alva. On many occasions, government hospitals refused to accept ventilators because they didnt have staff, and accepting them created pressure to admit patients. Blaming hospital beds, equipment, PPE etc came in handy to cover the shortage of staff and the reluctance of some to work in Covid wards, he said. This is the second part of a three-part series . The first part was on how domestic manufacturers went from exuberance to despair in 3 months. The third part will deal with how, in the pursuit of ventilators, we may have missed out on quality and service. Supplier News 21 July 2020 React Mobile continues its 'Employee Safety Culture' Webcast Series with a deep look at what's happening in Hawaii; Ryan Doi of Prince Resorts shares several technology-based best practices, including remote medical diagnostics for staff and guests if they feel ill. Seattle - As hotels coast to coast prepare for reopening, Hawaii braces for more delays. Although there was talk of travelers returning August 1, the recent surge of COVID-19 cases on the U.S. mainland has postponed the effort once again, this time until September. In Episode 2 of the "New World, New Employee Safety Culture" webcast series, React Mobile CEO Rob Monkman chats with Ryan Doi, corporate director of information systems for Prince Resorts Hawaii, to find out what's happening in the Aloha state today and discuss how the hotel company is using this time of quarantine to beef up its employee safety initiatives. Hoteliers can listen at their leisure to the 15-minute webcast by clicking here. Doi will describe the new "Aloha Experience" in detail, which includes new contactless technologies, improved cleaning procedures, and an employee medical diagnostics program offered in multiple languages should a worker or guest feel ill. "Hospitality is the No. 1 industry in Hawaii, so it has been very difficult over the last few months; everyone is hurting," Doi says. "Our employees especially are aching to get back to work, but we need to make sure we bring them back safely and responsibly. In the last few months, we created a comprehensive COVID training program with safety protocols for PPE [personal protective equipment], hand washing, surface cleaning, and social distancing. We take employee safety very seriously; these people are our company's biggest assets. Not only will we pay our workers to go through the COVID safety training program, but we are extending all medical coverage through the end of the year whether a person is working or not to show them how much we care." Episode Three: "Employee Safety in the Epicenter of COVID-19" In the next episode (scheduled to post on July 27), Kevin Waldstein, General Manager of The Gale South Beach, will share the reopening preparations his hotel is undertaking now that Miami has become the "epicenter of the epicenter" according to Mayor Dan Gelber. This art deco escape, part of the Curio Collection by Hilton, aspires to open its doors October 16. Hear how management is working to elevate its hygiene practices from check-in to check-out, and how voice technology in the rooms will provide a touchless experience that Waldstein says is "so cool like something you'd only see in the movies." The GM will explain how digital checklists and daily meetings are being leveraged to create exceptionally safe stays during this uncertain time. To learn more about the React Mobile Webcast Series, click here or visit www.reactmobile.com/webcasts. Sebastian Vettel is fully behind his competitor Lewis Hamilton when it comes to the formalities for the race. The Ferrari driver says he believes that Formula 1 should pay more attention to kneeling prior to the race to clarify the fight against racism. There wasn't enough time During the Austrian Grand Prix the riders were given a prominent place at the front of the grid and the time to kneel when a driver wanted to. During the Hungarian Grand Prix everything seemed very hurried and the place of kneeling had also changed. Hamilton had already said that the gesture against racism disappeared after one race and that it should come back every race as it did in Austria. Vettel agrees: "[On Sunday there] was very, very little time, everything was a bit rushed. I think drivers were just about to arrive", he says to Autosport.com. Drivers need to talk again "[There was time] to do whatever every driver individually decided to do, but in the end, they were starting [the national anthem]. I think going forward, it's probably true that we need talk amongst ourselves a bit better, so hopefully we can sort it out", concludes the four-time world champion. Fugitive jeweller Mehul Choksi may have been running a coal mine had the Supreme Court in 2014 not scrapped the allocation of 214 coal blocks to a joint venture between Gitanjali Group of Companies and Kolkata-based EMTA Coal, according to a report by Hindustan Times. The latest charge sheet filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) revealed that the joint venture named M/s GEMTA Coalmines Ltd managed to get a contract for development and operation of Urma Paharitola coal block in Dumka, Jharkhand. Also read: ED says Mehul Choksi cheated customers by selling 'lab-grown' diamonds: Report As per the report, the coal mine was originally allotted by the UPA government in 2010-11 to two state-run companies, M/s Bihar State Mineral Development Corporation and M/s Jharkhand State Electricity Board. The ED charge sheet said that these companies formed a joint venture, M/s JHARBIHAR Colliery Ltd for the development and operation of the coal block and issued a tender in March 2012 seeking bids from experienced mining organizations. The charge sheet said that the same year, three companies of Mehul Choksis Gitanjali Group (M/s Gitanjali Gems Ltd, Mozart Trading Pvt Ltd and Partha Gems LLP) formed a consortium with EMTA Coal Ltd and submitted their bid for the Jharkhand coal mine. The bid was successful, and a letter of intent (LoI) was issued to EMTA Coal Ltd in March 2014, according to the report. The charge sheet stated that Upender Kumar, a director in GEMTA, revealed that the company was formed with an authorized capital investment of approximately Rs 5 crore, and its registered office was established in Kolkata. The report also stated that Choksis Gitanjali Group held the majority stake of 51 percent in the company, while EMTA held the other 49 percent. It was basically a third-party contract to GEMTA and not a direct allocation of a block to Choksis company, an ED official told the publication. New Delhi: At a time when Indian Navy's P-8I surveillance planes are carrying out frequent sweeps over the eastern Ladakh sector, the Navy's maritime fighter jets MiG-29K will be deployed in the northern sector for operations. The deployment of the naval fighter aircraft at the Indian Air Force (IAF) bases is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's directives for enhancing jointness between the three services and Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat's call for the possibility of deployment of maritime combat aircraft along the northern or western borders with the Air Force. "It is being planned to deploy the MiG-29K fighter aircraft at an Indian Air Force base in the northern sector. They might be used for carrying out operational flying in the Eastern Ladakh sector along the Line of Actual Control (LAC)," government sources told ANI news agency. Also watch: No aim too high: MiG-29K takes off from INS Vikramaditya The Indian Navy has a fleet of over 40 MiG-29K fighter jets that are deployed on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and carry out regular flying from the naval fighter base INS Hansa in Goa. The Russian-origin fighters were procured by the Indian Navy along with the aircraft carrier over a decade ago. Amid the ongoing dispute with the Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA), the Indian Navy has been playing an important role as its planes are being used for surveillance along the LAC for picking up the Chinese activities and positions there. The surveillance aircraft were used extensively during the Doklam crisis as well. The Indian Navy is also carrying out an exercise close to the Malacca Straits from where the Chinese Navy enters into the Indian Ocean Region. "The warships and submarines of the Western Fleet are carrying out wargames near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands territories as part of their deployment," government sources said. The nuclear submarines including the INS Chakra and INS Arihant are also out of their harbours, they added. Aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya has also been out in the sea for missions with its carrier battle group. The Indian Navy has been keeping a constant eye on the activities of the Chinese Navy in the Indian Ocean Region where they come regularly with their warships including Landing Platform Docks and long-range frigates and destroyers. Earlier on July 20, the Indian Navy warships also carried out a passage exercise with the American aircraft carrier USS Nimitz. With restrictions prohibiting large gatherings from taking place, the Irish Grassland Associations Dairy Summer Tour will take an on online format this July. Revisiting three farms that hosted the event from 2014 to 2016, video clips from the farms airing on Twitter and Facebook from Monday to Wednesday, July 20th - 22nd will look back at where the host farmers were at the time they hosted the tour, where they are now and where they see themselves going in the future. Then on Thursday, July 23 all three hosts will join the Irish Grassland team and sponsors AIB for an online meeting to answer your questions about the direction that their farms have gone and about their plans for the future. Commenting at the launch of this years Summer Tour, Tadhg Buckley, Head of Agriculture, AIB said, We are delighted to continue our support of the Irish Grassland Association Dairy Summer Tour. The approach taken by the Association this year has been necessary in response to the global pandemic and the cancellation of large scale events. This years event will allow us catch up with some of the previous tour hosts and see how things have changed since they hosted the Summer Tour, in terms of development, changes in performance and future strategy. The live webinar on Thursday evening will also offer the opportunity to ask our hosts any questions you may have. We at AIB are looking forward to this distinctly different 2020 Dairy Summer Tour just the same as previous tours. David Kerr from Ballyfin in hosted the event in 2014. The theme for the event was Successful strategies for expansion. His strategy was based on increasing herd size from within his highly fertile dairy herd with investment in low cost slurry storage and cow accommodation. Over 450 farmers from around the country attended to hear how David operated a predominantly grass-based system of milk production on his 160-acre farm. Milking 140 cows that year, just prior to quota abolition, David also reared his replacement heifer calves but the yearling heifers were being contract reared off farm. That year the cows were on course to produce 400 kg milk solids. At a farm stocking rate of close to one cow per acre, he expected grass growth to exceed 14 tonnes of dry matter on this mixed free-draining and peaty farm. Also featuring will be Oranmore, Co. Galway, Henry Walsh from Oranmore, Galway who hosted the event in 2015 and Conor Creedon from Rathmore, Kerry who hosted the event in 2016. On Thursday evening Stuart Childs will host the live meeting online and will interview the three hosts. He will also put audience questions that can be submitted in advance as well as during the webinar to the three farmers to further understand the direction they have taken since hosting the summer tour on their farm. Also on the evening, Tadhg Buckley of AIB will speak on the prospects for dairy markets in the latter half of 2020. While this will be a different offering to our regular summer tours, we hope that you will participate by watching the videos from each farm throughout the week and then join us on Thursday evening for the live interview and Q & A with our farmer hosts and our sponsors AIB, stated the IGA. For more information logon to the Irish Grassland Association website www.irishgrassland.ie. The President of the IGA is Paul Hyland. The French government is looking at ways to shield companies from the impact of future pandemics. The goal is to protect companies and jobs from the damage that major events such as pandemics can cause, Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said in a statement. A working group consisting of lawmakers and industry representatives came up with a range of solutions on developing insurance coverage for such catastrophes, and Le Maire sought public comment on its proposals to inform the governments work on the issue. The government plans to complete work on a coverage plan by the end of the year. French companies have suffered 147 billion euros ($168 billion) of operating losses during the coronavirus outbreak, according to the statement on Thursday. The governments efforts come as French insurers are facing a public backlash over their handling of companies claims related to losses suffered during the lockdown. AXA SA found itself in the spotlight when its dispute with a Paris-based restaurant landed in court. After losing that lawsuit, the insurer agreed to cover losses sustained by several hundred restaurants. Lloyds of London has led the industrys call for the creation of new insurance policies and government-backed funds to protect against future pandemics and global threats. The worlds largest insurance market proposed a new type of policy that would cover revenue lost during a lockdown when businesses are ordered to close. Some European countries have also said theyll step in to support the trade credit insurance market amid fears that struggling firms may be unable to renew policies. The UK government has said it will temporarily guarantee transactions for businesses such as manufacturing and construction firms that are currently covered against defaults on payments. Germany has also agreed to backstop losses for commercial credit insurers. Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Trends Talent France She was left outraged after Cassandra Mamone 'broke girl code' and made a beeline for her ex-boyfriend Ciarran Stott on Bachelor in Paradise. And Renee Barrett has opened up about the 'betrayal' at the hands of her former friend, telling TV Week she had expected 'a lot more' from Cassandra, who understood better than anyone her history with the womanising Brit. The 26-year-old admitted that watching the pair's flirtation play out on television made her realise who her 'true friends' were. 'I expected more': Renee Barrett (pictured) has discussed the 'betrayal' by her former friend Cassandra Mamone, who made a beeline for her ex Ciarran Stott on Bachelor in Paradise Offering further context as to why she was so upset when Cassandra set her sights on Ciarran, Renee explained: 'She even made a ring for me to give him as a birthday present, so I expected more from her.' Ahead of her debut on the Channel 10 dating show, Renee was livid as she watched Cassandra and Ciarran's romance unfold on TV. She attended a viewing party with fellow Bachelor star Sam Royce, who recorded her furious reaction to watching Ciarran and Cassandra on screen. 'B***h! F**king little b***h!' yelled Renee at the start of the clip. Betrayed: The 26-year-old admitted that watching the pair's flirtation play out on television made her realise who her 'true friends' were. Pictured: Cassandra Mamone Close bond: Offering further context as to why she was so upset when Cassandra set her sights on Ciarran (pictured) , Renee explained: 'She even made a ring for me to give him as a birthday present, so I expected more from her' When jewellery designer Cassandra appeared on screen during the dinner party, Renee exploded for a second time. As Cassandra remarked that she had 'Ciarran's ex-girlfriend' in the back of her mind, Renee said indignantly: '[I don't] even have a name anymore!' Proving there's no love lost between the two women, a male friend could be heard in the background calling Cassandra a 'liar'. It's on! it comes after Ciarran Scott's ex Renee (pictured) blasted Cassandra on Instagram on Wednesday after she 'broke the girl code' by flirting with the Brit No happy, Jan! Renee, who has yet to make her debut on the Channel 10 dating show, was less than impressed as she watched the flirtation unfold on TV. Pictured: Ciarran (centre) and Cassandra (left) on Wednesday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise On last week's debut episode, Ciarran arrived at the Mango Bay Resort in Fiji completely naked while covering his modesty with a bunch of grapes. The cheeky Brit, 26, soon found himself caught between two women: Cassandra and Abbie Chatfield, the runner-up from last year's season of The Bachelor. But his history with Renee became a topic of conversation at the first dinner party. 'B***h! F**king little b***h!' When jewellery designer Cassandra (pictured) appeared on screen during the dinner party, Renee exploded Unimpressed: Renee (pictured) was attending a viewing party with fellow Bachelor star Sam Royce, who recorded her furious reaction to watching Ciarran and Cassandra on screen He was forced to admit why he and Renee had split several months before she joined the cast of The Bachelor last year. The former Army rifleman confessed that he had cheated on her with another woman while attending a wedding. He explained that he had wanted to end the relationship and saw infidelity as a way to achieve that, but he regretted his actions nonetheless. After dropping this bombshell, he took a stroll with Cassandra, but they did not kiss. He knows how to make an entrance! On Wednesday's episode, Ciarran arrived at the Mango Bay Resort in Fiji completely naked while covering his modesty with a bunch of grapes Mr Popular! The cheeky Brit, 26, soon found himself caught between two women: Cassandra and Abbie Chatfield (pictured), the runner-up from last year's season of The Bachelor Cheater: Later in the episode, Ciarran's history with Renee became a topic of conversation at the first dinner party. He was forced to admit they had split because he was unfaithful In the closing moments of the episode, Ciarran and Abbie were shown crawling into bed together and it was implied they had sex. And in a new teaser for Tuesday night's episode, Ciarran threatens to leave the show after a dramatic confrontation with his ex Renee. 'F**k this, this is bulls**t,' Ciarran says, getting up from the table and walking away from the cameras during the emotional reunion. Bachelor in Paradise continues Tuesday at 7:30pm on Channel 10 Tandon, 85, had been undergoing treatment at the hospital since June 11. Tandon was admitted to the hospital after complaining of breathing problems, difficulty in urination and fever. Tandon's son Ashutosh Tandon announced the demise of his father on Twitter. "Babuji is no more," Lalji Tandon tweeted. Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday expressed condolences over the demise of Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon. Tandon, 85 passed away at 5:35 am on Tuesday after a prolonged illness. "Shri Lalji Tandon will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. He played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He made a mark as an effective administrator, always giving importance to public welfare. Anguished by his passing away," the PM tweeted. Rajnath Singh said that Tandon devoted his life to the service of the people, and residents of Uttar Pradesh still appreciate his work. "The news of the demise of Shri Lalji Tandon, Governor of Madhya Pradesh and a powerful personality of Uttar Pradesh, is very painful. With Tandonji I had the opportunity to work for a long time. His long public life has been devoted to the service of the public and he has left a distinct mark on his work," he tweeted. "Tandonji, highly sociable by nature, was also very popular among workers. People of Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh still appreciate the development work done by him in various positions. May God provide patience and strength to all bereaved families in this hour of grief. Om Shanti!" he said in another tweet. Taking to Twitter, Union Minister Smriti Irani tweeted: "I am pained to hear about the sad demise of Shri Lalji Tandon. A stalwart, Babuji helped pave the way for many youngsters, guiding us gently on our ideological journey. My condolences to Gopal bhaiya & family. Om Shanti." President Ram Nath Kovind condoles the death of MP governor Lalji Tandon. The President tweeted, "In the passing away of Madhya Pradesh Governor Shri Lal Ji Tandon, we have lost a legendary leader who combined cultural sophistication of Lucknow and acumen of a national stalwart. I deeply mourn his death. My heartfelt condolences to his family & friends." Courtesy of Madison's/Frankie Randazzo Madisons and other area restaurants owned by Frankie Randazzo recently got a plug from an unlikely celebrity one the eve of some big news for the Beaumont restaurant. Randazzo shared a video Friday on Facebook featuring Carole Baskin, owner of Big Cat Rescue and a star in the recent viral documentary Tiger King on Netflix. Last week, Reliance Jio made a flurry of announcements that included products that will be launching India. However, prior to the companys digital event, Reliance Jio came under fire for copying ideas from their competitors. Fast forward to the event and Reliance Jio announced yet another product where it copied ideas, design and the overall experience from a company that already exists in that segment. Reliance Jio was quick to bring some changes to differentiate their products but they largely still remain the same as it has the same skeleton. So, we decided to compile everything Reliance Jio has copied from global competitors that the Indian company wants you to forget. 1. JioTV+ Reliance Jio_Youtube, Apple This fiasco is old as last week when not only did Reliance Jio lift AppleTV+s name, the company also copied the basic navigation user interface and the user experience. In fact, it looks like Jio has literally copied and pasted the entire home page from Apple TV. With subtle changes such as App icon tiles, theres practically no difference between the two. From their demo, we also got a lime at the Search and boy oh boy; the entire discovery page has also been lifted. It looks like Jio literally ported the Apple TV software on their box, changes the logo and presented it as their own. 2. JioChat MensXP JioChat recently got an update that made the entire interface look like a carbon copy of WhatsApp. Now, I am not interested in arguments that suggest the familiar design will make people feel right at home when switching from WhatsApp. To be honest, if I already feel at home on WhatsApp it doesnt give me any intensive to switch applications. This fiasco also showed Reliance Jio really didnt bother hiring a graphic design or a UX designer to set itself apart from the competition. We cant really excuse Reliance Jio for being unoriginal even if Facebook (WhatsApps parent company) has invested in the company. It doesnt give Reliance Jio the right to copy somebodys elses hard work and intellectual property. 3. JioMeet JioMeet and Zoom - a thread. Screen 1 - Landing Page. pic.twitter.com/TC1HEJLUX1 SG (@shrinivassg) July 3, 2020 Things get worse, don't they? Well, JioMeet isnt any different from JioChat as when the app was launched it was a direct copy of Zoom. In fact, many people started calling out Jio for being unoriginal and having no imagination for designing a product of their own. From the settings page to on-screen annotations; everything was picked up from Zoom. Even most of the icons looked identical which made us question what Reliance Jio wanted to do here. Reliance Jio could have made an entirely original interface from the ground up instead of rushing the service without even making changes that would let it stand apart. If you want to know more about how Reliance Jio can do better, read our feature here that explains what the company needs to do to become a global player. Lockheed Martin is in talks with the Pentagon over whether it will reimburse the Defense Department for parts it provided for the F-35 jet that were not ready to install. The nation's No. 1 defense contractor and Pentagon contracting officers "are now negotiating appropriate consideration for parts delivered incomplete," the department's F-35 program office said in a statement on Monday. Air Force Lieutenant General Eric Fick, the F-35 program manager, said in a statement that the scope of the parts issue "has been agreed upon and "this is an important first step" but "there is more work to be done" to assess the "corresponding financial consideration." The parts were considered inadequate for installation not because of safety or manufacturing flaws but because they were delivered without the required inclusion of electronic data, such as a part's history and its remaining useful life, needed by maintenance crews. Parts are not supposed to be installed without the data. Lockheed spokesman Brett Ashworth, in a statement Monday night, said that although "there is no agreement at this time regarding consideration and what form it would take, Lockheed Martin is committed to discussions in good faith with the U.S. government." Air crews who maintain the next-generation stealth fighter had complained that they've been working extra hours to keep the Pentagon's costliest aircraft flying because so many parts were not ready to be installed. In a June 2019 report, the Pentagon's inspector general disclosed the problem and recommended that the Pentagon consider seeking refunds or services free of charge for the parts. This year's defense policy law directed the Pentagon to "seek relief" for delivery of "non-compliant ready-for-issue spare parts pursuant to a contract under the F-35 aircraft program." The Pentagon watchdog's original report disclosed that of 74 spare parts delivered in September 2018 to Hill Air Force Base in Utah, 59 of them, or 80%, were not ready to install. Of 263 parts delivered to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona in June 2018, 81% did not meet requirements. Each F-35 has about 1,000 parts out of roughly 50,000 that require the electronic logs, according to the program office. The parts problems on the $398 billion program, the Pentagon's largest, are occurring even after 500 of the stealthy aircraft have been delivered through March, 147 of them to other countries. The parts issue and status of refund efforts will be a focus of a House Oversight and Reform Committee hearing Wednesday. The program office said Lockheed's 2021-2023 support contract requires that it deliver the required information for 99% of the special parts in order to receive its contract fees. "As of June 2020, we're at 83% and climbing" and "we expect 90% (or higher)" by Dec. 31, according to the statement. Theresa Hull, the assistant inspector general who managed the parts report, said Monday in an email that her office hasn't been provided any further specifics regarding the negotiations with the company but that her office believes the Pentagon "pursuing compensation on behalf of the America taxpayer is a positive first step toward safe-guarding taxpayer dollars." Headquarters of Shin-Etsu Polymer Co., Ltd in Tokyo, Japan. - Photo shinetsu.info It was reported by the Japan External Trade Organisation (Jetro). Jetro said that this was a move to improve the gap in the Japanese supply chain since the COVID-19 pandemic had broken out and spread. The project moving businesses to Asia also aimed to strengthen Japan-ASEAN economic and industrial co-operation. Bloomberg said the Japanese government would start paying some companies to move factories out of China back to their home country or to Southeast Asia. The move aims to improve supply chains and reduce dependence on manufacturing in China. Nikkei also confirmed that the Japanese government would pay a total of 70 billion Japanese yen (US$653 million) for eighty-seven companies or groups to move production lines. Thirty of these will receive money for investments in Southeast Asia including Viet Nam, Myanmar, Thailand and others. The other 57 projects would head to Japan, said Nikkei. RIDGEFIELD PARK, N.J., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ID Technologies has been honored with a Samsung Smart Signage Award for Platinum Partner of the Year during Samsung's Virtual Experience: Back to Business, a first-time virtual event for the professional audiovisual and information communication industries. The virtual conference on the 15th & 16th welcomed customers, partners, and fans to hear from industry experts and explore innovations that help companies get back to business. Platinum Partner of the Year recognizes a leading Platinum Partner for achievements in consistent and successful display implementations, revenue attainment and customer commitment. "The Samsung Smart Signage Awards program celebrates the significant contributions our dealers make to the visual display industry," said Chris Mertens, Vice President of US Sales, B2B Displays at Samsung Electronics America. "Winners were selected by identifying partners that have the highest growth rate, as well as select integrators who have creatively deploying Samsung Smart Signage solutions into several key industries. We're excited to recognize these deserving companies." "We are honored to be recognized as Platinum Partner of the Year during Samsung's Virtual Experience: Back to Business," states ID Technologies President and CEO, Chris Oliver. "IDT, in close partnership with Samsung, consistently provides cutting-edge display solutions to the US Air Force and other government customers to enable the warfighter to achieve mission success." Samsung offers a diverse range of smart signage solutions, from seamless video walls and fine pixel-pitch LED to outdoor and interactive displays, designed for transportation, retail, hospitality and corporate environments, among others. For more information about Samsung smart signage solutions, please visit www.samsung.com/us/business/products/displays/. About Samsung Electronics America, Inc. As a global technology leader, Samsung Displays provides a diverse portfolio of enterprise technologies including digital signage, LED, hospitality TVs, and Desktop displays. Samsung puts the customer at the core of everything we do by delivering comprehensive products, solutions and services across diverse industries including retail, healthcare, hospitality, education and government. Samsung Displays is committed to helping customers realize the promise of a digital business. For more information, please visit samsung.com/business, call 1-866-SAM-4BIZ or follow Samsung Business via Twitter @SamsungBizUSA. About ID Technologies ID Technologies is dedicated to developing, delivering and integrating forward-thinking, proprietary, reliable solutions to government customers in the Intelligence, Civilian and Federal markets. Trusted with over 20 Government Contracts and partnering with industry leaders and innovators, ID Technologies pairs market leading technologies and supportive acquisition strategies with agility, expertise and mission-understanding to enable government agencies to achieve mission success. For more information, please visit www.idtec.com. Follow ID Technologies: Twitter, LinkedIn and Facebook ID Technologies Contact: Kelly Harris Director of Corporate Marketing and Partner Programs ID Technologies (703) 840-6027 [email protected] SOURCE ID Technologies Related Links https://www.idtec.com/ Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! Tiger Tyagarajan became the CEO of Genpact Limited (NYSE:G) in 2011, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also assess whether Genpact pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns. See our latest analysis for Genpact Comparing Genpact Limited's CEO Compensation With the industry Our data indicates that Genpact Limited has a market capitalization of US$7.3b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$7.6m for the year to December 2019. That's a notable decrease of 66% on last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at US$750k. In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations ranging from US$4.0b to US$12b, the reported median CEO total compensation was US$7.6m. This suggests that Genpact remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. Moreover, Tiger Tyagarajan also holds US$11m worth of Genpact stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company. Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary US$750k US$700k 10% Other US$6.9m US$22m 90% Total Compensation US$7.6m US$22m 100% On an industry level, around 14% of total compensation represents salary and 86% is other remuneration. Genpact pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the broader industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance. A Look at Genpact Limited's Growth Numbers Genpact Limited has seen its earnings per share (EPS) increase by 10% a year over the past three years. In the last year, its revenue is up 16%. Story continues Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. This sort of respectable year-on-year revenue growth is often seen at a healthy, growing business. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. Has Genpact Limited Been A Good Investment? We think that the total shareholder return of 38%, over three years, would leave most Genpact Limited shareholders smiling. This strong performance might mean some shareholders don't mind if the CEO were to be paid more than is normal for a company of its size. To Conclude... As we touched on above, Genpact Limited is currently paying a compensation that's close to the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. Few would be critical of the leadership, since returns have been juicy and earnings are moving in the right direction. So one could argue that CEO compensation is quite modest, if you consider company performance! Stockholders might even be okay with a bump in pay, seeing as how investor returns have been so strong. While it is important to pay attention to CEO remuneration, investors should also consider other elements of the business. We've identified 1 warning sign for Genpact that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment. Important note: Genpact is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. 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. CHATSWORTH, Calif.The precipitous fall of Michael Avenatti, the 49-year-old Southern California lawyer who shot to national fame two years ago by representing AVN Hall of Famer Stormy Daniels in her lawsuit against Donald Trump, continued this week. As he faces sentencing on a conviction for attempted extortion, as well as trial on charges that he embezzled nearly $300,000 from Daniels, his own lawyer now says that Avenatti has run out of money. According to the July 18 court filing by lawyer Dean Steward, Mr. Avenatti has run out of funds, and faces a complex trial lasting as long as six weeks, in the Daniels case. Avenatti would be entitled to a public defender if he is unable to pay his own lawyer. But Steward in the filing told Judge James Selna that he would be willing to continue as Avenattis lawyer, accepting the reduced fees paid by the government to a court-appointed lawyer, saying it would save money. Appointing a new public defender would require that attorney to restart the case from scratch, costing additional time and cash, Steward said. The retainer has long since run out and defendant does not have funds to pay counsel, Steward wrote. Hes proposing to stay on as Avenattis lawyer and get paid under terms of existing rules for indigent clients. Keeping him on as Avenattis lawyer would save considerable taxpayer funds, over starting fresh with new counsel, he said in the court document. Avenatti has run out of cash to pay his lawyers before, and was briefly represented by a federal public defender for a period during 2019. The once-high-flying lawyerwho in 2018 was riding such a wave of public recognition and acclaim that he said he was planning a run for president in 2020is accused of diverting nearly $300,000 from Daniels 2018 book advance into his own bank account, where he used the money for personal expenses and luxuries, according to prosecutors. He was convicted in February of attempting to extort $20 million from the Nike Corporation, but he is still awaiting sentencing on that charge. In April he was released from a New York jail due to concerns over COVID-19, and has been under home confinement while staying with a longtime friend in Venice, California. He has bee fighting prosecutor attempts to return him to jail after his initial 90-day release expired. Earlier this month, a judge awarded Avenatti an additional 60 days out of jail, even though prosecutors alleged that he violated the terms of his release by using an internet-connected computer at the home of his friend Jay Manheimer, with whom he is staying. Photo By CNN YouTube Screen Capture Uber Technologies is bracing for a long summer of legal battles that could see the end of its reign in London and entitle its drivers to a long list of workers' rights. A dispute over whether its drivers should continue to be classified as self-employed began Tuesday at the U.K.'s Supreme Court. In a second legal clash scheduled for September, Uber will appeal the loss of its operating license in the capital, its biggest European market. The cases come at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has already reduced demand, and caused Uber to cut about a quarter of its workforce. It reported a first-ever decline in the gross bookings of rides last quarter and said business was down 80% in April. While the employment case could force it to reimburse drivers for unpaid holiday pay, the challenge to its license could push it out of London. "It's the end of the road for Uber as we know it if they lose," lawyer Jolyon Maugham, who's taken the company to court over its tax repayments, said about the employment case. Uber argues that it is a middleman between its self-employed drivers and passengers, but is fighting similar cases elsewhere, including its home state of California. Two issues lie at the heart of the U.K. case, the first whether drivers are employed by Uber and the second, if they are workers, at what times they are working for Uber. Three lower U.K. courts have found that Uber's drivers are "workers," meaning they're entitled to benefits including minimum wage and holiday pay. They also found drivers were regarded as working for Uber whenever they had the Uber App switched on, in the area in which they were permitted to drive, and were "able and willing" to drive trips. The rulings lead to the "absurd result" that drivers could switch on their Uber App and other driving apps, including competitors to Uber, and claim the national minimum wage from each of the app operators during the same period of time, Uber's lawyer Dinah Rose said Tuesday in documents prepared for court. If drivers are deemed workers, contrary to Uber's case, they could only be working while actually driving passengers on confirmed trips, she said. Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in 2018 that the lawsuit covers a matter that's "at the core of the service." A loss may turn the company's business in the U.K.'s burgeoning gig economy upside down, and also mean it has to pay value added tax to its fares. "That will put their fares up and that's pretty damaging for a business that competes on price," Maugham said. While Uber has introduced measures for drivers, including insurance and 14 days of sick pay for anyone with Covid-19 symptoms, Tuesday's appeal will rest on facts from four years ago, when the case was brought. "The vast majority of drivers want to work independently, and in recent years we've made significant changes to our app to offer more benefits with total flexibility," Jamie Heywood, Uber's regional general manager for northern and eastern Europe, said in a statement. Uber has had setbacks in other European capitals, including France, where a criminal court fined the company and two executives a total of 850,000 euros ($972,000) in 2016. On Monday in Amsterdam, a group of British drivers filed a complaint that Uber violated its obligations under European data protection rules by not giving them access to their own data nor to the information used by the company's app to make decisions. A loss at the U.K. Supreme Court would send the case back to the Employment Tribunal in London, which could force Uber to pay a substantial bill to drivers. Lawyers for GMB, the labor union bringing the lawsuit, say tens of thousands of Uber drivers could be entitled to an average of $15,200 (12,000 pounds) each. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "Uber persists in using the legal system to avoid its responsibilities to our members," Susan Harris, GMB legal director, said by email. The case springs from a 2016 ruling by the tribunal, and Uber's appeal is coming up against a difficult legal precedent. Top U.K. judges ruled in 2018 that London-based Pimlico Plumbers Ltd. should have treated one of its tradesmen as a "worker," giving him the right to vacation pay and to sue the company. That same year, taxi service Addison Lee Ltd. lost an appeal over whether drivers were independent contractors or employees with rights to benefits. A ruling on Uber's case will likely come toward the end of this year. The case over Uber's license returns to court in September for the second time in two years. Transport for London stripped the company of its permission to operate in November on grounds that it failed to adequately verify drivers' identities and safeguard the service for passengers. In 2018, a London magistrates court granted a 15-month license with conditions. The license was far less than its previous five-year permit and shorter than the 18-month approval it requested at the hearing. TfL said in an emailed statement that it will now be for a magistrate to determine if Uber is fit and proper. Uber would be able to appeal a loss, a process that could take years while it continues operating. This time, Uber will have to prove to the same magistrate that it's not a repeat offender, after she criticized the "gung-ho attitude" of the previous management team at the 2018 appeal. President Trump threatened Monday to send federal law enforcement forces to Oakland, similar to his deployment of Homeland Security agents in camouflage uniforms in Portland a move thats been loudly criticized by officials in Oregon and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Were going to have more federal law enforcement that I can tell you, Trump said Monday. Because were not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these (cities) Oakland is a mess. Were not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats. Trump sent federal law enforcement officers to Portland in early July, with the initial mission of protecting federal office buildings and statues after protesters removed edifices of George Washington and Thomas Jefferson. Within days, officers started dispersing protesters several blocks from federal property and using more aggressive tactics, like firing chemical agents similar to tear gas. Some drove around the city in unmarked vehicles and detained protesters without explaining why, according to Oregon Public Broadcasting. Trump said he sent in the federal officers because the locals couldnt handle it. ... It was out of control. Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security secretary, described Portland as a city under siege. But Oregon officials dont see it that way and want the feds gone. California officials dont want them to come here, either. Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf said Trump should stop his racist antagonism, and Gov. Gavin Newsom gave a terse answer when asked whether the president had alerted him to potential deployments in California: The answer is no, and we would reject it. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-San Francisco, tweeted that Trump & his storm troopers must be stopped. Crowd sizes at nightly protests in Portland have reportedly increased since federal forces arrived, and civil rights activists said any such deployment in Oakland or elsewhere in California could have the same effect. If the federal law enforcement came to Oakland, it would be absolutely disastrous for everyday people, said Zach Norris, executive director of the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights in San Francisco. Its like adding gasoline for a fire to protests against police violence. It makes no sense whatsoever. The San Francisco chapter of the National Lawyers Guild said in a statement that Trumps unconstitutional calls to unleash federal agents in the Bay Area are not only unconstitutional but a dangerous escalation towards fascism. The president has the power to use the military to quell civil unrest, something Trump threatened to do in early June as protests spread over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. However, constitutional law Professor Joel Richard Paul of UC Hastings College of the Law in San Francisco said whats going on in Portland and other U.S. cities is not so serious that it would warrant such drastic measures. The use of unmarked cars and camouflage outfits (in Portland) was really just meant to intimidate and harass the demonstrators, Paul said. It seems like the president is trying here to create a problem to justify his re-election: the problem of domestic unrest. But that is not what is happening, Paul said. People are legitimately protesting. There have been random acts of vandalism. But there has not been a general insurrection. It is not a revolution. It is a protest. Schaaf noted that protests in Oakland over Floyds death and systemic racism, which were largely peaceful to begin with, have eased off in recent weeks. We are not experiencing any civil unrest right now, Schaaf said. But the presence of Trump-ordered military troops to Oakland would likely incite it. Oakland police said in a statement that the city has experienced peaceful demonstrations, marches and protests for well over a month. We continue to facilitate safe spaces and places for gatherings and marches and we stand with our community in condemning the murder of George Floyd and other instances of police brutality. The Oakland Police Department and the city of Oakland has not, nor would we, request federal assistance to address crowd management. Pelosi tweeted that in Portland, unidentified stormtroopers have been kidnapping protesters and causing severe injuries in response to graffiti. These are not the actions of a democratic republic. Videos of federal officers attacking protesters are circulating online. In one, Christopher David, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and former member of the Navys Civil Engineer Corps, yelled to federal officers, Why are you not honoring your oath to the Constitution? according to the Washington Post. They proceeded to beat him with batons and spray a chemical irritant in his face. His hand was broken in two places. Trump has brushed aside calls from officials in Oregon for the federal forces to withdraw. On Monday, Oregon Democratic Sen. Ron Wyden said he would introduce legislation aimed at stopping the Trump administration from dispatching his personal federal army into Americas streets. Wolf, the Homeland Security chief, said that I dont need invitations by the state, state mayors, or state governors to do our job. Were going to do that, whether they like us there or not. In June, Trump told the nations governors that they would look like fools if they failed to restore order as protests spread over Floyds killing. You have to dominate, he told them. At the time, he threatened to send military troops into cities if local officials didnt do what he thought was needed, but he reportedly backed off after Pentagon officials objected. Presidents rarely send military forces into a state over the governors objections. In 1962, President John F. Kennedy sent the military to Mississippi after Gov. Ross Barnett refused to send troops to protect James Meredith, the first African American to enroll at the University of Mississippi. President George H.W. Bush sent troops to Los Angeles in 1992 to help put down riots over the acquittal of four police officers in the beating of Rodney King, but Gov. Pete Wilson had asked for the deployment. Trump got a mixed reaction from the few Republicans who reacted to his comments Monday. Sen. Lindsey Graham, a former military attorney facing a re-election battle in South Carolina, praised the president, saying, If federal law enforcement officials are necessary to do the job and President Trump chooses to go down this path, I completely support him. But libertarian-leaning Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul tweeted that we cannot give up liberty for security. We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities, Paul said. But there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will. San Francisco Chronicle staff writers Alexei Koseff and Bob Egelko contributed to this report. Joe Garofoli is The San Francisco Chronicles senior political writer. Email: jgarofoli@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @joegarofoli File photo of the Aedes aegypti, the main mosquito species that transmits dengue in Singapore. (Getty Images file photo) SINGAPORE Three more people have died of dengue fever in Singapore, as the number of weekly dengue cases exceeded 1,000 for a sixth consecutive week. According to a Straits Times report on Tuesday (21 July), the three deaths bring the total of number of deaths due to dengue fever to 19 this year. Those who died were between 49 and 92 years of age. For the whole of last year, there were 20 deaths related to dengue. There were 1,736 dengue cases recorded last week, up from 65 in the previous week, according to The Straits Times. Since January, a total of 18,673 people have been infected, a number exceeded only in 2013, when 22,170 people were infected in the entire year. According to the Ministry of Health, more than 3,100 patients have been hospitalised in public hospitals this year for dengue; about 1 per cent of them had to be admitted to the intensive care units. 413 active dengue clusters There are 413 active dengue clusters concentrated mostly in the eastern part of the country. The Straits Times reported that 141 of them are classified as high risk, as they had 10 people or more infected within 150 metres of one another within a two-week period. Among these clusters, 19 are classified as huge clusters with 100 people or more infected. The two biggest are in the Aljunied-Geylang-Guillemard area (147 breeding sites found) and the Bukit Panjang-Woodlands area (51 breeding sites found). The National Environment Agency (NEA) said that, in May and June, it found 50 per cent more breeding in homes and twice the number in condominium grounds, construction sites, common areas and other places like schools. The increase could have been due to less maintenance carried out during the two-month-long COVID-19 circuit breaker from April, as movement was restricted. There was also the dormitory coronavirus outbreak, reducing the number of workers available to do the maintenance tasks. Heavier penalties for repeat offenders From 15 July, enhanced penalties will be imposed for households, construction sites and Town Councils found to be breeding mosquitoes. Heavier penalties will be imposed on households with the following offences: Story continues Repeated mosquito breeding offences; Multiple mosquito breeding habitats detected in a single inspection; Mosquito breeding detected after having received a legal notice from NEA. Instead of a fine of $200 for the first three infringements, the fine for households is now $300 if breeding is found after they have been served notice that they are in a dengue cluster, or if more than one breeding spot is found. The public is advised to use aerosol insecticide spray in their homes to kill any adult mosquitoes, and to apply mosquito repellent to protect themselves from mosquito bites. All residents living in dengue cluster areas are strongly encouraged to cooperate with NEA officers, facilitate their checks and the conduct of indoor misting in homes. NEA encourages everyone to use the myENV app to receive updates on the dengue situation. Two educational videos have also been published to guide residents on the spraying of aerosol insecticide at home , and what to do if one lives in a dengue cluster area or sees mosquitoes at home. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore More Singapore stories: AMK Hub, Plaza Singapura, Jollibee at Lucky Plaza among places visited by COVID-19 cases Bangladeshi illegal cigarette seller who killed compatriot gets 15 years' jail, 15 strokes of cane Rapist who defecated in High Court gets additional year's jail after being certified unfit for caning Dawn breaks in the crowded prison cell. Not everyone is asleep conditions are so cramped in the 70-square-yard space that 15 of the 60 inmates have to stand to give others their turn to lie down. The lack of privacy is absolute. Toilet breaks are rationed two minutes at a time and in full gaze of the others. Glass walls, cameras and microphones mean that every word and deed is recorded. Informants placed in each cell even note down what people say in their sleep and pass it on to guards. As with every other day, the morning begins with compulsory singing of Communist Party songs, praising the glorious motherland and its wise leader, Xi Jinping. Then their only meal of the day arrives. Watery cabbage soup, served with a small lump of steamed dough. If theyre lucky, they may get a few grains of rice as well. On Sunday, Beijings UK ambassador Liu Xiaoming was quizzed by Andrew Marr about drone footage, taken in 2018, showing hundreds of Uighur men, kneeling, shaven-headed, shackled and blindfolded, being led from a train, in what appeared to be a transfer of prisoners And then the medication arrives in a form of a white pill. To be sure theyve taken it, the prisoners mouths are roughly forced open and searched. The mysterious drug a tranquilliser of some sort soon induces a state of miserable mental numbness. Thoughts and memories of life outside, the fate of loved ones, the pain of shattered hopes: all recede. Now the only aim is to get through the day. Such a scene is being played out in any one of Chinas secret concentration camps, dedicated to re-educating a million or more of the countrys Muslim Uighur population in a network of hundreds of institutions built across 640,000 square miles of Western China: an area seven times the size of Britain. Every detail of this harrowing description of life inside the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region its native Uighurs call it East Turkestan comes from accounts that have trickled out of the region and from a huge package of internal Communist Party documents leaked last year by a brave official, disgusted by the policies he was implementing. They are confirmed by survivor testimony collated by Rahima Mahmut of the London office of the World Uyghur Congress and by Human Rights Watch, a New York based campaign group. Internet detectives have also used publicly available satellite images to plot the growth of the camps. On Sunday, Beijings UK ambassador Liu Xiaoming was quizzed by Andrew Marr about drone footage, taken in 2018, showing hundreds of Uighur men, kneeling, shaven-headed, shackled and blindfolded, being led from a train, in what appeared to be a transfer of prisoners. After a lengthy and embarrassed pause, the ambassador responded with bluster and denial. Uighur people enjoy peaceful, harmonious coexistence with other ethnic groups of people, he insisted, dismissing the footage as so-called Western intelligence. Certainly nothing peaceful or harmonious marks the inmates daily routine. Morning is indoctrination. Inmates hundreds of them, all shaven-headed sit in a vast echoing room, listening to hours of lectures on the evils of religion. The instructors words are broken by rhythmic chanting of Communist Party slogans. All communication is in Chinese. For the inmates to mutter even a word in their own ancient language a dialect similar to Uzbek would be a sign of defiance and bring terrifying retribution. Morning is indoctrination. Inmates hundreds of them, all shaven-headed sit in a vast echoing room, listening to hours of lectures on the evils of religion The monotony of the lessons is mental torture. At the end of the class, inmates are asked is there a God? The only permitted answer is no. Every waking moment is an onslaught on their cherished beliefs and traditions. The half-starved inmates are even forced to eat pork and drink alcohol, in defiance of their Muslim faith. Afternoon brings interrogations. To break their mental resistance, inmates are forced to watch others being tortured before their own sessions of questioning. They are made to denounce friends and family, to confess to fictitious crimes such as bomb-making and espionage, and to express abject contrition even for such harmless acts as having a copy of the Koran. Any resistance brings beatings, electric shocks and sleep deprivation. Nakedness is another dehumanising tactic. Nudity is taboo in Islam, but prisoners of all ages are made to parade before each other and in view of the guards. For women, humiliating gynaecological inspections are mandatory. Rape is routine. The prettier younger women disappear at nights and weep silently during the day. An injection every 15 days appears to be forced contraception monthly periods cease. Worst of all is the dreaded orange tabard. Prisoners assigned these soon disappear, never to be seen again. Rumour has it that they are murdered for their organs kidneys, corneas, hearts and livers are looted from their bodies, to fund the lucrative international black market, or serve the needs of the Communist Party elite. For the nine million other Uighurs living in the Western Chinese province of Xinjiang who are lucky enough not to be confined in such camps, life is another kind of prison. Every movement is under video camera surveillance backed up by intrusive searches. Police vans patrol the streets, searching for any sign of suspicious behaviour and mounting random checks. Checkpoints are every 200 yards. Worse are the ubiquitous plainclothes police, silently observing public behaviour. A single careless word or deed perhaps a small show of faith is punishable by incarceration and brain-washing. Little word leaks out of the fate of those who are taken away. Their families are sometimes told that they died in traffic accidents. Those who return are so traumatised that they rarely speak of their ordeal. Possession of any books, newspapers or any electronic material that could signal disloyalty to the Chinese regime is punished. No expression of religious belief is permitted. Mosques are empty shells, with worship staged only to deceive outsiders. Even a Koran or a prayer mat is a dangerous sign of disloyalty. The micro-management extends to household possessions. Kitchen knives with blades longer than four inches, for example, must be engraved with a barcode identifying the owner, and must be chained to a wall or table. Children are used as informers. School classes are shown Arabic script and asked if they recognise it. Chinas view is that the Muslim population in the countrys western region is a hotbed of dangerous terrorism and separatism Those who do have unwittingly highlighted that their families are believers who read the Koran. Such disloyalty often leads to children being removed in effect kidnapped and sent to state-run boarding schools, even at the age of five. There they are indoctrinated to despise their families, religion, culture and native language. Asking about the fate of the people who have disappeared is dangerous. They are referred to as yoq, meaning not around. Incarceration in the concentration camps is called studying. The fate of women left at home when their menfolk are sent to the camps is particularly horrific. They are assigned a Chinese official to live in their home to monitor the family. These unwelcome guests intrude into every aspect of domestic life and often insist on occupying the empty place in the marital bed. Such grotesque abuses of human rights have been under way for years. But they have leaped into public view in the West thanks to dogged work by investigators and the bravery of those who have fled. Only recently, one fortunate escapee, Sayragul Sauytbay, said: Perhaps it is becoming even worse than the Nazis because they can combine the latest technology such as 24-hour surveillance everywhere with the most primitive methods of torture. In the face of such devastating criticism, it is little surprise that the Chinese authorities go to great efforts to conceal and deny the accelerating pace of atrocities, as the Chinese ambassadors performance on Sunday showed. Chinas view is that the Muslim population in the countrys western region is a hotbed of dangerous terrorism and separatism. Re-education measures, Communist officials insist, instil useful vocational skills and eradicate anti-social behaviour. It is true China has faced violent unrest among Uighurs, including terrorist attacks in Beijing and elsewhere. But the actions of fanatics do not justify the repression of an entire ethnic group including the imprisonment of non-violent activists, scholars and public figures who have spent their careers urging compatriots to work peacefully with the authorities in Beijing. In truth, the simmering resentment in the region is the inevitable response to the brutal colonial misrule inflicted by the Chinese Communist Party after its occupation in 1949. But the actions of fanatics do not justify the repression of an entire ethnic group For decades, East Turkestan was a neglected, exotic backwater, favoured by adventurous Western tourists, thrilled by the central Asian charms of ancient Silk Road cities such as Kashgar. But Chinas grip has tightened there in the past 20 years, first with the systematic demolition of historic landmarks and then the imposition of increasingly harsh controls on everyday life. Communist authorities have mandated the influx of millions of ethnic Chinese migrants with the aim of diluting and eventually eradicating any sense of local identity a tactic also used on Tibet, another captive of the Chinese empire. Perhaps the most astonishing feature of this story is that, faced with this state-sponsored programme of mass repression and cultural extermination, the Muslim world has been almost silent. Heavily dependent on China for trade, investment, infrastructure and security, countries such as Pakistan and Saudi Arabia have been unwilling to breathe even a whisper of criticism about atrocities perpetrated against co-believers. In Britain, however, Muslim leaders, notably the Oxford imam Taj Hargey, have spoken up forcefully against the abuses. A report by the London-based Islamic Human Rights Commission, A Grief Observed, contains a harrowing compilation of inmates experiences. But the Muslim countries on the UN Human Rights council Afghanistan, Eritrea and Qatar have said nothing to prod that body to make even a squeak of protest. European countries such as Germany have also been shamefully silent a reflection of Chinas commercial clout. As the hard-pressed Uighurs witness the destruction of their way of life, culture and language, they can only pray secretly and silently that more will speak up. There are lots of numbers flying around about the coronavirus, so here is a brief attempt to put some context to them. The United States daily new case volume rose to the mid 30,000 range in April, then started a slide to about half that level in mid-May. Since then, there has been a steep rise, to the mid 70,0000 level last week, down a bit this weekend to the low 60,000 level. The distribution of cases among the states has also changed. In the first surge, New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Illinois, Michigan, Pennsylvania, and Louisiana were hardest hit. In the last 6-7 weeks, Florida, California, Texas, Arizona, Georgia, South Carolina, and a few other states in the southeast have had the highest volumes, though a large number of states have rising numbers. The fear surrounding the virus is, of course, most associated with its death toll. The daily number of new deaths reported is far lower now, even with the much higher daily new case levels, than at the peak of daily deaths two to three months ago. Daily deaths were regularly in the 2,000 range or higher, reaching 2,500 per day, and dropped to the 500-750 per day range in June. They are up a bit now to close to 1,000 on some days, with higher death tolls in the most severely hit states, likely to increase more since there is a lag between positive testing results and deaths associated with the new cases. This country has the highest caseload in the world, and one of the highest caseloads in the world compared to population. But as far as deaths, many countries have higher death rates per million people than we do. In addition, there is the case fatality rate: deaths divided by positive cases. The US case fatality rate has dropped steadily for several months, from about 6% to below 4%. Death numbers are lagged, as indicated already, but back in April, new deaths were on some days 6-10% of new positive cases. The last few weeks, that percentage has been about 1-2%. The US case fatality rate is far lower than many other countries, including our developed world peers in Europe. Why have the case volumes grown? There are probably many reasons for this. Some states reopened their economies earlier than others, and have had sizable case increases. Some of the higher volume has come from much higher levels of testing (nationally now over 700,000 tests per day), but positivity rates are also growing in many states, suggesting community spread. There are probably large numbers of asymptomatic cases in the population, some of which are showing up due to increased testing. Only sick people were tested early on. As many as 15-25 million people were on the streets demonstrating after the George Floyd killing, according to New York Times estimates. Some wore masks, but social distancing did not occur. Many criticized President Trump for holding an indoor rally in Tulsa, which may have drawn 6,000 people. The numbers since the rally do not suggest any surge in fatalities in the city since the rally, though case volume is up some. The critics of the Tulsa rally have been shy about any possible link between millions of demonstrators on the streets in tight quarters, and much higher case volumes in dozens of states. Some political events that add to risk of virus spread are clearly more worthy than others. There is also the possibility that warmer temperatures are driving people indoors where air conditioning is recirculating the virus and spreading it among people. The EU has a larger total population than the United States and has had more deaths from the virus than the United States. But its daily volume of new cases is less than 10% of the US new caseload recently. This suggests that widespread transmission is not occurring in Europe (Russia is a different story), while we have not tamed the beast. Deaths are a different story: case fatality rates in many Western European countries were well over 10% (our current rate is 3.8%). Anthony Fauci last weekend stated that New York State is the model for how to handle things in this country. I do not think this was a very thoughtful comment. If you consider each American state as a country, the two highest death rates in the world -- deaths per million people -- would be New Jersey, and then New York. New York had 32,000 deaths in a state with 19 million people. Its death rate per million is more than 4 times that of the rest of the country without New York. Its case fatality rate is double that of the rest of the United States. It would be hard not to conclude that there were many thousands of excess deaths in New York. Why did this happen? Even setting aside the decision to put Covid positive patients into nursing homes, the death toll in hospitals was much higher than anywhere else in America other than New Jersey. These states were hit hard and early and had no real models of what to do with very sick patients. Other states are doing better; less use of ventilators, different positioning of patients (keeping them upright), more options for treatment, and earlier identification and treatment of sick patients. The mix of patients today is also younger than early on, and this also contributes to a lower fatality rate. New Yorks new daily case volume is down to a bit less than a 1,000 a day, less than 10% of the peak in April with a positivity rate of 1% among test takers. That is good, but to applaud that and disregard the ghastly death toll in the state is simply wrong. Illinoiss case volumes have started moving up a bit, but there is lots of testing going on, and the positivity rate is only 3%, also quite low. Mayor Lightfoot is already pulling back on re-openings. She would, I am sure, prefer to deal exclusively with the virus, and ignore the out of control gang violence in the city, which could produce a record number of homicides and shootings this year. One other data point: at the peak in April, approximately 60,000 hospital beds were in use nationally for Covid patients. That dropped sharply the next 45 days, and is now rising and is close to the 60,000 level again. Nationally, there are about 1 million hospital beds, and 100,000 ICU beds. At the peak ICU beds were needed for a third or so of hospitalized Covid patients, higher in some New York hospitals That fraction (ICU beds to total covid patient beds) is lower so far in the current wave, which may relate to the age mix of hospitalized patients, younger than In April. As to how to reduce the case volume, which will aid school re-openings, and the economy, I do not have much to add to the general advice on mask wearing, social distancing and good personal hygiene. There is generally positive news on new treatments and vaccine efforts, which would be much bigger bullets to fight this going forward. See: Interferon beta Fauci comments on New York State: Death rates among the states (per million) Death rates among the countries (per hundred thousand-multiply death rate by ten to compare to state death rates) live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More HDFC Bank has sacked at least six employees after an internal investigation found that these employees violated the code of conduct and were found involved in violation of corporate governance practices. What is the issue all about? Banks internal investigations discovered certain irregularities in the vehicle finance division. Allegedly, some employees of the bank engaged in forced selling of GPS devices to customers bundling these with auto loans. Employees reportedly insisted the customers to buy the product as a precondition to clear the loan. Also Read: HDFC Bank fires six employees for corrupt practices in vehicle loan business: Report How much these devices cost? According to reports, each devices cost Rs 18,000-Rs 19,500 per piece. Who sold these equipment? According to reports, a company called Trackpoint GPS, a Mumbai-based firm, sold these devices to HDFC Bank customers. The company had an alliance with the bank. Why the controversy? Under RBI norms, banks cannot force any customer buy any product. Banks can have tie-ups with suppliers but the sale of products should be optional. Here, the bank allegedly forced the customer to buy the product bundling it with the loan, which is an irregularity. Hence the controversy. There were allegations that banks former auto loan head Ashok Khanna was involved in the GPS issue and subsequently was asked to go. However, the bank clarified that Khanna retired after getting a one-year extension. Also Read: What should investors do with the HDFC Bank stock post Q1 results? How did HDFC Bank respond to the allegations? In the banks AGM, HDFC Banks outgoing managing director and CEO, Aditya Puri said bank conducted an internal probe and found personal misconduct issues for which appropriate action has been taken against the concerned employees. Puri said Khanna participated in the enquiry. In a response to Moneycontrol, banks spokesperson said, the bank has nothing more to add beyond what Puri said at the AGM. Eight paramedics and drivers of the Centralised Accident and Trauma Services (CATS) ambulance fleet were injured -- two of them critically -- and as many as eight ambulances vandalised by a mob of 25-30 who attacked the emergency workers with knives, blades and sticks in outer Delhis Mangolpuri on Monday night over the attempted theft of a tablet. The violence, which lasted for nearly 20 minutes, took place at Mangolpuris L-block community centre that has been turned into a temporary base station for CATS ambulances and staffers hired from Uttar Pradesh by the Delhi government. The injured persons alleged that the attack happened after a few CATS employees caught a local resident and his two associates trying to steal a tablet, provided to each CATS ambulance for attending emergency calls, from a driver. The driver and the ambulance had returned to its temporary base station after shifting a positive Covid-19 patient to Sanjay Gandhi Hospital when the attempted snatching took place. Shahzad Rajput, the driver whose tablet they tried to snatch, said, Around 8pm, I was attending a call when three-four men arrived and tried to snatch the tablet and my cellphone. I resisted and caught one of them with the help of my co-workers. Soon, a group of 25-30 people arrived and tried to free the man from us. They pelted stones and bricks at us and attacked us with sticks and weapons. I suffered cuts on my back and forearm. Apart from Rajput, seven other CATS staffers were injured. They were identified as Javed, Arun Mishra, Anil Babu, Dinesh Kumar, Ambrish, Akhilesh Dubey, and Mahender Dubey. Akhilesh, Arun and Dinesh are paramedics, while the others are drivers. Mahender and Ambrish, who were seriously injured, are still undergoing treatment. The damaged ambulances were on Covid-19 duty and the injured staffers are all front-line workers in the fight against the Covid-19 pandemic. The windscreens and glasses of all the eight CATS ambulances were smashed in the stone pelting. The ambulances will be taken off emergency services until they are repaired and that may take at least a week, said the injured CATS employees. The injured men claimed that they made two calls to the police but they reached the spot 30 minutes after the incident. One of the policemen tried to frighten us; he said the attackers were all local criminals and since we were outsiders, we should not be getting into a confrontation with them. Almost 17 hours have passed since the attack on us, but not a single culprit has been arrested, alleged Javed, an injured driver. The police said the locals turned violent after they learnt that the CATS staffers had allegedly tied up the suspected snatcher and assaulted him. We have registered a case and are looking for the persons who damaged the ambulances and freed their associate who had tried to snatch a phone from an ambulance driver, said deputy commissioner of police (outer) A Koan. There are two more base stations at the community centres of R and N blocks in Mangolpuri. Nearly 20 newly hired CATS ambulances are stationed at the three base stations and their drivers as well as paramedic staff have been given accommodations there itself, said Jitender Kaushik, president, CATS ambulance staff union. Uber Technologies Inc. is bracing for a long summer of legal battles that could see the end of its reign in London and entitle its drivers to a long list of workers rights. A dispute over whether its drivers should continue to be classified as self-employed begins Tuesday at the U.K.s Supreme Court. In a second legal clash scheduled for September, Uber will appeal the loss of its operating license in the capital, its biggest European market. The cases come at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has already reduced demand, and caused Uber to cut about a quarter of its workforce. It reported a first-ever decline in the gross bookings of rides last quarter and said business was down 80% in April. While the employment case could force it to reimburse drivers for unpaid holiday pay, the challenge to its license could push it out of London. Its the end of the road for Uber as we know it if they lose, lawyer Jolyon Maugham, whos taken the company to court over its tax repayments, said about the employment case. Uber argues that it is a middleman between its self-employed drivers and passengers, but is fighting similar cases elsewhere, including its home state of California. Two issues lie at the heart of the U.K. case, the first whether drivers are employed by Uber and the second, if they are workers, at what times they are working for Uber. Three lower U.K. courts have found that Ubers drivers are workers, meaning theyre entitled to benefits including minimum wage and holiday pay. They also found drivers were regarded as working for Uber whenever they had the Uber App switched on, in the area in which they were permitted to drive, and were able and willing to drive trips. The rulings lead to the absurd result that drivers could switch on their Uber App and other driving apps, including competitors to Uber, and claim the national minimum wage from each of the app operators during the same period of time, Ubers lawyer Dinah Rose said Tuesday in documents prepared for court. If drivers are deemed workers, contrary to Ubers case, they could only be working while actually driving passengers on confirmed trips, she said. Core of the Service Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in 2018 that the lawsuit covers a matter thats at the core of the service. A loss may turn the companys business in the U.K.s burgeoning gig economy upside down, and also mean it has to pay value added tax to its fares. That will put their fares up and thats pretty damaging for a business that competes on price, Maugham said. While Uber has introduced measures for drivers, including insurance and 14 days of sick pay for anyone with Covid-19 symptoms, Tuesdays appeal will rest on facts from four years ago, when the case was brought. The vast majority of drivers want to work independently, and in recent years weve made significant changes to our app to offer more benefits with total flexibility, Jamie Heywood, Ubers regional general manager for northern and eastern Europe, said in a statement. Uber has had setbacks in other European capitals, including France, where a criminal court fined the company and two executives a total of 850,000 euros ($972,000) in 2016. On Monday in Amsterdam, a group of British drivers filed a complaint that Uber violated its obligations under European data protection rules by not giving them access to their own data nor to the information used by the companys app to make decisions. A loss at the U.K. Supreme Court would send the case back to the Employment Tribunal in London, which could force Uber to pay a substantial bill to drivers. Lawyers for GMB, the labor union bringing the lawsuit, say tens of thousands of Uber drivers could be entitled to an average of 12,000 pounds ($15,200) each. Uber persists in using the legal system to avoid its responsibilities to our members, Susan Harris, GMB legal director, said by email. The case springs from a 2016 ruling by the tribunal, and Ubers appeal is coming up against a difficult legal precedent. Top U.K. judges ruled in 2018 that London-based Pimlico Plumbers Ltd. should have treated one of its tradesmen as a worker, giving him the right to vacation pay and to sue the company. That same year, taxi service Addison Lee Ltd. lost an appeal over whether drivers were independent contractors or employees with rights to benefits. A ruling on Ubers case will likely come toward the end of this year. London License The case over Ubers license returns to court in September for the second time in two years. Transport for London stripped the company of its permission to operate in November on grounds that it failed to adequately verify drivers identities and safeguard the service for passengers. In 2018, a London magistrates court granted a 15-month license with conditions. The license was far less than its previous five-year permit and shorter than the 18-month approval it requested at the hearing. TfL said in an emailed statement that it will now be for a magistrate to determine if Uber is fit and proper. Uber would be able to appeal a loss, a process that could take years while it continues operating. This time, Uber will have to prove to the same magistrate that its not a repeat offender, after she criticized the gung-ho attitude of the previous management team at the 2018 appeal. Photograph: The Uber Technologies Inc. ride-hailing service smartphone app sits on a smartphone display during a journey in this arranged photograph in London on Friday, Dec. 22, 2017. Photo credit: Chris J. Ratcliffe/Bloomberg. Related: Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Europe London Sharing Economy Ridesharing At a time when China is engaging in systematic rule-breaking and coercion, the US sees its growing security cooperation with India as one of the all important defence relationships of the 21st century, US defence secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday. The exercise in the Indian Ocean between Indian Navy warships and a US Navy carrier strike group led by the USS Nimitz reflects the shared commitment of the two countries to boost naval cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, he added. Delivering a speech on the US strategy and vision for security in the Indo-Pacific during a virtual event organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Esper didnt directly refer to the India-China border standoff but made numerous references to what he described as rule-breaking and coercive behaviour by Beijing, especially in the South China Sea and against members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean). He made a special mention of warming India-US security ties, which in recent years have expanded to the 2+2 dialogue between the foreign and defence ministers and big ticket deals for defence hardware, including aircraft and missile systems. I want to highlight our increased defence cooperation with India, one of the all important defence relationships of the 21st century, he said. We conducted the first ever joint military exercise last November and as we speak today, the USS Nimitz is conducting combined exercises with the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean, demonstrating our shared commitment to stronger naval cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Esper added: We also continue to grow our defence sales and look forward to a robust 2+2 ministerial dialogue later this year to build on this progress. On the other hand, China has continued to engage in systematic rule-breaking, coercion and other malign activities amid the Covid-19 crisis, while the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has engaged in aggressive behaviour in the East and South China Seas, including sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat, harassing Malaysian oil and gas development, and escorting Chinese fishing vessels into Malaysias exclusive economic zone, he said. Asked about the India-China standoff during the question-and-answer session after his speech, Esper said the US is monitoring closely whats happening along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). He said the US was very pleased to see that both sides are trying to de-escalate the situation. In response to a separate question, Esper said the exercise between the Indian Navy and the carrier strike group led by USS Nimitz shows the growing cooperation between our countries and our ability to project power into the region and to sustain it with our allies and partners. The US, he noted, is encouraging Indo-Pacific nations to expand intra-regional security relationships and networks of like-minded partners. In this regard, he pointed to the logistical support agreement finalised by India and Australia in June. Esper also referred to what he said was Chinas catalogue of bad behaviour that accompanies a pattern of disregard for international commitments, failure to uphold commitments under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and disregard for the rights of other countries under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China, he added, bullied Asean nations out of an estimated $2.6 trillion in potential offshore oil and gas revenues and cut off access to important fishing grounds even as it made incursions into waters around Japans Senkaku Islands and looked the other way as North Korea violated UN Security Council resolutions related to its nuclear programme. We call on Chinas leaders to abide by the international laws and norms that China and the Chinese people have benefited greatly from over the years. While we hope the [China] will change its ways, we must be prepared for the alternative, he said. ... President Trump boasted Tuesday morning about the praise he received about his interview with 'Fox News Sunday's' Chris Wallace, where he was fact-checked in real time by the host, who also mocked the president for acing a cognitive test. 'Thank you for the good reviews and comments on my interview with Chris Wallace of @FoxNews,' the president tweeted. 'We may have set a record for doing such an interview in the heat. It was 100 degrees, making things very interesting!' The interview, conducted Friday and aired in-full Sunday, was hot, sweaty and heated at times, as Wallace pushed back on Trump's assertion that Democratic rival Joe Biden wanted to 'defund' or 'abolish' the police. President Trump (left) sat for a hot and heated interview with 'Fox News Sunday' host Chris Wallace (right), who fact-checked the president in real time and mocked him for passing a cognitive test, saying 'it's not the hardest test' President Trump tweeted realy Tuesday morning about the 'good reviews' he received for his sit-down with 'Fox News Sunday' host Chris Wallace Trump had decided to host Wallace outside the White House, joking that he wanted to see him 'sweat' on a day where the high didn't get up to 100 degrees, but was in the mid-90s. On several occasions, Trump stopped the interview to shout to White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany to bring him visuals. During one such moment, Trump was trying to blame the current surge in shootings in major cities like New York and Chicago and the Democrats and then said Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee, wanted to 'defund' the police. Last week Biden had rolled out a policy document worked on by supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, a top primary rival, too. The document doesn't explicitly call for defunding the police and actually puts more money toward certain services for law enforcement. 'He signed a charter with Bernie Sanders,' Trump said. Wallace pointed out, 'It says nothing about defunding the police.' 'Oh really? It says abolish, it says,' Trump said, raising his hands, slapping his knees and then turning to someone off-camera. 'Let's go! Get me the charter, please.' During a Friday preview of the interview, Wallace explained what happened next. 'And he went through it and he found a lot of things that he objected to, that Biden had agreed to, but he couldn't find any indication, because there isn't any, that Joe Biden has sought to defund and abolish the police,' the 'Fox News Sunday' host said. Wallace also asked Trump why Biden, who the president has nicknamed 'sleepy Joe' and suggested isn't mentally fit, gets higher poll numbers when Americans were asked which candidate is more competent. 'Biden beats you on that,' Wallace said. Trump then challenged the Democrat to taking a cognitive evaluation. 'Well, I'll tell you what, let's take a test. Let's take a test right now. Let's go down, Joe and I will take a test. Let him take the same test that I took,' Trump said. Wallace said he, too, took the Montreal Cognitive Assessment when he heard Trump passed it. 'Yeah, how did you do?' the president asked. Wallace answered, 'well, it's not the hardest test.' 'They have a picture and it says "what's that?" and it's an elephant,' the host said. Trump claimed that was a 'misrepresentation.' 'Well, that's what it was on the web,' Wallace said. Trump said while the first few questions are easy, 'I bet you couldn't even answer the last five questions. I bet you couldn't, they get very hard, the last five questions.' 'Well, one of them was count back 100 by seven,' Wallace said. Trump continued to suggest that Wallace - nor Biden - could ace the test. 'I'll get you the test, I'd like to give it. I'll guarantee you that Joe Biden could not answer those questions,' he said. 'And I answered all 35 questions correctly.' Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga stresses that her country does not recognize the annexation of Crimea by the Russian Federation, and in favor for sending human rights defenders to the peninsula under the auspices of the UN and OSCE. She said at a briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday after a meeting with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky that Switzerland doesn't recognize the annexation of Crimea. She said her country believes that the UN and OSCE should immediately send representatives of international human rights organizations there. A Sydney lawyer has been hit with a $73,000 costs bill in a long-running court feud involving his neighbour, a former Family Court judge, over a luxury Point Piper apartment block. NSW Supreme Court Justice David Hammerschlag said Greg Golding, a partner at law firm Ashurst, had acted "unreasonably and irresponsibly" in the latest round of the fight by objecting to paying levies related to the upkeep of the converted Georgian mansion including administrators' costs. Former judge Stephen O'Ryan and lawyer Greg Golding are embroiled in a stoush over their Point Piper apartment block. Justice Hammerschlag, who has previously referred to the case as a "saga" and a "state of warfare", said occupants of the four-apartment complex including Mr Golding and his wife, and former Family Court judge Stephen O'Ryan, QC, and his wife, "live in disharmony" in the block. The animosity between the Goldings and the O'Ryans in court was "palpable", he remarked in an earlier judgment, and "the deadlock between them ... appears irresolvable to the naked eye". Medics arrive at the Victoria Hospital during week-long lockdown imposed due to surge in COVID-19 cases, in Bengaluru. PTI photo New Delhi: In India, where daily rising COVID-19 numbers are a major cause of concern, AIIMS began Phase 1 of human trials of COVID-19 vaccines on Monday, results of which are expected in three months. Covid cases saw a new high on Tuesday as India's COVID-19 tally zoomed past 11 lakh cases with a whopping 37,148 new detections in one day. The total cases in India so far are now 11,55,191 while overall deaths are 28,084 out of which 587 were recorded in the last 24 hours. There are 4,02,529 active cases of the coronavirus infection currently in the country, while 7,24,577 people have recovered till now. Thus, 62.72 per cent people have recovered so far, it said. The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners. This is the sixth consecutive day when COVID-19 cases increased by more than 30,000. Of the 587 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, 176 are from Maharashtra, 72 from Karnataka, 70 from Tamil Nadu, 54 from Andhra Pradesh, 46 from Uttar Pradesh, 35 each from West Bengal and Delhi, 20 from Gujarat, 17 from Madhya Pradesh and 10 from Jammu and Kashmir. Nine fatalities have been reported from Rajasthan, followed by eight in Punjab, seven in Telangana, six each in Haryana and Odisha, four in Jharkhand, three in Uttarakhand, two each in Tripura and Meghalaya, and one each in Assam, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Puducherry. According to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 1,43,81,303 samples have been tested up to July 20 with 3,33,395 samples being tested on Monday. Of the total 28,084 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 12,030 fatalities followed by Delhi with 3,663 deaths, Tamil Nadu 2,551, Gujarat 2,162, Karnataka 1,403, Uttar Pradesh 1,192, West Bengal 1,147, Madhya Pradesh 738 and Andhra Pradesh 696. So far, 568 people have died of COVID-19 in Rajasthan, 422 in Telangana, 355 in Haryana, 262 in Punjab, 254 in Jammu and Kashmir, 217 in Bihar, 97 in Odisha, 58 in Assam, 55 in Uttarakhand, 53 in Jharkhand and 43 in Kerala. Puducherry has registered 29 deaths, Chhattisgarh 25, Goa 23, Chandigarh 12, Himachal Pradesh 11, Tripura seven, Meghalaya four, Arunachal Pradesh three, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Ladakh have reported two fatalities each. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities. Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 3,18,695 followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,75,678, Delhi at 1,23,747, Karnataka at 67,420, Andhra Pradesh at 53,724, Uttar Pradesh at 51,160, Gujarat at 49,353 and Telangana at 46,274. The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 44,769 in West Bengal, 30,390 in Rajasthan, 27,646 in Bihar, 26,858 in Haryana, 25,382 in Assam and 23,310 in Madhya Pradesh. Odisha has reported 18,110 infections, Jammu and Kashmir 14,650, Kerala 13,274, while Punjab has 10,510 cases. A total of 5,756 people have been infected by the virus in Jharkhand, 5,561 in Chhattisgarh, 4,642 in Uttarakhand, 3,853 in Goa, 3,079 in Tripura, 2,092 in Puducherry, 1,925 in Manipur, 1,631 in Himachal Pradesh and 1,195 in Ladakh. Nagaland has recorded 1,021 COVID-19 cases, Arunachal Pradesh 790 Chandigarh 737 and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 684 cases. Meghalaya has reported 466 cases and Sikkim 305 cases. Mizoram has registered 297 infections so far, while Andaman and Nicobar Islands has recorded 207 cases. In view of rising cases, West Bengal has decided to follow Uttar Pradeshs strategy and announced complete lockdown for two days every week. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are the states that have reported 80% of the total new cases. Health Economist Riju M. John said such single-day spikes are a worrying trend and if this trend continues it can put severe pressure on hospital infrastructure and potentially increase the mortality rates. According to his calculations, the daily cases are expected to hit 60,000 to 65,000 by the second half of August. He added the daily growth rate of active cases has been growing steadily over the past two weeks and has now surpassed the growth of total cases. Another Economist Prof Shamika Ravi said active cases are now growing at the rate of 4.1% which means India will have 7.8 lakh active cases by August 6. Containment policy clearly failing in several states, she said while adding Bihar infection growth is much faster at 10% than all India 4.1% and the deaths are faster too 3.1 % compared to 2.4% all India. She said Bihar is not testing enough. A central team is in Bihar to monitor the situation and assist the state government in disease management. Delhi, which has shown an impressive recovery, now has a recovery rate close to 85 %, with active cases just 12 %. In Delhi, more than 50 % of all the infected persons are recovering in-home isolations. AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said certain areas of the city have hit their peak in Covid-19 cases while some areas are yet to reach the peak. He added that there is not much evidence of community transmission happening at the national level but there are hotspots in different cities where there is a spike of cases and it is very likely that local community transmission in those areas is happening. According to the Union Health Ministry, the case fatality rate in India continues to register a steady decline and has dropped to 2.46 per cent on Monday. Officials said India has one of the lowest case-fatality rates in the world. (Natural News) On July 16, 2020, Attorney General Bill Barr took Hollywood to task for its cozy relationship with the Chinese Communist Party. (Article by Jose Nino republished from BigLeaguePolitics.com) During a speech in Grand Rapids, Michigan Thursday, Attorney General Bill Barr went after Hollywood for capitulation to the Chinese Communist Party. The Peoples Republic of China is now engaged in an economic blitzkrieg, an aggressive, orchestrated, whole-of-government, indeed, whole-of-society, campaign to seize the commanding heights of the global economy and to surpass the United States as the worlds preeminent superpower, Barr stated. Hollywood actors, producers, and directors pride themselves on celebrating freedom and the human spirit. And every year at the Academy Awards, Americans are lectured about how this country falls short of Hollywoods ideals of social justice. But Hollywood now regularly censors its own movies to appease the Chinese Communist Party, the worlds most powerful violator of human rights. This censorship infects not only versions of movies that are released in China, but also many that are shown in American theaters to American audiences, he added. Many Hollywood films that have been altered, one way or another, to conform to CCP propaganda. Barr also highlighted Chinas plans to position itself as a world leader in trade and technology. A centerpiece of this effort is the Communist Partys Made in China 2025 initiative, a plan for PRC domination of high-tech industries like robotics, advanced information technology, aviation, and electric vehicles. Backed by hundreds of billions of dollars in subsidies, this initiative poses a real threat to U.S. technological leadership, Barr said. Katie Pavlich of Townhall noted that Trump is set to make an announcement about creating more incentives for American companies to manufacture products in the U.S. or allied nations. Youll see over the next few weeks Im doing something that is extremely bold. Youll see. I think youll be extremely impressed by it. Ive been fighting this with China for a long time. You had the globalists, they want to make everything in China. We can make our pencils here, Trump declared. Im very upset with China, I think what China did is a disgrace. Whether they knew it or not I wont get into that but one thing, they knew it well enough that it didnt get into the rest of China but it did get out to the rest of the world including Europe and the U.S. then they tried to blame it on Europe, then they tried to blame it on American soldiers, they did everything, Trump commented. Its the China virus, whether you like it or not, its the China virusI am very angry with China. Political elites have downplayed the China question for decades. Now, that the U.S. finds itself in a generalized crisis largely the result of the Chinese governments incompetence in containing a virus, policymakers must reconsider the degree of economic ties the country has with China. Policymakers should also question the amount of immigration we receive from the country as well due to the degree of corporate and military espionage Chinese nationals disproportionately commit. China is not a friend and its probably best that American leadership recognize that before its too late. Read more at: BigLeaguePolitics.com live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The market seems to be in a strong position right now, thanks to the global liquidity, and a decent start to the June quarter earnings. BSE Sensex and Nifty50 have rallied nearly 12 percent each since the week ended June 12. Both the indices have surged more than 48 percent each from their March 23 low. June quarter earnings for some companies have been better than expected as opposed to expectation of a washout quarter due to coronavirus-led lockdown. Progress in launch of a vaccine could be another factor driving the market higher, experts feel. "We have witnessed a global liquidity driven rally despite COVID-19 numbers shooting up in various geographies especially US, Brazil, India and a few other countries are facing a second wave. Developed markets had liquidity flows due to monetary policies and stimulus packages whereas India seems to be having liquidity flows from retail," Ambareesh Baliga, an Independent Market Expert told Moneycontrol. Prashanth Tapse, AVP Research at Mehta Equities said apart from liquidity flow, domestic markets remained in the green zone on the back of better-than-expected corporate earnings and news stating early vaccine for COVID-19 helped markets. Overall, experts feel given the sharp rally from March lows, a correction is overdue and that can happen anytime, but stock-specific opportunities never end. Investors have to select the right stock at right time. Here is a list 10 stocks that can be good bets for the medium-to-long term as recommended by various experts: Expert: Ambareesh Baliga, an Independent Market Expert NBCC NBCC is a PSU which into EPC and PMC (Project Management Contract) with an order book of Rs 70,000 crore. Currently they have Rs 13,000 crore is under execution but once labour returns and completely deployed - it should rise to about Rs 33,000 crore. They are preferred contractors for government projects though there is a tendering process. A big positive was settlement of Amrapali Project where construction has now resumed and getting green clearance for their projects in Delhi which were stuck due to environmental issues. In fact they have been sold Rs 525 crore worth of units in the Delhi project in May 2020 which is a feat in itself. The next trigger would be to take over of JP Infra which will give them 2,000 acres of land for development. The stock had cracked from levels of over Rs 80 2 years back due to uncertainties regarding various projects which were stuck in the regulatory conundrum but now have got most of the clearances, thus it could be the beginning of a fresh move. Himatsingka Seide Himatsingka Seide operates amongst the largest capacities in the world for producing premium upholstery fabrics, drapery fabrics, bed linen products. They inaugurated their greenfield project in terry towels in October 2019 marking their foray into bath linen. As a turnaround story it became a multibagger during 2015-2018 moving from around Rs 40 to a peak of around Rs 400, with matching performance of EBITDA growth CAGR of 23 percent in 5 years till FY19. However Q4 FY20 proved to be a disaster - with exceptional write offs Rs 58 crore due to Italy Operations restructuring, inventory write down etc. I expect it to be back on track since both their manufacturing facilities were back in production in April & May (though currently the unit at Doddaballapur has been temporarily shut due to lockdown in that area). The management has confirmed that order books are nearly 75 percent of pre-COVID numbers and production in operating unit is back to near normal. Himatsingka has a strong brand portfolio through owned and licensed brands contributing 75-80 percent of its revenue. Though North America concentration of 80 percent of the topline is a risk but the management confirms that none of the major customers are at default risk. It could be among the major beneficiaries of customers moving away from China and the Rupee depreciation is favourable. Overall a good long term pick. Emami Emami is into natural skin care and healthcare products with brands like Boroplus, Zandu range, KeshKing, Fair & Handsome etc. Last year Emami had suffered lower revenue growth due to a long winter - but this year, a mild winter and long summer should help volume growth though at a slower pace due to COVID-19 pandemic. Their direct reach in the market is up more than 50 percent in last 3 years with nearly 10 lakh outlets. One of the pain points has been group debt and pledge of promoters shares. With the sale of Emami Cement this issue too is resolved. COVID-19 has brought back in focus health and immunity. Emami has immunity building products under Zandu brand which should do very well, whereas Rural economy is the least affected and is expected to bounce back well due to normal monsoons which is good for Emami Products. This could be a good immunity stock for the portfolio. Jyothy Labs Jyothy Labs is a leading brand in home and personal care segments including fabric care, household insecticides, personal care and dishwashing with strong brands like Ujala, Henko, Maxo, Margo, Exo, Pril, etc. It operates through 26 manufacturing facilities across 22 locations and has more than 5,000 stockists across the country. It has been a consistent performer with sizeable presence in South India. COVID-19 pandemic has put focus on Hygiene and Cleanliness. Pre-COVID - Fabric care segment witnessed strong 23.3 percent growth in Henko. Personal care segment grew 13.3 percent. Exo & Pril, have a strong footing in south India with around 30 percent market share whereas North India is an opportunity. Ujala market share is 80 percent - a clear leader. Overall, the Hygiene & Cleanliness theme will play out in this pandemic as well as post that which along with a rural consumption growth would make Jyothy Labs an attractive pick. TVS Motor Company TVS Motor is an interesting stock as COVID-19 has put the focus on personal transportation thus improving the prospects of 2-wheeler in the Auto sector which is already getting a fillip from the rural economy. Sales improved 3.4 times in June 2020 compared to May 2020 - ahead of competition just behind Hero Motocorp. TVS have been improving margins since last two years due to sustained cost reduction efforts and the management is confident of improving it further in the coming years as well. In Q4FY20, realisations increased substantially around 13 percent YoY to Rs 55,000 due to higher proportion of BS6 sales as well as focus on exports. Exports to Africa which has been its major market has been dependent on oil prices - And now with oil prices having bounced back well from the lows - Africa exports should look better. Though FY21 could be a period of recovery, we should see major growth in FY22, thus could be sought after stock. Expert: Prashanth Tapse, AVP Research at Mehta equities Bharat Electronics Riding on Make in India and Vocal to local, we believe BEL is well placed to tap the story. The business going prospects forward looks encouraging especially given the government focus for indigenization of defence manufacturing. We expect normalcy to return in the second half of the financial year and BEL is well prepared to execute domestic demands as well as cater to exports as well as overcoming challenges in its way to growth. Hence we are optimistic on BEL which is capable of delivering a much better larger turnover yielding cashflow /returns over two-three years. Mishra Dhatu Nigam We like Midhani business model servicing core strategic sectors like defence, space, power and nuclear for nearly three decades and its presence in one of the few metallurgical plants of its kind in the world, designed to manufacture a wide range of special metals and alloys using integrated and highly flexible manufacturing systems. Hence we believe vocal for local tagline Midhani would stand well placed to tap the opportunity. HDFC Life Insurance Company We see an opportunity for the insurance industry amid COVID-19 and investors looking for a high quality business with consistent earnings growth, HDFC Life offers the best in class investment opportunity to accumulate at the current levels. We believe people would start realizing the importance of insurance and the backing it provides in the trying times like the current ones. We strongly believe HDFC Life is optimistic on protection growth and as soon as things get normalised in near future people will look for brands and take up policy for life. Hence we believe the stock to deliver steady returns over the medium term. BPCL We like BPCL business best in segment operating four refineries with a combined capacity of 38.3 million tonnes per annum, which is 15 percent of India's total refining capacity of 249.4 million tonnes. We believe the key catalyst for BPCL is developments on disinvestment which should keep news flow supportive. The proposed strategic disinvestment of its entire shareholding in BPCL looks to sell it to an overseas oil firm. On valuation parse BPCL is trading at an attractive valuation of 1.8 times P/B (3-year average P/B is above 2 times) and stock is trading at P/E: 8.2 FY21E with good dividend with decent yield. Tata Consumer Products We like Tata Consumer Products (formerly Tata Global Beverages) business which is on its way to becoming a diversified FMCG company with the addition of a strong foods portfolio from Tata Chemicals (salt, pulses, spices) to its already strong tea, coffee and water portfolio both in India and internationally. We believe the acquisition of the consumer products portfolio of Tata Chemicals is a transformational strategic plan for Tata Consumer as it provides long-term revenue growing opportunities. We also consider a positive opinion on recent managerial change with Mr Sunil Dsouza (ex Unilever, Coca Cola, PepsiCo, Whirlpool) taking over as MD & CEO in April 2020. Tata Consumer Products would be in a unique position to leverage the strong brand, wider product portfolio and distribution reach to serve the growing aspirations of consumers across the country. Hence we hold a positive outlook on the counter. : The views and investment tips expressed by investment expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. CSE: VYGR OTCQB: VYGVF Borse Frankfurt: UCD2 - Voyager customers and partners will now be able to fund their accounts through credit and debit cards, as well as bank wires to access all 40 digital assets - NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Voyager Digital Ltd. ("Voyager" or the "Company") (CSE: VYGR) (OTCQB: VYGVF) (FRA: UCD2), a public, licensed crypto-asset broker that provides investors with a turnkey solution to trade crypto assets, today announced an expansion of its partnership with Circle Internet Financial Inc., to include the Company's Circle Payments API Integration. Voyager will integrate the Circle Platform Services & Payments API into its Voyager Crypto Broker Platform which will result in the expansion of its funding mechanisms. "Adding Circle Platform Services & Payments to our Crypto Broker Platform enables us to broaden the available funding channels for Voyager accounts," said Steve Ehrlich, Co-Founder and CEO of Voyager. "These new services will give Voyager customers access to more options to fund their accounts through debit cards, credit cards and bank wires. As a result, Voyager customers will now have additional options to access all 40 of Voyager's digital assets through our commission-free crypto broker trading platform. The addition of these new funding mechanisms will also make it easier for international customers to move fiat onto the Voyager platform, as we set our sight on global expansion." Voyager previously announced in February 2020 that it had entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Circle Invest, the retail digital asset business from Circle Internet Financial, Inc. The transaction added more than 40,000 retail accounts to Voyager's customer base, making it one of the largest digital-asset-only agency brokers in the U.S., now servicing over 230,000 global users across its platforms. The majority of Circle Invest customers converted to the Voyager Platform at the end of March 2020. "We're excited to expand the partnership with Voyager and play a key supporting role as the firm answers growing global demand for crypto assets and USD Coin," said Circle Co-Founder and CEO, Jeremy Allaire. "Circle platform services enable industry innovators, like Voyager, to rapidly extend product offerings and reach more customers with payment methods that seamlessly bridge traditional financial networks and digital dollar stablecoins, like USDC." Circle has introduced next generation payments processing APIs and has successfully combined the benefits of stablecoins and blockchain with traditional forms of payments like cards and banks. Just recently, Circle's Stablecoin, USDC, officially passed the $1 billion market capitalization, a monumental milestone that secures its rank as the 2nd largest stable coin in the cryptocurrency marketplace. USDC has seen increased demand and has become a verifiably trusted source of 1:1 dollar peg due to its adherence to transparency and auditability. Last week, Voyager provided shareholders with a business and operational update as of June 30, 2020. The Company also announced preliminary unaudited revenue of approximately $1.1 million for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2020, representing a 1,159% year-over-year increase and 750% in Brokerage Accounts. Voyager expects to file its full-year fiscal 2020 financial statements and MD&A on or before September 30, 2020. About Voyager Digital Ltd. Voyager Digital Ltd. is a crypto-asset broker that provides retail and institutional investors with a turnkey solution to trade crypto assets. Voyager offers customers best execution and safe custody on a wide choice of popular crypto-assets. Voyager was founded by established Wall Street and Silicon Valley entrepreneurs who teamed to bring a better, more transparent and cost-efficient alternative for trading crypto-assets to the marketplace. Please visit us at https://www.investvoyager.com for more information and to review the latest Corporate Presentation. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. No securities regulatory authority has either approved or disapproved of the contents of this press release. Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Information: The forward-looking statements contained herein are made as of the date of this release and, other than as required by applicable securities laws, the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise it to reflect new events or circumstances. There is no assurance any of the upcoming milestones listed above will be realized in the manner contemplated, or at all. The forward-looking statements contained in this release are expressly qualified by this cautionary statement. SOURCE Voyager Digital (Canada) Ltd. Kanye West has claimed wife Kim Kardashian West tried to get a doctor to lock me up after he said the couple considered an abortion while expecting their first child. West, who says he is running to be president of the US, told a crowd in South Carolina on Sunday that a message from God convinced him to keep the baby. Kardashian West gave birth to their first child, daughter North, in 2013. Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday ye (@kanyewest) July 21, 2020 The rapper, who has been open about his bipolar disorder diagnosis, has now claimed his wife tried to bring a doctor to his ranch in Wyoming, comparing the situation to 2017 horror film Get Out. He tweeted: Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday. The claim was made in a series of distressing tweets, some of which have now been deleted, in which he demanded Kardashian West and his mother-in-law Kris Jenner call me now. DONDA coming this Friday pic.twitter.com/HGibF3PHYf ye (@kanyewest) July 21, 2020 About two hours after tweeting the claims against his wife, West said ima focus on the music now and revealed he plans to release an album on Friday. He shared a picture of the 12-song tracklist for Donda, which is named after his late mother. Song titles include Off The Grid, Gods Country and Praise God. Notations next to the titles appear to show the songs are still being worked on. This would not be out of character for West, who is known to tweak his albums right up to release and in the case of his 2016 effort The Life Of Pablo, post-release. Story continues Before the album announcement, West said Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour looked at me like I was crazy when he told her about the deal to sell his Yeezy fashion line through Gap stores. West also shared a picture of his four children with Kardashian West. West children will never do playboy west pic.twitter.com/HkhaDSFGxD ye (@kanyewest) July 21, 2020 Reality TV star Kardashian West is yet to publicly respond. Wests tweets came a day after his headline-making event in North Charleston, South Carolina, where he discussed his presidential bid. The 43-year-old wore a protective vest during the event and had 2020 shaved into his head. He floated the idea of giving struggling mothers one million dollars to discourage abortions. However, it has since emerged West has missed the deadline to appear on the presidential ballot in South Carolina. He did not submit a petition of 10,000 signatures by noon local time on Monday and would therefore not appear on the ballot, a state official said. South Carolina State Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said: The deadline has passed for any candidate to submit a petition for the November 3, 2020, General Election. Kanye West did not submit a petition. While he missed the South Carolina cut off, Fox News reported he made the Illinois deadline to file as an independent candidate. Kanye West during his memorable appearance on Sunday (Lauren Petracca Ipetracca/The Post And Courier via AP) West is from Chicago and Illinois is his home state. Fox said an Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman confirmed representatives for West filed 412 petition sheets and officials would count the signatures to check if they amounted to the 2,500 needed for a place on the ballot. West, a rap superstar, billionaire and fashion designer, announced his White House bid in a tweet on July 5, though doubts persist over how seriously to take his tilt at the top job. Last week, he qualified to appear on Oklahomas presidential ballot, the first state where he met the requirements before the filing deadline. However, that deadline has passed in several states. West drew sharp criticism for his comments during Sundays event about Harriet Tubman, one of the most revered figures in US history. Tubman was a 19th century abolitionist who led slaves to freedom. West said the Underground Railroad conductor never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people. The Halton public school board is pressing the province to drop the hybrid back-to-school model a combination of in-person and online classes saying it would not only be unfair to working families, but also less safe than having kids return to class full-time. Trustees have sent a letter to Education Minister Stephen Lecce urging him to drop the mixed model as a possibility for this fall, saying it could potentially leave parents of 36,000 elementary students seeking care for children on the days they arent at school. Not only that, as parents scramble to rearrange their schedules around an alternate-day or alternative-week model or give up on work entirely they would also face the financial burden of care, while at the same time their childrens circle of contacts would expand drastically. It is a house of cards, said Halton District School Board chair Andrea Grebenc. The all-female boards concerns include how temporary child-care situations may mix students from various school classes, schools and boards, exponentially exposing the contained classroom bubble of students and staff and risking harder-to-trace-and-contain outbreaks in various classes, schools and across boards than if they returned to school full-time. It would be counterproductive to limiting widespread community infection and poses great challenges to contact tracing efforts, says the board, which serves Oakville, Burlington, Milton and Halton Hills. Earlier this month, two trustees at the Toronto District School board raised alarms about the hybrid model, and urged the government to be creative and ambitious to get children back to school full-time, including looking for additional space if classes are to be limited to 15 students or even tinkering with the length of the school day. Trustees at both boards have noted that the burden of leaving parents to supervise their childrens learning is unfair to working families, noting women typically take on that responsibility. In Halton, trustees said the 15-student class size outlined under the full return to school as a way to maintain a smaller group of contacts is not feasible with current funding levels. They are asking for more funding, or some flexibility with the class sizes. The trustees also said the amount of child care needed under a hybrid model does not currently exist in Halton Region for school-aged children, so last-minute options would spring up, with unknown safety protocols. The Toronto board has modelled options including a 15-student cap in elementary classes, or a combination of 15 students from kindergarten to Grade 3 with 20 students in Grades 4 to 8. Grebenc said the province could be more innovative and consider including outdoor learning for the first few months of school in schoolyards, area parks or conservation areas given the lower transmission rates compared to indoors. At the legislature Monday, Lecce said we all appreciate that many parents in this province have faced difficulty as a consequence of COVID-19, as well in the context of wanting certainty about the way forward. What we can confirm to parents, to students and, of course, our education staff in the province is that we will be prepared to respond to the local challenges and the transmission risk that may arise as a consequence of COVID-19. He said the governments commitment, our solemn responsibility to the people of this province, is to do whatever it takes to keep families safe. The province is to provide a general direction for all boards, which are submitting plans by Aug. 4, so there will be local variations depending on which model it goes with. Both Lecce and Premier Doug Ford have said they would prefer students to be in school full-time in the fall. But Liberal MPP Mitzie Hunter, a former education minister, said there are gaps if a five-day learning week is the governments goal. Wheres the funding? Wheres the planning? Where are the safety guidelines and protocols? Theres not enough space, not enough teachers, theres not enough planning, she said, and more resources are needed to hire teachers and custodians. New Democrat MPP and education critic Marit Stiles said schooling and child care should be the biggest priority for any government that wants to see real recovery. The Ford government, she added, has shown that they havent really managed this well. We are down to the crunch. After scenes of chaos at the South Goa Collectorate on Tuesday, where visitors not equipped with smartphones or did not have the Aarogya Setu app downloaded to their devices were disallowed entry to the premises, Leader of Opposition Digambar Kamat has demanded that the entry restrictions be lifted. Minimising the hardships of people is the duty of every government. I demand that the government of Goa should immediately withdraw its order prohibiting entry of people without the Aarogya Setu app in South Goa Collectorate. The government must know, even those without smartphones are citizens of India, Kamat said on Tuesday, a day which saw chaotic scenes at the Collectorate building in South Goas Margao town. Follow live updates on the coronavirus here Visitors who either did not have smartphones or did not have the Union Health and Family Welfare app were denied permission to enter the premise, on the basis of an order issued on the directions of South Goa Collector Ajit Roy. The administrative order stated that only those who are marked safe on their Aarogya Setu app would be allowed to enter the Collectorate building. As per the directions of the Collector, I am directed to inform you to allow one those people who have downloaded the Aarogya Setu app on their mobile and their status is showing You are Safe only then, they will be permitted to enter the premises of the Collectorate... the order formally issued by Deputy Collector Snehal Prabhu said. The order comes at a time when the state is witnessing a surge in Covid-19 cases with the tally of active cases cross 1400. 25 persons have died as a result of a Covid-19 infection. The Chinese Regimes Elite Capture in Canada Commentary Members of the Chinese Communist Party have a rather distinguished repertoire as dedicated propagandists. There are many laughable maxims they use to push their narrative of global order. Perhaps at its most absurd and diabolical, any criticism of their actions in Hong Kong or elsewhere is usually dismissed as intervention into Chinas internal affairs. Which is interesting given the degree to which the CCP has shamelessly tried to penetrate other societies, with Canada being a favourable place for subversion because of the ease with which it can be achieved through the sinister phenomenon known as elite capture. Elite capture is simply the effort by Beijing to curry favour with highly placed members of the political, business, or cultural class in other countries to entrench its influence. This is usually done through offering lucrative financial deals in exchange for the elites spine, as theyre required to essentially toe the regimes propaganda line on matters of diplomacy and governance. It has been a subject of acute concern for the Canadian intelligence community over the last few decades. Project Sidewinder, the explosive 1997 report jointly prepared by the Canada Security Intelligence Service and the RCMP, alleged that the CCP had set up an intricate network with criminal gangs and business tycoons to hold sway over politicians, launder money, smuggle drugs, and commit various acts of espionage, while investing in multiple sectors of the Canadian economy. Affirming the connection between Chinese business and the CCP, the report concluded that China remains one of the greatest ongoing threats to Canadas national security and Canadian industry. Although the report recommended further investigations into Chinese influence in Canada, it was dismissed by politicians, with the Security Intelligence Review Committee finding it to be deeply flawed and unpersuasive. In the years following, the government under Jean Chretiens Liberals continued to pursue the China dream, embarking on trade deals and the integration of Beijing into the World Trade Organization, despite intelligence officials continuing to deliver similar analyses of Beijings activities. Claws of the Panda author Jonathan Manthorpe contended that the fatal flaw of the Sidewinder report was its myopic focus on criminal activity, which took attention from the legitimacy of its broader analysis of the Chinese regimes conduct in Canada. Hes probably right, as intelligence officials and others have come out again recently making the same arguments, evincing a problem that has gone unchecked for too long but is now unavoidable. Former ambassador to China David Mulroney told Global News reporter Sam Cooper on June 24 that there are people a lot more senior than I was in government, and they have some serious business links with China. China is very willing to weaponize trade and investment to compel people to say what they want them to say, he said. The issue of Chinese influence in Canada should be closer to the centre of our public debate given that globalization has done much to decimate the concepts of sovereignty and national loyalty. Politicians often tend to think of themselves more as global citizens rather than a representatives of a particular nation and citizenry that theyre obligated to. And as public sentiment becomes more in favour of decoupling or distancing from China, the obligations forced onto those under Beijings spell pose a serious obstacle to moving beyond outdated, self-defeating policies. Relevant to this is Article 38 of Hong Kongs new national security law, which makes it quite clear that foreigners and Hongkongers alike could be subjected to Beijings despotic judgments on dissent. This Law shall apply to offences under this Law committed against the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region from outside the Region by a person who is not a permanent resident of the Region, it states. As this could apply to politicians and businesses whose calculus is informed by their relationship with the CCP, there is incentive for them to give in to this clear intimidation of critics to preserve the status quo, much to the detriment of the citizens and democratic order of their own countries. Article 38 is a perfect manifestation of the CCPs foreign policy vision, with its underlying intent to control the narrative and exploit the economic advantages of China. Peaceful development under the Partys stewardship challenges the liberal order and redefines it in Chinas image by naturally attracting the world to Chinese influence. Many in Ottawa believe in the inevitability of globalization, which compels them to fall for this approach and Chinas chimeric appeal to common economic interests. Helping this along are organizations like the Canada-China Business Council, which has done much to facilitate our troubles with its servility toward Chinese investors and its members continued advocacy for an appeasement policy toward the CCP. The evidence has become overwhelming that Beijings elite capture problem isnt illusory, and something needs to be done about it. Canadas politicians should revisit our laws and processes, similar to what Australia and the United States have done, and consider how they can better reflect the urgent need for more transparency. Any justifications to the effect that entanglement with Beijing is for the good of Canadas interests ring hollow, as its apparent that the only people who continue to benefit from it are a group of well-connected elites. In our confrontation with what is now the gravest security threat to the free world, it would help if these elites began considering their obligations to Canada rather than to China. 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. Joe Biden said Monday he would overturn on his first day in office President Donald Trumps travel ban that initially targeted Muslim-majority countries. Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, said Muslims were the first to suffer attacks under the Trump administration the led to kids being bullied in school and an increase in hate crimes. Biden said Trump appointed unnamed key leaders in the Defense Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development despite their open Islamophobia. Donald Trump has fanned the flames of hate in this country across the board through his words, his policies, his appointments, his deeds and he continues to fan those flames, the former vice president said. Under this administration, weve seen an unconscionable rise in Islamophobia. The Trump campaign said faith is an important component of the president's efforts to rebuild the country and outreach to Muslims is included. Amid the pandemic, the Trump campaign said religion is essential for providing critical fellowship among communities. President Trump understands that our faith is what unites us as a nation," said Courtney Parella, a campaign spokeswoman. "He has and will continue to staunchly defend religious freedoms for all Americans. Biden's comments came in a speech to Emgage Action, an advocacy group for Muslim Americans, during a day of meetings when the group vowed to bring 1 million voters to the polls on Nov. 3. The group's chairman, Khurrum Wahid, said the plan is to deliver swing states such as Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and Florida to support Biden. We want to partner with you to fix the societal harm of this Trump presidency, Wahid said. During Trumps first month in office in January 2017, the president restricted travel from seven Muslim-majority countries. The restrictions were altered during a series of court challenges, with the addition of countries such as North Korea and Venezuela, and eventually upheld by the Supreme Court. Six more countries were added in January. Trump argued that the restrictions were for national security against terrorism. Story continues Muslim communities were the first to feel Donald Trumps assault on Black and brown communities in this country with his vile Muslim ban, Biden said. That fight was the opening barrage in what has been nearly four years of constant pressure and insults, and attacks against Muslim American communities. Biden also said he would work with Congress on legislation to discourage hate crimes and to abolish religious and racial profiling by authorities. Biden said he would seek Muslims to serve in his administration. Hes making a mockery of what we stand for, Biden said of Trump. We can do something about it. Im here today to ask you to join me in the fight to rip this poison from the government root and stem, or as the famous case said, root and branch. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden vows to overturn President Trump's 'vile' Muslim travel ban Hong Kong, July 21 : Hong Kong's unemployment rate remained the highest in more than 15 years during the past three months as the economy was still struggling against double blows from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and months of social unrest. The unemployment rate rose further from 5.9 per cent during the March-May period to 6.2 per cent in the April-June period, Xinhua news agency quoted data from the city government as saying on Monday. Over the same period, the underemployment rate also increased from 3.5 per cent to 3.7 per cent. "The labour market continued to deteriorate for the second quarter of 2020 as a whole," Secretary for Labour and Welfare Law Chi-kwong said, stressing the two figures stayed at the highest levels in over 15 years and nearly 17 years, respectively. The consumption and tourism-related sectors saw a combined jobless rate of 10.7 per cent from April to June, much higher than the average level and marking the highest since the SARS outbreak in 2003. The unemployment rate of food and beverage service stood at 14.7 per cent. "The still serious epidemic situations in certain parts of the world, and renewed surge in local cases lately serve as a timely reminder that the economic outlook is still subject to huge uncertainties," Law said. Hong Kong's labour market situation will depend very much on how the global and local pandemic situations evolve, he added. There was a resurgence of new COVID-19 cases in Hong Kong over the past weeks. The Center for Health Protection on Monday reported 73 new cases, including 66 local infections. The government has rolled out relief measures of unprecedented scale in the face of the worsening unemployment, including a series of measures to create jobs and help keep workers in employment. Law said the government will start to provide the elderly and middle-aged workers an allowance in September to encourage them to participate in on-the-job training and will also increase the subsidy to employers hiring the elderly and middle-aged. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian hosted the team of German doctors who arrived in Armenia to help their Armenian colleagues to fight the novel coronavirus and share their experience, the Presidential Office told Armenpress. The meeting was also attended by Armenias first deputy minister of healthcare Anahit Avanesyan, Ambassador to Germany Ashot Smbatyan, and German Ambassador to Armenia Michael Banzhaf. The Armenian President thanked the German doctors for their mission, stating that the COVID-19 pandemic is a global tragedy, and there is only one way to overcome it to run a global fight against the pandemic. We all need to unite our efforts in this fight. In this sense your help and support is very important, the Armenian President said. By using this chance I want also to thank the German people, as well as my good friends President Steinmeier and Chancellor Merkel. President Sarkissian invited everyone to visit Armenia with their families and friends after the pandemic. I wish you will take with you the love and appreciation you will see in Armenia and also will keep the friendship between Armenia and Germany, the Armenian President said. The German Ambassador to Armenia in his turn thanked for the meeting and stated that Germany considers the pandemic a global challenge, and their team is here to assist in overcoming it. The Ambassador said this visit will also contribute to the establishment of long-term cooperation between the two countries in the medical sector. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Pennridge to vote on one textbook; further review on other one The Misinformation In The Covid-19 Infodemic Report, published by the UK's Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, says an online harms regulator must be appointed now to hold social media platforms to account. The report argues that until the proposed duty of care on tech companies is introduced as part of legislation to regulate social media and online platforms, internet companies will not be compelled to act. British MPs also accuse the platforms of using business models which disincentivise action against misinformation while affording opportunities for some to monetise misleading content. Julian Knight, chair of the committee, said: We are calling on the Government to name the regulator now and get on with the world-leading legislation on social media that weve long been promised. The proliferation of dangerous claims about Covid-19 has been unstoppable. The leaders of social media companies have failed to tackle the infodemic of misinformation. The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated that without due weight of the law, social media companies have no incentive to consider a duty of care to those who use their services Advertisement The report highlighted the spread of false claims online linking 5G to the virus, resulting in threats being made against telecoms engineers, as a clear sign of the dangers misinformation can pose. It also said it had seen evidence of a serious public health impact from misinformation, with false claims about home remedies and cures for the virus meaning some people have mistakenly turned to unproven home remedies, stopped taking ibuprofen and prescribed medicine, or elsewise ingested harmful chemicals such as disinfectant. MPs said the spread of financial scams online during the pandemic was further evidence of the Government needing to act sooner. Evidence that tech companies were able to benefit from the monetisation of false information and allowed others to do so is shocking. We need robust regulation to hold these companies to account, Mr Knight said. The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated that without due weight of the law, social media companies have no incentive to consider a duty of care to those who use their services. The committee has called on the British Government to publish draft legislation in the autumn, alongside its full consultation response to the Online Harms White Paper, if a finalised Bill is not ready. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler says he plans to remain the head of the police bureau and that the city is exploring legal action against federal officers being deployed during nightly protests. Wheeler also announced Monday that he joined the mayors of Atlanta, Chicago, Kansas City, Seattle and Washington D.C., sending letters to congressional, U.S. Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security leadership calling for the end of unilateral deployment of federal officers into cities. Portland has had more than 50 straight nights of demonstrations since late May protesting systemic racism and police brutality in the wake of George Floyds killing by police in Minnesota. Wheelers announcements come after Commissioner Jo Ann Hardesty called on the mayor Saturday to appoint her as police commissioner after it became clear city police were coordinating efforts with federal officers to remove protesters from downtown demonstrations. Hardesty already oversees the city departments that house firefighters and 911 dispatchers. Hardestys office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Police Chief Chuck Lovell and Deputy Chief Chris Davis both said last week that the police bureau officials were in contact with federal authorities so they all knew what everyone was doing during protests. Davis told state lawmakers that a member of the Federal Protective Service has been in the Portland police command post during the protests. On Saturday, the police bureau announced it would no longer have a federal presence in their command post. The fire bureau announced the next day that Hardesty approved a policy change to prevent any law enforcement from using city fire stations as a base for tactical operations. Lt. Rich Chatman, a Portland Fire Bureau spokesman, said the police bureau had officers on standby on the property of at least three fire stations in downtown, Southeast and Northeast Portland over the last eight weeks. Portland police actions during protests have also received widespread scrutiny, particularly their use of tear gas and other force. Wheeler, police officials and other city leaders have denounced the actions of some protesters whove set fires, graffitied public, city and federal property, and thrown bottles, fireworks and other items at officers during demonstrations. Still, Wheeler has repeated said publicly that the police bureau does not want or need federal aid during downtown demonstrations and has called on President Donald Trump to order them to leave. Trump has refused, said from the White House on Monday that federal officers were doing a fantastic job in Portland and that he plans to send more to other major cities led by Democrat mayors like Baltimore, Chicago, New York, Oakland and Philadelphia. Oregon state, congressional and local elected officials have all called on Trump to remove federal officers, who they save have increased violence and tension since theyve arrived on Portlands streets. Federal officers, including those from the Department of Homeland Security, have used tear gas on crowds without warning and taken people into custody without explanation and driven them away in unmarked minivans. One federal officer also seriously injured an unarmed protester by shooting him in the head with a projectile. Portland Commissioner Chloe Eudaly on Monday said that she was outraged by the actions of city and federal officers during demonstrations. She said her top concerns were collaboration between local and federal law enforcement as well as attacks by officers on journalists and legal observers. I am committed to doing everything in my power to oust the federal occupiers and hold the PPB accountable, she said in a statement. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a lawsuit against several federal agencies on Friday saying theyre detaining people without probable cause. She also said the Oregon Department of Justice as well as the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office would launch a criminal investigation regarding the injured protester. One of the mayors letters, addressed to U.S. Attorney William Barr and Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf objects to federal forces conducting law enforcement activities without coordination or authorization of local law enforcement officials, and orders them to make the officers leave. Deployment of federal forces in the streets of our communities has not been requested nor is it acceptable, the letter said. While U.S. Marshals have had jurisdiction inside federal courthouses for decades, it is unacceptable and chilling that this administration has formed and deployed the U.S. Department of Homeland Security Rapid Deployment Unit and is sending federal authorities to conduct crowd control on city streets and detain individuals. Wolf came to Portland last week, where he addressed federal officers in the lobby of the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse, surveyed graffiti on the building and met with local law enforcement officials that included Portland Police Association President Daryl Turner. Wolf said Monday on Fox News that his agency dont need invitations by state mayors or state governors to protect federal property during protests. [Read the letter to Barr and Wolf] The other letter, to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, calls for congress to investigate the president and his administrations actions. The American people have a right to understand the circumstances under which federal action has been authorized and taken in American cities, that letter said. We urge you to investigate these actions immediately. [Read the letter to Pelosi, McCarthy, McConnell and Schumer] In a statement Monday, Wheeler said Trump was clearly targeting progressive cities. Here in Portland, our values are clear, he said. We support peaceful protest. We support system change. We denounce violence. Wheeler also said he has asked the city attorneys office to explore legal options to address the actions of federal officers in the city. Everton Bailey Jr.; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. The Egyptian government on July 20 denied destroying ancient monuments in order to make way for building a bridge in Cairos City of the Dead, according to reports. The clarification came after an online campaign erupted across social media platforms demanding the government to drop the project and save the historic Mamluk Desert Cemetery, which is home to the body remains of many of its historical rulers and elites, including pashas, Egyptian intelligentsia and former Prime Ministers. Read: Ethiopia Dam Reservoir On River Nile Filling Up As Talks With Egypt & Sudan Break Down Osama Talaat, the head of Islamic, Coptic, and Judaic Antiquities, a department affiliated to the Egyptian Ministry of Antiquities, in a statement said that termed the poster circulating online as rumour and has said that the pictures that have appeared on social media are not of registered historical monuments. Osama further added that even though the pictured cemeteries are of recent times the secretary-general of Egypts Supreme Council of Antiquities had still ordered an inquiry into the matter and has asked the committee to display some of the tombstones in a museum. Read: Jordan King Abdullah II Receives Egypt FM Shoukry 'Tampering with history' However, Hisham Auf, an archaeologist has reportedly contradicted Osama's claim and has said that the cemetery that is being destroyed to make way for the bridge is registered by the Archaeological Department since 2009. Hisham said that the area is part of Egypt's modern and ancient history and thus changing it would mean tampering with parts of the country's history. He further added that it would also mean going against the pledge made to UNESCO as they are included in the world heritage site of 'Historic Cairo'. According to reports, the cemetery has seen many changes in the past as well, most recently during the reign of President Gamal Abdel Nasser, when parts of graves were removed for building a road. Read: In Egypt, Volunteers Make Meals With Love For Virus Patients Read: In Egypt, Volunteers Make Meals With Love For Virus Patients By Express News Service We had recently reported about Babu Antony leading Omar Lulus next directorial feature Power Star, an action thriller. The actor had said that some international actors will be part of the cast. The latest update is that Hollywood actor Louis Mandylor has joined the project. Louis is known for My Fat Greek Wedding and its sequel, in which he played the main characters brother. He has also appeared in an episode of Friends called The One With Unagi as an acquaintance of Joey Tribbiani (played by Matt Le Blanc). Sharing the news, Babu Antony said, During the early discussion stage, Omar Lulu asked me if I could get a Hollywood actor with substantial stardom and martial arts knowledge for an important character. I then contacted some of the American actors I know, including Louis Mandylor, who is a friend. The Kayamkulam Kochunni actor added that though he was happy about Louis agreeing to the project, he was initially a bit concerned about his affordability. But Louis told me not to think about his remuneration and that we can do it in the name of friendship. I hope a Hollywood door opens for Malayalam cinema through Power Star. The film, scripted by veteran screenwriter Dennis Joseph (Rajavinte Makan), is expected to be a change for Omar Lulu who up until now has been making youth-centric films. He has said recently that Power Star will be only about action. The team also released a graphical representation of Babu Antonys look from the film. Ratheesh Anedath is producing it under the banner of Virtual Films. Philippine police armed with automatic weapons and riding motorcycles prepare for the lockdown in the Sampaloc district in Manila, April 23, 2020. Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has ordered police to arrest people who do not wear masks in public and even offered an unusual suggestion for beating the coronavirus wash hands in gasoline according to a Tuesday broadcast. The health department reported two deaths and 1,951 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the totals to 1,837 and 70,764. That number is nearly four times more than the 18,638 cases recorded on June 1 despite government quarantine efforts. We have to ask our police to be more strict. They will be arrested. Catch them. A little shame or put them on notice forever, Duterte told his cabinet ministers during a Monday night meeting that aired on national television Tuesday morning. Who wants to be arrested? But if you are brought to the police station and detained there, that would give you a lesson for all time, Duterte said. I have no qualms in arresting people who are not wearing masks. You are transmitting (a) virus, you are a carrier. Duterte, who is not a doctor, said people must wear masks at least twice and disinfect with alcohol or Lysol between uses. He also advised people to wash their hands with gasoline. That virus will die, true. If you want to disinfect, look for gasoline and soak your hands, just dont do it inside your house, Duterte said. It was not clear if the president was joking. In the past, he has delivered off-the-cuff remarks that his spokesmen later had to explain. But the comment on using gasoline appeared to be ill-timed, and came as the country struggles to limit the pandemic. Worldwide, the disease has infected more than 14.7 million people and killed more than 610,000 as of Tuesday, according to disease experts at U.S.-based Johns Hopkins University. Penalties Interior Secretary Eduardo Ano said authorities were preparing to standardize penalties for violators. We want just one implementation how many days will violators of the face mask or physical distancing rules have to stay in jail, how much is the fine, said Ano, a former military general. Critics have accused Duterte of militarizing the response to COVID-19 instead of acting with compassion by providing access to free public health services, testing and treatment. Since Duterte placed the entire island of Luzon under quarantine in March, reports have surfaced of teenagers who violated a curfew being locked up in dog cages. A former army officer was gunned down by police after an altercation when he demanded to cross a road block in April. Nationally, more than 61,000 have been arrested based on data from the nations Joint Task Force COVID Shield for violating quarantine protocols. About 2,000 of those arrested remain in jail, according to officials. Duterte has relaxed quarantine measures in Manila and nearby cities, though mayors in suburban areas were given the power to impose their own lockdowns. Duterte is projecting his strongman image to mask the fact that the government has been negligent in responding to the pandemic, said Roneo Clamor, the deputy leader of Filipino human rights group Karapatan. It is as clear as day that Duterte has militarized the governments response to the pandemic, he said, pointing out that the president has appointed ex-generals to key posts in his cabinet and tasked them with leading the anti-COVID19 response instead of civilian doctors. Meanwhile, the government said it aims to test millions of Filipinos for COVID-19. Our target is 10 million Filipinos to be tested by 2021. We hope to do the test at 32,000 to 40,000 a day, Health Secretary Francisco Duque said Tuesday. Nearly 1.1 million people have been tested so far and the government expects 10 million of the nations 109.6 million people to be tested by the second quarter of next year, according to Reuters news service. LOS ANGELESSex workers in the Netherlands won a significant victory earlier this month, when the government shifted course and allowed them to return to work starting July 1, along with other close-contact businesses, such as hair salons and massage therapy centers, that had been closed by the worldwide coronavirus pandemic. But the famous red-light district in Amsterdam, a major tourist destination, may look very different once life returns to something like pre-pandemic conditions. The government had previously planned to hold off on restoring legal sex work until September, even as sex workers in the country protested that the government aid package was inadequate and they were running out of money for basic living expenses. Because their work is legal and they pay tax on their income, sex workers in the Netherlands qualified for government assistance. But the payments equivalent to about $1,250 per month were simply not enough, sex worker advocates said. Now, according to a report by CNN, the city is working toward plans that would eliminate the red light district altogether. One of those plans, proposed by Mayor Femke Halsema, is to shut down red light district brothels, with their iconic window displays in which sex workers advertise themselves, replacing them with a designated prostitute hotel somewhere away from the city-center location of the current red light district. As previously reported, Halsema has long been planning to overhaul the city center, driving out the tourism-heavy brothels, and replacing them with new corporate office buildings. The pandemic, the mayor said, has highlighted the urgency to think about the city center of the future. New rules on tourists, who account for 70 percent of the districts revenue, have already been imposed in the city center, according to the CNN report, including a ban on photos of the women who pose in the window displays. Tour guides are no longer permitted to stop in front of the windows, either. I think a lot of the women who work there feel humiliated, laughed at and thats one of the reasons we are thinking about changing, Halsema said in June. In addition, as sex work was shut down by the pandemic, and many sex workers fled the Netherlands for their home countries mostly in Eastern Europe local residents decided that they enjoyed their new life without a constant influx of tourists. About 30,000 Amsterdam residents have now signed an Amsterdam has a choice, petition, calling for further restrictions on the city center, including a limit of 12 million overnight tourist stays per year. There were nearly 19 million overnight stays in 2019, according to CNN. Sex workers say that moving their work out of Amsterdams city center would pose a threat to their safety. The fact that the window displays are public, plus the prevalence of surveillance cameras in the red light district, has created a mostly safe environment for sex workers there. Leaving the area would be "extremely dangerous, one sex worker, identified only as Anita, told CNN. When you leave your shift at 5 a.m., the robbers will be lining up. We don't want to move into a prostitution hotel. Here everyone can see us. That's what makes our jobs safe." Photo By Pexels / Pixabay She says that more details are needed on the future of agriculture. "There is no doubt we would be concerned around some of the funding for long term programmes, including agriculture. "I think there are suggestions that there is a cut to the agricultural policy as well. "There is also some other interesting comments from the leaders about where agriculture money should be spent and I think the figures is that they want 40 per cent of the budgets to go toward climate measures." Financial shortfall Meanwhile, the country's three largest farming organisations are criticising cuts to the Common Agricultural Policy budget as well. The new CAP funding is proposed to be 35 billion less than planned, to help fund the EU Covid-19 recovery deal. Member states will collectively borrow 750 billion to give loans and grants to countries worst-hit by the pandemic. Advertisement The Irish Farmers' Association, the Irish Creamery Milk Suppliers Association, and the Irish Cattle and Sheep Farmers' Association say it's up to the Government to cover any shortfall in farm payments. ANN ARBOR, MI Ann Arbor officials are urging Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to reinstate an eviction moratorium in Michigan as the COVID-19 pandemic continues. Noting the governor rescinded her executive order that placed a moratorium on evictions, City Council voted unanimously Monday night, July 20, to urge her to reconsider. Sharjeel Imam, a Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) PhD student lodged in Guwahati Central Jail for an alleged inflammatory speech at an anti-CAA protest last year, was tested positive for coronavirus on Tuesday. This comes two days ahead of Delhi Police Special Cell's plan to fly him down to the national capital. More than 340 inmates of the Guwahati Central Jail were recently found to have contracted Covid-19. "Swab test for the virus was done on Imam on July 19. The results for the same, which came on the next day, confirmed him being Covid-19 positive. At this moment he is been treated in the Covid Care inside the central jail," confirmed Dasarth Das, Inspector General of Prisons, Assam Police. A special team of the Delhi Police landed in Guwahati to take custody of Imam and fly him back to the national capital on July 17. Imam and the six member Delhi Special Police team were screened for the virus before they were supposed to leave Guwahati for the national capital. While the police team tested negative, the student leader was diagnosed infected. Till the evening of July 17, around 338 inmates of the jail had tested Covid positive. On June 5, one of the inmates of the central jail, which houses over 1,000 under trials and convicts, had contracted the virus. The jail then was declared as containment zone. On June 13, 29 more inmates were tested positive and then the number kept on increasing rapidly. Assam Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma had ordered for a complete swab test of all the inmates and staff of the Central Jail, both PCR and Antigen tests. "According to Covid protocol, Sharjeel Imam has to stay in the Covid care centre. The student leader is doing fine," said the IG Prison. Imam was arrested and brought to the state after his comments calling for Assam to be "cut off" from the rest of the country, which he had explained as a call for "chakka jam". He was initially an active volunteer at Delhi's Shaheen Bagh protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act. The student leader was arrested by Delhi police in Bihar's Jehanabad, and was handed over to a team of Assam Police over the remark. Imam was also taken to Arunachal Pradesh in connection with the same statement, after which he has been lodged in the Guwahati Central Jail. He has been booked under the Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA). Iran Executes Man Charged With 'Spying', Defying Popular Call To Stop Executions Radio Farda July 20, 2020 The Iranian Judiciary has announced on Monday July 20 that Mahmoud Mousavi Majd, a young man who was in jail on charges of "spying for the CIA and Mossad" has been executed. The news of the execution comes while the Judiciary appeared to have listened to calls by hundreds of thousands of people on social media for stopping executions in Iran and put on hold execution orders for three men charged with participation in the November 2019 protests. However, some Iran watchers commented on social media that they were expecting some kind of defiant reaction from the Islamic Republic to show that it will not be intimidated by public campaigns. Judiciary Chief Ebrahim Raeesi reiterated earlier Monday that execution orders will go ahead as planned and that the Judiciary will not be influenced by campaigns against capital punishment. The execution verdict against Mousavi Majd has been carried out 40 days after his conviction at a court in Tehran. The spokesman of Irans's Judiciary had accused Mousavi Majd of informing foreign spy agencies about the whereabouts and travel plans of former Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani who as killed in January in a U.S. drone strike. However, Mousavi Majd was in jail for months before the killing of Soleimani in Baghdad. The Judiciary says that the initial death verdict against Mousavi Majd had been issued in September 2019. Esmaili had said in June that Mousavi Majd who was residing in Syria with his family had contacts with Iranian forces in Syria. His family is still living in Syria, Esmaili added. In mid-June, IRGC-linked Tasnim News Agency claimed that "Mousavi Majed grew up in Syria where he came in contact with some Iranian military advisers." According to the agency, he "worked with Iranian forces as a driver and sold the information he collected to foreign intelligence services against a monthly payment of $5,000." In audio files in Persian and Arabic Mousavi Majd sent to Persian-speaking media in London, he complained about the way he was interrogated and tried in extremely polite words, probably fearing that the file might fall into the wrong hands before it reached the media. Like most Iranians charged with espionage, Mousavi Majd said that words were put in his mouth. Many others, including those previously charged as spies in the case of murder of Iran's "nuclear scientists" have said that they were told to confess against themselves if they wanted to be released quickly. Earlier, a Twitter account in the name of Mahmoud Mousavi Majd which was active since the first week of June, gave away some information about his case, adding that "he was residing in Syria and was a soldier serving with the Iranian forces as he spoke fluent Arabic and Persian." The comment contradicted Tasnim's report which said Mousavi Majd was not a member of the IRGC in Syria. The Twitter account continued supporting Mousavi Majd. On July 16 it tweeted: "Seyyed Mahmoud has a family. He wants justice. He wants to appeal and be tried once again with real lawyers present next to him. The evidence to accuse him of espionage must be presented at the court." The account added that the appointed defense lawyer withdrew himself from the case. International human rights watchdogs have said time and again that the Iranian judiciary forces suspects to confess against themselves, denies them the right to be represented by defense lawyers and refuses to hold transparent trials. During the past week, more than 11 million Iranians on social media protested against capital punishment in Iran and reminded the regime of hundreds of cases of unfair trials and executions in Iran during the past 40 years. Most executions in the world take place in Iran and China. International human rights watchdogs says 8,071 executions have taken place in public or in prisons in Iran between the years 2000 and 2009. The Iranian Human Rights Organization also says that 600 people have been executed in Iran between 2010 and 2013. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran-executes- man-charged-with-spying-defying-popular-call- to-stop-executions/30737672.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 In a move that will see the companies integrating platform capabilities and developing technologies to further connect the supply and demand ecosystems, global video advertising platform SpotX has made a strategic investment in OTT and connected TV ad serving platform. Based in New York, SpringServe was founded in 2015 by Joseph Hirsch, Hagan Major, Dave Buonasera, Matt Dearborn, and Richard Lin to provide a suite of ad serving tools that make digital advertising more efficient. The investment by SpotX will be used to bolster product and engineering efforts and for research and development, with a focus on building the next generation of CTV ad serving tools. SpringServe offers ad serving, optimisation, and automation solutions across devices. The platform manages multiple aspects of video advertising and includes tools such as inventory routing, customised ad experiences and advanced podding logic.Under the terms of the agreement, both companies say they will work together to provide joint customers with what they claim will be the most advanced video advertising capabilities, while connecting platform customers to the advertiser ecosystem. They add they will collaborate on a roadmap of what will be unique product features that bring substantial value to the market. This will be part of a portfolio including ad serving, inventory management, and programmatic capabilities, helping media owners take more control over their video advertising businesses.Were thrilled about the investment from SpotX and view it as reinforcement that SpringServes CTV ad serving solution is helping publishers, broadcasters, and content creators holistically manage their advertising inventory, commented SpringServe CEO Joseph Hirsch. This investment and future collaboration will further strengthen our best-in-class ad serving solution and will help us continue our mission to improve CTV advertising for our partners and end-users. SpotX said that its investment serves as an indication of continued growth, as it fully acquired the UK-based server-side ad insertion (SSAI) solutions provider Yospace in 201 9. SpringServes steadfast approach to enabling seamless, effective ad serving for OTT publishers is something we have followed closely, and our investment in their company is a logical next step to build on our existing partnership while also enhancing our capabilities for partners, said SpotX COO Sean Buckley. Actor Swara Bhasker has implied in a tweet that Kangana Ranaut yelled at her for delivering a good shot on their 2015 film, Tanu Weds Manu. The two actors have been involved in a war of words after Kangana, in a television interview, called Swara, and actor Taapsee Pannu, chaploos (boot-lickers) and B-grade actresses. Responding to a tweet in which a person wrote that Kangana had yelled at Swara on the sets of Tanu Weds Manu, Swara wrote, #SupportMax by reigning national award winning outsider-star to needy- outsider! Circa 2014. Sigh! Such #happymemories. Swara also tagged the team Kangana Ranaut Twitter account, with which she has been involved in a back-and-forth all day. The original tweet read, Kangana Ranaut Maam, why did you throw a tantrum and abuse outsider @ReallySwara on the set of Tanu Weds Manu Returns in front of 200 people because the director said Good Shot to her after a take? Is this not mistreatment of outsiders maam? Also Watch | Swara Bhasker on trolls, politics and her choice of films | Aur Batao | RJ Stutee Earlier in the day, Swara reacted to Kanganas claims that she started the parallel cinema movement in India, after the 2013 film Queen. Sharing the clip on Twitter, Swara wrote, Kangana ji ran parallel cinema with Pather Panchali in 1955, She started Feminism with Queen in 2013, but first of all in 1947, she got India independence. - says an unknown sycophantic needy outsider, eating the fruits of sycophancy and licking fingers. Also read: Swara Bhasker mocks Kangana Ranauts comment, says she got independence for India in 1947. Her team hits back Several members of the film industry have dismissed Kanganas recent remarks. Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap in a Twitter thread wrote that he doesnt recognise the actor any more, despite being good friends with her in the past. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Lets admit it, Indians arent best known for following rules and abiding by the laws, whether or not they are in the greater interest of public welfare. We love challenging the rules and take laws way too lightly, because popular opinion will have you think that you can get away with most offences in the country. But that isnt the case in some parts of the world, where laws have the final word and people, be it locals or foreigners, are expected to abide by them to the T. If you happen to be someone who has a hard time following rules and regulations, wed suggest you avoid visiting these 6 countries which have strict punishments for breaking laws: 1. Indonesia Twitter/MyBeauDes Known for frequently executing criminals and punishing offenders strongly, even watching porn or possessing sexually explicit content can land you in jail for up to four years in Indonesia! Whats more, their drug laws are even scarier. Possessing drugs Twitter/MyBeauDes Known for frequently executing criminals and punishing offenders strongly, even watching porn or possessing sexually explicit content can land you in jail for up to four years in Indonesia! Whats more, their drug laws are even scarier. Possessing drugs like heroin, cocaine, marijuana LSD and opium could get you a sentence of life imprisonment. And if you get accused of trafficking, youre dead. Literally. 2. Somalia like heroin, cocaine, marijuana LSD and opium could get you a sentence of life imprisonment. And if you get accused of trafficking, youre dead. Literally. 2. Somalia Twitter/MrMidnimo Although a democratic republic, this East African country follows three sets of laws - civil law, Islamic sharia law and a conservative customary law. There is strict enforcement of the law in the country and punishments can be serious. Something like getting charged with theft could lead to public amputation, while indulging in homosexual activities is deemed illegal and could result in flogging and death penalty under the sharia law. Even use and possession of drugs can land you in jail with a long term and heavy penalties. 3. Singapore Twitter/skeletonjacket Given the Singaporean systems infamous conflict with "the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty and the fact that their legal system follows an active punishment process, public caning exists as a common form of punishment which can include several lashes. Singaporean law allows caning for over 35 offences, some of them include rioting, causing grievous hurt, drug abuse, vandalism, extortion, molestation and for foreigners who overstay by more than 90 days. 4. Malaysia Twitter/myong_33 Talk about getting high in a foreign land and we suggest you avoid Malaysia at all costs. A country that functions on federal constitutional elective monarchy, the country follows the Islamic sharia law apart from a common judge-made legal system. However, the country follows mandatory death penalty for those found in possession of 15g or more heroin and morphine, 1,000g or more opium, 200g or more cannabis and 40g or more cocaine will receive the mandatory death sentence. 5. North Korea Twitter/lrdsr_ A strict communist country, North Korea imposes strict laws and even tough penalties that apply both to the locals as well as tourists in the country. Breaking any of the prescribed laws, such as travelling independently, shopping at unauthorised shops, wearing non-conservative western clothing and especially speaking against the government, can land you in prison camps where the offender is made to carry out hard labour for long periods of time, often resulting in death. 6. China Twitter/The CryptoDog The Communist party-led China is known for enforcing many strict laws and bans across the country and upholds strict punishments for offenders who are found guilty. Practising capital punishment is very common and serves as a deterrent tool. Capital offences in China include, rioting, spreading poison, sabotaging electricity, gas or fuel, sale, robbery, drug smuggling, spying, manslaughter amongst others. Scary shit, right? Help.org, a trusted online resource for individuals who struggle with addiction and their loved ones, has announced the Best Rehab Facilities in Mesa, Arizona for 2020. The informational guide recognizes the top 10 rehab facilities based on cost, treatment options, location, accompanying services and more. According to recent studies, drug overdose is the leading cause of death among people under age 50. In Mesa, deaths related to opioid abuse increased significantly from 2011 to 2015. Substance abuse among adolescents is also escalating in Mesa with 55 percent of high school students reported using alcohol, 38 percent reported using marijuana, 8 percent reported using prescription drugs without a valid prescription, and 2 percent reported using heroin. With the growing need for accessible and high-quality rehab programs, Help.org has developed a unique ranking process to help connect individuals with treatment providers that meet their needs. The Help.org research team analyzed thousands of facilities across the country and then identified the most cost-effective and highest rated programs in larger cities like Mesa. Each facility was evaluated based on rehabilitation services, treatment approaches, cost, special programs for unique demographics and ancillary services. The website also provides information about drug use and side effects as well as educational articles. For a detailed listing of the Best Rehab Facilities in Mesa, Arizona please visit https://www.help.org/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-centers-in-mesa-az/ 2020 Best Rehab Facilities in Mesa, Arizona (in alphabetical order) A Better Today Recovery Services 15721 N Greenway Hayden Loop Suite 205 Scottsdale, AZ 85260 480-351-1662 Family Service Agency Mesa Office 943 South Gilbert Road Mesa, AZ 85204 480-507-8619 Family Service Agency Metro Office 10240 North 31st Avenue, Suite 103 Phoenix, AZ 85051 602-863-1862 Jewish Family & Childrens Service Michael R. Zent Healthcare Center 3001 North 33rd Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85017 602-353-0703 Native American Connections 4520 North Central Avenue, Suite 600 Phoenix, AZ 85012 602-254-3247 Native Health Central 4041 North Central Avenue, Building C Phoenix, AZ 85012 602-279-5262 Terros Health 27th Avenue Integrated Care Center 3864 North 27th Avenue Phoenix, AZ 85017 602-685-6000 Terros Health McDowell Road Integrated Care Center 4909 East McDowell Road Phoenix, AZ 85008 602-685-6000 Terros Health Stapley Road Integrated Care Center 1111 South Stapley Street Mesa, AZ 85204 602-685-6000 Transitional Living Communities Recovery Services 32 South Macdonald Mesa, AZ 85210 480-969-1471 ABOUT HELP.ORG Help.org is an online resource for individuals who struggle with addiction and their loved ones. The website provides the latest research through scientifically proven methods, community recovery resources as well as information about local financial assistance. Help.orgs team of researchers, activists and writers work together with addiction counselors and other professionals to offer useful and accurate resources to help individuals seeking recovery. To learn more, visit https://www.help.org/. Technavio has been monitoring the 3D IC market and it is poised to grow by USD 8.54 bn during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of 18% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005520/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global 3D IC Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 The market is concentrated, and the degree of concentration will accelerate during the forecast period. ASE Group, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., STMicroelectronics N.V., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, and TOSHIBA CORPORATION are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. The need for better memory in devices has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. 3D IC market 2019-2023: Segmentation 3D IC market is segmented as below: Product Memory LEDs Sensors MEMs Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30927 3D IC market 2019-2023: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our 3D IC market report covers the following areas: 3D IC market size 3D IC market trends 3D IC market industry analysis This study identifies the increasing popularity of high- bandwidth memory (HBM) chips as one of the prime reasons driving the 3D IC market growth during the next few years. 3D IC market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the 3D IC market, including some of the vendors such as ASE Group, SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD., STMicroelectronics N.V., Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited, and TOSHIBA CORPORATION. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the 3D IC market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform 3D IC market 2019-2023: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023 Detailed information on factors that will assist 3D IC market growth during the next five years Estimation of the 3D IC market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the 3D IC market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of 3D IC market vendors Table Of Contents : PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT 2.1 Preface 2.2 Preface 2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis PART 04: MARKET SIZING Market definition Market sizing 2018 Market size and forecast 2018-2023 PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT Market segmentation by product Comparison by product Memory Market size and forecast 2018-2023 LEDs Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Sensors Market size and forecast 2018-2023 MEMS Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Market opportunity by product PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023 North America Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Europe Market size and forecast 2018-2023 South America Market size and forecast 2018-2023 MEA Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Key leading countries Market opportunity PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challenges PART 11: MARKET TRENDS Growing demand for 14-nm/16-nm FinFET technology Increasing interest toward HBM chip Growth of smart cities PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview Landscape disruption PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors ASE Group SAMSUNG ELECTRONICS CO., LTD. STMicroelectronics N.V. Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company Limited TOSHIBA CORPORATION PART 14: APPENDIX Research methodology List of abbreviations PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005520/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Learn to teach Leave No Trace principles at SIUs Touch of Nature by Christi Mathis CARBONDALE, Ill. Southern Illinois University Carbondales Touch of Nature Environmental Center will be hosting three Leave No Trace Master Educator courses starting next month. The Leave No Trace Center for Outdoor Ethics will conduct the courses, which kick off with an outdoors session Aug. 3-7. A second session is set for Oct. 20-24, with the final course Dec. 2-6. Social distancing guidelines will be in place. Experienced instruction Each of the courses are taught by experts who have extensive experience in Leave No Trace skills and ethics. Anyone age 18 or older is welcome to participate. The courses will take place at Touch of Natures 3,100-acre site located about eight miles south of Carbondale off Giant City Road. With access to Little Grassy Lake and bordered by Giant City State Park and the Crab Orchard National Wildlife Refuge, the Touch of Nature setting works well as a locale to put into practice what participants will learn. Prepare to teach The August Frontcountry Leave No Trace Master Educator Course incorporates instruction and hands-on, practical experience in a backcountry setting. The courses will comply with current Illinois COVID-19 safety guidelines, so group sizes will be limited and registration will not include lodging and meals. Participants who successfully complete the course will receive a certificate and be qualified to teach the two-day Leave No Trace Trainer courses and the shorter Awareness Workshops. Organizers say the course will particularly be of interest to educators, naturalists, park rangers, recreation planners, and Scout leaders, in addition to anyone who works in an outdoors-related industry. The course is also beneficial to anyone who wants to enhance their knowledge about Leave No Trace skills while experiencing the beauty of Southern Illinois. The first day will include classroom time featuring historical information about the program and an introduction to the seven principles in preparing for day outings along with a visit to Giant City State Park. On the final day, each participant will present a 15-20 minute lesson on one of the seven principles and its relationship to a specific activity. Participants will also lead a 5-10 minute outdoor activity pertaining to their teaching topic. The instruction is subject to change based upon final enrollment and activities will depend on a variety of factors including weather and class size. Sign up now Registration is available online now for the August class. The cost is $465. To inquire about special arrangements for onsite lodging, if needed, call 618/453-1121. Additional sessions planned Another Master Educator course session is set for Oct. 20-24. Following a day of classroom instruction at Touch of Nature, participants will put their skills to the test in the Missouri Ozarks during a backcountry laboratory experience. The final 2020 Leave No Trace course at Touch of Nature will be Dec. 2-6. It will follow the same general format as the August session. To learn more For additional information about any of the Leave No Trace Master Educator courses, visit ton.siu.edu or contact Erik Oberg at eriko@siu.edu or 618/453-3945. NEW YORK A local television journalist died over the weekend, police said, after she fell from a scooter that had been rented from Revel, a moped-sharing company whose Vespa-style vehicles have become a familiar sight on the streets of Brooklyn and Queens. The accident, which a company spokeswoman said was believed to be the first fatality involving a Revel moped, happened about 5:30 p.m. Saturday near the intersection of Franklin and India streets, police said, in the Greenpoint section of Brooklyn a mostly residential area that is dotted with neighborhood bars and restaurants. Nina Kapur, 26, a reporter for CBS2 in New York, was a passenger on a scooter that was being operated by a 26-year-old man, Detective Denise Moroney, a police spokeswoman, said Monday, adding that the moped was a 2020 Motorcycle-NIU (Revel) model. The moped was northbound on Franklin Street when the operator swerved for an unknown reason and the two fell to the roadway as a result, Moroney said, adding that authorities were still investigating the accident. Kapur was taken to Bellevue Hospital, where she was pronounced dead, Moroney said. The driver, whose name was not released, had minor injuries. It was not immediately clear if they were wearing helmets. A spokeswoman for Revel said the company was assisting authorities with their investigation of the accident. At Revel, we are committed to working with local officials and communities to promote safe transportation practices across the city, a spokeswoman said in a statement. Of the 3 million Revel rides taken to date, there have been no previous fatalities. Revel extends deepest sympathies to Nina Kapurs family and loved ones for their loss, she said. We are aware of reports that she passed away after an accident involving a Revel electric moped. We are actively investigating this incident, and we are in contact with the NYPD to aid their investigations in any way we can. Revel started modestly with 68 electric vehicles in a small slice of Brooklyn but expanded rapidly across Brooklyn and into Queens last year, when it had about 1,000 scooters, the company told The New York Times in August. In addition to New York, Revel operates in Washington; Miami; Austin, Texas; and Oakland, California, with plans to expand to San Francisco, according to the companys website. Revels signature blue scooters can travel up to 30 mph, faster than the 25-mph speed limit on most New York City streets. Riders are charged $1 to unlock a scooter and 35 cents per minute as they ride. It costs $1 to add a passenger. The company requires riders to have a valid drivers license, and two helmets are included with every rental. But as the scooters have become increasingly visible, problems have surfaced. In an email to its New York customers with the subject line Hey NY, we need to talk , Revel said last week that it had suspended 1,000 users for bad behavior that violated its safety rules, including not wearing helmets and riding in bike lanes and on sidewalks. Its no fun to get suspended just ask one of the 1,000+ riders that weve suspended in the past 30 days, the company said. This doesnt have to be you, and it wont be as long as you ride the right way. In a statement, New York Citys Department of Transportation said Monday afternoon that it did not know of any other fatalities involving Revel mopeds. The city expresses its deepest condolences to Ms. Kapurs loved ones and to the CBS2 family at this tragic time, a department spokesman said. The accident that led to Kapurs death happened on the same day that a man suffered a head injury in an accident involving a Revel scooter in Queens. When police arrived, they found the 38-year-old man who had been operating the scooter lying in the street. It was not clear whether the man had fallen off the scooter or if he was hit by another vehicle, police said. The man was taken to Elmhurst Hospital and was in critical condition, Moroney said. Kapur joined CBS2 in June 2019 from News 12 Connecticut, where she had worked for nearly two years. In reporting her death Sunday, CBS2 said Kapur was known for her contagious smile and love for storytelling. We are heartbroken here at CBS2 as a member of our news family has passed away, the stations report said. Our thoughts and prayers are with Ninas family. She will be missed. Like many other New York journalists, Kapur had been reporting stories related to the coronavirus pandemic and the Black Lives Matter protests in the city. In her final post on Twitter before her death, Kapur reached out to Revel on July 14 requesting help from customer support. Hi I have been trying to contact Revel support for an hour an half now, she wrote, Can someone please help me? Her colleagues and classmates from Syracuse University, where she graduated in 2016 with a degree in broadcast and digital journalism, according to her LinkedIn profile, posted tributes Monday. We will miss your smile, your warmth, your presence, CBS2 anchor Chris Wragge wrote on Twitter. A Syracuse classmate, Jane Hong, shared a video of Kapur on Twitter reporting a story on Connecticut politics for News 12 in 2018. In it, Kapurs lips curl into a smile as an older woman walks into her live shot. This is the nina kapur i met in college: excellent at what she did while wearing a big smile on her face, Hong wrote. I remember telling her i couldnt wait to watch her on national news one day, she wrote. She deserved more. praying for her family and loved ones. This article originally appeared in The New York Times. America needs to support global public health The Houses failure to include any funds in their new bill for the international response to coronavirus is a catastrophic mistake. In dozens of low-income countries, kids are missing out on lifesaving vaccines, its getting harder to access treatment for diseases like tuberculosis and HIV/AIDS, and food insecurity and starvation are rising fast. Children are missing school and the food they receive there. Global challenges are solved in partnership. Whether its COVID-19 or other ongoing global health emergencies, we need the Senate to allocate funding for the international response in its next relief bill. Im counting on Senator Pat Toomey and Bob Casey to make sure our country steps back up and does its part in the global response to this pandemic. Betsy Teutsch, Philadelphia Cultured Meat research Senators Bob Menendez and Cory Booker should support federal funding for cultured-meat research. For those unaware, cultured meat is grown from cells, without slaughtering animals. It has the potential to eliminate unimaginable levels of nonhuman suffering from our food system. Dr. Mark Post created the first cultured-beef hamburger in 2013. It cost a whopping $280,000. Soon, he thinks, that price could be reduced to $10. Still, more research is required to make cultured meat economically viable. This is too important and too urgent to leave to the private sector. We need federal funding for cultured-meat research. Jon Hochschartner Universal Basic Income Over the past few months, the people of Central New Jersey have been hit with a series of severe crises that have made already insecure lives much worse. Poverty has always been an issue in our area, but now due to the unemployment crisis unleashed by this pandemic, hundreds of thousands stand on the edge of an economic and emotional abyss. We need a universal basic income (UBI) now more than ever. We need to get capital circulating again in this country and ideally within the largest portion of the economic pyramid basic consumers. Consumers would immediately utilize money to purchase the goods and services that make our local economy operational. Electronic cash transfers would equate to immediate purchases of food, electronic goods, clothing and patronizing restaurants. Our economy is so damaged now with many months of the pandemic guaranteed to continue that its time to genuinely think outside the box to get money moving again. Amounts ought to be generous and transformative, say, $2000/mo. per adult, and $750/mo. per child. With this deluge of money poured into the private sector, people could literally move beyond a state of paralyzed fear toward a more hopeful future. Daniel B. Kurz, Princeton Top Australian miner BHP is warning of a weaker outlook for some of the nation's most valuable commodities over the coming 12 months, in the first signs of the coronavirus pandemic's longer-term impacts on the resources giant. BHP on Tuesday reported a record-breaking quarterly output of the steelmaking commodity iron ore from Western Australia its biggest money-maker on the back of robust demand from Chinese steel mills. The company expects output to remain strong in the 2021 financial year and forecasts an annual production range of up to 281 million tonnes. Australia's top miners have benefited as prices for iron ore, the nation's top export, have passed $US100 a tonne. Credit:Tony McDonough But the outlook for commodities elsewhere in BHP's vast operations including copper, petroleum and metallurgical coal is softer than some analysts had been expecting, dragged down by various impacts of coronavirus curtailing mining operations and demand. JPMorgan mining and metals analyst Lyndon Fagan described BHP's iron ore outlook as "solid", but expected the market to be disappointed with production guidance for the year ahead. "Some softness was expected in copper ... however petroleum and met coal are also slightly lower than we expected," he said. The Chamber of Independent Power Producers and Bulk Consumers [CIPDIB] is asking Government to ensure that the payment of about USD$1.4 billion debt owed them is captured by the 2020 mid-year budget. The CIPDiB is expecting that the budget would address how government intends to pay all the debts it owed the Independent Power Producers (IPPs). A statement issued in Accra and signed by the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CIPDiB, Mr. Elikplim Kwablah Apetorgbor said, Government's cumulative indebtedness to them is compelling them to contract costly loans to sustain their generations. "This situation is grim and there is a real danger of IPPs shutting their plants if the situation is not resolved in the immediate term," it added. The statement urged the Government to include measures to ensure that the shortfalls in the Electricity Company of Ghana's (ECG) revenues are addressed as and when they occur, to ensure that IPPs and others who supply products or services to the ECG were paid on time. It maintains that the IPPs cannot be responsible for the Governments subsidies and other obligations. Car bomb blast in Syria's Aleppo kills seven, injures dozens Iran Press TV Sunday, 19 July 2020 10:04 PM A booby-trapped car has exploded in the northwestern Syrian city of Azaz, occupied by Turkish-backed militants, killing at least seven and wounding dozens of others. The incident took place in a village near the city of Azaz in Aleppo province, the Turkish state-run Anadolu news Agency reported on Sunday. Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) says the booby-trapped car exploded at a roundabout leading to the entrance of the Bab al-Salam border post. The SOHR chief Rami Abdel Rahman says seven people including five civilians have been killed and over 60 others wounded, but Anadolu puts the number of wounded at 85. There were women and children among the wounded, AFP quotes the SOHR chief as saying. The injured civilians, some of whom are in critical conditions, have been transported across the Turkish border, and hospitalized in the city of Kilis, the report said. Turkish-backed militants seized the town as a result of Ankara's Operation Euphrates Shield launched in 2016. Northern Syria is regularly rocked by bomb blasts, blamed by Ankara on the Kurdish-led People's Protection Units (YPG), which Turkey regards as an extension of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). However, SOHR blames Daesh for Sunday's attack, saying it was possibly in retaliation for a surge in operations by Turkish and Turkish-backed forces against Daesh cells in the region. The deadly attack took place as Syrians voted to elect a new parliament, including, for the first time in years, in former rebel bastions. More than 7,400 polling stations opened at 7:30 a.m. local time (0430 GMT) on Sunday, including in former militant strongholds of Eastern Ghouta, east of central Damascus, and the southern countryside of the northwestern Idlib province. President Bashar al-Assad's Baath party and his allies are expected to win most of the parliament's 250 seats in the third such polls to be held in Syria ever since foreign-sponsored militancy broke out in March 2011. The two previous polls were staged in May 2012 and April 2016 respectively. In the last legislative elections in 2016, turnout stood at 57.56 percent. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address photo: Val Ford Hancock Even before Kelli Jo Ford's debut, Crooked Hallelujah (Grove, $26, reviewed below), was released, it garnered accolades: the seventh chapter, "Hybrid Vigor," won the Paris Review's Plimpton Prize in 2019, and Ford's pre-publication manuscript won the 2019 Everett Southwest Literary Award from the University of Central Oklahoma. Ford is a citizen of the Cherokee Nation of Oklahoma, and her #OwnVoices novel-in-interlinked-stories offers a narrative featuring multiple generations of a matriarchal Cherokee family. Ford lives in Virginia with her husband, the poet Scott Weaver, and daughter. Some of the chapters from Crooked Hallelujah were previously published individually. When did you know this would be a novel-in-stories? I think for a while I was writing stories as they came, one after another. But they were all clearly coming from the same place. The longer I followed that trail, the more I realized I was telling a larger story. I think novel-in-stories became clear fairly early on. It was very important that each story/chapter stands up individually as its own complete movement. Louise Erdrich's Love Medicine probably had/has such a profound influence on me that all I really imagined doing was creating this place and these people and telling the story of both. To me, Love Medicine is the perfect work of fiction. That is the book that I kept going back to over and over, in terms of dreaming the impossible. The matriarchal family in which you were raised is not unlike the multi-generations in your book. How much of your own background is infused into your characters? I had powerful women figures in my life from the time I was born. The book is fictional, but I took great inspiration from the strength of the women who raised me. And in the ways that we are bound to one another, despite our failures. I was born into a household (not literally! I was born in the Indian Hospital in Tahlequah, Okla.) of four generations of women. My great-grandmother was my rock. My mom was young and brash and strong and determined to give me a better life. My grandmother is a strong woman who is driven and guided and saved by her religion. You can look at that and see my life. But then I also created characters who get to make their own mistakes and find their own love and adventures. It's a fine line. And a hard one to explain to loved ones! I am still protected by gracious, strong women who only want me to succeed. Have any of these women read your book? I have asked my mom to read it almost every step of the way. And that was hard. It's hard to feel like you think you recognize some aspect of yourself or your life in a book. And perhaps it's even harder when the book is a work of fiction, so the characters are also, by the nature of making a story work, behaving in ways that obviously feel like NOT you. But my mom is incredibly proud of the work I've done. She has, I believe, pre-ordered 15 copies. Now that I'm a mom, I have some sense of the kind of love it takes to be so proud of your kid and to encourage them to follow their dreams, even if those dreams may hurt a little or a lot. Reney has to leave to claim her individuality and find a sense of peace. What does that say about her place in her Native community? I think when Justine and Reney first leave the Cherokee Nation, that is an act of survival. Justine sees the life she is making for Reney and understands that something drastic has to happen. I am not sure Reney ever really knows what her place is in the Native community. She is Cherokee and knows she is Cherokee. To her, being Cherokee is being raised in a multi-generational family of strong Cherokee women, being in their protection. Maybe she's Choctaw, too, in some kind of way. But she doesn't really know what any of it means, especially as she gets older and is separated from the Cherokee Nation by miles and years. She's searching for connection. Might we see Reney again in another book? I am not sure! I have had visions of what Justine does not long after the book ends, that her mama instinct would kick in if she felt unsure of Reney's well-being. Of course, if there is ever to be more of Justine's story, Reney would be there, too. Religion provides both solace and suppression here. Does your family ever discuss the horrific history of Christianity-fueled abuse, especially in the government-sanctioned schools? Did you grow up with a strong faith? Is that faith a part of your adult life? In terms of my family of three, with my daughter and husband, yes, we have talked about the role of Christianity in the history of this country and the part it played in genocide. I'm not sure I've talked much with the rest of my family. Probably with my mom, but not with family members who are strongly religious. I grew up in and around the Holiness church, like Reney did in the book. I feel like I got to glimpse the religion and see some of the beauty of the great faith. But religion wasn't forced upon me. I didn't have to rebel against it to free myself, as Justine did in the book. I don't claim a faith now. I pull deeply from Christianity because that's what I know. I pull from the Zen tradition. And I find a lot of what I need in nature. But I don't have a faith with a capital F. #OwnVoices activism continues to change the publishing world. Do you ever feel pressure to be a representative of "your people," of BIPOC literary voices? No! But mostly because I would make a terrible representative. I'm a citizen of the Cherokee Nation. I am proud of that. I am proud of who I come from. But I live a long ways away from the Cherokee Nation. I didn't grow up hearing our songs at stomp dances. I wish I did, but I got to grow at the feet of my great-grandmother, sleeping beneath a pew on a pallet, hearing tambourines and Holiness shouting. I don't want any of us to carry the weight of being representative of our people. That's not fair. We should get to tell stories that reflect our experiences, whatever they are. There isn't only one way to be Native or write a Native story. The literary world seems to be opening up more. I'm excited about a lot of authors right now, people like Erika T. Wurth, Brandon Hobson, David Heska Wanbli Weiden, Andrea L. Rogers, Tiffany Midge, Rebecca Roanhorse, Terese Mailhot, Tommy Orange. Other Native authors continue to do the amazing work they've always done: Susan Power, David Treuer, Stephen Graham Jones, Louise Erdrich. It's a rich, exciting time in Native Lit, and I'm hoping more doors will open for BIPOC writers. And we can't disappoint your groupies--what can we next expect? I have a rough start for a novel about a mother and daughter who get mixed up with a fundamentalist sect in Northeast Oklahoma. I think I'll always write about mothers and daughters and faith, too. It's too early to say much, but I'm interested in exploring the intersection of fundamentalist Christianity and white supremacist militias, which in this case happens to take place in the Cherokee Nation. Thank you for asking about new work. It's good to think about and makes me want to get back in it! --Terry Hong, Smithsonian BookDragon PORT WASHINGTON, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Systemax Inc. (NYSE:SYX) today announced that it will release financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 after U.S. market hours. Management will provide pre-recorded remarks on the Company's second quarter 2020 results at 5:00 p.m. Eastern Time on July 28th. To access the remarks please dial 412-317-6347 five minutes prior to the start time. The pre-recorded remarks will also be available via webcast on the Company's website at www.systemax.com in the investor relations section. If you cannot listen to the call at its scheduled time, the webcast will be archived on www.systemax.com for approximately 90 days. About Systemax Inc. Systemax Inc. (www.systemax.com), through its operating subsidiaries, is a provider of industrial products in North America, going to market through a system of branded e-Commerce websites and relationship marketers. The Company's primary brand is Global Industrial (www.globalindustrial.com). Investor/Media Contact: Mike Smargiassi The Plunkett Group 212-739-6729 mike@theplunkettgroup.com SOURCE: Systemax View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598110/Systemax-Inc-to-Report-Second-Quarter-2020-Results-on-July-28-2020 Iran Security Official Says 'Instigators Of Protests In Behbahan' Arrested Radio Farda July 20, 2020 The Security Chief of Iran's oil-rich Khuzestan Province on Sunday said all of the individuals that he called "instigators of the protest rally in Behbahan on July 16" have been arrested. Speaking to the government news agency IRNA, Heydar Abbaszadeh said the protest rally was "a transgression". He claimed that "a handful" of people in Behbahan had rallied in a square in the city and protested "under the pretext of complaining about high prices" and chanted slogans "against the norms of the society", which in official jargon means demanding regime change. Abbaszadeh did not announce any names and did not say how many people were detained. Despite the claim that the protesters were only a few, Abbaszadeh said security forces and the Basij militia had quickly made it to the scene and managed to quell the protest in the "shortest possible time". Protesters in Behbahan chanting "Neither Gaza, nor Lebanon, my life for Iran". To stop the flow of videos from the protest, the Internet was disrupted in the province on Thursday but the footage that made it to the social media showed hundreds of people rallying in various places in the city, particularly at the venue of last November's protests, while the police attacked the crowd with tear gas. The protesters chanted slogans against clerical rule and the Islamic Republic as well as the slogan, "Neither Gaza, nor Lebanon, my life for Iran" which is very common in anti-government protests highlighting to the government's high spending to support their proxies in regional countries. A day after the protest in Behbahan, the Police Chief of the city threatened a heavy-handed crackdown if the protests continued. Behbahan was one of the first cities where security forces used overwhelming force to suppress protests in November 2019. At least ten protesters were killed in the small city in November including the 27-year-old Farzad Ansarifar whose sister was arrested in the July 16 protest. According to Farzad's father, the young man was shot in the head from behind near their house. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran- security-official-says-instigators-of-protests- in-behbahan-arrested-/30737096.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 First Vice-President of Azerbaijan Mehriban Aliyeva has addressed the people of Azerbaijan in connection with the military provocation committed by Armenia in the Tovuz direction of the Azerbaijani-Armenian state border. Dear fellow compatriots! Every citizen of our country is worrying about the events taking place in recent days. Yet another provocation of the invader was immediately rebuffed. May Allah rest the souls of all our martyrs in peace. I pray to God for the speedy recovery of the wounded Azerbaijani soldiers. May God protect the life and health of every Azerbaijani fighter. All of us are overwhelmed with emotions these days. A lot of emotions. One of the strongest emotions, along with grief and reverence for the blessed memory of the martyrs, is pride. Pride for the combat potential of the Azerbaijani army, for the mothers who raised their heroic sons. For the sense of patriotism of our citizens, for our youth and tens of thousands of volunteers who are ready to stand up for the defense of the Motherland at the first call. Pride for the thousands of Azerbaijanis who have expressed their unequivocal position outside our country, supported the state and the army. This all-consuming feeling of unity, fortitude and readiness to do everything for the triumph of historical justice the restoration of the territorial integrity of Azerbaijan is a powerful and effective means in our sacred struggle. Many thanks to everyone who has proved to be a true citizen these days. Dear brothers and sisters! Against the background of a highly patriotic and spirited attitude, each of us today is required to maintain restraint, be vigilant and cool-headed. It should be remembered every hour that the confrontation in which we have been living for many years covers not only the line of direct hostilities but also the information field. In the era of social networks, the scale of information warfare and its impact on the course of events are becoming a very significant factor influencing the outcome of the confrontation. Modern information platforms are used by hostile forces, ill-wishers and sometimes just envious and prejudiced circles in the most shameless way in order to spread fakes, knowingly circulate false and provocative material. The goal is to sow panic, create a split and an internal front, whip up decadent and defeatist sentiments. A wide arsenal of tools is used from fake profiles and single-use phone numbers to psychological methods of influencing the visual, auditory and emotional perception of users. In a word, the most unclean means are used to influence the most sensitive strings of the human soul. The forces supporting the occupying policy of Armenia pursue their own goals and act according to the principle all means are good in a war. I am very glad that the majority of Azerbaijani Internet users do not give in to provocations, expose lies and slander, know how to distinguish black from white and tell the whole truth about the origins of the conflict. After all, one of our main goals is to bring our voice with the demand for justice to the world community. I would like to thank everyone who is active, truthful, those who defend the interests of our country in this field of activity in a reasoned manner and within the framework of the law and morality. But there are other examples as well. What should be the extent of hatred for your own homeland to hide in third countries at a time when the Azerbaijani army is honorably opposing yet another provocation of the enemy, circulate lies about the crushed Azerbaijani positions and numerous civilian casualties, sow panic, fear and disappointment in the hearts of our fellow citizens? Or to try to use the wave of patriotic sentiments of Azerbaijani youth to create a split, chaos and excesses for the sake of petty, unrealizable political ambitions? There is no and cannot be any justification for such actions and for such people. They do not and cannot have anything in common with the millions of Azerbaijanis who are ready to shed blood for their land. God is their judge, because besides public condemnation there is also God's judgment. Dear friends! It is impossible not to see you show mutual support, patience, solidarity, restraint and self-control on social media these days. Thank you for that! We all need to be extremely vigilant and not to succumb to provocations. Each time we publish a new post, photo or comment, let's remember that we live in a state of war and everything we broadcast in the information field can be used by the enemy. Remember that the duty of each of us is to protect the interests of Azerbaijan. And not only on the battlefield, but also in front of a computer monitor. Remember that today we are a nation, a people with a common goal. For we need victory. One for all of us. And he whose strength is underpinned by unity, reason and determination gets the upper hand. I infinitely love my native Azerbaijan and my wise, brave and merciful people! Our cause is right and God is with us! May the Almighty protect Azerbaijan! With love, Your MEHRIBAN --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Jan had called a crackdown on the country's media outlets 'a systematic attempt by the military and its intelligence agency to assert control. Prominent Pakistani journalist Matiullah Jan, known as an outspoken critic of the country's powerful institutions, including its military, has gone missing from the country's capital Islamabad, raising fears that he might have been abducted. The kidnapping took place around 11 am local time on Tuesday when Jan went to pick up his wife from a school where she was teaching, his younger brother Shahid Akbar Abbassi told The Associated Press in a telephone interview. At least 10 heavily armed men in three vehicles intercepted Jan, said Abbasi, adding that police were going through closed-circuit television footage (CCTV) footage to find clues. According to a report on Dawn.com, the CCTV footage showed Jan tossing his mobile phone across the school fence before being forced into a sedan by several men. However, the phone was handed to "a man in uniform" by a security guard, says the report. According to a report in The Tribune, the journalist's wife Kaneez Sughra said in an interview with another publication that Jan's vehicle was found outside her school in Islamabad's G-6 area. "I believe those who are wielding power...they are the people who took him," Abbasi told AP, while refusing to disclose the names of those he believed were behind the abduction. A tweet was also posted from Jan's twitter media handle, reportedly by his son. Matiullahjan, my father, has been abducted from the heart of the capital Islamad. I demand he be found and the agencies behind it immediately be held responsible. God keep him safe. Matiullah Jan (@Matiullahjan919) July 21, 2020 The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan demanded "the government immediately ensure the safe recovery of journalist" Matiullah Jan. HRCP demands that the government immediately ensure the safe recovery of journalist @Matiullahjan919, whose family confirms that he has gone #missing. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) July 21, 2020 Amnesty International South Asia also expressed concerned over Jan's well-being and demanded that authorities should establish his whereabouts immediately. We are extremely concerned for the fate and wellbeing of @matiullahjan919. He has been the subject of physical attacks and harassment for his journalism. The authorities must establish his whereabouts immediately. #ReleaseMatiullah Amnesty International South Asia (@amnestysasia) July 21, 2020 The Austrian-based International Press Institute (IPI) joined the chorus of calls for Jan's freedom. "We fear that Matiullah Jan's life is in danger, and immediate steps must be taken to locate him and ensure his release from his apparent kidnappers," IPI Deputy Director Scott Griffen said in a statement. "Given the history of violence against journalists in Pakistan, the authorities cannot delay in seeking to protect Jan's safety." Journalists and political leaders, including PPP chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari have also called on the government to ensure his safe return. Extremely concerned at news that @Matiullahjan919 has been abducted from Islamabad. The selected government must immediately insure his safe return. This is not only an attack on media freedoms & democracy but on all of us. Today it is Matiuallah, tomorrow it could be you or I. BilawalBhuttoZardari (@BBhuttoZardari) July 21, 2020 Jan, who was fired from Pakistan's Waqt TV station allegedly under pressure from the military, was active on social media and also had a YouTube channel. He had recently been charged with contempt of court for a tweet critical of the judiciary and was scheduled to appear in court this week. According to a Hindustan Times report, the Islamabad High Court last week dismissed another contempt petition against Jan, noting that the dignity of judges is not so fragile as to be harmed by a tweet. The dignity of a judge or a court is not dependent or resorting to the law of contempt. The judgments of a judge and the latters conduct is the measure of his or her integrity and independence," the court said. The HT report said that Jan had been attacked twice in 2017, but had escaped unhurt. Police said have the begun investigation into the incident, said the Tribune report. Pakistan's Information Minister Shibli Faraz confirmed that the journalist has been "abducted", saying that it was the governments responsibility to safely recover the abducted journalist. Addressing a news conference, Faraz said that he did not have complete details about the incident but assured the media that the government will take all efforts to find out Matiullah Jans whereabouts at the earliest. Just informed about @Matiullahjan919 kidnapping. Have taken note and spoken to the IG Islamabad who informed me they are looking into it. Very disturbing. Shireen Mazari (@ShireenMazari1) July 21, 2020 According to news agency AP, Jan was an outspoken critic of the government and had called a crackdown on the country's media outlets "a systematic attempt by the military and its intelligence agency to assert control with a facade of a democratically elected government." Journalists and human rights groups have been sharp critics of the army and Prime Minister Imran Khan's government for what they claim to be a heavy-handed crackdown on free speech and independent journalism. According to the news agency, Shakil-ur-Rahman, owner of the Jang Group, one of Pakistan's largest media houses and a strident critic of the government is in the custody of the National Accountability Bureau, which investigates charges of corruption. Rights groups have questioned whether the allegations against Rahman were politically motivated. Rahman's media group has been called out by the government and military for its criticism. With inputs from AP Three arrested for drug trafficking in Carlisle County Flash China strongly condemns UK's suspension of extradition treaty with HKSAR - Xinhua | English.news.cn China voiced on Monday strong condemnation and firm opposition after the United Kingdom (UK) decided to suspend the extradition treaty with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) immediately and indefinitely and extend the arms embargo to the HKSAR. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said that recently the kingdom has repeatedly made wrong remarks on the national security law for the HKSAR to interfere in China's internal affairs. "The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations to the UK side on many occasions to express our grave concern and strong opposition," the spokesperson said. "Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of China's solemn position and repeated representations. It once again contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the National Security Law for the HKSAR and undermine the city's prosperity and stability," the spokesperson said. According to the spokesperson, the Chinese government remains unwavering in its resolve to implement the law to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and to oppose external interference. "China will firmly fight back at any move that interferes in its internal affairs," the spokesperson added. The national security law is an anchor for the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems" and for the long-term security, prosperity and stability in the HKSAR, the spokesperson said. "This Law will make Hong Kong a safer, better and more prosperous place," said the spokesperson, adding that "any attempt to pressurize China and obstruct the implementation of this Law will meet the strong opposition of 1.4 billion Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, and such attempt is doomed to failure." LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ZenWTR, the world's first bottled beverage to utilize 100% recycled, certified ocean-bound plastic, announced today it has named veteran food and beverage executive, Bryan Crowley, as CEO. Crowley will be charged with scaling the business and leading the company's mission to help reduce the amount of plastic polluting the world's coastal environments. ZenWTR was launched earlier this year by beverage entrepreneur Lance Collins to meet the growing consumer demand for premium bottled water and the cultural demand for more sustainable options. Collins' previous startups include beverage standouts Fuze, NOS, Core and Body Armor. Bryan Crowley, CEO of ZenWTR "Bryan's excellent track record leading both startup and legacy food and beverage brands, along with his passion and experience bringing sustainable brands to market, aligns perfectly with our vision for disrupting the $20 Billion bottled water category," said Lance Collins, founder of ZenWTR. "I'm confident that his leadership will bring tangible impact to a beverage market thirsty for change and help us restore coastal environments." Prior to ZenWTR, Crowley was CEO of the food tech sustainability brand Soylent where he led the company's transformation from a single-channel, direct-to-consumer brand to a multi-channel business selling on Amazon and in more than 20,000 brick and mortar retail outlets including Walmart, Target, Kroger and 7-Eleven. Earlier, Crowley was chief strategy officer at artisanal probiotic and kombucha brand, KeVita, where he repositioned the brand and helped lead the company's sale and transition into PepsiCo. Crowley was also president of VEEV Spirits, the world's first carbon-neutral spirits brand, where he successfully repositioned the core product to better compete in the premium vodka category and later led the sale of the company to Luxco Imports. Crowley is the co-founder and board director of the rapidly growing hard kombucha start-up, Flying Embers, a board advisor at molecular coffee start-up, Atomo, and a board advisor at venture firm, M13. "The volume of plastic clogging our marine environments is increasing at such a rate that forecasters are warning we could have more plastic than fish in our oceans by 2050," said Crowley. "With ZenWTR, we're bringing a more sustainable approach to consumption, taking five ocean-bound plastic bottles out of circulation for each 1L bottle of water we produce. I'm thrilled to join beverage disruptor Lance Collins and the ZenWTR team on this vital journey to build a premium water company that benefits the planet." The company is on a mission to rescue 50 million pounds of ocean-bound plastic by 2025 and is unique in the industry as it has secured a supply chain that utilizes only reclaimed plastic bottles, creating a nearly zero-waste, circular manufacturing process. ZenWTR's vapor distilled, high alkaline premium water is bottled in Southern California and available at Whole Foods nationwide as well as regional Walmart, Safeway, Giant, H-E-B and AM/PM stores. About ZenWTR: ZenWTR vapor distilled alkaline water is the world's first beverage using 100% post-consumer recycled, certified ocean-bound plastic. With a mission to rescue 50 Million pounds of ocean-bound plastic by 2025, ZenWTR delivers crisp, ultra-pure hydration while actively helping to restore coastal environments. Launched in 2020 and based and bottled in Southern California, ZenWTR is available in 1 Liter, 23.7 oz. and 16.9 oz. size bottles in over 4,000 stores nationwide. Join a community that's Thirsty For Change at ZenWTR.com and follow @drinkzenwtr on Instagram. Media Contact: Nicole Koremenos [email protected] SOURCE ZenWTR Related Links https://zenwtr.com Researchers from the University of Tsukuba show that a 'glycome shift' in epidermal stem cells, a change in their repertoire of complex sugars, may be a potential biomarker of aging Tsukuba, Japan - Age shows nowhere better than on the skin. The ravages of time on skin and the epidermal stem cells that differentiate to replenish its outer layer have been hypothesized, but there has been no method to evaluate their aging at the molecular level. Now, researchers at the University of Tsukuba and the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) have revealed that changes in the complex sugars called glycans that coat the surface of epidermal stem cells can serve as a potential biological marker of aging. Skin is the largest human organ and a vital barrier against infection and fluid loss. Aging impairs environmental defenses and wound healing, while increasing hair loss and cancer risk. A key process underlying epidermal function in health and disease is cellular glycosylation that mediates cell-cell interactions and cell-matrix adhesions. Glycosylation involves attaching glycans to proteins; the profile of all glycans on and in a cell--collectively 'the cell glycome'--could reflect its functional scope and serve as an index of its age. The researchers first isolated epidermal stem cells from the skin of young and old laboratory mice, including both hair follicle cells and interfollicular epidermal cells. These cells underwent glycan profiling using the lectin microarray platform; this technique uses lectins--proteins that bind specific glycans--and enables glycome analysis even for cells sparsely dispersed in tissues. "Our results clearly showed that high mannose-type N-glycans are replaced by ?2-3/6 sialylated complex type N-glycans in older epidermal stem cells," senior author, Professor Hiromi Yanagisawa, explains. "We followed this with gene expression analysis; this revealed up-regulation of a glycosylation-related mannosidase and two sialyltransferase genes, suggesting that this 'glycome shift' may be mediated by age-modulated glycosyltransferase and glycosidase expression." Finally, to check whether the glycan changes were the cause or merely the result of aging, the research team overexpressed the up-regulated glycogenes in primary epidermal mouse keratinocytes in vitro. The keratinocytes showed decreased mannose and increased Sia modifications, replicating the in vivo glycosylation pattern of aging epidermal stem cells. In addition, their decreased ability to proliferate suggested that these alterations may reflect the waning ability of aging epidermal stem cells to proliferate. Professor Aiko Sada, currently Principal Investigator at Kumamoto University, and Professor Hiroaki Tateno at AIST, co-corresponding authors, explain the implications of their results. "Our work is broadly targeted at investigating stem cell dysfunction specifically in aging skin. Future advances may help manage skin disorders at the stem cell level, including age-related degenerative changes, impaired wound healing and cancer." ### Chennai, July 21 : The Indian space agency on Tuesday said public release of science data from Chandrayaan-2 for global use will begin in October. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) also said Tuesday marked an year of the launch of India's second moon mission by a Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle (GSLV)-MkIII-M1. It was on July 22, 2019, the GSLV rocket, nicknamed 'Bahubali', blasted off from the second launch pad at India's rocket port in Sriharikota in Andhra Pradesh. Extensive data has been acquired from Chandrayaan-2 payloads and parameters are being derived for presence of water-ice in the polar regions, X-ray based and infrared spectroscopic mineral information, and mid and high-latitude presence of Argon-40, a condensable gas on the Moon which gets released internally by the radio-active decay, said ISRO. The report on the major findings from Chandrayaan-2's science experiments was planned to be released at the Annual Lunar Planetary Science Conference in March. However, it got cancelled due to Covid-19. The Chandrayaan-2 spacecraft was inserted into lunar orbit on August 20, 2019. All eight payloads on Chandrayaan-2 are performing well. The global mapping of lunar surface and polar coverage are being carried out as per the mission plan, ISRO said. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: With Shree Ram Janmabhoomi Teertha Kshetra Trust giving a green signal to modification in size and design of the existing model, the proposed Ram temple in Ayodhya is set to be one of the largest Hindu temples in the world. Meanwhile, with the date for Bhoomi Pujan being fixed, donations have started pouring in for the temple construction. The Lucknow chapter of the Indian Bullion Jewellers Association donated bricks weighing approx 34 kg to temple trust chief Mahant Nirtya Gopal Das on Tuesday. On the other, Ramadal Trust handed over a cheque of Rs 21,000 to the temple trust. Architects Nikhil Sompura and Ashish Sompura, sons of the projects chief architect Chandrakant Sompura, will draw the modified design of the temple. However, there will be no change in the basic design, according to Mahant Kamal Nayan Das, heir apparent of Mahant Nritya Gopal Das, chairman of the temple trust. As per the modification suggested in the design of the temple, its width is likely to be increased from 140 feet to 270- 280 feet. The length is likely to increase from 268 to 280-300 feet. In addition, the height would be raised to 161 feet from the originally proposed 128 feet. After the new suggested modification, the temple would now become a three-storey structure instead of originally proposed two floors. The overall temple area will also be increased. The overall area of the Ram Janmbhoomi complex will also be enhanced from 70 acres to 100-120 acres, said the sources. They added that the trust would acquire additional land for the new proposed structure. As per the new layout of the temple, it would now be constructed over 76,000-84,000 square feet area while the original one was proposed in 37,590 square feet. If the temple is constructed as per the new modifications in the size and design, the ready temple would be one among the top three largest Hindu temples in the world. The other two being the Angkor Wat temple complex in Cambodia spread in an area of 401 acres followed by Sri Ranganatha Swamy temple in Tiruchirapalli in Tamil Nadu. It is the second-largest temple spread over an area of 155 acre. After the proposed changes, the Ram temple complex is likely to be spread over 100 to 120 acres, making it the third-largest in the world. As far as the change in the design is concerned, now the new layout has five instead of the original three domes in the structure. The temple would be constructed in Nagara style, which is popular in north India. According to VHP regional spokesperson Sharad Sharma, while the existing model of the Ram temple was prepared by Chandrakant Sompura in 1983 on a VHP proposal. The trust, paying heed to the demand of the saints has agreed to effect some modification in the original model of the temple. The trust has also given its consent to demolishing nine temples on the Ram Janmabhoomi campus. Deities from these temples will be relocated to a new temple. Homo neanderthaliensis did not become extinct because of changes in climate. At least, this did not happen to the several Neanderthals groups that lived in the western Mediterranean 42,000 years ago. A research group of the University of Bologna came to this conclusion after a detailed paleoclimatic reconstruction of the last ice age through the analysis of stalagmites sampled from some caves in Apulia, Italy. The researchers focused on the Murge karst plateau in Apulia, where Neanderthals and Homo sapiens coexisted for at least 3,000 years, from approximately 45,000 to 42,000 years ago. This study was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Data extracted from the stalagmites showed that climate changes that happened during that time span were not particularly significant. "Our study shows that this area of Apulia appears as a 'climate niche' during the transition from Neanderthals to Homo sapiens," explains Andrea Columbu, researcher and first author of this study. "It doesn't seem possible that significant climate changes happened during that period, at least not impactful enough to cause the extinction of Neanderthals in Apulia and, by the same token, in similar areas of the Mediterranean." The Climate Change Hypothesis The hypothesis that a changing climate was a factor in Neanderthals extinction (that happened, in Europe, nearly 42,000 years ago) found considerable support among the scientific community. According to this theory, during the last ice age, sharp and rapid changes in climate were a decisive factor in Neanderthals' extinction because of the increasingly cold and dry weather. We can find confirmation of these sharp changes in the analysis of ice cores from Greenland and from other paleoclimatic archives of continental Europe. However, when it comes to some Mediterranean areas where Neanderthals had lived since 100,000 years ago, the data tell a different story. The Western Mediterranean is rich in prehistorical findings and, until now, no one ever carried out a paleoclimatic reconstruction of these Neanderthal-occupied areas. The Importance of Stalagmites Where to find answers about the climate past of the Western Mediterranean? The research group of the University of Bologna turned to the Murge plateau in Apulia. "Apulia is key to our understanding of anthropological movements: we know that both Neanderthals and Homo sapiens lived there approximately 45,000 years ago," says Andrea Columbu. "Very few other areas in the world saw both species co-existing in a relatively small space. This makes the Murge plateau the perfect place to study the climate and the bio-cultural grounds of the transition from Neanderthal to Sapiens." advertisement How is it possible to provide a climate reconstruction of such a remote period? Stalagmites have the answer. These rock formations rise from the floor of karst caves thanks to ceiling water drippings. "Stalagmites are excellent paleoclimatic and paleoenvironmental archives," explains Jo De Waele, research coordinator and professor at the University of Bologna. "Since stalagmites form through rainwater dripping, they provide unquestionable evidence of the presence or absence of rain. Moreover, they are made of calcite, which contains carbon and oxygen isotopes. The latter provide precise information about how the soil was and how much it rained during the formation period of stalagmites. We can then cross these pieces of information with radiometric dating, that provide an extremely precise reconstruction of the phases of stalagmites' formation." A (Relatively) Stable Climate The pace at which stalagmites formed is the first significant result of this study. Researchers found out that Apulian stalagmites showed a consistent pace of dripping in the last and previous ice ages. This means that no abrupt change in climate happened during the millennia under investigation. A drought would have been visible in the stalagmites. Among all the stalagmites that were analysed, one was particularly relevant. Researchers sampled this 50-cm long stalagmite in the Pozzo Cucu cave, in the Castellana Grotte area (Bari) and they carried out 27 high-precision datings and 2,700 analyses of carbon and oxygen stable isotopes. According to dating, this stalagmite formed between 106,000 and 27,000 years ago. This stalagmite represents the longest timeline of the last ice age in the western Mediterranean and in Europe. Moreover, this stalagmite did not show any trace of abrupt changes in climate that might have caused Neanderthals' extinction. "The analyses we carried out show little variation in rainfall between 50,000 and 27,000 years ago, the extent of this variation is not enough to cause alterations in the flora inhabiting the environment above the cave," says Jo De Waele. "Carbon isotopes show that the bio-productivity of the soil remained all in all consistent during this period that includes the 3,000 years-long coexistence between Sapiens and Neanderthals. This means that significant changes in flora and thus in climate did not happen." The Technology Hypothesis advertisement The results seem to show that the dramatic changes in the climate of the last ice age had a different impact on the Mediterranean area than in continental Europe and Greenland. This may rule out the hypothesis that climate changes are responsible for Neanderthals dying out. How do we explain their extinction after a few millennia of coexistence with Homo sapiens? Stefano Benazzi, a palaeontologist at the University of Bologna and one of the authors of the paper, provides an answer to this question. "The results we obtained corroborate the hypothesis, put forward by many scholars, that the extinction of Neanderthals had to do with technology," says Benazzi. "According to this hypothesis, the Homo sapiens hunted using a technology that was far more advanced than Neanderthals', and this represented a primary reason to Sapiens' supremacy over Neanderthals, that eventually became extinct after 3,000 years of co-existence." The Authors of the Study The study was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution with the title "Speleothem record attests to stable environmental conditions during Neanderthal- modern human turnover in southern Italy." Representing the University of Bologna, we have Andrea Columbu, Veronica Chiarini and Jo De Waele from the Department of Biological, Geological and Environmental Sciences, and Stefano Benazzi from the Department of Cultural Heritage. Other scholars also participated in the study: from the University of Innsbruck (Austria) where the isotopic analyses were carried out, from Melbourne University (Australia) and Xi'an Jiaotong University (China), that carried out the radiometric dating. Grotte di Castellana, the Apulian Speleology Association and, for the major part, local speleology groups provided funding for this study. TV host and Daily Mail Columnist, Piers Morgan has reacted to Kanye West's first-ever presidential rally, where he broke down in tears as spoke about abortion and how he almost encouraged his wife, Kim Kardashian to abort their daughter, North West. In his new column, the Good Morning Britain host slammed Kanye and said he urgently needs help for ''humiliating his wife in the most horrible way.'' He also stated that if anyone should be stopping 'this mentally ill man from self-imploding in public' it's his wife, Kim Kardashian West. Read his article below.. Kanye West needs help. Urgently. He's not a presidential candidate - he's a very sick man having a very nasty 'episode'. The rap star's performance last night at his supposed 'campaign rally' in Charleston was one of the most shocking and disturbing celebrity meltdowns I've witnessed, and whilst it's easy to laugh and mock him, I genuinely believe it's now too serious to do that. It wasn't just his wild rambling delivery that was so unsettling. We've seen this kind of thing many times from Kanye before and most of it smacks of attention-seeking narcissism. What was so troubling about this one was what he was actually saying. He warmed up with an appalling attack on famed slave abolitionist Harriet Tubman, saying she 'never actually freed the slaves. She just had the slaves go work for other white people.' This about a woman who repeatedly risked her life, with a massive bounty on her head, to free at least 300 slaves over a 10-year period. Yet astonishingly, this wasn't even the most offensive thing Kanye spewed out last night. That came when he suddenly turned to the subject of abortion. Kanye, wearing a bulletproof vest and with '2020' shaved into his head, said his then girlfriend, now wife, Kim Kardashian, rang him in tears when he was working abroad eight years ago. 'In the Bible it says thou shalt not kill,' he said. 'I remember that my girlfriend called me screaming and crying. And I'm just thinking - and at that time I was a rapper, I was out there, I had different girlfriends and everything. And I was like.. I don't give a f***. So, my girlfriend called me, and I just thought to myself, 'Please don't tell me I gave Kim Kardashian AIDS.' Some of the 200-strong crowd groaned, others actually cheered this horribly inappropriate remark. (Can you even imagine the horror and outrage from those cheering if Donald Trump ever said something like that?) He continued: 'Then she said, 'I'm pregnant.' I said, 'Yes!' Then I said, 'No.' I gotta tell you what was in my mind. She was crying. She said she was pregnant, and for one month, and two months, and three months, we talked about her not having this child. She had the pills in her hand. When you take the pills, and if you take it, the baby's gone.' Kanye said he eventually got divine intervention to tell him what to do. 'I was sitting up in Paris, and I had my leather pants on. I had my laptop up.. and the screen went black and white. And God said, 'If you f*** with my vision, I'm going to f*** with yours.' And I called my wife and she said, 'We're gonna have this babywe're gonna have this child.' He added: 'Even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech, she brought North into the world, even when I didn't want to. She stood up and she protected that child.' Kanye breaks down revealing how daughter North was almost aborted. As the crowd cheered again, Kanye became even more emotional: 'You know who else protected a child? Who do you think might have protected a child? My mom saved my life. My dad wanted to abort me. My mom saved my life. There would have been no Kanye West, because my dad was too busy! At that point, Kanye began to cry, and shriek in a voice so high-pitched it was impossible to work out what he was saying, until he suddenly became very clear: 'I almost killed my daughter! I ALMOST KILLED MY DAUGHTER!' 'We love you Kanye!' some members of the crowd shouted back, suggesting there is no limit to their blind adoration of their hero. I didn't love Kanye in that moment. In fact, I found the whole thing utterly horrifying and cringe-making. What kind of husband and father starts screaming hysterically on live TV about nearly aborting one of their children? The daughter he was talking about was the couple's first born, North, who is now seven years old. My own daughter is eight, very computer literate, and picks up everything and everything said about her. North will now know that for months before she was born, her parents contemplated aborting her. Whatever your view of abortion, that's a very hurtful thing for any child to learn at that age, let alone one who will now have to see and hear the world gossiping about it because her mother and father are so famous. And did Kanye give a moment's thought to what his wife may think of this bombshell revelation becoming public knowledge in such a grotesque way? Where is Kim in all this, anyway? I know her own publicity-seeking shamelessness knows no bounds, and that she gets a kick and enormous financial reward - out of the world talking about the most intimate details of her family, however ugly the reasons. But what happened last night is beyond a joke. Her husband is beyond a joke. He's a mentally ill man with a lengthy history of bi-polar episodes who is currently self-imploding before the public's eyes in a way that should horrify any wife. It was obvious to anyone with half a brain cell that Kanye's absurd announcement several weeks ago that he was running for president one an ecstatic Kim greeted with an emoji of an American flag - was going to blow up like this. Yet her only public pronouncements in recent days have been to post more semi-naked photos of herself on social media from her new underwear collection, to drive yet further vast wads of cash into the Kardashian bank vaults. We're told by TMZ that Kanye's family is 'shocked beyond words' by his abortion rant and believe he is 'desperate need of professional help.' Yes, he is. But he's getting no help from anyone who claims to love him. They're all just sitting back and watching him humiliate himself on a massive stage. What Kanye West needs is an intervention. He doesn't need his fans screaming 'I LOVE YOU!' He needs them screaming 'GET HIM HELP!' He doesn't need his family anonymously briefing a tabloid website about how shocked they are. He needs his family to step up, stop enabling this cr*p, and do something. Most importantly Kanye West needs his wife to stop posting titillating pictures of herself to millions of strangers long enough to force him to get the help everyone can see he so urgently requires. 'They're going to try to tell you that I'm crazy!' Kanye screamed last night. 'The world's crazy! He's right on both counts. Kim Kardashian must do something that she has so far in her life shown zero desire or ability to do: take a family crisis back behind closed doors and save her husband from himself. 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 ZURICH (Reuters) - A protestor set himself on fire outside Switzerland's parliament building in Bern on Monday following a demonstration against the country's asylum policy. Police confirmed an incident in the Bundesplatz, where one man suffered burn injuries and was taken to hospital 'It looks like this man has caused the injury himself, but that is something we will look into,' a police spokesman said. The man, who has not been identified, did not suffer life threatening injuries, the spokesman said ZURICH (Reuters) - A protestor set himself on fire outside Switzerland's parliament building in Bern on Monday following a demonstration against the country's asylum policy. Police confirmed an incident in the Bundesplatz, where one man suffered burn injuries and was taken to hospital "It looks like this man has caused the injury himself, but that is something we will look into," a police spokesman said. The man, who has not been identified, did not suffer life threatening injuries, the spokesman said. Paramedics, fire services and police were called to the scene after the incident which happened at around 3pm local time on Monday. In Switzerland, where 38% of the 8.6 million population is made up of foreign nationals and naturalized citizens, immigration and asylum has become a controversial topic. Protesters were demanding equal treatment and the right to work for asylum seekers as well as an ending isolation of individuals at refugee centres. The country is due to hold a referendum in September on limiting the free movement of people with the European Union. (Reporting by John Revill, editing by Pritha Sarkar) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Face masks are set to become an everyday essential like underwear and socks, according to the owner of Bonds. The iconic underwear giant, now owned by US company Hanes, has ordered 30,000 face masks to replenish their stock as it flies off shelves. Since gaining approval to sell reusable masks, chief executive David Bortolussi said the apparel has been a hot commodity. 'It's been running hot in recent weeks. We can't bring our reusable masks in fast enough at the moment,' he told the Financial Review. Mr Bortolussi predicts the uptake will continue to surge as has been witnessed in other countries across the globe, with masks mandatory in Melbourne from Wednesday. Bonds Underwear has been selling reusable masks (pictured) across the world since gaining approval from Therapeutic Goods Administration last month 'If we look to international experience we are seeing that around the world,' he said. 'I hope it's only temporary, but unfortunately I expect it will be with us for some time.' Mr Bortolussi said sales of the Bonds Protective Comfy Masks had spike rapidly this week, and 30,000 more were scheduled to arrive on Wednesday from a manufacturer in Asia. A whopping 450 million face masks have already been purchased off Hanes from the United States government. The Bonds washable cloth coverings have been treated with 'viroblock', a Swiss textile technology that increases barrier protection, and can be purchased in a single pack for $9.95 or three for $24.95. The soaring demand for face masks from both people and businesses has created an opportunity for retailers capable of adding them to their production line or for start-up entrepreneurs. A woman wearing a face mask walks through the city on July 20 (pictured) in Melbourne as a second wave of COVID-19 smashes the region Mr Bortolussi said sales of the Bonds Protective Comfy Masks (pictured) had spike rapidly this week, with 30,000 more on route to Australia Melbourne fashion designer White Story, owned by Fiona Myer of the Myer retailing family, and Ford Millinery, based in Sydney, have both diverted their manufacturing teams towards making face masks. The rise in demand follows Victorian Premier Dan Andrews announcement on Sunday that mask-wearing will become mandatory in parts of Victoria this week. Residents in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire will be required to wear a mask while in public from 11.59pm on Wednesday or risk being fined $200. The state government's order has sparked a panic buying frenzy in Melbourne, prompting retailers to impose limits on mask purchases. People wearing face masks and gloves ride scooters through Melbourne's CBD on July 20 (pictured) Some shops have reported a 30-fold increase in sales since Sunday, as people rush to snatch up the protection gear before the rule comes into effect, News.com.au reports. Bunnings has restricted mask sales to 50 a customer, while Aldi has a two-pack limit. Woolworths and Coles are only allowing one pack per person. 'Tens of thousands of boxes of masks will continue to head into Woolworths stores across Victoria this week and more will flow through the following week, with a priority focus on hotspot areas,' the supermarket chain said in a statement. Residents are also allowed to make their own masks under the regulations, with reports of craft shops running out of supplies as people flock to buy material. Lengthy queues have become a common sight outside Spotlight stores and Chemist Warehouse branches as Victorians wait up to 30 minutes to purchase the now-essential supply. Long queues were pictured snaked around the pavement outside Spotlight in Melbourne on Sunday (pictured) On Wednesday, the Premier condemned some retailers that have been inflating prices to increase their profit. 'I would encourage everybody to do the right thing and acknowledge that this is no time to be profiting from the pain of others,' Mr Andrews said. 'There is no time to be doing that, regardless of a global pandemic or not. To that end, we have got more than two million multi-use masks, like the ones that I was wearing when I came in and so many people in the room today are wearing. 'The first of those orders arrives this week. We will use some in our stockpile. We have already ordered replacements for those so that will be replenished because that is there for the very worst of outcomes. Two female workers were pictured wearing masks and gloves while walking through the city on Monday (pictured) 'I just remind people it is a mask or a face covering. It can be a handkerchief, scarf, bandana. 'There is all manner of innovative methods, they are all over the internet. People can look and find a way to comply but giving people that bit of lead in time is important.' Students aged 12 or older will also be required to wear a mask at school from Thursday, while teachers are permitted to remain mask-free. Ford Milinery owner and designer Chantelle Ford said the Victorian guidelines have driven sales from people all across Australia. She said orders immediately began flooding in from Sunday, with customers now currently facing ten days of delays. Students aged over 12 will be required to wear masks to school from midnight Wednesday. A school girl and man are pictured wearing a mask as they walk through Melbourne's city on July 20 Meanwhile in NSW, Sydneysiders were advised to wear masks in public and avoid public transport, 'non-essential' gatherings, pubs, and restaurants. In the past four days, Sydney-based online fashion store The Iconic said searches for face masks has climbed ten-fold. With NSW's advice yet to be enforced, a leading expert says Sydney should adopt Melbourne's regulation 'within days' to curb the spread of COVID-19 outbreak in NSW. Professor Mary-Louise McLaws, an epidemiologist and World Health Organisation (WHO) adviser, said evidence indicates the effectiveness of preventing the virus from spreading doubles if everyone wears a mask. 'I know this will be criticised because it's across a wide geographical area, but that's the point,' she told the ABC. 'It doesn't have to last forever even if we just do it for a week and then after the week, it's re-evaluated.' The Islamabad High Court has ordered the relevant authorities to produce abducted journalist Matiullah Jan before it on Wednesday morning, local media reported on Tuesday. Jan was kidnapped from outside a local school on Tuesday morning, one day before he was to appear before Pakistans Supreme Court on a contempt of court notice. Camera footage of the incident shows that Jans abductors included plainclothesmen as well as uniformed policemen who were travelling in four cars. Soon after Matiullah Jan dropped his wife outside the government school in Islamabad, the camera shows cars encircling his car and taking the journalist into custody. Earlier, Jan, who is no stranger to controversy, was summoned over an alleged tweet against judges and the judiciary. A three-member bench of the apex court headed by the chief justice is hearing the case. The court in its contempt notice stated that Matiullah Jan in a tweet from his Twitter account on July 10 apparently used painful words against judges and the judiciary. Last week, Islamabad High Court (IHC) Chief Justice Athar Minallah dismissed another contempt application against Matiullah Jan, saying that the dignity of independent judges is not so fragile and it cant be harmed by a tweet. In the court order, Justice Minalla noted: The dignity of a judge or a court is not dependent or resorting to the law of contempt. The judgments of a judge and the latters conduct is the measure of his or her integrity and independence. A number of journalists have voiced concern about the safety of the Islamabad-based reporter. Journalists Aima Khosa in a tweet on Tuesday said that Matiuallah Jan has been taken off the air, pushed into legal cases and now abducted. It appears there is a concerted effort to silence him, she tweeted. In 2017, Matiullah Jan was attacked in Islamabad. However, he escaped unhurt. He was travelling from Islamabad with his children when two motorcyclists coming from the opposite side of the road threw a rock and smashed the windscreen of his car. Prior to that incident, he said he was chased by another car at night and his windscreen was smashed in a similar way. Those days, he said, he was working on a story along with another journalist who had also been attacked in the same fashion around the same time. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON In a campaign ad in 2018 boasting that he was "so conservative," Brian Kemp brandished a chain saw and declared his tool "ready to rip up some regulation." Two years later, the regulation to which Georgia's Republican governor is turning his attention is a municipal order requiring people to wear masks in Atlanta, among other precautions designed to arrest transmission of the novel coronavirus, which has sickened nearly 150,000 Georgians. Kemp's instrument is not a chain saw. Instead, he is wielding a lawsuit and request for an injunction barring the city's Democratic mayor and contender for the vice presidential nomination, Keisha Lance Bottoms, from enforcing her ordinance or speaking to the press about her authority to do so. The complaint - filed in Fulton County Superior Court, where a hearing is scheduled for Tuesday morning - marks the latest flash point over face coverings, which help block the airborne particles and tiny droplets that spread the deadly virus but are seen by some conservatives and anti-government activists as "medical tyranny." The legal contest also exposes in newly stark terms the standoff between Republican governors and the Democratic mayors of the biggest cities in their states, which could be some of the hardest-fought battlegrounds in the November election. Kemp, dogged by claims of voter suppression in the 2018 election that he refereed as Georgia's secretary of state, has embraced his role as an avatar for these conflicts, which are flaring during the health emergency. He has eschewed expert consensus, frequently casting his response to the pandemic in ideological terms reminiscent of his incendiary campaign ads. "He is of the mind-set that people don't require government to tell them what to do," said Doc Eldridge, who developed a rapport with Kemp in the 1990s when Eldridge was a district commissioner and then mayor of Athens-Clarke County and Kemp was working as a local developer, before he ran for a state Senate seat in 2002. Kemp, who reported a net worth of $5.2 million in 2018, does not believe, Eldridge said, "that government is the answer to all of our problems." He does, however, believe in President Donald Trump, whom he welcomed, unmasked, to Georgia last week. With his move to void Atlanta's July 10 ordinance, which also returns the city to Phase 1 of its reopening, Kemp has turned his state into ground zero for a hasty return to normal hewing to Trump's vision for an abrupt economic restart. The governor's litigious response to Bottoms has baffled public health experts and some business leaders in the state. They say his heavy-handed approach with local leaders - even as he encourages Georgians to wear masks - limits the effectiveness of one of the best tools for keeping the virus at bay, which is necessary for consumer confidence. Major retailers, such as Walmart, have acknowledged as much in requiring customers to wear face coverings. "Every relevant scientific body is saying that masks are essential," said Monirul Islam, an epidemiologist who runs the public health program at Augusta University. Kemp has set himself apart even from fellow Republicans. More than half of states have statewide mask mandates, after Alabama and Arkansas - both conservative states led by conservative Republican governors - adopted them last week. Republican governors and Trump acolytes in Arizona and Florida have authorized county and municipal leaders to make their own rules about face coverings. Kemp, meanwhile, is unmoved, vowing to stand in the way of "disastrous policies" - as he labeled the orders in Atlanta - that "threaten the lives and livelihood of our citizens." That position upends local control, long a principle claimed by conservatives. And the target placed on Atlanta intensifies the political overtones of the litigation, say mayors of other Georgia cities, from Augusta to Athens to Savannah, whose mask ordinances remain in effect. "It's hard to fully figure out what is in somebody else's mind, but it's no secret that the governor is a strong ally of the president, and it's also no secret that Mayor Bottoms is a strong ally of Vice President Biden," said Kelly Girtz, the mayor of Athens, Kemp's hometown. "That suggests there may be some political intent." Atlanta is in the governor's crosshairs because the mayor's actions extended beyond requiring masks and included a reversion to a previous phase of reopening, said Candice Broce, a spokeswoman for the governor. But the complaint, which also names members of the city council as defendants, lists as the mayor's first offense making masks mandatory. Kemp's allies say he favors masks - even completing a "wear a mask" tour of the state - while seeking a balance with economic interests that depend on uniform rules across the state. The lawsuit aims to prevent "mixed messages that are being sent out to businesses and restaurants," said GOP state Rep. Terry Rogers, among the governor's legislative floor leaders. The Georgia Chamber of Commerce echoed that concern, backing the governor's move and, in a statement, saying businesses "should not be forced to enact an ever-changing patchwork of regulations." Municipal chambers have taken different views. David Bradley, who heads the local business association in Athens, said he supports the city's mask mandate. "It would seem that science is on the side of wearing masks, and that long-term economic sustainability is on the side of wearing masks," he said. The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment. The governor's office has evolved in its position on face coverings - growing less stringent as the pandemic has worsened. An executive order in April beginning the state's reopening required all restaurant employees to wear face coverings "at all times." Kemp's executive counsel, David Dove, stressed that point in an email to the state's restaurant association, part of correspondence released through a public records request. "Face covering is a requirement for all restaurants," he wrote on April 27, as daily new cases hovered around 500. "Does not have to be a specific type of mask but has to be a face covering." A new executive order on June 11, as daily new cases neared 1,000, eased that restriction, specifying that restaurant employees "are only required to wear face coverings when they are interacting with patrons." The governor's latest move to ease up on mask requirements, in this case seeking to invalidate the Atlanta ordinance, came as average daily cases soared above 3,000. The rapidly increasing caseload is not reflected in some of the department of health's data visualizations, which display cases per 100,000 residents across different regions of the state. The color scheme has not shifted, though, even as the total number of cases has increased nearly 50% in the past two weeks. A spokeswoman for the health department, Nancy Nydam, said the maps are "not designed to show increases over time, but rather to show density by location and differences between counties." But concern about how the state is presenting data to the public is long-standing. In May, the governor's office apologized after a graph was posted showing a downward trajectory of cases - but only because the x-axis was not in chronological order. Case counts and the health precautions they recommend are particularly vexed in Georgia because of Kemp's unorthodox approach to managing the outbreak. He was one of the last governors to shut down his economy, explaining when he did act, in early April, that he had only recently learned that asymptomatic carriers can spread the virus - a warning long articulated by scientists and broadly shared with the public. Three weeks later, Kemp declared that he was reopening Georgia's economy, making him among the first governors to do so. The decision came after Trump had urged governors to roll back restrictions, also calling on protesters to "liberate" their states. But the speed with which Kemp acted to reignite commercial activity drew rebuke even from the president. "I told him, 'I totally disagree,' " Trump insisted. Kemp, said University of Georgia political scientist Trey Hood, "was thrown under the bus." Whatever ill will may have resulted has not lasted. When Trump - with no mask, in violation of the city's rules - visited Atlanta last week, a masked Kemp was at the airport to welcome him. His relationship with Bottoms, by contrast, has been strained. In addition to the mask issue, the governor and the mayor of the state's largest city have tangled over whether the National Guard was needed to quell unrest following the fatal shooting of a black man, Rayshard Brooks, by a white police officer. The lawsuit caused tensions to boil over. "The governor has done many things as of late and said many things as of late that, quite frankly, are simply bizarre," Bottoms said Sunday on CBS's "Face the Nation." "He filed a 124-plus-page lawsuit against me this week calling for an emergency injunction to stop me from speaking about his orders. If the governor of this state had his way, I would not be allowed to speak with you today." Bottoms - who has tested positive for the coronavirus, along with her husband and one of their sons - has argued that the mask ordinance could bring down infection rates and save lives. "Atlanta sits in two counties in this state, two of the highest counties for infection rates from covid-19," she said, referring to the disease the coronavirus causes. "So this is not about politics. This is about people." Her argument has been bolstered by the Trump administration's own scientific advisers, who have been calling on the public to wear masks since early April, and health experts at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, CDC Director Robert Redfield cited studies showing the beneficial impact of masks in arguing that widespread use could "bring this epidemic under control" within one or two months. Georgia's experience with the virus has not been as bad as states such as Arizon, Florida and Texas. But cases are rising fast. In the past week, the state has averaged more than 3,000 new infections a day. A little over a month ago, the average was fewer than 1,000. More than 3,100 people in Georgia have died of covid-19. The Harvard University Public Health Institute rates Georgia as among the 11 states where the coronavirus is spreading so rapidly that governors should institute stay-home orders. Kemp, however, has shown no interest in considering the idea. His hard line could help solidify his standing among Republicans, observers said. "It probably helps him with his base. Atlanta is not a place where Georgia Republicans are going to get a lot of votes," Hood said. The effect on the state's broader political proclivities is less clear, especially with Bottoms a possible running mate for Biden and Kemp's own by-a-whisker victory serving as a reminder of just how divided Georgia has become. The much-awaited meeting of Nepal's ruling communist party on Tuesday failed to sort out the differences between Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and the rival faction led by party executive chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" as political issues did not figure during the brief deliberations held in the absence of the premier. The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) was held at the Prime Minister's official residence at Baluwatar in the national capital but it did not discuss political issues, said Ganesh Shah, member of the Standing Committee and a senior party leader. Prime Minister Oli did not attend the meeting of the 45-member Standing Committee, he said, adding that the next meeting of the top body of the NCP will be held a week later. The meeting took place after it was postponed seven times to allow Oli and Prachanda more time to sort out their differences. However, on Tuesday also the meeting was deferred by two hours as Prime Minister Oli held a one-on-one meeting with party's executive chairman "Prachanda" to settle key issues over power-sharing. The meeting mainly discussed the natural disasters that have hit the country, he said. The next meeting of the Standing Committee was decided to be held on July 28 at 11 am at Baluwatar to review the party's activities, government's performance, finalising division of work among party's cadres and leaders, and proposed general convention among other issues, he said. However, "informal meetings may take place among the senior leaders of the party before the Standing Committee meeting with the view to resolving the internal feud in the party," Shah said. The members at the meeting expressed sadness over the loss of life and property due to the floods and landslides in different parts of the country as a result of continuous rains and urged the government to carry out relief works in a speedy manner. There was only one agenda for today to direct the party members to respond to natural disasters, said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, party's spokesperson. The meeting also expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives to floods and landslides and wished speedy recovery of the injured, Shrestha said. At the meeting, a proposal to direct the party members to involve in rescue and relief was tabled, as 233 people have been killed, 98 have disappeared and 99 have been due to the floods and landslides, the Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted Shrestha as saying. Top NCP leaders, including Prachanda, have been demanding Oli's resignation, saying his recent anti-India remarks were "neither politically correct nor diplomatically appropriate." They are also against Oli's autocratic style of functioning. The differences grew further after Oli said that some of the ruling party leaders are aligning with the southern neighbour to remove him from power after his government issued a new political map incorporating three Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. The Prachanda-Nepal faction rejected Oli's allegations, saying it is them who have asked for resignation, not India. Prachanda has said that he will not allow the party to split and any attempt from anywhere to weaken its unity would hurt the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters. Prachanda on Monday said efforts were going on to resolve the intra-party differences and ruled out an early general convention of the party as proposed by embattled Prime Minister Oli. "Going for the general convention is not a bad idea but without proper preparations, it is not possible as various issues including the party ideology also need to be sorted out," Matrika Yadav, a Standing Committee member, quoted Prachanda as saying at the meeting. Prachanda's remarks came amid reports that he had reached an understanding with Oli on holding the general convention by November/December and that the prime minister would back him as the party chair. In recent weeks, several top Trump administration officials have spoken out, apparently favoring a US ban on TikTok and now the administration is running ads on the topic. Statements centered on just such a ban, according to recent reports, have every appearance of ramping up. And the latest ads, found on Facebook and Instagram, are decidedly in favor of a ban accusing TikTok of spying on users for China. Theres been no indication of any specific timeline for a ban. And officials have not explicitly stated that there would be a ban. But it does not appear to be outside of the realm of possibility either. Especially since the listed officials include Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor Robert OBrien, and Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Initial discussion on the possibility of a ban started in early July. Specifically, that was following Indias decision to ban the app along with as many as 58 others. The countries leadership, at the time, cited concerns about Chinese spying from the apps. That was ultimately estimated to have cost TikTok approximately $6 billion. Advertisement Each of the top US officials has cited similar concerns. Namely, that the app and others are actively sending user data to the Chinese Communist Party. Mr. Pompeos remarks on the topic came just days after the India Ban. And the next comments on the matter attributed to Robert OBrien built on the initial speculation. Mr. OBrient specifically voiced concerns that TikTok might be collecting facial recognition-related data. Later, Mr. Meadows was reported stating that, if a ban did follow, it was being looked at on a timescale of weeks, not months. Would a US TikTok ban even make any sense? Now, the concerns about TikTok fall in line with those about Chinese tech giant Huawei. Thats in terms of both support and allegations. Any ban would potentially be bipartisan, just as the previous discussion on the topic has been. Advertisement Also like Huawei, TikTok has largely denied all such accusations both now and in the past. The company points out that it is not actually managed by any Chinese company. Instead, its managed through US-based ByteDance and that means its also kept separately from the China-specific version. That other app ships to Chinese customers under Douyin branding. More importantly, and differentiating TikTok from other companies that have faced similar accusations, data on US users is stored and handled locally. More succinctly, its handled in the United States. None of this means a ban is coming The obvious implication is that the US is taking a long, hard look at banning TikTok outright. And other apps like it or with any ties to China are likely to follow or be banned at the same time. That doesnt necessarily mean that a ban will happen. Right now, the administration appears to be chiefly interested in garnering public approval, in favor of such a move. Ethiopia has said the rising water is from heavy rains, and the new statement said that it has become evident over the past two weeks in the rainy season that the (dams) first-year filling is achieved and the dam under construction is already overtopping. Story continues below advertisement Ethiopia has said it would begin filling the reservoir of the dam, Africas largest, this month even without a deal as the rainy season floods the Blue Nile. But the new statement says the three countries leaders have agreed to pursue further technical discussions on the filling ... and proceed to a comprehensive agreement. Advertisement The statement did not give details on Tuesdays discussions, mediated by current African Union chair and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, or what had been agreed upon. But the talks among the countrys leaders showed the critical importance placed on finding a way to resolve tensions over the storied Nile River, a lifeline for all involved. Story continues below advertisement Ethiopia says the colossal dam offers a critical opportunity to pull millions of its nearly 110 million citizens out of poverty and become a major power exporter. Downstream Egypt, which depends on the Nile to supply its farmers and booming population of 100 million with fresh water, asserts that the dam poses an existential threat. Negotiators have said key questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs and how the countries will resolve any future disputes. Ethiopia rejects binding arbitration at the final stage. Advertisement Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi stressed Egypts sincere will to continue to achieve progress over the disputed issues, a spokesmans statement said. It said the leaders agreed to give priority to developing a binding legal commitment regarding the basis for filling and operating the dam. Story continues below advertisement Sudanese Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas told reporters in the capital, Khartoum, that once the agreement has been solidified, Ethiopia will retain the right to amend some figures relating to the dams operation during drought periods. Generally, the atmosphere was positive during the talks, he said. Abbas said the leaders agreed on Ethiopias right to build additional reservoirs and other projects as long as it notifies the downstream countries, in line with international law. There are other sticking points, but if we agree on this basic principle, the other points will automatically be solved, he said. Advertisement Both Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Ethiopias leader called Tuesdays meeting fruitful. Story continues below advertisement It is absolutely necessary that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, with the support of the African Union, come to an agreement that preserves the interest of all parties, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the AU commission, said on Twitter, adding that the Nile should remain a source of peace. Years of talks with a variety of mediators, including the Trump administration, have failed to produce a solution. Now satellite images of the reservoir filling are adding fresh urgency. The latest imagery taken Tuesday certainly shows the highest water levels behind the dam in at least the past four years, said Stephen Wood, senior director with Maxar News Bureau. Story continues below advertisement Kevin Wheeler, a researcher at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, told the AP last week that fears of any immediate water shortage are not justified at this stage at all and the escalating rhetoric is more due to changing power dynamics in the region. However, if there were a drought over the next several years, that certainly could become a risk, he said. ___ Meseret reported from Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. "We are working with the Minister of Economy (Maria Antonieta Alva) to explore ways to improve budget execution at the national, regional and local levels," he told Exitosa radio station, adding that S/12 billion (around US$3.417 billion) collected from the mining canon has not been yet executed by regional governments. The high-ranking official stressed that self-criticism over the management of public affairs at the three levels of government is necessary at this stage, as well as a closer monitoring of the budget execution. According to Cateriano, the private sector must be the source of wealth creation within the social market economy, as well as the engine of national development in a crisis like the one currently underway. "The health crisis has affected employment, and the only way to reverse that is by normalizing work and creating more jobs. There is no magic wand for economy," said the Cabinet chief, who emphasized that one of his objectives is the country's economic revival and ruled out a shift to the extreme right. (END) VVS/CVC/RMB/MVB Loading... Those who follow the Duggars know they mostly prefer to give birth at home. But Michelle Duggar along with many of her oldest daughters have had life-threatening complications that forced them to go to the hospital to have their babies. Now, it seems Joy-Anna Duggar is skipping out on the home birthing tradition for her next baby, as she just told her followers shes preparing to head to the hospital when shes in labor. The Duggars typically choose home births when having children RELATED: Another Dangerous Home Birth Has Fans Furious with the Duggars Choosing where to give birth can be a tough call, and the Duggars mainly choose to have their babies at home. It seems this tradition started with Michelle. Michelle successfully had many of her kids while in the comfort of her own house, but shes also had to have a couple of emergency C-sections. And back in 2010, the mother of 19 had her most difficult birth yet with Josie, as Michelle developed a gallstone and preeclampsia. Aside from Michelle, several of her daughters have been rushed to the hospital after attempting to give birth at home. Jessa Duggar went through 10 hours of contractions with her oldest son, Spurgeon. And while she did give birth to Spurgeon at her house, she was then moved to the hospital for excessive bleeding. Jill Duggar also ended up laboring for 70 hours at home with her oldest son, Israel. She had to go to the hospital for an emergency C-section. Joy-Anna Duggar had a difficult birth with her son, Gideon Joy-Anna also had a notoriously difficult birth with Gideon. CafeMom notes Joy-Anna was hopeful shed be able to have her son at home, but like a few of her older sisters, the birth didnt go as planned. After 20 hours of labor, she was rushed to the hospital after her midwife found Gideon was breech. When the midwife came and told us that the baby was breech and that we had to go to the hospital, I was kind of discouraged because she had labored for so long and we were really hoping that we could just have a home birth, Austin Forsyth, Joy-Annas husband, said on Counting On. But at the same time, I was ready to have this baby. Joy was tired and Im just: Lets just do whatever it takes to get the baby here.' Ultimately, Joy-Anna had a C-section for her first birth and prior to the operation, she was terrified. Before I went into labor, having a C-section was my greatest fear, she noted. That was one of the things that I was scared of. I didnt want to have to have a C-section. But, by that point, I was really just like, Whatever it takes Im ready.' Joy-Anna is going straight to the hospital this time Now that Joy-Anna tried home births and the hospital, shes heading straight for the hospital this time. I am going to pack my hospital bag today, Joy-Anna told her camera in her video about preparing for the babys arrival she posted on July 19. I figured itd be good to have the bag ready a month out just in case anything happens when were not expecting it . As for what Joy-Annas bringing, she tells the camera at first that shes not sure. Ive never really packed a hospital bag before. With Gideon, I was doing a home birth, so I didnt have to pack anything. The excited mom then decided on the bag she wants to use and started checking items off of her list like extra clothes, clothing for the baby, nursing pads, baby diapers, and plenty of other necessities. Joy-Anna wont be able to have her sisters or her mom at her birth because of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. But she said shes hoping her hospital room will have a window so her family can still see the baby when shes born. Were getting excited for Joy-Anna and hope to hear more soon as the due date approaches! Check out Showbiz Cheat Sheet on Facebook! The second-quarter earnings season for Oils-Energy got underway today with oilfield service giant Halliburton HAL reporting results. Collapsing commodity prices and demand are likely to have played foul on the sectors top and bottom lines with negative growth expected on both fronts. While things started getting bad toward the end of the first quarter, the full impact of the coronavirus pandemic and the oil price slump may only have been felt in the April-June period when crude plunged into negative territory briefly. Amid expectations of dismal data, investors will also be looking for early signs of a rebound for the remainder of 2020. Over the next month or so, as we make our way through the earnings deluge, here are five things to look for: Comparison With the Year-Ago Period: According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, in April, May and June of 2019, the average monthly WTI crude price was $63.86, $60.83 and $54.66 per barrel, respectively. This year, average prices were much lower - $16.55 in April, $28.56 in May and $38.31 in June. The news is not rosy on the natural gas front either. In Q2 of last year, U.S. Henry Hub average natural gas prices were $2.65 per MMBtu in April, falling to $2.64 in May and $2.40 in June. Coming to 2020, the fuel was trading at $1.74, $1.75 and $1.63 per MMBtu, in April, May and June, respectively. Taking into account the sharp drop in commodity price, the picture looks rather downbeat for the Q2 earnings season. Per the latest Earnings Preview, Energy is likely to have experienced a big earnings decline from a year earlier. Per our expectations, the sectors earnings are likely to have slumped 146.4% from second-quarter 2019 on 42.2% lower revenues. Performance of Sub-Industries: From upstream (exploration and production) to midstream (pipelines) to downstream (refining and distribution), no subset of energy has been immune to the coronavirus-induced downturn. While the price slump will greatly impact the results of E&P companies for obvious reasons, the refiners numbers will be dragged down by lower utilization due to collapse in consumption for jet fuel and gasoline. Meanwhile, with E&P operators pulling back activities and curtailing production in response to sharply lower commodity pricing and demand, the pipeline companies are faced with a decline in volumes through their facilities, contributing to expectations for lower profits. Finally, the trough in prices and demand has pushed drilling activity lower. This automatically translates into lesser work for the oilfield service firms - companies that make it possible for upstream players to drill for oil and gas. Will Another Major Cut its Dividend? A number of energy companies including some of the worlds biggest - announced coronavirus-related dividend cuts during the previous quarter. While announcing first quarter earnings, oilfield service biggie Schlumberger SLB lowered its dividend by 75%. Then Norways Equinor ASA EQNR slashed its dividend, becoming the first oil major to reduce payouts in a bid to preserve liquidity. But what caused the greatest shock among investors was the decision by Royal Dutch Shell RDS.A to trim its dividend. The Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) supermajor, a reliable high-yield income choice till recently, slashed its quarterly dividend by two-thirds to weather the historic oil price crash and save funds. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. With the worlds top energy companies under heavy pressure, will more Big Oil firms follow Equinor and Shell and take their dividend down? All eyes are on BP plc (BP) and ExxonMobil (XOM), whose outsized payout ratios certainly raise questions about the security of their exceptional yields moving forward. Shale Producers in the Spotlight Oil was revolving around $20-a-barrel when most shale companies reported first-quarter earnings. Based on those prices, EPS estimates for Q2 were formed. Over the past three months, a lot has changed, including the oil price. Now, with crude essentially doubling from Q1 levels and some previously shut-in production coming back online, shale operators could surprise on the upside. Oil between $45 and $50 a barrel is considered the break-even point for most shale operators, which means that they need crude prices of at least $45 to balance their operating cash flows with capital expenditure. Some shale companies such as Whiting Petroleum and Chesapeake Energy CHKAQ were already struggling to turn a profit even before the coronavirus struck and have since filed for bankruptcy. Therefore, at the prevailing crude prices of around $40 per barrel, a lot more firms are unlikely to hit cash flow breakeven. But its a price that incentivizes them to bring back bulk of their voluntary production cuts, leads to improved cash flows and increase chances of an earnings beat. Look Out for Positive Updates No doubt, the second-quarter results are going to be brutal for energy with the period bearing the maximum impact of coronavirus. However, it will also present an opportunity for the companies to highlight the actions taken in response to the crisis and how these will help them adjust to the new normal. An effective way to gauge a companys strength and resilience is to look out for improved guidance. Of particular interest will be cost reduction initiatives, updates on free cash flow, and upward revision in estimated production. Biggest Tech Breakthrough in a Generation Be among the early investors in the new type of device that experts say could impact society as much as the discovery of electricity. Current technology will soon be outdated and replaced by these new devices. In the process, its expected to create 22 million jobs and generate $12.3 trillion in activity. A select few stocks could skyrocket the most as rollout accelerates for this new tech. Early investors could see gains similar to buying Microsoft in the 1990s. Zacks just-released special report reveals 8 stocks to watch. The report is only available for a limited time. See 8 breakthrough stocks now>> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Exxon Mobil Corporation (XOM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Schlumberger Limited (SLB) : Free Stock Analysis Report Halliburton Company (HAL) : Free Stock Analysis Report BP p.l.c. (BP) : Free Stock Analysis Report Royal Dutch Shell PLC (RDS.A) : Free Stock Analysis Report Equinor ASA (EQNR) : Free Stock Analysis Report Chesapeake Energy Corporation (CHKAQ) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research WA Police infamously named Mr Rayney as "the prime and only suspect" during a press conference shortly after her death. Corryn Rayney. The comments led to Mr Rayney successfully suing the state government for defamation in 2017 and receiving $2.62 million in damages and compensation for the substantial loss in salary and reputation he suffered. Mr Rayney took the witness stand on Tuesday, telling Justice Jennifer Hill he was astounded when he heard about the comments made by Dr Reynolds at the seminar. He said he issued a letter asking for an apology and retraction, and Dr Reynolds responded denying he said what Mr Rayney had been told. Mr Rayney said Dr Reynolds continued to deny making the comments before being made aware there was an audio recording of the proceedings. "I was absolutely shocked, I could not believe it," Mr Rayney said. "I'd been through a trial, I was acquitted, there was an appeal ... I was not the offender. I didn't kill my wife. "It struck me like a hammer ... it genuinely felt like police intended to charge me again. "To this day I have not received an apology." Two other witnesses, Sandra Toby and Lynnette Milne both in the audience during the presentation also took the stand on Tuesday. Ms Toby said she recalled being angered by Dr Reynolds' comments and approached him after the seminar was finished. Forensic lead Mark Reynolds was one of the investigators who arrived on day one of Mr Rayney's murder trial in custom-made matching ties. A member of the investigative team referred to the ties as being part of a "tribalism" culture within police. "WA Police have often picked on someone and ruined their life even if they weren't the culprit," she said, adding she had never met Mr Rayney before and attended the seminar out of her interest in forensic science. "I said to him, 'How can you say there will be no cold case review, you can't be completely sure you know who the offender is?' Sandra Toby Credit:Nine News Perth "He said, 'We know who the offender is', and then he said emphatically, 'I would stake my kids' life on it'." Ms Toby claimed Mr Reynolds' tone during the conversation was "bullying" and "aggressive". During cross-examination, Dr Reynold's lawyer, Hugh Selby, questioned Ms Toby on why she believed Dr Reynolds was referring to Mr Rayney in his comments. "It was clearly inferred Mr Rayney was the person in his mind and I believe everyone in the room was aware of it," she said. Dr Milne attended the Australian and New Zealand Forensic Science Society seminar with Ms Toby. She is a forensic consultant and gave evidence in Mr Rayney's trial about the presence of soil in Ms Rayney's nose cavity being native to Kings Park, suggesting she was buried alive. Asked for her interpretation of Dr Reynolds' comments, she replied: "I understand he was saying, despite four judges finding Mr Rayney not guilty, that he thought Mr Rayney was guilty ... I was shocked." She said a murmur went through the packed theatre following his comments, with the room full of forensic scientists, students and detectives and forensic staff involved in the Rayney case. While she didn't hear Ms Toby and Dr Reynolds' conversation after the seminar, she recalled Ms Toby relaying it to her immediately afterwards. She told her friend to take notes on what was said, which Ms Toby did. Loading Mr Bennett alleged Dr Reynolds defamed Mr Rayney on two occasions; once in front of about 100 people when he stood up and spoke during the question-and-answer session, and again when he spoke with Ms Toby in earshot of those around him who were exiting the venue. He alleged the words implied Mr Rayney had "got away with murder". Mr Rayney is seeking personal damages. While Dr Reynolds admitted what he said in the audio recording, he denied he defamed Mr Rayney. He also denied Ms Toby's recollection of their conversation and claimed he could not remember what they had spoken about. In response, Mr Rayney said, "It's almost as if if it's not recorded, he won't admit it". Mr Selby, during his opening, outlined an intention to challenge the damage caused to Mr Rayney's reputation given he was earlier this year barred from practising law for lying about secretly taping his wife's phone calls before her death. "Mr Rayney's reputation in the WA community has always been bound up with the murder and the listening device," he said. However, Justice Hill made a ruling Mr Selby stay within the realms of the action brought against his client, which related to the alleged inference Mr Rayney murdered his wife. Loading She said Mr Rayney should not be subject to a "roving inquiry" into his life that is unrelated to the context of the defamation case. "The presentation did not refer to the telecommunication charges or his personal life," she said. Mr Selby confirmed with Mr Rayney that Dr Reynolds never said "Lloyd Rayney killed his wife" or "the trial judge got it wrong" during his comments at the seminar. He also put it to Mr Rayney that people in the community still held the "firm belief" he murdered his wife, which Mr Rayney agreed, saying he came across people with those views "often". China has threatened to target UK firms including HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover as the bitter row over Beijing's brutal clampdown on dissent in Hong Kong deepened today. The authoritarian Communist state accused Boris Johnson of provoking it by suspending an extradition treaty covering the former British territory in the wake of attempts to stifle widespread pro-democracy protests. Yesterday, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the suspension of an extradition treaty with Hong Kong, amid anger at alleged Chinese human rights abuses in the region, as well as against its Uighur Muslim population. The Global Times, a state-controlled news organisation, later cited Communist officials as threatening retaliatory action against UK firms. The UK was accused of 'dance to the tune of Americans' who are urging a hardline approach to the growing super-power. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo is in London today for talks with the Prime Minister and Mr Raab includes China. Citing Chinese 'observers', the Global Times noted: 'In the face of escalating tensions not only with the UK but also with the US, retaliation is always the last choice for the Chinese government... 'However, if the UK, as part of the Five Eyes, upholds such a hostile attitude toward China, Beijing may have no other choice but to strike at British companies like HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover in response to the sanctions imposed by 10 Downing Street.' Downing Street insisted it had taken a 'reasonable' approach to Beijing after China's embassy in the UK warned Britain would 'bear the consequences' of its decision to extend an arms embargo and suspend an extradition treaty with Hong Kong. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said it was a 'reasonable and proportionate response to China's failure to live up to its international obligations with respect to Hong Kong'. The authoritarian Communist state accused Boris Johnson (pictured today) of provoking it by suspending an extradition treaty covering the former British territory HSBC has previously been criticised for backing the Chinese clampdown in Hong Kong as it sought to secure its position. Jaguar Land Rover meanwhile sees China as an important growth market for its upmarket brands HSBC has previously been criticised for backing the Chinese clampdown in Hong Kong as it sought to secure its position. It was founded in Hong Kong in 1865 but has been headquartered in London since 1993. Jaguar Land Rover meanwhile sees China as an important growth market for its aspirational brands. Last night China warned Britain will 'bear the consequences' of suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London said in a statement Beijing had expressed its concerns over the UK interfering in Hong Kong matters 'which are internal affairs of China'. The statement also warned that the UK will 'bear consequences'. All eyes are now set to be on Mr Pompeo's visit to the UK, with the US Secretary of State expected to praise Britain's stance towards Russia. The China hawk was pictured disembarking while wearing a face covering decorated with the stars and stripes of the US flag after his plane touched down at an unnamed airport in London. Mr Pompeo wrote on Twitter: 'Great to be back in London to reaffirm the special relationship we share with our closest ally. 'Looking forward to meeting with Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab as we tackle our most pressing global issues in combating Covid-19 and addressing our shared security challenges.' Liu Xiaoming has been critical of Britain's suspension of the extradition treaty with Hong Kong in his role as China's ambassador to the UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the suspension of an extradition treaty with Hong Kong Why is the UK suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong? China imposed a new national security law on Hong Kong at the end of June this year. The controversial legislation criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces but also curtails rights to protest and freedom of speech. Crucially, the rules apply outside the borders of China. This has stoked fears Beijing could try to use the extradition mechanism to drag any overseas residents involved in pro-democracy activism back to Hong Kong. The UK does currently have an extradition treaty with Hong Kong but it does not have one with China. There are fears that people could be extradited back to Hong Kong to be unfairly punished. Canada and Australia have both already suspended their extradition arrangements with Hong Kong with the US currently considering whether to also follow suit. Advertisement The arrival of Donald Trump's hardline envoy comes after the UK not only suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong but also slapped an arms embargo on the territory in response to China's national security law. Mr Raab said the measures were a 'reasonable and proportionate' response to the law imposed by Beijing a law Washington has joined in criticising. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the BBC's Newsnight programme that many countries were concerned about the government in Beijing. He said: 'This is a problem for the free world right now, so France and Germany are having to make decisions. 'You've got other countries elsewhere in Europe and in the far east that are all worried about the dominance and the dependency that China is putting people into given the nature of its regime.' Writing in The Daily Telegraph, former Canadian prime minister Stephen Harper said countries like Britain 'must avoid a China-centric view' and called on Mr Johnson to help the UK 'assume a much greater role in global affairs than has been the case in many years'. Frosty relations between the US and China led to President Donald Trump's administration imposing sanctions on Huawei over security concerns a decision that played a major part in the UK Government's move last week to demand that the Chinese technology giant's equipment is stripped out of the country's burgeoning 5G network by 2027. Backbench Tories, including Commons Liaison Committee chairman Sir Bernard Jenkin, have been pressing for a tougher approach to Beijing, particularly in relation to its role in building nuclear power plants in Britain. The U-turn on Huawei a reversal of the announcement in January allowing it a limited 5G role has left China aggrieved. The Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming criticised the Government's approach in a combative BBC interview on Sunday, denouncing Britain for 'dancing to the tune' of the US and accusing Western countries of trying to foment a 'new cold war' with China. Prime Minister Boris Johnson will meet US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during a Downing Street summit on Tuesday Uighur men resing in front of a coffee bar in Kashgar, western Xinjiang. China denies abusing the Uighur population and says such accusations are slander But on Monday, Mr Raab took further action when he told MPs the extradition treaty with Hong Kong was being suspended 'immediately and indefinitely' because of concerns the security legislation could allow cases to be transferred to mainland China. An arms embargo with mainland China has been in place since 1989 and that will now be extended to Hong Kong because of the extra powers Beijing now has for the internal security of the territory. Mr Raab's actions came after Mr Johnson promised a 'tough' but 'calibrated' response to Beijing. In an interview before Mr Raab's announcement, the Prime Minister had promised to strike a balance in his approach to Beijing, resisting pressure from China hawks to take a hardline stance. 'I'm not going to be pushed into a position of becoming a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China,' he said. 'But we do have serious concerns.' Shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy suggested the Government could take steps to bar Chinese Communist Party officials from the UK and called for a 'new era' in terms of the Britain's relationship with the country. HERNDON, Va., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SourceCast joins businesses across the nation in support of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). The legislation celebrates its 30th anniversary. The purpose of the law is to make sure people with disabilities have the same rights and opportunities as everyone else in all areas of public life. Last year, the U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics reported, "19.3 percent of persons with a disability were employed. The employment population ratio for persons without a disability was 66.3 percent." SourceCast recognizes the barriers to employment for people with disabilities. We have been working with the Virginia Department of Aging and Rehabilitative Services (DARS) and Design Electric, Inc. an electrical contractor based in Virginia, to increase employment opportunities. Headquartered in Charlottesville, Va., Design Electric is 100% employee-owned business with offices across the state. Casey Carwile, Personnel Director at Design Electric had an opening for a Telecommunications Helper. He contacted DARS Hampton Roads to fill the position. DARS offers no-cost services to employers across Virginia to help with employee recruiting, screening, training, and retention efforts. Business development managers provide disability awareness training, job accommodation solutions and workforce development. "Learning the needs of the business allows DARS to refer pre-screened qualified candidates so they are successful in employment," said Melissa Edmonds, Business Development Manager, DARS Hampton Roads Office. "We were able to hire a nice young man who is an individual with a disability, a minority and is putting himself through college. He has been with us four months. He was able to gain hands-on experience and expand career opportunities," said Carwile. "He will be leaving the end of the month, moving closer to home, using skills he has developed, while furthering his career goals with a Fortune 500 federal contractor. We are enormously proud of him." "It is all about building relationships with businesses, making good job matches for both the business and the candidate to be successful," commented Edmonds. About SourceCast, Inc. SourceCast is a leading provider of diversity sourcing for employers, talent sources and job seekers nationwide. DirectSource, a web-based software connects candidates to jobs matching their unique qualifications delivering highly-skilled applicants to employers in all industries across the United States. SourceCast Media Contact Estelle Allen Communications Manager [email protected] SOURCE SourceCast Related Links http://www.sourcecast.net Imperial Valley News Center Vice President Pences Governors Briefing on COVID-19 Response & Best Practices Washington, DC - Today, Vice President Mike Pence led a discussion with the chief executives of approximately 50 States, territories, and the city of Washington, DC, and the White House Coronavirus Task Force to discuss local, State, and Federal Coronavirus response and recovery best practices. Vice President Pence reiterated that the Administration is taking serious the recent outbreaks in certain Sun Belt states and offered the full and unqualified support of the Federal government to any State that starts to see initial indications of a rise in test positivity rate and new cases as was the case in Texas, Arizona, and Florida. The Vice President discussed best practices with our Nations governors on limiting Coronavirus spread, including encouraging Americans to adhere to state and local guidelines and to wear face coverings when social distancing cannot be maintained. The Vice President and Governors also discussed the upcoming Congressional negotiations and the Administrations priorities for a Coronavirus relief package including, but not limited to additional assistance for businesses and American workers, incentivizing a return to employment, greater flexibility for States, liability protections, a payroll tax cut, and additional State support for reopening K-12 schools in a safe and responsible manner. Ambassador Birx thanked the governors of Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and South Carolina and recapped the findings of recent trips to those States to receive a Coronavirus ground report. Dr. Birx indicated that many of those States are experiencing a decline in test positivity rate and new cases after implementing measures to slow the spread of Coronavirus. Secretary Azar and Ambassador Birx reiterated the call for hospital data reporting and the need for transparency. Federal officials have been working with hospitals and state leaders to improve reporting for months and last week underscored the need for timely data reporting that our citizens demand and deserve. Since last week, daily reporting by our Nations hospitals increased by 67%. With engaged leadership by governors, we are confident the remaining reporting gap can be closed very quickly. Secretary Azar also announced the launch of a public health data dashboard, HealthData.gov. Director Fauci underscored the call for State and local officials to continue implementing fundamental actions to slow the spread. Administrator Verma and Admiral Giroir provided an update on nursing homes and protecting the most vulnerable, testing needs, and pooling best practices. Participants from the White House Coronavirus Task Force: The Vice President Ambassador Deborah Birx, M.D., White House Coronavirus Task Force Coordinator Secretary Alex Azar, U.S. Department of Health & Human Services (HHS) Administrator Seema Verma, Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Pete Gaynor, Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) Director Tony Fauci, M.D., National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), HHS Director Robert Redfield, M.D., Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), HHS Admiral Brett Giroir, M.D. Assistant Secretary for Health, HHS Rear Admiral John Polowczyk, Joint Chiefs of Staff, Department of Defense (DOD) Since January 2020, the Trump Administration has led over 320 briefings including 30 governors briefings with over 150,000 State, local, and Tribal participants. American Seafoods reports 85 new cases of COVID-19 aboard Alaska trawler by Brian Hagenbuch July 21,2020 | Source: National Fisherman American Seafoods reported 85 new cases of COVID-19 on Sunday, July 20, aboard a trawler docked in Unalaska, Alaska. The company had confirmed six cases aboard the 285-foot American Triumph late last week, and over the weekend reported that mass testing on the factory trawler turned up another 79 positive tests. According to a news release from American Seafoods, the American Triumph had been at sea since June 27, when it left the West Coast after fishing for Pacific whiting off the coasts of Washington and Oregon and headed north for the summer pollock season on the Bering Sea. The Anchorage Daily News reported that the seven crew members experienced symptoms two weeks after the ship left the West Coast. The boat docked in the Unalaska port of Dutch Harbor on Thursday, July 16, and tests revealed that six of those seven workers had COVID-19, prompting the company to test all 119 employees aboard the vessel. We are moving expeditiously to relocate our crew and get them the care they need. I want to thank the Illiuliuk Family and Health Services, the City of Unalaska Unified Command, and the public health and critical infrastructure professionals in Alaska who provided us with support and clear guidance, American Seafoods CEO Mikel Durham said in the news release. The City of Unalaska reported that after further medical screening, the American Triumph and the COVID-19 positive employees were set to sail to Seward, Alaska, on Sunday evening or Monday. The vessel was expected in Seward on Wednesday. From there, the crew will be moved to an isolation facility in Anchorage for monitoring and medical care. The 34 crew members who tested negative for the virus were taking chartered flights from Unalaska to Anchorage, where they would be monitored for symptoms while under quarantine. American Seafoods said all crew members on the American Triumph had been screened for COVID-19 and had undergone a 14-day quarantine prior to boarding the vessel, according to the companys protocol. American Seafoods had already registered 119 cases of COVID-19 in June after reporting cases on factory trawlers working the Pacific whiting fishery off the West Coast. The American Triumph had registered four cases at the time, but fleet partner American Dynasty had 94 cases. At the time, the company had drawn criticism for a five-day quarantine period, prompting them to switch to a 14-day quarantine period. American Seafoods runs a fleet of six factory trawlers. According to their website, the company is the worlds largest at-sea processor of wild Alaska pollock and has the largest Pacific whiting allocation. 2020 Diversified Communications. All rights reserved. Theme(s): Others. Ghana NGO presents smart phones to fishermen to monitor illegal fishing activities July 21,2020 | Source: GBN Friends of the Nation (FoN), a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO), has donated five smart phones for monitoring of Illegal, Unreported and Unregulated (IUU) fishing activities in communities in the Western Region of Ghana. The phones were given to community monitoring groups at Dixcove in the Ahanta-West Municipality. The move follows strategic steps taken by FoN and its Far Ban Bo (Protecting Fisheries Livelihoods) project partners, Care International and Oxfam to stop IUU fishing and ensure increased marine fish stock. The Project Officer of FoN, Mr. Philip Prah made the donation at a ceremony at Dixcove in the Western Region. The Far Ban Bo project is being undertaken in four Regions of the country with funding from the European Union (EU) to among others ensure proper tracking and reporting of illegal fishing activities. Mr. Prah explained that the phones were technically designed with special Applications to support the work of the IUU monitoring groups. Mr. Prah said the Community Monitoring Groups have been taken through skills training on how to use the mobile Apps. He charged the fishers not to use the smart phones for their personal gains but for reporting negative activities detected on the sea. Nana Akwasi Agyemang IX, the Paramount Chief of Lower Dixcove Traditional area, who was represented by Nana Mensah Kumah III, the Gyasehene of Lower Dixcove Traditional Area, lauded the NGOs and the EU for the support. He said the fish stock in the sea was gradually being depleted and entreated the monitoring group to eschew favouritism and selective Justice in its work. He called on the FoN to educate fisherfolks in both Upper and Lower Dixcove on methods of proper fishing and to resource the IUU monitoring team with gadgets such as fishing gears. The Chief Fisherman of Lower Dixcove, Nana Ebo Ansah thanked the NGOs for the gesture and charged the coordinators and the IUU team to use the smart phones for the intended purposes. Ghana Business News Copyright 2020, All Rights Reserved Theme(s): Fishing Craft, Gear and Fishing Methods. Srinagar, July 21 : The Amarnath Yatra 2020 has been cancelled due to concerns over the coronavirus pandemic, a statement issued by the Raj Bhavan said on Tuesday. The statement said that the Shri Amarnath Ji Shrine Board (SASB) has decided with heavy heart that it is not advisable to hold and conduct this year's Amarnath Yatra and expressed its regret while announcing the cancellation of the same. "The Board is aware of and respects the sentiments of millions of devotees. To keep the religious sentiments alive, the Board shall continue live telecast/virtual darshan of the morning and evening aarti. Further, the traditional rituals shall be carried out as per past practice. Also, the Chhadi Mubarak shall be facilitated by the government," the statement read. Lieutenant Governor Girish Chandra Murmu, Chairman of the SASB, presided over the 39th Board meeting on Tuesday in which the members participated through video conferencing to discuss the conduct of the Yatra. The Board discussed the Supreme Court's order dated July 13 in which the decision to conduct the Yatra was left to the administration/government after assessing the ground realities prevailing in Jammu & Kashmir in the wake of the Covid-19 outbreak. "The Board was informed that the arrangements were on track since February 2020, but due to the pandemic, the state executive committee continues to keep religious places and places of worship closed for the public. These prohibitions will continue till July 31," the statement read. "The spike in the number of Covid-19 cases has been particularly sharp in July. Health workers and security forces are also getting infected and the focus of the entire medical, civil and police administration at the moment is on containing the local transmission of the virus. "The health concerns are so serious that the strain on the health system, along with the diversion in resources to the Yatra, will be immense. This would also unnecessarily put the Yatris at the risk of catching the infection," the statement read. The Board also discussed the decision of the J& High Court directing the SASB to take a final view in the light of the order of the Supreme Court and keeping in view the compliance of all healthcare protocols, and standard operating procedures notified by the Central government as well as by the Union Territory of Jammu & Kashmir. "The Board further deliberated the considered views of the government. The government made reasoned observations supported by facts which suggested that it would not be advisable to conduct the Amarnath Yatra this year and it would be advisable to cancel it in larger public interest. This would enable the health, civil and police administrations to focus on the immediate challenges facing them, rather than diverting resources, manpower and attention to the conduct of the Yatra," the statement read. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! Celebrations may be in order for Halfords Group plc (LON:HFD) shareholders, with the analysts delivering a significant upgrade to their statutory estimates for the company. The analysts have sharply increased their revenue numbers, with a view that Halfords Group will make substantially more sales than they'd previously expected. Following the latest upgrade, the five analysts covering Halfords Group provided consensus estimates of UK1.1b revenue in 2021, which would reflect a noticeable 6.5% decline on its sales over the past 12 months. Prior to the latest estimates, the analysts were forecasting revenues of UK981m in 2021. The consensus has definitely become more optimistic, showing a decent improvement in revenue forecasts. Check out our latest analysis for Halfords Group Taking a look at the bigger picture now, one of the ways we can understand these forecasts is to see how they compare to both past performance and industry growth estimates. We would highlight that sales are expected to reverse, with the forecast 6.5% revenue decline a notable change from historical growth of 2.6% over the last five years. By contrast, our data suggests that other companies (with analyst coverage) in the same industry are forecast to see their revenue grow 4.6% annually for the foreseeable future. It's pretty clear that Halfords Group's revenues are expected to perform substantially worse than the wider industry. The Bottom Line The highlight for us was that analysts increased their revenue forecasts for Halfords Group this year. They also expect company revenue to perform worse than the wider market. Given that analysts appear to be expecting substantial improvement in the sales pipeline, now could be the right time to take another look at Halfords Group. Analysts are definitely bullish on Halfords Group, but no company is perfect. Indeed, you should know that there are several potential concerns to be aware of, including a weak balance sheet. You can learn more, and discover the 4 other flags we've identified, for free on our platform here. We also provide an overview of the Halfords Group Board and CEO remuneration and length of tenure at the company, and whether insiders have been buying the stock, here. This article by Simply Wall St is general in nature. It does not constitute a recommendation to buy or sell any stock, and does not take account of your objectives, or your financial situation. We aim to bring you long-term focused analysis driven by fundamental data. Note that our analysis may not factor in the latest price-sensitive company announcements or qualitative material. Simply Wall St has no position in any stocks mentioned. Have feedback on this article? Concerned about the content? Get in touch with us directly. Alternatively, email editorial-team@simplywallst.com. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Vodafone Idea share price plunged nearly 9 percent in the early trade on July 21, a day after a Supreme Court (SC) hearing on the payment of adjusted gross revenues (AGR) dues by telecom companies. Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices, which have the highest AGR dues as per the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) assessment, have requested the court to allow staggered payments. The court has reserved its decision on the timeline of payments. The three-judge bench told that the telecom companies that there was no room to reopen the case as the dues were mentioned in the AGR judgment. Vodafone Idea needs to secure AGR dues payable, the Bench said. The company has paid Rs 7,854 crore so far and the balance is Rs 50,399 crore. Also Read - AGR case hearing: What transpired in Supreme Court Mukul Rohatgi, the counsel representing Vodafone Idea said, the company's revenue was spent on liabilities, tax and dues. The total revenue of over 10 years was Rs 6.27 lakh crore, of which Rs 4.95 lakh crore was spent on expenses. The company had no assets left other than the spectrum, Rohatgi said, adding that the Goods and services tax (GST) refunds of Rs 8,000 crore accrued to the Vodafone could be retained by the government towards the payment. CLSA raised Vodafone Idea AGR risk estimate to Rs 12.40 per share and downgraded the stock to "underperform" from "buy". It also cut the target price to Rs 9.20 from Rs 14 per share and expect the company's AGR payment to jump to 30 percent from 5 percent of EBITDA over FY21/22, reported CNBC-TV18. At 0917 hours, Vodafone Idea Limited was quoting at Rs 8.54, down Rs 0.50, or 5.53 percent on the BSE. The share had gained 117 percent in the last three months. CHICAGO - The war of words between Chicagos mayor and President Donald Trump escalated after a weekend when 12 were killed in the city and dozens injured by gunfire, with Lori Lightfoot rejecting any suggestion federal law enforcement officers should be dispatched to the city and Trump all but promising to send them. In a letter sent to the president on Monday, Lightfoot said the deployment of secret, federal agents who arrest, and detain residents without any cause is a bad idea and urged the president not to do it. Lightfoot, a frequent Trump critic, slammed the president in the letter for unhelpful rhetoric and detailed ways the federal government could help the city to reduce violence, including gun safety reform, public safety support, community outreach and community investment. The Department of Homeland Security was planning to deploy about 150 Homeland Security Investigations agents to Chicago, according to an official with direct knowledge of the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to the AP on condition of anonymity. Those agents generally do lengthy investigations into human trafficking, drugs and weapons smuggling and child exploitation, but they have also been deployed to the U.S.-Mexico border during the height of the crisis there to help. The Trump administration sent federal officers in Portland, Oregon, after weeks of protests there over police brutality and racial injustice that followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Oregons governor and Portlands mayor have expressed anger with the presence of the federal agents, saying that the citys protests had started to ease just as the federal agents started taking action. However, Trump, framing such protests in the nations large cities as a failure by liberal Democrats who run them, praised the officers actions and said he was looking to send agents to other cities. He pointed to rising gun violence in Chicago, the nations third-largest city, where more than 63 people were shot, 12 fatally, over the weekend. How about Chicago? Would you say they need help after this weekend? Trump told reporters at the White House. You know the numbers that you hear, the numbers? Many, many shot. Many, many killed. Reasonable local police officials, including our superintendent, know that it is a dangerous road for us to go down, Lightfoot said late Monday in an interview on MSNBC. We are not going to have people who dont know our streets dont know our neighbourhoods and then who are engaging in clearly unconstitutional conduct operating at will in our city. Lightfoot, a former assistant U.S. attorney, said she is prepared to file a lawsuit to block efforts to place federal agents not under the direction of Chicago police in the city. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois rejected any deployment of federal forces in Chicago, vowing to hold the Trump administration and any such federal forces accountable for unconstitutional actions. In Chicago, the Homeland Security Investigations agents were expected to stay in Chicago at least two months, the official who spoke to AP on condition of anonymity said. Its possible they may also be deployed to other locations at some point. They would essentially be working under the Justice Department, the official said. A DHS spokesman said the department doesnt comment on allegedly leaked operations. None of the weekend shootings were connected to a Friday night protest where people marching against police brutality and racial injustice tried to topple a statue of Christopher Columbus, and Trump did not specifically reference that. Video shows officers using batons to beat protesters, some of whom threw fireworks, pieces of pipe and frozen bottles of water at police. Were going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Trumps comments about Chicago come after the president of the local police officers union wrote him a letter asking for help from the federal government to help combat gun violence. The city has seen 414 homicides this year, compared with 275 during the same period last year. Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, a vocal supporter of Trump, called Lightfoot a complete failure who is either unwilling or unable to maintain law and order, but did not say what kind of help he was asking for or whether he wants federal troops to be sent to the city. Lightfoot in turn called Catanzara ``an unhinged leader of the Fraternal Order of Police who is craven and trying to get attention. Trumps comments Monday were not the first time he has made disparaging comments about Chicago leaders, and what he says is their inability to control violence. Just last month, Trump sent a letter criticizing Lightfoot and Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for a lack of leadership in stemming gun violence. Lightfoot dismissed Trumps letter as a litany of nonsense. As for the protest Friday night, more than 20 complaints have been filed against police, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. They included claims of excessive force and unnecessary use of pepper spray. The agency is also investigating video of an officer striking 18-year-old Miracle Boyd, an activist who says at least one of her teeth was knocked out. Lightfoot also said video had surfaced showing a small group of people had broken off from marching protesters, changed into black clothes and, using umbrellas to shield themselves from view, threw the items at police. Thats not peaceful protest, thats anarchy and we are going to put that down, she said. Police Superintendent David Brown said 49 officers were injured, 18 of whom required hospital treatment. Peaceful demonstrations have been hijacked by organized mobs, said Brown, adding that he will order officers to wear any and all protective gear at protests. __ Associated Press writers Aamer Madhani and Colleen Long contributed to this story from Washington. As COVID-19 swept across the country, killing some, sickening many, and sending unemployment soaring, it exposed gaps in the social safety net and forced our attention to long-standing injustices. But this terrible time has given us an opportunity to re-imagine our future. The Toronto Star is leading a civic conversation titled: The Great ReVision. The call is for a new social contract between citizens and government, to create a more caring and just society. The agenda for change is lengthy: new funding for long-term care; a basic universal income; protections for gig workers; reconciliation with First Nations; and a full assault on anti-Black racism. These are added to the priority items before the pandemic: pharmacare, universal daycare, and affordable housing. If we are to realize this new future, it will require more than progressive activists enumerating the needed programs and indeed more than building a political coalition to win the next election. A new social contract requires a conversation engaging all citizens to produce a deep consensus about what we as Canadian citizens can expect of our government, a consensus which will last through election cycles. All the discussion to date has been about the needed programs. But a social contract has two parts: not just what citizens can expect from their government and but also what citizens will contribute to their government. The social contract includes the commitments of citizens to pay the taxes required to fund the programs. How does our social contract compare with other countries? Western Europe, where countries have similar advanced economies and high incomes, offers the best comparators. I looked at 10 countries: the largest five economies (Germany, the U.K., France, Spain and Italy), Belgium and the Netherlands, and three Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Sweden, and Norway). We devote a relatively low share of GDP to social expenditure: Canada spends 17.3 per cent, whereas the 10-country comparator group spent on average 25.5 per cent. Government under our social contract provides fewer social programs and protections. On the other side of the social contract, Canadians contribute a relatively low share of GDP in taxes: total government revenue as a share of GDP is 33 per cent in Canada and 43.9 per cent in the 10-country group. Canada is a very low tax country; and our taxes as a share of GDP have gone down over the past 10 years. Canada has a low-social-expenditure/low-tax social contract. So, there is lots of room to raise taxes to get better services. But the tax increases are major. If we were to raise total government revenues from the current 33 per cent of GDP to the 10-country average of 43.9 per cent, total government revenues would have to increase 25 per cent. Every tax instrument would have to yield 25 per cent more revenue: personal income taxes, corporate income taxes, the GST, and property taxes. These increases seem astonishing, but to have European levels of service, we must pay European levels of tax. Sometimes progressives do acknowledge the need for more government revenue, but their answer is to raise taxes on the rich and the big corporations. These would not raise nearly enough. But more problematic, they would reduce entrepreneurship and innovation, and risk capital and high-income labour leaving the country. The 10-country group recognize this: they do not have especially high corporate tax rates or high top-marginal rates on personal income. The simple truth is that for Canada to have a more caring and just society, all citizens lower income, middle income, and high income must commit to paying higher taxes. Let us ensure that this truth is part of the conversation as we write a new social contract. Amber Heard is giving evidence at Johnny Depps libel action against The Sun newspaper (Victoria Jones/PA) Amber Heard has claimed she punched Johnny Depp to stop him pushing her sister down the stairs after remembering a rumour he had done the same to Kate Moss. The Aquaman actress told the High Court that this information was fresh in my mind during the alleged incident in 2015, and she reacted in a flash to protect her sibling. Ms Heard, 34, made the claim in her second day of giving evidence in her ex-husbands libel action against The Sun newspaper over a 2018 article which labelled him a wife beater. The actress has also rejected suggestions Tesla founder Elon Musk visited her while Mr Depp, 57, was away. Expand Close Actress Amber Heard at the High Court in London (Elizabeth Cook/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Actress Amber Heard at the High Court in London (Elizabeth Cook/PA) On Tuesday, Eleanor Laws QC, representing Mr Depp, asked about the stairs incident in Los Angeles in March 2015 when Ms Heard has said she believed Mr Depp was going to push her sister, Whitney Henriquez, down the stairs. The barrister said: This was a very nasty row between you and Mr Depp and it was you who was the violent one. Ms Heard replied: Johnny hit both myself and my sister, before denying that she spat at the Pirates Of The Caribbean star, or threw a can of Red Bull at him. Ms Laws then put it to Ms Heard that she also punched him (Mr Depp) in the face with a closed fist. Ms Heard replied: I did strike Johnny that day in defence of my sister. Video of the Day He was about to push her down the stairs and, the moment before that happened, I remembered information I had heard (that) he pushed a former girlfriend I believe it was Kate Moss down the stairs. I had heard this rumour from two people and it was fresh in my mind. She added: In a flash I reacted in defence of her. Expand Close Johnny Depp at the Royal Courts of Justice in London (Victoria Jones/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Johnny Depp at the Royal Courts of Justice in London (Victoria Jones/PA) Ms Heard went on to allege that Mr Depp had punched her for years and for years I had never even hit him. She said: I never so much as landed a blow and I will never forget this incident it was the first time after all these years (I hit him). Ms Laws said Ms Heard had changed your story and had never mentioned the story about Ms Moss before. She said Ms Heard didnt mention a thing about Kate Moss being in your mind, you are just making this up as you go along. Ms Laws played a clip from Ms Heards 2016 deposition in Los Angeles, in which the actress talks about the alleged incident, and said that at no point in her free narrative did Ms Heard mention Ms Moss. Ms Heard said: No, I didnt have a chance. She added: Ive not had the liberty of time or space or energy even to list every thought that crossed my mind. Expand Close Amber Heard and Johnny Depp married in Los Angeles in February 2015 (Jonathan Brady/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Amber Heard and Johnny Depp married in Los Angeles in February 2015 (Jonathan Brady/PA) Earlier, Ms Laws had read out text messages between Ms Heard and Mr Musk from May 22 2016, in which Ms Heard tells Mr Musk that she is going to obtain a restraining order against her then husband. This is the day after an alleged incident at the Eastern Columbia Building in Los Angeles, where Mr Depp and Ms Heard lived, in which the actress claims Mr Depp threw her mobile phone at her, hitting her in the face which the actor denies. Questioning Ms Heard, Ms Laws said Mr Musk offers to arrange 24/7 security for you, adding: The offer would stand, even if you never wanted to see me again anyway, sorry for being an idiot. The radio silence hurts a lot. It only matters because I really like you. The barrister then referred to evidence given by Alejandro Romero, a concierge at the Eastern Columbia Building, who said he saw Mr Musk visiting Ms Heard when Mr Depp was in Australia. Ms Heard responded: Hes wrong. I wasnt even in communication with Elon until 2016. In his written witness statement, Mr Romero said: From March 2015 onwards, Ms Heard was visited regularly late at night, at around 11pm to midnight, by Mr Elon Musk. Expand Close A photo shown in court from May 2016 of Amber Heard which has been referred to as an exhibit in the hearing (Handout/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A photo shown in court from May 2016 of Amber Heard which has been referred to as an exhibit in the hearing (Handout/PA) Ms Heard is continuing to be questioned over 14 allegations of domestic violence, which the tabloids publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) relies on in its defence of an April 2018 article that called Mr Depp a wife beater. She has accused Mr Depp of verbal and physical abuse throughout their relationship, including screaming, swearing, punching, slapping, kicking, headbutting and choking her, as well as extremely controlling and intimidating behaviour. Mr Depp, however, says he was not violent towards Ms Heard it was she who was violent to him, and claims his ex-wife was building a dossier of false allegations as an insurance policy for later. The actor is suing NGN and The Suns executive editor Dan Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27 2018 with the headline: Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be genuinely happy casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film? His lawyers say the article bore the meaning there was overwhelming evidence Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on a number of occasions and left her in fear for her life. NGN is defending the article as true, and says Mr Depp was controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Ms Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Amber Heard is set to begin the second day of her evidence in Johnny Depps blockbuster libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence. The Aquaman actress, 34, claims she feared Mr Depp, 57, was going to kill her on several occasions and says he would later blame his actions on the monster, an alter ego she says she was terrified of. On Tuesday, the 11th day of the trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Ms Heard will continue to be questioned over 14 allegations of domestic violence, which the tabloids publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) relies on in its defence of an April 2018 article that called Mr Depp a wife beater. Ms Heard has accused Mr Depp of verbal and physical abuse throughout their relationship, including screaming, swearing, punching, slapping, kicking, headbutting and choking her, as well as extremely controlling and intimidating behaviour. A photo shown in court from May 2016 of Amber Heard which has been referred to as an exhibit in the hearing (Handout/PA) Mr Depp, however, says he was not violent towards Ms Heard it was she who was violent to him, and claims his ex-wife was building a dossier of false allegations as an insurance policy for later. On Monday, Ms Heard denied she had thrown everything possible at Mr Depp, telling the High Court: I havent even scratched the surface. In one of seven witness statements produced for the trial, Ms Heard described the Pirates Of The Caribbean star as being very good at manipulating people, and said Mr Depp lives in a state of weaponised victimhood. The actress, who met Mr Depp on the set of the 2011 film The Rum Diary, insisted she was never violent towards her ex-husband and would only try to defend herself when he got serious. She said: When I felt my life was threatened, I tried to defend myself and that started to happen years into the relationship, years into the violence. Story continues Amber Heard being cross examined by Eleanor Laws QC (Elizabeth Cook/PA) Before that, I didnt even try to defend myself, I just checked out. She also said she threw things only to escape him, adding: His employees didnt see our arguments. These things happened behind closed doors. Ms Heard claimed Mr Depps doctor put her on a long list of medications, which were prescribed in order to keep me sedated or keep me calm basically, to keep my body from responding to the world I was living in. In one of her witness statements, Ms Heard said that, at the start of their relationship, Mr Depp could be intensely affectionate, warm and charming. When Johnny puts his attention on you, with all his intensity and darkness, it is unlike anything Ive ever experienced, she said. Johnny Depp is at the Royal Courts of Justice for his libel action against News Group Newspapers (Aaron Chown/PA) When I say he was dark, he had a violent and dark way of speaking: the way he talked about our relationship being dead or alive and telling me that death was the only way out of the relationship. She also said: Some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally or just by losing control and going too far. Ms Heard gave evidence about the couples trip to Australia which she describes as a three-day hostage situation and claimed Mr Depp went on a drug binge, attacked her, urinated in front of people then hid raw meat in a wardrobe. She said: Over the course of those three days, there were extreme acts of psychological, physical, emotional and other forms of violence. Amber Heard and Johnny Depp married in Los Angeles in February 2015 (Jonathan Brady/PA) It is the worst thing I have ever been through. I was left with an injured lip and nose and cuts on my arms. Ms Heards evidence was initially due to conclude on Wednesday but will now continue until Thursday morning, with her friends Melanie Inglessis and Joshua Drew expected to appear by videolink on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Depp is suing NGN and The Suns executive editor Dan Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27, 2018, with the headline: Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be genuinely happy casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film? His lawyers say the article bore the meaning there was overwhelming evidence Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on a number of occasions and left her in fear for her life. NGN is defending the article as true, and says Mr Depp was controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Ms Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Nearly a dozen commonwealths attorneys representing some of Virginias largest jurisdictions are endorsing the push for change, a marked difference from just a few years ago when prosecutors were one of the biggest obstacles to such measures. Story continues below advertisement Historically, thats never happened before, said Sen. Scott A. Surovell (D-Fairfax), of the level of support from state prosecutors. In years past, weve been met with silence or active opposition on these issues. Advertisement The group of prosecutors and legislators said Monday that the political moment is ripe because of the national reckoning on policing and criminal justice that has followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody in May. We are completely unified around transformative, non-incremental change, said Portsmouth Commonwealths Attorney Stephanie Morales during the news conference. Morales was one of 11 prosecutors in the state who sent a letter to legislative leaders last week saying they supported measures to increase police accountability, limit the service of warrants to the daytime, eliminate drivers license suspensions for drug convictions, end mandatory minimum sentences, expand diversion programs and clarify prosecutors discretion. Local prosecutors in Arlington, Alexandria, Fairfax, Prince William and Loudoun counties were among the signatories. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Many of the priorities overlap with proposals put forward by Democrats in the state Senate and House of Representatives in anticipation of the special session on Aug. 18, which was initially called to deal with budget issues created by the coronavirus. The legislators outlined 28 specific proposals for the special session, including limiting the types of force that police can employ, such as chokeholds and shooting at moving vehicles, and creating mechanisms to cull officers who have misused force. Virginia legislators put forward plan on criminal justice overhaul This is not about anti-law enforcement. This is about anti-abuse-of-power, said Sen. Mamie E. Locke (D-Hampton), chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus. Story continues below advertisement Virginia is not immune to abuse of power or to excessive use of force against black people, Locke said, citing a video that recently came to light of a Virginia State Police trooper forcefully removing a black man from his car last year on I-495 in Fairfax County. State police investigating violent stop involving black motorist The lawmakers and prosecutors defended one proposal that has drawn condemnation from Republicans: lowering assault of a police officer from an automatic felony. Advertisement Surovell said that 70 percent of such charges involve no injury to the officer, and that the threat of a felony is often used to justify aggressive policing and to target citizens for relatively minor disagreements. He emphasized that attacks involving injury could still be prosecuted as felonies. Story continues below advertisement The lawmakers also said they are committed to eventually reinstituting parole in Virginia, though they cautioned that such a step was not likely in the limited circumstances of next months special session. All the prosecutors also expressed support for the idea of reestablishing parole, which the legislature ended during the early 1990s. After being out of the majority for a generation, Democratic House members drew criticism this year for taking a timid approach on criminal justice reform, postponing action on many bills and referring them to the State Crime Commission for further study during the last legislative session. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! Gerard Ryan has been the CEO of International Personal Finance plc (LON:IPF) since 2012, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also look to assess whether the CEO is appropriately paid, considering recent earnings growth and investor returns for International Personal Finance. Check out our latest analysis for International Personal Finance How Does Total Compensation For Gerard Ryan Compare With Other Companies In The Industry? According to our data, International Personal Finance plc has a market capitalization of UK137m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth UK1.3m over the year to December 2019. We note that's an increase of 8.8% above last year. We think total compensation is more important but our data shows that the CEO salary is lower, at UK530k. For comparison, other companies in the same industry with market capitalizations ranging between UK79m and UK316m had a median total CEO compensation of UK541k. This suggests that Gerard Ryan is paid more than the median for the industry. Moreover, Gerard Ryan also holds UK777k worth of International Personal Finance stock directly under their own name. Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary UK530k UK516k 42% Other UK730k UK642k 58% Total Compensation UK1.3m UK1.2m 100% Speaking on an industry level, nearly 56% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 44% is other remuneration. In International Personal Finance's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance. A Look at International Personal Finance plc's Growth Numbers Story continues Earnings per share at International Personal Finance plc are much the same as they were three years ago, albeit slightly lower. Its revenue is up 2.6% over the last year. The lack of earnings growth is certainly unimpressive. And the modest revenue growth over 12 months isn't much comfort against the reduced earnings per share. These factors suggest that the business performance wouldn't really justify a high pay packet for the CEO. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings.. Has International Personal Finance plc Been A Good Investment? Given the total shareholder loss of 59% over three years, many shareholders in International Personal Finance plc are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. Therefore, it might be upsetting for shareholders if the CEO were paid generously. In Summary... As we noted earlier, International Personal Finance pays its CEO higher than the norm for similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. This doesn't look good against shareholder returns, which have been negative for the past three years. Arguably worse, we've been waiting for positive earnings growth for the last three years. Overall, with such poor performance, shareholder's would probably have questions if the company decided to give the CEO a raise. CEO pay is simply one of the many factors that need to be considered while examining business performance. We identified 2 warning signs for International Personal Finance (1 makes us a bit uncomfortable!) that you should be aware of before investing here. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. 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 Nafis Haider, TwoCircles.net Bihar: In Seemanchal, monsoon means floods. A Muslim dominated area, comprising of 4 districts namely Purina, Katihar, Kishanganj and Araria, Seemanchal is the seat of Bihars most deprived and poor citizenry. A major section of the residents are farmers and depend on agriculture for their sustenance. Each year, flood engulfs the entire region and destroys homes and crop fields, causing a dent to the economy. Support TwoCircles Our whole livestock, our fields, our house, and all the savings are submerged now. We have nowhere to go. I dont know where I will keep my family now Nilesh, a peasant told TwoCircles.net. Nitish (Chief Minister of Bihar) has done nothing for us here. Every year the government promises to do something, nothing eventually happens. There is no one for the poor he added. This year flood has caused 56 deaths till now and more casualties are expected, considering the rise in the water level of Mahananda river. Locals say that the government has turned a blind eye to the issue. Apart from sight-seeing through helicopter, no real action on the ground has been taken by the state government headed by Nitish Kumar, they complain. Locals say although flood is an annual occurrence, the Bihar government has not taken any concrete steps to control it. Mahananda Dam project, which was initiated by late Kapoori Thakur nearly 40 years ago still finds no existence apart from being in the official documents. Another project was initiated by Nitish Kumar in 2010 called the Mahananda River basin project which aimed to fortify the embankments along with Mahananda. This project was a complete failure. Noted flood expert Dinesh Mishra talking about the project stated that, The Mahananda Flood Control Scheme (MFCS) is a case of a solution being worse than the problem it is designed to solve. Embankments under the MFCS have created a problem of waterlogging which damages crops, and the residents have no option but to breach the embankments. MFCS illustrates what happens when there is poor communication between political decision-makers and technical experts, and none between these two and the people affected by that decision. The flood-affected area is in a state of complete lockdown. Railway lines are flooded and water has also submerged NH-104 in Sitamarhi, NH-31 in Kishanganj and NH-327 in Araria along with many district roads. The markets were already closed due to COVID-19 pandemic and the flood has made it impossible to do anything. Schools and offices are closed but the Nitish government has barred any doctor from leaving the area. Kaunain, a resident of Chakla, a village 4 kilometres away from Kishanganj district headquarters told TwoCircles.net that since Mahananda is the largest river in Kishanganj and there is no proper dam system, every year when the monsoon comes, Nepal open its floodgates. Thus a large volume of water comes rushing to Mahananda which causes a huge increase in its water level, flooding our fields and destroying our crops, he said. On 11 July this year, the water level started rising and by 12 July water entered into the villages and houses. This caused widespread fear in the villages that the disastrous 2017 flood situation may occur again. The district administration announced 96 hours of red alert. Villagers were quick to respond and settled at raised platforms. But the crops and fields were destroyed, especially the rice crops which were transplanted a day before the waterlogging. They got washed away in the flood. Fortunately, from 14 July the water level of the river started to drop which gave a huge sigh of relief to the villagers. Still, many villages are submerged and there is no reporting of peoples plight and suffering. Locals complained that mainstream media is focusing on celebrities and COVID-19 pandemic and have neglected the floods. Kabir, a labourer who used to work in Delhi, but came back due to lockdown imposed after the coronavirus pandemic, told TwoCircles.net that he came to his village to save his life and now due to floods he is not safe. I dont have any money and whatever I had, it all got washed away in the flood, he said. The boundary of the land allocated for Aligarh Muslim University (AMU) Kishanganj Centre has suffered a severe blow due to the flood this year, and there is waterlogging inside the campus. The state of AMU, Kishanganj Centre is already in dilapidated condition and there is little possibility that the damage to the centre will be quickly rebuilt. Scores of people are stranded on their rooftops, some are living under the open sky with women, children and their livestock, while others who evacuated early have found shelter in schools and other raised platforms. Government has shown little urgency in relief and rescue operations. Only piecemeal assistance through food and water supplies have come yet. Locals said that some have received zero assistance from the government. There is a serious need for effective government intervention in the area to protect the people from the damage caused by flood both in loss of lives to the loss to the economy. Locals said that the long-term investment in flood control is not in sight, but Seemanchal is presently awaiting the government to help people fulfil their immediate basic needs. It all began on the afternoon of July 17. A group of Israels leading chefs forced the government to overturn a decision it had made just a few hours earlier to close all restaurants in an effort to respond to a spike in the spread of the coronavirus. The original decision was infuriating to these restauranteurs. Their refrigerators were filled with expensive foodstuffs, purchased in preparation for the weekend. With the realization that the food would now go to waste was one step too far for a sector that suffered one of the worst blows since the coronavirus pandemic started in March. For months, these restaurants, bars and cafes were forced to shutter their doors without any adequate compensation for their losses. Many of these businesses shut down entirely. Others are now teetering on bankruptcy. Even the countrys finest chefs are trapped in the uncertainty of this miserable new reality. This time, however, their response was different. Posts and video clips started popping up on social networks, announcing that restaurants have no plans to follow the governments overbearing instructions. Others started taking food out of their refrigerators and donating it to the needy. These protests were then documented on social media the restauranteurs were desperate. While all of this was going on, restauranteurs sent angry messages to the government, some of them through ministers, who actually requested an extension, in order to avoid the immediate financial damages they would suffer from another weekend with no business. After all, they had already spent tens of thousands of shekels from their own pockets to fill their pantries and refrigerators. They argued that the decision to close restaurants was made at random, not backed by official data. In fact, they claimed, there was no evidence that infection rates in restaurants were inordinately high. According to Shai Berman, general manager of the Restaurants and Bars Association, only 21 documented cases of infections occurred in restaurants in the last 40 days, and only six in bars. But what really propelled this struggle to national attention was the fight put up by celebrity chefs, many of whom have their own TV cooking shows. They seized the reins of the restauranteur revolt. The most effective of these was Ruti Broudo, owner of a successful chain of restaurants in Tel Aviv and star of a popular Channel 12 cooking show. Broudo announced that she planned to violate the order by keeping her restaurants open; she would not be throwing food into the trash. Her message spread like mushrooms after a spring rain. More and more restauranteurs started saying the same thing. Asaf Liss, co-owner of Tel Avivs successful Mashya restaurant, told his clients that his restaurant would also remain open. In an interview with the media he said, We will not allow ourselves to be brought down by a random decision made in the darkness of night. We bought tens of thousands of shekels worth of food, and we dont intend to throw it away. We dont think it is right to throw food out. We certainly do not accept a ridiculous decision made via TV screens in the middle of the night. A more conciliatory tone was taken by Haim Cohen, one of Israels most popular chefs and a TV star in his own right, who is also considered a popular folk star. While Cohen did not really seem to support the call for civil disobedience, he did issue an emotional appeal, calling on Netanyahu to reconsider his decision. Cohen wrote, We are law-abiding citizens who love our country and take pride in it. The decision to shut us down almost immediately on the weekend when our refrigerators are full of supplies that will end up being thrown out is causing people to break the law. Please, sir, consider holding off on this decision until next week. Give us at least the little oxygen we need, and let us breathe this weekend, without causing tens of thousands of shekels in damages. You have the power to prevent unnecessary anarchy. We need your leadership now! The message spread like wildfire. The spirit of rebellion quickly made the transition from social networks to the media, including news sites and TV news shows. It connected with overall public outrage over the governments failed handling of the financial side of the coronavirus pandemic. And while all of this was going on, preparations continued for the mass demonstrations of the self-employed, planned for several spots across the country on July 18. This time, the pressure worked. Negotiations between representatives of the Restaurants and Bars Association and Netanyahus office ended with the government folding. Suddenly, the government announced that restaurants would, in fact, be allowed to remain open until July 21. The incident was yet another negative milestone in the precipitous drop in public trust toward the governments management of the coronavirus crisis. It proves that decisions with dramatic implications on peoples lives and businesses are being made on the go, with no consideration of the public will. Netanyahu was worried that powerful restauranteurs with close connections to the media and the public would fan the flames of discontent in the street. With more demonstrations planned for the weekend, he decided to retreat, despite the damage that it caused to himself and the coronavirus government he heads. During the first wave of the coronavirus outbreak, Israelis followed government orders to shut down the countrys economy at once. The public's response has been very different during the second wave of the virus spread, which has been hitting Israel for the past two weeks. People are tired, while businesses are dealing with an uncertain economic future and the sense that the decision-makers are completely detached from reality. Thanks to their success, restauranteurs have started to cooperate more closely. They have even established a combative steering committee to negotiate with the government, but also with the Knesset members on the Coronavirus Committee, which oversees the government's decisions on the matter. And this comes in addition to the public struggle that they are waging. The success of the restauranteurs has also encouraged other sectors to take action against the government. Many have begun to organize, including older groups, which once wielded much more power in the local economy. One example of this is the Nurses Union. Realizing that the government is losing public support, it decided to take advantage of the momentum by taking a more confrontational approach. On July 19, nurses announced that they would stop providing all but emergency services. One day later, after expedited negotiations with the finance minister, they received thousands of new positions, and the strike was halted. Parents groups were also successful in overturning the governments decision to shut down schools this summer. Once again, the government folded. These events should serve as a warning signal to the countrys decision-makers. While efforts to organize a tax revolt have yet to gather momentum, in the current, chaotic situation even that could happen. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. The U.S. House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed an amendment by Congressional Armenian Caucus Co-Chair Frank Pallone (D-NJ) which calls for greater Congressional oversight over a U.S. military aid program under which Azerbaijan has received over $120 million in U.S. defense assistance, reported the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The vote comes just a week after Azerbaijani President Aliyev launched the deadliest attack against Armenia since the 2016, resulting in the death of over 16 soldiers, the shelling of an Armenian kindergarten and other civilian targets, and Azerbaijani threats to bomb Armenias Metsamor nuclear power plant. We thank Congressman Pallone, Sherman, Speier, and Schiff for demanding transparency and accountability from the Administration regarding its reckless arming of an increasingly hostile and virulently anti-Armenian Aliyev regime, said ANCA Executive Director Aram Hamparian. Armenian Americans deeply appreciate the strong leadership of the Armenian Caucus on the full range of policy priorities of concern to our Congressional friends, community partners, and coalition allies. The Pallone Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA H.R.6395), which was cosponsored by Representatives Brad Sherman (D-CA), Jackie Speier (D-CA), Adam Schiff (D-CA), requires that the Defense Department submit a report to Congress on a U.S. military aid program (known as Section 333) that has sent over $120 million worth of defense assistance to Azerbaijan over the past several years. Congressman Pallone shared the importance of his amendment during an ANCA Congressional Corner video interview with Government Affairs Director Tereza Yerimyan last week. Rep. Sherman spoke in support of the amendment during floor consideration noting Azerbaijans gross human rights violations committed during its aggression against Artsakh and Armenia. The United States has long stood as a beacon for the rights of every person, regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, or nationality. We must continue to lead by example and ensure that American foreign aid does not contradict our values at home or abroad, Congressman Pallone said. This amendment is especially important now as Azerbaijan threatens Armenias safety and sovereignty with offensive attacks staged by Azeri armed forces in Armenias Tavush region. The United States should not be aiding and abetting reckless, autocratic states with appalling human rights records for any reason. The House vote on the National Defense Authorization Act, to which the Pallone amendment was added, will take place as early as Tuesday, July 21st. A Senate vote on its version of the NDAA is expected soon. The final bills passed by the two chambers will then enter a reconciliation process, with a final vote likely in November. Scientists have found a "lost" planet, in a breakthrough that could help us discover alien life. The planet is thought to be among hundreds of worlds that have gone missing and now can be discovered once more using new techniques. NGTS-11b, as the planet is known, was first seen in 2018 by Nasa, just one of a huge number of exoplanets to be discovered by the space agency's TESS telescope. Like all the worlds discovered by that technology, it was spotted when it passed in front of its star and caused a dip in the light that could be seen from Earth but it was never seen again, and without a second observation, the planet was all but lost. Now researchers hope they can detect those missing worlds all over again, allowing them to find cooler planets like those within our own solar system. Some of those planets could be habitable, scientists hope. NGTS-11b is found 620 light-years away, and is in orbit five times closer to its star than we are to the Sun. It is the mass and size of Saturn, and takes 35 days to orbit around its star though it is too near to its star, and so too hot, to support life, it is closer to the "Goldilocks zone" of being neither too hot or cold than many other planets. Recommended Nasa confirms it did not change Zodiac sign It disappeared because the TESS telescope only scans most parts of the sky every 27 days, and so they can often only be seen passing their star once. Before it could come around again, the telescope was surveying another part of the sky, leaving astronomers unable to conduct further work on it. The new research saw University of Warwick scientists examine the lost planets using a different telescope, the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) in Chile. With that technology, they were able to observe the star for 79 nights, letting them see the world a second time, nearly a year after it was first spotted. By chasing that second transit down weve found a longer period planet. Its the first of hopefully many such finds pushing to longer periods," Warwick's Samuel Gill said in a statement. These discoveries are rare but important, since they allow us to find longer period planets than other astronomers are finding. Longer period planets are cooler, more like the planets in our own solar system. NGTS-11b has a temperature of only 160C -- cooler than Mercury and Venus. Although this is still too hot to support life as we know it, it is closer to the Goldilocks zone than many previously discovered planets which typically have temperatures above 1,000C. Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas from fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope in February 2010 Nasa/ESA/STScI Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012 Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth Getty Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth Getty Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015 Nasa/APL/SwRI Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015 Nasa/Scott Kelly Scientists now hope to use the same technique to find many more of those planets, allowing them to track down other worlds that could be habitable or even inhabited. There are hundreds of single transits detected by TESS that we will be monitoring using this method," Dr Gill said. "This will allow us to discover cooler exoplanets of all sizes, including planets more like those in our own solar system. Some of these will be small rocky planets in the Goldilocks zone that are cool enough to host liquid water oceans and potentially extraterrestrial life. The Central Bureau of Investigation on Tuesday questioned Congress MLA Krishna Poonia and Deva Ram Saini, the officer on special duty (OSD) to Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, in connection with the alleged suicide by a police officer in Churu district on May 23, officials said. A team of the CBI's special crime unit in Delhi is in Jaipur to record statements in connection with the death of Rajgarh Station House Officer (SHO) Vishnudutt Vishnoi, whose body was found hanging from the ceiling of his official residence. The team questioned Saini, the OSD to the Rajasthan chief minister, for nearly two hours, while Poonia was quizzed for about two-and-a-half hours at her residence, the officials said. This was the second time Poonia, an Olympian, was questioned in connection with the matter. The agency had quizzed her for nearly three hours at her Jaipur residence on Monday evening, the officials said. The Bharatiya Janata Party and the Bahujan Samaj Party have alleged that Poonia was putting pressure on Vishnoi, which triggered his drastic move, a charge denied by the Sadulpur MLA. The questioning comes at a time when Gehlot is engrossed in a pitched battle with his bete noire, Sachin Pilot, who has been ousted from the post of deputy chief minister, which, in turn, has raised questions over the stability of the Congress government in Rajasthan. The Congress is facing a rebellion by Pilot and 18 other MLAs against Gehlot. A probe by the state police into horse-trading charges, based on tapped telephonic conversations purportedly of some leaders, has turned the situation murkier. Sources, however, said the CBI is conducting the probe into the police officer's alleged suicide, a case handed over to it by the state government itself, professionally. They added that people are being questioned to know about various aspects of the case and it does not mean that they are being accused as the final picture will emerge only after the completion of the investigation. The Rajasthan government had handed over the probe in the matter to the central agency. The state had, in 1990, communicated to the Centre its denial of 'general consent' to the CBI to carry out an investigation within its territory through a letter. On Monday evening, the Rajasthan government issued a notification reiterating its position. The notification said prior approval will have to be taken from the state government on a case-by-case basis to investigate any crime falling under section 3 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act. Vishnoi's brother had filed a complaint with the Rajasthan police, alleging that the deceased was under pressure, which led him to take the drastic step. Two suicide notes were recovered from the SHO -- one addressed to his parents and the other to the superintendent of police (SP) of Churu. In the suicide note to the SP, Vishnoi had said he was not able to bear the pressure being put on him. He had also said that he tried to give his best to the Rajasthan police. A screenshot of a purported WhatsApp chat Vishnoi had with one of his activist friends, in which he talked about being trapped in dirty politics, had also gone viral on the social media. New Delhi: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday (July 21) held the state cabinet meeting at his residence in Jaipur, during which he discussed multiple issues, including the COVID-19 situation, amid ongoing political crisis. After the meeting, Medical and Health Minister Raghu Sharma told reporters that the cabinet has decided to give some concessions to the tourism industry. The Chief Minister also sought suggestions from ministers regarding the financial conditions, while giving emphasis on the inclusion of technology in the government work, said Raghu Sharma. Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot told the ministers that more publicity should be given to the government's welfare schemes, besides discussing the current political situation. He said that additional teams of the state medical department were being sent to the districts where relatively more COVID-19 cases were being reported. At the meeting, the ministers also discussed the measures taken to mitigate in locust-affected districts. Meanwhile, Speaker CP Joshi today held a meeting at Vidhan Sabha discussing High Court's order with the state Assembly Secretary. The HC has fixed July 24 to deliver its order on petition by filed by sacked deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot and 18 dissident Congress MLAs against the Speaker's disqualification notice. Speaker CP Joshi heard the petition of Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi in the state assembly. Notably, Counsel for both the parties submitted their contentions before the Speaker. Earlier in the day, the Rajasthan High Court requested the Assembly Speaker to defer action on disqualification notices till Friday as it will pass appropriate orders on the writ petition filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 dissident legislators on that day, the speaker's counsel said. Arguments were heard and completed on Tuesday. All the parties have been asked to file their written arguments by Friday. They have left. His partner has gone back to her family in Jaipur, and he has returned to his parents apartment in Gurugrams Sector 30. Everything has changed... its like our whole world has crashed down, he says, talking on WhatsApp video. Indeed, musician Sidharth Gupta, 26, could no longer afford the rent of the second-floor barsati they had been calling home for almost a year, in Malviya Nagar in south Delhi. His resources quickly dried out as live performances, occasional assignments for music production and guitar tuitions had to stop when the coronavirus pandemic hit the country. As soon as the long lockdown was lifted and the Delhi-Haryana interstate border was unsealed, he gave up the place. Now, at his parents home in Gurugram, where he was living until one year ago, the music man is trying to pick up the pieces of his pre-corona life. In hindsight, those Malviya Nagar days in the BC (Before Corona) era seem like a dream, a kind of life belonging to artistes devoted to their passions. Sidharth would wake up around 9am. Mornings would always pass in a flurry of household chores that he would divide with his partnerjharoo pocha (sweeping) and cooking. Their terrace residence had two rooms, one of which he used as his home studio, and had filled with guitars, synthesizers, keyboards, speakers, and processing equipments. Lunch hour would come and go and as soon as the clock would strike two, his bandmate Utkarsh Varma would arrive by Uber, from his home in Greater Kailash II. Sidharth and Utkarsh have been friends since their school days in Delhis DPS RK Puram, and both specialise in electronica and hiphop. They co-founded a bandShoalstwo years ago, and they also produce music for clients. Together in the barsati, they would spend hours creating music scores while Sidharths partner, who works in the academia, was usually busy with her own work in the other room. If the daylight outside was changing with the passing of hours, the two musicians wouldnt know the home studio had heavy thick curtains drawn across the windows, and the light within was always the same. They would call it off by 8pm, and Utkarsh would leave, except on evenings when they had planned a get-together with common friends. Then, they would all sit in the barsati terrace outside, their bare arms smeared with Odomos cream to keep off the mosquitoes. Those were pleasant nights of chitchats, beer and impromptu music. That used to be the life back then. In the ongoing pandemic-ridden days, Sidharth keeps working with Utkarsh, of course, but they interact over the internet, working separately from their respective houses and exchanging recordings from computer to computer as they move on. He also continues to teach a few students individually through video calls, and takes on projects that can be carried on remotely, such as mixing or production jobs. But the thing with music, he says, is that it is very important to feel the energy of your bandmate right around you.... and yet we have to adapt and change the way we work. In the new normal, Sidharth says, my routine involves a lot more practice on the guitar, as I had slowly lost my connection with the instrument when life was busy with lots of projects and jobs. After practising for a few hours, he eventually shifts his focus to the various commissioned projects. Later, in his room, Sidharth poses for a photo shoot through the phone screen that connects him to this reporter. He sits on the edge of his bed littered with his laptop, synthesizer and all sorts of other instruments, and starts playing the guitar. Rest is music. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A report commissioned by the federal government to inform its new cyber security strategy has urged Australia to more regularly name and shame countries that launch large-scale cyber attacks against the nation as it battles an escalating wave of hacks from China. The government's hand-picked industry advisory panel says there needs to be "clear consequences" for nation states and cyber criminals and recommended the country increase the frequency of attribution of state-based cyber attacks "where necessary and appropriate". Australia has been combating a wave of cyber attacks from a state-based actor believed to be China. The Morrison government chose not to name China as the nation behind a wave of cyber attacks against the NSW government and other critical Australian infrastructure earlier this year, including state-owned utilities and hospitals, despite Australian security agencies believing Beijing to be the culprit. While the government should continue to respond to state-backed attacks on a case-by-case basis, the industry panel chaired by Telstra chief executive Andrew Penn has urged it to "adopt a more forward leaning posture on attribution and deterrence", and highlighted the need for more countries to jointly call out state-based cyber attacks to limit retaliation. Mike Pompeo said the 'United States is not a country directly involved in the disputes': AFP via Getty Images An anonymous official who said they possess detailed evidence of Mike Pompeos questionable activities as US Secretary of State was blocked from reporting those issues within the State Department, according to a newly-public whistleblower complaint. The complaint was released during the weekend following legal challenges by the government watchdog group American Oversight, which sued the State Department in an effort to obtain access to whistleblower complaints filed against Mr Pompeo. A heavily-redacted four-page document, the complaint accuses Mr Pompeo of engaging in concerning activities throughout Washington, in New York and Florida and overseas all of which the whistleblower claimed to have witnessed. I directly witnessed much of the behaviour, the complaint read. The anonymous official and State Department employees who tried on several occasions to obtain clarifications and guidance from senior leadership and from the Office of Legal Advisors about Mr Pompeos conduct were ultimately blocked from doing so, according to the complaint. The State Department appeared to confirm the existence of a probe surrounding Mr Pompeos activities as Secretary of State following the release of the whistleblower complaint, attributing the redactions to an ongoing investigation. It was previously reported that State Department Inspector General Steve Linick was close to finishing an investigation into Mr Pompeo and filing his report before President Donald Trump fired Mr Linick at Mr Pompeos request. The Secretary of State has been accused of using State Department employees to run his personal errands, as well as bypassing Congress and approving controversial arms sales without proper government oversight. Austin Evers, executive director of American Oversight, said in a statement after the release of the whistleblower complaint: In some ways, this is good news, because theres some indication now that the inspector generals office has not backed off of investigating the secretarys conduct. Story continues He added: But in other ways, theres much we still dont know about that conduct. The whistleblower complaint was released just before Mr Pompeo landed in the UK for a two-day visit to discuss everything from the international response and recovery to Covid-19, to trade relations between the two countries. The Independent has asked the State Department for comment. Read more US looking into banning TikTok and other Chinese apps, Pompeo says US curbs visas for Chinese officials over Hong Kong freedoms Pompeo once called Trump 'full of s***', John Bolton claims in book Who was invited to Mike Pompeo's taxpayer-funded 'Madison Dinners'? Fired IG investigating Pompeo over $8bn Saudi arms deal The 30-year-old, who has been in custody since March 2019, is accused of forming a cell of the Islamic State in Germany with other Tajik nationals no later than January 2019 to carry out attacks and raise money for the extremist organization. Story continues below advertisement For the latter goal, they allegedly took a contract for $40,000 to kill an Albanian businessman and traveled to the country at the end of February, 2019. There they procured weapons from contacts and observed the target over several days but eventually experienced misgivings as to whether they were focused on the right man and returned to Germany without killing him, prosecutors said. Advertisement They also allegedly brought the weapons with them, and when back in Germany also procured explosives and detonators to use in an unspecified attack. Acting on orders from an Islamic State member in Afghanistan, they decided to kill a man who had made critical comments about Islam, and take photographs to use as propaganda to raise support for the fight against infidels, prosecutors said. Story continues below advertisement On the day the attack was planned, the suspect was arrested by German police and the killing was prevented, prosecutors said. Four other alleged members of the cell, identified only as Azizjon B., Muhammadali G., Farhodshoh K. and Sunatullokh K. all also Tajiks were arrested this February and charged with membership in a terrorist organization on allegations they were plotting an attack on American military facilities in Germany. Another suspect, identified as Komron Zukhurov, was arrested in May in Albania on allegations he was part of the cell. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Texas County, Hidalgo, issued a stay at home order Monday and placed a 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew, but officials may not enforce it. The stay at home order goes into effect at the Texas county on Wednesday at 12:01 a.m., and it is to last until August 5 at 11:59 p.m. The stay at home order will also limit travels in Hidalgo and reiterate the importance of facial coverings while outdoors, said a report from KGBT-TV Valley Central. The order was explained in a report from The Hill. The order lets people leave their homes if they have essential jobs, have medical emergencies, need essential services, or participate in an outdoor event. Those in shared and outdoor physical spaces have to practice social distancing by at least six feet. In the order, it was "highly encouraged and recommended" that Hidalgo businesses "cease all activities" if they cannot provide services by curbside, drive-through, or take-out means. The order also states that those aged below 17 years, old have to be with parents or guardians, if outside their homes for an essential activity. Hidalgo County issued the order as the county reported 524 new COVID-19 cases and recorded 34 deaths on Monday. Overall, there have been 12,787 positive COVID-19 cases and 318 deaths in the county. Hidalgo is the largest Texas county, and it was ranked sixth with the most coronavirus cases, according to the state's Department of State Health Services. The Lone Star State has faced struggles in fighting the growing coronavirus numbers in the past weeks as it has seen surges in case numbers. The Order May Not Be Enforced Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez announced the order but noted that he lacks the ability to enforce it. "I don't think I'm going to need it," he said. Cortez thinks locking down people and businesses is "not the sole answer." He believed Texas would need to take a "combination of things", reported Texas Scorecard. "I am asking for all of us to come together and fight this battle as one," Cortez said. He said all Hidalgo residents are "part of the solution." "This action will help us do the right thing to save and protect each other from this deadly disease by sheltering at home," he said. Under the current orders set by Governor Greg Abbott, local governments cannot enforce their stay-at-home orders. This is different from when they were allowed to do in the early stages of the pandemic, reported Texas Tribune. Then, Abbott said he believed local officials would make decisions for the best of their communities when responding to the virus. Since the order only stated the restrictions are "highly encouraged and recommended," it does not have enforcement mechanisms. The governor supports such orders, said Abbott's spokesman John Wittman late Monday. In the order, officials can't detain, arrest or confine anyone for violating the order. Wittman said enforcing the protocols that are already in place is proven to slow the virus's spread, so "it is essential" that local officials follow through. Want to read more? Give these a read! VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Skeena Resources Limited (TSX.V:SKE)(OTCQX:SKREF) ("Skeena" or the "Company") is pleased to announce an underground constrained Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE"), for the Snip gold project ("Snip"), located in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, which has been reviewed and validated by SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. ("SRK"). This MRE was derived from a database containing 3,697 surface and underground diamond drill holes totalling 309,327 metres of which 3,112 drill holes and 14,113 composites of 1.5 metres in length were used directly in the estimate. The MRE reports resources amenable to underground mining methods. The effective date of this MRE is July 21, 2020 and a technical report will be filed on the Company's website and SEDAR within 45 days of this disclosure. Underground Resource Estimate The underground constrained Indicated resources include 244,000 ounces of gold hosted within 539,000 tonnes at an average gold grade of 14.0 g/t Au. Resources within the Inferred category include 402,000 ounces of gold hosted within 942,000 tonnes at an average gold grade of 13.3 g/t Au (Table 1). In the determination of reasonable prospects for economic extraction, long hole stoping is contemplated. Sensitivities to the gold cut-off are presented in Table 2. Table 1: Snip Indicated and Inferred underground resources reported undiluted at a 2.5 g/t Au cut-off grade within stope optimized mining shapes. Domain Tonnes Contained Grade Contained Metal (000) Au (g/t) Au (000 oz) Indicated Mineral Resources Main - V 165 12.8 68 Main - S 337 15.0 163 Twin West 37 10.4 12 Total Indicated 539 14.0 244 Inferred Mineral Resources Main - V 287 13.1 121 Main - S 599 13.4 258 Twin West 56 12.4 23 Total Inferred 942 13.3 402 "Our efforts in the coming months will focus on expanding these now well-defined resources with expansion drilling in the newly evolving 200 Footwall Corridor as well as other near-mine targets," notes Paul Geddes P.Geo, Vice President of Exploration & Resource Development. "In parallel with SRK, Kathi Dilworth, Skeena's Chief Resource Geologist, has developed a very robust and defendable resource model that will formulate the basis of future economic studies." Walter Coles Jr., President & CEO, goes on to add, "We are very excited about the maiden resource at Snip, particularly because of the excellent grade and the proximity to Eskay Creek. We will commence drilling at Snip shortly to follow-up on the exciting exploration success from last summer in an effort to expand the resource." Table 2: Snip Indicated and Inferred Resource sensitivities to block cut-off grade. Cut-off Grade Tonnes Grade Ounces Au (g/t) (000) (g/t) (000) Indicated Category >2 557 13.7 245 >2.5 (reported) 539 14.0 244 >3 518 14.5 242 >3.5 495 15.0 239 Inferred Category > 2 977 12.9 404 > 2.5 (reported) 942 13.3 402 > 3 911 13.6 399 > 3.5 880 14.0 396 Snip Mineral Resource Estimate Notes: The mineral resources disclosed in this press release were estimated using the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum ("CIM") standards on mineral resources and reserves definitions, and guidelines prepared by the CIM standing committee on reserve definitions and adopted by the CIM Council. Mineral resources are not mineral reserves and do not have demonstrated economic viability. There is no certainty that all or any part of the mineral resources estimated will be converted into mineral reserves. In accordance with NI 43-101 recommendations, the number of metric tonnes and ounces were rounded to the nearest thousand. Any discrepancies in the totals are due to rounding effects. As defined by NI 43-101, the Independent and Qualified Person for the Snip MRE is Ms. Sheila Ulansky P.Geo., of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. who has reviewed and validated the Snip MRE. The effective date of the MRE is July 21, 2020. Reasonable prospects for economic extraction were determined by means of applying stope optimization parameters summarized in Table 3. Resources are reported in-situ and undiluted within potentially economical and minable underground long hole stope shapes. Long hole stope shapes <500 m 3 were removed due to potential operational challenges. were removed due to potential operational challenges. Metal price used is US$1,550 per ounce of gold. Metallurgical recoveries of 90% were utilized in the determination of cut-off grades for the underground resources. The calculated underground cut-off grade was determined to be 2.5 g/t Au. Cut-off grades must be re-evaluated considering prevailing market conditions (including gold prices, exchange rates and costs). Mineral resources have been depleted to account for past production and exclude mineralization within a 1 metre buffer around historical underground development. Block tonnage was estimated from volumes using a density of 2.78 g/cm 3 for all lithologies except the unmineralized BSU (Biotite Spotted Unit) which used a density of 2.86 g/cm 3 . for all lithologies except the unmineralized BSU (Biotite Spotted Unit) which used a density of 2.86 g/cm . Three mineralization domains were created to constrain the estimate: V, S and TW. The V and S domains are a collection of veins that occur in the Main Twin Zone, whereas TW domain is a series of veins in the Twin West Zone. A total of 72 veins were modelled; 10 V-veins, 52 S-veins and 10 TW- veins. April 29, 2020 is the close out date of the Snip database. The vein model was created in Leapfrog Geo TM by Dr. Ron Uken, Pr.Sci.Nat , of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. Composite intervals greater than or equal to 1.0 g/t Au over 1.5 m were included into the vein model if following interpreted structures and displaying mineralization continuity up to half drill hole spacings. by Dr. Ron Uken, Pr.Sci.Nat , of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. Composite intervals greater than or equal to 1.0 g/t Au over 1.5 m were included into the vein model if following interpreted structures and displaying mineralization continuity up to half drill hole spacings. For estimation, 1.5 metre composites were created within the vein boundaries using equally distributed composites. Composites less than 0.1 metres were excluded from the estimate. The Snip deposit consists of high-grade narrow veins where composite lengths less than 1.5 m are common where the vein narrows or pinches; therefore, length weighting was applied during estimation. High grade capping was performed using composite data. Gold capping values used were 350 g/t, 300 g/t and 80 g/t in the V, S and TW domains, respectively. Gold variograms were used to determine the spatial relationship of grade over distance. Maximum variogram search distances were determined to be 32 m in the V domain and 30 m in the S- and TW- domains. Search orientations per domain were established during variography. Unique orientations for the S, V and TW domain were derived, including an additional orientation in the S domain where a collection of steeper veins occur. Ordinary Kriging (OK) was used for estimation. Resources were estimated using Maptek Vulcan 12.0.5 software using an unrotated model with a parent block size of 4 x 4 x 4 metres and sub-block size of 0.5 x 0.5 x 0.5 metres. The mineral resources were estimated using three passes with increasing search radii based on variogram ranges. Indicated and Inferred resources were classified as follows; For the Indicated category a 40 metre buffer was created around current Skeena drill holes (>/= 2016) as these drill holes have supporting QA/QC data. All blocks within the 40 metre buffer zone and estimated with at least 3 drill holes extending no more than the range of the variogram (32 metres maximum) were classified as Indicated resources. Inferred resources were partitioned using a minimum of 2 drill holes at 2 times the variogram range (64 metre maximum). Blocks were locally reclassified to reduce 'spotted' Indicated resources within Inferred resources, and vice versa. Estimates use metric units (metres, tonnes and g/t). Metal contents are presented in troy ounces (metric tonne x grade / 31.10348). Neither the Company, nor SRK, is aware of any known environmental, permitting, legal, title-related, taxation, socio-political, marketing or other relevant issue that could materially affect this mineral resource estimate. The quantity and grade of reported Inferred mineral resources in this estimation are uncertain in nature and there has been insufficient exploration to re-define these Inferred mineral resources as Indicated mineral resources. It is uncertain if further exploration will result in upgrading them to the Indicated mineral resources category. Table 3: Snip underground scenario assumptions for determining cut-off grades with reasonable prospects of economic extraction. Input Parameters Value Unit Sell Price Au $1,550 US Dollars per Ounce Metal Recovery 90% Percent Selling Cost $30 US Dollars per Ounce Metal Revenue $51.74 Canadian Dollars per Tonne Milled Mining Cost $120 Canadian Dollars per Tonne Milled Process Cost $25 Canadian Dollars per Tonne Milled G&A Cost $15 Canadian Dollars per Tonne Milled All-In Cost $160 Canadian Dollars per Tonne Milled Cut-off Grade 2.5 g/t Grams per Tonne Au Buffer Around Historic Voids 1 metre 1 metre Snip Mineralization Snip is hosted within a moderately to steeply northwesterly-dipping sequence of the Triassic Stuhini Group, a sequence of feldspathic greywackes with subordinate siltstone and conglomerates. These rocks are intruded by Early Jurassic monzonitic stocks and plutons including the Red Bluff Porphyry. The bulk of mineralization historically mined at Snip is hosted in the westerly-trending Twin Zone, a semi-brittle, moderately to shallow southwest-dipping extensional shear vein system with an average dip of approx. 40. The shear is intruded by a barren, post mineralization mafic dyke, the Biotite Spotted Unit ("BSU") which divides the Twin Zone into two parts for most of its length. Veins in this westerly orientation are termed the V-Vein system. Subordinate to, and in the footwall of the Twin Zone V-veins is the S-Vein system, which comprises a series of more steeply southwesterly-dipping (approx. 60), less continuous, sub-parallel extensional shear veins such as the 150, 130, and 412 veins. Across the Monsoon Lake valley to the west is the Twin West Zone which is interpreted to be a continuation of the Twin Zone dextrally displaced by the northeast trending Monsoon Valley fault. Gold mineralization is associated with several generations of syntectonic quartz and sulphide veins that developed during progressive extensional slip accompanied by cycles of highly pressured mineralizing fluids. Predominant mineralogy comprises calcite, quartz, chlorite, biotite-phlogopite, and pyrite. Qualified Persons The Independent and Qualified Person for the Eskay Creek MRE is Ms. Sheila Ulansky P.Geo., of SRK Consulting (Canada) Inc. (Vancouver), who has reviewed, validated and approved the Snip MRE as well as the technical disclosure in this release. In accordance with National Instrument 43-101 Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, Mr. Paul Geddes, P.Geo. Vice President Exploration and Resource Development, is the Qualified Person for the Company and has validated and approved the technical and scientific content of this news release. The Company strictly adheres to CIM Best Practices Guidelines in conducting, documenting, and reporting its activities on its various exploration projects. About Skeena Skeena Resources Limited is a junior Canadian mining exploration company focused on developing prospective precious metal properties in the Golden Triangle of northwest British Columbia, Canada. The Company's primary activities are the exploration and development of the past-producing Eskay Creek gold-silver mine. The Company released a robust Preliminary Economic Assessment in late 2019 and is currently focused on infill and exploration drilling at Eskay Creek to advance the project to Pre-feasibility. Skeena is also exploring the past-producing Snip gold mine. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Skeena Resources Limited, Walter Coles Jr. President & CEO Cautionary note regarding forward-looking statements Certain statements made, and information contained herein may constitute "forward looking information" and "forward looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian and United States securities legislation. These statements and information are based on facts currently available to the Company and there is no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Forward-looking statements and information may be identified by such terms as "anticipates", "believes", "targets", "estimates", "plans", "expects", "may", "will", "could" or "would". Forward-looking statements and information contained herein are based on certain factors and assumptions regarding, among other things, the estimation of mineral resources and reserves, the realization of resource and reserve estimates, metal prices, taxation, the estimation, timing and amount of future exploration and development, capital and operating costs, the availability of financing, the receipt of regulatory approvals, environmental risks, title disputes and other matters. While the Company considers its assumptions to be reasonable as of the date hereof, forward-looking statements and information are not guarantees of future performance and readers should not place undue importance on such statements as actual events and results may differ materially from those described herein. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements or information except as may be required by applicable securities laws. Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor the Investment Industry Regulatory Organization of Canada accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. CONTACT: Walt Coles Jr., President & CEO Kelly Earle, Vice President Communications Email: kearle@skeenaresources.com Tel: (604) 684-8725 SOURCE: Skeena Resources Limited View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598185/Skeena-Announces-Maiden-Resource-for-Snip-Gold-Project Representatives of healthcare workers have demanded that the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) be allowed to examine the high coronavirus infection rate among staff. Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation (INMO) general secretary Phil Ni Sheaghdha called for the Government to change regulations that would include Covid-19 as an occupationally acquired illness. She also told the the Oireachtas Covid-19 Committee that healthcare workers are exhausted, adding that their biggest concern is the prospect of a second wave of coronavirus cases. As of last Friday, there were 8,347 Covid-19 infections among healthcare workers 32pc of all cases. The committee was told this is more than European and worldwide averages. Expand Close Phil Ni Sheaghdha (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Phil Ni Sheaghdha (Niall Carson/PA) Of the 8,347 cases, there were 319 hospital admissions, 49 admissions to intensive care and seven deaths. Ms Ni Sheaghdha said: We believe it is time for the HSA to be involved. We believe that an examination of the high infection rate among workers must be examined by the statutory agency that is tasked with this particular responsibility. It is unfair and it is disrespectful to healthcare workers when they have not been given the statutory authority to investigate the cause and to recommend the reasons why. We have to do better. The idea of facing (a surge) with the current level of support is something that absolutely terrifies them. Ms Ni Sheaghdha said that the Government should ensure health care workers have the same status as every other employee in Ireland. When they go to work and because of the job they do, they become ill. They should have the right to have that examined by the statutory agency that holds that responsibility for any other workplace accident. Our members are saying they are exhausted and cannot face the idea they would have to endure this again. #OireachtasTV - watch LIVE coverage of today's Special Committee on Covid-19 Response meeting from 10.00 am - view on Twitter, Facebook, online & on the Oireachtas TV channel - click here #seeforyourselfhttps://t.co/NuM3iQuGVd https://t.co/nGBhCQPsGM Houses of the Oireachtas - Tithe an Oireachtais (@OireachtasNews) July 21, 2020 Ms Ni Sheaghdha said that at the beginning of the outbreak there was a shortage of PPE, but that has since improved. The biggest single issue is fatigue and the length of exposure of the healthcare worker to those with the infection, she added. Healthcare workers infected with coronavirus are given access to a telephone helpline, but it has been criticised as insufficient. The committee heard that workers want practical post-traumatic stress support. They are saying they are fearful of the ability of their employer to keep them safe. They are determined they will work but they have to be protected, Ms Ni Sheaghdha added. Addressing capacity issues, Michele Monahan, a radiography manager, said emergency departments are already at full capacity. We are not nearly at burnout, we are at burnout, she added. Expand Close Eamonn Donnelly (Oireachtas TV/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Eamonn Donnelly (Oireachtas TV/PA) Fine Gaels Colm Burke raised the issue that 2,878 of the infected healthcare workers had an underlying clinical condition. I am extremely concerned that a person working in the HSE who has an underlying condition was put on the front line, he added. The committee heard that some of these workers had requested to be reassigned but were refused. Eamonn Donnelly, head of the health and welfare division of the Forsa trade union, said the HSE took a very severe position on the issue. They required a consultants certificate that somebody had a vulnerable condition and if you didnt you were asked to continue as normal, he said. There was a prescribed list of what they would call a vulnerable worker and it was really heavy duty stuff, such as cancer treatments, whereas people with diabetes and blood pressure were disregarded. GAC, a global provider of shipping and marine services, has further strengthened ties with Belgium-based logistics services provider Ahlers with an agreement to acquire the container logistics business unit of its Singapore subsidiary. The acquisition of Ahlers Singapores container logistics business unit helps GAC boost its foothold in Asias top logistics hub and enhances its service portfolio to offer even greater value to its customers, a GAC statement said. This memorandum of understanding (MOU) builds on our long-standing relationship with Ahlers, said Lars Bergstrom, Group Vice President of the Asia Pacific and Indian Subcontinent region. Its a great match, as both companies focus on creating innovative and value-adding solutions to our customers. Agility and innovation are key to survival in the highly competitive logistics industry. Henrik Althen, Managing Director of GAC Singapore noted that the container logistics business will give the company even greater control over the entire supply chain. Container logistics are an integral part of the supply chain solutions we offer to our customers. It complements our sea freight and contract logistics services, giving us the expanded bandwidth and enhanced capability to look after the entire supply chain more efficiently and effectively, Althen said. Ahlers is pleased about this cooperation agreement with GAC. We are convinced that our container business activities out of Singapore will thrive well under GAC and that our customers will receive the best possible support. The transaction is part of our increased focus on our core activities in Europe, Russia and CIS where we have important investment projects ongoing, said Carl Peeters, CFO of Ahlers Group. The agreement also covers staff movements involving Ahlers Singapores Jesmond Oh Siew Hong who has joined GAC Singapores Sea Freight Department as Senior Operations Executive. GAC Singapores team of more than 80 logistics specialists handles an average of over 2,000 jobs a month pre-Covid-19. TradeArabia News Service (Newser) The surgeon general on Tuesday weighed in on the should-we-or-shouldn't-we debate over the reopening of schools. If we want to get students back into classrooms safely in the near future, everybody should be wearing masks now, Dr. Jerome Adams told CBS This Morning. "The biggest determinant of whether or not we can go back to school actually has little to do with the actual schools," he said. "It is your background transmission rate." Face coverings and social distancing are the best way to curb the rise of new infections, he added. "We know the risk is low to the actual students, but we know they can transmit to others." Adams also said he's happy President Trump is more pro-mask these days, per the Hill. (Back in February, Adams himself tried to discourage people from wearing masks, fearing a shortage among health workers.) Related: story continues below Labs slammed: More Americans are getting tested, and that's leading to a backlog in test results, reports CNN. One top commercial lab, Quest Diagnostics, says most people can expect to wait at least a week for results. More Americans are getting tested, and that's leading to a backlog in test results, reports CNN. One top commercial lab, Quest Diagnostics, says most people can expect to wait at least a week for results. Sending a message: In Iowa, teachers are writing their own obituaries and sending them to Gov. Kim Reynolds to protest her push to get students back in school, reports KCCI. Reynolds signed a proclamation last week that requires students to spend at least 50% of their learning time in a physical classroom. In Iowa, teachers are writing their own obituaries and sending them to Gov. Kim Reynolds to protest her push to get students back in school, reports KCCI. Reynolds signed a proclamation last week that requires students to spend at least 50% of their learning time in a physical classroom. Vaccines? Execs from pharmaceutical companies told Congress Tuesday that if all goes well, the first vaccines could be out this fall, reports the Washington Post. Its a difficult question to answer in terms of probabilities, said Mene Pangalos of AstraZeneca, which is working on this vaccine. If we have efficacy data, we hope it will happen anytime from September onward. Stephen Hoge of Moderna pegged it at "fall or toward the end of the year." Moderna is working on this one. (Read more Surgeon General stories.) KAMPALA A section of youths under the Poor Youth Network has petitioned President Museveni, demanding immediate action over the Central Banks excessive legal fees expenditure in its battle over Crane Bank Ltd (in receivership) and Meera Investments Ltd of city tycoon Sudhir Ruparelia. The petition also copied to the World Bank, International Monetary Fund (IMF), the Speaker of Parliament, the Prime Minister and the Auditor General among others was presented through the umbrella; Uganda Poor Youth Movement last week. The youth movement wants the president to reign in the Bank of Uganda board to stop the appeal and settle the case out of court to save time and costs. Mr. Ruparelia has so far beaten the Central Bank both in the High Court and Court of Appeal, in which a panel of three judges on June 23, 2020, upheld the judgment of Commercial Court in an application filed by BoU seeking a refund of UGX 397 billion from Mr. Ruparelia which he allegedly pulled out from Crane Bank. Justice David Wangutusi of Commercial Court in August 2019 dismissed the case brought by BoU against Mr. Ruparelia and his Meera Investments Ltd. But in a June 30 statement, the BoU Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile announced the Central Bank would appeal the cession in the countrys highest court, insisting that receivership does not take away the corporate personality of a company which includes the right to trace and recover assets and the right to sue for those assets. The Poor Youth Network takes exception to the BoU reasons, saying that the leadership at the Central Bank is insensitive because they are spending taxpayers cash. The greed in the BOU Legal Department misled the Board to authorise an Appeal which was filed to the Court of Appeal this appeal was dismissed and the costs awarded to Meera Investments Ltd and Sudhir Ruparelia yet again. The total taxed bill is yet to be filed which according to legal experts could be anything in the region of [UGX] 150bn which will be visited on the taxpayers. The BoU does not have its own money to pay those costs and will have to seek for recapitalisation or a refund from the government after payment, their petition to the President reads. Zahid Ssempala, the groups National spokesperson said that President Museveni needed to recognise that as the government suffers massive revenue shortage to finance this 2020/21 budget, court awards in the case will further aggravate the suffering. In the same letter, the group also protested Bank of Ugandas endless litigation and asked the president in the petition to rein in the Central Bank. Uganda has bled enough, let these costs not be multiplied in the Supreme Court not to forget the interest and damages the bank will continue to incur, at the end of this all its we the taxpayers to suffer. Let BoU Board meet and consider settling this matter given that out court and Alternative Dispute Resolutions are valid methods of settling cases, the group wrote, adding that Ugandans have signed this petition to save their taxes and bring BoU to book this one time. In 2018, a Parliamentary committee overseeing statutory enterprises raised concern over high legal bills incurred by the Central Bank. The then committee chair, MP Abdu Katuntu admonished Bank of Uganda officials for contracting private legal firms at exorbitant costs. Related (Photo : World Uyghur Congress / Facebook) World Uyghur Congress shares photos of the campaign for human rights. The U.S. commerce department is adding 11 China-based companies on the list of companies allegedly committing human rights violations against the Uighur, an ethnic group in east and central Asia, The Telegraph reported. But how did Amazon, Google, Apple, and other tech companies find themselves into this issue? Right as these Chinese companies are added to the list for allegedly committing human rights abuses against these minorities and Muslim groups from the Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region, one of these companies, Nanchang O-Film Tech is reportedly partnered with several mainstream tech and automobile companies. These companies include Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, Dell, GM, Google, and more. 'Forced labor' The U.S. commerce department said that these companies have committed "mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, involuntary collection of biometric data and genetic analysis" against these minorities, and will face restriction on American products, particularly in technology. According to another report on Digital Trends, information from the Australian Strategic Policy Institute's International Cyber Policy Centre entitled Uyghurs For Sale, revealed that since 2017, millions of Uighur and members of the Turkic Muslim minorities are sent to camps in Xinjiang for re-education, but are subject to forced labor and political indoctrination to give up their current beliefs. The Institute is a think tank supported by the Australian government, and funded by the country's defense department, the report further noted.. "Beijing actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labor and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens," commerce department secretary Wilbur Ross said. "This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Party's despicable offensive against defenseless Muslim minority populations." No responses to comment The company being accused, Nanchang O-Film Tech, has made no comments with the media as of press time. Even the tech companies they are partnered with, Amazon, Apple, GM, Microsoft, and Dell have not responded to the accusation. These actions are part of the efforts from the U.S. government to curb these illegal activities from mainland Chinese companies. O-Film is allegedly using cameras, fingerprint sensors, and more to impose their principles upon these minorities, as they source out their information. For instance, Apple is known for its yearly reports on its supplies, but apparently, it seems to hide several poor working conditions, including child labor and workers' safety. Also, Amazon has been accused of not providing sufficient health benefits to their employees in light of the pandemic. There are now more than 40 companies listed by the U.S. Department of Commerce that allegedly violates human rights policies. These efforts are expected to further protect the rights of these groups. Also Read: U.K. News: After Interfering with Gov't on Huawei Deal, the Tory Rebels Now Wants Chinese Nuclear Station Out 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. A university lecturer was sacked after claiming 'Jewish people are the cleverest in the world' and 'Germans are good engineers'. Stephen Lamonby claimed his comments were not racist or offensive because he was using 'positive stereotypes'. The 73-year-old also said he 'had a soft spot' for young black men because they are underprivileged as 'many are without fathers' and so 'need all the help they can get'. An employment tribunal heard the controversial remarks were made during a meeting with Dr Janet Bonar, his course leader at Solent University in Southampton, Hampshire. The lecturer, who admits he does not know if his appeal will be successful, said: 'It's got so sensitive in these times and you can't ask anything or say anything. 'I said to my students that Germans are good at engineering and [the university] think it's racism. 'The Japanese and the Americans are all good engineers in my opinion too. We are over-sensitive now. Stephen Lamonby (pictured with the King of Jordan) claimed that his statements were not offensive because they were 'positive stereotypes' Solent University lecturer Stephen Lamonby claimed that 'Germans are good at engineering', among other stereotypes 'I think lots of people would agree with what I say but the politically correct people won't.' Mr Lamonby made similar comments about people from Eastern Europe, specifically citing Lithuanians. An employment tribunal heard the remarks were made during a meeting with Dr Janet Bonar in the the university canteen in March 2019. During the meeting Mr Lamonby told her that in his experience people from different countries had become good at certain things due to 'high exposure'. Following the ruling, Mr Lamonby said he would be appealing, claiming he was a victim of a 'woke' culture and that universities are 'totally obsessed with racism'. He said: 'I think the judgement came down to the fact the judge was a woke judge.' He added: 'You can't make any comments [in universities] now because they are totally obsessed with racism and to talk about Jews in the context of racism is crazy because they are not even a race, they are an ethnicity. 'Free speech is totally dead in universities.' He added: 'It was one of those off the cuff remarks and I know these days people are worried about Muslim terrorists so perhaps I should not have said it.' Mr Lamonby, who had worked at Solent as a part-time associate lecturer for six years and teaches classes twice a week, claimed that 'Germans are good at engineering' because they are 'exposed to a high level of industry from an early stage in their lives'. He also said: 'I have a soft spot for young black males. I do think that they are underprivileged and many [are] without fathers etc. need all the help they can get.' During cross-examination, he was asked whether black people might find it offensive that they might need extra help and he said 'no, not just black people, also Lithuanians'. He later added: 'I worked in Africa, Brunei, all over the world with these people. Perhaps it is inappropriate of me to say so but sometimes they need extra help.' During their discussion, Dr Bonar, an engineering lecturer, mentioned she had a degree in physics and Lamonby reacted by saying Jewish people had 'a particular gift' for the subject. He used Einstein as an example and then asked Dr Bonar if she was Jewish. The lecturer took offence to this and shouted that Mr Lamonby was a racist. Stephen Lamonby made the controversial remarks during a meeting with Dr Janet Bonar In response, he said: 'I believe that the Jewish are the cleverest people in the world. They are much maligned because of it. 'I asked if you were Jewish because of your ability with maths/physics etc. Which is a speciality of theirs.' Mr Lamonby claimed Dr Bonar 'flew into a rage, threw chairs about, shouting abuse at me and stormed out'. However, under cross examination, he amended his account and said: 'I did say temper, but didn't mean throwing chairs, but shoving chairs, but don't see that as relevant.' Defending himself, he also said: 'I was excited to think she might be one of them excited to meet a Jewish physicist, who had been my heroes since boyhood.' A few hours after their argument Dr Bonar emailed Mr Lamonby and said that in future perhaps it would be better if conversations they had were focused on their studies, rather than their 'widely different views on race and national characteristics.' He replied angrily saying he was 'not used to being smacked down like a schoolboy' and called a racist. After an investigation was launched, Mr Lamonby defended his comments again and gave another example of 'high exposure' - Eskimos being good at fishing. He claimed he was 'shocked' by Dr Bonar's reaction and said: 'My comments were simply stating that, arising from my lifetime of experience, I have come to believe that certain nationalities have developed a higher level of skill in some areas. 'This is directly related to the level of exposure to criteria such as industry and education. This is not radical thinking; it is simply a view that reflects environmental privilege in general terms.' Dr Bonar told the tribunal she felt 'concerned about our students being taught by someone with his entrenched racist views'. During a final disciplinary hearing he eventually admitted he had 'been clumsy' in his language and 'apologised profoundly' saying he had no intention of being racist. Despite this, he continued to make 'inappropriate' comments during the hearing, referring to ethnic groups as 'they' and to Jews having 'neurological differences' Vice Chancellor Julie Hall, who chaired the hearing, said Mr Lamonby did not understand that what he had said was offensive. He was dismissed for gross misconduct. The tribunal, which was held in Bristol, concluded that the university had a duty to its 'multi-cultural, predominantly young student body' to protect them from potential acts of racism and dismissed his claims of unfair dismissal and breach of contract. Judge C H O'Rourke said: 'For the avoidance of doubt, I find that it is clearly at least potentially racist to group nationalities, races, ethnic or religious groups, by entire categories and to ascribe certain abilities or talents (or the opposite) to them, when, of course, as with any such group, talents or abilities will vary wildly from individual to individual... 'While Mr Lamonby sought to argue that his stereotyping (which it was) was positive, such 'positivity' is nonetheless potentially offensive to the recipient. 'A Jew told they are good at physics - because they are a Jew - may well consider that as demeaning their personal intellectual ability/hard work. 'Secondly, it could also be simply grossly offensive, as the person may not actually be Jewish, but feel some characteristic is being ascribed to them. 'Thirdly, even if they are Jewish, they may quite properly consider it none of Mr Lamonby's business.' The London-based engineer now works freelance and his specialist company Plusfilm, which provided film sets with stunt vehicles, has been dormant for seven years. A meeting in the White House with Democrats will be held to cover discussions about the coronavirus aid bill. It will provide much-needed funds for states that are struggling in a renewed outbreak of the virus. According to sources, the topic to be covered by President Donald Trump and congressional Democrats is how to deal with coronavirus pandemic on Tuesday. Part of the agenda is the proposed $1 Trillion relief bill need by many Americans, reported Reuters. Last Monday, an earlier meeting with both GOP lawmakers and administration officials made remarks that new developments are coming soon. One of them is a bill that is directed at relief for those in need of federal assistance. It should be noted that the economic toll is not cheap with the country still not getting up after lockdowns, cited The Strait Times. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said that Republicans in the Senate will push the bill. The Democrats working to get it passed too, so it can benefit everyone. He added the proposal gets to take off this week, to get the ball rolling. The House Speaker Nancy Pelosi will convene a meeting next Tuesday about the coronavirus aid with Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin. Others scheduled to go is Mark Meadows chief of staff with Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer in the meeting. Another meeting about the same White House agenda was with Republican senators in the nation's capital last Monday. Not much was mentioned to the press, but Mnuchin sharee that a reporter who said more than $70 bn is almost close. Also read: Second Stimulus Package May Be Given As Back to Work Benefits Only two weeks are left for the Republicans, who dominate the Senate with the Dems to churn out a new aid package. On July 31, there will be no more enhanced unemployment where many people depends on during the pandemic. The jobless runs in the millions of Americans who got wiped out by COVID-19, financially and figuratively, mentioned CNBC. Kevin McCarthy of the GOP says the Republican proposal will feature less tax on a worker's gross earnings. The national retirement programs will lose money, except it was not received nicely by some lawmakers. Most want the social security payments to stay intact not reduced, confirmed New York Times. President Trump stressed that they are trying to cut a deal with the democrats. The plan is to help the smaller business to help people, and the US as well. When asked about the details of the bill, Mnuchin only said it has the payroll tax cut when reporters asked about it. Schumer remarked that the Dems are ready to block a Republican to pass a one-sided bill in legislation. He said that a bipartisan, bicameral process will be much better for America. Still not in the clear There is still a commitment of the $3 trillion as a pandemic aid to people. Since Trump ratified the last bill, cases of the coronavirus have increased to 3.7 million. With 140,000 killed by the contagion, the US is ranked high in that. McConnell said that everything is not in the clearing yet. Democrats want to extend benefits but the Republicans have something else in mind. As the pandemic rages hard in the US, every American is counting on the coronavirus aid, which is expected to come. Related article: Second Stimulus Check Installment: What Are the Criteria for Exemption? @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Armenia showed off parts of drones on July 21, saying they belonged to Azerbaijan and that Armenian armed forces had shot them down during border fighting last week. The Armenian military said four of the unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) were used for reconnaissance while the others were combat drones. An Israeli-produced Hermes 900 was allegedly among the UAVs shot down. The research from Japan Advanced Institute of Science and Technology (JAIST), offered concrete insight into the development of childrens psyches, and also made suggestions for educators to improve childrens cognitive, spatial, and artistic abilities through the medium of painting. Painting is a recreational and creative activity enjoyed by children across the world. However, childrens paintings also serve as crucial artefacts of their perceptions, as they contain the sum of what children see as essential. The spatial relationships between objects in paintings represent painters experiences and technical prowess and tend to indicate shortcomings of either. These are often perceived by viewers of paintings, but until now, detailed evaluation and analysis of childrens art have been subjective, relying on the trained eye of an artist or critic. JAIST researchers Lan Yu and Yukari Nagai have developed and tested a digital analysis process by which childrens paintings can be digitised, categorised, and then thoroughly analysed. Content, scale, patterns, details, and the relationships between objects in the paintings are objectively quantified and calculated. Trends identified among the subjects sampled, 182 girls and 234 boys in the Republic of China, indicate that children who have not received instruction display poor abilities to recognise and emulate spatial relationships. The younger the painter, the less likely that he or she will have developed these cognitive abilities. Lack of detail and inability to imitate objects is identified as common to childrens painting. Statistical analysis of the boys and girls in this study indicated that they have different attitudes toward painting; girls preferred participating in painting more than boys did. This research has implications in art education, suggesting that art teachers focus on several key elements that are useful to the cognitive development of young painters. Guiding children to paint objects outside could enhance their awareness of their natural environments. Focusing instruction on object size, and the ability to recognise and control it could remedy this crucial deficit in childrens paintings. Specifically training students to imitate objects could show significant results in the overall quality of childrens paintings. And finally, instruction in composition and creative methods is correlated to increasing the enjoyment and reducing childrens perception of difficulty toward painting as a creative process. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON MANHEIM TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania Police say a man tossed a 2-year-old child from a car onto the shoulder of a highway during an argument with a woman in which he threatened to kill her. Officers are searching for Tyree Berry, 34, of Lancaster, Pa., who is charged with endangering the welfare of children, simple assault and terroristic threats, according to a news release from the Manheim Township police department. Police say the incident occurred at about 5:35 p.m. Sunday on Route 30 in Manheim Township, which is about 90 minutes west of Philadelphia. Berry and the female driver reportedly were arguing, with Berry repeatedly threatening to kill her, police say. The woman pulled the vehicle over and tried to signal other vehicles for help, police say. Berry is accused of trying to remove the child from a car seat in the vehicle and when the woman tried to stop him, he reportedly bit her on her left index finger. Berry was able to get the child out the seat and threw the child onto the shoulder of the highway, police say. It was not reported if the child was injured. Berry had left the scene by the time officers arrived. Anyone with information on Berry can contact Manheim Township police at 717-569-6401 or submit a tip online. More crime-related content on cleveland.com: Cleveland police officer shot, injured in citys Fairfax neighborhood, police say Bedford homicide suspect turns himself in, police say Cuyahoga County Jail officer accused of trying to rob man with fake gun in Brooklyn Stolen car strikes Cleveland police cruiser, crashes into trailer during East Side chase Four wanted in deadly shooting in East Cleveland, police say Around 2 a.m. on Tuesday morning, my eyes drift open as someone pounds on my apartment door. Caught in slumber, I feel my partner Jon stumble out of bed. What the? he says, while heading into the hallway. The harsh beam of a flashlight probes through the frosted glass of our apartment door. In a matter of seconds, my mind takes me through several scenarios: Is the cat scratching the door? Did I leave the TV on? Is someone breaking in? That final thought plunges fear into my stomach. When I see a cop walking toward me as I lay alone in my bed, that fear doesnt go away. There is still an unwanted stranger in my home that I share with an Indigenous man (I am white.) This was the second time I saw this officer that night. Around 11 p.m., my phone rang. Grace, someone is at the door for you, my landlord said. We live on the second floor and he lives on the first floor of the house. Jon and I went downstairs, where two Toronto Police Service officers were waiting for us. One officer asked our names, how long weve lived here and who lived here before us. They said they were looking for a woman named Trish; our landlord confirmed that a tenant by that name used to live in our apartment close to three years ago. Later, he found out that the police had followed up with Trish, and that she was not who they were looking for. Three hours later, as I lay in bed naked, I see the same officer walking toward my bedroom. Panic snaps me wide awake. The cop shines his flashlight right at me as Im getting out of bed. I have to get dressed, I say. He quickly looks away and continues searching our apartment, unconcerned with explaining his visit. After urgently pulling on my pyjamas, I ask Jon whats going on. He shrugs and his eyes say, I dont know. We both stay silent, except for a quiet thanks after the officer compliments our place. Whats this about? I finally ask. He says a patient from CAMH told her doctor that she was going to hang herself, and the address on her record was listed as ours. They were also tracking the patients phone, and the signal was leading them to our neighbourhood. This feels like a manhunt. Because cops are not trained for these situations, CAMH has been advocating for them to be taken off the front lines of mental health calls. If someone from a trauma-informed emergency service had knocked on our door instead, would this feel less like a manhunt? The cop finally leaves after checking our IDs, confirming that I am not the patient and we are not hiding her. About 15 minutes later, we hear noises and look outside our bedroom window. Three cops have a woman handcuffed, taking her out of the house across the street. While watching this, I couldnt help but think there must be a better way. The TPS does have Mobile Crisis Intervention Teams that include mental health nurses, but they are usually only available between 11 a.m. and 11 p.m., and a nurse only arrives if the cops deem the person in crisis is safe. They are not the first responders. I was now witnessing firsthand why we need an alternative approach to policing, as Black Lives Matter protestors and activists call for TPS funds to be reallocated to community-led and trauma-informed emergency services. Police are not trained in crisis care and should not be expected to lead this important work, said CAMH in a recent statement on their website. The police were treating this CAMH patient like an escaped convict, not like someone who needed mental health intervention; a response we see far too often. Outside, after searching her and her little red bag, the cops put the patient in a squad car and drive away. Falling back asleep, the thought that the rest of the street will have no idea what happened is on my mind. Unidentified gunmen have kidnapped in the Iraqi capital a German activist affiliated to the Goethe Institute, reports say. Hella Mewis according to the Iraqi police was abducted near her office on the Abu Nuwas Street at the evening hours. She is the head of the culture department of German institute present in at least 159 institutes in 98 countries. She also works at German Arts Center Tarkib which organizes festivals every year to support young artists in Baghdad. No group has claimed responsibility for the operation but the Iraqi police said teams from the defense and interior ministries as well as police are searching the area. An elderly Berks County military veteran has been identified as the man found stabbed to death and left in the woods near his Bern Township home, authorities announced Tuesday. Authorities launched a missing persons investigation after trying and failing to make contact with 76-year-old Dennis Fink. The investigation eventually led police to a wooded area near Finks home on Tully Lane, where they found the man lying facedown with multiple stab wounds, according to the Berks County District Attorneys Office. An autopsy determined Finks cause of death was homicide. Fink was able to be identified with fingerprints from the U.S. Military, in which he served for over 20 years as a pilot in the Air Force, according to the district attorneys office. Reading police found some of Finks personal property during a traffic stop, inside a stolen car driven by Raphael E. Perez, prosecutors said. Perez remains in Berks County Prison, court records show. Hes been charged with breaking into the John P. Feeney Funeral Home in Reading last month and shooting at a police officer responding to the burglary call, according to WFMZ Allentown. He has not been charged in connection to Finks death. The stabbing remains under investigation. EDITORS NOTE: This story has been updated with additional information on charges against Perez. READ MORE: Former Pa. Sen. Mike Folmer sentenced to prison in child porn case Bloomsburg Fair fundraiser dunk tank targeting Rachel Levine criticized as transphobic No end in sight to coronavirus, Fauci tells doctors at Philadelphia conference Journalists, especially radio and television presenters, have been admonished to engage more health experts on shows that seek to educate the public on the COVID-19 pandemic. COVID-19 education requires proactive action to save lives, based on credible information, Dr Ebenezer Oduro-Mensah, Superintendent of the Ga-East Municipal Hospital, said in an interview with the Ghana News Agency. Dr Oduro-Mensah who was speaking with the GNA after receiving assorted Personal Protection Equipment (PPEs), from the Gadangme Community Action Response Team (GACART) in Accra, expressed concern about misinformation about COVID-19. He said it was unfortunate that as a result of misinformation, some people held the view that COVID-19 pandemic was not true; "Fortunately, most people who get infected do not suffer severe symptoms and easily get healed, but if you are to see the few that experience severe symptoms, you would know that the pandemic is real". He noted that the pandemic was drawing away all medical attention, had a toll on other ailments that also required attention, which made it very important to do everything possible to halt spread of COVID-19 infections. Increasing the dissemination of accurate information on the pandemic through education from the right sources would result in people taking preventive measures more seriously and in effect, a reduction in infections, Dr Oduro-Mensah noted. He said it was therefore very important at this time, to prevent charlatans and other self-made health experts from spreading misleading information that could derail the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. Dr Oduro-Mensah also urged the public not to shy away from hospitals, but to report early when they experienced symptoms of COVID-19. He said at the Ga-East Municipal Hospital for example, 450 people who previously had COVID-19 and were under treatment had been cured and discharged out of an initial number of 500 saying, "most of those who come early are easily cured". He commended GACART for the donation and urged other organisations, groups and individuals to also assist health workers through such gestures. Dr Oduro-Mensah said health personnel now more than ever, needed PPE in the fight against COVID-19, mainly because most of the equipment they used must be replaced regularly. Madam Rebecca Bondzie, team member of GACART and Chairperson of the Gadangme Professionals Association, who presented the items on behalf of the Foundation, said the aim of the NGO was to assist with the provision of PPE to health workers mainly within the Greater Accra Region. She urged the public to continue practising the safety measures on preventing COVID-19 infections such as the wearing of face masks in public, washing one's hands thoroughly before touching the face, maintaining a good distance from other people at all times among others. She also called on well-meaning individuals and organisations, especially the media, to continue educating people on the pandemic as that would promote preventive behavior and in effect, reduce infections. 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 BEIJING - Engorged with more heavy rains, Chinas mighty Yangtze River is cresting again, bringing fears of further destruction as seasonal floods that already have left more than 140 people dead or missing have grown in force since last month. The rains are putting renewed pressure on the massive Three Gorges Dam that straddles the river upstream of the city of Wuhan in Hubei province. The official Xinhua News Agency said the rate of flow in the reservoir behind the dam would hit a record for the year on Friday night, at 55,000 cubic meters (almost 600,000 cubic feet) per second. The inflow peaked on Saturday at 61,000 cubic meters per second, before easing to 46,000 by Sunday night, Xinhua later reported. Rivers in the Yangtze system have broken their banks in places. A helicopter was used to drop stones into a breach to block the inrushing waters in Hubei. Crews were dispatched with poles to probe waterlogged embankments for weakness and thousands of sandbags were being filled in preparation for more breaches that would need to be swiftly closed. Water rose to the level of first-floor windows in exposed ancient towns and crops were completely inundated around vast Poyang Lake, a network of waterways that empty into the Yangtze below Wuhan. On the lakes eastern edge in Jiangxi province, 45-year-old Xu Yongxiang said his village of Liufang had been without running water or electricity for almost a week. Although it was time for the rice harvest, that crop, along with cotton, corn and beans was now underwater. We do not have one inch of dry ground. It has all been flooded, Xu, who sells pork for a living, was quoted as saying on the official newspaper China Youth Dailys microblog. Flooding since the beginning of the month has forced evacuations of around 1.8 million people in 24 provinces, mainly in southern China. Direct losses attributed to flooding are estimated at more than 49 billion yuan ($7 billion), according to the Ministry of Emergency Management. Floodwaters reached as high as 1.4 metres (almost 5 feet) in Linshui county in the southwestern province of Sichuan, the ministrys rescue department reported. Torrential rain also caused three landslides Thursday in a town in mountainous Chongqing, upstream on the Yangtze, leaving six dead, the Chongqing Emergency Management Bureau said. The bodies had been found by Friday evening after more than 200 people were dispatched for search and rescue. The rainfall in the town of Dunhao totalled 39 centimetres (15 inches), the bureau said. Seasonal flooding strikes large parts of China each year, especially in its central and southern regions, but conditions this year have been especially bad. Major cities have thus far been spared but concerns have risen over Wuhan and other downstream metropolises that are home to tens of millions of people. Chinas worst floods in recent years were in 1998, when more than 2,000 people died and almost 3 million homes were destroyed, mostly along the Yangtze. The Three Gorges Dam was built mainly to generate electricity, but the government also said it was expected to mitigate catastrophic flooding. National competitions for primary and secondary students put under scrutiny The Ministry of Education has asked organizers of national competitions for primary and secondary students to double-check the authenticity and originality of past prize winners after a third-place finish by a sixth-grader at a national science competition for research on colorectal cancers caused public outcry after it was determined the boy's project was the result of heavy involvement from his father. National competitions should not far exceed students' cognitive abilities, and parents and others should not participate in the competitions on behalf of the contestants, the ministry said in a notice on Monday. The ministry will continue to strictly scrutinize national competitions, and organizers that are found to be seriously violating regulations will be removed from competition white lists and not be allowed to host competitions again, it said. Further, competition results are not allowed to be used to decide student admission to primary and middle schools, nor should any entry tests be given to such students. Rather, admission should be solely based on the proximity of their homes to the schools, the notice said. High schools should also not use the results of competitions as bonus points to count toward student admission, it said. On July 1, the ministry published a white list featuring 35 approved national contests for primary and secondary school students for this year and next year. The move aims to eliminate unregulated and exam-oriented competitions that have placed extra academic pressure on students. A Grade 6 student surnamed Chen from Kunming, Yunnan province, was at the center of a recent controversy after his research paper won him third prize in the China Adolescents Science and Technology Innovation Contest. That same paper had netted him first prize at the provincial-level innovation contest in Yunnan. The student claims he made use of gene-editing, animal models and clinical sample analysis to find a mutant gene, C10orf67, and analyzed its role in colorectal cancers. He claimed that just three days after he looked up the definition of "gene" on the internet, he was researching it. An investigation by the organizing committee of the Yunnan competition found that "the research report has far exceeded the cognitive ability and writing skills of the student, and it is impossible for the student to have written the report by himself". The committee decided to revoke Chen's first-prize award on Wednesday, and its counterpart from the national competition revoked his third-prize award on Thursday. The student's father, Chen Yongbin, a researcher at the Kunming Institute of Zoology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, issued a statement on news website ScienceNet.cn on Wednesday saying that he had not fully understood the requirements of the competition, which stipulated that "the project report should be written by students themselves", and that he was heavily involved in the writing of the research paper. He said his son chose the research subject himself, and did the experiments and obtained research data under the guidance of schoolteachers as well as him and his wife. Ukraine does not accept the argument of human error in shooting down a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane over Tehran. Kyiv expects Iran to conduct an impartial investigation and bring all those responsible to justice and pay compensation. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said this at a briefing on Tuesday, July 21, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. We do not accept the argument of human error, Iran must explain in every detail what happened. In the modern world, it is beyond the power of one person to shoot down a plane on his own, even if he is extremely cunning, talented and full of evil intentions. We must raise the issue more broadly, not about human error, but about the functioning of the Iranian airspace control system in general," the minister stressed. According to him, the Ukrainian side wants to know whether this system was functioning at the time when the plane was shot down, whether it functioned correctly, whether there was any interference in its activities and what is the real reason that a peaceful Ukrainian plane was shot down over Iran. Why was it the Ukrainian plane, and not other planes that were in the Iranian airspace in that time, Kuleba said. The minister noted that Ukraine expects that Iran will conduct a qualitative criminal investigation and bring all those responsible to justice. "We are still determined to cooperate with the Iranian side on the basis of the principle of reciprocity," he said. At the same time, the official said that the Iranian side had expressed its readiness to come to Kyiv this week to negotiate compensation. Yesterday we received information that the Iranian delegation is ready to arrive in Ukraine this week to negotiate compensation with us. We have long insisted on such a visit. We are ready for negotiations and expect that today Iran will officially confirm the visit of its representatives and the negotiations will take place in Kyiv this week, the minister said. In addition, he recalled that the black boxes were read yesterday and, according to his information, the process was successful. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane (flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after it took off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport at about 06:00 Tehran time (04:30 Kyiv time) on January 8. There were 176 people on board nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK). All passengers and crew were killed in the crash. On July 18, France's Bureau for Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) received Flight PS752s recorders from Iran. ish 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. Zareen Khan says people still assume Salman Khan helps her find work: "I cannot be a monkey on his back" Technavio has been monitoring the electronic cash register market and it is poised to grow by USD 4.9 bn during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of almost 8% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005578/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Electronic Cash Register Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 The market is concentrated, and the degree of concentration will accelerate during the forecast period. CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, Olivetti SpA, SHARP CORPORATION, and Toshiba Tec Corporation. are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. The adoption of ECRs by SMEs has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Electronic Cash Register Market 2019-2023: Segmentation Electronic Cash Register Market is segmented as below: Type Standard ECRs Checkout/POS System Self-service POS End-user Retail Hospitality Geographic Landscape APAC Europe MEA North America South America To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30965 Electronic Cash Register Market 2019-2023: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our electronic cash register market report covers the following areas: Electronic Cash Register Market size Electronic Cash Register Market trends Electronic Cash Register Market industry analysis This study identifies the shift toward cloud-based solutions as one of the prime reasons driving the electronic cash register market growth during the next few years. Electronic Cash Register Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the electronic cash register market, including some of the vendors such as CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD., Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP, Olivetti SpA, SHARP CORPORATION, and Toshiba Tec Corporation. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the electronic cash register market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Electronic Cash Register Market 2019-2023: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023 Detailed information on factors that will assist electronic cash register market growth during the next five years Estimation of the electronic cash register market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the electronic cash register market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of electronic cash register market vendors Table Of Contents: PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT 2.1 Preface 2.2 Preface 2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis PART 04: MARKET SIZING Market definition Market sizing 2018 Market size and forecast 2018-2023 PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY TYPE Market segmentation by type Comparison by type Standard ECRs Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Checkout/POS system Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Self-service POS Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Market opportunity by type PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE PART 08: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY END-USER Market segmentation by end-user Comparison by end-user Retail Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Hospitality Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Market opportunity by end-user PART 09: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Europe Market size and forecast 2018-2023 North America Market size and forecast 2018-2023 MEA Market size and forecast 2018-2023 South America Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Key leading countries Market opportunity PART 10: DECISION FRAMEWORK PART 11: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challenges PART 12: MARKET TRENDS Shift toward cloud-based solutions Use of big data Growth of self-checkout market PART 13: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview Landscape disruption PART 14: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors CASIO COMPUTER CO., LTD. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Development LP Olivetti SpA SHARP CORPORATION Toshiba Tec Corporation PART 15: APPENDIX Research methodology List of abbreviations PART 16: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005578/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Chinese officials have reportedly ordered some Christians to smash the crosses on their churches and remove images of Jesus from their homes. Authorities have recently destroyed religious symbols by force in churches in multiple provinces, including Anhui, Jiangsu, Hebei and Zhejiang, according to US-based news site Radio Free Asia. Furthermore, officials of Shanxi, another region, demanded religious images be taken down and replaced with pictures of Communist leaders at the homes of impoverished believers, said independent outlet Bitter Winter. Pictures released by US-based China Aid purport to show a crane taking down a cross on top of a church (left) and officials standing in front of a church (right) in Yongjia, China, on July 7 The reports come as China is facing unprecedented criticism against its tight control over its religious population, especially the Muslim ethnic minorities. Officials in charge of religious affairs in Huainan in the eastern province of Anhui allegedly barged into the local Shiwan Christ Church to dismantle its cross on Saturday and Sunday. The officials had required the church to take down its cross a week earlier, reported Radio Free Asia citing local sources. When they arrived at the venue to impose the order by force at the weekend, they were met with dozens of believers who had gathered to try to prevent them from bulldozing the holy sign, the article claimed. Similar scenes were said to occur in Yongjia in Zhejiang Province on July 7. The local government sent a crane and nearly 100 workers to demolish the crosses on Ao'di Christ Church and Yinchang Christ Church, according to US-based pressure group China Aid. Local believers told the group that government workers forced their way into the churches, smashed the churches' properties and beat up the Christians, including a woman in her 80s, who tried to stop them. In this photo taken on June 2, 2018, a worker jumps from a truck parked in front of a church and the Chinese national flag near the city of Pingdingshan in central China's Henan province China Aid, founded by American-Chinese pastor Bob Fu, also released pictures which purported to show a heavy machine lifting a cross off one church and government workers standing in front of another. Elsewhere in China, a local government of Linfen in Shanxi Province summoned all village officials and directed them to crack down on religious activity, reported Bitter Winter. Village officials were instructed to remove crosses, religious symbols and images from the homes of some people of faith, wrote the magazine that focuses on religious liberty and human rights in China. The government was said to be targeting poverty-stricken residents who received social welfare payments, and those families must instead display portraits of Chairman Mao and President Xi Jinping. Officials of Shanxi demanded religious images be removed and replaced with pictures of Communist leaders at the homes of impoverished believers (above), Bitter Winter reported China's ruling Communist Party has carried out a widespread clampdown on all religious institutions in recent years. Relevant directives included bulldozing churches and mosques, barring Tibetan children from Buddhist religious studies and incarcerating more than a million members of Islamic ethnic minorities in the so-called 're-education' camps. President Xi Jinping has ordered that all religions must 'Sinicise' to ensure they are loyal to the officially atheistic party. Wang Yang, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, last year instructed the country's officials to interpret the ideologies of different religions in accordance with 'the core values of Socialism'. A Chinese version of the Bible is seen above Late last year, the Chinese central government ordered its censors to review and edit all translated versions of classic religious books to make sure that their messages reflect the principles of Socialism. The new editions must not contain any content that goes against the beliefs of the Communist Party, according to the country's top officials on religious matters. The officials said that paragraphs deemed wrong by the censors would be amended or re-translated. The order was given in November during a meeting held by the Committee for Ethnic and Religious Affairs of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, which oversees the ethnic and religious matters in China. A group of 16 experts, believers and representatives of different religions from the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China attended the conference, according to Xinhua News Agency. The meeting was supervised by Wang Yang, Chairman of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference. Mr Wang stressed that religious authorities must follow President Xi's instructions and interpret the ideologies of different religions in accordance with 'the core values of Socialism' and 'the requirements of the era'. He urged the officials to build 'a religious system with Chinese characteristics'. Send to Email Address Your Name Your Email Address Post was not sent - check your email addresses! Email check failed, please try again Sorry, your blog cannot share posts by email. Ang Thong, located an hours drive away in Thailand, is popular for its rich history and culture. Its home to 200 temples, known for its handicraft work including royal doll sculptures, drum-making and more. Thats not all, as it also plays host to life-size sculptures made of scrap metal inspired by Hollywood characters and Marvel superheroes. Ban Hun Lek has become a popular weekend spot for Instagram selfies and family getaways against a backdrop of Hollywoods much-loved film franchises. Befittingly dubbed House of Steel Robots, scrap metal and old car parts are transformed into dazzling sculptures inspired by blockbusters. A perfect example of how to make best out of waste! Phairote Thanomwong opened his welding workshop around 2 decades ago and eventually converted the front section into a gallery for tourists. One of the most popular centrepieces in their collection is the formidable Hulk statue, standing tall at 2.6m. Phairote has also created art for European and Saudi royalty, along with re-creating movie characters from films such as Alien, Predator, and the Star Wars franchise. It was just a hobby at first, Phairote told AFP. When I was a child, I liked mechanics a lot... so I made what I liked into my work. A one-metre-high sculpture sells for up to 30,000 baht ($950), but due to the coronavirus pandemic, Phairotes art exports have been on hold. Nonetheless, the towering metal brontosaurus at Ban Hun Lek, which can be spotted from the main freeway, draws dozens of visitors each weekend. In 2019, Vietnam played host to Transformers characters made out of spare motorbike parts who also spoke Vietnamese. Temple guards In 2017, the Wat Ta Kien temple, located just outside Bangkok, was the abode of three towering Transformers robots, standing tall at 8 m (26 feet). The idea was born out of an idea to pique the interest of children so they would visit the temple in Nonthaburi. The temple monks who had commissioned the statues said the bots had no spiritual purpose. Its for children so they wont get bored when they come to the temple with their parents, monk Pra Vichien told AFP. Following this brilliant idea, at least four more Buddhist temples across Thailand bought superhero statues, all created by Phairote Thanomwong. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON An ad for Koscom's financial cloud service / Courtesy of Koscom Koscom CEO Chung Jee-seok Brian A. Pounds / Hearst Connecticut Media NORWALK Non-Norwalk residents cant visit the citys public beaches on the weekends from now until Oct. 15. Mayor Harry Rilling announced on Monday that his July 17 executive order limiting non-resident access on Saturdays and Sundays will now be extended through the rest of the summer. Non-resident walk-ins and drop-offs will also not be permitted on weekends. Resident walk-ins will be permitted with proper identification. Pondei faints while being questioned Nigerians have mocked the acting Managing Director of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei, after he fainted on Monday during an investigative hearing at the National Assembly. Pondei collapsed where he was seated as members of the House Committee on NDDC grilled him. The committee had grilled him for about 45 minutes before he became unresponsive. Pondei has been rushed out of the Conference Room 231, venue of the investigative hearing on illegal spending and mismanagement of funds in the commission. See video below: Who is watching the House probe of NDDC???? They asked the MD how he has spent close to 73 billion in how many months and this dude legit fake fainted on TV. Our country is a fucking carnival. Dwin, The Stoic (@DwinTheStoic) July 20, 2020 BREAKING: Acting MD NDDC, Pondei went unconscious and almost fainted during #NDDCProbe. ? Akpabio don koba this guy, he cant process that lies and cover-up. pic.twitter.com/1PRGYpvWzY Ayemojubar (@ayemojubar) July 20, 2020 Baba be like, this wasnt what we rehearsed yesterday nayou wan tear my mouth?#NDDCProbe pic.twitter.com/PxbkSojhIl Iyanda Victor ? #stayhome#staysae (@IyandaOlukayode) July 20, 2020 This is so annoying and the worst part is Nigerians are laughing about this whole drama. What a joke. What a big joke. This is so sad to watch. Corruption has indeed really eaten deep into Nigeria. A set of people share and spend this money leaving Nigeria at a standstill Nd (@O_nddy) July 20, 2020 Stay with us and answer your questions sir ? ???#NDDCProbe pic.twitter.com/ZPoaZC8ROM Slim Smart Sammie (@SlimSmartSammi2) July 20, 2020 #When they were embezzling billions on Naira meant for the development of Niger Delta, they didnt slump. Now they are asking them to provide answers to why they stole the money, they are faking slumping/fainting. 1.3 billion stolen in the name of palliative #NDDCProbe Uche Darksam Igwe?? (@uchedarksam) July 20, 2020 Our people have now normalised fainting when they are facing the National Assembly. This country needs an overhaul. #NDDCProbe Ayorinde?? (@Ayorindemichael) July 20, 2020 CLEVELAND, Ohio - Will Ohio Gov. Mike DeWines fears about Ohio becoming another Arizona, Florida or Texas be realized? We talk about the coronavirus data trends in those states on This Week in the CLE. The data shows better news for Ohio. Listen online here. Editor Chris Quinn hosts Tuesdays daily half-hour news podcast, with help from criminal justice editor Kris Wernowsky and politics editor Jane Kahoun. We answer many of the questions youve sent through our text message platform. Of note: Our discussion in this episode was interrupted by the breaking news that Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was arrested in a suspected bribery case. Youve been sending Chris lots of thoughts and suggestions on our from-the-newsroom account, in which he shares once or twice a day what were thinking about at cleveland.com. You can sign up for free by sending a text to 216-868-4802. And youve been offering all sorts of great perspective in our coronavirus alert account, which has 13,000-plus subscribers. You can sign up for free by texting 216-279-7784. Here are the questions were answering today: 1) Is the coronavirus spread in Ohio coming anywhere near approaching the out-of-control spread in Florida, Texas and Arizona? A cleveland.com data analysis suggests that Ohio is nowhere close to those states for rising cases. And Ohio isnt on a path that way either, based on the cases reported so far. 2) How much is the bill for the damages that downtown businesses suffered in the May 30 riot, in both physical damage and lost sales? Downtown Cleveland businesses and property owners lost an estimated $6.3 million in the May 30 riot, Downtown Cleveland Alliance President and CEO Joe Marinucci said during a Cuyahoga County meeting on Monday. 3) Why is John Kasich, a Republican, speaking at the Democratic National Convention in support of Joe Biden? Kasich is a visible GOP critic of President Donald Trump and has a national television audience. But many Democrats dont like the idea of him speaking at their convention, citing his record of cracking down on organized labor and abortion rights. 4) How much will Cuyahoga County taxpayers have to pay to settle the case of a jail inmate who was beaten after cooperating with a jail investigation? The county is expected to pay $140,000 to settle a lawsuit against a corrections officer who attacked the inmate as he prayed. 5) Are Ohioans about to lose the protections they have had during the coronavirus against the shut off of their water, gas and electricity? Utilities are making plans to resume shutoffs, but say they will work with customers to catch up on their unpaid bills. 6) What do we know about the Cleveland police officer who was shot while on duty early Monday? The officer was shot in the arm about 4 a.m. at a boarding house on East 81st Street between Euclid and Carnegie avenues in the citys Fairfax neighborhood. 7) As school districts plan to reopen this fall, is anyone thinking about the mental health of the students, the stigma they might feel if they get the virus or have a health condition in which they cannot wear masks? Some difficult decisions await districts as they will have to deal with keeping students and staff safe, protecting kids privacy and informing the public. Want more? You can find all our past episodes here. Do you get your podcasts on Spotify. Find us here. If you use Stitcher, we are here. RadioPublic is another popular podcast vehicle, and we are here. On Google Podcasts, we are here. On PodParadise, find us here. And on PlayerFM, we are here. Lithuania will not stand aside and will seek ways of a peaceful settlement of the conflict, deputy chair of the Armenia-Lithuania parliamentary friendship group Algimantas Dumbrava wrote on his Facebook. "As a member of the group of parliamentary relations with Armenia, I am watching the events at the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. I express my sincere condolences to the loved ones," he added. "In October 2019, as a member of the official delegation of the Seimas, I visited Armenia. I can responsibly declare that the Armenian people did not forget the wonderful gesture of Lithuania when it was one of the first to recognize the independence of Armenia. Throughout the visit of the delegation, we constantly heard words of gratitude and admiration for Lithuania. We recently celebrated the 25th anniversary of our cooperation." "I believe that even in this intense period for the countries of the South Caucasus, Lithuania will not stand aside and will seek ways of a peaceful settlement of the conflict. This must be achieved primarily by both parties to the conflict at the negotiating table. I understand that this is not easy to do, but it is a prerequisite for a positive outcome. Members of the OSCE Minsk Group, the United States, France, and Russia should help them." "I must remind you that Armenia and Azerbaijan are participants in the Eastern Partnership, which is very actively supported by the Republic of Lithuania, and I believe that we must all focus and help resolve the protracted conflict," he concluded. Russell Crowe recently shared a surprising story about an encounter between his friend Sam Burgess and rapper Kanye West at a London hotel. And on Tuesday, retired NRL star Sam, 31, confirmed that the meeting did indeed happen - and claimed the Grammy winner had actually called him 'poor'. Speaking to Nova's Fitzy & Wippa, the former South Sydney Rabbitohs prop said: 'It was a weird night!' 'It was a weird night!' Former footy star Sam Burgess (pictured) has confirmed his 'weird' run-in with Kanye West, telling Fitzy & Wippa on Tuesday that the rapper had called him 'poor' while on a night out with Russell Crowe at the Dorchester Hotel in London Sam explained: 'I had driven from Bath over to the Dorchester for a session with Rusty at China Tong down there and we were just sitting there and the drinks were flowing, as usual as they are with me and Rusty. 'Kanye just walked in the room and sat down... I didn't think it was Kanye at the start because he was so small. I couldn't believe it!' The rugby league player said the Gold Digger hitmaker was showing everyone in the room his designs for Yeezy sneakers, and Sam asked him what his inspiration was. 'He goes, "Oh, I'm making clothes for poor people just like you,"' Sam laughed. Ouch! The former South Sydney Rabbitohs star said the Gold Digger rapper (pictured) was showing everyone in the room his designs for Yeezy sneakers, and Sam asked him what his inspiration was. 'He goes, "Oh, I'm making clothes for poor people just like you,"' Sam laughed He continued: 'I was kind of chuffed that he called me poor. I thought, "Oh yeah, I'm a peasant! Come and eat dinner at my table if you want, Kanye. It's fine!"' Sam also said that as he and Russell were finishing up their dinner, Kanye ordered two chocolate cakes. 'He was like slurping these two chocolate fondant cakes and Im looking at him going, "What a peasant! He called me a poor guy, but Im watching you eat chocolate cakes like youve never eaten before!"' Oscar-winning actor Russell first revealed the unlikely feud between the sportsman and the presidential-hopeful on the Fitzy and Wippa show on Monday. It's a small world! Russell Crowe (pictured) first revealed the unlikely feud between the sportsman and the presidential-hopeful on the Fitzy and Wippa show on Monday Russell told the radio program: '[He came down and] brought his computer with him. He was just scrolling through a bunch of stuff he was working on. "Here's some design stuff I have been doing," etc.' The hip-hop star told Russell and Sam that he had just produced a song with Sir Paul McCartney, which was later released as FourFiveSeconds in 2015. Russell continued: '[Kanye said,] "So, here's this song I recorded with Paul McCartney." So he played it and it hadn't come out yet. And we were like, "Yeah, it's great." Russell said that Sam had had a couple of drinks by this time and decided to sing along to the track, much to Kanye's annoyance. Singalong? Russell explained he'd been having a drink with Sam (pictured) at the China Tang restaurant at The Dorchester when Kanye, who happened to be staying at the same hotel, saw them and asked if he could join the conversation Social: Kanye played a sample of his new song with Sir Paul McCartney, which was later released as FourFiveSeconds in 2015, but was unimpressed when Sam drunkenly sang along despite not knowing the lyrics. Pictured: Kanye West 'So he played it four or five times and at one point Sam is singing along except he doesn't really know the words,' the Australian star explained. Unsurprisingly, Sam's vocal efforts didn't go down well with Kanye. Russell continued: 'I could see a little twitch in Kanye's eye. I said, "Sam, you know you're getting the words wrong? And the wrong day?" 'And Sam was like, "It doesn't matter what day it is, man." Then he was like, 'Kanye, Kanye, does it matter what day it is?"' Old friends: Russell explained that he'd met Kanye before the awkward encounter in London. They had spent time together in Sydney, where Kanye met with the actor to discuss using material from Gladiator (pictured) for a project The Stronger hitmaker then looked at the English sportsman from across the table and muttered angrily: 'Yeah...' Russell explained that he'd met Kanye before the awkward encounter, hence why the musician decided to come over and greet him at The Dorchester. They had spent time together in Sydney, where Kanye met with the actor to discuss using material from Gladiator for a project. It comes after Kanye held his first rally for his 2020 presidential bid. The husband of Kim Kardashian is expected to run as an independent. Ready, Set, Food!, a Los Angeles, CA-based childhood food allergy prevention company, raised $3m in a second funding round. The round was led by Danone Manifesto Ventures investor and entrepreneur Mark Cuban, and AF Ventures (formerly AccelFoods). The company intends to use the funds to continue to expand its business reach. Founded in 2017 by a team of physicians and parents, including Dr. Jonathan Spergel, and Dr. Gary Rachelefsky, and led by Daniel Zakowski, CEO and Co-founder, Ready, Set, Food! provides an early allergen introduction system to gently introduce peanut, milk and egg to babies in order to help prevent food allergies, by adding a daily packet to a babys bottle or food. FinSMEs 20/07/2020 Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 16:34 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40668288c4 1 Politics Prabowo-Subianto,Gerindra-Party,PDI-P,South-Tangerang,deputy-mayor-candidate,rahayu-saraswati,tangerang-selatan,calon-wakil-walikota Free Rahayu Saraswati Djojohadikusumo, a former TV presenter and legislator who is also a niece of Defense Minister Prabowo Subianto, has been nominated as the deputy mayor candidate in the upcoming regional election in South Tangerang, Banten. Rahayu, a politician of the Gerindra Party that her uncle chairs, has been paired with incumbent South Tangerang administrative secretary Muhamad in their mayoral bid with the endorsement of Gerindra and the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P). Prabowo announced the candidate pair on Monday evening at his residence, with PDI-P secretary-general Hasto Kristiyanto in attendance. "May they [Muhamad and Rahayu] fight hard to defend and prioritize the interests of the people, as well as the progress and welfare of the people of South Tangerang," said the former 2014 and 2019 presidential candidate as quoted by kompas.com. Read also: PDI-P recommends Prabowos niece for South Tangerang mayoral race Rahayu is the daughter of Prabowos youngest brother, businessman Hashim Djojojadikusumo. She previously served in the 2014-2019 session of the House of Representatives but failed to secure a seat in her 2019 reelection bid. Following the announcement, Gerindra South Tangerang executive chair Li Claudia Candra told tribunnews.com that she had called on all members and supporters of the party to promote the mayoral candidates. Meanwhile, executive chair Wanto Sugito of PDI-P's South Tangerang branch said that the mayoral pair should expect the party to issue its official recommendation letter this week, noting that Hasto's presence at the announcement signaled the party's green light. Wanto also made assurances that the Hanura Party would join "the coalition" soon. Combined, the three parties have 17 seats in the South Tangerang Legislative Council, which meets the minimum 20 percent requirement or 10 of the total 50 council seats for a party to nominate a candidate. Read also: 'Is it because I'm a woman?': Gerindra lawmaker fumes over prayer reading snub Earlier, Hanura had said that it would support Muhamad's pairing with a running mate from the Indonesia Solidarity Party. On Monday, however, executive chair Amar of Hanura's South Tangerang branch said the party had shifted its support to Rahayu, as reported by tribunnews.com. South Tangerang municipality is among the 270 regencies and municipalities slated to elect their new leaders in the simultaneous regional elections in December. The city, considered a growing and hip satellite city of Jakarta, has attracted a number of electoral hopefuls, including incumbent deputy mayor Benyamin Davnie and Siti Nur Azizah, who is a daughter of Vice President Ma'ruf Amin. Political analysts have raised concern that this year's regional elections could give rise to a new generation of political dynasties. Aside from Prabowo's niece and the Vice President's daughter, the elections will also see Gibran Rakabuming Raka, the 32-year-old eldest son of President Joko Widodo, running for mayor with PDI-P backing in their hometown of Surakarta, Central Java. (mfp) SpaceX is launching South Korea's first dedicated military communications satellite on Monday, with a target liftoff time of 5:30 PM EDT (2:30 PM PDT). The launch window spans nearly four hours, ending at 8:55 PM EDT (5:55 PM PDT), so SpaceX has considerable flexibility in terms of when the launch could actually take place. The Falcon 9 rocket being used for this mission includes a first-stage booster that flew previously on SpaceX and NASA's Demo-2 mission -- the historic mission that carried astronauts on board a SpaceX rocket for the first time. That launch, which took place on May 30, saw astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley successfully delivered to the International Space Station -- where they're currently preparing to depart on Demo-2's concluding trip home on August 1. This mission will include a recovery attempt for the first stage, using SpaceX's "Just Read the Instructions" drone landing ship in the Atlantic Ocean. The live stream above should kick off around 15 minutes prior to liftoff -- so at around 4:45 PM EDT (2:45 PM PDT) if the launch is tracking toward the beginning of the window. Janet Hall knows she has a can-do attitude, but she doesnt see herself as a trailblazer. I was a girl who loved physics and was lucky to have parents who encouraged my interests. I wouldnt say Ive done anything particularly special. But the 1968 graduates actions and accomplishments say otherwise. Hall, 68 B.S.E.E.E., was the first UM-Dearborn female College of Engineering and Computer Science graduate she left her family dairy farm in upstate New York and moved to Dearborn, Michigan, when a Ford Motor Company recruiter visited Halls school and told her about a new college co-op program at the then named Dearborn Center of the University of Michigan. She was among the first female electrical engineers to work at Ford Motor Company. During the Space Race and around the time of the Apollo 11 moon landing, Hall wrote computer programs for the Ford Philco Mission Control Center. And when opportunities presented themselves for multiple promotions, Hall earned her M.B.A. and pivoted into management where she lived in Germany and oversaw a team of Ford engineers working on three continents. In my early days, I was aware colleagues were watching me a woman engineer so I focused on my work and doing it well. The skeptics became supporters and I started climbing the ladder, said Hall, who retired from Ford Motor Company in 2001 as Manager of Powertrain Global Prototype Operations. But I recognize there are people who dont change with the times and make things difficult. I once had a boss who was old school as the day is long. He didnt value me. So I created what I call the work around. Id stay later than my immediate boss so I could get to know the big boss. I wanted the big boss to see what I could contribute to Ford. I was later promoted. My advice is: You cant go through people, but you can go around them. Most recently, Hall created the first endowment to support students who are members of UM-Dearborns Society of Women Engineers (SWE) student organization through a $25,000 gift the Janet Hall Society of Women Engineers Endowed Fund. Hall said the purpose of the gift is to provide support for engineering students involved in SWE through scholarships and support for professional development experiences like SWE conferences. Hall said she became involved with a Detroit SWE chapter during her nearly 35-year career at Ford. The organization introduced her to engineering recruiters, gave an opportunity for travel, and increased the size of her network. I know how valuable the experience of working with other women engineers can be and it is important to continue the support of the student chapter of SWE at my alma mater, said Hall, who has been a frequent guest speaker at the UM-Dearborn SWE chapter events. Hall said todays graduates have a different experience than she did 50 years ago but there are still challenges to overcome. Their world is different from what mine was. The barriers arent the same, but there are still pockets of old-school thinking. There are things I can share like the workaround that may help them navigate difficult situations so they can succeed, Hall said. I didnt have a female mentor, so I want to be that for someone else. Im here to give these women support in any way I can. Source: UM-Dearborn The countdown is on for Big Brother Australia's live finale this week. And over the weekend, finalist Sophie Budack was spotted gearing up for Wednesday night's main event. The 25-year-old former gymnast appeared to be in good spirits as she was seen getting her nails done with fellow housemate Sarah McDougal in Sydney. EXCLUSIVE: Big Brother finalist Sophie Budack (right) was spotted getting her nails done with fellow housemate Sarah McDougal (left) ahead of the grand finale The brunette beauty looked every inch the reality star in a white top and black trousers which were paired with white sneakers and a black plaid trench coat. Sophie's styled her new brunette locks simply on the day. At one point they loosely cascaded down her back, before she tied them up in a smart chignon. Meanwhile, Sarah, 19, looked lovely in a pink floral playsuit and denim jacket. Who knew they were friends? The 25-year-old former gymnast appeared to be in good spirits as she was seen getting her nails done in Sydney That's nice! At one point, Sophie was seen giving Sarah a shoulder massage while she waited for her newly decorated nails to dry The pint-sized star completed her look with black high-top Converse shoes. At one point, Sophie was seen giving Sarah a shoulder massage while she waited for her newly decorated nails to dry. Upon leaving the salon, the reality stars were seen using their iPhones to navigate around the Sydney CBD as they made their way back to their hotel. Need directions? Upon leaving the salon, the reality stars were seen using their iPhones to navigate around the Sydney CBD as they made their way back to their hotel Girl power! The sighting comes after it was revealed Sophie's fellow housemates have all jetted into Sydney ahead of Wednesday's grand finale The sighting comes after it was revealed Sophie's fellow housemates have all jetted into Sydney ahead of Wednesday's grand finale. The main event will see lovebirds Chad Hurst and Sophie battle it out with former AFL star Daniel Gorringe and Mat Garrick. Big Brother Australia continues Tuesday at 7.30pm on Channel Seven A couple who were caught having sex on a packed train have appeared in court. Joseph Paul Darcy, 43, and Tracy Hope Hartley, 36, were busted having oral sex and intercourse in the carriage of a train bound for Mandurah, south of Perth, at 8pm on May 9. When approached by transit officers at Mandurah train station following their public romp, Darcy told them: 'I had to do it.' Public Transport Authority prosecutor Garry Gillam told Mandurah Magistrate's Court the pair engaged in 'fellatio' and 'sexual intercourse'. Joseph Paul Darcy, 43, and Tracy Hope Hartley (pictured), 36, were busted having oral sex and intercourse in the carriage of a train bound for Mandurah, south of Perth, at 8pm on May 9 When approached by transit officers at Mandurah train station following their public romp, Darcy told them: 'I had to do it' The court heard Darcy became 'aggressive' when confronted by the officers and threatened to 'knock you two out,' the Mundurah Mail reported. Magistrate Vivien Edwards told the couple 'the facts of this matter are disgusting to say the least'. Hartley was fined $1,800 and ordered to pay $225 in court costs, while Ms Edwards labelled Darcy's aggression to the guards 'disgusting'. Darcy will need to reappear in court for sentencing because he was subject to a suspended imprisonment order at the time of the incident. He has been remanded to appear in court again on August 14. Outside the court, Darcy told the media 'the accusations are hearsay, the injured parties were myself and Tracy'. Shadow transport minister Libby Mettam said 'reports such as this are deeply concerning'. 'The McGowan Government needs to do more to prevent this behaviour and protect the workers who are simply doing their job and providing a valuable service,' she said. 'Up until COVID we had seen a 71 per cent increase in incidents over the period 2016-17 to 2018-19 while patronage over the same period has only increased by 0.4 per cent in total boardings or 2 per cent for trains alone.' In recent years, as the United States has been bogged down in unrewarding conflicts in the Middle East, China has been quietly expanding its economic, diplomatic and even military activities in the region. Beijings motives are straightforward but varied: It seeks to advance its interests, such as a pressing need for energy imports and for destinations for surplus capital and labor. In practice, it tries to advance President Xi Jinpings signature Belt and Road Initiative, which is aimed at reshaping regional economic topographies in Chinas favor and counters what Beijing sees as an American effort to contain it. In short, China seeks to establish itself in the eyes of the world and its own people as a great power capable of contending with the United States. Yet Chinese leaders are aware that few of the great powers have emerged unscathed from Middle East adventures and that they face a particularly formidable set of obstacles. The regions deep political fissures make it difficult for outsiders to avoid taking sides in its many conflicts. This poses a risk for a China that aims to be a friend of everyone Iran, Israel and Arab states alike to maximize the benefits of its regional engagement while minimizing its commitments. Consistent with this balancing act, the leak of the China-Iran agreement roughly coincided with the biannual China-Arab States Cooperation Forum early this month, which prompted numerous proclamations of Chinese friendship with Irans Arab rivals. Even more daunting is the outsize role played by the United States in the region, one that ironically benefits Beijing as it expands its economic ventures without being able to provide adequate security for its capital and citizens deployed to the region. For all its wolf warrior bluster, China continues to pick its battles with Washington. So far, it largely has chosen not to wage them in the Middle East for example, doing little beyond diplomatic finger-wagging to shelter Iran from American secondary sanctions. So even as China seeks to make strategic gains in the Middle East, it does so sotto voce bolstering its own role and challenging Washingtons without fanfare. Iran, Chinas foremost regional partner, faces a conundrum of its own. Squeezed by Americas maximum pressure campaign, Tehran needs whatever friends it can find. And China, which beside being rich and powerful shares Irans revisionist inclination to challenge the United Statess role in the international order, would seem to be a perfect match. The Verkhovna Rada is helping the negotiation process. The involvement of people's deputies of Ukraine in the negotiations conducted by the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas settlement will contribute to a constructive dialogue, political scientist Volodymyr Fesenko believes. "It should be borne in mind that negotiations on Donbas are carried out by government officials. Now Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Reznikov is engaged, as well as representatives of the President's Office, head of the Office Andriy Yermak," Fesenko told Ukraine 24 TV channel. The political scientist says the Verkhovna Rada also contributes to the negotiation process. Read alsoUkraine's senior official elaborates on introduction of peacekeeping mission in Donbas "An important step that has been taken was to involve in the Minsk format's Trilateral Contact Group Ukraine's parliamentary corps. It's not just deputies, it's heads of parliamentary committees. Even the OSCE representative in the Trilateral Contact Group noted this was the right step and that it brought more constructiveness to negotiations," Fesenko said. As UNIAN reported earlier, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy updated the composition of the Ukrainian delegation to the Trilateral Contact Group on Donbas settlement. The delegation now includes, among others, Deputy Prime Minister Oleksiy Reznikov, MPs, and deputy ministers. A sign advertising the actors in PlayPenn hung in the lobby of the Proscenium Theatre at the Drake in July 2019. Read more The founder of PlayPenn, the Philadelphia new-play development organization, resigned his position Sunday following a meeting of the groups board of directors. His second-in-command was fired. Their departure follows weeks of allegations of racism pouring out of the theater community from playwrights, performers, and theatrical tech workers. There were also allegations of improper sexual advances leveled separately at a former board member and donor. In a statement released Monday, the PlayPenn board acknowledged the groups long association with founder and artistic director Paul Meshejian and associate artistic director Michele Volansky. Meshejian founded the group in 2004 and Volansky joined it in 2006. However, as a result of recent allegations of wrongdoing that members of our community have made against the organization, the PlayPenn Board of Directors decided that it was in the best interests of PlayPenn for Paul and Michele to leave their positions. We will continue our investigation into those recent allegations, the statement said. We have heard from members of the artistic community that PlayPenn was not meeting community members expectations for racial and cultural competence. We are beginning the process of building a PlayPenn that better reflects and incorporates the diverse minds, bodies, and souls of the communities we serve. READ MORE: Amid accusations of racism, calls for resignations, Philly theater organization cancels season What this means in the long-term is unclear. Philip H. Hawkins, acting board president, said he anticipated work on the organization continuing into next year. He emphasized that the board was committed to overcoming any racial and gender-related issues. He said the board was working with a law firm to determine what happened at the organization. Theres something that must have gone wrong and how can we fix it, he said. Our board job is to support and promote and keep PlayPenn going. Playwright Jacqueline Goldfinger, a former PlayPenn staffer who has been vocal in criticism of the organization, said Monday that the departures amount to a golden opportunity to effect change. Not to just change leadership, but to take a moment, step back looking at the power structure, and restructure the organization entirely from the ground up to be inclusive, anti-racist, and the place where it is safe for everyone to come and do their best work, she said. Performer Terrell Green, a leader of artists seeking Meshejians ouster, said the firings showed that artists have collective power. And not only the artists, but marginalized individuals have power when they begin to speak truth, Green said. I think it shows the power of community as well. Because as artists, we are the low people, you know, the rock bottom of the food chain ... and I think, ultimately, it shows to the other theaters that there is power in numbers. The allegations, which have flooded social media, were sparked by publication of a Philadelphia Metro photo spread less than a month ago that showed many Black performers participating in last years PlayPenn conference, its annual workshops and staged readings involving six rising playwrights. All the photographs were from one production, playwright Dave Harris Incendiary, and taken together, the photos suggested PlayPenn is a model of diversity. Harris is Black. Writers and performers were incensed at what they viewed as misrepresentation. This years now-postponed conference features one Black playwright. People complained on social media and at online meetings. And before long, stories began pouring out that covered everything from PlayPenns all-white staff, to its apparent indifference to the demands of Black vernacular speech and gesture, and its refusal to see the talent in the citys wealth of performers of color. At the same time, several allegations of sexual harassment were aired involving former board member and donor Victor Keen. In a statement published by WHYY.org last week, Keen apologized but did not deny the allegations. I am truly sorry and apologize to those who found my behavior to be inappropriate and will be more aware of my interactions with others going forward, he wrote. The PlayPenn board hired Griesing Law LLC to aggressively investigate the allegations. The board statement issued Monday gave no timeline for changes and did not indicate if this years conference would be permanently postponed. CARACAS, Venezuela - The Trump administration offered a $5 million reward Tuesday for information leading to the arrest of the head of Venezuelas high court, accusing the judge of taking bribes. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said Supreme Tribunal of Justice President Maikel Moreno, a close political ally of socialist President Nicolas Maduro, actively participated in transnational organized crime. Moreno has allegedly received bribes in over 20 criminal and civil court cases, Pompeo said. Moreno quickly rejected the reward, saying it was based on lies aimed at undermining him and will only strengthen his autonomy and independence as the head of Venezuelas high court. This is not the first time a mouthpiece of the U.S. empire has tried to attack me, Moreno said in a statement posted on Facebook. They will never succeed because the independence and sovereignty of our homeland is not up for discussion. The Trump administration this year launched a maximum pressure campaign to oust Maduro as Venezuelas economic and social crisis deepens in the once-wealthy oil nation. U.S. officials earlier this year charged Maduro as a narcoterrorist, offering $15 million for his arrest. Maduro has rejected the U.S. charges against him, saying the are politically motivated. The White House recognizes opposition leader Juan Guaido as Venezuelas legitimate leader. U.S. federal prosecutors earlier this year charged Moreno with money laundering offences associated with the bribery. The United States continues to stand with the people of Venezuela in their fight against corruption and for the peaceful restoration of democracy, Pompeo said in a statement. New Delhi: Appeals by Prime Minister and finance minister notwithstanding, frustration and anger among citizens to get their share of valid notes for meeting daily needs swelled as banks tripped with non-functional ATMs and cash running out of branches at many places. Unprecedented rush at bank branches was seen all over the country, with people jostling to get new cash itself because of a holiday in many parts of the country on Monday. However, despite standing in queues for hours, many had to return empty handed due to cash shortage. Much to peoples dismay, most ATMs remained out of cash on the third consecutive day after they reopened on November 11. People in distress started queuing up before the branches across the country right from the day-break itself and the wait to get cash got even longer today. Women and the elderly were the worst sufferers. I was compelled to go to the bank as I had very little cash, but a huge, frightening queue at the branch sent chills down my spine. But I could gather courage to even stand in the queue, said Suniti Gupta, an elderly women from Kanpur. Such tales became quite common. Many people are forgoing their days wage to get cash from the branches as daily wagers are almost broke since Rs 500/1,000 notes are not valid currency since Tuesday mid-night. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi asked citizens to bear with the currency crunch for 50 days, saying that was the timeframe needed to rid Indias financial system of corruption through the implementation of the demonetisation scheme. Regretting inconvenience to people, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said ATMs would take up to three weeks to get normal. Amid the cash-crunch making people impatient and unruly at the branches, the Reserve Bank said there is enough cash in small denominations available. Public need not be anxious; need not come over to banks repeatedly to draw and hoard. Cash is available when they need it, RBI said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. WATERLOO A Waterloo pastor has been suspended by the Diocese of Hamilton following an allegation of professional misconduct. Fr. Frank Freitas, the pastor of St. Michael Catholic Church in Waterloo, was suspended on July 13, said Msgr. Murray Kroetsch, Hamilton diocese chancellor. He was suspended because of a substantiated allegation of professional misconduct, he said. When the allegation was brought to the diocese, an investigation was launched the following day, Kroetsch said. In less than week, Freitas was suspended and removed from his office and his home that was provided by the diocese. Kroetsch said the allegation only involves one individual and the investigation is ongoing. We determined it was a very credible and substantiated allegation. So on the basis of that, Bishop (Douglas) Crosby suspended him from all priestly ministry. Waterloo Regional Police said they conducted their own investigation and no charges have been laid. Freitas joined the community at St. Michael in January 2019 to serve as the pastor. He also worked as the chaplain at St. John Paul II Student Centre, a meeting place for local Catholic post-secondary students. Before coming to Waterloo, he was pastor of St. Mary of the Visitation in Cambridge for more than a decade, Kroetsch said. Freitas was ordained in 1997 and has always worked as a priest in the Diocese of Hamilton. We cant provide any more details at the moment because were still continuing some investigation, Kroetsch said. We have to follow our protocols for any allegations of misconduct. As part of those protocols, the diocese is to send a notice of the allegation to the Congregation to the Doctrine of the Faith in Rome and then wait for a response. This response could result in Freitas facing some sort of disciplinary measures that could include outright dismissal. We dont know until we get a response from Rome, Kroetsch said. Facebook and Instagram pages of St. Michael Parish and John Paul II Student Centre have been taken down. The John Paul II page on the parish website has also been removed. On the diocese website, Fr. Freitas can no longer be found under the find a priest webpage. Msgr. Earl Talbot will be taking over as the administrator of St. Michael Parish and St. John Paul II Student Centre until a pastor is assigned to the parish in the fall. MUBI India's director of content Svetlana Naudiyal on bringing world cinema to Indian audiences, providing a platform to smaller Indian films, and why the streaming service operates in collaboration with movie theatres. Editor's note: With the world in varying stages of lockdown during the ongoing coronavirus crisis, streaming services have seen a surge in consumption and consequently, commissioning of content. Firstpost engaged the content heads of three platforms in a conversation about how they're meeting the challenge. *** The story goes that about 15 years ago, Efe Cakarel, an MIT and Stanford alum, was looking online for Wong Kar-wai's In The Mood For Love (2000) while at a cafe in Tokyo. The search proved fruitless, but it also prompted Cakarel to come up with the idea for MUBI, a streaming platform that offers a curated selection of the finest films, globally. Last year, the platform launched in India and has been making steady progress since, through its approach of 'content curation' instead of an algorithm-based mechanism. In an interview with Firstpost, Svetlana Naudiyal, director of content, MUBI INDIA, speaks about bringing world cinema to the Indian audience, providing a platform to smaller Indian films, and why the streaming service operates in collaboration with movie theatres. Edited excerpts follow: MUBI founder Efe Cakarel said he was motivated to come up with this platform when he could not watch In The Mood For Love anywhere online. Taking us through your journey as a cinephile, can you tell us if there is any film that shaped your life in similar fashion? Its hard to pinpoint one singular film. A lot of books, travels, and conversations have been a part of my personal journey. There is one film viewing experience though, which particularly stands out in my memory: In 2011, there was a screening of The Turin Horse at a festival. Back then in India, film festivals were the only places where you could catch a world cinema classic or an obscure art house film, and then meet the handful of people who liked the same cinema as you do. We, a bunch of cinephiles, were all excited to finally experience Bela Tarrs last directorial work since he had just announced his retirement from filmmaking. The screening was interrupted twice because of technical glitches before the six-odd people who did not walk out after the first two interruptions got to see this film. I always wondered how amazing it would be if cinema around the world was easily accessible in India. So when I heard about MUBI in 2016, I signed up right away. MUBI INDIA launched in November last year. How has the response been since then? And what remain key areas of development? We are really happy to have received a tremendous, enthusiastic response from the industry and audiences alike. Our focus has been to spotlight the diversity of Indian cinema, and present the best of global cinema to the audiences here. We want to keep forging ahead with the same vision in mind; keep looking for alternative, unique voices from all possible corners of India. MUBI has brought a treasure trove of world cinema not just films that were popular or made waves on the festival/award circuit to the Indian audience... There has always been an audience for world cinema in India. Weve had film festivals and film societies which brought cinema from all over the world for audiences here. And were talking about a time when films werent traveling digitally and the people they had to coordinate with werent a WhatsApp [message] away. Films from around the world still reached India somehow, and there was an audience waiting for them. It might not have been the same volume of people as today but thats only a natural progression that inevitably happens with time. There has also always been an audience following the 'parallel cinema' of India and the alternative voices maybe not in the same volume as the one that follows mainstream cinema, but there is an audience. Last but not the least, we are a crazy, film-loving country, and as long as we love films, there is possible room for all kinds of films. MUBI in India also has a specific section dedicated to the local audience. Is the idea to support the small-budget films that do not land up in theatres since they go against the conventional wisdom of exhibitors? Our aim is to support great films in all ways possible, no matter what size. We believe in collaborating across the industry, be it taking films to people or bringing more people into the cinemas. Thats why we launched our service MUBI GO in India, in partnership with PVR Cinemas. The service is currently paused due to the pandemic but we will resume it as soon as PVR and MUBI feel it is safe to do so. With MUBI GO, our members in India get one free cinema ticket every week for a release handpicked by MUBI. MUBI GOs aim is to extend our curated approach to the theatrical experience, and support cinema-going. The platform is also home to several known classics like Pyaasa, and critically acclaimed films from parallel cinema, like Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro and Rudaali. Since these have not been lapped up [for broadcast] by television channels, they run the risk of oblivion. Is that why MUBI INDIA has stepped in there? I dont think films like Pyaasa and Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro run the risk of oblivion per se. They are masterpieces that have become a significant part of the public memory of this country. However, there will always be a new young generation of film lovers who will discover these classics for the first time some day, and we are here to be the means for that discovery. Besides these classics, there are many relatively lesser known gems in the glorious film heritage of India, like MS Sathyus Galige or Fareedas Kali Salwar, that we want to keep highlighting and bringing to our audiences. Other streaming platforms mostly pick up regional titles that travel beyond state boundaries or get countrywide theatrical release. Does MUBI aim to select the titles that get geographically-concentrated releases? Yes, absolutely. We have been looking for, and presenting films from diverse languages and regions of India. For instance, weve even presented a film in Pangchenpa language of Arunachal Pradesh (Bishkanyar Deshot), and a film in Mising language of Assam (Ko:Yad), because we believed those stories should reach more audiences. Weve recently signed a deal for a big library of Tamil and Malayalam films. Some of them may have had a regional release only, and we are excited about presenting them to a country wide audience. The USP of MUBI has been its curation of 30 titles that are available on the platform for 30 days. That is a detour from the bottomless pits that most streaming platforms are in terms of content. How do you believe this selective approach will work to the advantage of Indian audiences? Yes, our members really appreciate our highly curated approach on the platform. Our NOW SHOWING pages for the MUBI INDIA and MUBI World film channels both introduce one new film a day, and its refreshing for our users as theyre not overwhelmed by too much choice. They also trust us to pick great films for them. We want them to spend less time searching for a movie to watch, and more time actually watching them. We did recently introduce LIBRARY, which has a wide selection of films weve previously presented. Our members use this section as a way to re-watch favourites or discover films they missed previously. Now Showing still remains the main destination of MUBI for our users though, as its where all of our brand new content is presented. Another refreshing change in the way MUBI operates is it has no algorithm. Would you then equate MUBI with a perennial virtual film festival, since that is the flavour of this season? Well let our audience decide that! We celebrate great films, and so does a film festival, so there is of course a similar ethos at heart. MUBI has also been a companion to the theatrical model, not only by releasing films in selected screens to make the cut for the Oscars; but also by the MUBI GO facility, which allows the subscriber to get a free movie ticket at a PVR cinema. Where does MUBI stand in the ongoing, and endless, debate between theatrical and streaming releases? We stand in support of great films and believe in collaborating with all industry partners. I wish for all great films to reach as many people as possible; it could be through cinemas or through the platform. The future of film exhibition has to involve a synergy between the two mediums. MUBI GO is our way of supporting cinemas and encouraging visits. Read part 1 of this series: Netflix India is dialling up the diversity with its new 2020 slate, says Monika Shergill, VP-Content The estranged socialite wife of a world-renowned neurosurgeon has placed a legal claim over residential and commercial properties he owns worth more than $23million. Emma Steel, 41, who wrongly accused Timothy Steel of assault in an explosive court case earlier this month, reportedly placed caveats, effectively blocking the sale of any of his property empire, in March. The onetime model's actions mean Dr Steel cannot sell any of the properties without notifying his wife - including the family's lavish eastern suburbs mansion. That five-bedroom house in Holland Road, Bellevue Hill, was bought by Dr Steel for $6.53million in May 2010 and is now likely to be worth at least $8million. The estranged socialite wife of a world-renowned neurosurgeon has put legal caveats over residential and commercial properties he owns worth more than $23million. Emma Steel wrongly accused Dr Timothy Steel (pictured) of assault earlier this month Emma Steel, (pictured) claimed her neurosurgeon husband kicked, slapped and punched her in their eastern Sydney home the morning after a Christmas party last year. He was cleared of any wrongdoing Mrs Steel's actions mean Dr Steel cannot sell ten properties in his extensive portfolio including the couple's former home (pictured) in Holland Road, Bellevue Hill, bought for $6.53million in 2010 Mrs Steel has also put caveats on a house in Edward Street, Woollahra bought for $3.3million in 2002 and a Trelawney Street apartment in the same suburb bought for $1.4million in 2009. The Australian newspaper, which first reported the move by Mrs Steel, stated she claimed a 'direct and indirect financial contributions towards the property.' She also claimed a beneficial interest due to 'homemaker duties that were undertaken during the relationship which spanned over 15 years.' Caveats cover the KFC at Engadine, in Sydney's south, bought for $4.05million in 2014, a Wylde Street, Potts Point, apartment ($2.75million in 2015) and a Darling One apartment at Darling Harbour ($3.5million in 2018). A Balmain apartment which cost $1.8million in 2017 and a share in the family farm at Wingen in the Upper Hunter Valley put the value of Dr Steel's properties at more than $23million. Avondale Lawyers, which lodged the caveats on Mrs Steel's behalf, told Daily Mail Australia they did not have instructions to comment on the matter. Dr Steel, 56, returned to work on July 16, two weeks after a magistrate cleared him of attacking 41-year-old Mrs Steel. Dr Steel bought an apartment in the Darling One building (pictured) at Darling Harbour for $3.5million in 2018. It is now the subject of a caveat and cannot be sold Dr Steel bought the KFC restaurant at Engadine in Sydney's south for $4.05million in 2014. Mrs Steel stated she claimed a 'direct and indirect financial contributions towards the property' Dr Steel bought a farm at Wingen (pictured) in the Upper Hunter Valley region of NSW over which Mrs Steel placed a caveat in March The former model had claimed Dr Steel kicked, slapped and punched her inside their home the morning after a Christmas party last year. In addition to domestic violence claims, Mrs Steel accused her husband of financial abuse, despite Downing Centre Local Court hearing she had a monthly allowance of some $24,000. Experienced magistrate Vivien Swann found Mrs Steel to be an 'inconsistent witness' and dismissed all charges against the father of her two children. That decision led Dr Steel to be reinstated by the Medical Council of NSW - which had suspended him until the case was resolved. Dr Steel's solicitor, Paul McGirr, described Mrs Steel as a witness of 'very little credit' and an 'unhinged person' who made up allegations against her husband. 'I relation to her, she will make up anything to suit herself,' Mr McGirr told the court. 'The catalyst for all this is money. She was treating Dr Steel like a walking ATM.' Dr Steel told the court it was his wife who had assaulted him and strongly denied Mrs Steel's claims of financial abuse. Dr Steel had been suspended after being charged with assaulting his wife Emma (pictured) but after four days of evidence Downing Centre Local Court magistrate Vivien Swain found there were inconsistencies in her evidence and dismissed all charges Dr Timothy Robert Steel, 56, (pictured) has returned to work after having his registration reinstated by the Medical Council of NSW He said a $10,000 monthly household allowance paid to his wife covered costs including their children's expenses, after-school activities, clothing and groceries. It did not go towards bills such as rates, utilities, school fees, holidays, motor vehicle expenses, insurance, takeaway food or restaurant meals. On top of that Mrs Steel received $10,000 in personal expenses, plus $4,000 for a nanny. The court heard Mrs Steel received $175,902 in regular payment over seven months last year. Mr McGirr said it was 'farcical' under those circumstances for Mrs Steel to claim financial abuse. 'I was living within our means of a four to six million annual salary,' she said. 'I was spending five per cent of our annual income.' On the eve of Dr Steel's return to performing surgery Mr McGirr told Daily Mail Australia his client 'couldn't wait to get back to work'. Dr Steel said it was his wife who had assaulted him and he sustained deep scratches to his head, back and arms (pictured) when Mrs Steel dug her nails into him. He now has permanently scarring on his back 'The fact that the medical council immediately lifted his suspension after all charges and AVOs were dismissed at court after an overwhelmingly strong case is pretty indicative of the fact that Dr Steel did absolutely nothing wrong,' Mr McGirr said. 'Dr Steel can't wait to get back to work and put this sorry saga behind him. 'His wife tried to manipulate the system by ruining his career, but the court and medical council were not fooled.' Dr Steel was suspended by the medical council on February 11, but he appealed its decision before the New South Wales Civil and Administrative Tribunal. While NCAT found the medical council was legally entitled to suspend him, within days of the NSW Local Court hearing ending the council ended its suspension. 'Fortunately the medical council have had access to all the evidence where Dr Steel was found to have lawfully acted in self defence after he was awoken and attacked by his wife, who was not a witness of credit,' Mr McGirr said. Mrs Steel is pictured centre alongside Roxy Jacenko (left) and Kristy Mirzikinian, (right) wife of professional poker player Warwick Mirzikinian 'Therefore what NCAT found - bearing in mind they did not have all the evidence - is null and void because NCAT was only determining the issue of whether or not he should have been suspended. 'All other findings in respect to the incident were purely speculative and most were proven to in fact be falsehoods invented by his wife.' Ms Swain found there were inconsistencies in Mrs Steel's evidence and dismissed charges of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, common assault and damaging property against Dr Steel. Mrs Steel's 19-year-old son from an earlier marriage to jockey Shane Dye had given evidence against her, describing his step-mother's obsession with money. Jack Dye said his mother regularly complained Dr Steel did not give her enough funds, despite the monthly $24,000 personal and household expenses she was paid. 'Dr Steel was the victim of her vicious attacks,' Mr McGirr told the court. 'Poor old Dr Steel is the one getting his reputation sullied. Emma Steel is a woman who is playing the system and playing the victim.' TORONTO - Ontario Premier Doug Ford has removed a Cambridge, Ont., legislator from the Progressive Conservative caucus for voting against a controversial government bill. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Ontario Premier Doug Ford visits Cuchulainn's Irish Pub in Mississauga, Ont., on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Galit Rodan TORONTO - Ontario Premier Doug Ford has removed a Cambridge, Ont., legislator from the Progressive Conservative caucus for voting against a controversial government bill. Ford issued a statement today saying Belinda Karahalios will no longer sit as a member of the Progressive Conservative caucus. Karahalios voted against a government bill that grants it powers to extend or amend some emergency orders a month at a time, for up to two years. She called the bill an "unnecessary overreach" on parliamentary democracy shortly after the vote. Karahalios was first elected in 2018 and had served as parliamentary assistant to Solicitor General Sylvia Jones. She could not immediately be reached for comment. Ford defended the bill as an important piece of legislation that protects people during the pandemic. "Our government's first priority is the health and safety of all Ontarians, and Bill 195 is an important piece of legislation that protects each and every citizen during the pandemic," he said in a statement. In a statement earlier Tuesday afternoon, Karahalios said the bill takes away the voice of all legislators. "By transferring away the ability for Ontario MPPs to consider, debate, and vote on how emergency powers are used on Ontarians, Bill 195 essentially silences every single Ontario MPP on the most important issue facing our legislature today," she said. This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 21, 2020. SAN JOSE, CA / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / On July 23, 2020, with family, friends and colleagues, Robert L. Hoover will celebrate 60 years of family law practice in Santa Clara County as the Founding Partner of Hoover Krepelka, LLP. Born impoverished in 1931 and orphaned at fourteen, Bob enlisted and served in the United States Air Force in 1950 and was deputized by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department in 1957. He graduated from San Jose State University in 1956 and Santa Clara University, School of Law, in 1959. Thereafter, he promptly commenced practice in the nascent, fluid and at times chaotic law of marital dissolution. Over the span of six decades, Bob educated and advocated for thousands of divorcing spouses during times of crisis and confusion. A gifted storyteller, Bob brought out the humanitarian aspect in every dissolution. He appeared before over one hundred judges, created the Judge Pro Tem system still used today, and helped establish family law as an independent, regulated and respected discipline. "Bob's passion and dedication to Santa Clara County family law is matched only by his immeasurable love of knowledge and unparalleled generosity towards humankind," declares James Hoover, Esq.F, Partner at Hoover Krepelka, LLP. "Remarkably, he was as giving of his time with family and friends as he was at the office. He never brought work home." Bob's empathy for clients' stories, kindness towards colleagues, and respect for the judiciary and law successfully increased his practice such that he aggregately employed more than one hundred and fifty attorneys and staff. His firm is one of the largest, if not largest, family law firms in California. "I have never been the smartest person in the room nor have I been the wisest," admits Bob in his introduction of his 350 page autobiography (of his life to age 29). "I have never been the fastest or the best at any sport. In spite of a great interest in music, I have never been competent in any musical endeavor. The one thing that I have been is that I have often been the happiest person that I know. I have never been in such despair that I felt that the future did not hold great promise and that there would not be great days ahead." Hoover Krepelka, LLP, celebrates Bob's 60th year in practice, which coincides with his 89th birthday on July 23. To read more about Bob, visit www.hooverkrepelka.com, or ask for a copy of his book! About Hoover Krepelka, LLP Hoover Krepelka, LLP focuses on Family Law; issues involving children, such as child custody, support, modifications, dependency and grandparents' rights; and property division and finances. For more information, please call (408) 947-7600 or visit https://www.hooverkrepelka.com. The law office is located at 1520 The Alameda, Suite 200, San Jose, CA 95126. For media inquiries, please call THE NALA at 805.650.6121, ext. 361. SOURCE: Hoover Krepelka, LLP View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598099/Celebrating-a-Family-Law-Pioneer-at-Hoover-Krepelka-LLP-in-San-Jose Saudi Arabia's 84-year-old ruler King Salman was admitted to hospital in Riyadh Monday for gall bladder inflammation, the royal court said, prompting the postponement of the Iraqi prime minister's high-profile visit. It is rare for Saudi Arabia to report on the health of the ageing monarch, who has ruled the top oil exporter and the Arab world's biggest economy since 2015. King Salman is the second reigning monarch in the Gulf to be hospitalised after Kuwait's 91-year-old emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al-Sabah was admitted to hospital last week, at a time when the region is gripped by the twin crises of the coronavirus pandemic and a plunge in crude prices. A Saudi royal court statement said King Salman was "admitted today to King Faisal specialist hospital in Riyadh for some medical tests due to cholecystitis," inflammation of the gall bladder. The statement released by the official Saudi Press Agency around 4:30 am (0130 GMT) did not disclose any further details. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi's scheduled visit to Saudi Arabia, which was due to start on Monday, has been postponed after the king's hospitalisation, according to the Saudi foreign minister. "In recognition of the extremely important visit and a desire to make it a success, our wise leadership in coordination with our brothers in Iraq have decided to postpone the visit" until the king leaves hospital, Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan wrote on Twitter. Hours before Kadhemi was to set off on his first trip abroad as premier, his office said they heard King Salman was suffering from "a sudden health issue". "It was decided to postpone the visit to the earliest possible date agreed upon by the two sides," his office said in a statement. Iraq's oil, finance, electricity and planning ministers arrived in Saudi Arabia on Sunday to begin meetings ahead of Kadhemi's visit, Iraqi officials told AFP. The delegation was set to return to Baghdad after the meetings wrap up on Monday afternoon. - Reform and crackdown - Kadhemi's trip to Tehran -- Riyadh's arch-rival -- which had been planned to take place immediately after his Saudi visit, was still on, the officials added. Kadhemi is expected to meet Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in Tehran on Tuesday. In a delicate balancing act, Baghdad, often trapped in the tug-of-war between Riyadh, Tehran and Washington, has sought to maintain relations with regional rivals as it also reels from a slump in energy prices. "I wish @KingSalman a speedy recovery & look forward to seeing him at the earliest possible time, as we'll reschedule my visit soon," Kadhemi wrote on Twitter. "Iraq's relations with (Saudi) are strong & based on mutual strategic interests & brotherly ties. I'm optimistic about the potential & future of our ties," he added, a view echoed by Adel al-Jubeir, the Saudi minister of state for foreign affairs. Under the king's rule, Saudi Arabia has launched ambitious economic reforms for a post-oil era and given more rights to women, but also adopted a more assertive foreign policy and entered a war in neighbouring Yemen. King Salman took the throne after the death of his half-brother Abdullah, who was around 90 years old. In 2017, Saudi Arabia dismissed reports and mounting speculation that the king was planning to abdicate in favour of his young son, Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, who is widely seen as the de facto ruler. "There is no possibility whatsoever that the king will abdicate," an unnamed Saudi official told Bloomberg News, adding that Saudi kings usually remain in power even when poor health prevents them from carrying out their responsibilities. Prince Mohammed's meteoric rise has coincided with a sweeping crackdown on critics and dissenters, as well as royal family members. Saudi Arabia has been engulfed by a series of controversies since he was named crown prince and heir to the throne in June 2017. That includes the brutal October 2018 murder of royal insider-turned-critic Jamal Khashoggi by Saudi agents at the kingdom's consulate in Istanbul. burs-ac/dm/fz The Bihar government Tuesday roped in private hospitals in an effort to boost the number of beds available to Covid-19 patients following a nudge by the Centre. The government has authorised district magistrates to identify private health facilities in Covid management, Anupam Kumar, secretary, Information and Public Relations Department, Bihar told reporters. On Monday, Patna civil surgeon Dr Raj Kishore Chaudhary had issued an order notifying 290 beds for Covid-19 patients across 18 private health facilities in the state capital. He said the government had to force the private facilities into treating Covid-19 patients as they were reluctant to do so. The private facilities will have to treat Covid-19 patients in times of pandemic. If they do not, we will lodge FIRs against them. The government can even take over their hospitals, along with their staff and doctors and force them to treat Covid-19 cases, said Dr Chaudhary. Hitech Emergency, GS Neuroscience (10 beds each), Arvind Hospital (13), Medical Magadh Hospital, Dr Bimal Hospital & Research Center (25 beds each), Heart Hospital (14), Murlidhar Memorial Hospital (10), Anup Institute of Orthopaedic, AS Nursing Home (4), Paras HMRI Hospital (30), Curris Hospital (18), Mahavir Vatsalya Hospital (14), Palm View Hospital, Midversal Hospital (12 each), Ruban Memorial Hospital, Patliputra Colony (40), Tara Hospital, near Gandhi Maidan (9), Buddha Cancer Centre (7) and Nestva Hospital (12) were among the 18 private centres the Patna district administration had asked to keep isolation beds for Covid-19 patients. These hospitals have 1,254 beds, with 343 ICU beds of which 72 had ventilator facilities in them, according to the order issued by the Patna civil surgeon. As of now, we have asked private hospitals to allot 25% of their total beds for management of Covid patients. Going ahead, if need arises, we will ask them to convert the entire hospital into dedicated Covid facilities, said Dr Chaudhary. Also read: Bodies lie in Covid-19 ward in Patnas NMCH, a hospital without mortuary Despite the Patna district administration having issued the order on Monday, with explicit instructions to the management of private hospitals to begin Covid-19 isolation facility with immediate effect, most of these facilities were yet to begin admitting such cases on Tuesday. In addition to better management of its healthcare facilities, a central team, which was here on Sunday and Monday, had asked the state government to increase the number of beds in view of the sharp rise in Covid-19 cases. On Tuesday, Bihars Covid-19 tally stood at 28,564 with a doubling rate of 12 days. If infections were to grow at this rate, Bihar would cross 1 lakh cases in less than a month, for which the state had to be prepared, the Central team had pointed out during its discussion with senior state functionaries. The Central team was also critical of the unfettered movement in Rajeev Nagar locality, which was a buffer zone, as the entire stretch between road numbers 1 and 22 had been marked as a containment zone. The team, which found lack of police personnel, and unhindered movement of vegetable vendors in the area, called for better access control in containment zones. From the time coronavirus was first confirmed in Beaumont, it took three months for Jefferson County to reach the 1,000-case mark. Less than a month later, the total has tripled. The county reported Monday that it has seen 3,199 cases, after infections recorded Saturday through Monday were released. Another 1,198 cases have been reported in Texas prison units here. The county also reported its 46th virus-related death, a Port Arthur man in his late 50s. Four months into the pandemic, the current surge continues across Southeast Texas. In response to a still-growing caseload, the Beaumont City Council on Tuesday will review its plan to reopen the majority of city buildings that remain closed. Related: Public health officials fighting more than just virus The discussion was raised by Councilman Audwin Samuel, who said the rising cases of coronavirus have made him uncomfortable to see the city reopen most buildings at the beginning of next month as was previously discussed. Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick also noted that the rising cases are stressing local hospitals. More Information Coronavirus testing sites When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday Where: Alice Keith Community Center, 4050 Reed, Beaumont When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday Where: Rogers Park Community Center, 1455 Dowlen Road, Beaumont When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday Where: Central Park Community Center, intersection of Fourth Street and Fannin, Beaumont When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 28 Where: Sterling Pruitt Community Center, 2930 Gulf, Beaumont See More Collapse Hospital administrators have repeatedly backed away from publicly discussing potential surge needs. However, hospitals in Jefferson County have had only one day since July 3 with fewer than 80 people in intensive-care-unit beds. The Southeast Texas Regional Advisory Council lists local hospitals ICU capacity at 86. Nearly one-quarter of the days this month saw 86 people in local ICU beds. Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox With masks required at nearly all public places, local public health experts recently told The Enterprise that public messaging and personal responsibility are almost as important as anything to stop the virus. The majority of cases are spreading across households or among close friends - nearly all situations where individuals have gathered in a private space without wearing masks or observing social distancing. Even so, Port Arthur Mayor Thurman Bill Bartie said he doesnt see an end to the virus march across Texas without the stte first shutting back down. He said that would send residents a united message that this virus is not going away. I dont know what to do to make people take this a little more seriously, he said. The direction were headed is not the right one. Kaitlin Bain is the Government Reporter for the Beaumont Enterprise. Contact her at Kaitlin.Bain@BeaumontEnterprise.com or on Twitter by clicking here. Don't miss a thing: Sign up for our Daily Headlines newsletter. Volunteers Edgar Aquino-Huerta and Jonathan Matias walk back to their cars after giving out donations to farm workers in Vineland in May. Read more When the coronavirus hit New Jersey, Filemon Matias felt responsible for the safety of the people he placed in the workforce, especially those employed by local farmers. As owner of Jersey Labor Services in Bridgeton, which for the last eight years has found jobs for New Jersey residents and migrant workers in the manufacturing, service, and agricultural sectors, the agency has contracted with 180 employees since mid-April to pick or package produce on farms and other facilities in Cumberland, Gloucester, and Atlantic Counties. To guarantee that these workers were healthy and placed in safe environments, Matias created new procedures for his 2020 seasonal contract: The agency would test workers for coronavirus before they were sent to farms and inform them about COVID-19 health and safety guidelines. The employer would be responsible for guaranteeing safe conditions. I wanted to make sure that the workers would stay healthy, that they knew what the risks are and why they needed to get tested, especially to dispel the myth that they carry the virus, Matias said. Matias, 50, a former social worker, partnered with nonprofit organizations to provide COVID-19 testing, child care, and information sessions on safety measures for the workers. But in mid-June, a group of 65 migrant workers caused him to change his mind about testing. Half of the group, he said, refused to get tested because they had traveled from Florida, where they believed the hot weather had killed the coronavirus. They found jobs through other contractors and farms. Matias said of the 35 workers who remained with his agency, five tested positive for the coronavirus. After sending the four men and one woman to quarantine at a field hospital at the Atlantic City Convention Center, Matias gave $400 to each for lost wages while they recovered. Because Matias had to fund their sick days, he decided he couldnt afford to conduct testing anymore. But he worries no one is taking responsibility for testing, and he is concerned about the health of the dwindling number of workers and the impact it will have on the states agricultural industry. If both sides dont understand the sensitivity of this moment, he said, our workers will get sick, even fewer will work the crops, and the harvest will be lost. Although Gov. Phil Murphys administration issued a set of guidelines May 21 to assist agricultural businesses and farm workers in minimizing exposure to COVID-19, legislators are pushing for stronger state regulations for the industry, where an estimated 20,000 workers are employed during the summer season. State Sen. M. Teresa Ruiz (D., Essex) is the primary sponsor of a bill called the Farm Worker Epidemic Health and Safety Act, co-sponsored by Nilsa Cruz-Perez (D., Camden-Gloucester). READ MORE: As COVID-19 cases rise in Chester Countys mushroom capital, officials and community groups work to protect a vulnerable population Cruz-Perez said farmers can easily opt out of the current state guidelines from the Health, Agriculture and Labor Departments that include testing, social distancing, and offering personal protective equipment and other measures to improve sanitary conditions. The proposed bill, she said, would make the recommendations mandatory. There are farmers who are very responsible, because they protect their workers and the consumers. But for those who arent, Im worried that workers wont receive the protection they need unless its mandatory, she said. The bill, scheduled to be considered by committee Thursday and voted on by the full Senate July 30, also would require the Department of Health to conduct inspections to determine whether employers are meeting the standards, with fines ranging from $250 to $500 for each violation. Jessica Culley, general coordinator for the farm workers support committee Comite de Apoyo a los Trabajadores Agricolas (CATA), said the proposed legislation would provide the inspections and additional protective measures needed to guarantee a low COVID-19 rate into the 2021 harvest season, but she fears the legislative process is taking too much time. She said Murphy could sign an executive order, under the states public health emergency act, putting mandatory measures in place immediately. Since the beginning of May, CATA staff members have visited 40 farms to document the conditions there and educate workers about their rights. At sites where most employees have tested negative, farms have provided masks, soap, and testing, lowered occupancy at on-site housing, and reduced the number of passengers in vehicles used to transport the workers. READ MORE: These young Latino professionals provide South Jersey farmworkers a voice to help them out of the shadows Yet she estimates 25% of about 300 farms in South Jersey are not cooperating with the clinics that provide the testing programs. Culley said one-time testing isnt enough, especially when a shortage of workers has lured them with incentives such as better pay from farm to farm. Culley said the states current recommended guidelines allow farmers to house and employ asymptomatic crew members who have tested positive for COVID-19 in separate teams apart from those who are not infected. She said the practice is not realistic. We must find ways to leverage the pain and the loss in the community, she said, highlight the importance of these workers, and push for immigration reform, not the opposite. According to the New Jersey Department of Health, clinics working with the state, called Federally Qualified Health Centers, have been reaching out to test seasonal farm workers in South Jersey. Four FQHCs are providing mobile vans or tent-style testing at the farms. But the department didnt provide the total number of health centers working with it or the number of farms participating in the testing programs. The FQHCs reported that 4,151 farm workers were tested between April 30 and July 8, with 338 testing positive. READ MORE: When the rent is due, South Philly restaurant owners donate food to meet the cooking needs of Latino families One of the farmers who had his workers tested was Tom Sheppard, president for Eastern Fresh Growers in Cedarville. He said the century-old family-owned business employs 250: The packing crew is all local while the picking crew is a combination of interstate migrants and H2-A visa recipients. Of the workers who pick the peppers, cucumbers, and sweet corn, Sheppard said, 120 came from Mexico, due to a shortage of seasonal help. He said most of the 250 workers were tested on site with services provided by FQHC CompleteCare on April 19, and that workers he has employed since then are being tested at a local doctors office. About 10% of his workforce has tested positive. He said these employees were sent to an on-site housing camp to quarantine, with a maximum of 12 people at a time, and paid sick leave for a 40-hour work week. Sheppard said hes asked the Department of Health for a second round of testing, but guidelines now dont allow tests for workers with no symptoms. He said keeping up with the shifting guidelines and regulations has been a challenge. Test results are taking three to six days, masks supplies are delayed for weeks, and temperature thresholds for COVID-19 symptoms are constantly changing, he said. Its a fluid situation, so you just hold your breath in case of a resurgence, Sheppard said. Ed Wengryn, research associate for the New Jersey Farm Bureau, said that farmers know they will be out of business if they dont comply with the health commissioners regulations, but that it has taken time to get everyone on the same page, especially with the testing. He said all farmers have complained about a worker shortage; some were expecting workers who regularly travel from Puerto Rico but didnt come this season. Now, he said, the agricultural community is following the state recommendations for social distancing when possible, providing PPE, placing plastic barriers in places like packing houses, taking temperatures on a daily basis, and quarantining the workers who test positive. We are working with the Health and Agriculture Departments and with the community health organizations to visit the farms and have people come out and get tested, he said. Regarding the legislation proposed by Ruiz and Cruz-Perez, Wengryn said the bills intent is good, but it could over-regulate the agriculture industry. He said an executive order could be issued by the state if there is a rise in COVID-19 cases in the farm community. Ruiz said her bill isnt about treating this sector differently, but instead creating a baseline for farm industry requirements. A companion measure would appropriate $5 million in federal funds for grants to farmers to purchase protective materials. If you knew exactly what is required from you, you wouldnt have any confusion on what page you need to be on, she said. Given that they are only allowed to carry a limited number of passengers, catching a ride on the P2P has become quite hard. In order to make life easier for commuters to get a ride on P2P buses, Toyota Motor Philippines (TMP) has launched a new free booking service application called Swatride. As Metro Manila begins to reopen, more and more public transport services have resumed operations albeit in limited number and capacity. One of those services is the premium point-to-point (P2P) buses that ply various routes around the nation's capital. In consultation with the Department of Transportation (DOTr) and the Land Transportation Franchising and Regulatory Board (LTFRB), TMP aims to support the governments efforts in providing reliable, convenient, and safe transportation for the commuting public, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Likewise, TMP worked with Delta Neo Solutions, the transport service operator of P2P buses of the identified high-ridership route, to seamlessly integrate Swatride in the passengers experience . TMP said in a statement. The Swatride app gives commuters a more convenient booking experience, as passengers can view seat availability and directly book their trip with preferred seats in advance. This then enables precautionary controls that help both the public and the government in controlling the spread of COVID-19. Rather than having to line up and crowd with other commuters, they can easily get a seat from a safer environment. For the time being, the Swatride app is only available for P2P buses plying the UP Town Center Glorietta 3 route. It will be available and free to use from July 20, 2020, to October 20, 2020. TMP's Swatride app is now available for download from the Apple Store, Google Play, and Huawei App Gallery. Interestingly, the same app was previously used for the booking service for healthcare workers during the enhanced community quarantine (ECQ). Burma Chinese Firms Ready to Take Responsibility for Mandalay Flood: MCDC The collapsed embankment near Shwe Ge flood gate and sewage pumping station on Monday. / MCDC MANDALAY A senior member of Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC) says that a Chinese construction company will take responsibility after an embankment along the Irrawaddy River near one of its project sites collapsed on Sunday, forcing more than 12,000 residents to leave their homes. The embankment collapsed just 15 meters from the Shwe Ge flood gate and sewage pumping station in Mandalays Amarapura Township, a construction project by Chinese construction companies China Energy Engineering Group and CNOOD. The site is part of the Mandalay Urban Services Improvement Project, funded by a US$5.56 million loan from the Asian Development Bank and French Development Agency. The Chinese companies are discussing with the authorities about how to take responsibility for the incident as stipulated under the project contract, according to the Mandalay City Development Committee (MCDC), the body overseeing the project. Critics have blamed the construction companies and the MCDC for damaging the embankment and causing the collapse. Construction on the project began in July 2018 but has been delayed during the monsoon season due to heavy rain and rising river levels. The pumping station is in Nankad Lake to the east of the embankment. On Sunday night, water from the swelling Irrawaddy leaked through a hole near the pipelines of the Shwe Ge pumping station, causing a flood that destroyed the road along the embankment and affected lowland areas. The MCDC said the collapse occurred because of a weakness in the embankment and because of excavation work below it. The embankment in this area is weak. Excavation in Nankad Lake by the pumping pipeline project has further weakened the embankment, said U Kyaw San Myint of the MCDC. As the river swelled due to heavy rain, the water level on the west side of the embankment became higher than on the opposite side. The water started leaking through the weak soil and the embankment could not hold for long. The MCDC said the incident needed further investigation and blaming one party is not the solution. These are just the preliminary findings. Since the damaged area is about 15 meters from the project site, we cannot only blame the company and we need further investigations, said U Kyaw San Myint. Although this project is a part of the MCDC, there have been other factors stopping the project from being finished on time. COVID19, for example, forced experts to leave the country, he added. Attempts to block the water at the collapsed embankment were successful and some of the damages were fixed. The authorities are trying to reinforce the embankment and reconstruct the adjacent road connecting Mandalay and Sagaing. There has been heavy rain and the Irrawaddy is about to reach its danger level, so we are trying to speed up the reinforcement process. We stopped the water and we are now pumping out the flooded areas, said Vice Mayor U Ye Mon. More than 12,000 Amarapura residents are being relocated to monasteries. Rescue teams and social volunteer groups are helping with relocation, transport, food, water and health care. We are sorry for any inconvenience. We will try to finish the work within a few weeks. However, the road will be closed until reinforcements of the embankment are finished and the construction of the pumping stations will be stalled until the floodwater goes down, the vice mayor added. Realme has confirmed it will launch its first 6000mAh battery as Realme C15. After a bunch of leaks, the company is finally bringing the Realme C15 to the Indonesian market. The launch date for the Realme C15 has been set for July 28, which is close to the launch of the Realme C11. Realme Indonesia has shared a teaser image for the Realme C15 showing off the smartphone, its design, and colour options. For its specifications, only the battery and charging speeds have been officially revealed. The major highlight of the Realme C15, its battery will have a 6000mAh capacity. This will be the first smartphone with such a huge capacity. More so, the smartphone will likely be meant for the sub-Rs 10,000 market. Realme has also revealed the C15 will have 18W fast charging, although it is not clear whether the bundled charger will have the capability. The Realme C15 teaser shows the smartphone will have a design similar to the Realme C11, however, the patterns on the rear panel have been done away with. It is now a glossy panel with some slanted lines and colour gradients. The smartphone will likely come in silvery grey and purple colour options, although the name of these colour options are going to be fancy. On the back is the camera module, which is squarish and resembles that on the Realme C11. Realme has finally changed the phone camera design more than a dozen smartphones later. Unlike the Realme C11, the Realme C15 will have four rear sensors, filling all the spots in the module. The LED flash sits right below the camera module towards the top left corner. At the centre of the back panel will be a fingerprint sensor. Notably, the Realme C11 does not have a fingerprint sensor. Instead, it has a face unlock system apart from the conventional unlocking methods. On the front will be a waterdrop-style notch on the display, the size of which is unknown. Per previous rumours, the Realme C15 will be powered by a MediaTek chipset, the exact variant being unknown at the point. The smartphone is also said to come with 4GB of RAM, which should be enough for a budget device. Rest of the specifications are not clear at this point. Realme C15 is launching in Indonesia on July 28 but it is expected to launch in Cambodia, Malaysia, and Thailand. The India availability details are not known but, going by the previous C-series launches, Realme C15 is likely here. But when it will launch is something only time will tell. NeuroFlow, the leading provider of digitally integrated behavioral health solutions, has added two executive level advisors to its team. USAF (Ret.) Brigadier General Carl Buhler and Pat Saxman, two military veterans with experience advocating for mental health issues and causes, will support the company on key growth stage business decisions. Brig. General Buhler and Saxman join an accomplished group of advisors that bring decades of experience in venture capital, psychology, and healthcare to the team. Brig. General Buhler has more than 28 years of active duty service in the U.S. Air Force and currently owns and operates an eponymous consulting firm for growing technology businesses. Saxman is the president of enterprise sales for ZocDoc, a leading digital medical appointment booking service. He is an Army veteran and serves on the board of Mental Health America. Theres no substitute for experience, and Brig. General Buhler and Pat bring decades of leadership and business acumen to our company at a time when we are accelerating sales and marketing, said NeuroFlow CEO Chris Molaro. Ive had the pleasure of working with both, in various capacities, and their passion for mental health care is a natural fit with our culture. Brig. General Buhler currently assists companies on technology insertion into the DoD market, including AFWERX, the U.S. Air Forces tech and innovation unit. He has championed NeuroFlows technology within the Department of Defense, helping to develop a program for improving mental health care. NeuroFlow occupies a unique place in the healthcare ecosystem, as they have a technology that is improving the way clinicians treat and manage patients struggling with mental health symptoms, said Brig. General Buhler. Im excited to take on a more influential role within the company, and recognize the opportunity to disrupt the way care is administered in the healthcare industry. Saxman served five years in the Army as an Apache helicopter pilot and spent the bulk of his career in the corporate world as a director at GE Healthcare, where he helped health systems innovate and implement new technology solutions. I admire what Chris and the entire leadership team has been able to build -- from both a business and product standpoint, and believe that my skills complement this stage of the companys growth, said Saxman. I look forward to making meaningful strategic contributions and introductions in my role. About NeuroFlow NeuroFlow is a digital health company combining workflow automation, patient engagement tools, and applied AI to promote behavioral health integration in all care settings. NeuroFlows suite of HIPAA-compliant, cloud-based tools simplify remote patient monitoring, improve risk stratification, and facilitate collaborative care. With NeuroFlow, health care organizations can finally bridge the gap between mental and physical health in order to improve outcomes and reduce the cost of care. http://www.neuroflow.com. ### WARNING: Story contains graphic images Riverdale's KJ Apa recovered after getting a 'shard of metal' stuck in his left eye Monday. The actor, who plays heartthrob Archie Andrews on the CW's modern Archie Comics adaptation, documented the unfortunate turn of events in a clip on his Instagram page. In the clip, Apa, a 23-year-old native of Auckland, New Zealand, worked with his pal, stylist Jason Schneidman, to extract the metal from his eye. Ouch! Riverdale's KJ Apa recovered after getting a 'shard of metal' stuck in his left eye Monday documenting the unfortunate turn of events in a clip on his Instagram page In the caption of the post, Apa wrote, 'a shard of metal got stuck in my eyeball.' In the clip, the actor had his reddish locks styled to the side while clad in a green shirt, denim shorts and white sneakers as his friend Schneidman focused on helping him with the troublesome shard. An off-screen friend said that he should see an eye doctor, but Apa was focused on extricating the metal. 'Bro, its stuck in there, bro, its really stuck,' Apa said. 'I have to work tomorrow.' Leading man: Apa plays Archie Andrews on the CW's modern Archie Comics adaptation, Helping hand: Apa worked with his pal Jason Schneidman, to extract the metal from his eye Casual: In the clip, the actor had his reddish locks styled to the side while clad in a green shirt as his friend focused on helping him with the troublesome shard. The actor ultimately was able to extricate the troublesome piece of metal with the acid of a cotton swab, and seemed relieved as he asked his pal to make sure it was all taken out. The actor said the metal 'actually like punctured my eye,' and Schneidman confirmed that it was successfully taken out. 'You got the piece out, bro,' Schneidman said. 'That's the piece that was f***ing in your eye, dude.' Mission accomplished: The actor ultimately was able to extricate the troublesome piece of metal with the aid of a cotton swab Hitting the iron: Apa posed with a pal at a workout after his eye injury, which he's slated to see a doctor for Apa pointed out what he thought was another piece but his friend said it's a 'damage.' Apa looked to have nearly wept as he surveyed the possible damage, as a friend reassured him, 'You're going to be okay. Stop freaking out.' In a subsequent clip on his Instagram Stories, Apa said his eye was fine, and that he had a doctor's appointment Tuesday just to make sure. The actor looked to be in good spirits as he prepared to work out with a friend. Pedestrians are seen walking along Bourbon Street in the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana, on July 14, 2020. (Sean Gardner/Getty Images) Louisiana COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program Suspended After 4 Days Due to Overwhelming Demand An emergency rental program in Louisiana was temporarily suspended on July 19 until further notice due to overwhelming demand, according to a notice posted on the Louisiana Housing Corporation website. Due to overwhelming response, the Louisiana Emergency Rental Assistance Program application process has been temporarily suspended, the notice stated, inviting visitors to sign up to receive an update when the program restarts. The program was meant to provide emergency assistance to Louisiana residents at imminent risk of eviction due to financial hardships brought on by the stay-at-home restrictions enacted in an attempt to stop the spread of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, commonly known as the coronavirus. Eligible residents would receive a lump-sum payment sent to their landlords or management companies. The amount of the assistance depended on income eligibility. More than 40,000 residents applied for the Louisiana Emergency Rental Assistance Program (LERAP) since it was launched on July 16, even though the program was only funded to assist 10,000 people, according to a press release from the Louisiana Gov. John Bel Edwards office. The response to our states emergency rental assistance program proves how significant the economic burden of COVID-19 is for our citizens, Edwards said in a statement. This program was designed to help mitigate and off-set evictions and homelessness, and while we have allocated an additional $17 million for a total of $24 million in federal assistance, we know that much more is needed to address this serious crisis for the hard-working men and women who continue to keep our state going during this crisis. The governors office said the program will reopen once additional funds are available. LERAP is funded entirely with federal taxpayer dollars from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD). Of the $24 million total, $7 million is currently available, with the rest of the money expected to arrive in phases. The governors office did not immediately respond to a request to explain how the Louisiana Housing Corporation (LHC) will select which 10,000 of the 40,000 applications to approve or when the program is expected to relaunch. We know there are many individuals and families whose lives have been upended by this pandemic and that there is a great sense of urgency for housing assistance, E. Keith Cunningham, Jr., the executive director of LHC, said in a statement. As the states housing agency, we are committed to doing everything we can to meet the needs of renters and landlords and are hopeful that additional federal dollars will become available as soon as possible. A Pennsylvania man has been charged in connection with the killing of a local musician, whose body was found rolled up in a bloodstained carpet inside an abandoned cemetery crypt. Buck Evans, 46, was arrested last week on charges of abuse of corpse and obstruction of justice. Evans, who has a lengthy criminal history, is suspected of helping cover up the murder of Keith Palumbo, a 36-year-old musician and tattoo artist from Drexel Hill. Buck Evans, 46 (left), has been charged with abuse of corpse and obstruction of justice in connection to the February death of Keith Palumbo, 36 (right) Palumbo's body was found on April 3 in a crypt at the Mount Moriah Cemetery in Pennsylvania According to police, Palumbo was fatally shot in the face inside a Philadelphia building owned by the notorious Warlocks Motorcycle Club back in February, as Philadelphia Inquirer first reported. His body was discovered two months later inside a crypt at the shuttered Mount Moriah Cemetery, along with that of an unidentified man. Evans has been jailed in Delaware County since February on unrelated charges. Two other suspects associated with the Warlocks biker gang, Billy Gibson, 47, and Donna Morelli, 48, were previously charged with abuse of corpse for allegedly helping dispose of Palumbo's body. Michael DeLuca, 38, an alleged member of Warlocks MC, is suspected of summoning Palumbo to his apartment in the 7000 block of Woodland Avenue in Philadelphia on February 6 and shooting him in the head, then ordering Evans and Gibson to wrap his body in a carpet and hide it at the disused cemetery across the street from Morelli's home. Philadelphia police have issued an arrest warrant for DeLuca on charges of murder, conspiracy, abuse of corpse and other counts. DeLuca is currently jailed in Wyoming on unrelated weapons. He is scheduled to stand trial there in September, after which he will be extradited to Pennsylvania. There is a warrant out for the arrest of Michael DeLuca (left), an alleged member of the Warlocks Motorcycle Club, who faces a charge of murder for allegedly shooting Palumbo in the face inside of his Philadelphia apartment Following his arrest, Evans was questioned by police and allegedly told them that DeLuca had shot Palumbo in the face in his presence. According to a probable cause affidavit, Evans said he was standing so close to Palumbo that he was splattered with his blood. The document makes no mention of a possible motive behind the killing. DeLuca then allegedly went to Morelli's home, told her he had killed Palumbo and asked for her help getting rid of his body. Morelli allegedly told police she and the other suspects threw the victim's body into the crypt, and then she burned Evans' bloodstained clothes. When Palumbo's body was discovered on April 3, a second corpse was found in the same crypt. Police Homicide Capt. Jason Smith has told the Inquirer that the other body is believed to be that of David Rossillo Jr, but he has not been positively identified pending DNA testing and no one has been charged in his death. Two studies offered new hope of a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus on Monday, as the World Health Organization warned about a possible acceleration of the disease in Africa. Seven months after COVID-19 was first identified in China and has since killed more than 600,000 people worldwide and battered economies, there is growing alarm over fresh outbreaks of the disease. Until recently, Africa had remained relatively unscathed by the pandemic compared to other parts of the world. But the situation has become increasingly worrying, particularly in South Africa, where the death toll passed 5,000 mark and the number of infections reached 350,000 at the weekend. The WHO's emergencies chief Michael Ryan told a virtual news conference in Geneva that the situation in South Africa could be seen as "a warning" for what the rest of the continent might have in store. "I am very concerned right now that we are beginning to see an acceleration of disease in Africa," he said. - 'Promising option' - Meanwhile, as European leaders in Brussels struggled to salvage a 750-billion-euro (860 billion dollar) coronavirus aid package for the EU, two studies published in The Lancet medical journal appeared to show progress towards a vaccine. One trial among more than 1,000 adults in Britain found that a vaccine induced "strong antibody and T cell immune responses" against the coronavirus. A separate trial in China involving more than 500 people showed most had developed widespread antibody immune response. "If our vaccine is effective it is a promising option as these types of vaccine can be manufactured at large scale," said co-author Sarah Gilbert from the University of Oxford. British biotech firm Synairgen also said on Monday a randomised trial of an aerosol-based treatment shows it could drastically reduce the number of new coronavirus patients dying of the disease or requiring intensive care. Europe has been the worst-hit continent by the pandemic with more than 200,000 deaths, but European Union leaders remain bitterly split on how to help member countries like Italy and Spain, which have suffered the highest death tolls. On a fourth day of a summit marked by furious rows between the 27 countries, EU Council chief Charles Michel said Monday he believed a deal was in reach. "I know that the last steps are always the most difficult, but I'm confident," Michel told reporters. - Trump U-turn on masks - In the United States, President Donald Trump, who for months refused to encourage mask wearing as a way to combat the novel coronavirus, tweeted a picture of himself with his face covered and touted his patriotism. "We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance," Trump wrote. "There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!" With close to 3.8 million cases and more than 140,000 deaths, US authorities are struggling to contain the surge, and Trump has been criticised for his response to the crisis. The United States - the worst-hit country in the world -- has recorded 60,000 new cases a day for more than a week. Brazil, the country with the second highest death toll, on Monday reached the grim milestone of 80,000 deaths. - New restrictions - Many countries in Europe had largely brought their outbreaks under control and were considering further easing of restrictions before fresh clusters were detected. Governments are struggling to balance public health concerns against the need to open up economies crippled by months of virus lockdowns. France has made face masks compulsory in public indoor spaces, Spain asked millions to stay at home again, while the German state of Bavaria said it would soon offer free virus tests at airports. Spain's Catalan regional government has urged residents of Barcelona and its suburbs to leave their homes only for essential tasks in a bid to slow a new outbreak. On Monday, Spain's southeast Murcia region also closed bars and clubs without terraces, limited group gatherings and restricted visits to retirement homes. French authorities have reported 400 to 500 active outbreak clusters but there are no signs of an imminent "second wave," Health Minister Olivier Veran said Monday. But an anti-mask demonstration in London on Sunday highlighted the challenge still facing governments and health experts, despite the mounting COVID-19 toll. Dozens gathered to protest the face mask requirement in England's shops and supermarkets, many of them holding banners with widely discredited conspiracy theories -- such as coronavirus prevention measures being used for "mind control". Despite the vocal and stubborn opposition to lockdowns and face masks in some parts of the world, they remain among the few options for authorities to control new outbreaks in the absence of a vaccine. There was grim evidence of how quickly the virus can spread over the weekend, with Iran's president saying an estimated 25 million people in the country have already been infected. burs/spm/pvh/bgs/ch Omar al-Razzaz said the alternative to closing the door on the two-state solution would be a one-state democratic one. Jordans prime minister says the kingdom would look positively on the creation of a binational state that guarantees equal rights to Israelis and Palestinians if Israels proposed annexation of parts of the illegally occupied West Bank closes the door on a two-state solution. The international community and the Palestinian leadership remain committed to a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict. Israel rejects the idea of a binational state, fearing an eventual Palestinian majority would endanger its existence as a Jewish state. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus pledge to annex up to one-third of the occupied West Bank in line with United States President Donald Trumps Middle East plan would make it virtually impossible to establish a viable Palestinian state. Critics say that would force Israel to choose between being an apartheid state or granting equal rights to all. You close the door to the two-state solution, I could very well look at this positively if were clearly opening the door to a one-state democratic solution, Jordans Prime Minister Omar al-Razzaz told the UKs Guardian newspaper in an interview published on Tuesday. But nobody in Israel is talking about that, and so we cannot just sugar-coat what theyre doing. Whos talking about the one-state solution in Israel? Theyre talking about apartheid in every single sense, he added. I challenge anybody from Israel to say yes, lets end the two-state solution, its not viable, he said. But lets work together on a one-state democratic solution. That, I think, we will look at very favourably. But closing one and wishful thinking about the other is just self-deception. Jordan, a close Western ally and one of just two Arab states to have made peace with Israel, is strongly opposed to annexation. Along with most Arab and Western countries, it supports Palestinian demands for a state in the West Bank, Gaza, and East Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Support for a democratic, binational state is still largely confined to a small group of intellectuals on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. No major party or faction in Israel or the Palestinian territories endorses it. While the two-state solution is still widely seen as the only way of resolving the conflict, the two sides remain deeply divided about the core issues and have not held substantive talks in more than a decade. Meanwhile, the Palestinian leadership met on Tuesday and stressed the importance of carrying out popular activities across the occupied Palestinian territories against the Israeli annexation plan. We reject any violations of Palestinian rights, which are supported by the decisions of international law, and affirm our continuous march for the struggle of freedom and independence, the leadership said. Armenias Defense Ministry demonstrated on Tuesday what it described as Israeli-made military drones of Azerbaijan shot down by its anti-aircraft units in last weeks heavy fighting on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Armenian military claims to have destroyed or intercepted 13 such unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the clashes that broke out on July 12 and largely stopped five days later. It says that 10 of them were attack drones that were about to strike Armenian military and civilian targets in the northern Tavush province bordering the Tovuz district in western Azerbaijan. Purported fragments of some of those UAVs were put on display at the Defense Ministrys Military Aviation Institute in Yerevan. Ministry officials also showed journalists a largely intact ThunderB surveillance drone manufactured by Israels BlueBird Aero Systems company. The Armenian military publicized on July 14 what it described as amateur footage of a sophisticated Hermes 900 drone of the Azerbaijani armed forces destroyed by an Armenian surface-to-air rocket. Hermes 900 is produced by another Israeli company, Elbit Systems, and used for reconnaissance and communication relay. The Azerbaijani military has denied losing such aircraft. An Armenian defense news website posted at the weekend a photograph of two Armenian soldiers holding a SkyStriker suicide drone also manufactured by Elbit Systems. Israeli media revealed the sale of such UAVs to Azerbaijan in January 2019. The Azerbaijani army used other types of Israeli-made suicide drones during the April 2016 hostilities in Nagorno-Karabakh that nearly escalated into an all-out Armenian-Azerbaijani war. Garik Movsisian, a senior officer of Armenias air-defense forces, said that a total of about 40 Azerbaijani UAVs have been brought down since 2016. He claimed that the Israeli drones lost by Azerbaijan in the Tavush-Tovuz fighting were worth at least $150 million. Armenia has long expressed concern over Israels large-scale arms deals with Azerbaijan which have totaled at least $2 billion since 2012. The Foreign Ministry in Yerevan reiterated those concerns following the latest flare-up along the border between the two South Caucasus states. For its part, the Azerbaijani military claims to have shot down two Armenian drones last week. The Armenian side denies that. At least 12 Azerbaijani servicemen, including an army general, and four Armenian soldiers died in the border clashes. A senior Armenian official said late last week that the Armenian combat deaths were caused by Azerbaijani drone strikes. The Armenian military says that during last weeks hostilities it used for the first time attack drones designed and produced by Armenian companies. It says that they destroyed at least one Azerbaijani tank. Baku has dismissed these claims. For the fifth consecutive day the conflicting parties did not report on Tuesday serious ceasefire violations at the Tavush-Tovuz section of the border. A senior Pakistani journalist, known for his criticism of the country's powerful institutions, was abducted by unknown persons from Islamabad on Tuesday, his family and a government minister confirmed. Matiullah Jan was forcibly snatched from his car in Sector G-6 area and taken towards some unknown location, according to a video circulating on social media. "Matiullahjan, my father, has been abducted from the heart of the capital [Islamabad]. I demand he be found and the agencies behind it immediately be held responsible. God keep him safe, according to a tweet from his account which was apparently made by his son. Jan's wife and brother told the media that his car was found parked outside a school with one of his mobile phones inside it. Information Minister Shibli Faraz told the media that he had sought details of the incident from the interior ministry. It is our duty to protect journalists and we will try to know his whereabouts as early as possible, he said. A CCTV footage showed several armed men exiting at least three vehicles and putting Jan in a vehicle. Police reached at the spot soon after the incident and started a probe, chief of Aabpara Police Station, Shaukat Mehmood, said. Jan was critical of the government, security institutions and judiciary. The Supreme Court last week took cognizance of one of his tweets and initiated proceedings against him. The abduction was widely criticized by politicians, rights groups and social media users. The chairperson of the Senate Committee on Human Rights and Pakistan People's Party leader, Mustafa Nawaz Khokhar, tweeted that the Islamabad inspector general of police had been summoned to brief the committee about the abduction. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan also demanded the government to take immediate steps to recover the journalist. Editor of influential newspaper Dawn, Zaffar Abbas, said it was "extremely disturbing" and "highly condemnable". He asked the media to highlight the abduction. Five hashtags regarding Jan's disappearance were currently trending on Twitter in Pakistan. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Armenian Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan today chaired a consultation discussing the interim report of the "Entrepreneur + State Anti-Crisis Investments Fund created by the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF), the PMs Office told Armenpress. The discussion participants presented details about the implementation process of investment programs within the frames of the public-private partnership. It was reported that 6-7 investment programs to be implemented in different spheres are currently at the discussion stage with foreign investors. Despite the closed borders due to the novel coronavirus, the works are in process, and the ANIF will present a new report within a month. At the same time, the consultation participants also presented several other proposals aimed at promoting investments, in particular connected with the implementation mechanisms, criteria of programs, possible risks management tools. PM Pashinyan tasked the responsible officials to continue the works towards the anti-crisis economic measures and present new proposals. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, will face a second primary challenge from Terrance Morrison in Michigans heavily Democratic-voting 14th Congressional District. Lawrence easily shrugged off Morrison, a retired Detroit public works official, when he sought to secure the Democratic nomination in 2016. Morrison lost by 79 percentage points but is mounting a second attempt, while Lawrence seeks reelection to a fourth term representing the district for two years. The 14th Congressional District contains portions of Wayne and Oakland counties, including a portion of Detroit. It is among the most Democratic-voting districts in Michigan; according to Cook Political Reports Partisan Voting Index, the 14th District trends +30 points for Democrats. Lawrence served as the mayor of Southfield for 13 years before joining the U.S. House in 2014. She was re-elected to a third term in 2018 and did not face a Democratic primary challenger that year. Morrison was born and raised on the east side of Detroit. He is a U.S. Marine Corps veteran, entrepreneur and minister. In 1981, Morrison was convicted of two felonies -- assault with intent to murder and a felony weapons charge -- and was sentenced to prison. Morrison describes himself as a pro-life and pledged to end federal funding for Planned Parenthood. in statements posted to social media. He also references his past conviction in a statement posted to his campaigns Facebook page. Since then, I have never reoffended, maintained steady employment, became a business owner and traveled extensively to Africa, the Caribbeans and South America, Morrison writes. Lawrence has a sizable financial advantage against Morrison. The incumbent Democrat had $860,962 to spend on her reelection campaign at the end of June, according to the most recent financial statements available. Morrison did not file quarterly statements in 2020 but had raised $1,000 by the end of 2019. Voters in the 14th Congressional District are also able to cast a ballot for one of two Republicans seeking their partys nomination to compete in the November general election. This year, MLive Media Group partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues. Information on all state and federal races and many of Michigans county and local races will be available at Vote411.org, an online voter guide created by the League of Women Voters. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties. The candidates submitted responses to questions posed by the League of Women Voters, which are included in its online voter guide. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should not be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties. Heres a look at how the candidates responded to questions on some key issues: HEALTHCARE: What do you see as the federal governments role in health care? Given the Covid19 pandemic, what are your concerns and plans regarding U.S. health coverage, policies and programs, including Medicare and Medicaid? Brenda Lawrence, incumbent Democrat: Brenda believes that if you live in America you have the right to quality healthcare. She has been one of the strongest advocates in Congress for expanding health care coverage, lowering the sky-high costs of prescription drugs, and making medical research a national priority. When you go to the doctor you shouldnt be worried about how you are going to pay for it. When you have been prescribed life-saving drugs, you shouldnt have to ration doses just to afford them. Thats why Brenda is fighting for Medicare for All and an expanded ACA. Terrance Morrison, Democrat: I think that the federal government role is paramount and that the United States is one of the few democratic industrialized countries that do not offer free health care to all of its citizens. Most emerging economies countries even does that. Covid19 is a game changer and the federal government has to take the lead to ensure that all Americans are test for free. I will fight for free Medicare for all seniors and disabled Americans that are receiving social security and to stop the monthly Medicare fee that is currently coming out of there checks each month. I am for Medicare for all. ECONOMY: What federal policies do you support for a healthy economy and to help the broader American public improve their economic positions? Brenda Lawrence, incumbent Democrat: Throughout her time in Congress, Brenda has worked hard to preserve the dignity of work and expand economic opportunities in her district.Shes also committed to ensuring that emerging companies and entrepreneurs in the region have the opportunities and resources needed to explore innovative business ideas and position themselves for future success. As a true friend of organized labor, Brenda fights for workers every day. She supports the rights of unions and recognizes the importance of collective bargaining, which is why she cosponsored the PRO Act to protect the basic right for workers to join a union. Terrance Morrison, Democrat: I support the Heroes Act, the coronavirus relief bill, passed by Congress. The Senate should act quickly. ELECTIONS: What federal policies do you advocate regarding elections, campaign funding and voting rights? Do you support mailing ballots to all eligible voters? Brenda Lawrence, incumbent Democrat: Brenda was a huge advocate for Proposal 3 and was very excited to see it pass. Voting in Michigan is easier in 2020 with the added benefits of straight-ticket voting; automatic voter registration; same-day voter registration; and no-excuse absentee voting during the 40 days before an election.We need to make these policies a nationwide trend and add universal mail-in ballots as the next important proposal. Terrance Morrison, Democrat: I support strengthening the voting rights act and passing legislation that all Americans be able to vote in a federal election. I support mail in ballots especially during this Covid19 pandemic. SOCIAL JUSTICE: Do you believe there is systemic racism, economic disparity, and other social injustices which should be addressed by Congress? If so, what policies do you support? Brenda Lawrence, incumbent Democrat: Everyone deserves the same rights and protections under the law regardless of who they are or who they love. Discrimination in housing, employment, and other facets of American life is immoral, hurts our nations fragile economy, and must be stopped. Brenda is an advocate of Black Lives Matter and is fighting to combat social injustices everywhere.Brenda is also a supporter of the Equality Act, which passed the House and prohibits discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity in a wide variety of areas. Terrance Morrison, Democrat: I cant breathe,' is all to real to me as being a black man living in America, and some League of Women Voters that have seen their husband, sons and brothers and uncles who have been victims of Police Violence. I have been to Africa over six times and visited the African Union in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, and even though Africa did not escape European colonialism, what black men experience in America cannot be conceived by any person on the continent. Mass incarceration, especially men and women of color in county jails awaiting trial. Most black communities, if not all, major business owners are not black. I Believe. ENVIRONMENT: What policies do you support to meet U.S. energy needs while protecting our water, air and land for current and future generations? Brenda Lawrence, incumbent Democrat: Throughout her time in Congress, Brenda has worked tirelessly to protect the environment and fight the damaging effects of climate change even in the face of reckless rollbacks of environmental protections by the Trump administration.She has opposed the Trump administrations dangerous rollback of water pollution standards, has introduced legislation to help protect endangered wildlife, and continues the fight to have man-made PFAS chemicals declared as a hazardous substance. Terrance Morrison, Democrat: I support policies that encourage more electric vehicles and less and less dependence on fossil fuel. I also support wind energy and solar energy for homes and businesses. IMMIGRATION: What policies do you support relative to immigration into the U.S.? Brenda Lawrence, incumbent Democrat: The United States is a land of opportunity. Our history has been written by generations of immigrants who have come to our borders looking for the promise of a better life. They have shaped our culture, our economy, and our national story, helping to make us the greatest of nations.Brenda has been a strong advocate for comprehensive immigration reform in Congress and has stood in strong opposition to Donald Trumps cruel and inhumane immigration policies. Terrance Morrison, Democrat: We are a country of immigrants and the United States has to change it policies toward undocumented workers and residence born in the USA. I support a path to citizenship for all illegal immigrants by having them to get in that back of the line and pay the appropriate fees. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden during a campaign event in Wilmington on July 14. Read more Says Joe Biden proposed killing over 600,000 jobs supported by fracking. U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly, July 14, 2020 The controversial drilling technique known as hydraulic fracturing, or fracking, has long been a flash point in Pennsylvania politics. On a Trump campaign call last week, U.S. Rep. Mike Kelly took aim at Joe Bidens vision for the sector. If Joe Biden really cared about Pennsylvania, why would he propose killing over 600,000 jobs supported by fracking? said Kelly, a Republican congressman from Butler County, north of Pittsburgh. We wondered whether Kelly accurately described Bidens position on fracking, which has lifted the economy in Southwestern Pennsylvania but also sickened some residents who live near the wells that extract natural gas from miles beneath the Earths surface. Biden wants to block the federal government from issuing new permits for drilling on public land, but he has not called for banning fracking. He also would allow existing fracking operations to continue. His official position hasnt changed, but it became muddled when Biden, now the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, misspoke during a March debate with Bernie Sanders, his last opponent standing in the race for the nomination. Heres an excerpt of their exchange: Im talking about stopping fracking as soon as we possibly can, Sanders said. Im talking about telling the fossil fuel industry that they are going to stop destroying this planet no ifs, buts, and maybes about it. So am I, Biden replied. Well, Im not sure your proposal does that, Sanders said. No more no new fracking, Biden said. Biden seemed to be saying he wanted to ban fracking a sharp departure from his official position. And the former vice presidents critics pounced. Republican operatives quickly cut a short video of Bidens remarks to use as a cudgel in races against moderate House Democrats, the Washington Post reported. And Sanders supporters accused Biden of misleading voters about his policy, which wouldnt ban fracking, like Sanders wanted to do. The Biden campaign retracted his remarks the night of the debate, but that hasnt stopped conservative media outlets from inaccurately reporting that Biden supports a total ban on fracking. The misstep is now being used against Biden in battleground states like Pennsylvania. Meanwhile, the statistic Kelly mentioned on the campaign call the 600,000 Pennsylvania jobs supported by fracking that he says Biden wants to eliminate comes from a 2019 report by the U.S. Chamber of Commerces Global Energy Institute. It estimates that 609,000 jobs connected to fracking would be eliminated across the state by 2025 if fracking were banned. The figure has popped up in several recent e-mails from Trump Victory, a political group led jointly by the Trump campaign and the Republican National Committee, and it flashes across the screen at the end of a television ad released last month by America First Action, a Republican super PAC that supports President Donald Trumps reelection. The 30-second spot has appeared in several Pennsylvania media markets, according to the ad tracking firm Advertising Analytics. However, only 21,000 of the jobs the report says are set to disappear over the next five years are positions directly within the fracking industry. The others comprise companies that do business with the industry or benefit from it indirectly, and the report doesnt specify which jobs would be at risk. It also hypothesizes that a ban on fracking would mean higher energy costs for American families and that with less disposable income to spend in their communities, local businesses would struggle and ultimately shed jobs, too. The report says the 609,000 jobs figure is calculated using economic modeling software that tracks monetary transactions within the economy between different industries, the government, and households, but it offers no other explanation of the math. A recent U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics report shows that 20,146 people are currently employed in Pennsylvanias oil and natural gas industry. Kelly did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Our ruling Kelly said Biden proposed killing over 600,000 jobs supported by fracking. Biden does not support an outright fracking ban, even though he spoke inaccurately about his stance on the debate stage in March. In addition, the 600,000-job figure comes from a report published by an organization that opposes limits on fracking and failed to fully explain how it calculated its projections on job losses We rate Kellys statement False. Our sources The Philadelphia Inquirer, A fight over fracking at a Pennsylvania steel mill is forcing a reckoning among Democrats, March 17, 2020 The Philadelphia Inquirer, Pennsylvanias attorney general releases scathing grand jury report on fracking industry, state regulators, June 25, 2020 Biden for President, Climate: Joes Plan for a Clean Energy Revolution and Environmental Justice accessed July 20, 2020 The Houston Chronicle, Did Joe Biden just pledge to ban fracking in debate against Bernie Sanders? March 16, 2020 The Washington Post, Fact-checking the Biden fracking fracas, March 19, 2020 Axios, Clearing up the Biden-Bernie fracking tussle at the debate, March 16, 2020 The Washington Free Beacon, Biden Promises No More Drilling Under His Presidency, March 15, 2020 U.S. Chamber of Commerce Global Energy Institute, What is hydraulic-fracturing was banned? The economic benefits of the shale revolution and the consequences of ending it, 2019 The Hill, Kimberly Guilfoyle to lead joint Trump, RNC fund-raising committee, Jan. 15, 2020 Politics PA, Pro-Trump PAC Hits Biden on Fracking and Coal, June 9, 2020 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Shale gas production and labor market trends in the U.S. MarcellusUtica region over the last decade, August 2018 PolitiFact is a nonpartisan, fact-checking website operated by the nonprofit Poynter Institute for Media Studies. Two Italian men remained in custody at separate Dublin garda stations last night where they were being questioned under anti-gangland legislation for their roles in a mob who are suspected of obtaining 3.5m from invoice redirection fraud. The pair are suspected of using Irish bank accounts to launder over 150,000 of the money, which the gang have stolen from companies based in Spain, Belgium and the United States. Officers from the Garda National Economic Crime Bureau (GNECB) made the arrests early yesterday morning, with a 46-year-old Italian arrested at his Glasnevin home and a 27-year-old picked up at an Airbnb in the capital's south inner city. The older suspect is understood to have been resident in Dublin for at least four years, while his suspected associate has only been here for a number of weeks. "Gardai are essentially trying to establish what exact roles that these individuals have within what is a huge international criminal organisation," a senior source said. "Are they merely money mules, or are they senior participants in the organisation? That is what is being investigated and a huge amount of documentation needs to be trawled through," the source added. Invoice redirection fraud happens when a business falls prey to requests, usually by e-mail, purporting to emanate from trusted suppliers or service providers, into believing that a beneficiary's bank account details have been changed. As a result, funds that are due to be paid out are transferred to a fraudulent account. Sources say that there has been an increase in this type of crime across Europe since the coronavirus pandemic started. Often the fraudsters use students' and young people's bank account details by offering them a fee to allow use of their accounts for a few days. Money mules are usually held by unconnected third parties, who are approached by recruiters and asked to allow their accounts be used for a transaction in exchange for a fee of a few hundred euro. After enjoying strong public approval for his governments response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Justin Trudeau now sees that support slipping as he deals with the WE Charity ethics scandal. An Abacus Data poll released Monday found 36 per cent of respondents said they would vote for the Liberals if an election were held tomorrow. While that number represents a five percentage point lead over the Conservatives, it is also a drop of four percentage points from a similar poll at the end of June. The minority Liberal government now faces a hostile opposition thats zeroing in on the prime ministers latest ethical scandal. Since the beginning of the month, the government has faced intense scrutiny over its proposal to contract out the administration of a summer grant program for students to WE Charity. The deal was scrapped after it emerged that Trudeau had taken part in discussions about the contract, even though his mother and brother had been paid a combined $282,000 between 2016 and 2020 by the organization. WE Charity would have received $43.5 million from the government to deliver the $900-million program. Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau, whose daughter works for the group, apologized last week for not recusing themselves from discussions around it. Both men are now being investigated by federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion over their participation in the matter. As a minority government, the Liberals risk triggering an early election if they cant maintain the confidence of the House of Commons under Trudeaus leadership. On Monday, outgoing federal Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer said hed defer any decision about toppling the government to his successor, who is set to be chosen next month, during what he called a unique period of time for our Parliament and for the country. Representatives for the two front-runners to replace Scheer, Erin OToole and Peter MacKay, did not respond to questions from the Star about whether they would trigger a motion of non-confidence in the government upon becoming the next Conservative leader. But that doesnt mean there arent other alternatives, Scheer noted, suggesting that Liberal MPs could do the right thing and choose someone else to lead their party and the country. Nothing says that they have to keep Justin Trudeau on as their leader, Scheer said. While Trudeau had been riding a wave of support during the pandemic, the Abacus poll shows positive impressions of Trudeau have taken a five percentage point hit over July. It found that 42 per cent of respondents had a positive view of the prime minister, compared with 36 per cent who said they have a negative view. Of those polled by Abacus, 47 per cent said theyve been following the WE Charity controversy closely or pretty closely. The poll also found that 53 per cent of respondents felt the government had handled the situation poorly. Abacus surveyed 1,500 Canadians between July 13 and 16. It says the poll has a margin of error of 2.6 per cent, 19 times out of 20. Zain Velji, a former Liberal campaign strategist and former campaign manager for Calgary Mayor Naheed Nenshi, said the WE controversy is an easy issue for Canadians to understand. This element of the personal relationship with the family ... when were looking at Conflict of Interest: 101 it becomes really clear, he said. The WE controversy marks the third time Trudeau has been investigated following allegations of conflict of interest. He was found to have violated the rules for his conduct in the SNC-Lavalin affair, as well as for accepting a trip to a private Bahamian island owned by the Aga Khan. As a result, Velji said, its possible that voters have already made up their minds about Trudeaus ethics as a narrative thats baked in. Velji said it could be a plus for Trudeau that the scandal is playing out in the dog days of summer, when many Canadians simply tune out politics. If the ethics controversy remains central to oppositions attacks on Trudeau, Velji said the judgment issue would be the Liberals greatest vulnerability. I think it became very obvious to everyone watching that there was a mistake made here, he said. Read more about: WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is using the Department of Homeland Security in unprecedented ways as he tries to bolster his law and order credentials by making a heavy-handed show of force in cities around the nation in the lead-up to the November elections. His plan to deploy federal agents to Chicago and perhaps other Democratic-run cities where violence is spiking represents Trumps latest effort to use an agency that was created after the Sept. 11 attacks to thwart terrorists to instead supplement local law enforcement in ways that bolster his reelection chances. Trump has already deployed Homeland Security agents to Portland on the grounds of protecting federal buildings from protesters, drawing intense criticism from local leaders who say the federal presence has only exacerbated tensions rather than promoting public safety. This is precisely the type of tyrannical deployment of power that the Founding Fathers were specifically worried about, said Jeffrey A. Engel, director of Center for Presidential History at Southern Methodist University. Under Trumps latest plan, yet to be publicly announced, about 150 Homeland Security Investigations agents would go to Chicago to help local law enforcement deal with a spike in crime, according to an official with direct knowledge of the plans who spoke on condition of anonymity because they werent authorized to speak publicly. Those agents, who are generally used to investigate human trafficking, drugs and weapons smuggling, are expected to stay in Chicago at least two months, according to the official. Its not clear exactly when they would arrive or how their mission would play out, but they would work under the Justice Department. Activists march through the Loop to protest the deployment of federal agents in Chicago, Monday, July 20, 2020, in Chicago. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said no one had been sent to Chicago yet. She added, The bottom line is that this president stands with law and order, which leads to peace. In a tweet Sunday, Trump blamed local leaders for a growing spate of violence in cities like Chicago that has left dozens dead, including young children. He added a dire warning that The Radical Left Democrats, who totally control Biden, will destroy our Country as we know it, referring to Democratic rival Joe Biden. Trump has also intervened in other cities, including Washington, D.C. In the protests following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Trump deployed U.S. National Guard troops and federal law enforcement officials from agencies including U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Drug Enforcement Administration to patrol the city. The show of force came to a head when federal authorities in riot gear dispersed crowds from Lafayette Square across from the White House, where the president then posed with a Bible in front of a church. The Chicago plan appears to be an extension of a separate operation in which the administration sent more than 100 federal law enforcement officers to Kansas City, Missouri, to help quell a record rise in violence after the shooting death of a young boy there. The Justice Department doesnt have the manpower to surge agents to high-crime areas, so it is borrowing from Homeland Security. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot was at first highly resistant, but her tone changed after she and members of her administration, along with Police Superintendent David Brown, talked with officials about the governments plan. Ive been very clear that we welcome actual partnership, Lightfoot said. But we do not welcome dictatorship. We do not welcome authoritarianism, and we do not welcome unconstitutional arrest and detainment of our residents. That is something I will not tolerate. The comments from Lightfoot, a former federal prosecutor, slightly deescalated a days-long war of words with Trump over violent crime in the city, which has seen 414 homicides this year, compared with 275 during the same period in 2019. Throughout his presidency, Trump has leaned on Homeland Security to carry out his political objectives, including cracking down on illegal immigration and slowing legal immigration applications. The 240,000-person agency manages border security as well as natural disasters and the Transportation Security Administration. But with the border largely shuttered because of the coronavirus and the number of illegal crossings plummeting, Trump is now using the department to combat crime and demonstrations demanding justice and racial equality. While the protests have largely been peaceful, Trump and his allies in conservative media have portrayed the cities as out of control as he tries to contrast himself with Biden and make the case to voters especially the suburban women who turned against Republicans in the 2018 midterms that failing to elect him for a second term will lead to lawlessness. Critics say the federal forces have stoked tensions, creating new images of violence that could lead frightened viewers to vote for Trump. Homeland Security first jumped into the federal response to the Floyd protests in May as some demonstrations erupted into sporadic violence around the country. But effort shifted into high gear over the July Fourth weekend as Homeland Security agents and officers from at least a half a dozen components of the sprawling organization were arriving in Portland. Protesters there have been staging nightly demonstrations since May in a section of downtown that includes the federal courthouse, forcing most businesses in the zone to close. Acting Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said federal personnel have been assaulted with lasers, bats, fireworks, bottles and other weapons and yet the city of Portland takes little to no action. Wolf said the people committing the vandalism should not be considered legitimate protesters. But former Homeland Security officials say theyve seen nothing like the Portland deployment, which has included using highly trained Border Patrol agents to confront protesters outside the downtown courthouse, without the co-operation or consent of local law enforcement or government officials. Urban policing and crowd control and civil unrest isnt something that is in their wheelhouse, said Gil Kerlikowske, a former commissioner of U.S. Customs and Border Protection under President Barack Obama. Its not something they are trained for. Its not something they have any experience or expertise in. Arrests made by federal officers over the July Fourth weekend and several days after were for relatively minor offences not typically prosecuted in federal court, including misdemeanour assault and disorderly conduct. Officials have accused some demonstrators of assaulting federal officers, by shining lasers in their eyes or other means, and said at least one person was detained with the ingredients for a pipe bomb. John Cohen, a former senior DHS official under Obama and President George W. Bush, said such a high-profile presence of federal agents without local support created the risk of escalating the situation, and that appears to be what happened. The protests have grown in recent days, particularly after federal officers in unmarked vans and with generic police patches last week detained several people on downtown streets without identifying themselves a move some critics have compared to kidnappings. If the public begins to perceive that they are being partisan in how they operate, they lose credibility, and if they lose credibility, they lose public trust, said Cohen. And for a security or law enforcement organization, the loss of public trust can be fatal. David Lapan, a retired Marine colonel who served as Homeland Security press secretary as well as a public affairs officer for the Defence Department, said he worried about a blurring line between military and law enforcement that creates the impression the military is being used to suppress the public. ___ AP writers Michael Balsamo in Washington and Katherine Foody in Chicago contributed to this report. A Florida mother saw two of her adult children die days apart after they contracted coronavirus amid a spike in Covid-19 cases in the state. Monete Hicks, of Lauderdale Lakes, Florida, told CNN that two of her six children, Byron and Mychaela, contracted coronavirus days apart in late June. They both had underlying health issues, but were in their 20s and had mainly stayed inside since the pandemic began. Ms Hicks said that her son woke up struggling to breathe on 27 June, but despite being rushed to hospital, died later that day. Her daughter started feeling ill three days later on 30 June and insisted that she be taken to the hospital. She told Ms Hicks: Mama, just crank up the car, lets go. Despite only having a fever and a headache when she arrived at the hospital, Mychaela quickly lost a kidney, her liver began to fail. And it just went one after another, one after another, Ms Hicks said. She died a week later and her mother told CNN host Brianna Keilar that her children are my heart and will always be my heart. Florida is currently struggling with the coronavirus pandemic, and the state saw its daily case total rise above 10,000 for the sixth day in a row on Monday. The state recorded the highest daily coronavirus total of anywhere in the US last week with 15,229 cases, and although Florida governor Ron DeSantis has attempted to downplay the seriousness of the issue, he did acknowledge last week that the state still has a lot to do to successfully tackle the pandemic. We have to address the virus with steady resolve. We cant get swept away in fear, we have to understand what is going on, understand that we have a long road ahead but we also have to understand that within the context of the moment. Ms Hicks and her niece, Darisha Scott, told CNN that people need to take the virus seriously, especially in Florida. All I can say is, take this, take this very seriously, because its real, its out there, Ms Hicks said, and her niece added: Its not a joke. Its not a game, its not something that the government ... made up. Recommended People filmed flouting social distancing at Florida street party Wear a mask, wash your hands, keep your distance and dont come out unless you really, really got to, especially here in Florida. According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, Florida has upwards of 360,394 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 5,183 deaths. In the US as a whole, some 3.8 million people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 140,937. Advertisement A Russian-born man who took around 10 people hostage on bus today in Ukraine has been detained following a 12-hour standoff during which he threatened to blow up the vehicle. Maxim Krovishey, 44, lobbed a grenade out of the vehicle and fired twice at officers after storming the bus at around 9.25am in Lutsk, in the northwest of the country. Krovishey spoke over the phone with relatives of those trapped on the bus and threatened to blow up the vehicle unless senior politicians admitted that they were 'terrorists.' In the last few hours Krovishey - who claimed to have explosives planted in another area of the city - had released an elderly woman, a teenager and a young pregnant woman. At around 9.45pm local time, police announced that the assailant had been detained and that all remaining hostages had been freed without injury. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov was personally leading negotiations with Krovishey. His deputy, Anton Herashchenko, said the case was being treated as 'terrorism'. Pictures today showed counter-terrorism SBU officers lying on the ground and taking cover behind a car as negotiations were carried out to rescue victims. 'The attacker threw a grenade from the bus, which, fortunately, did not detonate,' a statement said. Scroll down for video. An assailant, who seized a long-distance bus with 13 hostages, after police officers captured him in the city centre of Lutsk, 250 miles west of Kiev, Ukraine late last night Weapons, including an assault rifle, a revolver, a flick knife and extra magazines, that belonged to an assailant who seized a long-distance bus with 13 hostages yesterday, are pictured on the ground after police officers captured the assailant in the city centre of Lutsk, 250 miles west of Kiev, Ukraine late last night. Ukrainian police say the armed man who seized hostages aboard a long-distance bus in the western city of Lutsk has been detained and all the people he held have been freed unharmed after a standoff that lasted more than 12 hours Pictured: A grenade held by the attacker, who launched one of them from the bus at one point in the attack yesterday, which fortunately did not detonate Pictured: The attacker looks back at Ukrainian soldiers after being captured in Kiev, Ukraine late last night Maxim Krovishey, 44, is detained after a 12 hour stand-off with police and special forces in the city of Lutsk after he took around 10 people hostage on a bus In the last few hours Krovishey had released an elderly woman, a teenager and a young pregnant woman Police sealed off the centre of Lutsk, a city 250 miles west of Kiev, earlier today. Pictured, Ukranian law enforcement officers lie on the ground behind a car near the bus Members of a Ukrainian special forces unit drive an armoured personnel carrier near a seized passenger bus during a hostage rescue operation in the city of Lutsk Maxim Krovishey, 44, was caught on camera as he boarded the bus in the centre of Lutsk, Ukraine, at 9.25am local time (7.25am GMT) The prosecutor general's office had earlier confirmed that Krovishey claimed he'd planted an explosive in a central location in Lutsk which could be detonated remotely. Police, therefore, established a wide cordon and told people to remain inside their properties. Krovishey (pictured) is armed and carrying explosives, officers said in a Facebook statement. Pictured, the assailant released a message ahead of the attack Krovishey, a former prisoner who has complained about 'Ukraine's system' in a series of posts online and previously published a book titled Philosophy Of A Criminal, was previously thought to have had 20 hostages. In a Telegram account reportedly belonging to him, Plokhoy apparently admitted taking people on the bus hostage, said 'the state has always been and always is the first terrorist'. Ukraine's premier Denis Shmygal said of the hostages: 'It is important now to save their lives.' In his book the hostage-taker wrote: 'You can kill me, but it will not correct me. I am not afraid. The face of God is in the mirror.' In a video message released ahead of the hostage-situation Krovishey recorded himself holding a gun. He said: 'Happy anti-system day. Don't fool yourself. Celebrate the truth.' A statement from the attacker claimed: 'There are a lot of people with me - machine guns, grenades, two bombs.' He said he had an accomplice 'in a crowded area of the city'. 'The man put forward his demands to law enforcers,' said police. 'Negotiations with him are underway. He is being talked to over the phone.' His demands appeared absurd, calling on senior Ukrainian officials to post videos saying they are 'terrorist in laws'. Hostages are seen through a windscreen damaged by gunshots, after the passenger bus was seized Ukrainian law enforcement officers take cover near a seized passenger bus during a hostage rescue operation in the city of Lutsk, Ukraine July 21 A policeman brings water for hostages contained in a bus after an armed man seized the long-distance bus and took some 10 people hostage in the city centre of Lutsk policeman, who has brought water for hostages trapped on a bus, walks away from the vehicle in downtown Lutsk today Police officers take up positions during an operation to rescue passengers of an intercity bus who have been taken hostage by an armed man in the city of Lutsk The bus with hostages on a road in the downtown of the Western Ukrainian city of Lutsk Police officers take up positions during an operation to rescue passengers of an intercity bus who have been taken hostage by an armed man in the city of Lutsk A trio were freed from the bus earlier this evening before police were able to detain the assailant A police officer escorts three hostages released from a hijacked bus in the downtown area of the city of Lutsk, The bus remains parked up and hostages can be seen inside after Maxim Krovisheyn, thought to have posted anti-establishment messages online, took it over on Tuesday morning. Shots were fired through the front windscreen Nicknamed Maxim Bad, the assailant has posted online: 'What is freedom? Heaven. How to get there? Be a criminal.' Pictured, the bus, left, and officers crawling behind a car, right Policemen look on the bus with hostages in the downtown of the Western Ukrainian city of Lutsk He also asked Ukrainian president Zelensky to urge people to watch the 2005 movie Earthlings. Krovishey was born in Russia - then part of the USSR - in 1975. He was convicted of group robbery in 2013 and is believed to have served three jail sentences, the longest for eight years. The film chronicles the day-to-day practices of factory farms, research labs and puppy mills, all of which rely entirely on animals for profit. Nicknamed Maxim Bad, the assailant has posted online: 'What is freedom? Heaven. How to get there? Be a criminal.' He previously wrote a book entitled 'Philosophy of a criminal. 'My death is not an obstacle for the explosions,' he said. 'The state has always been and is the first terrorist.' 'Gunshots have been heard, the bus is damaged,' Zelensky said in a Facebook statement earlier today, adding that measures are being taken to resolve the situation without casualties. He wrote: 'Alarming news from Lutsk. In the morning, at 9.25, a citizen who informed that he had seized a bus with hostages. Ukrainian servicemen are seen at the scene where a man has taken around 10 passengers hostage on a bus in western Ukrainian city of Lutsk Ukrainian servicemen are seen at the scene where a man has taken around 10 passengers hostage Armed officers stand outside a police van. The bus where the hostages are being held can be seen behind Police tape surrounds the scene as people gather to watch the intense operation unfold Authorities have identified the man and said that he expressed frustration with 'Ukraine's system' on his social media pages. Pictured, the police cordon 'Currently, the police operation "hostage" has been introduced, and the SBU (Security Service of Ukraine) has introduced the Boomerang plan. 'It is done to make the situation settled without victims. Holding the progress of events under personal control.' Bullet holes were seen in the side of a white bus with blue stripes. Three of the windows were shattered. Law enforcement had surrounded the bus and cordoned off a large section of the city over fears of erratic gunfire and explosives on board the bus. The anti-terrorist unit of Ukraine's Special Security Service was at the scene. Bystanders have started to gather as police officers blocked off the road leading to the bus A tank parked up at the scene to block the road following the seizure of the passenger bus A German man accused of killing two people in one of the worst acts of anti-Semitic violence in post-war Germany sought to lay out his racist world view at the opening of his trial on Tuesday, prompting stern warnings from the judge. Stephan Balliet, 28, stands accused of shooting dead two people last October after he tried and failed to storm a synagogue in the eastern city of Halle last year. He has been charged with two counts of murder and multiple counts of attempted murder in a case that has deeply rattled the country and fuelled alarm about rising right-wing extremism and anti-Jewish violence, 75 years after the end of the Nazi era. Addressing the court, Balliet claimed he had "decided in 2015 not to do anything more for this society which has replaced me with Muslims and negroes", in reference to the year when hundreds of thousands asylum seekers, many fleeing war in Syria and Iraq, were given refuge in Germany. Judge Ursula Mertens repeatedly called him to order, warning that he could be thrown out of the hearing. "I have the possibility to exclude you from the proceedings. I will not tolerate you committing crimes and insulting people in this courtroom." Undeterred, Balliet sought to put forward his racist ideas, claiming he had "no problems with religions but with Semitism". In response to calls for the trial not to become a platform for the accused to spout his hatred, a spokesman for the Magdeburg district court said "at no time can one think that the court shared the view of the accused". Dressed in black, Balliet was brought handcuffed into the courtroom by three armed guards. He looked directly at the waiting cameras as he removed the face mask he was wearing because of the coronavirus pandemic. Prosecutors say Balliet used explosives and firearms to try to gain access to the synagogue, where 52 worshippers were celebrating Yom Kippur, the holiest day in the Jewish calendar. After failing to break through the synagogue's locked wooden door, he shot dead a female passer-by and a man in a nearby kebab shop. Balliet apologised for killing both German nationals, saying he had only shot dead the man because he thought he was Muslim. He filmed the assault and livestreamed it on the internet. Balliet told the court he had been inspired by a gunman's 2019 attack on Christchurch mosques in New Zealand, which killed 51 Muslim worshippers. - 'Comprehensive confession' - Ahead of the trial, prosecutors said Balliet had made a "very comprehensive" confession, confirming "far-right and anti-Semitic motives". Balliet also published documents online that called for the killing of all Jews. His video of the attack will be shown in court. Balliet faces an additional charge of incitement to hatred for denying the Holocaust in the footage. Mark Lupschitz, the lawyer representing nine worshippers at the synagogue at the time of the attack, said his clients "want answers and want to look him in the eyes to let him know that they have no understanding for what he did." According to a report in the Spiegel magazine, a psychologist assessment deemed him to be aware of his actions and not exempt from criminal responsibility. If convicted, Balliet could face life in prison. - Life-saving door - The synagogue's heavy wooden door still bears the bullet holes from the assault and will soon be removed and used for a communal art project. President Frank-Walter Steinmeier said in his Christmas speech last December that it was "a miracle" the door had resisted the attack, saving dozens of lives. "It also symbolises what we stand for. Are we strong and resistant? Do we stand by each other enough?" he asked. The Halle attack came three months after the murder of local pro-migrant politician Walter Luebcke in the western city of Kassel, allegedly by a known neo-Nazi. In February this year, a gunman with apparent far-right beliefs killed nine people at a shisha bar and a cafe in the city of Hanau, near Frankfurt. Interior Minister Horst Seehofer has since declared far-right extremism the "biggest security threat facing Germany", promising a beefed-up security response. The Bihar government decided to test all the people in high-risk containment zones as the number of Covid-19 cases rose to 28,564 after 1,109 new infections were reported on Tuesday , with 11 more deaths taking the state toll to 198. Three deaths were reported from Patna, two each from Lakhisarai and Bhojpur and one each from Bhagalpur, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda and Saran. Five deaths were also reported from Nalanda Medical College Hospital (NMCH) and four from the AIIMS-Patna. Of the five deaths at NMCH, two were from Patna and one each from Motihari, Rohtas and Saran, said Dr Mukul Kumar Singh, nodal officer for Covid-19 at the NMCH. All the deceased had co-morbid conditions. Three of the four deaths at AIIMS were from Patna and one from Bhojpur, said Dr Sanjeev Kumar, nodal officer for Covid-19 at the institution. Meanwhile, information and public relations department secretary Anupam Kumar said during the media briefing that the state has sufficient number of beds. We have sufficient number of hospital beds and most of the infected patients are recovering, so theres nothing to panic. If need be, we will increase the number of beds as we have sufficient capacity, he said. The government had decided to attach the Guru Gobind Singh hospital with the NMCH and the ESIC hospital in Bihta with the AIIMS in its endeavour to increase hospital beds for Covid-19 patients. He said chief secretary Deepak Kumar, presiding over the core group meeting on Tuesday, had asked the health department to increase the number of hospital beds, with proper facility like oxygen supply and ventilator support. He said health workers were monitoring the condition of asymptomatic Covid-19 positive patients who were in home isolation. Kumar said the government had also decided to test all high risk group people, including senior citizens, those having co-morbidity and pregnant women, in containment zones. Rapid Antigen testing launched in 38 districts In an effort to ramp up testing, Bihar would move from target-based to demand-based testing. It initiated rapid antigen point of care (POC) test across all 38 districts on Tuesday, while committing itself to extend the facility to primary health centres by the end of this week. After having initiated testing at 25 facilities in Patna, besides using five mobile vans also, we will now begin testing in our five sub-divisional hospitals shortly, said Patna district magistrate Kumar Ravi. Asymptomatic Covid-19 patients, having facility to isolate themselves from other members of the family, are only being allowed home isolation, said Bihars health secretary Lokesh Kumar Singh during the joint media briefing. He said health workers are regularly monitoring their condition and shifting patients to Covid care centres if their condition deteriorates. In addition to the three dedicated Covid-19 hospitals in the state one each at Patna, Gaya and Bhagalpur the government had also decided to allocate 100 beds in separate block at each of its other six hospitals in the state. He said the government had laid down a referral protocol from district Covid care centres, where medium cases would be admitted to those in medical colleges. He also said health workers in district hospitals would be trained in management of Covid-19 cases by giving them oxygen. Singh said 1,206 patients had recovered in the past 24 hours, taking the total number of recoveries to 18,741, with a recovery rate of 65.61%. Meanwhile, the central team, which visited Bihar on Sunday, was critical of the unfettered movement in Rajeev Nagar locality, which was a buffer zone after the entire stretch between road numbers 1 and 22 had been marked as containment zone. The team, which found lack of police personnel and unhindered movement of public besides vegetable and fruit vendors in the area, called for better access control in containment zones. Of the 2,584 containment zones in the state, Patna had 83. While 1,931 containment zones were in rural area, 653 were in urban areas. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Ruchir Kumar Ruchir writes on health, aviation, power and myriad other issues. An ex-TOI, he has worked both on Desk and in reporting. He over 25 years of broadcast and print journalism experience in Assam, Jharkhand & Bihar. ...view detail C alifornia has been forced to shut down again after seeing a record surge of 11,800 coronavirus cases in 24 hours. Governor Gavin Newsom ordered bars to close and told restaurants, movie theatres, zoos and museums to cease indoor operations. Gyms, churches and hair salons must close in the 30 worst-hit counties and state prisons are releasing up to 8,000 inmates early to avoid large hotspots. The huge jump in infections on Monday would put California fifth in the world were it a country, having now recorded nearly 400,000 total cases. Restaurants in San Diego, as in elsewhere in California, have been bustling since lockdown was eased / AFP via Getty Images It beats the western states previous record of 10,861 cases, set on July 14. While US President Donald Trump is pressuring states to reopen from lockdown and downplaying the virus' threat, the crisis is worsening across the country. Volunteers in protective gear assist people arriving at a walk-in test site in Los Angeles, California / AFP via Getty Images Florida has reported over 10,000 new cases per day for the last six days in a row, while Texas has reported over 10,000 cases for five out of the last seven days. California's daily increases have already surpassed the highest daily tally reported by any European country at the peak of the pandemic. Health warning signs on Venice beach, California / AFP via Getty Images The biggest outbreak in the state is in Los Angeles County, which has recorded nearly 160,000 total cases as of Monday, while hospitals are swelling with Covid-19 patients. Walt Disney Co's Disneyland Resort in Anaheim has indefinitely suspended plans to reopen its California theme park, but Disney World did reopen in Florida on July 11. On Monday Mr Trump promised to resume briefings with reporters following the surge. "We have had this big flare up in Florida, Texas, a couple of other places," he said from the Oval Office. "I'll get involved and we'll start doing briefings." Earlier this month he claimed the US was "fighting our way out of" the virus and "on the way to a tremendous victory". Loading.... He claimed the US had conducted 40 million tests for Covid-19 and that "99 per cent" of the infections are "totally harmless". On Monday, the day after the violent leftist attack on Michelle Malkin and her fellow conservatives at a pro-police rally in Denver, more information about the assailants came to light. For a refresher, my blog yesterday at American Thinker was the first draft of the history of this disturbing event. On Monday, an article by Lance Hernandez at KMGH-TV channel7 Denver identified the anti-police counter protesters who succeeded in violently shutting down the 6th annual pro-police rally, where Malkin was to be a featured speaker, as representing the Party for Socialism and Liberation, and other Black Lives Matter supporters, including the Afro-Liberation Front. In other words, revolutionary Marxist communists. Despite the involvement in the story of Malkin, an extremely well-known and popular conservative icon, there was little coverage of what happened to her on Sunday in Denver with the exception of my blog yesterday at American Thinker and an article at the Gateway Pundit. Several articles and TV reports, mostly in local Denver media, covered the dissolution of the rally itself without reporting accurately on the left-wing assailants. Any mention of Malkin being assaulted was absent or at most in passing. All day on Monday, Malkin continued to update her Twitter account with more details and video clips of what went down on Sunday. She gave one interview Monday, live by telephone for 16 minutes on Jeff Kuhners morning drive time Kuhner Report talk show on WRKO AM 680 in Boston (audio on YouTube here). In introducing Malkin, Kuhner commented She has not been seriously hurt, thank the Lord, but clearly this was an assault. In her opening comment to Kuhner and his audience, Malkin said: Ive helped these kinds of rallies dozens of times in my career. This is the first time that it got out of control. This is the first time that I witnessed violence within a foot of me. . . This is one of the tactics that weve seen now, especially in the last couple of months. The so-called peaceful protesters will put women in the front lines while they are coordinating the real bloody violence in the second line behind them. Denver police were present at the event but ironically appeared to be disinclined to protect the peaceful pro-police rally attendees who were set upon by the BLM/Antifa cadres immediately after the rally began. Law Enforcement Appreciation Day organizer Ron MacLachlan beaten w/longboard & bullhorn by BLM/Antifa. Source: Michelle Malkins Twitter. Another even more graphic photo of a gaping head wound inflicted on a pro-police rally attendee by a radical leftist counter protester can be seen in the body of this article. According to the Denver Post, whose sanitized account of the events did not begin to describe the violence clearly perpetrated by the BLM/Antifa contingent: The pro-police rally had been billed as a family-friendly event with music, speakers and food, and was promoted by Randy Corporon, an attorney. . . Corporon said Sunday that Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen asked him to reschedule or move the pro-police rally, expressing concern that police officers would be put in harms way by the event. . . Were exercising our constitutional right to peacefully assemble, and we have no intention of giving up that ground to these domestic terrorists, Corporon said, referring to the counter-protesters. He added that he believes Pazen doesnt support his own officers. This chief of police is the guy who walked hand-in-hand with Black Lives Matter, he said, describing that movement as a push toward anarchy. At one of her tweets here Malkin has a photo of Chief Pazen marching arm in arm on June 1 with his BLM friends. Her tweet links to a July 8 story at CBS Local Denver We Have To Move Forward Together: Denver Police Chief Paul Pazen Talks Lessons Learned After Protests. After Sunday afternoons pro-police rally was shut down after only a few minutes (following the Pledge of Allegiance and a prayer), some news accounts showed the radical counter-protesters harassing the police, at which point, according to an account published on Monday at Fox News: Anti-police demonstrators also stood in front of a police vehicle to prevent it from leaving. . . One person [from the radical counter-protesters] was arrested for assault. Police said a supervisor was at the scene to ensure the two pepper ball deployments and one hand-held fog device deployment were carried out according to the department's policy. On Kuhners program early Monday, Malkin, her voice filled with emotion, expressed: disgust at the [Denver] police chief Paul Pazen who just a month ago was marching with Black Lives Matter. Hes very representative of many of the liberal SJW (social justice warrior leftist) police chiefs who have done this. And yet this man refused to say that we would be protected for our rally yesterday. I guess thats the bitter cruel irony that a lot of people are laughing about. But its a wake-up call that even and especially a rally to support police is not safe and will not be protected by police. In the pinned tweet at her Twitter account on Monday, Malkin expressed similar frustration at this recent turn of events: How do we stand up when police obey BLM demands to stand down? How do we #backtheblue when the blue won't back us? Peter Barry Chowka is a veteran journalist who writes about politics, media, popular culture, and health care for American Thinker and other publications. He also appears in the media, including recently as a guest analyst on BBC World News. Peter's website is http://peter.media. For updates on his work, follow Peter on Twitter at @pchowka. MACKINAC ISLAND, MICH. -- For 240 years, Fort Mackinac has sat perched atop a hill on Mackinac Island, where it has played a significant role in the regions history. And while historians have been able to stitch together a fairly clear picture of the forts military past, there are relatively few actual pictures of everyday life there. So when an old family photo album belonging to an officer who served at the fort in the late 1800s was donated to Mackinac State Historic Parks roughly 30 years ago, new glimpses were offered into scenes from the forts early days. Through an Officers Eyes: The Photo Album of Edward B. Pratt, U.S. Army 1873-1902 gathers about 120 photos collected by Edward Pratt over his three-decade military career, during which time he spent six years stationed at Fort Mackinac. Published this summer by Mackinac State Historic Parks, the book is a rare window into the progression of an individuals normal life during the late 19th century -- and a snapshot of that chapter of Mackinacs story. It is a really nice chronological look at just one persons Army career, says Craig Wilson, who authored the book and is Mackinac State Historic Parks curator of history. [Pratt] was very normal. Many other people would have had similar to experiences to him, so its a look at the everyday. While the photos include many from other locations where Pratt was stationed, those from Fort Mackinac and Mackinac Island should be intriguing to Michigan history buffs. Among late 1800s commercial photos of familiar landmarks like Arch Rock and Sugarloaf, there are some uncommonly candid images, including one of soldiers relaxing in the barracks -- a few of them even playing cards. Theres not many photos of the interior the building at all, especially the guys being so casual, said Dominick Miller, MSHPs marketing manager. Photos from the Pratt album have been used in exhibits for years, Wilson said, but this is the first time they have been collected and published all together in a book. The book can be found at booksellers as well as ordered from Mackinac State Historic Parks website (an order form can be found on this page). Scroll on for a selection of Mackinac images from the collection; all photos were taken sometime in the late 1800s: A photo of Fort Mackinac and downtown, likely taken from what is now Spring Street or Turkey Hill. | Photo courtesy Mackinac State Historic Parks An extremely rare look inside the barracks at Fort Mackinac, where men are relaxing and playing cards. | Photo courtesy Mackinac State Historic Parks Miss Kate Pratt, Lt. Edward Pratt's wife. Photo courtesy Mackinac State Historic Parks Soldiers lined up outside their barracks at Fort Mackinac. | Photo courtesy Mackinac State Historic Parks Lt. Edward Pratt. | Photo courtesy Mackinac State Historic Parks Fort Mackinac as seen from the Mackinac Island docks. | Photo courtesy Mackinac State Historic Parks The Fort Mackinac rifle team after winning a match against the Cheboygan Gun Club in 1886. (Note the first-place trophy in the center of the photo.) | Photo courtesy Mackinac State Historic Parks RELATED: Mackinac Island used to be Americas second National Park How to ride a pirate ship to Mackinac Island this summer See what Mackinac Island looked like a century ago Taken in 1856, this is the oldest known photo of Mackinac Island Description GIS 21 July 2020: The fight against drug abuse and illicit trafficking remains one of Governments priorities in its endeavour to promote a safer and healthier society. Since January 2015 up to 16 July 2020, a total of 232 drug cases have been detected in the regions of Trefles and Plaisance, leading to the arrest of 236 persons compared to 317 cases from 2009 to 2014. As a result of the intensified actions by the Police in the fight against drugs, a decrease of about 27% has been observed in drug cases detected in the regions concerned. This statement was made by the Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, today, in reply to a parliamentary question at the National Assembly, in Port Louis. The Prime Minister also pointed out that for the past decades, cannabis (gandia), heroin, subutex and psychotropic substances (sedatives and tranquilizers) have been the four most abused drugs in Mauritius. However, he stated, over the past years there has been an emergence of synthetic drugs, particularly synthetic cannabinoids, among drug users. This situation also prevails in the regions of Trefles and Plaisance, he remarked. Speaking about counteractive measures taken by the Police to halt drug proliferation, Mr Jugnauth enumerated the following: The conduct of targeted intelligence-led crackdown operations by the Anti-Drug and Smuggling Unit (ADSU) and other units of the Force; Sensitisation campaigns carried out jointly by the ADSU Education Cell, Crime Prevention Unit and local Police on the ill effects of drugs and its legal implications; Awareness raising, particularly among youngsters on the repercussion of drugs, carried out jointly with sociocultural groups; The recent record of drug seizures has considerably influenced the supply and availability of drugs on the local market; Contribution of the Safe City Project in the prevention and detection of crimes and illicit activities including drugs. Eleven Intelligence Video Surveillance cameras have been installed at different locations in these regions; Daily road blocks and vehicle check points are carried out at odd hours by SMF, SSU and ERS personnel in the regions of Trefles and Plaisance. Thus, suspicious persons and drivers of vehicles are being questioned and systematically checked; and Additional resources in terms of vehicles and manpower have been provided to the ADSU to increase their operational effectiveness. ADSU personnel have also been provided with tailor-made training and sophisticated equipment to enhance their operational capabilities. For the Prime Minister, over and above the measures taken by the Police, the collaboration of all other stakeholders is imperative to make Mauritius a drug-free island. Consultants have outlined for New Mexicos Democratic-led Legislature the financial consequences of adopting a state-administered universal health insurance program for all residents. The final report, commissioned by lawmakers in 2019, says that such a system would improve affordability for low-income households. However, premiums for other families, employer contributions and payroll taxes likely would go up to pay for what could be as much as a $5.8 billion shortfall for the program over the first five years. In addition to employer contributions and higher premiums, the report says, most of the cost could be financed by redirecting public funding from duplicative health programs. Still, additional funding sources may be needed to fully cover the cost of the program, depending on the structure of the plan, the report says. The analysis by Maryland-based KNG Health Consulting says that New Mexicos effort to shift to a single-payer system would be the most ambitious state-based health care overhaul ever carried out in the U.S. and that the states uninsured rate would likely fall below 1%. It also says that the use of health care services would likely increase as the vast majority of residents turn to public insurance. Under a state-administered plan, some segments of the private insurance industry would disappear, resulting in financial hardship to New Mexico households and businesses that are dependent on the industry, the report says. The study looked at four scenarios that included a range of premium and cost-sharing alternatives. Two of the scenarios also relied on stemming the growth of provider and hospital reimbursement rates. The effect on employers would depend on how policymakers implement contribution requirements, including the level of contribution and which employers would be exempt, the study says. While the goal is to have all New Mexicans insured, the study acknowledges that the gains in coverage may be overstated because many uninsured residents are already eligible for Medicaid. Several states have contemplated universal health care as they deal with legal and financial hurdles while seeking to consolidate federal tax subsidies, and spending on Medicare, Medicaid and health care exchanges. New Mexico cut its uninsured rate roughly in half by expanding Medicaid to more people on the cusp of poverty in 2014 during Republican Gov. Susana Martinezs tenure. Enrollment leveled off in recent years, with about 10% of the population still uninsured. Democrat Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham has said that access to high-quality and affordable health care is a non-negotiable priority for her administration. SANDUSKY, Ohio Cedar Point, which opened two weeks ago with capacity limits and numerous other pandemic-related adjustments, is no longer requiring guests to make a reservation to visit. The park made the announcement on Twitter this morning. Park spokesman Tony Clark said the reservation system was no longer necessary. We originally implemented reservations to help with social distancing during arrival, but weve learned that we are still able to maintain all of our health and safety protocols without requiring them, he said. Reservations are no longer required for park entry! We look forward to seeing you. Don't have a ticket or Season Pass yet? Get one here: https://t.co/mup3Nc5jQo pic.twitter.com/v8m6S3JJi4 Cedar Point (@cedarpoint) July 21, 2020 Industry consultant Dennis Speigel said the reservation change is likely the result of attendance numbers that are far below expectations -- even pandemic-adjusted expectations. People arent returning to the parks the way we had hoped they would, said Speigel, president of International Theme Park Services in Cincinnati. People are not ready to return yet is what it comes down to. There are just too many unknown factors. He said attendance is lagging across the industry, at Six Flags, Disney and Universal parks. Kings Island announced a similar no-reservations-required policy earlier this week, leading to speculation that attendance at the two Ohio parks has not come close to capacity limits required under state coronavirus-related opening guidelines. Kings Island also recently reduced operating hours starting next month, closing the park on Wednesdays and Thursdays for the first two weeks of August, then closing Monday through Friday starting Aug. 17. Speigel said additional adjustments in hours, operating days and special events should be expected across the industry, as parks cope with both decreased attendance and staffing shortages. When given permission to open by Ohio officials in June, both Kings Island and Cedar Point said they would keep capacity at 20%, at least initially, to avoid overcrowding and allow visitors to maintain social distance in line queues and other busy areas. Clark said Cedar Point is now operating at approximately 50% capacity. Should the park get close to that number at any time, well ensure potential visitors are aware via social media and our free mobile app, he said. Cedar Points total capacity is in the 55,000 range, according to company officials. In recent days, Cedar Point has implemented additional policies to manage crowds, including an access pass system required to enter the queues for the parks most popular roller coasters. Access passes, available twice per day (at 11 a.m. and 3:30 p.m.) are currently required to line up for Steel Vengeance, Maverick, Millennium Force and Top Thrill Dragster. The passes prevent the lines from getting too long, forcing guests to crowd together. Guests are still required to buy single-day tickets online, according to Clark. In addition, face masks are required to be worn in both Ohio parks. Read more: Cedar Point opening day preview: Face masks, social distancing, HalloWeekends and more Kennywood delays opening due to coronavirus surge in Pittsburgh area Taking flight on Kings Islands new Orion coaster (and yes, you can scream through a mask) Cedar Point opens reservation system for season passholders; park opens July 9 Cedar Point Shores wont open for 2020; Cedar Point announces reduced hours, no Fast Lane passes for sale Cedar Point, Kings Island, Kennywood, Waldameer prepare to reopen, with adjustments: Amusement park guide 2020 Cedar Points mask rule ignites firestorm of fan protests on social media An Afghan girl has shot dead two Taliban fighters and wounded several more after they dragged her parents from their home and killed them for supporting the government. Insurgents in the central province of Ghor stormed the home of teenager Qamar Gul last week looking for her father, the village chief, before shooting her parents. Gul then emerged from the house with her family's AK-47 and opened fire, killing the two Taliban fighters who gunned down her mother and father and injuring several others. The incident happened last week when insurgents stormed the home of Qamar Gul, a teenager from a village in the central province of Ghor. Gul is pictured above brandishing an AK-47 Her father was a government supporter, which is why the Taliban fighters went to his house and dragged him out. When his wife resisted, the Taliban fighters killed the couple outside their home, local police chief Habiburahman Malekzada said. 'Qamar Gul, who was inside the house, took an AK-47 gun the family had and first shot dead the two Taliban fighters who killed her parents, and then injured a few others,' he said. Gul is aged between 14 and 16, according to different officials. It is common for many Afghans to not know their precise age. Gul is aged between 14 and 16, according to different officials. It is common for many Afghans to not know their precise age. Above, Gul is pictured with her brother Several other Taliban fighters later came to attack her house, but some villagers and pro-government militiamen expelled them after a gunfight. Afghan security forces have now taken Gul and her younger brother to a safer place, said Mohamed Aref Aber, spokesman to the provincial governor. Since the incident, social media networks have been flooded with praise for Gul's 'heroic' act. A photograph of Gul, wearing a headscarf and holding a machine gun across her lap has gone viral in the past few days. 'Hats off to her courage! Well done,' wrote Najiba Rahmi on Facebook. 'Power of an Afghan girl,' wrote another Facebook user Fazila Alizada. 'We know parents are irreplaceable, but your revenge will give you relative peace,' said Mohamed Saleh in his post on Facebook. The Taliban regularly kill villagers who they suspect of being informers for the government or security forces. In recent months, the militants have also stepped up their attacks against security forces despite agreeing to peace talks with Kabul. Champaign, IL (61820) Today Cloudy. Morning high of 30F with temps falling to near 20. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph.. Tonight Considerable clouds this evening. Some decrease in clouds late. Low 9F. Winds NNW at 15 to 25 mph. Vietnam documented 13 imported cases of novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) on Monday evening and Tuesday morning, including a Russian expert and 12 Vietnamese citizens all arriving from Russia. The Ministry of Health on Monday evening confirmed the countrys 384th COVID-19 patient a 27-year-old Russian oil and gas expert who had entered Vietnam on July 11. He was previously brought to a quarantine facility in southern Ba Ria-Vung Tau Province following his arrival at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City. He first tested negative for the novel coronavirus on July 13, but started exhibiting such symptoms as fever, a sore throat, and back pain on July 18. A second test conducted by the Pasteur Institute in Ho Chi Minh City came back positive. He is now being treated at Ba Ria Hospital in Ba Ria-Vung Tau. Patients No. 385 to 396, who all returned to the country from Russia on July 17, were recorded by the health ministry on Tuesday morning. Among them, four were quarantined in the northern province of Nam Dinh following their arrival at Van Don International Airport in northern Quang Ninh Province. They tested positive for the novel coronavirus on July 20 and have been transferred to Nam Dinh General Hospital for treatment. The other eight patients were previously sent to an isolation facility in northern Ninh Binh Province, where they tested positive for the novel coronavirus on July 19. They are now receiving treatment at a polyclinic in Cau Yen Area, located in Hoa Lu District, Ninh Binh. Vietnams COVID-19 tally is now at 396, with 360 having recovered. The country has not documented a community infection since April 16 while no deaths from the disease have been recorded. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! - Sakaja was arrested on the wee hours of Saturday, July 18, at Ladies Lounge along Dennis Pritt Road in Nairobi - The city senator was arraigned on Tuesday, July 21, morning and charged with flouting COVID-19 regulations - Sakaja pleaded guilty to the charges and was granted a lesser punishment on the ground that he was a first offender A Nairobi court has sentenced Senator Johnson Sakaja to three months in prison with an alternative of paying a fine of KSh 15, 000. Sakaja was charged with flouting COVID-19 safety regulations after he was arrested at a nightclub along Dennis Pritt Road past curfew hours. READ ALSO: David de Gea: Ole Gunnar Solskjaer says keeper has to improve after FA Cup blunders against Chelsea Nairobi SenatorJohnson Sakaja. Photo: Johnson Skaja. Source: Instagram READ ALSO: Professor Hamo apimwa COVID-19 baada ya mwenzake Jeff Koinange kuambukizwa The senator was arraigned in court on Tuesday, July 21, and pleaded guilty to the charges but being a first offender, the magistrate exercised leniency on his part. The fine for flouting Covid-19 rules is Ksh 20,000 or a six months imprisonment. However, being a first offender, I will consider fining him KSh 15,000 or three months in prison, the magistrate ruled. According to a police report, Sakaja was found while in the company of about ten other people who were drinking at a club namely Ladies Lounge along Denis Pritt Road near Kilimani area. He was asked to leave but refused, prompting the officers to inform the regional orderly officer who arrived at the lounge but his effort to have the senator and his group leave peacefully also hit a snag. "When the team joined the regional orderly officer is when Sakaja became violent raising up hands to be handcuffed. He incited others not to leave hence he was arrested along three others," read the report. Johnson Sakaja addressing the press after recording a statement at Kilimani Police Station on Monday, July 20. Photo: Johson Skaja. Source: UGC When he was eventually released from the cells on Saturday morning, the youthful politician dismissed reports that he had been arrested and challenged those making the claims to produce evidence. "Never been arrested. Wont be. Show me an OB Number," he tweeted. On Monday, July 20, the senator who had reportedly gone into hiding resurfaced and admitted flouting COVID-19 regulations and apologised. He also resigned from the Senate Adhoc Committee on COVID-19 which he was chairing. "On flouting the rules, I apologise to Kenyans and I will pay the full consequences of the law. I also wish to state that I have resigned from the Senate ad-hoc committee on COVID-19 which I have been chairing," he said after recording a statement a Kilimani Police Station. 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 Tuko news. I married a man every woman wanted - Pastor Joan Chege | Tuko Talks | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Despite the fact that hundreds of thousands of Milwaukeeans once visited the citys seven natatoria annually for many years, these days the word seems to conjure only one thing for Cream City citizens: dining next to a dolphin pool. Yes, the South Side Natatorium was briefly home to a restaurant that ultimately went bankrupt and threatened the life of a dolphin named Soda, but the history of these public buildings goes so much deeper. Discussion of public baths in Milwaukee pre-dates the city charter. "Perhaps the earliest mention here came in 1844, two years before Milwaukee became a city," wrote Russell Zimmermann in 1976. "A newspaper editor, repeating a proposal made by the mayor of New York, asked, Would it not be a profitable enterprise if someone would construct a good bathing establishment in Milwaukee?" (PHOTO: Courtesy of OldMilwaukee.net) However, serious talk didnt seem to happen until the 1880s, when the city appropriated $25,000 for a facility that would provide not only an indoor swimming hole but also a personal cleanliness center with showers and baths for folks whose homes at a time when most had to head out to a backyard privy to do their business typically lacked such extravagances. In the end, however, the state legislature authorized a bond issue in the same amount so that the city could use its money toward a river flushing tunnel project. In 1888, the search for a location commenced and turned up a number of potential spots all in the area between 7th and 8th Streets, State Street and Juneau Avenue. A site on 7th and Prairie Streets (later 709 W. Highland Ave.) was selected at a cost of $4,000 and architect Herman P. Schnetzkys neoclassical design was chosen. The finished building would cost $21,000. On Aug. 14, 1889, Milwaukeeans were free to dive into their first public pool which a 1935 city report would claim was also the first such pool indoors in the entire United States though some notable citizens opted not to... The Prairie Street (Highland Avenue) Natatorium as it initially appeared (above) and after renovations in the 1920s (below). (PHOTOS: Historic Photo Collection / Milwaukee Public Library) In an article bearing the headlines: "No Bath for Them: Aldermen Look Upon the Water, but Stay Out of It. Verdict on the Public Natatorium. The Temple Dedicated to Cleanliness by the City of Milwaukee Today," a Milwaukee Journal reporter wrote: "In Milwaukee cleanliness is not only next to godliness, but it is also directly across the street from music and education. In other words, the new natatorium building, on the corner of Prairie and Seventh streets, has a kindergarten and Liedertafel (a vocal music society) hall for neighbors. "The building was pronounced complete today, and was formally inspected by members of the board of public works, aldermen, officials and the usual sidewalk committee of idlers which can always be relied on to assemble and volunteer advice on all subjects." "The natatorium is a handsome brick building, 40 feet in height from the water line to the sky-lights, which give it so bright a look. It occupies 48 feet front and runs back 140 feet, including the boiler room and a smokestack 80 feet high. The swimming tank is 80 by 30 feet, 2 feet 6 inches deep at the north end, and sloping gradually until it reaches 9 feet 2 inches. It is built of English cement and backed by heavy brick walls and pounded clay. Cold water runs in direct from the hydrants, while the mammoth boiler will supply a constant stream of hot water to regulate the temperature. "There are 108 dressing rooms in the two galleries, 16 shower baths and necessary places for the safe deposit of valuables, together with other conveniences. In the front end up stairs there is a pleasant suite of rooms for the janitors family. "Owing to the fact that the lake is rough today the water when let in did not present a very inviting appearance, which probably accounted for the fact that none of the aldermen took a swim, as they had previously agreed on the motion of Ald. Brand." Inside the Highland Avenue Natatorium. (PHOTO: Historic Photo Collection / Milwaukee Public Library) Buoyed by the buildings success, plans for a South Side location were immediately hatched and Schnetzky and his then-partner Eugene Liebert designed another natatorium a lovely building in what Liebert called "Italian Renaissance" style for Greenbush (now 4th) Street. The building at 1646 S. 4th St., opened in 1894, with a pool flanked by 15 shower baths and 20 bathrooms on the first floor, and dressing rooms in a balcony overlooking the tank. The South Side Natatorium. (PHOTO: Ray Szopieray, courtesy of Adam Levin) Repairing the tank at the South Side Natatorium, 1940. (PHOTO: Milwaukee County Historical Society) After wading into the natatorium idea, the city dove in head-first, opening five more. The West North Avenue Natatorium opened in 1902 at 1609 W. North Ave. in another neoclassical building, this one drawn by Charles Lesser with an portico dotted with Ionic columns and outfitted uniquely among Milwaukee natatoria with a public library (pictured below). (PHOTO: Milwaukee County Historical Society) (PHOTO: Milwaukee Public Library) Six years later, the North Side Natatorium, 243 E. Center St., opened in wait for it a neoclassical building designed by H. Messmer and Son. This was the final natatorium designed by a private architect. Another South Side bathhouse, the Southwest Side Natatorium, 1645 W. Greenfield Ave., was built in 1911 (pictured below). (PHOTO: Milwaukee County Historical Society) (PHOTO; Ray Szopieray, courtesy of Karl Bandow) After an architectural competition failed to result in a design that caught the citys fancy, the public buildings bureau likely turned its newly hired staff architect Charles Malig. Id guess Malig was tapped to design this neoclassical building and the ones that would follow. A sixth natatorium was built adjacent to Detroit Street (later Andrew Jackson) School in the Third Ward in 1915, and the final one, the Fifth Avenue Natatorium, 2361 S. 10th St., went up in 1917. This one had some collegiate Gothic elements, too. See the photo below, courtesy of Wisconsin Historical Society. These red brick buildings were also neoclassical in style, and, in fact, all seven of the bathhouses had more or less the same interior design too, with first floor pools and balcony-level changing rooms. The earliest natatorium the one on Highland Avenue was, according to OldMilwaukee.net, "was plagued with settling problems after the first years of being built," and it was remodeled and rededicated in 1925. A plaque from the building turned up in a church basement in 2016 and a photo of it was posted to social media. (PHOTO: Jill Amrhein/Facebook) The buildings were incredibly popular among Milwaukeeans. According to a 1949 newspaper article, attendance at the pools in 1921 was a whopping 686,996! But Milwaukee was changing and city budget supervisor George C. Saffran told the paper that the natatoria were meant to "provide bathing facilities for those people who did not have bathtubs in their homes" and that the focus had since gradually switched from bathing to swimming. In 1948, only (!) 492,722 used the natatoria. At the same time, the cost of running them was skyrocketing from $65,275 in 1921 to $154,648 in 48. This film was made in the West North Avenue natatorium. (Courtesy of Milwaukee Recreation) Snarky pool attendants werent helping, either, according to Saffran, who added that "peremptory attitudes in their dealings with the public" on the part of natatoria staff had led to a "a lack of feeling on the part of the public that the natatoriums are conducted entirely for the convenience" of city residents. So, the city suggested closing the 4th Street natatorium, which was the only one in less than sparkling condition, giving the Highland Avenue pool to the Vocational School (now MATC) and offering Jackson Street to the school board. If MPS didnt want it, the city suggested closing that one, too. Painting the Jackson Street Natatorium, May 1940. (PHOTO: Milwaukee County Historical Society) And thats what happened. Jackson Street was the first to go, closed and demolished by 1958. Highland was razed five years later. But 4th Street got a reprieve, for a while, remaining open until 1977, when it was closed, along with the others. The Fifth Avenue (by then long called 10th Street) location was transformed into a scuba diving school. Center Street became a latinx community center and school, later renamed for Aurora Weier, who was murdered there in 1985, and is now a private school. And 4th Street, famously, got a restaurant, which opened in 1979. A pair of dolphins caught off the coast of Florida Gypsy and Star were brought to the pool by owners John and Margaret Garlic, who also ran JJ Garlics on 11th and Wells Streets, and had bought the natatorium from the city for $4,000. Renting the dolphins ran to $60,000 annually, and they had planned to bring in 300 parakeets, too. The Garlics spent nearly $50,000 to enclose the 144,000-gallon pool in glass. Another $18,000 went to flowers, and each water glass cost $28. As I've noted in the past, 20 percent of the water in the pool had to be changed daily and the water required 10,000 pounds of salt. Then there were weekly water sample tests, purifying chemicals, daily pool cleaning, smelt to feed the dolphins, medicines, veterinary bills and more. An expensive proposition for a restaurant without even taking any staff- or food-related costs into consideration. But when the recreated tropical paradise opened November of 79, the public and the media swooned. In 1981, trainer George Gray was working with two 9-foot porpoises named Belinda and Angel. All three were on loan from Floridas Gulfarium for a few months, while Milwaukee worked to get its own swimming talent. An ad for "Milwaukees most unusual restaurant" showed a couple toasting with bubbly over a table laden with delicacies the restaurant served wild boar chasseur, lobster, Porterhouse steaks among its 43 entrees, though it also sold sandwiches and other lower-priced options, too the exterior of the building, the glass-enclosed pool and a scene from one of the five daily dolphin shows. By 1984, according to news reports, the restaurant was swimming in debt and facing bankruptcy, and in January '85, the dolphins trainers testified in Federal Court that Soda, the dolphin, was sick with a viral infection, that the water in the pool was 7-17 degrees too cold and that Soda wasnt getting enough food, either. A judge demanded the conditions be improved. On Jan. 31, 1985, the Journal reported that the restaurant was "closed in the wake of a bankruptcy action, but the dolphin, Soda, and two sea lions are on the premises and a deal is being negotiated to sell them." Early in February, Soda and her sea lion pals were headed to a California theme park. "She was a little stiff at first, from the flight," bankruptcy trustee Russell Long told the newspaper. "But trainer Dan Cartwright swam around with her in the pool for a few hours and she was all right." And the sea lions? Long said they were fine, adding, "They just didnt seem to care." Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 23:41:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SHANGHAI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- During an interview, Sabri Tunc Angili, the Turkish Consul General in Shanghai, described fighting COVID-19 with China as his "most unforgettable life experience." A letter of thanks and a donation certificate, issued by the Shanghai Charity Foundation, have been placed on a display rack in his meeting room. Angili launched a donation campaign for Shanghai's medical workers, dispatched to Wuhan in the fight against the novel coronavirus, and later got recognized for his contribution. The Turkish Consul General was impressed by the government of Hubei, hit hard by COVID-19, but still tried its best to help evacuate dozens of Turkish nationals, which greatly touched him while he participated in the mission. "It was a huge logistic challenge, and it could not be possible without the cooperation of the Hubei government," Angili said. As the world's most populous country, China has effectively brought the epidemic under control within a short period, which was a really difficult challenge, the Consul General told Xinhua. From his perspective, this marks the success of the joint efforts of the Chinese government and its people, from which other countries can learn. "The flow of information about the pandemic is extremely free in China," Angili said, noting that both the Chinese government and the media are open and transparent. Angili still feels surprised at what he has experienced over the past few months and is developing new insights into this big country. Many Turks in Shanghai have received medical materials such as face masks from the Foreign Affairs Office of the municipal government and the Shanghai People's Association for Friendship with Foreign Countries. The Chinese city also donated a batch of nucleic acid testing kits to Istanbul when COVID-19 broke out in Turkey. Professors and doctors from universities in Turkey have established a sort of scientific advisory board to give advice on what precautions should be taken against the virus, said the Consul General, adding that the members had "expert-to-expert dialogues" with their Chinese counterparts via video conferences. "Through combating COVID-19 together with China, the Turks regard the Chinese people as our true friends, which will also facilitate cooperation between our two countries," Angili said. Turkish Airlines is expected to resume flights from Istanbul to Guangzhou by the end of the month. Several Turkish enterprises have confirmed their participation in the 3rd China International Import Expo (CIIE), scheduled for November in Shanghai. According to Angili, this year's CIIE will provide an opportunity for Turkey to increase the competitiveness of its advantage products, especially dairy products. The COVID-19 pandemic is a highly-influential public health event, said the Turkish Consul General, noting that the world will become different in the post-coronavirus era. He said that instead of blaming and stigmatization, solidarity and cooperation remain the only path to follow. Enditem New Delhi, July 21 : If you want to see your son alive, arrange Rs 5 lakh by tomorrow (Apne bache ko jinda dekhna hai toh kal tak panch lakh rupey ka intzaam karke rakh), was the terse message the father of a Delhi IIT passout Ankit Gupta, age 24, received on his mobile at around 8 p.m. on Sunday in Budh Vihar, Rohini. The complainant told police that his younger son Ankit Gupta had gone to the Canara Bank ATM at about 6 p.m. and had not returned. His mobile phone was also not reachable. At 8 p.m. he received a message from his son Ankit's mobile in which he was directed to arrange Rs 5 lakh by tomorrow if he wanted to see his son alive. He had reported the matter to the Police Control Room. The complaint led the Delhi police to form a team and start searching for the kidnapped man. During investigation, the CCTV cameras of the area were thoroughly checked, starting from the house of the victim to the ATM of Canara Bank. The victim was seen going out from his house and was seen up to half of the route to the ATM. He turned to the other side of the main road and didn't visit the ATM of Canara Bank. The live CDR of the mobile phone of the victim was obtained to know his last location. From the CDR another mobile number of the victim was identified, which was not known to the family members. The location of this number was obtained and it was last found active at 8.47 p.m. at Sarai Rohilla Railway Station. The police team went to the Sarai Rohilla Railway Station and questioned the station master about the details of the trains which had recently left from there, scrutinized the reservation charts of the trains, checked the CCTV cameras at the entry and exit of the railway station and tried to identify the victim with the help of his family members. The victim was seen entering the railway station on a CCTV camera at the entry gate but could not be traced at the station. Later, the victim was seen in one of the cameras, boarding the unreserved bogey of the Sampark Kranti Rajdhani Express, which had left for Jodhpur in Rajasthan . The CCTV footage and photographs of the victim were immediately shared with the Government Railway Police in Jaipur and the train was again checked by the GRP and Police at Jaipur station. The victim was identified and was de-boarded from the train by the GRP. Immediately, some members of the police team along with family members left for Jaipur and brought back the youth to Delhi. Ankit Gupta had done B. Tech in Mechanical Engineering from IIT Delhi. He completed his degree in 2017 and thereafter joined a private company at Gurugram in Haryana. He later switched to another private company in Noida, Uttar Pradesh. Presently he was working from home due to the COVID-19 pandemic. He wanted to join IIM Ahmedabad for getting a MBA degree. He tried twice but could not succeed. "He was under acute depression and wanted to commit suicide. He planned the same and left his home. He himself sent the ransom message from his phone to misguide his parents so that he got sufficient time to commit suicide. It was only due to the prompt action of the Police, that a precious life was saved. Ankit has been counselled and has been handed over to his parents," said DCP Rohini, Pramod Kumar Mishra. Advertisement The findings serve to build a bridge between the perception of a threat and the activation of the immune response at the molecular level, shedding light on an essential operating principle of the immune system. T cells fulfill various functions: Cytotoxic T cells, so-called killer cells, are particularly responsible for destroying the body's own cells when they pose a threat to it - because they have been infected by bacteria or viruses or because they have changed into cancer cells. The T cells identify antigens exclusively on cells and then release toxic substances to destroy these target cells.In immunotherapy against cancer, doctors try to strengthen this ability of the immune system. CAR T-cell therapy, which is already being used successfully for the treatment of patients at the Medical Center - University of Freiburg, uses artificial receptors synthesized in the lab on patient-derived T cells to specifically kill the cancer cells of the very same patient . In studies conducted at the Center for Chronic Immunodeficiency and in cooperation with Prof. Dr. Robert Zeiser, University Medical Center and also a member of CIBSS - Centre for Integrative Biological Signalling Studies, the researchers demonstrated in preclinical studies that CAR T cells equipped with the RK motif destroy more cancer cells than T cells that do not possess this motif.The scientists discovered the RK motif with a combination of biochemistry, synthetic biology, and immunology. They demonstrated that the RK motif is normally hidden to prevent un-desired T cell activation and it is exposed only after binding to the antigen, this may explain why it has remained undetected until now. This unique combination of disciplines is a product of the integrative approach at the Cluster of Excellence CIBSS. The biochemical analyses enable a detailed understanding of the molecular signals, while their immunological understanding and medical application explain their function in the body."This discovery allows us to control T cells more precisely. And now we can do this very specifically, because this is the only cell type to use this novel activation mechanism," explains Minguet. "In the future, this may not only help in the treatment of cancer but possibly also improve therapies for autoimmune diseases or even immunodeficiencies."Other scientists who contributed to the study included Prof. Dr. Maja Kohn from BIOSS and CIBSS, Prof. Dr. Stefan Gunther from the Pharmaceutical Bioinformatics Lab at the University of Freiburg, and Dr. Kristian Schweimer and Prof. Dr. Birgitta Wohrl from the University of Bayreuth. The study was also supported by the University of Freiburg's Collaborative Research Centres 850 "Control of Cell Motility in Morphogenesis, Cancer Invasion, and Metastasis" and 1160 "Immune-Mediated Pathology as a Consequence of Impaired Immune Reactions." Dr. Frederike Hartl, Faculty of Biology of the University of Freiburg, carried out a large part of the work.Source: Eurekalert Italys financial crimes police says $193m in assets were seized after years of intense investigative work. Italian and Swiss authorities have arrested 75 people in a joint raid against Italys Ndrangheta Mafia. The operation was the result of years of intense investigative work between Italian and Swiss prosecutors and police, said a statement from Italys financial crimes police, the Guardia di Finanza, on Tuesday. Those arrested were accused of several crimes, including Mafia association, international drug trafficking, money laundering, false registration of assets, and corruption. Authorities also seized assets worth 169 million euros ($193m) and placed under investigation but did not arrest a further 83 suspects, the Guardia di Finanza said. Only one person was arrested in Switzerland, where several suspects homes and businesses were searched, according to a separate statement from the Swiss government. The Swiss prosecutors office said police seized weapons and ammunition in raids in the cantons of Argovia, Solothurn, Zug and Ticino. If anybody still thinks that the Ndrangheta is a purely Italian problem, this operation shows the opposite, said the head of the Italian parliaments anti-mafia commission, Nicola Morra. Calabria The Guardia di Finanza said the sting targeted members of Ndrangheta families based on the western coast of Calabria, between the towns of Lamezia Terme and Vibo Valentia. Calabria, the impoverished southern region that forms the tip of Italys boot, is the historical home of the Ndrangheta, one of the worlds most powerful organised-crime groups. The Ndrangheta has long branched out from Calabria, making substantial inroads in Europe, North America and Australia, and is considered the leading smuggler of cocaine into Europe. Police have freed 15 children from an Islamic school in central Nigeria where they were kept in chains and tortured. The children, aged between two and 10, were discovered Sunday in a 'dehumanising condition' at an informal Koran school in the town of Suleja in Niger state, regional police spokesman Wasiu Abiodun said on Tuesday. In the house where they were found, 'three chains used to tie their legs were also recovered,' he said. It comes after a spate of raids on such institutions last year led to over 1,000 people, many of them children, being rescued. Police have freed 15 children from an Islamic school in central Nigeria where they were kept in chains and tortured. Above, some of the rescued children aged between two and 10 pictured with marks on their backs The children were discovered Sunday in a 'dehumanising condition', a regional police spokesperson said. The rescued children are pictured above Abiodun said signs of torture, including scars and wounds were discovered on the children when they were rescued. He said the cleric who ran the school, Umar Ahmed, 46, was arrested during the raid. 'The case is under investigation and the suspect will soon be arraigned in court for prosecution,' he said. Umar Ahmed, 46, who ran the school is pictured above. Ahmed was arrested during the raid Informal Islamic religious schools, called almajiri schools, are common in Nigeria, where there is a chronic lack of government services. They are widely criticised for squalid conditions, poor treatment and making pupils beg on the streets. Many also operate as so-called rehabilitation centres, for drug addicts and children with behavioural problems. Last year, three major raids on such institutes in less than a month led to police rescuing hundreds of inmates. Police freed about 500 men and boys from an Islamic school in Katsina, northern Nigeria in October 2019. The men were shackled and tortured at the school where they had been enrolled by their families to learn the Koran. Many had also been sent there to be treated for drug addiction. The news came less than three weeks after nearly 500 men and young boys were freed from the Islamic boarding school in Kaduna, around 280 miles south of Daura. On September 26, police discovered nearly 500 men and young boys standing in rows wearing ankle shackles, while others had their hands chained. Other photos show the torture victims with horrific scars on their backs. One victim even claimed that previous students had died from being tortured. Parents have since been reunited with some of the children rescued by police at the Hajj transit camp. Police freed about 500 men and boys from an Islamic school in Katsina, northern Nigeria in October 2019. Above, men and boys are pictured after being rescued by police in Sabon Garin, in Daura local government area of Katsina state on October 14, 2019 People with chained legs are pictured after being rescued by police in Sabon Garin, in Daura local government area of Katsina state, Nigeria on October 14 Police said the detainees were from Burkina Faso, Mali and other African countries. The victims, including adults and minors, were kept in 'the most debasing and inhuman conditions in the name of teaching them the Koran and reforming them', Kaduna state police spokesman Yakubu Sabo said. Police had been tipped off by complaints from local residents who became suspicious of what was happening inside the school. During the raid on the school, police said they found a 'torture chamber' where students were chained, hung and beaten. Some of the children rescued by police from captivity at a school with strike marks on their backs, bathe at the Hajj transit camp in Kaduna, Nigeria on September 28 The school, which has been operating for a decade, enrolled students brought by their families to learn the Koran and be rehabilitated from drug abuse and other illnesses, police said. The proprietor of the school and six staff were arrested during the raid in Kaduna. In November last year, Nigerian police freed 259 emaciated women, men and teenagers from another Islamic rehabilitation centre where captives said they were chained and beaten. Many reported that they were beaten regularly by their captors after they were released from the prison-like building with bars over its windows in Ibadan. They appeared to be malnourished and one of the men told local media, 'We eat one meal a day,' while another described how he had been held captive by the clerics for smoking a cigarette. In May, governors of the 19 states in northern Nigeria announced a ban on almajiri schools over fears they could become hubs for spreading the coronavirus. Many teachers of color are used to being in a room full of white coworkers. Theyre used to being looked at in staff meetings when issues of race are brought up. And theyre used to feeling like its their responsibility to lead schools toward anti-racist education. It can all be exhausting, teachers of color say. And these responsibilities might be amplified in the fall as schools resume, in some capacity, amidst a national reckoning on race spurred by the police killings of George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and other Black men and women. Grassroot groups have emphasized the importance of self-care for teachers of color. To do the sometimes-grueling work of leading on racial justice, experts say, minority teachers need to take time for themselves to recharge and refuel. And a big part of that is finding a community with others from similar backgroundswhether thats within teachers own schools or on a national level. After all, teachers of color make up just about 20 percent of the national teaching force. Nine percent of teachers are Hispanic, about 6 percent are Black, and about 2 percent are Asian, according to federal data . Less than 1 percent of teachers are American Indian, Alaska Native, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander. While there have been many state and local efforts to hire a more diverse teacher workforce to teach an increasingly diverse student population, those numbers have remained mostly unchanged for the past decade. Thats largely because teachers of color leave the profession at higher rates than their white peers. I think in general, on a day-to-day basis, it can be a little isolating to be a teacher of color, said Michael Espinoza, a Chicano high school English teacher in San Jose, Calif. Whether its the curriculum I teach, or my own background, oftentimes its not in connection with the other teachers. Even as a new teacher, making friends can be a little more difficult. Espinoza went into teaching in 2017 knowing that he wanted to fight for social justice. He joined as many committees as he couldmost of which was unpaid workand volunteered to help redesign the schools Advanced Placement Literature curriculum to make it more culturally relevant. But by year two, he felt depleted. I noticed myself crashing, burning out already, he said. [I would think], I dont know how long I can do this. I dont know if this is the right choice for me. Espinozas mentors told him to take a step back and focus on himself and his students. He started saying no more. Having more free time and fewer commitments has helped his mental state, he saidbut he sometimes worries that he should be doing more. The balance between this burden [of being one of the few teachers of color in a school building] and well-being has been on my mind a lot, and trying to figure out the right amount of pushing for social change and fighting for whats right and not trying to burn out, he said. I feel like sometimes if I dont do it, no one else is going to do it. No one else is going to step up and do the things that I feel are necessary to do. In interviews, teachers of color echoed the difficulties of this balancing act: Its taxing to constantly be in a room surrounded by white people and asked to lead conversations about race and racism. But at the same time, many feel a sense of responsibility to themselves, their students, and their communities to take charge of this work. I feel on one hand, we shouldnt be the only ones. The burden shouldnt be on us, Espinoza said. On the other hand, I feel like, Who better to do that work? I would want it to be done right, I want it to be done in a way thats coming from an authentic place. I do feel like we have to be on the front lines of doing this work, but at the same time, it has to be done at our own pace. There are times when it can be overwhelming. Unending Racial Stress Scholars say theres an invisible tax on teachers of color, in which theyre asked to take on unpaid roles that are outside the job they were hired to do, such as translating for parents who speak other languages, acting as school disciplinarians, or serving as mentors for students from their backgrounds. At the same time, teachers of color are often questioned in their pedagogy, undermined or ignored when they have suggestions, and overlooked for formal leadership positions, said Rita Kohli, an associate professor in the Graduate School of Education at the University of California, Riverside, who has studied the struggles, assets, and possibilities of teachers of color. There is this exhausting, unending engagement of racial stress, said Kohli, who is South Asian. Teachers of color start to feel anxiety, they start to feel like they are hyper-visible or theyre invisible. It starts to affect their engagement, their drive. Sometimes they feel like they have to be a superhero. ... Feeling undervalued, invisible, and under-mentored has led to teachers leaving that school or the profession. Those feelings are amplified when teachers feel like they cant do the work they set out to do, said Doris Santoro, a white professor of education at Bowdoin College who studies teacher dissatisfaction and resistance. If you go into teaching saying, OK, at least Im going to do what I can to make school a place that is safe, engaging, and meaningful for students of color, and then you have to witness ongoing examples of racial bias and racism in your workboth in terms of choices of policy, but also in terms of the ways its expressed by your colleagues, especially white colleaguesthat is a form of secondary trauma that can lead to demoralization, she said. Honoring the Work As school districts are now planning anti-racist trainings in the wake of mass protests and the Black Lives Matter movement, school leaders must make sure the work is thoughtful and ongoing, Kohli saidbecause that hasnt always been the case. Teachers of color are thinking, I want to use this moment and engage with the work I want to do, but its hard to trust this, she said. The performative nature of it can be taxing and exhausting for teachers of color. Teachers of color, Kohli said, should be invited to share their expertise and lead this workand they should be compensated for their labor. Otherwise, educators say they feel like theyre pigeonholed into an unpaid, unacknowledged role. Takeru Nagayoshi, an Advanced Placement English teacher in New Bedford, Mass., was once in a professional-development session on race that was led by an older white woman. He felt like her talking points were outdated, and then a teacher raised her hand and asked if it was OK to call Asian people Oriental. Nagayoshi felt like the facilitator didnt go far enough in explaining the term is offensive. If were not in these spaces, these are the folks who are leading conversations on race, so we feel frustrated and like we need to step up, said Nagayoshi, who is Japanese American and the 2020 Massachusetts Teacher of the Year. But if we do, we feel like thats all were validated for. I felt a little reluctant to be dismissed as the teacher who only talks about race and diversity because he is a person of color. Its kind of a cant-win situation. As Frank Mata, a Filipino high school English teacher in Riverside, Calif., put it: Youre totally seen as that guy, and no one wants to have that guy around, he said. This fall, teachers of color might want to opt out of some of the initial conversations on race and let white teachers confront their own biases alone, Santoro said, adding that leaving the room can be a form of self-care. I think thats a very strategic choiceto not have to ... listen to forms of ignorance that are dehumanizing and demoralizing to you, she said. Our teachers of color dont need to be sitting in a room where were saying, OK, racismits a thing. And whos leading the trainings matters, too. Gemayel Hazard, a Black 6th grade social studies teacher in Fairfax County, Va., has stopped going to districtwide equity trainings altogether because they are almost always led by white women. Who is this for? he said, adding that these trainings center whiteness. This is clearly not to make my life better; this is to make other people comfortable with their BS. Other teachers will tell him that they want to hear his voice in these meetings, but he feels as if those trainings are not authentic, especially because there are such systemic issues with race in the district. There are just a handful of Black principals in the 196-school district, and Hazard said he has been passed over time and again for leadership positions. Ive had my administration degree and license for [more than] 10 years, and I watch as people who I have more experience than, am more qualified than, and have more training than get opportunities that I dont even get interviews for, he said. It makes me feel like, Why even try anymore? You feel like you can do more, you know you can, but you just dont get the shot. Finding a Community Those systematic barriers can take a toll on mental health and the desire to stay in the classroom, teachers of color say. Thats why Kohli co-founded the Institute for Teachers of Color Committed to Racial Justice , an annual three-day professional-development conference. The national gathering is meant to foster a sense of community and support that is lacking in many minority teachers workplaces. I consider one of the most important ingredients for self-care, self-preservation to be finding a critical community, said Dara Nix-Stevenson, a Black middle school teacher in Greensboro, N.C. ITOC is my critical community that I go to for mental nourishment, spiritual nourishment, check-ins. Said Espinoza, the San Jose teacher: Its really rejuvenating to be yourself, to be completely your authentic self and talk freely and not have to watch what you say because you might hurt someone. Other spaces created for and by teachers of color exist on local and state levels. In the Austin area, for example, Coral Zayas, a 6th grade teacher in the Leander Independent school district, recently launched an affinity group for teachers of color across the area as part of her fellowship for Teach Plus, a nonprofit group that supports teacher leadership. Zayas, who is Latina, said she wanted to build a community where teachers can find mentorship and support among people who can relate to what theyve experienced in schools. This kind of space has never existed for me, and Ive been in public schools for seven-plus years, she said. I think it is critical for us to be able to express our emotions and be able to talk about that in a safe space. Otherwise, were internalizing it, and stress builds up. And having a safe space to process their own experiences in school can refuel their commitment to fighting for their students of color, teachers say. I didnt choose to be the messenger, but because I have the message to share, Im not going to keep it to my chest, Nix-Stevenson said. By Trend The Head of Jordan-Azerbaijan Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, Senator Marvan Abdulhalim an-Namr Al-Hamud has sharply condemned the recent provocations of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of the Tovuz district of Azerbaijan on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Trend reports on July 21 referring to Azerbaijan's State Committee on Work with the Diaspora. According to Zumrud Dadasheva, chairperson of the Jordan-Azerbaijan Friendship Society, the senator in his appeal strongly condemned the artillery strikes of the Armenian armed forces on Azerbaijans military facilities and residential settlements near the state border with Armenia, which resulted in the death of Azerbaijani army officials and a civilian. Expressing his deepest condolences to the families of martyrs and the Azerbaijani people, the senator wished the wounded people soonest recovery. He stressed once again that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan supports the territorial integrity of independent Azerbaijan and recognizes Nagorno Karabakh as the ancestral territory and integral part of Azerbaijan. The senator also added that the group headed by him will always support Azerbaijan's position. He called on the occupying country Armenia to stop military aggression and not to aggravate the situation in the region. 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. (Alliance News) - A cross-party bid to ban smoking outside UK pubs and restaurants seeking to offer al fresco seating due to coronavirus has failed after the Labour frontbench refused to back the move. Without opposition support, the change would almost certainly have been defeated if it had been pressed to a vote in the House of Lords. In the face of the call by peers, the government had brought forward a compromise, which will require pubs, cafes and restaurants in England wanting to provide outdoor seating to offer separate non-smoking areas. One of the provisions in the Business & Planning Bill is to fast-track the process by which businesses can apply for temporary permission from local authorities to put chairs and tables outside their premises. The aim is to allow premises to serve as many people as possible while respecting social distancing guidance. It is among a raft of measures aimed at supporting businesses and helping the economy recover from the devastation caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. A number of peers from across the political divide wanted the granting of pavement licences to be subject to the condition that smoking is prohibited. But Labour frontbencher Deborah Wilcox said the party could not support the amendment as it "may have enormous unintended consequences", such as banning e-cigarettes, and contained "other errors" that could lead to legal challenge. However, Liberal Democrat peer Lindsay Northover said it was "utterly specious" to say it was flawed as any issues could be rectified later by the government's lawyers. Labour's position meant "we cannot secure the cross-party amendment which would have been clear, simple and the right thing to do", she said. Earlier, making the case for the amendment, Northover said: "Smoking kills both smokers and those exposed to second-hand smoke. "That's why we secured and now the vast majority of the public enjoy smoke-free restaurants, pubs and other public places. "Because of Covid-19 the outside is the new inside. We need to make sure that people are protected there as well." Tory former health secretary Andrew Lansley said those behind the amendment had "won the argument" and the government's compromise signalled "a significant victory". Communities minister Stephen Greenhalgh said: "The government's position means all businesses eligible for pavement licences can share the benefits of this new fast-track licence whilst ensuring provision for non-smoking seating. "Businesses can already make their own non-smoking policies for outside space that reflect customer wishes, without the need for regulations. "Now is not the time to prevent businesses from catering to their customers. Now is not the time to use temporary provision on pavement licences to ban smoking outdoors. "Now is the time to support our hospitality industry and ensure all businesses eligible for pavement licences can share the benefits of this new fast-track licence." source: PA Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. DGAP-News: ADO Properties S.A. / Key word(s): Capital Increase The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. Successful completion of the EUR 450 million rights issue Berlin, 21 July 2020 - ADO Properties S.A. ("ADO") has successfully completed its EUR 450 million rights issue that was launched on 2 July 2020. The vast majority of the subscription rights (approx. 98%) have been exercised. The remaining shares of less than 0.8 million will be offered in a rump placement today. The trading of the new shares is expected to commence on 24 July 2020. Following the capital increase, the Company will have 104,785,930 shares outstanding. Investor Relations: T +352 278 456 710 F +352 203 015 00 E ir@ado.properties Media Relations: Finsbury Gordon Simpson E Gordon.Simpson@finsbury.com Ed Simpkins E Edward.Simpkins@finsbury.com T +44 207 251 3801 Hering Schuppener Christian Falkowski E cfalkowski@heringschuppener.com T +49 69 92 18 74 64 IMPORTANT INFORMATION This release is neither an advertisement nor a securities prospectus and should not be relied upon in making any investment decision to purchase, subscribe for or otherwise acquire any securities. The information and opinions contained in this release are provided as at the date of this release, are subject to change without notice and do not purport to contain all information that may be required to evaluate ADO Properties S.A. ("ADO Properties"). No reliance may or should be placed for any purpose whatsoever on the information contained in this release, or any other information discussed verbally, or on its completeness, accuracy or fairness. This release is not and may not be published, distributed or transmitted in the United States of America, Canada, Australia or Japan. This release does not constitute an offer of securities for sale or a solicitation of an offer to purchase securities of ADO Properties in the United States of America, Australia, Canada, Japan or any other jurisdiction in which such offer, sale or solicitation is unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of such jurisdiction. The securities referred to herein may not and will not be offered or sold in Australia, Canada or Japan or to, or for the account or benefit of, any national, resident or citizen of Australia, Canada or Japan subject to certain exceptions. The securities offered by ADO Properties may not be offered or sold in the United States absent registration under the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or an applicable exemption from registration. 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Any investment or investment activity to which this release relates is available only to Relevant Persons and will be engaged in only with Relevant Persons. In any member state of the European Economic Area, other than Germany and Luxembourg, or the United Kingdom, this release is only addressed to and is only directed at "qualified investors" within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 of the European Parliament and of the Council of June 14, 2017, as amended (the "Prospectus Regulation"). This release is not an advertisement and not a prospectus for the purposes of the Prospectus Regulation. This release and the information contained herein are for information purposes only and constitute neither a prospectus nor an offer to sell or a solicitation to buy securities. The offer will be made solely by means of, and on the basis of, a securities prospectus which is to be published (the "Prospectus"). An investment decision regarding the publicly offered securities of ADO Properties should only be made on the basis of the Prospectus. The Prospectus will be published promptly upon approval by the Commission de Surveillance du Secteur Financier (CSSF) and will be available free of charge at ADO Properties S.A., 1B, Heienhaff, L-1736 Senningerberg, Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, or on the website of ADO Properties at https://www.ado.properties. Certain statements contained in this release may constitute "forward-looking statements" that involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Forward-looking statements are generally identifiable by the use of the words "may", "will", "should", "plan", "expect", "anticipate", "estimate", "believe", "intend", "project", "goal" or "target" or the negative of these words or other variations on these words or comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are based on assumptions, forecasts, estimates, projections, opinions or plans that are inherently subject to significant risks, as well as uncertainties and contingencies that are subject to change. No representation is made or will be made by ADO Properties that any forward-looking statement will be achieved or will prove to be correct. The actual future business, financial position, results of operations and prospects may differ materially from those projected or forecast in the forward-looking statements. ADO Properties does not assume any obligation to update, and does not expect to publicly update, or publicly revise, any forward-looking statements or other information contained in this release, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as otherwise required by law. Notice to Distributors Solely for the purposes of the product governance requirements contained within (i) EU Directive 2014/65/EU on markets in financial instruments, as amended ("MiFID II"), (ii) Articles 9 and 10 of Commission Delegated Directive (EU) 2017/593 supplementing MiFID II, and (iii) local implementing measures (together, the "MiFID II Product Governance Requirements"), and disclaiming all and any liability, whether arising in tort, contract or otherwise, which any "manufacturer" (for the purposes of the MiFID II Product Governance Requirements) may otherwise have with respect thereto, the subscription rights to the new shares and the new shares have been subject to a product approval process. As a result, it has been determined that such subscription rights and such new shares are (i) compatible with an end target market of retail investors and investors who meet the criteria of professional clients and eligible counterparties, each as defined in MiFID II and (ii) eligible for distribution through all distribution channels as are permitted by MiFID II (the "Target Market Assessment"). Notwithstanding the Target Market Assessment, distributors (for the purposes of the MiFID II Product Governance Requirements) should note that: the value of the subscription rights and the price of the new shares may decline and investors could lose all or part of their investment. The new shares offer no guaranteed income and no capital protection; and an investment in the subscription rights and the new shares is compatible only with investors who do not need a guaranteed income or capital protection, who (either alone or in conjunction with an appropriate financial or other adviser) are capable of evaluating the merits and risks of such an investment and who have sufficient resources to be able to bear any losses that may result therefrom. The Target Market Assessment is without prejudice to the requirements of any contractual, legal or regulatory selling restrictions in relation to the offering described in the release. For the avoidance of doubt, the Target Market Assessment does not constitute: (a) an assessment of suitability or appropriateness for the purposes of MiFID II; or (b) a recommendation to any investor or group of investors to invest in, or purchase, or take any other action whatsoever with respect to the subscription rights or the new shares. Each distributor is responsible for undertaking its own target market assessment in respect of the subscription rights and the new shares and determining appropriate distribution channels Contact: Thierry Beaudemoulin, CEO 21.07.2020 Dissemination of a Corporate News, transmitted by DGAP - a service of EQS Group AG. The issuer is solely responsible for the content of this announcement. The DGAP Distribution Services include Regulatory Announcements, Financial/Corporate News and Press Releases. Archive at www.dgap.de India's third Covid wave likely to peak on Jan 23, daily cases to stay below 4 lakh: IIT Kanpur scientist Coronavirus: Assam records more than 1,000 fresh COVID-19 cases; Tally crosses 25,000-mark India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P Guwahati, July 21: Assam on Monday breached the 25,000-mark in COVID-19 cases with 1,093 fresh cases while one more person died due to the disease in the state. The state, at present, has 7,936 active coronavirus patients, who are being treated in different hospitals and COVID care centres. Taking to Twitter, Health Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma said, "Alert ~ 1093 new #COVID19 ve+ patients in Assam today with 448 cases from Guwahati City. With 20000+ tests carried out today, our daily positivity rate is only 5%." ICMR, Union health ministry advise states on how to enhance COVID testing capacity With the latest numbers, Assam has reported a total of 25,092 cases of COVID-19, of which, 11,528 have been reported from the state capital alone. Meanwhile, BJP MLA Atul Bora from Dispur constituency in the capital city became the fifth legislator of the ruling party to test positive for COVID-19 in the state on Monday. Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News "We are saddened to inform that NK Rajesh Narzary, 9th APBn, who was battling #Covid19, made the supreme sacrifice today. Our deepest condolences are with the family and colleagues of NK Rajesh Narzary," the Assam Police tweeted. West Bengal announces total lockdown for 2 days every week amid spike in coronavirus cases With this, the total number of persons losing their lives due to COVID-19 in the state has gone up to 58. However, five more COVID-19 patients have died, but the government's Death Audit Board has not included them in the tally of deaths caused by the COVID-19 virus as they had other ailments also. Meanwhile, 1,072 patients recovered and were released from different hospitals and COVID care centres across the state on Monday, Sarma said in another tweet. COVID-19 vaccine: UK signs deal for 90 million doses "With sincere efforts of doctors & teams, our recovery rate has bounced back from a low of about 20% to 71%+ today," he added. With these, 17,095 persons have so far recovered and discharged, while 7,936 active COVID-19 patients are being treated at present. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 9:01 [IST] When Google and Apple announced plans in April for free software to help alert people of their possible exposure to the coronavirus, the companies promoted it as privacy preserving and said it would not track users locations. Encouraged by those guarantees, Germany, Switzerland and other countries used the code to develop national virus alert apps that have been downloaded more than 20 million times. But for the apps to work on smartphones with Googles Android operating system the most popular in the world users must first turn on the device location setting, which enables GPS and may allow Google to determine their locations. Some government officials seemed surprised that the company could detect Android users locations. After learning about it, Cecilie Lumbye Thorup, a spokeswoman for Denmarks Health Ministry, said her agency intended to start a dialogue with Google about how they in general use location data. Switzerland said it had pushed Google for weeks to alter the location setting requirement. For latest updates and live news on coronavirus, click here Users should be able to use such proximity tracing apps without any bindings with other services, said Dr. Sang-Il Kim, the department head for digital transformation at Switzerlands Federal Office of Public Health, who oversees the countrys virus-alert app. Latvia said it had pressed Google on the issue as it was developing its virus app. We dont like that the GPS must be on, said Elina Dimina, head of the infectious-disease surveillance unit at Latvias Center for Disease Prevention and Control. Googles location requirement adds to the slew of privacy and security concerns with virus-tracing apps, many of which were developed by governments before the new Apple-Google software became available. Government officials and epidemiologists say the apps can be a helpful complement to public health efforts to stem the pandemic. But human rights groups and technologists have warned that aggressive data collection and security flaws in many apps put hundreds of millions of people at risk for stalking, scams, identity theft or oppressive government tracking. Now the Android location issue could undermine the privacy promises that governments made to the public. Pete Voss, a Google spokesman, said the virus alert apps that use the companys software do not use device location. Thats including for people who test positive for the virus and use the apps to notify other users. The apps use Bluetooth scanning signals to detect smartphones that come into close contact with one another without needing to know the devices locations at all. Since 2015, Googles Android system has required users to enable location on their phones to scan for other Bluetooth devices, Voss said, because some apps may use Bluetooth to infer user location. For instance, some apps use Bluetooth beacons in stores to help marketers understand which aisle a smartphone user may be in. ] Once Android users turn on location, however, Google may determine their precise locations, using Wi-Fi, mobile networks and Bluetooth beacons, through a setting called Google Location Accuracy, and use the data to improve location services. Voss said apps that did not have user permission could not gain access to a persons Android device location. Apple, which does not require iPhone users of the virus apps to turn on location, declined to comment on Googles location practices. The Android location requirement underscores a troubling power imbalance between governments and two tech giants that dominate the mobile market, some security and privacy experts said. Countries using the software, they said, have little recourse against the new global standards that the companies are setting for public health technology. Google and Apple, for instance, bar government virus apps using their technology from tracking users locations. But Google may determine and use the device locations of Android users of the apps, depending on their settings. We are giving too much control to two big companies, said Alexandra Dmitrienko, a professor of secure software systems at the University of Wurzburg in Germany. They are monopolizing it. The companies Bluetooth proximity detection technology springs from ideas developed by Singapore and academics. It offers public health agencies an alternative to more invasive models that involve tracking users fine-grained locations and sending private data like their names to centralized government servers. The Apple-Google software uses rotating ID codes to log close contact between app users to help prevent tracking, the companies say. It also processes peoples data on their phones where governments cannot gain access to it. This is what we call privacy by design, said Kim, the Swiss health official. That means no personal data, that means no name, no phone number, even no technical identification of the hardware from email or smartphones are collected by the apps. The privacy-focused design has made the companies technology attractive to government leaders. This app deserves your trust. It protects your privacy, Angela Merkel, chancellor of Germany, said in a recent video address about her governments Corona-Warn-App, which is based on the Apple-Google model. No geodata is collected, Merkel said. But privacy and security experts said they were troubled that Googles location practices might deter some people from using public health agency apps during the pandemic. The point of the Apple-Google exposure notification design is to protect privacy and mitigate barriers to adoption, said Jonathan Mayer, an assistant professor of computer science and public affairs at Princeton. Some Android users in Europe say they feel misled by their governments. Instructions on many of the apps direct Android users to turn on location, for instance, but make no mention of Google or that users can stop the company from determining their precise locations by turning off the accuracy feature within the location setting. With this app, youre invited, by the government strongly appealing to your sense of responsibility and morality, to give away your live location to entities that are getting a profit out of it, in order to protect public health, said Massimo Zannoni, an electronic engineer in Zurich. Health officials in Denmark, Germany, Latvia and Switzerland said their governments had deliberately designed their national virus alert apps for maximum privacy. No government, no security agency has any chance to misuse the technology, Gottfried Ludewig, director general for digitalization and innovation for Germanys Ministry of Health, said of the Corona-Warn-App, which has been downloaded more than 15.5 million times. He said more than 500 people who tested positive for the virus had used the app to notify other users of possible virus exposure. He added that if Google used location data for any other purpose than enabling the Bluetooth services in the app, it would need legal grounds to do so under European data protection law. Others involved in the German app said it was Googles issue, not theirs. You need to ask Google about the specs of their operating system, Marcus Winkler, a spokesman for SAP, which helped develop Germanys app, said in an email. If you turn on location tracking you get a message from the operating system this has nothing to do with the app. Dmitrienko, the software security expert, said the solution was for governments to push Google to stop requiring Android users of the virus alert apps to turn on location. They have sufficient power, and they could put pressure even on such giants as Google and Apple to do something about it, she said. New Delhi, July 20 (IANS) A Delhi court on Monday allowed 79 Bangladeshi and 42 Kyrgyzstan nationals to walk out free after levying a penalty of Rs 5,000 each under the plea bargaining process. The foreign nationals had accepted mild charges related to various violations while attending the Tablighi Jamaat congregation in March. The foreign nationals were part of the congregation, which was in alleged violation of the visa norms and guidelines issued by the Indian government on Covid-19. The Bangladeshi and Kyrgyzstan foreign nationals pleaded guilty and were asked to shell out a fine of Rs 5,000 each by Metropolitan Magistrate Jitender Pratap Singh and Rohit Gulia, respectively. However, three Bangladesh and eight Kyrgyzstan nationals claimed trial after not accepting the mild charges under the plea bargain process in the case. Plea bargain is a pretrial negotiation between the accused and the prosecution where the accused agrees to plead guilty in exchange for certain concessions by the prosecution. The Crime Branch of Delhi Police has named more than 900 foreign nationals in connection with the case. 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. On July 6, the court had noted that there was prima facie sufficient material on record to proceed against the accused persons under Section14 (b) Foreigners Act, 1946, provisions of the Epidemic Diseases Act, the Disaster Management Act and the Indian Penal Code. --IANS aka/rs/ Sorry! This content is not available in your region Actor Kasturi Shankar has given the Internet the "confidence goals" with her amusing appearance on a television debate on the persistent nepotism that exists in the Hindi film industry. With no care in the world, Shankar was spotted eating her meal as the Republic TV chief Arnab Goswami and other panellists present in the session indulged into the nepotism culture seen in Bollywood -- all of which was happening on live television. A Twitter user later shared a snippet from the debate where Shankar could be seen munching in front of the Skype camera. "I need the confidence level of this lady in my life," the user quipped. I need the confidence level of this lady in my life. pic.twitter.com/DoWWQgBKgc Scotchy(Chronological) (@scotchism) July 19, 2020 The video soon went viral across the platform garnering over half a million views even prompting a response from the actor herself. "Lol. Nothing to do with confidence," Shankar wrote. Apologising for her "mess up", the actor said why she did what she did. "I spent 60 minutes watching Arnab in hypermode, He wasnt gonna let me talk anyways, so I left and grabbed lunch. but forgot to sign off skype (sic)". Surprisingly, Twitterati didn't go harsh on the actor and even went on to appreciating her for using her time to finish her meal. I appreciate you, actually eating food is not a crime or not what which is looking indecent at all , that time you were free and you use your time with right things, @KasthuriShankar ruplekha (@RuplekhaMitra1) July 20, 2020 Among all the debators seems like you made the best use of the time within the so called debate, which is even worse than a monologue. Atleast in monologue we don't expect others turn. Kudos to you, hope all future debators can learn n utilize their time productively like you :) Sarabjit (@Sarabjit_cse) July 20, 2020 While netizens filled up the comments section of the viral video with their own takes, there was a burning question floating around to know what the actor was actually eating. We all need to know what were you eating @KasthuriShankar? Looks way more interesting than the debate. https://t.co/lNHuhPugtM Shilpa Kannan (@shilpakannan) July 19, 2020 Shankar didn't shy away from answering Internet questions and went on to reveal that she was eating pongal-- a popular South Indian dish made of rice. pongal. Helps you sleep regardless of ambient noise Kasturi Shankar (@KasthuriShankar) July 19, 2020 In a subsequent tweet, the actor summed up the entire episode and wrote, "phew. successfully sat through a republictv debate without eating/leaving/turning deaf. Even managed to talk a bit :)) (sic)." Dr. Zane Saul gets it. Bridgeport Hospitals chief of infectious diseases realizes wearing a mask is uncomfortable. The face coverings used to protect people from the contagious respiratory illness COVID-19 can feel constricting and unwelcome. But, Saul said, people still need to wear them properly. You got to wear it, and you got to wear it right, he said. You need to cover your nose and your mouth both. Saul is far from the only person getting frustrated that people still havent absorbed the message about masks. Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo used Twitter to demonstrate proper mask-wearing. It included two photos. In one, Cuomo is wearing his mask properly, with his nose and mouth covered, and in the other, the mask has been pulled down under his chin. One is a mask. The other is a chin guard, Cuomo tweeted with the photos. No one told you to wear a chin guard. Wear a mask. Though thats sound advice, there are still too many people not covering enough of their faces with their masks, said Alvin Tran, assistant professor of public health in the University of New Havens School of Health Sciences. Im starting to see this trend of people of all ages wearing their masks incorrectly, he said. There needs to be more education on properly wearing and storing your mask. Yes, in addition to wearing masks incorrectly, Tran and Saul said people are not following proper protocol when the masks are off their faces, either. Saul said the masks arent meant to be hung on rearview mirrors, or crumpled on car seats or shoved in purses. Reusable ones should be stored in a clean bag, he said, and disposable ones should be thrown out after use. Storing them otherwise could lead to contamination. Tran echoed this statement, though he and Saul disagreed on the type of bag in which to store masks. Tran said the World Health Organization recommends storing the masks in a clean, resealable plastic bag (such as a Ziploc). But Saul said a paper bag is better, as condensation can form on plastic bags. Both said reusable fabric masks should be washed regularly as well, with soap or detergent. Saul said hes empathetic toward the mask-averse, but cant stress enough the importance of proper mask usage. Theres more and more evidence coming out that masks are a very effective way to prevent (COVID-19), he said. It takes a little getting used to, but once you get used to it, its fine. One possible positive step forward is that, after months of resisting it, President Donald Trump seems to have to embraced mask wearing. On Monday, Trump tweeted a picture of himself wearing a mask and called the act patriotic. Tran said, though it should have happened sooner, Trumps support for mask wearing could be helpful in encouraging others to wear face coverings. While it is a tad late in our unified efforts to curb the pandemic, I think it will have a substantial impact on the public, especially among his followers, he said. As long as the President remains consistent with this messaging that masks should be worn properly in public spaces along with social distancing I believe more people will follow suit. Its time we all take this pandemic seriously. Rep. Kim Sung-won, right, deputy floor leader of the main opposition United Future Party, and Rep. Kwon Eun-hee, floor leader of the minor opposition People's Party, submit an impeachment bill against Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae to the National Assembly Secretariat, Monday. Yonhap By Jung Da-min The opposition are seeking to impeach Justice Minister Choo Mi-ae for "abuse of power" amid her conflict with Prosecutor General Yoon Seok-youl over how to carry out an investigation into an alleged blackmail case. The main opposition United Future Party (UFP), in partnership with the minor opposition People's Party, submitted an impeachment bill to oust the minister to the National Assembly Secretariat, Monday. "Minister Choo has violated laws governing the prosecution by abusing her power multiple times. She removed some prosecutors, who were doing their best in carrying out investigations, from their posts even though it was not a regular personnel reshuffle period," UFP floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young said during a party meeting at the Assembly earlier in the day. "Choo has committed the largest number of illegalities and damaged the independence of investigations more than any other former justice minister." According to the country's Constitution, a motion for impeachment against high-ranking government officials other than the President can be proposed when at least one third of the total 300 members of the Assembly agree to it. Such a motion can be passed when more than half of the total members vote for it. Under the law governing Assembly operations, a vote must be held between 24 and 72 hours after the impeachment bill is presented at a plenary session. The impeachment bill against Choo is likely to be submitted to the plenary session Tuesday and a vote may take place Friday. As the UFP holds 103 seats and the People's Party has three, while the ruling Democratic Party of Korea (DPK) holds a supermajority of 176 seats, the bill is not likely to be passed; although Joo said, "I expect many DPK members to vote for the impeachment." This is not the first time for the opposition parties to seek to hold the justice minister in check. In early July, the UFP and the People's Party submitted a resolution calling for Choo to stop "suppressing" Yoon and maintain fairness in carrying her duties as minister. The UFP also proposed an impeachment bill as well during the 20th Assembly in July, but the bill was scrapped automatically as no plenary session was held within 72 hours. Since taking office in January this year, Choo has been in a power struggle with the prosecutor general. One of the clashes took place over the investigation into the blackmail case involving a former journalist and one of Yoon's close aides. Earlier this month, Yoon "gave in to" Choo by accepting the minister's order to recuse himself from the case. The investigation is currently being carried out by the Seoul Central District Prosecutors' Office as Choo has called for; not by the Supreme Prosecutors' Office which Yoon wanted. Other cases they were at odds over included an inspection of the prosecution regarding a claim that prosecutors allegedly pressured witnesses to commit perjury in the probe of Han Myeong-sook, a former prime minister under the late President Roh Moo-hyun. Amid the conflict, Choo even said Yoon misdirected prosecutors as he did not "modestly listen to the justice minister's order." Spike Lee has somehow always been exactly of his moment and ahead of his time, said Cameron Bailey, TIFFs artistic director and co-head. With David Brynes American Utopia, he brings Byrnes classic songs and joyous stagecraft to the screen just when we need it. Spikes latest joint is a call to connect with one another, to protest injustice, and, above all, to celebrate life. Mr. Charles Adu- Gyamfi, National president of the Ghana Progressive Hoteliers Association (GPHA) has appealed to the government to extend the electricity relief package for another three months to help sustain the hotel industry. He observed that the businesses of the hostel industry have greatly been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, which had lead to some workers being laid - off and the complete shutdown of some hotels. Mr. Adu Gyamfi made the appeal when the Association briefed the media at Fiapre near Sunyani in the Bono Region as part of the Associations 10th anniversary celebration to deliberate on the impact of COVID -19 and the way forward. Mr. Adu Gyamfi said members of the Association have suffered the heat of COVID-19 and any additional burden on electricity would lead to the total collapsed of almost all hotels in the country, he said Mr. Adu-Gyamfi explained that a facility with about 80 workers had laid- off its workers to about 10 workers. He said conferences, which used to be the main fetching events at the hotels were no more because of the social distancing protocol and that of the 100 seating capacities put in place by the government, has been the greatest challenge to the Association in hosting conferences. Mr. Adu-Gyamfi called for the quick disbursement of the government economic stimulus package to mitigate the adverse effect of the COVID-19 outbreak on businesses since the members of the Association were waiting for their portion of the package. The stimulus package would help the Association to stay in business and to keep their employers in jobs, he added. Mr. Adu-Gyamfi noted that the hoteliers business contributed a lot to the countrys Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and also help in solving the unemployment situation in the country by offering employment to the youth. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Dublin (Ireland) 21 July 2020 (SPS)- The Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade of Ireland, Simon Coveney, reaffirmed his countrys support to the right of the people of Western Sahara to self-determination and to UN-led process of decolonisation in this last colony in Africa,. In his written answer last 14 July 2020 to a question by Irish member of Parliament, Deputy Patrick Costello, who asked if Ireland will use its membership of the United Nations Security Council to push for resolution in respect of Western Sahara, Irish Minister affirmed that Ireland position on the situation in Western Sahara remains one of support to the UN-led process and the Secretary-Generals efforts to reach a definitive political settlement on this issue. We support the right to self-determination of the people of Western Sahara, but we do not have a view on the outcome of that decision be it independence, integration, autonomy, or some other solution so long as it is decided in a genuine exercise of self-determination. He further indicated that this stand will remain our position when we take up our seat on the Security Council, and we will be ready to support all efforts to advance the UN-led process and reach a lasting settlement. With regards to the stalled efforts of the UN, the Irish Minister expressed Irelands desire to see the appointment, as soon as possible, of a new UN Special Envoy, to take forward that process and build on the momentum which had been developing under the previous Special Envoy, Horst Kohler, before his departure last year. Ireland, he adds continues to support the important work of the United Nations Mission for the Referendum in Western Sahara (MINURSO), where two members of Defence Forces personnel are currently deployed. On 30 October 2019, the Security Council adopted Resolution 2494, which extended the mandate of the Mission by 12 months. In extending the mandate of the Mission, the Security Council reaffirmed its commitment to assist the parties to achieve a just, lasting, and mutually acceptable political solution, based on compromise. Simon Coveney finally recalled that Irelands approach on the Security Council will be informed by our record as a country that has a consistent, principled and independent foreign policy. Ireland is now working on preparations for taking up our Security Council seat in January, including by reviewing all items on the Councils agenda, which includes the situation in Western Sahara. (SPS) 090/500/60 (SPS) South Africa will host a virtual mini-summit on the disputed Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) on Tuesday with the leaders of Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan, after talks brokered by the African Union earlier this month failed to reach an agreement. The summit will see the participation of the leaders of the three countries and of South Africa, with five other African heads of state as observers. Trilateral virtual talks were held earlier this month on the differences on the rules of filling and operating the hydropower project Addis Ababa is building on the Blue Nile, but ended without an agreement. Egyptian negotiators have voiced their concern over Ethiopia's failure to address rules regulating the filling and operation of the GERD during drought and dry years. Egypt is also concerned about future projects on the Blue Nile, a main tributary of the Nile, and demands binding dispute settlement mechanisms, which Addis Ababa has refused to include in a deal. The three countries presented their final reports on the latest round of talks to South Africa the current African Union chair -- last week, ahead of Tuesdays planned mini-summit. Tensions escalated last week after reports that Ethiopia had begun filling the dams reservoir, based on an officials claim that was later retracted. Ethiopian state TV had quoted the countrys Water Minister Seleshi Bekele as saying that the country had started to fill the GERDs reservoir. Hours later, however, the minister denied that the filling process had started. Satellite images of the Ethiopian dam showed its swelling reservoir, while Sudan said it had recorded a decline in the water level of the Blue Nile coming from Ethiopia. Ethiopia later denied that it had begun the filling process and Ethiopian state television apologised for what it described as a misinterpretation of statements made by Bekele. Ethiopia has repeatedly said it would start filling the dams reservoir this month, with or without an accord with Egypt and Sudan. Both countries have warned about the consequences of Addis Ababa taking any unilateral action on the project, including beginning the filling process. 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 or dry years. Ethiopia, on the other hand, says the project is key to its development. Search Keywords: Short link: About a month ago, Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath called on an ailing Lalji Tandon, the governor of Madhya Pradesh. Lying on a hospital bed in Lucknow, Tandon discussed development projects for the impoverished Bundelkhand region that stretches across the two heartland states. I am in Raj Bhawan and can push some projects, Tandon told Adityanath. That was not to be. The 85-year-old veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader died early Tuesday morning after spending nearly six weeks in hospital for breathing problems, fever and kidney and liver complications. He is survived by his wife and three sons. His life and four-decade-long political career ended in the city he lived in and loved. In Lucknow, thousands knew him personally and he knew them by their first names. He was known for his love of local delicacies, his culinary prowess and his revival of the Lucknow Holi procession, where Muslims and Hindus participated with equal vigour, underlining the unique Ganga-Jamuni syncretism of the city. Also read: PM Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh condole Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandons death He forayed into electoral politics in 1971 after being elected corporator from old Lucknow. A two-time member of the Legislative Council, the state upper house, and three-time member of the legislative assembly, Tandon quickly grew used to comfortably win elections from the Muslim-dominated Lucknow West assembly constituency. He won his first assembly election in 1978. At the height of the Ram temple movement in the 90s that propelled the BJP to power in Uttar Pradesh, many crucial meetings were held at Tandons Mall Avenue residence, which also became the nerve centre for talks between the BJP and the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) ahead of the short-lived coalition government in 1997. In 2002, when the BJP extended outside support to BSP and Mayawati became chief minister for the third time, Tandon became her rakhi brother. The relationship between the two parties soured within a year, but he laughed away all the criticism he faced. His personal moment of pride came in 2009 when he inherited mentor and former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayees Lok Sabha seat of Lucknow. An emotional Tandon described himself as Atals khadau (slippers). By then, he had served as cabinet minister in UP thrice, holding the power, urban development, housing, and finance portfolios, among others. He would go on to win the Lok Sabha election by over 40,000 votes. Ahead of the 2014 Lok Sabha polls, Tandon handed over Vajpayees constituency to defence minister Rajnath Singh. His son Ashutosh Tandon became a cabinet minister in 2017 and holds the urban development portfolio. Also read: Lalji Tandon had over 40-year-long political career, was close to Atal Bihari Vajpayee In May 2018 Tandon became the governor of Bihar, a post he held for 11 months before moving on to Madhya Pradesh in July 2019. Throughout his two stints, Tandon frequently visited Lucknow and served Lakhnavi cuisine in both Raj Bhawans. He would tell people, Lucknow is much more than kebab and nawab -- its every street has a rich heritage, history, culture and cuisine. In Lucknow, innumerable tales circulate about his close relationship with Vajpayee, with whom he shared a passion for Lucknows unique culture and cuisine. Their ties were summed up by state cabinet minister Surya Pratap Shahi at the launch of Tandons book in May 2018: I remember how difficult it was to meet Atalji without Tandons nod, Shahi said. He was of the opinion that secularism ran in the blood of Lucknowites. He loved sipping coffee in the citys decades-old coffee house and host heated debates. When asked why he hadnt written a book on Lucknow cuisine, Tandon once said, No chef or cook can give information on Lucknow cuisine or spices as I can -- the real taste of Awadh. Do you know there are 1,000 types of sweets, 20 kinds of laddoos, rabri and malai? The book, Ankaha Lucknow, which talked about the history, architecture and cuisine of the city, was launched by vice president Venkiah Naidu in May 2018 This book tells the real story of Lucknow. It may create some controversies too. But history cant be distorted; truth cannot be hidden, Tandon had told this author. That was Lalji Tandon, a peoples man who didnt hesitate to call a spade a spade. Dorchester District 2 students shouldn't expect to be back in class full time this fall unless COVID-19 activity dramatically changes. Face-to-face is not possible now," said district Superintendent Joe Pye. The state health departments assessment of the level of COVID-19 activity in Dorchester County will determine whether students will be learning online only or a combination of face-to-face and online courses in September. The district school board on Monday night unanimously approved the Reopening of Schools Steering Committee's calendar and education plans for the fall. "This whole report is very flexible," said Pye, who helped formalize the plan. Every student will have their own computer. The board is still waiting for the S.C. Department of Education's approval of their education plan that was submitted July 16. On Wednesday, Gov. Henry McMaster called on all school districts to provide either face-to-face instruction five days a week or an online option. The next day the district submitted its plan that doesn't include a full-time option in the fall. I think like a lot of folks. Im pretty disappointed in the governor right now," said Justin Farnsworth, a school board member. In DD2's plan, students will have two learning options in the fall: school-based instruction or an online-only virtual academy. The school-based instruction choice will have three models based on whether the S.C. Department of Health and Environmental Control labels COVID-19 activity in Dorchester County as low, medium or high. The three models include: Low activity Students will attend school five days a week and receive face-to-face instruction. Medium activity Students will do a hybrid model of two days of face-to-face instruction and three days of online learning. High activity Emergency online learning will be implemented along with the closing of school buildings. DHEC currently lists coronavirus activity as high in Dorchester County. Pye is hoping that by Sept. 8, the official start date for the district, the activity level will be medium and they can enter the school year with the hybrid model. Students will be separated into two groups in that model. One group will do face-to-face instruction at the beginning of the week while the other will do online learning. At the end of the week, they will switch. Buses will continue to run during the hybrid model. The district is also giving students the option to enroll in the online academy regardless of the level of disease activity. Instruction will be done by DD2 teachers along with Apex Learning, Edmentum and Virtual SC curriculum. The deadline to apply for the academy is July 28. Daily attendance will be required and students and teachers will follow a similar schedule to if they were in the school building. Students will have the option to transition out of virtual learning to school-based instruction at the end of the fall semester. "We are providing options," said Lori Estep, the executive director of elementary schools for the district. "Our teachers are ready and excited." Board members also approved a bell schedule. Elementary schools will run from 7:15 a.m. to 1:45 p.m., middle schools will go from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m., and high schools will run 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. Additional details on the reopening will be continuously worked on in the coming weeks. OWC's Belgium EU HQ now taking pre-orders for August delivery; special price of 79,00 includes all taxes and delivery to any destination in the European Union. WOODSTOCK, Illinois, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- OWC ; a leading zero emissions Mac and PC technology company and one of the world's most respected providers of Memory, External Drives, SSDs, Mac & PC docking solutions and performance upgrade kits announces that their new OWC Envoy Express, the world's first Thunderbolt 3 certified bus-powered portable storage enclosure available without a pre-installed drive, is available to purchase with fulfillment from their new European HQ/Distribution center in Belgium. For all of OWC's EU customers, this new tech solution is available to order now with limited-time, all VAT and delivery inclusive special pricing on this exciting new product. History-Making DIY Pocket-Sized Storage Solution While small in form, the OWC Envoy Express is big news. For the first time ever in the history of Thunderbolt, users can buy a bus-powered Thunderbolt certified enclosure and install their own drive in it. Finally, a DIY kit that allows users to break free of pre-configured choice limits in order to build a pocket-sized storage solution that meets their specific needs. And rebuild it anytime those needs change. More options. More usability. More functionality.first and only from OWC. The Power of Build Your Own Options Build the Envoy Express with a brand-new drive for a fast boot drive. Re-task an existing drive replaced during an upgrade for added storage and backup capacity. Use Envoy Express to regain access to files on a drive removed from an inoperable machine. Whatever the reason for building a bus-powered Thunderbolt enclosure, Envoy Express has the power to make it happen. Backup, Play and Edit. Faster. Whether backing up growing photo and music libraries, sharing files, playing your favorite games and movies anywhere, even capturing and editing up to 8K video, the Envoy Express does it all. And it's built to support super-fast sustained data transfer rates up to 1553MB/soften faster than a machine's internal drive performance! Uses Today's and Tomorrow's Drives Designed to support any 2280 M.2 NVMe SSD, the Envoy Express gives users freedom of flexibility to use any drive today - including OWC Aura SSDs up to 4.0TB capacity - as well as being ready for tomorrow's 8.0TB, 16TB and future capacities without limit. Highlights Certified: first bus-powered enclosure meeting stringent Thunderbolt power requirements. Compatible with any Thunderbolt 3 or 4 equipped computer. DIY easy: uses any 2280 M .2 NVMe SSD available today and in the future .2 NVMe SSD available today and in the future Super-fast: supports up to 1553MB/s real-world performance 1 Convenient: ready to go with 10.2-inch Thunderbolt 3 cable Compact: shorter than a ballpoint pen and weighs only 3.3 ounces with drive Silent: runs cool and distraction-free Stylishly rugged: Black anodized aluminum provides "field-tough" data protection Gets onboard: includes back of laptop screen slide mount for safe, out-of-the-way use Gets Onboard with Macs and PCs When working space is limited, the Envoy Express mounting system is the solution. Today's office is where you make it - a cramped airplane seat, a tiny coffeeshop table, on your lap in a remote location. There's no power outlet and not enough room for an external drive. Besides being the industry's first Thunderbolt 3 bus-powered (no power adapter required) enclosure, the Envoy Express is the first to include a laptop mounting system. Super-strong, removable adhesive gel and a lightweight yet durable plastic holder secure the Envoy Express to the back of a Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac or PC laptop screen. Need to share the Envoy Express? It can work cross-platform with Macs and PCs using OWC's MacDrive software. "The entire team at OWC is excited about this first-to-market offering of a bus-powered Thunderbolt certified enclosure," said Larry O'Connor, Founder and CEO of OWC. "We receive requests all of the time from customers as to what they need from OWC. Our development team and engineers worked closely with Intel on the Envoy Express, and we are proud to continue to bring our customers cutting-edge offerings that allow them to work to peak performance. The Envoy Express DIY kit allows OWC customers to build a certified ultra-portable storage solution that meets their exact needs. We have always prided ourselves on providing the best customer service, and now, with the ability to order and ship directly to our EU customers from our Belgium location, we are happy to say we can get the Envoy Express to them quickly and with none of the customs charges US orders would receive." OWC's Aura P12 SSDs provide a perfect fit for the Envoy Express, with an optimized blend of speed and reliability. With speeds up to 3400MB/s, the Aura P12s offer dependable speed and data protection for large media files including 8K video, high-res photos and audio files. With faster data transfer, users can quickly move to the next phase of their projects, worry-free. The Envoy Express comes complete with the tools required for easy drive installation. OWC also offers a wide variety of the toolkits users need to support servicing of Macs, PCs and other electronics. The OWC Envoy Express is available for pre-order now, with special, all taxes and delivery inclusive pricing of 79,00 for a limited time. Units begin shipping in August. For customers in the USA and other regions, the limited-time pre-order special is available here. OWC EU Headquarters, located in Belgium, offers shorter shipping times throughout Europe as well as local language customer service and warranty support. For sales, service or support, call 0031202610709 or email support@owc.eu. About OWC Other World Computing (OWC), founded in 1988, is dedicated to helping Mac and PC enthusiasts do more and reach higher. We believe in sustainability and OWC solutions are truly built to last, and enable users to maximize the technology investment they have already made. OWC's operation provides leadership in business sustainability, with our headquarters among the first in the world awarded LEED Platinum OWC features an award-winning technical support team as well as an unparalleled library of step-by-step DIY and informational videos. From the home desktop to the enterprise rack, to the audio recording studio to the motion picture set and beyond, there should be no compromise, and that is why OWC is here. Get social: follow OWC Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. 2020 Other World Computing, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple and Mac are the trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Intel and Thunderbolt are trademarks of Intel Corporation registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other marks may be the trademark or registered trademark property of their respective owners. Disclosures #1: Drive not included. Performance results will vary depending on user-installed drive. 1553MB/s performance based on testing a 2.0TB OWC Aura Pro P12 equipped Envoy Express connected to an iMac Pro Late 2017 (iMacPro1,1) with 32GB RAM and 3.2GHz processor running AJA System Test (4K-Full resolution, 16GB file size, 10bit RGB codec, single file test). Thunderbolt3 @getthunderbolt Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1216471/envoy_express_hero.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/728366/OWC_Logo.jpg South Korea's first-ever military communications satellite has been successfully launched by Elon Musk's company spacex. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the ANASIS-II satellite blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said. SpaceX confirmed the satellite deployed about 32 minutes after the lift-off at 5pm local time, on Monday afternoon (July 20). After separating from the rocket, the satellite successfully communicated with the Toulouse Space Operations Center in the French city of Toulouse at 7:19pm. The satellite is expected to reach its orbit of 22,300 miles (36,000 km) in two weeks and South Korea's military will take over the system in October after testing. The satellite is intended to build up South Korea's defence capabilities against the nuclear-armed North, which invaded in 1950. Scroll down for video The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the ANASIS-II satellite blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida DAPA said the launch made South Korea the tenth country in the world to own a military-only communications satellite, which will provide 'permanent and secured military communications'. Anasis-II will replace Anasia, a communications satellite used for both military and civilian uses, but unlike its predecessor, Anasis-II will be used exclusively for military purposes. 'Anasis-II has more than twice the data transmission capacity as its existing counterparts and can maintain communication despite obstructive jamming,' DAPA said in a statement. Falcon 9 Block 5 rocket carrying the Anasis-II satellite, South Korea's first military communications satellite, waiting for lift off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, 20 July 2020 (issued 21 July 2020) DAPA said the satellite will provide a stable and safe telecommunications network exclusively for the military. Seoul is looking to enhance its military capabilities as it pushes to end an arrangement under which, if war breaks out, US commanders will have authority over their combined forces. The satellite was 'expected to improve the South Korean military's independent operational capabilities', an official at its defence ministry told Yonhap news agency. On Monday, July 20 at 5:00 p.m., SpaceXs Falcon 9 launched the ANASIS-II mission from Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida Seoul and Washington are security allies and the US stations 28,500 troops in South Korea, French news agency AFP reports. But their relationship has been strained in recent years, triggered by differences in their approaches to Pyongyang, and over cost-sharing responsibilities. After take-off, SpaceX liners in the water surrounding the launch site caught both halves of the nosecone fairing that detach from the launch vehicle. Videos of yesterdays catch of both fairing halves pic.twitter.com/yzTDFzlulL SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 21, 2020 'Both fairing halves caught from space by @SpaceX ships!' Musk tweeted. The equipment can be reused, saving as much as $6 million per launch. The entire launch can be rewatched on SpaceX's YouTube channel and in the video below. A Falcon 9 rocket previously launched Crew Dragon capsule to the International Space Station with NASA astronauts Bob Behnken and Doug Hurley on board at the end of May. Following the launch, Musk told his company employees to accelerate progress on its commercial passenger vehicle Starship dramatically and immediately. Starship will carry humans and commercial cargo to the Moon, Mars and beyond. In the 1960s, I saw Bertolt Brechts The Good Person of Szechwan staged in the Modern Theatre in Cairo. A water seller, the narrator, realises from conversations with gods and wisemen that there is nothing logical, right or proper about him having to sell water while it is raining cats and dogs. Developments over a half century after that insight into the flaws in how life worked in a Chinese village brought to mind another visit to China. This was in person, in February 2002, as a member of a delegation of journalists from Al-Ahram to Huangpu district of Shanghai, one of the icons of Chinese progress in the modern era. We were there to investigate how that country had evolved and adapted to the major world changes since the end of the Cold War and the emergence of the US as the uncontested leader of the world order. This was also the time of the beginning of the great rise of China and several years after Indias and Pakistans nuclear tests which shook the world as much as the Asian financial crisis before that. We met with numerous officials from then president Jiang Zemin to the municipal head of Huangpu district. The latter related the developmental experience that made it possible for his small district (population four million) in that coastal metropolis to attract $4 billion in foreign investment during the previous year alone. We naturally pelted him with questions. To our knowledge, China was still a socialist country even it if added such terms as the social market economy to its lexicon. We wanted to know what China did with its public sector labour and all the extra employees in its overstaffed government bureaucracy. How did it handle the estimated 600 million poor (which have since been reduced to 150 million, or 10 per cent of the population)? How did Huangpu district manage to attract such huge investments and how did the government manage to keep Chinese migration to Shanghai restricted to people with previously signed work contracts? Our amazement and our eager questions as we drew comparisons with the situation in Cairo caused him to pause for a few seconds. Then he said: You have to change how you think, first. The lesson from Shanghai was that you cannot achieve fundamental changes in society without fundamentally changing ideas. The Arab world experienced such a moment of a change in thinking during the past decade. It was triggered by the so-called Arab Spring, and the spread of terrorist movements across the Arab region and then into the US, the UK, France, Germany and elsewhere, followed by successive waves of migrants and refugees fleeing the hells of Syria, Iraq, Libya and Yemen. The world abroad began to associate terrorism with the Arabs and Muslims and political scientists and commentators began to speak, more euphemistically, of the Arab exception. Meanwhile, in the Arab world, the countries that had managed to weather the Arab Spring maelstrom and initiate profound reform processes realised that they could not fight terrorism and the fundamentalist movements that breed it without a renovation of religious thought. Towards this end they induced their religious establishments to engage in a process of ideological introspection, targeting in particular scriptural interpretations and exegeses that supported reactionary and intolerant attitudes towards women and minorities. It was not an easy process. But some years down the line, we can observe hopeful signs of progress in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE and in the contributions of their religious establishments, such as Al-Azhar in Egypt. But it was also essential to reform the social and economic environment. Taking advantage of newly available modern technologies, these countries were able to complete mega development projects in record time and create new cities inspired by urban concepts that would make them more receptive to fresh and innovative ideas. In Egypt and Saudi Arabia, in particular, the results can be seen palpably in the economic environment and in the greater participation of women and minorities in civic life. In the process of reforms, these countries have experienced a rediscovery of their national identities through historical research or archaeological excavations that have deepened the chronological awareness of the state. An example is the exhibition of Saudi antiquities, that I was able to see several years ago in Houston, Texas, and that took spectators through Saudi Arabias history from its relations with pharaonic Egypt through the Nabatean eras up to the Islamic era. In Egypt, such a process of self-discovery began in the 19th century and the knowledge of a history that stretched back millennia into the pre-Christian era became an essential part of the formation of the Egyptian nation state. Despite the efforts on the part of both the government and religious institutions, the Arab region still teems with extremist, bigoted and fanatical ideas. The battle against them continues to rage without interruption due to Sunni and Shia fundamentalist organisations, from Muslim Brotherhood chapters across the region to the Hizbullahs in Lebanon and Iraq, and to the regional hegemonic drives of Iran, which seeks to disseminate its theocratic rule by clergy, and Turkey, which is working to restore the Ottoman caliphate. Clearly what is missing in this battle is the input of a body of enlightened thought from lay circles, because otherwise the conversation will remain a contest over who is closer to the correct faith and, sometimes, who is more faithful to Ibn Taymiyah. Egypt emerged from the mediaeval eras and Mameluke and Ottoman thought into the 19th and 20th centuries thanks to the establishment of a civil and universal education system that included female education and the establishment of an array of scientific and academic societies and organisations in every discipline. The key to the current struggle for intellectual revival is the same. It resides in the quantity and quality of the drive towards the scientific approach to discovering the world and the universe in which we live. In Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE efforts are in progress to disseminate scientific culture, sometimes utilising social media resources and online communities to circulate and discuss ideas. The Emirates Mars Mission is a ground-breaking initiative in the applications of scientific thought that comes on top of the UAEs previous forays into solar energy and Saudi Arabias inroads into minimally pollutant low carbon intensity oil production. Such efforts help steer Arab thought and the Arab people into the realm of rational, scientific universalist thought and away from myths, superstition and quackery, while simultaneously preserving the spiritual peace that derives from faith and the direct relationship with God. Promoting a scientific culture, historical research and knowledge in general about the world around us; attention to the soft powers of music, literature and the arts in general; and exploring new ways to encourage innovation in the arts and other realms are the keys to opening the doors to rational thought, supporting the modern state, and ending extremism. The writer is chairman of the board, CEO and director of the Regional Centre for Strategic Studies. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: COVID-19 cases linked to venues in Paddington and Chippendale have not yet been linked to existing Sydney outbreaks. The source of a case in a receptionist from a western Sydney medical centre also remains unknown. The Village Inn at Paddington. Credit:Jessica Hromas Thirteen new cases of coronavirus were confirmed in the 24-hours to 8pm on Monday, as the Crossroads Hotel outbreak grew to 50 cases. Cases linked to the Thai Rock restaurant outbreak swelled to 26, and a NSW Health spokeswoman said the source of that cluster is also still under investigation. The 2020 Oswego Harborfest may be canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and construction, but you can still get a taste of your favorite festival treats this weekend in the Lake Ontario city. Main Event Amusement will be running the Carnival Eats Harborfest event from July 24-26 from noon to 7 p.m. each day at the Lake Street Parking Lot adjacent to the U.S. Coast Guard Station. This is on the East end of Lake Street where the Midway would be. Main Event Amusement, based in Solvay, drew crowds to their pop-up New York State Fair style drive-thru at the Inner Harbor earlier this year. The company has been operating food stands, rides and games at the State Fair and other carnival-style events in the Northeast for 30 years. All required safety precautions will be followed and all employees will wear masks and gloves. Guests will be asked to wear masks when ordering and practice proper social distance. Ordering lines will be monitored and items can be paid for by cash, credit or debit card. You can expect to find the following favorites at the Carnival Eats Harborfest event: Deep Fried Oreos Deep Fried Twinkies Funnel Cakes Candy and Carmel Apples Corn Dogs Fried Dough Fried Cheese on a stick Cotton Candy Greek Gyros Fresh Squeezed Lemonade Chicken Gyros Italian Sausage French Fries Hot Dogs Deep Fried Pickles Fair Novelties Fried Pickles Ashley Lynn Wine Slushies The 33rd edition of the annual Oswego Harborfest was scheduled for July 23 through July 26. It draws about 75,000 people over four days and offers music performances, attractions, a wide variety of vendors and a fireworks display. The festival is scheduled to return July 22-25, 2021. READ MORE No mask, no service: Some restaurant diners get mad when told to cover up WCNYs Taste of Fame moves online; chef Marcus Samuelsson will headline virtual dinner Dining out on Walton Street: How the first day went (photos) Entertainment tenants reopening at Destiny USA With the government discussing the possibilities of a second stimulus check, a new study has observed that black people, Latinos, and the poor were less likely to receive the $1,200 direct payments that Congress passed early this year to aid those affected by the coronavirus pandemic. Inconsistencies of the stimulus checks Tax Policy Center's study revealed that while the distribution of the direct payments to Americans was mostly successful, there were also several inconsistencies on who received the stimulus checks that depended on income, race, ethnicity, and family citizenship. According to USA Today, 30 percent of adults aged younger than 65 years old reported that their families failed to receive the stimulus payments or did not have knowledge if the payment has arrived as of the end of May. Nearly 59 percent of adults that were earning at or below 100 percent of the federal poverty level had reported that they received the stimulus checks and almost 74 percent of white adults confirmed they have gotten their payments. Only 69 percent of black adults and 64 percent of Hispanics, however, reported that they received their government support. The report also said there were several reasons for the disparities, including some people lacking a bank account or having no access to the internet. Some adult Latinos, on the other hand, were ineligible to receive their stimulus checks because either they or their spouse were undocumented or did not have the qualifications to be considered residents of the US. The difficulties faced in the first stimulus check will likely challenge lawmakers on their proposals for the second batch of direct payments. Also Read: Second Stimulus Could be Distributed Quickly Once Approved but Limited to Fewer People Congressional leaders are hoping that by the end of the month, a second coronavirus stimulus check would be passed. United States President Donald Trump had previously met with GOP leaders on Monday where he discussed his plans for the second stimulus package. Co-author of the study, Janet Holtzblatt, told reporters during an interview that individuals who did not file tax returns were less likely to receive the stimulus checks due to the difficulty the tax system has in reaching them, as reported by The Hill. Equalizing government support To address the issue, Senate Democrats have proposed a new plan to give equal opportunities to communities of color. The Economic Justice Act would distribute $350 billion to the worst-stricken communities. Untouched funds from the Federal Reserve's emergency lending programs would provide part of the act's funding. Chuck Schumer, the Senate Democratic Leader, said that before the coronavirus pandemic and the economic recession that the country is currently facing, there have already been structural inequalities that limit some people's opportunities. According to Forbes, the act focuses on reversing "decades of underinvestment" in communities of color and provides several programs to help citizens rise economically. Democrats are suggesting to pay for the act by taking more than half of its required funds from unspent money by the CARES Act that would amount to nearly $200 billion. Related Article: $600 Unemployment Benefits to End in Days: Mitch McConnell, Republicans Encourage People to Work @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. New Delhi/Jabalpur, July 21 : In what can be seen as a rift within the church, the office bearers of the Church of North India (CNI) Synod has decided to immediately send Bishop Rev Basil B Baskey "on leave of absence and dissolve the Executive Committee of the Diocesan Council of Chotanagpur" after the Bishop rebelled against the church body and wanted to secede from the umbrella organisation. The decision was taken on Tuesday in a crucial meeting of CNI in Jabalpur which was attended by its key functionaries. The CNI reasoned its stern action by elaborating, "Rev Basikl B Baskey has informed that the Chotanagpur Diocese has decided to withdraw from the Church of North India Synod and declared itself to be an autonomous diocese." The CNI further claimed that the rebel Bishop also laid claim to moveable and immovable properties vested in the Chotanagpur Diocesan Trust Association and the Chotanagpur Education Society, adding that they too will cease to be part of the CNI -- its umbrella body. Calling it "serious indiscipline and insubordination", the CNI said, "No Diocese has the right to secede from the Church of North India." Speaking to IANS, CNI's Suresh Jacob, who is now part of an inquiry committee looking into the rebellion and secession attempt by none less than a Bishop, had startling allegations to make. Jacob said, "We have reasons to believe that it stems from a property dispute. We have learnt that Bishop Baskey wanted to lease some church properties in Hazaribagh in Jharkhand. In these days and age, with land sharks around, many were apprehensive about the future." Jacob also alleged that Bishop Baskey along with other key functionaries of the Diocese did not appear in front of either a reconciliation panel, or a fact finding team. Meanwhile, dealing with this unprecedented rebellion within the Church of North India, the CNI has appointed Rev Joljas Kujur as the "Moderator's Commissary" for the Chotanagpur Diocese and an ad hoc committee has been put in place to function in place of the rebellious Bishop. As we reported HERE in January, the Commemorative Air Forces Dixie Wing in Peachtree City, Georgia has begun restoring a Stearman (Boeing) N2S-2 Kaydet which they acquired last August. A lot has happened in the interim; indeed the unit acquired a second airframe from near Austin, Texas in February. Maintenance Officer Randy Hawkins explained the reasoning, stating: I was surfing the Barnstormers website, and I came across an ad for a Steaman project for sale. The condition seemed great and the price was even better. I decided to visit the seller in Texas, and when I saw the project, I knew right there that we could not pass up such an awesome deal. After settling up with the previous owner, the Dixie Wing had the airframe transported back to Georgia by road. Hawkins noted: This second airframe will allow us to jump start this restoration and save a lot of time. The previous owner has done an incredible job with the airplane and, as a result, our volunteers can start this project already with a stand-alone airframe. Warbird Digests very own Moreno Aguiari is the project manager for the Stearman rebuilds, and shared more details about the decision to acquire this second airframe: We did not plan to acquire a second airframe, as our economic resources are pretty slim, but this deal made sense. After Randy visited with the owner of the airplane and provided positive feedback, we took into consideration all of the pros and cons, and it very much made sense to pull the trigger. While the acquisition will dry out our bank account in the short term, it will allow us to save money in a long term, and cut a considerable amount of time on the restoration project. The Dixie Wing is currently investigating the history of this second Stearman, which appears to be another U.S. Navy example of the iconic WWII biplane trainer. As readers may remember, the Dixie Wings first N2S joined the U.S. Navy as Bu.03531 on July 9th, 1941. Her first assignment was at Naval Air Station (NAS) Corpus Christi in Texas. The Navy then transferred the Kaydet to a Naval Reserve Air Base in Detroit, Michigan on April 9th, 1942. Her next assignment involved moving on April 1st, 1944 to Naval Air Intermediate Training (NAIT) at Rodd Field, back in Corpus Christi, Texas. The aircraft then moved to join the aircraft pool in Dallas, Texas that November, with the Navy striking her from their books on November 30th. The CAF have listed N2S-2 Bu.03531 as N50329 on the U.S. civil registry. Earlier this year, the Dixie Wing realized that their most immediate freeing up extra space at the museum to start a proper parts inventory process. With the Dixie Wings restoration shop already occupied by wings from the Ryan PT-26 belonging to the CAFs Heart of America Wing (Dixie Wing members are helping a sister unit), they decided to purchase a 40ft shipping container to use as a storage facility. Members constructed and installed shelves and hardware inside the container, thus allowing them to properly store the parts from both airplanes and begin the inventory process. The Dixie Wing set up an online orientation meeting for its members. But on Saturday, July 18th, CAF Dixie Wing volunteers were able to kick off the restoration process in person! The unit intends to develop a restoration program with leadership from several of the units female members as a way of honoring Rosie the Riveter, the cultural icon who represented women workers at factories and shipyards during World War II. As the Dixie Wing noted, One of our goals with this restoration is to involve all our members who dont have experience with restoring airplanes. The Stearman is a fairly straightforward airplane, and definitely less complex that other warbirds we have in our collection. With the supervision of our A&P mechanics and expert restorers any member could have the opportunity to restore a piece of history. Maintenance Officer, Randy Hawkins held a tutorial for how to identify parts and consult the airplane parts catalog. He also showed female members how to use a sand blaster to clean up parts, providing them the opportunity to operate the tool themselves. At the moment, there are five female members taking part in the restoration. This will indeed be a great way to honor the real Rosies who made such a critical contribution to the war effort. CAF Dixie Wing member, Robyn Rosenzweig, who works as a business manager at a medial laboratory during her day job, told Warbird Digest: This is a great opportunity for us female members to contribute to the mission of the CAF in a very meaningful way. During World War II, women took on a variety of disciplines previously closed to them, but it was the aviation industry that saw the greatest increase in female workers. Indeed, more than 310,000 women worked in the U.S. aircraft industry during 1943; they comprised fully 65% of the industrys total workforce, compared to just 1% in pre-war years. The intent of this project is to encourage more women to get involved in the CAF, and aviation as a whole. In a way, we are like those women who came from all walks of life and took on the tasks of building airplanes, ships and tanks in American factories. We all have regular jobs, but we want to contribute to the restoration of this Stearman, and honor all the Rosies in the process. As of last Saturday, Dixie Wing volunteers have begun the painstaking inventory and parts assessment process which will allow the teams to determine what Kaydet components they can restore/refurbish, and what they will need to build or acquire elsewhere. We look forwards to covering this restoration from start-to-finish here at Warbird Digest! To support the Stearman restoration, please visit www.cafstearman.com Recently and after arduous training and meticulous preparation, Sunset World Group's Sunset Royal Beach Resort and Hacienda Tres Rios Resort, Spa & Nature Park received the Tourism Facility Protection and Prevention Health Certificate (CPPSIT) from the state of Quintana Roo through the Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Health, for putting the necessary sanitary measures to prevent and contain COVID-19 into practice. Sunset Royal and Hacienda Tres Rios staff received online training for six weeks, between May and June. This training consisted of the implementation of general sanitary measures, specific sanitary measures in each work area, personnel protection measures including the proper use of personal protective equipment, employee transportation sanitary measures and sanitary measures for suppliers and companies that work with and in the hotel. After completing training and implementation, Sunset Royal's Human Resources department prepared a report with photographic evidence of 242 measures, including 120 service protocols, facility and sanitation processes. After analyzing the report, the authorities approved a CPPSIT for Sunset Royal and Hacienda Tres Rios. "Our main objective is to offer our members and guests the safest possible stay and a properly sanitized environment to welcome them," said Luis Fernando Garrido, Sunset World Group Corporate Training Manager, "Our staff members are key and if they are safe, our members and guests are too, and that is why this certificate is so important, he added. The list of certified tourist facilities in the state of Quintana Roo up to now can be consulted in the following links: https://cptq.mx/certificacion-cppsit/ https://qroo.gob.mx/sedetur https://cptq.mx/ Sunset World Group is a family-owned Mexican company and a leader in the hospitality industry, offering authentic and unforgettable vacation experiences in Cancun and the Riviera Maya. It was founded more than 30 years ago and has grown to offer six resorts, world-class travel services, amenities and a diverse network of operational and marketing solutions that focus on providing the best vacation experiences for its Members and guests. From cultural excursions to water sports, the Members of Sunset World are never far from their next great adventure. WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Tuesday in support of barring undocumented immigrants from being counted for congressional apportionment next year. Doing so, he said, would represent a "better understanding of the Constitution" than the way apportionment has been implemented for over two centuries. "For the purpose of the reapportionment of Representatives following the 2020 census, it is the policy of the United States to exclude from the apportionment base aliens who are not in a lawful immigration status . . . to the maximum extent feasible and consistent with the discretion delegated to the executive branch," the memo said. Democratic lawmakers blasted it, and civil rights organizations that successfully challenged the administration's attempt to add a citizenship question to the census said they will sue over it. "Today's memorandum will end up in the dustbin of history as yet another exemplar of Donald Trump's disturbing embrace of white nationalism," Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), said in a statement. "MALDEF will be in court to stop this latest example of blatantly unconstitutional executive action by a failed presidency." Dale Ho, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said that Trump's "latest attempt to weaponize the census for an attack on immigrant communities will be found unconstitutional. We'll see him in court, and win, again." New York Attorney General Letitia James, a Democrat who led a multistate suit against the question, also said she will challenge the memo in court. Since taking office, the Trump administration repeatedly has tried to change the way the decennial census is carried out and how its data is used. A draft of an executive order less than two weeks after his inauguration recommended that the census ask about immigration status. The following year, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that the question would be added to the survey, leading to lawsuits that revealed a paper trail of administration officials struggling to justify the move. The litigation also showed that the administration had been in contact with a now-deceased Republican strategist who had determined that a citizenship question would give an electoral advantage to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites. Last summer, after the Supreme Court struck down the question, saying the administration had presented a "contrived" reason for wanting to add it, Trump ordered federal agencies to share administrative-records data on citizenship with the Commerce Department. Civil rights organizations have filed a lawsuit saying that order is discriminatory and violates the Administrative Procedure Act, the same law that challengers invoked against the citizenship question. The administration also last month added two high-level political appointees to the bureau, eliciting criticism from Democrats in the House and Senate and raising concern that the new hires could attempt to influence the count. Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, called the memo "an illegal and unconstitutional attempt to scare people from participating in the Census and influence congressional representation." Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, said the committee will hold an emergency hearing on the census next week and is considering additional ways to respond to the memo. "Taking this step right in the middle of the ongoing Census is particularly egregious and sinister because it appears purposefully designed to depress the count, deter people from filling out their forms, and corrupt the Democratic processes on which our nation is founded," Maloney said in a statement co-signed by Rep. Jamie Raskin, D-Md., chairman of the subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties. "We fought and defeated the President's last attempt to scrawl his anti-immigrant graffiti all over the Census, and we'll stop him again now." The memo seeks to overturn a system in place since the decennial count began in 1790. Typically by the end of a census year, the data from the count is delivered to the president, who then presents it to Congress to use for apportionment of representatives, based on the count of people living in each jurisdiction. In a statement, Trump referred to his order last July for federal agencies to share administrative records. "Today, I am following through on that commitment by directing the Secretary of Commerce to exclude illegal aliens from the apportionment base following the 2020 census," he said, adding that the action "reflects a better understanding of the Constitution and is consistent with the principles of our representative democracy." But the wording of the memo implies that it is not necessarily actionable. It stipulates that the commerce secretary "shall take all appropriate action, consistent with the Constitution and other applicable law, to provide information permitting the President, to the extent practicable, to exercise the President's discretion to carry out the policy." Legal and census experts said the plan is neither legal nor practicable. "It's patently unconstitutional," said Thomas Wolf, senior counsel and Spitzer fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York University's School of Law. For apportionment, Section 2 of the 14th Amendment requires a count of all persons, he said. "Persons means people. Everyone must be counted . . . regardless of race or ethnicity or citizenship status," he said, adding that implementing what the president proposes "would be asking every American to disregard the plain text of the Constitution and ignore what their eyes tell them about what the law and the American Constitution is about. It's another example of the Trump administration putting some ill-conceived notion of ideology or self-interest ahead of the country." A likely outcome is that the Commerce Department's general counsel will tell the secretary that it is not legal to exclude anyone living in the country from being counted for apportionment, said Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. "I think this ends up doing nothing," he said. "It will take somebody to go back [to the president] to say, 'We cannot do this practicably and consistent with applicable law.' " In addition to congressional apportionment, data from the 2020 Census, which is currently underway, will be used to determine state redistricting and $1.5 trillion a year in federal funding. The 2020 count has been beset, first by the citizenship question litigation, and now by the pandemic, which has hampered the Census Bureau's ability to collect data on schedule. In April the administration asked Congress to extend the deadline for reporting the data by four months. Census Bureau Associate Director for Decennial Census Programs Albert Fontenot said this month that at this point it is too late for the bureau to deliver an accurate count by its original Dec. 31 deadline. But a four-month delay could create a roadblock for any plan to exclude undocumented immigrants if Trump is defeated and a new administration takes over in January, before the data becomes available to use for reapportionment. In its Heroes Act, the House approved the bureau's request for the delay, along with an additional $400 million to help with the count. It is unclear whether a pending Senate relief bill will approve a change in the deadline. Even if the administration found some way to legally exclude undocumented people from the count, it would be impossible to implement, Levitt said, adding that by law, apportionment must be based on the decennial census, which does not ask about respondents' legal status. "There is no list of citizens, so there's nothing to do the math with," Levitt said, adding that he wouldn't be surprised if the memo spurs lawmakers to draft a bill that clarifies that everybody must be counted. Litigation over a version of Tuesday's memo is already playing out in Alabama, which has sued the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau, arguing that immigrants should not be counted for apportionment or federal funding if they are not in the United States legally, even if they do fill out the decennial survey. The 14th Amendment, enacted after the Civil War, mandates that representatives be apportioned "counting the whole number of persons in each State." (The Constitution originally contained similar language but distinguished between free people and enslaved people, who counted as three-fifths of a person.) It is unlikely that either Tuesday's memo or the Alabama suit would prevail in court. But some see the administration's repeated rhetoric about excluding undocumented immigrants as a strategy to move the needle on the national debate. The memo could be a sign of desperation from a president whose popularity is taking a beating in an election year, Levitt said. "Part of the impact of floating the idea is probably the messaging - showing this to his supporters as him fighting for them." Tuesday's memo comes as the Census Bureau begins outreach to the nation's hardest-to-count groups, including immigrants. If the government is seen as trying to disenfranchise them, some might be less likely to respond to the survey, immigrant advocates said. "This is an order designed to sow fear and mistrust between peoples and becomes a matter of life and death as the US battles a deadly pandemic," said a statement from the Industrial Areas Foundation, a group that works with churches and organizers in the West and Southwest to educate and support minority communities. Wolf said the memo is not only frivolous but potentially dangerous for anyone in an area that gets undercounted, regardless of whether they are in the United States legally. "Right now we're in a pandemic, and the census is going to be key," he said, noting that census data is used to determine education, food assistance, transportation and health care. "Every community that's suffering from the pandemic is going to need as much help as it can get, and if any community gets undercounted at the end of the day, every American is going to be left holding the bag." The Osun State House of Assembly on Tuesday received a letter from Governor Gboyega Oyetola requesting for an amendment of the state 2020 Appropriation Bill, reducing the budget of the state from N119. 55 billion to N82.22 billion. Reading the letter at the plenary session, the Speaker of the Assembly, Timothy Owoeye, said the governor explained that the reduction in budget was due to the effect of COVID-19 on the global economy, which equally affected the federal government allocation and the state revenue. In the letter titled: 2020 Amended Appropriation Bill, the governor explained that coronavirus had affected revenue generation variables of the state and that was why the state 2020 Appropriation Bill had to be reviewed downward. He said N9.4 billion of the revised amendment (which makes 11 and a half per cent) would be spent and dedicated to fighting COVID-19 and the post-COVID-19 pandemic effects in the state. Mr Oyetola said the amendment was based on reality and implored the lawmakers not to give attention to any state ministry, agency or department that wanted any upward adjustment of its budget. The amendment bill was passed by the lawmakers for first and second readings and the policy trust of the bill was equally read. The lawmakers unanimously said the bill be given accelerated passage, because of the reality of the coronavirus on the state and the world economy. The speaker said the amendment was a 35 per cent reduction in the 2020 Appropriation Bill, saying the dedication of part of the budget to fighting COVID-19 and post-COVID-19 effects was laudable as many businesses had been affected and crippled by the global pandemic. In another letter received by the assembly, the governor asked for the confirmation of the appointments of Isa Aderibigbe, a retired brigadier-general, as the Chairman of the Osun Security Network and Amotekun Corps Governing Board and Bashir Aderinbi, a brigadier general, as the Corps Commandant. The speaker directed the appointees to submit 35 copies of their Resume/Curriculum Vitae to the assembly between Tuesday and Wednesday. Mr Owoeye said the appointees should appear before the Assembly on Thursday for screening, saying that they should not come with any entourage or relatives in compliance with the COVID-19 safety rules. (NAN) Dr. Anthony Fauci, a White House coronavirus task force member and the nations top expert on infectious diseases, says its only natural that theres a bit of pushback on authority when it comes to masks and facial coverings recommended by public health officials amid the pandemic. Its in the American spirit, Fauci told NPR on Tuesday morning, not wanting to be told what to do. Fauci said a national mask mandate wasnt the way to go, because it would be too challenging to enforce. He said he trusted Americans to trust the data, and said he expected the percentage of people wearing masks NPR reported that it was about 40% to soon rise. The data and evidence that this can be very helpful as part of a multifaceted way to get these cases down and to diminish the transmissibility and acquisition is very clear, Fauci told NPR. So we just have to try to get a crisp, clear message to people that this is an important tool. Asked about the mixed messages from the Trump administration on masks, Fauci said he was very pleased President Donald Trump wore a mask in public for the first time, during a recent visit to The Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, after months of pressure and criticism. Fauci also noted Trumps tweet on Monday afternoon, which included a photo of the masked commander in chief. The president declared, many people say that it is patriotic to wear a face mask when you cant socially distance. There is nobody more patriotic than me, your favorite president! We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you cant socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President! pic.twitter.com/iQOd1whktN Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2020 Faucis comments came a day after U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, in a Fox News interview, urged Americans to dispense with any notion that health officials recommendations to wear masks amounted to a threat to the republic. Im pleading with your viewers, Im begging you, please understand that we are not trying to take away your freedoms when we say wear a face covering, Adams told the hosts of Fox & Friends. This administration really fights to protect our freedoms, but we want people to know freedom comes with responsibility, and part of that responsibility means wearing a face covering when you go out, washing your hands and trying to watch your distance around other people. Anti-mask rallies including some in which protesters wore masks have sprung up at statehouses across the country and globe, with hundreds of people gathering to assert that doctors are wrong, that COVID-19 data is manipulated as part of a grand conspiracy, that COVID-19 is linked to 5G technology, and that federal, state and local governments and businesses implementing requirements on masks and social distancing are infringing on Constitutional freedoms. Studies around the globe have shown that when large portions of populations wear cloth masks, let alone surgical masks and N-95 masks, it can have a profound effect on limiting the spread of the coronavirus, NPR reported. Last week, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published an editorial in the Journal of the American Medical Association asserting that cloth face coverings are a critical tool in the fight against COVID-19 that could reduce the spread of the disease, particularly when used universally within communities. There is increasing evidence that cloth face coverings help prevent people who have COVID-19 from spreading the virus to others. A recent model by the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington forecasts the total number of coronavirus deaths in the U.S. will reach 224,000 by Nov. 1. That increase in our forecasts is being driven by the big upsurge in you know the ones we know about in Florida, Texas, Arizona, California, IHME chair Dr. Chris Murray told CNN. Theres a longer list of states where deaths are going up, as well as hospitalizations. So, that includes Louisiana, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nevada, New Mexico, South Carolina, Tennessee and Utah. Murray and other public health experts have estimated that if most Americans wore masks, it could save tens of thousands of lives by November, because masks decrease the risk of transmission by about 65%. Fauci noted wearing a mask wasnt the only thing Americans can do to curb the spread of the virus, but called it an important component. Fauci said physically distancing from others, closing bars, reducing the number of people in restaurants and public spaces are all key ways to slow the spread of the virus. All were part of Trump administration and state advisories earlier this year. But several states, particularly in the South and West, are seeing spikes even as much of the country reopens in phases. More than 3.8 million Americans have contracted coronavirus and more than 140,000 have died, according to Johns Hopkins University. Related Content: One of the few countries to welcome U.S. tourists has changed its mind, citing soaring infection numbers. The Bahamas will close its borders to most visitors from the United States starting Wednesday, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said Sunday. While commercial flights from Canada, Britain and the European Union will still be allowed to land, all visitors must show proof that they tested negative for the coronavirus at an accredited lab in the past 10 days. Other foreign flights will be banned. "Regrettably, the situation here at home has already deteriorated since we began the reopening of our domestic economy," Minnis said. "It has deteriorated at an exponential rate since we reopened our international borders." The Bahamas has reported 49 new coronavirus cases since opening its borders to foreign travelers on July 1, Minnis said. That amounts to nearly a third of the total infections detected in the country since the pandemic began. Most of the new cases have been found on the island of Grand Bahama, a popular resort destination. Warning that there was a risk of the Caribbean nation's hospitals becoming "overrun," Minnis said it was time for "decisive action." He announced a full shutdown of beaches, parks and indoor dining on Grand Bahama as well as beach closures on several other islands. A nighttime curfew will also go into effect for Grand Bahama on Monday night. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. The travel ban applies to boats carrying commercial passengers, such as the ferries that typically run from hard-hit South Florida to the Bahamas. But it contains an exemption for private yachts and pleasure craft, Minnis said. Private planes will also be allowed to land on the island. The statement from the ministry noted that while Bahamasair will cease outgoing flights to the U.S. immediately, "outgoing flights will be permitted to accommodate any current visitors scheduled to return to the United States after Wednesday, July 22." BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: The Embassy of Azerbaijan to Serbia has issued a statement on the use of Serbian-made weapons by the Armenian armed forces during the offensive operations on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the direction of Azerbaijans Tovuz district, the embassy told Trend. Based on the relevant instructions of Azerbaijans Presidential Administration and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we immediately made official appeals to Serbias Presidential Administration and the Foreign Affairs Ministry, as well as to other relevant government agencies of the country, to clarify the issue of the use of Serbian-made weapons by the Armenian armed forces during the offensive on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border in the direction of Tovuz district. In connection with this, were also holding intensive meetings, noted the embassy. On July 20, Charge d'Affaires a. i. of Serbia in Azerbaijan Danica Veinovic was summoned to the Azerbaijani MFA and the disaffection of the Azerbaijani state was brought to her attention. Serious investigations upon the instructions of the Serbian leadership are currently underway, and an official statement will be made to the public once the information is obtained, said the embassy. HONG KONG - China will write the rules of the Internet unless the United States and its allies counter Beijing's efforts at mass surveillance and censorship, according to a report released Tuesday by the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. The report, which comes as the Trump administration considers a ban on Chinese-owned apps like the video-sharing app TikTok and after Britain barred Huawei from its 5G networks, underscores a growing shift in the Western world away from Chinese technology, concerned about mounting privacy and security risks. The House of Representatives on Monday voted to bar federal employees from downloading TikTok on their government-issued devices. The "United States is now on the precipice of losing the future of the cyber domain to China," said the report, commissioned by Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey, the most senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. "If China continues to perfect the tools of digital authoritarianism and is able to effectively implement them both domestically and abroad, then China, not the United States and its allies, will shape the digital environment," the report added. The report details how China has sought to "create a new model of governance for the digital domain," through mass surveillance technology and controlling access to information and content. American social media platforms like Google, Twitter and Facebook are banned inside China. The report also details how China has invested in technology that aids authoritarianism, such as facial recognition software and other surveillance technology. This technology is now being exported to countries around the world, such as Venezuela, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe and others. The report focuses also on how digital surveillance is expanding to include the collection of DNA samples, fingerprints, voice samples and blood types in particular from those in the western Xinjiang region, where the Chinese Communist Party has embarked on a campaign to strip the minority of their language, culture and religion. This week, the U.S. Commerce Department added 11 companies to a trade blacklist over alleged violations in Xinjiang, bringing the number of Chinese companies on the list to just under 50. In a statement following the sanctions, Wilbur Ross, the secretary of commerce, said: "Beijing actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labor and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens." "This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Party's despicable offensive against defenseless Muslim minority populations," Ross added. Human rights advocates studying China's use of digital technologies to control its citizens have long argued that Western and other governments need to act against the Chinese government and its actions. The coronavirus pandemic has also led to a huge amount of data collection in China as a response to the public health crisis, and surveillance technology has also been used to identify critics of the government's response. Most recently, Beijing passed new national security laws in Hong Kong, which could potentially see the extension of the Chinese surveillance state into one of the freest Internet landscapes in the world. Google, Twitter, Facebook and others - that under the "one country, two systems" framework could operate freely in Hong Kong and in some cases have employees there - have now paused their data requests from Hong Kong authorities. Some American tech companies there have now shelved plans for future investment, and others are contemplating pulling employees out. "What the Chinese government is trying to achieve is unprecedented in human history," said Maya Wang, China senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. "No other government has had such an intrusive knowledge of such a large number of people over such a wide swath of land anywhere at any time in history - and they are wielding that power of data." Wang argues that while it is legitimate for other governments to be "very, very worried about the Chinese government and the pursuit of this kind of digital totalitarianism," the U.S. approach has been insufficient and amounts to a "whack-a-mole" approach with companies like Huawei and TikTok. Some policies of the Trump administration, she added, appear to be rooted in an anti-China approach, rather than a holistic approach on how to deal with the privacy and security of its citizens. Menendez's report argues that the Trump administration has failed to adequately respond to the threat posed by China's approach to cyberspace, and that the U.S. government needs to rally the international community around the common goal of offering an alternative to the Chinese digital model. Among the recommendations is that the United States should aggressively develop alternatives to Chinese 5G technology along with its allies, using federal funds, and create an industry consortium on 5G. The report also recommends that the United States should establish a fund to support organizations worldwide like NGOs and think tanks that are fighting to counter surveillance regimes. "There has been a sharp increase in bipartisan interest for Congress to recalibrate our nation's entire China policy," he said. "As more of my colleagues recognize the scope of the challenge that China presents to the United States and to the entire international order, it is my hope that this report will not only strengthen their sense of urgency to act but also inform the legislative process," he added. The shooting was the latest on Chicago area expressways this year, the number already surpassing what is normally seen in an entire year and increasing pressure for the installation of better cameras as well as scanners that read license plates. The Illinois State Police had tallied 62 expressway shootings in Cook County this year as of Tuesday. That compares with 52 for all of 2019, 43 in 2018, 51 in 2017 and 54 in 2016, a year that gun violence in Chicago hit levels not seen since the 1990s. 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. (Photo: Twitter/@SachinPilot) The Rajasthan High Court has resumed hearing in the petition filed by now-sacked deputy chief minister Pilot who is leading a group of 18 dissident MLAs. The Pilot camp has challenged the disqualification notices sent by the Speaker, maintaining that voicing dissent does not amount to defection. Meanwhile, Gehlots public outburst against Pilot yesterday has virtually dashed hopes of reconciliation with the rebel leader, according to a section of Congress leaders. Congress sources indicated that Pilot has been in touch with the leadership and efforts were continuing to pacify him and get him back to the party fold. However, some party leaders feel that Gehlot calling Pilot names and going public against him in the media, has dealt a huge setback to the party's efforts at rapprochement. Senior party functionaries said the leadership does not approve of adverse remarks against anyone, including political rivals, and has issued an advisory to leaders to avoid personal comments. "With the chief minister's attack on his former deputy today, all possibilities of rapprochement seem to have come to an end. It is quite unfortunate that despite the best efforts put in by the party leadership to make things work, matters have come to such a passe," said a senior Congress leader. Another leader said that with Pilot's supporters continuing to stay in a hotel under the BJP's watch and the bitter internal factionalism out in the open, hopes of the rebel leader's return have dimmed. The Congress is, meanwhile, keeping an eye on the outcome of Rajasthan High Court hearing on the petition of rebel MLAs' challenging the Assembly Speaker's disqualification notices. Senior leaders said the result of the court hearing and the dissidents' next moves would be factored to formulate the party's future strategy. AICC sources added that Chief Minister Gehlot would soon convene a session of the state assembly to corner the rebels and prove his majority. No date for the assembly session has been fixed yet. The Congress has claimed the support of 109 MLAs in the 200-member House and Gehlot has said that he has the majority. The chief minister on Monday called Sachin Pilot 'useless' using Hindi word 'nikamma' in a no-holds-barred attack on his former deputy with whom he has been locked in a power tussle since December 2018 when the party came to power in Rajasthan. (Natural News) An African American man holding an American flag visited a riot in Portland, Oregon, and was subsequently filmed telling the vandals and rioters that none of them represent Black lives. The unidentified peaceful protester stood outside the Federal Courthouse in the Downtown Portland neighborhood. This area has been made popular thanks to it, along with the nearby Multnomah County Justice Center, being the rallying point for Antifa and the Black Lives Matter movements nightly skirmishes with law enforcement, during which they destroy public and private property, harass law enforcement officials and attack them by throwing items such as bottles, rocks, chunks of metal and balloons filled with paint. The riots in Portland have been going on every night since after the death of George Floyd on May 25. While outside the Federal Courthouse, he was filmed occupying the buildings perimeter from rioters attempting to break through to vandalize and do extensive damage to the property. According to the videos taken of that event, he was accompanied by several allies who stood with him to face the rowdy mob. A man with an American flag ask why the mob is ripping down the fence in front of the Federal Courthouse #Portland pic.twitter.com/XP5QZtLTRO Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) July 19, 2020 The rioters tried to coax him into leaving so they could enter the federal property. He insisted that he would not leave, and when questioned about where hes from he said I live here! Eventually, one masked rioter was able to tear down the gate, but the Black man stood his ground and continued preventing the violent mob from swarming the Federal Courthouse. If you stand for justice, come here and stand with me. Stand with me because Im here for justice, the man said. Im not here to tear down this [expletive] fence, Im not here to spray paint. Its going on every day. If you dont want to get gassed, stop! It has to stop! he concluded. When a rioter confronted the man with the flag by trying to tell him that they have a right to peacefully assemble, he replies: This aint peaceful. As the crowd got even rowdier, one of the Black mans companions said This delegitimizes the movement, referring to the planned attack on the Federal Courthouse. Instead of destroying federal property, the Black man invited the violent mob to sit outside the Federal Courthouse and peacefully protest. (Related: By refusing to acknowledge nightly BLM violence in Portland, the mainstream media is complicit in turning American streets into war zones.) Listen to this episode of the Health Ranger Report, a podcast by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, as he talks about the valuable lessons and preparedness tips patriotic Americans can learn from the riots instigated by the Black Lives Matter movement and their Antifa allies. Federal Courthouse vandalized rioters commit crimes all over the city Unfortunately, the patriotic Black mans attempt to stop the riotous mob from making their way to the Federal Courthouse leads inevitably in failure. Videos from later that evening show the rioters taking down the fences in an organized manner and stacking them against the Federal Courthouse, while other rioters use the fences or other weapons such as hammers to strike at and damage the buildings walls. Hey @DHS_Wolf you might want to come back to the Federal Courthouse in #Portland. Antifa mob now stacking fences on the courthouse doors and banging on the walls with hammers pic.twitter.com/olimqfZFUG Jorge Ventura Media (@VenturaReport) July 19, 2020 Furthermore, the Portland Police Bureau (PPB) reported that the rioters were using the fencing to barricade the doors shut at both the Federal Courthouse and the Justice Center, preventing law enforcement personnel inside from being able to quickly evacuate should the need arise. While many in the mob were calling for peace and trying to talk the rioters into stopping, they were shouted down. During that evening, the demonstrators also lit several fires around the main riot area. Small garbage cans were doused in flammable liquids and set on fire. A large bonfire was created at the base of the ruined 120-year-old Elk sculpture that once stood between Chapman Square and Lownsdale Square. A violent mob also broke into the building of the Portland Police Association (PPA), the labor union that represents rank-and-file members of the PPB, and attempted to burn down the building. In response, the PPB declared the evenings events to be a riot and proceeded to disperse the crowds. Officers were able to distinguish the fire in the PPA building, while several rioters were arrested in connection to the attempted arson. The PPB reported that they did not use any CS gas (a kind of tear gas) during the dispersal of the violent mob. The PPB said that the rioters were organizing events all over the city during that evening. One group was at the PPBs North Precinct in the North Portland neighborhood. They vandalized patrol vehicles and verbally harassed officers coming in to work. Learn more about what the Black Lives Matter movement and their Antifa comrades are doing in Portland and all over the country by reading the articles at Rioting.news. Sources include: DailyMail.co.uk NYPost.com FoxNews.com LOS ANGELES - Leaders of the nations largest county on Tuesday unanimously approved a sweeping plan to address systemic racism and bias in its policies, practices and services. The measure passed by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors is intended to strengthen efforts to combat inequality within bureaucracy and hold officials accountable if they fail to uphold antiracist policies. The motion was introduced by Supervisor Mark Ridley-Thomas, who is Black. He said it was inspired by nationwide protests over the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. Ridley-Thomas said the plan should guide county leaders in pushing back against racism in areas from health care to law enforcement, to ensure that all policies address inequities faced by minority residents. Department heads would be evaluated on their efforts to meet at least one goal of the antiracist policy agenda. The county would also be graded annually through a report on the state of Black people in the county, written by a university or research institute, the Los Angeles Times reported. The approval also makes LA County the 37th county in the nation since last year to declare racism a matter of public health, according to the National Association of Counties. On a separate motion, the supervisors voted 4 to 1 to put a measure on the November ballot that would require at least 10% of the countys general fund go toward social service and racial justice programs. The measure would ask voters to approve the reallocation via a change to the county charter. Money would be redirected to areas including job training, mental health services and affordable housing. Additionally, the supervisors approved a spending plan for $1.22 billion in federal and state coronavirus relief funds. Supervisor Kathryn Barger said the money would be used to provide essential services, expand testing, contract tracing and meet tangible needs for working families and small businesses who are struggling and increasingly bearing the burden of the COVID-19 pandemic.? A chunk of the federal funds will go toward a three-year, $800 million plan to house 15,000 homeless people in Los Angeles County who are considered most vulnerable to the coronavirus. The plan provides various housing measures, including rental subsidies, through next June, along with various services. Over the next two years, efforts would be made to move people into permanent housing. The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked the Centre and the RBI to respond to a plea seeking release of up to Rs 5 lakh to depositors of the scam-hit Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank Ltd to help them address health issues during the prevalent COVID-19 pandemic. A bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan issued notice to the Finance Ministry, Reserve Bank of India and PMC Bank seeking their stand on the application moved by consumer rights activist Bejon Kumar Misra. The court asked them to file replies before the next date of hearing on August 19. Misra, in the application filed through advocate Shashank Deo Sudhi, has said the court on an earlier date of hearing had asked the depositors to make a representation to the Centre, the RBI or PMC Bank regarding their financial difficulties and seeking withdrawal of money. The application has said that despite making such a representation, no action has been taken till date to help the depositors withdraw money as per their requirement from the PMC Bank. It said that while the moratorium on withdrawals has been extended to December 2020, more than 35 depositors of the bank have allegedly ended their lives due to financial constraints. The application has said there appears to be no lack of funds with the bank as more than Rs 8 crore are being spent on upkeep of its branches, including payment of salaries of the staff, but depositors are struggling to even withdraw their own hard-earned money. It has claimed that senior citizen depositors are "completely crippled" in terms of their financial liquidity to purchase essential utilities and medicines. It has contended that the bank was not even releasing money equivalent to insured amount of Rs 5 lakh to help out the depositors in case of health crisis. The application has sought issuance of a direction to the Centre, the RBI and PMC Bank to urgently decide on depositors request for withdrawal of their money. It has also sought lifting of the "procedural curbs" on withdrawal of the insured amount of Rs 5 lakh by the depositors and to also remove the processing time in release of the money. The court on May 28 had asked the Centre, the RBI and PMC Bank to appreciate the difficulties faced by the depositors on withdrawals during COVID-19 pandemic. It said that upon receipt of any representation from any individual or group of depositors in this regard, "a decision shall be taken by the concerned respondent authority within a period of four weeks". Misra claimed that this direction of the bench has not been complied with. The application has been filed in Misra's petition seeking directions to the RBI to ease out the moratorium for withdrawal of deposited money of depositors from PMC Bank during the coronavirus pandemic. PMC Bank has been put under restrictions by the RBI, following the unearthing of a Rs 4,355-crore scam. The main petition was to be heard on April 21, but due to the lockdown and limited functioning of the high court it was adjourned to June and then to August 19. Also read: HDFC Bank fires 6 employees over 'improper lending' related to car loans During his first presidential rally this weekend, Kanye West cried. Physically, the rapper was in South Carolina. But his mind was someplace else. On a dimly lit stage with a godawful sound system and a throng of fans filming his rambling soliloquy on upheld cellphones, West seemed less like a leader of the free world and more like a man in dire need of intervention. My mom saved my life! he screamed, just before breaking down. My dad wanted to abort me! My mom saved my life! There wouldve been no Kanye West because my dad was too busy! He rubbed his eyes. His face trembled with anguish. The crowd laughed and cheered. Then he segued into a deeply personal story, talking about how wife Kim Kardashian had considered ending her first pregnancy until he put his foot down: Were going to have this child. I almost killed my daughter! he wailed. I almost killed my daughter! That his young daughter will one day stumble upon this clip is sad beyond words. When Mr. West announced plans to run for president this month, sensible people rolled their eyes as if hearing Britney Spears express interest in the director-general job at the Large Hadron Collider. Was Yeezy conjuring a smoke show as a PR stunt for a new album that comes out on Friday? Was the once outspoken supporter of Donald Trump in covert cahoots with White House operatives to steal a few votes from Joe Biden? Or was he seriously interested in the worlds highest political office? The answers remain elusive. But whats clear after the last 48 hours: Kanye West needs help. It wasnt just the stream-of-consciousness this weekend, the incoherent tangents and non-sequiturs and ahistorical heresies: Well, Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves she just had them work for other white people. On the face of it, thats a bonkers statement. But its not surprising coming from a man who, two years ago, claimed slavery was a choice. Thats like saying cancer is a sexual orientation. It makes no sense. And whether hes talking out of his backside about global trade or religion, Kanye rarely makes sense. If he were the leader of a Neighbourhood Watch, hed victim-blame homeowners for all burglaries. Thats why his presidential run has nothing to do with angelic public service. So far, its really just a tragic showcase of his demons and personal pain. On Monday night, West unleashed a tweet storm that made Trump seem like the Dalai Lama. Kanye claimed his wife Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters (sic) life yesterday. He misspelled his mother-in-laws name, Kris Jenner, and forbade her from being allowed around my children. He name-checked his daughter North in a tweet about how mom Kardashian should never sell sex rape, whatever that means. He said his kids would never do playboy west, whatever that means. He teed off on everyone from Shia LaBeouf to Anna Wintour and taunted his loved ones to come get him: If I get locked up like Mandela Yall will know why. And somewhere in heaven, Mandela is shaking his head. Mocking Kanye West is like shooting trout in a barrel, and God knows Ive been guilty of pointing my sea gun at him over the years. Before Trump came along, I probably disparaged Kanye more than any other famous person. His delusional narcissism he once said his biggest regret was never being able to watch himself perform live is catnip to opinion writers. Is it a slow news day? Check in to see what Kanye is up to and youre all but guaranteed to have enough wacky fodder for a column. But after the last 48 hours? All I can do is wince and regret ever making fun of this poor bastard. Make no mistake: Kanye is mentally ill and needs help. I triple-dare you to watch his first rally or read his tweets this week and argue otherwise. As Ive said before, one of the really evil things about celebrity existence is how you end up surrounded by so many people and, yet, all alone in all the ways that matter. Celebrities are like planets orbited by hundreds of satellites that are programmed to function strictly by transaction. If Kanye lost everything tomorrow, those satellites would crash and burn. But as long as he has money and sway, they remain frozen in the night sky, twinkling beacons that enable his worst instincts. If I were in Kanyes inner circle, Id break this pattern and beam down new signals: Brother, youre in the midst of illness. There are therapies. Yes, mania is often a piston in creativity, but your bipolar flashpoints this week from laughing maniacally to breaking down in a crying jag are preventable suffering given our understanding of mental health. You can get help. I will help you get help. I will have your back. This presidential run ends now because it is a vote against your well-being. I try to avoid getting mushy. But a crying Kanye West broke my heart this week. Now I can only hope his loved ones save his. Read more about: Realme is gearing up to launch yet another budget smartphone. The Realme C15 will be the third 2020 smartphone in the companys budget C series. The Realme C15 will be unveiled in Indonesia on July 28. A teaser image for the phone was posted was recently uploaded on Realme Indonesias official Facebook handle. The post confirms that the Realme C15 will pack a 6,000 mAh battery and support 18W fast charging. The teaser image also confirms the design and colour options for the Realme C15. According to the post, the Realme C15 will opt for a quad-camera setup on the back, a first for the Realme C series. The box-shaped camera module looks identical to that of the Realme C11, although there are four camera lenses in total, while the LED flash is placed just below the module. The Realme C15 will also get a rear-mounted fingerprint reader on the back of the phone. The Realme C15 also gets a waterdrop notch on the screen. The phone is seen in two colours in the image, including blue and what appears to be silver-white. Apart from Indonesia, the C15 is expected to arrive in Malaysia, Cambodia and Thailand. From the information available, the Realme C15 is shaping up to be a beefier Realme C11 with more cameras, a bigger battery, fast charging support, and a fingerprint reader. The Realme C15 could likely be powered by a MediaTek G35 or G70 chipset, the former is seen on the Realme C11, while the latter powers the Realme C3. On July 19, Bihars Secretary of Water Resources Department Sanjeev Hans warned that the water levels in the state from the massive flooding were still on the rise. His comments came after at least 8 districts in Bihar witnessed flooding across 30 blocks after all major rivers surpassed dangerous levels and broke banks entering the urban settlement. Bihars water resources department had earlier warned that the Bagmati river was flowing above the danger mark at Katounjha in Sitamarhi, Hayaghat in Darbhanga, and Beniabad in Muzaffarpur. It further cautioned that river Mahananda had jumped record danger level at Dhengraghat in Purnia, as per a news agency report. While speaking at a press conference, Hans gave the details of the response plans and status of the flooding in at least 4 major rivers of northern Bihar. Except for the Burhi Gandak river, all the remaining rivers in Bihar are still rising, ANI quoted him saying. Further, he added, The old Gandak river is in the rising trend but is still 30 to 40 centimeters below the danger mark, except for one spot near the road-rail bridge where it is just above the danger mark. River Narayani (Nepal) called as River Gandak in India is flowing 1.47 m above Danger Level at Devghat in #Chitwan District of #Nepal. This is likely to enter India through Gandak Barrage and thence through Kushinagar District of UP and Gopalganj District of Bihar. Central Water Commission Official Flood Forecast (@CWCOfficial_FF) July 20, 2020 Read: China Blasts Dam To Release Floodwaters As Death Toll Rises Read: One More Person Dies In Assam Floods, Over 24 Lakh People Hit Citing recent forecasts from the Indian Meteorological Department, Hans warned, In the next 72 hours, almost all the major rivers of the state will be in the rising trend. Rain is expected around the catchment area in Bihar and Nepal. Further cautioning that the rivers will overflow to extremely dangerous levels, Hans said, The concerned districts have been alerted keeping the situation in view. He informed, saying, that the flood protected embankments were mostly safe from the destruction that will likely be caused by turbulent water. He stressed that the government has scrambled to check repairs, in case there were any, in the nearby dams to prevent chances of any casualties. Relief teams on standby People are warned by IMD forecasts so that people living in the lower places can shift to higher ground, Secretary of Water Resources Department stressed. Meanwhile, the Additional Secretary of Disaster Management Department Ramchandra Do said at the press briefing that the disaster management department was fully equipped with several relief teams on standby. "Due to an increase in the water level of the rivers, 153 Panchayats of 31 blocks of 8 districts have been partially affected and relief camps are being run as per requirement," ANI quoted him as saying. (With inputs from ANI) Read: Coronavirus Cases Can Further Rise In Bihar In Days To Come: Central Team Read: Bihar COVID-19 Death Toll Reaches 187; Tally Climbs To 27,455 Vijay Inder Singla Chandigarh: Punjab School Education Board (PSEB), on Tuesday, declared the 10+2 examination results on the basis of best performing subject formula. While elaborating the details, State School Education Minister Vijay Inder Singla said that out of total 2,86,378 students who had appeared for the examinations before Covid-19 outbreak, 2,60,547 students, (90.98%) passed the board examinations this year. Advertisement Vijay Inder SinglaThe cabinet minister informed that consecutively second year government schools continue to soar ahead of affiliated and associated schools in the terms of pass percentage as 94.32 percent students of government schools passed the examinations while 91.84 percent and 87.04 percent students of affiliated and associated schools managed to get promoted for higher studies. He said that 92.77 percent regular students excelled the +2 examinations. Vijay Inder Singla said, After the formation of government in Punjab, we are working tirelessly to uplift the standard of education under the able guidance of Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh. Our efforts have started showing fruitful results as every year, we register growth in the pass percentage of board examinations. He added that in 2017, the pass percentage of class +2 was below 63 percent which registered slight growth in 2018 by rising upto 65.97 percent. Advertisement PSEBHe said that last year in 2019 results, 86.41 percent students got passed which was notably higher than previous years. Vijay Inder Singla said that as examinations of some subjects got cancelled, the PSEB has adopted best performing subjects formula. While elaborating the formula, he said that if any student had appeared in exams of four subjects, then average of best three subjects will be awarded to him in the subjects for which exams got cancelled. Advertisement Singla said that same formula has been implemented on those students who had appeared in exams for division improvement in more than one subject. He added that last chance compartment students have been declared pass on the basis of average of already passed subjects. Results School education minister informed that the result of those students who have applied for improvement or additional subject in only one subject has not been declared as they will be given another chance to appear in the examinations once the situation gets normalize. The cabinet minister informed that the pass percentage of students belonging to rural areas is also higher than urban area students as it recorded 93.39 and 91.96 percent, respectively. He added that this year, 68.26 percent students of open school category passed in 10+2 exams. Russian National Guard oath bill becomes law RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 10:52 21/07/2020 MOSCOW, July 20 (RAPSI) President of Russia Vladimir Putin has signed a bill on the National Guard oath into law, according to the official website of legal information. The order of administering the oath is to be determined by the Federal National Guard Troops Service. The document is drafted to eliminate existing conflict of law. The law amends the Law on the National Guard Troops of the Russian Federation. Previously, military and law enforcement services included the oath, except the National Guard. The State Duma adopted the initiative on July 7; the Federation Council approved it on July 15. A Lalor man has died in hospital from a gunshot wound after the third fatal shooting across Victoria in recent weeks. Homicide squad detectives are investigating after the 20-year-old died overnight following a shooting in Lalor on Saturday. A police spokeswoman said emergency services were called to a property on Ella Court after reports a man had been shot about 10.40pm. An unknown gunman fled the scene. Police said the 20-year-old, who was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries, has since died. President Muhammadu Buhari will discuss with leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the crisis rocking Mal... President Muhammadu Buhari will discuss with leaders of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on the crisis rocking Mali. He spoke on Tuesday while receiving reports from ECOWAS Special Envoy to Mali, former President Goodluck Jonathan. Jonathan was at the State House, Abuja, in the company of ECOWAS Commission President, Jean-Claude Kassi Brou. Buhari said he would ask the President of Niger, the ECOWAS Chairman, to also brief member-states on the current situation. The Nigerian leader thanked Jonathan for his comprehensive brief on the Mali situation. He noted that Buhari had been abreast with the crisis since when he was the President. Speaking, Jonathan said ECOWAS cant preside over the removal of an elected President. Not even the African Union (AU), or the United Nations (UN) can do it. Leaders must be elected and leave under constitutional processes, otherwise we would have Banana republics all over the place, he added. Jonathan thanked Buhari for providing a presidential jet for the mission, thus making our trips convenient and comfortable. The people of Mali have been calling on President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita to resign. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas has welcomed the renewed extension of the EU summit in Brussels to agree on a COVID-19 crisis package and called for solidarity among all EU member states. "It is important that negotiations continue in Brussels today. It shows that everyone wants a solution instead of putting off the problem," Maas said here Monday. But the necessary extension also showed that "enormous efforts" were required to make Europe strong again together, he added. The heads of state and government of the 27 EU member states had again extended their negotiations during the night to Monday local time. The summit is to continue on Monday afternoon. The summit is seeking an agreement on a financial and crisis package of more than 1.8 trillion euros (2.06 trillion U.S. dollars). 750 billion euros would be a debt-financed economic and investment program to combat the coronavirus crisis while the new seven-year EU budget framework would provide more than one trillion euros. "The solidarity of all states among themselves will pay off for all," said Maas. However, not all EU member states were in agreement. Leaders of the "thrifty" countries Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark, as well as Finland, still had reservations about the subsidies and wanted to further reduce the sums. They would prefer to give only repayable loans to countries such as Italy and Spain, which were particularly hard-hit by the coronavirus crisis. "Europe's word carries the most weight in the world if we all act in unison. This is not only important in the coronavirus crisis, but also with regard to Europe's neighborhood and is in our immediate strategic interest," said Maas. (1 euro =1.15 U.S. dollars) From left to right, Jahli Hendricks, Jared Sprague-Lott, and Alex Johnson of the Anderson Monarchs talk with Bernard Lafayette, who had belonged to the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) during the civil rights era. Read more Bernard Lafayette Jr., a co-founder of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, the college student-led civil rights organization that organized sit-ins and Freedom Rides to protest segregation in America, once lived in Philadelphia. For about three years, from fourth to sixth grades, he lived on Parrish Street, not far from Broad. But his interest in the 1960s civil rights struggles began when he became college roommates with U.S. Rep. John Lewis, who died Friday, at age 80. After completing high school in Florida, Lafayette enrolled at the American Baptist Theological Seminary in Nashville, Tenn. Lewis, from Troy, Ala., was his roommate for two years. He was a leader, Lafayette said. He was president of his class, he was president of the student body. He was always interested in leadership. He got me involved in the movement. READ MORE: Philly remembers John Lewis, congressman and civil rights icon His study of theology and the ministry influenced him, to pursue nonviolence as a way to strategize, Lafayette said of Lewis by telephone from his home in Tuskegee, Ala. Lafayette and Lewis studied nonviolent tactics with other college students in the Nashville Student Movement, including their friends Diane Nash, a student at Fisk University and fellow American Baptist Theological student James Bevel. Lafayette said he and Lewis were not out late attending parties: We would be up talking about the problems related to segregation. Lafayette spoke with Lewis just a week before his death. But Lafayette said he was a bit disappointed because Lewis didnt really talk that much; he was weak and he acknowledged his health struggles. I think he just wanted to hear my voice, he said. READ MORE: John Lewis, in his own words, during visits to Philadelphia Lafayette went to Selma, Ala., at age 22 to work as director of the nonviolent coordinating committtees Alabama voter registration project in 1963. But he wasnt in Selma when Lewis led the 1965 voting rights march known as Bloody Sunday. Lafayette had been assigned to organize young people in Chicago. Lafayette wrote about his years as an activist in his 2016 book, In Peace and Freedom: My Journey in Selma. In Selma, he worked with Amelia Boynton Robinson, who, with her husband, Samuel Boynton, had formed the Dallas County Voters League, to push for Black peoples right to vote in the 1930s. In the much-photographed images of Lewis walking beside former President Barack Obama in March 2015 at the 50th anniversary commemorating Bloody Sunday, it is Boynton Robinson in blue in a wheelchair on Obamas other side. She, too, was badly beaten by Alabama state troopers in 1965. Later, in May 2015, Lafayette and Boynton Robinson visited Philadelphia to speak at the Germantown Friends Meeting. SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global hydrogen peroxide market size is projected to reach USD 2.15 billion by 2027, according to a new report by Grand View Research, Inc., expanding at a CAGR of 4.7% from 2020 to 2027. Rising demand for the product from the global healthcare sector to formulate sanitizers and other disinfectant products is projected to remain the key factor driving the industry. One of the key factors behind the increasing consumption of the product in the healthcare sector across the globe is the recent outbreak of coronavirus. Demand for hand sanitizers and multiple indoor as well as outdoor disinfectant products, such as floor cleaners and metal disinfectant goods, has quadrupled across all major economies as well as in emerging economies of the world. According to governments worldwide, cleaning of the public spaces, such as public restrooms, airports, bus and metro stations, and commercial spaces, has been made mandatory to curb the spread of the virus. This has led to surge in the consumption of hydrogen peroxide in the industry globally due to its excellent disinfecting properties. Key suggestions from the report: The oxidant function segment is expected to expand at a CAGR of 4.4%, in terms of volume, from 2020 to 2027 due to increasing demand from the chemical synthesis industry The personal care application segment is expected to register a CAGR of 5.7%, in terms of volume, from 2020 to 2027 due to increasing consumption of the product as an additive due its favorable physical properties Asia Pacific is expected to register the fastest CAGR, in terms of revenue, from 2020 to 2027 owing to presence of a large number of end-use industries in China , India , Vietnam , and Indonesia Companies such as Solvay, Evonik Industries, and Arkema are the market leaders with their worldwide brand presence, catering to an array of industries, such as textile producers and essential healthcare formulators The market is concentrated with multinational brands present globally and established long-term relations with key end-user groups, thereby limiting entry of new industry participants. Read 100 page research report with ToC on "Hydrogen Peroxide Market Size, Share & Trends Analysis Report By Function (Oxidant, Disinfectant, Bleaching), By Application (Healthcare, Wastewater Treatment), By Region, And Segment Forecasts, 2020 - 2027" at: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/hydrogen-peroxide-market The product also witnessed high demand from various personal care products and cosmetic manufacturers, majorly due to its oxidizing abilities and antimicrobial properties. Europe has evolved as a hub for multinational personal care item producers, such as Loreal, Unilever, Procter & Gamble, and Deutschland GmbH, with their presence across the European marketspace including countries, such as France, U.K., Italy, Germany, and Spain. In terms of the consumption in the textile sector, Asia Pacific, followed by Europe, has been leading the global market due to increased penetration of fabric manufacturers and detergent formulators. The substance finds key application in the sector as a fabric whitening agent as well as disinfecting agent, which is used after apparel cleaning. Growing awareness among the consumers to adapt to cleanliness is projected to remain a key factor behind industry growth across these regions. Moreover, Asia Pacific is emerging as a key market for food and beverage process from a global standpoint due to increasing consumption of processed food by the natives of China, Indonesia, South Korea, India, and Japan. Demand for the product in packaging food applications due to its ability to prevent antimicrobial contamination is predicted to be a key boost to the substance's demand in the food and beverage sector. Grand View Research has segmented the global hydrogen peroxide market on the basis of function, application, and region: Hydrogen Peroxide Function Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) Disinfectant Bleaching Oxidant Others Hydrogen Peroxide Application Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) Pulp & Paper Chemical Synthesis Wastewater Treatment Mining Food & Beverages Personal Care Healthcare Textiles Others Hydrogen Peroxide Regional Outlook (Volume, Kilotons; Revenue, USD Million, 2016 - 2027) North America U.S. Canada Mexico Europe Germany U.K. France Italy Spain Asia Pacific China India Japan Australia Indonesia Malaysia Central & South America Brazil Middle East & Africa & South Africa Saudi Arabia UAE List of Key Players of Hydrogen Peroxide Market : Evonik Industries Arkema Solvay Gujarat Alkalies & Chemicals Ltd. OCI Company Ltd. Find more research reports on Disinfectants & Preservatives Industry, by Grand View Research: Sodium Hypochlorite Market Rising demand for the product from water treatment chemical manufacturing companies as well as from sanitizer producers worldwide is projected to remain key factors for the market growth. Rising demand for the product from water treatment chemical manufacturing companies as well as from sanitizer producers worldwide is projected to remain key factors for the market growth. Sodium Chlorite Market High demand for the chemical in wastewater treatment and water purification applications owing to its biocidal and antimicrobial properties is expected to fuel the demand for sodium chlorite over the forecast period. High demand for the chemical in wastewater treatment and water purification applications owing to its biocidal and antimicrobial properties is expected to fuel the demand for sodium chlorite over the forecast period. Peracetic Acid Market Growing usage of peracetic acid (PAA) as a sanitizer, disinfectant, and bleaching agent among key applications are expected to drive the market growth. Gain access to Grand View Compass, our BI enabled intuitive market research database of 10,000+ reports About Grand View Research Grand View Research, U.S.-based market research and consulting company, provides syndicated as well as customized research reports and consulting services. Registered in California and headquartered in San Francisco, the company comprises over 425 analysts and consultants, adding more than 1200 market research reports to its vast database each year. These reports offer in-depth analysis on 46 industries across 25 major countries worldwide. With the help of an interactive market intelligence platform, Grand View Research helps Fortune 500 companies and renowned academic institutes understand the global and regional business environment and gauge the opportunities that lie ahead. Contact: Sherry James Corporate Sales Specialist, USA Grand View Research, Inc. Phone: +1-415-349-0058 Toll Free: 1-888-202-9519 Email: [email protected] Web: https://www.grandviewresearch.com Follow Us: LinkedIn | Twitter SOURCE Grand View Research, Inc. Irans Civil Aviation Organisation said the recorders were retrieved immediately after the crash and delivered to its offices, where they have been kept in a safe place for the last six months with appropriate security measures. This week, an Iranian team arrived at BEAs facility in Paris where the recorders were put under guard by the French police under a co-ordination plan with the Iranian embassy. The French and Iranian authorities signed a technical co-operation agreement on the issue on 4 July and BAE said that preliminary discussions are taking place between the various stakeholders. Theyre two countries with some of the worst human rights records in the world, particularly with regard to the persecution of minority groups. China and Saudi Arabia are both repressive regimes which equate peaceful political activities with terrorism, using public protests as an excuse for brutal crackdowns. Along with Iran, they were responsible for executing more people in the world in 2019 than anyone else. So why has Dominic Raab decided only to call out China for gross, egregious human rights abuses which are deeply, deeply troubling? Yes, its convenient for the British foreign secretary to highlight the brutal treatment of the countrys Muslim Uighur community just as the UK is suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong over Beijings imposition of a new national security law. Throw in Britains decision to ban Chinese technology giant Huawei at Donald Trumps behest and youve got a hat-trick of reasons why this is Bash Beijing Week. Mr Raab, of course, is quite right to condemn the forced sterilisation and re-education of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang province. Human rights abuses in China have been brushed under the carpet for far too long by politicians like him afraid of falling out with the communist rulers and their economic powerhouse. But the Saudi Arabia regime is no better with its campaign to forcibly disperse people of al-Awamiyah from land in the east of the country which theyve been on for centuries. The use of a counter-terrorism court to target the Shia minority there was one of the reasons given by Amnesty International for a record number of executions in the desert kingdom last year. Of those currently on death row, 13 were still children when their alleged crimes were committed. Charges against more than 100 youths have included participating in demonstrations, disobeying the ruler and questioning the integrity of officials and the judicial system. Hardly the actions of hardened terrorists. Mujtaba al-Sweikat was just 17 when he was detained at Dammam airport preparing to board a flight to begin his studies at Western Michigan University. During his interrogation he was hung by his hands, beaten on the soles of his feet, stubbed with cigarettes and left in a freezing cell after a bucket of cold water had been poured over him. Eventually the teenager confessed to running a chat group on his Blackberry phone to help organise protests and throwing Molotov cocktails. But his father said he had turned up at just two demonstrations, staying no more than five minutes at each. Mujtaba was one of 37 people executed in a single day in April last year. The youngest was Abdulkareem al-Hawaj, who as a 16-year-old had been accused of joining him in protests which turned violent in the Shia city of Al-Awamiyah. The Saudi authorities claimed the teenagers admissions amounted to the formation of a terror cell, but the United Nations said there was no evidence for this, apart from confessions obtained under torture. When Dominic Raab visited Saudi Arabia in March he was urged by the human rights charity, Reprieve, to raise the cases of three other youngsters currently on death row for taking part in protests while two of them were aged 17 and one 15. But he failed to do so. Are their cases not also deeply, deeply, troubling - or is it simply the case that he does not want to fall out with a regime with whom we have traded 15bn worth of arms in five years, and are about to start selling to again following the end of a court ban over their use in the Saudi war in Yemen which has left 100,000 dead and 13 million on the brink of famine? The appalling treatment meted out to the Shia minority in Saudi Arabia is just as much a gross, egregious, human rights abuse as what is happening to Uighur Muslims in China. As if to prove the point that the Chinese and Saudi governments, as well as being repressive in the same way, also use the same excuses for their appalling behaviour, Beijings foreign minister Wang Wenbin has declared the Xinjiang issue is not about human rights, religions, or ethnic groups at all, but about combating, violence, terrorism and separatism. Terrorism - that stigmatising catch-all term used by brutal regimes to justify their repression of men, women and children. Anthony Harwood is a former foreign editor of the Daily Mail The first year of filling Ethiopias mega dam on the Nile River has been achieved, and talks with Egypt and Sudan will continue, the Ethiopian government said today. Following a backtrack on reports of Ethiopia filling the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) last week, Ethiopia's Office of the Prime Minister said seasonal rains led to this conclusion. It has become evident over the past two weeks in the rainy season that the GERD first year filling is achieved, the prime minister's office said in a statement released on Tuesday following an African Union (AU) meeting. Ethiopia planned to start filling the GERD in July during the countrys rainy season. The dam sits on the Blue Nile River, which flows into the Nile River. Ethiopia wants the dam to provide energy and help its economy. Egypt and Sudan are concerned filling the dam could dangerously lower the water levels in the parts of the Nile in their countries. Last week, Ethiopias public broadcaster reported that the filling of the dam had begun. Sudan then immediately said its water levels dropped significantly. The same day, Ethiopias Minister of Water said that they had not begun filling, and that heavy rainfall was responsible for the confusion. Egypt sought immediate clarification from Ethiopia following the news of the filling, and a diplomatic source familiar with the GERD negotiations told Al-Monitor the incident embarrassed Ethiopia. Ethiopia said today there will be more talks. Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan agreed to further technical discussions on the filling in the AU-led process and to proceed to a comprehensive agreement, read todays statement. Ethiopias statement did not provide many details, but it appears to indicate there will be no unilateral filling by the country in the near future and that tripartite negotiations will continue. The statement followed reports each country gave to the AU on the latest round of negotiations, which ended earlier this month. Egypt and Sudan did not appear to immediately respond to Ethiopias statement. Tensions have increased significantly over the dam this year. At a UN Security Council hearing on the issue in June, Egypt said filling the dam threatens its survival. The council usually meets on matters of international conflict. An Ethiopian military commander made a vague threat toward Egypt earlier last month. A 14th-century underground burial site was discovered deep in the tropical forest of Gabon. According to scientists, it may help shed some light on a certain period in Africa's history that isn't as known. In 2018, a French geo-archeologist discovered hundreds of medieval artifacts. The artifacts were scattered with human remains at the bottom of a cave, located in the southeast of the country. Skeletal remains Richard Oslisly, the leader of the expedition that was financed by the National Agency of National Parks, said that the discovery in Africa is considered unique because ancient human remains are almost nonexistent. Olam International, Singapore's palm oil company, also funded the mission. The company is well-established in Gabon. Around 82 feet of rope was needed for explorers to reach the floor of the cave, and even though there are no diamonds or golden platters, the cave is still considered a treasure trove for scientists. The cave was named Iroungou, and it has almost 30 skeletons on three levels. There were more than 500 metallic artifacts that were made of iron. There were also axes, knives, spear tips, collars, and bracelets. Around 39 pierced teeth were found by researchers, the teeth belonged to panthers and hyenas. Also Read: Potentially Hazardous Asteroid Hitting Earth: Will It Erase Mankind Like the Dinosaurs? Oslisly, the 69-year-old researcher, began to talk about the discovery of the cave a year after they found it. It immediately caused excitement and hope in the science and archaeology fields. According to Geoffroy de Saulieu, an archaeologist that works for the Research Institute for Development in France said that sub-Saharan Africa soils were acidic, so everything of animal and human origin decomposes fast. This fact makes the discovery even more exceptional. The skeletons in the cave are said to have been there since the 14th century. In this part of the world, it is unusual to recover these kinds of remains because archaeological research is not funded enough. Although the remains in the cave were discovered last year, there were texts writing about Gabon. Studying the origins European adventurers who landed on the Atlantic Coast at the end of the 15 century recorded it. But it was not until the 19th century that European explorers went far inland on territory and almost covered the forest completely. According to Louis Perrois, a French anthropologist, the oral record of indigenous families and clans does not let them go back further than one or two centuries. The researchers asked the elders in the villages about the Iroungou cave, but they had no idea who was buried there. Scientists extracted the molar teeth from skulls and sent them to France for DNA testing. Scientists can also rely on DNA base compiled with saliva data from people across Africa. Oslisly wishes to cross-check the data and to find the descendants of the skeletons that they found with the DNA tools that are used by linguists. This July, a team of anthropologists and specialists in bone pathology are due to go down into the cave. Apart from a collective burial site that was discovered at Benin City in Nigeria back in the 1960s, the Iroungou cave is the only one with skeletal remains to be found in Africa. The bones discovered in Benin City also dates back to the 14th century. According to historians, it was the time when numerous African civilizations fell. Some researchers believe that Africa was struck by the Great Plague at that time, which could explain the bones they found. Related Article: SpaceX Launches NASA Astronauts Into Orbit, Marks a First for the Agency @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) The family of the retired police officer in the viral Taguig incident was given several notices and enough leeway to move out of the compound, the Philippine National Police said Tuesday. PNP spokesperson Bernard Banac told CNN Philippines that upon retirement, police personnel are given a one-month grace period to vacate the place they were billeted in, given it was a government property. The police officer in question retired in 2019, according to the Southern Police District, but his family has yet to relocate from the camp grounds. There have been many instances already and notices, advisories sent to the family advising them to finalize their plans to relocate and vacate because the PNP would be needing such space, Banac said in an interview with The Source. Theyve been advised and regularly they are being visited by personnel of Southern Police District to remind them, but unfortunately until now they havent made plans to vacate such facility so it came to this a confrontation took place, he added. Banac stressed that the space where the family has been staying is part of an area covered by PNPs agreement with the Armed Forces of the Philippines. This whole area of Fort Bonifacio used to be part of Armed Forces reservation so the PNP has a standing memorandum of agreement with the Philippine Navy for the use of such area And until such time that there is a court order saying otherwise, that remains to be a government property, the PNP spokesperson said of the ownership issue. Some police officers including Metro Manila police chief Debold Sinas recently came under fire after the group allegedly threatened the kin to move out of the area, insisting it was a government property. The concerned party, on the other hand, said they presented documents including a land title to prove that the house is private property. A clip of the incident which made rounds on social media over the weekend showed Sinas seemingly confronting the residents in a loud voice. A man in a wheelchair was seen reasoning with the police officer, while another policeman grabbed the cell phone of one of the residents when he was seen taking a video recording. Banac said Sinas team passed by the area to inspect a proposed site for COVID-19 quarantine facility. However, he stressed that the alleged harassment of some officials including phone snatching will be part of the issues that will be tackled in the PNPs investigation. READ: PNP to investigate Sinas' alleged harassment of retired cop's family in Taguig Sinas, for his part, said he is open to the investigation and will be ready to answer the complaints amid the probe on the issue. Banac noted that the NCRPO will be willing to assist the relocation of the family, provided there is a definite plan for the move. Draft legislation would make social media giants with more than 1 million users in Turkey more accountable to govt. The Turkish presidents governing party is submitting draft legislation to parliament that would enable the government to tighten its grip on social media, an official said on Tuesday. The opposition fears the legislation will lead to greater censorship in the country. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who has greatly concentrated powers into his own hands during 17 years in office, pledged this month to bring social media platforms under control following a series of tweets that allegedly insulted his daughter and son-in-law after they announced the birth of their fourth child on Twitter. At least 11 people were detained for questioning over the tweets. The nine-article draft legislation would force social media companies with more than one million daily users in Turkey such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube to establish a formal presence or assign a representative in Turkey who would be accountable to Turkish authorities legally and for tax purposes. A social media company or its representative would also be required to respond within 48 hours to complaints about posts that violate personal and privacy rights. The social media giants would be obliged to assign a representative within 30 days after the legislation comes into force, or face gradually increasing fines and bandwidth reductions of up to 90 percent, governing party legislator Ozlem Zengin told reporters. We aim to put an end to insults, swearing, to harassment made through social media, Zengin said, adding that the measures sought to balance freedoms with rights and laws. Our priority is not to close down the social media providers. We are aware of the importance in our lives, she said. Opposition parties, however, have expressed concerns that the governments plans are aimed at further limiting the Turkish publics ability to access social media and reach independent news and information in an environment dominated by pro-government media. Thousands of websites already remain blocked in Turkey. In January, the government lifted a more-than-two-year ban on Wikipedia after Turkeys top court declared it unconstitutional. Turkey halted access to the online encyclopedia after it refused to remove content the government deemed offensive. The Turkish government has also banned YouTube and Twitter in the past. Meanwhile, at least 76 journalists and other media workers remain behind bars, according to The Journalists Union of Turkey. The Committee to Protect Journalists has labelled Turkey one of the worlds top jailers of journalists. The draft bill is scheduled to be debated in the general assembly next week, Zengin added. The legislation is expected to pass with the votes of the governing party and its nationalist allies. The U.S. Democratic Party, pulled to the left by its self-described progressive wing, is percolating with ideas on how to make the richest Americans pay more in taxes. Ideas include higher income-tax rates on the biggest earners, higher capital gain levies and more taxes on real estate investors. The issue, which echoes debates in other economies around the world, is arising as a major schism between Democrats and President Donald Trump, who is seeking a second term in November and says cutting taxes for all Americans was a major achievement of his presidency so far. Q: What are the proposals? A: They can be divided into six categories. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee to challenge Trump in November, subscribes to four of them: - Raise tax rates on income for the biggest earners. Biden would restore the top rate to 39.6%, its level before the 2017 Republican tax cuts became law. At the extreme, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., has floated taxing income above $10 million at 70%, up from the current top 37% tax rate that kicks in above $500,000. - Tax more inheritances. Biden would end a provision that allows people to pass capital gains to heirs without tax after death. Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders, in his unsuccessful campaign against Biden for the Democratic nomination, proposed expanding the estate tax so it covers holdings left at death by the wealthiest 0.2% of Americans, applying a rate of as much as 77% on the value of estates above $1 billion. - Tax capital gains like ordinary income. Investors are taxed on the difference between what they paid for a stock or property and what they sold it for. The federal rate in the U.S. currently tops out at 20%, well below the top marginal rate of 37% on wages and salaries. Biden would tax capital gains the same as regular income for taxpayers earning more than $1 million annually. - Kill tax breaks. Biden has called for ending so-called like-kind exchanges, a tax maneuver popular among real estate investors, to finance his plan to expand care for children and the elderly. Q; What do Democrats other than Biden propose? A; Taxing wealth in addition to income, for one. Massachusetts Sen. Elizabeth Warren whose unsuccessful campaign for the presidential nomination drove much of the discussion about taxing the rich, proposed a 2% annual tax on household wealth in excess of $50 million, rising to 6% on every dollar above $1 billion. Sanders proposed a 1% tax on households worth at least $32 million that graduates to an 8% levy on wealth above $10 billion. Also unlike Biden, Warren and Sanders proposed taxing financial trades. Sanders proposed a tax of 0.5% on stock trades, 0.1% on bond trades and 0.005% on derivatives transactions. Warren was among the other candidates who called for a 0.1% tax on all financial trades. Q; Who would be hit? A: Primarily the richest of the rich -- only a fraction of the top 1% of households, in the case of some of these proposals. The wealth tax proposed by Warren, for instance, would hit the wealthiest 75,000 households, while a 70% top rate as proposed by Ocasio-Cortez would hit the top 0.01% of earners, according to IRS data. Biden's increases to income taxes affect those earning above $400,000. His higher capital gains rates kick in after $1 million in income. Financial transactions taxes would fall most heavily on high-frequency traders, while annual taxes on derivatives, a proposal known as mark to market, would hit investors, including hedge funds, but some plans limit the tax hit for pension funds, insurance contracts and college endowments. Q: How much would such taxes raise? A; Biden's campaign says his tax package would raise about $4 trillion over 10 years. Q: What would wealth taxes do for inequality? A; That's hotly debated. Targeting what people have, rather than what they earn, is generally seen as a more potent way to redistribute wealth, because wealth inequality is greater than income inequality. Some new research also suggests that raising tax rates wouldn't reduce inequality much, because much of the wealth among the richest Americans stems from private business profit taxed at lower rates and from assets that have grown in value but go untaxed until they are sold. Q: What's the argument for raising taxes on the rich? A: Democrats argue -- and polling suggests an increasing number of voters agree -- that the government should use the tax code to redistribute wealth downward. Since the Republican tax cuts passed in 2017 gave the highest income taxpayers a larger proportion of reductions, they say the first order of business is to reverse that trend. They also favor increasing overall tax revenue to pay for an ambitious agenda on health care, higher education and action to limit climate change. Q: What do opponents say? A: Biden's plan would decrease gross domestic product over the long term, raising only $3.2 trillion after accounting for macroeconomic effects. More broadly, they say, high taxes on income and on accumulated wealth would discourage innovation and investment. They also argue wealth tax would be an administrative nightmare, requiring taxpayers or the IRS to calculate annually the value of assets, including real estate and investments in private businesses that are notoriously hard to assess. Other critics say that taxes on financial trades would make capital more expensive for companies, meaning they'd raise less of it. Such a tax could also reduce liquidity in markets, opponents say. Q: Is this a U.S.-only thing? A: Many European nations have experimented with a wealth tax of some form, with support ebbing and flowing throughout the decades. Thomas Piketty's 2014 book "Capital in the Twenty-First Century" reinvigorated the debate particularly in European countries with high debt loads, which have eyed wealth taxes as ways to replenish their treasuries. Spain effectively abolished its wealth tax in 2008 but brought it back in 2011. French President Emmanuel Macron's 2017 decision to exempt financial holdings from a long-standing wealth tax contributed to the anger that set off the so-called Yellow Vest protests a year later. Neither Germany nor the U.K. has a wealth tax, but there's been debate within both countries about creating one. In Asia, where inequality has been rising especially rapidly, some countries that aren't strapped for cash have considered increases in taxes on large property holdings as a way of putting a lid on inequality. China's push to cut taxes for its middle class has led to expectations that the government will squeeze more from its growing ranks of affluent households. Senator Godswill Akpabio The Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Senator Godswill Akpabio, on Monday, accused the House of Representatives Committee investigating financial mismanagement in the Niger Delta Development Commission, of bullying him. The House is presently grilling Akpabio as the supervising minister of the NDDC. The investigative hearing is being held at the Conference Room 231 of the House. Earlier, the acting Managing Director of NDDC, Prof Kemebradikumo Pondei, had collapsed while being grilled by the lawmakers. But when the hearing resumed, the committee Deputy Chairman, Thomas Ereyitomi, who presided over the hearing, asked the minister if the three major projects he had carried out had the approval of the Federal Executive Council. Akpabio, who was interrupted while answering the question, said, Mr Chairman, the condition, where we are in now, does not require bullying, with due respect. However, Ereyitomi responded, We are not bullying you, honourable minister. Answer the question directly. You know you are my leader. An uncommon leader. Ereyitomi, who later thanked the minister for his time, said the purpose of the committee was not to witchhunt anyone but rather to provide an avenue for an interactive session and also and an opportunity to hear the ministers side of the story. Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. South Korea's first-ever military communications satellite has been successfully launched by private operator SpaceX, Seoul said Tuesday, as it looks to build up its defence capabilities. The ANASIS-II is intended to enhance the South's ability to defend itself against the nuclear-armed North, which invaded in 1950. A Falcon 9 rocket carrying the satellite blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida, Seoul's Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) said in a statement. SpaceX confirmed the satellite deployed about 32 minutes after lift-off, on Monday afternoon local time. DAPA said the launch made South Korea the 10th country in the world to own a military-only communications satellite, which will provide "permanent and secured military communications". The satellite is expected to reach its orbit of 36,000 kilometres in two weeks and South Korea's military will take over the system in October after testing, it added. Seoul is looking to enhance its military capabilities as it pushes to end an arrangement under which, if war breaks out, American commanders will have authority over their combined forces. The satellite was "expected to improve the South Korean military's independent operational capabilities", an official at its defence ministry told Yonhap news agency. Seoul and Washington are security allies and the US stations 28,500 troops in the country. But their relationship has been strained in recent years, triggered by differences in their approaches to Pyongyang, and over cost-sharing responsibilities. The Falcon 9 rocket carrying the ANASIS-II satellite blasted off from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida The Global Digital Education Market size is expected to reach $48. 4 billion by 2026, rising at a market growth of 33. 2% CAGR during the forecast period. Digital education is a creative use of interactive resources and technologies while teaching and learning and is generally referred to as technology enhanced learning (TEL) or e-learning. New York, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Digital Education Market By Learning Type, By Course Type, By End User, By Region, Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2020 - 2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05933107/?utm_source=GNW The use of emerging technology offers educators the ability to build immersive learning experiences in the classes they teach which can take the form of blended or entirely online courses and programs. In comparison to the usual classes where personal attention is lacking, online classrooms form a one-to-one educational environment. Specialists can reinforce the potential of each apprentice to be learned individually, while learners can also contact the teacher by chat, call or video. Technology provides students with increased educational insight as it applies to educators without any time and energy restrictions. Instant communications and response gatherings let scholars advance their skills, evaluate their implementation, and track the development of assignments, and more. In addition, the approaching Learning Management System would enhance two-way communication between scholars and educators. Video-based erudition is additionally communicative and tempting to scholars, as it allows them to study topic curriculums at their own speed, free from any anxiety about penalties and time strictness. Instant communication between educators and learners encourages the exchange of thought and data at an enhanced level that improves the educational performance of apprentices. One more thought-provoking aspect of video-based education is that it gives scholars elasticity to attend live online sessions or watch a recorded lecture at anytime, anywhere in the classroom. They can talk about it as many times as they want to fully understand the knowledge of the lecture, without any limitation. Based on Learning Type, the market is segmented into Self-Paced Instructor-Led Online Education and Instructor-Led Online Education. Based on Course Type, the market is segmented into Science & Technology Courses, Entrepreneurship & Business Management Courses and Others. Based on End User, the market is segmented into Individual Learners and Academic Institutions and Enterprises & Government Organizations. Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (EdModo, Inc.), Pluralsight, Inc., Seek Limited (FutureLearn), Alison, Udacity, Inc., Udemy, Inc., edX, Inc., Jigsaw Academy (Manipal Education and Medical Group), Coursera, Inc., and NovoEd, Inc. (Devonshire Investors). Recent strategies deployed in Digital Education Market Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements: Jun-2020: Alison entered into partnership with Aiducation International, an international company for impact on the non-profit organization in the field of education. The partnership was aimed to enhance digital learning for students from financially underprivileged families in Kenya, Ghana, Uganda, Tanzania, and the Philippines. Alison would provide up to 2,000 free PDF Certificate and Diploma vouchers to students from Aiducation International to help Aiducations students to continue their education. May-2020: Udacity signed partnership agreement with AWS for offering Scholarships for Premium Machine Learning Engineer Nanodegree Program. With this scholarship, applicants would have an opportunity to take the foundational course titled AWS Machine Learning Foundations Course. The Nanodegree program has been developed in collaboration with AWS and enables students to learn advanced machine learning techniques and algorithms including how to package and deploy models to a production environment. Apr-2020: Alison teamed up with Berlin-based Syrian Youth Assembly (SYA) to enhance essential infrastructures for digital learning in Syria and wherever Syrian Youth reside today. Alison would provide up to 20,000 free PDF Certificate and Diploma vouchers to youth members of the Syrian Youth Assembly. Apr-2020: NovoEd came into partnership with Wilson Learning, a global leader in human performance improvement solutions organizations worldwide. The partnership enabled Wilson Learning to provide a differentiated, engaging, and highly effective online learning experience. Under this partnership, Wilson Learning aimed to use NovoEds high-impact, online environment to scale and augment its sales and leadership learning and development offerings for clients around the world. Mar-2020: Pluralsight extended its agreement with the University of Phoenix. Following the expansion, the University has doubled the number of Pluralsight licenses, which the academic institution uses to help prepare students to pursue careers in technology. The university is embedding Pluralsight into every course taught in the College, including Skill IQ and Role IQ assessments as part of the curriculum to validate student learning. Mar-2020: Udacity came into partnership with Nutanix, a leader in enterprise cloud computing, and launched a new Hybrid Cloud Nanodegree program. This program aimed to enhance learning opportunities in the emerging cloud technologies market that are essential for organizations to uplevel their IT infrastructure. As part of the collaboration, Nutanix will also sponsor 5,000 scholarships to help IT professionals advance their knowledge with this initiative. Jan-2020: Coursera collaborated with The University of North Texas. The University has been working with Coursera for providing an online course named bachelor of applied arts and sciences, which has been tailored to the needs of students who have some college credit. Jan-2020: Coursera announced its collaboration with Rice University. Following the collaboration, Rice launched Coursera, which would provide students, faculty, and staff with full access to all Rice courses on Coursera for free. Jan-2020: edX signed an agreement with Stanford University, one of the worlds leading teaching and research institutions. Stanford has been increasing access to more credential-bearing opportunities for learners across the world by making its robust catalog of courses and open content available through a variety of online learning platforms. Many courses that had been hosted on Stanfords Lagunita platform will be made available through edX. The first set of courses represents some of Stanford Online popular offerings in computer science, humanities, data, and math. Sep-2019: Coursera teamed up with Novartis, the biopharma company. Under this collaboration, the latter company aimed to utilize Courseras enterprise platform, Coursera for Business provides educational programs to its 108,000 staffers around the world. This course delivers critical digital skills, establish a culture of learning that increases employee retention and promote innovation across the company. Sep-2019: FutureLearn signed a partnership agreement with The University of Michigan. The University aimed to share knowledge across the globe and shape the future of learning. U-M has reinforced its commitment to fostering open, global, diverse, flexible, and inclusive learning environments through FutureLearn. Aug-2019: FutureLearn extended its partnership with The University of Glasgow. Since the expansion, the University has been providing its first online degree on the FutureLearn platform. The announcement marked the continuation and expansion of the partnership to involve Glasgows first online postgraduate degree on the FutureLearn platform. The degree will be provided as an MSc, PGDip, PGCert with 180, 120 and 60 credits awarded respectively, and students can study at the time, place, and pace that suits their professional and personal commitments. Jun-2019: FutureLearn partnered with Dublin City University for fulfilling the fast-growing demand for career-long, flexible learning. DCU offers a range of short and longer accredited courses from micro-credentials to postgraduate degrees for working professionals and global learners. Acquisition and Mergers: Aug-2019: Coursera acquired Rhyme Softworks, a software startup developing what it describes as a platform for hands-on projects. Along with this acquisition, Coursera launched Coursera Labs that would help educational institutions and industry partners (and eventually enterprises) build their hands-on learning projects, powered in part by the Rhyme technology. May-2019: Pluralsight took over GitPrime, a leading developer productivity platform. The acquisition enhanced the Pluralsight platform to provide more value to learners. Jul-2016: Pluralsight completed the acquisition of Adobe-centric video training company, Train Simple. The acquisition helped Pluralsights technology learning platform in becoming a leading provider of Adobe training online, offering more than 1,200 courses covering the entire Adobe Creative Cloud suite as well as other Adobe flagship technologies. Product Launches and Product Expansions: May-2020: FutureLearn.com released a new version of FutureLearn Campus. This would help all partners to give their current students and staff free upgraded access to short courses across the platform. The new version of FutureLearn Campus is the first step towards enabling this collaboration, as it allows universities to more easily share online learning materials via short courses on the platform. Mar-2020: Pluralsight added new capabilities to Flow, the companys developer analytics product. The new capabilities include reporting and analytics tools. These capabilities provide support for the increasingly popular mob and pair programming, deeper integration with Pluralsights Skills platform, and enhanced user experience. Jan-2020: edX introduced MicroBachelors programs, a series of career path focused courses. Students can complete these programs to earn academic credits toward a bachelors degree. The MicroBachelors programs have been designed for adults without a college degree who believe they need additional education to advance their careers but cannot afford a traditional bachelors degree and dont have the time to pursue one full-time. Oct-2019: Coursera launched Coursera for Campus, a new offering. The offering was designed for helping universities around the world respond to the challenges. Now any university, even those outside of Courseras partner ecosystem, can use the content on Coursera to deliver job-relevant, multi-disciplinary online learning to its learners. Sep-2019: Udemy launched its corporate learning solution, Udemy for Business, in India. Udemy for Business is a subscription offering that includes 3,500 of Udemys highest-rated business and technical courses. The launch of Udemy for Business in India is perfectly timed as companies across India look to ensure their employees remain competitive in the global economy. Sep-2019: NetDragon Websoft Holdings unveiled 3D Learning Space, an innovative edtech product. This product aimed to enhance students willingness to self-learn. 3D Learning Space provides interactive learning tools as well as social platforms for hundreds of millions of students and teachers across the world, including big data analysis, situational experience, fun challenges, AI assistants, and 3D scene design. Scope of the Study Market Segmentation: By Learning Type Self-Paced Instructor-Led Online Education Instructor-Led Online Education By Course Type Science & Technology Courses Entrepreneurship & Business Management Courses Others By End User Individual Learners and Academic Institutions Enterprises & Government Organizations By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled NetDragon Websoft Holdings Limited (EdModo, Inc.) Pluralsight, Inc. Seek Limited (FutureLearn) Alison Udacity, Inc. Udemy, Inc. edX, Inc. Jigsaw Academy (Manipal Education and Medical Group) Coursera, Inc. NovoEd, Inc. (Devonshire Investors) Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05933107/?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 Since emerging from the safety crisis of 2018, Didi has more recently had to deal with a sharp slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic. Ride-sharing specialist Didi Chuxing is preparing to make a listing in Hong Kong, a source close to its top executives told Caixin, as the 8-year-old company often called the Uber of China comes under pressure from investors looking to cash out. The latest signal marks a major development for the company, whose insiders close to CEO Cheng Wei repeatedly told Caixin in the past that there was no rush toward such a listing. Those sources told Caixin the company still has plenty of cash, with such assets now more than 50 billion yuan ($7.2 billion). Instead, the source who disclosed the plan said the movement is being driven by some of the companys nearly 100 investors, which include Japans SoftBank that poured more than $10 billion into Didi between 2015 and 2018 and is current its largest investor. The companys other major investors include global tech giant Apple, which in 2016 announced its own $1 billion investment. Didi declined to comment on the situation. The source emphasized the IPO process is still in the planning phases, adding that previous rumors that Didi was preparing to merge with Hong Kong-listed online-to-offline (O2O) services giant Meituan Dianping were unreliable. Like its global rival Uber Inc., Didi has come under growing pressure from investors after years of devouring cash without turning any profits. The company fought a bloody war in China with Uber, before the pair merged their Chinese mainland operations in a landmark deal in 2016 that gave Uber a 15.4% stake in the merged company. Since then Didi has been the dominant player in China, and has also expanded to a number of overseas markets including Japan, Mexico and Australia. Also like Uber, Didi has come under scrutiny in China regarding the safety of its drivers, and safety remains one of the companys biggest reputational and regulatory risks. In 2018 two female passengers using the companys low-end Hitch service were murdered by drivers in separate incidents just months apart, forcing Didi to suspend the service and do a major safety overhaul. Didi finally relaunched the service late last year after taking numerous steps that it said would improve passenger safety. Read More In Depth: Chinas Didi Faces Reckoning Through all that, Didis own valuation has traveled down a bumpy road. The company, which has raised more than $30 billion since its founding in 2012, reached a peak in December 2017 when it was valued at about $56 billion after one of its last major funding rounds. But information released by Uber in April last year in the run-up to the U.S. companys own IPO gave Didi a valuation of about $51.6 billion, or about 10% less than at its height. Another transaction involving shares in the company a year ago lowered the valuation further still to $47.5 billion. By comparison, Uber has a current market value of $58 billion. Since emerging from the safety crisis of 2018, Didi has more recently had to deal with a sharp slowdown due to the coronavirus pandemic that began in China and bought much of its business to a standstill starting around the end of January. During a May interview with CNBC, President Jean Liu said the company had taken a blow during the crisis, but added that business was back and was at 60% to 70% of its pre-pandemic levels by May. She added that the companys core business had already begun to be profitable at that time. Didi has also been rolling out a steady stream of new services to diversify its business this year. In March it launched an errand running business that has now been extended to 21 cities. It launched a goods delivery service in June, and also operates a shared bike service. Contact reporter Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) and editor Joshua Dummer (joshuadummer@caixin.com) HADDAM State police dive teams and state response agencies are continuing to search the waters of the Connecticut River at Haddam Meadows State Park for an 18-year-old man who went missing late Monday afternoon. Fire marine units left the scene Monday at around 8 p.m., according to Haddam Volunteer Fire Co. spokeswoman Olivia Drake. ATLANTA, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CryoLife, Inc. (NYSE: CRY), a leading cardiac and vascular surgery company focused on aortic disease, announced today that 2020 second quarter financial results will be released on Thursday, July 30, 2020 after the market closes. On that day, the Company will hold a teleconference call and live webcast at 4:30 p.m. ET to discuss the results, followed by a question and answer session hosted by Pat Mackin, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of CryoLife, Inc. To listen to the live teleconference, please dial 201-689-8261 a few minutes prior to 4:30 p.m. ET. A replay of the teleconference will be available July 30 through August 6, 2020 and can be accessed by calling (toll free) 877-660-6853 or 201-612-7415. The conference number for the replay is 13706961. The live webcast and replay can be accessed in the Investor Relations section of the CryoLife website at www.cryolife.com and selecting Webcasts & Presentations. In addition, a copy of the earnings press release, which will contain financial and statistical information for the completed quarter and full year, can be accessed in the Investor Relations section of the CryoLife website. About CryoLife, Inc. Headquartered in suburban Atlanta, Georgia, CryoLife is a leader in the manufacturing, processing, and distribution of medical devices and implantable tissues used in cardiac and vascular surgical procedures focused on aortic repair. CryoLife markets and sells products in more than 100 countries worldwide. For additional information about CryoLife, visit our website, www.cryolife.com. Contacts: CryoLife Gilmartin Group LLC D. Ashley Lee Brian Johnston / Lynn Lewis Executive Vice President, Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Phone: 631-807-1986 [email protected] Phone: 770-419-3355 SOURCE CryoLife, Inc. Related Links http://www.cryolife.com Turkey announced plans Tuesday to send oil-and-gas research vessels into disputed waters in the Eastern Mediterranean, raising tension with neighbor Greece and ignoring calls from European nations to avoid the action. State-run television in Greece said the country's armed forces had been placed on a state of readiness. Turkish authorities said the research vessel Oruc Reis and two support vessels would carry out operations through Aug. 2 in waters south of the Greek islands of Rhodes, Karpathos and Kastelorizo. ``Turkey has added another notch to its aggressive actions toward Greece, toward Cyprus, and toward the European Union as a whole,'' Greece Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis said. NATO allies Greece and Turkey are at odds over drilling rights in the region, with the European Union and the United States increasingly critical of Ankara's plans to expand exploration and drilling operations in the coming weeks into areas Athens claims as its own. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, in Athens on a scheduled visit, urged Turkey to avoid ``provocative actions'' and fully engage in planned talks with the EU. ``We have a very clear position: international law must be respected. Therefore, progress in relations with Turkey can only be achieved if Ankara avoids provocations in the eastern Mediterranean,? Maas said after talks in Athens with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias. Turkey has accused Greece of trying to exclude it from the benefits of oil and gas finds in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, arguing that sea boundaries for commercial exploitation should be divided between the Greek and Turkish mainland and not include the Greek islands on an equal basis. Athens rejects the argument as being in clear violation of international law. In Ankara, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey would press ahead with its efforts to search and drill for hydrocarbons in the Mediterranean. ``We are not subjected to anyone's permission (concerning) our seismic exploration vessels or our drilling vessels,'' Erdogan said in a speech marking the second anniversary of Turkey's transition to a new political system that increased presidential powers. ``Whatever the international maritime laws require, whatever our rights in the eastern Mediterranean are, we have taken our steps within that framework and we will continue to take these steps in the same way.'' Greece is pressing other EU member states to prepare ``crippling sanctions? against Turkey if it proceeds with the oil-and-gas exploration plans detailed in May by Turkey's state-run oil company, TPAO. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell last week said he would launch an initiative to engage Turkey in talks, citing ``worrying developments? in the Eastern Mediterranean and the civil war in Libya. Germany has already hosted unannounced talks with senior Greek and Turkish officials to try and restart discussions to ease the tension. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 20:22:24|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, July 21 (Xinhua) -- At least 30 people, including two women, have been killed and 17 people wounded in separate incidents of violence in Afghanistan since late Monday, authorities said Tuesday. One staff of a local logistic group was killed and another wounded after an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) detonated on doorstep of the firm in Pul-e-Khumri, capital of northern Baghlan province early Tuesday, Nazir Najm from provincial government, told Xinhua, adding the firm's building and a nearby local Radio station's building were damaged in the blast. The explosion in Baghlan followed by a shooting attack, in southern Kandahar province when a taxi driver, who used to deliver foodstuff and items to Shah Wali Kot district's police station, was shot dead by gunmen, Jamal Barakzai from provincial police told Xinhua. The victim was driving along a dusty road before being shot and the taxi stopped at a farming land in Shah Wali Kot. The officials blamed Taliban for the attacks. The Taliban militants have warned local contractors to stop providing service to government and NATO-led troops. In a separate incident, one civilian died after his motorcycle touched off an IED in Sah Wali Kot roughly at the same time, according to Barakzai. Also on Tuesday morning, four people riding two motorbikes, including two women, were killed in two separate IED explosions in Nahri Saraaj district of southern Helmand province, Mohammad Zaman Hamdard from provincial police told Xinhua. Four militants were killed and two others wounded after Afghan army soldiers repulsed two Taliban attacks in Helmand's Nahri Saraaj and neighboring Nawa districts on Monday night, the army's 215 Maiwand Corps confirmed, adding the army bomb disposal teams found and defused 10 rounds of IEDs in Helmand on Monday. In addition, personnel of National Directorate of Security (NDS) arrested two members of Taliban's Al Hajj network in Helmand and confiscated an AK47 gun, four magazines and an ammunition belt, a source from NDS, the country national intelligence agency, confirmed. In western Badghis province, five police officers were killed after Taliban militants attacked an under-construction security checkpoint in Qadis district. Several Taliban militants were also killed and wounded during the fighting, deputy provincial police chief, Shir Aqa Alokozai, told Xinhua. Furthermore, eight army soldiers were killed and nine others wounded after Taliban conducted a suicide truck bombing in eastern Wardak province late Monday, according to the Defense Ministry. In neighboring Paktika province, seven Taliban militants were killed and four others wounded during clashes at a security checkpoint in Urgun district on Monday night, Aimal Muhmand from army's 203 Thunder Corps told Xinhua. The army soldiers were not harmed in the fighting and they found a mortar and a heavy gun after the clashes. Since the signing of a Taliban and United States peace agreement in late February, Afghan leaders have frequently demanded the Taliban to reduce violence. The militants, however, have intensified attacks, killing and injuring scores of combatants and civilians. Congress is set to debate another relief package to help bolster the economy amid the coronavirus pandemic. What that package will entail remains to be seen. CNBC reported the White House is considering payroll tax cuts as part of its relief plan. Another option would be direct payments similar to the $1,200 ones Americans received in the spring as coronavirus eroded jobs and sent unemployment skyrocketing. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., indicated he would like to lower the threshold for those payments to people making $40,000 or less. Democrats have another plan, with a proposal for a second round of $1,200 stimulus payments capped at $6,000 per family. The previous stimulus checks provided $1,200 in payments for individuals earning up to $75,000 with amounts reduced for those earning up to $99,000. Other options under consideration includes continuing enhanced federal unemployment benefits, back-to-work bonuses and business loans. See all of AL.coms coronavirus coverage here. Here are the latest coronavirus headlines: Bahamas ban international flights The Bahamas has banned most international flights as the islands have seen a surge in the number of coronavirus cases. Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said the number of cases in the Bahamas has tripled since the Caribbean nation reopened its borders July 1. The country now has 153 cases, with most on the countrys largest island, Grand Bahama. Most of those cases were tied to residents returning to the Bahamas, Minnis said. Teacher unions sue Teachers unions are suing to block an order from Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis requiring schools to open in August. The American Federation of Teachers and the Florida Education Association said the order violates the states constitutional requirement of a safe and secure public education. The suit asks a judge to issue an injunction blocking DeSantis from going through with the statewide mandate even as Florida has become a national hotspot for coronavirus cases. The suit was filed the same day Florida reported more than 10,000 new coronavirus cases for the sixth consecutive day. Earlier this month, DeSantis issued an order requiring schools to open at least five days each week in August. Disney changes mask rules Disney has a new rule for visitors: Sit down while youre eating or drinking. Disney World said visitors will no longer be able to eat or drink while walking around the park without a mask. The park reopened July 11 and requires visitors to wear a face covering at all times, except when swimming or eating. The new rule require visitors to be stationary while eating or drinking and must maintain appropriate social distancing. The Florida parks are also requiring visitors to undergo a temperature check and observe social distancing. Tilt Renewables Limited (TLT) is pleased to announce that the first wind turbine has been successfully erected at the Waipipi Wind Farm (WWF) located near Waverley in South Taranaki, New Zealand. This wind turbine is the largest ever installed in New Zealand, both by generation capacity (4.3MW) and size (130m rotor diameter), and marks the first multiMW class wind turbine to be installed in New Zealand since mid2014. TLT CEO Deion Campbell said, Tilt Renewables is excited to have reached this milestone at Waipipi and is proud to be again leading the industry, installing the largest turbines ever seen in New Zealand. Our focus on gaining resource consents that can accommodate technology improvements over time, means we can deploy the latest technology and deliver competitively priced renewable energy. As New Zealands most credible and proven independent renewables developer, with a pipeline of consented projects, we look forward to contributing further to the Governments goals of decarbonising the New Zealand economy. Construction is progressing well, despite the earlier 5 week disruption of construction activities due to restrictions imposed by the New Zealand Government to control the spread of COVID19 and the ongoing challenges posed by the COVID19 pandemic to both the supply chain and skilled personnel movement. To date, 18 of 31 wind turbine foundations have been poured, the installation of underground 33kV cable reticulation is complete, and all 110kV transmission line poles have been installed. All wind turbine components have been manufactured and have either arrived in or are en route to New Zealand. TLT anticipates achieving commercial operation of the WWF in Q1 2021, in line with previous expectations. Pleasingly, to date no Lost Time Injuries have been recorded at the project during more than 140,000 working hours and the site is operating effectively under its COVID19 construction management protocols. Environmental and cultural heritage impacts continue to be well managed, supported by one of the projects key stakeholders, Ngaa Rauru Kiitahi. When complete, the WWF will be TLTs largest single asset in New Zealand, consisting of 31 x 4.3MW wind turbines with a total installed capacity of 133.3MW, and expected to produce annual average electricity generation of 455GWh, enough for around 70,000 homes. The wind turbines are manufactured by Siemens Gamesa Renewable Energy (SGRE) who is also providing a comprehensive 30year Operations and Maintenance Agreement, demonstrating just how suitable these machines are for this site. 100% of the clean energy produced by the Waipipi Wind Farm, for the first 20 years of operation, will be sold to Genesis Energy Limited. Campbell further noted, with its distributed, flexible hydro generation, plus base load geothermal generation, New Zealand can definitely move closer to 100% renewable electricity generation, potentially attracting large energy intensive industries and enhancing the value of exported products. This is a unique position that the country should take full advantage of. Source: Tilt Renewables Limited (TLT) Comments from our readers No comments yet Add your comment: Your name: Your email: Not displayed to the public Comment: Comments to Sharechat go through an approval process. Comments which are defamatory, abusive or in some way deemed inappropriate will not be approved. It is allowable to use some form of non-de-plume for your name, however we recommend real email addresses are used. Comments from free email addresses such as Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, etc may not be approved. Anti-spam verification: Type the text you see in the image into the field below. You are asked to do this in order to verify that this enquiry is not being performed by an automated process. Related News: Rua Bioscience Limited (NZX: RUA) Shareholders Approve Zalm Therapeutics Share Issue Harmoney Corp Limited (NZX: HMY) HMY achieves cash NPAT profitability in 1HFY22 19th January 2022 Morning Report PaySauce Limited (NZX: PYS) Quarterly Market Update Dec 2021 FTX announced as naming rights sponsor of Australian Blockchain Week 2022 18th January 2022 Morning Report 17th January 2022 Morning Report Mosaic lands leading corporate trust expert as new partner 14th January 2022 Morning Report 13th January 2022 Morning Report Jeff Zhang, Chief Charging Technology Scientist at OPPO commented, "The accelerated 5G Network rollout worldwide as well as the increasing diversification of high-power-consumption applications including gaming and video viewing represent new challenges for the battery life of mobile phones and user charging experience. OPPO has been leading the development of fast charging ever since VOOC flash charge was launched in 2014. Now, we are committed to continuing to build on our expertise and advantages in the field of high power, wireless and ultra-small charging technologies in order to provide users with a safe, efficient and convenient ultra-fast charging experience." 125W flash charge: faster charging in the 5G Network Full charge in 20 minutes: OPPO's 125W flash charge technology uses direct charging technology which can charge a 4000mAh battery to 41% in five minutes and fully charge in 20 minutes at the fastest rate OPPO's 125W flash charge technology uses direct charging technology which can charge a 4000mAh battery to 41% in five minutes and fully charge in 20 minutes at the fastest rate Most advanced flash charging technology in the industry : it is also compatible with previous SuperVOOC and VOOC flash charge protocols : it is also compatible with previous SuperVOOC and VOOC flash charge protocols Same compact size: Evolved from SuperVOOC's technical design, the 125W flash charge has undergone a comprehensive hardware architecture upgrade to effectively reduce charging time whilst simultaneously not increasing the size of the charger Evolved from SuperVOOC's technical design, the 125W flash charge has undergone a comprehensive hardware architecture upgrade to effectively reduce charging time whilst simultaneously not increasing the size of the charger Enhanced safety: The technology behind the 125W flash charge has strengthened the safety protection features in the system by adding 10 additional temperature sensors which monitor the charging status and ensure maximum safety during charging 65W AirVOOC wireless flash charge: leading the development of wireless charging technology Hassle-free, convenient charging: Market-leading wireless flash charge technology 65W AirVOOC wireless flash charge adopts self-developed isolated charge pump technology and parallel dual-coil design to further increase wireless charging efficiency for super-fast charging with no wires Market-leading wireless flash charge technology 65W AirVOOC wireless flash charge adopts self-developed isolated charge pump technology and parallel dual-coil design to further increase wireless charging efficiency for super-fast charging with no wires Full charge in 30 minutes : at the fastest rate, making it the perfect choice for charging in the 5G Network : at the fastest rate, making it the perfect choice for charging in the 5G Network Conceptual wireless charger showcased : Featuring a beautifully sculpted glass which is made of moldless rapid prototyping technology and is the first application of this type of technology in the consumer electronics market. : Featuring a beautifully sculpted glass which is made of moldless rapid prototyping technology and is the first application of this type of technology in the consumer electronics market. No risk of overheating: Charger is equipped with a semiconductor cooler to adjust the heat entering and exiting ensuring that the handset is not hot after the appliance has been charged. In this case, the temperature of the back of the phone is kept over 2 C lower than that of only using the fan to dissipate heat World's smallest and thinnest chargers: 50W mini SuperVOOC charger and 110W mini flash charger High-power ultra-small charger for on the go: Mini-size and easy to carry, the 50W mini SuperVOOC charger is around the size of a business card holder at only 1.05cm thick and can charge a variety of devices including mobile phones and laptops, making it extremely convenient for commuting and traveling Mini-size and easy to carry, the 50W mini SuperVOOC charger is around the size of a business card holder at only 1.05cm thick and can charge a variety of devices including mobile phones and laptops, making it extremely convenient for commuting and traveling Introducing pulse charging: The first in the industry, aviation-grade high power clamping diodes and GaN high frequency switching power supply technology, to finally achieve miniaturization of high-power chargers. The first in the industry, aviation-grade high power clamping diodes and GaN high frequency switching power supply technology, to finally achieve miniaturization of high-power chargers. Defying the limits of size and efficiency for high-power adapters: OPPO's 110W mini flash charger uses the innovative dual-level architecture to achieve high-efficiency power conversion and temperature rise control, and is built upon the combination of laminate and compact structures which minimizes its size to just 35.76 cm 3 - similar to the size of a normal 18W charger OPPO's 110W mini flash charger uses the innovative dual-level architecture to achieve high-efficiency power conversion and temperature rise control, and is built upon the combination of laminate and compact structures which minimizes its size to just 35.76 cm - similar to the size of a normal 18W charger Built for the era of intelligent connectivity: OPPO's ultra-small charger series will provide flash charging anywhere and at any time. Charge-and-go is now a reality, a single charger which powers multiple devices Ethan Xue, President of OPPO Middle East and Africa commented, "Latest research shows that the adoption 5G Network will reach more than 45m in the Middle East and North Africa region in 2025. We are confident that our new suite of products answers to the region's preference for high-power app usage, delivering a solution that enhances user experience, portability, and speed, relegating challenges around battery life to a bygone era. With demand growing for mobile flash charging in the era of intelligent connectivity, OPPO will continue to improve and upgrade the VOOC flash charging platforms and develop industry-leading technologies." As of June 2020, OPPO has applied for more than 2,800 global patents for flash charging. The firm's 30-plus smartphone models featuring VOOC flash charge technology have delivered the ultra-fast charging experience to over 157 million users globally. About OPPO OPPO is a leading global technology brand, dedicated to providing products infused with art and innovative technology. Based on the brand elements of leading, young and beautiful, OPPO dedicates to the mission of letting the extraordinary users enjoy the beauty of technology. For the last 10 years, OPPO has been focusing on manufacturing camera phones, while innovating mobile photography technology breakthroughs. OPPO launched the first mobile phone, the Smile Phone, in 2008, which marks the beginning of a journey to explore and pioneer extraordinary technology. Today, OPPO brings the aesthetics of technology of global consumers through smart devices, ColorOS, and Internet service like OPPO Cloud and OPPO+. In 2017, OPPO was ranked as the number 4 smartphone brand globally, according to IDC. Today OPPO's business covers 40 countries and regions, and has 6 research institutes and 4 R&D centres around the world, as well as an International Design Center in London, providing excellent smartphone photography experience to more and more young people around the world. About OPPO MEA In 2015, OPPO entered the Egyptian market. In 2016, OPPO set up its Middle East & Africa Sales Center in Cairo. The markets OPPO has entered in the Middle East and Africa include: Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait, Bahrain, Kenya, Nigeria, and the Levant. OPPO set up its factory in Algeria in 2017, which made OPPO the first Chinese brand setting up factory in North Africa. Based on the insights of local consumers in each country, OPPO MEA has started the progress of localization. And the localization includes all the perspectives towards each market product localization, to further meet the core needs of users; marketing localization, to better communicate with local young customers; and team localization, to know our local consumers further and provide better service to the consumers. Within the last year, OPPO has started to adjust its product line in the Middle East region specifically. This has included the launch of its flagship OPPO Find X smartphone and the introduction of the OPPO Reno Series. OPPO will continue to evolve its local product line to offer more premium series to consumers in the region. For more details, please contact Lucy Aziz Regional PR Manager OPPO Email: [email protected] SOURCE OPPO High sales of the perennially popular Harry Potter books and other fantasy fiction novels during lockdown caused revenues at publisher Bloomsbury to soar in recent months. Surging demand for digital books also helped the company's year-on-year revenues to rise 18 per cent to 49.5million in the four months to June 30 even though UK bookshops were forced to close between late March and mid-June. More readers used the period to pick up Bloomsbury titles like Sarah J. Maas' Crescent City: House of Earth and Blood, White Rage by Carol Anderson, and the Sunday Times bestseller Humankind by Dutch historian Rutger Bregman. J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of novels continue to be a golden goose for Bloomsbury The Reni Eddo-Lodge book Why I'm No Longer Talking to White People About Race was also one of Britain's biggest sellers and helped bolster revenues at the firm's consumer division by 28 per cent to 31.5million. But it was J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series of novels that continued to be a golden goose for Bloomsbury, whose children's division saw sales jump by over a quarter to 18.8million. Shares rose 13.5 per cent in the firm after it said its performance in May and June was 'unexpected,' though it noted that 'historically demand for books has been resilient in times of economic downturns.' E-book sales rose by 53 per cent, far higher than print sales, which only grew 9 per cent, while overall digital sales at the London-based publishing house climbed 63 per cent. Historian Rutger Bregman's book Humankind was a bestseller during the lockdown period Not all its markets did well during the four months either. In Australia, Bloosmbury's revenues remained virtually flat. But in India, they plummeted 70 per cent, with the publisher blaming 'the severe impact of government lockdowns.' Still, sales have continued to remain healthy since lockdown restrictions were lifted in the UK, both in-store and online, which Bloomsbury partly attributed to having bestsellers in both the US and UK. Yet despite the positive trading update, the business stated that the pandemic has made its outlook 'uncertain' and iterated its previous announcement in May that it was not providing financial guidance for the year. Publishers have pushed back the date for releasing new books and Investec's Alastair Reid and Ross Broadfoot wrote that a 'more crowded industry release schedule' over the autumn could lead to weaker growth for Bloomsbury. Bloomsbury's sales have continued to remain healthy since lockdown restrictions were lifted in the UK, both in-store and online The autumn season could also see struggles for its academic & professional branch, which expanded by 4 per cent during the reporting period. However, it could be damaged by the decline in international students, who pay higher fees than UK students to study here. Even if lower sales and student numbers damage Bloomsbury though, it declared that it had 'sufficient liquidity to weather the impact of the coronavirus pandemic and avoid damaging our business in the long-term.' In April, the company furloughed staff, slashed the salaries of its board members by 30 per cent, and launched a multi-million pound share issue to help cut costs. According to data measurement firm Nielsen, the value and volume of UK book sales in the four weeks after non-essential shops were allowed to reopen shot up by 19.1 per cent and 17.6 per cent, respectively. A recent survey from the group also found that the amount of reading people did each week during the lockdown rose by an extra 2.7 hours by the beginning of the May, though it dipped back marginally by the middle of May to an added 2.5 hours. As lockdown eases, many of us are returning to our offices, having been working remotely for months. Rachel Farrell tells us why she can't wait to get back, and Amy Lynch explains why she'd be happy at home forever. Rachel Farrell says yes: Who'd have thought we'd miss office life? Before Covid, there were days when you'd roll out of bed and think, wouldn't it be great to work from the bed? Hair unbrushed, pyjamas still on and not having to deal with people in person. When lockdown began, suddenly I found myself living that life - and I'm not enjoying it as much as I thought I would. Read More The work-from-home novelty probably began to wear off about a month and a half in for me. At the start, I documented my days on social media. 'WFH day one - made brownies.' 'WFH day two - started a yoga challenge'. I'm now on 'WFH day unknown - send help'. When talk began of returning to the office on a voluntary basis, you can guess whose name was first on the list. So what changed? For me it was when I began to realise that I actually need and enjoy a routine. I like having somewhere to go at a certain time, armed with a packed lunch and my Leap card for the journey. I miss the creative discussions that happen naturally in the newspaper office where I work, compared to scheduled Teams meetings where half the time I forget what I was planning to say in the first place. It's only when you step away from the office that you notice how many of these in-person chats happen throughout the day. Of course, that's not to say that we're not as productive when working from home. In fact, it's probably the opposite, but there are times when a Facetime doesn't feel the same as an in-person meeting. My back misses my desk and chair after four months of sitting at the same one I studied at for my Leaving Cert all those years ago. Those who are enjoying WFH likely have their own office space, or maybe they like their couch-space, but it's not for me. I've been tempted to stick up a 'DO NOT DISTURB' sign on my door to stop my mam coming in looking for empty mugs and washing when I'm on a call. I definitely get more steps in too when I'm walking to and from the office, to the bus stop, or even just to the canteen and back for countless cups of tea. The length of my walk from desk to coffee machine has significantly decreased since lockdown began. I even miss the 'glam office life'. I'm someone who enjoys getting dressed up for the day and when I envisaged my spring-summer work attire, I didn't see hoodies and leggings on the agenda. Working from home was always the sort of idyllic notion I had for down the line, when I have kids or when I'm writing a book and need time to dedicate to something else. Not at the start of my career, at a time when we are told to mix and mingle and 'make connections' for future opportunities. Now, the only commitment I have outside work is reruns of the Real Housewives of Beverley Hills. And lastly, I miss after-work drinks and spontaneous plans. If returning to the office is the first step there, I'll gladly take it. Amy Lynch says no: Life is simply healthier when working from home Expand Close Happy place: Amy Lynch working from home with dog Bella. PHOTO: MARK CONDREN / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Happy place: Amy Lynch working from home with dog Bella. PHOTO: MARK CONDREN Why is it that each morning, a school shoe finds itself separated from its partner? Pre-Covid, the mornings used to stress me the most. By the time my children were rushed through their breakfast and ejected from the car at the school gates, it was time for me to race towards the motorway. The red brake lights and radio broadcast confirmed the worst: a crash on the N11, and a fat chance of making it to the office on time. Youd think that 20 years of apologising for running late to my charity sector office job would be less stressful by now. Youd be wrong. Fast forward eight hours of coffee station small talk, report writing and clock-watching, and the journey would be done in reverse. Except it was then dark. And raining. And it was at this exact soul-crushing moment Id realise that Id defrosted nothing for dinner and that one of the kids had a project due. Id flick the radio and have a quick pray that the tight chest was just anxiety. Ah, but the daily grind of an office working parent doesnt end there. There are Weetabix cemented bowls to tackle and dogs to walk before collapsing in front of the telly to mumble a vague how was your day to my equally exhausted husband. Enter Covid-19. Working from home was previously labelled as impossible, yet is now not only possible but essential. Old-school 9-to-5 office hours were previously set in stone, yet are now flexible. Uptight office meetings are now replaced with online meetings, featuring children of colleagues popping their heads in to demand crisps. As parents who never made it home in time to supervise homework, the hubby and I found ourselves in charge of home-schooling. Honestly? It was a privilege. I got to be the one telling them how clever and funny they are. At 10 and 11 years old, we can point to an email from teacher, theyll download the app, upload the work, and attempt to teach this middle-aged mum how its done. With all of this time working from home instead of the office, I even did some baking. Okay, the cookies were hideous, and I still cant shift the aftertaste, but the kids now think their mum is the best mum in the world. Cranky mummy morphed into fun mummy. And she liked it. The dogs are delighted. No more endless guilt about leaving them alone for hours on end, hoping my mother will check on them at lunchtime, and compensating with a walk in the rain at night. Its non-stop belly rub action these days. Working from home has proven to be a better quality of life, with no reduction in productivity. Life is simply healthier. Instead of eating a limp sandwich under fluorescent office lights while tapping a keyboard, its a home-cooked lunch and a dog walk with the kids. No competition. Recently, I noticed that my wardrobe is made up of 80pc shoulder pads and high heels. Now, I dont know about you, but one tends to feel overdressed in anything fancier than yoga pants when working from home, so Ill need to invest in some new clothes. But think of all Im saving on dry clean only jackets! Win-win. Working from home during the pandemic has made us stronger as a family. Were healthier. Were happier. And as for that tight chest? What tight chest? Armenian FM Zohrab Mnatsakanyan explained when it will be possible to organize Armenian and Azerbaijani leaders' meeting. The FM cannot agree with the opinion that the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmanship format does not work, he said in an interview with France 24. The OSCE MG, according to the minister, worked very efficiently and has a very solid foundation, a very solid platform on which all three countries - Russia, France, and the US - are working very actively. They continue to make significant contributions to the peace process, he added.. When asked whether the meeting of the leaders of the two countries would play a decisive role in easing tensions and overcoming the crisis, the Armenian FM noted that the Armenian side is determined to use all possible means to advance the peace process. "These meetings should be carefully prepared as we truly seek to lay a good foundation for progress," he noted. "The meeting of the leaders will take place only when we prepare a good basis for such a meeting in order to achieve progress in the negotiations." Whats new: Chinas Vice Premier Liu He said on Tuesday that the State Council would dispatch a team to investigate mass resignations at the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Physical Science in Hefei, East Chinas Anhui province, according to the academys official website (link in Chinese). On Sunday, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, the worlds largest research body, sent a task force to its Hefei branch (link in Chinese) in response to various media reports that more than 90 nuclear scientists resigned en masse in June. The cause of the collective resignation is unclear. According to Chinese media reports, two key factors may have contributed to the decision by scientists at the Institute of Nuclear Energy Safety Technology (INEST) to resign. One is that the institute could not secure big research projects due to a lack of funds, and the other is that the scientists were poached and left for better jobs. The background: The mass resignations at INEST have drawn widespread public attention as the institution, which specializes in advanced nuclear energy and safety technology, currently participates in over 200 national and international projects, including the National Key R&D Program of China and cooperation projects with the International Atomic Energy Agency, according to its website. INEST, a hub of leading Chinese scientists, claims to have around 600 members, of whom 80% hold PhD degrees. Quick Takes are condensed versions of China-related stories for fast news you can use. Contact editor Heather Mowbray (heathermowbray@caixin.com) Asset Control's AC PaSS will help Venerable focus on core business NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Venerable, owner and manager of legacy annuity blocks, has chosen to migrate its data management to AC PaSS, the cloud-based managed service solution from Asset Control. Using AC PaSS will provide Venerable with an adaptable data integration, mastering, and distribution platform, which will enable them to more efficiently run its legacy infrastructure and focus their IT efforts on adding value for their customers and driving innovation. Venerable was already using Asset Control's AC Plus time series management solution to source pricing data, validate and enhance quality via user-defined workflows, and derive curves and surfaces to value its customers' annuities portfolio. This solution had been running on a public cloud platform, which was monitored and managed by the in-house IT team, a time-consuming and resource-intensive process. The shift to AC PaSS was implemented in a short few months and ran in parallel with production before going live. Venerable has now migrated all its data management processes to AC PaSS, which runs in the Oracle Cloud Infrastructure. Changes to the solution are requested by Venerable through a simple change control process and deliverables are all measured against contracted SLAs. Ray DiMarcello, Venerable, said: "We are excited to work with Asset Control in managing our market data on the AC PaSS platform. Having Asset Control's experts manage their application on their platform frees us up to pursue value added activity such as integration and analysis. Their team has been responsive and professional, and we were able to cutover production in a few short months with no major issues." Fabrice Proust, Head of Account Management, Asset Control, said: "Venerable is a strategic customer of Asset Control and we have a close working relationship built on results and a shared vision of partnership. That relationship is further extended by Venerable's decision to implement AC PaSS. We are constantly working to deliver best-practices and increased performance." About Venerable Venerable is a privately held company with business operations based in West Chester, Pennsylvania and Des Moines, Iowa. Venerable owns and manages the legacy variable annuity business acquired from Voya Financial, Inc. Created by an investor group led by affiliates of Apollo Global Management, LLC, Crestview Partners, and Reverence Capital Partners, Venerable is an emerging business with well-established, strategic investors, experienced in successfully building and growing insurance businesses with patient, long-term capital. For more information, please visit www.venerableannuity.com. About Asset Control Asset Control is the market leader in data quality software solutions for financial data. Focused on business user enablement, we help clients simplify complexity and ensure users across buy-side and sell-side make the most of their data assets by providing easy data integration, data cleansing, distribution, and data discovery solutions. We service a blue-chip client base globally and our award-winning solutions provide rigorous processes to secure high-quality data, easy integration into business user workflows, and a trusted environment for advanced analytics. Delivered through managed services, cloud or on-premise deployment, our highly scalable products help the world's most successful financial institutions meet their risk management, valuation, security master, and operational needs with mission-critical reliability. For more information: www.asset-control.com. SOURCE Asset Control; Venerable Related Links https://www.asset-control.com The State Attorney General supports the campaign to secure full pension benefits for former Buffalo Police Officer Cariol Holloman-Horne, but the State Comptroller's Office says Holloman-Horne doesn't have enough years of service to qualify. Holloman-Horne says she was fired 14 years ago for stopping a fellow officer from using a chokehold on a handcuffed suspect. She had 19 years on the job, one year short of being eligible for a full pension. To get her full benefits, she needs to be credited for 20 years of service by the City of Buffalo as a police officer, said Jennifer L. Freeman, communications director for State Comptroller Thomas P. DiNapoli, in an emailed response. Attorney General Letitia James sent a letter dated July 6 to DiNapoli asking him to to reexamine Holloman-Horne's pension status, but DiNapoli's spokeswoman said there is nothing the comptroller can do for Holloman-Horne. "To be clear, the state comptroller does not have the legal authority to grant a pension to a member prior to when they qualify to receive a pension or give additional service credit under New York State law," Freeman said. There is nothing further for DiNapoli to review, she said. Since his ouster amid popular protests last year, Sudans veteran leader Omar al-Bashir has been behind bars and become the Arab worlds latest fallen strongman. For three decades, he had tenaciously held onto power, even after the 2011 Arab Spring revolts that toppled Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi. But Bashirs fate was sealed after his own military reacted to mounting popular anger against the regime and ousted him in April last year after months of street demonstrations. The 76-year-old, who had ruthlessly crushed dissent after his rise to power in a 1989 Islamist-backed coup, has since been held in Khartoums Kober prison where many of his opponents were once detained. Already convicted of corruption, Bashir could now face the death penalty after going on trial Tuesday over the coup in which he grabbed power. The former leader has also been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over war crimes and genocide in the war-ravaged Darfur region of western Sudan. One of Africas longest-serving presidents, Bashir showed many different faces during his 30 years at the helm. Known for his trademark dancing and waving of a cane before addressing loyalists, Bashir had remained defiant in the face of growing street protests before his overthrow. He long proved himself a political survivor, evading not only the ICC but also a myriad of domestic challenges, from economic misery to bloody internal conflicts. Darfur conflict Bashir was indicted by the ICC over the Darfur conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms, accusing Khartoum of political and economic marginalisation of their region. The United Nations estimates 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the conflict. Human rights groups say Khartoum targeted suspected pro-rebel ethnic groups with a scorched earth policy, raping, killing, looting and burning villages. Bashir openly defied the ICC, travelling within Africa and further afield to countries including Russia and China and winning re-election in 2010 and 2015 in polls boycotted by opposition groups. The ex-president even flew to Damascus, just days before protests erupted at home, to meet Syrias President Bashar al-Assad. It was not until February that Sudans transitional authorities who came to power months after his ouster agreed he be handed over to the ICC. Protests Bashir, who has two wives and no children, was born in 1944 in Hosh Bannaga, north of Khartoum, to a farming family. He entered the military at a young age, rising through the ranks and joining an elite parachute regiment. He fought alongside the Egyptian army in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. In 1989, as brigade commander, he led the bloodless coup orchestrated by Islamist scholar Hassan al-Turabi against the democratically-elected government then led by Sadiq al-Mahdi. A career soldier, Bashir was known for his populist touch, insisting on being close to crowds and addressing them in colloquial Sudanese Arabic. Bashir became skilful over time. He learned the trade. At the beginning, he was not a prominent figure, Marc Lavergne, an Africa expert at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, has said. He made several public appearances even as protests raged against him following his governments decision in December 2018 to triple bread prices, and as Sudan grappled with shortages of food, medicines and foreign currency. At a rally in January 2019, Bashir voiced his disdain for protesters, calling them traitors, conspirators and rats that should return to their holes. But the protests kept going until tens of thousands marched on April 6 to set up a sprawling encampment outside the army headquarters in Khartoum. Months of unrest and clashes with security forces left dozens dead, hundreds wounded and thousands jailed. Hosting bin Laden Between 1992 and 1996, Bashir had led Sudan towards a more radical brand of Islam, hosting Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, and sending jihadist volunteers to fight in the countrys civil war with the south Sudanese. Bin Laden was expelled under US pressure after Washington placed Sudan on its list of state sponsors of terrorism. Under Bashirs rule, ethnically diverse Sudan saw the south gain its independence in 2011 after two decades of conflict between the Arab Muslim north and the mainly Christian or animist south. The secession under a peace deal that Bashir accepted saw the south take the bulk of Sudans oil fields. As economic woes mounted, Bashirs cash-strapped administration broke ties with Shiite Iran in favour of its rival, Saudi Arabia. Khartoum provided troops to the Saudi-led coalition battling Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen, in a move criticised by Bashirs opponents at home. In his trial last year, Bashir admitted to having received millions of dollars from Saudi royals, including the kingdoms de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He insisted the funds were not used for private interests but as donations to support individuals and entities. She has been enjoying quality time with her family during a staycation amid the easing of lockdown restrictions. But Billie Faiers has revealed how their getaway has not be plain sailing after her adorable son Arthur, four, was pictured with a leg cast on Instagram on Tuesday. The Mummy Diaries star, 30, posted three pictures of her four-year-old 'brave little soldier' smiling after falling down the stairs at a lake house in the Cotswolds. Accident: Billie Faiers, 30, shared a picture of son Arthur Shepherd, four, with a cast on his leg on Instagram on Tuesday during their staycation after he fell down the stairs Precious: Posting on Instagram, Billie captioned the pictures: 'My brave little soldier. A little accident on our first day of holiday but we wont let it spoil your fun my precious little darling' Billie revealed how Arthur had a 'little accident' on the 'first day of holiday' but ensured how herself and husband Greg Shepherd, 33, will not let it 'spoil [his] fun'. Posting on Instagram, she captioned the pictures: 'My brave little soldier. A little accident on our first day of holiday but we wont let it spoil your fun my precious little darling.' Greg also filmed his 'little lad' perched on steps at the holiday home donning his leg cast. Billie has not yet said how Arthur had his accident - the latest post comes as Greg said lockdown has made them realise they are not ready to expand their brood just yet Brave: Greg filmed little Arthur perched on steps at the holiday home donning his leg cast He asked: 'What happened to your leg little man? You fell down the stairs and you was a brave boy wasn't you? Arthur goes on to explain his injury as dad Grey replies: 'Ah you're a brave boy aren't you?' In another snap Greg posted a picture of Arthur laughing on a sun lounger captioned 'still smiling' despite his injured leg. It comes as Greg, who also shares six-year-old Nelly with Billie, revealed to new! that lockdown has made him realise that he is not 'quite ready' to expand their brood. Little lad: Greg revealed how Arthur had the accident early in on the holiday but was pictured laughing with his leg cast Sweet: Billie revealed how Arthur had a 'little accident' on the 'first day of holiday' but ensured how herself and husband Greg Shepherd, 33, will not let it 'spoil [his] fun Playful: The Mummy Diaries star posted three pictures of her four-year-old 'brave little soldier' smiling on a bed in the plaster of Paris covering his lower left leg Asked about the possibility of more children, he said: 'Well, you've asked me straight after lockdown. 'In lockdown, I was like, this is why we can't have anymore. We're not quite ready at the moment and we've got a house to sort and it's the wrong time but I'd never say never.' Greg also revealed how he plans to renew his vows with Billie in a romantic getaway to the Maldives to celebrate their five-year anniversary after the couple tied the knot on the island of Kuramathi last March. Stunning: The mother-of-two has been sharing snaps from their getaway (left). The Shepherds are joined by mother Suzie Wells, 50, and Sam Faiers and Billie's step-father Dave Chatwood (right) The mother-of-two has been sharing snaps from their getaway which has seen the family donning life jackets while canoeing on the lake house together. And the Shepherds are joined by mother Suzie Wells, 50, and Sam Faiers and Billie's step-father Dave Chatwood. Suzie and her ex-husband Dave were seen dipping their toes in the lake together on Billie's Instagram, captioned: 'They love each other still really'. Irelands National Public Health Emergency Team (Nphet) has warned of a second wave of COVID-19 infection, reaching 150 new cases a day in three weeks time, and of hospitals being overwhelmed in the winter. The teams modeling chair, Professor Philip Nolan, warned that the R number (infection reproduction rate) was already likely between 1.4 and 1.8. Nolan told Nphets regular press briefing Thursday, We are in a position of high uncertainty at the moment. The countrys acting chief medical officer, Dr Ronan Glynn, warned that such a scenario should have a very very negative impact on the governments plans to get our children back to school. The Irish Times reported Friday that Health Service Executive (HSE) officials will tell the government that winter flu surges frequently overwhelm emergency units. Patients spending hours and days on trolleys awaiting treatment has been a scandalous feature of Irish hospitals for years. Dr Colm Henry, HSEs chief clinical officer, said of a second wave during winter flu season, I cant see any healthcare service managing that scenario, I couldnt put it more starkly than that. Thus far, 25,698 people have been confirmed as having contracted COVID-19 in the Republic of Ireland (RoI), of whom 1,749 have died. An additional 5,815 infections have been reported in Northern Ireland, of whom 556 died. Lockdown measures, now rapidly being unwound, have reduced weekly deaths to low single figures. The warnings expose the recklessness of the drive by the Irish government, egged on by business interests, to reopen the economy as soon as possible. Phase 3 of the governments roadmap out of lockdown, introduced June 29, re-opened most of the economy, with only requirements for facemasks and some limits on pubs, hotels and large gatherings remaining. Newly installed coalition Taoiseach, Fianna Fails Micheal Martin, was forced last Wednesday into a token delay of Phase 4due next Mondayuntil August 10, requiring a few weeks delay in hotels and pubs re-opening. Julys Central Bank of Irelands Quarterly Bulletin outlined the shattering impact of the coronavirus pandemic on the economy and laid bare the profit interests behind the premature return to work. Amid mass unemployment and with the R number increasing again, the bulletins authors resort to sketching out two scenarios, baseline and severe, without any indication of the confidence being placed in either. The lockdown triggered sudden and large-scale job losses and, allied to extreme uncertainty, gave rise to a severe negative shock to both consumer spending and investment. While the back to work drive has led to some rebound, the outlook is very uncertain and the path ahead for the economy depends on the scale of the shock and its aftermath. Further containment measures might be necessary while uncertainty overshadows the immediate and long-term impact on behaviour and economic activity, damage to productive capacity and the pace at which economic activity normalises. Even the baseline scenario is dire. The bank predicts that, this year, private consumption will fall by 10.1 percent. Unemployment, which peaked at 28.2 percent in April, will average 14.5 percent, while investment will collapse by 34.7 percent. Under the severe scenario, consumption falls by 13.9 percent, unemployment averages 16.6 percent and investment falls by 44.4 percent. In the aftermath of the 2008 financial meltdown, unemployment in Ireland peaked at 14.6 percent. In terms of public health, the baseline assumes that the strict lockdown in Ireland is unwound over the coming months, while some containment would remain in place. The severe scenario assumes the disease is not contained, and there is a resurgence of the virus at some point between now and the end of 2021. Output losses are expected to be lower in a second phase of containment but such losses would likely be more persistent and thus more damaging to the long run growth rate of the economy, including a potential increase in structural unemployment. The government has been forced to spend significant amounts in welfare and unemployment benefits to workers in locked down areas of the economy. A COVID-19 illness payment of 350 weekly was paid to self-isolating workers, while a COVID-19 temporary wage subsidy scheme to furlough workers covered 70 percent of wages. A COVID-19 Pandemic Unemployment Payment for laid off workers was initially 350 weekly. From July 7 however, this was reduced to 203 for low waged workers to enforce the return to work. By contrast, subsidies to business are long-term and generous. While workers are facing immediate reductions in benefit, as rent and mortgage debts pile up, the Irish government has developed a host of schemes benefiting the corporations and rich: * COVID-19 Working Capital Schemea 450 million scheme to provide between 25,000 and 1.5 million for qualifying firms. * COVID-19 Funding for Future Growth500 million making long terms loans, up to 10 years and up to 3 million, available for companies. * COVID-19 Credit Guarantee Scheme2 billion available to small and medium sized businesses loans for up to six years and up to 1 million. * Pandemic Stabilisation and Recovery Fund offers 2 billion to larger companies. Additional amounts are available under the Sustaining Enterprise Fund, while a Restart Grant is available to small and micro businesses of between 2,000 and 10,000. Some businesses have had their commercial rates waived. The emergency payments have drastically impacted state finance. While large sums have been handed out in subsidies and welfare payments, tax revenues have slumped as entire sectors, particularly construction and tourism, ceased functioning. The bank anticipates the governments balance sheet to shift from a small surplus of 0.6 percent of Gross National Income (GNI) in 2019 to a deficit of between 12.8 and 17.6 percent of GNI in 2020. Total government revenue is expected to fall by 12.5 billion this year, while expenditure will increase by 12 billion, although some of the deficit will be made up from resources put aside in the aftermath of the previous financial debacle. The bank bulletin notes that the debt to GNI ratios are likely to remain high for a prolonged period. It warns of the impact of other international factors over which the Irish government has little control, such as additional shocks caused by Brexit or a decline in corporation tax revenue linked to changes in international tax policies. The report includes a comment considering the British governments intention to leave the European Union (EU) by the end of this year. Earlier in the year, the bank suggested that a basic free trade agreement between Britain and the EU would in the long-term reduce Irish output by around 3.5 percent. If trade reverted to World Trade Organisation terms, the fall would be around 5 percent. A disorderly no deal Brexit would have a sharper impact. The pandemic will have disrupted companies preparations for Brexit, with staff unavailable. Firms will also have lost revenue, leaving them less able to deal with losses from Brexit, while preparations of governments and public authorities are also likely to have been curtailed to re-direct resources to tackling the COVID emergency. The unraveling of global supply chains is likely to impact on exports. The bank acknowledges vast levels of uncertainty, based on the progress of the virus, and how households and businesses respond once containment measures are lifted. The bank supported measures taken to bail out US, EU and British corporations, including the US governments unlimited CARES act, yet considered these are not sufficient to outweigh the negative impact of the crisis given the range of channels through which the pandemic is impairing growth in the economy. Ireland, simultaneously with every other country, is heading into a period of extended and profound crisis, in which the fundamental conflict in societybetween the capitalist class and working class will be ever more naked. Workers in Ireland, including in the meat industry, the health sector and transport, have made determined efforts to defend themselves against the immediate early impact of the crisis, demanding the right to personal protective equipment (PPE), a safe working environment and opposing job losses. To take this forward, Irish workers urgently need new rank-and-file organisations of struggle and their own political organisations to assert their independent interests as part of an international class. Contact the Socialist Equality Group, Irish supporters of the International Committee of the Fourth International today. UPDATE: Roy Den Hollander told me he had terminal cancer 14 months before fatal shooting at N.J. judges home, fellow attorney says The now-deceased lawyer suspected of fatally shooting the son and seriously wounding the husband of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas in New Jersey on Sunday may have been targeting at least one other judge in New York. Roy Den Hollander had a photo of that states Chief Judge Janet DiFiore in his car, her spokesman told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday. Thats what I understand to be true. At this point, thats all I have, said Lucian Chalfen, director of communications for New York State Courts. The information, which was relayed to Chalfen from the FBI, was first reported in the New York Times. Den Hollander, a self-described anti-feminist lawyer, was found dead in his car of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Rockland, New York, about a two-hour drive from the North Brunswick home of Salas, officials have said. From left, U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, Roy Den Hollander and New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore.File Investigators say Den Hollander, whose age in public documents is reported as 69 and 72, fatally shot the 20-year-old son of Salas, Daniel Anderl, and wounded her husband, criminal defense attorney Mark Anderl, 63, at their home about 5 p.m. on Sunday. The son died of multiple gunshot wounds and Mark Anderl was critical but stable condition at a local hospital, according to North Brunswick Mayor Francis Womack. The family was attacked by a man wearing a face covering and a FedEx delivery driver uniform, officials said. Salas was in the basement at the time of the shooting as was not hurt. Daniel Anderl, 20. (Photo courtesy of Catholic University) The New York Times, citing two law enforcement officials, reported the FBI is investigating whether Den Hollander was involved in the July 11 killing of mens rights lawyer Marc Angelucci in San Bernardino, California. Angelucci was shot at his front door by a gunman wearing a FedEx uniform, according to published reports. Marc AngelucciFacebook Based in Newark, Salas was the first Hispanic woman to be appointed to the U.S. District Court in New Jersey. She was nominated by President Obama as a U.S. District Court judge in December 2010 and confirmed by the Senate in June 2011. Salas was the judge in a 2015 lawsuit Den Hollander filed in federal court claiming the Selective Service System, which requires men to register for military draft, discriminates against both sexes in violation of Equal Protection as incorporated into the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Den Hollander wrote in an online essay in 2019 about having cancer and about a planned hearing apparently before Salas. Media across the street from the home of Judge Esther Salas where her husband Mark Andrel was shot and their son Daniel was killed, in North Brunswick, N.J. July, 20, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for 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. Ohio State Rep. Larry Householder stands at the head of a legislative session as Speaker of the House, in Columbus, Ohio, on Oct. 30, 2019. (John Minchillo/AP Photo) Ohio House Speaker, Four Others Charged in $60 Million Money Laundering Scheme Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four others were arrested and charged Tuesday for their alleged involvement in what a U.S. attorney described as the largest bribery and money laundering ever perpetrated against the state. U. S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeViller told reporters at a press conference that the five defendants passed and maintained a $1.5 billion bailout in return for $61 million in dark money. That money was used to line the pockets of the defendants, to build Householder a power base, and to further the conspiracy. These allegations are bribery, pure and simple. This was a quid pro quo; this was a pay-to-play, DeViller said. Some of the funds were filtered through different enterprises owned or controlled by the defendants to get Householder the post of speaker, authorities said. Householder is a Republican. The others charged included former Ohio Republican Party chair Matthew Borges, Juan Cespedes, co-founder of The Oxley Group, and Neil Clark, founder of Grant Street Consultants. The fourth was Jeffrey Longstreth, an advisor to Householder. Borges recently started a political action committee that is trying to convince Republican voters to support Democratic presidential candidates. Generation Now, a 501 (c)(4) entity that Householder allegedly secretly controlled, was also named. According to a criminal complaint, Householder started receiving quarterly $250,000 payments from a company into a bank account in Generation Nows name. Payments received by the company helped get Householder elected as House speaker, according to the complaint. Householder and his associates then worked on getting House Bill 6 passed and signed by Republican Gov. Mike DeWine. After it passed in May 2019, they worked to combat an effort to organize a statewide referendum that would overturn the legislation. There is no evidence that the scheme involves the governors office, DeViller said. Chris Hoffman, FBI special agent in charge, told reporters that rooting out public corruption is extremely difficult and often requires complex, long-term investigations. Todays announcement comes to a warning, from the city council to the statehouse: all forms of public corruption are unacceptable, he added. Bazaar Corporate Radar | Feb 22, 2021, 12:00 AM IST Bazaar Corporate Radar Bazaar Corporate Radar is your window into the minds of top CEOs, Boardrooms, global economists, fund managers and sector analysts. If it?s making news, you?ll find it on Bazaar Corporate Radar. The reasons behind such changes can be summarized, as follows : Legislators continuing concern to alleviate procedures leading to public procurement conclusion from bureaucratic process by eliminating unnecessary hurdles to gain time and efficiency ; Restructuring public tenders scrutiny process to an extent to allow permanent control and greater coverage over the States public expenditure ; Ensuring public procurement as an efficient tool for the fulfillment of development plans and public investment projects at nationwide and local level ; To keep abreast with new developments of administrative law, considering the special nature of public procurement as an administrative contract obeying to extraordinary legal rules not used or necessarily applicable in the sphere of private law. There is no doubt that one of the major innovations brought by the current public procurement law, in comparison to its predecessors, is the introduction of delegation of public services. Having said that, Public Contracting Authority may choose to delegate management and exploitation of a public service to a private individual or company via four mediums well defined by law (concession agreement, lease agreement (affermage), incentivized management (la regie interessee) and management agreement (la gerance). Public procurement law stem its importance from its close connection with public funds management and the protection which purports to afford to it against corruption in its variety, namely embezzlement of public fund, illegal use of occupation, and illegal grant of benefits. 1. Underlying principles of Algerian public procurement law : The current public procurement architecture is built, according to article 5 of Presidential Decree N15-247, on three major principles : Free access to public expenditure : This guaranty a liberty for bidders to compete and diffusion by Public Contracting Authority of the call of tender through agreed press mediums to inform public. Equal treatment of bidders : This is to guaranty equality of bidders before the bid organizers and equal treatment irrespective of the bidders nationality or size. As consequence, all bidders files shall be weighted and evaluated on the same criterions and obey to the same rules of bid file acceptance until the final stage of the bid process. Transparency of tender process : This is to warrant equality of bidders to all information relating to the bid documentation, until the contracts award. Public Contracting Authority shall communicate any bid clarifications, during the bid process, raised by one bidder to all bidders in competition of the same bid. Public Contracting Authority must ensure as well that any changes made to the initial tender documents be communicated in a timely manner to participating bidders. In general, Public Contracting Authority must adhere vigorously to the strict compliance to the said principles, otherwise can render the contract awarded void by competent judiciary body. These principles may suffer some exceptions, as an illustration, to the exception attributable to free access to public expenditure, article 75 of Presidential Decree N15-247, empowers Public Contracting Authority to disallow permanently or temporally potential bidders from participating in the bid, amongst others, in case of : Liquidation or winding-up or cessation of activity, Existence of a final court judgment having the authority(res judicata)affecting the bidder honesty, Bidders in breach of their duty towards tax and social security authorities, Bidders failure to comply with Trade Registry Authority obligations as to yearly publication of the companys financial statements. 2. Determination of entities as public purchasers covered by Public Procurement law : First of all, it is important to stress the nature of Algerian legal system, especially when it comes to administrative law. As general rule, Algerian administrative law, as distinct body of law, doctrine, case-law and procedure from private law, adopts an organic criteria to differentiate between the two bodies of laws. The repartition between the two bodies of law is predominantly substantiated on organic criteria. The said criteria have an influence as to determination of competent jurisdiction for resolution between ordinary private law and administrative law conflicts. As consequence, referral of an issue to a competent court is a matter of public order and any mis-directed legal suit will lead to its rejection on sua sponte basis. Ironically, the Algerian legislator in order to ascertain entities covered by public procurement law, as public purchaser, has adopted different criteria, surely without eliminating organic criteria. Therefore, we can ascertain, at this stage of the analysis, that there is no one single criteria. Financial criteria may well influence as well applicability of public procurement law over companies organized under private law, such as owned State companies (Entreprises Publiques Economiques EPE) operating in the sphere of commercial law. The said statement is true especially, if the project fulfilled by these companies is financed wholly or partly from a temporary or definite contribution from the State or Territorial Communities. Accordingly, and despite the private nature of the State wholly owned company but due to the publicly financed project does fall out within the boundaries of public procurement regulation in place. As a result, a qualifying purchaser can be : States expenditures (organic criterion), Territorial communities (Local Authority and Wilaya) expenditures (organic criterion), Public law entities with administrative character expenditures (organic criterion), Public entities subjected in their daily dealing to legislation applicable to commercial activities (as any private company) when they are entrusted to realize an operation or project financed wholly or partly by temporary or definite contribution from State or Territorial communities (financial criterion). 3. Types of contracts covered by Public procurement law : According to article 29 of Presidential Decree N15 - 247 a public procurement contract can take at least one of the following forms : Public procurement for carrying out of works : It aims at construction of a concrete project or erection of building or civil engineering work by a contractor within the needs determined by Public Contracting Authority as project owner. This can include, inter alia : construction, renovation, maintenance, rehabilitation, adjustment, reparation, consolidation or demolition of a facility or part of a facility including equipment associated to its exploitation. Public procurement for equipment supply : It aims at acquisition, rent or rent-for-sale with or without buying option by Public Contracting Authority of materials or products, regardless of its shape destined to satisfy Public Contracting Authority activity needs before a supplier. Public procurement for carrying out intellectual studies : This can cover technical and geotechnical control tasks and assistance to project owner. Public procurement for supply of services : This cover supply of services other than carrying out of works or equipment supply. In practice, the overlap between different types of contracts can occur and in such scenario the rule of preponderance apply. 4. Importance of financial thresholds for determining individual contracts coverage : The financial thresholds to differentiate between formalized public procurement, adapted procedure and simplified procedure to meet the necessary needs of Public Contracting Authority are set out in articles 13 and 21 of Presidential Decree N15 - 247. Formalized procedure : This procedure refers to public procurement modes provided by applicable law and which need to be applied vigorously by Public Contracting Authority, if the contracts amount exceeds financial thresholds : Above 12 000 000 DZD (tax included) : For public procurement contracts : (i) Carrying out of works, and (ii) Equipment supply. Above 6 000 000 DZD (tax included) : For public procurement contracts : (i) Carrying out intellectual studies and (ii) Supply of services. Internal adapted procedure : Article 13 : There is no obligation upon Public Contracting Authority to go through formalized public procurement in case the public expenditure threshold is equal or below : 12 000 000 DZD (tax included) : For public procurement contracts : (i) Carrying out of works and (ii) Equipment supply. 6 000 000 DZD (tax included) : For public procurement contracts : (i) Carrying out intellectual studies and (ii) Supply of services. In this case, Public Contracting Authority is required in order to satisfy its needs, below these thresholds, implementation of its internal adapted procedure. However, absent such internal adapted procedure the formalized became obligatory. Simplified procedure : Article 21 : There is no obligation upon Public Contracting Authority to go through adapted procedure adopted internally, in case the public expenditure threshold is equal or below : 1 000 000 DZD (tax included) : For public procurement contracts : (i) Carrying out of works and (ii) Equipment supply and 500 000 DZD (tax included) : For public procurement contracts : (i) Carrying out intellectual studies and (ii) Supply of services. In this case, Public Contracting Authority is required in order to satisfy its needs, below these thresholds, implementation of its simplified procedure. 5. Beware of aggregation and/or anti-avoidance rules : The existing public procurement law puts a lot of emphasis as to Public Contracting Authority needs determination or ascertainment. Therefore, these needs have to be ascertained in advance before launching the bid process. The needs amounts have to be fixed based on a reasonable and honest administrative estimation. The nature and scope of Public Contracting Authority needs shall be determined with precision with reference to detailed technical specifications established by norms and/or performance and/or functional requirement. Such technical specifications shall not be orientated towards one specified product or a single economic operator. In the same way, the splitting (Fractionnement) of Public Contracting Authority needs with aims to avoid applicable procedures or to obviate from the public procurement committee jurisdiction is strictly prohibited. The Public Contracting Authority needs may be apportioned (Allotissement) via a single lot or separate lots : Single lot : can be attributed to a contracting party who may take the form of one or more natural or legal persons committing to the contract performance with Public Contracting Authority either individually or as a part of Temporary Grouping of Companies (Groupement Momentane dEntreprises GME). Separate lots : can be attributed to one or more contracting party. In this case, the offers evaluation shall be made lot by lot. Public Contracting Authority is entitled to limit the number of lots to be attributed for each bidder. The apportionment decision of the public procurement falls within Public Contracting Authority prerogatives, nevertheless, it has to justify its choice each time there is control from competent bodies. 6. Awards procedure modes : Pursuant to article 39 of Presidential Decree N15 - 247, public procurement contracts are concluded following a call for tender procedure (Appel doffres) as a general rule or following mutual consensual agreement procedure (Gre a gre). Accordingly, Public Contracting Authority may have recourse as general rule to call for tender and exceptionally to mutual consensual agreement procedure to satisfy its needs. 6.1 Call for tenders : The call for tender is the procedure aiming to obtain offers from several bidders entering into competition and to award the contract, without negotiation, to the bidder presenting the offer judged most economically advantageous based on objective criteria, established prior to the procedure launching. The tender procedure is held unsuccessful : When no offer is received or When after evaluating the offers no offer is declared compatible with the contracts subject and job specification content or When the financing of Public Contracting Authority needs cannot be met. Different types of call for tenders : A call for tender can be national or international and it may take one of the following forms : a) Open tender call (Appel doffres ouvert) : The procedure by which any qualified bidder may participate in the bid. b) Open tender call with minimum capacity requirements (Appel doffres ouvert avec exigence de capacites minimales) : The procedure by which any bidder satisfying certain minimum requirements of eligibility, established in advance by Public Contracting Authority, may tender. The eligibility criteria concern namely : technical, financial and professional capacity of bidder necessary for the carrying out and performance of the public procurement contract. These criteria shall be proportionate to the nature, complexity and importance of the public project. c) Restricted tender call (Appel doffres restraint) : The procedure by which it restricts consultation and participation of bidders to compete only to those bidders selected in advance prior to the bid process launch. Under this option, Public Contracting Authority may decide after bidders pre-selection to limit the maximum number of bidders in the job specifications to five (05) bidders. Recourse to this kind of procedure is obligatory in case of public contracts with complex operations or of particular importance to national economy. Restricted tender call takes place when submitting technical offers either : to one (1) step procedure or two (2) steps procedure : One step procedure (Principal route) : This occur in case of call for tender being launched based either on detailed technical specifications already established by reference to norms and/or performances to achieve or functional requirements. Two steps procedure (Exceptional route) : This occurs in case of call for tender being launched based on functional program and Public Contracting Authority is unable to define technical means in order to ascertain its targeted needs, even if the call for tender preceded by public procurement contract for carrying out intellectual studies. Phase 1 of the two steps procedure : Pre-selected bidders invitation by a consultation letter to submit a preliminary technical offer (without a financial offer). For those offers judged to be in conformity with job specifications, Bid Opening and Bid Evaluation Committee via Public Contracting Authority may request in writing bidders for clarifications and precisions. If necessary, meetings with bidders for technical aspects clarification purposes may be held by Public Contracting Authority, in the presence of Bid Opening and Bid Evaluation Committee members, possibly enlarged to include experts duly designed for this purpose. At the end of each meeting minute of meeting is signed by all present members. Clarification and precision requests shall no lead to a fundamental modification of the offer. No information relating to the content of a bidders offer should be revealed. At the end of this step, Bid Opening and Bid Evaluation Committee suggests to Public Contracting Authority withdrawal of the bidders preliminary technical offers, which do not correspond to functional program and/or to technical prescriptions contained in the job description. Phase 2 of the two steps procedure : Except bidders, their preliminary technical offer judged and declared compatible, requested to submit a final technical offer and a financial offer based on the modified job specifications, if necessary. Such modified job specifications has to be stamped by the competent public procurement committee following clarification requests. No information relating to financial offer amount should be mentioned in the technical offer bid, under threat of offer rejection. d) Competition (Concours) : The competition is the procedure for putting men of arts into competition, for the choice, after the jurys opinion, of a plan or project, designed in response to a program established by Public Contracting Authority, with a view of carrying out an operation comprising technical, economic, aesthetic or artistic aspects, before awarding the contract to one of the competition winner. The contract is awarded following a negotiation with the competition winner submitting the most advantageous economical offer. Recourse to the procedure is required for the following activities : territory development, urban planning, architectural and engineering studies and data processing. However, competition procedure is not mandatory for project management contract (Maitrise doeuvre des travaux) : If the contract amount does not exceed financial thresholds of article 13 (Please refer to point 4 Supra) and If its object concern intervention upon an existing building or infrastructure work or its intervention does not involve design tasks. The competition can take the form of open competition with minimum capacity requirement or restricted competition. 6.2 Mutual consensual agreement procedure (Le gre a gre) : It is a procedure for awarding a contract to a co-contracting partner without a formal call for competition. It takes the form of a simple or after consultation mutual consensual agreement. The consultation is organized by all appropriate written means. a) Simple mutual consensual agreement : The recourse by Public Contracting Authority to this procedure is subject to the occurrence of at least one of the following triggering events : In the event the services required cannot be performed, except by one economic operator who is either in a monopolistic situation or to protect an exclusivity right or for technical or cultural or artistic consideration, In the event of a pressing emergency motivated by a danger threatening an investment, a property belonging to Public Contracting Authority or public order, or an imminent danger running against a good or an investment already materialized on the ground, and which cannot be accommodated with public procurement procedures deadlines, In the case of an emergency supply intended to safeguard the population essential needs, In case of a priority project of national importance, which is of an emergency nature and which cannot be accommodated with public procurement procedures deadlines, When it comes to promoting production and/or the national production tool, When a legislative or regulatory provisions attributes to an industrial and commercial public company an exclusive right to exercise a public service mission or when the latter carries out all of its activities with public institutions and administrations and administrative public establishments. Points 2, 3 and 4 mentioned above for the occurrence to be deemed as qualifying event : (i) Circumstances giving rise to the emergency could not have been foreseen by Public Contracting Authority and (ii) Were not the results of delaying tactics on its part. Recourse to this exceptional mode of procurement under points 4 and 5 must be subject : (i) To prior agreement of the Ministers Council, if the contracts amount is equal to or greater than 10 000 000 000 DZD, and (ii) To prior agreement taken in the Government meeting, if the contracts amount is lower than the aforementioned amount. b) After consultation mutual consensual agreement : Recourse by Public Contracting Authority to this procedure is subject to the occurrence of at least one of the following triggering events : When the call for tenders is declared unsuccessful for the second time, For specific study, supply and service contracts, the nature of which do not require the use of a call for tenders, For works contracts directly linked with the public institutions of the State sovereignty, For contract already awarded, which are subject to termination, and whose nature does not accommodate with a new call for tenders deadlines, For operations carried out, as part of the Governments cooperation strategy or bilateral concessional financing agreements, debt conversion into development projects or grants ; when the said financing agreements so provide. In this case, Public Contracting Authority may limit the consultation only to those companies registered in the Contracting State party to the bilateral agreement with the Algerian State for the first case or only to companies registered in the donor country for the other cases. Public Contracting Authority, as part of its mission, determines the choice of procurement mode in searching for best conditions suitable to the objectives assigned to it. This choice falls within the ambit of Public Contracting Authority acting in accordance with applicable legal provisions however, it must after all justify its choices during any control exercised by any competent authority. Resume en francais Limportant de la reglementation algerienne sur les marches publics - loi et procedure (Decret presidentiel n15-247 du 16 septembre 2015) - Premiere partie Introduction : La reglementation des marches publics est consideree comme lun des domaines les plus compliques du droit public en raison des interventions intempestives du legislateur qui a conduit a labrogation et a la refonte de son corps legislatif au cours des 30 dernieres annees. Hormis lactuel Decret Presidentiel n15-247 du 16 septembre 2015 relatif aux regles de passation des marches publics et des delegations de service public (Journal officiel n 50 du 16 septembre 2015), lAlgerie a connu pas moins de cinq (05) anciennes versions couvrant ce domaine de droit qui ont eu lieu en 1967, 1982, 1991, 2005 et 2010. A titre dillustration de la volatilite de ce domaine de droit, la version 2010 a vu au moins quatre modifications majeures en 2011, 2012 et 2013, qui ont a leur tour entraine son annulation et ladoption par le legislateur algerien de nouvelles regles en 2015, qui sont en vigueur a ce jour. Les raisons de ces changements peuvent etre resumees comme suit : Le souci constant du legislateur dalleger les procedures menant a la conclusion des marches publics du processus bureaucratique en eliminant les obstacles inutiles pour gagner du temps et gagner en efficacite ; Restructurer le processus de controle des appels doffres dans une mesure permettant un controle permanent et une meilleure couverture des depenses publiques de lEtat ; Assurer les marches publics comme un outil efficace pour la realisation des plans de developpement et des projets dinvestissements publics au niveau national et local ; Se tenir au courant des nouveaux developpements du droit administratif, considerant la specificite des marches publics comme contrat administratif obeissant a des regles juridiques extraordinaires non utilisees ou pas necessairement applicables dans le domaine de droit prive. Il ne fait aucun doute que lune des principales innovations apportees par le Decret Presidentiel n15-247, par rapport a ses predecesseurs, est lintroduction de la notion de delegation de service public. Cela dit, le Service Contractant Public peut choisir de deleguer la gestion et lexploitation du service public a un particulier ou a une entreprise via quatre supports bien definis : contrat de concession, contrat daffermage, la regie interessee et la gerance. Le droit des marches publics tire son importance de son lien etroit avec la gestion des fonds publics et de la protection qui pretend lui offrir contre la corruption dans ses differentes variantes, a savoir le detournement de fonds publics, lutilisation illegale de la fonction et loctroi illegal davantages. 1.Principes fondamentaux du droit algerien des marches publics : Larchitecture actuelle des marches publics repose sur trois grands principes, conformement a larticle 5 du Decret Presidentiel n 15-247 : Liberte dacces a la commande publique, Egalite de traitement des soumissionnaires, Transparence du processus dappel doffres. Le Service Contractant Public doit adherer vigoureusement au strict respect desdits principes, faute de quoi le contrat attribue pourrait etre annule par lorgane judiciaire competent. Ces principes peuvent souffrir quelques exceptions, a titre dillustration, a lexception imputable au libre acces a la commande publique, larticle 75 du Decret Presidentiel n15-247 habilite le Service Contractant Public a interdire de maniere permanente ou temporaire aux soumissionnaires potentiels de participer a lappel doffres. 2. Determination des entites publiques en tant quacheteurs publics couverts par la loi sur les marches publics : Tout dabord, il est important de souligner que la reponse appropriee nest pas aussi simple sans mettre en evidence la nature du systeme juridique algerien, notamment en matiere de droit administratif. Le droit administratif algerien en tant quensemble de lois, doctrines, jurisprudence et procedure distinct du droit prive adopte un critere organique pour se distinguer dautres branches de droit. La repartition entre ce qui est droit administratif et droit prive repose principalement sur un critere organique. Ledit critere a une influence sur la determination de la juridiction competente pour resoudre les conflits de droit prive ordinaire et de droit administratif. En consequence, le renvoi dune question a un tribunal competent est une question dordre public et toute action en justice mal-dirigee peut etre rejetee automatiquement. Ironiquement, le legislateur algerien, afin de sassurer des entites couvertes par la loi sur les marches publics, en tant quacheteur public, a adopte differents criteres, bien entendu sans se sacrifie du critere organique. Des lors, nous pouvons deduire, qua ce stade de lanalyse, quil ny a pas un seul critere. En effet, le critere financier pourra bien influencer sur lapplicabilite de la loi des marches publics aux societes de droit prive, telles que les societes detenues par dEtat (Entreprise Publique Economique EPE ) operant dans la sphere du droit prive. Cette affirmation est dautant plus vraie, si le projet realise par ces entreprises est finance en tout ou en partie par une contribution temporaire ou definitive de lEtat ou de ses collectivites territoriales. Dans ce cas, malgre le caractere prive de la societe detenue par lEtat, mais en raison du financement etatique du projet, tombe sous le champ dapplication de la reglementation en vigueur en matiere de marches publics. 3. Types de marches couverts par la loi sur les marches publics : Selon larticle 29 du Decret Presidentiel n 15-247, un marche public peut prendre au moins lune des formes suivantes : Marches publics pour la realisation des travaux, Marches publics pour la fourniture dequipements, Marches publics pour la realisation detudes intellectuelles, Marches publics pour la fourniture de services. 4. Importance des seuils financiers pour determiner la couverture des contrats individuels : Les seuils financiers permettant de differencier les marches publics formalises, de la procedure adaptee et la procedure simplifiee pour repondre aux besoins necessaires du Service Contractant Public sont fixes aux articles 13 et 21 du Decret Presidentiel n 15 - 247. Procedure formalisee : Cette procedure fait reference aux modes de passation des marches publics prevus par la loi applicable et qui doivent etre rigoureusement suivis par le Service Contractant Public, si le montant du marche depasse les seuils financiers : Superieure a 12 000 000 DZD (taxes incluses) : Pour les marches publics : (i) Execution des travaux, et (ii) Fourniture dequipement. Superieur a 6 000 000 DZD (taxes incluses) : Pour les marches publics : (i) Mener des etudes intellectuelles et (ii) Prestation de services. Procedure adaptee : Article 13 : Le Service Contractant Public nest pas tenu de passer par des marches publics formalises, si le seuil de depenses publiques est egal ou inferieur a : 12 000 000 DZD (taxes incluses) : Pour les marches publics : (i) Execution des travaux et (ii) Fourniture dequipement. 6 000 000 DZD (taxes incluses) : Pour les marches publics : (i) Mener des etudes intellectuelles et (ii) Prestation de services. Dans ce cas, le Service Contractant Public en tant que maitre douvrage est requis pour satisfaire ses besoins en dessous de ces seuils de mettre en uvre sa procedure interne adaptee. Cependant, en labsence dune telle procedure, la procedure formalisee devient obligatoire. Procedure simplifiee : Article 21 : Le Service Contractant Public nest pas tenu de suivre une procedure adaptee, dans le cas ou le seuil de depenses publiques est egal ou inferieur : 1 000 000 DZD (taxes incluses) : Pour les marches publics : (i) Execution des travaux et (ii) Fourniture dequipement et 500 000 DZD (taxes incluses) : Pour les marches publics : (i) Mener des etudes intellectuelles et (ii) Prestation de services. Dans ce cas, le Service Contractant Public est requis afin de satisfaire ses besoins inferieurs a ces seuils de mettre en uvre sa procedure simplifiee. 5. Faite attention aux regles dagregation et/ou anti-evasion : La loi actuelle sur les marches publics met laccent sur la determination des besoins des Services Contractants Publics. Par consequent, ces besoins doivent etre determines au prealable au lancement du processus dappel doffres. Les montants des besoins doivent etre fixes sur la base dune estimation administrative raisonnable et honnete. La nature et la portee des besoins du Service Contractant Public doivent etre determinees avec precision en se referant aux specifications techniques detaillees etablies par les normes et/ou les performances et/ou les exigences fonctionnelles. Ces specifications techniques ne doivent pas etre orientees vers un produit specifie ou un seul operateur economique. De meme, le fractionnement par les Services Contractants Publics dans le but deviter les procedures applicables ou de se soustraire a la competence du comite des marches publics est strictement interdit. Les besoins du Service Contractant Public peuvent etre reparti via un lot unique ou a des lots distincts : Lot unique : peut etre attribue a une partie contractante qui peut prendre la forme dune ou plusieurs personnes physiques ou morales sengageant dans lexecution du marche avec le Service Contractant Public, individuellement ou dans le cadre dun groupement temporaire dentreprises ( GME ) ; Lots separes : peuvent etre attribues a une ou plusieurs parties contractantes. Dans ce cas, levaluation des offres se fera lot par lot. Le Service Contractant Public est autorise a limiter le nombre de lots a attribuer a chaque soumissionnaire. La decision de repartition des marches publics releve des prerogatives du Service Contractant Public, neanmoins il doit justifier son choix a chaque fois quil y a controle des instances competentes. 6. Modes de procedure dattribution : Conformement a larticle 39 du Decret Presidentiel n15-247, les marches publics sont conclus a la suite dune procedure dappel doffres en regle generale ou a la suite dune procedure de gre a gre. 6.1 Appel doffres : Lappel doffres est la procedure visant a obtenir les offres de plusieurs soumissionnaires entrant en concurrence et a attribuer le marche, sans negociation, au soumissionnaire presentant loffre jugee economiquement la plus avantageuse sur la base de criteres objectifs, etablis prealablement au lancement de la procedure. La procedure dappel doffres est declaree infructueuse : Lorsque aucune offre nest recue ou Lorsque, apres evaluation des offres, aucune offre nest declaree compatible avec lobjet du contrat et le contenu du cahier des charges ou Lorsque le financement des besoins ne peut etre satisfait. Differents types dappels doffres : Un appel doffres peut etre national ou international et il peut prendre lune des formes suivantes : a) Appel doffres ouvert : La procedure par laquelle tout soumissionnaire qualifie peut participer a loffre. b) Appel doffres ouvert avec exigences de capacite minimale : La procedure par laquelle tout soumissionnaire satisfaisant a certaines conditions minimales deligibilite, etablie a lavance par le Service Contractant Public, peut soumissionner. Les criteres deligibilite concernent notamment : la capacite technique, financiere et professionnelle du soumissionnaire necessaire a la realisation et a lexecution du marche public. Ces criteres doivent etre proportionnes a la nature, la complexite et limportance du projet public. c) Appel doffres restreint : La procedure par laquelle il restreint la consultation et la participation des soumissionnaires pour concurrencer uniquement les soumissionnaires selectionnes a lavance avant le lancement du processus de soumission. Dans le cadre de cette option, le Service Contractant Public peut decider, apres la preselection des soumissionnaires, de limiter le nombre maximal de soumissionnaires dans le cahier des charges a cinq (05) soumissionnaires. Le recours a ce type de procedure est obligatoire en cas de marches publics a operations complexes ou dune importance particuliere pour leconomie nationale. Lappel doffres restreint a lieu lors de la soumission doffres techniques en une procedure dune seule etape ou en une procedure de deux etapes. d) Concours : Le concours est la procedure de mise en concurrence des hommes darts, pour le choix, apres avis du jury, dun plan ou dun projet, concu en reponse a un programme etabli par le Service Contractant Public, en vue de realiser une operation comportant des aspects economiques, esthetiques ou artistiques, avant dattribuer le marche a lun des laureats du concours. Le contrat est attribue a la suite dune negociation avec le gagnant du concours presentant loffre economique la plus avantageuse. 6.2 Procedure de gre a gre : Il sagit dune procedure dattribution dun marche a un cocontractant sans appel a la procedure de concurrence formel. Il prend la forme dun gre a gre simple ou la forme dun gre a gre apres consultation. La consultation est organisee par tous les moyens ecrits appropries. a) Gre a gre simple, b) Gre a gre apres consultation. Shes one of Britains best known and most respected actors, famous for her roles in some of that countrys biggest drama series. So it comes as something of a surprise to see Hermione Norris, who starred as Karen Marsden in Cold Feet and who also appeared in the most recent series of Luther alongside Idris Elba, pop up in an Australian drama created by the same man responsible for A Place to Call Home, Packed To The Rafters, Winners and Losers and All Saints. Yet there she is, front and centre in Sevens new drama, Between Two Worlds, from creator Bevan Lee. The series, set in Sydney, focuses on the goings on of an unfathomably rich family, and is chock full of characters that can only be described as, well, pretty reprehensible. For Norris, that was entirely the appeal. Philip Quast (who plays Norris tycoon husband Phillip Walford in the series) and I, we delighted at the insanity and hilarity of those people, and the way they were these vile, disgusting characters, says Norris. (My character, Cate) is complex and conflicted, and that is always interesting as an actor. She really is trapped in a web of her own secrets and lies and love. Appetites for oil and oil product trading are waning amid a seasonal slowdown and continued uncertainty about the immediate future of demand and how the coronavirus pandemic will develop. Reuters John Kemp reported in his weekly column on oil trade that funds bought some 24 million barrels of oil equivalent in the week to July 14, a reversal of net sales of 21 million barrels in the previous week. Buying may in itself be a positive for oil, but the amounts that are being bought reinforce the impression of a cautious market. And it has good reasons to be cautious. New Covid-19 cases in the United States are surging in many states, fueling fears that the pickup in oil demand in the worlds largest oil consumer will be cut short by new lockdowns. The authorities in some of the hardest-hit cities are hinting they would not be opposed to new lockdowns. But for now they are meeting with opposition from state authorities. If things continue getting worse, however, new stay-at-home orders are not out of the question. Such a development would dampen already damp demand for fuel, hence crude oil. Even drawdowns in gasoline stockpiles, as reported by the Energy Information Administration over the past few weeks, were not enough to spur a greater appetite for oil trading as record-breaking infection numbers cast a shadow over the future of oil consumption. There was also an element of betrayed expectations. Many traders with a bullish view of oil and gasoline expected demand for oil to boom this summer driving season as, presumably, people would shun air travel for their personal vehicles, Seeking Alpha author Tristan Brown noted in a recent article. This did not happen, however, weighing even more on trading appetite. Related: Iran Could Flood Oil Markets If Biden Becomes U.S. President To add more fuel to market worries, OPEC+ said it would start easing its production cuts from next month. The expanded cartel had agreed to cut 9.7 million bpd of crude oil output in May and June, initially, but later extended the deep cuts by another month. Now, according to OPEC+, demand and supply are much closer to balancing, so there is no point to further extend the 9.7-million-bpd cuts. The next round of cuts will average 7.7 million bpd. These cuts will remain in effect until the end of 2020. All in all, there isnt a whole lot of good news for oil bulls, except another update on a coronavirus vaccine, this time the one developed by AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford. A recent update said the vaccine had shown promise in early human trials, which pushed oil price slightly higher. However, there is a long way from early human trials to the marketing of any vaccine, so the reaction of traders was one driven more by optimism than any solid grounds for oil demand growth expectations. There was also a piece of good news from the shale patch: Chevron said it had struck a deal to acquire Noble Energy for $5 billion in an all-stock deal. Including Nobles debt, the deal is worth $13 billion, the supermajor said. This is the first major acquisition in the space since the start of the year and it has given some cause for optimism for the future of U.S. shale, even if there are voices arguing it may have peaked already. Whats more, the Chevron news is a mixed blessing: some have taken it to mean that the company is about top start ramping up production in the shale patch, which would weigh on prices. With the persistentand even deepeninguncertainly about crude oil demand amid the continuing pandemic this summer is likely to be an even slower one for oil trading than usual. By Irina Slav for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Slate is making its essential coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism. With a couple of weeks to go until August recess, and less than a week to go before enhanced unemployment benefits and a moratorium on evictions are set to expire, the White House and the Senate Republican majority have decided its time to consider the first significant coronavirus relief legislation since late March. And as grueling as the bipartisan negotiations with the Democrats are expected to be as the process moves further along, Republicans are having trouble getting past the first step: reaching consensus among themselves about what they want. Advertisement I think the White House is not necessarily going to be lined up with us, generally, Indiana Sen. Mike Braun said Tuesday, because I dont think were lined up with one another, generally. Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. At his weekly press conference following Tuesdays Senate Republican lunch, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell described the discussion about what to include as robust, a Hill euphemism for the senators were taking cutlery to one anothers throats. There is a sizable number of Senate Republicans, after all, who would prefer that the cost of the bill be $1 trillion less than the $1 trillion price tag around which leaders are organizing. Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, for one, was so disgusted with the conversation that he stormed out of the lunch and up to the cameras staked just outside. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Everything they ever said about President Obama, everything they ever said about the Democrats, they are, Paul said of his colleagues. Theyre talking about spending another trillion dollars. Its fiscally irresponsible and they should be ashamed of themselves. There should be a law, he added, that says they are no longer allowed to say they care about the debt. This is insane. We are ruining the country. Among those Republicans who are willing to spend money, there are some areas of consensus. The draft, which McConnell is preparing to release later this week, will include $105 billion for schools to help them reopen safely, as well as unnamed specific incentives for companies to hire and retain workers, as McConnell put it in floor remarks Tuesday. There will be another, more targeted round of the Paycheck Protection Program designed to keep shuttered businesses afloat, as well as another round of direct checks to Americans, though the amount of the checks and the threshold for those who would get them are subject to discussion. Advertisement And then there is McConnells own personal must-include provision, which he emphasized Tuesday. I wont put a bill on the floor that doesnt have liability protection in it, he said. Dont mischaracterize what this is about. This is for hospitals, doctors, nurses, yes, business, but also colleges, universities, K12, in fact everybody trying to grapple with this new disease that we didnt fully understand. Advertisement What youll see missing from this list, however, are: what to do about the enhanced unemployment benefits and the eviction moratorium set to expire this week, or additional aid to strapped state and local governments. These may be issues that are resolved through a tried-and-true formula in the endDemocrats offer one number; Republicans offer another number much closer to, if not exactly, zero; they settle on something in betweenbut theres a broad array of opinions about them within the Senate Republican conference itself. Louisianas Bill Cassidy and Maines Susan Collins, for example, support a plan to create a $500 billion fund for state and local governments. And though there is consensus among the GOPand strong lobbying from businessthat the additional $600 per week in enhanced unemployment benefits shouldnt be renewed as is, theres recognition too that zeroing out that fund, at a time when both new coronavirus cases and the unemployment rate are at historic highs (and when the election is in three months) wouldnt be the smoothest move. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement But the requests that are causing the most distress are coming from the White House. Some of the administrations demands are just the usual comic book stuff. While President Donald Trump is reportedly fixated on securing funds for a new FBI building in the coronavirus relief bill, his administration is trying to block additional funds for virus testing and tracing as well as a boost to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. When Missouri Sen. Roy Blunt, an appropriator and member of leadership whos been pushing back against the administration on this issue, was asked on Tuesday whether this demand had been dropped, he could only say, Well, weve had good progress. Advertisement Advertisement But a central issue causing problems is the idea of a payroll tax holiday. Trump has been pushing this proposal, fleetingly, for months. Its usually dropped when its clear it doesnt have much support on the Hill. Its not an effective tool for the problem at handit doesnt help those who dont have jobs, of which there are many millions of peopleits costly, and it depletes funding from Social Security and Medicare. This time, however, Trump is insisting on it, deploying his top negotiators, chief of staff Mark Meadows and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, to argue for it and walking right up to a veto threat if he doesnt get it. Advertisement I did find a couple of defenders of the idea on Tuesday. North Dakota Sen. Kevin Cramer appreciated the simplicity of providing relief by zeroing out a tax thats paid by both employer and employee, rather than offering it through a more paperwork-intensive program like PPP. But thats far from the consensus opinion. I dont hear a lot of interest in that among Republican senators, Mike Braun told me. So that would be a hard discussion at this point. Advertisement Advertisement If theyre trying to keep the price of the legislation under $1 trillion, a payroll tax holiday would crowd out much of the other things Republicans want to doeven before Democratic demands enter the equation. One solution being entertained is a good old-fashioned budget gimmick to hide the cost: They could structure it as a payroll tax deferral, in which the tax would theoretically be due at a later dateonly later, theyd just pass separate legislation waiving the payback requirement. Otherwise, theres probably a choice coming in the direct-cash-relief space between a payroll tax holiday or an additional round of checks. Advertisement I think both the direct payments and the elimination of payroll taxes would be a pretty big part of the package, Blunt told reporters. Either one of them would be. Both of them would be, my guess is, challenging to do, and do much else, under a trillion dollars. In light of the divisions, McConnells decision to wait until late summer to consider additional coronavirus relief appears less like an exacting, scientific determination that this was the moment when it would be needed again, and more like him delaying what he knew would be a painful conversation between competing elements of his conference and an oddball White House clamoring for oddball nonsense. Mnuchin and Meadows have been saying they expect a bill to pass by the end of next week. When McConnell heard that, he laughed. Discount grocer Aldi said Tuesday it will open more than 70 stores by the end of the year, with hopes of attracting new customers and wooing some away from grocery rivals including Walmart and Kroger. The expansion plans will bring Aldi to the Phoenix area for the first time, according to a news release. It will add more stores to states including New York, Texas, Kansas and California. The company will open a new regional headquarters and distribution center in Loxley, Alabama, in 2021 to support growth along the Gulf Coast in southern Alabama, Louisiana and the Florida Panhandle. Aldi U.S. is part of a privately held German company, Aldi Sud, which opened its first U.S. stores in 1976. It caters to value-conscious customers with private label brands that cost less and penny-pinching business strategies, such as requiring customers to make deposits to get shopping carts to eliminate the need for employees that round them up. Stores have a smaller footprint and a more limited variety of items, which drives down costs, too. Even before the pandemic, Aldi U.S. had big ambitions. It is in the middle of a five-year plan to become the third-largest grocer in the country, after Walmart and Kroger, by 2022 with 2,500 stores. To do that, the company said it would invest $5.3 billion to build hundreds of new stores, remodel older locations and add to its food assortment. Aldi U.S. CEO Jason Hart said in a news release that the company has made progress. So far, it has 2,000 stores across 36 states not including the newly announced stores. It accelerated curbside grocery pickup and plans to have it at nearly 600 stores by end of July. And it has increased fresh food selection by 40% with more produce, prepared foods, meats and organic items. Walmart has more than 5,000 stores across all 50 states, including its membership-based Sam's Club. Kroger has nearly 2,800 stores across 35 states and Washington, D.C., but some are under other banners like Fred Meyer and Fry's. With the pandemic, Aldi has other factors that could work in its favor: Americans are spending more on groceries than usual, and they're looking for deals because of rising prices, high unemployment and economic uncertainty. Grocery spending is up about 10% at grocers and big-box stores, as of the week ended July 12 compared with the same period a year ago, according market research firm IRI. At value chains, such as Aldi and Dollar General, it's even higher closer to 15% to 20% year over year, according to the firm's analysis. The cost of food rose for the sixth straight month in June, according to the Labor Department. In April, the prices Americans paid for groceries jumped by 2.6%, the largest one-month jump in nearly 50 years. Hart said Aldi remains committed to offering value and has even lowered some prices as other grocers have raised them. "This pandemic has reinforced how much consumers rely on us for their grocery needs, and we're pleased to be able to support communities across the country with the lowest possible prices," he said. PM Modi to address India Ideas summit on July 22 India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 21: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will address the keynote addresses at the India Ideas Summit on July 22. The India Ideas Summit will be hosted by the India Business Council. The summit concedes business and government leaders for discussions on the future of the US-India partnership and trends shaping globalisation, trade and investment. It would also deal with the future of work in the COVID-19 era and beyond. PM Modi now has 6 crore followers on Twitter Ministry of External Affairs, Dr. S Jaishankar would also deliver the address at the summit. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Senator of Virginia and co-chair of Senate India Caucus Mark Warner, former US ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, among others, will also address the summit. A statement said, the summit will witness discussions on areas including India-US cooperation and future of the relation between the two counties in a post-pandemic world. Ethiopias prime minister said on Tuesday his country, Egypt, and Sudan reached a major common understanding which paves the way for a breakthrough agreement on a significant dam project that has led to sharp regional tensions and fears of military confrontation. Egypt and Sudan view the dam as a serious threat to vital water supplies, while Ethiopia considers it essential for its electrification and development. The statement by Abiy Ahmeds office came as new satellite images show the water level in the reservoir behind the nearly completed $4.6bn Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is at its highest in at least four years. Last week Ethiopia acknowledged that water was gathering in the dams reservoir, though officials said this was a natural part of the construction process. Ethiopia has said the rising water is from heavy rains, and the statement said, it has become evident over the past two weeks in the rainy season that the [dams] first-year filling is achieved and the dam under construction is already overtopping. Press release on the follow-up Extraordinary Meeting of the Bureau of the African Union Assembly on the #GERD. pic.twitter.com/TdhLEnz49l Office of the Prime Minister Ethiopia (@PMEthiopia) July 21, 2020 Ethiopia had said it would begin filling the reservoir of the dam, Africas largest, this month even without a deal as the rainy season floods the Blue Nile. But the new statement said the three countries leaders have agreed to pursue further technical discussions on the filling and proceed to a comprehensive agreement. The statement did not give details on Tuesdays discussions, mediated by current African Union chair and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, or what had been agreed upon. But the talks among the countrys leaders showed the critical importance placed on finding a way to resolve tensions over the storied Nile River, a lifeline for all involved. A general view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) near Guba in Ethiopia [File: AFP] Ethiopia says the colossal dam offers a critical opportunity to pull millions of its nearly 110 million citizens out of poverty and become a major power exporter. Downstream Egypt, which depends on the Nile to supply its farmers and booming population of 100 million with fresh water, asserts it poses an existential threat. Egyptian President Abdel Fattah el-Sisi stressed Egypts sincere will to continue to achieve progress over the disputed issues, a spokesmans statement said. It said the leaders agreed to give priority to developing a binding legal commitment regarding the basis for filling and operating the dam. Sudanese Irrigation Minister Yasser Abbas told reporters in the capital, Khartoum, the three leaders agreed to continue their negotiations to overcome the sticking points. He said the negotiations would proceed according to the basic principle of the dams fair and reasonable use, adding once the agreement has been solidified, Ethiopia will retain the right to amend some figures relating to the dams operation during drought periods. There are other sticking points, but if we agree on this basic principle, the other points will automatically be solved, he said. Both Sudanese Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok and Ethiopias leader called Tuesdays meeting fruitful. Interactive: Saving the Nile Negotiators have said key questions remain about how much water Ethiopia will release downstream if a multi-year drought occurs and how the countries will resolve any future disputes. Ethiopia rejects binding arbitration at the final stage. It is absolutely necessary that Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia, with the support of the African Union, come to an agreement that preserves the interest of all parties, Moussa Faki Mahamat, chairman of the AU commission, said on Twitter, adding the Nile should remain a source of peace. Years of talks with a variety of mediators have failed to produce a solution. Kevin Wheeler, a researcher at the Environmental Change Institute, University of Oxford, said fears of any immediate water shortages are not justified at this stage at all, and the escalating rhetoric is more due to changing power dynamics in the region. However, if there were a drought over the next several years, that certainly could become a risk, he said. The years-long dispute pits Ethiopias desire to become a major power exporter and development engine against Egypts concern the dam will significantly curtail its water supply if filled too quickly. Egypt, which is almost entirely dependent on the Nile for its fresh-water supplies, sees the dam as an existential threat. Sudan has long been caught between the competing interests. Canada Must Help Reclaim Christendom's Cathedral Caught between two tectonic plates, Turkey has always been the epicenter of catastrophic earthquakes. This time an earthquake of a symbolic nature is in the making. It has ominous implications for the minority Christian population -- mainly Assyrians/Syriacs/ Chaldeans, Greeks and Armenians -- within the country. The world beyond Turkey's borders won't escape unscathed, either. The coming quake is already an audible rumble for most of the Western world's governments and political leaders. Canada, alas, appears deaf so far to warning sounds of destabilization coming from Istanbul's iconic Hagia Sophia (Church of the Divine Wisdom). The ancient cathedral is a UNESCO World Heritage site and a magnet for millions of visitors from around the world. Much more, for 85 years it has served as neutral ground in Turkey's contested religious space. Yet, at the stroke of a Turkish court decision and a decree from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, this historical and cultural treasure became a mosque. Once the greatest and most beautiful basilica in Christendom, it had previously been turned into a mosque when the Byzantine capital Constantinople (now Istanbul) fell to Turkish Muslim invaders in 1453. Since 1935, however, it has functioned as a museum on the orders of then Turkish leader Mustapha Kemal Ataturk. President Erdogan would like the world to believe the reversion of Hagia Sophia to a mosque is a minor matter. It isn't. Worldwide furor about it is already building. As a responsible member of the international community, Canada cannot afford to sit on the sidelines. The move could well signal the launch of an aggressive campaign to take back possessions the dying Ottoman empire lost to European powers at the end of the First World War. If the campaign escalated, it would inevitably risk igniting another flare-up in Turkish-Greek relations. One more lethal layer would be added to the volatility of Middle Eastern politics. I had followed the story for weeks and read the coffee dregs (a custom a Turkish friend introduced me to as the cultural equivalent of reading tea leaves). I had foreseen it as fait accompli for President Erdogan, whose celebration of the fall of Constantinople the Hagia Sophia on May 29 seemed a prelude to an unfolding drama of reviving 15th century antagonisms. When the news broke, my heart broke too. Granting the status of a mosque to the cathedral, once the jewel in the crown of Byzantine Christianity, sends an ominous signal for Turkey's Christian minority. It's also a serious step backwards for any kind of rapprochement between Greece and Turkey. From a Christian and aesthetic point of view, I fear its priceless mosaics, paintings and Christian symbols will be erased or defaced beyond recognition since visual representations of any kind are taboo in Islamic practice. I have visited Istanbul and the Hagia Sophia four times during the last 10 years. Each time, I was mesmerized by the ethereal beauty and architectural magnificence of the cathedral, which was built in 537 AD by the Byzantine emperor Justinian I. He is said to have declared upon its completion "Oh Solomon, I have surpassed thee," referring to the Temple of Jerusalem. "It may be a secular museum now," I wrote after my first visit. "But this space is somehow sacred, a mirror of eternity. The mosaic of Christ Pantokrator (Almighty) appears to be watching us from above. With its lifelike face and piercing eyes, it is an incredible work of art that is nothing short of miraculous." Pope Benedict, on his visit to Istanbul in 2007, prayed that Turkey would be a bridge of collaboration between the peoples of the Islamic and Christian faiths. In 2014, Pope Francis, in a gesture of goodwill to the Islamic world, prayed along with the Grand Mufti (leader of the Muslim community) of Istanbul at the Blue Mosque, which is a short walk from the Hagia Sophia. Now it seems the political winds in Turkey are blowing in a completely different direction. The papal vision of inter-faith harmony has been replaced by one of renewed antagonism between ultra right-wing nationalism/ religious fundamentalism and peaceful co-existence. The changed status of Hagia Sophia can only deepen the interfaith divisions simmering below the surface in Turkish society. While the move sits well with Erdogan's support base of religious nationalists, opponents complain their voices have been silenced or ignored. Orhan Pamuk, Turkey's most celebrated author and winner of the Nobel Prize for literature in 2006, told BBC the decision would take away the "pride" some Turks had in being a uniquely secular Muslim nation. A BBC article from July 10 quotes Pamuk as saying: "There are millions of secular Turks like me who are crying against this, but their voices are not heard." Long before the decree was issued, it was a foregone conclusion despite these dissenting voices. "What can I say as a Christian clergyman and the Greek patriarch in Istanbul? Instead of uniting, a 1,500-year-old heritage is dividing us. I am saddened and shaken," said Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew I, head of the Greek Orthodox Church, in the Washington Post on June 24. Deeply troubling is the official language and symbolism used in the lead-up to the decree. These include the May 29 "celebration" of the 1453 conquest of Constantinople, ending an epic battle between the Christian emperor Constantine and the Ottoman Sultan Mehmet II. Equally concerning was the internal messaging delivered through the Turkish media that the spoils of war, including the Hagia Sophia, rightfully belong to the Muslim heirs of the Ottoman Empire. Christian sources in Turkey, who insisted on remaining anonymous, told Convivium all this represents a stirring up anti-Christian sentiments. They fear attacks by fundamentalists emboldened by the language of antagonism. The provocation extends to the Greek Orthodox Church, and beyond it to the governments of Greece and Cyprus. In a joint press conference with Nicos Anastidades, President of Cyprus, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis has called for a comprehensive European response, including sanctions, to Turkey's "unnecessary and petty" decision to reconvert Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Both U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and the U.S. Ambassador at Large for Religious Freedom, Sam Brownback, have urged the Turkish government to maintain the site as a museum. Pope Francis has expressed deep pain and sorrow at its conversion to a mosque, as have other Christian leaders. From Canada, the silence from official sources has been ear-splitting to say the least. Some civil society organizations are urging Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne to take swift action. "We have sent a letter to the Prime Minister to get on the world stage and send a clear message to Turkey that this is not acceptable, and that Turkey must abide by UNESCO rules since the Hagia Sophia is a world heritage site," Dr. Theodore Halatsis President of the Canadian Hellenic Congress told Convivium. Halatsis added that more letters demanding action and co-signed by other organizations such as the Armenian National Committee of Canada are on their way to the Canadian government and to Audrey Azoulay, the director general of UNESCO. The Canadian government should make this issue a high priority, and work with like-minded members of the international community to reach an acceptable compromise with Turkey. If Minister Champagne and the bureaucrats at Global Affairs take the lead in crafting a response that gives President Erdogan room to reverse his decision without obviously bowing to international pressure, it would be an achievement worthy of the best Pearsonian diplomacy. The opportunity to sustain Hagia Sophia as a jewel of inter-faith relations is also a chance for Canada to shine again on the world stage. Susan Korah is a Canadian journalist based in Ottawa and a Syriac Orthodox Christian. In the past few years she has focused on writing about persectued Christians in the Middle East. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Agence France-Presse) Singapore Tue, July 21, 2020 20:00 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40668364f9 2 SE Asia Singapore,violence-against-women,assault-case,punishment Free A Singapore court's decision to put a student who assaulted his ex-girlfriend behind bars for just 12 days sparked an outcry Tuesday, with campaigners condemning a series of light punishments for women's attackers. It was the latest case of a university student in the city-state targeting a woman and then being handed a punishment that critics viewed as inadequate. During the vicious assault, Yin Zi Qin tried to strangle his ex-girlfriend until she blacked out at her home in May last year after failing to convince the 21-year-old to reconsider ending their relationship, according to court documents. After pleading guilty to voluntarily causing hurt, the 23-year-old dentistry student at the National University of Singapore (NUS), was sentenced Friday to a "short detention order", which will see him spend 12 days in prison but means he will not have a criminal record. He was also handed 80 hours of community service, ordered to report regularly to authorities for five months, and undergo rehabilitation. He could have faced a maximum two years in jail. The sentence sparked an outcry online, while women's rights group AWARE said it "reflects, yet again, an imbalance between the worth accorded to female survivors and that accorded to male perpetrators". "The harm experienced by the former is frequently minimized, while the past record and future potential of the latter is amplified." The women's wing of the city-state's ruling party also issued a rare statement expressing dismay at the "disproportionate" sentence. As anger mounted, Home Affairs and Law Minister K. Shanmugam announced the government would review how decisions are made on sentencing in such cases. NUS said Yin had been suspended and would face disciplinary action over the case, which did not happen on campus. There have been a series of controversies in recent times of students targeting women. In the most high-profile, NUS student Monica Baey protested against what she perceived as the light punishment given to a male student who filmed her in a dormitory shower. In another, a student was initially sentenced to probation for molesting a woman but was later jailed for two weeks after prosecutors appealed. File pic Amid the ongoing political crisis in Rajasthan, a meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting began on Tuesday, party sources said. The meeting began at around 1 pm after about a two-hour delay at a hotel on the outskirts of Jaipur where Congress legislators supporting the Ashok Gehlot government are camping. The meeting is likely to decide the party's future strategy as the court's decision on disqualification notice given by the Assembly Speaker C P Joshi is likely to be delivered on Tuesday, sources said. Senior Congress leaders including national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande, K C Venugopal, Ajay Maken, Randeep Surjewala, Vivek Bansal along with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot are present at the meeting. This is the third meeting of the CLP in the last one week. A political turmoil is raging in the state apparently because of a tussle for power between dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot and Gehlot. Last week, Pilot and 18 other MLAs rebelled openly, defying a party whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings. He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and state Congress chief. Nuclear power might have a tough time shaking off its label as the uckly duckling of zero-carbon energy, but the industry has proven surprisingly resilient. Despite a handful of reactor closures in recent years, the United States generated a record amount of electricity from its atomic fleet in 2019. Nuclear power provides roughly 20% of the nation's total electricity and remains the most efficient power source available. The nation's fleet operated at full capacity 93.5% of the time last year -- well ahead of the next-closest major power source, natural gas, which reached peak capacity 56.8% of the time. There's just one potential problem for American nuclear power: virtually all of the fuel needed to operate reactors is imported. The United States imported an estimated 91% of the fuel consumed in nuclear power plants in 2019, although the reliance on foreign materials is likely to increase. That's because the country produced just 174,000 pounds of uranium concentrate last year -- half the previous all-time low set in 1949 -- but requires over 43 million pounds to keep its fleet running each year. Should investors be concerned by America's lackluster uranium production? Geopolitics, geology, and economics dictate uranium output On the surface, it's not ideal for a major American industry to be overwhelmingly reliant on foreign materials. The United States purchased 91% of the uranium concentrate consumed in 2019, although domestic production amounted to only 0.4% of consumption (there's a lag time between production, assembly, purchase, and consumption -- suggesting the reliance on imports will increase in the 2020s). That means the United States lacks uranium security. But a little nuance and context is required to get the full picture. The United States produced sufficient uranium throughout the Cold War, both for securing energy production and materials for weapons. When the Soviet Union collapsed, domestic production of uranium concentrate collapsed, too. The United States has been more reliant on imports of uranium concentrate than production since 1990. In fact, one of the primary reasons for abandoning domestic production was a non-proliferation program called Megatons to Megawatts. Entered in 1993, the agreement had Russia dismantle large stocks of Soviet-era nuclear warheads, reprocess the materials into reactor-ready fuel, and sell it to the Americans for use in nuclear power plants. It was wildly successful: approximately 10% of all electricity generated in the United States during the program's 20-year existence originated from former Soviet nuclear warheads. Geopolitics isn't the only factor to consider. Geology and economics also play significant roles in American uranium production. The United States has sufficient uranium resources available -- over 1.2 billion pounds -- but most of the material cannot be produced economically at current market prices. Fortunately, insofar as North America is concerned, there's an overwhelming surplus of high-quality, low-cost uranium concentrate available thanks to the envious mineral riches of Canada. That's where investors seeking an opportunity in the uranium insecurity of the United States should turn their attention. Uranium stocks to consider Cameco Corporation (NYSE:CCJ) and NexGen Energy (NYSEMKT:NXE), both Canadian companies, are two of the most reputable uranium stocks accessible to individual investors. There are large differences between the two, however. Cameco is a global leader in uranium production, whereas NexGen Energy is a new company seeking to bring a development-stage asset into operation. The three Canadian mines owned by the duo would have a combined 56 million pounds of peak annual output of uranium concentrate, which is more than enough to supply all of North America's nuclear reactors. The key phrase is "would have" -- and it's not only because of the inclusion of the development-stage Arrow mine owned by NexGen Energy. In recent years, the global market has been oversupplied, which has had predictable negative effects on pricing. The environment was made possible by a combination of irresponsible production quotas from state-owned producers, the closure of reactors in Western nations, and the closed-loop of China's emerging nuclear industry (putting the expected growth out of reach for market players). Dismal market conditions have forced Cameco to make difficult decisions. The company suspended operations at McArthur River, which immediately removed 18 million pounds of production from the international market. But the move has begun to show signs of efficacy in the form of higher prices for long-term supply contracts. Importantly, the business has proven as resilient as the nuclear industry. Cameco ended the first quarter of 2020 with $1.2 billion cash and had another $1 billion available under a credit facility. The company's interests in Cigar Lake (in Canada) and Inkai (in Kazakhstan) produced a combined 17 million pounds of uranium concentrate in 2019. And that doesn't include over 29 million pounds of fuel assemblies produced last year. The fragile conditions of the uranium market make the timing of NexGen Energy's pitch for a new world-class mine a bit odd, but the business believes it has a case. The development-stage Arrow mine would be the world's largest and lowest-cost uranium concentrate mine, featuring up to 25 million pounds of annual output at costs under $5 per pound. NexGen Energy expects the asset to be competitive at nearly any price point, especially with global nuclear demand growing faster than pre-Fukushima levels. That's exactly what pre-production mining companies are supposed to say in investor presentations, but a relatively healthy market valuation of $600 million suggests Wall Street is extending the benefit of the doubt to Arrow and the small-cap stock (for now). American uranium production is next to nothing, but not worrisome The United States is on track to cease all uranium production at some point in the 2020s. Given the proximity to world-class reserves in Canada and current market conditions, the reliance on foreign inputs for the nation's atomic fleet isn't nearly as concerning as production numbers might suggest. Investors interested in playing the opportunity of America's uranium insecurity can look to Canada's Cameco and NexGen Energy, just be sure to keep expectations in check. The uranium and nuclear industries have proven stubborn to generating reliable investing returns. As schools worldwide are deciding how to handle international students in the fall semester, amid the uncertainties posed by the COVID-19 pandemic, New York University Shanghai announced it will host Chinese and China-based students from NYU and NYU Abu Dhabi in the upcoming term. About 2,300 Chinese undergraduates and 800 graduate students from NYU and NYU Abu Dhabi will join some 1,700 NYU Shanghai students in the fall term on the Shanghai campus. NYU Shanghai said the move is part of the NYU global network's "go local" plan in response to travel restrictions caused by the pandemic. Students from the three NYU campuses can apply to study at an NYU location that is open and closer to home. "NYU Shanghai will host students who are currently in China and are unable to or prefer not to travel to their home campuses this fall. Some international students from NYU Shanghai will also attend classes in NYU locations outside China and closer to their homes," NYU Shanghai said in a release on Saturday. The Shanghai campus will also host students of other nationalities who live in countries and regions near China, who would otherwise be bound for New York or Abu Dhabi. It did not disclose the number of such students. "In these uncertain times, NYU Shanghai is proud to be able to provide students from our sister campuses in New York and Abu Dhabi with this opportunity to attend live classes in Shanghai," said Tong Shijun, chancellor of NYU Shanghai. This first Sino-US joint campus, founded in 2012, is NYU's third degree-granting campus. Tong said the school was grateful for the support for the initiative, "especially from the Shanghai government". Another such international university system, Duke Kunshan Universitya venture of Duke University, in Durham, North Carolina, and Wuhan University in Kunshan, Jiangsu provincesaid at least 80 Chinese Duke University students who will be unable to fly to the US in August will commence the fall semester at the Kunshan campus. Students and their parents said it seemed the best substitute while the pandemic and visa and flight issues regarding international students remained unclear. Faculty members added A Duke University freshman from Taiyuan, Shanxi province, who preferred not to be named, said he cared more about classmates and teachers being able to continue as scheduled than where the classroom is situated. NYU Shanghai said an additional 75 faculty members from NYU and other universities will join the Shanghai faculty teaching the nearly 200 undergraduate courses and 40 graduate student courses at the campus. Classes will not be taught online there as the city's public health situation is largely under control. Because the additional 3,000 students will exceed the capacity of NYU Shanghai's academic building in Pudong's Lujiazui financial area, the school will convert seven floors of a nearby office building into classrooms, lecture halls and other facilities. Rigorous safety measures, including body temperature scanners, hand sanitizers and alternate seating, allowing for social distancing, have been in place at the academic building since the school reopened in April and will be continued at the temporary campus, the school said. "All of us at NYU Shanghai are looking forward to welcoming these visitors into our community this fall," Vice-Chancellor Jeff Lehman said. "These are challenging times, and it is gratifying to know that our university can continue to promote healthy bridges between China and the rest of the world while we await the restoration of more normal opportunities to travel across national borders." Ever since the nationwide lockdown was announced on 23rd March, shoots of fiction and non-fiction shows had come to a complete halt, with due consideration for the safety of the actors and staff. Complying with the directives issued by the Tamil Nadu State government, Zee Tamil has resumed shoots of the fiction shows. The viewers of Zee Tamil can expect original content and hit the resume button on the journeys of their favourite characters from 27th July. Over the past decade, the viewers of Zee Tamil have evolved with their favourite characters, investing deeply in each of their journeys. The channel, in line with its exemplary commitment towards entertaining its audiences, is set to present novel and original content, taking them further along in the lives of their favourite characters from their beloved shows.As an initiative to spread cheer and positivity among their viewers, Zee Tamil has also launched a digital and on-air comeback campaign with the tagline Idhaythalinaivom, idhaiyumkadapom which translates to - if we come together in spirit, this too shall be overcome. The utmost priority for Zee Tamil as the channel resumes shoot is to ensure the safety of all personnel and actors on set.Several measures have been put in place to ensure the same. A team of safety experts is brought in to sanitize and disinfect the sets, prior to shoots. This is a 9-hour process that is conducted prior to shoot schedule. In its efforts to ensure that every measure is taken to mitigate risks, a government approved team is invited to the sets to conduct a thorough inspection once the sanitization procedure is complete. Before entering and leaving the set each day, provisions have been made for mandatory thermal screening for all members of the cast and crew. The shoots will strictly be held indoors and in a closed environment with a maximum of 60 persons present at any given time. Safety kits with soaps, sanitizers gloves and masks have been made available to members on the set.When not in front of the camera, actors will mandatorily wear face masks on the set. To further reduce risk factors, the actors will do their own make up in order to avoid unnecessary contact with other members from the crew. Arrangements for food that is cooked in a hygienic environment will also be made available at the sets. From 27th July, the fiction shows will be airing six days a week in new timings: RettaiRoja 1:30 2:00 pm EndrendumPunnagai 2:oo 2:30 pm Raja Magal 2:30 3:00 pm NeethaaneEnthanPonvasantham 7:00 8:00 pm GokulathilSeethai 8:00 8:30 pm Yaaradi Nee Mohini 8:30 9:00 pm Sembaruthi 9:00 9:30 pm OruOorulaOruRajakumari 9:30 10:00 pm Sathya 10:00 10:30 pm 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. Help.org, a trusted online resource for individuals who struggle with addiction and their loved ones, has announced the Best Rehab Facilities in Albany, New York for 2020. The informational guide recognizes the top 11 rehab facilities based on cost, treatment options, location, accompanying services and more. According to recent studies, drug overdose is the leading cause of death among people under age 50. In Albany, deaths related to opioid abuse increased significantly from 2011 to 2015. Substance abuse among adolescents is also escalating in Albany with 55 percent of high school students reported using alcohol, 38 percent reported using marijuana, 8 percent reported using prescription drugs without a valid prescription, and 2 percent reported using heroin. With the growing need for accessible and high-quality rehab programs, Help.org has developed a unique ranking process to help connect individuals with treatment providers that meet their needs. The Help.org research team analyzed thousands of facilities across the country and then identified the most cost-effective and highest rated programs in larger cities like Albany. Each facility was evaluated based on rehabilitation services, treatment approaches, cost, special programs for unique demographics and ancillary services. The website also provides information about drug use and side effects as well as educational articles. For a detailed listing of the Best Rehab Facilities in Albany, New York please visit https://www.help.org/drug-and-alcohol-rehab-centers-in-albany-ny/ 2020 Best Rehab Facilities in Albany, New York (in alphabetical order) Arms Acres 75 Seminary Hill Road Carmel, NY 10512 845-225-3400 Conifer Park 79 Glenridge Road Glenville, NY 12302 800-989-6446 Hope House, Inc. 573 Livingston Avenue Albany, NY 12206 518-482-4673 Hospitality House 271 Central Avenue Albany, NY 12206 518-434-6468 Long Island Center for Recovery 320 West Montauk Highway Hampton Bays, NY 11946 631-728-3100 Saint Jude Retreat 9 Market Street Amsterdam, NY 12010 518-842-2204 St. Marys Healthcare 427 Guy Park Avenue Amsterdam, NY 12010 518-842-1900 The Addictions Care Center of Albany, Inc. 90 McCarty Avenue Albany, NY 12202 518-465-5470 The Next Step, Inc. 2 Holland Avenue Albany, NY 12209 518-465-5249 Trinity Alliance of the Capital Region Homer Perkins Center 76-82, 2nd Street Albany, NY 12210 518-436-1104 Whitney M. Young Jr. Health Center 920 Lark Drive Albany, NY 12207 518-465-4771 ABOUT HELP.ORG Help.org is an online resource for individuals who struggle with addiction and their loved ones. The website provides the latest research through scientifically proven methods, community recovery resources as well as information about local financial assistance. Help.orgs team of researchers, activists and writers work together with addiction counselors and other professionals to offer useful and accurate resources to help individuals seeking recovery. To learn more, visit https://www.help.org/ Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, center, then director for European Affairs at the National Security Council, arrives at the U.S. Capitol in Washington on Oct. 29, 2019. (Mark Wilson/Getty Images) House Democrats Urge Watchdog to Probe Retaliation Against Trump Impeachment Witness Vindman Three Democrat committee and sub-committee chairs have called on the Defense Department inspector general to probe claims of retaliation against Lt. Col. Alexander Vindman, who testified against President Donald Trump during his impeachment. House Oversight Committee Chair Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.), House Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Rep. Stephen Lynch (D-Mass.), chairman of the Oversight Committees subcommittee on National Security, wrote a letter (pdf) to Pentagon acting Inspector General Sean ODonnell on Tuesday, calling on him to investigate alleged actions by administration officials to create a retaliatory work environment for the now-retired Vindman. The Democrats also want the Pentagon watchdog to probe their claims of retributive actions taken against Vindmans twin brother, Lt. Col. Yevgeny Vindman, and to consider recommending any systemic improvements that could be made to protect DOD whistleblowers from similar retaliation in the future. Alexander Vindman announced in early July that he was retiring from the Army. His lawyer, David Pressman, said that Vindman was leaving after it has been made clear that his future within the institution he has dutifully served will forever be limited. Pressman claimed in a statement cited by The Hill that Vindman faced a campaign of bullying, intimidation, and retaliation for responding to a Congressional subpoena to testify about Trumps July 25, 2019, phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky. The President of the United States attempted to force LTC Vindman to choose: Between adhering to the law or pleasing a President. Between honoring his oath or protecting his career. Between protecting his promotion or the promotion of his fellow soldiers. These are choices that no one in the United States should confront, especially one who has dedicated his life to serving it, Pressman said, according to statement. On the call, Trump asked Zelensky to probe former Vice President Joe Biden and his son, Hunter Biden, for allegedly interfering in a Ukranian investigation and stopping a prosecution. Vindman, who was one of several officials to listened in on the call, testified that it was improper for the president of the United States to demand a foreign government investigate a U.S. citizen and a political opponent. Some of Vindmans testimony was disputed by his superior, Tim Morrison, in the course of the impeachment inquiry. Morrison also told the House Intelligence Committee that some staffers considered Vindman to be unreliable and prone to leaking information. Trump was eventually acquitted by the GOP-controlled Senate after the House voted to impeach him along partisan lines. Vindman was later fired from his post at the National Security Council (NSC). The Department of Defense and White House did not respond to earlier requests for comment on the controversy surrounding Vindmans retirement or his dismissal from the NSC. The Democrat committee and sub-committee chairs, in their July 21 letter, suggested there was a concerted effort by the Trump administration to retaliate against Vindman for testifying against Trump. Retaliation against a talented and dedicated war veteran is completely unacceptable and sends the wrong message to our fellow Americans in uniform about the oaths they take to defend and protect the Constitution, they wrote. It is critical that your office act now to investigate these allegations to ensure that our military system remains impervious to political vendettas. Click here to read the full article on SPIN. California-based record label Burger Records announced a number of changes on Monday night following a massive influx of sexual misconduct accusations that have been raised since late last week. The Instagram Lured_By_Burger_Records outlined dozens of accusations levied at the Fullerton-based label, its co-owners Sean Bohrman and Lee Rickard, and some of the labels bands. More from SPIN: We extend our deepest apologies to anyone who has suffered irreparable harm from any experience that occurred in the Burger and indie/DIY music scene, the latter of which we take part. We are also deeply sorry for the role Burger has played in perpetuating a culture of toxic masculinity, the statement read. But words can only go so far in repairing any damage that has been created. It is the ability to put past behaviors under a microscope, and to fully listen to those who have suffered as a result of such behaviors, in order to be able to truly make meaningful changes so that not only do those behaviors no longer occur, but real positive change can be made to meet the moment, it continued. The label announced the dismissal of company president Rickard and his ownership stake in the company. Bohrman, it was announced, would be leaving his role as well and moving into a transitional role. Replacing them as interim president is veteran music exec Jessa Zapor-Gray. The victims account posted a statement disapproving of Zapor-Grays role. To disassociate from the misconduct accusations, the company is changing its name to BRGR RECS and adding an all-woman imprint to the label, BRGRRRL. It vowed to start a fund to to help pay for counseling services for those who suffered such trauma while engaging in the Burger scene, and will evaluate the whole of the existing label catalog and artists therein, discontinuing the distribution of artists according to our zero-tolerance policy. Story continues Read the statement in full below: Dear Burger Community, We understand that we will never be able to comprehend the trauma that women have experienced while trying to find a place in the music scene. We are profoundly saddened and sickened by the pain suffered at the hands of a toxic male music culture that does not value women as equals. We extend our deepest apologies to anyone who has suffered irreparable harm from any experience that occurred in the Burger and indie/DIY music scene, the latter of which we take part. We are also deeply sorry for the role Burger has played in perpetuating a culture of toxic masculinity. We are sorry that we did not actively monitor this behavior well enough to make the Burger music scene safer for you. You should never feel you have to sacrifice your personal space to be able to enjoy music, for your career or in pursuit of your art; you shouldnt feel you have to choose between music and your comfort. But words can only go so far in repairing any damage that has been created. It is the ability to put past behaviors under a microscope, and to fully listen to those who have suffered as a result of such behaviors, in order to be able to truly make meaningful changes so that not only do those behaviors no longer occur, but real positive change can be made to meet the moment. It is with this in mind that we have decided to make major structural changes to the label and create and implement active policy measures to address the culture that allowed such harm to occur. To begin, Burger Records co-founder Sean Bohrman will move into a transitional role with the label. Label co-founder Lee Rickard will immediately step down from his role as label president, and fully divest all interest in the label. Jessa Zapor-Gray will assume the role of interim label president. Jessa comes to Burger with extensive experience in the music industry and an extensive familiarity with the Burger catalog. We look forward to having her take the helm at the label. In the spirit of change, here are the other actions we will be taking moving forward: We thank you for coming forward and for your courage to speak up, and want you to know that we are committed to doing real work to improve the culture of BRGR RECS and the indie music scene for all of us. We want to be leaders in the industry and a model for other labels to effect real, lasting change. To see our running list of the top 100 greatest guitarists of all time, click here. July 20 (Reuters) - International Business Machines Corp posted quarterly revenue and profit above analysts' estimates on Monday, riding on the strength of its high-margin cloud computing business. IBM has jettisoned some of its legacy business to focus on cloud computing, an area that has seen a lot of action in recent years as companies ramp up their digital shift to control costs and boost efficiency. Revenue from the cloud business, previously headed by IBM's new boss Arvind Krishna, rose 30% to $6.3 billion in the second quarter. Krishna took over as chief executive officer from Ginni Rometty in April, while appointing former Bank of America Corp's top technology executive Howard Boville as the new head of IBM's cloud business. IBM's total revenue fell 5.4% to $18.12 billion in the quarter, but came in above analysts' estimates of $17.72 billion, according to IBES data from Refinitiv. Excluding the impact from currency and business divestitures, revenue declined 1.9%. The company's net income fell to $1.36 billion, or $1.52 per share, in the quarter ended June 30 from $2.5 billion, or $2.81 per share, a year earlier. Excluding items, the company earned $2.18 per share, above estimates of $2.07 per share. (Reporting by Munsif Vengattil in Bengaluru: Editing by Maju Samuel) The Royal Navy is to create a new Royal Marine Commando Vanguard Strike Company, using the latest weapons and tactics to operate at trouble spots around the world. An estimated 150 Royal Marines and Army Commandos will begin training together in the Autumn to form the new unit - ahead of their first deployment next year. The elite group will have their choice of cutting edge technology and weapons. The Royal Marines Commando force are getting new uniform as part of a new plan to create an elite Vanguard group with the capability to be deployed anywhere in the world The commandos will use new weapons and tactics and are even getting a high tech uniform Under the plan, the Commandos will be able to operate in all climates due to their elite status Among the new technology available by the Vanguard force is this unmanned Mast 13 boat According to the navy: 'The Royal Marines are currently undergoing a bold modernisation project known as the Future Commando Force programme which will overhaul how the world-famous green berets operate.' The group will use new weapons and tactics while they will train to a higher standard than regular commandos. Commandant General Royal Marines, Major General Matt Holmes, said: 'The Vanguard Strike Company will lead and inform how the Royal Marines and Army Commandos will operate and fight in a dynamic, technological era of warfare. 'We envisage several of these networked sub-units persistently forward deployed around the globe, with an array of sophisticated enabling capabilities, to present dilemmas to adversaries whilst supporting partners. These will all be at high-readiness, as a capable forward contingency force at the core of the Royal Navy's Littoral Response Groups.' The commandos will be given the latest equipment, technology and weapons to give them an advantage against opposition forces The Commandos regularly train with other Nato forces such as this Norwegian Skjold Class Corvette during some Arctic training The Commandos have been involved in experimental training to develop new tactics The commandos will be equipped with the Diemaco C-7 assault rifle and a quick drying uniform According to the navy, the commandos will work in small, highly trained units, offering 'agile and lethal capability' at a moment's notice 'for war-fighting, specific combat missions such as commando raids, or providing humanitarian assistance'. According to a source: 'This is about returning commando forces to their roots: to operate at reach and in all theatres, including the arctic, as the spearhead of operations. 'The NATO procured uniform which is being procured from USA-based firm Crye Precision is lighter-weight, has higher tear-strength, is faster-drying and is more breathable than typical 50/50 cotton/nylon clothing. 'The Vanguard Strike Company will wear this uniform on their first deployment.' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) speaks to the press after a meeting with Republican Senators in the Hart Senate Office Building on Capitol Hill, May 19, 2020 in Washington. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images) McConnell Backs More Stimulus Payments, Says Economy Needs Shot of Adrenaline Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) on Tuesday indicated that the forthcoming pandemic relief bill would include more stimulus checks, saying the U.S. economy needs another shot of adrenaline. McConnell, speaking from the Senate floor, said he would be revealing the GOPs proposal after discussions with White House officials in recent weeks. The major portions of the bill would include jobs, health care, having children return to school, and liability protections for businesses that open during the pandemic, he said. The American job market needs another shot of adrenaline. Senate Republicans are laser-focused on getting American workers their jobs back, McConnell said, adding that he is in favor of another round of direct payments to people. However, he didnt say how much the payments would be worth and if there would be an income cutoff point. Previously, McConnell said that people who earn less than $40,000 per year should get the next stimulus payments. We need to carve out a new normal, McConnell said. We cant go back to April. The GOP leader did not discuss one of President Donald Trumps top proposals, a payroll tax cut, in his speech on the Senate floor. Were going to be discussing it, McConnell told The Hill when he was asked about the tax cut. As you know the secretary of the Treasury is coming up for lunch, and were all going to see if we can get on the same page. Some Senate Republicans have split with the White House over the need for a payroll tax. Senate Finance Chairman Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) said that payroll tax cuts are a public relations problem and wouldnt provide much economic impact. Chairman Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) speaks at a Senate Finance Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington, on June 17, 2020. (Andrew Harnik-Pool/Getty Images) President Trump previously has said that a payroll tax cut would create an incentive for companies to hire their workers back. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meanwhile, told reporters this week that the GOP bill will likely be worth approximately $1 trillion dollars, coming in contrast to Democrats $3 trillion HEROES Act, which was passed in May. We think that will make a big impact, Mnuchin told reporters on Monday, while adding that the focus is kids and jobs. Speaking after McConnell, Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) asserted that the Republican proposal will likely fall drastically short. He called for an extension of the $600-per-week unemployment benefits boost, which is slated to expire in about a week. Instead of working with Democrats in either the Senate or the House, Leader McConnell has decided to write the bill behind the closed doors of his office. The same partisan, one-side only process that has failed time and time again to produce successful legislation in the Senate, Schumer said. EDUCATION Minister Norma Foley has been accused of breaching the ministerial code after she failed to tell the Dail last week that the Leaving Cert results would be delayed until September 7. Ms Foley has been asked by the Ceann Comhairle to account for why she did not disclose the delay in issuing results when she was directly asked about it in the Dail last Thursday - but then confirmed it in a press statement issued by the Department of Education a short time later. Labour TD Aodhan O Riordain, who had asked Ms Foley in the Dail, said the failure to disclose the delay when asked was in breach of the code of conduct for office holders and has formally complained to Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghail, asking that the matter be investigated. Read More A failure to respond to a direct question by providing the information which the Minister must already have known must, I believe, amount to a breach of the Ministers obligations to the House, the Dublin Bay North TD wrote. I do believe that the Minister failed in her constitutional duty and her obligations under standing orders to make herself properly accountable to the Dail. A spokeswoman for Mr O Fearghail said: On receipt of the complaint the Ceann Comhairle wrote to the Minister seeking her comments and anticipates an early reply. A spokesperson for Ms Foley said the Minister had already publicly addressed the issues raised Mr O Riordain and is in ongoing communication with him and other Opposition colleagues. The Minister had a detailed briefing with the Opposition Spokespeople, where she set out her determination to make sure that our schools will open in the Autumn and explained some of the steps that are being taken to make that happen. She also had detailed conversations with them about how the calculated grades process is working and what is being done to facilitate our Leaving Cert students to access third level education options when grades are published. The spokesperson said these would be the first of a series of briefings in the coming months and the Minister would address these and other education matters in the Dail next week. The new Fianna Fail Minister told RTEs Morning Ireland last Friday that as a matter of professionalism and courtesy she wanted to inform the parents, teachers, students, and school managerial bodies first. Meanwhile, Ms Foley told a briefing of Opposition spokespeople on Tuesday that there would be clarity on the plans to reopen schools in August and September before July 31. TDs were also told that the Department would centrally procure all protective equipment and screens for schools that will have to enforce social distancing measures. Sinn Fein TD Donnchadh O Laoghaire said there were no clear answers arising from the meeting, while SocDems TD Gary Gannon said: Its really difficult to be optimistic about how schools are going to operate with any sense of normality come autumn with such confusion emanating from the department. The Irish Independent reported on Tuesday that around 100m in funding will be made available to primary and secondary schools to adapt their buildings for social distancing. By Yereth Rosen ANCHORAGE, Alaska, July 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers is poised to give its blessing later this week to an Alaska copper and gold mining project the Obama administration tried to block because of concerns it could harm the state's salmon industry. A final environmental impact statement (EIS) recommending development of Northern Dynasty Minerals Ltd's Pebble Mine will be released on Friday, with a notice scheduled to be published in the Federal Register, Dave Hobbie, regulatory chief for the Army Corps's Alaska District, said in a Monday telephone news conference. Release of the final EIS would mark a dramatic reversal in a nearly two-decade saga over a project that is widely opposed by Alaskans, especially those in the Bristol Bay region. Hobbie said the Army Corps will make a final permit decision no earlier than 30 days after the release of the final EIS. The Pebble Mine would, if brought online, produce 70 million tons of gold, molybdenum and copper ore a year and create a pit 1,970 feet (600 meters) deep. A new road, pipeline and power plant would be built, according to the mine plan. All the alternatives would have environmental consequences, you know, damage, Hobbie said, referring to differing plans for the project. It is recognized that any option would have damage. Former President Barack Obama's administration in 2014 moved to stop the Army Corps from issuing wetlands permits for the mine's construction after a study found it would damage salmon-rich habitats. President Donald Trump's administration initially seemed opposed to the project as well, but last year lifted Obama-era restrictions, stating the limits were based on hypothetical scenarios different from Northern Dynasty's submitted permit application. The United Tribes of Bristol Bay, which represents 15 area tribal governments, on Monday repeated its call for officials to block the mine. (Reporting by Yereth Rosen; editing by Ernest Scheyder and Tom Brown) Egypts tourism sector is coming back to life after being hit hard by the Covid-19 pandemic Egypt has started to catch its breath after the slump that befell its tourism sector during the restrictions put in place to halt the spread of the coronavirus, with tourist flights returning to the Red Sea resorts of Sharm El-Sheikh and Hurghada last week. However, it is still too early to determine whether this vital sector for Egypts economy will see a complete revival by the end of the year or in 2021 or when a coronavirus vaccine or effective treatment is developed. The coronavirus pandemic has caused global economic paralysis, particularly in tourism, said Sameh Saad, head of the Misr Travel Company, a tour-operator in Egypt. Even with Egypt opening up its air space to receive flights from across the world, changing flight regulations makes it difficult for the sector to stabilise. Egypts cultural tourism was the hardest hit. And European tourists, first on the list of travellers to Egypt, have also been hit economically due to the lockdowns in their countries that affected their financial ability to travel, Saad said. Although the Eastern European countries have given the green light to their citizens to travel to Egypt, some countries in Western Europe are still placing Egypt on their red list, he added. Since Egypt began receiving international flights at the beginning of the month, the numbers of tourists, and their spending, had been meagre in comparison to the countrys tourist capacity, he said, adding that while Hurghada had 187,000 hotel beds it was currently receiving only about 5,000 vacationers per week. Egypt is depending on domestic tourism to revive the sector for the moment, though this form of travel is unlikely to restore the market, particularly as a result of the economic impacts of the coronavirus on many would-be travellers. The tourism sector was unlikely to go back to its former glory unless a coronavirus vaccine or effective treatment is developed and made available to the public the world over, Saad said. Some travellers may also be unwilling to wear face masks for four-hour flights, even if they overcome their fears of renewed travelling, he added. Travel overall is expected to plummet by 60 to 80 per cent, according to optimistic and pessimistic forecasts released by the World Tourism Organisation (WTO), said Elhami Al-Zayat, a former chairman of the Federation of Egyptian Chambers of Tourism. This means that about 600,000 people will travel over this year, down from the 1.5 billion who travelled last year. The majority of travellers arrive in Egypt by air, with the air-travel sector having lost an estimated $84 billion on a global scale this year and the airline industry as a whole an estimated $2 trillion. Airline companies predict that air transport will revive by 20 per cent this year, but will only revive to 2019 figures after three or four years, Al-Zayat said. The WTO had said people with the ability to travel this year were mostly those whose annual incomes exceeded $120,000, Al-Zayat stated, which means that far fewer people will be able to travel. Such travellers are also less likely to be attracted to the beach tourism offered at Egypts Red Sea resorts, he added, though they were more likely to be attracted by cultural tourism. This meant that Egypt should promote its cultural destinations more, such as the National Museum of Egyptian Civilisation, the Grand Egyptian Museum, due to open next year, and the destinations of Luxor and Aswan, he added. These should be promoted online at modest prices to attract tourists, especially from Latin America and Canada whose nationals have high rates of travel. A number of Luxor and Aswan hotels have applied for and received the governments health and safety certificate designed to guarantee infection-control measures, but no floating hotel has done so because their owners expect cultural tourism to remain depressed until Easter 2021, Al-Zayat said. Some 52 per cent of Egypts hotels have applied for the health and safety certificate, Saad noted. Egypts ministries of tourism and health have put out a set of regulations for hotels wanting to obtain the certificate. They include replacing open buffets with set menus, allowing a maximum of two under-12 aged children in a hotel room with their parents, and banning people from outside hotels entering restaurants and gyms. Hotels are also not allowed to exceed 50 per cent of capacity. Al-Zayat expects Egypt to recover much of its tourism next year, pointing out that travellers from Belarus, Ukraine, and Italy should arrive earlier than other vacationers. After the resumption of flights from Belarus on 1 July, Egypt has received 12 flights from the Eastern European country, 12 to Sharm El-Sheikh and 11 to Hurghada. Ukraine has sent 41 flights to the South Sinai and Red Sea governorates, including 24 to Sharm El-Sheikh and 14 to Hurghada, according to figures released by the Ministry of Tourism and Antiquities. While encouraging, these figures were not enough to fill hotels to 50 per cent capacity or generate revenues for hotel owners, Al-Zayat said. In 2019, Egypt made unprecedented revenues from tourism, generating some $13 billion for the economy and breaking the 2010 record of $12.5 billion. Estimates put the number of tourists who visited Egypt in 2019 at around 13 million. Hisham Al-Shaer, a member of the Chamber of Hotel Establishments, believes the Ukrainian and Belarus markets have returned to Egypt. Some Swiss flights had arrived in Hurghada, he said, adding that Egypt should receive other tourists in October, especially when European countries like Germany and the UK allow their nationals to travel. Kamel Abu Ali, head of the Red Sea Investors Association and a member of the delegation that visited Belarus and Ukraine with Minister of Tourism and Antiquities Khaled El-Anany earlier this week, said the ministers visits had encouraged tourism to Egypt. He added that El-Anany was preparing a set of decisions that would reflect positively on the tourism sector. Abu Ali said Egypts tourism sector would see a breath of fresh air in September, noting that the July figures had been better than expected and that the return of the German market would encourage other Western European countries to follow suit. The overhaul of the road network, the restoration of tourist sites such as Ain Al-Sira and Al-Muizz Street in Cairo, and the focus on museums and antiquities would all help Egypt regain its tourists, he said. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / GlobeX Data Ltd. (OTCQB:SWISF)(CSE:SWIS) ("GlobeX" or the "Company"), the leader in Swiss hosted cyber security and Internet privacy solutions for secure data management and secure communications, is pleased to announce that it is ready to launch its Sekur encrypted email and messaging security solution in August 2020. GlobeX will launch Sekur.com and its applications on the iOS AppStore and Google Play marketplace for Android devices at the same time. Demand for Sekur has been building up as consumers and businesses are looking at protecting their personal and business emails in light of increased BEC attacks and email phishing attacks. The Company is working with several marketing companies in order to identify premium consumers and business targets in the USA for direct email campaigns. The first marketing test campaign is planned to start in the second half of August with approximately 50,000 identified users. Cost for this marketing company is expected to be USD 3500 for the campaign and a credit card processing fee of approximately USD 0.70/account sold. Sekur will launch 3 pricing plans to start with more plans to follow. The plans are: SOLO, for single users at USD 9.99/month or USD 99.90/year; Team for up to 5 users at USD 59.99/month and USD 599.90/year and SME for up to 25 users at USD 299.99/month and USD 2,999.90/year. Both TEAM and SME plans come with private company domain registration and full migration of business emails from other ISP providers to the SekurMail platform and administrative features for businesses. Other features for business users will be developed as the solution evolves. According to Campaign Monitor, a leading Email Marketing company, the email open rates can vary depending on the subject line and the relevancy of the subject matter at an average open rate of 17.80%. The Click-through rate averages 2.6% of the open rate. Should the Company achieve similar results, the Company will increase its budget to target 1,000,000 users in order to acquire approx. 4,628 users generating monthly gross revenues of USD 46,233 and monthly net revenues of USD 42,994. The cost of acquiring the 1 million emails would be USD 35,000. Total acquisition cost at this conversion rate would be USD 38,290, generating a profit within the first month of the campaign. Sekur is the Company's Swiss hosted secure communications suite, which includes encrypted messaging with self-destruct timer powered by the Company's and an encrypted email service. The Company plans to push the Sekur brand as a secure communications suite in addition to its existing DigitalSafe brand which is the Company's document management and collaboration suite. Sekur will include 100GB of email and message storage and encrypted messaging with self-destruct timer. All data is hosted in Switzerland for ultimate privacy. Sekur will also come in other versions, Sekur Messenger for encrypted messaging only, Sekur Email which will only have encrypted email. Future releases of Sekur including voice and video encryption and video conferencing will be deployed in the next 12 months and will have different price points. The service will include the Company's proprietary and newly branded features called SekurSend and SekurReply anti-phishing encrypted email solution. SekurSend lets a user send an email to any other recipient, whether they have Sekur or not, in full privacy and security as the email never leaves Sekur's encrypted email servers based in Switzerland. The recipient can then click on the notification and reply in the same manner using SekurReply, without the recipient having to purchase Sekur. This is also a guarantee to eliminate BEC attacks for businesses and email phishing attacks. Additionally, Sekur will include the Company's latest technology, which include full control of email delivery, data export for SMB and large Enterprises and an automatic Data Loss Prevention technology ("DLP") with real time continuous archiving. One of the many Privacy and security features of Sekur is that the user does not register with their phone number, eliminating a huge loophole in security and privacy. Just recently, according to an article written by Lindsey O'Donnell and posted on the website threatpost.com on June 5 2020, it was disclosed that WhatsApp phone numbers and users were searchable on Google, creating a massive security and privacy breach. Earlier in the year, an article was written about a similar flaw affecting all businesses, NGOs, UN and non-profit organizations, where WhatsApp Group members were also compromised and searchable in a reverse engineering trick done on Google. Recent data breaches in messaging applications and in particular in the WhatsApp application have created a certain urgency for businesses to protect their communications form cyber-attacks and identity theft via mobile devices. Sekur eliminates many of the privacy and security risks by not only not requiring a phone number, which would divulge a user's phone device ID, but also by not social engineering a user's phone or computer contact list and infecting the contacts by default as well. Sekur issues each user a username and a SM number. The SM number is the contact ID a user would disclose in order for other SM users to be added. The service comes with a self-destruct timer and other features as well, including GlobeX's proprietary VirtualVaults and HeliX technologies with all data stored in Swiss hosted encrypted servers. GlobeX's Data privacy solutions are all hosted in Switzerland, protecting users' data from any outside data intrusion requests. In Switzerland, the right to privacy is guaranteed in article 13 of the Swiss Federal Constitution. The Federal Act on Data Protection ("FADP") of 19 June 1992 (in force since 1993) has set up a strict protection of privacy by prohibiting virtually any processing of personal data which is not expressly authorized by the data subjects. The protection is subject to the authority of the Federal Data Protection and Information Commissioner. Under Swiss federal law, it is a crime to publish information based on leaked "secret official discussions." In 2010 the Federal Supreme Court of Switzerland found that IP addresses are personal information and that under Swiss privacy laws they may not be used to track Internet usage without the knowledge of the individuals involved. About GlobeX Data Ltd. GlobeX Data Ltd. is a Cybersecurity and Internet privacy provider of Swiss hosted solutions for secure data management and secure communications. The Company distributes a suite of secure cloud-based storage, disaster recovery, document management, encrypted e-mails, and secure communication tools. GlobeX Data Ltd. sells its products through its approved wholesalers and distributors, and telecommunications companies worldwide. GlobeX Data Ltd. serves consumers, businesses and governments worldwide. On behalf of Management GLOBEX DATA LTD. Alain Ghiai President and Chief Executive Officer +1.416.644.8690 corporate@globexdatagroup.com For more information please contact GlobeX Data at corporate@globexdatagroup.com or visit us at https://globexdatagroup.com. For more information on Sekur visit us at: https://www.sekur.com. For more information on DigitalSafe visit us at: https://digitalsafe.com. Forward Looking Information This news release contains certain forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities laws ("forward-looking statements"). All statements other than statements of present or historical fact are forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are often, but not always, identified by the use of words such as "anticipate", "achieve", "could", "believe", "plan", "intend", "objective", "continuous", "ongoing", "estimate", "outlook", "expect", "project" and similar words, including negatives thereof, suggesting future outcomes or that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. These statements are only predictions. These statements reflect management's current estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations; they are not guaranteeing future performance. GlobeX cautions that all forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain and that actual performance may be affected by a number of material factors, many of which are beyond GlobeX's control. Such factors include, among other things: risks and uncertainties relating to the future of the Company's business; the success of marketing and sales efforts of the Company; the projections prepared in house and projections delivered by channel partners; the Company's ability to complete the necessary software updates; increases in sales as a result of investments software development technology; consumer interest in the Products; future sales plans and strategies; reliance on large channel partners and expectations of renewals to ongoing agreements with these partners; anticipated events and trends; the economy and other future conditions; and other risks and uncertainties, including those described in GlobeX's prospectus dated May 8, 2019 filed with the Canadian Securities Administrators and available on www.sedar.com. Accordingly, actual and future events, conditions and results may differ materially from the estimates, beliefs, intentions and expectations expressed or implied in the forward-looking information. Except as required under applicable securities legislation, GlobeX undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise forward-looking information. SOURCE: GlobeX Data Ltd. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598200/GlobeX-Data-to-Launch-a-Highly-Secure-Email-and-Messaging-Security-Application-in-the-USA Head of Public Relations for Ghana Mission UN, Mr. Kofi Ameyaw says the Member of Parliament (MP) for Awutu Senya East Constituency in the Central Region, Hon. Mavis Hawa Koomson did not commit any crime for firing warning shots to defend herself. According to him, she needs to be praised for her brave move to defend her life. " . . Mavis Hawa Koomson needs to be praised for acting by the laws of the State, she has not committed any crime as some citizens claim, but have acted according to law," he lamented. Mr. Ameyaw insisted that the swift and lawful move taken by the Special Development Initiative Minister he believes "curbed" the misunderstanding incident at the Steps to Christ polling station at Kasoa, otherwise it would have been more disastrous than this. Police have since arrested four persons in connection with the incident. Eyewitnesses say at least 15 persons had surrounded the MP before the warning shots were fired. Listen to him in the video below Madam Hawa Koomson, MP for the Awutu Senya East and Minister for Special Development Initiatives admitted she fired a gun at a voters' registration centre in her constituency.She explained that none of the men in her company at the time of the incident was armed when they got to the centre.I fired the shots myself, she admitted.According to the Special Development Initiatives Minister, she took the firearm which she refused to identify to the registration centre to protect herself.The MP said she had gone to the registration centre because she heard her opponent had gone against the law to bus people from other places to register. Source: Elizabeth Semiheva Bedi, 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 BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Tamilla Mammadova Trend: Georgian government will take steps to compensate for loss of seasonal employment in neighboring countries, Trend reports referring to Georgian media. "Citizens of Georgia who used to do seasonal work abroad before the pandemic may be able to find seasonal jobs in their home country," said Agriculture Minister of Georgia Levan Davitashvili. As he noted, seasonal workers will be needed in the agriculture sector of Georgia in the regions of Kakheti, Kartli and Samegrelo. "As of today, the Kakheti region of Georgia is very active where about 200 people are employed in storing peaches. We have managed to mobilize the labor force in Kakheti. New perspectives for domestic employment are emerging in all different parts of the country. Seasonal work, which was very in demand for our population in neighboring countries, may be replaced by jobs offered in Georgia'', said Davitashvili. Currently, about 2,000 people are employed in seasonal work related to peaches and nectarines harvest. Davitatashvili said that the grape and hazelnut harvest is approaching and the labor force will be needed again. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 The city on Monday blamed the Texas General Land office for the sluggish pace of repairs under its federally funded Hurricane Harvey home repair program, telling a Travis County state district judge the agency was slow-walking Houstons recovery through bureaucratic maneuvers. The fact that the GLO did not us give us clear guidance at the beginning as it relates to what it wanted, the fact that the GLO is wanting items that go well beyond what HUD requires, and the fact that the GLO has consistently moved the targets in terms of what they're expecting from the city has caused significant delays, Houston Housing Department Director Tom McCasland said. City officials aired the accusations during the first day of a hearing over the GLOs move to assume control of nearly $1.3 billion in recovery funds granted to Houston by the U.S. Housing Department. Court proceedings were set to continue Tuesday, when state District Judge Tim Sulak is expected to make a ruling on the citys request for a temporary injunction to block the takeover. The hearing, which began nearly two weeks after the city sued the land office and Land Commissioner George P. Bush, centered around dueling and sometimes pointed testimony from Heather Lagrone, the GLOs deputy director of community development and revitalization, and McCasland. Lagrone and Melissa Mather, an attorney representing the GLO from the Texas Attorney Generals Office, contended the land office would serve as a more efficient broker of the citys homeowner assistance program, which provides repairs, rehabilitation and reconstruction of Harvey-damaged homes. They characterized the citys response, which includes just 65 completed repairs, as sluggish compared to the GLOs more than 1,300 repairs in the 48 other counties impacted by Harvey. McCasland countered that the city remains on track to spend the money by the August 2024 deadline, at which point officials would have to return unspent funds to the U.S. Housing Department. He acknowledged the housing program has been beset with delays, but said the slow pace stems from the GLO demanding excessive details from the city and otherwise slow-walking the citys recovery. City officials argued that Houstons program has moved slower than the states because it prioritizes low-income, elderly and disabled residents, while the GLO administers its program on a first-come, first-served basis. The funding that has been received is not enough to help every resident within the city who needs to recover, and so without prioritization...families who are most vulnerable will be left behind, McCasland said. Lagrone said GLO officials have met with the city numerous times and provided all the technical assistance that we could have. She also said the GLO still would hit federally required benchmarks for serving low-income residents, by serving residents in the lowest income bracket at the same time it is performing repairs for residents in the three upper brackets. The city specifically set aside 17 percent of their money, for their single-family housing program, for people earning less than 30 percent of the area median income, Lagrone said. We are tracking that same 17 percent, but unlike the city only working in that first bucket were working in all four buckets simultaneously. Bush has said he is seeking control of the citys homeowner assistance program which, at more than $400 million, is its largest recovery program but may let Turners administration negotiate the possible retention of the programs that make up the remaining funds, such as its multifamily rental and home buyer assistance programs. The citys request for a temporary restraining order to halt the takeover was denied shortly after it filed the lawsuit earlier this month. jasper.scherer@chron.com LONDONProf. Chris Whitty, Britains chief medical adviser, stood before an auditorium in a London museum two years ago cataloguing deadly epidemics. From the Black Death of the 14th century to cholera in war-torn Yemen, it was a baleful history. But Whitty, who had spent most of his career fighting infectious diseases in Africa, was reassuring. Britain, he said, had a special protection. Being rich, he explained. Wealth massively hardens a society against epidemics, he argued, and quality of life food, housing, water and health care was more effective than any medicine at stopping the diseases that ravaged the developing world. Whittys confidence was hardly unique. As recently as February, when European health ministers met in Brussels to discuss the coronavirus emerging in China, they commended their own health systems and promised to send aid to poor and developing countries. Responsibility is incumbent on us, not only for Italy and Europe, but also for the African continent, said Roberto Speranza, Italys health minister. The European Union should be ready for support, agreed Maggie De Block, Belgiums then health minister. Barely a month later, the continent was overwhelmed. Instead of merely providing aid to former colonies, Western Europe became an epicentre of the pandemic. Officials once boastful about their preparedness were frantically trying to secure protective gear and materials for tests, as death rates soared in Britain, France, Spain, Italy and Belgium. This was not supposed to happen. The expertise and resources of Western Europe were expected to provide the antidote to viral outbreaks flowing out of poorer regions. Many European leaders felt so secure after the last pandemic the 2009 swine flu that they scaled back stockpiles of equipment and faulted medical experts for overreacting. But that confidence would prove their undoing. Their pandemic plans were built on a litany of miscalculations and false assumptions. European leaders boasted of the superiority of their world-class health systems but had weakened them with a decade of cutbacks. When COVID-19 arrived, those systems were unable to test widely enough to see the peak coming or to guarantee the safety of health care workers after it hit. Accountability mechanisms proved toothless. Thousands of pages of national pandemic planning turned out to be little more than exercises in bureaucratic busy work. Officials in some countries barely consulted their plans; in other countries, leaders ignored warnings about how quickly a virus could spread. European Union checks of each countrys readiness had become rituals of self-congratulation. Mathematical models used to predict pandemic spreads and to shape government policy fed a false sense of security. National stockpiles of medical supplies were revealed to exist mostly on paper, consisting in large part of just in time contracts with manufacturers in China. European planners overlooked the risk that a pandemic, by its global nature, could disrupt those supply chains. National wealth was powerless against worldwide shortages. Belgium, by some measures, has the worlds highest death rate. Italys wealthiest region was shattered. Frances much-praised health system was reduced to relying on military helicopters to rescue patients from overcrowded hospitals. Britain, though, most embodies Europes miscalculations because of the countrys great pride in its expertise and readiness. Prime Minister Boris Johnson was so confident that Britains modellers could forecast the epidemic with precision, records and testimony show, that he delayed locking down the country for days or weeks after most of Europe. He waited until two weeks after British emergency rooms began to buckle under the strain. With the number of infections doubling every three days at the time, some scientists now say that locking down a week sooner might have saved 30,000 lives. Whitty, 54, initially praised in British newspapers as the reassuring geek-in-chief, has declined to speak publicly about his role in those decisions. His friends say the government has set him up to take the blame. The politicians say they are following the science and then if they make the wrong decisions it is on him, said professor David Mabey of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, a friend and colleague. I am not sure the politicians listen to him. Critics, though, say it is impossible to absolve the governments scientific advisers of shared responsibility. They thought they could be more clever than other countries, said professor Devi Sridhar, an epidemiologist at the University of Edinburgh. They thought they could outsmart the virus. Sir David King, a former British chief science officer, said, The word arrogance comes to mind, I am afraid. He added: What hubris. False Alarm Fear swept the continent. It was spring of 2009 and a new virus that became known as swine flu had infected hundreds and killed dozens in Mexico. European vacationers swarmed airports to get home. Experts recalled the flu pandemic of 1918, which killed as many as 50 million people around the world. European governments sprang into action. France asked the EU to cut off travel to Mexico and began buying doses of vaccine for everyone in the country. British hospitals enlisted retired health workers and distributed stockpiled masks, gloves and aprons. Every country in Europe had drawn up and rehearsed its own detailed pandemic plan, often running into the hundreds of pages. Britains plans read like the script of a horror movie, if written in the language of a bureaucrat. More than 1.3 million people could be hospitalized and 800,000 could die. Trying to contain the pandemic would be a waste of public health resources. These doomsday scenarios drew on a new subspecialty of epidemiology pioneered by British scientists: using abstruse mathematical models to project the path of a contagious disease. One early disciple, Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, had assumed a preeminence in British health policy. Ferguson was an Oxford-trained physicist who shifted to mathematical epidemiology in the 1990s, after watching a close friends brother die of AIDS. An epidemic of foot-and-mouth disease among livestock in Britain in 2001 was the first time policy-makers relied on such modelling while addressing an outbreak. Over the objections of veterinarians, Fergusons work guided policy-makers to preventively slaughter more than six million pigs, sheep and cattle. Later studies concluded most of the killing was needless. A review commissioned by the government urged that policy-makers must not rely on the model to make a decision for them. Muddlers, we call them, said Alex Donaldson, then head of Britains Pirbright Laboratory of the Institute for Animal Health. In future epidemics the first thing that should be done is to lock up the predictive modellers. Yet when swine flu emerged, British leaders again turned to Ferguson and the large modelling department he had built at Imperial College. He projected that swine flu, in a reasonable worst case, could kill nearly 70,000. Elected officials were horrified. Johnson, then mayor of London, presided over frantic meetings bracing for the absence from work of nearly half the citys police officers and subway drivers. It is impossible to say how bad it will be, Johnson warned soberly. But the modellers reasonable worst case was wildly off. Swine flu ended up killing fewer than 500 people in Britain, less than in a seasonal flu. Dr. Catherine Snelson, then completing her training in critical care at a Birmingham hospital, had been assigned to help transfer out excess patients. We actually sat there doing nothing, she recalled. Hollowing Out Some experts now say Europe learned the wrong lesson from the swine flu. It created some kind of complacency, said professor Steven Van Gucht, a virologist involved in the Belgian response. Oh, a pandemic again? We have a good health system. We can cope with this. It also coincided with Europes worst economic slump in decades. French legislators were furious at the cost of buying millions of doses of vaccines and faulted the government for needlessly stockpiling more than 1.7 billion protective masks. To cut costs, France, Britain and other governments shifted more of their stockpiles to just in time contracts. Health officials assumed that even in a crisis they could buy what they needed on the international market, typically from China, which manufactures more than half the worlds masks. By the start of 2020, Frances supply of masks had fallen by more than 90 per cent, to just 150 million. The idea of a government warehousing medical supplies came to seem outdated, said Francis Delattre, a French senator who raised alarms about dependence on China. Our fate was put into the hands of a foreign dictatorship. France has a superiority complex, Delattre added, especially when it comes to the health sector. Two years after swine flu, Britain scattered three quarters of its spending for public health to local governments, where it was harder to track and more easily diverted. Four hundred health experts warned in an open letter that decentralization would disrupt, fragment and weaken the countrys public health capabilities, and in the following years per capita spending on public health steadily declined. A national network that had once included 52 laboratories was eventually reduced to two national facilities and a handful of regional centres primarily serving the internal needs of regional hospitals. Health officials also chose to limit stockpiles of protective equipment to deal with an influenza outbreak: enough for use during certain procedures in hospitals, but not for more general use, emergency rooms, doctors offices, or nursing homes. Scientists knew a coronavirus like severe acute respiratory syndrome or MERS could require more equipment. Its pretty difficult to build a stockpile for something youve not seen before, said Dr. Ben Killingley, an infectious disease expert who advises the government on what to stockpile. It depends how much you want to spend on your insurance. On the surface, Europes defences still looked robust. EU reviews of each countrys pandemic readiness seemed to provide oversight, but the process was misleading. National governments barred the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control from setting bench marks or pointing out deficiencies. So the agencys public remarks were almost unfailingly positive. Britain, Spain and Greece were lauded for their highly motivated experts, trusted expert organizations and confidence in the system. We couldnt say, You should have this, said Arthur Bosman, a former agency trainer. The advice and the assessment had to be phrased in an observation. Collapse On Jan. 28, British scientists raised an alarm. The expanding epidemic was setting off a global run on personal protective equipment, specifically on the face-covering mechanical hoods that provide the gold standard of safety. A decision to stock up any later could pose a risk in terms of availability, warned the governments respiratory virus advisory panel. It is unclear when Britain began in earnest to try to augment its supplies of protective equipment. The Health Ministry has said only that it began unspecified discussions and orders during the week beginning Jan. 27. But Matt Hancock, the health secretary, later acknowledged that by the time Britain began buying, the spike in global demand had made protective equipment precious and procurement a huge challenge. The Doctors Association UK, an advocacy group, later said it received more than 1,300 complaints from doctors at more than 260 hospitals about inadequate protective equipment. At least 300 British health workers eventually died after contracting COVID-19. We worry that some died because of a lack of personal protective equipment, said Dr. Rinesh Parmar, the groups chair. It was very short-sighted to think that supply lines would continue to China. On the continent, governments that had resisted bench marks from the European centre for disease control now flooded the agency with desperate questions, including about what equipment to stock. The agency published a list of what was needed on Feb. 7, but by then global supplies had all but run out. It was already way more than what they could get their hands on, said Dr. Agoritsa Baka, a senior doctor at the European centre. In Belgium, a shortage of masks became so desperate that King Philippe personally brokered a donation from Chinese tech company Alibaba. European and global health officials had thoroughly reviewed Belgiums pandemic plan over the years. But when COVID-19 hit, Belgian officials did not even consult it. It has never been used, said Dr. Emmanuel Andre, who was drafted to help lead the countrys coronavirus response. In France, President Emmanuel Macron tacitly acknowledged the depletion of the governments stockpile at the beginning of March by requisitioning all the masks in the country. But he still insisted France was ready. We are not going to stop life in France, his spokeswoman assured radio listeners. Ten days later, Macron declared a state of war and ordered a strict lockdown. I dont understand why we were not prepared, said Dr. Matthieu Lafaurie, of the Saint-Louis hospital in Paris. It was very surprising that every country had to realize itself what was going on, as if they didnt have the examples of other countries. In Britain, Johnson told the public to stay confident and calm. But, the same day, Feb. 11, the governments Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies, or SAGE, privately concluded that the countrys diminished public health system was incapable of widespread COVID-19 testing, even by the end of the year. It is not possible, the groups minutes note. British scientists and officials nonetheless thought they knew better than other countries, like China and South Korea. Those countries were driving down the infection rate by imposing lockdowns. British science advisers thought such restrictions were short-sighted. Unless the restrictions were permanent, any reduction of the epidemic would be lost to a second peak, SAGE concluded, according to its minutes and three participants. Britain reported its first death from the virus on March 5. Across Europe, the number of confirmed cases was doubling every three days. Much of northern Italy was already locked down. Testifying that day before a parliamentary committee, Whitty, the chief medical adviser, was steady and comforting. Slightly hunched over a table in a small hearing room, he told lawmakers to place their trust in Britains modellers. They were the best in the world, he said. We will be able to model this out, as it starts to accelerate, with a fair degree of confidence. Despite alarming reports from Italy, he said, there was no way yet to predict the virus ultimate punch. But he emphasized that Britain had quite a long period before the outbreak would peak, and said modelling would allow the government to wait until the latest possible moment before imposing social restrictions. We are keen not to intervene, he said, until the point when we absolutely have to. Johnson was even more sanguine. It should be business as usual for the overwhelming majority of people, he said that day in a television interview. But doctors in British hospitals were already feeling rising pressure. Intensive care wards were pushed to more than double their capacity in Birmingham, London and elsewhere. It became clear that the pandemic plan wasnt going to cut it, said Jonathan Brotherton, chief operating officer of University Hospitals Birmingham, Englands largest health system. Reckoning Britain, Spain, Belgium, France and Italy have now reported some of the highest per capita death tolls in the world. More than 30,000 people have died in France, and Macron has admitted his government was unprepared. This moment, lets be honest, has revealed cracks, shortages, he said. After 44,000 coronavirus deaths in Britain, officials continue to defend their actions. The governments response allowed us to protect the vulnerable and ensured that the National Health Service was not overwhelmed even at the virus peak, a health department spokesman said. But Johnson has admitted that his government had responded sluggishly, like in that recurring bad dream when you are telling your feet to run and your feet wont move. Several scientific advisers have sought to distance themselves from his policies. Ferguson said in an interview that the decision not to intervene earlier was made by the government and health officials not the modellers. They came back to us and say, Can you model this? Can you model that? he said. And we did. He insisted that he had warned privately in early March that Britains insufficient testing meant the scientists did not have enough information to track the epidemic. Across Europe, he said, more testing would have been the single thing which would have made the biggest difference. Other scientists say the intensive care reports in early March should have been reason enough to lock down without waiting for more testing or models. But there is another lesson to learn, said Andre, who spent years fighting epidemics in Africa before advising Belgium on the coronavirus. They keep on telling countries what they should do, very clearly. But all these experts, when it happens in your own countries? Theres nothing, he said. One lesson to learn is humility. As a family that supports and cares for one another, NFIs core values are driven by its dedication to its employees and community. NFI, a top supply chain solutions provider, was recently named to Philadelphia Business Journals largest employer list. Published in the July issue, the list is ranked by the number of local employees, establishing NFI 18th out of 120 companies with 2,400 employees in the Philadelphia region. Founded by the Brown family in 1932, NFI continues to grow as a premier 3PL and employer in North America, with more than 13,000 associates across 300 operations. As the largest 3PL in the Philadelphia region, the company spans 30 distribution and transportation locations throughout the area in addition to its state-of-the-art corporate office in Camden, N.J. that opened in June 2019. As a family that supports and cares for one another, NFIs core values are driven by its dedication to its employees and community, said Sid Brown, CEO of NFI. NFIs diverse employee base continues to bring new perspectives and ideas to advance the company and bring innovative solutions to our customers. We look forward to continued growth within the Philadelphia area. NFI has also been recognized by the Philadelphia Business Journal as a Top Family-owned Business, ranking fourth on the 2019 list. With a commitment to social responsibility, NFIs core value of family is evident in its support of various philanthropic efforts throughout the Philadelphia area, such as the Cristo Rey Philadelphia High School Work Study Program, Bike MS: City to Shore, The Preston and Steve Shows Camp Out for Hunger, and other local events and initiatives. The companys business lines include dedicated transportation, distribution, brokerage, transportation management, port drayage, intermodal, global logistics, and real estate. To support its suite of supply chain solutions, NFI offers diverse career opportunities within the Philadelphia region, spanning drivers, warehouse associates, and corporate personnel. View the full list from Philadelphia Business Journal here. # # # About NFI -- NFI is a fully integrated North American supply chain solutions provider headquartered in Camden, N.J. Privately held by the Brown family since its inception in 1932, NFI generates more than $2 billion in annual revenue and employs more than 13,000 associates. NFI owns facilities globally and operates approximately 50 million square feet of warehouse and distribution space. Its dedicated fleet consists of over 3,000 tractors and 12,500 trailers operated by 3,000 company drivers and leveraging partnerships with 400 owner operators. NFI has a significant drayage presence at nearly every major U.S. port, leveraging the services of an additional 1,500 owner operators. The companys business lines include dedicated transportation, distribution, brokerage, transportation management, port drayage, intermodal, global logistics, and real estate. For more information about NFI, visit http://www.nfiindustries.com or call 1-877-NFI-3777. Combating the Threat of Business Email Compromise According to the FBI, business email compromise (BEC) cost U.S. organizations more than $1.7 billion last year. According to Gartner, BEC phishing attacks will double every year. These two statistics about tell you that BEC is the single biggest cause of cybersecurity-related financial losses, and it continues to grow rapidly. Fortunately, there is work that can be done to combat it. In this white paper, read about some of the key challenges business face when it comes to email security, the different types of BEC attacks, and how to be prepared for coming threats. Womens lives have been devastated by the catastrophic rise in the state pension age, the Court of Appeal has heard. Almost four million women were affected by increasing the state pension age from 60 to 66 for women born after March 1950. BackTo60, a campaign group calling for full restitution for women affected by the changes, lost its landmark High Court battle after taking the government to court over the state pension age hike but appealed the ruling on Tuesday. Julie Delve and Karen Glynn, two women hit by the pension age rise who took the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) to court back in 2019, have now launched a challenge at the Court of Appeal. The women, who are both in their sixties and supported by BackTo60, argue increasing their pension age unlawfully discriminated against them on the basis of age and sex, and they were not provided with sufficient notice of the pension overhaul. Recommended Seven women explain why they want pension age dropped to 60 Michael Mansfield QC, representing the women, said the impact of the state pension age change has been dramatic, adding: This has been catastrophic for this group. Speaking at a virtual Court of Appeal hearing on Tuesday morning, Mr Mansfield told three senior judges: We have a group of essentially, economically and emotionally, disenfranchised women. So it is against that background that we do submit that there are grounds for discrimination. Mr Mansfield said that alongside the economic, almost poverty line existence that they have to face, there is also the psychological mental stress placed upon them which reduces many people unable to even do what they need to do to make ends meet. He referred to makeshift measures that women may have to resort to in order to survive, such as selling their home or using up savings. Recommended Surge in women claiming universal credit and out of work benefits Mr Mansfield described the six-year wait that women have from 60 to 66 as a considerable period of time which translates to a considerable sum of money around the 8,000 mark if it is a full pension, leading to losses that could run up to about 50,000. Mr Mansfield said it is not uncommon for women in this age group to face straitened circumstances, particularly for single women who have had low-paid, part-time jobs. He also said another common feature for women in this age group is for them to be responsible for their elderly or infirm parents. Mr Mansfield pointed out that men born in 1953 were offered auto credit, a scheme which he said survived until recently and was availed of by approximately four million men. In his written submissions, Mr Mansfield said the appellants are women born in the 1950s who seek to challenge both the legislative measures which raised the age at which they can receive their state pensions and the inadequate notice they and other affected women received of the changes. Recommended Covid recovery will prompt huge hike in state pension payments He added: The legislation equalises the state pension age of men and women. Whilst a woman born before April 6 1950 continued to receive her state pension at age 60, the state pension age for women born after that date was raised progressively, to 65 initially for those born after October 5 1954. Subsequently, the pension age for both men and women was raised from 65 to 66, 67 or 68 depending on age. Mr Mansfields submissions say Ms Delve expected to receive her state pension at age 60 in 2018, but as a result of the changes, she will not receive it until she is 66, in 2024. Ms Glynn expected to receive her state pension at age 60 in 2016, but will not now receive it until she is 66 in 2022. Joanne Welch, founder and campaign director at BackTo60, said: There is no doubt in our minds that this is discrimination and we demand the return of our earned dues. The state pension age rise was accelerated in 2010 and saw women reach parity with men, at 65, in 2018. The United Nations has previously said women hit by the state pension age change are at increased risk of poverty, homelessness and financial hardship as a result with many such women having been made to work through the coronavirus crisis despite being at risk of severe complications from the life-threatening illness due to their age. Last October, Lord Justice Irwin and Mrs Justice Whipple dismissed the womens claim on all grounds. The court rejected the claimants argument that the policy was discriminatory based on age, adding that, even if it was, it could be justified on the facts, and also dismissed their contention that they were not given adequate notice of the changes. The appeal is due to continue on Wednesday and the judges are expected to give their ruling at a later date. Earlier in the month, The Independent reported the number of women aged 60 and over claiming universal credit and out of work benefits increased by almost five times in the last six years with campaigners attributing this sharp rise to pension age reform. The rise of women making claims for such benefits which soared from 7,578 to 36,527 between 2013 and 2019 was almost three times more than men who are aged 60 and over. A major report by Kings College London which came out in May found adjustments made to the state pension age have triggered a 30 per cent rise in the likelihood of experiencing depressive symptoms for women doing physically and psychosocially onerous jobs. Researchers said these roles were defined by the mixture of high demands and low levels of control explaining around a third of women work in these sorts of positions, which involve toiling away in restaurants, sales, personal care, housekeeping, machine operation and cleaning. Additional reporting by Press Association All France today turned its thoughts northward, following their Majesties to Villers-Bretonneux for the unveiling of the Australian memorial. The festivities marking their Majesties visit to Paris were replaced by a more solemn mood, as thousands of Australians and Britons turned their steps to the scene from dawn. It was a day of sacred homage to France, represented by the greatest military display seen in the north for many long years. It was an opportunity to not only pay a tribute to the Australian deed, but to endorse Anglo-French accord. Unbroken ranks of 30,000 troops strung out for miles round the memorial in order to safeguard their Majesties. Thousands were waist deep in golden corn, the khaki lines disappearing below the memorial in a summer haze. Above throngs of troops and civilians a choir of countless larks, for which the district is famous, kept up a constant trill, and shot down frequently as if to vie with the military bands, which played for an hour before the ceremony. France has displayed particular pleasure at the presence of such distinguished people from Australia and Great Britain, and gave Lord Gowrie, the Governor-General, a special welcome. Sir E. Page, Mr. R. G. Menzies, Mr. T. W. White and Mr. S. M. Bruce participated in a great display at Amiens after their arrival in the morning. Madame Lebrun, farewelling the Queen expressed regret that she was not accompanying her. She added, I wish you bon voyage. You have warmed the hearts of Paris and all French people. The Royal party reached Villers-Bretonneux at 1:30 pm. When they reached the memorial the National Anthem was played and sung, and the King inspected the Australian Guard of Honor comprising ex-service men. The memorial at Viller-Bretonneux. The leader of the Australian Ministerial delegation, Sir Earl Page, in inviting his Majesty to unveil the memorial said: It is my privilege, on behalf of the Government and people of Australia, to request your Majesty to unveil this memorial to the armies of Australia which fought in France and Flanders, 11,000 of whom have no known grave. On such an occasion our minds inevitably go back to the dark days of the Great War. We are reminded of the tragedy and suffering it caused, and are convinced of the futility of war, to which that memory bears witness. The memorial also reminds us, however, of the heroism, self-sacrifice and comradeship those years called forth. Thousands of Australians are listening with feelings of great emotion to the ceremony of dedicating this sacred ground, knowing that these were the qualities and principles which inspired and guided those whose memory we honor today. The monument will recall to future generations of Frenchmen the days when the armies of France and the British Empire fought side by side for great ideals. Your presence, Monsieur le President, and the provision of this site, are an eloquent testimony that our nations still stand shoulder to shoulder for the maintenance of the ideals for which so many of our people laid down their lives. Your Majesty, I invite you to dedicate this memorial. Kings Speech at Unveiling His Majesty, performing the unveiling, said: It is a great privilege for me to unveil this noble monument, and, in the name of Australia, to welcome the presence among us of the President of the French Republic, the head of this great people on whose soil we are now standing, and where the events we recall today have bound us with ties that the passing of the years can never weaken. On this monument is an inscription telling us and others who will visit this hill in the years to come, that it perpetuates the memory of the Australian Imperial Forces in France and Flanders, and 11,000 of them who fell in France had no known graves, but there is in these stones, as there was in the very sacrifice they commemorate, a deeper and fuller significance. What we see before us is more than a tribute to the gallant services of a splendid army it is a symbol marking the first entry into history of a young and vigorous nation the gateway which Australia passed from youth to manhood. A century and a half ago a new land of peaceful promise was revealed to your forefathers in the vast continent of Australia as the years drew on and the settlers availed themselves of the gifts of Nature the promise was fulfilled, and the prosperity in the golden age seemed to have become the certain birthright of every Australian man and woman. Peace and plenty were abroad in the land. Although unity had been achieved in federation, there was as yet no outward stress to weld the people together, so that Australia might take her rightful place in the community nations. In 1914 the call came. The trial was made and Australias response was unhesitating and sure. Her chivalry hastened toward Europe, and before the four long years of war ended no fewer than five divisions of citizen soldiers were engaged in its several theatres. At Gallipoli they won their spurs. Henceforth they were veterans, and their quality was unquestioned by friend or foe. The long, glorious record of their later achievements holds none more resounding than those which link their names with Villers-Bretonneux. To them was allotted the task in 1918 of recapturing the town a vital, strategic point. NEW YORK, July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- WeissLaw LLP is investigating possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of law by the board of directors of GlobalSCAPE, Inc. ("GSB" or the "Company") (NYSE American: GSB) in connection with the proposed acquisition of the Company by HelpSystems, LLC ("HelpSystems"). Under the terms of the acquisition agreement, which has been structured as a tender offer, GSB shareholders will receive $9.50 in cash for each share of GSB common stock that they own. If you own GSB shares and wish to discuss this investigation or have any questions concerning this notice or your rights or interests, visit our website: http://www.weisslawllp.com/globalscape-inc/ Or please contact: Joshua Rubin, Esq. WeissLaw LLP 1500 Broadway, 16th Floor New York, NY 10036 (212) 682-3025 (888) 593-4771 [email protected] WeissLaw is investigating whether GSB's board was truly independent and acted to maximize shareholder value in agreeing to the proposed transaction, whether the board was fully informed as to the valuation of the proposed acquisition of the Company, and whether all information regarding the valuation of the deal will be fully and fairly disclosed to GSB shareholders. Notably, Company management and other insiders and their affiliates collectively hold approximately 33% of GSB's outstanding common shares and have agreed to tender those shares in the transaction, calling into question the independence of GSB's board and whether the deal is in the best interest of GSB shareholders. WeissLaw LLP has litigated hundreds of stockholder class and derivative actions for violations of corporate and fiduciary duties. We have recovered over a billion dollars for defrauded clients and obtained important corporate governance relief in many of these cases. If you have information or would like legal advice concerning possible corporate wrongdoing (including insider trading, waste of corporate assets, accounting fraud, or materially misleading information), consumer fraud (including false advertising, defective products, or other deceptive business practices), or anti-trust violations, please email us at [email protected] SOURCE WeissLaw LLP Related Links http://weisslawllp.com WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump is awarding the nations highest civilian honour to Jim Ryun, a former Kansas congressman who was the first high school runner to clock a mile in under 4 minutes. Trump is scheduled to honour the three-time Olympian with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the White House on Friday. The Wichita native entered the record books in 1964 at age 17 by becoming the first high school runner to break the 4-minute barrier in the mile with a time of 3 minutes, 59 seconds. Ryun, now 73, went on to compete in three Olympic Games, winning a silver medal in 1968 in Mexico City. He later served 10 years in the U.S. House of Representatives. The White House said Ryun is one of the most accomplished American runners. The Presidential Medal of Freedom is awarded to individuals who have made meritorious contributions to the security or national interests of the United States, to world peace, or to cultural or other significant public or private endeavours, the White House said. The Nigerian government said it has concluded plans to carry out COVID-19 tests for five million Nigerian farmers across the different regions in the country. This was disclosed by the Minister of Agriculture and Rural Development, Sabo Nanono, on Tuesday, while delivering his keynote speech on the theme, Technological interventions in mitigating impacts of COVID-19, during a virtual meeting with major players in the sector. I am happy to announce that plans are in place to test five million Nigerian farmers as part of Mr Presidents mandate for famine inhibiting food production, he said. The minister did not disclose the plans for a country that has tested less than 300,000 people for COVID-19 since February when it had its index case. An earlier announcement by the health minister, Osagie Ehanire, for the country to test two million people in three months could not be achieved. On Tuesday, Mr Nanono highlighted some of the major roles biotechnology has played in achieving food security. He said modern biotechnology is a crucial tool in the drive to produce plants and animals that possess traits capable of enhancing humanitys capacity to secure its food systems. He said with the aid of biotechnology, the shelf life of agricultural produce can be extended. Indeed, without the galvanising power of biotechnology, processing and value addition, which are critical for agro-industrialisation would be retarded, he added. He said the ministry will continue to support investments in science and technology. The minister said he had directed the commencement of a comprehensive appraisal of the Nigerian agricultural research system, with a view to identifying ways of enhancing the performance of research institutions. READ ALSO: He noted that the management and staff of these institutions are hereby requested to join hands with the governments in seeking technology-based solutions to existing problems such as low yield, pest and insect infestation, as well as post-harvest losses. Emphasis should also be placed on demand-driven beneficial technologies, he added. In his remarks, Yemi Akinbamijo, the executive director, Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA), said Nigeria is a significant player in the promotion of Sustainable Development Goals in the continent. He said Nigeria has the wherewithal to deploy technology that will not allow Nigerians go to bed hungry every night*. I believe very strongly that Nigeria is an emerging leader to deploy technology, he said. We will not do well if we continue to plant grains instead of seed. We will not do well if we continue to broaden the yield gap, he said. He said even as COVID-19 is causing job losses, there are more opportunities in the agricultural sector to be leveraged upon. One plus one should not be two, it should be greater than three or more. Tissue culture is the way to go, he said. Also, Alex Akpa, director general, National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA), said biotechnology can help improve agricultural crop productivity which could help avert a looming food crisis triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic. He said plans are ongoing to produce over one million yam seeds which would be made available to farmers for cultivation in due course. Others who joined the session were, Rose Gidado, country director, Open Forum on Agriculture Biotechnology (OFAB); Mohammed Ishaku, director, Institute for Agricultural Research (IAR), among others When the Covid-19 pandemic began to spread rapidly across the globe, scientists expressed concern that people living with HIV would be particularly severely affected. This was because those with compromised immune systems are at increased risk of acquiring infections. A healthcare worker in a protective suit is seen at a quarantine and isolation centre in Johannesburg, South Africa. How one pandemic affects another Social determinants This would be a particular concern for countries like South Africa, the epicentre of the HIV epidemic On the other hand, the experience gained from South Africas mature HIV epidemic might allow for a strengthened response to the Covid-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 response is largely built on existing infrastructure, a wealth of scientific and medical expertise and community mobilisation to control the dual HIV and tuberculosis (TB) epidemics.It is still too early to say much about the medical effect of HIV on patients with Covid-19 or vice versa. But some of the social and economic aspects of the relationship between the two pandemics are becoming clearer. These were highlighted at the 23rd International Aids Conference , held virtually in mid-July 2020.The effect of the Covid-19 pandemic on the continuum of care in HIV is emerging as a substantial and longstanding one with dire consequences. It poses threats to HIV prevention, testing and treatment. As public health researchers, we are concerned that Covid-19s rapid transmissibility and the impending threat to overwhelm already fragile healthcare facilities is endangering the gains made with HIV.Worldwide, there are an estimated 38 million people living with HIV. South Africa accounts for about 20% of global HIV infections. In recent years, the country has made enormous strides in prevention, access to care and treatment of HIV. South Africa currently manages the worlds largest antiretroviral therapy (ART) programme.But now, just eight months after the first reports of a pneumonia outbreak later named Covid-19 in Wuhan, China, there are more than 13 million Covid-19 cases and almost 600,000 deaths globally. South Africa is experiencing a surge of cases and by mid-July had over 4,000 deaths.Like other countries around the world, South Africa responded with a lockdown to slow the rate of infection and prepare the healthcare system. But the redirection of resources has had enormous consequences for the provision of healthcare services for other diseases, in particular HIV programmes.The impact will be felt in prevention efforts, access to medication, and other forms of care. There could be medical complications and a higher risk of drug resistance in not only HIV, but also TB.Global lockdowns affect supply and transportation of medicines due to travel restrictions and flight cancellations. National lockdowns restrict movement of individuals and access to healthcare services. It may be more difficult for people to get HIV testing, treatment initiation, barrier contraception, medical male circumcision and treatment of other sexually transmitted diseases.Modelling studies from the World Health Organisation (WHO) and UNAIDS have estimated that a six-month disruption of ART could result in half a million additional deaths due to AIDS-related illnesses in sub-Saharan Africa during the period 2020-2021. Such disruptions could also raise HIV incidence rates.Since April 2020, 36 countries, which comprise 45% of the global number of people receiving ART, have reported a disruption in the provision of antiretroviral services. Twenty-four countries are at risk of drug stock-outs of major first-line drugs; 38 countries reported a disruption in HIV testing and 23 reported a disruption in HIV viral load monitoring.In South Africa, the Gauteng provincial health department reported a 19.6% reduction in HIV medication collection since the introduction of lockdown.The unavailability of medicines may lead to treatment interruption, decreased rates of virological suppression, and emergence and amplification of drug resistance. As the health of people living with HIV deteriorates they are more susceptible to opportunistic infections. The difficulty in managing such patients may lead to additional complications and death.It is important to note that the HIV epidemic is a key driver of the TB epidemic , which is likely to be similarly affected during these unprecedented times. Transmission of communicable diseases like HIV, TB and more recently Covid-19 is underpinned by social determinants. The socio-economic impact of Covid-19 has exposed vulnerable populations because basic, first line defences such as water and sanitation are lacking in many communities.As these three epidemics now collide it is critical that public health programmes, that have taken tremendous efforts and years to optimise, remain uninterrupted.The South African government recently released guidance on multi-month dispensing. This is when chronic medication, including ART, is prescribed for extended periods, even up to six months.Healthcare workers need to track patients who are lost along the cascade of care and provide medication through Ward Based Outreach Teams , provide multi-month prescriptions for clinically stable people living with HIV/TB , and provide adapted services such as home HIV testing. We need to engage with important stakeholders and the private sector to work towards manufacturing essential commodities in the country so we are less affected by global interruptions in supply chains.The Covid-19 pandemic has diverted resources from other important programmes and initiatives and the country cant afford to sacrifice one pandemic for another. It may not be possible to meet the 2020 target of fewer than 500,000 Aids-related deaths globally, but gains in the worlds HIV response must not be reversed.This article is republished from The Conversation under a Creative Commons license. Read the original article Priests forced to attend government training courses; underground clergy seized to convince them to join the Patriotic Association. Catechism classes closed; minors removed from churches; sacred buildings under construction blocked, closed or seized. Two years after the agreement, there are far greater difficulties. Rome (AsiaNews) - Two years after the Agreement between China and the Vatican, repression towards Christian communities, both official and underground, has grown. These two testimonies, part of an ongoing AsiaNews investigation (click here) are witness to this. Francis highlights the pressures that all priests receive and the arrests-kidnappings that clandestine priests face, to convince them to join the Patriotic Association. And he concludes that "the underground Church and its faith are facing the greatest difficulties". Teresa, a lay catholic from the south-east of the country, points out that the ban on minors under the age of 18 from attending Mass and catechism (which is in fact contrary to the Chinese constitution) is systematically applied. The suffocation campaign leads the authorities to block and close even sacred buildings that have already received building permits. Two years after the "panacea" of the famous Agreement, government religious policies "have not been loosened, in reality they have been further tightened". (B.C.) After the signing of the Sino-Vatican Agreement, the religious policies of our diocese have not been loosened, in reality they have been further tightened. Authorities often gather priests for training courses, push underground priests to join the Patriotic Association, arrest them by taking them to secret places to brainwash them. They even go as far as to claim that the religious policies remain the same with the Agreement, that they have not changed. Before the Agreement some parishes could still celebrate Mass in the homes of the faithful; with the Agreement, however, temporary places of prayer have been closed; the faithful who host the Mass are threatened, arrested and fined, and they are forced to sign a document in which they promise that they will no longer host the priests. With the Agreement, the bishops of the underground diocese are illegally arrested. The underground Church and its faith are facing the greatest difficulties. Francis, priest, northeastern China In these two years, the diocese has faced increasing pressure. For example, on Sunday, the government sends its staff to church to check in the morning. Some sit in front of the entrance, others sit in the back rows, others wander around here and there: their purpose is to check the functioning of the church and its activities. Furthermore, the staff who remain in front of the entrance check that children under the age of 18 or who just turned 18 do not enter the church. When they see children, or schoolchildren of elementary, middle and high school age who want to enter, they force them to go home, trying to stay in the parish. It is strictly forbidden to organize catechism courses for minors; even the classrooms are closed: its is sheer desolation! As for the various activities of the church, there are limits to the number of participants, even during solemnities or holidays; the parish priest is often summoned by government staff. During the daily or Sunday masses, there is always plainclothes government staff. In the evening the situation is better, and they are rarely seen. As of last year, the construction and use of the new churches is also limited, although the churches have previously been authorized by government authorities, with all the necessary documents. For example, some churches are blocked mid-construction; others are closed as soon as the work is finished; others have water and electricity cut to prevent their being used. Teresa, southeast China An Akure High Court on Tuesday struck out a motion seeking the disqualification of Ondo Deputy Governor, Agboola Ajayi, from participating in the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) primary election. The election, which will determine the flag bearer of the opposition party for the October 10 governorship election will hold Wednesday. A member of the PDP, Olopele Timi, had earlier approached the court to disqualify Mr Ajayi over certificate forgery allegations. He said the deputy governor breached the code of conduct for public officers and should, therefore, be banned from holding any public office for a maximum period of ten years. Mr Timi also claimed that Mr Ajayi has acted in breach of Section 1, 5th Schedule, Part 1 of the Code of Conduct for Public Officers as well as breach of the provisions of the regulations of the West African Examination Council (WAEC) Act, Cap W4 Law of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, 2004. Motion rejected But the presiding judge, Bode Adegbehingbe, who struck out the motion on Tuesday, said the plaintiff is expected to serve all parties in the suit instead of coming through a motion ex-parte. He, however, fixed the hearing of the substantive suit on July 30, 2020. The deputy governor had earlier through his media adviser, Allen Sowore, said that the issues in the suit were the same as a case already adjudicated upon by the Court of Appeal. He identified the case appeal number as CA/B/EPT/330A/2008 between himself and Olubukola Ebietomiye of the Democratic Peoples Alliance, (DPA) in 2007, wherein he said he was absolved of any wrongdoing. There are seven other aspirants in the race with Mr Ajayi. They are Eyitayo Jegede, Boluwaji Kunlere, Eddy Olafeso, Ben Okunomo, Bode Ayorinde, Godday Erewa and Sola Ebiseeni. San Francisco, CA On June 26, the California Court of Appeals Linehan-Clodfelter v. Vivint, Inc. closely follows the reasoning of the recent California Supreme Court decision in Kim v. Reins Internat. California, Inc. Kim was widely seen as strengthening employee efforts to curb employer wage and hour abuse through PAGA, especially for workers who, daunted by the risks of arbitrating wage claims, have taken a settlement offer instead. Linehan-Clodfelter affirms the availability of that important legal tool. On June 26, the California Court of Appeals held that an employee could continue his state Private Attorneys General Act (PAGA) claim even after settling his California Labor Code lawsuit closely follows the reasoning of the recent California Supreme Court decision inwas widely seen as strengthening employee efforts to curb employer wage and hour abuse through PAGA, especially for workers who, daunted by the risks of arbitrating wage claims, have taken a settlement offer instead.affirms the availability of that important legal tool. A brief review of PAGA Some provisions of the California Labor Code do not include a private right of action. A worker who claims the he or she has been misclassified, for example, may have no individual right to recover. A worker who is contractually bound to arbitrate wage and hour claims may not be able to participate in a class-action lawsuit. Many employers now include mandatory arbitration clauses in their standard employment agreements. Arbitration proceedings tend to favor employers. It is now settled law that employers cannot require employees to arbitrate their claims under PAGA without the States consent. Until Kim , it was still unclear what happed to PAGA claims when the wage and hour portion of the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed. , it was still unclear what happed to PAGA claims when the wage and hour portion of the lawsuit was voluntarily dismissed. Workers may feel under great financial pressure to settle lawsuits. With sufficient inducements, employers may be able to chip away at class action lawsuits, until the lawsuits are financially unsustainable. Californias workplace protections are famously under enforced within low-wage industries. A PAGA claim may offer a meaningful chance of recovery for many workers. What does aggrieved mean under PAGA? PAGA lives on! Linehan-Clodfelters DilemmaEzra Linehan-Clodfelter worked for Vivint as an installation technician. After his employment ended, he filed a class action lawsuit, claiming that Vivint had violated the California Labor Code by failing to pay wages and overtime or provide meal and rest breaks. His complaint also included a claim of unfair competition and a PAGA claim. Vivint successfully forced him to arbitrate the wage, hour and unfair competition claims. Linehan-Clodfelter later asked that his lawsuit concerning the wage, hour and unfair competition claims be dismissed, so that he could continue his PAGA claim.The reason he agreed to a dismissal of these claims is not entirely clear. It is not surprising, however, and may have something to do with the arbitration process. Many workers, fearing costs and a less-than-optimal outcome of arbitration proceedings, opt to take an employers offer to settle wage and hour claims. An agreement to dismiss the lawsuit is often part of the negotiated agreement.In any event, Linehan-Clodfelter had made it clear in his request for dismissal that he intended to continue his PAGA action. Vivent contested his ability to do that, since he had agreed to discontinue the underlying claims. The Court of Appeals decision is all about whether the PAGA claim could continue, and the critical issue is what the term aggrieved means in the statute.PAGA, adopted by the California legislature in 2004, authorizes aggrieved employees to file lawsuits to recover civil penalties on behalf of themselves, other employees, and the state for violations of the California Labor Code. Seventy-five percent of any civil penalty goes to the Labor and Workforce Development Agency for enforcement of and education about labor law responsibilities; twenty-five percent goes to aggrieved employees.In a sense, PAGA works like a whistleblower statute. Although the law is primarily intended to serve the public purpose of Labor Code enforcement, it depends on the participation of private litigants. The state effectively delegates some of its enforcement responsibility to workers who are in the best position to have information about Labor Code violations. In return for their trouble, the employees collect a portion of the fine recovered.Compared to the employees potential for financial recovery in a class action lawsuit, a PAGA claim may not seem like a particularly good deal for workers. PAGA claims are often included in wage and hour lawsuits as a belt and suspenders measure, though.There are at least four reasons:relied heavily on Kim in parsing the word aggrieved, to conclude that individuals do not lose their ability to pursue PAGA claims when they settle individual California Labor Code claims. The [l]egislature defined PAGA standing in terms of violations, not injury, and the employee became aggrieved when one or more Labor Code violations were committed against him. Settlement did not nullify these violations.The bottom line on thedecision is that employers were once again thwarted in an attempt to limit their potential liability for California labor code violations. PAGA enforcement may not be the workers first choice, but it still offers a remedy for those forced to arbitrate wage and hour disputes under the terms of their employment agreements. The presidency has reacted to a Senate resolution calling for the mandatory exit of military chiefs, by telling the lawmakers that such removal was a presidential prerogative. PREMIUM TIMES reported how the Senate Tuesday called on the military chiefs to step aside, following the deteriorating security situation across the country including the killings of soldiers. The Senate resolution followed a motion moved by Borno senator, Ali Ndume. In its reaction, the presidency in a statement by presidential spokesman, Femi Adesina, said it notes the resolution. The Senate Tuesday adopted a resolution calling on the Service Chiefs to resign or be sacked due to the multi-pronged security challenges in the country, Mr Adesina wrote. The Presidency notes the resolution, and reiterates that appointment or sack of Service Chiefs is a Presidential prerogative, and President Muhammadu Buhari, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, will do what is in the best interest of the country at all times. Tuesdays call for the exit of the service chiefs is not the first from the ninth assembly. The lawmakers had in January called on President Muhammadu Buhari to sack the service chiefs and appoint new ones. They made the call after a four-hour deliberation on a motion on national security challenges and the need to restructure the nations security architecture. Mr Buhari had also ignored that call. Supermarket sales have risen 3.2billion to a new record high as people working from home splashed out on tea, coffee and biscuits. Grocery sales for the 12 weeks to July 12 skyrocketed by 16.9 per cent to 31.6billion - the fastest increase since records began in 1994. Shoppers spent an additional 24million on tea and coffee and 19million on biscuits as people worked from home. Alcohol was the fastest growing category - up 41 per cent - followed by frozen food which grew 22 per cent. But over the last four weeks of that period shoppers seemed to be be returning to normal habits, as sales growth slowed to 14.6 per cent. Kantar's monthly supermarket market share figures showed sales growth slowed as the reopening of pubs and restaurants affected momentum for food chains. Morrisons was the strongest performer of the UK's 'big four' grocers, as it reported a 17.4 per cent jump in sales over the period. Meanwhile, Tesco reported 15.1 per cent growth, Sainsbury's saw sales rise by 13.5 per cent, and Asda sales grew by 11 per cent. Online retailer Ocado was another particularly strong performer, as sales rose by 45.5 per cent. And the Co-op and Iceland both also saw strong demand, with sales jumping 30.6 per cent and 34.1 per cent respectively. Sales from independent grocers and convenience stores also surged higher over the period. Grocery sales for the month to July 12 grew by 14.6 per cent against the same period last year, slowing from 18.9 per cent growth in June, data from Kantar revealed Head of retail and consumer insight at Kantar Fraser McKevitt said: 'As lockdown restrictions are gradually eased and non-essential retail outlets re-open, some consumers are slowly resuming their pre-Covid routines and shopping habits. 'This meant year-on-year supermarket sales growth decelerated in the most recent four weeks to 14.6 per cent, down from 18.9 per cent in June. 'However, we are clearly a long way off a complete return to normality. 'Footfall was still 15 per cent lower during the past four weeks and the average spend on a supermarket trip was 25.05, 35 per cent more than the same period last year, as most people continue to eat more meals and snacks at home. 'Despite pubs, bars and restaurants re-opening recently, more than half of consumers say they are still uncomfortable with visiting a pub and 42 per cent with visiting a cafe or restaurant. Co-Op staff are given body-worn security cameras after spike in violence The Co-Op has given staff at hundreds of its stores body-worn security cameras to protect them from assaults. The supermarket has rolled out personal safety gadgets which will record when shoppers become abusive and violent. Workers at more than 500 stores have been given the gizmos - which hang round staff members' necks. The cameras are worn by police officers across the country, but increasingly shops are equipping staff and guards with them. There has been a 40 per cent increase in violence and abuse against shop workers since lockdown began, according to the Association of Convenience Stores. More than 2,000 Co-Op staff members have been assaulted in the last year, shocking figures reveal. Earlier this month, a shop worker was knocked unconscious at a store in Markfield, Leicestershire. Other staff members have reported being spat at - and told they would catch the coronavirus. Advertisement 'As a result, take-home alcohol sales were still up by 41 per cent this month as people were unable to or avoided drinking out. 'The cost of working from home is also starting to add up for many. Shoppers spent an additional 24 million on tea and coffee during the past four weeks and 19 million on biscuits. 'In comparison, sales of some products that were in huge demand as the nation entered lockdown in March are now only marginally higher than last year with healthcare up by 2 per cent and household products by 3 per cent.' Online sales also swelled 92 per cent over the past month, with growth marginally higher than last month. Separate data from Nielsen revealed in the four weeks ending July 11 shoppers bought more alcohol, with sales of beers, wines and spirits up by 31 per cent. Meanwhile, sales of frozen food grew by 19 per cent and meat, fish and poultry saw a 15 per cent rise in sales as warm weather led to barbecues across the country. The figures come as it was revealed hundreds of staff at the Cooperative would be wearing body-worn security cameras after a spike in violence during lockdown. The supermarket has rolled out personal safety gadgets which will record when shoppers become abusive and violent. Workers at more than 500 stores have been given the gizmos - which hang round staff members' necks. The cameras are worn by police officers across the country, but increasingly shops are equipping staff and guards with them. There has been a 40 per cent increase in violence and abuse against shop workers since lockdown began, according to the Association of Convenience Stores. More than 2,000 Co-Op staff members have been assaulted in the last year, shocking figures reveal. Earlier this month, a shop worker was knocked unconscious at a store in Markfield, Leicestershire. Other staff members have reported being spat at - and told they would catch the coronavirus. Paul Taylor-Burr, who works in Crawley, West Sussex, tweeted that he was threatened with a screwdriver, a hammer and needles. The figures come as it was revealed hundreds of staff at the Cooperative would be wearing body-worn security cameras after a spike in violence during lockdown The Co-Op rolled out the body-worn cameras throughout July. The footage feeds back to a control centre based in Belfast and gets passed on to the police. Daniel Orm, who heads up the Co-Op's security team, said: 'Being connected to them in a shop can really help colleagues feel a lot safer. 'They can even talk to the shop and call the police in if things are looking a little tricky! 'It's also great for monitoring and building up a portfolio of evidence against repeat offenders. 'We're also helping roll out body cameras and personal safety devices to around 500 shops now too and it's great to see them go down so well. 'The personal safety devices also connect with our team in Belfast and we're even just testing out getting a live feed from the body cams connected to them too.' The Co-Op's food chief executive Jo Whitfield said: 'The safety of our colleagues in stores is something I worry about week in, week out. The supermarket has rolled out personal safety gadgets which will record when shoppers become abusive and violent 'I continue to see the horrific stories of incidents that are happening in our shops, as well as tuning into the news every morning to hear of yet another stabbing or violent incident happening on our streets.' Co-Op staff members praised the new safety gizmos on social media. Roan Irving, a store manager in Edinburgh, said: 'Body cameras installed, training complete and new system working in store. 'Co-Op UK colleagues already feeling safer and more confident.' Area manager Christine Fossey wrote: 'Body cameras have gone done a treat in Delce store. Great feedback from Co-Op UK colleagues.' The supermarket is not the first in the UK to give staff members the special safety technology. Sainsbury's introduced neck-worn security cameras earlier this year to prevent their staff being attacked at work. They were introduced in 'a small number of stores' where safety measures were considered necessary. Shoppers spotted them - with some saying they feel intrusive. Hong Kong: CSD follows up on virus case In response to a media report that a lawyer has preliminarily tested positive for COVID-19 after visiting people in custody, the Correctional Services Department said today the people concerned are currently asymptomatic. According to the visit records, the lawyer conducted an official visit to two people in custody in Stanley Prison on July 3 and 4 and one in Lai Chi Kok Reception Centre on July 11. The department said it immediately separated the people in custody concerned and placed them under medical surveillance while the facilities concerned were thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. It added that in view of the COVID-19 development, the department has enhanced prevention and disinfection measures for official visits since late March. Such measures include checking visitors body temperature and requiring all visitors to fill out health declaration forms and wear masks. Other enhancements were made to official visit rooms that include installing transparent plastic partitions to prevent transmission of respiratory droplets and adding two periods of cleaning and disinfection on top of the regular cleaning routine. The department emphasised that it will closely liaise with the Centre for Health Protection and monitor the situation. This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Edo state governor, Godwin Obaseki has described his relationship with president Muhammadu Buhari as that of father and son despite defecting to the Peoples Democratic Party. Obaseki stated this via his official twitter handle while also revealing he was on a zoom meeting with the Nigerian President, Muhammadu Buhari. According to Obasekis tweet; My relationship with President Buhari is that of a father and son. I was on a zoom meeting with the President, during which we engaged on development issues affecting Edo people and Nigerians. Read Also: NYSC Issues New Certificate To Obaseki Advertisement We also discussed measures to manage the spread of COVID-19. Thiruvananthapuram, July 21 : After months of hogging the headlines for 'effective' tackling of Covid-19 in Kerala, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan's image has taken a beating, first to the controversial gold smuggling case and now for the coronavirus spread across the state. Things were all fine for Vijayan and State Health Minister K.K. Shailaja ever since the Covid pandemic got first reported in the country, when a girl medical student who arrived from Wuhan -- the epicentre of coronavirus, turned positive at Thrissur. Since then the ruling Vijayan government, appeared to have got a new lease of life, especially Shailaja, when she made headlines in Washington Post and close to 50 international media organisations, simply because the way she handled the pandemic situation, when the so-called developed countries found the going tough. Vijayan the tough task master, who for a while kept away from the centre stage, soon realised that it's time to join the 'party' and took over from Shailaja and soon got prime time TV viewership through his daily interactions with the media. Vijayan, who created a record of sorts by shooing away the media, unlike his predecessors, made it clear that he will meet the media, when he decides and not when the media will wish. From a reluctant Vijayan, he will probably go down as the Chief Minister who has met the media the maximum number of times in a tenure of five years. But things started to go a bit awry, ever since the four international airports opened up to Vande Bharat Mission flights brining in the Kerala diaspora from May 7. Since then, the number of daily Covid positive cases started rising steadily, first by 100-mark and in the past three days the daily positive cases crossed the 2000-mark and in between Vijayan admitted that it has achieved the dreadful, 'community spread' in two coastal hamlets, located at a stone's throw from Vijayan's office. Hitting hard at Vijayan and the flawed Covid tackling strategy was Leader of Opposition Ramesh Chennithala who said, what was happening in the state was a PR exercise instead of tackling a public health hazard effectively. "Vijayan announced victory in Covid even before the war had started, in his daily PR exercise and when the 'enemy' (Covid) actually came before the state, the state has failed, as figures now reveal. Vijayan also has admitted that there has been a community spread," said Chennithala. "Vijayan government has faltered in engaging the private health sector. A good 100 days have been wasted by Vijayan in getting the state ready and all what's happening in Covid is nothing but mere talks and no action. Where are all the beds which Vijayan had announced, that are ready for people who have to be quarantined. Now everything has gone astray," said Chennithala. The gold smuggling case with large scale ramifications first surfaced when P.S. Sarith, a former employee of the UAE Consulate here, was arrested by the Customs on July 5 when he was facilitating smuggling of 30 kg gold in diplomatic baggage to Thiruvananthapuram from Dubai. It turned murkier when the name of Swapna Suresh, a former employee of the UAE Consulate here and employed with the state IT Department, surfaced. The case turned full circle when its links with senior IAS official M. Sivasankar, who has been suspended and booted out from two key posts -- principal secretary to Vijayan and also the State IT secretary, were unearthed. Adding more trouble was when Arun Balachandran's links with the smuggling gang surfaced and he too was unceremoniously removed, causing a huge dent on Vijayan's image. Balachandran was Chief Minister's IT Fellow and later held a key post in the IT department. Chennithala said the stage has come when whatever Vijayan does to dodge out from the case, is not going to happen, as his two key officials have links with the smuggling gang. "The situation is such that, even Vijayan will have to be questioned since his close two aides have been booted out. Vijayan just cannot wash his hands off and has a moral responsibility. Even the CPI-M State Secretary Kodiyeri Balakrishnan has expressed his surprise that Vijayan failed to identify what his staff was doing. Either Vijayan is feigning ignorance or he is a poor administrator and all what's said about him, that he is a tough task master, is nothing but an eyewash," said Chennithala. Chennithala has written to CPI-M general secretary Sitaram Yechuri highlighting the way Vijayan is running the show. For the CPI-M, Kerala is the only remaining bastion for the 'red party', as it has realised there is no way that they can return to power in West Bengal and Tripura, and hence what the top brass of the CPI-M will do at its upcoming central committee meeting, later this week remains to be seen, as at times they too have been rubbed the wrong way by Vijayan. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo, second from left, speaks during a meeting with government officials in Seoul, on July 16. Yonhap By Lee Min-hyung Leaders of the nation's top five financial holding firms plan to discuss whether they should extend due dates on loans provided to virus-hit companies here, during a planned meeting with a top regulator. According to the local banking industry, Tuesday, the heads of KB, Shinhan, Woori, Hana and NH NongHyup will hold a breakfast meeting with Financial Services Commission Chairman Eun Sung-soo on Friday. The top financiers are known to hold a closed-door meeting once each quarter to discuss pending issues on the industry. But this time, Eun will also take part in the meeting and hear complaints from the financial industry due to the recent market confusion induced by the spread of the coronavirus. Eun is expected to urge the top management of the banking industry to extend loan maturity and interest payments. Earlier, the financial industry joined hands with the financial authorities who called to offer special benefits for companies and small business owners until the end of September. The government and financial authorities want the financial circles to further extend the timeline for benefits, as the virus shock still remains in place and the real economy is showing little in the way of signs of rebound, for now. "We need to discuss what we have to do after September, as the COVID-19 situation is showing no signs of abating," Eun said in a recent press conference. Expectations are that Eun will press the leaders of the banking industry to extend the maturity for principal redemption for another three to six months for the virus-impacted parties. Local banks are in a growing dilemma over whether to accept the request from the authorities, as their profitability keeps worsening due in part to their "unilateral support." "Accepting the call from the government is a step in the right direction at a time when the local economy is facing setbacks due to the unexpected virus panic," an official from a major lender here said. "But it is true that banks will continue bearing the financial burden, which may result in worsening our financial soundness," the official said. Bank of Korea (BOK) Governor Lee Ju-yeol also concern during his recent meeting with leaders from commercial lenders here. "We need to take a longer-term viewpoint in dealing with the COVID-19 situation," he said. According to Lee, the government needs to reconsider whether the current one-sided support from the financial firms to virus-hit parties is a step in the right direction. The president of the Caribbean island has announced several ground-mounted PV plants will be tendered, along with 60 MW of thermal power generation capacity. The projects are part of a plan to provide the nation with universal access to electricity during Jovenel Moise's five-year term in office.Haitian president Jovenel Moise has announced his government will tender for 190 MW of solar generation capacity - 130 MW of PV projects and 60 MW of thermal power facilities. The tender for the $65 million PV project pipeline is currently being drawn up, Moise said in a press conference at the weekend. ... Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Explosive experts dispose of one hand grenade thrown from bus by hostage taker in Lutsk police Explosive experts have defused one grenade thrown by gunman who seized a bus with people in Lutsk, the communication department of the National Police has said. "Interior Minister Arsen Avakov and the first deputy head of Ukraine's Security Service (SBU) and head of the SBU's Anti-Terrorist Center Ruslan Baranetsky are on the scene to coordinate the actions of all the involved structural units of law enforcement agencies," the statement says. Police and SBU agents are working together to free the hostages and ensure public order at the scene. "In addition, the explosive experts from Volyn region's police department have defused one grenade, which was thrown by the attacker. His identity has been established, this is a 44-year-old resident of Rivne region," the police added. The city of Lutsk remains closed to ensure the safety of citizens. "All the forces involved are working in a coordinated manner for the speedy release of the hostages," police said. Democratic lawmakers blasted it, and groups that successfully challenged the administrations attempt to add a citizenship question to the census said they will sue over it. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Todays memorandum will end up in the dustbin of history as yet another exemplar of Donald Trumps disturbing embrace of white nationalism, Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund (MALDEF), said in a statement. MALDEF will be in court to stop this latest example of blatantly unconstitutional executive action by a failed presidency. Dale Ho, a lawyer for the American Civil Liberties Union, said that Trumps latest attempt to weaponize the census for an attack on immigrant communities will be found unconstitutional. Well see him in court, and win, again. New York Attorney General Letitia James (D), who led a multistate suit against the question, also said she will challenge the memo in court. Story continues below advertisement Since taking office, the Trump administration has repeatedly tried to change the way the decennial census is carried out and how its data is used. Advertisement A draft of an executive order less than two weeks after his inauguration recommended that the census ask about immigration status. The following year, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross announced that the question would be added to the survey, sparking multiple lawsuits that revealed a byzantine paper trail of administration officials struggling to justify the move. The litigation also showed that the administration had been in contact with a now- deceased Republican strategist who had determined that a citizenship question would give an electoral advantage to Republicans and non-Hispanic whites. Last summer, after the Supreme Court struck down the question, saying the administration had presented a contrived reason for wanting to add it, Trump ordered federal agencies to share administrative records data on citizenship with the Commerce Department. Civil rights organizations have filed a lawsuit saying that order is discriminatory and violates the Administrative Procedure Act, the same law that challengers invoked against the citizenship question. Story continues below advertisement The administration also last month added two high-level political appointees to the Census Bureau, eliciting criticism from Democrats in the House and Senate and raising concern that the new hires could attempt to influence the count. Advertisement Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) called the memo an illegal and unconstitutional attempt to scare people from participating in the Census and influence congressional representation. Rep. Carolyn B. Maloney (D-N.Y.), chairwoman of the Committee on Oversight and Reform, said the committee will hold an emergency hearing on the census next week and is considering additional ways to respond to the memo. Taking this step right in the middle of the ongoing Census is particularly egregious and sinister because it appears purposefully designed to depress the count, deter people from filling out their forms, and corrupt the democratic processes on which our nation is founded, Maloney said in a statement co-signed by Rep. Jamie B. Raskin (D-Md.), chairman of the subcommittee on civil rights and civil liberties. We fought and defeated the Presidents last attempt to scrawl his anti-immigrant graffiti all over the Census, and well stop him again now. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The memo seeks to overturn a system in place since the decennial count began in 1790. Typically by the end of a census year, the data from the count is delivered to the president, who then presents it to Congress to use for apportionment of representatives, based on the count of people living in each jurisdiction. In a statement, Trump referred to his order last July for federal agencies to share administrative records. Today, I am following through on that commitment by directing the Secretary of Commerce to exclude illegal aliens from the apportionment base following the 2020 census, he said, adding that the action reflects a better understanding of the Constitution and is consistent with the principles of our representative democracy. Story continues below advertisement But the wording of the memo implies that it is not necessarily actionable. It stipulates that the commerce secretary shall take all appropriate action, consistent with the Constitution and other applicable law, to provide information permitting the President, to the extent practicable, to exercise the Presidents discretion to carry out the policy. Advertisement Legal and census experts said the plan is neither legal nor practicable. Its patently unconstitutional, said Thomas Wolf, senior counsel and Spitzer Fellow at the Brennan Center for Justice at New York Universitys School of Law. For apportionment, Section 2 of the 14th Amendment requires a count of all persons, he said. Story continues below advertisement Persons means people. Everyone must be counted . . . regardless of race or ethnicity or citizenship status, he said, adding that implementing what the president proposes would be asking every American to disregard the plain text of the Constitution and ignore what their eyes tell them about what the law and the American Constitution is about. Its another example of the Trump administration putting some ill-conceived notion of ideology or self-interest ahead of the country Advertisement A likely outcome is that the Commerce Departments general counsel will tell the secretary that it is not legal to exclude anyone living in the country from being counted for apportionment, said Justin Levitt, an election law professor at Loyola Law School in Los Angeles. I think this ends up doing nothing, he said. It will take somebody to go back [to the president] to say, We cannot do this practicably and consistent with applicable law. Story continues below advertisement In addition to congressional apportionment, data from the 2020 Census, which is currently underway, will be used to determine state redistricting and $1.5 trillion a year in federal funding. The 2020 count has been beset, first by the citizenship question litigation, and now by the pandemic, which has hampered the Census Bureaus ability to collect data on schedule. Advertisement In April, the administration asked Congress to extend the deadline for reporting the data by four months. Census Bureau Associate Director for Decennial Census Programs Albert E. Fontenot Jr. said this month that it is too late for the bureau to deliver an accurate count by its original Dec. 31 deadline. Story continues below advertisement But a four-month delay could create a roadblock for any plan to exclude undocumented immigrants if Trump is defeated and a new administration takes over in January, before the data becomes available to use for reapportionment. In its Heroes Act, the House approved the bureaus request for the delay, along with an additional $400 million to help with the count. It is unclear whether a pending Senate relief bill will approve a change in the deadline. Even if the administration found some way to legally exclude undocumented people from the count, it would be impossible to implement, Levitt said, adding that by law, apportionment must be based on the decennial census, which does not ask about respondents legal status. Advertisement There is no list of citizens, so theres nothing to do the math with, Levitt said, adding that he wouldnt be surprised if the memo spurs lawmakers to draft a bill that clarifies that everybody must be counted. Litigation over a version of Tuesdays memo is already playing out in Alabama, which has sued the Commerce Department and the Census Bureau, arguing that immigrants should not be counted for apportionment or federal funding if they are not in the United States legally, even if they do fill out the decennial survey. The 14th Amendment, enacted after the Civil War, mandates that representatives be apportioned counting the whole number of persons in each State. (The Constitution originally contained similar language but distinguished between free people and enslaved people, who counted as three-fifths of a person.) It is unlikely that either Tuesdays memo or the Alabama suit would prevail in court. But some see the administrations repeated rhetoric about excluding undocumented immigrants as a strategy to move the needle on the national debate. The memo could be a sign of desperation from a president whose popularity is taking a beating in an election year, Levitt said. Part of the impact of floating the idea is probably the messaging showing this to his supporters as him fighting for them. Tuesdays memo comes as the Census Bureau begins outreach to the nations hardest-to-count groups, including immigrants. If the government is seen as trying to disadvantage them, some might be less likely to respond to the survey, immigrant advocates said. This is an order designed to sow fear and mistrust between peoples and becomes a matter of life and death as the US battles a deadly pandemic, said a statement from the Industrial Areas Foundation, a group that works with churches and organizers in the West and Southwest to educate and support minority communities. Wolf said the memo is not only frivolous but potentially dangerous for anyone in an area that gets undercounted, regardless of whether they are in the United States legally. Right now were in a pandemic, and the census is going to be key, he said, noting that census data is used to determine education, food assistance, transportation and health care. Every community thats suffering from the pandemic is going to need as much help as it can get, and if any community gets undercounted at the end of the day, every American is going to be left holding the bag. Arelis R. Hernandez contributed to this report. JEFFERSON CITY A state senator from St. Louis was paid $5,000 last month by the campaign seeking to block a new redistricting system in Missouri. Democrat Sen. Jamilah Nasheed, who is term-limited and cannot seek reelection this year, received the payment for organizing from a campaign committee for Clean Missouri. But, under a 2016 law that she supported, state elected officials cannot be paid political consultants. The law prevents elected officials from profiting from their positions by getting paid for their political advice. Members of the General Assembly are here to represent their taxpaying constituents, not cash in on their political connections, former Gov. Jay Nixon told reporters during a signing ceremony in his Capitol office in 2016. The law applies to anyone who is paid to plan campaign strategies, coordinate campaign staff, organize meetings and events, phone solicitation and any other political activities. Nasheed said she was cleared to receive the money because she was not a consultant, but an organizer. The payment to Nasheed was made on June 25. Missouri Ethics Commission records show Nasheed was paid $4,000 to help on another ballot initiative in April 2016. That payment came before the law went into effect. Clean Missouri spokesman Sean Nicholson said the payment is under review. We are talking with attorneys to make sure were following the rules, Nicholson said Tuesday. Clean Missouri is fighting against a Republican-led plan to overturn elements of a 2018 ballot initiative that made changes in state ethics laws and changed the way the states political maps are drawn. The changes put redistricting responsibilities in the hands of a nonpartisan demographer, who is chosen by the Senate majority and minority leaders. A bipartisan commission would be able to make changes to that map if 70% of its members approve. The system emphasizes partisan fairness as a top priority, which could lead to more Democrats serving in the Legislature. Republicans placed a new question on the ballot that would shift redistricting responsibilities to a bipartisan commission, which would emphasize compactness of districts over partisan fairness and competitiveness. Critics of the GOP plan say it could omit certain segments of the population for redistricting purposes, potentially leaving out minors and noncitizens when maps are drawn. Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Equally important, South Korea boasts an astonishingly efficient test-and-trace system. As Australian soprano Claire Lyon, who plays Christine in Phantom, told the ABC last month, after a cast member tested positive for COVID-19, the entire company was tested inside eight hours and able to retake the stage following a two-week quarantine period. Phantom plays until August 7 and will later tour Taiwan. Australian musical theatre performers remain in demand in Seoul: The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald understands a small group arrived there last week, joining the international cast of Cats, scheduled to open on September 9. Japan Like Australia, Japan has had relative success in containing coronavirus, but July has brought a second wave. Theatre has played an unfortunate role. The Japan Times reported last week at least 37 cases (including 16 actors, 5 staffers and 21 theatregoers) linked to Shinjukus Theatre Moliere. The outbreak came while the 190-seat theatre was staging a six-night run of Werewolf, a play starring up-and-coming Japanese boy-band members. Authorities have urged 800 attendees to get tested. Discretion has been left to theatres by Shinzo Abes public health approach, and one major kabuki theatre in Tokyo Kabukiza, closed since March plans to reopen in August. COVID-19 safety measures will include all actors and staff being replaced after each show, social distancing and ventilation procedures. Although mask-wearing isnt mentioned because it is de rigueur in Japan, audiences will be asked not to shout the names of famous actors a commonplace occurrence among kabuki enthusiasts at performances. New York's Broadway theatres will remain closed for the rest of the year. Credit:Getty Images The United States The disastrous trajectory of COVID-19 in the US has wreaked havoc on the performing arts. The Broadway League announced in late June that all shows will be cancelled until 2021 in what was already the longest shutdown of New Yorks famed theatre district. Across the nation, large venues and festivals including outdoor events such as Shakespeare in the Park have cancelled programs or been reduced to streaming. The New York Times reports that even a Utah production of To Kill A Mockingbird set to feature masked actors was cancelled after a surge in infections, although fringe novelties remain: regional theatre with audiences in cars, or a Florida dinner theatre show where Cinderella and her prince bump elbows rather than kissing. It remains slim pickings and a grim outlook for the nation hardest hit by the pandemic. A pedestrian walks past a theatre in the West End district in London in March. Credit:Bloomberg The United Kingdom What about Londons West End? The UK government has announced theatres can reopen from the start of August with one-metre social distancing; the reality is many will not. The Society of London Theatre, representing West End venues, said it would not be practical or economically viable for most theatres to operate at such reduced capacity. Theatre cant work with social distancing, Andrew Lloyd Webber has scoffed. It just cant. Lloyd Webber is trialling South Koreas stringent protocols and technology at the 2300-seat Palladium: thermal imaging cameras, contactless thermometers, disinfectant fogging machines and silver ion self-cleaning door handles. Whether theyll be safe and effective in a country yet to achieve manageable levels of infection remains to be seen. Meanwhile, British theatre has an enviable digital archive of productions streaming globally. And the worlds longest-running show, Agatha Christies The Mousetrap (which ran continuously from 1953 until the pandemic struck) plans to reopen, socially distanced, at St Martins Theatre on October 23. France The world-renowned Avignon Festival, centred on the citys medieval gothic Palais de Papes, would have been held next month. With close to 1000 shows in the in festival, and around 1500 in the off, its cancellation has been a blow, but has not stopped diehard theatre artists mustering 50 shows in venues around the city. Not the usual hustle and bustle, as Le Parisien reported Friday, but enough rhythm to stay alive. Interestingly, a further 15 fringe productions from the off have migrated for the first time to the nations capital. Germany Another fringe move into the limelight is happening in Germany. In a country that regularly subsidises around 70 per cent of its theatre companies budgets, aiming to protect culture from market forces, and enshrining artistic freedom in its constitution, theatre is well placed to survive the pandemic intact, even if social distancing persists. Loading But in a situation familiar to Australia, recent outbreaks have led to differing restrictions in different states. Berlin is still adjusting to a new normal, with a modified outdoor production of Brechts wild early play Baal at the Berliner Ensemble in June, and a solo version of Peer Gynt at the Schaubuhne. In more relaxed Munich, Susanne Kennedy and Markus Selgs Oracle an immersive theatre experience originally intended for small groups has made an avant-garde virtue of necessity. According to theatre critic AJ Goldman, masked spectators are now led individually through a futuristic dreamscape, where actors behind face-shields lip-synch to robotic voice recordings. Houston Food Bank and its partners provide essential services throughout the year and also during times of emergency. Amid COVID-19, the community is relying on the food bank more than ever to provide unprecedented levels of food assistance. Because of the generosity of volunteers, donors and corporate partners such as Allegiance Bank, Houston Food Bank is able to provide food for better lives in this time of uncertainty. Allegiance Bank presented the Houston Food Bank with a check for $150,000, which provides an immediate 450,000 meals for the community. They will also be providing volunteers to help package food for distribution to the community and have issued a $100,000 matching grant challenge to its employees and customers in July to further support the food banks efforts. When the challenge is completed, it will provide an additional 600,000 meals. On our bulletin board at home, my wife posted a simple statement, Learn to be happy right now. One strategy that can move us into the right direction is to simply do something right now to help someone else. I know of nothing that produces happiness more than simply being generous, said Steven Retzloff, chairman of Allegiance Bank and CEO of Allegiance Bancshares, Inc., in a news release. As the Houston regions largest local bank, Allegiance Bank has stepped up in a big way to address funding for food. So, right now we have committed to support the Houston Food Bank on a giving scale that weve never before explored. Doing so not only helps feed hundreds of thousands, it makes us happy. The demand upon the Houston Food Bank for food assistance has increased exponentially due to COVID-19. The food bank is currently distributing up to one million pounds of food per day, an increase of 150-200 percent over pre-COVID distribution. From the period March 9 to June 30 alone, Houston Food Bank distributed 88,013,752 pounds of food. June 2020 showed an increase of 171 percent on the number of households served per week as compared to June 2019. In times like these, charitable organizations are relied upon by the most vulnerable people in our communities, and we, in turn, rely on the support of our generous donors in order to provide hope in the form of food. The support given by Allegiance Bank has been twofold, touching the Houston Food Banks two biggest areas of need: volunteers and financial support, said Brian Greene, president/CEO of the non-profit, the largest Feeding America food bank in the nation. Through their generous donation of volunteer hours and $150,000 plus a $100,000 matching grant, Allegiance Bank is providing one million meals to our neighbors in need. We cannot thank them enough for their outpouring of support. Allegiance Banks super-community banking strategy was designed to foster strong customer relationships, and this translates to strong community relationships as well. Having been formed and started as a Houston bank in 2007, Allegiance Bank is a relatively young company but weve grown up fast. To be able to serve alongside the Houston Food Bank through both meaningful financial support and volunteerism once again expresses that it is not what we do but what we do together that makes a difference, Retzloff said. For more information on Houston Food Bank and to learn where to get food assistance and to donate money or time, visit www.HoustonFoodBank.org. Amber Heard is set to begin the second day of her evidence in Johnny Depps blockbuster libel case against The Sun over allegations of domestic violence. The Aquaman actress, 34, claims she feared Mr Depp, 57, was going to kill her on several occasions and says he would later blame his actions on the monster, an alter ego she says she was terrified of. On Tuesday, the 11th day of the trial at the Royal Courts of Justice in London, Ms Heard will continue to be questioned over 14 allegations of domestic violence, which the tabloids publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) relies on in its defence of an April 2018 article that called Mr Depp a wife beater. Ms Heard has accused Mr Depp of verbal and physical abuse throughout their relationship, including screaming, swearing, punching, slapping, kicking, headbutting and choking her, as well as extremely controlling and intimidating behaviour. Expand Close A photo shown in court from May 2016 of Amber Heard which has been referred to as an exhibit in the hearing (Handout/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A photo shown in court from May 2016 of Amber Heard which has been referred to as an exhibit in the hearing (Handout/PA) Mr Depp, however, says he was not violent towards Ms Heard it was she who was violent to him, and claims his ex-wife was building a dossier of false allegations as an insurance policy for later. On Monday, Ms Heard denied she had thrown everything possible at Mr Depp, telling the High Court: I havent even scratched the surface. In one of seven witness statements produced for the trial, Ms Heard described the Pirates Of The Caribbean star as being very good at manipulating people, and said Mr Depp lives in a state of weaponised victimhood. The actress, who met Mr Depp on the set of the 2011 film The Rum Diary, insisted she was never violent towards her ex-husband and would only try to defend herself when he got serious. She said: When I felt my life was threatened, I tried to defend myself and that started to happen years into the relationship, years into the violence. Video of the Day Expand Close Amber Heard being cross examined by Eleanor Laws QC (Elizabeth Cook/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Amber Heard being cross examined by Eleanor Laws QC (Elizabeth Cook/PA) Before that, I didnt even try to defend myself, I just checked out. She also said she threw things only to escape him, adding: His employees didnt see our arguments. These things happened behind closed doors. Ms Heard claimed Mr Depps doctor put her on a long list of medications, which were prescribed in order to keep me sedated or keep me calm basically, to keep my body from responding to the world I was living in. In one of her witness statements, Ms Heard said that, at the start of their relationship, Mr Depp could be intensely affectionate, warm and charming. When Johnny puts his attention on you, with all his intensity and darkness, it is unlike anything Ive ever experienced, she said. Expand Close Johnny Depp is at the Royal Courts of Justice for his libel action against News Group Newspapers (Aaron Chown/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Johnny Depp is at the Royal Courts of Justice for his libel action against News Group Newspapers (Aaron Chown/PA) When I say he was dark, he had a violent and dark way of speaking: the way he talked about our relationship being dead or alive and telling me that death was the only way out of the relationship. She also said: Some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally or just by losing control and going too far. Ms Heard gave evidence about the couples trip to Australia which she describes as a three-day hostage situation and claimed Mr Depp went on a drug binge, attacked her, urinated in front of people then hid raw meat in a wardrobe. She said: Over the course of those three days, there were extreme acts of psychological, physical, emotional and other forms of violence. Expand Close Amber Heard and Johnny Depp married in Los Angeles in February 2015 (Jonathan Brady/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Amber Heard and Johnny Depp married in Los Angeles in February 2015 (Jonathan Brady/PA) It is the worst thing I have ever been through. I was left with an injured lip and nose and cuts on my arms. Ms Heards evidence was initially due to conclude on Wednesday but will now continue until Thursday morning, with her friends Melanie Inglessis and Joshua Drew expected to appear by videolink on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Depp is suing NGN and The Suns executive editor Dan Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27, 2018, with the headline: Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be genuinely happy casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film? His lawyers say the article bore the meaning there was overwhelming evidence Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on a number of occasions and left her in fear for her life. NGN is defending the article as true, and says Mr Depp was controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Ms Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. MAGDEBURG, Germany - A 28-year-old German right-wing extremist went on trial Tuesday for a Yom Kippur attack on a synagogue that is considered one of the worst anti-Semitic assaults in the countrys post-war history, telling the court he saw Jews as a threat to the white race. Stephan Balliet is alleged to have posted an anti-Semitic screed before carrying out the Oct. 9 attack in the eastern German city of Halle. He broadcast the shooting live on a popular gaming site. Pleas are not entered in the German system but Balliet did not deny the crime as his trial opened, telling the court he first decided to turn to violence in 2015 when Germany opened its doors to more than 1 million migrants, primarily from Muslim countries. Asked by the presiding judge how that experience prompted him to attack Jews four years later, he told the court that Jews are the main cause of white genocide, and want to establish a new world order, NTV news reported. Balliet is alleged to have repeatedly tried, but failed, to force his way into the synagogue with 52 worshipers inside. Prosecutors allege he then shot and killed a 40-year-old woman in the street outside and a 20-year-old man at a nearby kebab shop as an appropriate target with immigrant roots. He apologized to the court for killing the woman passing by, saying it had been an automatic reaction when he saw her. I didnt want to kill whites, he said, according to NTV. The trial comes at a time when anti-Semitic crimes have reached their highest level since Germany started tracking such acts in 2001, amid an overall increase in right-wing extremist crime. Balliet is charged with 13 crimes including murder and attempted murder, along with bodily harm, incitement and other charges. Forty-three victims and relatives have joined the trial as co-plaintiffs, as allowed under German law. The start of the Magdeburg state court trial was delayed for two hours due to the intense interest from dozens of national and international reporters and others who lined up for hours in front of the court building to get through security. One of the co-plaintiffs, Christina Feist, who was in the synagogue on the day of the attack, urged the German media not to allow Balliet to use the trial to spread his racist theories. I beg of you all, dont only report about the perpetrator, dont only report about his perspective, she said, according to the dpa news agency. Do not give him the platform he wants. The suspect, all clad in black, with a blue face mask and shaved head, was taken to the court room by special forces with bullet-proof vests and covered faces. Balliet was handcuffed and his feet were shackled, dpa reported. Igor Matviyets, a member of Halles Jewish community, who stood vigil with dozens of others outside the court building, said he worried the assault would be considered a crime against Jews only and not as an attack on the entire society. That is something Im trying to fight against, Matviyets told The Associated Press. Because everyone could become a target of far-right crime, of far-right terrorists. During his attack, Balliet was armed with eight firearms, several explosive devices, a helmet and a protective vest, according to the indictment. Prosecutors have said the weapons were apparently homemade. Following the attack, the suspect fled the city, wounding another two people in a small town near Halle where he abandoned his car and stole a taxi. Balliet was arrested about 1 1/2 hours after the attack as he got out of the taxi, which had been in an accident. The head of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, Joseph Schuster, called the attack one of the worst anti-Semitic incidents of the last years in Germany. The suffering of the people in the Halle synagogue on Yom Kippur remains inconceivable, Schuster said in a statement. It was a miracle that they could evade this massacre. As the suspect tried to break into the synagogue, terrified worshippers inside were able to watch him through a surveillance camera. Schuster demanded that the court looks into all aspects of the attack, and continues to investigate whether the suspect had any support from others. He lauded the German government for making the fight against far-right crimes one of its top priorities in recent months and said that while the sense of security among Jews in Germany had taken a hard hit after the attack, it was now almost back at the level before the attack, though additional security measures have partially led to restrictions in community life, dpa reported. German authorities vowed to step up measures against far-right extremism following the killing of a regional politician by a suspected neo-Nazi, the attack on the Halle synagogue and the fatal shooting of nine people of immigrant background in Hanau over the past year. A lawyer for the co-plaintiffs, Juri Goldstein, said the trial was also about trying to find out how somebody could develop so much hatred for people that he doesnt know at all. ___ Grieshaber reported from Berlin. An aerial image of Gubei Water Town, a well-known site for rural tourism, in Beijing's Miyun District. [Hou Yu/China News Service] BEIJING A village in Beijing's hilly northern outskirts is experiencing a mini tourism boom thanks to the story of a heroic mother who resisted Japanese troops. Zheng Yan's brightly decorated villa in Zhangjiafen Village, Miyun District, attracted holidaymakers on a recent weekend after the second COVID-19 outbreak waned in the capital. "I am living a quite fulfilling life here," the 37-year-old said, adding that all the villagers earned enough money not to worry about food or clothing. Zheng started her bed and breakfast business seven years ago and has ridden the rising wave of rural tourism, earning about 80,000 yuan ($11,400) a year. Around 40 households in the village running similar business can thank Deng Yufen for the interest in Zhangjiafen. The village was off most people's radars until the story emerged of Deng and her family, and what they went through over 80 years ago. A few kilometers from modern day Zhangjiafen are shattered stone shelters scattered in a mountain forest. In 1933, when the Japanese troops took over Miyun, the villagers fled into the mountains to escape persecution. Deng was among them. Five of her seven sons fought the Japanese, and four of them lost their lives. She suffered further tragedy when her husband also died in the war. "My great-grandma grieved but was never crushed," said Deng's great-grandson Ren Hongwei. "She was determined to do more to safeguard her motherland." In 2012, a statue of Deng was erected by the Miyun district government to commemorate her sacrifices and contributions to the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression (1931-45). "Her spirit has encouraged all the villagers here, and they are working hard toward a better life despite difficulties and hardship," Zheng said. "In the meantime, inspired by her story, many tourists come to visit this village, which further helps boost the tourism industry while increasing our incomes." A statue of Deng Yunfen stands in Miyun. [Photo from CCTV] Apart from Deng's tale of sacrifice, the village boasts magnificent scenery and visitors escape to its cooler climate in summers. Last year, Zhangjiafen attracted 30,000 tourists from home and abroad. "Nestled in the hills and surrounded by water, this place has drawn a great number of visitors," said Zheng Yunlong, Party chief of Zhangjiafen. "In 2010, some villagers came up with the idea of running B&Bs so that tourists could stay overnight rather than rushing to leave before nightfall." He said the idea evolved with support from the village and the township government, which helped set up a tourism cooperative to assist more residents to start B&Bs. Thanks to its rapid development, the per capita net income of the village reached around 29,000 yuan in 2019, with all the villagers moving into new villas. "Our village has witnessed both the history and tremendous changes in China over the past decades," Zheng Yunlong said. "We will continue to contribute to China's goal to build a moderately prosperous society in all respects." Source: Xinhua Over 5,300 Chinese Falun Gong Practitioners Detained, Harassed in the First Half of 2020: Report In the first half of 2020, 5,313 Falun Gong practitioners were detained or harassed in China, according to a report from Minghui.org, a website that documents the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) persecution campaign of Falun Gong. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is an ancient Chinese spiritual practice that consists of slow-moving exercises and meditation with an emphasis on incorporating the principles of truth, compassion, and tolerance in everyday life. Since its introduction in 1992, the practice spread widely in China with around 70 million people practicing by the end of the decade, according to government estimates at the time. Threatened by this popularity, the CCP banned the practice on July 20, 1999, launching an expansive campaign of persecution. Since then, vast swathes of Falun Gong practitioners have been detained or imprisoned as a result of their faith. Millions of adherents have been detained, and hundreds of thousands have been tortured, according to estimates by the Falun Dafa Information Center. In the first half of 2020 alone, 2,654 people were detained (1,408 people have since returned home, 2 people escaped), 2,659 were harassed, 77 were sent to brainwashing classes, 1,687 had their homes raided and personal items confiscated, and 48 were forced to leave home, according to Minghui.org. Among them there were 48 teachers and professors. There are also social elites such as a governmental director, engineer, hospital dean, doctor, regiment-level veteran, accountant, bank cadre, and entrepreneur. 540 of them were over 65, including 6 over 90 years old, 140 between 80 to 90 years old, 278 between 70 to 80 years old, and 116 between 65 to 70 years old. The CCP extorted a total of over 2.8 million yuan (roughly $409,000) from these victims, of which the police confiscated 2.47 million yuan ($354,000) from practitioners and courts fined them 385,000 yuan ($55,000). The following are some of the examples. Woman Dies on Day of Arrest On the early morning of June 18, more than 30 Falun Gong practitioners were abducted by local police in Tangshan city, Hebei Province. The 68-year old Han Yuqin was one of them. After 6 p.m. that day, her family was informed by police of her death. When family members saw her body, her hair was disheveled and her nose was bloodied. According to Minghui.org, she was restrained on an iron chair for long hours while police forced her to sign a document to renounce her faith, but she refused to comply. In the afternoon, she went to a restroom and fainted on the spot. She died after being rushed to a hospital. Harassment The 55-year-old Xia Mingjin is a resident of Nanchang city, Jiangxi Province, a landlocked province in the east of China. On the evening of April 3, 2018, Xia Mingjin was violently kidnapped by local police while she was displaying a Falun Gong banner. She was sentenced to 2 years in prison. After she returned home on April 3, 2020, local police and Communist Party cadres continuously visited her and harassed her. On a monthly basis, she was demanded to report to the police, give fingerprints, write reports about her thinking, and provide her shoe size. Whenever she refused to cooperate, a policeman surnamed Tu would call and harass her husband. Deprived of Retirement Funds In Nanchang city, Liu Yongying was beaten and fired. Liu Yongying, a senior lecturer at a Jiangxi social work college, has been imprisoned repeatedly over five years because of her firm belief in Falun Gong. On April 3, 2018, she was again kidnapped by police and sentenced to 2 years imprisonment. She was consequently fired from her faculty position and deprived of her retirement funds. In August 2020, the Southwest Medical University in Luzhou city, Sichuan, withheld the pension of Tang Xuzhen, a retired associate professor of nine years. The 82-year-old cytopathologist has been a target of persecution for her faith. On June 3, Tang went to the university to demand the recovery of her retirement funds. However, the university called the police and drove her away. Money Seized On the evening of June 26, Ren Haifei was kidnapped by local police in Dalian city, Liaoning Province, located in northeast China. Ren has practiced Falun Gong since he was in college. In 2001, he was abducted by the police and sentenced to seven and a half years in prison. He was also forced to quit college because of the persecution. Most recently, police forced their way into his apartment and took roughly 500,000 yuan ($71,400) in cash from his home. The police also located his personal vehicle and robbed another 50,000 yuan ($7,100) in cash stored in his car. The police have detained Ren in the Yaojia detention center in Dalian. The detention center forbade him from seeing his lawyer, using the current pandemic as the rationale. Gone Missing Yan Yixue was abducted in 2018 to a brainwashing class run by the Shihezi detoxification center in Xinjiang. She was detained for nearly a year and suffered various abuses such as being scolded, shoved, and beaten by the police assistants, according to Minghui.org. As soon as she practiced Falun Gong exercises, the alarm would sound and a group of police assistants would rush in with an iron rod to pull her out and beat her. At one point, she was locked into an iron chair for nearly half a month, during which she went on a hunger strike in protest. This year, she was again kidnapped by the police before the CCPs Two Sessions political meetings on May 21 to 22. She has been missing since then. Recently, the U.S. State and Treasury departments announced sanctions against Chinese officials for their involvement in human rights abuses in the Xinjiang region, where Uyghur Muslims and other minority groups have been detained and tortured. Those communist officials are Chen Quanguo, the Communist Party secretary for the region; Zhu Hailun, former Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Political and Legal Commission; Wang Mingshan, the Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau; and Huo Liujun, former Party Secretary of the Xinjiang Public Security Bureau. The Xinjiang Public Security Bureau (akin to police) is also on the list of sanctions. These officials also participated in the persecution of Falun Gong. Both self-imposed prevention measures such as hand-washing, mask-wearing and social distancing, as well as government-imposed social distancing can help mitigate and delay a COVID-19 epidemic, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Alexandra Teslya of University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands and colleagues. The coronavirus disease COVID-19 has spread to nearly every country in the world and public health policymakers are seeking recommendations on how to delay or flatten its peak. In the new study, researchers developed a computational model of the spread of COVID-19 based on known information about the epidemiology of the disease. They used the model to study the predicted effect of various prevention measures on the number and timing of coronavirus cases. If a population quickly becomes aware of the coronavirus and effective prevention measures, self-imposed prevention measures can both diminish and postpone the peak number of cases, the model showed. If the efficacy of the self-imposed measures exceeds 50%, a large epidemic can be prevented. If self-imposed prevention measures are slow to catch on, however, they may only reduce the number of cases but not delay a peak. Early implementation of government-imposed social distancing, however, was found to delay but not reduce the peak of the COVID-19 epidemic. Combining self-imposed prevention measures--particularly if adopted quickly and by a large portion of the population--with government-imposed social distancing has the potential to both delay and shrink the peak of the epidemic. The model did not account for demographics or heterogeneity in contact patterns of different people. "We stress the importance of disease awareness in controlling the ongoing epidemic and recommend that, in addition to policies on social distancing, government and public health institutions mobilize people to adopt self-imposed measures with proven efficacy in order to successfully tackle COVID-19," the authors say. In an accompanying Perspective, Professor Yuming Guo of Monash University, Australia, and colleagues write that the new findings are important not only in minimizing initial outbreaks of COVID-19, but in strategies to prevent second epidemics. Improving awareness of self-imposed interventions is critical to prevent wide-spreading epidemics, particularly among ethnic minorities and elderly populations who are at risk. "Many of the self-imposed prevention strategies have very limited impact on the economy but contribute very significantly to epidemic control and are likely to play a very substantial role in control," they write. ### Research Article In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003104 Funding: This study was funded by the following: Fundacao para a Ciencia e a Tecnologia, project reference 131_596787873, awarded to GR, https://www.fct.pt; ZonMw 91216062, awarded to MEK, funded MEK and AT, https://www.zonmw.nl/en/; One Health European Joint Programme Horizon 2020 project 773830 (award recipient is not an author of this manuscript) funded NGG and MCJB, https://ec.europa.eu/programmes/horizon2020/en; and Aidsfonds Netherlands project P-29704 (award recipient is not an author of this manuscript) funded GR, https://aidsfonds.nl/. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Competing Interests: MEK is a member of the Editorial Board of PLOS Medicine. The other authors have declared that no competing interests exist. Citation: Teslya A, Pham TM, Godijk NG, Kretzschmar ME, Bootsma MCJ, Rozhnova G (2020) Impact of self-imposed prevention measures and short-term government-imposed social distancing on mitigating and delaying a COVID-19 epidemic: A modelling study. PLoS Med 17(7): e1003166. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003166 Author Affiliations: University Medical Center Utrecht, Utrecht, the Netherlands Perspective In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper: http://journals.plos.org/plosmedicine/article?id=10.1371/journal.pmed.1003240 Funding: The work is supported by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. LZ is supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant number: 8191101420); Outstanding Young Scholars Funding (Grant number: 3111500001); Xi'an Jiaotong University Basic Research and Profession Grant (Grant number: xtr022019003) and Xi'an Jiaotong University Young Talent Support Grant (Grant number: YX6J004). YG is supported by Career Development Fellowships of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council (Grant number: APP1163693). Competing Interests: I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: YG is a member of the Editorial Board of PLOS Medicine. Citation: Zhang L, Tao Y, Shen M, Fairley CK, Guo Y (2020) Can self-imposed prevention measures mitigate the COVID-19 epidemic? PLoS Med 17(7): e1003240. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pmed.1003240 Author Affiliations: Monash University; Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China; China-Australia Joint Research Center for Infectious Diseases, School of Public Health, Xi'an Jiaotong University Health Science Center, Xi'an, Shaanxi, PR China The national leader of the All Progressives Congress, Bola Tinubu, has described the late Ismaila Isa Funtua as a rare individual of immense talents, abilities and generosity. In a statement issued by his media office Tuesday, Mr Tinubu said the death of the newspaper publisher and businessman is a saddening national loss. We spoke but two days before, as we often do, said Mr Tinubu, a former Lagos State governor. He spoke vibrantly, with his trademark logic and deep knowledge. We ended our conversation agreeing to resume soon again. There was no indication that this would be our last talk. Mr Funtua died Monday night while keeping a doctors appointment, family sources said. President Muhammadu Buhari and former vice president Atiku Abubakar are among those who have paid tributes to the late industrialist. Mr Tinubu said he knew Mr Isa-Funtua for many years. Mallam Funtua loved our nation with uncompromising passion having served Nigeria with dedication and commitment at different times in many important capacities, he continued. He wanted the best for the country and its people and worked diligently in his private capacity to advance the course of Nigeria. As a long-time friend, associate and in-law of President Muhammadu Buhari, he served as a strong buttress of support for the president and for his progressive administration. I commiserate with President Buhari at this time for we have suffered the loss of another person of great intellect and extraordinary character. Our national family mourns deeply because of this unexpected departure, May Allah give our President the added strength and grace to overcome this loss. I mourn with the immediate and extended Funtua family who have lost a father, patriarch and much more. My condolences to Governor Aminu Bello Waziri of Katsina State and the Funtua Community. We have lost too many outstanding Nigerians in such a short time. We cannot question why for the will of Almighty Allah is sovereign and supreme. Dr. Carol Calderwood gave Ravalli County Commissioners a letter of resignation over the weekend as the county's public health officer of 13 years, stating she feels she has been placed in another no-win situation by the locally elected officials decision to disobey the Governors directives without my input." The resignation letter followed a July 15 directive from Gov. Steve Bullock requiring indoor mask wearing for every county with more than four active cases of COVID-19 and an announcement one day later from the Ravalli County Commissioners and Sheriff's Office stating business owners could decide whether to require masks. Private business owners may choose to enforce the Governors directive, said the joint press release. Everyone has the right and ability to shop or patronize businesses they feel comfortable in. Criminal citations will not be issued for violations of the mask directive. In a phone call Monday, Calderwood said the situation at Ravalli County hasnt been too strained or politically divided. Ravalli County counted three new cases for a total of 13 as of Monday. I respect the Commissioners, and their outlook is different from mine, and weve been able to work through that, Calderwood said. (But) I feel like making it optional on their end is not compliant with the governors intent. Also, the change in the science with studies and where we are at in the pandemic that if any time is going to make a difference, now is the time. I dont want to go head to head with good leaders, but I had to make a stand. Her announcement comes on the heels of the resignation of the public health officer in Powell County following a clash over coronavirus restrictions. Calderwood said Monday the state health department informed her "several" other public health officers had also tendered resignations, a situation she believes is likely the result of stress, burnout or "the right time for change." Theres just kind of combat fatigue, and it is time to reorganize the groups or leaders. That may be what others are feeling too," Calderwood said. The Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services confirmed Monday other public health officers had resigned in recent months, in particular from Flathead and Toole counties, and said the counties would need to provide the specific reasons for their departures. Local health officers' duties include protecting the public from communicable diseases and managing important public health concerns. *** Ravalli County Commission Chair Chris Hoffman said Monday he doesnt understand the reason Calderwood was frustrated enough to resign. However, he said several weeks ago the commission discussed that County Sanitarian John Palacio, who works in the health department, would be the next appointed health officer should a replacement become necessary. My understanding of the appointment was to have someone to cover the position if Dr. Calderwood was unavailable, out of town, etc., Hoffman said. We were getting into a lot of time without a break for her, and so the board was trying to build in backup for her. The sanitarian is an environmental health specialist charged with a range of responsibilities including taking care of flooding, emergency preparedness, food safety, household hazardous waste, air quality, outdoor burning, septic systems, solid waste disposal, water quality and groundwater and wells. A doctor is preferable, but his education and training will do for the time being, Hoffman said of the sanitarian. Carol has assured me that she will continue to be available for advice. Hoffman also said he feels the commissioners have supported the public health department throughout the pandemic. Although most infected people recover from the novel coronavirus, COVID-19 has resulted in 140,922 deaths in the U.S. alone since March, according to the Johns Hopkins University and Medicine Coronavirus Resource Center. Weve just about given carte blanche on resources they say they need to combat this thing, Hoffman said. At the same time, he acknowledged there have been some disagreements. He said the health and safety section of Montana Code Annotated, Code 50, makes it nearly impossible to not have disagreements because the code "almost completely has the commissioners abdicate their responsibilities in a time of crisis." "Have we questioned the data? Have we questioned the numbers? Absolutely, our community is asking those questions, Hoffman said. Sheriff Steve Holton earlier described the approach to enforcement in Ravalli County: If a business owner or staff asks someone to wear a mask while they are in a business and they refuse, they are trespassing. I will enforce that. On the same token, if someone goes into a business where no one is wearing a mask, they can choose not to patronize that business. We will keep the peace and enforce private property rights. The Governor's Office has encouraged education and warnings and reserving penalties for only egregious cases and repeat violators. *** In a Facebook post Saturday, former Ravalli County public health nurse LuAnn Burgmuller said the resignation of the county health officer was a sad day for Ravalli County. Dr. Calderwood is one of the most dedicated, ethical leaders I have ever had the pleasure to work with, Burgmuller said. Her commitment to this community has been beyond reproach over these many years. Now she is being vilified for trying to keep our residents healthy and alive. It is impossible to deliver best practices when not supported and being publicly defied by elected officials. We have lost someone with ethics and integritytwo qualities which are in short supply these days. Burgmuller had retired, but in March she stepped back into Public Health to help with the pandemic. She resigned on Sunday. On Monday she said her Facebook post was simply to support Calderwood. She tried to do the right thing, and she doesnt have a political agenda, she is a medical person trying to do the best, Burgmuller said. Ethically she cant defy the law. In a press release about her departure, Calderwood said it is the right time for her to step down and focus on her clinical practice. Sincere thanks to the Elected Officials, to Board of Health members, and to my numerous other county colleagues who have worked tirelessly with me through the beginning stages of the COVID pandemic, she said. I am confident that our combined efforts, along with State and national actions, have slowed the spread and brought our community time to establish plans and to accumulate supplies. Systems are now in place for reasonable way forward, even if our teams may shift. In Calderwood's resignation letter to the commissioners, she said she disagrees with not enforcing mask wearing locally because masks are easy to use, safe, cheap, and (now studies show) effective." I would have liked to have stayed on as HO at least long enough to see us through this whole pandemic, Calderwood said. I am extremely proud of impacts I have had, independently and as part of the teams we built in the county and the hospital, through the early phases of this crisis up to this point. In a separate release from the local health department, Calderwood said she believes the worst is yet to come with the pandemic, and our combined social actions are probably at their most critical. Therefore, I do personally support the Governor's Masking Directive, in part to increase chances that businesses may stay open," she said. She said she will shift her focus to contributions through the hospital but is available to give medical advice to the County Public Health Nursing Office as long as needed." *** In a statement Monday, Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services Director Sheila Hogan said she appreciates the effort by local county health departments and law enforcement to implement the recent directive requiring face coverings. DPHHS knows how businesses have acted quickly to communicate this change to their customers, Hogan said. Certainly, there have been challenges along the way as we all work to fight COVID-19. But, local communities have done a great job working together. Until there is a vaccine, one of the most important public health prevention tools is to wear a mask in order to protect the health and safety of all Montanans. DPHHS Public Information Officer Jon Ebelt said any directive takes time to implement. The directive was only recently announced on July 15, and local jurisdictions are working hard to implement it, Elbelt said in an email. Governor Bullock is urging local public health agencies and law enforcement to focus their enforcement of this directive on education, providing warnings and education about the risk of transmission, while reserving the imposition of penalties, trespass enforcement, and other formal enforcement mechanisms for only the egregious, repeat violations that put the public at risk. The Ravalli County Health Board will meet July 28 and would take any formal action on Calderwood's resignation letter at that time. The board is made up of the following members: Commissioner Jeff Burrows, Katie Scholl, Dr. Michael Turner, Roger De Haan and Dr. Wayne Chilcote. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 13 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. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Apriadi Gunawan (The Jakarta Post) Medan Tue, July 21, 2020 08:32 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667fd063 1 National COVID-19,Medan,North-Sumatra,Medan-Archdiocese Free Worship services in the Medan archdiocese in North Sumatra have been suspended until further notice after seven people, including Medan archbishop Mgr. Kornelius Sipayung, contracted COVID-19. Medan archdiocese spokesperson Benjamin Purba said the services were suspended to prevent the spread of the contagious respiratory disease within the church community. We dont want any more [people] to be infected with COVID-19, so we have stopped services within the Medan archdiocese, Benjamin told The Jakarta Post on Monday. Benjamin said Kornelius was the first to be confirmed positive before four priests, who also live within the archdiocese on Jl. Imam Bonjol, Medan, tested positive. The four priests are Michael Manurung, Frans Borta P. Rumapea, Romualdus Namirun and Jody Turnip. Read also: 'Reinfected' North Sumatra COVID-19 patient 'feels fine, but stressed' Two nuns had also tested positive, Benjamin added. They are currently receiving treatment at a hospital, Benjamin said, adding that the patients, including Kornelius, were in a stable condition. Benjamin urged all residents and worshipers who had been in close contact with the patients to consult a doctor. Anyone who has met with the archbishop, pastors or nuns since July 1, please immediately consult a doctor. We must be cautious, he said. North Sumatra COVID-19 task force spokesperson Aris Yudhariansyah confirmed the reported infections among people in the Medan archdiocese, without revealing any more details. As of Monday, North Sumatra has recorded 2,952 confirmed COVID-19 infections and 149 deaths. (syk) Close UK Government did not seek to look into possible Russian political interference The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) has judged it credible that Russia tried to interfere in the Scottish independence referendum as part of an effort to influence political life in the UK. MPs setting out the Russia report have told Boris Johnson to order an assessment of potential Russian meddling in the Brexit referendum. The government did not want to know if there been interference in the 2016 vote and had actively avoided looking for evidence, they said. However the government quickly rejected the call for further enquiries, with foreign secretary Dominic Raab describing a retrospective investigation as unnecessary. Nguyen Thi Dinh, an 83-year-old woman from Vietnams Ben Tre Province, allegedly stopped cutting her hair when she was 19, which explains why it measures 6 meters in length and is shaped like a python. Just a week after Indian man Doddapalliah made international news headlines with his 7.3-meter-long-hair, which he claimed he had never even trimmed, we feature the story of a Vietnamese pensioner who insists that she hasnt cut or even shampooed her locks in the last 64 years. It all started when Nguyen Thi Dinh, from Binh Thanh Commune, in Giong Trom District, was 19 years old and cut her hair for the first time. She claims to have experienced such severe headaches that her parents took her to see a doctor, but even after taking the prescribed treatment, the symptoms persisted. The headaches only went away when her hair started growing longer again, so she has refrained from cutting her locks ever since. Since then I have stopped cutting my hair, and as it grew back, my disease gradually improved. Strangely, when I washed my hair, my head started hurting again. So I stopped washing my hair completely and didnt let my hair touch water, Dinh recently told Tinmoi.vn. As it grew longer, Nguyen Thi Dinhs hair became harder to manage, so she bundled it in a thick dreadlock that now, at over 6 meters long, resembles a python. Although the hair on her head is now grey, most of the long snake is now brown, a palpable memory of her younger days In 1990, Nguyen Thi Dinh asked permission to move into the Buddhist Hue Phuoc temple, where she has been living ever since. She became a vegetarian and gradually eliminated all but one meal throughout the day, started reciting Buddhist mantras and adopted a very frugal lifestyle. All this has reportedly helped her maintain her health, both physical and mental, even at the age of 83. Dinhs hair is still growing at a rate of about 10 cm a year, and while it may never break the Guinness Record for the worlds longest hair, at 6.1 meters in length, its still very impressive. For more freaky hair stories, check out this Chinese man who hasnt cut his hair in over half a century, this woman with a hair snake growing out of her scalp, or this Indian man who hasnt cut or washed his hair in 40 years. New Delhi, July 22 : The board of directors meeting of the Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) scheduled for July 24 to consider the quarterly results will now be held on July 30. "Further to our letter dated July 18, 2020, kindly note that the meeting of the Board of Directors of the Company inter alia to consider and approve the standalone and consolidated unaudited financial results of the Company for the quarter ended June 30, 2020 will be held on Thursday, July 30, 2020 instead of on Friday, July 24, 2020 as intimated earlier," RIL said in a stock exchange filing. The communication to the exchanges did not give the reason for the deferment of the board meeting. In a communication dated July 18, RIL had informed the exchanges that the meeting of the board of directors of the company is scheduled on July 24 to consider and approve the financial results of the company for the quarter ended June 30, 2020. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 04:23:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TRIPOLI, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Higher Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday said that 76 refugees have been rescued off Libya's western coast. "Yesterday evening, 76 refugees and migrants were brought back to Al Khoms (western Libya) after being intercepted at sea," UNHCR tweeted. Encouraged by the state of insecurity and chaos that plagued the country since the 2011 fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime, illegal immigrants choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya towards Europe. UNHCR estimates that more than 2,200 refugees and migrants are being held in detention centers in Libya. Enditem When will public servants return to the office? That depends In the four weeks since Treasury Board President Jean-Yves Duclos announced public servants might start their gradual return to the office, employees in the National Capital Region are still wondering how long they'll be working from home (WFH). A post on Reddit last week asked the question: "When will WFH end?" It garnered 117 speculative comments. In August? After Labour Day? In January? Will the maximum capacity for the building be capped at 25 per cent? Will employees' on-site days be staggered? One user who calls themselves kristin_loves_quiet wrote in the Canada Public Servants subreddit, "I don't think any of us will go back full-time. That's not the sense I get from the communications we get internally." Other Redditors speculated that there could be serious logistical issues with getting back into office towers via the elevators, while maintaining social distancing. "My Department crunched numbers and found it would take 21 hours to process incoming workers entering the building and reaching their workstations if following all precautionary measures. Suffice it to say, we're gonna be home for a while," wrote a user called themselves shovelhooker. Emilien Juteau/Radio-Canada One union that represents federal public servants says they have been talking to the government about the challenges of getting people in and out of offices while keeping a safe distance, in the on-going efforts to keep the transmission of COVID-19 at bay. "Imagine you're in a tower with 20 floors, for example, and you're waiting on the 15th floor to get on the elevator," said Debi Daviau, president of the Professional Institute of the Public Service of Canada (PIPSC). "And it really doesn't matter which direction it comes from, you're never going to get on that elevator ... if you can only fit one or two people in." WATCH: What to weigh when coming back Government to 'move cautiously' on office return Story continues The obstacles of returning to work during the pandemic would make for a great topic of conversation around the water cooler, if only workers were allowed to congregate around water coolers. But it does not appear that WFH will end any time soon for many of Ottawa's public servants. Duclos announced on June 22 that most federal workers will be doing their jobs remotely for the foreseeable future some permanently. Each department was directed to create its own plan for returning workers to their physical workplace. Most have not announced dates when in-office work might start, and plans could change depending on whether there's a second wave of the novel coronavirus in the fall. CBC Ottawa contacted every government department that employs more than 500 employees in the National Capital Region (NCR) to ask what progress had been made on plans for employees to return to the office, and what percentage they expected would never return. (See responses below.) Only the RCMP, the Auditor General's Office, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research and Elections Canada replied directly. The other responses were sent to CBC via the Treasury Board Secretariat. The TBS said in a statement: "Most employees who are able to work remotely will be asked to continue doing so for the foreseeable future. "Employees who require on-site access to specialized facilities, equipment and/or networks and those who may have functions that are less conducive to remote work will be considered for a return to the workplace." Daviau says her union has been asking the government how washrooms and common spaces like kitchenettes will be handled, but she has not had a response. "I think the employer is not answering that question because they don't have an answer. Nobody can really conceive how this is going to work effectively in large buildings," she said, adding that the maximum capacity for federal buildings could be only 25 to 30 per cent if social distancing is maintained. Radio-Canada The government will "move cautiously" as it considers gradually increasing the number of employees in federal worksites, according to the Treasury Board's statement. Departments will mandate a maximum number of staff, restrict common spaces, and keep workers separated with one-way staircases and hallways. Departments may also consider rotating staff and varying scheduling. "Protecting the health and safety of employees will remain the number one priority throughout this process," the statement read. Here is an edited version of individual plans for the 37 departments contacted by CBC: Many noted that the school had made no attempt to consider a hybrid-learning plan which would split the student population in half to attend school on different days and do eLearning on days when students arent in the buildings or even ask if it was something families wanted, expressing disapproval that the option was left off of a survey sent out to parents asking what they want the school year to look like. WASHINGTON - Homeland Security officials said Monday that they are preparing to deploy federal agents to Chicago, and President Donald Trump threatened to send U.S. law enforcement personnel to other Democratic-led cities experiencing spates of crime as he defended his use of force in Portland, where agents have clashed nightly with protesters and made arrests from unmarked cars. Calling the unrest in Portland "worse than Afghanistan," Trump's rhetoric escalated tensions with Democratic mayors and governors who have criticized the presence of federal agents on U.S. streets, telling reporters at the White House that he would send forces into jurisdictions with or without the cooperation of their elected leaders. "We're looking at Chicago, too. We're looking New York," he said. "All run by very liberal Democrats. All run, really, by the radical left." "This is worse than anything anyone's ever seen," Trump continued. "And you know what? If Biden got in, that would be true for the country. The whole country would go to hell." With his poll numbers sinking amid widespread frustration at his response to the coronavirus pandemic, Trump has cast himself as a law-and-order strongman who will pacify U.S. communities roiled in recent months by spreading disease, the economic crisis and large street protests for racial justice. Three Department of Homeland Security officials said Monday the agency has been making preparations to deploy agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Chicago, but the officials said operational details of the plan are not yet finalized. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the plans, said the agents, who are part of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations division, would not engage in immigration enforcement operations, and probably would assist with intelligence-gathering and targeting of the drug-trafficking groups and gangs driving the violence. Trump has mentioned New York and Philadelphia as two other cities where his administration is looking to send in federal agents, but two DHS officials said Chicago is the only city where their plans have advanced. The Chicago Tribune first reported on the plans Monday, and said up to 150 agents would be involved, but the DHS officials said the size of the HSI contingent remains in flux and would likely be smaller. DHS officials involved in the preparations also said the federal agents would be directed by the Department of Justice, and their assignment in Chicago would be very different from the standoff between federal forces and protesters in Portland, despite the president's attempts to link the two. On Sunday Trump lashed out at the Democratic officials in Oregon who have asked his administration to withdraw from Portland, saying the tactics of DHS agents was exacerbating the confrontation outside the federal courthouse where violent clashes have played out over the past several weeks. Border Patrol SWAT teams from the agency's BORTAC tactical unit have squared off against militant protesters including anarchists wielding fireworks, laser pointers and slingshots, among other improvised weapons. "The Radical Left Democrats, who totally control Biden, will destroy our Country as we know it," the president wrote Sunday in a tweet. "Unimaginably bad things would happen to America. Look at Portland, where the pols are just fine with 50 days of anarchy. We sent in help. Look at New York, Chicago, Philadelphia. NO!" Portland and Seattle are the only cities that have seen sustained clashes between militant protesters and authorities. Homeland Security officials sent BORTAC agents as well as ICE tactical officers to both cities in anticipation of clashes on the Fourth of July holiday, but the federal forces have mostly been withdrawn from Seattle. In Portland, they remain to defend the federal courthouse that has become a proxy for the Trump administration. The tactical teams are trained in riot control and mass demonstrations, but their field experience has mostly occurred along the border - where the Border Patrol has repelled migrant "caravans" with tear gas - and immigration jails where detainees sometimes riot. "These guys go up against the worst of worst along the southwest border, and their teams were built to have capability to do crowd controls and riots - that's part of their basic certification," said Ron Vitiello, the former Border Patrol chief and acting director of ICE until 2019. On the streets of Portland, they have been flummoxed by protesters and anarchist groups using tactics to disguise their identities and work in coordination to confuse agents, DHS officials said. One official said protesters over the weekend had arrived to the clashes armed with leaf blowers, using them to disperse tear gas and sent irritants back at federal agents. Chicago's gun violence has long been a focus of Trump's ire, and he has repeatedly criticized law enforcement and city officials - sometimes by name - when invoking it. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he said police in the city needed to be "much tougher." Shortly after taking office, Trump said that the violence was "very easily fixable" and that officials there were "not doing the job." Trump tweeted early in his tenure that he would "send in the Feds!" even though there were a number of federal officials in Chicago working with task forces that included the city's police. City officials had said they welcomed more federal help prosecuting gun crimes. Trump's focus on Chicago has continued as bloodshed there has declined. Gun violence in Chicago surged in 2016 - with the city having its deadliest year in two decades - and homicides have declined in the years since. But this year has seen a dangerous reversal of those trends, with shootings and killings both rising. As of Monday morning, there had been 414 homicides, more than 1,600 shootings and more than 2,000 shooting victims this year, according to Chicago police data - all numbers significantly ahead of where they were at the same point last year. Some other major American cities were also seeing increases in homicides over last year, while reports of some other crimes had declined. Last month, Trump released a letter assailing state and city officials for the violence, describing them as having a "lack of leadership on this important issue." He also criticized local taxes on residents. In response, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, dismissed his comments in a statement posted on Twitter, saying the president was "using the victims of gun violence in our city to score cheap political points." Trump also mentioned Philadelphia on Monday, days after taking aim at Larry Krasner, the city's district attorney. Krasner is one of the most high-profile liberal prosecutors elected in recent years who have pledged to decline lower-level charges and change other criminal justice policies. Trump repeatedly criticized Krasner, and last week referred to places "appointing left-wing social justice prosecutors, like you have in Philadelphia." In a statement on Monday responding to Trump's suggestion that he could send more federal forces to Philadelphia, Krasner invoked his father and uncles who "served in World War II to fight fascism . . . so we would not have an American president brutalizing and kidnapping Americans for exercising their constitutional rights." Krasner also bluntly warned that federal officials could face prosecution. "Anyone, including federal law enforcement, who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people will face criminal charges from my office," Krasner said. "At trial, they will face a Philadelphia jury. It's the least we can do to honor those who fought fascism, including those who are fighting it even now." - - - The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett contributed to this report. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 11:30:19|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Monday launched its Hope probe, also the Arab world's first Mars orbiter, at 6:58 a.m. local time (2158 GMT Sunday) from the Tanegashima Space Center in Kagoshima Prefecture in southwestern Japan. Carried into sky by an H2A rocket, the spacecraft separated from the rocket about an hour after the launch and began a journey to Mars that will last until February 2021 to mark the 50th anniversary of the founding of the UAE. The launch was originally set for Wednesday, but was postponed due to bad weather at the launch site. The 1.5-ton Hope probe, which measures 2.9 meters in length and 2.37 meters in width, is carrying three instruments: an infrared spectrometer, an ultraviolet spectrometer and a camera. Instead of landing on Mars, the probe will orbit the red planet from 20,000 to 40,000 km above the surface. It takes about 55 hours to orbit Mars once, and it will continue to orbit the red planet for at least two years. After entering the orbit, the spacecraft will collect meteorological data from different regions of Mars at different times to help researchers understand and master the climatic conditions of Mars more comprehensively, and to study the mystery of Mars drying up as well as the evolution of the Earth's atmosphere. The UAE established its national space agency in 2014, planning to become the first Arab country to send an unmanned probe to Mars. However, because of lack of experience, the agency and Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center chose to work with the Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado, and spent six years on developing Hope. Enditem To the Editor: Re Trump Threatens to Use Force in Major Cities (front page, July 21): What goes into the formula that President Trump used to send federal forces to Portland, Ore.? Portland has a Democratic mayor. The governor is a Democrat, as are the two senators. Any objections by these Democratic officials will fall on deaf ears in Mr. Trumps America. The president says New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore could be next because they are all run by liberal Democrats. The president does not treat the coronavirus as the enemy. He does not treat Russians who may have paid bounties for the lives of American soldiers as the enemy. The enemy is the Democratic Party, and the only war that moves him is the election. There is only one way this war against our citizens can end. Republicans must speak out now. You have the only voices the president can hear. Your silence is deafening. Elliott Miller Bala Cynwyd, Pa. To the Editor: In a different era, President Lyndon B. Johnson federalized the Alabama National Guard to protect protesters after John Lewis and others were savaged by the police. Over the objections of state and city officials, Mr. Trump has decided that his election fortunes may improve if he foments violence by federal officers in Portland. He threatened to do so in Chicago and elsewhere. Barcelona has slashed the capacity limit on ten of its beaches by 6,000 people amid concerns of a second wave of coronavirus. Spain's second-largest city implemented the measures to prevent another outbreak of the virus but also ruled out total blanket closures in the city. The city is at the heart of an increase in coronavirus cases seen since Spain ended its state of emergency a month ago. Barcelona has slashed the capacity limit on ten of its beaches by 6,000 people amid concerns of a second wave of coronavirus The move comes as the city, which has been at the centre of a recent rise in coronavirus cases, tries to prevent a second outbreak of the virus Tourists have also been told they 'probably shouldn't plan a visit on a Friday or at the weekends between 4pm and 8pm' and on Friday residents were told not to leave their homes unless for essential trips. The new order was confirmed today as part of tougher new regulations in Barcelona itself and its various municipalities. The ten beaches had space for 38,000 people in total which allowed for social distancing but capacity will now be cut by 15 per cent to 32,000. Councillor for climate emergency Eloi Badia said the decision had been taken after consultations with the districts which would establish extra control measures to contain the spread of COVID-19. It had been decided not to close any of the beaches as this would only encourage a 'mass exodus' from one closed beach to another which was open. Tourists have also been told they 'probably shouldn't plan a visit on a Friday or at the weekends between 4pm and 8pm'. Pictured: Local police officers inform people that the beach is closed in Barcelona on July 19 The ten beaches had space for 38,000 people in total which allowed for social distancing but capacity will now be cut by 15 per cent to 32,000 Eloi Badia said they didn't anticipate massive queues as a result of the reduced capacity as, with the exception of some weekends and Friday afternoons, the beaches hadn't been full. But he did say: 'I would recommend not going to the beach on Friday and the weekend from 4ppm to 8pm which is when there is the most occupation.' Last weekend, five beaches, including La Barceloneta, had to be closed at some stage because they had reached full capacity. This was despite the new lockdown measures imposed by the Generalitat of Catalonia which recommended the citizens of Barcelona and its metropolitan area, which number about four million, not to go outside to avoid the spread of COVID-19. A web page has been set up (barcelona.cat/plages) where tourists can find out the occupation of the beaches. Councillor for climate emergency Eloi Badia said the decision had been taken after consultations with the districts The decision was made not to close any of the beaches completely in case people were put off from visiting those beaches which remained open The system for calculating the surface available on the beaches of Barcelona has been maintained by a system of video sensors that monitor its beaches. 18 of these sensors were installed on June 8th, coinciding with the start of the bathing season. Indicators are created based on the information obtained by the sensors and they show: Green indicator: low occupancy (less than 40%). Yellow indicator: normal employment (between 40% and 60%). Orange indicator: high occupancy (between 60% and 80%). It is recommended to go to beaches with less influx of people and regulated access begins on that beach. Red indicator: very high employment (more than 80%). Access to the beach is closed and users are informed through informants and informants with the support of the Barcelona City Guard. The system for calculating the surface available on the beaches of Barcelona has been maintained by a system of 18 video sensors that monitor its beaches Restrictions have also been imposed on other businesses, with cinemas, nightclubs and gyms all being told to close their doors again in Barcelona In addition, the beach public address system also reports on the state of occupation, access points and other prevention recommendations. Restrictions have also been imposed on other businesses, with cinemas, nightclubs and gyms all being told to close their doors again in Barcelona. Gatherings of more than ten people has also been banned with the occupancy of bars and restaurants reduced. Oscar Simon, the head of a martial arts school asked: 'Why do we have to be closed?' 'We cannot cope with this crisis, three more months closed will send us to our death,' Simon said, stressing he had spent a lot of money in protective equipment that guaranteed health standards. Catalonia's deputy leader Pere Aragones told a press conference that the region, which Barcelona is the capital of, is seeking 30billion euros from the 140billion received by the Spanish government from the EU to help businesses and residents. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 05:29:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAPE TOWN, July 20 (Xinhua) -- South Africa's Minister of Mineral Resources and Energy Gwede Mantashe was admitted to hospital for COVID-19 on Monday, the government announced. Mantashe was admitted to hospital on the advice of their family doctor for better medical attention and monitoring, government spokesperson Phumla Williams said in a statement. Mantashe and his wife Nolwandle Mantashe had been put under self-isolation at home after testing positive for COVID-19 a week ago. Mantashe's wife remained in self-isolation although her husband has been admitted to hospital, Williams said. "We will continue to give the Mantashe family all the support they need during this time. We wish both Minister and Mrs Mantashe a speedy recovery from this invisible enemy and we are quite confident that they will emerge victorious against the coronavirus," said Williams. In addition to Mantashe, two other cabinet officials - Minister of Employment and Labor Thembelani Nxesi and Minister of Defence and Military Veterans Nosiviwe Mapisa-Nqakula - have also tested positive for COVID-19. Mapisa-Nqakula has recovered and Nxesi is still in self-quarantine, the government said earlier. The transmissions among senior politicians highlight the seriousness of the escalating pandemic in South Africa, the worst affected country on the African continent. As of Monday, South Africa recorded 364,328 confirmed cases and 5,033 related deaths, according to official figures. Enditem Tim Stitz has been appointed executive producer and co-chief executive officer at Geelong's internationally acclaimed Back To Back Theatre. Although he had not long been employed at the Australian Performing Arts Market Office when this gig came up, he couldn't resist: "Why wouldnt you want to work with one of the best theatre companies in the world?" Tim Stitz, new executive producer and co-CEO of Back to Back Theatre in Geelong. Back To Back is a 28-year-old theatre group, an ensemble of six actors who together with artistic director Bruce Gladwin conceive, write and perform their own works. They have toured the world, and won many awards for shows including The Shadow Whose Prey the Hunter Becomes, Ganesh and the Third Reich and The Democratic Set. Oddlands in 2017 was their first foray into television, screened on the ABC and at various film festivals locally and internationally. Stitz was creative director and CEO of Chamber Made from 20132018 and led the fundraising for the rebuild of La Mama Theatre, following the devastating fire in 2018. He has also worked at Arts Centre Melbourne and Creative Partnerships Australia. His appointment follows the departure of Alice Nash, who after 17 years with Back To Back took up a position with the Australia Council in March. Stitz recalls seeing the ground-breaking theatre group's Small Metal Objects as part of the Melbourne Festival in 2005, when he had just finished university and was "like a baby theatre artist actor. Royal Bank of Scotland will drop its 293-year-old name today in what chief executive Alison Rose called a 'symbolic moment'. The bank will take on the moniker of its more popular brand Natwest as it attempts to draw a line under the rocky period following its 2008 taxpayer bailout. But the lender's efforts to put its chequered past behind it are already approaching hurdles, amid warnings that the taxpayer is facing even heavier losses from its bailout than expected. 'Symbolic moment': Royal Bank of Scotland will drop its 293-year-old name today and take on the moniker of its more popular brand Natwest. Alison Rose (pictured) is its first female chief The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) predicted last week that the drawn-out sale of the Government's stake in RBS could be pushed back by at least another five years, due to the coronavirus pandemic. Market turbulence caused by the virus means the Treasury will not be able to re-start privatising RBS this year as planned, the OBR thinks. And the taxpayer, which was already facing a 32billion loss on the bank's 45.5billion rescue during the financial crisis, will suffer even more due to the delays. Fired: Fred 'The Shred' Goodwin ran RBS between 2001-2009 Along with setbacks to the sales of other smaller remnants of bust banks, the OBR predicts the postponement to RBS's re-privatisation will add 11.4billion to the national debt over the next five years. The OBR's warning comes as RBS ditches the name it has held since 1727, in a bid to improve its reputation which was sullied in the aftermath of the 2008 financial crisis. It is the latest step in a shake-up spearheaded by chief executive Rose, who took over last year. She said: 'This is a historic day for our bank as we intend to change our name to Natwest Group plc. 'Although there will be no changes to our customer brands, it's a symbolic moment for our colleagues and stakeholders. 'The bank has changed fundamentally over the last decade and now is the right time to align our group name with the brand under which the majority of our business is delivered.' Business was booming for RBS in the years leading up to 2008. Under the leadership of Fred 'The Shred' Goodwin who earned his nickname for his ruthless cost-cutting the bank went on an ill-advised acquisition spree. After buying Churchill insurance, a string of US firms, and a minority stake in Bank of China, RBS's buying binge culminated in the takeover of ABN Amro in 2007. This proved to be the final straw for the rapidly expanded lender, which by then was heavily exposed to the US sub-prime mortgage crisis. Just months later, its then-chairman Sir Tom McKillop called Alistair Darling, chancellor at the time, to tell him the bank would run out of money that afternoon. A huge 45.5billion bailout followed, and even after selling down two chunks of shares in 2015 and 2018 accepting a loss of more than 3billion the taxpayer still owns 62 per cent of RBS. Its reputation took a further battering after the City regulator found that RBS's toxic Global Restructuring Group had brutally mistreated thousands of small businesses. Rose is now attempting to give the bank a friendlier face, promising a renewed focus on small business customers and slimming down its investment bank. And today RBS will announce the appointment of economist Lord Stern as an independent adviser on the effects of climate change. Even so, in its 'central' or most-likely scenario, the OBR thinks the Government will have to wait for another two years before it can begin selling its shares in the bank again. And in its worst-case scenario, this could extend beyond five years. When the Treasury does get round to selling its remaining stake in RBS, it will be at a heavy loss. Even since March, when the OBR put out its Spring report predicting that the taxpayer would suffer a 32billion loss from the RBS bailout, shares have tumbled by almost 50 per cent. The bank's stock is now trading at just under 122p, down from 502p at the time of the bailout. Yesterday they were up 1.6 per cent, or 1.9p, to 121.35p. Lord Mann, former chairman of Parliament's treasury committee, said: 'This overlapping from one crisis, banking, into another, the current one, is very unhealthy for the economy. 'We are taking quite a gamble on RBS maintaining its value a beady eye must be kept on their top bankers.' michael barbaro From The New York Times, Im Michael Barbaro. This is The Daily. Today: Public health officials are vowing to develop a coronavirus vaccine in record time. My colleague, health reporter Jan Hoffman, on how that speed could backfire. Its Tuesday, July 21st. archived recording Thank you, very much, Mr. Chairman. Thank you to all of our witnesses for joining us here today. And, of course, thank your staff for setting up the technology so we can hold this hearing safely. jan hoffman So late last month, Dr. Anthony Fauci and Dr. Robert Redfield at the C.D.C. sat down in front of a group of senators to answer their many questions about what was going on with the coronavirus pandemic. archived recording (elizabeth warren) Dr. Fauci, based on what youre seeing now, how many Covid-19 deaths and infections should America expect before this is all over? archived recording (dr. anthony fauci) I cant make an accurate prediction, but it is going to be very disturbing. I will guarantee you that. jan hoffman The big news that day was Dr. Anthony Fauci saying that he expected cases to rise. archived recording (dr. anthony fauci) I would not be surprised if we go up to 100,000 a day jan hoffman To 100,000 a day. archived recording (dr. anthony fauci) if this does not turn around. michael barbaro Right. That was a big headline. I remember that. jan hoffman That shocked everyone. But what was also rumbling through, and was a consistent theme in the questioning by the senators, was their concern that Americans were afraid of the very speed at which this vaccine was being developed. [music] archived recording Dr. Fauci, I want to ask you about the concern that we have with certain parts of the country where you have public mistrust of vaccines, in general. jan hoffman And they were asking whether Americans would, in fact, be willing to get it. archived recording My fear is that we may get to the place where we will get to that place where we have that successful vaccine. But we still have the concern for many, and a mistrust. And whether its vaccine hesitation or vaccine confidence I dont know what the buzz word is but Im worried that we dont have a plan for how to deal with that. jan hoffman It was not one party or the other. Both Republican and Democratic senators kept firing away at Dr. Robert Redfield and Dr. Fauci. archived recording 1 We know this is in our future, and we are not ready for it. archived recording 2 And this could cause problems down the road if we get to a vaccine, but people dont want to get the vaccine. So jan hoffman Saying, what are you going to do? How are you going to prepare Americans? archived recording And that plan has to combat misinformation and vaccine hesitancy. jan hoffman We are sensing that they are afraid of this thing. They are saying they wont take it. archived recording Dr. Redfield, do you agree a plan like that is needed? archived recording (dr. robert redfield) Senator, I think its very important that we have an integrated plan for this vaccine. jan hoffman And both of the gentlemen seemed somewhat disconcerted. [music] michael barbaro And yet, how grounded are these fears that these senators are expressing during this hearing? jan hoffman They are incredibly substantial. There was a survey done in late May by the Associated Press and a research institute out of the University of Chicago that showed that fully 50 percent of Americans were either hesitant or absolutely would not take the vaccine. michael barbaro Wow. jan hoffman Which is really concerning. michael barbaro 50 percent. jan hoffman 50 percent. michael barbaro And in my mind, skepticism of vaccines in the United States has been around for a really long time. And its somewhat meaningful, but its not widespread. Its not 50 percent. Its kind of a niche. So thats not what youre describing here a niche. jan hoffman No. This is a chasm. This was exponentially far greater than anything wed ever seen before. michael barbaro So how do we get to that enormous widespread figure? Because we have talked a bit on this show about the origins of vaccine skepticism. And my recollection is that it starts with questions around autism. jan hoffman Actually, it starts with questions around the invention of the smallpox vaccine in the 18th century. Even then, there were vaccine skeptics. Benjamin Franklin was himself a vaccine skeptic. He later recanted and saw the light. So it has come in waves over the centuries. Probably, whats most prominent in the modern memory is a study that Dr. Andrew Wakefield published in the British Journal The Lancet in 1998, where he associated autism and the measles, mumps, rubella vaccine, which is given to children just around the time that theyre about a year and a half. And he asserted wrongly completely wrongly that the vaccine caused autism. That has been completely refuted. And yet, it still took hold in the hearts and minds of many, many parents. It has become the basis for political movements. For example, its a very big movement in Texas with a politically powerful group called Texans for Vaccine Choice. They have, in fact, hijacked the language of the Abortion Rights Movement this is my body. The government does not have the right to order me to put something into it. Its my body, my choice. There are people who resent big pharma. And they believe vaccines are totally a construct of big pharma to make money. When in fact, actually, its probably the reason that most companies dont make vaccines, because they dont make a lot of money out of it. There is the crunchy granola to use a term of art parenting movement, which basically says, nothing but the natural comes into my child. Therefore, not a vaccine. Certainly, vaccines skepticism has been shown to be more pronounced in African-American and Latino communities, particularly because of the revelations in the mid-70s of the Tuskegee experiments, in which the American public health institutions knew that something like 300 Alabama sharecroppers had been infected with syphilis. And although they had the cure for it penicillin they refused to cure them, and instead wanted to watch the disease progress so they could learn more about the disease. When that horror broke, that reinforced nascent vaccine skepticism in the African-American community, and the perception that they were essentially being used as cannon fodder for privileged white people. [music] So if you think you have someone in mind who you think is the archetype of someone who opposes vaccines, you absolutely do not. It crosses racial lines. It crosses socioeconomic backgrounds, educational backgrounds. It crosses political affiliation. michael barbaro And Jan, how does Donald Trump and his arrival on the national political scene how does that play into this? jan hoffman Since about 2012, hes been tweeting very skeptical comments about what he thinks are the size of the doses. He frequently would say, this is enough for a horse. And then he comes on the stage while hes a candidate archived recording (donald trump) Theres people that work for me just the other day, two years old, two and a half years old, a child a beautiful child went to have the vaccine. And came back, and a week later, got a tremendous fever. Got very, very sick. Now is autistic. jan hoffman And he says bluntly, during a major debate, that he doesnt believe in the schedule. And he thinks kids are getting too many vaccines. archived recording (donald trump) I only say, its not Im in favor of vaccines. Do them over a longer period of time. Same amount, but just in little sections. archived recording Dr. Carson. archived recording (donald trump) And I think youre going to have I think youre going to see a big impact on autism. jan hoffman He has boasted before that he never himself would get a flu vaccine. He said he slowed down his son Barrons vaccine schedule. So he became the flag bearer for this growing movement that had so many myriad voices in it from so many different perspectives. michael barbaro So all of this vaccine baggage for lack of a better phrase all of this skepticism, it predates the pandemic. But I guess I still dont quite understand how we get to that really alarming 50 percent figure of Americans who are reluctant to use an eventual coronavirus vaccine. So help me bridge that. jan hoffman We have a pandemic that, as the weeks go by, people are dying. Cases are taking up. Our lives as we know it have changed completely. We dont even have a new normal yet. We are making it up as we go along. And all along, the word vaccine is being held out as a holy grail. [music] A vaccine will save us. A vaccine will restore us. A vaccine will bring us life that we knew. michael barbaro Right. jan hoffman It is topic number one. You cannot turn around without hearing the V word. It is front and center wherever we go. And that is the overlay on top of this insurgent, multi-dimensional questioning of the value of a vaccine. michael barbaro Well be way right back. Jan, when did you begin to realize that there was something about this pandemic that was influencing how people thought about vaccines the V word? jan hoffman I began to speak with doctors, pediatricians. And I asked them, if we come up with a coronavirus vaccine, what will you tell your patients? And I was struck over and over and over again by the long, loud silence on the other end of the phone. [music] And I thought oh, my god, what are we hearing here? I began to watch social media, and I saw the amping up of vaccine conspiracy theories. Then I heard more and more from people who were beginning to say, you know, I get all my vaccines, Im up-to-date I will not take this one. These are pro-science, pro-vaccine people who are cringing and wanting to avoid this vaccine. And I thought, we have a problem. michael barbaro And what do you start to learn that would explain that level of skepticism? jan hoffman There are a lot of different reasons. But the first profound roadblock to it are many peoples objection to President Trump himself. People worry that he may have secret deals with certain pharma companies, and may stand to either his friends will profit or he will profit. And so, unfortunately, people are holding the product itself at arms length and looking at it through the lens of a political situation. In fact, a major figure from the Trump administration called me just two days ago to talk about what the government was going to try to do about vaccine hesitancy. And he said, its unfortunate that people are wrapping their feelings of President Trump around the vaccine itself. michael barbaro Is what youre saying that some number of people, who would normally be inclined to take a vaccine but do not trust President Trump, are now thinking to themselves, well, if I dont trust President Trump, then perhaps I shouldnt trust a vaccine that emerges from a process he oversees. And just want to make sure Im connecting the dots here. jan hoffman Those dots are beautifully connected. Because Ive seen comments that go along the lines of, Ill take a vaccine authorized by a President Biden. Ill take a vaccine authorized by Angela Merkel. Its Trumps association with it that is giving a certain quadrant of these skeptics grave misgivings. michael barbaro But is that a reasonable form of skepticism? I mean, presidents have lots of powers, but they dont have the power to mix a drug in a lab. They dont dictate what a vaccine looks like. So is that rational? jan hoffman Im trying to answer this politely because that presupposes that vaccine skepticism is inherently rational. And, to some extent, I think its understandable. Whether its rational and logical is another question entirely. But remember, the president nominates the head of the F.D.A., who approves the vaccines. The president assigned the head of Operation Warp Speed, which is overseeing the public-private partnership. The president doesnt mix things in a test tube, but the president certainly has a great deal of power to authorize oversight of this vaccine. michael barbaro What else is driving this skepticism? jan hoffman I think even a greater factor than the administration itself is the speed with which its being produced. Most vaccines take about a decade to produce. Millions and even billions of dollars are poured into research for them to prove nothing. We dont have an H.I.V. vaccine, which has been in research for 20, 30 years. Theres no vaccine against breast cancer, which has been under research for arguably, even longer. And so people are thinking, well, how can you have a vaccine that is safe and effective come to market in six months? It boggles the mind. And so, for someone who is a vaccine hesitant, who is a vaccine skeptic, or even is just a pro-vaccine person, they are so apprehensive about the speed at which this is being produced that they are willing to say, Let someone else go first in line. Not me. michael barbaro Is there actually any evidence that Operation Warp Speed the project underway now will bypass traditional safety measures? The normal process of multiple clinical trials, lots of humans being tested, lots of assessments of side effects, adverse effects. Do we know that? jan hoffman It seems, so far, that nothing in the due diligence processes is being bypassed. Its only that its being accelerated. But the same level of scrutiny seems to be underway. Thats what we know so far. michael barbaro So this is quite fascinating and pretty alarming. The only remedy for this pandemic is a vaccine. And so the faster you get a vaccine, the faster the pandemic comes to an end. But from what youre saying, the faster the vaccine is produced, the more skeptical people are going to be of the vaccine and its safety. And so, speed here, instead of being a virtue, may actually be an undermining force and undermining of the original goal of the vaccine. jan hoffman And I think thats the tragedy. Because theres urgency. We need a vaccine. The world is crying out for it. To stop this thing. To shut it down. Scientists are responding, and saying were working as quickly as we can. And yet, thoughtful people are saying, wait, does speed equate with haste? michael barbaro So thats how you get to a figure like 50 percent. You take a lot of generalized anxiety around the safety of vaccines. You overlay this administration and its approach to science. And then you add what the government is promising is the fastest vaccine in history. And you get a much more amped up version of existing skepticism. jan hoffman Let me ask you a practical question. And you dont have to answer because Im switching caps here. But if you polled your colleagues and friends, what do you think, roughly, would be the percentage who would answer the following question in the affirmative or negative: Would you take a coronavirus vaccine if it were offered sometime this year? michael barbaro Id like to think that its 3/4 off the bat? But I dont know. Youre asking me a question I havent asked those friends and acquaintances and family. I guess I now should. jan hoffman Well, I think its important. Because what happens when you engage somebody in a conversation about vaccines is you both begin to think more deeply about, what does confidence mean to you? What do you need to know to feel safe in sticking out your arm? What questions would you want answered? And as you begin to enumerate those questions, as you begin to express your concerns, you are essentially creating a sketchbook for the kind of answers that any manufacturer or the government needs to have in hand to make the public feel confident that they are getting a safe and effective vaccine. michael barbaro But I guess what I would have to say, now that Ive had a minute or so to reflect on this, is that all the previous science the vast majority of the previous science about vaccines tells us that the process is safe. And that any kind of trade-off is worth it, given the public health value of people being protected against a highly transmissible disease. jan hoffman Theres lots of ways to answer that question. I want you to think about the cultural moment were in. [music] We are in a time when nationalism is surging around the world. America first. My family first. Myself first. The notion of a vaccine, writ large, means, I protect my community. I do what I can to protect my neighborhood, my country, people who travel across the world. It is one way to express altruism is you say, I care about you. I will protect you so I cannot get myself sick, and I will not get you sick. But we are not at a cultural moment that looks like that. We do not care as much about our community, about our neighbors as we used to. The uptake for flu vaccine in adults 18 and older is only about 45 percent a year. And yet, if you ask a public health specialist what is the safest way to protect an older person from flu, a baby from flu, someone going through cancer treatment from flu, you say get everyone vaccinated for flu, even if they are not. Because that stops transmission. And yet, we only have about 45 percent uptake. Dr. Fauci has said at minimum, we need 75 percent of people to take a coronavirus vaccine, and he would prefer to see 85 percent. Right now, 50 percent of people are saying they dont want the vaccine. That means even in the calculus of my mediocre math background we are not anywhere close to what we need to causing across-the-board immunity and shutting down this pandemic. michael barbaro So with all this in mind, what is the plan for making Americans feel as comfortable as possible with the safety of this eventual vaccine? It seems crucially important to ending this pandemic. And like something that people in public health, in the federal government would be taking very, very seriously and have a plan for. jan hoffman During the Senate subcommittee hearing when Dr. Redfield was asked repeatedly about this archived recording (dr. robert redfield) C.D.C. is working on the issues that you said that I think are so important in building vaccine confidence in this country. archived recording Can you tell me when C.D.C. will be giving us their plans, and C.D.C. would be writing the comprehensive plan? archived recording (dr. robert redfield) Were developing a plan as we speak. And again, to keep building on jan hoffman He said that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have been working on a plan and discussing this for 10 to 12 weeks. archived recording (dr. robert redfield) vaccine, prioritization of this vaccine, monitoring for safety of this vaccine archived recording But you cant tell if itll a couple weeks, a couple months, the end of the year? Do you have any estimate on when well see that plan? archived recording (dr. robert redfield) Well, its currently in development within the group. And Id anticipate that well see that plan in the near weeks ahead, Senator. jan hoffman When I asked them to explain what, in fact, they were working on, they refused to answer. So I wish I could tell you. I have no idea. [music] michael barbaro Jan, what happens if we get this wrong? If the vaccine comes out and a huge number of Americans say, Not me, you first. Im not ready for this. jan hoffman Thats probably, the greatest concern of all. Because if a huge number of Americans say, not me, you first, or if they say, Wait a minute, its not working. They had the vaccine for six months, but now theyre getting sick with Covid again, what public health experts are worried about is that this will undermine the very foundation upon which our vaccine infrastructure is built. Which is that vaccines work. That you need to get them. And you need to trust them. And really undermine faith in public health. In the belief that there is a superstructure that has the greater good in mind. michael barbaro So the stakes here are only the future, literally, of public health. jan hoffman Yep. michael barbaro Thank you, Jan. We really appreciate it. jan hoffman Thanks very much for letting me talk about it. michael barbaro On Monday, scientists at Oxford University reported that their experimental vaccine for the coronavirus prompted a protective immune response in hundreds of people who received a dose during an early clinical trial. So far, the vaccine has produced only minor side effects, like fever, chills and muscle pain. The clinical trial involved about 1,000 people. Larger trials involving about 10,000 people are underway. And an even larger trial involving about 30,000 people is set to start soon in the U.S. Well be right back. [music] Heres what else you need to know today. A major teachers union has sued the governor of Florida over an emergency order that would fully reopen schools there next month, amid a surge of infections. The American Federation of Teachers and its Florida affiliate accused Governor Ron DeSantis of violating a state law that requires schools to be safe and secure. The lawsuit, apparently the first of its kind, asks that local education and health officials, not the governor, have control over reopenings. And signals that teachers may take a range of actions to protest what they see as a hasty return to the classroom. And archived recording Since we last convened and specifically, on Friday, July 17, 2020, the Honorable John Robert Lewis, representative of the 5th Congressional District of Georgia, our hero, our colleague, our brother, our friend, received and answered his final summons from God Almighty. And at that moment, transitioned from labor to reward. michael barbaro On Monday, members of the House of Representatives unanimously passed a resolution honoring their former colleague, John Lewis, who brought the moral authority of his time as a civil rights leader to his three-decade career in Congress. archived recording 1 The clerk will report the resolution. archived recording 2 House Resolution 1054. michael barbaro Lewis death seemed to unify a body long defined by its divisions. And when the moment came for the House clerk to read the resolution, she was briefly overcome with emotion. archived recording Resolve that the House has heard with profound sorrow [PAUSES] at the death of the Honorable John Lewis, a representative from the state of Georgia. Resolved that a committee of such members of the House as the Speaker may designate, together with such members of the Senate as may be joined, be appointed to attend the funeral. michael barbaro The presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu has reacted to criticism that President Muhammadu Buhari is not in charge of the country. Garba in his reaction described such comments as totally untrue. He alleged that the criticism is being sponsored by the opposition party who plunged the country into misery with their 16-year rule. He said, The Presidency wishes to respond to a number of opinion articles and a stringent newspaper editorial this Sunday, which outrageously said President Muhammadu Buhari was not in control of his administration, Shehu said. Advertisement Read Also: APC Lawmaker Under Fire For Saying Buhari Is Weak, Irrelevant What is sometimes worrisome is that several of these comments, disguised as objective criticisms are merely speaking the language of the opposition-the people who ruined the country during their 16 years of corruption on an industrial scale. Sometimes, we are forced to wonder whether some writers are mindful of the implication of words for the strategic and territorial interests of the nation. The fact that these baseless and appallingly mischievous attacks can freely be aired is itself evidence of the right to freedom of expression prevailing in the country today. Whether it is Ibrahim Magu, Godswill Akpabio, NDDC, NSITF and the others, Nigerians are bound to hold differing opinions, write letters, opinion columns, editorials and even stage lawful protests. What is sometimes worrisome is that several of these comments, disguised as objective criticisms are merely speaking the language of the opposition-the people who ruined the country during their 16 years of corruption on an industrial scale. These detractors pick up isolated issues like the ones in the EFCC, NDDC, and incidents of crime and corruption which have been with the country for years, and without any serious effort to uncover them, paint them a phenomena orchestrated and happening because President Buharis administration has decided to pursue cases of suspected wrongdoing in the anti-corruption agency, pension funds, NDDC and other government agencies. But the government was the first to point out the obvious embarrassment that potential acts of wrongdoing by the EFCC leadership would cause the administration. The question to ask is: did they expect the President to draw a curtain over these suspected scandals by not ordering audits and investigations? And for them to turn around to accuse him of a cover-up? To do a cover-up and not order audits and investigations as the President did would amount to a historic betrayal of the mandate and the faith placed in him by the Nigerian people. Shehu said other nations can attest to Buharis integrity as evidenced by how he is recognised as the champion of the anti-corruption fight in Africa. President Buharis integrity, uprightness and probity are intact and well known. Let us remind these so-called editorial writers that ECOWAS, Africa Union and the international community at large recognized President Buhari as Champion of the Anti-Corruption fight in Africa, he said. Nigerians are convinced that he is honest. They voted for him as President against the background of corruption, public policy paralysis and growing menace of terrorists threatening to take over a sizable portion of the nations territory. In his five years in office, there is not a single charge of corruption against his person. The Buhari government has done nothing to warrant these criticisms. Under our laws, you are innocent until proven guilty: Investigation, trial then conviction. Not the other way round. To carry out investigations before condemnation or conviction should not be misconstrued as a weakness or a vacuum in leadership. He added that Buhari would not be distracted by unfounded attacks, neither would he compromise the sacred mandate of Nigerians. iStock/mikkelwilliam(PENNSYLVANIA) -- With corporations worldwide looking for solutions to keep patrons and employees safe from COVID-19, a couple of companies say they have the answer: drones. One of these is the Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania-based Aeras Fog Company. Looking like a giant flying spider, the company's machines can mist large areas, like stadium seats, with charged particles of disinfectant, covering as much as 20 acres an hour. The company's website says its patent-pending system elecrostatically charges the fog, which means it bonds to surfaces, allowing it to cover places people would likely miss if they did it by hand. Not to mention a single drone can cover the territory that it would take an army of people to clean. A nifty promotional video shows the drone fogging stadium seats, handrails and other areas en masse. The company promises it can completely sanitize a stadium's surfaces in three hours, with protection that lasts for up to 90 days. Another company, Digital Aerolus, says it has the solution to sanitizing indoor surfaces from COVID-19. The Kansas-based company says its drones, around the size of a record album, are armed with UV lights and can be flown in and around office buildings, bathrooms and other similar areas. The company claims its Aertos 120-UVC drones, which employ UVC LED lights that are already used in healthcare and water purification applications, have a 99% disinfection rate. Like a flying Roomba, their flying machines hover over areas in a grid pattern and bombard surfaces with the sanitizing light. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. DANVILLE, CA Contra Costa County health officials announced one new coronavirus related death on Monday, with the overall toll now at 99. There were 115 new cases of coronavirus confirmed in the county. That's an improvement over last Monday, when newly reported cases were 172. The seven-day average of new cases, which Gov. Gavin Newsom says is a closely watched metric because it accounts for spikes, is down to 123, the lowest it's been since July 3. But if the declining number of new cases is encouraging, the number of people hospitalized in the county is certainly drawing the attention of state health officials who decide which county is on or off the "Watch List." There are now 82 coronavirus patients hospitalized in Contra Costa County, with the seven-day average climbing to 84, the highest ever. Back in April, when the first wave of coronavirus came through, the seven-day average only reached 40. It's important for the county to get all key statistics headed down in order to get off the Watch List. Only then will the county be allowed to reopen schools, fully open businesses, and more. >>Most CA Schools Won't Reopen This Fall Here in Danville, there have now been 103 cases confirmed since the beginning of the pandemic. In Alamo, there have been 57 cases. In other coronavirus news.... Contra Costa County is laying off another 25 workers because of cuts forced by coronavirus-ravaged budgets. Have you ever dined at the venerable Cliff House in San Francisco? The 157-year-old restaurant may be the latest coronavirus victim. The statewide death toll is now 7,713, according to Johns Hopkins University, with confirmed cases approaching 400,000. Full coronavirus coverage: Coronavirus In California: What To Know Don't miss updates about the coronavirus in California as they are announced. Sign up for Patch news alerts and newsletters. >> Spike In Coronavirus Cases At CA Child Care Centers Patch editor Bea Karnes contributed to this report. This article originally appeared on the Danville Patch Tragedy As 8 People Are Reportedly Killed In Another Fresh Attack In Kaduna Eight persons have reported dead in a fresh attack in Gora Gan Village of Zango Kataf local government area of Kaduna State. This comes barely 24 hours after yet-to-be-identified men attacked guests at a wedding afterparty in Kukum Daji village in Kaura Local Government Area of the state killing 19 persons. Leadership newspaper reports that the Vice Chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria CAN, Pastor Isaac Ango Makama, who confirmed the fresh attacks, said the attackers who were about 50 in number, invaded the village around 7 pm on Monday, July 20 and started shooting sporadically leaving eight persons dead and many others injured. He said the corpses have so far been deposited to the Zonkwa General hospital while some of the Villagers are still missing. I am calling on the people to recall these representatives who are not remorseful over the plight of their own people. The State lawmakers have not visited the IDP camp as am talking to you right now, its shows how insensitive our people are toward the downtrodden. Makama was quoted as saying. The spokesperson of the state police command, Mohammed Jilge is yet to comment on the reported attack but he said he will revert as soon as possible. The lawsuit was filed against Jimmy John's on behalf of Erick Johnson, a patron who frequented a local Jimmy John's restaurant in Johnston, Iowa in December of 2019. Shortly thereafter, Erick began to experience severe nausea, abdominal cramps, and hematochezia associated with E. coli O103 (Shiga Toxin-Producing E. coli) poisoning. Johnson was hospitalized for three days at Boone County Hospital. After Johnson tested positive for E. coli O103, the Greene County Health Department notified the Iowa Department of Public Health, which determined that he was sickened by the strain associated with the Jimmy John's E. coli outbreak. A copy of the lawsuit, which details these allegations, is available on request. Health Officials Link E. coli Outbreak to Consumption of Sprouts Sold at Jimmy John's The Iowa Department of Public Health has reported that a total of 22 people from Iowa have been infected with the outbreak strain of E. coli O103. All of the victims were interviewed by the health officials, and all confirmed that they had consumed Jimmy John's sandwiches prior to their E. coli illnesses. The Iowa Department of Inspections tested samples of sprouts served at Jimmy John's and also the water used to irrigate the sprouts at the farm on which they were grown. Both tested positive for E. coli O103. Health officials thereafter concluded that the contaminated sprouts sold on Jimmy John's sandwiches were the vehicle for the E. coli O103 outbreak. Jimmy John's has since pulled sprouts from all of its locations in the United States, following this outbreak and a stern letter from the FDA which stated: "In this letter we detail evidence from five outbreaks, including the most recent outbreak in the state of Iowa during December 2019 of human infections with Escherichia coli O103. The evidence demonstrates that your corporation, through your franchised Jimmy John's restaurants, engaged in a pattern of receiving and offering for sale adulterated fresh produce, specifically clover sprouts and cucumbers." Attorney Ron Simon Issues Statement for Victims and Establishes Jimmy John's E. coli Claim Center Lead attorney Ron Simon, who represents Erick Johnson and other victims of this and numerous other Jimmy John's food poisoning outbreaks, issued the following statement today: "The allegations in the Warning Letter from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration are just the tip of the iceberg. My firm has represented many victims in numerous Jimmy John's outbreaks. Through this lawsuit, we will endeavor to put an end to this seemingly endless cycle of foodborne illness from Jimmy John's." Mr. Simon and his law firm have established a Jimmy John's E. coli Claim Center to assist victims in the outbreak. The E. coli Claim Center can be reached toll-free at 1-888-335-4901. About Ron Simon & Associates Over the last 20 years, Ron Simon and his colleagues have prosecuted thousands of food poisoning cases for victims across the United States. His work has resulted in numerous upgrades to food safety procedures in Fortune 500 companies and in legislation designed to protect consumers from dangerous foodborne pathogens. Mr. Simon and his clients have been featured on NBC, ABC, CBS, CNN, FOX, and virtually all other major television networks and print media. Mr. Simon has collected over $750,000,000 for his clients. He regularly publishes articles about food safety and litigation at www.foodpoisoningnews.com which are read by viewers in over 180 countries. Through litigation, media commentary, and his food poisoning publications, Mr. Simon relentlessly challenges food manufacturers, distributors, and restaurants to do a better job in making our food safe. Contact: Ron Simon 713-819-8116 SOURCE Ron Simon & Associates Related Links foodpoisoningnews.com 4BIO Capital announces appointment of Professor Kenya Honda to Scientific Advisory Board Professor of Microbiology and Immunology at Keio University Brings extensive experience in gut microbiota, a core area of interest for 4BIO Strengthens growing network of advisors on innovative research taking place in Japan 13 July 2020 LONDON & BOSTON 4BIO Capital (4BIO or the Group), an international venture capital firm focused solely on the advanced therapies sector, announces the appointment of Professor Kenya Honda to its Scientific Advisory Board (SAB). Professor Honda is a Professor in the Department of Microbiology and Immunology at Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan. Professor Hondas team is studying the immunological attributes of the microbiota and its derived factors to try to identify responsible members that deeply affect the immune system. His long-term goal is to develop a way to manipulate and normalize compositions of the gut microbiota to treat various conditions, such as inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), autoimmunity, allergies and cancer. Professor Honda brings significant expertise to 4BIOs SAB. He is the Scientific Co-Founder of Vedanta Biosciences, a Cambridge, MA-based company pioneering the use of defined bacterial consortia, as well as being a member of the SAB for the interdisciplinary medical journal, Science Translational Medicine. Professor Honda received his M.D. from Kobe University School of Medicine and his Ph.D. from Kyoto University School of Medicine, both in Japan. His contribution to scientific research has been internationally recognised, having been awarded the National Institute of Science and Technology Policy (NISTEP) Award in 2013, the Gottfried Wagener Prize in 2014, and the Baelz award in 2016. Dmitry Kuzmin, Managing Partner at 4BIO Capital, said: 4BIOs Scientific Advisory Board includes founders of the gene therapy field in both academic and hospital settings who lead groups in world centres of academic and clinical excellence. Professor Hondas extensive knowledge of microbiota and gastrointestinal tract pathology will be a valuable addition to the already deep expertise held within the 4BIO SAB. Professor Hondas appointment builds on the recent appointment of Philippe Fauchet, OBE, as Venture Partner in Japan, and the strategic investment in 4BIO from Japanese Pharmaceutical company Kyowa Kirin. As one of the leading countries in drug discovery and advanced gene and cell therapy research, we are excited by the potential opportunities of our expanded footprint in Japan. Professor Kenya Honda said: I am delighted to be joining the 4BIO team and working with the other advisors that have helped shape the advanced therapies field and contributed to its progress. I look forward to working closely with this group in the pursuit of opportunities in advanced therapies, particularly the exciting research originating from Japan at this time. -Ends- Contacts 4BIO Capital +44 (0) 203 427 5500 info@4biocapital.com Consilium Strategic Communications Amber Fennell, Olivia Manser, Lizzie Seeley +44 (0)20 3709 5700 4biocapital@consilium-comms.com About 4BIO Capital 4BIO Capital is an international venture capital firm focused solely on the advanced therapies sector. 4BIOs objective is to invest in, support, and grow early stage companies developing treatments in areas of high unmet medical need, with the ultimate goal of ensuring access to these potentially curative therapies for all patients. Specifically, it looks for viable, high-quality opportunities in cell and gene therapy, RNA-based therapy, targeted therapies, and the microbiome. The 4BIO team comprises leading advanced therapy scientists and experienced life science investors who have collectively published over 250 scientific articles in prestigious academic journals including Nature, The Lancet, Cell, and the New England Journal of Medicine. 4BIO has both an unrivalled network within the advanced therapy sector and a unique understanding of the criteria that define a successful investment opportunity in this space. Embattled acting Chairman of the Economic and Financial Commission (EFCC), Ibrahim Magu, has responded to allegations that he frustrated the extradition of a former minister of petroleum, Diezani Alison-Madueke and other fugitives to face trial in Nigeria. Rejecting the allegation, Mr Magu has now told a presidential probe panel investigating allegations of corruption against him that it was his accuser, the Attorney-General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami, who was actually frustrating the extradition of the fugitives. In the reports, which was originally published by the News Agency of Nigeria and republished by several newspapers, Mr Magu was accused of refusing to cooperate with crime-fighting authorities in the United Kingdom to facilitate the return of Mrs Alison-Madueke to face corruption charges in Nigeria. The report also claimed that Mr Magu has refused to provide documentary evidence that would make the office of the Attorney General of the Federation commence the process of extraditing Mrs Alison-Maduake. However, in Mr Magus response to the presidential probe panel obtained by PREMIUM TIMES, he denied refusing to share information with the National Crime Agency (NCA) of the United Kingdom. The NCA still shares critical information with the Commission and conducts joint operations with the Commission under the Combined Inter-Agency Task Force (CIATF) and also directly. Classified documents in this regard can be produced for sighting on request and with the consent of the NCA. The Commission is also jointly working with the NCA on several cases including the Diezani Allison-Madueke cases and all the Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) requests on these cases are passed to the NCA and the Crown Prosecution Services through the Centra Authority Unit (CAD) of the Ministry of Justice contrary to the allegations of the HAGF, Mr Magu wrote. Suspended EFCC Chairman, Ibrahim Magu [Photo: Bashir Amaad] He added that following the delay by UK authorities to charge Mrs Alison-Madueke, the EFCC wrote to the authorities in the country through the AGF requesting the extradition of the former petroleum minister so she can face pending charges in Nigeria. He added that Mr Malami has yet to communicate with the commission the position of UK authorities on the request it made. Contrary to the claim made against him by Mr Malami, Mr Magu told the probe panel that under his leadership, the EFCC maintained a good working relationship with the United States Federal Bureau of Investigation which recently acknowledged this relationship by commending the Commission publicly and on record. He added that apart from the request for the extradition of Mrs Alison-Madueke, the EFCC has made several requests through the AGF for the extradition of high profile Nigerian fugitives and that Mr Malami has yet to respond to any of the requests. READ ALSO: Some of these fugitives include Robert John Oshodin who laundered millions of United States Dollars on behalf of former National Security Adviser (NSA) Colonel Sambo Dasuki (Rtd), former Special to the President on Niger Delta and Coordinator of the Amnesty Programme Mr Kingsley Kuku and Hima Aboubakar who was criminally indicted by the investigation of arms procurement conducted under the former NSA Colonel Sambo Dasuki (Rtd). Attached and marked as Annexure 32 (a)-(e) are copies of the extradition requests of these fugitives. The Commission also forwarded a Mutual Legal Assistance request to the HAGF for onward transmission to the authorities of the British Virgin Island through a letter dated 9th September, 2019 wherein the Commission requested for critical information in respect of the P&ID case but the Commission is yet to receive any response from the office of the HAGF, Mr Magu wrote. Mr Malami did not respond to calls made to him Tuesday morning seeking his comments for this story. Last week, Mr. Malami announced Mr Magus suspension following President Muhammadu Buharis approval. Prior to his suspension he was arrested and brought before the probe panel headed by Ayo Salami, a former president of the Court of Appeal. Mr Magu is currently being investigated by a panel headed by Ayo Salami, former president of the Court of Appeal, over allegations of corruption and insubordination levelled against him by Mr Malami. After his arrest, allegations that Mr Magu diverted billions of naira gotten from recovered funds, as well as the interests accrued from the funds, were circulated and published on various media platforms. He rejected the charges saying all recovered assets are intact and can be accounted for. The call for the forensic audit was made by PDP Governors in the Niger Delta Region on a visit to President Muhammadu Buhari sometime in October 2019, aggrieved not for the love they have for the region but for not being 'carried along' by the NDDC boards since 2015 when PDP lost grip of power at the center. The PDP Niger Delta Governor's that served between 2000-2015 when PDP was at the center had a very 'cordial' relationship with the NDDC boards then and should the audit be thorough, will all be indicted which includes the Hon Minister of Niger Delta Sen Godswill Akpabio as Governor of Akwa Ibom State. One thing that was established yesterday at the house of representatives investigation is that there is no audit ongoing at the moment, the lead auditor is yet to engage the other auditors. N641million already spent on media support and to help identify NDDC projects in the rural areas am sure they already have all the support they need. The foundation of the forensic audit is laid on fraud.I have a strong feeling that should the audit be carried out and concluded it will be seriously doctored and heavily politicised. It might even be laced with politics of 2023 to blackmail some persons. Can the Hon Minister of Niger Delta indict himself? The interesting part of the forensic audit is that as the corrupt past and present board members, corrupt contractors, corrupt NDDC staff, corrupt past and present National Assembly members , corrupt and dubious Niger Delta stakeholders are exposed, they will start singing to indict those that will be mischievously excluded. They have been business partners for two decades. NDDC was simply established to 'settle' the elder statesmen, major stakeholders, activists and civilian generals in the region and it has delivered on her mandate, majority of the people it was designed to 'settle' have been adequately 'settled'. As you can see they are currently silent despite all that is unfolding. In Niger Delta, it is not in our culture to talk with food in our mouth. Indicted and disgruntled elements will be the most effective source of the forensic audit details. Let's continue to watch the drama unfold, nothing will happen to them at the end of the day but at least, for the sake of posterity, let's know the goats that broke into the barn and the quantities of yams they ate. Legborsi Esaen is the former Public Relations Officer, Movement for the Survival of Ogoni People, MOSOP. He writes from Port Harcourt, Rivers State View live politics updates ChevronRight India added more than 37,000 new cases for a national total that now exceeds 1,155,000, the third most behind the U.S., with more than 3.8 million, and Brazil, with 2.1 million, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Story continues below advertisement Indias new cases have hovered around 40,000 a day in recent days, with experts warning a series of peaks lie ahead as the virus spreads in rural areas where the healthcare system is weak. The Indian Council for Medical Research, the top medical research body, was urging state governments to add more labs and improve testing capacity for the country of 1.4 billion people. Advertisement Lebanons health minister said the financially troubled country, which had previously managed to contain the coronavirus, was sliding toward a critical stage with a new surge in infections, more than a fifth of them untraceable, after lockdown restrictions were lifted and the airport reopened. The danger of community spread is still possible because the country has opened up, the minister of health, Hamad Hassan, said in an interview with The Associated Press late Monday. Story continues below advertisement As coronavirus outbreaks wax and wane, much hinges on the effectiveness of contact tracing of newly discovered cases. In Spains Catalonia and other regions an early detection system meant to snuff out outbreaks and prevent cascades of cases appears to be inadequate, doctors and patients said. Spain imposed a three-month lockdown earlier this year to rein in a devastating first wave of infections that left at least 28,000 dead. Now, Barcelona and an agricultural area in the same Catalonia region have become the two areas hit hardest by a resurgence of the virus. Advertisement We are seeing a rise in cases and community contagion that worries us, Dr. Jacobo Mendioroz, the epidemiologist in charge of Catalonias virus response, told Catalonia Radio on Sunday. The system of contact tracers can still be improved. Now we have 300 tracers and we are going to add another 600 shortly. Story continues below advertisement Worldwide, almost 610,000 people have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins, with more than 14.7 million people infected. Both numbers are widely acknowledged to be lower than the true toll of the disease. Weary after four days and nights of haggling, European Union leaders clinched an unprecedented 1.8 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund to confront the biggest recession in the history of the region, which faces an estimated economic contraction of 8.3%. Advertisement A 750 billion euro ($858 billion) coronavirus fund will finance loans and grants for countries hit hardest by the virus. That comes on top of the seven-year, 1 trillion euro EU budget. Story continues below advertisement We have laid the financial foundations for the EU for the next seven years and came up with a response to this arguably biggest crisis of the European Union, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The pandemic has killed around 135,000 people in EU countries. The U.S. has surpassed that, with nearly 141,000 dead, according to the Johns Hopkins data. As the first round of U.S. federal relieve expires, the political stakes of providing more support to the American economy are high and rising ahead of the November election. Unemployment claims have topped 1 million for 17 straight weeks, leaving many households in a cash crunch and at risk of losing employer-backed health insurance coverage. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Congressional Republicans remained at odds with Democrats over how much money is enough to ease the financial burden as businesses endure repeated closures to contain the spread of the virus. Democrats have passed a $3 trillion package in the House. The Republican plan totals about $1 trillion. State governments strapped for medical resources have been forced to borrow billions of dollars and slash costs by furloughing workers, delaying construction projects, cutting school aid and even closing highway rest areas. Businesses also are being squeezed. Potions in Motions, a catering company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, would ordinarily be in high gear for summer weddings, graduations and corporate events, but is down to micro-events of eight to 15 people and has had to cut most of its staff. Story continues below advertisement Were trying to just stay alive, said company founder Jason Savino. Theres no support coming from any government or anywhere that are accommodating these businesses that are being ordered to dial their business back. Advertisement Financial markets pushed higher on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after scientists at Oxford University said their experimental vaccine had prompted a protective immune response in hundreds of people in an early trial. The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization hailed the results as good news but warned theres a long way to go. We now need to move into larger scale real-world trials, Dr. Michael Ryan told reporters in Geneva. Story continues below advertisement In Asia, the latest virus flare-ups in Australia, South Korea and Chinas far west appeared to be coming under control. Australian military personnel were helping health authorities in Victoria state, where the countrys second largest city, Melbourne, has shut down to combat a rebound in infections. Were still very much in the hard part of this fight, as you can see from the daily case numbers, and Im not expecting that to change a lot in the short term, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. And we just need to keep working the problem. Advertisement South Korea reported 45 new virus cases, 25 of them among quarantined people arriving from abroad. In many Asian countries, most newly reported infections are among those new arrivals, raising hopes that local outbreaks may be under control. Story continues below advertisement But Japan has been reporting hundreds of new cases daily, especially in Tokyo, and its death toll has risen above 1,000, with nearly 26,000 total infections. ___ AP journalists around the globe contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Almost 40% of small firms hold unpaid invoices, with accommodation and food service among the sectors facing some of the worst challenges from the Covid-19 storm, a Central Bank report has confirmed. The SME 2020 report focuses on the effects on firms of the Covid-19 fallout and comes as the Government prepares to unveil its long-awaited summer stimulus package that aims to keep as many as people from long-term unemployment by offering grant aid to vulnerable firms. The Central Bank report underscores the huge problems facing small firms even for those areas where restrictions have been fully lifted. It will help bolster the arguments of many business groups and economists who have argued that large parts of the Irish domestic economy will be permanently scarred without extensive aid, as jobs-rich companies go to the wall. The report which draws on a number of sources says 42% of firms are changing or deferring payments to manage cash flow. It says 11% of firms had creased ceased trading temporarily or permanently by the end of May, compared with 24% of firms in April. However, the accommodation and food sector have fared badly and 62% of the firms in the sector have stopped trading temporarily or permanently at the end of May. Read More Conroy Gold lands international partner to develop State's first gold mine The report says a fifth of firms in accommodation and food have large amounts of debt that may constrain them from borrowing more, and 44% of firms in food and accommodation have no debt at all. "Some of the sectors with the largest amount of outstanding bank debt --accommodation and food and wholesale and retail -- are more exposed to the shock from Covid-19," the report says. Meanwhile, global shares climbed to their highest since February and the euro briefly hit its strongest since March on news that EU leaders had agreed terms over the 750bn Covid-19 stimulus package and the 1 trillion EU budget for the next seven years. This agreement sends a concrete signal that Europe is a force for action, a jubilant European Council President Charles Michel told reporters, after the summit which ended in the small hours following almost five days of dispute. French President Emmanuel Macron, who spearheaded a push for the deal with German Chancellor Angela Merkel, hailed it as truly historic. Leaders hope the 750bn recovery fund and its related 1.1 trillion budget will help repair the continents deepest recession since World War Two after the coronavirus outbreak shut down economies. Germany Economy Minister Peter Altmaier said that, with the agreement, the chances of a cautious, slow recovery in the second half of this year had increased enormously. While strong in symbolism, the deal came at the cost of cuts to the proposed investment in climate-friendly funds and did not set conditions for disbursements to countries, such as Hungary and Poland, seen as breaching democratic values. Irish shares joined in the rally. AIB and Bank of Ireland which are proxies for the Irish economy rose by up to 5% and the hard-hit housebuilders Cairn Homes and Glenveagh Properties gained by up to 3%. Additional reporting Reuters Some customers of the First City Monument Bank (FCMB) have expressed their dissatisfaction with the banks services following widespread network glitches across the nation. The banks customers took to Twitter and other social networking sites to express their anger on Monday amid frustrations occasioned by their inability to operate their accounts. PREMIUM TIMES gathered that the network concerns began as early as last week Thursday, amid uncertainty over the cause of the network challenge. Earlier on Friday, the bank notified its customers of Service Disruption in its operation. SERVICE DISRUPTION! You may experience challenges using some of our self-service channels. We apologize for every inconvenience and are working to resolve the challenges in the quickest time possible.#FCMB #MyBankAndI pic.twitter.com/nvTixtBeB4 FCMB (@MyFCMB) July 17, 2020 In a message posted on its verified Twitter page, the bank promised to fix the challenge in the quickest time possible. It said, SERVICE DISRUPTION! You may experience challenges using some of our self-service channels. We apologize for every inconvenience and are working to resolve the challenges in the quickest time possible. But on Monday, days after the apology, many customers came on Twitter to complain about their inability to make withdrawals or carry out sundry transactions. Others said they were unable to access their accounts all through the weekend, with attendant disruption to their schedule and daily routine. When PREMIUM TIMES reporter visited a branch of the bank in Lagos Monday afternoon, many customers stood around lamenting their plight. Others complained of inability to use their ATM cards from their remote places. READ ALSO: On Twitter, the bank was being called out by customers who expressed frustration over the development. A Twitter user, @Unclemidetuch, wrote: FCMB, day 4 of network failure. What sort of rubbish?! Repeated reversal, no access to mobile app, transaction(s) declined. Im about to lose it Nchekwube Augustus, another complainant, wrote: Fcmb, what is your problem? Since Thursday we cant have assess or transact with our accounts in Fcmb. What type of Network challenges is that, are we serious at all in this country. @Ay_Shemzy, another user, said: FCMB has to be the most unreliable bank in the world. How can your network be down since Friday??? FCMB has to be the most unreliable bank in the world. How can your network be down since Friday??? Ayoola (@Ay_Shemzy) July 20, 2020 In response to some of the Twitter messages, the bank apologised for the challenge, promising to address it. We apologize for any inconvenience experienced and working tirelessly to restore operations. Kindly bear with us, the bank said via its handle, @MyFCMB. PREMIUM TIMES efforts to get the banks reaction on what it has done to address the concern were unsuccessful on Monday evening. A message sent to it via its Twitter handle has not been responded to as of the time of filing this report. BERLIN (Reuters) - A man suspected of attacking a synagogue in eastern Germany and killing two people during a shooting rampage outside the house of worship faces life in prison, prosecutors said on Monday. The suspect, identified as Stephan B., is accused of murder on two counts and attempted murder in nine cases, prosecutors told reporters ahead of the trial which is scheduled to start on Tuesday. The prosecutors added that the suspect had confessed to the crimes during their investigations. BERLIN (Reuters) - A man suspected of attacking a synagogue in eastern Germany and killing two people during a shooting rampage outside the house of worship faces life in prison, prosecutors said on Monday. The suspect, identified as Stephan B., is accused of murder on two counts and attempted murder in nine cases, prosecutors told reporters ahead of the trial which is scheduled to start on Tuesday. The prosecutors added that the suspect had confessed to the crimes during their investigations. The anti-Semitic gunman last October opened fire outside the synagogue in the city of Halle on Yom Kippur, the holiest day of the Jewish year. After failing to enter the synagogue, he fatally shot a woman passing by and a man inside a nearby kebab shop. The attacker livestreamed his attack. Interior Minster Horst Seehofer said in May that the number of anti-Semitic crimes committed in Germany rose by 13% last year, laying the blame on right-wing radicals. (Reporting by Michael Nienaber; editing by Jonathan Oatis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. With extraordinary patriotism and energy, lawyer Nguyen Huu Tho overcame many temptations and the constraints of society at the time to become a leader of the South Vietnam liberation force, wholeheartedly serving the nation's cause of independence and reunification. LEADING BY EXAMPLE: President of the South Vietnam National Liberation Front Nguyen Huu Tho (2nd right) with the Tri Thien delegation. Photo courtesy of Liberation News Agency He was captured, tortured and sent to prison by the enemy for his patriotism. But he remained indomitable, loyal to revolutionary ideals and believing that victory would come in the end. Lawyer Nguyen Huu Tho. In his concluding address at the Nguyen Huu Tho with the Vietnam Revolution and the Homeland of Long An conference in the Mekong Delta province of Long An, held to mark Tho's 110th birthday in mid-July, Permanent Deputy Prime Minister Truong Hoa Binh highlighted the contributions the patriotic intellectual made. MAN OF ACTION: Nguyen Huu Tho (standing, middle) and the Phu Yen Province guerrillas. Photo baophuyen.com.vn In his early days as an underground member of the resistance force against the French occupation, Tho worked as a lawyer in Sai Gon (former name of HCM City). With the talent, enthusiasm, and humility of a true intellectual, he became a respected leader of the peace movement in Sai Gon in the early 1950s. On March 9, 1950, lawyer Tho led a demonstration of tens of thousands of people of all walks of life, mostly young workers and students, to demand democracy, freedom, peace, welfare, and protest against the US involvement in the first Indochina war. Facing this first anti-American protest march in South Vietnam, two US warships docking at Sai Gon Port had to leave. After the 1954 Geneva Agreement was signed, Tho mobilised civil servants and intellectuals to participate in the peace movement in South Vietnam. Within a short period of time, local peace committees were established throughout markets, schools, factories, as well as in rural areas around Sai Gon. Lawyer Tho gradually gained trust by lovers of peace, democracy and independence in South Vietnam, and for those activities he was arrested by the Sai Gon administration several times. The National Front for Liberation of South Vietnam was established in December 1960. At that time, he was under house arrest in Phu Yen Province by the Ngo Dinh Diem administration. After being freed by the revolutionary forces in October 1961, lawyer Tho went to the resistance base in Tay Ninh Province, and there he was elected Chairman of the Central Committee of the National Front for Liberation of South Vietnam. In June 1969, he was appointed Chairman of the Advisory Council of the Provisional Revolutionary Government of South of Vietnam. He was admired by his comrades-in-arms and the people for his profound political stance, and for upholding the banner of great solidarity for national independence and reunification. Following the liberation of South Vietnam and the countrys reunification, he was elected Vice President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in June 1976. He held more important posts as Acting President of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in April 1980, and Chairman of the National Assembly and Vice Chairman of the State Council of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam in July 1981. At the 3rd National Congress of the Vietnam Motherland Front in November 1988, Tho was elected Chairman of the Fronts Central Committee. In August 1994, at the Fourth National Congress of the Front, he was elected as Honorary President of the Presidium of the Central Committee. He made important contributions to the formation of the Partys renewal policy, directed and participated in drafting the Constitution in 1992, and offered a host of suggestions on modernising the state apparatus, the National Assembly, and the Motherland Front. VNS Southern region thrives after 45 years of reunification After 45 years of national reunification and three decades of the Doi Moi (renewal) process, under the leadership of the Party, southern provinces and cities economy have thrived dramatically. President Donald Trump conceded Tuesday that the worst of COVID-19 is yet to come as he held his first White House coronavirus briefing since April. 'It will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better something I don't like saying about things,' Trump said of the continuing global health crisis. 'But that's the way it is, that's the way that's what we have.' 'You look at the world, it's all over the world,' he said, deflecting from the severity of the pandemic in the U.S., adding viruses 'tend' to worsen before improving. As of Tuesday there are more than 3.8 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the U.S., which is far more than the infection rate that any other country has reported, and the death toll is nearing 141,000. The country with the next-highest numbers of cases is Brazil with more than 2.1 million. The president urged that in lieu of a current cure, vaccine or therapy for the virus, Americans wear masks and avoid bars. 'We're instead asking Americans to use mask, socially distance and employ vigorous hygiene wash your hands every chance you get while sheltering high-risk populations,' Trump said from the podium. 'We are implying young Americans to avoid packed bars and other crowded, indoor gatherings,' he encouraged. 'Be safe, and be smart.' The direction comes a day after the president tweeted it is 'patriotic' to wear a mask, along with a black and white photograph of him donning the face covering during his recent trip to visit wounded troops at Walter Reed. Trump also suggested during the briefing that people should not judge him regarding the federal response to the coronavirus pandemic when they cast their ballots in November as the president's approval rating, especially related to his handling of the crisis, have been slipping. 'Do you want the American people to judge you on the ballot in November by how you handled this pandemic so far?' a masked reporter asked Trump during the conference. 'This, among other things I think the American people will judge us on this,' Trump started before launching into a list of his accomplishments. President Donald Trump admitted during his comeback coronavirus briefing Tuesday: 'It [coronavirus] will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better something I don't like saying about things' One of the slides President Trump presented revealed how the US has a lower Covid-19 case-fatality rate than many other nations, with just 3.7 per cent of Americans diagnosed with the virus having died. In comparison, the rate is around 17 per cent in France and 15 per cent in the UK mainly because of a lack of testing. The CFR is different to the infection-fatality rate, which is though to be lower than 1 per cent because it takes into account the tens of thousands of patients who never get diagnosed because they don't suffer symptoms Data also shows the US has carried out more coronavirus tests than other nations. Data shows more than 45million swabs have been taken in America since the pandemic began. The UK has only carried out about 8million, according to the data presented by President Trump but separate data from British officials shows at least 10million have been processed Separate figures presented by President Trump show how the number of new cases diagnosed each day in the US exploded towards the end of June and throughout July but the curve appears to have flattened again. The number of new daily deaths is starting to creep up. It can take several weeks for coronavirus-infected patients to succumb to the illness The president stopped showing up for the briefings in April, and they ceased altogether a few weeks later after Trump suggested injecting bleach to treat the virus Sun Belt trouble: Trump acknowledged that coronavirus cases were surging in some states more than others, like Texas, Florida and Southern California Trump announced Monday in the Oval Office that he would be brining back the briefings, claiming it was important for him to directly address Americans on the White House response in the midst of the prevailing surge The number of new cases of coronavirus has skyrocketed in the last month following the emergence of massive nationwide Black Live Matter protests and states relaxing lockdown orders Noticeably absent from the comeback press conference was the nation's top immunologist, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who was once a fixture at the James S. Brady Briefing Room podium when the task force began daily briefings in March 'They'll judge us on the economy that I created,' he said. 'Next year's going to be a record year. And I think they're going to judge me on that. I think they're going to judge me on the tax cutting and the regulation cutting on rebuilding the military. On how we've handled the VA.' 'They'll judge me on all of the things that we've done,' the president said, lamenting that if he weren't for the virus, he would still be making strides. Trump also spoke at length about his own personal thought on wearing a mask, when quizzed about his decision not to sport one at a $5 million fundraiser at his Washington, D.C. hotel just hours after saying it was 'patriotic' to wear one. 'I have the mask right here,' Trump said, whipping out a mask bearing the presidential seal to show reporters. 'I do actually do it when I need. I carry the mask,' Trump said. 'I will use it, gladly. No problem with it,' Trump said. He defended his decision not to wear a mask at the fundraiser. 'I don't know, the hotel I was pretty far away from people,' Trump said, noting that he and attendees had been tested for the deadly virus that has infected more than 3.5 million Americans. 'If youre close together I would put on the mask,' he urged Americans. 'If you can use the mask, when you can use the mask if you're close to each other if you're in a group, I would put it on.' Trump, who held a rally last month in Tulsa where more than 6,000 joined in an indoor arena, even said the standard six-foot guidance on social distancing may not be strong enough. 'Six feet to me is common sense,' Trump said. 'Id like to say make it a little bit further.' 'Im getting used to the mask,' said Trump, who has mocked rival Joe Biden for the way a mask looked on him. He was speaking without a mask, while answering a question from masked NBC News correspondent Kristen Welker. Trump also expressed consideration for the army of agents who protect him some of whom tested positive for the virus after his Tulsa campaign rally. 'When I'm in a group if I'm in an elevator and there are other people with me. Including like security people, it's not their fault. They have to be in the elevator. I want to protect them also. I put on a mask,' Trump said. 'Think about patriotism. Maybe it is. It helps,' Trump said, at a briefing where the persistently optimistic president said things would get 'worse before they get better.' But that didn't stop Trump from noting that experts during the start of the pandemic, when there was a run on masks throughout the country, urged against it. 'If theyve changed their minds thats good enough for me,' Trump said. Trump announced during a meeting with GOP lawmakers and administration officials on Monday that he was bringing back the primetime daily briefings to directly update American's on the White House's response to the coronavirus pandemic. 'I have the mask right here,' Trump said, as he defended his decision not to wear one at a fundraiser at his D.C. hotel Noticeably absent from the comeback press conference was the nation's top infectious disease expert, Dr. Anthony Fauci, who has been a top member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force since its inception in March. Fauci said he had not been asked to make an appearance at the president's first rebooted briefing. 'I was not invited up to this point,' Fauci told CNN Tuesday afternoon, just an hour before the president was set to take the podium and speak about the coronavirus amidst a prevailing surge in new infections. 'I'm assuming that I'm not going to be there because it's going to be in just a short while and I'm still here at the NIH,' said Fauci, the soft-spoken epidemiologist who has counseled presidents on disease outbreaks going back decades. Trump revealed at the briefing that he is working with lawmakers to get a Phase Four stimulus package passed in Congress and said his administration is working on 'developing a strategy' to address the virus. 'Some areas of our country are doing very well, others are doing less well,' Trump said, acknowledging that the areas located in the so-called 'sun belt,' like Florida, Texas and Southern California, are being hit harder by the resurgence of the virus. Fauci told CNN on Tuesday he made a visit to the White House Monday, but he has not spoken to Trump since last week on a day of drama about which medical experts, if any, Trump would select to accompany him to the podium. He said he had a 'good long conversation' with Trump toward the end of last week. Fauci fielded a series of questions during the interview about the pandemic, vaccines, and testing, which he agreed needed improvement. Reports from a number of states show people waiting for more than a week to get results from COVID-19 tests which can throw off efforts to contact-trace and avoid spread of infection. The U.S. has about a quarter of the world's cases after a long spike. 'We still have to make it better,' Fauci acknowledged. 'Some places are getting it quite right. But others, the time-frame from when you get a test the time you get the result back is sometimes measured in a few days. If that's the case, it kind of negates the purpose of the contact tracing,' he said. The tracing is meant to identify others who may have caught or be spreading the disease. Amid the public confusion, Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus taskforce, said he didn't know if Fauci would be included in President Donald Trump's first rebooted briefing. Pence, traveling in South Carolina Tuesday, was pressed twice by DailyMail.com on whether Fauci would attend. 'I'd leave that to the White House today,' Pence eventually answered, after pointing out how task force members, like Dr. Deborah Birx, were being deployed around the nation and had recently briefed the press, just not at the White House. Pence's comments came after Surgeon General Jerome Adams, a key task force member, said Tuesday morning that he didn't know who would attend - and whether Fauci would be included. 'They're still figuring out that out. I know that as they resume we will be there in our different roles,' Adams told CBS 'This Morning.' Vice President Mike Pence, who heads the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said earlier Tuesday during a trip to South Carolina that he would 'leave that to the White House' to decide whether Fauci would be joining Trump at Tuesday's rebooted briefing President Donald Trump may be flying solo at the return to his coronavirus briefings Tuesday, with no task force members yet signed up to join him as he announced Monday he was bringing back the daily, primetime events White House coronavirus response coordinator, Dr. Deborah Birx (right), has many times also appeared with Trump at the podium even in Fauci's absence 'As folks know I'm a strong advocate for making sure we are promoting the awareness of the impact on communities of color , particularly African Americans and particularly Hispanics,' he continued, without providing more information. He was asked whether he, Fauci, or task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx would attend the briefing. Fauci has taken to the airwaves to defend himself, even if he doesn't make it to Tuesday's briefing. On Monday evening, he responded to Trump's claim that he was 'a little bit of an alarmist.' 'I consider myself a realist, as opposed to an alarmist,' he said in an Instagram live interview with Maria Shriver. 'I'm a realist but I'm also an optimist,' he said. He also agreed that Trump's characterization of him was unfair, though he stated it in his typically self-effacing manner. 'I believe so, but then again, others have different opinions,' Fauci said. President Trump touted the return of the briefings Monday at the White House after seeing his approval rating slide amid mounting U.S. infections and deaths due to the coronavirus. 'We're going to give you a lot of briefings in the next week and over the next few weeks as to I think it's very important to do it,' Trump said while speaking to the press following his Oval Office meeting with Republican leadership. In this April 17, 2020, file photo Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about the coronavirus, as President Donald Trump listens, in the James S. Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington Trump stopped showing up to the near-daily press conferences after after one update in the White House briefing room went off the rails after Trump suggested injecting bleach or light into the body as a potential treatment for coronavirus. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, also appeared to be in the dark about whether he would attend the briefing. 'I would imagine that I would be at least in on some of them, but we have not heard anything definitive yet,' he told NPR. 'I mean, if they want me there, I'll be more than happy to be there,' he said. Complicating the drama, Vice President Mike Pence, a usual presence, and the figure who has led briefings in Trump's absence, is traveling to South Carolina Tuesday. He was accompanied by Medicare and Medicaid Services Director Dr. Seema Mehta. Fauci does have another gig lined up. The Washington Nationals have invited him to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at their home opener Thursday a role that historically U.S. presidents have often fulfilled. He also is set to be interviewed on CNN Tuesday afternoon right before the briefing. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News the briefings would be 'short' and 'very newsy.' She said the president might sometimes bring other officials with him and might stray to issues besides the coronavirus. CNN reported that no coronavirus task force members were expected to join the president. Q2 2020 revenue almost unchanged Strengthening of premium psychiatry care offering in France Acquisition of 9 facilities from Clinipsy group Rapid recovery of facilities impacted by Covid-19 in H2 2020 Regulatory News: The ORPEA Group (Paris:ORP), world leader in long-term care (nursing homes, post-acute and rehabilitation hospitals, psychiatric hospitals, and homecare services), today announces its revenue for the first half of 2020 (six months to 30 June) and the acquisition of 9 psychiatry facilities from Clinipsy, a key player in mental healthcare in France. H1 2020 revenue growth: +3.5% In m Quarterly Half-yearly Q2 2020 Q2 2019 Change H1 2020 H1 2019 Change France Benelux 554.2 552.6 +0.3% 1,136.6 1,093.2 +4.0% Central Europe 245.9 239.7 +2.6% 499.6 473.9 +5.4% Eastern Europe 79.0 88.7 -11.0% 170.0 175.7 -3.2% Iberian Peninsula and LATAM 43.5 49.0 -11.3% 96.4 96.5 +0.0% Rest of the world 0.7 0.6 n/a 1.5 1.4 n/a Total revenue 923.2 930.7 -0.8% 1,904.1 1,840.6 +3.5% Including organic growth1 -5.5% -0.9% Consolidation dates: Sinoue in France has been consolidated since 1 April 2020; TLC in Ireland has been consolidated since 1 January 2020; SIS Brazil and SIS Portugal have been consolidated since 1 October 2019. Clusters' composition: France Benelux (France, Belgium, the Netherlands, Ireland), Central Europe (Germany, Italy and Switzerland), Eastern Europe (Austria, Poland, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Latvia), Iberian Peninsula and LATAM (Spain, Portugal, Brazil, Uruguay, Mexico), Other countries (China). The end of the first quarter and the entire second quarter were affected by the Covid-19 pandemic, which has had a major impact on the global economy as a whole and on the operation of healthcare facilities. Faced with these exceptional circumstances, and thanks to the remarkable commitment of its 65,000 employees to the protection of its residents and patients, ORPEA has succeeded in limiting the impact of this crisis, with Q2 2020 revenue almost stable compared to 2019 (-0.8%). The Group's health facilities (post-acute and rehabilitation hospitals and psychiatric hospitals) were particularly hard hit in the second quarter, with total closures in Austria, and a marked slowdown in France and Germany due to the sudden suspension of surgery. Q2 organic growth, excluding hospital closures in Austria, dropped 4.3%. ORPEA managed to generate revenue growth of 3.5% over the first half, driven by the contribution of acquisitions, particularly in Ireland, Latin America and France, and the limited decline of 0.9% in organic growth. The France Benelux cluster grew by 4% over the first half, excluding the Public Health Insurance funding guarantee to the Group's French clinics estimated at 10m. The Central Europe cluster also demonstrated its resilience, with revenue growth of 5.4% over the period. The decline in Eastern Europe was solely due to the closure of post-acute and rehabilitation hospitals in Austria. Finally, revenue for the Iberian Peninsula and the LATAM region was in line with H1 2019, despite Madrid and Barcelona being hit particularly hard by Covid-19. Close monitoring of Covid-19 developments and rapid upswing in occupancy rates All Group employees and resources remain committed to the management of the Covid-19 pandemic, at a time when lockdown measures are gradually being eased towards a return to normal operating conditions. Family visits are now allowed again, subject to compliance with barrier measures such as the wearing of masks by visitors. Moreover, the Group has sizeable stocks of personal protection equipment and tests. Business across all facilities has picked up significantly since mid-June: the improvement in occupancy rates at post-acute and rehabilitation hospitals and psychiatric hospitals has been faster than expected, as they have almost returned to pre-Covid levels in just two months; - the momentum of new admissions for nursing homes is also strong, and occupancy rates in most countries are expected to return to pre-pandemic levels by the end of 2020. Strengthening of the mental healthcare offering in France with the acquisition of 9 facilities Clinipsy is a private independent group of psychiatric hospitals, founded in 2009 by Doctors Frederic Lefebvre and Laurent Morasz. In 12 years, the Group has become a key player in mental healthcare in France and boasts cutting-edge expertise in the creation of new facilities, innovation, research and committed public-private partnerships. ORPEA has thus acquired 9 facilities with a total of 907 beds and places, 50% of which have been opened recently or are scheduled to open in the next two years. All the facilities are very recent (5 years on average), are mainly located in large towns or cities in the North and East of France, and in regions requiring a strengthening of the healthcare offering. This transaction is part of the Clinipsy Group's repositioning strategy that aims to refocus on specific, innovative projects. With this in mind, Dr Morasz has chosen the ORPEA-CLINEA Group to manage the facilities he founded with Dr Lefebvre. With this acquisition, ORPEA will be able to consolidate its mental healthcare network and expertise in France and benefit from a major growth pipeline with beds and extensions to be opened. In 2019, the 9 Clinipsy facilities, which will be consolidated from 1 July 2020, generated revenue of almost 40 million. Yves Le Masne, Chief Executive Officer of ORPEA, commented: "The first half, which was impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic, was an unprecedented period. I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to the families of those who have lost loved ones. I would also like to thank all stakeholders for their commitment and support: residents, patients, families, employees, suppliers, supervisory authorities and financial partners, among others. The Group has also decided to top up the bonus paid by the various governments to all employees in its facilities, to thank them for their commitment during this period. Despite the major impact of this crisis on the global economy, ORPEA recorded a 3.5% growth in business in H1 2020 thanks to the exceptional resources deployed to fight the pandemic, its new geographical cluster-based organisation, and the substantial resilience of its business sector. It goes without saying that our teams remain committed to applying barrier measures and are continuing to closely monitor the pandemic. ORPEA is seeing a stronger-than-expected recovery in the occupancy rates of its facilities, in particular its hospitals, and projects a return to a normal level of activity across nearly all its sites by the end of the year. In addition, the Group is continuing its development with the resumption of its constructions, as well as acquisitions including those of mental healthcare groups Sinoue and Clinipsy, which offer strong embedded future growth. Lastly, ORPEA is implementing its real-estate strategy by maintaining its 50% property ownership, as planned, with the disposal of 145 million in real estate assets to the European real estate company Icade. The Group therefore remains confident in its ability to balance organic and external value-creating development with sustained profitable growth in the years ahead to strengthen its position as global leader in long-term care." Next press release: H1 2020 results 22 September 2020 after market close About ORPEA (www.orpea-corp.comS) Founded in 1989, ORPEA is one of the major world players in long-term care, with a network of 1,014 facilities comprising 104,234 beds (20,932 of which are under construction) across 22 countries, which are divided into five clusters: France Benelux: 509 facilities/45,068 beds (of which 4,752 are under construction) - Central Europe: 249 facilities/26,491 beds (of which 4,885 are under construction) - Eastern Europe: 136 facilities/14,621 beds (of which 3,647 are under construction) - Iberian Peninsula/Latin America: 119 facilities/17,914 beds (of which 7,648 are under construction) - Rest of the world: 1 facility/140 beds ORPEA is listed on Euronext Paris (ISIN code: FR0000184798) and a constituent of the SBF 120, STOXX 600 Europe, MSCI Small Cap Europe and CAC Mid 60 indices. 1 Organic growth of Group revenue reflects the following factors: 1. The year-on-year change in the revenue of existing facilities as a result of changes in their occupancy rates and per diem rates; 2. The year-on-year change in the revenue of redeveloped facilities or those where capacity has been increased in the current or year-earlier period; 3. Revenue generated in the current period by facilities created during the year or year-earlier period, and the change in revenue of recently acquired facilities by comparison with the previous equivalent period. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005766/en/ Contacts: Investor Relations ORPEA Steve Grobet Investor Relations Director s.grobet@orpea.net Helene de Watteville Investor Relations Officer h.dewatteville@orpea.net Investor Relations NewCap Dusan Oresansky Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 orpea@newcap.eu Media Relations Image 7 Laurence Heilbronn Tel.: +33 (0)1 53 70 74 64 lheilbronn@image7.fr ISTANBUL - A 27-year-old university student who had disappeared in Turkey five days ago, Pinar Gultekin, has been found dead in the woods of the district of Mentese in the province of Mugla on the southern Aegean coast. According to initial investigations, the woman was strangled and her body was subsequently taken to the location where it was discovered. Police arrested her former fiancee, a 32-year-old man, as a murder suspect. The case has moved the public opinion through the media and social media where thousands of users expressed outrage. According to independent platform Stop Femicides, a total of 416 women were killed in Turkey last year, yet another increase on the high number of cases registered during the previous years. Planned Parenthood will remove the name of pioneering birth control advocate Margaret Sanger from its Manhattan health clinic because of her 'harmful connections to the eugenics movement'. 'The removal of Margaret Sanger's name from our building is both a necessary and overdue step to reckon with our legacy and acknowledge Planned Parenthood' s contributions to historical reproductive harm within communities of color,' the organziation said in a statement on Tuesday. Sanger, who was one of the founders of Planned Parenthood of America, has long provoked controversy because of her support for eugenics, a movement to promote selective breeding that often targeted people of color and the disabled. Planned Parenthood dates its beginnings to 1916, when Sanger, her sister and a friend opened America's first birth control clinic in Brooklyn. Planned Parenthood will remove the name of pioneering birth control advocate Margaret Sanger from its Manhattan health clinic because of her 'harmful connections to the eugenics movement'. She is pictured speaking before a Senate committee to advocate for federal birth-control legislation in 1934 Planned Parenthood's Margaret Sanger Clinic in Lower Manhattan is pictured. The building will now be undergoing a name change Although Sanger has long been viewed as a feminist hero for championing women's right to decide when to bear children, her support for the then-popular 'science' of eugenics is troubling by contemporary standards. She wrote in 1921 that 'the most urgent problem today is how to limit and discourage the over-fertility of the mentally and physically defective.' Sangers defenders say she was not racist, citing her relationships with black leaders like W.E.B. Du Bois and her work to provide contraceptive services in black communities - not for eugenics, but to give black parents the ability to choose how many children to have. Linda Gordon, the historian who first revealed Sanger's eugenics collaboration in her 1976 book, 'Womans Body, Woman's Right: the History of Birth Control Politics in America,' said Sanger was no more racist than many progressives of her time. 'To treat Sanger as we treat defenders of slavery and segregation does not help us understand the history of racism in this country,' Gordon told the Associated Press in an email. The move by Planned Parenthood to distance itself from its founder takes place amid a nationwide reckoning with the legacies of once-revered figures whose views on race are now seen as abhorrent. Princeton University announced last month that it would remove the name of former President Woodrow Wilson from its public policy school because of his segregationist views. Women and men sitting with baby carriages in front of the Sanger Clinic on Amber Street in Brooklyn in October 1916. It was to eventually become the Planned Parenthood of America Opponents of Planned Parenthood welcomed the removal of Sanger's name from the Manhattan clinic. Abortion rights foes have long invoked Sanger's name in contending that Planned Parenthood's provision of services, including abortion to black communities, is racist. The anti-abortion group Students for Life of America said in a statement Tuesday that Sanger should not be honored anywhere. 'Margaret Sangers intense campaign to push contraception and the abortion mentality on minority communities to ensure that fewer black babies would be born deserves our condemnation and demands that she be removed from places of honor,' said Kristan Hawkins, the organization's president. The clinic that had been named after Sanger will now be known as the Manhattan Health Center. Planned Parenthood of Greater New York said it is also urging New York City leaders to remove Sanger's name from a street sign near the clinic. Sanger is pictured in her later life. She died in 1966 at the age of 86 in Tucson, Arizona Sanger was born in upstate New York to Irish Catholic parents in 1879. She settled into domestic bliss with her husband, William, and their three children before a fire at their home in Hastings-on-Hudson changed the course of her life forever. The family relocated to downtown Manhattan, where Sanger quickly became ensconced with a bohemian set of left-wing writers and academics, which included John Reed and Emma Goldman. She went on to publish candid sex education columns in New York Call magazine and divorced her first husband five years before she founded Planned Parenthood. After she starting the clinic, she lobbied for legislation to overturn restrictions on contraception. Sanger ordered a diaphragm from Japan which was confiscated by the US government in 1932, and she mounted a subsequent legal battle which made its way to the United States Court of Appeals. Her court victory led the American Medical Association to adopt contraception as a medical service. Sanger also worked with African American community leaders who claimed they needed birth control in their communities, and she opened up a clinic in Harvard. Sanger opposed abortion, saying proper access to birth control would mitigate unwanted pregnancies. She distinguished abortion from birth control. She died in 1966 at the age of 86 in Tucson, Arizona. The Church of North India (CNI) on Tuesday took disciplinary action after the bishop of its Chotanagpur diocese in Jharkhand decided to withdraw from CNI and make the diocese an autonomous one. A meeting on this was held in Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh after which the bishop was sent on leave, said CNI Moderator Bishop PC Singh. "Disciplinary action has been taken against CNI Diocese Chotanagpur (Jharkhand) Bishop Basil B Baskey for taking a decision to secede the Chotanagpur diocese from CNI and declare it an autonomous one. The CNI received a letter from Bishop Baskey on July 17 stating Chotanagpur diocese was withdrawing from CBI and becoming autonomous," Bishop Singh informed. "The letter further said all believers, movable and immovable properties vested in Chotanagpur Diocesan Trust Association and Chotanagpur Education Society also ceased to be part of the CNI," he said. "This is an act of serious indiscipline and defiance on part of Bishop Baskey and office bearers of Chotanagpur diocese. There is provision in the CNI constitution that no diocese has the right to secede from Church of North India," he said. The meeting held in Jabalpur on Tuesday decided to send Bishop Baskey on leave immediately, and it was decided to dissolve the executive committee of Diocese of Chotanagpur, he said. "Reverend Joljas Kujur is appointed the moderator's commissary for Chotanagpur diocese and an adhoc executive committee has been set up to look after its affairs," Bishop Singh added. TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Honduras Supreme Court has denied an appeal by a lawmaker convicted last year of slandering a prominent local banker. Maria Luisa Borjas was convicted of defamation and sentenced to nearly three years in prison for naming Camilo Atala, president of Ficohsa bank, as a suspected mastermind in the 2016 killing of environmental activist Berta Caceres. She made the statement in 2017 while she was running for a seat in Honduras Congress. Atala has denied the allegations and has not been charged in the case. For a sentence of that length, Borjas has the option of paying a fine instead of serving time in prison. She could eventually lose her seat in Congress once all of her legal appeals are exhausted. Court spokesman Melvin Duarte said Tuesday the Supreme Courts penal chamber rejected Borjas arguments about her sentence. He said it would be up to Borjas legal team to analyze the decision and decide what to do with respect to the new penal code. Edy Tabora of Honduras Committee for Freedom of Expression, who is representing Borjas, said he and his client still maintain it was a political judgment that lacked due process, because the president of the Supreme Court, Rolando Argueta, appointed himself to hear the original case. He said they would file another appeal. For us it is an issue of freedom of expression, Tabora said. He said the decision sends a terrible message to those willing to speak out that sanctions can be imposed if they cannot prove all aspects of what they say. Nine people have been convicted in Caceres murder. Her relatives, however, have said repeatedly there will not be justice until those who ordered the killing are prosecuted. Italian prosecutors have asked for oil majors Eni and Shell to be fined and some of their present and former executives, including Eni CEO Claudio Descalzi, to be jailed in a long-running trial over alleged corruption in Nigeria. In one of the oil industry's biggest alleged scandals, Italian prosecutors allege Eni and Shell acquired a Nigerian oilfield in 2011, knowing most of the $1.3 billion purchase price would go to politicians and middlemen in bribes. In a Milan court, prosecutors asked on Tuesday for eight years in prison for Descalzi and seven years and four months for Shell's former head of upstream Malcolm Brinded. The prosecutors also asked for Eni and Shell to be fined 900,000 euros ($1.04 million) each and sought to confiscate a total of $1.092 billion from all the defendants in the case, the equivalent of the bribes alleged to have been paid. All the defendants have denied any wrongdoing, saying the purchase price was paid into an official Nigerian government account with all subsequent transfers being beyond their control. Eni said the prosecutors' request was unfounded and it would show the company and managers had acted completely correctly. "Eni is confident that the truth will ultimately be established" when the defence presents its arguments in September, it said in a statement. Shell issued a statement saying it did not believe there was a basis to convict the company or any of its former employees. "There is no place for bribery or corruption in our company," Shell's statement said. Shell has said the 2011 agreement was a settlement of long-standing litigation, following the previous allocation of the block by the Nigerian government to Shell and Malabu, a company owned by former Nigerian oil minister Dan Etete. Another 11 people are involved in the case, including former Eni Chief Executive Paolo Scaroni, for whom prosecutors also sought an eight year sentence. There has been no timetable for final decision in the case but the next hearings are due in September. Search Keywords: Short link: View live politics updates ChevronRight These findings underscore the mixed fallout after the brutal killing of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police in May. There is increased public scrutiny of police treatment of black Americans, but less unity on broader questions about how to address the countrys treatment of black Americans since its founding. Stark divisions exist between different racial groups and among varied political identities, not surprisingly given the high profile that President Trump has taken in fanning opposition to Black Lives Matter protesters and their desired changes. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Americans confidence in police appears shaken after a wave of national protests following Floyds killing. Compared with 2014, fewer Americans say they are confident that police are adequately trained to avoid using excessive force. Meanwhile, more people say recent police killings of black people are a sign of broader problems in police conduct. Read full Post-ABC poll results The share of Americans saying that black people and other minorities do not receive equal treatment in the criminal justice system has risen by 15 percentage points from 2014 and this year marks the first time a majority of whites has held this view. When compared with 2014, around the time of the killings of African Americans Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York, larger shares of virtually every demographic group and every age group now say that minorities do not receive treatment equal to white people in the criminal justice system. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Today, that view is held by 62 percent of white people, up 18 points from 2014. Among black people, 97 percent now assert there is unequal treatment of minorities, up from 89 percent in 2014. Over two-thirds, 68 percent of Hispanic people, say the same, roughly similar to 2014. The share of white Democrats who say black people and other minorities do not receive equal treatment in the criminal justice system rose 19 points to 89 percent, while white independents jumped 24 points to 65 percent. White Republicans inched up seven points to 36 percent. More than half of adults, 55 percent, say that recent killings of unarmed black people are a sign of broader problems in the treatment of black people by police, an increase from 43 percent in 2014. Meanwhile, 40 percent say they are isolated incidents. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement But that 55 percent majority is lower than it was a month ago, when a Post-Schar School poll found 69 percent of Americans asked specifically about Floyds killing said that episode was a sign of broader problems in the treatment of black people by police. The change has been sharply partisan. In 2014, about two-thirds of Democrats along with roughly 4 in 10 independents said deaths were the result of broader, not isolated, problems. Just under 2 in 10 Republicans agreed. Last month, soon after Floyds killing, concerns about broader police mistreatment rose by more than 20 points among each partisan group from six years ago including almost to half of Republicans. Today, attitudes among Democrats are close to where they were last month, and while the percentages among independents have slipped, a majority of them continues to share this view. But concerns among Republicans have dropped 26 points since June and are now much closer to the roughly 2 in 10 level where they were in 2014. Overall, the Post-ABC poll finds that a slim majority, 52 percent, say that they are not so confident or not confident at all that police in the United States treat white and black people equally. Thats up from 46 percent who said the same in 2014, if a smaller percentage than those critical of how the criminal justice system overall treats minorities. Similarly, 52 percent of Americans say they are not confident that police are adequately trained to avoid the use of excessive force, up from 44 percent in 2014. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement With Democrats growing more critical of police since 2014 and Republicans returning to their high confidence in law enforcement, the partisan split in views of how police treat black people has expanded. Republicans are now 60 points more likely than Democrats to have confidence that police treat white and black people equally (80 percent vs. 20 percent), compared with a 43-point gap in 2014 (77 percent vs. 34 percent). Apart from the police, most Americans say that black people face discrimination in their own communities. A 52 percent majority of white and Hispanic Americans excluding those who say nobody in their community is black say that there is general discrimination against black people. Just under 2 in 10 white people and over a quarter of Hispanic people say it happens often. At the same time, almost 8 in 10 black Americans say black people experience racial discrimination in their communities, including half who say it happens often. People who say there are many black people living in their community are more likely to say black people there face discrimination. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The Black Lives Matter movement continues to enjoy majority support, with 63 percent of Americans saying they support it, including 46 percent who say they strongly support it. But there are sharp differences among partisans, with 92 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of independents saying they back the movement, while 68 percent of Republicans oppose it. Among white people, 54 percent say they support Black Lives Matter, compared with 74 percent of Hispanic people and more than 9 in 10 black people, of whom 82 percent strongly support it. A recent Pew Research Center poll found clear majorities of the public supporting several changes called for by protesters who have registered their anger in recent months, including mandatory police training to avoid using deadly force and making it a crime for police to use chokeholds or strangleholds. Yet the Post-ABC poll finds far less support for some other high-profile proposals that have been in the forefront of public debate recently. On the issue of police funding, for example, 55 percent of Americans oppose moving funds from police departments to social services and 43 percent say they oppose it strongly. Republicans are the most opposed, with 84 percent saying theyre against such a shift. Among independents, 53 percent are opposed, while 59 percent of Democrats support such shifts. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement On this issue, there is a sizable generation gap. Over half of Americans under age 40 support a funding shift, while less than a third of Americans 40 and older are in favor of moving funding from police to social services. Theres even wider opposition to the government paying black Americans whose ancestors were enslaved, with 63 percent saying the government should not pay reparations. Currently, 31 percent favor reparations, up from 19 percent in a 1999 ABC News poll. But those figures, too, differ by race and political orientation. Today, more than 8 in 10 black people say the federal government should pay reparations while three-quarters of white people say the government should not. Among Hispanic people, 56 percent say reparations should not be paid, while 42 percent say they should. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Current opposition to paying reparations is highest among Republicans, 93 percent of whom oppose making payments to descendants of enslaved people, along with 67 percent of independents. A narrow 53 percent majority of Democrats say reparations should be paid to ancestors of enslaved people, although there is a sharp racial divide within the party. While 86 percent of black Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents support paying reparations to black descendants, that falls to 35 percent among white Democrats and Democratic leaners. In recent years, states and cities throughout the country have examined removing monuments to Confederate Civil War generals, and in the past two months, protesters have toppled scores of statues. Separately, Congress is considering a bill to rename military bases named for Confederate leaders. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The new poll finds that 52 percent of Americans oppose removing public statues honoring Confederate generals, while 43 percent support their removal. That includes an 80 percent majority of Republicans and 56 percent of independents in opposition, while 74 percent of Democrats support the removal of these statutes. Almost 6 in 10 white people, along with just over half of Hispanic people, oppose removing statues of Confederate soldiers, while over three-quarters of black people support their removal. Opposition is even greater to the removal of public statues honoring former U.S. presidents who enslaved people, with 68 percent of Americans opposed and 25 percent in support of their removal. But while at least 7 in 10 white and Hispanic people are opposed, 6 in 10 black Americans support removing these statues. Half of Americans oppose renaming military bases currently named after Confederate generals, while 42 percent support the changes. Once again there is a significant partisan split, with 81 percent of Republicans and 50 percent of independents opposed and 66 percent of Democrats in favor. A majority of Americans ages 50 and older are opposed to any renaming, while a plurality of those under 50 support the change. The Post-ABC poll was conducted July 12-15 among a random national sample of 1,006 adults, with 75 percent of interviews conducted by cellphone and the remaining 25 percent by landline. The margin of sampling error for overall results is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points; the error margin is 4.5 points among the sample of 661 white adults and 10.5 points each among the samples of 113 black and 117 Hispanic adults. The largest expat group in the Gulf nation uncertain of their future as proposed law could force about 800,000 to leave. In spite of having neither job nor savings, Indian electrician Shibhu Clemance was still hopeful that he would be able to find work again in Kuwait until he learned of a proposal to drastically cut back on migrants in the country. The 38-year-old, who lost his job in February due to the coronavirus pandemic, is among more than a million Indians in Kuwait, the largest expat group in the Gulf country of 4.4 million. But after the pandemic hit oil prices and local jobs, Kuwait is considering setting new limits that could force about 800,000 Indians to leave the country, potentially slashing their remittances a crucial lifeline for families back home. The proposal is in a new bill that would cut the total number of migrant workers in the country by 40 percent and require that the number of Indians not exceed 15 percent of the Kuwaiti population. I came to the Gulf and toiled hard to provide a better life for my children. The COVID-19 crisis and now the new Kuwait law have shattered my dreams, Clemance told Reuters news agency by phone from the coastal city of Mangaf. Before he lost his job in February, he was able to send 40,000 Indian rupees ($530) to his wife and two children who live in a cramped house in the southern Indian state of Kerala with his in-laws and six other relatives. With no home of his own in Kerala and little hope of finding work in a state that has been receiving Indias largest influx of returning migrants, Clemance fears going back to his family. We will virtually be on the street if my husband is compelled to return. Wife of Kerala migrant worker The Kuwaiti government has yet to approve the bill, but the prime minister said last month he wants to cut the expat population of about 3 million. Assembly Speaker Marzouq Al-Ghanem has proposed a gradual reduction in foreign workers, starting with a 5-percent cut in numbers, and indicated the country needed fewer low-skilled migrants. Parliament will finalise the bill during the current session that ends in October, before sending it to the government for approval. Indians working in Kuwait sent home almost $4.6bn in 2017, about 6.7 percent of the countrys total incoming remittances that year, according to World Bank data. But a global recession in the wake of COVID-19 has decimated jobs and slashed cash flows. The World Bank estimates remittances to India will drop by 23 percent from $83bn last year to $64bn this year. Labourers wear protective masks during the coronavirus outbreak, at a construction worksite in Ahmadi, Kuwait [File: Stephanie McGehee/Reuters] We will virtually be on the street For Litty Shibhu, Clemances wife, managing the household and taking care of her large family without the monthly transfer from Kuwait has been tough. We are in real trouble since the money stopped coming Every day, Shibu calls me and shares his sorrows. Im planning to sell my gold to help him, the 29-year-old said. We will virtually be on the street if my husband is compelled to return. I cant even sleep thinking about this. Her concerns are echoed throughout the southern state of Kerala, which has about 2 million people working in the Gulf, according to a 2018 migration survey by the Centre for Development Studies. State data shows 70 percent of the Indians in Kuwait are from Kerala. Since the 1960s, remittances from the Gulf have been the backbone of Keralas economy, making up nearly 20 percent of the states gross domestic product, according to the survey. If Kuwait passes the bill, it could further overwhelm Kerala at a time when it has been scrambling to reintegrate nearly half a million people returning from overseas and other Indian states, migration experts say. Expats employed in 3D jobs S Irudaya Rajan, a member of the Ministry of Overseas Indian Affairs research unit on international migration, said the expat bill was a knee-jerk reaction that would fizzle out after the COVID-19 pandemic. Even if Kuwait means business, it will not have a huge impact on expatriates since most of them concentrate on the 3D jobs dirty, dangerous and demeaning, he said. These are categories that local nationals are unlikely to step in and take. A spokesman for Indias foreign ministry said it was monitoring developments in Kuwait and the foreign ministers of both countries had discussed the bill. Robert Mogielnicki, resident scholar at the Arab Gulf States Institute in Washington, DC, said the impact on remittances would depend on when and how Kuwait enforces the expat quota. Were talking about a tremendous demographic transformation. What is clear is that thats not going to happen overnight, he said. He said Kuwait had historically been slow to enact economic reforms, but the current pressures had brought a sense of urgency. [Most S of them [expats] concentrate on 3D jobs dirty, dangerous and demeaning.] Last month, the Indian government created a database of the skills and experience of returning migrants to help fill jobs in Indian and foreign companies. Kerala has already devised a plan for the reintegration of incomers, said Harikrishnan Nampoothiri, chief of NORKA-Roots, a state government agency for the welfare of expats and returnees. It includes upgrading skills to help people migrate again in the future, a financial scheme of up to 3 million rupees ($40,000) so they can start their own businesses, subsidised loans and mentoring camps. Yet Vinoy Wilson, a father of three who works as a department store supervisor in Kuwait, had little hope of finding a job in India that would pay enough to fund his childrens education and repay the money he borrowed for a new home in Kerala. Although his salary was slashed by 25 percent a few months ago, the 40-year-old said it was still enough to cover monthly expenses and send money back home to his mother-in-law. He said he worried that he would be among the first low-skilled workers to be packed off, meaning he would have to sell his dream home. I dont know where I will go if I lose my job. I have loans that I cant repay without a steady income, he said. Former Trump lawyer Michael Cohen says he has been punished by officials for writing a book critical of the president. When President Donald Trumps former personal lawyer Michael Cohen sued late on Monday over his return to prison, he said he was facing retribution because he is writing a book critical of his former boss. The surprise move against Cohen, who had been released to home arrest because of the coronavirus pandemic, has some legal experts and congressional Democrats asking whether Trump and United States Attorney General William Barr are manipulating the justice system to reward Trumps allies and punish his enemies. Trumps decision to spare longtime friend Roger Stone from prison, and the Department of Justice dropping its case against former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn despite his guilty plea have commanded more national attention. But outspoken critics, including Cohen and celebrity lawyer Michael Avenatti, may be getting worse treatment, some legal observers said. Cohen, who once boasted he would take a bullet for Trump before turning on him, said a July 9 meeting with probation officials ended with marshals shackling him after he hesitated to sign a gag order banning him from engaging with the media, using social media or writing a book. Days earlier, Cohen had tweeted that his book was nearly complete. He is being held in retaliation for his protected speech, including drafting a book manuscript that is critical of the President, said the lawsuit against Barr filed by Cohen in federal court in New York City. A hearing has been scheduled for Thursday on an emergency motion seeking Cohens immediate release. Michael Cohen's habeas corpus petition is here: https://t.co/lnxssYKYnA. His motion for a TRO is here: https://t.co/2cEjsTSsBS. Adam Steinbaugh (@adamsteinbaugh) July 21, 2020 Barrs office did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Cohens allegation. The lawsuit does not accuse the White House of wrongdoing. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. In the book, tentatively titled, Disloyal: The True Story of Michael Cohen, Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump, Cohen said in court papers that he would detail alleged racist remarks by Trump about former President Barack Obama and former South African President Nelson Mandela. A Federal Bureau of Prisons spokesman declined to comment on the lawsuit, but said Cohen refused to consent to the terms of home confinement including electronic monitoring. Cohen has denied that. Cohens treatment is expected to come up on July 28 when Barr appears before a Democratic-controlled US House of Representatives Judiciary Committee inquiry into whether the Justice Department has become too politicised. The scope of the panels investigation includes whether Trumps Republican friends have received preferential treatment by the department, and whether his enemies have been treated more harshly, a committee aide said. Michael Cohen just filed a lawsuit against AG Barr claiming that he was sent back to prison for refusing an "unconstitutional demand" to gag him and stop his book. Background, via @JRuss_JRuss at @CourthouseNews: https://t.co/71SPdrQy9w pic.twitter.com/NUnXRRmU3J Adam Klasfeld (@KlasfeldReports) July 21, 2020 Criminal defence lawyers said the terms imposed on Cohen including stopping his family and friends from making public statements on his behalf are not in line with the conditions most inmates face in home confinement during the pandemic. The typical conditions of release do not include internet or social-media restrictions, said San Diego lawyer Devin Burstein, who has reviewed more than 50 orders granting release because of COVID-19. Cohen served a year of his three-year sentence for crimes including campaign finance violations related to buying silence from women about alleged affairs with Trump. Trumps former deputy campaign manager Rick Gates, sentenced to 45 days for crimes including lying to the FBI, has faced no limitations on social media or internet access on supervised release, according to a source familiar with the matter. Rick Gates, former campaign aide to US President Donald Trump, also serving time for lying under oath, was not ordered to stay off social media as part of his release terms from jail [File: Al Drago/Reuters] Reuters could not immediately determine what conditions were required when Trumps former campaign chairman Paul Manafort was released to home confinement in May after being sentenced last year to 7.5 years on federal bank and tax fraud charges. A prisons official said politics played no role in the treatment of inmates and declined to say whether other inmates have been asked to sign similar gag orders. There is no conspiracy against specific inmates, said BOP spokesman Emery Nelson. Avenatti represented adult film star Stormy Daniels, who was paid to keep quiet about a sexual encounter she said she had with Trump. Trumps representatives denied the allegations. Avenatti was convicted of trying to extort Nike Inc, but was released due to the pandemic. As a condition of his release while he awaits trial in two other cases, prosecutors demanded that Avenatti be banned from internet access. In a June 25 letter from Avenatti sent to legislators and seen by the Reuters News Agency, he said he was temporarily housed in a cellblock that has held high-risk detainees including drug lord Joaquin El Chapo Guzman. This is sort of like the Nixon enemies list, where the BOP and senior political appointee DOJ officials put their finger on the pulse and regulate it, said Joel Hirschhorn, a Miami criminal defence lawyer. There is no question that this was driven by political influence. Twenty-three-year-old Hoang Trung Hieu from HCM City has delved deeply into engineering and technology since he was a little boy. Hoang Trung Hieu (second from right) won first prize at the Euroka contest for students in scientific research in 2019. The alumni of and PhD student at the University of Sciences under the Vietnam National University, Ho Chi Minh City, has retained his endless passion to achieve success in the study of high-technology, in particular research into artificial intelligence (AI). With a raft of achievements, including authoring eight international scientific papers and receiving numerous international awards and scholarships for tertiary studies, the talented Hieu has also been honoured as 'Excellent Student' for many years, winning prizes at international competitions on AI technology. He was praised as an 'Outstanding Young Citizen' of HCM City in 2019. Hieu was born in 1997 to a family in the beach city of Nha Trang in south-central Khanh Hoa Province and soon became interested in mechanics. His talent came to light in quite an odd way. My parents bought me electronic toys when I was a child, but instead of playing with them I liked to take them apart to see how they work and would then re-assemble them into different toys, he explained. Reading was also my favourite past-time at school, particularly about computers and technology. Recognising his talent when he was in primary school, Hieus parents managed to send him to study at a computer centre near his home in Nha Trang. Hieu is working at the scientific research room of the University of Sciences, HCM City Vietnam National University. VNA/VNS Photo Hong Giang He gradually finished basic classes on computer programming, creating the foundation for him to enter competitions for children at school and in his district. With his talent constantly developing over the years, Hieu saw success at the annual Youth and Childrens Creative Contest in Khanh Hoa until he reached Grade 9 and joined the provincial information technology (IT) team, which included selected students from different schools throughout the province. He graduated from secondary school with distinction, and was selected for a class of gifted students at Le Quy Don High School in Khanh Hoa. Being selected to study in such a class was great encouragement, as it meant I had a chance to continue my passion for technology, he said. In his early years of high school, however, he lacked confidence in his abilities. Though my teachers and friends told me I was smart, I didnt feel at all confident because I saw my own achievements as being less outstanding than those of my peers, he said. My public speaking skills were also poor, while my knowledge about science and technology was fairly basic. Hieu also thought he was incapable of pursuing long-term scientific research, until he attended a science and technology competition for southern high school students, organised by the Ministry of Education and Training in 2014, and won second prize in computer science and third prize overall. The competition was a turning point in my studies, he remembers. The experience I gained, along with the new friends I made and teachers I met, not only changed my mind but also multiplied my passion for science and helped me be more confident and acquire the basic skills needed for me to continue with scientific research. The next year he studied in a class for talented students in the IT faculty in the HCM City University of Sciences. Artificial intelligence Hieu continued to cultivate his talent during his four years of studies at university, writing eight international scientific papers and picking up numerous international awards and scholarships, including from Odon Vallet in the school years 2015, 2016 and 2019, and the MUFG Bank Scholarship from Japan in 2018. His subjects mainly focus on setting applications for AI and computer vision to solve problems in the medical field, as he sees health is being a field of humanities. The expansion and application of advanced technology will help patient treatment become more convenient and effective, he said. Hieu finished the 2015 talented bachelor programme with the second-highest score and with an average academic score of 9.25. He was retained to conduct research at the university, where together with others he was involved in many projects on the application of AI in daily life and caught the eye of the universitys scientific council. His experience, including internships in the US and attending many domestic and foreign scientific conferences, nurtured his thinking about AI technology. Though AI had yet to really develop in Vietnam, students were nevertheless enthusiastic about it and were clearly talented. Vietnamese students are not inferior in any way, they just lack confidence, Hieu said. Hieu at an international student exchange programme in India. VNA/VNS Photo Hong Giang International students, he believes, are confident when giving presentations and sharing their opinions, while Vietnamese students are often anxious about addressing a room full of audiences. Hieu encouraged other young Vietnamese students to be more open and willing in their scientific studies. Those who wish to pursue their passion in scientific research must also possess soft skills and foreign language skills, he said. During their years at school, young students must try to take advantage of all the opportunities that come their way to participate in exchange programmes for international students, because through such programmes they can make foreign friends and learn from them in their way of communication and behaviour, particularly their science and technology knowledge, or simply how to work in groups and improve your foreign language skills, Hieu advised younger fellow students. Students must also be able to maintain their academic ability in both basic and specialised subjects, so they have a solid foundation of knowledge and are confident, strong and energetic in communicating or giving presentations and persuasively sharing new ideas. Hieu (smiling) with his research team at the university. VNA/VNS Photo Hong Giang I really like a view expressed in the Indian film Three Idiots, about the meaning of passion and success, explained. That is, pursue your passion, and success will follow. Every young person should allow their passion to be a driving force guiding them towards self-discovery and self-development along a path of their own choosing. With determination and perseverance, I believe passion leads to success. Hieu is now on the verge of fulfilling his dream of studying overseas, as he has secured a scholarship for the PhD programme at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, where he is scheduled to enrol next year. Though his time there will last for many years, Hieu has vowed that after graduating he will return home to continue his research and devote his talent to his homeland. VNS Hong Giang Young researcher shares his passion for AI When he was a student at university, Hoang Trung Hieu had eight scientific journals presented at international conferences. The 16th annual National Settlement Services Summit (NS3), slated for Sept. 1-3, will feature an entire compliance track this year, one of three tracks featured at the show. The Compliance Track is sponsored by Stewart. On Sept. 1, four top regulators will kick things off by participating in a panel discussion about how many of the regulations affecting the industry recently are coming from the state level. The regulator panel will be moderated by Westcor Land Title Insurance Co. CEO Mary ODonnell. The panelists will be: Susan Apel, senior deputy attorney general, Office of Pennsylvania; Attorney General Josh Shapiro, Bureau of Consumer Protection; Neil Derr, investigator, Colorado Department of Regulatory Agencies; Chuck Myers, supervisor, RESA Investigations Section, Virginia Bureau of Insurance and Marj Thompson, Chief of Investigations, Consumer Affairs Division, Missouri Department of Commerce and Insurance. On Sept. 2, Jaime Kosofsky, founding partner of Brady & Kosofsky, PA, will be the featured speaker for It Will Never Happen To Me, a session that will highlight how 2020 has proved the industry needs to be ready for anything. Kosofsky will discuss how one title insurance companys emergency preparedness eased the response time and let his business continue to operate despite a series of catastrophes. While 2019-2020 has brought about great things and changes for Brady & Kosofsky, it has also been a very challenging time period, he said. Beginning in July 2019, our office was gutted by a fire which destroyed our physical IT infrastructure and purchase department. We were fortunate that we had a DR (disaster recovery) plan in place and we were able to recover in time to open for business the next morning. To kick off 2020, we had a brush with a tornado which did damage to our old facility and caused governmental interruptions, and in March we heavily modified how we use our office due to the COVID 19 pandemic. In my session, we will look at all of these events and how having the proper plan in place saved our business. Later that day, Mayer Brown, LLP Partners Holly Spencer Bunting and Phil Schulman, along with Katten & Temple, LLP Of Counsel Brian Levy, will lead the session, RESPA Questions Answered. We know you know the requirements for creating lawful affiliated business arrangements and co-advertising arrangements on the internet, Schulman said. But what about the more practical issues that arise when real estate agents want to own a piece of the joint venture or members arent sure how standards differ when establishing a mortgage company rather than a mortgage broker? How do you determine reasonable market value when three loan officers all advertise with the same real estate agent online? In the middle of a pandemic do you still pay for a desk rental when the real estate brokers office is closed? And what can you do to avoid violating RESPA while still developing effective strategic alliances with other settlement service providers? On Sept. 3, Chuck Cain, executive vice president agency, WFG National Title Insurance Co., and Francis Trip Riley, partner, Saul Ewing Arnstein & Lehr LP, will lead the session, Vetting Your Vendors. The session will look into what you need to be requiring and monitoring with your vendors. The COVID pandemic and the logistical issues it has created have only increased the compliance concerns for title agents using fourth-party providers as well as requirements that lenders and regulators now demand of title and settlement agents, Cain said. Compounded by heightened data privacy and cybersecurity concerns, title agents have never more needed clarity as to their internal policies, procedures and controls. In this session, you will hear the current state of the industry, as well as forward looking programs you can do to be prepared for what is coming next. Finally, JetClosing Vice President of Title Alan Chang and RynohLive Vice President of Sales Lee Swaffield will teach you how to take advantage of the opportunities and beware of the risks involved in todays escrow industry in the session, Escrow Opportunities and Risks. For more information on the 2020 NS3, including the agenda and a list of speakers, click here. You can register for NS3 online or click here to get information on how to register via mail, fax or phone. Hippo Enterprises, a Palo Alto, Calif.-based home insurtech company, closed a $150m Series E funding, valuing its business at $1.5 billion post-financing. Backers included new investors FinTLV, Ribbit Capital, Dragoneer and Innovius Capital and existing investors BOND, Comcast Ventures, Felicis Ventures, Fifth Wall, Horizons Ventures, ICONIQ Capital, Innovius Capital, Lennar Corporation, Pipeline Capital, Propel Venture Partners, RPM Ventures, Standard Industries, and Zeev Ventures, as well as large international hedge funds and family offices. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate expansion, make key hiring additions, invest in its technology operations and make a proposed acquisition of a national insurance carrier. Led by Assaf Wand, Co-founder and CEO, Hippo Enterprises provides a home insurance products which come with a smart home device kit and coverage for possessions like appliances, electronics and home offices. With insurance products available to over 70 percent of homeowners in the U.S., Hippo Insurance Services is a licensed property casualty insurance agent with products underwritten by various insurance companies. In the past 12 months, the company has grown its total written premiums to $270 million, growing at 140 percent YoY. Hippo also has offices in Austin and Dallas, Texas. FinSMEs 21/07/2020 PORTLAND, Ore., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research recently published a report, "Plastic Solar Cell Market by Type (PN Junction Structure (P-N Heterojunction), Dye-Sensitized Nanocrystalline Solar Cells), Application (Disposable Solar Panel, Hydrogen Powered Car, Wireless Devices, and Others) End User (Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Power & Energy, and Others): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 20192026". According to the report, the global plastic solar cell industry was pegged at $2.4 million in 2018, and is projected to reach $386.3 million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 88.0% from 2019 to 2026. Major determinants of the market growth Rise in demand for plastic solar cells in the electronics industry, surge in demand for energy in remote areas, and increase in government initiatives and support for renewable source of energy have boosted the growth of the global plastic solar cell market. However, conversion efficiency of PV system technology hampers the market growth. On the contrary, R&D in solar cells technologies and advent of new technologies in manufacturing process of plastic solar cells are expected to create lucrative opportunities for the market players in the coming years. Download Report Sample (230 pages with Insights) @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/6457 Covid-19 scenario: Due to continuous lockdown in several countries and depressed demand for solar cells, small and medium companies in the market are unable to absorb the losses and are likely to go bankrupt. As the majority of raw material is imported from China , the uncertain political situation would be challenging for the market players. The dye-sensitized nanocrystalline solar cells segment to manifest highest CAGR through 2026 By type, the dye-sensitized nanocrystalline solar cells segment is expected to register the highest CAGR of 92.4% during the forecast period, owing to rising demand for LED applications, voltages, temperature sensors, circuit rectifiers and varactors for voltage-controlled oscillators. However, PN junction structure (P-N heterojunction) segment held the largest share in 2018, accounting for more than three-fifths of the global plastic solar cell market, due to need for shifting to renewable energy because of rapid consumption and depletion of fossil fuels. Get detailed COVID-19 impact analysis on the Plastic Solar Cell Market @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/6457?reqfor=covid The disposable solar panel segment dominated the market By application, the disposable solar panel segment held the largest share in 2018, contributing to more than half of the global plastic solar cell market. This is owing to increase in demand for rooftop installation of solar panels because of growth in urbanization coupled with macroeconomic factors such as government incentives and tariffs and cheap alternative source of power. However, the hydrogen-powered car segment is anticipated to register the fastest CAGR of 97.7% during the forecast period, due to surge in demand for automation in vehicles, high competition in the automotive industry, surge in demand for electric cars to control pollution, and increase in trend of driverless cars. LAMEA, followed by Asia-Pacific and North America, to witness highest CAGR by 2026 By region, the market across LAMEA would manifest highest CAGR of 90.5% during the forecast period, owing to increase in urbanization and population explosion and low cost of the product, especially in countries such as China and India. However, the global plastic solar cell market across Europe contributed the highest share in 2018, holding more than two-fifths of the market, due to rise in demand for distributed systems in the European market. Major market players Abengoa Solar S.A. Applied Materials. Acciona Energia S.A. eSolar Inc. Bright Source Energy Inc. Konarka Technologies. Gintech Energy Corp. Canadian Solar Inc. Sunpower Corporation Tata Power Solar Interested in Procure Data? Visit Here: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/6457 Access AVENUE- A Subscription-Based Library (Premium on-demand, subscription-based pricing model) at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Avenue is a user-based library of global market report database, provides comprehensive reports pertaining to the world's largest emerging markets. It further offers e-access to all the available industry reports just in a jiffy. By offering core business insights on the varied industries, economies, and end users worldwide, Avenue ensures that the registered members get an easy as well as single gateway to their all-inclusive requirements. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter Similar Reports We Have: Avalanche Photodiode (APD) Market Size is Projected to Reach $202.5 Million By 2027 High-Speed Camera Market is Projected to Reach $694.8 Million By 2025 Acoustic Camera Market is Projected to Reach $274.57 Million By 2026, Registering A CAGR Of 11.3% From 2020 to 2026 Silicon Carbide Power Semiconductors Market Size is Projected To Reach $1,109 Million By 2025 Cable Management Market Size is Projected to Reach $35.02 Billion By 2027 Pre-Book Now with 12% Discount: Solar Powered ATM Market by Location and by Transaction Type -Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 Electric Cable Marker Market by Product Type and by Application - Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 About Us: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact us: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free: 1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 [email protected] Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow us on: LinkedIn Twitter SOURCE Allied Market Research In the last six months, the global health crisis has turned practically the entire world on its head, but Europe has managed to fare better than most regions thanks to its early intervention measures. Now, as Europe begins picking up the pieces and plans the road ahead, it is becoming clear which industries have been hit hard, and which have come out relatively unscathed. Related: What to Expect from Recovery, According to a Hong Kong Entrepreneur Fintech was built for this The booming financial technology industry is widely predicted to grow at a staggering pace over the coming years, with most current estimates placing its growth at a CAGR of between 20 to 30 percent between 2020 and 2025. And it appears the economic crisis will hardly dent these projections. According to recent research published by deVere Group, one of the world's largest financial advisory firms, fintech apps in Europe saw usage jump by 72 percent in the early days of the crisis, as millions of people looked to manage their money from home. NAGA, a German fintech company that operates a popular social trading platform, has recently made headlines for turning remarkable profits since the start of the crisis. After two rough years in 2018 and 2019, the startup reported drastically increased user numbers and revenue in the first quarter of 2020. NAGA CEO Benjamin Bilski commented that "besides the growing focus on health issues, many people have seemingly developed an interest in the financial markets since the onset of the crisis. We suspect that the volatile situation in the markets has attracted many new traders to enter the market, while we have also seen much greater activity from existing clients. In a recent interview, Bilski told Finance Magnates that the firm managed to build on the success of early 2020 and was able to exceed the trading volume of the entire first quarter with a total of EUR 24 billion, and welcomed more new customers than in the first three months of the year together. As the access to traditional financial infrastructure like banks, ATMs and brick and mortar money remittance firms declined considerably in the first half of 2020, online payment processors including PayPal and Transferwise witnessed a large uptick in daily active users. This growth looks set to continue well into 2020, as some of the largest fintech companies record significant year-on-year growth, including Dutch payment giant Adyen, which reported a 38 percent volume increase and 34 percent revenue bump between Q1 2019 and Q1 2020. Related: 5 Ways This Crisis Is Changing Venture Capital Investment Strategy The legal cannabis industry is booming If there is one industry that has witnessed an incredible explosion in interest in recent months, its legal cannabis. Between March and July 2020, the volume of searches for CBD-related keywords spiked by between 20 and 100 percent in most European countries, with Germany, France, Spain and the United Kingdom seeing the most significant increase in interest. This uptick in search interest also translated into a dramatic surge in medical cannabis and CBD product sales throughout Europe, with some outlets struggling to keep up with the rampant demand among consumers particularly in the early days of the crisis. However, although the supply chains for many essential goods and products were disrupted due to border closures and reduced freight services, those for legal cannabis products proved flexible enough to adapt to the changing demand, maintaining a steady stream of supply in Europe. "In the first few weeks, we noticed a degree of uncertainty. However, as the situation started to become clearer, our sales recovered dramatically and are now at an annual high, " Nordic Oil CEO Dannie Hansen told me in a recent interview. As a leading company in the European market, the Scandinavian CBD brand serves customers throughout the EU and has expanded aggressively in recent years. Investors looking to cash in on this growth have flocked to invest in some of Europes most popular cannabis exchange-traded funds (ETFs), including FLWR and the recently launched CBDX ETF both of which have exploded in value in recent months. It appears that this will likely continue to be the case for some time, as Bedrocan, the supplier of more than 60 percent of medicinal cannabis in Europe, still has several months of supply on hand: At this moment, Bedrocan's production and supply chain are not affected. As standard, we maintain several months of supply for our critical stocks. Also, in case of a crisis, we can continue to function as normal with minimal personnel, the company said in a recent update. Related: What Does the Crisis Mean for the Sharing Economy? The sharing economy is poised for a dramatic recovery Although the sharing economy was largely expected to be devastated as a result of health crisis-induced safety and cleanliness measures, some fragments of the industry have performed better than others. Popular ride-sharing services like Uber and Yandex have actually fared surprisingly well in many areas, as overly congested public transport or a reduction in services forced essential workers and employees to consider alternative transportation methods. Although the absolute number of riders are now down, Uber managed to supplement its income thanks to a dramatic uptick in the number of Uber Eats orders as those staying home sought to avoid the queues and risks associated with buying groceries and other essentials. Likewise, Russian internet giant Yandex is already making plans to finance a range of acquisition and expansion efforts with a $1 billion public and private share offering this year. But this remarkable resilience hasnt been observed beyond the mobility and food delivery sectors, as big names in the on-demand staffing industry, including TaskRabbit and Thumbtack, as well as the peer-to-peer accommodation industry like Airbnb and HomeAway have been struck with a shattering decline in interest. Related: Airbnb CEO: It Took Us 12 Years to Build, and We Lost Almost Everything in 6 Weeks However, it appears likely that the entire sharing economy may be poised to snap right back into shape once things return to normal, as governments in Europe begin laying down fiscal measures to help promote spending, restore jobs and hasten the recovery of the economy. This includes offering financial incentives to employers, subsidizing meal costs, and significant investments in the tourism industry one of the major drivers of the sharing economy. For investors, this represents a potential opportunity to cash in on a down market by acquiring shares in the companies that are poised to bounce back in the second half of the year if the world can get back on track by then. Related: Airbnb Hosts: 3 You Can Do to Reassure Travelers Right Now (Infographic) Related: Uber Starts Sharing COVID-19 Contact Tracing Data With Health Officials If the Black Crowes Adapted to Ecommerce During the Pandemic, So Can You How the Global Health Crisis Affected 3 of Europe's Most Promising Industries Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved (Natural News) A young couple from Kentucky is reportedly under house arrest ankle bracelets and all after the wife supposedly tested positive for the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) and refused to self-quarantine. Elizabeth Linscott says she voluntarily decided to get tested before traveling to visit her parents in Michigan, though just as a precaution since she was not showing any symptoms. After her test came up positive, authorities told her she needed to agree to self-quarantine for two weeks, which she refused to do. My grandparents wanted to see me, too, Elizabeth says about the nature of her trip. So, just to make sure if I tested negative, that they would be okay, that everything would be fine. Elizabeth learned the hard way that making deals with the government and voluntarily handing over ones DNA due to fear is not the best idea, as the Hardin County Health Department told her that she had to sign paperwork agreeing to contact the health department every time she wanted to leave her house. Though she says she does not have any problems with self-quarantining, Elizabeth told reporters that she did take issue with some of the wording in the paperwork, which is why she refused to sign it. My part was if I have to go to the ER, if I have to go to the hospital, Im not going to wait to get the approval to go, Elizabeth told local news affiliate WILX about her biggest point of contention with the Hardin County Health Department. Moral of the story: Dont get tested Not long after she refused to sign the paperwork, Elizabeth says she received a text message from the department informing her that the situation was being turned over to local law enforcement. Just a few days later, law enforcement officers showed up at the Linscotts door, where Elizabeths husband Isaiah reportedly met them in person. I open up the door, and theres like eight different people, five different cars, and Im like, what the hecks going on? This guys in a suit with a mask, Isaiah recalled about the incident. Its the health department guy, and they have three papers for us. For me, her, and my daughter, he added. The whole thing looked like some scene out of a cop drama where a SWAT team shows up to apprehend a serial killer. But in this case, the only crime committed was that a young woman did not want to have to be babysat by her local government after testing positive for what could have only been a simple cold. We didnt rob a store. We didnt steal something. We didnt hit and run, Elizabeth further stated. We didnt do anything wrong. It was at this point that Elizabeth and Isaiah were forcibly put into ankle bracelets equipped with tracking devices on them, which alert area officials every time they leave the house. They were also ordered not to leave their home or travel any further than 200 feet from the property line. Elizabeth also says that she never resisted the order to stay home and self-quarantine, but rather that this is what the director of the public health department told the judge. Im like, thats not the case at all. I never said that, Elizabeth further contends. The Linscotts are now planning to hire an attorney to handle the case from here on out, as they recognize that their rights were infringed. Anybody getting tested just to see is asking for this, wrote one Breitbart News commenter. Medical tests should only be performed for diagnostic reasons in response to actual symptoms severe enough to merit this possibility. More stories like this one about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) are available at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: Breitbart.com NaturalNews.com Some 37 volcanic structures have been found on Venus, indicating that the planet is still still geologically active. The volcanoes have been recently active, the Nasa-funded researchers found, suggesting that the planet could be more "alive" than we had previously thought. "This is the first time we are able to point to specific structures and say 'Look, this is not an ancient volcano but one that is active today, dormant perhaps, but not dead,'" said Laurent Montesi, a professor of geology at UMD and co-author of the research paper, in a statement. "This study significantly changes the view of Venus from a mostly inactive planet to one whose interior is still churning and can feed many active volcanoes." Scientists have long understood that the surface of Venus is younger than those of other planets such as Mars and Mercury, which are cold on the inside. There have been evidence that Venus could rather have a warm interior, and there have been clues on the surface that there could be geologic activity happening inside. Those have been in the form of ring-like structures known as coronae. They happen when plumes of hot material from inside the planet push through onto the surface, in a similar way to the mantle plumes that can be seen in Hawaii. But scientists thought those could just be signs of ancient activity, and that the planet was no longer active. There has been debate on how the coronae were formed, and whether it would be possible for them to form today. As part of the new research, scientists created models of the activity that could be happening underneath the surface of Venus. That allowed them to create simulations of the processes that lead those coronae to form, allowing them to study high-resolution and 3D models of what they may look like. Those simulations showed features that could only be found in coronae that were recently active. Researchers found those features on the surface of Venus, indicating that something is still happening beneath. "The improved degree of realism in these models over previous studies makes it possible to identify several stages in corona evolution and define diagnostic geological features present only at currently active coronae," Montesi said. "We are able to tell that at least 37 coronae have been very recently active." Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Show all 10 1 /10 Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Mystic Mountain, a pillar of gas and dust standing at three-light-years tall, bursting with jets of gas from fledgling stars buried within, was captured by Nasa's Hubble Space Telescope in February 2010 Nasa/ESA/STScI Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures The first ever selfie taken on an alien planet, captured by Nasa's Curiosity Rover in the early days of its mission to explore Mars in 2012 Nasa/JPL-Caltech/MSSS Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Death of a star: This image from Nasa's Chandra X-ray telescope shows the supernova of Tycho, a star in our Milky Way galaxy Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Arrokoth, the most distant object ever explored, pictured here on 1 January 2019 by a camera on Nasa's New Horizons spaceraft at a distance of 4.1 billion miles from Earth Getty Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures An image of the Large Magellanic Cloud galaxy seen in infrared light by the Herschel Space Observatory in January 2012. Regions of space such as this are where new stars are born from a mixture of elements and cosmic dust Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures The first ever image of a black hole, captured by the Event Horizon telescope, as part of a global collaboration involving Nasa, and released on 10 April 2019. The image reveals the black hole at the centre of Messier 87, a massive galaxy in the nearby Virgo galaxy cluster. This black hole resides about 54 million light-years from Earth Getty Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Pluto, as pictured by Nasa's New Horizons spacecraft as it flew over the dwarf planet for the first time ever in July 2015 Nasa/APL/SwRI Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures A coronal mass ejection as seen by the Chandra Observatory in 2019. This is the first time that Chandra has detected this phenomenon from a star other than the Sun Nasa Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Dark, narrow, 100 meter-long streaks running downhill on the surface Mars were believed to be evidence of contemporary flowing water. It has since been suggested that they may instead be formed by flowing sand Nasa/JPL/University of Arizona Nasa's groundbreaking decade of space exploration: In pictures Morning Aurora: Nasa astronaut Scott Kelly captured this photograph of the green lights of the aurora from the International Space Station in October 2015 Nasa/Scott Kelly Those 37 sites are spread across the surface, and could be useful targets for future missions to the planet, the scientists note. The research is described in the journal Nature Geoscience and was conducted by researchers at the University of Maryland and the Institute of Geophysics at ETH Zurich, Switzerland. The work was funded by Nasa as well as the Swiss National Science Foundation and the EU project Subitop. By ANI ALIGARH: The son of a motor mechanic in Aligarh, who had received a scholarship, topped at his high school in the United States. Mohammad Shadab, son of the motor mechanic, said, "Last year, I received the Kennedy-Lugar youth exchange scholarship worth Rs 20 lakh from the US government. Following this, I went to the States to pursue my high school education." Out of 800 students, Shadab was also selected Student of the Month at his school. On his achievement, he said, "It was an achievement for me to be awarded this tag." "I have worked really hard to top the high school," Shabad said. Shadab said, "The condition at home was not good and it is still not that good. I want to support my parents and make them feel proud." He also thanked the Indian government. "I am thankful to the Indian government for making me the flag-bearer in another county and choosing me for this scholarship." Shabad's father, Arshad Noor, who is working as a motor mechanic for the past 25 years, said, "We had sent him to the US for his education and I am happy that he topped at the school." On being asked about his son, Arshad said, "I want my son to become an IAS officer and serve the country." But Shadab expressed the desire to work at the United Nations as a human rights officer. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Mayor of Los Angeles Eric Garcetti expressed his support to the Armenian community, stating that he stands with the community against violence. We stand with the Armenian community against violence. Azerbaijan must end its provocative and dangerous threats to strike Armenias civilian nuclear power plant, and must admit international monitors. Dialogue and diplomacy are the only paths to peace and safety for the region, the LA Mayor said on Twitter. Since July 12th, Azerbaijan has launched a series of cross-border attacks against Armenias northern Tavush province, targeting civilian settlements and infrastructures. Overnight July 20-21 the situation has been relatively calm on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. The Azerbaijani side violated the ceasefire regime 17 times from firearms in different parts of the border, firing nearly 183 shots at the Armenian positions. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Representative Image In a swipe at Rahul Gandhi over his regular tweets attacking the central government, the BJP said on Tuesday that the Congress will become a "party of tweets" as it is doing no work among people and "losing" one leader after another. Hitting back at the Congress leader, Union Minister Prakash Javadekar said the anti-CAA Shaheen Bagh protests and Delhi riots were the Congress's "achievements" in February followed by desertion of Jyotiraditya Scindia and loss of power in Madhya Pradesh in March, and "incitement" of migrants in April. Javadekar said May marked the sixth anniversary of the Congress's loss of power at the Centre while the party "advocated" for China in June and then it was "finished" in Rajasthan in July. "Rahul Gandhi is tweeting on a daily basis. It seems the Congress will become a party of tweets as they are doing no work among the people and losing one leader after another. A frustrated and depressed party is trying to launch all sorts of attacks on the government," he told reporters. Taking a dig at the Modi government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi had earlier listed the alleged attempt to topple his party's government in Rajasthan and the "Namaste Trump" event as among the Centre's "achievements" in the COVID-19 era. "Achievements of the government in the COVID-era: February -- Namaste Trump, March-- toppling the government in Madhya Pradesh, April -- making people light candles, May -- government's sixth anniversary, June -- Bihar virtual rally, July -- Attempt to topple the government in Rajasthan," Gandhi said in a tweet. Hitting back, Javadekar said Gandhi's mocking reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's call to the people to light candles is a reference to the masses and also to "corona warriors", as this was aimed at motivating these emergency workers. "People are standing with Modi. The Congress has become helpless," he said. Prince Harry has hit back at 'deeply offensive' claims about his charity after it emerged campaigners complained to the Charity Commission about an 'inappropriate use of funds.' Anti-royal campaign group Republic flagged both Sussex Royal and The Royal Foundation - the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's organisation - to the organisation that regulates the voluntary sector. The group alleges that funds have been transferred from one group to another and 'the only rationale for the decision was the personal relationship between two patrons, the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge'. They claim The Royal Foundation gave 145,000 as a grant to Sussex Royal and 144,901 to Travalyst - the Prince's eco-tourism scheme. But last night the Duke of Sussex hit back, a spokesman said the complaints against his charitable foundations were 'salaciously created'. Anti-royal campaign group Republic flagged both Sussex Royal, Harry and Meghan's venture, (together left) and The Royal Foundation - the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge's (right) organisation - to the Charity Commission They added: 'The Duke of Sussex has always and continues to remain deeply committed to his charitable work. 'This is his life's focus, and his devotion to charity is at the very core of the principles he lives by, and is obvious through the impact and success of his many charitable projects throughout the UK and beyond. 'To this point, it is deeply offensive to today see false claims made about the Duke of Sussex and his charitable work. It is both defamatory and insulting to all the outstanding organisations and people he has partnered with.' The Royal Foundation was formed in 2009 as a vessel for both Prince Harry and Prince William to pursue their charitable aims. Their respective wives came aboard as patrons upon their marriages. The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's own now-defunct charity formed after they split their household from that of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge in 2019. Earlier this month it was reported that Sussex Royal was shut down following the Queen's decision that Harry and Meghan can no longer use the word 'royal' in their 'branding'. Anti-royal campaign group Republic claim The Royal Foundation gave 145,000 as a grant to Sussex Royal and 144,901 to Travalyst - the Prince's eco-tourism scheme (Prince Harry pictured announcing the scheme last year) Republic CEO Graham Smith wrote in a letter to the Charity Commission: 'I am writing to lodge a formal complaint against the Royal Foundation (Charity no. 1132048) and Sussex Royal (Charity no. 1185074). 'These two charities appear to be in breach of guidelines regarding the proper use of charitable funds and may be failing in their duty to act independently and solely in the interests of their objectives. 'The Royal Foundation gave a grant of 145,000 to Sussex Royal and 144,901 to a noncharitable organisation (Travalyst). In both instances it appears the only rationale for the decision was the personal relationship between two patrons, the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge. 'Neither patrons are trustees of the Royal Foundation, so there is also a question mark over the independence of the trustees of the Royal Foundation. Republic alleges that funds have been transferred from one group to another and 'the only rationale for the decision was the personal relationship between two patrons, the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge' (pictured together in 2018) 'The Sussex Royal charity has since decided to close, and it is reported that they will transfer all their funds to Travalyst. 'Again, this appears to be a personal decision by a trustee (the Duke of Sussex) to fund another of his projects, rather than to ensure the funds are being used for the original purposes for which they were donated. 'I would argue that these grants fall within the definition of 'a person or organisation receiving significant financial benefit from a charity' and/or 'a charity not following the law, with damaging consequences to its reputation and public trust in charities generally'.' The decision to transfer funds from The Royal Foundation to Sussex Royal was taken by former's board of trustees. Speaking today, he said: 'Maybe I'm missing something here, but I find it difficult to believe that a charity making an independent and impartial decision would decide to make these payments. 'The Royal Foundation has lost almost 300,000 to Prince Harry's pet projects. Harry's own charity is now closing and he appears to be taking the charity's money with him. I can't see how that isn't a breach of charity law. 'Whatever the legal position this looks unethical and underhand. People donate money to a charity expecting it to be used to fund the charity's objectives, not to be given away to support a patron's other projects. 'Harry and William aren't trustees of the Royal Foundation, so this also raises questions for the Foundation's board. Are they focused on delivering the charity's objectives or serving the princes' interests? 'I'm asking the Charity Commission to investigate these two charities, to ask them to provide justification for these payments and to demonstrate that they are not in thrall to their royal patrons.' Harry and Meghan filed official paperwork with Companies House to dissolve their royal foundation in July as they shift their focus to Travalyst, reports suggest Harry and Meghan filed official paperwork with Companies House to dissolve their royal foundation in July as they shift their focus to Travalyst, reports suggest. The company - which has been set up independently - hopes to help the hard-hit tourism industry survive the coronavirus crisis. Travalyst, led by The Duke of Sussex, brought together some of the biggest operators in the travel industry - including Visa, Booking.com and Skyscanner - to help travellers pick low carbon options more easily and chose destinations that will have more benefit to local communities. A Royal Foundation spokesperson said: 'The grants made to Sussex Royal were to support the charitable work of The Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They were fully in line with governance requirements and were reported transparently.' A Charity Commission spokeswoman said: 'We have received a complaint on this issue. 'As with all concerns raised with us we will assess the information provided to determine whether or not there is a role for the Commission. 'We have not made any determination of wrongdoing.' A spokesman who worked with the Sussex Royal foundation said: 'Grants made to the non-profit organisation Travalyst are for the ongoing development of projects that will support communities, wildlife, and the environment through sustainable travel and tourism. 'All grants have been made impartially and objectively, fully in line with governance requirements, and have been reported transparently in full accordance with regulations.' A spokesman for the Duke of Sussex's legal team the complaint against his charitable foundations is 'deeply offensive' and 'salaciously created'. The Schillings spokesman said: 'The Duke of Sussex has always and continues to remain deeply committed to his charitable work. This is his life's focus, and his devotion to charity is at the very core of the principles he lives by, and is obvious through the impact and success of his many charitable projects throughout the UK and beyond. 'To this point, it is deeply offensive to today see false claims made about the Duke of Sussex and his charitable work. It is both defamatory and insulting to all the outstanding organisations and people he has partnered with. 'Travalyst (which was founded within Sussex Royal) is a non-profit organisation for which the duke receives no commercial or financial gain, as is the case with all of his charitable commitments. The duke has not, nor has he ever, had any personal financial interest in his charitable work. The interest has always been clear: to support others and to make a positive difference. 'Had the appropriate course of action been followed for these false allegations, it would have clearly demonstrated that anything related to Sussex Royal, Travalyst, or any of the duke's charitable endeavours is transparent and above board. 'To suggest otherwise is unequivocally wrong and will be acted upon accordingly with the weight of the law. The avenue through which this was publicly and salaciously created only suggests a hunger for media attention as well as a shared and attacking agenda, which is neither right nor just. 'Both The Charity Commission's own statement today, as well as that of The Royal Foundation, state there is no determination of wrongdoing here. All of the duke's charitable activities are fully transparent as well as compliant with Charity Commission guidelines, and moreover with his own moral compass.' Two St. Clair County residents have objected to a racist meme forwarded on Facebook in June by Marysville Police Officer Danielle Quain and called for her firing. One of the women claimed that her name was immediately given to Quain when she called the department to complain about the meme. The women made their comments during the Citizens-to-be-Heard section of the agenda for the regular meeting of the city council, held July 13, a recording of which is posted on the citys website. Mayor Wayne Pyden defended Public Safety Chief Tom Konik, who disciplined Quain but did not fire her. Racism at home St. Clair County is far from immune to the cold and inhumane grasp of systemic racism, said Kendra Jansen. Systemic racism is a behavior and philosophy that can be seen and identified and demands to be addressed. We need look no further than the Marysville Police Department and the racist conduct perpetrated by Officer Danielle Quain who, on June 18, 2020, shared a racist meme and tagged a friend on social media. Intentionally spreading content in the midst of the biggest civil rights movement in history is negligent, overtly hostile, racially insensitive and unforgiveable, especially coming from a member of the police force itself An officer who holds such beliefs cannot be trusted to serve all members of an ethnically diverse community with fairness and integrity. Last August, following city council candidate Jean Cramers call to keep Marysville white, a Black woman told the city council her husband drives five miles out of his way to and from work to stay clear of the city as a result of a childhood incident and what he suspected was profiling as an adult. A racist meme Quain forwarded a post that featured two photographs, one of a heavy set African American woman wearing a shirt that says, I cant breathe, above another of the actor Will Ferrell yelling the words, Just unbutton you pants, which are superimposed on the photo. I cant breathe were the words repeated by George Floyd more than 20 times as Minneapolis police office Derek Chauvin kneeled on his neck for 8:45 minutes until he died on May 25. The words have become a refrain of the social justice movement, beginning with the murder of Eric Garner in New York under similar circumstances on July 17, 2014. The Marysville City Council passed a resolution declaring racism a public health crisis at its June 22 meeting and another condemning the murder of Floyd and the March murder of Breonna Taylor by Louisville police. In the latter, the city promised to work with other governments, entities and all community partners to advance equity and inclusion to achieve a truly diverse, inclusive and tolerant environment for all residents. Jansen called Quains post shockingly brazen. It indicates that Officer Quain felt comfortable enough in her position to engage in that type of behavior without facing repercussions and from what weve heard of the supposed discipline she received, it is in fact obvious that she is invincible enough, said Jansen. If police departments refuse to terminate employees who express overtly racist beliefs, it creates an environment that allows systemic racism to persist. She presented a petition to City Manager Randy Fernandez with more than 900 signatures of people calling for Quains dismissal. I felt intimidated and disregarded The second speaker, Paigelynn Jansen, saw the meme and called Marysville police on June 24 to alert the department. I called the police department and was put on hold, and eventually given further advice to file a formal complaint and instructed to come in person, she said. After making the complaint and hanging up, I had barely been off the phone for 15 minutes when Officer Danielle Quain decided to friend-request me. I was not friends with her, nor am I friends with her now My name had immediately been given to the officer I was going to file a complaint about. This is a scary situation for me, thinking I was doing the right thing and she would be held accountable I felt intimidated and disregarded. Mayor Pyden responds I support the decision that our chief made regarding Officer Quain, said Mayor Wayne Pyden. The facts as they were presented to me, the investigations that transpired afterward, I believe that the discipline that was handed out was appropriate under the circumstances. The discipline was not made public. I believe we have a written policy as of July 1 that everyone is to follow about how they act with their personal Facebook account, said Pyden. Pyden said that he does not have a Facebook account and doesnt know how the social media medium works. I will stand up and defend our chief and his actions with (regard to) Officer Quain, Pyden said. I believe this will be the end of it. All I can say is if theres another incident, that person wont be with us any longer. Pyden began his comments by quoting Michael Douglas playing President Andrew Shepherd in the 1995 movie The American President, directed by Rob Reiner and written by Aaron Sorkin. America isnt easy, says Douglas in the movie. America is advanced citizenship. You gotta want it bad, cause its gonna put up a fight You want to claim this land as the land of the free? Then the symbol of your country cant just be a flag; the symbol also has to be one of its citizens exercising his right to burn that flag in protest. Show me that, defend that, celebrate that in your classrooms. Then, you can stand up and sing about the land of the free.' In neighboring Macomb County, communities have also struggled with similar issues. In New Baltimore a police officer was fired in June following the discovery of what officials termed racially insensitive social media posts. In Shelby Township, officials struggled with multiple posts from Police Chief Robert Shelide targeting those participating in Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of Floyds death. Ultimately, by a 5-2 vote the township board voted to suspend him for 30 days. The townships supervisor had called for the chief to be fired. Jim Bloch is a freelance writer for MediaNews Group. Contact him at bloch.jim@gmail.com. This year, states have taken differing approaches in deciding which branches of government have authority to allocate the CARES Act money. In some cases, governors have taken the lead. Thats been the case in Iowa and South Dakota. In Wyoming, the Legislature took on the task, holding a special session. North Dakota distributed the money via an emergency committee headed by the governor and including state lawmakers. For Nebraska, a budget bill passed by the Legislature last year provides the central guidance, the Attorney Generals Office said in its analysis. That legislation provides Ricketts the authority to distribute the money. Lathrop says he accepts that finding. Nailing down the specific limits on authority is crucial to ensuring responsible government. The Nebraska Supreme Court declared in 2002, for example, that when state agencies create rules to implement a statute, the rules must be in harmony with its spirit and expressed legislative intent. RTHK: Hong Kong in focus as Pompeo arrives for talks in UK Hong Kong is to figure prominently in talks of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who has arrived in Britain for discussion with officials there while reports indicate he will also hold parleys with former governor Chris Patten as well as ex-lawmaker Nathan Law. Pompeo is to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday following London's diplomatically fraught severing of ties with China's Huawei and retaliation for Beijing's treatment of Hong Kong. The top US diplomat arrived in the British capital overnight but did not speak to reporters on the plane The State Department had said that Pompeo will hold talks with British officials about issues like Covid-19 economic recovery plans, issues related to the Peoples Republic of China and Hong Kong, and the US-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Pompeo's visit will include talks with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and a sideline meeting with former Demosisto leader Law who fled to London after Beijing imposed a new security law in Hong Kong. A separate get-together with Britain's last Hong Kong governor Patten is aimed at further stressing the seeming new understanding about Beijing. Pompeos last visit to London in January came just days after Johnson ignored warnings from Washington and allowed the private Chinese tech giant to help roll out Britain's 5G network. But the months that followed have seen Britain edge ever closer to US President Donald Trump's administration in its geopolitical tug-of-war with China. Johnson's most dramatic policy reversal saw him order UK mobile providers to stop buying 5G equipment from Huawei starting next year and remove existing gear by 2027. "We were happy about it," Pompeo told reporters last week. "Prime Minister Johnson got the complete right end of the stick on this one." The Chinese foreign ministry responded by accusing Britain of becoming "America's dupe". (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 00:47:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HELSINKI, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Finnish national carrier Finnair announced on Monday that it will resume flights to Shanghai, eastern China, as of July 23. The airline will begin operation between Finnish capital Helsinki and Shanghai on a weekly basis from Thursday with its Airbus A350 airplane, as it has received permission from Chinese authorities, said Finnair. "The re-opening of our Shanghai route is great news for our customers and an important step for us, as China continues to play a key role in Finnair's strategy," said Ole Orver, chief commercial officer of Finnair. Orver added that Finnair is looking forward to increasing its service to the Chinese market as soon as possible. Finland decided on July 8 to reopen its borders with 17 European and some non-European countries, including China, as the situation of the COVID-19 epidemic in those countries has been assessed as stable. In line with the border reopening, Finnair is increasing its traffic in July, and serves more than 30 destinations in Europe and some Asian destinations, including Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Seoul. Finnair updates its traffic plan on a weekly basis and has the capability to add flights at a rapid pace, as travel restrictions are removed and travel demand recovers, according to the airline. Enditem This weekend's Live at the Drive In shows by Gavin James and Hermitage Green have been cancelled. Dolans Limerick have been told this afternoon that the gigs, similar to those planned around the country, can no longer proceed due to changes in Government guidelines. In what are described as 'completely unforeseen' circumstance, Dolans confirmed to the Limerick Leader that all ticket holders will receive refunds, as the hosts themselves are left 'devasted' by the news. The Live at the Drive-in initiative, which would have seen concerts taking place in Cork, Kilkenny and Waterford, was the brainchild of Carl Owens of MPI Artists. The Limerick gigs were supported by Dolans and Limerick City and County Council. Statement from Dolans Limerick "It is with profound regret that we were today informed that all Live at The Drive In shows can no longer proceed due to government guidelines. We have looked at all options and have sought out support and advice from several Government offices and officials, unfortunately with continuing changes with COVID procedures we can not confirm any alternate dates. After months of work and planning to try to bring some live music back to Ireland this summer. we are all devastated. This was completely unforeseen. Please bear with us as we begin the process of organising full refunds to all ticket holders. " A federal judge this week ruled against Move Oregons Border for a Greater Idahos petition to reduce the number of signatures required to get an initiative on the ballot, saying the group had not been reasonably diligent in attempting to collect signatures. Move Oregons Border filed a federal lawsuit on June 30, arguing that the coronavirus pandemic made signature-gathering uniquely difficult this year. That does not mean Move Oregons Borders effort is completely dead. Over the weekend, the group announced it had collected enough signatures in Wallowa County to put its initiative on the November ballot there. The signatures still need to be verified. Wallowa County is unique because people were willing to put a lot of time into building a team that was willing to go out despite the lockdown and the coronavirus, Move Oregons Borders chief petitioner Mike McCarter, a retired La Pine resident, said. Move Oregons Border seeks to switch Oregons mostly rural eastern and southern counties -- plus a few northern counties in California -- to Idaho, believing residents of those counties would prefer Idahos more conservative political climate. McCarter told The Oregonian in February that he was seeking a peaceful revolution. Its a lifestyle/values judgment between urban and rural more than anything else, he said. From the start of the current public-health emergency, the group has opposed Oregon Gov. Kate Browns pandemic measures, arguing on its Facebook page that her authority doesnt include literally outlawing dating and socializing (within 6 feet of another person). Back at the beginning of March, McCarter expressed confidence that the groups volunteer signature-gatherers would succeed in most of the 22 counties its seeking to move into Idaho. (Oregon has 36 counties.) But then the pandemic upended the plan. U.S. District Judge Michael J. McShane, in his ruling against Move Oregons Border, determined that the group had not made much of an effort to obtain signatures. But McCarter says the group is more than halfway to its goal in Jefferson, Union and Douglas counties. And he says he believes itll secure a ballot spot in Sherman County. (That county only requires 60 signatures.) Rather than a statewide initiative, Move Oregons Border wants to make its case on the ballot of each of the counties the group would like to see as part of a Greater Idaho. We want people (in the counties that would move to Idaho) to chime in and say, Yes, we want this, he said in February. It takes more work to go county by county, but it informs the public more. If all or any of the 22 targeted counties vote to move themselves into Idaho, the Oregon and Idaho legislatures, and ultimately the U.S. Congress, would have to give their approval. -- Douglas Perry dperry@oregonian.com @douglasmperry Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Solution enables providers to simplify hiring processes, reduce time-to-hire, and streamline candidate and recruiter experiences CLEVELAND, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- OnShift, a leader in human capital management software for post-acute and senior living , today announced a partnership with First Advantage , a global leader in background check and drug screening solutions. With this new partnership, OnShift clients gain seamless access to best-in-class background check services directly from the OnShift Employ talent acquisition system, speeding time-to-hire and providing streamlined candidate and recruiter experiences. Through this partnership, OnShift Employ clients can easily configure screening solutions to their unique requirements and receive accurate, real-time background and drug screening information through a certified integration. By automating this critical step, healthcare providers reduce screening errors and gain a competitive edge through faster and more efficient hiring. The current environment has intensified workforce challenges for healthcare providers, creating an even greater need to efficiently recruit and hire staff to ensure quality care for their residents, stated Mark Woodka, CEO of OnShift. OnShifts partnership with First Advantage reinforces our commitment to continue delivering added value through our next-generation human capital management solutions. We are excited to offer the First Advantage best-in-class background check services in a way thats convenient, fast and compliant for candidates and providers. With 48% of job candidates citing that their employment background check has an impact on how favorably they view an employer, its critical for healthcare providers to prioritize the candidate experience within the hiring process.i With this integrated solution, OnShift clients gain a seamless background screening experience for both candidates and recruiters. By electronically capturing and digitizing candidate information, while using advanced artificial intelligence to enhance data validation, First Advantage reduces data input inaccuracies. This experience is enhanced with a professional, branded website that is customizable, multilingual and mobile-friendly for added convenience. Story continues Healthcare is a high-growth, highly complex hiring environment, said Joe Jaeger, Chief Revenue Officer and Executive Vice President of North America Screening. Now, more than ever, this industry seeks providers that will meet the challenges of this multifaceted market with innovation and speed. First Advantage is proud to partner with OnShift to meet these challenges head-on and to set their customers up for success both now and in the future. With OnShift Employ, healthcare providers source, recruit, screen, hire and onboard candidates with lightning-fast efficiencies to create a streamlined candidate and recruiter experience. OnShift Employ has proven to be a differentiator in helping organizations find top candidates and seamlessly manage the entire hiring lifecycle from an easy-to-use talent acquisition system. After a thorough review of several highly-qualified partners, we selected First Advantage because of their clear alignment with OnShifts vision, values and commitment to our industry, said Steve Haynes, Executive Vice President of Corporate Development of OnShift. Through our partnership, we are able to offer all of our customers, irrespective of size, access to resources, expertise and value customized to fit their specific needs. Additional Resources About OnShift, Inc. OnShifts next-generation human capital management platform fundamentally transforms the relationship between healthcare organizations and their employees. Our innovative approach to recruitment, hiring, scheduling and engagement fosters a culture where people want to work. Thats why thousands of healthcare organizations rely on OnShifts integrated suite of software and services to dramatically reduce turnover rates, decrease costs and improve the quality and continuity of care. For more information, visit www.onshift.com . About First Advantage First Advantage provides comprehensive background screening, identity and information solutions that give employers and housing providers access to actionable information that results in faster, more accurate people decisions. With an advanced global technology platform and superior customer service delivered by experts who understand local markets, First Advantage helps customers around the world build fully scalable, configurable screening programs that meet their unique needs. Headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, First Advantage has offices throughout North America, Europe, Asia and the Middle East. To learn more, please visit www.fadv.com . Contact Marti Bowman Chief Marketing Officer OnShift, Inc. mbowman@onshift.com 216.920.5038 i Candidate Experience From End-to-End: Whats Your Weakest Link?, CareerBuilder, 2017. The United Kingdom (UK) has asked Japan to help build its 5G wireless networks, a week after the British government had banned Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies from supplying equipment to the networks, the local media reported. As per the Nikkeis reports, UK, last Tuesday, had decided to ban Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies from supplying equipment to the networks starting the end of this year as well as remove all the companys devices from them by 2027. Also read | China may retaliate against Nokia, Ericsson if EU bans Huawei: Report British officials told their counterparts in Tokyo that Japanese technology companies NEC and Fujitsu may replace Huawei as suppliers and have asked for the Japanese sides support to enhance the networks technology and cost-efficiency. The UK is aiming to have Japanese companies compete with other telecoms companies such as Swedens Ericsson and Finlands Nokia to promote the development of low-cost products suitable for British telecom companies to adopt, the media reported further. Washington has already been leading a campaign to ban Huawei from networks around the world, citing national security concerns. The Chinese tech giant has however denied reports that alleged it as a threat to any countrys security. Shortly after the ban was announced, British government officials on Thursday met representatives from Japanese government bodies, including the National Security Secretariat as well as the National Centre of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, to seek cooperation. The Japanese side also acknowledged the need to collaborate with British companies in developing 5G technology. Three companies, including Huawei, Ericsson, and Nokia, control nearly 80 per cent of the global 5G base station market. NEC and Fujitsu control less than 1 per cent. Although Ericsson and Nokia are dominant in Britain at present, Japanese companies may be able to expand their market share in the country if they can meet their quality demands and offer low-cost products. A source from NEC told Nikkei that the company is already in discussions with the British side, while a source from Fujitsu said it is seeking opportunities to sell its products in Europe. The Japanese government has already decided to invest 70 billion yen (USD654 million) to support companies such as NEC to develop base station equipment and backbone networks. The funds come from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organisation, an independent administrative agency. Ten more people linked to a Thai restaurant in Sydney's west have been infected with coronavirus as NSW recorded 13 new cases overnight. Four people who dined at Thai Rock Restaurant in Stockland Mall, Wetherill Park were infected, before passing the disease on to six of their contacts. Two people who were contacts of cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel cluster were also infected while one overseas traveller in hotel quarantine has the disease. There are now 50 cases associated with the Crossroads Hotel cluster, 26 cases associated with the Thai Rock restaurant and eight cases associated with the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club. Four people who dined at Thai Rock Restaurant (pictured) in Stockland Mall, Wetherill Park were infected, before passing the disease on to six of their contacts Despite the rising cases, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Tuesday said she wouldn't yet follow Victoria's lead by enforcing mask use in public but urged that people wear masks where social distancing was impossible. She said social distancing remained more important, while NSW Health on Tuesday said it encouraged residents to avoid non-essential travel. 'What NSW Health and myself are worried about most at this moment in time is what people are doing when they're entering hospitality venues ... you can't wear a mask when you're having a meal,' Ms Berejiklian told 2GB radio. 'That's where the biggest risk is at the moment, indoor events. 'The health advice to date has served NSW extremely well and it's not for politicians to make this stuff up as we go.' Two people who were contacts of cases linked to the Crossroads Hotel (pictured) cluster were also infected on Monday, bringing the cluster total to 50 cases NSW will from Wednesday enforce tougher border restrictions for people wanting to enter the state from Victoria, with a border zone to be set up along the Murray River and outstanding travel permits to be cancelled. Ms Berejiklian said NSW has the chance to get ahead of the virus if residents socially distance over the next few weeks and warned hospitality venues faced major penalties if they failed to ensure social distancing. 'We've seen numerous examples now where it only takes one person or two people to have the virus and then you end up having to contact 6000 people because of the flow-on effect,' Ms Berejiklian said. 'This can get away from us very quickly which is why I'd rather everyone do the right thing now while we can still be in a position to control the spread.' Despite the rising cases, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) on Tuesday said she wouldn't yet follow Victoria's lead by enforcing mask use in public but urged that people wear masks where social distancing was impossible There are 90 people being treated for the coronavirus in NSW, with two patients in intensive care - including a person in their 30s. NSW Health on Monday afternoon also directed anyone who attended Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Harris Park between July 15 to 17 to self-isolate for 14 days and come forward for testing after a confirmed case's visit. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller, meanwhile, on Monday warned the public against attending a Black Lives Matter protest planned for Sydney next week. Mr Fuller says NSW Police will attempt to block the planned July 28 protest in the Supreme Court and urged the public to not be 'selfish'. Other locations that have recorded cases are Plus Fitness gym in Campbelltown, Planet Fitness Gym in Casula and Picton Hotel in Picton. A map of Sydney's COVID-19 hotspots including the biggest clusters at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula and the Thai Rock Restaurant at Stockland Mall in Wetherill Park NSW Health is 'calling on people across the state to redouble their efforts to stop the virus spreading'. 'While it is not a legal requirement, it would be preferable and safer for the time being to avoid all non-essential travel, and not host or attend gatherings of more than 10 people at home (not withstanding that the legal limit is 20 people),' a NSW Health spokesman said. 'Everyone should observe social distancing and hygiene measures and consider wearing a face mask in situations where social distancing is not possible. 'Everyone needs to be aware that there has been transmission in venues such a hotels, restaurants, gyms and social gatherings and therefore they should exercise particular caution in those situations.' Amazons own shopping holiday Prime Day will still go ahead this year, but it wont be for a while, the company announced on Tuesday. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues to affect operations worldwide, a spokesperson confirmed well be holding Prime Day later than usual, while promising to share more details soon. The news doesnt come as much of a surprise. Prime Day 2019 ran for two days from July 15th, and on July 16th the year before. Separate reports from Reuters and the Wall Street Journal cited delays from July to August and then September. However, Prime Day will take place in India between August 6th and August 7th. Over the last five years, Prime Day has become a special celebration and time for Prime members to shop incredible deals for themselves and for friends and family and its something we look forward to every year, the spokesperson shared in a statement to TechCrunch. This year well be holding Prime Day later than usual, while ensuring the safety of our employees and supporting our customers and selling partners. We are excited Prime members in India will see savings on August 6th - 7th, and that members all around the world will experience Prime Day later this year. Back in March, Amazon said it was seeing unprecedented demand in the wake of the COVID-19. It promised to hire an additional 100,000 warehouse and delivery staff in the US, after temporarily restricting the items third-party sellers could store in its warehouses to prioritize the delivery of cleaning and medical supplies. The company has also come under fire over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic, particularly from employees. Workers at its Staten Island warehouse have sued the company, accusing it of not following CDC and New York state public health guidelines, as well as New York quarantine laws. Amazon reiterated that it followed all necessary guidelines, and that 91 of its facilities have passed state inspections. CALGARY, Alberta, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Access to affordable, abundant energy will promote economic growth and help Canada recover from the COVID recession, finds a new study released today by the Fraser Institute, an independent, non-partisan Canadian public policy think-tank. There is a clear link between energy use and economic activity, and policies that constrain energy use, such as artificially higher prices, are harmful to economic growth, said Elmira Aliakbari, associate director of the Fraser Institutes natural resource studies and co-author of Stimulating Economic Growth Through Abundant Energy . The study shows that a ten percent increase in energy use is associated with a 1.16 percent increase in GDP. Indeed, the study found that energy use (which can be defined as energy abundance or energy affordability) is an essential component of Canadian economic growth. That means policies designed to artificially reduce energy use and/or increase energy costs will limit economic growth. In fact, Canadas economic growth over the past decade was already weaker than several other developed countries including the United States, Germany, Japan, and the whole G7 group of economies, on average. Yet, despite the evidence that affordable or abundant energy plays an important role in economic growth, federal and provincial governments in Canada have implemented policies that have artificially constrained energy accessibility and increased energy costs. The Ontario Green Energy Act, British Columbias energy conservation programs, and the federal governments renewable energy targets are some examples of these types of policies. Given Canadas slow economic growth over the past decade and the COVID recession, governments across Canada should pursue policies that support economic growth post-pandemic, said Ashley Stedman, Senior Policy Analyst for the Fraser Institute and co-author of the study. Policies that foster energy abundance could go a long way to boost economic growth and help Canada recover from one of the worst recessions in history. Story continues MEDIA CONTACT: Elmira Aliakbari, Associate Director of the Centre for Natural Resource Studies Fraser Institute Ashley Stedman, Senior Policy Analyst Fraser Institute To arrange media interviews or for more information, please contact: Bryn Weese, Fraser Institute 604-688-0221 ext. 589 bryn.weese@fraserinstitute.org Follow the Fraser Institute on Twitter | Like us on Facebook India August gold futures rose marginally on July 21, tracking positive trend in the international spot prices that were near nine-year high as worries over a spike in coronavirus cases boosted demand. Spot gold was marginally up at $1,818.53 per ounce, a day after rising to $1,820.06, its highest since September 2011. On the Multi-Commodity Exchange (MCX), August gold contracts were trading higher by 0.15 percent at Rs 49,100 per 10 gram at 0920 hours. September futures for silver were trading 2 percent higher at Rs 55,200 per kg. Gold and silver extended gains on July 20. Gold settled at $1,817.40 per troy ounce with around 0.50 percent gains and silver settled at $20.19 per troy ounce, up more than 2 percent. On MCX, despite the strength in the rupee both precious metals settled on a positive note. Gold settled above Rs 49,000 with minor gains but silver rose more than 2 percent gains to cross Rs 54,000 levels. Gold & Silver Rates Gold Rate in Mumbai 10g of 24K gold in Mumbai 10g of 22K gold in Mumbai View more Silver Rate in Mumbai 10g silver in Mumbai 1kg silver in Mumbai View more Show Experts are of the view that if gold trades above Rs 49,100, the momentum can take the yellow metal towards 49,300-49,500 levels. If silver sustains above 54,100, the upside can extend to 55,500, they say. Despite positive news on COVID-19 vaccine trial from Oxford University, both the precious metals gained on Monday. Rising coronavirus cases, fear of slower global economic growth and geopolitical tensions are supporting prices of both the precious metals, Manoj Jain, Director (Head - Commodity & Currency Research) at Prithvi Finmart told Moneycontrol. If gold prices sustain above $1,820, it can extend the gains towards $1830-1844, $ 1792 will act as a major support for gold on a closing basis. At MCX, if gold prices sustain above Rs 49,100, it can extend the gains towards 49,300-49,550 levels, with 48,770 acting as a major support on a closing basis, he said. On MCX, if silver sustains above Rs 54,100, it can extend the gains towards 54,800-55,500 levels, with 53,200 acting as a major support on a closing basis. Track live gold price here Trading Strategy Expert: Sriram Iyer, Senior Research Analyst at Reliance Securities International bullion surged higher on July 20, with gold prices jumping to their highest since September 2011 and silver hit a near four-year peak as a spike in COVID-19 infections and hopes of stimulus measures supported safe-haven demand. Safe-haven appeal also supported prices amid rising tension between China and the United States. International bullion prices started flat to higher on July 21 in Asian trade as demand was boosted by worries over a spike in COVID-19 cases and more stimulus measures to mitigate the economic blow. Technically, LBMA spot gold traded in the $1,805-$1,820 range, where it ended on a positive note above $1,815. Moreover, it has given a breakout of its range and could rally up to $1,823-$1,831. Support is placed at $1,808-$1,800 levels. LBMA spot silver traded in the $19.25-$19.91 range and gave a sharp breakout with good volume activity and also gave positive close above $19.50, suggesting that an upside momentum of up to $20.10-$21.01 could be expected. Support is at $19.00-$18.75 levels. Expert: Ravindra Rao, VP- Head Commodity Research at Kotak Securities. Comex gold was trading in a narrow range near $1,820 after a 0.4 percent gain on July 20. Supporting gold is a weaker US dollar, strong ETF inflows, hopes of additional stimulus measures and increased US-China tensions. However, weighing on price is signs of progress in vaccine development. Gold may witness choppy trade as market players assess the virus and geopolitical risks but the general bias may be on the upside because of a weaker dollar and strong investor buying. : The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. M andatory evacuations have been ordered in the US state of California as wildfires blaze through the region, with one inferno scorching several thousand acres. The Lassen County Sheriff's Office said over the weekend that the growth of the Hog Fire on the outskirts of Susanville, a city in Lassen County, northern California, had spurred authorities to roll out the order for several surrounding areas. Local public health authorities also issued an alert raising the alarm over low air quality countywide as a result of the blaze. The Hog Fire is now spread across 12,188 acres with zero containment, according to the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. The blaze has reportedly threatened about 170 buildings after starting on Friday. Elsewhere in the state, two firefighters were injured on Monday at the scene of a separate fire burning in Lassen County south of the community of Adin. The two were taken to the hospital but their injuries and their conditions werent immediately known, California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection spokeswoman Alisha Herring said. The firefighters were called to battle the Gold fire, which erupted on Monday and has since burned across several hundred acres. Several smaller fires also burned elsewhere in California, including a 450-acre blaze in Siskiyou County that triggered an evacuation of the tiny community of Hawkinsville. Low humidity and hot temperatures have raised fire danger in large portions of the state. USDA Forest Service officials reported crews are working a wildfire in Cherokee National Forest near Watauga Lake in Carter County. The fire has burned five acres on the upper slopes of Little Pond Mountain 1.5 miles south of Watauga Lake and 7 miles south of Hampton. The Little Pond Fire was first reported to Forest Service personnel at approximately 11 a.m. on Saturday. The cause of the fire is unknown. Due to the remoteness of the fire, steep and rugged terrain, and extreme heat firefighters are constructing indirect fire line and using natural barriers to slow and stop the fire in a predetermined area. Cherokee National Forest resources assigned to the fire include one helicopter, one bulldozer, two fire engines and a 20-person hand crew from the North Carolina State Forest Service. Smoke may be visible from the lake and surrounding communities. At this time no structures are threatened and there are no area closures in place. Fire managers remind the public to not fly drones in the area of any firefighting operations. QC Ware's algorithms researchers have discovered how classical data can be loaded onto quantum hardware efficiently and how distance estimations can be performed quantumly. These new capabilities enabled by Data Loaders are now available in the latest release of QC Ware's Forge cloud services platform, an integrated environment to build, edit, and implement quantum algorithms on quantum hardware and simulators. "QC Ware estimates that with Forge Data Loaders, the industry's 10-to-15-year timeline for practical applications of QML will be reduced significantly," said Yianni Gamvros, Head of Product and Business Development at QC Ware. "What our algorithms team has achieved for the quantum computing industry is equivalent to a quantum hardware manufacturer introducing a chip that is 10 to 100 times faster than their previous offering. This exciting development will require business analysts to update their quad charts and innovation scouts to adjust their technology timelines." Apart from the Forge Data Loaders, the latest release of Forge includes tools for GPU acceleration, which allows algorithms testing to be completed in seconds versus hours, and turnkey algorithms implementations on a choice of simulators and quantum hardware. Simulations are executed on CPUs and Nvidia GPUs on AWS. Quantum hardware integrations include D-Wave Systems , and IonQ and Rigetti architectures through Amazon Braket . "To gain performance speedups on near-term quantum computers, it's important to keep pushing the boundaries of what is possible with current hardware and current algorithms," said Iordanis Kerenidis, Head of Quantum Algorithms International at QC Ware. "We are constantly striving to make fewer qubits and shallower circuits do more through innovative algorithms." Industry impact of Forge Data Loaders Forge offers two types of data loaders: the Forge Parallel Data Loader and the Forge Optimized Data Loader, which optimally transform classical data to quantum states to be readily used in machine learning applications. Additionally, QC Ware is introducing optimized Distance Estimation algorithms that allow for powerful quantum classification and clustering applications. These capabilities were considered major challenges for QML algorithms. Most research papers from academia, government, and industry assume the availability of Quantum Random Access Memory (QRAM), the quantum equivalent of classical RAM, to load data on quantum computers. However, very few researchers and vendors have worked on QRAM, and the few proposals around it come with very significant hardware requirements in qubit count and circuit depth. The Forge Data Loaders provide a powerful and near-term alternative to QRAM. The table below illustrates what is required to load data points with a thousand features each. Compared with the Forge Data Loaders, the traditional approaches are impractical because they require hardware technology that does not yet exist (QRAM hardware) or an impossible number of qubits and/or deep circuits (Multiplexer and QRAM-inspired circuit). The Forge Optimized Data Loader can load such data points with just 100 qubits and a circuit depth of 100. New Forge approach to accelerated GPU simulation of quantum algorithms The latest release of Forge also offers a new approach to editing and simulating quantum algorithms. While testing larger algorithms can often take several minutes on readily available CPUs, these tests have to be repeated hundreds to thousands of times, adding hours of computation time. With GPU acceleration, algorithm testing can be done in seconds instead of hours, driving faster development. Forge enables GPU acceleration with: A new library that experts can use to compose circuits Automatic importing and translation of IBM Qiskit and Google Cirq circuits Integration with GPUs on the cloud, to which users can submit problems Algorithms and hardware access in an integrated platform Also available in the new release of Forge are various turnkey algorithm implementations to help experts and novices experiment with quantum computing. Each implementation offers unique performance advantages and capabilities: Users can now run quantum classification, regression, and clustering algorithms on larger problems than what was previously possible as the implementations use the Forge Data Loaders and Distance Estimation. Forge contains classification and clustering examples that can run on a simulator with user-specified data sets. Improved quantum annealing performance on D-Wave, by 10 to 100 times for larger problems Optimization of algorithm parameters for optimization algorithms In addition, the algorithms can be just as easily executed on any of the following backends: Classical CPU simulators Classical GPU simulators (NVIDIA GPUs provisioned on AWS) Hardware on Amazon Braket, which includes access to IonQ and Rigetti hardware D-Wave Systems hardware See Forge in Action: Join Our July 22 Webinar QC Ware is hosting an online webinar, "QC Ware Forge: Introducing Groundbreaking Features ," on July 22, 2020 (US and EU) / July 23 (Japan and Korea). The webinar will include a demonstration of the Forge platform and live Q&A. Register here . About QC Ware QC Ware is a quantum computing-as-a-service company building enterprise solutions that run on quantum computing hardware. QC Ware's mission is to be the first company to offer a practical application providing quantum advantage over classical computers, and is working towards that goal with one of the world's strongest teams of quantum algorithms scientists. The company is already generating revenue from research collaborations in a range of sectors, from aerospace, automotive, and financial services to manufacturing, material design, and oil and gas, as well as U.S. federal organizations. Aisin Group, Airbus, BMW Group, Equinor, and Goldman Sachs count among QC Ware's customers. QC Ware is headquartered in Palo Alto, Calif., and has a wholly owned subsidiary in Paris, QC Ware France. QC Ware also hosts the annual "Q2B Practical Quantum Computing" conference every December in Silicon Valley. The three-day conference brings industry, government and research institutions together to stimulate application discovery and development. For more information, please visit q2bconference.com About QC Ware Forge Forge , QC Ware's cloud services platform, enables large enterprises and public-sector organizations to start building quantum skills and prepare for the potential disruption that quantum computing will bring to the market in the near future. Forge enables data scientists and quantum computing experts to run problems on a wide range of quantum computing hardware and simulators. Forge users can access end-to-end implementations of proprietary and open-source algorithms for binary optimization and machine learning. Forge has always been open for trial. To sign up, please click here . Media Contact [email protected] SOURCE QC Ware Corp. Related Links https://qcware.com Regional Four Manipur BJP ministers return from Delhi; avoid media Social welfare minister Nemcha Kipgen is seen behind education minister Th Radheshyam. Correspondent IMPHAL, Jul 21 | Publish Date: 7/21/2020 12:24:56 PM IST Four BJP ministers who went to Delhi to meet party national leaders on July 17 returned to Imphal on Tuesday but refused to respond to medias queries. The four ministers ; works minister Th Biswajit, education minister Th Radheshyam, social welfare minister Nemcha Kipgen and agriculture minister V Hangkhanlian landed at Imphal Airport around 11 am. They left the airport around 1 pm after their samples for COVID-19 tested negative. Though it was mandatory for all returnees and visitors to stay at COVID-19 quarantine centres for 14 days, the ministers directly proceeded to their respective homes and quarters in Imphal. The same was also the case when state chief minister N Biren Singh returned to the state upon returning from Delhi in the first week of this month. While coming out of the arrival lounge of the airport, none of the ministers were ready to respond to queries from reporters. The ministers had reportedly left Imphal for Delhi on July 17 to lobby with party national leaders to remove N Biren Singh as chief minister of the state though they denied the same. While leaving for Delhi from Imphal, they said the purpose of the visit was to meet national leaders of BJP and Union ministers for the sanction of funds for developmental works and to strengthen the present government. Chief minister N Biren Singh who spoke to a local TV cable network said he had no knowledge of the purpose of his ministers visit and was not informed about their visit. Highly reliable sources said that during their camping at the national capital, the four BJP ministers met almost all the national leaders of the party including party president JP Nadda. During the series of meetings, the ministers aired the issues besetting the coalition government and drew their attention toward resolving the issues by deputing a central leader of the party. They got a green signal for the visit of a central leader to the state sooner or later, the source said. As per the sources, the four state ministers met JP Nadda on the next day of their arrival at the national capital (on Saturday). Though the details of the meeting could not be ascertained, the sources believed that the ministers raised the issue of voices of dissent against chief minister N Biren Singh by most MLAs of the party. There were also possibilities of the ministers discussing the reason for the frequent dissent against chief minister N Biren with the party national leaders. They were believed to have raised the issue after a decorated MPS officer of the state police levelled charges against the chief minister, his family members, close acquaintance and top brasses of the state police favouring an arrested drug kingpin. A man was shot and killed during an argument over money Monday night in far southwest Houston. A group was hanging out in the garage of a home in the 7600 block of Goudin Drive around 9 p.m., according to Houston Police Department Lt. Larry Crowson. Two men started arguing over money, which is when one pulled a knife and the other pulled a gun, police said. GOLDEN, Colo., July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golden Minerals Company (NYSE American and TSX: AUMN) (Golden Minerals, Golden or the Company) announced today that it has entered into an underwriting agreement with H.C. Wainwright & Co. under which the underwriter has agreed to purchase on a firm commitment basis 15,476,191 shares of common stock of the Company, at a price to the public of $0.42 per share, less customary underwriting discounts and commissions. The closing of the offering is expected to occur on or about July 23, 2020, subject to satisfaction of customary closing conditions. H.C. Wainwright & Co. is acting as the sole book-running manager for the offering. The Company also has granted to the underwriter a 30-day option to purchase up to an additional 2,321,428 shares of common stock at the public offering price, less customary underwriting discounts and commission. The gross proceeds to Golden, before deducting customary underwriting discounts and commissions and offering expenses and assuming no exercise of the option to purchase additional common stock, are expected to be approximately $6,500,000 million. Golden intends to use the net proceeds of the offering for working capital requirements and general corporate purposes. The shares of common stock described above are being offered by the Company pursuant to a "shelf" registration statement on Form S-3 (File No. 333-220461) filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and declared effective on September 28, 2017 and the accompanying prospectus contained therein. The offering of the shares of common stock is being made only by means of a prospectus, including a prospectus supplement, forming a part of the effective registration statement. A preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to and describing the terms of the offering has been filed with the SEC. Electronic copies of the preliminary prospectus supplement and the accompanying prospectus relating to this offering, and the final prospectus supplement relating to this offering when filed, may be obtained on the SEC's website at http://www.sec.gov or by contacting H.C. Wainwright & Co., LLC at 430 Park Avenue, 3rd Floor, New York, NY 10022, by e-mail at placements@hcwco.com or by calling 646-975-6996. Story continues This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or jurisdiction. Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor the NYSE American have approved or disapproved the contents of this press release. About Golden Minerals Golden Minerals is a Delaware corporation based in Golden, Colorado. The Company is primarily focused on advancing its Rodeo and Velardena properties in Mexico and, through partner-funded exploration, its El Quevar silver property in Argentina, as well as acquiring and advancing selected mining properties in Mexico, Argentina and Nevada. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, and applicable Canadian securities legislation, including statements regarding the scheduled closing date of the offering and the anticipated use of proceeds. These statements are subject to risks and uncertainties, including the receipt of listing approval from the Toronto Stock Exchange and NYSE American and general market conditions. Additional risks relating to Golden may be found in the periodic and current reports filed with the Securities Exchange Commission by Golden, including the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019. For additional information please visit http://www.goldenminerals.com/ or contact: Golden Minerals Company Karen Winkler, Director of Investor Relations (303) 8395060 SOURCE: Golden Minerals Company Many of the attacks against Pennsylvanias health secretary have little to do with the way she has handled the statewide response to the coronavirus pandemic. As a transgender woman, Dr. Rachel Levine has been subjected to a stream of mockery and abuse on social media and elsewhere. Every time she goes on camera to update the public and implore Pennsylvanians to wear masks, wash their hands and stay calm, stay alert and stay safe, ugly comments and memes follow. Over the weekend, one of the states most popular fairs the 165-year-old Bloomsburg Fair found itself in hot water after posting a photo of a man in a dunk tank who had donned a blond wig, floral-print dress and glasses. The dunk tank was part of a weekend carnival held on the fairgrounds to benefit the regions volunteer fire departments. Dr. Levine? Thank you you were a hit and raised a lot of money for the local fire companies. Wonder why so many were trying to dunk you, said the Bloomsburg Fair Associations post, which included a smiley-face emoji. The fair deleted the post from its Facebook page, but critics slammed the dunk tank impersonation and the fair associations comment as transphobic. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey, a Democrat, and other politicians issued statements of condemnation. Some people said they planned to skip this years fair, scheduled for late September. In a written statement, the fair said that Levines likeness was used to raise money for fire departments whose fundraising has been hampered by COVID-19, and had nothing to do with her gender identity. The statement pointed out shes a public figure. Fair officials subsequently held a news conference Tuesday and apologized, saying they meant no harm. A fellow dressed up in a dress to get people to throw balls at the dunk tank to raise money. It turned into where people thought we were offending Dr. Rachel Levine, and that was no intention at all, Fair President Randy Karschner said. The Press Enterprise newspaper of Bloomsburg identified the man in the dunk tank as Main Township Fire Chief David Broadt, who told the newspaper he did not set out to impersonate Levine he said he was going for a Marilyn Monroe look but decided to play along once he got into the dunk tank and people started saying he resembled Levine and shouting, Wheres your mask? It was just in fun, Broadt said. It wasnt done to disrespect her. Levine and her boss, Democratic Gov. Tom Wolf, have been highly visible throughout the pandemic, imposing statewide shutdown orders and frequently briefing the public on whats being done to combat the virus. They ordered thousands of businesses to temporarily close as the virus swept through Pennsylvania this spring, and recently reimposed some statewide pandemic restrictions as it flared in the Pittsburgh area. Republicans and small business owners have criticized Wolf and Levine for governmental overreach and tried unsuccessfully to get pandemic restrictions thrown out in court. Republicans have also faulted the Wolf administration over Pennsylvanias high number of nursing home deaths. While Wolf has been called a dictator, some of the critics have zeroed in on Levines gender identity. Paul Abel, a commissioner in Scott Township, outside Pittsburgh, resigned after saying at a public meeting he was tired of listening to a guy dressed up like a woman. In Hellam, a small community in south-central Pennsylvania, the administrator of the recreation commissions Facebook page posted a meme that said: If you are ordered to wear a mask by a guy who wears a bra, you might be Pennsylvanian, a riff on comedian Jeff Foxworthys You Might Be a Redneck If routine. The mayor denounced the post and said it does NOT represent who we are or what we feel. A Pittsburgh radio personality repeatedly called Levine sir while questioning the health secretary during a press call, prompting Levine to respond: Please dont misgender me. ... Its really insulting. On social media, Levine is often misgendered or called Richard, the name she was given at birth. The invective prompted the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs, a group established by Wolf in 2018, to issue a statement last month in support of Levine. Levine has been met with some of the most vile and toxic transphobia our commission has seen in our commonwealth in recent years, the statement said. Week after week, members of the LGBTQ community and thousands of Pennsylvanians have tuned in to be informed by our health secretary only to be assaulted by streams of comments and slurs aimed directly at Dr. Levine and indirectly at all transgender Pennsylvanians. Levine, a pediatrician who became state health secretary in 2017, is one of the few transgender people nationwide serving in either elective office or as a high-ranking government appointee. Levines spokesperson, Nate Wardle, said she remains laser-focused on protecting the health and well-being of Pennsylvanians as we navigate this ongoing pandemic. Wardle said Levine would not comment further. Others didnt hesitate to weigh in. Dr. Levine is an honorable public servant whose tireless work to keep PA safe and healthy has saved countless lives. She is owed an apology, Casey tweeted. Love 0 Funny 2 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 0 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 13:06:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, July 21 (Xinhua) -- At least 20 Taliban militants have been killed during a series of airstrikes in Afghanistan's southern Kandahar province in the latest raid against the insurgents, command of Afghan Special Forces said on Tuesday. "Based on credible intelligence, the sorties were launched against Taliban positions in Maakin and Bagh villages of Daman district on Monday. The strikes resulted in 20 killed and destroyed a militants' vehicle and a motorcycle," Afghan National Army Special Operations Corps (ANASOC) said in a statement. The Afghan forces continued in mopping-up operations as spring and summer known as fighting season is drawing near in the mountainous country. The Taliban militants responded by bomb attacks and direct attacks on security checkpoints and military camps. On Monday, a Taliban suicide bomber attacked an Afghan army convoy by a truck bombing, killing eight soldiers and injuring nine others in eastern Wardak province, 35 km west of Kabul. The militant group has not made comments on the report so far. Enditem (Natural News) New York Governor Andrew Cuomo, whose Twitter page still has an image of him riding on a float at a previous years Pride parade, has issued an emergency health order that states all travelers to the Empire State from other states will need to provide their contact information upon arrival to contact tracers. In an alleged effort to stymie the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), Cuomo is ordering that all out-of-state travelers from designated high-COVID states must comply with his demands or else receive a summons with a $2k fine. Were serious about enforcing quarantine, Cuomo concluded, apparently deaf to the tone of his authoritarian decree. As is being reported, New York City saw its first 24-hour period with no new cases of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) the other day, which would seem to imply that now is the time to end the lockdowns. But this is not what is happening, thanks to Cuomo. Instead of reopening the city and getting its economy going once again, Cuomo is instead pushing for more quarantines and more lockdowns, deterring travelers from coming to the city under the threat that they will be told, papers, please before being allowed to enter. Keep in mind that the same day Cuomo made this announcement is when the NYC Mayors Office tweeted that no new Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) cases had been detected in the 24 hours prior. Mayor Bill de Blasio even gave a press conference announcing the good news. Will Cuomo ever be prosecuted for NursingHomeGate? As to be expected, Cuomo received considerable backlash on Twitter for once again playing dictator. One user made the sarcastic implication that NYCs lofty $2,000 fines are going to be used towards defending the city against the barrage of lawsuits that are sure to come. Thank you for treating this seriously now that New Yorkers are finally in more danger than people in other states are from them, wrote the Aldous Huxleys Ghost account in response to Cuomos tweet. Do have one question: are those $2K fines going to go toward paying off the inevitable lawsuits coming from families of your nursing home victims? Another user pointed out the obvious hypocrisy of Cuomo failing to mention how the George Floyd protests likely contributed to the spread of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). Rather than talk about any of this, Cuomo is instead choosing to punish innocent, non-criminal travelers by subjecting them to forced quarantine upon arrival. Will you pay a fine for sending elderly COVID patients to nursing homes? asked another. Essentially signing thousands of death sentences. On and on the criticisms went with not a peep of support for Cuomos mandate from virtually anyone. Many told the governor that they will not forget this come election time, the implication being that Cuomo is on his way out if they have anything to say about it. Meanwhile, Cuomo has reportedly partnered with two churches in Houston, Texas, to establish alleged Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) testing sites. Northwest Houstons Fallbrook Church along with Southwest Houstons Higher Dimension Church will both be testing up to 1,000 people per day with the help of more than 20 health care workers from New York who were sent there at Cuomos bidding. When New York went through the unprecedented challenge and unimaginable tragedy of COVID-19s apex in the state, states throughout the country provided supplies, ventilators and personnel during our time of greatest need, Cuomo stated. Now that New Yorks numbers have stabilized, were returning the favor across the country, and I am glad to be able to help the great city of Houston establish two testing sites in vulnerable communities. I thank our incredible partners for their efforts to establish the sites and provide supplies and expertise. The latest news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is available at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: Twitter.com ZeroHedge.com NaturalNews.com Governor.NY.gov The coronavirus vaccine should not be made compulsory and it is unlikely to be available before Christmas, Englands chief medical officer has said. Professor Chris Whitty told the Commons health and social care committee on Tuesday that he did not believe that making Britons take a COVID-19 vaccine was the way forward. He added that the chances of the vaccine being available before Christmas are very low. On Monday, the first results from a human trial of a vaccine being developed by Oxford University showed it is safe and produces an immune reaction. Kate Bingham, the head of the governments vaccine taskforce, said she was optimistic a COVID-19 vaccine could be available by the end of the year. England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty says the chance of a COVID-19 vaccine being available by Christmas is 'very low'. (Getty) There has been speculation that any vaccine could be made compulsory, particularly after a recent survey revealed a third of Britons may not take it, as a wave of anti-vax misinformation continues to spread online. But Prof Whitty told committee chairman Jeremy Hunt in a video call on Tuesday that making the vaccine mandatory was not his preferred option. Forcing people to have vaccines does not strike me as a good answer under any circumstances, he said. We may well get a vaccine that in any case protects the individual but has no benefit to society its simply to protect the individual. In which case, its entirely a matter of choice as to whether someone wishes to be protected against this very potentially significant disease. He said if we were lucky enough to get a vaccine in time for the winter flu season, then vaccinating for both flu and coronavirus would be considered. However, Prof Whitty said he doesnt believe a coronavirus vaccine will be available by Christmas. We are incredibly excited by and proud of what the UK has done leading the way on vaccine science here and funding vaccines elsewhere, he said. A coronavirus vaccine is being developed by a team at Oxford University. (PA) But no one should be under any illusions, the chance of us getting a vaccine before Christmas that is actually highly effective are, in my view, very low. Story continues In an often heated exchange with Hunt, Prof Whitty defended his actions over the pandemic, saying mass testing had to be abandoned due to capacity issues and lockdown came at about the right time. He told MPs that widespread community testing earlier on in the pandemic required "an infrastructure we did not have". Prof Whitty also said that ministers followed scientific advice with a "delay that was no more than you would reasonably expect". The chief medical officer said a surge of COVID-19 this winter is a "really serious concern". On Tuesday, Professor Sir John Bell, from Oxford University, warned that coronavirus is here forever and is unlikely to be eliminated. Coronavirus: what happened today Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 02:46:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Egyptian Parliament issued on Monday a mandate allowing the Egyptian president to send troops abroad to "protect national security." The parliament's decision came a few days after Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi vowed that his country will not stand idle in the face of any direct threats to the security of Egypt and Libya. Sisi has previously announced that Egypt will intervene militarily in Libya if the troops of the Government of National Accord (GNA) attacked Sirte and al-Jafra cities, which are currently under the control of eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar. In a statement, the parliament said the mandate was issued in a closed-door session attended by 510 members, noting that all members voted in favor of the decision. Under the mandate, Egypt's armed forces can carry out combat missions outside the borders to defend Egypt's national security "in the western strategic direction against the actions of armed criminal militias and foreign terrorist elements," the statement said. Libya has been engaged in a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The situation escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments with warring forces, namely the UN-backed GNA based in the capital Tripoli and the Tobruk-based government which is allied with LNA. Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates support Haftar's LNA, while the GNA is mainly backed by Turkey and Qatar. Enditem GRAND RAPIDS, MI The superintendent of the Kent Intermediate School District will resign on Dec. 31, according to a Monday, July 20 news release. Ron Caniff, who has held the top post at the ISD since 2015, submitted a letter of resignation to the Kent ISD Board of Education on Monday, in which he announced his intention to complete the calendar year before retiring. The privilege of serving as superintendent of Kent ISD has been a true honor and the highlight of my career, Caniff wrote in the letter. The timing of my departure the end of December will allow us to get what will assuredly be a challenging start-up to the school year behind us, and hopefully by the time I leave a sense of normal operations returns with the potential advances occurring in the development of a COVID-19 vaccine. Caniffs tenure has coincided with some significant moment in the districts history, including, most recently, navigating the coronavirus pandemic. He also oversaw a high-profile firing of, and later settlement with, an administrative staff member accused of hostile behavior in 2019. His tenure also overlapped with the passage of an enhancement millage, expanded adult education, and transitioning special education operations from Grand Rapids Public Schools to Kent ISD, among other milestones, according to a press release by the school board, confirming Caniffs retirement. The challenge of operating Kent ISD and serving member districts during this pandemic was enormous, Andrea Haidle, the school board president, said in that release. We all owe Ron our gratitude for his devotion to the organization, and the children and families we serve, during these difficult times. The former Grandville schools superintendent, Caniffs career spans 36 in teaching and administration. He previously worked as a teacher and principal at Forest Hills Central High School, an assistant superintendent in Northview schools, and the superintendent of the Lapeer Community Schools for three years. He was selected to oversee the ISD a regional educational service agency that provides instructional and administrative services to local school districts in 2015. Haidle, the board president, has said that the board will begin planning to hire a search firm as they begin to seek Caniffs replacement. Selecting a new superintendent is the most important decision this board will make during the next school year, Haidle said in the release. We plan to take our time and get this right. We will release details as we work though some of the procedural issues over the next couple of months. The news comes days after the superintendent of the Ottawa Area Intermediate School District (OAISD), Pete Haines, also announced his plan to retire. Read more on MLive: Ottawa Area Intermediate School District Superintendent Pete Haines announces retirement Grand Rapids police identify homicide victim after violent weekend West Michigan congressional candidates outline top policy priorities during debate Man accused of pointing BB gun at Black man faces ethnic-intimidation, weapon charges 21.07.2020 LISTEN Former President John Mahama has finally congratulated his first son Shafik on his marriage to his Algerian girlfriend Asma. Earlier on, Ghbase.com shared photos from their wedding ceremony which happened in Dubai over the weekend. John Mahama in an Instagram post blessed his sons marriage as he couldnt make it there as there is a lockdown on borders because of the coronavirus. A proud Mahama couldnt hide his joy as he shared a photo of his son and his new wife with the caption: Congrats Shafik and Asma. --Ghbase The Cervical cancer screening programme was halted on March 27th due to Covid-19, but the HSE announced the backlog of suspended tests would be cleared by October. The two other cancer screening programs, BreastCheck and Bowel Screen, will not resume until September. CervicalCheck has also began screening using new HPV testing and is expecting the number of tests carried out each week to rise as women begin to book in with their GPs again. The national screening programme says it is monitoring the situation carefully to ensure there is sufficient capacity at all times. CervicalCheck is asking anyone who received their letter of invitation to book a test without delay. Millions of workers will keep receiving the JobKeeper wage subsidy until the end of March in a dramatic extension of the $70 billion program under a fresh eligibility test to ensure the payments go to those in genuine need. The Morrison government will also extend a temporary boost to its JobSeeker unemployment benefit on the same timetable to shore up household incomes through the recession. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg and Prime Minister Scott Morrison will announce the government's plans for JobKeeper and JobSeeker on Tuesday. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen But the government will cut the value of both payments from the first week of October and will introduce two tiers to the wage subsidy so part-time workers no longer receive a full-time rate. Prime Minister Scott Morrison and Treasurer Josh Frydenberg will reveal the new rates on Tuesday to replace the JobKeeper payment of $1500 per fortnight and the temporary boost to JobSeeker to $1100 per fortnight. After the trial of an American couple, the protesters of the movement "Black Lives Matter" with the weapons of the land and the house to keep charged, the Prosecutor's office in Missouri charge. As Kimberly Gardner, Senior state attorney in St. Louis, announced on Monday, Mark and Patricia McCloskey to the illegal use accused of a gun. It was illegal to wave a gun. The couple had sparked almost four weeks of debate on the right to self-defense in the United States. Footage showed Mark McCloskey on June 28. June in front of his Villa in St. Louis most noble area of the Central West end of a rifle held in his hands, while the demonstrators passed by. The 60-year-old Patricia McCloskey taught, meanwhile, a gun to the participants of the protest March. As the two lawyers said later they feared for their lives after the protesters had ripped the gate to your private road. The representatives of the movement "Black Lives Matter", which had called for after the death of the African-American George Floyd under the knee of a white police officer in Minneapolis (Minnesota) country-wide protests, were, later, to the Villa of the mayor Lyda Krewson in the neighborhood of the spouses moved on. Updated Date: 21 July 2020, 09:19 Walmart, Marks & Spencer Brace for Tumultuous Back-to-School Season As more school districts roll back their reopening plans to curb the spread of coronavirus, major retailers in the United States, EU, and UK are aggressively discounting back-to-school backpacks and uniforms and airing new advertisements featuring students happily taking classes at home. In the UK, Marks & Spencera market leaderis offering deeply discounted merchandise, including 25 percent off across the entire school uniform range and free delivery for orders that cost more than 50 pounds. Lands End will offer shoppers 60 percent off all backpacks on July 20 and July 21. Walmart Inc., which created a mask section in its back-to-school clothing department online, has begun airing a commercial showing a boy attending school, alone, in a mask one day, then taking a class online in his bedroom the next day. Another ad shows a mom packing up a backpack with school supplies for her daughter to use while performing a chemistry experiment in the backyard. In Europe, retailers would normally expect increased traffic for at least a week in August depending on when schools reopen, according to Sensormatic Solutions. But shopper footfall in June and July was down substantially this yearby 60 percent in Britain, 50 percent in Spain, Italy, and France, and more than 30 percent in Germany. That could spell trouble for retailers where back-to-school is a key sales driver on par with Christmas, according to Thomas Schnabel of the German retailer association HBS. In Germany, parents tend to start buying just before summer holidays and throughout August, Schnabel said, highlighting how it was lucky lockdowns lifted when they did as he doubted back-to-school sales would transfer easily online. People want to try the pens and feel the fit and the fabric of rucksacks, Schnabel said. In England, all kids are expected to return to school in September, while schools in Los Angeles and San Diego Californias two largest public school districtsare set to resume classes online only in August. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio unveiled a plan for reopening schools in September with a blended learning schedule that would have students alternating between classrooms and their homes. U.S. laptop sales may boom as parents anticipate the COVID-19 pandemic will keep at least some classes online, retailers say, citing survey data. But spending on clothing is likely to take a hit. A Deloitte survey of 1,200 U.S. parents in July found they plan to spend 18 percent less on apparel and 28 percent more on technology. Alycia Zimmerman, 38, a Brooklyn, New York, mother of a 3- and a 5-year-old, said she intends to buy fewer outfits for her kids this fall. There will be a lot of time spent at home when I dont care if theyre wearing the same thing four days in a rowand they dont have to look presentable, she said. Several retailersfrom department store operators Macys Inc., Nordstrom Inc. to discount stores like Ross Stores Inc.canceled summer orders from suppliers at the onset of COVID-19. To better manage inventory, Jane Elfers, chief executive of Childrens Place, said on a June 11 earnings call that the Secaucus, New Jersey-based company had invested in services like ship-from-store. In the UK, retail executives expect parents to make fewer shopping trips, to fewer retailers. Most schools have a uniform requirement, and generally, theres a compulsory producta crested blazer, special tie, a games jersey available only at a particular supplierwhile parents can get generic products like a white shirt or black trousers from anywhere, including Marks and Spencer. Parents who have to go to a store to go and buy that blazer and tie are then saying, Let me by my trousers and my shirts from here because I dont want to go to another store,' said Mark Stevenson, co-chair of the Schoolwear Association, a UK group that represents uniform manufacturers. M&S said on July 20 it would cut 950 jobs as part of the store management revamp. Several American makers of uniforms applied for aid from the United States Paycheck Protection Program, which injected about $521.4 billion in taxpayer cash to businesses impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Portland, Oregon-based Dennis Uniform, and Philadelphia-based Flynn and Ohara Uniforms, for instance, were given between $2 and $5 million, according to data released by the Trump administration. The companies were not immediately available for comment. Roger Spatz, president of JanSport and Eagle Creek backpack brands, both owned by VF Corp., said demand is hyper-dynamic as COVID-19 surges in some states and contracts in others during the key back-to-school selling months. Kipling America, another VF Corp backpack line, is pitching its backpacks for home use. In the past, we might have led with great images of in your school environment, the companys marketing director Priscilla Mera Serrano told Reuters. But now were leading with content and images of setting yourself up at home and how to get yourself organized. By Melissa Fares & Nivedita Balu Tom Arnold's divorce from Ashley Groussman has been finalized. The True Lies actor, 61, and his wife of more than ten years filed their dissolution of marriage with Los Angeles Superior Court last Thursday, according to PEOPLE. The former couple will share joint custody of their son Jax, 7, and daughter Quinn, 4. Happier times: Tom Arnold's divorce from Ashley Groussman has been finalized. Seen together in 2018 The reason behind the divorce was cited as irreconcilable differences. In a joint statement last month, Tom and Ashley announced they had 'arrived at an amicable resolution to our custody issues.' 'We continue to work with a co-parenting therapist and are committed to raising our family in a healthy and cooperative manner,' they added. Back in January, Groussman applied for a restraining order against the NCIS: New Orleans star, alleging he had refused to return their children to her home after his allotted time with them, insisting instead that she pick them up. Police were eventually called to resolve the issue. Doing it for the kids: The former couple will share joint custody of their son Jax, 7, and daughter Quinn, 4 Arnold will pay Groussman $4,383 in spousal support per month until he turns 65. He also owes his ex 50 percent of the net income from 'all right, title and interest in 12 intellectual properties relating to underlying works which were created during the marriage.' The writer-actor and the personal concierge were married in Maui in 2009, after having known each other since 2008. The McHale's Navy actor was previously married to Shelby Roos, Julie Armstrong, and Roseanne Barr. The 2020 Toyota Avalon is one of the seven vehicles that is available for 0% APR financing. Vehicles that are included with this sales event include the 2020 Toyota RAV4, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Corolla Hatchback, Corolla Hybrid, Prius Liftback, Supra and Highlander. Individuals who are searching for a new vehicle this summer can take advantage of the Toyota Summer Savings Event happening now at Fox Toyota. Vehicles that are included with this sales event include the 2020 Toyota RAV4, Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Corolla Hatchback, Corolla Hybrid, Prius Liftback, Supra and Highlander. The offers are good from now through August 3. Seven models have the same offer. It is 0% Annual Percentage Rate (APR), which is available to well-qualified customers who qualify through Toyota Financial Services. The seven models include the 2020 Toyota Avalon, Avalon Hybrid, Camry Hybrid, Corolla Hatchback, Corolla Hybrid, Prius Liftback and Supra. The 2020 Toyota RAV4 has two lease offers available. The first is for the LE FWD gas model and it is $199 per month for 36-months with $2,999 due at signing. This is a low mileage lease. The second lease option is available on the LE AWD Hybrid model. It is $249 per month for 36 months with $2,999 due at signing. This is also a low mileage lease. The offer on the 2020 Toyota Highlander is for both the gas and hybrid models. It is $1,000 in customer cash. Again, this offer is available to well-qualified individuals who are approved through Toyota Financial Services. Individuals who would like to learn more about the Summer Savings Event that is happening now at Fox Toyota can visit the dealerships website https://www.foxtoyotaclinton.com/. Interested parties who have more questions can reach the dealership by phone at 865-494-0228. Finally, the dealership is conveniently located at 228 Fox Family Lane in Clinton for those who would like a more personal experience. Parents whose children attend the facility received a message alerting them to the fact that a childcare worker had contracted the virus. (stock image) A creche on Dublins northside has become the first childcare facility to be hit by Covid-19. Concern has been expressed by some parents that the facility has not closed its doors after the confirmed case of coronavirus last week. It comes after Chief Medical Officer Dr Ronan Glynn warned that workplaces were the new frontline in the fight against the virus after new cases were reported on building sites, supermarkets and fast-food outlets. Read More Parents whose children attend the facility received a message alerting them to the fact that a childcare worker had contracted the virus. The memo sent out last weekend stated that the member of staff who attended work for one day on Monday, July 13 had tested positive for Covid-19. It also said that any parents of those children who had been in contact with the childcare worker had been contacted. Tests have also been arranged for the small number of staff members who were also in contact with them, the memo added. It said that they wanted to assure parents that all protocols from the HSE and TUSLA had been followed. Most importantly, all parents whose children have been in contact with the asymptomatic Educarer have been phoned personally and appropriate testing has been arranged, it said. Likewise, the small number of staff members who were in direct contact with the Educarer in question are being tested and while awaiting results, will not be in attendance at creche. However, a parent whose child attends the creche said they were surprised to discover that the facility had remained open in the wake of the Covid-19 case. Its really worrying for parents, she told the Irish Independent. My daughter was due to go back on Monday but I held off after I heard about this case. Now this makes me doubt sending her at all. At the same time, its increasingly difficult to manage working from home with her and my other child there the whole time. Its a really difficult situation. A creche manager said they could not comment on the coronavirus case in the branch when contacted by the Irish Independent. When the head office was contacted, a staff member said: "They've received your email and they'll let you know if they're going to say anything." Both the HSE and TULSA said they do not comment on individual cases. According to HSE guidelines, if there is a confirmed case of Covid in a childcare setting, the facility will be contacted by a public health official to identify anyone who has been in contact with them during the period they were infectious. They will also advise them on any actions or precautions that should be taken. An assessment of each childcare setting will also be undertaken by HSE public health staff, who will use that information to advise on the management of children and staff. The team will also individually speak with anyone who has been in contact with the case and given them appropriate advice. They will also give advice on sanitising communal areas such as classrooms, changing rooms and toilets. Close contacts of a confirmed case should self-isolate for 14 days and not return to the childcare facility until they are told it is safe to do so - even if the virus is not detected on their tests. San Mateo County's Board of Supervisors will vote on Tuesday whether to approve a $2 million allocation of federal funds to support child care programs impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. If approved, this Child Care Relief Fund will provide $1.35 million to child care centers through grants of up to $55,000 each, and $650,000 to family child care homes through grants of up to $10,000 each. The money is from the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act approved by Congress in March. The funding will help counter the economic burden of lost revenue and increased costs that child care programs face. A survey by the San Mateo County COVID-19 Child Care Response Team found that 42 percent of family child care homes and 71 percent of care centers expect net income loss in the fall. A shortage of child care spaces in San Mateo County could restrict parents and caregivers from working, potentially resulting in up to $3.6 billion in lost wages in the county. Grants will be distributed in collaboration with the San Mateo Credit Union and the Community Equity Collaborative, a Menlo Park-based working group that supports equity in education. The county will prioritize funding child care programs that serve vulnerable residents. San Diego and Santa Clara counties have also allocated CARES Act funds to support child care. San Mateo County's relief fund represents 1.5 percent of the county's $134 million CARES Act funds. The Board of Supervisors will vote on the child care funding proposal at Tuesday's meeting, which begins at 9 a.m. Remote access is available via Zoom at https://smcgov.zoom.us/j/94893699088. The meeting ID is 948 9369 9088. To access the meeting by phone, people can dial (669) 900-6833 locally, enter the meeting ID 948 9369 9088, then press #. Non-locals can find their local number at https://smcgov.zoom.us/u/admSDqceDg. For more information on the meeting, people can visit: https://sanmateocounty.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=734661&GUID=5E11316C-6D95-41E1-8F5A-172A214D4052. 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. Kandpal, who has been deputy CEO since June last year, is a seasoned banker boasting more than 33 years of experience with the state bank. While there he built experience across both retail and international banking, as well as learning and development, technology and human resources. He was also chief operating officer of the SBI Mutual Fund. Meanwhile, Shri Pushan Mahapatra, the previous managing director and CEO of the firm, now becomes director-strategic investments and digital initiatives. He will also continue on as whole time director for the insurer. The company, which now boasts around 123 branches pan-India, has a distribution family that includes more than 22,900 IRDAI certified employees and more than 12,000 agents. Australian insurance giant IAG previously held a stake in the firm of around 26% - but completed its divestment in March this year. AstraZeneca has said it hopes to deliver and start distributing Oxford Universitys Covid-19 vaccine by the end of the year, after preliminary trial results revealed it induces a strong immune response within humans and appears to be safe. In research published on Monday in the journal Lancet, scientists said the vaccine produced a dual immune response in people aged 18 to 55 provoking a T-cell response within 14 days of vaccination and an antibody response after 28 days. More trials will need to be conducted to establish how long these cells last for within the body. It is also unclear whether the vaccine can prevent people from falling ill or lessen the symptoms of Covid-19. Professor Sarah Gilbert, co-author of the study, described the findings as promising but said there is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the Covid-19 pandemic. Oxford University has partnered with AstraZeneca to produce the vaccine globally, with the pharmaceutical giant already committed to making 2 billion doses. In light of Mondays announcement, CEO Pascal Soriot said the company was hopeful that the vaccine would be ready for distribution by the end of the year. The question of when well be able to distribute is a function of mostly, in fact, the infection rate in the community therefore how quickly we can show efficacy, he said. And then it will be in the hands of the regulators to review the data in their various geographies. Our hope is that we can actually start delivering the vaccine before the end of the year, and how early before the end of the year depends really on infection rates in the community. Mr Soriot said that AstraZeneca, which has struck deals with the UK, France, Germany and the US to deliver supplies of the vaccine, would begin the manufacturing process in parallel to running the next stages of the ongoing study. The only way to be ready to distribute the vaccine shortly after we get the results is to manufacture in parallel to doing the clinical development, he said. Phase two and three trials evaluating the vaccines effectiveness have been expanded beyond the UK to South Africa, Brazil and the US, where infections rates are still high, to allow researchers to assess whether it can block or limit transmission among large populations. The studys authors have also noted that more research is needed to confirm the findings in different groups of people including older age groups, those with other health conditions, and in ethnically and geographically diverse populations. Mr Soriot said results on the vaccine, in terms of its effectiveness and the longevity of the immune response it induces, are meanwhile expected to be available between September and November. He added that there were a number of factors which would influence the results gathering, particularly the infection rate in a community. When a country like the UK manages the infection rate, its very good news of course, but in the context of getting to an answer for clinical trials and vaccines its not good news because it sort of delays the outcome, he said. Were working as quickly as we can but of course there are things that we cannot control, in particular the infection rate in the community which influences the results. We will be able to deliver results in September, but it may take another month or two. We need several vaccines, as you see here we need two doses, other vaccines will need two doses. If we want to vaccinate lots of people (we) will need several vaccines. Scientists and medical researchers across the UK have meanwhile welcomed the very encouraging results from Oxford University and AstraZeneca. The speed at which the trial has been conducted has also been praised, with the preliminary results suggesting the vaccine is safe and causes few side effects. Professor Fiona Watt, executive chairwoman of the Medical Research Council, which helped to fund the trial, said: It is truly remarkable how fast this vaccine has progressed, with our support, through early clinical trials, and it is very encouraging that it shows no safety concerns and evokes strong immune responses. There is a lot that we dont yet know about immunity to the virus that causes Covid-19. However, it seems that both antibody and T cell immunity are important, and this vaccine triggers both responses. The much anticipated next milestone will be the results of the larger trials that are happening now to find out if the vaccine will protect people from the virus. The Florida Education Association the state's largest teachers' union filed a lawsuit on Monday against Gov. Ron DeSantis (R), alleging that by hurrying to fully reopen all public schools in August, he is violating a Florida law meant to keep schools "safe and secure." Coronavirus cases are surging in the state, with Florida reporting more than 10,000 new infections on Monday. DeSantis has recommended that all Florida public schools reopen to their full capacity, and earlier this month, Florida Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran issued an emergency order for the fall semester requiring all schools to be open for five days a week. Corcoran said schools provide everything from academic learning to socialization, and Florida can't hit its "full economic stride" until the schools are all reopened. The suit which names DeSantis, Corcoran, the Florida Department of Education, and the Florida State Board of Education attempts to block the order. In a statement, Florida Education Association President Fedrick Ingram said DeSantis "needs a reality check, and we are attempting to provide one. The governor needs to accept the reality of the situation here in Florida, where the virus is surging out of control." More stories from theweek.com Twitter cracks down on QAnon accounts, banning 7,000 CNN's Brianna Keilar cuts off live interview with 'lying' Trump campaign official The GOP's rising tide of unpopularity LONDON Russia has mounted a prolonged, sophisticated campaign to undermine Britains democracy and corrupt its politics, while successive British governments have looked the other way, according to a long-delayed report released on Tuesday by a British parliamentary committee. From meddling in elections and spreading disinformation to funneling dirty money and employing members of the House of Lords, the Russians have tried to co-opt politicians and corrode institutions, often with little resistance from law enforcement or intelligence agencies that ignored years of warning signs. The report, in many ways harder on British officials than the Russians, did not answer the question of whether Russia swayed one of the most consequential votes in modern British history: the 2016 referendum on leaving the European Union. But it was unforgiving about who is protecting British democracy. No one is, the reports authors said. The outrage isnt if there is interference, said Kevan Jones, a Labour Party member of Parliament who served on the intelligence committee that released the report. The outrage is no one wanted to know if there was interference. Their wedding may be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic, but Lala Kent showed her commitment to fiance Randall Emmett with a new tattoo this week. The blonde beauty showed off a new 'Rand' inking on her arm and captioned it with a red heart as she shared the gesture with her fans on Instagram stories. The 30-year-old Vanderpump Rules star revealed the placement of the new design near the lion head tattoo on her upper arm. In honor of her love: Lala Kent got a new tattoo in honor of fiance Randall Emmett which she showed off on Monday as she continues her stay in Puerto Rico The couple are currently in Puerto Rico working on Randall's latest project. Production on Randall's directorial debut movie, Midnight in the Switchgrass, is resuming filming after a four-month hiatus. Last week they were pictured with some of the cast including Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, Emile Hirsch and Lukas Haas. 'After four months apart! Grateful to be back in #puertorico filming with this amazing cast! Adapting to this new world! All quarantined together! @meganfox @machinegunkelly @emilehirsch @lukashaas @madisonbigos,' the producer captioned the group snap. Adding to the collection: The 30-year-old Vanderpump Rules star revealed the placement of the new 'Rand' design near the lion head tattoo on her upper arm Cast snap: The couple are currently in Puerto Rico working on Randall's latest project, Midnight in the Switchgrass, starring Megan Fox and Machine Gun Kelly, Emile Hirsch and Lukas Haas Lala and Randall got engaged during a vacation to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, in September 2018. She gushed of her fiance the following year, 'Randall is the most incredible human in the world. Like, I have to pinch myself that he's mine because I'm like, "What did I do right in my short lifetime to get someone who supports everything I do, even when I may mess up?" She told Us Weekly, 'He's totally there to pick me up and get me back on my feet.' The duo planned a big 'extravagant' wedding in April 2020 but had to put their plans on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Pinup: Earlier this month the Bravo star shared this snap from a vacation in Palm Springs The show made her a star: Here Kent is seen on Vanderpump Rules last season Marking the day they were meant to get married, Randall took to Instagram with a sweet tribute. 'This was the most magical night of my life when I asked you to be my wife,' he wrote. 'Today was the day we were supposed to get married. COVID had other plans for us. I want you to know Lala your [sic] the love of my life and I cant wait to become your husband in July! I love you to the moon and back! You always have been and always will be my everything.' Now the couple plan on tying the knot towards the end of the summer. Randall told Us Weekly, 'I think we've accepted that whatever the version of our wedding day is going to be due to safety protocols, just like in the movie business that I'm dealing with right now in going back to work, it's going to be a different world. 'It's not going to be what we thought it was going to be, in the sense of a 300-person packed ballroom. We've already discussed moving it outdoors to anticipate what the guidelines are going to be like. It's about becoming one, it's not about all the other stuff. 'I was like, "November," she was like, "January." And then we were both like, "September." And now, we both are like, "For sure, we are getting married, end of August, early September, as long as the State of California and the City of Orange County allow us to." If they tell us we can only have 10 people, then probably we'll have to push again.' - Two COVID-19 vaccines have proven safe for humans and produced positive responses in patients - The first trial, in Britain, found that the vaccine induced strong responses against the virus - Another trial, in China, showed that the vaccine had also shown widespread antibody immune responses PAY ATTENTION: Click See First under the Following tab to see Legit.ng News on your Facebook News Feed! Two COVID-19 vaccine candidates have shown positive results in separate trials across the world. In Britain, a trial saw 1,000 adults participating and had found that the vaccine had induced 'strong antibody and immune responses'. Another trial took place in China and saw over 500 people taking part. This trial had also shown that most participants had developed a positive response against the virus. Both possible vaccines have proven safe for human use and trials found that they had both produced strong immune reactions, according to doctors. Both China and Britain have reported positive results stemming from COVID-19 vaccine trials. Image: GCIS Source: UGC Forbes reports that there is no indication as to when the vaccine will enter commercial production, but nevertheless this bodes well for the global fight against the virus. Over 21 vaccines are currently under trial worldwide, according to the World Health Organization. PAY ATTENTION: Install our latest app for Android, read the best news on Nigerias #1 news app In other news, Nigerian universities scientists under the aegis of COVID-19 Research Group say they have discovered COVID-19 vaccine. The scientists made the disclosure on Friday, June 19, saying the vaccine was being developed locally in Africa for Africans but would also work for other continents when unveiled. The leader of the team, Dr Oladipo Kolawole, said it would take a minimum of 18 months for the vaccine to be unveiled to the public. He said this is because a lot of analysis and studies, as well as approvals by medical authorities, were still required. Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a Nigerian man identified as Babajide Olayemi has called for justice after his pregnant daughter died with her unborn set of twins at the Federal Medical Centre, Idi-Aba, Abeokuta, in June 2020. Olayemi said his daughter Josephine Olayemi Odufowora was never attended to for 24 hours despite the fact that she was in pain and needed urgent attention. The father wants the minister of health, Dr Osagie Ehanire, to use his offices to investigate into the circumstances surrounding the death of the deceased and ensure all culpable persons are held accountable. Coronavirus: Govt is lying to us about the virus | Legit TV Source: Legit.ng The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked the Centre and the AAP government to respond to a PIL alleging that pension to around 12,000 widows has been discontinued during the COVID-19 lockdown by the Woman and Child Development Ministry without any valid reason. A bench of Chief Justice DN Patel and Justice Prateek Jalan issued notice to the Delhi government and the ministry seeking their stand by August 26 on the issues raised in the plea. The petition, by social activist Harpal Singh Rana, states that according to response received under the Right to Information Act, widow pension of around 12,000 women has been discontinued by the ministry during the COVID-19 lockdown. The plea, filed through advocates Akhil Rana and Utkarsh Sharma, said the pension has been discontinued/ withheld "on fake, filmsy and unfounded grounds", like address not found. The petition has claimed that the applicants for the pension have been residing at the same address provided in their applications. The women are also being denied the financial assistance that was being given to them for marriage of their daughters. The plea has sought urgent release of the widow pensions after due verification of the applicants. It has also sought that fresh application for pension or any other financial assistance be disposed of within the stipulated 45 days and if rejected, the reasons be also communicated to the applicants. Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Tuesday blamed the Trump administration's "inconsistent" foreign policy for the current Chinese territorial aggression against its own people and neighbours, including India. Clinton, who lost to President Donald Trump in the 2016 elections, claimed that both Russia and China are benefitting from his weak foreign policy. However, the Trump administration has asserted that no administration in the past has been tougher on China than President Trump. "And if you're China, which is an easy jump to make, and you're looking at the chaos that the Trump administration has created in the world, while you're trying to assert yourself more, while you're cracking down internally on dissent, on the Uyghurs, setting up surveillance nation, trying to dominate the South China Sea, engaging in border skirmishes with India," she said. The troops of India and China are locked in a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead. China is also engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area. "All this other activity that we're watching with some concern coming out of China, well, Donald Trump is your biggest ally," Clinton said. "You know, his being president with his incoherent, inconsistent foreign policy has given you a tremendous opportunity," said the former top American diplomat. A day after Democratic party's presidential nominee Joe Biden warned that Russia, China, Iran and some other foreign players are working to interfere in the US presidential elections, Clinton told MSNBC in an interview that she is "glad" that the former vice president and his campaign are speaking out about what they are learning from intelligence briefings. "It's very clear that Russia succeeded. They believe that they were able to influence the minds and even the votes of Americans, so why would they stop? They really want to pursue their agenda of dividing us, undermining trust within our country, electing, helping to elect someone favourable to their agenda," Clinton said. Clinton said she was happy that Biden, with all of his experience in foreign affairs from the Senate, was trying to warn the American people that what happened in 2016 and which she claimed was underway again. Clinton said the US needs to rebuild its alliances with its friends around the world who have been looking at America with confusion, with pity, with deep concern about what this means to the future of democracy and their relationships. "We're going to have to be very clear with adversaries like Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, that we are back in the business of diplomacy, tough-minded diplomacy, to try to deal with the vacuums that have been created by this administration," she said. Clinton said bringing America back in the business would take a lot of time and effort and intensive work. "But it can be done," she said. "I dare not think about what we would be left with if for some reason, Trump were to be re-elected, because then I think the damage to our institutions, to the rule of law, to America's unity and our role in the world would be much, much harder to repair," Clinton said in response to a question. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 22:33:58|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TOKYO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Japan raised its travel advisory for Palestine and 16 countries on Tuesday, with the Foreign Ministry warning against visiting them due to concerns over the continued spread of the coronavirus. According to Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi, the latest areas to be put under advisement are at Level 3 of the ministry's four-tier scale for infectious diseases. The total number of countries and regions now at the ministry's second-highest level stands at 146. "We are seeing a resurgence of infections in the United States, and it is continuing to spread in South America and Africa," Motegi told a press briefing on the matter. Following talks to be held by Japan's National Security Council, the 17 new additions are also likely to be added to the list of countries and regions under Japan's entry ban. Currently, there are 129 countries and regions covered by Japan's entry ban, with foreign nationals who have been to any of the areas within two weeks of arriving in Japan being denied entry. Enditem Attorney Gregg Corbo, bottom left, and Animal Control Officer Carrie Loholdt explain the deal being made between the dog rescue, the dog owners and the city. Connecticut Rescue Agrees to Take 2 Dogs at Risk for Euthanization NORTH ADAMS, Mass. One of the dogs deemed dangerous two weeks will get another lease on life after a Connecticut rescue agreed to take him. The Public Safety Committee on July 6 had voted to euthanize two dogs deemed to be dangers to the community. A third dog was given a chance for rehoming, if possible. The euthanization of Piglet and Pretty Boy was put on hold when the owner, Luis Torres, said he was appealing the decision through the courts. But on Monday, the city's attorney, Gregg Corbo, said Torres had agreed to having Piglet put down and for Pretty Boy and the third dog, Crook, to be surrendered to the rescue organization and removed from the state of Massachusetts. "The rescue organization has stepped up ... the dog Piglet will be euthanized and the other two dogs will be rehabilitated as they see fit," Corbo said, adding that Furry Friends rescue will indemnify the city to any claims agains the dogs once they have them. "They truly believe those two dogs can be rehabilitated." The dogs were the aggressors in at least three attacks, including a child visiting the home on Northern Lights Avenue, and a woman who was bitten when the dogs were running loose outside. Crook had participated in only one of the attacks and the owners were given the option to have an experienced trainer assess him for possible rehoming as long as the dog was removed from the city of North Adams. The trainer, who is affiliated with the rescue, determined that both Crook and Pretty Boy had the potential for rehabilitation. Since the rescue uses foster care rather than a shelter, the dogs will go with home with him. Animal Control Officer Carrie Hoholdt said she agreed with him that Piglet seemed to be the main aggressor in the three situations. "I felt the same way he did regarding the three dogs ... one was the aggressor and the other two were pack mentality," she said. "They believe training will help but if it doesn't, they'll have to do what they have to do." Torres was ordered to turn over Piglet to be euthanized on Tuesday. Loholdt said she was working her veterinarian to get the family's other two dogs in to be fixed and vaccinated. The "mother" dog is scheduled to be spayed on Aug. 3. Pretty Boy and Crook will remain at the family home for the time being. Corbo, of KP Law, the city's solicitor, explained that the state of Connecticut requires a 10-day notice before the animals can be transported. However, no boarding kennel will accept any of the dogs because they are not licensed or vaccinated. The committee had ordered the dogs kenneled but Torres said he could not get anyone to vaccinate them because many veterinarians are scheduling out by weeks because of the effects of the pandemic. Corbo said the rescue will cover the costs of vaccinating and licensing Pretty Boy and Crook. The committee was most concerned with any liability to the city since one of the dogs had already been designated as dangerous. Corbo reviewed the contract to be signed that states "Furry Friends is accepting the dogs at its own risk and that the city is making no representations or warranties as to health or disposition of these dogs." The rescue has already provided proof of insurance, he said, and the dogs will be chipped and photographed so if they some how come back into the city, the animal control officer can identify them. When asked if the contract specifies keeping the animals out of state, the Corbo said no. "It does not say the commonwealth of Massachusetts but it does say the city of North Adams and, under the agreement, the two remaining dogs are required to be microchipped," he said. "And if both dogs are found in the city of North Adams at any time for any reason, they can be seized by the police or animal control and euthanized." While the dogs are in the city, they will have to be kept under the restraints previously spelled out by the committee: kept at the home, and muzzled and leashed when leaving only for veterinary visits or removal. "Any violation of those terms or another bite during that period, the dogs will have to be turned over to the city to be euthanized," Corbo said. This can also occur if the rescue for whatever reason backs out on taking the dogs. In signing the agreement, the owners agree to relinquish all three dogs, to dismiss any further litigation and to have their remaining dogs properly vaccinated and licensed. If they take in more than three dogs again, they will get a kennel license. They are also not elegible for any compensation. The committee agreed to approve the contract, authorizing Chairman Jason LaForest to sign it on their behalf, and to refer to the mayor's office for final execution. Corbo said once all parties sign, the notice can go to Connecticut to start the 10-day clock. "I felt that the committee was moving into a management phase ... a bit beyond the purview of this committee," said LaForest. "I would suggest to refer this to the chief of police for management beyond this agreement and that he and animal control office and mayor work with Mr. Corbo." The committee will meet again on Monday, Aug. 17, at 4 p.m. for an update on the situation. As ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) officials continue to boast of the grand success of Ankaras interventions in Syria and Libya, its persistence in drilling for gas in the Eastern Mediterranean and other policies, both foreign and domestic, that continue to ratchet up regional and international tensions, many are wondering whether this is a case of the lady doth protest too much. Turkish opposition circles certainly think so. They dismiss the governments claims that the Turkish public and, indeed, the entire Islamic world have rallied behind it and point to the direct consequences of these polices: Turkeys international isolation and the disastrous state of the economy at home. On 16 July, a reconnaissance plane crashed on Mount Artos, at an altitude of 670 metres, in Van province near the border with Iran, killing all on board. The dead were hailed as martyrs and Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, who rushed to the site, announced that an investigation was under way into the cause. Some observers conjectured wryly that the investigation would produce proof to pin the crash on the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK). That would kill at least two birds with one stone: legitimise the escalated bombing campaign in northern Iraq and cover up a technical failure. A third bird, of course, is the production of another distraction to divert public opinion from high levels of unemployment and soaring costs of living. IYI (Good) Party leader Meral Aksener is not the first or last of the opposition figures to accuse AKP leader and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of manipulating public perceptions. She has said he fabricated artificial crises in order to distract from rising unemployment and she has accused the Turkish Statistical Institute (TUIK) of manipulating figures to show a rise in employment over the previous years. Your trolls are just online but the teachers who are waiting assignments are real and so are the millions of unemployed young people The 200,000 citizens who went unemployed in the last year know the truth, she said recently. Another front where Ankara has been on the offensive is Libya where it furnishes massive military support to the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). Last month, Cairo declared a red line from Sirte to Al-Jufra as the boundary of Egypts national security defence realm and threatened to intervene militarily if the GNAs Turkish-backed militias and mercenaries cross that line. Last week, Erdogan announced that he would conclude a new military cooperation agreement with GNA Prime Minister Fayez Al-Sarraj, and added that this one would be under UN sponsorship. Was this a sign of escalation or the reverse? Some believe it is the latter. On Saturday, 18 July, Germany, France and Italy announced decisions to impose sanctions on countries that violate the UN arms embargo on Libya as well as their determination to back UN efforts to broker a ceasefire in war-torn Libya. The UN, itself, has frequently expressed its concern over the influx of thousands of jihadists into western Libya. So, on what grounds does Erdogan base the claim that the UN would back his North Africa adventure? True, a recent Pentagon report said it found no proof that the mercenaries on the Turkish payroll belonged to the Islamic State group or Al-Qaeda. It stated that the mercenaries were motivated less by ideological and political reasons than by the promise of money and Turkish citizenship. But regardless of the mercenaries motivations, their presence in Libya still violates the embargo as well as the pledges Turkey made in Berlin in January. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) notes, firstly, that the Pentagon report only covers the first quarter of this year, two months before the GNA escalation in June. The Pentagon report gave an estimate of 3,500 to 3,800 Syrian mercenaries for that period. On 13 July, the SOHR reported that Turkish authorities have sent a new batch of jihadi fighters to Libya bringing the number of recruits who arrived in Libya to 16,100 Syrian mercenaries, including 340 children under the age of 18. In a subsequent report, the SOHR also stated: Turkish intelligence have transferred jihadist groups and Islamic State members of different foreign nationalities, from Syria to Libya in the past few months. These included over 2,500 Tunisian IS members out of thousands of other IS-affiliated Tunisians operating in Syria. According to opposition sources, civilians in Sirte are grateful for the return of stability and normality to their city after the Libyan National Army (LNA) drove out GNA-affiliated militias, which the locals accused of plunder and maltreatment. The sources hold that the Muslim Brotherhood triangle (Turkey, Qatar and Tunisia) resent that success and plan an advance of GNA affiliated mercenaries and militias in order to retake Sirte. The staunchly pro-Erdogan Milliyet newspaper reported that Ankara sent Turkish-made missile launchers to support a GNA offensive against Sirte and Al-Jufra. Nevertheless, observers and analysts in the opposition press or on social networking sites suspect that this is a form of posturing and/or propaganda for domestic consumption. They believe that the same applies to Erdogans vow to stand up against any offensive against petroleum rich Azerbaijan and his intimation that Baku asked for Turkish military intervention. They saw a similar bravado in a recent statement by the Turkish official responsible for relations with independent Turkic republics who said, the Republic of Turkey, the heir to the great Ottoman Empire, must establish a coalition with Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and Turkmenistan even if that leads to a confrontation with Russia. Russia sits on the other side of the Sirte-Jufra line in Libya and tensions have spiked between Moscow and Ankara over Syria. But if the gap between Ankara and Moscow has begun to widen, the gap between Erdogan and the West is yawning. In Europe, where Erdogan is increasingly perceived as a synonym for flouting international and European laws and conventions on human and civil rights, he has zero friends. Germany is on the verge of rupture, fed up with his blackmail ruses in particular using refugees as pawns. Some in Turkey have entertained hopes that now that Germany assumed the presidency of the Council of Europe there is hope for patching up relations between Ankara and the EU. Ismail Ertug, a member of the Social Democratic Party of Germany and the EU Parliament, could see no grounds for such expectations. In interview with the AhvalNews website, he pointed out that when Angela Merkel presented her programme at the European Parliament, she never mentioned Turkey, not once. In an opinion article in Das Bild on Sonntag, on 19 July, Margot Kamann, the former head of the German Evangelical Church, denounced the pitiful political tactics that Erdogan uses to rally support among conservative Muslims. She referred to the recent conversion of Hagia Sophia into a mosque. Many in Turkey would also add the revived push to withdraw from the Istanbul Convention, a landmark convention that seeks to protect women from violence and abuse. In the US, one gauge of the health of Ankaras relationship with Washington is to be found in the fact that Turkeys name was erased from the official website of the Pentagons F-35 fighter jet programme which includes, in addition to the US, Australia, Canada, Denmark, Italy, Netherlands, Norway and the UK. Turkey was eliminated from the programme last year after it accepted delivery of the S-400 missile defence system it had purchased from Russia the previous year. The question now is where Erdogan will take his next step to alienate friends, make new enemies and ultimately make life worse for the Turkish people. Some have placed their bets on Libya. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Whether you call it a frankfurter, frank, wiener, weenie, coney, red hot or hot dog, its National Hot Dog Month and time to celebrate one of Americas most iconic foods. Hot dogs are part of American culture and summer backyard celebrations. I remember lunchtime when I was in elementary school, and we waited in line by the old station wagon with the wood-grain side panels where the street vendor served up boiled hot dogs topped with hot sauerkraut with spicy, brown mustard from the back hatch of the vehicle. This was the way wieners were served, at least in the New York City area. Living not too far from the original Nathans on Coney Island, my parents would take me there to enjoy the famous dogs and french fries. Dont we all have hot-dog memories and favorite brands and toppings? Each region of the country has its favorites, too. It seems that Hummel, founded in 1933 in New Haven, is the favored brand in this region of Connecticut. Gibbs-Smith Publishing No matter where you travel in the country, there is a local hot dog stand, pushcart, diner, deli or restaurant offering its version of the American classic, often with secret condiments topping off the dog. Traveling this summer might not be on your agenda, so get yourself a copy of The Great American Hot Dog Book: Recipes and Side Dishes from Across America by Becky Mercuri (2007, Gibbs-Smith Publishing, $14.99) and you will be able to visit some well-known hot dog places from your own kitchen. From the Coney Island Dog of New York to the Remoulade Dog in New Orleans to the tortilla-wrapped Bacon Burrito Dog at Pinks in Los Angeles to the New York System Hot Wiener Sauce served at the famous Original New York System in Providence, R.I., the book takes you on a tour to reveal the inside story of how the hot dog has evolved and become even more firmly entrenched in Americas culinary traditions. Youll notice how the humble hot dog has stepped up a notch or two, dressed up in creative toppings. Mercuri begins with a bit of hot dog history and introduces entrepreneurs whove contributed to hot dog culture. The following chapters are devoted to various regions of the country. She then breaks down the chapter by state, including well-known establishments, back stories and recipes for the dogs, toppings and signature side dishes. Recipes such as Hot Dog Parmesan and Philadelphia Surf and Turf (a grilled fish cake, mashed, that tops off a hot dog, with yellow mustard and chopped onions), I must admit, made me want to stick to the dogs I prefer, like those served from that old station wagon. Celebrate the all-American food that has been served by presidents, enjoyed by astronauts on the moon and relished in backyards throughout the country. Here are a few recipes from the book for you to enjoy on your tour. Deep-Fried Dogs with Mustard and Pear-Pepper Relish The headnote says, This mild, delicious relish is a cousin to that served at Blackies. If more heat is desired, increase the amount of jalapeno peppers. The recipe is adapted from a formula for pear relish by the late Chef Chet Beckwith of Baton Rouge, La., and as Chet would say, It will set your toes tapping. Founded in 1928, Blackies, located in Cheshire, is a well-known establishment in Connecticut. They even make their own mustard. The author writes, their spicy hot relish is a closely guarded secret, and fans are left speculating as to the formula for what appears to be a mixture of chopped green peppers, vinegar, and spices including, perhaps a bit of cinnamon. 4 firm Bartlett pears, peeled, cored and coarsely ground in a food processor 2 large onions, chopped 2 medium green bell peppers, cored, seeded and diced 1 jalapeno pepper (or more, to taste), seeded, deveined and diced Boiling water 11/2 cups sugar 21/4 teaspoons mustard seed 3/4 teaspoon ground allspice 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon 3/4 teaspoon turmeric 1 tablespoon salt 11/2 cups white vinegar Prepare and place, in 3 separate bowls, the pears, onions and all the peppers. Place pears in a colander and pour boiling water over them, drain well and place in a heavy medium pot. Repeat with the onions and then the peppers, adding both to the pot with the pears. Mix the pears and peppers together. In a medium bowl, combine the sugar, spices and salt, and add the pear mixture. Add the vinegar and mix well. Over medium-high heat, bring the mixture to a boil. Reduce heat to low and simmer, uncovered and stirring occasionally for 30 minutes. Pour the hot relish into hot, sterilized jars and cover, following the manufacturers directions for preparation and safety. Place the jars of relish in a boiling hot water bath for 20 minutes. Remove from water and set the jars on kitchen towels to seal, this will be indicated by a popping noise. Makes about 4 12-ounce jars. Assembly Canola oil for deep-frying Hot dogs, all-beef or a pork and beef mixture Hot dog buns, toasted Spicy brown mustard Pear-pepper relish In a heavy, deep pot, heat the canola oil over high heat to 350 degrees. Deep-fry the hot dogs, a few at a time to the desired degree of doneness. Place the hot dogs on buns and top with mustard and pear-pepper relish. Serve immediately. Source: Hummel Brothers. Bacon-Kraut Dogs Rawleys Drive-In located in Fairfield is another Connecticut favorite. The author writes, Rawleys is a busy place, often frequented by Meg Ryan or David Letterman. ... The bacon topping is so popular that Rawleys fries up twenty pounds of it every day, and some folks order heavy bacon, or double the amount. Canola oil for deep-frying Beef and pork franks Hot dog buns Butter Mustard Sauerkraut, plain or heated (recipe below) Chopped onion 1 slice of bacon per hot dog (or more, to taste), cooked crisp, drained and crumbled In a heavy, deep pot, heat the canola oil to 350 degrees. Deep-fry the hot dogs, a few at a time, until they are just beginning to blister. Meanwhile, heat a griddle. As the hot dogs are removed from the oil, transfer them to the griddle and cook until crispy and blistered. Open hot dog buns and lightly butter the inside; place on griddle to toast. Place the hot dogs in buns and top with mustard, sauerkraut, onions and bacon. Serve immediately. Sauerkraut The headnote says, Some folks are partial to plain sauerkraut on their hot dogs, but this version, mild and favorable is truly a delicious topping. 1 (2-pound) package refrigerated sauerkraut 1/2 cup butter 2 medium onion, chopped 1 (14-ounce) can beef broth 1 cup white wine, such as Chablis, divided Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a colander, rinse the sauerkraut under running water and drain well. In a deep, medium frying pan, melt butter over low heat. Add onions and saute, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 minutes or until soft and translucent. Add sauerkraut and mix well. Stir in beef broth and, over medium-high heat, bring just to a boil. Remove from heat and stir in 1/2 cup of the wine. Pour sauerkraut mixture into a 13-inch by-9-inch non-reactive baking dish and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 1 hour. Remove sauerkraut from oven, stir in remaining wine, reseal with foil and return to oven for 1 hour longer, or until sauerkraut is golden and most of the liquid is evaporated. Makes about 4 cups. North Dakota State Fair Corn Dogs Canola oil for deep frying 1/2 cup all-purpose flour 1/2 cup yellow corn meal 1 tablespoon sugar 1 teaspoon baking powder 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon dry mustard 1/2 cup milk 1 egg 1 tablespoon vegetable shortening, melted 6 hot dogs Plain yellow or spicy brown mustard In a deep pot, heat oil to 375 degrees. In a bowl, mix together the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, salt and dry mustard. In a separate bowl, whisk together the milk, egg and shortening and add it to the flour mixture, stirring until smooth. Place the mixture in a deep pie pan. Dry hot dogs with paper towels. Dip hot dogs into batter to evenly coat and carefully place into hot oil, cooking two at a time. Deep-fry two to three minutes, or until golden brown, turning them carefully with tongs to brown all sides. Remove from oil and drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with the mustard. Serves 6. Note: Wooden sticks may be inserted into the hot dogs before they are battered and deep-fried. Culinary calendar Summer SaturdaysJuly 25 noon-4 p.m., participating New Haven restaurants will offer two-course prix-fixe lunch menus for $20 (excluding beverage, tax, and gratuity). Reservations are required. Other restaurants and cafes, including coffee shops and bakeries, offer 20 percent off an item. Local musicians will perform live at select spots throughout the city. Special parking rates are available. Participating restaurants and other retail shops at www.infonewhaven.com/new-haven-summer-saturdays. What chef would you like me to interview? Which restaurant recipes or other recipes would you like to have? Which food products do you have difficulty finding? Do you have cooking questions? Send them to me: Stephen Fries, professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, at gw-stephen.fries@gwcc.commnet.edu or Dept. FC, Gateway Community College, 20 Church St., New Haven 06510. Include your full name, address and phone number. Due to volume, I might not be able to publish every request. For more, go to stephenfries.com. A couple brandished guns as a group of activists moved into their gated neighborhood in St. Louis, Mo., on June 28, 2020. (Daniel Shular via Reuters) Missouri AG Seeks to Dismiss Charges Against St. Louis Couple Who Brandished Guns 'Citizens shouldnt be targeted for exercising their [Second Amendment] right to self-defense' Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt late Monday filed a brief seeking to dismiss charges filed against Mark and Patricia McCloskey, the St. Louis couple who wielded their guns as a crowd moved past their property last month. The brief filing cites the Second Amendment and says that the Attorney General respectfully requests that the Court dismiss this case at the earliest possible opportunity. Schmitts filing to dismiss charges comes just hours after the Circuit Attorneys Office filed charges against the couple, which include felony charges of unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault. The McCloskeys had stepped outside their mansion on June 28 and wielded their guns after a group of activists entered their private neighborhood. Gardner, a Democrat, said in a statement on Monday that it is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest. The McCloskeys lawyer, Joel Schwartz, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the charges were disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed. In a prepared statement late Monday, Schmitt reiterated the Second Amendment rights of Missourians. The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine. This provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm, Schmitt said. Despite this, Circuit Attorney Gardner filed charges against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety. As Missouris Chief law enforcement officer, I wont stand by while Missouri law is being ignoredthats why I entered this case to seek its dismissal, to protect the rights of Missourians to defend their property under Missouris Castle Doctrine. Schmitt reiterated his message on Twitter in a video, where he added an accompanying statement saying, Citizens shouldnt be targeted for exercising their [Second Amendment] right to self-defense. Citizens shouldnt be targeted for exercising their #2A right to self-defense STL prosecutor Kim Gardner is engaged in a political prosecution As AG Im entering the case seeking a dismissal & defend all Missourians right to protect their lives/property pic.twitter.com/kQLXOAhFIz Eric Schmitt (@Eric_Schmitt) July 20, 2020 Missouris statue, officially titled Use of force in defense of persons and typically referred to as the castle doctrine, permits people to employ deadly force if people enter their homes without consent. It also says that a person doesnt have a duty to retreat from a dwelling, residence, or vehicle where the person is not unlawfully entering or unlawfully remaining and from private property that is owned or leased by such individual. According to a Missouri Law Review of property law (pdf), gated communities have been affirmed in courts as being able to bar entry to non-residents who dont receive invitations to enter. John Ammann, a professor of justice at Saint Louis Universitys School of Law, had earlier told The Epoch Times that the couple shouldnt have aimed their guns at the group. In Missouri, they can do open carry, so maybe holding the guns at their side was OK. But not aiming them, he said in an email. In the video footage captured last month, the McCloskeys were seen outside their property holding up guns while telling protesters to leave the area. The couple, who are both lawyers, said they were in fear for their lives at the time. Mark McCloskey later told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, I believe in my heart of hearts that the only thing that kept those mobsters, that crowd, away from us is that we were standing there with guns. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson, a Republican, last week told a St. Louis radio station that he will likely pardon the couple if they are convicted. Parson told the station that the McCloskeys did what they legally should do, reported The Hill. A mob does not have the right to charge your property, he said, according to the paper. They had every right to protect themselves. Read More Charges Filed Against Missouri Couple Who Brandished Guns at Protest Zachary Stieber and Jack Phillips contributed to this report. When Wyze first broke the news last year that it would need to temporarily yank free people detection for its budget security cameras, the company made a bold promise: that a revamped version of the feature would still be free. Now, Wyze is admitting that it wont be able to offer free people detection for all its users, but it says it might be able to swing a name-your-price model for its earliest adopters. In an email blast on Monday, Wyze said that beta testing for its new, in-house face-detection feature, which (unlike the older version) works in the cloud rather than locally, is going really well, and that the feature will be removed for beta testers in September, presumably after the feature finally leaves beta. However, the company also admitted that it greatly under-forecasted the monthly cloud costs when we started working on this project last year[t]he reality is we will not be able to absorb these costs and stay in business. That said, Wyze said it hopes to offer face detection to its early adoptersthat is, anyone who created a Wyze account before November 26, 2019, the date when Wyze first promised that a new version of face detection would be freeunder a name your price model. Eligible users could pay whatever they wanted for face detection on captured 12-second video clips (which Wyze stores for free on its cloud servers), or even nothing. Wyze says it will evaluate the results of its name your price plan to see if we have enough contributions to at least subsidize the cost of face detection. If the plan doesnt work, however, then free face detection might have to be discontinued, Wyze added. Meanwhile, Wyze users who signed up for an account after November 26, 2019 will only be able to get face detection through a new plan with a more traditional subscription model. Due next month, the Cam Plus plan will add people detection to Wyzes existing Complete Motion Capture Video service, which currently costs $1.49 a month and allows for cloud storage of captured video clips that are longer than 12 seconds. Wyze didnt announce how much it will charge for Cam Plus in its email on Monday; weve reached out to Wyze for clarification. Wyze deactivated people detection for its popularand cheapWyze Cam v2 and Wyze Pan Cam cameras last fall after Xnor.ai, the edge computing company that built the on-device technology powering the feature, abruptly pulled out of its agreement with Wyze. Xnor.ai was later acquired by Apple. Wyzes in-house face-detection feature has been in beta for several months now, and while some users (myself included) find the revamped feature to be fairly reliable at pinpointing people rather than pets or vehicles, others complain that its still a work in progress. (Its worth nothing that I installed my Wyze Cam v2 indoors, where its less likely to see cars and critters.) Getting to know people that way, on a real kind of personal level, I dont think you really get that in a lot of jobs, he said. Theres always kind of a truth that you get in the bar business. You know, people are having a couple of drinks, and they might reveal more than you ever expected them to, so you really get to know some people. CLEVELAND, Ohio Lobbyist Matt Borges attempted to help his client, FirstEnergy Corp., wade through the ugly fight of a legislative referendum with a little help, authorities say. Just weeks after Ohio lawmakers passed the billion-dollar bailout of FirstEnergy last year, good government groups and legislative watchdogs began pushing back. They talked about a referendum that would allow residents to vote on the measure. To prevent that, Borges sought out a person working for the referendum campaign and requested inside information on the group for a price. He sought to help the person financially, even offering to pay off debts, the FBI said in a document unsealed Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Cincinnati. I promise this will be worth your while, Borges told the person, who was actually working as an informant for the FBI. He paid the informant $15,000, the document said. He also threatened to blow up the persons home if word of the payment ever got out, according to the allegations. The FBI spelled out Borges role in a scheme to pass the bailout, known as House Bill 6, through the Ohio General Assembly. Borges, 48, of Bexley, was accused Tuesday of federal conspiracy involving a $60 million bribery scheme involving FirstEnergy and its fight to get the legislation passed. Borges attorney, Karl Schneider, could not be reached for comment. The allegations in the FBI affidavit detail Borges role in an enterprise pushed by Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others, including Householders top aide, Jeff Longstreth, and lobbyists Neil Clark and Juan Cespedes. All are accused of conspiracy. The document says Borges, the former chairman of the Ohio Republican Party, was a key middleman in the scheme, and he worked to thwart a referendum attempt after lawmakers passed the bailout plan last year. The company has not been charged in the case. A FirstEnergy statement released late Tuesday afternoon said that the company received subpoenas in connection with the investigation. We are reviewing the details of the investigation, and we intend to fully cooperate, the company stated. The affidavit says that FirstEnergy, reeling from losses and trouble with its nuclear plants, began making quarterly payments of $250,000 in 2017. The company, according to documents, made the payments through Generation Now, a bank account the FBI says Householder controlled. In 2019, Borges set up a company called 17 Consulting Group. He received $1.62 million in wire transfers from Generation Now, according to the FBI affidavit. The filing said Borges called FirstEnergys flow of funds to Generation Now Monopoly money. He made more than $350,000 from FirstEnergys funds to the account, according to the FBI document. The FBI affidavit alleged he bribed the informant to help gain information on the referendum push and to defeat it. He specifically sought out the number of people collecting signatures. Initially, the informant was hesitant to take Borges cash, the document said. The FBIs source talked about wanting to be debt-free and not have to worry, but I cant put a price on my integrity, the informant said. The FBI then sent the informant back, and Borges later paid the person, the document said. Borges stressed discretion to the informant: No matter what, dont ever tell anyone about our conversation earlier, he said. Read the full complaint: Climate activist Greta Thunberg was yesterday awarded a Portuguese rights award and promptly pledged the million-euro prize to groups working to protect the environment and halt climate change. 'That is more money than I can begin to imagine, but all the prize money will be donated, through my foundation, to different organisations and projects who are working to help people on the front line, affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis,' the Swedish teen said in a video posted online. She was awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity for the way she 'has been able to mobilise younger generations for the cause of climate change and her tenacious struggle to alter a status quo that persists', Jorge Sampaio, chair of the prize jury, said earlier. Pictured: Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg expresses her thanks for being awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity in a Facebook video, where she announced she will be donating all of the money to 'different organisations and projects who are working to help people on the front line, affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis' The first 100,000 (90,200) of the prize money will go to the 'SOS Amazonia' campaign led by Fridays For Future Brazil to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the Amazon. Another 100,000 (90,200) will go to the Stop Ecocide Foundation 'to support their work to make ecocide an international crime', Thunberg said on Twitter. The million euro (901,871) is the largest prize won by the 17-year-old environmental campaigner who has also won Amnesty International's top human rights prize and the Swedish Right Livelihood Award, often presented as an alternative Nobel. She said Monday she was 'extremely honoured' to receive the annual Gulbenkian prize. Thunberg and three other young climate activists on Thursday launched an appeal to EU leaders to 'face up to the climate emergency', in an open letter signed by 150 scientists and a host of celebrities. Pictured: Greta Thunberg makes an opening speech of Environment, Public Health and Food Safety Committee meeting held at European Parliament in Brussels, Belgium in March Last month, she blasted world leaders who only want selfies with her to 'look good' and alleged they have betrayed future generations on climate change. The 17-year-old claimed that Angela Merkel, the German chancellor, had queued up to have a 'selfie' with her at the UN climate change summit in September. As part of a series she has made about her campaigning for Swedish radio, Thunberg criticised the behaviour of high-ranking figures at the New York summit. 'Presidents, prime ministers, kings and princesses came and wanted to talk to me,' she said. 'They saw me and suddenly saw the chance that they could take a photo with me for their Instagram account. Then the hashtag #savetheplanet. 'It seemed as if they had forgotten for a moment to be ashamed that their generation had let future generations down.' TRENTON Less than a year into his tenure, Ronald Lee has tendered his resignation as city school chief. Personal reasons, I really need to step aside, Lee said during Mondays Trenton Board of Education meeting. He cited family matters and specifically traveling to other states and then having to quarantine as reasons for why he will be resigning effective Oct. 31. Lee was hired last August as interim superintendent to replace Fred McDowell. Mayor Reed Gusciora applauded Lee for his service, saying he did a masterful job planning for the reopening of Trenton Public Schools in the fall. He understood the superintendent is leaving the district to attend to family matters. He loved his assignment here and was looking forward to continuing otherwise, Gusciora said. It took us by surprise, but we completely understand. If I was in the same situation, itd be overwhelming. Lees resignation has not yet been accepted by the Trenton school board, the mayor said, adding his last day is still negotiable. Board members acknowledged Lees letter of resignation during Mondays remote meeting, which was livestreamed on Facebook. The board will formally consider Lees resignation at a special meeting next week. We will try some arm-twisting, perhaps, Board President Addie Daniels-Lane joked, or toe-twisting, and so it will go on next weeks agenda. Its unclear who will take over for Lee once details of his departure are finalized. The former Orange School District superintendent beat out finalists, Trenton Central High School principal Hope Grant, the hometown favorite, and Elizabeth DeJesus, the districts academic officer, for the interim position last year. Lee assumed the post Sept. 1, and has tried to manage an already high-profile and scrutinized position amid the coronavirus pandemic, which forced schools across New Jersey to shutter. The Trentonian has learned that the pandemic hit close to home for Lee, who lost both his parents this year to the virus, according to Gusciora. Trenton school officials could not confirm whether his parents died of COVID-19. The newspaper could not reach Lee for comment Tuesday. Last week, Lee outlined the districts reopening plan for when classes resume in September. Daniels-Lane called Lees resignation a great loss for the district. He has provided invaluable leadership and guidance in our time of crisis, even as he endured a personal crisis, she told The Trentonian in a statement. Under his leadership and guidance the district was able to pivot in crisis and ensure that instructional services continued and students received the nutritional support that they would have received while in school. Lees parents died within weeks of each other during the early part of the pandemic, according to the board president, but she was unable to confirm how they died. She credited Lee and his leadership team with crafting a reopening plan that goes beyond the states expectations. I have full faith and confidence, that if we all work together and not against each other, we can execute that plan and continue to build on the path to progress that has been set, Daniels-Lane said Tuesday. Mr. Lee has assured us that though he has set a date for his resignation he will not leave the district without ensuring that all of the necessary steps are in place to sustain our forward progress. We thank him for his dedicated service and leadership through this past year when the pandemic created a need to rethink how we do education. Lee, who retired from the Orange school district in 2017 with an annual pension or $97,776, could remain only for two years as Trenton interim under New Jersey state law while continuing to collect his pension. I am lifting Mr. Lee up in prayer because this is tragic for anyone, Nicole Whitfield, executive director of Special Parent Advocacy Group, said in a statement. I feel extreme anxiety for the special education students and staff in Trenton because good leadership is needed to get through this crisis and to keep our students safe as they return to school. Social distancing and masks are impossible for our lower-functioning students. Gov. Phil Murphy announced Monday that parents who are concerned about their children being exposed to coronavirus can opt for all-remote learning, according to NJ Advance Media. School board members thanked Lee for his service and discussed the need to search for a permanent superintendent at Mondays meeting. At some point in time we definitely have to search for a new superintendent who will be the permanent superintendent, Daniels-Lane said, and so of course time is moving on and it is of the essence that we begin to have that particular consideration. The Trenton Board of Education has authorized a request for proposal or RFP for a superintendent search firm, according to Daniels-Lane. It is with regret at this particular point in time that Id like to announce that our current superintendent Ron Lee has asked us to consider his resignation effective as of Oct. 31, 2020, she said, so the superintendent search is extremely important at this particular point in time. On behalf of the board, Daniels-Lane thanked Lee for all that he has done for the district and all that he will continue to do to provide us with the guidance that we need to actually get our schools open in this fall, which is coming up very shortly. With Lee stepping down in three months, I think that the district should seek a permanent person, Lee said at Mondays meeting. I would hope that the community works with whoever is selected and that the person can stay long term. One of the things I think that Trenton sorely needs is someone who can stay long term, because it takes time to build up relationships, but it also takes time to make change. Janice Williams, grievance chair for the Trenton Education Association, faulted the school board for delaying the search for a permanent superintendent that now has the capital city behind the eight ball. Everyone is in a state of shock, she said Tuesday. It wouldnt be so traumatic if the board had done its due diligence. Personally impacted by the pandemic, Lee has guided Trenton Public Schools through trying times while coping with his own family tragedies. He decided to stick around for a few more months to help the district reopen its facilities this September. Thats why I didnt leave at the end of June, he said Monday, because I thought it was very important that there be some continuity in order to build that reopening plan, so I was committed to doing that. Hopefully we would have worked out any kinks that may be out there by the end of October, Lee added. Im around. Im not going anywhere yet. Talithea Duncan, president of the Trenton Education Association, which represents 1,100 teachers in the district, thanked Lee for his service and commitment to the capital city while contending with a horrific family tragedy. We do know that family comes first, she said Tuesday. We wish him well in his future endeavors. When the district does resume [the search for] their permanent superintendent, we hope that they include the community and union so everyone can be on board with the selection. Duncan said many members of Trentons teaching ranks either contracted COVID-19 or had family members who tested positive. Among them was Milca Hernandez, a longtime city educator who died from the virus earlier this year. During a virtual town hall meeting last week, Lee reveled many parents do not support sending their children back to school this September. He cited a district survey as proof. The teachers union also conducted a reopening survey where hundreds of parents and nearly 60 percent of the respondents said they are not at all confident that Trenton Public Schools would put adequate health and safety measures in place to ensure staff and student safety come September. The novel coronavirus has killed more than 100 Trentonians to date, according to the mayor. The state Department of Education last month required all New Jersey school districts to prepare for physical, in-person instruction subject to aggressive social distancing in the classrooms. At last weeks town hall meeting, the interim superintendent suggested Trenton Public Schools should have the option to offer remote-only education. The teachers union sent a letter to elected officials and school board members earlier this month calling for remote-only education this fall. We, the Trenton Education Association, insist upon a virtual return rather than a physical return to our buildings in September, TEA President Duncan said in the letter dated July 10. This requires that the district immediately begins the necessary professional development for meaningful virtual instruction. When the school board appointed Lee as interim superintendent last summer, some community stakeholders like Darren Freedom Green blasted the board for picking an outsider to run Trenton Public Schools. But Lee appears to have hit the ground running in Trenton, winning over the support of the community during his short tenure at the helm. Lee previously served as interim superintendent in Orange and chief financial officer and business administrator of Newark Public Schools, according to his LinkedIn profile. McDowell, Trentons prior superintendent of schools, served for two years before calling it quits. It is Lees outgoing wish for the school board to appoint a permanent superintendent, one who is willing to stay here for the long haul. I think Trenton has a lot to offer, he said at Mondays meeting, but I do think that the communication, how we work together, will be paramount to whether you get people to stay. After deciding to privatise 151 passenger trains, the Centre is planning to auction railway stations to private players after modernising the facilities, Union Minister Piyush Goyal said on Monday. Addressing a webinar organised by the Merchants' Chamber of Commerce and Industry (MCCI) here, the Union railway minister said the bids for privatising the trains were "all out and well responded". "There are plans to modernise the railway stations. Then, those will be auctioned to private players at a later stage," he said. Work on the freight corridor project will have to be speeded up, the Union minister said adding that it got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. "The entire quantum of land needed for the portion of the corridor in West Bengal is yet to be handed over by the state government to the special purpose vehicle for the project," he said. The railway minister said metro services in Kolkata will resume if the state government approves it. "But, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee is against the resumption of flight and suburban railway services in the state. If the metro starts functioning, things will go out of hand," he added. Also read: Nitin Gadkari tells Amazon to list products from rural India separately BENGALURU : The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP, the city's civic body) on Monday held its task force meeting that outlines a broad six-point strategy to contain the rapidly deteriorating situation of covid-19 in the state and its growth capital. The strategy proposes measures to help iron out chinks in its covid-19 response system. This includes awareness and empowering the citizens, surveillance and coordination of contact tracing, isolation and clinical care, treatment and care cum death audit, contact tracing and community partnership and media engagement and advocacy. The action plan comes on a day when Bengalurus active case count breached the 25,000-mark as 1,452 more people tested positive for the virus on Monday. The surge in Karnataka continues as 3,648 new cases were reported in the 24 hours until 5 pm on Monday, which takes the total number of active cases to 42,216. More worrying was the surge in other districts of the state where the inadequate healthcare infrastructure is already stretched to the limits. All 30 districts reported positive cases with six (excluding Bengaluru) above 100 and three above 200. The death toll stood at 1,409 as 72 people died, including 31, in Bengaluru alone. The B.S.Yediyurappa government has ruled out extending the week-long lockdown beyond 22 July but is yet to outline a plan to not just clear backlogs in testing, contact tracing and increasing hospital beds but a comprehensive solution to deal with the surge. Senior officials and cabinet members from his own administration have suggested that the lockdown be continued but the chief minister has ruled against it on account of the mounting economic distress and acute fund crunch. The Bengaluru civic administration has outlined some of its objectives that include evolving a containment strategy for the outbreak to flatten the curve, regular review meetings and monitoring of field implementation to intervene appropriately and ensure corrective action among others. Despite the surge in Bengaluru and Karnataka, medical education minister K.Sudhakar said that covid-19 is not yet in the community transmission phase. He said that there has been an increase in cases only in the last 15 days and that other states had seen an increase for the past two months. The Bengaluru district administration, as part of its hyperlocal strategy, will carry out door-to-door surveys to identify persons with ILI (influenza like illnesses) and SARI (severe acute respiratory infection) and get them tested. Karnataka has so far conducted 10.57 lakh covid-19 tests but still stands at ninth place when compared to other states. However, it stands third in terms of the number of active cases only behind Maharashtra and Tamil Nadu. Medical experts say that the number of cases could go up since the onset of the monsoons is also called the flu season in Bengaluru. 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!! Lovestruck developer Voltage has defended its conduct after its writing team went on strike over poor working conditions and unfair compensation. Last week, the disgruntled writers formed the Voltage Organised Workers (VOW) union and called for the studio to deliver "better working conditions, greater transparency, and increased protections." "We are all fans of the [Lovestruck] app," explained VOW in a statement, "and we care deeply about the stories we tell. However, not only are we paid less than half the industry standard rate, we are asked to meet extremely tight deadlines and produce enormous amounts of content without protections or benefits. VOW claimed Voltage had failed to recognize the union and refused to meet its demands, but now the studio has pushed back. In a lengthy statement posted online, the developer said it "recognizes and values the contractual contributions of all of the freelancers and outsource companies we work with," but that every single writer had agreed to the company's "at will" freelance agreement. It explained that unhappy contractors could have refused any assignment if they felt it undervalued their work, and said those involved with VOW -- which it reiterated "isn't a recognized union" -- had made "false statements and claims on social media." Voltage said it also made two attempts to negotiate with those on strike, and put forward a "very favorable rate increase" that was rejected because VOW was only interested in "collective bargaining." "Our freelance contracts do not guarantee work or assignments. It establishes a freelance 'at will' arrangement that allows us to offer individual assignments that any contractor can choose to accept or refuse," reads the statement. "Our hope was to not lose any of our contract writers and to be able to come to a satisfactory agreement with each of them. We also understand that they define their own worth as independent contractors and have the right and freedom to reject contracts that do not meet their expectations. "At the point the writers refused to work any further on their assignments, they violated their signed work orders. Voltage still attempted to negotiate with each writer for a favorable outcome. "Voltage has made all its attempts in good faith and in a professional manner, however we recognize that with no resolution in sight the company must move forward. Our new writers rates are in place, they are the same rate increases we proposed to resolve the issue." The studio said that a number of Lovestruck updates will now be delayed "for the foreseeable future" because of the strike. You can read the full statement here. Kiev, July 21 : An armed man held 20 people hostage inside a bus in Ukraine's Lutsk city on Tuesday, according to police. The man allegedly has some explosives, and shots were heard at scene, Xinhua news agency quoted the police as saying. The area off the centre of the city, located 250 miles west of capital Kiev, has been cordoned off, while the demands of the assailant were not immediately known. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy confirmed the reports about gunshots and stressed that measures were being taken to resolve the situation without casualties, the Independent newspaper said in a report. In a statement on Facebook, he said: "Gunshots have been heard, the bus is damaged." Anton Heraschenko, the deputy Interior Minister, said the hijacker called the police himself to inform them about the situation. In response to the incident, Interior Minister Arsen Avakov is on his way to Lutsk. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 11:24:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Visitors take photos of Hong Kong Island in south China's Hong Kong, July 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Wu Xiaochu) According to a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London, "any attempt to pressurize China and obstruct the implementation of this Law (the national security law for the HKSAR) will meet the strong opposition of 1.4 billion Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, and such attempt is doomed to failure." LONDON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- China voiced on Monday strong condemnation and firm opposition after the United Kingdom (UK) decided to suspend the extradition treaty with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) immediately and indefinitely and extend the arms embargo to the HKSAR. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said that recently the kingdom has repeatedly made wrong remarks on the national security law for the HKSAR to interfere in China's internal affairs. "The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations to the UK side on many occasions to express our grave concern and strong opposition," the spokesperson said. Aerial photo taken on July 16, 2020 shows the Wan Chai of south China's Hong Kong. (Xinhua/Lui Siu Wai) "Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of China's solemn position and repeated representations. It once again contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the National Security Law for the HKSAR and undermine the city's prosperity and stability," the spokesperson said. According to the spokesperson, the Chinese government remains unwavering in its resolve to implement the law to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and to oppose external interference. "China will firmly fight back at any move that interferes in its internal affairs," the spokesperson added. The national security law is an anchor for the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems" and for the long-term security, prosperity and stability in the HKSAR, the spokesperson said. "This Law will make Hong Kong a safer, better and more prosperous place," said the spokesperson, adding that "any attempt to pressurize China and obstruct the implementation of this Law will meet the strong opposition of 1.4 billion Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, and such attempt is doomed to failure." by Biju Veticad Card. Angelo De Donatis, vicar of Rome, has granted the community of Indian origin the use of Saint Anastasia on the Palatine. The faithful, almost 7 thousand throughout the Italian capital and the province, are celebrating: "It is a great gift from the diocese of Rome and the Vatican". Rome (AsiaNews) - The faithful of the Syro-Malabar rite now have a basilica for worship. The community coordinator, Fr. Biju Muttathunnel, comments: "We are all celebrating, it is a great gift from the diocese and the Vatican". An estimated 7 thousand faithful belonging to this rite live in the Italian capital and surrounding province: originating in Kerala (southern India), they are now integrated within the Italian community. According to Catholic tradition, this Eastern rite church traces its origins to the preaching of St. Thomas the Apostle on the subcontinent. For more than 25 years it was sui iuris, and therefore has the right to erect its own communities where the faithful have emigrated. There is a large presence of Syro-Malabarians in Chicago, Melbourne, Canada and the United Kingdom. In Europe the community has an apostolic Visitor, Msgr. Stephen Chirappanath, who coordinates the communities of Zurich, Cologne, Frankfurt and Vienna. The request to have a place of worship was presented to Pope Francis by the bishops of this rite. During the ad limina visit in 2019, the president of the bishops - Card. George Alencherry - presented this need to the pontiff. Last July 8, with the announcement of the cardinal vicar, "this dream has become reality". An Indonesian state-owned drugmaker plans to start human trials of Sinovac Biotech Ltd.'s coronavirus vaccine next month and aims to begin commercial production early next year. PT Bio Farma will administer the vaccine supplied by Beijing-based Sinovac on 1,620 people in the age group of 18 to 59 years, company's President Director Honesti Basyir said in a statement. The trials will be supervised by the faculty of medicine at Padjadjaran University in Bandung, he said. Bio Farma has secured 2,400 doses of Sinovac's shot, called CoronaVac, and the clinical trial is expected to be completed in six months, Basyir said. Sinovac has said its shot is safe and capable of eliciting an immune response from human trials with the company also winning approval for Phase III trials on humans in Brazil. Indonesia tied up with Sinovac to secure access to a vaccine as its own efforts to develop a deterrent against the pathogen is expected to take longer. The world's fourth-most populous nation is the worst virus-hit country in Southeast Asia, with a death toll of 4,320 and confirmed cases nearing 90,000. Once the vaccine clears the final phase of the clinical trials successfully, its production and distribution can begin without any delay as the regulator is working on the licensing process, said Penny Lukito, chief of Indonesia's National Agency of Drug and Food Control. PT Kalbe Farma, Indonesia's largest pharmaceutical company by market value, has entered into an agreement with South Korea's Genexine Inc. to organize clinical trials for its GX-19 vaccine. Separately, Bio Farma along with the Ministry of Research and Technology and the Eijkman Institute for Moelcular Biology has formed a consortium for vaccine development targeted for commercial production in early 2022. Indonesia will require at least 352 million doses to immunize two-third of its population against covid-19, according to official estimates. The war of words between Chicagos mayor and President Donald Trump escalated Monday after a weekend when 12 were killed in the city and dozens injured by gunfire, with Lori Lightfoot rejecting any suggestion federal law enforcement officers should be dispatched to the city and Trump all but promising to send them. In a letter sent to the president on Monday, Lightfoot said the deployment of secret, federal agents who "arrest, and detain residents without any cause is a bad idea and urged the president not to do it. Lightfoot, a frequent Trump critic, slammed the president in the letter for "unhelpful rhetoric and detailed ways the federal government could help the city to reduce violence, including gun safety reform, public safety support, community outreach and community investment. The Trump administration sent federal officers in Portland, Oregon, after weeks of protests there over police brutality and racial injustice that followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Oregons governor and Portlands mayor have expressed anger with the presence of the federal agents, saying that the citys protests had started to ease just as the federal agents started taking action. However, Trump, framing such protests in the nations large cities as a failure by liberal Democrats who run them, praised the officers actions and said he was looking to send agents to other cities. He pointed to rising gun violence in the nations third-largest city, where more than 63 people were shot, 12 fatally, over the weekend. How about Chicago? Would you say they need help after this weekend? Trump told reporters at the White House. You know the numbers that you hear, the numbers? Many, many shot. Many, many killed. Reasonable local police officials, including our superintendent, know that it is a dangerous road for us to go down, Lightfoot said late Monday in an interview on MSNBC. ``We are not going to have people who dont know our streets dont know our neighborhoods and then who are engaging in clearly unconstitutional conduct operating at will in our city. Lightfoot, a former assistant U.S. attorney, said she is prepared to file a lawsuit to block efforts to place federal agents not under the direction of Chicago police in the city. The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois rejected any deployment of federal forces in Chicago, vowing to hold the Trump administration and any such federal forces accountable for unconstitutional actions. None of the weekend shootings were connected to a Friday night protest where people marching against police brutality and racial injustice tried to topple a statue of Christopher Columbus, and Trump did not specifically reference that. Video shows officers using batons to beat protesters, some of whom threw fireworks, pieces of pipe and frozen bottles of water at police. Were going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Trumps comments about Chicago come after the president of the local police officers union wrote him a letter asking for help from the federal government to help combat gun violence. The city has seen 414 homicides this year, compared with 275 during the same period last year. Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, a vocal supporter of Trump, called Lightfoot a complete failure who is either unwilling or unable to maintain law and order, but did not say what kind of help he was asking for or whether he wants federal troops to be sent to the city. Lightfoot in turn called Catanzara ``an unhinged leader of the Fraternal Order of Police who is craven and trying to get attention. Trumps comments Monday were not the first time he has made disparaging comments about Chicago leaders, and what he says is their inability to control violence. Just last month, Trump sent a letter criticizing Lightfoot and Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for a lack of leadership in stemming gun violence. Lightfoot dismissed Trumps letter as a litany of nonsense. As for the protest Friday night, more than 20 complaints have been filed against police, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. They included claims of excessive force and unnecessary use of pepper spray. The agency is also investigating video of an officer striking 18-year-old Miracle Boyd, an activist who says at least one of her teeth was knocked out. Lightfoot also said video had surfaced showing a small group of people had broken off from marching protesters, changed into black clothes and, using umbrellas to shield themselves from view, threw the items at police. Thats not peaceful protest, thats anarchy and we are going to put that down, she said. Police Superintendent David Brown said 49 officers were injured, 18 of whom required hospital treatment. Peaceful demonstrations have been hijacked by organized mobs, said Brown, adding that he will order officers to wear any and all protective gear at protests. The Delhi government on Tuesday approved doorstep delivery of ration to eligible beneficiaries, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced, terming it as a "revolutionary" move. The scheme will be known as "Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Ration Yojna", he said. The scheme, which was approved at a meeting of the Delhi Cabinet, is expected to be rolled out in the next 6-7 months after completing tendering process and other necessities. "Under the scheme, wheat, flour, rice and sugar packed hygienically in bags will be delivered to the doorstep of people. Taking ration from a PDS shop will be optional," he said in a virtual press briefing. With the implementation of the doorstep delivery of ration scheme, the Centre's 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme will also come into effect in Delhi, he said. Kejriwal recalled that he and Deputy Chief Minister Sisodia had fought for rights of people to ration before joining politics and even faced attacks from the ration mafia. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 23:23:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DOHA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Qatar's health ministry on Tuesday announced 393 new infections of COVID-19, increasing the total number of confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 107,430. "Some 409 people recovered, bringing the total number of recoveries to 104,191, while another one died, raising the fatalities to 160," the official Qatar News Agency reported, quoting a statement by the ministry. A total of 451,168 persons in Qatar have undergone lab tests for COVID-19 so far, it added. China and Qatar have offered mutual help during the fight against COVID-19 pandemic. On Feb. 21, five Qatar Airways cargo freighters flew to China carrying approximately 300 tonnes of medical supplies donated by the airline. On July 8, Chinese health officials and medical experts held a video conference with their Qatari counterparts to share experience and expertise in fighting COVID-19. The two sides also held in-depth exchange of views on the issues that Qatar is most concerned about, including coronavirus prevention and control, test analysis, clinic care, vaccine development and social management. Enditem By Stephanie Nebehay and Michael Shields GENEVA (Reuters) - South Africa's growing COVID-19 epidemic should be an alert to the rest of the continent to strengthen disease surveillance, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. By Stephanie Nebehay and Michael Shields GENEVA (Reuters) - South Africa's growing COVID-19 epidemic should be an alert to the rest of the continent to strengthen disease surveillance, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday. South Africa reported a surge of 13,373 new cases on Saturday, the fourth largest globally. Botswana, Kenya, Namibia, Zambia and Zimbabwe also reported significant increases in cases over the past week, WHO's top emergencies expert Mike Ryan told a news conference. "Even though the numbers in those other countries are smaller I think what we starting to see is a continued acceleration of transmission in a number of countries in sub-Saharan Africa and I think that has to be taken very, very seriously," he said. "South Africa may unfortunately be a precursor, it may be a warning for what will happen in the rest of Africa. So I think this isn't just a wake-up call for South Africa ... we need to take what is happening in Africa very very seriously." The WHO also warned that indigenous communities comprising half a million people around the world are especially at risk from the pandemic due to often poor living conditions. Director general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said that as of July 6, there were more than 70,000 cases reported among indigenous peoples in the Americas, with more than 2,000 deaths. "Indigenous peoples often have a high burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and both communicable and non-communicable diseases, making them more vulnerable," Tedros said, adding that those in current epicentre the Americas were of particular concern. The WHO boss urged nations to take all necessary health precautions, with special emphasis on contact tracing. "We do not have to wait for a vaccine. We have to save lives now," he said. Global infections stand at more than 14.5 million, according to a Reuters tally, with more than 600,000 deaths. The WHO welcomed news that AstraZeneca's experimental vaccine was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials in healthy volunteers. "We congratulate our colleagues for the progress they have made," Ryan said. "This is a positive result, but there is a long way to go ... We now need to move to large-scale trials." (Reporting by Stephanie Nebehay and Michael Shields; Writing by Andrew Cawthorne; Editing by Andrew Heavens) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Federal agents dispersing Black Lives Matter protesters near the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse in Portland, Ore., on Monday. Officers used tear gas and projectiles to move the crowd after some protesters tore down a fence fronting the courthouse. Read more In Portland, Ore., where protesters have been active for nearly two months, masked armed federal agents without any identification have been abducting protesters into unmarked vehicles, as well as using tear gas, rubber bullets, and flash-bangs. They were from U.S. Customs and Border Protection, at the behest of President Donald Trump, who applauded their use of force. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Oregon Gov. Kate Brown called on the federal agents to leave. On Monday, Trump threatened to send federal forces to New York, Chicago, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, Calif., and Philadelphia. Trump expanded his reasoning from dealing with civil unrest to gun violence. The White House plans to send 175 agents to Chicago to help with violent crime, despite Mayor Lori Lightfoot pleading for no such measure. All the cities that Trump mentioned at the Oval Office have two things in common: They are led by Democratic mayors, and they have large Black populations. With less than four months to the general election, Trump is doubling down on the politics of fear and racism. His reelection message, which he has been tweeting ad nauseam, is that a Democratic win in November would mean chaos and crime. To make his case, Trump is using every tool he has including militarized forces of the Department of Homeland Security to inflame tensions with disregard to lives. Trumps agents are not welcome in Philadelphia. This city and residents are not pawns for Trump to play his divisive brand of politics with. READ MORE: Trumps made-for-TV fascism in Portland wont get him reelected. It may get someone killed. | Will Bunch That was also the message from Philadelphias elected officials. Mayor Jim Kenney responded to Trumps threat of sending federal agents to Philadelphia by calling it ironic and offensive, and an abuse of power that the city would use all means to resist. The mayor has a point and he should use all means to resist Trumps effort to incite violence. But the images and outrage over what happened in Portland also stand as a mirror for Philadelphias own actions. Philadelphia doesnt need clandestine federal law enforcement to teargas, shoot rubber bullets, and conduct mass arrests of protesters not when the Philadelphia Police Department is here, doing the same. READ MORE: Besieged, then betrayed: How 52nd Street became a target for Philadelphia Police Kenney and his administration still owe many answers to the residents of Philadelphia. Who made key decisions during the first days of protest is still unclear as is Kenneys or Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaws personal involvement. On Monday, Kenney announced that he hired two firms to conduct an audit of the citys response to protests that should be completed by the end of the year. According to the Mayors Office, the budget of the audit is approximately $268,000. With his poll numbers trailing, the months ahead of the election are going to bring the worst out of Trump. That will require the state and the city to resist and they proved in the past that they are up for the task. But it also requires that our local leaders be more transparent than ever. With the amount of harm that Trump could potentially inflict on citizens as well as to our values there is no room for more harm from our citys leaders and law enforcement. The aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan and the guided-missile destroyer USS Milius,center , center, conduct a photo exercise with Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force ships. (U.S. Navy photo by Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Kaila V. Peters/Released) US Holds Naval Exercises With Allies in Asia Amid China Tension NEW DELHI/TOKYOThe United States is conducting two military exercises in Asian waters this week involving allies Japan, Australia and India, the U.S. navy said on Tuesday. The exercises come as military rivalry between the United States and China is intensifying and days after the United States said Chinas claims of sovereignty in the disputed South China Sea were illegal. The United States has long opposed Chinas expansive territorial claims on the South China Sea, sending warships regularly through the strategic waterway to demonstrate freedom of navigation. China opposes such exercises and said the U.S. rejection of its claims in the South China Sea raised tension and undermined stability in the region. The USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan were deployed to the South China Sea twice this month but this week, the Nimitz was in the Indian Ocean for exercises with the Indian navy, the U.S. navy said, in the latest sign of growing cooperation between the forces. The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76, front) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68, rear) Carrier Strike Groups sail together in formation, in the South China Sea, on July 6, 2020. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Tarleton/U.S. Navy via AP) Rear Admiral Jim Kirk, commander of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, said in a statement that Mondays drills with the Indian navy helped improve the interoperability of their forces. While operating together, the U.S. and Indian naval forces conducted high-end exercises designed to maximize training and interoperability, including air defense, the U.S. navy said. Indias relations with China have also been strained after a deadly clash on their disputed border in the Himalayas last month, prompting calls in India for closer security ties with the United States and its allies including Japan. The drills were carried out near Indias Andaman and Nicobar islands, off the north end of the Malacca Straits, one of the worlds busiest shipping routes for trade and fuel, an Indian source said. India has a military base on the islands. The U.S. navy said the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group was in the Indian Ocean in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific region. Separately, the U.S. strike group led by the Ronald Reagan was carrying out drills with naval forces from Japan and Australia in the Philippine Sea, U.S. and Australian officials said on Tuesday. The exercises are due to end on July 23, Australias defence department said. Later this year, the United States will hold naval exercises with India and Japan in the Bay of Bengal and Australia might join. By Sanjeev Miglani Guest Column As the US and China Spar, Myanmar Walks a Tightrope US President Donald Trump participates in a bilateral meeting with Chinese President Xi Jinping at the Great Hall of the People on Nov. 9, 2017, in Beijing. / Official White House Photo The Myanmar embassies of two great powersthe US and Chinahave been sparring on social media recently. On Saturday, The Irrawaddy published an article by George N. Sibley, charge daffaires at the US Embassy in Myanmar, headlined How the Erosion of Sovereignty Elsewhere Impacts Myanmar at Home, which was also posted on the embassys website. In the article, Sibley claimed that China continues to disrespect the sovereignty of ASEAN countries in the South China Sea, and goes on to say that Myanmar has not been spared this treatment, having been subject to intimidation, threats and an undermining of its sovereignty. He concluded his op-ed by stating just as for more than 70 years the United States has stood as a friend and partner to the people of Myanmar. Immediately, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Myanmar rejected Sibleys argument, stating, He tried his best to draw forced analogies, speak on hearsay evidence, confuse right with wrong, to attack and smear China, deliberately driving a wedge between China-Myanmar cooperation and bilateral relations. The spokesperson defended Chinas Pauk-Phaw, or brotherly, relations with Myanmar, by rattling off a list of examples of Chinas support for Myanmar ranging from its support for the country on the UN Security Council (UNSC) to COVID-19 assistance. The war of words between these two high officials of the US and Chinese embassies in Yangon is a sign of the more general great power competition in the region, and demonstrates that Myanmar is at a critical juncture; it must reassess its foreign policy and choose its genuine partner amid the competition. Responding to a question at a press conference on Sunday, Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, chief minister of Mandalay Region, said Myanmar would stick with its neutral policy and favor neither China nor the US. Indeed, Myanmars policy toward China appears to have been constructed on the basis of this Pauk-Phaw logic, some elements of whichfor example, the two countries geographical connection, their economic ties and Chinas protection of Myanmar in the international arenaare deeply entrenched. Myanmars approximately 2,170-kilometer border with China creates a geographical connection that greatly influences its domestic politics. China has involved itself in Myanmars armed conflict and peace process through ethnic armed groups based near the border. Likewise, China is Myanmars most important economic partner, serving as the biggest investor in the country until 2018 (it was surpassed by Singapore in 2019) and also as Myanmars main creditor. More significantly, as the Chinese spokesperson also asserted, Beijing has shielded Myanmar from international pressure. On March 17, 2017, for instance, China blocked a short UNSC statement expressing concern about the human rights situation in Myanmar, after the 15-member body met to discuss the situation in Rakhine State. China also vetoed a UN draft resolution on Myanmar in January 2007. On the other hand, Myanmars foreign policy toward the US seems designed to counterbalance China, embracing the dream of economic prosperity and flourishing democracy. These policies toward the US became visible after Myanmar started its political transition from the military regime to so-called democracy after the 2010 general election. Myanmars then President Thein Sein invited and welcomed then US President Barack Obama in November 2012. Similarly, he paid a visit to the US in 2013. The visits strengthened the relationship between the two countries and lessened Myanmars dependency on China. The US went on to lift economic sanctions that had been imposed on Myanmar for decades. Myanmar gained massive support from the West, the US in particular, after the National League for Democracy (NLD) led by Aung San Suu Kyi was swept to power in the 2015 general election. However, due to the exodus of the Rohingya minority and Aung San Suu Kyis silence over human rights violations committed by armed actors in Rakhine State, the US imposed new targeted sanctions against Myanmar, and ties deteriorated. China, on the other hand, has departed from its traditional non-interference policy in foreign relations and started to get involved in Myanmars political affairs. For instance, it played a mediating role in the Rohingya repatriation process between Bangladesh and Myanmar. Similarly, China is also closely involved in the peace process, mediating between the Tatmadaw and ethnic armed organizations (EAOs). On top of that, China continues to shield Myanmar from international scrutiny and punishment, at the UNSC in particular. For this reason, the Myanmar government and particularly the armed forces (or Tatmadaw) have recently come to view China as a savior in a tumultuous period. Thus, rather than pursuing a real balancing act, it is increasingly throwing in its lot with China. It appears that due to the rise of China in the economic and military sphereswhich many in the region view as a threatMyanmar has shown a tendency to lean toward China. Since Chinese President Xi Jinping visited Myanmar in January, relations between Myanmar and China seem to have strengthened. For example, Myanmar military commander-in-chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing even praised China as a trusted friend forever and reiterated that the Tatmadaw would continue to guarantee the implementation of Chinas Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects in the country. China may be on the rise in terms of military and economic power and can challenge any rival in Asia and beyond, but Myanmar should remember that Beijing is surrounded by rivalries, ranging from Japan in the east to India in the west, and from the Philippines, Vietnam, Taiwan and Indonesia in the South to the US in the far west. The US is zeroing in on the Indo-Pacific region, formulating its Indo-Pacific strategy. In June 2019, the US Defense Department released its Indo-Pacific strategy report, in which Preparedness, Partnerships, and Promoting a Networked Region form the core elements. Through preparedness, the US aims to maintain its militarys capability to win any conflict. Through partnerships, it strives to strengthen its unique network of alliances; and promotion of a networked region refers to the strengthening and evolution of US alliances and partnerships into a networked security architecture to uphold the international rules-based order. Thus, the US keeps strengthening its partnerships by signing arms deals in the region. For instance, the US and India signed off on a US$3.5-billion (4.8-trillion-kyat) arms deal when US President Donald Trump visited India in February 2020. Snr-Gen Min Aung Hlaing surely understands how important the Indo-Pacific region is for military cooperation, stability and sovereignty, as he took part in a discussion on Indo-Pacific region military cooperation and prospects for regional security at the 8th Moscow Conference on International Security in April 2019. Thus, if the two great powers, the US and China, engage in a military confrontation over the South China Sea or for any other reason, more regional countries will surely cooperate with the US. In a nutshell, while Chinas influence poses an unprecedented and inevitable challenge for Myanmar and other ASEAN members, which face both economic inducements to comply with Chinas agenda, and penalties if they do not, building a robust partnership with the US is of unprecedented importance for Myanmar if it is to maintain national sovereignty. Joe Kumbun is the pseudonym of an analyst based in Kachin State. You may also like these stories: How the Erosion of Sovereignty Elsewhere Impacts Myanmar at Home Joint Vision Statement Brings New Twists in Thai-US Alliance Myanmars Jade-Rich Hpakant Caught in a Winners Curse New Delhi, July 21 : National Students Union of India (NSUI) activists on Tuesday staged a protest outside the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD) here to protest against UGC guidelines for universities to conduct final-year exams in September. Around hundred NSUI activists led by its national President Neeraj Kundan participated in the protest, and were later detained by Delhi Police and taken to Mandir Marg Police Station. Speaking to reporters, Kundan said: "When Parliament functioning has been suspended due to Covid-19 pandemic, why are students being forced to sit in exams even as the country has over 11 lakh Covid-19 cases?" He alleged that the Union government was not worried about the safety of students. The NSUI leader further said that when institutions such as IITs could promote their students to the next class, why was MHRD and UGC not doing the same with university students. Kundan said that students were a waiting completion of their degree courses but the whole matter has been delayed by government. "It's already very late for the students and further delay will bring more economic pressure on parents of such students. The students are worried and so are their parents. Due to Covid-19, people are already suffering a lot in many ways.By forcing students now to appear in exams more mental pressure has been brought on the students and their families," he added. Visitors also can take the elevator to the second floor to talk to a librarian at the reference desk about materials that might interest them. The librarian then gets any items the person wants from the shelves and brings them to the person. Harvest: Contractor Vincent Hughes harvesting a field of winter barley in Ballinkillen; the variety is Casie and yield approximately 3t/ac with moisture 20%. Photo Roger Jones The early stages of the winter barley harvest season have kicked off in most regions, with yields and quality reported to be respectable. The early summer drought certainly impacted crops, particularly spring crops, but winter cereals appear to have been impacted less. The sight of the combines rolling through the golden crops focuses my mind on the vital role the tillage sector plays for both livestock and human feed security on this island. Grains produced in Ireland for human consumption, the brewing and distilling sectors, livestock feed and the straw used for bedding, feeding and composting are all essential to the agriculture economy. In my advice to farmers at this time of year, my first objective is to see where we can maximise the use of native cereals and their by-products. Expand Close Harvest: Contractor Vincent Hughes harvesting a field of winter barley in Ballinkillen; the variety is Casie and yield approximately 3t/ac with moisture 20%. Photo Roger Jones / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Harvest: Contractor Vincent Hughes harvesting a field of winter barley in Ballinkillen; the variety is Casie and yield approximately 3t/ac with moisture 20%. Photo Roger Jones Total yearly grain production figures vary depending on area sown, growing conditions and crop yields. This difference was clearly visible between 2018 and 2019, when the amount of cereal grain produced in Ireland increased by close to 30pc. This came as a result of increased area sown in 2019 and very favourable growing conditions in comparison to the drought of 2018. From an economic, environmental and sustainability standpoint, any livestock farm that can grow, store and feed its own grain is at a competitive advantage. For an all-grass livestock farm that is unable to economically grow grain, the next best option is to source grain from as local a source as possible. This grain can be taken in bulk amounts at harvest time or contracts can be negotiated with grain growers or local grain merchants that will provide price and supply security throughout the winter months. Now is an appropriate time to recap on the type of grain treatment and storage options available. Where supply or the requirement for a second forage is an issue, cereal wholecrop is an excellent option. Higher in dry matter than grass silage and rich in starch energy, it can complement grass silage, grazed grass and zero grazing. Winter barley crops are now at the point of being harvested as high-dry-matter wholecrop. This type of wholecrop will be above 75pc dry matter and will require the grain to be cracked during the harvesting process. Grain treatment The alkaline treatment process has increased the popularity of this type of wholecrop in recent years. Winter wheat and early spring-sown cereals will soon be reaching the point of harvest as a fermented wholecrop. Harvest dry matters will ideally be between 35pc-50pc, with the grain at a 'soft cheese' stage. The use of a suitable inoculant to reduce losses at feed-out is advisable. Cereal wholecrop can be traded between growers and livestock farmers as either a standing crop or on a tonnage basis. The four main types of grain treatment and storage used on Irish farms and by grain merchants are crimped grain, propcorn, alkaline grain and dried grain. Crimp grain by its nature is a moist grain form, with the ideal dry matter between 65pc-75pc. Grain is therefore harvested at the semi-mature stage and treated with an inoculant to secure its stable fermentation. Crimp must be gently pressed and covered with a plastic sheet to prevent air spoiling the fermentation process. Fermented grain will be very attractive to birds and vermin, so good storage and covering is imperative. Acid treatment or propcorn is a reliable method of treating grain for both short and long term storage. Forms of organic acids, mainly proponic acid, are applied to harvested grains with moistures between 16pc-20pc. Protein content Application rates will vary depending on the moisture content of the grain: the higher the moisture the more acid applied. While grain preservation is excellent using this method, care must be taken when feeding acidic grains in addition to low pH silages. Alkaline grain treatments can be used on grains with moisture contents between 16pc - 20pc. Grain can be treated and bruised during the same process. Ammonia gas aids the preservation of the grain while also enhancing the protein content and the grain pH. Increasing the protein content of the grain by 4-5 percentage points can help to reduce the requirement for purchased proteins. When harvest conditions are favourable and grain is harvested between 15pc-18pc moisture, the option of drying the grain for short or long term storage is available. Grain drying equipment is limited to larger grain growers and grain intakes/ merchants. Most dried grain finds its way into the pig and poultry feed sector, but some will also be used in dairy and beef rations. JERSEY CITY, N.J., July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BNY Mellon's Pershing ("Pershing"), a leading provider of global financial business solutions, today announced that Emily Schlosser has been named the company's new chief operating officer, effective today. Schlosser joins Pershing from Goldman Sachs, where she was head of change for the Global Markets Division. In that role, she led the transformation of their institutional client experience as well as major initiatives to drive new revenue streams, build scale, and manage risk and regulatory obligations. Prior to joining Goldman Sachs, Schlosser served as COO of Corporate Services at E*TRADE, responsible for client service, participant engagement, technology, marketing, operations, risk, finance and human resources. Both firm revenue and assets under management grew under her direction. "We are thrilled to welcome Emily as Pershing's chief operating officer," said Jim Crowley, CEO of Pershing. "Client experience is a critical driver of today's business decisions, and we believe this will continue for the foreseeable future. With her proven track record of driving major corporate transformations across financial services, experience structuring complex change programs, and success creating best-in-class client onboarding solutions, Emily will be integral in our efforts to continually elevate the advisor and investor experience." As COO and member of Pershing's Executive Committee, Schlosser will lead Pershing's operational functions and also will be involved in setting Pershing's strategic direction. About BNY Mellon's Pershing BNY Mellon's Pershing and its affiliates provide advisors, broker-dealers, family offices, hedge fund and '40 Act fund managers, registered investment advisor firms and wealth managers with a broad suite of global financial business solutions. Many of the world's most sophisticated and successful financial services firms rely on Pershing for clearing and custody, investment and retirement solutions, technology, enterprise data management, trading services, prime brokerage, managed account technology and operations and business consulting. Pershing helps clients improve profitability and drive growth, create capacity and efficiency, attract and retain talent, and manage risk and regulation. With a network of offices worldwide, Pershing provides business-to-business solutions to clients representing more than seven million investor accounts globally. Pershing LLC (member FINRA, NYSE, SIPC) is a BNY Mellon company. Professionally advised managed accounts are offered through its affiliate, Lockwood Advisors, Inc., which is an investment adviser registered in the United States under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940. Additional information is available on pershing.com, or follow us on Twitter @Pershing. About BNY Mellon BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment and wealth management and investment services in 35 countries. As of June 30, 2020, BNY Mellon had $37.3 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $2.0 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news. Anthony Sicoli +1 201 413 3198 [email protected] SOURCE BNY Mellon Related Links http://www.bnymellon.com Gulf Oil International, parent company of Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd and the official fuel and lubricant partner of Manchester United, has globally released a new digital film with Manchester United. Deriving inspiration from Manchester United, Gulf Oil communicates a strong message that is The world may have changed but our dreams havent. After months of being in lockdown, the world cautiously begins its journey towards new normalcy by prioritizing health, following public hygiene norms and maintaining social distance. The campaign #GulfGetMovingAgain celebrates the coming together of humanity and encourages for a better way forward as the world strikes the balance between mobility and safety. Ravi Chawla, Managing Director, Gulf Oil Lubricants India Ltd., said, We are still battling unprecedented circumstances where the need to invoke human spirit has become imperative now more than ever. Were hopeful to emerge stronger, more driven and focussed from the pandemic creating a legacy for generations to come. Through this video, Gulf Oil and Manchester United welcomes the unlocked tomorrow that we have been waiting for, where everything has changed except our dreams and the will to achieve them. British Airways has announced that it will retire all of its Boeing 747s following a sharp downturn in global travel due to COVID-19 disruption. The airline, owned by International Airlines Group (IAG), said the planes will all be retired with immediate effect. It is with great sadness that we can confirm we are proposing to retire our entire 747 fleet with immediate effect, a BA spokesperson told the BBC at the weekend. It is unlikely our magnificent queen of the skies will ever operate commercial services for British Airways again due to the downturn in travel caused by the Covid-19 global pandemic, the spokesperson added. The 747s represent about 10 per cent of BAs total fleet. Although the Boeing 747 is considered beautiful and distinctive, as a passenger plane, it is also considered outdated because it is less efficient than modern twin-engine models, such as the Airbus A350, the 787 Dreamliner, or the older Boeing 777. The UK airline is the worlds largest operator of the jumbo jets, with 31 in the fleet. BA planned on retiring the planes in 2024 but has brought forward the date due to the downturn. Before the COVID-19 pandemic crippled global travel, different airlines such as Air France, Delta and United had retired their fleets. READ ALSO: Reports said BA had planned to use them for another few years, but the crisis in the industry signals uncertainty in passenger traffic, necessitating austerity measures in operation and maintenance of aircraft. The British carrier added it would operate more flights on modern, more fuel-efficient planes such as its new Airbus A350s and Boeing 787 Dreamliners, with expectations that they would help it achieve net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. The coronavirus outbreak is hitting airlines across the world, along with plane-makers and their suppliers. Thousands of job losses and furloughs have been announced since the first quarter of the year. At least 12,000 staff of British Airways are facing redundancy as the airline slashes costs in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. They include pilots, cabin crew, engineers and ground staff. Actor Amit Sadh on Monday took to Instagram to thank his Breathe: Into The Shadows co-star Abhishek Bachchan. In the Amazon Prime Video original series, Amit plays a police officer Kabir Sawant while Abhishek is seen as psychiatrist Avinash Sabharwal. Sharing some photos from the sets of the web series, Amit Sadh opened up about his bond with Abhishek Bachchan. Calling him his senior, brother and an actor he has been looking up to, Amit expressed his gratitude towards his co-star and spoke about how he cannot wait to be with him on a set. Now, Abhishek, who is currently being treated for coronavirus in Nanavati hospital in Mumbai, has reacted to Amit's heart-warming post. Brother, this is the sweetest. Thank you for your wishes for the family. Regret not being able to celebrate your achievements and success together. But we shall very soon. You are a great friend and cant wait for that huge, Abhishek commented on Amit's post. Amit also wished a speedy recovery for Abhishek and his family members including Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who have been hospitalised after testing positive for coronavirus. On the work front, Amit Sadh has three more releases this month. He will be seen in Tigmanshu Dhulia directorial Yaara, Vidya Balan-starrer Shakuntala Devi and a web series titled Avrodh. As Delhi police continue to probe into the Nizamuddin Markaz event, A Delhi court on Tuesday allowed 98 Indonesian and 23 Kyrgyzstan nationals to walk free on plea bargaining process after they accepted mild charges in connection with the case related to Markaz Tablighi Jamaat congregation in Nizamuddin. Previously, the court also granted bail to the 2000 persons on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. Prior to that, the court granted bail to 158 foreigners from Brazil, Australia, Fiji, China, and the Philippines, who had participated in Markaz. Metropolitan Magistrate Rajat Goyal allowed 98 Indonesians to walk free on payment of a fine of Rs 10,000 each, said advocate Ashima Mandla appearing for them. The court directed them to deposit the fine to PM CARES Fund. Further, Gullia allowed 23 foreign nationals from Kyrgyzstan to walk free on payment of a fine of Rs 5,000 each. Sub-divisional magistrate of Defence Colony, who was the complainant in the case, Assistant Commissioner of Police of Lajpat Nagar and Inspector of Nizamuddin said they have no objection to their plea bargain. READ: Delhi court grants bail to 200 Tablighi Jamaat members ahead of visa cancellation hearing READ: SC to hear on July 24 pleas against blacklisting of foreigners for alleged Tablighi activities Tablighi Jamaat members blacklisted In April, the Ministry of Home Affairs had blacklisted 960 foreigners who were involved in Tablighi Jamaat activities despite being on a tourist visa and cancelled their Indian visas. In another subsequent decision on June 4 over 2,500 foreign nationals were blacklisted for 10 years from travelling to India for their alleged involvement in Tablighi Jamaat activities. As per the information available, 205 FIRs have been lodged against the foreign Tablighi Jamaat members by 11 states, with many under custody. The Supreme Court has said that it would hear on July 24 the pleas filed by foreigners challenging the Centre's orders that blacklisted more than 2,700 citizens of 35 countries. The Centre had earlier sought dismissal of the pleas, stating that it has issued individual orders on a case-to-case basis for cancellation of visas and blacklisting of 2,765 foreign nationals. The Delhi Crime Branch which has booked the Markaz chief Maulana Saad for violating lockdown, who is still in self-isolation but aiding with the police investigation. READ: Visas of 2679 foreign Tablighis cancelled; Centre files affidavit in Supreme Court READ: Delhi Court grants bail to 76 foreign Tablighi Jamaat members from 8 countries (With Inputs from Agencies) A man wielding explosives who hijacked a bus in Ukraine has been detained by police after a stand-off which lasted more than 12 hours. Following negotiations with the first deputy chief of national police, Yevhen Koval, the man released three of the hostages, including a pregnant woman in the western city of Lutsk. Mr Koval also delivered water to the hostages. At one point, the assailant fired his gun and a bullet narrowly missed the police chief. Shortly after, Ukraines President Volodymyr Zelenskiy posted a brief video message on his Facebook page to urge Ukrainians to watch a film - as the hostage-taker had wanted. Police sealed off the centre of Lutsk / Reuters Minutes later, the assailant surrendered to police and authorities said all 13 hostages were freed. Speaking to reporters after the drama ended, Ukraines Interior Minister Arsen Avakov described the assailant as an "unstable man who invented his own world". Police sealed off the centre of Lutsk, 250 miles west of the capital Kyiv after the assailant, who police said was armed and carrying explosives, took over the bus. Thirteen passengers were freed after Ukraine's president shared a brief video on Facebook / Reuters At one point, the assailant threw explosives out of the bus window, but no one was hurt. He also fired several shots at a police drone. The man called the police himself at 9.25am local time after taking control of the vehicle and introduced himself as Maksim Plokhoy, Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said on Facebook. According to Mr Gerashchenko, police have identified the man as Maksim Krivosh, a 44-year-old Ukrainian born in Russia. Mr Krivosh reportedly tried to reach out to journalists through hostages and their phones, demanding that they spread the word about his demands and get more reporters to arrive at the scene. New York's billionaires would pay about $5.5 billion a year under a new tax being proposed by Democrats in the state legislature. The tax, part of a new "Make Billionaires Pay" campaign by progressive lawmakers and activists, would impose a new form of capital gains tax on New Yorkers with $1 billion or more in assets. Sponsors of the plan say it would raise $5.5 billion a year, which would be used for a new unemployment insurance fund for those impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic. With New York state staring at a $13 billion deficit, and looming cost cuts, many lawmakers are pushing to raise revenue from the rich rather than cut government services. "It's time to stop protecting billionaires, and it's time to start working for working families," Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., said in a video championing the new tax. Lawmakers are proposing a new kind of mark-to-market tax on unrealized capital gains. Currently, taxpayers pay capital gains tax on assets only when they sell. The new policy would tax any gain in value for an asset during the calendar year, regardless of whether it's sold. Capital gains are taxed in New York at the same rate as ordinary income, so the rate would be 8.8%. If Bloomberg LP, the financial-information giant owned by Mike Bloomberg, gained $5 billion in value in 2020, he would pay about $440 million in taxes. If assets lose value, the billionaires can use the loss or "carry it forward" indefinitely to reduce taxes in future years. Americans for Tax Fairness, a progressive group, said New York's 119 billionaires have seen their fortunes increase to $600 billion from $521 billion in March, when the market was at its lows for the year. The new tax will be based on calendar-year gains. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said raising taxes on billionaires and other rich New Yorkers will only cause them to move to lower-tax states. He said the solution is a federal tax hike on the wealthy. "If they want a tax increase, don't make New York alone do a tax increase then they just have the people move to Connecticut. Let the federal government pass a tax increase," Cuomo said in a recent press conference. "And let them apply it all across the country, so you don't hurt any one state. Because if you take people who are highly mobile, and you tax them, well then they'll just move next door where the tax treatment is simpler. It has to be done on a federal level." Tax advisors and accountants to the wealthy say billionaires would also easily game the system, resulting in much lower collections. For instance, they could value a private company at below the true market value to avoid the tax. "A big problem with a mark-to-market tax is valuation," said Joseph Perry, a tax and business services expert at Marcum. "You could just get a valuation that's helpful to you." Chinese envoy urges UK to have independent policy rather than 'dance to tune of Americans' Global Times By Chen Qingqing Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/20 13:01:50 It would be a totally wrong decision for the UK government to impose unilateral sanctions on Chinese individuals and if the UK government goes as far as imposing sanctions on any individual in China, China will certainly make a resolute response to it, Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming said in an interview on Sunday. He made the remarks in response to a question regarding the UK government's possible plans to end its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and sanction Chinese individuals. The latest Huawei ban in the UK has already sent shockwaves among scholars and business representatives in the UK and China, who are deeply wary of the potential severe consequences of souring bilateral ties between the two countries. Ahead of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to the UK on Monday, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been escalating his harsh rhetoric on China by hinting that the British government is preparing to follow Canada and Australia in ending its extradition treaty with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). Such a move is seen as "symbolic," as the UK has followed the US in voicing its rejection of the recently passed national security law for Hong Kong. UK's possible move is also highly dangerous as it is very likely to further undermine the UK-China relationship, observers said. "That is totally wrong. We never believe in unilateral sanctions," Liu said in the interview. We believe that the UN has the authority to impose sanctions, and if the UK government goes as far as to impose sanctions on any individual in China, China will certainly make a resolute response to it, the ambassador said. John Lee Ka-chiu, Hong Kong Secretary for Security, has harshly criticized some countries that intended to drop extradition agreements with the HKSAR in opposition to the national security law for Hong Kong, claiming "it is a highly irresponsible move that undermines the rule of law." However, law enforcement authorities in the HKSAR and in the Chinese mainland will always be able to hold fugitives accountable through different measures, such as international police cooperation, or other ways, he told the Global Times in a recent interview. The HKSAR has extradition agreements with some 20 countries, including the US, the UK, Canada, Australia and Germany. Half a month after the national security law came into force, Canada became the first country to announce it was ending the treaty with the HKSAR. "You've seen what happened between China and the US. They sanctioned Chinese officials. We sanctioned their senators and officials. I do not want to see this tit-for-tat between China and the US happen in China-UK relations," Liu said, noting that the UK should have its own independent foreign policy rather than dance to the tune of Americans, citing UK's decision on Huawei. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Details added (first version posted on 18:01) BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 20 Trend: As many as 523 people recovered from coronavirus and were discharged from the hospitals in Azerbaijan during the day, the Operational Headquarters under the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers said, Trend reports. Some 369 people were infected and nine people died in Azerbaijan over the day. To date, 27,890 cases of coronavirus infection have been detected in the country, 19,490 patients have recovered, 363 people have died. Currently, 8,037 people are under treatment in special hospitals. Over the past day, 6,817 tests were conducted in Azerbaijan to reveal coronavirus cases. In total, 634,698 tests have been conducted in Azerbaijan so far. The University of Mumbai (MU) on Tuesday released the admission schedule for undergraduate degree courses, less than a week after the last of the Class 12 results were announced. Keeping in mind the current situation, the university has asked students to submit a declaration form along with their pre-admission registration form to the allotted college in order to confirm their admissions. The colleges, in turn, have been asked to give provisional admission to students and confirm the same after the applicant submits a hard copy of the mark-sheet and all other necessary documents later. All colleges shall provide an online system in order to avoid the physical presence of students. Colleges in Raigad, Ratnagiri, Sindhudurg and Palghar, where an online system is difficult to implement, can ask students to visit the college campus, provided they ensure social distancing norms are adhered to, said a statement released by the university on Tuesday. While the pre-admission registration process is already underway, applicants have till August 4 to complete this process, following which the first merit list will be announced at 7pm. While the university is positive that admissions will be conducted smoothly, colleges are worried about the chaos that will ensue once students start submitting hard copies of original documents for admission confirmation. Every year, several students dont get admission in quotas because they dont have appropriate documents to support themselves. This year, if we give provisional admission without checking documents, many students might end up losing the seat when they finally have to submit documents. The university needs to address this problem, said the principal of a suburban college. University officials, however, said that such problems can be avoided if colleges take extra care while proofing documents submitted online. Students, for the time being, can complete the entire admissions process online, which includes submission of a scanned copy of all necessary documents. Colleges need to be extra careful about screening documents and accepting fees online before giving provisional admission to the student. The submission of hard copies later will be a simple procedure, said an official from MU. BOX *Sale of admission forms (colleges to make it available online): July 24 to August 4 *Pre-admission online forms: July 22 to August 4 (up to 1pm) *Submission of admission forms along with a copy of pre-admission form (in-house and minority quota admissions to be completed in this period): July 27 to August 4 *First merit list: August 4 (7pm) *Verification of documents and payment of fees: August 5 to August 10 (up to 3pm) *Second merit list: August 10 (7pm) *Verification of documents and payment of fees: August 11 to August 17 (up to 3pm) *Third merit list: August 17 (7pm) *Verification of documents and payment of fees: August 18 to August 21(up to 3pm) Link for online pre-admission registration is available on mum.digitaluniversity.ac SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The House of Representatives on Monday voted to bar federal employees from downloading TikTok on their government-issued devices. Story continues below advertisement The United States is now on the precipice of losing the future of the cyber domain to China, said the report, commissioned by Sen. Robert Menendez (N.J.), the most senior Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. Advertisement If China continues to perfect the tools of digital authoritarianism and is able to effectively implement them both domestically and abroad, then China, not the United States and its allies, will shape the digital environment, the report added. Is it time to delete TikTok? A guide to the rumors and the real privacy risks. The report details how China has sought to create a new model of governance for the digital domain, through mass surveillance technology and controlling access to information and content. American social media platforms like Google, Twitter and Facebook are banned inside China. Story continues below advertisement The report also details how China has invested in technology that aids authoritarianism, such as facial recognition software and other surveillance technology. This technology is now being exported to countries around the world, such as Venezuela, Uzbekistan, Zimbabwe and others. Advertisement The report focuses also on how digital surveillance is expanding to include the collection of DNA samples, fingerprints, voice samples and blood types in particular from those in the western Xinjiang region, where the Chinese Communist Party has embarked on a campaign to strip the minority of their language, culture and religion. This week, the U.S. Commerce Department added 11 companies to a trade blacklist over alleged violations in Xinjiang, bringing the number of Chinese companies on the list to just under 50. In a statement following the sanctions, Wilbur Ross, the secretary of commerce, said, Beijing actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labor and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens. Story continues below advertisement This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Partys despicable offensive against defenseless Muslim minority populations, Ross added. Advertisement Human rights advocates studying Chinas use of digital technologies to control its citizens have long argued that Western and other governments need to act against the Chinese government and its actions. The coronavirus pandemic has also led to a huge amount of data collection in China as a response to the public health crisis, and surveillance technology has also been used to identify critics of the governments response. Most recently, Beijing passed new national security laws in Hong Kong, which could potentially see the extension of the Chinese surveillance state into one of the freest Internet landscapes in the world. Google, Twitter, Facebook and others that under the one country, two systems framework could operate freely in Hong Kong and in some cases have employees there have now paused their data requests from Hong Kong authorities. Some American tech companies there have now shelved plans for future investment, and others are contemplating pulling employees out. Story continues below advertisement What the Chinese government is trying to achieve is unprecedented in human history, said Maya Wang, China senior researcher at Human Rights Watch. No other government has had such an intrusive knowledge of such a large number of people over such a wide swath of land anywhere at any time in history and they are wielding that power of data. Advertisement Wang argues that while it is legitimate for other governments to be very, very worried about the Chinese government and the pursuit of this kind of digital totalitarianism, the U.S. approach has been insufficient and amounts to a whack-a-mole approach with companies like Huawei and TikTok. Some policies of the Trump administration, she added, appear to be rooted in an anti-China approach, rather than a holistic approach on how to deal with the privacy and security of its citizens. Menendezs report argues that the Trump administration has failed to adequately respond to the threat posed by Chinas approach to cyberspace, and that the U.S. government needs to rally the international community around the common goal of offering an alternative to the Chinese digital model. Story continues below advertisement Among the recommendations is that the United States should aggressively develop alternatives to Chinese 5G technology along with its allies, using federal funds, and create an industry consortium on 5G. The report also recommends that the United States should establish a fund to support organizations worldwide like NGOs and think tanks that are fighting to counter surveillance regimes. Advertisement There has been a sharp increase in bipartisan interest for Congress to recalibrate our nations entire China policy, he said. As more of my colleagues recognize the scope of the challenge that China presents to the United States and to the entire international order, it is my hope that this report will not only strengthen their sense of urgency to act but also inform the legislative process, he added. Police cloud: Chinese database tracks apps, car location and even electricity usage in Muslim region Masks, cash and apps: How Hong Kongs protesters find ways to outwit the surveillance state Pompeo says the U.S. is certainly looking at banning TikTok and other Chinese apps The Electoral Commission has condemned acts of violence at some registration centres across the country. According to the EC, the violence is perpetrated by political party supporters and sympathizers. One of such incidents occurred on Monday, July 20, 2020 at the Step to Christ voters' registration centre in the Awutu Senya East constituency in the Central Region. Some unidentifiable gunmen disrupted the process by firing gun shots and attacked officials at the centre. ''The Commission condemns such acts during a civil exercise like the Registration of Voters and calls on security agencies to investigate the issue as a matter of urgency to bring the perpetrators to book. These acts constitute a breach of the Vigilante and Related Offenses Act, 2019 Act 999. The Act seeks to disband violent activities of Political Parties and makes political vigilantism an offence punishable by a prison term'', the Commission said in a statement copied to Peacefmonline.com. The Commission urged the public, particularly the party agents, to use the appropriate medium to amicably challenge an applicant whose eligiblity to register his or her name is questionable. ''The Commission reminds the public, particularly Political Party agents, that any person who wishes to challenge an Applicant on the basis of ineligibility must fill a Challenge Form, which will then be presented to the District Registration Review Committee for a ruling on the matter. Political Party agents are therefore cautioned against the use of violence to challenge a persons eligibility.'' The electoral management body however called on all eligible voters to turn out in their numbers to register and vote in the 2020 general elections. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Clearway Energy (NYSE:CWEN)(NYSE:CWEN.A) has been far from a dream dividend stock in recent years. The clean-energy company started well, growing its payout every quarter from its IPO in late 2013 through the end of 2018. However, that streak ended abruptly when one of Clearway's largest customers -- California electric utility Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) (NYSE:PCG) -- filed for bankruptcy in early 2019. That forced Clearway to slash its payout by 40% because its creditors restricted its access to the funds paid by PG&E until that company completed its restructuring. That reset payout, which Clearway boosted by 5% earlier this year, is on a much firmer foundation because the company has been reducing its reliance on PG&E by making a steady stream of acquisitions. Add that factor to PG&E's recent reemergence from bankruptcy, and Clearway appears poised to become a dividend investor's dream stock in the coming years. A sturdier foundation Clearway Energy owns a diversified portfolio of electricity-generating assets, powered by both renewables and natural gas. It also operates one of the country's largest district energy and combined heat and power (CHP) portfolios. These assets produce steady cash flow backed by long-term, fixed-rate contracts with end users like utilities and commercial customers. The company currently expects to generate about $310 million, or $1.56 per share, of cash this year, 22% above last year's total thanks to recent acquisitions. At the current dividend rate of $0.21 per share each quarter, that puts Clearway's payout ratio at a conservative 54%, enabling it to retain lots of cash to power future growth. The company also has a solid balance sheet, with leverage metrics within its target range. Meanwhile, Clearway expects its annualized cash flow run rate to rise to $340 million, or $1.70 per share -- a 9% increase -- once it completes the acquisition of three wind power projects early next year. Those assets will further diversify the company's cash flow away from PG&E, putting its payout on an even firmer foundation. The power to keep growing the dividend The combination of those wind acquisitions and PG&E's recent reemergence from bankruptcy -- which will lift the lender restrictions on the associated cash and future cash flow -- should enable Clearway to significantly boost its dividend in the coming year. The company already promised to normalize its dividend once PG&E exited bankruptcy, making a sizable near-term boost likely. Meanwhile, its three wind deals, which should all close by early next year, will give it more power to potentially increase the payout again early next year. Beyond this near-term visibility, the company should have plenty of fuel to continue growing its payout in future years thanks to its strategic relationships with a renewable energy project developer and a private equity fund. Clearway currently holds the right of first offer to acquire: Up to $26 million of distributed and community solar partnerships A 75 megawatt (MW) utility-scale solar project in Hawaii that starts up next year A 150 MW wind repowering project in Texas that should come online later this year A 110 MW utility wind farm in West Virginia that should commence operations next year A 100 MW utility-scale solar project in Mississippi that's on track to begin producing power in 2022 On top of that, its sponsor has an extensive portfolio of renewable energy projects under construction and in advanced and intermediate stages of development. This pipeline provides Clearway with another visible growth opportunity. As long as Clearway can access funding, it should have no problem continuing to expand its portfolio, giving it more power to grow the dividend. Lots of dividend growth ahead Clearway Energy appears poised to deliver steady dividend growth in the coming years, powered by its large pipeline of drop-down acquisition opportunities and healthy financial profile. Add that growth to its above-average yield, and Clearway looks like it could be a dream stock for income investors. A Victorian trio have been fined $9,000 after slipping into South Australia for urgent medical treatment but instead being found at a pub. Elissa Griffiths, 32, her brother Matthew, 36, and friend Thomas Forster, 35, crossed the border at Yamba Point about 5pm Saturday. They had received a police exemption to attend the Riverland General Hospital for Mr Griffith's fractured ankle but never arrived. The trio said they were tired from driving and stayed the night in an Adelaide hotel before the two men were allegedly spotted having a beer the following day. Elissa Griffiths, 32, her brother Matthew, 36, and Thomas Forster, 35, crossed the border at Yamba Point about 5pm Saturday On Monday the trio pleaded guilty to breaching COVID-19 restrictions and were each fined between $3,000 and $3,600. The Adelaide Magistrates Court heard the trio ignored instructions to go to straight to the medical centre. Around midday on Sunday Mr Griffiths and Mr Forster were spotted at the Mawsons Lake Hotel where they were then arrested, Nine News reported. Ms Griffiths was found on a street nearby. The maximum penalty they could have received was a $20,000 fine with South Australian Premier Steven Marshall saying that was warranted. 'These people have broken the very strong direction we have in place, they're now going to pay the consequences,' he told reporters. 'Quite frankly I wished they all had received a $20,000 fine. I think it would have sent a very strong message.' Around midday on Sunday Mr Griffiths and Mr Forster were spotted at the Mawson Lakes Hotel where they were then arrested Authorities previously released CCTV of the group to try and track them down. The vehicle was a blue 2004 Holden Rodeo with Victorian registration 1IB-4CT. The trio were dropped back to Yamba on Monday night and had to make their own way home to Mildura. They will also have to make arrangements to retrieve their car. South Australia reintroduced its hard border closure with Victoria on July 9, meaning only SA residents or those with special exemptions are allowed into the state. Several Victorians have been caught sneaking into the state since restrictions were enforced. Four men were placed on year long good behaviour bonds after sneaking into SA on a freight train last week. The former Washington Township, Northampton County, police chief who lost his job after an off-duty crash was cleared Tuesday of both charges stemming from that incident earlier this year. Former Chief Scott E. Miller totaled his personal vehicle in the Jan. 6, 2020, crash in front of 5715 Kesslersville Road in Plainfield Township, according to the Slate Belt Regional Police Department. He wasnt charged with a crime initially, but later rumors surfaced that the chief had been drinking alcohol prior to the crash, according to Northampton County District Attorney Terence Houck. Houck authorized an investigation which showed Miller made credit card charges for food and alcohol at the Big Woodys bar in Forks Township from 4 p.m. until sometime between 11:30 p.m. and midnight immediately prior to the crash. A bartender at Big Woodys had some indication that Miller was drinking there during that period, Houck said. That wasnt enough to charge Miller with drunken driving, but Houck did authorize charges of driving at an unsafe speed and failing to report the crash. Tow truck company operator Dick Lane testified he called in the crash at 1:15 a.m. on Jan. 6. His son, Tighe Lane, testified he responded to the crash around midnight and assumed Miller had called police already. Cathy DAlessandro, the county custodian of 911 records, said Lanes 911 call was the only call logged for the crash. But DAlessandro admitted she only checked the log an hour prior to Lanes 1:15 a.m. call and an hour after that call. Its possible Miller dialed a non-emergency number for police to report the accident at midnight and DAlessandro overlooked that call, according to defense attorney Victor Scomillio. District Judge Douglas Schlegel, presiding over Millers summary trial Tuesday, agreed in finding Miller not guilty on both charges against him. And Scomillio criticized Northampton County Detective Paul Hulbert for failing to provide any accident reconstruction evidence to show Miller had been driving too fast that night. Hulbert said the law only requires he show that Miller was driving too fast for the conditions. The tow truck drivers and police all testified it had snowed and the roads were slippery. That alone doesnt prove that Miller was driving too fast, Scomillio said. The responding officer and the police sergeant who came to the scene each agreed that while speed was a factor in the crash that a citation wasnt warranted, Scomillio noted. A Slate Belt Regional police lieutenant who reviewed the case four days later also agreed charges werent warranted. It wasnt until Houck and Hulbert looked at the case that the speed violation was filed, Scomillio said. I just think its inappropriate to bring these charges. Therefore I find not guilty, Schlegel said. Were happy with the judges decision, Scomillio said after the trial. Miller agreed to quit his job as chief in March after reaching a settlement with the township. Asked whether Miller would try to get his job back, Scomillio said hed discuss that at a later date with Miller. Hulbert had no comment after the verdict. The stove pipe leading to the pellet stove inside Michael Drosnock's home was ripped out during the crash on Jan. 6, 2020. The old pipe is on the ground. The new one is in the wall.Rudy Miller | For lehighvalleylive.com During the crash, Miller broke off a stovepipe connected to a pellet stove inside the Kesslersville Road home. Back in February, Houck said both of Millers front fenders were dented, the grill and mirrors were broken off, headlights were broken and the entire passenger side was dented. I dont know how he survived the accident. That truck was in really bad shape, Slate Belt Regional Police Department Chief Jonathon Hoadley said in February. Houck said responding Slate Belt police officers Joshua Lowe and Sgt. Alan Daly noted Millers slurred and mushmouth speech. One of them detected the odor of alcohol on his breath, Houck said. But the signs of driving under the influence dissipated during the crash response and the officers determined there wasnt probable cause to charge Miller, according to Hoadley. The passage of time and the loss of potential evidence, if it existed at all, prevented us from establishing a factual basis for probable cause to charge Mr. Miller with drunken driving, Houck said back in February. Could things have been done differently? Yes. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. If theres anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. Over the last 30 years, there are two military incidents in particular that define the US approach to the Middle East. Iraq's invasion of Kuwait in 1990 marked the beginning of the US military existence in the Gulf and a more assertive policy towards the region. And last September, the USs inaction to defend Saudi Arabia from the attack against the Abqaiq and Khurais oil facilities marks the nations retreat. In 1990, President George H W Bush was keen to uphold Americas new role as the enforcer of international norms, as well as maintain the power balance, oil, and Israels security. Yet in the past three years, Trump has seemed ready to turn his back on these crucial security and strategic objectives. A President Joe Biden wont try to send 100,000 troops to the region as Bush once did. These days are over. Neither will he adopt Donald Trumps apathy. As I wrote a couple of weeks ago, Biden would offer much-needed new style of leadership. But offering to be a leader is not enough his authority cannot spring from the presidents will alone. Leadership emerges from an altercation of interests, collective thinking of policymakers, experts and state institutions and sufficient resources to project it abroad. Biden is likely to face fierce resistance he may find the American political elite no longer agree with his plan for the Middle East. First, Trump is not the reason behind the USs shift to isolationism. He is a by-product of a growing trend. Ironically, the US retreat started during Obamas administration, where Biden served as vice president. Obama, for example, chose to take the back seat in Libya and Syria, and couldnt stop the war in Yemen from breaking out. And in 2013 the Obama-Biden administration ignored the red line Assad had passed when his forces used chemical weapons against innocent civilians, killing more than 1,300 people after Russia had promised to dismantle Assads arsenal of chemical weapons. After George W Bush, in fact, the US has looked the other way on atrocities against civilians in Syria, Iraq, Yemen and Libya as long as they are being carried out by conventional, not nuclear, weapons. This is primarily because of the absence of strategy, the lack of resources and political will to intervene further. The majority of Americans also would like their government to reduce intervention in conflicts abroad, rather than taking matters in its own hands. And after three years of Trumps presidency, most of the US troops that were already in the Middle East before his administration are still there. But now, their existence lacks purpose. The US may know what it doesnt want. That is the resurrection of Isis, a sweeping attack on Israel, Chinas control over the oil flow and a nuclear Iran. But the US no longer knows what it really wants in the region. Now, for the first time since the Second World War, the US seems ready to share its hegemonic position with other powers. The US retreat made the Middle East a free-for-all region. Russia carried out daring military operations on Natos doorsteps in Syria and Libya. China is coercing many countries with its debt-trap diplomacy. Iran, Turkey and Saudi Arabia are living their military interventionism heyday, and Egypt is threatening to carry out a massive scale military assault in Libya. Oil is no longer central to US security, nor it is still the strategic commodity it once was, although protecting its flows and preventing China from weaponising it is still vital for the US and its allies interests. Furthermore, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is no longer the lynchpin to peace in the Middle East and Israel has more Arab-Sunni allies now than ever in its short history, and they share a common objective: To contain or break Iran. The majority of the Arab states no longer pose any threat to Israel. American diplomatic mediations in conflicts around the region are now insufficient and substance-free, since they have been reduced to cheerleading other countries actions without having a clear plan. This convinced the regional powers that linking their countries security to that of the US is a prescription for chaos, and they should take care of their own national interests. And guess what? The result was, of course, more chaos. On his campaign website, Biden has pledged to keep a small number of troops to patrol the Gulf and make sure Isis wont spring up again. This means maintaining Trumps status quo. Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Show all 18 1 /18 Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Palestinian protesters burn pictures of US President Donald Trump and Israel's Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu during a demonstration in the West Bank against the expected peace plan proposal AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan US President and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announce Trump's Middle East peace plan in the White House AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Reuters Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan Reuters Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan EPA Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AFP via Getty Palestinian protests against President Trump's Middle East peace plan AP If Biden wants to put the US back in the driving seat when it comes to diplomacy in the Middle East, his aides will have to answer these questions: What will be the future of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict? What is his plan for the Gulfs security? How will the administration end wars in Syria, Yemen and Libya? How will he convince (or coerce) both the USs unchecked allies and foes to get in line? And can Europe handle the migration flows by itself? Wars in Iraq and Libya taught Americans that they couldnt rebuild states and create democracies. And Trumps administration showed the people of the Middle East that America cant stop wars, cant hold rogue leaders accountable and cant protect its allies, most recently the Saudis oil facilities. This was parallel to the aggressive rise of China and before three crises have hit the US: the coronavirus pandemic, an ensuing economic crisis, and a racial justice crisis as demonstrated by the Black Lives Matter demonstration worldwide. Americas image has been dealt a blow. Global trust in its resolve is fading, and domestic police, health and economic reforms have become the pressing priorities for all Americans. After all this, if Biden wants to show leadership in the Middle East, he has to be prepared to answer these barbed questions, or back up and go home. UUP Upper Bann candidate Doug Beattie at Meadowbank Sports Arena in Magherafelt Co Londonderry as counting begins Westminster election. Sinn Fein leaders abused wider society in Northern Ireland by flouting coronavirus rules at Bobby Storeys funeral, the Assembly has been told. Ulster Unionist Doug Beattie was among several MLAs who criticised the republican partys actions during an Assembly debate on the Covid-19 regulations. Deputy first minister Michelle ONeill has denied claims she and her colleagues breached regulations and guidance on funerals and public gatherings by attending an event that saw hundreds line the streets of west Belfast. On Tuesday, MLAs debated changes made to the regulations during the week that Mr Storeys funeral took place on June 30. Those relaxations included increasing the number allowed at an outdoor public gathering to 30 a move that became law at 11pm the night before the funeral. Expand Close Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill and Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald attend the funeral of Bobby Storey (Liam McBurney/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill and Sinn Fein President Mary Lou McDonald attend the funeral of Bobby Storey (Liam McBurney/PA) Mr Beattie claimed some in society had developed Stockholm Syndrome when a kidnap victim develops affection or sympathy for their captor and were seemingly content to forget about the incident and absolve Sinn Fein of wrongdoing. The integrity and the credibility of the Executive Office has been seriously damaged and has been seriously damaged by Sinn Fein, who seem to have got selective amnesia, because they never talk about their deliberate breach of the guidelines that they told everybody to adhere to, he said. When you talk about this selective amnesia, we now have a society who seemed to have brushed that under the carpet. Because what that did was abused our society what they did at that funeral abused our society. There wasnt 30 there (at the funeral), there were hundreds there, and it abused our society. And many in our society are now suffering from Stockholm Syndrome, because theyve just forgotten about it, it doesnt matter, theyre allowed to do it, nobody else is allowed to do it, but they can do it. I think its absolutely shocking. Expand Close The SDLPs Colin McGrath said the regulations continued to cause confusion (PA). PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The SDLPs Colin McGrath said the regulations continued to cause confusion (PA). DUP MLA Pam Cameron said episode had left her deflated. The unity of purpose that typified the response of this Assembly and Executive is now sadly so damaged, she said. Often I have in the past referenced a united approach in dealing with Covid-19 in my comments. But we now see, more and more, that one party, and their selfish objectives, trump all else, and thats very disappointing. I think the public share my sense of disappointment, of anger and of disillusionment with those for whom the public health and adherence to our own rules was cast aside and yet we still have no apology. SDLP MLA Colin McGrath said the regulations continued to cause confusion. I worry about an Executive that cannot relay messages to people and then gets upset when people dont stick to the guidelines, he said. Well, if you dont even stick to the guidelines yourselves, what hope is there for people in our communities to stick to them? People are angry at the one rule for us, one rule for them that some have displayed. And I would say to ministers please go back to Stormont Castle today and shout clarity at the top of your voice. Let simple, clear and effective messages be the mantra from here on stop the confusion, stop the double standards and let people know exactly what they can and cannot do in an easy to understand way. Sinn Fein junior minister Declan Kearney did not address the controversy in his remarks to the Assembly. However, he did insist the approach taken by the Executive had worked. The regulations and the Executives approach to easing restrictions have worked and are continuing to work, he said. Lives have been saved, our health and social care systems have not been overwhelmed, businesses are beginning to reopen and services are returning. And our citizens, for the first time in a long time, are beginning to enjoy being able to do more. But it is important to acknowledge that the battle against Covid-19 is far from over. We cannot afford to drop our guard for a moment when it comes to keeping people safe. On Tuesday morning, MLAs backed the amendments to the regulations without the need for a formal division vote. A jewellery school and creative centre run by the Craft Council of Ireland is on track to move into the Sessions House in Thomastown. Plans for the regeneration of the Sessions House, a former courthouse, went on display just before the start of lockdown, and the consultation period was extended. That has now ended. Director of Services Mary Mulholland said every effort was made by Kilkenny County Council to engage with the public but it was a victim of Covid and couldnt hold an information evening. The planning process could not be delayed, she said, and the project has gone before the full County Council for approval for the change of use to jewellery school and creative centre. Small changes need to be made to the building to bring it up to standard, Ms Mulholland said. This represents a huge opportunity for Thomastown and will bring a heritage building back to life. Cllr Deirdre Cullen said she was delighted to see the project moving on. In 2019 Kilkenny County Council were successful in securing funding for the refurbishment of the iconic Sessions House building, formerly Thomastown Courthouse, on Logan Street, Thomastown from the Rural Regeneration & Development Fund. It has been a longstanding objective of both community and arts groups in Thomastown and of the local authority to refurbish and repurpose this building to secure its future as a living building in Thomastown. Plans previously in place for the building were to create an arts centre in keeping with the inherent creative and design culture in Thomastown. As part of the redevelopment project for Sessions House, Kilkenny County Council sought a partner in the creative sector to operate the building into the future. The Design & Crafts Council Ireland (DCCI), based in Kilkenny City, with a strong presence also in Thomastown, have agreed to move forward with a proposal to develop a fit-for-purpose facility to house their Jewellery & Goldsmithing Centre of Excellence at Sessions House. The proposed development represents a commitment to supporting and promoting the progression of new creative talent to employment in the creative sector. Working closely with DCCI, Kilkenny County Council developed plans for the refurbishment of Session House which include some internal and second floor modifications, to meet the needs of modern building standards, as well as meeting the conservation needs of the building, ensuring the retention of its unique character. Kilkenny County Council commenced a statutory planning process for this project on March 27th last. Due to COVID-19 restrictions and changes to planning legislation during those restrictions that planning process was significantly extended. The Elected members of Kilkenny County Council at its July monthly meeting, held Monday July 20th, considered this planning application. Proposing that the project be approved for development, Cllr. Peter 'Chap' Cleere, Chairman of The Callan Thomastown Municipal District pointed out the importance of the Sessions House building to the Thomastown streetscape, saying that this fine structure has been vacant for far too long, there can be no doubt that its re-use will breathe new life into the Logan Street area as a focus of creative and cultural activity. The Elected Members of Kilkenny County Council approved planning permission for the refurbishment works which will now move forward to procurement with works to commence on the refurbishment of Sessions House before the end of the year. This is an exciting project for Thomastown, placing it firmly at the centre of a design, craft and creative sector ecosystem in Kilkenny, supported by DCCI, Kilkenny Leader Partnership, the Department of Rural and Community Development and Kilkenny County Council. Arakan Army Collects Taxes, Polices Streets in Parts of Myanmar's War-Torn Rakhine State 2020-07-20 -- The rebel Arakan Army has set up civil administrations in parts of western Myanmar's Rakhine state, collecting taxes and arresting illegal drug users making good on a pledge to provide governance to underpin the ethnic Rakhine autonomy the armed group has been fighting for. The predominantly Buddhist ethnic army has been at war with Myanmar forces in northern Rakhine state and in Paletwa township of neighboring Chin state for 19 months. It is the newest of many conflicts the national army has been waging with ethnic armies since the former Burma became independent from Britain in 1948. The AA set up shop in 2009 in Laiza, northern Myanmar's Kachin state, and five years later declared its long-term intention of returning to its Rakhine homeland and establishing its own government in the state. In December 2019, AA leaders announced the formation of a Rakhine People's Authority to levy taxes on businesses to fund its operations and that of its political wing, the United League of Arakan, as well as administer areas under its control in Rakhine state. The AA is estimated to have 9,000 fighters. At the time, AA spokesman Khine Thukha told RFA that the formation of the authority was legitimate because it would initiate a new form of government in a bid to reestablish the historic Arakan nation that existed centuries earlier. "This body has an obvious revenue-generation function, but its creation is probably more important as a demonstration of the group's de facto authority and territorial control and assertion of its legitimacy," said a report on armed conflict and politics in Rakhine state issued in June by the International Crisis Group. "Armed groups in other major conflicts in Myanmar over the decades have taken similar steps," the report said. Branded an illegal organization and terrorist group by the Myanmar government in March, the AA demanded on May 29 that all government administrative offices and the military immediately leave northern Rakhine state. The new administrative body is centered in Mrauk-U town, the former capital of the once powerful maritime kingdom of Arakan on the eastern coast of the Bay of Bengal from the 15th to the late 18th century when it was invaded and annexed by the Burmese empire. Rakhine, a riverine land of 3.2 million people about the size of the Netherlands or the U.S. state of Maryland, is one of Myanmar's poorest states. RFA was unable to determine how many people or what amount of territory is currently under AA administration in Rakhine, which has become largely off-limits to reporters. Contacts with the AA have become legally risky since it was declared a terrorist group in March. Arresting drug users Myint Than, director general of the General Administration Department in Naypyidaw, said last month that the situation in northern Rakhine was not lawless enough for the state to be placed under martial law. In early June, dozens of village and ward administrators in Rakhine's Myebon township submitted their resignations, saying they feared arbitrary arrest by the Myanmar military, following the recent detentions of three of their colleagues on terrorism charges. Despite the AA's practice of abducting civilians it believes are working with Myanmar forces, local residents have welcomed the ethnic army's presence and its handling of crimes that police ignore, as well as the arrests of drug users and criminals. Although openly expressing sympathy for the AA can get local people in trouble, some residents cited the AA's arrest of 20 drug users in Mrauk-U on Dec. 15 and their transfer to a rehabilitation center as a welcomed development. "As I have seen, the police are no longer doing their jobs," said Buddhist abbot Ashin Nandar Thary. "Nobody cares to report the crimes to them anymore, so instead the AA is handling criminal cases." "We don't see a working civil administration," he added. "On the ground, there is only AA's administration and martial law. We can almost say that the government's civil administration no longer exists." Political analyst Maung Maung Soe said the AA's efforts to establish its own administration are nothing new in multiethnic Myanmar, where several of the biggest ethnic armies run large territories beyond the control of the capital in Naypyidaw. "It has occurred in other ethnic regions," he said, citing the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), which formed its own civil administration in territory it controls in northern Shan state. "The AA has just started forming the administration now, but it is still an underground administration," Maung Maung Soe said. "If it can fully control an area, it will form an active administration." Wa State example cited In a January 2019 interview with the online Irrawaddy news website, AA Chief of Staff Major General Tun Myat Naing said he wanted Rakhine to follow the example of other autonomous parts of Myanmar. "We prefer [a confederation of states] like Wa State, which has a larger share of power in line with the constitution," he said, referring to the AA's ally, the United Wa State Army (UWSA), which runs its affairs in part of Shan State. "And we think it [a confederation] is more appropriate to the history of Rakhine state and the hopes of the Arakanese people," he said. Dozens of ward and village administrators in Rakhine's Myebon township resigned in early June out of fear of arbitrary arrest by the Myanmar military, following the recent detentions of three of their colleagues on terrorism charges. Scores of other administrators resigned in Kyauktaw, Rathedaung, Mrauk-U, and Minbya townships submitted resignations in 2019, following the arrests of administrative officials amid the armed conflict. "These actions and allegations against administrators cause losses for local civilians," said a village administrator in Minbya township who declined to be named out of fear for his safety. "Local people are relying on administrators for leadership in the community," he added. "If the administrators are not allowed to do their jobs, the people will suffer." Myanmar military spokesman Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun blamed recent abductions of civilians and village administrators on the AA as part of the Arakan force's plans to replace civil administration in the conflict zones. "They have always said they are trying to replace the government administration with their own version," he told RFA. "Then they murdered local ward administrators who defied their authority. They also murdered people they thought were government informers. They arrested and killed policemen who are the embodiment of law enforcement." AA spokesman Khine Thukha said, "Any country or race which resists or opposes [foreign] colonial rule would face this kind of oppression. It is not uncommon." Government authorities are trying to maintain central government control by detaining those with suspected links to the AA, resulting in civilian arrests and detentions on terrorism-related charges. Peace talks prospects dim An army campaign this month in the northern part of Rakhine prompted more than 3,000 civilians to flee their join a tide of around 200,000 internally displaced persons living in living in Buddhist monasteries and crowded camps. The ongoing fighting in northern Rakhine, meanwhile, means that a nationwide cease-fire agreement (NCA) with all the country's armed ethnic groups, aimed at reaching lasting peace after seven decades of strained relations and armed conflict, will not be realized this year as Myanmar's military chief Senior General Min Aung Hlaing intended according to a statement he made in 2018, analysts said. So far, only 10 of more than 20 ethnic armies have signed the peace pact with the national military since 2015, and the current government has not held any peace conferences since July 2018. A fourth summit, originally scheduled for late April 2020 but postponed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, will now be held on August 12-14 in Naypyidaw despite the ongoing pandemic. Brigadier General Zaw Min Tun told RFA that the peace process is not progressing as the national army and the government expected. "We are aiming to complete the NCA with all ethnic armed groups signing it in 2020, but, as you know, it takes two hands to clap," he said. "Joining the NCA is entirely up to them [the ethnic armies]." Since 2018, the military has negotiated with non-NCA signatory armed groups including the AA, KIA, Ta'ang National Liberation Army (TNLA), and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA) collectively known as the Northern Alliance to join the peace pact, but the talks have not gone well, and there were disagreements over meeting venues. The Myanmar military has announced unilateral cease-fires in regions where armed conflicts exist, except for northern Rakhine state. Likewise, the AA, TNLA, and MNDAA, which have not signed the NCA, extended a unilateral truce to Aug. 31. In early June, the trio invited Myanmar forces to begin peace talks, but the military rejected the proposal, and fighting has continued. The government, however, still stresses the importance of forging bilateral truces with NCA non-signatory groups. "It is important to get bilateral cease-fire agreements with the armed groups in the northern and northeastern regions as well as in Rakhine state," said President's Office spokesman Zaw Htay at a June 19 press conference. "The ongoing fighting needs to stop," he said. "After the bilateral cease-fires, we will go on to negotiate with each group. We've briefly agreed on the agenda." Myanmar political analyst Maung Maung Soe said that it will not be possible to achieve peace in 2020. "It is now difficult to get agreement with the Northern Alliance groups since the partial cease-fire does not include Rakhine state where the real conflicts are occurring," he said, adding that fighting also has taken place with some of the NCA signatories such as the Restoration Council of Shan State and the Karen National Union. "Even after signing the NCA, there are no realistic agreements on mobilizing military troops," Maung Maung Soe said. "These weaknesses have pushed away the goal for 2020." Reported by RFA's Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. 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 Zimbabwe's President Emmerson Mnangagwa said on Tuesday that security forces would enforce a dusk to dawn curfew from Wednesday to combat the coronavirus outbreak. But critics and the opposition say authorities want to stop anti-government protests planned for next week by activists who say government corruption has worsened economic hardships. Search Keywords: Short link: Iraqi lawmaker slams Turkey's plan to create buffer zone in northern Iraq Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 5:13 PM A senior Iraqi legislator has denounced the ongoing Turkish cross-border offensive in the country's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region against hideouts of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militant group, saying Ankara plans to create a buffer zone in northern Iraq similar to the one already established in the northern part of Syria. The leader of the Fatah (Conquest) Alliance, Hadi al-Amiri, on Monday criticized the Baghdad government's silence and inaction in the face of Turkish incursion into Iraqi territory, and called for lawsuits to be filed at the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation as well as international tribunals against the move, Arabic-language Baghdad Today news agency reported. "We are following with great concern the all-out Turkish invasion of northern Iraq, which is unacceptable under any pretext. There is no international justification or any legal excuse for it, given that the offensive differs from all previous operations in terms of cross-border incursion and duration," Amiri said in a statement. He added that Turkish forces are heavily deployed along an area stretching some 25 kilometers (15.5 miles) south of the frontier. "This is ... indicative of Turkey's attempts to impose a fait accompli and create a buffer zone similar to the one in northern Syria. Hence we are against such a scheme," Amiri said. The senior Iraqi lawmaker then called upon the Turkish government to immediately withdraw its forces from northern Iraq, saying, "These hostile actions are not in best interests of both countries as they have extensive historical, religious and fraternal ties in addition to strong economic relations." He noted, "We urge the Iraqi government to break its silence and take all appropriate diplomatic and political measures to end these recurrent attacks, and to raise the issue at the Arab League, the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and other international forums." He also demanded that "Iraqis from all walks of life take a united stance to safeguard the country's sovereignty and end such abuses." The Turkish military started its ground campaign, dubbed Claw-Tiger Operation, against PKK positions in northern Iraq on July 17. Claw-Eagle Operation, the air campaign, had begun two days earlier. Turkish ground and air forces frequently carry out operations against PKK positions in the country as well as in northern Iraq and neighboring Syria. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address KEY HIGHLIGHTS Zoom plans to expand R&D footprint in India with a new technology centre in Bengaluru Most of the vacancies will be in engineering, data and operations related work The team expansion in India comes on the back of increased user base and engagement Free user base in India grew 67% between Jan-April this year Video-collaboration platform Zoom has expanded its operations in India by opening a new technology centre in Bengaluru. The new centre will be an addition to the existing R&D centres and support Zoom's engineering at its headquarters at San Jose, California. Though Zoom did not provide a number, it said headcount of DevOps engineers, IT, Security, and Business Operations teams in India would be ramped up. The company will now have teams operating in Mumbai, Bengaluru and Delhi. Emphasising the opportunity that India holds, Aparna Bawa, Chief Operating Officer at Zoom, said Indian market saw free user base grow 67 per cent between January and April. However, calling out India revenues will take time in spite of India being the fastest growing international market for the company. Zoom also said that its US centric focus has now changed, "Most of the growth now is coming from international, so our commitment and our focus is definitely on the future," said Bawa. The team expansion in India comes on the back of increased user base and engagement. Zoom also said it increased the capacity of its Mumbai and Hyderabad offices nearly three to four times in the last few months. "The paid customers went up by four times between Jan to April, one of the fastest growth worldwide. We grew in all sectors, be it financial, manufacturing, education and technology," said Sameer Raje, India Head, Zoom communications. "We are also looking to bring the whole IT into India, which includes IT infrastructure, application development, desk top services management. Along with that we are also bringing some of the business operations such as HR, legal," said Velchamy Sankarlingam, President of Product and Engineering. Addressing the security concerns around how data is handled, Zoom said that it is already providing enterprise and paid customers the option to choose data centres to route the data according to the region. It also said that most calls are treated as transit data which are not stored in any of the servers. Zoom, though refrained from commenting on JioMeet having a similar interface. According to the company's annual report, Zoom's total head count until end of January 2020 was 2,532, including US and international employees. The R&D centre in China have nearly 700 employees. Also read: Every fifth person in Delhi already had a brush with COVID-19: Study Also read: 3.18 lakh new jobs created in May, says EPFO Click here to read the full article. PARIS Exports of Swiss watches were down 35.1 percent in June, continuing to fall as a strong increase in Mainland China was not enough to offset deep declines in other markets, the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry said on Tuesday. The temporary halt in production and sales during the first half of the year had severe consequences for watch exports, said the federation, noting sales were down 35.7 percent in the first six months of the year. More from WWD June exports totaled 1.1 billion Swiss francs, or $1.17 billion, with a contrasting performance in the three largest markets over the month. Business with Mainland China rose sharply, with a 47.1 percent increase in exports, while Hong Kong and the U.S. saw steep declines of 54.6 percent and 57 percent, respectively. Entry-price watches continued to suffer the most, with the value of exported timepieces priced at less than 200 Swiss francs down 48.1 percent in terms of value, and 55.4 percent in number of units. The most pricey watches, worth more than 3,000 Swiss francs, saw a marginally less dramatic decline, down 33.1 percent in value terms. In terms of materials, steel watches were the worst-performing category, down 46.5 percent in terms of units, and 37.8 percent in terms of value. Swiss watch export statistics, while known to fluctuate greatly from month to month, are eyed for clues about the luxury industry. In a research note, analysts at Bernstein seized on the monthly statistics as offering signs of a recovery, noting that it is led by China while main markets Hong Kong, the U.S. and the U.K. are showing slight improvements month-on-month. But weakness in lower-priced watches is not a good sign for Swatch Group, the analysts noted. There is negative read-through for Swatch entry-price brands, they said. Swatch Group reported a net loss in the first half of the year and has cut staff and stores, but said it expects improvement in business over the second half. The senate has asked the service chiefs to step aside. The resolution of the upper legislative chamber followed a motion sponsored by Ali Ndume, senator representing Borno south and chairman of the committee on army. Gabriel Olonisakin, chief of defence staff; Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff; Sadique Abubakar, chief of air staff, and Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, chief of naval staff, are all overdue for retirement. Despite calls for their sack, President Muhammadu Buhari has kept them in office. While moving the motion, Ndume expressed worry that over 200 soldiers have resigned from the army and that this could affect the fight against insurgency. The senate notes with concern the number of casualties among the Nigerian army and other security agencies, he said. That just recently 24 soldiers were ambushed and killed along Maiduguri-Damboa road in Borno state, 19 were wounded and nine were declared missing in action. In Katsina, soldiers were also ambushed and killed while several others were wounded, the number of casualties is not known. The senate appreciates the sacrifice of our armed forces in the fight against the insurgency and banditry and protection of territorial integrity and several other security assignments given to them. The senate is concerned that if the trend continues, it would have serious implications on the fight against insurgency, banditry. It has been alleged that over 200 soldiers voluntarily resigned their engagement or appointment with the Nigerian army. The upper legislative chamber also asked the federal government to equip the troops with modern weapons. The motion was adopted after it was put to a voice vote by Senate President Ahmad Lawan. The US National Council of Churches demands an end to violence on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border. The statement runs as follows: Along with our colleagues at the World Council of Churches, the National Council of Churches USA insists on an end to the fighting on the Azerbaijan-Armenia border. The current fighting taking place over the last several days is the latest episode of violence in a long-standing conflict between the two countries. The current violence is particularly troubling because it takes place during the global fight against the coronavirus pandemic, an overriding battle that the United Nations Secretary General has stated should be the reason for a global ceasefire in other disputes, and that the UN Security Council has unanimously confirmed with the adoption of Resolution 2532. Previous to the Security Council action, Armenia had endorsed the ceasefire; Azerbaijan has yet to do so. While it is reported that each side accuses the other of targeting civilian populations, it appears that the violence has indeed escalated to include civilian targets in Armenia, as evidenced by an attack on a factory producing personal protective equipment to help with the response to the pandemic. Armenia further accuses the Azerbaijan military of using its own civilian population as a shield. The NCC is outraged by these actions. Such threats against civilians go against all manner of principle, and indeed contradict the established standards for armed conflict. This makes the call to end the fighting all-the-more urgent. We pray that those who have chosen this precise time to resume hostilities come to their senses and end the fighting. And we further pray that, when all of the world should be pulling together to fight Covid-19, they look for ways to resolve the overall conflict between their two countries once and for all. COLUMBUS, OhioOhio House Speaker Larry Householders political operation accepted more than $60 million in bribe money from FirstEnergy Corp. to secure the company a $1.3 billion public bailout, according to a federal complaint filed Thursday. Householder, chief political aide Jeff Longstreth, and lobbyists Matt Borges, Neil Clark, and Juan Cespedes used the bribe money to expand the speakers political power and enrich themselves by millions of dollars through a web of dark-money groups and bank accounts, including the 501(c)(4) Generation Now, according to the complaint. Householder and the four others were charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering. Each could face up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, court officials said Tuesday. (It) is likely the largest bribery, money-laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people in the state of Ohio, said David DeVillers, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, during a news conference Tuesday. In all, Householder received more than $500,000 for his personal benefit, according to DeVillers. Listen to a special podcast episode of This Week in the CLE about the corruption case here. More than $100,000 of the bribe money from FirstEnergy Corp. was used to pay costs associated with Householders Florida home, and at least $97,000 was used to pay expenses for Householders 2018 House campaign, the complaint stated. The complaint does not mention FirstEnergy Corp. by name. Nor does it name FirstEnergy Solutions -- FirstEnergy Corp.s then-subsidiary which operated the Perry and Davis-Besse nuclear power plants (and continues to operate them under the name Energy Harbor after splitting from FirstEnergy earlier this year. Instead, the complaint refers to them both under the collective name Company A. There are numerous giveaways that FirstEnergy is Company A, including that the complaint quotes public comments from former FirstEnergy Corp. President/CEO Charles Jones, labeling him Company A Corp. president and CEO. DeVillers said theres a strong inference in the complaint that Householder and his allies approached FirstEnergy, rather than the other way around. This enterprise went looking for someone to bribe them, DeVillers said. Borges, a former Ohio Republican Party chair, had $1.62 million transferred to his lobbying firms account, and he paid himself about $350,000, the complaint stated. Borges also allegedly offered someone on the pro-referendum side $15,000 to become a mole within the pro-referendum campaign and hired a private investigator, which the complaint states is consistent with efforts to investigate petition collectors. Longstreth, Householders chief political strategist, transferred more than $10.5 million in bribe payments to his firm, JPL & Associates, as well as another $4.4 million through indirect means, according to the complaint. Longstreth also allegedly benefitted personally, receiving more than $5 million in bribe money, including at least $1 million transferred to his brokerage account in January 2020. Cespedes, FirstEnergys main lobbyist for HB6, served as a key middleman for the operation, according to the complaint. He allegedly received about $600,000 from Team Householder and $227,000 from FirstEnergy. Clark, a prominent Capitol Square lobbyist who described himself as Householders hit man, got $290,000, according to the complaint. In 2018, Team Householder spent FirstEnergy money, routed through Generation Now, on 21 different legislative candidates backed by Householder, the complaint stated. Other money went to fight an (ultimately unsuccessfully) attempt by HB6 opponents last summer to organize a statewide referendum to repeal HB6, which Gov. Mike DeWine signed in late July 2019. Between July and October of last year, FirstEnergy Solutions wired more than $38 million to Generation Now to help defeat the referendum effort, which the group did through a barrage of TV ads and schemes to prevent opponents from collecting the necessary signatures, including hiring people to intimidate petition canvassers. No one from FirstEnergy Corp., nor Energy Harbor, was charged in the complaint. A FirstEnergy Corp. statement released late Tuesday afternoon stated that the company received subpoenas in connection with the investigation. We are reviewing the details of the investigation and we intend to fully cooperate, the company stated. A FirstEnergy Corp. spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the statement. Phone calls to spokespeople at Energy Harbor on Tuesday morning were not returned as of Tuesday afternoon. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 11:38:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close VANCOUVER, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Events including the arrest of Huawei's CFO Meng Wanzhou and the COVID-19 outbreak have strained Canada's relationship with China, leaving Chinese Canadians feeling discriminated by other Canadians, according to an online survey released on Monday. The survey released by the Canada Committee 100 Society (CCS100) and Innovative Research Group showed that on the issue of COVID-19, most Chinese Canadians perceive bias against their community among the media, with 52 percent saying the coverage has been biased against Chinese Canadians. Some Canadians have said that Chinese immigrants are wealthy and are not facing the same hardships due to COVID-19, said Guo Ding, founding president of the CCS100. However, the survey shows that Chinese Canadians have been hit harder by the COVID-19 pandemic than the general population, with 23 percent of Canadians saying they've had no negative financial impact from COVID-19, compared to just 14 percent among Chinese Canadians. Chinese Canadians are nine points more likely to be worried about paying their mortgage, and 14 points more likely to be worried about paying rent. These gaps are even bigger among those with lower incomes and less education. The survey was conducted on June 17 and July 6. Enditem Kenya fishermen say they are squeezed by Ethiopian mega-dam by Baz Ratner July 21,2020 | Source: Reuters Fishermen on the shores of Kenya's Lake Turkana, the world's biggest desert lake, have no doubt about what is to blame for their dwindling fish stocks: a giant hydroelectric dam built by Ethiopia on the River Omo, which feeds the lake. "We are now seeing Nile perch stocks drastically reduce," said fisherman Fitbo Lalukol. He says boats must sail much further out into the lake to get a good catch. Officials at Ethiopia's ministry of water, irrigation and energy did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment on the fishermen's claims. Complaints about the Omo dam have been overshadowed by another major water dispute, between Ethiopia and Egypt. Ethiopia is building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which Cairo says will strangle its lifeline, the Nile. The government in Addis Ababa has said it needs the mega-dams to generate enough electricity for its population of 109 million, only about a third of whom have access to power. But people who live around Lake Turkana, Kenya's poorest region, say the power from Gibe 3 - which is nearly 250 meters high - is produced at their expense. Around 90% of Lake Turkana's water comes from the Omo river. Data from the Unites States Department of Agriculture shows the lake's water level dropped to 363 metres in 2016, when Gibe 3 opened, from 365 metres. Unseasonably heavy rains mean levels are back up, but fishermen fear that is only temporary. "At one point you have the lake totally receding and no fish," said Ikal Angelei, a local environmental activist. Angelei said Kenya and Ethiopia need to share resources so poor communities aren't left behind. "The local community has to be involved in this whole process, both for conservation and economic value," she said. Reuters Theme(s): Others. Welcome to Morningstar.co.uk! You have been redirected here from Hemscott.com as we are merging our websites to provide you with a one-stop shop for all your investment research needs.To search for a security, type the name or ticker in the search box at the top of the page and select from the dropdown results.Registered Hemscott users can log in to Morningstar using the same login details. Similarly, if you are a Hemscott Premium user, you now have a Morningstar Premium account which you can access using the same login details. by Shafique Khokhar The destruction was taped. According to Abdus Samad Khan, head of Khyber-Pakhtunkhwas archaeological department, the vandalised Buddha statue was 1,700 years old. Its broken pieces were recovered to be assessed for their archaeological value. Mardan (AsiaNews) Last Friday, an ancient statue of Buddha was vandalised in Takht Bahi, Mardan district (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa). The statue was destroyed as un-Islamic by the workers who found it (pictured) whilst digging to lay the foundations of a house. The ancient artefact belongs to the historic Gandhara civilisation which encompassed the region of modern-day north-western Pakistan, more or less Peshawar valley and the lower valleys of the Kabul and Swat rivers. Gandhara is the old name for the Pakistani province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. It is highly revered by Buddhists and is deemed an important regional site of Buddhist civilisation. On Saturday, videos of the destruction went viral on social media. They show a man breaking the statue with a big hammer, with other men expressing their approval and some taping the whole thing. Pakistani media have reported that four people involved in the incident were arrested. In 2017, two rare and ancient Buddha statues were found in Bhamala, an archaeological site in Hariput district. The largest statue ever found on the site depicts Buddhas death whilst the second statue was a Buddha with a double halo. According to Abdus Samad Khan, head of the provinces archaeology department, the vandalised Buddha statue was 1,700 years old; the broken pieces were recovered to assess their archaeological value. Following the incident, various news channels and social media discussed the protection of others' beliefs in the country. Whilst the Pakistani constitution respects all religions and all faiths are sacred for their followers, many activists and leaders have come out against the destruction of the statue of Buddha. For Samad Khan, it was a "crime" and showed "disrespect for religion". Later, police arrested a local contractor and five other people suspected of breaking antiquity regulations. Two rare and ancient Buddha statues were unearthed in Hariput district in 2017, noted Mansha Noor, executive secretary of Caritas Pakistan in Karachi, Breaking this ancient statue of lord Buddha shows ignorance of history and a lack of education, Mansha said. Our country is filled with minerals and hidden history. We need to educate our nation about other owners of this land. In ancient times, Gandhara was a trading and cultural crossroads linking India, Central Asia and the Middle East. Yu Zhongdai carries a heavy sandbag and puts it down on the Dongsheng South Embankment to prevent water from overflowing. The tide is high and more sandbags are needed. "I have been fighting the floods here for more than two weeks," said Yu, 33. Yu is a member of the Communist Party of China and deputy head of the Xingang Township government in Jiujiang City, east China's Jiangxi Province. The township is situated between Poyang Lake, China's largest freshwater lake, and the country's longest waterway, the Yangtze River. China has entered its rainy season. Since June, continuous downpours have lashed large parts of southern China, and the waters of many rivers in the affected regions have exceeded warning levels. The northern part of Jiangxi Province has experienced heavy downpours since July 6, with water rising significantly in local rivers and lakes. "On July 12, the water level at Poyang Lake reached beyond the guaranteed mark of 22.43 meters, posing a grave danger to the village of Yangjiachang in the vicinity," Yu said. Amid this situation, Yu led locals to help contain the floods on the Dongsheng South Embankment facing the lake. AGAINST ALL ODDS Poyang Lake is fed by several rivers within Jiangxi, and the lake's water flows into the Yangtze River. The water then flows eastward to the sea. As a conjunction point, the lake functions to adjust the water levels of rivers during drought and flood seasons. "When the Yangtze floods, the floodwater goes into Poyang Lake," Yu said. "What we do is that we make sure the embankment is safe and fends off the rising water from flooding into the village." The Dongsheng South Embankment is about 3 km long. Yu patrols it from daylight into the night to prevent any leaks. "If we find any muddy water flowing out of the rear surface of the embankment, we use water-absorbing materials to cover it up, and dig small waterways on the spot to let the water go," he said. "As long as we retain the mud in the structure, it's OK." Small leaks are commonplace, he said, because the structure consists of mud at the bottom, and water could seep through it. "Animals, such as crayfish and eels, could dig holes in the structure, and the pressure from the lake pushes water through the holes too," he added. "If a leaking hole is within a diameter of 5 cm, we deal with it by ourselves, otherwise we send for experts immediately," Yu said. Patrolling the embankment also means walking in scorching heat and strong gusts of wind, but Yu said it is important to keep people safe. For Yu, the most unforgettable day came on the night of July 12, when the water from the lake rose significantly, forming strong waves and constantly hitting the embankment. "There were 700 to 800 people on the embankment that night to pile more sandbags to strengthen the structure," Yu recalled. "It hurt when the waves hit our faces." The flood-fighters started in the afternoon and did not rest until the next morning. "Currently we are short of manpower to fight the floods," he said. "But I heard that many migrant workers have returned to help, so it will be easier." RESPONSIBILITY OF A CPC MEMBER As an official, another important task for Yu is to evacuate local villagers, which he said is not easy. "When the water reaches the warning level, we need to enhance patrolling, but when it exceeds the guaranteed level, villagers need to evacuate." But many locals simply did not want to move. "In Yangjiachang Village, most people are elderly, women, and children," Yu said. "Many senior people did not want to move because they wanted to look after their belongings, or because they did not have friends or relatives to turn to once they relocated." Some elderly people refused to move because they underestimated the risks, believing the embankment patrollers would keep them safe. "So we asked those willing to move to help persuade those who were reluctant," Yu said. "We also asked their children to talk them out of the danger." The method worked, and the villagers have all relocated to a resettlement in the city. Yu said the battle against the floods is the toughest in recent years because the water level at Poyang Lake reached a historic high. "I think the flood season will last until early or mid-August," he said. "As a Party member and a government official, it is my duty to safeguard people's lives." "We will continue to make every effort to win the battle against the floods," he said. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 11:48:49|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WELLINGTON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- New Zealand reported a new case of COVID-19 on Tuesday in managed isolation facilities, bringing the number of active cases in the country to 27, according to the Ministry of Health. It has been 81 days since the last case was acquired locally from an unknown source, said a ministry's statement. Tuesday's case was a woman in her 30s who arrived in the country last Thursday from London, via Doha and Sydney, it added. She has been transferred to the Auckland quarantine facility, the statement said, adding that there is no one in New Zealand receiving hospital-level care. The total number of confirmed cases in New Zealand stands at 1,205, which is reported to the World Health Organization. Also, on Tuesday, the Ministry of Health discussed with medical personnel about increasing the amount of community-based testing for people with respiratory symptoms. "We are all extremely conscious of and motivated by the situation Melbourne now finds itself in. Small breaches there have led to extremely serious consequences. The health system in Victoria, health care workers and the general public are now all at renewed risk," Director-General of Health Ashley Bloomfield told a press conference. "Testing remains a fundamental part of our overall response," Bloomfield said. Enditem New Delhi: Delhi High Court on Tuesday (July 21) adjourned the hearing in Jamia violence which took place during an anti-Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) in the national capital in December 2019. The court will hold its next hearing on the matter on August 4. On July 18, a Delhi court had granted bail to local leader Ashu Khan, arrested in two cases for allegedly rioting and instigating a mob during anti-CAA protests near Jamia Millia Islamia University. Additional District Judge Lalit Kumar granted the relief to Ashu on furnishing a personal bond of Rs 25,000 with a surety of like amount in each of the two cases. He was arrested in April in two separate cases of violence in Jamia Nagar and New Friends Colony during anti-CAA protests on December 15 last year. On December 15 last year, a protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act near Jamia turned violent, with demonstrators pelting stones at police and setting public buses and private vehicles on fire. Police had later entered Jamia, allegedly fired tear gas shells and baton-charged students. The violence had resulted in damage to public property and injuries to police near Jamia Millia Islamia University. BASEL (dpa-AFX) - Swiss drug major Novartis AG (NVS) tightened its fiscal 2020 sales guidance on Tuesday, as second-quarter profit and sales declined, largely due to higher impairments. Meanwhile, Q2 core earnings rose and surpassed Wall Street analysts' estimate. Further, the company noted that it remains 'well positioned to meet its ongoing financial obligations and has sufficient liquidity to support our normal business activities.' The company's second-quarter net income was $1.87 billion, a decline of 4%, compared to $2.11 billion, last year. Earnings per share decreased 10% to $0.82 from $0.91 a year ago. Core net income was $3.11 billion or $1.36 per share, compared to $3.10 billion or $1.34 per share, in the same period of last year. On average, six analysts polled by Thomson Reuters expected earnings of $1.35 per share for the quarter. Analysts' estimate typically exclude certain special items. Operating income declined 12% to $2.35 billion, while core operating income edged up 1% on a reported basis and up 6% at constant currency rates to $3.67 billion. Core operating income growth reflected lower spending and improved gross margin, driven by productivity and product mix, partly offset by lower sales Net sales amounted to $11.35 billion, down 4% from the previous year's $11.76 billion. On a constant currency rate, sales dropped 1%. The results reflected largely reversing forward purchasing from the first quarter. Seven Wall Street analysts had a consensus revenue estimate of $12 billion for the quarter. The company said its key products continued growth, despite COVID-19. Volume contributed 5 percentage points to sales growth driven by Entresto, Zolgensma and Cosentyx, partly offset by the impacts of COVID-19. Volume growth was offset by price erosion of 3 percentage points and negative impact from generic competition of 3 percentage points. Looking ahead for fiscal 2020, the company tightened its continuing operations guidance within prior guidance ranges. The company expects net sales to grow mid single digit and core operating income to grow low double digit. The company now sees higher end for core operating income and lower end for sales. Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, said: '...Our growth drivers and launches continue their strong momentum, with Cosentyx and Entresto increasing market share in the US. We are on track to deliver on our commitment to drive consistent margin expansion and are excited by the progress of our deep mid to late stage pipeline to drive long-term growth'. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Molina Healthcare, Inc. MOH entered into a definitive agreement to buy certain assets of the Medicaid and DSNP lines of business of Passport Health Plan ("Passport"). The deal priced at $20 million along with contingent consideration due in 2021, based on Molina Healthcares Kentucky Health Plans open enrollment results in 2020, will be paid in cash. Subject to closing conditions, the acquisition is expected to be completed before this year-end. This new buyout will enable Molina Healthcare to boost its operational efficiency and promote continuity of care for members in advance of Molina Healthcares new contract award in the Kentucky Medicaid market. Rationale Behind the Deal As part of the pact, the company will buy the Passport name, which is an established and reputed brand in Kentucky. This is also expected to drive career opportunities for nearly 500 Kentucky-based Passport and Evolent Health staff. The decline in health plan startup costs and a positive margin effect owing to incremental revenues will likely help this leading insurer recover the purchase price from positive cash flow within the initial year of the acquisition. Tying up with such a well-known brand is expected to help Molina Healthcare gain a decent share in the Kentucky market. In June, management announced that its Kentucky health plan subsidiary was awarded a new Medicaid managed care contract. The new agreement is likely to benefit enrollees under the companys Medicaid programs in Kentucky. Molina lent a nod to operate the Passport Health Plan with immediate effect from obtaining the regulatory approval is obtained with management and transition support services to be provided by Passport and its majority owner Evolent Health Inc. until the current year-end. Various other initiatives, such as contract wins and acquisitions bode well for the company's Medicaid line of business. The healthcare provider inked a deal worth $820 million this April to acquire Magellan Complete Care (MCC), which is yet another managed care organization. With this addition, the company is expected to build a stronger portfolio and gain an enhanced geographic diversity, etc., which in turn, will allow it to launch Medicare and Marketplace in new Medicaid regions. Also, the Health Maintenance Organization industry, to which Molina Healthcare belongs, remains well-poised to benefit from solid demand for health insurance products owing to a high percentage of aging population in the United States. In 2019, the companys Medicaid business contributed to 77% of its total premium revenues. We expect such moves to further expand contribution from the Medicaid line of business to Molina Healthcares total revenues. Zacks Rank and Price Performance Shares of this presently Zacks Rank #2 (Buy) company have rallied 27.1% in a year compared with the industrys growth 7.8%. You can see the complete list of todays Zacks #1 Rank (Strong Buy) stocks here. Story continues Other companies in the same space, such as Humana Inc. HUM, UnitedHealth Group Incorporated UNH and Centene Corporation CNC, have also gained 41.6%, 20.9% and 24.3%, respectively, in the same time frame. While both Humana and Centene currently carry a Zacks Rank #3 (Hold), Anthem has the same Zacks Rank as Molina Healthcare at present. More Stock News: This Is Bigger than the iPhone! It could become the mother of all technological revolutions. Apple sold a mere 1 billion iPhones in 10 years but a new breakthrough is expected to generate more than 27 billion devices in just 3 years, creating a $1.7 trillion market. Zacks has just released a Special Report that spotlights this fast-emerging phenomenon and 6 tickers for taking advantage of it. If you don't buy now, you may kick yourself in 2021. Click here for the 6 trades >> Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (UNH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Humana Inc. (HUM) : Free Stock Analysis Report Molina Healthcare, Inc (MOH) : Free Stock Analysis Report Centene Corporation (CNC) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research Advertisement Brazil's coronavirus death toll surpassed 80,000 on Monday, according to health ministry figures, as the country hit second-hardest in the world continued struggling to control the pandemic. The figure, second only to the death toll in the United States, quadrupled in two months. Brazil passed the mark of 20,000 COVID-19 deaths on May 21. Recently, the Latin American country of 212 million people has regularly registered more than 1,000 new deaths a day - though the figure for Monday was lower, at 632, bringing its overall death toll to 80,120. The country has confirmed 2.1 million total infections. Brazil's coronavirus death toll surpassed 80,000 on Monday, according to health ministry figures, as the country hit second-hardest in the world continued struggling to control the pandemic. Above, hundreds of grave plots at the Vila Formosa Cemetery, in the outskirts of Sao Paulo, Brazil, on July 20 Brazil's death toll, second only to the death toll in the United States, quadrupled in two months The country has confirmed 2.1 million total infections. Experts say under-testing means the real numbers are probably much higher President Jair Bolsonaro, who is infected himself, faces criticism for downplaying the virus and urging state governors to reopen their economies despite health officials' recommendations. Above, Bolsonaro attends a ceremony of lowering the flag, at the Alvorada Palace in Brasilia on July 20 Experts say under-testing means the real numbers are probably much higher. Mass graves have been prepared to accommodate the growing number of victims of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, including at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, the largest in Latin America. President Jair Bolsonaro, who is infected himself, faces criticism for downplaying the virus and urging state governors to reopen their economies despite health officials' recommendations. The far-right leader is currently in quarantine, along with several infected members of his cabinet. But he previously defied state authorities' stay-at-home measures, whose economic impact he argues could be more damaging than the virus itself. Bolsonaro, who famously compared the virus to a 'little flu,' regularly hit the streets with no face mask until he got infected, shaking hands and taking pictures with supporters at rallies. Graves in the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus, Brazil, on July 2. Mass graves have been prepared to accommodate the growing number of victims of the coronavirus outbreak in the country, including at the Vila Formosa cemetery in Sao Paulo, the largest in Latin America The far-right leader is currently in quarantine, along with several infected members of his cabinet. But he previously defied state authorities' stay-at-home measures, whose economic impact he argues could be more damaging than the virus itself. Above, graves at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery Graves in the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus. Brazil raised its record number of coronavirus deaths over to 80.000, as the pandemic that has swept across the world hit Brazil with its full force Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro who is infected with COVID-19, wears a protective face mask as he makes a heart sign to supporters during a Brazilian flag retreat ceremony outside his official residence the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, on Monday Like US President Donald Trump, whom he admires, Bolsonaro, 65, touts the anti-malaria drugs chloroquine and hydroxychloroquine as promising treatments, and is taking the latter himself, despite a lack of evidence of their effectiveness against COVID-19. The World Health Organization said Friday the outbreak in Brazil appears to have finally reached a plateau. There is 'an opportunity here now for Brazil... to suppress the transmission of the virus,' said WHO health emergencies chief Michael Ryan, urging the country to 'take control.' Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro, right, who is infected with COVID-19, wears a protective face mask as he waves to supporters during a Brazilian flag retreat ceremony outside his official residence the Alvorada Palace Brazil's President Jair Bolsonaro who is infected with COVID-19 and wears a protective face mask walks to attend a Brazilian flag retreat ceremony outside his official residence the Alvorada Palace, in Brasilia, Brazil, Monday, July 20 Aerial view showing graves in the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus on July 20. On average, Brazil has registered more than 1,040 new deaths and 33,000 new infections a day over the past week But though the level of daily deaths and infections has stabilized, it remains high. On average, Brazil has registered more than 1,040 new deaths and 33,000 new infections a day over the past week. 'The WHO talks about a plateau... but the problem is, the level remains very high, and it looks set to stay that way for quite some time,' said Mauro Sanchez, an epidemiologist at the University of Brasilia. Gaining control 'will depend on what we do in terms of public policy, and on whether people follow it,' he told AFP. Only the United States has more infections and deaths than Brazil in the pandemic, with 3.8 million and 140,811, respectively. In the first one-and-a-half months of the Covid-19 outbreak, Himachal seemed to be doing better than other states, recording only around 40 cases, but the situation consistently went downhill from there. The first case was reported in the hill state on March 20 and the surge ceased on April 23. For the next 10 days, there were no cases and the state was on the verge of becoming Covid-free with only one patient in the hospital. Jubilant over the short-term success, the government took a baleful but humanitarian decision to open the state borders for stranded residents. The entry gates to Himachal were chock-a-block as people returned in huge numbers. This, however, resulted in a second wave of spike in cases that hit the state on May 4. Since then there has been no let-up in the spurt. RETURNEES BRING SPIKE IN JUNE Till May end, the situation seemed to be under control as only 290 new cases were added in a month, taking the states tally to 330. However, the state witnessed a spike as people continued to return from other states. In June, as many as 623 infections were reported in the statean increase of almost 200% in a month. Most patients were the ones returning from Delhi and Mumbai. Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur had justified the government move stating, We could not have left our people to their fate. GOVTS FLIP FLOPS Given the surge in cases, the government again closed the state borders on June 23. The deputy commissioners were given the powers to take action as per requirement in their districts concerned. Entry to the state was allowed only in exceptional circumstances such as the death of a relative or medical emergency at home. During this time, the Centre was gearing up for Unlock 2.0. On June 29, the Centre issued new guidelines, asking the states to allow inter-state travel. Himachal asked the Union government for special permission to keep its borders closed, which was denied. Hence, not only were the state borders opened but the condition of institutional or home quarantine was also waived off for industrial workers, managers and project promoters. Industrialists were allowed to bring labour from anywhere by just registering on the government portal. MIGRANTS WORKERS RAISE THE BURDEN With the influx of industrial workers to Himachal in July, the state is witnessing another spike in infections. The Baddi-Barotilwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial belt in Solan district has emerged as a new Covid-19 hotspot. In July, Solan district alone had recorded 222 cases, which constitute over 36% of the total of cases in the state. Most people found positive are migrant labourers working in factories in BBN areas. Some migrant labourers who arrived to work in apple orchards have also tested positive. The state witnessed the steepest single-day spike on July 13, with a total of 78 cases. A record 69 cases were reported from BBN. Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur also admitted that arrival of migrant labourers has led to a spurt in Covid-19 cases but the economic activities also need to be revived. QUARANTINE MUST FOR MIGRANT LABOURERS Thakur said that given the surge in cases among industrial workers, the government has revised the guidelines and made institutional or home quarantine a must for the labourers coming from other states. Now, quarantine is a must for industrial workers. Big industries will make arrangements for quarantine of their workers while smaller units may pool the facilities, he said. For migrant labourers coming to work in orchards, the responsibility of quarantine lies with the owners. Covid-19 negative report has also been made mandatory for labourers entering the state. TOURISTS ALLOWED BUT WITH RESTRICTIONS The state government has allowed tourists to enter the state but on the condition that they have a five-day hotel booking and a Covid-19 negative report, not older than 72 hours. However, there have been many instances where people entered the state without requisite documents.The chief minister said that for now there is no change in the guidelines for tourists. The government has increased the vigil at the borders and people flouting the norms will be dealt with strictly, he said. However, locals have been resenting the decision stating that allowing the tourists to visit the state may result in a bigger outbreak. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Under the Hate Crime Statistic Act, hate crimes are defined as crimes that manifest evidence of prejudice based on race, gender and gender identity, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or ethnicity. Since the outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, the United States has seen a surge of Asian Americans reporting racially motivated hate crimes. Earlier this month, University of Colorado Denver School of Public Affairs professor Angela Gover, PhD, along with researchers from Iowa State University and RTI International, published a research paper outlining how COVID-19 has enabled the spread of racism and created national insecurity, fear of foreigners, and general xenophobia. Stigmatization and Pandemics in the United States Throughout the history of humankind, infectious disease has caused more fatalities than any other medical cause. Studies have proven that when viral outbreaks are deadly, fear often drives those at risk to place blame on external groups, such as minorities. This isnt the first time this issue has arose. In fact, many individuals associate particular diseases with a group of people, such as Irish Catholics are responsible for Irish disease (cholera), Jewish immigrants for consumption (tuberculosis), Irish and German immigrants for yellow fever, and Italians for polio. As for Asian-Americans, in 1900, when the bubonic plague began in San Francisco, public health officials quarantined Chinese residents in Chinatown but allowed white merchants to leave the area. Now were facing COVID-19, which originated in Wuhan, China. Since the spread of the virus to the rest of the world, especially the United States, the virus has become labeled by some as the Chinese virus. Once again, we are seeing a pattern of scapegoating, said Gover. It is important to learn lessons from the past and not repeat history by blaming those of Asian descent for the current pandemic. Anti-Asian Hate Crime Statistics in the United States For this study, researchers examined hate crime data from the FBIs Uniform Crime Report (UCR) and the Bureau of Justice Statistics National Crime Victimization Survey (NCVS), which provide national estimates of hate crime as defined above. The statistics used were from two collections for the 16-year period from 2003 to 2018. UCR data revealed that during the two 5-year periods from 2003 to 2007, and 2014-2018, hate crimes against Asian-Americans dropped 30.8%. NCVS data reveled that during the two 5-year periods from 2003 to 2007, and 2014-2018, hate crimes against Asian-Americans dropped 7%. The large percentage discrepancies between the two institutions cited above suggest vast underreporting of hate crime to police and magnify the hidden nature of hate crime against Asian Americans in the U.S. today. Importantly, the NCVS data also reveals that less than half of Asian hate crime victimizations are reported to police, only 47.6%. As of July 1, the Stop AAPI Hate self-reporting tool had recorded over 800 discrimination and harassment incidents against Asian Americans in California in the span of three months, including 81 assaults and 64 potential civil rights violations, said Gover. These occurrences are likely a small fraction of what is actually transpiring as most of these types of incidents go unreported. COVID-19 and Asian-American Hate Crimes Since the use of the term Chinese virus has been widely used by elected officials and the media, anti-Asian sentiments are on the rise. According to reports from late March, the FBI anticipated that there would be a surge in anti-Asian hate crimes during the pandemic and even alerts local authorities to be on alert for these occurrences. Since as early as February, racist acts against Asian Americans directly related to the COVID-10 pandemic have been recorded and shared on social media to raise awareness of the growing problem. These acts of violence include both physical and mental abuse of Asian Americans of all ages and genders. Victims of hate crimes experience significant psychological trauma, often presenting as PTSD and/or debilitating anxiety and depression, said Gover. This isnt surprising being that the cultural stigmatization and othering of a particular group fosters an environment of normalizing instances of assault and harassment, creating a day-to-day atmosphere of fear for the safety and security of themselves and their loved ones. Looking Forward While there has been a reversal of the term Chinese virus by the media and government, the damage has been done. According to the researchers, this narrative around COVID-19 and anti-Asian has once again reignited the racist stereotype of Asian culture. Once the 2020 hate crime data is released in 2021, well have a better understanding of the number of hate crimes related to COVID-19. However, from the personal accounts of hate crimes already reported, we now understand anti-Asian bias on the rise here in the United States. The U.S. has seen a recurring history of socially entrenched racism towards Asian Americans with spikes occurring during historical times of crisis, including during the coronavirus pandemic. Moreover, racist attitudes have been reinforced by institutional-level support, thus promoting a culture of othering towards Asians in America, once again. Covid-19 is a public health crisis, not a racial matter. It does not discriminate along racial lines and nor should we. ### A 36-year-old Warrens man was referred to the Monroe County District Attorney for multiple charges after allegedly fleeing police May 26. Steven J. Flowers was referred for battery, threatening an officer, resisting an officer, disorderly conduct and bail jumping. Shortly after 7:30 p.m., police responded to an Overlook Court residence in Warrens, where Flowers had reportedly violated a non-contact order. Police were informed that Flowers had left the residence in a vehicle lacking license plates. Police found the car a short time later parked at a nearby BP gas station. Police approached Flowers, who offered a handshake. When the officer declined the handshake, Flowers began to walk away and said, I aint done nothing illegal. He then broke into a sprint away from the gas station into a wooded area at Jellystone Park. Two other officers who joined the chase, and one was able to subdue Flowers with a Taser probe. During the transport to the Monroe County Jail, he allegedly threatened to slaughter and devour an officer while using profane and insulting language. Police interviewed the subject of the no-contact order. She told police Flowers shoulder blocked her in a way that caused her pain and that she was afraid Flowers would assault her again. In other Monroe County Sheriffs Office news: Matthew R. Castner, 47, Norwalk, was referred to the district attorney for disorderly conduct and battery after a May 19 altercation in the village of Norwalk. A man told police that Castner became angry with him at a Main Street residence and demanded he leave the house. The man said Castner then grabbed him hard by the arm and dragged him outside. The report says the man had bruises and scratches on his arm. Jason Lee McKee, 45, Black River Falls, was referred to the district attorney for third-offense drunk driving after a May 19 traffic stop in the town of Wellington. Police ran a license plate check on a vehicle McKee was operating on Hwy. V shortly after 10:30 p.m. and determined he had a revoked drivers license. When approached by police, McKee rolled down his window two inches and avoided making eye contact with the officer. McKee complied with an order to roll down his window further. He told police he couldnt provide proof of insurance because he couldnt locate his phone. McKee was ordered to step outside his vehicle, and police could detect the odor of alcohol. McKee said he spilled a mixed drink on himself and had consumed just one alcoholic beverage. Police conducted a field sobriety test, and preliminary breath test recorded a blood-alcohol of level of .08. McKee gave consent for a blood test, which recorded a level of .073. McKee was also referred for operating after revocation/drunk driving-related and tampering with an ignition interlock device. Russell Eugene Walker, 20, Black River Falls, was referred to the district attorney for failure to report to jail. The report says he failed to report to the Monroe County Jail May 15 to serve a 30-day sentence. Scarlet R. Brians, 23, Sparta, was referred to the district attorney for failure to report to jail. She was scheduled to report May 1 to serve the final eight days of a 30-day sentence. Lucas P. Downing, 30, Ontario, was referred to the district attorney for possession of drug paraphernalia, resisting an officer and bail jumping. Police received a report that a man, later identified as Downing, had chased a child back onto her property May 20 and circled the exterior of her home in the town of Wellington. He was then seen walking toward a hunting cabin on Orion Road. Police caught up with Downing at the hunting cabin. He told police he was hunting for mushrooms and needed a drink of water. The report says Downings clothing was torn, and there were scratches all over his body. He offered police a handful of change and asked if he could buy a drink. He was not cooperative explaining why he was in the area but acknowledged having recently used methamphetamine. Downing reportedly tensed up and refused to place his hands behind his back when police attempted to handcuff him. A search of Downing allegedly found several needles. He said the needles and their contents were a prescription issued to him from the Vernon County Jail. Austin Dustin Allen Lee, 30, Sparta, was referred to the district attorney for possession of drug paraphernalia. Police pulled over a vehicle driven by Lee in the town of Angelo for a defective stop lamp. During a search, police allegedly found a methamphetamine pipe. Mason J. Cooper, 30, Neillsville, was referred to the district attorney for possession of a narcotic drug and possession of drug paraphernalia after police responded to a drug overdose call in the village of Oakdale. Police responded May 22 to the Road Ranger gas station, where Cooper was found unconscious underneath a sink in the mens bathroom. The report says a Road Ranger cashier performed CPR on Cooper before Tomah Area Ambulance Service personnel arrived and administered Narcan. Police found an uncapped syringe, a butane torch and a sandwich bag with a trace amount of heroin at the scene. Cooper reportedly told police he had consumed alcohol but denied taking drugs. He initially told police he didnt want hospital treatment but was taken to Tomah Health before being medically cleared for transport to the Monroe County Jail. Matthew T. Rochester, 29, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for battery, criminal damage to property and disorderly conduct and bail jumping after a May 23 incident in the town of Byron. Police were called shortly after 9 a.m. to a Hwy. 21 address, where a woman told police that Rochester punched, hit and kicked her 10 times during an argument. She attempted to retreat inside the house, but Rochester dragged her back outside. She said Rochester then collected her personal belongings and burned them in the back yard. Police observed several piles of smoldering, burned clothing, two one-dollar bills and a wallet the woman said contained $200. There was also a smashed cell phone valued at $600 in the back yard. Police searched the wooded area behind the property and couldnt find Rochester. Police also couldnt locate Rochester at his place of employment. Joel Anthony Coman, 21, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for causing injury while driving drunk after police responded to a May 23 rollover crash in the town of Oakdale. Police were dispatched to Horizon Avenue, where a man told police he agreed to drive Comans vehicle after Coman had consumed alcohol at a village of Oakdale tavern. The man said he was heading south when a northbound vehicle crossed into the south lane of traffic, causing him to swerve and crash. Coman told police he was a passenger in the vehicle. The report says the skid marks contradicted the version of events given to police. When confronted with the evidence, the man, who sustained a cut to his arm during the crash, told police that Coman was the driver. The report says Coman denied he was the driver several more times before admitting he was behind the wheel. Coman submitted to a preliminary breath test, which registered a blood-alcohol level of .135. Logan James Mitchell, 20, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for disorderly conduct and battery after a May 20 incident in the town of Tomah. He is accused of punching two men during a disturbance at an Irondale Avenue residence. The report says one victims face was red and swollen, and the other victim had several red marks on his face. Shana Joy Endle, 27, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for operating after revocation/drunk driving-related, tampering with an ignition interlock device and bail jumping after a May 27 traffic stop in the town of Scott. She was pulled over after police observed suspicious driving behavior while she was operating in a cemetery shortly after 12:30 p.m. Zechariah L. Harper, 29, Tomah, was referred to the district attorney for battery. He is accused of punching a woman in the face May 31 at a Hazelwood Road residence in the town of Angelo. The report says the woman sustained a cut on the bottom of her lip. Michael Jeffrey Vandenbergh, 24, La Crosse, was referred to the district attorney for drug possession after a May 29 traffic stop in the town of Little Falls. Police pulled over a vehicle driven by Vandenbergh with no license plate on Hwy. 27 shortly after 10 p.m. Dispatch informed police that Vandenberghs license was revoked and that his vehicle required an ignition interlock device which wasnt installed. Police summoned a K9 unit to conduct an exterior sniff of the vehicle. After a positive response, police allegedly found 7.8 grams of cocaine, 15 grams of marijuana, a digital scale, a marijuana grinder and two marijuana smoking devices. Vandenbergh was referred for possession of cocaine, possession of marijuana, possession of drug paraphernalia, operating after revocation/drunk driving-related and tampering with an ignition interlock device. Tristan Ray Klump, 24, Tomah, was referred for the district attorney for possession of cocaine after police responded to a May 26 report of a suspicious vehicle A caller told police shortly before 11 p.m. that people were sitting inside a truck at a Tara Drive apartment complex in the village of Oakdale. The caller did not believe the people inside the truck belonged at the complex. Police approached the truck and immediately detected the odor of marijuana. The report says police found a half-gram of cocaine inside the vehicle that was determined to have belonged to Klump. Tomah Journal editor Steve Rundio can be reached at steve.rundio@lee.net. Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. Novartis trims sales outlook after hit from COVID disruptions FILE PHOTO: The logo of Swiss drugmaker Novartis is pictured at the French company's headquarters in Rueil-Malmaison By John Miller ZURICH (Reuters) - Novartis CEO Vas Narasimhan cut the Swiss drugmaker's 2020 sales forecast on Tuesday after COVID-19 disruptions that kept patients from visiting their doctor or hospital hit the company's second-quarter revenue. By contrast, rival drugs group Johnson & Johnson has increased 2020 forecasts as its mix of products helped to cushion a hit from the coronavirus crisis. Cancer therapy Lutathera and eye drugs Lucentis and Xiidra, for which Novartis paid $3.4 billion to Takeda <4502.T> last year, all saw sales contract as patients avoided trips to the doctor. Sales at generics unit Sandoz slipped 9%. The group's net income fell 4% to $1.9 billion, with sales down 1% at $11.35 billion for the three months to June 30. Narasimhan said Novartis now expected only mid-single-digit percentage sales growth this year, from previous expectations of mid- to high-single-digit percentage growth. Novartis has been largely left out of the current race for new COVID-19 medicines or vaccines, having unloaded its vaccines business in 2014. Narasimhan said selling the vaccines business, where he once led development, had left Novartis out of the COVID-19 prevention race. He also said the company is doing research on new antivirals he hopes could be deployed during this pandemic or future ones. "We saw that we don't currently have the vaccine in know-how and capabilities inside the company, but we have deep expertise in anti-viral drug development," Narasimhan said. Novartis has tested older medicines, including generic malaria drug hydroxychloroquine, against the new coronavirus. It abandoned that study, after failing to recruit enough participants. In addition to its absence from the COVID-19 vaccine race, Novartis' recent payments of $1.1 billion to settle corruption cases have weighed on investor sentiment, analysts at Zuercher Kantonalbank said. This year, Novartis shares have fallen by more than 10%, including Tuesday's 1% drop at 1300 GMT. (Reporting by John Miller; editing by Louise Heavens/Jason Neely/Jane Merriman) President Donald Trump on Monday said he would send law enforcement to more U.S. cities, as a federal crackdown on anti-racism protests in Oregon with unmarked cars and unidentified forces angered people across the country. Trump, a Republican, cited New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore and Oakland, California, as places to send federal agents, noting the cities' mayors were "liberal Democrats." Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot frequently blasts Trump on Twitter. "We're sending law enforcement," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We cant let this happen to the cities." State and local leaders in Oregon, as well as members of Congress, have called for Trump to remove Department of Homeland Security secret police forces from Portland, Oregon, after videos showed unidentified federal personnel rounding up people and whisking them away in black minivans. "Not only do I believe he is breaking the law, but he is also endangering the lives of Portlanders," the city's mayor, Ted Wheeler, tweeted, having previously called the federal presence "political theater" in an election year. Trump, trailing in opinion polls behind Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, in June declared himself "president of law and order" and threatened to send the U.S. military into cities after sometimes violent protests and looting in the aftermath of African American George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis. Federal agents last week began cracking down on Portland protests against police brutality and systemic racism, using tear gas to defend federal buildings and taking some activists into custody without explanation. "They grab a lot of people and jail the leaders. These are anarchists," Trump said of federal agents sent to the historically liberal city to quell often unruly protests. Despite a national outcry over the tactics, Department of Homeland Security (DHS) officials on Monday said they would not back down and would not apologise. Story continues The state of Oregon and the American Civil Liberties Union have sued the Trump administration for unlawfully detaining Oregon residents, and some Republicans spoke out against its tactics on Monday. "There is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will," tweeted U.S. Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky. The Chicago Tribune reported that Homeland Security was making plans to deploy around 150 agents in the city this week where police defending a statue clashed with protesters on Friday. The DHS did not immediately respond to a request for additional comment. (REUTERS) Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Netflix has opted to stop filming a series set in Turkey, a day before shooting was to begin, over a row that it featured a gay character. The Financial Times, quoting Turkish website Altyazi Fasikul, says that officials refused a filming permit for If Only after learning about the depiction. This has sparked a political row, with critics of the Erdogan government saying that it is an abuse of power. An Amnesty International report says that Turkey is homophobic as a matter of public policy, treating LGBT people as diseased. Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans people in the country face discrimination, violence, and harassment on a regular basis, which it says is encouraged by politicians. The FTs sources say that Netflix, when faced with the censorship, opted not to write-out the character, and instead axed the show. This is not the first time Netflix and Turkey have battled over the content of shows, with the country up in arms about an episode of Designated Survivor depicting a Turkish conflict. Netflix said in a statement to the FT that it remained committed to producing Turkish-language content, with several more shows currently in production. We have contacted Netflix for comment and will update this if it has anything additional to add. Incidents like this are relatively rare but Netflix has found itself in several rows around censorship in various countries. Most notoriously, an episode of Patriot Act with Hasan Minhaj that was critical of Saudi Arabia was pulled in the country after the government issued a takedown request. Netflix did, however, put the episode on YouTube for free in the country, should anyone wish to watch it. The company has also had to deal with takedowns in Singapore and Germany, as well as Brazil and New Zealand. Common-sense safety measures could help keep an uptick in COVID-19 infections in the region at bay, according to health officials. They said Monday that its critical for people to help curb community spread by wearing masks in public places, by staying 6 feet apart from others whenever possible and by washing their hands frequently and thoroughly. These practices are critical now more than ever, said Dale Bainter, director of Morgan County Health Department. We have started to see an uptick in cases locally and disregarding masking guidelines and social distancing standards is certainly contributing to the rise. To be effective, a face covering or mask should cover the nose and mouth and should fit closely to the face. As healthcare leaders, we are committed to keeping our patients, employees and communities safe. This includes everyone wearing a mask in our clinics and on our campuses. We also know that individual choices in our communities are a major factor in the success of our fight against coronavirus and the pandemic, said Harry Lausen, SIU Medicines chief medical officer. SIU Medicine joins our community partners to strongly encourage the wearing of masks in community and group settings. Anyone who cannot wear a mask for health reasons should avoid public places if possible because their condition would put them at greater risk for serious complications if they contract COVID-19, the representatives said. The organizations also noted that other states have seen surges in cases that have strained medical resources and forced closings of businesses that had reopened. While hospitalizations have not risen as sharply in central Illinois as in other states, the health representatives said its critical to continue to follow health guidelines to reduce the spread of the virus. We wholeheartedly support our local business owners who are making difficult choices about how to keep their businesses open and keep employees and patrons safe, Springfield Clinic Chief Medical Officer Ken Sagins said. Following public health guidelines is the best way for the public to support local businesses and to help all of us return to normalcy. They emphasized that taking precautions is a community issue. We dont know when this crisis will be over. But we do know that our communities are strongest when we work together, said Raj Govindaiah, chief medical officer for Memorial Health System. Everyone must do their part to protect themselves and each other, and that will help to ensure that central Illinois weathers the next phase of this crisis. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan said that Armenia has recorded some progress in the fight against coronavirus, ARMENPRESS reports Pashinyan wrote on his Facebook page, adding that people should not weaken vigilance. ''Our measures of preserving anti-pandemic rules should become more consistent for mitigating the intensity of the spread of the virus. Only doing so we will be able to significantly reduce the number of new cases'', Pashinyan wrote. The PM once again called on the citizens to continue following the rules by wearing face masks, preserving social distancing and periodically disinfecting hands. A total of 35,254 coronavirus cases have been recorded in Armenia. 273 new cases of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) have been registered in Armenia in the past 24 hours, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 35,254. 704 more patients have recovered. The total number of recoveries has reached 24,206. 12 people have died in one day, raising the death toll to 662. The number of active cases stands at 10,171. The number of people who had a coronavirus but died from other disease has reached 215 (6 new such cases). So far, 148,180 people have passed COVID-19 testing. State of emergency has been prolonged until August 13. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan Four African heads of state are expected in Bamako on Thursday to help resolve the political crisis in Mali, as President Ibrahim Boubacar Keita continues to face calls to step down despite recent mediation by the Ecowas regional bloc. The high-level visit could perhaps be the last chance following the failure of a delegation led by former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan, according to Bamako correspondents Serge Daniel and Coralie Pierret. The M5 opposition group, made up of politicians, civil society and religious leaders, expressed its dissatisfaction with the plan tabled by Ecowas. The West African bloc put forward a proposal for a power-sharing government, with those loyal to President Keita holding 50 percent of the ministerial portfolios. Nigers President Mahamadou Issoufou, Senegalese President Macky Sall, Ghanas President Nana Akufo-Addo and Ivorian President Alassane Ouattara are expected to arrive in Bamako for talks, to try and push forward negotiations. Recommendations made by the Ecowas mediation mission remain the basis of any discussions and although, according to a diplomat source, there is no question about agreeing with the departure of Keita, also known as IBK, perhaps there are other areas where progress can be made, according to RFI correspondents. Constitutional crisis There remains the judicial element to the crisis. Two judges' unions have said that the reconstitution of the constitutional court based on proposals by Ecowas is unconstitutional. IBK disbanded the countrys highest court in the face of protests. Members of the judicial council refused to meet him on Monday. The constitutional court is itself at the heart of the crisis since it changed election results in several constituencies, invalidating the election of certain lawmakers supposedly in favour of the ruling party. Without reconstituting the constitutional court, the contentious results cannot be rectified. The M5 protest movement declared a truce in protests until the end of July, saying it was always open to dialogue. Story continues Imam Mahmoud Dicko, who has emerged as one of the central figures in the protest movement, met the French and US ambassadors on Monday, as well as those from the European Union. During a meeting on Monday, the strategic committee of the M5 group decided they would put their campaign of civil disobedience on hold until the end of the month, to enable people to prepare for Eid celebrations. Demonstrations in Mali since 5 June have urged IBK to step down over problems with insecurity, government corruption and economic hardship. New Delhi: BSP chief Mayawati on Monday addressed a press conference in Lucknow. Attacking PM Modi's Ghazipur rally, she said people were being paid to throng the rally and called it a flop show. Condemning strongly the currency demonetisation, she spoke of the plight of commoners, standing in long queues and questioned what the BJP govenment has done for UP in the last two-and-a-half years of its tenure? This is her third press conference in November. Her last PC revolved around condemning Modi government for sudden demonetisation which left the entire country financially crippled. Here are the highlights of her press conference: #Mayawati questions PM Modi's Ghazipur rally #People were being paid to throng Ghazipur rally #His rally was entirely flop #Government rail was being politicised for BJP's own gains #There were outsiders in their rally #The present scenario in the country reflects the purported Acche Din by BJP #In the name of DeMonetisation , the common people are being made to suffer #After demonetisation, poor people are left helpless, being forced to stand in long queues #Modi government has failed on development front. #ATMs are not working, people are left cashless and troubled. #What have they done in two- and- a half years for the least developed areas of Uttar Pradesh? #People of UP want to know from PM how much his party has done for the state during their tenure? #They have not fulfilled even a single promise they made in two and a half years #PM keeps boasting about I did this, I did that but never told what he did when it comes to development #Mayawati dismisses as hollow PM's claims on ending black money, says his move is anti-farmer #PM should have made adequate preparations before scrapping Rs 500 and Rs 1000 notes For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. CAMBRIDGE A 28-year-old Cambridge man has been charged in connection with a crash in May that left a 28-year-old woman dead. Waterloo Regional Police said the man was arrested Sunday and charged with impaired operation causing death and dangerous operation causing death. The early morning crash occurred May 24 on Branchton Road in North Dumfries Township. Police said two people were in a vehicle that left the road, hit a tree and fence, and caught fire. The Cambridge woman died at the scene, while the man suffered serious injuries. Police said speed was also a factor. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 14:11:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Xinhua writer Tu Yifan RIYADH, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The China-Saudi Arabia friendship is deep-rooted in the hearts of the two peoples and the two countries share broad consensus on the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind, Chinese Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Chen Weiqing has said. In a recent interview with Xinhua prior to the 30th anniversary of China-Saudi Arabia diplomatic ties, Chen commended the sustained and healthy development of bilateral ties, saying that the pursuit of a better and happy life are the common aspiration of the two peoples. On July 21, 1990, the two countries established diplomatic relations, and continuous progress has been made in the development of bilateral ties ever since, Chen said, adding that with frequent exchanges of high-level visits, the two sides have been enhancing their mutual understanding, cooperation and friendship. The establishment of the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and the founding of the China-Saudi Arabia High-level Joint Committee in 2016 during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to the kingdom marked a milestone for the development of bilateral relations, Chen said. China is Saudi Arabia's largest trading partner and Saudi Arabia is China's largest trading partner in West Asia. The two countries are close partners in the joint construction of the Belt and Road Initiative. Chen said the two countries are highly complementary in economy and industry. "The Belt and Road Initiative and Saudi Vision 2030 are highly compatible and enjoy huge potential for cooperation in the fields such as artificial intelligence, digital economy and high technology," Chen added. With continuous and rapid development of bilateral relations in recent years, more and more Chinese companies started doing business in Saudi Arabia, making positive contributions to localizing Saudi Arabia's industrial sector, promoting employment and facilitating development in various fields, the ambassador said. In recent years, China and Saudi Arabia have also carried out fruitful cooperation in cultural and people-to-people exchanges such as language and culture, art and civilizations and heritage protection, Chen said. Since the introduction of the Chinese language to the Saudi curriculum in 2019 when Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud visited China, educational authorities of the two countries have kept close communication, Chen said. "With the gradual popularization of the Chinese language in the Saudi education, it will further promote mutual understanding and deepen the friendship between the two peoples," Chen added. Noting that Saudi Arabia opened its door to international tourists for the first time in 2019, Chen said China has become an important source of tourists to the kingdom and bilateral cooperation in tourism enjoys a promising prospect. On the COVID-19 pandemic, Chen said that China and Saudi Arabia, which share common interests and responsibilities, have shown with actions that joint efforts to fight the epidemic are the only right choice, and solidarity and cooperation are the most powerful weapon. "Since the outbreak of the epidemic, President Xi has held two phone calls with Saudi King Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, charting the course for the bilateral comprehensive strategic partnership and demonstrating our determination to fight the epidemic together," Chen added. At the critical moment when China was fighting COVID-19, the Saudi government and companies provided emergency supplies to China, said Chen, adding that when Saudi Arabia was hit by the epidemic, the Chinese government sent medical experts to the kingdom and Chinese companies helped boost the country's COVID-19 detection capacity. At the 9th ministerial meeting of the China-Arab States Cooperation Forum held via video link on July 6, Saudi Foreign Minister Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud expressed the kingdom's willingness to join other Arab nations to work with China towards the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. The Chinese ambassador highly appreciated this stance, saying that China is willing to work with Arab and Islamic countries to promote dialogue, synergize development strategies, conduct tripartite and multilateral cooperation, build a community with a shared future for mankind and realize common development. Chen expressed appreciation for Saudi Arabia's active role in international affairs as the rotating presidency of the Group of 20 (G20) and for hosting the Extraordinary G20 Leaders' Summit to coordinate international anti-epidemic cooperation and stabilize the global economy. "In the face of profound changes in the world's political and economic landscape, China is ready to work with Saudi Arabia to make greater contributions to regional and world peace, stability, development and prosperity so as to jointly build a community with a shared future for mankind," Chen said. Enditem Iran's ambassador to Seoul was summoned to the South Korean foreign ministry on Tuesday to lodge a protest over the Iranian threat to sue Seoul over frozen assets and calling the Korea-U.S. relationship one of "master and servant". Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi on Sunday warned of legal action in the International Court of Justice if Korea continued to refuse to pay off more than $7 billion in oil money owed to Iran that has been blocked in Korean banks. Speaking to the local media Mousavi had likened the relationship between Washington and Seoul to a "master-servant relationship" and said this was the reason Seoul was submissive to the U.S. and afraid of violating its sanctions if they released the Iranian blocked funds. According to Koreatimes, the Korean foreign ministry's director-general for Africa and the Middle East voiced regret to the Iranian ambassador Saeed Badamchi Shabestari about the "inappropriate" remarks of the Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman. "The Iranian side called for understanding and stressed that it was not the official position of the Iranian government," Kim In-chul, the minstry's spokesman told the reporters. Iran's President Hassan Rouhani on June 14 ordered Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati to take "firm measures" including legal action against South Korea to get the frozen assets released. Hossein Tanhaee, the chairman of Iran and South Korea's joint chamber of commerce, in June told Borna news agency that Iran's frozen assets in South Korea were between $6.5 billion to $9 billion. Tanhaee added that not only Korean banks refuse to release Iran's money, some of them have also demanded commission and maintenance fees for Iran's accounts. Due to U.S. sanctions, Iran can only use the assets to purchase humanitarian items such as food and medicine from Korea. The statistics of South Korea's Customs indicate that in the first half of the current year Korea's exports to Iran only amounted to $90 million. Before the reintroduction of U.S. sanctions in 2018, annual Korean exports to Iran amounted to around $4. South Korea has stopped buying Iranian oil since May 2019, when the United States stopped issuing exemptions to friendly countries. Thai Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-o-cha expressed concern Tuesday about anti-government demonstrations that had taken place in Bangkok and other cities in recent days, and suggested parliament would address protesters demands. Prayuth was publicly responding for the first time to the protests that began Saturday at Democracy Monument in the Thai capital. The prime minister said he worried that the protesters many of them young people might go too far and break the law. Im simply concerned and worried about these demonstrations, he said. I told (involved officials) to be careful in handling the lads, the students. I empathize with them and Im concerned about them on behalf of their parents, he told reporters after a regularly scheduled cabinet meeting. The demonstrations were led by a network of students who call themselves Free Youth, and whose efforts have spread to other communities. The group issued three demands: dissolve parliament; stop harassing dissidents; and amend the 2017 Constitution, which they said was tailored to enable Prayuth, the former junta chief, to maintain power. The three demands could be addressed in the parliament, by certain committees, the prime minister said. Prayuth took power in May 2014 after leading a military coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of Yingluck Shinawatra following a series of protests that had rocked Bangkok for weeks. Five years later, members of parliament voted for him to remain prime minister. Meanwhile, police Lt. Gen. Pakpong Pongpetra, chief of the Metropolitan Police Bureau, told reporters that a committee had been set up to investigate the rallies to determine if criminal charges should be brought against Free Youth organizers and others. The committee has not completed its investigation, he said without elaborating. During Saturdays protest that drew more than 2,000, Free Youth leader Tathep Ruangprapaikijseri said his group would step up rallies if demands were not met within two weeks. The protest was followed the next day by one in northern Chiang Mai province that drew thousands more and another that drew dozens outside the Thai Royal Army Headquarters in Bangkok on Monday. On Tuesday evening, a small group of Srinakharinwirot University students returned to the Democracy Monument to chant Dissolve the parliament. Groups in Khon Kaen city along with Maha Sarakham and Phrae provinces also plan to hold rallies this week, according to organizers. In also demanding Prayuths ouster, the protesters have cited mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic, which has negatively affected the national economy. While Thailand has recorded fewer than 3,300 COVID-19 cases and no deaths in two months, the government has maintained an emergency decree imposed in late March aimed at slowing the pandemics spread. Last month, the Manila-based Asian Development Bank projected that Thailands gross domestic product would contract by 6.5 percent in 2020 because of the pandemic. Today, on the 21st of July 2020 at 9 am (EET), Coop Pank held an investor conference webinar, where the Chairman of the Board Margus Rink and Chief Financial Officer Kerli Lohmus introduced the banks Q2 2020 unaudited financial results. Webinar was held in Estonian language. Coop Pank would like to thank all participants. Webinar recording is available here. Coop Panks report for unaudited results of Q2 2020 and the presentation is available here. Coop Pank, based on Estonian capital, is one of the five universal banks operating in Estonia. The number of clients using Coop Pank for their daily banking has reached 74,500. Coop Pank aims to put the synergy generated by the interaction of retail business and banking to good use and to bring everyday banking services closer to peoples homes. The strategic shareholder of the bank is the domestic retail chain Coop Eesti comprising 330 stores. Additional information: Kerli Lohmus CFO Tel: +372 56 800 425 e-mail: kerli.lohmus@cooppank.ee Attachment NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN Basel, Switzerland, July 21, 2020 Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. ("Basilea" or the "Company") announces that the Joint Global Coordinators successfully completed the placement (the "Delta Placement") of Basilea shares ("Shares") on behalf of buyers of its approximately CHF 97 million senior unsecured convertible bonds due 2027 (the "New Bonds") aiming at hedging the market risk of their position. The Delta Placement followed the closing of the tender offer period on 16 July 2020 for the partial repurchase of the Company's outstanding convertible bonds due 2022 (ISIN: CH0305398148; SSN: 30'539'814) (the "Repurchase Offer"). The First Results Announcement regarding the Repurchase Offer was published on 17 July 2020. The Delta Placement resulted in a Reference Price for the New Bonds of CHF 50 and thus a Conversion Price for the New Bonds of CHF 62.50. Therefore, the conditions that (i) the conversion price of the New Bonds shall be at least as set out in the Notice for a Repurchase offer (minimum conversion price) and (ii) the Delta Placement results in a reference price, i.e. the price to which the conversion premium is added to obtain the conversion price, as set out in the Notice for a Repurchase Offer (Delta Placement being successful) are met. Therefore, the results of the Repurchase Offer are as follows (Second Results Announcement): Number of tendered and accepted Bonds with a principal amount of CHF 5,000 each 9,417 Aggregate principal amount of tendered and accepted Bonds CHF 47,085,000 As a result, all conditions of the Repurchase Offer in accordance with the terms and conditions set out in the Notice for a Repurchase Offer of 25 June, 2020, have either been met or waived. Likewise, all the conditions of the issue of the New Bonds have been met or waived. Accordingly, the issue size of the New Bonds amounts to CHF 97,085,000. Settlement of the Repurchase Offer and of the New Bonds is expected to take place on 28 July 2020. About Basilea Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is a commercial-stage biopharmaceutical company, focused on the development of products that address the medical challenges in the therapeutic areas of oncology and infectious diseases. With two commercialized drugs, the company is committed to discovering, developing and commercializing innovative pharmaceutical products to meet the medical needs of patients with serious and life-threatening conditions. Basilea Pharmaceutica Ltd. is headquartered in Basel, Switzerland and listed on the SIX Swiss Exchange (SIX: BSLN). Additional information can be found at Basilea's website www.basilea.com . Disclaimer This announcement regarding the Repurchase Offer does not constitute an offer or an invitation to participate in the Repurchase Offer or the Offering in any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to or from which, it is unlawful to make such invitation or for there to be such participation under applicable securities laws. The distribution of this press release in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this press release comes are required to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. No action has been or will be taken in any jurisdiction in relation to the Repurchase Offer that would permit a public offering of securities in any such jurisdiction. United States The Repurchase Offer is not being made, and will not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by use of the mail of, or by any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce of or of any facilities of a national securities exchange of, the United States or to or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons as defined in Regulation S of the Securities Act (each a "U.S. person"). This includes, but is not limited to, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, telex, telephone and the internet and other forms of electronic communication. The Bonds may not be tendered for purchase pursuant to the Repurchase Offer by any such use, means, instrumentality or facility from or within the United States or by any persons located or resident in the United States as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or to U.S. persons. Accordingly, copies of the Repurchase Offer Notice and any other documents or materials relating to the Repurchase Offer are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise transmitted, distributed or forwarded (including, without limitation, by custodians, nominees or trustees) in or into the United States or to persons located or resident in the United States or to U.S. persons. Any purported offers to tender Bonds pursuant to the Repurchase Offer resulting, directly or indirectly, from a violation of these restrictions will be invalid, and any purported tender of Bonds made by a U.S. person, a person located or resident in the United States or from within the United States or from any agent, fiduciary or other intermediary acting on a non-discretionary basis for a principal giving instructions from within the United States or any U.S. person will not be accepted. Each Bondholder participating in the Repurchase Offer will represent to the Offeror, the Joint Dealer Managers and the Tender Agent that it is not located or resident in the United States and is not a U.S. person and is not giving an order to participate in the Repurchase Offer from within the United States or on behalf of a U.S. person. United Kingdom The communication of the Repurchase Offer Notice and any other documents or materials relating to the Repurchase Offer is not being made and such documents and/or materials have not been approved by an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended. Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, are not directed at and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of such documents and/or materials as a financial promotion is only being made to persons within the United Kingdom falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order")) or falling within Article 43(2) of the Order, or to other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated (together "relevant persons"). The investment activity to which this document relates will only be engaged in with relevant persons and persons who are not relevant persons should not rely on it. European Economic Area In any Member State of the European Economic Area (the "EEA") or in the United Kingdom (each, a "Relevant State"), the Repurchase Offer is only addressed to, and is only directed at, qualified investors in that Relevant State within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation"). Each person in a Relevant State who receives any communication in respect of the Repurchase Offer contemplated in the Repurchase Offer Notice will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with the Joint Dealer Managers, the Tender Agent and the Company that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation. The Bonds have not been admitted to trading on a regulated market in the European Economic Area or in the United Kingdom. Switzerland and General This document and the Repurchase Offer Notice neither constitute a prospectus within the meaning of Articles 652a and 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (as in effect immediately prior to the entry into force of the FinSA) nor a prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange, a prospectus within the meaning of the FinSA or under any other applicable laws. For further information, please contact: Peer Nils Schroder, PhD Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Phone +41 61 606 1102 E-mail media_relations@basilea.com investor_relations@basilea.com This press release can be downloaded from www.basilea.com. Attachment Celebrated with an informal "beam-signing" on July 14, completion of the University of North Georgia's (UNG) new standalone Blue Ridge Campus can be counted in days instead of months. With completion of construction imminent, equipment and furniture are expected to be installed in time for the fall semester to begin on Aug. 17. "This campus in Blue Ridge is a dream come true," UNG President Bonita Jacobs said. "Having a larger location means that we can serve more students and expand course offerings, which will further enhance educational opportunities and the economic development of this region." Construction on the more than 12,000-square-foot building began in August 2019; ground was broken on the project in October 2018. Sandy Ott, director of UNG's Blue Ridge Campus, said the new location's design provides for the current needs of the fast-growing campus, and for future growth. Enrollment has increased more than 1,000% in five years, from 20 students upon opening in 2015 to an anticipated enrollment for fall 2020 of 225 students. The new building, located off Ga. 515 about 3 miles from the current 2,800-square-foot Dunbarton Road facility, will have some 3,500 square feet of classroom space. Classrooms include a computer lab and a full biology lab that can be converted into a chemistry lab. "This beautiful Blue Ridge Campus will have more classroom and instructional space than our entire previous facility," Ott said. "We've added a computer lab, science lab, and many student-focused spaces so that our students can spend more time on campus every day to study, meet with faculty, and use resources such as the expanded Student Success and Tutoring Center." Ott said the expanded space also means UNG can offer more courses to students, which will allow them to spend more semesters at the Blue Ridge Campus. Currently, Blue Ridge Campus students only spend between a year and a year-and-a-half there taking required core curriculum classes before they transfer to the Gainesville or Dahlonega campus. This fall, introductory courses in education will be the first courses to be offered in a major area on the campus. The new location also offers an abundance of shared study spaces, which was an important factor that guided the design. A welcoming entry plaza plus a patio at the rear will be available for students to study, gather or relax between classes. Five dual-occupancy offices are designated for faculty while five offices will be for administrative staff. An invitation-only ribbon-cutting event tentatively is planned for Sept. 16, but a sneak-peek tour of the facility can be viewed on UNG's Facebook page. The Georgia General Assembly funded the $5.5 million project in the 2019 fiscal year. Georgia Speaker of the House of Representatives David Ralston, a UNG alumnus who represents Georgia District 7 that includes Fannin County, helped secure the funds. View live politics updates ChevronRight Yoho also used a sexist slur to describe Ocasio-Cortez once she was out of earshot, according to the Hill newspaper, which first reported on the exchange. According to the Hill, Yoho uttered the words f---ing b---h. A spokesman for Yoho denied that the congressman used the epithet and said he instead uttered the word bulls--- to himself, describing his view of Ocasio-Cortezs policies. Story continues below advertisement Asked about Yohos reported comments, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) called them despicable and unacceptable and told reporters Tuesday that the lawmaker should be sanctioned by the House, although he did not provide any details on what form such a sanction might take. Advertisement House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) said he was going to meet with Yoho on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the incident. On Twitter on Tuesday morning, Ocasio-Cortez denounced Yohos behavior and criticized another GOP lawmaker, Rep. Roger Williams (Tex.), who was present for at least part of the exchange. I never spoke to Rep. Yoho before he decided to accost me on the steps of the nations Capitol yesterday, Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. Believe it or not, I usually get along fine w/ my GOP colleagues. We know how to check our legislative sparring at the committee door. But hey, b*tches get stuff done. Story continues below advertisement She accused Williams of joining Yoho in yelling at her and blasted the Texas Republican for later telling a reporter he had not been paying attention to the confrontation between the other two lawmakers. Advertisement A spokesman for Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. According to the report by the Hills Mike Lillis, the confrontation took place Monday when Ocasio-Cortez was ascending the steps outside the east side of the Capitol and Yoho, who was descending after a vote, approached her. Yoho told Ocasio-Cortez she was disgusting for recently suggesting that a crime spike in New York City amid the coronavirus pandemic may have been driven by unemployment and poverty. Story continues below advertisement You are out of your freaking mind, Yoho said, and Ocasio-Cortez told Yoho he was being rude, according to the Hill. After the exchange, Yoho continued descending the steps while joined by Williams. A few moments later, when Ocasio-Cortez was out of earshot, Yoho used the sexist epithet, the Hill reported. Advertisement Yoho declined to comment to the Hill on Monday when asked about the exchange. In an email to The Washington Post on Tuesday morning, Yoho spokesman Brian Kaveney confirmed that Yoho had a brief member to member conversation on the steps of the Capitol. But he said the congressman did not call Rep. Ocasio-Cortez what has been reported in the Hill or any name for that matter. Story continues below advertisement Instead, he made a brief comment to himself as he walked away summarizing what he believes her polices to be: bulls--, Kaveney said. He accused Ocasio-Cortez of using this exchange to gain personal attention, even though the confrontation was reported by the Hill before the congresswoman mentioned it publicly. Kaveney did not respond when asked to confirm Yohos other reported comments. Williams, meanwhile, told the Hill that while he was walking down the steps with Yoho on Monday, he had been thinking about some issues Ive got in my district that need to get done and had not paid much attention to what Yoho and Ocasio-Cortez were saying. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement I dont know what their topic was, Williams told the Hill. Theres always a topic, isnt there? In tweets Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez accused Williams of lying. Gotta love Republican courage from Rep @RogerWilliamsTX: when he undeniably sees another man engaged in virulent harassment of a young woman, just pretend you never saw it in the most cartoonish manner possible and keep pushing, she wrote. Ocasio-Cortez added: Whats wild to me @RogerWilliamsTX is why would you blatantly lie to a reporter who saw this exchange? You were yelling at me too, about throwing urine. Several Democratic lawmakers defended Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday. At a briefing with reporters at the Capitol, Hoyer said Yoho owes not only the congresswoman an apology but should also deliver a full apology in a speech on the House floor. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement It was the act of a bully, Hoyer said, adding, It needs to be sanctioned. Several male Democratic lawmakers noted on Twitter that they shared Ocasio-Cortezs views on the link among unemployment, poverty and crime but had not been similarly confronted by Yoho, suggesting that the lawmaker chose to target the New York Democrat because of her gender. Like @aoc, I believe poverty to be a root cause of crime, Rep. Dean Phillips (D-Minn.) tweeted. Wonder why Rep. Yoho hasnt accosted me on the Capitol steps with the same sentiment? Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) also defended Ocasio-Cortez. I can confirm that AOC gets along w many of her Republican colleagues on a range of things that dont have anything to do w legislation or politics, Gaetz said in a tweet. She is not a [b---h]. Paul Kane contributed to this report. Council, other groups will look at downtown parking concerns There have been several downtown businesses requesting reserved parking spots prompting the council to make some changes to the parking ordinances. Misak Khidiryan during the opening of the Seredino-Budskiy elevator A. G. R. Group. President of the agrarian holding A. G. R. Group Misak Khidiryan opened a new Seredino-Budskiy elevator in Sumy region. The capacity of the first stage of the granary will be 28 thousand tons. The event is reported on the official website of the A.G.R. Group. During the grand opening, Misak Khidiryan noted that the construction of the elevator was one of the strategic tasks of the agricultural holding. While cultivating land in Chernihiv and Sumy regions, we felt a lack of capacity to keep at least what we grew ourselves. Without our own elevator, it was economically unprofitable for us to buy land in this region. But with its opening a new stage has really begun in the development of A.G.R. Group, said Misak Khidiryan. The granary is equipped with the most modern technologies and will create 20 new jobs. By the end of the year, their number should increase to 60. The elevator consists of four silos manufactured by the Swedish company TORNUM. The volume of each is 7 thousand tons. The A.G.R. Group said that farmers will receive grain free of charge. The transport infrastructure of the new facility allows receiving about 3 thousand tons of grain per day. There are 5 railway lines connected to the territory, which will allow processing maximum harvest volumes in short lines. In the first season, the enterprise plans to receive 100 thousand tons of corn, wheat, barley, soybeans and sunflower seeds. Also, the elevator complex is equipped with a grain dryer with a capacity of 52 t / h. A. G. R. Group assures of the highest quality of grain sampling, which will be performed exclusively automatically. The first stage of the granary of Misak Khidiryan's company in the Sumy region. The opening ceremony was an important event in the Seredino-Buda region of Sumy. She was visited by representatives of the authorities, in particular, Deputy Chairman of the Sumy Regional State Administration Serhiy Bannikov, as well as Chairman of the District Council Mykola Kharytonenko. In addition, the elevator was presented to the public by the representative of the Swedish Embassy in Ukraine - the project coordinator for business and trade development, General Director of Tornum Alexander Holod. President of A. G. R. Group Misak Khidiryan thanked the partners for the construction of a modern agricultural infrastructure facility. In turn, representatives of the authorities noted the important role of Misak Khidiryan's company in creating jobs, as well as developing the economic potential of the region. So, Mykola Kharytonenko called the construction of the elevator "the largest investment of private capital in industrial facilities in the Seredino-Budskiy region over the past 20-30 years." TEL AVIV, Israel, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ICL Group Ltd (NYSE: ICL) (TASE: ICL), a leading global specialty minerals and specialty chemicals company, today announced it has been awarded MAALA's highest 'Platinum+' ranking for the second straight year. Mr. Raviv Zoller, ICL's President & CEO, participated in a virtual opening bell ceremony this morning at the Israeli Stock Exchange hosted by Maala, celebrating the publication of the Maala ranking for 2020. Maala is a leading professional non-profit corporate membership organization comprised of over 110 of the highest impact companies in Israel. The Maala ranking for corporate responsibility is based on detailed criteria in diverse areas of sustainability, including environmental protection, business ethics, diversity and fairness in employment, community engagement, corporate governance, sustainable procurement and others. The Maala Index is comprised of companies listed on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and provides investors a benchmark for evaluating companies based not just on financial performance, but also their commitment to corporate responsibility. ICL has managed to retain the top 'Platinum +' ranking despite a significant increase in Maala's requirements for responsible practices. This achievement was due in part to ICL's Employer of Choice approach, which in 2019 included new measures to increase employee diversity and gender equality among the company's global workforce and management. ICL's efforts to promote top tier safety performance and environmental responsibility also contributed to the ranking, with newly established corporate-wide environmental performance targets dealing with global challenges such as renewable energy and circular economy. Mr. Raviv Zoller, ICL's President and CEO, commented: "We are honored to receive the highest 'Platinum+' ranking in the Maala Index for the second year in a row. This acknowledgement, along with last week's announcement of ICL's inclusion in the FTSE4GOOD index, is the result of our ongoing strategic focus on ESG and transparency regarding corporate responsibility, which is integrated in the company's sustainability vision for 2030. It also reflects our commitment to continuous improvement and to the advancement of management practices in all fields of sustainability." Full results of the Maala ranking for 2020 can be found at: http://www.maala.org.il/. See also the ICL Corporate Responsibility advanced web report. About ICL ICL Group LTD is a leading global specialty minerals and chemicals company operating bromine, potash, and phosphate mineral value chains in a unique, integrated business model. ICL extracts raw materials from its unique mineral assets and utilizes technology and industrial know-how to add value for customers in key agricultural and industrial markets worldwide. ICL shares are dually listed on the New York Stock Exchange and the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange (NYSE and TASE: ICL). The company employs over 11,000 people worldwide, and its 2019 revenues totaled approximately $5.3 billion. For more information, visit the Company's website at www.icl-group.com. To access ICL's interactive Corporate Social Responsibility report, please click here. You can also learn more about ICL on Facebook, Linkedin and Instagram. INVESTOR RELATIONS CONTACT Dudi Musler Investor Relations Manager +972-3-684-4448 [email protected] PRESS CONTACT Or-li Kasuto Madmon Scherf Communications +972-52-4447750 [email protected] SOURCE ICL Related Links http://www.icl-group.com/ Pre-Stabilisation notice July 21, 2020 Not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. KfW 3,000,000,000 senior, unsecured Green Bond due 2028 Pre-Stabilisation Notice Commerzbank AG (contact: Daniela Olt-Farrelly; telephone: +49 69 13623492) hereby announces, as Stabilisation Coordinator, that the Stabilising Managers named below may stabilise the offer of the following securities in accordance with Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2016/1052 under the Market Abuse Regulation (EU Regulation 596/2014). The security to be stabilised: Issuer: Kreditanstalt fuer Wiederaufbau - KfW Guarantor (if any): Federal Republic of Germany Aggregate nominal amount: EUR 3,000,000,000 Description: Fixed rate senior, unsecured Green Bond due 15 September 2028 Offer price: tbc Other offer terms: settlement 28 July 2020, denoms 1k, launched under the issuer's EMTN programme, long first coupon Stabilisation: Stabilisation Coordinator: Stabilising Managers: Commerzbank AG CACIB NatWest Stabilisation period expected to start on: July 21, 2020 Stabilisation period expected to end on: no later than 30 days after the proposed issue date of the securities Existence, maximum size and conditions of use of over-allotment facility. The Stabilising Managers may over-allot the securities to the extent permitted in accordance with applicable law. Stabilisation trading venue: Luxembourg In connection with the offer of the above securities, the Stabilising Manager(s) may over-allot the securities or effect transactions with a view to supporting the market price of the securities during the stabilisation period at a level higher than that which might otherwise prevail. However, stabilisation may not necessarily occur and any stabilisation action, if begun, may cease at any time Any stabilisation action or over-allotment shall be conducted in accordance with all applicable laws and rules. This announcement is for information purposes only and does not constitute an invitation or offer to underwrite, subscribe for or otherwise acquire or dispose of any securities of the Issuer in any jurisdiction. This announcement is not for distribution, directly or indirectly, in or into the United States or any other jurisdiction in which such distribution would be unlawful. END Yeah, V-12s might be on their way out, but the T50s is epic in so many ways LISTEN 05:35 The V-12 That Will Power the Gordon Murray T50 Gordon Murray commissioned none other than Cosworth Engineering to build what is being touted as the greatest road car V-12 ever made. Those are very bold words, even from a company as legendary in the business as Cosworth, but once you read what we have to say below, youll understand why theres so much confidence behind this specific V-12 engine. [engine picture removed at the request of copyright owner] The T50 will be powered by a 3.9-liter V-12 that sets a handful of records. Its billed as the lightest V-12 ever made at just 180 kg (396.832 pounds), and its 12,100 rpm rev limit is the highest of any V-12 engine ever produced for a road car. On top of this, its power density of 166bhp per liter is also the best the world has ever seen. However, all of this has for the most part been theory. A production-ready prototype has been largely absent, and Cosworth has been testing three-cylinder 12-valve prototype engines (exactly one-quarter of the full engine) as it puts a long list of special-built components to the test. This includes the following: Aluminum Pistons Titanium Valves Titanium Connecting Rods Gear-Driven Cam Drive Crank-Driven 48-Volt Starter-Generator With testing of the three-cylinder prototypes and part refinement complete, a production-ready prototype of the full V-12 has been built, and it begins testing this week. So what now? Well, the good news doesnt stop here. According to Autocar, Gordon Murray Automotive (GMA) testing has proven that the V-12 will meet emission targets and exceeds original power output expectations. So, the original expected output of 641 bhp at 11,500 rpm has been lifted to 663bhp. Remember, this is a naturally aspirated engine, and theres a good reason for that. In an interview with Autocar, Gordon Murray explained why he chose to avoid forced induction, and it has to do with that spiritual nod to the McLaren F1. I knew a turbo could never deliver the throttle response the McLaren F1 was famous for. and neither would we get that wonderful F1 induction growl. That car felt so great because its throttle response rate was 10,000rpm per second but our new engine responds nearly three times faster still. Its not just the sound and performance of the engine that nods back to the McLaren F1, though, as the car itself will feature the same three-car layout as the old-school F1. The V-12 is important, though, as its low-weight, low mounting, and how compact it is will play a crucial role in the way the T50 handles. After all, the T50 should tip the scale at 980kg, 180 kg of which will be courtesy of the V-12 engine. To put the size and weight of the engine into perspective. Rival V-12s usually come in at around 280-300 kg (about 620-660 pounds), and the T50s V-12 comes in at about half that. Its dimensions are also out of this world. The crankshaft sits just 85 mm above the bottom of the crankcase while the whole engine is just 41 cm tall a spec that youll only find when you look at the most sophisticated race engines in the world. And were talking about a semi-structural engine here, so the transmission that attaches to it can actually serve as a mounting point for the suspension something you usually find only on race cars. The engine will offer two different driving modes, one with reduced performance and lower rev cap and another for all-out performance. Ive been so impressed with the way Cosworth and Xtrac use the latest technology and manufacturing techniques. For instance, I requested two driving modes one limited to what I call Ferrari revs, down around 9500rpm, and the other allowing full performance. The car has the modes I wanted, but we wont strictly need them: although its redlined at 12,100rpm, this engine produces 71% of its maximum torque at 2500rpm. As for when well see the T50, that remains largely a mystery. Murray plans to reveal the whole car soon, and its not affected as much by the global COVID situation thanks to it being an all-British product with most key suppliers being local to production. Overall, things are starting to shape up nicely, and were looking forward to seeing how things turn out once Cosworth gets through its initial testing phase for that all-new V-12. Gordon Murray Automotive T.50 specifications Engine Type / number: Cosworth GMA Configuration: V12 semi-structural V. angle: 65 Displacement: 3,994 cc Valvetrain: Double overhead camshafts / variable valve timing / 4 valves per cylinder Lubrication system: Dry sump Maximum power: 650 horsepower Maximum torque: 332 pound-feet of torque Maximum rpm: 12,100 rpm Starter: 48-volt integrated starter Alternator: 48-volt ISG (integrated starter-generator) Transmission Configuration: Transverse all synchro constant mesh Speeds: 6 forward and reverse Gear selection: Manual with reverse lockout Suspension Front: Double wishbone with anti-roll bar Rear: Double wishbone included axis GSP system Steering: TypeRack and pinion with LSPA Source: Autocar New face covering rules are coming into England on Friday, but some people will be exempt from wearing them. (Getty Images) In England, rules regarding face masks are changing, with new measures being introduced to make it mandatory to wear them in some public places, including shops. Face coverings have been compulsory on public transport since 15 June in England, but from 24 July, it will also be compulsory to wear them in shops and supermarkets, leaving those who dont currently have a mask or covering scrambling to source one. While some members of the public welcome the new measures as a way of slowing the spread of COVID-19, others may not feel comfortable with having to wear a mask, perhaps because they have breathing issues or disabilities that make wearing a face covering difficult. And parents have been left wondering whether their children will now have to don a face mask for a trip to the shops. Heres everything you need to know about the new face covering rules, including who is exempt from wearing one. Will children have to wear face masks in shops? The government has stated that young children under the age of 11, will be exempt from wearing face masks in public when the rules change on 24 July. However, older children will be expected to comply with the new rules. The government previously advised that face coverings should be worn by children over the age of three in an enclosed space where social distancing isnt possible. Read more: Coronavirus: How to help children get used to wearing a face mask or covering Children under 11 will not be advised to wear face masks in shops. (Getty Images) Who else is exempt from wearing a face covering? The government guidance currently states: In settings where face coverings are mandated in England, there are some circumstances, for health, age or equality reasons, whereby people are not expected to wear face coverings in these settings. The government has provided a list of people and circumstances exempt from the new rules: young children under the age of 11 people who are not able to put on, wear or remove a face covering because of a physical or mental illness or impairment, or disability people for whom putting on, wearing or removing a face covering will cause them severe distress people who are travelling with or providing assistance to someone who relies on lip reading to communicate Story continues Other reasons you are allowed not to wear a face mask in settings where they are compulsory include: to avoid harm or injury, or the risk of harm or injury, to yourself or others to avoid injury, or to escape a risk of harm, and you do not have a face covering with you to eat or drink, but only if you need to to take medication There are also scenarios when you are permitted to remove a face covering when asked: if a police officer or other official requests you remove your face covering if asked to do so by shop staff for the purpose of age identification if speaking with people who rely on lip reading, facial expressions and clear sound. Some may ask you, either verbally or in writing, to remove a covering to help with communication Read more: The face mask hacks you need to know Do I need an exemption card to prove I dont need to wear a mask? At the moment there is no official card that you need to show to prove you are exempt from the rules, as set out by the UK government. However, the charity Hidden Disabilities has created a face mask exemption card for people who fit the correct requirements to be exempt from the new measures. The card costs 55p and simply indicates that you have a hidden disability, illness or impairment and have a reasonable reason not to wear a face covering. Businesses who are members of the scheme are aware of our card and provide support, help, assistance or simply a little more time to those wearing the Hidden Disabilities Sunflower, the Hidden Disabilities website explains. However, please note that shops and public transport can still refuse you entry if you are not wearing a face covering. Following face coverings being made mandatory on public transport, TFL also released an exemption card for people with conditions, such as severe asthma, that rule out wearing face coverings. The TFL card simply says I am exempt from wearing a face covering and can be downloaded and printed off via the TFL website. TFL has tweeted to say there is no need to provide medical proof to use the card (similar to the way it is not necessary to provide proof of pregnancy for a baby on board badge). Hi there, thanks for getting in touch with us. You're not required to carry any medical proof as we do not need to ask to see a medical certificate as proof. If asked, simply identify to staff that its due to a medical reason. Have a great day. Thanks, Morpheus Transport for London (@TfL) June 15, 2020 Read more: Doctor shares video explaining how face masks dont reduce your oxygen intake It will be mandatory to wear face masks in shops from Friday. (Getty Images) Do I need a doctors note to prove I dont need to wear a face covering? People who have a relevant medical condition, such as breathing difficulties, are exempt from the mask rules, and may identify themselves as a patient who does not need to wear one. However, there does not appear to be official governments guidance stating a need to obtain a sick note from a GP to show to officials or shop staff who question them. Despite this, it was recently revealed doctors have reported an increase in the number of patients without relevant medical conditions requesting a note from their GP to exempt them from the governments face mask rules. Yahoo UK has contacted the government for further clarification. Read more: Handy hacks to stop your glasses steaming up when you wear a face mask What happens if I dont wear a mask when I should? If you arent included in the list of people who are exempt from having to wear a mask, you could find yourself in trouble with the law. Transport operators can deny service to someone not wearing a mask, and from Friday shops and supermarkets can also refuse entry to those not wearing a mask. If necessary, police and Transport for London authorised officers can issue fines of 100 to those not wearing a face covering. If you pay the fine within two weeks, the fine is reduced from 100 to 50. This past Fourth of July, my grandfather, 94 years old, finally had his high-school graduation. Drafted in the winter of 1945 after his 18th birthday, he was at basic training in Camp Fannin, Texas, when his class graduated. His mother ascended the stage and was awarded the diploma in his stead. Out on my parents lawn we erected a stage, installed a ramp for his wheelchair, and tied red, white, and blue balloons to every surface available, celebrating his scholastic achievement as well as his sacrifices all those many years ago. The extended family gathered to cheer the snowy-white-haired graduate as he motored onto the platform My grandfather was a conscientious objector, something he rarely discusses, and only self-consciously if he does. He was willing to see combat as a medic, but the war was coming to a close, and so my grandpa was instead posted stateside in the supply corps. There he helped process the troops and their gear as they returned from Europe. He is a deeply moral man flawed, as all sons of Adam are, but truly good. A man who started a successful small business after the war and headed it for 60 years, supporting many people and charities the world over. The extent of his magnanimity will likely never be recognized because he gave then as he continues to give now, quietly and with no attachment. A conscientious objector is defined by the Oxford English Dictionary as a person who, for reasons of conscience, objects to complying with a particular requirement, especially serving in the armed forces. Often these folks were given short shrift, shamed for holding to their convictions in times of war. This shaming is flawed thinking, both as a judgment of individuals and for its national implications. The conscientious objector should be honored both for his contribution and for his knowledge of his moral reservations about inflicting violence even when it would be better served to force his hand. The possibility of conscientious objection is a triumph of protecting individual conscience rights in the face of the collectives desires. Story continues The category of conscientious objectors has been with the United States military since the birth of the nation. George Washington called for a draft, to exclude those with conscientious scruples against the war. Under the reign of one of 20th century Americas greatest monsters, Woodrow Wilson, objectors were sentenced to long prison terms or beaten in the streets by the American Protective League, a fancy name for the presidents thugs. The draft for the Second World War saw the greatest number of objectors, 72,000, many taking non-combatant roles such as being a medic or working for the civil service as fire-jumpers or conservationists. The Vietnam Conflict included the last draft, and consequently the last time conscientious objectors were a major part of the armed forces. It is not an easy existence for the objector, torn between loyalties to conviction and to his community. The temptation to set aside ones convictions to please the mob must be nigh on overwhelming in times of heightened tribalism, such as when a country is at war. To proclaim, No, I will not do what I believe to be evil is a commendable thing indeed. The conscientious objector does not shirk his duty and run for the border. Instead, knowing full well that social disapproval from his countrymen and his fellows in uniform awaits him, he shows up to the recruiting station. He then bears the spoken and unspoken condemnation of his fellows while contributing to the war effort outside of combat. A liberal democracy such as ours should celebrate this individualism and moral sentiment, not seek to shame it. But do we not deny such individualistic impulses if they are widely thought wrong or socially harmful? When it comes to, say, avoiding taxation, this is true. But, we understand that there is a fundamental difference between asking someone to kill a fellow human and every other request. Its a unique category. A critic of conscientious objectors might say that their unwillingness to engage in combat may be costly to their country and result in a military loss because of decreased manpower. But this claim is objectionable in principle, and the feared outcome is unlikely in practice. What does it say about a country with highfalutin ideals if every time there is a threat, liberties are tossed out the window for the sake of the defense of the whole? It says that it is hardly a country with preserving. Insofar as the practical is concerned, only a tenth of a percent of those drafted in World War I, and less than three-tenths of a percent of those drafted in World War II, applied to be conscientious objectors; battles were not lost or won on those margins. What is more, the simple fact that he who believes killing is wrong can be forced to hold a rifle does not mean he will accurately fire it. You then have a rifle and ammunition gone to waste, a squadmate of reduced usefulness, and a morale problem in the unit as a whole owing to the rift. Or, worse yet, you have to task a man with threatening the objectors life if he does not stand and fire a former Soviet tactic. Better to retain the values we purport to hold dear during peacetime than to toss them away in wartime by forcing a handful of men to betray their morals and do what they cannot. The conscientious objectors pacifistic desires should be accommodated even if they come not from moral conviction or higher calling but instead from fear for his own life. As Nietzsche said, one has to know the size of ones stomach. In the crucible of battle, he who is stricken with terror is likely not only to lose his own life but to take actions that imperil his fellows. It would be better for everyone if he stayed stateside and contributed where he was best able to be of use. Would you want to be next to a fellow in a foxhole who is losing his mind to unmitigated terror? I would not. There is a scene in the movie Saving Private Ryan in which an American soldier cannot handle the pressures of combat and breaks down in a blubbering heap as German soldiers pass by him to shoot his American squadmates. The passivity of this pitiable wreck makes possible the killing of his compatriots. He should never have been in that position. Better to have him building munitions at a factory in Detroit or running to aid the fallen actively helping the war effort than have him take the place of a soldier who could handle the strain of war-making and help protect others. Conscientious objectors should be honored because they are living symbols of the fact that, even in the darkest of times, we are a country strong and moral enough to respect the convictions of the individual over the demands of the collective. They who took the slings and arrows of their peers, shamed for making a stand, should hold themselves up with pride, knowing that what they did was enough and that the country is in their debt. More from National Review From September 28, KLM Royal Dutch Airlines will adjust the flight schedule for flights between Amsterdam Airport Schiphol and the Gulf States in the Middle East. KLM will also expand its network with the opening of Riyadh in Saudi Arabia. KLM is slowly and carefully expanding its European and intercontinental network. In doing so, KLM aims to offer its customers as much choice of destinations as possible. Adding Riyadh as a new destination will strengthen KLM's network in the Middle East and help keep it robust. The opening of Riyadh means an increase in the number of destinations, but not in the number of flights to the Middle East, because Riyadh will be combined with an existing destination. The total number of flights KLM operates from Schiphol is far from the pre-corona crisis level. Our passengers safety, comfort, well-being and health remain our highest priority. All of our flights are operated with additional sanitary measures to ensure our passengers safety. We are humbled to be among the first European airlines resuming flights to the Middle East, offering travel solutions to Paris, Amsterdam and beyond. We profoundly thank our customers for their patience and the authorities involved for their continuous support, said Yeshwant Pawar, General Manager, Air France KLM, Gulf, Iran and Pakistan. Riyadh flight schedule KLM will fly directly from Amsterdam to Riyadh four times a week. On the way back, this flight will make a short stopover in Dammam in Saudi Arabia, a destination that was already included in the KLM network before the corona crisis. The flights will be operated with the Airbus A330-200 with 18 seats in World Business Class and 246 seats in Economy Class. Muscat combined with Abu Dhabi From August 3, the flights to Muscat will be operated with a short stopover in Abu Dhabi. There will be three flights per week. The Amsterdam-Abu Dhabi-Muscat-Abu Dhabi-Amsterdam route will be operated using the Boeing 787-9 with 30 seats in World Business Class and 264 seats in Economy Class. Reopening flights to Kuwait-Bahrain As part of the slow expansion of the KLM network, flights via Kuwait to Bahrain will also be restarted on September 28. It concerns three flights per week. The flights will be operated with the Airbus A330-200 with 18 seats in World Business Class and 246 seats in Economy Class. Flight schedule to Dubai will remain unchanged The flights from Amsterdam to Dubai will remain unchanged. KLM operates daily flights on this route with a Boeing 777-200 with 34 seats in World Business Class and 286 seats in Economy Class. Seven destinations in the Gulf States As of September 28, KLM offers a total of seven destinations in the Gulf States from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol: Dubai and Abu Dhabi (UAE), Dammam and Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), Muscat (Oman), Manama (Bahrain) and Kuwait City (Kuwait). - TradeArabia News Service Melbourne city councillors will ask the Andrews government to dump its preferred site for a second safe-injecting room after a vote that Greens councillors were forced to abstain from. The state government announced its intention to trial a second injecting room last month and named cohealth community health centre, near the Queen Victoria Market, as its preferred location. Melbourne City Council on Tuesday night agreed to write to Mental Health Minister Martin Foley and former police boss Ken Lay, who is leading consultations, asking that the site be dropped from the government's plans because it is "inappropriate and inadequate". Cohealth Central City, near the Queen Victoria Market, is the government's preferred site for the state's second medically supervised injecting facility. Credit:Justin McManus While a similar motion from deputy lord mayor Arron Wood was defeated last month, lord mayor Sally Capp, who had previously voted against him, seconded his motion on Tuesday and it was carried unanimously. Edmonton, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 21, 2020) - Peruvian Metals Corp. (TSXV: PER) ("Peruvian Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce the plans to explore and develop the Company's 100% Minas Maria Norte Property ("Maria Norte" or the "Property") located in the Huachocolpa Mining District in South-Central Peru. The Property consists of 12 concessions totaling 388 hectares covering an area that hosts a mineralized corridor containing several high grade Au-Ag-Pb-Zn veins. Several historic workings exist on the Property from production in the 1980's. The Property is not subjected to any royalties or liabilities. The Huachocolpa Mining District is host to several producing and past-producing vein-hosted polymetallic, base metal (silver-zinc-lead-copper plus or minus gold) mines. In the mid 1950's, Compania de Minas Buenaventura opened the Recuperada Mine and Mill ("Recuperada") located 14 kilometres SE of Maria Norte. A second plant called Concentradora de Minerales Huachocolpa SA ("COMIHUASA") located 8 kilometres SE of Maria Norte was constructed in 1960. This plant was established by state owned Banco Minero as a toll mill for all the small miners in the area. Production in the area ceased in 2014 when Buenaventura closed its Recuperada operation in 2014. During 2015, interest in the Huachocolpa area was renewed and made polymetallic mining and milling the dominant formal economic activity in the district. The area has attracted two serious private companies by purchasing and making significant investments into the historic Recuperada and COMIHUASA mills. The combined capacity of the two mills is currently 1,500 tonnes per day with planned expansions to over 3,000 tonnes per day. Peruvian Metals has recently sold a number of concessions in the area to Latitude Base Metals, the current owner of the Recuperada Mill. The transaction can be viewed in the Company's press release dated March 5th, 2020. Peruvian Metals remains a shareholder in Latitude Base Metals. Story continues Mineralization at Maria Norte occurs in a series of conjugate vein sets within a 600 metre wide WNW trending structural corridor. Over 10 veins have been observed on surface with the main trend between E-W and WNW with a secondary NE-SW trend. The lengths of the veins as currently mapped and observed on surface are 40 to 400 metres with variable widths from 0.20 to 4 metres. Veins bend and occasionally branch, and it is anticipated that favourable extensional sites for mineralization will be found during future work programs. Site visits by the Company's geologists over the past few years resulted in 86 random grabs and chip samples sent to Bureau Veritas Mineral Laboratories based in Lima for analysis. Sample results within this structural corridor ranged from 0.01 to 40.30 g/t Au, 0.70 to 1,848 g/t Ag, 0.01 to 20.80% Pb and 0.02 to 16.66% Zn. Fifty percent of the samples averaged 5.33 g/t Au, 459 g/t Ag, 5.4% Pb and 1.99% Zn. The mineralization at Maria Norte is considered a low-sulphidation type hosted in early Miocene volcanics. The historic Tangana Pb-Zn-Ag mine ("Tangana") and associated veins are located approximately 2.5 km's southwest of Maria Norte. The vein sets at Tangana have the similar WNW-ESE orientation however occur at a lower elevation. The Tangana mine is now owned by Latitude Base Metals and still contains a significant Pb-Zn-Ag resource. As noted earlier, the mineralization at Maria Norte contains a high gold content compared to other mines in the area. This is due to the vertical zonation typically associated with these types of mineralized environments. Precious metal mineralization will occur above the base metal mineralization. Elevation differences between known Pb-Zn-Ag mines in the area with Maria Norte can exceed 500 metres vertically, thus making it a favourable target host of gold enrichment. The Company plans to conduct a detailed structural map and locate all old workings and adits on the property in the coming months. Metallurgical sampling will be conducted along with the commencement of environmental baseline studies. A permit will be submitted for the underground extraction of a bulk sample which will also aid in establishing underground drill sites. The Company will seek a mining contractor and/or company to further develop the property. Jeffrey Reeder, CEO of Peruvian Metals comments: "The Company's objective is to explore and develop our assets throughout Peru. We are excited to be part of the renewed interest in the Huachocolpa Mining District directly and also, indirectly by being a shareholder in Latitude Base Metals. Peruvian Metals will start to explore and permit Maria Norte for small scale production in late 2020. The Property has impressive Au-Ag values on surface and has seen small scale production over 35 years ago. Our Minas Maria Norte Property is 100% owned with no underlying royalties. The Company's ability to generate quality prospects will continue by applying for concessions in new areas throughout Peru." Jeffrey Reeder, P Geo, a qualified person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, has prepared, supervised the preparation or approved the scientific and technical disclosure contained in this news release. About Peruvian Metals Corp. Peruvian Metals Corp. is a Canadian Exploration and Mineral Processing company. Our business model is to explore and develop mining properties, provide toll milling services for clients and to produce high grade concentrates from mineral purchases. The Company continues to acquire precious and base metal properties in Peru. For further information on Peruvian Metals Corp. please visit www.peruvianmetals.com . Peruvian Metals Corp. is a Canadian resource company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange: Symbol "PER" For additional information, contact: Jeffrey Reeder Tel: (647) 302-3290 Website: www.peruvianmetals.com Email: jeffrey.reeder@peruvianmetals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Disclosure Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: This press release contains certain "Forward-Looking Statements" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation. We use words such as "might", "will", "should", "anticipate", "plan", "expect", "believe", "estimate", "forecast" and similar terminology to identify forward looking statements and forward-looking information. Such statements and information are based on assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis made by management in light of its experience, current conditions and its expectations of future developments as well as other factors which it believes to be reasonable and relevant. Forward-looking statements and information involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause our actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements and information and accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on such statements and information. Risks and uncertainties are more fully described in our annual and quarterly Management's Discussion and Analysis and in other filings made by us with Canadian securities regulatory authorities and available at www.sedar.com. While the Company believes that the expectations expressed by such forward-looking statements and forward-looking information and the assumptions, estimates, opinions and analysis underlying such expectations are reasonable, there can be no assurance that they will prove to be correct. In evaluating forward-looking statements and information, readers should carefully consider the various factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward looking statements and forward-looking information. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60162 Walter Myrick, a Philadelphia middle school art teacher and comic-book fan who's been going to San Diego Comic-Con since 2011, will be attending Comic-Con@Home this year from home in Philly. Read more Walter Myrick had hoped to be on the West Coast this week, navigating the crowds and chatting up the artists at San Diego Comic-Con. I had a hotel, I had a flight, I was all set, said Myrick, an artist and Comic-Con regular since 2011. The art teacher from AMY Northwest Middle School even had a cosplay character in mind. I was going to do Doctor Voodoo, who is like the Black counterpart to Doctor Strange, Myrick said last week. Then came the pandemic, and the event that last year drew more than 130,000 people from all over the world was canceled for the first time in its 50-year history. Replacing it is Comic-Con@Home: five days of online presentations more than 350 of them that will largely premiere on YouTube Wednesday through Sunday, and in most cases will be available for some time after their premieres. Other aspects of the convention, including games and gaming demonstrations, can be expected to take place on platforms like Discord, Twitch, or Facebook Live. A badge covering four days plus the preview night had been priced as high as $304 this year. (Ticket holders were given a choice of refunds or having their passes roll over to 2021). But this home version is free. You can even print out free badges, including ones for your pets. The experience wont be the same without the kind of serendipitous encounters Myrick has enjoyed in San Diego like the time he ran into Marvel Comics editor-in-chief C.B. Cebulski in a Subway at midnight but hes determined to make the best of it. I have carved out time ... to just have my phone turned off and upside down so nobody can even contact me. I want to make it as much like Comic-Con as I can, he said. Im a huge X-Men fan. I want to see the panel about the upcoming X-Men crossover. I want to see panels on drawing. ... I really applaud them for still having panels that are talking about things like, you know, drawing, cosplay, how to make a movie, how to get press. Theyre still doing the bigger panels, like for Disney+ and Marvel TV [but] theyre also still doing those smaller things. Nerd Vegas Adam F. Goldberg, the Jenkintown-raised creator of ABCs The Goldbergs, first started going to San Diego Comic-Con after moving to Los Angeles in 2001, before the convention became what he calls nerd Vegas and when his friends would still roll their eyes about his traveling to buy comic books. It was always a great day trip, Goldberg said in an interview this week. I would get some kind of vintage toy stuff. I would grab some comics, I would go with a couple friends, some were comic book writers. And then it was really fascinating to just watch it become this huge Hollywood blowout ... over the next 10 years, as movie and television studios began to see SDCC more and more as a promotional platform. I was there the first year that [Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia] did Comic-Con. ... And I know Rob [McElhenney] and Charlie [Day] and Glenn Howerton], and I was surprised that they were doing a panel because it just didnt seem even comic book-y to me. And they sold out, like it was a madhouse, he said. And thats when I realized, Oh, this isnt even about comics anymore. This is just a way to kind of, for fans to interact with anything they love. Goldberg has appeared on panels himself, but hasnt been to SDCC for the past five or six years (too much of a madhouse). The Goldbergs will have a panel, with the cast and executive producer Doug Robinson, premiering on YouTube at 4 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time Sunday. Goldberg plans to watch, and Ill for sure check in on some of those [other] panels, he said. Why not? Like theres no crowds. What he wont be able to do is walk the convention floor as he once did, finding some cool vintage action figure I never know existed or some cool comic or getting to meet an artist I really liked. And while the throngs in San Diego have driven him to other conventions, like WonderCon Anaheim and New York Comic Con, hes been known to get someone else to stand in line for him in San Diego for some must-have collectible. Nirvana for conventions' For Len Webb, who hosts the Black Tribbles geek-culture podcast and radio show on Phillys WPPM-FM (106.5), 2020 had started out looking like the year the Tribbles a local group of eight men and women who bill themselves as too cool to be geeks, too cute to be nerds were finally going to make it to San Diego Comic-Con. WATCH THURSDAY: Black Tribbles founder Len Webb talks with Ellen Gray at 12:30 p.m. on Inquirer Live at Lunch on Instagram. It is pretty much like the nirvana for conventions and we actually had the inside track on being there this year, before the world turned, Webb, a veteran of many other comics conventions, said last week. A couple of groups were getting together to speak on Black experience in the geek culture. So they had reached out to us. And we were all collaborating on putting together a couple of panels and events. But it didnt happen. READ MORE: Elizabeth Wellington: Afrofuturism is all around us and we didn't even know it A search of the Comic-Con@Home schedule for BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) turns up a number of panels. Some, like Afro-Futurism and Black Religion: Connecting Imaginations and Gender, Race, and Comic Book Coloring, have already been added to the personal Comic-Con schedules of enough at-home participants to fill a sizable room in San Diego. I would say that within the last probably five to seven years there has been a concerted effort to have more representation [of people of color] on the convention circuit, Webb said. I think that now with ... the light that has been shined on the Black experience in America and the experience of people of color in general, in America and in American history, that that representation is being ... promoted all the more. And fortunately, there are a lot of people that are in the position to take advantage of that spotlight. For Myrick, events like Comic-Con have long felt inclusive. Ive never gone to a convention and felt like Im the only Black person here, even if was the only Black person here, he said. When he and his brother travel to San Diego on Southwest Airlines, where passengers choose their seats as they board, the seat next to them is always the last seat taken, he said. But when you go to Comic-Con, and have a seat next to you, like no one flinches. ... The cool thing about Comic-Con and the biggest thing to lose this year is thats one place where everybody there is looking at you for what your interests are. Black Tribbles founder Len Webb talks with Ellen Gray on Inquirer Live at Lunch 12:30 p.m. Thursday on Instagram @phillyinquirer. The federal ministry of education, Abuja has released guidelines ahead of the proposed resumption of schools at every level in the country following stay at home imposed as a result of the dreaded COVID-19 pandemic. However, the guideline failed to address the resumption date. According to the guidelines signed by the Minister for Education, Mallam Adamu Adamu on Monday, the safe distancing measures in the new guidelines required that in schools and other learning facilities, learners should be supported to stay two meters apart. The document reads, However, there are exceptions where the two-meter rule cannot be reasonably applied and other risk mitigation strategies may be adopted. Examples include early years, younger primary school children, and those with additional needs. Advertisement Read Also: Chris Okotie Joins Conspiracy Theorists, Says Bill Gates Leading Agenda To Destabilise The World With Covid-19 In these circumstances, risk assessments must be undertaken with the best interests of the learners, teachers, and other education personnel in mind. The scenarios require organizing learners and children into small groups with consistent membership and compliance with the risk mitigation strategies. The membership of these groups should not change unless the NCDC public health guideline suggests otherwise. With the release of the document, the government would conduct a rapid assessment and determine funding requirement for upgrading infrastructure and facilities (such as classrooms, furniture, Water, Sanitation and Hygiene-WASH and ICT facilities) to meet and sustain prescribed safe school reopening requirements. The government said it was time for it to plan and address the eventual safe reopening of schools and learning facilities. COVID 19 pandemic poses an enormous risk to the health and safety of learners, teachers, parents, school administrators, education practitioners, and the wider communityMore than 1.5 billion children and young people globally have been affected by school and university closures. As a responsible government, it is also our duty to provide comprehensive guidelines for a safe and hitch-free reopening of schools and learning facilities. We do so knowing that the health, safety, and security of learners, teachers, education personnel, and families are priorities, it stressed.. Adamu further explained that the need to develop the guidelines became imperative, given that COVID 19 may be with us for a while. He said the guidelines also highlight the urgent need to maintain and improve upon distance-learning programs. The Minister said, Our aim is to identify and strengthen programmes that will guarantee the recovery of learning gaps resulting from the pandemic. The guidelines were drafted in close coordination with health, environmental, education, and school safety experts who were tasked with the responsibility of charting a pathway for safely reopening our schools and learning facilities for quality teaching and learning. Cijay Brightman has been a stage technician for 15 years, working at events such as the Eurovision Song Contest and doing sound and lighting for Madonna's performances in Israel. But now that live events have become a thing of the past, because of the coronavirus, Brightman leads a less glamorous life - making sandwiches and serving customers at a Tel Aviv deli. In the wake of the pandemic, he has been forced to abandon his passion and profession, like thousands of others in Israel, and find any job that will pay the bills. "Sometimes, I'm losing it," said Brightman, 36, while slicing sausage for a customer at the deli. "You worked with the biggest star in the world, with Madonna... and a day after, you just realize that you are nothing." In the spring, Israel was quick to impose restrictions to stop the spread of the coronavirus by shutting down schools, and closing events spaces, theaters and restaurants. The measures appeared to have helped keep the virus at bay, but the country's unemployment rate skyrocketed to nearly 28%, including people who were on furlough. Many of those affected were self-employed and have therefore been unable to seek unemployment benefits. By May, Israel had managed to keep its daily infections to the low dozens and began swiftly reopening the economy, sparking hope that those furloughed could return to their jobs and the unemployed could find new posts. But what has emerged as a hasty and erratic reopening triggered a spike in new infections, prompting a pause on plans and a new, weekend-only lockdown. With cases continuing to rise, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has now warned that Israel is "a step away from a new lockdown." And while the unemployment rate has dropped somewhat, it now stands at 21%, according to the Israeli Public Employment Service. To address the surge in job seekers, the government has pledged more than 100 billion shekels, almost $30 billion, in financial aid. But that assistance has been hobbled by bureaucratic setbacks, and potential recipients say they have received little or no money. The crisis has sparked large and occasionally violent protests in Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, with demonstrators demanding the government follow through on its promises. Sensing the rising anger, Netanyahu promised a more streamlined plan that tends to the needs of the self-employed, granting them an immediate stipend of up to 7,500 shekels ($2,200) and unemployment benefits well into next year. A New South Wales man was fined after police caught him trying to sneak across the Queensland border in the boot of a car. The 41-year-old was found by Queensland Police hiding under bags in the boot of a Mitsubishi hatchback at Wallangarra on Sunday night. Bodycam footage captured the moment police busted the would-be border hopper before slapping him with a $4,003 fine. 'Well hello buddy, stay where you are. Why were you trying to sneak across mate,' the officer is heard saying. Queensland Police caught a New South Wales man attempting to sneak across the state border in the back of a Mitsubishi hatchback (pictured) in Wallangarra The man then politely says 'hello' back to the officer before being escorted from the boot. Two women, aged 28 and 29, were also in the vehicle at the time and all three were refused entry to Queensland. Since July 3 anyone entering Queensland is required to complete a border declaration pass. 'The Queensland Police Service is committed to ensuring everyone complies with public health directions and will continue to enforce restrictions at the border,' a statement read. Meanwhile, Victorians and anyone who has visited COVID-19 hotspots in NSW are not allowed to enter Queensland. The 41-year-old New South Wales man was slapped with a $4,003 fine for trying to sneak across the Queensland border The locations of border checkpoints continues to cause friction between the NSW and Queensland governments. The standoff centres around which state should compromise after border restrictions have caused 'diabolical' wait times for residents of both states. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaczszuk says the frustration could have been avoided if the NSW government had approved their request in March for checkpoints south of the Tweed River. But NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she has no intention of allowing the checkpoints in her jurisdiction. 'I'm happy to consider all options except I do not believe at any stage we should move the border,' she said in Sydney on Monday. The Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) has cautioned the federal government against reopening of schools across the country adding that such though should only be considered from 2021. Biodun Ogunyemi, the president of the union while speaking with newsmen added that opening of schools at this time would only amount to experimenting with lives of students as adequate provisions are not on ground to accommodate such. He said, Look, Kenya has said they have closed all their schools till next year. They too have exams to write; safety first. If it means closing the schools until next year to safeguard the lives of Nigerian children and safeguard the health of all Nigerians, so be it, Ogunyemi said. Read Also: Make Food, Electricity Available As You Lockdown, ASUU Tells FG Advertisement So, if that will help us to address cases that can lead to increase in mortality, I think Nigerians should go that way and all of us should see reason for it. If they need to cancel admission for the year, it is good for them. Life matters first, people must have life first before they can go to university. Are the universities ready to work now? Our position is that they should not experiment with the lives of our children. Nobody can tell; the situation may soon normalise and they can do their exams and there is another opportunity for external candidates around November. So, its not as if the door is totally closed. The first thing that should be tackled is whether schools are safe. And if the schools are not safe, why do you want to carry out an experiment with the lives of our children? he queried. An attempt to send back the children to school at a time there is a spike in COVID-19 cases in Nigeria is like experimenting with the lives of our children. If they put all the things in place, including social and physical distancing, sanitisers, kitting the children as we see in other places, decontamination with water flowing in the schools and all the gadgets, why not? So, if government can meet all these conditions, then they can reopen the schools. But if they cannot meet all these conditions, they should not experiment with even 10 students in any school. Climate activist Greta Thunberg plans to donate a 1 million euro ($1.14 million) prize to organizations focused on the environment and climate change. The 17 year old Swede was named winner of the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity on Monday. In a video, she described herself as being "incredibly honored and extremely grateful this means a lot to me and I hope that it will help me do more good in the world." "All the prize money will be donated through my foundation to different organizations and projects who are working to help people on the front lines affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis, especially in the Global South," she went on to say. She added that the money would also "help organizations and projects who are fighting for a sustainable world and who are fighting to defend nature and the natural world." Breaking the initial donations down, Thunberg tweeted that 100,000 euros would be donated to the "SOS Amazonia Campaign led by Fridays For Future Brazil to tackle Covid-19 in the Amazon." A further 100,000 euros will go to the Stop Ecocide Foundation. The Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity says it "aims to recognise people, groups of people and/or organisations from all over the world whose contributions to mitigation and adaptation to climate change stand out for its novelty, innovation and impact." The Portugal-based Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation was set up in the 1950s following the death of Calouste Sarkis Gulbenkian, a wealthy businessman and philanthropist with interests in oil. Since starting a protest outside the Swedish parliament in 2018, Thunberg has risen to global prominence, becoming the figurehead for a series of school strikes by children around the world. This is not the first time she has donated prize money to organizations and causes she supports. In April, after winning the Human Act Award, she said she would donate the $100,000 prize money to UNICEF. The Human Act Award matched Thunberg's donation with a further $100,000. Diversified property group Dexus has been downgraded to neutral reflecting the headwinds facing the real estate sector as major listed landlords prepare for what is forecast to be one of the toughest reporting seasons in many years. Macquarie Equities says it has dropped its outlook for the office and industrial landlord, noting there are structural and cyclical challenges and "limited valuation support". The analysts say that while Dexus should be more resilient with its quality portfolio, they are awaiting evidence of tenants retaining CBD office space before "becoming more positive" on the sector. Dexus' landmark project is a $1.5 billion mixed-use precinct at the 'Paris end' of Collins Street in Melbourne. Dexus, led by chief executive Darren Steinberg, is the country's largest office landlord, and also has logistics and retail investments. Its latest development is the $1.5 billion site at 80 Collins Street, Melbourne. (The Center Square) Teachers in Wisconsin's largest school districts say students and teachers need to start the new school year at home. The heads of the teachers' unions in Milwaukee, Madison, Green Bay, Racine and Kenosha on Monday all signed an open letter to Gov. Tony Evers asking him to issue a statewide order that blocks kids from returning to classrooms in September. "Strong and immediate action to keep Wisconsin students safe is needed," the letter begins. The union chiefs say the coronavirus is spiking in Wisconsin, and that puts teachers at risk. "The Kaiser Family Foundation released a report indicating that one in every four educators falls in a high-risk category making them more vulnerable to Covid-19," the letter states. It adds that students of color are also at risk. "And as districts serving majority populations of students and families of color, we cannot ignore the disproportionate impact of illness and death that Covid-19 has had on Black and Brown communities," the union chiefs wrote. "Our students need safe, equitable, well-resourced classrooms staffed with highly qualified educators, so they can learn. The classroom is where every single educator wants to be this fall, but with no containment of Wisconsin COVID-19 cases, a virtual reopening for public schools is necessary." Milwaukee and Madison public schools already announced that they will start the year with at least four weeks of online classes. Evers has said that he expects all schools in Wisconsin to open this fall, but he has not said if schools should open to in-person classes. Evers said local schools should make the decision for themselves. Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, said Monday her local school districts in Ozaukee, Washington and Waukesha counties are looking to get back to classrooms this fall. "Ive been in contact with every superintendent in my district. I have full confidence in the ability of our district administrators to make wise and informed decisions, Darling said, They are consulting with health professionals, parents, and teachers. They will make the best possible decision for their communities. I strongly support their priority of getting children back into the classroom. As for the fear that going back to school during a pandemic will lead to a wave of sick kids, Darling said she's talked to doctors about that "science." There is no one-size fits all plan for our schools, but these guidelines outline the priorities of getting kids back to school, back into the classrooms, and back to normalcy," Darling said. "Ive talked to pediatricians who have universally expressed deep concerns with disruptions in learning, situations at home that relate to mental health and domestic violence, and further widening the achievement gap. The American Academy of Pediatrics also says students should return to the classroom in the fall. Senators Introduce Bill to Allow Americans to Take Legal Action Against China Over Pandemic Six Republican senators have jointly introduced a bill to allow Americans to sue China over the COVID-19 pandemic in U.S. federal courts. Americans who have been victimized by the lies and deceit of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) deserve the opportunity to hold China accountable and to demand just compensation, stated Martha McSally (R-Ariz.), in a July 20 press release from her office. The bill would provide Americans with the legal tools necessary to sue the Chinese government in federal court for creating and worsening the COVID-19 pandemic, McSally added. The legislation was jointly introduced by McSally, Josh Hawley (R-Mo.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Tom Cotton (R-Ark.), Thom Tillis (R-N.C.), and Mike Rounds (R-S.D.). Beijing initially went to great lengths to conceal the spread of the CCP virus, commonly known as novel coronavirus, which causes the COVID-19 disease. It silenced eight doctors, among them Li Wenliang and Ai Fen, respectively an ophthalmologist and head of the emergency department at Wuhan Central Hospital. The whistleblower doctors were silenced after posting on Chinese social media about a new form of pneumonia that was spreading in Wuhan city in late December. The World Health Organization also recently backtracked from its initial claim that Beijing reported the virus outbreak late last year to the world health bodyinstead saying that the agency found out about the outbreak through a post on the Wuhan health commissions website. The United States, after witnessing its first confirmed case of the virus in Washington state in mid-January, now has over 3.8 million infection cases and over 140,950 deaths due to the virus. Sen. Cotton said Beijings coverup led to thousands of needless deaths and untold economic harm, according to the press release. He added: Its only appropriate that we hold the Chinese government accountable for the damage it has caused. The bill, named the Civil Justice for Victims of COVID Act, would amend the Foreign Sovereign Immunities Act, which is a U.S. law that insulates countries from being sued in the United States. The amendment would strip any foreign state, in particular China, of its sovereign immunity for any reckless actions or omissions, including conscious disregard of the need to report information promptly or deliberately hiding relevant information causing the pandemic, according to the bill text. Meanwhile, any citizens or residents of the United States who have been hurt by such actions or omissions may sue the foreign state in any appropriate U.S. district court. The plaintiff shall recover threefold the damages he or she sustains and the cost of the suit, including attorneys fees, according to the bill. The U.S. courts would have the power to issue any writ or order of injunction against foreign states, such as freezing any assets of the Chinese regime. U.S courts could halt any legal proceeding if the U.S. Secretary of State determines that the United States is engaged in good-faith discussion with the foreign state defendant. The halt is limited to no more than 180 days, and can be extended for another 180 days at most, according to the bill. State attorney generals could also bring a civil lawsuit before U.S. district courts on behalf of their state residents. If signed into law, the amendment could apply to the Chinese regimes actions, or lack thereof, before or after the bills enactment. This pandemic is far from over, and every day Americans continue to suffer thanks to the CCPs incompetence and lies. The victims deserve to have their day in court, Hawley stated in the press release. There have been at least ten lawsuits filed in the United States against China, claiming that Chinese authorities did not do enough to stop the spread of the virus. Eight of them are class-action lawsuits, while the other two were filed by the attorney generals of Missouri and Mississippi. Robert Boone, an attorney in Los Angeles, told the Associated Press in May that these lawsuits faced an uphill battle in order to meet certain exceptions under the foreign immunities law. The Civil Justice for Victims of COVID Act has incorporated elements from previously stand-alone bills introduced by McSally and Blackburn (S.3592), Hawley (S.3588), and Cotton (S.3662), according to the press release. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dene-Hern Chen and Nattakorn Ploddee (Agence France-Presse) Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand Tue, July 21, 2020 10:01 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40668077a1 2 Food Thailand,wine,alcohol,GranMonte Free Sisters Mimi and Nikki have battled Thailand's tropical climate, chased off elephants from their vineyards and won over a sceptical public to their award-winning wine. Now they're taking on the "unfair" booze laws critics say benefit the kingdom's billionaire booze monopolies. Rows of Syrah, Viognier and Chenin Blanc grapes stretch across the 40-acre GranMonte Estate in the foothills of Khao Yai National Park. The elevated terrain, three hours outside of Bangkok, provides unexpectedly fertile ground for grapes and an escape from city life, complete with a rust-colored guesthouse that could be pulled straight from a Tuscany tourism advert. As they snap selfies in between the vines visitors run into Nikki Lohitnavy, 33, who studied oenology in Australia and now steers the science behind each bottle. She painstakingly experiments with grape varieties to see how they respond to the climate -- it takes at least six years to see if a decent wine will emerge from the ground. The plot of land was once a cornfield, but their father Visooth transformed the terrain into trellised vines and as a teenager Nikki joined him in the fields. Younger sister Mimi was not interested in the viticulture, but today, she heads the label's marketing, calling it her "mission to put Thai wine into the market". The kingdom's wine remains an outlier -- grapes grown in warmer temperatures tend to produce tannic wines, something that seasoned drinkers eschew. But after more than two decades in business, GranMonte is gaining recognition especially for its progress in tropical viticulture. "Winemakers around the world want to know what we do here because the climate is changing so they have to adapt to warmer temperatures and higher rainfall in their regions too," Nikki told AFP. Its proximity to a national park also poses an unusual pest control issue as hungry elephants occasionally trespass through their vineyard, prompting calls from the sisters to rangers for help. Read also: Web over virus: Taiwan sommelier takes wine tasting online Que Syrah Sera Despite the gains, the long term future of the GranMonte wines is clouded by the kingdom's heavily restrictive booze laws. Thailand has a strange relationship with alcohol. A devoutly Buddhist kingdom, it also has the highest alcohol consumption rate in Southeast Asia, according to the WHO. A web of rules, including high import taxes on alcohol, hefty fines for breaches and a licensing culture where bars require friends at local police stations, can make drinking a complicated business. Then there's the 2008 Alcoholic Beverage Control Act, a law forbidding the display of booze logos on their products, as well as any advertising that could "directly or indirectly appeal to people to drink". It's aimed at controlling consumption, but in effect clips the wings of small producers who do not possess the same reach to customers as established brands. "I can't show clearly a bottle of my wine, I can't post on social media what the wine tastes like, or how or why it's good," says Mimi, who worries that their website might fall afoul of the law. Critics say it has always been unevenly enforced, allowing booze giants to cement their brand recognition, spraying their logos via non-alcoholic drinks like soda water on giant billboards and public transport. The market leader - Thai Beverage - makes the ubiquitous Chang lager. The firm is owned by Sirivadhanabhakdi family, the kingdom's third richest family with $10.5 billion in wealth according to Forbes, and their portfolio includes massive downtown Bangkok real estate projects and hotels. Together with Boon Rawd Brewery -- which produces Singha and Leo -- the duopoly are unrivaled in reach and capital. Neither responded to multiple requests for comment. Thailand's booze laws are uncharacteristically responsive to changes in drinking culture. Online alcohol sales - which surged during the pandemic lockdown - are now in the regulators' crosshairs, potentially closing down another revenue route for small alcohol producers. GranMonte lost 30 million baht ($964,000) in three months during the shutdown - and Mimi says their recovery will be further hampered by new rules slated to ban all online booze sales. Read also: Drinking red wine could be good for your gut health: New study Monopoly players But Nipon Chinanonwait, director of the Ministry of Health's Alcohol Control Board, rejects criticism that established giants are given an unfair advantage. "Both big and small companies face the same procedure," he told AFP, while the ministry insists the laws are there only to prevent underage drinking. The sisters have teamed up with dozens of small-scale craft brewers, importers and bars to petition the government to axe the advertising law, and to halt the impending online booze sales ban. "People cannot live like this," said brewer Supapong Pruenglampoo, who hid his Sandport Brewing Facebook page from public view in fear of a crackdown. "In these COVID times, (the fines) are impossible to pay," he told AFP. But in an unequal kingdom, any efforts to change the monopoly culture are bruising. It's "a reflection of how Thailand operates," says Mimi. "The lawmaking, the enforcement and everything surrounding it is to benefit the small group of people holding most of the wealth in Thailand," she said. As Nikki tastes their recent batch of Syrah grapes kept in imported barrels, she says the challenges to start were numerous. Now, they are working to stay on top. "It's our passion -- we like it so we do it," she says. Topics : Thailand wine alcohol GranMonte LONDONAmber Heard has begun giving testimony at Britains High Court against ex-husband Johnny Depp. She has accused him of abusing her both physically and verbally during their tempestuous relationship. The 57-year-old Depp is suing News Group Newspapers, publisher of the Sun, and the papers executive editor, Dan Wootton, at the court in London over an April 2018 article that called him a wife-beater. The Hollywood star strongly denies abusing Heard. In the first session of her testimony that is expected to last for three days, Heard denied accusations that she was a heavy drug-taker and drinker as well as being controlling and abusive herself. She also described an incident in January 2015 in a hotel room in Tokyo over a pre-nuptial agreement between herself and Depp, and suggested there was an argument about it. She testified there was an argument in a hotel room in Tokyo that resulted in Johnny kneeling on her back and hitting her on the back of the head. In written testimony released as she took to the witness box, Heard said she worried Depp would kill her at various times during their relationship that saw her enduring punching, slapping, kicking, head-butting and choking. She also said some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally or just by losing control and going too far. According to the 34-year-old Heard, Depp quote explicitly threatened to kill me many times, especially later in our relationship and that he blamed his actions on a self-created third party that he referred to as the monster. Ethiopia is desperately trying to delude the international community into believing that Egypt is trying to seize control of the Niles water and that Ethiopia, the source of 85 per cent of the Nile, gets none. It also claims that Egypt has allocated to itself its current quota of water without the consent of other Nile Basin countries. Needless to say, the Ethiopian claims are not only false, but they also defy geography and logic. Egyptians did not dig a course for the Nile from the Ethiopian Highlands to the Mediterranean. The Nile dug its own course from there and from the African Great Lakes over the millennia. For thousands of years, Egypt has received an average of 84 billion m3 of water from the four main tributaries of the Nile, the White Nile, the Blue Nile, the Atbara and the Sobat. The amount would increase by about 20 billion m3 during heavy flooding years and decrease by the same amount during drought years. So, rather than setting itself a quota, Egypt agreed to share the amount of water the Nile had granted it over the millennia with Sudan by means of a formal agreement that granted Sudan a one-third share of the 84 billion m3. This agreement was not only just, but it was also generous given Sudans other abundant water resources compared to the meagre alternatives available in arid Egypt. In addition to the water it receives from the Blue Nile, the Sobat, the Atbara and the White Nile, Sudan has the Bahr Al-Ghazal, the Bahr Al-Zeraf, the Bahr Al-Arab, the Lol River and Lake No, not to mention the 40 billion m3 of fresh water in the Sudd and other marshlands that it has access to and the rainfall in Sudans Blue Nile and Kassala states. Most Nile water reaches Egypt during the flooding season, which lasts four months from July to October. Whether the flooding is heavy or light, the river flows fast, which has meant that over the millennia vast amounts of water have sped unused into the Mediterranean. The Aswan High Dam Aswan was conceived in the 1950s to conserve some 22 billion m3 of water a year. Egypt did not rip off this water from some other country; it kept it from going unused into the salty Mediterranean. It then split that quantity with Sudan, which received 14.5 billion m3 while Egypt, the builder and owner of the High Dam, received seven billion m3. Sudan also received about 150km of the High Dam reservoir with its wealth of fish, an important source of livelihood for many Sudanese. As to why Ethiopia objects to Egypts having saved billions of m3 of fresh water from going to waste in the Mediterranean, Egypt remains mystified. Why would Addis Ababa complain to the UN Security Council and threaten to build more dams in order to make Egypts own dam obsolete, despite the fact that this has never harmed Ethiopia or stolen water from the Blue Nile, the Atbara, or the Sobat? Is it pure envy that Egypt has succeeded in making use of water that would otherwise have been lost? Ethiopia also continues to adhere to a very narrow view of what constitutes the water in an international watercourse, which, under international law, should be distributed equitably with other countries along the same watercourse. Under the UN Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses, which became binding on all countries once it had attained the necessary number of ratifications, a watercourse containing water subject to distribution consists not only of the water that flows between the banks, but also the totality of its sources, whether from tributaries, aquifers, rainfall or freshwater lakes. The convention also states that the principle of equitable distribution should take into account the existence of alternative water resources, or the lack thereof, in the countries that lie on the watercourse in question. The six White Nile Basin countries have had no problem accepting this and acknowledging the fact that they are blessed with billions of tons of water from Lake Victoria, Lake Albert, Lake Kyoga, Lake Edward, and Lake George. They have never raised an issue with Egypt over the water that flows between the banks of the White Nile or that gets lost in the marshlands in southern Sudan. Ethiopia, on the other hand, excludes from its calculations the 40 to 50 billion m3 of water in Lake Tana, from which the Blue Nile flows, and the 10 billion m3 capacity reservoir it constructed in 2009 on the Tekeze, a tributary of the Atbara. It thus obtains at least 60 billion m3 of water from the Blue Nile and the Atbara alone among the many other Ethiopian rivers. Yet, it begrudges Egypt the 55.5 billion m3 of water it receives exclusively from the Nile. As mentioned above, the Convention on the Law of Non-Navigational Uses of International Watercourses includes rainfall among the sources of river waters. Ethiopia receives 936 billion m3 of water per year, according to the UN Food and Agricultural Organisation (FAO) in 2014. Thanks to the unpolluted water of this rainfall, Ethiopia is the worlds largest exporter of organic coffee and the second-largest exporter in Africa of organic foods to Europe. These organic food industries use massive quantities of fresh water that is most likely not recycled. The rainfall also sustains vast swathes of pastureland for Ethiopias livestock industry. The country has some 100 million heads of livestock, of which half are cattle and the other half sheep or similar ruminants, according to the 2014 FAO report. A single head of cattle consumes 5,000 m3 of water by the time it reaches three years old. For 50 million heads of cattle, that makes 250 billion m3 over three years, or 84 billion m3 of water per year. Add to this half the amount for the 50 million smaller ruminants that is 42 billion m3 and you get 126 billion m3 from a source of the Nile consumed by the Ethiopian livestock industry per year. Add this to the 60 billion m3 of water from Lake Tana and the Tekeze reservoir, and you get 186 billion m3 of Nile water, or twice the amount that Egypt and Sudan receive together, or three times the amount that Egypt receives from the Nile. Despite such documented facts, Ethiopia still insists on claiming that it receives no share of Nile water. This comes from a country where the amount of physically available water per person is three times that in Egypt and where the land under cultivation is 10 times that in Egypt. *The writer is a professor of soil and water sciences at Cairo Universitys Faculty of Agriculture. **A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: A Michigan woman has been charged with trying to hire someone to kill her ex-husband after filling in a consultation form on fake website rentahitman.com. Wendy Wein, 51, is said to have then met with an undercover state trooper, offering him $5,000 to carry out the hit, after the website's owner tipped off police. Wein, from South Rockwood, has been charged with solicitation to commit murder and and using a computer to commit a crime. She was arrested Friday. Police say she gave the undercover officer an upfront payment for travel expenses to murder her ex, who has not been named but lives in a different state. Wendy Wein, 51, has been arrested accused of trying to hire someone to kill her ex-husband after filling in a consultation form on fake website rentahitman.com The website's owner says he has helped prevent more than 130 murders since setting it up in 2005 by referring those interested in his fake service to police She is said to have filled out a a service request form in which she identified her former husband as the target. Police said in a statement: 'An undercover state trooper posing as a hitman met with Wein in a parking lot in South Rockwood.' The website's owner says he has helped prevent more than 130 murders since setting it up in 2005 by referring those interested in his fake service to police. He said some of those he has reported have also requested school shootings and 'even a baby abduction', WXYZ reports. The website reads: 'Got A Problem That Needs Resolving? With Over 17,985 U.S. Based Field Operatives, We Can Find A Solution Thats Right For You!' In fake testimonials from so called customers one woman identified as Laura S from Arizona writes: 'Caught my husband cheating with the babysitter and resolved after a free public relations consultation. I'm single again and looking to mingle. Thanks Guido!' The website reads: 'Got A Problem That Needs Resolving? With Over 17,985 U.S. Based Field Operatives, We Can Find A Solution Thats Right For You!' In fake testimonials from so called customers one woman identified as Laura S from Arizona writes: 'Caught my husband cheating with the babysitter and resolved after a free public relations consultation. I'm single again and looking to mingle' Phil M from Florida said: 'Guido and his public relations crew were able to resolve a five year dispute in a matter of days. Highly recommended!.' Wein is being held at Monroe County Jail on a bond of $500,000. Her next court appearance is scheduled for July 29. Former Florida Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum discussed his battle with depression and alcoholism Monday during his first public statement since entering rehab in March. Gillum, 40, apologized to supporters in an 11-minute Instagram video and explained that the depression he had been fighting for years worsened after narrowly losing his 2018 race to Governor Ron DeSantis. It was Gillum's first public statement since the March incident, when he was found 'inebriated' in a South Beach hotel room along with a male escort who - DailyMail.com revealed - overdosed on crystal meth. He entered a rehab facility to deal with alcohol abuse soon after. Gillum thanked his wife, R. Jai Howard, for her support in the video. The couple have three children. He said his wife had been a strong ally for him and stated how she 'knows what I am and knows what I am not. She chooses to love me anyhow.' 'I totally underestimated the impact that losing the race for governor had on my life, and on the way that those impacts started to show up in every aspect of my life,' Gillum said. 'It was a constant reminder of failure and my own personal failures. It was a reminder that I had let so many people down.' Former Democratic gubernatorial candidate Andrew Gillum has addressed depression and alcoholism in a social media post on Monday 'All of that was all of a sudden gone, and caused me to think about my own purpose, and my own value and what I could contribute if anything,' he said. 'I didn't want to face any of those things so I numbed. I tried to suppress. I tried to ignore.' Gillum went traveling, made public appearances and sat for TV interviews, posting on Instagram and Facebook 'as if I was living my best life.' He expressed remorse for what he did and acknowledged that his feelings of guilt were normal. 'It is normal to feel guilty for the harm you have caused someone. That's how you know you're human. That's how you know you're not a sociopath.' But he said the public shame that he also felt hit him in a 'completely different' way that 'cuts you.' 'My stuff had to be public and cause great embarrassment and rumors, some false, some true, the shame that I felt from all of that ... was tearing me up,' Gillum said. 'I needed real help to try to unpack that.' Gillum revealed that his father also suffered from alcoholism and died from complications related to 'that deadly addiction.' 'I went away to rehab to focus on my issues with alcoholism, having grown up in a household where my father battled addiction to alcohol, and later died from that addiction,' Gillum said in the video. 'I knew well the toll it took on my father's dreams and ambitions.' In the video, he urged others struggling with alcoholism or depression to seek help. He explained that he turned to therapy address his problems. 'All of us are struggling and trying and clawing at trying to be something else when we really ought to be trying to be at home in ourselves. That is the journey I am on right now ... not having to be one thing in one place and one thing somewhere else,' he said. Gillum had remained silent since a March incident involving a man who reportedly overdosed in a South Beach hotel room 'With a lot of encouragement from family and the people who love and care about me, I also got into therapy, where I could start to talk through what was going on with me,' Gillum said. 'I knew if I had not dealt first with issues and addiction and the numbing that I chose with alcohol, there was no way I could start to pull back the layers and talk about what was truly happening underneath.' 'This is a tough moment not to be out in the world and contributing ... although I can't be what I would love to be for you and for myself and for my community at this time,' Gillum said. 'I hope you know that I couldn't be those things because I couldn't be what I needed to be for me first.' Although he did not state what his plans for the future were, he told his followers to stay tuned. Gillum thanked his wife, R. Jai Howard, pictured for her support in the video. The couple have three children 'I hope that I'll be able to share more layers that I'm developing and enveloping. I'm doing a lot of writing these days. I'm trying to put on paper a lot of what I'm experiencing right now,' he said. Gillum spoke about some of the issues affecting the country currently, including the coronavirus pandemic to the after-effects of the Minnesota killing of George Floyd. He described how he felt the challenges of being a black man in the U.S. and how it had also affected his mental health forcing him to 'look for other ways to take off that pressure.' 'I know as a black man what it means just to have to convince people that your life has meaning, convince people that your life has purpose,' he said. 'Not to be set above anybody but just to be treated on a level that's equal with everyone around you.' Paramedics were called to the four-star Mondrian South Beach hotel which costs $220 a night It was in March when fire rescue crews and police officers responded to the Mondrian South Beach hotel in Miami Beach for a suspected drug overdose. Cops found three plastic bags of suspected crystal meth and the third man present, Aldo Mejias, 56, told officers that Gillum and Travis Dyson had been 'under the influence of an unknown substance', according to a police report obtained by DailyMail.com. Dyson - DailyMail.com revealed - worked as a gay porn actor and advertised himself as a male escort. The report also noted that 40-year-old Gillum, a former Tallahassee mayor and regular CNN contributor, was seen vomiting in the bathroom and required a welfare check to see if he was okay. Dyson describes himself as a trauma certified ER nurse on social media, where he posts photos of himself working out in the gym, partying at gay nightspots and lounging on luxury yachts Police arrived to find paramedics performing first aid on Dyson in the wake of 'a suspected drug overdose' and preparing to take him to the hospital When officers arrived, Gillum was so intoxicated he could not communicate, police said. Police found a substance in the room that appeared to by crystal methamphetamine, but Gillum was not charged with a crime. Images depicted a slew of drugs, both prescription and illegal, found inside the swanky $220-per-night hotel room. Dozens of white pills could be seen scattered on the floor and bedside table alongside empty containers of citalopram, an anti-anxiety medication, and gabapentin, which helps combat seizures and nerve pain. A small bottle of an injectable medicine containing alprostadil, typically used to treat erectile dysfunction. Beer bottles and sheets covered in bodily fluids could also been in the photos, obtained from police under Freedom of Information law. Gillum left the hotel after rescue workers confirmed that he had stable medical signs. Plastic baggies of suspected crystal meth (pictured), empty beer bottles and prescription pills are seen scattered among trash and soiled bedding in shocking images Exclusive images show the slew of drugs, both prescription and illegal, found inside the swank $220-per-night hotel room, including three bags of what police believe was crystal meth Dozens of white pills can be seen scattered on the floor and bedside table alongside empty containers of citalopram, an anti-anxiety medication, and gabapentin, which helps combat seizures and nerve pain, as well as an empty Corona beer bottle One of the other men was taken to a hospital, according to the police report but no charges were ever filed. Gillum said previously that he was in Miami Beach for a wedding and did not use illegal drugs. After the hotel room encounter became public, Gillum announced he was entering a rehabilitation facility. Gillum was the first Black nominee in a major political party to run for governor in Florida. After the narrow electoral defeat, the former Tallahassee mayor mounted an effort to register Democratic voters in Florida and frequently appeared on cable news channels as a political commentator, but he admitted in the video that depression 'became far too much for me to keep down.' Following years of neglect and environmental abuse, the new governor of Ninevah province, Najm al-Jabouri, announced last June, a project to plant 1 million trees in an effort to revive Mosul, a city that is also known as al-Khadrah, which translates to "The Green." Subsequently, many projects were launched and some have been finalized already. For instance, on July 15, a tree planting project at Mosuls central transportation hub was completed by a group of youth volunteers. Mosul is known for being one of the most fertile cities in Iraq, and many scholars believe the legendary Hanging Gardens of Babylon were built near the city. However, many years of neglect, Turkish dams on the Tigris River and environmental damage by the Islamic State (IS) has contributed to its deforestation, turning it into a semi-arid city. IS not only unraveled the social fabric in Mosul, but it ravaged its fertile lands and systematically burnt the Yazidi's olive tree farms and Mosuls palm trees, causing sandstorms in Iraq. Hence, the idea to plant trees in the city was born. On June 7, Jabouri officially launched the "Green Mosul" project proposed by Mosul Eye to plant 1 million trees in the city this year. Al-Monitor spoke to Omar Mohammed, founder of the internationally known blog Mosul Eye, an organization he created in 2014 to document the atrocities committed in Mosul during its occupation under IS. In a tweet, Mosul Eye said the deforestation processes caused by IS between 2013 and 2020 had been clearly and extensively shown and documented. As part of the project, more than 500,000 palm trees will be planted across Mosuls neighborhoods, parks and roadsides in order to revive the city's neglected biodiversity. Mosuls main harvest consists of zucchini, onions and potatoes and many families grow grapes in their backyards. When asked about what inspired Mohammed to initiate the project, he said, The main reason I proposed this project is because I traveled to many cities in the world and I saw green spaces in every city in every country where people can enjoy the view and clean air. Mohammed said that the local population will be able to enjoy cleaner air, in addition to the trees contributing to the global climate change campaign; Iraq and its neighbors have suffered major natural disasters including droughts and locust swarms. According to Mohammed, Mosuls fertile land and environment will support and preserve the trees, although Mosul has greatly suffered from the use of chemical weapons during the wars that have affected the city's water and soil. He noted, The palm trees will be planted based on the urban design of Mosul in a way that is more accessible for the people to visit these green spaces." He added, "We don't want to rely solely on oil and want to support our local farmers and improve our agriculture production to export food rather than having to import." (Iraq imports the majority of its grains, meat, poultry and dairy from Iran and Turkey.) The project relies on the surveys and studies conducted by the Mosul agriculture department, which had planned to implement a large-scale tree planting project in Mosul for many years but never started the project. The Mosul local government is discussing the project with France, Turkey and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and is also seeking support from international communities and organizations. On July 9, the French Embassy in Iraq announced an interest in supporting the project on Twitter, saying it intended to support farmers in western Ninevah and promote social and economic factors. Mosul Eye tweeted in response, We are happy that France is positively interested in supporting the project. Mohammed added, "We look forward to get support from France as they proposed a similar project in 1930 that they did not pursue. A source in the Mosul local government told Al-Monitor that the IOM is still studying the project and showed interest because it will also help in creating jobs in the city and ease the tensions in the community. In 2018, the IOM rehabilitated Sallamiyas water irrigation system, which restored the agriculture sector encouraging many farmers to return to their areas. The source noted that Turkey has offered to contribute with four different types of trees, but has yet to offer any further details. The governor has also been supportive and established a committee that includes representatives from Mosul Eye, the agriculture department and the municipality of Mosul. The committee will oversee the project and also involve both civil society and the government in taking action to preserve Mosuls trees. Mohammed said, This will also help to create some kind of trust between the local government and society. The first phase of the project started with the planting of 200,000 trees. However, residents of al-Sukkar district in Mosul have taken it upon themselves to make a difference in their neighborhood by planting trees voluntarily. On July 6, Mosul Eye tweeted a photo of a park in Mosul after it was revitalized by local volunteers. Tahir Khalil, a Turkmen Shiite who fled his hometown of Shrikhan during the IS occupation, has now returned to harvest his land and continue his studies. He told Al-Monitor, Mosul has more than 1.5 million residents. If everyone plants only one tree, we will already have more than a million trees in the city. As many regions face the ever-rapid consequences of climate change, individual countries are beginning to address those problems. Mohammed concluded, We think about climate change and the next generations, and it is up to us whether we leave the environment in a worse or better state. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut also said that the party shares 'sentimental, religious and national ties' with the Ram Temple issue Mumbai: Maharashtra chief minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will definitely go for the ground-breaking ceremony of Ram temple construction in Ayodhya, party MP Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday. Asked whether Thackeray has received an invitation for the ceremony, Raut said, "It will come." Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on 5 August for the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony to begin the construction of the Ram temple. Thackeray will definitely go for the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony, because the Shiv Sena "shares sentimental, religious and national ties with this issue," Raut told a TV channel. As I had said yesterday, the Shiv Sena had made a big contribution, and (Shiv Sainiks) shed their blood and made sacrifices for the cause of Ram temple construction, he added. Raut reiterated that Thackeray keeps visiting Ayodhya and has done so before and after becoming the chief minister of Maharashtra. The ceremony is historic from the point of view of the country, Hindutva, for the thousands of martyrs, he said. Raut also said lakhs of Lord Ram devotees would have turned up for the ceremony had there been no COVID-19 crisis prevailing. The Rajya Sabha member on Monday claimed his party paved the way to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and removed roadblocks in the temple construction for the cause of Hindutva and not for politics. It needs to be seen how many people will be invited for the temple's ground-breaking ceremony next month and what social distancing measures will be taken at the event (in view of the COVID-19 outbreak), Raut said. "What 'political social distancing' they will observe remains to be seen," he said. After a protracted legal tussle, the Supreme Court on 9 November last year paved the way for the construction of Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya. The apex court directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh. By Rachel Adams-Heard | Bloomberg News Summer camps in parts of the U.S. are closing as children and counselors test positive for Covid-19, a troubling sign as the country debates whether schools should start in-person instruction as soon as next month. From storied sleep-away camps in Missouri and Arkansas to city-run day programs in small-town Texas, a staple of the American summer is finding it's not immune to the pandemic. At least seven have canceled sessions in the past four weeks, with 191 children and staffers testing positive. The camps' experience raises questions about one of the biggest economic challenges facing the country: how to open schools safely. Without in-person education, many parents will have to spend substantial time and energy supervising lessons. Few officials are eager to charge ahead. California on Friday said public schools in its hardest-hit counties won't open for on-campus classes until the virus is contained, an order that could affect more than 70% of the most populous U.S. state. A new study from South Korea could reshape other school systems reopening plans. It found that people ages 10 to 19 were more likely to spread Covid-19 within a household than younger children and adults were. Children under 10 spread the virus at the lowest rate, though researchers warned that could change when schools reopen. Children and teens, at first thought to be spared the worst of the virus, also are accounting for a rising percentage of infections in the U.S. The trend likely reflects both an increase in the ability of young people to get tested, as well as their desire to venture out after months of staying home. It was that sort of break Hannah Lebovits wanted for her two kids when she sent them to a day camp in Plano at the end of June. "I was thinking, 'Well, they're really the lowest-risk group, and even if something came up, it'll probably be manageable,'" said Lebovits, 27, an incoming assistant professor at the University of Texas at Arlington. The first week was great. The second, which followed the Saturday of July 4th, was a different story. First, the camp alerted parents that a child in the 5- and 6-year-old group had tested positive for Covid-19. They decided to test the counselors. Two had the virus. By Tuesday, a 3-year-old had tested positive, and the camp was shutting down. "They did everything right," said Lebovits. Children were kept in pods to limit their exposure. Temperature checks were required. Drop-off was outside, and parents were kept from entering the building. Lebovits, who had enrolled her kids in school for the fall, said the experience has changed her mind on just how feasible in-person instruction will be. "I don't think it's possible," she said. "They're going to end up home in a month." The overnight camp Kanakuk in Missouri had 82 campers, counselors and staff test positive for the virus, according to a statement from the Stone County Health Department this month. Camp Ozark in Arkansas on July 7 announced it was moving up "closing day" due to "additional, but limited spread." State officials said they were aware of four cases, but deferred a full count to the camp, which didn't respond to requests for comment. Another in Illinois closed for two weeks after four staff members developed Covid, according to KSDK television. In Wichita Falls, Texas, the city-run Camp Summer Fun closed after an employee tested positive, the Times Record News reported. The YMCA said in a statement that it immediately closed two Georgia locations after learning that a counselor tested positive June 24. The counselor had passed the mandatory safety protocols and had tested negative before the start of camp, the group said. Kanakuk didn't respond to requests for comment. Chabad of Plano, which operated the camp the Lebovits children attended, didn't immediately have comment. Its too soon to say whether cases at summer camps reflect the rapid spread occurring in communities across the country or if theyre the direct result of transmission in cabins, food halls and craft rooms. "What's hard to tell is whether there's transmission at the camps themselves," said Jill Weatherhead, assistant professor of infectious disease and tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston. The American Camp Association, which counts more than 3,100 facilities as members, said that's a key distinction. "An outbreak by definition is different from having a case or two identified at the camp," Tom Rosenberg, the group's chief executive officer, said in an interview. So far, about 50 camps have had a camper or staff member test positive, he said. "It's a pretty small fraction." The ACA has 10 protocols that it recommended before the summer season that Rosenberg refers to as "layers of prevention." It includes asking families to "shelter in place" ahead of showing up to camp, quarantining positive cases and requiring masks. "Some of the experience is showing us that the camps that have employed all of these non-pharmaceutical interventions" are successful, said Rosenberg. "But if you only employ some of them, Mother Nature is not as forgiving." Studies suggest that children dont suffer from severe coronavirus symptoms as often as adults. Most show no or very mild effects. But a long list of unknowns remains when it comes to infections among the young. What are the long-term effects? How likely are they to spread it to one other or to their counselors, teachers or parents? "We're too early really to understand the long-term implications in adults, but particularly in children," Weatherhead said. "You're talking about young children where the bodies are still growing and the lungs are still maturing." More infected kids also means more children who end up experiencing severe symptoms. Texas Children's Hospital in Houston has recently expanded its Covid-19 capacity to prepare for an increase in hospitalizations among the young. "In that early experience, we had just a handful of patients, but really in the last three or four weeks our numbers have gone up quite significantly," said Lara Shekerdemian, chief of critical care at the hospital. "The vast majority do really well," she said. "There is a proportion who do become sicker than that. Some require life support in the ICU, so there is a whole spectrum." What's particularly challenging are cases that don't come with symptoms. Children will be brought in to the hospital for a routine procedure, such as an appendectomy, only for their parents to learn that they're infected, said Shekerdemian. The biggest danger is the people without symptoms, because they go about their daily life, she said. We dont know the transmission rate. The Bay of Plenty District Health Board has announced Pete Chandler has been appointed to the role of Chief Executive Officer following an extensive recruitment process. Pete is the DHBs current Chief Operating Officer and will assume the CEO role on August 31. He has previously been the Acting CEO and has over 30 years experience in health. Interim Board Chair Sharon Shea says the DHB was spoiled for choice with top quality candidates applying for the leadership position. The Board is really pleased to announce Pete as the new CEO. Having a leader of his quality at the helm with a strong focus on innovation and change management aligns with our commitment to improving equity through whole of system improvement over the next five years. Its an important time for the DHB, and the health sector in general as we continue to navigate the impact of COVID-19, and potential changes outlined in the recent Health & Disability System Review. Originally trained as an Operating Theatre Practitioner in the NHS, Pete practised clinically for 12 years, specialising in major trauma and cardiothoracic surgery. After moving to New Zealand in 2011, he worked as the Chief Operating Officer at the Hutt Valley and Wairarapa DHBs before moving to the Bay of Plenty in 2014. He has a firm personal commitment to achieving health equity for Maori and rural communities, and he also has a vision for building a globally renowned model of child health and wellbeing services across the Bay of Plenty. Pete says its an honour and a privilege to be asked to take on the role. We have a wonderful team of more than 3500 people in the DHB, and more than 6000 people in the wider Bay of Plenty Care System, who care deeply about the services they provide. This is an incredibly exciting time for our DHB, and COVID-19 has shown us that we can undertake positive transformational change. We now have an opportunity to re-invent, re-design and co-create many of our systems and our ways of working, so we have the best possible models of care for our communities. Its imperative that we work in partnership with Iwi and local communities to create a health system that we will be proud to hand over to the next generation. Im looking forward to the challenge and opportunity that lies ahead. Chairman of the Maori Health Runanga Pouroto Ngaropo is excited about Pete's appointment. It gives me great pleasure as the Chairman of the Maori Health Runanga in supporting our Chair, Ms Sharon Shea and the appointment of our new Chief Executive, Mr Pete Chandler. Pete has developed strong Iwi networks amongst our Maori communities; he offers Maori strong clinical leadership and is committed to a Treaty of Waitangi relationship between our Iwi and the DHB Board and its executive committee. However, the most important and exciting reason why we have supported this appointment is that Pete is going to support and lead the next phase through top-quality clinical care and the operationalising our Maori health model Te Toi Ahorangi. Congratulations to you Pete on your appointment. I also want to acknowledge our Interim CEO Simon Everitt and his leadership, in particular the empathy and focus he showed towards our Maori communities in rural areas during lockdown. For some of those people, it was the first time theyd had care close to their home. Thank you for your dedication and care Simon. While Pete will take over as CEO on August 31, he will work closely with Interim CEO Simon Everitt on a transition through to September 25. The BOPDHB Board has also paid tribute to Simon. The Board and the community owe a lot of gratitude to Simon who has led the DHB through two crises: the Whakaari/White Island eruption and COVID-19, says a Board spokesperson. We will support Simon with the new CEO to identify Simons preferred options moving forward and potential new roles and responsibilities. TDT | Manama A cybersecurity platform for analysing malware was launched during the sixth GCC eGovernment Ministerial Committee meeting, held via video conference by the general secretariat in Riyadh. In attendance were ministers, chief executives and director-generals of GCC eGovernment programmes. Interior Minister General Shaikh Rashid bin Abdulla Al Khalifa deputised Information and eGovernment Authority chief executive Mohammed Ali Al Qaed to participate in the conference. The platform provides dynamic analysis to detect malware stored on servers, helping to unify and coordinate GCC countries efforts to ensure security and information protection. The committees agenda also covered a range of other topics, including reviews of joint and proposed initiatives and the progress of the GCC Pilot eGovernment Strategy, approving proposed recommendations. The committee also reviewed two initiatives by Saudi Arabian Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister and Defence Minister Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, which aim at providing cyber-protection for children and empowering women in the field of cyber-security. They adopted recommendations submitted by the eGovernment Executive Committee on the implementation of the two initiatives by member states. The committee reviewed the progress of a previous decision to prepare and develop information security curricula, which was presented to the members of the GCC Ministerial Committee for Education. The committee also discussed a report by the GCC secretariat general on lessons learned from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, and communication and eGovernment activities of GCC countries aimed at limiting the impact of the virus. It called for the secretariat general to coordinate with member states to prepare a report containing proposals for future implementation of the lessons learned, to be presented to the committee Ex-Real Housewives of Orange County star Jim Bellino has settled a defamation suit he filed against Heather McDonald over a 2019 podcast the comic put out. Bellino, 57, and the comedian, 50, said in a joint statement on Monday that they came to 'a settlement of the dispute on mutually satisfactory terms,' TMZ reported. The lawsuit was over McDonald's remarks on a June 24, 2019 edition of her podcast The Juicy Scoop in regards to his divorce from Alexis Bellino. The latest: Ex-Real Housewives of Orange County star Jim Bellino, 57, has settled a defamation suit he filed against Heather McDonald, 50, over a 2019 podcast the comic put out Bellino characterized the remarks as 'unsubstantiated gossip' in court papers, saying that McDonald 'shamelessly dished and peddled' tidbits from the show, which featured Tamra Judge and Shannon Beador. McDonald, a Southern California native, said in the joint statement said she 'never intended to cause any of the damage' to Bellino personally or professionally. It's the latest development in the case after Bellino appealed a judge's order to dismiss the ongoing suit, TMZ reported. Bellino had sought to withdraw his appeal in July pending a judge's approval. In the case, McDonalds attorney, Jeff Lewis argued that public figures like Bellino didn't have the right to silence those critical of them via lawsuits, citing anti-SLAPP laws. Way back when: Former couple Alexis and Jim Bellino attended the Reality TV Awards in 2015 In sync: McDonald posed with musical artist Lance Bass at the event It was not immediately clear if there were financial ramifications in the case, as the settlement terms were under seal, according to the outlet. Jim Bellino filed for divorce from Alexis in June of 2018 and the split was finalized that August. The couple initially had exchanged vows April 16, 2005. Alexis is currently involved with Drew Bohn. Stock were put out earlier than expected this year after a spell of very dry weather in early spring, so you could expect cattle to be ahead of where they would be if that had not happened. Yet that surely does not explain why mart numbers have continued so strong into July. I put this question to various mart managers last weekend. All agreed that the weather has seen stock thrive better than expected, with the early drought followed by a mini rainy season which has now been followed by warm and humid conditions. Over the last few weeks cattle have been basking in warm conditions and are thriving very well. So well, in fact, that Thomas Potterton in Delvin Mart reported that some of his traditional September sellers have already begun appearing with their first draws. Tom McGuire of Ballinrobe Mart reported similar activity, as did Brendan Egan of Ennis Mart. But while agreeing that cattle are ahead of where they were this time last year as regards thrive and weight, they also pointed out that current strong prices could always be expected to "pull cattle" into the marts. "This has been like no other July I remember - strong prices plus big numbers," Tom McGuire told me. He thinks a lot of his clients are nervous about what a possible return of the Covid-19 might mean for the trade. "Numbers are maybe bigger because of the lock down backlog, but lads are afraid that if the virus comes back later in the year marts may be forced to close or at best go back to just online meaning another backlog. "Right now they see their cattle doing well and they are looking at the current good prices and are deciding to sell rather than wait." Brendan Egan agrees, pointing out that if the virus regained the hold it had earlier in the year, the whole trade could once again be affected. On the prices, the mart trade continues to be driven by improving factory returns and that bit of extra edge brought to the sale of heavier stock by the continuing competition between Southern and Northern factory agents. The Northern dimension is a factor in Kilkenny Mart deciding to add a special heavy factory fit section to its normal sale this Thursday. "We see this as an opportunity for us to offer another avenue of sale for those with heavy cattle in this area," said mart manager Michael Lynch. "The current Northern trade is evidence that factories here could give more and we believe that by putting those heavy cattle through the ring on Thursday, farmers will have a better opportunity of seeing those better returns." Marts Delvin Thomas Potterton reported a very big sale for the time of the year, commenting that "we're still probably working through the lockdown backlog". With plenty of buyers apparently still anxious to buy stock bullocks up to 450kgs, these sold from 1.65-2.42/kg, with 450-500kgs averaging 1.50-2.11/kg. In the 600-650kg section, prices settled between 1.68-2.15/kg. However, with demand strong for finished stock, the top of the 650kg+ market saw a 670kg Simmental making 2.33/kg. On the heifer side, trade was brisk especially for the 500kg+ animal with their prices ranging from 1.85-2.35/kg. Ballinrobe This was also a very big sale for the time of year. Tom McGuire attributed the extra numbers to not only a lockdown backlog, but also to the fear that a second surge of Covid-19 could close marts again in the autumn. For now, trade was strong, with 450kg bullocks selling at up to 2.44/kg and 450kg heifers on a tops of 2.55/kg. Among the heavy cattle, 600kg bullocks sold from 2.00-2.20/kg, while the best of the heavy heifers was a 600kg Charolais at 2.42/kg. Kilrush Numbers here were described as "reasonable" with a good mix of stock on offer, although heifer numbers did continue small. Trade was in very good order, however, with sample prices including three 382kg Limousin bullocks that made 2.25/kg, while three lighter 287kg Limousins cracked onto 2.96/kg. On the traditional breed three 460kg Herefords averaged 2.17/kg, with three Anberdeen Angus crosses making 2.07/kg. On the heifer side you had two Herefords at 317kgs averaging 2.08/kg, while three 410kg Angus averaged 1.85/kg. Best of the heavy cull cows was a 750kg Charolais that sold for 1.76/kg, while at the other end you had a 520kg Friesian at 1.27/kg. Balla Here as at many other marts numbers last week were more reminiscent of September than mid July. Bullocks in the 300-400kg bracket averaged 2.28/kg, with those from 400-500kg averaging 2.31/kg. Heavier bullocks averaged 2.11/kg. Among the heifers a good trade saw lots under 400kg average 2.53/kg, with those from 400-500kgs averaging 2.28/kg. Heavier heifers averaged 2.14/kg. On the cull cow side prices averaged 1.75/kg. There were a lot of lighter bull weanlings on offer, with prices ranging overall from 1.91-2.41/kg. Ennis A special sale of autumn-born bull weanlings saw prices perform very well, with a 485kg Limousin setting the bar at an impressive 1,570 or 3.24/kg. And he wasn't the only one from 450-500kgs that returned a good price. Others of note included a 450kg Charolais at 2.84/kg, and a 455kg Limousin at 2.92/kg, while a 415kg Belgian Blue fetched 2.96/kg. On the heifer side the best of the best was a 450kg Limousin that sold for 3.22/kg, leaving the rest some way behind as evidenced by the next best being a 335kg Limousin that sold for 3.13/kg. Carnew A good entry of dry cows and sucklers saw dry cows in particular meet a strong trade, with samples including a 670kg Limousin that sold for 1,140. Two further 685kg Limousins averaging 1,100 while two 702kg Charolais averaged 1,410/hd. Sucklers with calves at foot sold from 1,100 to 1,540 while those in calf made up to 1,380/hd. There may be a pandemic and a recession. But in the past day, there has also been plenty of action among deal makers, as reported in the DealBook newsletter. EBay announced on Tuesday that it would sell its classified-ads business for $9.2 billion in cash and stock to Adevinta of Norway. It is one of the biggest tech deals of the year, and will create the worlds largest online classifieds company. Ant Group, the financial arm of Chinas Alibaba, said Monday that it planned to go public this year in Hong Kong and Shanghai, in what could be one of the biggest initial public offerings on record. Chevron struck a $5 billion deal to buy Noble Energy on Monday, in what may be the first of a wave of oil giants buying smaller, weaker rivals. Walmart has restarted talks about selling most of Asda, its British grocery division. Competition regulators blocked a merger of Asda and J Sainsbury last year; Walmart restarted discussions in February, then suspended them during the crisis. This suggests corporate boardrooms still have confidence in deal-making, perhaps more than could be expected during a pandemic. Some 22,600 takeovers had been announced so far this year, according to Refinitiv, down 18 percent from the same time last year. But the total dollar value of deals was down even more, 38 percent, implying some caution. And then there are the buyers who have gotten cold feet, as when Sycamore Partners successfully got out of an agreement to buy control of Victorias Secret. Buoyant equity markets have also coaxed companies to resume planning for stock listings. The I.P.O. hopefuls include Airbnb and Palantir, the data-mining consultancy. Restaurant owner in New York decided to dismantle and burn table used by Jeffrey Epstein: Zach Erdem / YouTube A restaurant owner in New York burnt a table that Jeffrey Epstein and Harvey Weinstein used to dine at. Zach Erdem, who owns 75 Main in Southampton, New York, said Table 1 which both men had dined at provided only bad energy. Im sick of the bad energy of this table, Mr Erdem told CNN. Every time I see it I think of that sicko [Epstein]. The restaurateur took an ax and a sledgehammer to the table, and then proceeded to burn it as people cheered Burn, Epstein, burn! When I thought about it, like Jeffrey Epstein used to sit at this table, all I could think was I need to burn this f****** table and make sure nothing is going to stain my restaurant, said Mr Erdem in an interview. I got my hammer and my fuel and I broke it, burned it, and threw it in the garbage. It felt so good actually. Now I dont have to think about these guys anymore. The 39-year-old said he also wanted to erase the names of the two men, who were both convicted with sex crimes against women, from his restaurants history. People who abuse women are not welcome here, Mr Erdem said. He told The New York Post that Epstein, who visited 75 Main more than once, had been an impatient customer who would demand the same table each time. Epstein also had the sexiest girls in the house, Mr Erdem told the Post. They had nice shoes, were in good shape, but they looked really young. I knew something wasnt right. Authorities said Epstein committed suicide in prison last year whilst awaiting trial on charges accusing him of sexually abusing young girls. Ex-Hollywood producer, Weinstein, was sentenced earlier this year to 23 years in prison for rape and sexual assault. Read more Chrissy Teigen condemns baseless conspiracies linking her to Epstein Ghislaine Maxwell denied bail in Epstein abuse case Deutsche Bank fined $150m over Jeffrey Epstein ties Fox News says it mistakenly cropped Trump out of Epstein photo AOC urges authorities to ensure Ghislaine Maxwells safety in prison Lucknow, July 21 : Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath has expressed grief over the demise of Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon. The state government has announced a three-day state mourning as a mark of respect to the departed leader. In a statement, the Chief Minister said that Lucknow has lost its life and the country has lost a popular leader. Deputy Chief Ministers Dinesh Sharma and Keshav Maurya have also condoled the passing away of Tandon and have termed it as an irreparable loss for the party. Meanwhile Tandon's son, Ashutosh Tandon, who is a minister in the Yogi Adityanath government, said that the cremation of the late leader will take place in Lucknow on Tuesday evening. His body will be kept at his residence on Triloki Nath Road in Hazratganj from 10 a.m. to noon and then at his Sondhi Tola residence after that. The cremation will take place at Gulala Ghat in Chowk at 4.30 p.m. Communicate India, Indias leading brand solution company recently collaborated with JEANS FOR REFUGEES, a charity drive that raises funds for the International Rescue Committee as exclusive media/ PR partners for the Indian market. As a part of the mandate, Communicate India is helping Johny Dar, the American artist and fashion designer behind Jeans for Refugees, to mark his presence in India through tactical media communication. The mandate entails strategic planning and leveraging communication across key media as well as getting on board leading Bollywood celebrities for brand collaborations. When a celebrity donates a pair of jeans, they are hand-painted by Johny Dar and transformed into a unique and exclusive work of art. The pieces are then exhibited and auctioned to raise funds for the International Rescue Committee an organization that aids refugees and people whose lives are shattered by conflict and disaster. With support from over 100+ international celebrities including Ryan Gosling, Elton John, Salma Hayek, Sharon Stone, Cameron Diaz, Naomi Campbell, Victoria Beckham and Emma Watson, the artist has plans to collaborate and call for participation across Indias diverse portfolio of celebrities. The initiative already had sports star- Saina Nehwal and actor Randeep Hooda, as participants, before it entered the Indian market. The main aim of exploring India is to extend a collaborative arm towards the gamut of the exceptional names from the country. Speaking about the initiative, Akshaara Lalwani, Founder and CEO, Communicate India, said, Good values and good business go hand in hand. Through this campaign, our purpose is to go beyond the technicalities and delve into building a personal connect with the audience so as to fashion a positive change. We are proud to collaborate with JFR for an initiative that has already touched innumerable hearts and minds worldwide and are looking to create a similar galvanizing effect in India. On being associated with Communicate India, Johny Dar said, Its been an absolute pleasure working with Communicate India, and through them with prominent publications of India. We have been sincerely inspired by their dedication to communicating the depth and breadth of the initiative with an original and personal approach, and by sharing our message and work with the Indian audience at large. It is partnerships like this, that upholds our vision of equality, inclusivity and teamwork, which make Jean for Refugees into a global movement, bringing us all closer to a brighter future. By Ayya Lmahamad Trade turnover between Georgia and Azerbaijan amounted to $451 million in the first half of 2020, local media reported with the reference to State Statistics Committee of Georgia on July 20. According to the statement, trade turnover between the countries was 11.3 percent less than in the same period of 2019. Moreover, Azerbaijan accounted for 8.9 percent of total trade turnover of Georgia. During the reporting period, Azerbaijan ranked fourth among Georgias main trading partners, after Turkey, Russia and China. Furthermore, in January- June current year, Georgia exported to Azerbaijan goods worth $203.5 million, which is by 6.1 percent less than the year before. However, Azerbaijan is Georgias second largest export partner after China, with a 13.5 percent share of total export. Additionally, during the reporting period Georgia imported goods from Azerbaijan worth $247.3 million, which is by 16.9 percent less than in the same period last year. In January-June, Azerbaijan was the fourth largest import partner after Turkey, Russia and China, with 7 percent of Georgias total imports. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Tata Communications has procured a local licence to provide telecoms services in Saudi Arabia. The Type B licence, which entitles Tata Communications to provide Internet Service Provider (ISP) and related telecom services to enterprises in a defined capacity, along with local currency billing for end-customers in KSA, will allow the Indian company to expand its offering in the Kingdom and the wider Middle East. Tata Communications provides internet connectivity, SD-WAN, cyber security and public/private cloud services to enterprises. Indias Economic Times notes that it operates the worlds largest subsea fibre network, serving more than 200 countries. Vaneet Mehta, Associate Vice President and Region Head for Middle East, Central Asia & Africa at Tata Communications, said: By securing this telecom license in KSA, we will be able to seamlessly bring carrier-neutral servicesThis will help simplify the digital experience for our customers and aid them in transforming their businesses in the new normal. The U.S. Department of Justice building is pictured in Washington, U.S., March 21, 2019. A California technology and defense company, a Maryland technology and manufacturing company, the Department of Energy's Hanford site in Washington, a Texas engineering firm, a Virginia defense contractor, a Massachusetts software firm, a California gaming software company and several U.S. drugmakers were among the 13 U.S. businesses that were targeted, the DOJ said. The DOJ said in a statement that high-tech manufacturing processes, gaming software, solar energy engineering, pharmaceuticals and defense industries were among those targeted in the hack. According to the 11-count indictment, Li Xiaoyu, 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 33, conducted a global hacking campaign for more than a decade. The indictment alleges that the defendants were able to successfully steal terabytes of data from the United States as well as Australia, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Sweden and the United Kingdom. WASHINGTON The Department of Justice on Tuesday accused two Chinese nationals, who it said were working on behalf of the Chinese government, of stealing trade secrets and hacking into computer systems of firms working on the Covid-19 vaccine. "In at least one instance, the hackers sought to extort cryptocurrency from a victim entity, by threatening to release the victim's stolen source code on the Internet. More recently, the defendants probed for vulnerabilities in computer networks of companies developing Covid-19 vaccines, testing technology, and treatments," the DOJ statement said. The news comes amid a global race to create a vaccine for the coronavirus, which originated in China late last year before spreading across the globe, infecting millions. More than 140,000 people have died from the virus in the United States, according to a tally from Johns Hopkins University. "China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cybercriminals in exchange for those criminals being 'on-call' to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist party's insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies' hard-earned intellectual property, including Covid-19 research," John Demers, assistant attorney general for national security, said Tuesday. In order to conceal their efforts, the DOJ alleges, the hackers packaged victim data in encrypted Roshal Archive compressed files; changed the names of the files, victim documents and system time stamps; and concealed programs and documents. The defendants revictimized companies, government entities, and organizations from which they had previously stolen data. The defendants are each charged with: one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, one count of conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets, which carries a maximum sentence of 10 years in prison, one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison, one count of unauthorized access of a computer, which carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison, and seven counts of aggravated identity theft, which each carries a mandatory sentence of two non-consecutive years in prison. The Chinese Embassy in Washington did not immediately respond to CNBC's request for comment. The latest revelation comes on the heels of a string of speeches made by Trump administration officials blasting China's use of espionage and cyberattacks to steal intellectual property from American businesses. In blistering remarks earlier this month, FBI Director Chris Wray said Chinese tactics have created "one of the largest transfers of wealth in human history." U.S. officials have long complained that Chinese intellectual property theft has cost the economy billions of dollars in revenue and thousands of jobs and that it threatens national security. Beijing maintains that it does not engage in intellectual property theft. Lots of 'new' to see and do at Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Ghaziabad: The Ghaziabad Police on Tuesday (July 21, 2020) arrested 9 people including the main accused Ravi in connection with attack on journalist Vikram Joshi. Ghaziabad Police had formed a team of six to investigate the incident that took place on the night of Monday (July 20) when Joshi was out with his two daughters. The miscreants came on a bike and had attacked Joshi, of which, the main accused Ravi had reportedly fired at him. The Police officials arrested all the accused with the help of a CCTV in which the incident was caught. Police officials have also suspended the Pratap Vihar Police station's in-charge. Meanwhile, the journalists in Ghaziabad have come in support of Joshi and have also asked the District Magistrate to provide him with financial support. Joshi who works at a local newspaper was attacked at the Mata Colony in Ghaziabad's Pratap Vihar. Joshi suffered bullet injuries and is admitted to Yashoda Hospital in Ghaziabad. According to his family members, some boys had misbehaved with Joshi's niece 4-5 days ago. A complaint in this regard was also filed at the Vijay Nagar police station but the police did not take any action against the accused boys. Joshi's family members claimed that it is likely the same boys who have attacked him. Within the top echelons of the Congress, a siege mentality has set in. The party feels it is under attack from the government and its agencies, from Hindu fundamentalists, from what it sees as fascist elements, and from the money power that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has deployed. All this may well be true. But the Congress sometimes forgets that there is one other constituency that is fast turning against it. And while it may be able to fight off attacks from the BJP and its associates, this is a constituency that it cannot afford to lose. A large number of educated Indians, ... (Bloomberg) -- The Chinese owner of the popular TikTok video app spent a company record on federal lobbying in the second quarter as it fought allegations that its funneling Americans data to Beijing, according to lobbying disclosures filed with U.S. Congress. Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. spent $500,000 in the three months ended June 30, up from its previous record of $300,000 in the first quarter, according to the companys lobbying disclosure Monday. TikTok is responding to an onslaught of pressure from U.S. politicians over its Chinese roots -- tension that has escalated in third quarter, including calls by President Donald Trump to consider banning the app entirely and proposed legislation to disallow downloads on government-issued mobile devices. TikTok also faces a national security investigation into the 2017 purchase of Musical.ly, a lip-syncing app it later merged with TikTok, as well as a parallel probe by the administration, which could culminate within weeks, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters last week. The company has also attracted inquiries by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department over its data-collection practices, according to a consumer advocate who said he spoke to the enforcers about the company. ByteDance, which was founded in China and is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, has repeatedly denied accusations that TikTok harvests data for the Chinese government and says it stores Americans data in the U.S. and Singapore, not in China. More popular than ever with hundreds of millions of people stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, teens have used the app to organize efforts to disrupt Trumps re-election campaign. TikTok also has become a political pawn in the fight between Washington and Beijing: Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo have said a ban on TikTok could be one form of retaliation over Chinas handling of the coronavirus. The TikTok app has been downloaded 2 billion times globally, including 165 million times in the U.S., according to data provider Sensor Tower. That makes TikTok even more politically important as users weigh in on issues like race and the upcoming presidential election. Story continues ByteDance, which only began lobbying last year, said in the filing that it worked on issues related to internet technology and learning-enabled content platforms and lobbied Congress and the executive office of the president, which includes key White House offices focused on economics and security. It also lobbied on privacy and content moderation, according to a disclosure from Monument Advocacy, one of the companys outside firms. TikTok has been building up its lobbying muscle as it attempts to distance itself from its Chinese ties and convince American politicians that its just a fun-loving consumer app. Former Walt Disney Co. executive Kevin Mayer became TikToks first American chief executive officer in June and the company earlier this month discussed plans to create a new global TikTok headquarters outside of China, in addition to potential changes to its management structure. TikToks Washington lobbying blitz started last year with efforts to broker meetings between company executives and high-profile senators. Since then, its amassed a 35-person Washington operation and hired longtime policy hands to make its case to American politicians. It named Michael Beckerman, the former president of the Internet Association trade group, to run its policy shop, and hired David Urban, a senior adviser to Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, as an outside lobbyist. Both are registered as working for ByteDance. ByteDance has also hired former top staff to Republican and Democratic House leaders and has brought on four outside lobbying firms in the last year. In one meeting last year with staffers for Republican Senator Marco Rubio, TikTok staff provided conflicting information, including about where data was stored and how TikTok creates its algorithms, a Rubio spokesman said. Given established connections to China and the inability of the company to answer basic questions from staff about TikToks ties to China and how it treats Americans user data, our office declined to have the Senator personally meet with them, the spokesman said. There is a huge amount of misinformation on TikTok out there, the company said in a statement last week, pointing to its American executives and board seats. TikTok U.S. user data is stored in the U.S. and Singapore, with strict controls on employee access, TikTok said in that statement. These are the facts. Since April, TikTok reached out to the offices of more than 50 key lawmakers to emphasize its independent American leadership, a person familiar with the companys Washington operation told Bloomberg. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The city of Katy has been awarded the highest rating for its water quality for the 32nd year in a row. The Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, the states environmental control agency, has once again designated a Superior rating for the citys water quality and water systems. Brian McGovern, public relations for the TCEQ, said that superior ratings are only given to cities that exceed the state requirements for water purity. To achieve and maintain recognition as an Approved or Superior public water system, the system must exceed the minimum acceptable standards as described in TCEQs rules, he said. The City of Katy continues to meet the standards of a Superior system as required by TCEQs rules. MORE FROM THE CITY OF KATY: City of Katy chooses new trash contractor Each year, representatives from TCEQ come to Katy and inspect not only the water quality but the efficacy of the treatment facilities and public works. The inspection is rigorous. The TCEQ looks at the systems to make sure theyre in excellent working order, but inspectors also ascertain that the city has adhered to all the sanitation guidelines and practices. TCEQ comes out and tests the water, but theyre looking at a lot of different things, explained city council member Chris Harris. They include not only the purity of the water, but also the infrastructure. Its a cumulative rating. Harris credited the citys public works department for the rating. It's a highly regulated public utility, and I can't congratulate enough the staff at public works. They don't get enough credit, and I'm really proud that we have such a good water department. ALSO BY CLAIRE GOODMAN: New Katy-native executive chef brings local flair to The Oaks Kitchen & Bar City council member Janet Corte agreed. The credit for our Superior water quality goes to the water department under the guidance of Elaine Lutringer, public works director, she said. The water department inspects the water plants twice a day, seven days a week and conducts the required sampling per the TCEQ regulations. Harris called the public works department first responders, noting that any time an emergency occurs, public works has to mobilize to make sure the water systems stay safe, clean and functional. AROUND TEXAS: Texas Coronavirus Map: See the latest numbers on our interactive tracker They don't get enough credit. What our public works people do- they're out there in the cold, the heat, the rain, the dry season, and they're maintaining these utilities for everybody, Harris said. We dont think about it, but theyre there every day. Theyre fixing the streets or making sure we have water. They do an amazing job, and the city would never function without them. claire.goodman@chron.com (Newser) Greta Thunberg could be swimming in "more money than I can even begin to imagine." Instead, she'll donate $1.15 million to various projects addressing climate and ecological crises and those focused on sustainability. The 17-year-old climate activist was awarded the money as part of the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity, presented by the Portuguese philanthropic Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to people or groups "whose contributions to mitigation and adaptation to climate change stand out for its novelty, innovation and impact," per the BBC. The teen was honored for her ability "to mobilize younger generations for the cause of climate change," said Jorge Sampaio, chair of the prize jury, per the Guardian. He added "her tenacious struggle to alter a status quo that persists, makes her one of the most remarkable figures of our days." story continues below "I am incredibly honored and extremely grateful," Thunberg says in a video shared on Twitter on Monday. "I hope that it will help me do more good in the world." She notes all money will be donated through her foundation to groups "working to help people on the front line, affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis" and those "fighting for a sustainable world." SOS Amazonia, a campaign addressing the coronavirus outbreak in the Amazon, led by Fridays For Future Brazil, will receive $115,000, as will the Stop Ecocide Foundation, which fights to preserve the natural environment, per the Guardian. Thunberg was also awarded a $100,000 prize this year. All money from the Human Act Award, handed out by a Danish anti-poverty NGO, went to the United Nations Children's Fund to help children suffering amidst the coronavirus pandemic. (Read more Greta Thunberg stories.) African students at the Roorkee Institute of Technology, Uttarakhand, India, have decried the maltreatment of two of their colleagues by the management of the institution. According to India.com, Ibrahim (Nigerian) and Benjamin (Ghanaian) were mercilessly beaten on the college premises last week, leaving them injured after the two went out for dinner without a pass. It was gathered that the school administration had not granted passes since March due to the coronavirus pandemic. A local source said, Students faced problems after they ran out of money. They use to have their meals in the college canteen, but the manager stopped providing food after the student failed to pay. They wanted to go to their friends homes but the college administration did not give permission. They stepped out and upon their return got into a fight with guard and later college administration called goons to beat them up. They were badly beaten up and people recorded videos too. In the viral videos uploaded by the students, the guards numbering up to 20 were seen dragging and thrashing the two black students. Speaking to the Indian News Agency, Benjamin said, They dragged Ibrahim from the second floor to the ground floor. They hit me with bamboo sticks. Then the police arrived at the spot and rushed us to a hospital. He said the school management hired the men from a private security guard agency, Hawk Commando, to forcefully remove them from the campus after the police had advised the administration against it and asked them to take it up with the relevant embassy. But locals, the National Students Union of India, and other activists have staged protests outside the college gates in solidarity with the victimised black students with many of them lamenting that this is coming at a time when many thought black lives were beginning to matter. Some of them have also taken to social media to voice out their grievances. @LicypriyaK stated, Two African students were beaten at Roorkee Institute of Technology by calling out from hostel on 15 July. With the support of over 200 Indian students, we filed an FIR. I strongly condemn the incident. #BlackLivesMatter @VivekPalyal wrote, I am ashamed that I studied from this college. Pls have a look at how international students were beaten up brutally at this college. @Pakfirst2 wrote, India is one country in the world where African students and citizens continuously face racial slurs, targeted by extremists gangs, publicly abused and beaten. Racism is ingrained in Indian outlook. Hundreds of ugly incidents to date. @ayush11shakya said, What the hell is going on in this college that guy was beaten by some security guards. This is mob lynching when all the college staff management was there and no one can came to help these students. When contacted by The PUNCH, the Chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, Abike Dabiri-Erewa, confirmed the incident, adding that the school director, Parag Jain and seven others culpable in the matter had been arrested Source: punchng.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 Food Drink Ireland (FDI), the Ibec group representing the food and drink sector, has welcomed the inclusion of a 5 billion Brexit Adjustment Reserve in the EUs Multiannual Financial Framework agreed this morning. The FDI say the aid should be targeted at supporting Irish companies invest in enabling technology, management training and upskilling, plant renewal and expansion, refinancing, market development and innovation to regain competitiveness following Brexit. The group also believes the aid should be used to introduce additional marketing and innovation supports for companies looking to reformulate, re-package or innovate their product lines for new markets in the EU and internationally. Thirty four percent (4.5bn) of Irish agri-food and drink exports go to the UK each year. Typically, less than 10% of other member states food and drink exports are to the UK. The FDI say this highlights the unique circumstances faced by Irish industry and the need for these exceptional aid measures. In a statement, the FDI said, "Ireland needs to maintain our market position in this high value, high quality market that has a substantial food deficit and not relinquish it to global competitors." Source: www.businessworld.ie An anti-feminist lawyer found dead Monday is suspected of killing the son of a US federal judge and wounding her husband at their New Jersey home, investigators said. The FBI has identified Roy Den Hollander as the main suspect in the shooting attack on Judge Esther Salas's family on Sunday, US prosecutors said in a statement. Hollander's body was found in New York state on Monday morning, hours after the shooting. He had apparently shot himself, US media reported citing law enforcement officials. Judge Esther Salas was not hurt in Sunday's attack, ABC News said. Her son Daniel Anderl, 20, was shot dead when he answered the door, ABC and CNN said, citing sources. "He was shot through the heart," North Brunswick mayor Francis Womack, a friend of the judge, told ABC. The judge's husband Mark Anderl, a criminal defense attorney and former prosecutor, was in critical but stable condition after undergoing surgery, the New Jersey Globe reported. The gunman appeared to be dressed as a FedEx driver, according to reports citing law enforcement sources. The office of the US attorney for New Jersey did not offer a motive for the crime and said its investigation was ongoing. Den Hollander was a self-described anti-feminist lawyer who filed numerous lawsuits targeting women in recent years, US media reported. He had sued nightclubs for offering ladies' night discounts and Columbia University for offering courses on women's studies, said The New York Times. In 2015, he brought a lawsuit before Salas that challenged the men-only military draft, said US media. On his website, he called on men "to fight for their rights before they no longer have them." Judge Salas, 51, was the first Hispanic woman to serve as a federal district judge in New Jersey and was nominated to her current position by President Barack Obama in 2010. "I know Judge Salas and her husband well, and was proud to recommend her to President Obama for nomination to New Jersey's federal bench," New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez said in a statement quoted by media. "My prayers are with Judge Salas and her family, and that those responsible for this horrendous act are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice." The judge is currently assigned to a class-action lawsuit filed by a group of Deutsche Bank investors who say the bank failed to properly monitor customers it had deemed to be high-risk -- including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, who killed himself last year while in prison awaiting trial. Salas has handled several high-profile cases and presided over the 2014 fraud trial of "Real Housewives of New Jersey" star Teresa Giudice and her husband Joe. Mothers Against Cancer cancels annual luncheon Mothers Against Cancer, the Kingwood-based charity, recently announced they have cancelled their annual fundraiser, the Christmas luncheon. The board of directors of Mothers Against Cancer made the difficult, but necessary, decision to cancel our Dec. 7, 2020, annual luncheon, said Ginger Bertrand, executive director. Mothers Against Cancer was founded in Kingwood in 1989 to help the fight against cancer, a leading cause of childhood disease. This was not an easy decision, but we utilized the results of our recent surveys to our members and constituents to make this decision. We were concerned about MACs reputation if anyone came down with COVID-19 following our luncheon and we did not feel that we could safely handle the event," Bertrand said. The group of Kingwood volunteers have donated almost $6.8 million to Texas Childrens Hospital for childrens cancer research. Monies donated were used for further research in the cardiac toxicity study; hematology research to detect sub-microscopic malignant cells; the study and the side effects of chemotherapy detecting cardiac damage; to further drug development and investigation; treatments for central nervous system cancers, especially brain and molecular profiling oncology-studying genes responsible for cancers; preclinical study; and clinical development of new agents to treat pediatric malignancies. Texas Children's Cancer Center is the largest pediatric cancer and hematology research and treatment center in Texas and one of the largest in the U.S. The nationally acclaimed children's clinic, Texas Children's Cancer and Hematology Centers, have helped Texas Children's Hospital rank among the best children's hospitals for cancer by U.S News and World Report. We have begun making plans to have a virtual fundraiser this year. Details will be forthcoming in the coming months, Bertrand said. More information about the organization may be found at mothersagainstcancer.org. The list of states being asked to quarantine upon arriving in Connecticut increased to 31 on July 21. Additions to the list include Virginia, Alaska and Washington. Click here to see the list of 31 states asked to quarantine when traveling to Connecticut. Gov. Ned Lamont announced on July 20 that out-of-state visitors who do not self-quarantine for 14 days, or refuse a health questionnaire, could get fined $1,000. Enforcement of that will evolve over time, but we wanted to send the message loud and clear that as we look at the incredible infection rates in other parts of the country, we know that COVID came to this part of the country by airplane and we dont want it to come by airplane again, Lamont said. Asked when he would impose such fines, however, Lamont said Well see. On June 24, the governors of New Jersey, New York and Connecticut announced mandatory quarantines for out-of-state visitors. Travelers from states with new positive tests higher than 10 per 10,000 residents or a 10 percent or higher rate of positive tests over a 7-day rolling average would be required to quarantine for 14 days upon entering New York, New Jersey or Connecticut. RELATED: Summer road trip? Here's where you'll be asked to self-quarantine M iles Kane and Newton Faulker are among the artists set to perform at a series of free gigs in Camden Market from this weekend. Camden Unlocked will comprise eight open-air performances within the Stables Market Amphitheatre, set to run from July 25 until August 16, with 150 tickets available per day on a first-come, first-serve basis. It is set to be among the first batch of open-air gigs to take place in the UK since lockdown began, coming just weeks after the Government authorised outdoor concerts with socially distanced audiences. Mae Muller, Shaun Escoffery, Don Letts and Stone Foundation are among the other acts set to take part. The best albums of 2020 so far 1 /14 The best albums of 2020 so far Getty Images Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia Future Nostalgia arrived at the end of March, a ray of light to pierce the lockdown gloom. It was a shot at writing something timeless, taking strands of classic disco and Eighties synth-pop and putting them through a slick, modern filter. On standout tracks such as Dont Start Now and Cool, Dua Lipa hit her target. More than anything though, this was something defiantly fun, a heartening reminder that there are brighter times ahead. Getty Images Phoebe Bridgers - Punisher It would be easy to label Punisher as a sad album, because it is, with heartache and despondency always within an arms reach. But to simply call it that would be to grossly undersell it the album, also out today, is cathartic, nostalgic, surreal, grounded, darkly comic and, more often than not, weepingly beautiful. The disarming vocals are morbidly quotable (The doctor put her hands over my liver /She told me my resentments getting smaller) and confirm the 25-year-old Bridgers as one of her generations deftest writers. Getty Images for Tibet House Tame Impala - The Slow Rush It took some time to fall in love with Kevin Parkers latest album as Tame Impala. Its layers were dense and meticulously produced, a product of the Australians dogged perfectionism, but when they did eventually unravel, the albums brilliance was revealed in vivid colour. There was squelchy hip-hop and tap-dancing piano on Borderline, alluring sophisto-funk on Breathe Deeper, and dizzying disco on One More Year. Parkers lyrics were typically conflicted, stuck between past and future, but musically, hed never sounded so assured. AFP via Getty Images Fiona Apple - Fetch the Bolt Cutters Fiona Apples fifth album was eight years in the making, and sounded as if it had been simmering for all that time. It was inescapably personal, rattling with homemade percussion, grinding against Apples visceral vocals as she retold traumas of sexual abuse and toxic relationships. But it all coalesced to give momentum to a magnificent release of tension, the sound of a furiously convinced artist. Kick me under the table all you want, she asserted, I wont shut up. Getty Images Run The Jewels - RTJ4 When Killer Mike, one half of Run The Jewels, wrote Walking In The Snow (You so numb, you watch the cops choke out a man like me) he was remembering the tragic death of Eric Garner in 2014. It should have been retrospective; instead, it was hideously prophetic, arriving on RTJ4 amid the George Floyd protests. But these were wide-lens raps joined by partner El-P, they fired lyrical missiles at the racist police and ruling elite, interspersing it with cutting quips and dark humour. Painful, prescient, and hugely powerful. Getty Images for DIRECTV J Hus - Big Conspiracy Big Conspiracy was the sound of an artist taking his time. The eclectic beats, largely provided by chameleonic producer Jae5, avoided the usual bombast for something understated. The lyrical gaze was sharp, ranging from the legacy of slavery to the grind of everyday life, all of it recounted with clever wordplay. It wouldnt be a Hus album without tales of at least one sexual conquest the song Cucumber provides it but all in all, never has the east Londoner been so searingly composed. Getty Images for Nike Bob Dylan - Rough and Rowdy Ways Bob Dylans 39th studio album, released today, might just be one of his greatest. Before this, eight years had passed without any new original music. Had the old master lulled himself into retirement? The surprise release of a 17-minute song about the JFK assassination did away with any doubts. Its a densely lyrical album, a poetic and historical tapestry, proving that, at 79, the Nobel Prize-winner is still at the peak of his songwriting powers. AFP via Getty Images Georgia - Seeking Thrills Georgias exhilarating second album landed back in January (oh, those halcyon days) and was the sound of an artist brimming with new-found conviction. Arriving five years after her debut, she had finally found her voice quite literally, shunning the over-produced vocals of before and a winning musical formula: retro-tinted dance pop, pairing the throbbing echoes of Chicago house with sharp modern melodies. Hollie Fernando Orlando Weeks - A Quickening Former Maccabees frontman Orlando Weeks took a mature step away from his indie-rock past on his debut solo album, supplanting it with soft, cloudy atmospheres. A Quickening covered his impending fatherhood, and all of the unknowingness that comes with it. It was minutely intimate Ill be your blood sugar, he pledged to the unborn child with his vocals at their most tender and innocent. Jackson Bowley Laura Marling - Song For Our Daughter Another album to ease the pandemic blues, Laura Marling had initially planned an August release, but brought it forward to April. It had an effortlessly classic sound to it the folky tones of Joni Mitchell, Leonard Cohen and Nick Drake chimed throughout but this album was undoubtedly Marlings own. Her vocals were soaring, sardonic and soothing, singing with all the wisdom of an artist who, still only 30, now has seven albums worth of experience behind her. Getty Images Live agent Neil OBrien, who helped to arrange the gigs, said: I am incredibly excited to help programme the artists appearing at one of the first live music events to take place in London for over three months. The artists involved have been absolutely brilliant and extremely supportive reflecting the diverse nature of what Camden Market has to offer. Its great to be able to get everyone safely back together, to enjoy the power of good music and good times. Social distancing will be implemented and the wearing of face masks encouraged. There will also be hand sanitiser dispensers around the site. Head to camdenmarket.com for more information, and check out the full line-up below: While Hollywood has seen the greatest love stories and happily ever afters unfold in movies and TV, it seems that behind the cameras and the limelight, it has also seen a lot of heartbreaks, broken relationships, and split-ups. Movies have shown how great love can last even longer than a lifetime, but the stars that played in some of these movies have also proven that this is not always the case. Hollywood has seen many celebrities who have fallen in love with each other, in what seemed to be a fairytale end, and not with happy endings. Here are some of the biggest and controversial celebrity break-ups of the decade. Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie Perhaps one of the most heartbreaking break-ups to ever happen in Hollywood is when Brangelina decided to call it quits. Arguably the decade's most famous couple, Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie flooded headlines when they decided to end their relationship in 2016. According to The Sun, an altercation inside a private plane between one of their six kids and Brad prompted Angelina to file for a divorce. Despite calling it quits in 2016, Brad and Angelina were only declared legally single in 2019, after draggy negotiations about the divorce and even a battle of custody over their kids. Read also: Fact Check: Is Jennifer Aniston Writing a Tell-All Book About her Love Life? Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan While Brad and Angelina's break up broke many hearts, Wonderwall stated that the Channing Tatum and Jenna Dewan's 2018 split made many fans lose their faith in true love. Channing and Jenna first met in 2006 while shooting the film "Step Up," three years later, they decided to get married. In 2013, the couple gave birth to their daughter Everly, however, not five years later the two decided to go on separate ways saying that they have "lovingly chosen to separate." Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes Popularly known as TomKat, Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes were one of Hollywood's biggest couples, until they chose to break up in 2012. Tom and Katie's divorce came only after six years of being married and they have reached a private settlement after 11 days of filing it. Like their divorce, the couple's relationship also happened fast, they were only dating for eight weeks before they got engaged in 2005 and after several months decided to tie the knot. Robert Pattinson and Kristen Stewart Unlike their characters Bella and Edward who had a "perfect piece of forever," Twilight stars Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson's relationship did not have a happy ending. The former couple's relationship blossomed while they were taping "Twilight" in 2009 and has stayed together for almost four years. However, in 2013, the two had a controversial break up after Kristen was sighted cheating on Robert with Rupert Sanders, the director of the film " Snow White and the Huntsman" that she starred on, according to US Magazine. Miley Cyrus and Liam Hemsworth Liam Hemsworth and Miley Cyrus may be the Hollywood couple who have had many break-ups and make-up moments before totally calling it quits. The two met in 2009 while filming the movie adaptation of Nicholas Sparks' "The Last Song." After that the two dated and; broke up many times. One of their biggest and most controversial breakups happened in 2013 when right after Miley's music saw a huge change. However, the 2013 break-up only lasted a little more than two years and in 2015 the two got back together. Miley and Liam got married in December of 2018, only to part ways for well less than eight months later. Related article: Wynona Ryder, Vanessa Paradis Back Johnny Depp in Libel Suit Against UK Tabloid @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Encryption is an obscure but critical part of everyday life. That padlock in the address bar of the website youre visiting represents the s after http which stands for the latest version of Transport Layer Security (TLS). Together with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL), which TLS replaced, these digital security technologies allow encrypted communication between two parties, such as web sites or servers, and web browsers. Like the Internet itself, these technologies were breakthroughs when conceived. Whereas previously, encrypted secure communication required a physical exchange of keys, the new approaches allowed secure communication between parties unknown to each other. Public-key cryptography, also described as asymmetric encryption, did so through a pair of keys: one public, which can be shared widely, and the other private, which is kept secret. Common deployments of public key infrastructure (PKI) leverage the Diffie-Hellman key exchange, which stands behind the secure icon in your browsers address bar; and the RSA algorithm, which is named after its inventors: Ron Rivest, Adi Shamir and Leonard Adleman. Both of those algorithms originated in the 1970s. Attribute-Based Encryption: A Brief History Cryptography is a highly mathematical and esoteric discipline, but most tech-savvy readers have at least a passing familiarity with TLS or SSL. Many have worked at companies that require the use of RSA SecureID authentication tokens (the inventors of the RSA algorithm also set up a company with same the three-letter name.) Less well known is the story of how this field has evolved behind the scenes over the past few decades, and what new approaches are on the horizon. Public keys were a leap forward, but challenges in managing them led one of the RSA founders, Adi Shamir, to introduce in 1984 the idea of identity-based encryption (IBE). Seven years later, another cryptographer, Stanford University Professor Dan Boneh, proposed a practical implementation of IBE using a variant of the computational Diffie-Hellman problem (cryptographic systems are based upon mathematical problems that are very difficult to solve). This proposal advanced the cause; yet it relied upon a private key generator (PKG) which created certain drawbacks, especially for general use. In 2005, Amit Sahai, Symantec Chair professor of computer science at the UCLA Samueli School of Engineering and director of the Center for Encrypted Functionalities, and Brent Waters, professor of computer science at University of Texas at Austin and distinguished scientist at NTT Research (then at Princeton), approached the idea from another angle. In a paper titled Fuzzy Identity-Based Encryption, they suggested and proved that a secure system was possible using multiple private keys with a single public key. The paper also introduced a class of IBE in which public keys were defined in terms of attributes. In what became known as attribute-based encryption (ABE), decisions to decrypt turned on policies rather than individual identities. The paper proved influential. Building upon it, in particular with the idea of designating sets of attributes as private, the authors later proposed the broader concept of Functional Encryption (FE). While FE remains in development, ABE has gained speed. In 2018 the European standards body ETSI issued specifications for using ABE to secure access control. Meanwhile, in April 2020, the scientific organization that hosted the conference at which the original Sahai-Waters paper was presented gave it a Test of Time award. ABE Use Cases To better appreciate how ABE would differ from the status quo, lets look at some examples. Consider a document that needs to be locked down, with limited access. It could be classified intelligence, privileged client information, health care data, intellectual property, etc. In this case, a trusted server is typically used to store the data. To access the document, you connect with the server and display credentials. The server delivers all the data in the clear to you if, and only if your credentials match with the data access policy. This is the classic all-or-nothing model, typically aimed toward a single recipient. It remains the prevailing paradigm. But about that trusted server, for instance, one with a TLS certificate. Unfortunately, server corruption occurs, making trust more difficult to assume. Corruption comes in various forms: an operator or owner of a third-party cloud server may want to read your data; the operator may be honest but is using hacked software; or the operator may have discarded the physical storage medium, which a bad actor then found and exploited. Suppose, on the other hand, that the document was encrypted such that it could be stored on an untrusted server. What if the use of retrieved data or files occurred when you or others with privileges applied cryptographic keys based on a set of attributes? Imagine access moved from the realm of software engineering into mathematics, based on the attributes that you and possibly others have, not simply your identity. Attributes could involve belonging to a particular department for a certain amount of time; or being part of a budgeting group within the CFOs office. That is the kind of enhanced efficiency, security and utility that ABE offers. Take another scenario involving a ridesharing app. Today the company stores your credit card and personally identifiable information (PII) on a trusted server, accessing it when needed to complete a verified transaction or to use for other authorized purposes. Within an ABE framework, the company could also encrypt sensitive information and tag it with attributes of the GPS location of the ride, time and drivers name. Then it could decide how much access to grant employees. Say a policy allows them to read all data that, (1) exists within a certain GPS bounding box of the region and, (2) was created after the employees were hired into their position. The data becomes at once more usable and secure, being subjected to both flexible policies and restricted access. The Case for ABE and Standards Are there barriers to deploying ABE? One technical factor involves speed. The time it takes to decrypt data within ABE can take 20 times longer than in standard decryption, depending on the size of policies. However, context here is important. This difference could be on the scale of one millisecond of latency vs. 20 milliseconds, which is undetectable by a user. A more general rule is that innovation itself takes time. While ABE was first proposed in 2005, context matters. The world has moved beyond the one-to-one, browser-to-website paradigm. In 2018, with 5G, highly distributed IoT systems and recent European privacy laws in mind, the ETSI Technical Committee on Cybersecurity issued two specifications for applying ABE to protect personal data with fine-tuned access controls: ETSI TS 103 458, which codifies the high-level requirements for applying ABE for personal identifiable information (PII) and personal data protection in four use cases: IoT devices, wireless LANs, cloud and mobile services. ETSI TS 103 532, which addresses an ABE toolkit, trust models, procedures for distributing attributes and keys and an attribute-based access control layer. According to the ETSI press release at the time, a standard using ABE has several advantages. In the first place, it offers greater security, because ABE enforces access control at a cryptographic (mathematical) level, it provides better security assurance than software-based solutions. At the same time, ABE is space-efficient, requiring only one ciphertext to handle access control needs of any given data set. An ABE-based standard also intrinsically supports privacy. It provides an efficient, secure-by-default access control mechanism for data protection that avoids binding access to a persons name, but instead to pseudonymous or anonymous attributes. Both of the ETSI specifications enable compliance with the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). A D V E R T I S E M E N T The standards organization described this new scheme as especially relevant in an IoT world, where data are widely distributed yet access must be limited: ABE offers an interoperable, highly scalable mechanism for industrial scenarios where quick, offline access control is a must, and where operators need to access data both in a synchronous manner from the equipment as well as from a larger pool of data in the cloud. Finally, the fine-tuning enabled by ABE allows for introducing access control policies after data has been protected, which provides forward-compatibility with future business and legal requirements. Security Plus Utility Whether or how soon a new encryption scheme comes to a device near you, one takeaway here is that cryptography is far from a static field. As a final note, apart from ABE, work on FE is also advancing. The Functional Encryption Technologies project (FENTEC), funded by the EUs Horizon 2020 research and innovation program, is pressing ahead to develop new FE as an efficient alternative to the all-or-nothing approach of traditional encryption. In academics, the Center for Encrypted Functionalities, which Amit Sahai directs at UCLA, continues to advance the underlying mathematics behind both FE and ABE. To users of encryption, little appears to have changed, even as cybersecurity threats continue undiminished. In academic labs and R&D shops, however, cryptographers have been busy. Ongoing work surrounding ABE and FE aims to enhance security and privacy, without sacrificing functionalities. Indeed, the goal is that heightened security can coexist with even more efficiency, flexibility and utility. There is still a lot to learn about coronavirus disease (COVID-19), which is currently ravaging across the globe. Though scientists are slowly gaining a better understanding of severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), it is still unclear if being infected once may provide long-lasting immunity against the novel coronavirus. New cases of reinfection have been reported across the globe. Now, a doctor at Sheba Medical Center in Tel Hashomer, Israel's Largest Hospital, has tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 three months after recovering from the coronavirus disease (COVID-19). The doctor contracted the virus in April during the height of the pandemic in the country. By May and June, swab tests showed that the doctor has fully recovered from the disease. However, when the doctor was tested again in July, results returned positive. Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 This transmission electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, isolated from a patient in the U.S. Virus particles are shown emerging from the surface of cells cultured in the lab. The spikes on the outer edge of the virus particles give coronaviruses their name, crown-like. Image captured and colorized at NIAID's Rocky Mountain Laboratories (RML) in Hamilton, Montana. Credit: NIAID Testing positive again A hospital spokesperson said that the doctor tested positive again since she has remnants of her first virus still found in the blood. In her April bout, the doctor experienced fever, cough, and body pains but has since recovered from the illness. However, in early July, the doctor came in contact with a confirmed case of COVID-19, and after, she tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 again. This case is the latest in a string of incidents of potential reinfection, raising questions on how long immunity against SARS-CoV-2 lasts, or if there is any at all. Other cases of reinfection There were reports of recurring coronavirus cases in other countries, including Canada, Japan, South Korea, and the United States. In these countries, some patients who have previously recovered from COVID-19 became infected by the virus again after three months. The pattern of the reinfection cases raises concern that the antibodies developed by the body against SARS-CoV-2 may not necessarily protect the body from future infections. If the antibodies do provide protection, they may not last for long. Hence, the new information highlights the need for an effective vaccine to provide the needed protection against the novel coronavirus, which has now infected more than 14.63 million people and killed at least 608,000. Understanding repeat infection risk Is reinfection possible in people who had been infected with the coronavirus? A study published in May by scientists at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health found that reinfections with endemic human coronaviruses are not uncommon, even within a year of prior infection. The team studied four other types of coronaviruses. Also, many studies are attempting to figure out how long the protection provided by antibodies will last. For other coronavirus infections, such as severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) and the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS), those who recovered had some form of immunity for about a year or longer in others. When it comes to other forms of coronaviruses, which circulate regularly, the immunity period is shorter. Another recent study also explored how long the immunity against SARS-CoV-2 may last, and found that the antibodies protect about an average of three months. This will make the development of vaccines harder since the vaccines are now being trialed to determine their safety and efficacy. Without a precise immunity period, some vaccines may not work as effectively. Israel, for one, launched a widespread serological testing or antibody testing to determine the extent of the pandemic. Since there is a reinfection risk and the antibodies fade out in time, governments and authorities should not use an antibody test as a ticket to immunity. So far, Israel records more than 52,000 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 415 deaths. Meanwhile, the United States reports the highest number of infections, with a staggering 3.81 million people and more than 140,000 deaths. Other countries with high numbers of confirmed cases include Brazil, with more than 2.1 million cases, and India, with more than 1.11 million. Nearly a year after two teenage murder suspects were found dead in the Manitoba brush, the RCMPs oversight body will review a complaint over how the national police force handled the high-profile manhunt. The father of one of the suspects, who made an initial complaint against the RCMP last January, has requested a review from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC). The CRCC, an independent body that reviews the RCMPs internal investigations into complaints, now has to decide whether the Mounties have done enough to respond to concerns raised about the investigation into the deaths of Chynna Deese, Lucas Fowler and Leonard Dyck in northern B.C. last fall. Kam McLeod, 19, and Bryer Schmegelsky, 18, were charged with the death of Dyck, and were suspects in the deaths of couple Fowler and Deese. All the victims were killed in northern B.C. before the two suspects fled across the country to the remote community of Gillam, Man., where they shot themselves in the wilderness. Nine months later, Schmegelskys father, Alan Schmegelsky, raised a complaint with the RCMP over their handling of the $1.5-million search. At the heart of the complaint is whether the police force failed to properly inform and keep contact with the elder Schmegelsky while it was going on. Schmegelskys official complaint claims he should have learned about key aspects of the investigation directly through the police, not the media, despite the fact that he was not Bryers primary caregiver. Schmegelsky also alleged the RCMP violated his rights by requiring him to sign a nondisclosure agreement before viewing a video the suspects made before their deaths. I dont want this to happen again I dont want any father to find out his son is missing through the media; I dont want any father to find out his son is dead from the media, Schmegelsky is quoted as saying in an official complaint made to the commission. According to a June letter sent to Schmegelsky, an RCMP officer appointed to investigate the complaint had finished his report, which is currently being reviewed by the commission in Ottawa. But whatever the report concludes, the commission will be limited in how it can respond. Krista Stelkia, a researcher in the area of police oversight at Simon Fraser University, said in a previous interview that the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission will decide whether it believes the RCMPs internal investigation into the complaint was adequate. If it determines it was not adequate, the commission will then write up its own report, which will be delivered to the RCMP commissioner. With all that being said, it is important to emphasize that one of the biggest criticisms of the CRCC is the lack of enforcement power it has been given, Stelkia told the Star in an email. The CRCC has no legislative power to impose discipline or to influence the disciplinary process and can merely only make recommendations to the RCMP commissioner. Another major criticism is that most of the complaints received by the commission are only investigated internally by the RCMP, Stelkia wrote. The exceptions are public interest investigations initiated by the commission, such as the investigation into the death of Colten Boushie, a young Indigenous man who was shot and killed on a Saskatchewan farm by farmer Gerald Stanley, who was acquitted. Schmegelsky was the only one of the suspects parents to speak publicly during the manhunt and his public pleas for police to update him became a through-line of the deadly saga. Manitoba RCMP spent about $800,000 during the 17-day search through the provinces northern terrain. B.C. RCMP estimated their costs at about $750,000. Those costs include the major crime investigation and specialized support services such as air services and forensic identification. They do not include the cost of the Canadian Armed Forces, whose members were also involved in the nationwide search. The RCMP told the Star last week that the investigation into McLeod and Schmegelsky is essentially complete and that the only tasks remaining on the file are mainly administrative. Clarification July 22, 2020: This story has been edited to clarify the review by the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission. Read more about: A collaborative robot, or cobot, places an item in a box at California-based DCL Logistics facility in Freemont By Rajesh Kumar Singh CHICAGO (Reuters) - While a resurgence in coronavirus cases in Texas has brought many businesses to a screeching halt, eight robots have kept All Axis Machining's metal fabrication facility in Dallas humming. The small, nimble robots perform multiple jobs, such as machine-tending, sanding, deburring, part inspection and laser marking, leaving owner Gary Kuzmin far less dependent on manual labor. When all the workers on one shift went into self-quarantine last month, it had no impact on the facility's productivity. All Kuzmin had to do was to move a couple of workers from other shifts to supervise the robots. "I have not lost any spindle time because of the pandemic," he said. Companies of all sizes are leaning on automation to keep factories running without compromising the health and safety of their workers. Half of the chief financial officers surveyed last month by PricewaterhouseCoopers said they were planning to accelerate automation. With the U.S. economy grappling with a double-digit unemployment rate, however, industry's rush to robots will fuel worries about semi-skilled or unskilled workers as low-paid, routine tasks become more likely to be automated. "It is the most productive thing for us to have the robots," said Kuzmin. "I don't even look at a machine these days without thinking how I would automate it." Since August 2018, when All Axis Machining began using robots, its productivity has doubled with the same headcount. If not for the robots, the company would have needed to expand its staff of 30 by 50% to keep up with increase in demand. "We are less dependent upon a semi-skilled employee," said Kuzmin. The pandemic has changed companies' calculations about investments in automation, said Jeremie Capron, research chief at research and investment-advisory firm ROBO Global. "The cost of operating without a robot today in a factory is higher than it was pre-COVID," he said. Mark Muro, senior fellow and policy director at Washington-based the Brookings Institution, says the automation drive will result in a net reduction in the workforce as companies invest in technology not just for social distancing, but also to boost productivity and protect profits from the pandemic-induced recession. Story continues "Technology has improved and gotten cheaper, and the financial pressure on companies is higher," he said. He noted, however, that since middle class and lower-paid workers tend to spend a larger share of their income than the higher-paid, it is important that productivity gains eventually result in more jobs. "If there is... too little sharing of the gains of automation-supported growth, we will wind up with little economic activity," Muro said. LOWER COST, FASTER PAYBACK The affordable cost of the so-called collaborative robots, or "cobots," promises payback in months, making the changeover easier, even for small and medium-sized enterprises. All Axis Machining, for example, spent $85,000 per robot and was able to recover the cost in five months. There are cheaper collaborative robots on the market, as well. One of the most popular cobots sold by Denmark-based Universal Robots - a unit of Massachusetts-based Teradyne Inc. and a market leader in collaborative robotics technology - costs about $35,000, with a payback period of three to four months. The robots are very easy to use, safe to be around and can easily be adapted to new tasks. It takes just hours to train employees to work with them, saving companies huge training expense. Although they are not suited for heavy-duty jobs, they are designed to work alongside humans, making them the robots of choice in the age of social distancing. California-based DCL Logistics, a third-party logistics company, decided to employ cobots to manage a 30% increase in orders in the immediate aftermath of the outbreak. Normally, the company would have hired temporary workers to deal with the surge in orders. But bringing in new workers was fraught with safety risks, said Chief Revenue Officer Brian Tu. The robots have led to a 300% increase in productivity and a 60% jump in labor cost savings, Tu said. DCL plans to deploy more cobots this year at its facilities in California and Kentucky. At All Axis Machining, the cobots have allowed owner Kuzmin to stagger the shifts. The facility now runs three shifts seven days a week, with robots working the late night shift alone, without any roving inspector. This has allowed workers in the facility to stay 30 feet apart from each other. Having seen the benefits, the company is automating its remaining machines as well. Kuzmin, who also runs a robotics services company, says several Dallas-based manufacturers have approached him recently to install similar robots in their factories. ECONOMIC UNCERTAINTY Universal Robots is fielding inquiries from companies seeking social distancing solutions, as well as tools to re-shore production and make their operations more flexible. "Some companies... are talking about dozens and dozens of robots," said Joe Campbell, senior manager of applications development at Universal Robots. Still, the virus-induced recession is keeping many companies on the sidelines, wary of making new investments. Tacoma, Washington-based Tool Gauge, which makes metal and plastic parts and assemblies for aerospace companies, including Boeing Co. , planned to add two mobile industrial robots to its fleet of two cobots and 10 industrial robots before the novel coronavirus hammered the aviation industry. But Tool Gauge put the robots on hold after a production shutdown at Boeing's Washington state factories and an overall drop in orders, General Manager Jim Lee said. (Reporting by Rajesh Kumar Singh; Editing by Joseph White and Dan Grebler) NASHVILLE, Tenn., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As many Americans find themselves driving less due to the COVID-19 pandemic, research from Hankook Tire reveals that they are also neglecting vehicle maintenance and systems checks, which could have costly implications down the road. Nearly half (48 percent) of Americans have delayed or canceled a vehicle maintenance appointment, according to the latest Hankook Tire Gauge Index. And, even more did not perform routine maintenance such as topping off fluids (73 percent) or checking tire pressures regularly (70 percent). While the data also indicated that many plan to perform their own vehicle maintenance moving forward, professional service has not been a priority for many drivers for several months. Nearly half (48 percent) of Americans surveyed delayed or canceled a regularly scheduled maintenance appointment during the pandemic, meaning that trained service personnel would not have been able to identify any mechanical issues that might have been missed by the owner. "It is understandable that with restrictions in place this spring, many did not take their vehicles in for professional maintenance," said Daniel Brown, Senior Technical Services Specialist, Hankook Tire America Corp. "However, as respondents said they focused less on maintaining their vehicles, this could lead to mechanical problems for many drivers down the road as research shows that Americans plan to drive more in the coming months. While some maintenance can be performed at home, a visit with a professional mechanic is often important to diagnose small issues before they turn into costly repairs." New Priorities for Our Vehicles as Travel Resumes With businesses reopening and travel volumes increasing, our cars are resuming their roles as our primary means of travel. Most Americans (80 percent) expect their normal driving habits to resume no later than the end of 2020, and 60 percent of respondents plan on taking more car trips. And, with summer upon us, cars will be the primary vacation mode of travel for 57 percent of Americans as concerns linger over plane travel. This data reinforces the importance of having our cars run reliably, and at-home maintenance will play a role in ensuring this. Nearly half (48 percent) of Americans plan on performing vehicle maintenance on their own, and a similar percentage (49 percent) are now checking their own tire pressures rather than taking their vehicles to a mechanic or dealer. And did you know: Beyond our vehicles, the importance of cleanliness and preparedness has been a major learning from the pandemic. More than two-thirds (70 percent) of Americans plan on keeping more cleaning and paper supplies in the house. The Hankook Tire Gauge Index is a survey of Americans' attitudes and opinions. The latest installment of the survey, conducted April 22-23, 2020, polled 1,094 randomly selected Americans age 18+ who have a valid U.S. driver's license. About Hankook Tire America Corp. Hankook Tire America Corp. is a growing leader in the U.S. tire market, leveraging investments in technology, manufacturing and marketing to deliver high-quality, reliable products that are safer for consumers and the environment. Headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee, Hankook America markets and distributes a complete line of high-performance and ultra-high-performance passenger tires, light truck and SUV tires as well as medium truck and bus tires in the United States. Hankook Tire America is a subsidiary of Hankook Tire Co., Ltd., a Forbes Global 2000 company headquartered in Seoul, Korea, and led by President and CEO Hyun Bum Cho. SOURCE Hankook Tire America Corp. Related Links http://www.hankooktire.com International students have been told not to make travel plans to Canada until after Ottawas border restrictions are lifted. In the latest update of its program guidelines, the federal immigration department said Tuesday that international students will not be allowed to enter Canada if they have received a student visa after the countrys border lockdown on March 18. Even those who have a valid study permit from that date or earlier will be denied entry unless they can prove their travel is non-discretionary or non-optional. While many Canadian college and university campus locations are closed, classes are generally continuing online. Travel will be deemed discretionary or non-discretionary depending on individual circumstances, said the advisory. In 2019, more than 650,000 international students studied in Canada at the post-secondary level. The sector contributed more than $21 billion to the Canadian economy through students spending and tuition fees, which are two to three times higher than their domestic peers. The largest cohort of the students usually arrives in the fall. To ensure Canada remains a competitive destination of choice for international education during the pandemic, the federal government is allowing students to count the time spent pursuing their studies online abroad toward their eligibility for a post-graduation work permit. If they have submitted a study permit application and if at least half of their program is completed in Canada when the border reopens, they will be eligible for the work permit, which many international students count on as an ultimate pathway for permanent residence. The pandemic has had a significant impact on international students and the Canadian institutions and communities that host them. This is why we have implemented a series of measures to support them, Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino said earlier. We value the contribution of young people seeking a high-quality education in Canada, and were making every effort to minimize how current challenges affect their plans and dreams for the future. Despite the special COVID-19 measures, international students have complained that schools still require the same hefty tuition fees for online programs, which present other challenges regarding time-zone differences. Some students may have to stay up for their class in the wee hours from their home countries. Sarom Rho, a migrant student worker organizer, said Ottawa has been tone-deaf to the needs of international students, who have been asking for a tuition freeze and work permit extension, among other things that could help them through the pandemic. International students are disappointed with these announcements, said Rho of Migrant Students United. The governments response is geared towards maintaining international enrolment and fees as a source of revenue to keep schools operating. Its disavowing its responsibility to the quality of education for these students. According to the immigration departments updated guidelines, border agents have the final say in admitting arriving students. Students must prove their presence in Canada is necessary for their continued participation in their program, such as in labs and workshops, or prove that pursuing online studies is not an option for their school or program or not possible from their home country, for example, due to internet restrictions or bandwidth limitation. Like all travellers, international students who enter Canada must undergo the necessary health checks and self-quarantine for 14 days upon arrival. Some universities and colleges have issued support letters to incoming international students advising them to take extra precautions before travelling to Canada because students are responsible for the costs of returning to their home countries. At the University of Saskatchewan, for example, students are recommended to provide border agents support letters from the administration saying that your studies cannot be completed online and you are expected to to start on-site. LIV AZ REALTY We are honored and excited to launch the OUR HEROES program, said Janson. We are grateful for the service of these hardworking individuals and want to give back to them and our community in a meaningful way. LIV AZ REALTY, a residential real estate brokerage firm in Phoenix, owned by Lynn Janson and John Cabezas, is launching their OUR HEROES give-back program. OUR HEROES is a program offered exclusively by LIV AZ REALTY and participating mortgage lenders, title companies and other third party vendors. The program is designed to give back to local community heroes by significantly reducing the cost of buying a home. You do not have to earn Hero status to participate. You are already designated a hero if you work for, or are retired from, LIV AZ REALTYS list of eligible industries: Firefighters and EMS Law enforcement and staff Medical professionals and staff Military (active, retired and veterans) Teachers and educational staff Grocery workers and administrative staff Delivery workers Childcare workers Pharmacy workers The OUR HEROES program credits money to your closing costs. Available credits include a lender credit of .25% of the loan amount and an additional agent credit of.25%. On average, OUR HEROES participants receive $2,500 in discounts combined. We are honored and excited to launch the OUR HEROES program, said Janson. We are grateful for the service of these hardworking individuals and want to give back to them and our community in a meaningful way. We believe that service and giving back is a core value essential to thriving in life and business, says Cabezas. We are delighted that we could find a way to give back to those whose service is essential to the wellbeing of our community and nation. About Lynn Janson Lynn Janson is a real estate broker in the metro Phoenix area. She has been a Realtor for nine years. Her love of real estate led her to establish her own brokerage with her husband in late 2019 with the focus on mentoring and developing new agents to elevate the professionalism in the Phoenix metro real estate market. About John Cabezas A Cuban born immigrant and businessman, John spent 25 years as an executive in corporate America, has co-written a real estate How To book, is a three-time guest on Real Estate Matters (960AM) Talk Show, writes a column for North 32nd News and is currently a partner and Realtor at LIV AZ Realty. In his 20 years as a Realtor, John has been involved in major remodel and renovation projects throughout the valley. View his real estate blog at http://www.livazrealty.com About LIV AZ REALTY The goal of LIV AZ is to build a boutique brokerage, one agent at a time, that has a reputation for excellence. LIV AZ is a brokerage that serves the community and places the interest of their clients above all else. Technology has changed the world and the real estate industry. LIV AZ agents strive to blend hands-on human interaction while utilizing today's technology to provide a premium white-glove experience when buying or selling a home. LIV AZs mission is to personalize communication with and serve their clients based on their clients specific needs. LIV AZ believes that greatness is a choice. LIV AZ chooses to attract and work with agents who believe in and live that motto; not only in business, but in every aspect of their lives. In doing so, LIV AZ will do its part to elevate professionalism in the real estate industry. For more information, visit: http://livazrealty.com/ ### BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - The Switzerland stock market ended lower on Tuesday even as most of the markets across Europe saw a fairly good outing. While the European Union's announcement of a 750 billion euro recovery fund aided sentiment in euro denominated stock markets in Europe, disappointing retail sales data weighed on Swiss stocks. However, optimism about potential coronavirus vaccines helped limit market's slide. The benchmark SMI ended down 26.87 points or 0.26% at 10,444.05. The index touched a high of 10,533.33 in the first hour of the session. Novartis declined nearly 2%. SGS ended lower by about 1.5%, while Givaudan lost 0.9%. Alcon, Roche Holding, Swisscom and Richemont shed 0.4 to 0.6%. Adecco moved up more than 4%. UBS Group gained about 2.6% and Swiss Re gained 1.5%, while Credit Suisse and Swiss Life Holding both ended higher by about 1.1%. In the midcap section, Lindt & Sp Ps and Lindt & Spruengli lost 4.3% and 4%, respectively. Kuehne & Nagel declined 2.3% and Vifor Pharma ended lower by 2.2%, while Temenos Group lost 1.7%. On the other hand, Dufry surged up 3.25% and Georg Fischer gained 2.1%. Flughafen Zurich, Julius Baer, Helvetia and Baloise Holding gained 1.2 to 2%. Data from the Federal Customs Administration showed Swiss exports declined sharply in the second quarter, falling by a real 12.5%, compared to a 2% decrease in the first quarter. Imports decreased 12.1% in the second quarter, following a 4% decline in the previous quarter. In nominal terms, exports fell 11.5% quarterly and imports declined 16% in the second quarter. The trade balance registered a record surplus of CHF 9.595 billion in the second quarter versus CHF 8.440 billion in the previous quarter. In the second quarter 2019, the trade surplus was CHF 6.152 billion. In June, exports rose 7.9% monthly, after a 0.1% fall in May. Imports increased 5.5% month-on-month in June, following a 13.9% rise in the prior month. According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, watch exports declined sharply by 35.1% year-on-year in June. In the first half of the year, watch exports decreased 35.7% year-on-year. Demand from China increased sharply in June, while from Hong Kong, US, UK, Germany and Singapore declined, the data showed. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 16:00:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Passengers on flights to China are required to provide negative nucleic acid test results before boarding, the country's civil aviation regulator said Tuesday. Chinese and foreign passengers taking flights to China must complete the tests within five days before embarking, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a joint statement issued with the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The tests should be conducted in institutions designated or approved by Chinese embassies, the statement added. The move aims to ensure the health and safety of international travelers and reduce the risks of cross-border spread of the pandemic, the statement said. Enditem The guided-missile destroyer USS Ralph Johnson steams near Vietnam's Spratly Islands in the South China Sea, July 14, 2020. Photo of the U.S. Navy. The latest South China Sea statement made by the U.S. signals Washington will strengthen measures to challenge China's resource claims. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo issued a formal statement rejecting Chinas claims to much of the offshore resources in the South China Sea, called the East Sea in Vietnam, as unlawful and accused Beijing of coercing its neighbors, on July 13. "We are making clear: Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them," he said in the statement published on the U.S. Department of State's website. The South China Sea is known in Vietnam as the East Sea. Commenting on this move of the U.S., Collin Koh Swee Lea, a research fellow at Singapore's S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies, said the States has long been criticized for lacking a South China Sea (SCS) strategy beyond performing freedom of navigation operations (FONOP) and theater security engagements with regional allies and partners, "so this statement may result in a more holistic strategy beyond just using military tools to assert rules based order in the SCS." The U.S. statement continues by saying: "As Beijing has failed to put forth a lawful, coherent maritime claim in the SCS, the U.S. rejects any PRC (People's Republic of China) claim to waters beyond a 12-nautical mile territorial sea derived from islands it claims in the Spratlys (Vietnams Truong Sa)." "As such, the U.S. rejects any PRC maritime claim in the waters surrounding Vanguard Bank (off Vietnam), Luconia Shoals (off Malaysia), waters in Bruneis Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), and Natuna Besar (off Indonesia)," Pompeo said. Any PRC action to harass other states' fishing or hydrocarbon development in these waters, or to carry out such activities unilaterally, is unlawful, it warned. Gregory Poling, director of Asia Maritime Transparency Initiative and a fellow with Southeast Asia Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) in the U.S., said the States "is taking a more explicit position on maritime rights," as it is more firmly endorsing the substance of a 2016 ruling by a tribunal convened under the U.N. Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), which concluded that most of the resources of sea belong to the nearest coastal states: Brunei, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Vietnam. The U.S. has always seen Chinas actions in its neighbors EEZs and continental shelves as illegal but it would not come out and say so until now, Poling said. "It is now explicitly declaring it's illegal for China to engage in fishing, oil and gas exploration, or other economic activities in those areas, or to interfere with its neighbors rights to do so," he said. Lucio Blanco Pitlo, research fellow at the Asia-Pacific Pathways to Progress Foundation in the Philippines, said along with the June 1 note, this recent U.S. State Department statement on the SCS "opens a new dimension for America's efforts to roll back China's attempts to consolidate its position in the strategic and resource-rich sea." "By throwing its weight in support of international law, notably UNCLOS and a historic ruling by a tribunal based on it, the U.S. is going beyond asserting navigational and overflight freedoms," he said. On June 1, U.S. ambassador to the U.N. Kelly Craft sent a diplomatic note to U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres protesting Chinas claims in the SCS. The note was sent in response to the one sent by the Permanent Mission of China to the U.N. on December 12 last year in response to Malaysias submission to the Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf. "The U.S. rejects these maritime claims as inconsistent with international law as reflected in the 1982 Law of the Sea Convention," that note read. "Beijing uses intimidation to undermine the sovereign rights of Southeast Asian coastal states in the SCS, bully them out of offshore resources, assert unilateral dominion, and replace international law with might makes right," Pompeo's latest statement read. Derek Grossman, a senior defense analyst at RAND Corporation, an American nonprofit global policy think tank that focuses on national security policy and Indo-Pacific security issues, said what the U.S. has been doing lately is "a logical progression in the ongoing ratcheting up of U.S.-China tensions." The Trump administration made clear years before Pompeos announcement that Washington planned to keep the Indo-Pacific region "free and open" from coercion. Washington has also made explicit it has a strategy, per National Security Strategy, National Defense Strategy, and Indo-Pacific Strategy Report, to compete with and counter China at every turn both regionally and globally and this is just the latest manifestation of the strategy, he said. On July 13, just after Pompeos statement was released, U.S. senators Jim Risch and Bob Menendez, chairman and ranking member of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee; and representatives Eliot Engel and Michael McCaul, chairman and ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said in a statement "China has failed to abide by the Permanent Court of Arbitration's legally binding ruling from 2016, or provide any credible legal justification for its claims." "Instead, it has resorted to coercion of its neighbors, an aggressive campaign of reclamation and militarization of features, and continued activities in the exclusive economic zones of other countries. This has only accelerated over the last several months as the world focused on Covid-19. "The United States is committed to upholding international law; to flying, sailing, and operating where international law allows; and to supporting our regional partners and institutions who seek peaceful diplomatic resolution of disputes in the South China Sea," they said. What's next Meanwhile, the world will of course see the U.S. keeping military activities aimed at asserting freedom of navigation and overflight in the South China Sea, said Collin. The USS Ralph Johnson just did a FONOP, sailing within 12 nautical miles off Cuarteron and Fiery Cross reefs of Vietnams Truong Sa (Spratly) Islands where China constructed outposts on July 14. The operation occurred right after Pompeos statement, "in an apparent act of reinforcing the message," Collin said. It is also possible the U.S. will apply more economic sanctions on China. "If the Trump administration chooses to pursue the sanctions pathway, itll create an impact on Chinese companies business dealings with their Southeast Asian counterparts, especially those South China Sea claimants," he continued. Last year, Senator Marco Rubio proposed sanctions against China over its activities in the South China Sea and East China Sea. Then on July 14, Assistant Secretary David Stilwell told a CSIS conference on SCS that sanctions could be on the table for Chinese state-run companies operating survey ships and marine research vessels within other countries EEZs without permission. Poling of CSIS said, "U.S. officials will likely begin working this stronger language into statements at international forums and putting pressure on partners and allies to do the same. This can be expected not just at regional meetings like East Asia Summit, but in bodies like the Quad, the Group of Seven, and various bilateral and trilateral meetings." This might also encourage Southeast Asian claimants, particularly Vietnam and the Philippines, to advocate for themselves more forcefully. "The next time a China Coast Guard ship plays chicken with an oil rig off Vietnam or a flotilla of Chinese fishing boats appears in Indonesian waters, the U.S. will likely speak up more forcefully to decry the illegal action," Poling said. This approach will likely extend beyond November, as any future administration will find it difficult to rescind this new rhetorical position, he said. The USS Ronald Reagan, the USS Nimitz and other accompanying vessels perform drills on the South China Sea, July 6, 2020. Photo courtesy of the U.S. Navy. Economic costs for China might also follow from this policy, Poling added. "By declaring so much of Chinas maritime activities illegal, the administration has provided a justification for potential sanctions against Chinese companies and entities that conduct them." This would involve a much wider and timelier set of potential targets than previously mooted U.S. sanctions legislation. Bills introduced in the Congress during 2017 and 2019 for example focused more narrowly on dredging, construction, and other activities on Chinese artificial islands yet Stilwell has specifically directed attention to the role of Chinese state-owned enterprises engaged in illegal maritime activity, he said. Bonnie Glaser, senior adviser for Asia and director of China Power Project at the CSIS, shared the same idea. Based on statements by Stilwell, it is possible the U.S. would impose sanctions on Chinese state-run companies operating survey ships and marine research vessels within the EEZs of other countries, including Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia, without permission, Glaser said. "The U.S. may also encourage environmental protection organizations to take legal action against damage wrought to the marine ecosystem by Chinese dredging," she said. What is clearer now is that Washington plans to double-down on diplomacy to strengthen alliances and partnerships throughout the Indo-Pacific region to counter China, said Grossman of RAND. As he guessed, "the U.S. will also continue, and perhaps intensify, its military activities designed to both send deterrent messages to China and challenge Beijings excessive maritime sovereignty claims." Most experts and insiders said it is clear the latest U.S. move will only create heightened tensions between China and itself, after a recent spate of unhappy developments such as Trumps sanctions on Chinese officials over Hong Kong, Tibet and Xinjiang, as well as Huawei, to name a few. Several days before Pompeos statment, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said U.S.-China relations are the worst they have been since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1979. Collin said this certainly riles up Beijing, which now accuses the U.S. of no longer being neutral and bent on taking sides on the SCS. "I dont think the Chinese would take it lying down." There is a chance the Chinese ramp up their challenge of U.S. military operations in the SCS, creating heightened risks of incidents in the air and at sea between Chinese and American forces, he said. For that, Poling said there would of course be downsides to the U.S.'s policy, and that it will raise tensions between Beijing and Washington in the short term. But in the long term, if successfully couched within a broader policy combining pressure on Beijing and greater international coalition building to support Southeast Asian parties, it could help steer China toward a compromise the international community could live with. "And that ultimately is the best chance to peacefully manage South China Sea disputes," he said. Advertisement Pictures have emerged of a freshly-caught whale being skinned, gutted and chopped up in Japan, a year after the country resumed whaling. Fishermen killed the 34ft long Baird's Beaked Whale earlier today in Wada Port, Chiba, and later winched it into a slaughterhouse where its meat was prepared for sale to shops and restaurants. Whaling has long been a part of Japanese culture, with some coastal communities boasting 400 years of the hunt and many considering the meat to be a national delicacy. It comes a year after Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) following a disagreement over fishing quotas, which allowed it to resume whaling for consumption. Pictures show chunks of white fleshy meat waiting to be distributed after the whale was processed inside the slaughterhouse. Fishermen killed the 34-ft long Baird's Beaked Whale earlier today in Wada Port, Chiba, and later winched it into a slaughterhouse where it was prepared for its sale to shops and restaurants A worker slices the beak of a newly-caught Baird's Beaked Whale. Its meat is considered to be a delicacy within Japanese cuisine and some coastal communities have been whaling for more than 400 years The head of the whale is moved after its body has been processed. It comes a year after Japan withdrew from the International Whaling Commission (IWC) following a disagreement over fishing quotas, which allowed it to resume whaling for consumption Pictures show chunks of white fleshy meat waiting to be distributed after the whale was processed inside the slaughterhouse. The mammal was cut open while still in the sea to allow blood to drain from its body, but more blood was washed away by workers as it was prepared The mammal was cut open while still in the sea to allow blood to drain from its body, but more blood was washed away by workers as it was prepared. After it was winched into the slaughterhouse, Sake, a Japanese liquor, was poured over the carcass as part of a ritual that both celebrates and purifies the catch. Its head and skin was then removed before the chunks of meat were cut. Countries belonging to the IWC agreed to pause whaling in 1986 to allow populations of whale to recover following centuries of excessive hunting. This did not mean the country suddenly stopped whaling. Since 1987 Japan has continued under a clause that allowed whaling for scientific studies. When Japan failed in 2018 to persuade the IWC to introduce sustainable quotas to let the country openly hunt for human consumption it decided to leave the organisation, effective from July 2019. The whale's flesh was removed from its body by fishers. Countries belonging to the commission agreed to pause whaling in 1986 to allow populations of whale to recover following centuries of excessive hunting The whale, which had already been cut open while in the sea to allow blood to escape, is winched into the slaughterhouse. When Japan failed in 2018 to persuade the IWC to introduce sustainable quotas to let the country hunt again it decided to leave the organisation, effective from July 2019 The whale's insides were escaping from its body as whalers prepared to take the meat off the animal's corpse. Hoses were used to rinse away its blood A fisher slices into the body of the whale as the process begins to get the whale's meat ready to be sold for consumption as a delicacy in the country Sake, a Japanese liquor, was poured over the carcass as part of a ritual that both celebrates and purifies the catch. Despite the agreement to stop hunting, since 1987 Japan has continued under a clause that allowed indigenous groups and those undertaking scientific studies to hunt whales In the last 30 years Japan has killed between 200 and 1,200 whales. After leaving the IWC the cap of 52 minke whales, 150 Bryde's whales and 25 sei whales will be lower than the 333 cap set for last year's research hunt. It is a small industry in the country and employs around 300 people, with five whaling ships expected to set sail in July. On July 1 last year whalers caught a 27-foot Minke whale after they headed out from a port in northern Japan's Kushiro for the first time since leaving the IWC. Hunting 'will be conducted within Japan's territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone', Hideki Moronuki of the Japanese fishing ministry told the BBC a month before whaling resumed, meaning it could no longer catch whales in the Antarctic as it had been during its scientific hunts. 'Today is the best day,' Yoshifumi Kai, head of the Japan Small-Type Whaling Association, said at the time, as he watched the whalers bring their first whale ashore. The whale was winched out of the sea and into the slaughterhouse. In the last 30 years Japan has killed between 200 and 1,200 whales and after leaving the IWC the cap of 52 minke whales, 150 Bryde's whales and 25 sei whales will be lower than the 333 cap set for last year's research hunt The whale is pictured just before it was processed ready to be sold. Whaling is a small industry in the country and employs around 300 people, with five hunting ships expected to set sail in July Four fishers battle to detach whale's head from its body. Hunting 'will be conducted within Japan's territorial waters and Exclusive Economic Zone', Hideki Moronuki of the Japanese fishing ministry told the BBC a month before whaling resumed, meaning it could no longer catch whales in the Antarctic as it had been during its scientific hunts The whale's beak was held down as it's neck was cut by one of the fishers. On July 1 last year whalers caught a 27-foot Minke whale after they headed out from a port in northern Japan's Kushiro for the first time since leaving the IWC A fisher makes sure the whale is dead. In its 200-mile exclusive economic zone, Japan is bound by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which asks states to 'co-operate with a view to the conservation' of whales and 'in particular work through the appropriate international organizations for their conservation, management and study' The fishers wear waterproof overalls to keep themselves dry as they tackle the enormous animal. Critics including Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd have said there are no concrete plans yet to tackle the country over whaling One fisher stands on top of the whale as they work to prepare its meat for sale. 'Today is the best day,' Yoshifumi Kai, head of the Japan Small-Type Whaling Association, said last year, as he watched the whalers bring their first whale ashore 'We were able to catch a good whale. It's going to be delicious.' 'My heart is overflowing with happiness, and I'm deeply moved,' said Mr Kai, head of the Japan Small-Type Whaling Association, addressing a crowd of several dozen politicians, local officials and whalers in Kushiro before the boats left. 'This is a small industry, but I am proud of hunting whales. People have hunted whales for more than 400 years in my home town.' Hideki Abi, a 23-year-old whaler from the Miyagi region in northern Japan, said he was 'a bit nervous but happy that we can start whaling' before he left for the hunt last year. He added: 'I don't think young people know how to cook and eat whale meat any more. I want more people try to taste it at least once.' In its 200-mile exclusive economic zone, Japan is bound by the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea which asks states to 'co-operate with a view to the conservation' of whales and 'in particular work through the appropriate international organizations for their conservation, management and study'. Critics including Greenpeace and Sea Shepherd have said there are no concrete plans yet to tackle the country over this. ST. LOUIS Gov. Mike Parsons comment on a radio show expressing his belief that children should return to school this fall even though they will inevitably become infected with the coronavirus drew broad condemnation on Monday. A Post-Dispatch tweet quoting the governor and linking to a story about his controversial comments was retweeted 50,000 times by 9:30 p.m. on Monday, with more than 35,000 comments. Many of the harshest comments came from prominent Democrats. But they also came from Hollywood icons, writers, professors, podcasters and social media figures. And, it appeared, many teachers and pupils. Parsons comment came as Missouri sees a spike in cases of COVID-19 and as school districts begin releasing their plans for reopening this fall. In an interview on Friday with talk-radio host Marc Cox on KFTK (97.1 FM), Parson indicated both certainty and acceptance that the coronavirus will spread among children when they return to school. These kids have got to get back to school, Parson told Cox. Theyre at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19, which they will and they will when they go to school theyre not going to the hospitals. Theyre not going to have to sit in doctors offices. Theyre going to go home, and theyre going to get over it. Of 121,374 people in the United States that had died from COVID-19 by July 11, 31 were younger than 15, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. (The national death toll on Monday was 140,157.) In late June, the nations pediatricians came out strongly in favor of having children return to classrooms to provide them with instruction, social and emotional skills, safety, nutrition and exercise. But the statement also acknowledged the health risk to adults and expressed that the health of children, adolescents, their families and the community was paramount. Parsons campaign manager, Steele Shippy, tweeted Saturday that the governor very clearly believes that kids going back to school is important. It is important for their education, it is important for their development, and it is important for the mental health of them and their family. He added, The SCIENCE which democrats constantly harp on about says that kids are not at risk. That is simply a fact he is following the science. However, not much is known about how easily children can catch and spread the virus to people who could get sick, or die. And there is no definitive evidence about what suite of strategies is most effective for limiting transmission within a school setting, according to a report issued last week by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine. The report found that staffing schools is likely to be a challenge. A significant portion of school staff are in high-risk age groups or are hesitant to return to in-person schooling because of health risks. And some strategies for limiting transmission of the virus within schools, maintaining smaller class sizes and delivering in-person and virtual learning, will require additional instructional staff, the report found. The report acknowledged that poor-quality school buildings that have bad indoor air quality or inadequate bathroom facilities will complicate reopening and that poor families will suffer disproportionately. Those who expressed alarm at Parsons comment included former U.S. Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, U.S. Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Massachusetts, U.S. Rep. Ted Lieu, D-California, Chelsea Clinton, former presidential candidate Marianne Williamson, and former Minnesota Gov. Jesse Ventura. McCaskill tweeted to her 553,000 followers: They are going to go home and infect their families. Smh. Warren, who has 4.4 million followers, accused Parson of willfully endangering our kids and entire communities for political gain. Forcing schools to reopen without providing them with the resources they need to do so safely is reckless, dangerous, and the last thing we should do. Clinton told her 2.6 million followers that if Republican leaders, including President Donald Trump, actually cared about getting kids back to school next month, they would be doing everything possible to crush #covid19 transmission today some kids dont get over it, some get very, very sick, and some die. Lieu, who has 1.3 million followers, told Parson that the most recent large-scale study shows children between 10 and 19 transmit the coronavirus just like adults. That means teachers, parents and grandparents will get infected. Some will go to the hospital and some will die. Get the problem? And Eric Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist at Harvard University, with 240,000 Twitter followers, tweeted that Parson had made a HORRIFIC statement that is willful endangerment. Us epidemiologists are close to vomiting blood just hearing this. The comedian Kathleen Madigan tweeted: Dear all nieces & nephews, minus a vaccine, see ya at, like, ur weddings. Xo, Aunt Kat. Ps. Please dont kill ur parents or mine. Ventura tweeted: Kids wont just get over it theyll SPREAD it first to their parents. And if their parents returned to work to coworkers. Not to mention grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. Especially since symptoms among young children arent very obvious. The comments caught the attention of Reinhard Butikofer, a German politician who has been a member of the European Parliament since 2009. He tweeted: Unbe-(expletive)-lievable. Others criticizing the governor included religious scholar and writer Reza Aslan, journalists Jamele Hill and Yashar Ali, the Pod Save America podcast, and even figures best known by members of Generation Z, including the KFC Barstool site, which summed up Parsons attitude for its 387,000 followers as Just get over it, bro. The internet personality ExtendoBans, who has nearly 400,000 Twitter followers and 1.2 million on Instagram, had this simple take: WHAT. On Monday, Parson said at a media briefing in Kansas City that his comments were taken out of context. The governor also said he cares deeply about the virus being in schools, but I also think its very important as public officials that you speak the truth about that, KSHB (Channel 4) reported. Stay up to date on life and culture in St. Louis. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Federal Treasurer Josh Frydenberg during a press conference in the Mural Hall at Parliament House on June 11, 2020 in Canberra, Australia (Sam Mooy/Getty Images) Australian Government Upgrades Loan Scheme to Bolster Growth for Small and Medium Businesses The federal government announced on July 20 that it will ramp up its COVID-19 guaranteed loan scheme for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). The expansion aims to improve access to affordable long-term funding to help businesses emerge from the pandemic-induced crisis in a stronger position. Under the original scheme implemented in early April, the government will provide a guarantee of 50 percent to eligible lenders for all new unsecured loans to businesses with annual turnovers of less than $50 million. The low-interest loan, up to $250,000 with a term no more than three years, can only be used for working capital. The upgraded second-phase of the scheme, set to run from Oct. 1 to June 30 next year, lifts the loan cap to $1 million, which can be used for a wider range of investments. It also extends the maximum term of a loan from three years to five years. Other changes include allowing secured lending and removing the requirement of a six-month repayment holiday. The Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said the expanded SME loan program focuses more on getting businesses to grow and create jobs, rather than just stay afloat. The next phase of the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme will help businesses move out of hibernation, successfully adapt to the new COVID-safe economy and invest for the future, he said in a joint statement with the minister for employment and small business Michaelia Cash. The chief executive of Commonwealth Bank Matt Comyn welcomed the new phase of the scheme as a creative solution, saying it will help businesses play their part in helping the country and Australians get back on their feet during a long and winding recovery. Todays lifting of the amount available to $1 million and the loan extension to five years will allow SMEs access to low-cost, guaranteed funding and to make the investments needed to get people back to work, create new jobs and lift confidence across the economy as part of the broader efforts to combat the impact of the coronavirus on our country, he said in a statement on July 20. National Australia Bank (NAB) also expressed support for the extension. The changes will make it available to more businesses, for longer, to help them rebuildand support Australias recovery, the banks chief executive Ross McEwan said in a statement. While the government has committed its support for up to $40 billion in SME loans, just 15,600 business loans worth $1.5 billion have been issued so far, with CBA issuing half of loans and NAB approving 5,500 loans. More Needed to Unlock Growth for SME The announcement came as the country is grappling with the second outbreak of COVID-19 cases in Victoria, with many businesses in the countrys second-largest economy having to shut down again. The sweeping lockdown has had a significant impact on Australian businesses, 99 percent of which are small and medium businesses. A survey released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) on June 24 showed that two-thirds of businesses reported a decrease compared to last year. Of those businesses, more than three in every ten estimated that revenue had fallen by more than 50 percent. It also found that 30 percent of small businesses and 24 percent of medium businesses reported that current cash on hand would support operations for less than three months. According to the latest figures as of June 19 by the Australian Banking Association, over 216,372 business loan repayments worth $59 billion have been deferred since the pandemic hit. In a commissioned study published on July 16 (pdf), NAB urges for eight key actions to support long-term growth for small and medium businesses, which contribute 56 percent of total production in Australias economy. The proposed reforms include making it easier to hire new staff, cutting regulations, opening new procurement opportunities, and furthering access to capital. The study, titled Supporting Economic Recovery: What we can do for Small Business, found that one in five small businesses is having difficulty in getting finance, and slow approval and high funding costs have hampered their expansion. WASHINGTON Against the backdrop of protests across the country over police shootings of unarmed Black people and racial disparities, some mayors and local officials propose ways to examine the impact of slavery and help atone for it, including reparations. From Providence, Rhode Island, to Asheville, North Carolina, officials have proposed measures to begin to address years of what they call injustices in their communities. The measures range from resolutions to support studying reparations to proposals to funnel more funds into programs for Black communities. Its always the right time to do the right thing, Providence Mayor Jorge Elorza said, noting the social unrest that followed the death of George Floyd, a Black man in Minneapolis who died in police custody May 25. There is an appetite and an urgency to make the most of this moment and make sure there is real structural change that comes out of it. Supporters say there is some momentum for reparations at least discussions in the wake of civil unrest, but they acknowledge there is fierce opposition. No country has given monetary compensation to African descendants of the trans-Atlantic slave trade, experts said. Opponents of reparations, including some Senate Republicans, argue they would cost too much and determining who would be eligible for payments would be difficult. They say Americans should not be held responsible for slavery or its consequences. Some experts said the push for reparations may have to come from local leaders. Its really local activists and local actors, members of city councils who are empowered in ways in their small communities to do things and to act outside of what the state would do and even the nation would do,'' said Niambi Carter, a political scientist at Howard University. The US is grappling with its history of slavery. The blueprint for dealing with it? Some say Brown University Former Brown University president Ruth Simmons talked with USA TODAY's Deborah Barfield Berry about slavery's role in Brown's history. Listen below Story continues USA TODAY News Why Brown University decided to confront its role in slavery Asheville a model Last week, Providence officials pledged some form of reparations for Black people, indigenous people and people of color. Elorza, Councilwoman Nirva LaFortune and community leaders created an executive order promising truth, reconciliation and municipal reparations. The order requires Providence to seek the truth about the city and states role in slavery; promote community discussions around racial injustice; and determine what policies and programs would reverse the harms of slavery and genocide. Elorza said officials have not determined what kind of reparations the city will provide, but hes open to ideas. Elorza said Providence cant bear the entire burden of paying reparations to its Black residents. He called for all levels of government to join the effort. Providence, Rhode Island, Mayor Jorge Elorza wants all levels of government to help with reparations. The Asheville City Council voted last week to provide reparations by investing in marginalized Black communities. The city plans to prioritize efforts such as increasing minority homeownership and access to other affordable housing; increasing minority business ownership and career opportunities; closing the gap in health care, education, employment and pay; and changing the criminal justice system so it is equitable. City leaders said they would like to create paths to generational wealth for Black people. City Councilwoman Sheneika Smith said they will create a plan for funding these efforts within the next year. I think with every major civil rights movement, there has been major laws made and policies created," she said. "We have to do what's in our willpower and what is imaginable for us to do." The National Coalition of Blacks for Reparations in America praised Asheville and Providence for leading the effort. Kenniss Henry, the group's legislative commission co-chair, said the plans are long overdue. I think Asheville has the right approach because one of the issues that has to be dealt with in the Black community is that of the wealth gap; its so wide, Henry said. 'Timing is right for reparations' Only a few local governments have passed reparations measures, including the California Assembly, which approved a plan last month to create a task force to study how reparations would be implemented. Officials in Durham, North Carolina, approved a resolution supporting national action. In his first act as president of the U. S. Conference of Mayors, Louisville Mayor Greg Fischer, who took over July 1, proposed a resolution to support a reparations bill introduced by Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, and Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J. The timing is right for reparations discussions, Fischer said, noting the nations history of discrimination. So much of it has roots in the history of our country, and Im hoping people are starting to grapple with that, white Americans in particular." The conference hasnt taken a position on what reparations should look like. There should be more interest in this than ever, Fischer said. A historic opportunity The push for reparations dates back hundreds of years. This most recent push involves more white people, and some of them ask specifically what Black people want, said Keneshia Grant, a political scientist at Howard University. Black people are being clear about the things that they want, and reparations comes up as a potential catch-all, she said. Several Democratic presidential candidates touted support for reparations last year. According to a study conducted by the Pew Research Center this year, 63% of Americans say the legacy of slavery continues to affect the position of Black people. Up until this point in the USA, colleges and universities, including Brown University and Georgetown, have led the way in acknowledging their institutions' connection to slavery and funding programs to study slavery and its impact. Weve never tried anything that looks like reconciliation, reparation, restitution in this country, never, Carter said. Quite frankly, the United States has had over a century and a half to get this done and to make this wrong right and it hasnt." William Darity, a professor at Duke University, said reparations for Black American descendants of U.S. slavery should fall to the federal government, which has more resources and has long sanctioned discrimination. "The federal government is the culpable party, and as a matter of principle should foot the bill for reparations,'' he wrote in an email to USA TODAY. "But the federal government also is the only entity that can meet the bill." Darity said reparations should eliminate the racial wealth gap between Blacks and whites, which he estimates would cost $10 trillion to $12 trillion. Darity said that although he doesn't oppose local efforts, they shouldn't be "piecemeal" or called reparations. He said officials should form a coalition to push Congress to adopt a comprehensive national plan. Much of the debate has been over what reparations would look like. Some have pushed for cash payments to descendants of enslaved Africans. Others have lobbied to put more money into programs that help Black communities. Much of the resistance has been to cash payments, experts said. We got so caught up with this idea of giving people money and all the ways this could be mishandled and abused and misused that we have not thought broadly enough about the range of possibility, Carter said. Reparations bill gets new attention amid BLM. Could other nations provide a blueprint? Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., greets writer Ta-Nehisi Coates before testifying in front of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties during a hearing on reparations for slavery. Stain on its history Rep. John Conyers, D-Mich., introduced a reparations bill in every session since 1989. It never passed, and Conyers died last October. In the spring, Jackson Lee and Booker, then a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate, reintroduced legislation that would create a commission to study reparation proposals. It does not propose remedies. The bill H.R. 40 is named after the 40 acres and a mule the federal government's failed promised to millions of freed men and women. Jackson Lee said people need to understand the nation was built on free slave labor. More: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Danny Glover call for slavery reparations before Congress She called the efforts by local officials "powerful." "It is government recognizing the failure of government to the descendants of enslaved Africans and taking it upon themselves, as a government, to be the remedy,'' she said. Last summer, the bill was supported by some Democratic Senate leaders. For the first time, there was a subcommittee hearing on the bill last June. Ten more Democratic lawmakers signed onto the bill. Jackson Lee is pushing for a hearing and a vote on the bill in the House Judiciary Committee. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said he doesnt think reparations are a good idea. President Donald Trump said he doesnt see it happening. Fischer said he hopes members of Congress will act on the reparations bill. If not, theyre deaf to whats happening in our country right now, he said. If the will of the people changes, a lot of these folks become adaptable. Thats the kind of hope you have to have with any kind of movement. Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Texas, speaks at a hearing of the House Judiciary Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights and Civil Liberties during a hearing on reparations for slavery on June 19, 2019, in Washington. Lee co-sponsored a bill that coincides with Juneteenth, a holiday that marks the date that Texas abolished slavery in 1865. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Asheville and other cities consider reparations to address slavery The Whale (2427 N. Milwaukee Ave.), the glitzy Logan Square restaurant named for what casinos call an obscenely wealthy gambler, closed indefinitely last week. In a message posted on Facebook, the owners blamed the closing on the tight restrictions the state has imposed on restaurants. Today we were forced to make the decision to lay off all our team members and close our doors to service. The restrictions that have been put on us by the elected officials are suffocating our industry and leaving us no choice. There has been no plan in place or system for relief. The Whale opened last year, quickly amassing a strong following, though we found the food to be less than stellar. While its unknown how long the restaurant will be closed, the owners promise it will eventually return. We WILL re-open and come back strong. We look forward to serving you again when that time comes. Nick Kindelsperger Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 22:03:12|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ADDIS ABABA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will create new opportunities for China-Africa cooperation, an Ethiopian expert said on Tuesday. Speaking to Xinhua, Gedion Jalata, a senior advisor to the UNDP South- South Cooperation and a former consultant to UNECA-Capacity Development Division, said the AfCFTA requires strong infrastructure linkage across the African continent, an area where Chinese help is much needed. "AfCFTA will create new opportunities for Africa-China cooperation." "The hard infrastructure spread in Africa is low, with countries like China that have ample experience in infrastructure building well placed to help build road, rail, port and air infrastructures for African countries. A strong Africa will be a strong ally and good partner for China," Jalata told Xinhua. Jalata said trade among African countries is currently only about 17 percent of the total trade in the continent. He said the low infrastructure connectivity among African countries is primarily to blame for low inter-African trade, adding China is supporting African countries through the Belt and Road Initiative (BRI). "China is also supporting African countries through individual projects like the landmark Chinese built and financed 756 km Ethiopia-Djibouti electrified rail line connecting landlocked Ethiopia to ports in neighboring Djibouti," Jalata told Xinhua. Jalata further said China's support to African countries both through the BRI framework as well as individual projects will boost inter-African economic integration, with China potentially playing the role of key facilitator for the broader goals of AfCFTA. However, Jalata said African countries need to proactively fight new challenges that could derail the goals of AfCFTA like the COVID-19 pandemic, a disease that many African countries are fighting with help from China. "With the rapid spread of COVID-19 pandemic across the continent, many African countries need to boost their health infrastructure to ensure the COVID-19 pandemic doesn't become both a stumbling block to continental economic integration as well as a cross border health crisis," Jalata told Xinhua. Enditem Washington, July 21 : The US' plan of reducing American troops from South Korea has drawn harsh criticism from inside President Donald Trump's Republican party, as well as from experts. US media reported recently that the Pentagon had given the White House options for the possible reduction of the US troop presence in South Korea, amid a battle with Seoul in which Washington is demanding significantly more cash to keep the forces there, reports Xinhua news agency. A US military official told the Wall Street Journal that the Pentagon reviewed the 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea, as part of a broader look at shifting deployments worldwide. "It looks like Trump is serious," Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Xinhua, adding that he believes the strategy is "disconnected and non-strategic". Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon held the same view. "I think Trump is serious about the idea," he said. Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Washington-based non-profit Korea Economic Institute, said that there are good reasons to consider a restructuring of US forces in South Korea. But in the absence of a vision for the future role for US troops there, "it is difficult to view this as little more than the latest effort to extract concessions from South Korea on burden sharing". "President Trump has been clear that he does not value US alliances in the same way that prior US Presidents have," Stangarone told Xinhua. The possible move was lambasted by Republican lawmakers, including Senator Ben Sasse, who said that any such decision was "strategic incompetence". Trump has caused much anxiety in Washington by threatening allies that he would remove US troops from various strategic areas. Last month the administration announced it would pull thousands of troops from Germany, claiming that allies are not paying their fair share of NATO costs. For his part, Trump has said that allies were taking advantage of the US, arguing that Washington has footed the defence bill for years for several allies. This comes at a time when the White House has already cancelled a number of large US-South Korea military exercises in a bid to keep the nuclear talks on the Korean Peninsula going. Advertisers can search, preview, and apply any Shutterstock image in the Microsoft Advertising user interface, allowing them to create beautiful campaigns faster than ever and without having to leave the ad creation workflow. The new Shutterstock images feature was initially piloted in a closed beta program. Following a highly successful beta, the feature is now available to advertisers in the U.K. and the U.S and will expand to other markets later in the year. The high-quality native placement ads are served across Microsoft owned and operated sites including MSN, Outlook.com and Microsoft Edge, and on select premium publisher partners such as CBS Sports, Everyday Health, Fox Business, the Atlantic, Apartment Therapy and Reuters. As the Coronavirus pandemic continues, businesses around the world are increasingly shifting to digital to meet their customers where they are spending more time than ever before. According to a recent eMarketer study, the average time spent per day with digital media is forecasted to increase by nearly 12% in 2020 compared to the previous year, with the average U.S. adult spending more than 7.5 hours online. This digital transformation trend calls for businesses to create engaging advertising content that will capture attention amidst the noise. "Against the backdrop of a rapidly changing environment, businesses of all sizes are strapped for time and budget and looking for ways to remain top-of-mind with their audience," said Stan Pavlovsky, CEO of Shutterstock. "Microsoft's suite of advertising offerings empower businesses to increase ad relevance and deliver targeted visual messages that achieve their marketing goals." "Our seamless integration with Shutterstock's API allows us to give our customers additional resources during this unpredictable time. By providing access to commercially licensed images for use within Microsoft Advertising campaigns, we are enabling advertisers to easily and effectively deliver top-performing ads that resonate with their target audiences," said Haily De La Cruz, Senior Program Manager at Microsoft Advertising. The Shutterstock integration into Microsoft Advertising helps advertisers to find: Authentic high-quality images that reflect scenes from everyday life Images from specific regions to create localized campaigns Diverse and thoughtful visual representations of all demographics and identities Microsoft customers interested in joining the beta can contact their Microsoft Advertising account manager to get started with audience campaigns. Explore how the integration works here and learn how to get started with Microsoft Audience Ads by joining this webinar on July 23rd . About Shutterstock, Inc.: Shutterstock, Inc., directly and through its group subsidiaries, is a leading global provider of high-quality licensed photographs, vectors, illustrations, videos and music to businesses, marketing agencies and media organizations around the world. Working with its growing community of over 1 million contributors, Shutterstock adds hundreds of thousands of images each week, and currently has more than 330 million images and more than 18 million video clips available. Headquartered in New York City, Shutterstock has offices around the world and customers in more than 150 countries. The company's brands also include Bigstock, a value-oriented stock media offering; Shutterstock Custom, a custom content creation platform; Offset, a high-end image collection; PremiumBeat, a curated royalty-free music library; and Shutterstock Editorial, a premier source of editorial images for the world's media. For more information, please visit www.shutterstock.com and follow Shutterstock on Twitter and on Facebook. SOURCE Shutterstock, Inc. Related Links http://www.shutterstock.com BANGALORE, India, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Solar energy is harnessed by using various technologies such as photovoltaics (PV), which directly convert light to electricity; concentrating solar power (CSP), which uses heat from the sun (thermal energy) to drive utility-scale, electric turbines; and solar heating and cooling (SHC) systems The global solar energy market size was valued at USD 52.5 Billion in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 223.3 Billion by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 20.5% from 2019 to 2026 The global Solar energy market is expected to witness rapid growth due to declining costs of solar energy equipment, coupled with increased competitiveness of battery storage. Get Free Sample: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/ALLI-Manu-2X28/Solar_Energy_Market TRENDS INFLUENCING THE SOLAR ENERGY MARKET SIZE Factors such as clear federal policies such as solar investment tax credit, rapidly dropping prices, and rising demand for renewable energy in both the private and public sectors is expected to drive the solar energy market size. Furthermore, due to the boom in rooftop installations, the demand for solar cells has gained significant momentum. The need for parabolic troughs and solar power towers for generating electricity is expected to fuel demand for solar energy market size. In the last decade, the cost of installing solar has plummeted by more than 70%, allowing the industry to grow into new markets and deploy thousands of systems nationwide. This reduction in cost is expected to increase the solar energy market size. Increasing environmental issues such as greenhouse gas emissions followed by increasing energy consumption are driving industries towards more efficient and cost-effective energy supplies. Such factors would likely push the development of the solar energy market size during the forecast period. The COVID-19 pandemic has seriously affected the solar energy market size. While utility-scale solar has not been as heavily impacted, growth projections are now lower than expected, and the virus has created significant uncertainty for projects under development. With the production of photovoltaic-based power distribution systems, the competition among manufacturers has greatly increased. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/ALLI-Manu-2X28/solar-energy SOLAR ENERGY MARKET SHARE The Asia Pacific region is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Emerging economies such as China and Japan have significantly increased solar energy development due to government tariffs and mergers & acquisitions by local manufacturers. Furthermore, the rising population, coupled with increasing non-conventional energy prices, is likely to drive the size of solar energy in the Asia Pacific region. region is expected to witness the highest growth rate during the forecast period. Emerging economies such as and have significantly increased solar energy development due to government tariffs and mergers & acquisitions by local manufacturers. Furthermore, the rising population, coupled with increasing non-conventional energy prices, is likely to drive the size of solar energy in the region. North America holds the largest solar energy market share. This dominance of North America is due to the presence of well-developed infrastructure in the region. holds the largest solar energy market share. This dominance of is due to the presence of well-developed infrastructure in the region. Europe has concentrated primarily on optimizing solar capacity. has concentrated primarily on optimizing solar capacity. The Middle East and Africa have also gained momentum due to expanded solar energy applications for power generation, agriculture, and architecture. By Region North America Europe Asia-Pacific LAMEA. Inquire for Regional Data: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/ALLI-Manu-2X28/Solar_Energy_Market SOLAR ENERGY MARKET SEGMENTATION By Application Residential Commercial Industrial. By End-Use Electricity Generation Lighting Heating Charging. Key Companies Photovoltaic Systems Concentrated Solar Power Systems Parabolic Trough Solar Power Tower Fresnel Reflectors Dish Stirling By Solar Module Monocrystalline Polycrystalline Cadmium Telluride Amorphous Silicon Cells Others. Buy Now for Single User: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=ALLI-Manu-2X28&lic=single-user Buy Now for Enterprise User: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=ALLI-Manu-2X28&lic=enterprise-license SIMILAR REPORTS : Photovoltaic Market Report The global photovoltaic market size was valued at USD 53,916.0 Million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 333,725.1 Million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 25.1% from 2019 to 2026. Major factors that are expected to increase the Photovoltaic market size are growing need for renewable energy resources, combined with favorable government regulations. Photovoltaic technology is being used on a commercial scale in solar lamps, parking meters, mobile telephones, garbage compactors, temporary traffic signs, charging stations, and remote guard posts and signals. In the manufacturing sector, photovoltaic energy is used to produce electricity for the smooth functioning of satellites in orbit in the aerospace & defense industry. These factors are further expected to increase the photovoltaic market size. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/ALLI-Manu-0G19/photovoltaic Concentrated Solar Power Market Report The global concentrated solar power market size was valued at USD 3,793.0 Million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 8,046.7 Million by 2026, growing at a CAGR of 10.3% from 2019 to 2026. The MEA region accounted for nearly 21.0% market share in 2018. Growing government support for implementing sustainable energies coupled with increasing energy demand & ability to produce power without CO2 emissions drives the market growth. In addition, the increase of carbon-based environmental concerns results in an emphasis on reducing air pollution and creating awareness of global warming. These aspects are expected to fuel the growth of Concentrated Solar Power Market size. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/ALLI-Manu-0W20/concentrated-solar-power Solar PV Tracker Market Report The global solar tracker market demand was pegged at 25.0 GW in 2018, expanding at a CAGR of 32.0% from 2019 to 2025. Increasing energy conservation issues and the transition from non-renewable energy to renewable energy are expected to increase the growth of Solar PV Tracker Market size during the forecast period. Solar tracker uses different electrical components, including actuators, motors, and sensors to align the cells to focus the sunlight and optimize the captured energy. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-24D1095/global-solar-pv-tracker Solar Cells Market Report Owing to the growing demand for PV systems for industrial, residential, and utility applications, the solar cell market size is expected to see substantial growth over the forecast period. The top companies in the solar cell market Sanyo Solar, Kyocera Solar, Sharp, Motech, SunPower, SolarWorld, Canadian Solar, Hanhua, Bosch, Isofoton, REC, Neo Solar Power, Gintech Energy, and E-Ton Solar Tech. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-24Y2606/covid-19-impact-on-solar-cells Solar PV Market Report The Solar PV market was valued at USD 44800 Million in 2018 and is projected to reach USD 52200 Million by 2025 China holds the largest Solar PV market share accounting for 50% of the total market in 2015, and is expected to continue its dominance during the forecast period as well. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-8126/global-solar-pv Solar Inverter Market Report Solar Inverter is widely accepted owing to its property of instantaneous conversion of DC power input to AC current while connected to an on-grid system. The report includes a country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by Type and by Application segment in terms of production capacity, price, and revenue for the period 2015-2026. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-34Z1035/global-solar-inverter Solar Micro Inverters Market Report The residential segment accounted for the major share of the solar power inverter market during 2017. The dominance of this segment is due to the increased demand and sales volume. Our analysts predicted that this segment would continue to lead the market and account for the largest share by 2025. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-14E1289/global-solar-micro-inverters Thin Film Solar Panels Market Report Major competitors identified in this market include First Solar, Sharp, Solar Frontier, Hanergy, ZSW, Sentech, Station, CivicSolar, KANEKA Solar Energy, SoloPower, Solar-Facts, Flisom, etc. This report provides a complete quantitative data and qualitative analysis on the global market for Thin Film Solar Panels. Market size is analyzed by country, product type, application, and competitors. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-2T313/thin-film-solar-panels Hybrid Solar Wind Energy Storage Market Report The global Hybrid Solar Wind Energy Storage market size is projected to reach USD 1108.8 Million by 2026, from USD 1045.9 Million in 2020. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-1Z319/hybrid-solar-wind-energy-storage ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains a detailed research methodology employed to generate the report. Please also reach out to our sales team to get the complete list of our data source. CONTACT US: Valuates Reports [email protected] For U.S. Toll-Free Call +1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp : +91 9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports SOURCE Valuates Reports The campaign to reopen schools across the US, spearheaded by the Trump administration and supported by the entire political establishment, is provoking widespread opposition among educators, parents and young people. Missouri Governor Mike Parson, a Republican and ally of Donald Trump, declared in a radio interview on Friday, These kids have got to get back to school. Theyre at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19, which they will, and they will when they go to school, theyre not going to the hospitals. Theyre not going to have to sit in doctors offices. Theyre going to go home and theyre going to get over it. This statement expresses the callous indifference of the entire ruling class to the suffering that the pandemic has inflicted on the working class. The ruling elite is engaged in a homicidal class war whose central focus is forcing workers back on the job under conditions of an out-of-control pandemic and no protection for workers against COVID-19. The reopening of the schools, which the corporate elite and the politicians know will lead to mass infections and deaths, is central to the back-to-work drive. Mississippi protest against unsafe reopening of schools (Credit: Mississippi Teachers Unite Facebook group) The pandemic is rapidly spreading in Missouri, with a daily average of 854 new confirmed cases over the past week, up from 238 only a month ago. Across the US, cases and deaths are rising rapidly, with over 60,000 new cases and nearly 1,000 deaths each day for the past week. Contrary to Parsons claims, the most recent data (July 15) from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) documents 188 deaths of youth under 25 attributable to COVID-19, including 31 deaths of children under the age of 15. While children have the lowest infection and death rates for any age group, this is in part due to the global wave of school closures that began in mid-March, as well as a lack of testing for this age group. The families that have lost children under the horrific circumstances of the pandemic will never be the same. Prior data from CDC indicates that the case fatality rate for children is roughly 0.02 percent, meaning that with a full reopening of schools, potentially thousands of children could die. Parson said nothing about the dangers posed to childrens parents when they come home infected, or the potential for orphaning hundreds of thousands of children across the country. He also ignored the dangers posed to teachers forced to be in the classroom, roughly a quarter of whom fall under the categories most at-risk of dying from COVID-19. The moves to reopen schools under unsafe conditions have been met with growing opposition and protests by educators and parents. Millions of educators rightly view this campaign as an existential threat and are seeking a way to mobilize teachers and school workers to oppose it. Across the US, there have been protests outside school board meetings, car caravans and an explosion of discussion on social media, all largely independent of the teachers unions, which are collaborating in the back-to-school drive. Over the past week, significant demonstrations have taken place, including in Mississippi, Texas, Florida and Arizona, four traditionally conservative states that have become major hotspots for the pandemic. Some of the most significant developments have taken place in Mississippi, where backwardness has long been promoted by the political establishment. Roughly 1,000 Mississippi educators have organized a Facebook group called Mississippi Teachers Unite, which held a rally last Friday outside the Mississippi state capitol. Rejecting the denigration of science, one sign showed an image of a ouija board with the caption, Better add this to the school supply listjust in case your child needs to ask their teacher a question. In Austin, Texas, roughly 1,000 participated in a caravan rally that followed a route around the state capitol. The rally drew support online from over 8,000 teachers across the state. The organizers declared its purpose was to give names and faces to the word teacher. They added, We are people with needs and concerns. A sign at the Mississippi protest (Credit: Mississippi Teachers Unite Facebook group) In Arizona, a series of car caravan protests involving hundreds of teachers have taken place in multiple cities in response to Republican Governor Doug Duceys mandate that schools resume in-person instruction on August 17. One of the organizers, Stacy Brosius, told Reuters, We dont want any children to get this from us, because as a teacher, I dont want to go to any of their funerals. Separately, 87 doctors have signed a letter to Ducey demanding that he rescind the order to reopen the schools. Facing immense pressure from rank-and-file educators, the Florida Education Association on Monday sued Republican Governor Ron DeSantis over his administrations demand that all schools fully resume in-person instruction. At a press conference Monday, DeSantis was heckled by demonstrators shouting, Shame on you! The state has become the epicenter of the pandemic in the US, with over 9,000 new cases each day since July 10. The union has filed the lawsuit as a diversion from the mobilization of educators in strike action and a fight to unite teachers and school workers across the country in defense of education and against the criminal back-to-work policy. The protests that have broken out have for the most part been outside the framework of the unions or with limited coordination by local teachers unions under pressure from rank-and-file educators. The national teachers unions, the American Federation of Teachers (AFT) and the National Education Association (NEA), have given their support to the resumption of in-person instruction. The principal activities of the teachers unions revolve around promoting the passage of the fraudulent HEROES Actwhich Trump and Senate Republicans have repeatedly called dead on arrivaland shilling for Joe Biden, who facilitated the assault on public education throughout both Obama administrations. In response to the immense growth of opposition to schools reopening, AFT President Randi Weingarten has begun advocating that older teachers with health concerns use sick leave and the Family and Medical Act (FMLA) to stay home in districts that demand the resumption of in-person instruction. This is intended to forestall collective action and create the conditions for purging experienced teachers and replacing them with low-paid younger teachers, part of an effort to split the workforce along generational lines. In the coming weeks, as the pandemic takes an ever greater toll, opposition among educators, parents and students to the unsafe reopening of schools will become increasingly acute. In schools that reopen, cases will inevitably break out, prompting protests demanding the closure of schools. These demands will face intransigent resistance from the ruling elite, which will conspire with the teachers unions at every step to keep the schools open. To prepare for the coming struggles, the Socialist Equality Party (SEP) calls upon educators, parents and students to develop a network of independent rank-and-file committees to unite across districts and states. The call for a nationwide strike in opposition to the homicidal policies of the ruling class must be popularized among educators and the entire working class. We urge all those seeking to develop fighting organizations to ensure the safety and well-being of educators and all workers to contact us today. Donald Trump's boast that he "aced" a frequently-used cognitive test is not exactly an accomplishment worth bragging about, according to the test's designer. Dr Ziad Nasreddine, who developed and copyrighted the Montreal Cognitive Assessment test (MoCA) in 1996, said anyone with functioning cognitive abilities should be able to pass the test. Speaking with MarketWatch, the doctor explained that anyone not suffering from dementia should be able to pass the test without issue. "This is not an IQ test or the level of how a person is extremely skilled or not," Mr Nasreddine told MarketWatch. "The test is supposed to help physicians detect early signs of Alzheimer's, and it became very popular because it was a short test, and very sensitive for early impairment." The test is a 10-minute examination and includes questions that are meant to test different parts of the brain for cognitive function. Questions include identifying drawing of animals and asking subjects to draw a picture of an analog clock and draw the hands to a specific time. Recommended Trump struggles for answers on many issues in heated interview Patients suffering cognitive decline with struggle with spatial awareness, memory or information retention related to the questions. During Mr Trump's interview with Chris Wallace on Sunday, the Fox News reporter challenged the president on his boasts. "I took the test too, when I heard you passed it. It's not the hardest test. It shows a picture and it says, 'what's that,' and it's an elephant," Mr Wallace said. Mr Trump claimed Mr Wallace was misrepresenting the test and said the questions got harder as the test went on. He claimed doctors were surprised by his 2018 performance on the test, in which he said he scored a perfect 30 out of 30. "They said, 'That's an unbelievable thing. Rarely does anybody do what you just did,' Mr Trump said. Mr Nasreddine said that it should be easy if Mr Trump isn't suffering from cognitive decline. "It is supposed to be easy for someone who has no cognitive impairment," he said. The doctor said that poor performance on the test isn't necessarily evidence of cognitive decline, and that the results have to be reviewed and interpreted by doctors. Physicians administering the test have discussions with the patient following the test and may re-administer the test if they feel an additional round is necessary. Mr Nasreddine said cognitive testing was relevant considering both Mr Trump and his presumed challenger, Joe Biden, are in their 70's. However, he warned that both sides of the political aisle are misrepresenting the point of the test in their efforts to paint their political opponents as cognitively impaired. "The purpose is to detect impairment; it's not meant to determine if someone has extremely high levels of abilities," Mr Nasreddine said. "I think there's misinformation on both sides of the political divide." ALBANY, N.Y., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- A range of sensors are integrated with respiratory monitoring devices, notably polysomnography, capnographs, and pulse oximeters, help in monitoring sleep patterns and in managing chronic respiratory diseases (CRDs), mainly through respiration rate (RR). Adoption of machine learning in such devices help in automated diagnosis of sleep-related events and respiratory conditions. The popularity of non-invasive methods has helped the pulse oximeters segment climb to valuation of ~US$ 3.4 Bn by 2027. The global respiratory monitoring devices market is expected to garner ~6% CAGR during 2019 to 2027. Research analysts at TMR assert that manufacturers in the respiratory monitoring devices market should focus on improving the effectiveness, convenience, and reliability of sensors in spirometry and capnometry. In particular, focus on innovation on flow and pressure sensors to improve management of respiratory diseases in all clinical settings. Download a PDF Brochure of Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=B&rep_id=1415 Key Findings of Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market Report Of the various types of products, pulse oximeter segment held the leading share in 2018 in respiratory monitoring devices market Of all the end-use segments, hospitals held the majority of market share in 2018 Home care is expected to rise at promising pace and will gain share by the end of 2027 Among the various key regional markets, North America accounted for the majority of share in 2018 accounted for the majority of share in 2018 Asia Pacific respiratory monitoring devices market to rise at robust CAGR of ~7% during 2019 2027 Explore 194 pages of top-notch research, incisive insights, and detailed country-level projections on Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market (Product: Pulse Oximeters, Capnographs, Spirometers, Polysomnographs [PSG], Peak Flow Meters, Gas Analyzers, and Others; and End User: Home Care, Hospitals, Ambulatory Surgical Centers, and Specialty Clinics) - Global Industry Analysis, Size, Share, Growth, Trends, and Forecast, 2019 - 2027 at https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/report-toc/1415 Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market: Key Driving Factors and Promising Avenues Growing focus on respiratory health in worldwide population is a key driver for opportunities in the respiratory monitoring devices market. The prevalence and mortality of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and asthma is a key factor bolstering the demand for respiratory monitoring devices for diagnostic and therapeutic ends. To put things in perspective, per a 2017 report by the WHO, 3 million die every year due to COPD. Further, asthma is the third leading cause of death worldwide Rapidly aging population and increasing pollution levels have fueled the prospects in the respiratory monitoring devices market. According to a projection by the WHO, the geriatric population will touch 1.5 Bn by 2050. Advances in performance of polysomnography have improved clinical evaluation of problems in sleep patterns, thereby boosting the respiratory monitoring devices market. The growing clinical role of respiratory monitoring devices in managing sleep apnea. Over the years, sleep monitoring devices have grown in clinical relevance In recent years, numerous product approvals have been made in home care segments. The application smart peak flow meters in detecting asthma exacerbations has also fueled revenues in the respiratory monitoring devices market. Inquire for a Sample Copy of Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/sample/sample.php?flag=S&rep_id=1415 Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market: Competitive Landscape Players in general are leaning on unveiling respiratory monitoring devices that are reliable, portable, patient-friendly, and cost-effective. Most have thus focused on ambulatory setting and home care segment to strengthen their competitiveness in the respiratory monitoring devices market. A few manufacturers and vendors are focusing on mobile technology, such as combining smartphones with pulse oximeters. Furthermore, players with huge financial might are focusing on research and development activities to gain a competitive edge over others and consolidate shares in respiratory monitoring devices market. Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market: Regional Assessment Among the various regions, North America has been a vibrant market for various players in the respiratory monitoring devices market. The striking appetite for cutting-edge diagnostic devices in the management of chronic respiratory diseases has cemented the high potential in the regional market. Numerous players in the region have been able to bag approvals, thereby imparting momentum to revenue generation in this regional market. Purchase the Respiratory Monitoring Devices Market Report - https://www.transparencymarketresearch.com/checkout.php?rep_id=1415list pixels))) If you do away with my nice formatting, that's twelve lines of code, all of which are R5RS-compatible. We have access to the Netpbm suite, too, so if we want a PNG, we can always ./write-ppm | pnmtopng > test.png . Netpbm is a real hidden gem. Well, hidden to me, at least. Scheme If you aren't familiar with Scheme, it has somewhat of a self-imposed reputation for appealing to academic types. It's also one of the most opinionated languages I know of; all the specs of interest lead with an assertion that "programming languages should be designed not by piling feature on top of feature, but by removing the weaknesses and restrictions that make additional features appear necessary." The way that Scheme embraces purity and simplicity makes it clear it was designed by math nerds. (Hey, I'm a math nerd, too. Take it easy.) As I've just mentioned, there are specs. A few, to be sure. The evolution of Scheme standards begins in a linear fashion: RRS RRRS R3RS R4RS R5RS. I like to think of this as "classic Scheme". But when it came time to revise R5RS, the ratification of the subsequent R6RS caused some controversy. It was "bloated", or whatever. Something like that. So when it came time to design R7RS (small), the Scheme Language Steering Committee decided to let the language fork, beginning with the earlier R5RS as a blank slate [4]. That way, the nerds that hated everything about R6RS could have their way, and the nerds that liked R6RS could have their way. Scheme was divided, but at peace. Oh, and nowadays there's a work-in-progress R7RS-large. _ I'm not going to talk about R7RS-large here. It's just too new. The standards are all extremely short. R5RS is 50 pages. R7RS is larger (n 88) [11], and R6RS is quite a bit larger (n 163) [11], but they still clock in at fewer pages than any other language spec I know of. You can't pack a whole lot into 50 pages, so there is a de-facto standard library: Scheme Requests for Implementation, or SRFI. R7RS Because I'm slightly biased towards R6RS, I began this journey with R7RS, thinking that returning to the problem with R6RS instead would give me a sense of how much it really brings to the table. There are a few implementations of R7RS out in the wild. The one I tried was CHICKEN, which is not officially an R7RS Scheme, but supports the R7RS standard as an Egg (library). It took some effort, but I did get company-mode & friends working in Emacs for CHICKEN. The documentation for installing Eggs to a non-default location is out-of-date, but if you copy the system libraries to your CHICKEN_INSTALL_REPOSITORY , you'll be fine. A minor complaint regarding Geiser (or more accurately, scheme-mode ): it doesn't seem to be able to properly highlight or indent user-defined macros. Perhaps that's something I could fix someday. A disadvantage to picking a hobbyist Scheme implementation is that they aren't battle-hardened. In writing this post, I managed to discover a regression in the latest version of CHICKEN, where my procedure was being called with parameters in the wrong order. So, at least for this article, I am using 4.13.0. Gentoo also doesn't have Chicken 5 yet, but in terms of stability, perhaps that's a good thing. So, what does R7RS add to "classic Scheme" that I care about? Standardized records. Standardized bytevectors. A way of defining libraries. parameterize , which is something I dealt with in Guix that I'd nearly forgotten about. If you aren't familiar with it, the best way I can describe it is a way of emulating dynamic scope. , which is something I dealt with in Guix that I'd nearly forgotten about. If you aren't familiar with it, the best way I can describe it is a way of emulating dynamic scope. when and unless , which are trivial to implement yourself, but it's always nice not having to write them. and , which are trivial to implement yourself, but it's always nice not having to write them. case-lambda . . vector-map , vector-for-each . There's more to R7RS, of course, but these are the things that stand out to me. The spec has a section starting on page 77 titled "Language Changes" which outlines the incompatibilities with R5RS and R6RS, as well as the additions to R5RS. On the topic of the R7RS spec, I think it's worth reading for anyone who produces technical writing in some capacity, even if you don't care much for Scheme much like how K&R is worth reading even if you don't care about C they're both great examples of writing that's concise, but doesn't sacrifice comprehensibility. The design choices are also quite well thought-out, and I think that's worth appreciating. For example, they support only the file system operations which are universally portable [5]. This means no support for creating or manipulating directories. Such a restriction may sound primitive, but the common alternative in providing a portable filesystem abstraction is rather unpleasant. If you need to be manipulating directories in such a way, seek a POSIX interface rather than a filesystem interface. The hygenic macro system has been in Scheme since R5RS, but this was the first time I'd actually used it. I've written plenty of macros in Common Lisp and Emacs Lisp with defmacro , but this was a breath of fresh air. ( define-syntax vec3-bind ( syntax-rules () ((vec3-bind ((names vec) ...) body) ( let-values ((names (values (vec3-x vec) (vec3-y vec) (vec3-z vec))) ...) body)))) This worked on the first try. Once you read a tutorial on it, it's more intuitive than building an AST "by-hand". Here's a slightly less trivial example: ( define-syntax maybe-bind ( syntax-rules () ((maybe-bind ((name option) ...) body) ( if (every is-some? (list option ...)) ( let ((name (unwrap option)) ...) body))))) I know, I know. This isn't the proper way to deal with an option type. I should have brushed up on the mlet* implementation in Guix. But this sufficed for what I needed to do. Come to think of it, my choice to create an option type for a dynamically-typed language is a bit strange, no? Rust has apparently left me yearning for the ability to map over things which are logically equivalent to options, and SRFI-2 and the likes didn't cross my mind at the time I wrote this. All in all? Writing a raytracer in vanilla R7RS was reasonably easy. My biggest gripe was debugging. CHICKEN has essentially no stack traces. It has a "call history", but that gives very little context for where something's being called from. No line numbers, either. R6RS R7RS actually draws quite a bit from R6RS, and both are, for the most part, backwards-compatible with R5RS. So I should be able to run the R7RS version of my raytracer with an R6RS implementation like Chez, right? For the most part, yeah. I needed to deal with exactly two things: error now takes a "who" parameter, and the R7RS define-record-type is almost nothing like the equivalent in R6RS. This isn't represented in the more recent commits, but there were also a few nonstandard things in CHICKEN I was depending on that needed to be changed. In Chez, and other Schemes, nested defines need to be the absolute first thing in the form. This was incompatible with the little documentation strings I'd put at the beginning of my procedures, which, in the implementations that I'm using, don't do anything anyway. I was also using SRFI-1's every , but I replaced that with a call to a standard R6RS procedure of a different name. On the topic of R6RS records, they end up being quite a bit less verbose than R7RS. This is how a record definition appears in R7RS: ( define-record-type (make-vec3 x y z) vec3? (x vec3-x) (y vec3-y) (z vec3-z)) And this is how the equivalent record definition appears in R6RS: ( define-record-type vec3 (fields x y z)) You wouldn't guess it from the above example, but the define-record-type in R6RS is very flexible. The above is shorthand for ( define-record-type (vec3 make-vec3 vec3?) (fields (immutable x vec3-x) (immutable y vec3-y) (immutable z vec3-z))) Goran Weinholt wrote an article comparing R7RS and R6RS. In it, he mentions that the reason for R7RS's define-record-type verbosity is that the macro system is incapable of creating new identifiers. Another point for syntax-case in my book. His article also mentions offhandedly that the R6RS record system has been criticized, but I can't find any in the formal comments or elsewhere. I think it kicks ass. Much like R7RS, there is a section in the R6RS spec dedicated to "language changes." This is Appendix E, for those of you following along at home, which is surprisingly similar to the equivalent section in R7RS. They seemed to aim to scratch the same itch allowing large, non-trivial programs to be written in Scheme in slightly different ways. Unlike R7RS, R6RS has a standard reduce procedure. Well, by a different name. It has fold-left and fold-right , the more general versions of reduce . Like when and unless , reduce is trivial to implement yourself, but it's nice to have it at the fingertips. ( define ( reduce proc list init) ( define ( reduce-iter list result) ( if (null? list) result (reduce-iter (cdr list) (proc result (car list))))) (reduce-iter list init)) Ah, yes. This is some very typical Scheme code. I haven't mentioned it yet, but Scheme implementations are required to be tail-recursive [6]. The above procedure should compile to a good ol' jnz loop on AMD64. I.e. reduce-iter does not actually perform a function call to itself. (rnrs lists (6)) has most of the SRFI-1 procedures I care about. There's for-all instead of every , which I initially thought was too close to for-each for my tastes, until I realized the symmetry with exists (the two functions represent and in propositional logic). R6RS has all the cool stuff from R7RS, like when , unless , case-lambda , and string ports. The differences between the R7RS and R6RS library systems are, to my understanding, small. R6RS requires export and import forms at the beginning of the library, in that order, but the import and export specs are essentially the same ( except , rename , ). Performance-wise, Chez is quite a bit better than CHICKEN. jakob@Epsilon ~ $ time bash -c './r6rs-raytracer > test.ppm' real 0m13.665s user 0m11.645s sys 0m1.875s jakob@Epsilon ~ $ time bash -c './r7rs-raytracer > test2.ppm' real 1m12.259s user 1m11.515s sys 0m0.598s where 'r6rs-raytracer' was produced by chez-exe at opt-level 3. The main thing CHICKEN has going for it is that the Chez executable is "big-boned". jakob@Epsilon ~ $ strip r6rs-raytracer jakob@Epsilon ~ $ du -sh r6rs-raytracer 1.7M r6rs-raytracer jakob@Epsilon ~ $ strip r7rs-raytracer jakob@Epsilon ~ $ du -sh r7rs-raytracer 236K r7rs-raytracer Nearly all of that is coming from including 'petite.boot' verbatim. If I cared enough to shave that down, I could probably write a tool to do whole-program dead-code analysis with my code and the boot file sources, but 1.7 megabytes doesn't make me vomit. It wouldn't fit on a floppy disk, but I've seen Go binaries that are on the order of gigabytes in size, so it could be worse. CHICKEN isn't the fastest R7RS implementation out there, and I was using an older version of it anyway, so take this hand-wavy benchmark with a grain of salt. If you consider the Larceny benchmark suite to be a fair comparison, then this page would suggest that the Gerbil implementation of R7RS is, in general, faster than the Chez implementation R6RS. The main take-away of that page to me is that there are fast implementations of both standards. The stack trace situation on Chez is even worse than it is with CHICKEN, unfortunately. Guile is better, but the last time I used it for Guix, variables being optimized out gave me a massive headache. I yearned for a simple AST-walking interpreter version. As of a month ago, Andy Wingo has conjured up something close enough, but I haven't had the opportunity to try it out yet. Conclusions on Scheme Scheme is enjoyable to use. R7RS and R6RS are both quite bare-bones, so I feel I would need to spend time familiarizing myself with either a subset of the published SRFI's, or another "utility library" such as Gule's ice-9 to be productive. R6RS seems to be the nicer of the two from a programmer's perspective, but they're similar enough that I can see myself being reasonably happy in either. If I'm going to use a Scheme, the real question is going to be "which implementation will I use?", which will in turn answer the question of which standard my code will conform to. Common Lisp To my understanding, there isn't an oversimplified stereotype for Common Lisp hackers in the same way that there is for Schemers. But I think most would agree Common Lisp is an approach to Lisp that favors pragmatism as opposed to purity which isn't to imply that practical software cannot be written in Scheme. Like Scheme, Common Lisp is standardized. It's 1,100 pages long [7]. For reference, the C++17 draft is 1,605 pages long [8]. It isn't a pretty language. The design was an attempt to unify several older dialects of Lisp. Figure 2: This self-inflicted joke has become obligatory when speaking about Common Lisp in the context of code aesthetics. Common Lisp tends to be a good choice for when performance matters. With proper declarations, its performance is comparable to C [12]. It isn't a common choice in industry, but there are a few notable success stories. ITA (now Google Flights) is the one I know about most, as I had a student who was a program manager for that when I taught as a drum line instructor. There's also Grammarly and the DS1 Remote Agent system from NASA's Jet Propulsion Lab. That much would seem to suggest it'd be an okay choice for my purposes. But this isn't new to me; I've known that CL is a good choice in that respect for a while now. I'm a bit more interested in how it fares in terms of language ergonomics and expressiveness. For starters, write-ppm can be quite a bit more compact in Common Lisp. ( defun write-ppm (width height pixels) (format t "P3~%~{~a ~}~%255~%~{~{~a ~}~%~}~%" (list width height) (coerce pixels 'list))) I'm being facetious. This works fine, but it's also more or less showing off for the purpose of showing off. I am a little disappointed that the (coerce pixels 'list) is necessary. Vectors are proper sequences in Common Lisp, but ~{~} only works on lists. Ah, well. It's disgusting. Don't do it. Here's a more readable implementation: ( defun write-ppm (width height pixels) "Encode the WIDTH by HEIGHT image given as PIXELS into the portable pixmap format (PPM), writing the result to ` *standard-output* '." (write-line "P3" ) (format t "~a ~a~%" width height) (write-line "255" ) ( loop for (r g b) across pixels do (format t "~a ~a ~a~%" r g b))) which is still more concise and, arguably, a bit clearer than my Scheme version. I'm using two behemoths here, format and loop , which Peter Siebel describes as the two most controversial features in the language [9]. Oh, notice that string I've put at the beginning of the procedure? Here's something no Scheme implementation I know of besides Guile can do: CL-USER> (documentation #'write-ppm 'function) "Encode the WIDTH by HEIGHT image given as PIXELS into the portable pixmap format (PPM), writing the result to `(current-output-port)'." So CL has a few niceties off the bat. Many of the "core" forms are shared between Scheme and Common Lisp, so code tends to be reasonably similar. Aside from Scheme tending towards the idioms of other functional programming languages and Common Lisp code often being more or less imperative, there are a few noticeable differences: Common Lisp supports dynamic scoping, and this is the default for variables defined at the top-level with defvar and defparameter . This is usually an advantage in the code I've read. I think Parenscript's compiler.lisp is a good example of this. Dynamic scope does necessitate the *earmuffs* naming convention, however, much like how preprocessor macros in C are ALL_CAPS in the interest of keeping your feet free of bullet holes, you want to know when you're messing with a "special" variable. and . This is usually an advantage in the code I've read. I think Parenscript's compiler.lisp is a good example of this. Dynamic scope does necessitate the naming convention, however, much like how preprocessor macros in C are in the interest of keeping your feet free of bullet holes, you want to know when you're messing with a "special" variable. Common Lisp is a Lisp-2 rather than a Lisp-1. What this means is that there are separate namespaces for functions and variables. So if you want to treat a function named FOO as a value, you need to write it as #'FOO , and if you want to call a variable named FOO which refers to a function, you will need to (FUNCALL FOO) . In Scheme, FOO is either a function or some other value, not both. So you can refer to FOO as a value when it names a function, and you can invoke it merely as (FOO) . as a value, you need to write it as , and if you want to call a variable named which refers to a function, you will need to . In Scheme, is either a function or some other value, not both. So you can refer to as a value when it names a function, and you can invoke it merely as . No proper booleans. Like in C, anything that is not nil ( NULL ), the empty list, is considered to be a truthy value. I really enjoyed having with-accessors (well, I used with-slots for no good reason). If there were something like that in the Scheme standard, I probably would have used that instead of my vec3-bind macro. Though, I think the best way of dealing with destructuring things like vectors is pattern matching. CLOS is very cool. In my Scheme implementation of the raytracer, I had a few procedures like this: ( define ( intersect ray shape t-min t-max) ( let ((proc ( cond ((plane? shape) intersect-plane) ((sphere? shape) intersect-sphere)))) (proc ray shape t-min t-max))) "Explicit dispatch," in SICP terms [13]. I like the data-directed style that CLOS offers, and I would have used it in my Scheme implementation if there were standard facilities to support it. Oh, and there was a built-in PI constant! In the Scheme implementation I had to copy an approximation from somewhere. ( define ( degrees->radians d) ( let ((pi 3.1415926535897932384626433)) (* d (/ pi 180)))) I realize that dealing with isn't common, but if cos and tan are going to be included in the standard, why can't pi ? Oh, and having proper stack traces was a breath of fresh air. Sadly, that's where the niceties end. t is a typical name for the variable in a parametric equation, but it's also the name of the canonical "true" value in CL, so you can't use it as the name of a parameter. error: COMMON-LISP:T names a defined constant, and cannot be used in an ordinary lambda list. There was a name clash with some , so I had to change the names of my option type constructors to make-some and make-none . Also, the shading equation I'm using gives materials a $p$ parameter, which ends up being a very unfortunate parameter name for a CL struct. style-warning: The structure accessor name MATERIAL-P is the same as the name of the structure type predicate. ANSI doesn't specify what to do in this case. We'll overwrite the type predicate with the slot accessor, but you can't rely on this behavior, so it'd be wise to remove the ambiguity in your code. Names in Scheme are much nicer than Common Lisp here, MATERIAL-P is the name of the predicate function (which tells you if a value is a material). In Scheme, it would be material? . Another difference in naming convention is that Common Lisp hackers, for some reason, avoid using -> to denote conversions (i.e. degrees->radians ) like you see in Scheme code. It's an aesthetic preference, but I like Scheme's way of doing it better. The library situation with CL is a bit complex for me. ASDF is a great piece of software, but I really wish it weren't necessary. A simple library system for me, thank you. That said, there are many more CL libraries in Quicklisp (n > 1,500) than there are Scheme libraries in a comparable registry like Akku.scm (n = 288). Performance-wise, SBCL ain't shit. jakob@Epsilon ~ $ time bash -c 'sbcl --script cl-raytracer.fasl' > test.ppm real 0m23.390s user 0m21.231s sys 0m2.155s The fasl was compiled with (declaim (optimize (speed 3) (space 0) (debug 0))) , but I didn't give any type information. To me, this is fast, even if the Chez executable was faster by a good 10 seconds. Conclusions on Common Lisp When I write CL, I'm typically using not one, but two utility libraries (Alexandria and Serapeum). The spec may be huge, but a lot of what it guarantees is mostly useless to me, and the baggage that comes with that complexity makes for a slightly less pleasant experience. However, it's a battle-tested language with plenty of mature implementations. If I can get past its blemishes, I'm certain it would be a good choice for what I'm working on. Fennel Fennel, when juxtaposed with Scheme and Common Lisp, seems like some sort of futuristic space technology. It's the newest of the three, and it has a very different mouthfeel. Fennel also happens to be the name of one of my favorite vegetables. It's surprisingly nice to munch on raw. A bit like licorice. I learned of Fennel from Phil Hagelberg, who used it to develop a real-time strategy game for the 2018 Lisp Game Jam. Inspired by his retelling of the experience, I used it myself for the autumn edition of that game jam. The reason for Fennel's uniqueness is that it compiles to and interfaces with Lua, thus inheriting Lua's semantics. Rather than lists being the principal data structure, it's tables. Programming in a more functional style is possible, but you'll eventually need to write some imperative code. ( fn pack [ ... ] ( var result []) ( let [n ( select "#" ... )] ( for [i 1 n] ( tset result i ( select i ... )))) result) ( fn map [f sequence] ( var result []) ( when sequence ( for [i 1 (# sequence)] ( tset result i (f ( . sequence i))))) result) ( fn fold [f init sequence] ( var result init) ( when sequence ( for [i 1 (# sequence)] ( set result (f result ( . sequence i))))) result) Having tables available to me was actually very nice for this specific program. If you recall, my Scheme implementation of the raytracer used explicit dispatch. I certainly could have done something similar in Scheme, but it felt very natural in Fennel to associate the procedures with the instance. For the smaller procedures, such as normal-plane , I could even make use of lexical closure, and have those procedures capture the arguments passed to the constructor. ( fn intersect-plane [r shape t-min t-max] ( let [{ :n normal :p0 p0 } shape { :origin origin :direction direction } r normal (vec3-normalize normal) denominator (vec3-dot direction normal)] ( if (~= 0 denominator) ( let [t ( / (vec3-dot (vec3- p0 origin) normal) denominator)] ( if ( <= t-min t t-max) t))))) ( fn plane [p0 n material] { :n n :p0 p0 :material material :intersect intersect-plane :normal ( fn [] (vec3-normalize n)) }) You get Lua's error system, too, which is a little bit like Go's. Fortunately, I did not need to use it here, because I dropped the option type I was using in Scheme. My after-the-fact realization that they don't make much sense in dynamically-typed languages was correct. You've probably noticed by now, but Fennel doesn't have the old-school LISP syntax that Common Lisp and Scheme have. You can't have too many parentheses in your let forms. >> ( let ((x 1)) x) Compile error: Compile error in unknown :1 expected even number of name/value bindings ( let ((x 1)) x) ^^^^^^^ * Try finding where the identifier or value is missing. In some cases, your let forms won't have any parentheses at all. It's also like let* , in that the initialization form can refer to other variables bound by that same let . Similarly, if is basically a cond , except that the arms don't need to be enclosed in parentheses. It all feels rather wispy to me, which isn't a bad thing. Personally, I think Fennel's way of doing it is more aesthetically pleasing. The benefit of all the parentheses in the old-school LISP let is that you can introduce lexical variables which aren't initialized, so the code in the let body can do something before initializing it. ( let (a) ... magic! ... (setf a some-value) ... magic! ... a) But you can't manipulate variables introduced by a let in Fennel, so carrying that detail over doesn't make sense. Additionally, fn and lambda are not what you would expect. Whereas in Scheme, where define produces a named function and lambda produces an unnamed function, both fn and lambda can be used to produce either named or unnamed functions. The difference is that lambda checks the number of arguments it's been given, while fn does not. This unchecked nature of fn makes it quite nice for generic procedures where you may have unused parameters. Syntactic destructuring was my favorite part of using Fennel, especially as there's support for partial table destructuring: you can omit the fields you aren't interested in. Fennel has support for macros, which gives it quite a leg up over vanilla Lua. The macro system is modeled on defmacro , and thus unhygenic, but at least there's a reader macro built-in to do the gensym dance for you. There's also eval-compiler , which allows you to run arbitrary code at compile-time with access to the compiler scope, but I haven't thought of a use-case where that would be necessary. It's worth mentioning that the macro system is much better than it once was. Fennel didn't have quasiquotation when I used it last; I basically didn't bother with macros for Slime the World. The built-in macro library is small. There are arrow macros and the when and unless forms I've been raving about since the beginning of this article. I had a few unfortunate name clashes. Compile error: Compile error in unknown :164 use of global z1 is aliased by a local * Try renaming local z1. * Try refer to the global using _ G.z1 instead of directly. But the solution this lead me to ( fn vec3+ [ ... ] "Return the sum of VECS, as in vector space addition." (fold ( fn [a b] ( let [{ :x :y :z } a { :x x :y y :z z} b] (vec3 ( + x) ( + y) ( + z)))) (vec3 0.00 0.00 0.00) (pack ... ))) which is surprisingly clear: the Greek letters correspond to one vector, and the Latin letters correspond to another. I don't know if I'll use this elsewhere. It's difficult enough to type. The issues I was having with fennel-mode that I mentioned in my post about Slime the World seem to still be there, but I was able to fixed them with M-x set-variable RET lisp-indent-function RET fennel-indent-function , which makes me think that I may have something naughty in my lisp-mode-hook . The editor support beyond that is modest. There's a "go to definition" implementation, and you can spawn a Fennel REPL in comint. Quite comfy, though I feel as though a potential project for me would be a company backend for Fennel. Performance-wise, Fennel isn't bad. Not race car speed, but not like my grandmother's car either. jakob@Epsilon ~ $ time bash -c 'fennel fennel-raytracer.fnl > test.ppm' real 3m11.183s user 3m10.805s sys 0m0.236s If you drop luajit in place of lua , you're starting to looking at the speeds my car's usually going. jakob@Epsilon ~ $ time bash -c 'fennel fennel-raytracer.fnl > test.ppm' real 1m0.591s user 1m0.335s sys 0m0.145s Conclusions on Fennel I'm not sure Fennel will be my "go to" Lisp, at least not right now. But it seems to be a perfectly fine choice for game development. Having access to LOVE and the Lua game development libraries surrounding it is reason enough for me to consider it. Lisps I've Neglected There are a few other Lisps I won't speak about in depth in this article, but that I'd like to mention for completeness. Emacs Lisp Emacs Lisp, or Elisp, is generally hated. I don't think it's that bad. It comes with a subset of the standard functions in Common Lisp that are actually useful. It's also a Lisp-2 with dynamic scope (by default many packages opt-in to a lexically scoped variant of Emacs Lisp), so writing Elisp feels a lot like writing Common Lisp, just with buffers as the principal way of manipulating textual data, and with a very archaic UX API. There's no namespacing, either, so trying not to step on other people's functions is similar to the situation in C. Gerbil Scheme I first heard about Gerbil from Francois-Rene Rideau at a Boston Lisp Meetup. He's written about it a little bit if you want to know why it appeals to a rather prominent figure in the CL community, but, in brief, it tries to make Scheme a bit more modern, and it does this by taking a few pages out of CL's book. I was really excited about Gerbil. It has pattern matching, syntax-case , and generic set! . There's a kick-ass standard library, too. It has a HTTP client/server, and support for event-driven and actor-oriented programming, all built-in. The object system looks like like Common Lisp, with form names like defstruct , defgeneric and defmethod , and feels like it, too, provided you import :std/generic . There's a separate system for single dispatch, but then invocation becomes {method-name} rather than (procedure-name) and I'm not a fan. I gave up on the ray tracer in Gerbil, partly because I felt there was a bit much to take in to be able to write about it the next day. It's something I'm going to look into more, because I have a hunch that it might be the perfect choice for this project. My biggest complaint at the moment is the lack of maturity. The build system for the compiler is ridiculous. Set GERBIL_BUILD_CORES=1 if you don't want OOM kills like this: ... compile misc/list {standard input}: Assembler messages: {standard input}:510: Warning: end of file not at end of a line; newline inserted {standard input}:511: Error: expecting operand after ','; got nothing {standard input}: Error: open CFI at the end of file; missing .cfi_endproc directive x86_64-pc-linux-gnu-gcc: fatal error: Killed signal terminated program cc1 compilation terminated. with no way to continue the build from where it left off. The documentation is filled with "Please document me!". If I'm going to invest in Gerbil, I had better become a part of the development efforts as well. There's rudimentary Emacs support. I was using treadmill when I played with it, which I enjoyed because it had completion support. I'd need to spend some time hacking on my config if I were to use it seriously. Racket Racket (formerly PLT Scheme), like Gerbil, is likely to be exactly what I'm looking for: a "modern" take on Scheme. It's oriented towards designing programming languages, and I think that's another similarity that can be drawn between it and Gerbil, the latter of which boasting a "state of the art macro system" [10]. Scheme may have schismed, but I think that Racket may be a unifying force for Schemers. I was once a skeptic, under the impression that it's value was purely as a teaching language. When Chris told me that he was writing Spritely in Racket, I recall (not saying aloud, but) thinking to myself, "why choose Racket over Guile?" But the reality is that Racket is incredibly well-designed and has more of a community surrounding it than any other Scheme. Now that I've given it a proper glance, I have no doubt that it was an excellent choice there. The Racket team is currently adopting a new backend, which I think is promising. In either case, performance with the current backend is not bad in the slightest. jakob@Epsilon ~ $ time bash -c 'racket r6rs-raytracer.scm > test.ppm' real 1m7.742s user 1m6.122s sys 0m1.794s This is on the order of CHICKEN's speed. And, bear in mind, this is an old version of Racket, too the most stable version in the Gentoo repositories is 7.0, which is from 2018. Hy Hy is a bit like Fennel, except that instead of compiling to Lua, it compiles to Python. I believe I've heard it called "Python, but with more parentheses," which is mostly how I feel about it. It's a very interesting project, but adopting the semantics of Python makes for a distinctly non-Lispy Lisp. Then again, it's been a good two years or so since I last used it. Take that comment with a grain of salt. In addition to getting the benefits of the Python ecosystem, the editor support for Python mostly carries over, too. I've had pleasant experiences with Jedi while writing Hy code. Janet Janet is promising, and I need to look into it more. It's the work of the same mastermind behind Fennel, and despite carrying a small runtime, it boasts a rather extensive standard library. It's only about three years old, but there already seems to be a growing package repository. It may not be the most suitable choice for what I'm working on, but I can see this being a useful scripting language to have in my toolbox. Clojure Clojure's license makes it a complete non starter for me, sorry. Live free or die. Concluding Statements Even if I remain undecided, writing this article has given me a good idea of how enjoyable I find working with each of the dialects I've mentioned. The conclusion I'm drawing may seem to be coming out of left field, here, but now that I have four implementations of the same program, it's clear to me that the differences at the language level are mostly superficial. I've written here about how nice it is to have features such as pattern matching and fold out-of-the-box, but a strength common to all of the Lisps I've described here is that they make it possible for one to implement those features on her own. For example, if I'm aching for Common Lisp's &optional and &key arguments in Scheme, I can implement that myself with a bit of macrology. This is why I love Lisp. Returning to the question I'd initially posed, my choice of dialect shouldn't matter. But picking one with decent syntactic abstractions available from the get-go will save me the trouble of making my own batteries. This article has been a collection of unfettered opinions which I believe I have properly supported with truths, but if any of my claims are, in fact, erroneous, I would encourage you to contact me so that I may piece together an erratum. A special thanks to Andrew Healey for providing feedback on an early draft of this. References [1]: McCarthy, John. "Recursive functions of symbolic expressions and their computation by machine, Part I." Communications of the ACM 3, no. 4 (1960): 184-195. Accessed http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/recursive.pdf. [2]: Turon, Aaron. "Rust's language ergonomics initiative." Rust Blog, 2014. Accessed https://blog.rust-lang.org/2017/03/02/lang-ergonomics.html. [3]: Kalibera, Tomas, and Richard Jones. "Rigorous benchmarking in reasonable time." In Proceedings of the 2013 international symposium on memory management, pp. 63-74. 2013. https://kar.kent.ac.uk/33611/45/p63-kaliber.pdf. [4]: "Charter for working group 1." R7RS-small archive, 2009. Accessed http://www.scheme-reports.org/2009/working-group-1-charter.html [5]: Shinn, Alex, Cowan, John, Gleckler, Arthur A., Ganz, Steven, Hsu, Aaron W., Lucier, Bradley, Medernach, Emmanuel, Radul, Alexey, Read, Jeffrey T., Rush, David, et al. "6.14. System interface" in "Revised^7 Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme." pp. 59-61. 2013. Accessed https://small.r7rs.org/attachment/r7rs.pdf. [6]: Shinn, Alex, Cowan, John, Gleckler, Arthur A., Ganz, Steven, Hsu, Aaron W., Lucier, Bradley, Medernach, Emmanuel, Radul, Alexey, Read, Jeffrey T., Rush, David, et al. "3.5 Proper tail recursion" in "Revised^7 Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme." pp. 11-12. 2013. Accessed https://small.r7rs.org/attachment/r7rs.pdf. [7]: "The Common Lisp HyperSpec." LispWorks. Accessed http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/common-lisp.html. [8]: "ISO/IEC 14882:2017 Programming languages C++." International Standards Organization, 2017. Accessed https://www.iso.org/standard/68564.html. [9]: Seibel, Peter. "18. A Few FORMAT Recipes" in Practical Common Lisp. 2003. Accessed http://www.gigamonkeys.com/book/a-few-format-recipes.html. [10]: "Modern Scheme Implementation." Gerbil Scheme. Accessed https://cons.io/. [11]: Weinholt, Goran. "R7RS versus R6RS." weinholt.se, 2018. Accessed https://weinholt.se/articles/r7rs-vs-r6rs/. [12]: Verna, Didier. "How to Make Lisp Go Faster than C." IAENG International Journal of Computer Science 32, no. 4 (2006): 499-504. Accessed http://www.iaeng.org/IJCS/issues_v32/issue_4/IJCS_32_4_19.pdf. [13]: Abelson, Harold, and Gerald Jay Sussman. "Systems with Generic Operations" in Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs. The MIT Press, 1996. Accessed https://web.mit.edu/alexmv/6.037/sicp.pdf. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden outlined a sweeping plan on Tuesday aimed at breathing life into the coronavirus-battered U.S. economy by investing $775 billion in caregiving programs for children, the elderly and the disabled. As part of the proposal, which Biden said would create 5 million jobs, he pledged to provide all 3-year-old and 4-year-old children access to free preschool. He also promised to make it easier for aging relatives and loved ones with disabilities to receive home or community-based care. "We're trapped in a caregiving crisis within an economic crisis within a healthcare crisis," Biden told educators at a campaign event in New Castle, Delaware. "You're doing everything you can, but this president is not." Both Biden and Republican President Donald Trump are eager to woo working women who are caring for parents and children during a pandemic that has shuttered schools and workplaces. In budget proposals to Congress before the pandemic, Trump suggested spending $1 billion on grants to states to help them build childcare and early-learning services. The president and lawmakers are working on a fourth coronavirus relief package that Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin estimated could include $1 trillion and would focus on "kids and jobs and vaccines." Reuters/Ipsos polling shows Biden ahead of Trump by 11 percentage points with women, who are expected to play a critical role in swaying the most competitive swing states in the Nov. 3 election. Eager to erase Trump's advantage with voters on the economy, Biden's latest plan is the third of a four-part approach he has rolled out in recent weeks. The former vice president would send federal aid to state and local governments to keep childcare programs and other public services operating. Ultimately, the plan would seek to create 3 million jobs in the healthcare and education sectors, while bolstering the workforce overall by 5 million by allowing people who were taking care of children or relatives to rejoin the labor force. The campaign said the initiative would be paid for by rolling back tax breaks for real estate investors and tightening enforcement of the existing U.S. tax code. "Instead of pro-job and pro-growth policies, Biden is turning to an old friend - tax hikes and big government," Trump spokesman Zach Parkinson said in an email. Biden previously released proposals aimed at boosting U.S. manufacturing and building clean-energy infrastructure projects as the country continues to reel from a pandemic that has forced millions out of jobs and has killed more than 141,000 people in the United States, the most of any country. Search Keywords: Short link: Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 06:42:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Video: UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov says on July 21, 2020 that the UN will continue its efforts to resuscitate a dialogue among all stakeholders in the Middle East with no preconditions. (Xinhua) The special coordinator reiterated the UN chief's call to members of the Middle East Quartet, Arab countries, and the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to re-engage urgently. UNITED NATIONS, July 21 (Xinhua) -- UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Nickolay Mladenov said on Tuesday that the United Nations will continue its efforts to resuscitate a dialogue among all stakeholders in the Middle East with no preconditions. "The secretary-general and the UN will continue efforts to resuscitate a dialogue among all stakeholders, with no preconditions, and in the interest of peace and a negotiated resolution to the conflict," Mladenov told the Security Council quarterly open debate on "The Situation in the Middle East, including the Palestinian Question" in open videoconference (VTC) format. "For these efforts to stand a chance of success, there must be political will from all parties. Otherwise, the path to a negotiated solution risks quickly becoming unnavigable, moving instead towards a one-state reality of perpetual occupation and conflict," he said. The special coordinator reiterated the UN chief's call to members of the Middle East Quartet, Arab countries, and the Israeli and Palestinian leaderships to re-engage urgently. "We need to restart diplomacy," he said, adding that the COVID-19 pandemic and its ensuing economic crisis, which has sent Israeli unemployment soaring past 20 percent, are a chance to move forward along the path to a negotiated two-state solution in line with UN resolutions, bilateral agreements and international law. "The ferocity of the COVID-19 virus and its devastating human and economic toll demand extraordinary measures (that) rise above politics-as-usual," he said. "Immediate efforts to curb the virus and to mitigate its impact must be prioritized. Israeli and Palestinian leaders have a duty to protect the lives and livelihoods of their populations." On the annexation plans, Mladenov said, in recent weeks, the region and the broader international community have continued to express their firm rejection of annexation. He reiterated the secretary-general's call on the Israeli government to abandon plans to annex parts of the occupied West Bank. On May 28, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he was committed to annexing parts of the West Bank in July once a joint Israeli-U.S. team completes mapping the exact territory based on the conceptual map released by U.S. President Donald Trump's administration. However, the July 2020 annexation plan was later pushed back. On the profound impact of COVID-19, the envoy said that the situation on the ground is rapidly being impacted by the dramatic increase in COVID-19 cases in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and in Israel. The challenges of confronting the rapid increase in cases in the West Bank and boosting prevention efforts in Gaza has been significantly compounded by the ending of coordination between the Palestinian Authority and Israel. The World Health Organization on Monday put the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Israel at 49,481, with 403 fatalities. In the West Bank and Gaza, it reported 10,052 cases and 65 deaths. In response, Mladenov noted, the United Nations has engaged with all sides to ensure the continued and unimpeded provision of humanitarian assistance. M ax Levine and Thom ODell are recalling their most memorable moments in Vivian, their mustard yellow courier vehicle they converted into a camper van using YouTube tutorials just before Christmas. Among the highlights are drinking gin and playing cards in the rain; cruising down the motorway with the windows down, belting out pop classics; and lying in bed gazing out over the cliffs and rolling seas of St Ives. Romantic, eh? But the reality has been a rather bumpier ride, insists Levine, a radio presenter and comedian. The windows-down motorway Motown session was the only solution they could find for the heating dials getting stuck on a long hot drive out of London last month. Still, Vivians flaws have only added to her charm. Being able to plan breaks with her has kept us both sane during lockdown, says Levine, who spent quarantine at his flat in Brixton. He and partner ODell, a doctor who has been working flat-out during the pandemic, have been #vanlife disciples ever since they cast eyes on Vivian last year, and just in time. Since the Government gave the green light for campsites to reopen in May, millennial camper van rentals have rocketed to a record high. According to rental platform Fat Llama, bookings are up 346 per cent from this time last year. A-listers from Helen Mirren to Gwyneth Paltrow have endorsed it and Fat Llama says the average age of camper-van renters is now between 28 and 33. Among Fat Llamas most popular vans is the classic VW camper van, which naturally does best on Instagram (the hashtag for those in the know is #vanlife, which pulls up more than seven million posts of silhouetted baby blue VWs in picturesque spots from Cornwall to California). Fat Llama lets you hire one from 65 a day (customers have been known to hire them just for photo shoots) but the sexiest can go for much more. Airbnb of Caravans Camplify says camper-van owners can make up to 20,000 a year hiring theirs out. Born to be wild: Max Levine, left, and Thom ODell bought Vivian before Christmas and converted her with the help of YouTube tutorials meaning she was ready for road trips and staycations as lockdown eased The main appeal of a camper van escape pod? Its freedom, says Clapton-based project manager Samantha Kennedy, whos just returned from a support bubble staycation on Dorsets Jurassic Coast with Abha Shah and Russell Cope, friends who are also her flatmates. The group had been due to spend the weekend at Noisily Festival in Leicester, but went camping when it was cancelled due to Covid. For Kennedy and her glamping gang, a camper van struck the perfect balance: cosier (and more rainproof) than a tent, yet more rustic than a hotel. Days were spent exploring beautiful beaches and evenings were spent round the firepit drinking cider from the on-site cider farm. They were even treated to a celestial display from a comet on the final night a world away from the city in less than a four-hour drive, she insists. Who needs Australias Great Ocean Road or Portugals beautiful beaches when youve got Cornwalls dusty coastline and Dorsets chalky clifftops straight outside your camper van door? But theres more to a UK camper van trip than heading south-west on the M4. To avoid getaway gridlock, indiecampers.co.uk, Europes largest fleet of camper vans, has a section of its site dedicated to lesser-known road trips its London to Manchester English Heritage tour is among the most popular while Camplifys Instagram is a dazzling mosaic of off-the-beaten track staycation destinations: Venice of the Cotswolds Bourton-on-the-Water for a romantic minibreak; Pontsticill Reservoir in the Brecon Beacons for wild swimming; a Lancashire-based Land Rover Defender with a roof tent for going off-road. Overland Campers in Halifax is even offering converted Land Rover battlefield ambulances for wild campers who fancy hitting the Lakes or Yorkshire Dales nearby. Glamper: Sam Brown relaxes outside Juno, her Peugeot van / Samantha Brown Freelance photographer Sam Brown insists heading off the beaten track is the most magical part of camper vanning. Shes been exploring the UK in her 1998 Peugeot Boxer Auto Sleeper, Juno, ever since lockdown restrictions were eased. Her highlights include the Preseli Hills in Pembrokeshire, Assynt in Scotland, and Northumberlands Pennines. A recent trip, looking for a remote campsite late at night on the North York Moors, will stay with her in particular. I lost my GPS and phone signal, so decided to park up in a village instead, she recalls. Just as I was hopping into bed, there was a knock on my door. It was the local policeman, who had heard reports of a camper van going round in circles. He kindly let me stay there for the night. The best Instagram accounts to follow for #vangoals @indie_campers Europes largest fleet of camper vans has a dazzling Instagram: a mosaic of its customers travels from Tuscany to Croatia. Tag them and use #GoIndie for a chance to have your snaps featured. @__sam_brown__ Follow the freelance photographer and digital nomad documenting her forties as she makes her way around the UK, and soon to be Europe, in her converted campervan Juno. @quirkycampers Interiors inspiration. Check the accounts Stories for a catalogue of the camper van companys handmade fleet, and online workshops on how to convert your own. @wheresmyofficenow Follow the bikini-clad travels of surf-loving couple Emily and Corey (and their dogs) on their van adventure since 2012. @vanlifediaries This popular account regrams the best shots from van life lovers from around the world. In the morning, there was another knock at the door. It was the neighbour, apologising profusely for involving the authorities. He then offered me some eggs from his chickens, and asked if I wanted to park up in his field full of Icelandic sheep. You dont get stories like that on a package holiday in Spain. Over the last couple of months, Brown has grown so attached to Juno shes decided to embrace the nomad life full-time. Next month, she plans to drive the van down through France, and is using her GenerationXit.com blog, Instagram and YouTube channels to encourage others to do the same. Levine agrees a camper van opens up opportunities beyond a week-long staycation. While youre working from home, theres no reason why you cant set up camp somewhere with wi-fi, do your emails and calls during the day, then jump in the sea and light a BBQ in the evening, he says. Now thats remote working. WASHINGTON - The Department of Homeland Security has authorized its personnel to collect information on protesters who threaten to damage or destroy public memorials and statues, regardless of whether they are on federal property, a significant expansion of authorities that have historically been used to protect landmarks from terrorist attacks. The new guidance was issued as department personnel have been dispatched to police and detain people protesting police violence, itself an untraditional role for a department set up to secure borders and transportation systems. The guidance, obtained by The Washington Post, is described as a "job aid" for personnel implementing an executive order that President Donald Trump signed last month, targeting protesters who threatened to remove statutes honoring Confederate officers and other people they consider racist. The document refers to apparently ongoing intelligence activities, directing the guidance to "personnel collecting and reporting on various activities in the context of elevated threats targeting monuments, memorials, and statues." The guidance, first reported by the blog Lawfare, appears to authorize monitoring of social media posts as well as the use of public information sources to monitor individuals or groups the department believes may "damage or destroy any public monument, memorial, or statue." The document makes no distinction as to types of monuments and does not state that they must be located on federal property. Personnel are told that they must be able to articulate why someone is a threat and cannot rely on " 'hunches' and intuitions, which are insufficient." The document is unclassified and was issued by the department's Office of Intelligence and Analysis. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) did not respond to a phone call and email requesting comment. Since its inception, the DHS has played a limited role in protecting revered American symbols such as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the Statue of Liberty, and always against terrorist attacks, not protests by American citizens, said Paul Rosenzweig, who was the senior policy official at the department during the George W. Bush administration. The new guidance is "a complete misapplication of existing authorities to benefit the president," said Rosenzweig, now a senior fellow at the R Street Institute, a nonpartisan think tank. "Trump is morphing DHS into his private little rogue, secret army." The administration's deployment of DHS forces to police demonstrations and detain protesters in Portland, Ore., has drawn condemnation from officials in the state. Trump has portrayed the protesters as lawless radicals intent on damaging and destroying property. Nothing in the intelligence document directs or allows the department to detain protesters. But it does say that the DHS may collect information about "individuals or groups," as well as their "tactics, techniques, or procedures" and refers to existing rules on what information can be collected. The existing rules do allow the department to use the "least intrusive means" to collect information about U.S. citizens, specifically "physical surveillance, the use of mail covers, and the use of monitoring devices," which cannot be hidden and may include public information sources. Mail covers allow the government to record information on the outside of an envelope or parcel before it's delivered. Some of those collection rules are limited to U.S. citizens believed "to be engaged in or preparing for espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage, or assassination on behalf of a foreign power, organization, or person." It's not clear from the new guidance how that applies to Americans protesting monuments or peacefully exercising their rights to free speech and assembly. The department is not authorized to conduct electronic surveillance, such as wiretapping. But it can request other federal agencies to do so, Rosenzweig said, principally the FBI. The document explicitly prohibits any intelligence activities "for the sole purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment" or for deterring free speech. It also spells out guidance for collecting information about threats of violence to law enforcement and other government personnel and facilities. Any information the department collects on U.S. citizens must be discarded after 180 days if it does not further another appropriate government mission. But the information can be shared with a broad range of other groups, including within the federal government, as well as state and local organizations and private-sector groups engaged in law enforcement, counterterrorism and homeland security operations, the document states. Global wealth managers operating in Hong Kong have launched a crackdown on clients with ties to the country's pro-democracy movement. HSBC, Credit Suisse, UBS and Julius Baer are among the firms scrutinising their customers for any connection to the pro-democracy protests. Prominent pro-democracy campaigner Joshua Wong, who has been arrested several times for his involvement in protests, claimed he had already been questioned by HSBC over his income. Pro-democracy campaigner Joshua Wong, who has been arrested several times for his involvement in protests, claimed he had already been questioned by HSBC over his income The international banks are keen to avoid falling foul of the national security law that China imposed on Hong Kong last month, tightening Beijing's grip on the territory. The law criminalises any criticism of the Chinese Communist Party, and UK and US governments have already slammed the changes for eroding vital freedoms and human rights in Hong Kong. Sources told Reuters news agency that the major banks were broadening their programmes which screen clients for political and government ties. Customers who are designated so-called 'politically exposed persons' can find it difficult, or even impossible, to access banking services. The law also gives a new police unit greater powers to freeze and confiscate funds and property, while businesses can face penalties ranging from fines and suspension to the loss of licenses. The banks' checks involve combing through what clients and their associates have said in public and on social media, as far back as 2014 when the most recent wave of pro-democracy protests began. Wong, one of Hong Kong's most vocal campaigners, said he had been questioned by HSBC over the royalty income from his book, Unfree Speech: The Threat To Global Democracy And Why We Must Act, Now. He warned: 'It's absolutely unimaginable how far this financial censorship will go, especially under vaguely defined law, Beijing's tightening red lines and its thriving wolf-warrior diplomatic ambitions. 'One thing is sure Beijing clamps down on dissidents in China by controlling their accounts.' HSBC and Standard Chartered, which are both based in the UK but make most of their profits in Asia, have been criticised for their support of China's new national security law. Leader of the House of Commons Jacob Rees-Mogg said HSBC may be 'more closely aligned to the Chinese government than Her Majesty's Government'. Both HSBC and Standard Chartered said they were supporting the national security law to ensure stability in Hong Kong. HSBC said: 'We already have a stringent set of policies and rigorous processes in place which we apply globally.' Credit Suisse, UBS and Julius Baer declined to comment. Organizers of a planned 10-acre park along the waterfront in Philadelphias Bridesburg section say they have received a $1.4 million PennDot grant, completing the fundraising needed to begin construction of the long-awaited project next year. Bridesburg has been waiting for this park for decades, and Im so happy that it is finally happening, Joseph Slabinski III, a Bridesburg resident and business leader, said in a statement from the nonprofit Riverfront North Partnership. The Riverfront North Partnership is overseeing planning and construction of the project with Philadelphias Parks and Recreation Department. The park, which will be owned by the city, has been a dream for residents since it was conceived in 2015. The park is estimated to cost just under $10 million. It will eventually connect to an existing 2.2-mile trail along Delaware Avenue from Allegheny Avenue to Orthodox Street. Ultimately, Riverfront North Partnerships goal is an 11-mile stretch of parks and trails along the Delaware River from Port Richmond to Torresdale. Riverfront North is committed to connecting people back to their river, said Stephanie Phillips, executive director of the partnership. If 2020 has taught us anything, it is that our parks are an integral part of our physical and mental well-being. The $1.4 million from the state Department of Transportations Multimodal Transportation Fund, combined with a $2 million grant last year from the William Penn Foundation and other funding, amounted to about $4.7 million, enough to start construction in 2021 with completion by 2022, according to Lindsay Brzowski of the Riverfront North Partnership. The park will be built in two phases, with the initial round of fundraising being enough to complete the first phase in 2022. The park will have riverfront views, play areas, parking, and a restroom. When complete, the park will have not only trails, but a meadow with views of the Betsy Ross and Tacony-Palmyra Bridges. Riverfront North and the city are trying to raise an additional $5 million for the second phase, scheduled to begin in 2026. That phase will include a stage pavilion, picnic pavilion, terraced lawn seating, and a river boardwalk. Bridesburg Riverfront Park will be a beautiful space to explore in the district, and its great to see funding come to the area to help make possible, State Rep. Joseph C. Hohenstein (D., Phila.) said in a statement. Kathryn Ott Lovell, the citys parks and recreation commissioner, said the new park will be one of the most dynamic and welcoming parks in our system. SoftBank has pulled a more than $500 million investment from Credit Suisse's supply chain finance funds after the Swiss bank reviewed the funds including the Japanese conglomerate's role, according to two sources. The Swiss bank launched the review after the Financial Times reported last month that SoftBank had put $500 million into some Credit Suisse funds, which in turn invested in assets selected by SoftBank-backed lender Greensill Capital. Some of the funds' investments were in notes backed by loans Greensill made to other companies backed by SoftBank's Vision Fund. In a memo to the funds' investors on Monday, the Swiss bank said it would change investment guidelines for its supply chain finance funds and said it had terminated an agreement with an investor in April for three of its four supply chain funds to exclusively source all of their notes through Greensill. "This separate agreement has recently been terminated and the investor has redeemed its investment in full," the bank said in the letter. A source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed that the investor which had terminated the agreement was SoftBank, and that the Japanese group had pulled its full investment from the funds. A second source familiar with the case said more than $500 million was scheduled for redemption in July independently of the Credit Suisse investigation and had now been redeemed. SoftBank declined to comment. Greensill did not immediately respond to requests for comment made by phone and email. The funds invest in notes backed by trade receivables, or claims for payment from a business to its suppliers for goods or services that have been invoiced. As payment delays may cause cash-flow problems for their suppliers, supply chain finance such as that provided by Greensill allows suppliers to collect on invoices early in exchange for a fee. Greensill will then collect on the value of the invoice from the buyer. Credit Suisse said that while in practice all the funds' investments had previously been sourced via Greensill, they were not precluded from sourcing them elsewhere. Credit Suisse said that around 15% of the notes now held by its funds were backed by the obligations of companies in which the SoftBank Vision Fund has minority equity stakes. It said it was changing its guidelines to reduce the maximum amount of exposure its funds would have to any one company, including those backed by the Vision Fund. The following is edited from a press release by the American Airpower Museum, Long Islands only military aviation flying museum. The museum will be holding a Grand Reopening event on Saturday, August 1, 2020. Like all museums in New York State, the American Airpower Museum (AAM) had to close temporarily due to the Covid-19 outbreak. This resulted in the cancellation of half the museums 2020 flight season. However, the museums iconic WWII bombers and fighters are now back with an exciting, family-friendly flight demonstration which is guaranteed to thrill aviation enthusiasts of all ages! AAM had expected 2020 to be a banner year for the organization. Museum aircraft were scheduled to participate in a number of historic events marking the 75th anniversary for the end of WWII and honoring U.S. veterans who made the Allied victory possible. Indeed, AAMs WWII aircraft were going to appear in the annual Bethpage Air Show at Jones Beach State Park, an event they have participated in for the past 17 years. Furthermore, it should be noted that the American Airpower Museum celebrated its 20th anniversary on May 24th 2020 but had to do so in silence. At the end of the 2019 season, AAM took their fleet off line to begin scheduled winter maintenance and inspections, making sure the aircraft would be ready for a full 2020 flight season. However, sometime in early January, the coronavirus hit our shores with a punishing outbreak in New York. Public health and safety concerns led AAMs Board of Directors to preemptively close the Museum for two weeks beginning on March 16th. The health and safety of our staff, volunteers and the public was foremost, said Jeff Clyman, AAM president. Thats why we acted early and sent everyone home, causing a total cessation of work on our aircraft, he added. But on March 22nd, New York State ordered all non-essential businesses to close statewide. Two weeks of closure therefore ballooned into three months. AAMs mission has always focused upon honoring the legacy of those who gave all to preserve our freedoms. Clyman encapsulated this sentiment by noting, Were pleased to announce we recently resumed maintenance and inspection of our aircraft so that much anticipated flight operations can begin with our grand reopening event. We also promise a flying salute to our veterans and front line workers very soon! So join the American Airpower Museum on August 1, 2020 at 11:00 a.m., when WWII-era warbirds and other vintage aircraft will depart from the museums ramp, taking to the skies over Long Islands northern and southern shores. These magnificent aircraft will create camera-ready opportunities as they perform low-level passes over the museums home at Republic Airport. These flights are expected to feature the AAMs Grumman TBM Avenger, two North American T-6 Texans, an AT-28D Trojan, a WACO UPF-7 biplane and, as an added attraction, several L-39 Albatros Cold War-era Soviet jet trainers! Admission for Adults is $13, Seniors & Veterans $10 and Children $8. Due to the need for social distancing, admission to the outdoor ramp area will be limited to a maximum attendance of 150 persons, on a first come/first served basis. There will be only limited access to the museum. All visitors will be required to wear face masks and have their temperatures taken digitally at the entrance. As a special promotion, the first 20 people admitted will be included in a raffle for flights in the museums WACO biplane later in the summer (limit one per family). So bring your lunch, hang out and enjoy the AAM experience! If you cant join in the fun on Saturday, August 1st, please do consider helping AAM to offset major financial losses incurred during the Covid-19 shutdown, by contributing on the secure PayPal link HERE. For more information about corporate donations, please contact AAMs executive vice president Jacky Clyman by telephone at (917) 690-1965 or via e-mail at jacky@cockpitusa.com. The American Airpower Museum is an aviation museum located on the landmarked former site of Republic Aviation at Republic Airport, Farmingdale, NY. The Museum maintains a collection of aviation artifacts and an array of aircraft spanning the many years of the aircraft factorys history. The Museum is a 501 (c) (3) Nonprofit Educational Foundation, for more information visit www.americanairpowermuseum.com "Our partnership with Input 1 enables Scottish American to rapidly improve our service offerings and continue to enhance the digital transformation of our wholly-owned premium finance company, Pacific Coast Premium Finance. Scottish American will be able to focus on expanding our agency business, which will lead to premium finance growth. Input 1 will manage the daily functions of our business such as customer service, notice delivery, payments, funding and the provision of modern digital portals for our retail agent and policyholders to use," said Scottish American's founder, Paul Thomson. "Paul and his team at Scottish American have built one of the fastest-growing general agencies in the U.S. It's extremely admirable. By utilizing Input 1's servicing platform and fully integrated premium finance solution, Scottish American will be able to offer payment terms at point-of-sale more efficiently than ever before. This solution will help their agents close more business while simultaneously relieving Scottish American of the day to day processes associated with running a premium finance company," said Chris Farfaras, Executive Vice President & CSMO of Input 1. About Scottish American Insurance General Agency Established 2009 in New York, by Paul Thomson, Scottish American Insurance General Agency is a privately held company that is a subset of Scottish American Capital, a New York-based investment fund. Scottish American's business focuses on acquiring and managing insurance distribution businesses. Scottish American Insurance General Agency has 24 locations across the United States. About Input 1, LLC Since 1984, Input 1 has been providing digital billing services and payment solutions to insurance carriers, MGAs, banks, and premium finance companies, located throughout North America. The company's insurance software and cloud billing and payment services provide online access to more than one million agents, brokers, and policyholders annually. Media Contact Input 1, LLC Marketing Department 888-882-2554 ext.2135 [email protected] SOURCE Input 1, LLC Related Links http://www.input1.com Events, great and trivial, spin away the instant they happen; the men and women who enacted or witnessed them last longer, but in time go too. Representative John Lewis (D, Ga.), who died of pancreatic cancer at age 80, was the last surviving speaker of the 1963 March on Washington. The clips of him speaking that day, and the photos and clips of him marching in protests throughout the segregated south, show a young man, determined, pugnacious, eager to fight, but fighting only with the non-violent weapons he had chosen. Lewis was beaten 40 times by cops, state troopers, or hostile mobs; he spent 31 days in Mississippis notorious Parchman Farm prison. He was the first chairman of the Student Non-Violent Coordinating Committee, a post he was ousted from by Stokely Carmichael, who was eager to use other weapons. After his years of activism, he entered politics, contesting a primary in 1986 for a congressional seat against another young black leader, Julian Bond. Bond was polished, lighter-skinned. Lewis told primary voters they should pick a work horse, not a show horse. He beat Bond narrowly, then won and held his Atlanta seat ever since. And his congressional career was . . . almost indistinguishable from any other left-wing black Democrat. He voted against wars, and for programs that often distressingly failed to deliver their idealistic promises. In 2010, he was one of three congressmen who claimed that Tea Party members screamed racial epithets and spat at them as they walked from Capitol Hill. The charge of spitting was withdrawn, and no tape was ever produced that captured the epithets. Yet in that aged form, encrusted by partisanship and reverence, that brave young man could still be discerned. His fellow Georgia congressman Newt Gingrich was wont to remind conservative, white audiences that Lewis bore literal scars from the fight for civil rights rights that were promised in the postCivil War amendments, but took a century, and the efforts of the brave, to make real. R.I.P. More from National Review MINNEAPOLIS - The Minnesota Legislature passed a broad slate of police accountability measures early Tuesday that includes a ban on neck restraints like the one that was used on George Floyd before his death in Minneapolis. The package also bans chokeholds and so-called warrior-style training, which critics say promotes excessive force. It imposes a duty to intercede on officers who see a colleague using excessive force. It changes rules on the use of force to stress the sanctity of life. It makes changes in arbitration rules affecting police unions. Officers will get more training on dealing with people with mental health issues and autism. The measure also creates a new advisory council for the state board that licenses officers. This is a really a great bill, but it is only a first step, Democratic House Speaker Melissa Hortman, of Brooklyn Park, said at a news conference. It paves the way for transformational change, but it doesnt bring about transformational change. Democratic House Majority Leader Ryan Winkler, of Golden Valley, told reporters that Minnesota will continue to live in a powder keg as long as its racial inequities in health, education, income and policing continue to exist. It is vitally important for the world to see us pass this legislation, Winkler said. Of course, its more important to protect the lives of people in our state. But Minnesota, I think, has suffered a severe reputational hit in the world. And its because we have revealed the truth of our state, which is that we are among the worst when it comes to racial equality. And that cannot continue. Passage came after nearly two months of difficult negotiations that followed Floyds death May 25 and the ensuring unrest that spread around the world over police brutality and racism. The Black man was restrained face down in the street while handcuffed and with three officers holding him down, including a white officer who had a knee to Floyds neck for nearly eight minutes. The Republican-controlled Senate sent the bill to Democratic Gov. Tim Walz on a 60-to-7 vote early Tuesday before adjourning the special session. The House approved the package 102-29 just before midnight. Walz said he plans to sign it. George Floyds death brought the need for meaningful police reform into sharp focus for Minnesotans across the state, the governor said in a statement. After decades of advocacy by communities of colour and Indigenous communities, the bipartisan passage of these measures is a critical step toward justice. Republican Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, of East Gull Lake, told WCCO Radio that the final package included a number of really good things from both parties and was backed by law enforcement groups. On Tuesday, members of a Minneapolis city charter commission held the second of two public hearings on a proposal to dismantle the Minneapolis Police Department and replace it with a new agency, the Department of Community Safety and Violence Prevention. Last month the Minneapolis City Council unanimously advanced the proposal to change the citys charter, or constitution. Voters would need to approve the amendment. As at the first hearing last week, many speakers during the first hour of Tuesdays hearing favoured letting voters decide the issue in November. Supporters said change is needed to start addressing longstanding complaints of racism and brutality against the Police Department. But opponents called the proposal vague and lacking details. I understand the impulse to do something in response to the killing of George Floyd and others, and to be seen by the public as making a change, said Carleton Crawford, a 27-year resident of Minneapolis. But he said the proposal would mark a radical change in the way we run our city. Walz had to call the special session, the second in as many months, to give lawmakers a chance to rescind the emergency powers hes been using to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. The House Democratic majority last week blocked a GOP effort to void those powers, just as it did in June. Lawmakers then turned their attention to policing. The governor will have to call another special session in mid-August if, as expected, he extends his emergency authority again. And that would give lawmakers another chance to pass one of their main unfinished pieces of business, a public construction package known as a bonding bill. Theyve been unable to agree on that all year. The House voted 75-57 in favour of the $1.8 billion package early Tuesday. But bonding bills require a three-fifths majority. That would have required at least six votes from Republicans, who withheld their support in a dispute over Walzs reliance on emergency powers. A business tax break that would have benefited farmers and businesses trying to rebuild from the unrest that Democrats added to the package did not sway the House GOP. Hortman said the outlook for passing a bonding bill next month is murky because the looming campaign season can only make passing it harder. Locust attacks are posing a serious threat to food security in parts of East Africa, India and Pakistan as a result of changing climate conditions that can be linked to human activity, the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO) has said. The specialised agency of the United Nations said extreme weather events and climatic changes such as increases in temperature and rainfall over desert areas, and the strong winds associated with tropical cyclones, provide a new environment for pest breeding, development and migration. Large and aggressive swarms of these crop-devouring short-horned insects recently invaded over two dozen districts of desert areas in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Gujarat. In Pakistan, authorities declared an emergency in February, saying locust numbers were the worst in more than two decades. WMO cited an article in Nature Climate Change and said while desert locusts have been here since biblical times, recent intense outbreaks can be linked to anthropogenic climate change and the increased frequency of extreme weather events. Attribution of a single event to climate change is difficult. However, climatic changes such as increases in temperature and rainfall over desert areas, and the strong winds associated with tropical cyclones, provide a new environment for pest breeding, development and migration. This suggests that global warming played a role in creating the conditions required for the development, outbreak and survival of the locusts, scientists from the Intergovernmental Authority on Climate Prediction and Applications Centre said (ICPAC). The article cited the role of Indian Ocean warming, intense and unusual tropical cyclones in the region and heavy rainfall and flooding as playing an important role. The recent locust outbreaks and the role of Indian Ocean warming show that the impact of climate change is not merely the consequences of changes in mean temperature, but also of increases in extreme and unprecedented events. WMO said the first-wave of infestations at the end of 2019 destroyed 70,000 ha of farmland in Somalia and Ethiopia, and 2,400 km of pasture land in Kenya. A recent assessment in Ethiopia estimated that between December 2019 and March 2020, locusts damaged 114,000, 41,000 and 36,000 ha of Sorghum, maize and wheat, respectively, according to ICPAC. ICPAC, which is a WMO regional climate centre, said that locust swarms have been reported in the last 14 days in northern Kenya, eastern and north-eastern Ethiopia. Adult locusts are also in large numbers in the areas where hoppers and bands were spotted in June which is in the trajectories of migrating swarms. This means a continued increase in locust numbers even with the control efforts. Parts of Sudan have had adult locust reported in more locations, it said. Climatic conditions suitable for desert locust development are forecast to be highly suitable in Uganda, southern to east of Sudan, eastern Ethiopia, northern Somalia and northern Kenya. The Food and Agricultural Organisation said that new reports of Desert Locust swarms in northern Somalia suggest that migration across the Indian Ocean to the summer breeding areas along both sides of the India-Pakistan border could be imminent. It added that summer breeding has commenced along both sides of the India-Pakistan border where numerous swarms are present mainly in Rajasthan. FAO is the lead agency in Desert Locust monitoring and control and runs the Desert Locust Information Service (DLIS). It uses the WMO Global Observing System as input. The leader of INRI Evangelical Spiritual Church, Primate Ayodele, has warned President Muhammadu Buhari against corruption allegations that has hit his administration of recent. He had earlier said days ago in a publication that if President Buhari wasnt careful, corruption will discredit his administration. Ayodele said: Corruption will cheat Buharis government. If he doesnt sack corrupt ministers, it will fight his government back. There is corruption in the military. If he doesnt act on it, it will discredit his government. He should take corruption serious. There is also corruption in Judiciary, CBN, NNPC. If he wants people to compliment his government, these are the areas his government should work on. On kidnapping, Buharis government has not gotten it right. These are the things that will discredit him. Buhari and his Chief of Staff are not up to the task yet. Ayodele has further spoke about it, especially in the wake of the drama that happened in the House of representatives on Monday when the acting MD of the Niger Delta Development Commission, Prof. Daniel Pondei, slumped while being grilled about the handling of funds. Primate Ayodele said if Buhari wants a good name for his government, he should sack all corrupt officials. He added: There is no point. If Buhari wants to make a good name off his government, all corrupt officials must be sacked. With the drama that took place at the House of Representatives today, the former MD of NDDC, Joi Nunieh, has been vindicated. I want to be one of the first Nigerians to congratulate her. Furthermore, Ayodele predicted massive protests by the police, pensioners and strike in the military over payments. He predicted: Police will protest, pensioners will protest, some military officers will go on strike because of some payments. It would be recalled that Primate Ayodele had earlier warned the Chief of Army Staff, Lieutenant General Yusuf Buratai, to be careful of assassination threat that will come his way He said: If care isnt taken, military will be killing military. The Chief of Army Ataff will face assassination attempt. I dont know if he will survive it. Lets pray against any plane crash. Air Force or police helicopter or any private jet crash. The telecom sector in Burkina Faso continues to be stymied by slow regulatory procedures and insufficient mobile spectrum, compounded by the poor condition of fixed-line networks which has held back the development of fixed-line internet services and rendered such services among the most expensive globally. Sydney, July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Just released, this edition of Paul Budde Communications focus report on the Burkina Faso outlines the major developments and key aspects in the telecoms markets. Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Burkina-Faso-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses Although all three mobile network operators have universal service licenses, only Onatel, majority-owned by Maroc Telecom, also operates a fixed-line network. Mobile telephony has experienced strong growth since competition was introduced in 2000. There has been some fluidity in ownership, with Zain having been acquired by Bharti Airtel before being sold on to Orange Group in 2016. Market penetration remains below the African average but continues to grow steadily. Onatels FasoNet is the countrys leading internet service provider, offering DSL and EV-DO services. Internet penetration is extremely low, exacerbated by the high cost of connectivity despite price cuts introduced since 2011 in the wake of improved international bandwidth via fibre links through adjacent countries. These links provide access to the regions international submarine cables. Although about 50 ISPs have been licensed, only three compete with FasoNet, and collectively these have fewer than 1,000 subscribers. As a result of poor fixed-line infrastructure the mobile operators have become significant players in the internet sector, accounting for most connections. BuddeComm notes that the outbreak of the Coronavirus in 2020 is having a significant impact on production and supply chains globally. During the coming year the telecoms sector to various degrees is likely to experience a downturn in mobile device production, while it may also be difficult for network operators to manage workflows when maintaining and upgrading existing infrastructure. Overall progress towards 5G may be postponed or slowed down in some countries. Story continues On the consumer side, spending on telecoms services and devices is under pressure from the financial effect of large-scale job losses and the consequent restriction on disposable incomes. However, the crucial nature of telecom services, both for general communication as well as a tool for home-working, will offset such pressures. In many markets the net effect should be a steady though reduced increased in subscriber growth. Although it is challenging to predict and interpret the long-term impacts of the crisis as it develops, these have been acknowledged in the industry forecasts contained in this report. The report also covers the responses of the telecom operators as well as government agencies and regulators as they react to the crisis to ensure that citizens can continue to make optimum use of telecom services. This can be reflected in subsidy schemes and the promotion of tele-health and tele-education, among other solutions. Key developments: Revised Finance Law increases telecom tax to 7% of telco revenue; BKF/021 infrastructure project largely completed; Parliament launches inquiry on mobile network infrastructure coverage, pricing of services, and QoS; Main One to increase broadband bandwidth with new PRICAO fibre cable; Government begins computer subsidy program for university students; Burkina Faso joins G5 Sahel countries to eliminate roaming fees; Orange Burkina Faso launches LTE-A services, extends Orange Money services; Government progresses with XOF23.6 billion project to provide metropolitan fibre-optic infrastructure; Report update includes the regulator's annual reports and market statistical data to 2019, telcos' financial and operating data to Q1 2020, Telecom Maturity Index charts and analyses, assessment of the global impact of COVID-19 on the telecoms sector, recent market developments. Companies mentioned in this report: Onatel, Telmob, Bharti Airtel (Zain, Celtel), Orange Burkina Faso, Moov (Telecel, Etisalat), FasoNet, ZCP, Delgi, Cenatrin, CFAO Technologies, River Telecom, Net Access, Maroc Telecom, Vivendi. Read the full report: https://www.budde.com.au/Research/Burkina-Faso-Telecoms-Mobile-and-Broadband-Statistics-and-Analyses Nicolas Bombourg nbombourg@budde.com.au Europe Office +44 207 097 1241 Oceania Office +61 280 767 665 YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. The ministry of emergency situations informs that the roads across Armenia are passable. The ministry told Armenpress that the Stepantsminda-Lars highway is open only for trucks as the ban on entry of foreign nationals to Georgia is still in force. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan Bengaluru, July 21 : The Karnataka government has hiked the salaries of doctors under the National Health Mission (NHM) to Rs 45,000 per month, said a Minister on Tuesday. "NHM doctors' salary hike to Rs 45,000 per month, state government to bear the cost," said Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar. As many as 2,000 Ayurveda, Yoga, Naturopathy, Unani and Siddha (AYUSH) doctors are set to benefit from the hike, effected after a meeting chaired by Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa. Sudhakar said the doctors who were agitating for the hike have withdrawn their agitation now. Similarly, he said the issue of raising the salaries of Accredited Social Health Activists (ASHA) will be taken up in 2-3 days. Sudhakar said testing for the virus will be increased in the containment zones. "Booth level committees to conduct door to door survey for early detection of Influenza Like Illness (ILI) and Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) and vulnerable persons," he said. The Minister said that private hospitals should not hesitate to admit Covid positive pregnant women and come forward to treat Covid patients. On Monday, Karnataka registered 3,648 new infections, the majority of them in Bengaluru, increasing the state's tally to 67,420. BOHEMIA, N.Y., July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Edge Electronics, Inc., a relationship-driven distributor in the electronic component, LCD, and MRO & industrial marketplaces, reaches an amazing accomplishment as the company celebrates 30 years of business. As an authorized distributor of industry-leading manufacturers, the certified Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) has set itself apart by providing customers with unmatched customer service, easy access to the latest technologies, and fully customizable solutions. Since starting out with a staff of three in 1990, the company has built a nationwide footprint and grown into the successful global supplier it is today while maintaining a small business mentality. Over the years, Edge has expanded its portfolio of offerings, worked with thousands of OEMs, contract manufacturers, corporations, and government agencies, added a number of strategically located sales offices and staff throughout the U.S., hosted numerous events and fundraisers for charitable causes, and received industry awards for outstanding service. "Edge is built on the foundation of providing customers with the most personalized customer service in the industry," says Adrienne Giannone, president and CEO, Edge Electronics. "For three decades, our world-class staff has continued to uphold this value, allowing Edge to become the successful organization and invaluable supply-chain partner that it is today." The company had planned on hosting a large celebration to commemorate the anniversary. Given the current circumstances and social distancing requirements, Edge will now wait until it is an appropriate time to do so. Edge is thankful to all the suppliers, customers, and partners who have been a part of this accomplishment and looks forward to continued growth and success. For additional information, please visit www.edgeelectronics.com Contact: Amanda Rivera Phone: 631.750.2317 Email: [email protected] About Edge Electronics Inc. Edge Electronics Inc., based in Bohemia, New York, is a leading authorized distributor of electronic components (semiconductors, passives and interconnect), display solutions (LCDs and related products), embedded computing, storage products and MRO/industrial products. With strategically located sales offices throughout the U.S., Edge focuses on providing industrial, medical, military and commercial OEMs and contract manufacturers with the most personalized customer service in the industry, easy access to the latest technologies and fully customizable solutions that are the perfect fit for each customer's specific application and business model. Founded in 1990, Edge Electronics is a certified Women's Business Enterprise (WBE) that is both established and flexible, making it an invaluable supply-chain partner for any organization. SOURCE Edge Electronics, Inc. Related Links http://www.edgeelectronics.com BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Armenian armed forces have launched two reconnaissance UAVs over the positions of the Azerbaijani army units in the direction of Aghdam district on the night of July 21 at 00.30 am and in the morning at 08.45 am (GMT+4) over the positions in the Tovuz district direction of the Armenian-Azerbaijani state border, Trend reports referring to Azerbaijani Defense Ministry. Both UAVs were immediately detected and destroyed by the air defense units of the Azerbaijani Air Forces. Daily ceasefire violations by the Armenian side on July 12 led to gross ceasefire violation in the direction of Azerbaijans Tovuz district on the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border, as Armenia opened opened fire at the Azerbaijani positions by using artillery. As a result of the appropriate measures, the Armenian armed forces were silenced. The tensions continued on the border, July 12 night. During the night battles, by using artillery, mortars and tanks, the Azerbaijani armed forces destroyed a stronghold, vehicles, as well as killed Armenian servicemen on the territory of the Armenias military unit. The battles continued on the night of July 13 and through July 16. 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. He made his political motive blindingly clear when he cited on Twitter the protests in Portland as evidence that the Radical Left Democrats, who totally control Biden, will destroy our Country as we know it. But the protests and riots that erupted after the killing of George Floyd happened under Trump. So did the increase in homicides in such places as Chicago, Baltimore and New York. He cant very well blame Biden for this American carnage. Riyadh, July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Global law firm Norton Rose Fulbright today announced that Zayd Alathari, an intellectual property lawyer with experience in the Middle East and the US, has joined its Riyadh office as a partner. Alathari joins the Mohammed Al-Ghamdi Law Firm in association with Norton Rose Fulbright US LLP from Saudi Basic Industries Corporation (SABIC), where he led the companys IP initiatives as its Senior Manager & IP Counsel in the Middle East and Africa. In eight years at SABIC, Alathari led a team that supported SABICs Middle East and Africa manufacturing teams and the companys global technology & innovation teams for the chemical, agri-nutrients and metal business in the US, Europe, Middle East, China and India. Alathari also helped develop and implement SABICs global IP strategies and policies, and he provided legal and IP advice and contract support to protect and enhance the value of the companys technology. Additionally, Alathari and his team drafted and negotiated a wide range of technology agreements; prepared and prosecuted patent applications; managed and maintained patent portfolios; conducted due diligence; and handled freedom to operate (FTO) opinions. Before his in-house career in Saudi Arabia, Alathari practiced at Venable LLP in Washington, DC. As an associate and registered patent attorney, he advised US-based and international clients on IP litigation, transaction and patent prosecution matters. Tim Kenny, Norton Rose Fulbrights Global Head of Intellectual Property, said: Zayd possesses a broad range of IP experience with more than two decades split between a multinational corporation and a large law firm. When combined with Norton Rose Fulbrights global platform, Zayds versatility and perspective will benefit our clients and their businesses worldwide. Mohammed Al-Ghamdi, Partner-in-Charge of Norton Rose Fulbrights Riyadh office, commented: Zayd is an accomplished leader who excelled in managing SABICs comprehensive intellectual property portfolio. He is well connected to major corporations in Saudi Arabia and respected throughout the Middle East. Story continues Alathari, who is also a member of the Gulf Petrochemical and Chemical Associations (GPCA) research and innovation committee, said: Saudi Arabias ambitious economic growth and diversification efforts are transforming the region as it heavily invests in technology, digitalization, localization, data protection and management, and a circular economy. Strong IP rights are critical to protecting these initiatives, and Norton Rose Fulbrights global presence will help my clients realize and commercialize their maximum potential. Alathari earned his JD at American University Washington College of Law, his MS at Johns Hopkins University and his BS in biology from The George Washington University. A registered patent attorney with the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO), he is licensed to practice in the District of Columbia and Virginia. Notes for editors: Norton Rose Fulbright Norton Rose Fulbright is a global law firm providing the worlds preeminent corporations and financial institutions with a full business law service. The firm has more than 4,000 lawyers and other legal staff based in Europe, the United States, Canada, Latin America, Asia, Australia, Africa and the Middle East. Recognized for its industry focus, Norton Rose Fulbright is strong across all the key industry sectors: financial institutions; energy; infrastructure, mining and commodities; transport; technology and innovation; and life sciences and healthcare. Through its global risk advisory group, the firm leverages its industry experience with its knowledge of legal, regulatory, compliance and governance issues to provide clients with practical solutions to the legal and regulatory risks facing their businesses. Norton Rose Fulbright operates in accordance with its global business principles of quality, unity and integrity, aiming to provide the highest possible standard of legal service in each of its offices and to maintain that level of quality at every point of contact. Norton Rose Fulbright Verein, a Swiss verein, helps coordinate the activities of Norton Rose Fulbright members but does not itself provide legal services to clients. Norton Rose Fulbright has offices in more than 50 cities worldwide, including London, Houston, New York, Toronto, Mexico City, Hong Kong, Sydney and Johannesburg. For more information, see nortonrosefulbright.com/legal-notices. Law around the world nortonrosefulbright.com Attachment Andrew J. Ferraro Norton Rose Fulbright 713-651-5235 andrew.ferraro@nortonrosefulbright.com LONDON Before she sent scripts to the BBC, Michaela Coel sent mood boards. Her series I May Destroy You, which airs on HBO in the United States, had been greenlit by the broadcaster without executives having a clue what she was planning, Coel said in a recent Zoom interview. So she collected images from the internet, put them onto PDFs and sent them to Piers Wenger, the BBCs head of drama programming. I was trying to help him imagine what it might be, she said, laughing, but its only in hindsight I realize that I was just sending pictures. While I May Destroy You ostensibly follows the London-based writer Arabella (Coel) as she processes a sexual assault, the 12-episode series also confronts the frames through which we see ourselves and each other. The early PDFs she sent to the BBC which included photos of gay Black couples with similar builds as inspiration for the character Kwames story line, links to yoga retreats for women of color and images of industrial chic interiors held only some of the inspirations Coel drew on for the series. She also reread Michaela the Poet, the blog she had kept in drama school, alert to how her voice had changed over the years, and went to climate change meetings. Over Zoom, the multihyphenate creator broke down her influences for I May Destroy You. Summary: New 'Hercules Structural Zone', a potential feeder structure, identified indicating possibility for mineralization at depth The Hercules Structural Zone extends for more than 2,000 meters along strike, and remains open for expansion Additional results indicate southern extents of the Cliffs and Hercules Targets could be connected below thin cover across approximately 600 meters Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 21, 2020) - Eclipse Gold Mining Corporation (TSXV: EGLD) (OTC PINK: EGLPF) ("Eclipse" or "the Company") is pleased to report it has completed an induced polarization (IP) survey at the Hercules Gold Project located in Lyon County, Nevada. A review of the data collected to date showed a good correlation between zones of silicification in outcrop and drilling and resistive features in the recently collected geophysical data. Gold mineralization at the Hercules Gold Project is commonly associated with intensely silicified zones. As such, resistivity is considered a good proxy for delineating targets of potential gold mineralization associated with silicification. Third party interpretation of the data has indicated the presence of two parallel and continuous NNE-trending, steeply west-dipping structures named the Hercules Structural Zone. This Zone passes through and to the west of the main Hercules Target (Figure 1), and may represent a feeder structure for mineralization, which has only sporadically been intersected by drilling conducted to date. In addition, a large resistive feature at the southern end of the survey suggests a connection at depth between the Cliffs and Hercules Targets. This feature appears to be both open to and increasing in thickness to the south. Recent drilling announced by the Company on June 10, 2019 presented drill results for the Cliffs target of 74.68 meters of 0.54 g/t Au and 4.78 g/t Ag, and for the Hercules Target 89.92 meters of 0.65 g/t Au and 12.51 g/t Ag. The area between the two targets, which are approximately 600 m apart, has not been tested by drilling to date. Story continues Dr. Warwick Board, Vice President of Exploration for the Company commented, "These results will guide our next phase of geophysical surveying and drilling on the Hercules Gold Project. The newly identified and relatively untested Hercules Structural Zone extends for more than two kilometers and remains open beyond the survey area. The trend and scale of the resistivity anomalies and targets bodes well for future discoveries on the Project." Several anomalies remain open for further expansion. Geophysical data will be incorporated into the Company's geological model and used to target the next phase of geophysical surveying and drilling with the latter expected to launch in late summer 2020. Figure 1: Plan view of IP resistivity results and drilling on the Hercules Gold Project. Resistivity contours are shown for a depth slice of between 100 and 150 m below surface and are coloured such that zones of elevated resistivity correspond to "cooler" colors (i.e., purple and blue) and areas of lower resistivity are reflected in "warmer" colors (yellow through red). Areas of elevated resistivity are a potential proxy for gold mineralization associated with silicification. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6892/60173_7e294ac024e0d9ed_001full.jpg About Eclipse Gold Mining Eclipse Gold Mining is exploring the district-scale Hercules gold property within Nevada's Walker Lane trend. The Hercules property is located only a one-hour drive from Reno and appears to have all the characteristics of a large, low-sulphidation epithermal gold system. The Company brings together a team with collective funding of over $2 billion in both strong and weak markets, and a track record of at least nine successful buyouts/exits. Qualified Person Dr. Warwick Board, P.Geo., Vice President of Exploration for Eclipse Gold Mining Corporation, and a qualified person ("QP") as defined by Canadian National Instrument 43-101, has reviewed and approved the technical information contained in this release. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS Michael G. Allen President, CEO and Director CORPORATE INQUIRIES: Dylan Berg, VP Investor Relations Company Website: www.eclipsegoldmining.com +1 (844) 427-6453 Toll Free +1 (778) 945-3949 Direct (please leave a message) Email: info@eclipsegoldmining.com TSXV: EGLD | OTC PINK: EGLPF | ISIN: CA27888R1001 | WKN: A2PYV4 Forward looking and other cautionary statements Neither the TSXV nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSXV) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release includes "forward-looking information" that is subject to a few assumptions, risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond the control of the Company. Statements regarding listing of the Company's common shares on the TSXV are subject to all of the risks and uncertainties normally incident to such events. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future events and that actual events or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. Such forward-looking statements represent management's best judgment based on information currently available. Factors that could cause the actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include regulatory actions and general business conditions. Such forward-looking information reflects the Company's views with respect to future events and is subject to risks, uncertainties and assumptions, including those set out in the Company's final prospectus dated February 6, 2020 and filed under the Company's profile on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. The Company does not undertake to update forwardlooking statements or forwardlooking information, except as required by law. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60173 NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- J.F. Lehman & Company ("JFLCO"), a leading middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental sectors, announced the final closing of its fifth fund with aggregate commitments representing $1.35 billion, including affiliated investment vehicles. "We greatly appreciate the strong support for both our organization and established investment strategy," said Louis N. Mintz, Partner. "We are thankful that market participants recognized and valued the experience and cohesiveness of our team, the strength of our reputation and performance built over three decades of exclusive sector focus and our demonstrated investment discipline." Initially targeting $1.0 billion, JFL Equity Investors V, L.P. ("Fund V") was oversubscribed and reached its hard cap. Strong support from JFLCO's longstanding limited partners and notable new investors resulted in a diversified investor base comprised of leading public and private pensions, insurance companies, financial institutions, endowments, foundations, family offices and high-net-worth individuals from across the U.S. and Europe. Credit Suisse Securities (USA) LLC acted as exclusive placement agent for Fund V and Jones Day served as legal adviser. About J.F. Lehman & Company, Inc. Founded in 1992, J.F. Lehman & Company is a leading middle-market private equity firm focused exclusively on the aerospace, defense, maritime, government and environmental sectors. The firm has offices in New York and Washington, D.C. For more information about J.F. Lehman & Company, please visit www.jflpartners.com. PDF - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1217604/20_108_PEA_JFL_July_Ad_2.pdf Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/349934/j_f__lehman___company_logo.jpg (ANSA) - ROME, 21 LUG - Italian police on Tuesday arrested 47 people linked to the Nigerian Mafia in Italy. Those arrested have been charged with mafia association, human trafficking, drug trafficking and distribution, and exploiting prostitution. The arrests were made in Sicily and in central Italy including Campania and Lazio. Police said that in Campania, the Nigerian Mafia was now "on the same level" as the historic Camorra mafia in the region around Naples. In a by-now standard practice, women and girls were trafficked from Nigeria into sex work on Italian roads by threatening them with voodoo rites. Nigerian prostitutes are a common sight on roads leading out of Italian cities, or on streets in the suburbs of Italian towns. The Nigerian Mafia has been growing in Italy for several decades. (ANSA). The magisterial probe into the case involving the swapping of the bodies of Covid-19 patients from Amritsar and Hoshiarpur began on Tuesday with the questioning of staff members of Government Medical College (GMC), Amritsar. Amritsar sub-divisional magistrate (SDM) Shivraj Singh Bal, who is conducting the inquiry, visited the college and grilled the doctors, staff nurses and Class 4 employees who were on duty on the day of the incident. He also talked to GMC principal Dr Rajiv Devgan and medical superintendent Dr Raman Sharma. Pritam Singh (93) of Tanda Ram Sahai village in Hoshiarpur district died at the hospital after he tested positive for Covid-19 on July 17 night, but his family received the mortal remains of a woman, Padma (37), a resident of Amritsar. Padmas kin got Pritams body which they cremated on July 18. As per the hospital authorities, the error took place as the on-duty staff put wrong labels on the caskets.I also visited the mortuary to see the procedure followed by the hospital authorities in dealing with Covid-19 victims bodies. There are allegations that the hospital did not constituted a body management committee for Covid-19 victims as instructed by Punjab government, said Shivraj Singh Bal. The hospital authorities have recommended suspension of two staff nurses and as many Class-4 employees for negligence but we are trying to zero in on the role of other staff members, he added. The Secretary of The Islamic Republic's hardliner-dominated Guardian Council (GC), ayatollah Ahmad Jannati, has called for expanding the already powerful body's authority. Jannati says the GC should be involved in drafting laws from the outset and have the authority to remove "wrong-doing" lawmakers from Majles (Iranian parliament). Speaking to the members of the newly-elected parliament's presidium on Monday, July 20, the ultraconservative cleric repeatedly emphasized the "importance of oversight," insisting, "Although the GC's oversight on the members of Majles is permanent, it should also have the power to dismiss the MPs." The Guardian Council is a body empowered to vet legislation, voting procedures, and qualify or dismiss candidates running for president or parliament. The twelve-member Council comprises jurists and acts in many ways as an upper legislative house. Half its members are specialists in Twelver- Shiite Islamic canon law directly appointed by the country's Supreme Leader, and the other half are civil legal experts nominated by the Supreme Judicial Council and endorsed by the Majles. "Due to legal problems, the GC cannot remove MPs who deviate from their duties or involve in corruption," the 93-year-old mid-ranking cleric regretfully noted. The ultraconservative ayatollah explicitly called on the fundamentalist-dominated parliament to pave the way for the GC to expand its power beyond what the Islamic Republic Constitution stipulates. However, since 1991, the GC has consistently gained more power in the clergy-dominated Iran. In an unprecedented move in 2016 parliamentary elections, the GC voided the election of a female candidate to parliament without a concrete explanation but multiple sources said she was disqualified because of an alleged photo showing her without hijab. Over the years, Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei has helped empower institutions dominated by conservatives in a self-perpetuating mechanism by which conservatives help other conservatives to gain more power and gradually eliminate the more pragmatic members of the establishment who are known as reformists. During the meeting on Monday, Jannati also called for "experts" from the Guardian Council's "research center" to take part in drafting laws. Lambasting previous parliaments for passing "faulty and ambiguous laws", later rejected by the GC, Jannati called for amending the procedure in a way that the GC's "research center" can participate from the outset, "assisting" lawmakers. Meanwhile, the elderly cleric implicitly warned the newly-elected MPs, advising them to have "self-discipline." According to the Constitution of the Islamic Republic, the task of "legislating" or codifying laws is parliaments responsibility. However, in recent years, the country's Khamenei has delegated some responsibility to other bodies, including the High Supervisory Board of the Expediency Council. International institutions consider the elections in the Islamic Republic to be "unfree", "non-transparent" and "unfair", including the widespread disqualification before the polls and the intervention of extra-legal institutions in the process. One of our major political parties is going to win Texas and its 38 electoral votes in November. Spoiler alert: It is not going to be the one that has not carried the Lone Star State since 1976, despite quadrennial fantasy pieces by pundits. Democrats should also not get too carried away about the state's House delegation, which is likely to remain red for the foreseeable future. This doesn't mean the GOP has anything to celebrate going into this fall's congressional elections. The majority Republicans enjoyed at the beginning of Donald Trump's presidency disappeared two years later, leaving them with nothing to show for it except tax cuts, i.e., the only thing the party does when it controls both houses of Congress and the presidency. A net gain of 20 seats that would return them to power in the lower chamber is well-nigh impossible. A modest shift of five or so is just about imaginable, but it's far more likely to go in the other direction. This, one suspects, is why even in Texas they are suddenly behaving like a losing party, which is to say one that cares more about fleecing the most reliable portion of its donor base than it does about trying to win a majority. Hence the recent election of Allen West, the one-term congressman from Florida, as chairman of the Texas Republican Party. When you put a carpet-bagger who was nearly court-martialed for torture in charge of boring logistical tasks like deciding what brand of seltzer you are going to serve at official GOP events because you know he is still popular with aging Tea Party types on Facebook, you know where you are. Meanwhile Democrats are likely to have a good year in the House even if Trump is re-elected this fall. It's difficult to imagine them passing any meaningful legislation in such a scenario, especially with the Senate likely to remain under GOP control. Instead we can look forward to Impeachment 2: Electric Boogaloo. The only question is whether the pretext for this unprecedented move will be Trump's handling of the pandemic, a throwaway line from a recently published memoir, or spurious allegations of receiving foreign assistance during the election. Story continues What if Joe Biden wins? Even then, we should not necessarily expect the kind of midterm anti-White House backlash that has delivered the House to opposition parties during the first terms of three of our last four presidents, in 2018, 2010, and 1994 respectively. This is true for a number of reasons, but the most important is that in the long run, the math in the House, as opposed to the Senate, is not favorable to Republicans. Democrats might complain about the built-in advantage for the party of rural America in the upper chamber, but the corollary in the lower one is the reality that even in the reddest of red states, cities and suburbs are getting bluer with each election cycle. In 2018, the GOP won only a quarter of districts in which a higher than average percentage of residents had at least a bachelor's degree. As Tom Davis, the former congressman and chairman of the Republican National Committee, put it recently, the suburbs were "the base of the Republican Party just a decade and a half ago. And there just aren't enough rural voters to make up for those kind [sic] of losses. It means for the Republicans that instead of picking up seats in the House, that the bleeding could continue." This is the real blue wave that the GOP faces, not a sudden unexpected tsunami, but a rising tide of unpopularity that will sooner or later become a bore and lead. To keep their heads above water, Republicans will either have to figure out how to retake the suburbs (which would involve, among other things, disavowing Trump when he leaves office and likely abandoning the culture-war issues that keep the party's rural white working class base going to the polls) or somehow make themselves appealing to socially conservative Black and Hispanic voters. My guess is that they are going to keep getting wet. Want more essential commentary and analysis like this delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for The Week's "Today's best articles" newsletter here. More stories from theweek.com CNN's Brianna Keilar cuts off live interview with 'lying' Trump campaign official 39 Miami police officers to form mask enforcement unit Serena Williams' 2-year-old daughter is now the youngest owner in pro sports Saudi Arabia could use this summer record amounts of crude oil for producing electricity as more Saudis would stay at home rather than travel on vacation abroad because of the pandemic, according to Bloomberg estimates of analysts. Saudi Arabia burns crude oil for power generation and this summer it could be on track to burn record volumes of crude to keep air conditioning on while temperatures outside could reach 120 degrees Fahrenheit. The burning of more oil is a setback from earlier Saudi plans to reduce its reliance on crude for electricity generation. Saudi Arabia also has less natural gas to use for power generation this summer because the ongoing OPEC+ oil production cuts affect the associated natural gas production at its oil fields. The Saudi choice for power generation this summer is either importing more natural gas or burning more crude oil, Carole Nakhle, chief executive officer at London-based consulting firm Crystol Energy, told Bloomberg. The second option is more likely and easier since the region has been doing this for years and decades and there is plenty of oil around today, Nakhle said. The higher crude-for-power-generation will absorb the extra crude oil production from Saudi Arabia after the OPEC+ cuts are eased from August 1, Saudi Arabias Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, said earlier this month. Despite the higher production resulting from the eased cuts, the worlds largest oil exporter said last week that it would keep its crude oil exports in August at the levels from July. I can tell you that in the Kingdom Saudi Arabia, due to the increase in demand from utilities and other sectors, as lockdowns ease, we estimate approximately 500,000 barrels per day of extra demand in August. So, despite a higher production target in August, there will be no change in our exports, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman said last week at the Joint Ministerial Monitoring Committee (JMMC) meeting. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: SPRINGFIELD Fire investigators continue to search for the cause of a house fire that displaced three people and left two firefighters injured over the weekend. The fire started on the second floor of the two-family home on 558 Plainfield St. and extended to the attic. It was reported at about 11 p.m., Saturday, Fire Capt. Drew Piemonte said. The two firefighters who were hurt while battling the flames were treated for injuries that are not life-threatening, Piemonte said. The three residents were assisted by the Western Massachusetts Chapter of the American Red Cross, he said. The departments Arson and Bomb Squad is investigating but the cause is not believed to be suspicious. The fire caused extensive damage, he said. Related Content: Monson firefighters save hawk trapped in netting Springfield firefighters injured, 7 displaced in house fire Springfield police confiscate 70th unlawful gun after arresting 3 people including 13-year-old driving stolen car CHICAGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The global face mask market size is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 11% during the period 20192025. Key Highlights Offered in the Report: The global face mask market would realize an absolute growth of around 90%, contributing over $2.7 billion incremental revenue between 2019 and 2025. The outbreak of COVID-19 has boosted the market demand for respiratory masks and surgical masks. Rising awareness about hygiene and government regulation regrading mask usage will boost the overall shipment of face mask to reach over 10 billion units by 2025. Face mask market is witnessing a traction in demand from the healthcare segment. The segment is expected to witness a high CAGR of over 11%, during 2019-2025 and has witnessed market value worth over $11 billion only in 2020 due to COVID-19 outbreak. Respiratory face mask is witnessing high demand with increasing consumption of face mask for healthcare personal. The unit shipment for respiratory mask is expected to reach 3 billion units by 2025, among which N95 respiratory mask in expected to contribute over 1 billion units. With over 60% of the market shipments coming from the North America and Europe , the vendors must look upon new markets to expand. Further, vendors should look upon innovative strategies and focus on rising hygiene concern after the outbreak of novel coronavirus to boost sales in other markets. With the increasing adaption for face mask for personal use, the reusable face masks are witnessing high demand with market value expecting to reach around $170 million by 2025. Key Offerings: Market Size & Forecast by Revenue | 20192025 Market Dynamics Leading trends, growth drivers, restraints, and investment opportunities Market Segmentation A detailed analysis by product, nature, end-users, distribution, and geography Competitive Landscape 7 key vendors and 30 other vendors Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/face-mask-market Face Mask Market Segmentation The demand for surgical aids and equipment has increased with the adoption of new surgical practices in the medical field. The presence of dedicated surgical centers in healthcare centers has also given an impetus to the growth. Furthermore, surgical masks are witnessing significant growth demand majorly because of their affordability and availability in the market. The reusable face mask market is witnessing high demand across the globe with the continuous spread of the pandemic COVID-19. With the outbreak, consumer spending on healthcare products has shown a significant rise. The use of reusable masks by the general population would significantly reduce plastic waste. The penetration of protective equipment in hospitals is estimated to witness growth, considering the prevalence of hospital-acquired infections globally. Several health authorities are making compulsory to wear face masks in hospitals, especially after the outbreak of Coronavirus as healthcare facilities come under high-risk zones. Face Mask Market by Products Respiratory N95 KN95 FFP2 & FFP3 P95 & R95 Others Surgical 3-PLY 4-PLY 5-PLY Others Cloth Face Mask Market by Nature Reusable Disposable Face Mask Market by End-user Healthcare Industrial Individual Government & Others Face Mask Market by Distribution Direct Distribution Indirect Distribution Wholesalers & Distributors Supermarkets & Hypermarkets Drug Stores Other Retail Stores Online Face Mask Market Geography In terms of volume, North America is expected to lead the market, reaching unit shipment of over 3.4 billion by 2025. The growth in the region is mainly attributed to the increasing incidence of several acute and chronic diseases such as CVDs, cancer, diabetes, and pneumonia. The surge in surgeries, the availability of advanced healthcare infrastructure, and increasing concerns of safety and hygiene practices are the major factors contributing to the market growth. Get your sample today! https://www.arizton.com/market-reports/face-mask-market By Geography North America US Canada Europe UK Germany France Spain Italy APAC China Japan South Korea Australia India Latin America Brazil Mexico Argentina Middle East & Africa Saudi Arabia Turkey South Africa Iran Prominent Vendors The 3M Company Company Cardinal Health Honeywell International Kimberly-Clark Molnlycke Health Care Owens & Minor Prestige Ameritech Other Prominent Vendors AERO PRO Alpha Pro Tech Ansell ASID BONZ BERNER International ClearMask COMED Crosstex International DACH Schutzbekleidung Dynarex ERENLER MEDIKAL HONG KONG MEDI MEDI Intco Medical Kowa Company Medibase Makrite Med-Con Medi Dent Disposable International Moldex Medicom Medline Industries Mexpo International Narang Medical Neomedic RAYS Safe'N'Clear TROGE MEDICAL Trimpeks Wujiang Evergreen EX/IM Yeakn Protecting Products Explore our healthcare & lifesciences profile to know more about the industry. Read some of the top-selling reports: About Arizton: Arizton Advisory and Intelligence is an innovation and quality-driven firm, which offers cutting-edge research solutions to clients across the world. We excel in providing comprehensive market intelligence reports and advisory and consulting services. We offer comprehensive market research reports on industries such as consumer goods & retail technology, automotive and mobility, smart tech, healthcare, and life sciences, industrial machinery, chemicals and materials, IT and media, logistics and packaging. These reports contain detailed industry analysis, market size, share, growth drivers, and trend forecasts. Arizton comprises a team of exuberant and well-experienced analysts who have mastered in generating incisive reports. Our specialist analysts possess exemplary skills in market research. We train our team in advanced research practices, techniques, and ethics to outperform in fabricating impregnable research reports. Mail: [email protected] Call: +1-312-235-2040 +1-302-469-0707 SOURCE Arizton Advisory & Intelligence Rapper Kanye West holds his first rally in support of his presidential bid in North Charleston (Reuters) - Rapper Kanye West posted a series of tweets late on Monday claiming his wife was trying to have him locked up on medical grounds, comparing himself to Nelson Mandela and suggesting the movie "Get Out" was based on his own life. The late night flurry of activity on West's official Twitter account - the bulk of which was deleted a few hours later - came a day after he launched his U.S. presidential campaign with a rambling rally in Charleston, South Carolina. At that event, he tearfully referenced a decision he said he made with wife Kim Kardashian not to abort a pregnancy. "Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday," West said in one of the tweets that was later deleted. "If I get locked up like Mandela Yall will know why," he wrote in another tweet, also subsequently deleted, referencing the man who became South Africa's first Black president after being imprisoned for nearly three decades under apartheid. In other tweets, later deleted, West appealed directly to Kardashian and her mother, Kris Jenner, to contact him at his ranch in Wyoming. West's record company UMusic and a representative for Kardashian and Jenner did not immediately respond to emails seeking comment. West, 43, a former supporter of President Donald Trump, has left voters befuddled over whether his campaign is genuine or a publicity stunt to help sell albums or merchandise. He later tweeted that his new album, DONDA, would be released on Friday. West referenced "Get Out", a horror film about race relations, in a few of the tweets: "Everybody knows the movie get out is about me." Several Twitter followers asked the rapper if he was well. In response to a tweet asking him to "Save Kanye", Tesla Inc Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk tweeted: "We talked about an hour ago. He seems fine." Musk earlier this month tweeted his support for West's presidential bid. (Reporting By Jane Wardell and Rama Venkat; Editing by Nick Tattersall) NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Global eSIM Market size is expected to reach $19.2 billion by 2026, rising at a market growth of 17% CAGR during the forecast period. Embedded Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM), also known as the Embedded Universal Integrated Circuit Card (eUICC), is a reprogrammable chip that is made available across the market either in soldered or in a removable form. It is a small chip which is used to authenticate the identity of the user with his carrier. ESIM is smart in terms of functions as it supports multiple accounts, enables switching to different mobile network operators (MNOs), and manages accounts simply by updating the user's mobile phone software settings. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05933126/?utm_source=PRN With the gradual growth of smart connected devices in every vertical market, the need for unified, scalable network-based devices is increasingly growing. The need for remote connectivity to manage devices is increasing. The number of smart system vendors is growing increasingly to support this need. ESIMs are becoming increasingly popular, as they enable users to manage all connected devices from remote locations, including cars, mobile phones, wearables, medical devices and others. ESIMs are becoming increasingly common with manufacturers of smart devices, as these SIMs have both 'Machine to Machine' capabilities and remote provisioning. It is also expected that the global eSIM market will be fueled by the growing adoption of these SIMs by leading mobile manufacturers including Google and Apple. Manufacturers of smartphones are likely to allow eSIMs to boost their product offerings. On the other hand, users can only pick one profile from every profile at a time. This is a major disadvantage for eSIMs, which restrains market growth. Also, being a sophisticated technological evolution, the compatibility, connectivity and other issues with different manufacturers' smart devices is also one of the major challenges for eSIM market growth. Based on Application, the market is segmented into M2M and Consumer Electronics. M2M type is further classified into Automotive, Energy & Utilities and Others. Based on Solution, the market is segmented into Connectivity Services and Hardware. Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa. The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnerships and Product Launches. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix, Deutsche Telekom AG, Telefonica S.A., and Singapore Telecommunications Limited are the forerunners in the eSIM Market. Companies such as STMicroelectronics N.V., Thales Group S.A., Infineon Technologies AG, Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, Sierra Wireless, Inc., NXP Semiconductors N.V., and NTT Data Corporation are some of the key innovators in the market. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Thales Group S.A. (Gemalto NV), Infineon Technologies AG, NXP Semiconductors N.V., STMicroelectronics N.V., Telefonica S.A., NTT Data Corporation, Giesecke & Devrient GmbH, Deutsche Telekom AG, Singapore Telecommunications Limited, Sierra Wireless, Inc. Recent strategies deployed in eSIM Market Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements: May-2020: Thales announced its collaboration with Google Cloud for expanding its eSIM Management Solution. Under this collaboration, Thales would use Google Cloud technology for providing highly secure and scalable activation of eSIM (embedded SIM) capable devices. Thales deployed the world's first GSMA-certified eSIM activation solution on Google Cloud. This solution offers telecom operators secure and highly scalable support to manage increases in mobile subscriptions for eSIM-capable devices. Mar-2020: STMicroelectronics collaborated with Truphone, a GSMA accredited global mobile network that operates its service internationally. The collaboration was aimed to launch a full-stack embedded SIM (eSIM) infrastructure solution. This solution was compliant with GSMA Machine-to-Machine (M2M) standards for Industrial IoT and automotive customers. Oct-2019: Deutsche Telekom came into partnership with COMPRION, a leader in smart card compliance. The partnership was focused on developing a test system for the nuSIM initiative. COMPRION was aimed to provide test system expertise for developing qualification and functional certification program for single entities in the nuSIM ecosystem. nuSIM is a strictly optimized integrated SIM solution that would bring several new attributes to the IoT value chain, e.g. significant cost reduction, space savings, and increased overall simplicity. Jul-2019: Deutsche Telekom collaborated with IDEMIA, a provider of security and identity solutions. Deutsche Telekom selected IDEMIA's solution to ramp up its efforts to accelerate the launch of eSIM-enabled devices in its European affiliates. IDEMIA's Smart Connect Entitlement ensured Deutsche Telekom will always have the very latest OEM specifications to support smartphones, wearables, and tablets on a cost-effective and easy to deploy platform. May-2019: Infineon signed an agreement with Arrow Electronics and Arkessa. This agreement extended Arrow's ability for supporting customers with cellular communications for the Internet of Things (IoT). In this agreement, Infineon aimed to provide the secured hardware controllers based on GSMA's Embedded Subscriber Identity Module (eSIM) specification that underpin the new service whereas Arkessa was focused on providing secured mobile data services with the ability to provide and manage IoT devices from the factory into the field easily and effectively. Feb-2019: STMicroelectronics teamed up with Sequans Communications, a company that markets integrated circuits for 4G mobile phone technology. The collaboration was aimed to bring LTE for IoT connectivity to the MCU ecosystem and accelerate its adoption. Following this collaboration, the companies have developed a dedicated cellular extension board for STM32 Discovery kits based on Sequans' Monarch LTE-M/NB-IoT technology. ST also enlarged its STM32CUBE cellular software library to support Sequans' existing Monarch-based module, GM01Q. The kit includes a switchable SIM interface, eSIM, and MicroSIM, a high-performance antenna for frequencies between 700 MHz 2100 MHz, and free drivers and code examples. Acquisition and Mergers: Apr-2020: Infineon Technologies acquired Cypress Semiconductor Corporation. The acquisition strengthened Infineon's broader range of applications. Cypress added a differentiated portfolio of microcontrollers, connectivity components, software ecosystems, and high-performance memories. Jan-2020: Sierra Wireless took over the M2M group of companies, a company focused on IoT connectivity services and cellular devices in Australia. The acquisition broadened Sierra Wireless' IoT solutions business in the Asia-Pacific region. Dec-2019: NXP Semiconductors completed the acquisition of Marvell's Wireless Connectivity portfolio. The acquisition enabled NXP to provide complete, scalable processing, and connectivity solutions to the customers across the end markets. Mar-2019: NTT Communications took over Transatel, a global Internet of Things (IoT) cellular connectivity management provider and Mobile Virtual Network Enabler (MVNE). The acquisition enabled NTT to drastically extend its Global IoT solution offering. Sep-2018: NXP took over OmniPHY, a provider of automotive Ethernet subsystem technology. Following the acquisition, the latter company's interface IP and communication technology have been combined with NXP's automotive portfolio. The acquisition enabled NXP to provide secure connections and infrastructure for embedded applications. Product Launches and Product Expansions: Mar-2020: Infineon Technologies extended its embedded SIM (eSIM) portfolio with the launch of OPTIGA Connect eSIM solution for mobile consumer devices. This solution supports all GSMA standards from 3G to 5G and securely authenticates the device to the subscribed carrier network of choice. It is the perfect match for smartphones, tablets, and wearables like smartwatches or fitness trackers. Feb-2020: STMicroelectronics unveiled ST4SIM, a complete ecosystem for securely connecting Industrial IoT (IIoT) and automotive systems to cellular networks. ST4SIM offering includes automotive and industrial-grade embedded SIM (eSIM) SoCs in addition to standard machine-to-machine SIM. Feb-2019: Deutsche Telekom launched nuSIM, a new system. This system provides embedded SIM (eSIM) functions at a price-point suited for low-cost IoT devices. Scope of the Study Market Segmentation: By Application M2M o Automotive o Energy & Utilities o Others Consumer Electronics By Solution Connectivity Services Hardware By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled Thales Group S.A. (Gemalto NV) Infineon Technologies AG NXP Semiconductors N.V. STMicroelectronics N.V. Telefonica S.A. NTT Data Corporation Giesecke & Devrient GmbH Deutsche Telekom AG Singapore Telecommunications Limited Sierra Wireless, Inc. Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05933126/?utm_source=PRN 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. Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links www.reportlinker.com Zimbabwean authorities should immediately release independent investigative journalist Hopewell Chinono and drop the incitement charges against him, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. At about 11 a.m. today, Chinono posted two short messages on his Twitter account, which are no longer available after his account was later deactivated, but which CPJ reviewed at the time, saying that police and security agents were harassing workers on his property and breaking into his home in Harare, the capital. In a livestream on Facebook, he recorded police entering his home. In a video shared on Twitter, Chinonos lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa, said that police had abducted her client without a warrant. This afternoon, Assistant Police Commissioner Paul Nyathi, a police spokesperson, released a statement, which CPJ reviewed, announcing that authorities had charged Chinono with incitement to participate in public violence. The detention of investigative journalist Hopewell Chinono is yet another example of Zimbabwes increasing intolerance toward the press and those who expose corruption allegations about the countrys ruling elite, said CPJ Africa Program Coordinator Angela Quintal. Instead of detaining those responsible for stealing public funds, President Emmerson Mnangagwas security forces would rather employ strong-arm tactics to silence the messenger. Hopewell Chinono must be released immediately and allowed to work freely. Chinono, an award-winning journalist who writes for local and international publications, has covered alleged corruption by the government of President Emmerson Mnangagwa in his reporting and on social media, according to media reports . Chinonos reporting on alleged COVID-19 procurement fraud within the countrys Ministry of Health led to the arrest and sacking of Health Minister Obadiah Moyo earlier this month, according to the BBC . Information Ministry spokesperson Nick Mangwana did not answer a call from CPJ or reply to a text via messaging app for comment. He tweeted earlier today that no journalist was above the law. Authorities also charged Jacob Ngarivhume, a member of the opposition Transform Zimbabwe party, with incitement today, according to the police statement. Ngarivhume has been organizing a mass protest against corruption set for later this month, according to news reports. This marks the sixth consecutive year in which the threshold of 10 such extreme events has been reached, and it has been hit earlier this year than any other. It should be kept in mind we havent yet reached the peak activity period for the Atlantic hurricane season, which typically increases later in August, peaks in September and can continue into early October. In 2019, the nation suffered 14 $1 billion-plus disasters . Some of these extreme events have a less definable connection with the mean warming climate. For example, the relationship between tornadoes and climate is complex and not yet well understood. The current consensus is the warming climate may reduce the total number of tornadoes, but increase the number of big days with multiple tornado outbreaks. Warming oceans favor greater intensity more often in hurricanes, but not an increase in the total number of tropical cyclones. We have already seen these trends realized, though more research is needed. This late summer and early autumn are forecast to be more active for hurricanes than average, but greater numbers do not necessarily correlate with more hurricanes making landfall. That remains to be seen later in the summer. European leaders on Tuesday agreed on a massive aid package for their pandemic-ravaged economies, as President Donald Trump changed his tune in favour of face masks as a tool against the coronavirus in the United States. The virus has infected more than 14.6 million people and killed over 600,000 of them since it first emerged in China, with fresh alarm being sounded over its accelerating spread in Africa. With no vaccine yet, countries are trying to combat the coronavirus through measures like social distancing, disinfection drives and face masks. By Jung Yeon-je (AFP) The pandemic has devastated the global economy, and after a fractious summit, European leaders agreed on a rescue package of 750 billion euros ($858 billion) to try and pull their bloc out of a deep recession. "This is a historic change for Europe," said French President Emmanuel Macron, while German Chancellor Angela Merkel expressed relief that the EU had, in her eyes, shown itself equal to "the greatest crisis" in its history. The deadly coronavirus has infected more than 14.6 million people around the world. By PEDRO PARDO (AFP) The package will send tens of billions of euros to countries hit hardest by the virus, most notably heavily indebted Spain and Italy that had lobbied hard for a major gesture from their EU partners. The talks saw strong resistance from some members against sending money to nations they consider too lax with public spending. With even richer nations struggling, experts have warned that the impact would be harshest in poorer regions of the world like Africa. There are fresh concerns about the spread of the coronavirus accelerating in Africa. By RIJASOLO (AFP) There are fresh concerns about the continent, particularly South Africa, where the death toll crossed 5,000 over the weekend. "I am very concerned right now that we are beginning to see an acceleration of disease in Africa," warned the World Health Organization's emergencies chief Michael Ryan. Trump supports face masks With no effective treatment yet, there are few options available to combat the spread of the virus, though they do include face masks -- which Trump and his political allies refused to encourage for months. US President Donald Trump has come out in favor of face masks to fight the coronavirus after refusing to encourage them for months. By Apu GOMES (AFP) But he changed direction on Monday, tweeting a photo of himself wearing a mask with the message: "We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance." "There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!" US authorities are struggling to handle the crisis as infections surge towards four million, with more than 140,000 deaths, and Trump has been slammed for his management of the epidemic. Latin America is one of the regions hardest hit by the pandemic. By Johan ORDONEZ (AFP) The president is scrambling to respond to public anger just over 100 days from the November election, with the human toll rising and the US economy devastated. Tens of millions of Americans have been left jobless, and the extra unemployment benefits keeping some from poverty are set to expire at the end of July. "I'm still struggling to pay the bills and I'm still looking for a job," said Diana Yitbarek, 44, who has been unemployed since April. "And nowadays it's hard to find a job because everything is closed." Vaccine hopes Two studies offered new hope on Monday of a potential vaccine, however. Factfile on interferon beta, hailed as a potential breakthrough in the treatment of COVID-19 according to a study published Monday.. By John SAEKI (AFP) One trial among more than 1,000 adults in Britain found that a vaccine induced "strong antibody and T cell immune responses" against the coronavirus. A separate trial in China involving more than 500 people showed most had developed widespread antibody immune response. An effective vaccine is considered key for a return to normality, particularly for travel and large religious gatherings like the Hajj. The massive annual Islamic pilgrimage has been dramatically scaled down by Saudi authorities this year to around 1,000 compared with the usual 2.5 million people. Until a vaccine is developed, many fear they will have to balance the COVID-19 risk with the need to make ends meet. "We have to learn to live with the virus," said Daniel Bailo, a vendor at a hiking and fishing store in Argentina's capital Buenos Aires. "If we don't, the economic damage will be worse than the damage caused by the virus." burs-qan/amj Free school meal vouchers extended over summer The Manx Government is planning to extend its Free School Meal Voucher Scheme to help eligible families during the school holiday this summer. The scheme was introduced in April to help parents provide meals for their children when schools were closed due to the global pandemic. Although restrictions have since been lifted and the vast majority of children are back in full-time education, the Isle of Man Government, subject to Tynwald approval, will extend the scheme to those eligible until 5 September 2020. The scheme will not continue beyond the summer and only those who already qualify for free school meals on the Isle of Man will be eligible. When schools closed to most pupils on 23 March the Isle of Man Government remained committed to providing free school meals to all eligible children. Due to self-isolation and travel restrictions a voucher scheme was quickly developed to help families buy groceries. The six-week extension will mean eligible parents continue to receive a fortnightly voucher - equivalent in value to 10 free school meals. The value of the vouchers will be 23.00 for each primary school child and 29.00 for each secondary school child. They can be used at approved food retailers and as before can only be used to buy groceries, excluding alcohol, lottery tickets, tobacco and non-food products. The vouchers will expire at the end of each fortnightly period and are not valid for in-store concessions. The scheme is only available to parents of children eligible for free school meals. Materialization of the distribution contract with KICo First surgeries expected in August New growth driver in the United States Regulatory News: IMPLANET (Paris:ALIMP) (Euronext Growth: ALIMP, FR0013470168, eligible for PEA-PME equity savings plans), a medical technology company specializing in vertebral and knee-surgery implants, announces the marketing of its MADISON total knee replacement implants in the United States has begun. Ludovic Lastennet, CEO of IMPLANET, and Bede O'Connor, Managing Director and Founder of KICo, comment: "We are delighted to have achieved this major milestone of our partnership. Together, we have been able to complete the various stages enabling us to announce today the availability of the first MADISON knee implants in the United States. Aware of the quality of the prosthesis and the commercial potential of the North American market, we are eager to realize the first surgical operations in August. The United States, the world's largest market with more than 760,000 primary knee operations a year, is a market worth close to 4 billion dollars Further to the contract signed with KICo for the distribution of the MADISON knee implant and the FDA 510(k) clearance received in October 2019 for its cemented version, IMPLANET has delivered the first shipments to address the North American market. This partnership covers the United States and Australia and, once the threshold of 1,000 MADISON implants distributed over a 12- month period is reached, KICo will gain distribution rights for the MADISON knee prosthesis for these countries as well as an option for a manufacturing license. The MADISON knee will be distributed by the KICo team in the United Sates, one of the most active areas in orthopedic surgery. The first surgeries are expected to take place in August and will further substantiate the added value of this partnership. IMPLANET is thus confirmed as one of the main manufacturers in the sector to be approved by the FDA for a knee prosthesis. Upcoming financial events: H1 2020 results , September 15, 2020 after market close , after market close Q3 2020 revenue, October 13, 2020 after market close About Implanet Founded in 2007, Implanet is a medical technology company that manufactures high-quality implants for orthopedic surgery. Its activity revolves around two product ranges, the latest generation JAZZ implant, designed to improve the treatment of spinal pathologies requiring vertebral fusion surgery, and the MADISON implant designed for first-line prosthetic knee surgery. Implanet's tried-and-tested orthopedic platform is based on product traceability. Protected by four families of international patents, JAZZ and MADISON have obtained 510(k) regulatory clearance from the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States, the CE mark as well as the ANVISA authorization in Brazil. Implanet employs 36 staff and recorded 2019 sales of 7.4 million. For further information, please visit www.implanet.com. Based near Bordeaux in France, Implanet established a US subsidiary in Boston in 2013. Implanet is listed on Euronext Growth market in Paris. The Company would like to remind that the table for monitoring the equity line (OCA, OCAPI, BSA) and the number of shares outstanding, is available on its website: http://www.implanet-invest.com/suivi-des-actions-80 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005618/en/ Contacts: IMPLANET Ludovic Lastennet, CEO David Dieumegard, CFO Tel.: +33(0)5 57 99 55 55 investors@Implanet.com NewCap Investor Relations Sandrine Boussard-Gallien Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 implanet@newcap.eu NewCap Media Relations Nicolas Merigeau Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 implanet@newcap.eu A former teacher at one of Perths most prestigious all-girls schools is facing further charges relating to the historic sexual assault of a teenage girl. Former Penrhos College teacher Harry Schmitz, 68, is alleged to have sexually assaulted the girl between 1983 and 1985. The abuse is alleged to have started when the student was 15 years old. The Mosman Park man was charged with one count of rape earlier this month. A former colleague of Mr Schmitz', Jay Walsh, 72, was also charged over an alleged sexual assault on two teenagers between 1982 and 1986. After a test to identify Covid-19 antibodies in a randomly chosen sample of 21,387 across Delhis 11 districts shows that almost one in every four residents of the city has antibodies, indicating exposure to the virus , the Delhi government said it will consult medical experts to assess whether the Capital needs a change in its Covid-19 strategy. Antibody tests are conducted to assess prevalence; the presence of antibodies in people indicates that they have at least short-term immunity against the disease. The survey, conducted in Delhi between June 27 and July 10, was aimed to determine the extent of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19)s spread in the city. Interestingly, the number of daily new cases in Delhi started declining from around the end of June and at least some experts believe that the worst is behind the Capital. Responding to the survey results released by the Union ministry of health and family welfare on Tuesday, the Delhi government said the Covid-19 situation in the Capital has improved . It said the daily new cases now have come down to around 1,300 and that at the time of the survey, more than 2,000 new cases were being added every day. The results of the sero-prevalence study conducted by NCDC in Delhi show that on an average, across Delhi, the prevalence of IgG (Immunoglobulin G) antibodies is 23.48% in the population. This captures the state of recovery from Covid-19 infection in mid-June, which is a month ago. We will consult with public health experts and epidemiologists to determine if the future course of Delhis strategy against Covid-19 should change in light of these survey results or not, Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwals office said in a statement. To be sure, the 23.48% prevalence is still lower than the 60% or 43% required for herd immunity (based on various studies). When a certain proportion of the population is exposed to the virus and has antibodies, the infection cant travel very far before encountering someone immune to it -- thereby breaking the chain. This is called herd immunity. The governments current Covid-19 strategy is focused on testing and isolating. Delhi has tested 43,708 people per million of its population till Tuesday as per the delhifightscorona web portal. These tests are a combination of RT-PCR confirmatory tests, rapid antigen tests which are quicker in terms of its results but are non-confirmatory and CBNAAT and TrueNAT tests. Google Assistant's camera translation feature is now available on devices running KaiOS. Google Assistant on KaiOS now supports camera-based translations for feature phone users in India. This is available in English and Indian languages including Hindi, Bengali, Marathi, Telugu and Tamil. The Google Assistant integration in Google Lens was first launched in I/O 2019. With the Google Lens app, users can point the camera at text and have it translated to over 100 languages. Google Lens can also speak the words out loud in any of the languages available. This feature was later rolled out to Google Go for Android Go devices. This feature is now available for devices running KaiOS. To use this feature, users need to open Google Assistant on any of these KaiOS devices. Then select Camera Translate and tap on the camera icon and point it to any text for translation. Users can also press the right soft key once within Assistant. This works best with visuals like product label, street sign, or document. Google Assistant camera translation on KaiOS. (Google) Google Assistant will then list out the translated text in different languages. Users can swipe through and check the text translated. For Assistant to read out the text, just tap on the voice icon below. This feature currently supports six languages including English. Google plans to add support for more languages like Kannada and Gujarati. ALSO READ: Sundar Pichai announces Google for India Digitization Fund worth 75,000 crore In India, KaiOS runs on the JioPhone 2, JioPhone and the Nokia 8110 4G. Google has previously added features like voice typing on KaiOS, voice-based language selection and support for Indian languages. * Update, 2:45 p.m. Tuesday: Make that three local college campuses. While I was looking for something else this afternoon, I found coverage of his 2018 visit to Bennett College, where he encouraged students to register and vote. I didn't cover his talk, but here's a short story on the Bennett website Staff writer John Newsom covers higher education for the News & Record of Greensboro and the Winston-Salem Journal. Have something to say about this blog post? Email him at john.newsom@greensboro.com. You can also follow him on Twitter at @JohnNewsomNR. Support his coverage of higher education. Click here and here to learn about digital subscriptions the News & Record and the Journal. Commentary Sino-US War of Words in Myanmar a Test of Naypyitaws Allegiances President U Win Myint (second from left), State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi and Chinese President Xi Jinping (left) attend a ceremony to mark the 70th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Myanmar and China and the launch of the Myanmar-China Bilateral Cultural and Tourism Year in Naypyitaw on Jan. 17. / Myanmar Presidents Office The ongoing war of words between the Chinese and US embassies in Myanmar is reminiscent of the Cold War period. Or does it signal the start of a new Cold War in Myanmar? If so, we can expect (and should prepare ourselves for) proxy warfare and more conflict in the future. It is expected that tensions will only increase between the US and China over Myanmar, particularly regarding the issue of the erosion of sovereignty. The fact is, China is not popular in Myanmar, but high-ranking officials in Naypyitaw were nonetheless alarmed by the barrage of attacks between the two embassies, so it should come as no surprise if we see a statement from the government in state-run newspapers soon. It would be bizarre if no statement were issued; Myanmar is an independent nation and its sovereignty should not be compromised and must be respected. It is foolish to expect Myanmar to take sides. It is not a major power and will therefore continue to pursue a neutral foreign policy. This will not please some countries, including the US and China. Maintaining this delicate position will no doubt only raise more suspicion on the Chinese side, since Sino-Myanmar relations have never been straightforward. Neutral foreign policy In October 2019, in an interview with Nikkei Asian Review, State Counselor Daw Aung San Suu Kyi said, Our country has maintained a very neutral and, in my opinion, a very commonsensical foreign policy ever since we became independent. [Because] we are a small nation, not yet developed, we [were] never at the stage where we were able to call the shots, as it were. A few weeks after coming to power, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi received the first high-ranking Chinese officials to visit her office. She is fully aware of Chinese concerns and apprehension over growing Western influence. The truth is, she owes both the Chinese and the US. President Xi Jinping invited her to Beijing when she was opposition leader in 2015. It was a strong indication that Beijing was betting on her role in the countries future relationship. On the other hand, the US earlier played a crucial role in campaigning for her release from house arrest, and supporting the democracy movement in Myanmar. So it is safe to say that both the US and China have invested in Aung San Suu Kyi and the political transition in Myanmar, and they expect a return. On China, dealing with Myanmars giant neighbor will never be straightforward. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi once said that ties between neighbors are always more delicate than those between countries far apart. Indeed, prior to the current spat, there were warnings from China. The Global Times, a mouthpiece of the Communist Party of China, published an article a few days after Daw Aung San Suu Kyis party came to power saying that closer ties with the US at the expense of Chinese strategic interests would not serve Myanmars long-term interests. The message to her government was clear: Dont mess with China. Bertil Lintner, the author of several books on Myanmar and on China-India relations, commented that regardless of who has been in power in Myanmar, neutrality has always been a cornerstone of Myanmars foreign policy since its independence. That is not surprising, he said, because Myanmar is squeezed between two Asian giants which are also regional rivals: China and Indiaand then, in the east, Thailand, which at least in the past was seen as a Western ally. The cooked duck flew out of the window Myanmar leaders, whether in civilian clothes or in uniform, will continue to play it safe with China. In the past, Myanmars heavy reliance on China led to discontent among the population. Regime leaders including retired Senior General Than Shwe thought about distancing Myanmar from China and discussed ways of reducing its heavy reliance on the country. By holding the election in 2010 and introducing a range of political reforms, his hope was that Myanmar would re-enter the international community and shed its pariah status. Under President Thein Sein, a former military general dubbed a reformer, the country improved its relations with the West, including the US. Myanmar people generally celebrated the improving US-Myanmar relationship and welcomed the lifting of US sanctions. Acknowledging the reforms and the opening of the country, President Barack Obama visited Myanmar twice. This rapid fostering of relations between Myanmar and the US surprised and upset the Chinese. Events in Myanmar, on Chinas doorstep, were a real strategic setback. Under U Thein Sein administration, we saw the decline of Chinese influence. Dr. Aung Myoe, a lecturer at the International University of Japan and author of several books on Myanmar, argues that Myanmars foreign policy under President Thein Sein was a realignment, not a wholesale rebalancing in favor of the West, saying the country remained heavily dependent upon China. Yun Sun, a China expert at the Stimson Center in Washington, said Chinese policy experts even referred to the developments at that time with a proverb: The cooked duck flew out of the window. Then we witnessed Chinas attempts to catch that cooked duck and put it back in the bowlin other words, to regain its foothold on the ground in Myanmar. Since Aung San Suu Kyi came to power, China has slowly done that, regaining the upper hand in Myanmar. Realignment sidelined Dr. Aung Myoe believes that under the current administration the re-alignment policy has been sidelined, as the NLD government has grown more conciliatory toward China. Moreover, there is no policy coordination between the government and the military. Under the U Thein Sein administration, the military went along with the governments policy. Daw Aung San Suu Kyi is counting on China to play a role in the peace process in Myanmar. She has asked President Xi to assist Myanmar in this regard. But Myanmars military leaders have expressed concern over Chinas continuing assistance to, and arming of, rebels along the China-Myanmar border. Now the peace process is in complete disarray. Nonetheless, to Myanmar, China remains an important ally. On the Rohingya issue, the government needs China because of its political clout on the UN Security Council. But can Myanmar maintain an equal distance from China and the US? The trouble is, neither a neutral foreign policy nor a nonaligned policy is cost-free. Drawing lessons from the past, the Chinese wont completely trust Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, either. Political observers believe that in general, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi has adopted a cautious approach toward the Chinese. Her administration, well aware of the growing anti-China sentiment in Myanmar over several controversial Chinese projects and on the issue of sovereignty, successfully renegotiated the Kyaukphyu SEZ (special economic zone) agreement. Government officials said there is no risk of a debt trap under the new agreement terms. She has also been unusually vague on the controversial Myitsone Dam issue since coming to power, and the fate of the suspended hydropower project remains unresolved. Understandably, she is not going to stir up the hornets nest on that issue. Moreover, during President Xis visit to Myanmar in January there were no major economic agreements to accelerate the multi-billion-dollar China-Myanmar Economic Corridor signed between the two governments. For now, Beijing should follow Myanmars go-slow approach to Chinas proposed major economic projects. The fact is, Myanmar is weak and unstable, and this is exactly what China wants to see. There is not much Myanmar can do to change Chinas view, its bullying attitude or its efforts to expand its power and influence by buying all groups, including armed groups. Today, China has expanded its power and influence over Myanmar. It continues to expand its sway among ethnic armed groups in the north and support rebels in Rakhine and along the India-Myanmar border. Over the decades, Chinese and Myanmar officials have customarily praised the bilateral Pauk-Phaw (kinship or sibling) friendship, but in reality this friendship is, it seems, built on Myanmars fear of Big Brother China, which has interfered in Myanmars affairs in the past and continues to do so. Chinese clouds on the northern frontier China cant ask the US to leave Myanmar, but at the very least, it wont allow Western influence to spread to the Chinese border. (If Myanmar is to be divided economically speaking, the West, along with Japan, will take over the South.) David Mathieson, an independent analyst on Myanmar, commented, Beijing is determined to transform northern Burma [Myanmar] into the spittoon of Yunnan, and has no interest in real peace and people-centric development. It is true. Except for the Kachin Independence Army (KIA), almost all of the armed groups on the northern frontier are in Chinas pocket. Mathieson added, The Chinese embassy response was shrill and bizarre, I think theyre rattled that the US spoke so strongly. They know how unpopular they are in Burma. But its the people of northern Burma who will really suffer the most [in] this new Cold War: the Chinese have already staked a claim to Kachin and northern Shan State and dont want the West anywhere near their sphere of influence. Thats what people in Burma should be more worried about than American bluster. So what about the US? Can Myanmar effectively reply to the US while it is under Trump? Lintner said, The United States, though, is far away and cannot do more than issue statements which are bound to upset the Chinese. On the other hand, the Swedish journalist and regional expert said, China has the means to interfere in Myanmars internal affairs in many ways: economically, politically and through its close ties with a number of ethnic armed organizations. Mathieson expressed doubt over the USs role in Myanmar. He said, US promises of solidarity to Burma can no longer be trusted. The fact is America is now a diminished and disreputable power, and has a track record of betraying its supposed friends when it suits Washington. The days of the US forging a deep partnership with Burma based on human rights, democracy and development are over. Indeed, Myanmar is not moving away from China but forging more friends and allies in the region, hoping to counterbalance Chinese influence. Myanmar should continue to develop its friendships with Japan, India, South Korea and the countries of Southeast Asia. Lintner commented on the US, Given the present administrations seemingly erratic foreign policies, Washingtons commitment to Asia is also in doubt. If Myanmar wants to balance its relations with the immediate region and the outside world, I believe it would be better to do that by fostering closer relations with regional powers such as Japan and India. So how should we interpret the recent outburst between China and the US on Myanmar soil? Is it a sign that Myanmar is unable to manage relations with its old and new friends simultaneously? Or is it a failure of the realignment policy? Whatever the case, the signs are ominous. You may also like these stories: Mired in Inequality and Laid Low by the Virus, the US Offers Little to Emulate What Do We Want a Post-Pandemic Myanmar to Look Like? The world is massive, and even though most of the places and tourist spots are accessible, there are those that have not been visited yet. From desert islands with extreme conditions similar to Mars to a mountain in the Himalayas that have not been conquered yet, here are some of the unexplored places on Earth. Pitcairn Island Located 3,300 miles from New Zealand is Pitcairn Island. It is said that no plane or helicopter has ever landed on the island. To reach the island, you will need to go on a 32-hour yacht ride from Auckland. The Pitcairn Island is a British Overseas Territory, and even though it is far away from the mainland, it still has its government located in New Zealand. As of 2018, there are only 50 people who live on the island, making it one of the least-populated islands in the world. A photographer who went to the island told Insider that when the residents of the island need medical care, they need to go to Fiji or New Zealand, and they can't return to the island for weeks, or sometimes even months. Also Read: Billions of People Could Live in Inhabitable Hot Areas by 2070 Southern Namib The Southern Namib is part of the Namib Desert. It is one of the driest deserts on Earth, and it has not been touched by tourists. The desert, located in Africa, is said to be one of the oldest deserts in the whole world and dates back millions of years ago. According to the World Wildlife Fund, the Southern Namib region is largely unexplored and it does not have much vegetation. Surtsey Surtsey is an island found in Iceland. The volcanic island is not open for tourists but it is open for scientists and researchers. The island was formed from volcanic eruptions that happened between 1963 and 1997, according to the reports of UNESCO. According to Atlas Obscura, the island has only been open to highly trained scientists. The island is free from human interference. Son Doong Cave The Son Doong Cave is located in Vietnam's Nha-Ke Bang National Park. The cave was formed 3 million years ago, which makes it a witness to prehistoric times. It was first discovered in 1990, but the coordinates were lost. It was again found in 2008 when the British Caving Research Association discovered it, according to CNN. Named as the world's largest natural cave, Son Doong is believed to have been 3 million years old. In 2013, the cave was opened for tourists. North Sentinel Island The North Sentinel Island has remained untouched. It is part of the Andaman Islands in the Indian Ocean. The residents of the islands, the Sentinelese, are a tribe of indigenous people. They are believed to live on the island. In 2018, the island received attention from the media when an American missionary was said to have been killed by the tribe while he was on the island for a religious mission. Vale do Javari The Vale do Javari is an isolated village near the border in Brazil. The Amazonian village is between Brazil and Peru. In 2018, a Brazilian government agency known as FUNAI released a video that showed the aerial view of the tribe in Vale do Javari. The video was shared by The New York Times, and it contained the first-ever look at the tribe. The tribe has no contact with the outside world. Related Article: Top Travel Gadgets Every Techie Traveler Needs to Have @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 10:26:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BUENOS AIRES, July 20 (Xinhua) -- China's economic rebound is a reflection of the country's success in controlling the COVID-19 outbreak and supporting its industrial sector, said Argentine analysts. Lucas Gualda, an advisor to the Argentine Senate, said the 3.2-percent growth in China's gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter (Q2) signals "the Asian country is returning to normality." The growth was attributed to the government's enormous backing for the industrial sector, large-scale credit program, and fiscal relief for both business owners and consumers, he said. "China today is flourishing due to the push from its public and private sectors. Although it was decided during the 'two sessions' not to set a growth target, they do focus on fighting poverty and preventing the pandemic from leading to job losses," said Gualda. Santiago Bustelo, researcher at the Center for Argentina-China Studies at the University of Buenos Aires, said "China's economic performance (in Q2) is based primarily on its effective control of the virus," which allows economic activities to resume rapidly. "With the majority of activities returning to normal in China, the consumer market is starting up again and, along with it, industrial production. At the same time, it is worth noting the good performance of exports, a factor that has had a positive impact on the economic recovery," said Bustelo. Overall, "these figures reinforce the view that the Chinese economy is having a better recovery than expected," added Bustelo, who is also a doctoral candidate in international politics at Shanghai's Fudan University. "China is undoubtedly the first country to show clear signs of economic recovery following the COVID-19 pandemic," he added. China's value-added industrial output also went up by 4.4 percent year-on-year in Q2 as factories stepped up production amid COVID-19 control. "The factories get the proper support to withstand the effects of the lockdown," said Gualda. In addition, the Chinese government "is cooperating with factories and consumers to facilitate access to credit and tax cuts, which leave more money in their pockets," said the analyst. While sales at retail stores are still lagging, "there has been huge growth in online sales," Gualda added. Bustelo said market players are showing their confidence in China's economy. Noting the rise of Shanghai Composite Index in recent weeks, Bustelo said "China will be one of the engines of the post-pandemic global economic recovery." Enditem Fort Bend ISD officials should plan ahead for the potential for extensive COVID-19 outbreaks when schools re-open, a panel of medical officials that included Fort Bend County Health and Human Services Director Dr. Jacqueline Minter, told trustees at a virtual school board meeting Monday, July 20. Minter said it was likely the schools would have a situation similar to the area day cares. When the day cares opened, immediately we saw (infection) clusters. Currently, we have about 32 outbreaks we have logged, Minter said and told trustees each daycare had to quarantine entire classrooms and teachers for 14 days. Even worse, five Fort Bend County daycares had to close the entire facilities because of extensive outbreaks. With the level of disease that we have in our community currently, its a given thats (outbreaks) are going to occur. Dr. Kabir Rezvankhoo of Houston Methodist Specialty Physician Group in Sugar Land said he did a walk-through of Anne Sullivan Elementary School to evaluate infection control measures. There is much that needs to be fixed for you to be able to open the school, he said and talked about the changes hospitals had to make to their facilities for infection control. You cant just have this laissez faire plan for these schools especially when were in this hot pocket area of COVID-19 infections, he said. As a scientific measure, Dr. Kabir recommended using the point when there was the lowest positivity rate in the community as the time frame goal and then opening up schools very slowly. Related: Fort Bend County hospitals battle COVID-19 as ICU units near capacity When asked about the proper safety measures, Dr. Sapna Singh, a pediatrician representing the Fort Bend Medical Society said testing kits for children were difficult to procure at times and the results for any kind of testing could take weeks currently, which creates unsafe conditions for re-opening schools. She also voiced concerns about limited hospital capacity in the area and limited ability for contact tracing. At this time with this amount of uncontrolled community spread, theres no amount of hand sanitizer, masking up, isolating, social distancing, temperature checks, screening at the front door that can prevent a teacher who is asymptomatic, who does not know theyve been exposed, from coming into a classroom and potentially developing symptoms two or three days from now, she said and urged district officials to plan ahead for outbreaks. What is the structure for handling the consequences of these interactions? Will the entire class be quarantined? Will they be gone for 14 days? Will every one of her teachers contacts be required to quarantine? Related: Fort Bend ISD superintendent gives new TEA guidelines low marks As a pediatrician and a mom, I want everybodys children back (in school), but we cannot do that without knowing that we do it in a way thats safe and that were equipped to handle the consequences of getting the kids back in the schools and the teachers and staff that will go with them. This virus has created a situation of having no symptoms to being on a ventilator and dying within two days, she warned. Related: COVID-19: Fort Bend County advances to risk level 'red' Fort Bend ISD students will return to school for online classes for the first four weeks starting Aug. 12 with the option for trustees to approve another four weeks if the number of COVID-19 infections remain high, superintendent Charles Dupre told trustees. knix@hcnonline.com Police in Quebec believe they have found the body of a man whose daughters were the subjects of an Amber Alert and were later found dead. Surete du Quebec officers had been searching for Martin Carpentier, 44, since they issued an Amber Alert for his daughters Norah, 11, and Romy, 6, on July 9. The girls lifeless bodies were found on July 11 in the woods near St-Apollinaire. Following information received from a citizen, the body of a man was found in the St-Apollinaire area around 7 p.m., police tweeted in French on Monday evening. Everything suggests that it is Martin Carpentier. According to initial findings, he took his own life. Carpentiers remains were discovered on the same day as Norah and Romys funeral. Anik Lamirande, spokesperson for the provincial police, said Carpentier, Norah and Romy went missing the night of Wednesday July 8. She said emergency workers were called to the scene of a car crash on a highway near St-Apollinaire, Que., a suburb of Quebec City. The car was heading east and for unknown reasons, skidded into the median, flipped over and landed on the shoulder of the westbound portion of the highway, Lamirande said in an interview. But when emergency workers arrived at the scene, no one was in the car, Lamirande said. Quebec police issued an Amber Alert for Norah and Romy, as well as their 44-year-old father the following day, on Thursday, July 9. Police suspected Carpentier abducted them. The bodies of Norah and Romy were found in the woods July 11 in St-Apollinaire. The search turned into a manhunt after their bodies were found. Police then intensified their search for Carpentier. Police deployed an intensive ground-search for Carpentier in St-Apollinaire, using canine units, ATVs and wildlife departments. Police reported that Carpentier stole items from a trailer, and so residents were told to request a police escort to search their shacks, garages, and cabins, as it was suspected he would try to break-in to find tools to help him survive. Police also looked into tips located in the towns of St-Agapit and Laurier-Station, but the search was mainly held in the 35-km forest in the southwestern region of Quebec. The search carried on like this for 10 days until the province announced they were changing their tactics. Since July 8, the date on which we found Martin Carpentiers damaged vehicle, we have received, processed, validated and analyzed more than 1,000 reports, police had said. We have searched over 700 addresses, outbuildings, cottages and other places to locate or find clues. Police said they would redeploy their resources without adding any additional information. On Monday, the funeral for Norah and Romy was held in their hometown of Levis, Que. It was limited to family due to COVID-19 concerns, but hundreds gathered in the parking lot to watch the ceremony on giant screens. Their mother, Amelie Lemieux, said they had pure and gentle souls. Even if I didnt have enough time by your side, I will continue to cherish, one by one, each memory, photo, video and continue to hear your soft voices call me maman, Lemieux had said at the funeral. Gilles Lehouillier, mayor of Levis, said the city plans to install a plaque honouring the sisters in a park where locals had turned a gazebo into a makeshift memorial after their deaths. Before finding Carpentiers remains, police said it was likely that he would be physically deformed, weakened and hysterical. After 12 days on foot in a dense forest with a lack of necessities, it was unlikely, police said, that Carpentier could survive for an extended period of time. With files from Stephanie Marin and The Canadian Press. It is great having the financial flexibility brought about by innovative mobile applications that allow seamless integration of different platforms. Such features were unheard of in the 90s. But alas, breakthrough technologies have allowed people to transact in real-time, and now, all you need is a mobile phone to replenish your cash. M-Pesa is a renowned mobile money wallet that is part of Kenya's largest telecommunications company, Safaricom. Indeed, their big market share has seen them attract more clients that are looking for seamless ways of transferring money to their mobile money wallets or bank accounts. Do you want to know how to transfer money from M-Pesa to Standard Chartered Bank account? It is an easy and straightforward process. Image: twitter.com, @StanChartKE Source: Twitter In a world where wireless transfers and paperless transactions are dominating, banks have devised ingenious ways of maintaining their client portfolio. And this is through integrating their system with the most popular mobile money platforms, and everyone can agree that M-Pesa is supreme. Standard Chartered Bank is a premier banking institution in Kenya, and you would expect their services to be top-notch, with the most updated technology innovations. The capability to transfer money from M-Pesa to Standard Chartered account is one of the best features of the bank. How does it happen? How to transfer money from M-Pesa to Standard Chartered Bank account This process baffles many people who are looking to avail funds in their M-Pesa accounts. The capability ascertains that people can access funds in their accounts without visiting the banking hall, meaning, less movement, and wastage of time. A client can complete the transaction at the comfort of their home regardless of the time of day. This way, you do not have any obligation of going to the bank to deposit money as the process works both ways withdrawing and depositing. M-Pesa to Standard Chartered Bank transfer With the Standard Chartered Paybill number, any client can move funds from their M-Pesa account to their bank account reflecting immediately when the transaction is complete. The procedure is as follows: Go to the M-Pesa menu on your phone. Choose Lipa na M-Pesa option and then select Paybill. On the space, enter the Standard Chartered Bank Paybill number 329329 and press enter. Write your Standard Chartered account number on the Account No. space and press confirm. Enter the amount that you wish to send to your Standard Chartered Bank account. You will get a prompt to enter your PIN and then press "send." Confirm whether all the details are correct on the transaction confirmation message (hakikisha service) before finalizing the process. You can stop the transaction by pressing any letter or number within 25 seconds. If everything is entered correctly, you will receive a message from M-Pesa and Standard Chartered Bank confirming that your account has been credited with the deposited amount. And that is how to deposit money in Standard Chartered Bank in Kenya. It is a simple process that will only take you minutes to complete and save you hours in the banking hall. The process is the same when using My Safaricom App, but the interface is friendlier. You will get a single page for entering all the details, including Paybill number, account number, and amount. Then you will be directed to the confirmation page and get a PIN prompt to finalize the process. How can I transfer money from Standard Chartered to mobile? The process is very easy and straightforward. It is not all about how to transfer money from M-Pesa to Standard Chartered Bank account some folks are looking for the reverse. The bank has availed various platforms whereby clients can transact in real-time. With an active internet connection, you can facilitate the transaction successfully, and this is just one avenue. Using the Standard Chartered Bank mobile app Image: sc.com Source: UGC The bank has a sophisticated application that anyone can access on their mobile phones from the prerequisite stores. The app is laden with functions that give every user the capability of making various transactions on their mobile phone and bank to M-Pesa is one of the best. Step 1: Log in to the app Use your credentials to access the apps interface. This will be your username and password that you created when registering for mobile banking. It ought to be connected to your Standard Chartered mobile banking number. READ ALSO: Kenya universities Safaricom M-Pesa paybill numbers Step 2: Go to payments Once you are in the applications interface, go to the payments tab, and choose Pay to Saved Biller." You can also choose "One Time Bill Payment." Step 3: Choose M-Pesa If you are doing a one-time bill settlement, select M-Pesa from the menu and enter the desired mobile number of the person you want to receive the funds. Since it is your number, enter your mobile phone number here. Step 4: Choose account Settle on the preferred account that you want to transact from. Some people have multiple accounts in the bank, and it is very important to enter the appropriate account number in this process to avoid confusion. Step 5: Enter the amount What amount are you willing to transfer to your M-Pesa account? Enter the exact figure in this space and write the description. When done press continue. READ ALSO: Instant loans via M-Pesa in 2020 Step 6: Confirm and send Verify if all the details are correct and hit send. You are going to get an OTP (One Time Password) as an added security feature before finalizing the transaction. Input the OTP and confirm to finalize the process. When done, you will get the usual M-Pesa message and confirmation number when funds are in your M-Pesa wallet. If you were wondering how to transfer money from M-Pesa to Standard Chartered Bank account then the above procedures, both for depositing and withdrawing have provided a sufficient reply. The amazing capability to transfer money from Paybill to bank account has made transactions easier and given clients a simpler way to manage their money. You do not have to walk with a fat wallet anymore, mobile money and bank integration have created a sufficient gateway that eliminates such old-school tendencies. READ ALSO: How to pay KPLC postpaid bill via M-Pesa? How to withdraw money from Mcheza to M-Pesa Safaricom announces another MPesa maintenance plan on Saturday, Sunday Source: TUKO.co.ke Despite the Northeast reporting the highest number of coronavirus cases in the country over the course of the pandemic, the region received the second-lowest allocation of any area less than 5% of the more than $1 billion the federal government made available to help families in need of basic foods like meat, dairy and produce. In a letter led by U.S. Reps. Ayanna Pressley and Jim McGovern of Massachusetts, nearly two dozen lawmakers from throughout the Northeast demanded Tuesday that the U.S. Department of Agriculture provide equitable resources to the region through the Farmers to Families Food Box program. The program is meant to create partnerships with distributors and organizations to buy up to $3 billion in fresh produce, dairy and meat products to then supply hungry families. The lawmakers noted that 3.6 million people in the Northeast already experienced food insecurity prior to the pandemic. But the first round saw just $46 million go to distributors and organizations in the Northeast, about 4.4% of the $1.2 billion in the first round of USDAs allotment, the lawmakers said. A second round is underway between July 1 and Aug. 31, and the lawmakers said they demand that our constituents receive equitable access to the program. The lawmakers also demanded answers. They called for explanations on USDAs methodology to determine contract assignments with distributors and organizations, and details on any safeguards USDA will take to ensure allocations reflect proportions of food insecurity in a given region. They also seek a detailed explanation of how the second round of funding will be distributed. After MassLive reached out to the agency, a USDA spokesperson said the goal of the program is to let producers sell food previously destined for restaurants and bulk purchasers to suppliers, preventing waste, and helping Americans in need in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. The nearly 200 approved distributors for the first phase of the Farmers to Families Food Box program included many small businesses and those that support local and regional farmers, which was part of the evaluation criteria for contract award, the spokesperson added. Federal contracts require strict adherence to the Federal Acquisition Regulation (FAR) and other regulations. Proposals from distributors were evaluated by, in descending order of importance, the technical information contained, past performance of the offeror, the offerors capability to perform, and the prices offered, the spokesperson said. Offerors had to meet all criteria in order to be competitive and have, or acquire, a Perishable Agricultural Commodities Act (PACA) license to comply with the contractual requirement. All proposals were carefully reviewed by a team of contracting and technical experts and contracts made accordingly. The USDA says round one of the program led to the delivery of more than 35 million food boxes valued at $936 million. The next round aims to purchase up to $1.47 billion in food; as of July 21, the program has now delivered more than 43 million boxes to families in need, according to USDA. USDA is continuing to explore options to continue serving American farmers and families up to the programs $3 billion authorization or until the emergency declaration ends, the spokesperson said. MassLive reached back out to USDA to ask if its overall strategy included any consideration of food insecurity or regional conditions prior to, and during, the pandemic. The Times Union of Albany reported in late May that only 29 companies, out of 198 nationwide, won contracts to distribute food in the Northeast region; eight of them were from New York, a hotspot for the virus for months before new cases started to decline. Local food banks told the newspaper it has been challenging to secure food boxes throughout the region. The program was launched in May by Ivanka Trump, President Donald Trumps daughter and advisor, and Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. The letter led by Pressley and McGovern comes a day after Ivanka Trump volunteered to hand out some of the Farmers to Families food boxes at a Washington, D.C. community center, according to The Hill. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany applauded the presidents daughter for her great work during a news briefing Tuesday; the Trump campaign, and Trump himself, then posted a clip of McEnanys praise for Ivanka Trump on social media. Ivanka Trump and Perdue previously noted many of the contractors signed on with USDA were small suppliers. But The San Antonio Express-News reported that a $39 million contract was awarded to a wedding and corporate event planner, CR8AD8, after allegedly falsifying some credentials. The rollout of the program also faced rebuke because more than $60 million combined went to an avocado mail-order company, a trade finance corporation, and a health-and-wellness airport kiosk company, The Washington Post reported. Meanwhile, large food distribution companies and nonprofits well-versed in feeding the poor were bypassed, Tom Stenzel, United Fresh Produce Association president, told The Post. Among others, Tuesdays letter was signed by Massachusetts Reps. Richard Neal, Joe Kennedy III, Stephen Lynch, William Keating, Lori Trahan, and Katherine Clark, as well as Joe Courtney of Connecticut, Peter Welch of Vermont and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York. Massachusetts was one of the first states to launch the Pandemic Electronic Benefit Transfer program under the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which was signed into law in March. The program send funds to households of the roughly 470,000 children who qualify for free- and reduced-priced lunch, according to USDA. Related Content: TSABY: AMANDA MAILE and SAM SWEENEY (NEWARK) -- A New Jersey woman was arrested after officials found an assault rifle that the Transportation Security Administration described as "artfully concealed" inside her suitcase at Newark Liberty International Airport on Monday. TSA officers found the concealed weapon "behind the lining of a suitcase" during screening operations of checked baggage at the airport. The assault rifle was found with a high-capacity magazine and four boxes of hollow-point bullets, TSA said. Officers also found three magazines -- one of which was fully loaded -- and two additional boxes of ammunition. "Our TSA officers are very skilled at detecting firearms and other prohibited items," Tom Carter, TSA's Federal Security Director for New Jersey said in a press release. "This was an incredibly good catch on the part of our officers because the traveler attempted to evade detection by concealing the items beneath the lining of his suitcase." TSA said the Port Authority police were notified about the weapon and subsequently tracked down the woman, who was arrested along with her traveling companion. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Jammu, July 21 : Pakistan resorted to unprovoked firing and intense shelling on the line of control (LoC) in the Rajouri district of J&K on Tuesday. Colonel Devender Anand, Defence Ministry spokesman, said at 5.15 p.m. Pakistan initiated ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling mortars in the Sunderbani sector. "The army is retaliating befittingly," he said. On Sunday too, Pakistan had violated ceasefire in the same sector. So far this year, Pakistan has violated ceasefire on the LoC and the international border in J&K 2,711 times, killing 21 civilians and injuring 94 others. When it comes to protecting the world from the coronavirus, two doses of a vaccine may be better than one. But doubling the number of jabs each person needs could complicate efforts to immunize billions of people. The latest results from front-runners in the sprint to come up with a vaccine, including the University of Oxford-AstraZeneca Plc partnership and Moderna Inc., highlight that prospect. Both efforts are conducting final-stage testing with two doses. Producing vaccines and deploying them to the worlds population in the midst of a pandemic would be a massive challenge even if researchers are able to deliver one-dose inoculations. A need for two would make manufacturing and logistics even more complex. Those challenges would get even tougher if -- as some experts think is possible -- a vaccines efficacy wanes over time and repeat doses are needed, potentially every year. A one-shot vaccine would be ideal, but the first vaccines are highly unlikely to meet this very high threshold, said Michael Kinch, a vaccine specialist and associate vice chancellor at Washington University in St. Louis. As we hopefully move from whether there will be a vaccine to how to apply this, logistics are going to become the absolute most important topic. AstraZeneca gained 21% this year through Friday in London, then rose 10% at one point Monday as investors looked for breakthrough results from its phase 1 study. The shares faded, finishing the day with a 1.5% gain after Oxford researchers said that further studies would prioritize a two-dose regimen. The US-traded shares fell 4% in New York. In China, the two-shot approach is also looking increasingly likely. One front-runner vaccine developed by Tianjin-based CanSino Biologics Inc. and the Chinese military does not seem to elicit a strong response in people with pre-existing immunity to the adenovirus used as the vector, and researchers are exploring a booster shot three to six months later to shore up the immune response. Surest Approach Early study of more than 1,000 participants receiving the Oxford vaccine achieved the strongest immune response in 10 who received two doses, according to research published Monday in The Lancet medical journal, indicating that it might be the surest approach. The universitys researchers noted that some recipients may get protection from just one dose, and that ultimately the data may show that the majority of people are protected by a single shot. We are actually really pleased we get a stronger immune response with two doses than we can with one, Sarah Gilbert, a vaccinologist who leads the work at Oxford, said in a briefing. We dont know what were aiming at. We dont know how strong the immune response needs to be to protect people. AstraZeneca officials also highlighted the logic of a two-dose strategy. The company is exploring other regimens, but the first readout of its final-stage tests will almost definitely be from two doses, Mene Pangalos, Astras head of biopharma research, told reporters. The company has committed to delivering first of 30 million doses to the U.K. by September and 100 million by the end of the year. I think we want to right now maximize our chance of getting an efficacious readout, Pangalos said. The last thing we want is to miss because we havent dosed enough, so the safest approach and making sure we hit efficacy is doing two high doses. But a two-shot vaccine will not be easy to distribute widely, and likely disadvantage developing nations even more. Years of experience in disease eradication in resource-limited countries show you may only get a single chance to vaccinate a large population, said William Haseltine, a former Harvard Medical School researcher who chairs non-profit Access Health International. Many people may not be available for economic or other reasons for a second chance. Therefore its a great advantage to have a cold chain-insensitive, cold chain-independent single-shot vaccine. Leaning to One Yet not all vaccine developers are leaning that way. From the outset of its search for viable coronavirus vaccine candidates, US drug giant Merck & Co. made a point of only pursuing one-dose shots. Those can more easily and seamlessly be deployed across the world in a global vaccination campaign, Chief Executive Officer Kenneth Frazier told Bloomberg in May. It is extremely important, he said then, that these have to be vaccines we have reasonable confidence could be effective with just a single dose. Mercks Covid vaccine has yet to enter human trials. Even a perfect inoculation could take weeks to raise immunity to protective levels. That presents the risk that people might return to normal life after just one dose, while the immune system is still processing the vaccine, Washington Universitys Kinch said. In that time, they might become infected and potentially pass the virus on to others. This will be a particular problem if two shots are needed, Kinch said. Vaccine experts have warned that the first shots to gain approval against Covid-19 might not be the most effective or efficient. In fact, history shows two doses is a more likely scenario. Almost all standard vaccines are multiple-shot regimens, according to Tony Moody, an immunologist at the Duke Human Vaccine Institute. We would like to do better, and we are all working to get to those better vaccines, Moody said, but having something effective soon is the top priority. The Vietnam Plant Protection Association (VNPPA) has called for a 30 percent cut to deal with long-standing pesticide overuse in the country. It says cutting pesticide use by 30 percent will not impact agricultural productivity. Truong Quoc Tung, standing deputy chairman of VNPPA, said recently that Vietnam needs to have a strategy on pesticide usage for the coming years given the long-standing problem of overuse. He said the overuse is approaching crisis proportions, harming humans, plants, the environment and the economy. Tung cited an experiment in the Mekong Deltas An Giang Province that showed a reduction in the frequency of yearly pesticide use did not affect productivity. Tung said there are three stages to pesticide use that have been observed by scientists. The first one is a period when pesticides are "necessary and beneficial" for productivity without harming food safety and the environment, the second is a period of excessive pesticide usage, and the third a "pesticide usage crisis." Vietnam is currently transitioning from excessive usage period to usage crisis period, with the country using around 100,000 tons of pesticide a year starting 2015, Tung said. Before 1990, Vietnam used less than 10,000 tons a year. "The amount of imported pesticides every year is over 100,000 tons, while the list of approved pesticides amounts to over 1,600 substances and over 4,000 products. For me, thats too much," Tung said. A pesticide use crisis will badly damage the environment, the economy and public health, and in Vietnam there is evidence that this is happening already. Banned pesticides are being used, the environment is polluted and agricultural products are being sent back after being shipped abroad. "The more we use pesticides the more we depend on them, causing a loss of balance in the ecosystem, in which pests natural predators disappear and diseases thrive. It seems that the use of pesticides has become a habit that farmers cant kick." However, Tung said the pesticides were not harmful by themselves, it is how they are used and managed that decide whether they have a positive or a negative impact. Among the approved substances and pesticide products, only 15-20 percent are biological while the rest are chemical. While the list of approved pesticides has been updated regularly over the last few years by the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development and the Plant Protection Department, the number of products and substances removed from the list was much lower than the number of new additions, said Tung. This meant farmers had the means to do more damage, not to mention using banned products that they can access through border trade, he added. The ever-increasing business network for pesticides is also to blame for the current problem, Tung said, explaining that this left regulatory agencies short-staffed. In the 2010 decade, Vietnam had already had around 200 pesticide production firms and 29,000 retail outlets, meaning a single inspector would be in charge of 290 stores, which was too much to handle. "Now that a decade has passed, the business network would be larger still. The agencies cannot fully control and prevent the sale and use of banned pesticide and other related substances," said Tung. Vietnam is also heavily reliant on imports for its pesticides, more than half of it coming from China. While there have been proposals for the government to develop its own pesticide industry to be less reliant on imports, such a move could also worsen environmental pollution, he added. Vietnam should not only reduce pesticide use, it should also make them safer and more environmentally friendly by increasing the quantity of biological products and reducing that of chemicals. The country should also remove more harmful products from the list of approved pesticides, Tung said. Farmers should also realize that they are creating trouble for themselves with pesticide overuse and strive to rely less on them, he added. This new memoir is a collection of personal anecdotes from the longtime host of Jeopardy! What is Alex Trebeks The Answer Is ... Reflections on My Life? The beloved quiz-show host resisted past requests to share his life story, but decided to write the book after announcing his pancreatic cancer diagnosis in 2019 and being moved by the outpouring of support from fans. Trebek, who turns 80 Wednesday, has plenty to say about family, health and a storied career that includes 36 years at the helm of "Jeopardy!" here are nine revelations from The Answer Is." Trebek was in his 40s when he discovered he had a half brother. After Trebeks parents divorced, his mother had a child with another man, and gave the child up for adoption. I didnt know I had a half brother until shortly after I started hosting Jeopardy! he writes. He and I have communicated over the years, but we are not close. Because of the way things happened, I had kind of a resentment for my mother. But we settled all that before she died long before she died." Trebek's memoir, Trebeks meeting with Queen Elizabeth II was memorable for him, at least. In 1967, Trebek hosted a star-studded variety show for the CBC in honor of Canadas centennial year, with Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip in attendance. The Queen got to me and said, Good show. Please tell me your name, and where you are from, he recalls. As Queen Elizabeth greeted Trebek, Prince Philip had paused 50 feet behind, so she chatted with Trebek for about five minutes while waiting for her husband to catch up. The next day, as the royal couple approached Trebek at another centennial show, he thought, Here comes my new best friend. I wonder what well talk about today? However the queen simply said, Good show. Please tell me your name, and where you are from. Trebeks one experience with recreational drugs was unintentional. Shortly after moving to Los Angeles, Trebek was invited to a dinner party in Malibu, where he helped himself to some chocolate brownies. I had four or five of them, he remembers. I did not realize they were hash brownies. Mr. Naive here. The party was on a Friday night. The drugs knocked me out so much I spent the weekend laid out in their guest bedroom and didnt leave their home until Monday morning. Story continues Ken Jennings Crush Jeopardy's Winnings Record (Getty Images) He teared up when Ken Jennings legendary winning streak ended in 2004. There was definitely a sadness, he writes. I had tears in my eyes. It just all happened so quickly. Ken lost. I said something like, Ken, youre going away with a lot of money and, to the viewers at home, Well see you tomorrow. The show ended. I remember thinking, Kens gone. My buddy. My pal. This was getting to be The Ken and Alex Show. When Jeopardy! eliminated the five-game limit on contestants in 2003, Trebek says the shows supervising producers worried, What if you got a contestant on a hot streak who was unlikable, who the audience couldnt stand to watch? However, We decided to take a chance, and it was probably the best thing that happened to the show. Trebek loved Will Ferrells impression of him on Saturday Night Live. However, his favorite impersonation was Eugene Levys on Canadian sketch comedy show SCTV. He looked more the part than Will did. He had the dark bushy hair and the black mustache. He believes Jeopardy! has endured because of the comfort that it brings. Viewers have gotten used to having me there, not so much as a showbiz personality but as an uncle, he writes. Im part of the family more than an outside celebrity who comes into your home to entertain you. They find me comforting and reassuring as opposed to being impressed by me. Its not that kind of thing. Im a secondtier celebrity. Jeopardy game show (CBS) Hes been ready to pack it in at times. I dont think the will to survive is a constant, he writes. I think there are moments and there are certainly moments in my life when that will to survive disappears and Im ready to pack it in. Because I understand that death is part of life. And Ive lived a long life. If I were in my twenties with years ahead of me, I might feel differently. But when youre about to turn eighty its not like youre missing out. Trebek wants to change how people talk about cancer. I dont like to use the terms battling or fighting when talking about cancer, he writes. It suggests that there are only two outcomes: winning and losing. If you dont get well, then you are a loser. If you have decided to stop treatment, you have given up. Thats nonsense. Hes not afraid of dying. One thing theyre not going to say at my funeral as part of the eulogy is He was taken from us too soon. Im about to turn eighty. Ive lived a good, full life, and Im nearing the end of it. I know that. Trebek is often asked how hed like to be remembered. I suppose if I had to answer I would say Id like to be remembered first of all as a good and loving husband and father, and also as a decent man who did his best to help people perform at their best, he writes. Because that was my job. BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - Swiss exports declined sharply in the second quarter, data from the Federal Customs Administration showed on Tuesday. Exports fell by a real 12.5 percent in the second quarter, compared to a 2.0 percent decrease in the first quarter. Imports decreased 12.1 percent in the second quarter, following a 4.0 percent decline in the previous quarter. In nominal terms, exports fell 11.5 percent quarterly and imports declined 16.0 percent in the second quarter. The trade balance registered a record surplus of CHF 9.595 billion in the second quarter versus CHF 8.440 billion in the previous quarter. In the second quarter 2019, the trade surplus was CHF 6.152 billion. In June, exports rose 7.9 percent monthly, after a 0.1 percent fall in May. Imports increased 5.5 percent month-on-month in June, following a 13.9 percent rise in the prior month. According to the Federation of the Swiss Watch Industry, watch exports declined sharply by 35.1 percent year-on-year in June. In the first half of the year, watch exports decreased 35.7 percent year-on-year. Demand from China increased sharply in June, while from Hong Kong, US, UK, Germany and Singapore declined. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. US Defense Secretary Mark Esper plans to visit China for talks on how to improve two-way communications in a crisis as geopolitical tensions between the superpowers rise and concerns mount over a potential South China Sea flashpoint. Esper said Tuesday that he hopes to make the trip before year-end to "establish the systems necessary for crisis communications and reinforce our intentions to openly compete in the international system in which we all belong." Last week, the United States formally declared Beijing's pursuit of territory and resources in South China Sea as illegal, explicitly backing the territorial claims of Southeast Asian countries against China's. It has also downgraded relations with Hong Kong after China implemented a new security law in violation of its promises of autonomy for the territory. "We are not in search of conflict," Esper said in an address to the International Institute of Strategic Studies. But China "has no right to turn international waters into a zone of exclusion for its own maritime empire," he said. - Not China's 'maritime empire' - Beijing has sought to make its claims to much of the South China Sea a de facto reality by building up small shoals and reefs into sizable military bases with long airstrips and deep port facilities. On July 2, the US Defense Department criticized Chinese military exercises around the Paracel Islands, saying they "further destabilize the situation" in an area also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. Two days later, the Pentagon said two of its own aircraft carriers had carried out drills in the South China Sea to "support a free and open Indo-Pacific," a spokesman said. On July 13, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced a challenge to China's claims stronger than had previously come out of Washington. "The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire," Pompeo declared in a statement. "We are making clear: Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them," Pompeo said. - Threats to Taiwan, Japan - Esper cited China's militarization of contested South China Sea islands, its sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat and harassment of Malaysian oil and gas activities, and its protecting fishing fleets that Indonesia says are illegally poaching in its waters. He also pointed to the People's Liberation Army's recent exercises simulating an attack on Taiwan, increasing incursions into the waters around the Japanese-administered Senkaku Islands, the new security law in Hong Kong, and its tolerance of North Korean trade in violation of a UN embargo. "Make no mistake, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has been engaged in this sort of behavior for many years. But today it's true intentions are on full display for all to see," said Esper. "While we hope the CCP will change its ways, we must be prepared for the alternative." "We are committed to a constructive and results-oriented relationship with China and, within our defense relationship, to open lines of communication and risk reduction," he said. China unsurprisingly accuses the United States of being the destabilizing influence in the region. "The US military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region is unprecedented," Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for South China Sea Studies, a government think tank, said in late June. "The possibility of a military incident or an accidental shot fired is rising," Wu said. "If a crisis were to erupt, the repercussions on bilateral relations would be catastrophic." Pentagon spokesman Jonathan Hoffman said Esper's trip to China is still in the planning stage. "Part of it's going to be, we seek to maintain military-to-military relationships with China and Russia alike. We believe that's incredibly important to avoid misunderstandings in the future." "What we're going to do is talk to the Chinese... about how there is an international world rules-based order," he said. "We believe that China and the Chinese people are best served by embracing that order instead of attempting to replace it with a different set of rules." A proposal to "expand" sidewalks on Jones Street by closing parking and limiting traffic lanes for four blocks is in limbo, as community organizers say city agencies are demanding further changes to the plan, after months of discussion. The third phase of city street closures was proposed last week to provide added open space to communities during the ongoing pandemic. But the new routes, which the SFMTA board will vote on tomorrow, still skip over the Tenderloin, despite continued requests from the neighborhood for a Slow Street. Community organizers have called for traffic slowing and more space for pedestrians throughout the Tenderloin since shelter-in-place took effect. As tents and encampments exploded on neighborhood sidewalks in April and May, the calls became even more urgent. As time has gone by, the need has shifted from leaving home just to make essential trips, to needing space because families and children have been trapped inside for more than four months, said Evan Oravec, community organizer with the Central City Single Room Occupancy Collaborative (CCSROC) and facilitator of the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Task Force. The neighborhood task force was launched by the San Francisco Bike Coalition, Walk SF, CCSROC, the Tenderloin Community Benefit District (TLCBD), and other community organizations in 2018 to demand more city investment in making Tenderloin streets safer. All of the streets in the Tenderloin are considered part of the high-injury network identified by the city's Vision Zero plan, which aims to reach zero vehicle-related deaths by 2024. All Tenderloin streets are part of the Vision Zero high-injury network. | IMAGE: Vision Zero SF SFMTAs website says its targeting lower-traffic residential streets for the program, and organizers say SFMTA considers all the streets in the Tenderloin thoroughfares to get people to Market Street or otherwise across the city. But SF Bike Coalition Tenderloin community organizer Claire Amable, who was born and raised in the Tenderloin, argues it is a residential neighborhood, and one currently in extreme and growing need for space to recreate and interact at a safe distance. The Tenderloin has the lowest amount of open space per person of any San Francisco neighborhood in the best of times, and playgrounds and parks have largely shuttered during shelter-in-place, according to Amable. The Tenderloin has the densest SRO population in the city, and residents lack any living space, let alone any space to socialize outside, Oravec added. The Tenderloin also houses a dense, large population of seniors and disabled adult residents, according to Eric Rozell, TLCBD safety campaign worker, co-facilitator of the task force, and neighborhood resident. Seniors or otherwise disabled residents with mobility issues that depend on canes, walkers, or in wheelchairs have to walk into traffic to get around encampments, Rozell said. When the Slow Streets concept was first announced in April, the task force partnered with 15 other neighborhood organizations, including the SF Bike Coalition, the CCSROC, and the TLCBD, to send a letter to SFMTA director Jeffery Tumlin pushing for one to be sited in the Tenderloin. Oravec said the lack of response and effort to install a slow street in the Tenderloin shines a bright light on how the citys transportation design impacts the Tenderloin, and more importantly, how the neighborhood and its residents are treated by the city. Current and planned Slow Streets map | Image: SFMTA The city treats the Tenderloin as a thoroughfare, not a place for people to live, so any residential street-focused programs arent going to work, by design, Oravec said. The challenge, he said, is finding a way to convince SFMTA and other city services to change their view of the Tenderloin as the hub of the citys whole traffic grid. Tumlin and other city officials walked through the neighborhood with District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney in late May to try to identify other options to offer residents more space to walk through the neighborhood at a safe distance. Oravec said the walk-through prompted discussion around expanding the sidewalks on Jones and Turk streets. A proposal, developed through conversations between the Tenderloin Traffic Safety Task Force and city agencies, calls for removing the parking lane on the west side of Jones Street to offer a larger bike path and sidewalk, slimming vehicle traffic down to one lane between OFarrell Street and Golden Gate Avenue. According to Oravec, the San Francisco Fire Department responded that it needs all of the streets throughout the Tenderloin for emergency response, and requested the removal of all the parking on that stretch of Jones Street, on both sides of the street. Removing all of the parking is a much bigger lift, Oravec said among other things, it would require SFPD to move all of their cars off of Jones Street near the Tenderloin Station. So even the compromise, not a full Slow Street but just more space for non-vehicular traffic, may not move forward, even after months of discussion. SFFD did not respond to requests for comment on the proposal, or the allegation that it was requesting major modifications to the strategy that community organizers say was agreed upon two months ago. In many other neighborhoods, weve seen the Slow Streets installed and then they find a work around for any situations or congestion issues after its launched, Rozell said. But city agencies haven't allowed that approach for the Tenderloins busy streets. Protestors called for lane closures at Eddy and Taylor Streets on nearly two months ago | Photo: Carrie Sisto/Hoodline The situation highlights the growing inequities the Tenderloin faces. Oravec said city agencies have historically and consistently asked Tenderloin community organizations to identify solutions for the neighborhoods issues. Early in shelter-in-place, the city turned to the same community organizations to find strategies to create slow streets in the neighborhood. Community organizations are already overburdened," he said. "How can we take this extra effort on by ourselves? Partnership is key but in our instance, it feels more like a way of saying no without actually saying no. No one from the city's Emergency Operations Center, SFMTA, or District 6 Supervisor Matt Haney's office responded to multiple requests for comment as of press time. SFMTAs board meets to hear the third round of city streets closed to vehicle traffic at 1 p.m. on Tuesday, and the task force and the Bike Coalition encourage community members to offer public comments calling for action in the citys densest neighborhood. As we reported last week, 14 new Slow Street routes are up for approval tomorrow, and implementation of new routes is planned to continue through October 2020. The task of the historian is to tell the story of the past. He cannot lose sight of acts and facts, bitter as they may seem at present. History is a science to be written scientifically, to be studied scientifically. Re-writing history fades into mere literature or the stuff that movies are made of. Denying or omitting the grim past, prevents us from learning how to create a better future. If anger and chagrin are allowed to misconstrue heinous acts into pleasant fancy, you are deliberately and unintelligently closing your mind. If liberty means anything at all, it means the right to tell the truth, to tell people what they do not want to hear. Slavery existed in every country for thousands of years. The frenzy of pulling down statues and erasing names of men who owned or traded or exploited slaves does not change one iota of the agony of the past. Thus the story of humanity is denied. History loses its purpose, its occupation, its dignity, its lessons. A full-dress view of history infused with truth, ugly as it may be, is invaluable. Unfortunately, that is happening at a cost of millions of dollars, which could be better put to use feeding or housing the poor. We have become frightened of the truth and are being bullied into propagating what is politically acceptable. A common misconception is that slavery started in America. It was nearly 9,000 years ago that slavery first appeared in Mesopotamia. Enemies captured in wars were commonly kept by the conquering country as slaves. Verdis famous opera Aida lyrically depicts this tragic reality. We saw how ancient Egyptians enslaved their captives, and later pagan Greeks participated in slavery for Sparta and Athens. How was the great Roman Empire built? One of three of the population of Italy were slaves. Remember the Gladiators? Slaves were not always from Africa. There were white slaves, belonging to white owners, Christians, Jews, pagans as was portrayed in movies like Quo Vadis and Ben Hur. All of Europe was engaged in slavery so was the Arab Empire which ruled Spain for seven centuries. By the year 1000 AD slavery had become common in Englands rural agricultural economy, with the poor yoking themselves to landowners through a form of a debt bondage. At the same time the number of slaves captured in Germany grew so large that their nationality became the generic term for slaves: Slavs. It was not until 1444 AD when the Atlantic trade began and Portugal brought the first large numbers of slaves from Africa to Europe. Almost a century later the Spanish explorers brought African slaves to the New World what would become the US. Even Native Americans, like the Cherokees, owned slaves and sided with the Confederacy during the Civil War. Slavery did not sit well with many Americans. The antipathy became apparent when Quakers set up the Abolitionist Society, in 1775. The US Congress passed the Northwest Ordinance outlawing slavery in 1787. Europeans soon followed. Denmark and Norway were the first to bar African slave trade in 1807, followed by Spain in 1820, France in 1847. As the US neared its third year of a bloody war, Abraham Lincoln issued his Emancipation Proclamation: all persons held slaves with the rebellious states are henceforth free. In 1865 the 13th amendment of the constitution outlawed slavery. Slavery was then and is now illegal all over the world. The 20th century saw Germanys Nazis use slave labour in industry, up to nine million not all Jews. The 21st century now holds 40.3 million slaves according to the International Labour Organisation, the Global Slavery Index, the Walk Free Organisation, the Human Rights Watch and the United Nations. It was legal in the past. It is illegal today. Yet it is flourishing. Human beings are kidnapped, sold into slavery in several countries like North Korea, Eritrea, Eastern Europe, Zimbabwe, China, Libya, Nigeria, Thailand and the US among many others. Call it human trafficking or exploitation of prisoners, political dissidents, migrants, etc. Seventy per cent of women are forced into prostitution, 26 per cent of children forced to beg or steal, 50 per cent minors hijacked across borders for domestic work or in cocoa fields or fishing industries. Modern slavery is a multi-million dollar industry and growing. In March, 2020, the UK government revealed modern slavery rose by 51 per cent since 2019. Little can be done as it is all in secret and diplomatic options are few. Why is not this furore directed towards countries that practise illegal slavery today, instead of against dead men, some heroes, some presidents, who were involved in a trade that was perfectly legal and socially accepted 200 years ago? Not that we condone what happened, but it happened. It is over. Better still, do these rioters stop to consider who sold those African slaves to Europe? They were African kings, leaders, tribesmen. Rise against them? Are they not co-conspirators in that most nefarious crime? Yes, men are born free. Men lose their freedom. Why? Poverty. It is the scourge of mankind. Focus on poverty, free those slaves in captivity today, do not cry over spilt milk. Let not the legacy of slavery ruin our hearts and souls. We are not shades of black or white. We are one race the human race. Let us seek freedom from hatred, freedom from modern slavery. Let us build a safe present and a secure future. I only ask to be free. The butterflies are free. Charles Dickens (1812-1870) *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Ivan Arriagada Herrera who has served as CEO of Antofagasta plc (LON:ANTO) since 2016. This analysis will also assess whether Antofagasta pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns. See our latest analysis for Antofagasta How Does Total Compensation For Ivan Arriagada Herrera Compare With Other Companies In The Industry? At the time of writing, our data shows that Antofagasta plc has a market capitalization of UK10b, and reported total annual CEO compensation of US$2.7m for the year to December 2019. That's a notable increase of 8.8% on last year. While this analysis focuses on total compensation, it's worth acknowledging that the salary portion is lower, valued at US$640k. For comparison, other companies in the industry with market capitalizations above UK6.3b, reported a median total CEO compensation of US$2.1m. So it looks like Antofagasta compensates Ivan Arriagada Herrera in line with the median for the industry. Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary US$640k US$668k 23% Other US$2.1m US$1.8m 77% Total Compensation US$2.7m US$2.5m 100% On an industry level, around 64% of total compensation represents salary and 36% is other remuneration. In Antofagasta's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance. A Look at Antofagasta plc's Growth Numbers Antofagasta plc's earnings per share (EPS) grew 61% per year over the last three years. Its revenue is up 4.9% over the last year. Overall this is a positive result for shareholders, showing that the company has improved in recent years. It's good to see a bit of revenue growth, as this suggests the business is able to grow sustainably. Looking ahead, you might want to check this free visual report on analyst forecasts for the company's future earnings.. Story continues Has Antofagasta plc Been A Good Investment? With a total shareholder return of 30% over three years, Antofagasta plc shareholders would, in general, be reasonably content. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size. In Summary... As previously discussed, Ivan is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. But earnings growth for the company has been strong over the last three years, though shareholder returns in comparison haven't been as impressive. Considering overall performance, we'd say the compensation is fair, although stockholders will want to see higher returns moving forward. While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We did our research and spotted 1 warning sign for Antofagasta that investors should look into moving forward. Switching gears from Antofagasta, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look. 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. The Government's scientific advisers today butted heads about whether the UK was too slow to enforce lockdown. In an uncharacteristically bad-tempered interview, England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty claimed there were 'operational difficulties' that made it difficult to shut the country down in a week. During a virtual grilling with MPs, Professor Whitty denied there was no 'huge delay' between ministers being advised to implement the draconian measures and actually following through on the actions. He appeared to contradict his fellow adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar, who told the health select committee moments earlier he 'believed lockdown was enforced too late' and 'should have come earlier', in a sign of a rift between the UK's top experts. It emerged last week that the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had advised the Government to implement lockdown on March 16. But Boris Johnson did not announce the measures until March 23. Professor Whitty was quizzed about whether enforcing the draconian measures a week earlier would have saved tens of thousands of lives, as has been suggested by numerous scientists including Neil Ferguson, nicknamed 'Professor Lockdown' for his grim modelling that swayed ministers into shutting down the UK. The CMO blamed poor pandemic preparations, testing capacity and a lack of PPE for the UK having had the worst outbreak in Europe with almost 300,000 confirmed cases and over 45,000 deaths. And he launched a staunch defence of the government's actions over the Covid-19 pandemic, saying mass testing had to be abandoned early on in the crisis because health chiefs didn't have enough to capacity to cope with the size of the outbreak. But he accepted ministers and experts failed to recognise 'obvious' risks, such as care home residents being at risk from workers moving between homes and spreading Covid-19. In a thinly-veiled dig during a heated exchange with committee chair Jeremy Hunt, who was health secretary for six years until 2018, Professor Whitty said: 'If we wished to build this capacity up, we could have done it in previous years.' England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty claimed there were 'operational difficulties' that made it difficult to shut the country down in a week. He contradicted his fellow adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar (right), who told the health select committee moments earlier he 'believed lockdown was enforced too late' The CMO blamed poor pandemic preparations, testing capacity and a lack of personal protective equipment for the UK having the worst death rate in Europe. In a thinly-veiled dig at the committee chair, Jeremy Hunt, who was health secretary for six years until 2018, Professor Whitty said: 'If we wished to build this capacity up, we could have done it in previous years.' WHITTY ADMITS MINISTERS FAILED TO RECOGNISE 'OBVIOUS' RISKS FOR CARE HOME RESIDENTS Ministers failed to recognise care home residents were at risk from workers moving between homes and spreading Covid-19, England's chief medical officer has acknowledged. Professor Chris Whitty told MPs on the Commons Health Committee that, in retrospect, some risk factors were 'obvious' but had not been recognised earlier on in the pandemic. These included workers moving between homes and some staff not being paid sick leave, which meant they came into work while ill. Asked to comment on Boris Johnson's claim that care homes had not followed procedures, he said there was no such thing as the 'perfect advice' being given to care homes. The Government has been heavily criticised over its handling of the Covid-19 pandemic relating to care homes, including that patients with the virus were discharged from hospitals to homes. Asked to take a view on the Prime Minister's comments that 'too many care homes didn't really follow the procedures', Professor Whitty said: 'Well I say first of all, my enthusiasm for blaming people for anything is zero. 'That is absolutely not the way we deal with any kind of situation in health and social care and that's across the board. 'I think it's clear that every country that has a care sector has not handled this well. 'The UK is one country that has not handled this well in terms of issues in social care but the same is true, as previous speakers have said, the numbers are very similar or even higher in terms of proportions of deaths in almost every country where you look at this.' He added: 'Some of this I think comes from the fact we had not recognised - what are in retrospect obvious - but were not obvious points early on. 'For example, the fact that people working in multiple homes, people who were not paid sick leave, that is a clear risk... that these were major risks in health and social care settings. 'So I think there are a lot of things that we have learned that we will, we can now do a lot better in social care, and I don't think any of us would look back on what has happened in social care and say the ideal advice was given and this is the fault of anyone.' Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said there had been a change around protecting care home residents 'and it is that knowledge, some of which was missing I think when we first started'. She said one area of increased knowledge was that people could be asymptomatic or have 'very non-specific illness'. Newer measures included testing programmes in care homes, infection control programmes and swift action for local outbreaks, she added. Advertisement Asked repeatedly if he was 'content' about the timing of lockdown, Professor Whitty accused Mr Hunt of trying to oversimplify the 'complicated' series of events that led up to decision on March 23. Professor Whitty said: 'Ministers at the time, who were put in an incredibly difficult position, in my view, followed the advice given by SAGE... with a delay that was no more than you would reasonably expect for what are really very difficult things to operationalise and decide. PROFESSOR WHITTY DEFENDS DECISION TO ABANDON MASS TESTING England's chief medical officer has launched a staunch defence of his actions over the Covid-19 pandemic, saying mass testing had to be abandoned due to capacity issues and lockdown came at about the right time. In a heated exchange with former health secretary and chairman of the Health and Social Care Committee Jeremy Hunt, Professor Chris Whitty told MPs that widespread community testing earlier on in the pandemic required 'an infrastructure we did not have'. Asked by Mr Hunt why he had not advised that testing be ramped up quickly in January or February, as had been done in 'four weeks' recently, Professor Whitty said: 'I respectfully differ. 'You are going to say I suspect at some point ... why is test, trace and isolate not brilliant now? 'This is after we've had huge investment and many months of preparation. The idea that you can suddenly switch this on, I'm afraid, is incorrect. 'The way you run emergencies badly is to try and run them based on a theory of what you could do rather than with the tools you have at your disposal. That is the way we had to run it and that is the way we did run it.' Professor Whitty told Mr Hunt that SAGE had consistently said that more testing capacity was needed. But he agreed that, given the capacity, it was the correct advice to stop widespread community testing on March 12. Advertisement 'I'm not saying now, and I'm not going to say at any point, to be clear, that there was huge delay between the advice that ministers received, given the enormity of the difficulties that we were asking of people and the practical implications of what was being done.' The chief medical officer admitted that quite a lot of the changes implemented before lockdown likely were already driving the R down below one. Recently, an outpouring of scientists have suggested that lockdown was unnecessary and that simple social distancing measures would have been sufficient. Professor Whitty's short-tempered comments came just moments after fellow SAGE member, Sir Jeremy Farrar, tole MPs the UK shut down society too late. Sir Jeremy, director of the Wellcome Trust and a professor of tropical medicine, said: 'Yes, I believe lockdown was too late, I believe lockdown should have come in earlier. 'And indeed, in the weekend following that SAGE meeting [where ministers were advised to shut down on March 16], there were pressure and urgency to lock down immediately, within the next 24 hours of that weekend, in the coming week. 'And I think that delay did lead to the epidemic expanding faster than would have been needed if the lockdown had been imposed earlier, and that week was a critical week for the subsequent events in the epidemic.' There was 'not enough urgency' in January and February, according to Sir Jeremy. 'If I now look back on my time on the Sage committee, I regret that Sage wasn't more blunt in its advice and wasn't more robust. But it didn't have a job in holding people to account, unfortunately, for delivery of interventions that were made.' He added: 'The UK was slow to put in place testing, to put in place extra clinical capacity, and to make sure that healthcare workers were protected with the PPE. And as a result subsequent events led to the epidemic taking off in a way in the UK, which was not the same as in Korea, Germany, or in Singapore, Vietnam.' Last month, Professor John Edmunds, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and member of SAGE, said the UK should have gone into lockdown earlier and that not doing so had cost 'a lot of lives'. His comments were echoed by former Sage member Professor Neil Ferguson, who said coronavirus deaths in the UK could have been halved if the Government had introduced the lockdown a week earlier. Professor Whitty said last week's comments about lockdown by England's chief scientific officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, had been misinterpreted. Sir Patrick said that SAGE advised on March 16 that more draconian measures were needed, on top of the social distancing, working from home and hand-washing protocols that were already in place. Professor Whitty said today that Sir Patrick had not been referring to full legal lockdown, but the advice on avoiding leisurely travel and meeting up with friends that Mr Johnson issued that day. And he told MPs that widespread community testing earlier on in the pandemic required 'an infrastructure we did not have. Asked by Mr Hunt why he had not advised that testing be ramped up quickly in January or February, as had been done in 'four weeks' recently, Professor Whitty said: 'I respectfully differ. 'You are going to say I suspect at some point ... why is test, trace and isolate not brilliant now? 'This is after we've had huge investment and many months of preparation. The idea that you can suddenly switch this on, I'm afraid, is incorrect. 'The way you run emergencies badly is to try and run them based on a theory of what you could do rather than with the tools you have at your disposal. That is the way we had to run it and that is the way we did run it.' Professor Whitty told Mr Hunt that SAGE had consistently said that more testing capacity was needed. But he agreed that, given the capacity, it was the correct advice to stop widespread community testing and move to just swabbing patients with suspected Covid-19 in hospitals on March 12. It comes after scientists sensationally claimed the NHS avoided testing its staff for coronavirus en masse because it was afraid they would have to go off sick and leave hospitals without workers. And almost half of healthcare workers in the NHS up to a staggering 45 per cent were reportedly infected with coronavirus in April, according to Oxford research. In damning meetings with politicians, some of the country's leading scientists this morning slammed Britain's response to the Covid-19 pandemic and said a refusal to prepare had led to a 'major catastrophe'. Officials and members Government have for years ignored the threat of a global disease outbreak, experts said, despite it being 'obvious' that this would happen. Nearly half of NHS workers had Covid-19 in April and the health service didn't test more staff out of fear they would go off sick The NHS avoided testing its staff for coronavirus en masse because it was afraid they would have to go off sick and leave hospitals without workers, scientists claim. And almost half of healthcare workers in the NHS - up to a staggering 45 per cent - were reportedly infected with coronavirus in April, according to Oxford research. In damning meetings with politicians, some of the country's leading scientists this morning slammed Britain's response to the Covid-19 pandemic and said a refusal to prepare had led to a 'major catastrophe'. Officials and members Government have for years ignored the threat of a global disease outbreak, experts said, despite it being 'obvious' that this would happen. Now with almost 300,000 confirmed cases and over 45,000 deaths from Covid-19, Britain is one of the world's worst hit countries despite being one of the wealthiest. The UK has been too slow to set up testing capacity and made the 'mistake' of stopping contact tracing for most of the epidemic. It has suffered badly because it didn't make efforts to set up the systems before the pandemic began, scientists say. The director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Professor Peter Piot, said: 'You don't set up the fire brigade when the house is on fire'. Advertisement BRITAIN'S DEATH TOLL COULD HAVE BEEN HALVED IF LOCKDOWN WAS ENFORCED JUST ONE WEEK EARLIER, SAYS PROFESSOR LOCKDOWN Britain's coronavirus death toll could have been halved if stay at home measures were introduced a week earlier, 'Professor Lockdown' Neil Ferguson has claimed. Boris Johnson imposed the lockdown on March 23 on the back of the Imperial College London scientist's grim modelling, which predicted 500,000 people could die if the virus was left unchecked. Professor Ferguson said that the limited knowledge of the disease at the time meant it was hard to gauge when the economically crippling measures should be implemented. But he conceded that, in hindsight, tens of thousands of lives could have been saved if the lockdown had come a week earlier. Britain has officially suffered 40,000 fatalities where Covid-19 was the definite cause of death - the most in Europe and only second to the US. But the true death toll is thought to be above 50,000 according to estimates which factor in suspected cases who did not receive a test. Professor Ferguson made the stark admission at a virtual House of Commons Science and Technology Committee briefing. It was one of only a handful of public appearances made by the former SAGE scientist, who was forced to stand down from the group after flouting stay at home rules to have secret trysts with his married mistress. Advertisement The UK has been too slow to set up testing capacity and made the 'mistake' of stopping contact tracing for most of the epidemic. It has suffered badly because it didn't make efforts to set up the systems before the pandemic began, scientists say. The director of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, Professor Peter Piot, said: 'You don't set up the fire brigade when the house is on fire'. Professor Sir John Bell, a medicine expert at the University of Oxford, told the House of Commons's Health and Social Care Committee that hospitals were afraid of having to send staff home if they tested positive for Covid-19. He said that in April up to a staggering 45 per cent of healthcare workers appeared to have been infected with Covid-19. Sir John said: 'As time went on, there still wasn't a real push to do healthcare workers and indeed, all patients in the hospital. And it sort of went on, and on, and on. 'And indeed there was a suspicion, which I think is probably correct, that NHS institutions and the NHS were avoiding testing their hospital workers because they were afraid they would find [high levels of infection] and they would have to send everyone home, and as a result not have a workforce. 'That in my view is not an ethical approach to the problem. You can't not test people because you're worried about a human resources issue. 'But I think that was a pretty central issue in that failure to test hospitals.' Testing, and the lack of it at the start of Britain's epidemic, has been a sticking point for dozens of critics that have blasted the UK's response to Covid-19. But it is only one aspect of the problem, experts suggest, and a deeper issue was the country's decisions not to prepare for what was 'obviously' going to happen. Sir Paul Nurse, director of the Francis Crick Institute in London, told members of the House of Lords Science and Technology Committee: 'The main problem is that we have not taken pandemics seriously in this country.' 'We weren't prepared and we should have been prepared... because it was obvious that this was eventually going to hit us,' he added. Sir Paul appeared alongside directors of some of the most prestigious institutions in the UK, including the Royal Society and the Academy of Medical Sciences. He explained: 'Why didn't we take it seriously? We had this trial a couple of years ago [Exercise Cygnus, a pandemic preparedness exercise in 2016], of influenza - it was shown that we weren't prepared yet nothing was done. 'Maybe we suffered from austerity, maybe we suffered from a lack of leadership. 'I don't think it's a question so much of viruses were ignored over bacteria I actually think everything was, to some extent, ignored. 'We weren't taking pandemics seriously when it was so clear that if we did suffer one then it would be a major catastrophe. And what do we have? A major catastrophe.' Sir Venki Ramakrishnan, the president of the Royal Society, added: 'I think part of the reason for... complacency or lack of preparedness is that many of the earlier threats didn't materialise to the same extent in the UK. 'For example the H1N1, swine flu or Ebola - they were contained in other regions and didn't spread to the West extensively. That may have induced in us a sense of perhaps a complacence or a lack of preparedness.' In a separate meeting, Sir John Bell told MPs the same story. He said that one of the UK's biggest failures was not getting onto the 'front foot' in preparation for a pandemic. He told MPs: 'The fact that we were asleep to the concept that we were going to have a pandemic, I think, shame on us. 'Since the year 2000 we've had eight close calls of emerging infectious diseases, any one of which could have swept the globe as a pandemic. 'This is not new and I think we should not be proud of the fact that we ended up with a system which had no resilience to pandemics. I think the biggest single failure was not being on the front foot. 'Singapore started the first week of January preparing for trouble, where it took us very much to the end of February beginning of March to get going. 'I think that's the single biggest failure and I think a lot of things fall out from that.' A teenage Labor Party activist who whinged about having to apply for retail jobs because she wanted to be a classically-trained musician has hit back at her critics. Belinda Thomas, 19, was mocked on social media after she appeared in a New South Wales Young Labor video on youth unemployment. 'When I was 17, I needed income to support myself in order to have a claim of independence from my family situation,' she said in a video filmed at trendy Chippendale on the fringe of Sydney's city centre. 'Unable to use my 12 years of training as a classical musician to find a job, I ended up sending about 10 applications to retail jobs and only ended up scrounging one by chance.' Scroll down for video A teenage Labor Party activist who whinged about having to apply for retail jobs because she wanted to be a classically-trained musician has hit back at her critics On Tuesday, Ms Thomas responded to the backlash to the video with a post on Facebook. 'Helo thank u 2 everyone who has stood up for me today or sent a kind message it do be meaning a Lot(sic),' she said. Ms Thomas's post came after her critics slammed her for her attitude. 'Starve then, ungrateful. Maybe send her to pick fruit for her government-funded pay,' one comment said. Her unkind critics suggested she work at a fast food outlet, like plenty of other teenagers who are studying. 'Tough, time to get in the real world,' one person said. 'McDonald's and KFC are opening up so try there, snowflake.' Another wrote that Ms Thomas's attitude made her 'another leftist millennial, a product of that left's slow march through the education system'. Ms Thomas was also criticised for suggesting she deserved to have fame. 'Well, we can't all be famous for doing nothing,' one person said. 'Most of us normal people do have to work. The sooner she realises that the happier she will be.' Belinda Thomas, 19, has been mocked on social media after she appeared in a New South Wales Young Labor video on youth unemployment On Tuesday Ms Thomas responded to the backlash to the video with a post on Facebook (pictured) NSW Young Labor president Paul Mills, who also appeared in the video, declined to respond to Daily Mail Australia's requests for comment, including one asking if the youth movement still believed in standing up for young retail and hospitality workers. Young Labor deleted many critical Facebook comments posted yesterday but it missed one mocking their three-minute video. 'I love video games and have trained tirelessly on it for years,' one said. 'No one will give me a job based on my skills and passion for video games. 'The world has to change to cater for my interest and pay me as well as the doctors that spent their life learning life-saving skills.' Young Labor deleted many critical Facebook comments posted yesterday but it missed one mocking their three-minute video While Ms Thomas was mocked on Facebook, a minority of posts slammed Daily Mail Australia, accusing this publication of trivialising the plight of youths struggling to find work during the coronavirus recession Many more comments slammed Ms Thomas for her attitude Another critic suggested Ms Thomas's attitude made her 'another lefist millennial, a product of that left's slow march through the education system' Ms Thomas was also criticised for suggesting she deserved to have fame Her unkind critics suggested she work at a fast food outlet, like plenty of other teenagers who are studying NSW Young Labor has produced some of Australia's most powerful politicians since it was formed in 1948, with its past presidents including former prime minister Paul Keating, former NSW premier and foreign minister Bob Carr and Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese. Mr Keating was treasurer in 1991 during Australia's last recession and was the last PM to govern during an era of double-digit unemployment. Youth unemployment in June rose to 16.4 per cent, with the coronavirus recession making life in the labour market particularly tough for those aged 15 to 24. The jobless rate among the young was more than double last month's national average of 7.4 per cent, itself the highest since November 1998, when Mr Carr was premier of Australia's biggest state. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey today urged people to step up their participation in the 2020 Census to keep the state from losing federal funding and representation in Congress. Ivey said 59.8% of households have responded since the counting started in March, putting Alabama two percentage points below the national participation rate. To put in plainly, 60% just wont get it, Ivey said. Self-response at that level just will not cut the mustard. We remain at serious risk of losing representation and critical federal funding if we dont achieve maximum participation. Ivey stressed that the census results will affect Alabama for a decade and said low participation will reduce federal dollars for education, free and reduced school lunches, housing assistance, roads and infrastructure, and health care. Residents can answer the census online, through a toll-free phone call, or through the mail. Officials say it takes about six minutes to answer the 10 questions. The Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs is spearheading the Alabama Counts! campaign to promote participation, an effort Ivey launched two years ago. We all know that the COVID-19 has overshadowed our efforts from that perspective, ADECA Director Kenneth Boswell said. We are renewing our emphasis this summer and fall. Were making an even stronger push for the rest of the summer and into fall because what we do now, as the governor said, will affect, impact us for the next decade. ADECA hired the public relations firm Big Communications to help promote the campaign. People can fill out the census online at mycensus2020.gov. Or they can do it on the phone at 844-330-2020. Starting August 11, Census Bureau enumerators will begin knocking on doors of homes that have not responded to the census. Marilyn Stephens, assistant regional manager for the Census Bureaus Atlanta region, participated on a conference call today with Ivey. Stephens urged residents to avoid the knock from enumerators by filling out their forms. Stephens gave a preview of what residents can expect if they do receive a visit from an enumerator. She said enumerators will wear masks and carry photo identification. Residents will be asked to step outside and answer the questionnaire. Residents will have the option of telling the enumerator they would still like to self-report the census form online, by phone, or the mail-in paper form. Residents who tell enumerators that but dont follow through can expect a return visit from an enumerator, Stephens said. Stephens said Alabama leads the seven southern states in the Atlanta region in the response rate and 13 Alabama counties exceed the national rate. Shelby County has a response rate of more than 73%, she said. But we still have a lot of work to do, Stephens said. Related: Shelby, Madison counties leading Alabama in Census response Nevada, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Marketing continues to evolve with technology and consumer habits. In the past, the focus was on a printed medium such as newspapers and magazines. Now everything is becoming digital and businesses need to keep up to survive in modern times. Experts are here to help those who are struggling with the transition. Experienced online marketing professionals can lend their skills and knowledge in campaigns to revitalize sales. Each will have their own area of expertise. Finding the right consultant is vital. When it comes to affiliate marketing, few are able to come close to the accomplishments of Ryan McAweeney. He is keen on helping businesses in San Diego navigate the new normal. Affiliate marketing is a popular way of increasing sales using online platforms. Businesses sign up affiliates who then promote their products on blogs, forums, websites, social media, and other virtual locations. They usually talk about the pros and cons of these products in an effort to inform readers. If these generate sufficient interest, then visitors might click on affiliate links that lead to special sales pages. Commissions are paid for sales generated from these affiliate links. These are usually around 5% to 10% of the purchase price. This can be a lucrative way to earn passive income, especially if affiliates are able to generate high traffic to their sites. Technology takes care of all the backend work. There is no need to manually generate reports because trackers are able to gather all of the statistics for the concerned parties. Businesses will see how many visits were made to their affiliate's sales pages. They will know the number of sales conversions as well as the resulting conversion rate. There is a similar reporting tool available for the affiliates. These help them in developing their strategies to maximize earnings. They can track their progress and make changes to improve their results. The best ones can turn this into a viable full-time job. Story continues E-commerce has been on the rise for many years but recent developments have accelerated growth even faster. The pandemic has made more people shop online because of necessity given the widespread lockdowns. Businesses may be starting to open but many are still hesitant about going out. More consumers are getting used to online shopping. This is likely to stick in the coming years which means more opportunities for affiliate marketers. Businesses who are new to the online game and are thinking about ways to boost sales on the platform may want to look into this advertising model. Affiliate marketing is great for businesses because it is a highly efficient way to promote products. The payout for commissions is directly tied to performance. Nothing is wasted. They will only pay affiliates for successful sales conversions. The returns are always predictable. Compare this to television advertising where companies pay massive amounts of money without any guarantees of return. It could be a massive coup or a dismal failure. Of course, affiliate marketing has its own share of challenges but these are not insurmountable, especially with the assistance of industry experts such as Ryan McAweeney. Ryan has an incredible track record in marketing. Back in 1992, he founded the successful Vertical Direct Marketing Group. This gave him the opportunity to work with countless companies throughout the years with VDMG from startups to established names. He was able to help them grow through customized solutions that increased customer satisfaction. Impressive results have allowed him to build an army of loyal clients. Now that Ryan McAweeney has stepped back from VDMG to focus on affiliate marketing, businesses can tap his considerable talents in setting up their own online systems. With a history of successful campaigns under his belt, Ryan McAweeney is ready to lead the affiliate marketing revolution in San Diego. Ryan Mack ryan@goodguysnews.com Kiwibot, the delivery robot startup that got its start shuttling burritos and snacks to students on the University of California-Berkeley campus, is expanding to San Jose with a new business model and partners Shopify and Ordermark . About 25 Kiwibots will today begin delivering food and goods to customers in downtown San Jose and Buena Vista, a predominantly Latino neighborhood located southwest of the city center. Kiwibot will charge $3.99 per delivery, a fee that restaurants and other businesses can choose to absorb or pass on to consumers. The launch in San Jose isn't just about a geographic expansion. The announcement also marks the public launch of Kiwibot's new B2B strategy. "We started thinking instead of building the robot infrastructure and the marketplace, let's focus on just building the robot infrastructure and partner with companies that already have that in mind," said co-founder and CEO Felipe Chavez. Kiwibot made the transition in January and started to build out a business-to-business API so that any business could connect to its platform. Shopify and Ordermark are the first partners for Kiwibot under this new direction. What this means is that any business using the Shopfiy platform to manage their online stores can add the Kiwibot API so their products and be delivered directly to customers. Meanwhile, Ordermark, which sells an online ordering platform to businesses, has integrated the Kiwibot API into its product. Now Kiwibot shows up, alongside a variety of other services, on the Ordermark dashboard. Kiwibot is also working closely with the city of San Jose, according to Chavez. The city's transit agency will be able to locate and monitor each robot in real time via the Mobility Data Specification (MDS). A growing number of cities are using the MDS tool to track shared mobility vehicles such as scooters. But Chavez contends that San Jose is the first city to be integrated with a robotic company API. The data is anonymized to keep customer's personal information private, Chavez added. Story continues Image Credits: Kiwibot Kiwibots are not fully autonomous. At least not quite yet. Chavez uses the term "semi autonomous" to describe the bots. Here's what that actually means. The delivery bots are equipped with a camera and are capable of detecting objects and navigating around them. However, the bots are also supported and controlled remotely by humans in certain scenarios, who can monitor up to three robots remotely. These teleoperators, or supervisors as Kiwibot calls them, provide path planning, a method of setting and adjusting way points along a route. They can also step in and take direct control of the bot when problems arise. The supervisors, many of which are located in Colombia, from where Chavez and his co-founder Sergio Pachon originally hail, also control the bot on all traffic crossings, according to the company. The aim is for these bots to become less reliant on humans over time. Kiwi's next generation, known as Kiwibot 4.0, will be noticeably larger. What the public might not notice is the additional sensors, including more cameras and even lidar. The Kiwibot 4.0 is expected to come out at the end of the year. kiwibot 3.3 vs 4.0 Image Credits: Kiwibot CNN A dog that went missing from its home in Kansas turned up almost 60 miles away at her owners old house. Cleo, a four-year-old labrador, went missing from her house in Olathe, Kansas, on 12 July and turned up on her old porch in Lawson, Missouri, several days later. The house's new owner, Colton Michael, found the dog and helped return her to her owners after having her checked for a microchip. My wife and I had just gotten home from work, Mr Michael told CNN. Cleo was laying on the front porch at the front door, just laying there, waiting for somebody it seemed like. Mr Michael said that while Cleo was anxious about being approached when he first discovered her, he eventually managed to gain her trust and discovered her owners information on the chip. She finds her way home, and theres some strangers living in it. That would be scary for anybody, Mr Michael told local broadcaster KMBC. He said his wife recognised the name on the microchip as the former owners of the house. They had moved out in 2018, the station reported. Cleos owners had posted on Facebook a week earlier to say their dog was missing in an appeal for information about her whereabouts. They were bewildered when Mr Michael called and said Cleo had appeared at home. The labrador would have had to travel 57 miles (80.4 km) on her trip from her new home in Kansas to the old home in Missouri, including crossing a river or a bridge heavy with traffic, KMBC reported. Its the most bizarre story. Really, shes everything to us and to my mother, Drew, Cleos owner, told the outlet. It just feels really good to be reunited with her." Both Drew and Mr Michael have said Cleo's odyssey may always be an enigma. Its a mystery, something we will probably never know, Mr Michael said. However, her owners can rest assured that if she ever decides to make the trek again, she will be in safe hands. Now that we know who she belongs to if she pops up again, we know who to call, Mr Michael said. Story continues Read more Labrador gives birth to 14 puppies, one of the biggest litters ever Trump to resume coronavirus briefings St Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters star in Trump event CCTV captures moment leopard snatches family dog Orlando Bloom describes dog going missing as a waking nightmare Acting Director of Office of Management and Budget Russell Vought listens during a cabinet meeting in the East Room of the White House in Washington on May 19, 2020. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Senate Confirms Vought as White House Budget Chief The Senate voted 51-45 on July 20 to confirm Russell Vought as director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). The senators voted among party lines, with every Republican voting in favor of the candidate and every Democrat voting no. Vought has served as the acting OMB director since the promotion of his predecessor, Mick Mulvaney, to acting White House chief of staff. Former Rep. Mark Meadows has since replaced Mulvaney, who went on to become U.S. special envoy to Northern Ireland. Democrats in Congress had called on Vought to testify last year in the impeachment inquiry against President Donald Trump. Vought defied a subpoena and called the inquiry a sham. The Senate had previously confirmed Vought in February 2018 to serve as the deputy director of the OMB. Vought spent more than a decade on Capitol Hill in various roles. He served as a policy director for the House Republican Conference under then-Chairman Mike Pence who went on to cast the tie breaking vote in Voughts February 2018 confirmation. He also worked as the executive director of the Republican Study Committee. Vought served as the vice president of Heritage Action, a conservative policy advocacy organization. At Heritage Action, he led the charge against Obamacare and runaway federal spending, according to a statement from the groups current vice president Jessica Anderson. Trump nominated Vought for the post earlier this year on March 18. The White House did not respond to a request for comment. Vought has been a champion of Trumps efforts to cut regulations. His office is leading an effort to ensure that agencies are complying with Trumps plan to jumpstart post-pandemic U.S. economy through deregulation. Rep. Mark Walker (R-N.C.) authored an op-ed in favor of Voughts confirmation, vouching that Voughts knowledge and expertise in the federal budget contents and process is nearly unmatched. OMB is not the most important department in the federal government. Its leaders typically do not become political superstars. But their decisions have more effect on the lives of our grandchildren and great-grandchildren than the Department of State or, in some cases, even the president, Walker wrote. With our nation digging our debt hole deeper and deeper with each passing year, it is important that we install a nominee with a proven track record of proposing reforms that keep America strong and economically secure. Voughts 2017 confirmation hearing was the subject of controversy when Sen. Bernard Sanders (I-Vt.) brought up a blog post in which Vought weighed in on a theological discussion sparked by the firing of his alma mater. In the post, Vought wrote that Muslims do not simply have a deficient theology. They do not know God because they have rejected Jesus Christ his Son, and they stand condemned. Sanders questioning prompted a backlash, because it appeared to violate the Constitutions No Religious Test Clause. COLUMBUS, Ohio - The powerful Republican speaker of the Ohio House and four associates were arrested Tuesday in a $60 million federal bribery case connected to a taxpayer-funded bailout of Ohios two nuclear power plants. Hours after FBI agents raided Speaker Larry Householders farm, U.S. Attorney David DeVillers described the ploy as likely the largest bribery and money-laundering scheme that had ever been perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio. Gov. Mike DeWine, also a Republican, called on Householder to resign immediately, saying it would be impossible for him to be an effective legislative leader given the charges against him. The head of the Ohio Republican Party, the state attorney general and the Senate president also urged Householder to step down. The leaders of the House Republican Caucus called the allegations shocking but stopped short of asking Householder to resign. Householder was one of the driving forces behind the nuclear plants financial rescue, which added a new fee to every electricity bill in the state and directed over $150 million a year through 2026 to the plants near Cleveland and Toledo. Also arrested were Householder adviser Jeffrey Longstreth, longtime Statehouse lobbyist Neil Clark, former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matthew Borges and Juan Cespedes, co-founder of The Oxley Group, a Columbus-based consulting firm. Previous attempts to bail out the nuclear plants had stalled in the Legislature before Householder became speaker. Months after taking over, he rolled out a new plan to subsidize the plants and eliminate renewable energy incentives. The proposal was approved a year ago despite opposition from many business leaders and the manufacturing industry. Investigators said Householder controlled Generation Now, a group that received $60 million from an unidentified company over the past three years. In exchange, Householder and the other defendants worked to pass the nuclear plant bailout and block attempts to overturn it, according to a criminal complaint filed by the FBI. The group was charged as a corporation in the case. Householder and the others used the money to preserve and expand his political power, the complaint said. Almost $100,000 was used for Householders 2018 campaign, and more than $100,000 paid costs at the speakers Florida home, according to the complaint. The amounts increased once the legislation was introduced, and after it was signed into law, roughly $38 million was wired into Generation Now accounts to defeat an effort to put a repeal of the bailout law on Ohios ballot, the complaint said. A former spokesman for the effort declined to comment. One of the defendants said the money was unlimited, while another referred to it as Monopoly money. All of the defendants made brief appearances at a federal court hearing in Columbus. A magistrate judge released them on their own recognizance, with travel restrictions and orders to give up any weapons and their passports. Householder, wearing jeans and a T-shirt and wearing a mask despite previous refusals to don one, walked out of the courthouse to a crowd of protesters calling for his resignation. He could not be driven away until police intervened, including arresting one protester. After the court hearing, the states Republican elections chief announced that he had referred 19 potential campaign-finance violations to the Ohio Elections Commission based on allegations in the complaint, including converting campaign funds for personal use. FirstEnergy Corp., whose former subsidiaries owned the plants, donated heavily to Householders campaigns and his backers in the Ohio House. The utilitys political action committee contributed $25,000 to Householders campaign in 2018, according to an analysis by Common Cause Ohio, a government watchdog. Householder flew to President Donald Trumps inauguration on the companys plane in 2016. Just months later, Householder began receiving quarterly payments of $250,000 from the unidentified company sent through Generation Now, the complaint said. The group then spent millions backing Ohio House candidates who would back Householders bid for speaker and support the bailout legislation. FirstEnergy Solutions, the subsidiary which has since changed its name to Energy Harbor, now operates the nuclear plants as an independent company. It spent millions on lobbying and campaign contributions while trying to persuade federal and state officials to give the nuclear plants a lifeline. FirstEnergy Corp. said it in a statement that it received subpoenas Tuesday in connection with the investigation and intends to co-operate. A message seeking comment was left with attorney Dave Thomas, who was representing both Householder and Longstreth. Borges has increasingly been on the outs with the Ohio Republican Party establishment since it was taken over by devotees of President Donald Trump. He was recently censured by the partys central committee, including for helping launch a PAC in June to turn out GOP voters for Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden. Borges attorney declined to comment. Clark is one of Ohios best connected lobbyists, representing a high-powered stable of clients from the pharmaceutical, gambling and alcoholic beverage industries, among others. His attorney, Will Ireland, said he did not see any culpability in the case. Cespedes is a former investment officer with the Ohio Treasurers Office who was appointed by then-Gov. John Kasich as commissioner for the Ohio Civil Rights Commission, where he oversees efforts to stop discrimination. His term ends July 29. Cespedes attorney, Mark Collins, said he was still reviewing the 82-page affidavit. Householder is a veteran state lawmaker in his second stint as speaker. He held the same position from 2001 to 2004. He left state politics more than a decade ago because of term limits and returned in 2016 and took up a contentious fight to win back the chambers top job. At the time he left office, he and several top advisers were under federal investigation for alleged money laundering and irregular campaign practices. The government closed the case without filing charges. ___ Seewer reported from Toledo. Associated Press Writer Andrew Welsh-Huggins in Columbus and AP/Report for America reporter Farnoush Amiri contributed to this report. Amiri is a corps member for the Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a non-profit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues. Former Los Angeles Times correspondent Donald Shannon (Photo courtesy John Shannon) Donald H. Shannon, whose 38-year career as a Washington and foreign correspondent for The Times included John F. Kennedy's 1960 presidential campaign and the end of the Cold War in 1989, died July 17 of COVID-19. He was 97. Shannon was one of the last surviving links to an earlier era at the Los Angeles Times; he joined the newspaper in 1954, six years before Otis Chandler became publisher and began transforming The Times from a provincial metropolitan paper into a nationally recognized journalistic enterprise. Shannon was hired as the third member of what was then a two-person Washington bureau, increasing the staff by 50%. That was an era when reporters often relied on personal relationships with high-ranking officials to get their stories. In 1954, when Shannon was assigned to cover important Supreme Court decisions, he compensated for his lack of legal expertise by telephoning an acquaintance from California, then-Chief Justice Earl Warren. In Shannons telling, Warren agreed to explain the courts decisions to the young reporter each week, off the record. The arrangement worked until Justice Robert H. Jackson died of a heart attack at his secretarys home. When Shannon asked Warren if Jackson had a personal relationship with the woman, the chief justice stiffly replied: "Young man, please never call me again." Shannon stuck with the personal approach decades after it began to wane in Washington. In 1976, when one of Chandlers daughters was reported missing during a trip to Guatemala, Shannons personal contacts came in handy again. He telephoned another acquaintance, then-CIA Director George H.W. Bush, to ask if the intelligence agency could help and was quickly told that the young woman had been found unharmed. Donald Hawkins Shannon was born Feb. 1, 1923 in Auburn, Wash. He graduated from Stanford University in 1944, served with U.S. forces in the Pacific theater from 1944 to 1946, and began his career as a journalist in 1947 at the English-language Brazil Herald in Rio de Janeiro. Story continues In 1948, he traveled to Paris in hope of getting a job covering the United Nations General Assembly meeting there, only to discover that the city was awash in Americans hoping for the same job. After a while, I decided that it was getting close to starvation, so I decided I'd better get over to London because nobody wanted to work in London, still recovering from the war, he recalled in an interview for an oral history project in Washington. After brief stints in London with United Press International and then with the Western Reporters news service in Washington, he joined The Times in 1954. He covered John F. Kennedys campaign in 1960, then served as a foreign correspondent in Paris from 1962 to 1965 and in Tokyo from 1966 to 1971, as a United Nations correspondent in New York from 1971 to 1975 and a national security reporter in Washington from 1975 until his retirement in 1992. Shannon contracted COVID-19 at Bishop Gadsden Episcopal Retirement Community in Charleston, S.C., where he had been a resident for several years. He was treated for 10 days at Roper Hospital in Charleston, but died 13 days after first exhibiting symptoms of the disease. Shannon married Sally Van Deurs, an attache at the U.S. Embassy in London, in 1952; their marriage lasted until her death in 2006. He is survived by a son, John McConville Shannon; a daughter, Susanna Shepard Shannon; and two granddaughters, Rebecca Oudin-Shannon and Samantha Christina Shannon. The festival of Teej is the celebration of nature and its abundance. It falls during the monsoons in the months of July or August every year. As India is primarily an agricultural country, this festival holds utmost importance. Women celebrate by welcoming the monsoons with singing, dancing, dressing up, applying henna on their hands and sharing folklore with their family and friends. Teej is dedicated to Goddess Parvati because according to legend, she had to go through 108 cycles of birth and rebirth before Lord Shiva agreed to marry her. Goddess Parvati is also called Teej Mata and Hindu women pray to her for the protection of their husbands and also thank her for an abundant monsoon which indicates prosperity. ALSO READ: Teej 2020: History, significance, puja timing of this monsoon festival Teej celebrations are incomplete without celebrations, sweets such as ghewar, coconut laddoos, sabudana kheer and others, rituals, decorations and more. Mehndi application is an important part of the Teej festivities. This year Teej is being celebrated on July 23. Women usually observe a day-long fast for their familys good health, prosperity and well-being. Mehndi adds to the beauty of these festivities when friends and families get together to celebrate. Mehndi or henna has been used for a long time as its said to have been a part of our traditions for centuries. Mehndi designs, whether simple or pattern-heavy, not only make our hands look more attractive but also keeps the skin infection-free due to its anti-microbial efficacy. Several Instagram accounts are thriving with designs that one can take inspiration from and create at home with henna application cones. You can also choose ready-made mehndi tattoos and glitter stickers incase of paucity of time just ahead of the festival. If traditional designs are not your taste, then mix and match henna art and blend in to the traditional festivities in your style! Teej is referred to as different names in different regions - from Hariyali Teej in Punjab and Rajasthan, to Kajari Teej in Uttar Pradesh and parts of Madhya Pradesh, to Hartalika Teej in the southern parts of the country. Hariyali Teej gets its name from the greenery in nature that we see just after its rained. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter LOS ANGELES, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Nelson-Miller and EuroDev are pleased to announce they have entered into a strategic partnership, combining Nelson-Miller's design, engineering, and manufacturing expertise with EuroDev's world class technical sales team and European distribution network. Through this partnership, Nelson-Miller is now able to provide its portfolio of services and solutions throughout the European market with a local and personalized approach. Founded in 1937, Nelson-Miller designs, engineers, and manufactures custom OEM parts and components to all markets and industries. These include: Plastic injection molded parts In-mold decorated parts Backlighting solutions Membrane switches Silicone keypads and keypad assemblies Capacitive switches Touch screen solutions Complete box build assemblies "This partnership is a powerful combination. EuroDev's understanding of the European market and their strong technical team are uniquely complimentary to Nelson-Miller's portfolio of products and services. We believe this will help generate industry-leading solutions for a diverse group of clients including medical device makers, industrial companies, automobile manufacturers, and so many others," said Jim Kaldem, President of Nelson-Miller. In addition to the many benefits this partnership provides to clients throughout Europe, Nelson-Miller now has an office located at Windmolen 22, 7609NN Almelo, Netherlands. Driving the success of Nelson-Miller in Europe is Bart Leussink, Director of Business Development for Nelson-Miller Europe. For inquires within Europe, Mr. Leussink is available via email at bart.leussink@nelson-miller.eu, or telephone at +31 6 1175 5686. About Nelson-Miller Based in Los Angeles, Nelson-Miller designs, engineers, and manufactures custom parts and components for all markets and industries. In addition to their Los Angeles headquarters office, Nelson-Miller maintains engineering and manufacturing sites in Wausau, WI; Berlin, WI; and Dongguan, China. To learn more about Nelson-Miller, visit www.nelson-miller.com. About EuroDev Founded and based in the Netherlands, EuroDev works with clients to develop unique business development models to generate growth and expansion in the European market. To learn more about EuroDev, visit www.eurodev.com. For inquiries, contact: Paul Zahorecz Manager, Marketing and Corporate Development (202) 770-5380 paul.zahorecz@nelson-miller.com Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1216406/LargeLogoNewBlue_Logo.jpg If President Donald Trump wants to convince voters that he deserves a second term, he must spend the remainder of the campaign clearly explain Eight million residents in California have criminal records and struggle to find quality jobs and earn an honest living. AB-2138 is giving professionals with records the opportunity to finally start over, says Miranda McCroskey, founder of Unlock Legal Unlock Legal, a professional law corporation, announced a victory for professional license holders with criminal records, as California passed Assembly Bill 2138 on July 1. Eight million residents in California have criminal records and struggle to find quality jobs and earn an honest living. AB-2138 is giving professionals with records the opportunity to finally start over, says Miranda McCroskey, founder of Unlock Legal, a professional license defense firm. The new reform prevents past mistakes from defining the future for California residents and allows them to obtain their professional licenses more easily, McCroskey added. As of July 1, AB-2138 has changed how the California Department of Consumer Affairs licensing boards handle professional and occupational licenses for individuals with criminal records. The California Department of Consumer Affairs monitors over 40 professional and occupational licensing boards, including over 1,700 occupations. AB-2138 aims to support individuals housed in these occupations and subject to the judgment of California licensing boards. The reform restricts licensure practices and discretions from licensing boards in the following areas: Licensing boards are now limited to how they can use prior convictions to approve or deny license applications. Convictions over 7 years are no longer sufficient grounds for license denial. Criminal convictions must be substantially related to the required occupational duties or qualifications in order to be a basis for license denial, revocation, or suspension. New license applications can no longer be denied due to criminal convictions that were dismissed, pardoned, expunged, or if the applicant gave proof of rehabilitation. License applicants are no longer required to self-disclose prior convictions unless their profession does not require fingerprint background checks. Licensing boards are required to publicly report all appeal and license denial data. For years, Unlock Legal has been helping expunge and seal records, petition denials, and face licensing boards on behalf of California professionals. We understand the importance of unlocking your license and livelihood. AB-2138 is a revolutionary step in helping these residents obtain their licenses and protect their careers, says McCroskey. To learn more about Unlock Legals full list of Professional License Defense services, visit http://www.unlocklegal.com About Unlock Legal Unlock Legal, a professional law corporation, specializes in professional license defense for California residents. The legal team of experienced license defense attorneys assists professionals who have received a statement of issues from their licensing boards, fear threats of professional discipline, or have lost or surrendered their professional license and are seeking assistance to be reinstated. Contact: Miranda McCroskey Unlock Legal miranda@unlocklegal.com http://www.unlocklegal.com (833) 865-6253 Many well-wishers, followers, and some active members alike of the ruling New Patriotic Party (NPP) often express some misgivings (with trepidations?) regarding the partys lackluster communication strategy and delivery methods. Most likely, some of the sympathizers concerns regarding the NPPs overall communication strategy, primarily stem from the often subtle display of the Too-Cool tendencies or the near lack of confidence in conveying to Ghanaians the partys landmark achievements and many other life-saving socioeconomic programmes implemented under the present government. Its why it didnt come as a surprise to some of us when the current leader of the NPP and the president of the republic, Nana Akuffo-Addo, recently took the time to have virtual communication strategy session with most of the partys messaging team. Clearly, a lot of the key points the president raised or some of the ideas shared during the brief but strategic cyberspace meeting, are indicative of the fact that the NPP acknowledges some of its shortcomings on that front, and as such the president wants the communication team to enhance the efficacy of the partys messaging or its public information transfer techniques. Thus, Nana Akufo-Addo emphasized the importance of quality information transfer, and strongly encouraged his Communication Advisory Team to tell storylines that can provide Ghanaians the opportunity to know and appreciate quality as opposed to the mere number of policies this government has pursued since taking office. In simple terms, the president sought to remind the communicators or NPP folks in general to relegate into the limbo years of under-the-radar shyness that seems to have become part of Danquah-Busia-Dombo tradition in terms of the inability to extoll the partys people-centered accomplishments in more forceful ways. Evidently, Nana Addos reference to quality communication that he was overheard articulating to the team of communicators during the virtual meeting is another way of emphasizing that effective human communication is usually wrapped in clear and digestible language for the intended audience to understand. For example, if the target audience is made up of predominantly non-educated class or has trouble comprehending a certain type of language or (say) English; why use it, anyway? After all we are not having a meeting or campaign rally involving the Queen of England. The preceding reinforces the fact that one of the significant goals of communicationwhether verbal or nonverbalis not only to create but also, to maintain social, and to some extent political relationships. This also presumes that effective (mass) communication, as this present writer and many others have underscored on previous occasions, is contingent upon not only the transference of a body of information or message from the sender(s) to receiver(s), but also, efficient communication is that which is transactional almost similar to engaging in business transaction with someone or a group of people involving back and forth conversations. That is to say, the kind of message delivery approach Nana Akufo-Addo is drawing the attention of the members of his campaign communication advisory team, obviously pertains to using communication to have some form of strategic control with regard to ones audience. For instance, strategic communication tends to be substantive and coherent, but the same time enjoyable, has friendly tone, and humorous, as Vice President Dr. Bawumia seems to be doing in many of his public communication events. Doubtlessly, the NPP as a ruling government has a long train of achievements; and as political party, it has clear-cut ideological assumptions, as well as consequential ideas that need to be proudly and passionately told in unambiguous language. Admittedly, there are many creative ways in which one can tell the unrivaled success stories of Nana Addo-led NPP administration. One needs to remember that all successful communication is also premised on creativity but constrained by societal norms or social etiquettes. Effective communicators are well aware of this societal reality; that is why ethnocentric campaigning is not part of human decency. For many of us watching from the sidelines, the president never or didnt directly say that NPP as a party must bring its often timid or colourless communication approach on par with its vast array of intellectuals and policy wonks in its camp, but the profile of the virtual communication huddle speaks volumes about Nana Addos genuine reservations to that effect. This is an election year; and, it is not ones average general election period. We know the whole world is almost locked down because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Coronavirus has shown that countries that do not have decisive and data-driven world leaders such as Nana Akufo-Addo, Paul Kagame, Justin Trudeau, and host of others, cant mount sustained effort to try to contain the deadly virus. Honestly, Ghana is lucky to have President Akufo-Addo in the political saddles in that the country cannot afford an inept JD Mahama (mis)rule, but the NDC will definitely make the most noise to muddy the waters. Based on the presidents conversation with his communication campaign team, we can also suggest that in this critical campaigning season, the NPP communication team cannot be complete without the active involvement of creative communicators such as Vice President Bawumia and his multilingual wife Samira; Mr. Kusi Boafo who has a good command of public policy and demonstrated ability to express them in locally decipherable language; Ms. Jennifer Queen has passionate voice and can be persuasive. Trust me, the list is not exhaustive here, but of course, one cannot leave out the partys attack dogs led mightily by Honorable Ken Agyepong, Chairman Wontumi and Abronye DC, who form the bulwark against Mahamas NDC disinformation team. Finally, spearheading all the NPPs campaign communication team is the president himself who possesses the bully pulpit as the Americans would say. Unlike JD Mahama-hijacked NDC, the NPP has essential commodities to sell to Ghanaians, let the Danquah-Busia-Dombo party roll up its sleeves and shake off its yoke of communication timidity. Bernard Asubonteng is US-based writer; He is also political science lecturer. Maas was meeting in Athens with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, as well as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou Turkey must stop drilling for natural resources in waters in the eastern Mediterranean if there is to be progress in EU-Turkey ties, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said during a visit to Athens on Tuesday. Maas, whose country holds the rotating presidency of the European Union, was meeting in Athens with his Greek counterpart, Nikos Dendias, as well as Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis and President Katerina Sakellaropoulou. Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said last week that Turkey would start seismic research and drilling operations in contested waters that are covered by an agreement between Ankara and Libya's UN-recognised government in Tripoli. "Regarding Turkey's drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, we have a very clear position - international law must be respected so progress in EU-Turkey relations is only possible if Ankara stops provocations in the eastern Mediterranean," Maas said in an effort to head off a potential crisis with neighboring Greece. Late last year, the EU imposed economic sanctions on Turkey for drilling off the coast of Cyprus. NATO allies Greece and Turkey are at odds over drilling rights in the region, with the EU and the United States increasingly critical of Ankara's plans to expand exploration and drilling operations in the coming weeks into areas Athens claims as its own. "At the same time, within the European Union we see the need to engage in dialogue with Turkey," Maas said. Greece is hoping Germany will use its influence with Turkey to press for progress in negotiations. Earlier this month, Germany hosted unannounced talks with Greek and Turkish officials to try and restart discussions. Turkey has accused Greece of trying to exclude it from the benefits of oil and gas finds in the Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean, arguing that sea boundaries for commercial exploitation should be divided between the Greek and Turkish mainland and not include the Greek islands on an equal basis. Athens rejects the argument as being in clear violation of international law. Greece is pressing other EU member states to prepare ``crippling sanctions against Turkey if it proceeds with its oil-and-gas exploration plans which are expected to start in September, according to Turkey's state-run oil company, TPAO. EU foreign policy chief Josep Borrell last week said he would launch an initiative to engage Turkey in talks, citing ``worrying developments in the Eastern Mediterranean and the civil war in Libya. Search Keywords: Short link: Here are 20 of the most anticipated book titles being released in 2022. Some are out already, and the listed release dates are current as of Jan. 10. NORTHVILLE, MI / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. (NYSE:CPS) will hold a conference call on Wednesday, August 5 at 9 a.m. ET. The Company's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jeffrey Edwards and Chief Financial Officer Jonathan Banas will discuss Cooper Standard's second quarter 2020 results, provide a general business update and respond to investor questions. The Company expects to release results for the second quarter 2020 after market close on Tuesday, August 4. The Company's earnings results will also be posted to the Cooper Standard website (http://www.ir.cooperstandard.com) once released. A link to the live webcast of the call (listen only) and presentation materials will be available on Cooper Standard's Investor Relations website at http://www.ir.cooperstandard.com/index.cfm. To participate by phone, callers in the United States and Canada should dial toll-free 877-374-4041 (international callers dial 253-237-1156) and provide the conference ID 5086888 or ask to be connected to the Cooper Standard conference call. Representatives of the investment community will have the opportunity to ask questions after the presentation. Callers should dial in at least five minutes prior to the start of the call. Individuals unable to participate during the call may visit the investors' portion of the Cooper Standard website (http://www.ir.cooperstandard.com) for a replay of the webcast. About Cooper Standard Cooper Standard, headquartered in Northville, Mich., is a leading global supplier of systems and components for the automotive industry. Products include sealing, fuel and brake delivery and fluid transfer systems. Cooper Standard employs approximately 24,000 people globally and operates in 21 countries around the world. For more information, please visit www.cooperstandard.com. Contact for Analysts: Roger Hendriksen Cooper Standard (248) 596-6465 roger.hendriksen@cooperstandard.com Contact for Media: Chris Andrews Cooper Standard (248) 596-6217 CAndrews@cooperstandard.com SOURCE: Cooper-Standard Holdings Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598144/Cooper-Standard-to-Host-Conference-Call-on-August-5-to-Discuss-Second-Quarter-2020-Financial-Results Politics is a mind game. No one wants to be caught unawares. As in any cliffhanger, the playing eleven from both sides in Rajasthan are rarely letting their guards down before the final over is bowled. Observers and participants alike are seeking to scan every move, every statement for a cipher. Who knows, a sudden pause may behold a temporary dentate. An uncharacteristic outburst may allude to a pro-tem setback. In the Rajasthan MLA chase, chief minster Ashok Gehlots diatribe against his former deputy, Sachin Pilot, has surprised many. Gehlot is a man of few words. Very cautious in his utterances even in the face of a severe crisis. But if one were to take a close look, there is a method in Gehlots aggression this season. And a thought too. His first frontal attack on Pilot was timed just hours before reports started to trickle in that a section in the Congress central leaders wanted to keep a door ajar for the 19 MLAs camping in Manesar. Sone ki choori pet mein khani ki nahin hoti. Golden knife should not be used to cut ones own stomach, Gehlot told journalists after meeting his MLAs. In the next one week, he has not minced words in accusing Pilot of conspiring to topple the government. The statement was timed to coincide with reports from Delhi quoting top Congress sources on how the party central leadership was trying to keep the door ajar for the dissident leader. Gehlot sought to close both doors and windows firmly by continuing with his diatribe over the next seven days. All the key organisational functionaries considered Pilot loyalists were replaced. The chief minister was trying to eject Pilot out of state politics, even if the high command were to work out a compromise. All possibility of a status-quo-ante were nipped in the bud. On Monday, Gehlot launched another attack on Pilot. This time a personal one, calling his former deputy nikamma and nakara. The CMs aggression is aimed both at the defectors and his own party MLAs. He is sending a message to his own flock of MLAs that he is in control, and confident of surviving the current crisis to complete the term of office. In the process, he is also targeting the defectors, asking them to choose their side a bit wisely. Or even provoke a response from them which might come handy in strengthening the disqualification petition before the speaker. Contrary to Gehlots aggression, Sachin Pilot has been uncharacteristically reticent. Papers have carried his side of the story primarily quoting team Sachin or sources close to Sachin. The Pilot group has challenged the notice for disqualification before the Rajasthan High Court on the ground that they have neither violated any whip nor have indulged in anti-party activities. Any statement contradicting their stated position would only strengthen Gehlots case before the court and may lead to their disqualification. On the few occasions Pilot has gone on record, he has tried to dispel reports of any truck with the BJP. A point in this case is a Pilot quote widely circulated to media: Not joining BJP. Our fight is to save Congress by changing the leadership. The other key player in the battle for Rajasthan is BJP leader Vasundhara Raje. The former Rajasthan CM had maintained a studious silence on developments in Jaipur till NDA ally and Nagaur MP Hanuman Beniwal went on an offensive accusing Raje of not working in her partys best interest. A few days later, Raje confidante and former speaker Kailash Meghwal issued a statement against efforts to de-stabilise a democratically elected government. Raje tweeted her response a few hours later blaming the Congress party and its leaders for the discord in Rajasthan at a time when the state is battling a pandemic. She signed off in bold letters: it is the interest of our people that must remain paramount. Smart politicians have this ability to draft statements which remain open to interpretations. OSLO, Norway, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Annual General Meeting of Shareholders of Borr Drilling Limited (the "Company") will be held on August 10, 2020 in Bermuda. A copy of the Notice of Annual General Meeting and Form of Proxy will be distributed to shareholders by normal distribution methods and is attached to this release. Associated information including the Company's Annual Report can be found on the Company's website www.borrdrilling.com. Hamilton, Bermuda July 21, 2020 This information is subject to the disclosure requirements pursuant to section 5-12 of the Norwegian Securities Trading Act. This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/borr-drilling-limited/r/borr-drilling-limited---notice-of-annual-general-meeting-2020,c3158085 The following files are available for download: https://mb.cision.com/Public/16983/3158085/b7529c0a86b94320.pdf Borr Drilling AGM Notice 2020 SOURCE Borr Drilling Limited Aziz Mustaffa used to collect turtles' eggs from a Malaysian beach and sell them. But nowadays, he makes a living as a ranger protecting the creatures' nesting sites. His transformation is one success in an uphill struggle to defend the endangered reptiles who swim ashore to the tropical country from the South China Sea to lay their eggs in the sand. Several species, including Green turtles, Hawksbills and Leatherbacks, nest on Malaysia's coasts, where the spectacle of babies hatching and scurrying into the sea has long been a major tourist draw. But their numbers have dwindled dramatically due to worsening maritime pollution, coastal development, and people snatching their eggs, which are a popular local delicacy. Conservationists have however been making progress. As well as persuading some people like Aziz to change their ways, Terengganu state, a major nesting site, has announced it will ban the trade in eggs. "The turtles and eggs are our national treasure," Aziz, 44, told AFP, after watching a group of the reptiles emerge from the sea and lay eggs on a beach on Redang Island, in Terengganu. "I feel I am their god parent and I want to protect them for future generations. It gives me joy to see the huge turtles returning here to nest." The 20-strong group of females came ashore at night, crawling up Chagar Hutang beach, with Aziz watching alongside several other conservationists. - 'Voracious appetite' - They dug holes and laid thousands of eggs, before swimming back into the sea. On the same 350-metre (1,100-foot) beach, one of the busiest nesting sites in Malaysia, baby turtles were hatching and scurrying into the waters. Humans are far from the only threat they face -- monitor lizards eat their eggs, while many are gobbled up by sharks and predatory fish as soon as they make it into the waters. Aziz, from a poor fishing family on the island, remembers how he used to hide in the bushes by the beach and race out to grab the eggs shortly after they were laid, with brawls often breaking out between rival collectors. The eggs were then sold to local traders or eaten, and were a key source of protein in limited diets, although that started to change as incomes increased and different food options became available. At the same time, Aziz realised there were more benefits for the local community in protecting turtle nests than raiding them, as growing numbers of tourists flocked to the island to see the creatures. "I realised that if these migratory species are protected, the villagers on Redang would be able sustain their livelihoods," he said. So he started working for University Malaysia Terengganu's turtle research unit to protect the creatures, earning about $400 a month. He now works with two other rangers and a group of volunteers to safeguard the eggs from poachers and predators like monitor lizards. "Villagers on Redang Island now enjoy a stable income from tourism as a growing number of people want to watch the Green turtles lay eggs," he said. - Centuries-old tradition - Mohamad Uzair Rusli, a biologist working on saving sea turtles at the university, agreed that giving locals a way to earn money from looking after the creatures was the best fashion to safeguard their future. But he warned that without tackling the "voracious appetite" for eggs -- considered an aphrodisiac by many -- the creatures faced an uncertain future. Licensed collectors are still allowed to operate in Terengganu, on the northeast coast of peninsular Malaysia, and the sale of most species' eggs remains legal. But state authorities have pledged to ban the trade in all turtle eggs by the end of this year, following sustained pressure from conservation groups. Currently Terennganu only prohibits the trade in eggs of Leatherback turtles, after their numbers fell dramatically, but not other species commonly found in the state. However, changing a centuries-old tradition will be tough. On a recent visit, eggs were being sold openly at a busy market in state capital Kuala Terengganu, with buyers paying the equivalent of $12 for 10. Trader Nor Jannah said business was brisk, and brushed off suggestions that eating the eggs was a threat to turtles. "It is impossible turtles will become extinct," said the 32-year-old. "I have been eating and selling turtle eggs since I was 12." Aziz Mustaffa used to collect turtles' eggs from a Malaysian beach and sell them but nowadays, he makes a living as a ranger protecting the creatures' nesting sites Several species, including green turtles, hawksbills and leatherbacks, nest on Malaysia's coasts, where the spectacle of babies hatching and scurrying into the sea is a major tourist draw Malaysia's turtle numbers have dwindled dramatically due to worsening maritime pollution and coastal development Authorities in the Malaysian state of Terengganu pledged to ban the trade in all turtle eggs by the end of this year, following sustained pressure from conservation groups Gabon has taken the leadership of the African Group of Negotiators (AGN) for the next two years by putting priorities of working towards a stronger and unified African voice in the global climate change negotiations on which the President of Gabon has committed to supporting wholeheartedly. Unfortunately, due to the outbreak and challenges of Covid-19, African countries like other governments around the world are facing multiple crises from the spread of the pandemic, which requires immediate and decisive action to save lives and overcome the social and economic consequences. Recommended Get young people to help solve the climate crisis Covid-19 is severely testing our capacities to resilience. However, despite health challenges being a priority, it is crucial to remind ourselves that the world is facing two global challenges: the COVID-19 and the climate crisis. Regrettably, the latter has been put on hold despite the increasing threat of climate change on human health, economies and the scientific warnings that we have reached the tipping point. Scientists warn significant climate change impacts will occur much earlier than expected if actions are not taken urgently and Africa, a continent of 54 countries, will be the most vulnerable and adversely affected, despite contributing only to 4% of the total global emissions. It is therefore vital that we must firmly put a similar focus and resource that we have devoted to Covid-19 to replicate it in addressing the threats of climate change. We need to align our response to Covid-19 with the Paris Agreement and in the same process, pay close attention to the Nature-Based Solutions to reduce the probability of a recurrence of this pandemic, for biodiversity preservation, climate mitigation, adaptation and sustainable development. The U.N. summit in Glasgow (now postponed to next year) will be the last mile before the initiation of the implementation of the Paris Agreement in 2021, and countries have to agree on the rules at COP26 as the Paris Agreement guides the efforts of parties and their obligation on climate action. It is to be noted that before the epidemic, the African Group had a strategic meeting in Libreville earlier this year under the theme Cop26: Africa's Roadmap for Climate Action. This meeting leads us to endorse a clear African work plan to COP26 and to deliberate a strategy for updating and revising our Nationally Determined Contribution under the Paris Agreement, before the next conference of parties of the UN climate change. Henceforth, due to the restriction to physically meet and to maintain our work, the African Group through my leadership has decided to keep the on-going conversation virtually and to use the available technologies to discuss with representatives from different African countries, other parties and partners to make sure we keep the momentum on climate action. These virtual consultations will enable us to strengthen our climate action for the post-Covid-19 period, and reinforce our climate adaptation efforts adaptation being the priority for African countries. It is in this context that Mr Ban Ki-moon, 8th United Nations Secretary-General and Co-Chair of the Global Center on Adaptation (GCA), has expressed his desire to create a synergy between the GCA and the African Adaptation Initiative (AAI). This has been championed by H.E . Ali Bongo Ondimba, the President of Gabon. Mr Ki-moon requested the President of Gabon to join the Board of Directors of the World Commission on Adaptation due to his strong leadership on climate. Gabon continues to champion the African Adaptation Initiative since it was launched in 2015, where it contributed $500,000 to support African countries in their efforts on adaptation. As President Bongo has said, The real impact of the coronavirus crisis on climate will ultimately depend on the choices we make in how we recover. Meeting the Paris Agreement's goals for mitigation and adaptation must be central to this effort to ensure we reduce the likelihood of future pandemics. Thus, this synergy will strengthen and enhance the implementation of the adaptation initiative for Africa and outlines the need for an integrated response in building the climate and the pandemic resilience in Africa. This year is crucial for aligning the recovery process with the Paris Agreement goals and to keep the momentum. African countries have also called on developed countries to take robust action and implementation to close the ambition gap of both cutting emissions and through climate finance for climate action by 2020. The gap in mobilising and dispersing $100 billion a year by 2020 is of crucial concern for African countries. The African Group has called on parties to deliver their obligation of climate finance to facilitate the implementation of more ambitious action in vulnerable countries. Consequently, we need to remind parties that in 2015 countries agreed to an ambitious climate treaty to address the 'climate emergency' under the Paris Agreement. The Covid-19 pandemic is a wake-up call and is teaching us that this fight against the virus cannot be won without us joining forces. We have witnessed a strong need for preparedness, cooperation, commitment and working together. The world must take the lessons from it for climate action with a sense of solidarity and urgency in order to recover better for our future generation and our planet. Tanguy Gahouma-Bekale is Special Advisor to the President of the Republic of Gabon and Chair of the African Group of Negotiators on climate change. By Ellie Silverman and Mike Newall | The Philadelphia Inquirer President Donald Trump said Monday he may send more federal law enforcement to cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit as he lauded the use of force by local and federal officers during protests in Portland, Oregon, that have followed the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. Federal officers in Portland have used tactics such as driving unmarked cars to detain demonstrators, according to accounts of protesters, videos circulated on social media and local media. "In Portland they've done a fantastic job," Trump said Monday during a meeting on the GOP's coronavirus relief bill. Jennifer Crandall, a spokeswoman for William McSwain, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said her office had no comment. As demonstrators take to the streets to protest racism and police brutality, officers across the country have responded with force. In Philadelphia, officers have used tear gas and assaulted peaceful protesters, and deployed military-style vehicles in a residential neighborhood where tear gas wafted into the homes of families. After initial days of protests saw looting and police responding with excessive force, marches and demonstrations in Philadelphia have been largely peaceful. The city has since apologized for its tactics those first few days of protests. More than 140 Philadelphia protesters and residents sued the city this month, saying the June 1 teargassing of a crowd of demonstrators on I-676 and the police use of rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas along 52nd Street in West Philadelphia the day before violated their constitutional rights to free expression and freedom from excessive force. More than 750 people in Philadelphia were arrested for a slew of citations, like curfew violations, failure to disperse, and disorderly conduct. These protesters were handcuffed and detained in hot cars of buses for so long that they urinated on themselves and plead for water, the Philadelphia Inquirer previously reported. "Whether they want to admit it or not, the civil citations were in violation of the constitutional rights of all of those that participated in peaceful, lawful protest protected by the First Amendment," said Paul Hetznecker, a civil rights attorney who works with the Up Against the Law legal collective to represent protesters. Earlier this month, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced the city was waiving all of code-violation notices issued to protesters from May 30 to June 30. After weeks of defending the decision to use tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters on I-676, Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw apologized and called the use of force "unjustifiable." Outlaw has said a departmental investigation and an outside review of the protest response are underway. Web Toolbar by Wibiya Get the book on John Summers HERE. Thanks to the failures of professional organizations like the Law Society of Upper Canada to support an ethical culture, lawyers have become known in society for being money-grubbing mercenaries. With that said, there is no lawyer I know that characterizes the evils of the law profession today better than Bell Baker LLP's John Summers in Ottawa. When John Summers was presented with a case involving domestic violence being perpetrated against an elderly black woman, it appears to have been a simple equation for him. Defend a domestic abuser who inflicted emotional, physical and psychological abuse through lies and backdoor conspiracy with a secret society of judges and then collect a $300-per-hour payday. John Summers calls himself a "family lawyer." But it's clear that he has no care for families other than perhaps his own. In the apparent view of John Summers, black people are really some kind of animal rather than human beings. This was the apparent thinking when John Summers went to work to destroy the life of Dezrin Carby-Samuels, whom he relegated to years of torture by her husband in conditions that most people would not wish on their enemies. You might wonder why I put husband in quotation marks. It's because the real Horace Carby-Samuels wouldn't have been capable of such abuse. The abuser that John Summers sought to defend is a complete imposter. When Dezrin's son,whose name is Raymond, figured this out, Mr. Summers' handlers saw to it that Raymond and others were legally prevented from intervening in liberating Dezrin from some kind of alien-directed torture experiment that non-human entities apparently hired Mr. Summers to perpetuate. Somehow the soul of the real Horace Carby-Samuels was replaced by some wicked alien who has been occupying Horaces body ever since. Sounds crazy, doesnt it? But, having studied this case for years, I can tell you that there is a non-human entity borrowing Horaces body and that Mr. Summers is an apparent collaborator. John Summers only worked for Horace Carby-Samuels in official court documents. But Horace has no money to pay a lawyer $300 an hour over multiple years. Even when Horace was working a full-time job in the federal government he ended-up having to defend himself in court because he could in no way even afford a young lawyer commanding half the compensation. John Summers wont say who he is really working for because his paymasters seems to be demonic entities that have targeted this black family.After all,a white family might get unwanted attention from the media, and who cares about black people? Thats why, when terrorists are seeking to take a hostage, they choose to take white people over visible minorities because white lives tend to be viewed as more valuable. Two independent sources have verified that the body of Horace Carby-Samuels has indeed been taken over by a non-human entity that has subjugated Dezrin Carby-Samuels to a house of torture, and that John Summers has enabled a context of profound domestic violence with the knowing collaboration of dirty cops and demonic judges, all affiliated to the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. And where did John Summers graduate from? If you guessed the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law, you would be right. And all the judges that would agree to intervene in the rescue of Dezrin Carby-Samuels were not graduates of the University of Ottawa Faculty of Law. I document the evil conduct of Mr. Summers in the context of both a racist and corrupt judicial system in my book Justin Trudeau, Judicial Corruption and the Supreme Court of Canada: Aliens and Archons in Our Midst. In my book, I describe Mr. Summers as being part of a group that I refer to as the Fifth Column. My book begs the question of where the paymasters of Mr. Summers have put the soul of Horace Carby-Samuels while they use his body for some kind of demonic alien agenda. Should all of us as human beings begin to ponder the threat to humanity posed by the racist and evil agenda which Mr. Summers appears to be enabling? Some people might argue that black lives matter. The years Mr. Summers has spent perpetuating torture against a defenceless, disabled black elderly woman suggests that black lives dont matter to him. Mr. Summers has no business practicing law or even calling himself a human being. As far as I am concerned, his profoundly unethical conduct is that of the scum of the Earth who is guilty of crimes against humanity. Not only do black lives matter, but all human life matters, and that concept seems to have escaped the likes of Mr. Summers and his paymasters that violate human sovereignty and free will against the Creator. And it is apparent that Mr, Summers is not the only collaborator with non-human entities, according to Alex Collier, David Icke, Dr. Michael Salla, John Lash and other independent researchers. Mr. Summers enabled the taking away of the body of Horace Carby-Samuels by a non-human entity without his consent, and then further enabled some kind of torture experiment against Dezrin Carby-Samuels without consent from her. Just to make sure Dezrin couldnt run away from the non-human entity occupying her husbands body, they enforced a condition called Ataxia against her. We know that Dezrins condition was completely artificially induced because when a doctor sought to help Dezrin with her condition, Mr. Summers went to great lengths to ensure any assistance that both this doctor and Raymond sought to provide to expedite her recovery was blocked. I wrote my book because, in my view, it may be vital for the survival of our human race that we defend against the apparent demonic activities of Mr. Summers by learning as much as we can about his activities against both Dezrin and Horace Carby-Samuels. YOKNEAM, Israel, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ --On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) (OTCQX: OTIVF), a global provider of near field communication (NFC) and cashless payment solutions, will release its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 before market open on Wednesday, August 5th, 2020. Management will host an investor conference call at 11:00am EDT on August 5th, 2020, to discuss OTI's second quarter 2020 financial results and provide a corporate update. The call will conclude with a live Q&A session. Investors and analysts may also submit questions they would like OTI to address on the call. Questions should be submitted by 4pm EDT August 3rd to [email protected] to ensure they are addressed on the call. To participate, please use the following information: Q2 2020 Conference Call and Webcast Date: Wednesday, August 5, 2020 Time: 11:00 a.m. Eastern Time (8:00 am Pacific Time) U.S. Toll Free Dial-in: 1-888-281-1167 International Dial-in: +972-3-918-0644 Webcast: http://veidan-stream.com/otiq2-2020.html Please dial in a few minutes before the start of the call and request to join the "On Track Innovations Q2 2020 Earnings Conference Call" to ensure timely participation. The replay of the conference call will be available via the investor relations section of the company's website. About On Track Innovations Ltd On Track Innovations (OTI) is a global leader in the design, manufacture, and sale of secure cashless payment solutions using contactless NFC technology. OTI's field-proven innovations have been deployed around the world to address cashless payment, automated retail and petroleum markets. OTI distributes and supports its solutions through a global network of regional offices and alliances. For more information, visit www.otiglobal.com. OTI Investor Relations Contact: Ehud Helft GK Investor and Public Relations 1 646 201 9246 [email protected] SOURCE On Track Innovations Ltd. (OTI) Related Links http://www.otiglobal.com/ Patna, July 21 (IANS) Nearly 16 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed in several districts in Bihar for flood rescue operations. Image Source: IANS News Patna, July 21 : Nearly 16 National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) teams have been deployed in several districts in Bihar for flood rescue operations. NDRF 9th battalion commandant Vijay Sinha said on Tuesday that on the request of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority, a total of 16 teams were sent to 11 districts of Bihar -- West Champaran (Bettiah), East Champaran (Motihari), Gopalganj, Katihar, Araria, Supaul, Kishanganj, Darbhanga, Muzaffarpur, Madhubani and Saran. Three teams of the NDRF have been deployed in Gopalganj district, two teams each in Betia, Motihari and Saran and one team each in the remaining other districts. "Skilled teams who are capable and ready to provide all possible help to the people in relief and rescue operations during flood disaster have been deployed," Sinha said. He said, "During the flood rescue operations this year our NDRF personnel are strictly following the protective guidelines and protocols amid COVID-19." Keeping in mind the corona virus epidemic, all the members of the NDRF team have been given PPE, mask, face shield, sanitizer, handwash and other protective gear. "The officers and team commanders in charge of the NDRF are continuously on a recce at the flood-affected areas and are in coordination with the district administration in the deployed districts, so that the needy people can be provided with immediate assistance," Sinha added. The deadly outbreak of COVID-19 at San Quentin State Prison resulted from a mass transfer of inmates from a virus-plagued prison in Southern California, a transfer approved by J. Clark Kelso, the court-appointed receiver in charge of health care in the states penal institutions. A legislator whose district includes San Quentin says Kelso should be fired from the job he has held since 2008. The federal receiver is responsible for medical care in the prisons and should be held to account for the incompetence and negligence that has resulted in the worst prison health screw-up in state history, Assemblyman Marc Levine, D-San Rafael, said in an interview. A shakeup does not seem to be in the works. The federal judge who oversees Kelso has not removed him despite denouncing the decision to transfer the prisoners. Lawyers for inmates who sued the state over prison health care say Kelso bears some blame for the deaths at San Quentin but have not argued for his removal. Kelso himself has acknowledged responsibility but is not stepping down. Still, the outbreak, which has caused nearly 1,200 diagnoses of COVID-19 among inmates at San Quentin and claimed at least 12 lives a death row inmate died Monday in a prison previously free from known cases of the coronavirus, warrants a closer look at the troubled history and management of prison health care in California. State prisons are usually in charge of their own health care. But nearly 15 years ago, a federal judge found that shoddy medical care was killing more than one inmate per day, and ordered California to transfer health management in its overcrowded prisons to a court-appointed overseer. Six years later, the U.S. Supreme Court ordered the state to address the health care crisis by reducing its prison population by more than 30,000. Paul Chinn / The Chronicle Today, the prison population has dropped to court-ordered levels, though it remains 25% above the prisons designed capacity. Kelso, who took over the job in 2008 after his predecessor was removed by the court, recently returned some management authority to the state, but still shares responsibility with Gov. Gavin Newsoms administration for the health care of Californias 110,000 prisoners. In late May, Kelsos office approved the transfer of 121 aging or medically vulnerable inmates from the California Institution for Men in Chino (San Bernardino County) to San Quentin. The Chino prison had more COVID-19 cases than any other state prison, though all 121 inmates had tested negative for the coronavirus. But information soon surfaced that some of the tests had been conducted four weeks earlier, leaving ample time for the men to become infected before leaving. On the bus trip north, as The Chronicle reported, four men showed symptoms of the disease. At San Quentin, the new inmates were not quarantined, but instead were placed in barred upstairs cells where their vapors drifted out and downward to cells in lower floors. The nearly 1,200 cases diagnosed since the transfer are more than half the state prison systems total, according to prison officials. In addition, 234 prison staff members have been diagnosed with the coronavirus, more than twice as many as at any other prison. More than 160 new cases have also been reported at the state prison in Corcoran (Kings County), where other inmates from Chino were transferred. In the uproar that followed, there has been one personnel change: The prison system, with Kelsos approval, removed Dr. R. Steven Tharratt as its top health official in charge of day-to-day medical operations, transferred him to Kelsos staff as a special adviser and replaced him with another physician, Joe Bick. During a conference call with lawmakers in late June, Assemblyman Levine said, Kelso called the prisoner transfers a big mistake and a self-inflicted wound but did not offer to step down. He made similar statements at a state Senate committee in June. At a hearing a few days before the conference call, U.S. District Judge Jon Tigar of Oakland described the transfers as a significant failure of policy and planning but did not express any intent to fire Kelso, which is within Tigars sole authority. Tigar inherited the case after U.S. District Judge Thelton Henderson, who had established the receivers position in response to a lawsuit by inmates, retired from the bench in 2017. Kelso is a professor at McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento who formerly served as the states chief information officer and acting insurance commissioner. Directed by Henderson to return prison health care to the state as soon it could be done safely, he transferred medical authority at 19 of the 35 prisons including San Quentin, the California Institution for Men, and Corcoran back to the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in 2018. But Kelso still has statewide supervisory authority. In an interview last week, he said he takes responsibility for what went wrong but will not depart voluntarily. I dont think this was a one-person mistake but, having said that, Im the one at the top, he said. The buck stops with me. When the coronavirus first surfaced at the Chino prison in early April, Kelso said, he and Ralph Diaz, the secretary of Corrections and Rehabilitation, decided to drop a ban they had imposed on interprison transfers and move inmates who were considered vulnerable because of their age or medical condition. They relied on standards that prison health officials had drafted weeks earlier, with Kelsos approval, allowing transfers of prisoners who had tested negative for the virus. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. We were getting test results in three to five days back then and werent aware that by the time of the Chino outbreak, the waiting period in the system was as long as four weeks, Kelso said. Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press 2016 By then, however, Kelsos staff had medical files on every inmate they planned to transfer, saying how long it had been since they were tested. Tigar said in an order last month that the files showed waiting periods of several weeks in many cases. Its not clear whether Kelso himself had examined the files. The transfers were a mistake that had very big consequences, Kelso said. This is my responsibility on the health care side, since neither he nor anyone else in charge could expect officers in the field to realize that we have to worry about when the test was. Now, he said, weve taken steps to make sure it doesnt happen again. New standards are being drafted that will allow transfers only if an inmate has tested negative in the past week, an interval that is safer though not foolproof, Kelso said. In the meantime, he said, there will be no large-scale movements of prisoners, only essential ones. A lawyer for inmates who sued the state over prison health care in the 1990s isnt calling for Kelsos removal but says he and his office deserve some of the blame for the San Quentin outbreak. It should have been obvious to somebody that you dont put somebody on a bus with other people to prevent them from getting COVID when some of the people on the bus havent been tested for three or four weeks, said attorney Donald Specter, executive director of the nonprofit Prison Law Office. Hadar Aviram, a law professor at UC Hastings in San Francisco who is not involved in the court case, said this isnt the time to point fingers. I dont think its nearly as important to cast blame as it is to save lives, she said. After the dust settles, we can check who was responsible for the botched transfers, etc., but right now the priority is to release as many people as possible, with age and medical condition being the primary considerations. Family members of San Quentin inmates and other protesters have been demonstrating outside the prisons gates, demanding that hundreds be freed. This month, Newsom ordered the release of approximately 8,000 prisoners, including an undetermined number from San Quentin. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Since 2011, Ethiopia has been constructing a new dam, the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), on the Blue Nile without paying minimum consideration to the rules of international law or to practices followed by international institutions with regard to constructing projects on international rivers. Ethiopia did not care to give prior notice to Egypt and Sudan, and it refrained from providing them with the information and data required to conduct necessary assessments of any possible damage from constructing and operating the dam. In addition, Ethiopia showed no respect for the rules of international law on the need to conduct prior studies and environmental assessments of such a huge project that the country had already begun to implement. It also did not conduct studies to ensure the safety and security of the body of the dam, whether during the construction phase or in the operation phase. Continuing to act unilaterally, Ethiopia has been modifying the dams storage capacity from time to time, making it the biggest of its kind to generate power on the African continent. By its unilateral actions Ethiopia has adopted an abandoned theory of international jurisprudence on the use of international rivers called the theory of absolute regional sovereignty. This allows upstream countries a free hand in arbitrarily managing the international rivers that run through their territories, without taking into consideration the rights of other countries that share the same waters. This theory has been totally rejected by international jurists, and countries worldwide have ruled it out of their own practices because applying it would make upstream countries do substantial harm to downstream countries, thereby threatening international peace and security in areas of the world where international rivers run through the territories of different countries. Although its right to the Nile water has been emphasised by international conventions and has acquired a stable legal status that cannot be questioned or diluted, Egypt has long recognised the concept of the unity of interests and has taken into account the rights of all Nile Basin peoples to development as long as this does not cause any substantial harm to Egypts water rights. Hence, since 2011 Egypt has agreed to participate in the work of the Tripartite Technical Committee composed of experts from Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia to examine all available data related to the dam project and assess its potential impacts. The work of the committee concluded with a report that explicitly stated that the measures that Ethiopia was following were insufficient and that they did not address all aspects of this huge water project. The report found that the environmental-assessment study conducted by Ethiopia had not addressed the project impacts on water quantity or quality. As for safety and security considerations on the dams body, the ocmmittee concluded that a number of measures, actions, and engineering standards needed to be adopted in order to ensure that the dam did not collapse in future. The Technical Committee also recommended carrying out more studies to preserve the rights of all riparian countries. Notwithstanding this and in the face of Ethiopias insistence on disregarding the report by the Tripartite Technical Committee and its recommendations, Egypt strived to implement the committees recommendations by selecting an international consultancy to conduct detailed studies on the dams impact on the Niles flow, as well as the projects environmental, economic, and social impacts on Egypt and Sudan. But these efforts yielded none of the results sought from taking such a step after the consultancy office announced its withdrawal from the mission due to the lack of the information needed to conduct the required studies. The main concern of Egypts political leadership is to deepen cooperation with Ethiopia and to overcome the barriers hindering the search for a tripartite agreement on the dam in accordance with the established rules and principles of international law. In keeping with that concern, the competent authorities in Egypt have followed a political course to promote dialogue and negotiations toward reaching a lasting, evidence-based agreement mutually agreed upon by the three countries. Based on such an approach that guarantees dialogue and pursues diplomatic and peaceful conflict-resolution among the three countries in accordance with UN principles, Egypt agreed to sign an international agreement with Sudan and Ethiopia, entitled the Declaration of Principles, in 2015. This document included standards and benchmarks that could constitute the grounds for reaching a comprehensive and integral agreement before Ethiopia started filling the reservoir located behind the dam. EGYPTS AIMS Building on the Declaration of Principles, Egypt then strived to implement the agreements provisions. It was agreed to set up a committee of national independent technical experts from the three countries called the Tripartite Technical Committee. Lengthy and ongoing negotiations on both the technical and political levels followed, with the participation of the ministers of water resources and irrigation of Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia in meetings over a four-year period to reach a technical agreement that would serve as a pillar for a comprehensive and integral agreement signed by the three countries in accordance with the Declaration of Principles. Over this long period, during which Ethiopia did not halt construction work on the dam, Egypt adopted a policy of negotiation that showed maximum flexibility, while taking into account all Ethiopias concerns. The Egyptian technical team offered all possible solutions, no matter how difficult or complicated, yet these did not lead to agreement on the technical level, making it impossible to reach an international agreement that would regulate the dams filling, operation, and management, as set forth in the Declaration of Principles. In an attempt to reach an agreement with Sudan and Ethiopia in accordance with the Declaration of Principles, Egypt put forward a draft agreement to be discussed by the three countries. The proposal reflected the work and discussions of the Tripartite Technical Committee on regulating the reservoirs first filling and the dams operations. However, this attempt was rejected by Ethiopia, leaving a widening gap between the countries different positions, and Ethiopia instead insisted on drafting a new convention with newly negotiated provisions. This put Egypt in an extremely complicated situation, especially as a result of the declarations by Ethiopia over the forthcoming completion of the dams construction and its determination to begin filling the reservoir. However, in order to be consistent with the diplomatic and political approach it has adhered to since its inception, Egypt called upon the US and the World Bank to mediate and to foster future rounds of negotiations on the dam in order to head off any attempts at procrastination by Ethiopia. However, no agreement was reached, and Ethiopia insisted instead on moving forward unilaterally and disregarding the rules of international law, thereby posing a threat to international peace and security and to stability in the East Africa region. Given the importance and sensitivity of the issue, the US administration and the World Bank, with its successful experience in reaching similar agreements signed between countries sharing other international rivers, accepted to host the meetings that started in November 2019 in cooperation with the ministers concerned from the three countries. It was agreed to finalise the negotiations and to reach an agreement over a period of no more than four months. The negotiations continued until the end of February 2020, and as a result of the technical discussions held among officials from the three countries some technical standards were drafted to regulate water storage in the dams reservoir throughout the filling period, alleviating any substantial damage that might be caused to Egypt and Sudan during that period. The draft agreement contained rules for the dams management and operation, including rules for exchanging information among the three countries and for establishing an institutional, technical and political, structure capable of dealing with new developments and changes that would probably emerge from environmental changes, thus possibly negatively affecting Nile water resources and causing drought conditions, possibly even prolonged droughts. Further rules and principles were set forth to govern the conduct of future water projects and environmental-assessment studies and to ensure the safety and security of the dams body during operations. A binding mechanism was developed for conflict-resolution in case of disputes over the agreements interpretation or implementation. THE AGREEMENT The terms of the agreement were formulated in a fair and balanced way that served the interests of all the riparian countries, ensured the achievement of Ethiopias stated objective in constructing the dam, which is to generate power as part of Ethiopias development plans, and alleviated any substantial damage that might be caused to Egypt and Sudan from operating the dam. Despite this, Ethiopia, as it had also done on earlier occasions, announced its last-minute withdrawal from participating in the meeting called by the US to finalise the agreement in preparation for its signature by the leaders of the three countries in March 2020. This sudden action by Ethiopia, which did not conform to the principles of good faith in negotiations, did not mean that Egypt was not keen to confirm its approval by initialing the agreement. Strangely enough, Ethiopia justified its refusal to sign the already-finalised agreement by reference to its domestic political conditions. Instead, it extended an invitation for new rounds of negotiations, but only among officials from the three countries, meaning that it rejected the patronage of the US and World Bank. But the matter did not end there, as Ethiopia at the same time declared its determination to start the first filling of the reservoir located behind the dam. It also tried to impose on Egypt and Sudan a unilaterally drafted agreement by Ethiopia to regulate the procedure during this phase without including any rules for the future management and operation of the dam. There is no doubt that Ethiopias unilateral action, in line with its attitude since the beginning of the dams construction in 2011, constitutes a breach of Egypts water and food security, threatening the livelihoods of more than 100 million people who are dependent on the Nile as their one and only water resource. The GERD issue thus reached a deadlock due to Ethiopias rejection of all the diplomatic and political attempts made by Egypt over recent years, and especially over the past four months, to reach a fair and balanced agreement on the dam in accordance with the provisions and rules set out by international law on the uses of international rivers and the provisions of the Declaration of Principles signed by the leaders of the three countries that expressly provide for a comprehensive agreement being reached with integrated regulations governing the first filling as well as the management and operation of the dam before proceeding to fill the reservoir. Given the situation imposed by Ethiopia on both Egypt and Sudan, what are the possible alternatives to which Egypt can revert to preserve its water rights? For the moment, political and diplomatic action should be taken on the following two levels. The first is to continue to seek with the US administration the finalisation of the draft agreement reached through US mediation and under the auspices of the US and the World Bank, with the consideration that this is an integrated agreement balancing the interests of the three countries. The second is to seek with the international community, in a timely manner, a review of all aspects of the draft agreement prepared by the US and the World Bank, with a special focus on the positive aspects and the benefits that can be achieved for the three countries after signing it, including maintaining stability in the East Africa region. In addition, the international community, as well as countries likely to suffer direct impacts or being economically linked to Ethiopia, should be called upon to urge Ethiopia to accept and sign the agreement. MEASURES However, what alternatives would be in the hands of decision-makers if the US and the World Bank could not resume their mediation, or if the international communitys endeavours failed to urge Ethiopia to change its stance of rejection and to sign the agreement before starting to fill the reservoir behind the dam? In this case, and adopting the same political approach adopted by Egyptian diplomacy to deal with this vital issue and respecting the principles of the UN Charter, no choice would be left to Egypt but to resort to the UN Security Council and to submit the dispute for discussion there on the grounds that Ethiopias unilateral actions will cause substantial harm to Egypts water rights and thus will have a direct negative impact on water and food security in Egypt. The unilateral actions by Ethiopia in this regard are also to be considered a threat to international safety and security. In response to this situation, the UN Security Council, the body primarily responsible for maintaining international safety and security, has the right to take measures and actions as detailed in the provisions of chapters VI and VII of the UN Charter. Moreover, in taking into account all the political considerations that may affect how the Security Council takes its decisions, the council, as a matter of law and as provided for by the UN Charter, is also entitled to take measures and actions to address any serious negative consequences that may arise if Ethiopia unilaterally starts filling the reservoir before reaching agreement with Egypt and Sudan. In that case, the Security Council has several options. It could call upon the parties to settle their dispute by negotiation, enquiry, mediation, conciliation, arbitration, judicial settlement, the resort to regional agencies or arrangements, or other peaceful means of their own choice, for example, as set out in Article 33/2 of the UN Charter. The Security Council may also recommend appropriate procedures or methods of adjustment, while taking into consideration any procedures for the settlement of the dispute that have already been adopted by the parties (Article 36). If Ethiopia fails to comply with the recommendations provided for by the UN Security Council and continues to act unilaterally, leading to a breach of international peace and security, the Security Council can decide what enforcement measures, under legally binding resolutions, can be taken to prevent an aggravation of the situation. For example, it could call upon Ethiopia to halt the reservoir filling as well as operations until it reaches an agreement with Egypt and Sudan (Article 39). In order to prevent an aggravation of the situation, it could call upon the parties concerned to comply with such provisional measures as it deems necessary or desirable (Article 40). It could decide what measures, not involving the use of armed force, are to be employed to give effect to its decisions, knowing that UN Security Council resolutions regarding the issue are of a binding nature. These measures may include the complete or partial interruption of economic relations and other means of communication (Article 41). Should the Security Council consider that measures, not involving the use of armed force, would be inadequate or have proved to be inadequate, it may take measures involving the use of armed force to maintain or restore international peace and security, knowing that UN Security Council resolutions regarding the issue are of a binding nature (Article 42). Ethiopias unilateral action to begin filling the reservoir will cause directly negative consequences on the lives of the Egyptian and Sudanese peoples and their right to exist. Moreover, there need to be guarantees for these countries against further risks, because the dam could end up causing massive downstream destruction if it collapsed, either partially or completely. In such a case, the UN Security Council is not strictly obliged to follow the previously mentioned measures in a consecutive order, under articles 41 and 42 of the charter, whereby the council first takes measures not involving the use of armed force, but if the target is not met, it may take action by armed force. The council in the latter case is entirely free to decide what measures are to be employed according to the circumstances, and thus it may take action by armed force directly without this being preceded by any other measures. In general, it must be noted that, as established in international jurisprudence, the recognition in the UN Charter of the Security Councils right to take the above-mentioned enforcement measures shall not prevent the states subject to aggression from exercising their right of self-defence with the councils permission under Article 51 of the charter until the Security Council takes the necessary measures to maintain or restore international peace and security. *The writer is professor and head of the International Law Department at the Faculty of Law, Cairo University. **A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Tamandani Nazimera, a phenomenal and passionate woman of faith, recently joined the team at AE Malawi in a voluntary capacity as Health Programs Officer. Originally from Blantyre, Tamandani studied nursing and midwifery at the University of Malawi. After working for eight years as a nursing officer with Malawis Ministry of Health, Tamandani served as a family planning coordinator in the rural district of Neno. However, she recently resigned from this position, in order to focus on her family and the ministry that she feels called to. Her long-term vision, together with African Enterprise, is to open faith-based primary healthcare clinics and youth development centres, in underserved urban districts in Malawi. In these areas, poor health outcomes are exacerbated by poverty, and simple health interventions have the potential to save countless lives. Healthcare for pregnant women and young children, as well as family planning services, will be the main focus of these clinics. Tamandani laughingly describes that it was the uniforms that first attracted her to nursing, and explains that her mother had always encouraged her to become a nurse. Raised in a middle-class family, Tamandanis parents modelled entrepreneurial skills for their four children. Her dad was a manager, and her mum a teacher, and they also ran several businesses. As a result, Tamandani learnt from a young age how to embark on small business ventures, and is currently the managing director of LAWTANA investments. She is also founder of Women of Faith, a non-profit organisation that sponsors underprivileged students at Nenos Chikonde secondary school. Tamandani grew up in a Christian family, but describes how she first encountered Christ and began her own life with God after a Campus Crusade in her first year of college. Together with her family, she attends Calvary Family Church in Lilongwe. Tamandani met her husband, Lawrence, at a youth fellowship event in 2011, and they were married in 2014. Lawrence is a doctor, and currently works as the national coordinator for Gavi, the Vaccine Alliance. (Gavi is a global health partnership which increases access to immunisations in low-income countries.) They have three beautiful daughters, aged 4, 2 and 1. They named their first daughter Kuwala (Light), as she brought light in our lives after we suffered from a miscarriage. Ungwiro (Integrity) and Watipatsa (The Lord has provided) are Kuwalas two younger sisters. Currently, at AE Malawi, Tamandani is assisting with COVID-19 sensitisation for staff and volunteers in preparation for the upcoming mission in Zomba. She is also conducting COVID-19 education programs in churches (which are not currently under lockdown in Malawi), where she provides COVID education for young children in Sunday schools. As part of the upcoming Zomba mission, Tamandani hopes to assist the team in hosting pop-up medical clinics. Some of her former colleagues, who are also Christians, have already volunteered their time for this effort. AE Malawi is also getting involved with an Adopt-a-ward program at the Burns Unit at Kamuzu Central Hospital, Lilongwe. While working several shifts as a volunteer nurse in the unit, Tamandani plans to assess the best way for AE to partner with the unit in relieving the suffering of burns victims. Tamandanis humility and servant-heart are so evident in her unassuming manner, and we look forward to partnering with her, and the team of AE Malawi, to see the love of Christ shared in both Word and Deed, in this nation. The VinAI Research Institute, a member of the Vingroup Group, has had three research works accepted at the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) 2020, the Nhan Dan newspaper reported. This is the first time a Vietnamese company has been ranked in the Top 30 contributing institutions at ICML 2020, shoulder to shoulder with the leading research centres of Apple, NEC and NTT. The three accepted research of VinAI Research focus on important issues in current AI research including the development of an optimal computational method to compare distributions from large data; in depth learning from key representations from image data, video for optimal control problems and proposals for effective deductive methods for complex non-linear dynamic neural systems. The research on comparing distributions from large data is the basis for many machine learning algorithms, contributing to the promotion of unattended machine learning - one of the most relevant issues in artificial intelligence, computer vision, and natural language processing and understanding. Meanwhile, the research on data representation and nonlinear dynamic systems forms the basis of a breakthrough in the development of the automation of robots or self-driving cars. This is the first time a Vietnamese company has been featured in the Top 30 contributing institutions at the International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) which has always been attended by developed nations in terms of technology such as the US, the UK, and Canada. The event not only marks the position of VinAI in the world technology community, but also shows its transformation into a leading technology corporation, gradually integrating and reaching a global technology peak. The world has gradually become aware of Vietnam's AI research thanks to VinAI's efforts. We will continue to cooperate with leading research institutes and universities from across the world in order to build up a network of exchange and research to gradually bring the world's artificial intelligence closer to Vietnam, said Dr. Bui Hai Hung - Director of the VinAI Research Institute. In December 2019, VinAI announced its first two scientific research at NeurIPS (Neural Information Processing Systems) - the annual international conference on artificial neural network information processing systems. Besides intensive research, VinAI Researchs engineering team is making every effort to develop high-quality AI core applications and technologies. In May 2020, VinAI became one of the first companies in the world to successfully research face recognition technology when using masks. The International Conference on Machine Learning (ICML) 2020 took place beginning July 12, 2020. The event was attended virtually by the world's leading experts in artificial intelligence and machine learning. With 40 years of organisational experience, ICML provides and publishes advanced research works on all aspects of machine learning. ICML, along with NeurIPS, is one the leading international academic conferences on artificial intelligence./. VNA Former Deputy General Secretary of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC), Koku Anyidoho, has said he will not join the partys campaign team. With just five months for the general election, he said it is too late to join the campaign trail to market former President John Mahama. The NDC has named its national campaign team with Professor Joshua Alabi as the National Campaign Manager and Alex Segbefia as his Deputy. The others are Director of Operations for the campaign Lt. Col. Larry Gbevlo-Lartey (Rtd), with James Agyenim Boateng as the Campaign Spokesperson, Mawuena Trebarh and Margaret Ansei as the Deputy Campaign Spokespersons, while Gen. R.S. Blay (Rtd) is the Strategic Advisor to the Campaign Team. Several others have been named as campaign spokespersons with all campaign activities under the policy direction of the National Steering Committee to be chaired by the National Chairman, Samuel Ofosu-Ampofo. Im no more the Deputy General of the party and Im focusing on my Atta Mills Institute. Its out of the cradle; I have time for that one, he said. When asked by show host if he will accept any role in the NDC campaign team, Mr Anyidoho said it is too late. It is too late to join the campaign team; Im not a magician. Let those who can perform magic work and win the elections, he added. Source: adomonline.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 Prince Andrew's aides were "pleased" with his 'Newsnight' interview, until they saw the public's reaction, Emily Maitlis has claimed. Maitlis, who interviewed the Duke of York about his friendship with Jeffrey Epstein, said Buckingham Palace was shocked not at the interview itself, but how it played out afterwards. Saying the BBC team had "plenty of engagement" with aides after the interview was broadcast, she disclosed she would "never forget" the "astonishing" level of detail he went into on camera. The interview, widely described as both disastrous and a "car crash", saw the prince speak at length about his association with the convicted sex offender. He declined to say he regretted the friendship, with his memorable answers including details of his visit to Pizza Express, his explanation regarding his temporary medical inability to sweat and his description of a "straightforward shooting party". Maitlis said: "We know that the palace was happy with the interview. We had plenty of engagement with them after it went out. I think their shock was not at the interview, but the reaction it caused in the days and weeks afterwards." Esme Wren, the producer, added: "There hasn't been any mud-slinging from the palace. Of course, they feel that the interview didn't go brilliantly, but that wasn't through our wrongdoing. We delivered a quite exceptional piece of journalism." The interview was arranged through the duke's own team, including Amanda Thirsk, his former private secretary. Aides had believed the robust format of 'Newsnight' could put the matter of his friendship with Epstein to rest once and for all. Instead, shortly afterwards, he stepped back from royal duties, and has since been at the centre of the renewed US probe into Epstein's crimes. Ms Wren said of the duke: "We definitely thought he'd be spikier - in fact, Emily said that, in the role-playing, I'd been a lot tougher as Prince Andrew than he turned out to be in person." Nigeria may reopen its airports for international flights in, or before, October after being forced to shut as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, government officials said Tuesday. President Muhammad Buhari had in March ordered the suspension of international flights to curb the influx of imported cases of the virus in the country. However, while the country reopened its airports for domestic flights earlier this month, it extended the shutdown of international flights which was billed for August. The Nigerian government has been under pressure to lift the ban on international flights after 30 per cent traffic was reportedly recorded a week after resumption of domestic flights. Tour operators and travel management companies, who have been the hardest hit by the airport closure, are groaning about the cumulative loss incurred as a result of the continuous cessation of international flights. The Minister of Aviation, Hadi Sirika, had said that Nigerias aviation sector had been losing N24 billion monthly since the outbreak of COVID-19 in the country N7 billion monthly for aviation agencies; N10 billion for airlines and N4 billion for ground handling, catering and others and the tangential N3 billion, a Business Day report said. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), Nigeria risks losing 124,000 aviation jobs, which could amount to losing about $900 million in GDP. During the lockdown, a major carrier in Nigeria, Arik Air, asked 90 per cent of its 1800 staff to proceed on indefinite unpaid leave, with the remaining 10 per cent subjected to an 80 per cent pay cut on their salaries, so also Max Air. Stalled reopening On Tuesday, the Director-General, Nigeria Civil Aviation Authority (NCAA), Musa Nuhu, issued a NOTAM (Notice to Airmen) that the airspace would no longer reopen for international flights on August 19 but maybe in October. This seems to have bashed the hopes of those expectant. The NOTAM read: The Federal Government has extended the closure of our airports to all international flights with the exception of aircraft in a statement of emergency. The NOTAM said that approval may be requested and granted for over-flights, operations related to humanitarian aids, medical relief flights, alternate aerodrome in the flight plan and also those being used for extended diversion time operation. In addition, approved for exemptions are technical landings where passengers do not disembark and cargo flights and other safety-related operations. Such requests would be directed to the Minister of Aviation, the NOTAM said. Meanwhile, Mr Sirika, on his verified Twitter account, said the government is yet to name the date for the reopening of international air flights but this may come earlier than October. The minister said international flights would restart in the country despite the ban placed on Nigeria by Europe and the United Arab Emirates. He added that the date for the resumption would be announced after consultation with necessary stakeholders including the ministries of health and foreign affairs and the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19. International Flight resumption date is not October. NAMA just issued a routine 90-day Notices to Airmen. In liaison with Health, Foreign Affairs, and PTF COVID-19, we will announce the agreed date, regardless of the ban by Europe, UAE, etc. may be earlier than October, he tweeted. A government official claimed the exploitation, objectification and sexualisation of young girls on TikTok was causing pain to parents. A lawyer who offers digital security training to women said obscenity complaints are vague and often aimed at women, praising TikTok for allowing people to express themselves in ways they often cannot in public. (Photo | Thumbnail of YouTube video posted by Interstellar) Islamabad: Pakistan has issued a final warning to Chinese-owned social media app TikTok to clamp down on what it called immoral, obscene and vulgar content on the video-sharing platform. TikTok has become a global sensation with its 15 to 60-second video clips and is hugely popular among young Pakistanis, with some users building up millions of followers. But the app has come up against backlash in the deeply conservative Islamic country, with critics blaming it for spreading nudity and pornography. The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) announced it was blocking another app, Bigo, and had received a number of complaints about TikTok over its extremely negative effects on the society and the youth in particular. In a statement late Monday it said it had already issued notices to the company asking it to moderate content, before issuing a final warning ordering filters be put in place to stop obscenity, vulgarity and immorality. Arslan Khalid, a digital media adviser to Prime Minister Imran Khan, welcomed the decision claimed the exploitation, objectification and sexualisation of young girls on TikTok was causing pain to parents. Nighat Dad, a lawyer who offers digital security training to women, told AFP obscenity complaints are vague and often aimed at women, praising the app for allowing people to express themselves in ways they often cannot in public. TikTok has not responded to a request for comment. The telecommunications authority announced it was blocking the less popular Singapore-based live-streaming app Bigo Live over its content. TikTok, which is owned by Chinas ByteDance, has faced increasing controversy over how it collects and uses data although it has repeatedly denied sharing user information with Chinese authorities. India banned the app, along with dozens of other Chinese mobile platforms, over national security and privacy concerns with the United States considering a similar move. In Pakistana close ally of Chinano privacy concerns have been raised. The app was also banned by Bangladesh last year as part of a clampdown on pornography, while Indonesia briefly blocked access over blasphemy concerns. Last Saturday, July 11, tens of thousands of workers and youth marched in a demonstration on Cathedral Square in the central district of Port Louis, Mauritius, against the government of Prime Minister Pravind Jugnauth (Militant Socialist Movement/MSM). While the event included workers from many industrial sectors, multiple organizations representing Mauritian maritime workers and their families were present. In addition to utilizing the coronavirus as a pretext to carry out austerity measures, the Mauritian government has been one of several around the world responsible for the abject failure to repatriate ship workers since March, when governments worldwide restricted their borders in response to the outbreak of the pandemic. Protesters held signs in French and English, as well as Mauritian French Creole, the two official languages and de facto dialect in the small island nation situated in the western Indian Ocean. Signs from seafarers families bore slogans such as Return my father, Let my husband come home and Citizens have the right of return to their homeland. Others denounced the pro-business policies of the government, displaying messages such as People before profits, Stop taking public money and Stop playing with our future. A Mauritian worker present at the July 11 demonstration told the WSWS that the rally drew approximately 30,000 to march against the Jugnauth administration. July 11 March on Mauritian Capital of Port Louis According to advocacy groups for stranded seafarers, approximately 1,500 Mauritian sailors still remain on cruise and merchant vessels around the globe. Having been stranded for months, hundreds of thousands of cruise ship workers from dozens of nations faced horrendous conditions in which they received little to no information about how they would return home, as the WSWS has reported. Many workers were left to face financial ruin after having been pushed off company payrolls, with their employers deeming them non-essential for ship operation. By May, there were a number of COVID-19 and non-COVID-related crew deaths, and of the non-illness-linked deaths, many were broadly suspected to have been suicides. In June, the Seafarers Hospital Society of the UK declared that suicide had become the foremost cause of deaths amongst seafarers. On May 15, the Mauritian National Assembly (Parliament) implemented the COVID-19 (Miscellaneous Provisions) Act and the Quarantine Act in response to the outbreak of the pandemic. The measures authorized by the legislation include warrantless police searches and seizures, the restriction of the countrys borders, as well as sweeping attacks on the living standards of the working class. One such provision eliminated the requirement for employers to pay workers a night shift allowance, a 15 percent bonus for employees scheduled to work outside of regular business hours. Appleby Global, a worldwide legal firm specializing in services for private companies and financial institutions, explains the restrictions on work stoppages as outlined by the Mauritian COVID-19 Act: The procedural agreement between employers operating in the transport, customs, electricity, hotel services, radio and television, refuse disposal, telephone, transport of passengers and goods and water supply sectors and the trade union ought to provide the number of workers, their occupations and departments for a minimum service during any strike or lock-out. Before proceeding to a strike or lock-out, the trade union or employer has to ensure that the minimum service is put into effect. At the time of the COVID-19 and Quarantine Acts passing, a stranded Mauritian cruise ship worker spoke anonymously to the WSWS. With this bill, they took away our right to strike, and our freedom of expression has been removed. So while seafarers are stuck on board indefinitely, killing themselves, protests in my country have been made illegal. Now the whole population is angry about it. On June 10, Foreign Affairs Minister Nando Bodha announced the government plan to repatriate 3,500 of its citizens abroad which included a $1,300 price tag per individual returned. The steep cost for the right to return home was explained to have covered meals and miscellaneous/ancillaries like tea and coffee for a 14-day quarantine period, two PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests for COVID-19 and other support and ancillary services. The price of one charter flight between London and Port Louis for 150 returning citizens was listed as 215,000. Mauritian workers returned home via the governments repatriation plan reported that many of the quarantine provisions were improperly cleaned and insect-infested. In many cases, the meager food rations provided were already rotten or beyond their expiration dates. In other instances, repatriating Mauritians were told that they would be released early from their costly quarantines. The repatriation plan was coordinated in an exclusive public-private partnership between the government and Air Mauritius, a subsidiary of Mauritius Air Holdings Ltd., a major Mauritian tourism corporation, of which the government owns over 43 percent. In other words, the Jugnauth administration and Air Mauritius restricted travel to the island by any other means but its own, including cruise ships passing by the country which contained stranded Mauritian citizens. Then, it raised the prices in an attempt to aid the airlines falling shares. The annual budget for 2020/2021 announced in early June will impose yet another set of savage austerity measures, aimed squarely at the highest bracket of earners in the Mauritian working class. The so-called solidarity levy imposes a massive tax hike on those earning an annual salary of more than 3 million Mauritian Rupees (Rs/MUR)approximately $75,000. Shrouding its intentions in the most cynical, left-sounding doublespeak, the report by Dr. Renganaden Padayachy, Minister of Finance, stated, to ensure more social justice, we are reviewing the solidarity levy. [T]he levy of 5 percent on the excess amount of chargeable income plus dividends of a resident Mauritian citizen will now be 25 percent and applicable as from Rs 3 Million annually. [] This is the patriotic appeal which we make to those who earn most. [W]e expect to receive more than Rs 3.5 billion of additional revenue from this levy. As representatives of the people, we are proud to contribute to this levy. The budget also replaces the National Pension Fund (NPF) with the Contribution Sociale Generalisee (General Social Contribution/CSG). While the NPF required all workers earning under 50,000 Rs per month (about $1,240) to contribute 3 percent and their employers 6 percent to their pension funds, the CSG mandates that only 1.5 percent will be required by these workers, while their employers will now be required to contribute only 3 percent. For those earning above this threshold, their employee contributions have been reduced from 5 percent to 3 percent, while their employer contributions have been reduced from 8.5 percent to 6 percent. The switch to the CSG also introduces the Service Employment Cheque (SEC) system, in which self-employed, i.e., casualized workers, will also be required to contribute to the new national pension system. What is touted in the budget by Padayachy as the replacement of an unfair, regressive system with a progressive and collective alternative, will in actuality serve as a boon for companies which stand to save millions on pension contributions. An early June article from Maurice-Info.mu entitled Rebuilding Mauritius: The New Future? gives a telling report of the intentions of the pandemic budget. The Mauritian economy, through its key economic pillars was stuttering during the pre COVID-19 period and the measures announced [in the new budget] allow for the reset button to be pressed. The July 11 protest was organized by a Solidarity Assembly in which more than 300 representatives of various movements participated. Organizations involved in the event included several major industrial trade union groups and agricultural associations, such as the Federation of Civil Service & Other Unions, the Hotel & Restaurant Employees Union (HREU), All Employees Confederation, General Workers Federation, Casino Employees Union, Telecom Workers Union, the Union of Bus Industry Workers and the Small Planters Association. The Solidarity Assembly issued a patchwork list of demands in the form of an open letter to the Jugnauth administration. These demands included broad appeals for Parliament to restore the rights removed in the COVID-19 Act, as well as calls for the general strengthening of the welfare state, the public sector, workers rights and sustainable industry. The letter also stipulated that a union representative should be elected to the board of directors for all government agencies in which public money is concerned, as well as a demand that Mauritius tourism sector be made more profitable for workers. Frederick, a Mauritian cruise ship worker who has been stranded since March, gave a statement to the WSWS using an alias out of a fear of retaliation from both his employer as well as the government. Speaking on the July 11 event in Port Louis, he said, Mauritians rallied thousands of people, but I really dont know how much this will help. The government feels powerful, especially since they know that were a peaceful people. Corruption is at its peak in the country and the law is only enforced upon the poor. They always seem to be able to get away with anything they want and their answer to the population is, yes, were working on fixing it. He continued, Weve done everything. We wrote a letter to the prime minister, the president and we even had an interview on major American news mediastill nothing. If they dont tell us what they intend to do now, I dont know what else can be done. When asked if he thought that Mauritian workers have a valuable ally in workers around the world struggling against similar conditions, Frederick agreed. An alliance with the working class of other countries will definitely help, although its certainly a difficult route. On the other hand, not much will get better unless we make a major change to the whole political system. He continued, I want to follow the updates on WSWSI hope that Mauritius will be part of the global upsurge of consciousness in the international working class and that Mauritians will stand up for themselves for a change. The WSWS urges Mauritian workers to reject all appeals to the agencies of capitalism at home, including those which conceal their programs of chauvinism, protectionism and nationalist economic policy in leftist-sounding phraseology such as the unions involved in the Solidarity Assembly. Instead, workers must form independent rank and file committees of struggle in conjunction with similar workers organizations across the globe. These organizations must be uncompromisingly committed to a program which replaces capitalism and the nation state system with an international, socialist planned economy. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan today held a consultation during which the Entrepreneur + State Anti-Crisis Investments Interim Report of the Armenian National Interests Fund (ANIF) was considered. During the discussion, the course of implementation of investment programs within the scope of the Public-Private Partnership were presented in detail, and it was reported that the Fund and foreign investors are considering 6-7 investment programs in various sectors. It was also mentioned that the closure of borders due to the coronavirus pandemic are impeding advancement and implementation of the programs to a certain extent. In spite of this, representatives of the ANIF said works are in progress, and the ANIF will submit a new report in a few months. Several other recommendations for the promotion of investments were also presented, particularly mechanisms for implementation of programs, standards and the toolkit for management of potential risks. Prime Minister Pashinyan assigned the representatives to continue efforts to implement the anti-crisis economic measures and submit new recommendations. Most California state workers trained to be COVID-19 contact tracers still havent started tracking down people exposed to the coronavirus, even as many counties say they dont have enough staff to do the work. California Gov. Gavin Newsom has frequently said state workers will be essential to the states contact tracing efforts. Earlier this year his administration notified many state workers they would be reassigned from their usual jobs to help counties track infections. Hes also repeatedly touted the fact that the state met its goal of training 10,000 contact tracers by July 1, which includes a mix of county and state workers. As of last week, however, just over a third of the 3,600 state workers who were trained had been assigned to do that work, California Department of Public Health spokeswoman Ali Bay said. The assignment process is ongoing with more scheduled for this week, she said. Some state workers completed their training months ago and are still waiting to be deployed. In emails obtained by The Sacramento Bee, one state worker who completed his training in early May sent an email later that month saying he was still waiting for an assignment. Almost a month and a half later, an official with the California Department of Public Health responded saying workers were being assigned in phases based on need, but that there was no set schedule for when he might be used. The worker, who declined to be named citing fear of repercussions at work, is among a handful of state workers who have told The Bee or posted on social media platforms Facebook and Reddit that they and their colleagues have been waiting a long time, in some cases months, to be assigned since completing their training. In the meantime, counties throughout the state, from Sacramento to Orange County, say they dont have enough contact tracers to call every person who tests positive for COVID-19 and their contacts within 24 hours, the standard recommended by the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Sacramento was among the counties allowed to reopen more quickly. In forms filed with the state in May, the county said its staff were able to contact trace each new case they found even though they didnt meet the states staffing target. Instead, the county detailed a plan to call on county employees from various departments, nursing and public health students at local universities and medical reserve corps volunteers to add more if caseload increased. But the recent explosion in coronavirus cases has overwhelmed Sacramentos contact tracers, preventing them from thoroughly tracking each infection. Its very troubling, given the importance of contact tracing and suppressing the virus, state Sen. Steve Glazer, D-Orinda, said of the delay in deploying state-trained contact tracers. Glazer, who has been critical of the administrations response, sent a letter to Newsom on Thursday expressing concern about the need for more contact tracers. Your early commitment to training 10,000 contact tracers to augment county efforts was impressive. However, it appears that even that many tracers will not be sufficient, he wrote. As you know, without the resources to quickly track and notify those who have been exposed, our ability to control the spread of COVID-19 will be severely compromised. In his letter, Glazer poses more than a dozen questions for the administration about contact tracing, including Where have the state-trained tracers been deployed? and What metrics are the state using to measure whether the level of tracing is sufficient to control the virus? He said hes still waiting on a reply. The state initially told counties they must have at least 15 contact tracers for every 100,000 residents before they could accelerate their reopening. But the Newsom administration allowed 17 counties to speed up their reopening without meeting that number, a Sacramento Bee review of county data found. On Monday, California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly said that those counties were allowed to reopen although they didnt meet the standard because they had plans to staff up. We knew that we were building up our contact tracing program, he said. This was an opportunity to prepare around contact tracing. Moving forward, Newsom said his administration will continue to train more people to be contact tracers. He said its part of his plan to reopen schools safely, promising Monday to do everything we can to make more robust the contact tracing efforts, particularly as it relates to school reopenings. Editors Note: Because of the health implications of the COVID-19 virus, this article is being made available free to all online readers. If youd like to join us in supporting the mission of local journalism, please visit napavalleyregister.com/members/join/. Watch now: The psychology behind wearing a face mask Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. A PMLA court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea of Yes Bank founder Rana Kapoor, arrested by the Enforcement Directorate in connection with an alleged multi-crore fraud at the bank. Kapoor had sought bail on merits of the case. His lawyers submitted that the investigation in the case was completed, hence there was no reason to keep keep him in jail. Also, most of the evidence was documentary in nature and cannot be tampered by the accused, they added. However, special judge P P Rajvaidya rejected Kapoor's plea. The banker, currently in judicial custody, was arrested in March under provisions of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA). The Enforcement Directorate (ED) is primarily investigating Kapoor, his wife and three daughters over Rs 600 crore received by a firm allegedly controlled by them from an entity linked to the scam-hit Dewan Housing Finance Limited (DHFL). Kapoor, his family members and others got benefits of Rs 4,300 crore through companies controlled by them as kickbacks for sanctioning huge loans, the ED has alleged. He is also accused of receiving bribes for going easy on loans given to a few big corporate groups that had turned into non-performing assets (NPAs). The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) is also probing a related case. (TNS) It is almost impossible for a police department to promote accountability throughout its ranks without reliable information about the actions of its officers.This is the challenge facing the Dallas Police Department , which, like departments across the nation, is addressing crime, the strain of tight city budgets and intense public scrutiny of police tactics in the wake of George Floyds murder.In Dallas, a persistent impediment to reform and effective policing is the lack of information, a problem that Dallas Police Chief U. Renee Hall traces in part to antiquated technology. But that could change quickly. By the end of this year, Hall and City Manager T.C. Broadnax want Dallas to have a comprehensive early warning system to better identify officers whose behavior on patrol crosses lines.A management system to oversee the daily operations of officers is a crucial step toward making policing smarter, more effective and more professional. Much information about officer performance is collected, but often it is not in an easily accessible form that promotes transparency and accountability. An automated early warning system would consolidate information and help supervisors make personnel decisions sooner.The first goal of an early warning system is to identify patterns of behavior across all officers in all districts to gain detailed insight into the complexities of police and community interactions. The second is to identify officers whose behavior in vehicle stops, use of force, resisting-arrest incidents and high-speed pursuits makes them outliers. Those are red flags that could reveal whether an officer poses a danger to himself or herself, to fellow officers and to citizens.Here is how it could work. Suppose the early warning system indicates that an officer has twice as many citizen complaints versus fellow officers, or resorts to force more than his or her colleagues. The officers supervisor and everyone in the chain of command, including the police chief, would get an alert.The officer would be required to have a conversation with a supervisor, and police managers would determine whether a next step, such as more training or severe personnel action, is necessary.The department also is wisely exploring ways to transition trained officers from jobs that civilian workers could perform, and exploring ways to change shift start times to adapt to the specific policing needs in patrol divisions. The department hopes to expand citywide a program that teams an officer trained in behavioral health, a clinician and a paramedic to respond to mental health crises.As Dallas grows, the city will continue to have serious conversations about the number of police officers who will be needed to protect and serve the city. But the police department also is wise to seek detailed information about all corners of its own house and then base public safety decisions about the size of the force and other law enforcement priorities on solid, reliable data. Disney World fully reopened all four of its theme parks within its Florida resort last week, even as cases of coronavirus surged, making it one of the worlds hotspots for daily increases. Related: Floridas mini-Trump Ron DeSantis under growing pressure as Covid-19 cases surge Undaunted guests who choose to visit Disney are greeted with a disclaimer on its website: By visiting Walt Disney World Resort you voluntarily assume all risks related to exposure to Covid-19. For Disneys workers, many may feel little choice but to assume the risks of returning to the worlds most visited theme park, with some expressing fears of the Covid-19 risk, and for their livelihoods. There are about 75,000 employees at Disney World in Florida, and about 30,000 at Disneyland in California, and they are returning as cases are increasing in both states. The imminent danger of loss of health and financial security is a concern that most of us are sharing about reopening, and about fear of closing again, said Dan Rey, a server for 25 years at Disney and a union shop steward with Unite Here. Rey has not been called back to work yet, but is one of thousands of Disney employees who went several weeks before receiving unemployment benefits. Many workers in Florida still have not had their applications processed and paid out. On 26 July, federal unemployment benefits expire, leaving workers in Florida to survive on just the $275 maximum weekly benefit from the state. People are afraid of going back to work because of the imminent threat of contracting Covid, since we, Florida, are now the epicenter of the world for this pandemic, and they are also afraid of not going back to work because we have no financial support, said Rey. The real problem is that we cannot afford not to work. Our governor here in Florida is still making excuses rather than plans. There are still people who have not received financial support because the unemployment system is so broken. Story continues Mike Beaver, an attractions employee at Tomorrowland at the Magic Kingdom for about 20 years, returned to work on 29 June. When it was announced Disney World would reopen parks, I thought it was too soon, even though some other parks had reopened before Disney, said Beaver. He said during a temperature check he was sent to work, despite receiving a reading that would not register on the thermometer. Bryan Amstutz, a vacation planner at Walt Disney World, said only a third of his department has returned to work so far, and he did not expect to be recalled until January 2021 or later. I dont get paid enough to police Covid-19, said Amstutz. Parts of Disneyland in Anaheim, California, have begun a phased reopening, while awaiting approval from local and state officials to reopen the parks and hotels. A man with coalition of resort labor unions holds a sign in front of Disneyland Resort in Anaheim, California, calling for better safety. Photograph: Apu Gomes/AFP/Getty Images My main concern going back to work is: I have young children and my mom is elderly. I cant bring coronavirus home. Its not really safe to go back to work. The cases are rising in California, said Inez Guzman, who has worked in housekeeping at the Disneyland Hotel for five years. Glynndana Shevlin, a food and beverage worker at Disneyland for 32 years, wants to return to work out of concern she could lose her current apartment, which shes lived in the past two years after experiencing homelessness. But she is also concerned for her safety and that of co-workers and guests. One of her friends and co-workers is currently hospitalized with coronavirus. I live alone and Im in my 60s. Im really concerned about going back to work in the sense of safety. We want on-site testing for coronavirus to be available if we need it, and all kinds of safety procedures in place, said Shevlin. When I come home at night, I dont want to worry if Im going to be sick and if I am sick, if Im going to be able to have the correct medicine, healthcare, if Im going to have enough pay. Union pushing for on-site testing Unite Here local 11 is currently in negotiations with Disney on safety protocols and protections for workers when the parks reopen. Austin Lynch, an organizer involved in negotiating with Disney, said the union had pushed Disney to agree to perform daily temperature checks for workers before they start shifts, and agreed on providing as much personal protective equipment to workers as they need. But the union is still pressuring Disney to provide on-site coronavirus testing for workers, commit to ensuring staffing levels will be provided to conduct extra cleaning and disinfecting, and to extend temperature checks to guests staying at Disney hotels. They havent covered some of the critical safety areas. Until they do, we dont think its safe to reopen, said Lynch. You have to either cover all the bases and go all out to prevent transmission or operate unsafely. Operating and only covering some of the bases just means people are going to get coronavirus. A representative for Disney told the Guardian the opening of Disneyland was pending guidance from state officials, while worker training, a range of health and safety measures, cleaning, disinfecting and technological solutions have been implemented ahead of Disney Worlds reopening. As we continue the phased reopening of our parks and resorts across the world, promoting health and safety for our guests, cast members and the larger community is a responsibility we take seriously. From increased cleaning and disinfecting across our parks and resorts, to updated health and safety policies, we have reimagined the Disney experience so we can all enjoy the magic responsibly, said the representative in an email. Plus, Bill's Message of the Day, who are the most admired people in America? Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: With one more death, the toll in Assam flood rose to 85 even as the Indian Meteorological Department (IMD) warned of heavy to extremely heavy rainfall in the Northeast in the next two days. The latest death was reported from Kamrup (Metro) district which took the toll to 85. Combined with 26 deaths in the rain-triggered landslides earlier, 111 people died so far. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), over 24.3 lakh people from 2,254 villages across 24 of the states 33 districts have still remained affected. Standing crop affected was in areas of over 1.09 lakh hectares. Altogether 48,197 people were lodged in 468 relief camps in 18 districts, the ASDMA said. Major rivers such as Brahmaputra, Dhansiri, Kopili, Beki, Kushiyara and Jia Bharali were in a spate, flowing above the danger level. At the one-horned rhino fame Kaziranga National Park, 113 animals, including 11 rhinos, perished so far due to various reasons including drowning and vehicle hits. The incidents of vehicle hits occurred on a national highway that traverses beside the park. Even as the state has been witnessing moderate to very heavy rainfall at isolated places for the past two days, the IMD prediction does not look good for the state. The monsoon trough at mean sea level passes through Amritsar, Ludhiana, Meerut, Bareilly, Gorakhpur, Bhagalpur and eastern end lies close to the foothills of the Himalayas. In addition, convergence of moist southerly/south-westerly winds from the Bay of Bengal over the Northeast is taking place at lower tropospheric levels Due to these favourable meteorological conditions, widespread rainfall with isolated heavy to very heavy falls is very likely over the Northeast during July 20-22, isolated extremely heavy falls also very likely over Assam and Meghalaya during July 20-21 and over Arunachal Pradesh on July 20, scientist Sunit Das of the Regional Meteorological Centre, Guwahati, told this newspaper. After taking stock of the situation in Barpeta district on Monday, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal said flood and erosion had been causing devastation for a long time. According to him, Assam loses 9,000 hectares of land due to erosion every year. He informed that the Centre would take up the issue of flood with Bhutan from where floodwaters come down every year to wreak havoc in Assam. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has constituted a national committee which recommended the setting up of North East Water Management Authority under the chairmanship of NITI Aayog Vice Chairman to permanently solve the issues of flood and erosion in Assam, he added. The letter from the Democrats asked for the FBI to share what it knows with all lawmakers. Top congressional Democrats warned in a cryptic letter they released on Monday that a foreign power was using disinformation to try to interfere in the presidential election and the activities of Congress, and demanded a prompt briefing by the FBI to warn every member of Congress. While the letter writers, led by Speaker Nancy Pelosi, did not specify the threat, officials familiar with a classified addendum attached to it said the Democrats' concerns touched on intelligence related to a possible Russian-backed attempt to smear the presidential campaign of former Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., according to The New York Times. They contend that the Russian-linked information is being funneled to a committee headed by Senator Ron Johnson, the Wisconsin Republican who is investigating Biden and his son, who was once paid as a board member of a Ukrainian energy company. While neither Mr. Johnson's inquiry nor much of the information in question is new, the Democrats' letter is an attempt to call attention to their concern that the accusations are not only unfounded but may further Russia's efforts to interfere again in the American presidential election. The warning had echoes of the 2016 campaign. Read alsoEx-ambassadors of U.S. to Ukraine make statement over "false and toxic narrative" In the letter, addressed to Christopher A. Wray, the FBI director, on July 13, the Democrats wrote that they were "gravely concerned, in particular, that Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign interference campaign, which seeks to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity, public debate and the presidential election in November." Behind the congressional Democrats' warning are the efforts of a Ukrainian lawmaker, Andriy Derkach, who was educated in a KGB-backed school and was, until recently, closely aligned with a pro-Russian political faction in Ukraine. In May he released tapes of what he said were fragments of telephone conversations between Mr. Biden, then the vice president, and Ukraine's president at the time, Petro Poroshenko. The purported tapes did little to change the understanding of the elder Mr. Biden's engagement with Ukraine's leadership. Mr. Biden had publicly insisted that aid to Kyiv could be tied to the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor, whom the United States and European nations had accused of corruption. So far, the accusations emanating from Derkach and others about Biden and his son, Hunter, have either been debunked or not been substantiated by any independent sources. But the accusations, fueled by release of the tapes, led to more online conspiracy theories, which American intelligence officials have warned may well have their origins in Russia. Mr. Johnson has at various moments said he would subpoena evidence surrounding the dealings with Ukraine in the last years of the Obama administration, and The Washington Post reported this month that there was an effort among Ukrainian officials to pass the tapes to Johnson's committee. Donald Trump has cheered his work. Pressure Trump put on Ukraine's leaders last year to investigate some of the same issues ultimately led to his impeachment, and in addition to raising questions about Biden and his son, Mr. Johnson's investigation has lent some senatorial legitimacy to Trump's claims about the matter. Read alsoZelensky: Ukraine mustn't be dragged into U.S. election process over leaks The investigation focuses on Hunter Biden's work for a Ukrainian energy firm, Burisma Holdings, and whether his presence and lucrative paycheck were meant to improperly curry favor with the Obama administration. Politico first reported that the Democrats' concerns were connected to Johnson's work. The letter from the Democrats asked for the FBI to share what it knows with all lawmakers, "given the seriousness and specificity of these threats." The Democrats requested a briefing on the matter by the end of the month, when lawmakers are scheduled to leave Washington for several weeks. An FBI spokeswoman acknowledged that the bureau had received the letter, but declined to comment further. (Reuters) - An Iranian convicted of spying for U.S. and Israeli intelligence was executed on Monday, according to Iran's official IRIB news agency. Last month, the judiciary said Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, who was arrested in 2018, had spied on former Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, adding, however, that the case was not connected to Soleimanis killing earlier this year. On Jan. 3, a U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force. Washington had accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region. A report aired on Iranian state TV on Monday included footage of Mousavi-Majd talking about meeting with contacts from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) and Israel's Mossad as well as audio of an alleged conversation between him and a CIA agent in English. Mousavi-Majd moved from Iran to Syria with his family as a child and his familiarity with that country allowed him to collect intelligence on Iranian military advisors there, the report said. The execution comes at a time when millions of Iranians have taken to social media to protest against the death sentences awarded to three men accused of participating in anti-government protests last November. Their executions have been suspended, one of their attorneys, Babak Paknia, said on Sunday. Rights activists said the sentences for the three men were aimed at intimidating future protesters. Witnesses said security forces fired tear gas on Thursday to disperse demonstrators in the southwestern city of Behbahan who were protesting against economic problems but also the death sentences against the three men. The Farsi hashtag Dont execute was tweeted millions of times last week. (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan and Jonathan Oatis) I am very happy to host my colleague and close friend of Israel, Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto, was how Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi greeted his Hungarian counterpart after he arrived July 20 for a half-day visit to Israel. Szijjarto met both Ashkenazi and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Over the past few years, Netanyahu has nurtured a strong diplomatic alliance with Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban. Netanyahu seems to embrace the nationalist and Euroskeptic approaches openly espoused by Orban. For Israels prime minister, the European Union is divided into two camps: those supporting his annexation policies and those who reject them. Orban belongs to the first group, together with some other EU members, mostly from central Europe. Indeed, upon arrival to Jerusalem, the minister made a point of stating that his country was the one to veto European Union condemnation of President Donald Trumps peace plan. Szijjarto said that from his point of view, it was worth trying Trumps plan, rather than doing nothing at all. All of the plans put forward so far have failed. If you look at the Trump plan, we do believe it has the most hope to be a basis of successful negotiations. Thats why we have vetoed the EU statement condemning the plan when it was published, said Szijjarto. Over the past few months, Hungary, together with the Czech Republic and Austria, consistently blocked attempts by other EU members (mostly France, Sweden and Ireland) to consider or plan sanctions against Israel if and when it adopts Netanyahus annexation plan. Szijjarto has been personally engaged in these efforts, earning him the gratitude of Netanyahu and his associates. Asked about the annexation plan on July 20, the minister said, Lets wait until Israel makes a decision. Judging Israel on something that has not been done yet, on which there has been no decision made yet, doesnt make sense. Its very counterproductive. The most intriguing part of Szijjartos visit was the talks he had with both Netanyahu and Ashkenazi over the Iranian file an issue on which the Israeli prime minister and his foreign minister actually see eye to eye. Ashkenazis military background as chief of the Israeli army is an important part of this. Hungary serves as a board member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and Israeli officials have hopes that Hungary could act on their behalf. I expressed our concern to the Hungarian Foreign Minister about Iran's incessant violations of its nuclear commitments. In our view, the solution to these violations is complete renunciation of the nuclear agreement, and it is our expectation that the Hungarian government will support this policy, Ashkenazi said. A statement published by Netanyahus office right after their meeting said simply that the two men discussed regional issues, including the threat Iran poses to the Middle East and the entire world. The care situation of older persons who receive care at home has deteriorated significantly during of the COVID-19 crisis. The COVID-19 pandemic places a particular focus on older persons. Therefore, it comes as a surprise that the high-risk group of around 2.6 million care-dependent older persons in Germany who receive care at home, predominantly from their relatives, has been largely ignored by scientists, politicians, and society in general during this crisis. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on old age care at home is a pressing issue since the considerable problems associated with old age care at home and the burdens of caring for relatives have been known for many years, long before the outbreak of the pandemic. A survey undertaken under the leadership of Dr. Vincent Horn and Professor Cornelia Schweppe of Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (JGU) shows that the care situation of older people who receive care at home has deteriorated significantly during the pandemic.This is the case for both the persons in need of care and the family caregivers. Our results show that the already precarious situation of old age care at home is aggravating in the current circumstances. Persons in need of care have been identified as a particularly vulnerable group to be especially protected, but in fact they and their family caregivers prove to be a highly neglected group." Cornelia Schweppe, Professor, JGU Institute of Education, University of Mainz For the survey, 330 family caregivers were interviewed online. In addition, qualitative interviews were conducted. Nearly half of the respondents stated that the COVID-19 pandemic has a negative impact on the health of the person in need of care. In many cases, important medical appointments and necessary hospital stays had to be renounced. In addition, nearly 75 percent of the respondents consider an increased occurrence of loneliness and/or depressive moods of the person in need of care. This shows the negative impact of the contact restrictions that have been put in place; indeed, 85 percent of respondents indicated that visits from relatives, acquaintances, or friends to the person in need of care were reduced due to COVID-19. In addition, almost half of the family caregivers also limited their contact with the person in need of care. Family caregivers are increasingly strained and overburdened The survey also reveals alarming results concerning the family caregivers. More than half of the respondents stated that providing care was more burdensome than before the outbreak of the pandemic. 38 percent even indicated that they feel overstrained by the current care situation. The stressful care situation is also reflected in the worsening of the relationship between the person in need of care and the family caregiver. This was reported by 75 percent of the respondents. Furthermore, one third of the respondents also indicated that they were coming into conflict with the person in need of care more often. Due to the increase of burdens and overload of family caregivers as well as the strained relationship between the family caregivers and the persons in need of care, the researchers are also concerned about its possible impact on violence in old age care at home. "For a long time high burdens of family caregivers have been identified as an important factor for violence in old age care," said Dr. Vincent Horn of the Institute of Education at JGU. "The increase in stress caused by the current situation is thus troubling. In contrast to the discussion of the possible effects of the COVID-19 crisis on violence against children and women, this topic has so far not been addressed with regard to the older population." The survey also shows that 68 percent of the family caregivers feel abandoned by politicians during the COVID-19 crisis. "The implications are serious since family caregivers often do not have viable relief and support structures", emphasized Professor Cornelia Schweppe. Almost every third respondent has no person with whom they can talk about their needs and concerns and who they can ask for support. View live politics updates ChevronRight We will protect our vital interests, Raab said. We will stand up for our values and we will hold China to its international obligations. Britain followed the United States, Australia and Canada in suspending extradition agreements with Hong Kong, which became a special administrative region of China after the U.K. returned control of the territory to Beijing in 1997. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Events in Hong Kong are particularly sensitive for the British government because China agreed to a one country, two systems policy that was supposed to protect the economic and social traditions of the territory for 50 years after the handover. Britain and other Western nations believe the security law imposed by Beijing threatens that agreement because it restricts free speech and erodes the judicial independence of Hong Kong. The law makes crimes such as promoting secession punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison and allows some cases to be tried on the mainland. This means people extradited to Hong Kong could end up being tried in mainland courts, Raab said. Story continues below advertisement The U.K. previously accused the Beijing government of a serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration under which Hong Kong was returned to China and announced it would open a special route to citizenship for up to 3 million eligible residents of the territory. Advertisement Chinas decision to implement the security law on June 30 triggered widespread protests in Hong Kong. Police responded with water cannon, tear gas and hundreds of arrests. The ban on arms sales extends an embargo that has been in place for mainland China since 1989. It means the government will not allow British companies to export potentially lethal weapons, their components or ammunition, as well as equipment that might be used for internal repression such as shackles, firearms and smoke grenades. Story continues below advertisement Britain earlier backtracked on plans to give Chinese telecommunications company Huawei a role in the U.K.s new high-speed mobile phone network. The U.S. has lobbied its allies to shun Huawei because it says the Chinese government could use the companys technology to spy on Western nations. Huawei denies the allegations. Advertisement Beijing objected to the new measures even before they were formally announced by Raab. Chinas ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, on Sunday told the BBC that Britain was dancing to the tune of the U.S. and rejected the allegations of human rights abuses against the mainly-Muslim Uighur people. He accused Western countries of trying to foment trouble with China. Story continues below advertisement People say China (is) becoming very aggressive. Thats totally wrong, he said. China has not changed. Its Western countries, headed by United States they started this so-called new Cold War on China. Following Raabs announcement, the Chinese Embassy in London said Britain had blatantly interfered in Chinas internal affairs to disrupt the implementation of the new law and vowed China would fight back. The UK will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road, the statement said. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Delhi Airport joined hands with 22feet Tribal Worldwide, part of the DDB Mudra Group, to launch an innovative Instagram campaign #DELnavigate. The initiative enables people to experience India virtually while being safe at home. The ongoing pandemic has forced travel enthusiasts to stay indoors and has potentially derailed plans for travel this year. Delhi Airport spotted an opportunity to offer a unique experience through #DELnavigate, to lift the spirits of people experiencing wanderlust by allowing them to explore picturesque locations from their phones. Delhi Airports reconnection to a host of domestic destinations is seen through a virtual network of destinations on Instagram. Four zone accounts - @DELtoNorth, @DELtoEast, @DELtoSouth & @DELtoWest - connects to four more destination accounts each. These are connected via tags through Instagram highlight stories. Users can seamlessly engage with multiple story highlights that showcase popular picturesque destinations in the country. Elaborating on the campaign, Debashish Ghosh, National Creative Director, 22feet Tribal WW said, In todays time with respect to the Covid-19 scenario, the role of social media for the consumers has become even more important than it was ever before. With #DELNavigate we wanted to showcase that even a little bit of interactivity allows the user to engage with the brand in a more meaningful way. As the enabler of travel, Delhi Airport understands what effect the lack of leisure travel has on our consumers. This activity was a way to let them experience a bunch of exotic destinations they have visited, or want to visit, vicariously. The American Booksellers Associations eighth annual Childrens Institute was dealt a series of blows by the new coronavirus, from the cancellation of the in-person gathering to the subsequent re-envisioning of programming and events. None of these hurdles appears to have impeded booksellers enthusiasm for the event, which drew record attendance and accolades from attendees regarding the online platform. Just over 400 attendees from 266 stores participated in the digital conference, which was held on July 15 and 16. That number was up substantially from 330 booksellers and 230 stores at last years gathering in Pittsburgh. ABA CEO Allison Hill attributed part of the rise in attendance to the fact that the event was held online. We all miss being together physically, but there were also significant benefits to meeting virtually, not the least of which was the lower barrier of entry in terms of travel, time away from the store, and cost. We had many booksellers attend who had never had the opportunity to attend CI or WI previously. According to the ABA, 209 attendees were first-timers, as were more than half the stores. While the outbreak has had a severe impact on booksellers, the conference also showed that it has led ABA to deliver on a years-long goal of offering easy-to-access fully digital educational content to booksellers. Hill told PW that our experience and success with CI8 will definitely inform out planning going forward. An In-Person Feel Online The conference featured a main track of sessions along with breakout spaces for smaller groups and chat functions for ongoing dialogue between attendees. As questions and comments streamed through from booksellers, the chat function had an effect of leveling the often-varied knowledge sets that booksellers bring to educational sessions. It also energized what can otherwise be a fatiguing experience of spending hours online. The chat box was fantastic, said Mariana Calderon, manager of Second Star to the Right Books in Denver. It really brought the feel of Childrens Institute to the virtual realm, what with everyone shouting each other out and saying hi, and recognizing names. The end-of-day rooms on the first day were so fun too. It became almost a competition to see what room could have the most pets on-screen, and seeing the faces of so many beloved friends and acquaintances was so uplifting. The format was also helpful for industry professionals who are planning to host their own digital events in the months ahead. New Atlantic Independent Booksellers Association executive director Eileen Dengler is co-organizing an online conference with the Southern Independent Booksellers Alliance this fall and was looking at what worked throughout the sessions. NAIBA is on so many of these events and we take copious notes on what works, what we dont need, and what missteps to avoid, Dengler said. We take every good idea we see and hear, and as we attend these events, we are also gauging our own feelings throughout so we can make our own event the best it can be. All the digital planning alone would not make for a successful event without strong content, and booksellers responded with overwhelming positivity to the events emphasis on anti-racism in bookselling and publishing. I loved the obvious emphasis on anti-racism, Calderon said, not just with the workshop, but the panels and discussions as well. Black Authorship and Anti-Racist Bookselling From the outset, the conference aimed to feature Black authors along with discussions about anti-racism. The opening session on Representation in Science Fiction and Fantasy Young Adult and Middle Grade Books featured a wide-ranging conversation between authors Ebony Elizabeth Thomas, Dhonielle Clayton, and Tracy Deonn about their perspectives as Black authors. The theme of anti-racism was taken up again later in the day during a two-hour closed session called White Anti-Racist Allyship: What Is Our Role in the Struggle? On the second day of programming, authors Kwame Alexander and Jerry Craft discussed the landscape of Black bookselling over the last 20 years and how it facilitated their own journeys as writers. What booksellers need to know, need to remember is that bookstores are sacred places, that can really help mold and shape us into beautiful human beings, Alexander said. Teachers and educators have that power; booksellers have that power too. You open us up to these worlds that we had no idea existed. Other sessions followed a traditional path for Childrens Institute, with ABA sharing Indies Introduce picks, publisher reps discussing forthcoming titles, and booksellers leading a tips workshop for fellow booksellers. Booksellers were rapt during a keynote by Isaac Fitzgerald, former BuzzFeed books editor and now a picture book author, who read from Where the Wild Things Are and his own How to Be a Pirate. The streamlined track of sessions followed a format that has become increasingly popular with some regional bookseller associations in recent years. Instead of multiple concurrent panels and workshops, most were standalone for their time slot, with occasional breaks for booksellers to get support from ABA with IndieCommerce and IndieLite. Calderon from Second Star to the Right called the event an unqualified success. We had a fabulous time participating. ABAs Hill agreed. It was not surprising that the passion of the booksellers was undiminished in the virtual translation of the conference, she said. You could feel everyones energy and enthusiasm. I think we all felt lucky to be together and to celebrate what we lovebooks. Namita Bajpai By Express News Service LUCKNOW: Opening up for the first time after the encounter killing of dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey, his widow Richa expressed faith in judiciary but pointed out how cops used to enjoy her husbands hospitality all the time. While interacting with a few media persons at her residence in Krishna Nagar locality of Lucknow on Tuesday, Richa remembered the fateful night of July 2 when around 2 am Vikas Dubey called her up asking her to flee Lucknow as soon as possible as scores of people were killed. She followed her husbands diktat and left Lucknow taking refuge at a friends place. ALSO READ | Vikas Dubeys financier Jai Bajpai arrested Richa claimed that was his last call to her and then onwards she relied on media reports entirely to know about his whereabouts. Richa revealed Vikass ties with cops begins at local Chaubeypur police station. She regretted that he relied on them too much. During the entire lockdown period, the cops of Chaubeypur police station used to stay with Vikas Dubey at his residence in Bikru and enjoy his hospitality, revealed Richa. She claimed that they allegedly used him and destroyed him when he landed in a soup. Richa, however, reiterated her faith in judiciary saying she was hopeful that justice would prevail in this case. Recollecting her hay days, Richa said she had met Vikas in the early 90s. He was a friend of her brother Raju Nigam who facilitated their wedding. Richa added that Dubey as gram pradhan used to be very active. He would settle issues of people who would throng him for justice. ALSO READ | Vikas Dubey died due to gunshots, shock, haemorrhage But he would always want his words to prevail. He always wanted people to follow his diktat as the last word, added Richa. She, however, maintained that despite being a criminal for the world, Vikas was a doting father and a caring husband. He used to send Rs 40,000 to Richa for her expenses. Resting her hope in her sons, Richa said while her elder son was doing MBBS in Russia, younger one scored 90 per cent marks in his class XII. Explaining the reason to lead her life in Lucknow with her children instead of putting up with Vikas in Bikru, Richa said such was his work profile and her accomplices that they both decided in 2004 to have a house in Lucknow where she along with their sons could live away from the dark alleys of crime and pursue their studies for a better life ahead. Delete & Prev | Delete & Next The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has given the Minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, 48 hours to publish full details of lawmakers in the 9th Assembly who got contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commision (NDDC). The Speaker made the call while reacting to a point of order brought under matters of breach of his privileges by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu. Mr Elumelu urged the house to invite Mr Akpabio to identify lawmakers who got contracts from the NDDC. Mr Akpabio had on Monday during the continuation of the investigative hearing held to probe the allegations of corruption in the NDDC alleged that contracts at the NDDC are routinely awarded to members of the National Assembly. The revelation unsettled the hearing as the acting chairman of the committee, Thomas Ereyitomi, calmed members who charged at the minister Reacting to Mr Elumelus point of order, the speaker said it was unfortunate that journalists helped the minister in amplifying what we all know is untrue. Ive never once collected contracts from the NDDC and I know I can speak for many other members, Mr Gbajabiamila said. I hereby call on the minister to within 24-48 hours to publish the names, contracts, date and unveil the companies of the 60 percent projects that were given to the National Assembly. He said failure to do so would leave the house with no other option than to bring the full wrath of the law on Mr Akpabio. The Minister owes it to himself, commitee, Niger delta and the people of Nigeria to publish details of those who have been given contracts, the speaker said. New Delhi: The Maharashtra State Board of Secondary and Higher Secondary Education (MSBSHSE) is expected to release the result of Maharashtra SSC Class 10 board exams or SSC results this week. However, there is no official confirmation yet about the date of declaration of MSBSHSE Maharashtra SSC 10th Results 2020. Once officially declared, the results will be available on the official websites - mahresult.nic.in, maharashtraeducation.com, and mahahsscboard.maharashtra.gov.in. To pass the Maharashtra SSC exam, students need to score an aggregate score of 35 per cent with at least 20 per cent marks in the theory of every subject. Going by trends of previous years, the results for Maharashtra Board class 10 exams are most likely to be announced in a week after the declaration of Maharashtra HSC results. Maharashtra HSC result 2020 was declared on July 16, 2020. About 17 lakh students had registered for the board exams this year. This year, the Geography exam could not be held due to the Coronavirus COVID-19 induced lockdown across the country. The board has decided to grant marks for Geography subject on the basis of internal assessment. This year, the results, which are expected to come out next week, would be unique in itself as the board could not conduct all the exams. On July 16, the MSBSHSE declared the Maharashtra HSC Class 12 results 2020. The results were declared at 1 pm on Thursday. After the official declaration, the links of the results were made available on MSBSHSE's official websites. MSBSHSE has shared the result statistics according to which 90.66 per cent of regular students have passed the Maharashtra HSC board exam. According to the board, the overall success rate (freshers and repeaters) for the state is 87.69 per cent up from last years 83.18 per cent. The freshers recorded a success rate of 90.66 per cent while only 39.03 per cent of repeaters passed. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 11:36:08|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close RIO DE JANEIRO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The New Development Bank (NDB) will lend Brazil 1 billion U.S. dollars to neutralize the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing total loans to Brazil to 4 billion dollars, the institution said on Monday. The funds will be given to the Brazilian government's emergency aid payment program, designed to help millions of low-income people. "NDB financing is an important tool for the Brazilian government to ensure a robust fiscal response to fight the pandemic and allow priority investments to be made, thus supporting the economic recovery," the NDB said in a statement. The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the five countries and other emerging economies and developing countries. Enditem An exhibition of posters by Ukrainian artist Mykola Kovalenko entitled "Shut UP! Voice of Democracy in Danger" has opened in Ukrinform's windows as part of an information campaign in support of public journalists imprisoned in Crimea and Donbas. The campaign was launched by the Ukrainian Foreign Ministry and NGOs, according to an Ukrinform correspondent. Mykola Kovalenko, who now lives in Slovakia and is the author of an international exhibition of thematic posters on the protection of freedom of speech, said at a press conference entitled "Lack of freedom of speech in the temporarily occupied territories of Ukraine" at Ukrinform on Tuesday, July 21, that the world should learn about the harassment of journalists in the occupied territories of Ukraine. "Now the problem of freedom of speech can be seen not only in Ukraine or Slovakia. This is a problem for the whole world. It was very interesting for me to see how it is seen in Japan, Mexico, Portugal, or Iran. We need to talk about what is happening now in Crimea and Donbas. As a designer, I talk with the help of my posters, works, and I organize a community of designers to somehow shed light on this problem," Kovalenko said. Ukraine's First Deputy Foreign Minister Emine Dzheppar, in turn, promised to create an exhibition based on the published posters and stories of 11 public journalists from Crimea who are subjected to torture by the Russian occupation authorities. Information about the exhibition will be spread through dozens of Ukrainian embassies and missions around the world, so that the whole world community learns about the problem of freedom of speech in the occupied territories. "Based on these works - 21 posters, which we have selected from hundreds of the best posters created by the world's leading experts, famous designers - we will make an exhibition with personal stories of 11 people we talked about today and who serve as citizen journalists. This exhibition will focus on what freedom of speech means in the occupied territories, what challenges Ukraine has to protect journalists and non-classical journalists. They [the posters] will be distributed among our embassies these are dozens of foreign diplomatic missions," she said. The exhibition of 21 posters in the windows of Ukrinform will last for two weeks. The next exhibition, which will feature the stories of 11 citizen journalists from Crimea, will start in September and will be indefinite, Dzheppar said. On July 21, Dzheppar announced the launch of a large-scale project to support public and professional journalists who are subjected to persecution and torture in the occupied parts of Donbas and the Autonomous Republic of Crimea. The project aims to inform the international community about the oppression of freedom of speech in Crimea and the arrest of 11 public journalists and streamers of Crimean Solidarity: Server Mustafayev, Tymur Ibragimov, Marlen Asanov, Seyran Saliyev, Remzi Bekirov, Ruslan Suleymanov, Osman Arifmemetov, Rustem Sheikhaliyev, Nariman Memedeminov, Ernes Ametov, and Amet Suleymanov. op OTTAWAAs Ottawa considered awarding WE Charity a contract to administer a $912-million student volunteer grant program, no one in the public service or cabinet raised any red flags about potential conflicts of interests or the charitys finances, said Canadas top public servant. But Liberal cabinet ministers did air concerns about the deal. Ian Shugart, the clerk of the Privy Council, told MPs on the House of Commons finance committee that multiple cabinet ministers raised questions about WEs capacity to administer the Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG). Ministers themselves at cabinet discussion raised issues about the capacity of WE Charity, about how it would reach out to under-represented students to ensure reach right around the country and various other matters, all of which would be reflected in the contribution agreement (between the government and WE), Shugart said. Shugarts was a rare if limited pulling back of the curtain on cabinet deliberations, which are confidential by long-standing convention. And the clerks testimony showed there were internal questions about the deal well before it turned into a political headache for Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and the government. These concerns appear to have extended beyond cabinet to Trudeaus senior staff, including chief of staff Katie Telford. Shugart said that when briefed on the CSSG program in mid-May, Telford impressed upon public servants that care and due diligence were required in partnering with WE Charity. The prime ministers chief of staff, given the scale of the program, did make the point which was accepted by everyone that due diligence and care needed to be exercised with regard to WE Charity, Shugart told MPs. The Prime Ministers Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment Tuesday. WE has been under intense public scrutiny since the Star revealed the charity had been selected to run the CSSG on June 25. That scrutiny has extended beyond their relationship with Trudeau and the Liberal government to broader questions about how the international charity co-founded by brothers Craig and Marc Kielburger runs its operations, including the Kielburgerss for-profit corporation ME to WE and their significant downtown Toronto real estate holdings. On Tuesday, WE pushed back against critics who have raised concerns about the relationship between its not-for-profit and for-profit ventures. WE asserted there are clear internal controls that have been approved by auditors to keep the two organizations distinct. Shugart told MPs that while the public service did its due diligence in engaging WE to run the CSSG, that due diligence would have been limited to WEs capacity to run the program not the organizations overall financial situation. In the cabinet discussion, ministers did raise questions of due diligence. So that part of the process was followed, as it would be in any other case, Shugart said. Shugart committed to provide the finance committee with extensive documentation about how the WE deal came together, including internal communications between the Prime Ministers Office and Privy Council Office, the Department of Finance, and Employment and Social Development Canada the department that was ultimately responsible for the program. That documentation will likely be fodder for the ethics commissioners probe into whether Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau were in a conflict of interest when they participated in the cabinet discussion to award WE a service agreement to run the student grant program. Trudeaus mother and brother received $282,000 in speaking fees from WE between 2016 and 2020, while Morneaus daughter is currently employed by the charity. The committee is scheduled to resume its probe into the WE deal on Wednesday, with testimony from Morneau. Craig and Marc Kielburger are scheduled to appear next Tuesday. Bella Thorne was the epitome of boho-chic in photos posted Monday on Instagram while enjoying an outdoors adventure. The 22-year-old actress shared pictures of herself in tiny denim shorts and an earthy tube top during an RV excursion, though she doesn't disclose her destination. 'Be right back. This was a good day @outdoorsy,' Bella wrote in the caption for her 23.3 million followers. She was also joined on the trip by her older sisters: 27-year-old Dani and 28-year-old Kaili. Boho- chic look: Bella Thorne displayed the boho-chic look on Monday in photos shared on Instagram Bella added some flair with calf-high white cowboy boots and had her long red hair gathered into high pigtails. The former Disney star accentuated her natural beauty with light blue eye makeup and lipstick. She accessorized with with a beaded necklace, several bracelets and multiple rings. Outdoorsy has become a favorite among celebrities as the service is the number 1 RV rental site in the world. RV excursion: The 22-year-old actress shared pictures of herself in tiny denim shorts and an earthy tube top during an RV excursion Good day: 'Be right back. This was a good day @outdoorsy,' Bella wrote in the caption for her 23.3 million followers Nice view: The actress took a seat while enjoying a conversation with a view A-listers including Rosario Dawson and Zoey Deutch have all used it recently to enjoy getaways amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Meanwhile, Bella has been documenting her luxurious life on social media. She uploaded photos recently on a luxury yacht off the coast of Cabo San Lucas and shared photos Sunday in a tiny bikini with her boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo. The great escape: Outdoorsy has become a favorite among celebrities as the service is the number 1 RV rental site in the world as Rosario Dawson used the service last week Traveling in style: The 41-year-old actress posed happily by her decked out Outdoorsy campervan during the getaway Love: One particularly sweet pic showed Rosario wrapped in an embrace with Greg. The star's stepfather has been recovering from pancreatic cancer since the beginning of the year Breath of fresh air: Zoey Deutch also got in touch with Mother Nature as she hit the road in a well-equipped Outdoorsy campervan during quarantine Open road: Zoey fully embraced nature's glory, making her way from the California coast to the wild of Wyoming while hitting the highway in a decked out Outdoorsy campervan The Infamous actress, 22, looked sexy in a tiny vintage Dior bikini that she teamed with black KSUBI Daisy Dukes unbuttoned and rolled down to reveal her toned midriff. Bella mused about future vacations too, writing: 'Being Latina I love learning about all the different Latin cultures, cant wait to go to Cuba MY PEOPLE!!' Exploring: Bella showed off her bikini body while exploring Cabo San Lucas, Mexico during a romantic vacation with her beau Benjamin Mascolo Dior darling: The Infamous actress, 22, looked sexy in a tiny vintage Dior bikini that she teamed with black Daisy Dukes unbuttoned and rolled down to reveal her toned midriff You glow girl: Bella's tan was on display are she sauntered around a plaza and snapped pics Bella has been making the most of her time in Mexico with beau Ben as they relax like VIPs at Nobu Los Cabos. Bella and her Italian boyfriend recently reunited after five months apart due to COVID-19 travel restrictions. The United States imposed a travel ban in March on European countries and the European Union this summer responded in kind as cases spiked in the US. Summer fun: The former Disney star has been documenting her luxurious life recently on social media Ocean view: The actress shared a photo showing the ocean in the distance Hollywood star: Bella, shown in January in Beverly Hills, California, recently reunited with her Italian boyfriend Benjamin Mascolo after five months apart due to COVID-19 travel restrictions Bella and Benjamin finally met up again on July 7 and she gushed on Instagram: 'After 5 months reunited & it feels so good.' She asked her followers where they should go next since Ben isn't allowed in the US yet and she can't go to Italy without a work permit. Bella earlier this month was eliminated from Celebrity Show-Off after she smoked pot and dressed up like the famous Van Gogh self-portrait for her self-created YouTube show, High Art. (Photo : REUTERS/Bobby Yip) he HSBC headquarters is lit up at the Central Financial District in Hong Kong November 3, 2015. (Photo : REUTERS/Tingshu Wang) New spokesman for Chinese Foreign Ministry Wang Wenbin speaks during a news conference in Beijing, China July 17, 2020. After the United Kingdom recently suspended the extradition treaty with Hong Kong, China has recently threatened to target British firms like HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been escalating his harsh rhetoric on China. He announced the suspension of an extradition treaty with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) on Monday, July 20. The suspension will be "immediately and indefinitely" due to concerns that security legislation would transfer cases to mainland China. According to the state-controlled news organization Global Times, Communist officials threaten to throw retaliation against UK firms. The UK was charged to "dance to the tune of Americans" who urge a hard approach to China. 'Retaliation is always the last choice for the Chinese government," Global Times noted amid escalating tensions only with the U.K. and the U.S. This may include striking against British companies like HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover. While HSBC was founded in Hong Kong in 1865, it has moved its headquarters in London since 1993. The bank has been slammed for supporting the Chinese restriction in Hong Kong. Meanwhile, China is an important market for the expansion of Jaguar. U.S. secretary of state Mike Pompeo is in London to have talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Raab that seem to focus on China. China firmly opposed the U.K.'s suspension of the extradition treaty. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin told a routine press conference urged the British government not to further damage its relationship with China. Wang also argued Britain's recent actions on Hong Kong affairs as the British government has ignored Hong Kong's national security law, which helped stabilize the "one country, two systems." Also, the spokesperson said the U.K. seriously violated the basic norms of international law, which she claimed to be a blatant interference in China's internal affairs. "The U.K. imitates the U.S." China accused the UK of imitating America's rejection of China's recent national security law for Hong Kong. This adds to the country's banning of Huawei's 5G technologies in the U.K. the recent decision is a reversal of the January announcement to allow the Chinese company to have a limited 5G role in the U.K. However, Chinese ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming denounced UK conforming to the U.S. and accused the western countries of starting a 'new cold war' against China. Meanwhile, the prime minister promised to strike a balance in his approach to Beijing. "I'm not going to be pushed into a position of becoming a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China," said Johnson adding the country has serious concerns. Former Tory leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith told the Newsnight program on BBC that many countries were concerned about the Chinese government. "This is a problem for the free world right now," Smith said adding that France and Germany have to make decisions. Meanwhile, former Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper wrote in The Daily Telegraph called Johnson to help the U.K. 'assume a much greater role in global affairs." 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Controversial building industry figure George Alex has been arrested in a pre-dawn raid at his Surfers Paradise home. The 49-year-old has been arrested by the Australian Federal Police in relation to allegations of money laundering and tax evasion. George Alex was arrested on the Gold Coast. Credit:SMH News Mr Alex, 49, has been an undischarged bankrupt since 2011. Despite this, evidence was given at the royal commission into Trade Union Governance and Corruption in 2015 that Alex controlled a number of labour hire companies which were paying money to the CFMEU for favourable construction deals. Because of his bankruptcy Mr Alex couldn't be a director, instead he ran a series of labour hire companies through fronts. As each failed, it left insufficient assets to pay the creditors of the failed company, including the Australian Tax Office the royal commission heard. A main sticking point in the negotiations was staffing levels the nurses said were unsafe, as well as issues related to pay and benefits, the union said. Amita has agreed as part of the contract to work to improve staffing, the union said in a news release. Amita will cap health insurance premium contributions at 25% for full-time nurses and 35% for part-time nurses, and increase wages, the union said. By Abraham Teuber teuberab@grinnell.edu In response to rising numbers of COVID-19 cases in Iowa and around the country, Grinnell College has decided to delay the arrival of students previously invited to live on campus for Fall Term 1 (F1), which extends from Aug. 24 through Oct. 14. Classes for F1 will be taught online and only students in especially vulnerable and highly stressed situations will be allowed to live on campus, according to an email sent by President Anne Harris this morning. The Colleges initial plan was to invite roughly 500 students to live on campus in a low-residency model that would meet the public health precautions needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Aside from current students granted special permission to live on campus through a petition process which closed earlier this month, the majority of those invited to live on campus were first-year and transfer students. In their original email announcing the 2020-21 plan on June 12, then-Dean Anne Harris and then-President Raynard Kington noted that all projected dates were tentative and dependent on the status of the pandemic. Now, the uptick in coronavirus cases in Iowa, which has the second highest infection rate per capita in the Midwest, as well as the growing number of cases detected in those between the ages of 18 and 40 nationally, has caused the College administration to reassess this plan. As of July 20, Iowa has seen almost 40,000 cases of COVID-19 and 797 deaths, according to data compiled by The New York Times. In Poweshiek County, 114 cases of COVID-19 and eight COVID-19-related deaths have been documented. Harris email said that the College will reevaluate who will be invited to campus for subsequent terms. She affirmed that despite the circumstances, the College still intends to provide every student an opportunity to be on campus this year, and will be releasing an updated residency plan for the year by July 27. This news came as a shock to incoming first-year students whose preparations to move into their dorms in Grinnell next month must now be put on hold. Ariana Furlong 24 had already packed up most of her belongings in anticipation of her move-in day on August 18. Now, she doesnt know when she can expect to move out of her home in Massachusetts. The reaction was, What the fuck? Thats the only phrase I can think of that can properly encapsulate what were all feeling, said Furlong. We were all just shocked and trying to process whats going on. We have all just been collectively grieving. Furlong found out about the Colleges change of plans via a group chat with her future tutorial classmates that was formed earlier this week. The College just recently announced first year tutorial cohorts. Now, Furlong and her peers have gone from discussing how excited they were to meet each other in person to discussing the implications of the new plan. Furlong, who had a negative experience with distance learning in her last months of high school, is now considering deferring her enrollment to the spring term and continuing her current job at a restaurant near her home. I dont really see the point in doing online classes, said Furlong. Im just going to try and do what will be best for me academically and mentally so I dont end up falling into a slump, because Im going to be home for a few months. Mohammad Igbaria 24, from Upland, California, had been planning to drive to Grinnell with his family in time for his arrival date on August 17. Weve just been buying all the stuff we need to and getting the hotel reservations for on the way, so all of that had to be scrapped. We understand why its happening, it just still sucks, said Igbaria. I didnt know what to expect, because I knew cases were surging but didnt know what Grinnells reaction would be. Igbaria said many of the other first-years hes been communicating with are now considering deferring to the spring semester. He is going to continue to stay enrolled, though, and take online classes for his first semester. Ill get through college one way or another. I mean, its not ideal, but its the best they can do in the circumstances, so we gotta adapt. said Igbaria. The College will be holding two WebEx events later this week to discuss the updated plan further and answer questions and concerns. A meeting focusing on on-campus living will be held at 3:30 p.m. CDT on Thursday, July 23 and another session on the remote Grinnell experience will take place later that evening at 5:00 p.m. CDT. Five Alabama retirees -- including the former fire chief of Ozark and a Vietnam War veteran -- and another from Florida filed a lawsuit in Houston County alleging their financial advisor stole more than $1 million from their retirement accounts by copying and pasting their signatures on documents. The lawsuit, filed July 10, accuses Dothan financial advisor James Blake Daughtry and alleged co-conspirators Jared Eakes and David Smalls of transferring the retirees retirement accounts to sham entities controlled by the defendants and stealing their life savings. Last year, Daughtry told the retirees that he was merging with another financial firm and needed them to sign a signature page so he could continue to take care of their accounts, according to the lawsuit. Unbeknownst to the clients, Daughtry transferred their accounts and funds to accounts controlled by his co-conspirators, the suit goes on to say. The co-conspirators, using Adobe Photoshop, copied clients signatures from the signature pages procured by Daughtry and pasted their signatures on numerous documents to open fraudulent accounts in the names of clients at financial institutions, including Equity Trust and ETC. Efforts to find contact information for Daughtry were unsuccessful. After the funds were transferred to those financial institutions, the money was then sent to SWC or Graysail, firms that the retirees claim were sham entities controlled by Eakes and Smalls, the lawsuit claims. Although Daughtry was barred by the financial industry by FINRA, a private financial regulator, in March, and Graysail was barred from the SEC because of fraud, this was too little too lateplaintiffs retirement money had already been stolen and all that had been worked for had been lost, the lawsuit states. The lawsuit accuses Daughtry, Eakes and Smalls with several counts of fraud and alleges Kestra Investment Services, a broker-dealer whom Daughtry was registered with, and Equity Trust and ETC were negligent for not preventing the fraud. Fob James IV, a Birmingham attorney representing the retirees, noted that his clients lived off their investments. The mental anguish is huge, James told AL.com. My clients are hardworking men and women. The money they saved for retirement was earned from their conscientious labor over decades. RESOURCES GROW SIGNIFICANTLY CONTINUED EVIDENCE THAT PLUTONIC IS A LARGE MINERALIZED SYSTEM WITH LONG TERM POTENTIAL (In US Dollars unless otherwise stated) TORONTO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Superior Gold Inc. ("Superior Gold" or the "Company") (TSXV: SGI) is pleased to announce the updated Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates as at December 31, 2019 for its Plutonic Gold Operations located in Western Australia, which are comprised of the 100%-owned Plutonic underground gold mine and 100%-owned Hermes open pit gold project, along with the Company's interest in the Bryah Basin joint venture. Comparisons are made to the prior Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimates as described in the previously filed National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) report dated July 30, 2019. Highlights of the 2019 Mineral Reserve and Resource Estimates: 29% increase in Total Measured and Indicated Resources to 1.59 million ounces gold 55% increase in Total Inferred Resources to 2.82 million ounces gold Chris Bradbrook, President and CEO of Superior Gold stated: "We are extremely pleased to be able to provide this updated Mineral Reserve and Mineral Resource estimate, which continues to deliver on our stated goal of increasing resources, extending the mine life and maximizing the potential of the Plutonic Gold Operations. As announced in our Press Release dated May 12, 2020, because of the progress made with the comprehensive Mineral Resource estimate for the Plutonic Gold Operations ("Plutonic"), we decided to include it as part of our annual Reserve and Resource estimate. The comprehensive Mineral Resource estimate incorporates historic intersections encountered outside of the main underground working areas which have not previously been interpreted and included in a Resource statement. We believe it is this comprehensive Mineral Resource estimate which is the best indicator for the future of Plutonic and is continued evidence that Plutonic is a large mineralized system with long term potential. This comprehensive Mineral Resource estimate was part of a larger program of re-examining the geological modelling of the gold mineralization at Plutonic. Historically, the Plutonic underground mine has not mined to reserve grade, and one of the primary goals of this latest Reserve and Resource estimation was to allow for more predictive planning and improved production forecasts. Prior Mineral Reserve and Resource estimations utilized open block models and the Company inherited Reserve and Resource models and estimates that required further evaluation and definition. Our experience with the Plutonic mine has demonstrated that open block models are not the most accurate method to identify the distribution of mineralization, and tend to overestimate grade. We continue to refine and improve our Mineral Reserve and Resource estimation for Plutonic. This year's Reserve and Resource estimates have utilized additional geologically constrained wire-framed models which we believe better predict the grade and distribution of the mineralization. As a result, whilst our Reserve and Resource grades have declined, our confidence in the distribution of the mineralization, and our expected ability to mine to reserve grade, and therefore improved profitability, has increased. Since we acquired Plutonic, our focus has been on better understanding the mineralization through the upgrading of pre-existing Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured and Indicated and by adding Inferred Mineral Resources outside of that to demonstrate that the Plutonic underground deposit remains open in multiple directions including at depth. We are very pleased with our progress in this respect. We will continue our aggressive program of underground drilling to both further upgrade Inferred Mineral Resources to Measured and Indicated and outline new areas of mineralization. In particular, we will focus on better defining and expanding the new high grade mineralization which was announced in our Press Releases dated December 10, 2019, February 10, 2020, June 17, 2020 and June 24, 2020 for the Baltic, Baltic Deeps and Indian Zones with intersections of up to 56.3 g Au/t over 15.10 metres (as announced on June 17, 2020 in the Press Release titled "Superior Gold Inc. Announces Best Underground Exploration Intersection to Date Outside of Existing Resources"). Additionally, given the substantial increase in Mineral Resources, we will be examining the potential to increase the rate of underground production." Mineral Reserves as at December 31, 2019 were estimated using a long term gold price of A$1,925 per ounce ($1,348 per ounce). Cut off grades for the Mineral Reserves for Plutonic underground were 2-3 g Au/t (depending on stoping area), and 0.4 g Au/t for the open pit areas. Dilution of 15% was factored into the estimation of underground Mineral Reserves. Mineral Resources as at December 31, 2019 were estimated using a long term gold price of A$2,150 per ounce ($1,505 per ounce). Cut off grades for the Mineral Resource estimates were 1.50 g Au/t for underground and 0.40 g Au/t for open pit. Mineral Reserve Estimates Table 1: Proven and Probable Mineral Reserves1 2 December 31, 2018 December 31, 2019 Tonnes (millions) Grade (g Au/t) Oz Au (000's) Tonnes (millions) Grade (g Au/t) Oz Au (000's) Underground Proven 1.23 4.82 191 1.07 4.40 150 Probable 1.03 4.61 152 1.51 3.70 180 Total 2.26 4.73 343 2.58 4.00 330 Open Pit Probable 1.51 1.32 64 1.35 1.10 50 Stockpiles Proven 0.23 0.94 7 Grand Total 4.00 3.22 414 3.93 3.00 380 1 Mineral Reserves are included within the Mineral Resources. 2 All figures are rounded and use significant figures. Subtotals, totals, and weighted averages are calculated from quantities before rounding. The underground grade declined relative to the year end 2018 Mineral Reserves as a result of the change from the prior use of open block models to those based on geologically controlled wire-framed models. Additionally the increase in the allowance for underground dilution to 15% (compared to 10% used for the December 31, 2018 reserve estimate) negatively impacted the reserve grade compared to the prior year. Mineral Resource Estimates Table 2: Measured and Indicated Mineral Resources1 2 December 31, 2018 December 31, 2019 Tonnes (millions) Grade (g Au/t) Oz Au (000's) Tonnes (millions) Grade (g Au/t) Oz Au (000's) Underground Measured 1.78 7.66 437 3.69 5.50 650 Indicated 2.95 5.94 564 5.54 4.60 820 Total 4.73 6.59 1,001 9.23 5.00 1,470 Open Pit Measured Indicated 4.70 1.46 221 2.69 1.40 120 Total 4.70 1.46 221 2.69 1.40 120 Stockpiles Measured 0.23 0.94 7 Grand Total 9.65 3.96 1,229 11.92 4.20 1,590 1 Mineral Resources are inclusive of Mineral Reserves. 2 All figures are rounded and use significant figures. Subtotals, totals, and weighted averages are calculated from quantities before rounding. Table 3: Inferred Mineral Resources1 December 31, 2018 December 31, 2019 Tonnes (millions) Grade (g Au/t) Oz Au (000's) Tonnes (millions) Grade (g Au/t) Oz Au (000's) Underground Inferred 10.45 4.90 1,645 19.45 4.20 2,640 Open Pit Inferred 4.00 1.40 180 4.73 1.20 180 Grand Total 14.45 3.93 1,825 24.19 3.60 2,820 1 All figures are rounded and use significant figures. Subtotals, totals, and weighted averages are calculated from quantities before rounding. Open Pit Mineral Reserves and Resources The open pit Reserves and Resources are for Hermes, Hermes South and Plutonic East only. The estimations for the Workshop, Salmon and Trout pits are ongoing. Technical Reports An updated NI 43-101 Technical Report effective December 31, 2019 will be available on the Company's SEDAR profile at www.sedar.com within 45 days of this press release. Qualified Persons Stephen Hyland is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM) and a member of the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum (CIM) and a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101, and has approved disclosure of the 'Mineral Resource estimates' and related technical information and data. Mr. Hyland is employed by Hyland Geological and Mining Consultants (HGMC) and has been engaged on the basis of professional association between client and independent consultant. He is independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101. Matthew Keenan (BEng BCom MSc) is a member of the AusIMM (CP) and a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101, has approved disclosure of the underground Mineral Reserve estimates' technical information and data. Mr. Keenan is an employee of Entech Pty Ltd who were engaged by the Company to assist in the estimate and design of the Mineral Reserves for the underground Plutonic Gold Mine based on the Mineral Resource estimates as of December 31, 2019. He is independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101. Ashutosh Srivastava B. Tech. (Mining Engineering), is a Fellow of the Australasian Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (FAusIMM) and a "qualified person" within the meaning of NI 43-101, has approved disclosure of the open pit Mineral Reserve estimates' technical information and data. Mr. Srivastava is an employee of Superior Gold Inc. as Alternate Quarry Manager who was tasked by the Company to assist in the estimate and design of the Mineral Reserves for the open-pit Plutonic Gold Mine based on the Mineral Resource estimates as of December 31, 2019. He is not independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101. As detailed above, with the exception of the open pit Mineral Reserve estimates, The Qualified Persons who have approved the disclosure of the sections of the Technical Report referred to above and the scientific and technical information elsewhere in this press release are independent of the Company within the meaning of NI 43-101. Reliability of Reserve and Resource Estimates The Technical Report does not form the basis of a feasibility study or a pre-feasibility study under the Canadian Institute of Mining, Metallurgy and Petroleum's "CIM Definition Standards for Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources" incorporated by reference into NI 43-101. As an operating mine, the Plutonic Gold Mine is supported by information that exceeds the accuracy expected from a feasibility study. Statements relating to Mineral Reserves or Mineral Resources are deemed to be forward-looking information as they involve the implied assessment, based on certain estimates and assumptions that the Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources described can be profitably mined in the future. Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The Company's Mineral Resources and Mineral Reserves estimates described in this press release are only estimates and no assurance can be given that the anticipated tonnages and grades will be achieved, that the indicated level of recovery will be realized or that Mineral Reserves will be mined or processed profitably. Mineral Reserve and mineral Resource estimates may require downward adjustments or revisions based on gold price fluctuations, grades, further development activity, increased production costs or reduced recovery rates, new information or modelling adjustments, changes to laws and regulations affecting operating costs and the fiscal environment. If actual Mineral Reserves and Mineral Resources are less than current estimates, the Company's results of operations or financial condition may be materially and adversely affected. About Superior Gold Superior Gold is a Canadian based gold producer that owns 100% of the Plutonic Gold Operations located in Western Australia. The Plutonic Gold Operations include the Plutonic underground gold mine, which is a producing underground operation with a central mill, the Hermes open pit projects and an interest in the Bryah Basin joint venture. Superior Gold is focused on expanding production at the Plutonic Gold Operations and building an intermediate gold producer with superior returns for shareholders. Forward Looking Information This press release contains "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws that is intended to be covered by the safe harbours created by those laws. "Forward-looking information" includes statements that use forward-looking terminology such as "may", "will", "expect", "anticipate", "believe", "continue", "potential" or the negative thereof or other variations thereof or comparable terminology. Forward-looking information is not a guarantee of future performance and is based upon a number of estimates and assumptions of management at the date the statements are made. Furthermore, such forward-looking information involves a variety of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future plans, intentions, activities, results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. See "Risk Factors" in the Company's prospectus dated February 15, 2017 filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com for a discussion of these risks. In addition, The Company is exposed to outbreaks or threats of outbreaks of viruses, other infectious diseases or other similar health threats, including the novel coronavirus ("COVID-19") outbreak, which could have a material adverse effect on the Company by causing operational and supply chain delays and disruptions, labour shortages, shutdowns, the inability to sell gold, capital markets volatility or other unknown but potentially significant impacts. The Company cannot accurately predict what effects these conditions will have on the Plutonic Gold Operations or the financial results of the Company, including uncertainties relating to travel restrictions to the Plutonic Gold Operations or otherwise and business closures that have been or may be imposed by governments. If an outbreak or threat of an outbreak of a virus or other infectious disease or other public health emergency occurs, it could have a material adverse effect on the Company's business, financial condition and results of operations. The Company cautions that there can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such information. Accordingly, investors should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Except as required by law, the Company does not assume any obligation to release publicly any revisions to forward-looking information contained in this press release to reflect events or circumstances after the date hereof. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE Superior Gold Related Links https://www.superior-gold.com/ System error error: Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. context: ... 21: 22: 23: % foreach my $c (@categories) { 24: <%perl> 25: my $category_id = $c->get_id(); 26: my @stories = Bric::Biz::Asset::Business::Story->list ( { element_type_id=>1148, category_id=>$category_id , Order=> 'cover_date', publish_status => 't' , OrderDirection=> 'DESC' , Limit=>10 } ); 27: 28: 29: ... code stack: /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html:25 /usr/share/perl5/HTML/Mason/Request.pm:951 /var/cache/mason/obj/1784076917/main/smetimes/dhandler.html.obj:17 /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/autohandler_template.html:149 Can't call method "get_id" on an undefined value at /usr/local/bricolage/data/burn/stage/oc_1027/smetimes/dhandler.html line 25. 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First Deputy Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada, Ukraine's parliament, Ruslan Stefanchuk has said the team of President Volodymyr Zelensky fulfilled about 20% of election promises during the first year in power. "If we take the main points of the president's five-year program he has voiced, we saw that about 20% of promises he made, including on lifting parliamentary immunity, responsibility for piano voting, and other things, have already been fulfilled", MP told Ukraine 24 TV channel. According to Stefanchuk, "20% in first 12 months isn't bad." Read alsoMP tells of Zelensky's stance on resumption of water supplies to occupied Crimea "There will be difficult issues coming up this is about systemic transformations, issues of economic reforms. And here we already have worked-out answers. We will see how they move forward. But both the president and the Rada have intentions to implement all this," he added. As UNIAN reported earlier, Zelensky has retained the highest level of public confidence (44%). When Google and Apple announced plans in April for free software to help alert people of their possible exposure to the coronavirus, the companies promoted it as privacy preserving and said it would not track users locations. Encouraged by those guarantees, Germany, Switzerland and other countries used the code to develop national virus alert apps that have been downloaded more than 20 million times. But for the apps to work on smartphones with Googles Android operating system the most popular in the world users must first turn on the device location setting, which enables GPS and may allow Google to determine their locations. Some government officials seemed surprised that the company could detect Android users locations. After learning about it, Cecilie Lumbye Thorup, a spokeswoman for Denmarks Health Ministry, said her agency intended to start a dialogue with Google about how they in general use location data. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Tigran Mkrtchyan, Ambassador of Armenia to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia authored an op-ed on the recent Azerbaijani aggression on the border of the Republic of Armenia, which today was simultaneously published in the largest periodicals of the three countries. In Lithuania, Ambassador Mkrtchyan's article was published in Lietuvos rytas (Lithuanias Morning), country's largest daily, as well as online - on the lrytas.lt website; in Latvia, on the cover of "Neatkariga" (Independence), one of the country's biggest daily newspapers and on its nra.lv website, and in Estonia, in the print edition of Eesti Paevaleht (Estonian daily), which has the largest audience, and on its epl.delfi.ee webpage. ARMENPRESS presents the translation of the article. ''Full restoration of the ceasefire regime is a must! On July 12th the Azerbaijani border forces started provocative actions on the state borders of Armenia in the north-eastern direction. Civilian population, gas pipeline, factories, including one that makes masks necessary to fight COVID 19 pandemic came under attack. Anyone who has ever crossed the Armenian-Georgian border on a car knows that the situation in the region situated north east of Armenian-Azerbaijani border is extremely unpredictable. Azeri military oftentimes would start shelling the nearest areas, keeping the population tense. Travelers even might be asked to divert from their route so as not to endanger themselves. In spite of all this, we must admit that the last few days is a different story altogether. Targeting civilian infrastructures is a clear sign of violation of the international humanitarian law. Still, a few days after the renewal of hostilities, which had to be responded by the Armenian side, we read the mind-blowing threat by the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry about the possibility to launch missile attacks at the Armenian Metsamor Nuclear Power Plant. The threat was a flagrant violation of the International Humanitarian Law in general. Such actions are an explicit demonstration of state terrorism and genocidal intent. There are members of the international community and organizations that have refrained from pinpointing who the aggressor is, and who the victim is in the absence of independently established facts. Such a stance, which might perhaps look like an appeasement for an aggressor, can be explained by the fact that there are no local ceasefire violation monitoring measures. And here we come to the biggest question mark of the entire situation. Why arent there any such measures on Armenian-Azerbaijani borders? It would be unjust to blame the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (the USA, France and Russia), the single internationally mandated organization which mediates between the sides seeking a peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Diverting hereby I should emphasize that, in 1990s, Azerbaijan, even though it was fighting to gain control over Nagorno-Karabakh, annexed to it by Stalins authoritarian decision in 1921, eventually embarked on a total fight and blockade against Armenia. Armenian territory was shelled from all possible angles where it borders with Azerbaijan. Armenia has repeatedly stated and continues to insist that there is no alternative to a peaceful settlement of the conflict. There are specific proposals for security and confidence-building measures, including an increase in the number and permanent deployment of international observers on the ground, a direct line of communications and the introduction of a mechanism to investigate alleged ceasefire violations. Their implementation will help to avoid further escalation renewals. (https://www.osce.org/mg/185746) However, Azerbaijan has rejected these control mechanisms, the absence of which contributes to both an increase in civilian casualties and baseless accusations against the Armenian sides. I would like to emphasize that in the current situation, efforts to end hostilities, unconditionally and fully restore, preserve and strengthen the ceasefire regime signed between Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan are imperative. After the outbreak of COVID 19 at the end of March, the UN General Secretary made an appeal for an immediate global ceasefire in all corners of the world, adding that it is time to put armed conflict on lockdown and focus together on the true fight of our lives. Hours later the Armenian Minister of Foreign Affairs Zohrab Mnatsakanyan applauded and welcomed this idea. The Azerbaijani side chose to ignore this appeal, as well. Moreover, over the years the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs have time and again reiterated that it is an indispensable need to prepare the societies for peace and refrain from war rhetoric. This is an extremely important point, not to be ignored by anyone longing for peace. The Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan soon after the Velvet Revolution in 2018 has adopted the audacious stance that any conflict resolution must be based on mutual compromises and be acceptable to the peoples of Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh and Azerbaijan. This idea was never appreciated by Azerbaijan. Moreover, there have been continuous threats, often by the leader of that country claiming Armenias capital and other parts of this cradle of ancient civilization as Azerbaijans historical lands and demanding that Azerbaijanis must return to these historical lands. The dangerous development of poisoned public opinion could be felt soon after the recent clashes between Armenians and Azerbaijanis in Tavush region. The mass rally in Baku where nationalist slogans of Armenophobia could be heard soon enough morphed into anti-governmental appeals, upon which it was immediately dispersed by the Azerbaijani police. Apparently freedom of speech in Azerbaijan is acceptable only when it includes expressions of hatred towards Armenians. While majority of countries in the world and international organizations are appealing to both sides to refrain from any escalation and return to the table of negotiations, NATO member state Turkey adds fuel to the fire unconditionally supporting Azerbaijan and inciting further actions against Armenia. Sometimes one may get the impression that the leadership of Turkey feels that the Armenian Genocide, perpetrated by the Young Turks in 1915, has not been carried out fully and that the Republic of Armenia should concede to every wish and whim of the Turks and their ethnic brothers, even at the cost of our total annihilation. It is worth noting that even in the 21st century, Turkey chooses to build its policy in our region on the traditions of justification of the Armenian Genocide and the impunity of that crime. Turkeys provocative and biased stance seriously undermines the peaceful settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and proves that Turkey cant be involved in any international processes related to the conflict and first and foremost within the OSCE framework. With its approaches, Turkey is an existential security threat for Armenia, and should revisit this dangerous behavior as soon as possible. Summarizing, I would like to note that it is never too late to embrace the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs proposals on the establishment of ceasefire violations mechanisms and it is never too late to accept and respect ceasefire during and after the COVID crisis. For any conflict to be resolved we need political will of all leaders involved and constructive support of international players. History is a witness to this axiom! Tigran Mkrtchyan Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Armenia to Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia''. Riot police moved in on to disperse protests marking the anniversary of a brutal mob attack on passengers at a train station in Hong Kong's Yuen Long district, arresting a district councilor for violating a draconian security law after he held up a banner with the words "Free Hong Kong! Revolution now!" blazoned on it. Dozens of protesters wearing black gathered at Yuen Long's Yoho Mall on to mark the attack on passers-by, commuters and protesters by a group of triad-linked men in white, wielding canes and poles, on , 2019. A long delay in the police response responded to multiple emergency calls on the night, and photos of officers chatting with groups of men wielding weapons in white T-shirts, prompted widespread public anger at police, and brought many more people out onto the streets in the weeks and months that followed. Riot police rushed into the mall on , kettling the protesters behind a cordon, and conducting ID checks. Shops and businesses closed their shutters as police warned the crowd they were participating in an "illegal assembly," to the sound of insults, calls for independence and "Free Hong Kong, revolution now!" a slogan that the government says breaches the national security law. Police took away Kwai Tsing district councilor Rayman Chow after he held up a placard with the slogan on it. The pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper on cited leaked internal police documents as showing that police had been instructed not to respond to 999 calls in Yuen Long on that day. At least 45 people were injured in the attack. One of the victims, who gave only a surname Tseng, said he and his wife were assaulted by men in white T-shirts as they traveled home by the West Rail Line. Report on police disappoints He hit out at a government-backed report that found nothing wrong with the police response. "When are the people responsible going to be punished?" he said. "This is something they should be taking very seriously." "Otherwise this will never end." Lam Cheuk-ting, a Democratic Party member of the Legislative Council (LegCo) who was among those attacked on the day, held a press conference with fellow victims. One victims, surnamed Lam, said she was injured after falling as she fled the scene in a panic and had to have a knee replacement. "How did things come to this in Hong Kong? I don't know, and I can't accept it," she said. "I used to be able to teach dancercize at my neighborhood gym, but now I can't do anything." A victim surnamed So said he sustained severe back injuries after being beaten up with a cane, and hit out at police for only convicting seven people in connection with the attack. "They have claimed all along that they were working on it, and that arrests would be made in due course ... but that was totally unconvincing," So said. "None of the people who beat me up have been arrested," he said. Few charges laid Shortly after he spoke, riot police surrounded Lam Cheuk-ting and the Democratic Party lawmaker Andrew Wan and shoved them against a wall, shouting that they were in violation of a ban on public gatherings of more than four people. Lam told reporters later that there had been no more than four people giving the press conference, and said police were likely trying to silence the victims of the Yuen Long attack. Of the 37 people who were arrested after the attack, only seven have been charged, with "rioting" and "conspiracy to injure others with intent." A Yuen Long resident filmed assaulting a Stand News reporter on the day of the attack wasn't among them. A police spokesperson said: "We understand public concerns about the Yuen Long attack, which the New Territories North Regional Crime Squad has been persistent in investigating." "As some cases have gone to court, it is not appropriate to reveal too many details at this stage ... Further arrests will be made when the time is right," the spokesperson said. Meanwhile, teachers in Hong Kong have reported widespread retaliation from the authorities if they express dissenting views, under the new security law. The Chinese Human Rights Defenders (CHRD) network said teachers had been reprimanded, warned, and had contracts terminated "on suspicion of illegal use of or using inappropriate teaching materials." Hong Kongs Secretary for Education Kevin Yeung has also warned that teachers who violate the law -- including through comments made on social media -- could have their teaching qualification revoked, it said. Reported by Man Hoi-tsan for RFA's Cantonese Service. Translated and edited by Luisetta Mudie. Angelo Gordon's Net Lease group purchased the assets and mortgage financing was provided by Citigroup. The Mohr Partners team was led by Eric Beichler, Managing Principal /Shareholder along with Managing Director, Matt Burton and Bob Mohr. Eric worked closely with the buyer's lead, Managing Director and Head of Acquisitions, Chris Capolongo of Angelo Gordon. "We were pleased to successfully execute a meaningful transaction for both buyer and seller. This transaction was strategic for Accuride and Angelo Gordon was a perfect partner for the transaction", Eric Beichler said. About Mohr Partners Mohr Partners, Inc. is a global corporate real estate firm, providing corporate tenants and occupiers with portfolio services including strategic planning, portfolio management and lease administration, research and site selection, incentive practice, project and construction management, and comprehensive demographics analysis. Since 1986, Mohr Partners has been managing real estate portfolios for organizations. The company has offices across North America and seamlessly provides corporate real estate services globally through its strategic alliance partners. For more information on Mohr Partners, please visit www.mohrpartners.com. For more information on Mohr Partners and their services, please visit the firm's U.S. Web page: http://www.mohrpartners.com/about-us/ About Accuride Corporation Accuride Corporation is a leading manufacturer and supplier of wheels and wheel-end components to the global commercial vehicle industry. The company's products include steel and aluminum commercial vehicle wheels and wheelend components and assemblies; and steel wheels for the European automotive and global agricultural, construction and industrial equipment markets. The company's products are marketed under its brand names, which include Accuride, Accuride Wheel End Solutions, Gunite and KIC. They support their product portfolio with strong sales, marketing, and design engineering capabilities. Their products are manufactured in facilities throughout North America, Europe and Asia. For more information, visit www.accuridecorp.com About Angelo Gordon Angelo Gordon has been matching money with opportunity since 1988. They are a leading, privately held alternative investment firm, managing approximately $35 billion across a broad range of credit and real estate strategies. For over 30 years, they have been investing on behalf of pension funds, corporations, endowments, foundations, sovereign wealth funds and individuals. Over their entire history, Angelo Gordon's investment approach has consistently relied on disciplined portfolio construction backed by rigorous research and a strong focus on capital preservation. They now have over 500 employees in offices across the U.S., Europe and Asia. To learn more, visit: www.angelogordon.com SOURCE Mohr Partners, Inc. Related Links www.mohrpartners.com The Jeep brand is launching its first #JeepTopCanine search this summer, leading up to National Dog Day on Wednesday, August 26. Jeep enthusiasts are known to have their dogs buckled up with them as they seek out adventure, proudly featuring them along with their favorite Jeep vehicle in social media content through the years. So this year, Jeep owners, fans and followers can post the best photo of their pup with their Jeep brand vehicle and tag it with #JeepTopCanine on Instagram and Twitter, or upload it to www.JeepTopCanine.com, to enter. The winning dog will be crowned the first-ever #JeepTopCanine and will be the (cutest) face of the Jeep brand across its social media channels, appearing in exclusive content for the next year, until National Dog Day 2021. Submissions close on Monday, August 3. From there, the Jeep brand will select eight photos and let fans vote from August 11-18 for their favorite (we know, they're ALL good dogs!), but only one can be crowned the #JeepTopCanine on Wednesday, August 26, 2020. For more information on the #JeepTopCanine search, visit www.JeepTopCanine.com. View this post on Instagram As a true cult brand, the #JeepTopCanine search is one more way for the Jeep brand to give its followers the chance to be a part of its legacy. Jeep Brand Built on nearly 80 years of legendary heritage, Jeep is the authentic SUV with class-leading capability, craftsmanship and versatility for people who seek extraordinary journeys. The Jeep brand delivers an open invitation to live life to the fullest by offering a full line of vehicles that continue to provide owners with a sense of security to handle any journey with confidence. The Jeep vehicle lineup consists of the Cherokee, Compass, Gladiator, Grand Cherokee, Renegade and Wrangler. To meet consumer demand around the world, all Jeep models sold outside North America are available in both left- and right-hand drive configurations and with gasoline and diesel powertrain options. Jeep is part of the portfolio of brands offered by global automaker Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. For more information regarding FCA (NYSE: FCAU/ MTA: FCA), please visit www.fcagroup.com. Follow Jeep and FCA news and video on: Company blog: http://blog.fcanorthamerica.com Media website: http://media.fcanorthamerica.com Jeep brand: www.jeep.com Facebook: www.facebook.com/jeep or https://www.facebook.com/FiatChrysler.NorthAmerica/ Instagram: www.instagram.com/jeep or www.instagram.com/FiatChrysler_NA Twitter: www.twitter.com/jeep or www.twitter.com/FiatChrysler_NA YouTube: www.youtube.com/thejeepchannel or www.youtube.com/fcanorthamerica SOURCE FCA Related Links http://www.fcanorthamerica.com Heres what Pennsylvania Breaking News tells visitors to its Facebook Page about itself: No buttery PC garbage here! Raw conservative news. No mainstream filters! Unapologetic patriotism! Thats a legitimate exercise of free speech, to be sure. But the news feed that re-launched on Sunday surged into Pennsylvanias public consciousness by Monday morning. The site gained attention and criticism stemming from a Sunday post with a headline that said Gov. Tom Wolf was preparing to send some Pennsylvania counties back into the red phase, the most restrictive of his coronavirus pandemic reopening plan. BREAKING: Governor Wolf Lists Counties Likely Returning to Red Phase, the websites headline blared. Amidst Wolfs Latest Articles of Impeachment, He Says These Counties Are Going Back to Red. The Wolf Administration through a spokesman denied the governor was moving any counties to the red phase and the headline was ultimately revised. Still, the original post had earned more than 300,000 views by 1 p.m. Monday, according to the site. In fact, the Wolf Administration had highlighted several counties Friday that it said it was paying close attention to because positive rates on coronavirus tests had risen above 5 percent. But the governors office never said or implied that it had made a decision about rolling back the re-openings in those places. The Wolf Administrations business and other restrictions aimed at stopping the spread of coronavirus - and the emergency declaration under which they have been ordered - have become a major point of contention between the Democratic governor and the states Republican-controlled legislature, as well as county commissioners in various counties. Its all the more sensitive given the recent uptick in positive tests statewide. In an interview Monday afternoon, one of Pennsylvania Breaking Newss contributors, who identified himself as Wyatt Uhl, conceded that the original headline on the coronavirus cases led readers to a conclusion that hadnt happened yet. In the course of that interview, Uhl said the original post published without a proofread and he made a revision to the headline during the call, which now suggests the counties might be going back to red. I do see how a lot of people got confused, Uhl said. He stopped short of an apology. Uhl, who is 24, also tried to explain that, the flashy name notwithstanding, he and his partners sees themselves more as commentators with a point of view than classic reporters. I dont think we are a news outlet, Uhl said, noting that he worked as a construction site flagman until recently and still repairs cars on the side. Basically the whole page concept is to appeal to the Pennsylvania conservative people. At this point its kind of like a blog, if you will. Were not really out there to be like: Hey, were big in the press. Were hotshots. No, I mean, were just a bunch of country bumpkins out there that feel like: Hey, we have a server. Lets use it... Were kind of dissatisfied with how the mainstreams running it. But the sites roller-coaster debut shed a light on the concerns many have over the redefinition of the news as more people get their information from full-blown partisan Web sites. In some ways, Russ Eshleman, head of Penn States journalism department, said its an approach as old as the public relations business itself. Twenty years ago, Eshleman noted, Democratic and Republican Party caucuses did their own television newscasts aired on the Pennsylvania Cable Network. It looked like a real newscast, but it was P.R., Eshleman said. Theres not a whole lot of difference to me between that and this. Its purporting to give news, when youre actually giving a point of view. I just hope readers know better. Eshleman offered this checklist for people who are actively seeking the facts to keep in mind as this partisan-charged election year progresses: Look for news sources that provide a diversity of voices. In other words, if one party is criticized in the story, has the reporter given the subject of that criticism a chance to respond or explain their position. Are the sources of the information clearly identified? That is a mainstay of traditional news reporting. Are the reporters who produced the content named? All traditional news outlets do. Look for fair, objective language that is not clearly reaching to provoke a reaction. Pennsylvania Breaking News probably violated that last point with a separate post Sunday. In a post, the site identified state Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine as Richard Levine, Levines given name before she changed genders. The name has been a rallying point for some social conservatives, and has prompted fierce pushback from Levine and advocates for the expansion of anti-discrimination laws in Pennsylvania to include sexual orientation and gender identity. Uhl was making no revisions to that post Monday, standing on this statement that he and his colleagues had issued to a group called Pennsylvania Equality Project earlier in the day: In our story about doctor Levine, there is no intention of malice, we are simply calling him by his paternal name according to his appropriate biological gender. Calling somebody by a known alias, former name or birth name is not a crime, and is definitely not slander. Was it proper to call Dr. Levine Richard? Probably not. But were setting ourselves on a path to break away from the norms set by journalists in this day and age to be blunt and get down to the bottom of things as they are. Facts do not yield for feelings. News is a representation of fact, and were putting out the facts that nobody else wants to cover. Equality Project Vice President Matt Haslam said the group will formally report Pennsylvania Breaking News to Facebook for being slanderous and for using hate speech. Uhl told PennLive Monday that he and his colleagues acquired the Facebook page in February from WPMG, which is described as a digital television station based in Kittanning, Pa., and originally registered the Internet domain name. They were attracted to the page because it had about 15,000 followers, allowing them to make revenue from targeted ads sold through Google AdSense. He would not disclose the purchase price and attempts to reach WPMG for this report were not successful. So what about that name? Uhl said he and his partners have attempted to reach Facebook to change the name of their page, but the Internet giant has refused because the prior owner had already done that several times. PennLives attempts to reach Facebook to corroborate Uhls claims were not immediately successful. Uhl said he and his partners - including three writers and one graphic designer - decided to re-launch the page this weekend, in part because of the ongoing controversy between the Wolf Administration and Lebanon County. In addition to their self-generated content, they will also link to some other news sources and give credit to their reporting. He said they may consider providing on-scene coverage of rallies and events, as various other partisan Facebook pages do, but we currently dont have the resources to do that at this time. Police in Kyiv, Odesa, Kharkiv have received mass reports on bombs planted in public places. Ukraine's Interior Ministry says it sees no links between an incident in Lutsk, where a terrorist took hostages on a bus, and improvised explosive devices (IEDs) found near the Minska subway station in Kyiv. "Every day explosives are discovered here or there. Weapons are also found. It has nothing to do with this," Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said when asked whether there are links between the incidents in Kyiv and Lutsk, which happened on the same day, July 21, according to an UNIAN correspondent. As UNIAN reported earlier, law enforcers were searching kiosks near the Minska subway station in Kyiv on Tuesday morning to check reports on planted bombs. They found a box with IEDs, which were disposed of and the remains were sent for forensic examination. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko, in turn, informed that two improvised explosive devices had been seized during the inspection of the area near the station and had been later disposed of in an explosion. In addition, the police later received anonymous reports on bombs planted in the building of Kyiv's Court of Appeals, the Ocean Plaza shopping mall, Kyiv's Central Railway Station, and Kyiv Sikorsky Airport (Zhuliany). All the facilities are being inspected by police officers. At about 15:00 Kyiv time on July 21, Kharkiv region's police also received an email about bombs planted in local hospitals, supermarkets, shopping malls, banks, hotels, post offices, bus and railway stations. What is more, law enforcement agencies in Odesa are also checking reports about bombs planted inside facilities of social infrastructure in that city. Hostages trapped on a bus As UNIAN reported earlier, an armed man took hostage passengers and the driver of a commuter bus in Lutsk, western Ukraine, on July 21. Shots were reported at the scene. Lutsk's Teatralna Square was cordoned off by SWAT units. The police said the terrorist had firearms on him along with an explosive device. According to the SBU Security Office of Ukraine, about 10 people are being held hostage. Later it was reported that there are 20 hostages there. In the evening, the terrorist allowed a police officer to pass bottles of water to the hostages, who have been trapped on the bus for more than eight hours. City in lockdown Nearly 100 members of the National Guard of Ukraine and special equipment are involved in an operation to free the captives. The center of the city is now in lockdown. A criminal case under Part 2 of Article 147 (hostage-taking) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was opened following this incident. Lutsk terrorist: Facts about him The criminal introduced himself as "Maksym Plokhoy" ("Bad Maksym"). Prior to the attack, he recorded a video and posted it on the web. The man said that "the state is terrorist No. 1." Now he demands that the chairmen of courts, ministries, prosecutors, parliament, churches, as well as Ukrainian oligarchs record statements and post them on their pages on social networks and YouTube that they are terrorists in the law. Also, he demands that President Volodymyr Zelensky record a video message. Read alsoArmed man hijacks commuter bus in Ukraine's Lutsk, city center cordoned off (Photo, video, live from scene) The police are currently negotiating with the terrorist. The man expressed his indignation with the existing state system, he refused to leave the bus or set the people inside it free. He also fired at law enforcement officers and attempted to open fire at a police drone, according to Suspilne Media. According to media reports, the Lutsk terrorist who hijacked the bus with passengers has been identified as Maksym Stepanovych Kryvosh, 44, while "Maksym Plokhoy" is his nickname. He reportedly has two criminal records. Interior Minister Avakov denied reports that Kryvosh had undergone treatment in a psychiatric hospital. WASHINGTON, D.C. - Holmes County GOP Rep. Bob Gibbs has joined calls for President Donald Trump to restrict the Chinese video sharing app TikTok on the grounds that China could use it for espionage against the United States. Gibbs and two dozen other Republican members of Congress sent Trump a letter last week that said TikToks data collection practices and Chinese laws that require all companies that operate in China to share user data with Chinese Communist Party authorities present a very real threat to U.S. national security. The letter noted that India last month banned 60 Chinese-affiliated mobile apps, including TikTok, from operating within its borders and maintained TikTok censors user content to advance communist Chinas foreign policy aims and disseminating state propaganda. It is clear that the United States should not trust TikTok or any other Chinese-affiliated social media websites or apps to protect Americans data, privacy or security, their letter said. Trumps re-election campaign has run social media ads that claim the app is spying on users. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters last week that several administration officials are looking at the national security risk as it relates to TikTok, WeChat and other apps that have the potential for national security exposure, specifically as it relates to the gathering of information on American citizens by a foreign adversary. I dont think theres any self imposed deadline for action, but I think we are looking at weeks, not months, said Meadows. National Economic Council Director Larry Kudlow said he believes TikTok will pull out of its Chinese holding company and operate as an independent American company. Thats a much better solution than banning or pushing away, Kudlow said. The servers will be here. TikTok says it protects user data, and is addressing concerns by creating a centralized global security office, headquartered in the United States and deployed to all markets it serves. In the coming months, well announce more partnerships with security experts and regulators to ensure our community can trust that their data and privacy are protected, said a statement from the company. Daniel Castro of the Information Technology and Innovation Foundation think tank issued a statement that said the U.S. government shouldnt ban TikTok because it is owned by a Chinese company. He said the U.S. government should continue to push for better cybersecurity, effective regulatory enforcement, rule-based global data governance and digital free trades. TikTok has stated clearly and unambiguously that it has not and will not provide U.S. user data to the Chinese government. If the U.S. government has evidence to the contrary, it should share this information with lawmakers and the public, Castro said. Similarly, if the app is not complying with U.S. data privacy or other laws, regulators should hold it accountable for any violations. More coverage: House passes Rep. Dave Joyces bill to ensure federal death and disability benefits for first responders afflicted by coronavirus Gov. Mike DeWine and other Ohio political leaders remember the late civil rights pioneer John Lewis Coronavirus recession will challenge the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ex-head Rich Cordray and Sen. Elizabeth Warren predict Joe Bidens presidential campaign names Toni Webb its Ohio state director Rep. Marcia Fudge calls for a Poverty Bill of Rights Federal immigration processors in Cleveland to be furloughed unless Congress acts DNC Chair applauds Florida Democratic Party for returning PPP loan, said he thought Ohios would return theirs Ohio Congress members propose quarantining coronavirus patients in hotels Rep. Tim Ryan makes up lost fundraising ground while Rep. Jim Jordan takes in nearly $3.5 million Millions lost health insurance during coronavirus pandemic, report says Rep. Anthony Gonzalez seeks Confucius Institute crackdown Republicans slam the Ohio Democratic Party for getting federal Paycheck Protection Program loan 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 Six Victorian prisons have gone into lockdown after a prison officer tested positive to coronavirus. The guard at Ravenhall Correctional Centre in Melbourne's west was sent home from work last Thursday after a close contact of his tested positive to COVID-19, Corrections Victoria said. He self-isolated and got tested, with the positive result triggering a wave of lockdowns on Tuesday at prisons across the state. Ravenhall Correctional Centre, a medium-security prison in Melbourne's west. Credit:Joe Armao Hopkins Correctional Centre in Ararat, Langi Kal Kal near Ballarat, Barwon Prison near Geelong, Fulham near Sale in Gippsland and Loddon at Castlemaine have all gone into lockdown. Sales were mostly affected by lower new patient starts and significant reduction in patient visits to physicians, said Novartis Novartis reported Tuesday higher profits in the first half of the year despite the coronavirus pandemic causing swings in sales. (AFP Photo) ZURICH: Swiss pharma giant Novartis reported Tuesday higher profits in the first half of the year despite the coronavirus pandemic causing swings in sales. During the first six months of the year net profit came in at $4 billion (3.5 billion euros), a 9 percent increase when currency fluctuations are stripped out. Sales rose by 6 percent from the same period last year to $23.6 billion. But the half-year figures obscure considerable swings in sales and profits due to the novel coronavirus pandemic. If sales rose by 11 percent in the first quarter as clients stocked up on medicines when the virus began to spread around the world, sales dipped by 1 percent in the second quarter. "During the second quarter, COVID-19 had an impact on our business with forward purchasing from the first quarter largely reversing," the company said in a statement. Lockdowns and the focus of medical systems on treating coronavirus and urgent patients also had an impact on the sales of certain treatments. "Sales were mostly affected by lower new patient starts and significant reduction in patient visits to physicians," said Novartis. There was also a similar evolution in quarterly earnings, with a 16 percent gain in net profit during the first three months turning into a 4 percent drop in the second quarter. Novartis said it expects mid single digit sales growth for the year, with a low double digit gain in its measure of core operating income. Over the first half of the year, core operating income rose by 19 percent. BASELESS My Search for Secrets in the Ruins of the Freedom of Information Act By Nicholson Baker This has been a hard season for truth. Between the disinformation surrounding the coronavirus, Russian bots on the internet, police cover-ups of excessive force applied to unarmed civilians and the regular torrent of lies emanating from the White House, objective reality seems to be fading before our eyes. Nicholson Baker (no relation) now weighs in with Baseless, an account of his efforts to pry old secrets out of the C.I.A. through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), in the service of truth. Unfortunately, he only adds to the ball of confusion that is our world today. Baseless evolved from a seven-year quest by Baker to obtain classified Air Force memos on a secret government program called Project Baseless, which he thinks might reveal whether or not the United States used biological weapons during the Korean War. (The North Koreans claimed we did.) The pursuit becomes part of the story, as Baker exposes how the C.I.A. and the United States military have gutted much of FOIA one redaction at a time, stalling for years on releasing documents and trying to rebury what has been exposed already. Along the way, he dredges up many of the nasty, ugly, wrong things done by intelligence agencies and the military in our name, especially during the Cold War era. Bakers proposed policy solutions, including a vast increase in declassification and transparency, and the termination of the C.I.A. as we know it, are all to the good. The crimes the agency committed during the Cold War, particularly in Latin America subverting elections, running death squads and coups, even destroying food sources are some of the worst things this country has ever done. King Hill: Facebook The babysitter of a missing two-year-old has been charged with murder after police and FBI investigators discovered cell phone and video evidence of the boy's death. While King Hill remains missing, Philadelphia authorities arrested Tianna Parks, 24, on charges of murder, child endangerment and abuse of a corpse, among other charges two weeks after the child disappeared from the city's Strawberry Mansion neighbourhood. District Attorney Larry Krasner said the toddler was in the care of Ms Parks before he was reported missing on 7 July. Tianna Parks (Philadelphia Police Department) "The death of King Hill is an unbearable tragedy that is compounded by Tianna Parks' actions. This precious baby's family and community deserve to know how he died. They deserve the opportunity to bury and mourn him with dignity," Mr Krasner said in a statement. "This child deserved so much better in life. My office will continue to work alongside the Philadelphia Police and FBI to seek justice for his death." While the nature of the phone and video evidence was not confirmed, the District Attorney's Office homicide chief, Anthony Voci, told a press conference on Monday that it showed that the boy had been killed by his babysitter. "We don't right now have the mechanism of King Hill's death, we don't know the date of his death, and we don't know the location of his death, nor do we know where Ms Parks disposed of his body, but we know based on the evidence that we have that he was in fact killed by Ms Parks," he said. While Mr Voci declined to discuss a possible motive, he said that virtually everything Ms Parks told investigators was refuted by the evidence. The accused 24-year-old was a regular babysitter of the child, who police believe was last seen on either 4 or 5 July. Ms Parks allegedly told King's stepfather that she dropped off the child to his mother, Amber Hill, on 7 July. Ms Hill said in a GoFundMe page that she left her son with a person she trusted, who in turn gave him to the babysitter. "My son is dead. They have proof. They are not sure that his body will be fully recovered due to the circumstances surrounding the events that lead to his death," she wrote. He would have celebrated his third birthday later this month. Wall Street expects a year-over-year decline in earnings on higher revenues when Southern Missouri Bancorp (SMBC) reports results for the quarter ended June 2020. While this widely-known consensus outlook is important in gauging the company's earnings picture, a powerful factor that could impact its near-term stock price is how the actual results compare to these estimates. The earnings report might help the stock move higher if these key numbers are better than expectations. On the other hand, if they miss, the stock may move lower. While management's discussion of business conditions on the earnings call will mostly determine the sustainability of the immediate price change and future earnings expectations, it's worth having a handicapping insight into the odds of a positive EPS surprise. Zacks Consensus Estimate This bank holding company is expected to post quarterly earnings of $0.51 per share in its upcoming report, which represents a year-over-year change of -37%. Revenues are expected to be $23.08 million, up 1.5% from the year-ago quarter. Estimate Revisions Trend The consensus EPS estimate for the quarter has remained unchanged over the last 30 days. This is essentially a reflection of how the covering analysts have collectively reassessed their initial estimates over this period. Investors should keep in mind that the direction of estimate revisions by each of the covering analysts may not always get reflected in the aggregate change. Price, Consensus and EPS Surprise Earnings Whisper Estimate revisions ahead of a company's earnings release offer clues to the business conditions for the period whose results are coming out. Our proprietary surprise prediction model -- the Zacks Earnings ESP (Expected Surprise Prediction) -- has this insight at its core. The Zacks Earnings ESP compares the Most Accurate Estimate to the Zacks Consensus Estimate for the quarter; the Most Accurate Estimate is a more recent version of the Zacks Consensus EPS estimate. The idea here is that analysts revising their estimates right before an earnings release have the latest information, which could potentially be more accurate than what they and others contributing to the consensus had predicted earlier. Story continues Thus, a positive or negative Earnings ESP reading theoretically indicates the likely deviation of the actual earnings from the consensus estimate. However, the model's predictive power is significant for positive ESP readings only. A positive Earnings ESP is a strong predictor of an earnings beat, particularly when combined with a Zacks Rank #1 (Strong Buy), 2 (Buy) or 3 (Hold). Our research shows that stocks with this combination produce a positive surprise nearly 70% of the time, and a solid Zacks Rank actually increases the predictive power of Earnings ESP. Please note that a negative Earnings ESP reading is not indicative of an earnings miss. Our research shows that it is difficult to predict an earnings beat with any degree of confidence for stocks with negative Earnings ESP readings and/or Zacks Rank of 4 (Sell) or 5 (Strong Sell). How Have the Numbers Shaped Up for Southern Missouri Bancorp? For Southern Missouri Bancorp, the Most Accurate Estimate is the same as the Zacks Consensus Estimate, suggesting that there are no recent analyst views which differ from what have been considered to derive the consensus estimate. This has resulted in an Earnings ESP of 0%. On the other hand, the stock currently carries a Zacks Rank of #3. So, this combination makes it difficult to conclusively predict that Southern Missouri Bancorp will beat the consensus EPS estimate. Does Earnings Surprise History Hold Any Clue? Analysts often consider to what extent a company has been able to match consensus estimates in the past while calculating their estimates for its future earnings. So, it's worth taking a look at the surprise history for gauging its influence on the upcoming number. For the last reported quarter, it was expected that Southern Missouri Bancorp would post earnings of $0.66 per share when it actually produced earnings of $0.55, delivering a surprise of -16.67%. Over the last four quarters, the company has beaten consensus EPS estimates just once. Bottom Line An earnings beat or miss may not be the sole basis for a stock moving higher or lower. Many stocks end up losing ground despite an earnings beat due to other factors that disappoint investors. Similarly, unforeseen catalysts help a number of stocks gain despite an earnings miss. That said, betting on stocks that are expected to beat earnings expectations does increase the odds of success. This is why it's worth checking a company's Earnings ESP and Zacks Rank ahead of its quarterly release. Make sure to utilize our Earnings ESP Filter to uncover the best stocks to buy or sell before they've reported. Southern Missouri Bancorp doesn't appear a compelling earnings-beat candidate. However, investors should pay attention to other factors too for betting on this stock or staying away from it ahead of its earnings release. Want the latest recommendations from Zacks Investment Research? Today, you can download 7 Best Stocks for the Next 30 Days. Click to get this free report Southern Missouri Bancorp, Inc. (SMBC) : Free Stock Analysis Report To read this article on Zacks.com click here. Zacks Investment Research During a recent SELF forum of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), Gao Shuang, a full-time science communicator in the field of astronomy, explained the dilemmas of the discipline and shared his understanding of astronomy-related stereotypes. Gao, who used to be a researcher at the National Astronomical Observatories of CAS and Beijing Normal University, started the talk by explaining what the discipline does. "Instead of studying Yin-Yang and the Five Elements, horoscopes or divination, as people usually assume, astronomy deals with the universe itself," Gao said. "For example: Why is Pluto no longer a planet? How many sun-like stars are there in the galaxy? Is there any Earth-like planet with intelligent life out there, and if so, where is it?" "This means that astronomical issues tend to not be very relevant to people's daily lives. Thus, from this perspective, astronomy seems to be utterly useless, and it can only satisfy the curiosity of a very small group of people," Gao continued. To make the discipline accessible to the general public, Gao further explained how astronomy develops as a branch of science. Different from many natural sciences, which are built on rigorous and practical experiments, astronomy is developed based on astronomers' unique ways of thinking and, as Gao puts it, the "discussion" among different theories and models. "So I guess the weirdest thing about astronomy is that it is the least scientific science," Gao added. Gao then elaborated on the development of the Big Bang cosmological model to help the audience envision the "discussion" process. According to Gao, the concept of the expansion of the universe was first proposed by Belgian physicist Georges Lemaitre. As he was also a Roman Catholic priest, Lemaitre was constantly challenged by the scientific community. Thus, Lemaitre chose to seek support from Einstein's general theory of relativity. However, at that time, Einstein would have rather admitted that his equation was wrong than support the theory of the Big Bang. Meanwhile, Edwin Hubble calculated via galactic redshifts that galaxies were drifting apart, which supported the expansion of the universe. "This is how astronomers work. If a new astronomical model is questioned, then we find support from a whole bunch of other models," Gao concluded. "Thus, contrary to the stereotype that astronomy is all about overturning the past, it depends on nesting itself into traditional models and theories so that we never fight alone," Gao explained. Apart from not being able to conduct experiments, the extremely large astronomical scale is another dilemma within the discipline. Gao said he believes that the large scale of time, space, and energy can inevitably hinder people's understanding of the universe in a profound and instinctive way. In light of the currently limited methods of receiving information, Gao told the audience that the imagination could be astronomers' "ultimate weapon," just like how the dark matter model was established. "This is why astronomy is so weird. If mankind wants to continue to make breakthroughs about their imagination, astronomy is the best route, as it provides the largest testing ground," Gao said. "If you never want to stop exploring, then astronomy will be the most attractive destination for you." Short for Science, Education, Life and Future, SELF is a TED-like forum of the CAS. It advocates discussion and interaction related to the understanding of these four aspects, and it does so in the spirit of investigating the world to attain knowledge and develop independent thoughts. A three-day meeting of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sanghs (RSS) top leadership began in Madhya Pradeshs Bhopal on Tuesday, said persons aware of the details. This is for the first time since March that all the senior functionaries will be present together for a meeting. Since large scale gatherings and meetings with many people in attendance are not allowed for sometime, the Sangh will shift focus on smaller, regional meetings, said a functionary. The Sangh leadership is expected to hold discussions on the recent national and international issues including the India-China face-off; bilateral relations with Nepal, the coronavirus pandemic and its impact on economy and jobs and the upcoming Bhoomi Pujan in Ayodhya that will mark the beginning of the Ram Temple construction, the persons aware of the details said. Economy and the employment sector are expected to be the area of focus at the three-day meeting, which will be attended by RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat and seven other top functionaries. A senior functionary said, the Sangh is concerned by the severe impact that the pandemic has had on economy, particularly the small and micro manufacturing sectors. Job losses and winding up of business have been a fallout of the pandemic, but the Sangh leadership is keen that the government should offer help to the small and micro sectors to revive. This was also discussed ahead of the governments announcement of an aatmanirbhar package. There will be further discussions based on the feedback from the ground on the steps that can be taken to ensure production is back on rails, said the functionary. The Sangh and its affiliates have already lauded the governments efforts to cut dependence on China and have been aggressively pushing for scaling indigenous production. It has also backed Indias response to China. RSS general secretary, Suresh Bhaiyyaji Joshi, in an interview to a Sangh publication said the people of this country will support the current dispensation on steps being taken on the standoff between India and China along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. On whether the Sangh has any concerns about the upcoming Ram Temple in Ayodhya, a second functionary said there are no differences between the Sangh and the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi Teerth Kshetra Trust. Since March, when the Sangh cancelled the meeting of its highest decision making body, the Akhil Bharatiya Pratinidhi Sabha in the wake of the pandemic, this is the first formal meeting of the functionaries. In June, meetings between a few functionaries including RSS general secretary and BJP functionaries were held in Delhi. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Vietnams State budget has lost VND8.5 trillion each year due to tobacco smuggling, experts revealed at a seminar in Hanoi. Market watch and police officers inspect a van carrying smuggled cigarettes in southern An Giang Province on July 6. Smuggled tobacco is harming local production in Viet Nam. Photo courtesy of the team Nguyen Manh Hung, chairman of Viet Nam Consumer Protection Association, told a seminar on tobacco smuggling late last week that as Viet Nam has a huge number of smokers, smuggling is rife. According to a global survey, the proportion of tobacco use among adults in Viet Nam was over 45 per cent, while the number of tobacco users was constantly increasing among young people in the country. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Viet Nam is one of 15 countries with the highest number of smokers in the world, ranking third in ASEAN, after Indonesia and the Philippines. Hung said tobacco smuggling brought high profits, after only drug trafficking, adding: Smuggling can bring profits of up to 400 per cent while official imported cigarettes are subject to import tax of between 100 per cent and 202.5 per cent and value added tax of 10 per cent. Rodney Van Dooren, head of Illicit Trade Prevention for Philip Morris International (PMI) for Asia Pacific, told the seminar that: Through smuggling, counterfeiting and tax evasion, governments are losing billions of dollars in tax revenues while legitimate businesses are being undermined, and consumers are being exposed to poorly made and unregulated products. Dooren said while South and Southeast Asia ranked high in terms of illegal tobacco trading with 15 per cent of the world, Viet Nam was third highest in the region with 21 billion sticks of illegal tobacco products. He said in June, a total of 1,388 illegal heat-not-burn tobacco products were listed online, including 70 per cent on Facebook and Instagram and 30 per cent on Shopee, Lazada and other online channels. Nguyen Tien Dat, deputy director of the Business Department from the General Department of Market Management, said: The smuggling takes place in both inland and waterways in the country, especially in Long An, An Giang, Kien Giang, Tay Ninh provinces and HCM City in the south, Ha Noi, Quang Ninh, Hai Phong cities in the north and border areas of Quang Tri Province in the centre of Viet Nam. Dat said because of the high profits from smuggling, smugglers take risks and sometimes attack officials, making the situation more dangerous. In the last five years, the market watch teams have handled more than 32,000 cases of tobacco smuggling, confiscating over 6.4 million packs of cigarettes. According to the Tobacco Association, domestically produced cigarettes are subject to 75 per cent special consumption tax, 10 per cent value added tax; as well as funding prevention and control of tobacco harm totalling 2 per cent. Cao Trong Quy, an official from the Industry Department, said the local tobacco industry has maintained stable production with the quality of cigarettes improving, with less tar and nicotine content. Quy said the tobacco businesses have contributed significantly to the State budget. Over the past 30 years, the industry reported an annual increase of 11.3 per cent in contributions. In 1989, it paid VND100.5 billion to the State budget while last year the contribution reached VND18 trillion. It also created jobs for millions of workers, including workers in production, farmers and people involved in trading of the product, he added. Nguyen Triet, secretary of the Tobacco Association, said: While there are more regulations and taxes applied for local production, the smuggling of the product is gaining huge profits and influencing peoples health and local production. Quy from the Industry Department said currently, domestic raw tobacco met only 40 per cent of local demand. Phan Dinh Quan, an official from the General Department of Customs, also raised another matter, saying: Smuggling raises the risk of spreading the coronavirus. Participants at the seminar said the fight against smuggling was difficult, with limited resources and overlaps between forces. In this case, Triet suggested the Government spend half of its funds for the prevention of smoking on tobacco smuggling in Viet Nam. The participants suggested the Government should create a better legal environment for local businesses to compete and have long-term production, business and investment strategies that can help them to meet the demand of local consumers. Triet said: The fight against smuggling will boost the local industry and protect peoples health. VNS Pigs smuggling threatens food safety With pork prices rising relentlessly, pigs are being smuggled over the border from neighbouring countries into Vietnam. Law enforcement officials are seen outside the home of federal judge Esther Salas, where her son was shot and killed and her defense attorney husband was critically injured, in North Brunswick, New Jersey, U.S. July 20, 2020. Eduardo Munoz/Reuters Authorities believe the suspect in the shooting of the family of US District Judge Esther Salas is a self-described anti-feminism activist Roy Den Hollander. Salas' 20-year-old son, Daniel Anderl, was killed in the incident, and her husband, Mark Anderl, was critically injured after the suspect opened fire in their home in North Brunswick, New Jersey. Den Hollander, who worked as a "men's rights" activist, railed against Salas in his self-published book, calling her "a lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama," according to an NBC News report. On his website, Den Hollander referenced appointed officials by Obama as "Obamite bigots," and he complained of "feminist infested American judicial system" and the "feminarchy," NBC News reported. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. The suspect in a shooting at the home of US District Judge Esther Salas railed against her and the "feminist infested American judicial system" in a self-published book, NBC News reported Monday. The suspect, who authorities believe to be Roy Den Hollander, went to Salas' home in North Brunswick, New Jersey, dressed as a FedEx delivery driver Sunday evening. The suspect then shot and killed her 20-year-old son, Daniel Anderl, who answered the door, and Salas' husband, Mark Anderl was also critically injured in the incident, authorities said. Salas was unharmed and was reported to be in the basement at the time of the shooting. Authorities have yet to formally announce a motive behind the incident. Den Hollander was a self-identified anti-feminist activist and "men's rights" lawyer. In his self-published memoir, Den Hollander called Salas "a lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama," according to the NBC News report. Salas previously served as a public defender and a federal magistrate judge. In 2010, then-President Barack Obama appointed her as a district court judge, becoming the first Latina judge to serve on the federal bench in New Jersey. Story continues On his website, Den Hollander referenced appointed officials by Obama as "Obamite bigots," and he complained of "feminist infested American judicial system" and the "feminarchy," NBC News reported. Den Hollander was reportedly found dead by a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Read the original article on Insider New Delhi: As many as 16 private players have taken interest in the first pre-bid meeting of Ministry of Railways here on Tuesday (July 21). The ministry has invited request for qualification (RFQ) from private players to run passenger trains on 109 important routes. The Private Player Train project will run on the public-private partnership and the ministry is of the view that the mega project would bring new technologies, boost revenues, and increase job opportunities. The issues and concerns raised by prospective applicants were discussed and clarifications were provided by the officials of the Ministry of Railways and NITI Aayog for improved clarity on the provisions of RFQ and bidding framework, according to sources. Railway Ministry received a good response from private players for the new and innovative project. The ministry had invited 12 requests for qualifications for private participation in the operation of passenger train services over 109 origin-destination pair of routes through the introduction of 151 modern trains (Rakes) which shall be in addition to the existing trains operated on the network. This is the first initiative of private investment for running passenger trains over Indian Railway Network. The ministry hopes that the project would entail a private sector investment of about Rs 30,000 crore. Private entities for undertaking the projected will be selected through a two-stage competitive bidding process comprising of Request for Qualification (RFQ) and Request for Proposal (RFP). In today's pre-bid meeting, the queries were mainly related to eligibility criteria, bid process, procurement of rakes, operations of trains, and composition of clusters. According to sources, the key points discussed in the meeting were: 1. There were queries on haulage charges for which Railway Ministry replied that haulage charges will be specified upfront and will be suitably indexed for the entire concession period thereby bringing certainty in the haulage charges. 2. Railway ministry will also be providing the details of passenger traffic being handled on the routes under biding. This will enable bidders to undertake their due diligence in the project. 3. Railways clarified that trains operated under the project can be either purchased or taken on lease by the private entities. The ministry clarified that risks with regard to the operation of trains shall be allocated to the parties in an equitable manner. The ministry will be providing written replies to the queries received from the prospective applicants by July 31, 2020. The second pre-application conference is scheduled for Aug 12, 2020. Multiple operators in train operations will create competition and improve service delivery. This initiative is also intended at reducing demand-supply deficit in the passenger transportation sector. New Delhi: The Delhi High Court Tuesday asked the Centre and the RBI to respond by August 19 on the plea seeking release of up to Rs 5 lakh to depositors of the Punjab and Maharashtra Cooperative (PMC) Bank. On May 28, had asked the Centre, the RBI and PMC Bank to let depositors withdraw the above mentioned amount in the wake of difficulties faced by them during COVID-19 pandemic Meanwhile, PMC Bank has been put under restrictions by the RBI, following the unearthing of a Rs 4,355-crore scam. The Delhi HC bench has issued notice to the Finance Ministry, Reserve Bank of India and PMC Bank seeking their stand on the application moved by consumer rights activist Bejon Kumar Misra. The petitioner has sought directions to the bank and others to immediately lift the procedural curb on withdrawal of money without any condition to allow the depositors to cater to their urgent needs amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Notably, on June 14, a special PMLA rejected the bail pleas of Housing Development and Infrastructure Ltd (HDIL) promoters Rakesh Wadhawan and Sarang Wadhawan in the money laundering case involving PMC Bank. Rakesh Wadhawan and his son Sarang are accused, besides several others, in the Rs 4,355-crore PMC Bank scam which surfaced in September last year. The case stems from massive loans given by PMC Bank to the now bankrupt HDIL. The father-son duo have been booked under the Prevention of Money-Laundering Act (PMLA). PMC bank officials allegedly gave loans to HDIL between 2008 and 2019 despite no repayment of the previous loans. Out of the 44 bank accounts responsible for not paying back the huge loans taken from PMC Bank, 10 belonged to HDIL and the Wadhawans. Out of the 10 bank accounts, Sarang and Rakesh had one personal account each. The case is being probe by Enforcement Directorate, along with Economic Offences Wing of Mumbai police. Catholic Bishop Conference of Nigeria (CBCN) has donated all its 425 health facilities spread across the country as isolation centres for the treatment of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19). This was made known by the Presidential Task Force (PTF) in its daily briefing on the COVID-19 pandemic on Monday while encouraging state governors to approach Catholic Bishops in their states to access the facilities. The Chairman of the PTF and Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha said the recent donations would add as support for the state governments. As part of efforts to support the states in the establishment of the isolation and treatment centres, I wish to remind our governors that the Catholic Bishops Conference has volunteered all the 425 hospitals and clinics nationwide for adaptation and use as isolation centres, he said. Governors are encouraged to please approach Catholic Bishops in their states to access these facilities. As a further cost-effective measure, I also wish to remind subnational authorities that the Nigeria Institute of Architects has pledged the pro bono services of their members to modify, design and supervise all COVID-19 related projects nationwide. Again, we urge that this offer be taken up speedily. This is coming after Nigerian Government said it needs all the bed spaces it can get as it strives to contain the coronavirus outbreak. An unencrypted pager network had been used by WA Health for more than 12 years before it was accessed by a 15-year-old boy from Mandurah, who published confidential messages for months before police intervened on Monday night. Sensitive medical details of hundreds of West Australians and government department communications were published on a website operated by the self-described "script kiddie" using tools widely available on the internet. Premier Mark McGowan said he was disappointed and disturbed by the privacy breach, but police had intervened to shut down the website and speak to the teenager. "The individual who has published this information, that person was discovered and police have intervened there," Mr McGowan said. New Delhi: In the latest development in actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case, the Mumbai Police has now learnt that he had bipolar disorder and lived an extremely stressful life. Three psychiatrists and one psychotherapist were recently interrogated by cops in the case. Sushant was treated by them in the last few months, reportedly for depression. According to Mumbai Police, one of the psychiatrists has revealed that Sushant had bipolar disorder while the others said that he was living under stress. However, the reason for the stress is not yet known. During the interrogation, the doctors even revealed that Sushant didn't trust them and used to change the psychiatrists after a couple of meetings. ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Rajput death: Mumbai police questions 4 doctors who treated actor in last six months The doctors further told the cops that the actor didn't take his medicines regularly. The psychiatrist whom Sushant last met treated him for the bipolar disorder. However, due to the lockdown, Sushant consulted him over the phone. As per the doctor, Sushant had stopped taking his medicines for over two months and also did not act upon his advice. Sushant died by suicide at the age of 34 on June 14 in Mumbai. He was found hanging in his apartment. The final post-mortem report revealed that he died of asphyxia due to hanging. His suicide case is being investigated by the Mumbai Police and close to 40 people, including his family members, work associates, house helps, doctors and girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty, have been interrogated. ALSO READ: Sushant Singh Rajput case: Rhea Chakraborty accompanied actor during counselling sessions with psychiatrist Meanwhile, Sushant's fans have demanded a CBI probe into his suicide. In fact, Rhea, too, wrote to Home Minister Amit Shah last week urging a CBI investigation. Actress Shalita Grant is having a breakthrough moment, thanks to her role as a rich-girl lawyer in the HBO Max series "Search Party." (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times) While you've been making bad sourdough and binge-watching "Tiger King," Shalita Grant has used her time indoors to develop a more distinctive pastime. One of the rooms in my house is a pole-dancing studio. I take advantage of my right as a Californian and I smoke some weed and I go in there and I dance it out. I have all these lights in there, Grant says by phone from her home in Los Angeles, which she shares with her dogs, Mr. Tits and Candi Alize. The cavalier King Charles spaniel and pitbull-Australian shepherd mix often join her. I just have a blast," she says, squealing with delight. Grant has brought the same exuberance to her role in Season 3 of Search Party, the bitingly funny, genre-bending dark comedy-noir about a clique of Brooklyn hipsters who wind up semi-accidentally killing a private investigator. She plays Cassidy Diamond, the rookie lawyer representing accused killer Dory (Alia Shawkat) in a high-profile trial. Shes working pro bono in exchange for the media exposure. The one catch? Its also Cassidys very first case. With vocal fry to rival the Kardashians at their creakiest, Cassidy struts around the courtroom in corsets, sky-high heels and neon pink nails. As overconfident as she is inexperienced, she treats Dory more like a celebrity than an accused killer, picking her client up from jail in a luxury SUV and explaining defense options like treatments from a spa menu. Im kind of feeling pleading insanity, she says. Mental illness is a thing everyone has or wishes they had. After waiting nearly three years for the return of Search Party, which moved from TBS to the recently launched streaming platform HBO Max, fans cheered Cassidys addition to the ensemble of self-involved millennials. Even opposite comedy veterans like Michaela Watkins and Louie Anderson, Grant is a chronic scene-stealer, taking a character that might have been an easy punchline and turning her into something sharper, more idiosyncratic and, in the end, funnier. Story continues Shalita Grant stars as newbie lawyer Cassidy Diamond in "Search Party." (Jon Pack/Jon Pack) Cassidys distinctive manner of speaking was always part of the character, envisioned by showrunners Charles Rogers and Sarah-Violet Bliss as the girl boss CEO of a company youve never heard of somebody that had, like, a cutthroat ambition but is always trying to hide their vulnerability, says Rogers. The part proved surprisingly difficult to cast. People wanted to just play to the vapid side of the character, Bliss adds, but Shalita brought in the depth and the vulnerability of Cassidy and then some. It all began with the voice. When she was preparing for the audition, Grant says she turned to Mother Google for research on vocal fry, a trait often derided in young women. And what she learned that women subconsciously lower the pitch of their voices to sound more like men and thus more serious, resulting in an unnatural rasp gave her a more sympathetic way into Cassidy. Shes doing this because she wants to sound professional, because she wants to be in this space, because she actually cares about her job and how people view her. Now, I can apply that across the ... board, Grant says, noting that plenty of men do the same thing with their voices most notably rapper Lil Wayne. Hes frying all over the place. But when we hear it in women, we think its a joke. Shalita Grant, who stars in the HBO Max series, "Search Party," at home in Los Angeles. (Mel Melcon/Los Angeles Times) As contemporary as Grants performance in Search Party feels, its brilliance is rooted in her classical training. The actress who grew up in Baltimore and Petersburg, Va. attended the Juilliard School, where among other things she learned about the larynx and the pharynx, the vocal folds and how they make sounds. Grant says Cassidys other endearing verbal tics she pronounces defendant so it rhymes with cant and harassment hair-us-meant were inspired by her training in standard American dialect. Cassidy, she figures, would be trying her best to sound like a lawyer from the 1950s. I brought a lot of my knowledge and skill set into these minute details, she says. Its always about being serious, about asking questions. The 31-year-old has waited years for this kind of star-making turn. Not long after she completed her studies at Juilliard, Grant was nominated for a Tony Award in 2013 for her performance in Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Christopher Durangs Chekhov-inspired dark family comedy. I worked so hard, and I wanted this thing so much, and it turned out way better than I even imagined. It was like, So now what? Do I stay and try to win [the Tony] this time? Or do I go try to climb another mountain? I was like, Yeah, I'm gonna go try to climb another mountain. So I go to L.A. and say, TV is the mountain I want to climb. The ascent was more grueling than Grant expected. Despite her impressive credentials, she struggled to find work and spent a year auditioning. She estimates that she tried out for more than 50 roles, in some cases going in for multiple auditions, before she finally landed a guest spot on the CBS drama Battle Creek. More work followed, including a regular role on the PBS Civil War drama Mercy Street and in what felt like a breakthrough at the time, a part as special agent Sonja Percy in NCIS: New Orleans. Coming from Broadway to TV, she was ready for the long hours and relatively staid material of a CBS procedural. But she was shocked by other differences particularly the on-set culture of finger-pointing. Shalita Grant as Sonja Percy and Lucas Black as Special Agent Christopher LaSalle in "NCIS: New Orleans" (CBS Photo Archive/CBS via Getty Images) In theater, its us against the problem. We all come into the room knowing there are going to be problems, and we all know that were going to solve them together. In TV, the relationship to problems is, 'Whose fault is it? Heads will roll!'" she says, shrieking like a comically irate producer. Nobody wants their head to roll. It takes forever for people to solve problems, because nobody wants to take responsibility. Without dwelling on the details, Grant describes an array of problems on the show involving race, gender and stupid ... actor [expletive]. (Showrunner Brad Kern was accused of creating a hostile work environment and replaced in 2018.) She says the climate was so toxic, she almost left after Season 3. But after a recuperative stint in A Midsummer Nights Dream at Shakespeare in the Park in New York, she summoned the strength to return for one more season before leaving in 2018. "I was playing Hermia. And one of the lines about Hermia is, Though she be but little, she is fierce, and I have that quote on my vanity. I came back and I was like, I aint taking this ... no more. I found joy, and my standards are higher, she adds, her voice breaking as she recalls the experience. I am letting you know now, if you dont want me here, if I'm just being tolerated, I'm leaving. Because I want to go where Im celebrated, not where Im tolerated. As it is for many Black actors, especially in TV where the grueling pace of production requires near-constant styling, poor experiences with hair on set were an ongoing source of frustration and demoralization for Grant. She has spoken about the extensive damage the producer-mandated styling wrought on her naturally curly hair and the way the show decimated... my self-image. Shalita Grant, left, Kristine Nielsen and Mark Blum in "Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike" at the Mark Taper Forum. (Craig Schwartz ) Grant channeled this difficulty into a hair-care company, Four Naturals, which provides healing treatments for Type 4 curly Black hair. I learned so much from that darkness. That trauma, I turned it into joy. Everything that happened to my hair, I healed it. Its in my business. I am healing other Black women as well. Its an extension of the family business for Grant, whose mother, aunt and grandmother were all stylists. She grew up in her familys salon Hair Dreams II in Petersburg working her way up from reception to shampoo girl. After the disappointment of NCIS: New Orleans, Search Party was a welcome change. My light was so welcome, she says of filming on the show. While Cassidy, with her lavishly girly outfits and less-than-authoritative demeanor, could have easily been cast with an Elle Woods clone, that Grant is a woman of color and gay added more dimension to Cassidy. We didnt want to fall into too familiar territory with [the character]," says Rogers. "A lot of what makes Shalita the perfect Cassidy is that she isnt somebody who has vocal fry. Shes also gay and shes playing a hyper-feminine person and she innately has this outside viewpoint into this type of character that was able to bring nuance that other people would take for granted. We leaned on her a ton to bring that to its full potential. The shows unexpectedly long hiatus, though initially disappointing, now feels like a blessing, Grant says. Nobody is leaving the house, so they have to watch. So things have just worked out for the better. This has been the most exciting thing that has happened to me in the last three years, and I get to do it from the comfort of my home. I dont have to drive. I dont really have to get dressed up. I just get to spend time with the dogs. And everyone still loves me? Amazing. A man in his 60s was the 15th Gratiot County resident to die of COVID-19. The death was announced during the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services Tuesday afternoon update. Its also listed on the Mid-Michigan District Health Departments website as part of its information dashboard. The man was not associated with any of the countys nursing homes, said MDHHS spokeswoman Leslie Kinnee. Gratiot County has had the most deaths due to COVID-19 of any mid-Michigan. As of Tuesdays update, it had a total of 109 cases and 15 deaths. Midland Countys nine deaths with 175 cases and Isabella Countys eight deaths on 162 cases are the next. Another two cases in Midland and one in Isabella were announced Tuesday afternoon. Cases were rapidly increasing in Isabella County until last week when the rate appeared to slow. On Tuesday, Central Michigan University announced that it had no new cases since July 6. An outbreak at the university infected 15 starting in mid-June. It is believed connected to a member of an academic buildings custodial staff. The vast majority of Gratiots deaths are associated with two nursing home outbreaks. Seven of the 20 residents of the Jack F. Saunders Healthcare Center at Masonic Pathways died of the disease, as did four of the 16 residents of Riverside Healthcare Center, in St. Louis. The last few weeks, Gratiot County has seen a rapid increase in the number of cases. At the time, Kinnee said that the county has seen additional cases in household clusters created by community spread. While the precise definition of community spread differs from health department to health department, in general it refers to cases for which no specific source can be found. In addition the Gratiots 107 confirmed cases, MMDHS has also monitored a total of 11 probable cases there. A probable case is defined as someone who has been in close contact with someone confirmed to have the disease and develops symptoms but that a case is also not confirmed by testing. Gratiots death was one of just five new deaths reported by the state on Tuesday. Another four deaths were announced following a review of vital records. Death certificates with COVID-19 listed as the cause of death are matched against the states COVID-19 case database. Where the state lists a confirmed case but is not noted as ending in death, the database is corrected and the death announced. A total of 6,135 people have died statewide of COVID-19. The state announced another 573 new cases Tuesday for a cumulative total of 74,725. In addition to one new case each in Isabella and Gratiot counties, and two in Midland County, one new case was announced in Gladwin, Mecosta and Montcalm counties. Mecosta County has 43 cases and two deaths. Montcalm has 141 cases and one death. In addition to the new case in Gladwin County, bringing that countys total to 31, the MDHHS announced that its second person had died. The man was an elderly man with underlying health conditions and who was hospitalized in late June, said Steve Hall, health officer for Central Michigan District Health Department, in an email. Clare County, with 37 cases and three deaths, remained unchanged. READ MORE: SANDUSKY, Ohio, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- PAO Group, Inc. (USOTC: PAOG) today published additional information following the management takeover and cannabis strategy revitalization strategy announcement last week. James, C. DiPrima, the current Chief Executive Officer (CEO), and a team of managers have purchased control of PAOG in conjunction with a plan to make two acquisitions intended to reinvigorate and accelerate PAOG's mission to provide medical cannabis patient care alternatives to traditional patient care solutions. Today, the company is providing additional information on next steps and the timing of next steps. PAOG plans first executing the acquisition of a cannabis cultivation operation from Puration, Inc. (USTOC: PURA). Next, PAOG plans to execute the acquisition of a patented cannabis extraction operation from Kali-Extracts, Inc. (USOTC: KALY). Both acquisitions are expected to be closed by the end of July. Simultaneously, PAOG is updating its public disclosures. The updates will be filed with OTC Markets Group. PAOG's intention is to achieve OTC Markets Group's Current Information standard. PAOG is also working to launch an all new website that reflects its revitalization plan to include more information on the two pending acquisitions. $100 Billion Medical Cannabis Market According to a report from Fortune Business Insights, the legal marijuana market cannabis was over $10 billion in 2018 and the medical cannabis sector is expected to reach almost $100 billion by 2027. Patented Cannabis Extraction Operation The patented cannabis extraction operation is housed under NCM Biotech which is focused on medical research and the development of treatments derived from its patented cannabis extraction process. See a recent research report on CBD extracts derived from NCM Biotech's patented extraction process: Journal of Cannabis Research . Cannabis Cultivation Operation PURA's cannabis cultivation operation is thriving, has revenue, and has recently purchased and relocated to a new property from its former leased property. Texas lawmakers have recently implemented hemp friendly farming regulations and in so doing, universities within the State of Texas have initiated hemp farming research programs. PURA's cannabis cultivation spinoff has initiated a number of joint research applications with Texas universities. PURA had previously spun-off its cannabis cultivation operation to Nouveau (USOTC: NOUV) and is now unwinding that deal to move forward with PAOG. Forward-Looking Statements: Certain statements in this news release may contain forward-looking information within the meaning of Rule 175 under the Securities Act of 1933 and Rule 3b-6 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, and are subject to the safe harbor created by those rules. All statements, other than statements of fact, included in this release, including, without limitation, statements regarding potential future plans and objectives of the company are forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Technical complications, which may arise, could prevent the prompt implementation of any strategically significant plan(s) outlined above. The Company undertakes no duty to revise or update any forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this release. Contact Us: Jim DiPrima 888-272-6472 [email protected] SOURCE PAO Group, Inc. The USS Ronald Reagan (CVN 76, front) and USS Nimitz (CVN 68, rear) Carrier Strike Groups sail together in formation, in the South China Sea, on July 6, 2020. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Jason Tarleton/U.S. Navy via AP) Pacific Exercises at Record Levels But US Not in Search of Conflict: Esper U.S. defense secretary says he hopes to visit counterpart in China before end of year The U.S. Navy is not in search of conflict as it continues freedom of navigation operations in the South China Sea at a record pace, according to Defense Secretary Mark Esper, who said he hopes to visit his counterpart in China by the end of the year. Esper outlined the U.S. vision for security in the Indo-Pacific region in a speech on July 22. He said the appetite for multilateral cooperation in the region has grown since the pandemic, and following the recent uptick in Chinese aggression in the region. Strengthening partnerships in the region is one of three key U.S. strategic goals in the Indo-Pacific, Esper said. The other two are to push back against Chinas bullying and coercion of smaller nations, and to ensure that ships and planes are free to operate under international laws and norms in the region, which is a vital area for 80 percent of global trade. Esper said the U.S. military plans to continue a record-breaking level of exercises in the South China Sea. However, he emphasized that U.S. actions in the region are solely for the purpose of holding China to the rules-based international order. Let me be clear. China is a country with a storied history, a rich culture, and a wonderful people, Esper said during his speech, which was hosted by think tank IISS. We are not in search of conflict. We are committed to a constructive and results-oriented relationship with China, and within our defense relationship, to open lines of communication and risk-reduction. Defense Secretary Mark Esper speaks during a briefing at the Pentagon in Washington on March 2, 2020. (Susan Walsh/AP Photo) I have personally spoken to my PRC counterpart on multiple occasions and before the year is out I hope to visit the PRC for the first time as secretary in order to enhance cooperation on areas of common interest, establish the systems necessary for crisis communications and reinforce our intentions to openly compete in the international system. Esper underlined the importance of a statement made last week by the State Department, which for the first time officially rejected Beijings major territorial claims in the South China Sea. He said that the statement makes clear that the PRC has no right to turn international waters into a zone of exclusion or its own maritime empire. The actions of the U.S. military support the policies, he said. In 2019, we conducted the greatest number of Freedom of Navigation Operations (FONOPs) in the South China Sea in the 40-year history of the FONOPs program, and we will keep up the pace this year, he said. Additionally, on two occasions earlier this month, two carrier strike groups conducted exercises together in the South China Sea for the first time since 2012: a clear and powerful signal that we will fly, sail, and operate wherever international law allows. Esper noted an uptick in aggression by Beijing in the region since the pandemic. However, he said that the pattern of bullying and coercion of other countries has been going on for years. It seems your arm gets twisted harder, the smaller the country you are, he said. In this photo provided by the U.S. Navy, an F/A-18F Super Hornet launches from the flight deck of the aircraft carrier USS Theodore Roosevelt (CVN 71) in the western North Pacific Ocean, on March 18, 2020. (Mass Communication Specialist 3rd Class Nicholas V. Huynh/U.S. Navy via AP)) The United States on July 13 formally rejected nearly all of Beijings major territorial claims in the South China Sea, as the Trump administration dials up its response to threats posed by the Chinese Communist Party. Beijings claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a statement at the time. While U.S. officials have previously described the regimes activities in the region as unlawful, Pompeos remarks represent the United States official rejection of specific claims made by Beijing, by aligning with a 2016 ruling by an international tribunal. The Philippines had challenged Chinas claims in the waterway and brought the dispute to an international court. That binding decision rejected Chinas maritime claims related to the Spratly Islands and neighboring reefs and shoals. The Chinese regime has refused to recognize the ruling. The PRC [Peoples Republic of China] has no legal grounds to unilaterally impose its will on the region, Pompeo said. China, the Philippines, Vietnam, Malaysia, Brunei, and Taiwan have competing claims in the South China Sea. Beijings claims are the largest, covering almost all of the waterway. Home to rich fishing grounds and potentially valuable natural resources, the South China Sea is also one of the worlds major shipping routes. Cathy He contributed to this report. John Kasich, the Republican ex-governor of Ohio turned critic of President Donald Trump, is expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention next month in support of Joe Biden, according to the Associated Press. Its a move that would be unthinkable just a few years ago, when, as governor, Kasich clashed with Democrats on a range of issues, from abortion to collective bargaining for public employees. Kasich is one of a number of high-profile Republicans who intend to work against Trumps re-election in the closing days of the campaign, according to the AP. John Weaver, a senior strategist for Kasichs 2016 presidential campaign, co-founded the Lincoln Project, a group that is already airing anti-Trump TV ads. In addition, ex-Ohio GOP Chair Matt Borges, a Kasich ally, has formed a pro-Biden super PAC. In 2016, Kasich ran unsuccessfully for the GOP nomination against Trump and skipped the Republican National Convention that year. A Kasich spokesman declined comment Monday morning. The news drew a swift backlash from Democratic candidates, staffers, and activists on social media. Just weeks after MacGyver and Magnum P.I. showrunner Peter Lenkov was fired by CBS, MacGyver star Lucas Till is opening up about his old boss' abusive behavior. The 29-year-old actor spoke up about his former boss in a wide-ranging profile on Lenkov for Vanity Fair, where he revealed the abuse was so great he was even suicidal during the whole first season. 'I was suicidal that first year on the show, because of the way he made me feel,' Till said. 'But the way hes treated the people around methats just my breaking point.' Opening up: Just weeks after MacGyver and Magnum P.I. showrunner Peter Lenkov was fired by CBS, MacGyver star Lucas Till is opening up about his old boss' abusive behavior Abusive: The 29-year-old actor spoke up about his former boss in a wide-ranging profile on Lenkov for Vanity Fair , where he revealed the abuse was so great he was even suicidal during the whole first season 'Ive never worked this hard in my life, and I am fine with hard work. But the way Peter treats people is just unacceptable,' Till added. The actor said that Lenkov, who was running both MacGyver and Magnum P.I. at the same time, both shot in Hawaii, was rarely on the set, but said he was responsible for the hostile work environment, adding he endured several instances of bullying, body-shaming and verbal abuse.' One of Lenkov's lawyers, Dale Kinsella, denied Till's allegations, stating the claims are '100% false and untrue.' Unacceptable: 'Ive never worked this hard in my life, and I am fine with hard work. But the way Peter treats people is just unacceptable,' Till added He added his client, 'has championed him from the very beginning and has been nothing but supportive of him.' Till also revealed that he went to CBS executives with concerns about Lenkov's behavior, in 2017 and earlier this year. While Till believed they 'didn't take it seriously,' sources within CBS say that Till's complaints sparked a human relations inquiry into Lenkov that led to his firing. Concerns: Till also revealed that he went to CBS executives with concerns about Lenkov's behavior, in 2017 and earlier this year Till revealed in his email to H.R. that Lenkov was often making inappropriate comments about his appearance. 'There was always something about my appearance that wouldnt please him like when I was in a hospital gown and our producerthought it was funny that [Lenkov] said my legs were fucking hideous and we can never show them again.' While Till admitted that, 'Honestly, I found some humor in that comment as well, but you can imagine if that was a more sensitive spot that he had hit, and often did.' Appearance: Till revealed in his email to H.R. that Lenkov was often making inappropriate comments about his appearance He also detailed a time Lenkov screamed at a director, 'Oh, my fucking God! Tuck his shirt in, he looks like a little fucking boy. Just hire a 35 year old then.' The actor said he has also struggled with maintaining, 'man weight' because of, 'the stress, no time to work out, and an unpredictable schedule for proper nourishment.' MacGyver was renewed for its fifth season in May, though there is no word when production may start, with Monica Macer stepping in as showrunner to replace Lenkov. Bosky Khanna By Express News Service BENGALURU: The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has roped in noted Kannada actor Ramesh Arvind as its brand ambassador to disseminate accurate information. This has been done to ensure that right information reaches the masses and the pandemic is controlled.Newly-appointed commissioner N Manjunatha Prasad called the actor on Monday morning and told him of his new role soon after he signed the formation of BBMP task force on Covid-19 public health response. Commissioner Prasad told TNIE that the committee was formed for better management. He said a cross section of people have been included in the committee so that there are better results.Ramesh Arvind said that while he was disseminating information in his individual capacity, the responsibility given to him now by the State government makes the challenge bigger. He said he was open to suggestions from citizens, experts and government on what needs to be communicated. I have already started looking out for information. Today I found an interesting piece of information like the virus will spread less in flights when compared to restaurants. This is because you are not talking as much in a flight, when compared to in a restaurant where droplet dispersal is higher. So people need to be more cautious, he said. Doctors roped in The committee comprises BBMP Commissioner, D Randeep, BBMP Special Commissioner, Dr Giridhara R Babu, professor, head- Lifecourse epidomology, IIPH, PHFI, Vijendra, chief health officer- public health, BBMP, Nirmala Buggi, chief health officer- clinical, BBMP, Dr Ravi Mehta, pulmonologist, Apollo Hospitals, Jayanagar, Dr Krishna Murthy, Medical Director, Vittala International Institute, Ophthalmology, Dr Venkatesh, DSO, Surveillance, Coordination of contact tracing, containment zones, Dr Asis Satapathy, Regional Team lead and NPO- World Health Organisation, Bengaluru, Dr Nagaraja N T, Survelliance Medical Officer, WHO-Bengaluru, Ramesh Arvind, actor, Dr Ranganath, prof and Head, BMCRI, Dr Ramesh Masthi, Professor, KIMS, Dr Suresh G K, NUHM, BBMP, Dr Kalavathi, RCH, BBMP, Dr Pradeep Rangappa, Intensivist, Columbia Asia Hospital. Special invitees/advisor: Dr M K Sudarshan, Chairman, Technical Advisory Committee, Prof Ravi V, Neurovirology, NIMHANS, Prof Gururaj, Dean, NIMHANS, Dr Lokesh Alahari, WHO Sub- Regional Team Leader, Karnataka, UNICEF, Rotary representatives. Four Jefferson Parish business owners filed suit Tuesday against Gov. John Bel Edwards, seeking to overturn his July 11 order mandating masks statewide, closing bars and limiting gathering sizes to 50 or fewer people. The petition, which relies heavily on an opinion published by Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, claims the restrictions violate the plaintiffs' constitutional rights and will cause irreparable harm to their businesses. They are seeking are seeking an injunction. Filed in the 19th Judicial District in Baton Rouge, the lawsuit has been assigned to Judge Janice Clark. A hearing has not yet been scheduled. Each of the plaintiffs has a business that has been directly affected by the restrictions, the suit says. They include Justin Molaison, an attorney and musician who plays at live events; Jennifer Labella Tusa, who owns a catering and events business called The Crossing in Kenner; Natasha Cvitanovich, who owns Moby's Bar and Grill in Metairie; and Ronald Dalleo, the owner of Cleary Tavern in Metairie. Molaison is also a lawyer on the case. The plaintiffs claim their businesses were devastated by the governor's original state stay-at-home order issued in March. The latest order, they assert, will be even more destructive to their livelihoods and violates their right to peaceful assembly and free expression. It also puts business owners at risk of physical harm, as disputes over mask mandates in other parts of the country have led to violence in some cases. The order is "unconstitutionally vague, riddled with many exceptions, many of which are subjectively determined," the suit says. The order forces employees of these businesses to police mask-wearing any potential penalties may violate the business owners' rights to due process. These arguments dovetail closely with the opinion offered by Landry last week, when he asserted that the legal foundation for the governor's order was "flimsy" and "vague as to penalties and enforcement." On the closure of bars specifically, Landry called it "problematic for several reasons," arguing that the closure of an entire class of business across the state was not supported by data available. He also argued that threatening business or alcohol permits "would likely amount to a violation of due process." Jeff Landry blasts coronavirus mask mandate from his quarantine, says it can't be enforced Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry, a Republican who is quarantined after testing positive for the coronavirus, released an opinion Wednes "The three provisions of the executive order -- the mask mandate, the 50-person indoor/outdoor gathering limit, and the bar closure -- are likely unconstitutional and unenforceable," Landry wrote. Vaccine news in your inbox Once a week we'll update you on the progress of COVID-19 vaccinations. Sign up today. e-mail address * Sign Up A spokeswoman for the governor did not respond to a message for comment. Edwards has dismissed Landry's critique as without merit. Loyola Law Professor Dane Ciolino said the lawsuit's claims were not frivolous. But, he noted, Landry's opinion is not binding. "There seems to be some merit to some contentions,. It may be persuasive to some court, maybe this court," he said. "I think at the end of the day (the governor's order) will be upheld." Stephen Petit, another attorney on the case, said his clients are not trying to prevent anybody from wearing a mask or taking any steps they feel are necessary to protect themselves from coronavirus infection. "Nobody wants to ban people from wearing masks," he said. "They just want to go make a living." The constantly changing landscape of regulations and rules related to coronavirus have his clients "reeling," he said. "There's no stability whatsoever," he said. "The goal posts move so fast." Clark could rule on whether to issue a temporary restraining order in the coming days. She would then likely set a hearing for arguments related to an injunction. Editor's note: This story was corrected to reflect the correct judicial district in which the lawsuit was filed. General Secretary of the New Patriotic Party (NPP), John Boadu, monitoring the ongoing nationwide voter registration exercise toured some of the registration centres in the Eastern Region. On Monday, he began his tour at the Akropong constituency where he visited Tutu Methodist, Amanokrom Presby School, and Mampong Otubromu Polling stations, Presby primary registration center, Presby JHS registration centre and Temporal Booth registration centers in Amanakrom. He proceeded to the Okere Constituency and visited the Aseseso Methodist primary registration center, then to an EC gazetted Nifa SHS registration centre, Methodist Chapel Square 1 and 2 registration centres in Adukrom. His next stop was the Yilo Krobo Constituency where he visited the Social centre, the Mennonite Church registration centre and the Sawer registration centre. He also went to the Lower Manya Krobo and toured Kodjonya Presby primary 1 and 2 centres at Odumase Krobo and the Accra Station 1 and 2 registration centres in Odumase. The NPP chief scribe ended his eastern regional tour in the Asougyaman Constituency visiting a number of registration centres including Osiabura L/A registration centre, Presby primary registration centre and Asikuma Clinic registration centre in Asikuma. He donated sanitizers and face masks to all the registration centres he visited to augment the supplies made by the EC to its personnel and registrants. Speaking to some pressmen, John Boadu expressed satisfaction at the conduct of the exercise in the region including the level of compliance to Covid-19 health protocols. He was accompanied by Maame Yaa Aboagye and Yaw Preko both Deputy National Communications Directors of the party as well as some Eastern Regional executives of the NPP led by Umar Bodinga, the regional First Vice Chairman. 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 founder of the digital education nonprofit Khan Academy told CNBC on Monday that online instruction cannot fully replace in-person class but said there are ways to maximize the benefit for students. "We're not going to be replicate school, even when the school is doing a perfect job so people shouldn't expect that," Sal Khan said on "Closing Bell" as districts across the country devise plans for fall classes during the coronavirus pandemic. But Khan dismissed the notion that remote instruction is a helpless exercise, contending there are clear strategies that should allow kids to continue learning, "especially in the core subjects of math, reading and writing, so they don't atrophy their skills." Khan explained for a school going online in the fall, a math class could be structured with two or three videoconference lessons per week. That way, instead of pre-recorded instruction videos, teachers can work with students at the same time, Khan said. "Ideally, it's interactive. Teachers are asking students to answer questions, work with each other in the virtual breakout sessions," said Khan, whose nonprofit is supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. "And also the teachers are there to answer any questions, help students set goals." And then each day, students spend 30 to 40 minutes, depending on their age, working on their own through example programs using a digital learning tool such as the Khan Academy, which offers its services for free, he said. Whatever the online program is, Khan said it's important that it gives teachers the ability to monitor students' progress how much time they're spending on problems and what they're getting right or wrong. Major U.S. public school districts have recently announced their plans for the fall as the nation's Covid-19 outbreak accelerates in certain states. For example, the districts for San Francisco, San Diego and Los Angeles have all said they will be starting the fall with remote instruction. New York City indicated earlier this month it plans to welcome most students to schools two to three days each week, employing a so-called hybrid or blending learning model that includes remote class on the other days. In announcing the plans, Mayor Bill de Blasio said online learning was "not perfect," but city officials argued the plan is necessary to allow for social distancing in classrooms. The nation's largest public school system, with 1.1 million students, awaits approval from the state. President Donald Trump has been pushing districts to fully reopen, threatening to withhold federal funding from schools that fail to resume in-person classes this fall. Trump and others note that schools being open is important to the social development for children, as well as the U.S. economic recovery. "Schools have to open," Trump said in an interview that aired Sunday on Fox News. "Young people have to go to school, and there's problems when you don't go to school, too." Young people are less likely to become seriously ill if they are infected with the coronavirus. But a key piece to the debate about opening schools for in-person instruction is their role in contributing to the virus' spread throughout the broader community. White House health advisor Dr. Deborah Birx has indicated more studies need to be done to determine transmission of the virus among children. Featured stories Ohio among least cooperative states regarding masks, study says (WKYC Channel 3) Berea-Midpark High School changing logo after hearing it reminisced white power fist (WEWS Channel 5) Cleveland police officer shot, injured in citys Fairfax neighborhood, police say (cleveland.com) Coronavirus in Ohio 21 Nursing home visits are allowed again in Ohio beginning Monday, July 20 Ohio reports 1,236 new coronavirus cases: Monday update (cleveland.com) Mapping Ohios 76,168 coronavirus cases, updates, flattening trends (cleveland.com) House passes Rep. Dave Joyces bill to ensure federal death and disability benefits for first responders afflicted by coronavirus (cleveland.com) What happens if a child has coronavirus when schools reopen, and how can districts prevent stigma? (cleveland.com) Nursing home visits bring smiles, tears on first day of outdoor gatherings in 4 months from coronavirus shutdowns (cleveland.com) Northeast Ohio nursing home workers protest for better COVID-19 safety (WEWS Channel 5) Crime (Advance Local)File photo Former Indian Trevor Crowe set to admit tax charges stemming from large-scale gambling ring (cleveland.com) Bedford homicide suspect turns himself in, police say (cleveland.com) Four wanted in deadly shooting in East Cleveland, police say (cleveland.com) Cuyahoga County Jail officer accused of trying to rob man with fake gun in Brooklyn (cleveland.com) Stolen car strikes Cleveland police cruiser, crashes into trailer during East Side chase (cleveland.com) 2 assault gas station employee in Perkins Township (WEWS Channel 5) 30-year-old man transported in critical condition after a fight at Public Square (WEWS Channel 5) Mentor man facing charges in connection with shooting outside Chardon bar (News-Herald) Cleveland / Cuyahoga County People peer into broken windows at the Winking Lizard on May 31, a day after protests in downtown Cleveland over the death of George Floyd.Joshua Gunter, cleveland.com 48 new confirmed coronavirus cases and 6 probable cases found in Cleveland, lifting total to 4,235 (cleveland.com) Cleveland Clinic delivers second baby from uterus transplanted from deceased donor (cleveland.com) Cuyahoga County to pay $140,000 to jail inmate attacked by officer while praying days after interview with U.S. Marshals over jail conditions (cleveland.com) Downtown Cleveland businesses, property owners say they lost estimated $6.3 million in May 30 riot (cleveland.com) Cuyahoga County sends 766 letters to businesses where mask violations were reported (cleveland.com) Cleveland man, landlord settle after technical issue causes him to miss hearing, leading to eviction order (cleveland.com) Cuyahoga County wants to help people struggling to pay property taxes (cleveland.com) Local news East Ohio offers free coronavirus testing this week in Stark, Portage County (cleveland.com) Mayfield residents will see mayoral, council salary question on Nov. 3 ballot (cleveland.com) Local news West Berea Schools superintendent releases tentative district plan for fall reopening (cleveland.com) HVAC improvements in Rocky River schools to cost $455K; all-day kindergarten will be eliminated this year (cleveland.com) Retailers Aerie, DryGoods, Lovesac coming this summer to Crocker Park; World Market slated to arrive by end of year (cleveland.com) North Ridgeville opens third fitness trail, schedules police officer test (cleveland.com) Two rescued from from water in Sheffield Lake (Elyria Chronicle-Telegram) Rocky River resident celebrates 102nd birthday, still takes the stairs (cleveland.com) Repaving bid saves Rocky River more than $200K; other projects moving along (cleveland.com) Middleburg Heights identifies four problematic localized flood areas (cleveland.com) Akron / Canton area Akron schools may scrap partial in-person plan, start year totally online (Akron Beacon Journal) Akron councilman wants police unions to pay for officers repeated misconduct (Akron Beacon Journal) Akron City Council approves plan for 82-home development at former Perkins Middle School (cleveland.com) Packed meeting for Lake Local School District School debate over students in masks (WJW Channel 8) Painful & discolored: Akron Childrens Hospital reports about 20 cases of COVID Toes (WEWS Channel 5) Summit County Sheriffs Office says county fair happening as planned this year (WEWS Channel 5) State Ex-Gov. John Kasich slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention for Joe Biden (cleveland.com) Democrats protest giving ex-Ohio Gov. John Kasich a DNC speaking slot (cleveland.com) Heres when Ohio utilities will resume service shutoffs for unpaid bills (cleveland.com) OSLO, Norway, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Asetek communicated in the annual report for 2019 and the first quarter report for 2020, that the company expected a decline in Group revenue of 5% to 10% in 2020 compared with 2019. Gross margins were expected to increase from 2019 and the Company expected a positive income before tax. Following an increase to sales expectations for the rest of 2020, primarily driven strong demand for the Gaming and Enthusiast product group, Asetek updates the full year 2020 expectations to a Group revenue increase of 5% to 15% compared with 2019. Gross margin is expected to increase from 2019, and Asetek expects an income before tax of about $4-5 million. The Company recognizes significant uncertainty related to potential impact from COVID-19 over time. Any such uncertainty is not included in the expectations for the remainder of 2020. About Asetek Asetek, the creator of the all-in-one liquid cooler, is the global leader for liquid cooling solutions for high performance gaming and enthusiast PCs, and environmentally aware data centers. Founded in 2000, Asetek is headquartered in Denmark and has operations in China, Taiwan and the United States. Asetek is listed on the Oslo Stock Exchange (ASETEK.OL). For further information, please contact: CEO and Founder Andre S. Eriksen +45-2125-7076, email: [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com https://news.cision.com/asetek/r/asetek---update-to-full-year-2020-guidance,c3157985 The following files are available for download: SOURCE Asetek As a background, this piece stems from a questionnaire sent to one professionally trained librarian and Researcher, pious, soft spoken, intelligent, and self contained and quietly influential Nigerian that divine intervention brought us together. The questionnaire centered on the political, socio economic situation in Nigeria as well as recent developments within the international circle. Essentially, the respondent aside coming from a very conservative family where discipline is the second nature of their behaviour and life was also traditional and living enjoyable,he explained how he was influenced by love for reading. As his father had love for reading the newspapers and often subscribed for such titles as Concord Newspapers, Vanguard and Daily Times of old. Opinions and views of the journalists in their writings geared his love for the profession. While providing further insight to his professional background, he placed a distinctive signpost between a librarian and researcher. To him, a librarian is a researcher; a general custodian of all aspects of human knowledge generation. While a researcher focuses on a specific human knowledge activity, a librarian covers all. A librarian is a researcher in scientific, arts and social sciences. To answer the first question- which has to do with the nations educational sector, He, contrary to the general beliefs absolved the nations education sector of any wrongdoing in its inability to produce graduates tailored to meet the industrial needs. To him, the current educational policies at the current --6334 American system is excellent in policy statement but the inability of the financiers to prioritise the teaching tools for its success has truncated its intended goals and objectives. I do not share such opinion, he noted. The sector has been able to produce excellent graduates in different fields of human endeavors. But industry is a different field. If the industry co-opts the graduates through industrial training or management trainee programmes, the industrial needs of the nation would be achieved. To further consolidate on the gains of the present system, he argued that entrepreneurial programmes/studies should be integrated into the educational system i.e from the primary schools to the university levels. Creativity, endurance and courage are skills that should be taught by psychologists to students in all classes of our educational system. What about the second question- an objective analysis of the nations (Nigeria) democratic experience or is it experiment in the past two decades? Again, he admitted that the democratic system has opened up the economy in such areas as privatisation, deregulation and free market economy. Nigerians have more to wealth than before. Freedom of the press and access to justice are better when you contrast them with the military regimes of the past. He, however, added that regionalism is different from democracy. I do not agree that Nigeria is ripe for regionalism. Federalism is a fair practice now if you juxtaposed it with tribalism, nepotism and political tribal lords that the country is facing today. I will advocate for fiscal federalism where each state generates and spends its wealth generated . On the nations restructuring, he has this to say; True federalism should be practised. The constitution should be amended to give more powers to the states in conduct of their affairs. Concurrent and residual lists should be left entirely for the states while the exclusive lists should be managed solely by the federal government. While lamenting that Nigerian leaders especially in this current dispensation are not patriotic, he stressed that ethnicity and regionbiased leaders do not view Nigeria as a country. Poverty, greed and avarice are seen in Nigerian leaders. These have created psychological problems in their reasoning. They are ethnic champions with ruthless adherents. To the next question which centred on his personal impression concerning the much talked Corona virus? The orchestrated palliatives (food bank) by the state governments? Has the government (both state and Federal) been fair to the people? And his personal opinion on the current global calls for sanction against China for their inglorious role in this troubling moment? Listen to him; the palliative was a farce. It was intended to imitate what the western world did. A (propaganda) government publicity stunts. Why didnt they sustain it till this day? The citizens did not believe the government anyway. China should be called to pay reparations to every nation of the world for their negligence or willful intention to cause calamity to the world-personal, institutional and national loss. Now, to politics. Do you think PDP is prepared to bounce back to power at the federal level, especially the Presidency in 2023? I do not know if they are prepared, he responded, but the current APC-led federal government has performed woefullyin infrastructure, human development and in foreign affairs of the nation. Willful killings, clear support for the Fulani Herdsmen, the west-north against the eastsouth in all aspects of the nations policy are enough to knock out the current powers sitting in Abuja. The nation is presently facing a lot of security challenges, what would you proffer as a solution to the security threats in the country? He has this to say; the country should create quasimilitary outfits devoid of ethnic colourations. Such creations should be given specific mandates to deal with herdsmen, gunmen (419), ritualists and kidnappers. They should be equipped with communication tools while being supervised by the Nigerian Police Force. Again, industrialisation of the country will help to draw the youth out of criminal intentions. Continuing, he noted that states should create their out security outfits but be supervised by the federal police. It should not be regional. If it becomes regional, you will begin to see ethnic and tribal colourations. The states should employ and fund it under the supervision of the States Commissioner of police. Politically, in history the country with its traditional administrative system is different. This often becomes glaring when voting in democracy. Literacy of the voters in the South is higher than when contrasted with those in the North. Again, government (federal) should deregulate the mining sector, the railway system, the oil and gas, electricity sector, and so on. What are the issues? He answers; Overbearing power of the Federal Government of Nigeria, ethnicity/tribal bearing, fiscal federalism that is absent, Godfatherism in the choice of leadership, Duplication of legislature chambers, unicameral (one) legislature chamber should be allowed. The representative system of electing local government officials is a fraud. It has achieved nothing beneficial for the citizens of the local governments. Therefore, I advise that men and women of good character who has had good experience in the public and private sectors including good clergy men should be appointed to manage the local government council with no salary, but should be paid allowances. They should not come from the political class. This selection should be done by the judges and magistrate of the states. There is so much corruption in the country, does it worry you? Of course, it does worry me. It will go worse in time to come. Corrupt officials either in the public or private sectors should be sent to jail if found guilty with no option of fine or bail. The laws on offenders should be fully applied and should be apolitical. Institutions should be strengthened to fight corruption. A mans handwork is what he is. Our youths should go into commercial farming whether it is cash crops or animal husbandry and also seek outlets to sell their farm produce. Trading of essential goods is also a fair business to do. Morally, they should stop engaging in fraudulent activities like 419, rituals and cultism, he concluded.. Jerome-Mario is a Lagos-Based Media Consultant By Christoph Steitz FRANKFURT (Reuters) - Activist fund Cevian, Thyssenkrupp's No.2 shareholder, has identified Swedish steelmaker SSAB as the financially strongest partner for a potential steel tie-up, two people familiar with the matter said. Among the possible partners, which include Germany's Salzgitter and Tata Steel , SSAB is the healthiest in terms of balance sheet, the sources said, citing a document the fund prepared for Thyssenkrupp's leadership. The fund has not recommended a scenario in the paper, the sources said, asking not to be named because they are not authorised to speak to the press. They added Thyssenkrupp needed to keep an open mind and not commit to any partner too early because that could weaken its negotiating position. Cevian declined to comment. Europe's steel sector was already under pressure from weak demand and ample supply, a situation aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which further depressed demand from industry. Sweden's SSAB, Europe's sixth-largest steelmaker, on Tuesday reported a 251 million Swedish crowns (22.10 million pounds) loss for the second quarter, beating the 400 million Refinitiv forecast. Asked about Thyssenkrupp, SSAB CEO Martin Lindqvist told journalists: "I'm happy we are in a position that some companies could maybe see us as a partner. That's positive." Salzgitter and Tata Steel's European unit declined to comment. Thyssenkrupp is looking at strategic options for its steel business, which could result in merging it with a peer, selling a majority stake or keeping it. Its latest efforts follow an attempt to combine Thyssenkrupp's steel unit with the European unit of Tata Steel, which fell apart in 2019 on antitrust concerns after years of talks. A deal with SSAB would likely face resistance from powerful German unions, who fear it would cause major job losses on the Thyssenkrupp side, a banking source said on condition of anonymity. Story continues The unions favour a national solution with Salzgitter, they have previously said. Thyssenkrupp declined to comment, referring to previous comments by CEO Martina Merz that all options were on the table. (Additional reporting by Helena Soderpalm in Stockholm and Arno Schuetze in Frankfurt; Editing by Edward Taylor and Barbara Lewis) World Health Organization chief scientist Soumya Swaminathan thinks there's one likely leading candidate in the race to develop a COVID-19 vaccine. That leader is AZD1222, the novel-coronavirus vaccine candidate that's being developed by AstraZeneca (NASDAQ:AZN) and the University of Oxford. And the world now knows more about how safe and effective AZD1222 could be. AstraZeneca announced on Monday interim results from an ongoing phase 1/2 clinical study of the experimental COVID-19 vaccine. The interim results were published in The Lancet. Here are three key things you'll want to know about AstraZeneca's news. 1. Good news on neutralizing antibodies Arguably the most anticipated metric from the phase 1 study of AZD1222 was to the number of patients who generated neutralizing antibodies. Neutralizing antibodies hold the potential to prevent infection by SARS-CoV-2, the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. The results published in The Lancet indicated that 32 out of 35 participants (91%) demonstrated neutralizing antibodies one month after receiving an injection with AZD1222. All of the 10 patients who received a second dose of the experimental vaccine had neutralizing antibodies. Oxford University professor Andrew Pollard, who was the chief investigator of the study, stated, "The immune respones observed following vaccination are in line with what we expect will be associated with protection against the SARS-CoV-2 virus." He added that the strong immune response observed in the participants who received two doses of AZD1222 indicates "that this might be a good strategy for vaccination." It's usually difficult to accurately compare clinical trial results for one vaccine candidate against another. However, there's sure to be some attempts to stack up the results for AZD1222 against Moderna's COVID-19 vaccine candidate mRNA-1273. Moderna's shares soared last week after results from a phase 1 study of mRNA-1273 were published in The New England Journal of Medicine. Those results showed that neutralizing antibodies were produced in all 45 study participants after the second dose of mRNA-1273. 2. Solid T-cell responses Another thing that researchers especially look for in the results for COVID-19 vaccine candidates is T-cell responses. T cells are white blood cells that play a key role in the body's immune response. It's possible that T-cell responses could be important in protecting against infection by SARS-CoV-2. Although it's still not clear exactly how T cells are involved in fighting the novel coronavirus, research suggests the potential for a T-cell response as an important factor in reducing the severity of COVID-19. Previous studies have found that some individuals infected with the novel coronavirus who didn't display any symptoms developed robust T-cell response even though they didn't have detectable antibodies. So how did AZD1222 do on this front? Very well. AstraZeneca stated that a T-cell response was induced in all participants in the clinical study. Those responses peaked by day 14 after injection, but were maintained for two months. Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca's executive vice president of biopharmaceuticals R&D (research and development), said that the company is "encouraged" by the interim data; he especially noted the T-cell response. 3. No yellow flags related to safety The preliminary immune response data wouldn't mean much if AZD1222 caused severe adverse effects. However, that wasn't the case. There were no yellow flags related to safety in the interim results. Pollard said in a statement that "The interim Phase I/II data for our coronavirus vaccine shows that the vaccine did not lead to any unexpected reactions and had a similar safety profile to previous vaccines of this type." That doesn't mean that no adverse reactions were observed. Reactions from AZD1222 in the study included temporary injection site pain and tenderness, headaches that were mild to moderate in severity, chills, fatigue, fever, malaise, and muscle ache. However, these reactions were lessened by giving participants acetaminophen. The adverse reactions also occurred less frequently after participants received the second dose of AZD1222. What's next The phase 1/2 study for which interim results were reported is still underway. However, AstraZeneca and the University of Oxford have also already kicked off phase 2/3 clinical trials of AZD1222 in the United Kingdom, Brazil, and South Africa. A late-stage study of the COVID-19 vaccine candidate will also soon begin in the U.S. AstraZeneca is moving forward under the assumption that those late-stage studies will be successful. The company is preparing to supply more than 2 billion doses of AZD1222 to fulfill its agreements with the U.K., U.S., and several nonprofit organizations. Even though the interim phase 1/2 results for AZD1222 were positive, AstraZeneca's shares slipped on Monday following the publication of data in The Lancet. But the pharmaceutical stock could have a major catalyst when late-stage results are announced in a few months. Bayer AG failed to persuade a California appeals court to overturn a verdict favoring a school groundskeeper who claimed its Roundup weed killer caused his cancer but reduced the amount of damages by 74% to $20.5 million. The decision by the California Court of Appeal came after a San Francisco jury had in August 2018 awarded $289.2 million to the plaintiff Dewayne Johnson for his non-Hodgkins lymphoma, a sum later cut by the trial judge to $78.5 million. Johnsons case is separate from Bayers agreement on June 24 to pay up to $10.9 billion to settle nearly 100,000 lawsuits in the United States linking glyphosate-based Roundup to cancer. If upheld, the verdict and payout could make it harder for Bayer to resolve lawsuits by other plaintiffs. The German drugs and pesticides company inherited liability for the lawsuits when it bought Monsanto Co., which had produced Roundup, for $63 billion in 2018. In a statement, Bayer called Mondays decision a step in the right direction but said it may appeal to the California Supreme Court, calling the verdict inconsistent with the evidence and the law. Bayer has long said regulators have deemed glyphosate safe. We continue to stand strongly behind the safety and utility of Roundup, the company said. In its 86-page decision, the appeals court said Johnson offered abundant evidence that glyphosate, together with other ingredients in Roundup products, caused his cancer. But it said the payout must be reduced because California law did not afford damages for a shortened life expectancy. Johnsons lawyer R. Brent Wisner called the decision another major victory for his client, who is known as Lee, despite the reduced damages. That Lee will not live an entire life with his wife and children should be compensable, he said. Hopefully, when this issue gets before the California Supreme Court, we can change this irrational law. (Reporting by Jonathan Stempel and Tina Bellon in New York; Editing by Lisa Shumaker) Topics California Markets in the twenty-nine (29) Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) in the Greater Accra Region on Monday benefited from a massive clean-up exercise. The exercise was organised by the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development (MLGRD), in collaboration with Zoomlion Ghana Limited. It followed the launch of a nationwide mass disinfection exercise in markets by the MLGRD and Zoomlion aimed at tackling COVID-19 which exercise kick-started in the Greater Accra Region on Sunday. Military and police personnel provided security and support to the MMDAs and Zoomlion during the exercise. Sanitation equipment deployed for the exercise included loads of wheel barrows, shovels, broomsticks, tricycles, rakes among other logistics As of 7:30 a.m., workers of Zoomlion were at the Dome market, cleaning up the place, with several police officers there to provide them with security. The workers also swept the shoulders of the streets and collected the refuse into garbage trucks and tricycles for disposal. And as part of enforcing the wearing of the nose mask law, the police officers put people who were not on nose masks to work. While some desilted choked gutters others were made to sweep. Speaking to journalists, Head of Sanitation and Environmental Office, Ga East Municipal Assembly (GEMA), Charles Asabre Ampomah, explained that the exercise was part of efforts to reduce garbage at the Dome market. "Today's [Monday, July 21] exercise is happening in six markets within the municipality and is unique because it is happening immediately after the second phase of the national disinfection exercise of market places," he noted. According to him, the GEMA was strictly enforcing the wearing of nose mask within the municipality. At the Agbogboloshie market, the military joined Zoomlion workers to desilt the gutters, cleared the litter from the main streets and emptied litter bins. There was also a strict enforcement of wearing of nose mask law at the Agbogboloshie market. For his part, the Greater Accra Zoomlion General Manager, Mr Ernest Morgan Acquah, stressed that one of the ways to ensure a clean environment was to disinfect the markets and after that "we assume that there may be insects and other rodents so the clean-up is a mop up. According to him, "as Ghanaians, we shouldn't wait for COVID-19 before washing our hands but rather make it every day practice," adding that "that is why after the disinfection of 137 markets we have followed up with the clean-up exercise." "After the disinfection and clean up exercise, we have a team which will go out and educte the citizens on the need to observe the various protocols and make personal hygiene a priority," Mr Acquah disclosed. Other markets visited by the teams included Kaneshie market, Mallam market, Makola, Odawna, Nima market, Korlebu market, and Ashaima market. 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 The Indian benchmark equity indices - Sensex and Nifty - ended higher on Tuesday as hopes of COVID-19 vaccine and positive global cues boosted investors sentiment. Continuing its gaining streak for the fifth straight session, Sensex ended 511 points higher at 37,930 and Nifty closed 140 points higher at 11,162. On Monday, Sensex ended 99 points higher at 36,693 and NSE Nifty rose 47 points to settle at 10,815. Among the index heavyweights, PowerGrid was the top gainer, rising over 6 per cent, followed by Maruti, Reliance Industries, ICICI Bank, HDFC, BPCL, Kotak Bank, Axis Bank, and HDFC Bank. On the flip side, Bajaj Finance, Bajaj Finserv, Asian Paints and Sun Pharma were among top losers. On the sectoral front, all the indices, barring pharma and FMCG, ended in green on the NSE, with Nifty bank and realty index gaining over 2 per cent. "Benchmark indices again showcased volatility but showcased positive momentum, in sync with global cues. EU leaders have finally reached an agreement on a massive stimulus plan to combat the pandemic impact. News about successful progression of COVID-19 vaccine trials also boosted the global markets while positive quarterly earnings results, especially from the leaders, provided an additional support to the Indian markets," said Vinod Nair, Head of Research at Geojit Financial Services. Also Read: Sensex ends 511 points higher on COVID-19 vaccine hopes, banking stocks rally "Although the market uptrend remains intact, investors are advised to be cautious since it seems to be in overvalued territory. Result-heavy day today, and stock specific commentary will be looked at," he added. Here's what you need to know before share market opens on July 22. Earnings announcement Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) and auto major Bajaj Auto along with other listed companies are scheduled to announce their earnings report on Wednesday. The June quarter earnings reports will provide a clear picture of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic-induced lockdown. Also Read: Coronavirus update: 7 Indian firms in race to find COVID-19 vaccine Progress on COVID-19 vaccine According to the latest update on the coronavirus vaccine, Russia has claimed that it is set to roll out its COVID-19 vaccine by next month. The Russian Defence Ministry, which is developing the inoculation, has successfully completed its Phase II human trials. In India, at least seven companies, including Bharat Biotech, Zydus Cadila, Indian Immunologicals, Nynvax, Panacea Biotec, and Biological E, are working on the COVID-19 vaccine. While Hyderabad-based Bharat Bharat Biotech has successfully begun human trials on its vaccine candidate Covaxin, Zydus Cadila has started clinical trials of its COVID-19 vaccine candidate, ZyCoV-D. Globally, the World Health Organisation (WHO) is tracking around 140 vaccine candidates, of which around two dozens are in various phases of human trials. Vaccine candidates from Chinese company Sinovac Biotech and Oxford-AstraZeneca have entered into Phase-3 trial. Besides, the US-based Moderna is also expecting to start the Phase-3 trial of its vaccine candidate by the end of this month. Coronavirus cases COVID-19 cases are constantly rising in the country. India reported 37,148 fresh cases and 587 fatalities in the last 24 hours till 8 am on Tuesday, data released by the Health Ministry showed. With this, India's total tally surged to 11,55,191, including 4,02,529 active cases and 7,24,578 recoveries, and the death toll climbed to 28,084. Maharashtra continues to remain the worst-hit state with 3,18,695 cases of COVID-19, followed by Tamil Nadu and Delhi with 1,75,678 and 1,23,747 cases, respectively. Also Read: Rossari Biotech IPO: How to check allotment status Cues from global stocks Globally, markets in the Unites States and Europe were trading higher on Tuesday. The European stocks were buoyed by the European Union's sanction of a 750 billion euro ($860 billion) fiscal stimulus deal to help support the virus-stricken region. The US stocks were also trading higher after earnings reports from major American companies provided fresh pictures of the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic on businesses and how they are coping with the crisis. The hopes for fresh fiscal stimulus by the US government also injected positivity in the market. Stock specific movements Shares of index heavyweights Axis Bank and Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) will remain in focus as these companies announced first quarter earnings after market hours on Tuesday. FMCG major HUL has reported a 7.18 per cent year-on-year growth in standalone net profit at Rs 1,881 crore for June quarter, while total sales grew by 4.23 per cent YoY to Rs 10,406 crore. Axis Bank reported a 19 per cent YoY decline in its net profit at Rs 1,112 crore for the first quarter ended June 30, 2020, dented by sharp decline in other income. The lender's net interest income (NII), however, rose 20 per cent YoY to Rs 6,985 crore during Q1FY21. On asset quality front, gross non-performing assets (NPAs) ratio as a percentage of gross advances declined to 4.72 per cent and the net NPA ratio fell to 1.23 per cent in Q1FY21. Although cases are surging in Anne Arundel, Howard and Baltimore counties, Hogan said statewide numbers are all trending in the right direction after declining sharply in June. Story continues below advertisement But as soon as we start to see numbers that dont look good, its going to cause us to take whatever actions that are necessary, the governor said in an appearance on C-SPAN. My goal is to try to keep the economy safely open, because the economic crisis is nearly as bad as or just as bad as the health crisis. Advertisement Health officials in the states five most populous jurisdictions, including Prince Georges and Montgomery counties, have asked Hogan to reconsider what activities the state permits. Experts and health officials in Maryland, Virginia and D.C. say they are worried about mask-wearing and social distancing fatigue, especially among younger residents. They are also concerned about people traveling into the region from elsewhere and bringing the virus with them. Story continues below advertisement On Tuesday, Baltimore County Executive Johnny Olszewski Jr. (D) ordered residents to wear face coverings in all indoor public spaces, including houses of worship and recreational spaces and encouraged them to don masks outdoors when social distancing is not possible. State rules mandate masks only inside retail establishments. Olszewski also called on Hogan to stop indoor service at bars and restaurants, saying 53 percent of cases reported in Baltimore County over the past three days involved people under the age of 35. Advertisement The county is experiencing its highest surge of new infections. Excluding nursing homes and other long-term-care facilities, the seven-day daily average for new cases was 97 on Tuesday, compared with the previous peak of 94 in May. The positivity rate has also increased in the past two weeks, to 5.92 percent. Story continues below advertisement To keep us from losing ground, we must act now, said Baltimore County Health Officer Gregory Wm. Branch. Known coronavirus cases in the District, Maryland and Virginia Anne Arundel County Health Officer Nilesh Kalyanaraman said the rise in the rate of transmission there should worry everyone in the region. The metric, which indicates how many people are infected by each newly infected person, has gone from below 1 in June to 1.28 this week. Anne Arundel also is seeing an increase in hospitalizations, while its rate of positive test results has consistently risen, from 3.1 percent in June to 4.1 percent now. Advertisement If we do nothing, it will increase slowly until it hits a tipping point . . . and then its really bad, said Kalyanaraman, who held an emergency town hall Monday evening about the surge in cases in the county. Every action has a consequence, and every inaction has a consequence. Story continues below advertisement Montgomery County Health Officer Travis Gayles said his county is considering rolling back restrictions but would do so in a targeted way. Montgomerys test positivity rate has hovered around 3 percent in recent weeks, lower than the states average of about 4.8 percent. The county is in Phase 2 of its reopening, which is more restrictive than the state plan and still includes, for example, caps on the size of social gatherings. Weve had a fairly restrictive plan that has allowed us to plateau, Gayles said in a briefing to lawmakers on Tuesday. So were not blindly saying, Were closing this and closing that. Though the District and its suburbs have so far avoided the sharp uptick seen elsewhere in the region, wed be naive to think those spikes wont come and affect us here, said Montgomery County Council member Gabe Albornoz (D-At Large). Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Gayles said that even a small increase in cases among young adults, who are more likely to be asymptomatic, can cause significant problems for others. Prince Georges County said it plans to begin stepping up enforcement of face coverings inside local businesses this weekend. County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D) said some establishments have been lax about complying. Public health experts say the entire region is at higher risk as more people travel from hot spots such as Arizona or Florida and a sense of weariness with the pandemic settles in. Every place in the country is at risk right now, said Joshua Sharfstein, vice dean for public health practice and community engagement at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. D.C. slips in key coronavirus metric as cases in the region surge Maryland, Virginia and the District reported 1,944 new cases Tuesday and 38 deaths. Maryland had 860 new cases, Virginia had 996 and the District had 88. The greater Washington regions seven-day average of daily new cases was 1,813, up from 969 on July 7. The seven-day average for daily deaths has been below 30 since early July. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Anne Monroe, an epidemiologist and associate research professor at George Washington Universitys Milken Institute School of Public Health, said that people have fatigue of all the messages to keep their distance, wear masks and wash their hands. But, she said, many people have the same goals to reopen schools and for businesses to stay open. The only way to get there is if we all follow the regulations in good faith, she said. In the District, a spokeswoman for Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said the city will soon publish new guidelines to encourage more mask use. What were seeing is people are starting to relax a lot, said the spokeswoman, Susana Castillo. People are doing private gatherings. D.C. Health Director LaQuandra S. Nesbitt has said she doesnt have clear enough data on where people are catching the virus to curtail any of the business or social activity reopenings but would eventually consider doing so. In Virginia, Gov. Ralph Northam (D) has ordered health inspectors to crack down on taverns and restaurants with bar areas that have allowed people to gather in close quarters or have ignored the states mandate for face coverings. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Alena Yarmosky, Northams spokeswoman, said the governor has directed the Alcoholic Beverage Control Authority, which regulates liquor sales in the state, to develop a plan for an earlier cutoff time for sales inside restaurants, with the goal of keeping younger patrons from gathering longer inside those poorly ventilated spaces. The new cutoff time is expected to be announced later this week, Yarmosky said. Virginia Beach coronavirus cases increasing, especially among young people resisting wearing masks The state is particularly concerned about the recent spike in the Hampton Roads area, including Virginia Beach, which had a positivity rate of 12.1 percent as of Tuesday, compared with 3.5 percent in early June. Over the weekend, state health officials conducted 11 inspections in the Norfolk area, suspending the food permits of three restaurants found to be in violation of mask or physical distancing requirements. Virginia Beach has suspended the food licenses of two establishments so far. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney (D) said he wont hesitate to impose further restrictions if cases again surge there. In the absence of a vaccine or effective treatment, everyone needs to be concerned about the impact of further reopening our city, Stoney said in a text message. Worries about the viruss resurgence have so far been less pronounced in Northern Virginia, the most densely populated part of the state. New infections there accounted for nearly half of the states total in late May but represented just 17 percent of the daily total on Tuesday. Still, local officials said they have been watching their metrics. Were steady and stable, but remember its taking longer to get test results back from commercial labs, said Alison Ansher, health director in Prince William County, referring to delays in the turnaround for test results. Advertisement Ansher said her county has seen a small increase in infections, mostly among younger residents, and a spike in complaints about people not wearing masks inside restaurants and retail stores. There were 14 such complaints on Monday, she said. Loudoun County Health Director David Goodfriend said his county has also received more complaints. But I cant say whether thats more people not complying with the face covering requirement, or that more folks are comfortable letting us know about it, Goodfriend said. An outbreak last month among teenagers and young adults who traveled to Myrtle Beach, S.C., for a beach week trip appears to have been contained, Goodfriend said, and was a huge wake-up call for Loudoun and a number of other jurisdictions in the region. Since then, he said, more residents have been wearing masks and abiding by physical distancing requirements. That is going to be the new normal for us going into next year, Goodfriend said. This is easily a year-long effort at behavior change. Rachel Chason, Dana Hedgpeth, Gregory S. Schneider and Julie Zauzmer contributed to this report. Fairfax, Loudoun superintendents scrap earlier learning plans, call for all-virtual start to school year Hard-hit southern Europe heaves sigh of relief as E.U. strikes deal on coronavirus recovery How long should you isolate yourself if you test positive for coronavirus? New CDC guidance says 10 days instead of 14. Local newsletters: Local headlines (8 a.m.) | Afternoon Buzz (4 p.m.) Like PostLocal on Facebook | Follow @postlocal on Twitter | Latest local news WASHINGTON - With a series of tweets, impromptu interviews and unscripted remarks, President Donald Trump has increasingly undermined the public health message of his own government, adding a sense of confusion to what has been a disjointed and ineffective response to the coronavirus pandemic. Public health experts say Trump's efforts to deflect blame for the surging virus have become yet another distraction making it harder to slow the spread of a covid-19, a highly contagious disease now infecting Americans at a record clip. On Monday, Trump retweeted a message from Chuck Woolery, a longtime game show host and conservative commentator, that accused the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention of "lying" to the American public about the coronavirus that causes the disease. Trump in recent days has also accused Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious-disease expert, of making "mistakes," blasted CDC guidelines for opening schools as "impractical" and repeatedly undercut public health officials' recommendations by questioning the efficacy of masks and social distancing. Taken together, the president's efforts have led to a lack of clarity and consistency in the national response to the coronavirus, said Ben Sommers, a doctor who teaches at the Harvard University T.H. Chan School of Public Health. "When the president is calling the guidance wrong and endorsing the view that these public health experts are lying, it makes it incredibly difficult for the public to know what to do," he said. "It erodes the long-term ability of our government to provide one of its basic goals which is to protect the public safety." While Trump has downplayed the virus and dismissed the warnings of public health experts for months, his recent push has come amid a fresh surge in cases and concern over how to safely reopen schools in the coming weeks. Trump has been primarily focused on trying to revitalize the economy, which has been devastated by the pandemic, seeing its resurgence as key to his reelection chances this fall. Trump's aides have amplified his statements promoting a return to normalcy and undermining government health expertise in the middle of a pandemic. White House officials disseminated negative talking points about Fauci to reporters over the weekend after The Washington Post reported that he had been sidelined by Trump in recent weeks. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany used the briefing Monday to defend those criticisms of Fauci, and to back up the president's attacks on the government's health experts. She accused "some rogue individuals" at the CDC of misleading the public and defended Trump's retweet of Woolery by saying he was calling out scientists for engaging in politics. "Overall the notion of the tweet was to point out the fact that when we use science, we have to use it in a way that is not political," she said. Woolery was less nuanced in his tweet, writing that "the most outrageous lies are the ones about Covid 19." "Everyone is lying," he continued in a post Trump shared with his 83 million followers. "The CDC, Media, Democrats, our Doctors, not all but most, that we are told to trust. I think it's all about the election and keeping the economy from coming back, which is about the election. I'm sick of it." Trump also retweeted a post from Woolery, who hosted "The Love Connection" in the 1980s, pointing to "worldwide and overwhelming" scientific evidence that schools should reopen in the fall. Trump and his aides have tried to make school openings a simple choice of opening or not opening. Public health experts have said that while restarting schools should be a top priority, the issue is that without proper safety measures the reopenings could further spread the virus. Last week, the president publicly criticized the CDC guidelines for reopening schools, calling them "very tough & expensive" and "impractical" in a tweet. Trump's tweet - which ended with "I will be meeting with them!!!" - set off several days of confusion and inconsistent responses from administration officials, who struggled to explain the government's position on school openings, and whether anything had changed. Vice President Mike Pence said the CDC would issue additional guidance for schools, even as CDC Director Robert Redfield and other officials said they stood by the original recommendations but would release additional information. During an interview with CNN on Sunday, Education Secretary Betsy DeVos struggled to answer basic questions about whether the federal government wanted schools to follow the guidelines. While McEnany did tell reporters Monday that Trump has confidence in the CDC, she spent more time criticizing health experts than amplifying their message for the public. She repeatedly referred to the spike in positive coronavirus infections as "embers" despite the fact that states across the country are setting records for new cases and deaths rates are rising. More than 3.3 million Americans have been infected, and more than 132,000 have died, the highest known totals in the world. The administration has accused China of underreporting the severity of the pandemic within its borders. "When you compare us to other countries, we have the most testing in the world. When you compare us to other countries on case fatality rate, other industrialized nations, we're very low and beating most countries, if not all, in Europe," McEnany said. "So we're doing a lot on the world stage and a lot right." The World Health Organization Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus criticized political leaders for downplaying the virus and not doing enough to enforce social distancing and mask-wearing. "Mixed messages from leaders are undermining the most critical ingredient of any response: trust," he said without naming leaders. "If the basics aren't followed, there is only one way this pandemic is going to go. It's going to get worse and worse and worse, but it does not have to be this way." The United States formally notified the United Nations last week of its withdrawal from WHO, which Trump has blamed for not doing more to stop the spread of the virus. It's one of several institutions Trump has undercut or jettisoned during the pandemic as he has increasingly relied on his own instincts. But even some Republicans are calling for a more focused federal response. Mick Mulvaney, the former acting White House chief of staff, wrote in an opinion article published Monday that the United States still has a "testing problem" and said policymakers need to realize that the "current economic crisis is public-health driven." "I know it isn't popular to talk about in some Republican circles, but we still have a testing problem in this country," Mulvaney, who left the White House in March to become the United States's special envoy for Northern Ireland, said in the piece published by CNBC. "My son was tested recently; we had to wait 5 to 7 days for results. My daughter wanted to get tested before visiting her grandparents, but was told she didn't qualify. That is simply inexcusable at this point in the pandemic." The assessment of Mulvaney is at odds with that of Trump, who has repeatedly touted the country's testing capacity and argued that U.S. coronavirus case levels are increasing because so much testing is being done. On Monday, Trump again contradicted Fauci and other health officials by claiming that testing for coronavirus was a "double-edged sword" and that the United States had "created" cases by doing so much testing. "We test more than anybody by far. And when you test, you create cases," he said. "So, we've created cases." Sommers said that kind of politicized rhetoric about a pandemic is "really damaging" to efforts to mount a coherent the public health response to the pandemic. "So much of our society right now is highly polarized," he said. "And when you take science and do the same thing with it, it means that essentially everyone feels entitled to their own facts. From a public health side and a medical side, that's just a tragedy." - - - The Washington Post's John Wagner contributed to this report. Mumbai, July 21 : Maharashtra's daily Covid-19 tally continued to range over the 8,000-level on Tuesday, while deaths again shot above the 200-mark, health officials said. The state notched 8,369 new cases, as against Monday's 8,240 cases, while the number of deaths rose to 246 from 176 on Monday. With the fresh fatalities, the state's death toll went up to 12,276, while the total tally was 327,031 - both highest in the country. According to Tuesday's figures, there was one death roughly every 6 minutes and a staggering 349 new cases every hour. The recovery rate marginally dropped from 54.92 per cent a day earlier to 54.72 per cent on Tuesday, while the current mortality rate stood at 3.75 per cent. The Health Department said that of the total cases till date, 132,236 cases are active. On the positive side, 7,188 recovered patients returned home on Tuesday, taking the total number of discharged patients to 182,217. Of the total fatalities on Tuesday, Mumbai recorded 62 deaths, taking up its toll to 5,817 and the number of cases increased by 992 to 103,368. There were also 56 deaths in Pune, 27 in Thane, 17 in Aurangabad, 10 in Solapur, eight in Satara, seven in Nashik, six each in Raigad, Latur and Jalgaon, five in Palghar, four in Nanded, three each in Ahmednagar, Parbhani, Osmanabad, Yavatmal, Kolhapur and Nagpur, two each in Nandurbar, Sangli and Washim, and one each in Dhule, Jalna, Beed, Akola, and Amravati, besides 3 from other states. The MMR (Thane Division) saw its toll increasing by 100 to 8,402 and a staggering 2,977 new cases took its tally to 206,221. Thane's 78,132 cases and 2,096 fatalities make it the second worst-hit district after Mumbai in the state. Pune district continues to race ahead with 59,745 cases, and a death toll of 1,457. With 74 more deaths, the Pune division's death toll reached 1,946 and the case tally touched 68,575 - but it still remains far behind MMR and Thane district. Nashik division has 938 fatalities and 22,628 cases, Aurangabad division 460 deaths and 12,638 cases, Akola division 200 fatalities and 4,980 cases, Kolhapur division 117 deaths and 5,000 cases, Latur division 135 fatalities and 3,122 cases, and finally, Nagpur division has recorded 42 deaths and 3,591 cases. All the eight divisions recorded fatalities on Tuesday, while Chandrapur (out of total 36) remains a zero Covid death district till date. Meanwhile, the number of people sent to home quarantine increased to 779,676, while those in institutional quarantine went down to 45,077 on Tuesday. Australia's largest union representing retail employees has called on the Victorian government to bring in troops from the Australian Defence Force to help enforce the wearing of masks in stores. However, government authorities have said it will be the responsibility of retailers to administer the new laws, a move which may draw the ire of unions and employers. Soldiers assist Victoria Police on a roadside checkpoint on the Geelong Freeway as Melbourne went into lockdown in mid-July. Credit:Jason South The Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees Association (SDA) has said it should not be incumbent on retail employees to enforce the law and bar non-mask wearing customers from entry, saying it could expose them to potential abuse or violence. SDA national secretary Gerard Dwyer said shopping centres have the potential to attract significant numbers of people, which could enhance the risk of spreading COVID-19 if laws are not enforced. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street for talks on July 21, 2020. (Hannah McKay - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Pompeo in UK to Discuss China With Prime Minister Boris Johnson U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met British Prime Minister Boris Johnson in Downing Street for talks on a range of China-related issues on Tuesday. Pompeo is in London for a two-day visit, during which he will also have talks with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. The Chinese regimes National Security Law for Hong Kong and Chinese telecom firm Huaweis role in 5G networks are high on the agenda of the talks. Pompeo will discuss with Johnson plans to create an alternative to Huawei, which Britain has decided to exclude from its 5G networks. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street for talks on July 21, 2020. (Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images) The United States welcomed the UKs decision to prohibit new purchases of 5G equipment from Huawei and to phase out existing Huawei equipment from its 5G networks, the U.S. State Department said in a statement. Johnson initially favoured a limited role for Huawei in Britains 5G networks, but reversed the decision on July 14 due to pressure from the United States and his own backbench Conservative members of Parliament. Constructive visit with @BorisJohnson today. Our two countries long-standing, strong bilateral relationship has laid the foundation for todays candid discussion on issues ranging from 5G telecommunication to our negotiations for a U.S.-UK free trade agreement. pic.twitter.com/9j1o3bK8e6 Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 21, 2020 Allowing untrusted, high-risk vendors, such as Huawei, into any part of 5G networks makes critical systems vulnerable to disruption, manipulation, and espionage, and puts sensitive government, commercial, and personal information at risk, the State Department said. We will continue to work with the UK on fostering a secure and vibrant 5G ecosystem, which is critical to Transatlantic prosperity and security. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (R) leaves Downing Street with UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on July 21, 2020. (Peter Summers/Getty Images) The State Department also hailed the UKs role as a global leader and our close partner in promoting and protecting human rights. We welcome the UKs recent decision to grant British Nationals Overseas the right to work and eventually apply for citizenship in the UK, State Department said. The UK announced it will extend immigration rights for an estimated 3 million Hong Kong residents who hold British National (Overseas) status after the Chinese regime imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong on June 30. The national security law criminalizes individuals for any acts of subversion, secession, and collusion with foreign forces against the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) regime, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (C) arrives at Downing Street in London, England, on July 21, 2020. (Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images) Johnson has said that the law constitutes a clear and serious breach of the SinoBritish Joint Declaration, as it violates Hong Kongs high degree of autonomy and is in direct conflict with Hong Kong basic law. Foreign Secretary Raab said yesterday the UK was also suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and expanding its arms embargo on mainland China to the former British colony. Pompeo is due to meet Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law, who fled to London after the imposition of the security law, and the last British governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo disembarks his plane upon arrival in London, England, on July 20, 2020. (Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images) Other topics on the agenda of official talks include plans for economic recovery in the wake of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) virus, and the U.S.UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Pompeo will also visit Denmark on July 22. He will meet Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to discuss the pandemic, China, and other matters. Reuters contributed to this report. (Natural News) A recent study published in the journal Neuron found that alpha-synuclein (a-syn), a protein genetically linked to Parkinsons disease, spreads from the gut to the brain through the vagus nerve. Researchers at the Johns Hopkins School of Medicine in Baltimore tested a previously proposed hypothesis suggesting that the gut-brain axis is involved in the progression of Parkinsons a neurodegenerative disorder that affects more than 10 million people worldwide. Their findings not only provide scientific evidence of this involvement, but also open up the possibility for a new method of suppressing some of the physical and cognitive manifestations of Parkinsons disease. Parkinsons and the gut-brain axis Shaking, stiffness and difficulty with walking, balance and coordination are some of the common signs of Parkinsons disease. Research suggests that Parkinsons is caused by the death or loss of function of brain neurons involved in movement. These neurons produce a chemical called dopamine, which they use to communicate with the brain region that controls movement. A decrease in dopamine levels causes movements to become delayed or uncoordinated. One of the hallmarks of Parkinsons disease is the buildup of a-syn proteins in the brain. Like the tau proteins in Alzheimers, a-syn proteins misfold and form toxic clumps called Lewy bodies. These Lewy bodies kill brain cells and contribute to Parkinsons dementia. In 2003, Heiko Braak, a professor at the Goethe University Frankfurt, hypothesized that a-syn proteins climb up to the brain from the gut. This hypothesis was based on Braak and his colleagues discovery of unusual accumulations of Lewy bodies in both the brain and the gastrointestinal nervous system of Parkinsons patients. The Johns Hopkins team decided to test this hypothesis by injecting a-syn into the gut of mice. They found that the protein hijacks the vagus nerve, which connects the gut to the brain and controls the functions of the gastrointestinal tract. The toxic a-syn travels up in this way until it reaches the brain, where it spreads and causes dopamine-producing neurons to degenerate. As a consequence, motor and non-motor symptoms of Parkinsons begin to manifest. When the researchers performed vagotomy surgical removal of the vagus nerve they found that it successfully stopped a-syn from wreaking havoc in the brain. This led them to believe that blocking vagal transmission pathways may be a promising strategy for preventing the progression of Parkinsons disease. We now have a model that will allow us to test new therapy in all or [almost] all of the symptoms of Parkinsons, said Ted Dawson, one of the study authors. I think its going to really revolutionize what we do in studying Parkinsons disease. Toxic a-syn: How does it accumulate in the gut? According to senior co-author, Han Seok Ko, the appearance of toxic a-syn in the gut is consistent with one of the earliest symptoms of Parkinsons: constipation. However, a major question that emerged from the study was how a-syn accumulates in the gut in the first place. Several studies have proposed an answer to this. According to one, a-syn is produced in the gastrointestinal nervous system to help fight off microbial pathogens. Another study, however, contends that certain microbes are actually responsible for the buildup of intestinal a-syn proteins. (Related: Keeping your gut flora healthy is the key to maintaining good health.) In a different study, researchers found that transplanting fecal microbes from Parkinsons patients into an animal model of Parkinsons aggravated primary motor symptoms and increased a-syn aggregation in the brain. This suggests that gut microbial composition may also play a role in the development of the disease. Another hypothesis thats gaining traction in the scientific community is that intestinal inflammation caused by unfriendly gut microbes could lead to Parkinsons. According to data from a recent study, the prevalence of Parkinsons is 28 percent higher in individuals with inflammatory bowel disease than in those without. Reducing gut inflammation, on the other hand, results in a 78 percent decrease in the incidence of Parkinsons. While researchers are yet to determine what causes intestinal a-syn to accumulate, the huge role the gut plays in the development and progression of Parkinsons disease is hard to deny. But recent findings on the involvement of the gut-brain axis, particularly the vagus nerve, bring scientists one step closer to finding a solution for Parkinsons disease. Sources include: PsychologyToday.com Parkinson.org NIA.NIH.gov BrainFacts.org CureParkinsons.org.UK ScientificAmerican.com Nature.com Cell.com JAMANetwork.com Srinagar: The Indian army foiled an infiltration bid along the Line of Control (LoC) in Naugam sector in Jammu and Kashmir on Monday while a militant was killed in the anti-infiltration operation. "An infiltration bid was foiled along the LoC in Naugam sector," an army official said. He further said that a weapon was also recovered from the slain militant. The armed forces had earlier foiled another infiltration bid in north Kashmirs Baramulla district on Thursday. Security agencies are on high alert as they fear infiltration bids can increase on account of upcoming winter and snow fall which will cover mountain passes. Apart from infiltration bids, armed forces are consistently battling ceasefire violations by Pakistan. Also Read: Army foils infiltration bid, kills one terrorist in Rampur sector of J-K For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. European Commission president Ursula Von Der Leyen, left, and European Council president Charles Michel bump elbows following conclusion of the summit in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Stephanie Lecocq/AFP via Getty Images After almost five days of intensive wrangling, the leaders of the 27 EU member states finally reached an agreement on the of 750bn (676bn, $859bn) stimulus package to help the European Union get back on its feet economically after the devastating coronavirus pandemic. The leaders also signed off on a seven-year budget for the bloc of over 1tn. European Council president Charles Michel, who moderated the high-tension summit, tweeted Deal! at 5:30am on Tuesday morning. "This is a good deal, this is a strong deal and most importantly this is the right deal for Europe right now," Michel said in a follow-up tweet. "I believe this agreement will be seen as a pivotal moment for Europe's journey." German chancellor Angela Merkel said on Tuesday morning that she was very relieved that the EU leaders were able to cooperate. We have come up with a response to the biggest crisis the EU has faced, she said. News that leaders had reached the deal, which still requires EU parliament approval, pushed the euro to a four-month high. European Commission president Ursula von der Leyen hailed the deal as a historic step we can be proud of and thanked Merkel for steering the talks towards a solution. In the weeks leading up to the summit, Merkel and French leader Emmanuel Macron had teamed up to push for a 750bn package, 500bn of which they said should be non-repayable grants for member states in need. However, Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden, and Denmark, aka the frugal four, argued hard against funding the package via joint borrowing and demanded that strict conditions be tied to grants. They managed to get some movement in their direction however: the final deal allocates 360bn as loans, and 390bn as non-repayable grants. It was the first time that Germany has backed EU states taking on joint debt to finance the rescue. Negotiations got personal over the weekend in Brussels as tempers frayed. Macron at one point reportedly accused Austrias Sebastian Kurz of lacking respect for leaving the room to take a call. He also accused the frugal four of being obstructive and replacing the UK at the table. Last year Formula 1 entered the summer break after the Hungarian Grand Prix and that is a break that Pierre Gasly will remember for a long time. In this period he was returned to Toro Rosso in favour of Alexander Albon. This due to disappointing performances and nowadays the Frenchman is back in place with his old team. A promotion to the top, however, he considers small. Difficult weekend for Red Bull Racing Gasly unfortunately dropped out last weekend due to engine problems, but he also saw Red Bull Racing struggling with the circuit and the lack of speed. This surprised the Frenchman somewhat. To Motorsport-Total he says: "They have always fought there for victories or at least podium finishes. This weekend looked a little more difficult." Nevertheless, the Red Bull is faster than the car of AlphaTauri in which Gasly drives, so he was asked if he doesn't look at the top team with some jealousy. "I'm a Red Bull contract driver and you always want to be in the fastest car. They currently have the fastest car among the Red Bull teams." In other words, Gasly sees a return, but estimates the odds pretty low. "Max has signed for several years and Alex has strong support from Thailand. I don't know if that will change in the future." With that idea in mind, Gasly is currently focusing mainly on his work at AlphaTauri. Doing a good job He argues that if he does a good job here, new opportunities will present themselves. "I'm trying to do my best with the team and I'm happy to make progress when we can and when I have the right material." In other words, he focuses completely on his own future and he is not necessarily involved with the top team. "I don't have much to say about it," Gasly says when asked if Albon has a lot of trouble with Verstappen. "I don't know what Alex's situation is. I know my situation and I know what it was like at Red Bull. I have the explanations for me why it didn't work. With Alex... I don't know what's happening for him now." The topper in the commerce category was Pushpa who scored 498, whereas Bhavna Yadav scored the highest in the Science stream with 496 out of 500 marks HBSE 12th Result 2020 toppers: A girl student named Manisha bagged the first position in Haryana Board Class 12 examination after securing 499 out of 500 marks, reports said. According to News18, she is also the Arts stream topper. Pushpa topped the Commerce stream scoring 498 out of 500 in the exam, a report in Hindustan Times said. Whereas, Bhavna Yadav topped in the Science category scoring 496 out of 500 marks, the report added. Of the total 2.25 lakh students who appeared for the Haryana Class 12 examination 2020, 80.34 percent cleared it, with girls outshining boys with a margin of 11.24 percent. The Board of Secondary Education, Haryana (BSEH) announced the scores at a press conference on Tuesday for all the Class 12 streams. The result, however, is not yet available on the board's official website bseh.org.in. Once uploaded, students can follow the steps mentioned below to check their scores. Steps to check HBSE 12th Result 2020 on official website: Step 1: Visit the official website - bseh.org.in Step 2: Click on the link that says 'Exam results' Step 3: Select 'Haryana 12th result 2020' from the drop-down menu Step 4: Enter your registration number, roll number Step 5: Hit on 'Submit' Step 6: Your HBSE 12th result will be displayed on screen Step 7: Download and take a print out for further reference Last year the Haryana board Class 12 result was declared on 15 May. 74.48 percent of the total students had passed the exam. The toppers had scored 494 marks out of 500. Shiv Kumar from Palwal and Shivani from Faridabad were the joint toppers of Haryana Class 10 board exam last year. While, Mansi from Palwal came in state. KATHMANDU, Nepal Nepals government has ended a lockdown 120 days after it was imposed to control the spread of coronavirus. Information Minister Yuba Raj Khatiwada said the number of cases was declining in Nepal. Government and private offices would be fully functional from Wednesday and all private and public vehicles would be allowed back on the streets. All the markets, malls and shops would be also be allowed to open. However, airports and commercial flights would resume only on Aug. 1. Khatiwada said schools and colleges would remain closed until further notice. Prohibition would continue on large public gatherings, religious functions, parties, gymnasium, zoo and parks. The lockdown was first imposed in March and it was renewed several times. The country has 17,994 confirmed cases and 40 deaths from coronavirus. ___ HERES WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT THE VIRUS OUTBREAK: CDC: Antibody tests show virus rates 10x higher Jordan to reopen airports to tourists in August Weary EU leaders finally clinch $2.1 trillion budget and coronavirus recovery fund New research suggests that antibodies the immune system makes to fight the coronavirus may only last a few months in people with mild illness, according to report in the New England Journal of Medicine. The Justice Department says hackers working with the Chinese government targeted firms developing coronavirus vaccines and stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property and trade secrets from companies worldwide. With the pandemic worsening and aid expiring, Washington's divisions thwart new relief package. Follow APs pandemic coverage at http://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak ___ HERES WHAT ELSE IS HAPPENING: SEOUL, South Korea -- Just days after South Korean officials hopefully declared the countrys COVID-19 epidemic was coming under control, health authorities reported 63 newly confirmed cases. South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Wednesday said at least 36 of the new cases came from the densely populated Seoul metropolitan area, where about half of the countrys 51 million people live. Story continues The KCDC didnt immediately confirm whether the numbers included a new cluster of infections discovered at a frontline army unit in Pocheon, north of Seoul, where at least 13 troops have reportedly tested positive. The KCDC said 29 of the new cases were local transmissions and tied the other 34 to international arrivals as the virus continues to spread in Asia, the United States and beyond. The government also plans to send to send two military planes to Iraq on Wednesday to evacuate around 300 South Korean construction workers amid the spread of the virus there. The national caseload is now at 13,879, including 297 deaths. The country had reported four local transmissions on Monday, which was the lowest in two months, prompting a celebratory tweet from President Moon Jae-in who said the nation as winning its fight against COVID-19. ___ MEXICO CITY Mexico passed the 40,000-death mark Tuesday and reported near-record levels of newly confirmed coronavirus cases. The Health Department reported that COVID-19 deaths rose by 915 to reach 40,400, the fourth highest total behind the United Kingdom at 45,507. Mexicos number of confirmed cases rose by 6,859 to 356,386, and the country now rivals Peru for the sixth-highest number of cases, but Mexico does so little testing that its number is considered vastly undercounted. By Tuesday, Mexico had conducted just over 820,000 tests, or about one test for every 160 inhabitants. In recent weeks, 47% of all tests have com back positive, suggesting Mexico is mainly testing only those with considerable symptoms. Health authorities indicated the country only has about 170,000 tests left, but left open the possibility of acquiring more. ___ DETROIT A judge has ordered the Detroit school district to test more than 600 students who are participating in voluntary summer classes. The order from U.S. District Judge Arthur Tarnow on Tuesday came in response to a lawsuit by critics who claim the in-person classes are risky for kids and staff. Students and teachers are required to wear masks, and desks are spread apart. The lawsuit followed days of protest outside bus yards. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said the district will comply with the testing order with assistance from the city health department. But he suggested the judge had exceeded his authority. It is insulting to our parents that they must have their children COVID-tested to receive public school services yet parents outside of the city can receive the same services without testing, Vitti said. Classes started July 13. The Detroit district is also offering summer online learning. - AUSTIN, Texas While some big cities in Texas are reporting signs that an alarming surge in cases of the coronavirus may be leveling off, officials in counties along the border with Mexico said the outlook there remains bleak. Dallas County officials said the number of hospitalized coronavirus patients dropped below 1,000 on Tuesday for the first time in more than two weeks, and officials in Houston are seeing signs of optimism. But along the border in Starr County, Judge Eloy Vera said were very close to losing the situation and plans to issue voluntary stay-at-home recommendations this week. He said it would be similar to one issued Monday in Hidalgo County, which set a curfew and recommends that all nonessential businesses cease any activity that cant be provided at curbside or by takeout. The orders, however, are not enforceable under Republican Gov. Greg Abbotts past mandates that do not allow local officials to set their own stay-at-home restrictions. Texas on Tuesday reported more than 9,300 confirmed new cases and 131 deaths, the states second deadliest day of the pandemic. ___ FORT WORTH, Texas -- More than 500 women at a federal medical prison in Texas have tested positive for the coronavirus, in one of the largest confirmed outbreaks at a federal prison. The Bureau of Prisons said the number of confirmed cases at the Federal Medical Center-Carswell in Fort Worth jumped to 510 on Tuesday, just two days after the Bureau of Prisons reported that 200 women there had tested positive for COVID-19, the illness caused by the coronavirus. Only the federal prison in Seagoville, also located in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, had more infected inmates, with 1,156 cases as of Tuesday. ___ SAO PAULO Brazilian authorities say the countrys Sao Paulo state has topped 20,000 deaths from COVID-19, while the nation as a whole has recored more than 80,000 fatalities due to the coronavirus. Sao Paulo is Brazils most populous state, with 46 million people, and is the epicenter of the coronavirus pandemic in the South American country. It has been enforcing social distancing measures since mid-March, but has never applied a full lockdown. Sao Paulo Gov. Joao Doria replaced his health secretary this week, though he says the official left the post for medical reasons unrelated to the coronavirus. ___ DENVER -- Colorado teachers may refuse to report for work unless their criteria for reopening schools during the coronavirus pandemic this fall are met. Thats the word from Amie Baca-Oehlert, the head of the states largest teachers union, the Colorado Education Association. Baca-Oehlert said Tuesday that teachers want more of a say in how school districts implement safety protocols such as mask-wearing, restricting movement among public school students and restricting class sizes. She says individual school districts should establish their own protocols and provide all students with access to remote learning tools such as computers. ___ SANTA FE, N.M. -- New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham is thanking President Donald Trump for telling Americans that they should wear masks when theyre unable to keep distance between themselves and other people. The Democrat tweeted her appreciation Tuesday, saying: Thanks for joining us, Mr. President. Masks are mandated in New Mexico as the state has been dealing with an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Health officials are now reporting an additional 307 cases. That brings the statewide total to 17,517 since the pandemic began. Officials also reported an additional 10 deaths, bringing that tally to nearly 590. ___ WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump says hes getting used to wearing a mask as he showed off his from the White House briefing room podium. Hes telling reporters that he has no problem wearing one, saying: I carry it. I wear it... and Ill continue. Trumps recent comments are a major change in tone for the president, who spent months resisting wearing a mask in public and once suggested they were a political statement against him. But he told reporters Tuesday that hes getting used to the mask and uses one when appropriate. Trump then pulled his out of a suit pocket and encouraged the public, saying: if youre close together, I would put on the mask. Trumps comments came at the end of the return of his evening briefing, which lasted less than half an hour. Trump appeared alone, with no public health experts appearing. ___ DENVER -- Colorado Gov. Jared Polis has ordered bars and restaurants across the state to stop serving alcohol past 10 p.m. as the number of coronavirus cases among young adults continues to increase. He says anybody who has been drunk knows that inhibitions are reduced and social distancing takes a back seat when large groups are involved. The order is expected to take effect before the weekend and last for 30 days. Last call at Colorado bars is normally 2 a.m. The governor previously ordered bars closed as the state saw an uptick in cases, but those serving food were allowed to remain open. ___ BATON ROUGE, La. Gov. John Bel Edwards is keeping Louisianas mask mandate and business restrictions in place for at least two more weeks as the number of coronavirus patients at hospitals is surging in all regions of the state. The Democratic governors current regulations were set to expire Friday but instead will extend until at least Aug. 7. The rules limit restaurants to 50% capacity for in-person dining, restrict bars to takeout and delivery only and place occupancy limits on gyms, salons and other businesses deemed nonessential. Face coverings are required for anyone ages 8 and older, with medical exceptions. Indoor gatherings above 50 people are banned. Edwards announcement came Tuesday. We still have a lot of COVID-19 in Louisiana, more than we want, and its widespread all across our state, the governor said. He added: There is no doubt we have a long way to go and the situation is very serious, especially as it relates to hospitalizations. ___ LAS VEGAS -- Unions representing 65,000 Las Vegas-area casino workers have dropped two MGM Resorts International properties from a lawsuit accusing companies of skimping on coronavirus protective measures. A Culinary Union executive called it a victory to drop legal proceedings against the owner of the Bellagio resort and the Signature Condominiums towers and begin expedited arbitration over safety requirements. The union says 22 workers or dependent family members have died from COVID-19. MGM Resorts on Tuesday called the court filing frivolous. Culinary and bartenders unions didnt drop claims against Caesars Entertainment, operator of Harrahs Las Vegas, over measures at a restaurant there. ___ BRASILIA, Brazil Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro says he has had a third test to see if he is still infected with the coronavirus and that the result will be released Wednesday. Speaking to supporters gathered in front of the presidential residence Tuesday, Bolsonaro said, God willing, I will test negative. The president announced on July 7 that he had COVID-19, the disease that can be caused by the virus. On July 15, he said he had tested positive one more time. Bolsonaro says that if his latest test proves negative, he wants to travel Friday to the state of Piaui in northeastern Brazil. The head of Brazils Ministry of Regional Development is scheduled to visit the city of Floriano in that state to dedicate new housing and a sanitation system. ___ JACKSON, Wyo. -- Wyoming has approved a countywide mask mandate with some exceptions in Teton County during the coronavirus pandemic. The Jackson Hole News & Guide reported that State Health Officer Alexia Harrist signed the order Monday, hours after the Teton County Board of County Commissioners voted unanimously to approve a resolution for the mandate. Her signature was required to make the order law. The mandate is in effect through July 31. People who have a physical or mental health reason to not wear masks are exempt under the order and do not need to provide documentation. The mandate is intended to reduce the spread of COVID-19. ___ ATLANTA Georgia reported its second-highest daily count of deaths on Tuesday since the COVID-19 pandemic began, in what health officials said was a consequence of the elevated number of coronavirus infections the state has seen since June. The day a death is reported in Georgia is often not the day it occurs, and its not unusual to see a burst of deaths reported just after a weekend. But Tuesdays total of 78 was below only the 100 Georgia deaths reported on April 7. It is due in part to decreased reporting over the weekend, but just as weve seen increased cases and hospitalizations, we are seeing the number of deaths increase, also, wrote Department of Public Health spokesperson Nancy Nydam in an email. Nydam couldnt immediately say when the deaths reported Tuesday had happened. The numbers pushed Georgias 7-day and 14-day trend on deaths to their highest point since late June. ___ WASHINGTON President Donald Trump has resumed a starring role in the White Houses coronavirus briefings on Tuesday, returning to the podium in the press briefing room in hopes that he can shore up support for his administrations work amid flagging poll numbers. Trump says the administration is doing well with vaccine and therapeutic development. He says the country has learned so much about the disease, and my administration will stop at nothing to save lives and shield the vulnerable, which is so important. Trump also warns the virus outbreak will probably, unfortunately, get worse before it gets better - something I dont like saying about things, but thats the way it is. ___ ST. PAUL, Minn. Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz says the state is making progress in stemming coronavirus infections in the states long-term care facilities. Walz and state health officials cite a dramatic drop in deaths and new cases of COVID-19 at nursing homes and other facilities over the last two months. Residents of long-term care facilities still make up the majority of coronvirus-related deaths in Minnesota, but officials say their interventions since mid-May have led to a significant drop in daily deaths and outbreaks in congregate care settings. We are certainly not taking a victory lap, Walz told reporters Tuesday. The key here was controlling infections. Officials scrambled to respond as deaths at long-term care facilities rose in late April and early May. Walz outlined a battle plan in early May that included expanded testing, more personal protective gear for health workers and ensuring adequate staffing levels when workers fall ill. Officials said Tuesday those collective efforts have worked. In early May, there were 23 facilities reporting new cases each day. That number is now about six per day, Minnesota Public Radio News reported. ___ BATON ROUGE, La. Louisiana hospital leaders are warning that efforts to combat the coronavirus outbreak could be hampered by conservative House Republicans push to revoke Gov. John Bel Edwards public health emergency declaration. The Louisiana Hospital Association is joining GOP House Speaker Clay Schexnayder in trying to discourage Republican lawmakers from signing a petition nullifying the Democratic governors virus response orders. The petition requires support from a majority of the House or Senate. Supporters say Edwards is crippling the economy with his restrictions. The hospital association argues removal of the emergency declaration would decrease health facilities ability to bring in nurses and doctors from other states, expand telemedicine services and increase bed capacity. At the height of the pandemic lockdown, the federal Liberals and the public service had a good thing going. In April, as COVID-19 was ripping through long-term-care homes and the everyday world of work and socializing had evaporated, politicians and bureaucrats were focused like a laser on doing whatever it takes to float the Canadian economy through the confinement. They collectively and quickly decided that the best recipe for that was to flow tens of billions of dollars through the simplest channels possible, directly into the hands of those most vulnerable. It worked until the politicians decided to get fancy. The $900-million student program that was eventually contracted out to WE Charity was anything but simple and direct. It was so laden with boxes to check and layered with multiple policy goals that it rivalled any boutique government program in the best of times. Even the most benign explanations for the complexity of the Canada Student Service Grant raise questions about the Liberals judgment ordering the public service to stand up the program with such haste. In House of Commons committee testimony last week, deputy minister of youth Gina Wilson described the task handed to her. They had to move fast so students would receive support in time for their summer break. They had to engage the not-for-profit sector, which was struggling under the weight of the pandemic. They had to design something that was easily accessible for all types of students under-represented demographics, minorities, rural, urban, from all parts of the country. Senior official Rachel Wernick went further, spelling out even more policy objectives that had been put on her list. There had to be a volunteer component, with financial rewards to help students pay their tuition and with built-in incentives to attract young people to the program. It had to enhance their workplace skills. It had to be set up to keep students safe from contagion. It needed oversight and support and resources. It had to take other government support funding into account so it wouldnt distort other programs. The prime minister had a keen interest in the file, as was obvious from testimony on Tuesday from the clerk of the Privy Council who briefed Justin Trudeau a few times on its progress. And it all had to be ready to roll in three weeks time. It became quickly evident that there was high ambition, Wernick said, referring to the politicians instructions. But think about what Wernicks department, Employment and Social Development, was doing at the same time. On March 16, just as the lockdown took hold, the department processed about 9,000 employment insurance claims a perfectly normal day, according to the deputy minister, Graham Flack, in a recent public discussion. On March 17, they processed 71,000 claims almost double the record from the worst day of the great financial crisis just over a decade ago. By March 24, that had risen to 267,000 claims in a day. Thousands of civil servants were supporting the processing, working from home and using a 46-year-old Cobalt computer system that usually takes nine months to adjust to even minor policy changes. So at the beginning of April, the government scrapped the old system, started up the Canada Emergency Response Benefit, which used existing Canada Revenue Agency systems to reach millions and millions of suddenly unemployed Canadians. The effort was astounding, and despite some overpayments that will have to be cleaned up over the next few months, it was largely successful in terms of keeping poverty at bay. When the dust settled, Flack spoke in June about how they pulled it off. The key, he said, was to keep policy as simple as possible and focus instead on what they were actually capable of delivering from an operations point of view. He had some words of warning for those policy-makers who dream up interesting solutions to public challenges without taking into account whether they can be effectively implemented with the tools at hand. Every time we are putting forward policy ideas, I want all of us to say: is this operationally feasible? Have we equipped our operations people with the tools that can actually successfully deliver this? And I think thats something that we as a policy community have abysmally failed over the years to donot to our credit. Great advice, except just a couple of days later, the prime minister announced that the incredibly complex program that he had ordered up in April was finally ready for launch, and would be administered by the high-profile, well-connected WE Charity the only organization, his government said, that was capable of delivering. We all know how that turned out. The prime minister and the finance minister are now the subjects of ethics investigations, the contract for WE Charity was cancelled, Parliament Hill is in a partisan uproar and students dont have their volunteer program yet. Even if you reject the opposition criticism that Trudeau meant to line the pockets of his friends with the contract and instead believe that the Liberals had the best of intentions when they set up the WE-run volunteer system, they clearly took leave of their senses on this one. They abandoned everything they had just learned about useful policy in a pandemic. After the crash, with trembling hands this country was forced to go to Europe in supplication. However you cut it, global collapse or not, Government decision-making had been wanting: lending reckless; borrowing unwise. So we were left genuflecting. Brussels insisted redemption could only come through penance and years of heavy austerity. We accepted the burdens of the chastened. After much sacrifice, a regeneration was achieved. But when the ignition of the global economy was switched off, and perfectly healthy businesses shut down, we were led to expect the unprecedented freeze-framing of financial activity would be met with a suite of responses - as befits such exceptional times. So when Taoiseach Micheal Martin went to Brussels four days ago, there were solid grounds for thinking Europe's leaders would upscale their thinking in the face of a crisis unlike any other in the modern era, Had not Mario Draghi, back in 2012, becalmed the storm, when he famously declared the ECB would do "whatever it takes to preserve the euro"? To therefore read of French President Emanuel Macron being driven to bang the table and threaten a walkout, was unsettling. His frustration at the need to plead and haggle, with the economies of the bloc on a cliff edge, was understandable, As EU Council president Charles Michel noted earlier, in an effort to win over the coalition of 'Frugals' - the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Finland - the human cost of the pandemic has been devastating. The 600,000 global death toll included 200,000 Europeans, after all. If ever there were a time for solidarity, surely it is now? But the fractious gathering forced him to pose the following question: "Are the 27 leaders responsible for the people of Europe capable of building European unity and trust? Or will we present the face of a weak Europe, undermined by mistrust?" He was not the only one left weighing up such troubling concerns. The sight of Hungary's hardline premier, Viktor Orban, accusing a fellow European leader of waging a personal vendetta against him will have done little to augment an image of a solid union in a time of emergency. The credibility of the bloc depended on sending out a confident message of strength and cohesion. Russia, China and Donald Trump's America will pounce on any sign of vulnerability as trade competition intensifies. The feeble faltering face displayed in recent days was anything but inspiring. German Chancellor Angela Merkel's announcement she will be departing the scene had created an opportunity for someone else to rise to the occasion and take a leadership role. But we are still waiting, As the Taoiseach said: "The prize is the opportunity for the EU to work to reboot and restart." But it ought not to have been so difficult. (Natural News) The Colorado city of Englewood, a suburb of Denver, has imposed a new mandate which is not a law, by the way requiring all residents and people who visit the city to wear something blocking their faces when outside the house, or else face lofty fines and a potential one-year jail sentence. Even as the Left screeches about defunding the police, mask-pushers everywhere are demanding that anyone who dares to show mouth and/or nose when in the presence of others be approached by the cops and harassed, fined or worse. In Englewood, the emergency order issued by City Manager J. Shawn Lewis and approved by the city council states that everyone over the age of six in Englewood will have to don a mask every time they leave their home, or else the police will come after them. The order states that face coverings are necessary in all retail and commercials businesses, as well as government offices, health care facilities and veterinary offices. People must also wear them while riding and waiting for public transportation such as buses, as well as inside taxis and other ride-sharing vehicles. Exemptions include people working in offices who are able to maintain at least six feet of distance from others, as well as those whose health is in any way inhibited or negatively affected by having a piece of cloth blocking their breathing passages. Workers with health issues that preclude them from wearing a Face Covering must document those concerns with their employer, the order goes on to state, indicating that employees in Englewood can also inform their employers of health concerns over mask-wearing in order to gain exemptions. Oh, so now we CANT abolish the police because we need them to enforce mask-wearing While it remains unclear whether or not the citys police department is actually enforcing this order, it does state that the department has the authority to impose penalties, including $15 fines for first offenses and $25 fines for second offenses. The order also indicates that a person can be charged with a maximum penalty of a fine up to $2,650, 360 days in jail, or potentially both. Any person charged with an offense under this Emergency Order may choose to enter a plea of not guilty and be entitled to trial as authorized by law in accordance with E.M.C. 1-7-4, the order further explains. Effective July 9, 2020, the order indicates that it shall remain in effect until rescinded by action of the City Council or the City Manager of the City of Englewood, though the legality of this type of indefinite decree remains questionable. While many will comply with it due to fear, others are likely to challenge this edict in court on constitutional grounds. Forcing people to obstruct their natural breathing as a condition of being allowed to move about in public and engage in commerce would seem to be far outside the bounds of government jurisdiction. It is also laughable that Democrats in support of such an order are simultaneously demanding the abolition of the very police systems that would be necessary to enforce it. Somehow the police are becoming essential once again now that the Left wants to make sure that everyone has a piece of cloth over their faces at all times. The city of Englewood is claiming that it has the authority to impose the order on the grounds that it is necessary for the protection of life and property, including, but not limited to, establishing regulations governing conduct related to the cause of the public health emergency. If any provision of this Order conflicts with any provision of the City of Englewood Municipal Code, or any provision of the City Councils Procedures and Rules of Order, this Emergency Order shall control, it concludes. More related news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is available at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: NYPost.com NaturalNews.com Since officials announced Georgia's first confirmed cases of COVID-19 on March 2, the state has drawn national attention over the coronavirus pandemic. It was one of the first states in the country to begin reopening its economy, and has since joined others in pausing its phased approach amid rising numbers of new cases and hospitalizations. Most recently, its Republican governor, Brian Kemp, has become engaged in a legal dispute with the mayor of Atlanta over mask mandates, which more states and cities have been issuing as coronavirus cases rise. As of Monday, Georgia had 145,575 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 3,176 deaths, according to state data. Hospitalizations have also steadily increased since mid-June. The state reported a record number of new COVID-19 cases on Saturday, with 4,689. Here's a look at some of the key moments in Kemp's handling of the coronavirus pandemic so far. Feb. 28 With COVID-19 spreading around the globe, including in the United States, Kemp announces the creation of a coronavirus task force to assess the state's preparedness in addressing the virus. March 2 In a late-night press conference, Kemp announces Georgia's first cases of COVID-19, involving two residents of Fulton County in the same household, one of whom had recently returned from Italy. The state health department later determines that Georgia had cases as early as Feb. 1. PHOTO: Governor Brian Kemp holds a press conference at the Georgia State Capitol in Atlanta, July 17, 2020. (Nathan Posner/REX via Shutterstock) March 12 The governor directs state agencies to implement teleworking policies and suspend nonessential travel for most state employees. The same day, the state reports its first death from COVID-19 -- a 63-year-old man who had underlying medical conditions. Later, the health department updates its data to report that the first death was on March 5. March 14 With 64 confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the state, Kemp declares a public health state of emergency. He also authorizes up to 2,000 National Guard troops to assist in the emergency response. March 16 Story continues Kemp signs an executive order closing all elementary, secondary and post-secondary public schools from March 18 to March 31. March 19 Per federal and state health officials, Kemp urges that the state start prioritizing COVID-19 tests "for our most vulnerable populations," first responders and healthcare workers, in an effort to conserve hard-to-find medical supplies. PHOTO: People stand in line to get tested for COVID-19 at a free walk-up testing site on July 11, 2020, in Atlanta. (Elijah Nouvelage/Getty Images) March 24 An executive order goes into effect closing all bars and nightclubs, banning gatherings of 10 or more people unless social distancing is in place, and requiring at-risk populations to shelter in place for two weeks. April 1 Schools are closed through the end of the school year. At a coronavirus press briefing, Kemp draws ridicule after saying that he only recently became aware that asymptomatic people could spread the virus. April 3 A statewide shelter-in-place order goes into effect, issued as the state reports more than 4,600 confirmed COVID-19 cases. MORE: Georgia NAACP leaders call on governor to keep shelter-in-place order April 8 Kemp signs executive orders extending Georgia's public health state of emergency through May 13 and activating 1,000 more National Guard troops. He also extends the statewide shelter-in-place order through the end of the month. April 13 The state expands testing criteria to include symptomatic critical infrastructure workers and asymptomatic people who have had direct contact with positive COVID-19 patients. In a statement, Kemp says, "Our testing numbers in Georgia continue to lag." MORE: Georgia governor wages legal war with Atlanta mayor over mask mandate The governor also signs an order suspending enforcement of Georgia's anti-mask statute "so people can follow the guidance of public health officials without fear of prosecution," Kemp says, adding, "I want to thank Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms for raising awareness about this issue." April 17 Kemp announces the completion of a 200-bed alternate care facility at the Georgia World Congress Center to provide treatment to non-critical COVID-19 patients. April 20 In the wake of new reopening guidelines released by the White House, Kemp announces that he will let his shelter-in-place order expire on April 30 and allow some nonessential businesses to reopen, starting with gyms, bowling alleys, hair salons, barbershops, nail salons and other similar businesses on April 24 and restaurant dine-in service on April 27. The move draws criticism, including from President Donald Trump, who says, "I think it's too soon." PHOTO: In this April 24, 2020, file photo, barber Tommy Thomas gives his long-time customer Fred Bentley a haircut after the Georgia governor allowed a select number of businesses to open during the COVID-19 restrictions in Atlanta. (Julio-Cesar Chavez/Reuters, FILE) April 30 On the day the statewide shelter-in-place order expires, Kemp extends the public health state of emergency through June 12 "to continue enhanced testing across Georgia, ramp up contact tracing, and maintain effective emergency response operations in every region." Vulnerable populations are also ordered to continue to shelter in place through June 12. May 28 The governor renews the state of emergency for a third time, through July 12. On the same day, he loosens public gathering restrictions up to 25 people and announces more reopenings, including bars and nightclubs starting June 1 and amusement parks and water parks starting June 12. June 11 Kemp rolls out more reopenings, including live performance venues starting July 1, and increases limitations on gatherings to up to 50 people with social distancing in place. June 29 Kemp extends the public health emergency through Aug. 11 as the state "has seen an increase in new cases reported and current hospitalizations." An ABC News analysis finds that Georgia has recently seen record numbers of new cases. MORE: Georgia's business owners split on whether reopening is worth the risk July 10 The governor announces he is reactivating the Georgia World Congress Center, which had discharged its last patient in late May. That day, the state reports a record number of new coronavirus cases, with 4,484. July 13 Three days after Bottoms announces that Atlanta is reverting to "Phase One" due to rising cases in the city, Kemp releases a statement that the action is "non-binding and legally unenforceable" and asks residents to follow his orders. PHOTO: Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms appears on 'Good Morning America,' July 7, 2020. (ABC News) July 15 Kemp voids at least 15 local mask mandates, including those in in Atlanta, Augusta, Savannah and Rome, instead encouraging voluntary mask wearing in the state. July 16 Kemp sues the city of Atlanta over its requirement to wear masks in public. "Governor Kemp must be allowed, as the chief executive of this state, to manage the public health emergency without Mayor Bottoms issuing void and unenforceable orders which only serve to confuse the public," the lawsuit states. What to know about the coronavirus: How it started and how to protect yourself: Coronavirus explained What to do if you have symptoms: Coronavirus symptoms Tracking the spread in the U.S. and worldwide: Coronavirus map Tune into ABC at 1 p.m. ET and ABC News Live at 4 p.m. ET every weekday for special coverage of the novel coronavirus with the full ABC News team, including the latest news, context and analysis. From reopenings to masks, how Georgia Gov. Kemp has handled the coronavirus pandemic originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Iraqis are showing little interest in remembering Saddams invasion of Kuwait three decades ago, but ignoring his legacy is dangerous On 2 August 1990, Saddam Hussein ordered his elite Republican Guard to storm into neighbouring Kuwait, claiming Iraq was answering a call from a group of revolutionary army officers in the tiny emirate that had overthrown the government. Although the Iraqi forces were driven out of Kuwait by a US-led international coalition seven months later, the invasion had devastating consequences for Iraq and established the Middle East as we know it today. Despite being banished almost entirely from public spaces and official narratives, the 30th anniversary of the adventure has made itself present in other ways throughout political life in Iraq, which is still paying the invasions heavy cost. Nonetheless, Saddams invasion of Kuwait still raises many puzzling questions. What would have happened if Saddam had not invaded Kuwait? What if Saddam had seized part of the disputed border instead of occupying the entire emirate? What if Saddam had won the war that was waged to expel him from Kuwait? But while these remain what if questions, a less hypothetical question is why did the former dictator, the leader of an already oil-rich country that had just emerged from a long and debilitating war with Iran, invade Kuwait in the first place, and why did he resist a peaceful resolution to the conflict and persist in a war-fighting strategy? The conventional wisdom holds that Saddam invaded Iraqs southern neighbour after he accused it and the United Arab Emirates of increasing their oil production to lower prices, which he blamed for drastically cutting Iraqs badly needed revenues. Yet, the reasons for Saddams invasion of Kuwait have also been explained by several other factors, including the inconclusive outcome of the Iraq-Iran War that ended in 1988 and fears of the immense military power that Saddam had built up during the eight-year war despite its misery and destruction. But while those were the immediate factors that may have triggered Iraqs invasion of Kuwait, historical forces, whether real or imaginary, also played a major role in developing the crisis and consequently the threats that led to the war. Historically, Iraq had always had issues with Kuwait, which successive Iraqi governments since the modern state of Iraq came into being in 1923 had declined to accept in its British-drawn borders that established it as a separate sheikhdom after the signature of the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of 1913. While resistance to the border demarcation and squabbles over islands covering access to Iraqs Gulf ports came from successive regimes in Iraq, some Iraqis also claimed that Kuwait itself belonged to Iraq. Saddams initial response to the conflict in 1990 was to emphasise Kuwaits alleged encroachments along the 80-mile border and its allegedly unlawful drilling of oil wells in Iraqs southern oil fields, thus causing Iraqis to face starvation. In geostrategic and historical terms, these allegations prompted the crisis with Kuwait to overshadow immediate factors and made the explosion of a territorial dispute into conflict inevitable. While decision-making depends largely on the skills and judgement of those in power, in a totalitarian state that lacks democratic institutions it is usually the personal qualities and mental capacity of the leader that determine failure or success. As supreme commander with ultimate military and political authority in Iraq, Saddam had the final say on any subject in which he took an interest, making his choices and decision-making strategy crucial. There is no shortage of evidence to suggest that Saddams decisions during the crisis were dictated by his instincts and driven by a personality characterised by grandiosity and paranoid retaliatory behaviour. Like many other despots, Saddam suffered from a personality disorder characterised by a long-term pattern of an exaggerated ego, an excessive need for admiration, and a lack of empathy towards subordinates and people in general. Saddam was always known to be harbouring dreams of glory propelled by a personality cult manifested in the image of an idealised leader, lavish celebrations, a massive propaganda machine and countless giant images and statues across the country. His war with Iran was called Saddams Qadissiya after the Arabs early victory over the Persian Sasanian Empire in the 7th century CE in Qadissiya in southern Iraq. Throughout the crisis over Kuwait that came to a head in early 1990, Saddams malignant narcissism was evident. At each stage, questions were raised about his decision-making capacities and whether he had the relevant expertise to engage in a war with a superpower like the United States. Saddams narcissistic tendencies made him an extraordinarily easy person to be manipulated by his foes, and these became his greatest point of weakness along with his tendency to confuse reality with what he wanted to be true. Having covered the conflict and the subsequent invasion, this writer has long argued that Saddam led himself into a quagmire by shunning any sensible and prudent policy that could have avoided fighting an unwinnable war. Saddams being out of touch with political reality meant that he was easily guided by intuition in his decision-making and susceptible to manipulation and deception. For much of the crisis that preceded the invasion, Saddam was pushed into a corner where his moves could be directed through remote control or some kind of telepathy (whatever that meant in parapsychology) by his adversaries. Intelligence analysts from Washington to London and Paris were more or less aware of all this after working to analyse Saddams personality and understand how much this affected his leadership style, perceptions and decision-making. They studied his mind through his hundreds of public speeches, briefings they received from diplomats and officials who had met him, and his body language, and through their resulting mind control they steered him in a certain direction or controlled his perceptive processes. This was the kind of analysis that was apparently made available to policy-planners in the lead up to the conflict, with recommendations being made to push Saddam forward and then let him dig his own grave, allowing Saddams enemies to exonerate themselves from the ensuing tragedy. While covering the Kuwait crisis in 1990-1991 for an international news agency in Baghdad, the idea of a trap having been set for Saddam alarmed me, but at the same time I was daunted by the international diplomacy, or the lack of it, that was apparently trying to stop Saddam from invading Kuwait. There were public protests, but there were no attempts to talk Saddam into a negotiated solution to the crisis or to offer him some carrot that could prevent the invasion, a policy possibly influenced by the failure of the British to stop Nazi leader Adolf Hitler from beginning World War II. There was plenty of evidence that some statements by Western leaders like then British prime minister Margaret Thatcher were deliberately made to humiliate Saddam and to make him refuse mediation and any compromise. The narrative that Kuwait, Washington and their allies had failed to anticipate Iraqs incursion into Kuwait despite Saddams repeated threats and the massive troop buildup on the border was seen as awkward by observers, including myself, who had been watching the situation on the border closely. In my attempts to write a journalistic first draft of the history of the conflict, including reporting on Saddams threats and the military buildup, I was approached by Kuwaits ambassador in Baghdad at the time, Ibrahim Jassim Al-Bahu, who wanted to pick my brain on the escalation. My assessment that the Iraqi invasion was inevitable was included in Al-Bahus 1995 testimony to a Kuwaiti parliamentary committee probing the invasion, though he attributed it to observers in Baghdad. In memoirs written by Arab officials such as then Saudi oil minister Hisham Nazir and then Syrian foreign minister Farouk Al-Sharaa we are also told that Saddams invasion was widely expected and that Kuwait was confident that it would be helped by its friends to kick Saddam out when it happened. Indeed, Saddams enemies spearheaded by the United States perceived the Iraqi dictators threats to be not only a challenge but also an opportunity to undermine his regime and get rid of a leader whose defiance had risen another notch in its intensity. By making himself a power beyond Iraq and making his dream of Arab leadership be taken seriously, Saddam was starting to be portrayed as another Gamal Abdel-Nasser, the former Egyptian leader who championed anti-Western and anti-Israeli policies. The Gulf crisis represented an opportunity for the Western nations and their Arab allies to reject the Iraq-dominated Middle East they feared Saddam was trying to impose and work instead for one based on the traditional balance of power. Rather than let Saddam off the hook, this alliance of necessity wanted to shift the regional balance of power in accordance with changes expected to occur as a result of the crisis. This required a carefully crafted approach to annihilate Iraqs power, erode its strategic and moral position and produce the conditions for a new regional order in the name of raison detre. To me it became crystal clear when I heard former Japanese prime minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, in Baghdad at the time in an effort to defuse the crisis, urging then PLO chairman Yasser Arafat on 20 November 1990 to tell Saddam that Iraq would be sent back to the pre-industrial age if he did not withdraw from Kuwait. Iraqs 13 years of isolation and UN sanctions, bombings, two wars, occupation and a prolonged conflict that have cost the country dearly in terms of human lives lost and material destruction since cannot be considered as the unintended consequences of the anti-Saddam campaign. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Yunindita Prasidya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 08:10 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f8bd7 1 Business jakarta-composite-index,JCI,Indonesia-Stock-Exchange,IDX,stock-market,banking-industry Free The benchmark Jakarta Composite Index (JCI) recovery will depend on the performance of banking stocks, analysts have said, while reports have shown that banks will continue to face challenges navigating a volatile COVID-19-driven environment. The JCI [recovery] will depend on the banking sector, Jemmy Paul Wawointana, president director of Sucor Asset Management, whose assets under management (AUM) stood at Rp 11.6 trillion (US$791.37 million) as of June, said during a webinar on July 14. The financial [sector] makes up almost 40 percent of the indexs market capitalization, he added. The finance sector, under which banking stocks are grouped on the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), has lost 19.31 percent of its value so far this year, the fourth-best performer on the bourse, while the JCI plunged 19.82 percent during the period. The economic uncertainties caused by the COVID-19 pandemic have led investors to dump risky assets and resort to safe havens. Stocks markets in emerging economies, such as Indonesia, have seen hefty capital outflows since March. The Indonesian bourse market capitalization had depleted to Rp 5.85 quadrillion as of Monday from Rp 7.26 quadrillion at the end of last year as foreign investors dumped Rp 17.16 trillion worth of stocks more than they bought so far this year, according to IDX data. But by looking at the valuation [of the banking stocks] and by them having the biggest market capitalization, they should be the first option for foreign investors when reentering Indonesia, Jemmy said. Indonesian banks, he went on to say, had shown better development in terms of net profits and net interest margin (NIM) in the past five to 10 years compared with banks in the United States and China, making Indonesian banks attractive assets for global investors to invest in. Banks in the US and China booked on average an NIM of 2.5 percent, while Indonesian banks recorded an average of 3.5 to 4 percent, which indicates higher profitability. However, he acknowledged that this profit margin could potentially fall to a level of 3 percent as a result of the pandemic as Indonesian banks net profit growth slowed, even contracted, during this years first quarter. The countrys largest bank by asset value, state-owned Bank Rakyat Indonesia, saw a 0.3 percent annual contraction in its net profits to Rp 8.17 trillion in this years first three months. Indonesias largest private bank, Bank Central Asia (BCA), recorded net profit growth of 8.6 percent yoy in the period, lower than the 10.1 percent growth booked in the first quarter of last year. In a research note published on May 29, Moodys Investors Service financial institutions group analyst Tengfu Li wrote that Indonesian banks would see their asset quality and profitability deteriorate because of the coronavirus, but their capital and liquidity would remain strong, providing ample buffers to absorb the financial stress. Mirae Asset Sekuritas Indonesia expressed a similar view to Jemmy, saying the JCI gain of 3.2 percent month-on-month (mom) in June was mainly propped up by a rebound in the finance sector. The finance sector increased by 10.1 percent mom, supported by the better results from the top-four banks because of rising optimism that the relaxation of the large-scale social restrictions marked Indonesias passing of the hardest blow to its economy, Mirae analysts Hariyanto Wijaya and Emma A Fauni wrote in a report published on July 12. And as the market begins to price in the recovery in the coming quarters, banks are perceived to be among the sectors that might recover most quickly, the report says. Mirae Asset Sekuritas has revised its end-of-year JCI target to 5,400 from its previous 5,180. Although there should be high volatility in the JCI during its recovery, we think the recent recovery should be sustainable, and the March level of the JCI at 3,937 should be the rock bottom for the JCI in 2020, the report reads. The JCI slipped 0.56 percent on Monday to 5,051.11 dragged down by drops in the stock prices of BRI, diversified conglomerate PT Astra International and state-owned Bank Mandiri. Jemmy forecast the JCI would close at 5,500 this year, propped up by local investors as opposed to foreign ones. A wind-driven brush fire in Contra Costa County grew to 75 acres and prompted evacuations on Monday evening, officials said. The Holland Fire was 65% contained around 7:15 p.m., according to the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District. Fire officials evacuated homes near the Brentwood Marina in Knightsen at 6 p.m. while firefighters from multiple agencies tackled the blaze, the agency said. The fire grew to more than 20 acres in two hours and then more than tripled in size due to severe winds, officials said. Three engines from the East Contra Costa Fire Protection District responded to a 5-acre blaze around 2:15 p.m. near Tranquility Bay and Holland Tract roads. The crew provided protection to one structure that was threatened. 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. Check back for updates. Anna Bauman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @abauman2 Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald raised her concerns with the green list in the Dail (Brian Lawless/PA) Taoiseach Micheal Martin has said the Irish Government cannot support the Occupied Territories Bill, as it is not legally possible to implement. The Bill would ban imports from illegal Israeli settlements in Palestinian territories. Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said his opposition to the Bill is not political, but based on clear legal advice from the former attorney general. The issue of the bill was a sticking point in government formation talks in recent weeks, and was removed from the programme for government at the behest of Fine Gael. Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald called on the Irish Government to recognise the state of Palestine and accept the Occupied Territories Bill. Speaking in the Dail on Tuesday, she said: You have the power here to recognise the State of Palestine. As you know, that matter was settled and agreed by the Oireachtas six years ago. Im saying to you as Taoiseach do it. Do it while there still is a Palestinian State to recognise. Ms McDonald said the Bill is a game changer and said the Taoiseach should lead the way on the issue. Testy exchanges between Taoiseach Micheal Martin and Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald over the Occupied Territories Bill. The next time youre on Capitol Hill and your party is on Capitol Hill, you should raise it. Im not too sure you do, says Martin. Aine McMahon (@AineMcMahon) July 21, 2020 She said: On the Occupied Territories Bill, you know fine well there has been a strong push back against this legislation because it would be ground breaking, because it would change in diplomatic and legal terms how the issue of the occupation and the economy of the occupation which the Israeli state has carefully fostered. Ms McDonald criticised the decision to exclude the Bill from the Programme for Government. When I asked one of the Green Party TDs what happened to the bill they answered in two words Simon Coveney. Mr Martin replied: It is not legally possible to do it. The advices (sic) are there and they are quite substantial. In terms of the bill itself lets be very clear. I met with the advocates and principals behind the bill. No one ever said to me that it was going to be a game changer. Lets keep it in perspective and lets keep some reality to this no one said it would be a game changer. Mr Martin said the Irish Government needs to take a stand in relation to any proposals by the Israeli government to anexe more lands. I know it has not happened yet but there is significant opposition to that, he said. I think the issue of the recognition of the Palestinian state is an issue that is on the agenda for the Programme for Government. He said Ms McDonald and her party should raise the issue the next time they are in the United States, adding: The next time youre on Capitol Hill and your party is on Capitol Hill, you might raise it with Congressmen and senators there. When you go to the United States I dont get any sense that you raise this with the same degree of commitment as here in the House. Thats my sense of it. Mr Martin said the Irish Government is committed to the two-state solution. He added: I think Israeli Government policy is wrong and Israeli government policy is not conducive to the two-state solution or better relationships. Ultimately, people have to live together and they have to share that territory ultimately. New Delhi, July 20: The race for COVID-19 vaccine, between countries with significant pharmaceutical players, is entering into its final lap. The United Kingdom and Russia are both targeting to become the first nation to unveil the vaccine for public use amid the pandemic. China, India and the United States are also gearing up their efforts for a timely release of the likely "silver bullet" against coronavirus. Here are the major updates from across the world. Oxford-AstraZeneca: The AZD1222 candidate being developed by the University of Oxford, in coordination with pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca, was found on Monday to be "completely successful" in phase 3 of the clinical trials. The vaccine would be rolled out in the UK and most parts of Europe by September. The government has ordered a production of 100 million doses in the initial round. Russia's Candidate: The vaccine being developed by Gamalei National Research Centre for Epidemiology and Microbiology, in partnership with the Russian Defence Ministry, will be released next month. The Russian health minister claimed that the vaccine would be rolled out before finishing the third and final phase of trials. Covaxin in Clinical Trial Stage: India's leading vaccine candidate, being developed by Bharat Biotech, is in the clinical trial stage. The phase 1 of trials is underway at the AIIMS, the country's premier medical institute in Delhi. The rollout of vaccine is expected by next year or early 2021. Sinovac Testing in Bangladesh: China's leading vaccine contender is undertaking the third and final stage of trials in Bangladesh. Nearly 4,200 volunteers have been registered across seven major hospitals of the nation. Moderna in Phase-3: The mRNA candidate of Moderna Therapeutics is also undergoing the third phase of clinical trials. The trial results are reported as "encouraging" and the company is hopeful of launching the vaccine by 2020-end. Globally, the pandemic has infected more than 14.6 million persons. Over 609,000 deaths were recorded till July 20, with the numbers rapidly increasing. The three worst-affected countries ae the US, Brazil and India. (The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 20, 2020 08:34 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com). This year's season of MasterChef Australia has proven to be a recipe for success. The finale of the cooking competition was the most-watched program on Monday night, reaching an impressive two million viewers nationally. The episode had a metro audience of 1.523 million, as well as a regional viewership of 477,000. Victory is sweet! MasterChef has beaten Married At First Sight to become the most-watched finale of the year, with more than two million viewers. Pictured: MasterChef's Emelia Jackson The actual winner announcement attracted 1.261 million metro viewers and 383,000 regional viewers. MasterChef's season 12 premiere had drawn more than 1.22 million viewers in April, and the series continued to dominate the ratings throughout its run. Making Channel 10's ratings coup even sweeter, MasterChef has overtaken Nine's once-unbeatable Married At First Sight as the most-watched reality show finale of 2020. Ratings triumph: Making Channel 10's ratings coup even sweeter, MasterChef has overtaken Nine's once-unbeatable Married At First Sight as the most-watched reality show finale of 2020. Pictured: MAFS participant Stacey Hampton Married At First Sight had reached a slightly lower national audience of 1.95 million when its season seven finale aired back in April. By contrast, The Voice finale on Sunday night had 1.24 million viewers nationally. Seven's MKR: The Rivals, meanwhile, had a disappointing national average of 873,000 for its finale in March. Falling short: By contrast, The Voice finale on Sunday night had 1.24 million viewers nationally. Pictured: The Voice 2020 winner Chris Sebastian Monday's ratings victory also reflects the undeniable popularity of MasterChef's new judges, Jock Zonfrillo, Melissa Leong and Andy Allen. The trio replaced former hosts Matt Preston, Gary Mehigan and George Calombaris, who were dumped by the network in July 2019 over a pay dispute. Melissa, Jock and Andy recently confirmed they would be returning for MasterChef's thirteenth season as well as Junior MasterChef. PORTLAND, Ore. Fueled by a wide array of grievances, including against police brutality, protests have rocked Portland for eight weeks, persisting even as demonstrations have waned in many other parts of the country since the killing of George Floyd in police custody in Minneapolis. The city has also become a target of President Trump, who has embraced a law-and-order message in his re-election campaign. While federal officers were deployed to Portland ostensibly to quell unrest and protect federal property, their arrival has galvanized the protest movement, with the numbers of protesters each night swelling into the thousands. Early on Sunday, protesters knocked down a fence surrounding the federal courthouse that has been a focus of the protests, and federal agents used tear gas to disperse them. The Portland Police Bureau also got involved, declaring that the protest had become a riot. New groups of demonstrators have been drawn to the scene, including military veterans who joined the front lines of the protests as a Wall of Vets on Friday, saying they were there to make sure federal officers did not infringe on the free speech of protesters. The Wall of Moms in Portland has grown to include hundreds of women in yellow shirts linking arms, and a Wall of Dads in orange shirts has included some using leaf blowers to push tear gas away from the crowds. Many nurses showed up on Saturday in blue scrubs. The Non-State Actors for Health and Development (NSA-Ghana) has appealed to the Government, to as a matter of urgency, intervene to ensure adequate availability of antiretroviral (ARV) medications for persons living with HIV and AIDS (PLHIVs). The NSA-Ghana, said their checks around the country and with PLHIVs had shown that there was currently shortages in the ARVs, the medicines people infected with HIV depend on to live. The ARVs is also said to help halt the spread of HIV if used as Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). A statement issued and copied to the Ghana News Agency in Accra by the NSA-Ghana and signed by Mrs Cecelia Senoo, its Spokesperson, said all the COVID-19 gains that Ghana had attained including being one of the few countries that had emerged as having dealt with the pandemic effectively, would be eroded if strategic efforts were not made to increase supply of the ARVs in the country. Cited multiple times by key entities including the World Health Organization (WHO) for this and having taken the bold decision to lift partial lockdown when many would not have, Ghana showed both boldness and effectiveness in managing the COVID-19 crisis. Unfortunately the gains will be overshadowed if the country does not act swiftly to address an equally important matter, namely, the unavailability of adequate supply of Anti Retro Viral medicines. ARVs are not only life-saving medicines for persons living with HIV but they are equally important in halting the spread of HIV when used as both Post Exposure Prophylaxis (PEP) and Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP). Therefore, adequate supply of these commodities cannot under any circumstances be compromised, the statement explained. The NSA-Ghana explained that the country had been managing its HIV epidemic with ongoing support from two main donors to HIV programming in Ghana, namely, the Global Fund for AIDS, TB, Malaria (GF-ATM) and the Presidents Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief, (PEPFAR). These support have enabled the country to continue to make strides in its effort to reaching epidemic control by 2030. Unfortunately, despite all these strides, a major hurdle continues to stand in the way of ensuring the last mile to reaching HIV epidemic control is achieved and this is the inability of the government of Ghana to adhere to its co-financing obligations in a timely manner. The NSA-Ghana said the co-financing obligation amongst others, required the government to procure a certain number of commodities within a Global Funds grant cycle, commodities that include life-saving medicines or ARVs. It said for some time now, Ghana, had not been able to adequately fulfil the obligation and as a result, not only do we sometimes experience periods of extremely low stocks of ARVs, but we totally run out of them. The consequences of shortages in ARVS may lead to drug resistance building up in persons living with HIV, which also could lead to potential deaths. There would be difficulties in enrolling newly identified PLHIV onto treatment, while the HIV programming gains made over the years would be negatively impacted. Evidence based strategies that were to help the country reach HIV epidemic control could not be implemented while donors would lose trust in the country, which could also lead to drastic reduction of their support to Ghana, creating a credibility crisis. Having showcased leadership in other areas as well as the boldness needed to take on challenges for the good of Ghanaians, the government equally needs to ensure that the country can take control of its HIV epidemic by remaining a serious partner to its key donors such that adequate supply of HIV commodities is assured at all times to save lives and to contribute effectively to the last mile in reaching HIV epidemic control. Government must issue letters of credit to suppliers to ensure the immediate delivery of commodities that were to have been procured in December 2019, the statement said. NSA-Ghana is a national level advocacy network, consisting of corporations, media organizations, private businesses, lobby groups, religious groups, traditional leaders and non-governmental organizations whose vision and mission, is to have improved health outcomes for the majority of Ghanaians especially the marginalized and vulnerable. Meanwhile, a World Health Organization (WHO) survey has shown that 73 countries are facing risks of running out of antiretroviral (ARV) medicines due to pandemic-related issues, the organization announced. Of those countries, 24 said they either have critically low amounts of ARV drugs or have encountered disruptions in obtaining them. The WHO said that last year, an estimated 8.3 million people had access to ARVs in those countries, which accounted for approximately 33 percent of all people on HIV treatments globally. A failure of suppliers to deliver ARVs on time and a shut-down of land and air transport services, coupled with limited access to health services within countries as a result of the pandemic, were among the causes cited for the disruptions in the survey, the WHO 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 Advertisement With lockdown having eased all over the UK, Britons are flocking to the country's beaches. But mostly to the same ones. For those looking for a more tranquil and secluded beach experience, here's a list of off-the-radar gems. The list has been drawn up by bathroom retailer showerstoyou.co.uk, which set about looking for beautiful UK beaches that have low numbers of Instagram hashtags - indicating they are not visited by many people. Included in the list is a secluded cove off the coast of Northumberland, a golden sandy stretch in the Scottish Highlands and a Devon beach near a waterfall. Scroll down to discover the secret sandy spots, which are ranked below from the most to the least hashtagged... so as you scroll, they becoming increasingly secret. DRIGG BEACH, CUMBRIA - 658 INSTAGRAM HASHTAGS: Drigg Beach is best known for its colossal dunes, which are a designated Site of Special Scientific Interest because of the rare plants and flowers that grow on them TRAETH LLYFN, PEMBROKESHIRE - 583 HASHTAGS: Traeth Llyfn beach is located next to the villages of Porthgain and Abereiddi and surrounded by towering cliffs. Visitors must clamber down steep metal steps to reach it TRAETH BYCHAN, ANGLESEY - 537 HASHTAGS. Traeth Bychan, which means 'small beach' in Welsh, is popular with watersports and fishing enthusiasts. This image is courtesy of Instagram user g_forbsie TRAETH MAWR, GLAMORGAN - 410 HASHTAGS: Located near the village of Wick, Traeth Mawr, which means 'big beach' in Welsh, lives up to its name when the tide is out and huge sandy stretches emerge FIDDEN BEACH, ISLE OF MULL - 319 HASHTAGS: Fidden Beach is best known for its bright white sand and rocky granite outcrops LANGAMULL BEACH, ISLE OF MULL - 314 HASHTAGS: Getting to this beach on the Isle of Mull isn't easy - it can only be accessed via a 30-minute walk from a car park between the villages of Calgary and Dervaig. But the mini hike is worth it SPEKES MILL MOUTH BEACH, DEVON - 299 HASHTAGS: Located on Devon's border with Cornwall, this alluringly rugged beach is known for its dramatic waterfall, which plummets down a 60ft (18-metre) cliff RUMBLING KERN, NORTHUMBERLAND - 244 HASHTAGS: Located near the village of Howick, Rumbling Kern is a small but perfectly formed beach that shelters behind cliffs that face inland from the North Sea PORTBEOR BEACH, CORNWALL - 188 HASHTAGS: This beach on Cornwall's Roseland Peninsula is surrounded by cliffs and can be reached via a 30-minute hike along the coastal path from the village of St Anthony GAMMON HEAD BEACH, DEVON - 153 HASHTAGS: This bewitching sandy cove is only accessible on foot and disappears at high tide SINCLAIR'S BAY, SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS - 142 HASHTAGS: This sandy stretch is located near the town of Wick in Caithness. The beach is also known locally as Reiss Beach SHEPHERD'S CHINE, ISLE OF WIGHT - 86 HASHTAGS: This sand and shingle beach can be found on the south-west coast of the Isle of Wight WEST VOE, SHETLAND - 52 HASHTAGS: Located on the southern tip of Shetland, West Voe is right next to Sumburgh Airport. This picture is courtesy of Creative Commons licensing STRATHY BAY, SCOTTISH HIGHLANDS - 27 HASHTAGS: Situated on the north Sutherland coast, Strathy Bay is 'bounded by cliffs on one side and the River Strathy on the other', explains VisitScotland COVES HAVEN, HOLY ISLAND - FOUR HASHTAGS: This secret beach is located on the north side of Holy Island (Lindisfarne) off the coast of Northumberland and surrounded by high dunes WASHINGTONJohn Lewis was an American civil rights giant. Until his death from pancreatic cancer late last week, he was the last surviving leader who spoke at Martin Luther Kings famed March on Washington, was one of the original Freedom Riders who helped force the desegregation of the south, a man whose savage beating by a police officer in Alabama on Bloody Sunday in 1965 is credited with galvanizing support for the Voting Rights Act that was sent to Congress eight days later. When Lewis snubbed President Donald Trumps inauguration in 2017, the president taunted the civil-rights-hero-turned-Representative: All talk, talk, talk no action or results. Sad! The contrast with history verged on parody: Lewis was an action figure come to life (his life story was literally told in a comic book), a man arrested dozens of times, imprisoned and beaten by police repeatedly helping shape the course of modern American history. Our great nations history has only bent towards progress because great men like John Lewis took it upon themselves to help bend it, Mitch McConnell, the Republican Senate leader no political ally of Lewis said in a statement after Lewis died on July 17 at the age of 80. As the tributes poured in from past presidents and current leaders, Trump joined in, ordering flags flown at half-mast and offering thoughts and prayers for the family of a civil rights hero. Early this week, Americans were struggling to find appropriate ways to memorialize Lewis life. Candlelight vigils were held as Washington leaders debated whether his body could lie in state in the Capitol in the midst of a pandemic. Many are pushing to rename the bridge in Selma, Alabama where his head was cracked open by a troopers baton currently emblazoned with the name of a Confederate officer who was a Ku Klux Klan grand dragon in Lewis honour. Rep. Joyce Beatty suggested to the New York Times that a more active tribute was called for. Maybe we march in his honour? John came into existence marching. Why wouldnt we march behind him, as one way to say Rest in power? Beatty was expressing a growing sentiment that the real tribute to Lewis lifes work will not be in memorializing it but in carrying it on. Lewis himself, speaking on the legacy of his friend Martin Luther King in 2018, spoke of how to honour such work: When you see something that is not right, something that is not fair, something that is not just, you have a moral obligation to say something, to do something. You cannot be quiet. Much of Lewis activism in the 1960s focused on ensuring voting rights culminating in the Voting Rights Act that was meant to ensure Black Americans had franchise. In 2013, large sections of that legislation were struck down by the Supreme Court, and up until his death, Lewis was working to restore them through new legislation. Late last year, Lewis presided over A House of Representatives vote to pass the Voting Rights Advancement Act. There are forces in this country that want to keep American citizens from having a rightful say in the future of our nation. Thats why the VRA was gutted. We have to change that. We must change it and we will, Lewis said months before the vote. I am deeply and very concerned about the future of our democracy. It seems like the lights are about to go out. We must have the capacity and the ability to redeem the soul of this nation and set it on the right course. Yet that act appears doomed as the Senate led by the same Mitch McConnell who praised Lewis in the highest terms upon his death has failed to take it up. Early this week, a number of Democratic lawmakers have suggested the Senate finally pass that act in tribute to Lewis. Rep. Jim Clyburn told CNN, It should be the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Act of 2020. Thats the way to do it. Words may be powerful, but deeds are lasting. Meanwhile, as a man whose legacy was built on civil rights protests died, the largest civil rights protest movement in U.S. history continues in the streets. He lived to see it. One of Lewis last public appearances was at a rally at Black Lives Matter plaza in Washington, D.C. near the White House where protesters have clashed with police and military. Even as news of Lewis death spread on the weekend, it sat side-by-side with reports from Portland, Oregon, of unidentified federal paramilitary officers gassing and beating protesters and snatching them off the street in unmarked vans. Trump and his Homeland Security appointee have since claimed responsibility for the combat-fatigued immigration officers they claim are defending federal property from anarchist graffiti and vandalism. The local mayor and governor object to the presence of these forces, while Trump has promised to expand them to more cities, including immediately to Chicago. The response from protesters might have heartened Lewis: in Portland, protests have been growing larger in defiance of the federal troops, including hundreds of self-identified moms wearing yellow shirts who have been acting as a shield cloaking protesters from the federal agents. The moms have been gassed. Their numbers have continued to grow. On Monday in Portland, the crowd sang We Shall Overcome. Its a song Lewis said sustained him through beatings and arrests. It gave you a sense of faith, a sense of strength, to continue to struggle, to continue to push on. And you would lose your sense of fear, Lewis told NPR in 2013. In Congress, and in the streets, those claiming his legacy continue to struggle, continue to push on, fighting the same battles he waged. Causing good trouble, as he famously called it. Not talk talk talk, but action meant to lead to results. It may be as fitting a tribute as is possible. Read more about: CARROLLTON Nearly four months after being activated by the Illinois Air National Guard to provide legal support for Illinois COVID-19 response, Lt. Col. Matt Goetten was released from active duty on July 17. Goetten was one of nearly 2,000 Illinois Army and Air National Guardsmen activated since March to help fight the pandemic. His duty locations included Springfield and Chicago where he provided legal counsel to Illinois National Guard leaders and field units. Additionally, he collaborated with civilian agency counterparts on the domestic response. The deal, spearheaded by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France, was notable for its firsts. European countries will raise large sums by selling bonds collectively, not individually. And much of the money will go to hard-hit member nations as grants, not loans. Leaders agreed that the scale of the crisis required groundbreaking measures to ensure the E.U.s legitimacy, stability and prosperity. But the negotiations were notable for their rancor, and it was clear that the pooling of resources and sovereignty had come at a cost. At one point, Mr. Macron slapped the table and yelled at Chancellor Sebastian Kurz of Austria for impeding the deal, and for leaving the room to take a call. Details: Unusually for a German leader, Ms. Merkel sided with the blocs southern countries and did battle with the nations she once championed, the northern members less affected by the virus, which have been wary of the vast sums being discussed. Misplaced confidence: Our reporters explored how Europe became an epicenter of the pandemic. Experts say European leaders became complacent after containing the 2009 swine flu, scaling back stockpiles of gear and equipment and shifting to just in time contracts overlooking the possibility that a pandemic could disrupt global supply chains. PORTLAND, Ore. - He came to the protest with a question. He left with two broken bones in a confrontation with federal officers that went viral. Christopher David had watched in horror as videos surfaced of federal officers in camouflage throwing Portland Ore., protesters into unmarked vans. The 53-year-old Portland resident had heard the stories: protesters injured, gassed, sprayed with chemicals that tugged at their nostrils and burned their eyes. David, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and former member of the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps, said he wanted to know what the officers involved thought of the oath they had sworn to protect and defend the Constitution. So, he said, on Saturday evening, he headed to downtown Portland to ask them. That night's protests outside the federal courthouse - the 51st day of ongoing demonstrations - began with a line of local moms linking arms and demanding the federal agents stop targeting Portland kids. David, who had never attended a protest before, hung back and watched. He was trying to keep his distance, he said, as a host of health problems have made him especially vulnerable amid a still-raging coronavirus pandemic. He asked one woman when the feds would show up, but she said it was also her first protest since the Department of Homeland Security deployed tactical units from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to bolster protections for federal buildings and officers in the Pacific Northwest city. Just as he was about to leave, David said, the federal officers emerged. They rushed a line of protesters nearby, knocking protesters to the ground. David walked toward a gap in the line, calling out to the officers. "Why are you not honoring your oath?" he bellowed. "Why are you not honoring your oath to the Constitution?" An officer trained his weapon on David's chest as several agents pushed him, sending David stumbling backward. But he regained his center and tried again. Another agent raised his baton and began to beat David, who stood unwavering with his arms at his sides. Then another officer unloaded a canister of chemical irritant spray into David's face. That was all he could handle, David said, he turned and walked away, flipping off the federal forces as he went. A video taken by Portland Tribune reporter Zane Sparling that captures David's moment of resistance has, as of early Monday, been viewed nearly 9 million times. Unable to see from the chemicals burning his eyes and blurring his vision, David said, he stumbled into a cloud of gas that made him cough and retch. He found his way to a bench in the park, where a street medic aided him and eventually pulled him away from the advancing officers. At the hospital, he said, he learned his right hand had been broken in two places. In the time since, he has been hailed on social media as a hero. Some have dubbed him Portland's own man of steel, a defender of the city, an anti-fascist super-soldier. David said he is none of those things. "It's just us normal people out there," he said. "There were a whole group of pregnant moms standing out there linking arms and they got gassed. You hear people like [President] Trump say it's just a bunch of wacko fringe people in liberal cities who are out there, but no way. We're all just normal people who think what's happening is wrong." The upcoming season of Grey's Anatomy will take on the current coronavirus pandemic. Krista Vernoff, the executive producer of the long running ABC drama, revealed that the show's writers are already in talks with doctors learn more about their experiences dealing with COVID-19. Vernoff discussed the future storylines during a Television Academy panel, Quaranstreaming: Comfort TV That Keeps Us Going, which will air on Emmys.com Tuesday evening. COVID-19: The upcoming season of Grey's Anatomy will take on the current coronavirus pandemic according to executive producer Krista Vernoff who added that the show writers are already meeting with real doctors on the front lines 'We're going to address this pandemic for sure,' Vernoff said according to People. 'There's no way to be a long-running medical show and not do the medical story of our lifetimes.' Krista was joined on the upcoming panel by two of Grey's biggest stars, Chadra Wilson who plays Dr. Miranda Bailey and Kevin McKidd who plays Dr. Owen Hunt. McKidd's character will likely play a pivotal role in the future coronavirus story arcs as his Dr. Hunt is a former U.S. Army trauma surgeon. 'That's been one of our big conversations about Owen, is that he's actually trained for this in a way that most of the other doctors aren't,' Vernoff said. Coming soon: Vernoff discussed the future storylines during a Television Academy panel, Quaranstreaming: Comfort TV That Keeps Us Going, which will air on Emmys.com Tuesday evening The 'really painful' true experiences of the actual doctors on the front lines of the crisis are more like war than what the staff writers on Grey's are used too. 'Every year, we have doctors come and tell us their stories, and usually they're telling their funniest or craziest stories,' Vernoff said. 'It has felt more like therapy,' she added. 'The doctors come in and we're the first people they're talking to about these types of experiences they're having. 'They are literally shaking and trying not to cry, they're pale, and they're talking about it as war a war that they were not trained for.' 'The doctors come in and we're the first people they're talking to about these types of experiences they're having,' she explained. 'They are literally shaking and trying not to cry, they're pale, and they're talking about it as war a war that they were not trained for.' The Shonda Rhimes series starring Ellen Pompeo as the titular Dr. Meredith Grey premiered in 2005. Over the course of its 16 seasons, the show has taken on every sort of ripped-from-the-headlines trauma like mass shootings, plane crashes and overdoses. 'I feel like our show has an opportunity and a responsibility to tell some of those stories,' Vernoff said. 'Our conversations have been constantly about how do we keep alive humor and romance while we tell these really painful stories.' Production for the next season of the medical drama has been postponed due to the pandemic with no current plan in place to resume. Stream season 1-16 of Grey's Anatomy on Netflix, or seasons 1-13 on Stan in Australia. Bayer to reward growers to generate carbon credits by adopting climate-smart practices and creating a new revenue stream on-farm The initiative makes Bayer the first company to develop a transparent, science-based and collaborative approach to a carbon market in agriculture Agriculture may now have another solution to positively impact climate change thanks to a new initiative launched by Bayer. Beginning this month, Bayer will start rewarding farmers in Brazil and the U.S. for generating carbon credits by adopting climate-smart practices such as no-till farming and the use of cover crops designed to help agriculture reduce its carbon footprint and greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Bayer's industry-leading Carbon Initiative is the result of years of work validating a science-based approach and methodology to make this happen. It recognizes the pivotal role growers and their land can play in helping to create lasting, positive environmental impacts and is the latest in the company's sustainability commitments specifically aimed at reducing field GHG emission by 30% in 2030. "Farmers are passionate environmentalists and stewards of the lands they farm," said Brett Begemann, Chief Operating Officer of Bayer's Crop Science division. "Their lives and livelihoods depend on the weather, and they are some of the first to be affected by drought, flooding and extreme conditions. If anyone has a vested interest in battling climate change, it's farmers and we are committed to developing new business models like this unique Carbon Initiative to help them in that fight." Soil is one of the most effective ways of sequestering carbon. Incentivizing farmers to embrace no-till, precision nitrogen use or cover crops helps further sequester carbon into the soil, reduce fossil fuel usage and reduce greenhouse gases. While today farmers get rewarded solely for their food, feed and fiber production, those participating in the Bayer Carbon Initiative will have the opportunity to be rewarded for their best farm management practices and other sustainability efforts as well. The program's 2020/2021 season will include approximately 1,200 farmers in Brazil and the U.S. In both countries, farmers will receive assistance in implementing climate-smart agricultural practices and Bayer will acquire the carbon removals created by those practices at transparent prices. The company is also collaborating with partners such as Embrapa in Brazil to build a viable carbon market for farmers. Bayer plans to expand the program in the U.S. and Brazil to other farmers and then later into other world regions with tailored approaches that will allow growers to choose what climate-smart practices and implementation works best for them. In Europe, we are exploring how this innovative approach could be adapted as part of the European Green Deal. In Asia-Pacific, our goal is to help increase productivity for smallholder farmers as well as reduce methane emissions from rice farming. "We know that growers in the U.S. are not only good stewards of their land, but also shrewd businessmen, too," said Lisa Safarian, President of Bayer Crop Science, North America. "That's why this initiative is so exciting enabling farmers to realize additional financial benefit from carbon-smart farming practices such as the use of cover crops or no-till agriculture." "We are excited to partner with farmers through this new Bayer Carbon Initiative," Begemann added. "We're honored to take this major step with farmers to create a carbon-zero future for agriculture, an important legacy that we can create with farmers to leave to the next generation." About Bayer Bayer is a global enterprise with core competencies in the life science fields of health care and nutrition. Its products and services are designed to benefit people by supporting efforts to overcome the major challenges presented by a growing and aging global population. At the same time, the Group aims to increase its earning power and create value through innovation and growth. Bayer is committed to the principles of sustainable development, and the Bayer brand stands for trust, reliability and quality throughout the world. In fiscal 2019, the Group employed around 104,000 people and had sales of 43.5 billion euros. Capital expenditures amounted to 2.9 billion euros, R&D expenses to 5.3 billion euros. For more information, go to www.bayer.com. Find more information at www.bayer.com. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005730/en/ Contacts: Charla Lord, +1 314-343-7196 Email: charla.lord@bayer.com Brian Leake, +1 314-370-3285 Email: brian.leake@bayer.com MELBOURNE, Australia - Australias hot spot Victoria state on Tuesday reported 374 new cases of COVID-19, its second-highest daily tally. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews also announced three more deaths, bringing the national death toll to 126. Andrews said a lockdown in Australias second-largest city, Melbourne, which began two weeks ago, is having an impact. Youd like to see numbers coming down. At the end of the day though, were not seeing the doubling and doubling again of cases, Andrews said. So what that says to me ... is that the sorts of measures weve put in place are having a direct impact. Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said military personnel are helping Victorian health authorities deal with the growing caseload. Were still very much in the hard part of this fight, as you can see from the daily case numbers and Im not expecting that to change a lot in the short term, Morrison said. And we just need to keep working the problem. Tighter regulations will come into force on the Victoria-New South Wales border on Wednesday that will only allow border communities to cross for essential work, health and education reasons. Face masks will become compulsory from Thursday for residents in lockdown regions when they leave their homes. In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region: A surge of 37,140 new positive cases in the past 24 hours has taken Indias coronavirus caseload to 1,155,191. The Health Ministry on Tuesday also reported 587 deaths in the past 24 hours, taking total fatalities up to 28,084. The number of recoveries stand at 724,577. With a surge in virus cases in the past few weeks, state governments in India have been ordering focused lockdowns in high-risk areas to slow down the spread of infections. Indias top medical research body, the Indian Council for Medical Research, has asked the states to add more labs and enhance existing testing capacity. More than one in five people in Delhi have been infected with the coronavirus, according to a study released Tuesday, indicating that most cases in the Indian capital region have gone undetected. The National Center for Disease Control tested 21,387 people selected randomly across Delhi, the state that includes New Delhi, and found that 23.48% had antibodies to the virus. Adjusting for false positives and negatives, it estimated that 22.86% of the population had been infected by the virus, Dr. Sujeet Kumar Singh, who heads the institute, said in a news conference Tuesday. Delhi, with a population of 29 million, has officially reported just 123,747 cases and 3,663 deaths. The study indicates more than 6.6 million likely cases in the state, with most not tested or identified. Nepal will allow both domestic and international flights to resume beginning Aug. 17. The government hasnt decided what types of visitors will be allowed entry and from which countries. Flights were stopped in March when the country was in full lockdown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Only chartered and repatriation flights were allowed to fly out stranded tourists and return Nepalese workers from abroad. The government eased the lockdown last month. Schools are still closed and there are some restrictions on transit and travel. The country has 17,844 cases of virus infection and 40 deaths from COVID-19. Numbers of new cases in Chinas latest coronavirus outbreak fell on Tuesday, with just eight reported in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. Another three cases were brought from outside the country, according to the National Health Commission, bringing Chinas total to 83,693 with 4,634 deaths. Xinjiang cases have been concentrated in the regional capital of Urumqi, where around 50 people and possibly more have been infected. China responded swiftly to the Xinjiang outbreak by reducing subway, bus and taxi service in Urumqi, closing some communities, imposing travel restrictions and ordering widespread testing. Elsewhere in China, containment measures continue to be relaxed while mask wearing, temperature taking and social distancing remain the norm. South Koreas new virus cases have bounced back to above 40, a day after it reported its smallest daily jump in local COVID-19 transmissions in two months. The Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 45 new cases Tuesday, bringing the countrys total to 13,816 with 296 deaths. The agency says 20 of the newly recorded cases were locally infected patients while the rest 25 were associated with international arrivals. Two-week quarantines are enforced on all travellers arriving from abroad in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. A Ryanair aircraft is pictured through the security fence at the airport in Modlin near Warsaw DUBLIN (Reuters) - Ryanair is to close its base at Frankfurt Hahn Airport, and bases at Berlin Tegel and Duesseldorf airports are likely to shut down at the end of the summer after German pilots rejected proposed pay cuts, the Irish airline said on Tuesday. The moves, which will include an undisclosed number of pilot job cuts, come after a slight majority of German pilots voted against a proposed deal of savings that Ryanair said were required by COVID-19 disruption. "We must move on with alternative measures to deliver savings, which regrettably will mean base closures and dismissals," Ryanair said in a memo to German pilots seen by Reuters. The airline, Europe's largest low-cost carrier, said in the memo that 70% of its pilots across Europe had already accepted cuts to pay and conditions in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In Ireland, management bypassed the union and got pilots to accept the new conditions individually. In Austria, Ryanair announced the closure of the Vienna base of subsidiary Lauda before doing a deal with some pilots to save it weeks later. German union Vereinigung Cockpit, in a statement released before Ryanair announced the base closures, said it believed there was still scope to resolve the dispute. "We are not giving up hope. The employer would be well advised to get back to the negotiating table quickly now," it said. But it reiterated its opposition to the deal offered by Ryanair, saying the duration of the offered job security would have been until March 2021 whereas pay cuts were demanded until 2024. Ryanair said it would stop basing planes at Frankfurt Hahn Airport from the start of November, with pilots at the base to receive letters with details of their notice period this week. Pilots at Berlin Tegel and Duesseldorf "are likely to close" in advance of the winter season, with details to be provided next week, the statement said. Once the closures have been completed, Ryanair will look to cut pilots based at Frankfurt, Cologne, Berlin Schoenefeld airports through a collective dismissal process. Other cost-saving measures include changing rosters and freezing promotions and base transfers, it said. (Reporting by Conor Humphries and Graham Fahy; Editing by Alex Richardson and Angus MacSwan) Federal prosecutors say FirstEnergy paid $60 million in bribes to get Larry Householder elected as House speaker so that he could orchestrate a billion dollar bailout of the utilitys nearly obsolete nuclear plants and then undermine an effort to have voters reject the bailout. Thats huge, a story that will rock the highest echelons of Ohio power for years, so we decided to publish a special edition of This Week in the CLE, our news podcast, to discuss it. My colleagues Jane Kahoun and Kris Wernowsky join me to talk about the ramifications for Ohio, Gov. Mike DeWine and FirstEnergy. Listen to the special episode here. Jane describes the case as a corruption play in thee acts: The election of Householder as speaker, the ramming through of the bailout bill and the sleazy efforts to undermine a citizens effort to put the bailout in front of the voters. Kris wonders whether the social and political upheaval taking place across the country might start to include the laws that allow $60 million to be transferred to politicians without any public notice. And what might this mean for Gov. Mike DeWine, who is not implicated in any way in the corruption but was a big supporter of the bill that undermined the best interests of Ohioans? Will he take the lead in trying to undo the damage? Want more? You can find all our past episodes here. Do you get your podcasts on Spotify. Find us here. If you use Stitcher, we are here. RadioPublic is another popular podcast vehicle, and we are here. On Google Podcasts, we are here. On PodParadise, find us here. And on PlayerFM, we are here. Accra Metropolitan Assembly (AMA) in a joint exercise with the Military and Police service yesterday, embarked on strict enforcement of the wearing of nose masks as part of preventive etiquette to contain the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19). The exercise which began at the Agbogbloshie market saw scores of commuters and visitors being sanctioned by the personnel. As part of the sanction, they were made to desilt gutters and forced to purchase nose masks. Some of the offenders stated that they were just closer to their homes and were not expecting to be sanctioned while others indicated that their nose masks were inside their bags and pockets. I am a visitor who is only left with my lorry fare but I was forced to buy the nose mask and compelled to sweep the market, one of the offenders said. The exercise forms part of governments commitment in intensifying the mandatory wearing of the masks to ensure the health and safety of residents of the Greater Accra Region. The enforcement was in line with COVID-19 directives issued by the Ministry of Health in accordance with President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addos order making wearing of masks in public compulsory days after the lifting of the lockdown. Relying on Section 169 of the Public Health Act, 2012 (Act 851), the Minister responsible for Health by Executive Instrument (E. I.65) declared COVID-19 a public health emergency and under Section 170(1) of the Act ordered a mandatory wearing of face and nose masks in public places as one of the preventive measures against COVID-19. Since the announcement, majority of Ghanaians have largely complied with the directive, though many others continue to defy the order compelling the authorities to begin an exercise to enforce the charge as the scale of the pandemic grows, across the world. The Regional Coordinating Councils (RCCs), as well as Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies (MMDAs) nationwide, began enforcement of mandatory wearing of the masks. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has encouraged the wearing of masks as one of the ways to prevent the spread of the virus given that the disease is spread by droplets or travel through aerosols and contact with contaminated surfaces. 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 bomb resembling a toy injured at least five children on Tuesday in Pakistan's northwest tribal area bordering Afghanistan, officials said. The bomb exploded when the children were playing with it in South Waziristan district. Five children aged between six and 12 years were injured in the incident, the officials said, adding that the origin of the bomb was unclear. Dozens of children, mostly in northwest Pakistan, have lost their lives in the past while playing with 'toys' that turned out to be explosive devices. 'Toy' bombs were airdropped in neighbouring Afghanistan by Soviet forces during the 1980s civil war in the country. South Waziristan is one of the areas where the Pakistan Army has been battling militants linked to the Taliban and Al-Qaeda for more than a decade. A Eurostat report published in mid-July said young people in Luxembourg displayed good computer skills. However, there is room for improvement when compared to their counterparts in other countries Three out of four young residents possess basic computer skills, with some showing higher than average talent, according to a study published by Eurostat on 15 July. However, although the ratio is positive overall, Luxembourg is one of Europe's stragglers when compared to its neighbours. According to Eurostat, the EU average is set at 80% of young people aged 16 to 24. The Grand Duchy's three direct neighbours rank highly on the table, and in countries such as Croatia or Estonia, the figures reach 97% and 93% respectively. The study does not specify whether the recent lockdown experienced by students affected the figures, with many forced to undergo distance learning as a result of the health crisis. Luxembourgers continue to dominate in other areas, such as spoken languages, with the majority of adults of working age able to speak at least three foreign languages. Iranian representatives have promised to arrive in Kyiv until the end of next week to discuss compensation for the shooting down of a Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane over Tehran, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says. "Iranian representatives promised to visit Ukraine till the end of next week to discuss compensations for the downing of PS752. I expect the Iranian side to confirm dates and members of delegation this week. The meeting is very important to move forward and deliver justice, Kuleba wrote on Twitter. Earlier, at a briefing, Kuleba said that the Iranian side had expressed its readiness to come to Kyiv this week to negotiate compensation. The Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) plane (flight PS752) heading from Tehran to Kyiv crashed shortly after it took off from the Imam Khomeini International Airport at about 06:00 Tehran time (04:30 Kyiv time) on January 8. There were 176 people on board nine crew members (all Ukrainians) and 167 passengers (citizens of Ukraine, Iran, Canada, Sweden, Afghanistan, Germany, and the UK). All passengers and crew were killed in the crash. On July 18, France's Bureau for Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA) received Flight PS752s recorders from Iran. ish Each zodiac sign has its own characteristics and traits which tell us a lot about a persons personality. Wouldnt it be helpful if you started your day by already knowing about whats going to come your way? Read on to find out whether the odds will be in your favour today. *Aries (March 21-April 20): A piece of good news regarding a family youngster will keep you in an upbeat mood. All property matters will be resolved favourably. Something that is of advantage to you is likely to happen on the academic front. Adding to your comfort on the domestic front can be one of your aims today. You may resent someone using a firm hand to deal with wasteful expenditure. Your suggestions at work are likely to be appreciated and implemented too. Joining a gym or meditation/yoga classes is possible in the quest for a healthy body and mind. Love Focus: Love life will turn most exciting, as you pull out all the stops! Lucky Colour: Maroon Lucky Alphabet: J Friendly Numbers: 11, 15 Friendly Zodiac Today: Libra & Aries Be careful of: Pisces *Taurus (April 21-May 20): You will enjoy good health through regular workouts. Parents are likely to give you a free hand in something you wanted to do all by yourself. Whatever preparations you have done for an exam or competition will be enough to see you through. Someone may be planning to take you out for a meal, so remain available! You will succeed in wriggling out of a tight financial situation by curbing wasteful expenditure. Avoid taking any bigger decisions at the workplace. Love Focus: You are likely to take time out for romance. Lucky Colour: Red Lucky Alphabet: J Friendly Numbers: 11, 18, 20 Friendly Zodiac Today: Aries & Scorpio Be careful of: Aquarius *Gemini (May 21-June 21): Good preparation will keep you in contention in a competition. Someone on the social front may expect a helping hand from you, so dont disappoint. Money comes from unexpected sources and keep your coffers brimming. Hiring party agreeing to the terms and conditions for a payment will be like a financial coup for those freelancing. You will take up an exercise regimen that suits your lifestyle. Support and encouragement can be expected from the family at every step. A property deal is likely to favour you. Love Focus: Think well before trusting a friend to act as a catalyst in bringing romance into your life. Lucky Colour: Light Pink Lucky Alphabet: H Friendly Numbers: 15, 22 Friendly Zodiac Today: Virgo & Scorpio Be careful of: Cancer *Cancer (June 22-July 22): Your attempts to curry favour with those who matter on the academic front will succeed. Imagining that someone is out to harm you can keep you unnecessarily worried, as nothing of the sort is likely to happen. Financially, you will feel more secure now, than before. Dont expect any concessions on the promotional front, but the system will not be unfair to you. Those suffering from a lifestyle disease will succeed in getting it under control. Your innovations on the home front will be much appreciated. Possession of a property may be given to some. Love Focus: Someone with romantic inclination may prove interesting, so play along! Lucky Colour: Magenta Lucky Alphabet: K Friendly Numbers: 18, 20 Friendly Zodiac Today: Leo & Sagittarius Be careful of: Aquarius *Leo (July 23-August 23): Your helpful attitude will be much appreciated by others in a journey. On the academic front, you may be adjudged the best in your field. A social obligation may make you waste your time. Financial front looks okay but dont let up on savings. Excellent man management skills will help you in managing many things at once on the professional front. Eating right and remaining active will help maintain good health, despite irregular hours and little rest. Love Focus: Romance may have to take a backseat today. Lucky Colour: Yellow Lucky Alphabet: U Friendly Numbers: 16, 18 Friendly Zodiac Today: Libra & Sagittarius Be careful of: Aries *Virgo (August 24-September 23): A function at home is likely to keep you busy and entertained. Something that you had been preparing for meticulously on the academic front will go flawlessly and add to your prestige. You can be invited to a social function. Financially, you are likely to find yourself on the top of the world. Less workload at work will give you adequate time to pursue some personal commitments. Joining a gym or starting an exercise routine is indicated on the fitness front. Love Focus: Take things easy on the romantic front. Lucky Colour: Forest Green Lucky Alphabet: L Friendly Numbers: 20, 22 Friendly Zodiac Today: Gemini & Scorpio Be careful of: Cancer *Libra (September 24-October 23): Despite a hectic schedule, you will manage to keep up the tempo of physical workouts. A function can be organised at home and it will not take you long to become the centre of attraction! Keeping a tab on others will help strengthen your position on the academic front. Peace prevails on the home front. Your bank balance is likely to swell and make you financially secure. Good performance is likely to get recognition for you on the professional front. Love Focus: You are likely to enjoy a stable love life. Lucky Colour: White Lucky Alphabet: R Friendly Numbers: 12, 14 Friendly Zodiac Today: Cancer & Virgo Be careful of: Scorpio *Scorpio(October 24-November 22): Marital relationship will get strengthened by mutual give and take. Those travelling by road are likely to make good time. Some kind of recognition awaits you on the academic front. You may feel a bit reluctant to mingle with your usual crowd in order to conserve time for something important. You may find yourself growing financially strong. Your inputs on the professional front will be much appreciated. Becoming health conscious will be a first step on the path to total fitness. Love Focus: Love beckons and promises to give immense joy and fulfillment. Lucky Colour: Magenta Lucky Alphabet: G Friendly Numbers: 11, 16 Friendly Zodiac Today: Sagittarius & Virgo Be careful of: Taurus *Sagittarius (November 23-December 21): Someone in the family can ask for your advice on something important. An excursion with fellow students cannot be ruled out for some youngsters. Converting a freehold property into builder floors is possible and will prove a win-win situation for all. Doing exceptionally well on the academic front will add to your prestige. Your insistence on cutting wasteful expenditure will be heeded on the home front. Some award or recognition awaits those in a government job. A new health product may benefit those trying to come back in shape. Love Focus: Ignited passions promise to make the romantic front exciting! Lucky Colour: Dark Purple Lucky Alphabet: P Friendly Numbers: 27, 9 Friendly Zodiac Today: Virgo & Libra Be careful of: Aries *Capricorn (December 22-January 21): You will succeed in getting rid of someone who is trying to side line you on the home front. You are likely to jump to seize the opportunity for an out of town trip. You will find someone knowledgeable enough to discuss a complex property matter. Financially, you could not have been on a sounder wicket, as money flows in. A new deal is in the offing for businessperson and is likely to prove lucrative. It is time to get going on the fitness front to improve health. Love Focus: Love is in the air for the wedded couples, so enjoy a special evening! Lucky Colour: Rose Lucky Alphabet: Y Friendly Numbers: 16, 18 Friendly Zodiac Today: Sagittarius & Libra Be careful of: Aquarius *Aquarius (January 22-February 19): Property issues are resolved amicably. An academic achievement can be expected that is likely to boost your self-esteem. Keeping track of something or someone may prove an uphill task. Judicious spending will help you save much. Dont pick up an argument at workplace as it can go against you. Wayside food is best avoided, especially during this season. Family life will be immensely fulfilling. Ride to office will be smooth. Love Focus: Lonely hearts may feel a bit disappointed in not receiving positive signals from the opposite camp, but should not lose hope. Lucky Colour: Rose Lucky Alphabet: E Friendly Numbers: 8, 12 Friendly Zodiac Today: Libra & Capricorn Be careful of: Taurus *Pisces (February 20-March 20): Much fun and frolic are foreseen on the family front. Doing up your house and interiors will give you immense satisfaction. Your impression on those who matter on the academic front is likely to get a boost. Getting a suitable accommodation is foreseen for those desperate for it. Good earning will keep your coffers brimming and keep you in high spirits. You will find things moving favourably at work. Health remains satisfactory, as you put in efforts. Love Focus: Those eligible are likely to hear the wedding bells soon. Lucky Colour: Light Grey Lucky Alphabet: T Friendly Numbers: 10, 16 Friendly Zodiac Today: Scorpio & Virgo Be careful of: Leo The astrologer can be contacted at psharma@premastrologer.com or support@askmanisha.com Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter A coronavirus patient saved from the brink of death by a double-lung transplant has made a full recovery from the deadly disease, according to doctors in Wuhan. The 65-year-old pensioner, named Cui Zhiqiang, was discharged by a hospital today - three months after he underwent the operation billed as 'highly risky' by surgeons. Mr Cui is reported to be the first COVID-19 sufferer to beat the infection following a double-lung transplant in China's Hubei province, the former coronavirus ground zero. Footage released by Chinese media (left) shows a mask-donning Mr Cui waving to well-wishers while being wheeled out of the hospital in Wuhan, China, on Tuesday. The pensioner expressed his gratitude for his doctors (right) by writing a 'thank you' message to the medical team Mr Cui is the first COVID-19 sufferer in the province of Hubei to recover from the infection following a double-lung transplant. The handout shows doctors in Wuhan talking to Mr Cui Mr Cui tested positive for the virus in early February and underwent the risky operation in April. The critically ill pensioner had been hooked to a life-support machine for more than two months when surgeons carried out the procedure on him, said People's Hospital of Wuhan University which treated him. Medics said the transplant was the only way to save Mr Cui because the disease had caused irreversible damage to his lungs, leaving him unable to breathe on his own. Mr Cui tested positive for the virus in early February and underwent the risky operation in April After the surgery, Mr Cui learned how to gain his muscle strength, standing and writing again Footage released by Chinese media shows a mask-donning Mr Cui waving to well-wishers while being wheeled out of the hospital. Before leaving the hospital, Mr Cui expressed his gratitude for his doctors by writing a 'thank you' message to the medical team. He also told reporters 'thank you for their hard work' while referring to the care he had received during the 166 days in the hospital. Medics are pictured wearing goggles, full-body protective suits and head shields during the double-lung transplant on April 20 at People's Hospital of Wuhan University in Wuhan, China Mr Cui's lung transplant took place on April 20 and involved more than 20 medical workers, the hospital previously said. The medics wore goggles, full-body protective suits and head shields throughout the procedure, which lasted for six hours. The surgery was carried out in a negative-pressure operating theatre to limit the spread of the virus. Dr Lin Huiqing, the director of the department of thoracic surgery of the hospital, called the operation 'highly risky'. She said all medics had to wear sound-proof headgears which provided them with positive pressure. She explained: 'After putting on the positive-pressure head covers, the medical workers would not be able to use language to communicate during the surgery, and had to rely on their experience and mutual understanding to complete the operation.' The patient, Mr Cui (right), was able to undergo the operation after doctors secured a pair of lungs on April 20 from a deceased donor. The organs were flown to Wuhan (left) on April 20 The procedure was carried out by Prof Chen Jingyu (pictured), the leader of the national expert team of lung transplant as well as medics from various departments of People's Hospital Mr Cui first developed high fevers on January 23 and was diagnosed with COVID-19 on February 7. His health deteriorated on February 17, and Doctors at Wuhan's Red Cross Hospital - where he was receiving treatment - hooked him to a machine called ECMO a day later. ECMO is a drastic life-support procedure which replaces the function of the heart and lungs by pumping oxygen into the blood outside the body. He was transferred to People's Hospital on March 18 when the hospital was assigned by the government to take over all COVID-19 patients from Red Cross Hospital. Doctors put him into the ICU on April 6 after his condition failed to improve and he still had to reply to ECMO to survive. Mr Cui had been hooked to a life-support machine called ECMO (seen in a file picture) for more than two months when surgeons performed the life-saving operation on the 65-year-old During the intensive care, he tested negative in multiple nucleic acid tests, which means the coronavirus was no longer present in his body. 'However, because the novel coronavirus had caused his two lungs to sustain irreversible pulmonary fibrosis and respiratory failure, he required constant assistance of a ventilator and ECMO and was at death's door,' the hospital said in a social media release. As a critically ill COVID-19 patient, doctors reported Mr Cui's situation to the country's coronavirus task force, and experts deemed that a double-lung transplant was the best way to save him. Doctors secured a pair of lungs on April 20 from a deceased donor who was a match to Mr Cui. The organs were flown from the southern province of Yunnan, where the donor was, to Wuhan on the same day. The transplant took place on the same evening. It was performed by Prof Chen Jingyu, the leader of the national expert team of lung transplant as well as medics from various departments of People's Hospital. The coronavirus has killed 4,634 people and infected 83,693 in China, according to official figures. Pictured, a woman and a boy enjoy a ride while wearing masks in Beijing on May 4 Doctors unhooked him from the ECMO two days after the surgery and Mr Cui regained his conscious on April 24. His overall infection subdued in late April, and he was able to do simple movements with his hands and feet. In the weeks to follow, Mr Cui received intensive recovery treatment. He learned how to gain his muscle strength, standing and writing again, a video post from the hospital shows. He is now able to stand up on his own. Lung transplants are not a conventional method to treat the novel coronavirus, but the only way so far to cure those with terminal changes in their lungs, according to Jiao Yahui, a specialist from China's National Health Commission. Jiao pointed out that doctors should only conduct the transplant after eliminating the coronavirus in the patient. '[Otherwise] even if you give them a new lung, it will still be infected and damaged,' she stressed. JACKSON COUNTY, MI Three Jackson County candidates are seeking to be the Republican contender for Jackson County sheriff in the November general election. Kenneth Carpenter, David Elwell and Gary Schuette are running in the Aug. 4 primary election for the chance to move on to face Democratic challenger Val Cochran Toops on Nov. 3. Toops is unopposed. The sheriffs position is a four-year term. MLive Media Group has partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information and other voting resources to readers ahead of 2020 elections. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties. Each candidate was given a list of questions relevant to the office they are campaigning for which has been assembled into the leagues voter guide that can be accessed by visiting vote411.org. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The league never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties. Here is how each candidate responded to some of the questions. More information on the candidates is available in the story links below. Due to our current circumstances, what are the most important challenges facing our community, and how do you propose to address them? Carpenter: There is a gun violence issue, drug epidemic, and a mental health crisis. To address the drug and mental health issues I want to divert these people from the criminal justice system into treatment programs. The gun issue we will work with the community and the youth on gun violence and gun safety. I will address the division between the community and law enforcement by redeeming the publics trust through community policing. As a husband of 28 years and 5 children, I want my family as well as yours to feel safe in our community. Elwell: The lack of trust in the agency, in particular with the upper command staff and the Sheriff. There is also a lack of diversity within the agency. Funding and budget shortfalls will be issues moving forward. When I decided to run in the early Summer of 2019, I formulated plans which included replacing and diversifying the upper command staff at the agency. I then contacted two local (police) administrators that I knew and trusted, and I asked them to join me, should I be elected Sheriff. They are both well-known and trusted, and one is a man of color. They both bring vast assets and respect to the table. Together, the three of us have more than 90 years of police experience, the majority in leadership positions. My relevant police command experience, knowledge, and work as a Commissioner is unsurpassed by any other candidate. Combined with the experience my specific team will bring, there is no other candidate that can hit the ground running as me and my team can. Schuette: Restoring the communitys faith in the sheriff department is the greatest challenge. This can only be accomplished through equal and fair treatment. Faith in law enforcement cannot be over emphasized. As Sheriff I will be a positive example by never making racial slurs or sexist comments, in public or in private, and I will attend community meetings by sitting with the public, not on the opposite side of the table. In addition, the work environment through policies and procedures must be fully explored so as to ensure it is not hostile to any employee or member of the community. Diversity in the ranks of the Sheriff Department is also a key component. Training to prevent sexual harassment, and increase cultural connections, must be prioritized and guidelines must be established and strictly adhered to. What best practices would you implement to ensure that the law is enforced equally? Carpenter: I will meet with community stake holders on a regular basis to ensure justice is served equally throughout the community. All employees of the Jackson County Sheriff's Department will be held to a new improved higher standard that meets the expectations of the community. Elwell: It will start with the leadership example and expectations set by my administration. Relevant and appropriate training will occur, and the department policies and procedures will be regularly reviewed and updated, including use of additional online training and policy review requirements. Any complaints of the law being improperly or unequally applied will be investigated thoroughly and timely. Schuette: In order to ensure that the law is enforced equally, the Sheriff department must adhere to a strict policy of preventing racial profiling that incorporates procedures to eliminate the influence of improper bias. This includes periodic scenario-based training of all deputies. The reporting and investigating profiling incidents, along with a system of data collection on police activities, must be evaluated and acted upon accordingly. And, of course, the data should be made public to facilitate outside input and restore public trust. More on the Jackson County sheriffs race: Police chief announces run for Jackson County Sheriff Police chief resigns to run for Jackson County sheriff, interim chief appointed We need to listen to the community, says candidate for Jackson County sheriff Third person files to run for Jackson County sheriff in 2020 Second person files to run for Jackson County Sheriff in 2020 RACINE COUNTY The Racine County Republican Party opened its new Main Street office to the public less than a week ago. The Democrats Downtown office has been closed since March. Republican candidates have been going door to door to garner support. Democrats arent, to further contain the coronavirus. In short, Republicans are door-knocking in Racine County despite COVID. Democrats are not door-knocking because of COVID. Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the nations two biggest political parties have taken nearly opposite approaches to campaigning during a pandemic in Racine County. Ken Brown, Racine County Republican Party board member and owner of Downtown optical boutique EYEOpenerZ, says that Republicans are proving themselves to be the party of individual liberty by allowing every voter, volunteer and candidate operate per their own comfort level. Thats why Will Leverson the Republican candidate aiming to represent Racine in the state Assembly has been wearing a mask while walking the streets of what could be his district and talking to potential voters while they are out mowing lawns, sitting on the porch or just being outside. Brown said that Republicans are knocking on approximately 4,000 doors countywide per week this month, primarily east of Interstate 94. That number is only expected to increase when a west-end office opens within the next three months. This door-to-door campaigning has long been the backbone of election campaigning, especially for non-national elections where its easier for candidates themselves to shake hands directly with voters. Especially at races of this level, whether it is the Assembly or state Senate, a lot of people want to get to meet that candidate, Brown said. But at least for the time being, Democrats in Racine County havent been out in person much. Meg Andrietsch, chair of the Democratic Party of Racine County and secretary of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, says that local Democrats have gone door to door to drop off brochures and other pro-Democrat literature. But they havent been knocking on doors directly for fear of spreading coronavirus to whoever answers the door the virus spreads most commonly through person-to-person contact, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. If somebody knocks on your door right now, do you answer it? I dont, Andrietsch said. Why would you risk that? My first priority is public health, Greta Neubauer, the incumbent Democrat being challenged by Leverson in the Nov. 3 election, said in a text to The Journal Times. She says she is following national and state recommendations by forsaking in-person campaigning almost entirely, focusing on connecting with voters online and over the phone. I will never prioritize my own campaign over the safety of my constituents, and I hope any candidate who hopes to represent our community would do the same. She has been reaching supporters and other voters via social media, phone calls and texting. Leverson is doing those same things in addition to walking the streets, but his reach online is much weaker than the incumbent as of 4 p.m. Monday, Neubauers official Facebook page has more than 2,000 likes and Leversons has fewer than 200 likes. Neubauer has not done any door-to-door canvassing and said that the only in-person campaigning she has conducted have been out of necessity, like when she needed to collect signatures in order to get her name on the ballot again. The Democratic Party of Racine County opened its office at 507 Sixth St. in 2018. But the lights have been off there since March. They likely will remain that way for the next few months. The party wants to avoid having people congregate as much as possible to combat the viruss spread. Fundraisers have gone online. A forum featuring Democratic hopefuls Josh Pade and Roger Polack, who hope to unseat U.S. Rep. Bryan Steil of the 1st Wisconsin Congressional District in November, was broadcast exclusively on Facebook Live on July 12. Its partially the opposite story with the Republicans. The Racine County GOPs new office, at 337 Main St., held its grand opening on Saturday. It will be open to the public most days, when volunteers and staff are available to get the word out for local and national conservative candidates. Masks can still be worn inside and hand sanitizer is available near the entrance of the office. Brown emphasizes that everyone is welcome in the office, not just longtime hardcore Republicans. The Republican Party has always been about individual liberty, Brown said, joking that the GOP is the party of pro-choice in that way. 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. A body has been found in the wreckage of a pawn shop in Minneapolis that was burnt to the ground during protests in reaction to the death of George Floyd. The charred body of a man who has not yet been identified was found in Max It Pawn, nearly two months after it was set alight on 28 May, following three days of Black Lives Matter protests. Authorities, who were investigating a tip from the public when they entered the remains of the building on Monday, found the body among the wreckage, Minneapolis Police Department spokesman John Elder told the Star Tribune. Mr Elder added that the body appears to have suffered thermal injury, and confirmed that the investigation into the fire has been taken over by Minneapolis homicide detectives. The authorities confirmed that the name of the victim will be released in the coming days, once the autopsy has been carried out. Recommended Inside the Minneapolis shop that called the police on George Floyd The pawn shop was located a few blocks from the citys Third Precinct police station, which was also set on fire on 28 May in reaction to Mr Floyds death. Protests broke out last month in Minneapolis, following his death on 25 May while in the custody of a then Minneapolis police officer. The protests in opposition to police brutality against African Americans have taken place in every state across the US, and several shops were damaged and set alight in the first few days. Details about the death are unclear at the moment, but a police report obtained by the Tribune indicated that the man died in the blaze at the pawn shop in late May. Montez Terrill Lee was arrested and charged with arson last month in connection to the fire, but at this point no further charges have been made while the autopsy is carried out and a cause of death is determined. When asked about Mr Lee, Ashlee Sherrill, a spokesperson for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF), told the Tribune that she could not comment on an open case. She added: The ATF is continuing to work these arson investigations across the Twin Cities and following up on these leads as they become available. Following the detection of its first omicron case Saturday in Haidian district of Beijing, the Chinese capital locked down certain communities and office buildings just weeks before the Winter Olympics and the Lunar New Year holiday. The city opened 30 emergency testing points in Haidian on Monday as it rushes to contain the spread Jan 19, 2022 05:37 PM T he owner of Ladbrokes Coral has revealed it is under investigation by HMRC, just days after its long-time boss Kenny Alexander quit the group. The company, which owns Ladbrokes Coral, was told yesterday that the tax authority is looking into potential corporate offending by an entity or entities within GVC in relation to the companys former Turkish online gambling business. Apart from a reference to Section 7 of the 2010 Bribery Act, HMRC has not given the company details on the conduct it is investigating. Shares tumbled 9% after the disclosure, with analysts at Shore Capital removing their Buy recommendation until theres greater clarity over the investigation. When HMRC first disclosed its interest in November, GVC assumed the matter related to former third-party suppliers involved in the processing of payments for online gambling in Turkey. The Turkish business has been a source of controversy for the group, having sold it in December 2017 to Ropso Malta for no fee to avoid damaging its takeover of Ladbrokes Coral. It booked a 46 million loss on the sale after lenders baulked at GVCs exposure to a country where internet betting is illegal. It later emerged that one of Ropsos investors, Ron Watts, co-owned a stud farm with Alexander, who is a keen horse-racing owner. GVC said later that the connections between the men had been fully declared, with the business sold following a competitive process overseen by investment bank Houlihan Lokey. Last week, Alexander announced his surprise departure from the group he had run for 13 years. Handing over the reins to chief operating officer Shay Segev, he said he wanted to spend more time with his family. The company said: Both the company and GVC are surprised by the decision to extend the investigation in this way and are disappointed by the lack of clarity provided by HMRC as to the scope of its investigation. GVC said it continued to co-operate with HMRC on the matter, having been asked to produce information in November. The company added: Prior to July 20, it had been understood that no GVC entity was a subject of HMRCs investigation, following requests for clarity from HMRC as to the status of its investigation. However, HMRC yesterday informed the company that it was widening the scope of its investigation and is now examining potential corporate offending by an entity (or entities) within the GVC group which HMRC has not yet identified. The strong cashflows generated by the Turkish business were credited with enabling Alexander to fund the companys expansion into regulated markets. During his time at the helm, Alexander transformed GVC from a small AIM-listed company into a FTSE 100 business with 25,000 staff and some of the industrys biggest brands. His highest-profile deal came in 2018 with the acquisition of Ladbrokes Coral, which brought a significant High Street presence as well as online operations. GVCs stable of brands also includes Sportingbet, Eurobet, PartyPoker and Foxy Bingo. FORT WORTH, Texas, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Higginbotham, the largest independent insurance firm based in Texas, and Borden Insurance, an independent agency formerly held by American Financial Insurance Services, Inc., a subsidiary of American Bank Holding Company, have merged operations. Both firms broker commercial and personal property/casualty insurance and employee benefits. The merger adds 34 professionals to Higginbotham's existing practice in Corpus Christi for a combined 120 locally. Higginbotham is on a growth path to both expand its footprint and increase its specialty product and service capability. It's doing so by partnering with other independent agencies that have strong reputations in their local markets, a desire to keep growing by tapping into Higginbotham's single source solution and a cultural match. Higginbotham entered Corpus Christi in 2010 and is growing its coastal presence through strategic partnerships like that with Borden Insurance. "We have a 12-year history of successful partnerships, our office being one," said Higginbotham Coastal Region Managing Partner Rob Fraiche. "I know firsthand how Higginbotham's size and organizational strength bring extra value to our partners because together, we can do more for clients." Borden Insurance President/CEO David Erwin said, "Higginbotham has an excellent reputation and a significant presence in the Corpus Christi community that we have admired for years. By joining Higginbotham, we become part of the leading insurance brokerage firm in our region, with resources that allow us to enhance our risk management and employee benefit services. I'm thrilled to see where this merger will take Borden in the years to come." Fraiche will oversee the office, operating as Borden Insurance, A Higginbotham Company, at 210 South Carancahua. The offices will consolidate office space in 2021. About Borden Insurance Borden Insurance was founded in 1947 to provide commercial insurance in Corpus Christi, Texas. In its 73 years, Borden Insurance has grown to more than 40 professionals with nearly 1,000 years of combined industry experience. In 2000, the agency merged with American Financial Insurance Services, Inc., a wholly-owned subsidiary of locally-owned American Bank Holding Company. Today, it provides property/casualty insurance and employee benefits to businesses, individuals and families across south Texas. Visit www.bordenins.com for more information. About Higginbotham Higginbotham is a single source for insurance and financial services that brokers business insurance, employee benefits, retirement plans, executive benefits, life insurance and home/auto insurance from more than 250 regional and national carriers. It supplements coverage with in-house risk management, benefit plan administration and human resources services. The firm was founded in 1948 and is headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas, with more than 40 additional offices statewide and in Oklahoma, Georgia, New Mexico and California serving domestic and international customers. Higginbotham ranks by revenue as the nation's 24th largest independent insurance brokerage firm, making it the largest Texas-based broker (Business Insurance, July 2019). Visit www.higginbotham.net for more information. SOURCE Higginbotham Related Links http://higginbotham.net Peers should have their business links with Russia 'carefully scrutinised' to ensure they are not being exploited by Vladimir Putin, the Intelligence and Security Committee has said. In its report on Russia's influence in the UK, the committee called for greater transparency about the financial interests of those in the House of Lords. It said members should have to register any individual payments of more than 100 which they receive for employment outside Parliament. Defence: Lord Mandelson (left) & Aluminium: Lord Barker Oil: Lord Skidelsky (left) and Lord Fairfax (right) The ISC, which did not name any peers, said in its report: 'It is notable that a number of members of the House of Lords have business interests linked to Russia, or work directly for major Russian companies linked to the Russian state. Oil: Lord Ponsonby 'These relationships should be carefully scrutinised, given the potential for the Russian state to exploit them.' The committee said it was important that the code of conduct for members of the House of Lords and register of interests 'provide the necessary transparency and are enforced'. According to the members' register of interests, peers with links to Russian companies include crossbencher Lord Skidelsky, a non-executive director of Russian oil refining company Russneft. Conservative peer Lord Fairfax of Cameron is a director of shipping firm Sovcomflot UK, and Labour peer Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede is a director of Russian oil firm RNG Joint Stock Company. Former Tory energy minister Lord Barker stepped away from the Lords last year to focus on his role as chairman of aluminium giant EN+. Lord Mandelson served on the board of Russian defence conglomerate Sistema and, according to his register of interests, holds shares in it. In 2018, the House of Lords commissioner for standards launched an investigation into Lord Barker and Lord Fairfax after then-security minister Ben Wallace claimed they had 'requested government assistance for Russian associates'. Both peers were cleared of any wrongdoing. In its response to the ISC report, the Government said the code of conduct for peers was 'the responsibility of the House [of Lords] itself'. HALIFAX, Nova Scotia, July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Erdene Resource Development Corp. (TSX:ERD; MSE:ERDN) ("Erdene" or the "Company"), will be hosting a conference call to review results of the Bankable Feasibility Study (BFS) for its 100%-owned Bayan Khundii Gold Project, to be announced after market close today. The conference call is scheduled for 10:00 am ET on Tuesday, July 21, 2020. The recording of the call will subsequently be made available on the Companys website at www.erdene.com . The dial-in numbers for the conference call are as follows: North America (toll free): 1-877-703-1560 Overseas or local (Toronto): 1-647-689-5569 Participants may also join the conference call via webcast at the following link: https://onlinexperiences.com/Launch/QReg/ShowUUID=67C7A554-57DF-4DCC-978D-4C232A233C68 Khundii Gold District Erdenes deposits are located in the Edren Terrane, within the Central Asian Orogenic Belt, host to some of the worlds largest gold and copper-gold deposits. The Company has been the leader in exploration in southwest Mongolia over the past decade and is responsible for the discovery of the Khundii Gold District comprised of multiple high-grade gold and gold/base metal prospects, two of which are being considered for development: the 100%-owned Bayan Khundii and Altan Nar projects. Together, these deposits comprise the Khundii Gold Project. The Bayan Khundii Gold Resource includes 521,000 ounces of 3.16 g/t gold Measured and Indicated (M&I) and 103,000 ounces of Inferred resources at 3.68 g/t gold. Within the M&I resource, a proven and probable open-pit reserve totals 422,000 ounces at 3.7 g/t (see the full press release here ), providing significant potential growth of reserves with the development of the remaining M&I and Inferred resources. About Erdene Erdene Resource Development Corp. is a Canada-based resource company focused on the acquisition, exploration, and development of precious and base metals in underexplored and highly prospective Mongolia. The Company has interests in three mining licenses and three exploration licenses in Southwest Mongolia, where exploration success has led to the discovery and definition of the Khundii Gold District. Erdene Resource Development Corp. is listed on the Toronto and the Mongolian stock exchanges. Further information is available at www.erdene.com . Important information may be disseminated exclusively via the website; investors should consult the site to access this information. Story continues Forward-Looking Statements Certain information regarding Erdene contained herein may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements may include estimates, plans, expectations, opinions, forecasts, projections, guidance or other statements that are not statements of fact. Although Erdene believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are reasonable, it can give no assurance that such expectations will prove to have been correct. Erdene cautions that actual performance will be affected by a number of factors, most of which are beyond its control, and that future events and results may vary substantially from what Erdene currently foresees. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in forward-looking statements include the ability to obtain required third party approvals, market prices, exploitation and exploration results, continued availability of capital and financing and general economic, market or business conditions. The forward-looking statements are expressly qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. The information contained herein is stated as of the current date and is subject to change after that date. The Company does not assume the obligation to revise or update these forward-looking statements, except as may be required under applicable securities laws. NO REGULATORY AUTHORITY HAS APPROVED OR DISAPPROVED THE CONTENTS OF THIS RELEASE Erdene Contact Information Peter C. Akerley, President and CEO, or Robert Jenkins, CFO Her lawyer alleged torture by jail officials and urged Tamil Nadu chief minister to transfer Nalini to another prison claiming a threat to her life Vellore: Nalini Sriharan, a convict in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, allegedly attempted to commit suicide inside the Vellore Women's prison on Monday night, her lawyer said on Tuesday. "Yesterday night, we received information that Nalini attempted to commit suicide in prison. Immediately, we enquired from police officials and prison officials. They said that the information is correct," Advocate P Pugalenthi told ANI. Pugalenthi alleged torture by jail officials and urged the authorities and Tamil Nadu chief minister to transfer Nalini to another prison anticipating a threat to her life. "Officials said that a convict had given an oral complaint against Nalini. At 8:30 pm, the jailer went to Nalini's cell and enquired about the complaint. During the inquiry, a quarrel took place between the jailer and Nalini. She got upset and attempted to commit suicide," Pugalenthi said. "This is the view of the authorities. However, we don't believe this. She has served the last 30 years in prison and never attempted to take such steps. This is not believable. I think the jail officials had tortured her," he added. Pugalenthi said he will also seek an inquiry into the matter. "We are going to take action to seek the transfer of Nalini from Vellore prison. Because of this incident, I believe her safety is at stake. I request the jail authorities and the chief minister to transfer her to Chennai Puzhal prison," he said. Nalini and six other people were sentenced to life imprisonment in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case. In May 1991, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by a Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumbudur in Tamil Nadu. The attack also left 14 other people dead. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! If you want to know who really controls Synovus Financial Corp. (NYSE:SNV), then you'll have to look at the makeup of its share registry. Institutions often own shares in more established companies, while it's not unusual to see insiders own a fair bit of smaller companies. Companies that have been privatized tend to have low insider ownership. Synovus Financial isn't enormous, but it's not particularly small either. It has a market capitalization of US$2.7b, which means it would generally expect to see some institutions on the share registry. Taking a look at our data on the ownership groups (below), it's seems that institutions own shares in the company. Let's take a closer look to see what the different types of shareholder can tell us about Synovus Financial. View our latest analysis for Synovus Financial What Does The Institutional Ownership Tell Us About Synovus Financial? 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. As you can see, institutional investors have a fair amount of stake in Synovus Financial. This suggests some credibility amongst professional investors. But we can't rely on that fact alone, since institutions make bad investments sometimes, just like everyone does. When multiple institutions own a stock, there's always a risk that they are in a 'crowded trade'. When such a trade goes wrong, multiple parties may compete to sell stock fast. This risk is higher in a company without a history of growth. You can see Synovus Financial's historic earnings and revenue, below, but keep in mind there's always more to the story. Story continues Investors should note that institutions actually own more than half the company, so they can collectively wield significant power. Hedge funds don't have many shares in Synovus Financial. The company's largest shareholder is BlackRock, Inc., with ownership of 10.0%. For context, the second largest shareholder holds about 9.4% of the shares outstanding, followed by an ownership of 7.1% by the third-largest shareholder. A closer look at our ownership figures suggests that the top 15 shareholders have a combined ownership of 51% implying that no one share holder has a majority. 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 plenty of analysts covering the stock, so it might be worth seeing what they are forecasting, too. Insider Ownership Of Synovus Financial While the precise definition of an insider can be subjective, almost everyone considers board members to be insiders. Management ultimately answers to the board. However, it is not uncommon for managers to be executive board members, especially if they are a founder or the CEO. Insider ownership is positive when it signals leadership are thinking like the true owners of the company. However, high insider ownership can also give immense power to a small group within the company. This can be negative in some circumstances. Shareholders would probably be interested to learn that insiders own shares in Synovus Financial Corp.. This is a big company, so it is good to see this level of alignment. Insiders own US$32m worth of shares (at current prices). It is good to see this level of investment by insiders. You can check here to see if those insiders have been buying recently. General Public Ownership The general public holds a 19% stake in SNV. 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: While it is well worth considering the different groups that own a company, there are other factors that are even more important. Consider risks, for instance. Every company has them, and we've spotted 1 warning sign for Synovus Financial you should know about. If you are like me, you may want to think about whether this company will grow or shrink. Luckily, you can check this free report showing analyst forecasts for its future. 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. Click here to read the full article. While its already working on the organization of a physical edition of Pitti Uomo in January, Pitti Immagine is exploring the potential of digital with Pitti Connect, the companys new platform that launched on July 16, aimed at keeping our exhibitor competitive on the market, said Pitti Immagine chief executive officer Raffaello Napoleone during a phone interview. If the physical experience remains the priority for Pitti Immagine, Napoleone said that in the future, we will look at an increased integration between what happens at the fair and online. I think its clear for everyone that the direct interpersonal contact is essential in our industry, he said. More from WWD For this reason, although Pitti Immagine is releasing a wide range of projects on its digital platform, it decided to accelerate the return to physical events by teaming with Dolce & Gabbana, which on Sept. 2 and 3 will unveil their bespoke tailoring and haute couture collections with runway shows in Florence at Palazzo Vecchio and Villa Bardini, respectively. Our discussions with Dolce & Gabbana started months ago and we were considering doing something together in June, but then the fair was postponed, Napoleone said. I believe that the September event should be seen as a unique moment celebrating the restart of the whole sector, and I think its particularly meaningful that the brand hosting it is one that has always supported the Made in Italy. In particular, for the September show, Dolce & Gabbana will collaborate with 40 Florentine artisans, which will actively contribute to the creation of the collections. Brands are definitely keen to return to the present and sell with physical formats, said Pitti Immagine president Claudio Marenzi, who put the focus on the critical situation of the fashion industry caused by the global pandemic. In the first three months of 2020, mens wear exports decreased 6 percent. In particular, in March, exports of mens fashion and textile products dropped 26.7 percent compared to the same period last year, missing out on sales totaling 147.7 million euros. The worst results were related to Hong Hong and China with the Italian mens wear exports directed to those countries down 24.57 and 36.8 percent, respectively. Story continues In the first quarter of the year, the sectors sell-out decreased 34 percent, but, on a positive note, the online sales of textile, fashion and accessories products increased 14 percent and then spiked in April and May, when they increased 152.3 percent compared to the same period last year. Supporting its partners in the post-COVID-19 scenario, Pitti Immagine will continue to attract buyers and press to its digital platform, which, according to Napoleone, compared to other products developed by other players, which are pure marketplaces, shows our major editorial effort. Among the different projects, including presenting a range of 15 shorts videos by Olivier Saillard featuring as protagonists Eighties and Nineties models interpreting iconic mens wear pieces, Pitti Uomo puts the focus on sustainability, presenting the Sustainable Style initiative. The company is giving visibility to 13 emerging brands focused on delivering eco-friendly collections, including Flavia La Rocca, Ksenia Schnaider, Kids of Broken Future, Myar, Nanushka, Nous Etudions, Philip Huang, Phipps, Raeburn, Uniforme, Viron, Vitelli and Youngsang. In addition, Pitti Uomo selected ANDAM winner Glenn Martens Y/Project as the special guest of the sustainable fashion section, which will present the designers Evergreen collection. Partner of the project, textile company Reda in September will give the chance to one of the brands showcasing in the section to create a capsule for its B-Corp certified sportswear brand Rewoolution. Pitti Uomo has always been committed to telegraphing a message of ecological sustainability and social responsibility, Napoleone said. Now more than ever, its crucial to play an active role to reach concrete targets, and we are happy to support the promotion of international talents in this field also thanks to the three-year partnership we signed with Unicredit [one of Italys main bank institutions,] that will be at our side in the development of a different range of programs. CNBC's "College Voices 2020" is a series written by CNBC summer interns from universities across the country about coming of age, launching new careers and job hunting during a global pandemic. They're finding their voices during a time of great social change and hope for a better future. What money issues are they facing? How are they navigating their student loans? How are they getting work experience, networking and applying for jobs when so many opportunities have been canceled or postponed? How important is diversity and a company's values to Gen Z job seekers? Networking is an essential part of finding a job especially your first job. But coronavirus has dramatically impacted the job search process for students, forcing them to get creative when it comes to building contacts and breaking into their field. An astounding 85% of jobs are filled by networking of some sort, according to a survey (pre-pandemic) of 3,000 people by consultant Lou Adler and LinkedIn. Adler and other hiring experts talk about the "hidden job market" that many jobs are filled internally or by referrals before they're even posted. "Job seekers need to realize networking is not trying to meet as many people as possible. It's about meeting a few well-connected people who can vouch for your ability and who are willing to refer you to a few other well-connected people," Adler said in a post for LinkedIn announcing his findings. Johner Images | Getty Images Most people think of networking as having coffee with someone or going to an industry event things that aren't so easy in the middle of this pandemic. But really, it's about making connections. And that's something you can do right from your couch! Start with people you know Hannah Morgan, a job search strategist who calls herself the "Career Sherpa," suggests starting with friends, family and former colleagues. It's easier to start with people you know it will help build your confidence and then your network just keeps growing. And, when reaching out, don't be afraid to ask how someone is doing in the middle of all this, Morgan says. Everyone is going through this extremely difficult situation so just asking how someone is doing will probably be greatly appreciated. She says never approach networking with a "me first" attitude remember that a successful network is like friendships, mutually beneficial. Some students are working existing connections they've made through past internships. Others are turning to career centers for assistance in their innovative pursuit of nontraditional work-related projects and experiences. Phil Gow, a Hamilton College rising senior government major who has held high-profile internships in Philadelphia and on Capitol Hill, understands just how essential networking is when it comes to securing work in politics. Last fall, before the coronavirus pandemic, he would attend a minimum of two networking events a week. Phil utilized his connections made in these events to discover summer 2020 internships. He finds himself remaining in contact with these former colleagues, including fellow interns, as he searches for opportunities. Phil Gow working at his home outside of Philadelphia. Source: David Gow Of course, this summer is trickier a lot of internships are canceled. But, that makes networking all the more important setting the ground work for future opportunities. "I spoke with friends (former co-workers) in DC to determine that the federal internships were going to be non-existent this summer. They will be helpful in the future as I search for government work, though. I also keep in touch with people I interned with in Congress." Don't be afraid to reach out to someone you don't know Gow said he networks with professionals via email and checks his LinkedIn account several times a week. And, you don't have to limit it to people you know or once worked with. "If you see someone you want to meet, introduce yourself," Gow said, adding that it's important to follow up and not just let the connection fizzle. You never know when someone will have a job opportunity or know someone else who does. "Fun fact: people know each otherit's a small world," he added. It's also important to note that making a connection doesn't have to center around a specific job or opportunity, but rather, common interests. More From Invest in You: It's a tough outlook for graduates in the Class of 2020 Many college graduates are relying on unemployment to pay the bills What do you do when your internship is canceled? College students need to get creative and adapt this summer "I still keep in touch with many of the people I met in DC. Mostly in the media and in Congress. What we actually talk about has less to do with employers and more to do with our country right now," Gow said. "It's great to keep in touch with smart and capable people that view politics (and more broadly, life) with a unique vantage point. People always expect there to be an angle when maintaining those relationships, but I maintain them because they are good people who care about the country. That's all that matters." Gow recognizes the value of a vigorous network consisting of individuals at varying stages in their careers. He believes that many college students overlook their peers and professors, who may be integral members of their professional web down the road. Stay in touch Ben Leit, a rising Hamilton College junior, landed an internship with Senator Cory Booker and he got it through networking. Like most undergraduates, Leit found himself staring at a bleak job market as the summer swiftly approached. "I applied to dozens of internships pre-COVID. Many of my pursued roles were canceled. But I was not discouraged. I remained in contact with a member of the Booker campaign and decided to reach out to express my desire to contribute to their team." And, it worked! Ben Leit and his family meet with Senator Cory Booker in the summer of 2019. Source: Sen. Cory Booker "I made a great impression in the original interview. My contact appreciated my efforts to remain in contact, and to follow up. Soon after, she called me and offered me a position. Thankfully, the internship was brought back from the dead!" Leit said. Leit attributes his success to his persistence, contact management, and self-assurance. "I would not be conducting an internship today if it were not for my networking strategies and self-confidence fostered as a musician and actor." Create your own professional experience Campus career centers are also a good place to get advice and build your network. Some might see the coronavirus pandemic, with all of the canceled internships and stay-at-home orders, as a setback for young careers. But Heather Wixson, associate director of Hamilton College Career Center, said students should look at it as an opportunity for personal and professional development and to demonstrate initiative to future employers. "Students get to write their own story of the summer 2020 by combining experiences which may include a mix of career-related activities such as career research, networking, personal projects, and part-time remote options rather than one single opportunity," she said. Ms. Wixson is impressed with her students' creativity and resourcefulness in response to the bleak summer internship market. They're working on their resumes, connecting with young alumni from the school, researching industry trends and practicing interviewing. And, instead of lamenting a lost opportunity, or waiting for the next one, they're creating blogs or other projects to highlight their skills and interests. Basically, creating their own career experience. "I am encouraging students to showcase their research and personal projects via blogs or portfolios," Wixson said. You can then link to them from your resume or LinkedIn profile and use them as talking points in a cover letter or job interview. "It can really highlight a student's interest and enthusiasm about an industry topic, and many times enthusiasm is just as important as 'traditional' experiences like internships." These will not only be impressive to future employers, but they can be great talking points when you're networking. When one of your contacts asks what you've been up to, you can tell them about your project. That's something that will help make you stand out and could be what makes them think of you first when a job opportunity comes up. It demonstrates your ability to "think nimbly and look toward the future with confidence in this difficult time," Wixson said. Make time to network GENEVA - Covid-19 is a new cause of internal displacements and misery for thousands of Yemenis who are fleeing the areas most affected by the virus, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday. Over 100,000 people were forced to flee due to fighting and insecurity since last January and between March 30 and July 18, the 'Displacement Tracking Matrix' has registered over 10,000 people who indicated fear of the virus and the impact of the epidemic as reasons to flee. Some are moving from Aden and Lahj towards areas less affected by the epidemic while others are travelling to the districts of Abyan. Many of the displaced after the epidemic had already fled their homes and are fleeing for the second, third or fourth time, said IOM spokesman Paul Dillon. The situation is particularly serious in places like Aden where hospitals send away suspected cases and where press reports show a large number of tombs. In Yemen, the World Health Organization has confirmed 1,610 Covid-19 cases, including 445 deaths with a high mortality rate, over 27%, or five times more than the global average. But the number of infections is believed to be much higher because tests are scarce. Humanitarian agencies have requested to donors 385.7 million dollars to support Covid-19 operations in the war-torn country. As of today, 55.4 millions have been received, or 14.4%. Last year, IOM assisted over 5 million people, without fast support from donors, in 2020 it will be able to support just half. Removing the name Palestine from Google Maps triggered angry objections by the Palestinian leadership and people, rejecting the policies of two US companies that ignore Palestinian historical facts and demanding that the global search engine reverse its decision. When using the search engine to look for Palestine maps, neighbouring countries appear on the image but the name Palestine is nowhere to be found. A side note on Wikipedia states: The state of Palestine is a term that refers to political entities demanded by various parties, or belongs to political entities that are not currently independent, or could also refer to previous political entities in Palestine that are demanding its creation on part or all of the historic territories of Palestine, which is what many Palestinians aspire to. None of these entities is independent so far. Reham Owda, writer and political analyst, said previously the name Palestine was not officially on Google Maps or Apple Maps, but in the past Google used the term Palestinian Territories to refer only to the Gaza Strip and the West Bank. Owda said that neglecting to write Palestine on Google Maps and Apple Maps, or at least Palestinian Territories on the areas of the Gaza Strip, West Bank and East Jerusalem, is a huge capitulation by these companies to Israeli pressure and shows great bias towards Israel. Writing the name Israel over all the area including Gaza, the West Bank and East Jerusalem is implied recognition by Google and Apple that West Bank territories belong to Israel. This helps legitimise Israels policy of annexing settlements there. Owda said one reason why Google and Apple refuse to add the name Palestine on their maps, even though the State of Palestine is a member of the UN, is because they do not want to start a quarrel or litigation with the government of Israel which closely monitors any map updates and has close and influential relations with Jewish businessmen who own shares in these companies. One must also factor in technological and economic ties between Israeli IT companies and Google and Apple, which means these two US companies do not want to spoil their economic and technological relations with Israel or be subject to a possible smear campaign by the Jewish lobby in the US. Owda added that both companies are following the lead of US foreign policy, since the US has not yet recognised the State of Palestine. She anticipates that Israel will try to pressure any global institution or company that promotes Palestine in its products, because Tel Aviv is concerned about intense Palestinian efforts to gain international recognition of the State of Palestine especially in the EU in response to an attempt by Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to annex settlements in Jerusalem and West Bank to Israeli sovereignty. Saed Hassouna, an expert on new media, said the two companies want to limit access to research content on Palestine, especially since they control the largest global search engines. Hassouna said this is only a step away from banning and restricting Palestinian content on Facebook. He believes this is not a technical mistake or lack of knowledge of the geopolitical importance of Palestine, but is part of a fast and furious war of Judaisation. Hassouna explained the omission continues due to the absence of Arab support for the Palestinian cause, and an attempt to change world public opinion on key national Palestinian principles, most importantly the issue of refugees. He said that underestimating this digital move could lead to other steps, such as bans and restrictions. However, activists and those on social media have proved once again that Palestine is present in their conscience and in their digital activism. He added: This shows determination and effective solidarity with the Palestinian cause. Hassouna called on the Palestinian ministries of foreign affairs and communication to take real steps and officially protest this racist policy, since Palestine is a member of the UN. He added that the Russian search engine Yandex is the only one that has maintained the location of the State of Palestine. Palestinian Minister of Communication and IT Ishaq Sider said his office is looking into alternative search engines to Google, such as the Russian or Chinese ones, to protest the removal of Palestine from maps on US-based search engines. Sider said his ministry will take several steps, including putting pressure on Google and Apple through their servers, which are used by Palestinian companies. He added there are also legal steps that will be taken such as suing these companies since their actions violate international law and UN resolutions. There will also be a task force and crisis management unit in the ministry to work scientifically on this issue. Palestinian Foreign Minister Riyad Al-Malki, said: We are looking into legal action in response to removing the name of Palestine on Google and Apple maps. He explained that the Palestinian government is researching which international legal forums they should approach to sue these companies. He believes it will be straightforward to take these companies to court if they insist on violating international law. They are very mistaken to handle Palestine with such intentional political flippancy, he said. Google responded in kind: Omitting Palestine from maps is within the context of presenting regions that are under dispute with objectivity by using a dotted grey border line. It continued: We have not changed our policy of showing areas on maps. Google gathers information from organisations and mapping sources when determining how to show disputed borders. Google is the most popular Internet search engine in Palestine and the world, and the leaders of Google and Apple are weighing their profits and losses, and want to have the most users for the highest profits. In commerce, companies sometimes face political issues which they must address and adopt a political position, which is reflected in the search engines operations. Youssef Rizk, a Palestinian expert and adviser to former Palestinian prime minister Salam Fayyad, said this issue can be summarised in two points. First, the companies are biased to Israel and ignore the Palestinian and Arab perspective. They removed the name of Palestine without consulting with Palestinian leaders or giving any consideration to the losses they will incur in the occupied Palestinian territories, and possibly Arab countries. More importantly, they have aligned themselves with Israel and adopted a mistaken political and factual position. Second, the occupation power that signed the Oslo Accords with the Palestine Liberation Organisation (PLO) is working on undermining this deal. It is lobbying to remove Palestine from Google and remove Palestine for West Bank areas, because according to Zionist strategy Palestine does not exist in reality and should not exist in the realm of knowledge and research, explained Rizk. He condemned the delayed reaction of the ministries of communication and foreign affairs which are still looking into suing Google and Apple. What are they looking into? he retorted. Why dont we take action immediately? Only now are they looking into putting pressure on Google and Apple via their interests in the Palestinian territories? Only now are they looking into pressuring Google through public action in the West Bank and Gaza? He added: Yes, its better late than never, but why this delay on this pressing issue? Why did we not have alternative plans when we knew Googles negative posture, well before it removed Palestine from the map? Rizk argued that it is in Palestines best interests that it remains on the world and Middle East map, which requires the Palestinian government to immediately switch to using Russian or Chinese search engines. Also, suing Google and Apple for encouraging the occupation and its racist practices. This requires Arab support to leave Google and cause it massive losses. These steps should be simultaneous and immediate. Using language such as looking into is a sign of the governments failure, Rizk said. Palestine is recognised by the UN and 136 member states as an independent state, but not the US, which is home to both these companies. This is not the first time that Google is accused of removing Palestine from its popular mapping service. In 2016, a petition on change.org protested that every mention of Palestine was removed based on the insistence of the Israeli government. The petition, which demanded adding the name Palestine to online maps, and signed by more than 800,000 people, added that the founders of Google are Jews who have close ties with Israel and its leaders. Google ignored the petition. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: The man is a convicted felon with a history of mental disorders. Ukraine's Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko has said a terrorist who hijacked a commuter bus in the town of Lutsk, western Ukraine, identified himself as Maksym Plokhoy. The man is a convicted felon with a history of mental disorders, the official says. Apnews.com.ua reported, citing a source in law enforcement, that the man has a history of mental disorders. "There's a book on the internet, authored by Maksym Plokhoy, titled 'Philosophy of the Criminal,' which describes the author's time in prison and his life views," Gerashchenko wrote on Facebook. Read alsoHostage taker in Lutsk issues demands, threatens to set off bombs "Here is a typical excerpt from the book: 'They have been correcting me for 15 years, but I have not become a better person, rather the opposite I've become even more of who I am. Why? Because I cope with myself and therefore I can't be corrected by others. Because I don't sell myself with fear. You can kill me, but this won't fix anything. I am always who I am, because I can. I can, because there is only one thing that I can't do - that's to not be a Criminal... Being a criminal is about depth and only it's only the one who has it can't but be a criminal. The face of God is in the mirror...," the official wrote, citing the book. At the same time, according to police, the terrorist has a history of mental disorders. Police say the threat to hostages is real since the culprit does have a weapon on him, which he showed to law enforcers. Mayor Eric Garcetti has conceded that Los Angeles reopened too quickly and again warned that the city was on the brink of new shutdown orders as the coronavirus continues to surge in California. Appearing on CNN, Garcetti was asked about a Los Angeles Times editorial that criticized the rapid reopening of California, which was followed by a spike in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. I do agree those things happened too quickly, Garcetti said, adding that the decisions were made at the state and county levels, not by city officials. The mayor said Los Angeles was on the brink of new widespread stay-at-home orders as LA County, with a quarter of Californias population, continued to see the states largest increase in confirmed coronavirus cases. California reported on Saturday its fourth-highest daily total of newly confirmed coronavirus cases, with more than 9,000. The state also reported an additional 120 deaths. Last week Garcetti said he wouldnt hesitate to again shut down all but essential businesses. Those comments came days after California Gov. Gavin Newsom shut bars and indoor dining statewide, and ordered closures of hair salons, gyms, malls and other indoor businesses in Los Angeles and other counties experiencing the most significant surge of virus cases. Garcetti told CNNs Jake Tapper on Sunday that Los Angeles currently has adequate hospital capacity a good supply of ventilators. Los Angeles County reported a record-high number of COVID-19 patients in its hospitals last week, and the overall share of tests that have come back positive jumped from 8% to nearly 10%. The mayor attributed the increase in spread not just to the reopenings, but also to people becoming less vigilant about following public health guidance and gathering with others outside their households. Its not just whats open and closed, he said. Its also about what we do individually. Officials have reiterated that people must wear masks and maintain social distancing to slow the spread. In other news about the outbreak in California: Officials said a rare but serious and potentially deadly inflammatory syndrome believed to be associated with the coronavirus has been identified in 15 children in Los Angeles County. Multi-system inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, can cause different parts of the body to become inflamed. Symptoms include fever, vomiting, diarrhea, neck pain, rash, bloodshot eyes and exhaustion. Of the children, 73% were Latino, representing a disproportionate burden for the ethnic group, the Los Angeles Times reported. Merced County in central California has not conducted contact tracing for weeks, according to the Merced Sun-Star. Kristyn Sullivan, the countys supervising epidemiologist, said the county is now only doing case investigations _ reaching out to infected people to tell them to quarantine, but not asking about their close contacts or all the places theyve been recently. She said that interviewing people about their contacts has become ineffective because there are too many cases. CalMatters reached out to 27 California counties with rising infections to ask about their extent of contact tracing. Merced was the only one that confirmed in June that it was no longer conducting it at all, although six did not respond. The other 21 said they were tracing most people or at least some. Napa County north of San Francisco will start fining people who dont wear masks from $25 to $500. County supervisors last week passed an ordinance that would also impose fines of up to $5,000 for businesses that receive repeated complaints of people not wearing face coverings. The citations are a last resort only for repeat offenders and will be issued by code enforcement employees, not law enforcement officers, KPIX-TV reported. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics California COVID-19 Close Trump cancels Republican convention in Jacksonville over coronavirus concerns During a Friday briefing, White House secretary Kayleigh McEnany shared a video of Portland protestors described by critics as "propaganda" following Donald Trump's call to send federal law enforcement to cities across the US. The United Nations has pleaded with the US to halt the use of force against journalists, at least 70 of which have been placed in custody during Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Trump's administration has defended pushing for schools to reopen in the coming weeks, following the release of Centres for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines that downplay the agency's own findings about the risks of infections among school-aged children. During a Friday briefing, Ms McEnany said: "Even if there is transmission ... we believe that students should be going back to school because the effect on a child we know scientifically they are not affected the same way as an adult." Mr Trump meanwhile sat for a softball interview with Barstool Sports in which he admitted regretting some late-night posts on Twitter and boasted about being in rap songs while calling the Covid-19 outbreak a "downer". "We were doing a great job," he said. "We were sailing. George Washington would've had a hard time beating us ... And then when the China virus came in. It's a dampener, it's a downer." The president has also signed a series of orders in an effort to lower prescription drug costs, despite pushback from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell over similar legislative efforts from Democrats. Without any deal in sight, Congress has failed to extend federal unemployment benefits, which expire for most Americans this week. More than 30 million people or roughly one in five workers are unemployment amid the pandemic. Follow live coverage as it happened Please allow a moment for the liveblog to load Hopping on to your smartphone or computer for watching YouTube and experiencing endlessly buffering, playback problems, black screens is one of the worst feelings. In frustration, you would have questioned yourself, why is youtube not working on my computer? Or why are youtube videos not playing? Thankfully, the nagging issues with YouTube on smartphones and computers can be fixed. However, pointing out the actual cause behind youtube not working is somewhat difficult. Consequently, go through every single solution shared in this article for resolving your YouTube problems. Why Is Youtube Not Working/ loading, How To Fix? Here are the steps that you can follow to fix the youtube issues if it is not working on your phone or PC. These fixes are tested and found to be working and resolve the issue in most cases. 1. Inspect If Theres Some Problem With Your Internet Connection At times due to poor connectivity or slow internet speed, YouTube wont load. Therefore before checking out the other solutions for YouTube videos not playing, inspect and verify if theres any problem with your internet. Performing a basic google search or opening any website is more than enough for this inspection. If the website loads up normally move on to the next solutions. However, if the website doesnt load up then theres some issue with your Internet. To solve the internet issues you may check the internet settings of your PC, restart the router, or simply contact your ISP. 2. Check If YouTube Is Down On very rare occasions, YouTube experiences a complete outage. Although, regional outages are somewhat common. As a result, check whether or not YouTube is down in your region. If the service is down in your region, you are bound to face the YouTue not working problems. In order to check if theres any problem at YouTubes end, you may use the website outrage.report. 3. Restart Your Computer I have written plenty of troubleshooting guides, and through my experience, I can say that simply restarting your computer might fix YouTube not playing issues. When you restart your computer it closes all unnecessary programs and anything that might be causing YouTube playback problems is also terminated in the process. After restarting your computer, open YouTube on any web-browser, and if YouTube still wont load then move on to the next step. 4. Delete Cache, Cookies, And Data Expired cookies and corrupted data can be another reason why YouTube is not working on your computer. To resolve this problem, paste the URL chrome://settings/clearBrowserData and hit enter. In the dropdown of the time range select All Time. Lastly, relaunch your browser and open YouTube. 5. Update Your Browser Generally, browsers install the latest updates automatically. That said if you are running an older verison of Chrome then the latest build of YouTube might not be compatible with your web browser. In such a case, you have to update your browser. To do so, paste chrome://settings/help in the URL bar and Google Chrome will automatically start updating itself. Once the update process is completed, relaunch Chrome. 6. Remove Suspicious Extensions Extensions modify the way we use our browsers. If YouTube is not working on your computer properly then an incompatible extension might be the reason. To solve this problem, I advise you to cross-check all of your installed extensions by pasting chrome://extensions/ in the URL Bar. One by one disable each extension and check whether YouTube starts opening properly or not. The process is a bit tedious but you might get an answer to why isnt youtube working by following this procedure. 7. Re-Install Your Web-Browser If any of the browser-based fixes for youtube is not working didnt work for you, then you should try re-installing your web-browser. The process of re-installing any program is self-explanatory. A word of advice, before uninstalling your web browser ensure that you have downloaded the setup file of the browser. To do so you can use Microsoft Edge. 8. Verify Browser Compatibility Almost every mainstream browser supports YouTube. However, there are certain browsers that are no longer compatible with YouTube. One of the prominent among the bunch is the Pale Moon open-source web browser. Google is planning to incrementally make the Pale Moon browser incompatible with YouTube. Moreover, certain web browsers are also incompatible with 4K YouTube streaming. For instance, you can only stream a maximum resolution of 1080p on Apples default Safari web browser. 9. Install The Latest Video Drivers Updating your graphics drivers can instantly resolve the YouTube black screen and white screen problems. The latest graphic drivers can be directly downloaded from the manufacturers website. Once downloaded, follow the on-screen instructions to install these drivers. Well, if you are unable to locate and download your graphics card driver online then follow these simple steps. Open Device Manager Locate the Display Adapters section Select the graphics card of your choice and right-click to update the driver. In a matter of a few minutes, the graphics card will be updated automatically. After updating the graphics card driver, restart your computer. 10. Inspect YouTube Website Settings Its impossible to stream a YouTube video without Javascripts and if you are facing the youtube not opening issue then try enabling Javascript. To open the Javascript settings, paste chrome://settings/content/javascript in the URL bar. Next up, on the Javascript option enable Allowed (recommended). If everything goes will YouTube will now function properly on your computer. 11. Check Your Date, Time, And Region Settings It might sound awkward, but the wrong timezone or region settings on your device can cause syncing and YouTube-related issues. Similar to other YouTube videos not playing fixes shared in this article, rectifying the date, time, and region settings are also simple. To do so locate the time-related section in the settings of your device. Next up, ensure automatic time and date are turned on. After making the changes, restart your device. 12. Enable/Disable Hardware Acceleration For streaming high-quality videos, YouTube utilizes the system resources of a computer to its full potential. That said if you have a low-powered laptop or an old house desktop then disabling hardware acceleration can fix YouTube wont work on my computer issue. On the other hand, if the hardware acceleration is accidentally disabled on your computer then also YouTube wont work on your system. To disable or enable hardware acceleration find its dedicated section in Chrome settings chrome://settings/system. 13. Update Operating System In addition to updating the browser, you can even update Windows. Microsoft releases Windows updates regularly. A majority of these updates have some issues associated with them. In fact, users have reported that certain versions of Windows 10 render some of your apps and games unusable. So the next thing that I would advise you to do is update Windows 10. To do so, open Settings and then click on the Update & Security icon. In the WIndows update panel click on Check for updates. 14. Check Whether YouTube Is Blocked Or Not If you are accessing YouTube on an office or an educational institute computer then there are very high chances that the administrator might have restricted access to YouTube. Even though its fairly difficult to surpass such a restriction but you can try using a VPN. 15. YouTube Sound Problems Streaming Youtube videos without sound are undoubtedly frustrating. In order to resolve the YouTube sound problem firstly ensure that your system sound and the video volume slider are not muted. Next up, paste the URL chrome://settings/content/sound in the address bar and ensure that Allow sites to play sound is enabled. YouTube sound problems can also be caused by an outdated flash player. These fixes can also be used if YouTube video loads but wont play. 16. YouTube Upload Problems YouTube upload problems are also quite common these days. If you facing problems while uploading a YouTube video then firstly check your upload speeds. Next up, ensure that your exported video adheres to the strict limits set by YouTube in terms of size, length, and format. YouTube Not Working Fixes For Android And iOS Devices In the next section of the article, I have shared three easy ways to fix YouTube not working problems on Android and iOS smartphones. 1. Restart Your Smartphone Similar to your computer restarting your smartphone or tablet can easily fix the youtube not playing issue. To restart your device hold the power button and select the restart option. Once restarted, relaunch YouTube, and if it still doesnt open move on to the next step. 2. Clear The App Cache And Data Is Youtube not loading on your device? Deleting YouTubes cache and data on your Android device can also fix the loading problem with YouTube videos. To clear YouTube cache and data, open settings and in the Apps section locate YouTube. Tap on the storage option and select clear cache/ clear data. Additionally, you can even bring back YouTube to the factory version by uninstalling updates. 3. Install The Latest Version Of YouTube App Is youtube app not working for you? Google updates the official YouTube application on a regular basis. Consequently, its advised to keep the YouTube app updated. In order to do so, open Google Play Store, and in the My apps & games section tap the Update button right next to YouTube. Apart from the aforementioned solution ensure that your smartphone is connected to the Internet, the date and time are set correctly, and lastly, if theres any software update available for your smartphone install it. Even after going through all of the troubleshooting steps shared in this article, you are unable to playback YouTube videos, then reach out to YouTube on Twitter. While tweeting your problem tag the official support handle of Twitter i.e. @TeamYouTube. Dhaka, July 22 : The trial transshipment of goods from India to its northeast, via the sea route, started on Tuesday after four containers bound for the region were unloaded from a merchant vessel at Bangladesh's Chittagong port, officials said on Tuesday. India and Bangladesh had signed an MoU for goods for northeast India transiting via Bangladesh's ports - a small but significant opening up of both Bangladesh's ports under the broader economic relationship between the two countries. Chittagong Port Authority Secretary Md Omar Faruk told IANS on Tuesday: "The first ship under the trial run of transshipment of Indian goods to its northeastern states through Bangladesh arrived at Chattogram (Chittagong) port on Tuesday morning. "MV Shejyoti, carrying back to Chattogam 4 TEUs (20-feet equivalent unit) with 221 containers full of transhipment goods from India's Haldia port, reached the NCT-1 Berth, the outer anchorage of Chattogram port at around 1.25 a.m. But as night navigation is restricted in the port, that is why we started the navigation at morning," he said. MV Shejyoti had left the Syama Prasad Mukherjee port of Kolkata on July 17. Handling of the containers was completed before midnight and the container trailers started for Akhaura with an escort provided by Bangladesh's customs security. Shipping agent sources said the four containers under the trial transshipment contain iron rods and pulses. Those will head to Agartala through the Akhaura Land Port. The consignment of rods will be brought to West Tripura's Jirania from Agartala, while the pulses will go to Assam's Karimganj. Habibur Rahman of Mango Lines, the agent for the merchant vessel, had said that offloading may begin also on Tuesday after completing the formalities. Indian transshipment goods would enjoy a 28-day free-stay after offloading at the port as per the international transshipment agreement. Bangladesh will earn 254 takas from the scanning of each container loaded with transshipment goods. Bangladeshi importers also pay the same charge. Similarly, 30 takas document processing fee for each consignment of Indian goods will be levied, the same amount charged on Bangladeshi importers. Joint Commissioner of the Customs House S.M. Shamsuzzaman said the transshipped goods will have to pay police 50 takas per tonne as escort charge to reach the Indian border in Tripura from the port by road. Usually a 20 feet container carries a maximum of 30 tons of goods. According to this estimation, Bangladesh will realise around 1, 500 takas as escort charge for accompanying goods of a container to the border. Akhaura Customs Officer Harunur Rashid said they have taken necessary preparations for the transportation of the Indian goods, under the trial run. India is transporting goods to its northeastern states, using Bangladeshi ports, as per the agreement on "The Use of Chattogram and Mongla Ports for Movement of Goods to and from India" signed between Dhaka and Delhi in 2018 and a standard operating procedure (SoP) signed in October 2019. Earlier, the Indian government used the Ashuganj river port to transport goods for the Palatana Power Plant in Tripura through the Akhaura land port. On the new chapter in connectivity with Bangladesh via container shipping, India's Shipping Minister Mansukh Mandaviya said that the transit route will open new opportunities for both countries. He said that it will provide an alternative and shorter route to connect the northeast region through Bangladesh, reducing distance and time taken in transportation of goods for India and is a win-win for both the economies. On the other hand, job creation, investment in the logistical sector, enhanced business services and revenue generation are advantages that will accrue to Bangladesh. Bangladeshi vessels and trucks will be utilised to move the Indian cargo, the Indian government said. India and Bangladesh have enhanced cooperation in shipping and inland water trade in recent years. Under the Protocol on Inland Water Transit and Trade, in addition to the six existing Ports of Call, five more in each country have been added recently. Dredging of inland waterway routes is ongoing under an MoU, signed by the two countries on development of selected stretches of Bangladesh waterways. The trial transportation of goods to the northeastern states by road, via Bangladesh, had started earlier. The saplings donated by farmers in Anji, Zhejiang Province, bring hope to ethnic groups living in impoverished Pu'an County, Guizhou Province. [For China Daily] An elegant tea bag caught people's attention as Xu Ping, a deputy from Qingchuan County, Sichuan Province, shared a story of how this small item made such a great difference to her hometown with other participants at the third session of the 13th National People's Congress in Beijing in May. The bag, in white cloth with an embroidered pattern of two green tea leaves, contained Baiye Yihao, or White Leaf No 1, a white tea. Saplings were donated by farmers in Anji County in Huzhou of Zhejiang Province to Qingchuan. In April 2018, 20 farmers in Huangdu Village in Anji all members of the Communist Party of China wrote a letter to President Xi Jinping, recounting their initiative in donating 15 million tea saplings to help people in poor areas. "When drinking the water of a well, one should never forget those who dug it. After becoming rich, we have never forgotten the kindness and love of the Party," the farmers wrote in the letter. It's of great significance that those who have already become well-off help those who are still living in poverty, Xi said in response to the letter in July that year, praising the farmers for their donations. Later that year, a total of 34 villages in Hunan, Sichuan and Guizhou provinces were designated to receive the donated tea saplings. Qingchuan received a total of 5.4 million tea saplings from Anji, and in March this year, the first batch of Baiye Yihao tea was picked. It is expected that these donated saplings will help 633 households of farmers in Qingchuan to be lifted out of poverty by 2022, Xu says. In Southwest China's Guizhou Province, the donated tea saplings have also played a vital role in helping the poverty-stricken population to shrug off their impoverishment. Zhang Yong, the head of Zhiqiang Village, was particularly excited when the saplings arrived at Zhongzhai Township, Yanhe Tujia Autonomous County of Tongren in Guizhou, on October 20, 2018. Just two hours after their arrival, Zhang, along with a representative from Anji, planted the first one at 6 am in the drizzle. "Tea is a product that can generate revenue in the long term. If developed well, it will substantially increase the villagers' income," Zhang says. This is not the first time that Zhang started growing tea in the village, but due to the lack of funding, the previous attempts did not yield satisfactory results. "Because the natural environment of our village is suitable for growing tea, the village has a long tradition of making tea and we still have a few tea trees left." In 2017, a dozen farmers from the village established a professional cooperative for tea planting, with each person investing 5,000 yuan ($715). "Because we didn't have the knowledge and technology, we simply processed our tea leaves and sold them to surrounding villages. It wasn't really a proper business. Only when our village was selected as the location for growing Anji white tea, did we adopt a systematic approach to developing our tea industry," Zhang says. In August 2018, Zhang and some other officials from Yanhe went on a one-week field trip to investigate the local white tea industry in Anji. When he came back, the village started cultivating the barren mountains for farming. Zhang says because of the villagers' enthusiasm, they cultivated 33 hectares of land in a month. For the first batch, Huangdu village in Anji donated 3.6 million saplings. And just 20 days after the saplings arrived, the three villages of Zhiqiang, Dazhai and Sanhuixi in Yanhe finished planting them. These saplings covered 80 hectares of land in the three villages. More than 1,500 people from 381 impoverished households participated in the plantations' maintenance, including weeding, plowing and fertilizing, getting paid over 2.5 million yuan in total. A tea planter in Anji, Zhejiang Province, checks the saplings which will be donated to Guizhou Province. [For China Daily] Tian Hongjun is one of the first farmers engaged in the tea planting in Dazhai Village. Together with three other fellow villagers, he launched a cooperative, contracting and planting the tea saplings in Dazhai in 2018. Tian used to work in a brick factory in Jiangxi Province, 700 kilometers from his hometown. "It was hard. My wife stayed at home to take care of our children and our 2.7 hectares of land went to waste without farming," the 38-year-old recalls. "Now farmers in the village, aside from looking after their own farmlands, can work at the tea-planting cooperative with a daily income of 80 yuan," Tian says proudly. Zhang, of Zhiqiang Village, emphasizes the success was also due to the comprehensive support offered by institutes and companies from Zhejiang Province. When they encountered difficulties in growing tea, experts from the Tea Research Institute of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences provided them with technical support. Because white tea requires a complicated manufacturing process, Yuanfeng Tea Machinery company from Anji donated 31 sets of white tea processing machinery to the tea cooperative in Zhiqiang Village. The sales are covered by Zhejiang Tea Group, which established a company in Yanhe County especially to help build an integrated supply chain. Fu Gang, Party chief of Dazhai Village, says that their villagers only used to growtea on a small scale and had little experience in running tea plantations, so, in the beginning, the villagers were concerned whether the plantation would actually turn a profit. "Thankfully, apart from donating tea saplings to us, Huangdu village also offers us support in growing and management, and Zhejiang Tea Group helps us sell the tea. Our concerns are all resolved," Fu says. Since 2019, Zhongzhai Township has been expanding its tea planting area, adding more than 330 hectares of newly built plantations in seven other villages, bringing an income of 3.5 million yuan to 3,016 households, 13,172 people in total, including 1,235 impoverished households. The town aims to plant another 110 hectares of tea this year. According to the local government report, white tea production has become the major industry of the town, not only enabling the residents to seek local job opportunities, but also attracting people there for work or to trade. The town has been developing eco-friendly agriculture, including livestock breeding, ensuring that all residents struggling with poverty can make a living by participating in these causes. Fu says that in 2018, Dazhai Village registered 139 impoverished households, 686 people altogether, and by the end of 2019, 114 households and 586 people have been taken off the list. The remaining 25 impoverished households followed soon after. Meng Pinghong, an NPC deputy and a researcher with the Guizhou Academy of Agricultural Sciences, says such measures are regarded as a vital element in China's poverty alleviation efforts, as through developing local industries, such as tea-plantation, more of the poverty-stricken population will ensure a stable and increasing income, with their jobs being secured locally. (Source: China Daily) Prime minister to meet top Iranian leaders a day after deferring trip to Riyadh over King Salmans hospitalisation. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has arrived in Irans capital, Tehran, in his first visit abroad since taking office more than two months ago. Al-Kadhimi, who was greeted by officials at Mehrabad Airport on Tuesday, is expected to meet top Iranian officials, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and President Hassan Rouhani. His delegation includes Iraqs ministers of foreign affairs, finance, health and planning, as well as his national security adviser, according to Iranian media. We hope to have constructive talks for deepening relations between the two countries, said Irans government spokesman Ali Rabiei. The Iraqi prime minister had been scheduled to visit Saudi Arabia for his first trip abroad, before heading to Iran in a carefully calibrated balancing act between the two regional rivals. However, his trip to Riyadh was postponed after Saudi King Salman was hospitalised on Monday. Baghdad has often found itself caught in the tug-of-war between Saudi Arabia, Iran and the United States, which al-Kadhimi is also set to visit within the next few weeks. Over the weekend, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Baghdad in his first trip to Iraq since a US drone strike in January killed top Iranian General Qassem Soleimani outside the Iraqi capitals international airport. The attack pushed Iraq to the brink of a US-Iran proxy war that could have destabilised the Middle East. Before Zarifs visit, Iraqi security analyst Ahmad al-Abyad told Al Jazeera the trip was meant to communicate two messages. One is a cushioned warning to al-Kadhimi not to go forward with attempts to shore up economic links with the Gulf states, and the other is a message of mediation to its regional rival Saudi Arabia. In Baghdad, Zarif paid a visit to the site where Soleimani, who led the overseas arm of the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, was killed, saying Iran-Iraq relations will not be shaken. Al-Kadhimi, a former head of Iraqs National Intelligence Service, became prime minister in May after nearly six months of wrangling in the wake of a political crisis sparked by months of anti-establishment protests. He has been a strong advocate of Iraqs sovereignty, and has upset armed groups within Iraq that are affiliated to Iran, such as the Kataib Hezbollah militia. Last month, al-Khadimi ordered a raid on a Kataib Hezbollah base in Baghdad, which led to the detention of 14 of its members. Within days, 13 of the detainees were released, and the militia pledged to take legal action against al-Kadhimi. Iran, meanwhile, sees Iraq as a possible route to bypass crippling US sanctions that President Donald Trump re-imposed on Tehran in 2018 following Washingtons unilateral withdrawal from a 2015 nuclear deal signed between Iran and world powers. Last year, Irans exports to Iraq amounted to nearly $9bn, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday. It said the two nations would discuss increasing that amount to $20bn. Since the outbreak of the new coronavirus, religious tourism between Iraq and Iran has stopped. Before the pandemic, some five million tourists bringing in nearly $5bn a year visited Shia holy sites in the two countries. LONDON A long-awaited report into Russian influence in Britain was finally published on Tuesday, painting a damning picture of the failure of successive British governments to combat a series of threats and interference in its affairs, ranging from disinformation to the purchase of influence. The British took their eye off the ball and are still playing catch up, the report revealed, concluding that Britain was one of Moscows top intelligence targets amid growing diplomatic tensions between the two nations. As Kevan Jones, a member of Parliament who served on the intelligence committee that released the report, said on Tuesday, Russian interference in Britain is the new normal, and a major overhaul is needed to counter Moscows destabilization efforts in the future. Here are some of the main takeaways of the report. British intelligence agencies ignored the threat posed by Moscow. According to the report, intelligence agencies ignored threats from Russian interference that they should have seen coming. No one agency seems to have been responsible for protecting Britains democratic process during a series of high profile votes and the report said that it was surprisingly difficult to establish who has responsibility for that. Pottsville, PA (17901) Today Mostly sunny skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. High 41F. Winds SSW at 5 to 10 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies early followed by a mixture of light rain and snow overnight. Some sleet may mix in. Low 29F. Winds W at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of precip 80%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. At CLP meet, CM Ashok Gehlot assures of win, attacks betrayers Gehlot made the statements at a Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting held on the outskirts of Jaipur at the Fairmont hotel, where the 100-odd legislators who are part of his camp have been housed for the last week. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot speaks to media persons outside Hotel Fairmont while on his way to the CM residence. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Kroger Co. (KR) Tuesday said it reached a tentative agreement with 20 local unions of the United Food and Commercial Workers to withdraw from the UFCW International Union-Industry Pension Fund, a multi-employer pension plan. The new deal would allow 33,000 Kroger family of companies' associates across 14 divisions to participate in a new variable annuity pension plan that improves security for future retirement benefits. The tentative agreement has been approved by Kroger and the National Fund board of trustees. The 20 UFCW local unions representing Kroger family of companies' associates have agreed to present this tentative agreement to their members for ratification. Kroger continues to expect to exceed the 2020 outlook shared in its April 1 business update for identical sales without fuel, adjusted FIFO operating profit, adjusted EPS and adjusted free cash flow. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Consolidated Bank Ghana (CBG) has renovated the Airport Police Station and also supported the Accra Central Police Divisional Headquarters as well as the East Legon District Police Headquarters, all in Accra. The support is to enable the Service to deliver on its mandate, particularly in the era of the coronavirus pandemic, where they are being made to perform additional tasks such as enforcing Covid-19 protocols. The indigenous bank gave the Airport District Police Station, a complete facelift and donated furniture, household appliances and electronic gadgets to the Accra Central Police Divisional Headquarters and East Legon District Police Headquarters. In a short ceremony to handover the newly renovated Airport Police Station, the Managing Director of CBG, Daniel Wilson Addo, commended the Ghana Police Service for their efforts toward the fight against the pandemic in Ghana. He noted the central role that the Police plays in the fight against the virus and enjoined the public to support them. I want to commend the Ghana Police Service for the various roles you play in ensuring the safety of Ghanaians, particularly in the area of enforcement of the restrictions imposed to help contain the spread of COVID-19 in the country. CBG celebrates you for your efforts in these difficult times, he said. The CBG Boss added that for Ghana Police Service to achieve its aim, they need to be equipped with modern facilities, so we thought it wise to respond to the needs of some of the Stations including the facelift we have given to the Airport District Police Station right here. He reiterated the banks commitment to the COVID-19 fight, and said it will continue to extend its support to various institutions involved in checking the spread of the novel virus. On their part, Dcop/Mr. Frederick Adu-Anim, Accra Regional Commander and C/Supt. Mr. Eric Asamoah Asiedu, Airport District Commander commended CBG for revamping the Airport District Police Station to give it a fresh look and increase staff safety as well. The Airport District Commander further called on other institutions to emulate the good works of CBG to support the Ghana Police Service discharge its duties effectively and efficiently. Since the outbreak of the pandemic, CBG has made a number of donations to institutions including Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, the Covid-19 National Trust Fund, the Ministry of Health and the Northern Development Authority. The Bank also supported the University of Ghana Medical Centre, the Potters Village Orphanage and during the partial lockdown provided for some communities in Greater Accra and Ashanti regions. 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 A group of assailants opened fire on a vehicle carrying Gedik Iskander, killing him as he toured polling stations in the area reports Shaam Network. The head of al-Harak City in Daraa Governorate, was assassinated by unknown persons who targeted his vehicle, which was transporting him and five members of the police through the eastern Daraa countryside. Sources confirmed the killing of Gedik Iskandar, Director of al-Harak City, and indicated that he was killed by machine gun fire. Information about the fate of the five officers is still unknown. The Ministry of Interior, affiliated with the regime, acknowledged the killing as pictures were published showing the transfer of Iskandars body from National Izra Hospital. According to the Ministry of Interiors online posting, the officer was killed while he was touring polling stations yesterday near al-Harak. This comes amid media sources talking about the increased frequency of security operations such as explosions of a mysterious nature as well as assassinations that are targeting officers and members of the regime, especially in many regime-controlled areas. The Daraa Governorate has been witnessing continuous bombings, assassinations, and the targeting of Assads men. Most of these assassinations have targeted former members of the Free Syrian Army, who joined the regime following settlements and reconciliations. Additionally, there have been a number of operations targeting regime forces in many areas of the governorate. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Washington Tue, July 21, 2020 09:07 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406680372f 2 Science & Tech Facebook,Donald-Trump,Mark-Zuckerberg Free Facebook chief Mark Zuckerberg said in an interview published Monday he has "no deal of any kind" with President Donald Trump on content moderation on the social media giant. Zuckerberg, in an interview with Axios, rejected the "speculation" that Facebook had an arrangement that gives the president free rein on the platform. "Let me be clear: There's no deal of any kind," Zuckerberg told the news site. "Actually, the whole idea of a deal is pretty ridiculous." The comments come with Facebook under intense pressure, and a growing boycott from advertisers, to curb hateful content that may promote violence, including from Trump. Facebook's longstanding policy has been to steer clear of fact-checking political speech but it did take down an ad from the Trump campaign that included a symbol used in Nazi Germany. "There are a lot of people who've said that maybe we're too sympathetic or too close in some way to the Trump administration," Zuckerberg said. He noted that despite his discussions with Trump, Facebook has had a number of conflicts with the current administration including attacks on Section 230, which gives online services a liability shield from content posted by third parties. "Under this administration, we've faced record fines of $5 billion, are under antitrust investigation by multiple agencies, and have been targeted by an executive order to strip protections in Section 230," he said. He added that "I do speak with the president from time to time, just like I spoke with our last president and political leaders around the world." Zuckerberg said he accepted an invitation to a private White House dinner with Trump "because I was in town and he is the president of the United States." He pointed out that "I also had multiple meals and meetings with President Obama ... both at the White House and outside, including hosting an event for him at Facebook HQ." The National Science Foundation announced this week that CU Boulder will receive a $25 million award to launch a new quantum science and engineering research center. The new center will be led by physicist Jun Ye and is a partnership with 11 other research organizations in the United States and abroad. Together, these pioneers will explore several "grand challenges." They include how exotic quantum phenomena, such as quantum entanglement, will advance new frontiers in measurement science; how quantum sensing can help researchers to discover new fundamental physics; and how researchers can turn those advancements into real-world technologies. "Imagine if we can build robust quantum systems that can go outside of our labs, that can completely change how we sense the physical world, how we navigate and how we communicate with each other," said Ye, a fellow in JILA, a partnership between CU Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST). "We're asking how we can take advantage of recent advances in quantum physics to actually solve useful problems for society." The new center is named Quantum Systems through Entangled Science and Engineering (Q-SEnSE), a nod to its focus on building close ties between scientists and engineers. "We are proud to partner in this new center, which will address key priorities for NIST and the nation--quantum science, measurement science and advancing U.S. innovation," said Under Secretary of Commerce for Standards and Technology and NIST Director Walter G. Copan. "NIST and JILA are recognized world leaders in quantum science, and we're delighted with the strength of the team that has been assembled with Jun Ye as the first director of Q-SEnSE." Ye added that the new center, CU Boulder's third major NSF center, will also focus on educating and training the young people who will become the quantum workforce of the future. CU Boulder has a strong tradition and strength in this area, and is already forming partnerships with schools and community colleges across the Rocky Mountain region to do just that. Establishing the Q-SEnSE center is the latest step in the university's campaign to grow Colorado into what Ye calls "the quantum capital of the world." "This center is an exciting next step to expand on our CUbit Quantum Initiative, which brings together JILA, Engineering, Sciences, NIST and academic and industry partners in the region," said Vice Chancellor for Research and Innovation Terri Fiez. "Q-SEnSE will allow us to leverage the full power of our combined quantum capabilities to lead the global quantum revolution." The new center emerges, in part, from decades of research by Ye and his students and colleagues on atomic clocks--devices that use networks of strontium atoms to track the passage of time with previously unimaginable accuracy. Such clocks, he added, could also become precise navigational or scientific sensors, capable of detecting even minute shifts in Earth's gravitational pull. But the practical application of such technologies has, to date, lagged behind their promise and performance in the lab. "A major challenge is: How do we engineer these sensitive systems to be robust?" said Ye, also a professor adjoint in the Department of Physics at CU Boulder. "It's not just about putting them in a box." The new NSF center will work toward that goal. Over five years, Ye and his colleagues at CU Boulder and its 11 partner organizations will not only explore the fundamental physics underlying devices like atomic clocks. They'll also partner with engineers to turn those dynamics into tools that anyone can use. Forming those new connections among disciplines has also been a key component of CU Boulder's CUbit Quantum Initiative, launched in 2019. "A challenge as big as quantum requires collaboration between many types of scientists and engineers. This type of collaboration requires a catalyzing event," said Greg Rieker, an associate professor in the Paul M. Rady Department of Mechanical Engineering and a co-principal investigator of Q-SEnSE. "This grant is the event that we needed." Ye added that the center isn't just a Colorado initiative--solving these global challenges will take leaders from across the globe. "This center will have a national impact because it takes national leaders to solve these grand challenges together," Ye said. "We feel really fortunate to have great people from both coasts and up and down the Rocky Mountains on our team." The new center will include researchers from Harvard University, MIT, Stanford University, University of Delaware, University of Oregon, University of New Mexico and the University of Innsbruck in Austria. Several government labs, including NIST, Los Alamos National Laboratory, MIT Lincoln Laboratory and Sandia National Laboratory, will play major roles in the initiative. Other CU Boulder and JILA investigators in the center include Svenja Knappe, Dana Anderson, Penina Axelrad, Juliet Gopinath, Murray Holland, Shu-Wei Huang, Adam Kaufman, Konrad Lehnert, Heather Lewandowski, Claire Monteleoni, Cindy Regal, Ana Maria Rey and James Thompson. "Quantum information science has the potential to change the world. But to realize that potential, we must first answer some fundamental research questions," said Dr. Sethuraman Panchanathan, NSF Director. "Through the Quantum Leap Challenge Institutes, NSF is making targeted investments. Within five years, we are confident these institutes can make tangible advances to help carry us into a true quantum revolution." "Quantum sensors that measure everything from light to gravity's effects have the potential to bring us more precise measurements than we've ever been able to capture, but we have not yet come close to even glimpsing realizing those full possibilities," said NSF Program Director Dominique Dagenais. "This center will take on the challenging work of realizing implementing the potential of quantum sensing, taking our ideas and translating them into new research findings and technologies." "We are excited to participate in this Quantum Leap Challenge Institute, which will advance scientific, technological educational and industrial foundations for quantum sensors, measurements and networks," said Mark Kasevich, professor of physics and applied physics at Stanford. "The Quantum Leap Challenge Institute is a fantastic possibility to really bring a wide range of ideas and abilities to an impactful point," said Susanne Yelin, professor in residence at Harvard University. "I personally am very excited by the prospect to strongly collaborate with so many experiments and other theorists." "It is exciting to once again be involved with our long-time collaborators at JILA, especially because we are now focused on using some of the tools developed at JILA and the Center for Ultracold Atoms to take the next step in quantum precision measurement," said John Doyle, professor of physics at Harvard. "Q-SEnSE will tackle the goals of the National Quantum Initiative head on: addressing basic research in Quantum Information Science (QIS), expanding the number of researchers, educators and students with training in QIS and promoting the development and inclusion of multidisciplinary curriculum and research opportunities for QIS at the undergraduate, graduate and postdoctoral level," said Ivan Deutsch, director of the Center for Quantum Information and Control at the University of New Mexico. "Quantum technologies are likely to provide significant breakthroughs in areas such as new sensors, precision timekeeping, fundamental new discoveries through precision measurements and possibly quantum computing," said Vladan Vuletic, professor of physics at MIT. "There is now a worldwide race between Europe, Asia and the U.S. to develop and apply quantum technologies, and the new institute will train a significant number of students in this emerging area." ### Former minister and PDP operative Femi Fani-Kayode and out-lawed IPOB leader Nnamidi Kanu were jolly friends and sworn enemy of Fulani imperialism and President Muhammadu Buhariuntil things changed lately. Now turbaned as Sadaukin Shinkafi of the Shinkafi Emirate in Zamfara, Fani-Kayode, a Bible-thumping born-again Christian, will be tongue-tiedto the chagrin of Kanu. But who caresso long as it feels good? I am highly impressed with this title given to me as one of the heroes of Shinkafi emirate, he said at a press briefing in Gusau after the ceremony.The Emir of Shinkafi, Muhammad Makwashe, also praised Fanikayode, saying the title was conferred on the Fulani-hater for his support and contributions to the development of Shinkafi emirate. Whatever Fani-Kayode, who left public service in 2007, did to develop and support the Fulani emirate? Nothing concreteother than the bile dripping in his pen, especially against the federal government effort to implement the Rural Grazing Area, a pro-Fulani policy in 2019. In one of his many articles against the RUGA, Fani-Kayode likened the implementation to pushing Nigerian to the brink of war simply because of their inexplicable and disgusting attraction to a mooing cow and their inordinate ambition and insatiable desire to conquer others. They cannot use their cows and herdsmen from hell to cut us short and mow us down like the winter wheat and the summer grass, he wrote in the Punch June 30, 2019. He prefaced the articles with quotes from Kanus speeches on Fulani overbearing airs in Nigeria, revealing how prophetic they were as RUGA took shape then. However, less than a year after his slashing criticism of RUGA, Fani-Kayode has taken a chieftaincy title from Zamfara, a Fulani state and supporter of RUGA. He cant help savoring the sweet aroma of recognition. I came to Zamfara for bridge building. I went round the state, I am impressed with the peace been restored and various infrastructural development, he said. Kanu wouldnt be really surprised seeing his ally walking back their words. But he would be disappointed. UPDATE: Roy Den Hollander told me he had terminal cancer 14 months before fatal shooting at N.J. judges home, fellow attorney says The self-described anti-feminist lawyer - who authorities said fatally shot the son of a federal judge and wounded her husband in an attack at their Middlesex County home - had a case before the jurist and railed against her in a racist and sexist post on his website. Roy Den Hollander also wrote he spent time in Russia, filed a suit against journalists claiming they were preventing President Trump from being elected, and wrote in an online essay last year that he was dying of cancer. The FBI identified Den Hollander as the primary suspect in the shooting Sunday evening at the North Brunswick home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. Den Hollander was found dead Monday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the New York town of Rockland, according to officials. Authorities have not commented on a motive for the shooting, which killed Salas 20-year-old son Daniel Anderl and left her husband, Mark Anderl, hospitalized. Salas was the judge in a 2015 lawsuit he filed in federal court claiming the Selective Service System, which requires men to register for military draft, discriminates against both sexes in violation of Equal Protection as incorporated into the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. A then-20-year-old Morris County woman wanted to register, but was denied because of her gender, according to published reports at the time. Salas ruled the suit could move forward, though Den Hollander since left the case. CNN reported he told another lawyer he left the case because he was terminally ill. Den Hollander wrote in an online essay in 2019 about having cancer and about a planned hearing apparently before Salas, the first Hispanic woman to be appointed to the U.S. District Court in New Jersey. All of this was a nice stressful addition since it occurred in the middle of preparing for oral argument in a federal case before a lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama, he wrote. In another online screed, Den Hollander wrote he researched Salas background and made racist comments about Hispanic judges. The document was posted on a website with its domain name registered to Den Hollander. He decried Salas earlier legal career, describing her as working for an ambulance chasing firm and representing neer-do-wells as a federal public defender. Den Hollander also criticized Salas for joining politically correct organizations trying to convince America that whites, especially white males, were barbarians, and all those of a darker skin complexion were victims. The document also disparaged Hispanic women on the bench as usually a problemdriven by an inferiority complex. Den Hollander graduated from Columbia University Business School with an MBA in 1997, according to a school spokesman, and George Washington University Law School in 1985, a representative for that school confirmed. His resume, posted online on his website, says he worked at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the mid 1980s, after spending two years as a producer and editor at WABC TV News in New York City. The suspect gunman worked for a law firm, and also a solo attorney, his resume says, including in the 1990s as an attorney, for companies, individuals, and nonprofit organizations in America, Russia, and Ecuador, he wrote. Den Hollander attracted brushes of notoriety over the years as a mens rights advocate, who raged against feminism. Among suits he filed was a case alleging night clubs in New York City discriminate against men by offering ladies nights discounts. Now is the time for all good men to fight for their rights before they have no rights left, a passage on his website read. His site also refers to a Lady Judge who decided one of his cases. He also spent time in Russia and, according to his online resume, worked in Moscow for security and investigations firm Kroll between 1999 and 2000. The company could not be immediately reached Monday night. In another suit, Den Hollander brought an unsuccessful suit against Columbia University that claimed its women studies program discriminated against men, according to the New York Times. The 2008 lawsuit alleged the program demonizes men and exalts women in order to justify discrimination against men based on collective guilt. In all these cases, I tried to use the courts to fight the malignant ideology that has mutated half of the American population into automatons of the PC/Feminist collective. But it was no use--the courts were already infected, a post on his website said. NBC News reported he sued some of the networks anchors and other prominent journalists, claiming they were part of a scheme to prevent President Trump from being elected. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. An aircraft carrying South Korean experts land at Van Don Airport in Quang Ninh Province, April 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Binh Minh. More than 1,500 South Korean businesspeople are expected to fly to Vietnam on charter flights from now through next month. 570 of them, from 240 companies would arrive Wednesday, Vietnam News Agency reported, citing a source from South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. Through August, 1,500 are expected to come. All arrivals will undergo mandatory two-week quarantine. Last Sunday 101 South Korean experts, managers and high-tech workers from Incheon City arrived by charter flight to Phu Quoc, Vietnams biggest island in the southern province of Kien Giang, to work for a major business group that has a billion-dollar project there. Earlier several special flights also brought South Korean experts to Vietnam to work for tech giants such as Samsung and LG. Last week the South Korean ambassador to Vietnam, Park Noh-wan, said companies want Vietnam to be flexible with quarantine requirements for experts and executives entering the country for work. He said they wanted the quarantine period reduced from 14 days and even the requirement waived in some cases like people coming for short-term work and for important tasks like investment and signing contracts. Vietnam suspended all international flights to curb the spread of the novel coronavirus from March 25. Only Vietnamese citizens, foreigners with diplomatic passports, foreign experts or highly skilled workers are allowed the enter the country. Everyone has to be quarantined for 14 days on arrival. Since the pandemic broke out 4,300 South Koreans have been granted permission to enter Vietnam for work. South Korea was the fifth biggest investor in Vietnam in the first half of the year with nearly $545 million. South Korean businesses account for 30 percent of Vietnams total exports and provide more than 700,000 jobs. After going over three months without community transmission of novel coronavirus, Vietnam is considering a resumption in commercial flights to some Asian destinations, including Seoul, from August. Summer in Canada has brought fewer new COVID-19 infections and an economy that is slowly reopening. But even as many Canadians are breathing a collective sigh of relief, health-care leaders are preparing for a winter unlike any that has come before. Every winter is difficult for hospitals in Canada, which are often over-full and under-resourced. But this year, a potential surge of COVID-19 cases could put further stress on an already stretched system. Better publicly funded homecare needs to be part of our strategy to prepare for what may be our worst winter yet. Weve known for a long time that homecare needs to be improved. In Ontario alone, there have been several expert reports in the last few years calling for homecare reforms and two successive governments have made changes to homecare governance. Yet, problems remain. In 2018, I led a study asking patients and caregivers from across Ontario about the challenges they faced when transitioning from hospital to home. Again and again, the same answer came up: patients just simply dont get enough homecare to meet their needs. Improving homecare was the top priority for people with different backgrounds and from different regions of Ontario men and women, patients and caregivers, kids and adults, those living in rural and urban areas, those living alone and those not, those with disabilities and those without, and those with many admissions to hospital and those with just a few. People shared their stories with us. A frail 90-year old woman being offered limited hours to help her stay in her own apartment. A middle-aged woman having to fight to get the services she needed. A loved one not having enough care to support both the morning and bedtime routines. A wife reporting frequent no-shows without any warning. A son reporting his father received homecare a week after being discharged instead of 24 hours as promised. Many comments were related to not having enough hours of support from personal support workers, but patients and caregivers also spoke about gaps in nursing, palliative care, physiotherapy, occupational therapy and speech therapy. Some mentioned they were lucky to be able to pay privately for some of these services but wondered about those who couldnt afford to do so. These challenges with homecare predate COVID-19. But things have only gotten worse. Anecdotally, wait times are longer, service is less consistent, and hours are still inadequate. At the same time, helping people stay safely at home has never been more important. Canada will need strong public health measures to avoid an increase in deaths from a second wave of COVID-19. That means smart testing, rapid contact tracing, instructions to isolate, and effective support to do so. Hopefully these measures will keep the COVID-19 numbers down. But if there is a surge, we need to ensure our hospitals have the capacity to support sick patients. That means keeping people out of hospitals whenever possible. High-quality homecare can help people transition more quickly and smoothly from hospital to home. It can help avoid potential readmissions but also reduce the number of admissions in the first place, keeping our hospital capacity open for potential COVID-19 cases. Better publicly funded homecare can also delay or avoid a transition to long-term care. Long-term care homes had high mortality rates from COVID-19 in the first wave and there are worries about what a second wave would bring. Even if someone wanted to enter a long-term care home, new rules meant to minimize spread of infection will also mean longer waits. Notably, our engagement with patients and caregivers found that improving publicly funded homecare was a top priority also for people living in long-term care. Its time to put into place recommendations from past reports calling for better homecare we need better funding for homecare, standards outlining the amount of care that is consistent across jurisdictions, and better integration with other sectors including hospitals and primary care. Improving publicly funded homecare will help us keep many of the Canadians most at-risk of COVID-19 complications safely at home out of hospital and high-risk congregate settings protecting them and opening hospital capacity for others. Theyll be better off but so will all of us. A majority of Americans support the Black Lives Matter movement and a record 69 percent say black people and other minorities are not treated as equal to white people in the criminal justice system. But the public generally opposes calls to shift some police funding to social services or remove statues of Confederate generals or presidents who enslaved people, a Washington Post-ABC News poll finds. These findings underscore the mixed fallout after the brutal killing of George Floyd while in the custody of Minneapolis police in May. There is increased public scrutiny of police treatment of black Americans, but less unity on broader questions about how to address the country's treatment of black Americans since its founding. Stark divisions exist between different racial groups and among varied political identities, not surprisingly given the high profile that President Donald Trump has taken in fanning opposition to Black Lives Matter protesters and their desired changes. Americans' confidence in police appears shaken after a wave of national protests following Floyd's killing. Compared with 2014, fewer Americans say they are confident that police are adequately trained to avoid using excessive force. Meanwhile, more people say recent police killings of black people are "a sign of broader problems" in police conduct. The share of Americans saying that black people and other minorities do not receive equal treatment in the criminal justice system has risen by 15 percentage points from 2014 - and this year marks the first time a majority of whites has held this view. When compared with 2014, around the time of the killings of African Americans Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., and Eric Garner in New York, larger shares of virtually every demographic group and every age group now say that minorities do not receive treatment equal to white people in the criminal justice system. Today, that view is held by 62 percent of white people, up 18 points from 2014. Among black people, 97 percent now assert there is unequal treatment of minorities, up from 89 percent in 2014. Over two-thirds, 68 percent of Hispanic people, say the same, roughly similar to 2014. The share of white Democrats who say black people and other minorities do not receive equal treatment in the criminal justice system rose 19 points to 89 percent, while white independents jumped 24 points to 65 percent. White Republicans inched up seven points to 36 percent. More than half of adults, 55 percent, say that recent killings of unarmed black people are "a sign of broader problems in the treatment of black people by police," an increase from 43 percent in 2014. Meanwhile, 40 percent say they are isolated incidents. But that 55 percent majority is lower than it was just a month ago, when a Post-Schar School poll found 69 percent of Americans - asked specifically about Floyd's killing - said that episode was a sign of broader problems in the treatment of police. The change has been sharply partisan. In 2014, about two-thirds of Democrats along with roughly 4 in 10 independents said deaths were the result of broader, not isolated, problems. Just under 2 in 10 Republicans agreed. Last month, soon after Floyd's killing, concerns about broader police mistreatment rose by more than 20 points among each partisan group from six years ago - including almost to half of Republicans. Today, attitudes among Democrats are close to where they were last month, and while the percentages among independents have slipped, a majority of them continues to share this view. But concerns among Republicans have dropped 26 points since June and are now much closer to the roughly 2 in 10 level where they were in 2014. Overall, the Post-ABC poll finds that a slim majority, 52 percent, say that they are "not so confident" or "not confident at all" that police in the United States treat white and black people equally. That's up from 46 percent who said the same in 2014, if a smaller percentage than those critical of how the criminal justice system overall treats minorities. Similarly, 52 percent of Americans say they are not confident that police are adequately trained to avoid the use of excessive force, up from 44 percent in 2014. With Democrats growing more critical of police since 2014 and Republicans returning to their high confidence in law enforcement, the partisan split in views of how police treat black people has expanded. Republicans are now 60 points more likely than Democrats to have confidence that police treat white and black people equally (80 percent vs. 20 percent), compared with a 43-point gap in 2014 (77 percent vs. 34 percent). Apart from the police, most Americans say that black people face discrimination in their own communities. A 52 percent majority of white and Hispanic Americans - excluding those who say nobody in their community is black - say that there is general discrimination against black people. Just under 2 in 10 white people and over a quarter of Hispanic people say it happens "often." At the same time, almost 8 in 10 black Americans say black people experience racial discrimination in their communities, including half who say it happens "often." People who say there are many black people living in their community are more likely to say black people there face discrimination. The Black Lives Matter movement continues to enjoy majority support, with 63 percent of Americans saying they support it, including 46 percent who say they "strongly" support it. But there are sharp differences among partisans, with 92 percent of Democrats and 62 percent of independents saying they back the movement, while 68 percent of Republicans oppose it. Among white people, 54 percent say they support Black Lives Matter, compared with 74 percent of Hispanic people and more than 9 in 10 black people, of whom 82 percent "strongly" support it. A recent Pew Research Center poll found clear majorities of the public supporting several changes called for by protesters who have registered their anger in recent months, including mandatory police training to avoid using deadly force and making it a crime for police to use chokeholds or strangleholds. Yet the Post-ABC poll finds far less support for some other high-profile proposals that have been in the forefront of public debate recently. On the issue of police funding, for example, 55 percent of Americans oppose moving funds from police departments to social services - and 43 percent say they oppose it "strongly." Republicans are the most opposed, with 84 percent saying they're against such a shift. Among independents, 53 percent are opposed, while 59 percent of Democrats support such shifts. On this issue, there is a sizable generation gap. Over half of Americans under age 40 support a funding shift, while less than a third of Americans 40 and older are in favor of moving funding from police to social services. There's even wider opposition to the government paying black Americans whose ancestors were enslaved, with 63 percent saying the government should not pay reparations. Currently, 31 percent favor reparations, up from 19 percent in a 1999 ABC News poll. But those figures, too, differ by race and political orientation. Today, more than 8 in 10 black people say the federal government should pay reparations while three-quarters of white people say the government should not. Among Hispanic people, 56 percent say reparations should not be paid, while 42 percent say they should. Current opposition to paying reparations is highest among Republicans, 93 percent of whom oppose making payments to descendants of enslaved people, along with 67 percent of independents. A narrow 53 percent majority of Democrats say reparations should be paid to ancestors of enslaved people, although there is a sharp racial divide within the party. While 86 percent of black Democrats and Democratic-leaning independents support paying reparations to black descendants, that falls to 35 percent among white Democrats and Democratic leaners. In recent years, states and cities throughout the country have examined removing monuments to Confederate Civil War generals, and in the past two months, protesters have toppled scores of statues. Separately, Congress is considering a bill to rename military bases named for Confederate leaders. The new poll finds that 52 percent of Americans oppose removing public statues honoring Confederate generals, while 43 percent support their removal. That includes an 80 percent majority of Republicans and 56 percent of independents in opposition, while 74 percent of Democrats support the removal of these statutes. Almost 6 in 10 white people, along with just over half of Hispanic people, oppose removing statues of Confederate soldiers, while over three-quarters of black people support their removal. Opposition is even greater to the removal of public statues honoring former U.S. presidents who enslaved people, with 68 percent of Americans opposed and 25 percent in support of their removal. But while at least 7 in 10 white and Hispanic people are opposed, 6 in 10 black Americans support removing these statues. Half of Americans oppose renaming military bases currently named after Confederate generals, while 42 percent support the changes. Once again there is a significant partisan split, with 81 percent of Republicans and 50 percent of independents opposed and 66 percent of Democrats in favor. A majority of Americans ages 50 and older are opposed to any renaming, while a plurality of those under 50 support the change. The Post-ABC poll was conducted July 12-15 among a random national sample of 1,006 adults, with 75 percent of interviews conducted by cellphone and the remaining 25 percent by landline. The margin of sampling error for overall results is plus or minus 3.5 percentage points; the error margin is 4.5 points among the sample of 661 white adults and 10.5 points each among the samples of 113 black and 117 Hispanic adults. SUTTONS BAY, MICH. -- The For Sale sign only had been posted for a short time outside of Leelanau Cheeses property before the shops phone began ringing with calls from customers frantic to place orders, fearful this might be their last chance to stock up on the companys exquisite cheeses. Given Leelanau Cheeses renown, the panic is somewhat understandable -- albeit not necessary for the time being. The company is indeed selling its nearly nine-acre property in Suttons Bay, with plans to close up shop on the business 25-year-long tenure once a buyer has been found. Until the property sells, though, the cheesemaking will continue. John and Anne Hoyt, the husband-and-wife cheesemakers who founded and run Leelanau Cheese, are among Northwest Lower Michigans most celebrated specialty food artisans. Over more than two decades, the pair has developed a cult-like following for their award-winning raclette cheeses and French-style fromage blanc spreads. But after 25 years of working in a labor-intensive craft while facing continued challenges with staffing workers and sourcing local dairy, the Hoyts are ready to hang up their aprons and move on. The cheese company itself currently is not for sale, but if the right people came along the couple would consider selling the business and helping train the new owners, said owner Anne Hoyt. In the meantime, adoring customers dont need to be alarmed. Although production has been scaled back, Leelanau Cheese will continue to make and sell its fine cheeses through late fall of 2020, with plans to reopen for seasonal operations in April 2021 if a buyer hasnt yet stepped forward. Theres no use to hoard [the cheese] like people were hoarding toilet paper in the pandemic, Hoyt said, laughing. Thats not fair to the next customer. I would like to see people relax and buy what they need. Hoyt, originally from France, and her Michigan-born husband, John Hoyt, have dedicated their shared life to cheese since the couple first met in Switzerland in the mid-1980s, where John had moved to study cheesemaking. The couple eventually returned to Michigan, founding Leelanau Cheese in the little Up North burg of Omena in 1995. For years the company enjoyed an enthusiastic following, producing roughly 30,000 pounds of cheese each year at its peak. So popular were these cheeses that at one point, after snagging top honors at an international competition, Leelanau Cheese was forced to institute a temporary two-wedge limit per customer. But finding and maintaining skilled staff to help run the business has long been a problem for the company, Hoyt said. And the shuttering of local dairy farms in recent years, echoing a trend happening across the Midwest, has only added more stress to running a small specialty business. As a result of those ongoing issues, Hoyt said Leelanau Cheeses decision to close up shop has been several years in the making -- and that it has nothing to do with the current coronavirus crisis. I think Im over the 70-hour weeks. Im ready to slow down, she said. Physically, its getting really hard on us. You cannot do really physical work for the rest of your life. Hoyt said shes planning on enjoying the remaining time she and John have at Leelanau Cheese, though she knows shell be sad when they finally do say goodbye to the company they put so much effort into for so long. I know the day it happens, Im going to cry. I have cried just talking about it, she said. Its our baby." We created this business, my husband and I. But everything has an end. More at leelanaucheese.com and Facebook.com/leelanaucheese. RELATED: Dates on a tandem bike inspired this Northern Michigan upscale cidery Michigans Best M-22 Road Trip, from Traverse City to Suttons Bay Traverse Citys popular Front Street to be pedestrian-only this summer KHABAROVSK, Russia -- Hundreds of supporters of the arrested ex-governor of Russia's Far Eastern Khabarovsk region, Sergei Furgal, rallied for an 11th day in the regional capital, denouncing newly appointed acting Governor Mikhail Degtyaryov. The protesters gathered on July 21 in Khabarovsk in front of the regional government building and then marched across the city, chanting, "Degtyaryov, come out!" Degtyaryov, was appointed to the post by President Vladimir Putin a day earlier. He arrived in Khabarovsk on the morning of July 21 but did not show up to meet the protesters. Earlier in the day, Degtyaryov met with the region's officials for the first time and said that his main priority is to increase efforts to slow down the spread of the coronavirus in the region and become familiar with local social and economic issues. Putin fired Furgal on July 20 before appointing Degtyaryov to the post. Both are members of the nationalist Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR). Protesters also expressed their anger over the new appointment online with more than 1,300 comments under Degtyaryov's latest Instagram post, the majority of which appeared to criticize the acting governor. Also on July 21, two local lawmakers, Pyotr Yemelyanov and Aleksandr Kayan, quit the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia to protest Furgals firing. Furgal, who was arrested in Khabarovsk on July 9 and transferred to Moscow, is charged with attempted murder and ordering two murders in 2004-05. He denies the allegations. Furgal was elected governor of the Khabarovsk region, which borders China, almost two years ago in an upset for the longtime incumbent who represented the ruling United Russia party. The Khabarovsk rallies have attracted thousands of people on the weekends and are the largest protests in the city since the fall of the Soviet Union. Such sizable demonstrations far from the Russian capital are a rare public show of defiance against the Kremlin and come following a controversial nationwide vote that set the stage for Putin to remain in power until 2036. WATCH: Weeklong Khabarovsk Protests Culminate In Thousands-Strong Demonstration (from July 18) Authorities are said to be unnerved by the protests, with the regional capital's mayor calling for calm and saying such rallies were illegal and could help accelerate the spread of the coronavirus. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) had also warned of an alleged terrorist threat involving explosives, which it claimed to have already foiled. In addition, the authorities in the Khabarovsk region said they were considering a return to strict quarantine measures and attributed this to the difficult situation with the spread of the coronavirus infection. WESTLAKE, Ohio -- Three Westlake High School students attended the 2020 National NEF Design Drafting Competition Award Ceremony July 10 at Burke Lakefront Airport. The purpose of the competition -- from the high school level to the regionals and then to the nationals -- was to design a model of a visitors center for the World War II-era USS Cod submarine docked at Clevelands inner harbor. The three Westlake students were Jacob Meyer and John Mudryk, both seniors, and Danny Keenan, a junior. The Cod offers tours and narration of the submarines history and what life was like in the cramped quarters during World War II. It sits just yards away from the International Womens Air and Space Museum at Burke Lakefront Airport. Between the two, the location is an important travel destination, especially for schoolchildren. A visitors center would be a great asset for The Cod and its history, as well as for the City of Cleveland. In the high school competition, Jacob won first place, Danny took second place and John came in third. Jacob went on to win first place in the regional finals. None of the three Westlake students won first or second place nationally at the high school level -- those prizes went to senior Braeden Byrd of El Paso, Texas, and senior Jethro Rust of Roanoke, Va., respectively. A total of 121 college and high school students from around the country competed. But Jacob was recognized as the local Cleveland chapter and North Central regional level winner. His entry was one of only eight that made the high school national round of judging. To conclude the ceremony after a catered lunch in the concourse at Burke, Paul Farace, USS Cod Submarine Memorial president, discussed the background and legacy of the USS Cod, then invited everyone for an onsite tour of the submarine. The three Westlake students entered the local NEF Design Drafting Competition under the tutelage of their teacher, Scott Kutz, in the high schools Technology and Engineering Education Department, where students study subjects such as engineering, architecture, design and drone technology. The award ceremony went so well, and many people that came from out of state said they would like to return to Cleveland for another visit, Kutz said. Kutz is proud of the three students for their efforts and their talent for design. Even though they didnt win the first- or second-place prizes nationally for the high school entries, I felt our students who placed in the local level held their own against the top competition, even on the national level, he said. Their designs were all very different, yet striking and significant in their own way. Reflecting on being a finalist, to have senior Jacob Meyer make it to the national judging level and have his entry as one of only eight to be considered for the national winner speaks to the outstanding aesthetic and functional design of his building, Kutz said. It was a dramatic and unique looking building that one could certainly see being built, adding to the already impressive Cleveland shoreline. All three students are to be commended for their effort and thoughtfulness in their architectural designs. NEF is the educational foundation founded in 1972 by volunteers from the National Association of Women in Construction (NAWIC), who saw a need for quality training programs in the construction industry. Its goals are to provide quality education programs for the construction industry and to promote the benefits of a career in the industry. NEF is headquartered in Orlando, Fla. Read more from the West Shore Sun. The Bombay high court (HC) held last week that application of a convict for bail during the pendency of his appeal against conviction cannot be rejected only on the ground of non-payment of the fine amount. Justice Vibha Kankanwadi said once an appeal is admitted, it is required to be taken to its logical end. It cannot be even dismissed in default. It cannot be dismissed for want of deposit of fine amount. Non-payment of a fine amount cannot be a hurdle for deciding the present application, said the judge while deciding application filed by a farmer from Maharashtras Ahmednagar district seeking bail during the pendency of his appeal against conviction for raping his minor sister-in-law. A special Protection of Children from Sexual Offences (POCSO) court at Ahmednagar on January 1 had convicted him under Section 8 (sexual assault) of the POCSO Act, 2012, and sentenced him to four-year rigorous imprisonment. He argued that his wife was seeking a share in the family property, but his family members were not willing to partition the property and he was falsely implicated in the case due to the property dispute. He urged the court to suspend the sentence and release him on bail, as he was out on bail even during the trial. An assistant public prosecutor opposed the plea. He said the farmer was convicted on the basis of the testimony of the survivor, as it inspired confidence. The prosecutor also argued that the convict was not entitled to bail and his plea was required to be rejected outright, as he had not deposited the fine amount of Rs 50,000 imposed by the trial court. Justice Kankanwadi, however, found no substance in the argument regarding the non-payment of the fine amount. The judge took note of the fact that it was less likely that the farmers appeal would be taken up for final hearing amid the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic and also in view of earlier pendency of the appeals before HC and, as a result, the applicant deserved to be released on bail. The court has ordered him to be released on furnishing a personal surety bond of Rs 15,000. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON By Alistair Smout LONDON (Reuters) - The University of Oxford's possible COVID-19 vaccine could be rolled out by the end of the year but there is no certainty, the lead developer of the vaccine said on Tuesday. The experimental vaccine, which has been licensed to AstraZeneca , produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, preserving hopes it could be in use by the end of 2020. "The end of the year target for getting vaccine roll-out, it's a possibility but there's absolutely no certainty about that because we need three things to happen," Sarah Gilbert told BBC Radio. She said it needed to be shown to work in late-stage trials, there needed to be large quantities manufactured, and regulators had to agree quickly to license it for emergency use before large numbers of people could be vaccinated. England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and his deputy Jonathan Van-Tam took differing views on the potential timeline. "The chance of us getting a vaccine before Christmas that actually is highly effective are, in my view, very low," Whitty told lawmakers. Van-Tam, however, said he was "cautiously optimistic that we will have some vaccine this side of Christmas." Sitting somewhere in the middle, health minister Matt Hancock told a parliamentary committee that despite being an "optimist in life" for what he called the best case scenario in getting a vaccine for Christmas, he could not "promise to play Santa". The Oxford scientists had eyed a million doses of the potential vaccine to be produced by September. Although the deal with AstraZeneca has provided manufacturing capacity to do that, the lower prevalence of the novel coronavirus in Britain has complicated the process of proving its efficacy. Late-stage trials crucial for providing data are under way in Brazil and South Africa and are due to start in the United States also. There are no approved vaccines yet for COVID-19, but the World Health Organization has said AstraZeneca's shot is one of the leading candidates. (Reporting by Alistair Smout; Additional reporting by Elizabeth Piper; Editing by Sarah Young, Nick Macfie and Andrew Cawthorne) A major COVID-19-themed music concert put together by the Coalition of Event Managers and Suppliers, an interest group of professionals in Ghana's events ecosystem, has been held in Accra. Featuring KiDi, Lamisi, Prince Bright, Yaw Sarpong, and Asomafo, Kuami Eugene, Mr. Drew, and a host of others, it paid a fitting tribute to the group's socially-progressive campaign to contribute to ongoing COVID-19 relief efforts. Broadcast live to a global television audience, it saw in full splendour, the expertise of all the members of the group, which handed the event a solid appeal. Prior to Saturday's event, the Mask4All campaign had garnered support by embarking on a massive drive to mobilize face masks for distribution to the vulnerable while putting out educational material on multiple mediums to help in the fight against the spread of COVID-19. Organizers set out to acknowledge the collective efforts in fighting Covid-19; creating public awareness and education on preventive safety measures; mobilizing face masks for free distribution to the needy and inspiring hope in these difficult times. The coalition include Rhythmz Africa, Pozitiv Communication, 3Music Network, Platinum Live Media, Event Factory, Virtual Limit Productions, Ritel Telecommunication Ltd, WAB Lighting Treasured Memories, Twitch House Marketing, The Oval Workshop, Kabutey my MC, The Victoria by Prop Haven, 9K Media Hub, Image Bureau, E-volution International, JH Health Connect, 16284 Public Relations, 33 Point One Nine, Valuecom Consult, Timeline Creatives and the Patch Bay Band. The concert and Mask4All initiative was also put together with the support of the Creative Arts Council, Accra Metropolitan Assembly, and Multimedia Broadcasting with Joy Prime as the lead. Donors include Stanbic, Airtel Tigo, Erata Motors, Wear Ghana, Street, and Homeless Shelter Foundation and Fidele Couture. Rahul Bajaj will step down as Non-Executive Chairman of Bajaj Finance on July 31, 2020. He will continue to be a non-executive non-independent director of the company. Sanjiv Bajaj, currently the Vice Chairman of Bajaj Finance, will assume the position of Non-Executive Chairman with effect from August 1, the company said in a statement to stock exchanges. "The Board of Directors, at its meeting held today, has approved the appointment of Shri Sanjiv Bajaj, currently the Vice Chairman of the company, as Non-Executive Chairman of the company with effect from l August 2020, in place ofShri Rahul Bajaj," Bajaj Finance said. Sanjiv Bajaj is also the Chairman and Managing Director of Bajaj Finserv, and the Chairman of Bajaj Allianz. On July 21, Bajaj Finance reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 962 crore for the quarter that ended on June 30, a 19 percent drop YoY. Yves here. How the Fed tries to covers its huge pro-bank bias. By Edward J. Kane Professor of Finance, Boston College. Originally published at the Institute for New Economic Thinking website During the years leading up to the Great Financial Crisis, Fed officials began to tell outsiders more and more about what members of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC) were thinking in setting operative interest-rate and price-level targets. My new INET Working Paper is adapted from a chapter in a book I am now writing. It treats the flood of selected policymaking information released by the committee after each meeting as misleading patter meant to distract the committees audience from observing the hard-to-defend cumulative effects Fed policies have had on the distribution of income and wealth. As in stage magic, lobbying activity that determines how differently FOMC policies actually impact the rich, the poor, and the middle classes still takes place behind an informational curtain. Today, as during the Great Financial Crisis, the Feds policy strategy has been to prevent open insolvencies at US megabanks by making subsidized loans to US megabanks insolvent foreign counterparties (and to the foreign taxpayers that would otherwise have been asked to rescue them). At the same time, Fed leaders have resisted a broad-based bailout of insolvent US homeowners and landlords. During the GFC, they stood by as US banks foreclosed on all but a few privileged categories of distressed mortgage borrowers. Although households are receiving some help in the current go-around, forbearance is not forgiveness. Unpaid rents and mortgage payments are still mounting up. The overwrought praise that Wall Street and the media subsequently heaped on Treasury and Federal Reserve leaders for being willing to punish lower-income households to get the rich through the Great Financial Crisis established a nasty precedent that is guiding monetary policy today. This unspoken precedent is Bankers and Brokers first. A precedent is a previous event or action that sets a standard or guide for how one or ones successors should (and therefore probably would) act in similar circumstances in the future. The 2008 troika of Bernanke, Geithner, and Paulson congratulated themselves for having the courage to put the interests of foreign bankers and major US financial institutions (including a few of its automobile makers think the airlines and tourism industry today) ahead of ordinary US citizens. The victory laps that Barney Frank and Chris Dodd are taking this week for passing Dodd-Frank not only celebrate this approach, but provide opportunities for them to claim that they rescued rich and poor alike from complete and utter ruin [see, e.g., Bernanke, Geithner, and Paulson (2018)]. This portrait of distributional neutrality is propaganda of a high order. Current and former Fed and Treasury officials cannot fail to understand that, in accepting so much adulation, they have cemented a series of dangerous precedents. If public-service norms were more evenly balanced, instead of simply accepting praise, they might feel an obligation to identify the downside of following their lead in the future. Aggressively devising creative, nontransparent, and arguably extralegal ways to transfer massive amounts of US taxpayer resources to wealthy stakeholders in zombie megabanks around the world is a dangerously elitist strategy. An important fourth crisis manager was left out of the celebration: former FDIC Chairman Sheila Bair. This was in large part because she was only a woman and because in Bair (2019) she dared to argue that, if future crisis managers were to distribute rescue costs in the ways the troika did, they were bound to encounter the kind of angry protest movements we are seeing today. With a wink and a smile, bankers, regulators, and politicians assured us all in 2010 that a few carefully crafted words in the Dodd-Frank Act (DFA) could and would prevent generous anti-egalitarian taxpayer support from becoming available to the financial industry in the next crisis. Contrary to centuries of experience in the banking industry, the Dodd-Frank Act asks us to believe that governments can prevent crises by merely asking banks to post more (and possibly better) capital on their balance sheets. My research establishes that accounting-based requirements lose force the longer they are in place. This is because accountants take it as a challenge to circumvent them and in fact do this better and better the longer a particular rule stays in force. In the decade since the DFA was enacted megabank lobbyists have sped up the natural rate of capital-requirement decay by convincing regulators of the need to custom tailor accounting formulas to the special circumstances of different categories of banks. Each nick and tuck that regulatory tailors devise in the way capital requirements are calculated open new and often unintended loopholes for other classes of financial institution to exploit. Loopholes are part of any regulatory system. To make them hard for the public to see, bankers prefer that regulatory benefits be distributed in implicit ways. By that, I mean access to these benefits is based on understandings about how regulators should and will react in crisis circumstances. In the Covid crisis, the bogus restraints celebrated in the DFA haveas my 2012 paper predictedsimply lost their teeth. Bank examiners and accountants were directed to soften loss recognition and the Fed went on to devise (at last count) 14 openly discriminatory lending programs aimed at preserving particular classes of financial contracts and interests. Confidence in the availability and sustainability of implicit safety-net support creates powerful incentives for megabankers to pry themselves loose from the bite of capital requirements and other regulatory restraints over time. This is the central message of my research career. I have asked readers to picture the mix of endless opposition and circumvention that financial rulemaking and enforcement entails as a dialectical process. After each crisis, sponsors of tougher capital requirements and other elaborate rules claim to have found ways to force bankers and their creditors to stay strong enough to absorb losses more or less as they occur. But sponsors seldom acknowledge that corporate-level restraints are bound to fail eventually. Placing accounting and other kinds of restraints on banker behavior fail because they do not directly attack either bankers appetite for tail risk or regulators incentives to forbear when times get tough. Experience teaches us that corporate-level reforms do not and cannot hold their effectiveness over time. Rules beget regulation-induced innovations and these burden-reducing innovations become more and more successful over time. The difficulty governments face in devising and enforcing appropriate punishments for individual bankers that knowingly exploit safety-net protections converts national and regional safety nets into what amounts to a global Protection Racket operated by and for the benefit of thieving megabankers. My new paper explains how governments could make this racket far less profitable if for some unlikely reason politicians might conclude that toughening fraud laws would be a good thing. See original post for references MANILA, Philippines Detained Senator Leila de Lima said her lawyers are now assessing the effects of the death of high-profile inmate Jaybee Sebastian on the drug-related charges filed against her. My lawyers are still assessing the effect of Sebastians death on the cases against me, considering that he is or was the Duterte regimes supposed star witness, De Lima said in a dispatch from Camp Crame on Monday. However, all testimonies coming from the inmates and some other so-called witnesses are all fabrications anyway. One less fabrication might be good in my case, but let us not forget all the other testimony fabrications. Whether the fabricator is dead or alive does not change the fact that their stories are all lies, and that the cases against me are all fake, she added. The Department of Justice (DOJ) on Monday said that Sebastian was among the nine high-profile inmates of the New Bilibid Prison in Muntinlupa City who succumbed to the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19). Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra made the confirmation following a meeting with Bureau of Corrections (BuCor) Director General Gerald Bantag on Monday afternoon. Bantag earlier refused to reveal the name of inmates who died from COVID-19 citing Data Privacy Act. Guevarra has ordered the National Bureau of Investigation to conduct an investigation into the deaths of the inmates after Bantag informed him of the protocol in the event of an inmates death from coronavirus disease which include the mandatory cremation of the cadaver within 12 hours to prevent the spread of the infection. Sebastian was the key witness in the alleged Bilibid drug trade and drug trafficking cases against De Lima which are currently pending before the Muntinlupa Regional Trial Court. The senator, who is one of the Duterte administrations vocal critics, has been detained since 2017. The Duterte regime can have 100 live witnesses for all I care. But this still does not change the fact that the charges against me are absolutely false and fictitious. Conversely, the regimes witnesses can all be dead, but this will not prevent Duterte and his operators from inventing other evidence to keep me in jail, De Lima said. Story continues My point is, under normal conditions, these cases would have been dismissed a long time ago. But under conditions of a dictatorship where it is the dictator himself who has a very personal stake on the cases, and given the state of our justice system, I will not wonder if dead witnesses can still be made to rise from the grave and made to testify, she added. Meanwhile, De Lima raised alarm anew over the dire conditions existing in the countrys jails during the public health crisis, and even the pre-pandemic times. COVID-19 is not a joke, as the Duterte regime has treated it, especially in our prison system that hosts the perfect conditions for the spread of the virus, she said. Regardless of who the dead are, whether free citizens or PDLs, they shall remain to be counted as the victims of the incompetence, indifference, and impunity of the Duterte Administration in dealing with the pandemic that has resulted in more suffering for our people, not to mention the devastation of the economy after months of lockdown but with absolutely nothing to show for it, she added. She then called on the Duterte administration to step down, and hand over the reins of government to Vice President Leni Robredo. The post De Lima camp assessing effect of Jaybee Sebastians death on her drug cases appeared first on UNTV News. While calling off the lockdown in Bengaluru and Karnataka, the CM stressed on maintaining social distancing norms and wearing masks to contain the spread of coronavirus. Bengaluru: Lockdown is not the solution for controlling COVID-19 and resource mobilisation is equally important for a government to function, Karnataka Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday said as he ruled out extension of the week-long shutdown in the city and elsewhere. Addressing the people of the state, he stressed on maintaining social distancing and wearing masks and said experts have advised a "5T strategy" trace, track, test, treat and technology to control the coronavirus spread. "We had been successful at the beginning in controlling the COVID, but in recent days especially in Bengaluru the COVID cases have increased....I want to tell the people of the state that for the control of the virus, lockdown was not the solution. The solution is wearing masks and maintaining social distancing," Yediyrappa said. Follow Latest updates on coronavirus outbreak here Amid a spike in cases, Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts were brought under "complete lockdown" from 8 pm of July 14 to 5 am on Wednesday aimed at controlling the spread. A few other districts too had announced lockdown during this period after the cases increased since 1 June when the Unlock-1 phase started and people stranded in other states and foreign countries returned to Karnataka. The government was making all efforts to control the spread of COVID-19, the Chief Minister said, adding there won't be lockdown in Bengaluru from tomorrow and people can resume their daily activities. For a government resource mobilisation was equally important, he said, clearing the air over possible extension of the lockdown. "So we have to take all precautions and move on. Lockdown is not the solution to control COVID-19, there won't be lockdown in Bengaluru or any other part of Karnataka from now on. People will be allowed to carry out their activities," he said. However, strict measures will continue in containment zones, he added. During the speech, he also responded to Opposition Congress' allegation of misappropriation in the purchase of COVID care equipment and said "not even a rupee has been misused. Opposition leaders were free to examine the documents and the government was ready to share it with them, he said. As of Monday evening, cumulatively 67,420 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 1,403 deaths and 23,795 discharges. Bengaluru Urban tops the districts with a total of 33,229 infections. . Our Divisions Copyright 2021-22 DB Corp ltd., All Rights Reserved This website follows the DNPA Code of Ethics. FROM a sociological viewpoint, the nations nagging problems are systemic. They are rooted in a social structure that subconsciously divides society into two distinct but unequal enclaves: one, the rich and powerful few who control the economic, political, and cultural lives of, two, the majority of Filipinos. But through a theological window, our problems can be seen as the failure of religious institutions, specifically of the Catholic Church, to provide Philippine society with a genuine spirituality, one rooted in Christs gospel of love and compassion, justice and peace. How otherwise can this predominantly Catholic society tolerate the shockingly inhuman conditions of the majority of its people? There is absolutely no theological justification to the mostly Catholic oligarchys steely refusal to make the nations economy inclusive and to give all of societys sectors an effective voice in government. There is, moreover, no theological justification to the institutional Catholic Churchs reluctance to work to change that unjust social order. There is only a sociological explanation. The Philippine Catholic Church is the same institution Spains monarchs used in tandem with their military to grab our land and make us serve as serfs under feudal lords who at the time were mostly the dreaded Frailes. Somehow the institutional Church managed to retain until now its power and privilege in Philippine society from which comfortable perch it has no way of feeling for Filipinos groaning under an unjust system. The institutional Church as a privileged member of the establishment is an oligarch in its own right. I dont particularly go for Rep. Edcel Lagmans brand of politics, but he is right in calling out President Duterte to dismantle religious oligarchies although it would seem he was alluding more to the Iglesia ni Cristo that practices block voting. Like the rest of the oligarchy the institutional Church stands to lose so much in a change of social structure. Thus, instead of working for structural changes, it is content in siding with whatever faction of the oligarchy allows it to keep its (untaxed?) wealth, power and privilege. I suspect Catholic bishops are against Duterte not for love of the Filipino people (whom factions of the oligarchy have taken turns oppressing) but because Duterte, unlike Marcos who coddled bishops, is disrespectful of them and threatens to erode their power and privilege, of which they have more than they humanly deserve, like if shorn of their religious appurtenances. Pope Francis has been calling on bishops to work to change unjust economic structures. But in the Philippines, there are no signs bishops are moving in that direction. The Co-op has given staff bodycams after more than 2,000 were attacked last year, including a worker who was knocked unconscious. The supermarket has rolled out personal safety gadgets which will record when shoppers become abusive and violent. Workers at more than 500 stores have been given the gizmos - which hang round staff members' necks. The cameras are worn by police officers across the country, but increasingly shops are equipping staff and guards with them. Two staff members are pictured with the new body-worn security cameras at a Co-op store There has been a 40 per cent increase in violence and abuse against shop workers since lockdown began, according to the Association of Convenience Stores. More than 2,000 Co-Op staff members have been assaulted in the last year, shocking figures reveal. Earlier this month, a shop worker was knocked unconscious at a store in Markfield, Leics. Other staff members have reported being spat at - and told they would catch the coronavirus. The retailer has warned of a crime and violence epidemic and the bodycams are part of a commitment to invest 70M over the next three years in innovative technology to keep its staff safe. The supermarket chain said it has seen store crime increase by more than 140% year-on-year, despite communities recognising the critical role played by key retail workers in society. Paul Taylor-Burr, who works in Crawley, West Sussex, tweeted that he was threatened with a screwdriver, a hammer and needles. The Co-Op rolled out the body-worn cameras throughout July. The footage feeds back to a control centre based in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and gets passed on to the police to catch thugs. Two smiling Co-op staff point to the new body-worn cameras after a rise in attacks against staff Daniel Orm, who heads up the Co-Op's security team, said: 'Being connected to them in a shop can really help colleagues feel a lot safer. 'They can even talk to the shop and call the police in if things are looking a little tricky! 'It's also great for monitoring and building up a portfolio of evidence against repeat offenders. 'We're also helping roll out body cameras and personal safety devices to around 500 shops now too and it's great to see them go down so well. 'The personal safety devices also connect with our team in Belfast and we're even just testing out getting a live feed from the body cams connected to them too.' The Co-Op's food chief executive Jo Whitfield said: 'The safety of our colleagues in stores is something I worry about week in, week out. 'I continue to see the horrific stories of incidents that are happening in our shops, as well as tuning into the news every morning to hear of yet another stabbing or violent incident happening on our streets.' Co-Op staff members praised the new safety gizmos on social media. Roan Irving, a store manager in Edinburgh, said: 'Body cameras installed, training complete and new system working in store. 'Co-Op UK colleagues already feeling safer and more confident.' Area manager Christine Fossey wrote: 'Body cameras have gone done a treat in Delce store. 'Great feedback from Co-Op UK colleagues.' The supermarket is not the first in the UK to give staff members the special safety technology. Sainsbury's introduced neck-worn security cameras earlier this year to prevent their staff being attacked at work. They were introduced in 'a small number of stores' where safety measures were considered necessary. The Co-op is building awareness and support for MP Alex Norris' Assault on Shop Workers Bill which has seen its second reading in Parliament postponed. The proposed legislation says that retail workers should be awarded greater protection when carrying out public duties such as checking the ages of people purchasing alcohol or tobacco. Hundreds of Co-op colleagues from around the UK have filmed short videos detailing their harrowing experiences and will be sharing these on social media, asking for MPs to show their support. Co-op Food CEO, Jo Whitfield, said:'Last year, more than 600 of my colleagues bravely took the time to share their own experiences of abuse, violence and intimidation with the Home Office as part of their call for evidence. Yet here we are, a year on since the consultation closed and there has still been no response. My colleagues need to have their contributions acknowledged in order to know that the Government takes retail crime seriously. This issue is not going away, it's just getting worse thanks to the onset of Coronavirus.' 'The role played by shop workers in serving their communities, particularly doing the last twelve weeks, is nothing short of amazing and they have rightly been deemed as key workers who are playing an essential role in keeping the nation fed. Yet despite this recognition, they are continually disrespected and have to contend with unprecedented levels of violence and abuse on a daily basis. This is not a Co-op problem, it's a societal one that all retailers are concerned about. 'So today, I'm calling upon MPs to support their constituents in backing Alex Norris' bill and I will also be asking my peers at other retailers to do the same. Enough is enough store workers need to know that the Government is serious about tackling this issue and as an industry we must be united in protecting our workers.' KEY FACTS 10:20 a.m.: Ontario reports 203 new cases 9 a.m.: Committee to hear more testimony on cancelled WE Charity deal 8:51 a.m.: Ford in Mississauga to meet with businesses Read The Stars live coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here. This story is no longer updating. 5:35 p.m.: As of 5 p.m. Tuesday, Ontarios public health units were reporting 40,005 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, including 2,788 deaths. The province passed the 40,000-case mark with 188 new infections reported in the last 24 hours, the most in any single-day so far this month. Meanwhile, the province saw three more fatal cases reported, all in Toronto. Earlier Tuesday, the province reported 120 patients are currently hospitalized with COVID-19, including 36 in an intensive care unit, of whom 23 are on a ventilator numbers that are 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 2,751 deaths may be incomplete or out of date due to delays in the reporting system, saying that in the event of a discrepancy, data reported by (the health units) should be considered the most up to date. The Stars count includes some patients reported as probable COVID-19 cases, meaning they have symptoms and contacts or travel history that indicate they very likely have the disease, but have not yet received a positive lab test. 2:10 p.m.: Front-line staff in Ontario hospitals held a five-minute, in-hospital protest on Tuesday as their union continues its fight against the proposed extension of the provinces emergency orders. The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, a division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, said it does not want the provinces emergency order extended in its current form because their collective bargaining agreement would be suspended. The Progressive Conservative government introduced a bill two weeks ago that would allow it to keep some emergency measures in place in the months ahead. Our members feel as though the government telling us that the contribution of the health-care workforce was heroic was insincere if its followed by the withdrawal on a semi-permanent basis of our basic rights, said union president Michael Hurley. Hurley said staff have seen the times and locations of their shifts changed, which he said is particularly onerous when 80 to 85 per cent of the unions membership is female and 35 per cent are the heads of single-parent households. 2:05 p.m.: Premier Doug Ford says young people must avoid going to parties and violating physical distancing rules after the province recorded a spike in COVID-19 cases among that age group in recent days. Ford says young people who violate the public health measures are endangering their families, especially their parents and grandparents. The premier says he believes the vast majority of young people in the province are following the rules, but a small group are affecting the numbers. Ford is also urging families to emphasize the importance of following physical distancing and social bubble rules to their younger members 1:20 p.m.: Ontario to build two new nursing homes in Mississauga to open in 2021 using modular building technology, says Premier Doug Ford. There will be 640 beds total. The system is in desperate need, he says. 12:30 p.m.: The Manitoba government is looking at whether to ease more COVID-19 restrictions as early as Saturday. The province has released a draft plan that could see casinos open for the first time in months. Premier Brian Pallister says limits on gatherings could be raised to 75 people indoors and 250 outdoors. The capacity for religious gatherings could be raised to 500 people or half capacity, whichever is lower. The plan also proposes lifting the 14-day self-isolation requirement for all domestic travellers. Pallister says there will be some public consultation before anything is finalized. 12:19 p.m.: A Toronto bylaw banning tents and camping in city parks should be declared unconstitutional given the COVID-19 pandemic, a group of homeless people and activist organizations argue in a new court application. The untested application, filed in Superior Court this week, asserts that city threats to evict them violates their rights and demands a halt to any attempts to remove them from the parks. Among other things, the bylaw prohibits people from being in, camping or living in parks after midnight. While enforcement provisions require 72 hours notice before an eviction, the city threatened to kick them out last week within 24 hours. The more than a dozen applicants had put up tents or other shelters in various city parks Moss Park and Allan Lamport Park for example for protection from the elements, privacy, and to store personal belongings. Some have been in the parks since March, when the province and city declared states of emergency due to the global pandemic. 11:50 a.m.: The number of COVID-19 infections in Quebec continues to creep upwards with 180 new cases in the past 24 hours. One new death was also reported today, for a total of 5,658. Hospitalizations declined by four to 247, with 15 people in intensive care, a reduction of two. Health officials conducted 10,501 COVID tests July 19, the last day for which data is available. The province has reported a total of 57,796 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 50,298 of which are considered recovered. Quebecs deputy premier said Monday the situation is under control in the province despite the rising number of new cases. 11:25 a.m. (update): Ontario has recorded its largest daily number of COVID-19 infections since the end of June with 203 new cases because of new outbreaks in Ottawa, Peel and Windsor-Essex. Todays increase is concerning, Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted Tuesday, a day after new cases rose by 135. There were 43 new cases in Ottawa, more than double the 20 reported Monday and pushing the total there in the last few days to about 100. Ontarios associate medical officer Dr. Barbara Yaffe blamed the Ottawa uptick mostly on young adults in their 20s who had been to private parties. The Stars Rob Ferguson has the full story. 11:10 a.m.: British Columbias tourism and hospitality sector believes it should receive more than one-third of a $1.5-billion COVID-19 recovery package pledged to the province by the federal government. A statement from the Tourism Industry Association of B.C. says a coalition of more than 19,000 tourism and hospitality businesses believes the sector should be allocated $680 million to help ease the impacts of the novel coronavirus. 11 a.m.: The parliamentary committee that oversees the way the House of Commons works says the chamber should spend the summer getting ready for MPs to participate and vote from outside Ottawa. The group says COVID-19 will likely make it too dangerous for MPs to gather in large numbers when the Commons is due to resume its regular business in September, especially for those who need to travel long distances. So the committee wants to take the video-conferencing system MPs have been using for meetings for the last several months and add a secure voting system so more normal business can go on. The committee also says every MP and anyone else participating must be equipped with high-quality audio gear so they can be heard properly. And the Commons will need to invest in its interpretation service because the people who do that work have been burning out trying to translate fast-talkers with poor internet connections. The Conservatives dissent from the committees recommendations, saying its better for a limited number of MPs to gather in Ottawa in person and avoid travelling while COVID-19 remains a worry. 10:20 a.m. (updated): Ontario is reporting 203 new cases of COVID-19, Health Minister Christine Elliott tweeted. Its the highest increase recorded for several weeks. Theres also been one new death related to the virus. The increase is the result of localized increases 43 of new cases in Ottawa, 57 in Peel and 24 more in Windsor-Essex. Elliott said 116 of the new cases, or 57 per cent are 39 years old or younger. While one day of data, todays increase is concerning, Elliott tweeted. Ontarians of all ages need to continue to adhere to public health guidelines: maintain only one social circle of 10 people, physically distance with anyone outside of it and wear a face covering when doing so is a challenge. The total number of cases now stands at 37,942, which includes 2,753 deaths and 33,605 resolved cases. There were 92 resolved cases newly reported today, meaning new cases have outpaced newly resolved cases for multiple days in a row. The province says it was able to complete just under 23,000 tests the previous day. 10:10 a.m.: With 31 of the provinces 34 public health units on track to be in Stage 3 of reopening by the end of the week, epidemiologists are urging caution now that two Western provinces which are further ahead in their reopening plans have more COVID-19 cases per capita than Ontario. Alberta has been noted for its aggressive stages of reopening, which included gyms, movie theatres and pools. It now has 19.3 active cases per 100,000 people, nearly double that of Ontario, which currently sits at 10.11 per 100,000. Saskatchewan, which allowed restaurants, gyms and stores to reopen in June and recently moved to open museums, movie theatres and casinos, has a per capita rate of active cases of 11.54 per 100,000. Read the full story from the Stars Patty Winsa and Kenyon Wallace. 9:50 a.m.: Mendocino Clothing Co., a Toronto-based retailer, has begun restructuring proceedings and plans to close stores to focus on online orders. The closely-held company filed a notice of intention to make a proposal under Canadian bankruptcy law on July 14, according to documents posted on the website of KSV Kofman Inc., the trustee. The documents listed Toronto-Dominion Bank as a secured creditor owed $2.69 million and a further $5.78 million owed to unsecured creditors including American Express and OPGI Mgmt. The notice of intention is the formal first step in filing under Canadas Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act and gives the company a temporary stay against any proceedings by its creditors. Mendicino joins retailers DavidsTea Inc. and Aldo Group Inc. in seeking protection, as the Canadian economy struggles to emerge from what the central bank called the steepest and deepest downturn since the Great Depression. Although Mendocino filed under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act, its important to note that the company is not bankrupt, KSV said. Esther Mann, a representative of the trustee, didnt immediately respond to a request for comment. Mendicino, which has been operating since 1987, closed its head office and all of its stores as of March 16 out of concern for the safety of its customers and staff, according to a recorded message at the companys main phone number. Prior to the pandemic, the company operated 28 stores in and around the Greater Toronto Area, according to Insolvency Insider, which first reported the filing. 9 a.m. A parliamentary finance committee will hear more testimony related to the now-cancelled WE Charity deal at the heart of an ethics controversy plaguing the Liberal government. Tuesday will mark the second time the all-party committee of MPs will assess the agreement struck and then cancelled with WE Charity to provide upwards of $43.5 million to administer a $900-million government grant program. So far, Ian Shugart, clerk of the privy council, is on the witness list, along with a lawyer and the president of a consulting service, both of whom work outside of the government. Read more from the Stars Kieran Leavitt 8:51 a.m. Premier Doug Ford insists there will be no snap election in Ontario to cash in on his recent jump in the polls, but hes still headed back out on the campaign trail. Ford will be in Mississauga on Tuesday to meet with Mayor Bonnie Crombie and several local businesses to discuss the response to the COVID-19 pandemic. His campaign-style swing comes one day after he announced Peel Region, Toronto, and Windsor-Essex are not yet ready to move to the next stage of reopening the economy while everywhere else in Ontario will be open Friday. In the morning, the premier is touring Neo-Image Candlelight, which retooled its high-speed candle fillers to fill bottles of hand sanitizer. Then, he will meet with Crombie and other officials at Trillium Health Partners, which runs Credit Valley Hospital, Mississauga Hospital, and the Queensway Health Centre. Read the full story by the Stars Robert Benzie 8:36 a.m. Almost two-third of parents in a new poll say they believe that children returning to school in the fall should wear masks at least part of the time. The latest poll on the COVID-19 pandemic by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies found that 41 per cent of respondents believe schoolchildren should be required to wear a mask while theyre on the bus or in the school. A further 21 per cent said yes to masks, but only when a student is outside of class during recess, lunch or if on the bus suggesting they were OK with students taking off their masks once in class and not in common areas. There was also a group of respondents, accounting for 28 per cent, who believed masks should be optional. The current public health advice is that non-medical masks can contain infectious particles on their wearers breath, reducing the risk of contagion from people with COVID-19 who might not know theyre carrying the illness. The Leger online poll of 1,524 Canadians over age 18 took place July 17 to 19. The poll cannot be given a margin of error because it is not a random sample. 7:39 a.m. Front-line hospital staff in Ontario are planning a five-minute, in-hospital protest Tuesday morning to fight the proposed extension of the provinces emergency orders. The Ontario Council of Hospital Unions, a division of the Canadian Union of Public Employees, says it does not want the provinces emergency order extended in its current form because it suspends their collective bargaining agreement. The Progressive Conservative government introduced a bill two weeks ago that would allow it to keep some emergency measures in place in the months ahead. The union says that without the CBA in place they have no workplace rights, including having the time and location of shifts changed without notice or vacations cancelled. Union president Michael Hurley argues that while those measures were acceptable at the start of the pandemic the emergency is over in most of Ontario. CUPE hospital workers staged workplace rallies across Ontario opposing aspects of Bill 195 on Friday. The unions membership voted in favour of further political protest actions last night unless the bill is amended. Health-care workers in Ontario do not have the right to strike and have a very limited right to refuse unsafe work. 7:22 a.m. Nearly a quarter of the residents in Indias capital New Delhi have had the coronavirus, according to a seroprevalence study conducted by the countrys disease control organization. With a population of more than 11 million, New Delhi has so far reported 123,747 confirmed cases and 3,663 deaths. The study conducted by the National Center for Disease Control found that 23.48 per cent of the 21, 387 blood samples tested showed the prevalence of IgG antibodies. The samples were collected between June 27 through July 10 across the citys 11 districts. The tests help in the identification of the presence of antibodies in the general population. The study did not provide any gender or age-related details of the population sample tested. Even as the spread of virus has been contained in the city, a significant proportion of the population is still vulnerable, according to the health ministry statement. The South Asian country added 37,148 cases on Tuesday taking the tally more than 1.15 million, according to data shared by Indias health ministry. Its only trailing the U.S. and Brazil now. 5 a.m.: In just four days, Torontonians were supposed to join the rest of Ontario in moving to Stage 3 of the provinces economic reopening. But with COVID-19 cases on the uptick, those plans have been put on hold. Toronto, Peel Region and Windsor-Essex will remain in Stage 2, while Hamilton and the rest of the GTA will move to Stage 3 as planned on Friday. Premier Doug Ford said the numbers in these regions are not where they should be, and that the possibility of Stage 3 beginning July 31 for these areas will be revisited next week. Toronto business owners say the delay comes as no surprise. Jason Ching, co-owner of Omai Restaurant in Toronto, said he wasnt planning to allow indoor seating Friday even if he had the go-ahead. I think were more comfortable doing that than having people sit inside, he said. Read the full story from Rosa Saba here. 4:41 a.m.: Lebanons health minister says the financially troubled Mediterranean country, which has so far managed to contain the coronavirus, is sliding toward a critical stage with a new surge in infections after lockdown restrictions were lifted and the airport reopened. The recently recorded double and triple digits of new infections were coupled with an increase in untraceable cases, raising concerns that a dangerous spread in the community could follow, Minister of Health Hamad Hassan told The Associated Press. Lebanons early lockdown and strict measures to contain the virus were praised for slowing down the initial spread of the pandemic. Authorities have also aggressively tested, carried out random tests, and swiftly isolated infected areas. But Lebanons crippling economic and financial crisis has proven more difficult to manage. In late April, the authorities began gradually easing weeks-long restrictions that threw tens of thousands out of work; Lebanons only airport reopened on July 1. The government doesnt appear ready to again tighten restrictions or impose another full lockdown. So far, Lebanon has recorded more than 2,900 infections and 41 deaths, including one front-line doctor who died Monday at a hospital in the south, two weeks after contracting COVID-19. Hassan said the late diagnosis is to blame for the death of the 32-year-old physician. Some 150 medical staff have been infected, only a few of them becoming sick. Tuesday 4 a.m. Australias hot spot in Victoria state on Tuesday reported 374 new cases of COVID-19, its second-highest daily tally. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews also announced three more deaths, bringing the national death toll 126. Andrews said a lockdown in Australias second-largest city Melbourne, which began two weeks ago, was having an impact. Youd like to see numbers coming down. At the end of the day though, were not seeing the doubling and doubling again of cases, Andrews said. So what that says to me ... is that the sorts of measures weve put in place are having a direct impact. Face masks will become compulsory from Thursday for residents in lockdown regions when they leave their homes. Monday 10 p.m. COVID-19 has led to the deaths of 13 nuns at a convent in Michigan in the last three months, religious officials report. A dozen members in the Congregation of the Sisters of St. Felix of Cantalice, or Felician Sisters, died after battling the virus between Good Friday on April 10 and May 10, while a 13th associated death was reported on June 27, according to the Global Sisters Report released Monday. The non-profit outlet is a project of the National Catholic Reporter publishing company. The Detroit Catholic, another publication that covers the Catholic community in southeast Michigan, reported that as many as 22 sisters at the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary Convent had tested positive for the coronavirus through early May. The nuns at the 360-acre campus, who ranged in age from 69 to 99, included teachers, a librarian and a secretary in the Vatican Secretariat of State, the Global Sisters Report said. Meanwhile, at least 19 other sisters have died in the United States during the pandemic, according to the article, which said the Livonia deaths may be the worst loss of life to a community of women religious since the 1918 influenza pandemic. Representatives with the Felician Sisters of North America did not immediately respond to a request for comment Monday. Monday 5:34 p.m.: Ontario has seen another day with no new COVID-19 deaths, according to the Stars latest count. As of 5 p.m. Monday, Ontarios regional health units reported 39,817 confirmed and probable cases of COVID-19, including 2,785 deaths, a jump of 160 reported infections since Sunday evening. The last time the units did not report a fatal case in 24 hours was on July 6; before that, the province had seen 14 consecutive days with at least one reported death. In late April and early May, the health units reported as many as 94 deaths in a single day. "Our online auction services are designed to take this piece of work off of the agencys plate so they can focus on more mission critical assignments. - Andrew J. Nash, CEO, PropertyRoom.com PropertyRoom.com is excited to announce that the Boston Police Department has signed on to utilize their online auction services to auction off their unclaimed stolen, seized or surplus assets and goods. 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Our online auction services are designed to take this piece of work off of the agencys plate so they can focus on more mission critical assignments. About PropertyRoom.com PropertyRoom.com makes it remarkably easy for our 4,100+ clients to manage and sell surplus assets. They streamline the entire auction process on a clients behalf and deliver to the winning bidder. There is always a unique deal to be found, with hundreds of new auction listings added daily. Top categories include jewelry, watches, collectible coins and consumer electronics along with cars, trucks, heavy equipment, and firearms through a partner website, eGunner.com. Working with law enforcement agencies, municipal surplus departments, state/county fleet programs, airports and even museums, PropertyRoom.com has generated and distributed millions of dollars to local communities nationwide. OTTAWAThe Liberal minister responsible for the Canada Student Service Grant met with WE Charity almost a week before the $912-million COVID-19 student volunteering program was announced, the Star has learned. Bardish Chaggers office confirmed Monday the youth minister spoke to WE co-founder Craig Kielburger on April 17 five days before Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the creation of the volunteer grant program a program designed to help students impacted by the pandemic. Chaggers office said the minister and Kielburger did not discuss the Liberals plans for a volunteering grant program during the phone call. Instead, the two discussed WEs pitch to create a social entrepreneurship program for young Canadians during COVID-19. Our office reviewed (WEs social entrepreneurship pitch) in early April, and this meeting, this phone call, was in reference to that. And it didnt go anywhere, said Dani Keenan, a spokesperson for Chagger, on Monday. Chagger did not mention the meeting with Kielburger Thursday while testifying before the House of Commons finance committee. The committee is probing the Liberal cabinets decision to outsource the volunteer grant program to WE, a decision that has seen federal ethics commissioner Mario Dion launch investigations of Trudeau and Finance Minister Bill Morneau. Asked if she discussed the grant program with WE before the cabinet discussion, Chagger said: I did not discuss this program, the CSSG (Canada Student Service Grant) program, with anyone at WE. Rachel Wernick, the senior civil servant who recommended to cabinet that WE administer the grants, told the committee she had approved a briefing note for Chagger about WEs social entrepreneurship pitch in advance of the April 17 meeting. WE Charity said last week it had circulated a proposal within the Liberal government on April 9, proposing an entrepreneurship mentoring program for young Canadians during COVID-19. WEs proposal was to run a 10-week program teaching young Canadians about social entrepreneurship, with a price tag between $6 million and $14 million. Wernick testified that multiple ministers and officials had received WEs pitch, but only two are known: Chagger and Mary Ng, minister for small business, export promotion and international trade. The Prime Ministers Office could not say Monday how many more ministers and officials were aware of WEs proposal. Wernick testified that she called Kielburger on April 19, two days after Chagger and Kielburger spoke on the phone, to inform WE about the upcoming volunteer grant program. When Trudeau announced the program on April 22, WE submitted a proposal focused on volunteering rather than social entrepreneurship. Wernick ultimately recommended the government select WE to run the program in early May. Chagger announced WE Charity had been selected to run the program at an initial cost of $19.5 million in a June 25 interview with the Star. During Thursdays committee meeting, Chagger revealed the federal government was ready to provide upwards of $43.5 million to WE. The eventual CSSG program looks very different from Kielburgers proposed social entrepreneurship program except that both were aimed at the same demographic. As he faced criticism earlier this month, Trudeau said WE, a Toronto-based charity, was the only organization that was capable of networking and organizing and delivering this program on the scale that we needed it. Then as the scandal grew, the Liberals and WE agreed to end the deal. The CSSG program will instead be administered by the federal government. But opposition parties suggest the Liberals tailored the $912-million program to award WE the contract, pointing to several connections between the charity formerly known as Free the Children, and the Liberals. Trudeaus wife, Sophie Gregoire Trudeau, is known as an ambassador and ally of the charity, and it was later revealed that WE had paid $282,000 in speaking fees to the prime ministers mother and brother between 2016 and 2020. Morneaus daughter, Grace Acan, works for the charity. Both men have apologized for not recusing themselves from the cabinet discussion and ultimate decision to award WE the contract. Trudeau was not present in the House of Commons Monday, leaving Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to field questions about the scandal. The non-partisan public service recommended this structure as the only way to deliver the program in the required time. Obviously, the way this unfolded was regrettable, and that is why the charity is no longer administering the project, Freeland told MPs during Question Period. Opposition MPs will have a chance to question Trudeau directly on Tuesday, when he is scheduled to attend Question Period. Two-way trade between the United States and Australia will help the economies of both countries as they grapple with a post-coronavirus world, a new report suggests. The report - commissioned by the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia - found seven per cent of Australia's GDP was the direct result of US trade and investment in 2019, adding $131 billion into the economy. US investment in Australia accounted for more than a quarter of all foreign investment - making the US the biggest source of foreign investment. US Ambassador to Australia Arthur Culvahouse Jr (pictured) took a thinly veiled shot at China as he spoke about Australia and US trade being built on a foundation of trust and mutual respect The US also invested 40 per cent more in Australia than it invested in China, with half of that flowing into mining and manufacturing and the remainder supporting professional services, finance, wholesale and retail. AmCham chair Brendan Nelson says Australia-US trade will be essential for economic prosperity in the post-COVID-19 environment. 'Both Australia and the United States, their businesses, industries and investors need one another more than ever,' Dr Nelson said in the report. 'Two-way trade and investment are essential to recovery.' The AmCham-commissioned report follows a United States Studies Centre report last week which found the value of two-way foreign investment between the US and Australia has reached $1.82 trillion. That is equivalent to about 90 per cent of the value of the entire Australian share market and 10 times larger than Australia's bilateral investment relationship with China. A report commissioned by the American Chamber of Commerce in Australia found seven per cent of Australia's GDP was the direct result of US trade and investment in 2019, adding $131 billion into the economy (Port of Botany pictured) The Chinese ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, in April also warned the Chinese public might boycott Australian goods if the smaller nation didn't drop its pursuit of an independent coronavirus inquiry The USSC study found more than 2000 American companies employed 272,000 workers in Australia, with an economic value of $71.6 billion. A YouGov poll for the USSC of 1054 Australians found just 17 per cent correctly identified the US as the largest source of foreign investment. More than 70 per cent believe China is number one, despite it having never overtaken the US. US Ambassador to Australia Arthur Culvahouse Jr said American businesses trusted Australia's 'transparent and accountable legal and regulatory systems'. 'We have faith in each other's free flow of knowledge, people and capital, our respect for human rights, our strong democratic systems and our respect for intellectual property,' he said at a launch of the report in Sydney. AmCham chair Brendan Nelson (pictured) also said Australia-US trade will be essential for economic prosperity in the post-COVID-19 environment In a thinly-veiled swipe at recent trade tensions between Beijing and Canberra, which has included tariffs on Australian barley and bans on Australian beef exporters, Mr Culvahouse said some trade transactions come with 'hidden costs'. The Chinese ambassador to Australia, Cheng Jingye, in April also warned the Chinese public might boycott Australian goods if the smaller nation didn't drop its pursuit of an independent coronavirus inquiry. 'Recent events have shown starkly that economic security is national security,' Mr Culvahouse said. 'It's not just about the money - it's about who you trust, it's about shared values, it's about 100 years of mateship. 'Australia will never see the day when a United States ambassador threatens to withdraw from trading with and investing in Australia.' The cause of death of the Theodore Roosevelt sailor who contracted the coronavirus aboard the aircraft carrier amid an outbreak of the virus was a severe anoxic brain injury, cardiac arrest and COVID-19 sepsis, according to a Navy line of duty death investigation report obtained by The Chronicle. The report also revealed for the first time publicly that Charles Robert Thacker Jr., a 41-year-old aviation ordnanceman chief petty officer, had been taken out of isolation and to the emergency room of the Guam naval base in the days before his death, but was released back to isolation later the same day. Investigators said that despite the fact that he died from a massive COVID infection, Thackers medical evaluations indicated that he was clinically improving 48 hours before he was found unresponsive on April 9. Thacker died on April 13 at the Navy hospital on the Guam base where his warship had been docked since late March. No autopsy was performed as he died under the care of medical officials. He left behind a wife, who also serves in the Navy, and a young son and daughter. While the family hasnt spoken publicly about Thackers death, his widow has since left posts on her Facebook page urging people to take the virus seriously. Her mother, Thackers mother-in-law, initially questioned Thackers care, posting shortly after his death, And that is what happened to Robert. Lack of check ups between pm and am. She has since deleted the post. Neither has responded to requests for comment. More than 1,000 Rooosevelt sailors contracted the coronavirus on the ill-fated deployment. Most got sick after the carrier docked in Guam on March 27. Thacker was the only person known to have died, although several infected sailors were hospitalized in the intensive care unit. Another sailor died months later, but while the Navy waits for an official cause of death, officials have said they dont believe it was COVID-related. The warships plight garnered international attention in late March after The Chronicle published a letter from commanding officer Capt. Brett Crozier, a Santa Rosa native, who pleaded with Navy superiors to evacuate the carrier as the virus quickly swept through its cramped quarters. Crozier was removed from his command and criticized by then-acting Navy Secretary Thomas Modly, who would resign days later. A Navy report found that Crozier did not handle the outbreak properly and ruled he should remain out of the ships command, despite public and crew support. The ship returned to its San Diego home port this month, ending the troubled deployment. Thacker tested positive for the coronavirus March 30, three days after the virus-stricken carrier docked in Guam. He was removed from the ship and placed in an isolation house on Naval Base Guam with four other Roosevelt sailors. The Navy has said he was checked twice a day by medical crews. After about a week in isolation, on April 5, his eighth wedding anniversary, he was evaluated at United States Naval Hospital Guam in the emergency room and discharged later that day. The report did not specify why he was sent there. Thacker family photo The report said that on the morning of April 7, Thacker was evaluated during his twice-a-day checkups and his health was found to be improving. The report did not specify what was checked during these evaluations, or what his condition was in the subsequent two days. Navy officials did not respond to a dozen questions sent by The Chronicle asking about Thackers care. On April 9, at about 8:30 a.m. (Guam time), medical personnel and sailors found Thacker unresponsive and began CPR, before transferring him to the base hospital, Navy officials have said. Symantha Thacker, also an active duty sailor stationed in San Diego, was flown to Guam after her husband was moved to the intensive care unit. She arrived two days before his passing and was by his side when he died, the Navy said. Symantha Thacker has not spoken publicly about her husbands death, but last month she posted a message on Facebook to those complaining about being restricted by sheltering rules. My evening conversation with my son tonight was how he missed his Daddy and how they used to order pizza and Daddy would let him have more pizza after bath time, she wrote. About how much he (A FIVE YEAR OLD) hates the sickness and wants his daddy back. He wishes he could go to school and wishes he could go to kindergarten. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. I held my daughter last night while she shook in tears while she wailed how much she wants her Daddy back, she continued. Stop complaining. Stay the f home. Appreciate what you have. You may not have lost anyone to this. But a lot of us have and it fing sucks. Family members of other sailors and some crew members have complained to The Chronicle that care for symptomatic and infected sailors aboard the ship during the Guam stint had been lacking. Thacker was born in Fort Smith, Ark., and graduated from high school in Hookstown, Pa., according to his Facebook page. He enlisted in 1997 and lived in San Diego with his family. Thacker first served on the Roosevelt in 2016, and returned to the carrier in December. He also served on the George Washington and Ronald Reagan carriers. Thacker had a variety of awards and citations, including two Navy and Marine Corps Commendation Medals, three Navy and Marine Corps Achievement Medals, a Navy E Ribbon and a National Defense Service Medal. A fundraising account raised $10,000 for Thackers family. Matthias Gafni is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: matthias.gafni@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @mgafni A lawyer found dead of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound is being investigated as the possible gunman in the shooting of a US judges family. Roy Den Hollander, who received media attention including appearances on Fox News and Comedy Central for lawsuits challenging perceived infringements of mens rights, was found dead on Monday in Sullivan County, New York. A day earlier, a gunman posing as a FedEx delivery man went to the home of US District Judge Esther Salas in North Brunswick, New Jersey, and started shooting, wounding her husband, defence lawyer Mark Anderl, and killing her son, Daniel Anderl. Judge Salas was in another part of the house and was unharmed. The FBI has identified Den Hollander as the "primary subject" in the attack on the judge's family. Mrs Salas was presiding over an ongoing lawsuit brought by Deutsche Bank investors who claim the company made false and misleading statements about its anti-money laundering policies and failed to monitor "high-risk" customers, including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Den Hollander mentioned the judge in writings posted online / AP Den Hollander had a gender-equity lawsuit, filed in 2015, that was being heard by Judge Salas involving a young woman who wanted to register for the military draft. He also mentioned the judge in writings posted online, deriding her as a ladder climber who traded on her Hispanic heritage to get ahead. A package addressed to Judge Salas was found with Den Hollanders body, the officials said. He is alleged to have written of posing as a FedEx delivery man to speak with a young girl, the same tactic the gunman apparently used at the door to the judges family home. Den Hollander was best known for unsuccessful lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of ladies night promotions at bars and nightclubs. His litigation, and willingness to appear on TV, earned him spots on The Colbert Report and MSNBC. Daniel Anderl had been shortly due to head back to the Catholic University of America in Washington DC. University president John Garvey wrote on Twitter: I was shocked last night to hear news of Daniel Anderls tragic death Sunday evening in New Jersey. Daniel was a rising junior, enrolled for classes beginning in the next few weeks. He turned 20 last week. Judge Salas was nominated by Barack Obama / REUTERS Judge Salas, seated in Newark, New Jersey, was nominated by President Barack Obama and confirmed in 2011. Before that, she served as a magistrate in New Jersey after working as an assistant public defender for several years. Born in California to a Cuban immigrant mother and Mexican father, she spent most of her childhood in Union City, New Jersey. After helping her family escape a devastating house fire, she acted as her mothers translator and advocate, foreshadowing her career in law as she argued her familys case to welfare officials, according to a 2018 magazine profile. In the profile, she spoke of her son possibly following his parents into the legal profession. Hes been arguing with us since he could talk practising his advocacy skills, Judge Salas told New Jersey Monthly. I dont want to dissuade him, but I was pulling for a doctor. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) The Philippine National Police on Tuesday reminded its personnel to refrain from sharing libelous content on social media after a local police station drew flak for its Facebook post about terrorism. Speaking to CNN Philippines, PNP spokesperson Bernard Banac cautioned fellow officers to strictly follow the guidelines on the proper use of the digital platforms as well as to keep in mind rights of citizens. We dont want this to happen again. We reminded our personnel to always think of the rights of people, and never post content and information that are libelous in nature, that would draw criticism against the PNP, Banac said in an interview with The Source. The Malaybalay City Police Station came under fire last week following its viral Facebook post which seemingly associated ABS-CBN supporters to terrorism. The now-deleted post featured a collage photo of activists holding placards calling for the upholding of press freedom and the dismissal of the earlier quo warranto case lodged against the network. The photo was accompanied with a text saying, Malalaman mong sila ay para sa terorismo. Papatulan lahat ng isyu, basta laban sa gobyerno. [Translation: Youll know if they are for terrorism. They would criticize every issue, as long as its going against the government.] The PNP has since apologized to ABS-CBN for the said post, adding that a probe is already underway. Banac added the personnel who uploaded the photo has also issued an apology for his action. Critics have earlier aired concerns that the anti-terrorism law which formally took effect on Saturday may be prone to abuse and may lead to possible human rights violations. Some also argued that the measure may be used to target those who simply express criticism against the government. Banac, for his part, vowed the PNP leadership will educate and train all personnel regarding the definition and issues surrounding the law. He noted that the police are still awaiting the rollout of the measure's implementing rules and regulations. But in the absence of this IRR, we have reminded our personnel to always conduct themselves professionally, and exercise utmost caution and discipline especially in the proper use of social media, and always think about and consider our people, he added. The Anti-Terrorism Act of 2020, which repealed the Human Security Act of 2007, will give more surveillance powers to government forces. It will also implement stricter penalties for suspected terrorists including longer detention periods of up to 24 days with arrest warrants or charges. COVID-19 PANIC: Mask is efficient in what? by Limin Wang July 20, 2020, Monday A lot of American politicians and media peddlers like to blame on President Donald J. Trump on almost everything, including wearing mask or not during the COVID-19 panic. For most of the time, Trump himself doesn't wear a mask, and he is a 74-years-young man. Has Trump even been test found postive of COVID-19? No. There are several world leaders reportedly found positive of COVID-19. They have family members of different age groups too. I think they are all back to normal after some mild symptoms or no symptoms at all. If COVID-19 is really so viral, then I would rather to believe few people is above COVID-19 than to believe nobody is above or below the law. The natural law is much fairer than rulers' laws. From the point of biological science, it does not make sense that wearing a regular mask or facial covering can stop the airborne viruses from being breathed in or out. On the contrary, wearing a mask long and often to cover tight the nose and mouth will jeopardize the respiratory system, and symptoms of the so-called COVID-19 will absolutely more likely to develop. What has made Amercia so "poor" in fighting the COVID-19 PANIC? I strongly believe it is mainly because some people, including the medical field, are having TREMENDOUSLY WONDERFUL business PROFITS out of such a COVID-19 PANIC while the MAJORITY SUFFER and PAY. Do you think the medical science in USA is not world-leading any more? Do you think President Trump has issued any executive order that nobody wear a mask? Why President Trump has the federal government power to issue and enforce something like a wearing-mask-mandatory to the states now? Somebodies now forget the kingdoms or freedom permeated throughout the U.S.A.? For these who claims the efficiency of mask fighting off the COVID-19, please practice what you preach: cover your nose and mouth tight with your mask almost always, just to help fight the COVID-19 "PANDEMIC" by whatever amount you can contribute. I am pretty sure, within a couple of days, you would like to FUCK IT OFF. So, in my view, mask is not efficient in fighting off the coronavirus, but should be efficient in absorbing some political and monetary spitballs. Reggie Rockstone is a Ghanaian rap legend and his works are boldly written all over Ghana's music industry. Aside from being a household name, the legendary musician also commands great respect from music lovers in the country. Both the old and young generations revere him for the impact he has made on Ghana's music and his introduction of Hiplife music that paved the way for many other artistes and shot them to fame and affluence. Of course, many people know Reggie Rockstone but just as the adage goes ''behind every successful man, there is a woman''; so behind Reggie Rockstone's success, there is a man. Speaking in an interview with Nkonkonsa on YouTube, Reggie Rockstone recounted the immense contributions of his late father Ricky "Ricci" Ossei (Saint Ossei), a renowned fashion designer. Not much is known about Ricky's role in Reggie Rockstone's music career and so the musician decided to throw light on what the father did that Ghanaians need to know and acknowledge. According to him, the late father inspired his music career and was the one who built him a studio to record his music. He added that the father was also his chief marketer and supported his career. Reggie Rockstone noted that he owes all his music achievements to the late father. He narrated that when he returned to Ghana from the United States to pursue his music career, his father was the one who suggested he should do Hiplife and in line with his dream, he learned the Twi language so as to make the mark his father set for him. ''English is my first language. I learned to speak Twi...I'm a British Ashanti New Yorker...He told me not to call it Hip Hop. He said stop the foreign life; let's do a hybrid; Hip Hop, Highlife and we got Hiplife. It was my father and myself. He was very good to me.'' He further added he is proud to inherit the legacy of his father. ''Shatta Wale said I live in my father's house. It's true. I am staying in my father's house. I am Dada B Original...I inherited my father and just like our President lives in his father's house. Where does Shatta Wale think his children will stay when he dies?''. Watch the full interview below: Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Mayor John Torys executive committee approved a plan Tuesday to implement bus priority lanes on the Eglinton Avenue East corridor this fall but resisted calls from transit users to speed up similar measures on other routes. More than a dozen residents spoke remotely to the committee about the plan, which will go to council for final approval later this month. Many of the speakers urged members to move quickly to build a more extensive network of bus lanes in order to improve service and reduce crowding as part of the citys COVID-19 response. I am extremely disappointed by the lack of any sense of urgency in implementing bus lanes in our city, said Ketheesakumaran Navaratnam, a resident of Scarboroughs Malvern neighbourhood, who accused the city of resorting to a piecemeal approach which does nothing to address the critical problem of overcrowding on TTC buses. Noting that many of the bus lines that have remained crowded during the crisis serve parts of Toronto outside of downtown where both poverty and infection rates are higher, Navaratnam framed bus lanes as a tool to address inequality. When you say not now to a bus lane on Finch Avenue East, or maybe later to a bus lane on Lawrence East, you are sending the message that some people just dont matter as much as others, said Navaratnam, who has worked with transit advocacy group TTCriders. He urged the committee to emulate cities like New York, which announced plans to install 32 kilometres of bus lanes by October to help with its COVID-19 recovery. York Univeristy student Austin Jafri pleaded with the committee to put bus lanes on Lawrence Ave. He said service on the 54A Lawrence East has been atrocious for years and was still crowded during the pandemic, which he suggested was unsafe. I call it the 54 COVID East, he said. In a speech to the committee Mayor Tory defended what he described as fairly harsh criticism of the pace of the bus lane plan, which he said was being advanced as quickly as possible. He said that he supported speeding up implementation, but stressed the need to allow staff time to perform public consultations and design work. He said critics of the plan risked misleading the public. They comment as if were all sitting around here finding ways to bog these things down, when in fact were sitting here talking about ways in which we can accelerate them, he said. The plan the committee approved would have the city install bus lanes on the majority of a 10.9-kilometre corridor along Eglinton, Kingston Road and Morningside Avenue, between Brimley Road and Ellesmere Road, by November. Bus lanes would be installed on Jane Street, between Eglinton Avenue West and Steeles Avenue West, by spring 2021. The city and TTC had already been planning to build bus priority lanes on the corridors but transit agency staff told the committee the plan would accelerate the projects by about six months. According to the plan, the city will also install bus lanes on Dufferin Street, Steeles Avenue West, and Finch Avenue East by 2022 or later. The TTC board has also asked city and transit agency staff to study potential bus lanes on Lawrence Avenue East and Sheppard Avenue East. The bus lanes on the Eglinton corridor are expected to cost about $7.8 million, and the TTC estimates they would reduce the duration of average bus trips by between two and five minutes. Ten different bus routes serve at least parts of the corridor and before the COVID-19 crisis they collectively carried about 56,000 people per day, making Eglinton East one of the cities busiest transit corridors. Ben Spurr is a Toronto-based reporter covering transportation for the Star. Reach him by email at bspurr@thestar.ca or follow him on Twitter: @BenSpurr Read more about: New Delhi, July 21 : Online penetration for the grocery segment is expected to reset to a higher level due to Covid, further aided by the entry of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) in this space, according to a Goldman Sachs report on global internet winners. "We expect Reliance to be one of the key beneficiaries of shift to online in this segment. "For grocery, we expect online penetration to reset to a higher level due to Covid, further aided by the entry of Reliance Industries in this space," the report said. "The biggest near term theme in India internet, in our view, is the foray of Reliance Industries (India's largest market-cap company with presence across sectors such as energy, telecom and retail) into ecommerce, and the company's tie-up with WhatsApp for online grocery," Goldman Sachs said. It has forecast India e-commerce will reach $99 billion by 2024, growing at a 27 per cent compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) over 2019-24, with grocery and fashion and apparel likely to be the key drivers of incremental growth. "Overall, we expect online penetration of retail to reach 10.7 per cent by 2024, versus 4.7 per cent in 2019," it said. Growth in India's ecommerce is likely to come from better penetration into categories such as grocery/FMCG, improving payment ecosystem and ease of shopping though WhatsApp. "We expect non-grocery ecommerce penetration to see a sharp increase of 500 basis points over the next two years to reach 16.1 per cent by 2021, for context, the last 500 basis points of increase took four years. "While online penetration in categories such as consumer electronics is fairly high at 40 per cent as of 2019 (per Euromonitor), we see room for significant growth in categories like apparel, appliances, health and personal care, where online penetration in India remains materially lower vs. peers such as China," according to Goldman Sachs. As far as incremental growth in ecommerce is concerned, grocery will be the biggest driver with 40 per cent contribution to incremental ecommerce gross merchandise value (GMV) between 2019 and 2024. Grocery in India is a $380 billion category as of 2019 (Euromonitor, GSe), making up 60 per cent of the total retail market, Goldman Sachs said. "Overall, we forecast online grocery orders to grow from 50 per cent year on year for the last couple of years, but with the outbreak of Covid-19 resulting in shift to online, and the recent entry of RIL, we believe growth will accelerate to 81 per cent CAGR during 2019-24. We believe RIL's partnership with Facebook could result in the company becoming a market leader in the online grocery space, with more than 50 per cent share by 2024E. Having said that, we do see grocery as a large category for two or more players to co-exist over time," Goldman Sachs said. The report said that the Covid-19 pandemic has driven a doubling of the penetration of ecommerce globally, accelerating the acceleration, and in some major categories, like consumer packaged goods, driving as much as 3 years of penetration growth in 3 months. "We believe that a large part of this is sustainable, with a permanent steepening of the growth curve for ecommerce, and while we will likely see a near term decline as markets reopen, as the financial realities of fewer people in stores, particularly during key holidays, lead to even more store closures, we are likely to see a second wave driving ecommerce adoption above even current highs," the report said. Swinton and Hui will be presented with Golden Lions for career achievement at the 77th Venice International Film Festival Actor Tilda Swinton and Hong Kong filmmaker Ann Hui will be honoured by the Venice Film Festival with Golden Lions for career achievement. According to Variety, Swinton and Hui are no strangers to Venice, where Hui's A Simple Life and The Golden Era both world-premiered. Swinton is a Venice veteran. The 59-year-old actor Swinton said, "This great festival has been dear to my heart for three decades: to be honoured by her in this way is extremely humbling." "To come to Venice, this year of all years, to celebrate immortal cinema and her defiant survival in the face of all the challenges that evolution might throw at her as at us all will be my sincere joy," she added. While Hui said, "I am so happy to receive this news and honoured for the award. So happy that I feel I cannot find the words. I just hope everything in the world will turn better soon and everybody can feel again as happy as I am in this moment." Quite soon in her career, in 1991, Swinton received the prize for best actress in Venice for her performance in Edward II by British director Derek Jarman, one of seven films they made together. Recently Swinton has been on the Lido with Luca Guadagnino's I Am Love in 2009 and with Guadagnino's A Bigger Splash, in 2015, and Suspiria in 2018. Swinton's more recent work includes Wes Anderson's Cannes Label 2020 The French Dispatch, as well as the second part of British director Joanna Hogg's The Souvenir and also Memoria by Thai auteur Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Swinton is working on projects with Pedro Almodovar, with whom she is shooting The Human Voice and Australian director George Miller's Three Thousand Year of Longing, alongside Idris Elba. Venice artistic director Alberto Barbera in a statement praised Swinton for "her commanding and incomparable personality, uncommon versatility and an ability to pass from the most radical art-house cinema to big Hollywood productions, without ever eschewing her inexhaustible need to bring to life unclassifiable and uncommon characters." Swinton's standout Hollywood roles include her Oscar-winning performance in Tony Gilroy's thriller Michael Clayton. Hui emerged as a leader of the Hong Kong New Wave in the 1980s, following her debut feature The Secret (1979), starring Sylvia Chang. Her early standout titles comprise Vietnamese refugees drama Boat People (1982) and semi-autobiographical Song of the Exile (1990), both of which bowed in Cannes, dramedy Summer Snow (1995) and social activism drama Ordinary Heroes (1999), which launched from Berlin and social drama A Simple Life (2011), and big-budget biopic The Golden Era (2014), which premiered in Venice. Barbara praised Hui as "one of Asia's most respected, prolific, and versatile directors of our times," and noted that "her career spans four decades and touches every film genre." The 75th edition of Venice is set to run 2-12 September. The line-up will be announced on 28 July. (With inputs from Asian News International) Mayank Singh By Express News Service NEW DELHI: The Indian and the US navies on Monday conducted a joint exercise in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands in a strong strategic message to China amid confrontation in eastern Ladakh. The Indian Navy said, The Passage Exercise near the Andaman and Nicobar Islands involved the United States Carrier Strike Group (CSG) led by aircraft carrier Nimitz and units of Indian Navys Eastern Fleet and Andaman and Nicobar Command. The CSG recently concluded its operational deployment along with another aircraft carrier USS Ronald Reagan in the South China Sea and had crossed the Strait of Malacca on Saturday to pass through the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). The Passage Exercise includes a shorter form of interaction where the two sides have established interoperability. The maneuvers carried out in such an exercise involve a simulated environment. The warships in the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group consisted of flagship USS Nimitz, guided missile cruiser USS Princeton, and guided missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS Ralph Johnson. Indian Navy ships INS Rana (Destroyer), stealth frigates Sahyadri and Shivalik and Kamorta (anti-submarine Corvettes) participated in the Passage Exercise. Navies of the two countries have already institutionalized the Malabar series of maritime exercises being held since 1992. Japans Maritime Self Defence Force has also become a part of this exercise since 2015. Sources said discussions are on to invite Australia to this format of the exercise. The navies of India, US, Japan and Australia the grouping known as Quad can have a formal military engagement among them. China in the recent years has increased its maritime operations in the IOR with a deployment of around eight warships on anti-piracy mission. Using the same mission, China has sent its submarines, both nuclear and conventional. Before the Passage Exercise, the Navys Eastern Fleet and the assets of the countrys Andaman and Nicobar Tri-services Command were engaged in a multidimensional exercise in the area in the vicinity of the Strait of Malacca. WASHINGTON, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- As America's workers face unprecedented disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, 20 states are committed to a new network linking governors' offices, community colleges and workforce leaders to equip workers to successfully navigate transformational changes in the economy. The American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) and the National Governors Association Center for Best Practices (NGA Center) today announced the launch of the Reskilling and Recovery Network with support from Lumina Foundation and the Siemens Foundation. Through the end of the year, the network will join state and community college institutional leaders to offer targeted assistance and identify fast strategies to give workers the skills necessary to succeed in an economy reshaped by the pandemic. The states in the network are Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, Arkansas, Connecticut, Colorado, Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington and Wisconsin. COVID-19 and measures taken to limit the transmission of the coronavirus, including widespread business closures, have led to 14 million jobs lost in the United States. The national unemployment rate increased from 3.8 percent in February to 11.1 percent in June. The pandemic has disproportionately affected lower-income workers who are concentrated in service-sector jobs that do not lend themselves to telework. According to the Federal Reserve, among people who were working in February, almost 40 percent of those in households making less than $40,000 a year had lost a job in March. Women and communities of color have also borne disproportionate impacts. The Reskilling and Recovery Network will strive to address equity disparities that have increased during the economic and health crisis. "The nation's community colleges are essential to developing a strong workforce," said Walter G. Bumphus, AACC's president and CEO. "Working directly with government leaders to wholly address the needs of workers and businesses will benefit students, local economies and the nation's workforce. This work is critical to economic recovery and we are proud to partner with NGA and grateful to our funding partners that recognize that success will only come from an intentional, collective and bipartisan effort." "Governors across the country have been taking steps to prepare their residents for the jobs of the future, but the COVID-19 pandemic makes this effort much more urgent," said Timothy Blute, director of the NGA Center. "Working with the community colleges in their states, governors are poised to take action to both alleviate the economic impact of COVID-19 and prepare all workers for the needs of the economy when the pandemic subsides. The support of the Siemens Foundation and Lumina Foundation has been invaluable to bringing about this important partnership with the American Association of Community Colleges." Through the network, participating states will: Engage with a collaborative network of like-minded state leaders to strategize economic and workforce recovery efforts; Receive access to innovative tools designed by peers in the field and be paired with experts engaged by the NGA Center and AACC; and Access technical assistance including webinars, facilitated peer-to-peer learning, virtual state site visits and more. Education Strategy Group and the National Association of Workforce Boards will work with NGA and the AACC on the network. "This is a critical moment for states, educational leaders and employers to work together to advance an inclusive workforce agenda that doesn't leave anyone behind," said Barbara Humpton, chair of the Siemens Foundation and CEO of Siemens USA. "The Reskilling and Recovery Network will support the development of a coordinated response to engage and cultivate the full range of talent across society, helping people access fulfilling, well-paying careers." "States and their higher education institutions will need to collaborate to quickly prepare workers for available jobs," noted Chauncy Lennon, vice president for the future of learning and work at Lumina Foundation. "We expect a surge in community college enrollments especially, as dislocated workers and other adults seek retraining and upskilling. Workers in low-wage jobs, many still struggling to recover from the previous recession, are once again the most severely affected and will depend on training in community colleges for new and better jobs." About AACC As the voice of the nation's community colleges, the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC), delivers educational and economic opportunity for nearly 12 million diverse students in search of the American Dream. Uniquely dedicated to access and success for all students, AACC's more than 1,000 member colleges provide an on-ramp to degree attainment, skilled careers and family-supporting wages. Located in Washington, D.C., AACC advocates for these not-for-profit, public-serving institutions to ensure they have the resources and support they need to deliver on the mission of increasing economic mobility for all. About NGA Founded in 1908, the National Governors Association (NGA) is the nonpartisan organization of the nation's 55 governors. Through NGA, governors share best practices, address issues of national and state interest and share innovative solutions that improve state government and support the principles of federalism. SOURCE American Association of Community Colleges Related Links http://www.aacc.nche.edu The alumnus of the A. Khanperyants Military Aviation Institute of the year 2019 was the one who struck down Israels Hermes 900 UAV. This is what Head of the Institute, Major-General Daniel Balayan told reporters today. Asked if the soldier will be awarded, Balayan stated that people arent awarded right after a battle since decisions are made based on analyses and merits. In any case, Armenians soldiers dont fight to receive awards. The greatest award is when the soldiers make sure the Azerbaijanis dont set foot on our land. The Azerbaijanis put themselves in a bad situation by starting this battle, suffered many casualties and were humiliated. I dont understand why they did this, he said. According to the army general, the adversary can make provocations in all directions, but the Armenian military subdivisions are ready to defend the borders. We have all the resources, even radio intelligence. Basically, they wont succeed in surprising us with a strike or attacking, he added. The One Club for Creativity, the world's foremost non-profit organization recognizing creative excellence in advertising and design, announced the launch of ONE School, a free portfolio program for young Black creatives. ONE School will be run by award-winning Spotify creative director Oriel Davis-Lyons, as part of The One Clubs Professional Development programming. The initiative quickly came together as a result of his early-June LinkedIn post lamenting the high cost barrier of US portfolio schools for young creatives of color, and his pledge to find a way to rectify the situation. Also read: The One Club adds to diversity of its Board of Directors That post was seen by Bob Isherwood, former Saatchi & Saatchi worldwide creative director and Vanderbilt University adjunct professor now in charge of the clubs Professional Development department, who reached out to Davis-Lyons and started the collaborative process to make ONE School a reality. ONE School will be unapologetically Black from start to finish, said Davis-Lyons, who before his current role at Spotify held creative positions at R/GA and Droga5 in New York and Colenso BBDO in New Zealand. The briefs will be written by Black strategists and taught by Black tutors and lecturers, and the students will be paired with Black mentors in the industry, he said. This isnt about teaching Black creatives how to fit in to a mostly white industry. Its about helping them to build a portfolio that is both creatively excellent and 100% authentic to who they are. ONE School will go beyond simply teaching how to put a book together: it will also include how to navigate the industry while Black. Most of the lecturers will be speaking not just about creativity but also their own personal experience as Black creatives and passing on advice that will help a new generation, said Davis-Lyons. Spotify is a principal sponsor of the program, with McCann Worldgroup, Ogilvy, R/GA and WPP also on board to underwrite 10 of the 15 students seats so far, with remaining sponsorship spots available. Official dates for the first course this September will be announced shortly. Due to the hands-on mentoring aspect of the program, enrollment in the course is limited to 15 students who have not previously attended an ad school. Applicants will be selected based on raw creativity, passion and commitment so as not to discourage those with no prior knowledge of advertising. They will be asked to submit a brief video on why they want to be an advertising creative, provide examples of their creativity in personal or professional projects, and respond to a brief. The free online school will run two nights a week for 16 weeks, with students getting 10 briefs over the course covering everything from OOH to Innovation and Data-Driven Storytelling. One night of the week will be devoted to guest lectures from top Black creatives, with the second being a two-to-three hour tutorial run by Davis-Lyons in which students will do a deep dive on different channels, disciplines and the creative process, and get one-on-one reviews of their work. Later weeks of the course will be devoted to portfolio building, judging by top agency professionals, awarding of the top student portfolios and job placement. Davis-Lyons said a common excuse often heard from ECDs is that they only look at the work in the book. That type of thinking ignores the systemic barriers and innate privilege of being able to pay $40,000 for two years at ad school to put a book together. ONE School aims to address that imbalance, he said. Isherwood echoed Davis-Lyons point about the importance of establishing ONE School as for and by people of color. An issue in many courses is people from the very top of the industry, who are usually white, come in and speak to diverse students, he said. While well intentioned, that reinforces the students idea that theres no one at the top who looks like them. With our choice of lecturers and mentors, were closing the gap and exposing young Black creatives to leaders in the industry who they can follow, who get where theyre coming from, and will connect with them quicker than most CCOs. The recent Black Lives Matter statement developed by our Board and staff made clear our commitment to take meaningful action to support, build and grow the Black creative community. This program is an example of that action, said Kevin Swanepoel, CEO, The One Club. A lot of agencies and brands have said they intend to support the Black ad community but many of them don't know how. ONE School is the 'how' that they can get behind and support in order to make a real difference. The One Club for Creativity, producer of The One Show, ADC Annual Awards and Creative Week, is the world's foremost non-profit organization whose mission is to support and celebrate the success of the global creative community. The One Show is a top global awards show for advertising, design and digital marketing, focusing on the creativity of ideas and quality of execution. The global ADC Annual Awards honors creative excellence in craft, design and innovation across all disciplines. Creative Week takes place in New York every May, and is the preeminent festival celebrating the intersection of advertising and the arts. New industry leaders partner with Team Tempest to deliver next generation combat aircraft Seven new companies will collaborate with Team Tempest, the pioneering alliance delivering cutting edge technology for a new generation of combat air power. 20 July 2020 Launched in 2018, Team Tempest is a group of ambitious industry partners - representing the deep breadth of innovation and expertise across the nation - working in collaboration with the MoD on the UK's Future Combat Air System (FCAS) project. The UK's Future Combat Air System is the 1.9bn project working to develop the next generation combat aircraft, known as Tempest, which will replace the Typhoon. These pioneering companies will bring new innovations and designs, enabling Team Tempest to carry on developing ground-breaking concepts and technologies that will guarantee combat dominance in the air. The alliance is quickly gaining recognition for its work and notched up a world first within two years of launching by designing a generator that delivers unprecedented levels of electrical power. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace confirmed seven new companies had signed agreements to collaborate on Team Tempest at the virtual 2020 Farnborough International Airshow (FIA Connect). Welcoming the news Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: Just two years after Team Tempest was created they delivered a world first. It's no surprise; when you attract the very best of British engineering and design, technological leaps like these are guaranteed. That's why I'm delighted seven more companies have joined this mission to work in collaboration with the MoD, under the Team Tempest banner. They will bring the ambition, invention and expertise that will deliver the breakthroughs we will depend on for decades to come. These pioneers will strengthen our ability to develop a next generation aircraft and allow us to continue making vital contributions to UK, European and global security. The companies who have signed a partnership are: GEUK, GKN, Collins Aerospace, Martin Baker, QinetiQ, Bombardier and Thales UK, along with UK universities and SMEs. Since its creation in 2018, Team Tempest has already employed more than 1,800 highly skilled engineers and programmers. Set to increase to 2,500 by next year, the programme is securing the UK's position as a global leader in combat air. The new members of Team Tempest will join forces on established projects and development work with core members BAE Systems, Leonardo UK, MBDA UK, Rolls-Royce and the Ministry of Defence, bringing the best of British expertise and ingenuity on designing, manufacturing and operating combat air systems. Defence Minister Jeremy Quin said: Today's announcement demonstrates further progress in delivering the UK's combat air strategy, with more companies collaborating on the future of the UK's Air Defence. This is a highly innovative project based around cutting-edge technology and drawing on a skills base where the UK excels. I am delighted that the success and strengths of Team Tempest are being enhanced through drawing on UK expertise; working with industrial partners and highly capable international team we are configured for future success. Together the companies will develop more than 60 technology prototypes and demonstration activities. New processes will also deliver technology and intellectual property in half the time and at significantly lower cost than previous complex combat air programmes. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Miami, United States Tue, July 21, 2020 14:04 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406681d18c 2 News Bahamas,travel,destination Free The Bahamas is barring visitors from the United States and Latin America in response to a rise in coronavirus cases in the archipelago three weeks after reopening its borders. Beginning Wednesday, only flights from Britain, Canada and the European Union will be allowed to land in the Bahamas, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said on Sunday. Travelers from those places must complete an electronic health visa before departure, and on arrival show a recent negative coronavirus test result. Otherwise they will be quarantined for two weeks at their own expense. "In neighboring countries, hospitals are overwhelmed and deaths are increasing," Minnis noted. He didn't directly name the United States, which has had nearly four million COVID-19 confirmed cases and almost 141,000 deaths. The health crisis is worsening in many southern and western US states, particularly in Florida, a new disease epicenter just 50 miles (80 kilometers) from Bahamian shores. "For some places, it is unclear when or how they will get this virus under control," Minnis said. The travel ban extends to commercial vessels carrying passengers, but not to small craft and private planes. Read also: Italy bans entry from 13 countries due to coronavirus fears The Bahamas, a global tourist destination with 400,000 inhabitants, is still recovering from Hurricane Dorian last year. It shut its borders April 6, battening down as the pandemic gathered force around the world. Since reopening July 1, the Bahamas has had 49 new coronavirus cases. It has seen only 153 confirmed cases and 11 deaths since the start of the pandemic. Topics : Bahamas travel destination Some officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have received letters of suspension. Although details of tho... Some officials of the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) have received letters of suspension. Although details of those suspended are yet to be made public, TheCable reports that Olanipekun Olukoyede, secretary to the commission, is among those who received the letters. The development is not unconnected to the ongoing probe of Ibrahim Magu, suspended acting chairman of the EFCC. Magu was arrested on July 6 and whisked to the presidential villa in Abuja, where he appeared before a panel set up by President Muhammadu Buhari to probe the operations of the EFCC under him. The panel is headed by Ayo Salami, retired president of the appeal court. On July 14, Abubakar Malami, attorney-general of the federation (AGF), sent a letter to Mohammed Umar, acting EFCC chairman, notifying him of the suspension of 12 directors in the commission. TheCable also reports that some of the directors affected by the action have been involved in investigating Malami. Magu through his lawyer Wahab Shittu has issued a statement thanking the probe panel for facilitating his release from custody. Our client wishes to place on record his appreciation to the chairman and members of the panel for ordering his release from custody on the 15th day of July 2020 without any conditionalities, Shittu said. Our client appreciates this gesture given the fact that the panel has repeatedly stated that it did not order the detention of our client in the first place. Our client is grateful to the panel for the gesture. Shittu also drew the panels attention to media reports which he claims are false and prejudicial to the proceedings of the panel. We state for the records that we are not in a position to query the honourable panel and certainly will never set out doing so, he said Rather our intention was to draw the attention of the honourable panel to persistent falsehood publications concerning our client being orchestrated consistently in the public space in a manner that could prejudice the proceedings of this honourable panel. We apologize if any contrary interpretation of our intention is conveyed by the context in which the questions were raised in the referred letter. We hold the panel in the highest esteem. He gave assurance that Magu has undertaken to offer his full cooperation with the panel in the discharge of its assignment. The saga of Indian politicians and their bizarre remedies for fighting the novel coronavirus continues. According to a report by TOI, Samajwadi Party MP Shafiqur Rahman on Monday said that the coronavirus will "disappear" if Muslims are allowed to offer namaz in mosques. The MP, who represents the Sambhal constituency in Uttar Pradesh, also demanded that markets should be opened in light of the Bakra Eid on in the first week of August. He said, "We also demand that mosques be opened so than we can offer namaz twice a day during Eid. I believe that when we will apologise in the mosques, pray for coronavirus to end, God will listen to our prayers and the situation will improve." Public gatherings, especially in religious places where social distancing cannot be maintained, are still prohibited in India owing to the rising cases of coronavirus. Rahman is not the only political leader to have come up with bizarre solutions to the coronavirus crisis. A few days ago, West Bengal BJP President and Lok Sabha MP, Dilip Ghosh, recommended drinking cow urine to fight the virus. In a viral video, Congress leader Ravichandra Gatti, who belongs to Ullal city in Mangaluru, recommended rum and two half-fried eggs to beat the virus. READ: Bengal BJP Chief Dilip Ghosh Says Drink Cow Urine to Fight Coronavirus READ: Karnataka Cong Leader Wants You to Have Rum and Two Fried Eggs to Beat Coronavirus As the novel coronavirus cases continue to rise unabated, a lockdown was imposed in four localities of Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh till July 24. These areas include- Ghazipur, Indira Nagar, Sarojini Nagar and Ashiana. India reported 37,148 novel coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to 11,55,191, while the total number of recoveries rose to 7,24,577, according to Union health ministry data on Tuesday. The fatalities due to the disease climbed to 28,084 with 587 deaths reported in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed. Barclays Bank logo at one of their branches. Photo: Dave Rushen/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images Barclays (BARC.L) has become one of the first banks to publicly sign-up to a new cross-industry initiative aimed at increasing the flow of financing of green projects. Barclays was among five banks to commit to the Bankers for NetZero project on Tuesday, alongside Swedens Handelsbanken, ethical bank Triodos, the Ecological Building Society, and fintech Tide. Bankers for NetZero is a private sector initiative bringing together policymakers, politicians, and financiers to work out how best to finance the transition to a net zero carbon economy. READ MORE: Barclays caves to investor pressure and pledges to go carbon neutral The capital ratio is much higher for an obviously green project than for a non-green project because its deemed more risky, Louise Kjellerup Roper, chief executive of research and advisory firm Volans, told Yahoo Finance UK. We have to look at why that is if we want to go towards renewables and retrofitting and some of those less carbon intensive industries why are we deeming them more risky? Volans spearheaded the Bankers for NetZero project, alongside strategy consultancy Re:Pattern and the All Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Fair Business Banking. The project is in its early stages, with conversations only starting in September 2019. READ MORE: UK government tells banks to go green in anti-carbon push The UK last year legislated to make its entire economy carbon neutral by 2050. The ambitious target has galvanised the private sector to figure out how to meet the deadline. On a national level, if we can get this right we can accelerate our path and so net zero in the UK will come a lot faster, Roper said. On the banking side, its a real opportunity to show some leadership. The project is the latest sign of gathering momentum in the banking sector to support the transition to a green economy. Multiple banks, including Barclays, have made commitments towards greening their own businesses and supporting energy transition in recent months. Story continues READ MORE: Lloyds named Britain's greenest bank The transition to a low carbon economy is one of the most complex challenges we face, and it will require close collaboration between both the private and public sector to get there, Barclays chairman Nigel Higgins said in a statement. We hope that Bankers for Net Zero can make a significant contribution to that goal. In March, Barclays pledged to go net carbon neutral by 2050. The bank said it would make sure all its financing activities are aligned with the 2015 Paris Climate Accord. The bank has faced criticism from environmental groups over its financing of polluters and polluting projects. Protestors gathered at a Barclays branch in central London last week to draw attention to the banks continued financing of coal projects. READ MORE: Shift to 'green' economy could put 3 million jobs at risk Robin Wells, a spokesperson for Fossil Free London, said in a statement last week: Barclays climate rhetoric is a distraction from the reality of the environmental damage it pays out through financially supporting the worst coal utility companies in Europe. Nigel Topping, the UK governments representative in UN climate talks, said in a statement on Tuesday: Banks have been a bit late to the game on climate action. I really welcome the Bankers for NetZero initiative because its time for banks to catch up. GRAND RAPIDS, MI -- A few weeks ago, the owners of The Littlebird restaurant reopened the brunch spot for outdoor dining with precautions in place amid the coronavirus pandemic. The downtown Grand Rapids restaurant, owned Sarah Wepman and her husband Joel Wabeke, serves new American food with a focus on brunch and dishes with international influence. We like to think of this as kind of an international train station where basically you get off and can enjoy something from any place while being in the comfort of Grand Rapids, said Wepman. Brunch is served all day at the restaurant located at 95 Monroe Center St. NW. The Littlebird also has a variety sandwiches on the menu, freshly squeezed juices, alcoholic beverages, among other items, including most recently shakes. Wepman and Wabeke, who also own That Early Bird in Eastown, opened the restaurant in September 2018. The couple envisioned a family-friendly spot where a variety of people who frequent downtown could enjoy a beautifully crafted, globally influenced meal. We like to think of this as kind of an international train station where basically you get off and can enjoy something from any place while being in the comfort of Grand Rapids, Wepman said. While this vision came true, she said the business was tested when the coronavirus pandemic hit. After Gov. Gretchen Whitmers March executive order required the temporary closure of all dine-in restaurants, the restaurant briefly attempted to operate as take-out only. The owners later closed the doors for three months, until reopening in mid-May for delivery and take-out. They are currently offering outside dining with a variety of precautions in place. Because of the small size of the restaurant, the inside is closed off from guests, including the restroom, to maintain proper distancing. Michigan bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen June 8 at 50% capacity and maintain social distancing of at least six feet of separation within the establishment. In addition to sanitizing stations and social distancing outside the restaurant, their entire service process has shifted as they adjust to their new normal being every day is crisis management, according to Wepman. Its been a long haul ... Every day is just a host of new choices and decisions. I mean we have to decide how we (are) going to face whatever daily challenge appears, she said. Guests now place their order at the front door. Once the food is ready, it is brought out to a nearby table. Diners then retrieve their meals from the table and enjoy from single-use compostable plates and utensils at an outdoor table nearby. Staff members are now screened daily, including temperature checks. There is also extensive cleaning and sanitizing being done throughout the day. With reduced service and hours, Wepman said their restaurant staff is less than half of its previous size pre-pandemic with six employees now. As they rely on outdoor seating to cater to diners, Wepman says there are real concerns as winter approaches. However, for the time being, the additional outdoor seating courtesy of the citys new social zones has allowed the restaurant to serve as an escape for those eager to get back to a sense of normalcy, she said. The social zones, created by the city to help businesses recover from the pandemic, are designed to give restaurants space outside to serve more customers because the state restrictions. Wepman said the restaurant typically sees their loyal customer base with a sprinkle of new faces but she hopes to continue to attract more business, especially as they plan to host summer events such as featuring live music. Considering all of the changes in place, the staff doesnt seem to miss a beat as they offer their socially distanced service with a smile. Wepman expressed appreciation for their very dedicated, talented staff calling them artists. An admirer of the social justice art downtown, she said she plans to display a mural by local artist Jamari Taylor of a woman and several birds. The artwork was on the restaurants once boarded up windows, damaged after a peaceful protest on May 30 against police brutality and racism devolved into a riot. The protest was in response to the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by a white police officer in Minneapolis. The plywood that covered the storefront windows of downtown businesses damaged were transformed into colorful murals with messages ranging from All we need is love and I cant breathe, to Silence is the voice of oppression and Emerge with us and fight for justice every day. Wepman hopes the piece will inspire people to stop and appreciate the beauty around them and see art as a way to make you feel like theres more to life than just trying to get through the day. She said the mural will be on display shortly and hopes guests will be able to enjoy seeing it once indoor dining resumes. Keep up with The Littlebird on Facebook, view their full menu online at thelittlebirdgr.com, and contact them at 616-419-4168. The restaurant is open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 7 p.m., Saturday, 9 a.m. to 7 p.m., and Sunday, 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. More on MLive: West Michigan congressional candidates outline top policy priorities during debate Longtime incumbent faces newcomer in Kent County Commission Democratic primary Scholarship created to honor Kalamazoo man who caught child dropped from burning building To the Editor: Wendy Yosts commentary on Japanese civilians suffering due to nuclear weapons in her letter titled Lets prevent nuclear war, once and for all (July 16, 2020) is part of a common theme in the media. Every sane person opposes nuclear war. Every human life lost in war is a tragedy. Having said that, the loss of life at Hiroshima and Nagasaki was part of a total war concept that few in America realize was, as dark and crazy as it sounds, the lesser of two evils. The common theme I speak of is an attempt to revise decisions made by those in power at a particular time in history as some type of racist act against nonwhite peoples. The truth can be painful to accept but here is the truth behind that decision. Racism on both sides was as real as it gets in modern history. Both Japanese and allied propaganda painted awful pictures of the opposing forces. An argument can be made that the Empire of Japan was as racist, by word and deed, as any nation in history. Their treatment of the civilians in countries they occupied, of allied POWs and enemy combatants was beyond brutal. But the decision to use atomic weapons on the Empire of Japan saved lives when compared to the consequences of an invasion of her homeland. The Japanese Empire was prepared to sacrifice every citizen in defense of its homeland. The fighting between the allies, mostly Americans, and the Japanese had reached a level of brutality we simply cannot comprehend today. American combat personnel, including my father, had seen death and destruction by Japanese forces on their peers and civilian populations of the countries they occupied. They were ready to move into the home islands of Japan and lay them to waste. Civilians armed with sharpened bamboo poles would have been met with artillery, air strikes, automatic weapons and small arms with a degree of intensity so fierce the results would have been beyond devastating. My fathers experience in China led him to hate, until the day he died, the Japanese. He hated them because of what they did, not because they were an Asiatic people who werent white. He also developed a deep love and respect of the Chinese people. However, the combat experience was so intense amongst our fighting men that few would hesitate to unleash every bit of firepower at their disposal when faced with Japanese resistance on its homeland. An invasion of Japan would have caused millions of Japanese casualties. It would also cost the U.S. hundreds of thousands of dead and wounded soldiers, marines, airmen and naval forces. Our president, Harry Truman, made the decision to destroy Hiroshima and Nagasaki as a way to end the war quickly. In doing so, it would prevent a loss of life on both sides that made the deaths and suffering on Aug. 6 and Aug. 9, 1945, pale in comparison. The firebombing of Tokyo had already killed more Japanese civilians than died in either atomic bomb attack that followed. Curtis Lemay, the commander of allied air forces bombing Japan, literally had a plan well underway at the time of the atomic weapons use to burn down every Japanese city. I cannot agree more with the notion that everything possible must be done to end the threat of nuclear war. But Yost attempts to color this epic and tragic decision as an assault against non-white people. My father and his peers saw it as one that saved lives on both sides. That is the truth. Christopher A. Hayden Phoenix Also in Opinion: Editorial cartoons for July 19, 2020: Simple joys, school debate, coronavirus toll This partnership comes as marketers lean further into data-led media solutions, including programmatic OOH, to understand and plan against new consumer travel patterns that emerged during COVID, and continue to evolve as consumers rev up for summer road travels. CCO is the latest DOOH media partner to join the extensive Place Exchange ecosystem of premium publishers, providing digital media buyers seamless access through direct integration with leading DSPs such as The Trade Desk, Amobee, Ubimo, MediaMath, and Roku's OneView platform. The integration enables programmatic buying via private deals of CCO's unmatched array of premium media across the U.S. This includes CCO's digital billboards and posters, spectaculars, airport media, bus shelters, and commuter rail stations, reaching over 100 million people monthly. Moreover, this enables digital marketers to easily discover, buy and measure CCO media directly alongside other programmatic channels like digital and mobile. "It's critically important to make emerging programmatic channels easy to plan, buy and optimize," said Wade Rifkin, SVP, Programmatic, Clear Channel Outdoor. "Place Exchange shares that philosophy and has productized around it, so we're excited to work with them and their unique set of DSPs & programmatic traders. As OOH continues to grow and deliver results, we believe our data-driven programmatic solution will help brands connect with their consumers at national scale and allow them to activate in a way that aligns with other digital media." "Place Exchange is committed to transforming the entire OOH channel to be truly programmatic for buyers and sellers. With this partnership, Place Exchange provides digital buyers programmatic access to Clear Channel Outdoor media within the DSP platforms they use daily," said Nick Bennett, VP, Partnerships, Place Exchange. "The ability to not only buy, but also to deliver unified reporting and measurement for OOH media with other channels, has changed the way programmatic marketers think about OOH, and has unlocked significant new demand for our media partners. We're thrilled to partner with Clear Channel on our journey to transform the medium." About Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. Clear Channel Outdoor Holdings, Inc. (NYSE: CCO) is one of the world's largest outdoor advertising companies with a diverse portfolio of approximately 570,000 print and digital displays in 32 countries across Asia, Europe, Latin America and North America, reaching millions of people monthly. A growing digital platform includes more than 16,000 digital displays in international markets and more than 1,900 digital displays (excluding airports), including more than 1,400 digital billboards, in the U.S. Comprised of two business divisions Clear Channel Outdoor Americas (CCOA), the U.S. and Caribbean business division, and Clear Channel International (CCI), covering markets in Asia, Europe and Latin America CCO employs approximately 5,900 people globally. More information is available at investor.clearchannel.com, clearchanneloutdoor.com and clearchannelinternational.com. Follow & Like: LinkedIn , Twitter , Instagram , Facebook, Blog About Place Exchange Place Exchange is the leading SSP for programmatic out-of-home and place-based media. Integrated with omnichannel DSPs, Place Exchange's patented technology uniquely offers agencies and advertisers the opportunity to fully unify buying and measurement of OOH media with other digital channels, leveraging the same workflow, creatives, reporting, and attribution as for online and mobile advertising. For OOH media owners, Place Exchange offers the opportunity to access programmatic ad spend with full transparency and control. For more information, visit www.placeexchange.com. SOURCE Clear Channel Outdoor Related Links http://www.clearchanneloutdoor.com 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 Top commanders to discuss if Rafale will be deployed in Ladakh India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 21: The top Indian Air Force commanders will meet this week and discuss the operational readiness along the Line of Actual Control. The two day commanders' conference starting July 22 is also likely to discuss the possibility of deploying the Rafale jets in the Ladakh sector. The meet assumes significance in the wake of the tensions with China. Further the conference would also discuss the rapid deployment and operationalisation of the Rafale fighter jets. The jets would be armed with Meteor and Scalp cruise missiles. The jets would arrive in India before the end of this month. The conference which will be chaired by Air Chief Marshal R K S Bhadauria and attended by seven commanders-in-chief will discuss the situation on the China border and the forward deployments done by the Indian Air Force in the Ladakh and norther borders. The IAF has been carrying out night time combat air patrols over the eastern Ladakh region in the last few weeks, in an apparent message to China that it was ready to deal with any eventualities in the mountainous region. Also Read: A number of IAF platforms participated in a military drill in Stakna in eastern Ladakh on Friday during the defence minister's visit to the region. The exercise showcased integrated combat prowess of the Army and the Indian Air Force in dealing with complex security scenarios in the high altitude terrain. The IAF has deployed almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) with China notwithstanding disengagement of troops by Chinese military from a number of friction points. The IAF has also deployed Apache attack choppers as well as Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to transport troops to various forward locations Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News The IAF has pressed into service a fleet of C-17 Globemaster III transport aircraft as well as C-130J Super Hercules in transporting heavy military equipment and weaponry to several forward bases in the region. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 8:20 [IST] By Lambert Strether of Corrente. Patient readers, that horrid transcript about free COVID testing under Health Care took some doing, and so this Water Cooler is a bit thin. Ill add more shortly. lambert #COVID19 At reader request, Ive added this daily chart. The data is the Johns Hopkins CSSE data. Here is the site. Our five problem states, with New York for comparison: Ill just keep doing this one until I see a peak followed by a decline. California and Texas resume their rise, Florida goes down (!). Texas and California were tracking each other with eerie similarity untiil eight days ago (or, I suppose, 8 days + two weeks ago?). A few weeks ago, we ran this chart showing R t (the average number of people who become infected by an infectious person. If R t is above 1.0, the virus will spread quickly). Here it is again, state by state. Red is bad: And here is the same chart from back in June 8: These are point estimates (the ovals) within a range (the shaded bar). AZ vs. NM: New Mexico & Arizona: Neighboring states; similar demographics Different approaches to COVID AZ lifted virus restrictions NM required masks Result: NM has way fewer cases. BUT AZ also has almost equal biz activity to NM@andrewvandam @TonyRommhttps://t.co/sRH2AiDniv pic.twitter.com/vt2nM9nqWi Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) July 21, 2020 Politics But what is government itself, but the greatest of all reflections on human nature? James Madison, Federalist 51 They had one weapon left and both knew it: treachery. Frank Herbert, Dune They had learned nothing, and forgotten nothing. Charles Maurice de Talleyrand-Perigord The electoral map. July 17: Georgia, Ohio, ME-2 move from Leans Republican to Toss-up. Continued yikes. On July 7, the tossup were 86. Only July 17, they were 56. Now they are 91. This puts Biden at 278, i.e. over 270. Click the map to create your own at 270toWin.com So, taking the consensus as a given, 270 (total) 204 (Trumps) = 66. Trump must win 66 from the states in play: AZ (11), FL (29), MI (16), NC (15), PA (20), and WI (10) plus 1 to win not tie = 102. 102 66 = 36. So if Trump wins FL, MI, NC, and PA (29 + 16 + 15 + 20 = 80), he wins. Thats a heavy lift. I think Ive got the math right this time! 2020 Biden (D)(1): Ex-Gov. John Kasich slated to speak at the Democratic National Convention for Joe Biden [Cleveland.com]. John Kasich, the Republican ex-governor of Ohio turned critic of President Donald Trump, is expected to speak at the Democratic National Convention next month in support of Joe Biden. Its a move that would be unthinkable just a few years ago, when, as governor, Kasich clashed with Democrats on a range of issues, from abortion to collective bargaining for public employees. Kasich is one of a number of high-profile Republicans who intend to work against Trumps re-election in the closing days of the campaign John Weaver, a senior strategist for Kasichs 2016 presidential campaign, co-founded the Lincoln Project, a group that is already airing anti-Trump TV ads. In addition, ex-Ohio GOP Chair Matt Borges, a Kasich ally, has formed a pro-Biden super PAC. The news drew a swift backlash from Democratic candidates, staffers, and activists on social media. Its too much even for Media Matters. But who cares? They have no place to go. And I have to say. As readers know, Ive been blogging since 2003, and got my real start at Eschaton; I can still remember playing whack-a-mole with series of WMD stories propagated (and later determined to be planted) by the Bush administration. And so the concept of Bush Republicans and liberal Democrats actually merging their campaigns is profoundly disoriented to me. Its like being clubbed over the head with a bag of wet sand. .I know its a two-party system, and the system is a single system, but that we seem to be heading toward something like a one-party state, where leadership factions of both parties merge That wasnt on my Bingo card at all. (though I suppose, in retrospect, Obama voting to retroactively legalize Bushs program of warrantless surveillance in July 2008, after promising to filibuster it in January, should have sent a strong signal). Like so much in politics following campaign 2016, Ive never seen anything like it. I wonder what Kasichs price was? UPDATE Biden (D)(2): The Daily 202: Bidens lead is tighter than it seems [WaPo]. The body doesnt really match the headline; tighter doesnt mean tight. There are two other caution flags for Biden, who failed in his first two bids for the presidency. Despite the myriad of deeply reported blunders in the presidents response to the cascade of crises enveloping the country, Trump and Biden are tied at 45 percent when respondents were asked who they think is the stronger leader. Trump still retains a narrow advantage on the economy, with 47 percent saying they trust him more and 45 percent saying they trust Biden more. That is down from an eight-point edge in March. Notably, Biden has a 20-point lead on who is more trusted to deal with the coronavirus, a 25-point advantage on race relations and a nine-point advantage on crime and public safety. UPDATE West (I)(1): Kanye West fails to make ballot in South Carolina despite rally [The Hill]. Rapper Kanye West failed to make the presidential ballot in South Carolina by the Monday deadline, despite holding a campaign rally in the state the day before. West submitted none of the necessary 10,000 petition signatures due Monday at noon, commission spokesman Chris Whitmire told The Hill. South Carolina law prohibits write-in candidates, meaning the only option for a candidate at this point is to seek the nomination of one of the certified political parties. There will be no additional extensions to the deadline, Whitmire said. The deadline had already been extended five days from July 15 triggered by the emergency declaration due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This is getting sad. * * * UPDATE Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder arrested in $60 million bribery case [Columbus Dispatch]. Republican Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and four colleagues were arrested by federal officials Tuesday as part of a bribery investigation involving the states $1 billion nuclear plant bailout and Householders maneuverings to secure support to lead the legislative chamber. Householder, 61, of Glenford, is charged in the alleged racketeering conspiracy involving the funneling of energy company funds through Generation Now, a dark money group formed by a longtime associate, with some proceeds used to back the campaigns of legislative candidates supportive of Householders run for Speaker. Investigators allege the nonprofit used energy company money to back the campaigns of 21 different state candidates in the 2018 primary and general elections, including Householder. More than $1 million was spent on negative ads against those candidates opponents, with additional funds paying for Householders campaign staff, according to documents. Most of the backed candidates won in 2018, and all supported Householders election as Speaker, investigators said. Holy cow. $60 million is real money at the State level. Realignment and Legitimacy UPDATE Battle over Covid aid consumes Congress final sprint to recess [Politico]. The House and Senate return Monday to face a critical three-week stretch ahead of the August recess, with both chambers under immense pressure to deliver another trillion dollar-plus relief package amid an alarming rise in coronavirus cases. With the economy stinging from its worst recession in decades, congressional leaders also have just a handful of days to prevent tens of millions of people from losing jobless benefits that had been dramatically scaled up during the pandemic one of the most contentious issues lawmakers must work through. Millions more are at risk of losing federal eviction protections by months end, which have already expired in some states. And: There are also growing concerns from lawmaker offices about when and how to bring back staff, particularly as the House takes up more amendment-heavy bills that some say are more difficult to manage remotely. For now, members have been advised to have no more than a handful of people in their personal offices. Absent staff doesnt sound like a recipe for good legislatin McConnell previews GOP coronavirus relief bill [The Hill]. McConnell, as he did during the recent two-week July 4 break, outlined the major pillars of the forthcoming Republican bill as jobs, health care, kids in school and liability protections. But he also provided new details including that Republicans would include $105 billion in help for schools, as well as provide more help for businesses, who have been hit hard as the spread of the coronavirus forced many to close or scale back. McConnell also indicated that the bill would include another round of stimulus checks. McConnell did not provide details on who would qualify but has previously talked about Americans who make up to $40,000 per year, in particular, needing additional assistance. Means-testing, so good! More: McConnell also indicated that the GOP proposal will include more funding for testing and vaccines, though he did not provide a dollar amount The GOP bill is also expected to provide a five-year shield from lawsuits tied to coronavirus infections unless an entity including businesses, schools, hospitals or government agencies engaged in gross negligence or intentional misconduct. Both House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Mnuchin have indicated they want an agreement by the end of next week, which is the end of the month. * * * RussiaGate UPDATE Hes not gonna make you Secretary of Defense, Pete. I dont care what you were told: This is what a president protecting American democracy sounds like. Thank you, @JoeBiden. https://t.co/V1uhBfw6XN Pete Buttigieg (@PeteButtigieg) July 21, 2020 Stats Watch At reader request, I added some business stats back in. Please give Econintersect click-throughs; theyre a good, old-school blog that covers more than stats. If anybody knows of other aggregators, please contact me at the email address below. Leading Indicators: 21 July 2020 New York Fed Weekly Economic Index (WEI): Index Again Declined and Remains At Recession Levels [Econintersect]. The New York Feds Weekly Leading Index (WLI) declined and continues to show an economy that is significantly worse than seen during the Great Recession. However, this index remains on a recovery trend. This data set should be considered a high-frequency coincident indicator on a par with the Aruoba-Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions Index produced by the Philly Fed and both show conditions caused by the coronavirus pandemic are already worse than the Great Recession. However, the Aruoba-Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions Index is improving whilst the WLI is still declining. Logic would say with the partial reopening of the economy the Aruoba-Diebold-Scotti Business Conditions Index seems to be correct. Housing: May 2020 CoreLogic Single-Family Rent Index Significantly Declines [Econintersect]. The Single-Family Rent Index (SFRI), which analyzes single-family rent price changes nationally and among 20 metropolitan areas shows a national rent increase of 1.7% year over year, down from a 2.9% year-over-year increase in May 2019 Despite local economies beginning to open back up in May, rental demand continued to be impacted by unprecedented unemployment rates and stay-at-home directives, which contributed to the slowing in rent prices. * * * UPDATE Finance: US regulator aims to cut the red tape with payments charters [Financial Times]. Enter Brian Brooks, the erstwhile chief legal officer at cryptocurrency firm Coinbase. Mr Brooks is now acting head of the USs Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, which regulates the countrys banks at federal level. Mr Brooks has been at the regulator since April, when he joined as first deputy comptroller and chief operating officer. He ascended to the top job at the end of May after Joseph Otting quit halfway through his term. Extending the OCCs reach to fintech regulation has been high on his agenda. He intends to unveil a national payments charter as soon as the autumn. Payments is the one aspect of banking that is inherently borderless . . . so its sort of hard to understand why theres not a federal charter for payments firms, Mr Brooks told #fintechFT. The idea that these giant global payment companies are regulated with state licences, is to me very puzzling.' Hmm. UPDATE The Bezzle: So, one of Americas richest neighborhoods doesnt have infrastructure that will support robot delivery (dk). Cluster of 3 failures in 30 seconds: 1) map fails to disallow impassable route 2) L3/teleops/design fails to takeover and/or backout 3) design/mechanical fails to wheel stuck between roots further blocking sidewalk Technical term is a clusterf*k. https://t.co/sucov4ZXtV John Berry (@aniccia) July 19, 2020 I wonder if the robot would even have survived a bad neighborhood. UPDATE Tech: For 15 years my blog was the first result on a Google search for "Craig Murray". It was high in results for "skripal", "jack straw", "Chagos" and very many subjects. Yesterday Google removed my blog completely. (restart browser or clear cache first if you want to try it). https://t.co/UkIuaRVSgi Craig Murray (@CraigMurrayOrg) July 21, 2020 For, Craig Murray (with and without quotes) is the first result, as expected, and Im running through a VPN that tends route through Ukraine or the Netherlands. Readers? Any weird experiences? I think Google is crapping around under the hood. UPDATE Manufacturing: Boeing Faces Financial Drag From Dozens of Undelivered 787 Jets [Bloomberg]. Boeing Co. is running out of space to stash newly-built 787 Dreamliners, with jetliners seemingly tucked onto every available patch of pavement on airfields near its factories in Washington and South Carolina. Dozens of the planes are sitting on the companys premises, according to people familiar with the situation. Uresh Sheth, a much-followed blogger who meticulously tracks the Dreamliners rolling through Boeings factories, puts the total somewhere above 50. Thats more than double the number of jets typically awaiting customers along Boeings flight lines. 787s, not 737s. Wowsers. And then theres this: For years after the 787 Dreamliner made its commercial debut in 2011, taped up aircraft awaiting retrofitted parts dotted Paine Field, adjacent to Boeings factory in Everett, Washington. For [Uresh Sheth], theres a sense of deja vu to the growing glut. I dont think Edward Deming would be very happy with those taped up aircraft (!). Boeing has clearly been sick a long time. * * * Todays Fear & Greed Index: 65 Greed (previous close: 65 Greed) [CNN]. One week ago: 61 (Neutral). (0 is Extreme Fear; 100 is Extreme Greed). Last updated Jul 21 at 12:54pm. The Biosphere Global warming shrinks bird breeding windows, potentially threatening species [Science]. For breeding birds, timing is everything. Most species have just a narrow window to get the food they need to feed their broodafter springs bounty has sprung, but before other bird species swoop in to compete. Now, a new study suggests that as the climate warms, birds are not only breeding earlier, but their breeding windows are also shrinkingsome by as many as 4 to 5 days. This could lead to increased competition for food that might threaten many bird populations. Birds typically time their breeding to cues signaling the start of spring, so that their chicks hatch when food like plants and insects is most abundant. But global warming has pushed many species to breed earlier in the year; that effect is especially prominent at higher latitudes, where temperatures are rising faster than near the equator. Water Fishermen without fish as Cambodias river reversal runs late [Reuters]. Crucial water flows to the Tonle Sap, Southeast Asias largest lake, have been delayed for a second consecutive year according to river experts, severely disrupting fishing and threatening the food supply of more than a million people. I went out fishing for two nights and couldnt catch enough, said 37-year-old Khon Kheak, repairing a fishing net under his stilt house at Kampong Khleang, a floating village with little water to float in. That trip earned him 12,000 riels, or about $3, compared to $12-$25 a day last year, enough to support his family of six. His wife Reth Thary worries those days may be over. If it continues like this we would be finished, we also owe people money, she said, referring to a $1,000 loan. Loans being a big, yet little covered aspect of village life in South and Southeast Asia. More: Savuth may go to Siem Reap, a city 55km (34 miles) away, to find construction work. More at NC here. Himalayan rivers must be lynchpin of Indias new water policy [Third Pole]. In spite of the great socio-economic use of the flows in the IHR rivers, their hydro-meteorological picture is far from being precisely known. While the monsoon and the westerlies generate the overall climate of the IHR, the steep slopes and rugged undulating Himalayan landscape generate a mosaic of micro climates all over the region, which impacts the local economies. Understanding of the climate process in the IHR is handicapped by lack of dependable micro-level data, a characteristic problem of the whole Himalayan region. Bridging this knowledge gap is essential. Unfortunately, the assessment of the water flowing in the IHR river basins suffers from great uncertainty, as Richard Kattelmann pointed out in 1987 in Uncertainty in Assessing Himalayan Water Resources. The uncertainty is increased by the impacts of global warming and climate change, as Molden and others pointed out in 2014. Thus, a policy for water in the rivers from the IHR has to start with the generation of better knowledge of the climate process and assessment of the water precipitated and flowing in the streams and rivers. The policy for the reduction of uncertainty in the assessment of water flowing in the IHR rivers in the era of global warming and climate change is clearly a priority. Health Care Timotheus throws the following thread over the transom. He writes: I thought you might be amused/horrified by this thread I lifted from a Facebook page for Inwood (upper Manhattan) about one persons experience getting a free COVID test from the tent outside a housing project. (Sorry for the crude reformatting, but I think the content is clear enough.) Dimitri Mack 8h Beware of covid 19 testing at Dyckman Clinica de Las Americas on 175 Nagle Ave st 200 New York N.Y zip 10034. Its not free. I was billed $509.33 for a free covid test by my insurance. Look at your insurance statement. I spoke to my insurance they said speak to the testing location. I spoke to the testing location where I had the test done. They told me to speak to my insurance. Then I spoke to someone else there. They gave me a number and 3 weeks later this is still an ongoing issue. Just Beware of that location and check you insurance statements. They had the nerve to tell me they have to bill the insurance even though its free. Kim Racon Did you fill out the insurance portion of the form, Dimitri? I ask because I was tested there last week, and they said you didnt have to fill it out. I didntand I havent received a billand my balance on their MyChart app says $0.00. Dimitri Mack Kim Racon I was told I have to fill that out. I was also told by the person that does the billing that my insurance has to be charged even if its free. I said why are you charging if this is free. She said they will have to take the hit. Kim Racon Dimitri Mack Yesin the fine print on the NYC+ website, it does say your insurance company will be billed for the cost of the testheres the language from their site, The COVID-19 test is free at these locations and no appointment is necessary. Please remember to bring ID and your insurance card. If you have insurance, NYC Health + Hospitals will bill your insurance plans for the cost of the test. However, patients will not be billed for any co-pays. I think, once they bill your insurance, its down to your insurance company if they cover the cost of the test or notand thats when it all gets into the weeds, if they deem NYC+ Health out of network and therefore they wont pay the bill. Its worth calling your insurance company to see what their COVID 19 testing payment plans are. I know my insurance company has updated their payment policies for testing (and different payments for nasal swab versus antibody testing) at least twice since March. Dimitri Mack Kim Racon I understand that but they billed it as a in office visit for a flu shot. I can understand if this was March and they didnt know how to code it. This test was taken a month ago. I just want everyone on be alert. Marieka Jackson Dimitri Mack, Id put that information in your original post. That they labeled it an office visit and flu shot. Delfina Cortez Dimitri Mack they billed wrong cause the cpt codes are there Kim Racon Dimitri Mack Yes! The other person who posted last week was also charged for an office visit, as opposed to a diagnostic test. Im not sure her situation was resolved either, as she was passed around to a few people between NYC+ Health and her insurance company. Dimitri Mack Delfina Cortez I figured they had codes for this we are 3 months into this nightmare called covid 19. Annette Rivera CPT needs to be fixed and rebilled correctly. Louise Reist Dimitri Mack Did you see a doctor, nurse practitioner (NP), or a Physicians Assistant (PA) and, if so, did they ask questions about your past medical history, do an exam, etc? If not, they cannot legally bill for an office visit. If they did, that is See More Dimitri Mack Louise Reist thank you none of the above . No personal information asked just my name and she admitted the test. We are waiting to see what happens with the bill after my conversation with the clinics account supervisor. Louise Reist Good luck! Alexis Stern Im sorry for what you are going through, but they have fixed this problem now. They dont even ask for your insurance information to get the free tests in the tent. I went last week. Andrea Teresa Barrios Thanks for sharing this. Sorry you are going through it. My mom just called me to say she wants to get tested but those tents are not actually Free because her friend was also billed. they need to get it together. Thats not okay Dimitri Mack Andrea Teresa Barrios the people are great that does the testing. They are professional and great at what they do. My only issue is the billing. Monica Indira Fernandez Someone always pays. Even if its free for YOU, your insurance still pays. This is standard practice, Im not sure why youre upset. Kim Racon I think its that his insurance passed the $500-some bill onto him, rather than the insurance company paying for it. Which is what some people have said happensthey provide their insurance information, then they get billed for an out-of-network office visit. Monica Indira Fernandez It wasnt clear in OP. It seemed it was free for him but they billed his insurance, which is why hes upset. Yeah if they are charging him $500 directly then thats NOT ok. But if it was billed to his insurance, I dont see the problem. Ismael Mosquera No cool. Sarah Trull Highly recommend antibody testing with Bioreference through ny.gov COMPLETELY FREE. Did not have to present an insurance card. https://appointments.bioreference.com/nyc Mark Wallem When I called that location right after they opened for testing I was told all that was needed was an ID, thats it. I ended up not going there, but thats what I was told ID only, no mention of insurance info. Maggie Wiggin It sounds like a billing error annoying to have to make the phone calls to get it corrected, but it will be corrected and you will not owe. My husband and I both went to the tent for our tests and billed it to our insurance. The out of pocket is supposed to be $0 for everyone. Sorry you got stuck with this hassle! Amala Lane Here in Ithacas Mutual Aid Tompkins County FB group, someone brought up the same issue. It is a coding error. But all of this is a terrible thing you should not have to endure. Good luck! (Contact the Attorney General office if you have ongoing issues.) Clarissa Grullon I never even gave them my insurance cards. And we wonder why people dont go get tested. Timotheus: And New York is one of the success states. * * * Quoting Taleb: "Understanding how the subparts of the brain (say, neurons) work will never allow us to understand how the brain works." @nntaleb pic.twitter.com/IvNE2NjoCE Jerry Capital (@JerryCap) July 20, 2020 Replacing equivalent terms: Understanding how the subparts of the brain immune system (say, neurons T-cells) work will never allow us to understand how the brain immune system works. Police State Watch Trumps Secret Police: A History Lesson [Peter Daou, ThreadReaderApp]. When Obama swept in on a message of hope & change, one thing didnt change: Bushs legacy of indefinite detention, extrajudicial murder, drone killings, etc. If anything, Bushs policies were expanded. Our political class has the memory of a goldfish. Worth reading in full, especially for those who came in late. UPDATE No Tactics Just Seemed Like a Gang: Navy Veteran Speaks Out After Attack by Secret Police in Viral Video Viewed Nearly 10 Million Times [Common Dreams]. [Christopher David] told the [Independent] that as a former wrestler who stands 6-foot-2 and weighs about 280 pounds he did not feel intimidated by the officers. The video makes me look even bigger than I am, he confessed. Those officers were small. They seemed scared. They had no tactics, just seemed like a gang.' The Border Patrol, like ICE, are lumpen cops LAffaire Joffrey Epstein EXCLUSIVE: Ghislaine Maxwell paid $25K to fake news purveyor Jacob Wohl to smear Epstein victims and to get prosecutor Geoffrey Berman fired in attempt to stall sex trafficking investigation against her' [Daily Mail]. Ghislaine Maxwell hired fake news purveyor Jacob Wohl to smear her and Jeffrey Epsteins alleged victims, a former friend has told DailyMail.com in an exclusive interview. As part of a $25,000 deal made in June, Wohl and his lobbyist colleague Jack Burkman also allegedly pushed to get New York US Attorney Geoffrey Berman, who had led Epsteins case, fired in order to stall or stop the criminal investigation into Maxwell. Wohl and Burkman are far-right lobbyists who have become a laughing stock in DC after several failed attempts to smear top political figures including Elizabeth Warren, Kamala Harris, Nancy Pelosi, Ted Cruz, Robert Mueller and Dr. Anthony Fauci by paying women to make false claims of sordid affairs and drug-dealing. Yikes. Guillotine Watch UPDATE The Rich Are Looking to Buy Access to Covid Safe Havens [Bloomberg]. The next time the worlds rich are forced into lockdown, they would like to have an escape ready to a remote and sunny beach. Or perhaps to New Zealand, one of the few countries that has eliminated Covid-19. They are willing to pay for the privilege, of course. They can turn to programs that guarantee citizenship or residency in exchange for investment in the host country, using specialty firms such as Henley & Partners, the worlds biggest citizenship and residency advisory firm. With the persistent threat of viral infections and sudden lockdowns, the company is helping those with deep pockets buy access to a safe haven. For instance, you can acquire the right to live, work and study in New Zealand if you part with NZ$3 million ($2 million) or NZ$10 million, depending on the type of investor resident visa you choose. About 1.2 million euros ($1.4 million), including a property purchase, will get a married couple citizenship in Malta. Theyre now realizing: Lets actually get the contingency plan in place, said Dominic Volek, Henleys head of sales, said of his potential customers. One or two million? Thats not very much. What on earth are New Zealand and Malta thinking? Do the rich want to be safe, or not? Class Warfare Its good to see the pandemic is working out for someone: Today, 7 billionaires 'd their wealth by $30 billion: $13 billion: Jeff Bezos $5.74 billion: Elon Musk $4.58 billion: M Bezos $2.93 billion: Steve Ballmer $1.99 billion: L Page $1.89 billion: S Brin $1.25 billion: Mark Zuckerberg While 28 million face eviction. Warren Gunnels (@GunnelsWarren) July 21, 2020 UPDATE Remote working is not working for the poor, the young and women, a new study finds [World Economic Forum]. [N]early 100 million workers in 35 advanced and emerging countries (out of 189 IMF members) could be at high risk because they are unable to do their jobs remotely. This is equivalent to 15 percent of their workforce, on average. But there are important differences across countries and workers. We found significant differences across countries even for the same occupations. It is much easier to telework in Norway and Singapore than in Turkey, Chile, Mexico, Ecuador, and Peru, simply because more than half the households in most emerging and developing countries dont even have a computer at home. So, no broadband in flyover is really working in favor of those optimistic, diverse, dynamic, moving forward cities. How Remote Work Divides America [Reuters]. Professional, management and technology jobs run the gamut from accountants and architects to lawyers, insurance underwriters and web developers. This group is much more likely to retain the privilege of collecting a paycheck while working remotely, and is based in major metropolitan areas, like New York and Los Angeles. With lots of charts. Race Is About More Than Discrimination [Bill Fletcher, Monthly Review]. Heres the more interesting and historically grounded version of the Irish were slaves, too: The construction of race and racism was the construction of a system of total subjugation that was integral to the development of capitalism. It was never a system of prejudice alone. Various forms of prejudice appear to have been with homo sapiens throughout recorded history. But the creation of race as ideology and oppression (and later pseudoscience) was necessary as a means of constructing capitalist nation-states and introducing what would later be identified as class collaboration in order to ensure the relative permanence of the system. The invasion and subjugation of Ireland introduced a new element in the construction of race that had not taken form with the completion of the Reconquista in Spain. The English subjugation of Ireland turned out to be far more than the capture and absorption of a territory or kingdom, a practice with which humans were familiar since the commencement of class society. It was also different, in important respects, from the European invasion of the Western Hemisphere (which, until 1607, was largely about conquest, enslavement, and annihilation on the part of the Spanish and Portuguese). It was the development of the settler colony and, ultimately, the settler state. The English totally subjugated the Irish, rendering unlawful their political system, language, and land control. They also began a process of moving in settlers from England, Wales, and Scotland who were given the best land, control of their own weapons, and an overall privileged status vis-a-vis the indigenous Irish. Central in the construction of this settler colony was the notion of race that the English used not in descriptive terms but as a way of designating allegedly superior populations (English) versus allegedly inferior populations (Irish). The settler state, then, was racially constructed from its inception, but was linked to the idea of displacement/expulsion of the indigenous population. This is what made settler colonialism different from other variants of colonialism where the Europeans (or later the United States) occupied territory, frequently ruling through local compradors and agents. News of the Wired Sleeping Woke: Cancel Culture and Simulated Religion [Alexander Beiner, Medium (DG)]. If your deepest held beliefs can be comfortably absorbed into Starbucks PR strategy, it may be time to go on a vision quest. Michael Brooks Dead: Popular Host of The Michael Brooks Show Dies Suddenly [Heavy]. Brooks obtained a bachelors degree in political science at Bates College in Maine, where he studied from 2005 to 2009. Go Maine! Remembering Our Friend and Comrade Michael Brooks [Jacobin]. Victor Serge once said in a line I recently discussed with Michael that the only meaning of life lies in conscious participation in the making of history. Now that hes gone, that sounds almost wooden. Michael sought to make the world rather than be made by it, that much is true, but Ill remember more than his politics. Ill remember someone who was deeply human; someone who made an impact in those parts of life which politics never quite solves. He was all these things, and he was also an ambitious winner, someone who wanted to take on our callous rulers, and help build a just world, one where accidents of birth dont condemn millions to misery. Brooks Bill Clinton impression: * * * Readers, feel free to contact me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, with (a) links, and even better (b) sources I should curate regularly, (c) how to send me a check if you are allergic to PayPal, and (d) to find out how to send me images of plants. Vegetables are fine! Fungi and coral are deemed to be honorary plants! If you want your handle to appear as a credit, please place it at the start of your mail in parentheses: (thus). Otherwise, I will anonymize by using your initials. See the previous Water Cooler (with plant) here. Todays plant (CL): No note from CL, but wow! * * * Readers: Water Cooler is a standalone entity not covered by the annual NC fundraiser. So if you see a link you especially like, or an item you wouldnt see anywhere else, please do not hesitate to express your appreciation in tangible form. Remember, a tip jar is for tipping! Regular positive feedback both makes me feel good and lets me know Im on the right track with coverage. When I get no donations for five or ten days I get worried. More tangibly, a constant trickle of donations helps me with expenses, and I factor in that trickle when setting fundraising goals: Here is the screen that will appear, which I have helpfully annotated. If you hate PayPal, you can email me at lambert [UNDERSCORE] strether [DOT] corrente [AT] yahoo [DOT] com, and I will give you directions on how to send a check. Thank you! Indias long-range anti-submarine, reconnaissance, surveillance and electronic jamming capabilities in the Indian Ocean Region are going to get a further boost with the induction of four more P-8I multi-mission aircraft from the US next year. India has the option of buying another six from Boeing to be negotiated later in 2021, people familiar with the developments in New Delhi and Seattle said. The Indian Navy variant of the P-8A Poseidon - P-8I where I stands for India - is essentially designed for maritime patrol. Integrated with the Harpoon Block II air launched missiles and lightweight torpedoes, the reconnaissance craft - it can carry 129 sonobuoys to locate subs - turns into a deadly submarine killer that can also launch anti-ship missiles. The proposed acquisitions come against the backdrop of Chinas efforts to militarise the South China Sea and expand its sea footprint. Beijing had already acquired a string of ports in Myanmar, Sri Lanka, Pakistan, Iran and east Africa to not only contain the Indian Navy but also challenge the presence of US Central Command forces as well as French and British Navy. Beijing has 70 percent stake in Kyaukpyu port in Myanmar, which sits in the Bay of Bengal, Hambantota port in South Sri Lanka dominates the Indian Ocean, Gwadar port in Pakistan sits on the mouth of Gulf of Oman and the port of Jask in Iran is located on the edge of Persian Gulf. National security planners believed that the possibility of China attempting to replicate its aggressive posture along the Line of Actual Control at a time of its choosing in the Indian Ocean Region was very real, a government official said. India also inched closer to formalising the anti-China QUAD - Quadrilateral Security Dialogue - strategic grouping. The United States, Japan and Australia are the other members. In some measure, the QUAD is already a reality on the high seas due to India signing the Communications, Compatibility and Security Agreement (COMCASA) agreement in September 2019. The P-8I helped. The pact provided the legal framework for exchange of encrypted communication. P-8I makes this possible with ease, particularly since the aircrafts are interoperable, can communicate securely and is designed for . This is a de-facto QUAD because these have interoperability with the P-8A Poseidon delivered to other countries, said the official. The secure communications enables one aircraft to share real-time operational intelligence, including a Common Tactical Picture with other P-8 aircraft. The P-8I aircraft is designed for long-range anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions. It operates with joint and combined But it can be used elsewhere too. The military had relied on the reconnaissance aircraft for surveillance during the ongoing Ladakh standoff with China as well as the 2017 Doklam standoff. It has a range of about 2,200 km and flies at a maximum speed of 490 knots, or 789 km per hour. The negotiations for the purchase of six more P-8I aircraft are yet to begin, a government official in New Delhi said. The purchase of six P-8I was cleared by the Defence Acquisition Council in November 2019, long before the stand-off with an aggressive China along the Line of Actual Control in Ladakh. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON China urges UK not to go further down wrong path over Hong Kong Global Times Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/20 17:08:45 China urges the British side not to go further down the wrong path to avoid further damage to China-UK relations, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said after the UK foreign secretary Dominic Raab said he may suspend the UK's extradition treaty with Hong Kong. Wang Wenbin, spokesperson of the Chinese Foreign Ministry, said on Monday that China expresses firm opposition to the UK's recent wrong remarks and measures on Hong Kong affairs, which ignored the basic fact that the national security law for Hong Kong is conducive to the stable and sustainable development of "one country, two systems." Such wrong remarks grossly violated the international law and basic norms governing international relations, and grossly interfered in China's internal affairs, Wang said at Monday's media briefing. Wang's remarks came after Raab said he may suspend the UK's extradition treaty with Hong Kong, and he was expected to make the announcement on Monday. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address China has hit back with a warning that Britain must 'bear the consequences' if it continues what it believes is interference in its internal affairs after the United Kingdom suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. Photograph: Tyrone Siu/Reuters UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told the House of Commons on Monday that China's new National Security Law had significantly changed key assumptions underpinning the arrangements with former British colony of Hong Kong and therefore the treaty would remain suspended 'indefinitely'. "The United Kingdom is watching. And the whole world is watching," Raab said, in a warning to China. Soon after, the Chinese Embassy in London and the Chinese ambassador to the UK issued strong statements condemning the UK's move as a disregard for its representations and 'blatant' interference in its internal affairs. 'The UK blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs and contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations,' Liu Xiaoming said in a Twitter statement. 'China has never interfered in UK's internal affairs. The UK should do the same to China. Otherwise it must bear the consequences,' he said. A longer official Chinese Embassy statement also expressed its 'grave concern and strong opposition' of the UK's moves related to Hong Kong. 'The Chinese Government remains unwavering in its resolve to implement the National Security Law for Hong Kong SAR, to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interest, and to oppose external interference. China will firmly fight back at any move that interferes in its internal affairs,' the statement noted. 'China urges the UK side to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are China's internal affairs, in any form. The UK will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road,' it added. The Chinese authorities insist that the controversial new National Security Law for Hong Kong is an 'anchor' for the steady and sustained implementation of 'One Country, Two Systems' and for the long-term security, prosperity and stability in Hong Kong. 'This Law will make Hong Kong a safer, better and more prosperous place. We are full of confidence in the bright future of Hong Kong SAR,' the Chinese Embassy claimed. However, there are widespread global concerns over the law being used to breach the human rights of Hong Kongers. In reference to the extradition arrangements, Raab told the UK Parliament that Britain was particularly concerned about Articles 55 to 59 of the new National Security Law, which gives mainland Chinese authorities the ability to assume jurisdiction over certain cases and try those cases in mainland Chinese courts. Highlighting 'considerable uncertainty' about the way in which the new National Security Law will be enforced, the minister said the UK will 'hold China to its international obligations'. The tensions between the UK and China have been ramping up across a range of issues, with Britain already offering around 3 million Hong Kongers citizenship rights in response to the controversial National Security Law. The UK handed Hong Kong back to China in 1997 but, as part of an agreement signed at the time, it enjoys some freedoms not seen in the mainland. Over the weekend, Raab also accused China of egregious human rights abuses against a minority group known as the Uighurs, mostly Muslims and see themselves as culturally and ethnically close to Central Asian nations. The majority live in Xinjiang, western China, where they number about 11 million people. It is alleged that the Chinese government has detained up to a million Uighurs over the past few years in what the state defines as 're-education camps'. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has tried to steer away from what he fears could become an anti-China rhetoric but stressed that Britain is committed to a 'calibrated approach'. "We're going to be tough on some things, but we're going to continue to engage," he said. China is considering retaliating against telecommunication equipment manufacturers, Nokia and Ericsson. This retaliation could come into effect if the EU follows the decision of the United States and Britain in banning Huawei Technologies from 5G networks. To recall, Britain has already left the EU earlier this year. And now it has ordered its telecom operators to remove all the gears made by Huawei from their 5G networks by 2027. The UK has also ordered all its wireless carriers to stop buying any 5G equipment from Huawei by the end of 2020. Wall Street Journal reports that the Chinese Ministry of Commerce is eyeing to place export controls on Swedens Ericsson and Finlands Nokia. This will halt the export of products manufactured by these two companies in China to other countries. Advertisement As of now, the EU has imposed no restrictions on using Huaweis equipment on its 5G networks. However, it has taken a soft step by issuing a security standard. Member states should follow the standards while choosing suppliers to build 5G networks. Note that the security standards by the EU did not name Huawei specifically. However, it gives the states the power to limit Huaweis presence in their networks. A detailed report on how the 27 member states have implemented these standards is expected to be published soon. Beijings retaliation would be a step in the worst-case scenario The Commerce Ministry of China has stated that it will take all the measures to safeguard the rights of Chinese companies. This statement comes after the ban by the UK government. 5G cellular network will be almost 100 times faster than the current 4G network. This will be highly beneficial for future technologies in various sectors. Advertisement As tempting as it may sound for China, it will not such a harsh step until the situation arises. Note that China is already facing the wrath of major economies of the world for the spread of COVID-19. Jim McGregor, the Greater China chairman of consulting firm APCO Worldwide, said that the action could backfire China. The reason is simple as these foreign tech companies have the liberty of moving out of China. Besides, the manufacturing plants of Nokia and Ericsson in China gives employment to thousands of people. If we go by a person familiar with this matter, Nokia as already started reviewing contingency plans to shift global production. These steps are taken to dodge the restrictions if imposed by China. And any negative step can cause a huge impact on China itself. Advertisement However, Russia's Health Ministry disputed the Deputy Defense Minister's claim, saying the vaccine's trials have not yet ended and the ministry plans to "work on the candidate vaccine's state registration process after Phase II of the trials".The ministry hopes to produce 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccine with foreign partners by the end of this year.Last week, the Russian Defence Ministry had claimed that 18 people had participated in the research and were discharged without "serious adverse events, health complaints, complications or side effects".Meanwhile, the US, British and Canadian security services have alleged that a hacking group, believed to be operating as part of Russian intelligence services, was targeting organisations involved in Covid-19 vaccine development.Russia's ambassador to Britain, Andrei Kelin, later rejected the claims that his country's intelligence service attempted to steal information about a Covid-19 vaccine.Source: IANS Police in Yokohama on Monday arrested a 29-year-old man on suspicion of killing a 31-year-old man in his girlfriend's apartment. According to police, Hiroki Yoshizawa, a company employee from Yokosuka, stabbed Hirokazu Yokobori in the stomach and neck at around 1:45 a.m. at the apartment in Kanazawa Ward, Sankei Shimbun reported. A neighbor heard a man in the apartment scream and called police. Yokobori was taken to hospital where he was pronounced dead. Yoshizawa's girlfriend was also found in the apartment, with a stab wound, which is not life-threatening, police said. Police said Yoshizawa, who was arrested at the apartment, has admitted to stabbing Yokobori but denied intent to kill. He said he became angry when he saw another man go into his girlfriend's apartment and thought they were having an affair. Kushal Tandon's grandfather, Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon passed away in the early hours of Tuesday (July 21) after battling a prolonged illness. He was 85. According to TOI report, Lalji was admitted to the hospital in Lucknow after complaining of breathing problems, difficulty in urination and fever. He was undergoing treatment at the hospital since June 11. His son Ashutosh Tandon took to Twitter to announce the devastating news. He wrote, "Bapuji nahi rahe." (Image Source: Twitter) Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid tribute to Lalji on Twitter and wrote, "Shri Lalji Tandon will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. He played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He made a mark as an effective administrator, always giving importance to public welfare. Anguished by his passing away." PM further wrote, "Shri Lalji Tandon was well-versed with constitutional matters. He enjoyed a long and close association with beloved Atal Ji. In this hour of grief, my condolences to the family and well-wishers of Shri Tandon. Om Shanti." In his other tweet, his son Ashutosh said that the last rites would be performed at Gulala Ghat Chowk. He also requested the public to pay their respects from home due to the Coronavirus pandemic. Also Read: Kushal Tandon On Sushant Singh Rajput's Death: It's Very Sad & Disheartening; There's A Void Also Read: Pyaar Tune Kya Kiya Director Rajat Mukherjee Passes Away; B-Town Celebs Mourn His Demise New Delhi, July 21 : The Chairperson of Delhi Assembly's Peace and Harmony Committee, Raghav Chadha on Tuesday said that the remarks passed by Tripura Chief Minister pertaining to two communities are provocative in nature and have the potential to disturb public tranquillity and breach peace. While addressing a programme at Agartala Press Club, Chief Minister Biplab Deb courted controversy with his remarks that Sikhs and Jats were physically strong and less intelligent while Bengalis were known to be intelligent. He, however, apologised later. "Delhi Assembly's Peace and Harmony Committee has received complaints against Tripura CM's remarks pertaining to two communities i.e. Sikhs and Jats. The statements by their very nature are provocative," said Chadha, who is also AAP national spokesperson. The statements have the potential to be prejudicial to the maintenance of harmony and are likely to disturb the public tranquillity and breach peace. "It is decided to convene a meeting of the Committee tomorrow to ascertain cognizance on such a complaint," Chadha added. Pursuant to the uproar, Biplab Deb asked for forgiveness from the communities and said that many of his friends are Sikhs and Jats, and he is proud of them. In a series of tweets in Hindi, he wrote, "My intention was not to hurt any society. I am proud of both Sikh and Jat communities. I myself have lived among them for a long time." US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday following London's diplomatically fraught severing of ties with China's Huawei and retaliation for Beijing's treatment of Hong Kong. The top US diplomat's last visit to London in January came just days after Johnson ignored warnings from Washington and allowed the private Chinese tech giant to help roll out Britain's 5G network. It was a frosty affair that saw Pompeo accuse Britain of endangering Western intelligence-sharing by putting China at the heart of its next-generation data system. Britain's relationship with China was then blooming as Johnson sought lucrative partners that could fill the void left by the UK's exit in January from the European Union. But the months that followed have seen Britain edge ever closer to US President Donald Trump's administration in its geopolitical tug-of-war with China. Johnson's most dramatic policy reversal saw him order UK mobile providers to stop buying 5G equipment from Huawei starting next year and remove existing gear by 2027. "We were happy about it," Pompeo told reporters last week. "Prime Minister Johnson got the complete right end of the stick on this one." The Chinese foreign ministry responded by accusing Britain of becoming "America's dupe". The range of steps taken by Johnson in the past month threaten to bring an early end to a "golden decade" in cooperation that former British finance minister George Osborne promised on a visit to Beijing in 2015. London has also outraged Beijing by offering nearly three million residents of Hong Kong a pathway to UK citizenship in response to a highly controversial security law that China imposed on the former British colony last month. Britain followed that up on Monday by suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extending an arms embargo of "potentially lethal weapons" that had previously applied only to mainland China. - Unpopular president - Pompeo's visit will include talks with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and a sideline meeting with exiled Hong Kong protest leader Nathan Law. A separate get-together with Britain's last Hong Kong governor Chris Patten is aimed at further stressing the seeming new understanding about Beijing. Yet some tensions between London and Washington remain. Johnson is keen to avoid being too closely associated with Trump -- whose approval in Britain is languishing at around 20 percent -- despite the "special relationship" between the two historical allies. The UK government stresses that it only ditched Huawei after new US sanctions imposed in May threatened the safety of future 5G equipment produced in China. But Pompeo said he did not think US sanctions had played a role. "You suggested they did this because of US sanctions. I don't actually think that's true," he told reporters last week. "I actually think they did this because their security teams came to the same conclusion that ours have, is that you can't protect this information." Washington argues that the Chinese Community Party can force Huawei to either intercept UK data or shut down the British network in times of war. Huawei has always denied this was the case. Britain's planned release Tuesday of a report into alleged Russian meddling in British politics also threatens to complicate Pompeo's trip. The report was commissioned in response to concerns that Moscow attempted to help Trump win the presidency in 2016. Trump and Pompeo reject suggestions that Russia played any meaningful role in the vote. A North Carolina woman has been charged with attempted murder after police say she abandoned her newborn baby inside a trash can, with the boy's umbilical cord wrapped around his neck. Maryuri Estefany Calix-Macedo, 21, made her initial court appearance through video conference on Monday to face one count of first-degree attempted murder. Speaking through a Spanish translator, Calix-Macedo asked to be represented by a court-appointed attorney. Scroll down for video Maryuri Estefany Calix-Macedo, 21, has been charged with first-degree attempted murder involving her newborn son. She made her initial court appearance on Monday (right) Police say Calix-Macedo delivered the baby boy on Thursday, placed him in a black trash bag and dumped him in this blue bin in a Wilmington, North Carolina, parking lot, where a woman walking her dog later found him alive The Wilmington Police Department said in a statement that Calix-Macedo's infant was 'left for dead' in a church parking lot just before 5pm last Thursday. A woman who was walking in the 3600 block of Fairview Drive heard the baby's cries coming from the trash bin outside the Christ Community Church in Wilmington and rescued him. Cynthia Burton told WECT she was walking her dog, Flounder, when she heard the cries. When she approached the blue garbage receptacle, the sound got louder. Burton looked inside and saw a black trash bag tied closed. When she ripped open the bag, the dog walker saw a newborn still covered in blood from the delivery and with his umbilical cord coiled around his neck. The Good Samaritan ran to a nearby apartment complex and asked a couple sitting on their patio to call 911. Burton was able to unwrap the umbilical cord. The woman and the couple then sang Jesus Loves Me to the infant while waiting for EMS workers to arrive. Paramedics who were summoned to the scene transported the baby to an area hospital. He is said to be healthy and doing well. Calix-Macedo was arrested on Saturday and appeared before a judge through video on Monday (pictured) The 21-year-old mom is being held in jail on $800,000 bond 'He's very powerful and very strong because he cried out to live,' Burton said. 'And if I had walked by, and not heard a sound I'd have kept on walking, but he cried, and he kept on crying, he cried until I went and got the bag and pulled him up and, when I opened the bag, he stopped crying. That's when I think he knew he was safe.' Calix-Macedo was arrested by police on Saturday and booked into the county jail on $800,000 bond, reported ABC11. Her next court appearance is scheduled for August 6. North Carolina has a safe surrender law that allows a parent to legally turn over a newborn to a law enforcement officer, a health care provider, a social services worker or a paramedic within a week, no questions asked. Starbucks on Tuesday announced that loyalty program members will have more ways to pay for their drinks as the coffee chain pushes to recruit more enthusiastic customers. Since its inception, Starbucks Rewards has only accepted preloaded gift cards as payment. Starting this fall, customers can link their credit or debit cards or PayPal accounts to pay within the app. And if they prefer to pay in person, they will be able to also use cash, credit or debit cards or select mobile wallets and still earn points. The company last revamped its loyalty program in 2019, adding more redemption options and getting rid of the two-tiered system to motivate customers to return to its cafes. As the coronavirus pandemic and related store closures weigh on Starbucks' U.S. business, loyalty members can help return sales to their prior levels. Starbucks said in June that it expects U.S. same-store sales to fall by 10% to 20% in fiscal 2020. The changes were unveiled as many restaurants and retailers assess the best ways to drive contact-free payment to reduce the risk of spreading the coronavirus. Mastercard reported a 40% increase in contactless payments, like tap-to-pay and mobile pay, during the first quarter. Starbucks, long seen as a leader in restaurant technology, has reported an increase in revenue from its loyalty program members during the pandemic. In the United States, 48% of sales in the last week of May came from Starbucks Rewards members, up from 44% in the quarter ended March 29, according to a regulatory filing. The program had 19.4 million active U.S. members, as of March 29. Starbucks Chief Marketing Officer Brady Brewer said in an interview that the pandemic didn't drive the company to accelerate the launch, but it did mean a lot more effort to stay on track with its original timeline. "This has been a top request for customers for a long time," Brewer said. "Under these conditions, it's just even more relevant." The new ways to pay will generate points or stars, as the company calls them at a slower rate than a Starbucks gift card. For every dollar spent through a preloaded card, loyalty members earn two stars. Paying with cash, credit or debit cards, mobile wallets or PayPal will generate just one star per dollar spent. Starbucks spokeswoman Erin Shane Riley said the difference in rates acknowledges that customers who preload a Starbucks card take an extra step. Shares of Starbucks have fallen 15% so far in 2020. The company has a market value of $87.2 billion. But in a 2013 decision that reflected its ideological split, the Supreme Court said that key sections of the statute were unconstitutional and based on antiquated data. If Congress wanted to continue to impose federal oversight on states where voting rights were at risk, the court said, it must pass legislation that would do so based on contemporary data. Last year, the Democratic-led House did just that. In December, the House voted to reinstate federal oversight of state election law, moving to bolster protections against racial discrimination enshrined in the 1965 Voting Rights Act. Mr. Lewis presided over the passage of that bill. That followed passage in March 2019 of the Democrats showcase anti-corruption legislation, which also included measures that aimed to dismantle barriers to the ballot box. You know that our work is far from finished, Mr. Lewis said in arguing for the bills passage at the time. It makes me sad. It makes me feel like crying when people are denied the right to vote. Both bills have run into a brick wall in the Senate. Mr. McConnell has said he doesnt believe Black voters still face voter suppression efforts, and therefore there is no longer a need for Congress to impose federal oversight on local election decisions. He has argued other aspects of the Voting Rights Act remain in effect, and noted that turnout among Black voters has been up in some recent elections. Theres very little tangible evidence of this whole voter-suppression nonsense that the Democrats are promoting, Mr. McConnell told The Wall Street Journal in a recent interview. My prediction is African-American voters will turn out in as large a percentage as whites, if not more so, all across the country. Nevertheless, Democrats plan to push ahead with calls for additional voting rights protections, under legislation now bearing Mr. Lewis name. People living in the UK legally are being left without proof of their immigration status because of soaring charges for visa appointments during the pandemic, lawyers have warned. Refugees and authorised migrants have been deprived of access to public services because they have been unable to afford appointments to obtain the required documentation since visa centres started reopening last month. Others have spent thousands of pounds on appointments being offered at a higher than usual cost, out of fear that any delay in submitting their biometrics will put their application in jeopardy. UK visa centres are run by private firm Sopra Steria, after the company took on a Home Office contract last year. While applicants could previously go to their local post office to provide biometric data such as fingerprints, they now attend one of six core centres across the country which offer a free service, or another 51 which usually charge a fee starting from 69.99. All visa application centres within the UK closed in late March in response to the coronavirus pandemic. Sopra Steria announced at the end of May that a phased reopening of visa centres was to begin on 1 June, though it said the service was operating at a lower capacity than usual, with fewer service points open across the country. While the centres have been closed, many visa applicants including refugees who are required to apply for leave to remain after being in the UK for five years have been unable to proceed with their applications, leaving them in a state of limbo and in some cases unable to access state support, according to lawyers. Since visa centres have started to reopen, immigration solicitors say they have struggled to find free appointments at the six core centres on Sopra Sterias online booking system, while the paid-for options are charging considerably more than normal. In one case, a Japanese man had to pay 440 to submit his wife and children's biometrics for their application for indefinite leave to remain, as the only appointments they could find at the Croydon centre one of the core facilities were 110 each. Immigration adviser Anton Koval, from the Legal Centre, who has been aiding the family, said: They had already paid a few thousand pounds for the immigration fees for five people. They didnt want to wait long as the time they had to submit the biometrics was running out. Its totally unfair. Its profiteering. In another case, a family of seven who arrived in the UK in February 2020 on a family reunion visa, to join their refugee father, had to travel from Liverpool to Birmingham in early July in order to attend a free appointment, because it was the only one available and they couldnt afford to pay the 770 110 each for a slot more locally. A charity paid for their train fare and provided face masks for the journey. Judith Carter, lecturer and in-house solicitor at the University of Liverpool Law Clinic, who is representing the family, said it took her 10 days to find a free appointment for the clients, and that in order to do so she had to log onto Sopra Sterias booking website at 1am. She said: This family has had to wait an additional four months to submit their biometrics because of lockdown, and then they had the cost of travel to Birmingham, plus the cost to the local council supporting them and the charity supporting them. Its not just the cost, its also forcing a large family to wander about on public transport during a pandemic. Its needless. Recommended Private firm making millions through newly outsourced visa system Sopra Steria is prioritising the paid appointments over the free appointments. Profit is prioritised over people who the UK has an international obligation to support and welcome. David Pountney, senior solicitor at Greater Manchester Immigration Aid Unit (GMIAU), said he had been logging onto the booking website late at night and early in the morning in a bid to find free appointments since visa centres started to reopen, but had only managed to find one. He said most of his clients couldnt afford to pay for appointments, leaving them stuck in limbo for a prolonged period, and in some cases without access to any public services and at risk of destitution. Some of them who had no status before are still stuck with no right to access anything. The decision has usually been made and theyre just waiting for the fingerprints to issue the card to prove it. They couldve had recourse to public funds months ago, and during this time in particular its really needed, he added. The limited number of free appointments available are almost one month in advance (UKVAS.co.uk) Sonia Lenegan, legal director at the Immigration Law Practitioners Association (ILPA), said the organisation had been raising the fact that people were unable to access free appointments to register their biometrics with the Home Office for weeks now, but that nothing had changed. She added: It was entirely foreseeable that once the centres opened up again that there would be a backlog of people who needed these appointments, and availability was a problem even before the pandemic. A Sopra Steria spokesperson said: We recognise it has been a difficult time for people unable to access appointments because of the global pandemic. They said the company had made significant progress in reducing the number of customers waiting for an appointment and that, under direction from the Home Office, it was working to release as many new appointments as possible while considering the safety of customers and staff. The spokesperson added: During this time, we have continued to make more than half of our appointments at core sites available for free, between 9am-7pm Monday to Friday. As expected, there has been unprecedented demand for these free appointments and customers with urgent or exceptional cases can contact UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) using the Coronavirus Immigration Team helpline. Home Office facing investigation for breach of law over outsourced visa service deluged with complaints They said that in order to reduce the number of people needing to attend a service point and minimise waiting times for appointments, the company was looking to introduce a new process which will facilitate the Home Office reusing previously supplied biometrics for some customers, adding: We look forward to providing more information on this very soon. A Home Office spokesperson said: We are committed to providing a world class service and visa applicants still have the option to book a free appointment at six core centres across the UK including London, Belfast, Birmingham, Cardiff, Glasgow and Manchester. They said other UK visa centres were reopening as soon as they can, in line with public health guidance, to provide more appointments for visa applicants. The GMB called for talks hours ahead of a UK Supreme Court hearing. Uber operating companies have appealed to the Supreme Court after losing three rounds of a fight with drivers. Seven justices are preparing to oversee a virtual, two-day Supreme Court hearing. Uber rides are booked through a smartphone app, which connects passengers to drivers. Drivers say they are workers entitled to the minimum wage, paid leave and other legal protections. Uber companies say drivers are independent, third party contractors, not workers. An employment tribunal ruled in 2016 that Uber drivers are workers, entitled to workers rights. That ruling was upheld by an employment appeal tribunal, and by Court of Appeal judges. GMB legal director Susan Harris said Uber should end the fight. Despite repeatedly losing the argument, Uber persists in using the legal system to avoid its responsibilities to our members, she said. Advertisement GMB calls on Uber to recognise this is the end of the legal road, to abandon their legal challenge and sit down with GMB, the union for Uber drivers, to discuss the way forward. Supreme Court justices have been asked to decide whether drivers are workers and, if they are, what periods constitute their working time. They are not expected to deliver a ruling until later in the year. A law firm, enlisted by GMB to represent Uber drivers, says drivers will be entitled to compensation for lost pay if Uber loses in the Supreme Court. Leigh Day thinks tens of thousands of Uber drivers could be entitled to an average of 12,000 each. Lawyer Nigel Mackay said: Uber is soon going to reach the end of the road in its fight to stop its drivers being given workers rights. If Uber loses, it will have no other option but to compensate those drivers who have brought claims for failures to provide holiday pay and where the company has paid them below the minimum wage. A Leigh Day spokeswoman said if Uber loses the Supreme Court fight, the case will return to an employment tribunal, for decisions to be made on how much compensation drivers should get. Some unidentified miscreants opened fire at a journalist identified as Vikram Joshi in Uttar Pradesh's Ghaziabad on Monday (July 20) night. Joshi suffered bullet injuries and was admitted to Yashoda Hospital in Ghaziabad. Police reached the scene of crime quickly and has launched a probe. It is learnt that the attack on Joshi took place at Mata Colony in Ghaziabad's Pratap Vihar. Joshi works at a local newspaper. According to family members of the victims, some boys have misbehaved with Joshi's niece 4-5 days ago. A complaint in this regard was also filed at Vijay Nagar police station but the police did not take any action against the accused boys. Joshi's family members claimed that it is likely that the same boys would have attacked him. Joshi was going somewhere with his daughter when the miscreants opened fire at him. He is still in critical condition. Coronavirus tests are administered in Orange County. (Carolyn Cole / Los Angeles Times) One day after a record-breaking number of new coronavirus infections, California has surpassed 400,000 overall cases, data from the Los Angeles Times tracker show. By comparison, the New York Health Department has reported more than 408,000 infections. But that state has reported more than 25,000 deaths, while California's death toll is approaching 8,000. The news comes after California again reported its highest number of coronavirus cases in a single day, with 11,554 cases recorded Monday, according to The Times' tally of reports from the state's 58 counties. That number surpasses a record broken just one week ago, when 11,142 cases were reported. In Los Angeles County, officials on Tuesday reported 50 additional coronavirus-related deaths and 2,741 new cases. Individuals who are 41 and younger account for about 57% of the new cases an ongoing trend that county officials have said confirms that younger people are driving the spread of the virus. There are 2,218 people hospitalized for the virus. Of those, 26% are in intensive care. The state is also reporting worsening death tolls. The seven-day average of coronavirus-related deaths has been hovering between 91 and 99 each day since July 10, the worst it has been since the pandemic began. For the weeklong period that ended Monday, 674 deaths were reported in California, the highest weekly total to date. In the previous seven-day period, 640 died, which had also been a weekly record; the week before that, it was 474. Coronavirus-related hospitalizations are also at record-breaking levels. In fact, records have been broken for 28 of the last 30 days, including Sunday, when 6,921 people statewide were reported in hospitals. In Ventura County, 207 new cases put the area five short of 6,000, Rigoberto Vargas, the countys director of public health, told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday. More than 1,500 people have been tested since Friday, Vargas said. The percentage of those found to be positive among all 97,124 who have been tested is roughly 6.2%. Story continues Ventura County has reported four deaths since Friday, bringing its toll to 62, nearly double that of neighboring and smaller Santa Barbara County, which has recorded 32 deaths. Ventura's mortality rate rose to 1.04%, higher than that of Santa Barbara, 0.7%, but lower than Los Angeles County, at 2.6%, Vargas said. Hospitalizations in Ventura have risen to 95, a jump from 89 on Sunday but still lower than a high of 101 early last week. Of that group, 24 are in intensive care. The last two or three days, the numbers have been in the lower 80s, lower 90s, so hopefully the 95 will come back much lower the next few days, Vargas said. Were really keeping our fingers crossed. In Orange County, the number of overall cases is now the second-highest in the state. The cumulative COVID-19 case count in Orange County was 29,986 Tuesday, just ahead of Riverside County's 29,983. Only Los Angeles County has more, with nearly 160,000 cases. Despite the grim news around the state, there are signs the situation may be improving after a shutdown of indoor services at businesses including bars and restaurants, closures that have been underway for the last three weeks. Hospitalizations grew by 7% Sunday, compared with the previous Sunday; that's an improvement over July 12, when hospitalizations were up by 12% over the previous Sunday. On July 5, hospitalizations had grown by 21% over the previous Sunday; and on June 28, the figure was 29%. Also, the rate at which coronavirus tests are coming back positive may have finally stabilized, although it is probably too early to know whether that trend will continue. On Monday, Gov. Gavin Newsom said the so-called positivity rate over the previous seven days was 7.2%; it had been 7.7% the previous Monday. On Friday, Dr. Mark Ghaly, secretary of California's Health and Human Services Agency, said he was encouraged by the stability in the positivity rate after weeks of increases. In late May, the positivity rate was around 4%. Ghaly suggested Friday that it is too early to call it a trend, but if the positivity rate continues to fall, it could mean that the reclosure of some businesses is working to help control the spread of the disease. "As soon as we feel confident in that trend and we see other numbers start to stabilize, we'll credit some of the moves we made over the last few weeks," Ghaly said. "It's been about three, four weeks since we ... first started to make moves ... so we're right in that time period where we may see some of the changes in the benefits of those [policy changes]." It was just over three weeks ago June 28 that Newsom ordered bars closed in seven counties, including Los Angeles. On July 1, he ordered the closure of bars and indoor restaurant dining rooms in 19 of the state's worst-hit counties, affecting 72% of the state's population. Newsom expanded the shutdown last week, ordering the closure of all bars and indoor dining statewide. He also shuttered the indoor operations of a number of businesses including gyms, malls, hair and nail salons, places of worship and offices for nonessential industries in dozens of counties. Some of the areas with the worst per capita coronavirus rates are in counties with state prisons hit hard by outbreaks. Lassen County in the remote northeast corner of California is reporting 805 cases per 100,000 residents in the last 14 days, and Marin County is reporting 565 cases per 100,000 residents. Imperial County in the southeastern corner of the state is still suffering, with 786 cases per 100,000 residents. The Central Valley is also hard hit, with case rates in Stanislaus, Madera, Kings, Kern, Merced, Fresno and Tulare counties ranging from 400 to 700 per 100,000 residents. Of the state's southern urban and suburban counties, L.A. County is reporting 420 cases per 100,000 residents; San Bernardino County, 410; Riverside, 396; Orange, 383; Ventura, 231; and San Diego, 216. Northern California's metro areas have reported lower numbers, with Sacramento County reporting 194 cases per 100,000 residents; San Francisco, 151; and Santa Clara County, home to Silicon Valley, reporting 124. The state's target for keeping the coronavirus under control is no more than 100 cases per 100,000 residents over the previous 14 days. Times staff writers Andrew Campa, Colleen Shalby and Luke Money contributed to this report. Hours after Karnataka CM BS Yediyurappa announcing that there is no question of any more lockdowns, the government came out with detailed guidelines on Tuesday as part of unlock-again. The government order said night curfew from 9 pm to 5 am will continue to be in place instead of the earlier 8pm to 5am. Sunday curfew through the day as announced earlier will also continue at least until August 8. The government however introduced two measures to ward off crowds. People can use public parks but not use open gyms and benches installed there. In addition to this, vegetable markets in all cities and towns will be moved to larger spaces in the suburbs in each town where crowds can be restricted. Earlier, as part of a briefing, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday said as he ruled out extension of the week-long shutdown in the city and elsewhere, saying that lockdown is not the solution for controlling COVID-19 and resource mobilisation equally important for a government to function. He, however, had said that strict measures will continue in containment zones. Addressing the people of the state, he stressed on maintaining social distancing and wearing masks and said experts have advised 5T strategy- trace, track, test, treat and technology - to control the coronavirus spread. The one week lockdown announced in Bengaluru and four other districts will also end on Wednesday. "Lockdown is not a solution to contain Covid-19. People must wear mask and ensure social distancing at all times," he said. During his address to the state he also said that the issues around scarcity of ambulance and hospital beds is being sorted out. 11230 beds have been reserved for Covid patients in Bengaluru. 741 of them are in government hospitals, 819 in government medical colleges, 4836 in private hospitals and 2624 in Covid care centers, he said adding that only 5% of the total cases require ICU/ventilators. While 98% of those who have tested positive have recovered, one must not take the extreme step of suicide, he added. Henceforth, results of samples taken will be available within 24 hours. The Chief Minister also said that he held discussions with officials of all districts where cases are on the rise but lockdown must not be solution. Instead, wearing of masks and social distancing must be ensured. Lockdown will continue in containment zones where only essential sevices will be available. The Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) today announced they will operate the buses but in limited numbers with caution and restrictions. Amid a spike in cases, Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts were brought under "complete lockdown" from 8 pm of July 14 to 5 am on Wednesday aimed at controlling the spread. A few other districts too had announced lockdown during this period after the cases increased since June 1 when the Unlock-1 phase started and people stranded in other states and foreign countries returned to Karnataka. During the speech, he also responded to opposition Congress' allegation of misappropriation in the purchase of COVID care equipment and said "not even a rupee has been misused." Opposition leaders were free to examine the documents and the government was ready to share it with them, he said. As of Monday evening, cumulatively 67,420 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in the state, which includes 1,403 deaths and 23,795 discharges. Bengaluru Urban tops the districts with a total of 33,229 infections. (With inputs from Deepa Balakrishnan) Kiev: All hostages aboard a bus in the north-western Ukrainian city of Lutsk were freed on Tuesday after authorities stormed the vehicle and captured the armed attacker. The resolution of the incident came after an extraordinary intervention by President Volodymyr Zelensky, who posted a video on his Facebook page urging the public to comply with the hostage-taker's demands and see a 2005 film narrated by Joaquin Phoenix. The assailant, who seized a long-distance bus with 10 hostages, lies on the ground after police officers captured him in the city centre of Lutsk. Credit:AP "There is no place for terrorism in any country," Zelensky said in a statement, thanking everyone who had worked to free the hostages. Thirteen hostages had been aboard the vehicle in the standoff of more than 12 hours with the attacker, armed with a Kalashnikov assault rifle, a handgun and a grenade, according to the authorities. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Perk Labs Inc. (CSE:PERK)(OTCQB:PKLBF)(FKT:PKLB) ("Perk Labs" or the "Company") the parent company of Perk Hero, the all-in-one mobile ordering, contact-free payment and loyalty app, announced today that Perk Hero has added a new Order from Table feature to its platform. This new feature provides restaurants who now must adhere to limited dine-in capabilities with advanced tools to provide a seamless full service dine-in experience with limited staff-to-guest physical contact and for the customer to have the ability to order at their convenience. "Our new Order from Table feature enables restaurants to provide their guests with a convenient end-to-end contactless experience that is well suited to today's more limited dining environment. Restaurants have had to do more with less while still offering timely service while not increasing their overhead," said Perk Hero's CEO, Jonathan Hoyles. "This feature brings the opportunity for guests to safely enjoy a nice meal on a patio, to place their order from the Perk Hero app on their phone when ready and reduces the need for physical contact and physical handling of menus - improving the safety of both staff and customers." Perk Hero's new ordering feature includes the customer's ability to scan a QR code at their table, to place an order and/or also have the option to select the restaurant location then enter a table number manually to place an order. The restaurant can have both options, or choose between either having the QR code or table number displayed. A customer order submitted via the Perk Hero app will include the table number for seamless in-dining service to the customer. Many restaurants are now expanding outdoor restaurant patio areas to provide more seating options with the now limited in-restaurant dining seating capacity. Perk Hero's Order from Table feature provides restaurants with the ability to increase seating capacity outdoors without the need for additional staff or increasing customer wait times for service. In addition to in-dining restaurants, this feature can also be applied to other payment scenarios such as quick serve restaurants, bars and hotels. In a quick serve environment, rather than lining up and then ordering and paying at the counter, a customer can simply scan a QR code while in a lineup or sit down and order by QR code and pay using Perk Hero. In a hotel environment, guests can use this feature to securely and conveniently scan a QR code to order from their hotel room and pay for their meal using the Perk Hero app on their phone. Hotel guests can simply scan a marker in their room, make their desired selections, and pay from their mobile phone. Hotel guests would be able to see the status of the order on their device until the food and drinks are delivered to their room. A digital copy of their bill would be available on the user's device for verification and expense tracking. Hotel guests could also access promotions and offers right from within the App, such as discounts or promotions at gift stores. As reported in a recent Mobile Payments Today article, Thad Peterson, senior analyst at the Aite Group states, "There is definitely more interest in QR codes as an addition to NFC for contactless payments, driven in large part by the movement to contactless from the pandemic. QR codes are being used for a range of situations, from buying coffee at local cafes, to getting price information on grocery store shelves or retailers and a relatively new trend is reading updated food menus at restaurants.' Mr. Hoyles was also interviewed and quoted in the same article. The decision will not apply to schools and universities as ongoing exams will run as scheduled Egypt's Prime Minister Mostafa Madbouly issued a decree on Monday stipulating that Thursday, the 68th anniversary of the 23 July revolution, will be a fully paid day off for public employees. The decision applies to ministries, government authorities, public institutions, local administrative bodies, and the public sector. It will not apply to schools and universities as ongoing exams will run as scheduled. Search Keywords: Short link: Shocking footage has captured the moment a blind man was pepper-sprayed and tackled to the ground after having his white cane ripped from his hand. Two transit officers were filmed wrestling Awata Croft, 49, after a heated argument at Warwick train station in Perth's northern suburbs on Sunday afternoon. The 49-year old said he thought was going to die during the ordeal. 'I'm just thinking this guy is an absolute redneck, he's gonna George Floyd me, you know, that's all I'm thinking,' Mr Croft told the West Australian. 'I put my chin down and bit away out of protection, out of protection for myself, I'm an absolute fight or flight [mode] and I couldn't, I couldn't fly and I couldn't get away.' The transit officers are seen following Mr Croft as he walks away from the station as he screams at them and lashes out with his cane Mr Croft claims the scuffle began when he was spotted smoking a cigarette outside the station. He said he overheard someone telling him to 'butt it out' but they did not identify themselves as a transport officer. The footage then shows transport officers screaming at Mr Croft, telling him he is under arrest for disorderly behaviour. He was seen shielding his face as he walked away, but the officers followed him. Mr Croft lashed out with his cane, swore at them and demanded they leave him alone. He was then restrained with his arms behind his back as they brought him to the ground while a man who was filming the incident pleaded for a bystander to call police. Croft's cane was snapped during the struggle. Transperth refused to answer Daily Mail Australia's questions on Tuesday night. But a spokesperson told The West the situation began before the footage started and officers were responding to reports of a disturbance on a Joondalup train. The footage ends with Mr Croft lying on the ground moaning after being pepper sprayed and tackled by the arresting transport officers The transport authority said they were contacted about a man who was yelling and swearing, which frightened other passengers. 'We do not tolerate antisocial behaviour on our network,' the spokesperson said. The spokesperson added that one of the officers was bitten on the arm during the arrest. Acting Transport Minister Sue Ellery described the footage as 'confronting'. 'Any use of force by Transit officers is regrettable and should be a last resort,' she said. The Department of Transport is investigating the incident. People with disabilities in Vietnam need more access to support programmes on various fields of life, a workshop in Hanoi heard on Friday. People with disabilities work at the Vun Art Cooperative in Ha Dong District, Hanoi. Photo qdnd.vn The event, entitled Strengthening coordination efficiency and international cooperation in activities to support people with disabilities, was jointly organised by the Vietnam National Committee on People with Disabilities and the Vietnam Union of Science and Technology Associations (VUSTA). Speaking at the workshop, Nguyen Van Hoi, Chief of Office of Vietnam National Committee on Disability, Director of Social Protection Department, Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs said the Government has paid great attention to people with disabilities and promulgated many policies and programmes to support them. The National Assembly also has enacted a law on people with disabilities and many support policies on education, health care, vocational training, employment, social protection, social security, and livelihood support. However, Hoi said, due to limited budget and human resources, inadequacies in awareness of staffs working in support of people with disabilities, there is still a limited number of people with disabilities with accesses to these resources. Many people with disabilities still have had no access to programmes to support the disabled in the country due to overlaps in programmes or poor coordination between relevant organisations and management units, said Hoi. Hoi suggested local and international organisations work closer together with an aim to strengthen administrative reforms and helping people with disabilities access support resources from many organisations. Priorities should be given to create favourable conditions to promote the coordination between organisations of people with disabilities and domestic and foreign organisations to exchange experiences and help improve their operational efficiency. Le Duy Tien, Deputy General Secretary and Head of Science, Technology and Environment Department under VUSTA said: In order to further support people with disabilities, we need to strengthen the effectiveness of the State management in the implementation of legal policies on people with disabilities and promote the socialisation of domestic and international resources to support people with disabilities. We need to share information, raise awareness and responsibility of agencies to implement the Party and State's policies and policies on people with disabilities, added Tien. Participants agreed that better coordination and promotion of activities between ministries, sectors and local and international organisations would improve effectiveness in supporting people with disabilities in the country. They also focused discussions on sharing Governments policies and regulations relating to people with disabilities, measures to improve State management activities and promote the domestic and international resources. The country currently has more than 6.2 million people with disabilities, making up more than 6 per cent of population. At present, the State Budget has covered groups of people with severe disabilities, providing monthly social allowances for about 1.1 million people with disabilities with a budget of about VND15,000 billion yearly. Around 20,000 people with disabilities were provided access to vocational training and jobs. About 1.2 million disabled students were given access to schools and up to 95 per cent of people with disabilities have been covered by the health insurance fund, according to the Vietnam National Committee on Disability. VNS Empowering people with disabilities, ensuring equality In Vietnam, the implementation of basic rights of people with disabilities has changed dramatically, from humanitarian assistance to development assistance. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi inaugurated the International Conference on sugarcane value chain at Pune on Sunday. Excerpts from PM Modis speech at the conference are mentioned here: # Prime Minister Modi said that people will temporarily face problems due to demonetisation but it will be beneficial in the long run. He appealed people to give him some time to make the situation better. # He stressed that if he had taken this step before November 8, people who had stashed black money would have become alert. # He assured people that no one needs to exchange their Rs. 500/1000 notes for even 1 rupee less; they would receive exact change. # Moreover, the Prime Minister discussed the role of technology which will play an important role in developing agricultural pattern of the country. He also reached out to the farmers while assuring them that they will not be taxed. # PM Modi claimed that we Indians have an assured market and requirement of pulses. Thus, we should also think about pulses in addition to sugar. # He said that theres a huge demand for bamboo in the global market and we must give impetus to its plantation in India also. # PM Modi also claimed that on visit to Mauritius, he had witnessed that people there didn't depend on flood irrigation and their fields were equipped with sprinklers. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. A Central Texas groundwater conservation district that oversees pumping of water through a 142-mile pipeline has voiced concern about potential waste by the San Antonio Water System. But SAWS officials maintain the roughly 580 million gallons discharged into local creek beds from mid-April to June 12 was put to beneficial use for testing and flushing of water mains and other equipment for the massive Vista Ridge pipeline, which began operating this year. Sidney Youngblood, chairman of the Post Oak Savannah Groundwater Conservation District, sent a letter Friday to the SAWS board, requesting the utility review its internal procedures to ensure that such waste does not occur again. While the district doesnt have regulatory authority over SAWS, it does regulate a permit held by a private company as part of the controversial public-private, $2.8 billion Vista Ridge pipeline project, which will expand SAWS drinking water supply by about 20 percent, enough water to serve about 162,000 families. On ExpressNews.com: Vista Ridge now delivering water to San Antonio Youngbloods letter followed a meeting Thursday of the district board, which has decision-making authority on permits for the Carrizo-Wilcox Aquifer in Milam and Burleson counties, near College Station. He said the board was shocked by reports that half the water earlier pumped through the pipeline to San Antonio had been discharged into the dry bed of Mud Creek, near the new Agua Vista Station close to Loop 1604 and U.S. 281 on the North Side. We desire only good stewardship in the resource that our board has been tasked with regulating with an eye on conservation, Youngblood said in the letter. SAWS offiicials said they did not waste water, but were obligated under an agreement with the projects private consortium, including Blue Water Vista Ridge, which holds the permit overseen by the Post Oak district, to begin receiving water on April 15. The pipeline began delivering about 20 million gallons daily the least amount it could carry without compromising water quality at the wells in Burleson County. SAWS officials were worried that if they distributed the new water to older parts of the system, which have galvanized metal pipes, some with internal iron oxide corrosion, the change from Edwards Aquifer water to the softer Carrizo-Wilcox aquifer could cause de-scaling, sending reddish water to local taps, causing a panic. Steve Clouse, SAWS senior vice president and chief operating officer, was mindful of a 2014 public health crisis in Flint, Mich., where the city integrated river water into its supply as a cost-cutting measure, unwittingly producing lead-contaminated water that began flowing into peoples homes. Our water would have probably been safe to drink if it was red in color. But just imagine the fear that everyone wouldve had, Clouse said. About half the water was being chemically treated, disinfected, stored and distributed to a pump station, then delivered to homes and businesses in and around Stone Oak and Timberwood Park. The rest was used for testing and flushing lines, a routine maintenance practice to ensure drinking water quality, under a permit from the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality, SAWS officials said. We have followed what were supposed to be doing. Were using best practices for integration of a new water source into a community, SAWS President and CEO Robert Puente said. SAWS has since increased flows through the Vista Ridge pipeline to 35 million gallons daily and begun distributing the water to areas along and on both sides of U.S. 281, between Loop 1604 and Loop 410. It will ramp up pipeline production to 45 million gallons by September, delivering the water farther south through its operations plants along the 281 corridor. On ExpressNews.com: Stage 1 conservation now in effect Puente said SAWS is preparing a formal response to the Post Oak Savannah district, but has spoken to officials there to ease their concerns. He said the matter has been exaggerated by anti-growth groups opposed the Vista Ridge project. To meet our water security for the next decades, we need this project, Puente said. One of those groups, the League of Independent Voters of Texas, is rallying support for a San Antonio petition drive seeking a city charter amendment that would cap the SAWS CEOs salary, ensure strictly enforced term limits of SAWS board members and require an audit of major projects. Supporters are seeking to put the amendment called the SAWS Accountability Act on the May 2021 ballot. Linda Curtis, a Bastrop resident and volunteer executive director of the league, said the Vista Ridge project is one of a growing number of pipeline endeavors that are using megapermits that threaten groundwater supplies in Central Texas. This project, Vista Ridge, and the rogue municipal water utility, SAWS, are deforming the entire paradigm for groundwater management, Curtis said during a recent conference call with critics of Vista Ridge. The controversy surfaces less than two weeks after SAWS began limiting outdoor watering to once after in compliance with limits on permitted pumping that are now in effect from the Edwards Aquifer Authority. The lawn-watering restrictions went into effect July 9, for the first time in nearly two years, after dry conditions lowered the Edwards Aquifer and resulted in diminished spring flows that sustain federally protected aquatic species. The Vista Ridge project was a response to mounting pressure from San Antonio business leaders who saw the perpetual pumping constraints on the Edwards as a threat to economic growth. Scott Huddleston covers Bexar County government and the Alamo for the San Antonio Express-News. To read more from Scott, become a subscriber. shuddleston@express-news.net | Twitter: @shuddlestonSA A New Jersey woman will be charged with multiple counts of animal cruelty after authorities rescued 61 dogs hoarded in her home living in absolute squalor, the head of the Monmouth County SPCA said Tuesday. Marlene Sandford, 66, of Middletown, will face at least 61 counts of animal cruelty and there could be additional charges, said Monmouth County SPCA Executive Director Ross Licitra. Sandford could face fines and six months in jail if she is found guilty, according to state statutes. This is something we cannot tolerate and never will tolerate, he said. This will absolutely go criminal. Licitra said one of Sandfords family members called the SPCAs animal cruelty hotline earlier this week to report the situation. Sandford was previously charged in 2009 with 81 counts of animal cruelty for hoarding more than 100 dogs, according to a centraljersey.com report at the time. After Sandford allowed officers inside, Licitra said they found a total of 61 small dogs, including shitzus and collie mixes. Many of the animals were covered in their own urine, forced to drink out of dirty water bowls and reside in feces-ridden cages, Licitra said. Several pregnant dogs were also recovered as were newborn puppies, he said. The team of SPCA workers spent hours dressed in full PPE removing the dogs, he said. We were walking into a world of unimaginable disgust, he said. (The dogs) are a mess. Theyve been living in absolute squalor like you cant imagine. They are completely filthy. Its going to take awhile for them to recover. The dogs will require medical attention, including emergency grooming, vaccines, microchips and neutering, he said. Licitra said he suspects the house was the site of a puppy mill, though he said Sandford, when asked by authorities, denied breeding the dogs to sell them. The animals are not yet up for adoption, but those interested should continue checking the Monmouth County SPCAs website at monmouthcountyspca.org for updates. Any and all help is needed. Its going to take an enormous amount of money and effort to get these dogs right, Licitra said. Were looking for donations, were looking for professional groomers that would be willing to come to the shelter and offer their time. Every one of them needs to be groomed and cleaned. Theyre beyond comprehension. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo. The government has asked e-commerce websites to display the country of origin for products listed on its website. The new rules will be applicable for platforms registered outside India as well. The new draft rules under the Consumer Protection Act 2019 (CPA) are likely to be notified to e-commerce platforms later this week. Mentioning the country of origin will help consumers make an informed decision before making the purchase, Consumer Affairs Secretary Leela Nandan said. The amendments in the new CPA also include provisions like penalties for misleading advertisements, class action suits, a dispute resolution mechanism, a central consumer protection authority and the ability to file complaints. E-commerce companies will also be required to set up a grievance redressal mechanism on their website, and the complaints need to disposed of within a month. Furthermore, sellers on e-commerce websites will have to appoint their own grievance redressal officer, who will acknowledge a consumer complaint within 48 hours. They will also be required to disclose the contractual obligation with the platform, the price and the shipping charges. The move is aimed at promoting Make in India and Aatmanirbhar Bharat plans but it is likely to have a bearing on products of Chinese origin. The government has already mandated its own online marketplace, GeM, to enter the country of origin while registering new products. The government has also mandated sellers with existing listed products to update the country of origin, failing which the products would be removed. Its not hard to find an opinion on where to get the best pulled pork in the state. But if you ask the Alabama Pork Producers trade association, your best bet is a walk-up spot in Elba. The results are in on a contest sponsored by the group, which is a division of the Alabama Farmers Federation. More than 100 nominations on Facebook led to a Final Four that drew more than 2,000 votes. The winner: JJs BBQ in Elba, about 50 miles northwest of Dothan. JJs BBQ serves slow-smoked pork shoulder infused with hints of hickory, oak and pecan, said a release announcing the contest winner. The tender meat is then mixed with burnt ends that crackle and melt when diners bite into the que, particularly when its served on a sandwich or piled on a baked potato. Walker County pork farmer Josh Tubbs, one of three judges who evaluated the final four, praised Chequita Walkers family establishment for pork that rated high on texture and taste and for sauce that didnt cover it up. If I can take a good piece of pork and enhance it with sauce, thats good, Tubbs said. If the sauce doesnt take away from the flavor, thats even better. JJs was the best of both worlds. Ive always told people that if I could have only one meal for the rest of my life, it would be BBQ pork, so judging this contest was a dream come true, said Simply Southern TV host Mary Wilson, another judge. The four finalists did not disappoint and definitely deserved to be honored. It was tough competition, but the smokiness of JJs BBQ really stood out. I also judge pork by the flavor you find in the burnt ends, and Chequita has found a way to give it a perfect char without drying the meat out. According to Tuesdays announcement, Walker is a full-time employee at the Department of Corrections whose restaurant is named for her son and staffed by family. She grew up watching her father and grandfather smoke whole hogs and hopes to build a dine-in restaurant. The recipes arent a big secret, but Im not telling everybody, Walker said. Texture matters. If the pork is cooked right, it falls apart. The people of Elba have shown me nothing but love, she said. They come out and support me. The win comes with a $500 prize, among other perks. The other three finalists were Heards BBQ in Maplesville, Holy Smoke BBQ in Hartselle and The Pink Pig food truck in Moulton. All will be featured in the next season of Simply Southern TV, a show sponsored by the Alabama Farmers Federation. The show can be seen online, on the RFD cable network and on select Alabama TV stations; for more information, visit simplysoutherntv.net. More than 250 Australian health practitioners have signed an open letter expressing their concern about the human rights pressures faced by the Bahai community in Iran that have escalated amid the coronavirus pandemic. Joobin Hooshmand, an ophthalmology registrar working with NSW Health, co-ordinated the project alongside a number of Bahai practitioners and their colleagues. Ophthalmology registrar Joobin Hooshmand, who works with NSW Health, helped co-ordinate the open letter project. Credit:Ramin Fanaeian / Arian Film Productions The signatories, mostly Bahais but also their friends and colleagues, include dentists, GPs, nurses, optometrists, paramedics, pharmacists, physiotherapists, psychologists and chiropractors. They come from every state and territory. The Bahai community is Iran's largest non-Muslim religious minority and has been persecuted since the 1979 Revolution. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 20, 2020 / An aircraft filled with more than 1,500,000 of medical equipment landed in Port-au-Prince, Haiti, on July 17th. The Boeing 747 carrying 72 tons was part of the European Union air bridge to countries in need of support to face the global pandemic. Along with the EU, the massive shipment, vital to the fight against the growing COVID-19 crisis in Haiti, was organized and financed by a coalition of Haitian and European government agencies and nonprofit organizations at the direction of the Haitian Multisectoral Commission for COVID Management (Commission Multisectoral de Gestation de Pandemic COVID-19, or CMGHP). This historic collaboration began when the Haitian government contracted with French manufacturer NOVAIR for eight oxygen concentrators through its CMGHP. Following several years of cooperation with Mirebalais hospital (Zanmi Lasante) funded by AFD, a French governmental agency, and the GHESKIO centers, the Paris University hospitals (AP-HP) provided further equipment including x-ray machines, ventilators, personal protective equipment and other essential medical supplies. The Paris hospitals foundation solicited one of its partners, the French Fondation Lacoste which contributed 130,000 for a ninth oxygen concentrator. Additional support came from France's Ile-de-France regional government, which supplied 35,000 in aid, more than 100,000 surgical masks and other personal protective equipment, as well as serological tests. This initiative was led by regional president Valerie Pecresse and regional councilor Anne-Louise Mesadieu, a native of Haiti. The shipment of this equipment largely purchased by the Haitian government was organized by the French Ministry for Europe and Foreign Affair's Crisis and Support Center and the COVID-19 humanitarian program of the European Commission in coordination with the Haitian Governmental COVID-19 management commission and Haitian nonprofits Les Centres GHESKIO and Zanmi Lasante. The number of COVID-19 cases in Haiti continues to rise. The country is especially vulnerable since many residents live in densely populated communities where social distancing is physically impossible. Dr. Jean William Pape, CMGP co-chair and GHESKIO founder, said, "Europe and France continue to persevere in their fight against COVID-19, not just within its borders but also internationally. We are grateful to the many organizations who worked tirelessly to deliver these critical supplies to Haiti." About Us About GHESKIO GHESKIO, which operates a network of clinics in Port-au-Prince and throughout Haiti, is an international leader in clinical care and research for HIV, tuberculosis and other infectious diseases. Since the earliest days of the HIV epidemic, GHESKIO has been at the forefront of HIV response, implementing testing and prevention strategies and serving as the largest provider of HIV treatment in the Caribbean. GHESKIO has been a key leader in Haiti's decrease in HIV prevalence from 6.2% in 1993 to the current level of 2.0%. GHESKIO is also the Caribbean's largest provider of tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment. GHESKIO is world-renowned for its research, with more than 35 years of continuous support from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for single-site clinical trials. GHESKIO is a member of the prestigious AIDS Clinical Trials Group (ACTG). GHESKIO researchers have published over 250 peer-reviewed publications, and GHESKIO-developed care protocols are in use in developing nations around the world. About the Haitian Global Health Alliance The Haitian Global Health Alliance is a U.S.-based 501(c)3 organization that provides fundraising and communication support for GHESKIO. Contacts Scott Morgan Work: +1 973 865 0128 scott@hgha.org SOURCE: Haitian Global Health Alliance, Inc View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598158/Haitian-and-EuropeanFrench-entities-join-in-the-fight-against-COVID-19-in-Haiti I-Day: BSF on high alert along Indo-Bangla border over security threats from Islamist terrorists, Indian rebel Extending BSF jurisdiction for effective control at borders: Intent not to run parallel force Bengal context and why the jurisdiction of the BSF had to be extended Drone from Pak side of border fired at by BSF Border Security Force orders inquiry after jawan weighing 160 kg dies during fitness course India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 21: The Border Security Force has ordered an inquiry to find out how a jawan weighing 160 kg was "declared fit" to take a physical fitness course during which he died, an official spokesperson said Monday. Constable Vinod Singh, 45, died on July 17 after he "felt giddiness in the evening hours near his barracks" at the BSF subsidiary training centre in Rajasthan's Jodhpur. He was rushed to a hospital but was declared brought dead, the spokesperson said. Indias land is under full possession of our security forces: ITBP, BSF Working as a water carrier in the 114th battalion, Singh had joined the training centre to undergo a physical fitness course on July 15, according to the BSF statement. These fitness courses have been envisaged by BSF chief S S Deswal, who has ordered that all fat and obese personnel in the 2.5-lakh-strong force should be identified and sent for physical training. Deswal, also the ITBP director general, is heading the BSF in additional capacity for over four months now. He has ordered a number of fitness courses at BSF and ITBP training centres and attended the closing day events of some. "The jawan was a low medical category person having weight of 160 kg with a BMI of 52.98," the spokesperson said. "However, it has been found that the deceased constable was declared fit for the above course. An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the circumstances under which the individual was declared fit for the course," he added. Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News The BSF Inspector General of the Rajasthan frontier, that guards the India-Pakistan border, has been directed to probe the incident and submit a report. "DG BSF and all ranks are grief-stricken with the untimely demise of our comrade constable Vinod Singh. Prahari pariwar (border guards family) will always stand firm with the family members of the deceased," the spokesperson said. COVID-19 claims lives of two BSF personnel Singh is survived by his mother, wife and two sons. Recently, the headquarters of the force here had ordered that personnel "weighing more than 105 kg be posted out to hard areas." There are about two dozen such personnel in this category in the BSF, a senior official said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 9:33 [IST] Limerick publican Gearoid Whelan opened his "wet house" at 10.50am yesterday despite the Government requiring publicans not serving food to delay pulling pints until at least August 10. Just over two hours later, gardai arrived at Whelan's Bar on Maiden Street, Newcastle West, and requested that Mr Whelan close the premises. Mr Whelan (42) said he was advised by two gardai to cease trading before they handed him a copy of the Health Act 1947, Section 31A, which cites the temporary Covid-19 restrictions. "We opened our doors at 10 to 11 this morning and we opened as a wet house, the same as we closed (last March). At 1pm the gardai entered the premises and advised me to close under the Health Act 1947, so I'm complying with their advice and I've closed my doors. "I don't agree with it, I still don't see (why). We are doing nothing wrong, there's nothing illegal going on. "I've massive respect for the gardai and we wouldn't have a business without them, so, for the moment, I'm going to close my doors." Asked if gardai had advised him he could face legal penalties if he decided to stay open, he replied: "Let's just say I was advised to close, yes, long term it might not be the best for me to stay open. "I'm disappointed, gutted, but all I wanted to show was that we can do this. "Everyone that was here this morning saw we can offer a Covid-safe, socially distanced, enjoyable atmosphere, for a couple of pints - without your 9 pizza that's going to keep you free from Covid." During the brief opening, the pub served around 50 customers who supped pints without food. Mr Whelan's mother Pauline greeted customers at the door, directed them to use hand sanitiser and collected their names for contact tracing. She also took their temperatures. "They're circling, they're circling," shouted one concerned punter, as a Garda patrol car passed by. Pat Reidy, from Ardagh, was one of the first in the door "to support Gearoid". Sitting at the bar reading a newspaper in his socially distanced chair, the 62-year-old described the request for wet houses to close was "an injustice". "I think it is great the Whelans took the stance on this," Mr Reidy said. "A big mistake has been made by the Government, and I hope they look at this and move on from it." Another customer, Michael Devine from Newcastle West, added: "I live in a cottage in a little village so, rural areas have been decimated, and the only outing we had (pre-coronavirus) was Mass and a couple of pints in the local bar. "Farming communities have been reduced to waving at each other as we pass cars going in opposite directions - that's what rural life has become since last March. "I understand the premise for it, Covid-19, but it's just unbelievable." Being the market leader, 99acres.com, the leading property portal in India, has been actively conducting research and mining platform data to come up with insights and learnings to help real estate buyers and sellers. The brand has also started with its webinar series - realty buzz webinars, which is a fortnightly feature, to reach out to clients and consumers in these difficult times and assuage their fears and apprehensions with correct information. The four editions which have happened so far saw the whos who of the industry coming as panellists to share their views and act as the guiding beacon during COVID-19. These webinars have seen participation from all key stakeholders of the real estate industry - builders and broker community, home buyers and owners, regulatory and research bodies etc. All the conducted webinars have got a stupendous response from real estate stakeholders with over 8,000 registrations for the four events and more than 2,000 live questions. Also, over 1.5 lakh homebuyers, investors, and sellers were reached through the live feed of the webinar on Facebook and zoom, in an interactive format where viewers were able to put up their queries live and receive answers from Industry experts. The first webinar focused on home buying and investing trends in the post COVID-19 era. The discussion touched upon the challenges faced by developers in completing under-construction projects, the prospects of investing in commercial and residential markets and the Government measures required to bail the real estate sector out of the current crisis. The second edition revolved around redefining marketing strategies during COVID-19. The experts stressed upon the changing marketing landscape with spends being pushed more on digital platforms, prime reason being their better CPL efficiency. 99acres conducted the third episode of the series with real estate stalwarts to know how the prolonged lockdown affected the residential real estate buyers journey. The experts talked about surge in online queries, adoption of safety measures at construction sites and lucrative offers being rolled out citing this period as a perfect opportunity for buyers. In the fourth edition, the experts brought on the surface new innovative ways to close transactions during this period. The webinar addressed the need to identify potential buyers, engage with them through novel means like webinars, video calls, virtual tours and keep them informed to garner sales. Here is link to the entire webinar discussion. Launched by Info Edge India in September 2005, 99acres.com is a gateway to one of the fastest growing property markets of the world, an information 'exchange' for buying, renting and selling of all types of residential and commercial properties anywhere in India. The website enables easy access to a huge property bank and allows direct connection with brokers/builders in cities as well as remote parts of the country. 99acres.com has over 10 lakh residential and commercial property listings and over 1.7 lakh new projects. Not only this, it has the highest share of time spent by real estate audiences across platforms. Backed by a strong team and a network across 73 cities in India, 99acres.com has garnered faith and support of the real estate community in India within a very short time span.This is a press release that has been published from a syndicated feed and has not been edited by Moneycontrol staff An Accra High Court has upheld a suit by the NDC Member of Parliament (MP) for Ashaiman, Mr Ernest Norgbey, challenging the refusal of the Electoral Commission to release to him information on the Commissions acquisition of a new Biometric Voter Management System (BVMS). In a judgement today [Tuesday, July 21, 2020], the court consequently ordered the EC to release the information to the courts registry within 30 days for the benefit of Mr Norgbey. Graphic Onlines Emmanuel Ebo Hawkson who was in court reports that per the decision of the court, the MP can apply for the information from the courts registry after paying a fee of GhC1,500 Request for information On February 3, 2020, lawyers for Mr Norgbey wrote to the EC requesting information on the procurement procedure used by the Commission to hire the services of two consultants who were instrumental in the ECs purchase of a new BVMS. Mr Norgbey wanted to know if indeed the EC had hired the consultants Dr Ofori -Adjei, an IT Consultant and Mr A. Akrofi, a procurement consultant. Also, the MP wanted to find out that in the event the EC had hired the services of the two consultants, was the procurement of the services in tandem with the Public Procurement Act, 2003 (Act 663). The legislator requested for the information from the EC based on his fundamental human right to information guaranteed under Article 21 (f) of the 1992 Constitution which has been operationalised by the Right to Information (RTI) Act, 2019 (Act 989). However, the EC refused to release the information to the MP According to the EC, inasmuch as it recognised the MPs right to the information under the Constitution and Act 989, it could not honour the said request because Parliament was yet to fix the fees one had to pay in order to request for information under Act 989. Suit As a result of the ECs refusal , Mr Norgbey filed an application for the enforcement of his fundamental human rights pursuant to Article 33 (1) of the 1992 Constitution which made the High Court the court of redress for any violations of fundamental human rights enshrined under the Constitution. Constitutional rights Hawkson reports that in granting the application, the court, presided over by Justice Gifty Agyei Addo, held that Parliaments failure to enact legislation on the appropriate fees one needs to pay for information under Act 989 cannot be a basis for denying the MPs constitutional right to information. The inaction of parliament should not prevent the realization constitutional rights of a person, the judge held. In an interview with the media after the judgement,Mr Norgbey thanked the court for upholding his rights. He urged all citizens of Ghana to activate the right to information and request for information from public institutions. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Dubai International Financial Centre (DIFC), a leading global financial centre, has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Dubai Investment Development Agency (Dubai FDI) to jointly stimulate foreign investment in the emirate. Dubai FDI is an agency of Dubai Economy, Government of Dubai whose mission is to stimulate and sustain foreign investment in Dubai. Its mission is consistent with DIFCs focus to drive the future of finance by attracting leading companies and innovative start-ups to set up, operate and scale from Dubai, said a statement. The agreement signed between Arif Amiri, CEO of DIFC Authority, and Fahad Al Gergawi, CEO of Dubai FDI, will strengthen long term relationships between the two organisations. It will also connect DIFC to stakeholders across Dubai FDIs extensive international and regional network, which includes the fast-growing Middle East, Africa and South Asia (MEASA) markets where DIFC continues to see interest from potential clients, it said. Both entities will work together to increase business growth through the exchange of information and by launching new industry initiatives. Collaborating on joint roadshows, events and seminars will lead to powerful knowledge transfer and strengthen Dubais position as the best place in the region to establish. Amiri said: The agreement between DIFC and Dubai FDI provides an opportunity for two leading Government entities to support sustainable growth of Dubais economy. We will collaborate closely to identify investment opportunities and provide businesses with world class, seamless entry into the MEASA region. The joint initiatives will also support DIFCs strategic goal to drive the future of finance by opening doors to innovative companies and start-ups in geographies where Dubai FDI has an established reputation. Al Gergawi said: A major feature of the Dubai Advantage that Dubai FDI promotes across our global missions and investor outreach is the presence of a world-class infrastructure, policies and reputable excellence center institutions in the emirate. The Dubai International financial Centre is the best financial center in MEASA and one of the strongest financial hubs in the world, proven to be the location of choice for multinationals and innovative enterprise in the financial sector. Our partnership will promote further public-private engagement and develop new opportunities for investors while also bringing added value to existing companies looking to expand their footprint in the region. - TradeArabia News Service West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday accused the Centre of 'hatching conspiracies' to pull down the governments in opposition-ruled states by employing federal agencies and money power, and branded the Bharatiya Janata Party as the 'most destructive' party. The BJP, which leads the ruling coalition at the Centre, hit right back, dismissing her allegation as 'baseless' and asserting she will be ousted from power 'democratically' after the assembly elections due next year. Invoking Bengali subnationalism, Banerjee termed BJP an 'outsider' in West Bengal and said the state should not be ruled by 'Gujarat and outsiders but by the people of the soil'. Banerjee alleged the Centre has deprived West Bengal of resources and asserted people will give a befitting reply to it for the injustice. "A conspiracy is being hatched by the Union government to destabilise the elected government of Bengal by using central agencies and money power. The BJP is the most destructive party the country has ever seen. "When the country is busy fighting the COVID pandemic, the BJP is busy destabilising the elected governments in Rajasthan and West Bengal after Madhya Pradesh," she said, addressing her first digital rally to mark the 'Martyrs' Day'. The Trinamool Congress holds a 'Martyrs' Day' rally on July 21 every year to commemorate the death of 13 people in police firing during a protest led by Banerjee against the then Left Front government in 1993. "Why should Gujarat rule all states? We won't tolerate this rule of two brothers ( Narendra Modi and Amit Shah). What's the need for a federal structure? Create a 'one nation-one party' system then," she said, attacking the Centre over the political turmoil in Rajasthan while referring to the Gujarati origin of the prime minister and the home minister. Warning the BJP against dislodging her government through 'dubious' means, she asserted, "They should always remember that an injured tigress is more dangerous than the dead. "We don't need to nor are we interested in destabilising the state government. This government will be voted out of power democratically. The people of this state are fed up with TMC's goondaism and corruption," state BJP chief Dilip Ghosh told reporters after Banerjee's address. Reacting to Banerjee's assertion that the TMC will hold its biggest ever rally in Kolkata in 2021 to observe the Martyr's Day, Ghosh said she should stop 'daydreaming'. "Next year she will be out of power. This year the coronavirus pandemic acted as a face-saver for her. Had the rally been held in normal circumstances you would have seen vacant galleries. This year's digital rally was her farewell rally," Ghosh asserted. In her speech, Banerjee alleged a 'reign of fear' is prevailing across the country. The feisty TMC boss asked people to vote her party to power in the assembly elections due next year and promised to take West Bengal to new heights. "People of Bengal will rule the state and not outsiders and people from Gujarat. We should strive to ensure that security deposits of all the BJP candidates get forfeited," she said, invoking Bengali pride. Accusing the central government of 'maligning, insulting and depriving' the people of West Bengal, she said, before pointing fingers at her state the Centre should talk about the 'jungle raj and encounter raj' in Uttar Pradesh. "Centre is conspiring against Bengal, saying every day there is violence and lawlessness. What about UP where jungle raj prevails. People there are afraid of even lodging a police complaint. Several police officers were killed in a single incident. The main culprit was killed in a so-called encounter to hide the truth," she said. Indicating that the controversial National Population Register (NPR) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) will be among the TMC's major electoral planks in the assembly polls, Banerjee said the people of West Bengal have not forgotten 'how innocent people were killed during the Delhi riots and genuine citizens thrown into detention camps in Assam'. Banerjee alleged the NPR and NRC were tools to create a rift between communities. "What citizenship is the BJP talking about? The refugees (from Bangladesh) have already got citizenship," she said. "An attempt is being made to stir up communal disharmony. A party is trying to incite Hindu-Muslim riots. Remember that people of all faiths are equal. This country.... Bengal...is for all," Banerjee said. She appealed to TMC leaders 'not to get lured by dirty tricks of BJP'. "We have fought many battles together for the last three decades. We ousted the mighty Communist Party of India-Marxist. We will fight out the BJP too. If they (the BJP) call, try to lure you with money or threaten and intimidate you, please hang up the phone. Do not talk to them," she said. Many TMC workers and leaders, including some MLAs, have shifted their lolalty to the BJP in the recent months. She also cautioned intellectuals of West Bengal against 'falling into the BJP trap'. Banerjee also appealed to anti-BJP leaders within the CPI-M and the Congress to join her fight against the BJP. Meanwhile, Abdul Mannan, Leader of the Opposition in the state assembly, termed the TMC as the 'biggest ally' of the BJP in West Bengal. "The way the TMC engineered defections in the Congress and CPI-M in the last few years, it will also get a dose of its own medicine. It was Mamata Banerjee who helped BJP grow in Bengal at the cost of the Congress and the Left," the senior Congress leader said. A lawmaker from New Zealand's main opposition party resigned on Tuesday after being accused of sending a sexually explicit image to a young woman. It was the latest in a series of resignations and scandals at the National Party, which faces the challenge of trying to unseat the centre-left Labour coalition led by popular leader Jacinda Ardern in the September general election. The lawmaker, Andrew Falloon, said in a statement on Monday that he will not be contesting in the September polls, and apologised for a "number of mistakes" without giving details. He said he had been dealing with some mental issues following the suicide of a friend. But Falloon quit parliament immediately on Tuesday after it was revealed in the media that he had sent an unsolicited and indecent image to a 19-year-old woman. "I am absolutely appalled by what I have been hearing this morning," National's newly elected leader Judith Collins said. The matter came to light after a university student made a complaint to Ardern's office last week, who passed it on to Collins, the Prime Minister's office said. Falloon was not immediately available for comment and the National Party declined give details of his whereabouts. Collins was handed reins of the National party just last week amid a series of scandals and an exodus of senior leaders, which threaten to damage National's chances at the polls. Earlier this month, National Party member Hamish Walker resigned after admitting to leaking names of coronavirus patients to the media. Shortly after, former National Party Chief Todd Muller quit just over 50 days into the job, saying it was affecting his health. Just two days later Muller's deputy Nikki Kaye and senior leader Amy Adams also said they will not contest in the elections. Opinion polls last month showed Ardern's Labour Party would be able to govern alone with 50 per cent support while National only had 38 per cent. Tom Reel / Staff photographer Austin Mayor Steve Adler is urging all available nurses and skilled technicians to volunteer and join the state's COVID-19 response. Adler posted about the need for first responders on his Facebook account Monday evening, writing that all licensed health professionals can register through the Texas Disaster Volunteer Registry, which is a site maintained by the Department of State Health Services. Air Canada (TSX:AC) started the year at $50 per share. Today, the stock price is close to $17 and contrarian investors are wondering if the upside potential now offsets further downside risks. Lets take a look at the current situation to see if Air Canada stock deserves to be on your buy list right now. Travel restrictions Pandemic lockdowns and travel restrictions continue to threaten Air Canadas recovery. Canada remains closed to air travel visitors from other countries. The government also just extended the closure of the land border with the United States for another month. Only essential services workers, such as track drivers and healthcare personnel can move between the two countries. With the pandemic seeing a new surge across most of the U.S., it is unlikely U.S. visitors will be allowed to fly into Canada in the near term. In addition, the hardest-hit areas, including Florida and Arizona, are normally big travel destinations for Canadians. The spread of the coronavirus in these states could delay the recovery in flight bookings by Canadian retirees in the coming winter season. In some regions of the world, however, governments are beginning to remove travel restrictions. The European Union recently decided to allow visitors from a select group of countries. Canada is actually on the list, so Canadians can book a holiday to EU-member countries. Canada has not yet reciprocated the decision. Air Canada recently asked the Canadian government to allow visitors to resume travel to Canada from countries that appear to have the pandemic under control. For the moment, the country remains closed. The longer these measures remain in place, the more likely it is that Air Canadas stock could retest the March 2020 closing low near $12 per share. Health risks Within Canada, air travel is available to most major locations. Air Canada announced plans to start selling middle seats again after keeping the spots open to help separate passengers on flights. Airlines claim that leaving the middle seats open puts them at a financial disadvantage. United Airlines recently said that blocking the middle seat is a PR strategy rather than a safety strategy. Story continues Regardless of the scientific facts, people will likely feel less comfortable being packed on flights the way they were before the pandemic arrived. It will be interesting to see whether demand slows due to the decision to start filling the middle seats. Airlines say they have put extra safety measures in place, but we keep hearing reports from local health authorities that people with COVID-19 are still getting on planes and flying between cities in Canada. Liquidity Airlines around the globe are filing for bankruptcy or securing massive bailouts from their home governments. Air Canada moved quickly to raise cash in recent months. As a result, the company has nearly $10 billion in liquidity available to help it get through the tough times. This is a positive for the airline and the stock. However, Air Canada isnt out of the woods. In May, the airline said it was burning through more than $20 million per day. The company cut 20,000 jobs last month, so the cost structure will improve, but Air Canada cant afford to bleed cash for an extended period. Fuel prices Rising fuel prices could pose a big risk in the next two or three years. The energy industry cut so much investment in recent months that there is a risk oil prices could sure on a shortage of supply. Some analysts think US$100 per barrel is possible in the next 3-5 years. If that happens, jet fuel costs would also soar, putting Air Canada and its peers under heavy cost pressures just as they are trying to get their capacity back to profitable levels. The general consensus among air carriers is that the industry wont see a return to 2019 capacity for at least three years. Should you buy Air Canada stock today? Air Canada remains a risky bet until a COVID-19 vaccine is widely available. The uncertainties surrounding potential future lockdowns or extended travel restrictions make it difficult to determine a reasonable path to recovery for the airline industry. Remember, Air Canada went bankrupt in 2003 as a result of the SARS outbreak and slipped from $20 per share to below $1 per share through the last financial crisis, before eventually staging a massive recovery. I would look for other opportunities today. The post Is Air Canada (TSX:AC) Stock a Safe Investment Today? appeared first on The Motley Fool Canada. More reading Fool contributor Andrew Walker has no position in any stock mentioned. The Motley Fools purpose is to help the world invest, better. Click here now for your free subscription to Take Stock, The Motley Fool Canadas free investing newsletter. Packed with stock ideas and investing advice, it is essential reading for anyone looking to build and grow their wealth in the years ahead. Motley Fool Canada 2020 STAMFORD Synchronys second-quarter returns and profits took major hits due to the coronavirus crisis, the Stamford-based consumer financial-services firm reported Tuesday. Second-quarter revenues dropped 18 percent year over year, to $3.4 billion, a decline primarily due to the impact of COVID-19 and last years sale of the companys Walmart credit portfolio. Profits plunged 94 percent to $48 million, with the bottom line factoring in a 40 percent increase in the provision for credit losses. The reserve growth reflected the companys anticipated coronavirus-related losses and a Walmart-linked reserve reduction last year. We continue to support our employees, partners, customers and communities during the uncertainty of todays health and economic crisis, Synchrony CEO Margaret Keane said in a statement. We continue to be guided by the principle of putting clients, partners, shareholders and communities at the forefront of all we do and believe that the values which underpin our organization will empower us to become an even stronger, better company. After the release of the results, Synchrony shares closed Tuesday at nearly $23, up about 1 percent from their closing price Monday. In response to the crisis, Synchrony announced earlier this year that it will be offering a number of forbearance options, including waiving late fees and interest charges and deferring certain accounts minimum payments for up to three months. Net charge-offs which refer to debts the company does not expect to recoup comprised 5.35 percent of loan receivables in the past quarter, compared with 6.01 percent in the same period last year. The decrease was driven by the sale of the Walmart portfolio. While the pandemic has disrupted in-person transactions, Synchrony officials said they were encouraged by growing online activity. More than 60 percent of total payments on cardholders accounts are done digitally. We believe we have an advantageous position as the shift to digital has accelerated, Keane said. We will continue to prioritize investments to augment our digital assets and capabilities to meet the rapidly evolving needs of our cardholders and partners. Among partnerships launched in the past quarter, Synchrony announced last month it will issue the new Verizon Visa credit card. Company officials said it will give wireless customers savings on their monthly Verizon bills through rewards earned on purchases and use those rewards toward Verizon purchases, including bill payments and 5G phones and accessories. Keane also referenced in her comments how our country is awakening to the need to meaningfully address racial injustice and equality. Last month, Synchrony announced it will expand efforts to promote diversity and inclusion within its workforce and said it will also contribute $5 million through its foundation to nonprofit organizations working on racial justice and equality. Other major companies in the area have announced similar initiatives in response to the recent deaths of Black Americans, including George Floyd, Breonna Taylor and Ahmaud Arbery, and protests across the country against racism and police brutality. Synchrony, the No. 170 company on this years Fortune 500 list, is headquartered in Stamford, at 777 Long Ridge Road, near the Merritt Parkways Exit 34. pschott@stamfordadvocate.com; twitter: @paulschott "The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is famous for its handcrafted taste and quality, which is why it was a natural fit for our foodie audience states," Carl Bachmann, President at Smashburger. "Through this new partnership, we're delighted to energize our Smashburger guests with something they haven't yet experienced at our restaurants. Whether they want a creamy coffee shake, a refreshing iced latte, or a bold cold brewwe've got something to satisfy every coffee lover's cravings." Smashburger's extensive coffee menu includes: Cold Brew (starting at $3.49 ) The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Cold Brew Coffee poured over ice. (starting at ) The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Cold Brew Coffee poured over ice. Vanilla Cold Brew Latte (starting at $3.69 ) The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Cold Brew Coffee, topped with whole milk and vanilla syrup and served over ice. (starting at ) The Coffee Bean & Cold Brew Coffee, topped with whole milk and vanilla syrup and served over ice. Coffee Shakes (starting at $5.99 ) Blended with The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Cold Brew Coffee and Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream, Smashburger's coffee shakes are offered in three delectable flavors: Coffee, Salted Caramel Coffee, and Mocha Coffee. "We are thrilled to partner with Smashburger which will expand the reach of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf brand to a broader audience across the U.S.," said Christy Smith, director of marketing of The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. "This is a great opportunity for guests across all Smashburger locations to now experience the much beloved coffee and tea beverages that have made The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf an iconic destination." Known for its Certified Angus Beef burgers smashed on the grill to sear in the juices and seal in the flavor, Smashburger has over 300 locations in 36 states and eight countries. For more information about its new menu, please visit www.smashburger.com. *Valid only on Sunday, July 26, 2020, the $3 Coffee Shake offer extends only to Coffee Shake, Mocha Coffee Shake, and Salted Caramel Coffee Shake, and will be available at all participating U.S. locations. About Smashburger: Smashburger is a leading fast casual better burger restaurant known for its Certified Angus Beef burgers that are smashed on the grill to sear in the juices and seal in the flavor. In addition to burgers, Smashburger offers grilled or crispy chicken sandwiches, turkey and black bean burgers, fresh salads, signature side items such as Brussels sprouts and SmashFries, and hand-spun shakes made with Haagen-Dazs ice cream. Smashburger began in 2007 in Denver, Colorado. There are currently more than 300 corporate and franchise restaurants operating in 36 states and eight countries. To learn more, visit www.smashburger.com. About The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf Brand The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf brand is a leading global roaster and retailer of specialty coffees and teas, and is widely credited for driving high quality and innovation to the coffee and tea industry. The company sources the finest ingredients and flavors from around the world and hand blends coffee and tea for the freshest flavors. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf brand started the frozen coffee drink craze with the invention of The Original Ice Blended drink and is also the first and only coffee and tea retailer to offer cold brew tea. The company currently has more than 1,100 retail locations across the globe and can also be found in grocery aisles as well as specialty locations including airports and hotels. For more information, visit www.coffeebean.com. SOURCE Smashburger Related Links http://www.smashburger.com The global soil stabilization market was valued at US$ 21,997. 38 Mn in 2018 and is projected to reach US$ 31,843. 79 Mn by 2027; it is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4. 1% from 2019 to 2027. Expansive soils are problematic and exhibit shrink-swell characteristics owing to their clay mineral constituents. New York, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Soil Stabilization Market Forecast to 2027 - COVID-19 Impact and Global Analysis by Method ; Application ; Additive" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05932688/?utm_source=GNW This characteristic makes the soil inappropriate for engineering applications. Predictive modeling and exploring methods such as reliability-based design optimization, dimensional analysis, response surface methodology, and artificial intelligence technologies are gaining popularity as they ensure efficiency of expansive soil stabilization.Dimensional analysis helps understand the relationship between different physical quantities of soil. The implementation of response surface methodology helps engineers in getting information about the optimum amount of sewage sludge, propylene fiber, and other soil stabilizers that are required for the enhancement of soil.It Two artificial intelligence techniques are employed for the prediction of maximum dry density and unconfined compressive strength of cement-stabilized soil. The first technique uses artificial neural models such as Bayesian regularization method, differential evolution model, and Levenberg-Marquardt. The second technique uses a support vector system, based on the statistical learning theory; it also uses regression techniques. These models provide information regarding the liquid limit, clay fraction, plasticity limit, cement, and moisture content. The industrial segment held the largest share of the global soil stabilization market in 2018.The increasing dam, railroad, and road construction activities drive the growth of the market for this segment. The soil stabilization for industrial applications helps enhance the load-bearing capacity, tensile strength, and overall soil performance.It makes the soil durable for road construction and other heavy applications. The need for the industrial segment has rapidly increased with growing urbanization and infrastructural investments as well as projects. Further upsurge in urbanization with the escalating population is expected to boost the soil stabilization market for industrial applications during the forecast period. The global soil stabilization market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific (APAC), South America (SAM), and the Middle East and Africa (MEA).In 2018, Asia Pacific accounted for the largest share of the global soil stabilization market. The growth of the soil stabilization market in this region is primarily attributed to the growth in the middle-class population, as well as the rise in urbanization.An increase in the agricultural activities and construction projects in Asia Pacific are among other factors propelling the demand for soil stabilization in this region. Technological advancements in machinery and additives also favor soil stabilization practices in Asia Pacific.Moreover, an increase in the manufacture of polymers and other stabilizing agents is further expected to fuel the adoption of soil stabilization methods. The region has the presence of several major soil stabilization manufacturers, including Global Road Technology, AltaCrete Ltd., Irridan USA, Tensar International Limited, Wirtgen Group, and Graymont Limited. The active COVID-19 pandemic started in Wuhan (China) in December 2019, which later spread across the globe at a notable pace.China, Italy, Iran, Spain, India, Russia, France, Germany, and the US are among the most-affected nations as per the degree affirmed cases and deaths as of April 2020. COVID-19 has affected economies and undertakings due to lockdowns, travel bans, and business shutdowns. Global Road Technology; Soilworks, LLC; AggreBind Inc; Carmeuse; AltaCrete Ltd.; SNF Holding; Irridan USA; Tensar International Limited; Wirtgen Group; and Graymont Limited are among the key players present in the global soil stabilization market. Overall size of the global Soil stabilization market has been derived using primary and secondary sources.The research process begins with extensive secondary research using internal and external sources to obtain qualitative and quantitative information related to the global Soil stabilization market. Additionally, multiple primary interviews were conducted with industry participants and commentators to validate and analyze the data. The participants who take part in such a process include industry experts such as VPs, business development managers, market intelligence managers, and national sales managers, and external consultants such as valuation experts, research analysts, and key opinion leaders specialized in the Soil stabilization. Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05932688/?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 many people, there is one animal that comes to mind when they think of creatures threatened by climate change: the polar bear. In recent years, images of emaciated bears searching desperately for food have made the Arctic's apex predator the poster child for the effects of global warming. Now, as the planet continues to warm rapidly, a new study brings another dire warning: If humans fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, most populations of the iconic species could struggle to survive beyond 2100. Already, some populations have likely crossed key thresholds that will make their survival difficult, and perhaps impossible, according to the findings of the study published Monday in the journal Nature Climate Change. However, there is a glimmer of hope that some bears can be saved. Though the number of polar bears is likely to be greatly reduced in some regions, moderate cuts to heat-trapping gas emissions in the coming decades could allow them to persist in a few pockets of the Arctic. As Arctic sea ice goes, so go polar bears Polar bears are the largest terrestrial carnivores on Earth, but their fate is intimately tied to what happens to the Arctic's sea ice. They rely on the ice as a platform to catch seals their prey of choice because they are not skilled enough swimmers to catch them in the open water, says Peter K. Molnar, an assistant professor at the University of Toronto Scarborough and one of the authors of the study. The life of a polar bear has always been characterized by periods of feast and famine. In winter, when the sea ice is at its greatest extent, the bears try to gorge themselves on seals to build up energy stores to survive the lean summer months, when the ice melts and they are forced onto land. But as the region's sea ice declines as it has in recent decades, bear populations in some parts of the Arctic are being forced to go longer and longer without food. "Ultimately, the bears need food, and in order to have food, they need ice," said Molnar. "But in order for them to have ice, we need to control climate change." Figuring out how long bears in different regions can fast before reproduction and adult survival are impaired was the researchers' first challenge. The study found that the length of time a bear can survive without food varies by region and the condition of the bear, but that cubs are the first to be impacted by a lengthy fast. Adult females with cubs are generally the second-most vulnerable, followed by adult males and finally, solitary females, some of which can fast for a staggering 255 days before their chances of survival decline steeply, the researchers estimate. Next, the researchers looked at projections for Arctic sea ice under two climate change scenarios to see how long the bears could be forced to go without food in the future. The Arctic's sea ice has shrunk dramatically in recent decades, particularly during summer. The years from 2007 to 2019 have been the lowest 13 years for summer sea ice in the satellite record, which dates back to 1979, according to Walt Meier, a senior research scientist at the National Snow and Ice Data Center. Since the mid-1990s, the Arctic has experienced levels of warming that are more than double the global average. Exceptionally high air temperatures are behind the Arctic's declining sea ice and are being driven mainly by people burning fossil fuels, Meier says. Looking into the future, other studies have found that the Arctic could be ice-free in summer as soon as 2040 or 2050. "The question is not 'if' we'll see an ice-free summer in the Arctic, it's 'when,'" Meier said. 'Not completely doomed' By combining their estimates for how long polar bears can fast with Arctic sea ice projections, the researchers were able to estimate for the first time when polar bears in 13 regions could face trouble in the future. Some populations, like those in Canada's Hudson Bay, may have already crossed thresholds that will affect reproduction and survival. And the future will likely look far worse for the bears without efforts to curb global warming. Under a "business as usual' climate scenario, where humans fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, nearly all polar bears in the Arctic outside of perhaps a few groups in Canada's remote Queen Elizabeth Islands may struggle to survive by 2100, the study found. However, if humans are able to muster moderate cuts to global emissions, the chances that bears in other regions will persist beyond the end of this century increase. The authors say that ultimately, these findings show that the fate of polar bears lies in our hands. "I'm well aware that the story we're telling is a grim one," Molnar said. "But there is also an element of hope that they are not completely doomed if we change our behavior." Photos: Polar bears in the Arctic Here's a collection of Associated Press photos of polar bears in the Arctic: The-CNN-Wire & 2020 Cable News Network, Inc., a WarnerMedia Company. All rights reserved. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Dave Garrett, with the Project Management Institute, says that 73 percent of American professionals believe their companies will update their telework policies based on their experience during the pandemic. It is less clear what the trend will be in the public sector specifically, but it will likely be greater than the federal governments 22 percent pre-pandemic rate. What does this dramatic shift in how and where we work mean for individual workers? Whats working for them? What are some of the challenges and solutions? And what havent we figured out yet about being effective in distance work arrangements? Well explore these three questions at a personal level in this blog post, and at an organizational and managerial level in a subsequent post. Whats Working Well for Individuals Working from Home? When the Office of Management and Budget directed agencies in mid-March to maximize telework flexibility, some agencies found themselves unprepared and lagging. Others were able to swiftly shift successfully. However, agencies were not the only ones forced to adapt; their individual employees were too. For many, it was a pleasant surprise. Following are three outcomes of the telework experiment: A more flexible lifestyle. Increasing remote work capabilities has allowed some federal employees to lead more flexible lives, a benefit that might not always be possible in on-site work settings. With many employees working from home with children, some agencies have implemented flexible work hours to allow employees the ability to care for their families and fit work into their schedule. For some families, this led to shiftwork. This increase in flexibility has improved employee productivity during designated work hours, ultimately leading to a boost in creativity. While creativity is often not a critical skill for all positions, it has the potential to reinvent solutions and develop fresh insights. Schedule flexibility can optimize workers who are morning people versus night owls, as well. Jim Cortada, a former IBM Senior Research Fellow who pioneered corporate telework in the 1990s and now teaches at the University of Minnesota, found that with this flexibility, employees put in as many hours (or more) as they did in offices and plants, often diverting time spent commuting now to work. The experiences of federal organizations that have implemented flexible hours have strongly paralleled this, meaning that both employees and agencies can benefit from flexible schedules if they do not threaten the mission. More personal autonomy. Because individuals who traditionally work in an office setting are on their own, they face similar challenges as those who have been working in the gig economy they have to be more self-managed and organize their time to be effective. Some find that a visual checklist helps self-motivation. But this also means they can: organize their time how they want and have an opportunity to work in a quiet environment with fewer interruptions (for those who dont have young children to tutor or care for!). avoid multi-tasking interruptions that are often a dynamic in an office setting. take more responsibility for managing their own career paths and skill development. have more control over their calendars to attend childrens school events, run errands, etc. Increased job satisfaction. A 2016 report from the US Government Accountability Office found that remote work improved the retention rate of federal employees, meaning that increasing telework capabilities post-COVID-19 could reduce overall hiring costs for federal agencies. Because the achievement of a more equitable work-life balance increases employee satisfaction and reduces burnout, continuing remote work practices could also appeal to a younger talent pool that strongly values flexibility in job prospects. What Challenges Need to Be Overcome? In some ways, gig workers have been pioneers for distance work arrangements. Alexandra Cote has been working remotely for three years and writes that it can be hard to get used to because there is a blur between work and home life. If not managed, this overlap can result in longer hours that can lead to burnout. Following are several other challenges that she and others have raised: Isolation. A 2018 study reports that 46 percent of people experience loneliness on a regular basis. And that's in general. Cote notes that remote workers are at an even higher risk of experiencing loneliness without meaningful interpersonal interactions with colleagues, especially if coworkers are in different time zones and have to communicate asynchronously. Countering this requires an active strategy on the part of remote workers to create informal links with colleagues via collaboration tools to overcome a sense of isolation. Childcare. Ironically, the opposite of isolation is a challenge for those with children. Everyones support system has been disrupted by stay-at-home orders, and these remote workers have no control over their situation. With no daycare and/or with children having online classes or requiring parental tutoring, juggling work commitments can be straining. The hope is that this dynamic will be temporary, and that distance work will be able to continue as childcare and schooling arrangements return to some semblance of normal. Tech tools. Perhaps one of the biggest challenges that employees experienced at the onset of remote work was engagement in informal or incidental communication. Suddenly, the casual exchanges of information or informal brainstorming that are natural during in-person communication had to migrate online to maintain productivity. As a solution, employees turned to agency-provided tools like Slack and Zoom to facilitate collaboration and preserve sociality, and access to collaborative technologies is only improving. For Vince Stamper, a Navy civilian manager at a shipyard in Maine, remote work has actually allowed him to connect with his employees more than ever through virtual tools such as FaceTime. What Havent We Figured Out Yet? Whats not clear is how individuals and organizations can sustain a distant work environment in the long run. How do you onboard and share culture with new staff in a virtual world? Its easier to start with pre-existing in-person relationships and social infrastructure, and then move online. If you search future of work after COVID-19, youll find numerous links on how work has been irrevocably altered by this sudden, dramatic shift to working from home. While we have learned and innovated and overcome challenges, there are still important issues to be addressed. Following are three such issues: Preserving and creating interpersonal ties. In a traditional, in-office, in-person environment, we develop both strong and weak interpersonal ties with colleagues. In the workplace, strong ties are usually in closely aligned workgroups that tend to have access to the same broad sets of information. Weak ties are the infrequent interactions and relationships that may develop randomly from seeing the same person often in the break room, on your floor, or in the parking garage. The value of weak ties is that they bridge gaps and spread information between workgroups. As Aaron Renn notes in his online post at Governing, knowledge doesnt just diffuse online, but through face-to-face contacts. This is how people hear the latest news, trends, and gossip. Studies find that distance work arrangements make strong ties stronger, and weak ties weaker. But it is the weak ties that oftentimes create new ideas. Observers fear that the damage to an organizations culture may not show for a year or two, in terms of the quality of new ideas that are surfaced. This is because it is harder to build trust and cohesion virtually. Renn also notes that even strong bonds are at risk as turnover naturally occurs. Its one thing to start working remotely when your colleagues are people you formerly worked with in-person every day. Its quite another when its a group of people you dont have pre-existing personal relationships with. Staying aligned with organizational priorities. This is hard enough when managers see their teams every day, workers talk over cubicle walls, and leaders can have in-person town calls in multiple locations. It requires increased effort when workers are at home, and dont have easy follow-up opportunities when they meet with colleagues or managers. To overcome this challenge, Stanford academics Melissa Valentine and Jen Rhymer contemplate an organization with an ambitious level of transparency and trust: Opening a single source of truth that gives employees insight to strategy and priorities; Breaking down the barriers to sharing work and shifting to the mindset of getting comfortable with work that isnt perfect and polished; and Creating a rich public decision trail to help employees understand how and why a decision was made. Supporting colleagues challenged by telework. Not every employee can easily transition to working from home. In addition to the availability of a suitable device that connects to the network, workers may face challenges such as connectivity, security, and bandwidth that employers cannot always solve for them. Workers may have to compete for space, devices, or connectivity with other family members who are also at home. In addition, workers living in rural areas may have limited access to internet. Employers can help by subsidizing internet service and investing in collaboration applications that allow workers to work offline and periodically upload their output. Employers who dont offer these arrangements may find business-sensitive information stored in insecure locations, as creative employees try to find ways to get work done and share information with colleagues. Working from home can also affect relationships and caregiving responsibilities, especially while children are out of school. The New York Times found a difference in how men and women perceived they are contributing to homeschooling their children compared with the amount of time actually spent homeschooling. A working paper authored by Daniel Carlson, Richard Petts and Joanna Pepin found that households sharing domestic responsibilities equally between parents were more likely to share the increased workload of homeschooling. In households that were less egalitarian, increased responsibilities tended to fall on women. Working from home also presents special challenges to creating inclusive environments. Erving Goffman first introduced the term covering in the 1960s to describe how individuals would downplay a known difference such as gender, race, or disability to shift focus away from what makes them noticeably different. It is a practice that continues today. A Deloitte study reports 61 percent of survey respondents engage in covering. A recent Harvard Business Review article by Laura Morgan Roberts and Courtney L. McCluney offers excellent insight into how distance work may increase the sense of vulnerability for Black workers, which needs to be understood by coworkers. In sum, there are advantages, challenges, and unresolved issues related to an individual workers use of distance work arrangements. However, these same issues also affect agency leaders and managers, and how an agencys culture is sustained or changed. That will be the topic of the next in this series on distance work in todays government. Note: This post is the sixth in a series on distance work: Part 1: The Future of Work is Suddenly Here: Distance Work is Transforming the Workplace. Part 2: How Is the Private Sector Pivoting to Distance Work? Part 3: Whats Been Governments Experience with Distance Work Over the Past Decade? Part 4: Whats Happening Today with Federal Distance Work? Part 5: Distance Work: Whats Happening at the State and Local Levels? Scientists from Skoltech and Moscow State University (MSU) identified the type of electrochemical reaction associated with charge storage in the anode material for sodium-ion batteries (SIB), a new promising class of electrochemical power sources. Their findings along with the anode manufacturing method developed by the same team will help bring closer the SIB commercialization in Russia and beyond. The research was published in the journal Electrochimica Acta. Today lithium-ion batteries (LIB) are the most popular electrochemical power sources used in diverse applications running the gamut from mobile phones (several watt-hours) to buffer systems at power plants (millions of watt-hours). The demand for LIB and the average size of storage devices are constantly growing, however this growth trend is encountering multiple barriers, such the high cost of lithium salts, limited global reserves of lithium and uneven distribution of lithium-containing deposits across countries. To overcome these hurdles, scientists worldwide, Russia included, are working on SIB, an alternative technology that may challenge both LIB and the widely used lead-acid batteries. Sodium is the sixth most common element in the Earth's crust. Its salts are about 100 times cheaper as compared to lithium. Although similar to lithium in terms of chemical properties, sodium has other distinctions that call for new approaches in SIB design. A battery is made up of three main components: the cathode, the anode and the electrolyte. There is a broad diversity of compositions and structures that could be suitable for SIB cathodes or electrolytes, whereas the anode still remains a stumbling block. Graphite, which is successfully used in LIB, does not work for SIB because the sizes of carbon hexagons and sodium cations differ too much to provide intercalation. Hard carbon seems to be the only material that can actually be used in the anode. Hard carbon formed by an irregular arrangement of distorted graphite-like layers demonstrates sodium-ion storage properties comparable to those of graphite in LIB, however it still remains unclear why and how this happens. "There are several hypotheses as to how sodium could be introduced into hard carbon. In our study, we validated and slightly expanded one of them. We found that hard carbon exhibits intercalation-type behavior to accumulate most of the charge, which is great news. Intercalation is exactly what the battery needs, while the surface processes associated with "pseudocapacitance" are the responsibility of supercapacitors that form a very narrow niche among chemical power sources. Funnily enough, our Japanese colleague and research supervisor for our principal investigator and MSU PhD student, Zoya Bobyleva, held a totally different view at the start. He is one of the world's top experts in SIB and hard carbon and we had a hard time convincing him that we were right, but we did it!" says Oleg Drozhzhin, project lead and senior research scientist at Skoltech's Center for Energy Science and Technology (CEST) and MSU. Last year, Nobel Prizes in Chemistry were awarded to three scientists "for the development of lithium-ion batteries". One of the winners owes his prize to hard carbon, an anode material that gave life to the LIB technology about three decades ago and was later replaced with graphite. Now hard carbon can once again give rise to a new technology. "This work is remarkable not only in showing how hard carbon works in the sodium-ion system but also in finding a way to produce hard carbon with a capacity of over 300 mAh/g comparable to that of graphite in LIB. Creating and optimizing a new method takes a lot of painstaking effort that typically remains behind the scenes and is hardly ever reported in scientific papers, so it is important for us to show the ultimate result: we succeeded in making good anode materials for SIB and we know how they work," comments Evgeny Antipov, a Skoltech professor and head of the Department of Electrochemistry at the MSU Faculty of Chemistry. ### The study was performed in collaboration with the Tokyo University of Science and the University of Strasbourg with financial support from the Russian Science Foundation (RSF). WASHINGTON The Central Intelligence Agency has run guns to insurgencies across the world during its 67-year history from Angola to Nicaragua to Cuba. The continuing C.I.A. effort to train Syrian rebels is just the latest example of an American president becoming enticed by the prospect of using the spy agency to covertly arm and train rebel groups. An internal C.I.A. study has found that it rarely works. The still-classified review, one of several C.I.A. studies commissioned in 2012 and 2013 in the midst of the Obama administrations protracted debate about whether to wade into the Syrian civil war, concluded that many past attempts by the agency to arm foreign forces covertly had a minimal impact on the long-term outcome of a conflict. They were even less effective, the report found, when the militias fought without any direct American support on the ground. The findings of the study, described in recent weeks by current and former American government officials, were presented in the White House Situation Room and led to deep skepticism among some senior Obama administration officials about the wisdom of arming and training members of a fractured Syrian opposition. But in April 2013, President Obama authorized the C.I.A. to begin a program to arm the rebels at a base in Jordan, and more recently the administration decided to expand the training mission with a larger parallel Pentagon program in Saudi Arabia to train vetted rebels to battle fighters of the Islamic State, with the aim of training approximately 5,000 rebel troops per year. (Alliance News) - IntegraFin Holdings PLC on Tuesday reported a 14% rise in third-quarter funds under direction and said that outlook for the final quarter of financial 2020 is "obviously heavily dependent upon the economic effects of the measures being taken to combat Covid-19" and their impact upon markets and fund flows. Shares in the investment management company were up 3.7% at 535.00 pence each in London. Chief Executive Officer Alex Scott said: "Despite the very challenging conditions of the past few months, I can report that net inflows in the last quarter matched those of the same period last year and funds under director reached their highest ever end of quarter level." At the end of three months to June 30, the company's funds under direction stood at GBP39.71 billion, up 14% from GBP36.35 billion a year ago. Year-to-date, funds under direction increased 5.1%. London-based IntegraFin recorded GBP1.23 billion in fund inflows during the third-quarter, down from GBP1.39 billion a year ago. Outflows amounted to GBP428 million versus GBP592 million. Positive market movements added GBP3.95 billion to funds under direction, up sharply from GBP1.18 billion a year ago. By Tapan Panchal; tapanpanchal@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. (Bloomberg) -- Uber Technologies Inc. is bracing for a long summer of legal battles that could see the end of its reign in London and entitle its drivers to a long list of workers rights. A dispute over whether its drivers should continue to be classified as self-employed begins Tuesday at the U.K.s Supreme Court. In a second legal clash scheduled for September, Uber will appeal the loss of its operating license in the capital, its biggest European market. The cases come at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has already reduced demand, and caused Uber to cut about a quarter of its workforce. It reported a first-ever decline in the gross bookings of rides last quarter and said business was down 80% in April. While the employment case could force it to reimburse drivers for unpaid holiday pay, the challenge to its license could push it out of London. Its the end of the road for Uber as we know it if they lose, lawyer Jolyon Maugham, whos taken the company to court over its tax repayments, said about the employment case. Uber argues that it is a middleman between its self-employed drivers and passengers, but is fighting similar cases elsewhere, including its home state of California. Two issues lie at the heart of the U.K. case, the first whether drivers are employed by Uber and the second, if they are workers, at what times they are working for Uber. Three lower U.K. courts have found that Ubers drivers are workers, meaning theyre entitled to benefits including minimum wage and holiday pay. They also found drivers were regarded as working for Uber whenever they had the Uber App switched on, in the area in which they were permitted to drive, and were able and willing to drive trips. The rulings lead to the absurd result that drivers could switch on their Uber App and other driving apps, including competitors to Uber, and claim the national minimum wage from each of the app operators during the same period of time, Ubers lawyer Dinah Rose said Tuesday in documents prepared for court. Story continues If drivers are deemed workers, contrary to Ubers case, they could only be working while actually driving passengers on confirmed trips, she said. Core of the Service Chief Executive Officer Dara Khosrowshahi said in 2018 that the lawsuit covers a matter thats at the core of the service. A loss may turn the companys business in the U.K.s burgeoning gig economy upside down, and also mean it has to pay value added tax to its fares. That will put their fares up and thats pretty damaging for a business that competes on price, Maugham said. While Uber has introduced measures for drivers, including insurance and 14 days of sick pay for anyone with Covid-19 symptoms, Tuesdays appeal will rest on facts from four years ago, when the case was brought. The vast majority of drivers want to work independently, and in recent years weve made significant changes to our app to offer more benefits with total flexibility, Jamie Heywood, Ubers regional general manager for northern and eastern Europe, said in a statement. Uber has had setbacks in other European capitals, including France, where a criminal court fined the company and two executives a total of 850,000 euros ($972,000) in 2016. On Monday in Amsterdam, a group of British drivers filed a complaint that Uber violated its obligations under European data protection rules by not giving them access to their own data nor to the information used by the companys app to make decisions. A loss at the U.K. Supreme Court would send the case back to the Employment Tribunal in London, which could force Uber to pay a substantial bill to drivers. Lawyers for GMB, the labor union bringing the lawsuit, say tens of thousands of Uber drivers could be entitled to an average of 12,000 pounds ($15,200) each. Uber persists in using the legal system to avoid its responsibilities to our members, Susan Harris, GMB legal director, said by email. The case springs from a 2016 ruling by the tribunal, and Ubers appeal is coming up against a difficult legal precedent. Top U.K. judges ruled in 2018 that London-based Pimlico Plumbers Ltd. should have treated one of its tradesmen as a worker, giving him the right to vacation pay and to sue the company. That same year, taxi service Addison Lee Ltd. lost an appeal over whether drivers were independent contractors or employees with rights to benefits. A ruling on Ubers case will likely come toward the end of this year. London License The case over Ubers license returns to court in September for the second time in two years. Transport for London stripped the company of its permission to operate in November on grounds that it failed to adequately verify drivers identities and safeguard the service for passengers. In 2018, a London magistrates court granted a 15-month license with conditions. The license was far less than its previous five-year permit and shorter than the 18-month approval it requested at the hearing. TfL said in an emailed statement that it will now be for a magistrate to determine if Uber is fit and proper. Uber would be able to appeal a loss, a process that could take years while it continues operating. This time, Uber will have to prove to the same magistrate that its not a repeat offender, after she criticized the gung-ho attitude of the previous management team at the 2018 appeal. (Updates with Ubers arguments in 5th, 6th, 7th paragraphs) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Gardai are investigating the deaths of two women within hours of each other at the same hostel for homeless women in Dublin earlier today. Gardai this evening confirmed they are investigating the death of a 34-year-old woman whose body was discovered at the Abigail Womens Centre on Kildonan Road in Finglas at around 6am this morning. Then at 10:30am, the body of another women, (21) was also discovered at the centre that caters to homeless women. Gardai said the Dublin Fire Brigade attended the scene and a file will be prepared for the coroners court in both cases. Meanwhile, north inner city councillor and homeless campaigner Anthony Flynn called the tragic death of the two women in the same homeless housing facility "absolutely shocking". "This is horrific. It's tragic and it's not something that we should be accepting," he told Independent.ie this evening. "The concern is there are two individuals who died in a 24 hour period in the same unit. I've called for an immediate investigation into the deaths and what supports were in place for them," he said. Meanwhile, the DRHE issued a statement tonight expressing its condolences over the women's deaths. "The HSE are currently supporting both staff and residents of the facility," the statement read. On behalf of the four Dublin local authorities, we would like to express our condolences to the family and friends of the two women. Following the Nationwide launch of the 2nd phase of National disinfection exercise in Accra on Sunday, about 46 sub-metros and districts in greater Kumasi in the Ashanti region are set to undertake its turn of phase two of the disinfection exercise and general cleaning of markets, lorry parks, and public places. Speaking at the regional launch, Hon. Simon Osei Mensah, the Ashanti Regional Minister said the exercise formed part of the government's effort to contain the spread of the coronavirus in the country. "The cleanup and disinfection exercise of markets and public places is one of the major measures to limit the speed of the spread of the virus in the country". He noted that the exercise was being done to tidy the markets and keep them clean for consumers and traders. According to him, the chemical used for the exercise was not harmful, allaying the fears of especially the market women many of whom think it might have an adverse effect on their commodities. In the Manhyia South District, the Zoomlion disinfection crew disinfected and fumigated scores of markets. These were the Alaba market, Adeshieman market, and lorry stations. He appealed to the traders in various markets to co-operate with the authorities to make the exercise effective. "I will urge the traders to close their shops for some hours and allow the officials to work and open them after completion of spraying," he said. He commended the media and the security personnel for being the key players in the fight against COVID-19. Oh his part, Mr. Philip Yeboah Asante, Asante Regional General Manager of Zoomlion Ghana Ltd, emphasized that frequent disinfection of markets and public places will help reduce the spread of the virus. He explained that though the chemical being used was potent in dealing with the virus and other bacteria, it only works for a period of time. "That is why the government had resolved to at least disinfect and fumigate public places on a quarterly basis," he said. Hon. Osei Assibey, Mayor of Kumasi Metropolitan Assembly, also thanked the Ministry of Local Government, Ministry of Sanitation and Water Resources, and Zoomlion Ghana for the collaboration in undertaking the COVID-19 disinfection exercise. He also advised the public to adhere to government protocols towards the fight against the pandemic. The Auburn-area hospital that was one of Alabamas earliest hotspots in the coronavirus pandemic said Monday it now has more COVID-19 inpatients than during the east Alabama outbreak in late March and early April. East Alabama Medical Center in Opelika has 58 patients hospitalized with the novel coronavirus, eclipsing its high mark of 54 set April 11. I expect we will have yet a higher peak in the next week, Dr. Ricardo Maldonado, the hospitals infectious diseases specialist, said in a hospital press release. And its too early to tell what will happen in the coming weeks and months. Hopefully, the mask mandate currently in place will go a long way in lowering our numbers and keeping them low. Related: AL.coms coronavirus coverage The surge in hospitalizations reflect the fast-rising trend the state has seen in coronavirus cases in recent weeks. On Monday, the Alabama Department of Public Health added 1,846 cases to the states total, which is now at 67,711. There have been 1,257 deaths in the state attributed to COVID-19. At EAMC, there were 24 inpatients with the coronavirus on July 1 and that number has more than doubled in three weeks. Lee County, where Opelika is located, added 50 cases on Monday while neighboring counties Tallapoosa while Russell County to the south added 25 cases. Three other neighboring counties had a combined new 23 cases Monday. We are seeing younger patients lately who are very sick, Maldonado said in the press release. We have had patients in their 30s die from COVID-19, and 3 of our 12 deaths this month have been under the age of 50. Some people have a hard time taking this seriously because they have only seen mild or asymptomatic cases among family and friends. What we have seen in the hospital is that you can take two people with the same age and comparable health, and one will barely have any COVID-19 symptoms and the other will die from it. The increase in patient load is also taking a toll on healthcare workers. We have four units designated for patients with COVID-19 right now and may very well have to open others in the coming days, EAMC president and CEO Laura Grill said in the press release. Last Friday, I visited our ICU for a little while. It was tough seeing how emotionally draining this is on our staff. They are used to caring for critically ill or injured patients, so that does not faze them. However, fighting a complex virus like COVID-19 every day and losing patients to it is very taxing on them as well as our staff members in other units. The hospital said 825 people were tested last week at its drive-thru clinic with a 17.2 percent positive rate. Its the second straight week the hospital has set a high mark for testing. And at the Auburn University Medical Clinic, 933 people were tested with a 8.9 percent positive rate. They tied the knot two years ago in a picturesque French ceremony. And Stephen Webb and his husband Daniel Lustig were celebrating their anniversary on Tuesday, as they shared sweet messages and a series of loved-up photographs. The Gogglebox star, 48, shared a snap from their wedding album of the couple holding hands as they walked down the aisle after a romantic ceremony in a chateau. Love! Stephen Webb and his husband Daniel Lustig were celebrating their anniversary on Tuesday, as they shared sweet messages and a series of loved-up photographs Meanwhile, Daniel posted a series of snaps of the couple from their wedding day as well as a selection of sweet selfies, including one in a sunflower field. Writing a message to his husband alongside the snaps, Daniel said: 'Happy anniversary to my wonderful husband. Two years ago we were getting married with all our friends and family. 'You are my rock love you #teamlustigwebb all the way @stephengwebb1971 #anniversary #husbandsofinstagram #chateaudelisse.' Romantic: The Gogglebox star, 48, shared a snap from their wedding album of the couple holding hands as they walked down the aisle after a romantic ceremony in a chateau Stephen and Daniel married in front of family and friends in a ceremony held at the Chateau de Lisse in Lot-et-Garonne in France in July 2018. The couple were engaged for two-and-a-half years after Stephen pooped the question to his long-term love during a trip to the Taj Mahal in India. They are also business partners at their Brighton-based salon Lustig and Webb. Stephen shared the happy news of their engagement back in 2016 with a number of scenic pics of the couple alongside the caption: 'I asked the lovely @lustig75 to marry me in the beautiful surroundings of the Oberio hotel in Agra, and he said yes.' Cute! Meanwhile, Daniel posted a series of snaps of the couple from their wedding day as well as a selection of sweet selfies, including one in a sunflower field One pic showed off Daniel's stunning diamond ring, while Stephen also shared a snap of the beautiful setting for his romantic proposal. The couple have been together for over two years after meeting in a queue for parking permits at Hove Town Hall. Admitting he fell in love at first sight, Stephen has told The Sun that he planned out the proposal and told his ex boyfriend Chris and his fiance Tony about his plans before jetting off on holiday, explaining 'They were very happy for us!' Daniel admitted he was completely surprised by the proposal after Stephen asked him to take a photo of him with the iconic Taj Mahal in the background. He said: 'As I was taking the picture Stephen extended his hands out and asked me to zoom in. I was in complete shock as I saw the ring and heard the words, 'I love you will you marry me?'. Coupled up: Chris married boyfriend Tony Ashby last year after getting engaged three months before Stephen 'It was all so romantic, the best day of my life!', he gushed, adding of the ring: 'I was always unsure of what kind of ring I'd like, but I have to say Stephen's done well in his choosing!' After celebrating with a champagne dinner at the Orient Express restaurant the couple continued their trip by flying to Kerala on the south west coast. Stephen was in a relationship with fellow hairdresser Chris Steed when Gogglebox first launched in 2013 but decided they were better off as friends after the first series and have continued to star on the show together. Chris married boyfriend Tony Ashby in 2017 after getting engaged three months before Stephen. Explaining the situation in the past, Chris said: 'We were friends years ago, and then we evolved into sort of more like a relationship, so we were actually seeing each other when I got the opportunity of going on Gogglebox. So that's how Stephen and I got on it.' 'We were actually a couple for the first series! But we decided that we're better as friends. So second series, we went into it as friends, but I think a lot of followers that watched the first series continued to think that we were a couple.' A Deputy Minister for Education, Dr. Yaw Adutwum has debunked claims by some people especially the Member of Parliament for North Tongu, Hon Samuel Okudzeto Ablakwa suggesting a failure of the governments Free Senior High School (SHS) programme in terms of enrolment. According to him, the claims are based on wrong assumptions that the number of candidates sitting for the West African Senior School Examination (WASSCE) is a reflection of the total number of students enrolled. Speaking on Okay FMs 'Ade Akye Abia' Morning Show he said many different factors such as the inclusion of re-sit candidates in the total number of people sitting for the WASSCE do not make the number a credible statistic to determine the level of school enrolment for an academic year. If you use the WAEC data, you are making a huge mistake about enrolment . . . Ablakwa fell into the same trap using WAEC data as the enrolment data. Up until now, WAEC data were not about the enrolment of students into school because students were allowed to re-sit in their public schools. You risk double counting if you use WAEC data in counting enrolment in SHS, he said. He said until WAEC provides the bio-data of all candidates and that data is processed to take out duplicated names, the actual number of school enrolments will have to be taken from a different source. Mr. Ablakwa on Monday, July 20, 2020, took to social media to make posts that indicated that despite the governments claims of increasing enrolment through Free SHS, the number of students who have sat for the WASSCE during the tenure of former President John Mahama far exceeds the number of students coming out as the first graduates from the Free SHS programme. Unimpeachable statistics from the West African Examination Council (WAEC) reveal that in 2012, a total of 174,461 candidates sat for the West African Senior School Certificate Examination (WASSCE). This figure impressively shot up during the tenure of President John Mahama to 274,262 candidates who sat for the 2016 WASSCE. This represents an actual increment of a staggering 99,801. That is by some 57.2% over the period. Therefore, in four years President Mahama increased WASSCE candidates by 99,801 while President Akufo-Addo has increased same by only 39,575, he added. Despite the response of Mr. Adutwum, Ablakwa insists that the number of students sitting the WASSCE still gives some relevant information on the success or otherwise of the governments Free SHS programme. He said the numbers still demonstrate that the governments huff and puff about the free SHS have not resulted in increased enrolment as much as John Mahama achieved without free SHS. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[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 FILE PHOTO: A Star Ferry boat crosses Victoria Harbour in front of a skyline of buildings during sunset, as a meeting on national security legislation takes place in Hong Kong By Sumeet Chatterjee, James Pomfret and Greg Torode HONG KONG (Reuters) - Global wealth managers are examining whether their clients in Hong Kong have ties to the city's pro-democracy movement, in an attempt to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of China's new national security law, according to six people with knowledge of the matter. Bankers at Credit Suisse Group AG , HSBC Holdings Plc , Julius Baer Gruppe AG and UBS Group AG , among others, are broadening scrutiny under their programs that screen clients for political and government ties and subjecting them to additional diligence requirements, these people said. The designation, called politically exposed persons, can make it more difficult or altogether prevent people from accessing banking services, depending on what the bank finds about the person's source of wealth or financial transactions. The checks at some wealth managers have involved combing through comments made by clients and their associates in public and in media, and social media posts in the recent past, these people said. The new law prohibits what Beijing describes broadly as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces, with up to life in prison for offenders. The sources, who requested anonymity because of the sensitivity of the situation, said the broadened scrutiny of clients also applied to Hong Kong and Chinese officials who had implemented the law in anticipation of any U.S. sanctions against them. One banker at a global wealth manager that holds more than $200 billion in assets said the audit of its clients could go back as far as 2014 in some cases to gauge a client's political stance since Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy "umbrella" movement. Protesters at the time used umbrellas to shield themselves from tear gas and pepper spray deployed by police. Reuters could not learn the identities of any people who had faced enhanced scrutiny or whether the banks had decided to take any action against people identified as politically exposed. Story continues Albert Ho, a veteran Hong Kong democrat who runs a law firm and helps organise an annual candlelight vigil to commemorate victims of the June 4, 1989 Tiananmen Square crackdown, said he feared that people like him may face difficulties in the times to come. Theres not much you can do, actually, unless you cease all your financial and banking activities in Hong Kong, Ho said, adding he had not faced additional scrutiny from his bank as of last week. He declined to disclose the name of his bank. HSBC declined to comment specifically on the security law or any U.S. move to sanction local officials. In an emailed statement, it said, "We already have a stringent set of policies and rigorous processes in place which we apply globally. Credit Suisse, Julius Baer and UBS declined to comment. When asked about the scrutiny after it announced its half-year results on Monday, Julius Baer CEO Philipp Rickenbacher also declined to comment, adding the bank would continue to develop its business in Hong Kong. In an emailed statement, the Hong Kong Monetary Authority said the financial hub implements anti-money laundering requirements "based on international standards including with regard to politically exposed persons." "The relevant international standards and our guidance to the banking industry have not changed," the citys de facto central bank said. China's foreign ministry, the Liaison Office in Hong Kong and the State Council's Hong Kong and Macau Affairs Office did not respond to requests for comment. BANKS IN FOCUS Global banks have long examined the backgrounds of their clients, including screening them for political ties, to satisfy regulatory requirements. Politicians, government officials and senior executives at state-owned enterprises, as well as their family members, are typically considered politically exposed persons. The rules are meant to enforce laws such as international sanctions and to prevent people from using the banking system to launder ill-gotten wealth. The banks' move to subject supporters of Hong Kong's democracy movement to a similar review comes at a time when the stance of some firms on the Chinese law has drawn scrutiny from Western lawmakers and activists. HSBC and Standard Chartered Plc , which have expressed support of the national security law, for example, have faced criticism from UK officials that their actions enabled Beijing to undermine the rule of law in the former British colony. The two London-headquartered banks have said they believed the law would restore stability in Hong Kong. Both Hong Kong and Chinese officials have said the law was vital to plug holes in national security defences, rejecting criticism from governments, including the United States and the United Kingdom, that China was violating its promise to safeguard Hong Kong's freedom for 50 years after the 1997 handover. REGULATORY RISKS Some wealth managers in Hong Kong say they are worried about the regulatory and reputation risks to their banks if charges under the sweeping security law are brought against some of their politically linked clients, three of the sources said. A top executive at a regional wealth manager said that his firm's risk and compliance team prepared a list of top 10 Hong Kong individuals identified in local media as pro-democracy sympathisers within a couple of days of the enactment of the law on July 1, the anniversary of the handover. The executive said their firm checked its internal database to see if they had existing relationship with any of them and were "quite relieved" to see that they didn't. Several elements of the law deal with the seizure of assets, including provisions to give a new police unit greater powers to freeze and confiscate funds and property as well as greater powers to obtain information. Companies can also face penalties, ranging from fines and suspension to the loss of business licenses. One investment manager at a Hong Kong-based hedge fund said he expected more people to come under scrutiny from their bankers now. "I think that if even a moderate democrat came through the door wanting to invest, you'd be thinking long and hard after this law, the fund manager said. (Additional reporting by Brenna Hughes Neghaiwi in Zurich; Editing by Paritosh Bansal and Edward Tobin) One-Second Glaucoma Laser Treatment nearing reality for millions of Glaucoma patients YAVNE, Israel, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - BELKIN Laser, the Israel-based start-up offering a 1-second, non-invasive glaucoma laser treatment announced today that it has finalized its round B financing with an oversubscription totaling $12.25M. Rimonci Capital and Santen Ventures, Inc. co-led the round. They were joined by BioLight Life Sciences, CR-CP Life Science Fund, and C-Mer Eye Care Holdings, chaired by prominent ophthalmologist Dr. Dennis Lam. CEO, Daria Lemann-Blumenthal said: "These investments signal to us that the industry has trust in our technology which will impact the lives of millions of glaucoma patients by opening a new viable drop-less treatment option. The funds will be used to continue GLAUrious, our multi-center trial in Europe and initiate trials in Asia. Our team's hard work has paid off and the good news is that fast, easy and effective glaucoma treatment is one step closer for millions of patients." Globally 140M people have glaucoma or ocular hypertension (OHT), a leading cause of blindness, but there are only 200,000 ophthalmologists and just 6,000 glaucoma specialists to treat them worldwide. BELKIN's automated, non-contact, painless treatment is activated by a touchscreen, controlled by a high-resolution image acquisition algorithm and a proprietary eye tracker. This unique technology, the brainchild of Prof. Michael Belkin, can be easily used by all ophthalmologists, dramatically increasing the number of treated patients, both in central and rural areas, while opening a new revenue stream for their clinics and hospitals. Prior to this round the company raised $6.6M, which includes the Israel Innovation Authority incubator grant at the Rad Biomed Accelerator, as well as the prestigious European Horizon 2020 grant of $3M. An additional $2.5M investment was raised as part of the Series A financing round led by ZIG Ventures from Singapore. Rimonci Capital CEO, Richel Liu said "As an early investor in both series A and B, I'm extremely impressed by what BELKIN Laser has accomplished so far - from proof of concept to positive first in human results and finally the nuanced development process of the commercial device. The capability to give greater access to glaucoma care is even closer." Ken Araki, President of Santen Ventures, stated "Santen looks forward to helping to drive new innovation that can enable more therapeutic choices for patients, to, in turn, achieve better outcomes." Liu Da, Managing Director at CR-CP Life Science Fund said "BELKIN's technology aligns perfectly with our investment strategy of developing long-lasting, profitable partnerships which will greatly benefit Chinese glaucoma patients". Dennis Lam, chairman and CEO of C-MER, who will join BELKIN's medical advisory board, states "BELKIN Laser's technology is very exciting, in particular their unique solution to potentially treat angle closure glaucoma, which is prevalent in Asian populations." "BELKIN's DSLT will open up a new world for glaucoma patients," states Dr. Richard Lindstrom, Chair of BELKIN Laser's Medical Advisory Board. "This next generation SLT promises to make this procedure quicker and easier to perform, allowing doctors to meaningfully help their patients." About BELKIN Laser: BELKIN Laser, an Israeli clinical-stage medical device company, established in 2013 and is developing an intuitive, automated one-second glaucoma laser treatment, aimed at promoting accessibility to first-line drop-less glaucoma care by allowing any ophthalmologist and other eye care providers to treat many more patients in any location. Visit the BELKIN Laser website to learn more. Related Links: www.belkin-laser.com BELKIN Laser LinkedIn BELKIN Laser YouTube For Press Images, please visit our Dropbox SOURCE BELKIN Laser TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Gov. Ron DeSantis expressed confidence Tuesday that Florida will soon contain its coronavirus outbreak and that hospitals can handle the current influx of patients, putting forward a positive case even as the states average daily death toll is now the nations worst. DeSantis told reporters at a state capitol news conference that hospital admissions and the percentage of tests coming back positive seem to be plateauing or declining in much of the state and that hospitals have sufficient capacity in their intensive care units and overall. The trend is much better today than it was two weeks ago, DeSantis said. I am confident that we will get through this. I am confident that the folks ... in our hospital systems will continue to do a great job and meet the demand. There is a lot of anxiety and fear out there and I think we are going to be able to get through it. We are not there yet. The news conference came shortly after the state health department recorded another 136 deaths, bringing Floridas daily average for the past week to 115, reflecting the increasing infection rate the state began seeing last month. That figure tops the 112 deaths a day Texas has reported during that period, Associated Press statistics show. California, with nearly double the population of Florida, is at 93 deaths a day over the last week. A month ago, Florida was averaging 33 coronavirus deaths a day. Still, Florida is seeing one-sixth the 700 deaths a day New York experienced in April, when the crisis was at its peak. That state is now down to 10 deaths a day. Dr. Stanley Marks, chief medical officer for Memorial Healthcare System in Broward County, said Floridas rising daily death rate shows were not beating this disease yet. He said Floridians need to do a better job of isolating themselves when they can, wearing masks when they cant and washing their hands frequently. Im concerned about my fellow Floridians that sometimes I see out doing things that just dont make any sense in the middle of a pandemic, he said. We have got to get our fellow citizens to understand its up to them to help control this disease. Right now there is no magical medical bullet. Overall, at least 5,319 people have died in Florida from COVID-19 since the states first cases were recorded March 1 and nearly 370,000 have tested positive for the disease. About 19% of tests have returned positive in Florida over the last week: that figure has plateaued over the last two weeks, a sign that the spread might be slowing, but it is double compared to the 10% rate of a month ago and well above the states 2.3% in late May. The state reported Tuesday that an additional 517 people have been admitted to hospitals with the disease. Still, the number of people being treated for COVID-19 in Florida hospitals was stable over the past 24 hours, for the first time since the state began releasing the statewide, hour-to-hour census of patients on July 10. At the time, that number was about 6,800 and rising by several hundred a day. The number hospitalized in the late morning Tuesday stood at 9,436, down a notch from the 9,452 patients 24 hours earlier. The capacity of the health care system is strong, said Mary Mayhew, the secretary of the Florida Agency for Health Care Administration. I know people are scared around the state, but they should have confidence in the health care. Chris Plance said Florida hospitals will see high patient demand for the foreseeable future, which he believes could result in burnout among doctors, nurses and other staff. You can run these beds forever, but you cant run a person forever, said Plance of PA Consulting. Staff is going to get sick and theyre going to have problems staffing at the level they are. This is going to become more and more of a problem. Marks said he is seeing fatigue in his Memorial staff. Our people are getting tired. They have worked tirelessly to manage this and we are now in our second surge, Marks said. DeSantis said he fears some patients suffering possible heart attacks, strokes and other medical emergencies are not going to the hospital because they are afraid of contracting the virus. COVID is very important but COVID is just one aspect of the overall health care system and the health needs of Floridians, he said. ___ Spencer and Kennedy reported from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Associated Press writer Brendan Farrington in Tallahassee, Florida, contributed to this report. ___ Follow AP coverage of the pandemic at https://apnews.com/VirusOutbreak and https://apnews.com/UnderstandingtheOutbreak. NORTH RIDGEVILLE, Ohio A big red ribbon was cut for the opening of North Ridgevilles third fitness trail on July 16. Mayor Kevin Corcoran and Recreation Director Kevin Fougerousse were on hand to speak about the event that took place at the Shady Drive complex. The trail will now be called the North Ridgeville Heart & Sole Fitness Trail, said Fougerousse. North Ridgeville Heart & Sole donated $15,000 to the project. Fougerousse said, We are happy its completed. We applied for the Nature Works grant in 2018 and we didnt get it. This time when we were all shut down we wondered if we would even get any bidders. But five bids came in, Fougerousse said. We were pleasantly surprised and opened the bids outside in March, right at the beginning of the pandemic. The city now has the three trails completed that have been a part of the citys master plan. Overall, they were financed by Community Development Block Grants and the Nature Works grant for the latest trail. The trails are each six feet wide and comprise a walk or hike of approximately 3.4 miles total. Total cost of the project was $148,454. We received an Ohio Department of Natural Resources grant in the amount of $67,482, said Fougerousse. And we also received a donation of $15,000 from North Ridgeville Heart & Sole. The remaining balance of $65,972 for the trail was paid from the Parks & Recreation Improvement Fund. General fund dollars were not used for this project. We are thankful to the administration and the city council for seeing the importance of the purpose of the trails, he said. Mayor Kevin Corcoran said, It is always a happy day when new things open up. Now the three trails are tied in together. Its great they are near a subdivision. People can just walk over. Corcoran also said thank you to the participants in the project that was begun in 2013. Thanks to all the participants--the engineering firm, the contractor, people who donated money, the Ohio Department of Natural Resources, the State of Ohio, a lot of people who were involved in the three phases, the Parks and Rec board, the safety service director and even Mayor Dave. Corcoran was referring to former Mayor David Gillock who was in office for the first two phases of the trails and was fully supportive of the third and final phase. Sometimes it actually does take a village to get things done, said Corcoran. He also mentioned two other upcoming projects. He said the planning commission is reviewing a submission by the city to renovate Fire Station #2 on Lorain Road for storage. It is an older building, built in the 1970s and needs some updating. In addition, he said, the police department is in the process of scheduling the test to recruit new police officers. For those interested, call the North Ridgeville Police Department at 440-327-2191 or contact Assistant Clerk of Council Tara Peet at 440-353-1508. AKRON, Ohio, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) today issued the following statement: This afternoon, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) received subpoenas in connection with the investigation surrounding Ohio House Bill 6. We are reviewing the details of the investigation and we intend to fully cooperate. Forward-Looking Statements: This statement includes forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 based on information currently available to management. Unless the context requires otherwise, as used herein, references to "we", "us", "our", and "FirstEnergy" refer to FirstEnergy Corp. Forward-looking statements are subject to certain risks and uncertainties and readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on these forward-looking statements. These statements include declarations regarding management's intents, beliefs and current expectations. These statements typically contain, but are not limited to, the terms "anticipate," "potential," "expect," "forecast," "target," "will," "intend," "believe," "project," "estimate," "plan" and similar words. Forward-looking statements involve estimates, assumptions, known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements, which may include the following: the extent and duration of the novel coronavirus (known as COVID-19) and the impacts to our business, operations and financial condition resulting from the outbreak of COVID-19 including, but not limited to, disruption of businesses in our territories, volatile capital and credit markets, legislative and regulatory actions, the effectiveness of our pandemic and business continuity plans, the precautionary measures we are taking on behalf of our customers and employees, our customers' ability to make their utility payment and the potential for supply-chain disruptions; mitigating exposure for remedial activities associated with retired and formerly owned electric generation assets, including, but not limited to, risks associated with the decommissioning of TMI-2; the ability to accomplish or realize anticipated benefits from strategic and financial goals, including, but not limited to, executing our transmission and distribution investment plans, controlling costs, improving our credit metrics, strengthening our balance sheet and growing earnings; legislative and regulatory developments including, but not limited to, matters related to rates, compliance and enforcement activity; economic and weather conditions affecting future operating results, such as significant weather events and other natural disasters, and associated regulatory events or actions; changes in assumptions regarding economic conditions within our territories, the reliability of our transmission and distribution system, or the availability of capital or other resources supporting identified transmission and distribution investment opportunities; changes in customers' demand for power, including, but not limited to, the impact of climate change or energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes in national and regional economic conditions affecting us and/or our major industrial and commercial customers or others with which we do business; the risks associated with cyber-attacks and other disruptions to our information technology system, which may compromise our operations, and data security breaches of sensitive data, intellectual property and proprietary or personally identifiable information; the ability to comply with applicable reliability standards and energy efficiency and peak demand reduction mandates; changes to environmental laws and regulations, including, but not limited to, those related to climate change; changing market conditions affecting the measurement of certain liabilities and the value of assets held in our pension trusts and other trust funds, or causing us to make contributions sooner, or in amounts that are larger, than currently anticipated; the risks and uncertainties associated with litigation, arbitration, mediation and like proceedings; labor disruptions by our unionized workforce; changes to significant accounting policies; any changes in tax laws or regulations, , or adverse tax audit results or rulings; the ability to access the public securities and other capital and credit markets in accordance with our financial plans, the cost of such capital and overall condition of the capital and credit markets affecting us, including the increasing number of financial institutions evaluating the impact of climate change on their investment decisions; actions that may be taken by credit rating agencies that could negatively affect either our access to or terms of financing or our financial condition and liquidity; and the risks and other factors discussed from time to time in our Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings. Dividends declared from time to time on our common stock during any period may in the aggregate vary from prior periods due to circumstances considered by our Board of Directors at the time of the actual declarations. A security rating is not a recommendation to buy or hold securities and is subject to revision or withdrawal at any time by the assigning rating agency. Each rating should be evaluated independently of any other rating. These forward-looking statements are also qualified by, and should be read together with, the risk factors included in our filings with the SEC, including but not limited to the most recent Annual Report on Form 10-K and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q together with any subsequent Quarterly Reports on Form 10-Q and Current Reports on Form 8-K. The foregoing review of factors also should not be construed as exhaustive. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for management to predict all such factors, nor assess the impact of any such factor on our business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause results to differ materially from those contained in any forward-looking statements. FirstEnergy expressly disclaims any obligation to update or revise, except as required by law, any forward-looking statements contained herein as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. SOURCE FirstEnergy Corp. Related Links http://www.firstenergycorp.com The ministry also said that India has one of the lowest deaths per million at 20.4 as compared to the global average of 77 deaths per million population. India's COVID-19 fatality rate has dropped significantly to 2.43 per cent from 3.36 per cent on June 17 due to effective clinical management of coronavirus cases, the Centre said on Tuesday, asserting the country has handled the pandemic "relatively well". Thirty states and Union Territories have COVID-19 positivity rate lower than that of the national average which stands at 8.07 percent, Rajesh Bhushan, officer on special duty in the Union health ministry, told a press conference in New Delhi. "19 states and UTs are performing more than 140 tests per day per million population. Just doing tests is not enough, they have to be done at a level of 140 tests per day per million so that the rate of positivity reduces and comes down to 10 per cent first and then continue the testing process so that the rate of positivity further reduces to 5 per cent or lower," he said. "So that is the ultimate aim to maintain this level of testing and bring positivity lower to 5 percent eventually or even lower than that," he said. In India, the COVID-19 deaths per million population stand at 20.4 per million which is amongst lowest in the world, Bhushan said. "There are several countries where the deaths per million is 21 times or 33 times higher than in India. The global average stands at 77 deaths per million population," he said. "So far, the nation has managed COVID-19 relatively well. The Government of India is cooperating with all states and UTs. All decisions are being taken based on science and evidence-based inputs and in consultation with domain knowledge experts," Bhushan said. He also shared a chart showing that the COVID-19 case fatality rate has declined from 3.36 percent on 17 June to 2.43 percent now. He asserted that the significant decline in the case fatality rate has been due to effective clinical management of cases. India recorded 37,148 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing its tally to 11,55,191 , while the total number of recoveries increased to 7,24,577, according to Union health ministry data issued on 8 am Tuesday. The death toll due to the disease rose to 28,084 with 587 fatalities reported in a day, the data showed. There are 4,02,529 active cases of the coronavirus infection currently in the country, while 7,24,577 people have recovered till now. Thus, 62.72 percent people have recovered so far, the ministry said. Search warrants allege that Dubuque worked as a prostitute and that Kubler had paid to have sex with her on several different occasions. Search warrants said that a sheriffs deputy who went to the apartment found Dubuque with a towel covering her face. Deputies also found multiple types of drug paraphernalia and powdery residue suspicious for an illicit drug in the apartment, according to the autopsy report. Search warrants said Kubler told investigators that he had used cocaine before killing Dubuque. Afterward, he drove to a friends house and then to Washington, D.C., on Jan. 5, 2019. That friend told investigators that Kubler was wearing flip-flops with a red substance on them. About 2 a.m. Jan. 6, Kubler approached officers with the Metropolitan Police Department and told them that he had killed a woman in North Carolina. Those officers immediately contacted the Forsyth County Sheriffs Office. Deputies were then sent to Kublers apartment, where they found Dubuques body. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 05:31:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ALGIERS, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Algerian Health Minister Abderrahman Benbouzid revealed on Tuesday that about 2,300 healthcare workers in the country have been infected with COVID-19, 44 of them having died since the pandemic outbreak. The minister made the remarks at a press conference held at the CHU Mustapha hospital in Algiers, the official APS news agency reported. Benbouzid paid tribute to the medical staff for their bravery and the skills they demonstrated in the field. He appealed for public support to the medical staff who are "at the forefront of the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic to save the country and who are sacrificing their lives for our good and our health." In addition, the minister called on the entire nation to respect and obey the preventive measures against the pandemic, including maintaining hygiene, social distancing, respecting sanitary confinement, and compulsory wearing of mask. China and Algeria have offered mutual help in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic. A Chinese medical team arrived in Algeria on May 14 for a 15-day mission to help fight the coronavirus, through sharing China's experience in controlling the virus' spread. Enditem Evacuation of Vietnamese workers from Equatorial Guinea in the pipeline National flag carrier Vietnam Airlines has been urged to devise a range of scenarios in order to arrange a repatriation flight for 219 Vietnamese guest workers who have been left stranded in Equatorial Guinea. The move comes after the Ministry of Transport had sent a document to the Civil Aviation Authority of Vietnam to direct Vietnam Airlines to come up with plans for the special flight. At a recent Cabinet meeting, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc requested that relevant agencies move to conduct a special flight that is capable of evacuating the guest workers from the West African nation. Taking into account the technical conditions of the air route itself and the infrastructure at the airport in the host country, Vietnam Airlines and related agencies have developed four scenarios suitable for the repatriation flight. Accordingly, three of the scenarios opt to use one wide-body aircraft A350 to conduct a direct flight to Equatorial Guinea to bring back the Vietnamese guest workers. The remaining scheme sees the use of two narrow-body aircraft A321, one of which will be specifically for carrying workers infected by the novel coronavirus, while the other will transport healthy workers in an attempt to lower the spreading risk of the virus. However, for the last option the two planes must transit in the United Arab Emirates for the departure trip and via Saudi Arabia and India on the return flight. The repatriation flight itself can be considered unprecedented, as Vietnam has no direct flights to Equatorial Guinea, a nation with poor infrastructure conditions and ongoing conflict. It was reported that half of the Vietnamese guest workers who are set to board the flight have tested positive for the SARS-CoV-2 virus. Relevant agencies are considering plans to ensure the workers health condition remains stable throughout the journey. 12 new imported cases of COVID-19 reported on July 21 morning Vietnam recorded 12 new infections of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 on July 21 morning, and all are imported cases boarding a flight four days ago, according to the national steering committee for COVID-19 prevention and control. Vietnamese citizens wait to handle broading procedures at Sheremetyevo International Airport of Russia The new patients, comprising two women and 10 men, had been repatriated on Flight VN5062, which departed Russia and transited Belarus before landing at Van Don International Airport in northern Quang Ninh province on July 17. All of them have been quarantined upon their arrival. Meanwhile, Vietnam entered the 96th straight day without community transmission of COVID-19 on July 21. Among the 396 confirmed cases so far, 256 are imported and quarantined upon their arrival. Most of the 36 patients still under treatment are in stable condition, including four negative for the virus once and one at least twice. There are 11,088 people having close contact with confirmed cases or coming from pandemic-hit areas in quarantine at present, including 111 in hospitals, 9,949 in other quarantine sites, and 1,028 at home or accommodation facilities. Thailand prepares for sixth phase on easing COVID-19 restrictions Thailand is preparing for the sixth phase on relaxing measures on COVID-19 prevention, which may allow five groups of foreigners and migrant workers to enter the country. The Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) of Thailand said it would grant permission to migrant construction workers and those working in the food export industry, foreign visitors who are involved in trade exhibitions, foreigner involved in film production, and travellers who are members of the Thailand Elite Card scheme. A committee assigned to consider the easing of COVID-19 restrictions has discussed the sixth phase of relaxation and the issue will be tabled to a full meeting of the CCSA this week. As of July 20, Thailand marked 56 consecutive days without COVID-19 transmissions in the community while new cases were imported ones. From January this year, the country reported a total of 3,250 infections, including 58 deaths. Over 300 citizens flown home from Taiwan More than 300 Vietnamese citizens were brought home from Taiwan (China) on a flight of national flag carrier Vietnam Airlines on July 20. The flight was arranged by Vietnamese authorities, the Vietnam Economic - Culture Office in Taipei, Vietnam Airlines and relevant agencies of Taiwan. The passengers included the elderly, students under 18, workers with expired labour contracts, pregnant women, those with poor health conditions, students who finished their studies, and stranded tourists. The Vietnam Economic - Culture Office in Taipei had closely worked with local authorities to help the citizens complete procedures and sent staff to the airport to assist them. Strict security and safety measures were enforced during the flight to protect passengers health and prevent the spread of the disease. Immediately after the flight landed at Tan Son Nhat International Airport in Ho Chi Minh City, all passengers and crew members were given health check and quarantined in line with regulations. Under the Prime Ministers direction, domestic authorities and Vietnams overseas representative offices will arrange more flights to take Vietnamese citizens home, depending on the citizens need and the countrys quarantine capacity. Russian expert positive for COVID-19 A Russian expert has tested positive for COVID-19 after his arrival in Vietnam, raising the national tally to 384 as of 6pm on July 20, announced the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control. The 27-year-old man landed at Tan Son Nhat international airport in Ho Chi Minh City on July 11 and had been put under quarantine right upon his arrival. After moving to a quarantine area in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, he tested negative to the SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 on July 13. Five days later, he showed symptoms of fever, sore throat and back pain. His sample was sent to the Pasteur Institute in HCM City and he was found to be positive for the virus. Earlier, nine patients on the same flight were found positive for COVID-19 and had gone into quarantine in Ba Ria - Vung Tau. Vietnam marked the 95th straight day without community transmission of the COVID-19 on July 20. Up to 244 of the 384 confirmed patients are imported cases who were quarantined upon arrival. On the day, three more patients were declared to have recovered, bringing the number of recoveries to 360, and there are no related deaths. Most of the remainders are in stable condition, including four negative for the virus once and another at least twice. There are 11,697 people having close contact with confirmed cases or coming from pandemic-hit areas in quarantine at present, including 141 in hospitals, 10,486 in other quarantine sites, and 1,070 at home or accommodation facilities. Vietjet continues to conduct flights to bring Vietnamese citizens home Following the direction of the Government, Vietjet has cooperated with Vietnamese authorities and representative offices abroad to bring Vietnamese citizens home in response to the citizens wishes and in line with the countrys quarantine capacity. Vietjet expects to bring nearly 10,000 Vietnamese citizens abroad safely back home by the end of July, fully complying with entry requirements and quarantine upon arrival. All Vietjet flights are in accordance with global supreme standards and recommendations from authorities, the World Health Organisation (WHO) and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) in order to ensure the safety of all passengers and crews before, during and after the flights, the carrier said in a press release issued on July 20. In the early stage of the COVID-19 outbreak, Vietjet has quickly launched a campaign to repatriate passengers with many free flights and one-way ferry flights to bring Vietnamese and foreign citizens back home. All of passengers, cabin crew, vehicles and aircraft are completely safe. Besides, Vietjet also participated in transporting thousands of tonnes of essential goods, medical equipment and donated more than 2.5 million medical masks to the people of the UK, France, Germany and the US to support the countries in preventing and repelling the COVID-19 pandemic, it added. Based on the results of repatriation flights, Vietjet will continue to work closely with the authorities and the Government to adjust the flight frequencies in accordance with the actual situation; increase repatriation and commercial flights to bring Vietnamese citizens back home. Currently, the airline has completed preparations to resume international flights and been awaiting official approval from the Government. On July 18, Vietjet operated an international flight bringing 240 Vietnamese citizens from the Philippines back home safely. In July, Vietjet has also operated three other repatriation flights from Singapore, Taiwan (China), Sri Lanka and Bangladesh. The airline is expected to operate four more flights to bring more Vietnamese citizens from the Philippines, Russia, Brunei, Indonesia and Myanmar home in the coming time. Vietjet is a fully-fledged member of International Air Transport Association (IATA) with the IATA Operational Safety Audit (IOSA) certificate. As Vietnams largest private carrier, the airline was awarded the highest ranking for safety with 7 stars in 2018 and 2019 by the worlds only safety and product rating website airlineratings.com and listed as one of the worlds 50 best airlines for healthy financing and operations by Airfinance Journal in 2018 and 2019. The airline has also been named as Best Low-Cost Carrier by renowned organisations such as Skytrax, CAPA, Airline Ratings, and many others. Sandeep Sabharwal The government recently announced a slew of agri-market reforms which many are terming as a game-changer. One of the most crucial announcements was the proposed amendments to the Essential Commodities Act (ECA) and the Agricultural Produce Marketing Committee (APMC) Act, which now paves the way for the private entities to set up their own markets/yards. As per the proposals, the new unified trading license will allow traders to buy directly from farmers without having to pay APMCs a fee. The Government believes that the proposed Agri-market reforms will attract investment in infrastructure and offer farmers competitive remuneration. These recent amendments in agricultural marketing laws are in line with the Government's vision of One Nation One Market for agricultural commodities in India. The removal of restrictions on the sale of farm produce will help farmers increase their earnings substantially as they are now free to sell their produce anywhere. These reforms will help in making the procurement system more competitive, transparent, and farmer-friendly and will help in taking the Agri commodity market nearer to the farmers as it will enable barrier-free Inter-State Trade. The Rs 1 lakh crore set aside for the Agri Infrastructure fund with the main aim for augmenting support mechanism at the farm gate will have multiple effects. The linkage of Agri markets with digitized solutions can enable the environment to reduce Agri wastage which is pegged at 10% of the Agri produce that itself is Rs 1 lakh crore per annum. In India typically food produce turns over seven times from production to consumption that is due to the fact that multiple people end up holding crops at different levels of intermediation due to the diversity of geography, crop pattern, and consumption pattern. With the relaxation of the Essential Commodity Act coupled with the vision of one national market, some points of intermediation will automatically contract and hence the loss of revenue as well as the loss of productivity in handling, freight, etc. attributed to such pattern will also get reduced significantly. Besides this, the transparency of information and the flow of information regarding the availability of stocks versus the known consumption pattern will also go a long way in streamlining the Agri supply chain. From a warehousing perspective, these reforms will have a far-reaching impact. The decision to extend Operation Greens run by Ministry of Food Processing Industries (MOFPI) from tomatoes, onion and potatoes to all fruit and vegetables is a huge plus for warehousing sector as the scheme envisage a 50% subsidy on transportation from surplus to deficient markets and 50% subsidy on storage, including cold storages. This will lead to better price realization for farmers, reduced wastages and affordability of products for consumers. Within the warehousing Industry, these reforms will catalyze the promotion of Scientific Warehousing. The revolutionary eNAM has already connected the farmers, traders, and Mandis digitally, and now with the government setting aside Rs 1 lakh crore for Agri Infrastructure Fund for farm-gate infrastructure for farmers, it is important that the warehousing industry undergoes digital reforms to be a part of the farm-gate infrastructure. A smart warehouse integrated with real-time data embedded in Artificial Intelligence having real-time tracking of the facilities providing error-free results on the status of the warehouse and the products stored within as well as in transit. With the government's growing focus on a connected Agri value chain, smart warehousing is now a necessity than the exception and for the warehousing sector, these reforms are surely going to create a wave of reforms and technical up-gradation within the sector. The market reforms coupled with technology is ushering in an era for a platform play in the Agri market which if implemented properly would surely go a long way in streamlining the Agri environment and catapulting the same to augment the income of not only the farmers but the entire Agri fraternity. The author is CEO at SLCM Group The views expressed by expert on Moneycontrol.com are his own and not that of the website or its management. The Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) meet with political leaders to discuss pressing issues affecting the country. By Fr. Benedict Mayaki, SJ The heads of Christian denominations in Zimbabwe have gathered religious and political leaders in a meeting, in the wake of the countrys pronounced socio-economic problems, now exacerbated by the Covid-19 crisis. In a press statement, the Zimbabwe Heads of Christian Denominations (ZHOCD) said the meeting is part of a series of consultations lined up by the churches to find consensus on the current but also the long-standing challenges facing the nation. The meeting, which took place last week in Harare, saw representatives from seventeen political parties in attendance. However, representatives from the countrys ruling party, ZANU PF (Zimbabwe African National Union Patriotic Front) were noticeably absent from the meeting. National concerns The ZHOCD reports that participants at the meeting discussed a series of issues affecting the nation. The participants raised concerns about the current state of the health sector characterized by the protracted strike by medical personnel, especially as the nation battles with increasing Covid-19 cases. They also noted that the resources mobilized for the pandemic were not being satisfactorily put to use. Another point of unease was the failure to implement the constitution. The Christian leaders and political representatives agreed this has led to an increase in fear among citizens confronted by violence and unresolved cases of abductions and systematic torture at the hands of persons alleged to be state functionaries. The participants also highlighted the negative effects of the current economic collapse in the country. They pointed out that even the informal economy, which had become the source of livelihood for many citizens, has been destroyed not only by the pandemic, but also because of poor economic policies. In addition, the increase in the level of poverty has further marginalized citizens, especially women and children. At the same time, the political representatives noted that at the heart of many of the countrys issues is the failure to bring closure to the many hurts and human rights violations of the immediate and long-past, including, but not isolated to, Gukurahundi. They pointed out that due to this wounded past, some communities feel marginalized from national development priorities. The Gukurahundi refers to a series of killings of mainly Ndebeles in Matabeleland from 1983 to 1987 by military forces. It is estimated that approximately 20,000 civilians were killed. This Shona word Gukurahandi loosely translates as the early rain which washes away the chaff before the spring rains. Resolutions In light of these concerns, the participants pointed out that the intertwined and overarching nature of these issues require an urgent, inclusive, broad-based national dialogue process involving political parties, churches, the security and business sectors, among others. The participants, therefore. requested the collaboration of all stakeholders as these issues can neither be addressed in isolation nor by a few actors. Zimbabwe According to the World Bank, poverty in Zimbabwe rose from 29 percent in 2018 to 34 percent in 2019, with a population increase from 4.7 to 5.7 million people. Severe droughts in the country, which used to be the breadbasket of southern Africa, have now made it one of the most food-insecure countries in the world. Electricity and water supplies have also been reduced, with widespread rationing. New Delhi: Following demonetisation of high value currency notes, there has been a significant dip in sales of fruits and vegetables in the wholesale markets as most retailers are running short on cash. Some of the wholesale trade chambers said they are mulling to shut the business for some days. Delhi Agriculture Marketing Board recently approached banks to set up their special counters inside the Azadpur fruit and vegetable wholesale markets so that retailers could withdraw cash and exchange their old notes, but such request was turned down. Chambers of Azadpur Fruit and Vegetable Traders are mulling to shut down wholesale markets for a few days as sales have been affected adversely because the retailers don't have cash to pay. Business in both fruit and vegetable markets in Azadpur has slumped by almost 50 per cent, a senior government official said. "The situation is such that vegetable and fruits are rotting every day as there has been significant dip in numbers of retailers coming here. "Transporters are also refusing to accept cheques. We will have no option left but to shut down markets," a wholesaler said. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Close (Photo : What are the Legal Consequences of Illicit Drug Use?) For all intents and purposes, the "War on Drugs" ended when nearly every state passed a law for recreational or medical marijuana use. The truth is, however, that law enforcement officers everywhere still actively pursue drug arrests. If you've been arrested for illicit drug use, you need to take the charges seriously. While there may be a valid defense or a program that can get you out of trouble for a first offense, the stigma can haunt you for a lifetime. Jail and Prison Time for Drug Charges In the state of Florida, you can serve up to a year's time in a county jail for a misdemeanor drug crime like Possession of Cannabis Under 20 grams or Possession of Drug Paraphernalia. This may differ in other states, so check a state-specific resource if you've been arrested elsewhere. Most states, however, are similar to Florida in classifying most other drug crimes as felonies, which means that you can serve time in state prison. If you have been arrested for possession of cocaine, heroin, MDMA, methamphetamine, or another hard drug, but it's your first offense, then you are probably not going to serve hard time, even though it's a felony charge. Most states prefer intervention as opposed to prison. Fines for Drug Charges The maximum fine for a misdemeanor drug charge in the state of Florida is $1000. Felony charges cap at $5,000 for a third-degree felony, like possession of cocaine. With trafficking charges, fines go into the hundreds of thousands. If you are convicted of a drug crime in Florida, it's very likely you're going to be fined, even if you're not given jail time or prison. Criminal Record If you're arrested for a crime, then you have an arrest record once you're booked. This may seem unfair since you haven't been convicted. If you are able to beat your charge, most companies doing a cursory background check won't be able to see your arrest. A conviction is different, though. It is easier for interested parties to locate a criminal conviction. This can be a bar to employment and educational opportunities, and you may not be able to apply for security jobs. Loss of Rights Depending on which state you're from, if you're convicted of a felony, you may lose your right to vote during the time you're in jail; you may even lose that right permanently. You may also not be able to own a gun without having your rights restored. Probation, Parole, House Arrest In an order to alleviate overcrowded jails and prisons, judges frequently assign probation/parole or house arrest as a penalty for a drug conviction. This is usually at the convicted individual's own expense. The terms of these types of restrictions can include limited freedom of movement, a mandatory ankle monitor, drug tests, random visits, phone check-ins, and surprise inspections. While house arrest is more comfortable and safer than prison, these restrictions can be tremendously inconvenient. Hire an Attorney You need to take a drug arrest seriously. The earlier you involve a professional criminal defense lawyer, the better your chances of beating your charges. A criminal defense lawyer can examine the evidence against you and develop a solid strategy to beat your charges. For more information about drug crimes and legal defenses contact Parikh Law, P.A. See Now: What Republicans Don't Want You To Know About Obamacare President Uhuru Kenyatta has scheduled an extraordinary session of the National County Government Coordination Summit on Friday, following a surge of COVID-19 infections. In a statement on Monday, President Kenyatta said the session will entail checking the counties state of preparedness. The session has been convened following a surge of COVID-19 infections across our Nation; with the disease having now manifested in 44 of our 47 counties, the statement signed by State House Spokesperson Kanze Dena-Mararo said. There will be a review of the efficacy of the containment measures in place and review the impact of the phased easing of restrictions that were in place. The session will consider the evolution of the disease and the medical models on how COVID-19 may propagate within our country over the months of August and September, the statement read. President Kenyatta further urged Kenyans to adhere to the rules and regulations to reduce the spread of the virus. His Excellency calls on Kenyans to continue applying the simple but yet most effective individual and collective measures that are our Nations best weapon against COVID-19, the statement further read. Tana River County on Saturday recorded a COVID-19 case, raising the number of counties with the virus to 44. Health CS Mutahi Kagwe said the rising trend is worrying and urged Kenyans to undertake the collective responsibility of combating the spread of COVID-19 more seriously as the country confirmed a new record high number of infections. You save me, I save you. Wewe niokoe, na mimi nikuokoe; lets save each other, take the responsibility of saving your friend, your child, your parents, urged the CS. The CS was visiting Embu to assess the countys preparedness to handle COVID-19. Kagwe said personal responsibility means saving yourself and saving another person. Bengaluru, July 21 : City Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao tested negative and emerged from the four-day home quarantine to resume work, here on Tuesday. "Thanks for all your blessings and good wishes. Tested negative, relieved. Back to work," said Rao. He underwent fifth Covid test in three months on Tuesday to rule out any infection. On Friday, Rao went into four-day home quarantine after his driver tested Covid-19 positive. In a related development, Karnataka High Court Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka personally welcomed a court employee who overcame the virus. "Chief Justice Abhay Shreeniwas Oka welcomed high court staffer Mary Josephine who defeated coronavirus and returned to duty," said Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar. The Chief Justice greeted Josephine with folded hands and gave her a rose while welcoming her back to work. Bengaluru is the epicentre of coronavirus in Karnataka, accounting for 60 per cent of active cases. On Tuesday, the city reported 1,714 new cases, lifting the Covid-19 tally to 34,943. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Saudi King Salman held a cabinet meeting on Tuesday via video call from Kind Faisal Hospital, state news agency (SPA) said. On Monday Saudi Arabia's 84-year-old ruler was admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh, suffering from inflammation of the gall bladder, state news agency SPA said. Search Keywords: Short link: The government of Australia's Northern Territory (NT) has launched its plan for economic recovery from the COVID-19 crisis. The Territory Economic Reconstruction Commission (TERC) on Monday published its interim report, making 15 key recommendations on how to accelerate the NT's economic rebound from the pandemic. It identified energy, tourism, agribusiness, resources and manufacturing as major economic opportunities for the region. The report was welcomed by Michael Gunner, the chief minister of the NT, who said he was committed to making the NT "the easiest place in Australia to do business." "Being the safest place in Australia has put us in a prime position to have the strongest comeback in Australia," he said. "I am determined to turn this once-in-a-century crisis into a once-in-a-century opportunity for the Territory." "We will make the Territory Australia's comeback capital." The commission, which consists of business leaders, bureaucrats and former politicians, called for the NT government to investigate the possibility of an "electricity highway" linking Darwin and Alice Springs, which are more than 1,000 km apart. "To help understand the economics and opportunities of the renewable sector, the commission recommends the Territory and Australian governments jointly undertake a study into an electricity highway based on high voltage direct current (HVDC) transmission links between Darwin and Alice Springs," the report stated. "The scope of this study should consider the potential for a design that enables multiple projects that both supply and make use of renewable electricity up and down the spine of the Northern Territory, potentially supporting the creation of renewable energy zones," the report said. The TERC will hand down its final report in November. Latin America Auto parts maker Nagakura Engineering fires dozens of workers in Mexico plant, sparking work stoppage Several dozen workers who participated in a strike July 7 and 8 at the Nagakura Engineering Works auto parts plant in Zacatecas, Mexico, were fired in the early hours of July 17. The general administrator, Cesar Ramos, accompanied by security guards, told the workers that they were dismissed and tried to pressure them to sign their settlement checks ( cheques de liquidacion ). When they refused, they were tied up like pigs, in the words of the workers, and taken out of the building. More than 500 workers had struck to protest the companys failure to pay a promised profit-sharing bonus under the pretext of losses due to the coronavirus pandemic. When workers asked to see the books, management refused. Following the strike, the company signed an agreement that they would not retaliate against the workers. Nagakura submitted a document to the Taxation Administration Service that purported to show its profits and losses, but workers believe that its figures are falsified. Upon hearing about the firings, about 50 workers blocked the entrance to the plant, and then the company closed the doors. Security personnel prevented 300 workers inside from leaving to join the blockading co-workers. In response, the workers inside stopped working. Apart from the falsification of data, a federal crime, the workers also claim that Nagakura has not carried out necessary measures to sanitize the plant and provide a safe work environment. Pleas to government bodies to investigate and intervene have gone unanswered. Dockworkers in Belize face firings amid protests over wage cut As workers for the Port of Belize Limited (PBL) continued their go-slow and lunchtime protest actions against a unilaterally imposed 10 percent pay cut, 36 of them were notified last week that they are being made redundant. Of those, 29 are members of the Christian Workers Union (CWU), which called the protests. CWU President Evan Hyde called the sackings a full frontal assault against the union and declared the pay cut that brought on the protests illegal. As for the claim that the PBLs revenue has been halved because of the pandemic, he said, We have not seen any documents to back that up. For the time being, the CWU is in consultation with its attorneys. Hyde had previously criticized the National Trade Union Congress of Belize (NTUCB) for its apparent lack of support for the CWU. NTUCB head Marvin Mora said that the NTUCB executive had met to review the documents and was scheduled to have another meeting Saturday to finalize a position. Mora says that while the NTUCB has always been in moral support of the CWU, a show of physical support would be a decision made by the union collectively, reported amandala.com.bz . Furniture factory workers in Barbados protest unsafe and unsanitary workplace About 50 workers at the Oran Limited aluminum furniture factory in Bridgetown, Barbados, walked out on July 14 to protest rodent infestation and unsanitary conditions. When Oran had bait laid out, so many of the vermin came out that the workers felt unsafe and left. They then held a protest with hand-lettered placards in front of the plant. The Barbados Workers Union was quick to deny that the workers were striking but were in alignment with the Safety and Health at Work legislation that allows them to leave an area that they deem unsafe until the problem is fixed. After some discussions, management brought in exterminators to assess the rodent-infested area and initiate another round of baiting, according to a Barbados Today report. The workers have other complaints around sanitation. Mold and dust have built up and have not been removed. In addition, the workers do not believe that Oran has adequately provided them with the conditions and equipment needed to respond to the COVID-19 pandemic. Panamanian doctors continue protests for more supplies and personnel to combat COVID-19 With over 50,000 people in Panama infected with COVID-19, and more than 1,000 dead, doctors in Panama have held protests to demand more equipment and personnel. On July 17, 50 doctors gathered in front of the Arnulfo Arias Madrid hospital in Panama City with signs demanding, among other slogans, Take care of us to take care of them. By now, there are 60 to 70 patients for each doctor at the hospital, health care personnel are exhausted, and many staff have gotten infected. Since the recent reopening of economic activity, the number of daily infections has jumped from 200 to 1,000. As one doctor told ticotimes.net, We do not see the decrease in cases, and we do not see personal protective equipment flow in the correct way. Conditions at Arnulfo Arias, and protests against them, are replicated throughout the nation of 4 million. After a week of record statisticswith 1,540 infections on July 13 alonethe government was compelled to impose a quarantine in the capital and its neighboring Panama Oeste province on July, covering half the population. Chilean slaughterhouse workers strike continues over productivity bonus A strike begun July 8 by slaughterhouse workers at Mafrisur, a meat processing and refrigeration plant in Osorno, Chile, has continued as negotiations between management and union reps remain at a standstill. About 340 workers are employed at Mafrisur, and nearly 300 are unionized. The main point of contention in bargaining is the productivity bonus, which has not increased in seven years. A labor inspector intervened in the talks but was unable to bring about an accord. Workers remain far from satisfied with managements latest offer. The union has pointed out that the company has experienced growth in this period and also has noted that the COVID-19 crisis has not impacted production this year. United States Boston paratransit workers strike over demands for health care concessions About 350 paratransit drivers for the Massachusetts Bay Transportation Authority (MBTA) went on strike July 12 to protest management demands for deep cuts in their health care benefits. Members of Teamsters Local 25 who provide transportation for disabled people in 58 communities across the greater Boston area are opposing increased health insurance costs while the new plan offers fewer options. Veterans Transportation Services, which subcontracts the paratransit service for the MBTA, is a profitable company according to the Teamsters. However, since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, the ridership has plummeted from the normal 6,500 riders per day to about 1,000 riders and has only recovered to some 2,500 daily riders, as many disabled people have underlying conditions that make them highly susceptible to COVID-19. Consequently, management is seeking to put the decline in revenues on the backs of workers. At the same time, paratransit drivers are classified as essential workers and have been delivering groceries and other items during the pandemic. Canada Ontario hospital workers rally for workplace rights Provincial hospital workers, members of the Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE), rallied last week to restore rights that have been suspended by the Conservative government of Premier Doug Ford as part of an emergency pandemic bill. Bill 195, which is in effect for up to three years, forces workers to change shifts with no notice and enforces draconian layoff provisions. The shift change regulation, which does not take into account the impossibility of many workers with childcare responsibilities to change schedules without notice, and the layoff threats, flies in the face of the governments hypocritical praise of the sacrifices of health care workers during the pandemic. Ontario, one of the hardest-hit provinces, is still reporting more than 100 new cases per day. Health care workers in the province have one of the highest rates in the world for contracting the virus. Fourteen workers have died thus far with 6,200 contracting the virus. Workers for months confronted a criminal shortage of personal protective equipment that endangered their safety. In many locations, rationing of this equipment still occurs. Workers are calling for escalating action against Bill 195. Larry Householder and four other men with ties to state politics charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering. Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder, a Republican, and four other men with ties to state politics were arrested on Tuesday in a $60m federal bribery case, in one of the largest corruption cases in the states history, a United States prosecutor said. US Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers said during a news conference that the five men were charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering, accused of a bribery scheme involving a nuclear power company that sought $1.5bn in bailout legislation passed in 2019. Former Ohio Republican Party Chairman Matt Borges and longtime Householder adviser Jeff Longstreth along with lobbyists Juan Cespedes and Neil Clark were also charged, DeVillers said. Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder walks out of federal court facing public corruption charges connected to Ohios nuclear power plant bailout. When asked if hell resign he answered no comment pic.twitter.com/dIKDU8YTg8 Andy Chow (@andy_chow) July 21, 2020 Borges recently founded a Republican-backed anti-Trump super PAC called Right Side. DeVillers did not identify the power company involved in the scheme, but FirstEnergy Corp, which was seeking a state bailout for its nuclear plants, matched his description. The company, DeVillers said, gave $60m to Generation Now, a charitable organisation operated by the five men. The money was then used to get the legislation passed, defeat a ballot incentive against the measure through bribery and line their pockets, he said. DeVillers said it was likely the largest bribery, money-laundering scheme in state history. These allegations were bribery pure and simple. This was pay to play, DeVillers said. There is important work for the state legislature to do on behalf of the people of Ohio. That work cant get done with the Speaker under arrest in an ongoing federal investigation.@HouseholderOH, do the right thing for the people of our state and resign today. Frank LaRose (@FrankLaRose) July 21, 2020 Shares in the company, which spun off its bankrupt power generating subsidiary, were down 17 percent on Tuesday at the close of trading. Republican Ohio Governor Mike DeWine called for Householder to resign immediately. This is a sad day for Ohio, DeWine said in a statement. Householders office was not immediately available for comment. FBI agents and local authorities were at Householders farmhouse early Tuesday in Perry County, just east of Columbus, the states capital city. FBI agents were carrying out law enforcement activity on Householders property in Glenford in southeastern Ohio, FBI spokesman Todd Lindgren said, without providing details. The Perry County Sheriffs Office also confirmed it was assisting the FBI at Householders farm. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. Market Reports on India Provides the Trending Market Research Report India Bread Market, By Product Type (White Bread, Brown Bread, Fruit Bread and Others), By Distribution Channel (Convenience Stores, Supermarket/Hypermarket and Others), By Region, Competition, Forecast & Opportunities, FY 2026under Food Category. The report offers a collection of superior market research, market analysis, competitive intelligence and Market reports. India Bread Market is projected to grow at over 10% and reach nearly $ 1.4 billion by FY 2026 on account of rising awareness about healthy lifestyle & wellness, increasing disposable income, busy lifestyle and changing eating habits of the consumers across the country. Further, increasing government mandates such as stamping of date of manufacturing and expiry of bread are also ensuring customer satisfaction while buying bread, which is leading to increase in sales of bread across the country. Also, growing population coupled with shifting consumption pattern towards branded breads is leading to the rise in bread consumption in India. Request a free sample copy of India Bread Market Report http://www.marketreportsonindia.com/marketreports/sample/reports/2115174 India bread market is categorized into product type, distribution channel, and region. The market has been segmented by product type into White Bread, Brown Bread, Fruit Bread and Others segments. Among these, White Bread segment accounts for the largest market share. However, brown bread segment is anticipated to grow at a faster rate as an increasing number of consumers are getting more inclined towards eating breads which are made up of 100% wheat. In terms of regional segmentation, India bread market is categorized into North, South, West and East. South India bread market leads the regional pack, followed by North, West and East regions. This regional trend is expected to prevail all through 2025. By distribution channel, India Bread market is categorized into Convenience stores, Supermarkets / Hypermarkets and Others, which includes online channels, independent grocery stores, etc. Convenience Stores account for the majority share in India bread market, followed by Supermarket / Hypermarkets segment. Some of the major players operating in India bread market are Britannia Industries Ltd., Modern Food Industries, Bonn Nutrients Private Limited, Kitty Industries Pvt. Ltd., Harvest Gold Industries Pvt. Ltd., Perfect Bread Group of Companies, among others. Years considered for this report: Historical Years: FY2016-FY2019 Base Year: FY2020 Estimated Year: FY2021E Forecast Period: FY2022F-FY2026F Objective of the Study: To analyze and forecast the market size of India Bread market To classify and forecast India Bread market based on product type, by distribution channel, regional distribution, and company. To identify drivers and challenges for India Bread market. To examine competitive developments such as expansions, new product launches, mergers & acquisitions, etc., in India Bread market. To conduct pricing analysis for India Bread market. To identify and analyze the profile of leading players involved in the India Bread market. Our Research performed both primary as well as exhaustive secondary research for this study. Initially, Our Research sourced a list of bread manufacturers across India. Subsequently, Our Research conducted primary research surveys with the identified companies. While interviewing, the respondents were also enquired about their competitors. Through this technique, Our Research could include the manufacturers which could not be identified due to the limitations of secondary research. Our Research analysing the service offerings, distribution channels and presence of all major manufacturers across the country. Our Research calculated the market size of India bread market using a top-down approach, wherein data for various categories across various product types was recorded and forecast for the future years. Our Research sourced these values from the industry experts and company representatives and externally validated through analysing historical data of these product types for getting an appropriate, overall market size. Various secondary sources such as company websites, news articles, press releases, company annual reports, investor presentations and financial reports were also studied by Our Research. Key Target Audience: Breads manufacturers, suppliers, distributors and other stakeholders Organizations, forums and alliances related to Bread market Government bodies such as regulating authorities and policy makers Market research and consulting firms The study is useful in providing answers to several critical questions that are important for the industry stakeholders such as manufacturers and partners, end users, etc. besides allowing them in strategizing investments and capitalizing on market opportunities. Report Scope: In this report, India bread market has been segmented into following categories, in addition to the industry trends which have also been detailed below: Market, By Type White Bread Brown Bread Fruit Bread Others Specialty Bread Market, By Distribution Channel Convenience Stores Supermarket/Hypermarket Others (include Online, Independent Small Grocers, etc.) Market, By Region: North South West East Market, By Company Competitive Landscape Company Profiles: Detailed analysis of the major companies present in India bread market. Available Customizations With the given market data, Our Research offers customizations according to a companys specific needs. The following customization options are available for the report: Company Information Detailed analysis and profiling of additional market players (up to five). Profit Margin Analysis Profit margin analysis in case of direct and indirect sales channel. Browse our full report with Table of Content: http://www.marketreportsonindia.com/marketreports/india-bread-market-by-product-type-white-bread-brown-bread-fruit-bread-and-others-by-distribution-channel-conveni/2115174 About Market Reports on India: Market Reports on India is an excellent source to obtain top quality market research reports that helps you to understand the business in the Indian market. We cover various industries, identifying and understanding key macro and micro-economic trends, insights and futuristic growth opportunities. To help achieve all this and more, Market Reports on India is the answer to all your business needs. Contact us at: Market Reports on India Tel: +91 22 27810772 / 27810773 Email: info@marketreportsonindia.com Website: www.marketreportsonindia.com Follow us on: Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn In official photographs of Prince Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's wedding, it was noticed that the bride's dad was notably absent. Princess Beatrice and the Italian businessman married in an intimate wedding ceremony on Friday morning, with Prince Andrew and Sarah Ferguson in attendance. However, unlike other official photographs from royal weddings, the parents were missing from the pictures. Talking about the Duke's absence from the official wedding photos, royal expert Russell Myers believes that it was because of his "toxicity." "But we did see him driving afterward, and it's been back to reality for Andrew after the joyous occasion at the weekend." He commented that while the decision to leave out the dad of the bride took everyone by surprise, people were even more surprised that Princess Beatrice was married in a secret ceremony, which was reportedly planned for just two weeks. The older York daughter had borrowed her wedding dress and her tiara from her grandmother, Queen Elizabeth II. it was the same dress and tiara the monarch wore during her wedding. Russell described the event as a "fantastic occasion" where everybody "looked very happy." After the Duke of York's ties to the Jeffrey Epstein scandal, Prince Andrew still walked her daughter down the aisle. Up to this day, the 60-year-old disgraced royal denied all the allegations and any connections that link him to Epstein. News is that Prince Andrew even hopes to return to royal life according to royal correspondent Camilla Tominey. Speaking to "This Morning," she explained, "The four of them are very close, the whole reason the Duke and Duchess (of York) have remained amicable post-separation and divorce." Prince Andrew and his ex-wife Fergie are still living together at the Royal Lodge despite divorcing for so many years already. "Some find it odd. Fergie herself has said they're the happiest unmarried couple in the world." Though Prince Andrew, Fergie, and their daughters Princess Beatrice and Princess Eugenie are incredibly close, the two York daughters are still said to be very concerned and devastated by their dad's scandal. "In an ideal world, I'm sure Beatrice would have wanted her own parents in the official photographs," Camilla said. "But I think there's an understanding that they've got lives to lead and they don't want to be tainted by their own association." With the Duke still denying any involvement and as the scandal continues to make headlines, the royal expert believes that he and his team are thinking that Prince Andrew could be reconditioned and later return to royal life. "The idea of him being effectively airbrushed from that event on Friday suggests that's going to be a long time coming." Camilla believes that the idea of the Duke of York returning to his royal duties to serve Queen Elizabeth II is something that's possible, but doesn't see it happening for quite some time. Until Prince Andrew cooperates with the FBI and talks to the US prosecutors, Queen Elizabeth II's favorite son will remain behind closed doors. READ MORE: Meghan Markle Heartbreak: Duchess Faces Disappointing News Ahead of Birthday Ukrainian authorities said on Tuesday, July 21, that a gunman had taken approximately 20 bus passengers hostage in the city of Lutsk. This is a developing story. Credit: Vitalik Troszyk via Storyful Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! Russ Singleton became the CEO of Journeo plc (LON:JNEO) in 2013, and we think it's a good time to look at the executive's compensation against the backdrop of overall company performance. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company. Check out our latest analysis for Journeo Comparing Journeo plc's CEO Compensation With the industry Our data indicates that Journeo plc has a market capitalization of UK4.3m, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as UK180k for the year to December 2019. That's mostly flat as compared to the prior year's compensation. We note that the salary portion, which stands at UK150.0k constitutes the majority of total compensation received by the CEO. For comparison, other companies in the industry with market capitalizations below UK158m, reported a median total CEO compensation of UK247k. This suggests that Journeo remunerates its CEO largely in line with the industry average. Moreover, Russ Singleton also holds UK147k worth of Journeo stock directly under their own name. Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary UK150k UK150k 83% Other UK30k UK29k 17% Total Compensation UK180k UK179k 100% Speaking on an industry level, nearly 68% of total compensation represents salary, while the remainder of 32% is other remuneration. According to our research, Journeo has allocated a higher percentage of pay to salary in comparison to the wider industry. If salary dominates total compensation, it suggests that CEO compensation is leaning less towards the variable component, which is usually linked with performance. Journeo plc's Growth Over the past three years, Journeo plc has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 74% per year. It saw its revenue drop 9.5% over the last year. Story continues This demonstrates that the company has been improving recently and is good news for the shareholders. While it would be good to see revenue growth, profits matter more in the end. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future. Has Journeo plc Been A Good Investment? Journeo plc has served shareholders reasonably well, with a total return of 11% over three years. But they would probably prefer not to see CEO compensation far in excess of the median. In Summary... As previously discussed, Russ is compensated close to the median for companies of its size, and which belong to the same industry. But earnings growth for the company has been strong over the last three years, though shareholder returns in comparison haven't been as impressive. Considering overall performance, we'd say the compensation is fair, although stockholders will want to see higher returns moving forward. We can learn a lot about a company by studying its CEO compensation trends, along with looking at other aspects of the business. In our study, we found 2 warning signs for Journeo you should be aware of, and 1 of them is a bit unpleasant. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a different set of stocks. So take a peek at this free list of interesting companies. 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. Pioneering British drugs companies declared major breakthroughs in the battle against coronavirus yesterday sending their shares to record highs. AstraZeneca said human trials of the vaccine it is developing with Oxford University have showed promising results, while Synairgen revealed a potentially 'game-changing' treatment to help patients who contract the virus. The findings were hailed as hugely promising, with scientists saying larger trials were being done to check the results. Virus breakthrough: Astrazeneca said human trials of the vaccine it is developing with Oxford University have showed promising results After the announcements, Astra shares hit record highs while Synairgen's were up by 558 per cent at one stage, closing 420.6 per cent up. Today Astra shares were trading slightly down at 9,254.5p and Synairgen was up another 7 per cent at 203.7p. Fellow UK drugs firm Glaxosmithkline, meanwhile, paid 130million for a 10 per cent stake in German vaccine maker Curevac, another key player in the race to find a coronavirus vaccine. But it was Astrazeneca and Oxford's study that showed the most promising step towards a vaccine that could finally end the pandemic. The drug, called AZD1222, was created from a genetically modified version of a virus found in chimpanzees and made to resemble the coronavirus so that the immune system can learn how to fight it. Early human trials involving 1,077 people found that the shot appears safe and successfully triggers an immune response, according to results published in the Lancet medical journal. Of those given one dose, 90 per cent developed neutralising antibodies. After the announcements Astra shares hit record highs while Synairgen's were up by 558 per cent at one stage, closing 420.6 per cent up Lead study author Andrew Pollard, of the University of Oxford, said: 'We hope this means the immune system will remember the virus, so that our vaccine will protect people for an extended period. However, we need more research before we can confirm the vaccine effectively protects against Covid-19, and for how long any protection lasts.' Ten people were also given two doses and all of them produced neutralising antibodies, with Astra boss Pascal Soriot saying this means patients may have to be given two doses to ensure the shot works properly. Cambridge-based Astra has signed agreements with governments around the world to supply the vaccine should it prove effective and gain regulatory approval. The company has said it will not seek to profit from the vaccine during the pandemic. Astrazeneca boss Pascal Soriot explained that patients may have to be given two doses of the vaccine in order to ensure they produce neutralising antibodies Speaking to journalists yesterday, Soriot said: 'Oxford University has done an absolutely stellar job.' Astra shares finished up 1.5 per cent, or 133p, at 9320p, a record closing price for the stock. At the same time, Southampton-based Synairgen wowed the market with results from a study showing its SNG001 drug helped cut the risk of patients with Covid-19 getting seriously ill. A trial of more than 100 people found that patients who were given the inhaled treatment were 79 per cent less likely to develop a severe disease. It is only the third drug shown to be effective against coronavirus, joining remdesivir, an anti-viral, and dexamethasone, a steroid. Richard Marsden, Synairgen's chief executive, said: 'We couldn't have expected much better results than these.' Professor Naveed Sattar, of the University of Glasgow, said: 'The results seem very impressive, and although the trial is small, a 79 per cent reduction in disease severity could be a game-changer.' Glaxo fell 0.7 per cent, or 11.8p, to 1648.4p after announcing its acquisition of a stake in Curevac. VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Gold Terra Resource Corp. (TSXV:YGT)(OTC PINK:TRXXF) (FRA:TX0) ("Gold Terra" or the "Company) is pleased to announce its plan to start a fully-funded 10,000 metre drilling program in mid-August 2020, testing high-grade gold targets at its wholly-owned Yellowknife City Gold project ("YCG") in the Northwest Territories. The first phase of drilling will focus on the high-grade Crestaurum gold deposit (Link to location map), which is accessible all year around by road, with the objective of expanding the current NI 43-101 inferred mineral resource estimate of 735,000 ounces of gold for the YCG project (Refer to news release dated November 4, 2019). Following completion of this drilling, the Company will start drilling targets on the high-grade Campbell Shear, which extends on the Company's property both north and south of the former Con and Giants, which have produced over 14 million ounces of gold (Refer to news release dated June 2, 2020). David Suda, President and CEO, stated, "We are on the cusp of a turning point for 2020 drilling as we now turn our focus on drilling the high-grade Crestaurum deposit and the high-grade Campbell Shear structure. We are confident in the potential to expand the Crestaurum deposit along strike and at depth and very excited about the potential of a discovery along the Campbell Shear structure." In this first phase, the Company plans to drill seven (7) holes totaling 3,700 metres over a strike length of more than 1 kilometre to test the depth extension of the Crestaurum deposit to 400 metres below surface, approximately 200 metres below the current resource limit, and to test the Daigle fault offset (Link to long section). Additional holes will be added subject to the success of this ongoing program. The Crestarum deposit extends for a strike length of 1.5 kilometres. Significant high-grade gold intercepts above the 200 metre level from prior drilling programs included: 62.9 g/t over 5 metres (DDH85-150), 20.7 g/t over 5 metres (DDH85-187), and 10.2 g/t Au over 7 metres (TCR15-003). The technical information contained in this news release has been approved by Joseph Campbell who is a Qualified Person as defined in National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects. About Gold Terra's Yellowknife City Gold Project The YCG project encompasses 790 sq. km of contiguous land immediately north, south and east of the City of Yellowknife in the Northwest Territories. Through a series of acquisitions, Gold Terra controls one of the six major high-grade gold camps in Canada. Being within 10 kilometres of the City of Yellowknife, the YCG is close to vital infrastructure, including all-season roads, air transportation, service providers, hydro-electric power and skilled tradespeople. The YCG lies on the prolific Yellowknife greenstone belt, covering nearly 70 kilometres of strike length along the main mineralized shear system that host the former-producing high-grade Con and Giant gold mines. The Company's exploration programs have successfully identified significant zones of gold mineralization and multiple targets that remain to be tested which reinforces the Company's objective of re-establishing Yellowknife as one of the premier gold mining districts in Canada. Visit our website at www.goldterracorp.com. For more information, please contact: David Suda, President and CEO Phone: 604-928-3101 | Toll-Free: 1-855-737-2684 dsuda@goldterracorp.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information Certain statements made and information contained in this news release constitute "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities legislation ("forward-looking information"). Generally, this forward-looking information can, but not always, be identified by use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events, conditions or results "will", "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will be taken", "occur" or "be achieved" or the negative connotations thereof. All statements other than statements of historical fact may be forward-looking information. Forward-looking information is necessarily based on estimates and assumptions that are inherently subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. In particular, this news release contains forward-looking information regarding the Company's plan to start a fully-funded 10,000 metre drilling program in mid-August 2020, the Company's confidence in the potential to expand the Crestaurum deposit along strike and at depth and the potential of a discovery along the Campbell Shear structure, and the Company's objective of re-establishing Yellowknife as one of the premier gold mining districts in Canada. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as the Company's actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in this forward-looking information as a result of the factors discussed in the "Risk Factors" section in the Company's most recent MD&A and annual information form available under the Company's profile at www.sedar.com. Although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that would cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. The forward-looking information contained in this news release is based on information available to the Company as of the date of this news release. 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. All of the forward-looking information contained in this news release is qualified by these cautionary statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking information due to the inherent uncertainty thereof. Except as required under applicable securities legislation and regulations applicable to the Company, the Company does not intend, and does not assume any obligation, to update this forward-looking information. SOURCE: Gold Terra Resource Corp View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598191/Gold-Terra-Announces-its-Drilling-Program-for-Summer-2020-Targeting-High-Grade-Gold-Mineralization-at-its-Yellowknife-City-Gold-Project-NWT There was nearly 600 children between 10 to 13 behind bars in Australia last year The alleged offenders will be dealt with under the process of 'restorative justice' It comes after a young gang accused of raping a boy escaped prosecution Justice groups are pushing to raise age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 Co-chair of Aboriginal-led justice coalition Change the Record, Cheryl Axleby, hopes the Black Lives Matter movement will help the campaign to raise the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14 Legal experts and justice groups are pushing to keep kids out of jail by raising the age of criminal responsibility from 10 to 14, just days after a young gang accused of raping a five-year-old boy escaped prosecution. Co-chair of Aboriginal-led justice coalition Change the Record, Cheryl Axleby, hopes the Black Lives Matter movement will help the campaign. 'Children who come in contact with the criminal legal system are more likely to die an early death, to reoffend and to stay in the criminal legal system - including as adults,' she told The Age. There was almost 600 children between 10 to 13 behind bars in Australia last financial year - more than 60 per cent were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. The national push to raise the age of criminal responsibility to 14 has the support of the Law Council of Australia, the Australian Medical Association and Indigenous groups. But calls for change come after it was announced four children under the age of 13 accused of raping a five-year old boy won't be charged or face prosecution. Police say the alleged rape unfolded in the remote Aboriginal community of Napranum, on the north-west coast of Cape York, on July 1. One of the alleged offenders is under the age of ten and cannot be held criminally responsible, while the other three boys are aged between ten and 13. But due to the young age of the alleged offenders in Napranum, police can use their discretion to determine how they proceed. There was almost 600 children between 10 to 13 behind bars in Australia last financial year - more than 60 per cent were Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander Calls for change come after it was announced four children under the age of 13 accused of raping a five-year old boy won't be charged or face prosecution. Pictured: a public block at sporting fields in Napranum near where the attack took place In this case, the four boys will be dealt with under the process of 'restorative justice'. The unorthodox tactic is commonly used in indigenous communities and normally involves extensive counselling, a mediated meeting with the victim's family and an apology to the victim. Children under the age of 14 who enter the justice system are more likely to be suffering trauma, have an undiagnosed disability and come from poorer families. Paediatrician and spokesperson for the Royal Australian College of Physicians, Dr Mick Creati, said treated vulnerable children as violent criminals is dangerous. 'Kids can't sign up to Facebook officially until they're 13, because they're vulnerable, but we can lock them up in a prison and have them strip-searched at the age of 10,' he said. Dr Creati said children are being thrown behind bars for decisions they made on a whim before their brains are fully developed. 'The latest neuroscience shows the human brain doesn't fully develop until you're about 25, and the last bits to develop are the bits which control impulse control and seeing the long-term consequences for your actions.' Meanwhile, indigenous justice groups have argued raising the age of criminal responsibility would help reduce the over-representation of the Aboriginal community in the nation's jail system. A Queensland Police spokesman last week confirmed none of the alleged Napranum attackers would face criminal court. 'Under the provisions of the Youth Justice Act, the Queensland Police Service have a number of avenues to consider, including Childrens Court, alternative diversion programs, conferencing and restorative justice processes,' the spokesman said. Paediatrician and spokesperson for the Royal Australian College of Physicians, Dr Mick Creati, said treated vulnerable children as violent criminals is dangerous. (pictured: Children of Napranum play. There is no suggestion the children pictured are involved in the case) Indigenous justice groups have argued raising the age of criminal responsibility would help reduce the over-representation of the Aboriginal community in the nation's jail system 'The action taken by police is based on evidence garnered throughout the investigative process and is reviewed by senior police prior to the commencement of any action. 'This action also considers giving the offender the best opportunity of rehabilitation and reducing the risk of repeat offending.' The neighbouring community of Aurukun, about 40km south of Napranum, was at the centre of nationwide outrage in 2006 when a ten-year-old girl was gang raped by nine men aged between 13 and 25. The young girl was born to an alcoholic mother and suffered from a mild intellectual disability. Although the men all pleaded guilty to a litany of sexual offences, the judge spared them jail time and said the victim 'probably agreed' to have sex with them. She ruled the men were also victims themselves after growing up deprived and subjected to physical and sexual abuse at the hands of others in their community. No convictions were recorded in the horrifying case, sparking fury across Australia. CAMBRIDGE, Mass. and ROTTERDAM, Netherlands and SHANGHAI, July 16, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Harbour BioMed (HBM), a global clinical stage biopharmaceutical company, today announced that the Company presented preclinical data from a fully human CD73 antibody (HBM1007) in an e-poster at the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) Virtual Annual Meeting II held from June 22-24, 2020. HBM1007 is a fully human mAb against CD73 which is an ecto-enzyme expressed on stromal cells and tumors that converts extracellular adenosine monophosphate (AMP) to adenosine. High concentration of adenosine, predominantly signaling through the A2A receptor, suppresses innate and adaptive immune cell responses leading to tumor escape from immune surveillance. With unique epitopes to recognize CD73, HBM1007 works through dual modes of action: first, it can block the enzymatic activity of both membrane and soluble CD73 independent of AMP concentration, suggesting its sustainable activity in TME, and second, it reduces the surface expression of CD73. As a result, both enzymatic and non-enzymatic dependent functions of CD73 were significantly reduced. "HBM1007 is a fully human anti-CD73 antibody generated from H2L2 Harbour Mice platform with excellent anti-tumor potency and impressive developability. HBM1007 shows great potential as a promising anti-tumor monotherapy for patients with high CD73 expression. We also expect HBM1007 will benefit broader patient populations with its unique dual mechanism of actions as combination therapies." said Dr. Jingsong Wang, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Harbour BioMed. A link to the poster can be found here https://vcusa.sparx-ip.net/aacr2020ep/?view=2&c=a&searchfor=CD73&item=2020AB_6056. About Harbour BioMed Harbour BioMed is a global, clinical stage biopharmaceutical company developing innovative therapeutics in the fields of immuno-oncology, immunologic diseases, and COVID-19. The company is building its proprietary pipeline through internal R&D programs, collaborations with co-discovery and co-development partners and select acquisitions. The company's internal discovery programs are centered around its two patented transgenic mouse platforms (Harbour Mice) for generating both fully human monoclonal antibodies, heavy chain only antibodies (HCAb) and HBICE immune cell engager technology for developing bispecific antibodies. Harbour BioMed also licenses the platforms to companies and academic institutions. The company has operations in Cambridge, Massachusetts; Rotterdam, The Netherlands; and Suzhou & Shanghai, China. For more information, please visit www.harbourbiomed.com SOURCE Harbour BioMed Related Links http://www.harbourbiomed.com Peppercomm has been appointed agency of record in the U.S. for global small business platform Xero. Peppercomm will work with Xero to drive its brand awareness in the US through thought leadership, earned media and influencer engagement. The agency will also develop a corporate narrative for Xero's SaaS-based solution, as well as support the company at key events and conferences and its own roadshows and Xerocon events. Founded in New Zealand in 2006, Xero says it established cloud-based accounting software worldwide and now serves more than two million subscribers globally. Xero general manager of global communications Karen Davis said that Peppercomms experience in introducing multinational challenger brands in the U.S. was a key factor in its selection. Colangelo & Partners has been named U.S. agency of record for the Duca de Salaparuta Group, a portfolio of wines from Sicily that are part of Disaronno International, which also imports such brands as Disaronno liqueur and Tia Maria coffee liqueur. Colangelo & Partners will develop and execute a comprehensive communications strategy targeted to key media, trade and influencers. The partnership will focus on engaging new and current consumers through strategic media and trade relations, events and partnerships and influencer marketing. The Duca di Salaparuta Group consists of three historic wine brands: Corvo and Duca di Salaparuta, founded in 1824, and Florio Marsala, founded in 1833. We feel confident that with Colangelo & Partners and their expertise in integrated communications for fine wine brands, we have the best ally to introduce our wine brands to a wider audience," said Disaronno International executive vice president Ray Stoughton. Bob Gold & Associates has been selected as public relations agency of record for VideoCoin Network, a decentralized video infrastructure which provides developers with simple-to-use, inexpensive video processing services. The agency will support VideoCoins partnership, marketing and advertising initiatives. Led by Live Planet CEO Halsey Minor, VideoCoin Network competes with centralized providers like Amazon Web Services but takes advantage of unused computing capacity available around the world. Bob Gold and his team are highly experienced and well known in the video tech industry, and we are counting on them to help tell a great story about the VideoCoin Network and its technology, said Minor. Two studies offered new hope of a potential vaccine for the novel coronavirus on Monday, as the World Health Organization warned about a possible acceleration of the disease in Africa. Seven months after COVID-19 was first identified in China and has since killed more than 600,000 people worldwide and battered economies, there is growing alarm over fresh outbreaks of the disease. Until recently, Africa had remained relatively unscathed by the pandemic compared to other parts of the world. But the situation has become increasingly worrying, particularly in South Africa, where the death toll passed 5,000 mark and the number of infections reached 350,000 at the weekend. The WHO's emergencies chief Michael Ryan told a virtual news conference in Geneva that the situation in South Africa could be seen as "a warning" for what the rest of the continent might have in store. "I am very concerned right now that we are beginning to see an acceleration of disease in Africa," he said. - 'Promising option' - Meanwhile, as European leaders in Brussels struggled to salvage a 750-billion-euro (860 billion dollar) coronavirus aid package for the EU, two studies published in The Lancet medical journal appeared to show progress towards a vaccine. One trial among more than 1,000 adults in Britain found that a vaccine induced "strong antibody and T cell immune responses" against the coronavirus. A separate trial in China involving more than 500 people showed most had developed widespread antibody immune response. "If our vaccine is effective it is a promising option as these types of vaccine can be manufactured at large scale," said co-author Sarah Gilbert from the University of Oxford. British biotech firm Synairgen also said on Monday a randomised trial of an aerosol-based treatment shows it could drastically reduce the number of new coronavirus patients dying of the disease or requiring intensive care. Europe has been the worst-hit continent by the pandemic with more than 200,000 deaths, but European Union leaders remain bitterly split on how to help member countries like Italy and Spain, which have suffered the highest death tolls. On a fourth day of a summit marked by furious rows between the 27 countries, EU Council chief Charles Michel said Monday he believed a deal was in reach. "I know that the last steps are always the most difficult, but I'm confident," Michel told reporters. - Trump U-turn on masks - In the United States, President Donald Trump, who for months refused to encourage mask wearing as a way to combat the novel coronavirus, tweeted a picture of himself with his face covered and touted his patriotism. "We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance," Trump wrote. "There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!" With close to 3.8 million cases and more than 140,000 deaths, US authorities are struggling to contain the surge, and Trump has been criticised for his response to the crisis. The United States - the worst-hit country in the world -- has recorded 60,000 new cases a day for more than a week. Brazil, the country with the second highest death toll, on Monday reached the grim milestone of 80,000 deaths. - New restrictions - Many countries in Europe had largely brought their outbreaks under control and were considering further easing of restrictions before fresh clusters were detected. Governments are struggling to balance public health concerns against the need to open up economies crippled by months of virus lockdowns. France has made face masks compulsory in public indoor spaces, Spain asked millions to stay at home again, while the German state of Bavaria said it would soon offer free virus tests at airports. Spain's Catalan regional government has urged residents of Barcelona and its suburbs to leave their homes only for essential tasks in a bid to slow a new outbreak. On Monday, Spain's southeast Murcia region also closed bars and clubs without terraces, limited group gatherings and restricted visits to retirement homes. French authorities have reported 400 to 500 active outbreak clusters but there are no signs of an imminent "second wave," Health Minister Olivier Veran said Monday. But an anti-mask demonstration in London on Sunday highlighted the challenge still facing governments and health experts, despite the mounting COVID-19 toll. Dozens gathered to protest the face mask requirement in England's shops and supermarkets, many of them holding banners with widely discredited conspiracy theories -- such as coronavirus prevention measures being used for "mind control". Despite the vocal and stubborn opposition to lockdowns and face masks in some parts of the world, they remain among the few options for authorities to control new outbreaks in the absence of a vaccine. There was grim evidence of how quickly the virus can spread over the weekend, with Iran's president saying an estimated 25 million people in the country have already been infected. burs/spm/pvh/bgs/ch US President Donald Trump tweeted that wearing a mask was 'patriotic' French President Emmanuel Macron was 'extremely cautious' on hopes for an EU compromise on the aid deal Graphic looking at countries with the highest coronavirus death tolls, and their respective death rates. Business, like cinemas in China, are reopening, but with virus restrictions The unmasked man: One of the participants of an anti-mask protest in London 18% of businesses report a hiring freeze compared to 30% in April Three fourths of Singapore companies have refrained from layoffs SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - 21 July 2020 - Aon plc (NYSE: AON), a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions, has released the results of a new pulse survey that explores how companies in Singapore are planning for changes in the rewards and talent landscape in a COVID-19 world. Aon conducted the survey, "Setting the Stage for the Future of Rewards and Work," from June 9 to June 15, 2020. This follows a previous study that was conducted from April 28 to May 1, 2020. "Our latest survey results show a stabilization in businesses in Singapore. While layoffs are slightly on the rise, more businesses are moving to cautious hiring practices while adjustments to rewards have averted widespread downsizing efforts," says Alexander Krasavin, partner, Radford, and regional commercial head, APAC & MEA at Aon. "We hear from clients that they are looking beyond the immediate economic impact of COVID-19 and planning for longer-term structural changes to operations and workforce strategies. They are seeing opportunity within a very difficult situation." Employees in high-risk environments may lose their "hazard pay" As businesses in Singapore deal with the economic impact of the pandemic, many are changing their rewards programmes, most often by postponing salary increases. Between Aon's May and June pulse surveys, businesses delaying salary increases for all employees grew from 24% to 29%. As more businesses reopen, they are also pulling back on special "hazard pay." Survey participants that reported paying hazard pay to employees in a higher risk environment in May was 12%. By the June pulse survey, only 9% of participants said they have stopped providing this allowance. Most companies report "zero downsizing efforts" Story continues As companies take steps to contain costs through modifications to rewards, most participants continue to report "zero downsizing efforts." Approximately three-fourths of Singapore businesses surveyed said they have refrained from layoffs for now. However, the percentage of participants that confirmed layoffs rose slightly to 15% in the June survey from 13% in May and only 4% in April. In addition, more Singapore businesses are moving toward cautious hiring from a complete hiring freeze. The percentage of surveyed businesses that reported a hiring freeze fell almost by half, from 30% in April to 18% in June. Those in a cautious hiring state rose from 46% to 60% during the same period. Singapore companies view current situation as opportunity, not obstacle When asked how the experience of responding to COVID-19 might change future workforce strategies, 56% of companies in Singapore expect their digital transformation agendas to accelerate and 89% are planning for different working models, such as an increase in permanently remote employees and more flexible working hours. In fact, 75% of participants said that they are offering flexible working hours to employees with young children an increase from 67% in April and May. About the Survey This is the fourth edition of Aon's COVID-19 pulse surveys. A total of 1,940 companies around the world responded, with 417 respondents from Singapore. Survey results are available here and are complimentary for all participants. About Aon Aon plc (NYSE: AON) is a leading global professional services firm providing a broad range of risk, retirement and health solutions. Our 50,000 colleagues in 120 countries empower results for clients by using proprietary data and analytics to deliver insights that reduce volatility and improve performance. Follow Aon on Twitter and LinkedIn. Stay up to date by visiting the Aon Newsroom and hear from Aon's expert advisors in The One Brief. Sign up for News Alerts here. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 14:41:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A Detroit police officer was charged on Monday with multiple counts of felony assault for shooting three photojournalists with rubber bullets during a protest in downtown Detroit in May, according to local media. Daniel Debono, a 32-year-old corporal, was charged with three felonies for the "unprovoked" shooting, which carries a maximum penalty of four years, the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office said. The shooting occurred on May 31 after a protest against the death of George Floyd while in police custody just days earlier, said prosecutor Kym Worthy in a statement. "The evidence shows that these three journalists were leaving the protest area and that there was almost no one else on the street where they were," said the prosecutor. "There are simply no explicable reasons why the alleged actions of this officer were taken," she said, adding that "They were a threat to no one." Debono has been suspended with pay while police investigate the incident, Detroit Police Chief James Craig said Monday, according to the Detroit Free Press. Enditem When Queen Elizabeth II is no longer going to be the head of the British monarchy, her oldest son Prince Charles will become King. In the next years to come following his reign, the future King's leadership style will be compared to his mom's for so many years to come. After all, the two influential people in the UK have different personalities that even the late Princess Diana aired out her concern if her then-husband would be fit to rule the kingdom. In more modern times, royal experts believe that there is one trait that the Prince of Wales possesses that made them worried if he would make an ideal King. When Princess Diana sat down in the iconic 1995 Panorama interview, the then-Princess of Wales was asked if the Prince of Wales was fit for the job. She told the interviewer, Martin Bashir, that she isn't sure if Prince Charles was the one meant for such a "suffocating" role. Princess Diana said, "Being Prince of Wales produces more freedom now, and being king would be a little bit more suffocating." She added, "And because I know the character, I would think that the top job, as I call it, would bring enormous limitations to him, and I don't know whether he could adapt to that." Royal courtiers and advisers know that a 71-year-old heir is an opinionated man. Unlike Her Majesty, Prince Charles enjoys giving his opinions about different topics, whether highly-debated or not. His opinionated trait could be a big problem when he becomes the King because the monarchy is supposed to be in the middle. They're supposed to remain neutral on all political, highly-debated matters. In a report by The Express UK, Prince Charles gave a piece of his mind on different things in the past, whether social warming, social deprivation, or genetic modification. Creator of Netflix's "The Crown" Peter Morgan even said that the Duke of Cornwall expresses his opinions to just about anybody that will listen. Though it is not a trait that one should have when you're blue blood, Morgan said it makes Prince Charles an exciting person. "Charles is an independent thinker, which the establishment is not particularly fond of." The creator even described the 71-year-old Prince a "way less conventional monarch" compared to the others, saying, "He's more flamboyant, more realistic, willing to think for himself." The heir's character also reportedly belongs to the imaginative Windsor side, such as Edward VII or Edward VIII. But modern Brits reportedly wants someone like George VI or Queen Elizabeth II who is more on the "dutiful" side. "Less imagine, but more 'get your head down and get on with your duty.'" Though it's unclear when Prince Charles will become King, royals and aides are already preparing for the significant changes when something happens, and it would take a lot of getting used to. First, the national anthem for the British, known as "God Save the Queen," will be changed after sixty years to "God Save the King." The UK's current money will also bear King Charles' head picture, instead of his mom's. Lastly, Prince Charles will be able to go on with his "slimmed down monarchy" plans. READ MORE: Queen Elizabeth HORROR: How Princess Beatrice's Wedding Tiara Alarmed the Monarch Teachers at a select-entry boys' school have won the right to teach remotely on some days, claiming classroom lessons pose a grave risk to staff. Melbourne High School health and safety representatives issued a cease-work order before the start of term three, saying staff were at risk of an outbreak similar to that at Al-Taqwa College, which has been linked to 175 COVID-19 cases. Melbourne High School has about 650 year 11 and 12 students. Credit:Andrew De La Rue The South Yarra state school, which teaches VCE students expected to attend in person under current coronavirus restrictions, offers remote learning on Wednesdays and Thursdays to reduce risks for students and its roughly 150 employees. But some staff remain concerned about the inability to space students in small classrooms and say it is "hardly surprising" that outbreaks have been occurring in schools. Researchers have compared diseased colon with healthy tissue to better understand how inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancers In a new study, researchers have compared diseased colon with healthy tissue to better understand how inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is linked to an increased risk of colorectal cancers, at a molecular level. Researchers from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Cambridge University Hospitals found that the rate of DNA change within colon cells affected by IBD was more than double that in healthy colon, increasing the likelihood of these cells gaining DNA changes that could lead to cancer. The study, published today (21 July) in Cell, also found that chronic inflammation associated with IBD disrupts the tissue structure of the colon, allowing cells to expand over an abnormally wide area. The results provide valuable insights into evolution within the body, and the development of IBD and colorectal cancers. IBD primarily refers to ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, chronic illnesses characterised by inflammation of the digestive system that can be highly disruptive to a patient's quality of life. Between 1990 and 2017, the number of IBD cases worldwide rose from 3.7 million to 6.8 million*. The causes of the disease remain unknown, though it is thought that inflammation occurs as a result of an inappropriate immune response to gut microbes. People suffering from IBD are at an increased risk of developing gastrointestinal cancers compared to the general population. Patients will undergo regular surveillance for this and may, in some cases, opt to undergo surgery to remove their entire colon in order to mitigate this risk. In this new study, clinicians at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge provided colon tissue samples donated by 46 IBD patients, along with anonymised information about their medical history and treatment. Researchers at the Wellcome Sanger Institute then used laser-capture microdissection to cut out 446 individual crypts, the tiny cavities that make up colon tissue, so they could be whole-genome sequenced. These sequences were analysed to discover the mutation rate in the tissue, the genetic relationship between crypts and any genes that were more mutated than normal. They were then compared to sequences from 412 crypts from 41 individuals without IBD, so that the effects of chronic inflammation on the DNA sequence could be observed. The team found that there were more than twice as many DNA changes in the diseased tissue than in normal, and the longer the duration of the disease, the greater this excess. The study also uncovered evidence of an evolutionary process whereby mutations in particular genes are under positive selection. Some of these positively-selected mutations were enriched in genes associated with colorectal cancers, shedding light on the link between IBD and certain cancers. The researchers also detected evidence of positive selection of mutations in genes associated with immune system regulation in the gut and the ability of the cells to fend off the bacteria resident in the colon. Sigurgeir Olafsson, first author of the study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: "How our bodies continue to evolve during our lifetime is a fundamental part of our biology. It has been fascinating to study the effect of a chronic disease on this process and uncover evidence that changes in the genetic sequence of gut cells could have a direct role in the onset of inflammatory bowel disease." Dr Tim Raine, clinical lead for the inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) service at Addenbrooke's Hospital, Cambridge and Honorary Faculty member at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: "Colorectal cancer is one of the main clinical concerns when treating patients with IBD. In this study, we found that normal mutational processes that are operative in us all are accelerated in the IBD affected gut, leading to a more than two-fold increase in the rate at which some gut cells acquire mutations, and this underpins the increased cancer risk in IBD." Dr Peter Campbell, an author on the study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: "The role of somatic mutations in cancer susceptibility has long been appreciated. It is exciting to see the methods that we and others have used to understand cancers now being applied to other common diseases. These approaches have given us unique insights into the effects of inflammatory bowel disease on the DNA sequence of the inflamed tissue." A previously unexplained observation in IBD is that repeated flares of inflammation tend to affect the same patch of tissue, suggesting some permanent alterations to the colon. These findings highlight genetic mutations as a possible explanation, with some positively-selected mutations in immune regulation genes occurring in the same regions of the bowel affected by chronic inflammation. Dr Carl Anderson, lead author of the study from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said: "We know that DNA changes contribute to the development of cancer, but their role in common non-cancerous diseases like inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has not been extensively studied. Our study revealed that somatic changes in the DNA sequence of the cells that line our gut may contribute to the development of IBD. I strongly believe that studying somatic mutations in all common diseases, not just IBD and cancers, has the potential to provide novel insights into disease biology and highlight potential drug targets." ### Notes to Editors: * More information on the rise in IBD is available here: https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langas/article/PIIS2468-1253(19)30333-4/fulltext#seccestitle130 Publication: Sigurgeir Olafsson, Rebecca Ellen McIntyre and Tim Coorens et al. (2020). Somatic evolution in non-neoplastic IBD-affected colon. Cell. DOI: 10.1016/j.cell.2020.06.036 Funding: This work was supported by Wellcome grant 206194. Selected websites: About Cambridge University Hospitals Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH) is one of the largest and best known trusts in the country, delivering high-quality patient care through Addenbrooke's and the Rosie Hospitals. CUH is a leading national centre for specialist treatment for rare or complex conditions and a university teaching hospital with a worldwide reputation. CUH is a key partner in Cambridge University Health Partners (CUHP), one of only six academic health science centres in the UK, and is at the heart of the development of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus (CBC), which brings together on one site world-class biomedical research, patient care and education. The Campus is one of the government's National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) comprehensive biomedical research centres. The Wellcome Sanger Institute The Wellcome Sanger Institute is a world leading genomics research centre. We undertake large-scale research that forms the foundations of knowledge in biology and medicine. We are open and collaborative; our data, results, tools and technologies are shared across the globe to advance science. Our ambition is vast - we take on projects that are not possible anywhere else. We use the power of genome sequencing to understand and harness the information in DNA. Funded by Wellcome, we have the freedom and support to push the boundaries of genomics. Our findings are used to improve health and to understand life on Earth. Find out more at http://www.sanger.ac.uk or follow us on Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and on our Blog. About Wellcome Wellcome exists to improve health by helping great ideas to thrive. We support researchers, we take on big health challenges, we campaign for better science, and we help everyone get involved with science and health research. We are a politically and financially independent foundation. https://wellcome.ac.uk/ General consent for CBI probe withdrawn by Rajasthan government India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Jaipur, July 21: The Ashok Gehlot government has withdrawn its "general consent" to the CBI to conduct raids and investigations in Rajasthan, a development which comes amid the political crisis in the state. The state government issued a notification requiring the CBI to take prior consent of the state government for investigation of an offence under section three of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act, 1946. According to the officials, the "general consent" of the state government will no longer be valid in the offences under this law. Consent will have to be taken on a case-by-case basis. Are phones of state leaders being tapped in Rajasthan: BJP demands CBI probe Additional chief secretary Home Rohit Kumar Singh said, "Its administrative provisions were already there, it was notified yesterday." Officials said that in June 1990 too the then Rajasthan government had refused to give such "general consent" to the Centre. The BJP has questioned the Rajasthan government's move, saying there is "indirect emergency" in the state. "The way the state government misused the SOG and the ACB and it was afraid of CBI action ... There is something fishy," BJP state president Satish Poonia told reporters. Congress MLA in Rajasthan alleges Sachin Pilot offered him money to join BJP Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News The ruling Congress is facing a rebellion by party leader Sachin Pilot and 18 other MLAs against chief minister Ashok Gehlot. A probe by the state police into horse trading charges based on purported tapped conversation of some leaders has turned the situation murkier. A similar action related to CBI had been taken by West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh governments in 2018, alleging that the Centre was misusing the agency to harass opponents. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 8:44 [IST] WASHINGTON Climate change threatens to create turmoil in the financial markets, and the Federal Reserve and other regulators must act to avoid an economic disaster, according to a letter sent on Tuesday by a group of large investors. The climate crisis poses a systemic threat to financial markets and the real economy, with significant disruptive consequences on asset valuations and our nations economic stability, reads the letter, which was signed by more than three dozen pension plans, fund managers and other financial institutions that together manage almost $1 trillion in assets. That financial threat, combined with the physical risks posed by climate change, may create disastrous impacts the likes of which we havent seen before, the letter says. It urges the Fed, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies to explicitly integrate climate change across your mandates. Investors worry that if regulators do not act, climate change may cause the price of some companies to fall suddenly, the effects of which may ricochet through the economy. Providing more information about that risk for example, by requiring companies to disclose more about their greenhouse gas emissions, or which of their facilities are at risk from rising seas could help investors make better decisions. Calling it an invisible demon, actor Shrenu Parikh, who recently tested positive for Covid-19, says it has instilled so much fear in people that many are not even getting tests done in the first place. And thats the worst part, says the actor, who is back from the hospital and is in home quarantine in Vadodara, while adding that the stigma related to the virus is affecting more lives than the virus itself. These stigmas are stopping people from getting their tests and treatments done. Many worry about what people will think of them if they test positive. I think the fear and acceptance is scary than the virus itself. Remember, youre not an embarrassment, you are a victim of something that the whole world is fighting right now, she adds. Parikh also highlights that hiding ones diagnosis is wrong. Chances are that this one person might infect more people. Kuchh log yeh soch rahe hain ki unhone kuch paap kiya hai, says the actor, who talks about how worried she and her entire family were when her test results came. The actor shares that she started getting her symptoms from June 5, it started with normal cold, and by June 7 she got fever. While she was in touch with her doctor, who said it might be a viral, Parikh could feel something was wrong. My parents and brother were like you dont go out much, why would you have it? But I was really worried and started maintaining distance. The turning point was when I lost my sensation of smell... I couldnt smell anything starting from the black coffee that my brother would make me every day, to sanitsiers, strongest room freshners, itars, perfumes I got tested on June 9 and hospitalised on June 10, she adds. Parikh urges everyone to be considerate. We informed house helps, neighbours and the people I shot with. Everyone should know about the diagnosis and act accordingly. I must thank all these people around who have been supportive towards me and my family. Many from the industry and my fans also extended support, she says. The actor adds it isnt easy to fight such a virus. Your brain psyches you out. But I keep telling myself Ill overcome, she shares Meanwhile, Parikh, last seen in Ek Bhram...Sarvagun Sampanna, has been getting offers. Ask about her plans to return to Mumbai and join work and she adds, I thought I would resume. But then I went for this photo shoot in Vadodara and this happened. So now I am all the more scared. I wont take up anything unless I am sure about it. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Most party planners deal in balloons, floral centrepieces and personalised cakes. But for Serena Cook, luxury Ibiza concierge and fixer to the stars, client requests more often involve VIP villas, private jets and hard-to-book tables at the island's most exclusive hotspots. The British-born organiser extraordinaire, who describes herself as a 'manager of multimillionaire expectations', has a little black book that reads like a who's who of the world's rich and famous and boasts everyone from Johnny Depp (who needed help finding a masseuse) to Paris Hilton (who wanted to be 'seen' on holiday). She is the woman behind some of Ibiza's biggest celeb events in recent years, including Alicia Vikander and Michael Fassbender's 2017 wedding and designer Riccardo Tisci's lavish 40th birthday bash, which saw Kim Kardashian, Justin Bieber and Naomi Campbell partying the night away on a dancefloor covered with rose petals. Serena has also helped organise a last-minute holiday home for Sir Mick Jagger and regularly secures tables at the likes of Pacha and Amnesia for clients looking to sample the world-renowned nightlife. Go-to girl: For Serena Cook, luxury Ibiza concierge and fixer to the stars, client requests often involve VIP villas, private jets and hard-to-book tables at the island's most exclusive hotspots Big break: Serena explained how she came up with the idea for an exclusive service while working as a private chef to close friend Jade Jagger (left with friend Kate Moss), who lives on the island. Serena now caters for clients including Paris Hilton (right on Ibiza in 2016) Speaking to digital weekly publication AirMail, Serena explained how she came up with the idea for an exclusive service when she moved to the island in 2001 to work as a private chef for close friend and Ibiza poster girl Jade Jagger. The role extended far beyond serving up meals to the likes of Kate Moss, P. Diddy and Elle Macpherson. 'I'd arrange boats, recommend restaurants and beach bars, locate English-speaking nannies and Girl Fridays, and help with Jade's annual summer party, which has now become the stuff of legend,' Serena said. She recognised there was a gap in the market for someone to look after the celebrities and uber-rich who were visiting the island with increasing frequency. 'I was 27. I could speak Spanish. Having Jade Jagger on my CV certainly helped.' It was photographers agent Camilla Lowther, mother of British model Adwoa Aboah who told her: 'You could make this into a business'. Serena's career started aged just 20 when she moved to Bogota, Colombia, to open a restaurant (she is now fluent in Spanish). She spent three years at the helm of the eatery, which served Mediterranean food, before closing up shop and returning to the UK when the political situation started to deteriorate. Serena was behind designer Riccardo Tisci's lavish 40th birthday bash, which saw Justin Bieber and Naomi Campbell dancing to Kanye West on a dancefloor covered with rose petals. Pictured, the Tisci with Kendall Jenner, Kris Jenner and Kim Kardashian at the party In London she worked for restaurateur-turned-TV judge Oliver Peyton before launching an organic cafe with Zac Goldsmith and his then-wife, Sheherazade. In 2001 jewellery designer Jade - the eldest of Sir Mick's brood and linchpin of the local social scene - invited Serena on the trip to the White Isle that changed her life. Since then Serena has risen through the ranks to become the go-to girl for any visiting A-lister or resident celebrity. Her company, Deliciously Sorted, which describes itself as 'the Balearics most trusted concierge, villas and events company', has a highly trained team of staff and extensive list of suppliers, all ready to jump into action at a moment's notice. A quick look at the candy-coloured website reveals the business handles everything from private planes - for those times when you want 'sushi for 18 at midnight' or 'a 4am jet to Disney World' - to 'well-dressed security' who 'melt in with party guests' and 'keep an eye out for gate crashers. Chefs, nannies, butlers, yoga teachers, masseuses and English-speaking chauffeurs are also all on the books. Serena has also helped organise a last-minute holiday home for Sir Mick Jagger and regularly secures clients tables at the likes of Pacha (seen in stock image) and Amnesia There are typically three concierge service packages to choose from: Silver ($554 a week), Platinum ($1,663 a week) and Bespoke ($3,338 a week), which buys you a 24/7 personal service with a dedicated manager. Speaking on Tisci's party, which took place in 2014 at an Andalusian horse stud farm, Serena revealed the extraordinary lengths she went to in order to achieve the designer's vision for his party, down to the staff they employed. 'It was clear that Givenchy [Tisci's then employer] wanted these front-of-house workers to be a vital decorative element and it had been very strict about the way they looked: male only, clean-shaven, slim, handsome.' The process involved casting men to work at the party, both in Ibiza and further afield. However there are some things Serena won't arrange, even for the biggest celebrity client. 'We dont do drugs, hookers or animals,' she explained. 'Ive turned down requests for dancing bears and caged tigers.' But for anything else, Serena is the woman to know. KJ Apa was brought to tears when he managed to dislodge a piece of debris that had "punctured" his eye. The Riverdale star, 23, documented the harrowing incident in a 2-minute video posted to his Instagram on Sunday, writing in the caption: "a shard of metal got stuck in my eyeball." In the clip, Apa holds open his left eyelid as a friend and celebrity hairstylist Jason Schneidman attempts to remove the small fragment. Though the actor appears to be in good spirits at first, joking that the camera was capturing his "bad side," things take a turn when Schneidman struggles to extract the bit using a cotton swab. "Bro, its stuck in there, bro. Its really stuck," Apa says, examining his eye in the mirror. "I have to work tomorrow." Apa then takes matters into his own hands and tries to remove the debris from his eye. After gently dabbing his eyeball with the cotton swab, the New Zealand native manages to get the shard out. KJ Apa/instagram KJ Apa RELATED: KJ Apa Says He'll Stay on Riverdale for the Next 3 Years "It's actually like punctured my eye," he says, before asking Schneidman to check for any more metal pieces on his eye. "You got the piece out, bro. That's the piece that was f in your eye, dude," Schneidman replies. "Then what's that?" Apa then asks as he points to his eye, to which his friend replies, "That's just now a f damage." "That's just a hole?" the star gasps, looking bewildered. Apa then puts his hands over his mouth before breaking down into tears. "You're going to be okay. Stop freaking out," another friend is heard comforting Apa before the video ends. It's unclear how the shard ended in the I Still Believe actor's eye. A representative for Apa did not immediately respond to PEOPLE's request for comment. (Warning: Video contains strong language) Never miss a story sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories Story continues Apa was previously involved in another scary incident in 2017 when the star had a late-night car accident after a long day on set of Riverdale in Vancouver, Canada. Apa, who stars as Archie Andrews on the CW series, fell asleep at the wheel during his almost hour-long drive home, according to The Hollywood Reporter. His vehicle reportedly struck a light pole, destroying the passenger side; it was determined that his car could not be fixed. That was just a one-off accident, and it was a mistake on my part, he told Esquire following the incident. I should have pulled over and gone to sleep instead of battling my way home. But I learned from it. It was a blessing in disguise," he added. "I came out unscathed, and I thank God that Im okay it could have been a lot worse." SEATTLE, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The podcast industry has boomed in the past year and when it comes to podcasts about plastic surgery, the Plastic Surgeon Podcast by Dr Javad Sajan is the best plastic surgery podcast of 2020. In the podcast, Dr. Sajan interviews real plastic surgery patients and providers to understand the true motivations behind plastic surgery. The Plastic Surgeon Podcast is not your typical plastic surgery podcast. The podcast educates about plastic surgery, but also analyzes it with a critical eye. With expert insight from Seattle plastic surgeon, Dr. Javad Sajan, the Plastic Surgeon Podcast combines the educational and real stories formats. To learn more about the Plastic Surgeon Podcast, visit: https://www.plasticsurgeonpodcast.com/ One provocative episode follows Dr. Sajan's transgender patient, Jack Morgan who underwent a female-to-male chest reconstruction. During his transition, he endured weight loss surgery and uterine cancer, which he understood as his body rejecting femininity. His chest reconstruction surgery was considered high risk due to his previous weight loss surgery and cancer. Dr. Sajan and Jack recount his chemical and surgical transgender transition in this thought provoking episode of 2020's best plastic surgery podcast. Another popular topic on the podcast is botched plastic surgery. In one of the most compelling episodes, Dr. Sajan talks with Victoria Castaneda Vargas who underwent a tummy tuck in Peru and ended up severely botched. On why he started a podcast, Dr. Sajan said, "I started the Plastic Surgeon Podcast because I want people to understand why patients do what they do and what motivates them." About Plastic Surgeon Podcast: The Plastic Surgeon Podcast was created by top Seattle plastic surgeon, Dr. Javad Sajan who has performed plastic and reconstructive surgery on a diverse set of patients from around the world. The podcast tells the unfiltered stories and truths behind the people who get and perform plastic surgery. You can find Plastic Surgeon Podcast on all major podcast platforms: Apple: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/plastic-surgeon/id1518332299 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/2TIxhNsxnrqOMhNAq4NkM8 Stitcher: https://www.stitcher.com/podcast/plastic-surgeon iHeartRadio: https://www.iheart.com/podcast/269-plastic-surgeon-65258343/ Contact: Sabrina Sajan Phone: 206-787-0784 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Plastic Surgeon Podcast Related Links https://www.plasticsurgeonpodcast.com WASHINGTON The Cheyenne River, Oglala, Rosebud Sioux and other tribes succeeded in barring the release of federal pandemic relief money to Alaska Native Corporations for a second time when a U.S. District Judge here granted a stay on July 7 District of Columbia Federal Judge Ahmet P. Mehta stopped the U.S. Treasury Department from disbursing the ANCs share of the tribes $8 billion Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act funds just one week after he ruled that the corporations are eligible for it and ordered its release. At the time, he also was presiding over another tribal government plaintiffs case, suing for release of the money to meet Indian countrys urgent needs for dealing with effects of the novel coronavirus spread. Alaska Native corporations will continue to wait for more than a half-billion dollars in #COVID19 relief as a bitter legal dispute involving tribal nations heads to a higher court. #Coronavirus #CARESAct #CoronavirusReliefFund https://t.co/nOeVazbvYA indianz.com (@indianz) July 9, 2020 Since then, 90 percent of the money has been made available to tribes, according to Treasury. Seeing as how his eligibility decision led tribes to promise an appeal to the U.S. Circuit Court, Mehta put the hold on the remaining money, provided the plaintiffs should file a notice of appeal by July 14 in the consolidated tribal cases referred to as Confederated Tribes of the Chehalis Reservation et al v. Steven Mnuchin in his official capacity as Secretary of the Treasury. The judge had granted the plaintiffs request for a preliminary injunction prohibiting distributions to ANCs early on in the case, but he lifted it on June 26 when he ruled them eligible. With the stay of his June decision in place, he reasoned, the outcome of an appeal would determine the correctness of his interpretation of Congress intent in authorizing the money. The public interest rests in carrying out Congress will, and that interest is not served if ANCs receive and spend tens of millions of dollars of emergency relief to which they are not entitled, he wrote. However, he added, A delayed appeal would defeat the very purposes for which Congress appropriated CARES Act funds on an emergency basis. The plaintiffs have not suggested that they intend to delay prosecuting an appeal; to the contrary, they have said they will pursue expedited review, Mehta recognized. Contact Talli Nauman at talli.nauman@gmail.com Copyright permission Native Sun News Today Join the Conversation By Ryan P. Aument Times Guest Columnist Instead of electing judges and justices statewide, House Bill 196 proposes to amend the Constitution to create judicial districts to elect them regionally. This reform will empower individual voters over special interests, ensure fair and proportionate representation, recognize the value of geographic diversity, and increase election integrity and government accountability. Based on the data, the current compliment of Pennsylvanias appellate courts clearly indicates that the make-up is severely disproportionate, as more than half of all the members of Pennsylvanias Superior Court and Commonwealth Court are from only two of the Commonwealths 67 counties, which represent only 21% of the states population. Four of the seven Supreme Court Justices are from Allegheny or Philadelphia counties, and taken together, only 15 of Pennsylvanias 67 counties are home to an appellate court judge. We must do far more to ensure greater geographic diversity and fairness. The experiences and perspectives of residents in Lancaster County differ from those experienced by residents in Erie, Susquehanna, and certainly Allegheny and Philadelphia Counties. These differences should be reflected by the court as judges look through the lens of their personal experiences, judicial philosophy, and worldview to fairly apply and interpret the law. Powerful special interests with business before the courts oppose this effort, because they have a vested interest in the outcomes of judicial elections. These groups have invested millions of dollars to determine who is chosen to serve on our state appellate courts, so changing the system to level the playing field would tip the scales against them. Judicial districts would empower people and serve as a counterbalance to the meddling of special interests. In fact, a regional judicial district model dramatically increases the likelihood that voters will recognize, know, or even have the opportunity to interact with and question a judicial candidate. This reform better positions voters to make a more informed decision at the ballot box, rather than forcing them to rely on a statewide mailer or 30 second TV ad purchased with special interest dollars to tell them about unknown statewide candidates. To be clear, this reform is not an attempt to politicize or gerrymander the courts, nor is it a power grab by the Legislature or Republicans, as some opponents have claimed. Rather, judicial districts would actually be drawn following the redistricting principles found in our state Constitution, and would therefore be consistent with any future Constitutional amendments to reform redistricting, such as the effort to establish an independent citizens redistricting commission. And in the end, it is the people of this state that will ultimately decide what system should be used to elect our judges, because constitutional amendments must be approved by voters. So if this is a power grab, it is a power grab by the people of Pennsylvania who will be empowered to make their own decisions about how this Commonwealth is governed. I stand with the people over special interests. I support judicial districts to ensure fairness and proportionate representation, level the playing field, and account for the voice of each and every Pennsylvanian. State Sen. Ryan P. Aument is a Republican representing Lancaster County. BRUSSELS (dpa-AFX) - At 2.00 am ET Tuesday, the Office for National Statistics releases UK public sector finance data. The budget deficit is forecast to narrow to GBP 34.3 billion in June from GBP 54.5 billion in May. Ahead of the data, the pound climbed against its major rivals. The pound was worth 136.06 against the yen, 1.1902 against the franc, 0.9027 against the euro and 1.2673 against the greenback as of 1:55 am ET. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Chennai, July 21 : S. Nalini, convicted for life in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, had threatened to commit suicide in the Vellore Women's Prison after an argument with another inmate, an official said on Tuesday. After the argument that occurred on Monday, the prison officials asked Nalini about the incident, following which she alleged threatened to commit suicide by tying a piece of cloth around her neck. Subsequently, the issue was sorted out. Seven persons were convicted in the killing of Rajiv Gandhi -- A.G. Perarivalan, V. Sriharan alias Murugan, T. Suthendraraja alais Santhan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Nalini Sriharan, wife of V. Sriharan. All the convicts are in prison since 1991, the year a woman LTTE suicide bomber blew up herself, killing Rajiv Gandhi on the spot at an election rally near Chennai. The Tamil Nadu government has passed a resolution for the release of all the convicts, but the Governor is yet to take a decision on the matter. View live politics updates ChevronRight The president is a master of distraction and misdirection; predictably, he has seized on the disorder in Portland to deflect attention from the pandemic and to exploit the countrys deepening tribal divisions, which have served his political purposes so well. In the name of restoring order, he has weaponized law enforcement officers, uniformed as shock troops. Rather than de-escalate, they seem deployed to inflame what was already a volatile series of daily demonstrations. The troops they can only be called that given their weapons, tactics and aggressivity share the unaccountable-by-design traits of those in banana republics and autocracies. They travel in unmarked vehicles, snatch protesters from the streets without probable cause and bear no clearly visible identification by name or agency. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement As President Trump threatens to unleash the military on American cities roiled in civil unrest, it's clear that he's embracing his inner Nixon. (The Washington Post) Administration officials say they have deployed personnel to Portland from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection, both overseen by an unconfirmed acting secretary of Homeland Security, Chad Wolf. Mr. Wolf is a political operative who worked for Republican senators and as a lobbyist; his brief previous policy roles in government afforded him minimal experience in law enforcement and it shows. It serves Mr. Trumps purposes that some small percentage of Portlands protesters identify themselves as antifa, the amorphous left-wing fringe movement. That fact, along with acts of violence against police and property, have enabled the president and his acolytes to smear them all as anarchists and afforded him a pretext on which to deploy his counterproductive troops. They were requested by neither city nor state officials. With Mr. Trump trailing in the polls and the coronavirus infecting tens of thousands more victims daily, Portland may be a forerunner of other such interventions in liberal cities as Election Day approaches. The danger to life, limb and democracy is evident. One protester, holding up a speaker, was shot in the head and needed facial reconstruction surgery after he picked up a smoke grenade fired in his direction and rolled it a few feet back whence it came. Another, a former Navy officer, was beaten, his hand broken, by a baton-wielding officer; his offense was to try to speak with the officers. It seems like luck that no one has been killed so far. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Read more: The Posts View: Defund the police is as much about reimagining public safety as it is about money Ruth Marcus: Trumps agents are sweeping peaceful citizens off the streets. This is not America. Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman: The Oregon governor wants federal officers out of Portland. Trump officials wont listen. Why? Greg Sargent: A protester was shot by police in Oregon. Democrats should demand answers. Keegan Stephan: Portland isnt Portlandia. Its a capital of white supremacy. PORTLAND, Ore. Even after tear gas choked downtown Portland in the early hours of Tuesday, Riots Ribs kept the food coming. A volunteer, who has been camped outside the Multnomah County Justice Center since demonstrations against police brutality began more than 50 days ago, slathered barbecue sauce on the meat cooking just a few yards from federal forces trying to push back protesters. Despite the surrounding chaos, the young woman in charge of Riot Ribs' social media account took a moment to tweet. "Still cooking. Still being tear gassed. Still have broken ribs," the 22-year-old woman, who asked not to be identified for fear of law enforcement, wrote in her tweet. "Still feeding people 24/7." The tweet was followed by a red heart and an orange flame. Still cooking. Still being tear gassed. Still have broken ribs. Still feeding people 24/7. Still at SW Salmon and 3rd Ave. Still need your help. Still need donations. Much love to you RIOT RIBS (@riotribs) July 21, 2020 For nearly two months, protesters have gathered in the park to march against the police-involved killings of George Floyd in Minneapolis, Breonna Taylor in Louisville and others. Recently, demonstrations have become increasingly heated after federal forces arrived without the consent of local leaders. The standoff between law enforcement and protesters in the streets of downtown Portland has caused what some legal experts say could be a constitutional crisis. In the crosshairs are residents trying to assert more control over the city's police department while being somewhat ambivalent about the violence that erupts every night like clockwork. "What's happening here is, we have dozens, if not hundreds of federal troops descending upon our city. And what they're doing is, they are sharply escalating the situation," Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said over the weekend. Story continues Since the protests started at the end of May, a small section of downtown Portland has been transformed into a kind of pop-up city surrounding the Justice Center and the federal courthouse. In a park across the street, tents have sprung up to house a makeshift pharmacy filled with emergency kits, a pantry where people can get free snacks and water, a secondhand clothing store and free outdoor catering now known as Riot Ribs. Riot Ribs only accepts donations to help cover the cost of providing ribs and mac 'n' cheese for anyone who wants it. It's been 18 days since volunteers first started feeding protesters and they intend to continue until federal forces leave Portland. Over the weekend one of Riots Ribs' cooks, Rico Rivera, was shot point-blank in the chest with a tear gas canister. He had been standing in a crosswalk near the Justice Center during broad daylight when police issued an abrupt order for the crowd to disperse. Rivera was standing near a patrol SUV when he was shot, he said. "I wasn't even a foot away from them," Rivera said. "First he aimed at my head and then he aimed at my chest." He suffered two broken ribs and a bruised lung. "I was just astounded," Rivera said. Rico Rivera was hit with a CS gas projectile a few days ago at the Portland protests. Hes been out here every day and night for more than a month with no intention of leaving. This is where I live now, he says @NBCNews pic.twitter.com/HTLZ3J4OrR Alicia Victoria Lozano (@aliciavlozano) July 21, 2020 Portland protesters have learned to anticipate the ebb and flow of violence near the Justice Center. Peaceful demonstrations make up the majority of what is seen there throughout the day and early parts of the night. Graffiti dots the outside of both the federal and county courthouses. Signs read "Black Lives Matter" and "Feds Go Home." Sometimes music blares from loudspeakers or cars, and sometimes people dance in a drum circle. Marches around the Justice Center begin shortly after nightfall. Recently they have been led by an older generation of parents who form a barrier between protesters and law enforcement. The "Wall of Moms" and PDXDadPod link arms and shout things like "Feds stay clear, moms are here!" Cheers broke out when the parent groups arrived at Monday night's demonstrations. Some of the moms danced while they marched as others squeezed small squeak toys in the shape of tiny pink pigs. Later, the moms asked protesters to light up their phones as the crowd sang the civil rights anthem "We Shall Overcome." Leslie Yeargers, a mother of two, attended her first protest Monday night after seeing coverage of armed federal forces using tear gas against demonstrators. She was "horrified" by the violence and worried about the world her children, both in their early 20s, will inherit as civil unrest lingers. "What really crossed the line for me was when the feds started picking people off the street," she said. "That is a totalitarian and authoritarian tactic, and I don't want it in my city and I want them gone." Equipped with goggles and a face mask, Yeargers said she was nervous about attending Monday's demonstration. She doesn't like seeing downtown Portland surrounded by burning trash cans and graffiti, but she likes seeing her neighbors hit with tear gas even less. "My kids want a better world. They want a world of peace and justice where they feel safe," she said. "Their futures right now are very precarious." Image: (Noah Berger / AP) Like many of the protesters gathered outside the Justice Center, Yeargers wants more accountability from law enforcement in Portland. Progress was made in recent weeks after a federal court in Oregon issued a temporary restraining order against Portland police, limiting their use of tear gas, rubber bullets and pepper spray to instances in which the safety of the public or police is at risk. Under the new law, those means can only be deployed if a riot is declared. Federal forces are not subject to those rules, however. At the beginning of July, agents with Homeland Security, the U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and the Federal Protection Service arrived in Portland. They began appearing from behind the boarded up U.S. courthouse, firing pepper spray or tear gas at protesters who got too close to the building. That same scene played out shortly after midnight Tuesday. While the protests on Monday were calm and peaceful, the mood changed as a small group of protesters wearing helmets and gas masks began to kick and hit a makeshift wall protecting the federal building. Some people tore at the plywood, and by 12:30 a.m. law enforcement starting using tear gas. The moms quickly dispersed, but federal officers remained on the street past 1 a.m. In the park nearby, Riot Ribs continued serving free meals for anyone with an appetite. FORT WORTH, Texas, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AZZ Inc. (NYSE: AZZ), a global provider of metal coating services, welding solutions, specialty electrical equipment and highly engineered services, announced today that it has successfully completed divesting its Galvabar business. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Tom Ferguson, Chief Executive Officer of AZZ, commented, "While Galvabar would normally be considered a core business for AZZ, we have determined that this technology is better suited for a company with both rebar manufacturing and distribution capabilities. We are pleased to have reached an agreement whereby CMC, a leader in the metals industry, has acquired these assets, and will seamlessly integrate Galvabar into their existing operations. This disposition generates cash and frees up capital that had been committed to building out the necessary plant capacity. These resources will be used for investments and acquisitions in the remaining Metal Coatings businesses. I am convinced that CMC will be a great partner to the Galvabar customer base, as well as a good employer for Galvabar's work force." About AZZ Inc. AZZ Inc. is a global provider of metal coating solutions, welding solutions, specialty electrical equipment and highly engineered services to the power generation, transmission, distribution and industrial markets. AZZ Metal Coatings is a leading provider of metal finishing solutions for corrosion protection, including hot dip galvanizing to the North American steel fabrication industry. AZZ Energy is dedicated to delivering safe and reliable transmission of power from generation sources to end customers, and automated weld overlay solutions for corrosion and erosion mitigation to critical infrastructure in the energy markets worldwide. Safe Harbor Statement Certain statements herein about our expectations of future events or results constitute forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. You can identify forward-looking statements by terminology such as "may," "should," "expects," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," "potential," "continue," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology. Such forward-looking statements are based on currently available competitive, financial and economic data and management's views and assumptions regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements are inherently uncertain, and investors must recognize that actual results may differ from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements. Certain factors could affect the outcome of the matters described herein. This press release may contain forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties including, but not limited to, changes in customer demand for our products and services, including demand by the power generation markets, electrical transmission and distribution markets, the industrial markets, and the metal coatings markets. In addition, within each of the markets we serve, our customers and our operations could potentially be adversely impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. We could also experience fluctuations in prices and raw material cost, including zinc and natural gas which are used in the hot dip galvanizing process; supply-chain vendor delays ; customer requested delays of our products or services; delays in additional acquisition opportunities; currency exchange rates; adequacy of financing; availability of experienced management and employees to implement AZZ's growth strategy; a downturn in market conditions in any industry relating to the products we inventory or sell or the services that we provide; economic volatility or changes in the political stability in the United States and other foreign markets in which we operate; acts of war or terrorism inside the United States or abroad; and other changes in economic and financial conditions. AZZ has provided additional information regarding risks associated with the business in AZZ's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended February 29, 2020 and other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"), available for viewing on AZZ's website at www.azz.com and on the SEC's website at www.sec.gov . You are urged to consider these factors carefully in evaluating the forward-looking statements herein and are cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking statements, which are qualified in their entirety by this cautionary statement. These statements are based on information as of the date hereof and AZZ assumes no obligation to update any forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. AZZ Inc. Company Contact: David Nark, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Communications AZZ Inc. (817) 810-0095 www.azz.com Investor Contact: Joe Dorame, Managing Partner Lytham Partners (602) 889-9700 www.lythampartners.com SOURCE AZZ Inc. Related Links http://www.azz.com Actor Chris D'Elia has been spotted out for the first time since he was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women on social media in June. The 40-year-old was seen solo in the wake of the scandal while running errands around Los Angeles on Monday. D'Elia fell off the radar following the accusations, which he denies, having been dropped by his agents and shunned by former colleagues. In the wake of the scandal: Actor Chris D'Elia was spotted at CVS in Los Angeles on Monday, marking the first public sighting of the actor since he was accused of sexual misconduct by multiple women on social media in June The actor donned a protective white face mask while making a stop for supplies at a his local CVS. Chris wore a black T-shirt, black sweat shorts, tall black socks and sneakers during his outing. He was spotted in the drugstore parking lot with a small cart, loading his purchases into the back of an ochre colored Mercedes SUV. The sighting marks the first since he was the subject of multiple allegations of sexual harassment and grooming by women on social media who purported to be underage at the time. Stepping out: Chris wore a protective face mask along with a black T-shirt, black sweat shorts, tall black socks and sneakers during his low key outing Allegations: In June, Chris was the subject of multiple accusations of sexual harassment and grooming by women on social media who purported to be underage at the time The controversy began when a woman by the name of Simone Rossi using the handle @girlpowertbh tweeted images that depicted a text chat between the pair six years ago. She said via Twitter that she felt she was 'being groomed by a stand-up comedian' for sex and included screen shots of messages purported to be between them. Rossi wrote: 'Imagine being 16 and being groomed by a stand up comedian twice ur age and the only reason you never met up and never got physically m*lested was because u had just gotten a boyfriend ur own age.' Another user under the handle @michaelacoletta accused the comedian of '[soliciting] nudes off of [her] when [she] was 17 years old.' Maintaining his innocence: He denied the allegations and called all his relationships 'legal and consensual', however, he added that he was 'truly sorry' for being 'a dumb guy who ABSOLUTELY let myself get caught up in my lifestyle' He 'constantly messaged me whenever he was touring [Vancouver] and asked me to come backstage to his shows,' she wrote. She subsequently added: 'I am so unsurprised that multiple girls are coming out with almost the exact story as mine. Its a known fact hes a f***ing perv and he plays those roles perfectly when acting lmao.' Other stories continued to be posted across multiple accounts, and across Twitter, many pointed out the ironic notion that D'Elia was accused of creepy behavior after playing characters of a similar ilk, including that of twisted comedian Joshua 'Henderson' Bunter on the Netflix series You. The following day D'Elia spoke out regarding the accusations and denied them in a lengthy statement maintaining that his sexual relationships had all been consensual. Irony: In the height of the scandal, many social media users pointed out the ironic notion that D'Elia was accused of creepy behavior after playing characters of a similar ilk, including that of twisted comedian Joshua 'Henderson' Bunter on the Netflix series You 'I know I have said and done things that might have offended people during my career, but I have never knowingly pursued any underage women at any point,' he said. 'All of my relationships have been both legal and consensual and I have never met or exchanged any inappropriate photos with the people who have tweeted about me.' He added: 'That being said, I really am truly sorry. I was a dumb guy who ABSOLUTELY let myself get caught up in my lifestyle. That's MY fault. I own it. I've been reflecting on this for some time now and I promise I will continue to do better.' You star Penn Badgley stood told the Los Angeles Times' podcast last month that he didn't really 'know Chris' but that he was 'very troubled' by the accusations. 'It did affect me deeply,' You star Penn Badgley said of the allegations. 'I was very troubled by it. I am very troubled by it.' He added: 'I know that, if there's anything we need to do in this age, it's to believe women.' 'It did affect me deeply,' Penn said of the allegations. 'I was very troubled by it. I am very troubled by it.' He added: 'I know that, if there's anything we need to do in this age, it's to believe women.' Following the accusations, Chris was dropped by his representation at CAA. His former co-star Whitney Cummings also released a statement saying she was 'enraged' by what she had 'learned' about D'Elia. 'This is a pattern of predatory behavior. This abuse of power is enabled by silence. Now that I'm aware, I won't be silent.' A college student who avoided capture in several states for six days after a homicide, kidnapping and home invasion spree in Connecticut pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a second murder charge and other crimes. Peter Manfredonia, 23, a former University of Connecticut student, took part in the arraignment at Milford Superior Court via a video feed from the courthouse detention area. A judge set bail at $5 million on the new charges, adding to the $7 million in bail imposed previously on another murder charge and other alleged crimes. The new charges are connected to the fatal shooting of Nicholas Eisele and the kidnapping of his girlfriend in Derby on May 24. The girlfriend, who has not been named by authorities, was found unharmed at a rest stop near Columbia in Knowlton Township, Warren County, later the same day. Eisele was killed two days after police allege Manfredonia killed 62-year-old Ted DeMers and seriously wounded another man in a Samurai sword attack in Willington, about 70 miles (110 kilometers) from Derby. After the sword attack, Manfredonia is accused of breaking into another man's house in Willington and holding him hostage for about 24 hours before taking off with his truck and firearms, police said. Relatives of Manfredonia and Eisele were in court Tuesday, as well as a lawyer for Eisele's girlfriend. The lawyer, Eugene Riccio, read a statement by her. "Nicholas Eisele will forever be remembered as a loving, protective boyfriend but also a hero following his own selfless actions on that day," the statement said. "The healing process can not begin until we can be assured that justice has been served and Peter Manfredonia is held accountable for his actions that altered and destroyed the lives of both Nick, myself, and countless others." Manfredonia's lawyer, Michael Dolan, declined to comment on the charges. Manfredonia wore an orange prison jumpsuit and a mask because of coronavirus precautions, appearing via the video feed. His parents were in court, but left before the proceeding began, Dolan said. "To see their son in custody was very difficult," Dolan said. "It's just a very sad day. The entire Manfredonia family is just ... heartbroken. Their hearts go out ... for all the families." The new arrest warrant affidavit in Eisele's killing provides the first public account by his girlfriend of the harrowing events in Derby. The woman told police that Manfredonia burst into her and Eisele's apartment shortly before 6 a.m. She said the two men knew each other from growing up in Newtown, and Manfredonia had come to the apartment a few months earlier to buy marijuana from Eisele. She said the men got into a fight and Manfredonia shot Eisele. Then, she said, Manfredonia forced her to drive him in her car out of state. During the drive through Newtown and to New Jersey, Manfredonia told her he killed Eisele and DeMers because they said things that made him snap, but he did not elaborate. Dolan has said that Manfredonia had a history of depression and anxiety, but had never shown signs of violence. After Manfredonia let the woman go in New Jersey, investigators tracked him to Pennsylvania, where police said he took an Uber to a Walmart in East Stroudsburg. Authorities searched the area but didn't find him. A man fitting his description was later spotted near Scranton, Pennsylvania, prompting another search there. Police believe Manfredonia stole a car and abandoned it in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, before taking another Uber to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he was captured without incident when police spotted him near a truck stop. Manfredonia previously pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, home invasion and other charges connected to the events in Willington. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to lehighvalleylive.com. OnePlus Nord will make its global debut in India and other international markets on July 21. The company is hosting an Augmented Reality (AR) launch event for its much-anticipated mid-range smartphone. Where to watch the OnePlus Nord launch event? What are the OnePlus Nord specifications? What is the expected price of OnePlus Nord in India? All your questions answered below: OnePlus Nord India launch time and where to watch the live-stream The OnePlus Nord launch event is scheduled to begin at 4 pm CEST or 7.30 pm IST on July 21. The company will be hosting a live-stream for its online audience on its official website. The ones who bought the OnePlus AR invite can watch the OnePlus Nord launch on their smartphones. You will need to download the OnePlus Nord AR app on your Android or iOS device and scan the QR code that can be found on the cardboard invite. OnePlus Nord India price (expected/ rumoured) The rumour mill claims that OnePlus will launch three OnePlus Nord storage options 6GB + 128GB, 8GB + 128GB, and 12GB + 256GB. The three storage configurations are tipped to be priced at Rs 24,999, Rs 27,999, and Rs 30,999. Please bear in mind that these are simply rumours or speculations and not the official OnePlus Nord price. OnePlus Nord specifications OnePlus has confirmed most of the OnePlus Nord specs before its launch. To start with, the AMOLED display is confirmed to have a 90Hz refresh rate and a dual punch-hole cutout. Tipster Evan Blass recently revealed the full OnePlus Nord spec-sheet, which suggested that the Nord would sport a 6.5-inch display with a 20:9 aspect ratio and a Full HD+ resolution of 1080*2400 pixels. The Nord will get powered by a Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G processor for 5G and is likely to get paired with 6GB/8GB/ 12GB RAM and up to 256GB storage. OnePlus Nord is also said to pack a 4115 mAh battery with support for Warp Charge 30T. In optics, the company has confirmed that the OnePlus Nord will use a 48 MP f/1.7 Sony IMX586 with OIS at the back. The main 48 MP sensor will be accompanied by an 8 MP ultrawide lens, 5 MP depth sensor, and a macro camera. The Nord will be the first OnePlus device to feature a dual 32MP + 8MP front camera setup. We also know that the device will be available in teal and grey colour options. Apart from the Nord, the company will also launch the OnePlus Buds , its first TWS earbuds, on July 21. The sensational career of John Dillinger, America's greatest criminal of recent history, came to a sudden end to-night, as the Federal agents and the police shot and killed him as he emerged from a motion picture theatre. According to reports, Dillinger had been hiding in Chicago since his last bank robbery, but his Inordinate fondness for the movies caused him to visit picture theatres occasion- ally. Early this evening, agents traced him to the "Biograph Theatre," a popular playhouse, and waited patiently until he started to leave through the foyer, and then, apparently with- out taking the risk of attempting to arrest him, unleased multiple fire with high-power rifles, and he fell mortally wounded. In the wild shooting, two women bystanders were wounded. Dozens of theatre patrons were thrown into a panic, and rushed for cover. Sixteen Federal agents and police surrounded the theatre. The chief Federal agent said that his men moved forward to arrest the outlaw, but when Dillinger made a motion to draw his pistol from inside a belt they started shooting. Dillinger, according to the chief Federal agent, was not instantly killed, but mortally wounded. He died in an ambulance en route to hospital. Officers, who examined his body found that he had made desperate efforts to disguise his Identity. He had had his face "lifted" by a surgical operation, and he had put acid on his fingers to obliterate their prints. Moon Chung-in, left, vice chair and executive director of the Asia-Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN), and The Korea Times President and Publisher Oh Young-jin at the newspaper's building in Seoul, Tuesday, after signing a memorandum of understanding to jointly host an essay contest on nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament. The contest will be open to Korean and international students. Korea Times photo by Choi Won-suk By Shim Jae-yun The Korea Times and the Asia Pacific Leadership Network for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament (APLN) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Tuesday to hold an essay contest on the subject, "Nuclear nonproliferation and disarmament in the Asia-Pacific region." Korea Times President-Publisher Oh Young-jin and APLN Vice Chair and Executive Director Moon Chung-in, who concurrently serves as special adviser to President Moon Jae-in, signed the MOU at The Korea Times head office. The contest is aimed to foster a new generation of young people committed to nuclear issues and foster international opinion in favor of global nonproliferation and nuclear disarmament. The contest targets Korean and international students both graduates and undergraduates who are invited to submit essays in English of about 800 words on one of the following three topics: "What lessons can we learn from South Africa which voluntarily and unilaterally denuclearized?"; "How can international treaties such as the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) be operated effectively?"; and "Can artificial intelligence (AI) mechanisms such as autonomous drones make the world safer from nuclear threats?" The contest aims to propel engagement with young people and provide fresh perspectives on nuclear issues. All essays submitted will be placed in the same pool of applications. Winners will receive a small monetary prize and a certificate, and see their work published in the APLN and The Korea Times. Details of the contest including deadline for submission and announcement of prizes for the winners will be published soon by The Korea Times and APLN and made available on their websites. The violence and killings in Southern Kaduna have persisted because of the evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds, the presidency said on Tuesday. Hundreds of people have been killed in various local governments of Southern Kaduna in the past couple of years. The killings have continued despite the deployment of various military teams to the area. One of such latest killings occurred on Sunday when armed men stormed communities in Kaura Local Government Area. At least 16 people were killed in that attack, residents told PREMIUM TIMES. In his statement on Tuesday, presidential spokesman, Garba Shehu, said unlike other parts of the country, the problem of Southern Kaduna is more complicated than many critics are ready to acknowledge and understand. Read Mr Shehus full statement below. REVENGE KILLINGS WORSENING SECURITY PROBLEMS IN SOUTHERN KADUNA PRESIDENCY The Presidency wishes to state that the problem of insecurity in Southern Kaduna State is more complicated than many people are willing to admit. From available records, Southern Kaduna enjoys comprehensive security deployments, including the Army, Special Forces of both the Army and the Air Force, surveillance aircraft by the Air Force and mobile police units that are on the ground on a 24-hour basis to forestall criminality and keep the peace. But unlike other parts of the country, the problem of Southern Kaduna is more complicated than many critics are ready to acknowledge and understand. READ ALSO: From available security records, the problem in Southern Kaduna is an evil combination of politically-motivated banditry, revenge killings and mutual violence by criminal gangs acting on ethnic and religious grounds. It is a situation in which one criminal group will kill a member of another criminal group out of ethnic and religious motivations which in turn leads to the eruption of revenge and counter-revenge, thereby making the job of the security personnel deployed to protect lives more difficult. We note that revenge and counter-revenge only creates a circle of violence, thereby making everyone else unsafe, especially innocent people. The Presidency advises the people against taking the law into their own hands which makes the job of security personnel more difficult. Instead, they should report any security breach or threat to peace to the law enforcement agencies. What is required is for the local authorities to radically improve their intelligence capabilities so that security agencies will be alerted in a timely manner to enable them forestall any planned attacks. The Presidency in the same manner condemns the recent attacks by bandits in Igali, Birnin Gwari and Giwa local government areas of the State while urging security agencies to intensify their response. Garba Shehu Senior Special Assistant to the President (Media & Publicity) July 21, 2020 On just one day January 5 this year - 24,412 people arrived from overseas at Brisbane Airport. That was the busiest day at Brisbane's International Terminal as people flew in to begin holidays or to see family and friends at the beginning of 2020. A staff member in protective medical clothing moves through the arrivals area at Brisbane International Airport. Credit:Getty Images However, by May 4, not one person arrived from overseas. No one arrived on May 11 either, or May 15, or June 29. Thuong, Secretary of the Party Central Committee (PCC) and head of the PCC Commission for Communication and Education, made the remark at the VFAs eighth National Congress (2020-2025 tenure) in Hanoi on July 20. He congratulated the VFA on the achievements attained over the past few years, applauding the associations collection, complication and translation of nearly 4,000 folk culture and arts works, including many large-scale ones, thus contributing practically to building spiritual and cultural life as well as developing culture and tourism in localities. The official told the VFA to continue studying and fully grasp the Partys resolutions on culture, literature and arts; upholding a sense of responsibility in effectively implementing the resolution of its eighth national congress; and fulfilling its advisory role for the Party and State concerning the preservation and promotion of traditional cultural values. Politburo member Vo Van Thuong (fourth from left) congratulates the 2020-2025 executive committee of the Vietnam Folklore Association. (Photo: daidoanket.vn) The VFA should harmoniously combine the preservation and promotion of the values of ethnic cultural heritages with sustainable economic and tourism development, contributing to advertising the image of the land and people of Vietnam, Thuong said. He asked the association to mobilise resources to conserve and promote folk and ethnic cultural values, as well as to develop grassroots units into those with firm profession and solidarity to complete many collections and research works to preserve and promote Vietnams valuable cultural and folklore heritages, contributing to the countrys socio-economic development, especially the tourism industry. The congress adopted the VFAs regulations and devised its operational orientations for the eighth tenure. Delegates elected a 13-member VFA executive committee for the 2020-2025 term, with Prof. Dr. Le Hong Ly elected as chairman of the association. He came widely recommended by wise men, accepted by women groups, blessed eminent men and women in society, and received the blessing from the youth. Hon. Mahama Ayariga rise to power as a young intellect and soft-spoken lawyer was the firebrand political activist in the Bawku Central constituency. His victory defied popular Nigeria saying 'money stop nonsense. Hon. Madam Hawa Yakubu who could be credited for pioneering the modern monetization of party politics has shared a lot of goodies, bundles of cash, motorbikes, pumping machines, women skill training initiatives to youth empowerment. Despite all, the good people of Bawku rejected and humiliated her and massively voted for Hon. Ayariga Mahama. I had completed senior high school and could hear men, women, adults and children sing the popular chorus meaning 'Eiiyii, Eiiyii Madam Hawa, Eiiyii, Eiiyii Madam Hawa, we have collected goodies from you and we will vote for Mahama Ayariga. It can be recalled that Hon. Ayariga Mahama coming to the scene was divine intervention after Bawku had come out of fresh inter-tribal and political line violence preceded after the 2000 election and renewed clashed in 2001. His first term in parliament did not receive wide condemnation because his party was in opposition and for that, he could not influence much. Faith as it may be in 2008, though Hon. Ayariga Mahama lost his seat to embattled Former MP Adamu Dramani Sakande, he had received an appointment as a spokesperson to Late President Professor John Evans Atta Mills, he later became Minister of Youth and Sports, Minister of Environment, Science and Technology. It has become evident that, Hon. Mahaya Ayariga the poster boy of Bawku Politics who has become a full-grown politician has lost touch with his constituents. He began to influence all process in the Bawku constituency as he made attempts to break away from internal party agreement on the choice of MCE after he (Hon. Mahama Ayariga) had managed to secure the Bawku central seat in 2012. Though he once again managed to win the Bawku central seat, it is crystal clear that, Hon. Mahama Ayariga 12 years of underperforming as MP is enough. In an honest admission, although Hon. Mahaya Ayariga lost his popularity among the constituents since long, his biggest downfall was a result of the 2019 parliamentary primaries that can be described as a parliamentary coup. Hon. Mahaya Ayariga haven realized that he is not loved and admired by his constituents visa via delegates and he could easily be defeated embarrassingly in the parliamentary primaries, had engaged party stalwarts and prominent men in the Bawku enclave to prevail on the obvious choice to stand down. This has led to his unpopular acclamation of unopposed candidate. It is not mark of popularity it is a well matured political party (NDC) that has failed to appreciate their own belief. It is a day of shame! What baffled me so much, why the NDC as a social democratic party, a stronger believer in social justice, probity and accountability will protect a poorly performing MP like Hon. Mahama Ayariga? What exactly did Hon. Mahama Ayariga significantly achieved that, the NDC thinks he should represent the good people of Bawku? Let me caution the NDC that, the party might have succeeded in forcing Hon. Mahaya Ayariga name on the ticket of the ballot paper, but cannot do the same to a larger voter population. The party must blame itself if in the unlikely events their performance in the 2020 election is worse off. This is because, Hon. Ayariga Mahama candidature is a stolen verdict and voters, party sympathizers would surely teach the NDC the true meaning of democracy by voting self-serving Hon. Mahama Ayariga out. The NDC in Bawku central constituency have indeed fired a gun on themselves and come 7th December, 2020 the constituents would demonstrate their hunger by voting Hon. Mahama Ayariga out. The NDC in Bawku central can only demonstrate oppressive rule and to circumvent the process, but cannot largely continue to influence us to vote the most privileged politician who has failed woefully. We cannot accept Hon. Mahaya Ayariga an MP who has not empowered any young man to an enviable level? Who has failed in supporting the course of social intervention with the numerous funds' allocations to his office as MP? An MP who is divisive and believe only his cronies, why must he be our MP? Political leadership must provide us with quality of service, women empowerment, youth development, road network, business environment, commerce, and educational attainment. Quality leadership must also be appreciated in empowering the vulnerable group including persons with disabilities, the aged, girl- child, and smallholder farmers. Hon. Ayariga has failed to meet these preconditions and therefore well discerning constituents must never consider voting him to parliament again. Let us look for excellent alternatives. Bawku Deserves Better!!! Author: Tahiru Lukman Email: [email protected] Tel: +233(0) 209154057 / +233 (0) 551018778 Position: Youth Activist, Development Consultant & Pan- African Author Rights groups say sentencing 27 refugees to caning for arriving in Malaysia without a permit is tantamount to torture. A Malaysian court will hear a bid to set aside caning sentences handed down to 27 Rohingya refugees from Myanmar, lawyers said, a punishment that rights groups have decried as vicious and tantamount to torture. Muslim-majority Malaysia has long been a common destination for Rohingya seeking a better life after escaping a 2017 military crackdown in Myanmar and, more recently, refugee camps in Bangladesh. But Malaysia, which does not recognise refugee status, has recently turned away boats and detained hundreds of Rohingya, saying it can not take in more migrants because of the struggle its economy is facing as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. In June, a court on Malaysias Langkawi island sentenced 40 Rohingya refugees to seven months in jail for arriving in the country by boat without a valid permit, Collin Andrew, a lawyer representing the refugees, told Reuters news agency on Tuesday. Twenty-seven men among them were also sentenced to caning, a penalty that Andrew will be seeking to overturn in court on Wednesday. The immigration department and the attorney generals office did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Cruel and inhumane Under Malaysias Immigration Act, anyone who enters the country without permission can face a 10,000-ringgit ($2,345) fine, jail for up to five years, and six strokes of a cane. Courts can choose not to hand down the caning sentence on humanitarian grounds if the migrant charged is a refugee and does not have any prior criminal history, Andrew said. So its quite unusual for the court to impose caning against Rohingya in this case, he said. On Monday, rights group Amnesty International urged Malaysia not to cane the refugees, saying it was cruel and inhumane. The men who face violent lashings on top of jail terms have already fled persecution and crimes against humanity in Myanmar, Rachel Chhoa-Howard, Malaysia researcher at Amnesty, said in a statement. They also survived a dangerous journey at sea to Malaysia in search of safety. The inhumanity of this approach is atrocious. Lawyers have also sought a review of a case against six Rohingya teenagers, including two girls, who Andrew said had been wrongly tried and convicted as adults. This month, the court had dismissed a case against 51 Rohingya minors who were also charged for violating immigration laws, he said. Amnesty has called on the government to release all other Rohingya refugees who had been convicted under the alleged immigration offences, saying they are contrary to international law. According to the rights group, since the start of 2020, up to 1,400 Rohingya people have been stranded in boats in the Andaman Sea and the Bay of Bengal after fleeing persecution in Myanmar and refugee camps in Bangladesh. Photos: China Begins Final Assembly of Next Two Advanced Aircraft Carriers, Aims for 2021 Delivery Sputnik News 19:07 GMT 20.07.2020 According to photos and reports emerging from China, the People's Liberation Army Navy's (PLAN's) third and fourth aircraft carriers are having their massive hulls assembled simultaneously. The warships are anticipated to sport electromagnetic catapults, like the US Navy's newest carrier, making them more dangerous than ever. Photos have emerged on Chinese social media showing the assembly of two massive warships at the Jiangnan Shipyard outside Shanghai, where the PLAN's next two aircraft carriers are being built. Anonymous, independent sources told the South China Morning Post (SCMP) they are indeed the first two Type 002 carriers, the first of which will be completed next year. "Assembly of the new aircraft carrier has begun and is expected to be completed in the first half of next year, because the COVID-19 pandemic slowed down progress," one source told SCMP. "Workers are also starting the keel-laying for the new carrier's sister ship. Both ships have been built by the Jiangnan Shipyard outside Shanghai." In the photos, several pieces of the ships, assembled separately, can be seen being slowly fitted together. Earlier this month, observers noted the arrival of the "mega-modules" carrying the pre-assembled pieces into the new shipyard area at the mouth of the Yangtze River. A second source told the SCMP, "Construction for the second Type 002 will be faster than the first one because workers have learned and overcome a lot of problems building the first one. It's a challenging job because the Type 002 is our country's first domestically designed aircraft carrier." The sources told the paper that work on the first Type 002 began in 2015 and on the second ship in 2018, although it was paused last year for technical reasons. The Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) think tank in Washington, DC, estimates the ships' displacement to be roughly 80,000 tons each, with a 40-meter beam at the waterline. That's nearly twice the displacement of China's present carriers and comparable to the US Navy's first supercarriers, but not quite the size of the Nimitz-class and Ford-class carriers Washington uses today and which clock in at 100,000 tons. Beijing commissioned its first domestically built aircraft carrier, the Shandong, in December 2019. The warship is a close parallel to the Liaoning, China's first carrier, which it bought as an incomplete hull from Ukraine, begun in the final days of the Soviet Union as the Kuznetsov-class carrier Riga. Russia operates the Liaoning's sister ship, the Admiral Kuznetsov, as its navy's flagship. However, the new Type 002 is believed to be a different design from the Shandong, which was called the Type 001a before its commissioning, but confusingly also referred to as the Type 002 at times. One major advance is that the new ships are anticipated to have electromagnetic aircraft catapults to lift their air wings into the skies, rather than the bow "ski ramp" system used by the Liaoning and Shandong. Aircraft catapults mean the Type 002's warplanes can take off with much more fuel and bombs than before - an important upgrade, since the staple aircraft of Chinese naval aviation, the J-15, suffers major limitations due to its size and weight. However, recent statements from the Chinese Aeronautical Establishment, the research and development branch of the Aviation Industry Corporation of China, point to the advancement of proposals to make the experimental FC-31 Gyrfalcon stealth fighter into China's primary carrier-borne aircraft, with tests beginning before the end of the year. However, the US Navy's USS Gerald R. Ford, the only other warship that uses electromagnetic catapults instead of steam catapults, has struggled to make the technology work reliably. Hong Kong-based military commentator Liang Guoliang told the SCMP the Type 002 is expected to still be oil-fueled; by contrast, the US and French navies have carriers powered by nuclear reactors. Sputnik has previously reported on the PLAN's plans to dramatically expand its carrier forces, not just with large fleet carriers like the Type 002, but also with several Type 075 landing helicopter docks (LHDs), a type of helicopter carrier with facilities for dispatching thousands of marines and their equipment for an amphibious assault. China's Global Times reported the first Type 075 will soon be ready to stretch its sea legs for the first time, and the second finished construction in April; the third is under construction at a different Shanghai shipyard than the Type 002s. Beijing plans to have six aircraft carriers by 2035, organized into three fleets covering the Yellow Sea, East and South China seas. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Gov. Mike Parson: These kids have got to get back to school.... And if they do get COVID-19, which they will and they will when they go to school theyre not going to the hospitals.... Theyre going to go home and theyre going to get over it. https://t.co/yEtHbYf3sZ pic.twitter.com/SzoieUGPOh St. Louis Post-Dispatch (@stltoday) July 20, 2020 This is so unbelievably evil. This is so unbelievably evil. Reply Thread Link he looks like he eats children Reply Parent Thread Link Never trust someone with a weak chin. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Yeah... so fuck their parents, fuck multi-generational homes, right? There have been studies that indicate kids can be as contagious. Reply Parent Thread Link go home and infect their siblings, parent, grandparents, etc... i wonder how the people who voted for him feel. Reply Parent Thread Link devastating Reply Parent Thread Link this is so upsetting Reply Parent Thread Link Honestly devastating. I hope whatever it was it was quick and painless. Reply Parent Thread Link I'm devastated. What a massive loss. Reply Parent Thread Link i saw so many great takes re: John Lewis over the weekend that really took into account the entirety of his politics and the ways in which he failed to show up for marginalized communities as well as his stance against Palestine, etc. while it's always important to not dehumanize ppl by lionizing them, it's been hard in this instance since a lot of white Leftists' politics are actually informed by deeply shaped by white supremacy. Reply Thread Link Anyway, I saw on the news tonight that John Kasich is supposed to speak...at the Democratic Convention in support of Biden. Im sure that will set Trump off on a rant soon. Edited at 2020-07-21 12:28 am (UTC) I was like when Trumpo was saying he may or may not accept the election results. They are gonna have to drag him out of the White House like this arent they?Anyway, I saw on the news tonight that John Kasich is supposed to speak...at the Democratic Convention in support of Biden. Im sure that will set Trump off on a rant soon. Reply Thread Link on the one hand: that'll piss off Trump. on the other: fuck John Basic. Reply Parent Thread Link That whole interview was great, I havent seen enough ppl discussing it! Reply Parent Thread Link "Im sure that will set Trump off on a rant soon." I wish I could say that I'm sure this news will set prominent Democrats off on a rant soon as well, but.... Reply Parent Thread Link right? lmaooo. in the world of liberals, john kasich and the architects behind the iraq war are completely palatable while they pretend to be outraged at joe rogan. it's farcical and it's funny people are still stupid enough to go along with it. Reply Parent Thread Link union-busting homophobic John Kasich speaking on behalf of Biden on the DNC? lmaooo. could the Dem Party be any more transparent? and dumbass liberals will applaud this. Reply Parent Thread Link trump will make fun of him on twitter, yes, but he doesn't care about john kasich lol. all the #nevertrump republicans have long been expunged from the party. Reply Parent Thread Link feeling sick just thinking about all the democrats that voted for Larry Hogan Edited at 2020-07-21 12:31 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link why did they support him? economic interests? Reply Parent Thread Link The impression that I got was they like that he's a moderate even tho lol he's not even that moderate. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link Because the best Democratic candidate in the race literally dropped dead of a heart attack (RIP), leaving only flawed, awful candidates. So a very weak and unappealing Democratic candidate to begin with, combined with Hogan having a reputation for being not so bad that is mainly based on people not following local politics closely enough. Also he might have gotten a boost from having cancer, honestly. Reply Parent Thread Link He ran against black men both times. This state is fucking racist and don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Reply Parent Thread Link I live in MD and a lot of Democrats in my area are rich white liberals who pretend to be progressive but don't want to pay more taxes so voted for Larry Hogan Reply Parent Thread Link Now, ... You hate to see it https://t.co/bOdGLiKoR7 Rick Wilson (@TheRickWilson) July 20, 2020 . First, Cooper kicks him out of Charlotte NCNow, ... Reply Thread Link My aunt is in the hospital for Covid. :-( Reply Thread Link Oh no, I'm sorry. I hope she recovers Reply Parent Thread Link I'm so sorry Reply Parent Thread Link I'm sorry. I hope she gets better. Reply Parent Thread Link Omg Im so sorry. Reply Parent Thread Link I hope she makes a full recovery. Reply Parent Thread Link I wish Larry Hogan zero luck in his future hypothetical presidential run Trump posted on his Twitter that wearing masks is ~patriotic~ so hopefully that influences some :/ manages to be racist of course Edited at 2020-07-21 12:59 am (UTC) Reply Thread Link Oh look, I can rant about Larry Hogan being garbage and be on topic! I'm pissed off he's doing his book tour to launch his campaign as cases increase in MD instead of doing something about that. I'm pissed off that he ignored his benchmarks to reopen MD before the larger counties were anywhere near being ready, then acted passive-aggressive about their county execs not following suit. I was thankful for him actually getting tests, surpassing the very low bar set by Republicans, but they weren't immediately usable, and tests from an American source could have been had cheaper. But he got to have a photo op and grandstand! Hogan said that Freddie Gray was connected to the Crips (with no evidence, and not that that makes extrajudicial murder okay), a drug dealer, and that the prosecution of the police who killed him was a waste of time and money. He called the protesters gang members and out-of-town agitators, in true conservative fashion, when everybody knows that the worst happened when public transit was shutdown without warning after high school let out, stranding young people where police just happened to be forming their lines, just like the sudden curfews and kettling during the recent protests have sparked the most violence and arrests. He says it's different than George Floyd, because there's no video of Freddie Gray's death, and that's only true in that people like Hogan can deny his murder more easily. There is video of Mondawmin, but like the name of the person who ordered the shutdown, MTA won't release it. And then there's the years of defunding the non-carceral parts of Baltimore, including the red line. Now, as he's swinging back to the right to run in a Republican primary, he's ordering ALL polling places open in November, and is wasting money by sending out absentee ballot applications instead of sending out ballots themselves like we did in the primary. MD election boards have Republican majorities because the governor is a Republican. PG County ran out of ballots at multiple locations due to "unexpectedly high turnout" in 2018; my polling place didn't come close to running out even though we had high turnout, but I also live in a county with white Dems who will vote for Hogan. There were still long lines because we don't have nearly enough scanners. This year, the city of Baltimore, Montgomery, and Prince George's counties all had delays getting their ballots because the state was somehow late sending the lists. For the most democratic counties. Combining Republican election boards refusing to open more polling places, election judges who are understandably unwilling to serve because a lot of them are elderly, adding an extra layer of bureaucracy with the ballot applications as USPS is being set up to collapse, the previous issues with in-person ballots in an off-year and absentee ballots this year, and a fucking pandemic, and this is going to be a disaster. People will not get their ballots, there might not be enough ballots at polling places because they can claim to expect a lower turnout, and there definitely won't be enough election judges. There will be long lines, inside, during flu season. But hey, at least Hogan gets to fight voting rights and look good for conservatives! Reply Thread Link Thank you. Better than I could've said it. Reply Parent Thread Link The crazy thing is that your rant is so long, and yet doesn't even address my usual Hogan rant points! Just goes to show how shitty and awful he is. Reply Parent Thread Link There is so much to hate about him and yet he gets pretty good media coverage. He's just as corrupt as trump but I rarely see it mentioned that he's using his office to make money for his business. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link lol I have so many, these were just the things from the post and my most recent touch point: the election Reply Parent Thread Link MD is truly fooled by Hogan. Reply Thread Link People just don't pay close enough attention to local politics, sadly. Reply Parent Thread Link Literally how did he write a book that fast. Reply Thread Link Ughhhh fuck Larry Hogan so much! As a Marylanders he just boils my blood, as does the false reputation he has thanks to people not paying any attention to state politics. For all that he tries to contrast himself with Trump, he is in fact quite Trumpian in a number of ways. He likes to come up with stupid, inaccurate nicknames (like calling a bill requiring more MD energy to come from renewable sources "a tax on the Sun" or a law to provide funding for cleaning up the Bay a "rain tax"), his response to be corrected on misinformation is to double down on the falsehood, and he is obsessed with his pill numbers and promoting them, all cherry picked to only show the numbers in the poll that are flattering to him. (Not, say, numbers saying that parents do not support you tying to force all schools to start after Labor Day to enrich your political donors in Ocean City, a hill he seemed to want to die on before COVID hit). He also has shown similar indications of inappropriately mixing business with government to his profit. He likes to block people on social media -- even paying civil servants tax dollars to censor critical FB comments in the past. He likes to punish political opponents when it comes to funding, directing funding towards areas that support him politically over those that do not.(See, transportation and education funding). He likes to raise the spector of culture war straw men (e.g. "I will defend the MD flag!") to try to rile up his base. One of his biggest lowlights is when, at the beginning of Trump's term, he was too cowardly to stand up to Trump and denounce the way Trump's travel ban had ridiculously detained a 4 year old Maryland/U.S. citizen for hours. Plenty of Republicans criticized at least the way the ban was implemented, but Hogan was too chickenshit to do even that, even when the Trump administration doubled down on whether it was justified to detain a 4 year old as a potential terrorist. He may stand up to Trump now, but he couldn't when one of his state's most vulnerable members needed help and a champion. I really don't want him anywhere near the presidency, though part of me wants him to be in the primary just long enough to not be able to run for Senate. (Ugh). Reply Thread Link The fucking rain tax...watermen have had limits on their catches for decades, farmers have had to deal with regulation of their fertilizer and chicken shit runoff, and wealthy suburbanites can't pay a fucking stormwater fee to clean up runoff because everything is paved over in order to meet the standards of the Clean Water Act? Give me a break. Reply Parent Thread Link Mental arithmetic is one of my few party tricks. 100, 93, 86, 79, 72, 65, 58, 51, 44, 37, 30, 23, 16, 9, 2! Reply Thread Link It's a rather more subuded celebration this year due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but that hasn't stopped Belgium's royal family putting on a glamorous display to mark the country's national day. Queen Mathilde, 47, and her family this morning attended the traditional religious service at the Sainte-Gudule cathedral in Brussels to mark the occasion, donning masks with their smart outfits for the socially-distanced ceremony. The mother-of-four looked typically elgant in a black and gold patterned tress teamed with a wide-brimmed cream hat and nude leather gloves. Meanwhile, her daughter Princess Elisabeth looked every inch the queen in waiting, donning a floating pink frock with a floral pattern, accessorising with an on-trend headband in a matching shade. And the heir to the throne, 18, took co-ordination to the max by wearing a face mask in the same material as her dress. Queen Mathilde of Belgium looked elgant in a gold and black floral dress as she joined her husband King Philippe for a church service at the Sainte-Gudule cathedral to mark the country's National Day Belgium's Crown Princess Elizabeth arrives to attend a religious service (Te Deum) at the Sainte-Gudule cathedral, on the occasion of Belgian national day, in Brussels, Belgium Belgium's Princess Eleonore, Prince Gabriel, Queen Mathilde, King Philippe, Crown Princess Elisabeth and Prince Emmanuel line up for the socially distanced church service Also in attendance were her younger siblings Princess Eleonore, 12, Prince Emmanuel, 14, and Prince Gabriel, 16. Princess Eleonore looked picture perfect in a bright pink dress with ballet pumps, while her brothers were smart in suits and ties. Belgium's national day is usually marked with nationwide celebrations and crowds usually gather outside the church to greet the royals who go on a walkabout to chat to wellwishers after the service. However, there were no such gatherings this year in the country which has recorded 63,893 Covid-19 cases and 9,800 deaths. Princess Elisabeth matched her face mask to her pale pink floral dress and wore an on-trend headband in a matching shade - completing the look with gold earrings Queen Mathilde linked arms with her husband King Philippe of Belgium - who wore military drewss uniform - as the arrived for the service at Saint Gudula Cathedral Belgium's Crown Princess Elisabeth leaves after attending a religious service (Te Deum) at the Sainte-Gudule cathedral, having removed her face mask Monday's figures revealed 187 new coronavirus cases, a 66 per cent increase on the previous week, prompting fears of a second wave in the country. Princess Elisabeth spent 18 months boarding at UWC Atlantic College in South Wales before returning home to Brussels in March ahead of the government lockdown. Like students across the country, the royal has been forced to finish her studies remotely and will not return to the school. She has spent recent months living with her parents, King Philippe and Queen Mathilde, and her three siblings in Brussels. The princess, who will receive her International Baccalaureate Diploma this summer, will complete a one-year course in social and military sciences at the Brussels Royal Military Academy, starting this Autumn. Belgium's Princess Eleonore, Prince Gabriel, Queen Mathile, King Philippe, Crown Princess Elisabeth and Prince Emmanuel all wore face masks during the service The royals attended a church service to mark National Day but there will be no walkabout or public gatherings afterwards Safety first! Belgium's Queen Mathile, King Philippe, Crown Princess Elisabeth and Prince Emmanuel arrive to attend a religious service wearing masks King Philippe, 60, spent three years at the esteemed institution between 1978 to 1981. There, she will learn in-depth about the four components of Belgian defense; Army, Air Force, Navy and Medical. While in isolation at Laeken Palace, Elizabeth and her siblings Prince Gabriel, 16, Prince Emmanuel, 14 and Princess Eleonore, 12, have spent time volunteering. They showed their support for Belgium's elderly population by calling retirement homes and delivering baked goods. Crown Princess Elisabeth returned to Belgium from Wales in March, after spending 18 months boarding at UWC Atlantic College Elisabeth's younger sister Princess Elenore has been tagging along on some of her mother's engagements, doing her best to help Belgium move forward from the pandemic. Belgium is a relatively young monarchy in Europe, with their first king, Leopold of Saxe-Cobourg, rising to the throne in 1831. Before then, the country was under the Netherlands' rule, but inspired by the recent French Revolution of 1789, the Belgian people rebelled and booted the Dutch out of the country. Leopold of Saxe-Cobourg was a nobleman with connections with the most prominent royal families of Europe - including with the British royal family, thanks to his marriage to Princess Charlotte of Wales, the only child of George IV, in 1816. Princess Eleonore, Prince Gabriel, Queen Mathilde of Belgium, King Philippe of Belgium, Princess Eleonore and Prince Emmanuel, wearing protective face masks as precaution against Covid-19 coronavirus pandemic Princess Elisabeth looked every inch the Queen-in-waiting in an elegant floral dress, teamed with nude court shoes and a coral clutch bag His ties with European royalty made him a perfect candidate to become King of Belgium under a parliamentary monarchy regime. The present Belgian National Day commemorates King Leopold pledged allegiance to the new Belgian Constitution, which established Belgium as a centralised unitary state. The celebration would initially take place on 27 September, the day marking the official withdrawal of Dutch forces from Belgian soil. Crowds would informally celebrate the event each year, but it became an official public holiday thanks to a law dated from 27 May 1890. An investigation into an NHS trust over high infant deaths and brain damage cases has now expanded to cover 1,862 babies. The review into maternity services at Shrewsbury and Telford Hospital NHS Trust is being led by Donna Ockenden. News of the increase in numbers came after it was revealed earlier this month a thorough examination of records at the trust had identified more potential cases. Rhiannon Davies of Ludlow, Shrops, and her daughter Kate is one of the cases in the probe Today the independent maternity review team confirmed the further search of paper records and a call for families to come forward had found another 496 families. It takes the total number of cases of death or harm being examined to 1,862. Ms Ockenden said: 'It's now really important that we focus our efforts on getting all clinical reviews completed so that we can make meaningful recommendations to improve services and give families the answers they have asked for. 'We intend to have initial, emerging recommendations for maternity services published at the end of the year. Baby Pippa, with parents Colin and Kayleigh Griffiths and sister Brooke, who died at one day old Babies whose lives should have been saved: Pippa Griffiths In photographs Colin and Kayleigh Griffiths look delighted as they show off their new arrival. Cradled on mum's lap, shortly after being born in a planned home birth in north Shropshire, is Pippa next to her big sister Brooke. All the family delighted. But a day later, on April 27, 2016, Pippa died from an infection she contracted during her birth. A midwife said she would return in the afternoon after the baby was born but never turned up, the inquest was told. Pippa died at 4.09pm on April 27. Colin and Kayleigh were concerned about Pippa's feeding and contacted midwives shortly after her birth, who reassured them. But in the early hours of the following day, Kayleigh noticed her daughter had vomited brown mucus. Later that morning, the baby's condition worsened. She developed a purple rash and then stopped breathing. Emergency services managed to get her breathing again, but she later died. Advertisement 'We intend to have initial, emerging recommendations for maternity services published at the end of the year. 'In order to give ourselves the time to write the final report, any new cases that come to light from now on will need to go directly to the trust for them to consider, rather than them coming to the maternity review team. 'I have made a commitment to the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care that we will undertake our work with the care and the independence it deserves and we will publish the final report as quickly as we can. 'I want to assure families that their experiences are important to us and that our independent team of midwives and doctors continue to ensure that family voices remain central to everything we do.' Letters will be sent to the recently identified families asking if they want their case to be reviewed. The independent maternity review team said the inquiry is moving into the next phase. It is focusing on the completion of clinical reviews to enable the final report to be published, and the team has said any further cases should go to the trust. The inquiry was commissioned by then health secretary Jeremy Hunt in 2017. It came following concerns raised by the parents of Kate Stanton-Davies and Pippa Griffiths, who died shortly after birth in 2009 and 2016 respectively. At first it was only going to review 23 cases, but it was widened after cases were identified by the trust's own investigation. West Mercia Police announced last month that they had launched an investigation into the care of mothers and babies who died or suffered serious harm in the maternity unit. 'A police investigation will be conducted to explore whether there is evidence to support a criminal case either against the trust or any individuals,' said Assistant Chief Constable Geoff Wessell of West Mercia Police. The review is into Shrewsbury and Telford NHS trust (pictured, Ludlow Community Hospital) 'The investigation is now live so we are unable to comment any further at this time.' Ms Ockenden said the police probe will not impact the progress of the review. Lawyers at Irwin Mitchell said they had been instructed by a number of families to investigate the maternity care they received the trust. Tim Annett said: 'Our clients are incredibly concerned by today's announcement that the Ockenden review has deemed it appropriate to expand the number of cases it's investigating to nearly 1,900. While we welcome the serious nature in which the review is being conducted, understandably, our clients have further questions they need answering. 'These concerns have been heightened by NHS Improvement's separate report which found the Hospital Trust delayed publication of an investigation by the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists amid fears of the public reaction to the findings. 'Sadly when things go wrong it's vital that full and transparent investigations are conducted to uphold public confidence in the healthcare system. 'We call on the Hospital Trust to ensure it honours its own promise to work with the Ockenden Review to ensure that lessons are learned. 'It's vital that families receive the care and support they may need to get through this difficult time.' Kanye West has been making his rounds in the headlines since announcing his bid for the presidency on July 4. Many people at the time thought the rapper was merely pulling a publicity stunt. However, West has continued along this path, hosting his first official campaign rally in South Carolina on Sunday. At the rally he spoke about he and wife Kim Kardashian's decision not to abort their oldest child North West, and claimed Harriet Tubman had never actually freed slaves. The rally left some concerned for West, who was emotional to the point of tears and singled out members in the audience for wearing mask. A day later in a series of now deleted tweets, West accused both his wife and and his mother-in-law Kris Jenner of trying to have him "locked up." The 43-year-old compared his life to Jordan Peele's 2017 film 'Get Out' and seemed to address his wife's past, saying he puts his life on his God that "Norths mom would never photograph her doing playboy" (Kim has posed nude for the outlet in the past.) While some people said the rapper sent the tweets for clout and to promote his upcoming album DONDA, titled after his late mother, the recent rant sparked conversations of mental health in the Black community and how it is not taken seriously. H-TOWN HIP HOP: Travis Scott drops new music, clears air over T-Pain incident Twitter user @qssley said the Black community constantly dismisses mental heath. Another Twitter user, @infallibelle, said bipolar disorder isn't a joke and is something people struggle with daily. Twitter user @devitoandcrew_ said it broke her heart to see West's tweets. In an episode of My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman last year, Kanye spoke openly about his personal struggles with mental health. "It is a health issue that has a strong stigma on it, and people are allowed to say anything about it and discriminate in any way," said West. "This is like a sprained brain, like having a sprained ankle. If someone has a sprained ankle, you're not going to push on him more." At the time, West said when you're in that state, you're hyper-paranoid about everything. "This is my experience," he said. "Everyone now is an actor. Everything is a conspiracy. You see everything. You feel the government is putting chips in your head. You feel you're being recorded, you feel all these things." During the interview with David Letterman, West said if you don't take your medication daily to keep you at a certain state when you're bipolar, you have the potential to ramp up and it can take you to a point where you can even end up in the hospital. "You start acting erratic, as TMZ would put it." As a string of ambassadorial appointments were finalised this month, attention was focused on the new envoys to Bangladesh and Taiwan, two countries with which India is keen to boost relations in the post-pandemic situation. Gourangalal Das, the former joint secretary (Americas) in the external affairs ministry who played a key role in arrangements for US President Donald Trumps visit to the country this year, has already left for Taipei to take over as the representative in-charge of the India Taipei Association. Vikram Doraiswami, the additional secretary in-charge of international organisations and summits at the ministry and the former head of the Indo-Pacific, will head to the Bangladesh capital Dhaka as the new envoy, people familiar with developments said on condition of anonymity. The two appointments signal the importance attached by the external affairs ministry to relations with both Bangladesh and Taiwan, the people said. They also come against the backdrop of the border standoff with China. There is a concerted effort to counter Chinas fresh attempts to woo Bangladesh, while experts and analysts have called for India to upgrade its relations with Taiwan at a time when both countries are dealing with the fallout of tensions with China. Under the One China policy, India doesnt have full and formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. Taiwan established the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in New Delhi in 1995 as its representative office while India set up the India Taipei Association at the same time to promote ties in fields such as trade, investment, education, science and technology and tourism. Das, who belongs to the 1999 batch of the Indian Foreign Service (IFS) and is fluent in Mandarin, has done two stints in the Indian embassy in Beijing during 2001-04 and 2006-09. He also served as deputy secretary in the Prime Ministers Office during the term of Manmohan Singh and as a counsellor in the Indian embassy in the US. Doraiswami, who is from the 1992 batch of IFS, is set to replace Riva Ganguly Das as the envoy in Dhaka. She is expected to take over as secretary (East) when the incumbent, Vijay Thakur Singh, retires in September. A former journalist who speaks Mandarin and French, Doraiswami also served as joint secretary (Americas) during 2012-14 and as the envoy to Uzbekistan and South Korea. He too had a stint in the Prime Ministers Office. He will head to Bangladesh at a time when India is looking to boost bilateral cooperation by enhancing connectivity between the two sides. Various initiatives have been taken in the past few years to promote connectivity and both sides recognise that increased connectivity by air, water, rail and road offers mutually beneficial opportunities for economic cooperation between Bangladesh and India, especially the northeastern states, the people cited above said. On July 16, the two countries launched the first trial movement of containers by sea from Kolkata to Agartala via Chattogram port in Bangladesh. This was done under an agreement to use Chattogram and Mongla ports for movement of Indian transit cargo through Bangladesh. This could create a win-win situation for both economies. The two countries signed an agreement on coastal shipping in 2015 and an agreement on the use of Chittagong and Mongla ports for trans-shipment of goods to and from India in October 2018, said one of the people cited above. This agreement and standard operating procedures permit movement of goods in Bangladesh via waterways, railway, road or multi-modal transport. Eight routes are part of the agreement to enable access to the northeastern states. These routes include those linking Chattogram and Mongla ports to Agartala in Tripura, Dawki in Meghalaya, Sutarkandi in Assam and Srimantpur in Tripura. Once this gets fully implemented, it will reduce distance, time and logistical cost for transporting goods from the rest of India to the northeastern states and will be a win-win for both economies. The advantages that will accrue to Bangladesh include job creation, investments in the logistics sector, integration of supply chains and promotion of business services such as finance and insurance, the person cited above said. The Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater, one of the most prominent global dance companies and a beacon for black performers, has fired its senior artistic director after allegations of sexual harassment went viral on TikTok. Troy Powell, 51, was dismissed on Monday following an investigation commissioned by The Ailey School in New York City after the allegations began circulating on social media. Powell was the artistic director of the junior touring company - Ailey II - and a teacher at the school. He had been placed on a leave of absence in June as the investigation occurred, CNN reports. Troy Powell, 51, was dismissed on Monday following an investigation commissioned by The Ailey School in New York City Powell was the artistic director of the junior touring company - Ailey II - and a teacher at the school In a statement released on Monday, the Ailey organization concluded that Powell 'engaged in inappropriate communications with adults enrolled in the school.' 'Because his conduct was inconsistent with the standards expected of Ailey's staff, executive leadership concluded that Mr. Powell could not continue in his position with the organization, and he is no longer employed in any capacity,' they said in the statement. Two dancers came forward with an explosive TikTok video, captioning the clip: 'When you wanna be in Ailey 2... But guys gotta sleep with Troy Powell.' The video circulated heavily across alumni at the school, with several students and alums posting their own tearful videos online. The initial video has been removed. Allegations about the artistic director poured in after two dancers came forward with an explosive TikTok video, captioning the clip: 'When you wanna be in Ailey 2... But guys gotta sleep with Troy Powell' Three of the students said that they were pulled from performances or turned away during auditions after they turned down Powell's advances. The allegations detailed by the dancers spanned from 2003 to 2011 (stock) An attorney working with the organization's general counsel then reached out to several of the dancers. Four of the dancers - three who also spoke with lawyers - explained to CNN that Powell abused his position of power and took part in 'inappropriate communications'. They claim that Powell touched them inappropriately or made sexual overtures at them and also sent one of them an 'unwanted' photo. The historic Ailey company was founded in 1958 by legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey, during a time when black dancers struggled to find opportunity in the mainstream due to segregation and racism Three of the students said that they were pulled from performances or turned away during auditions after they turned down Powell's advances. The allegations detailed by the dancers spanned from 2003 to 2011. Two of the former dancers said that they complained to administrators at the school but Powell was allowed to stay in his position and still traveled with the dancers. According to his website, which has since been deleted, Powell has been dancing with the studio for decades. He claimed to have been dancing on scholarship at the school starting at the age of nine. Ailey, from rural Texas, was celebrated for his powerful pieces that showcased the deep history of black America Prior to taking over as artistic director of Ailey II in 2012 and teaching, Powell performed all over the word and in the school's iconic building in Columbus Circle. Powell is the latest in teachers from leading US dance institutions hit with sexual harassment allegations against them. Peter Martins, artistic director at New York City Ballet, retired in 2018 after allegations of sexual harassment and physical and verbal abuse. He denied the claims against him. Marcelo Gomes, star dancer at the American Ballet Theater, resigned in 2017 after being accused of sexual misconduct. He has denied the allegations and has danced with other companies since. The historic Ailey company was founded in 1958 by legendary choreographer Alvin Ailey, during a time when black dancers struggled to find opportunity in the mainstream due to segregation and racism. Ailey, from rural Texas, was celebrated for his powerful pieces that showcased the deep history of black America. According to their website, tuition at the school is $15,000. Louisiana has suspended an emergency rent assistance program to help with the economic slowdown caused by COVID-19 after more than 40,000 people filled out applications for the help in less than four days. The Louisiana Housing Corporation set aside $24 million of federal money for the program and will try to find more money after the flood of applications, said E. Keith Cunningham, the agencys executive director. We are committed to doing everything we can to meet the needs of renters and landlords and are hopeful that additional federal dollars will become available as soon as possible, Cunningham said in a statement. The agency estimated they had enough money to help about 10,000 tenants, paying the aid directly to landlords. The Louisiana Housing Corporation said it will continue to process applications and take more applicants once additional money is available. When the program was announced on July 16, housing advocates said it was a good start, but was far too little money, especially with the boosted $600-per-week federal unemployment payments expiring at the end of the month. Families could be forced into the streets at a time when Louisiana is facing record high temperatures, community spread of coronavirus, record levels of unemployment and food insecurity, and at the beginning of hurricane season, Camille Manning-Broome, president of the Center for Planning Excellence, said in a statement last week. To be eligible, a person must have lost income because of COVID-19, be at risk of eviction and have income that is at or below 30% of the area median income. Thats $13,500 for a single-person household or $19,300 for a family of four. Anyone who receives other government housing assistance is unable to receive the aid. Democratic Gov. John Bel Edwards said the overwhelming number of applications shows the pandemic is more than just a health crisis. The response to our states emergency rental assistance program proves how significant the economic burden of COVID-19 is for our citizens, Edwards said in a statement. More than 3,400 Louisiana residents have died from the COVID-19 disease caused by the coronavirus, according to the state health department. More than 91,700 people in Louisiana have been confirmed infected with the coronavirus since March, and the health department says more than 53,000 are presumed recovered. For most people, the coronavirus causes mild or moderate symptoms. For some, especially older adults and those with existing health problems, it can cause more severe or fatal illness. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics COVID-19 Louisiana Washington: US President Donald Trump, in a shift in rhetoric on facial coverings, encouraged Americans on Tuesday to wear a mask if they cannot maintain social distance from people around them in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In his first briefing focused on the pandemic in months, Trump told reporters at the White House that the virus will probably get worse before it gets better. Trump has been reluctant to wear a mask himself in public. He also conceded the pandemic is likely to get worse for a time. Many Twitter users have been left confused after Tom Holland started trending following Nicki Minajs announcement that she is pregnant. The rapper announced that shes expecting her first child with husband Kenneth Petty, and soon after, the social media site was flooded with jokes about Holland being the father. Many began jokily wishing the Spider-Man actor their congratulations over the news, prompting one user to ask: Whats up with these Tom Holland and Nicki Minaj memes? Did I miss something? While some were left confused by the claims, others jumped in to explain that the joke stems from a meme created in April 2019 depicting a love triangle between Minaj, the Spider-Man actor and YouTube star James Charles. Its been a joke for years, one fan explained, adding: No idea how it started but people started to make these edits about Tom Holland and Nicki being a thing. The original clip, which went viral, saw a Holland fan account post fake subtitles of the pair expressing their love for one another over real video clips. Although the tweets in response to Minajs news were clearly a joke, some people actually believed them. I read a tweet earlier today that said that Tom Holland was the father of Nicki Minajs baby and honestly I believed it all day, one person wrote. Another added: I searched it and thats not true. Tom Holland isnt a father, and he isnt with Nicki Minaj. He is dating Nadia Park. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Minaj has been married to Petty since 2019. She announced the news of her pregnancy via pictures of her baby bump on Instagram. She wrote: Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement & gratitude. Thank you all for the well wishes. Passengers arrive at Tan Son Nhat Airport in HCM City. Due to the current difficulties of local aviation industry, no new airline is allowed to open until 2022 .- Photo VNS Thu Giang The Deputy PM says until the aviation industry has fully recovered from the fall-out of the COVID-19 pandemic, no new airlines will be considered. His ruling conforms proposals submitted by the Ministry of Transport (MoT) in May. The announcement will come as a blow to a number of new airlines that were hoping to take to the skies soon. Kite Air of hospitality group Thien Minh and Vietstar Airlines of Vietstar Airlines Multirole Corporation were racing for permits. With the ministrys decision, these airlines must continue to wait for permits. Minister of Transport Nguyen Van The said: "In the most optimistic scenario, only in 2022, the local aviation market could reach the result it did in 2019." According to the ministry, Vietnam has 214 aircraft, but right now less than half are being used. To ensure the State management of aviation to develop sustainably in the future, the MoT suggested focusing on restoring the domestic air travel and solve the difficulties for the local airlines. According to the Government Office, Dung assigned the MoT to take responsibility in ensuring the sustainable development of the aviation industry. He also assigned the Ministry of Planning and Investment with the function of appraising investment policy of the Kite Air project to report to the Prime Minister in the future. Currently, Vietnam has five commercial airlines including Vietnam Airlines, Vietjet, Jetstar Pacific Airlines, Bamboo Airways and Vietnam Air Services (VASCO). Earlier this year, Vietravel Airlines was granted the license to become the 6th commercial airline of Viet Nam. It is applying for a flight permit. President Donald Trump has threatened to send more federal law enforcement officers to major US cities to control ongoing protests. A group of mothers seen standing between protesters and federal officers in Portland Image copyright Reuters Mr Trump on Monday criticised a number of cities run by "liberal Democrats", including Chicago and New York, saying their leaders were afraid to act. He said officers sent to Oregon had done a "fantastic job" restoring order amid days of protests in Portland. Local officials say the federal officers are making matters worse. State leaders have demanded Mr Trump remove the personnel from Portland, accusing him of escalating the situation as a political stunt in an election year. Speaking at the White House on Monday, Mr Trump reiterated his call for law and order. "We're sending law enforcement," he told reporters. "We can't let this happen to the cities." He specifically named New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore and Oakland in discussing problems with violence. "We're not going to let this happen in our country, all run by liberal Democrats." Mr Trump also praised the controversial federal law enforcement efforts in Portland. The city has seen ongoing protests against police brutality in the city since the death of George Floyd, an unarmed black man, in Minnesota in May. Mr Trump deployed the personnel to the US west coast city two weeks ago to quell the civil unrest. Some officers have used unmarked cars and worn military-style camouflage on the streets, sparking condemnation from Democrats and activists. In the past week, tensions between protesters and these officers has escalated, and local leaders have called for the federal personnel to leave the city. Mr Trump said Oregon's governor, Portland's mayor and other state lawmakers were scared of the "anarchists". "They're afraid of these people," he said. "That's the reason they don't want us to help them." He added: "[Federal officers] have been there three days and they really have done a fantastic job in a very short period of time, no problem. They grab a lot of people and jail the leaders. These are anarchists." The officers are part of a new Department of Homeland Security (DHS) unit made up of people from the US Marshals Service and Customs and Border Protection. They have been deployed underan executive order protecting statues, signed by Mr Trump last month. That order allows federal officers to be deployed without the permission of individual US states. DHS is also planning to deploy some 150 agents to Chicago this week, the Chicago Tribune reported on Monday. The agents will reportedly assist other federal law enforcement officers and Chicago police in fighting crime. The president has long accused Chicago's leaders of failing to control violent crime in the Illinois city, where just last weekend police said 64 people were shot, 11 fatally. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot had earlier said she was concerned about Mr Trump deploying federal officers to the city. She said she had spoken with Portland's mayor on Sunday "to get a sense of what's happened there". "We don't need federal agents without any insignia taking people off the streets and holding them, I think, unlawfully," Ms Lightfoot said. Speaking to CNN on Sunday, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler said there were "dozens if not hundreds of federal troops" in the city, adding: "Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism. "They're not wanted here. We haven't asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave," he said. Oregon's attorney general has filed a lawsuit against the federal government for allegedly unlawfully detaining protesters and violating their constitutional rights of assembly and due process. BBC Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 20, 2020) - Discovery Harbour Resources Corp. (TSXV: DHR) (the "Company" or "Discovery Harbour") is pleased to announce it has closed its fully subscribed non-brokered private placement for $3 million with a lead order from Palisades Goldcorp Ltd. and a co-lead order by AlphaNorth Asset Management. The company issued 54,545,455 units (each, a "Unit") at a price of $0.055 per Unit for gross proceeds of $3,000,000 (the "Offering"). Unless otherwise noted, all amounts noted in this news release are in Canadian dollars. Each Unit consists of one common share of the Company (each, a "Share") and one common share purchase warrant (each, a "Warrant"), with each Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one Share at a price of $0.10 per Share for a period of three years following the closing of the Offering (the "Closing"). In connection with the Offering the Company paid cash fees of $161,403 and issued 2,934,605 Warrants exercisable at $0.10 for a period of three years from closing to certain finders. Certain insiders of the Company participated in the Offering. The issuance of Units to insiders of the Company pursuant to the Offering is considered a related party transactions within the meaning of TSX Venture Exchange Policy 5.9 and Multilateral Instrument 61-101 -- Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions. The Company intends to rely on exemptions from the formal valuation and minority approval requirements of sections 5.5(a) and 5.7(1)(a) of MI 61-101 in respect of such insider participation, based on a determination that fair market value of the participation in the Offering by insiders will not exceed 25 per cent of the market capitalization of the Company, as determined in accordance with MI 61-101. The Units issued on Closing are subject to a four-month hold period under Canadian securities law. Aggregate gross proceeds from the sale under the Offering will be used for (i) a planned drill program on high priority targets on the Company's Caldera epithermal gold project in southern Nevada, (ii) to repay outstanding debt, and (iii) for general working capital purposes. Story continues Mark Fields, President & CEO comments "We are very pleased with the strong response to our offering and it was unfortunate that we were not able to accommodate all the interest expressed. I am very much looking forward to the planned Caldera drill program which is now fully funded. Discovery Harbour will now have the opportunity to drill deeper than any previous drilling at Caldera including, at selected specific targets, to a depth of approximately 300 metres or more. I'd like to extend my thanks to all the current shareholders who participated and welcome our new investors. We look forward to effectively and efficiently drilling our Caldera targets." None of the Units issued will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and no such securities may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the registration requirements. This news release shall not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy nor shall there be any sale of the securities in any jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. About Palisades Goldcorp Palisades Goldcorp is Canada's new resource focused merchant bank. Palisades' management team has a demonstrated track record of making money and is backed by many of the industry's most notable financiers. With junior resource equities valued at generational lows, management believes the sector is on the cusp of a major bull market move. Palisades is positioning itself with significant stakes in undervalued companies and assets with the goal of generating superior returns. About AlphaNorth Asset Management AlphaNorth Asset Management is a Toronto based investment manager. AlphaNorth believes that superior long term equity returns are achievable by exploiting inefficiencies in the Canadian small cap universe through careful security selection. The firm combines technical analysis with both a bottom-up and top-down strategy in the selection of investments offering the best reward versus risk opportunities. About Discovery Harbour Resources Corp. Discovery Harbour is a Canadian TSX Venture Exchange listed company (TSXV: DHR) focused on sourcing, exploring and developing mineral properties, with a strategic focus on gold projects, in order to enhance shareholder value. Its current focus is the Caldera low sulphidation epithermal gold project in southern Nevada. For more information, please visit the Company's website at www.discoveryharbour.com. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DISCOVERY HARBOUR RESOURCES CORP. "Mark Fields" Mark Fields President and Chief Executive Officer Discovery Harbour Resources Corp. Tel: (604) 681-3170 Fax: (604) 681-3552 Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Information This news release includes certain "forward-looking statements" under applicable Canadian securities legislation that are not historical facts. Forward-looking statements involve risks, uncertainties, and other factors that could cause actual results, performance, prospects, and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements in this news release include, but are not limited to, statements with respect to the expectations of management regarding the use of proceeds of the Offering, and the drilling program at the Caldera project in Nevada. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking information are reasonable, there can be no assurance that such expectations will prove to be correct. Such forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results, performance or developments to differ materially from those contained in the statements including that: the proceeds of the Offering may not be used as stated in this news release; the Company may be unable to reach 300 metres of drilling or otherwise complete its drilling program as a result of permit issues, technical difficulties or labour issues, among other risks; and those additional risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking statements are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on these statements, which only apply as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Except where required by law, the Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO UNITED STATES NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60017 Geneva, July 21 : The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that his organization is deeply concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on indigenous peoples in the Americas, the current epicenter of the pandemic. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference on Monday that as of July 6, over 70,000 cases and more than 2,000 deaths have been reported among indigenous peoples in the Americas, Xinhua news agency reported. "Most recently, at least 6 cases have been reported among the Nahua people, who live in the Peruvian Amazon," the WHO chief said. According to him, there are up to 500 million indigenous peoples worldwide in over 90 countries, who often have a high burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and both communicable and non-communicable diseases, making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and its severe outcomes. Dr. Tedros stressed that one of the key tools for suppressing transmission in indigenous communities, as well as other communities, is contact tracing. "No country can get control of its epidemic if it doesn't know where the virus is," he noted. WHO's Regional Office for the Americas has recently published recommendations for preventing and responding to COVID-19 among indigenous peoples, and WHO is also working with the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin to step up the fight against COVID-19, Tedros said. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text America lost an extraordinary leader Friday when Congressman John Lewis died of pancreatic cancer. He was 80 years old. The lawmaker representing Georgia fought for civil rights for most of his life. He was the last living member of the so-called Big Six activists, a group that included Martin Luther King, Jr. A son of Alabama sharecroppers, his place in the leadership of the 1960s campaign for Black equality had its roots in that difficult life on the farm. Lewis was the youngest member of the Big Six. He helped organize the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. He spoke to the huge gathering in the nations capital shortly before King gave his famed I Have a Dream speech. Kings speech marked a turning point in the civil rights struggle. But the struggle was still far from over. Two years later, police beat Lewis bloody and broke his skull as he led hundreds of marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama. The violence came to be called Bloody Sunday. Television images of the violence helped unite national opposition to racial oppression. Leaders in Washington felt the pressure. The 1965 Voting Rights Act passed five months later. The law barred racial discrimination in voting, acts of which were widespread across the South. Lewis returned to that bridge many times following his election in 1986 to the U. S. House of Representatives. He often took along lawmakers from both major political parties so they could see where the attack took place. Lewis earned respect in Washington from Democratic and Republican lawmakers. Many called him the conscience of Congress. And, he was a guiding voice for a young Illinois senator who became the first Black president. I told him that I stood on his shoulders, former President Barack Obama wrote in a statement marking Lewis's death. He added, I told him I was only there because of the sacrifices he made. Lewis was 23 years old when he joined King to plan the March on Washington. He gave a fierce speech at the event to hundreds of thousands of demonstrators. But it was not as fierce speech he had planned to give. Lewis agreed to make several changes to soften the speech under pressure from President John F. Kennedys administration and others. But he still spoke strongly and without compromise for social revolution. In early 1965, Lewis led hundreds of demonstrators in a march in his home state of Alabama. They planned to walk 80 kilometers from Selma to the capital, Montgomery. They did not get far. Police blocked them on a Selma bridge. The police used clubs to beat protesters, fired tear gas at them and rode into the crowd on horseback. Many marchers were sent to hospitals. The nation was horrified. The sight of them rolling over us like human tanks was something that had never been seen before," Lewis later wrote. "People just couldnt believe this was happening, not in America. The 'boy from Troy' Lewis was born on February 21, 1940, near the small Alabama town of Troy. He attended segregated public schools. He was a teenager when he first heard Martin Luther King, Jr., speak on the radio as a young clergyman. They met after Lewis wrote him seeking support to become the first Black student at his local college. Lewis went on to go to college in Nashville, Tennessee, instead. Soon, the young man King called the boy from Troy was organizing sit-ins at whites-only restaurants and volunteering as a Freedom Rider. Lewis suffered many police beatings and arrests in the fight against segregation around the South. Lewis helped form the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, or SNCC. He led the powerful group from 1963 to 1966 and continued civil rights work and voter registration campaigns for many years. In 1977, President Jimmy Carter appointed Lewis to lead ACTION, a federal volunteer agency. Lewis refused to attend Donald Trumps presidential inauguration in 2017. He argued that Russian interference in the election process made it unlawful. Lewis also did not attend presidential events that followed, including the yearly State of the Union speeches presented before Congress. Trump was criticized for his lack of public comment after Lewiss death. Fourteen hours after the news broke, Trump wrote on Twitter: Saddened to hear the news of civil rights hero John Lewis passing. Melania and I send our prayers to he and his family. Trump also ordered all flags to be lowered at the White House and federal grounds and buildings on Saturday. Lewis announced in late 2019 that he had pancreatic cancer. I have never faced a fight quite like the one I have now, he said at the time. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, spoke about Lewis Monday on an American news show. She said she had talked to him the day before he died. It was a sad one, Pelosi said of their talk. We never talked about his dying until that day. Lewis was known for getting into what he called the good trouble of activism. In June of 2018, he wrote on Twitter: "Do not get lost in a sea of despair. Be hopeful, be optimistic. Our struggle is not the struggle of a day, a week, a month, or a year, it is the struggle of a lifetime. Never, ever be afraid to make some noise and get in good trouble, necessary trouble." Earlier, this year he had a similar message of support for Black Lives Matter demonstrators around the world. "Justice has, indeed, been denied for far too long, he said. Organize. Demonstrate. Sit-in. Stand up. Vote. Im Caty Weaver. And I'm Ashley Thompson. Caty Weaver wrote this story. Ashley Thompson was the editor. _____________________________________________ Words in This Story sharecropper -n. a farmer especially in the southern U.S. who raises crops for the owner of a piece of land and is paid a portion of the money from the sale of the crops conscience -n. the part of the mind that makes you aware of your actions as being either morally right or wrong segregated -adj. divided in facilities or administered separately for members of different groups or races despair -n. the feeling of no longer having any hope optimistic -adj.having or showing hope for the future: expecting good things to happen The exceptional circumstances inflicted by the Covid-19 pandemic and its repercussions on business offer a favourable opportunity for banks to move more towards green loans, Bahrain Association of Banks (BAB) said. Green loans are loans to businesses and projects that consider energy efficiency management, more adoption of renewable energy sources, and reduced waste. Dr Waheed Al Qassim, CEO of BAB, said the sustainability of the performance and profitability of banks and financial institutions is linked to business sustainability, mobility, and economic growth. He perceives that it's imperative to evoke the importance of paying more attention to borrowers who provide feasibility studies that take into account the environmental and social perspective, and contribute to implementing the basic needs of the current generations in a way that does not affect the interest and resources for future generations, and focus on economic and social development and environmental preservation. "The banking sector is keen to contribute to the strategy of sustainable economic development in Bahrain and support the economic, social, and environmental dimensions of this strategy. Banks should finance projects that prioritise sustainable development, including SMEs and micro-projects, and extend the loan portfolio to cover corporate loans and NGOs," Dr Al Qassim added. He noted that BAB had signed a cooperation agreement with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) to stimulate financial sector institutions to maintain resource sustainability and integrate sustainable development goals (SDGs) in the work of banks and financial institutions. He affirmed the association's keenness to collaborate with the Central Bank of Bahrain to develop legislation that assists this trend and expands the concept of sustainable development in all banks and financial institutions in Bahrain to make the banking sector an excellent example of this global trend. Dr Ali Ibrahim, Chairperson of the Sustainable Development Committee at BAB, asserted that Covid-19 pandemic represents an opportunity to achieve sustainable economic recovery and that Bahraini banks can represent a substantial part of the current global trend towards increasing sustainable investments, which incorporate environmental and social considerations and governance. "The opportunity currently exists for banks to explore opportunities for sustainable and green assets, especially as we see that green mortgage percentage globally have progressed significantly. One of the primary reasons for lower defaults is that the owners of green mortgages save on energy costs and are more cash-efficient. Moreover, the banks should also explore financing solar and energy efficiency of the existing businesses. This will reduce the energy costs of the customers, and they will be able to spend the savings in other productive sectors of the economy." Dr Ibrahim added. He also emphasised that SMEs' credit lines should remain open so that SMEs can improve their liquidity shortfall. Besides, the banks should continue to back new startups to stimulate new business projects. He added that banks should also invest in and finance circular economy businesses and efficient waste management technologies and others. "With the growth of sustainable asset projects in Bahrain, banks can issue green bonds and Sukuk, considering that such developments will attract more international investors to pursue opportunities in sustainable and green assets." Dr Ibrahim said, concluding his statement. Love Island's Marcel Somerville has revealed that he nearly died after being rushed to A&E with what he thought were COVID-19 symptoms earlier this summer. The former Blazin' Squad star, 34, had been giving fans updates from his hospital bed at the time, and has now revealed he learned from doctors that had diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a serious complication of type 1 diabetes. The reality star, who recently announced that his girlfriend Rebecca Vieria is pregnant with their first child, told OK!: 'I was throwing up, felt light-headed. I lost weight, my face was sunken and you could see my bones. Health scare: Love Island's Marcel Somerville has revealed that he nearly died after being rushed to A&E with COVID-19 symptoms earlier this summer 'It was because I have Type 1 diabetes, but I only found that out in hospital when they asked, "Do you know youre diabetic?" I had no clue.' DKA occurs when a diabetes patient's blood sugar is extremely high and acidic substances called ketones build up to dangerous levels in their body, often resulting in a coma or death. Marcel recalled: 'I was in hospital for over a week in intensive care and high dependency units because all the nutrients in my body were gone. I was very close to being in a coma but thanks to the NHS I made it through.' Woes: He had been giving fans updates from his hospital bed at the time, and has revealed he learned from doctors that had diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), a complication of type 1 diabetes While speaking about the gruelling experience from his hopsital bed at the time, Marcel admitted that he'd been experiencing a 'very hard few days' and being rushed to hospital was the 'worst' moment of his life. The musician shared a video of himself hooked up to wires in a hospital bed as he candidly said: 'It's been a very, very hard few days for me. Thursday was literally the worst day of my life. I nearly died.' Marcel then thanked fans for their prayers and blessings, he emotionally added: 'Keep sending them my way because I need them, thank you so much, big love, Marce.' On Monday, the reality star revealed that his girlfriend Rebecca Vieria is pregnant with his first child. Symptoms: The former Blazin' Squad star recalled of his symptoms, 'I was throwing up, felt light-headed. I lost weight, my face was sunken and you could see my bones' He also emotionally revealed that the happy news comes one year after his influencer girlfriend tragically suffered a miscarriage. The couple are yet to find out the gender of their first child together and are going to their first scan next week. He told OK!: 'I was in the studio with my headphones on and she tapped me on the shoulder. She had loads of pregnancy tests in her hand, just to make doubly sure. It was crazy! It's my first baby and I've been waiting a long time for this.' Marcel and Rebecca have been together for 14 months, they celebrated their one-year anniversary in May. They first met at a London nightclub in 2018. Happy couple: In brighter news, the hunky reality star announced this week that his stunning girlfriend Rebecca Vieria is pregnant with their first child Anniversary: Marcel and Rebecca celebrated their one-year anniversary in May, with the muscle-bound musician posting a touching tribute to his belle on social media The couple revealed that they had been trying for a baby for months and it 'took a little while' to get pregnant after they tragically suffered a miscarriage. Marcel shared that their miscarriage happened 'very early' in the relationship and that the ordeal brought them closer together. It's happy news all-round for the cast of Love Island 2017 as Marcel's co-star and close friend in the villa, Camilla Thurlow, is expecting her first child with beau Jamie Jewitt. Camilla, 31, and Jamie, 30, both met on the ITV2 dating show and they announced the reality star's pregnancy in May. London native Marcel appeared on the 2017 season of ITV2 dating show Love Island, in which he placed fourth alongside then-girlfriend Gabby Allen. Irelands Covid Tracker smartphone application is sharing information which could lead to location tracking with Google at least every 20 minutes, the Irish Examiner can reveal. A new research paper released by the school of computer science and statistics at Trinity College Dublin details the information that is shared - which includes IP address, the handsets IMEI (its unique identifier which can be used to block its usage), serial number, phone number, and email address - and describes the revelation as being extremely troubling from a privacy viewpoint. There had been much discussion regarding the apps potential impact on users privacy in advance of its launch on July 7 - however the HSE had insisted that the app is completely anonymous and does not track location data. However, the HSE only controls the public health side of the app, with the exposure notification segment being administered by both Google and Apple via their Google/Apple Exposure Notification (GAEN) service. It has also emerged that the HSEs side of the app is collating information via the metrics it receives from users which could be used to link all requests sent from the same phone together, akin to a cookie footprint left by a computer as it surfs the internet. In its DPIA for the app the HSE had insisted that IP addresses of users are never transmitted from the networking layer to the backend servers. The HSE said it welcomes any research that will enable us to improve the app. A spokesperson said it would work with code review groups to ensure the integrity and security of the app through new releases as necessary. Read More Smoky coal ban for Cork towns ahead of wider blitz Google had not responded to a request for comment at the time of publication. The Irish Council for Civil Liberties meanwhile described the newly-revealed data transfers as being completely opaque - to users and the HSE themselves. The HSE has been celebrated in Ireland and beyond for their transparent approach to developing the Covid Tracker app, said Elizabeth Farries, director of information rights with the ICCL. However, Google Play Services represent a significant component of the app. Most people, even app developers, are unaware of this level of invasiveness, she added. Authors of the paper - entitled What Data Is Shared By Europes GAEN Contact Tracing Apps - Douglas Leith and Stephen Farrell had previously demonstrated that the efficacy of the bluetooth technology used by the Irish app for contact tracing is at best unreliable Professor Leith said that the revelation goes way beyond the HSE contact-tracing app. Given that governments and public health authorities are strongly encouraging their entire populations to use these apps, and hence are pressurising their entire populations to take part in this corporate surveillance, we think they should be telling Google to immediately fix this problem, he said, further describing that level of intrusiveness as simply incompatible with a recommendation for population-wide usage. On Android devices, which are used by roughly 40% of the Irish smartphone-owning population, the exposure notification protocol is housed within Google Play Services, a background app which administers all applications on those handsets. Google Play Services automatically mandates the aforementioned data transfer as soon as it is enabled. Even if it were turned off for all other applications, the HSEs Covid Tracker cannot function without it, thus rendering it unavoidable for users of GAEN-based contact tracing apps on Android, according to the research paper. This is not within the HSEs control to fix however, Dr Farrell said. Google meanwhile told the researchers that the sharing of data using Google Play Services is an industry practice which can be turned off via a diagnostics setting - however doing so disables the contact tracing function. In Refinery29s new Talking Shop series, were chatting with owners of up-and-coming small businesses about their experiences launching, the big challenges and wins theyve faced, and of course, their products and services. Discover new spots to patronize, while getting an intimate look at what it takes to run a small business in todays economy. Do you run a small business or do you want to recommend a small business youd like to see featured on Talking Shop? Tell us more about it here. When the coronavirus pandemic started ravaging small businesses and endangering workers across the country, many consumers began looking more critically at where they were shopping. Is this company treating its employees humanely? Are the products being sourced ethically? How will my money be used? Even more recently, with Black Lives Matter protests happening across the country, those same consumers doubled down on their scrutiny of the places they were patronizing and moved to prioritize buying from Black-owned businesses when possible. This was the perfect environment for the genesis of Chez Nous Guide, an inclusive and intersectional home for businesses, artists, and organizations that are owned and operated by historically marginalized people. Chez Nous was officially launched on June 2, 2020, by founder and CEO Kristyn Potter. The online directory of curated businesses, organizations, and more has the primary mission to amplify POC, women, and LGBTQIA+ voices and bolster their projects. This is done by providing users with resources that help them support diversity, shop inclusively, and travel ethically. On Chez Nous Guides website, youll find city guides as well as listings in a wide variety of categories. Sounds like a great idea, right? Well, it takes more than just a great idea to build a small business, so we chatted with Potter about her journey to bring Chez Nous Guide to life, her biggest business challenges so far, and what being a small business means to her. Story continues Refinery29: Walk me through the process of launching Chez Nous Guide. Kristyn Potter: I got the idea a few months ago when I was having a conversation with my partner. We were discussing something super simple: where to get speakers. I was like, Oh, Ill just go on Amazon, and he was like, No, Amazon is the worst. You should support a small business. So I did some research on local, Black-owned record shops. Then, it came up again when I was going to order food for us from a local restaurant. I was like, Oh, Ill just use Seamless, and he was like, No, you should look at the menu on Seamless and then call the restaurant directly so Seamless doesnt take a cut of the revenue. Thats when I was just like Why is this so difficult? You want to support small businesses, and it shouldnt be so complicated. So it was primarily that dilemma. Why doesnt all this info exist somewhere other than Google, which is supporting the man sidebar: I work at Google, so I think I can say that. You can either go on Google or Yelp or Amazon and thats not really helping the small businesses. So it came out of necessity. I wanted to support local businesses and there were no resources for me to easily do that, so I created it. I bought the WordPress site and I designed it. I didnt plan on launching so soon though. When everyone on Instagram started sharing all those links to and Excel spreadsheets of Black-owned businesses when the Black Lives Matter was starting to get this recent resurgence, I was like, You know what, we need to launch. I was planning on launching at the end of June, but I was like, Theres a need for this right now so were launching tomorrow. You mentioned you work at Google. Can you tell me more about your career and work experience outside of Chez Nous? Basically, Ive always worked in corporate America for some pretty big companies. When I first moved to New York, I worked at Sony Music. That led me to start a music magazine called Left Bank because I was in the music scene and a lot of my friends are musicians. So through the years, Ive been doing this side hustle magazine and web development. Chez Nous started as the same type of thing a side hustle except now, because of the interest Im seeing in Chez Nous and the potential it has, Im applying for grants for women founders and Black founders as well as looking for investors. Im also a contractor at Google as an email content manager. And before that, I was at Getty Images as a copywriter and New York Magazine as a copywriter, so Ive been in the content world for a while now. Do you have a background in business? I think this question is so funny because Ill tell you, for undergrad, I was a double major in business marketing and journalism. I remember crying to my mom one day during my junior year saying, I hate my business classes. I dont want to be a business owner. I dont want to work in marketing. I dont want to do any of it. That makes me miserable. I just wouldnt be a writer. Now, 10 years later, Im at Google on the marketing team. I was at Getty on the marketing team. Ive launched my own businesses. Thats so funny! What do you think changed? Is it just that the practical application of marketing and actually running a business are more stimulating than the classes were? I think so. Ive always been very reluctant to call myself a business owner because I think of business owners as people who are always in investor meetings and making pitch decks and just being super annoying. I really hate that, but I think what I like is that the businesses Ive created are based on content and community. Theyre all about bringing the community together around music or bringing communities together around businesses in certain areas and travel. I think thats kind of like my get out of jail free card for being a business owner. Its like be a business owner but make it fun. With that philosophy in mind, what is a small business to you? I dont think its based on the number of employees or the revenue that youre bringing in. I think its based on how close you are to your core mission, how nimble you are, and how innovative you are. Thats not to say that a Google or a Facebook isnt innovative, but I do think that some companies start to lose a little focus on why they started it and the people and their users and the audience. Last night, I went to this amazing restaurant. The owner was there, and he was showing us the tacos as they were coming out. He was talking about the micheladas, and he was just so passionate. That doesnt mean that the Mark Zuckerbergs arent passionate, but I do think that the bigger you get, the more focused you are on the big picture and youre less focused on the people. That perspective makes a lot of sense since you said you only felt comfortable starting a business if it had that community piece. Yeah, and I think that you can hold onto that even as you scale up. Like Glossier, for example, I would say theyre pretty big, but the founder Emily Weiss is still bringing up community. I think as long as you tailor your stuff to that and remember where you came from then I think youre still a small business. You mentioned that you are now in the process of applying for grants. Have you received any funding for Chez Nous yet? The only funding that Im getting right now is from the business submissions. So people just pay a donation fee to get new businesses up on the site. Theres a suggested amount, but most people are paying more than that. Were also launching a Patreon, just as a way to get continued support without it being too much of a lift. Then well be going to investors because investors want to see your growth potential and how much youre already making. Again, as of today, Chez Nous is like a month old so its super, super young. I think companies that grow really quickly can lose that heart and soul like I mentioned before, so Im really cautious to make sure that we do it correctly. How many employees do you have at this point? Do you have any idea how many people you eventually want to employ? At this point, its volunteer-run, except for my best friend, Taylor. Shes my first employee, and she is in charge of grants and investors. I see Chez Nous having a WeWork in two to three markets definitely West Coast, definitely New York, then most likely like a Berlin or a Paris. I also envision Chez Nous doing both virtual and live events. We already have a Chez Nous movie club where we watch films from marginalized creators. That kind of stuff is free and also doesnt really take a lot of resources. My big goal is having a brick and mortar space or a few little spaces where there are curated products and services. So I would say the number would probably be around like 40 to 50 employees globally. I see it growing, but I dont see it being like a huge 100-, 200-, 1,000-person company. Im curious, because you mentioned Berlin or Paris as a possible location, what has you interested in the international side of things? Have you spent time in Europe? Yeah, I used to live in London, and I go to Paris like once or twice a year. Im going to Berlin whenever COVID clears up, I go to London all the time, and when I do, I want to go to places where people like me are the owners. Not to say that I dont want to go to a pub owned by a cis white male, but its cool to visit London or Paris or Reykjavik go to woman-owned bookstore or a Black-owned shoe store or a Black-own souvenir shop. That means so much to me. So a big part of my vision for Chez Nous is for it not just to be a directory for your city but also a travel guide. Im going to roll out a newsletter and a section on the site that have more travel-related content and links to the different sites and locations on the Chez Nous directory. Im sure the entire last month has been a whirlwind, but can you pinpoint your biggest business challenge so far? This is honestly my favorite question. My biggest challenge is that theres so much interest and help and theres one of me. There are the volunteers, but it takes time to onboard people. Im literally getting text messages, Instagram DMs, and emails constantly heres this new business, here are 10 places in Berlin, here are a hundred Black-owned restaurants in L.A. and there are only just a few of us. Its a great problem to have. Im telling you, if I had the womanpower, I would have thousands of businesses. We have the content, we just dont have the resources yet. What about the biggest business win so far? Oh my gosh, three days after launching, Fast Company wrote about us. They did a selection of the top ten places to get information about Black-owned businesses. Out of ten websites and apps from all over the world, Chez Nous was one of them, and we had literally just launched. Since Talking Shop is a series about small businesses, my final question for you is what other small businesses are you excited about or inspired by right now? Cafe Con Libros in Brooklyn is the number one place. Its a Black-owned feminist cafe slash safe space. Right now, theyre doing curbside pickup. They have a podcast. Theyre so cool. Another really sick place is called Busboys and Poets in D.C. and the D.C. area. Its a revolutionary activist cafe named after Langston Hughes so that ones super cool. Theres also this really cool jerk chicken slash car wash in Nashville called Caribbean Splash Reggae Cafe and Car Wash. These are all listed on Chez Nous. I do want to add this because I think its important: the places that are on Chez Nous, theyre not just every Black-owned and every woman-owned company. That would be kind of crazy. Theres an important curation element to it. Theyre all places that are unique and fun or have some cool perspectives. This interview was edited for length and clarity. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? Williamstown Police Looking into Cemetery Vandalism The area of East Lawn cemetery that recently was targeted by vandals. Sticks that once held American flags adorning graves at East Lawn Cemetery are disposed of in a trash can at the cemetery. WILLIAMSTOWN, Mass. The Police Department is investigating a vandalism incident at East Lawn Cemetery, Lt. Michael Ziemba said on Monday evening. Visitors to the cemetery on Saturday discovered that a couple of dozen American flags on the graves of veterans and at least one member of the town's fire district were removed and the wooden flag sticks left behind. "We are fairly confident based on the number of flags and the short time frame (Friday night) that this is not an animal," Zimeba wrote in response to questions about the incident. "We have no motive, and there have not been any similar incidents in other cemeteries." Ziemba said the WPD routinely checks on the town's cemeteries at night. The department would like to hear from anyone "who may have seen something suspicious or who has any information about this incident," Ziemba said. Thailand will extend a state of emergency until the end of August, a senior official said on Wednesday, maintaining the security measure put in place to contain its coronavirus outbreak. The announcement comes after nearly two months without local transmission and with many people in Thailand questioning the need for an emergency decree. Kids wearing face masks as a preventive measure at Don Muang International Airport during the Coronavirus in Bangkok. Credit:Getty Images The decree, first introduced in late March, will be subject to cabinet approval next week. "It is still necessary to have the decree because we are opening up the country for more business meetings and tourism to stimulate the economy," said Somsak Roongsita, secretary-general of the National Security Council, adding that doctors had requested it be maintained. The extension comes after political protests took place last week against the government, in defiance of a ban on gatherings. Somsak, however, said the emergency decree would be used only to contain virus outbreaks and not rallies. "Political gatherings will be subject to the law, but not the decree," he added. Thailand will begin allowing the entry of business executives for trade shows, migrant labourers, filmmakers and medical tourists, spokesman for the government's Centre for COVID-19 Situation Administration, Taweesin Wisanuyothin said. Up to 110,000 migrant labourers from Laos, Myanmar and Cambodia will gradually be allowed entry and be tested for the coronavirus upon arrival. Foreign filmmakers and business executives will need a virus-free certificate from within three days before travel and have medical insurance. Medical tourists will have to stay in their hospitals for two weeks before taking additional trips in the country, Taweesin said. All foreign entries will be subject to a 14-day quarantine. Thailand has reported a total of 3,261 infections and 58 deaths. A man is about to get on a Vinasun cab in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo by VnExpress/Phuong Dong. Taxi firm Vinasun announced a loss of VND111 billion ($4.8 million) in the second quarter this year, the biggest in its history. This is the second consecutive quarterly loss for the company this year as social distancing measures imposed to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus caused its Q2 revenues to plummet by 70 percent year-on-year to VND155 billion ($6.7 million). The company, the second largest taxi firm in Vietnam behind Mai Linh Group, recorded an accumulated loss of VND128 billion ($5.5 million) this year, exceeding its earlier loss forecast for 2020 at VND115 billion ($4.9 million). This means the company would likely post its first annual loss since 2008 by the end of this year unless major profits are recorded in the second half. In the first six months, its number of employees dropped by 1,165, or 20 percent, to 4,625. Vinasun leaders said at an annual general meeting in June that 2020 is the most challenging year for the company since its establishment in 2003. Tran Anh Minh, deputy director, said although economic activities in Vietnam have resumed, taxi revenues will recover slowly since tourism demand has not fully recovered to pre-pandemic levels. Vinasun and other traditional taxi companies have faced rising competition from ride-hailing firms in recent years. In 2019, its revenue fell to the lowest since 2011 at VND1.99 trillion ($85 million). Russell Crowe has revealed his guilt over his years spent working overseas on major Hollywood films when his children were growing up. Speaking on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday, the Oscar-winning actor admitted it 'worried him greatly' that he hadn't spent enough time with his sons, Charles, 16, and Tennyson, 14, when they were younger. The 56-year-old also explained that the COVID-19 pandemic had given him a fresh perspective on fatherhood, after travel bans encouraged him to spend more time at home with his kids. 'I didn't spent enough time with them': Russell Crowe has revealed his guilt over his years spent working overseas on major Hollywood films when his children were growing up Russell, who is on the promotional trail for his new movie, Unhinged, spoke candidly about his work-life balance on the Sydney breakfast radio show. 'I look back, and I think I should have given more time [to my children]. It's tricky. I have this big job, and my entire work life takes place overseas,' he said. 'It worries me greatly that I didn't spend enough time with them.' Russell explained that even working in Australia didn't solve the problem because he 'would leave before they got up' and 'they would already be in bed' when he'd get home. Family guilt: Speaking on The Kyle and Jackie O Show on Tuesday, the Oscar-winning actor admitted it 'worried him greatly' that he hadn't spent enough time with his sons, Charles, 16, and Tennyson, 14, when they were younger. Pictured together in Los Angeles in 2015 At home: Russell explained that the COVID-19 pandemic had given him a fresh perspective on fatherhood, after travel bans encouraged him to spend more time at home with his kids 'If you're on a big movie like Robin Hood and you're physically getting the crap beaten out of you every week, you come to the weekend, and all they [his sons] see of you is this lump on the couch,' he said. But the star admitted that the global pandemic had given him 'perspective'. 'I know a lot of people have had hard times during this period, and I feel deeply for them, but my perspective, simply being able to stay at home, is such a privilege,' he said. Speaking about his relationship with his teenage sons now, the Gladiator star added: 'I can't cover the holes I made then, but I can certainly work on having less distance in the future.' 'Worries': Russell, who is on the promotional trail for his new movie, Unhinged, spoke candidly about his work-life balance. Pictured with his sons and ex-wife, Danielle Spencer, in 2010 'They're in a good place now, but going forward, I really feel like I've got to start working in Australia.' In an interview earlier this month, Russell's ex-wife, Danielle Spencer, admitted that she'd given up her career to raise their sons as the actor's star status skyrocketed. She told Stellar magazine: 'It was difficult because I always felt that to keep our family together both of us couldn't be working and there came a point where I had to prioritise the kids. 'I prioritised': In an interview earlier this month, Russell's ex-wife, Danielle Spencer, admitted that she'd given up her career to raise their sons as the actor's star status skyrocketed 'Obviously Russell's career was going gangbusters and I just felt like, "This is not my time." I absolutely love being a mother and I wouldn't change a thing, but I didn't feel I could prioritise my career for a while there.' 'The kids needed a parent who was present,' the former Home and Away actress, who lives in Sydney with her children, added. Russell's new movie, Unhinged, will be released in Australia on July 30, and on July 31 in Britain and the U.S. Rajiv Gandhi assassination case convict Nalini Sriharan, lodged in the special prison for women in Tamil Nadu's Vellore, threatened to end her life, a senior jail official said on Tuesday. Her legal adviser said a representation has been given to authorities to shift her to Chennai Puzhal prison considering her safety. Nalini's threat to end her life came after a co-prisoner, who was in a nearby cell, complained against her to authorities. The co-prisoner, also a life convict, alleged that the Rajiv case convict was harassing her by giving more and more work and requested that her cell be changed, a top prison departmentofficial said. Following the complaint, jail authorities questioned Nalini and changed the cell of the complainant. "Nalini, during questioning started a quarrel with the jailor. She said the complaint of the co-prisoner was false and that she did not harass her. Nalini said she will commit suicide if the cell of the co-prisoner was changed," the official said. "It was like blackmail. If the complainant's cell was changed, Nalini could not extract work from her...she only threatened (to end her life) but there was no attempt," he asserted. Nalini, in prison for over 29 years, told the jailor that she would end her life in the presence of others including the assistant jailor and prison staffers last evening, the official said. The high profile case convict's legal adviser, P Pugazhenthi said that jail officials gave "contradicting versions" which showed that they were "trying to hide something." Some officials said Nalini tried to "strangulate herself" using her saree during questioning, he claimed, adding others maintained that she only threatened to do so but did nothing. "We have given a representation to authorities to shift Nalini Sriharan to Chennai Puzhal prison for her safety," he said. Besides Nalini, six others, including her husband V Sriharan alias Murugan, a Sri Lankan national, are serving life imprisonment in the assassination case. Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated by an Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam suicide bomber during an election rally at Sriperumpudur in Tamil Nadu on May 21, 1991. Bottled mineral water is stacked at a retail outlet in Seoul, Monday. Demand for mineral water and shower filters have surged in Incheon and Gyeonggi Province recently following recent reports of insect larvae in tap water. Yonhap By Bahk Eun-ji Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun ordered the environment ministry, Monday, to "quickly investigate the cause of insect larvae discovered in tap water," but the authorities are unlikely to find answers anytime soon. In an emergency press briefing, an official of the joint investigation team created by the Ministry of Environment and Incheon Metropolitan Government said it would not easy to find exactly where the larvae came from and why they were in the tap water. "There have been very few reports of foreign substances such as insects or worms in tap water, but this time it's not yet clear why suddenly hundreds of cases are taking place simultaneously across the country," a city waterworks official said. "There are no findings that have been studied enough to determine the link to the recent occurrences of particular insects due to global climate change." The Seoul Waterworks Authority said Tuesday a resident living in multiplex housing at Yangcheon-gu, southwestern Seoul, reported finding an insect larva in his bathroom. "I turned on the water for about a minute before I took a shower because of the news that larvae are coming out of tap water these days. I took a shower as it seemed to be okay," the resident was quoted as saying by Yonhap. "Then I found a wriggling black larva about one centimeter long while I was cleaning the bathroom floor." On Sunday, the city's water authority received a report that a worm-like organism had been found in a studio apartment in Jung-gu, Seoul, but concluded that it was unlikely the organism entered through water pipes. There have also been a series of similar reports in Daejeon; a resident at a multiplex housing unit in Goejeong-dong reported that she found an insect larva in the drain of a sink, Monday. The city's waterworks authority estimated that the larva was from a moth fly, rather than a midge as had been reported in other cases, and it was assumed to have come from a drainage pipe below the sink, not from a water supply pipe. In addition, two similar reports were filed in Jung-gu, Seoul, on the same day, but they were confirmed as insects found on vegetables while cleaning them. Despite such explanations by the government and local waterworks authorities, residents in Gyeonggi Province, Incheon and Seoul continue to distrust the quality of tap water. Some large discount stores in Paju, Gyeonggi Province, said they have run out of shower filters. "I went to a large supermarket to buy a shower filter last night, and there were only a few left," a resident of the region said. "The local authority said the larvae came out of the drain, but in fact, I don't understand how such a small bug crawls up to the sink." Another resident said, "Even after taking a shower, I feel like my skin itches just thinking of the larvae. The government should really come up with measures rather than avoiding responsibility." In regard to the issue, the environment ministry, in charge of the inspection of water-purification facilities nationwide in cooperation with local governments, said if it is finally confirmed that the insect larvae have traveled through the water pipes due to some problems in the facilities, they will discuss with experts how to improve the water supply system as well as renew guidelines for water purification plants. A new development in Travers Beynon's neighbourhood row has seen a lawyer speak out against The Candyman's defamation lawsuit. The tobacco tycoon filed a $30,000 defamation case against his neighbour James Blackledge, who lives in the same affluent community on the Gold Coast, claiming he was labelled an 'ignorant a**hole' and 'weak as piss' in a series of emails. Solicitor Campbell MacCallum, from Moloney MacCallum Abdelshahied Lawyers, said he would be defending Mr Blackledge against the claims. Controversial tobacco tycoon Travers 'The Candyman' Beynon (pictured middle) is suing his businessman neighbour James Blackledge over defamatory emails allegedly sent to locals Gold Coast Solicitor Campbell MacCallum has spoken out against Mr Beynon (pictured left) and said he will be defending Mr Blackledge against the 'frivolous' claims 'As the matter is before the court I cannot comment on the content or how I successfully seek to defend the matter,' he told the Gold Coast Bulletin. 'Suffice to say that I have clear instructions to defend the claim as it appears frivolous to me,' Mr MacCallum said. Mr Beynon, who is known for his wild house parties, filed the lawsuit in the Southport District Court in early July. Mr Blackledge is the former administer of the community title scheme and allegedly sent the defamatory emails to other residents in 2017 and 2018. When discussing a good behaviour complaint from Mr Beynon's tobacco company Freechoice, Mr Blackledge allegedly wrote 'weak as piss x travers' in an email to multiple neighbours in November 2017, according to court documents. Mr Beynon believes the email was defamatory because it painted him as an 'extremely weak person' and a 'coward' who was 'worthy of ridicule'. Mr Beynon is seeking $30,000 in damages and an injunction against Mr Blackledge, who also lives in the affluent River Cove gated waterfront community (pictured) on the Gold Coast Mr Blackledge allegedly sent two more defamatory emails to the River Cove committee and a resident in November 2018. He allegedly referred to 'damages' following an 'event/debacle' hosted by Mr Beynon. 'It does not surprise me that the ignorant asshole did not even call to apologize (sic) for the damage/traffic congestion & angst he has cause to the estate all the more ammo for legal challenge,' Mr Beynon claims Blackledge wrote. Mr Beynon claims the 2018 emails were defamatory since they suggested he caused damage to the gated community and made him seem uneducated, unsophisticated, unpleasant and undignified. Mr Beynon poses with models on an inflatable raft in his pool. He claims Mr Blackledge sent defamatory emails to other gated community residents in 2017 and 2018 The businessman is now demanding Mr Blackledge provide a full email and phone record before he reveals more details about the allegations. He is also demanding damages totalling $30,000 and an injunction to prevent Mr Blackledge from using 'similar' words about him in the future. Mr Blackledge is yet to file a defence against the hefty lawsuit. Mr Beynon's other company Travers Developments previously sued the River Cove body corporate community last year, naming Mr Blackledge and three others. His claims that that he was targeted by the community to stop him throwing parties were denied but the matter is still before the court, although action against one committee member has ended. LONDON (dpa-AFX) - TalkTalk Telecom Group Plc (TALK.L) reported headline revenue (excluding Carrier and Off-net) of 358 million pounds for the 3 months to 30 June 2020 compared to 387 million pounds, previous year. The Group said the decline was primarily due to COVID-19 impact and ongoing industry-wide declines in Voice usage exacerbated by lockdown. The Group recorded on-net churn at 0.68% in the first quarter compared to 1.29%, last year. Tristia Harrison, Chief Executive of TalkTalk, said: 'As the UK's internet usage continues to soar, our role as the UK's only scale affordable provider of Fibre broadband has become even more important. Given this, we see a positive outlook to H1 and are confident in our full year plan to deliver stable to growing Headline EBITDA with strong cash conversion.' Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Kenneth CapelloLil Baby makes a statement with his Black Lives Matter anthem, "The Bigger Picture," which touches on the current state of America and protests about police brutality -- and also his personal story. "I just rap about my life, all my songs are basically about me," he says as Rolling Stone's August cover star. "It was at a point where I felt I needed to say something." Baby says he became a "victim of police brutalit," after his prison stint for weapons and drug charges four years ago. "I've been in prison where white officers control you. I've been in a court system where white judges give you a different time than they would give someone white," he explains. "There have been times I had a physical altercation with an officer, and he then grabbed me and took me to a room where there's no camera." "I'm in there yelling and screaming. I'm so accustomed to it, we don't even make it no big deal," says the My Turn rapper. "I'm from Atlanta, where they had a unit of police that got dismantled for police brutality. The Red Dogs got dismantled for using way too much force. . . . That [is] an everyday thing where I'm from." Despite his challenging upbringing in Atlanta's historic West End neighborhood, Lil Baby rose to earn a deal with Quality Control Records, and released several hit records in fewer than five years. And he promises more to come, including more of his personal story. "I feel like my story before I got here is just like one in [a] million. So I don't want to give it up yet," Baby says. By Rachel George Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. For people depending on the checks, that uncertainty is frustrating. I have no idea why Congress would wait until a few days before the checks are going to run out, said Jacob Perlman, a benefits recipient in Chicago. This should have been done a month ago. Mr. Perlman, 26, earned $12 an hour as a housekeeper at a fitness club, making him one of the millions of Americans earning more on unemployment than they had on the job. But he is eager to return to work. The jobs simply are not there right now, he said. Mr. Perlmans regular benefits from the state of Illinois total $159 a week, barely enough to cover his $500 share of the monthly rent, let alone food or other expenses. So he is already trying to save as much as possible. Decisions like Mr. Perlmans to curtail spending even before the benefits expire, multiplied across millions of households, are a sort of uncertainty tax on the broader economy, damping the stimulative effect of the payments. There are people who are on the precipice of financial disaster here, said David Wilcox, a former Federal Reserve official who is an economist at the Peterson Institute for International Economics. We may think that the odds are that Congress will come to a reasonable conclusion. But for a person who is on the precipice of financial disaster, its very low comfort to be told, You know, I think theres a 70 percent chance that this is going to work out fine. The risk is particularly acute for Black and Latino workers, who have been disproportionately affected by job losses and are less likely to have savings or other assets to fall back on. A recent working paper from researchers at the University of Chicago and the JPMorgan Chase Institute found that Black and Latino households cut spending by far more than white households when their income drops. When 30 percent of your population has no wealth, this has real implications, said William E. Spriggs, a Howard University professor and the chief economist for the A.F.L.-C.I.O. There isnt a piggy bank. This is it. So when you cut their benefits, their drop in consumption is going to be huge. Today, July 21 would have been the 76th birthday of the late Professor John Evans Fiifi Atta Mills and John Dramani Mahama who was his Vice President from 2008-2012 has taken to social media to celebrate his former boss. Mills, who became Ghana's third President in the fourth republic passed on his birth month - Tuesday, 24 July 2012 - after battling with a short illness. 8 years after his demise, John Dramani Mahama has eulogised saying his sterling qualities and principled leadership are still fresh in his minds. Mr. Mahama wrote on his Facebook saying, "You would have been 76 years today, Prof. Though in eternity, memories of your sterling qualities and principled leadership are still fresh with us. "You will forever remain in our hearts. Yours is a soul that cannot be forgotten, a man we cannot celebrate enough! Happy birthday my comrade, mentor, and friend. Continue to rest well, Sir." He posted another one on Twiter saying, "You would have been 76 years today, Prof. Though in eternity, memories of your sterling qualities and principled leadership are still fresh with us. You will forever remain in our hearts. Yours is a soul that cannot be forgotten, a man we cannot celebrate enough!" Read posts below; 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 5 Things We Wished We Missed This WeekendBut You Probably Shouldn't With everything going on in the world, hopping on Twitter in the morning can sometimes feel exhausting: you know, what with all the police brutality and racist politicians and celebrities like J.K. Rowling not knowing when to stop tweeting. And, of course, the pandemic. Anyway, if you were looking to learn what you missed while sleeping in this weekend, here are a few quick points to catch you up. ADVERTISEMENT via CDC/unsplash Oxford COVID-19 Vaccine Has Successful First Test With research facilities worldwide racing to find a COVID-19 vaccine first, there has been a lot of news over the weekend regarding vaccine trials. There are currently more than 160 vaccines being worked on worldwide at the moment, according to The New York Times. In the latest news, a vaccine being developed at Oxford University had a positive response in early human-trials in the UK. Researchers said they plan to start testing in the United States within the next few weeks, according to CNBC News. A comprehensive list of all vaccines in the works right now, as well as how far along they are in the process, is available at The New York Times. still Kanye West political rally/Guardian via YouTube Kanye Wests Presidential Campaign Is Off To A Rocky Start (Surprise, Surprise) After announcing his presidential candidacy on July 4, Kanye West had his first campaign rally in South Carolina on Sunday. While wearing a bulletproof vest (he also had 2020 shaved into the back of his head), he criticized Harriet Tubman, saying she never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people, according to AP News. These comments come about two years after West said that the 400 years that Black people spent enslaved in the United States sounded like a choice, according to CNN. However, it should be pointed out that inflammatory comments like these could be a symptom of Wests bipolar disorder. West was diagnosed in 2016 and, according to MedPage Today, is unmedicated. In a 2019 interview with Vogue Magazine, Kim Kardashian-West, Kanyes wife, put it like this: "For him, being on medication is not really an option, because it just changes who he is." According to Mayo Clinic, symptoms of a bipolar manic episode can include an exaggerated sense of self-confidence, racing thoughts, poor decision-making, and an abnormally upbeat attitude. Any of these symptoms could be responsible for Wests remarks. Of course, were not psychologists. At this point, it is unclear whether Wests candidacy is a genuine attempt for commander-in-chief, a manic episode, or just another publicity stunt. According to AP News, West missed the deadline to qualify for the presidential ballot in many states. He is currently only confirmed to be on the ballot in Oklahoma and is urging fans and followers in South Carolina to sign a petition to get him on the ballot there as well. by DonkeyHotey on Flickr Roger Stone Uses The Low-Calorie Version Of The N-Word On The Radio Political consultant and former host of InfoWars, Roger Stone is in hot water, again. After being convicted on seven felony counts by a juryaccording to PoliticoStone was recorded using a racial slur while on the MoKelly radio show on Saturday. Last November, Stone was convicted of lying to Congress, obstruction, and tampering with witnesses during the Houses investigation into Russias collusion with Trump to win the 2016 election. Although Stone was sentenced to 40 months in prison for his offenses, President Trump commuted the sentence on July 10just a few days before Stone was due in custody. When MoKelly host Morris OKelly insisted to Stone that the only reason Stones sentence was commuted was because of his friendship with the president, Stone said, under his breath, I cant believe Im arguing with this negro, according to The Guardian. Stone denied saying this, calling OKelly out of his mind, to which OKelly said, well let the listeners decide. OKelly later said, about the comment, Stone could have reached for any pejorative, but unfortunately went there, calling the term the low-calorie version of the n-word, according to The Guardian. The full interview can be listened to on KFI AM. still from "Doing What's Right" via YouTube Jeffree Star Tries To Do Whats Right On Saturday, YouTuber and makeup mogul Jeffree Star uploaded a video called Doing Whats Right in which Star apologized to James Charles for his part in the Dramageddon 2.0 and defended his best friend Shane Dawsons behavior. Following the unearthing of old videos of Dawsons that contained inappropriate jokes about minors and the frequent use of blackface, racist stereotypes, and the n-word, Dawsons videos were temporarily demonetized. Following Dawsons recent canceling and Stars storied past of misconduct, makeup brand Morphe has since dropped the duos collaborative makeup line and Target has stopped selling Dawsons two books. Although Dawson has yet to make a return to the internet, Star defended his friend in his newest video, saying he was truly shocked when he heard that people expected Star to distance himself from Dawson following the drama. "I know Shane from now, I don't know Shane from ten years ago and he doesn't know me from ten years ago," Star said, according to Insider. "Now, do I agree with Shane's past actions? Of course I don't. And does he agree with my past behavior? Of course he doesn't." Shortly after uploading the video, Star disabled comments. Needless to say, the internet is not having it. Fixed the title on Jeffree Star's apology video #jeffreestar pic.twitter.com/7kWPUyYTHF She Has Killed Cleopatra ??? (@OyaUntamed) July 19, 2020 via Clay Banks on unsplash Civil Rights Legend, John Lewis, Dies At 80 Perhaps the saddest news to come out this weekend was the death of U.S. congressman and civil rights icon John Lewis. Lewis, a colleague of Martin Luther Kings, was at every legendary event in history fighting for civil rights: he aided in the lunch counter sit-ins, marched in Selma, helped the Freedom Riders fight to end segregated buses and was a keynote speaker at the 1963 March on Washington at the age of 23, according to CNN. As a member of Congress, Lewis continued the fight for equality by sponsoring bills on youth violence awareness, equality in medicare and Medicaid treatment, and ensuring access to healthcare for underserved populations. And that's just in the past two years. A full list of bills sponsored by Lewis is available on the House website. With a history of over 40 arrests, according to NPR, for protesting, Lewis was an advocate of what he called good trouble. Get in trouble. Good trouble. Necessary trouble, was something Lewis often repeated, according to Vox. "Keep the faith," Lewis said, according to NPR. "Keep our eyes on the prize. We must go out and vote like we've never ever voted before." If youre interested in learning more about Lewiss life and legacy, here are a few documentaries to get you started. Header Image by Nijwam Swargiary on Unsplash. More from BUST Week Of Women: The Chicks, Tei Shi, En Vogue YouTube Temporarily Demonetizes Shane Dawson After Racist Videos Resurface Have You Voted Yet? If Not, We Can Help! Evi Arthur is a graduate of Roosevelt University with a bachelors degree in journalism and media studies and a minor in womens and gender studies. The former editor-in-chief of her university paper, Evi has previously interned at Chicago Agent Magazine and St. Louis Magazine. A St. Louis native (and lover of St. Louis-style pizza), she plans to eventually return to school and earn a Master's degree in investigative reporting. You can follow her at @EviArthur on Instagram and Twitter. This blog covers software patent news and issues with a particular focus on wireless, mobile devices (smartphones, tablet computers, connected cars) as well as select antitrust matters surrounding those devices. Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlot said on Tuesday he has the support of more than 115 legislators as the simmering tiff with his former deputy Sachin Pilot boiled over and triggered the ongoing political crisis in the state. Gehlot was addressing the more than 100 members of legislative assembly (MLAs) in the third meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) at Fairmont Jaipur, a luxury hotel where his supporters have been staying, since last week. He also urged the legislators supporting him to stand firm like a rock and assured them that the mandate is with the Congress party as the turf war with Pilot whittled down to the numbers. We will have more than 115 MLAs, including some from among the absentees. And nobody wants elections to happen be it Congress or the BJP, he said during the meeting, according to people aware of the developments. He also had some words of praise for the MLAs. The entire country is watching the way youre fighting. Your respect has increased manifold. Its not something ordinary, he said, according to news agency ANI. All of you have phones. Theres no pressure on anyone, he said. Senior party leader Ajay Maken and state unit president Govind Singh Dotasra were among others present at the CLP meeting. The Rajasthan chief minister has also called a meeting of his cabinet later in the day, leading to another buzz about a floor test. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan High Court said it will pronounce its order on Friday on the petition by Sachin Pilot and 18 other rebel Congress MLAs challenging the disqualification notices served to them by the speaker of the state assembly, CP Joshi, last week for anti-party activities. The court also requested the speaker to defer any action against Pilot and legislators in his camp till then. If the high court decides to disqualify Pilot and members of his camp, it will have a direct bearing on the numbers in the Rajasthan assembly. Their disqualification will bring down the majority mark in the assembly101 in the 200-member house making it easier for chief minister Gehlot to win a floor test. Gehlot has claimed he has the support of more than 100 members of legislative assembly (MLAs) and Pilot is being backed by 18 legislators. The disqualification notices to Pilot and the MLAs were served after the Congress party complained to Rajasthan assembly speaker Joshi that they defied a whip to attend two CLP meetings on July 13 and July 14. After he gave the meetings a slip, Pilot was sacked as the Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the president of the state Congress unit as he rebelled against Gehlot. Coronavirus Highlights: The annual Amarnath Yatra pilgrimage will not be held this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic, sources told CNN-News18 on Tuesday. The 42-day-long yatra to the 3,880-metre-high holy cave shrine of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas was earlier curtailed and was to be held only from the Batal route for 15 days. "To keep the religious sentiments alive, Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board shall continue live telecast/virtual darshan of morning and evening aarti. The traditional rituals shall be carried out as per past practice. Chhadi Mubarak shall be facilitated by the government," the government of Jammu and Kashmir said. Meanwhile, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa announced that there will be no lockdown in the state from Wednesday but urged the people to comply by the norms and ensure wearing masks and maintaining social distancing. Brazil has commenced advanced clinical testing of a Chinese-made coronavirus vaccine. The first doses will be administered to close to 900 volunteers on Tuesday, officials said. This development comes a day after preliminary data on Oxford Universitys Phase-1 and Phase-2 trials on their coronavirus vaccine revealed that it induced a strong antibody and T cell immune response among participants without any major adverse reaction. HERE ARE HIGHLIGHTS ON CORONAVIRUS PANDEMIC: Maharashtra on Tuesday recorded 8,396 new cases, taking the total tally to 3,27,031. With 246 deaths, the toll rose to 12,276. Mumbai alone reported 992 cases. "A total of 1,349 COVID-19 positive cases, 1,200 recovered/discharged/migrated and 27 deaths reported in Delhi in the last 24 hours. The total number of positive cases in the national capital rises to 1,25,096 including 1,06,118 recovered/discharged/migrated and 3,690 deaths," the Delhi government said. Congress leader Rahul Gandhi took on the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government on Tuesday over the mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic in the state. "The state of the corona pandemic in Bihar is critical and out of control of the state government. Unclaimed bodies lying in the hospital ward expose the 'good governance' of the Bihar government." Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has launched a crackdown on Mumbai's private hospitals for overcharging Covid-19 patients. The civic agency has received 1,115 complaints so far and close to Rs 1.5 crore has been refunded. It is being reported that patients were overcharged by 10.48%. Rajasthan's Covid-19 Tally Reaches 30,741 | Six more people succumbed to COVID-19 in Rajasthan on Tuesday, taking the toll to 574, while 351 fresh cases pushed the state's tally to 30,741, an official statement said. It said 21,494 patients have been discharged so far and the state now has 7,868 active COVID-19 cases. Read the full story here. Sero-prevalence Study Finds 23.48% People Affected by Covid-19 in Delhi | Delhi's sero-prevalence study has discovered that 23.48 per cent of the people have been affected by the novel coronavirus in the national capital, which has several pockets of dense population, the Union Health Ministry said on Tuesday. The study, which was done from June 27 to July 10 by the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) in collaboration with the Delhi government, also revealed that a large number of infected persons remain asymptomatic, news agency PTI reported. Unsubstantiated Allegations: Glenmark Pharmaceuticals after DCGI Notice | Glenmark Pharmaceuticals Ltd on Tuesday issued a statement after India's drug regulator sent a notice to the firm on overpricing and false claims of its Covid-19 drug FabiFlu. The pharma company said that it was dismayed that despite being the only company to conduct a robust 150-patient randomized control trial it was at the receiving end of such careless, unsubstantiated allegations that are devoid of merits whatsoever India reported 37,148 novel coronavirus cases in the last 24 hours, taking its tally to 11,55,191, while the total number of recoveries rose to 7,24,577, according to Union health ministry data on Tuesday. The fatalities due to the disease climbed to 28,084 with 587 deaths reported in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed. There are 4,02,529 active cases of the coronavirus infection currently in the country, while 7,24,577 people have recovered till now, news agency PTI reported. Thus, 62.72 per cent people have recovered so far, it said. The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners. Himachal Pradesh reports 10 new Covid-19 cases, taking the total number of infections in the state to 1,641 including 547 active cases, 1,067 recoveries and 10 fatalities, the state health department said. Himachal Pradesh reports 10 new #COVID19 positive cases, taking the total number of cases in the state to 1641 including 547 active cases, 1067 recoveries and 10 deaths: State Health Department pic.twitter.com/zMzBdEnDTK ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2020 Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi criticised the Centre today over its handling of the coronavirus pandemic. In a tweet in Hindi, Gandhi questioned the BJP's priorities and alleged that amid the crisis, the party was trying to topple the governments in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan. : - - MP - - 6 - - '' Rahul Gandhi (@RahulGandhi) July 21, 2020 "Achievements of the Government during the Corona period: February - Hello Trump, the MP government toppled in March, April - asked to burn candles, May - Sixth anniversary of the government, June - Virtual rally in Bihar, July - Tries to topple Rajasthan government. That is why the country is 'self-sufficient' in the Battle of Corona," Gandhi wrote on the micro-blogging site. Delhis Health Minister Satyendra Jain said that with 954 new cases, the total number of coronavirus cases in Delhi rises to 1,23,747 and 1,04,918 have recovered so far. He added that Delhis recovery rate is 84%. With 954 new cases, the total number of COVID-19 positive cases in Delhi rises to 1,23,747 and 1,04,918 have recovered till now. Recovery rate is at 84%: Delhi Health Minister Satyendra Jain pic.twitter.com/2pfe5OaXyQ ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2020 11 BSF Jawans, 1 Army Personnel Test Positive for COVID-19 in Mizoram | At least 13 more people, including 11 BSF jawans, have tested positive for the novel coronavirus, taking the infections tally in the state to 297, a senior official told PTI on Tuesday. One of the 13 patients is an Army personnel, who recently returned to the state from Kashmir, he said. China 'Chose' Not to Stop Coronavirus from Spreading Across the World, Says Trump | Accusing China of not being open about the coronavirus outbreak, US President Donald Trump has said that Beijing could have prevented the virus from spreading across the world but they "chose" not to. Trump has repeatedly shown his disappointment over China's handling of the pandemic. In May, he claimed that it was the incompetence of Beijing that resulted in the killing across the globe. Brazil will start advanced clinical testing of a Chinese-made vaccine against Covid-19 today. The Covid-19 vaccine, developed by private Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac, is the third in the world to progress to Phase 3 trials, or large-scale testing on humans the final stage before regulatory approval. It will be given to doctors and other health workers who volunteer for the program across six states in the country. "Trials of CoronaVac, one of the vaccines that has advanced furthest in testing in the world, will begin at the Clinical Hospital of Sao Paulo," the state's governor, Joao Doria, was quoted as saying by news agency AFP. The United States on Monday reported over 60,000 new cases of coronavirus cases for the seventh consecutive day, Johns Hopkins University reported in its real-time tally. With another 488 deaths and 61,288 cases registered in 24 hours, the country has a total of 140,922 deaths and 3.82 million cases, the Baltimore-based university was quoted as saying by AFP. Shoppers who refused to wear masks shop at a Walmart in Bradford, Pennsylvania. More images of America's outbreak: https://t.co/IueHFVbO2y Brendan McDermid pic.twitter.com/06llvoUxQY Reuters Pictures (@reuterspictures) July 21, 2020 China recorded 11 new cases of novel coronavirus in the mainland on Monday, down from 22 cases from a day earlier, the health commission said on Tuesday. Out of the fresh cases, eight were in the far western region of Xinjiang, according to a statement by the National Health Commission. The remaining three were imported cases, Reuters said. US President Donald Trump on Monday tweeted a picture of himself in a black mask with the presidential seal. "Many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance," Trump wrote. "There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you cant socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President! pic.twitter.com/iQOd1whktN Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2020 Trump also said that he would recommence televised briefings on coronavirus after polls showed him performing poorly in the upcoming elections. South Africa's COVID-19 Death Toll Crosses 5K-mark | Health Minister Zweli Mkhize urged citizens to help the government in the fight against the novel coronavirus as death toll in the country surged past 5,000. #COVID19 statistics in SA as at 20 July. pic.twitter.com/7b9VRjr1G4 Dr Zweli Mkhize (@DrZweliMkhize) July 20, 2020 There are now 3,64,328 confirmed coronavirus infections, 1,91,059 recoveries and 5,033 deaths in the country. New Vaccine Candidate Induces Immune Response in Mice, Primates: Scientists, including one of Indian-origin, have developed a COVID-19 vaccine candidate, which they say generates antibodies that "potently neutralise" the novel coronavirus in mice and primates with a single immunisation. The researchers, including Amit Khandhar from the US-based biotech company PAI Life Sciences, noted that the vaccine candidate offered effects within two weeks after administration through injection into a muscle with the level of antibodies generated comparable to those in people who are recovering from COVID-19. According to the study, published in the journal Science Translational Medicine, the "Replicating RNA vaccine" induced coronavirus-neutralising antibodies robustly in both younger and older mice. 5 booked for operating spurious tocilizumab drug racket: Five persons were booked here in Gujarat on Tuesday for allegedly manufacturing and distributing spurious tocilizumab injections being used in the treatment of critical COVID-19 patients, police said. Two of the five accused have been detained, an officer said. The action follows the state Food and Drugs Control Administration (FDCA) busting a racket involved in running a bogus pharma company based in Surat, police said. 19 States and Union Territories are performing more than 140 tests per day per million population, says the Union Health Ministry. 30 States/Union Territories have positivity rate lower than India average. She was not with Washington on the night of his death, but said she had spoken with him by phone just minutes before he was shot and had planned to pick him up later from a neighborhood block party hed been attending. Sure, Monmouth Park has already pulled off two successful drive-in events, with Jersey rock stalwart Southside Johnny and comedian Jim Gaffigan performing at the racetrack parking lot earlier this month. But neither of these gigs both part of Count Basie Center for The Arts new Drive-In Live series have included a crowd thats accustomed to flailing in a sea of bodies every time the guitar and drums come crashing down. Enter The Front Bottoms, New Jerseys most popular alt-rock band and an outfit adept at swirling its millennial/gen Z audience into a frenzy. The Asbury Park group announced Tuesday it will take the Monmouth Park stage Aug. 27, welcoming what should be a new test for event workers. Will 1,000 cars filled with raucous 20-somethings obey the rules as easily as Southside Johnnys mostly baby boomer attendees? Well see how many people stay in their cars when frontman Brian Sella launches into the incendiary bridge of Twin Size Mattress, which typically ignites the dance floor. Godspeed to the security guards. If the show manages to go off without a hitch, it could be a tipping point for other in-their-prime bands to give Oceanport a try, especially as concerts are unlikely to return in 2020. Lollapoloozas co-founder Marc Geiger took it a step further last week, suggesting fans should not expect traditional live shows before 2022. The Front Bottoms also announced Tuesday a drive-in show Aug. 23 in Philadelphia. Tickets go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. on the bands website. Tickets are sold per car, four patrons to a car. A portion of the proceeds will benefit local funds. The Front Bottoms fifth LP, In Sickness and In Flames, drops Aug. 21. Bobby Olivier may be reached at bolivier@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @BobbyOlivier and Facebook. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Bauer Media is closing eight of Australia's best-known magazines due to the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, the publisher announced Tuesday, a month after it was bought by a private equity firm. The axed titles include the Australian editions of Harper's Bazaar, Elle, InStyle, Men's Health and Women's Health. The German media conglomerate paused publication of many of its Australian and New Zealand magazines in May due to a drastic fall in advertising revenue caused by business closures and travel restrictions imposed to curb the spread of COVID-19. Bauer then sold its Australian and New Zealand operations in July to Sydney-based private equity firm Mercury Capital. Bauer ANZ CEO Brendan Hill, who stayed on after the sale, said that earlier hopes that all of the company's 43 magazine brands could resume publication later this year had been dashed by the depth of the economic downturn. "No one could have anticipated the swift, widespread and ongoing impact of the pandemic on our business and industry," Hill said in a statement. "The reinstatement of these titles and teams was always dependent on the advertising market bouncing back and the return of domestic and international travel. "Despite promising signs from advertisers in recent weeks, this has not outweighed the medium-term outlook for these titles." The economic crisis has devastated news media around the world, with dozens of Australian newsrooms closed and hundreds of journalists losing their jobs in recent months. While Australia had curbed the virus and began easing restrictions in June, a serious outbreak in Melbourne in recent weeks has cast a pall over its recovery. Bauer cited data from Nielsen AdQuest showing the COVID-19 lockdowns caused a nearly 40-percent drop in media advertising expenditure in Australia from March to April, while it was down 33 percent in June compared to a year earlier. Bauer has resumed publication of its magazines in New Zealand, which has fully reopened its economy and resumed domestic travel after successfully containing COVID-19. A mother in Florida lost her 20-year-old son to COVID-19, and then 11 days later, her 22-year-old daughter also died from the disease. "I hold up pretty much well at the daytime, but at night, it really hits me," Monete Hicks, 48, of Lauderdale Lakes, told NBC 6 of South Florida. "I'm so used to them being in here." Planning their two funerals is difficult, she said. Mychaela and Byron Francis. (Family photos / via FLA6) Hicks did not immediately respond to a request for an interview Tuesday. She told the South Florida station that her son and daughter both had underlying health conditions. An official with the Broward County Medical Examiner's Office confirmed to NBC News on Tuesday that the primary cause of death for Hicks' son, Byron, and daughter, Mychaela Francis, was COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus. Morbid obesity and asthma are listed as contributing causes of Byron's death, the official said, while, for Mychaela, obesity, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were contributing causes. Hicks said her son Byron had trouble breathing on June 27. "I came and checked on him. He was in the living room on the floor sitting up. He was sleeping, but he was breathing very poorly," Hicks said. She called 911, and Byron was taken to a hospital where he later died. Download the TODAY app for the latest coverage on the coronavirus outbreak. A week later, as the family grieved Byron's death, Hicks said Mychaela went to the hospital after she began having headaches and a fever. As the days went by, "everything just went to breaking down in her body," Hicks told NBC 6. Mychaela needed oxygen, her blood pressure fell, and she eventually lost a kidney. She died July 8. Hicks, who has four other children, said she had believed Mychaela was going to recover because, like Byron, she was a fighter. She is now imploring people to take measures to keep themselves safe. "Wear yall masks," Hicks said. "Be careful, be safe out there, take it seriously." Story continues Broward County in a statement on July 17 said the number of coronavirus cases was continuing to climb, more than 1,300 new cases each day over the previous week. "Our hospitals are either at or are exceeding their bed capacity," the statement said. The county had 42,121 confirmed cases of the coronavirus, with 517 deaths, as of Tuesday, according to the Florida Department of Health. A version of this story originally appeared on NBCNews.com. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday the United States wants to build a global coalition to counter China as he accused Beijing of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further its own interests. US President Donald Trump identifies China as the United States' main rival, and has accused President Xi Jinping of taking advantage over trade and not telling the truth over the novel coronavirus outbreak, which Trump calls the "China plague". Pompeo, on a visit to London, lauded Prime Minister Boris Johnson for ordering a purge of Huawei gear from its ... After several videos emerged on social media showing riot police in Portland, Ore without clear identification badges using force and unmarked vehicles to transport and arrest the Black Lives Matter protesters, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Washington DC Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, will be introducing a bill this week that would require the federal law enforcement officials to state their identity clearly. The controversy spiralling due to the recent turn of events in Portland has been severely criticised by many lawmakers in the United States where the people have posed questions over the secret police force. Ocasio-Cortez took to Twitter on July 21 and said that the nation should not keep the identity of federal officers a secret. The United States of America should not have secret police. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 20, 2020 According to the draft bill, if passed, the law would reportedly require the federal agents on duty to not only display the names of their agency but also the name of the individual. This comes after several federal agents, some wearing camouflage and others wearing dark Homeland Security uniforms took measures to stop the Black Lives Matter demonstrators. According to reports, they used tear gas several times. One 60-year-old participant of the BLM rallies that are taking place daily reportedly said that the actions taken by the force were terrifying. Read - Portland Moms Form Human Chain To Protect Demonstrators From Federal Officers, See Pics These questionable federal agents are taking these drastic steps to stop the protesters in Oregon as a part of US President Donald Trump administrations latest executive order that calls for protection of American monuments. Since the US citizens began raising their voice against racial injustice and police brutality across the nation triggered by the death of George Floyd, the use of military force has been Trumps resort for the rioters and looters who are damaging public property. Even Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf blasted some of the protesters as lawless anarchists in a visit to the city. Read - Protesters Hit With Gas As Locals Demand Feds Leave Portland Oregon seeks legal aid to stop feds Ocasio-Cortezs announcement of introducing the bill calling for transparency of federal agents came just a few days after reports suggested that Oregons attorney general is seeking legal order to stop the federal agents from arresting the demonstrators in Portland as the city continues to be ricked due to BLM demonstrations. The nightly protests have been witnessed by the city for at least seven weeks and now the local officials are uniting against the Trump administration. Irvin McCullough, the deputy director of legislation at the Government Accountability Project has reportedly noted that numerous lawyers in the United States are currency echoing the same concerns with the events that are taking place in Oregon. According to reports, McCullough has said that questions ranging from transparency to the use of violence are being raised and according to him, the citizens deserve to know the identity of the individual whos arresting them. While sharing an article about police brutality, former Democratic presidential hopeful, Elizabeth Warren wrote on Twitter, I thought wed already covered this after the attacks in Lafayette Square: the US government should not be using unidentified federal officers as a secret police force to terrorize US citizens & violate their constitutional rights. This is outrageous. Read - Federal Officers Use Gas To Clear Protesters In Portland Read - Protesters March In Portland Amid Nightly Tensions ALTON A pedestrian airlifted from a weekend accident in Alton has since been released from the hospital. Alton Police Sgt. Emily Hejna said that shortly after midnight Saturday a pedestrian was struck in the eastbound lanes of College Avenue between Powdermill and Stanley roads in. By Patricia Zengerle WASHINGTON (Reuters) - China is using its technological rise to develop "digital authoritarianism" to conduct surveillance, control the internet and censor information not just within its borders, but around the world, a U.S. Senate report said on Tuesday. Senator Bob Menendez, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, who led the report, said China uses technologies such as artificial intelligence and biometrics to keep track of its citizens and control information. The report's release comes as relations between Washington and Beijing are increasingly strained, with President Donald Trump blaming China for the coronavirus pandemic and jockeying over trade, human rights and Beijing's military buildup. China has collected vast amounts of data, renewing its use of surveillance technologies, during the pandemic, heightening the urgency of a response, the report noted. Washington has been pushing allies to exclude products from China's Huawei [HWT.UL] from 5G networks and is paving the way for sanctions on it and other Chinese companies. The report discusses new laws strengthening Beijing's control over information, and investments in companies developing technologies that support these efforts. It says China exports digital technologies to increase its influence elsewhere and seeks more clout at international organizations such as the World Trade Organization and World Health Organization. "China has been exporting its digital authoritarianism and its tools and tactics across the world," Menendez said during a briefing, saying international leaders are increasingly attracted to China's model, especially as Trump pulls back from international engagement. The report includes recommendations to counter China's rise. Those include legislation creating a public-private consortium developing U.S. 5G technology and a "Digital Rights Promotion Fund" to push back against China's use of mass surveillance. It also backs opening a cyber military service academy, and for the U.S. president to lead a coalition of countries working together to counteract China. (Reporting by Patricia Zengerle; Editing by Leslie Adler and Jonathan Oatis) Dear Dr. Fox: Is there a supplement that is safe to give my two dogs to stop yellowing of my grass when they urinate? I looked into gypsum for the lawn, but it seems to do more harm to the grass than good. They currently eat a little kibble mixed with your dog food twice a day and added vegetables (Brussels sprouts, cauliflower, carrots) and fruits (blueberries or apples) once a day. T.G., Tulsa, Oklahoma Dear T.G.: I am frequently asked this question, and my response has usually ruffled some feathers. There are fraudsters out there selling various products to give to dogs with the claim that their urine will be changed so the lawn grass will not be harmed. These products are not FDA-approved and need not be if they are marketed not as drugs but as food supplements. Any compound that changes the acidity/alkalinity of a dogs urine is altering complex biochemical processes and could cause harm, including disrupting the normal bacterial flora in the urinary tract that prevents cystitis and infections. The three solutions that I offer are: 1. Adding a little milk or low- or zero-salt chicken bouillon (you can make your own) to your dogs drinking water so they drink more and have less concentrated urine. The renovation of the property is underway, encompassing painting of walls, cleaning, and other necessary repairs befitting the new entrants stature and requirements. The bungalow, spread over about 1.5 acres, belongs to the family of veteran Congress leader the late Sheila Kaul, who was the sister-in-law of India's first prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru. Virendra Singh Rawat reports. A nondescript bungalow in the posh Gokhale Marg enclave in Lucknow is touted to become the permanent address of Congress General Secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who was recently served an eviction notice by the Centre to vacate her 35, Lodhi Estate house in New Delhi. The renovation of the property is underway, encompassing painting of walls, cleaning, and other necessary repairs befitting the new entrants stature and requirements. IMAGE: The bungalow in Lucknow belongs to the family of veteran Congress leader, the late Sheila Kaul, sister-in-law of India's first prime minister and Priyanka's great grandfather, Jawaharlal Nehru. Photograph: ANI Photo. The bungalow, spread over about 1.5 acres, belongs to the family of veteran Congress leader late Sheila Kaul, who was the sister-in-law of India's first prime minister, Jawaharlal Nehru. Kaul, a five-time MP who died in 2015 at the age of 100, had served as Union minister and also Himachal Pradesh governor. The bungalow has hosted Vadra several times during her visits to the Uttar Pradesh capital after being anointed the Congress's state unit in charge by her brother and former party president Rahul Gandhi last year. IMAGE: A plaque in the bungalow compound announces that Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru had planted this mango tree on one of his visits to the Kaul house in Lucknow. Photograph: ANI Photo. The bungalow is nearly 3 km from the UP Congress Committee headquarters. In fact, the Vidhan Sabha precincts as also Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath's official residence at 5, Kalidas Marg are still closer. Kaul was the wife of Nehru's brother-in-law and renowned botanist Kailash Nath Kaul, a connection that fetched her important positions in the grand old party. Old-timers claim even Nehru had stayed at the bungalow and planted a banyan tree in 1936. The bungalow also served as a vital political centre in the pre-independence era, making it a living specimen of the country's freedom movement. While the property had been witnessing a steady renovation and sprucing up exercise over the past few months, civil works have gained momentum and magnitude after Vadra was served the eviction notice by the Union housing and urban affairs ministry. She has to vacate the Lodhi Estate residence by August 1. IMAGE: The bungalow is nearly 3 km from the UP Congress Committee headquarters. Photograph: ANI Photo. State Congress functionaries have claimed that the decision of Vadra making the Lucknow bungalow her permanent pad predated the eviction notice. Vadra was asked to vacate the New Delhi bungalow following the withdrawal of her Special Protection Group (SPG) cover. Deepak Singh, a Congress MLC who belongs to the party's pocket borough of Rae Bareli, has been tasked with overseeing the renovation according to the needs and likes of Vadra. "So far, the painting of walls and other renovations have been carried out in the bungalow. Now, we are planting more saplings and manicuring the lawns, since Priyankaji is fond of plants and greenery," Singh said. He said most of the work had already been completed and now they were awaiting the arrival of furniture and other belongings of Vadra. According to sources, there are about 10 spacious rooms in the bungalow, apart from separate space for conducting official work and accommodating support and security staff. Since the Kaul family does not live in the Lucknow bungalow, the property was in urgent need of repair works and renovation. "This bungalow will become the new permanent address of Priyankaji," Singh observed, expressing some concern on the security aspect once she starts living there. He indicated the exigent need of further raising the compound walls considering the property is located in a thickly populated residential area with apartments all around. IMAGE: There are about 10 spacious rooms in the bungalow, apart from separate space for conducting official work and accommodating support and security staff. Photograph: ANI Photo. The state unit of the party is hopeful that now she will devote more time to UP and revive the party to take on the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party and expose its failings on various fronts, including law and order, and socioeconomic issues. Until now, Vadra used to come down to Lucknow from Delhi for holding party meetings or visiting various districts, and later return to the national capital. This format is expected to change with Vadra, who is the newest member of the Nehru-Gandhi family to enter active politics, getting more time for rejuvenating the UP unit, and leading it from the front beyond her occasional Twitter posts. "The bungalow belongs to the family of Priyanka Gandhi and now she will also live there. She is in charge of the state unit of the party and this development will further strengthen the organisation," Congress leader Zishan Haider observed. While the protests have largely been peaceful, Trump and his allies in conservative media have portrayed the cities as out of control as he tries to contrast himself with Biden and make the case to voters especially the suburban women who turned against Republicans in the 2018 midterms that failing to elect him for a second term will lead to lawlessness. Its not an uninteresting moment to be part of CalArts, said dance dean Dimitri Chamblas. The school is ready to re-question, reinvent innovating in this particular moment of time its not a bad moment for study. Los Angeles Times Professor Sir John Bell said it is unlikely that coronavirus will ever be eradicated. (PA) The coronavirus will be here forever, a leading scientist has said. Professor Sir John Bell, a immunologist and geneticist at the University of Oxford, said it is unlikely COVID-19 will ever be eliminated. And he criticised the response to the crisis, saying the UK was asleep to the threat of a pandemic. He told the Commons health and social care committee on Tuesday that COVID-19 may never be eradicated. "The reality is that this pathogen is here forever, it isn't going anywhere," he told MPs. "Look at how much trouble they've had in eliminating, for example, polio, that eradication programme has been going on for 15 years and they're still not there. "So this is going to come and go, and we're going to get winters where we get a lot of this virus back in action. Earlier this month, he warned that the UK should prepare for the worst this winter. On Monday, preliminary results of human trials at Oxford University showed the vaccine its developing is safe and produces an immune reaction. Watch the video below However, Sir John warned: "The vaccine is unlikely to have a durable effect that'll last for a very long time, so we're going to have to have a continual cycle of vaccinations, and then more disease, and more vaccinations and more disease. "So I think the idea that we're going to eliminate it across the population, that's just not realistic." He told the committee one of the UKs biggest failures was not being on the "front foot" in preparation for a pandemic. "The fact that we were asleep to the concept that we were going to have a pandemic, I think, shame on us, he said. "Since the year 2000 we've had eight close calls of emerging infectious diseases, any one of which could have swept the globe as a pandemic. "This is not new and I think we should not be proud of the fact that we ended up with a system which had no resilience to pandemics. I think the biggest single failure was not being on the front foot. "Singapore started the first week of January preparing for trouble, where it took us very much to the end of February beginning of March to get going. "I think that's the single biggest failure and I think a lot of things fall out from that." Coronavirus: what happened today Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter Researchers are reporting progress in the race to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the new coronavirus. The disease it causes, COVID-19, has killed at least 610,000 people worldwide. More than 14.7 million people have been infected. Two different experimental vaccines have produced strong immune reactions in people involved in the studies. And neither produced serious unwanted effects. The separate research was published Monday in the British medical journal The Lancet. The most promising of the two preventative medicines comes from a partnership between Oxford University in Britain and drug maker AstraZeneca. The company has signed agreements with many governments to supply its vaccine if it proves to be effective and wins legal approval. AstraZeneca has promised to make 2 billion vaccine treatments. The New York Times newspaper reports that the vaccine has been given to more than 10,000 volunteers in Britain, Brazil and South Africa. It says 30,000 people in the United States are to receive the experimental vaccine next week. The drug company CanSinoBiologics Incorporated and the Chinese military is developing the other vaccine. It was tested on 508 healthy volunteers who received one treatment each, the researchers reported. Most of those tested showed a good immune reaction. About 77 percent of the volunteers reported temporary side effects, including increased body temperature and pain at the place of injection. None of the side effects were severe or unusual, the researchers reported. Both the AstraZeneca and CanSino vaccines use a harmless adenovirus to carry genetic material from the new coronavirus into the body. Overall, the results of both trials are broadly similar and promising, Naor Bar-Zeev and William Moss wrote in The Lancet. Both writers are vaccine experts at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland. Also Monday, the drug maker Pfizer and its partner BioNTech reported success on their vaccine candidate. That study was small, involving 60 healthy adults. Outside experts have not yet examined the research findings. Last week, the medical research company Moderna announced strong immune reaction in tests of a vaccine developed by researchers at the U.S. National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. However, the volunteers involved in that research reported more unwanted effects such as tiredness, head pain, chills and muscle pain. Dr. Peter Hotez is an infectious diseases expert at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, Texas. On Monday, he told the American news group CNN that the first vaccines may not be our best vaccines. Hotez said it would probably take another year to produce all the necessary evidence that the new coronavirus vaccines are safe and effective. Early Tuesday, European leaders agreed on a $2.1-trillion budget. The agreement includes $857 billion in coronavirus support that will be issued as loans and aid to the hardest-hit countries. Im Caty Weaver. VOANews reported this story. Caty Weaver adapted it with additional information from Reuters News Agency. Ashley Thompson was the editor. ________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story immune -adj. of or relating to the body's defense system journal -n. a magazine that reports on things of special interest to a particular group of people chills -n. a feeling of being A special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea filed by Rana Kapoor, YES Banks co-founder, former managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO), who has been booked for alleged money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). Kapoor was arrested by ED on March 8 and produced before the special PMLA court. Initially, he was remanded to ED custody till March 11 and later sent to judicial custody. Earlier in March, CBI had registered two cases against Kapoor. One first information report (FIR) had alleged that the bankrupt YES Bank had invested Rs 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) between April and June 2018. In lieu, Kapoor was allegedly paid kickbacks to the tune of Rs 600 crore by DHFL promoter, Kapil Wadhawan. DHFL had sanctioned a loan to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RAB Enterprises in which Kapoors wife Bindu is a director and 100% shareholder, the CBI had stated in its FIR. Kapoors three daughters -- Rakhee Kapoor Tandon, Roshni Kapoor, and Radha Kapoor -- are also 100% shareholders in DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd. It is on the basis of the CBI case that ED began its probe into allegations of money laundering by Kapoor and subsequently arrested him on March 8. In the second case, CBI alleged that Kapoor and his wife bought a bungalow from Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar at a much lower price than its market valuation. In the past, Thapar had mortgaged the bungalow for a corporate loan of Rs 600 crore, but he sold it for Rs 380 crore to Bliss Abode Pvt Ltd, when Kapoors wife was a director of the company. ED filed a charge sheet against Kapoor, his wife, and three daughters for money laundering on the basis of its investigation. Kapoors lawyers moved bail plea after the charge sheet was filed, pleading that the case was based on documentary evidence that has already been collected by the agency and he is eligible to be released on a personal surety bond, which can be determined by the special PMLA court. ED, however, argued that the probe is yet to be concluded and that Kapoor could tamper with the evidence and also influence witnesses. The special PMLA court saw merit in EDs argument and rejected his bail plea. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON (Bloomberg) -- Snap Inc. missed its own forecast for user growth last quarter and held off making projections for the current period, a reminder of how hard it is to predict business direction during the pandemic. The company, owner of the Snapchat social media app, said that gains in daily active users seen at the beginning of the Covid-19 outbreak have leveled off. Although revenue topped analysts estimates and is on track to do so again in the current period, Snap isnt promising anything. Instead, it said the events that usually drive third-quarter advertising sales -- like sports games, movie releases and back-to-school shopping -- cant be counted on. Shares dropped about 6% in late trading. At the onset of widespread shelter in place orders, as people sought to stay connected and entertained from home, we observed an increase in daily active users that informed our initial estimate, Chief Financial Officer Derek Andersen said in prepared remarks to investors. This initial lift dissipated faster than we anticipated as shelter in place conditions persisted. In a statement on Tuesday, Santa Monica, California-based Snap said daily active users in the June period grew 17% to 238 million, compared with the 239 million estimated. Shares fell as low as $21.30 in extended trading before recovering some of the late losses. The stock isnt valued on revenue or profits, its valued on users, said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Securities. Investors dont like slowing growth. The results may serve as a bellwether for the social media industry, where Snap competes with Facebook Inc. and Twitter Inc. for advertising dollars and users time. Those companies havent yet reported results for the June period, but both said earlier this year that the pandemic was curbing digital ad spending. Facebook now is also confronting a boycott by dozens of major brands, which are pausing spots on the social network to protest its policies toward hateful and misleading posts. Some of the advertisers have said they were also halting spending on other social networks. Story continues Snap, whose app is especially popular with young people and faces less pressure over offensive content than its peers, drew $454.2 million in second-quarter sales, a jump of 17% from a year earlier, while analysts on average had projected $441.6 million. The company has been working to turn around its business, improving offerings for advertisers after the instability that followed its 2017 initial public offering. In that time, Snap has changed top managers, redesigned its application and improved its Android product, helping the company grow in markets beyond the U.S. and Europe. Optimism for the recovery drove the shares up 52% this year. Now its trading close to levels not seen since the days after its IPO. Analysts said they had high expectations for Snap, especially after the companys developer summit highlighted opportunities to draw more revenue from users. The company has for years invested in augmented reality for e-commerce -- like trying on shoes virtually from home -- which has the potential to become mainstream more quickly as consumers are encouraged to stay home. This is a 4.5-star result, and buy-side probably expected a 5-star result, said Rohit Kulkarni, an analyst at MKM Partners. Snaps net loss widened to $326 million, or 23 cents a share, from $255.2 million, or 19 cents, a year earlier. Excluding certain items, the loss was 9 cents a share, compared with the average 10-cent loss projected by analysts. In his remarks, Snap CFO Andersen noted other challenging circumstances, like advertisers who temporarily paused their campaigns in order to change their messaging to be more appropriate for the given moment, as the U.S. erupted in protest over police violence against Black people. (Updates with analyst comment in the fifth paragraph.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stevie Emilia and Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Denpasar Tue, July 21, 2020 16:01 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40668238de 1 Health #health,#COVID19,#health-conference,#UNFPA,#population,#women,#reproductive,#reproductive-health Free The COVID-19 pandemic has caused an emergence of another parallel pandemic of violence against women and girls mainly those who were locked up in their homes with their abusers during lockdown. We are living in deeply unsettling times. The pandemic has turned everything upside down, how we live, how we work, how we interact, said Gita Sen, adjunct professor of global health and population at Harvard University. Whats more important, she added, was the backlash against gender equality and human rights, specifically the rights of women and girls across the world, including in parts of Asia and the Pacific. I have seen very little active leadership to remove stigma and to deal with the backlash against gender equality. Some leaders have gone in the opposite direction and we really need to tackle this, she said. Sen, who is also a distinguished professor at the Public Health Foundation of India, shared her views during a virtual conference organized by the steering committee of the 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) and Citizen News Service (CNS) on July 9. She said The State of the World Population Report 2020 pointed to disturbing facts, especially regarding female genital mutilation, child marriage and sex selection (as a result of aversion to daughters), which were present in the region and harmed women and girls while undermining equality. The existing [] structural inequalities [have been] exacerbated during the pandemic, Sen said. COVID-19 has shown us the weakness of our health system, where women tend to be at the bottom of the health worker hierarchy. Sen also pointed out that the fragility of economic systems had impacted informal and migrant workers, women and minority community communities the most. This happened even in a very high per-capita-income country like Singapore. While it could manage the pandemic well in the initial stages, later on migrant workers, who lived in crowded buildings on the outskirts of Singapore and lacked access to proper services, became the hub for the new spike [in cases]. Economic inequality has widened the gap between the rich and the poor in the region. We need to move toward universal basic income for everyone, including the migrant workers on whom our economies depend. We need to invest in housing, water and sanitation. We need progressive tax systems. The rich must [pay a] wealth tax to fund essential public services, Sen said. In the health sector, she stressed the unreliability and very high costs of private health care. We cannot depend on the private sector in health care if we want to move toward universal health coverage, Sen said. Investment in the public provision of healthcare services, effective regulation of the private sector and ensuring that women health workers, who predominate at the lower ranks, are treated properly as workers [are needed], she added, insisting that women were key in moving toward a more balanced economy and more sustainable and caring societies. Meanwhile, Caroline Homer, who is co-program director of maternal, child and adolescent health at Burnet Institute, presented a plenary talk entitled Addressing barriers to accelerate progress on SRHR in Asia Pacific. SRHR [sexual and reproductive health and rights] is essential for human development, sustainable development and for countries to reach SDGs. There are enormous links of SRHR, gender equality and womens wellbeing, said Homer, who is also a visiting professor of the Midwifery Faculty of Health, the University of Technology Sydney. She added that countries that had strong and effective SRHR had very strong economic development and were better for environmental sustainability. However, Homer raised concern over many existing problems in the Asia-Pacific, There are not enough women. In addition to healthcare access, the region has also seen a rise in violence against women and girls during the pandemic, she said. SRHR is not a womens issue or mens issue but it is all of our issues. We see high rates of nearly one in three women experiencing intimate partner violence or non-partner sexual violence. We are seeing higher rates of violence across the region. In my country [Australia], in the 27 weeks of the pandemic, 27 women have been allegedly murdered by their partners or by family members. She explained that COVID-19 had exacerbated many of the other barriers particularly access and availability to health services as many services wear geared toward responding to COVID-19, rather than providing health services. The region sees many health workers, particularly nurses, midwives, doctors, community health workers, were struck by COVID-19 and many of them have died. The loss of healthcare workers is an enormous tragedy. (ste) Now that the Austrian government has lifted all restrictions to control the coronavirus, infection rates are rising sharply again. Last Thursday, the Ministry of Health in Vienna reported 157 positive SARS CoV2 tests. This is the highest number since April 10. The number of confirmed infections per 100,000 inhabitants was 8.2 within seven days, more than twice as high as in neighbouring Germany with 3.0. The number of active COVID-19 cases has risen from below 400 to 1,315 since mid-June. The average number of positive tests is more than four times higher than in mid-June. At that time, the last protective measure against the pandemic had been lifted, ending the compulsory wearing of masks in shops and restaurants. Besides the capital Vienna, Upper Austria, Lower Austria and Styria are particularly affected by the increase. The responsibility for the renewed expansion lies with the federal government under Chancellor Sebastian Kurz, a coalition of the right-wing conservative Peoples Party (OVP) and the Greens. Measures to contain the virus had been implemented for a short period in mid-March. But the government in Vienna was at the forefront in its easing policy as early as mid-April and then the COVID-19 relaxation decree lifted all restrictions. The Kurz government thus made it clear that it would not allow the economic interests of big business to be curtailed, although experts warned against a hasty relaxation of the protective measures. Chancellor Sebastian Kurz and Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler at a press conference (Photo: Federal Ministry of Finance) Given the rapidly increasing numbers of infections, the head of the Austrian Medical Association, Thomas Szekeres, is calling for the reintroduction of compulsory masks in closed rooms. Viennese virologist Elisabeth Puchhammer-Stockl has also long been against ending the compulsory wearing of masks. In Upper Austria and partly in Carinthia, the compulsory wearing of masks has been reintroduced in public places. Although protecting the general population requires rapid and far-reaching measures, Chancellor Kurz merely told the Austrian daily newspaper Osterreich at the weekend that it was necessary to reintroduce the compulsory wearing of masks in certain areas. He wanted to discuss which areas would be affected by this with the responsible ministers. Vice-Chancellor Werner Kogler (Greens) explained, The consideration is that one should wear a mask again in the supermarket. However, Kogler strictly rejected a nationwide requirement to wear masks in public places. Hardly a day passes without one or more further coronavirus clusters being discovered in the Alpine republic, with almost 9 million inhabitants. Most recently, at least 34 employees of the Dachsberger slaughterhouse in Eggenburg, Lower Austria, were infected. Over 240 people had to be quarantined. Just like the German slaughterhouse Tonnies, the catastrophic working conditions were responsible for the outbreak. The chain of infection could extend as far as the Czech Republic, from where numerous workers commute to the Austrian slaughterhouse. At the beginning of July, around two dozen cases had occurred in a slaughterhouse near Linz. The plant was then closed for a short time. In Lower Austria, at least nine cases and 270 possible contacts occurred in a church in the town of Wiener Neustadt. At the weekend, there were further cases in two Serbian Orthodox churches in Vienna, both of which were closed. A total of seven people had tested positive, including four priests and their family members. The churches are to be reopened as of August 1. Neither wearing face masks nor social distancing rules must be observed in the churches. According to official figures, there have been a total of 20,000 confirmed coronavirus infections in Austria so far, and 711 people have died as a result. The handling of the pandemic in schools and kindergartens is particularly irresponsible. Here, mass infections are being undeniably provoked, and no further countermeasures are taken. After several cases of coronavirus in schools and kindergartens in Vienna, which led to the closure of the facilities, the Social Democrat-Green provincial government decided no more closures should be allowed in the interests of big business. The guidelines now merely stipulate that only children who display symptoms of illness should not attend school. All contact persons, including children in the same class or group, can continue to be taught or looked after. At the same time, there is no obligation to have the child tested for a possible COVID-19 infection. Ursula Karnthaler, head of the medical crisis team, even explained that symptoms such as sneezing, or coughing do not yet need to be investigated, with a test carried out only when the disease has progressed so far that the child can no longer follow the educational programme. Further measures are then only taken when a child has a positive test result when close contacts must be quarantined for 14 days. The responsible crisis team justified this by saying schools and kindergartens almost only recorded individual cases; analyses had shown that hardly any infections could be attributed to educational institutions. Only two weeks ago, schools and kindergartens in Linz and Wels in Upper Austria had to be closed for days after several cases had occurred. Moreover, few tests are carried out in a targeted manner to keep the numbers low. The Green Health Minister Rudolf Anschober had to admit that recently only about 10,000 tests were being carried out daily. At the end of March, Anschobers ministry had declared that it wanted to carry out between 15,000 and 17,000 tests daily. Clinics and nursing homes are particularly affected by the rising number of cases. For example, one-third of the people in Austria who have died of COVID-19 or in which it was a contributing factor were residents of nursing homes. Lack of protective equipment and too few tests are mainly responsible for this, as the Bundesverband Lebenswelt Heim association of old age and care homes commented at the beginning of July. The consequences were uncontrolled infections in nursing homes. According to the president of the federal association, Markus Mattersberger, there were only four healthy nurses left in one facility to look after 30 residents. While the population is being exposed to the dangers of the pandemic in the interests of big business, the latter is using the crisis to attack wages and jobs. Austrian Lufthansa subsidiary AUA, for example, is receiving state support from a 600 million aid package. At the same time, the workforce is to be reduced to 80 percent of its current size by 2022, cutting 1,100 jobs. Moreover, the remaining AUA employees are to face salary cuts totalling 300 million. According to AUA management, the loss of wages will amount to 13 to 15 percent for each employee. Currently, large parts of the workforce are on short-time working, which is already leading to considerable losses. Since the beginning of the pandemic, unemployment in Austria has risen sharply, especially in the retail, catering and education sectors. While 400,000 people were out of work at the end of February 2020, the number had risen to 463,500 by the end of June. Women, often single parents who have already worked in precarious conditions, are particularly affected. The number of short-time workers, which had fallen in recent weeks, has also risen by more than 50,000 within one week. The Minerals Commission under its Sustainable Livelihood Projects (SLPs) is to distribute 200,000 oil palm seedlings to farmers in the Birim Central Municipality to help curb illegal mining. The SLPs is being undertaken in mining communities and oil palm plantation is recommended as the immediate most sustainable project for such communities to ensure that, they do not become ghost towns after cessation of mining. Mr Isaac Mann, the Birm Central Municipal Director of Agriculture briefing the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said through the effort of Ms Victoria Adu, the Birim Central Municipal Chief Executive, the Municipality was among the community to benefit from the SLPs. He said out of the 200,000 free oil palm seedlings, the Assembly had received 60,000. Mr Mann said 724 registered farmers in communities like Essam, Larbikrom, Gyadem, Yeboahkrom, ODASCO and Oda Nkwanta have received their seedlings. The criteria for selecting the farmer beneficiaries was based on clearing of farmland of about four acres, pegging of the land and working with the Agriculture Extension Agents. Speaking to farmers during the presentation of the seedlings, Mr Mann advised them to take good care of the seedlings and expressed the hope that, the Municipality would be among the raw material base for agriculture industrialisation in future. Ms Adu, the Birim Central Municipal Chief Executive expressed gratitude to the Minerals Commission for making the Assembly a beneficiary of the project. She advised farmers in the area to form active groups to enable them get grant from the Ghana Government to purchase farm machines to make their farming activities less stressful. Mr Charles Agyei, a farmer at Akim Oda who owns about 20 acres of farmland, said they will do their best to engage themselves in the palm plantation, so that the Municipality can be a raw material base for agriculture industrialisation. 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 IS IT possible to service the cranes you deliver globally even when you cant travel yourself? The answer is yes. As the pandemic hit Ireland the country went into lockdown, Kerry-based Liebherr Container Cranes adapted quickly and continued all essential services and the company believes it will develop remote working further in the post-lockdown world. The first Liebherr factory outside of Germany, Liebherr Ireland was founded in 1958 when Hans Liebherr was seeking somewhere to manufacture his new tower cranes for the American and British market. Initially, Liebherr had not considered Killarney as a base for his factory. But a group of Killarney businessmen and local dignitaries met with him while he was staying in the Great Southern Hotel in Killarney and showed what the town had to offer, and it seems his mind was made up pretty quickly. Liebherr STS at Eurgate Container Terminal Bremerhaven before it is shipped to Eurogate Container Terminal Hamburg. Fast-forward six decades, what is it like operating in the coronavirus climate? As a supplier of essential equipment in the supply chain, we have to be available at all times to supply spares and service. With lockdowns and restrictions of different severities and length in countries worldwide, remote service has become crucial for our customers, said Trevor ODonoghue, marketing manager, Liebherr Container Cranes Ltd. We have already provided remote access to our cranes for many years as part of our standard product offering. We use proprietary software on the cranes that allow our engineers to connect to any crane, anywhere in the world and diagnose and service it. In addition, with the absence of overseas travel and restrictions on local travel, we have worked with our customers service personnel using generic off-the-shelf apps like WhatsApp and using augmented reality glasses and tools to continue to service cranes. In addition, Liebherr has developed a remote service tool that improves assistance through visual information, so leading to faster and easier troubleshooting. Audio and video calls, a chat function, screen sharing, image and document exchange, as well as whiteboarding functions are some of the features that have been integrated in the tool, said Mr ODonoghue. These enable real-time, fast and effective customer support from Liebherr engineers, allowing us to help repair cranes without being onsite. Using all of the above technologies and others, we have been able to virtually commission cranes to enter service. We did this at the height of New Zealand's strict lockdown, where we had no Liebherr engineers at the Port of Tauranga, but using technology and local personnel we were able to get a new Liebherr ship-to-shore container crane into service. This accelerated development and increased rate of adoption of technologies have benefited the customer, adds Liebherr. Liebherr can continue to service cranes even when we cant travel. Widespread adoption of these and other technologies such as remote sensing and predictive maintenance means that the necessity for on-site service engineers will be reduced, resulting in less downtime for our customers cranes, allowing them in turn to offer their customers a better service, said Mr ODonoghue. Liebherr developed its own remote service tool for improved assistance and faster troubleshooting. Crane-loading operations in Cork Harbour in 2017 and 2019 drew curious crowds, when massive gantry cranes were shipped to Puerto Rico and Montreal. Such spectatorship is a distant memory in these pandemic times. During lockdown, production was closed for five weeks while clerical staff were facilitated to work from home. As an essential service, we were among the first back into some overseas countries where our staff were key to keeping goods moving and allowing ports to continue to keep essential goods and cargoes flowing via Liebherr cranes, said Mr ODonoghue. Our factory implemented many public hygiene measures early on in the fight against Covid-19. Our manufacturing halls are very large and the large nature of our products allowed us to adapt our manufacturing to incorporate social distancing and other public health measures very quickly. As with many businesses, video conferencing has become an important tool in its customer interface, as has remote service. We would have used both of these previously, but the Covid-19 pandemic has certainly accelerated change, said Mr ODonoghue. The quick change to the new normal and the relative ease at which it occurred, was particularly striking. Today, our crane engineers and designers who use very resource-heavy applications are all able to work from home. Changes made in recent times were being developed anyway, added Liebherr. Covid-19 has sped up the implementation and adoption of these changes, said Mr ODonoghue. The tools and processes we have now implemented allow us to maintain our productivity and service to our customers, but allow us to respond in a quicker and more agile manner, which is a good thing. Remote working and support has proven to be practical. Even when things return to normal, then remote working in some shape or form will be further cultivated. On Monday, British vaccinologist Sarah Gilbert and her team at Oxford University leapfrogged towards the finish line, leaving other contenders behind, in the race to find the vaccine for the novel coronavirus. The early findings of Gilbert and her team's research have shown promising results, with trials conducted on 1,077 individuals revealing that when they were injected with the vaccine it led to strong immune responses with only minor side effects. The shot induced a strong antibody and T cell immune response among participants. For Gilbert, however, this race for the vaccine is all about saving the human race. As coronavirus continues to claim thousands of lives every day across the world, Gilbert is working on extremely tight timelines to come up with a working vaccine, that would not only be the next saviour of humankind, but also one of the biggest achievements in medical history. And, she is confident that she would be able to do it. In early July, when asked by a group of British MPs if there will be a vaccine before winter, she had reportedly replied, I hope we can improve on those timelines and come to your rescue." This is also the first vaccine to enter phase-3 trials. More than 10,000 participants in Britain, Brazil and South Africa have already received doses. Another Phase III test involving 30,000 participants in the United States is set to begin next week. Her superwoman-like assertion of 'coming to rescue' may seem like hyperbole, but it isn't. In the past four months, the Oxford team, which consists of almost 250 people led by Gilbert, has, in fact, achieved the impossible: They have come up with a vaccine that generally would take years to manufacture. This, however, is no miracle. When the Ebola outbreak happened, the Jenner Institute (where Gilbert works) of the Oxford University was at the helm of first trials of Ebola vaccine, and Gilbert was drafted by WHO to come up with a plan to swiftly respond to 'Disease X' - any unknown, but an inevitable pathogen - so that speedy actions can be taken as and when required in future. That future is here. The pathogen or Disease X is obviously Covid-19, and Gilbert is ready. She also has the leverage that years of researching MERS has provided her, which undoubtedly, she has used well to her advantage. Gilbert is also a superhero in a white lab coat on several other counts. She is the mother of 21-year-old triplets, all of whom have volunteered to be part of the trials of Covid-19 vaccine, even though it is still too early to know what kind of effect(s) it might have in the long run. As a researcher, she got to work on the virus as soon as Chinese scientists published the genetic sequence of Covid-19, on January 10, 2020. Since then, Gilbert has been waking up every morning at 4 am, working for long hours to make the vaccine a reality. Straight-A student, a musician, a mother Gilbert has always been an overachiever. According to an article published in Northants Telegraph, Gilbert passed her 0-level exams from Kettering High School with six As. She hails from a family of musicians, and as a kid, she played the oboe for the school orchestra. It is also at this school that she grew to love the biosciences and later moved to the University of East Anglia to complete her bachelor's degree in the subject. Following that she got her Ph.D. from Hull University. However, she didn't initially pursue a career in academics and instead chose to work for the Leicester Biocentre, for the first two years of her professional life. She then moved on to a biotech company, Delta, where she learned about drug manufacturing. It is this practical knowledge of drug manufacturing, combined with her academic prowess that would later help her lead the most important vaccine research in modern times, during a global pandemic. However, at the time she didn't know it. She soon returned to academics and did a stellar job there too, quickly climbing up the ranks. Most of her classmates describe her as a 'quiet', 'hard-working,' and an 'intelligent' girl, who was always amicable and polite, and her ex-colleagues remember her for her efficiency and dedication, and are happily rooting for her on social media to save the mankind, quite literally. In 1994, she bagged a senior position at Oxford, and after four years of working there, she stepped into motherhood with triplets. Gilbert later told the Nuffield Department of Medicine, Because I had triplets, nursery fees would have cost more than my entire income as a post-doctoral scientist, so my partner has had to sacrifice his own career in order to look after our children. "When I had the children in 1998 I was only entitled to 18 weeks paid maternity leave, which was tough when I had three premature infants to care for," she added. As a working mother, she enjoyed the flexible hours but there were also certain things that were fixed, for which she had to sacrifice her time with family. The vaccinologist added that a good support system is obviously a must if one has to strike a work-life balance. Away from the limelight: A career with many achievements Although Gilbert is the most important woman, nay person, in science today, she doesn't have the time to spare to enjoy the limelight. She says, she is doing what she is supposed to do, i.e. making the vaccine. For the last ten years, she has dedicated her life to manufacturing and testing vaccines which are made to induce T cell responses, majorly by using antigens from malaria, and influenza. Several such vaccines made by her have also passed clinical trials. However, this is not what she wanted to do, when she returned to academia initially. According to a report in The Telegraph, her aim was to study human genetics, but while doing so, it brought forth 'the role of a particular type of immune response in protection against malaria'. Therefore, Gilbert decided to make a vaccine that would 'work through that type of immune response', and eventually she ventured into vaccine making. For coronavirus, the vaccine Gilbert is making uses chimpanzee's adenovirus (a common cold virus) along with the genetic material from the protein spike of the SARS-CoV-2 virus which would prompt the immune system to fight back the virus. The vaccine in early trials stimulated antibodies as well as T-cells (white blood cell type) which would push the immune system to destroy Covid-19. Most of her preliminary knowledge and upper hand in researching Covid-19 for Gilbert comes from her research of MERS for which she went to Saudi Arabia in 2015. According to a Bloomberg Businessweek report, Gilbert tried to make the MERS vaccine using the chimp adenovirus and fusing it the genetic material of the MERS virus, a very similar approach that she is using for COVID-19 vaccine. However, before her claim to fame, she had a hard time getting funding for MERS vaccine trials. Although the same problem was initially faced while starting trials for the Covid-19 vaccine, help soon poured in from different quarters, including a 2.2 million pound grant from the UK government. Hope for Women in Science There have been several reports in the last few months that claimed that women researchers have been disproportionately impacted by this pandemic, as they are overburdened by their household chores, and primary caregiving responsibilities, their work output is being adversely affected, due to lack of time and attention. It is indeed worrisome, given that women are already so few in the field of research. According to UIS data, less than 30 per cent of the worlds researchers are women. In such a situation, Gilbert isn't just a ray of hope for the medical community, but also an inspiration to all women researchers across the world. What also adds to her reputation is the simple and accessible way in which she explains the complex science of the vaccine to the general public. However, despite her well-deserved rise to fame, Gilbert isn't making claims that she may not be able to live up to. In an interview with BBC, Gilbert chose her words wisely when she said, "The prospects (of the vaccine) are very good, but it is clearly not completely certain." Worcester parents on Monday shared their concerns about their kids going back to school in the fall, as city and school administrators shared preliminary plans for resuming instruction in the public school system amid the coronavirus pandemic. The Zoom meeting, which saw more than 1,000 Worcester residents in attendance, went on for more than four hours. Worcester Mayor Joseph Petty and Worcester Superintendent Maureen Binienda addressed worried parents on the call, many of whom expressed concern that measures being considered by officials dont go far enough to protect students from coronavirus. The school district, which serves more than 25,000 students, is exploring safety parameters that keep students between 3 and 6 feet apart in classrooms. Three feet is the minimum that has been set by the state Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. Guidelines released by DESE last month require, among other things, that students and staff to wear face masks. Officials say they are mulling over several options for instruction -- one for in-person classes, another for a hybrid method of in-person and online learning, and third, for fully remote education. Worcesters School Committee recently endorsed a hybrid model, which would require that students spend a couple days in the classroom, and several days at home. All students will be given technology to help with learning. Preschool and kindergarten students will receive an iPad. Older students will be getting a Chromebook. The full plan is laid out in a 59-page document. Worcester school officials say they are going to require the use of face coverings for all students, but with breaks throughout the day. Additionally, officials will be not taking students temperatures, and COVID-19 tests will not be required upon return to instruction. School officials are also looking to designate an isolation room in each school for students that are showing symptoms of coronavirus. Safety is our number one concern, Petty said. Many parents were wary of plans to return to school that dont adhere strictly to social distancing guidelines, given the spike in cases elsewhere in the U.S. Teenagers throughout the country and the pandemic have not been social distancing, regardless of the guidelines, said resident Anna Davies. How are we going to maintain social distancing? Resident Kwame Marshall, who says he has a young son enrolled at the University Park Campus School, questioned whether officials adequately assessed the risks reopening schools would have on more communities, including Black and Latino families. Its a little naive to think the students wont be passing this virus back and forth to each other, Marshall said. Others questioned the efficacy of remote learning for younger children. Theres little to no research that shows children can learn remotely, said Christina Butler. Youll be crossing your fingers that K-2 children wont fall two far behind during these critical years of development. The districts Safety Director Rob Pezzella, who is one of the districts COVID-19 response leaders during the reopening, said that as part of the plan, every school will be given Personal Protective Equipment, and school nurses will be employed at every school. We understand that these issues will have to be dealt with very quickly once they arise, on a daily basis, Pezzella told parents. The Massachusetts School Building Authority with the support of CannonDesign architects developed a parametric dashboard to allow school administrators to study social distancing measures on school capacities. The tool analyzed spacing and facility use assumptions, calculating effects on capacity, by using data collected for the MSBAs 2016 School Survey and 2019-2020 official enrollment counts. If students are kept 6 feet apart, no district schools would be able to reopen at 100% capacity; students at 11 schools would be able to attend no more than 50% of the time and participate in remote learning 50% of the time; and students at 28 schools would able to attend school no more than 33% of the time and participate in remote learning 67% of the time. However, with students 3 feet apart, 25 schools would be able to accommodate all students in-person at the same time and 16 schools would be able to have students attend 50% of the time and participate in remote learning 50% of the time. At 4 feet between students, all schools could accommodate in-person learning 50% of the time and remote learning 50% of the time, according to the documents. Several schools were not included in the analysis, including the Alternative School (at St. Casmirs); Caradonio New Citizen Center; Challenge and Reach Academies; Fanning Building; Gerald Creamer Center; Nelson Place; North High; Worcester Technical High School; Head Start Locations; and Central Massachusetts Special Education Collaborative locations. Gabrielle Dutra has completed her new book Heaven and Hell Sisters": a gripping tale of how Deanna will have to battle Clara, her full-blooded demon cousin, and her followers to take what is rightfully hers, the throne of Hell. According to Dutra, "I was born in a small town the middle of California. Growing up, I had five sisters and no brothers. After I turned three, my mother packed us up and moved all six of us kids east to Troy, New York, where I grew up. But it was a lonely childhood, even with five sisters. The two oldest never had time for me. The three younger onesI couldnt play with either. One had such bad asthma, she couldnt go out and play, and the other two were so young. So to entertain myself, I turned to reading, which I have always thoroughly enjoyed. With my mother working constantly and no dad in the picture, reading was and is how I escape my reality even now. I enjoy a good book and the journey it takes me on. This, in turn, led me to writing. It went from poems to short stories, now to a full-blown novel, and many more to come." Published by Page Publishing, Gabrielle Dutra's intriguing work discovers how along the way Deanna will face many challenges that will test her resolve and determination. Many questions arise, like will Deanna stay strong and win the crown. Clara and her devious mother, Elizabeth, try everything they can to kick Deanna out of Hell for good. Readers need to tackle this book and find out what happens. Readers who wish to experience this riveting work can purchase Heaven & Hell Sisters" at bookstores everywhere, or online at the Apple iTunes Store, Amazon, Google Play, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or media inquiries, contact Page Publishing at 866-315-2708. About Page Publishing: Page Publishing is a traditional, full-service publishing house that handles all the intricacies involved in publishing its authors books, including distribution in the worlds largest retail outlets and royalty generation. Page Publishing knows that authors need to be free to create, not mired in logistics like eBook conversion, establishing wholesale accounts, insurance, shipping, taxes, and so on. Pages accomplished writers and publishing professionals allow authors to leave behind these complex and time-consuming issues and focus on their passion: writing and creating. Learn more at http://www.pagepublishing.com. Russia has reportedly completed phase 2 trials of a Covid-19 vaccine developed with it defense ministry. It has claimed to start distribution of the vaccine by September. A report in Bloomberg quoted Russian Direct Investment Fund (RDIF) head Kirill Dmitriev as saying that the phase 3 trials, which will include thousands of people in Russia, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, are scheduled to begin Aug. 3 and distribution of the vaccine could start as early as September. First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov said in an interview with Argumenty i Fakty newspaper that a second group of volunteers ended Phase 2 trials Monday, with everyone developing immunity from the coronavirus and feeling fine. He, however, didn't say when Phase 3 large-scale trials would take place or when production of the vaccine may begin. The army is developing a vaccine with the state-run Gamaleya Institute in Moscow and the Russian Direct Investment Fund, the report stated. LONDON (dpa-AFX) - Today's Daily Dose brings you news about disappointing results from ACADIA's major depressive disorder drug trial, AstraZeneca's promising results of COVID-19 vaccine candidate, BioXcel Therapeutics' SERENITY program, Immuron's update on its new therapeutic against campylobacter and ETEC (E-Coli) and very encouraging results of Synairgen's SNG001 in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. Read on. 1. ACADIA Fails CLARITY Study Shares of ACADIA Pharmaceuticals Inc. (ACAD) fell more than 12% to $48.57 in after-hours on Monday, following disappointing results from a phase III program of Pimavanserin, dubbed CLARITY. The 298-patient phase III CLARITY study is a combination of two identical, double-blind, placebo-controlled studies known as CLARITY-2 and CLARITY-3, which evaluated Pimavanserin as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD). According to the Company, the CLARITY study did not achieve statistical significance on the primary endpoint which was the 17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD-17) total score change from baseline to week 5. Pimavanserin 34 mg, given once-daily as an adjunctive treatment to standard antidepressant therapy was associated with a mean reduction of 9.0 in HAMD-17 total score compared to 8.1 for placebo as an adjunctive treatment. Pimavanserin is approved for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis in the U.S. and has been marketed under the trade name NUPLAZID since 2016. In other news, the Company announced that the FDA has accepted for review, the supplemental New Drug Application for NUPLAZID for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, with a decision date set for April 3, 2021. ACAD closed Monday's trading at $55.42, up 0.82%. In after-hours, the stock was down 12.36% at $48.57. 2. AstraZeneca's COVID-19 Vaccine Shows Strong Antibody, T-cell Responses AstraZeneca PLC's (AZN) ongoing phase I/II trial of COVID-19 vaccine candidate AZD1222, dubbed COV001, has yielded positive interim results, showing strong antibody and T-cell responses. The COV001 trial has enrolled up to 1,077 healthy adults, aged 18-55, in five trial centers in the UK. In the COV001 trial, a single dose of AZD1222 resulted in a four-fold increase in antibodies to the SARS-CoV-2 virus spike protein in 95% of participants one month after injection. In all participants, a T-cell response was induced, peaking by day 14, and maintained two months after injection. Neutralizing activity against SARS-CoV-2 was seen in 91% of participants one month after vaccination and in 100% of participants who received a second dose, according to the results published in The Lancet. Rapid induction of antibodies and T-cells against the SARS-CoV-2 virus may be important in protection against COVID-19. The level of neutralizing antibodies is a measure of a vaccine's efficacy. The phase II/III trials of AZD1222 are currently underway in the UK, Brazil, and South Africa and are due to start in the US. The Company has a deal in place with R-Pharm, a Russian pharmaceutical company, for the manufacturing of AZD1222 in Russia. AZN touched a new high of $64.94 in intraday trading on Monday, before closing at $58.68, down 3.96%. 3. BioXcel Hits All-time High On SERENITY Data BioXcel Therapeutics Inc.'s (BTAI) phase III program of BXCL501 for the acute treatment of agitation in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder has met the primary and secondary endpoints, demonstrating a robust treatment effect in the trials. The phase III program consists of two trials - SERENITY I evaluating BXCL501 for the acute treatment of agitation in patients with schizophrenia and SERENITY II evaluating BXCL501 for bipolar disorder. The results of both the studies demonstrated that BXCL501 was well tolerated, with rapid and durable reductions in agitation. The Company is planning NDA submission of BXCL501 for the acute treatment of agitation in patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder in the U.S. in the first quarter of 2021. BTAI touched an all-time high of $71.50 in intraday trading on Monday, before closing at $60.42, up 14.02%. 4. Immuron Soars on Update Related To campylobacteriosis/ETEC Trial Shares of Immuron Limited (IMRN) rose as much as over 200 percent to $19.53 in intraday trading, following an update related to the Pre-IND meeting with FDA regarding a new therapeutic against campylobacter and ETEC (E-Coli). The new therapeutic is being developed by the US DoD Naval Medical Research Center in collaboration with Immuron. Last month, the Naval Medical Research Center had requested a meeting with the FDA for guidance on two phase II trials of the new therapeutic to prevent acute infectious diarrhea. The U.S. regulatory agency has now provided written guidance in relation to the clinical development pathway of the new investigational drug targeting moderate to severe campylobacteriosis and Enterotoxigenic Escherichia coli (ETEC) infections. Following the FDA's guidance and feedback, the NMRC plans to file an investigational new drug application later this year and commence two phase II trials of the new therapeutic, a Hyper-immune product, in 2021. One trial will focus on the ability of the hyperimmune product to protect volunteers against moderate to severe campylobacteriosis and the second trial will focus on ETEC infections. IMRN closed Monday's trading at $10.41, up 63.42%. 5. Synairgen's SNG001 Reduces Risk of Developing Severe COVID-19 Disease By 79% Shares of UK-based Synairgen plc (SNG.L) jumped as much as 550 percent on Monday, following positive results from its clinical trial of SNG001 in hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The trial enrolled 101 patients from 9 specialist hospital sites in the UK during the period March 30 to May 27, 2020. According to the trial results, in patients receiving SNG001, the odds of developing the severe disease (e.g. requiring ventilation or resulting in death) during the treatment period (day 1 to day 16) were significantly reduced by 79% compared to patients who received placebo. Over the treatment period, patients who received SNG001 were more than twice as likely to recover as those receiving placebo and the measure of breathlessness was markedly reduced in them. While there were no deaths among patients treated with SNG001, the placebo group reported three deaths. SNG.L closed Monday's trading at 190 GBP, up 420.55%. 6. Stocks That Moved On No News Tonix Pharmaceuticals Holding Corp. (TNXP) closed Monday's trading at $1.55, up 91.36%. iBio Inc. (IBIO) closed Monday's trading at $6.41, up 63.94%. Heat Biologics Inc. (HTBX) closed Monday's trading at $3.62, up 47.15%. Genetic Technologies Limited (GENE) closed Monday's trading at $4.31, down 23.99%. I-Mab (IMAB) closed Monday's trading at $28.55, down 13.46%. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Kostenloser Wertpapierhandel auf Smartbroker.de (Photo : Markus Spiske/Unsplash) A recent ransomware attack to Europes largest telecommunications company has stolen company data (Photo : Orange Facebook Page) Orange S.A., Europe's Largets Mobile Operator A recent ransomware attack to Europe's largest telecommunications company has stolen company data, which was allegedly being sold on a data leak site. According to SiliconANGLE, the attack came from the Nefilim ransomware group, which offers Orange's data on its data leak site. The leak was first noted by Bleeping Computer on July 16. Orange confirmed to BleepingComputer the ransomware attack, which targeted Orange Business Services provides consumer communication and business services. It exposed the data of 20 out of its 266 million customers and 148,000 employees. Orange said it had been targeted overnight between July 4 and 5. The company said its security team has identified "the origin of the attack" as well as initiate all necessary means to ensure its security systems." Nefilim has previously shared similarities to the Nemty 2.5 ransomware, but it was previously noted to spread through RDP and uses AES-128 encryption on a victim's files. In February, the group is also believed to be behind the attack on Toll Group, an Australian logistics provider. AttackIQ Inc. Vice President of Product Mark Bagley said the incident has impacted Orange as well as its customers and employees "whose data have been exposed" due to the attack that leads to a business data breach. Experts comment on the recent Orange cyberattack Meanwhile, security experts gave their comments regarding these recent attacks in Information Security Buzz. AttackIQ's Bagley said the recent Orange attacks are more detrimental as data are encrypted, stolen, and often exposed. He also said that that the best defense against ransomware is by knowing the common techniques and procedures used by the hackers. KnowBe4 Security Awareness Advocate Javvad Malik said the Orange attack shows the lingering move by criminals, which leads to preventing the attack. Thus, organizations should employ a multi-layered defense scheme, including utilizing the right procedures, technical controls, and providing relevant security awareness and training to staff. Meanwhile, DomainTools Senior Security Engineer and Malware Researcher Tarik Saleh said the size of the database exposed in the recent ransomware attack Orange that proves how profitable these operations are for hackers. They steal the information and sell them, so these criminals can maximize their profits. Meanwhile, victims must secure backup databases and not pay the ransom. Saleh also said this trend "effectively doubled up ransomware attacks as data breaches." Computer security: Ransomware attacks are a breach of data Almost all ransomware attacks are comprised of a pre-encryption component, in which attackers steal unencrypted files from their victims. However, threatening to release stolen files in public is used to intimidate victims to pay the ransom. However, Orange's move to go public about the attacks and notify its customers is the better move for the company to disclose these breaches to their clients and employees. While employees usually are the last to know about these attacks, they are also at the most risk as their personal information is either released in public or sold to other crooks. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Oligarchs with links to the Kremlin have used London like a 'laundromat' for illicit Russian money, the report warned. Britain welcomed Putin's cronies 'with open arms' because of the cash they brought with them, the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said. In damning claims, the report said oligarchs had penetrated British democracy by donating to political parties and hiring peers for their businesses. MPs and peers on the ISC concluded that rich figures from Russia have turned the UK capital into 'Londongrad' by laundering their money, making Russian influence in the UK the 'new normal'. The committee said 'few questions if any were asked about the provenance of this considerable wealth'. MPs and peers on the ISC concluded that rich figures from Russia have turned the UK capital into 'Londongrad' by laundering their money, making Russian influence in the UK the 'new normal' British professionals including lawyers, accountants, estate agents and PR experts have become 'enablers' for these oligarchs and are 'de facto agents of the Russian state', whether they realise it or not. The report said: 'A lot of Russians with very close links to Putin, who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, are accepted because of their wealth.' Britain has become a 'particularly favourable destination for Russian oligarchs and their money'. Aided by the UK's 1994 investor visa scheme, Russian money poured into charities and cultural and political institutions with 'few questions if any asked about the provenance of this considerable wealth'. The ISC warned that Kremlin-linked figures have given money to British political parties in a move that could see them used to 'assist' Moscow. It did not name any of the Russians living in Britain it suspects of having close links to Mr Putin, or specify which political parties have benefited from Russian donations. The ISC said: 'Several members of the Russian elite who are closely linked to Putin are identified as being involved with charitable and/or political organisations in the UK, having donated to political parties, with a public profile which positions them to assist Russian influence operations.' The investor visa scheme, established by Sir John Major's Conservative government, offered 'ideal mechanisms by which illicit finance could be recycled through what has been referred to as the London 'laundromat'.' A view of the Moscow Kremlin and Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge across the Moskva River The report said: 'The money was also invested in extending patronage and building influence across a wide sphere of the British establishment ... contributing to a 'reputation laundering' process. 'In brief, Russian influence in the UK is 'the new normal', and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth. This level of integration in 'Londongrad' in particular means any measures now being taken by the Government are not preventative but rather constitute damage limitation.' Responding to the report, the Government said it was determined to tackle 'dirty' money. A spokesman said: 'The UK has one of the world's largest and most open economies. These factors make the UK attractive for legitimate business, but also expose the UK to money laundering risks.' The Government added that it agreed with the ISC that 'transparency' about political donations is important. The chiefs and people of Wenchi in the Offinso South Municipality have made a passionate appeal to the government to fix the road network in the area. According to them, the deplorable nature of the road network in the area, coupled with lack of basic social amenities were making the people feel bitter and sometimes wonder if they were part of Ghana. Mr Kofi Acheampong, a youth leader, speaking at a durbar in the community, said the people were fed up with failed promises by politicians and said if the road network was not fixed immediately, the people would not vote in the December elections. The durbar, which was attended by Mr Solomon Kesseh, Offinso South Municipal Chief Executive, was to discuss the developmental challenges facing the community and how they could get support to improve on their living conditions. Mr Acheampong said the community had over the years been denied basic social amenities such as health facilities, electricity, potable water and others, adding that the people were now fed up with excuses by the Municipal Assembly. Nana Kwaku Atta, chief of the community on his part, said the bad nature of the road from the community to Offinso had been the cause of many avoidable deaths, especially of pregnant women and children who were unable to get a vehicle to attend hospital. Mr Kesseh, the MCE, appealed to the people to exercise restraint since the Assembly was working to provide them with their fair share of the national cake. He said the road from Offinso to the community had been cleared and work on its construction would soon commence. A project was also underway to extend electricity to the community. Mr Kesseh urged the people to support the government to improve the living conditions and the standard of living of the people in the Municipality. 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 San Francisco Mayor London Breed and the Board of Supervisors have reached an agreement to bring a unified business-tax reform measure to voters on the November ballot. If the measure passes it needs only a simple majority vote San Francisco would be able to unlock hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue thats been collected, but remains off-limits and unspent because of ongoing legal disputes. They announced the deal on Tuesday. The announcement puts a formal end to weeks of closed-door negotiations between Breeds administration and the board that centered on how quickly to raise tax rates and and for what industries. It was a conversation shaded in large part by the nearly $2 billion hole in the city budget caused by the COVID-19 pandemic that officials must confront. Breed sought to go easier on certain sectors that have been among the hardest hit by the shattered economy. Im proud weve come together on a consensus measure that will reform our business taxes, release critical funding for homelessness and childcare, and add new revenue that will help support our city as we eventually emerge from this pandemic, Breed said in a statement. Our city faces incredible challenges in the coming months and years, but weve shown that when we work together we can make a difference for the future of San Francisco. Restaurants, retail, manufacturing, arts organizations and hospitality businesses will see no increases through 2024 under the proposal. Other industries like the technology sector will see increases phased in over time as the broader economy recovers. This unified measure cuts to the heart of what we need most right now: bold reform to our business tax structure and much needed relief for our struggling small businesses and working families, said Supervisor Norman Yee. Tech companies and financial services firms would be subject to the steepest increases, with 10% hikes starting in 2022, increasing 5% each year through 2024. One element of the measure would free up the roughly $300 million in business taxes that the city has collected but cannot be spent pending the outcome of two court cases. Pro-business and anti-tax groups have sued the city, claiming officials illegally allowed a pair of 2018 ballot measures to pass with simple majorities, rather than two-thirds supermajorities. The city won both cases at the trial court level, but both have been appealed. While the taxes are still being collected, City Controller Ben Rosenfield has said the city cannot spend the money until the cases are fully resolved, which likely will take years. To get around that blockade, Breeds proposal would allow the city to start using the money its already collected for homelessness and child care programs under those previously approved ballot measures. 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. If the city loses its court case, and those prior taxes are struck down, the city could use the new tax, which would replace them, to pay for court-ordered refunds and to continue funding the child care and homelessness programs. If the city wins, it could begin freely using the 2018 taxes and the new taxes would be shelved. Breed proposed a separate parcel tax for the November ballot that would generate $50 million annually for the San Francisco Unified School Districts teachers. The measure would replace a nearly identical parcel tax San Francisco voters passed in 2018. That measure, Proposition G on the June 2018 ballot, is also tied up in litigation, though the city has also won that case at the trial court level. The tax measure would also phase out the citys payroll tax in 2021 and replace it with an across-the-board increase in the gross receipts tax a measure of a companys total gross revenues. It would also raise the revenue threshold at which businesses would be subject to the gross receipt tax to $2 million, from $1.17 million. The business-tax-reform measure still needs to be passed by the Board of Supervisors before it can reach the ballot. Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @dominicfracassa The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia July 20, 2020 Black Lives Matter Protests, London, 2020 | Joao Pereira The continuing demonstrations throughout the country suggest not only the obviousthat Black lives matterbut that racism is consuming America from within, that injustice affects the perpetrators just as much as the victims, that enough is enough. The rage, desperation, and determination which continue to bring tens of thousands of Americans to the streets in protest against racism and injustice hopefully will be just the beginning. They are sick and tired of systemic racism against Black people, of bigotry at the top, crude discrimination, police brutality, a prejudiced criminal justice system, economic disparity, and societys robbing black people of experiencing real freedom and equality. Hypocritically, white people blame the victims of racism for their own plight, claiming that Black people would do better in life if they were only willing to work harder. We are now reaping the harvest of the seeds of racism and discriminationthe devaluation of black life. The whole socio-economic and cultural system is lopsided, as it lacks the fundamentals of justice and equality. The pandemic provided the wakeup call that pointed out the ugly tradition of subjugation of the Black community, which sadly did not stop with the end of slavery, but continued in the wanton indifference to their pain and agony, our uncanny negligence, and our failure to understand what they are really experiencing. Ingrained Racism The fact that Black people were slaves, and the carefully cultivated myth that slaves were always obedient and happily served their white masters, left an indelible imprint on white people that has lasted generations. They maintain that African Americans were born to servitude and hence they do not qualify for equal treatment, equal opportunity, and equal status. Films such as D.W. Griffiths immensely influential Birth of a Nation (1915), which helped to reestablish the Ku Klux Klan, also reinforced the racist stereotype that Black men are unintelligent and an inherent danger to the white communityspecifically white women. When on May 25 (the same day George Floyd was killed) a white woman, Amy Cooper, called the cops on a Black man, Christian Cooper, who was birdwatching in Central Park, she was tapping into the long history of that racist trope. To put it plainly, Black lives are simply not valued the way white lives are, as white people consciously or subconsciously view Black man as both sub- and supra-human, threatening, and expendable. Thus, due to this entrenched prejudice, any activity, however innocent, in which a Black man is engaged in invites suspicion, alarm, and often puts the life of Black men in danger such as 25-year-old Ahmaud Arbery, who was shot and killed by white residents of the suburban Georgia neighborhood he was jogging in. The mayor of Minneapolis bluntly said Being black in America should not be a death sentence. Racism, to be sure, is so ingrained it flows in the veins of many Americans without notice. The insidious, learned biases pitting white against Black Americans directly leads to the treating of Black Americans as second-class citizens and suppression by white Americansa necessary ingredient that satisfies their ego and elevates their self-worth. Although the majority of white Americans may not be white supremacists, they certainly hold onto their privileges in all walks of life as they view their relation with Black people (and other people of color) as a zero-sum game, as if a Black mans gain invariably chips away at a white mans privileges. Wanton discrimination Racial prejudice in America takes a heavy toll on African Americans, which translates to discrimination in all walks of life, including education, job opportunities, professional advancements, and medical treatment, especially maternal health. Black workers receive 22 percent less in salary than whites with the same education and experience; Black women receive even less34.2 percent. According to a University of Chicago/Duke 2016 study, when factoring in all African American and white men (inclusive of those incarcerated or otherwise out of the workforce), the racial wage gap is the same as it was in the 1950s. Even where racial discrimination should not occur, in medical treatment, when Black patients access medical care, doctors regularly prescribe fewer pain medications and believe Black patients feel less pain than white patients, even among veterans seeking care. Whereas Black men have served in the military and fought and died alongside white soldiers in every war since the Revolutionary War (when 5,000-8,000 Black soldiers fought against the British), they had to face the revulsion of discrimination and segregation while still serving in the military, hardly recognized for acts of bravery. Indeed, until 1948after the end of WWIIthe US military was entirely segregated. While the top brass of the military, who are mostly white, like to claim that military institutions are colorblind, the reality is that racism and discrimination remain extensive problems even in the U.S. military. Police brutality Although police brutality against Black men in particular, which instigated the current protests, is a known phenomenon, police killings of Black men continue unabated. It can and has taken different forms historically including harassment and intimidation, assault and battery, torture and murder, and even complicity with the KKK. Often, police officers approach any situation connected to a Black man with apprehension and fear. White police officers see threats where they do not exist; they are too quick to draw and as quick to fire to kill. Here are just a few glaring examples: a Black man taking a nap in a car in a parking lot was shot dead. Another pulled over in a traffic stop was shot and killed in front of his girlfriend and her daughter. A Black man sitting in his home eating ice cream was shot dead by his neighbor, an off-duty white police officer. A Black woman playing video games with her nephew was shot and killed through her window. A Black woman (and EMT) sleeping in her home was shot eight times when officers entered her apartment executing a no-knock warrant. It is rare for a prosecutor to decide to charge a police officer, especially because they often know each other and have developed close working relationships. Even Internal Affairs divisions of police departments, which ostensibly exist to investigate and report misconduct among officers, have widely conducted sub-standard investigations and failed to identify problem officers who commit wanton abuse. This cultural pattern enables police officers like Derek Chauvin, Daniel Pantaleo, and Nathan Woodyard to commit the heinous crime of slowly squeezing the life out of George Floyd (MN), Eric Garner (NY), and Elijah McClain (CO). As troubling is the fact that police officers have been known to give false testimony in court, whether to avoid punishment for their own criminal and/or unconstitutional actions, to ensure a conviction, or for other reasons. Disproportionate incarceration Although the US judiciary is considered to be just and impartial, in most court hearings race is present albeit it is not spelled out. It is as though Black men inherently have no equal rights and to this day, 230 years since the constitution was written, injustices still exist in both federal and state courts. Blacks are incarcerated at more than five times the rate of whiteswhile they are 13 percent of the total US population, they constitute 40 percent of the total male prison population. The mass incarceration of African Americans in this country has created what sociologist Becky Pettit, citing the novelist Ralph Ellison, calls invisible menthe millions of black men in the American penal system. Prison inmates are not included in most data-collecting national surveys, so these men are effectively invisible to social institutions, lawmakers, and most social science research. It is almost as if they do not exist, they do not count; their reality is ignored, neglected, and brushed aside. A staggering 75 percent of young Black men will be imprisoned at some point in their lives. These statistics can only begin to convey the enormity of the injustice that is being compounded day after day. Pettits book reveals that penal expansion has generated a class of citizens systematically excluded from accounts of the American populace. This exclusion raises doubt about the validity of even the most basic social facts and questions the utility of the data gathered for the design and evaluation of public policy and the data commonly used in social science research. As a consequence, we have lost sight of the full range of the American experience. Economic disparity Economic disparity between white and Black Americans is glaring, and reverberates through generations of Black families. Economic exclusion is the source of inequality. It is caused by a confluence of factors, beginning with nearly 250 years of chattel slavery (during which Black families were torn apart, let alone able to accumulate wealth), to sharecropping and unrestrained lynchings, to 90 years of Jim Crow laws, to redlining neighborhoods on demographic lines. All of these factors are manifested today in hiring decisions, property valuation, mortgage applications, interest charges, and even how credit scores are tabulated. The average white familys net worth is more than ten times greater than a Black family. Economic disparity, to be sure, is the mother of all evil in the lives of Black people. A poor Black man cannot pay for decent housing, cannot pay for health care, and cannot afford to send his kids to higher education, which directly impacts his social standing and professional competency. Thus, he has to settle for menial jobs, low wages, and little or no prospect of ever climbing out of the vicious cycle. The saddest thing of all is that he is blamed for his own dilemma, as if the conditions and lack of opportunities in which he lives has nothing to do with his sorry state of affairs. The bigotry of the leadership During the past four years, racism in America has been on the rise and in no small measure Trump, the Racist-in-Chief, has made race a campaign issue from the very start. He began his political campaign by branding Hispanics as rapists; in his presidency he banned Muslims from entering the US, cruelly separated children from their parents at the borders, described white supremacists in Charlottesville as very fine people, and celebrated this 4th of July by defending Confederate statues. Trumps racism against Blacks in particular is nothing new. It was there in 1973 when Trump Management Inc. was sued by the Department of Justice for housing discrimination against African-American renters. We could see it in 1989, when he took out a full-page advertisement in four New York City newspapers calling for the reinstatement of the death penalty over the Central Park Five, who were wrongfully convicted and sent to prison. Trump refuses to apologize for that, even though, as Innocence Project founder Barry Scheck said, by calling for the reinstitution of the death penalty, it contributed to an atmosphere that deprived these men of a fair trial. He also refused to apologize for his persistent perpetuation of the birther lie that Obama was not born in the US. Trumps Independence Day speech at Mount Rushmore was laden with racially divisive and partisan rhetoric, but that makes no difference to many conservative Republican leaders and his misguided supporters who follow him blindly. They wrap themselves with the flag as a sign of American patriotism, when in fact their patriotism is defined by their racism and intolerance of people of color. Although some Republican leaders disagree with him on race, they are fearful of his anger to say anything publicly, lest they risk losing their power or position. Sadly, their silence suggests consent, which only reinforces Trumps racism. With Trump, as with much of the country, racism is deeply ingrained, something he refuses to admit. Although racism did not start when Trump came to power as it is imbued into Americas history and culture and it will not end with his departure from office, his overt racism brought to focus racism in America. The persistent protests reveal the deep sense of frustration with a president who fans the flame of racism, who sees the country as his own enterprise, who does whatever he wants to serve his own interests. He is cruel, cunning, and careless about the pain and suffering of Black America; he cannot count on their political support and hence completely rejects their outcry. Unlike any other protests in the past against racism, this years protests have had a greater impact in part due to the spread of the coronavirus and its disproportionate impact on Black people, who are being infected and dying at higher rates than whites. That, and in conjunction with a presidential election, provides a rare opportunity to start a process of mitigating racism in earnest. What will be necessary, however, is for the protests to persist through Election Day in the hopes that the Racist-in-Chief will be ousted. Only then we stand a better chance that a new day will dawn and a new administration will commit to relentlessly addressing the plight of Black people for the sake of all Americans, especially because the day when America will have a majority of people of color is fast approaching. Although there are scores of measures that must be taken and many years and huge financial resources to make a discernible change for the better in the life of Black Americans, we have no choice but to start, regardless of how insurmountable the obstacles and the culture of resistance to change. It will take the collective efforts, determination, and consistency of local, state, and federal authorities to begin this process if we ever want to reach a modicum of equality. The work to change the culture of innate racism in America will be long and hard, but we must not shy away from it. As a small start, the immediate focus should be on educating students about Black history, changing the police culture and training, investing in housing in black neighborhoods, offering educational support for young Black boys and girls starting at elementary age, up to providing free education for them to attend college or professional schools, and providing job opportunities and equal pay to give them the chance to climb up over time the social ladder. The continuing demonstrations throughout the country suggest not only the obviousthat Black lives matterbut that racism is consuming America from within, that injustice affects the perpetrators just as much as the victims, that enough is enough. The federal government's 'emissary' to the Virgin Australia administration, former Macquarie boss Nicholas Moore, says the airline's sale is on the right path but it was still too early to tell whether the process has been a success. In his first public comments since being appointed as a go-between for the government, Virgin's administrator Deloitte and possible bidders looking to relaunch the airline, Mr Moore said the agreement reached for US private equity firm Bain Capital to buy Virgin was promising. Former Macquarie Group chief Nicholas Moore. Credit:Louise Kennerley "Its probably too early to tell until.. weve actually seen the [deed of company arrangement] and seen the final resolution of how this situation will play out," he told a hearing of the Senate select committee on the government's response to COVID-19 on Tuesday. "But certainly it appears to be going down a path that gives, I think, stakeholders in the company quite a degree of comfort that there is an end point in sight, but were not there yet. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 00:35:37|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HONG KONG, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A spokesman for China's Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) government strongly condemned the selfish and illegal acts of some disorderly people who gathered inside a mall in Yuen Long on Tuesday evening, gravely increasing the risk of spreading the coronavirus. The spokesman said those people are suspected of having breached the Prevention and Control of Disease Regulation, stressing that there has been a drastic change in the COVID-19 epidemic situation in Hong Kong recently, with more than 2,000 confirmed cases now recorded. In view of the severity of the epidemic situation, the spokesman strongly urged the public to stay at home as much as possible, reduce social contact and avoid dining out. Any group gathering may increase the risk of the spread of the virus, and the police will take resolute enforcement action. The current prohibition on group gathering regulation prohibits group gatherings of more than four people in public places. Offenders are liable to a maximum penalty of a fine of 25,000 HK dollars (about 3,225 U.S. dollars) and imprisonment for six months. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 03:44:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BUCHAREST, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The law on quarantine and isolation came into effect in Romania on Tuesday as daily coronavirus cases reached 994, setting a new record in a single day since the outbreak. The new law was formulated in response to the current COVID-19 epidemic. It also applies to any epidemics or biological risks that may occur in the future. According to the new law, all people diagnosed with infection must be hospitalized for 48 hours for observation, and then the doctor will make the decision of hospitalization, home treatment or home isolation for the patients. Meanwhile, the persons who come into direct contact with the people infected with COVID-19, as well as those entering Romania from the so-called COVID-19 red-zone countries, or areas of high epidemiological risk, will be quarantined. Those who violate the quarantine regulations and cause infections of others will be held criminally responsible. The government had to urgently enact a quarantine law after the country's Constitutional Court ruled in late June against imposing the quarantine and isolation measures by the government through a ministerial order, stressing that such measures needed to be brought about by an act of parliament. Prime Minister Ludovic Orban said on Tuesday that more than 4,000 Romanian citizens either were discharged from the hospital before they were cured or tested positive and didn't get admitted in the first place, in the past two weeks of "legislative vacuum." Orban demanded the Public Health Directorates to issue a decision to make it mandatory for them to either self-isolate at home or get admitted to the hospital according to their health condition. Health Minister Nelu Tataru said on the same day that in the next two weeks the authorities will seek to reimpose measures of quarantine and isolation, and the epidemic evolution in the country will depend on whether people cooperate and whether they comply with health protection regulations. The epidemic has rebounded sharply in Romania since mid-June, with average daily new cases of 741 in the past week, surpassing the average of less than 200 cases per day in the first half of June. Nationwide, 994 new cases and 36 deaths were recorded in the last 24 hours in the country. As of Tuesday, Romania has registered a total of 39,133 cases and 2,074 deaths, while 24,454 people have recovered. Enditem Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Budi Sutrisno (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, July 22 2020 The economy could have contracted further if the country had gone into full quarantine to contain the COVID-19 outbreak, President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo has said. He added that the government had made the right decision in implementing only a partial lockdown. "I can't imagine if we had imposed a full lockdown, maybe [economic growth] could have reached minus 17 [percent]," Jokowi said during a meeting with governors at the Bogor Palace in West Java on Wednesday. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login Major roads in the Tema West Municipality in the Greater Accra Region are being rehabilitated with an asphalt overlay. The 15-kilometer road network facelift is being undertaken by the Ministry of Roads and Highways. The 30 million Ghana Cedi project, with various components, was expected to be completed in 24 months. The roads include; the beach road to Sakumono village, MPs Flat and SNNIT flat roads, NTHC roads, Regimanuel Estate Community 14, Baptist Church roads, Community 18 and 20, and Shalom Spot - Accra Abattoir road. Speaking to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sakumono over the weekend during an inspection of the on-going project, Mr Kelvin Ramsey Lartey, Project Manager, said most of the roads had deteriorated with some broken-down drains. Contrary to expectation by some residents that works should have commenced on the beach stretch before others, because it it needed urgent fixing, he said the beach road was a major road which received huge volumes of traffic daily, adding that a Falling Weight Deflectometer (FWD) testing was being conducted before works could commence. The testing is expected to evaluate the structural integrity of the roads particularly the pavement to see what could be wrong with it and further ensure that the new layer does not fail like the previous one, " he explained, saying that whiles testing was being conducted, works on the Estate roads was ongoing. Mrs Adwoa Amoako, Municipal Chief Executive, Tema West Municipal Assembly, who was joined by a team of engineers from the Assembly, expressed satisfaction at the progress of work and called on the contractors to complete the project on schedule. On the rehabilitation of the roads, she said the repairs would ease the difficulties commuters face. 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 Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) is likely to announce Class 12 board results today (July 20) on its official website of PSEB, which is - pseb.ac.in. As per the Centre advice, the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) will now declare the PSEB 12th results on the basis of the best-performing subjects formula. The decision to declare the PSEB 12th results on the basis of the best-performing subject formula, was taken after the cancellation of the remaining examination of Class 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The PSEB 12th result has been evaluated on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme. PSEB class 12 results: Where to check the scorecard: Once the Class 12 results are declared by the PSEB, students can check their scorecard on the official website pseb.ac.in. The website will also be accessible from mobile phones. PSEB class 12 results: How to check online Step 1: Students are advised to visit the official website pseb.ac.in Step 2: Click on the result link on the homepage Step 3: Enter their required details like Roll No or date of birth. Step 4: Ensure that the details entered match the data provided with PSEB class 12 exam admit card. Step 5: Submit and view your result. Students are advised to download a copy of the result for future reference. Last year, 86.41 per cent of students passed the PSEB 12th examination. The pass percentage among girls was 90.86 per cent. Three students were joint toppers. Sarvjot Singh Bansal from Ludhiana, Aman from Mukhtasar and Muskan Soni from Nakodar, had bagged the first position securing 98.89 per cent marks. PSEB Class 12th result delayed this year: In 2019, the PSEB had declared the Class 12 results on May 11. This year the result has been delayed as the exams could not be held on time due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown. PSEB Class 12 marksheet and certificates: Students are advised to immediately download the result marksheet once released by the PSEB board. They are also advised to take a printout of the results for future reference. This year, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the board results will only be made online. After five years of helping people struggling with mental health and addictions get the help they need rather than get arrested, both Niagara Regional Police and Canadian Mental Health Associations Niagara branch hope to expand their partnership regionwide. CMHA released statistics Monday showing the results of the work being done by the Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team a partnership developed in 2015 in response to a growing number of mental health and addictions-related calls received by police. The program teams specially trained police officers with mental health workers, to respond to mental health-related calls to 911. CMHA Niagara executive director Tara McKendrick, who is also a member of the Niagara Regional Police board, said the partnership with police, combining the skills and knowledge of each role has resulted in data that proves tremendous successes. The teams responded to 868 calls involving 612 people last year alone. In 72 per cent of those calls (623), patients were provided with appropriate community supports such as mental health or addictions services, rather than taken to hospital emergency rooms. And 83 per cent of the calls (717) were de-escalated without need for police apprehension. Since 2015, teams responded to 3,803 calls serving 2,783 people. They also helped 2,986 people obtain community services, diverted 2,790 calls from hospital, and de-escalated 3,194 calls without the need for police apprehension. Although the program only operates daily from noon to midnight in St. Catharines and Thorold, a media release about the initiative said both CMHA and police would now like to see it expanded throughout Niagara. Were grateful for the team we have currently, and our partnership with the NRPS to respond to our community needs, and are hopeful the successes will support an expansion of additional hours and availability in other municipalities in the near future, McKendrick said. Mobile Crisis Rapid Response Team member and CMHA Niagara clinical supervisor Brandy Sand said being part of the program has allowed her to help so many individuals that otherwise would have never walked through the doors of a mental health agency. There are countless calls that Ive been on where the situation required both the expertise of a mental health worker and the protection and safety provided by a police officer. Everyone can benefit from someone who will listen and help on their worst day, she said. This is why I do what I do. Police Chief Bryan MacCulloch said the partnership ensures an informed, empathetic response at a time when people are most vulnerable. Weve seen great success with our MCRRT program, with the vast majority of these mental health calls leading to community support connections and diversions from hospitals and the justice system, he said. We would welcome the expansion of the program to better serve the needs of our community. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 17:35:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close SOFIA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Bulgaria's coalition government of the center-right GERB party and the nationalist United Patriots on Tuesday survived a fifth no-confidence motion in parliament. In the 240-seat parliament, 102 deputies backed the fifth motion against the coalition government that took office in 2017, while 124 voted against it and 11 abstained. The motion was filed by the opposition Bulgarian Socialist Party on July 15, accusing the government led by GERB Chairman Boyko Borissov of its failure in anti-corruption policies. Over the last 30 years, all no-confidence motions in Bulgaria were unsuccessful. Enditem The hunt is on for almost 200 people who have disappeared from their COVID-19 quarantine after lying to police officers at Queensland's interstate and international boundaries. Authorities discovered 185 people were missing after police officers conducted compliance checks on those supposed to be in mandatory self-quarantine after coming into Queensland. Police said most of the 2322 people officers have checked up on since April 18 were doing the right thing, but 387 people, equating to almost 17 per cent, had caused concern. In a statement, the Queensland Police Service provided a breakdown of what happened in each of the 387 cases where self-quarantined individuals were not at their designated addresses. Over 360 scientists from 42 countries - led by the University of Gottingen and Westlake University China - call for transition of food production systems to agroecological principles. Humans depend on farming for their very survival but this activity takes up more than one third of the world's landmass and endangers 62% of all threatened species globally. However, agricultural landscapes can support, rather than damage, biodiversity, but only through a global transition to agroecological production. An international team of over 360 scientists from 42 countries, led by the University of Gottingen and Westlake University in China, argue that agroecological principles should be integrated in the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework, which aims to reduce threats to biodiversity and will be decided at the 15th Convention of the Parties (COP15) meeting in China. Their Correspondence article was published in Nature Ecology & Evolution. Reversing the trend in species decline is essential for the benefit of both people and the planet, but it will require coordinated actions and sustainable agriculture. Intensive farming relying on excessive pesticides and fertiliser has negative effects on biodiversity. The authors argue that farming landscapes can provide habitats for biodiversity, promote connectivity between protected areas and increase species' ability to respond to environmental threats. The authors' research agenda includes enhancing global research networks, expanding technical innovation and improving communication. The authors emphasize the importance of working with and supporting farmers, indigenous people and local communities. Diversification in crops together with new varieties and combinations, for instance, can sustain yields. In addition, these actions can support biodiversity and ecosystems whilst providing more nutritious and healthy food for all. This year is crucial for biodiversity, not just because time is running out to conserve insects and other wildlife, but also because the 15th Convention of the Parties (COP15) will meet in China for the UN Biodiversity Conference, now in 2021 due to COVID-19. At COP15, the post-2020 Global Biodiversity Framework will be agreed which has targets to reduce threats to biodiversity. The authors have elaborated how agroecological principles can help meet each of these targets. Dr Thomas Cherico Wanger from Westlake University China and University of Gottingen and first author of the correspondence reports, "The importance of agroecology to change agriculture and protect biodiversity has been recognized by many top level organizations, in the scientific community, and by practitioners, which is also reflected in the number and affiliations of signatories of our Correspondence. Following our positive discussions with representatives of the COP15, I hope that this correspondence can help to stimulate discussions in the policy arena and make a real impact on agricultural production systems." Agroecology has the potential to change the way we 'do agriculture'. We hope that our comprehensive research agenda will help to chart the path to sustainable, diversified agriculture and biodiversity conservation in the future." Teja Tscharntke,Study Co-Author and Professor, Head of Agroecology Research Group, University of Gottingen People protest during a demonstration in front of the Multnomah County Justice Center in Portland, Oregon, on July 17, 2020. (Ankur Dholakia/AFP via Getty Images) Portland Community Leaders, Police Association Call for End to Street Violence Portland community leaders and the Portland Police Association (PPA) have called for an end to street violence after seven consecutive weeks of clashes between federal officers and rioters in the city. The calls for an end to the unrest follows weeks of violence in the city, which has seen rioters target federal properties, including the federal courthouse, amid ongoing protests since the in-custody death of black American George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25. If you care about Black lives, if you care about the community, if you care about your officers, if you care about your city, the only thing you need to do is make this stop, PPA president Daryl Turner said during a press briefing Sunday afternoon. Rioters broke inside a PPA building over the weekend and set it on fire, also setting fire to dumpsters nearby, according to the Portland Police Bureau. This is no longer about George Floyd; this is no longer about racial equity or social justice, Turner continued. This isnt about reform, or the evolution of policing. This is about violence, rioting destruction. Rioters were also seen dismantling a fence around a federal courthouse hours after it was put up. The U.S. Attorneys office in Oregon said that the fence was to de-escalate tensions between protesters and law enforcement officials and asked people to leave it alone. In response to the escalating tension between demonstrators, rioters, and law enforcement, President Donald Trump said on Twitter Sunday that he is trying to assist the city by sending in federal law enforcement, which triggered backlash from the citys mayor and Oregons governor. Mayor Ted Wheeler, a Democrat, has said that a small group of violent anarchists was drowning out the overarching Black Lives Matter protest in the wake of Floyds death. But the mayor called on the Trump administration to pull back, claiming that it was exacerbating the unrest. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum filed a lawsuit against the federal government requesting that the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the Federal Protection Service stop making arrests in the city. Others have called for other solutions to put an end to the ongoing destruction in the city. We want to work with you, and we ask for a moratorium, literally a moratorium on the streets to give us an opportunity to hear you, Pastor J.W. Matt Hennessee with the Vancouver Avenue First Baptist Church said during Sundays news conference. We want you to know we hear you. We understand there are issues you want to talk about. If you want to make change, if you are serious about change, then Im begging you as a citizen of this city put down your need for violence, Hennessee added. Jack Phillips contributed to this report. Chris Wallace may work for Fox News, but he just conducted the most revealing and harrowing interview Donald Trump has yet faced as president. Please watch it. On the facts, it was a spanking from start to finish. When Trump claimed that America has among the worlds lowest death rates from Covid-19, Wallace answered Thats not true, sir. The data shows that our death rate is among the highest in the world, as a share of population. When Trump claimed that Joe Biden wants to defund the police Wallace again challenged him, pointing out that Biden has explicitly rejected the idea. When Trump said America has the most confirmed cases of Covid-19 because we test more, Wallace noted that testing is up 37 percent, while confirmed cases are up 194 percent. It isnt just that testing is up, Wallace noted. Its that the virus has spread. It went on like that for 40 minutes, a new and more potent kind of fact-checking, face-to-face and live. But the most extraordinary moment came when Wallace asked whether the president was prepared to accept defeat if he lost the election, as public polls warn. You dont know until you see, Trump said. It depends. I think mail-in voting is going to rig the election. I really do. Stop and let that sink in. An American president is warning us that he might not accept the verdict of voters. And by repeating his claim, against all evidence, that mail-in voting opens the door to massive fraud, he seems to be preparing his base to stick with him, democracy or not. One fear is that he just wont leave, says Rep. Tom Malinowski, D-7th. If he handcuffs himself to the bed in the Lincoln Bedroom thats a logistical problem not a Constitutional one. The more legitimate fear is that hes setting up an argument that his supporters should not accept the legitimacy of the election, and that takes us into uncharted waters. Our country has been blessed with elections that the losing side always concedes are legitimate. That allows us to maintain civil peace even if half the people are upset about the outcome. And Trump may be preparing to deny us that if he loses. That scenario would present the ultimate test for the battered and diminished Republican Party. If GOP governors and state legislators stick with Trump, they could try to block Bidens certification as president, as happened once before, in 1876, when the impasse was finally resolved with the darkest bargain in American history. Democrats agreed to yield on the condition that the new Republican president, Rutherford Hayes, withdraw federal troops from the former Confederate states, allowing white supremacists to rule with brutality and violence across the South for nearly a century. Trumps dangerous attitude is in keeping with Republican efforts to erect barriers to voting. The infamous 2018 election in Georgia was overseen by Brian Kemp, then secretary of state who was also the GOP candidate for governor. He beat Stacey Abrams by a hair after purging 8 percent of the voting rolls. In Florida, voters agreed to allow felons to vote, but the GOP legislature added a requirement that all fines must be paid first, knowing many poor ex-cons would not be able to clear the hurdle. If you believe elections are sacred, as we were taught as children, this type of move is beyond obscene, and a chilling warning about what could happen in 2020. Congress needs to hold hearings to explore these scenarios before November, as Malinowski suggests. But a landslide in November would do the trick. We have seen Trumps colors. If the margin is close, he will cause all the mischief he can. What we need in November is not just a win, but a crushing blow to Trump and all he stands for. Its the surest way to safeguard our democracy. More: Tom Moran columns Tom Moran may be reached at tmoran@starledger.com. Follow him on Twitter @tomamoran. Find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. The Global Operating Room Integration Market size is expected to reach $2. 5 billion by 2026, rising at a market growth of 10. 6% CAGR during the forecast period. Operating Room Integration (ORI) is intended to streamline the operating room by consolidating data and providing audio & video connectivity and control for all central command station equipment, enabling the surgeon to conduct multiple tasks efficiently without the need to walk across the operating room. New York, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Operating Room Integration Market By Component, By Application, By End Use, By Devices, By Region, Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2020 - 2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05933118/?utm_source=GNW The OR is a demanding environment requiring focus, efficiency, communication, and expertise. Without OR integration, surgical teams need to navigate around the operating room to perform a variety of tasks. These tasks include checking the patient information on a computer, writing this information on a whiteboard, moving to the wall to control OR lighting, entering the surgical field to display or change the video they are viewing, and more. The movement and time taken to complete certain procedures slows down the process and can deter focus from when it is most important: to the patient. OR integration systems include and organize all patient details for surgical staff throughout the procedure, minimizing congestion and streamlining information through various platforms. Through OR integration, surgical staff have streamlined access to the controls and information they require to monitor patient records, control room or surgical lights, display images throughout surgery, and more. OR Integration provides OR staff with increased productivity, safety, and efficiency to keep the focus on providing patient care. Today, the benefits of OR integration often extend beyond the operating room as OR Integration connects and supports teams, processes, and information across the operative workflow. For example, OR Incorporation allows in-OR teams to exchange real-time surgical video with remote experts or students classrooms for teaching applications. During a procedure, a clinician can conveniently view high-definition pictures of the treatment on a tablet during a post-operative visit with the patient and relatives. OR integration ensures that all images and videos are seamlessly connected to the patient record for accurate documentation of each procedure. The market is dominated by a wide number of companies operating in this sector. Key players are focused on introducing new strategies, such as regional expansion, mergers, and acquisitions, expanding their product portfolio by technology developments, alliances and distribution deals to increase their sales share and to mark their position in the operating room integration industry. Based on Component, the market is segmented into Software and Services. Based on Application, the market is segmented into General Surgery, Orthopedic Surgery, Neurosurgery and Other Application. Based on End Use, the market is segmented into Ambulatory Surgical Centers (ASCs) and Hospitals. Based on Devices, the market is segmented into Display Systems, Documentation Management Systems, and Audio Video Management Systems. Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa. The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnerships and Product Launches. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix, Canon, Inc., Stryker Corporation, and Steris PLC are the forerunners in the Operating Room Integration Market. Companies such as Olympus Corporation, Barco NV, Getinge AB, Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, Skytron, LLC, Brainlab AG, Karl Storz SE & Co. KG are some of the key innovators in the market. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Stryker Corporation, Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA, Steris PLC, Olympus Corporation, Canon, Inc., Barco NV, Getinge AB, Brainlab AG, Skytron, LLC, and Karl Storz SE & Co. KG. Recent strategies deployed in Operating Room Integration Market Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements: Apr-2019: Barco collaborated with Caresyntax, the leader in vendor-neutral software solutions for surgical automation, analytics, and AI. The collaboration strengthened the value proposition of both parties and accelerated the next level developments for the Nexxis digital platform. Apr-2019: Steris signed an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense. Under this agreement, Steris aimed to supply the agency with integrated operating room components, accessories, and services. Apr-2019: Karl Storz came into an agreement with the U.S. Department of Defense. Following this agreement, the former company has been supplying the agency with integrated operating room components, accessories, and services. Acquisition and Mergers: Sep-2019: Stryker signed an agreement to acquire point-of-care imaging company Mobius Imaging and sister firm GYS Tech, doing business as Cardan Robotics. The acquisition would add expertise in advanced imaging and robotics, as well as a robust product pipeline and would allow the spine division to provide more complete procedural solutions, including sales, service, and support. May-2017: Olympus Corp. of the Americas signed an agreement to acquire Image Stream Medical, a company that develops video equipment and system integration used in operating rooms. The acquisition would enable it to create an integrated system that will improve outcomes and lower costs. Additionally, it will facilitate more advanced procedures, such as minimally invasive surgeries. Product Launches and Product Expansions: Feb-2020: Barco introduced Barco Insights, a new cloud-based internet of things solution for enhanced projector management. The connectivity platform enabled and streamlined remote monitoring and serviceability. Barco Insights includes live dashboards where operators can monitor real-time information on the projectors operating and environmental conditions, enabling them to discover and troubleshoot issues more easily. Jan-2020: Barco India released its next-generation wireless conferencing solution, the ClickShare Conference. This solution is based on the concept of BYOM (Bring Your Own Meeting). Whether used in huddles spaces, meeting rooms or boardrooms, ClickShare Conference works seamlessly with the videoconferencing software, the camera brand, the laptop, and makes remote meetings. Apr-2019: Getinge unveiled the new mobile operating room (OR) table, the Maquet Lyra. The table offers the stability and functionality needed for almost all surgical disciplines. This table has improved functionality and increased cost-effectiveness in the OR. Mar-2019: Stryker launched four visualization tools for surgical arthroscopy to improve efficiency and patient outcomes. These tools are HipCheck, HipMap, the 1688 Advanced Imaging Modalities (AIM) 4K Visualization Platform, and the Connected OR Hub. Jan-2019: Olympus introduced nCare, an easy-to-use, reliable, and secure networked medical recorder; and VaultStream, a cutting-edge medical content management solution within the hospital network. The nCare medical recorder and the VaultStream medical content management system support efficient clinical workflows and safeguard recorded images and videos while providing flexibility in various healthcare environments. Scope of the Study Market Segmentation: By Component Software and Services By Application General Surgery Orthopedic Surgery Neurosurgery and Other Application By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled Stryker Corporation Dragerwerk AG & Co. KGaA Steris PLC Olympus Corporation Canon, Inc. Barco NV Getinge AB Brainlab AG Skytron, LLC Karl Storz SE & Co. KG Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05933118/?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 By Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) - A Nigerian official collapsed on Monday during a televised parliamentary hearing held as part of an investigation into allegations of mismanagement at an organisation with a remit to foster economic development in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. Daniel Pondei, acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), was taken to hospital after slumping forward in his chair during the session, in which he gave evidence to the panel. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, are investigating alleged corruption around procurement at the NDDC, a government body, over 20 years. By Camillus Eboh ABUJA (Reuters) - A Nigerian official collapsed on Monday during a televised parliamentary hearing held as part of an investigation into allegations of mismanagement at an organisation with a remit to foster economic development in the oil-rich Niger Delta region. Daniel Pondei, acting managing director of the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC), was taken to hospital after slumping forward in his chair during the session, in which he gave evidence to the panel. Lawmakers in the House of Representatives, the lower chamber of parliament, are investigating alleged corruption around procurement at the NDDC, a government body, over 20 years. The probe was ordered by President Muhammadu Buhari in October. Nigeria's oil-producing Niger Delta heartland remains impoverished despite providing most of the oil produced in Africa's biggest crude exporter. Oil is Nigeria's main export and the mainstay of its economy, the continent's largest. Earlier, Pondei told the panel: "There is no money missing in NDDC since I took over in February this year. Everything we have done are in accordance with the laid-down procedures." After he fainted, people around Pondei rushed to sit him upright, using handkerchiefs as fans and forcing his mouth open in an apparent attempt to ensure he was not choking. "I have asked my doctor to follow, go to the hospital where he is and report back," House of Representatives Speaker Femi Gbajabiamila later told the panel. Giving evidence to the panel for the first time, Minister for Niger Delta affairs Godswill Akpabio said Nigeria's Bureau for Public Procurement (BPP) had given its approval for an audit by international firm Ernst & Young. (Reporting by Camillus Eboh in Abuja and Alexis Akwagyiram in Lagos; Writing by Alexis Akwagyiram; Editing by Catherine Evans) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Protesters are calling for an end to repression. The military is also targeted, accused of interfering in political affairs and of supporting the former coup. Six ministers resigned. The pandemic pushes the country into recession. Bangkok (AsiaNews / Agencies) - Protests continue in Thailand against Prime Minister Prayuth Chan-ocha's government. About 200 people demonstrated yesterday outside the headquarters of the Armed Forces, calling for the premiers resignation. On July 18, at least 2,500 people demonstrated in the capital one of the largest public demonstrations since the 2014 military coup, when Prayuth (at the time commander-in-chief of the army) came to power. Other small demonstrations were held the following day in Chiang Mai and Ubon Ratchathani. Public gatherings in Thailand are banned to contain the Covid-19 pandemic, but police have made no arrests. Protesters want the dissolution of Parliament, the resignation of the executive and an end to the persecution of the opposition. They also accuse the military of squandering taxpayers' money and interfering in the country's political affairs by supporting Prayuth. The former general has led a civilian government since last year, but his critics consider the elections that decreed the formal end of the military junta rigged. Moreover recently, due to the effects of the pandemic crisis, the pressure on the premier has grown significantly. On July 16, six ministers resigned. The coronavirus has dealt a severe blow to the local economy. According to the central bank, the national GDP will have an 8% drop this year. The United Nations estimates that the Thai economy will lose 41 billion euros, especially in the tourism sector, the flagship of the country. Syracuse, N.Y. It happens every day at restaurants, bars and other food businesses across Central New York customers complaining about having to wear a mask. Young ice cream stand workers have been harassed and screamed at. Restaurant waitstaff again and again absorb the wrath of angry customers. One Baldwinsville brewery closed for the Fourth of July weekend and a downtown bar closed both in part to give the staff a break from policing people. The state coronavirus mask rule is pretty simple for restaurants: Wear a mask unless you are seated at a table, a small task many would argue considering the gravitas of the coronavirus pandemic. Were enforcing it, but its hard, said Cheryl Barsom, owner of Barados on the Water in Central Square. Weve never felt more like police more in our life. New York started requiring masks be worn in public on April 15 the first state to mandate masks in public. Since that time, the state reported a largely steady decline in cases. Gov. Andrew Cuomo said at a briefing this month that all Americans should wear masks. This is common sense, he said, holding up a mask. How did this become a political statement? In New York state, restaurants were forced to completely shut down dining rooms in mid-March due to the pandemic. After nearly three months of only takeout or delivery or, in some cases, being closed completely, restaurants in mid-June were allowed to open inside dining areas at 50% of capacity. But that comes with a catch: It is up to the restaurants to enforce the state mask and social distancing rules. If they dont, the business owners face fines and possibly being ordered to shut down. Cuomo announced Thursday that New York City businesses that receive three violations of state social distancing and face covering orders will be shut down. Bars and restaurants risk losing their liquor license. Onondaga County inspectors have sent warnings to businesses that were not requiring customers to wear masks and threatened to fine businesses that did not improve their enforcement, Onondaga County Executive Ryan McMahon said this month. Staff at many restaurants and other food businesses here and around the country are facing various levels of pushback and in some cases, combativeness and violence, from customers who refuse to wear a mask. In Oakland, California, a man attacked a McDonalds employee in June who asked him to put on a mask, according to media reports. Similar attacks have been reported in other cities with some restaurants closing or shutting down dining rooms just to avoid the disagreements. Ice cream shops, typically bastions of summertime happiness, have been notable sites of abusive customers both locally and across the country. In Central New York, a woman on July 7 screamed at two teenage employees at the North Pole ice cream stand in Chittenango after they told her of the businesss policy to deny service to anyone not wearing a mask. 10 North Pole ice cream stand in Chittenango At one point, the customer, who one employee said falsely claimed that only the employees needed to wear masks, lunged forward and opened up the pick-up window after the employees had closed it. The woman splattered spit while she was yelling. Another irate customer visited the ice cream stand two days later and yelled at an employee about the mask requirement. Owner Alexandria Ciotti said the customer told her they came to voice their opinion. The confrontation reported by syracuse.com | The Post-Standard went viral. On Tuesday, Lt. Gov. Kathy Hochul visited the stand to applaud them for their mask-wearing efforts. Stopped by the North Pole ice cream shop in #Chittenango to thank them for their mask wearing efforts that keep customers & employees safe. Remember to visit businesses like this to help get them through tough times. #WearAMask pic.twitter.com/cu0uOl8pSv Kathy Hochul (@LtGovHochulNY) July 14, 2020 In Syracuse, staff at the popular ice cream shop Gannons Isle have to deal with maskless customers often, according to store owner Eileen Gannon, although she said none of the encounters have been as bad as the one in Chittenango. Thirteen signs at Gannons main location in the Valley alert customers they must wear masks. The music playing over speakers includes warnings that masks are required. The line at Gannon's Isle Ice Cream on Memorial Day stretched to the end of the parking lot.Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com And still theres people that dont wear one, Gannon said. Gannon tells her employees to talk to every customer who comes in without mask, but to not get too confrontational. Most people dont do it on purpose, she said. Some people will go back to their cars to retrieve their forgotten masks. Others will pull their shirt over their nose and mouth as a makeshift cover. Some complain. Theres always someone going to be a little cranky about it, Gannon said. Barsom, the owner of Barados on the Water, said she has customers get mad every day about the mask requirement. Barados is located along Oneida Lake and while the inside dining room remains closed, the waterfront patio one of the restaurants biggest draws is open. Per the state mandate, diners have to wear a mask while walking through the restaurant to get to their table, but can take the masks off when seated. Server Alex Sass walks by a table of diners at Barado's on the Water in Central Square.Courtesy of Cheryl Barsom Still, Barsom said, diners complain. The restaurant sells masks for $2, but diners get mad that the masks are not free, she said. Under state rules, restaurant tables must be spaced at least six feet apart and can only operate at 50% capacity. Yet Barsom has seen customers try to push tables together and move chairs around. The days of the customer is always right have been put on hold. Barsom said she and her staff dont hesitate to tell diners the rules of the restaurant or if they need to use the bathroom, they must go to the adjacent Bradburys Boatel Marina. It so opposite of everything weve learned in the hospitality business, she said. Those complaints are water off a ducks back to Barsom, who said many customers are thankful for the precautions shes taking. She talked with a customer on Tuesday who had recently brought her 85-year-old mother to Barados her mothers first trip out since the coronavirus pandemic hit New York in mid-March. She told Barsom that she chose Barados because she felt safe there. Thats a win for us for sure, Barsom said. Diners sit at tables spaced at least six feet apart.Courtesy of Cheryl Barsom Some restaurants in Central New York report fewer or no problems over masks. Beer Belly Deli, located in Syracuses Westcott neighborhood, is known for its outdoor dining area. Owner Lauren Monforte said they havent really had problems with customers not wearing masks. Everyone is super on board with the rules, she said in an email. Bill Lynn, owner of Johnny Angels Heavenly Burgers and Skaneateles Skoops, both located in the village of Skaneateles, said he hasnt had problems with customers not wearing masks. Both establishments are marked with signs indoors and outdoors reminding customers to wear masks. At Skaneateles Skoops, only three people are allowed inside the shop at a time. As a result, they only have one point of sale system instead of three. That kind of traffic control means they cant serve people as quickly as before, which has resulted in a 40% drop in customers. Still, Lynn isnt complaining. Our customers have been incredibly loyal and accommodating, he said. Ive been really fortunate. Nick Sanford, owner of Toss & Fire Wood-Fired Pizza in North Syracuse, said hes encountered a few customers irritated by the mask rule, but by and large, people have been following the state guidelines. 99.9% of people are respectful of the rules, he said. Barsom and Gannon agreed that despite the problems theyve had with customers complying with mask mandates, people are progressively getting better about wearing them. Heated confrontations are becoming fewer and farther between. Pretty soon this might be the norm, Gannon said. Jacob Pucci writes on food, restaurants and all things gastronomic across Central New York. Contact him by email at jpucci@syracuse.com. The minister said the coronavirus pandemic has led to disruptions in supply chains around the world, resulting in an increase in job losses. The unemployment rate has never been so high as at present, at about 2.56%, compared to 1.98% at the end of 2019. The labour market has shrunk from 55.4 million people to about 52 million. Meanwhile, the number of companies suspending operations has also grown, especially in the tourism, service, aviation, and hospitality sectors, he noted. Most lay-offs were temporary and in small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in certain sectors. If the effects of the pandemic are not resolved soon, however, permanent lay-offs will become common in the foreign-invested sector and at major businesses, the minister added. The Government has been implementing a series of actions to concurrently combat the pandemic and boost economic recovery, from economic stimulus to aid packages. Vietnams labour market has bounced back quickly as a result, and is likely to reach some 55.4 million people in Q3, the same as in the first quarter, Dung added. The ministry reported at the meeting that as of July 13, more than VND11.59 trillion (US$500.4 million) had been disbursed to support almost 11.54 million people and 9,425 business households affected by COVID-19. The funds were part of a social security aid package of VND62 trillion, which targets those hit by the pandemic, under Government Resolution No. 42/NQ-CP. The ministry also said that more than 574,000 new jobs were created nationwide in the first half of 2020, equal to 35.7% of the years target and 73.8% of the figure in the same period last year. Over 34,000 were for overseas workers, or 51% of the number in the first half of 2019. Chinese passengers onboard the charter flight which departs from Hanoi to Nanjing in China, July 18, 2020. Photo courtesy of Vietnam Airlines. Vietnam Airlines's charter flight to China's Nanjing airport last Saturday marked the first such exchange between the two nations since the suspension of aviation activities in February. Flight VN5729 picked up 275 Chinese passengers from London and transited in Hanoi before transporting them home to Nanjing, the capital of Jiangsu Province, the same day, a representative of Vietnam Airlines said Tuesday. This marked the first Vietnamese passenger flight to China since the country suspended all aviation activities to China in early February after the first Covid-19 infections were reported last December in Wuhan, the source added. The aircraft flew empty on its return as Vietnam's doors remain closed to international tourists to contain the second wave of Covid-19. All flight crew were quarantined upon landing in the country. Vietnam Airlines staff in China said they had made extra efforts to obtain a license for this flight because very few international routes were allowed to resume inside China to prevent Covid-19 infection. Earlier, Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc had allowed the resumption of commercial flights to and from China after five months of Covid-19 shutdown. Aviation authorities in Vietnam and China are working to discuss the frequency and conditions of transporting passengers. The Transport Ministry last week also proposed commercial routes between Vietnam and some Asian destinations, including China's Guangzhou City, recommence in August, with all passengers to be quarantined on arrival. An anonymous Vietnam Airlines official said the charter flight to Nanjing resulted in a decent revenue for the airline and served as an important step in the negotiation process to resume international flights between the two countries. Vietnam Airlines is seeking an urgent VND12 trillion ($518 million) bailout from the government as the coronavirus continues to hit its income. A health worker collects a sample of a woman for COVID-19 test at a medical camp, during Unlock 2.0, in Chennai. (PTI Photo) Chennai: Districts adjoining Chennai reported a spike in new Coronavirus infections on Monday even though the number of fresh cases within the city stabilized at 1269 against the States total of 4985. In Chengalpattu, where the infection figure was at 354, the district Superintendent of Police Kannan tested positive for Covid-19 and was admitted to a hospital. The other neighbouring districts that had high infection rate were Kancheepuram 329 and Thiruvallur 454. The other districts that had high numbers were Coimbatore 139, Madurai 106, Tenkasi 103, Theni 107, Thiruvanamalai 151, Thoothukudi 200, Tirunelveli 180, Vellore 114 and Virudhunagar 169. Food and Civil Supplies Minister R Kamaraj, who inspected medical camps in Teyanampet zone in Chennai, said the efforts of the Government had led to the decline in infection in the city. In all the 15 zones the percentage of infected persons returning home after hospitalization was 81 per cent, he said. In fact, in Teynampet zone, which once had a high rate of infection, the percentage of person cured was 83 per cent, he said. Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar also spoke about the government efforts in combating the pandemic and said that it had helped in bringing it under control. He said the death rate in Tamil Nadu was lower than other states. On Monday, 70 persons succumbed to Coronavirus in the State and the death figure for Chennai was 22. Meanwhile, Minister for Electricity P Thangamani, who was admitted to a private hospital in Chennai on July 8, was discharged after successful treatment and complete cure from COVID-19, a hospital press release said. 8. Go cash-free. Paying with cash requires handing off money to a cashier plus there's no easy way to clean bills. Whenever possible, pay with a card (which can be safely swabbed with a disinfecting wipe) or look into touchless payment options, which let you scan your card or smartphone to pay no swiping or keypad contact required. At Home 9. Sanitize surfaces. Get in the habit of routinely cleaning high-touch surfaces such as tables, toilets and doorknobs. (FYI: Proper cleaning requires a wipe-down with soap and water before using disinfectant.) Cleaning is particularly important after a caregiver, family member or another guest has been inside your home. 10. Keep pets socially distanced, too. Sorry, Fido. According to the CDC, pets are considered part of your household meaning they shouldn't interact with people outside of it, or with any family members who become sick. (While a small number of pets have tested positive for the virus that causes COVID-19, the risk of transmission from pets to people is thought to be low). 11. Limit gatherings. Move the party outside! The CDC recommends hosting social gatherings outdoors whenever possible and adhering to social distancing guidelines. If you must be inside, make sure the space is well ventilated. Regardless of location, encourage guests to bring their own food and beverages. Any guest who feels ill, or who has been in contact with someone with COVID-19, should not attend. Recreation and Social Activities 12. Embrace the great outdoors. A day at the beach or a park is likely a safer option than gathering inside someone's home or at an indoor venue. Remember to keep your distance from others, even in outdoor spaces, and to wear a face covering when maintaining 6 feet of distance isn't possible. 13. Try online activities. In-person hobbies from choir practice to book clubs are going digital, thanks to videoconferencing platforms like Zoom. If you were previously part of a club or group that is no longer meeting in person, consider finding a virtual alternative, or ask your group leader about the possibility of moving meetings online. 14. Dine smart. Restaurants in certain states have returned to serving patrons indoors or at outside tables. The CDC recommends opting for outdoor seating with 6 feet of space between tables whenever possible. Takeout and delivery are also options for those tired of home cooking and experts say the risk of contracting COVID-19 from either food or food packaging is low. 15. Put a pause on sharing. Normally, sharing during a social outing whether it's sunscreen, towels or cooler storage space is a sign of goodwill. Not so during a pandemic not even at the swimming pool. One can sort of say, Well, it's been in chlorinated water. But I would just make sure that we get into the habit of what's mine is mine, says Boris Lushniak, M.D., dean of the University of Maryland School of Public Health and former acting and deputy U.S. surgeon general. The whole issue of sharing things should become passe in the near future, at least." 16. Avoid handshakes and hugs. Greetings and goodbyes can be tricky at a time when avoiding close contact is key to staying safe. Etiquette expert Myka Meier recommends alternatives to traditional gestures including a simple nod to say hello. Travel 17. Be aware of advisories. You may face restrictions (like a mandatory 14-day quarantine period upon entering certain states) when traveling domestically. Other forms of travel are discouraged by the CDC, including international travel and all cruises, including river cruises. Taking a plane? Get familiar with new Transportation Security Administration (TSA) screening procedures before you arrive at the airport. 18. Plan for plan B." These days, it's important to have a backup plan in case you can't access restrooms, restaurants or trip activities as expected. For instance, AAA recommends that road trippers plan their routes including gas, food and rest stops and make arrangements for activities such as national park visits in advance, if possible. 19. Know before you book. Many hotels have announced ramped-up sanitization procedures and other practices (like contactless check-ins) to help maintain health and safety. Rental homes or condos are another option for travelers looking to avoid contact with staff or other guests and to cook their own meals. Don't be shy about asking how your accommodations are adapting during the pandemic. Health and Wellness 20. Consider rescheduling nonurgent medical appointments. While some appointments can be safely delayed, others such as follow-up cancer screenings shouldn't be avoided because of pandemic fears. The bottom line? It's really complicated, says A. Mark Fendrick, M.D., a professor of internal medicine and director of the Center for Value-Based Insurance Design at the University of Michigan. Get in touch with your doctor for help determining whether you should head in for an office visit. 21. Ask your provider about telemedicine visits, which can be used to diagnose and treat a variety of routine concerns and to monitor chronic conditions. Mental health providers and specialists such as dermatologists also offer telemedicine appointments. 22. Be prepared for new in-office protocol. Depending on your health care provider, you may be asked to wait in your car or outside the office until you're called in for your appointment. Other changes, like a temperature check upon arrival, might also be in place. 23. Find in-person pharmacy alternatives. Drive-through pharmacy windows, curbside pickup, mail-order pharmacies and at-home delivery services are all alternatives to in-store visits. Another tip? If you have to go in person, ask your doctor about receiving a larger supply of medicine at one time, like increasing from a 30- to 90-day supply, to cut down on visits. 24. Stay home if you feel ill. If you develop symptoms such as a cough or fever, stay at home except to receive medical care (and call ahead before heading to the doctor's office). People who have been in close contact with someone who has COVID-19 should also isolate at home for 14 days after exposure, per CDC guidelines. 25. Know when to call 911. Don't put off medical treatment in an emergency if you or a loved one is experiencing a medical crisis such as a heart attack or stroke. People with a confirmed or suspected case of COVID-19 should also seek emergency treatment if they experience warning signs such as trouble breathing or persistent chest pain, according to the CDC. Mumbai, Jul 21 (PTI) Against the backdrop of the recent firing by Nepal Armed Police Force that left an Indian injured, the Shiv Sena on Tuesday called for breaking barrels of Nepalese guns right now or else, it said such incidents will be a permanent headache like is the case of Pakistan. An editorial in Shiv Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' also said that China has been quiet in Ladakh at the moment, but is "playing a game" to ensure Indian borders are not peaceful by making Pakistan and Nepal fire bullets. Praising Indian soldiers for giving befitting replies to terrorists in Jammu and Kashmir, the Shiv Sena sought to know when will the countrys rulers succeed in stopping Pakistans ceasefire violations and firing from across the border. An Indian national was injured in firing by the Nepal Armed Police Force (NAPF) in the 'no mans land' on the Indo- Nepal border in Bihars Kishanganj district on Saturday, according to police. On June 12, an Indian national was killed while two others were injured in firing by the NAPF on the Indo-Nepal border near Lalbandi Janki Nagar village in Bihars Sitamarhi district. The Shiv Sena on Tuesday said Pakistan violated ceasefire more than 2,700 times till now this year. Twenty-one innocent Indian citizens were killed, while 94 others injured in these incidents, the Uddhav Thackeray-led party added. Now, add the firings from Nepal to this. This means, earlier only Pakistan would engage in firing from across the border. Now, Nepalese guns are also blazing and claiming lives of innocent Indians," it said. "We have not been able to stop Pakistani guns, but such should not become the case with Nepal. The barrels of the Nepalese guns must be broken right now. Or else, firing along the border with Nepal will become a permanent headache as is the case with Pakistan, the Marathi publication said. Referring to the two incidents involving the NAPF, the Shiv Sena said Nepal has shown it will side with China and Pakistan against India. "China is quiet in Ladakh at the moment, but it is playing a game to ensure Indian borders are not peaceful by making Nepal and Pakistan fire bullets, it said. Pakistanis continue to fire bullets in the central areas of Jammu and Kashmir, while Indian soldiers have been giving befitting replies to such aggressions, it pointed out. "But when will the ceasefire violation and firing from across the border by Pakistan stop? It is a question when our rulers will succeed in stopping it, the Shiv Sena said. PTI ENM GK GK THIS NEWS RELEASE IS NOT FOR DISTRIBUTION TO U.S. NEWSWIRE SERVICES OR FOR DISSEMINATION IN THE UNITED STATES ~Accelerates Development of the El Pinguico Silver and Gold Project~ VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / VanGold Mining Corp (the "Company" or "VanGold") (TSXV:VGLD) has arranged a non-brokered private placement financing of up to 15,800,000 units ("Units") at a price of $0.155 per Unit for gross proceeds of approximately $2,450,000 (the "Financing"). Each Unit will consist of one common share of the Company and one half (1/2) of a common share purchase warrant (each whole warrant a "Warrant"); with each Warrant entitling the holder to purchase one common share of the Company at a price of $0.25 within two years of closing, subject to acceleration in certain events. VanGold intends to use the net proceeds from the Financing to accelerate the development of the El Pinguico silver and gold project in Guanajuato, Mexico, and for general corporate and working capital purposes. Specifically, the Company intends to initiate an underground drilling campaign to target extensions of high-grade in-situ silver and gold epithermal veins and stockworks. These vein and stockwork features are exposed in the old mine workings from when mining ceased in 1913. The Company is currently developing a computer model of the deposit to assist in generating specific underground drill targets. The targets being generated are separate and distinct from drilling that may intersect the confluence of the Veta Madre (Mother Vein) and the El Pinguico/El Carmen vein structures. The Company plans to drill these deeper, high impact, conceptual targets from surface later in the year. The Company intends to conduct the underground drilling program in parallel with its work to clear the El Pinguico shaft and sample the bottom of its underground stockpile, in preparation for the possible haulage of the underground stockpile material to surface for onward delivery to a nearby mill for processing. No contract for processing this material on a long-term basis has as yet been formalized by the Company. Further details of these plans will be discussed by the Company in subsequent news releases. In May, 2020 the Company sent 1,039 tonnes of material from its surface stockpile to Endeavour Silver Corp.'s (TSX:EDR) Bolanitos mill, located approximately 28km from El Pinguico. The recalculated head grade from that bulk sample was 1.23 gpt AuEq at a 96:1 silver to gold ratio. Please see VanGold's June 9, 2020 news release. Vangold's surface stockpile contains an exploration target of 175,000 to 185,000 tonnes grading 1.25 to 1.35 gpt AuEq. These figures are conceptual in nature.[1] The underground (UG) stockpile consists of material that the Mexican Geological Survey agency in 2012 determined to be 148,966 tonnes in size.[2] In 2017, VanGold conducted a trenching program at the top of the UG stockpile. This program resulted in a weighted average of all of the trench samples of 1.75 gpt Au and 183 gpt Ag.[3] The Financing is subject to acceptance of the TSX Venture Exchange (the "TSXV") and may close in tranches, with an initial closing anticipated for on or about August 4, 2020. All securities issued pursuant to the Financing will be subject to a four month hold period from the date of closing. The Company may pay finder's fees in cash, shares and/or warrants to certain finders in connection with the sale of Units in accordance with the policies of the TSXV. The El Pinguico Project: El Pinguico is a high-grade gold and silver deposit that was mined from the early 1890s until 1913. Toward the end of that period it was mined exclusively by The Pinguico Mines Company of New York City, whose shares traded on the Boston and New York Stock Exchanges. The mining was done principally from the El Pinguico and El Carmen veins, which are thought to be splays off the Mother Vein, or 'Veta Madre'. The Veta Madre is associated with a mega fault that outcrops for 25 kilometres and is the most important source of precious metal mineralization in the region. The Veta Madre may cross VanGold's property at depth, underneath the high grade El Pinguico and El Carmen veins. Very limited drilling has been done on the property and no drilling has attempted to encounter the Veta Madre at depth. Hernan Dorado Smith, a director of VanGold and a qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects, has approved the scientific and technical information contained in this news release. About VanGold Mining Corp. VanGold Mining is an exploration and development company engaged in reactivating high-grade past producing silver and gold mines near the city of Guanajuato, Mexico. The Company's El Pinguico project is a significant past producer of both silver and gold located just 7km south of the city. The Company remains focused on the near-term potential for development and monetization of its surface and underground stockpiles of mineralized material at El Pinguico, and in developing silver and gold resources through underground and surface drilling on projects located in this historic mining camp. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS "James Anderson" Chairman and CEO For further information regarding VanGold Mining Corp, please contact: James Anderson, Director, +1 (778) 989-5346 Email: james@vangoldmining.com Continue to watch our progress at: www.vangoldmining.com This new release does not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy any of the securities in the United States. The securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act"), or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to or for the account or benefit of a U.S. person (as defined in Regulation S under the U.S. Securities Act) unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain forward-looking statements, which relate to future events or future performance (including, but not limited to, the actual size, timing and use of proceeds of the Financing and the proposed underground drilling program at El Pinquico, the results from the Company's 1,039 tonne bulk sample including average grades of gold and silver and the potential implications such results hold for the Company's underground stockpile, the proposed next stage development and timing of and potential for near term monetization of existing stockpiles of mineralized material at the Company's El Pinguico project in Mexico) and reflect management's current expectations and assumptions. Such forward-looking statements reflect management's current beliefs and are based on assumptions made by and information currently available to the Company. Readers are cautioned that these forward-looking statements are neither promises nor guarantees, and are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause future results to differ materially from those expected including, but not limited to, market conditions, availability of financing, currency rate fluctuations, actual results of exploration and development activities, environmental risks, future prices of gold, silver and other metals, operating risks, accidents, labor issues, delays in obtaining governmental or regulatory approvals and permits, and other risks in the mining industry. In addition, there is uncertainty about the spread of COVID-19 and the impact it will have on the Company's operations, supply chains, ability to access El Pinguico or procure equipment, contractors and other personnel on a timely basis or at all and economic activity in general. All the forward-looking statements made in this news release are qualified by these cautionary statements and those in our continuous disclosure filings available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com. These forward-looking statements are made as of the date hereof and the Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise them to reflect new events or circumstances save as required by law. VANGOLD MINING CORP. PH: +1(778) 989-5346 E: info@vangoldmining.com W: vangoldmining.com CA: Suite 2820 - 200 Granville Street, Vancouver B.C. V6C 1S4 MX: Carr, Guanajuato - Silao km 5.5 Colonia Marfil Guanajuato, Mexico Office No.2 CP 36250 [1] In 2012 a private company commissioned by the then owner of El Pinguico calculated the volume of the surface stockpile as 92,849.5 m3, with a surface of 15,769.40 m2. In January 2017, Findore S.A. DE C.V. ("Findore"), a private geological services company engaged by Vangold, dug 10 holes with a backhoe CAT machine in the stockpile at different locations and different depths, taking two samples from each hole (one at the top and one at bottom). The samples confirmed there was no movement of economic values from surface to bottom of the stockpile due to weathering and rains, with the average samples results as follows: Au ppm Ag ppm AuEq ppm Top samples 0.62 80.6 1.78 Bottom samples 0.43 61.1 1.31 Based on the foregoing, VanGold estimates the surface stockpile comprises approximately 175,000 to 185,000 tonnes of material grading between 0.45 gpt Au and 67 gpt Ag (1.25 gpt AuEq) and 0.52gpt Au and 70 gpt Ag (1.35 AuEq). The potential quantity and grade of the surface stockpile is conceptual in nature, there has been insufficient exploration to define a mineral resource and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the stockpile being delineated as a mineral resource. 2] This figure is historic in nature, has not been verified and should not be relied upon. [3] VanGold completed 57 samples from 20 trenches (mostly historic with a few new trenches) at the top of the UG stockpile resulting in the average grades set out above. All samples were collected, recorded, bagged and sent by VanGold's consulting geologist to ALS Laboratory in Guadalajara, Mexico for sample preparation. Gold, silver and multi-element ICP analysis was completed at the ALS laboratory in North Vancouver, Canada. Rock samples were fine crushed (70% passing a 2mm screen), pulverized (85% passing a 75 micron screen) and a pulp split separated for assaying by a riffle splitter. 30 gram portion of each sample was assayed for gold by standard fire assay and a 10 gram split was analyzed for 35 elements by ICP method. Standard reference material and blank samples were inserted into the sample stream at a 5% insertion rate with pulped samples from the UG stockpile for quality control purposes. The results of the standards and blank samples were satisfactory. All data was collected with industry standard practices and assay results were verified by VanGold's consulting geologist. Further work by VanGold is required to verify the tonnage estimation by the Mexican Geological Survey agency and assess the distribution of grades within the UG stockpile. SOURCE: Vangold Mining Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598253/VanGold-Mining-Corp-Announces-Private-Placement A sub-inspector (SI) of Madhya Pradesh excise department was arrested for raping a minor girl, who works as a domestic help at his house in Ujjain city on Tuesday, said police. SI Pankaj Jain was arrested from a hotel where he had called the victim for a meeting, said Rajneesh Kashyap, city superintendent of police (CSP), Ujjain. The 17-year-old victim had informed the police on Monday that SI Pankaj Jain had been raping her for the past 10 months. She tried to leave the job as domestic help but Jain threatened her of dire consequences and getting her implicated in a false case by police. The girl informed police on Monday that Jain had asked her to meet him at a hotel in Ujjain on Tuesday, said Kashyap. He added, Jain had booked a room in a hotel in the name of some other person. When a police team accosted him in the hotel room, he narrated a fabricated story in his defense but when the victim confronted him in front of the police team he was left with little answers. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON You are here: China China requires negative COVID-19 tests for inbound air passengers - Xinhua | English.news.cn Passengers on flights to China are required to provide negative nucleic acid test results before boarding, the country's civil aviation regulator said Tuesday. Chinese and foreign passengers taking flights to China must complete the tests within five days before embarking, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a joint statement issued with the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The tests should be conducted in institutions designated or approved by Chinese embassies, the statement added. The move aims to ensure the health and safety of international travelers and reduce the risks of cross-border spread of the pandemic, the statement said. Michael Cohen, President Donald Trumps former personal attorney, arrives at his Park Avenue apartment on May 21, 2020, in New York City. A federal judge Tuesday quickly granted President Donald Trump's former personal lawyer and fixer Michael Cohen a hearing on his new lawsuit seeking his release from prison. He was returned to a cell in early July after refusing to agree not to publish a damning book about Trump while serving a criminal sentence in home confinement. The hearing on Cohen's request for a temporary restraining order will be held at 11 a.m. Thursday in U.S. District Court in Manhattan. If the order is granted, Cohen could be sprung, for the second time in two months, from the federal prison in Otisville, N.Y. "This case is about a brazen assault on the First Amendment and the rule of law," said Danya Perry, the attorney representing Cohen in the lawsuit, along with lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union. "We trust that our Constitution will prevail and that free speech will continue to be protected, for our client and for all others by extension," Perry said. The Justice Department, a defendant in the suit, had no immediate comment. The Bureau of Prisons, which is another named defendant, declined to comment. Cohen, 53, was in the middle of serving a three-year sentence when he was released from Otisville in late May due to concerns that the Manhattan resident's pulmonary health issues put him at elevated risk from the coronavirus. He had pleaded guilty in 2018 to financial crimes, lying to Congress about a planned Trump Tower in Moscow, and to campaign finance crimes related to hush money payments to two women who claim to have had sex with Trump, who denies their allegations. On July 9, Cohen and his lawyer appeared at U.S. Probation offices in Manhattan to review the conditions of his home confinement, which would include electronic location monitoring. Cohen's lawyer Jeffrey Levine has said that they were surprised to be presented at that meeting with restrictions that would bar Cohen from speaking to news reporters or to posting on social media during his release, as well as from publishing a book. Cohen soon after was taken into custody, without warning, by Bureau of Prisons personnel and shipped back to Otisville, despite saying he would agree to the restrictions, Levine has said. The bureau has said Cohen was remanded to prison after refusing to sign the agreement. TEHRAN, Iran - Irans President Hassan Rouhani called a visit Tuesday by the new prime minister of Iraq, where the U.S. military has a presence, a turning point in the countries relations and vowed to continue supporting the neighbouring Arab nation. Mustafa al-Kadhimi arrived in Tehran on his first official visit abroad since taking office more than two months ago, Iranian media reported. State television showed footage of al-Kadhimi landing at Mehrabad airport. The TV outlet said al-Kadhimi would meet top Iranian leaders, including Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and Rouhani. The official website of the office of the Iranian presidency later released a photo of Rouhani and al-Kadhimi at a welcome ceremony in Tehran, showing both wearing protective face masks to help prevent spread of the coronavirus. We are certain that the visit will be a turning point in relations between the two countries, Rouhani said after meeting with the Iraqi premier. We still remain ready to stand by the Iraqi nation and apply efforts for stability and security in Iraq and the region. Al-Kadhimi replied: Iraq will not allow the posing of any threat from its soil against Iran. Iran sees the U.S. military presence in Iraq as a threat to Tehran. The visit came after Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif travelled to Baghdad over the weekend. It was Zarifs first visit to Iraq since a U.S. airstrike in January killed a top Iranian general, Qassim Soleimani, outside Baghdads international airport. The strike catapulted Iraq to the brink of a U.S.-Iran proxy war that could have destabilized the Middle East. In Baghdad, Zarif paid a visit to the site where Soleimani was killed, saying Iran-Iraq relations will not be shaken despite the generals death. Soleimani led Irans expeditionary Quds Force and was the architect of its regional military activities. In Tehran, al-Kadhimi said Iraqs foreign policy is based on balance and avoiding any alignment. The Iraqi premier said his country seeks to improve relations with Iran based on non-intervention in domestic affairs of the two countries. Later, Khamenei received al-Kadhimi and told him Iran was determined to retaliate against the U.S. for killing Soleimani, the supreme leaders website said. They killed your guests at your home and confessed to the crime openly, he said. However, Khamenei who has final say on all state matters in Iran said Iran would not intervene in Iraqs internal affairs. Khamenei urged Iraq to implement a January bill in parliament calling for American forces to be expelled from Iraq, saying their presence causes insecurity. He said the U.S. does not want a powerful government in Iraq, where the government is supported by the vote of the majority. In the true sense of the word, the U.S. is an enemy and does not support an independent, powerful Iraq, Khamenei said. A former intelligence chief backed by Washington, al-Kadhimi took office in May after playing a significant role for years in the war against the Islamic State group, which was declared defeated in Iraq in 2017. The Iraqi prime minister had planned a visit to Saudi Arabia on Monday, before his trip to Tehran, but postponed it following news that Saudi King Salman was admitted to a hospital in the capital, Riyadh. Iran sees Iraq as a possible route to bypass U.S. sanctions that President Donald Trump re-imposed on Tehran in 2018, after pulling America out of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Last year, Irans exports to Iraq amounted to nearly $9 billion, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday. It said the two nations will discuss increasing that amount to $20 billion. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus, religious tourism between Iraq and Iran has stopped. Before the pandemic, some 5 million tourists bringing in nearly $5 billion a year visited Shiite holy sites in the two countries. Under former dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq waged an eight-year war in the 1980s against Iran, a conflict that left nearly 1 million killed on both sides. ST. LOUIS, Mo.Sara Jay's 3v Starlet Stroker was an awarded top seller for manufacturer Pleasure Products USA, a division of 1am USA, and now the company is shipping an upgraded version of that toy, the brand new Sara Jay 3vi Starlet Stroker. The 3v Starlet Stroker is Pleasure Products USAs latest release, and incorporates a form of artificial intelligence that activates the stroker's vibrations when it detects motion of the device. The rechargeable 3v Starlet Stroker also features multiple suction settings, a realistic internal vaginal textureand six unique voice tracks of sexy Sara Jay to help users get over the top. The Sara Jay 3v Starlet Stroker also features USB warming, a hands-free base and a headphone port. Im very excited about my new 3vi Stroker and happy about the upgrades," said AVN Hall of Famer Sara Jay. "Im sure my fans will be even more happy, and I know while youre in home lockdowns youll be using this again and again. For more information, visit Pleasure Products USA on the internet, and follow the company on Twitter at @PleasurePUSA. The owner of a popular seafood restaurant in a New South Wales community facing a growing coronavirus cluster has pleaded with locals to not blame tourists - the lifeblood of the town. Jacob Crooke posted the powerful video message to Facebook slamming locals for telling tourists to stay out. Mr Crooke said JJ's at the Marina will be closed for the next 14 days as a precaution after eight COVID-19 cases were traced to the nearby Soldier Club, and another infection was linked to a lolly shop 15 minutes away in Mogo. Scroll down for video. Jacob Crooke (pictured) posted the powerful video message to Facebook slamming locals for telling out-of-towners to stay out The Batemans Bay seafood restaurant JJ's at the Marina (pictured) is owned by Jacob Cooke 'The situation at the moment, it hurts,' he says in the emotional video. 'It's not just us, it's every business in town. It's the whole south coast now. But in Batemans Bay we seem to be at the forefront of negativity. 'I just want to remind everyone we are a tourist based town and, yes, we are situated between Melbourne, Sydney and Canberra. 'We have all these people come through our town. They dine in our town and come to our town.' He warned locals that without visitors coming through the seaside community famous for its oysters, most businesses could not survive. 'I think it is absolutely terrible that some people think other people can't travel around,' Mr Crooke said. Without visitors coming through the seaside community famous for its oysters, most businesses could not survive, Mr Crooke said 'People are scared. Everyone is worried,' Mr Crook said. 'Everyone is self-isolating. Everyone is either waiting on a test or knows somebody being tested JJ's at the Marina will be shut for 14 days as a precaution after eight COVID-19 cases were traced to the nearby Soldier Club, and another infection was linked to a lolly shop 15 minutes away in Mogo 'It's no local's right to tell people to get out of our town. It is a disgusting way of thinking. 'Without them I don't have a business. I know half a dozen friends with businesses in town who wouldn't survive without tourists. Everyone has to realise that.' The local business owner also took aim at a small percentage of diners who had verbally abused him in recent weeks, after being turned away in accordance with social distancing restrictions. Mr Crook told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday that after posting the video online, he has been inundated with messages of support. The small town with a population of 11,000 is still recovering from the unprecedented summer bushfire crisis which devastated large parts of the NSW South Coast. Mr Crook said it was all too eerie that the location where the bushfire evacuation centre was set up in January is in the same place where the COVID-19 testing facility has been erected. 'People are scared. Everyone is worried, especially people who know someone with immunity problems,' he said. 'Everyone is self-isolating. Everyone is either waiting on a test or knows somebody being tested. Although tensions toward tourists have been growing, he clarified that those calling for visitors to stay away were in the minority. 'It is not the majority of people. It is only a small number of people who have spoken out against tourists,' Mr Crooke said. 'When you are constantly bombarded with tourists you can sometimes understand where people are coming from. 'But we need to band together as a community and come up with plans and positive ways of thinking to try and get people to continue to come later on.' NSW recorded 13 new coronavirus infections on Tuesday bringing the total number of cases to 3588 including 49 deaths. There are 86 COVID-19 cases still active in the state. Mr Crook told Daily Mail Australia that after posting the video online, he has been inundated with messages of support An attorney charged with ripping off $625,000 and a former Miami-Dade assistant state attorney are among the South Florida attorneys on the latest Florida Bar discipline report. Also, amid obnoxious behavior in a condominium dispute, an attorney threw in a little religious instruction, with Take some time this weekend to commune with the Lord, because you will need all the help you can get. The Florida Supreme Court, which does the disciplining, frowned on such unsolicited spiritual advice as well as other actions detailed below. The term disciplinary revocation appears a few times in these cases. An attorney can apply for this legal version of throwing in the towel during the discipline process. If disciplinary revocation is granted by the state Supreme Court, the attorney is disbarred, in effect, usually for five years before the attorney can reapply for readmission. The discipline case goes away without any finding of guilt or acquittal. Any alleged criminal acts involved in the discipline case, however, can be prosecuted in criminal court, as in one of the cases that follows. In alphabetical order: Fort Lauderdales Mary Catherine Bonner, practicing also as Kate Bonner (admitted to practice in 1979) starts her suspension Wednesday. A complaint with the Bar was filed by Florida Department of Corrections inmate Tracy Collier accusing Bonner and her paralegal, former attorney Ileana Haedo, of taking $9,000 payment to file appeal paperwork and not doing so. The Bar says Bonner hasnt responded to Bar grievance requests in this case. The state Supreme Court has found her in contempt of court and suspended her until she gets back to the Bar in writing. Accused of misappropriating (translation: stealing) $128,407 from clients, Fort Lauderdales George Castrataro already was suspended for not responding to the Bars information requests. That was after clients filed four grievances accusing the general practice attorney of being a thief. According to the complaints: Story continues Two clients in estate settlements were owed $47,016.40 and $32,291.37 from Castrataros trust accounts, but neither received his money; while acting as an escrow agent in a real estate deal, Castrataro took in a $25,000 wire transfer, but didnt return it when the deal fell apart; he won a labor law case, but put the check into his firms operating account (which would be commingling funds, another no-no) and didnt give his client the $24,000 owed. George Castrataro Castrataro can apply for readmission in 2025, but hes got bigger problems to deal with before then. A couple of those clients and a few others contacted Fort Lauderdale police. Hes accused of stealing a total of $625,766. Castrataro would make up stories, stating the checks got lost in the mail or a rogue postal employee destroyed the mail, the probable cause affidavit reads. Castrataro is facing one count of communications fraud over $50,000 and one count of grand theft in the first degree. The referee in Fort Lauderdale attorney Ashley Krapacs case, detailed in this Miami Herald story, found her conduct improper, unethical and uncivilized, but didnt think her online statements about attorneys Russell Williams, Nisha Bacchus and Broward Circuit Court Judge Michael Kaplan and the Florida Bar reached the level of disbarment. Referee Samantha Schosberg Feuer recommended a two-year suspension. The state Supreme Court disagreed and went all the way to disbarment. I am obviously disappointed by this ruling, but I do plan to appeal, Krapacs said in an email to the Miami Herald. My case is unfortunately a very sad, stark example of how deep cancel culture in our society runs. When a female attorney tries to leave an abusive relationship with a man, and she ends up getting attacked by an army of attorneys nationwide, as well as The Florida Bar, simply because she was vocal and honest about her experiences on social media, its a harsh reminder that there is no gender equality in this country. Wednesday, Fort Lauderdales James Potts (admitted to the Bar in 2013) starts his 60-day suspension which will be followed by a two-year probation. A case referee adjudged Potts got a little too schoolyard in dealing with an adversary. In May 2017, Potts represented some homeowners and the Secretary of the Heritage Condominum Association who had a problem with the associations Treasurer, Ruben Vincente. According to the referees report, Potts began firing off emails and texts at Vincente. While phraseology Potts used, such as unmitigated ineptitude and clown fraudsters, might satisfy a certain insult bloodlust, they can be considered unprofessional communication. The same can be said for emails that sound too similar to Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God. You cant hide from law enforcement, you cant hide from the State Attorney looking for you when you are in contempt of court, and you especially cant hide from me. I refuse to make threats because I dont need to make threats... You will never see me coming and wont know what hit you when you realize what youve brought upon yourself...Take some time this weekend to commune with the Lord, because you will need all the help you can get. James Potts Sr. Text messages and phone calls to Vincente, some after 11 p.m. followed. The day before a homeowners election in a parking lot, Potts emailed Vincente, in part, If you are innocent like you say, why not come to the parking area at 2 so we can discuss this like real adults. If I were being accused of being a cheating moron by a loudmouth attorney, youd better believe I would meet those accusations head on. But then again, Im not a coward. Potts response to the original Bar complaint denied his communication was unprofessional, harassing or intimidating. To the referee, however, Potts backed off his professionalism argument, but still fought any charges of harassment and intimidation. He fought unsuccessfully. It does not matter if (Potts) believed that Vicente was a corporate officer, or that (Potts) was indignant on behalf of his clients, the referee wrote. It is simply never professional for an attorney to write or say these kinds of things to anyone under any circumstances. Someone now facing criminal charges put Davies Bonne Scheflin (admitted to the Bar in 1989) on suspension in 2019. Then, Scheflin did her own jump out of the frying pan into the disciplinary fire. Shes going for disciplinary revocation. As previously reported in the Miami Herald, Scheflin was suspended 18 months for not properly supervising longtime employee Martha Bernal in 2018. While Scheflin was laid up with personal health issues, Bernal ran Scheflin Law. A CPA review said Bernal took advantage of that to steal $415,000 of firm and client money. (Davie police put the amount at $424,281 in Bernals probable cause affidavit. In February, she was charged with first-degree grand theft and criminal use of personal identification information.) Scheflin was left with just responsibility. But while on suspension, the Bar claims, she continued to communicate with clients of an estate for which shes the attorney of record. She also didnt come across with trust account records which the Bar requested. Wednesday, a referee rejected Coral Gables attorney Scot Strems Motion to Dissolve the emergency suspension thats officially sidelined him since June 9. In asking for that suspension, the Bar claimed the sole partner of Strems Law Firm sits at the head of a vast campaign of unprofessional, unethical, and fraudulent conduct that now infects courts and communities across the state. The Bar stated it noticed a pattern in Strems Law Firm (SLF) lawsuits: file multiple for an incident when one would do; drop into a ceaseless pattern of delay that ignored deadlines; not obeying court orders, which requires more hearings or providing discovery thats often incomplete, unverified, or late; acting in bad faith, such as lying to opposing counsel or the court or SLF may conveniently forget to apprise the court of a clients death;court sanctions and the case being dismissed by the court or SLF. Among the groups hurt by SLFs actions, the Bar listed the public, which relies heavily upon the judicial resources consumed by SLFs case load; Florida homeowners, whose insurance premiums ultimately fund both sides of SLFs cases... Strems has until July 30 to present an argument why the referees recommendation should not be approved by the state Supreme Court. Herbert E. Walker III resigned from the Miami-Dade State Attorneys Office in 2007 during an investigation of sexual harassment complaints against him. Walker is now serving a suspension earned partially by his vanity. In his unconditional guilty plea for consent judgment, Walker admits telling client Arthur Wallace he needed five new suits to look good for Wallaces upcoming trial. Wallace dropped $5,000 at Aventura Mall on new suits and monogrammed shirts for Walker. That level of gift from a client who isnt a relative or a ride-or-die friend is an ethics violation. But a bigger one was acting as attorney for murder suspect Parley Paskett while also representing Wallace, who was charged as an accessory after the fact. The referees report says Walker testified at a discipline hearing that hed been instrumentally involved in negotiating a plea deal for Paskett. That plea deal, however, contemplated that Paskett, if called upon, would testify against (Walkers) own client (Wallace), the referee wrote. Thats a conflict of interest. Both a judge and Wallace reported Walker to the Bar. Also, Walker accepted money from Pasketts mother. The referees report says Walker didnt recall whether he told Wallace about it. Walker also apparently didnt recall what he decided to say about the money, stating at various times in the discipline process that the money was a gift; was payment for legal work; and was a Christmas present. Herbert E. Walker III Walker will be freed from suspension Independence Day, July 4, 2021. British millionaire Krishna Maharaj, imprisoned for 1986 Miami murders, loses another appeal Expensive Miami private schools got millions in PPP loans. So did charter schools Parents understand risks: 15 staffers, 3 kid campers catch COVID-19 in Miami-Dade Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stefanie Eschenbacher and Anthony Esposito (Reuters) Mexico City, Mexico Tue, July 21, 2020 11:34 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406680eb26 2 Business Mexico,steel-industry,steelmaker,Asia,trade-deal,supply-chain,relocation Free Mexico has spoken to a host of foreign companies, particularly steelmakers, in an effort to lure business from Asia to capitalize on a new North American trade deal, Economy Minister Graciela Marquez said on Monday. The United States-Mexico-Canada trade agreement (USMCA) took effect at the beginning of this month, replacing its quarter-century-old predecessor, as the coronavirus pandemic wallops the global economy and international trade. The new deal includes tougher content rules both for autos and steel and aluminum than when the North American Free Trade Agreement was launched in 1994. In steel we see the biggest opportunity, Marquez, a Harvard-trained economist, told Reuters in an interview. We want to show these companies the opportunities that open up with this increase in regional content requirements. Marquez said the government of President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador has held talks with foreign steelmakers, including South Koreas POSCO, Japans Nippon Steel Corp and Mitsubishi Corp and Ternium, about investing in Mexico to produce steel for the auto sector. She said there is a possibility foreign steelmakers could partner with or take a stake in Mexicos Altos Hornos de Mexico. A spokesman said the Mexican company is not currently in talks. None of the other steelmakers immediately responded to requests for comment. Considering Mexicos diverse manufacturing base, Marquez said the government was interested in attracting a range of companies from across the globe. She said the government also would seek to speak with Apple and other US firms about relocating their supply chain to Mexico. Retelling a recent conversation with Lopez Obrador, Marquez said she pointed to the cellphone she was holding in her hand and said, These phones dont have to be produced in China, ... there is an enormous opportunity to produce them in Mexico. The government is looking to attract North American and European firms producing in China, Singapore and Vietnam. Marquez said the new trade deal came into force at a critical juncture for both the Mexican and the global economy and that it could help Latin Americas second-largest country recover from the fallout of the coronavirus pandemic. Big Brother's Talia Rycroft has urged the show to focus more on the 'friendships and personalities' of the people in the house. In a post on Instagram on Monday, the 22-year-old reality star used a catch up with her fellow housemate Xavier Molyneux to draw attention to show's relationships. Referring to herself and Xavier, 23, as 'Ken and Barbie', Talia slammed the show's editing, claiming they neglected to show the real dynamics of the housemates. Hitting out: Big Brother's Talia Rycroft has urged the show to focus more on the 'friendships and personalit[ies]' of the people in the house. Pictured with co-star Xavier Molyneux 'Ken and Barbie finally reunite,' she began, sharing a photo of herself and Xavier posed by the ocean. She added: 'Big Brother next year please show friendships and personality so the public can get to know the cast better! xx'. Daily Mail Australia has reached out to both Network 10 and Talia for comment. Taking a stand: Talia slammed the show's editing, claiming they neglected to show the real dynamics of the housemates According to a report by Woman's Day magazine last month, several of the show's housemates started a top-secret WhatsApp group to vent about how they were being portrayed. The publication claimed that some of the 20 housemates were not impressed by their edits, and were even threatening to boycott the series. 'They're shocked none of their softer moments or team bonding is shown,' said an anonymous source. 'Big Brother next year please show friendships and personality so the public can get to know the cast better! xx,' she wrote on Instagram Xavier, who was rarely shown on television, even joked about his absence onscreen in several Instagram posts. Meanwhile, Talia told Daily Mail Australia at the time of her elimination that she was unhappy with the 'unfair editing'. She claimed that some of her co-stars agreed her portrayal as a villain was 'fake' and 'highly edited'. President Donald Trump defended appearing at his rebooted coronavirus briefing solo, without any medical experts at his side. 'Well, Dr. Birx is right outside,' Trump answereed when asked about the whereabouts of Dr. Deborah Birx and Dr. Anthony Fauci, who had said on CNN earlier Tuesday that he hadn't gotten an invite. 'I was not invited up to this point,' Fauci said, just an hour before the president was set to take the podium and speak about the coronavirus still ravaging the nation at an alarming and escalating rate. President Trump defended flying solo at his first coronavirus briefing in months, telling reporters, 'Dr. Birx is right outside,' but ignoring the same query about the whereabouts of Dr. Anthony Fauci SHE'S RIGHT OUTSIDE! President Trump said Dr. Deborah Birx (pictured) was right outside the briefing room when asked during his Tuesday solo press briefing about her and Dr. Anthony Fauci's whereabouts Dr. Anthony Fauci appeared on CNN before Tuesday's White House briefing and said that he hadn't been invited 'I'm assuming that I'm not going to be there because it's going to be in just a short while and I'm still here at the NIH,' said Fauci, the soft-spoken epidemiologist who has counseled presidents since Ronald Reagan on disease outbreaks. He told the network he had been at the White House on Monday, but said he hasn't spoken to Trump since last week on a day of drama about which medical experts if any Trump would select to accompany him to the podium. He said he had a 'good long conversation' with Trump toward the end of last week. Fauci fielded a series of questions during the interview about the pandemic, vaccines, and testing, which he agreed needed improvement. Reports from a number of states show people waiting for more than a week to get results from COVID-19 tests which can throw off efforts to contact-trace and avoid spread of infection. The U.S. has about a quarter of the world's cases after a long spike. 'We still have to make it better,' Fauci acknowledged. 'Some places are getting it quite right. But others, the time-frame from when you get a test the time you get the result back is sometimes measured in a few days. If that's the case, it kind of negates the purpose of the contact tracing,' he said. The tracing is meant to identify others who may have caught or be spreading the disease. Amid the public confusion, Vice President Mike Pence, who leads the White House coronavirus taskforce, said he didn't know if Fauci would be included in Trump's first rebooted briefing. Pence, traveling in South Carolina Tuesday, was pressed twice by DailyMail.com on whether Fauci would attend. 'I'd leave that to the White House today,' Pence eventually answered, after pointing out how taskforce members, like Birx, were being deployed around the nation and had recently briefed the press, just not at the White House. 'The president will be speaking at a White House briefing today. And he indicated yesterday that we'll be briefing on a regular basis, but as know, the coronavirus taskforce has been briefing over the last several weeks,' Pence said. He pointed to appearances members made at the Department of Education and HHS' headquarters. 'But we also thought it was very imporant that we take taskforce members out around the country. Dr. Birx was in half a dozen states last week. I was in Louisiana, I traveled to Arizona and Texas,' Pence continued. 'I'll be in Florida in just a few short days.' 'We think it's important that our team is on the ground and working closely with governors and with health officials. We'll continue to brief, we'll continue to brief the country going forward,' Pence said at a briefing with White House and South Carolina officials. Pence's comments came after Surgeon General Jerome Adams, a key task force member, said Tuesday morning that he didn't know who would attend - and whether Fauci would be included. 'They're still figuring out that out. I know that as they resume we will be there in our different roles,' Adams told CBS 'This Morning.' Vice President Mike Pence couldn't say whether Dr. Anthony Fauci would be joining President Trump at Tuesday evening's rebooted White House coronavirus briefing Mike Pence is photographed in Columbia, South Carolina Tuesday removing his mask before addressing reporters 'They're still figuring out that out,' said Surgeon General Jeome Powell when asked whether he or Dr. Faucu would attend a briefing just hours away 'As folks know I'm a strong advocate for making sure we are promoting the awareness of the impact on communities of color, particularly African Americans and particularly Hispanics,' he continued, without providing more information. He was asked whether he, Fauci, or task force coordinator Birx would attend the briefing. Fauci has taken to the airwaves to defend himself, even without attending the Tuesday briefing. On Monday evening, he responded to Trump's claim that he was 'a little bit of an alarmist.' 'I consider myself a realist, as opposed to an alarmist,' he said in an Instagram live interview with Maria Shriver. 'Im a realist but Im also an optimist,' he said. He also agreed that Trump's characterization of him was unfair, though he stated it in his typically self-effacing manner. 'I believe so, but then again, others have different opinions,' Fauci said. Fauci does have another gig lined up. The Washington Nationals have invited him to throw out the ceremonial first pitch at their home opener Thursday a role that historically U.S. presidents have often fulfilled. Dr. Anthony Fauci said Tuesday morning he hadn't heard whether he would be attending Tuesday's briefing In this April 17, 2020, file photo Dr. Anthony Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, about the coronavirus, as President Donald Trump listens, in the James Brady Press Briefing Room of the White House in Washington President Trump touted the return of the briefings Monday at the White House after seeing his approval rating slide amid mounting U.S. infections and deaths due to the coronavirus. 'We're going to give you a lot of briefings in the next week and over the next few weeks as to I think it's very important to do it,' Trump said while speaking to the press following his Oval Office meeting with Republican leadership. Trump stopped showing up to the near-daily press conferences after one update in the White House briefing room went off the rails after Trump suggested injecting bleach or light into the body as a potential treatment for coronavirus. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany told Fox News the new briefings would be 'short' and 'very newsy.' She said the president sometimes might bring other officials with him and might stray to issues besides the coronavirus. Once the proposal of the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) is approved, the petrol and oil trading scene may see more foreign players. In its newest draft, the MoIT would raise the foreign ownership limit in petrol and oil trading companies significantly The MoIT has submitted the draft decree which will replace Decree No.83/2014/ND-CP on petrol and oil trading. Accordingly, the highlight of the proposal is the authorisation for foreign investors to own up to 35 per cent stake in Vietnamese oil and petrol trading companies. Petrol and oil trading is a conditional business sector where domestic companies hold a dominant market share. The amended regulations in the upcoming decree will open more opportunities for foreign investors, said Tran Duy Dong, director of the Domestic Market Department under the MoIT. As of now, a number of foreign names are present in Vietnam, including JX Nippon Oil & Energy which owns an 8 per cent stake in Petrolimex and Idemisu Q8 (the joint venture between Kuwait International Petroleum and Idemitsu Kosan) which are the only foreign enterprises allowed to trade oil and petrol in Vietnam. Idemitsu Q8 opened its first petrol station in 2017 at Thang Long Industrial Park. So far, it has four stations, one less than its target for this year. Previously, Total Group from France had been trading in Vietnam since 1990 but under the franchise model only. A representative of a foreign-invested company which contributed capital to a joint venture exploiting oil in Vietnam, affirmed that difficulties in administrative procedures along with complex investment conditions are hampering foreign players in this sector. JX Nippon Oil & Energy previously showed interest in increasing its holding in Petrolimex to 20 per cent and Idemitsu Q8 also shared plans to expand its station system to other cities and provinces. In addition, PV Oil is also looking to raise its foreign ownership rate to 35 per cent. The amended decree is expected to help these enterprises realise their plans. VIR The Hai President Trump said at a press briefing Tuesday that he doesn't know "too much" about the recent indictment of Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell, before adding: "I just wish her well, frankly." Why it matters: Maxwell pleaded not guilty last week to charges that allege she conspired with her billionaire boyfriend Epstein to sexually abuse underage girls. Many have speculated that Maxwell has information that could incriminate powerful figures who were involved in Epstein's alleged sex trafficking ring. The exchange: REPORTER: "Ghislaine Maxwell is in prison and a lot of people want to know if she's going to turn in powerful people. I know you've talked in the past about Prince Andrew and you've criticized Bill Clinton's behavior. I'm wondering, do you feel she's going to turn in powerful men? How do you see that working out?" TRUMP: "I don't know, I haven't really been following it too much. I just wish her well, frankly. I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is. I don't know the situation with Prince Andrew, I just don't know. Not aware of it." Go deeper: Judge denies bail for Maxwell, deems her an extreme flight risk Hard work, dedication and attention to detail of prison staff in Portlaoise and other jails has been praised by the Minister Justice and Equality on a trip to the Laois town. Minister Helen McEntee was in Portlaoise on Tuesday morning July 21 just a day into the return of limited physical visits to Irish prisons. This morning I visited Midlands Prison and met with staff and management on site to thank them for all their work, particularly the work they have undertaken during Covid-19 to keep prisoners and staff safe. The fact that there have been no confirmed cases of Covid-19 amongst the prison population in this country is testament to the hard work, dedication and attention to detail of those who manage and work in our Prison Service. I know that this has been an incredibly difficult time for prisoners and indeed for their families who have been unable to make physical visits to their loved ones since March. While video calls have been arranged between prisoners and their families in the interim, the work that has recently been undertaken in prisons across the State means that, from this week, physical visits to prisons can recommence on a carefully phased basis. More below picture. Pictured Minister for Justice & Equality Helen McEntee visited the Midlands Prison where she met Caron McCaffrey, Director General of the Irish Prison Service Of course, the reintroduction of physical visits will be conducted in line with all public health guidance, with visitors temperature checked on arrival and provided with PPE to wear during visits, no physical contact allowed, sneeze screens in place in all visiting rooms, and a reduced number of visits facilitated each day. I am pleased that, alongside these arrangements, the innovation of video visits will continue and I recommend that families and loved ones of prisoners consult the website of the Irish Prison Service for further information on that facility. I also want to thank our prison population for their ongoing cooperation. They have worked closely with prison officers and management to keep the prison system Covid free, which has allowed us to begin to reintroduce physical visits at this time. As Minister for Justice, I also look forward to working with the Department of Health and the HSE on how best to consider the mental health and addiction challenges of those imprisoned, concluded the TD. The Irish Prison Service has been internationally recognised for its handling of the pandemic. Read also: WATCH IRISH PRISON SERVICE VIDEO FOR VISITORS Two Dollar General workers locked a convicted sex offender in the store and quietly escorted other customers out after they realized he was wanted on suspicion of murder. Neil Broussard, 51, is accused of killing Kyla Hidalgo, 17, and Kaleb Charlton, 18; wounding the girl's mother, Catherine Hidalgo, 40; and kidnapping the woman's 14-year-old daughter early Wednesday morning in the Calcasieu Parish town of Westlake. Broussard, of Lake Charles, surrendered to police in the Beauregard Parish community of Ragley, about 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of Lake Charles, on Thursday after Dollar General's Sallye Salter and Tiffany Cook alerted authorities, the American Press reported. On Wednesday, police were contacted by phone with someone reporting that a 14-year-old was on their property on Jackson-Gimnick Loop exiting the woods. Neil Broussard, escorted by law enforcement, is brought into the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office Thursday morning in Lake Charles, Louisiana after workers at a Dollar General store recognized Dollar General workers Sallye Salter (right) and Tiffany Cook (left) recognized the convicted sex offender, quietly led customers out and called 911 Broussard, 51, is accused of killing Kyla Hidalgo (left), 17, and Kaleb Charlton (right), 18 Deputies were dispatched to the area and learned that the teen was the subject reported kidnapped during the earlier homicides at a home in Westlake. Calcasieu deputies responding to reports of a shooting at 4am had found Kyla and Kaleb dead at the home, and Catherine seriously wounded. Catherine had allegedly identified Broussard as the shooter and said he kidnapped her 14-year-old. The mother remains in a serious condition in hospital. Her stolen car was found the same day in woods in the Ragley area, KPLC-TV reported. Locals had reported seeing a man who matched Broussard's description, enabling about 75 officers from three sheriff's offices, state police and the FBI to sweep the area, hunting for Broussard. They warned that locals may hear aircraft in the area overnight but asked them to remain secure inside their homes as well as to secure vehicles and any structures that could be used to hide in. Cops scoured the area with K9s and ATVs and urged locals to contact 911 for anything suspicious. In the Thursday press conference Beauregard Parish Sheriff Mark Herford described Wednesday as 'a night full of worry and apprehension about what was going to happen.' They were called to the store when the workers recognized the suspect, whose previous mug shot had been released. 'Thank you Sallye Salter (right) and Tiffany Cook (left), you both exemplified great character in a high pressure situation,' the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post after Broussard was arrested Thursday Cops said about the incident at Dollar General (pictured): 'We were so close and got there within seconds and were able to apprehend him without any incidents' Neil Broussard (left) was also wanted on more sex offense charges. His wife Tori L. Broussard (right), 41, was arrested on charges of accessory after the fact to first-degree rape and accessory after the fact to molestation of a juvenile Broussard was convicted in 2005 and 2011 of molesting juveniles, is awaiting trial on sex charges in Texas, and was wanted on charges of first-degree rape and molestation of a juvenile in Calcasieu Parish, authorities said. Calcasieu Parish Sheriff Tony Mancuso said during a news conference on Thursday that they 'were so close we got there within seconds and were able to apprehend him without any incidents.' 'Thank you Sallye Salter and Tiffany Cook, you both exemplified great character in a high pressure situation,' the Beauregard Parish Sheriff's Office said in a Facebook post after Broussard was arrested Thursday. Police had shared this mug shot of the sex offender before he was caught on Thursday He has been charged on two counts of first-degree murder, one count of attempted first-degree murder and one count of second-degree kidnapping. A Calcasieu Parish judge set his bond at $4 million, news agencies reported. His wife Tori L. Broussard, 41, was also arrested on charges of accessory after the fact to first-degree rape and accessory after the fact to molestation of a juvenile, said Kayle Vincent, spokeswoman for the Calcasieu Parish Sheriff's Office. Tori Broussard is chief investigator at the Calcasieu Public Defenders Office. Harry Fontenot, head of the office, says she is on administrative leave pending further review, KPLC-TV reported. 'She is a good person and I think she's been falsely accused of committing these crimes,' said her attorney, Todd Clemons. 'Its important to point out shes not charged, but was just arrested. I dont know if she will be charged, but shes presumed to be innocent and I believe shes factually innocent. Im confident she wont be convicted of any crimes.' Tori Broussard is free after posting a $50,000 bond. MAYFIELD, Ohio -- Village Council approved Monday (July 20) an ordinance that would increase mayoral and council member salaries -- if voters approve. Passage of the ordinance came by a 7-0 vote, as did a follow-up ordinance calling for the change to be made part of the village charter. In order to make the pay increases official, however, voters will have to approve them at the polls Nov. 3. Residents will be asked to increase the pay for the position of mayor from the current $26,000 per year to $50,000 annually and add full health benefits. The village charter does not state whether the position of mayor is a full- or part-time position. As for council, members would see a $1,000 annual pay raise, from $10,000 to $11,000. The position of village council president would be paid $12,100, up from the current $11,000. Neither Mayor Brenda Bodnar nor members of council made comments before the vote was taken during the online Zoom meeting. In a June 12 memorandum to Council President Stephen Schutt and the rest of council, Bodnar stated her case. Bodnar, a lawyer, wrote that during her 48 weeks of mayoral work in a normal year, she works about 1,440 hours and earns approximately $18.05 per hour. Because of COVID-19, she added, this has not been a normal year and that more work has been required. My request for an increase in compensation is not based on 2020, Bodnars memorandum read. It is based on normal years. She also stated that This ordinance is not about me. It is about seeking fair pay for the work, skill, education and experience required by the job. Following Mondays meeting, Bodnar, serving her second four-year term, said, Its going to be up to the voters to decide whats the appropriate pay for the mayor and what is the appropriate time to put that in place. Prior to the vote, residents email comments were read to council. Of the four letters council received on the subject, three were in favor of the pay increase, noting the skill and stress the mayors job carries, and the fact that the village has grown in terms of business, budget and amenities provided. The village has a population of 3,460 and swells to about 12,000 during normal times when people are at work at various businesses in Mayfield. The village has a general fund annual revenue of $24.3 million. One resident objected to the pay hikes, stating that it was unconscionable for the mayor and council to seek raises in a year when the coronavirus pandemic has had many people making sacrifices and working harder. We have to assess, Bodnar said in response, when is it the right time to pay people appropriately for the skills and the time that is required and the services they are going to provide for us? I would suggest that theres never a bad time to do that. Bodnar said that, looking to the future, it is also important to interest young candidates to serve, and that providing the proper salaries and benefits would allow those future candidates to work in service to the village and not pass on the experience because they are in need of benefits. The woman who wrote the letter against the pay increase also mentioned that she believed council was putting it on the ballot at a time when residents cannot attend meetings to voice their objections. Residents did voice their objections in 2017 when council members sought health benefits. Council decided against allowing itself the benefits largely because of those objections. She (the resident) went back to 2017, and that was a very different situation, Bodnar said of the residents comment. In that situation, council had looked at enacting legislation to give themselves healthcare benefits, but that legislation was not proposed to go to the voters. Thats where it fell hard, and rightfully so. I think it should have gone to the voters. Bodnar said that, if passed, the pay increases will not require residents to pay any more in taxes. Good financial news In discussing the state of village finances, Bodnar told council, Our current surplus (cash reserve) stands at around $31 million. Thats a number thats pretty much unheard of, not just in communities of our size, but in communities that are much larger than ours. We generally dont go around touting that statistic; its not how we operate. But this is a time that I think people need to know that we have money in the bank and we can get through this (pandemic) storm. Our reserves will allow us to plan and adjust as we need to, she said. Bodnar made the comments after noting that the villages largest taxpayer, Progressive Insurance, has told its workers to work at home for the remainder of 2020. This decision could have impacted payroll tax receipts. But, there was good news, in that under the governors (Mike DeWines pandemic) emergency order and the corresponding legislation, those payroll taxes will go to Mayfield Village during the duration of the emergency order, and for 30 days afterward, Bodnar said. We dont anticipate that the governor will lift that order any time soon. A lawsuit challenging to whom income taxes will be paid by those working from home is under way in Columbus, but Bodnar said it is not scheduled to be heard in the courts until sometime in 2021. Meanwhile, more good news came from village Finance Director Ron Wynne, who said that, in terms of income tax collections, the city is ahead of its July 2019 collection pace by $213,000. Wynne added that 2019 was a record pace. White Road interchange talk In a Plain Dealer story from Sunday (July 19), it was reported that the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA) is drafting a policy to quantify whether adding new interchanges to the highway system would exacerbate historical patterns of inequity. The policy, if adopted in December, would carry with it proposals for eight new Northeast Ohio interchanges, including a freeway exit and entrance at Interstate 271 and White Road in Willoughby Hills and Mayfield. We are going to work to promote that interchange, Bodnar told council Monday. It would alleviate a lot of the traffic coming out of our businesses and going into our businesses in Mayfield Village, and it would then also reduce the traffic burden on our residents. Read more from the Sun Messenger. - Papa Shirandula's body arrived at his Funyula home on Monday, July 20, with two buses ferrying mourners - Health Ministry's guidelines were followed strictly throughout the ceremony that lasted for two hours - There were no chaos or drama witnessed between police and the locals Kenyans on social media have been impressed by the orderliness witnessed during the burial ceremony of renowned thespian Charles Bukeko popularly known as Papa Shirandula. Despite his fame and huge fan base, especially in Western Kenya, Papa's burial was not characterised by drama, chaos, disorder and blatant disregard of the COVID-19 regulations. READ ALSO: COVID-19: Radio presenter Bonnie Musambi says he declined ambulance ride after testing positive Pal bearers wearing white hazmet suits during the burial ceremony of Charles Bukeko. Photo: Citizen TV Source: UGC READ ALSO: Magazeti ya Jumanne,Julai 21:Bunge lawekewa lockdowa kufuatia maafisa 50 kupatwa na COVID-19 Unlike other earlier burial ceremonies for COVID-19 victims that were witnessed across the country, Papa's burial was conducted early in the morning in the presence of his family members. Social distancing was observed strictly with the locals heeding to calls from government by having the least number of people attending the ceremony. All the mourners were having their face masks and most importantly there were no chaos witnessed between the police and locals fighting to view the body. The mourners were strictly observing social distance during Papa Shirandula's burial. Photo: Citizen TV Source: UGC READ ALSO: Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi pleads with Uhuru to pardon John Waluke, have him out of jail The body of the thespian arrived at his home in Funyula, Busia county, at around 3.30am and was accompanied by two buses of mourners who were received by health officials. Those who accompanied Papa from Nairobi were not allowed to mingle and spent the rest of the night and morning in one tent. Authorities asked locals not to mingle with them to avoid the spread of the disease. All the vehicles used for transport were fumigated as required by the strict COVID-19 directives with the pal bearers wearing white hazmet suits. No one else was allowed to touch the coffin. READ ALSO: Unemployed youth who asked netizens to pray for him lands job, thanks them immensely Only 10 members of Papas family were allowed to be by his grave site for the final rites and 8:47am his body had been lowered to the grave. Another impressing aspect of the burial was the actor's house which could not escape the eyes of Kenyans. Kenyans were also impressed by Papa Shirandula's decent home. Photo: Citizen TV Source: UGC Below are some of the observations that were made by Kenyans on social media. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Source: TUKO.co.ke The COVID-19 outbreak, discovered in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and declared as a global pandemic in less than 3 months on March 11, 2020, has killed more than 550,000 people worldwide. More than 13 million people have been diagnosed with this virus, and the numbers keep increasing day by day. The pandemic has wreaked havoc by taking away jobs and shuttering down economies. The worrying fact that no one is immune to the disease and that many carriers of the virus may not even show any symptoms gives rise to the necessity of having an appropriate term and/or health insurance cover. Lets discuss why its the need of the hour. Why should you opt for health insurance during COVID-19? #1 Uncertainty of Exposure Time and again, health authorities have been warning us about the ways in which the pandemic can affect us. During a press briefing on June 9, Maria Van Kerkhove, the Technical Lead at WHO, said many countries are reporting a spread of coronavirus cases from people who are showing no symptoms at all. While this type of spread accounts only for 6% as of now, it shows that people living in relatively safe areas are not technically safe from the virus. Due to this, it is important that people buy a medical insurance policy online, as the danger of uncertain or unexpected exposure to the virus can be mitigated. #2 High Treatment Costs With the number of coronavirus cases in India crossing 1 million (with 570,000 recovered), healthcare facilities and workers are under constant pressure.tTreatment can prove to be expensive, as hospitals also include consumables charges in their bills. The use of PPE (Personal Protective Equipment), surgical accessories, toiletries, cosmetics, etc., can increase the bill exorbitantly. No matter where we stay, or where we decide to go for treatments, the last thing that we want is to be worried about our financial capability to fight the disease. A properly selected health insurance policy will be the best option to fight these worries. However, it is important to be sure that the policy provides a COVID-19 cover and is suitable for the health needs of the family. PolicyX.com, an IRDAI licensed insurance web aggregator in India, can help you search, compare and buy the best medical insurance policy for you and your family. The following health insurance plans will give you the best comprehensive covers: 1.Religare Health Insurance - Care 2.HDFC ERGO Health Optima Restore 3.Aditya Birla Health Insurance Activ Health Platinum - Enhanced 4.Star Health Comprehensive Plan Why should you opt for term insurance policy during COVID-19? #1 Financial Security Term insurance is a product that is designed to provide financial security to your family in your absence. As mentionedearlier, life is full of uncertainties, and the pandemic has only added to it. With the sheer number of casualties reported, it is important to have a term insurance plan that covers the financial needs of the family if insured person passes away. If the individual is unmarried, the term insurance will ensure that the needs of ageing parents are taken care of. If he is married, then the plan will ensure that the needs of his wife and children are taken care of in his absence. Whatever be the case, term insurance helps the surviving family members to maintain their standard of living and settle any financial liabilities of the insured person, along with carrying out the day-to-day expenses. #2 Online Availability Right now, you can easily purchase a term insurance policy online. The advantage of doing this digitally is you get to search and select affordable insurance policies. Affordability would ensure that you dont burn your pockets, and at the same time, get the best financial protection for your family. All you would need to do is visit the web page of the insurance portal like PolicyX.Com and start comparing the policies. You can even request a call back and the insurance advisor will walk you through the entire process. The following term insurance plans will give you the best comprehensive covers: 1.Max Life Smart Term Plan 2.ICICI Prudential iProtect Smart Term Plan 3.HDFC Life Click 2 Protect 3D Plus Why should you opt for both? Many people believe that health and term insurance is a waste of money as it doesnt provide returns or a maturity benefit. Its time to move away from this mentality and start believing in the resilience that an insurance policy can cover. It acts as a line of defence for an individual or a family. It not only takes care of the medical and financial needs of the individual, but also his overall standard of life. Even after the insured passes away, the family has that resilience cover around them. It is an investment for life, and this period is the best time to purchase a term and a health insurance policy. Say goodbye to an uncertain future As the pandemic picks up pace around the world, the best we can do is take care of ourselves and our families by opting for a term and/or health insurance policy. The future is uncertain, and hence our financial and health needs may change drastically. During such a stage in life, a term/health insurance policy will help us get back on our feet and live the life that we love so much. Disclaimer: This is a company press release. No HT Group journalist was involved in the creation of this content. Quore Selected as Preventative Maintenance Program Brand Standard for Cambria Hotels Quore, a Choice Qualified Vendor and the leading provider of workflow management and productivity tools for hotels, has been selected by Cambria Hotels, an upscale brand franchised by Choice Hotels International, Inc., as a brand standard to provide its software for their new preventative maintenance program. Hotel staff will now be able to leverage Quores cloud-based software to optimize maintenance for guest rooms and public spaces, as well as streamline the monitoring and compliance of brand standards. With over 50 Cambria hotels open across the country, Quore is proud to support the brands rapid growth plans. Cambria Hotels worked with Quore to establish a set of brand-wide standard inspection templates for the new preventative maintenance program, which each Cambria hotel may utilize to more efficiently ensure comprehensive preventative care is performed throughout the property. The preventative maintenance addresses numerous guest touchpoints, including guest rooms, the lobby, pool, hallways, meeting rooms, elevators, public restrooms, fitness center, and is designed to streamline operations and reporting for hotel staff, and extend the life of assets so guests enjoy them for years to come. Quores preventative maintenance software also supports the logging of routine inspections of various safety and mechanical components installed in the hotels. Quore was purpose-built to help hotel brands, like Cambria Hotels, streamline labor-intensive programs for preventative maintenance, workforce communication and asset tracking, said Scott Schaedle, Founder and CEO of Quore. Weve had a relationship with Choice Hotels since 2016 and were thrilled to play such a key role in its expansion plans for its Cambria Hotel brand. About Quore Quore is an award-winning, cloud-based hotel quality optimization solution, providing the right tools to empower hotels of any size to make operations more efficient and improve guest experiences. Founded in 2012, it is the first solution ever to combine state-of-the-art technology and intuitive design to better manage all aspects of the guest experience, including preventative maintenance, guest requests and complaints, work orders, housekeeping and workforce/shift communication. Quores software is used by more than 4,400 hotels in the U.S., and it supports hotels from the industrys largest brands, including IHG, Marriott, Hilton and Choice. The Franklin, Tennessee-based company is privately owned and was named one of Americas Best Startup Employers by Forbes. Media Contact: Katie Adgent Quore press@quore.com Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other leaders condoled the death of Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon, who passed away on Tuesday morning following complications in his liver and kidney. The death of 85-year-old Lal Ji Tandon, who was in a hospital in Uttar Pradeshs Lucknow, was announced by his son Ashutosh Tandon Gopalji. Shri Lalji Tandon will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. He played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He made a mark as an effective administrator, always giving importance of public welfare. Anguished by his passing away, PM Modi tweeted. Shri Lalji Tandon was well-versed with constitutional matters. He enjoyed a long and close association with beloved Atal Ji. In this hour of grief, my condolences to the family and well-wishers of Shri Tandon. Om Shanti, he added. Also read: Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon passes away at 85 Defence minister Rajnath Singh also condoled Tandons death and remembered his as one of the tallest leaders of Uttar Pradesh. The news of the demise of Shri Lalji Tandon, Governor of Madhya Pradesh and a powerful personality of Uttar Pradesh, is very painful. I had the opportunity to work with Tandonji for a long time. His long public life has been devoted to the service of the people and he has left a distinct mark through his work, Rajnath Singh tweeted in Hindi. Tandonji was highly sociable by nature and also very popular among the activists. People of Lucknow and Uttar Pradesh still appreciate the development work done by him in various positions. May God provide patience and strength to the bereaved family in this hour of grief. Om Shanti! he added. Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath also expressed his grief following the death of Lalji Tandon. In a press statement, Adityanath termed him as a great leader who had immense love for Lucknow in his heart. He was the life of Lucknow. In his death the country has lost an able administrator, a popular leader and a committed social worker, Adityanath said in a tweet. Union textile minister Smriti Irani also tweeted her condolence for Lalji Tandons family. I am pained to hear about the sad demise of Shri Lalji Tandon. A stalwart , Babuji helped pave the way for many youngsters, guiding us gently on our ideological journey. My condolences to Gopal bhaiya & family. Om Shanti, Smriti Irani posted. Digvijaya Singh, former Madhya Pradesh chief minister and Congress leader, was among the first to condole Tandons demise. I am deeply saddened to hear the news of the sad demise of His Excellency the Governor Shri Lalji Tandon. The generation of the BJP/ RSS involved in the service of people is now ending. May his soul rest in peace. My condolences to the family members of Tandon. Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) leader Mayawati also expressed her grief. The news of the death of Shri Lalji Tandon, who was a very social, sociable and cultured person, in Lucknow during his treatment today is extremely sad and my deepest regards to his family, Mayawati tweeted in Hindi. Several UP ministers, including Chaudhary Bhupendra Singh, and chairperson of UP Labour Welfare Council Sunil Bharala also paid their respects. Bharala said Tandon guided a generation of young leaders and was a torchbearer of the Bharatiya Janata Partys (BJPs) ethos. He was a father figure to all of us, Bharala said. Tandons son, a minister in the state cabinet, said his last rites would be performed at Gulalaghat crematorium in Lucknow at 4.30pm. Alex Trebeks memoir, The Answer Is . . .: Reflections on My Life, just published. The host of Jeopardy!, who turns 80 on July 22, had been hounded for years to write his autobiography or a memoir but hadnt really felt the time was right. Finally, during quarantining in our current pandemic, the Canadian native sat down to write about his life. Just as we expected, Alex Trebek has had an amazing and interesting life. Here are some highlights from his memoir. Alex Trebek | Emma McIntyre/Getty Images for TCM RELATED: Alex Trebek Gets Emotional About This Famous Jeopardy! Fan He Was My Hero Alex Trebek had a half-brother he never knew about until he became host of Jeopardy! Trebek grew up in Sudbury, Canada, and at one point, his parents separated. Years later, he discovered his mother had had a child. When [my parents] broke up, [my mother] took up with a gentleman in Sudbury, and he got her pregnant, Trebek wrote. He didnt want to marry her, so she left town and had the baby a boy and gave him up for adoption. I didnt know anything about it. . . until shortly after I started hosting Jeopardy! RELATED: Jeopardy!: Lucille Ball Played a Major Role in Having Alex Trebek Hired as Host of the Quiz Show Trebek (accidentally) got stoned on hash brownies While the father of three describes himself as someone who isnt big on drinking or recreational drugs, he humorously detailed having some delicious brownies at a party and waking up in a haze a few days later. I did have one unintentional experience with drugs. . . , he wrote. I was invited to a dinner party in Malibu. There were chocolate brownies on a plate in the living room. Well, I love chocolate. . . I had four or five of them [and] did not realize they were hash brownies. . . I spent the weekend laid out in their guest bedroom and didnt leave their home until Monday morning. His divorce from his first wife was incredibly cordial While there certainly are friendly divorces, Trebek enjoyed an unusually congenial divorce with his first wife, Elaine Kares. In fact, after the divorce, his mother, who had been living with him, moved in with Kares, to help her raise her daughter from a previous marriage. We divorced in 1981. It was amicable, Trebek recalled. We didnt use attorneys. . . We sold the house, and Elaine got the cash. I got a mortgage. She went out and bought another house. My mother went to live with her and continued to raise Nicky. I had no cash, so I borrowed a little money from Elaine and bought a house directly across the street from her. I know it sounds unconventional, but it suited all of us. Alex Trebeks final thoughts On being replaced as host of Jeopardy!: You could replace me as the host of the show with anybody and it would likely be just as popular. Hell, after thirty-six years with me, it might even be more popular. On Ken Jennings: When I think of Ken, I think of a quality human being. . . Hes somebody I genuinely liked as a contestant on the program. On Ken Jennings loss on the show I remember thinking, Kens gone. My buddy. My pal. This was getting to be The Ken and Alex Show. On facing cancer head-on: This morning I sat down with [his family] and told them I had made my decision. Im going to stick with this current protocol, then thats it. If it doesnt work, Ill probably stop treatment. It wasnt an easy conversation, and it isnt any easier writing these words. . . Im not afraid of dying. RELATED: Alex Trebek on How Much He Was Paid For His Memoir, The Answer Is It Wasnt John Bolton-Type Money (Photo : USA Today / YouTube) SpaceX launches with glitches, a first from the South Korean military SpaceX has yet launched another rocket on Monday to space, despite the technical glitches that delayed this blast off the previous week, CNN reported. The launch happened atop the Falcon 9 rocket, and Anasis-II mission blasted off the skies at about 2:30 p.m. Pacific standard time from Florida's Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. SpaceX confirmed that it has been deployed into space successfully. Operated by South Korean military This launch is history in the making since it is the first time that a South Korean military communications satellite will take off to space orbit. The blast-off, unlike the previous launch from Japan by the United Arab Emirates, had a delay due to weather disturbances. This is exclusive of the original date of launch last week, Tuesday, and was postponed due to glitches repaired. To give a background, the first phase of the Falcon 9 rocket launch on Monday was previously part of the May 30 launch featuring two astronauts in the International Space Station. The record-breaking 51-day turnaround time is a historic moment for the company on its rocket stage re-use. The launch of Anasis-II marks the 12th edition of the SpaceX takeoff this year, the 90th flight of Falcon 9 and the second overall for this particular space travel. The booster was first blasted off last May with NASA astronauts Bob Benhken and Doug Hurley onboard. The first stage of Falcon 9's launch on the drone ship called "Just Read the Instructions" is stationed in the Atlantic Ocean, the report pointed out further. Meticulous planning This satellite was planned to have launched on July 14 but they postponed it to make sure that the hardware will not have any glitches, thus is at the second phase. pic.twitter.com/5ITydgvQVI Comet NEOWISE over Falcon 9 and ANASIS-II vertical on SLC-40. Todays launch window opens at 5:00 p.m. EDT and closes at 8:55 p.m. EDT, and weather is looking 70% favorable https://t.co/bJFjLCzWdK SpaceX (@SpaceX) July 20, 2020 Anasis-II is South Korea's first military communications satellite, and because of its ties with the army, there is limited information about it, except that it is from the Eurostar E3000 satellite bus of Airbus. The E3000 satellite ranges from 4,500 to 6,500 kilograms at blastoff, NASA reveals. Presence in the launch Before the takeoff, South Korea's defense development agency president Sae Kyu Nam expressed regret since Nam was not able to be present during the launch because of the COVID-19 pandemic. He conducted a broadcast, and stated, "Gods are with us to pave a path toward the heavens. Falcon 9, seize the future." During the UAE spacecraft's launch the previous day, the Arab government expressed how this is a beacon of hope and pride among the youth in the area. After liftoff, and after around 32 minutes, the Anasis-II spacecraft was deployed. The webcast did not broadcast the live deployment due to the customers' requests, but it had the verbal confirmation on the video stream. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Geneva, July 15, 2020 (SPS) - A group of international human rights organizations warned governments and multinational companies that by pursuing their economic activities in the occupied Sahrawi territories they support Morocco's occupation of Western Sahara and greatly affect the Sahrawi people's right to self-determination. In a statement addressed to the 44th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, the organizations recalled that the United Nations General Assembly, in its resolution on "Economic and other activities affecting the interests of the peoples of the Non-Self-Governing Territories," had expressed its concern about all those activities aimed at exploiting natural resources to the detriment of the interests of the inhabitants of those regions. Based on this principle, the organizations stressed the need to "avoid any economic or other activities negatively affecting the interests of the Saharawi people," calling on "all governments to take the necessary measures in this regard in order to put an end to the illegal actions of companies that cause serious damage to the Saharawi people." The statement also highlighted other decisions that ruled on the illegitimacy of such actions in occupied territories such as Western Sahara, the most recent of which was the decision of the European Court of Justice (ECJ) which ruled in February 2018 that the EU-Moroccan fisheries agreement is not applicable to Western Sahara. [/ecr] SPS 125/090/TRA The Trader Joe's grocery chain says it will eliminate product labels that use ethnic-sounding names intended to be "lighthearted." Above, customers outside the Trader Joe's in Sherman Oaks on Monday. (Mel Melcon / Los Angeles Times) When Trader Joe's founder Joe Coulombe died earlier this year, he was hailed as a marketing whiz, a retail visionary. He had opened a small, nautical-themed market in South Pasadena in 1967 and watched it grow into an empire of nearly 500 stores nationwide. But today that empire, known for its trading-post motif and international product lines, has come under attack for its branding of ethnic foods. The names Trader Mings, Arabian Joes, Trader Joses, Trader Giottos and Trader Joe San appear on items such as habanero and lime salsa, gyoza dipping sauce and artichoke antipasto. The popular Southern California institution has created a narrative of exoticism," according to an online petition posted about two weeks ago calling for Trader Joes to remove and rebrand a variety of products with racist labeling. The Trader Joe's branding is racist because it exoticizes other cultures it presents Joe as the default normal and the other characters falling outside of it, said the petition posted by 17-year-old Briones Bedell. In a statement, Trader Joes which Coulombe sold in 1979 to German supermarket chain Aldi acknowledged that its approach to product naming, rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness ... may now have the opposite effect. A spokeswoman said the company is changing the packaging and expects to complete the process very soon. What once was considered successful marketing has been shaken by a cultural moment that took hold in the aftermath of George Floyd's death and the Black Lives Matter demonstrations. Trader Joes had famously thrived on the presumption that alls fair in the name of free enterprise and commerce, and consumers responded, drawn to its quirky themes and budget pricing. But over the last few months, public spaces have lost statues, buildings have been stripped of names, and now consumer products are having a day of reckoning amid a nationwide reconsideration of once popularly accepted precepts. Story continues Land OLakes has removed the image of a Native American woman from its butter products, and images of Black men and women on product lines such as Aunt Jemima, Uncle Bens and Mrs. Butterworth's are in for a makeover, if they survive at all. The Eskimo Pie name also is being replaced. Long gone are the days when the communication between brands and consumers was one way, said Maria Rodas, a professor of marketing at USC. Consumers have more power than ever, given the huge amount of information at their fingertips, how connected they all are and the easy access to social media platforms that help broadcast their messages. Rodas is not surprised that Trader Joes has come under fire. Brands are symbols, and some of them are even cultural symbols, she said. Years ago, people would buy a product mainly for its functional benefits, but now people expect more of brands and hold them to higher standards. Cultural critic M.G. Lord, whose book "Forever Barbie: The Unauthorized Biography of a Real Doll, examined popular perceptions of that icon, wonders why these brand names were not eliminated sooner. She cites Aunt Jemima and Uncle Ben's in particular. The Aunt and Uncle clearly reference the way honorifics like Mrs. and Mr. were withheld from older enslaved people, Lord said Monday. In her petition, Briones also calls into question the companys story about the origin of the markets nautical theme. According to the company's website, at the time Coulombe founded the chain, he had been reading a book called White Shadows in the South Seas, and hed been to the Disneyland Jungle Trip ride, and it all just coalesced. But "White Shadows," written by Frederick OBrien and published in 1919, is far from romantic. The book, according to critics, portrays white capitalists as destroyers of native culture. The story was made into a 1928 silent movie that was considered a technical and artistic landmark at the time. But Briones and other critics accuse the narrative of perpetuating the myth of the noble savage and the white god. Her petition also criticizes the use of stereotypes in Disneylands Jungle Cruise. Inside the Trader Joes in Temecula, shoppers crowded the aisles on Monday. Loyal to their store, they were either unconcerned or hadnt paid attention to the controversy caused by the product labeling. Britny Montano, 30, drove across town to the store for the ethnic foods, she said, preferring most the Asian curry. I honestly never noticed the product names or found anything offensive, she said. But its difficult because as a person of color, I can see the harm. Standing in front of a row of cereal boxes, Sarah Adams said it would not stop her from buying her favorite snacks. It doesnt bother me, I guess that might be my privilege showing, she said. I dont think they meant anything derogatory by the names, but if many people are upset, then I think they should change them. Another shopper, Doria Christie, showed no compunction pulling out of her shopping cart her Trader Giottos Bambino Pizza Formaggio. Im Italian, and I dont take offense to it, she said. They could put weird photos on these products, and Id still buy them. Trader Joes cant do anything wrong. Such loyalty is to be expected, said Rodas, who puts Trader Joes in a different category than the other branding controversies. Trader Joses and those other names are just one aspect of the whimsical shopping experience at Trader Joes, which makes it easy to overlook, she said. In a recent pricing disclaimer, the company cited "fluctuating market prices, federal regulations, currency rates, drought, bandits, rush hour traffic, filibusters, the zombie apocalypse, punctilious product developers. Meanwhile, Briones and her family have stopped patronizing Trader Joe's for the time being. Briones said in a phone interview with The Times that she is encouraged by the companys response but wants a commitment to a timetable for removing the products and their ethnic-themes labels. She knows that her complaint against Trader Joe's pales next to police brutality, but that the current climate of activism is a ripe moment to question the microaggressions that build up to greater harm. Tubulis today announced the close of a 10.7 million Series A financing round to accelerate the development of a new class of highly stable and efficient antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and to support the further growth of the company. The financing round was co-led by BioMedPartners and High-Tech Grunderfonds (HTGF) with support from Seventure Partners, coparion, Bayern Kapital, and OCCIDENT alongside significant contributions by high net worth individuals and the founders. Tubulis was spun out in 2019 from the Leibniz Research Institute in Berlin (FMP) and the Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich with the aim of expanding the therapeutic potential of ADCs for cancer and other disease indications. "Tubulis' objective is to use our dual platform approach to generate uniquely matched and disease-specific ADCs that combine selective antibodies with effective payloads," said Dominik Schumacher, CEO and co-founder of Tubulis. "The funding committed by this experienced syndicate represents a validation of our technology and reflects the recent renaissance in ADC development in our industry. These proceeds will enable us to continue validating our platforms and to move our first two selected ADC candidates towards the clinic." Michael Wacker, Partner at BioMed Partners commented: "Tubulis is tackling the limitations of current ADCs head-on and is helping to shape the future of ADCs for the treatment of a broad range of diseases. We look forward to supporting the team at Tubulis as they continue to build the company in a growing field with a high need for innovative solutions." Tubulis' uniquely versatile and customizable ADC technology portfolio consists of two proprietary technologies which are based on scientific discoveries made in the research groups of Prof. Christian Hackenberger (FMP), Prof. Heinrich Leonhardt (LMU) and Dr. Jonas Helma-Smets, who are all co-founders of the company. Jonas Helma-Smets also joined the company as CSO. The platforms accommodate the complexities of modern ADC design with regard to protein format, payload potency and payload hydrophobicity. P5 conjugation is a novel chemistry for cysteine-selective conjugation. It allows for ultra-stable ADC generation with unprecedented linker stability and chemical flexibility, enabling rapid lead identification. The Tub-tag platform was inspired by microtubule biology and adds a significant amount of stability to the ADC product candidates by modulating the antibody to provide a highly beneficial microenvironment for the payload. Moreover, the human-derived nature of the Tub-tag reduces the risk of unwanted immune responses. Combining these platforms addresses the main bottlenecks in the field, ADC stability and payload-driven toxicity. Tubulis will prioritize the use of these technologies for internal drug discovery and development activities to generate uniquely matched antibody-drug conjugates, tailored to the respective indication. During the spin-out phase the company has already been recognized by several early-stage start-up awards including the Outstanding Start-up Award at Venture.Med 2019, the Leibniz Entrepreneurship Award as well as being an official EIT Health success story. Tubulis is an EIT Health Investor Network supported company. About Tubulis Tubulis generates uniquely matched protein-drug conjugates by combining proprietary novel technologies with disease-specific biology. Our goal is to expand the therapeutic potential of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) ushering in a new era and delivering better outcomes for patients. Employing the company's proprietary ADC development approach, Tubulis will advance a variety of conjugates, unlimited by indication. For more information visit www.tubulis.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. About BioMedPartners Based in Basel, Switzerland, BioMedPartners is an independent European venture capital firm that acts as lead-or co-lead investor providing private equity to early- to mid-stage life sciences companies. Since 2002, BioMedPartners has invested in several highly innovative companies of which twenty-two have already either successfully been acquired by leading biopharma companies or have completed an IPO. With more than CHF 350 million in capital under management and a strong team of experienced industry experts as well as an extensive scientific and pharma network, BioMedPartners has established itself as one of the leading early-stage human healthcare investors in Europe. In February 2018 the company announced the closing of BioMedInvest III, their third equity venture capital fund of CHF 100 million. In this third fund BioMedPartners is focusing on the build-up of companies with highly innovative early stage assets and technology platforms. One of the first investments of BioMedInvest III was in the Swiss immuno-oncology company Amal SA (Geneva) which has been acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim in June 2019. For more information, please visit www.biomedvc.com. About High-Tech Grunderfonds High-Tech Grunderfonds (HTGF) is a seed investor that finances high-potential, techdriven start-ups. With around EUR 900 million in total investment volume across three funds and an international network of partners, HTGF has already helped forge almost 600 start-ups since 2005. Driven by their expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion, its team of experienced investment managers and startup experts help guide the development of young companies. HTGF's focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital business models, industrial technology, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected over EUR 2.5 billion into the HTGF portfolio via more than 1,600 follow-on financing rounds. HTGF has also successfully sold interests in more than 100 companies. Investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, KfW Capital, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and 32 companies. Our fund investors. About Seventure Partners With 750m net commitments under management as of the end of 2018, Seventure Partners is a leading venture capital firm in Europe. Since 1997, Seventure Partners has been investing in innovative businesses with high growth potential in two fields: Life sciences across Europe, Israel, Asia and North America and Digital technologies in France and Germany. In Life sciences, the main areas of focus include "classic" approaches such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, diagnostic and medtech, industrial biotechnology, as well as "beyond the pill" approaches such as MICROBIOME-linked innovations, nutrition, foodtech, digital/connected health and personalized medicine. For more details: http://www.seventure.fr/enTwitter: @seventurep About coparion coparion provides venture capital to accelerate momentum and growth. With a current active fund of EUR 275m coparion has the means to do so. coparion supports entrepreneurial vision with know-how, but without intervening in daily business operations. Thanks to in-depth experience in venture capital and in building companies, the coparion team discerns potentials and opens up new perspectives. coparion only invests with co-investors. The fund invests up to EUR 10m per company, usually in several financing rounds of EUR 1-5m each. Investment focus is on German companies in the start-up and early growth phase. coparion is based in Cologne and Berlin. www.coparion.vc About Bayern Kapital Bayern Kapital GmbH, based in Landshut, was founded on the initiative of the Bavarian government in 1995. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bavarian LfA Forderbank. As the venture capital organisation of the Land of Bavaria, Bayern Kapital provides equity capital financing for the founders of young innovative technology companies in Bavaria. Presently Bayern Kapital manages thirteen investment funds with a total volume of around 500m. So far, it has invested roughly 330m in about 280 innovative companies in the fields of technology in various sectors including life science, software IT, medical technology, materials and new materials, nanotechnology and environmental technology. In this way, more than 7500 long-term jobs in sustainable companies have been created in Bavaria. www.bayernkapital.de About OCCIDENT OCCIDENT is an international venture capital investor with offices in Zug and Munich, is owner-managed and invests own wealth. Its aim is to make a positive contribution to society through sustainable and meaningful investments. OCCIDENT invests in innovative deep tech start-ups with excellent technologies in the fields of life sciences, digital and high-tech with broad application possibilities and the potential for further value-generating developments. The geographic focus is Germany and Switzerland. The preferred stage for initial financing is from seed rounds or later and from 0.5 million euros. OCCIDENT distinguishes itself in particular by its in-depth knowledge of the technology and the versatile support offered to its portfolio companies by its competent team of experts. For more information, please visit www.occident.group. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005404/en/ Contacts: For Tubulis Dominik Schumacher, CEO Co-Founder Phone: 49 (0) 89 2180 74233 Email: info@tubulis.com Media Requests for Tubulis Trophic Communications Stephanie May or Laura Mittmann Phone: +49 (0) 171 185 5682 Email: tubulis@trophic.eu A blockbuster legal battle against eight insurers kicked off yesterday over their refusal to pay out business interruption claims to thousands of small firms. In the first day of the High Court case, which is being brought by the City watchdog against some of the industry's largest firms, lawyers for the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ridiculed insurers for comparing the Government's lockdown order to its guidance on eating your 'five a day'. Insurers had been seeking to claim that some businesses were not forced to shut down during the pandemic, and instead did so voluntarily so should not receive business interruption payments. High court battle: Lawyers for the Financial Conduct Authority ridiculed insurers for comparing the Government's lockdown order to its guidance on eating your 'five a day' They said that the Government's stay-at-home advice was similar to its guidance to the public to eat five portions of fruit and vegetables every day. But Colin Edelman QC, for the FCA, said: 'In times of emergency and crisis, the Government and the public understand the difference between what the Government was telling them to do in March of this year and exhortations to eat more fruit and vegetables and to drink less alcohol.' The case, which is being held online, was watched by several small businesses who claim they are at risk of going bust if their claims are not honoured. Mark Killick, who founded the Hiscox Action Group to stand up for Hiscox policyholders, said that a handful of the group's members including an arts centre in south-west London had already collapsed. The urgency of the test case cannot be understated, he added. The first day of the trial saw Edelman begin to lay out the FCA's claims as to why certain policies should pay out. Cafe owner stunned by Hiscox's refusal Daniel Duckett, owner of the Lazy Claire Patisserie in Belfast, was one of the thousands of policyholders left devastated when his insurance firm refused to pay out. He opened his cafe two years ago, and bought a business interruption policy with Hiscox. A real battle: Daniel Duckett was refused a pay-out after he was forced to close his Belfast cafe In mid-March, he contacted them saying he would have to close as he could no longer keep the cafe open during the pandemic while following Government guidelines. But he found Hiscox slow to respond. By April 1, when cash was running low, he sent an email urging the firm to let him know when he could expect his payout but they told him his claim had been refused. 'It's been a real battle with Hiscox,' he said. 'I haven't received any proper empathy. They just seemed determined to say no. 'The worst thing was on April 27 they sent me a seven-page email saying why the policy doesn't apply. 'They told me I should still be open for takeaways but that wouldn't have covered the costs of paying my staff.' He believes the firm has taken a blanket approach to turning down claims, without looking at any of the nuances of its policyholders' circumstances. He added: 'It's really taken its toll on me.' Hiscox said: 'We welcome hearing all proposals to expedite resolution of any dispute, which is why we have agreed to participate in the FCA's expedited court-based process, and we will work with all parties to achieve this.' The FCA is challenging a select number of policies offered by Arch Insurance, Argenta Syndicate Management, Ecclesiastical Insurance Office, Hiscox, MS Amlin, QBE, Royal & Sun Alliance and Zurich. But the findings of the case will be applied across the insurance industry, and could potentially affect more than 50 insurers and 370,000 policyholders. The FCA's opening submissions are set to continue until tomorrow. Edelman and Leigh-Ann Mulcahy QC will argue that insurers were wrong to deny claims because there had not been a medically diagnosed case within the policyholders' premises. The barristers will also claim that insurers were wrong to expect some businesses to remain open throughout lockdown. Thousands of businesses were relying on the payout under their business interruption policy which is designed to reimburse a firm for lost income if it is forced to close its doors to cover rent and loan repayments. But companies from restaurants to record labels were left horrified when their insurers claimed the pandemic did not trigger their business interruption clause. If the two judges Lord Justice Flaux and Mr Justice Butcher find in the FCA's favour, the insurers could be on the hook for more than 1billion of payouts. Killick, who is creative director of PR agency Mediazoo and was himself denied a payout by Hiscox, said: 'We set up the Hiscox Action Group at the beginning of March and we went to 700 members in two months. 'The desperation from business owners is extraordinary. There are hundreds hanging on by a thread.' Each ceremony had the markings of graduation: smiling and giggling seniors, caps and gowns, balloons and flower bouquets, diplomas, faculty and administration and the speeches. And yet something still didnt seem the same. Last week the graduating seniors from all three Dearborn high schools attended ceremonies to receive their diplomas. In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, high school graduation ceremonies have had to accommodate certain changes and restrictions. Arriving at assigned times, Dearborn students stood in line, checked in, got their name cards and program, and then proceeded in an orderly fashion to receive their diploma, all while properly socially distanced. Once at the dais their name was read aloud and they were handed their diploma, photographed, and then sent on their way. After leaving the small gymnasium and walking across the courtyard the schools main entrance, Edsel Ford High School, students and parents walked down the parallel aisleways inside the school auditorium. After receiving their diploma, the EFHS grads walked down a red carpet where the faculty congratulated each. At Dearborn High, the process was nearly the same but took place outside in front of the school. Parents were to follow along in their cars through the driveway. The process was similar at Fordson High School. The students proceeded across the practice field to receive their diplomas, trailed by their parents, and then exited the property at Neckel Street. The graduation ceremonies were longer than normal but were created and streamlined in a way to best accommodate social distancing and safe guidelines as established by both Governor Whitmer and the CDC. Principals from the various Dearborn high schools met almost every week during the shutdown to determine the best options available to honor the students. Supt. Glenn Maleyko also met with both students and high school principals. The district sent out a survey to students and parents to gather their perspective. All of the information from the meetings, survey, and Governors Executive Orders were taken into account. Each building then had a team determine the logistics and specifics for the event at their school. The class of 2020 earned over $8,000,000 in scholarships, Maleyko said. We have students going on to Harvard, MIT, Brown, Yale, University of Pennsylvania, Columbia, Princeton, UC Berkeley, and Cornell. However, the most memorable attribute was their willingness to put safety first and accept the consequences of this pandemic. They have demonstrated flexibility, humility, kindness and concern for others. Students at the graduations seemed unfazed by the restrictions and social distancing requirements. Smiles, giggles and a general celebratory mood prevailed at all three of the larger ceremonies this past week. The students of the Class of 2020 were born around the horrific tragedy of 9/11 and have come to show their resilience in the face of challenges as they endure the COVID19 pandemic. Dearborn High School recognized the outstanding achievements of their valedictorian Cindy Hakim and salutatorian Dania Alazawi. A highlight of the Dearborn High School program was when three brothers, triplets, Anthony, Timothy, and Joseph Al Aziz all walked the line together at the ceremony on Tuesday. Students Ahmed Alshemmam was awarded as valedictorian and Samantha Davies as salutatorian at Edsel Ford High School. The two co-valedictorians from Fordson High School grabbed attention for their achievements. Mahdi Hassan Abdallah will be attending MIT. Ibrahim Nasser Qasem emigrated to the United States from Yemen in 2009, not able to speak English and yet become active in many school clubs as well the National Honor Society. Each advancement ceremony at Dearborn, Edsel Ford and Fordson High Schools lasted three or more hours. The ceremonies took longer to honor the social distancing requirements and to ensure everyone in attendance was being safe during the events. Persistent all of the graduation ceremonies was the constant loop of the traditional music, Pomp and Circumstance. The music, written as a march by Sir Edward Elgar in 1901, was first played as The Graduation March in 1905 at Yale University. Teachers and staff who worked each event had to endure the music for extended periods of time. Honestly, once the students arrive you only focus on their smiles, faces and happiness. The music just fades in the background, Maleyko said. Dearborn Public Schools awarded diplomas to 1,803 students in 6 high school educational programs. EFHS graduated 378; Dearborn High advanced 524; and Fordson High School accelerated 686. The Dearborn Public Schools Media Department streamed each ceremony live on their DPS Facebook page. Videos from each event can be viewed there as well as the districts YouTube page. Christian Island community members are raising $10,000 for fellow First Nations members who lost their home in a weekend fire. At 1:48 a.m. Sunday, Duncan and Marylou Carruthers called in a structure fire that had started in their house on the Beausoleil Island First Nation reserve, said Dan Monague, administrator for the First Nation. They were asleep, he said, adding, (The Carruthers) were able to escape without any injuries, but they lost all the content. That means a lot of memories, said Monague, adding, the couple had been in the house for about 20 years but didnt have homeowners insurance. As a result of the loss, the community rallied behind the couple to start a Go Fund Me Campaign that had already raised $3,775 of its $10,000 target by 4 p.m. Monday. The community is (also) participating with donations for food and just being there for them, said Monague. The community is a very, very caring community and in times of crisis everybody steps up to help as much as they can. The money will go to help them furnish a new home or pay rent if they have to leave their residence, he said. It will (also) assist with day-to-day living expenses, said Monague. Currently, the pair is being housed in a temporary residence that is owned by the First Nation, he said. Luckily, we had space to put them (up) immediately, said Monague. Its a rental unit that the First Nation owns and it had been cleaned and sanitized. We have them housed there free of charge, until theyre housed properly. At this time, he said, he did not feel comfortable connecting the family with the media for an interview. (Marylou) is very distraught at the incident, Monague said. A lot of it is just the shock of it. What normally happens when people lose everything is that theyre in shock and trying to deal with the loss. He said theyre a well-known family, who are always very helpful and contribute to community events in anyway they can. Id like to thank everyone thats participated so far, said Monague, adding, just keep on sharing it and hopefully well meet the goal. The campaign, he said, is open until the target amount or a number beyond that has been collected. Correction July 21, 2020: This article was edited from a previous version that mistakenly said Christian Island is located near Georgian Bay. building Fund The 27 EU States decided on Tuesday, a drastic change in the financial architecture of the Union. On the one they created for the first time with the Corona-building Fund a huge special pot in addition to the regular EU budget framework from 2021 to 2027 in the amount of 750 billion euros. The other is to change the financing of the EU fundamentally. Here are the main Details: Because of the Corona-crisis and the economic collapse of the EU summit decided to arrange a special Fund of 750 billion euros for particularly affected countries. 390 billion euros to be offered as grants , 360 billion as credits . 70 percent of which will be spent in the years 2021 and 2022, 30 percent are reserved for the year 2023. The distribution mainly depends on how strong the economic power is shrinking in the years 2020 and 2021. In 2022, the payments for 2023 will be checked. The affected States to submit plans for the use of, the checks by the EU Commission within two months. The criteria depend on the country-specific recommendations, the EU Commission draws up anyway. A prerequisite for the release of funds should be, that money will also be used for climate protection and digitization projects. The EU governments must approve the Commission decision with a qualified majority. This is not to guarantee that the grants be included in the normal budget of the EU States. If "one or more" governments in doubt, you can apply for a debate on the next EU summit. FINANCING AND REPAYMENT for the First time, the EU is allowed-Commission, on a large scale to take on debt. The bonds about 750 billion euros, will run until the year 2058. The repayment is to start before 2027 and the EU budget are made. The Federal government had emphasized that the uniqueness of the crisis, this unique promotional campaign is finished. This should not be an entry into a "debt Union". The French President, Emmanuel Macron praised on Tuesday, however, that the EU is doing now for the first time, a common debt. THE EU the repayment of the large sum from the EU budget, not the normal work of the EU lame, the EU, my sources . In the beginning of 2021 will be a plastic surgery tax introduced on non-recyclable plastic. In addition, the EU will develop Commission plans for a digital tax and a CO2 tax . This will be introduced "at the latest, 2023". With the border tax on imports from countries will be hit, which do not have stringent climate protection targets of the EU. This is to guarantee equal conditions of competition for EU companies, especially as the EU plans at the same time, an increase in CO2 pollution rates. In addition, the air and ship traffic should be included in the emissions trading . As a separate source of revenue for the EU a financial transaction tax will be introduced. The new revenues should be used for the early repayment of the bonds in the construction Fund, - stated in the decision. the EU budget framework in addition, the EU decided to the normal budgetary framework of the Union from 2021 to 2027. This should have a volume of 1,074 trillion Euro . Because the UK leaves the EU, must be compensated for the gap in the British contribution. Therefore, the payments especially the net payers such as Germany in the coming years will increase significantly. After the abolition of the UK rebate, the rebate system had to be negotiated in the EU. The EU is holding on to the discount scheme however, for Austria, the Netherlands, Sweden and Denmark to rise very much stronger than for Germany relieved less. rule of LAW The linking of EU payments to the rule of law was one of the dispute the part is. The decision is now limited to two elements: firstly, it is emphasized that the financial interests of the EU must be respected and the rule of law rules are important. On the other hand, the Commission is tasked with a concept to present as a "Regime of conditions for the protection of the budget" can be introduced. The EU Council should adopt measures in case of a breach of these rules by a qualified majority, this is likely to once again trigger a heated debate. Since, however, no unanimity in this decision necessary, increases the likelihood that the rule of law infringements can be sanctioned. Updated Date: 21 July 2020, 05:20 FP Trending A team of hundreds of researchers has come to the conclusion that some immediate changes need to be adopted to support biodiversity. The new study, which combines the work of 360 researchers from 42 different nations, "agroecological principles" should be integrated into modern farming methods if we want to preserve biodiversity. The farming industry, as a whole, takes up nearly a third of global landmass and poses a threat to 62 percent of species considered endangered. The team of scientists, led by the University of Gottingen and Westlake University in China, has proposed a system in which farmers, indigenous communities, and local residents work alongside scientists in a move towards sustainable farming. The study's authors argue that reversing the trend of species decline is of utmost importance in keeping the earth's biosphere working properly. For this to happen, some of the biggest sectors of the economy need to work in coordination. Data from the study suggest we need to do away with "intensive farming", which makes us of a lot of pesticides and fertiliser, which have known negative effects on biodiversity. The scientists plan to include these recommendations in the post-2020 'Global Biodiversity Framework' a set of guidelines to help reduce loss of biodiversity, which will be reviewed during the UN Biodiversity Conference at the 15th Convention of the Parties (COP15) meeting in China, according to a press release published by the University of Gottingen. The researchers are hoping their findings, which have been acknowledged by the UN COP15, stimulates a dialogue in the policy arena around making necessary, positive changes to modern agriculture and production. "The importance of agroecology to change agriculture and protect biodiversity has been recognized by many top-level organizations, in the scientific community and by practitioners," Dr Thomas Cherico Wanger, the lead author of the reports, was quoted to have said in the release. "[This] is also reflected in the number and affiliations of signatories of our Correspondence." The correspondence research article was published in the journal Nature Ecology and Evolution. Hong Kong once seemed like a model for how to control the coronavirus. Schools were open. Restaurants and malls buzzed with crowds. Buses and trains operated as usual, with residents dutifully wearing face masks on board. But a new wave of infections in recent days has put the city on edge. Hospitals are now seeing more cases a day than they ever have during the pandemic. More important, health officials are unable to determine the origin of many of these cases, despite having a robust contact tracing system in place. The government reported 73 cases Monday, one of the highest totals for a single day since the coronavirus emerged nearly seven months ago in mainland China. In short order, the virus has spread across the city, infecting clerical staff at a government-run eye clinic, residents at a senior center and cleaning workers at the airport. The situation is very serious, and there is no sign of it coming under control, Carrie Lam, chief executive of Hong Kong, said Sunday as she announced new restrictions aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. As governments around the world look to relax rules put in place to combat the virus, Hong Kongs experience provides a cautionary tale. 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 Lifting social distancing restrictions too swiftly, experts say, can open the door to fresh outbreaks. And with a vaccine still many months away, they say, even the most vigilant countries are susceptible to sudden surges in cases. China, Japan, South Korea and Australia are all grappling with outbreaks of the virus. Its really, really alarming, David Hui, director of the Stanley Ho Center for Emerging Infectious Diseases at the Chinese University of Hong Kong, said of the recent outbreak. Once you loosen the restrictions too much, you face a rebound. The city had been widely praised by international experts for its response to the pandemic. It moved quickly to tighten its borders and impose quarantine rules, containing outbreaks traced first to travelers from mainland China and then to Hong Kong residents returning from Europe and the United States. But the latest outbreak has puzzled top health experts. Officials have so far been unable to trace how a significant number of people caught the virus, a worrisome sign, epidemiologists say, that makes it more difficult to break the chain of transmission. Most people who tested positive for the virus have not traveled and have not been linked to known clusters. Hui said that previous outbreaks in Hong Kong were effectively contained before they could spread in the community unchecked. You could just isolate close contacts, quarantine them and stop the outbreak, he said. This time, he said, its quite difficult because we had a lot of silent transmission that has entered Hong Kong already. Many residents have attributed the outbreak to people who have entered Hong Kong recently without undergoing the standard 14-day quarantine. They have urged the government to stop granting exemptions to some business travelers and airplane pilots, but the government, which is struggling with a recession, has defended the exemptions as necessary. After easing restrictions on daily life in recent weeks, Hong Kong officials are once again imposing tough measures aimed at slowing the spread of the virus. Masks are required indoors in public spaces, and dining at restaurants after 6 p.m. is banned. The government has ordered gyms, movie theaters and swimming pools to close once again. About 40% of government workers have been asked to stay home. Chuang Shuk-kwan, a top health official, did not rule out the possibility of imposing a curfew or a lockdown if the number of cases grew exponentially. Of course, we hope the situation wouldnt reach that stage, Chuang said at a news conference Monday. The government is expanding its testing of residents, especially of those considered to be at a high risk of contracting the virus, including older adults, taxi drivers and restaurant workers. Officials say they are processing about 10,000 tests a day, and health workers have distributed testing kits in residential compounds where clusters have emerged. Medical workers say they worry that an influx of coronavirus patients could overwhelm the citys crowded hospitals. Health officials said Monday that 71% of the 1,700 beds in isolation wards in the citys hospitals were already in use. Most coronavirus patients, however, are in stable condition, with only 36 considered to be seriously or critically ill. A dozen people have died from the virus during the pandemic. Adding to the strain, many isolation wards in Hong Kong are crowded with young patients who show no symptoms of the virus but are required to stay until they test negative. Doctors worry this could lead to a lack of space for older patients or those with more severe symptoms who need urgent medical attention. Lam, Hong Kongs leader, said Sunday that authorities were planning to use some 300 beds at a resort to isolate patients with mild symptoms. The government has said it would build a large quarantine center by the end of the year to accommodate 2,000 people, which could help ease overcrowding if cases rise again later in the year when the temperature drops. As hospitals move swiftly to convert facilities to treat only people with the coronavirus, a further surge in such cases could leave patients with other conditions suffering, experts said. Arisina Ma, president of the Hong Kong Public Doctors Association, said some patients with other conditions have waited months for procedures and might not be able to seek treatment if coronavirus cases continue to rise. We have quarantine facilities, but the stress on our hospital services is still tremendous, she said. It seems our health care system has been paralyzed by COVID. c.2020 The New York Times Company Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) Four former Department of Health (DOH) chiefs are asking the government to urgently implement the Universal Health Care (UHC) Law, which has been delayed due to funding concerns that have been worsened by the COVID-19 pandemic. Coming from four different administrations, the ex-Health secretaries who are making the call are Dr. Jaime Galvez-Tan (under President Fidel Ramos), Dr. Esperanza Cabral (under President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo), Dr. Enrique Ona (under President Noynoy Aquino) and Dr. Paulyn Ubial (under President Rodrigo Duterte). They said the Duterte administration must accelerate the implementation of UHC Law to address the resurging COVID-19 pandemic. In order to attain our goals as specified in that law, we have to start. And what better time to start but start right now, when we are facing a pandemic, Ubial said in an online forum Tuesday morning. The UHC Law aims to give all Filipinos access to essential health services while protecting them from financial difficulties as a result. It automatically enrolls all Filipino citizens to the countrys healthcare insurance program (PhilHealth) as direct or indirect contributors. The law also seeks to assign every Filipino to a primary care provider and health worker, who shall be his or her first contact of health care. Primary care providers will then deliver free important health services and guide patients through different health care facilities. Duterte signed the law in February 2019, while Health Secretary Francisco Duque approved its rules and regulations after eight months. However, in June PhilHealth President and CEO Ricardo Morales recommended to Congress to delay the laws implementation. Morales said to lawmakers that the agency has not received significant payments from contributors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The former health chiefs said they are worried about the impact of the delay of the laws implementation to ordinary Filipinos. Gusto nating magkaroon tayo ng tinatawag na equity or ibig sabihin ho lahat makakakuha ng adequate health care, hindi lamang yung mga may kaya, Ona said. [Translation: We want to have what we call equity, wherein everyone and not only those who can afford has access to adequate health care.] He added that the government must also pay attention on how the DOH and PhilHealth could have enough funds for the UHC law. The administrations economic managers earlier said they may realign some funds of other agencies for the laws implementation. Mr. Ona also suggested the need for a National ID system which can be used for contact tracing of possible COVID patients. Ubial, meanwhile, said its not all about the money but the integration of units hospitals, patients, communities, among others. She explained the implementation of UHC law will involve the public even more on programs that aim to prevent the virus from spreading. Whats important is for people to understand, 'Ano ba ang sakit?' 'Ano ba ang COVID?' 'Paano ba maiiwasan ito?' Walang masyadong information na kumakalat. Ang kumakalat eh, 'Huwag kayong lumabas,' 'Mag-face mask kayo.' Eh bakit hindi ako lalabas? Bakit hindi ako magfa-face mask? Walang nag-e-explain sa mga tao. [Translation: Whats important is for people to understand, "What is a sickness? What is COVID? How can we prevent it?" There are not much information (on those) going around. Instead, currently circulating are orders such as, "Don't go outside. Wear face masks." But why should I not go outside? Why should I wear a face mask? No one is explaining that to people.] For his part, Galvez-Tan said the law will also empower communities, families, youth, and women on the fight against the virus. He explained that the law has programs on promoting good health and nutrition even on the grassroots level and far-flung places. Sa ngayong panahon mas lalo itong kailangan kasi ang panlaban sa COVID ay nasa komunidad talaga, Galvez-Tan added. [Translation: It is much more needed in this time, because fighting COVID really rests with the community.] Cabral, meanwhile, said she is hoping the Duterte administration would take their comments, as now private citizens, in a constructive manner. It is the function of the private sector to call out government for incompetence, dishonesty and other faults if there would be any, Cabral added. Ljubljana Joze Pucnik Airport is continuing in its attempt to secure flights from the Gulf, despite the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The airport has been trying to negotiate services to the region for the past six years. In a recent interview to the Vecer daily, the General Manager of Ljubljana Airport, Zmago Skobir, said, We currently have seventeen airlines serving Slovenia. This includes carriers from all three of the major alliances in Europe: the groups focusing around Lufthansa, British Airways and Air France. These three carriers offer connections practically to the entire world, as well as competitive prices. The next one we want is one of the big Arab carriers. Either Emirates, Flydubai or Qatar Airways, which have so far offered very competitive connections to the Asian market". The Slovenian government has also pursued talks with the United Arab Emirates over potential flights to Ljubljana. Just prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Mr Skobir said, The East continues to be another big market for us which is mostly served through Turkish Airlines. In my opinion, we do need flights to the Arabian Peninsula, which would act as a transfer point to other destinations. These are primarily Dubai and Doha. We have been working hard on this matter over the past six years, and we expect progress very soon. Almost all markets in the former Yugoslavia are linked to the Gulf, however, Emirates recently cancelled its service to Zagreb for the rest of the year due to the global health crisis, while both Qatar Airways and Flydubai have delayed their service resumption to Skopje until later on in the year. Over the years, several airlines have expressed interest in linking the Gulf with Slovenia. In 2017, Qatar Airways' CEO, Akbar Al Baker, noted, "Ljubljana is being looked at. We have many destinations we plan to operate with our narrow-bodies". In 2018, the now-bankrupt Slovenian national carrier, Adria Airways, said, "Further afield we are looking at Dubai. Unfortunately, currently do not have the right aircraft with which we can fly there". Although the coronavirus pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on the aviation industry, it has also opened up new opportunities with some airlines quickly responding to new market conditions and launching new services. "America's largest indoor water park" will open Nov. 12 in Round Rock, according to a news release by Kalahari Resorts. The "authentically African-themed" Wisconsin-based company announced its plans in 2016 to build its first property in Texas. In 2018, it broke ground at its Round Rock location. The company said Sunday in the release that the construction process is on track for its opening date. Kalahari Resorts, which is known for its massive indoor water parks, operates three properties in Pennsylvania, Ohio and Wisconsin. According to the company, the Round Rock location will be the largest in its business and in the country. The site, which will be located off of U.S. 79 just across from Dell Diamond, is a $550 million, 350-acre complex that will include 20 indoor pools, 30 waterslides, 975 guest rooms and five restaurants. The massive building will also have three acres of outdoor pools as well as a rock-climbing wall, an adult grotto swim-up bar, a 23-foot LED projection TV screen and an 80,000 square foot adventure park. To highlight its "African-theme" design, the company installed 22 life-size sculptures - 12 elephants, seven zebras, a mother and her baby rhinoceros and a cape buffalo. It took 15 months to complete the structures as each stand about 10-feet tall and weigh around 10,000 pounds, according to the news release. The company estimates it will hire 700 employees. Open positions include lifeguards, managerial staff, culinary staff and information technology work employees. Virtual career exhibitions are hosted every Wednesday by Workforce Solutions Rural Capital Area. Scroll below to see photos and renderings of the Round Rock resort. It never ceases to amaze me how more people arent outraged, shocked and disgusted by President Donald Trumps cruelty and malfeasance. More than 140,000 Americans are now dead because of the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than 3 million have contracted the disease. Furthermore, our outlook in this country is dire: Cases are surging and the number of dead continues to climb. This is still the first wave; a second wave could simply pile on and be catastrophic. And yet Trumps cronies are attacking Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations leading infectious disease expert, demanding that all schools reopen in the fall even as the virus rages, and continuing to tell the lie that the reason we have more cases is because we have more tests. Trump has so completely politicized the pandemic that people now routinely refuse to wear masks in public places, insisting that being compelled to wear them is an infringement on their rights. Republican lawmakers for their part offer only the mildest contradictions to Trumps deadly leadership, if they offer any at all. Young people are now gathering at bars and parties, exhausted by isolation, and no doubt having absorbed some of the myth that they are invincible and that the pandemic will be fleeting. But instead of demonstrating leadership and doing the simplest and most effective things he could do insisting on a nationwide mask order, as well as ramping up testing and contact tracing Trump appears to be doing the opposite. Trump is simply putting his head in the sand and attempting to wish the virus away, or lie it away, or let it take its victims until there are no more to be had. And he doesnt seem to want to know the true impact of the virus, nor does he want the public to know. As the New York Times reported, Senate Republicans had crafted a proposal for yet another round of pandemic aid, this one including billions for more testing and contact tracing, as well as money for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and the National Institutes for Public Health, but the White House balked at these funding measures. This obstruction will lead to more Americans dying. Not to mention that the White House proposal for the new bill includes eliminating a proposed $2 billion allocated to the Indian Health Service, which is responsible for providing medical care to more than half of the nations tribal citizens and Alaska natives, who have been devastated by the pandemic and are particularly vulnerable to the virus, according to the Times. Add to this the fact that the administration has said that it might continue to separate children from their parents and hold the parents in detention facilities, even after a federal judge ruled that children should be released because outbreaks of COVID-19 had rendered conditions at the facilities unsafe and unconstitutional. But the Trump administration has countered, The remedy for a constitutional violation of conditions of confinement is to remedy the violation, not to release petitioners. Add to that the fact that the Trump administration submitted a brief last month asking the Supreme Court to overturn the Affordable Care Act in the middle of this pandemic, which would eliminate coverage for as many as 23 million vulnerable Americans. And add to that the fact that earlier this month, as the Times reported: The Trump administration has formally notified the United Nations that the United States will withdraw from the World Health Organization, a move that would cut off one of the largest sources of funding from the premier global health organization in the middle of a pandemic. And recently, the Trump administration told states to stop sending their coronavirus data directly to the CDC and to send it instead to the Department of Health and Human Services. As CNBC reported last week, Previously public data has already disappeared from the Centers for Disease Control and Preventions website following the move. So again I must ask, where is your outrage? How is this happening? How is it being allowed to happen? Real people, Americans, are being allowed to get sick and die while Trump plays a political game. How long can this continue? @CharlesMBlow South Jersey hospitals shut out from the first round of government COVID-19 funding received millions Monday from the federal CARES Act after U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew made their case to federal officials. According to the federal government, Shore Medical Center will receive $9.2 million, Cape Regional Medical Center will get $6.9 million and Inspira Medical Center Vineland will receive $24.1 million in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services second round of Provider Relief Fund COVID-19 High Impact Payments. We had to make sure our hospitals were not forgotten about. In the first round, we didnt get the short end of the stick we got no stick, Van Drew, R-2nd, said Tuesday of South Jersey hospitals. Other South Jersey hospitals included in the second round of funding are Southern Ocean Medical Center ($105,000), Inspira Medical Center Elmer ($2.6 million) and Salem Medical Center ($5.2 million). Van Drew had a telephone meeting in May about the hospitals need for more financial support with Deputy Secretary of Health and Human Services Eric Hargan and other HHS staffers. T wo teenage boys have been sentenced for a racially aggravated attack on a rabbi in north London. The boys, aged 15 and 16, who cannot be named for legal reasons, were sentenced at Stratford Youth Court on Tuesday for racially aggravated common assault. A 54-year-old man was assaulted by the teenagers in Amhurst Park, Stamford Hill, on November 29 last year, and they also subjected him to a barrage of anti-Semitic comments. A third party contacted the police about the attack the next day and Metropolitan Police officers launched an investigation. After attempting to contact the victim, they found he had left the country on a pre-planned trip. Officers were able to locate him on December 3, where he provided a full account of the incident. The victim suffered minor injuries during the attack, Scotland Yard said. Following an appeal and the release of CCTV images of the teenagers, a member of public identified the teenagers. The pair presented themselves to an east London police station in the early hours of December 17 and were subsequently arrested. Detective Constable Matthew Cooksey, from the Mets Central East BCU, said: "Hate crime is not tolerated and we take such offences extremely seriously. This incident highlights the efforts we are willing to take to track down suspects. "It is upsetting that the boys refused to take responsibility for their crimes by pleading not guilty. I hope the conviction has given some sort of closure to the victim." The teenage boys received a 12-month Youth Rehabilitation Order, an electronically monitored curfew from 6pm-6am for the next 30 days and a 21 victim surcharge to be paid by each. They were also ordered to take part in a ten-day Diversity Awareness Programme. With the new school year just weeks away, students, parents, teachers and taxpayers are asking how New Mexico can improve on the train wreck that was the spring 2020 COVID-19 semester. How can we ensure everyone is as safe as possible and still educate our students especially those at risk? Because the coronavirus pandemic that has claimed more than 500 lives in New Mexico, more than 140,000 nationwide and more than 600,000 globally means that just because you open school doesnt mean teachers, staff or students will come. This is no Field of Dreams, folks. Yet there is little question the vast majority of our K-12 students need to get back in school in some way less than a third are proficient in reading and only about 1/5th are proficient in math. The good news? 1. We know what didnt work much of what was done after the pandemic shuttered schools in March, from frustrating online modules to weak PBS lessons to students who rarely logged in and were getting a better idea of what will work. Los Alamos National Laboratory is studying four models: full-time in-person school for all, a hybrid with students physically present about half the time, closing high schools with in-person learning for others, and full-time distance learning for all. Expect results this week. 2. PED Secretary Ryan Stewart, who has been working remotely from Pennsylvania where his family still resides, plans to return to the state in early August. We need his leadership. The secretary can argue he was just as effective working from the East Coast as he would have been from a Santa Fe living room. But with all of the uncertainty and swirling concerns, its crucial he be in the state before school starts and do onsite visits to those schools that do open in some form. 3. We are learning younger students are not the super-spreaders we feared and elementary grades may be the safest for in-person classes. 4. We have some districts prioritizing parental involvement. Rio Rancho recognized it needs buy-in and is allowing parents to choose between 100% virtual learning or a mix of in-person and distance learning. This makes sense and should be a statewide requirement. As for online learning, a recent Legislative Education Study Committee report found most of our teachers arent trained to use online platforms. Thats not their fault they have education, not IT, degrees. The report says the hodgepodge of curriculum offered in the spring for those who could access it may have widened the achievement gap. That on the heels of a June report saying the lack of in-person schooling could equal a year of learning loss. So turning to a credible online learning curriculum, be it the Khan Academy or a home school consortium, makes sense. It would provide certainty, uniformity, and let teachers do what they do best mentor students through lessons. Giving parents the choice of in-person learning or a proven online program may go a long way toward preventing them from leaving K-12 public schools. As for safety, the LESC report found that while PED outlined best health practices in the spring, it didnt have mechanisms to guarantee follow through. A full quarter of the teacher workforce is over 55 and at higher risk, according to the National Center for Education and Statistics. Every reasonable safeguard needs to be implemented teachers warrant the same tape-on-the-floor measurements and plastic barriers around work stations as grocery clerks. And all who go through school doors should expect true deep cleanings by a trained cleaning staff, not a spritz of disinfectant by the teacher who had to buy it with his or her paycheck. And what spread rate is acceptable? New Mexico shut things down in search of a 1.15, we are now at 1.09, but the new goal is 1.05 so the bar has moved. The virus is not going away anytime soon, so whats truly safe to reopen schools? Yes, some teachers will need to return to the classrooms. But as with health care workers, first responders and other public employees, we need to make it as safe as possible for them to step forward and teach our kids. New Mexicos 89 districts and state charters have less than a month to work this out. They need PED and Stewart to lead. This editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by members of the editorial board and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers. The Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has urged the Ministry of Communications (MoC) to suspend its channel directive to the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) and other media houses for the closure of their channels on the Digital Terrestrial Transmission(DTT)platform. It said the directive would significantly impact on the operations of GBC and amount to interference by government in the work of the state owned media against provisions of Chapter 12 of the 1992 Constitution. The directive by the Communications Minister has the potential of curtailing the operations of media houses, particularly a state owned media, which the Constitution has specifically asked to be insulated from governmental control by a constitutional body and will lead to some of its content or programmes going off the air, the Association said. A release issued by the Association and signed by Mr Roland Affail Monney, its President, said the GJA, had observed with great concern the current controversy between GBC, and the MOC over the Ministrys directive to GBC to reduce the number of television channels it carried on the National Digital Terrestrial Transmission, and said the National Media Commission (NMC) as well as broadcasters, both in the public and private sectors, should be brought into discussions on the arrangements on the use of the DTT platform. It said the Association had taken particular notice of letters and public statements of the Ministry of Communications on the issue, the statement of the Ministry of Information (MOI) on the same subject and the petition of the GBC Director General to the National Media Commission (NMC) on the MOCs directive and was of the view that there was the need for a thorough discussion on the matter and not the issuance of directives and statements. The release said it noted further that the action of the Minister of Communications was not only against GBC but also one private media house, Crystal TV, which raised concerns about the tendency of a Minister of State unilaterally issuing directives to media houses both in the public and private sectors to curtail their operations. It said discussions with stakeholders, including television broadcasters on the building of a DTT infrastructure and the migration of television stations to the DTT platform, agreed that there would be only one digital platform for all free to air television broadcasting stations, and that the platform would also be managed by government and the broadcasters. The release said, however, Government was managing the DTT platform alone currently as the infrastructure was yet to be completed. No transparent rules have been developed for the management and control of this very vital public asset, though most of the televisions stations in the country are now broadcasting on it, it noted. The Association said if government was left to solely determine the use of channels on the platform, it could lead to arbitrary and unfair actions that would negatively impact on media freedom. The GJA believes that control and management of the DTT platform is critical to the independence and freedom of the media and should not be left solely in the hands of Government. The release said, Just as with the media houses, the GJA would want the NMC to insulate the DTT platform from governmental control and interference. And there should be transparent rules to guide its operations. The GJA is of the view that, the long term solution to this and any other issues confronting the highly sensitive media industry is for Ghana to attach utmost urgency to the enactment of a broadcasting law, it added. 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 move came as confirmed cases of the novel coronavirus are increasing in many states, including Florida, raising fears in some quarters that a return to brick-and-mortar schools in the fall could put students and teachers at risk and exacerbate the spread of the virus. Others argue that reopening schools is a critical step in a return to normalcy. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The Florida teachers are asking the court to strike down an emergency order by Corcoran, saying it violates a requirement in the state constitution for safe and secure schools. On Monday, the United States added more than 55,000 new cases and more than 380 new deaths both below seven-day averages, though Monday typically sees lower figures than other days. Seven states and Puerto Rico reported new highs for currently hospitalized covid-19 patients, with Florida reporting close to 9,500 inpatients. At the same time, hospitalizations appear to be leveling off in Texas and Arizona. The two states combined still account for more than 18,000 of the estimated 56,000 currently hospitalized covid-19 patients. Children are only half as likely to get infected with the coronavirus, study finds Officials say some of the recent increase in cases is probably attributable to increased testing, which was not widely available in the early days of the pandemic. But much also is probably caused by the rollback of government-imposed restrictions on business and social life, leading more people to have contact with one another and spread the virus. On July 20, Floridas largest teachers union sued top state officials over an order mandating a return of in-person schooling. (Reuters) Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The spikes have put pressure on state and federal leaders to take steps such as mandating the wearing of masks or slowing plans to reopen their economies. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot (D) announced Monday that she was tightening restrictions on bars, gyms and personal service businesses. President Trump said he would resume leading regular late-afternoon public briefings by the White House coronavirus task force, and he more vigorously endorsed mask-wearing than he has previously, tweeting a photo of himself in a mask and suggesting that doing so was patriotic. The Senate, meanwhile, returned to work for a three-week session before its August break. Lawmakers are under pressure to pass new coronavirus relief legislation before the November elections. Story continues below advertisement What to do about schooling has long been one of the thorniest dilemmas posed by the coronavirus in part because the science about how the disease spreads among children, and from children to adults, is not yet developed enough to draw firm conclusions. After Trump tweeted two weeks ago that schools must open in the fall, the issue has often been consumed by partisan bickering. Advertisement We have managed to take what I think is one of the most important nonpartisan issues in America, which is getting our kids taught this fall, and turned it into a partisan battle, said Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. Heres a crazy idea: Lets just do whats good for kids and parents. Public health experts agree that children are generally less likely to get infected than adults, and they tend to develop milder symptoms. But children are not immune, and a small number have died. Story continues below advertisement They get the disease, and they do transmit, said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. The question is how much, and does that enhance transmission in the community? The data on that is mixed. With coronavirus science still iffy, U.S. schools hope to reopen for 56.6 million K-12 students One study, from Australia, found that nine students and nine adults who contracted the coronavirus had close contact with more than 730 other students and 128 staff members, but they could only be possibly linked to two infections. Advertisement Another large study from South Korea found that children under 10 years old appeared to transmit the virus to others in their household far less often than adults did, though those between 10 and 19 years old appeared to transmit as much or more than adults. Story continues below advertisement Im going to await further data before I can stand in judgment whether we can assume that children are considerably less infectious than adults, said Sten Vermund, dean of the Yale School of Public Health. William V. Raszka Jr., a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at the University of Vermont Medical Center, said some countries have reopened their schools without new outbreaks, while others have had problems. Of great importance, he said, is the level of spread in the community outside the school. Places such as Vermont, which have relatively few cases, might be able to open up more easily than places such as Arizona or Florida, which are seeing cases spike, Raszka said. He said high schools and colleges might also have more trouble than elementary schools, as older children seem to be more acutely affected. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Is that risk zero? No. We cant develop a strategy that has zero risk, Raszka said. But we can develop strategies that minimize that risk. Reopened schools in Europe and Asia have largely avoided coronavirus outbreaks. They have lessons for the U.S. Politicians and school leaders have taken varying tacks on how to address the crisis with some advocating partial or complete distance learning while others seek a return to in-person instruction. California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), for example, issued rules last week that mean most schools will not reopen physical classrooms, while Texas reversed a previous order and allowed schools to delay in-person instruction. Texas attorney general has told religious schools that any local efforts to restrict their reopening might violate the constitution. In an interview on Fox News Sunday, Trump made clear that he favors face-to-face instruction and threatened to withhold federal funding from districts that do not offer that. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement I do say this schools have to open, he told host Chris Wallace. Young people have to go to school, and theres problems when you dont go to school, too. And theres going to be a funding problem because were not going to fund when they dont open their schools. Vermund said it was disingenuous of the president to demand schools be reopened and then threaten to cut funding, as schools with more resources would probably have a better shot of safely reopening. Missouri Gov. Mike Parson (R) on Friday told talk radio host Marc Cox that kids have to get back to school, though he conceded that some were likely to contract the virus. Theyre at the lowest risk possible, Parson said. And if they do get covid-19 which they will, and they will when they go to school theyre not going to the hospitals. Theyre not going to have to sit in doctors offices. Theyre going to go home, and theyre going to get over it. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement In Florida, the teachers union said in the lawsuit the education commissioners order that districts must open brick-and-mortar schools, subject to the advice of state and local health departments, would create an unsafe and unsecure environment for students, employees, and the community at large. When students and employees return to the school site, they will be indoors with each other for 7 hours a day in derogation of CDC guidelines and executive orders issued across the state, the lawsuit said. They will be sharing common areas including buses, hallways, classrooms, clinics, locker rooms, and bathrooms. They will be touching door handles and sharing equipment along with potentially hundreds of other people. These millions of individuals will return to their families and to the community to continue to accelerate the spread of Covid-19. The suit alleged that some teachers had rushed their retirements over the states plan and that others were preparing wills and living wills ahead of possible in person learning that can expose their health and lives to serious threats. Advertisement Corcoran, the Florida education commissioner, shot back that the union did not seem to have read or understand his emergency order, and that even before it, state law required schools to operate for 180 days a year, which amounts to five days a week. This E.O. did not order any new directives regarding the requirements of schools to be open, it simply created new innovative options for families to have the CHOICE to decide what works best for the health and safety of their student and family, he said in a statement. Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said it would probably be impossible for a place like Florida where one model suggests 1 in 24 people is infected to return to in-person schooling safely. Even if transmission from children to adults is low, he said, it is not nothing, and adults in the school could transmit to one another. But Jha said in other states, where fewer people are infected, schools could open with appropriate precautions. And there is good reason to do so, he said, as a lost school year brings with it serious consequences, particularly for those with lesser means. Its not just the fall, Jha said. Things arent going to be better in January. Things arent going to be better in February. They might not be better until April or May. Moriah Balingit, Lateshia Beachum, Jacqueline Dupree and Hannah Knowles contributed to this report. Jamal Fox, one of Portland Mayor Ted Wheelers two deputy chiefs of staff, is leaving to run the day-to-day operations for the city of Camas, Washington. Fox, 32, was hired as deputy chief in May 2019 after being the property and business development manager in the citys parks and recreation bureau. He previously was a city council member in Greensboro, North Carolina, where he was the youngest person ever elected to the governing body at 25 and was elected to two terms. He is also a former adjunct professor at North Carolina A&T State University and former high school teacher. He is the second high-level staff member to announce a departure from Wheelers office this month. Eileen Park, Wheelers communications director, announced July 6 that she would be leaving the city at the end of the month to pursue new opportunities in Canada. Fox will replace Pete Capell as Camas city administrator. Capell retired at the beginning of the year. Foxs last day as a Portland city employee will be Aug. 28. The city of Camas said he is tentatively scheduled to start as city administrator three days later. In a statement Monday, Fox thanked Wheeler for the opportunity as well as for support and encouragement. I will miss working with the Mayor, our team, city staff and the community, he said. It has been a pleasure to have worked alongside so many dedicated professionals. Wheeler described Fox as a tremendous asset to the mayors office and the city, who served key roles such as acting as liaison to several economic development projects, helping create job opportunities for young people involved in the criminal justice system and helping craft ongoing police reform plans. He has been integral in building an equitable economy, achieving shared prosperity, and implementing ongoing police reform, Wheeler said in a statement. We wish him all the best in his new role. He will be missed. The mayors office said its unclear if the city will hire a replacement for Fox. Wheelers other deputy chief of staff is Sonia Schmanski, who was previously chief of staff to late Commissioner Nick Fish. Camas Mayor Barry McDonnell said Foxs background and skillset will be valuable in helping engage the eastern Clark County community of 23,000 and at the same time inspiring the next generation of Camas leaders and strengthening our community so everyone feels heard, empowered and welcome. -- Everton Bailey Jr; ebailey@oregonian.com | 503-221-8343 | @EvertonBailey Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Pakistan bans live streaming app Bigo Islamabad, July 21(UNI) The Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA) on Tuesday banned live streaming application Bigo and issued a final warning to video-sharing service TikTok over obscene and immoral content on the platforms. Last week, a miscellaneous civil application was filed in the Lahore High Court demanding an immediate ban on TikTok. The petitioner said the app was a great mischief of modern times and had become a source of spreading pornography for the sake of fame and ratings on social media, Dawn News reported. According to a statement released by the PTA late on Monday night, complaints were received from different segments of society against the immoral, obscene and vulgar content on social media applications particularly TikTok and Bigo. Perths rental market is on a steady path to recovery, which is good news for investors but alarming for those already under rental stress, especially with soaring job losses off the back of the pandemic. New figures from the Real Estate Institute of WA found median rents had improved 13 to 23 per cent for affluent beachside and riverside suburbs, from Trigg down to Madora Bay and inner-city suburbs Joondanna and Osborne Park, over the past 12 months until May. Perth rentals are slowly regaining momentum due to its tight market, says REIWA. Credit:Erin Jonasson The exception was City Beach, which had a 12 per cent correction, dropping to $750 a week. REIWA president Damian Collins said people should exercise caution when looking at each suburb since any fluctuations could simply come down to what housing stock had come up for lease; in the case of Mt Claremont, median rent jumped 23 per cent Perths highest climb to $800 despite being adjacent to City Beach, which recorded the worst growth. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 19:27:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close By Tafara Mugwara HARARE, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Battling a pandemic and the worst economic crisis in a decade, residents of Epworth, a town south-east of Zimbabwe's capital Harare find themselves saddled with yet another challenge. Like in most of Zimbabwe's urban areas, water has become a scarce resource in the poor settlement, forcing locals to trek to unsafe wells to collect the precious liquid. With an estimated population of 152,000, according to the 2012 census, Epworth lags behind in terms of the provision of basic services such as roads, clean water, and sewer systems. Without access to tap water, residents rely on wells, which usually dry up during the dry season, leaving them in an unbearable predicament. The acute shortages of the precious commodity have caused untold suffering to women and children - who are usually the primary drawers of water for household consumption. So dire is the situation that many people are now drinking water from unprotected sources, posing a health risk that leads to outbreaks of water-borne diseases such as cholera and dysentery. Faced with water challenges and with no other alternatives, an unlikely place is now providing relief to the struggling residents - a disused pool from an abandoned quarry mine. The pool, known as the 'Pool of Death' by locals due to the number of lives that have perished in it, has since become the primary source of water for residents of Epworth and other surrounding areas. According to local estimates, hundreds of people have died in the pool by accidentally drowning, by committing suicides, or by being murdered and then dumped into the pool. Despite the fact that the pool has claimed many lives over the years, it has become a lifeline for the water-starved residents. With containers in their hands or in wheelbarrows, every morning, groups of women, some with young children strapped in their backs, troop to the pool to fetch water or to do laundry. George Mutawo, an Epworth resident, said although the dam has a negative reputation, it has become a lifeline for many residents. Mutawo said owing to erratic rains received in the past season, most wells have dried up leaving families in an unbearable predicament. "We received erratic rains this season. The boreholes and the wells that we depend on are now dry. That's why so many people are coming to the dam to fetch water," he told Xinhua. Mutawo said they are now worried over their health as people are now using the contaminated water for drinking. Fungai Nyikadzino, another Epworth resident, said the water shortages have become unbearable, and many residents now spend a lot of time searching for water. "We are experiencing acute water challenges. Here at this dam, we are getting water to wash clothes, for dishwashing, and for bathing. For drinking, we buy water, 10 (Zimbabwe) dollars (about 0.15 U.S. dollars) a bucket. "We can't afford to buy drinking water, sometimes we go for days without clean water to drink. We have no means of getting the money to buy drinking water in this lockdown," she said. Nyikadzino said owing to the water shortages in the community, many residents have resorted to extreme rations of water, limiting how much water they drink, wash, and how they use the toilet. "We hope authorities will drill boreholes for us here in Epworth because the ones we have here are too few," she said. Another resident, Jestina Kambanje said although the dam has become a relief for Epworth residents, it poses a major threat of drowning to children. "We are afraid that our young children might drown while fetching water at the dam," she said. Evans Matsika said the water situation has become dire, resulting in some people walking for two or three km every day to quench their thirst. "We are wasting a lot of time collecting water. Instead of doing other productive work, fetching water has become our main activity. There is no development, we are just surviving from hand to mouth," he said. Matsika said water shortages are making it impossible to adhere to hygienic conditions required to contain the spread of diseases. "We are expected to wash our hands after using the toilet, but we end up using dirty recycled water to wash our hands, making us prone to cholera," said Matsika. He said the shortage of water is also making it harder to fight the spread of COVID-19. With huge numbers of people crowding at the dam, implementing social distancing becomes almost impossible. Residents also increase their risk of exposure to the coronavirus each time they venture outside their homes to collect water from community boreholes or at the dam. Water woes are not affecting Epworth residents alone. An economic crisis stretching for over two decades has seen a collapse of Zimbabwe's water infrastructure due to a lack of expansion to match a growing urban population. The acute water shortages have also been worsened by one of the worst droughts to hit Zimbabwe in years. The situation is desperate, as is evidenced by severe water rationing in Harare, and the recent outbreak of water-borne diseases in the second largest city Bulawayo. While efforts have been made to avail water to more urban communities through the drilling of boreholes around the country, the boreholes are not enough to meet the growing demand. When we started this project, our goal was to talk to as many of the women in Ruth Bader Ginsburgs Harvard Law School class as possible. My colleague Molly Olmstead and I spent months tracking down the ones who are still alive, and interviewing family members in depth about the women who have passed. But then Justice Ginsburg agreed to speak to us, too. And so in late January, just weeks before the court emptied and went remote, a few colleagues and I headed up the sweeping marble steps of the Supreme Court. While we waited, a pot of tea with a single cup on a saucer was placed on the table across from me. And then, a few minutes later, Justice Ginsburg sat down in front of it. This is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation, focused on her time at Harvard Law School almost 65 years agoand her memories of the nine other women in their class of 500-plus men. Dahlia Lithwick: When we started this project, I think we thought the nine women in your class would clump together and be like a pack. I was remembering when I started at Stanford Law School, in 1992, thats kind of how it was. But based on my conversations with your classmates, it doesnt seem like that necessarily organically happened. Ruth Bader Ginsburg: Well for me, I had no time to waste, because Jane was 14 months when I started. So my time was used very efficiently, for classes, for studying after class, then come home at 4 p.m. to take care of Jane. I didnt have time for any socializing, except on weekends. So the only person among the women, for a time, that I was close to was Jinnie Davis. And that continued after law school. Read about Jinnies life, and her memories of Justice Ginsburg. She was in my section, and she was just a lovely person. She was a Christian Scientist. When Marty had cancer his third year, our second year, she visited him in the hospital a few times, and I was wondering how that would be for her, because I watched her once in class. She was sitting a couple of rows ahead of me and she cut her finger, she had a paper cut, and her finger was bleeding. And I wanted to go over and blot it for her, but she didnt, she just let it Just bleed onto the desk? Yeah. And so you werent sure how she would be when Marty was in the hospital, because Well, just reacting to a hospital. Ive heard there was a real dividing line between the women in your class who came with children and spouses, and the women who didnt. Was that your experience, too? Well, in my first year, I was the only one who was married and had a child. I think Carol, I think she got married. And Alice got married at the end of her first year. So my first year, I was the only married woman in the class. And the only mother, because Rhoda [who was married] took her first year at Penn, and then she was in our second year. Your classmate Carol describes sitting on the steps and doing crossword puzzles, and she and Flora recalled cooking dinners for the men in law schoolit just seems like they were in a really different world than you were. Read Carols memories of Harvard Law School. I think thats so. [There was something] called the Radcliffe cooking contest. [One male student] and his roommates decided theyd have a competition, and theyd have a different girl come and cook for them. And at the end of the year, theyd give a prize to the winner of the Radcliffe cooking contest. Then some of the guys at the law school decided they would take up that idea, but they would use the women in the class instead of the Radcliffe girls. And this was fun for the women? I dont know. There was, in those years, the Harvard Law Wives Club. So most of the women I knew were married to men mostly in Martys class. And I got invited to the Law Wives Association because I was a law wife. But that was to help the wives be supportive of their husbands who were engaged in this intense education at the law school. Did you feel isolated? I mean, did you feel as though you were having a very singular experience that wasnt really comparable to the other women in your class? No, I did not feel any lack of companionship. I had Marty, and the people that we socialized with were mainly in his class. And then I was just so engaged all the time, with either law school, or with Jane. I had no time to be lonely. I was just constantly engaged, and it was even more intense my second year, when Marty had cancer. One thing that was really stunning to hear during these interviews was the way the women had such different paths to Harvard. I think when we undertook this project, we envisioned a bunch of singularly driven, ambitious women who said, Im going to go to law school. And as we talked to either the families or to the women themselves, it turned out that a lot of them were trailing a male law student. There wasnt as much, I think, agency as I expected. Im using the word trailing reluctantly, because I know you went in some measure to be with Marty. But I think I was surprised at how many of the women were following a man. Yeah. I think an exception to that was Ellie Voss. That was such a tragedy. [Editors note: Eleanor Voss died in a motorized scooter accident in her last year at Harvard.] And you can imagine how a young man who was driving that motorcycle mustve felt. I mean, he eventually came to terms with it, and he married and I hope had a happy life. But I dont think Ellie Voss came to Harvard because she was following a boyfriend. BJ, I dont knowof all the women in the class, I was most impressed with her, because she had been both a model and an actuary. Read BJs story. A very unusual combination. Also, she dated a friend of mine in our class. He was in my study group, Herb Lobel. He went out with both BJ and with Jinnie Davis. Can we talk about the famous Dean Erwin Griswold story, where the dean asked the women of Harvard Law School why they were there taking the place of a man? I only bring it up because Flora told us that she actually thought he was trying to be helpful to women. He was trying, he was. Theres a book that you probably saw, its called Pinstripes and Pearls, by Judy Hope. And she has as an appendix on the budget, on what it was going to cost for women to come to Harvard Law School. The cost was fixing up a bathroom in Austin Hall, which, by the way, was always overheated. There was asbestos dripping from the ceiling before we knew that asbestos wasnt good for peoples health. Anyway, [at the dinner], each of us had an escort. [The dean] arranged for somebody on the faculty to sit next to each of the women. And my escort was a very well-known Columbia Law School professor, Herb Wechsler. Im told that the escorts, before they came to Griswolds home for dinner, went nearby to Judge [Calvert] Magruders house. Because the dean didnt serve any alcohol, they went there first. There were many good things about Dean Griswold, including his bravery in the McCarthy erain the book he wrote about the Fifth Amendment. But he didnt have a sense of humor, and because he had been a proponent of the admission of women, he wanted to assure the doubting Thomases on the faculty that these women were going to do something worthwhile with their law degrees. So he asked that question, Why are you here occupying a seat that could be held by a man?, because he wanted to be armed with stories from the women themselves, about how they plan to make use of their law degrees, and not just waste this wonderful education they would get. He didnt have any sense that he was making the women feel uncomfortable about this. I dont know if Flora told you about her answer, but as I remember it, she said, Dean Griswold, there are X number of us. There are 500 of them. What better place to find a man? Read Floras memory of the dinner at Griswolds house. Can you tell me a bit more about the escorts? They were just to sit next to us at dinner, and sit next to us when we moved from the dining room to the living room. And [the dean] had the chairs arranged in a horseshoe. So, Herb Wechsler was sitting next to me. In those days I smoked, and Herb was a chain smoker. So I had the ashtray that we were sharing on my lap, and when I got up to say something all the cigarette butts went on the floor, in Griswolds living room. Oh, it was really one of those moments, when you wish you could have a trapdoor to fall through. So I mumbled something about my husband is in the second year of class, and I think its important for a wife to understand her husbands work. If you could answer it again today in the fullness of knowledge, what would your answer be? It wasnt a truthful answer when I gave it. But Id say I went to law school because I wanted to study law. In fact, I took the LSAT before Marty did, although he was a year ahead of me. There was a story I heard from several of the women that I have to say my jaw hit the floor. They described something called ladies day, where the women in the class had to answer all the questions, and even had to sing on the spot. The professor notorious for ladies day was Barton Leach. My section, we had no ladies day. I knew about [Leach] lining them up in the first row, and after ignoring them the whole semester, that one day concentrating all [the] attention [on them]. But I think my classmates were warned by the women in the class ahead, of what they could expect. This is a funny storywhen I was, years later, at Columbia, Billie Jean King had just won her match with Bobby Riggs. One of the professors announced with great glee, Tomorrow in honor of Billie Jean King, were going to celebrate ladies day. And he had no idea what the history of ladies day had been. Was it deliberate hazing? Or was it meant to be funny? Both Carol and Flora remembered it, the singing, but they both laughed about it. And then after laughing about it, Flora said, That was so degrading. Read Floras recollection of ladies day. Well there were episodes like that. We had as visitors two people wed been close to in the Army. And I brought the woman to class with me, Jill, and she, far from going to law school, she hadnt even gone to college. So [William] McCurdy, my contracts professor, calls on her, and I stood up and said, Shes my house guest. And he said, Any fool can answer that question. You answer it. And then I got up and told him that he was rude to my guest, and I would answer the question. Really? Yes. And he said something about Mrs. Ginsburg being a killjoy. Did he give you a C-plus in contracts? No. Maybe the best teacher I ever had, my first year in law school, was Ben Kaplan. He never, never did anything to wound or offend. He was a master of the Socratic technique, but he always used it in a positive way. So a student would give an answer; he would rephrase it as in You mean McCurdy was a typical Harvard professor at that time and liked to make students feel uncomfortable. One of the things that we heard from Alice Vogels family was that she got on Law Review, and then got a letter, We dont have dorms for you. Its only the men who are arriving early who are going to get dorms, and theres no place for you to sleep. Read about Alices experience at Harvard. The Law Review invitations went out at the end of the first year. So it wasnt a competition, it was just strictly on the basis of grades. Alice was getting married, or she had just gotten married. And she just turned it down, because of her husband. The dormitory was something else. I had come from Cornell, where the girls had to live in the dorms. That was Cornells excuse for having a 4-to-1 ratiofour guys to every galbecause the boys could live in town, but girls had to live in the dormitory. And I get to the Harvard Law School, and they had no room for the girls in the dorm. It didnt matter to me because I wasnt going to be in the dorm anyway. But that, that was one of the many ironies, that the girls needed to be protected, by being sheltered inside a dorm at Cornell. But at Harvard they had to find their own place to stay. Another version of this was something we heard about Marilyn Rose: She wanted to be in the public defenders, a group at Harvard, and it was all male, and they were not going to let her in. And so, instead of trying to get herself in, she made sure that the women who came after her could be in the public defenders group. Read more about Marilyn Roses experience at Harvard. And I think what Im trying to understand iswas that just a function of thats what you did if you couldnt get something, that you made sure the women who came after you got it? I think you get that sense from Judy Hopes book too, that [the female students] benefited from the women in the class ahead of them. And in turn they wanted the women in the class behind them to have it easier. But most of this, it just came with the territory. We didnt even question it. I dont remember anyone asking to have a womens bathroom put in, in Langdell Hall. We just accepted thats the way it was. [Editors note: The family of Rhoda Solin Isselbacher actually recalled that Rhoda, as the law schools first pregnant student, once stood up in class to demand that the women be allowed to use the mens bathroom. Read that story here.] And the same thing with the dormitories. They did have housing for married students. Marty had been in service for two years. So there are a number of people in his class who had been called into service at the tail end of the Korean War. And they were coming back to law school, and some of them lived in the apartments for married students. But none of their wives were attending law school. We heard precious few stories of men who were great allies during that time. A lot of women, by the way, described Marty as a great ally but said they didnt have a lot of men around who were supporting them. [There were] the two who tried to persuade Alice Vogel twice, at the end of her first year, end of her second year, [to join the Law Review]. John Winston and Frank Goodman. Frank ended up on the University of Pennsylvania law faculty, and he was married to Henry Friendlys daughter Joan Friendly. And John Winston, I dont know what he did, but hes still living, and hes living in New York. But they were very supportive of me, especially on the Law Review. Theyre both very funny fellows. But then there was another type, there was someone who had been a year ahead of me at Cornell, who assured me that Harvard Law School was a very tough place, and I couldnt rely on a good memory to get me through. So there were those types that sort of resented the womens presence. But most of the people I mean for me, Harvard Law School was not a competitive place that second year. My second year, Martys third, when he was diagnosed with cancer, they rallied round us, his classmates, and they got him through that very trying year. And I had note takers in all of his classes, and members of his class came first to the hospital, and then to home to give him private tutorials. Marty ended up having the best grades that he ever had in a semester. The semester was 15 weeks, I think he was in class for two weeks. But he had the best teachers, his classmates. One of the most, Im sure, unsurprising things that Im going to tell you, is that all of these women had a really horrendous time getting jobs. And that the same doors that were closed to you were closed to them, and in many ways their stories track yours. Flora said something that I thought was sweet and wanted you to hear it: She said even after graduation and her father was telling her, Dont even bother to get a law job. Youre never going to get one. Find something else. She would look at you and say, Well, if Ruth Ginsburg cant get a job, then Im going to keep trying. She used you as her kind of marker of, Im not going to give up because this is systemic. She was using the fact that you were struggling to double down her effort. Read more about Floras attempt to get her first job. There was one woman in Martys class, Nancy Boxley, later Tepper. She did get a job. She got a job with Whitney North Seymours firm. All through law school, I thought that Nancy Boxley from Virginia was in the fox-hunting crowd. It turned out that she was Jewish. She disguised who she was, and thats how she did get a job with a Wall Street firm. But for me, there wasnt a single firm in New York two called me back, I came down to have the interviews, but in the end And one of the reasons was they were concerned about how their wives would feel about a man working closely with a woman. And it amazed me, because they all had women secretaries, but thats just the way it was. Now Jerry Gunther [who taught me at Columbia Law School] tells a story that I was not aware of until he wrote it in the Hawaii Law Review. He said when he was in charge of clerkships for Columbia students, that he called every judge in Southern District, all the 2nd Circuit judges. And then he thought he had a good prospect, and that was Judge [Edmund] Palmieri, who had been a Columbia undergraduate and a Columbia Law School graduate. And as Jerry told the story, he said, Give her a chance, and if she doesnt work out, theres a young man in her class whos with a downtown firm, and hell jump in and take over. But if you wont give her a chance, then I will never recommend another Columbia clerk to you. I thought all along that Palmieri took a chance on me, because he had two daughters, and he was envisioning how he would want the world to be for his daughters. It was not the case. In later years, he did become a big champion of womens opportunities. One of his daughters became a doctor, and he was very incensed about the discrimination that she was encountering, the uncompromising hours she had to work. But anyway, I went through the clerkship thinking thats why Judge Palmieri took me on. But as Jerry tells the story, Palmieri wasnt resistant to having a woman as a clerk. He had already had one, but he was concerned about Jane, that he might need me and she might be sick. There were so many women who described just being unbelievably proud of you. Carol talked about it. Its clear you represent so much that she is so proud of, and she sees it as her achievement too. Read more about Carol, who, like Justice Ginsburg, is still a practicing judge. And then there were some who were, I think, frankly a little jealous. Who felt as though you had support from Marty, you had a loving spouse who put you and your career first. And if theyd had some of those breaks, they may have had a very different life. It was just such a complicated story about what we thought was a simple story of sisterhood, and support, and mutual admiration. While you were in it, did you ever have that sense, that this was a little bit fraught? That it was both competitive and supportive, and it was not uncomplicated? Well, as I said, I had no time to think about emotions. Rhoda SolinI had no idea that she was ever jealous of me. I mean, that surprised me when you told me that. [Editors note: Prior to the interview, Slate sent Ginsburg some examples of what we had learned about her classmates. Read more about Rhodas familys memories of the relationship between the two women.] For the women in my class and in Martys class, it was getting that first job that was powerfully hard. If the woman got her foot in the door, she did the job very well, and the second job was not the same hurdle. What youre finding is these are not flaming feminists, these women, and its just pretty much the same in a book that I hope will before much longer see the light of day. [Former Berkeley Law Dean] Herma Hill Kay wrote many biographies of the 14 women in law teaching across the country who preceded her. She was the 15th woman on any law faculty. And when she died, I think she died in 2017, that manuscript got lost. And I dont know the full story of why it wasnt published earlier, but I was at Berkeley in September, and I encouraged Dean [Erwin] Chemerinskythey were having a celebration of herand I said, if you really want to celebrate her, youll see that her book is published. She spent 10 years writing it, and it tells the story of each of these women, and they have every kind of personality, some shy, some bold. So there wasnt a type that became the first woman. When I transferred to Columbia, that class was considerably smaller than Harvard. But it had 12 women, including one who has been my friend for life, Nina Appel, who was dean of Loyola Chicago Law School for many years. The women in my Harvard class I stayed in touch with Jinnie Nordin for many years. In fact, the summer after my second year, we had found an apartment across the street from the place where [Columbia] Law School is now, but we were going to live with Martys parents for the summer. So Jinnie was living in our apartment then. Shes the only one in the class that I stayed in touch with. I heard about Flora every now and then. Floras a hoot. At the very end of her interview, I said, What should we be telling men? And she said, I just wish men were better. And that was very simple for her. But I love what youre saying, which is some of you were not flaming feminists, and some of you were just having fun, and some of you have gone on to have illustrious careers, and some have not. And that this wasnt a feminist project. Right. I interviewed you a couple of years ago, when Glamour made you woman of the year. And I asked, What do you do about young women who are coming up, who look at your life as though its a million years ago, and couldnt happen again? And yet theyre still facing glass ceilings at law firms, and theyre limited in some way. Not limited the way your life was, but limited opportunities and deep frustration about work-life balance. And I feel as though if I were a 1L listening to your story, it would seem like science fiction, so far away and so hard to relate to. And yet, I wonder if you can tell me the parts of what you were seeing at Harvard that are still urgently important for women to focus on. Its an unconscious bias. Its the expectation. You have a lowered expectation when you hear a woman speaking, I think that still goes on. That instinctively when a man speaks, he will be listened to, where people will not expect the woman to say anything of value. But all of the women in my generation have had, time and again, that experience where you say something at a meeting, and nobody makes anything of it. And maybe half an hour later, a man makes the identical point, and people react to it and say, Good idea. That, I think, is a problem that persists. Some of it is getting over unconscious bias by becoming conscious of it, which I thought Ive told the story about the symphony orchestra many times. People were so sure that they could tell the difference between a woman playing and a man, and when put to the test, when blindfolded, they could not. Willis Reese was a law professor at Columbia Law School. And he said, theres one thing he regrets about the old days. He said when the class was moving slowly, and you wanted to get a crisp right answer, You called on a woman. She was always prepared. And nowadays, he said, theres no difference, the women are as unprepared as the men. Thats progress. One thing that I did feel in law school was that if I flubbed, that I would be bringing down my entire sex. That you werent just failing for yourself, but people would say, Well, I did expect it of a woman. Its like they would say about a woman driver. So I was determined not to leave that impression. Read the full stories of the lives of each of the nine other women in Justice Ginsburgs Harvard Law class here. Listen to our special audio series, The Class of RBG, here or below. Emma Donoghue, author of "The Pull Of The Stars." (Mark Raynes Roberts / Little, Brown and Company) If you buy books linked on our site, The Times may earn a commission from Bookshop.org, whose fees support independent bookstores. The hospital is overwhelmed, a lone nurse in charge of a ward full of pregnant women in the middle of a health crisis. The hallways are clotted with the sick and the dying. The exhausted staff try to protect themselves from a new disease no one fully understands. Ive actually had people say to me: 'Is it not a bit mercenary to write a novel about a flu and bring it out this fast?' said the novelist Emma Donoghue, laughing. I say to them, 'Do you think I can write a novel and publish it in four months?' The novel in question is The Pull of the Stars, set over a few fevered days in a Dublin hospital in 1918. During the centenary of the worst flu pandemic in modern times, Donoghue started digging into its history and became inspired by a nugget of information that women in late pregnancy were the most vulnerable to the disease. I love researching for fictional storylines because you could just look for the interesting stuff. It's like a seagull poking through a garbage can, Donoghue said cheerfully, her Irish accent worn soft by two decades of living in Canada. During our Zoom talk, she pulled a 1910 obstetrics book off the shelf and held its graphic illustrations of difficult births up to the camera to demonstrate what went into her story. It doesnt feel, though, like a historical novel at all. The Pull of the Stars moves with the quickness of a thriller, but instead of spies and helicopters theres nurse Julia Power in an ad hoc maternity ward. That sensation of hurtling through the story seems to reflect Donoghues own creative metabolism. She has a hard time remembering how many books shes published since her 2010 novel Room became an international bestseller. (Three novels, two childrens books and a short-story collection.) The new books are always coming down the highway at me, she said. I'm focused on Oh, God, which one will I write next? Story continues The hospital in the novel is desperately understaffed in addition to the flu, the Great War is on and Julia is suddenly given responsibility for the women in her care. Officially, she has little authority; she cant even give the patients aspirin (though, this being Ireland in 1918, whiskey is permitted). Unofficially, its all on her. So many rules I was getting used to breaking, she thinks, in a passage that has one foot in its fictional moment and the other in todays worsening reality. Only for the duration, of course, for the foreseeable future, as the posters said. Though I was having trouble foreseeing any future. How would we ever get back to normal after the pandemic? The eerie resonances with the moment were not part of Donoghues original plan; the book was scheduled for 2021. But when publisher Little, Brown and Company got the manuscript in March, it suggested, reasonably and cannily, that it might be better to rush the book to publication. Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay star in the film "Room," adapted from Emma Donoghue's novel. (AP) The course of the pandemic in The Pull of the Stars closely mirrors our own illuminating in particular the lives of healthcare workers under tremendous strain.I was lucky enough to have an emergency room doctor as my copy editor, a dream situation, Donoghue said. When she got to the bit in the book where Julia almost steps in a pothole and thinks, Well, if Id broken my leg, I'd have to take some time off, my copy editor underlined it and was like, Yes, yes, that! I've had that feeling. I was trying to capture not just the courage of healthcare workers but their stamina. At night Julia heads home through the desolate city. All the Dubliners who could had escaped to the suburbs, leaving the rest to live like squatters in the capitals rotting heart. Luckily, shes brought an inexperienced helper, Bridie, whose enthusiasm, as much as her and willingness to mop up bodily fluids, helps the frantic Julia get through each day. She also gets help from a doctor, Kathleen Lynn, a radical female physician who actually existed. When I was reading up on 1918 in Ireland, Kathleen Lynn was so useful for my story, Donoghue said. One draft featured a fictional version, but this one is the real thing. She's unique, so I might as well give her the props. Lynn discusses things Julia hasnt had time to think about poverty, feminism, politics. I thought it was interesting to raise the question, said Donoghue. At what point [is it] important to take a stand politically rather than just burying yourself in what you think is your task in life? Perhaps that tension between private, solitary work and a sense of public responsibility goes back to the whirlwind success of Room. When Room happened, I remember thinking, 'OK, I'm not going to let this mess up my relationship to my own writing. I've always been a successful writer on my own terms. I absolutely love writing, so I'm not letting this wreck it.' And then the same thing happened with the film. The movie of Room came out in 2015 and was nominated for four Academy Awards, including original screenplay for Donoghue, a first-time screenwriter. (It won one: Brie Larson for lead actress.) That was such a mad year, she said. Although they were living in France, Donoghue and her partner were swept up into the Hollywood awards circuit. Chris and I would fly from Nice to L.A. and arrive so jet lagged and bewildered and go to parties, just stunned by it all, she said. Its like briefly joining the aristocracy. Like some Dickensian novel where somebody is suddenly hoisted up to being presented at court. Room is told partly from the point of view of a little boy whos trapped with his mother, unaware of his confinement, and partly narrated from the outside. Donoghue modestly credits director Lenny Abrahamsons wise choices, but her ability to transform her own deeply internal novel into a film that tells it so differently is plainly remarkable. In The Pull of the Stars, Donoghue has pulled off another feat: She wrote a book about a 100-year-old flu that feels completely current, down to the same frustrations and tensions and hopes and dangers. And she did it without even knowing just how relevant it would be how well and frighteningly her own reimagining of a historical catastrophe would square with our actual living experience of its modern sequel. Kellogg is a former books editor for The Times. Divided EU leaders will meet again on Monday to try to agree the terms of a huge coronavirus economic rescue package after a night of tense haggling failed to yield a breakthrough. France 24 reports in its article EU leaders deadlocked in talks over Covid-19 recovery plan that after three days and three nights of talks, the 27 states still cannot settle on the exact size and rules of a 750-billion-euro ($860-billion) bundle of loans and grants to help drag Europe out of a recession caused by the pandemic. The leaders gathered briefly on Monday morning after spending the night negotiating in smaller groups in pursuit of a deal, only to adjourn until 4pm (1400 GMT). French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Monday that he believed an agreement on a recovery plan could be reached. Le Maire also told French BFM TV that the future of Europe in the 21st century was at stake. "An agreement is possible. An agreement is a necessity", Le Maire said of the the European summit negotiations in Brussels. Coalition of 'Frugals' Over a working dinner on Sunday night, summit host and EU Council President Charles Michel made a fresh effort to win over the coalition of "Frugals" - the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Finland - which has sought to cut the size of the package and impose strict rules on how it is used. As fears grew that the summit would collapse without agreement, Michel suggested cutting the grant portion of the deal to 400 billion euros - down from his initial proposal of 500 billion - and raising the loan part to 350 billion, up from 250 billion. But this was not enough for the Frugals, who insisted grants be cut to 350 billion and demanded big rises in the rebates they get on their EU contributions. Tempers flared as frustration boiled over after a full weekend of haggling, with French President Emmanuel Macron upbraiding the Dutch and Austrian leaders for their intransigence and threatening a walkout. The French leader banged the table and accused Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte of behaving like former British premier David Cameron - who took a hard line at EU summits but ended up leading his country into a referendum to quit the bloc, and losing his job. Macron prepared to walk Macron, who was pushing for grants to stay at 400 billion, said he would rather walk away than make a bad deal. In a bid to break the deadlock, Michel came up with a new proposal on Monday morning, which a diplomat said could be a "route to a deal". "A plan with 390 billion in grants but smaller rebates for the Frugals," a European official explained. In a promising sign for Michel's new plan, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz tweeted his approval. "Tough negotiations have just come to an end, we can be very satisfied with today's result," he wrote. Round after round of small group meetings went on all day Sunday as Michel, aided by Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, tried to drag the Frugals and the more indebted - and virus-ravaged - on board for a compromise, but progress was painfully slow. Veto demand Rutte wants member states to have a veto on national economic plans by the likes of Italy and Spain, in order to oblige them to pursue reforms to borrowing and their labour and pensions markets - an effort that was angrily resisted by Italy. Over dinner, Michel made a heartfelt speech reminding leaders of the devastating human cost of the pandemic - 600,000 dead including 200,000 in Europe - and urged them to come together to complete what he called a "mission impossible". "The question is this: are the 27 leaders, responsible for the people of Europe, capable of building European unity and trust?" Michel said, according to a copy of his remarks seen by AFP. "Or will we present the face of a weak Europe, undermined by mistrust?" Meanwhile, another obstacle emerged when Hungary's hardline premier Viktor Orban accused Rutte of waging a personal vendetta against him and his country - and vowed to prevent any agreement on efforts to tie EU spending to recipient countries' respect for EU standards. If youre waiting for OnePluss U.S. website to update with ordering information for the new 5G Nord, weve got some bad news. Its not happening. Not later today or probably ever. The announcement of the long-rumored and oddly named Nord represents a return to OnePluss mid-range mindset, but its only launching in Europe and India. And while sales of the OnePlus 8 Pro are reportedly not great, the company isnt looking to bring the Nord to the States: Our history has shown that focusing on just a few markets first and then expanding has worked well. While this new smartphone product line will initially be available in Europe and India, we look forward to bringing more affordable smartphones to North America in the future. The phrasing might leave the door open to a possible launch, but the statement doesnt sound like the Nord is ever coming to the U.S. Thats a shame. Even without the latest processor or display tech, the Nord is an extremely attractive 5G phone that brings flagship style and performance at an excellent price: Dimensions: 73.3 x 158.3 x 8.2 mm 73.3 x 158.3 x 8.2 mm Display: 6.44-inch OLED, Full HD (2400 x 1080), 90Hz 6.44-inch OLED, Full HD (2400 x 1080), 90Hz Processor: Snapdragon 765 5G Snapdragon 765 5G RAM: 8GB/12GB 8GB/12GB Storage: 128GB/256GB 128GB/256GB Front camera: 32MP Wide + 8MP Ultra-wide (105 degrees) 32MP Wide + 8MP Ultra-wide (105 degrees) Rear camera: 48MP Wide + 8MP Ultra-wide (119 degrees) + 2MP Macro+ 5MP Depth 48MP Wide + 8MP Ultra-wide (119 degrees) + 2MP Macro+ 5MP Depth Battery: 4,115mAh The OnePlus Nord may cost hundreds less399 Euros, which works out to around $450 with current conversion ratesbut it includes many of the flagship features from the $699 OnePlus 8 and $899 OnePlus 8 Pro. Its got a 90Hz display for smooth scrolling, 30T Warp Charge for super-fast charging, and of course, 5G. It also includes the companys first dual-selfie cam as well as the same 48 MP Sony IMX586 sensor as the OnePlus 8. Of note, it also forgoes OnePluss own message and phone apps for Googles stock Android apps, also a first. Following the thousand-dollar OnePlus 8 Plus, the Nords price and philosophy is a refreshing return to the Never Settle motto. Unless, of course, you bought a OnePlus 8 and feel a little cheated. Or was thinking of buying the OnePlus 8 Pro and are now wondering why its so expensive. In a sea of extremely high priced 5G phones, the Nord could have been a hit for the OnePlus in the U.S., but alas, the only place to get one will likely be eBay. Whether the Nord is a sign of things to come for future OnePlus handsets remains to be seen, but for now, U.S. fans likely have a long wait ahead of them. Update 7/21: Added details about the Nords pricing. Kevin Trejo, a 21-year-old from Westwood, was arrested on Monday after it was determined he spat into the drinks of several officers at a Park Ridge location An employee at a New Jersey Starbucks has been detained for spitting in numerous drinks belonging to police officers, local authorities shared. Kevin Trejo, a 21-year-old from Westwood, was arrested on Monday after it was determined that he spat into the drinks of several officers at a Park Ridge location. 'Under the current COVID threat, it is extremely disturbing to think that someone would intentionally spit in your drink,' Park Ridge Police Capt. Joseph Rampolla said, NorthJersey.com reports. It is currently unknown just how many drinks were allegedly spat into. A spokesperson for Starbucks said Trejo's actions were 'reprehensible' and shared that the employee had been fired. 'We will continue to support Park Ridge Police in their investigation and have a deep respect for the Park Ridge Police Department and the officers who help keep our partners and communities safe,' the spokesperson added. Rampolla noted that the Park Ridge location normally has an amicable relationship with local authorities, hosting several 'Coffee with a Cop' events. The Park Ridge location normally has an amicable relationship with local authorities, hosting several 'Coffee with a Cop' events 'We believe this was an isolated act but it does not remove the shock and disgust that our officers feel,' Rampolla said. He added that officers who were possibly exposed to the coronavirus will be tested for the virus. Trejo was charged with subjecting a law enforcement officer to bodily fluid, purposely tampering with a law enforcement officer's drink and creating a hazardous environment. The incident comes as police across the country have accused several restaurants of tampering with their food or drinks, amid growing tension as protest call an end to police brutality in the United States. 'Officers risk their lives daily, it shouldn't be while getting coffee,' Patrick Colligan, president of the New Jersey State Policemen's Benevolent Association, said in a statement. A Florida teachers union sued Governor Ron DeSantis on Monday over the state's push to do a full school reopening next month. The state is requiring a school reopening with in-person instruction but the American Federation of Teachers, the teachers' union that sued the state head, is concerned with the surge in coronavirus cases in Florida. They are the largest Florida teachers' union and they sued with its local partner Florida Education Association, reported Forbes. In the order, issued this month by the state education commissioner Richard Corcoran, the school reopening will have to happen at least five days a week for all students, an order opposed by many teachers. Districts will have to submit reopening plans and have those plans approved by the state to receive funding. What was violated? The teachers say the push towards a school reopening defies a provision in the Florida Constitution that ensures public schools are "safe and secure", reported NBC News. Union head Fedrick Ingram said in statement that DeSantis needed a "reality check" and their union is giving him one. Ingram added that the governor has to accept that the virus is "surging out of control". The union said that doing a school reopening now "without the proper plan, resources and safety precautions" will only worsen the spread of the virus, risk public health and cause longer closures in the long run. The lawsuit was filed in a state circuit court and named its defendants: DeSantis, Corcoran, Florida's Education Department and the State Board of Education. This may spark a debate over school reopening amid the pandemic in all of U.S. In Miami, a lawsuit was filed, and it was joined by teachers and parents. The lawsuit said the Department of Education order defies the recommendations on safely reopening schools. Other than Corcoran, the Miami lawsuit also names the Florida Board of Education, DeSantis and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. DeSantis Kept His Distance The order received backlash from parents, teachers and school districts since it was first issued. NPR said in a report that DeSantis chose to distance himself from the order when he was asked about it Monday. "I didn't give any executive order," he said. He pointed out that it was the Department of Education who issued the order and not him. But the Board of Education's commissioner and six of its members were appointed by DeSantis. DeSantis said the mandate to reopen schools has his support, but it was a suggestion and not required. In a statement, Corcoran said the lawsuit "frivolous" and "reckless". He believed the union may have not read or does not understand the order. He said the order follows a Florida law that requires schools to be open for 180 days in a year, and the five days a week order for 36 weeks meets that. Corcoran added that there are online options for families to choose from if they believe it is "what works best for the health and safety of their student and family." The President has not been moved in his conviction to open schools again this fall. He threatened to pull funding from districts that do not do so. Last week, the state recorded 80,000 cases with 742 dying due to the virus. That makes up more than 17% of all positive cases in the U.S. last week. Florida has been struggling with a big surge in coronavirus cases. They were having more than 10,000 cases on Monday alone. Want to read more? Check these out! RIYADH, July 21 (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's King Salman is in stable condition, three Saudi sources said, after the 84-year-old monarch was admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh on Monday with what state media said was inflammation of the gall bladder. The king, who has ruled the world's largest oil exporter and close U.S. ally since 2015, was undergoing medical checks, state media on Monday cited a Royal Court statement as saying without further details. Three well-connnected Saudi sources who declined to be identified, two of whom were speaking late on Monday and one on Tuesday, told Reuters the king was "fine". An official in the region, who requested anonymity, said he spoke to one of King Salman's sons on Monday who seemed "calm" and that there was no sense of panic about the monarch's health. King Salman received phone calls from the leaders of Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan on Monday, state media reported. A diplomatic source said the kingdom's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman flew back to Riyadh on Monday from his palace in the Red Sea city of NEOM, cancelling a planned meeting with a visiting Iraqi delegation. The diplomatic source and the third Saudi source said he was still in the capital. King Salman last spoke publicly on March 19 in a five-minute televised address about the coronavirus pandemic. State media have published pictures and videos of the king chairing online weekly cabinet meetings. Media have also carried images of the crown prince attending those meetings online. King Salman, the custodian of Islam's holiest sites, spent more than 2-1/2 years as the Saudi crown prince and was deputy prime minister from June 2012 before becoming king. He also served as governor of the Riyadh region for more than 50 years. He named his young son Mohammed as crown prince to become next in line to the throne after a 2017 palace coup that ousted then-Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. (Reporting by Marwa Rashad, Raya Jalabi and Aziz El Yaakoubi; Writing by Ghaida Ghantous; Editing by William Maclean) By Devika Krishna Kumar NEW YORK (Reuters) - Oil prices were little changed on Monday as coronavirus cases increased in many countries, though a flurry of announcements about a potential COVID-19 vaccine and ongoing talks over a European Union fund to revive economies hit by the pandemic curbed losses.Brent crude settled up 14 cents, or 0.3%, at $43.28 per barrel, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) rose 22 cents, 0.5%, to $40.81. "As things stand, prices are not likely to produce any sizeable gains very soon, until a signal that the pandemic slows down," said Rystad Energy's head of oil markets Bjornar Tonhaugen. "Even though in Europe the virus has been cornered, the Americas and some Asian states still have a long way to go." More than 14.5 million people have been infected by the novel coronavirus globally and more than 604,000 have died of COVID-19, the disease caused by the pathogen, according to a Reuters tally. Prices found support after three groups said their potential vaccines showed promising results. An experimental coronavirus vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Britain's University of Oxford was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed, keeping alive the hope it could be in use by the end of the year. More than 150 possible vaccines are in various stages of development with U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and China's CanSino Biologics also reporting positive responses for their candidates on Monday. Investors are also looking to the EU summit for trading cues, with leaders showing the first signs of compromise over carving up a proposed 750 billion euro ($858.3 billion) recovery fund to revive economies. "Over the past few weeks, crude oil prices have actually been uncharacteristically quiet, suggesting a potentially sharp move could be on the cards soon," said Fawad Razaqzada, market analyst with ThinkMarkets. Story continues "If the recovery in demand turns out to be quicker and more robust than expected, the supply surplus could diminish fast given the ongoing supply restrictions by the OPEC+ group. This should mean higher oil prices, everything else being equal." While fuel demand has recovered from a 30% drop in April after many countries imposed strict lockdowns, usage is still below pre-pandemic levels. U.S. retail gasoline demand is falling again as infections rise. Rising tension between China and the United States also put pressure on prices. China's embassy in Myanmar on Sunday accused the United States of "outrageously smearing" the country and driving a wedge between it and its Southeast Asian neighbours over the contested South China Sea and Hong Kong. Saudi Arabia's 84-year-old ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has been admitted to hospital, suffering from inflammation of the gall bladder. The king has ruled the world's largest crude oil exporter and close U.S. ally since 2015. (Reporting by Bozorgmehr Sharafedin; Additional reporting by Aaron Sheldrick in Tokyo; Editing by Marguerita Choy and Jan Harvey) Gangster Vikas Dubey was shot six times and received 10 injury marks in the encounter with the Special Task Force (STF) and the Kanpur police on July 12, says the postmortem report released on Monday. Of the six bullets fired at him, three went through the upper body, said the report, adding that the gangster died of haemorrhage and shock due to ante mortem firearm injuries. Hindustan Times is in possession of the postmortem report prepared by a panel of three doctors in Kanpur. Two bullets pierced through the left side of the chest and the other went through the right side of Dubeys shoulder. Other injuries were presumably caused in the process he was trying to flee and might have fallen, said the report. The report doesnt mention the distance the shots were fired from. The entry points of all the bullets were on the front side. Dubey was killed in an encounter near Sachendi here when he was being brought back from Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh, where he was arrested. Canada says black boxes of downed Ukrainian plane arrive in Paris Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 6:40 AM Canada's foreign minister says the black boxes of a Ukrainian plane that crashed in Iran in January has arrived in France for analysis. Francois-Philippe Champagne said in a tweet on Sunday that the boxes were expected to be taken to France's BEA air accident investigation agency -- one of the world's leading agencies for reading flight recorderson Monday, adding that Canadian transportation officials would be present. With 167 passengers and nine crewmembers on board, Ukraine International Airlines flight PS752 crashed outside Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport on January 8, moments after takeoff. The crashed plane was carrying Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and people who had Canada as their final destination. Iranian authorities acknowledged that the plane had been downed due to human error at a time when Iran's air defenses were on high alert due to increased hostile American aerial activity in the aftermath of Iran's missile strike on a US military base in Iraq. The missile strike came after Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, the commander of the Quds Force of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), was assassinated in a US drone attack along with his companions, outside Baghdad International Airport on direct order from US President Donald Trump. Last week, Iran's deputy foreign minister said the black boxes had been sent to Paris for analysis. "The black boxes were transported to Paris yesterday by officials of the Civil Aviation Authority and a judge," Mohsen Baharvand said Saturday. Earlier this month, the Civil Aviation Organization of the Islamic Republic of Iran said in an interim report that the mismanagement of an air defense unit's radar system by its operator had been the key "human error" that led to the accidental downing of the Ukrainian plane. The CAO also said the air defense unit operator had acted "without receiving any response from the Coordination Center" on which he depended. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Army officials today released the name of a 1st Cavalry Division soldier who was found "unresponsive" near Fort Hood, Texas on July 17. Pvt. Mejhor Morta's body was found in the vicinity of Stillhouse lake, southeast of Fort Hood, according to a Fort Hood news release. Read Next: Soldier Vanessa Guillen's Murder Now a Rallying Cry for Lawmakers The incident is currently under investigation by Bell County Sheriff's Department, the release states. The 26-year-old native of Pensacola, Florida entered the Army Sept. 2019 as a Bradley fighting vehicle mechanic, and was assigned to the 1st Cavalry's 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Armored Brigade Combat Team in May 2020, according to the release. "The Black Knight family is truly heartbroken by the tragic loss of Private Mejhor Morta," Lt. Col. Neil Armstrong, commander of 1st Battalion, 5th Cavalry, said in the release. "I would like to send my heartfelt condolences to his family, friends and loved ones. My thoughts and prayers are with them during this difficult time. "Private Morta was a great Trooper and this loss is felt by every member within our formation." Morta's awards and decorations include the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, National Defense Service Medal and the Army Service Ribbon, according to the release. Morta's death follows the recent deaths of two other Fort Hood soldiers. In late June, Hood officials announced that skeletal remains found in Killeen, Texas, had been positively identified as those of Pvt. Gregory Morales, a Hood soldier who went missing in August. And on July 6, Army officials at Hood confirmed that the human remains discovered near the massive Texas post had been identified as Spc. Vanessa Guillen's. Guillen, a 20-year-old 3rd Cavalry Regiment soldier who disappeared April 22, was allegedly murdered by Army Spc. Aaron Robinson, according to a July 2 criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office Western District of Texas. Guillen's case has become a rallying cry for lawmakers and advocates of female veterans, who are now calling for an end to the culture of sexual harassment and sexual assault in the U.S. military. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Related: Fort Hood General Makes Facebook Plea to Find Missing Soldier Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (Reuters) Stockholm, Sweden Tue, July 21, 2020 08:40 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667ff766 2 World Sweden,contact-tracing,tracing-COVID-19,SARS-CoV-2,coronavirus,virus-corona,COVID-19,COVID-19-infection,novel-coronavirus,pandemic Free Sweden's health agency said on Monday it was changing its COVID-19 contact-tracing guidelines so that tracing is done to a larger extent by the individuals infected. The new guidance breaks from a strategy adopted by most countries where authorities trace and notify people who have had close contact with a carrier of the disease. An agency spokeswoman said it was much better that individuals themselves contact people they may have infected, rather than official tracking units which currently have this responsibility. The existing system worked well when the number of infections was lower but had become less effective as the number grew, she said. Unlike most tracing systems, the Swedish system is not anonymous as individuals are expected to deliver the news of their infection to anyone they've been in close contact with. It is not yet clear how this will work in practice or whether authorities will check up on this do-it-yourself arrangement. The health agency is expected to issue full guidelines in the coming days. Although the number of infections in Sweden has slowed in recent weeks, a total of 78,048 people have been infected since the pandemic began, a figure far outstripping its Nordic neighbors. Sweden decided to forego a hard lockdown and keep most schools open, and allow businesses to stay open, throughout the outbreak, a strategy that set it apart from most of Europe. The spokeswoman said the new guidelines will not apply to individuals who are too ill to carry out the responsibility and that authorities will have the discretion in certain cases to do the tracing rather than the patient. A coalition of business groups is calling for urgent action from all levels of government to save the food service industry from imminent failure amid the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A coalition of business groups is calling for "urgent action" from all levels of government to save the food service industry from "imminent failure" amid the economic fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. The consortium which includes 18 industry and business representatives from across Canada, including Molson Coors Beverage Co. and the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce is urging moratoriums on rent evictions and easing tax burdens on the food and hospitality industry, among other "urgent actions," in an open letter dated Monday to the prime minister, Council of the Federation and Federation of Canadian Municipalities. The group writes that the majority of restaurants face an uncertain future when it comes to continued operation as safety requirements limit revenue and increase costs in an industry with already thin margins. Prior to COVID-19, states the letter, the food and hospitality sector directly created one out of every 15 jobs (roughly 1.2 million Canadians) and served 22 million meals per day. "Today," the letter reads, "the industry is untenable as revenues are off by between 60 and 70 percent amid continued social distancing rules while the industry must continue to pay nearly full pre-COVID level costs." "No business can continue to run at a loss indefinitely," says Loren Remillard, president and CEO of the Winnipeg Chamber of Commerce. "And itd be a shame if we had to let go of our local restaurants that form so much of our cities identities." Remillard says each sector has been impacted on a different level during the pandemic. He pointed to data from the letters authors that suggests the restaurant industry will be among the last to resume normal operations, estimating a span of at least the next 12 to 18 months. "If there was a business that was adamant not to adapt to new trends in their industry like e-commerce, that would be something of their own choosing," he said. "But COVID-19 is not a trend. Its nothing we could have ever prepared for." Shaun Jeffrey, executive director of the Manitoba Restaurant & Foodservices Association, said easing property taxes and fees associated with utilities and patio upkeep will "undeniably" help the provinces restaurants. "It doesnt take a mathematician to see the issue here," he said. "When youre only at 50 per cent of your revenue and still incurring high costs of fees and taxes, its hard to keep going." "Add on top, the fees of personal protective equipment and its an even bigger problem." Jeffrey said the letters suggestion to implement moratoriums on commercial rent eviction is something hes heard from multiple Manitoban businesses during the pandemic. "Weve seen people kicked out of buildings because they couldnt afford rent," he said. "Its a pandemic and we have to understand that its going to take some time before things are better." The letters authors also asked the federal government to implement proposed improvements to the emergency wage subsidy and continue to create incentives for people to return to work. It asks them to eliminate the automatic annual federal excise tax increase on beer, wine and spirits, and start encouraging people to resume pre-COVID activities with safety measures. Bram Strain from the Business Council of Manitoba and Chuck Davidson from the Manitoba Chambers of Commerce, however, believe that protocols must be in place so that businesses dont become entirely dependent on government support. "We have to understand that all of these incentives must have timelines," said Davidson. "In order for them to be actually helpful, they have to keep being updated as we try to understand what are the areas that support is most needed and most utilized." "The golden question here is to figure out when government needs to stop helping," said Strain. "If were only going to ever see restaurants get to 50 per cent capacity, at what point do the businesses have to take the responsibility themselves and change their business models?" 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. "Thats an answer we wont have for a while." Steve Hrousalas, who runs Rae & Jerrys Steak House on Portage Avenue, says he wishes there was a way to convince people to come back to his restaurant in the numbers they once did. Hrousalas said federal support has been helpful for his business, but "the City of Winnipeg needs to do more." "What the city doesnt understand is that if they keep taking money from us now, they eventually wont have anyone to take money from at all." "All I can do is make sure were following health protocols until its all better," he added. temur.durrani@freepress.mb.ca All nine defendants recently arrested in connection with a drug raid on a Nederland fireworks shop can remain free pending trial, a federal judge ruled Monday. The government had sought to keep at least two defendants, Jake Daughtry and Jesse Hackett, locked up as flight risks prior to a trial set for September. A prosecutor said federal agents found passports, hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash, a go bag and multiple firearms during the July 15 raids at the business and at Daughtrys home. Assistant U.S. Attorney Michelle Englade argued during a hearing that lasted more than four hours that Daughtry had the means to flee the country if released. U.S. Magistrate Judge Zach Hawthorne ruled otherwise, noting that the passports had been confiscated and that Daughtry has close family ties in Nederland. His parents and his wife, Christina Daughtry, live in the Mid-County community. But Hawthorne ordered Daughtry not to have any personal communication with his parents, Joseph and Sandra Daughtry, or any other co-defendants in the case, which involves allegations of a nationwide drug distribution ring that may be linked to at least two deaths. The only exception, the judge said, would be if attorneys for the suspects are present and the topic is their legal defense. A federal indictment alleges that Jake Daughtry and the other defendants knowingly sold 1,4 butanediol, commonly known as BDO, for human consumption. The product was sold at Jakes Fireworks and online from an adjoining chemical company, an indictment charges. BDO can be legally sold as a cleaner, but if consumed it becomes a date-rape drug. Jake Ellis Daughtry, 34, Joseph Ellis Daughtry, 64, Sandra Miller Daughtry, 72, were indicted on a variety of drug trafficking and money laundering charges and arrested following the raid at Jakes Fireworks. Also charged were employees Jordan Lee King, 31; Tanner John Jorgensen, 28; and Austin Wayne Dial, 28; all of Nederland; and Kip William Daughtry, 46, of Vidor; and Jesse Lee Hackett, 37, of The Woodlands. A ninth suspect, later identified as Joshua Whisneant, also has been arrested in connection with the case, but details regarding his involvement have not been released. At the federal courthouse on Monday, Joseph and Sandra Daughtry sat in the back of the courtroom while their son waited to see if he would remain in jail until trial. Englade said agents found a total of nearly $400,000 in various locations at the firework shop on FM 347 in Nederland. Drug Enforcement Administration Special Agent Robert Wexler also testified about recovering a go bag, which allegedly contained $21,000 in cash, a log of bank account information, a flash drive and two flip phones that the agent referred to as trap phones. Jake Daughtrys attorney, Dustin Galmor, countered by saying that the contents of the bag were all legal items and that most of the cash was found in safes at the business. Prosecutors also brought up the Daughtrys travel habits, stating that they have gone out of the country 10 to 12 times over an undetermined amount of time. Both Jake and Christina Daughtrys passports were confiscated during the raid of their home, which took place the same day as the fireworks shop raid last Wednesday. Englade said agents found Christina Daughtry apparently had two valid passports, both of which were confiscated. Wexler testified that he feared the Daughtrys could have assets in other countries given that Jake Daughtrys company, Right Price Chemicals, allegedly made $4.5 million from selling BDO over a five-year span. Galmor said the sales total did not account for company overhead costs. Hawthorne ruled in the defendants favor and allowed all to be free on pretrial conditions. The government withdrew motions for detention for Jordan King, Austin Dial, Tanner Jorgensen and Kip Daughtry. They were all released with a $50,000 unsecured bond, which the defendants will have to pay if they do no show up for court. Hawthorne also issued a $50,000 unsecured bond to Hackett. Hawthorne issued Jake Daughtry a $250,000 unsecured bond and named Christina Daughtry as his third-party custodian. That means she is responsible for making sure he follows the pretrial conditions. chris.moore@beaumontenterprise.com twitter.com/chris_moore09 Armenian News - NEWS.am presents a daily digest of Armenia-related top news as of 21.07.2020: It was relatively calm on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border Tuesday night, the Defense Ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan wrote on her Facebook. In some sections of the border, the opponent violated the ceasefire 17 times, firing 183 shots in the direction of the Armenian positions from small arms," she noted. As the spokesperson told Armenpress one of the servicemen wounded as a result of Azerbaijans military operations on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border is still in extremely critical condition, the others are getting better, and four servicemen already feel fine. A total of 35,254 COVID-19 cases have been confirmed in Armenia with 24,206 recoveries and 662 deaths, the health ministry reported. And 10,171 COVID-19 cases are currently undergoing treatment. In total, 148,180 tests have been completed. Thus, we have 273 new cases and 704 recoveries. Six cases of death were registered yesterday when the patients tested positive for COVID-19, but the cause of death was another disease. The total of such cases is 215. On July 7, the country was in ninth place in the world, and on July 10 it returned to tenth place. According to worldometers.info, 35,254 cases were reported in Armenia - 11,896 cases per million inhabitants. The death toll has reached 662: this is 223 deaths per million inhabitants - Armenia is now 23rd in the world in this respect. A smuggler and drug dealer who illegally crossed the Armenian-Iranian border with five kilos of heroin has been neutralized in Armenia. According to the press service of the police, information about the violator came in early July. The operation to capture the criminal was carried out in the Syunik province. The violator turned out to be a 24-year-old citizen of Iran, Azerbaijani by nationality. A criminal case was initiated. The man is arrested. The investigation continues. The US Congress approved Congressman Frank Pallone's amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act, which requires transparency of the Pentagon's foreign aid programs. The amendment requires a report from the Secretary of Defense, in collaboration with the Secretary of State, addressing allegations that some units of foreign countries that have participated in security cooperation programs may have also committed gross violations of internationally-recognized human rights before or while receiving US security assistance. As the expert Suren Sargsyan said, although Azerbaijan is not indicated in the document, it is fully related to the US-Azerbaijani relations. He recalled that over the past two years, Azerbaijan has received military aid from the US of $ 100 million. If you were looking for the Charlestown Democratic Town Committee website and ended up here, try this Got news tips, gossip, suggestions, complaints?E-mail us: progressivecharlestown@gmail.com We strive to avoid errors in our articles. Our correction policy can be found here PHILADELPHIA, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The current new normal around the world prompted and inspired the re-emergence of PrimeHangout a 100% minority owned social media positioned to successfully compete through amazing creativity and innovation. Here it is, new, free and life transforming social media developed for all fun-loving people of the world, Dr. Henry I. Balogun Founder/CEO, author of "Enemy of The Human Race" as well as "Culprit of Division: The Naked Truth" announced. Dr. Henry I. Balogun "Slide over Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, there is a new great place for people to hangout, enjoy and grow like never before! It is a unique playground for adult to connect, communicate one-on-one or in group, broadcast messages, inspire one another, show creativity and make extra income." Within the PrimeHangout platform are the following incredible technologies among many: Smart Classified, otherwise known as sClassified is a new technology designed to seek out employment opportunities for you while you're busy with other aspect of your live. "Traditional way of looking for a job is to search for it. sClassified is out to reverse that tradition and this is no longer a plan. It is done. From now on, available jobs are going to be looking for qualified candidates. Our goal is to make it easier for anyone interested in employment to find one." sClassified comes with the kind of automation and screening process only technology can deliver and this is just the beginning. is a new technology designed to seek out employment opportunities for you while you're busy with other aspect of your live. "Traditional way of looking for a job is to search for it. is out to reverse that tradition and this is no longer a plan. It is done. From now on, available jobs are going to be looking for qualified candidates. Our goal is to make it easier for anyone interested in employment to find one." comes with the kind of automation and screening process only technology can deliver and this is just the beginning. PrimeHangout Mall physically showing up at the mall has been a great way to shop. You now have additional option. You can now hit the mall virtually, from anywhere, using any device. The new real virtual mall developed as an integral part of a social network is now open for business, Dr. Balogun emphasized. "PrimeHangout enables individuals as well as existing retailers to open stores and sell to millions of people virtually. There is simply nothing like it - a real mall where you can open a real store and sell real products." physically showing up at the mall has been a great way to shop. You now have additional option. You can now hit the mall virtually, from anywhere, using any device. The new real virtual mall developed as an integral part of a social network is now open for business, Dr. Balogun emphasized. "PrimeHangout enables individuals as well as existing retailers to open stores and sell to millions of people virtually. There is simply nothing like it - a real mall where you can open a real store and sell real products." Transparency the time has come to help students from elementary school to high school and possibly beyond in their quest for academic excellence, declared by Dr. Balogun. "No child should suffer and struggle quietly with learning problems, hence the development of Transparency. What is Transparency? Transparency is a free tool designed to help students overcome learning anxiety. For the sake of emphasis, Transparency is absolutely free. Ask your school to register to experience the beauty of it. What you see or have access to within the PrimeHangout platform depend on who you are and your login credential. PrimeHangout provides helpful and growth oriented interconnected web of technologies within a social media and this is just the beginning There is nothing like this. PrimeHangout takes social networking to a new height. You've got to experience it to believe it. We are still work in progress. Go to www.primehangout.com to register and invite as many people as possible (friends, family, co-workers, including businesses, religious organizations and fellow members of the same congregation) to also register and experience the amazing benefits of PrimeHangout. We are asking the media (Television, Radio, News Papers, Magazines) to give us equal attention, equal coverage and equal exposure as accorded Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Finally, we are asking investors to check us out for possible investment. We are ready to continue to innovate and grow as God would grant us the opportunity. Come in and hangout with us for a rewarding experience. Contact: Henry I. Balogun, Ph.D, Tel.: (215) 704-8223 or [email protected]. Do not forget to follow us on Twitter @PrimeHangout. SOURCE PrimeHangout Related Links https://www.primehangout.com/ Atos to become a customer of Unify Office, starting deployment with Atos Unified Communications and Collaboration (former Unify Division) Atos SE (CAC40: ATO), a global leader in digital transformation, and RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG), a leading provider of global enterprise cloud communications, collaboration, and contact center solutions, today announced the expansion of their strategic partnership with the launch of a co-branded UCaaS solution called Unify Office (UO) by RingCentral. In addition to the system integrator relationship announced previously, the expanded partnership will now include Unify Office as the exclusive UCaaS offering for the 40 million user installed base of the Atos Unify product family. Unify Office is expected to be available starting August 31, 2020. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005365/en/ This will allow Atos to maximize the global market opportunity in digital transformation by adding a strong cloud communications solution to its portfolio. Unify Office, combined with the Atos Unify OpenScape product family and market leading Atos Unify Cloud Contact Center offering, gives Atos' customers unique access to leading solutions across all the major Unified Communications categories. Atos will also become a customer of Unify Office and start to deploy Unify Office for Atos UCC (former Unify Division) with a view to expand this across the 110,000 employees. Unify, formerly Siemens Enterprise Communications, was acquired by Atos in 2016. During the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, Atos accelerated its relationship with RingCentral and engaged within the strong Atos Unify reseller landscape to certify more than 90 channel partners with an Early Adopter Program to sell the new Unify Office. "At RingCentral we've always been focused on enabling employees to be productive and collaborate from anywhere, using any device and through the modality of their choice to drive effective business outcomes," said Vlad Shmunis, Founder, Chairman and CEO, RingCentral. "By bringing Unify Office to the 40 million users of Atos Unify's family of products, we will provide organizations with the ability to accelerate digital transformation across their entire enterprise." Atos will bring added value to RingCentral's leading UCaaS offering through the exclusive compatibility of the Atos Unify family of devices and market leading services capabilities. In addition, Atos will provide fully integrated Digital Workplace offers with some of Atos' biggest technology and alliance partners. Unify Office will be the exclusive UCaaS solution offered through the Atos Unify Channel Program, allowing its reseller community of more than 1,700 partners worldwide to add their own value. "This is a critical moment for workplace communications. Organizations are returning to their offices in a new normal and require accelerated digital transformation of their workplace environment," said Elie Girard, CEO, Atos. "With our unique heritage in Unified Communications, we're excited about combining our knowledge with the market leader in UCaaS to start a new chapter for business communication solutions worldwide." About Atos Atos is a global leader in digital transformation with 110,000 employees in 73 countries and annual revenue of 12 billion. European number one in Cloud, Cybersecurity and High-Performance Computing, the Group provides end-to-end Orchestrated Hybrid Cloud, Big Data, Business Applications and Digital Workplace solutions. The Group is the Worldwide Information Technology Partner for the Olympic Paralympic Games and operates under the brands Atos, Atos|Syntel, and Unify. Atos is a SE (Societas Europaea), listed on the CAC40 Paris stock index. The purpose of Atos is to help design the future of the information space. Its expertise and services support the development of knowledge, education and research in a multicultural approach and contribute to the development of scientific and technological excellence. Across the world, the Group enables its customers and employees, and members of societies at large to live, work and develop sustainably, in a safe and secure information space. Atos UCC refers to the former Unify Division. Atos Unify refers to the product family of former Unify products and partner program. About RingCentral RingCentral, Inc. (NYSE: RNG) is a leading provider of cloud Message Video Phone (MVP), customer engagement and contact center solutions for businesses worldwide. More flexible and cost effective than legacy on-premise PBX and video conferencing systems that it replaces, RingCentral empowers modern mobile and distributed workforces to communicate, collaborate, and connect via any mode, any device, and any location. RingCentral's open platform integrates with leading third party business applications and enables customers to easily customize business workflows. RingCentral is headquartered in Belmont, California, and has offices around the world. 2020 RingCentral, Inc. All rights reserved. RingCentral and the RingCentral logo are trademarks of RingCentral, Inc. Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains "forward-looking statements," including but not limited to, statements regarding RingCentral's plans to partner with Atos to offer a co-branded UCaaS solution and the anticipated benefits of and activity under RingCentral's strategic partnership with Atos, including the ability to create long-term growth opportunities for RingCentral. These forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that may cause actual results to differ materially, including risks related to the parties' ability to perform their obligations under the commercial arrangement, the parties ability to successfully develop and execute the envisioned jointly developed programs, technology and automation, the ability to successfully transition customers to RingCentral's UCaaS solution, as well as those risks and uncertainties included under the captions "Risk Factors" and "Management's Discussion and Analysis of Financial Condition and Results of Operations," in RingCentral's Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020, filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission; and in other filings RingCentral makes with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time. All forward-looking statements in this press release are based on information available to RingCentral as of the date hereof, and we undertake no obligation to update these forward-looking statements, to review or confirm analysts' expectations, or to provide interim reports or updates. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005365/en/ Contacts: Investor Relations Contact: Ryan Goodman, RingCentral (650) 918-5356 Ryan.Goodman@ringcentral.com Press Contacts: Laura Fau +33 6 73 64 04 18 laura.fau@atos.net Jyotsna Grover 650-513-8712 jyotsna.grover@ringcentral.com Samsung's new foldable Galaxy Fold 2 phone will be a little cheaper than the previous model when it is unveiled next month. According to industry insiders Monday, Samsung is in talks with mobile providers to set the price tag of the Galaxy Fold 2 at around W2.3 million (US$1=W1,204). The Galaxy Fold 1 cost W2.39 million. Samsung will also unveil its latest Galaxy Note 20 with wireless headphones at an event on Aug. 5. The Galaxy Fold 2's screen is expected to measure 7.6 to 7.7 inches when spread out and 6.23 inches when folded. Pre-orders for the Galaxy Note 20 start on Aug. 7 and for the Galaxy Fold 2 in late September or early October. The Galaxy Note 20 is expected to cost between W1.2 million and W1.45 million. Samsung has already put a teaser image of the Galaxy Fold 2 on Twitter, showing it in a "mystic bronze" hue. Official website of Legacy Home Comfort Presented brand-new testimonials Arlington, VA (July 2020) Legacy Home Comfort is a respectable heating and air-conditioning company ready to help once the problem is noticed. The clients wish is always listened to and his satisfaction is the basic mission of Legacy Home Comfort. These days, some brand-new testimonials are published on the official companys website. All present and future clients can go through the Jane Seymour has become the latest Hollywood star to seek refuge in Australia amid the coronavirus pandemic. In an interview with The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, the 69-year-old actress revealed she's been quarantining in a Sydney hotel room after flying in from the US recently. The veteran actress is set to film the upcoming movie, Ruby's Choice in Sydney, and said she was 'very grateful to be able to work in Australia'. Down Under: Jane Seymour has become the latest Hollywood star to seek refuge in Australia amid the coronavirus pandemic. Pictured Speaking about life in quarantine, Jane revealed she hadn't been given any special treatment and said she was 'fine' with it. 'I can handle it. Seeing what's happened in California I'm so impressed by the way Australia is dealing with it. I have total respect for whatever inconvenience it may be. It's obviously worth it,' she added. But she admitted arriving in Sydney amid the current pandemic 'was scary at first'. Jetting in: In an interview with The Daily Telegraph on Tuesday, the 69-year-old actress revealed she's been quarantining in a Sydney hotel room after flying in from the US recently 'They take you off the aeroplane and you honestly feel like a criminal. It's very frightening,' she recounted. 'They put you on a bus like a prisoner and they have police and armed guards.' After arriving at her hotel for quarantine, Jane confessed she was hoping she'd be given a room with harbour views, but said that wasn't the case. Back at work: The veteran actress is set to film the upcoming movie, Ruby's Choice in Sydney, and said she was 'very grateful to be able to work in Australia' 'I got all excited thinking I might see something of Sydney but they put me in a back room with a wall and a bit of sky and everyone else gets to look at Darling Harbour. But not me,' she added. The only time she got to leave her hotel room was after she injured her leg while exercising, and needed to be rushed to hospital. Jane said the nurses were 'very nice and they are the only human beings I've seen since I've been here'. Life in lockdown: Speaking about life in quarantine, Jane revealed she hadn't been given any special treatment and said she was 'fine' with it Her arrival comes after Dannii Minogue and Nicole Kidman infuriated incoming travellers by being given special permission to quarantine in the comfort of their homes. After returning to the Gold Coast from the US earlier this month, Dannii, 48, and her 10-year-old son, Ethan, were granted an exemption on medical grounds. Meanwhile, Nicole, 53, and husband Keith Urban were allowed to quarantine at their $6.5million estate in the Southern Highlands after flying into Sydney from the US with their two daughters, Sunday, 12, and Faith, nine, on Monday. A San Antonio Independent School District agreement with the University of Texas at San Antonio will cover full tuition for SAISD graduates in the top half of their senior class and provide supports to improve enrollment and degree completion rates. UTSA will provide financial aid packages subject to available funding, and if SAISD students receive outside scholarships, the university will reduce loans and work study from their packages instead of federal and state grants. Tom Reel, Staff / San Antonio Express-News The SAISD board approved the collaboration Monday. Its objectives include enrolling approximately 200 graduates a year at UTSA and getting 50 percent to graduate from the university in six years, up from 30 percent now. In a five-year contract, SAISD agreed to promote UTSA as an attractive higher education option to students and families. The district has similar agreements with Trinity University, the University of Houston in Victoria and Austin College in Sherman. And it wants more such deals with schools both in and out of Texas, to help it achieve an 80 percent college enrollment rate by 2025, said Liz Ozuna, the districts executive director of advanced academics. Marvin Pfeiffer /San Antonio Express-News Our goal has been to create the kinds of partnerships that allow students a broad range of choices and an agreement that they will not necessarily award full rides, but will give favorable packages that allow students to attend, Ozuna said. UTSA is a good choice and so is Texas A&M-San Antonio and so is UT-Austin and frankly, so is Yale and so is Cornell and so is Johns Hopkins. And we have students that match to those and it is our job to make sure students can attend those. UTSA has consistently ranked among the top five college choices for SAISD graduates. More than 600 students in SAISDs class of 2019 applied to UTSA. Approximately 450 were admitted but only 210 enrolled in the fall of 2019, according to the school district. Some of them chose other colleges, but others ran into barriers that UTSAs new senior vice provost for strategic enrollment, Lynn Barnes Jr., has helped SAISD identify. Some students didnt understand their financial aid packages, didnt pay certain fees or missed important communications because their SAISD email accounts were shut off after graduation. Some missed orientations or information sessions. Jerry Lara /San Antonio Express-News That, we feel like, is partly our responsibility, Ozuna said. Half of the SAISD graduates who went to UTSA last year didnt meet admissions criteria for academic colleges within the university, meaning they couldnt yet pursue chosen majors, although theyd racked up many dual credit hours. Required Reading: Get San Antonio education news sent directly to your inbox Effective immediately, SAISD agreed to provide UTSA access to recruit students who are a good fit and declare an interest in attending the university, including a high-traffic space at career fairs. The school district will educate its high school counselors and advisers on UTSAs student success initiatives for first-generation and low-income students and collaborate with the university to design others. This is probably not just a UTSA problem, Ozuna said. UTSA agreed to direct outreach efforts toward SAISD students and potentially assign enrollment leads to applicants from SAISD. The university will accept certain application materials, such as test scores, transcripts, fee waiver forms and letters of recommendation, directly from SAISD counselors and advisers. It will group SAISD alumni together in orientation sessions, learning communities and some courses and identify mentors for them. According to SAISD, the university could cover tuition for as many as 500 of its graduates per year, but a university spokeswoman said Tuesday that 200 are expected to enroll and that we and SAISD dont know how many students will be supported through the program. UTSAs graduation rate has improved drastically in recent years but still remains below the national average. The universitys most recent six-year graduation rate, reported last fall, neared 51 percent compared to 62 percent nationally. The school district and university already partner in a number of areas, including dual credit courses, career pathways, test preparation, essay writing and other college exploration opportunities. It isnt that we havent been doing things already with them, Ozuna said. This is just a bit more formalized. Alia Malik covers several school districts and the University of Texas at San Antonio. To read more from Alia, become a subscriber. amalik@express-news.net | Twitter: @AliaAtSAEN Siobhan Murphy, a staff nurse, told the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response that the physiological impact of Covid-19 has been detrimental to herself and her colleagues. Picture is screenshot of Oireachtas TV. A young nurse who contracted Covid-19 said that hospital staff were catapulted into the pandemic. Siobhan Murphy told the Special Committee on Covid-19 Response that the physiological impact of Covid-19 has been detrimental to herself and her colleagues. The 27-year-old, who has no previous underlying health conditions, has not returned to work for almost 14 weeks because of the severe side effects. She was in hospital for a week after her symptoms escalated. "I became an in-patient in the hospital where I work, where just a week previous, I would have been standing as a nurse at the bedside, providing care. "To me, the workplace was a hazard." Staff nurse and INMO member Siobhan testifies before the Oireachtas COVID committee. pic.twitter.com/YAWwO8tRei Irish Nurses & Midwives Organisation (@INMO_IRL) July 21, 2020 She told the committee that she unjustifiably contracted Covid-19 when she worked on a coronavirus ward because of staff shortages and staff being completely overwhelmed. My experience was over-exposure and burnout due to the challenge that we already faced pre-Covid with under-staffing and being overwhelmed with the ever-expanding role of being a staff nurse, she said. We were catapulted into this pandemic but we faced it with strength as a team. The exposure of Covid-19 as a nurse was profound and there has been psychological side-effects and symptoms that I am still experiencing today. I am still off work, as are three of my colleagues while four colleagues required hospital treatment due to contracting Covid-19. Thirteen out 20 colleagues contracted Covid-19. I believe I was competent in my PPE, we had extensive training and education on the ward on a daily basis as PPE did change depending on supply. Having a phone number or an app for physiological trauma or PTSD is not sufficient. We need significant debriefing going forward. Our mortality rate was incredibly high. We are nurses who save lives but we were fighting a losing battle at the start of Covid-19 and we dont want to see that again. I dont think I could walk into a work place that isnt safe and thats how I felt at times, even with PPE, to me it was a hazard. I ended up in hospital for a week due to my symptoms that escalated and out of my control and I had to be monitored and investigated as an inpatient in a hospital where I work, where just a week previous I would have been standing at the bedside providing care to dying patients who succumb to Covid-19. That is extremely traumatising and I dont know if any nurse could overcome that with just a number or app. More needs to be done. People Before Profit Richard Boyd Barrett said that frontline workers have not been supported in the way they should. He said: I find it shocking and frightening that healthcare workers on the frontline are working unsafe hours, with unsafe staffing levels. They are being put under pressure even when they have underlying conditions or for financial reasons and that if that persists we are deep trouble if there is a second wave, which is very likely. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The billionaire Benettons are being forced out of Italys motorway network in the wake of the tragic collapse of the Morandi Bridge in 2018. After years of wrangling over what consequences should be faced by Atlantia SpA, the Benetton-backed infrastructure company that maintained the structure, a settlement is all but inked. Its far from the worst outcome for the family. The government last week announced a package of measures against Atlantia, including the partial nationalization of the companys 88% stake in Autostrade per lItalia SpA, the toll-road business that operated the Genoa bridge. The precise details remain hazy. Plan A would be for postal-savings bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti SpA to join with allied institutional investors in acquiring control of Autostrade by buying just over 50%. CDP would inject capital in the process. At that point, Atlantia could own less than 40% of the highway operator. Then the unit would be given its own stock-market listing, so shareholders in Atlantia would gain a separate share in Autostrade. With a 30% stake in Atlantia, the Benettons would on that basis receive a holding of just over 10% in Autostrade, nudging them into the background. Its still not clear what the financial terms of this maneuvering would be. The pricing would have to be guided by what the outside investors decide Autostrade is worth, to demonstrate its gone through a free-market process. But the government is imposing a host of measures that reduce Autostrades value 3.4 billion euros ($3.9 billion) in compensation, maintenance and toll cuts, plus much harsher cancellation terms for its main motorway concession. La Repubblica says the postal-savings bank could put in 4 billion euros for a 33% holding. If that was all new cash going into the business, it would value Autostrade at 12 billion euros with the injection, and just 8 billion euros without it. Before the disaster and the pandemic analysts estimated the equity to be worth around 14 billion euros. Story continues The billions potentially saved nationalizing Autostrade on these terms could be countered by both higher Italian borrowing costs and reduced inward investment if international investors balk at this highly politicized resolution to the row. The investigation into the disaster has yet to conclude. Autostrade has said it has always met its obligations under the highways concession agreement, spending more on maintenance than it had originally committed to. There is also a big question here about whether the apparent transfer of value from Atlantia to CDP and new investors is so great. It will ultimately depend on the cost of upgrading Italys roads and thousands of other road bridges. That will take years to emerge. The burden is now being shifted to a new set of shareholders. For Italy, the solution is probably the most workable way of achieving its political goal of being seen to punish the Benettons in the aftermath of the disaster. But the Benettons are also getting something close to a clean break from a politically charged and seemingly endless situation that their family name has become synonymous with. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Chris Hughes is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering deals. He previously worked for Reuters Breakingviews, as well as the Financial Times and the Independent newspaper. 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. 3 1 of 3 Hearst Connecticut Media file photo Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Hearst Connecticut Media Show More Show Less 3 of 3 HADDAM Diving crews from surrounding municipalities were dispatched to Haddam Meadows State Park on Saybrook Road / Route 154 around 5 p.m. Monday on the report of a missing swimmer. Middletown Fire Chief Robert Kronenberger said members of Haddam Volunteer Fire Co., the citys South Fire District and Portland Fire Department were on scene to provide assistance as needed. The Delhi high court on Tuesday ordered in-camera proceedings in a senior army officer's plea challenging the Indian Army's recent policy banning armed forces personnel from using social networking platforms like Facebook and Instagram. The high court conducted the hearing in-camera after the counsel for the Centre requested for it on the ground that it was a very sensitive decision taken by the Army and the inputs cannot be made public. Accepting the request, a bench of Justices Rajiv Sahai Endlaw and Asha Menon, which was conducting the hearing through video conferencing, asked its court master to only keep the lawyers associated with the case and remove all others, including media persons, from the weblink. According to those who were privy to the proceedings, the high court has reserved its order on the issue of maintainability of the petition. The bench was hearing the petition of Lieutenant Colonel P K Choudhary who was on July 14 asked by the High Court to either abide by the mandate of the organisation or put in his papers. At the outset when the advocate representing Choudhary commenced his arguments, Central government standing counsel Ajay Digpaul said this is a sensitive matter and 'I request for an in-camera proceeding. Those who are not in connection with it may be asked to leave'. He added that it was a very sensitive decision taken by the Army based on deliberation on specific inputs which cannot be made public. The counsel representing the army officer said he does not have any problem if the proceedings are conducted in-camera. However, he added that there is no confidentiality in the decision as the letter has been circulated by the Army to all its officials and even it has informed the media about it. The high court had earlier declined to grant any interim relief to the army officer saying the officer has a choice to make and asked him to delete his FB account. It had said the policy to ban the use of social networking platforms for army personnel was taken keeping in view the security of the nation. It had said he can create a new social media account later. The army officer had sought an interim relief that he be allowed to retain his Facebook (FB) account in deactivated form till the court decides whether to entertain his petition after going through the Army's policy under challenge. According to the new June 6 policy, all Indian Army personnel have been ordered to delete their accounts from Facebook and Instagram and 87 other applications. Choudhary has contended that once deleted all the data, contacts and friends in his FB account would be 'irretrievably lost' and the loss would be 'irreversible'. The Centre, represented by Additional Solicitor General (ASG) Chetan Sharma, had earlier told the court that the policy decision was taken as 'we found that Facebook was a bug. It was infiltrating as a cyber warfare and there were so many instances of personnel being targeted'. He had said the petitioner's grievance was that he needs FB to communicate with his family in the United States, when there were other modes of communication like WhatsApp, Twitter and Skype which were available to him. The petition has sought a direction to the Director General of Military Intelligence to withdraw its June 6 policy to the extent that it orders all the members of the Indian Army to delete their accounts from Facebook and Instagram and 87 other applications. The plea said Choudhary got to know through a July 9 news report about the Army's order requiring him and other personnel to delete Facebook, Instagram and 87 other applications by July 15. Choudhary, who is currently posted in Jammu and Kashmir, said in the plea that he is an active user of Facebook and uses the platform to connect with his friends and family as most of them are settled abroad, including his elder daughter. In the petition, the officer has sought a direction to the Ministry of Defence to withdraw the June 6 policy to ensure that the fundamental rights of armed forces personnel are not abrogated amended or modified by arbitrary executive action which is not backed by the mandate of law, offends the provisions of the Army Act and Rules made thereunder and is unconstitutional. The petition has alleged that the policy which bans social media platforms is illegal, arbitrary, disproportionate, violates the fundamental rights of soldiers including but not limited to the freedom of speech and expression, the right to life and the right to privacy. It has said the authorities have cited security concerns and risk of data breach as the basis of imposing the restrictions contained in the policy regarding usage of social media platforms but the act of banning it is a clear violation of Article 14 (Equality before law) of the Constitution. The plea also seeks a declaration that the Director General of Military Intelligence is not empowered under the Constitution or under any other law to modify, amend or abrogate the fundamental rights of the petitioner and other members of the armed forces. Besides, the Centre and Director General of Military Intelligence, the petition has also made Chief of the Army Staff, who is the professional head, commander and the highest-ranking military officer of the Indian Army, party to the petition. Wearing of masks has divided the country, but hand-washing is something that everyone would probably have the same opinion on. After all, hand-washing is one of the most crucial acts that could halt the spread of the new coronavirus. But several millennials claimed that bar soaps are contaminated with germs, rather, they promote using liquid soap. So what type of soap is actually recommended for hand-washing? Does the type of soap used for hand-washing really matter? Inverse looked into the issue in order to finally answer these queries. On a statement made by a student doctor at the University of Oregon's Institute of Molecular Biology, it said that the size of disease-causing microbes is too small to be seen by a naked eye. But if these microbes could actually be seen, then we'll be able to determine if the coronavirus is on our hands and know when to hand-wash or avoid people. With our normal sight, we are not capable of seeing trillions of microbes, which include fungi, bacteria, and viruses, that reside in our microbiomes, something that's being carried by all living creatures in their bodies. On the statement, the student doctor said how we are being described by one of their professors as walking clouds of microbes. The different parts of our bodies, including the skin, cater specific micro-environment. Like the Peanut character in Pig-Pen, all of us are constantly acquiring and transferring microbes as we come across people and surfaces. As carriers of different microbes and at the same time trying to protect ourselves from the new coronavirus, hand-washing for at least 20 seconds is advised by the experts. Since Covid-19 is transmitted by droplets from breathing, sneezing, and coughing, being cautious with our actions and proper hand-washing to prevent the virus from invading our body after we come to contact with other people and surfaces, can help impede the spread of the virus. Read also: COVID-19 Symptoms: Mouth Rash Observed in 29% of COVID-19 Patients from Spain According to the World Health Organization proper hand-washing for at least 20 seconds reduces the number of microbes present on our hands. This is applicable whether you are using a bar or liquid soap. Both kinds have surfactants, which decrease surface tension that let soap to disperse. Soap surfactants are compounds that have dual properties; one interacting with oil, dirt, and microbes present on the skin and the other interacting with water. Covid-19 is an "enveloped" virus that is being adjoined by a lipid or fatty acid that is an easy mark for surfactants, which are essential in dissolving the membrane and killing the virus. Bar and liquid soaps are fairly effective in lowering the number of microbes on our skin since both have surfactants. But aesthetically, they are different. Several people find the residues left of bar soaps on soap dishes as unpleasant to look at. To add on, bar and liquid soaps have a different carbon footprint. Bar soaps have been used way back 2800BC. Vegetable or animal fats were transformed into soap and alcohol when it reacts with alkali. When rubbing your hands with bar soap, the friction created is bonus hygiene, as it might help remove debris better. Although some people worry that bar soaps may grow bacteria, it has been proven by studies that there is little to no chance of transmission from bar soap to hands when washing. The mass production of liquid soaps, containing detergents that are artificially surfactants, started in the 1980s. Production of liquid soaps is more expensive. This requires five times the energy needed to produce bar soaps. To battle Covid-19, using either type of soap does not matter. What matters now is we unite as a society and practice three lifesavers that we have, wearing masks, social distancing, and proper hand-washing. Related article: Moderna Leads the COVID-19 Vaccine Race, Set to Begin Final Phase of Trials by End of July @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. City officials in Jacksonville say the GOP moved the Republican National Convention to the Florida city too late and they're likely not to pull it off. 'If I were them, I'd start thinking about going virtual or scaling down even more than they've done,' Jacksonville City Council President Thomas Hazouri told the Miami Herald. Jacksonville's Sheriff Mike Williams warned that they were 'past the point of no return' of being able to get proper security protocols in place to host a widely attended, in-person convention starring the president of the United States. President Trump pushed for the Republican National Convention to be moved to a city that would allow a full convention, with planning in works to have it in Jacksonville, Florida. But local officials believe that the move came too late Local officials including Jacksonville City Council President Thomas Hazouri (left) and Duval County Sheriff Mike Williams (right) have warned that the convention may need to be virtual because the event was planned too late President Trump is photographed accepting the Republican nomination in 2016 in Cleveland. Trump wanted the same fanfare at his 2020 nominating convention and moved the main events to Jacksonville, Florida after North Carolina's governor couldn't make guarantees 'With less than 40 days until the expected Republican National Convention is slated to arrive in Jacksonville, I am compelled to express my significant concerns with the viability of the event,' said Williams, the Duval County sheriff, in a statement. 'At this point, we are simply past the poitn of no return to executive the event with safety and security that is our oblication,' Williams added. Hazouri said in his interview with the Herald that Republicans 'need to have a plan A,B,C,D, and E,' since time is tight and coronavirus cases in Florida continue to grow. The Republican National Convention was supposed to be in Charlotte, North Carolina, but President Donald Trump moved the main events to Jacksonville after being told by North Carolina's Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper he couldn't hold a large event without expressed COVID precautions. On Sunday night, Trump told supporters via phone that Cooper had tried to limit the Charlotte convention to '10 people' in a 19,000 seat arena. Cooper told CNN Monday this wasn't true. 'That is incorrect,' spokesman Ford Porter told the network. 'The governor and state officials worked with the RNC to safely hold their convention and asked for written plans for keeping attendees safe.' 'Instead, beginning on Memorial Day, the president and RNC staff demanded a guarantee that they could hold a full convention without social distancing or face coverings,' Porter continued. 'This was not a guarantee the governor could make, particularly months in advance.' In mid-June, the RNC announced that the main events of the August 24 through August 27 convention would take place in Jacksonville. Florida is a key swing state and Trump is supported by Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis. Williams said he knew getting the RNC off the ground would be a 'huge lift,' but funding and planning where events would happen have also hamstrung the effort. 'With a growing list of challenges - be it finances, communication and timeline - I cannot say with confidence that this event and our community will not be at risk,' Williams said. 'With a timetable that was aggressive to say the least, the communication required to make critical steps come together just never seemed to gel.' 'And still has not,' he warned. For the past 20 years, in his second career as a best-selling author, Howard Bloom has been grappling with the big questions, all of which can be boiled down to, as he puts it here, What does the universe want from you and me? Bloom has, in the pre-Covid-19 world chronicled in this documentary about him, a strict routine that helps him in this discipline. It includes morning exercise and consulting a list of reminders of what to take with him when he ventures out of his Brooklyn brownstone. It also involves a staggering number of medications, which he needs to combat his chronic fatigue syndrome, which struck him in 1988 and left him unable to step out of his bed, let alone his apartment, for many years. BRIDGEWATER, N.S. - Nova Scotia RCMP say they are evacuating part of Bridgewater, N.S., as they hunt for a suspect accused of domestic assault, the stabbing of a police officer in the neck and an alleged attack on a police dog. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. RCMP and town police search for a suspect after a Bridgewater Police Service officer was stabbed as he responded to a domestic violence complaint at The Bridgewater Hotel in Bridgewater, N.S. on Tuesday, July 21, 2020.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Andrew Vaughan BRIDGEWATER, N.S. - Nova Scotia RCMP say they are evacuating part of Bridgewater, N.S., as they hunt for a suspect accused of domestic assault, the stabbing of a police officer in the neck and an alleged attack on a police dog. On Tuesday evening, the police force tweeted it was moving people out of the neighbourhood where Bridgewater police and the RCMP have been searching for Tobias Charles Doucette. Doucette, who is in his 30s, has been charged with attempted murder of a Bridgewater police sergeant and assault on Doucette's common-law partner. The RCMP warned that Doucette may be armed with a knife and said a police dog had been stabbed. As the manhunt continues, they warned citizens in the southern part of town to stay indoors, lock their doors and only answer if Bridgewater police or RCMP knocked to escort them from the area. Police said earlier they were continuing to actively track the suspect with dogs and a helicopter in a wooded area. Doucette is accused of striking an officer in the neck with an edged weapon after police responded to a domestic violence call about 11 p.m. Monday night at the Bridgewater Hotel. The suspect, who police say is in his early 30s, allegedly fled on foot. Police said Doucette was wearing black shorts, no shirt and no shoes when he was last seen. They did not recover a weapon at the scene. Bridgewater police said the officer underwent surgery in hospital while the female victim was treated for minor injuries. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2020 Armenia called on Azerbaijan on Tuesday to agree to confidence-building measures that could prevent further ceasefire violations in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict zone. We hope that after the failure of its latest military adventure Azerbaijan will demonstrate responsibility on the issue of maintaining and strengthening the ceasefire, Anna Naghdalian, the Armenian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman, said, referring to last weeksclashes on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border which left at least 16 soldiers from both sides dead. There are explicit proposals to strengthen security and confidence, including an increase in the number of international monitors deployed on the ground, direct communication [between the two sides] and introduction of a mechanism for investigating ceasefire violations, Naghdalian told RFE/RLs Armenian service. Their implementation could help to avoid a renewed upsurge in tensions. Azerbaijani President Aliyev and his former Armenian counterpart President Serzh Sarkisian agreed on such safeguards against ceasefire violations during face-to-face meetings held after the April 2016 hostilities in Karabakh. Baku subsequently refused to implement them, however, saying that they would cement the status quo in the conflict. Sarkisians political allies have always portrayed those confidence-building agreements, strongly backed by the U.S., Russian and French mediators, as a major Armenian diplomatic achievement. They claim that Prime Minister Nikol Pashinian abandoned them after coming to power in May 2018 and embarking on a dialogue with Aliyev a few months later. Pashinian called for an international system of credible monitoring of the ceasefire regime when he met with Armenias Defense Minister Davit Tonoyan and top army generals over the weekend. Pashinians office would not say on Tuesday whether he is now trying to revive the agreements that were negotiated by Sarkisian. I think that commenting on the former authorities statements is an ungrateful task, Ruben Rubinian, the pro-government chairman of the Armenian parliament committee on foreign relations, said in this regard. We have always raised the issue of introducing a monitoring mechanism and will continue doing so, he added. Brett Coomer, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Houston will benefit from companies shifting their supply chains away from China because of trade wars and COVID, according to commercial real estate firm CBRE. That's because the region's port on the Gulf of Mexico is easily accessible by the countries in the European Union and in Asia that have seen increased business as United States companies shifted supply chains away from China, CBRE said. Rana Daggubati proposed to girlfriend Miheeka Bajaj just a few days before the lockdown was announced in the entire nation and that surely affected their spirits for a while. However, the couple decided to do functions with their family members in attendance. Rana and Miheeka got their parents to meet and decide the further plan of action in what is called the Roka ceremony on May 21, 2020. The pictures of the couple soon went viral on the internet. Then again there were pictures of Miheeka from their engagement ceremony during the lockdown. Many reports suggested that the couple will postpone their wedding due to the nationwide bandh, but seems like the two are unaffected by it and want to get married as soon as possible. A source told a leading daily, "Contrary to rumours, the wedding is not postponed. It will happen on August 8, as per plan," Rana Daggubati's father Suresh Babu had earlier confirmed in an interview that the wedding will happen in Hyderabad in the presence of family members from both the sides. He had also assured that all safety measures will be kept in mind during the celebration. LOS ANGELESIt was still early in Californias coronavirus outbreak when Lina Ili started feeling the symptoms that would soon turn her familys life upside down. Coughing and running a fever, she holed up inside the bedroom of her Long Beach home for weeks. But breathing grew increasingly difficult, Ili, 46, said. You couldnt even lie down because it felt like a heaviness on your chest. On April 5, her husband, Aoga Ili Jr., decided it was time to take her to the hospital, where she tested positive for COVID-19. The next day, her 22-year-old son, Taylor, was hospitalized. A few days later, her husband was too. In a matter of days, three of the five members of their household were put in the intensive care unit. Lina had it worst and spent four days on a ventilator. I wouldnt wish it upon my worst enemy, she said. Just as simple a thing as to breathe, I dont take it for granted anymore. The Ilis, whose parents came from Samoa more than 40 years ago, are among nearly 1,400 Californians with ancestry in Hawaii, Samoa, Fiji, Tonga and other Pacific islands who have been infected with the coronavirus, which is sickening and killing members of the small but close-knit community in disproportionate numbers. In L.A. County, Pacific Islanders suffer the highest infection rate of any racial or ethnic group, more than 2,500 per 100,000 residents. Thats six times higher than for white people, five times higher than for Black people and three times higher than for Latinos, according to county health demographic data that exclude Long Beach and Pasadena, which have their own health departments. Health experts say the reasons are similar to why Black people and Latinos are falling ill and dying at higher rates: reduced access to health care; higher levels of poverty; crowded housing; multi-generational households that make it more difficult to physically distance or quarantine; and higher rates of underlying health conditions that increase risk for severe illness from COVID-19, such as heart and lung disease, asthma and diabetes. Many Pacific Islanders also work in front-line jobs, such as food service, hospitality and health care, where they are more likely to contract the virus and bring it home. But community leaders say there are other factors that are unique to the culture of Pacific Islanders, and they say that public health officials have failed to adequately address them. Among these factors are cultural traditions that centre on large family gatherings, in-person church services, funerals and birthday celebrations that, in some cases, have continued despite orders to maintain social distance. Leaders in the Pacific Islander community say also that a cultural stigma associated with a positive diagnosis may be facilitating the spread of the virus. The shame factor of it is real, said Dr. Raynald Samoa, an endocrinologist at City of Hope in Duarte who battled COVID-19 himself. People are not getting their families tested. Theyre not speaking out, theyre not getting identified because theyre afraid that theyre going to have to stay home from work or that its going to negatively impact their family. Samoa has helped raise awareness by speaking about his experience in Facebook videos and other appearances and urging Pacific Islanders to take the virus seriously and heed health guidelines. Samoa faulted health officials for taking no proactive measures to reduce rates of transmission and infection in Pacific Islander communities. I wish there were things in place, but there was nothing, Samoa said. That left it to Pacific Islander groups to assemble their own COVID-19 response team, devise their own strategy and messaging based on past work with chronic diseases such as diabetes and cancer, and push the county to use it. California is home to nearly 317,000 Pacific Islanders, and more than 55,000 of them reside in Los Angeles County, according to census data that include people who identify as multiracial, which is common in the community. Statewide, Pacific Islanders have experienced infections and deaths at higher rates than most other groups, but the disparities arent as pronounced as they are in L.A. County. Their statewide infection rate is three times higher than that of white Californians, and 20% higher than Latinos infection rate, while their death rate is nearly 60% higher than that of white people but lower than that of Black residents. Although numbers remain small overall California has reported 35 deaths and 1,389 confirmed cases among Pacific Islanders as of July 15 they reveal an outsize toll on a community that already experiences higher rates of underlying health conditions. Sixteen Pacific Islander residents in L.A. County have died, for a rate of 83 per 100,000 people twice as high as white and Latino county residents. Health officials say they are not surprised by the high rates of illness. Sadly, these disparities are consistent with other health disparities we see and reflect deeply rooted and pervasive inequities in our society that are in part fuelled by racism, xenophobia, and a lack of opportunities and resources to support optimal health, Natalie Jimenez, a spokeswoman for the L.A. County Department of Public Health, said in an email. The county Health Department has examined statistics on Native Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders from the beginning of the COVID epidemic but did not initially report them to protect confidentiality due to the low numbers of reported cases and deaths, Jimenez said. Local health officials began releasing data on infections and deaths among Pacific Islanders at the urging of community groups who saw a lack of targeted response. Pacific Islander leaders began pushing officials, county by county, to release data on their community rather than lumping them together with Asians. In L.A. County, health officials began publishing those numbers in late April, two days after Pacific Islander groups requested it in a Zoom meeting. Jimenez, the department spokeswoman, said the reason we began publishing the disaggregated data was that, based on the communitys input and the unprecedented threat posed by the COVID epidemic, we felt that the benefits outweighed the risks of posting the statistics. Those statistics have been crucial for getting people in the community to take the threat seriously, said Alisi Tulua, a program manager with the Orange County Asian and Pacific Islander Community Alliance, which pushed for their release. Weve been using the data as our biggest, most convincing talking point. With the partial reopening and recent surge in cases, however, community groups and faith leaders fear theyll only see the trend compounded as waves of the virus spread through their families and churches. Our community is back to work and more exposed. So its going to be twice as hard to quarantine and try to get tested, Tulua said. While its flattening for other people, its still climbing in our community. If we bring it home, maybe were OK, but our parents will suffer. And if were not careful, were going to kill off a whole generation of our people. Jimenez said the L.A. County Health Department has been working with Pacific Islander groups for a few months to create culturally relevant and sensitive materials that resonate with the community. That includes tailored outreach with educational graphics that will be shared on social media in the Tongan, Samoan, Chamorro and Marshallese languages, public service announcement videos featuring Tongan, Samoan and Chamorro community leaders and photos of Pacific Islander families wearing masks. Those materials are being distributed to community leaders, she said. Because health officials had not yet released data on Pacific Islanders, the Ilis didnt know their community was seeing higher rates of coronavirus infection when they started getting sick. The oldest son, Pele Ili, 26, quickly became the only healthy adult in his household, and suddenly found himself the caretaker for his whole family, tending to his sick parents and brother while trying to protect his 12-year-old brother, Solo, from falling ill too. On Easter Sunday, Pele, a service manager at a payroll company who also blogs, posted about his familys experience on Instagram in an effort to get others to take the stay-at-home orders seriously. I was naive to think this couldnt touch my family. I was ignorant to think that me feeling healthy meant that I was okay to attend a few small gatherings but little did I know my house was compromised, Pele wrote on April 12. ... This could happen anywhere, anytime, and to anyone whenever youre not home. No one is above this. Being outspoken was important to combat the stigma, Pele later said. Pacific Islanders have this sense of pride, where they can take care of themselves and they want to keep everything in house, you know, just to not draw as much attention on our family. He documented his familys ordeal, shooting extensive video and posting it to YouTube, and now looks back on it as one of the most overwhelming and emotional times of his life. There were times where I didnt know if they were ever gonna come back out, he said. They could barely talk. And I think the hardest part was just not knowing what was going to happen. Dr. Samoa and other leaders worry that, in addition to being exposed to the virus at the workplace, people are being exposed to COVID-19 at churches that are the heart of many Pacific Islander communities. Although some have taken health precautions, others have seemingly ignored them, including one church that held an in-person fundraiser last month that was also streamed online, Samoa said. I didnt see a mask in that place, and the social distancing was minimal. Churches are where people congregate; its the village centre, Samoa said. So if the village leadership is not promoting safe behaviours, then the community suffers. The Rev. Kitione Tuitupou, pastor of First United Methodist Church of Bellflower, a multi-ethnic congregation of about 100 people that is majority Tongan, has been playing it safe, livestreaming Sunday services since stay-at-home orders were issued in March. Although people are eager to return, they are also fearful, he said. Peoples faith really holds them up at this time. So even though they really want to come back to church, we remind them to be patient. For the Ilis, the sudden suspension of in-person gatherings has been difficult and isolating. They had to halt their weekly attendance at St. Cornelius Church and the meals they shared with extended family afterward in favour of a livestreamed Mass. Yet theyve adopted new traditions to stay connected, like a 5:30 p.m. Zoom prayer hour with out-of-state family members. Were learning to be creative, Pele said. Lina Ili, now recovered, to this day doesnt know where she contracted the virus but is still dealing with the stigma. People are still kind of afraid to be in the same area as us, she said. But, at this point, she said she only regretted trying to fight off the illness at home for too long. She, like her oldest son, now speaks at webinars urging other Pacific Islanders who may be feeling symptoms to get tested and seek medical help. The hardest part for our culture is admitting you need help, Lina said. You could be helping someone else, or saving a life. DALLAS, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today released new insights analyzing the market for underground hosting services and detailing how and where cybercriminals rent the infrastructure that hosts their business. This first report of a planned three-part series details the market for buying and selling these services, which are the backbone of every other aspect of the cybercriminal business model, whether that includes sending spam, communicating with a command and control server, or offering a help desk for ransomware. Over the past five years, increased use and abuse of compromised assets has formed a whole new market. There are varied types of underground hosting and associated services used by cybercriminals to operate their businesses, including bulletproof hosting, virtual private networks (VPNs), anonymizers, and Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) protection. Such services could variously be used to protect availability, maintain anonymity, disrupt forensics, obfuscate physical location, and enable IP spoofing, among other things. "For over a decade, Trend Micro Research has dug into how cybercriminals think, as opposed to focusing only on what they do, which is critical when it comes to protecting against them," said Robert McArdle, director of forward-looking threat research at Trend Micro. "Today we release the first of a three-part in-depth series on how these criminals approach their infrastructure needs, and the markets that exist for such commodities. We hope that providing law enforcement and other stakeholders with a go-to resource on this topic will help to further our collective mission of making the digital world a safer place." Cybercrime is a highly professional industry, with sales and advertisements leveraging legitimate marketing techniques and platforms, all driven by cost to some extent. For example, one advertisement was found for dedicated, compromised servers based in the US starting at just $3, rising to $6 with guaranteed availability for 12 hours. Although many of these services are traded on underground forums, some of which are invite-only, others are clearly advertised and sold via legitimate social media and messaging platforms such as Twitter, VK and Telegram. In fact, the line between criminality and legitimate business behavior is increasingly difficult to discern. Some hosting providers have a legitimate clientele and advertise openly on the internet but may have resellers that sell exclusively to the criminal underground either with or without the company's knowledge. In the case of bulletproof hosters, which are more definitively linked to cybercrime, they are generally regular hosting providers trying to diversify their business to cater to the needs of specific customers. For a premium price, they're prepared to push to the absolute limit of what the law allows and prosecutes in their local jurisdiction. Understanding where and how these services are sold, and consequently impacting the cost of these sales, is arguably our best strategy to help make a lasting and repeatable dent in the cybercriminal underground market. Parts two and three of the series will further investigate the types of underground services and infrastructure offered, and the operational security and motivations of the actors who sell such services. To read the complete first report, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/us/security/news/cybercrime-and-digital-threats/hacker-infrastructure-and-underground-hosting-101-where-are-cybercriminal-platforms-offered. About Trend Micro Trend Micro Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data centers, cloud environments, networks, and endpoints. All our products work together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, faster protection. With more than 6,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world's most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to secure their journey to the cloud. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com. SOURCE Trend Micro Incorporated Related Links www.trendmicro.com Listening to US President Donald Trump tell Fox News on Sunday that We won two world wars, beautiful world wars, that were vicious and horrible, one does not know whether to laugh or cry. It is certainly a shocking statement, but the fact that it is no longer surprising to hear such crudity from the American president is, in itself, disturbing. The president boasts of having an Ivy League education and knowing the best words, but his poor and slurred speech and repetitive use of a very few words like tremendous, amazing and beautiful, tell a different story. The use of beautiful in this context of world war may be another slip of the tongue, caused by dementia something psychologists have claimed he may have. But this is different from Belgium is a beautiful city which slipped Trumps tongue in 2016. It signals something more sinister. Regardless of whether Trump meant it or not, the record shows his use of beautiful may rather be associated with his long history of salesmanship. Well, used-cars-style salesmanship to be precise. In other words, it is linked to deception. Trump has boasted of reviving beautiful clean coal and called the environmentally controversial Dakota Access oil pipeline beautiful as well. He has lamented the taking down of beautiful Confederate statues that are associated with the dark past of fighting to maintain slavery in the South, and bragged about his appointment of brand new, beautiful conservative judges. Trump has spoken of a beautiful healthcare bill to replace Obamacare, although it is yet to materialise as the administration continues its assault on what is left of the much-needed programme amid a pandemic. Trump has also committed to building a real, high and beautiful wall along the border with Mexico, which Congress and most Americans have opposed, prompting the president to declare a national emergency for the sole purpose of paying for it. Trump has justified his extraordinary decision to build his beautiful wall on the grounds of ending undocumented immigration, stopping drugs from coming into the US, and making Mexico pay for it. He has even warned of threats to national security. In reality, the construction of the border wall has not curbed border crossings, which have recently increased. It is also unlikely to have much effect on drug trafficking, as drugs are mostly smuggled through legal ports of entry. And, last but not least, Mexico is a trade partner, not an enemy it has not and will not pay for the wall. Nowhere is the use of beautiful more disturbing than in association with weapons and the Middle East. During his first foreign trip in 2017, Trump boasted in Riyadh of his eagerness to sell beautiful weapons worth tens of billions of dollars to Qatar and other rich Gulf countries to create more American jobs and better Gulf security. But a few days later, Trump sided with Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain when they imposed a blockade on Qatar based on false pretexts and fabricated pretences. Trump soon reversed his position, but has not been able to pressure his Gulf allies to end their siege on Qatar and cease the unnecessary divisions and instability. Instead, the Trump administration has inflamed regional instability by walking away from the Iran nuclear deal and, along with Israel, escalated tensions with Tehran. After the assassination of General Qassem Soleimani, the head of Al Quds Force of Irans Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, Trump boasted of spending $2 trillion on arms and threatened to target Iran with brand new beautiful weapons. Trump bragged about these and other Middle East policies to the Israeli American Council, which is subsidised mainly by his own patron-in-chief, casino owner Sheldon Adelson. There, he sang the praise of a beautiful and mighty Israel and ridiculed Arab and other leaders, who appealed to him not to recognise Jerusalem as the capital of Israel or recognise its annexation of the Syrian Golan Heights. And to top it all off and take it to a whole new level of absurdity, Trump later described the happy reaction of his once personal lawyer and present US ambassador to Israel, David Friedman, as that of a wonderful, beautiful baby. The preposterousness of the image is matched only by the farcicality of the story behind the decision on the Golan Heights. As Trump tells it, he asked for a quickie explanation about the Heights, then I went Bing! it was done. This has all been part of the big, big beautiful difference between his and his predecessors commitment to Israel one which comes at the expense of its Palestinian and Arab neighbours, and which ended up torpedoing decades of US Middle East diplomacy. Trumps beautiful policy failures in the Middle East are only matched by his failures in East Asia. Trump praised and mused about his love relationship with the North Korean leader, Kim Jong Un, who apparently sent him beautiful letters. After their 2018 summit, he declared that Americans can sleep well at night knowing that North Korea was prepared to give up its nuclear weapons. The following year, Trump praised Kims great and beautiful vision for his country which, as anyone who knows anything about the totalitarian regime knows, is a big lie, a political heresy, an utter humbug. And soon enough, it turned out his buddy Kim has been using their bromance to perfect his vision of North Korea as a nuclear power with long-range missiles capable of carrying nuclear warheads. For the record, Trump also said he received beautiful letters from Russian President Vladimir Putin and Chinese leader, Xi Jinping. Need I say more? Trump even got a beautiful birthday card from Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman as the latter cracked down on royal family members, journalists and human rights advocates. And so the president with the beautiful temperament and beautiful [some say small] hands promises to continue to work for a bright and beautiful future for the new generations across the Middle East and beyond. A beautiful man indeed. The question is: Would you buy a beautiful used car from him? Proclaim to men the pilgrimage: they will come to thee on foot and on every lean camel, coming from every remote path Quran, Surat Al-Hajj This time of the year has a particular spiritual significance in the hearts of millions of Muslims around the world, a time when hearts are yearning for the annual Hajj, one of the pillars of Islam, and eyes are readying for a breathtaking glimpse of the holy Kaaba, the Bait Allah, or House of God, and the black cube at the centre of Mecca, literally at the heart of Islam. The Kaaba represents the qiblah, the direction that Muslims face during their five daily prayers, and it is also the sacred place that worshippers from around the world visit every day and every hour to perform the umra (the lesser pilgrimage) and the annual Hajj. This year, however, the Covid-19 pandemic has dealt a blow to the pilgrimage season, and it will be limited to people living in Saudi Arabia in order to stem its spread. Many devoted Muslims around the globe will now look on the Kaaba on video instead, and for the first time in modern history it has been standing almost in awesome solitude, with only a handful of worshippers visiting for months on end and even during the holy month of Ramadan. The cities of Mecca and Medina, at the centre of the pilgrimage, have also been sealed and closed to visitors for months on end for the first time in modern history. But it is also at this time of the year that an important historical tradition associated with the Hajj is remembered. On the ninth day of the month of pilgrimage, the Dhul-Hijjah, the Kaaba receives a new and perfumed kiswa covering in a tradition that dates back to the earliest days of Islam and that adds even more glow and veneration to the object of Muslims passion. The tradition is considered an act of veneration, and thus a huge amount of care in terms of costly fabrics, craftsmanship, and long months of hard work by hundreds of textile workers is dedicated to the pure gold and silver calligraphy of Quranic verses skillfully embroidering the black cotton-padded silk of the kiswa, reportedly costing some $5 million. The awesome cover weighs more than 650kg, including 12kg of pure gold and 25kg of silver thread. The old kiswa that the new one replaces is usually gifted to important figures and museums around the world, either in full or in smaller pieces, and it is sometimes sold at auction to raise money for charity. Historians have chronicled the different stages of the kiswa and its different colours, fabrics, and designs. It is said that in the early days of Islam the Kaaba was draped in fine multicolored textiles including white, green, and red, and that it was only after the late 12th century CE (sixth century Hijri) that the black colour was adopted and about two centuries later the tradition of adorning the black silk drape with gold and silver calligraphy was started. According to Manal Atia, director-general of the Sharjah Museums Department in the UAE, which houses many important sacred textiles from Mecca and Medina, the tradition of changing the kiswa that dates back to the earliest days of Islam tells a story not only about faith and the central significance of the holy city of Mecca in Islamic history, but also about exquisite craftsmanship and the believers calligraphers, weavers, dyers, embroiderers that were and continue to be involved in its annual creation. The traditions accompanying the mahmal [the caravan carrying the kiswa from Egypt to Mecca in past centuries], ranging from parades, festivities, and Hajj scenes painted on walls [wall paintings depicting the Hajj was a long-standing historical tradition], tell us a lot about the cultural aspects of the Hajj season in historic Egypt as well as the political significance it involved, commented Sherine Al-Kabbani, a researcher in Islamic history and culture and the author of a MA thesis on the Egyptian mahmal. Historians have chronicled how the rulers of different periods competed in providing the holy kiswa, not only in a quest for its blessings, but also because it was a symbol of power over the haramayn, the two cities of Mecca and Medina. Providing the kiswa was widely seen as a symbol of supremacy over the Islamic world, and the rulers who provided it also saw themselves as the protectors of Islam and its sanctuaries. THE MANUFACTURE OF THE KISWA: Egypt boasted of being the official provider of the holy kiswa for centuries on end, and the Dar Al-Kiswa Al-Sharifa in Khurunfish Street in the Gammaliya district of Cairo tells stories of hard labour, festivities, and great pride in producing the kiswa.Egypts contribution to the weaving of the black Kaaba drape dates back to the early days of Islam. According to Al-Kabbani, the second Muslim caliph of Islam, Omar Ibn Al-Khattab, asked Egypt to provide the kiswa from the Qubati cloth of the time due to the fact that Egypt was widely known for its high-quality fabrics and skilled textile workers.Egypt and Yemen were the two main sources of the kiswa at the time. According to Nahla Nassar, author of an article on the Dar Al-Kiswa Al-Sharifa published in the British Museums collection of essays on the Hajj, the Prophet was the first to have used Egyptian Qubati cloth for that purpose, followed by [the three Rashidi Caliphs succeeding the prophet] Abu Bakr, Omar, and Othman.The tradition continued into the Umayyad and Abbasid periods, and there are several accounts of the caliphs ordering cloth, directly or through their agents, from the tiraz factories of Tunis, Tuna, and Shata [all near Damietta] in Egypt, Nassar said. When the Fatimids came to power in Egypt, they too dressed the Kaaba with Egyptian-made cloth.But it was during the later Mameluke era, particularly during the reign of Sultan Baybars, that Egypt really asserted its hegemony over the tradition and became the main official provider of the Kaaba drape every year in the face of rivalry from other rulers, Al-Kabbani told Al-Ahram Weekly.At various times in the past and under the originally Central Asian Mamelukes of Egypt, the major textile-making centres were in Egypt and Syria, says Maria Sardi in another article in the British Museums essays on the Hajj called Weaving for the Hajj Under the Mamelukes.Under the Ottomans, the kiswa was put together by specialised workshops in the Turkish cities of Bursa and Istanbul. During Ottoman times, the transport of the mahmal was restricted to the Cairo and Damascus caravans, and when the Albanian leader Mohamed Ali Pasha ruled Egypt after 1805, the manufacture of the kiswa moved to Cairo.The Mameluke sultans also provided the curtain for the Kaaba door and a covering for its interior that were both manufactured in Cairo. The fabric covering the Kaaba entrance was called the evil of Fatima after the Mameluke Sultana Fatima Shajarat Al-Dorr, whos believed to have been the first to send the fabric to Mecca, Sardi said.According to Nassar, the cost of the kiswa was met by the treasury (bayt al-mal) until 1349-50 CE, when [the ruler] Al-Saleh Ismail established a waqf [endowment] through which the revenue from three villages in Egypt was set aside to meet the cost of the yearly kiswa for the Kaaba and one every five years for the prophets tomb and minbar [pulpit]. This waqf, Nassar chronicled, was dissolved in 1813 during Mohamed Alis fiscal reforms. Subsequently, and up until 1962, the cost of providing the Meccan textiles was met by the Egyptian treasury. Different sources give different accounts of where exactly Egypts textile centres were located in the early days of manufacturing the Kaaba drape. Nasser suggests that the weaving of the kiswa seems to have been done at the Mosque of Al-Hussein in Cairo during the Mameluke and early Ottoman periods, although there is mention of its being woven also at the tiraz factory in Alexandria; then it moved to the Qasr Al-Ablaq in the Citadel, and then to the Warshet Al-Khurunfish in 1817. The latter was a large textile centre established by Mohamed Ali in Cairo in the area of the Bayn Al-Surayn and the Christian quarter known as the Khamis Al-Ads, according to Nassar. Nassar said the Warshet Al-Khurunfish was a huge workshop on which vast sums of money had been spent. He added that neighbourhood sheikhs were assembled and instructed to gather 4,000 young men from Cairo to work under the supervision of craftsmen and learn crafts. It was estimated that 10,000 youths might be needed once the place was complete, he said. The workshop was under government control and was known as the Department of the Noble Kiswa. According to Sardi, the esteem for the Kaaba cover was such that a high official bearing the prestigious title of the Nazir al-kiswa bi dar al-tiraz (controller of the kiswa at the state textile workshop) supervised its manufacture in the royal atelier. The name of the workshop was later changed to the Dar Al-Kiswa Al-Sharifa in 1953, when it was affiliated to the Ministry of Religious Endowments, according to Nasser. He provided a detailed description of how the workshop was equipped with machinery and skillful craftsmen, who worked under strict supervision and laboured for some 10 months every year in the intricate embroidery of the kiswa. In the other two months, the workshop was dedicated to producing the embroidered robes of honour and uniforms worn by pashas, clerics, and diplomats, as well as making marks of rank for the army and police and embroidered covers for the tombs of saints. Stables were also affiliated to the workshop for the camels needed to carry the mahmal that took the kiswa to Mecca in a big procession. THE EGYPTIAN MAHMAL: When finished, the fine Kaaba drape was carried in the mahmal, a wooden frame covered with brocaded silk, in a parade around the streets of Cairo accompanied by tambourines, trumpets, and whirling dervishes, whilst the chief steward of the shrine marched ahead of the displayed hangings, according to Sardi.According to Nassar, the mahmal took the cubical shape of the Kaaba in its lower half, while the upper part took a pyramid or tent-like shape according to the historical period in which it was made or the country from which it came.Fabrics of exquisite quality were commissioned by the former royal family to cover the mahmal, Sardi added. The place held by the mahmal within the procession of the caravan was prominent, and upon its departure from Cairo impressive festivals took place which the whole populace gathered to watch.The day of the mahmals parade through the streets of the capital was one of great festivity. The shops were decorated, and the streets were strewn with fine fabrics, while a band of seven drummers escorted the palanquin alongside a Mameluke corps of selected lancers, Sardi wrote.The mahmal was carried by a huge camel, called nabeel (noble), followed by other camels each called mabrouk (or blessed) that carried the luggage and water for pilgrims and were protected by soldiers throughout the journey to Mecca. According to Sardi, fine yellow silks were used as horse trappings for the troops of the horsemen escorting the mahmal alongside manifold velvets and gold brocades that decorated the saddles of the camels marching ahead.In her study, Al-Kabbani describes how many Egyptians considered the mahmal a source of blessing and sought to receive that blessing by touching, kissing, or at least watching the mahmal as it went through the streets of Cairo before its departure to Mecca.Many of these scenes were depicted in murals, she said. People would even seek to kiss the feet of the camels carrying the mahmal, believing that they would receive blessings since those feet would soon tread in Mecca and Medina. Rulers and governors similarly sought to kiss the camels and perfume the mahmal with bokhor scents, a scene that was often depicted on murals.A huge skeleton of the nabeel camel now stands in testimony of such rituals at the Manial Palace Museum in Giza, while parts of the holy kiswa are on display in the Egyptian Textile Museum in Cairo and the Bibliotheca Alexandrina, as a remembrance of the good old days.But there is more to the holy kiswa than blessings. Both al-Kabbani and Sardi made it clear that the rulers of the time were also keen on bestowing the covers of the holy shrines in Mecca and Medina for the political significance this tradition involved. After all, according to Sardi, the name of the Mameluke sultan was inscribed on the Kaaba covering and thus his power symbolically spread into the Hijaz in what is now Saudi Arabia. According to Sardi, the Hajj was an event of great religious and political importance, which the Mameluke sultans recognised almost from the very beginning. In the years of the Mameluke hegemony over Egypt and Syria (1250-1518 CE), the holy cities of Mecca and Medina were put under the control of the Mameluke sultan. In order to legitimise the Mamelukes role as the protectors of Sunni Islam, they showed remarkable concern for the organisation of the annual Hajj to Mecca, where they could best display their prominent role among other rulers of the Islamic lands. Perhaps in attempts to perform that role, the Mameluke sultans re-established the Hajj route through Sinai and provided it with all needed amenities, digging wells and building cisterns and caravanserais (hostels), according to Sardi. The political significance of this textile was so great that throughout the Mameluke era, several rulers attempted to abrogate this right [of the Mamelukes as the sole providers of the kiswa], often leading to diplomatic conflicts. But it was the mahmal and the ceremonies accompanying the caravan that also demonstrated the economic and political power of the sultans. The regular presence of this embellished palanquin in the pilgrimage caravan was a constant reminder of the Egyptian ruler despite his physical absence, Sardi elaborated. It offered the Mamelukes the chance to demonstrate their wealth and power to the thousands of pilgrims attending the caravan. The kiswa and the rest of the fabrics made for the Meccan sanctuaries were the symbols of the Mameluke supremacy over the Hijaz. The name and the title of the Mameluke sultan embroidered on the coverings of the Kaaba was a constant reminder of his power. GRADUAL DEMISE: Egypt retained this religious and political significance for centuries, taking great pride in the awesome parade which accompanied the mahmal as it took its pilgrimage route from Cairo to Mecca, until Saudi Arabia took over the manufacture of the kiswa and established its own workshops in 1962. Nassar recounts how the final chapter in the history of the Dar Al-Kiswa began in 1962, when a ship called the Mecca arrived at the port of Jeddah in Saudi Arabia, carrying 1,109 Egyptian pilgrims, along with the kiswa of the Kaaba, its hizam (belt), burqu, and the sitara (curtain) for the Bab Al-Tawba [the door of repentance] of the Kaaba. However, the Saudi authorities declined to accept the kiswa, so it was sent back to Egypt, Nassar said. Even so, the Dar Al-Kiswa continued with its embroidery work for some time, carrying out smaller commissions and manufacturing decorative panels for mosques or for sale. The number of embroiderers then dwindled, and by the 1980s many veterans had retired or passed away, Nassar said. The institution finally closed its doors in 1997, and the kiswa is now made in Mecca, as it has been since 1962. Hajj Sobhi Saleh, the only surviving textile worker who was among the staff producing the kiswa during the last four years before Mecca took over the manufacture of the holy cover, has featured on TV, telling audiences of the good old days when Egypt produced the blessed drape. Sobhis father was also a textile worker and was chosen as among the best 60 embroiderers involved in the making of the holy kiswa in the khedival era. Changing the kiswa was an important tradition observed twice per year, once in Shaaban, the Hijri month preceding the holy month of Ramadan, and once before the Hajj season starts, Saleh told Erennews.com. The fabrics used in the production of the kiswa were of high quality that can be rarely found nowadays, and pure gold and silver threads were used in the embroidery, which is still the case to date. When the kiswa production moved to Saudi Arabia, Saleh said that those working in the Dar Al-Kiswa continued to embroider other things including marks of rank for the army and police uniforms. Saleh himself was among those selected to decorate the uniform of late president Anwar Al-Sadat and other officers during the ceremony celebrating the 1973 War victory. But soon the veteran staff in the workshop passed away or moved elsewhere and opened their own workshops. The two-century old workshop officially closed in the late 1990s and has since been turned into a storehouse for material owned by the ministry of religious endowments. The centuries-old workshop that once witnessed the heyday of kiswa manufacture is now left in a deplorable state and is hardly known even to people in the vicinity. A shabby metal plaque that hangs on the steel gate that replaced the old wooden one is the only sign left from the past. Al-Kabbani was lucky to have been able to enter the formerly grand place when she was doing her Masters degree in 2005. The workshops interior is a work of art that is crumbling under the onslaught of neglect, Al-Kabbani told the Weekly. Nobody would allow visitors in at that time, she said, and of course photography was forbidden. The interior of the workshop is just like a haunted house from a film, littered with old equipment, old machines, broken glass, and solely inhabited by spiders. What really broke my heart was seeing an old pattern of the holy kiswa thrown on the floor and mired in dust. The guard was totally unaware of the value of this costly piece, she commented. Al-Kabbani is among those calling for the renovation of the workshop. Weve been long calling for turning the former Dar Al-Kiswa into a museum, but all calls have been falling on deaf ears, she said. Nobody even seems to know if the place is registered as a monument. The workshop remains in the possession of the ministry of religious endowments, which is not the official body responsible for restoring antiquities. A recent feature on Egypts Dar al-Kiswa: A Monument Turned into a Dump on the website Al-Monitor has similarly described the dismal state of the forgotten workshop despite calls to turn it into a museum. Reminiscing about the good old days of his childhood, 71-year-old Ali Al-Domyati, who owns a shop facing the Dar Al-Kiswa, told Al-Monitor of the great pride Egyptians took in the parades carrying the mahmal that used to take place in the streets of the old neighbourhood. The parades, he said, had started from Al-Khurunfish, crossing Al-Muizz Street, and then the Al-Hussein neighbourhood. After that, the parade would head to the Suez province where the kiswa would be transported aboard a ship to the holy land, Al-Domyati told Al-Monitor. Weve urged the government to look after the building, especially after the residents started to litter its vicinity, but to no avail. From time to time, we hear about plans to renovate the Dar Al-Kiswa, but years have gone by and the situation is only getting worse. Mohamed Yassin, another 84-year-old witness to kiswa production, also told Al-Monitor of his childhood days when he used to visit the workshop and distribute milk to the workers. The inside of the building is a work of art decorated with Islamic embroideries, he told the website. But now even the annexed mosque is closed because of the garbage scattered everywhere. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Then-federal Employment Minister Jason Kenney, now the premier of Alberta, speaks at a Falun Dafa event in Ottawa on May 7, 2014. (The Epoch Times) Scheer, Kenney, and 63 Canadian Parliamentarians Mark 21 Years of Persecution of Falun Gong as Calls to End Campaign Mount Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer, Alberta Premier Jason Kenney, and a group of 63 Canadian parliamentarians as well as several rights advocates including Amnesty International are among the influential Canadians who have joined the chorus of calls condemning the ongoing persecution campaign against Falun Gong adherents in China. Those calls have grown louder in recent weeks, coinciding with the 21st anniversary of the campaign, which was launched by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) on July 20, 1999. On this sad and solemn anniversary, we remember these martyrs to freedom of conscience and religion and we admire and applaud the strength and courage of the millions of Falun Gong practitioners still suffering persecution under a campaign of fear and intimidation that extends beyond the borders of the Peoples Republic of China, Kenney said in a statement. Conservative Party Leader Andrew Scheer in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) Scheer said Canada must stand with Falun Gong practitioners to condemn the human rights abuses and crimes of such despotic regimes as the one in Beijing. The Chinese Communist Party must stop its illegal widespread surveillance, arbitrary detention, imprisonment, and torture of Falun Dafa practitioners and other religious minorities, he said in a statement on July 20. To mark the anniversary, commemorated in Canada with an online rally on July 20, politicians across all political stripes called for an immediate end to the persecution. Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual meditation discipline based on the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. It was introduced to the public in the early 1990s and attracted a huge following within a short time, with government surveys showing between 70 and 100 million considering themselves adherents. The immense popularity of this traditional practice rooted in Chinese culture prompted Jiang Zemin, the leader of the CCP at the time, to start a campaign of persecution against the practice in 1999, the aim being to eradicate it. Liberal MP Judy Sgro, former minister of citizenship and immigration, and Conservative MP Peter Kent initiated a joint statement calling for an immediate end to the persecution of Falun Gong, which was signed by 63 current and former Canadian parliamentarians from all parties. The statement was circulated in other countries around the world and now has over 600 signatories. Sgro said she will continue to advocate until the persecution ends and that human rights abuses in China will only be addressed through world awareness. I think it has to be world awareness and to try to get the rest of the world engaged in the atrocities that continue in certain parts of China to innocent people, whether its the jailing of innocent Canadian citizens with the two Michaels that is happening, or the persecution of [Chinas] own people through what they do with Falun Gong, she said. And I think the only way that will stop is when the world demands that China respect the human rights of everyone. Liberal MP Judy Sgro, co-chair of Parliamentary Friends of Falun Gong, speaks at a celebration on Parliament Hill in Ottawa marking the anniversary of the public introduction of Falun Gong, on May 9, 2017. (Evan Ning/Epoch Times) The Inter-Parliamentary Alliance on China (IPAC), an international cross-party group of legislators working toward reform on how democratic countries approach China, also condemned the CCPs continued persecution of the spiritual practice. We urge the world to stand up and speak out for an end to such repression, an end to impunity, and for justice, accountability, human rights, and human dignity for all the peoples of China, IPAC said in a statement. Former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler (L) and Conservative MP Garnett Genuis speak at an event in Ottawa on April 4, 2017. (The Epoch Times) Co-chaired in Canada by former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler and Conservative MP Garnett Genuis, IPAC was established to coordinate policies to address the Chinese regimes growing influence around the world. It comprises senior politicians from 16 countries plus the European Union. According to human rights researchers, since the persecution started in 1999, millions of Falun Gong practitioners have been rounded up and thrown into Chinas vast system of detention centres, forced labour camps, and brainwashing centres, where they are routinely tortured and subjected to other abuse. Falun Gong prisoners of conscience are also the main source of organs to supply Chinas lucrative state-sanctioned transplant industry, an independent peoples tribunal held in London, England, concluded last year. Speaking at the online rally on July 20, Bloc Quebecois foreign affairs critic Stephane Bergeron called on Liberal Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne to confront the CCP over organ harvesting abuses, which he said violate the most fundamental rights of every human being on this planet. The international community and the Canadian government cannot take lightly the serious allegations of repression by the Peoples Republic of China against these spiritual and religious minorities, he said, warning against letting China off the hook on its human rights record in order to gain trade benefits. The Peoples Republic of China is certainly an important partner but there is no reason to tolerate such violations of the most inalienable rights of its citizens, which unfortunately seem to have been proven. Bloc Quebecois MP Stephane Bergeron in a file photo. (The Canadian Press/Jacques Boissinot) Green Party parliamentary leader Elizabeth May also condemned the Chinese regime for the persecution and commended practitioners for their decades of peaceful resistance and efforts to raise awareness. I respect enormously the peaceful work that [practitioners] do, to recognize individual rights, to protect the ability to practice Falun Gong, and Falun Dafa, which we understand to be a completely peaceful practice, undertaken by many people around the world, she said at the online event. Last week, the Falun Dafa Association of Canada (FDAC) said it had submitted a list of 14 senior Chinese officials to Champagne to be sanctioned under the Magnitsky Act, along with nearly 300 pages of supporting documents. Green Party MP Elizabeth May speaks at a celebration on Parliament Hill marking the 25th anniversary of Falun Gong, May 9, 2017. (Evan Ning/Epoch Times) A group of current and former parliamentarians and rights activists including MPs Kent, Genuis, James Bezan, and Michael Cooper; Sen. Thanh Hai Ngo; former Liberal cabinet minister David Kilgour; and Cotler have called on Ottawa to support FDAC and use the Magnitsky Act to sanction the 14 Chinese officials responsible for the Falun Gong persecution. On July 20, the United States also called on the CCP to immediately end its depraved abuse and mistreatment of Falun Gong. Twenty-one years of persecution of Falun Gong practitioners is far too long, and it must end, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a rare statement by a top administration official about the persecution. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a news conference at the State Department in Washington, D.C., on July 15, 2020. (Andrew Harnik/Pool via REUTERS) Pompeo also demanded that the Chinese regime release imprisoned Falun Gong adherents and account for the whereabouts of missing practitioners. His comments add to those of about 30 U.S. lawmakers and officials who issued statements expressing solidarity with Falun Gong practitioners on the anniversary. Hundreds of lawmakers around the world also condemned the regimes brutal suppression. For a better experience on our website and avoid any trouble, we strongly recommand to activate Javascript ( click here ). Hello and welcome to Journal des Palaces You are a communication or the PR manager? Click here You are an applicant? Check out our questions and answers here ! The 17-year-old boy was shot two times in the chest by people inside a vehicle in the 6500 block of South Maryland Avenue, according to a police media notification. He was standing on a street corner about 1:15 p.m. when about six shots rang out. He was taken to the University of Chicago Medical Center. The shooters fled in their vehicle. SAN DIEGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Voxox, an innovator in cloud communication solutions for businesses, today announced the launch of their VoxDirect "Free Forever" plan as a direct response to helping small businesses come back stronger, and faster from the recent national crisis. VoxDirect from Voxox is a communications hub that unifies powerful phone and mass texting capabilities for small businesses in a single service. To further their support, VoxDirect is offering a complete online learning center for small business owners to maximize the use of text message marketing as a means to gain a 500% better engagement rate than email, as well as a proven 98% open rate on all text messages. VoxDirect from VOXOX - Phone and Text Marketing Solutions VOXOX - Unified Communications Company "We continue to look for solutions and innovative offerings to provide ongoing support to small businesses, which we believe are the lifeblood of our economy. 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The first is to help small businesses recover and reconnect with their customer base after being closed-down or limited in their ability to trade for such a long period of time. The second problem we saw was that as businesses were getting back on their feet they needed cheap, effective marketing to connect with their customers instantly and with our new free forever plan we feel like we are using what we have to make a notable difference." For more information about VoxDirect, please visit voxdirect.com. About Voxox Voxox is an innovator in unified cloud communication solutions for businesses. The foundation of the company's offerings is its award-winning unified communications Platform as a Service, which enables the company and its customers to build powerful, scalable applications and services. For end-users, Voxox provides an extensive suite of carrier-grade business phone solutions, including Vox Direct, Cloud Phone, as well as SIP Trunking, hosted PBX, and a wide array of wholesale services, such as high-volume SMS. For service provider partners, Voxox delivers cutting-edge phone and text message marketing apps and services, including white-label versions of VoxDirect, a small business solution for global mobile operators. Voxox is headquartered in San Diego. For more information, please visit http://www.voxox.com . Media Contact: Staci Wallace 5017010412 [email protected] SOURCE VOXOX Related Links http://voxox.com HOUSTON, July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Despite a pandemic and a chaotic summer move season in Texas, people are still in need of electricity to power their homes and most importantly, their air conditioners. And, since 2009, Texas Electricity Ratings has helped Texans find the best electricity plans to meet their needs. To that end, Texas Electricity Ratings has released their annual rankings for the best retail electricity providers in the state of Texas. And with more providers than ever before selling retail electricity in Texas, selecting the cream of the crop was not an easy task. Electricity Ratings, LLC The 2020 " Best Texas Electricity Provider " is Constellation Energy. Constellation, an energy company with a nationwide footprint, is a relatively new face in Texas electricity, having been here as the Constellation brand for only a few years (previously known as StarTex Power). They've made quick work establishing their brand and offer customers a host of affordable, easy to understand electricity plans. With great rates, a wide selection of rewards programs and customer incentives, as well as great customer reviews on Texas Electricity Ratings, Constellation narrowly edged out the competition to place #1 in our rankings for Texas. Right at Constellation's heels in the #2 spot is Chariot Energy .Chariot Energy, a subsidiary of Korean Hanwha Group, entered the marketplace with a unique new vision supporting green energy and an impressive suite of customer support tools. Not only is every plan 100% solar energy, but the rates are low, their reviews are strong, and their customer communication, including weekly usage updates, is some of the best we've seen. All of this combined to put Chariot barely behind Constellation. An impressive debut for a company that's been operating in Texas for less than a year. Finishing third on our rankings is Texas electricity mainstay TXU Energy . TXU had another strong year, offering customers a broad set of offers and options for electricity customers. TXU, the former North Texas incumbent electricity provider, scored well on Community Outreach, Customer Communication, and Customer Rewards to land comfortably in the top three. Rounding out the top five were Reliant Energy and Gexa Energy, two veterans of the Texas electricity market. Reliant Energy, one of the largest retailers in Texas, scored well on Community Outreach and Customer Communication. Gexa had lots of different plan options, featuring 100% green energy for customers, as well as an outstanding customer satisfaction program that allows customers to switch to a different Gexa electricity plan within the first 60 days of service without penalty if they're unhappy, which is something we haven't seen anywhere else in the Texas electricity market. Texas Electricity Ratings' provider rankings are performed annually because the Texas electricity marketplace is always changing. In the last 12 months, we've seen over three new market entrants, and more are sure to come. Therefore, it's important to take a snapshot of the market and adjust the ratings on a regular basis to keep consumers up to date on their shopping options. Retail electricity providers are regularly changing their deposits, raising and lowering prices, implementing changes in their customer service policies, and even purchasing other electricity companies. Additionally, mobile technology, company innovation and customer communication are always changing (as they should be) in the Texas retail electricity market. In light of all these and more possible changes occurring, our annual rankings help customers to accurately and diligently research their options. This way they can better understand what they can expect from their energy provider, both in terms of benefits as well as potential market pitfalls. It's an important part of a healthy, functioning marketplace. That's why Texas Electricity Ratings advocates on behalf of consumers. About TexasElectricityRatings.com TexasElectricityRatings.com offers daily updated information about electricity rates in Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth, Arlington, and hundreds of other cities in Texas. Since 2009, Texas Electricity Ratings has helped over 3.5 million Texans make better energy choices. TexasElectricityRatings.com is the destination website for Texas residents and business owners to share their opinions and have a voice in the Texas Deregulated Energy market. Electricity Ratings, LLC helps people make informed buying decisions through its consumer reviews platform and is a reliable source for valuable consumer insight, advice, in-depth energy company service evaluations, and personalized recommendations. Our mission is to help consumers harness the power of information to find, compare, and buy electricity and energy services from the best providers. TexasElectricityRatings.com 1502 Sawyer, Ste 130 Houston, TX 77007 (866) 990-2521 [email protected] https://www.TexasElectricityRatings.com Related Images texas-electricity-ratings.png Texas Electricity Ratings Announces Top 5 Texas Electricity Providers for 2020 Related Links Texas Best Electricity Company Rankings 2020 SOURCE Electricity Ratings, LLC A term coined by Mike Pompeo to coalesce companies against the Chinese threat to worldwide data security, US has now added India's Reliance Jio among a list of companies deemed "Clean Telcos" , slammed China over authoritarianism and attempt to sabotage communication networks across the globe. The United States has listed Reliance Jio among the companies that are becoming Clean Telcos, saying they are rejecting doing business with tools of the Chinese Communist Partys surveillance state, like Huawei. According to US State Department, Clean Network is a comprehensive effort by a coalition of like-minded countries and companies to secure their critical telecommunications, cloud, data analytics, mobile apps, Internet of Things, and 5G technologies from malign actors by relying on only trusted vendors who are not subject to unjust or extra-judicial control by authoritarian governments such as the Chinese Communist Party. Some of the largest telecom companies around the globe are also becoming Clean Telcos. Orange in France, Jio in India, Telstra in Australia, SK and KT in South Korea, NTT in Japan, and O2 in the United Kingdom are rejecting doing business with tools of the Chinese Communist Partys surveillance state, like Huawei, the State Department said in a statement. Also read: Covid-19 impact: IndiGo decides to lay off 10% staff Also read: Ugly faces: US, China embassies lash out at each other in Myanmar Last week, Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that Reliance Jio has designed and developed a complete 5G solution from scratch and the same will be ready for trials as soon as 5G spectrum is available. He said the 5G solution can be ready for field development next year. On April 29, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US Department of State will begin requiring a Clean Path for all 5G network traffic entering and exiting US diplomatic facilities. The 5G Clean Path is an end-to-end communication path that does not use any transmission, control, computing, or storage equipment from untrusted IT vendors, such as Huawei and ZTE, which are required to comply with directives of the Chinese Communist Party, the statement read. The 5G Clean Path embodies the highest standards of security against untrusted, high-risk vendors ability to disrupt, manipulate or deny services to private citizens, financial institutions, or critical infrastructure. The United States had designated Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE Corp as national security threats, saying they have close ties with the Chinese Communist Party and Chinas military apparatus. Also read: Canada to review security equipment deal worth $6.8 million with China For all the latest National News, download NewsX App Portland parent groups marched in droves to Monday night to join downtown protests in response to the repeated and nightly use of force by federal agents on demonstrators. Portlanders first started protesting police violence against Black Americans in late May. It wasnt until 31 days later that federal officers were first seen at the nightly demonstrations. In the weeks since, federal agents have used less-lethal munitions and gas on protesters numerous times. Federal officers again set off gas and shot projectiles towards demonstrators gathered early Tuesday morning. The nearly hour-long confrontation began after midnight. Hundreds of people had packed into the courthouse entrance, and some people near the front line tore off plywood attached to the building. Federal officers responded in force. Their actions have drawn scrutiny from Oregon officials and support from President Donald Trump. The president again praised federal law enforcement Monday, saying they were doing a fantastic job in Portland. Trump said he planned to replicate the response in other major U.S. cities led by Democratic mayors. Monday nights demonstrations started around 9 p.m. Two groups, called the Wall of Moms and PDXDadPod, marched from the riverfront to Justice Center. The jail is at the heart of nightly protests. Two federal buildings sit on either side of it. Even before the parents groups arrived, more than 300 people had gathered near the downtown jail. Young Black community leaders used a megaphone to ask, Whose lives matter? Hundreds of people responded, Black lives matter! The crowd roared when the parents march of several hundreds of people arrived just before 9 p.m. and joined the chant. Most were women wearing yellow shirts. One person held a sign that said, Hey feds, you need to think about your sad choices Mom. The mothers group also attended Sunday nights demonstration, linking arms and standing at the front of a crowd. Some on Twitter called for the dads group to bring leaf blowers Monday in order to blow away tear gas federal officers have used often on protesters. By 9:15 p.m., more than 1,000 people had gathered in the area. The crowds filled Southwest Third Avenue and the nearby park in front of the jail. Almost everyone wore masks. Some people stood on the steps of the jail and delivered speeches to rally the crowd. When one person asked how many mothers were in the crowd, several hundred people rose their hands. Police at first stayed away from the crowd, which appeared to have grown beyond 2,000 people by 9:45 p.m. One speaker encouraged people to vote and told them how to register, drawing a wave of cheers. Another person explained how to react to tear gas and other uses of force: Stay together. Stay tight. We do this every night. As the speeches continued, one person walked amid the crowd with a childs pool full of hundreds of pig squeak toys. An older man used a projector to display Fed Goons out of PDX on the Justice Center. Just after 10 p.m., hundreds of people waved the lights on their phones as people sang, We Shall Overcome. Some people milled past the federal courthouse next to the Justice Center, but by 10:15 p.m., nearly everyone remained gathered in city streets, parks or property. Many people in the crowd began to march west on Madison Street past City Hall around 10:20 p.m. A line of women from the Wall of Moms linked arms and walked at the front. As people marched, they chanted the names of Black Portlanders killed during interactions with police or under suspicious circumstances, including Jason Washington, who was shot and killed by Portland State police in 2018. Hundreds of people remained near the Justice Center or in adjacent city parks. The march eventually wrapped to a George Floyd memorial in front of a boarded-up Apple store next to the Pioneer Place mall. After a moment of silence and a brief series of speeches, people started to make their way back to the Justice Center. Marchers returned around 11:15 p.m. A crowd began to grow outside the federal courthouse. The group of parents marched around the Justice Center, then returned to stand in front of it on Third Avenue. More than 1,000 people remained downtown. Around 11:35 p.m., federal officers set off smoke devices near the courthouse toward protesters who were knocking on the building. Within minutes, hundreds of people had collected in front of the courthouse. Several women with the Wall of Moms made their way toward the front, where federal officers have often emerged to deploy tear gas or shoot less-lethal munitions toward protesters. Together, people chanted, Feds go home! By midnight, the front line of crowd had pressed up directly against the building. Some people pushed a few pieces of dismantled fencing next to the courthouse. A handful of people used their fists or other objects to knock on the plywood that covers the buildings doors and windows. Hundreds of people surrounded them. The tension remained high at 12:20 a.m. Some people started to tear off the plywood and other materials nailed to the front of the building. At 12:25 a.m., police threw out devices that emitted smoke and an orange substance into the air. Many people in the crowd started to walk or run away. Within three minutes, federal officers emerged from the building to force people away. Officers wearing camouflage and dark uniforms largely cleared the crowd away from the building and continued to shoot impact munitions toward demonstrators. Although the crowd had cleared away within five minutes, federal officers remained on the streets past 1 a.m. Some federal officers pressed north on Third Avenue beyond the courthouse and past Salmon Street. Others advanced west on Main Street. Officers formed lines to prevent people from returning to the courthouse area. The agents continued to intermittently set off devices that emitted gas, sound and smoke to clear people out. The confrontation continued for more than 45 minutes. Smaller crowds of people started to edge back to the courthouse from two directions, and federal officers used force or gas to keep people away. Most federal officers eventually retreated around 1:15 a.m. Several people returned near the courthouse, and a few people threw water bottles at the building. Federal officers used peepholes cut into the plywood to shoot less-lethal munitions toward people gathered. Hundreds of people remained in the neighborhood past 2:15 a.m. Most of those gathered with the parents groups had left. After Oregonian/OregonLive journalists left the scene, live video footage showed federal officers emerged again from the courthouse around 2:30 a.m. and again used different types of weapons to break up the crowd. Before that, a small fire had started on a piece of plywood near the front of the building. After the air cleared, hundreds of people were still downtown. At about 2:25 a.m., some people lit a fire on a piece of plywood near a courthouse door that was extinguished by federal officers. Federal officers again emerged to break up the people who remained. Portland police said their officers responded to the courthouse around 3 a.m. to provide security for firefighters responded to burning material next to the building. Police said around that same time, they received calls that windows were damaged at two downtown buildings, a jewelry store and City Hall. An earlier Black Lives Matter protest also took place Monday evening in Southeast Portland to honor Shai-India Harris, an 18-year-old who was shot and killed in the area July 10. Harris was shot and killed near Lents Park, where people gathered. Brooke Herbert, Beth Nakamura and Tom Hallman Jr. of The Oregonian/OregonLive contributed to this report. -- Ted Sickinger; tsickinger@oregonian.com; 503-2218505; @tedsickinger --Alex Hardgrave | ahardgrave@oregonian.com | @a_hardgrave Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. SPOKANE, Wash. - An environmental group filed a lawsuit against the Trump administration on Tuesday for failing to release public records on the termination of a program to restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades in Washington state. U.S. Secretary of the Interior David L. Bernhardt earlier this month travelled to Omak, Washington, to announce his agency will not conduct the environmental impact statement needed to reintroduce grizzlies into the North Cascades. That surprise decision prompted the Center for Biological Diversity to file its lawsuit in federal court in Washington, D.C. ``The secrecy surrounding this issue has persisted for years, and its mind-boggling that the Interior Department has taken its anti-wildlife agenda to this level, said Sophia Ressler, an attorney for the environmental group. ``Our suit aims to get to the bottom of the administrations distorted priorities on grizzlies and other imperiled species. In announcing the decision, Bernhardt said the Trump administration was listening to people who live in the region. ``The people who live and work in north central Washington have made their voices clear that they do not want grizzly bears,? Bernhardt said. ``Grizzly bears are not in danger of extinction, and Interior will continue to build on its conservation successes managing healthy grizzly bear populations across their existing range,? he said. But the North Cascades ecosystem, which includes North Cascades National Park and surrounding areas, is one of just six federally-designated grizzly bear recovery zones in the United States. In 2017, the environmental group filed a request under the Freedom of Information Act for records related to statements made by then-Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke about terminating efforts to restore grizzly bears to the North Cascades. In the wake of public criticism, Zinke eventually changed his mind and announced the recovery plan would move forward. But those records have never been released. Earlier this month, the Trump administration again announced it was pulling the plug on the plan, this time making it official with a termination notice. The terminated program would have involved transporting a number of grizzly bears into the North Cascades ecosystem. Attorneys from the U.S. Department of Justice have 30 days to respond to the lawsuit. The centre said the North Cascades ecosystem is one of the largest wild areas in the lower 48 states, encompassing more than 95,000 square miles (246,000 square kilometres) near the Canadian border. The area contains prime habitat that could support hundreds of grizzly bears, but it is estimated that at most only a handful live there. Grizzly bears historically ranged from Alaska to Mexico, with an estimated 50,000 bears occupying the western half of the contiguous United States. The bears were shot, poisoned and trapped to near-extinction during the settlement of the West. Today, fewer than 2,000 grizzlies are found in five isolated populations in the northern Rocky Mountains, mostly around Yellowstone and Glacier national parks. Given their isolation from other grizzly populations, North Cascades grizzlies are considered the most at-risk bear population in the United States. Grizzly bears were listed as a threatened species in 1975. They have slowly regained territory and increased in numbers in the ensuing decades, but they still occupy only a small portion of their historical range. Bathinda: Residents of Parasram Nagar in Bathinda took to boating on inundated streets in protest against the municipal corporations ill-preparedness in resolving the problem of waterlogging during the monsoon every year. Led by Vijay Kumar Sharma, a former municipal councillor, the residents made their way on a boat and waded through waist-deep water and said the authorities had not learnt a lesson from last years monsoon when parts of the city had remained inundated for days. Residents of six localities, including Parasram Nagar, are low-lying and bear the brunt of flooding. There is no accountability of officials and elected representatives as residents continue to suffer, Kumar said. The flooded Power House Road in Bathinda on Tuesday. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT) INCESSANT RAIN TO BLAME The Punjab Agricultural Universitys local observatory at the regional research Centre recorded 104 mm of rainfall in Bathinda on Tuesday. Agrometeorology scientist Raj Kumar Pal said in July, Bathinda has already received 214 mm of rainfall against the average rainfall of 120 mm. It rained incessantly since midnight, inundating many parts of the city. Several localities such as the area around the district administrative complex that houses the official residences of the deputy commissioner, inspector general of police (IGP) and judicial officials were under three feet of water. Residential pockets in Sirki Bazaar area, on Mall Road, Power House Road besides Parasram Nagar, Ganesha Basti and Vir Colony were among the worst hit. A single spell of heavy rain exposes the unpreparedness of the authorities. Though Sirki Bazaar is in the heart of the city, it is prone to waterlogging due to lack of maintenance, says Rinku, who deals in paints. The railway under bridge at Amarpura basti after heavy rain in Bathinda on Tuesday morning. (Sanjeev Kumar/HT) COVID FIGHT TAKES TOLL ON MAINTENANCE Officials say Bathinda also lacks a dedicated storm water drainage network and sewage lines are used to drain rainwater. They blame the Covid-19 outbreak behind the slow progress of maintenance before the monsoon. Haphazard development in the last decade has left little room for the wastewater disposal system. Bathindas geographical condition is such that rainwater accumulates only at certain natural depressions. Due to mushrooming residential and commercial spaces, the corporation has to use high-powered pumps to drain rainwater out of streets, said an MC official. Deputy commissioner B Srinivasan said the administration has taken steps to expedite rainwater drainage. He said two ponds with a water holding capacity of 1.5 lakh metric cubic metre were opened at Mansa road and Sanjay Nagar. Another old pond near DAV College that has been reworked to store 1.25 lakh cubic metres of water is in the works. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - President Donald Trump said he plans to send additional federal law enforcement forces to tackle protests in major U.S. cities. At a White House news conference Monday, a reporter sought Trump's attention to a report that he was sending 175 federal troops to Portland and other cities that are experiencing violence to help local law enforcement. Trump acknowled the report, and blamed 'liberal Democrats' for destroying and looting the city of Portland. 'Portland was totally out of control. The Democrats - the liberal Democrats running the place had no idea what they were doing. They were ripping down - for 51 days, ripping down that city, destroying the city, looting it. The level of corruption and what was going on there is incredible. And then the governor comes out: 'We don't need any help.' The President pointed out the situaton in cities run by Democrats, including New York, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland and Chicago, where many people were killed over the weekend. Citing that the crime rate in New York was up 348 percent, Trump said, 'We can't let this happen to the cities'. 'These are not protestors. These people are anarchists,' according to him. Trump said the political leaders in the troubled states are afraid of these people. 'And that's why they say, 'We don't want the federal government helping.' 'The governor has to do something about it. And if the governor is not going to do something about, we'll do something about it'. Trump alleged that although the police in New York is finest, 'they're restricted from doing anything'. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. There is a persisting image of Africa as having always been subordinate to Europe to some degree that the relationship between Europeans and Africans has always been uneven, whether through exploitative colonialism, through condescending paternalism, or through the racism underlying both of the above. But this image of dependency could not be any further from the truth: during the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, encounters between African and Spanish kingdoms were largely a relationship of equals. Not only were the African kingdoms not isolated from the rest of the world they were actively exploring it in search of information, trade and political alliances. And Spain was one of the main destinations of these missions. This is the story of how Africans discovered the Iberian peninsula. The first African kingdom to send a diplomatic mission to Europe was Ethiopia. Around the year 1306, the Ethiopian emperor Wedem Arad sent a delegation of 30 people to Europe with the goal of forming an alliance against the Muslims threatening his empire. The first stop was in Spain, where these delegates met with the king of las Espanas (no name is provided) before moving on to Avignon in modern-day France to meet with the Pope (seven popes were established there, rather than in Rome, between 1309 and 1377). The ambassador of Allada in the court of Louis XIV. Following this early contact, relations gradually intensified and in 1427 a new Ethiopian delegation arrived in the Spanish region of Valencia headed by the Persian merchant Nur-al-Din Al Tabrizi, who brought a letter from Emperor Yeshaq I to Alfonso V, the king of Aragon. In his letter, Yeshaq proposed an alliance between both kingdoms, and Alfonso V happily accepted, sealing the deal with a double marriage between his own brother Pedro and an Ethiopian princess on one hand, and between his niece Dona Juana with Emperor Yeshaq himself on the other. The latter also sent over 13 artisans to decorate the kings court, but the embassy never made it back to Ethiopia: all the craftsmen died along the way, and the wedding plans were abandoned. Despite this mishap, relations between Aragon and Ethiopia continued: in his letters, Alfonso V addressed Yeshaq as the Ethiopian emperor, our dear friend and brother, and in 1450 an Ethiopian delegation was sent to Naples to witness Alfonsos triumphant entrance into the city. Besides these official delegations, many Ethiopians decided to explore Europe on their own. This was the case of a scholar named Yohanns (150965), who arrived in Rome with his father and decided to make the long journey to Santiago de Compostela in todays Galicia region of Spain. After walking the 2,200 kilometers separating both cities, partly along the pilgrimage route known as Camino de Santiago, he turned south and kept going all the way to Lisbon in Portugal, where he took a ship to Goa, which was then part of Portuguese India. Upon his return to Rome, Yohanns played a leading role in the Counter-Reformation and spent the last period of his life as the bishop of Cyprus. Although the Ethiopians were the first to visit the Iberian peninsula, they were not the only ones. In 1602, there was an individual who caused a huge commotion in the courts of Europe: the first ambassador from the Kingdom of Kongo (covering parts of present-day Angola, Democratic Republic of Congo and the Republic of the Congo) to go to the Vatican. Ne Vunda (who was rechristened in Italy as Antonio Emmanuele da Funta) was known for his erudition and for his oratory and diplomatic skills. He spoke Portuguese and Spanish, and was well-versed in European politics. Ethiopia, Allada and Kongo are just three examples of former African kingdoms that showed an interest in the Iberian peninsula. His journey was not an easy one: from Kongo he took a ship to Brazil, and from there he traveled to Lisbon. Along the way he was attacked three times by Dutch pirates who took everything he owned. After a brief period at the court of Felipe IV in Madrid, he reached Rome on January 2, 1608 (six years after his departure); by this time he was gravely ill and only four of his 25 original companions were still with him. He died three days later after receiving a visit from Pope Paul V, and was buried with honors at the basilica of Santa Maria Maggiore. But his story does not end there: while in Madrid, Ne Vunda left a locked chest at the Convent of la Merced, in todays Tirso de Molina square, where he had stayed. After a considerable exchange of letters between Madrid and the Vatican, it became evident that the ambassador had not made a will, and Felipe IV ordered the box opened. Inside were several letters and decorated dishes from the Spanish city of Talavera that were donated to the convent. The contents of the letters are not known, nor why the ambassador was so fond of Talavera ceramics, because the convent was ransacked by Napoleons troops in 1809 and demolished a few decades later. Another African kingdom with an interest in the Iberian peninsula was Allada or Arda, in present-day Benin. In 1657, King Tojonu sent an ambassador named Bans to the court of Felipe IV. This man, who was immediately renamed Don Felipe Zapata, had been tasked with enlisting Catholic missionaries for Allada. Bans went home a few months later with a delegation of Capuchin monks ready to spread the gospel across the entire kingdom. Unfortunately for them, they were met with considerable resistance. After a year and a half of failed evangelism, the king summoned them and explained that although he highly appreciated this gesture by his brother the king of Spain, the reason he had requested missionaries was not to adopt a change in lifestyle and religion, but rather because there was a serious problem with people getting struck by lightning in Allada, and he had heard that Catholic priests had some control over the management of these celestial phenomena. The king concluded by noting that he would be much obliged if the monks could solve their meteorology problems, but if not, then he would prefer for them to go back home, as all this preaching was beginning to get tiresome. Ethiopia, Allada and Kongo are just three examples of African kingdoms that showed an interest in the Iberian peninsula, but the full list is much longer. Unfortunately, this chapter of diplomatic history and exploration was rewritten, and at times directly deleted, centuries later. Africans were denied their own history because it made it so much easier to justify the allegedly civilizing nature of the colonial project and the exploitation of Africas people and resources. Now that movements like Black Lives Matter are finally underscoring the need to give visibility to the role played by slavery in the creation of many European states and cities, it is important that we do not forget that historical justice also means recovering this mostly invisible period in the history of African exploration and diplomacy. Unfortunately for those wishing to learn more on the subject, there is no book specifically focusing on the journeys of Africans to the Iberian peninsula, but there are two good introductions to the issue on a European scale: Africas Discovery of Europe by David Northup, and the edited volume Black Africans in Renaissance Europe. Sirio Canos Donnay is a Marie Curie Fellow at the Heritage Sciences Institute of the Spanish National Research Council (Incipit-CSIC) English version by Susana Urra. Lightning struck near the Brahmakund at Har Ki Pauri, following which a transformer got ignited and the wall collapsed. Heavy rainfall has triggered a wall collapse at the Har Ki Pauri in the holy town of Haridwar on Monday night. No injuries were reported. According to a report in Times Now, lightning struck near the Brahmakund at Har Ki Pauri, following which a transformer got ignited and the wall collapsed. The report added that due to the transformer getting damaged, the power supply of the area was also disrupted. Shri Ganga Sabha volunteers have barricaded the area and begun operations to clear the site. Pilgrims have been barred from going towards the Brahmakund as a precautionary measure as well. Hindustan Times reported that Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad and Ganga Sabha have demanded an inquiry into the incident at the religious site. Mahant Narendra Giri, president of Akhil Bharatiya Akhada Parishad was quoted as saying that the Akhada Parishad demands an inquiry into the incident. He added that the Mahakumbh is just five months away, and so construction of a stronger outer wall and related infrastructure work should be carried out to ensure safety of pilgrims and Har Ki Pauri personnel. Former municipal chairperson SatpalBrahamchari alleged that the cave in was due to pressure from rain water that had accumulated due to uncovered digging work to lay power cables and piped natural gas lines. Har Ki Pauri is famed for its evening 'Ganga Arti' that people from across the country come to witness. Torrential rains have caused havoc elsewhere in the hill state of Uttarakhand. On Monday, five people were killed after their houses were flattened, when a huge amount of water with stones and mud came down the hills following a cloud burst in the state's Pithoragarh district. Arizona News Tempe, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that 20-year-old Michael William Spatz, of Tempe, was charged with Sexual Exploitation of a Minor, Sexual Conduct with a Minor, and Molestation of a Child. Spatz is accused of sexually abusing an 11-month-old male child on multiple occasions in Gilbert, Arizona, and recording himself committing the abuse. These videos were allegedly distributed by Spatz and have since been discovered in Canada by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police. Spatz was arrested at his home in Tempe, Arizona, on June 26, 2020. During the investigation, the victim was identified by authorities and is currently residing safely with his mother. The Arizona Department of Child Safety has been notified and is providing services to the victim and his family. Special Agents with Homeland Security Investigations, an investigative arm of the Department of Homeland Security, conducted the investigation. Assistant Attorney General Shelby Fuller is prosecuting the case. Spatz is currently being held in custody on a $750,000 bond pending resolution of his case. A Maricopa County Superior Court Judge has held Spatz to answer for his crimes and he is scheduled to appear in court on August 24, 2020. All defendants are presumed innocent until found guilty in a court of law. Below is the booking photograph of Spatz. A Palestinian man scaled the high walls of a hospital to see his mother for one last time before she succumbed to coronavirus. A viral image shows Jihad Al-Suwaiti, from the town of Beit Awa in the West Bank, sitting by the Intensive Care Unit's (ICU) window of Hebron State Hospital where she was being treated for COVID-19. According to reports, 73-year-old Rasmi Suwaiti, died on Thursday evening, shortly after receiving an unexpected visit from her 30-year-old son. The son would wait by the window every night to watch his mother. The image was shared by Mohamad Safa, a human activist and representative to the United Nations, on Twitter where he said, "The son of a Palestinian woman who was infected with COVID-19 climbed up to her hospital room to sit and see his mother every night until she passed away." The son of a Palestinian woman who was infected with COVID-19 climbed up to her hospital room to sit and see his mother every night until she passed away. pic.twitter.com/31wCCNYPbs Mohamad Safa (@mhdksafa) July 18, 2020 The heart-breaking post went viral, making netizens very emotional. "Tears, nothing but tears for that boys mum but that boy is an angel," said a user. Tears, nothing but tears for that boys mum but that boy is an angel. Loz Walker (@walker_loz) July 18, 2020 no words, only tears. JustDavis (@dhautzee) July 18, 2020 Tears, nothing but tears for that boys mum but that boy is an angel. Loz Walker (@walker_loz) July 18, 2020 i am simply crying Liv (@LivPosting) July 20, 2020 I see this post on 9gag, literally cryin pic.twitter.com/8agSTmIZjT alit (@sempoolcrispi) July 19, 2020 What a wonderful son. Brought tears to my eyes and a lump to my throat at such love and caring Gill (@ChorltonGill) July 18, 2020 Can this become any more sad when we are only able to comfort our loved ones through a window, phone or tablet? Then I am also so thankful that we can even do that. She saw her sons face one last time - I pray she is in peace now. SheShe (@SheShecatlove) July 18, 2020 The State of Palestine has reported over 8000 positive cases of coronavirus with more than 60 deaths. Hundreds of Catalan independence supporters demonstrated outside a monastery in the region Monday where King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia were visiting. Some of the activists tried to reach the monastery by venturing into nearby vineyards as the police blocked access at the main road. The royals' visit comes as a barrage of media leaks have revealed how the king's father, former monarch Juan Carlos I, allegedly hid millions of untaxed euros in offshore funds. Against that backdrop, the royal couple are planning to visit all of Spain's 17 regions, intended as a show of support for the citizens and the economy as it recovers from the first wave of the pandemic. The Catalan leg of the tour was initially planned for last week but royal officials postponed it and scaled it back due to the spike in the number of virus cases in Catalonia. A spokesperson for U.S. Sen. Gary Peters said the incumbent Democrat looks forward to taking up Republican Senate hopeful John James on his challenge to participate in a series of televised debates. James issued the challenge in a video posted to Twitter Tuesday afternoon, calling on Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, to join him for two debates hosted by local television stations in Detroit and Grand Rapids and two debates hosted by Fox News and CNN. A spokesperson for Peters reelection campaign said he looks forward to debating but did not respond to additional questions about whether the campaign is open to the terms James laid out on social media. Peters is seeking his second six-year term representing Michigan in the U.S. Senate. James, a Farmington Hills businessman, is running unopposed in the Republican primary after losing a 2018 challenge to U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow, D-Lansing. It's time to stand before the people of the state of MI and let them decide who they want leading them to the future. Sen. @GaryPeters, I challenge you to 4 debates. Stand up next to me, live, in person, on camera and measure your record of results against mine. #MichiganFirst pic.twitter.com/U89ACNIRR1 John James (@JohnJamesMI) July 21, 2020 Stand up next to me, live, in person, on camera, James said in the video. Measure your record of results against mine let the people decide who they want leading them to the future. This isnt about anybody else but the people the state of Michigan. And this race isnt between anyone else but you and me. Vanessa Valdiva, communications director for the Democratic incumbent, said Peters is eager for James to explain his out of touch health care positions that would raise costs and gut protections for 1.7 million Michiganders with a pre-existing condition. James supported repealing the Affordable Care Act during his unsuccessful 2018 Senate bid, but told MLive this week that he wants to fix the parts of Obamacare that are broken and keep the parts that arent. Just heard that my opponent wants to debate @JohnJamesMI, Im looking forward to it. In the meantime join us: https://t.co/JbabUfJeUj Gary Peters (@GaryPeters) July 21, 2020 James accused Peters of hiding in the video. The criticism echoes a similar critique aimed at James by the Michigan Democratic Party, which kept a running tally of the number of days since James last spoke with reporters. The Peters campaign said James did not reach out to them about holding a debate before the Tuesday challenge was posted to Twitter. Michigan Republican Party Chairman Laura Cox also pushed Peters to participate in a statement. James is outperforming Peters when it comes to fundraising, posting a larger haul in the last four financial quarters, but is lagging behind his rival in recent polls of Michigan voters. James had $9.3 million left to spend on his Senate campaign at the end of June, according to recent filings, while Peters has $12 million in remaining cash-on-hand. Michigans 2018 Senate race featured two debates between Stabenow and James. In 2014, Peters attempts to challenge his Republican opponent to a debate went unanswered. Peters stood next to an empty chair during one such event and was later elected to the U.S. Senate by a 13 percentage point margin. Read more on MLive: John James raises more campaign funds than incumbent Sen. 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Amanda Gorman and her poem gave me a new sense of empowerment. Main opposition United Future Party floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young speaks at the National Assembly, Tuesday. Yonhap The floor leader of the main opposition United Future Party (UFP) on Tuesday heaped pressure on the Moon Jae-in administration over its real estate policy, which he lambasted as a "fiasco." Delivering his first speech to the 21st National Assembly, UFP floor leader Rep. Joo Ho-young zeroed in on skyrocketing house prices, a major issue that has increasingly weighed on the Moon administration's approval rating. "(The Moon government) bombarded home owners with (increased) gross real estate tax and property tax and now is angling to raise transfer tax. I wonder if owning a house is a crime," the floor leader said in his speech to a parliamentary plenary session. "In reality, high-ranking government officials raked in huge profit margins with apartments in the most coveted areas, raising the ire and the sense of deprivation of the public." He defined the Moon administration's real estate policy as "a big failure," and pressed the government to "ease up regulations (in the property market) and increase housing supply" as a way to stabilize the market. The main opposition floor leader also urged the administration to sack Land Minister Kim Hyun-mee, who has been under heat for failing to curb soaring home prices. The overheating property market has been increasingly burdening Moon around the midpoint of his five-year presidential term. Weighed down by the property issue and other political controversies, including alleged sexual misconduct by late Seoul Mayor Park Won-soon, Moon's approval rating plunged to 44.8 percent for the third week of July, the lowest point in nine months. The speech was the main opposition floor leader's first address to the chamber as the representative of one of the two parliament negotiation groups. The speech was delivered after the chamber formally opened last Thursday, more than one month after the new parliamentary term began on May 30, due to bipartisan rows. "The true nature of the Moon administration is hypocrisy and shamelessness and each and every member of the public should recognize the seriousness of its tyranny and stand up against it," Joo said. He also demanded a formal parliamentary probe into the abrupt death of Mayor Park, who was facing sexual harassment allegations from his former secretary. The floor leader also took a swipe at Moon's North Korea policy. "(Moon's North Korea policy) completely fell through with the North's demolition of the inter-Korean liaison office in the Gaesong Industrial Complex and derision and insult of (Seoul)," he said. Last month, the North blew up the building that served as a symbol of inter-Korean reconciliation and peace in anger over anti-Pyongyang leaflets sent by activists in the South. (Yonhap) OMAHA Matthew Layman, an inmate who was sentenced in York County, did not return to the Community Corrections Center in Omaha, according to authorities. They say he got into a vehicle following a support group meeting in the community on the event of July 16 and did not return to the facility. Layman started serving a four-year sentence on June 10, 2019, for charges out of York County that included forgery, resisting arrest and possession of methamphetamine. Layman is 39 years old; five feet, 11 inches tall; weighs 220 pounds; has brown hair and blue eyes. Anyone with knowledge about his whereabouts is asked to contact local authorities or the Nebraska State Patrol. The Community Corrections Center in Omaha is one of two community custody facilities operated by the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. Community custody is the lowest custody level and the least restrictive facility. Inmates are allowed to participate in work opportunities, attend school and religious services with prior approval and without direct supervision. This photo published July 19, 2020 shows CNRP cheif Kem Sokha (C, blue scarf) meeting with locals during his travels around Cambodia. The presiding judge in the trial of Cambodian opposition leader Kem Sokha advised him Tuesday to adhere to a court order that forbids political activities, after the 67-year-olds recent tour of parts of the country. The written notice follows news that the chief of the banned Cambodia National Rescue Party (CNRP) had quietly begun visits to the provinces starting in early July, which one of his lawyers characterized as sightseeing. The trial council received a report from judicial police, who are in charge of implementing the courts decision, stating that the charged person [Kem Sokha] was involved in activities, specifically in provinces where [he] met with villagers, held gatherings and supporters meetings, Judge Kuy Sao said the statement, issued Monday. The council noticed that these activities might exceed the courts boundaries or will lead to a breach in the courts supervision order imposed on the accused, the statement added. Kem Sokhas lawyer, Meg Sopheary, told RFA that Kem Sokha had traveled to Siem Reap province on Sunday, following recent trips to the provinces of Tbong Khmum, Pursat, Kampot, Battambang, and Banteay Meanchey. The judges statement went on to remind Kem Sokha of the courts Dec. 2, 2019 decision on bail conditions that bars him from getting involved in politics or traveling abroad. In order to ensure [the charged persons] responsibility before the court and his personal security [for his own] benefit before the court trial, the council would like to remind the charged person that he must strictly adhere to [the courts order] and the court order is still valid until the verdict is rendered, the statement said. Not a political activity In response to the courts statement, Kem Sokhas laywer Chan Chen told RFAs Khmer Service that the CNRP leader has been adhering to the courts order. He said that Kem Sokha met villagers and supporters accidently when he was traveling. He added that if the court regarded Kem Sokhas meeting with villagers as a violation of the courts order, the court has violated Kem Sokhas freedom. He walked, he stood and met with supporters asking about their wellbeing. It is not a political activity. The courts statement is a reminder but it was also served as a warning, he said. Political analyst Seng Sary told RFA that courts statement shows that the government is concerned about protests, given that in neighboring Thailand, protestors are staging rallies against the Thai government. RFA-affiliated Benar News reported Monday that large anti-government rallies were held in several parts of Thailand over the weekend over alleged government mismanagement of the COVID-19 pandemic and other concerns. Analyst Kim Sok said Kem Sokha was poking the water. He was testing the courts boundaries, said Kim Sok, adding that the courts statement reveals that Hun Sen is holding onto power with a tight grip and is not ready to let it go yet. Kim Sok also said that Hun Sen is still afraid of Kem Sokha and self-exiled, acting CNRP chief Sam Rainsy. Hun Sen is holding onto power not only for himself, but for his successor, said Kim Sok, referring to Hun Sens son Hun Manet. Funeral outreach RFA reported in late June that Hun Sen confirmed he was grooming his son to one day assume leadership of Cambodia. Kem Sokha was arrested in September 2017 over an alleged plot to overthrow the government with the help of the U.S. government and the Supreme Court banned his party in November that year for its supposed role in the scheme. The move to dissolve the CNRP was part of a wider crackdown by Prime Minister Hun Sen on the political opposition, NGOs, and the independent media that paved the way for his ruling Cambodian Peoples Party (CPP) to win all 125 seats in parliament in the countrys July 2018 general election. Kem Sokha was released from pre-trial detention to house arrest in September 2018 and granted bail in November last year by the Phnom Penh Municipal Court, the terms of which allowed him to travel within Cambodia but restricted him from taking part in any political activities. His trial began on Jan. 15 but has been postponed while the country grapples with the impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Kem Sokha maintains his innocence and his lawyers have all along said that prosecutors lack evidence to convict. His trial has been dismissed as a sham by rights groups and Western governments, and in March, U.S. Ambassador Patrick Murphy issued a rare statement denouncing what he said were fabricated conspiracy theories about the United States introduced by the prosecution. Kem Sokhas recent trips come about a month after Hun Sen met with him after he sent condolences over the death of Hun Sens mother-in-law and attended her funeral. The subject of the 50-minute meeting was never made public. Reported by RFAs Khmer Service. Translated by Samean Yun. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Police in Norfolk County laid a slew of charges after a wild day on the countys roads. The trouble on Saturday started just after 7 a.m., when a pickup truck turning off Robinson Street in Simcoe hit a cyclist heading in the opposite direction. The 77-year-old cyclist was thrown from the bike but escaped with what police described as minor injuries. The 26-year-old truck driver was charged for making a dangerous left turn. Two victims of a later crash werent as lucky. An ORNGE air ambulance flew to Turkey Point Road around 11:30 a.m. to pick up a motorcycle driver and passenger who were hit by a van that ran a stop sign at St. Johns Road. The van, with a 73-year-old Norfolk resident at the wheel, was headed west and hit the southbound motorcycle, sending its two occupants flying and leaving them seriously injured. Const. Ed Sanchuk said some Good Samaritans stopped at the crash site and came to the aid of the victims until first responders arrived. They made some difference to a serious situation here, so on behalf of the OPP, thank you very much from the bottom of our hearts. It goes a long way, Sanchuk said. Police closed the road to investigate the crash, but that fact evidently escaped the notice of a 61-year-old from Norfolk who slammed their SUV into the police barricade at full speed just after 2 p.m. Officers already busy with one accident scene went to another, charging the unobservant motorist with careless driving. Fast food and driving a bad combo Fast food generally isnt nutritious, but it almost proved fatal after a driver heading east on Highway 3 in Simcoe on Saturday afternoon started to choke on some food theyd just picked up from a local restaurant. The driver soon passed out, at which point their vehicle became a projectile, crossing into the westbound lanes and narrowly missing oncoming traffic. The careening car then hit a hydro pole, rolled over, and was finally stopped by a chain-link fence. Remarkably, the driver crawled out of the car under their own power and walked away without injury. To top off the eventful Saturday, just before midnight, two different drivers tried to evade a RIDE check set up in downtown Simcoe, prompting officers to flag them down. Police charged a 44-year-old man from Brantford with having a blood alcohol level over the legal limit, while an 18-year-old from Woodstock will be without a car for three days because police determined the novice driver had alcohol in their system, prompting a mandatory suspension and a ticket. After Saturdays excitement, Sunday was reportedly a quiet day on Norfolks highways. Which was just as well, since officers had a fair bit of paperwork to do. A German woman working in Iraq was kidnapped Monday night in central Baghdad, security sources said. Hella Mewis was abducted from outside her art collection office around 8 p.m. Monday on Abu Nawas Street, said Ali al-Bayati, a member of the Independent High Commission for Human Rights of Iraq. Police officer Ahmad Khalaf confirmed to the Turkish Anadolu Agency that Mewis was taken Monday evening and that police, along with teams from the defense and interior ministries, are searching the area. Mewis was "riding her bicycle when two cars, one of them a white pickup truck used by some security forces, were seen kidnapping her," a security source told Agence France Presse (AFP). The source added that police at the nearby station saw Mewis kidnapping but did not intervene. The Berlin-born artist had lived in Baghdad since 2015 and worked on the Bait Tarkib collective, which supports the work of emerging Iraqi artists. Her apparent kidnapping comes just weeks after prominent security analyst Hisham al-Hashimi was killed outside his Baghdad home by two unidentified gunmen on a motorbike. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi blamed the assassination on armed groups outside of the law and vowed to find those responsible. Mewis' friend Dhikra Sarsam wrote on Facebook that the artist loved Baghdad but expected to be kidnapped because we all expect this fate. In March, three French nationals and an Iraqi working for the SOS Chretiens d'Orient charity in Baghdad were released after being held for two months by an unknown group. Sarsam told AFP that Mewis had been particularly worried about her own safety after Hishams death. "I spoke to her last week, and she was really involved in the protests too, so she was nervous after the assassination," said Sarsam. Sweeping anti-government demonstrations broke out in Baghdad and across southern Iraq in October 2019, aimed at ending government corruption, high youth unemployment and Iranian influence in politics. More than 500 people died in the protests, including a number of activists killed by unidentified gunmen on motorcycles. A May report from the Iraqi mission found dozens of protesters disappeared during the demonstrations. Those interviewed described being forced into vehicles by armed or masked men. (Photo : Big Bad Dennis/Twitter) Apparel CEO claims face masks will become an everyday essential As face masks will soon become an everyday essential in Melbourne, Australia as new coronavirus rule to make wearing it mandatory, prices of the personal protective equipment (PPE) surge up to $250. According to the new directive, Melbourne and Mitchell Shire residents need to wear a face mask when leaving the house to avoid a $200 fine starting at 11.59 PM on Wednesday, July 21. However, hours before the implementation of the new rule, Priceline has been criticized for profiteering amid the pandemic as the store sells face masks for $250, which is five times the normal price. Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews has already warned retailers against overcharging as people rush to buy to face masks as well as materials to make their own PPE. Screenshots of Pipeline online store showing that for a 50 piece-pack of N95 face masks that were previously sold at $51.99 is now priced up to $249 are now circulating in social media, gaining ire from customers. One Twitter user said it was disgusting for Priceline to spike up the price while another one said the store was a shame. Meanwhile, Twitter user Elizabeth claimed to be a loyal customer for years, but she said she "will NEVER purchase from Priceline again" as taking advantage of the pandemic "is beyond disgraceful." Will NEVER purchase from Priceline again. Ive been a loyal customer for years- but to take advantage of this pandemic like this is beyond disgraceful. pic.twitter.com/iFRYidTasz Elizabeth (@vestini1969) July 21, 2020 Meanwhile, Priceline explained that the price signifies the quality and number of face masks in each pack. A Priceline spokesperson also told Nine News that many stores have obtained face mask stocks for their communities, but where securing supply has been hard. The spokesperson also advised customers to understand which face mask is suitable for them by asking their pharmacist who will explain the differences between masks. People line up as face masks become an everyday essential Bonds Underwear CEO David Bortolussi said they began selling masks last month, which has been selling rapidly worldwide. While he hoped it would be temporary, the demand in Melbourne surges as new mandatory face-mask rules will be implemented within hours. Friend posted this pic of people in Melbourne lining up for spotlight. We all asked her why couldnt she buy online? She goes oh I have to see it in person to see if I like it... FFS, this is part of the problem. Its a mask, and material will work. STAY AT HOME! pic.twitter.com/ciduhWWNqn Kath (@Kathblue) July 19, 2020 According to News.com, people are lining up to get hold of a mask to avoid getting $200 fine for not wearing the PPE. Numerous tweets show the long queues and chaos in stores, whereas people "climb over each other" to buy these PPEs. Some people expressed their concern over the panic rush while shops were forced to put limits as panic buyers hit the stores. It seems the situation goes against the government's "stay home" message. After getting approval to sell reusable masks, Bortolussi said the gear has been selling like pancakes. "It's been running hot in recent weeks," Bortolussi told the Financial Review adding that they cannot even cope up with the current demand. The Hanes-owned underwear giant has already ordered 30,000 face masks to replenish their stock since the gear will become an everyday essential like underwear and socks, particularly after the new rule takes in effect. Meanwhile, here is a simple hack on how to make a face mask using a sock. The simplest DIY mask yet - all you is a sock and a scissors pic.twitter.com/xYU0ZjHsSV donal scannell (@donalscannell) May 11, 2020 Read also: New COVID-19 Treatment: No Need to Inhale Aerosol, Protein Works! 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Chahid El Hafed , June 23, 2020 (SPS) -. The National Union of Sahrawi Women (UNMS) reiterated its unconditional solidarity and praised the struggles of Sahrawi women in the Occupied Areas of Western Sahara. Sahrawi women national body in a meeting of its Executive Bureau sent a greeting to all Sahrawi women in the diaspora and in the Camps of pride and dignity. The meeting addressed a number of issues related to the organization's work at the external, national and regional levels. UNMS Executive Bureau highlighted the commemoration of the National Day of the disappeared person that coincides with the physical disappearance of the leader of the Zemla "Uprising" Mohamed Sid Brahim Basiri, requesting the Spanish authorities to reveal her whereabouts. In this regard, the organization of the Sahrawi women called for the revelation of the whereabouts of more than 651 Sahrawis disappeared as a result of the invasion and military occupation of Western Sahara on October 31, 1975 by Morocco. SPS 125/090/TRA Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) The Department of Agriculture said Tuesday it plans to establish the countrys second "agri-industrial business corridor" in Taguig City. The DA and the city government have signed memorandum of agreement for the Urban Agriculture Project (UAP) that will support crops, fisheries, and livestock. The department said this agri-aqua industrial business corridor aims to boost productivity of farmers and the national economy by utilizing the potential of the Laguna Lake. With all the existing facilities now by the Laguna Lake, I see a bigger potential for Taguig, Agriculture Secretary William Dar said in a statement. He added that the city could be a gateway to the capital with Laguna Lake as a major ecosystem, but this needs to be rehabilitated and developed to support aquaculture. The official also said farmers and fisherfolk from Rizal and Laguna could tap the citys cold storage and other facilities to store their produce, and also market these to consumers. The department and city officials also met for the Multi-Agency Agricultural Government Assistance Program (MAAGAP) Para sa Kinabukasan ng Taguig. Dar said this is the first phase for a bigger picture envisioned for the business corridor. Specifically, the UAP and MAAGAP for Taguig aim at enhancing urban food security and nutrition, providing an additional source of income through processing and improving efficiencies in the food value chain, addressing social integration of vulnerable communities, and contributing to urban ecological management, the department explained. The DA earlier said that the first agri-industrial business corridor will be established at New Clark City in Tarlac. It partnered with the Bases Conversion and Development Authority to build the facility in a 30-hectare site in the economic zone. SOUTH WINDSOR, Conn., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In challenging times, a healthy dose of laughter and a look back to happy times are proven keys to lift spirits, according to humor author Leslie Bilodeau Placzek, author of The Audacious Adventures of Zazoo Plazz: Part-time Superhero, Full-time Mom, Amazon Top 10 New Release in Parenting and Families Humor. Front cover of The Audacious Adventures of Zazoo Plazz, Part-time Superhero, Full-time Mom Leslie B. Placzek Author Photo "We come through tough times together with humor - it is essential to our resilience as humans," says Placzek, whose stories celebrate the adventures of her alter-ego "Zazoo Plazz" - and take readers back to the comfort of simpler times, especially Zazoo's childhood and school days in the 1970s and 1980s. "Hearing about school and family was a nice reminder of happier times when life was simple and fun," said "Zazoo Plazz" reader Kim Kozlowski. "I'd give my right arm to get those days back again and be smart enough to enjoy every second. Thank you for the memories!" Nostalgia thrives through the millions of followers gathering in "throwback" and "boomer humor" social media groups, celebrating the music of their teens and the toys of their childhoods, who get positive vibes by reminding each other of happier times. Nostalgia specialist Krystine I. Batcho, PhD says sharing memories reminds us that we came through difficult times in the past, and emphasizes the importance of - and strength within - a community. WHAT OTHERS ARE SAYING: "THE New Comedy Classic - a new star on the humor scene, in the spirit of Erma Bombeck I believe Zazoo Plazz will not only be instantly memorable - but will become eternally loved." ~ Julie Ann Turner "Leslie's is a voice that so many of us need to hear to remind us of our beauty, our strengths, our human-ness, and how fun and funny life is." ~ Paula K. S. Gardner ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Leslie Bilodeau Placzek lives in the Greater Hartford, Connecticut, area, recording snippets for this book in her head, her heart, and lots of top-secret notebooks. Her writing has appeared in The New York Times Money and Business section and the Journal Inquirer (Manchester, CT), among other publications. For media interviews or to book Leslie to speak, share stories and delight your audience, contact [email protected]. Follow @zazooplazz on Facebook for YouTube videos and news about Zazoo events (virtual and in-person). Media Contact: Leslie Placzek 860.810.3551 [email protected] SOURCE Leslie B. Placzek Katie Price told a bankruptcy hearing she has lost everything as she spoke about being burgled and attending the Priory. The former glamour model, who was declared bankrupt in November last year, has had average recent monthly earnings of 45,000, a court heard. She joined a hearing at the insolvency and companies court at the Rolls Building in London on Tuesday via Skype. The 42-year-old said she was going to visit her son Harvey in hospital after the hearing, adding: Its one thing after the other. At the weekend, she shared a video saying Harvey was feeling a lot better after confirming on July 12 that the 18-year-old, who suffers from partial blindness, Prader-Willi syndrome, autism, and learning and behavioural difficulties, had been admitted to intensive care. Katie Price with her son Harvey (Nick Ansell/PA) Asked about what assets she has, Price told the court she owns a house but is currently living in a rented property. She also said she has a Beetle car, one horse and one pony, but nothing else. Price said: I havent got anything, I havent got absolutely anything left, everything has been stolen off me. She said she had been burgled and cannot get any insurance, adding: Ive lost everything. One of her representatives told the court that over the last three years he had been observing the mental abuse Price had been on the receiving end of. She told the hearing she had a bad breakdown last year and that she was an inpatient at the Priory for five weeks. Alex Reid attended a bankruptcy hearing of his ex-wife Katie Price in London (Aine Fox/PA) Price said she had had suicidal thoughts, but added: I am here, I am sorting myself out. Judge Catherine Burton adjourned the case for a further hearing on October 27. Prices ex-husband Alex Reid attended Tuesdays hearing in person. Earlier this year Price was criticised by a High Court judge who ruled that she should pay Reid 25,000 as a result of misusing private information about his sex life. At that hearing in March Reids barrister had indicated that Reid would be in a line of creditors. Price, formerly known as Jordan, was once said to be worth more than 40 million. Story continues At a hearing in October 2018, she was given time to negotiate a deal with the taxman over her finances and her proposal for an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) was accepted. An IVA is a formal agreement which lets people with debt repay their creditors at an affordable rate in a bid to avoid bankruptcy. However, the renewed bankruptcy proceedings last year were brought after she failed to meet the terms of the agreement. Stormonts Environment minister has been accused of blocking climate change legislation in Northern Ireland. Edwin Poots faced demands to act as the Assembly passed a motion calling for the introduction of a Climate Change Act, with binding carbon reduction targets, within three months. During the debate on the motion, Mr Poots said it was ridiculous to call for a comprehensive piece of legislation to be developed in just three months. The minister insisted he would not be found wanting when it came to action to protect the environment but he made clear he did not favour the introduction of a raft of new waste of time regulations. He rejected the terms emergency or crisis when it came to the climate change issue and argued that time was needed to properly assess the scientific evidence. BREAKING: The Assembly has backed a motion calling for the introduction of a Climate Change Act. #ClimateAction #ClimateEmergency pic.twitter.com/y6OaRRGR3x Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) July 21, 2020 Sinn Fein MLA Philip McGuigan, who tabled the motion, said the Assembly debate had demonstrated an overwhelming and urgent desire among MLAs for a Climate Change Act. We are living through a climate emergency, with disastrous effects on the natural world, biodiversity, our society, and our economy, he said. We need a legally-binding Climate Change Act. Warm words have not been good enough, and the North remains a laggard on climate action. Future generations will look back at this period of denial and delay with anger. The science could not be clearer about the stark and immediate threat of climate breakdown, yet still the minister delays. Minister Poots must end the delay, heed the clear call of the Assembly today and introduce a Climate Change Act within three months. Minister Poots said he did not favour introducing waste of time regulations (Liam McBurney) Mr Poots branded the timeframe unrealistic. A three-month timeframe is impossible to achieve, it is ridiculous to ask for it, he said. In comments clearly directed at Sinn Fein members, he added: What I hear from a lot of the members that have come forward here today is words. They want me to do something in three months having delayed this Assembly actually doing anything for three years. He added: Im not a politician who gets too hung up about motions and about regulations and all of that. I want to see actions and things which will make tangible differences here in Northern Ireland and beyond. Mr Poots said there were strong conditions for the executive to reinforce climate positive behaviours that have increased during lockdown, such as home working. He also warned that he would not introduce any laws that had a detrimental impact on the farming community. I dont support the motion, I cant support the motion, said the minister. We shouldnt be using language such as emergency or crisis. Northern Ireland climate change legislation shouldnt be rushed through and forced upon the Assembly without it being properly informed and considered. We need greater clarity and evidence on what should go into legislation and what that can deliver for Northern Ireland and, without this, we have a real risk of rushing through something which we later find out has a detrimental effect and puts up barriers for businesses and industry, debilitating Northern Irelands realisation of a just transition to a low carbon green economy. John Martin, head of policy and advocacy at wildlife charity RSPB NI, said a Northern Ireland Climate Change Act would introduce the vital legislation that is needed to ensure it keeps pace with the rest of the UK and Ireland by setting legally binding targets to reduce carbon emissions. The impact of having no climate change legislation in Northern Ireland is already evident through the considerable disparity in emission reduction progress between Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK. This gap will only increase if further delays to legislate ensue and presents a greater risk to public health and the economy. CHICAGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, McDonald's Board of Directors declared a quarterly cash dividend of $1.25 per share of common stock payable on September 15, 2020 to shareholders of record at the close of business on September 1, 2020. Upcoming Communications For important news and information regarding McDonald's, including the timing of future investor conferences and earnings calls, visit the Investor Relations section of the Company's Internet home page at www.investor.mcdonalds.com. McDonald's uses this website as a primary channel for disclosing key information to its investors, some of which may contain material and previously non-public information. About McDonald's McDonald's is the world's leading global foodservice retailer with about 38,000 locations in over 100 countries. Approximately 93% of McDonald's restaurants worldwide are owned and operated by independent local business owners. Forward-Looking Statements This release contains certain forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations regarding future events and operating performance and speak only as of the date hereof. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from our expectations are detailed in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, such as its annual and quarterly reports and current reports on Form 8-K. The Company undertakes no obligation to update such forward-looking statements, except as may otherwise be required by law. SOURCE McDonald's Corporation Related Links http://www.mcdonalds.com BROTHELS are being maintained in some council estates in Offaly, a councillor said on Monday. Cllr Ken Smollen also said that because of open drug dealing, illegal dumping and other anti-social behaviour, some law abiding families need to be rescued immediately. Offaly County Council adopted a motion tabled by the Irish Democratic Party member which called on the local authority to strictly enforce the rules and regulations on anti-social behaviour in the social housing tenant handbook. Cllr Smollen repeated a statement he had made at a previous council meeting where he said some families were prisoners in their own homes because of the behaviour of others. Children aged 10 or younger are being intimidated or threatened and almost all of those involved are living in social housing. He said a young man was seriously injured two weeks ago. And unfortunately he will never walk again, Cllr Smollen told the monthly meeting of the council. He said it was well past time that the rules and regulations as set out in the social housing handbook are strictly enforced before anyone else is seriously injured or even worse. It's up to all of us to work together and alongside the gardai to stamp out this sort of behaviour. The Tullamore Municipal District representative added: We can no longer stand by relying on meetings and committees to come up with solutions because every day a growing number of families are living in total fear in these housing estates. The anti-social behaviour was not confined to Tullamore, he stressed, because he had received calls in relation to similar problems in Edenderry, Ferbane, Kilcormac and other areas. He had three proposals for action. First, he called for an urgent meeting between council management, councillors and the gardai and definitive decisions be taken and acted upon. Second, when social housing is allocated that at the very least, public representatives' local knowledge be used before decisions are made and the previous activities and behaviour of potential tenants be taken into account. Thirdly, he called for a letter to be sent to all social housing tenants reminding them of their obligations and to refresh their commitment to the rules and regulations. The motion was seconded by Cllr Sean O'Brien, an Independent representative from Tullamore, who said the matter had come up at many previous meetings and a working group had been set up and we are taking very specific action. Cllr O'Brien cautioned, however, that the issue was complex and was not just one for the council and the gardai but would involve a lot of agencies and all tenants. Cllr O'Brien also mentioned the reluctance of people to come forward and talk about those involved in transgressions. Underlying issues causing the problem would have to be examined on a broad scale. It's much deeper than simply wagging the finger at people and saying you must keep the law. It can be difficult to remove a tenant who is breaking the law, he warned. There can be other innocent people in the house, children or the other partner. So it's not as simple as removing a whole family from a house. Another Tullamore representative, Cllr Declan Harvey, agreed there is a huge problem but he said the committee which had been set up should be given a chance to do its work. The Fianna Fail councillor said he only had so much patience himself and it was annoying to him that there are some people breaking the law and getting away with it and rubbing it in our face and doing what they like. Reacting to those comments, Cllr Smollen said everyone knew his feelings on evictions but innocent families must be protected. Exclusion orders should be sought against the offenders and I think that Offaly County Council must be seen to take action. Cllr Smollen added: It's so bad right now that in two or three housing estates that some families need to be rescued today. They need rescuing, they're prisoners in their own homes. He asked the other councillors how they would feel if their own mother or father were living beside those responsible for this behaviour. They are openly dealing drugs. There are basically brothels at the back of some of these premises. We're just ignoring this. Sharon Kennedy, housing officer with the council, said 1,900 homes are being leased out by the local authority in Offaly and the vast majority, from tenants to homeowners who had bought out the housing in council estates, took care and pride in their homes and neighbourhoods. Reading from a prepared statement Ms Kennedy said the small minority of tenants create difficulties for their own families, for their neighbours and they pose a significant challenge to the council. The aim of the anti-social behaviour policy of the council is to prevent and reduce the behaviour and promote and build sustainable communities. The policy has been reviewed and will be coming before the council in the autumn and its key objectives are improving estate management, engaging and fostering tenant participation, working with other agencies and stakeholders, developing a sense of ownership in estates and pride of place, and allowing all of the tenants to live without conduct that violates basic rights, or behaviour that's disruptive to others, or is illegal. There are already pre-tenancy information sessions, estate management initiatives, pre-vetting of tenants and ensuring an acceptable social mix. The council will work with other agencies including the Garda Siochana, the HSE, Tusla and Offaly Local Development. The policy also provides for a range of actions up to and including the repossession of houses and the securing of excluding orders against individuals. The use of CCTV is an option and complaints can be made to an email address asb@offalycoco.ie, said Ms Kennedy. The council will have internal procedures to ensure that when and if we go to court we have the evidence required to meet the statutory standard of evidence. The council is exploring two tenancy sustainability projects, one for Traveller families and another for vulnerable tenants and their children in partnership with Tusla. The sub-committee referenced by Cllr O'Brien involves the Tullamore Municipal District, the housing section and other sections in the council, and will identify and implement a range of practical measures on estate management. It's hoped that the learnings from this initiative can be rolled out to other estates in the county in due course. Specific individuals who are breaching the anti-social behaviour policy will face legal action. We've reviewed a number of files on the behaviour of individuals and we've set out with our council advisor a series of actions including and up to seeking repossession orders for houses or securing excluding orders in relation to individuals. The council is working in a similar manner with estates run by approved housing bodies. The local authority will also look at unauthorised dumping, littering and poor waste management practices. Our veterinary services are also addressing issues in relation to animal welfare and control, including horses and dogs. Furthermore, vacant lands within and close to estates will be reviewed to see if they can be used in a more productive manner. Families and individuals are being supported through sports, arts and libraries to try and minimise the further development of anti-social behaviour among the younger tenants within our housing estates. This involves homework clubs, summer camps, equine projects and fitness camps. Ms Kennedy said the impact due to the actions of a few have been felt more keenly during the Covid emergency. Replying to each of the proposals for action sought by Cllr Smollen, Ms Kennedy said a meeting with the gardai would be sought. In relation to the allocation of social housing, she said the procedure does involve garda vetting. She said a letter to all tenants as suggested by Cllr Smollen might annoy the vast majority who feel they are the ones that are actually behaving very well and trying to support us. They may be at the receiving end of the anti-social behaviour occurrences. I think any sort of communication would have to be very well judged in terms of its tone, its content and its applicability to those that might receive it and so I'd have to give that further consideration. Council Cathaoirleach John Carroll, who asked councillors at the outset of the debate not to mention names of individuals or estates, said 99.9% of tenants were very good. I'm a long time on town councils and we'll always have individuals here and there and if there is an exception here it's being worked at and worked at very diligently, said Cllr Carroll. The Birr Independent representative praised Ms Kennedy's report saying it showed the council took its responsibility to tenants very seriously and implements everything they can to make life bearable for everyone, and a good environment for every tenant. The local authority will work with the Joint Policing Committee, he added. Cllr Smollen agreed that 99.9% of tenants are decent and law abiding. It only takes one or two families in each place to cause absolute mayhem and havoc and to cause fear for people. Anna Marie Delaney, council chief executive, said they liaised very strongly with the gardai. We are progressing with enforcement in relation to a number of individuals who breach the terms of the tenancy agreements. That will progress through the legal route. Microphone and US Flag View Photo During the Democratic Weekly Address, Sen. Maggie Hassan (D-NH) criticized Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) for drawing red lines on what provisions should be included in the next round of coronavirus legislation. Hassan was Tuesdays KVML Newsmaker of the Day. This week, the Democrats did not provide a written transcript of their own Weekly Address. During the five minute and four second audio address, Hassan touted proposals from Democratic members of Congress that match the size and scope of the HEROES Act, which is the legislation that was passed by the House. Hassan remarked, Congress must act now to provide additional relief. Since May, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell has dragged his feet on providing Americans with the help that they need, even saying that he didnt feel urgency to act. Well, Leader McConnells finally said that hes willing to work on additional legislation. But unfortunately, hes drawn red lines on what should be included in a new package. Democrats have been listening to people across the country, and have put forward proposals that match the size and scope of the HEROES Act passed by the House now two months ago. These proposals would help save lives and begin to get our economy back on track. Our approach bolsters public health and delivers direct support for individuals and small businesses, so that we can rebuild our economy. The Newsmaker of the Day is heard every weekday morning at 6:45, 7:45 and 8:45 on AM 1450 and FM 102.7 KVML. LONDON - Secretary of State Mike Pompeo showered Britain with praise Tuesday for taking a harder line on a "disgraceful" China, a notably warmer tone toward his hosts than he struck during a visit in January. "I wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate the British government for its principled responses to these challenges," Pompeo told reporters. Britain announced Monday it would end an extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extend an arms embargo to the territory, and last week reversed its position toward the Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. Pompeo's January visit was far chillier. The top U.S. diplomat effectively accused the British government of jeopardizing a long-standing intelligence agreement by allowing Huawei, seen as close to the Chinese state, to be a part of Britain's 5G network. But much has changed in half a year. Britain, like the United States, has been one of the countries hit hardest by the coronavirus pandemic that began in China. It finds itself increasingly at odds with Beijing on several fronts, including not only Huawei and the new national security law that tightens Beijing's grip on Hong Kong but also growing public outrage about human rights. British leaders were a receptive audience for the secretary of state, who chastises the Chinese Communist Party almost daily and plans to give a speech Friday on "Communist China and the future of the free world." Pompeo met privately with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and spoke to hawkish members of the governing Conservative Party at a roundtable hosted by the Henry Jackson Society, a London-based think tank that's critical of China. He was scheduled later to meet with Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong, and Nathan Law, a pro-democracy politician from Hong Kong. Pompeo and Raab spoke to reporters at Lancaster House, a dazzling neoclassical mansion in London's West End. When Raab was asked if the United States had pressured Britain to reject Huawei, Pompeo responded. "I think the United Kingdom made a good decision," the secretary of state said. "But I think that decision was made not because the United States said that it was a good decision." Raab said he didn't "think there is any question of strong-arming." He and Pompeo "always have constructive conversations," he said. Johnson, whose government hopes to secure a trade deal with the United States that could shape its post-European Union economic future, told reporters Monday that he did not want to be "a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China." But the British leader also said there were real concerns about China, and his government had to respond. Britain announced the suspension of the extradition treaty and the extensions of the arms embargo Monday. The week before, Britain announced it would suspend new deployments of Huawei equipment to its high-speed 5G network, in line with long-standing U.S. requests that allies isolate the Chinese company. China has repeatedly reprimanded Britain for its actions. In a statement Tuesday, an unnamed spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London warned Britain "will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road." "China has never interfered in UK's internal affairs," Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to Britain, wrote on Twitter. "The UK should do the same to China. Otherwise it must bear the consequences." But the moves enjoyed broad support among British politicians. Conservative Party lawmaker Tobias Ellwood, who met with Pompeo on Tuesday, told the House of Commons on Monday that Britain needed a "strategic overhaul of our foreign policy in relation to China." Keir Starmer, the leader of Britain's opposition Labour Party, who also met with Pompeo, said Britain needed to go further and sanction Chinese officials suspected of human rights abuses. At the Henry Jackson Society, Pompeo described success against China as a long game that would stretch beyond the Trump administration, according to a person in the room. That outlook is necessary, the person said, because Xi sees it as a multigenerational effort. There was a general sense of anxiety about the need for an international coalition to confront China, the person said. Lawmakers also asked Pompeo about Africa and how the United States and Britain can "beat" the Chinese there. China has cultivated bilateral relationships in Africa to secure its energy needs. Some U.S. officials appeared relieved by the new stance in Britain. A pair of conservative-leaning British newspapers reported that the Henry Jackson Society meeting was intended to ensure Johnson keeps a hard line on China. China and U.S. flags are seen near a TikTok logo in this illustration picture taken July 16, 2020. TikTok announced Tuesday it plans to hire 10,000 staff in the U.S. over the next three years, despite a possible ban for the Chinese-owned app. As TikTok's popularity has soared, the number of full-time TikTok employees in the U.S. has gone from under 500 at the start of the year to almost 1,400 today. "In 2020, TikTok tripled the number of employees working in the U.S., and we plan to add another 10,000 jobs here over the next three years," a TikTok spokesperson told CNBC. "These are good-paying jobs that will help us continue to build a fun and safe experience and protect our community's privacy." Beijing-headquartered ByteDance, which owns TikTok, said in March that it hopes to have 100,000 employees by the end of 2020. By comparison, at the end of 2019, Facebook had 44,942, Google had 118,899, and Alibaba had 116,519. "They (ByteDance) committed to 100,000 global staff several months ago so it's in line with what they've already been saying," Matthew Brennan, a China-based social media analyst, told CNBC. The U.S. is clamping down on Chinese technology companies like never before as tensions rise between Washington and Beijing. The U.S. says President Xi Jinping's communist government could use hardware and software developed by Chinese tech firms for espionage purposes. Huawei has been the number one target so far, with the Trump administration banning Huawei's telecoms equipment from U.S. networks and imposing strict sanctions on the company that threaten to damage its business in other countries too. Huawei denies all the allegations. The chief of the World Health Organization (WHO) said that his organization is deeply concerned about the impact of COVID-19 on indigenous peoples in the Americas, the current epicenter of the pandemic. WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus told a virtual press conference on Monday that as of July 6, over 70,000 cases and more than 2,000 deaths have been reported among indigenous peoples in the Americas, Xinhua news agency reported. "Most recently, at least 6 cases have been reported among the Nahua people, who live in the Peruvian Amazon," the WHO chief said. According to him, there are up to 500 million indigenous peoples worldwide in over 90 countries, who often have a high burden of poverty, unemployment, malnutrition and both communicable and non-communicable diseases, making them more vulnerable to COVID-19 and its severe outcomes. Dr. Tedros stressed that one of the key tools for suppressing transmission in indigenous communities, as well as other communities, is contact tracing. "No country can get control of its epidemic if it doesn't know where the virus is," he noted. WHO's Regional Office for the Americas has recently published recommendations for preventing and responding to COVID-19 among indigenous peoples, and WHO is also working with the Coordinator of Indigenous Organizations of the Amazon River Basin to step up the fight against COVID-19, Tedros said. --IANS rt/ A 3-D printed figures are seen in front of displayed Tik Tok logo in this picture illustration taken Nov. 7, 2019. (REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration/File Photo) House of Representatives Passes Measure to Ban TikTok on Government-Issued Devices The House of Representatives on July 20 voted on a measure to ban TikTok from all government-issued devices amid rising scrutiny of the security risks posed by the Chinese social media app. Lawmakers voted 336-71 to pass the proposal initiated by Rep. Ken Buck (R-Colo.), part of a suite of bipartisan amendments to the annual defense spending bill, the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The measure would bar federal employees, including congressional members and staff, from installing and using the app on government devices. Buck, on the House floor, described the app as a serious national security threat. TikTok, hugely popular among young Americans, is owned by the Beijing-based tech giant ByteDance. The Chinese Communist Party is using TikTok to collect massive amounts of data from our American citizens and our government that could be used in a cyberattack against our republic, Buck said. The move comes as the Trump administration considers a complete ban on TikTok and other Chinese social media apps over security concerns. Critics say the app could be used for spying by the Chinese regime, citing Chinese law that compels companies to cooperate with security agencies when requested. The company has denied such claims, saying the regime has never asked it to hand over data. It said that if it ever received such a request, the company would not comply. This, however, has not assuaged U.S. lawmakers and experts who say the firm wouldnt be given a choice in the matter. TikTok is a Chinese-owned company and is required by law to share whatever information the Chinese Communist Party wants whenever it wants, Buck said in an earlier statement. The House is expected to pass the NDAA, which will preside over a budget of $741 billion, next week, while the Senate is slated to pass its version of the bill later this week. Any differences will then be ironed out in a joint conference committee. A Senate committee is also set to vote on a bill thats similar to the Bucks NDAA measure on July 22. The bill, named No TikTok on Government Devices Act, was introduced by Sens. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) and Rick Scott (R-Fla.) in March. Others have also taken action against the app. The Pentagon last year ordered military personnel to delete the app from government-issued phones. Wells Fargo recently followed suit, and the Democratic and Republican National Committees both warned staff against using TikTok. Last month, India banned TikTok and 58 other Chinese apps, saying they posed threats to the countrys security and sovereignty. The Alliance for Social Equity and Public Accountability (ASEPA) has taken a swipe at the Danquah Institute for insisting that government cannot be blamed for the collapse of banks. At a press conference in Accra on Monday, July 20, 2020, Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Richard Ahiagbah rubbished claims that his outlet played a role in the collapse of the banks. Mr. Ahiagbahs further interview on Citi FM claimed that neither the government nor the Danquah Institute should be blamed for the fate of the banks but ASEPA has disagreed. According to Executive Director of ASEPA Mensah Thompson, the decision to collapse the banks was cruel, reckless, wicked, and borne out vile envy because the institutions could have been saved regardless of how weak they were. While throwing several questions at the Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Mensah Thompson insists that the decision to collapse the banks was solely a Government call and neither Richard Ahiagbah or the talkative Governor of the Central bank can convince anybody otherwise. Read full statement below: Mensah Thompson of ASEPA writes... A FEW QUESTIONS DANQUAH INSTITUTE MUST ANSWER BEFORE IT ABSOLVE PRESIDENT AKUFO ADDO OF ANY BLAME IN THE COLLAPSE OF BANKS Yesterday Danquah Institute was in the news busily defending the cruel Collapse of some Banks and financial institutions. I listened to their Executive Director Richard Ahiagbah on Eye Witness News on CitiFM making all manner of claims to justify the collapse of some banks by Akufo Addo. Particular of those claims was that it wasn't President Akufo Addo or the Danquah Institute that ran those bank aground or mismanaged the banks and so they cannot be blamed for their take-down however reckless. Granted, but the fundamental question which everyone has been asking which was recently amplified by the Rev. Agyin Asare is "Couldnt these Ghanaian owned Banks however weak have been saved?" Of course not even the Chief Architects President Akufo Addo and Ken Ofori-Attah have been able to answer this multi-million dollar question and so I don't expect Richard Ahiagbah to do any a better. Now here a few questions. 1.Yes Unibank had a few managerial weaknesses just like many other banks and neither Ken Ofori Atta or President Akufo Addo was responsible for those weaknesses but, did Government of Ghana owe Unibank to the tune of GHC1billion Cedis at the time of it's collapse? 2. Were those debt owed by Government and its Agencies downgraded by the Bank of Ghana three times in a month to weaken the bank even further? 3. If those monies have been paid, would Unibank have gotten the GHC400Million to recapitalize and an extra GHC600Million to inject as Liquidity into the Bank? 4.So why didn't Government pay its indebtedness to Unibank? Why didn't Government order its Agencies to also settle all their indebtedness to Unibank? 5. So the question Rev. Agyin Asare is asking is, was there nothing Government could have done to save the Unibank? 6.The Answer is simple, there were multiple things Government could have done to save Unibank and if it deliberately refused to do all that then it only means one thing.... Government was determined to Collapse Unibank it only needed a reason on paper. 7.What about GN bank? Is it true Government was owing GN bank and Royal bank to the tune of 2.2billion? 8.Why didn't Government pay those monies to them? 9. Is it true Government was owing Contractors who had borrowed monies from GN bank to execute Government contracts? 10. Is it true Government deliberately refused to pay these contractors? 11. Is it true Bank of Ghana then went to GN bank and force it to write those loans given to Government contractors off? 12. Was it not a Government decision not to pay these Contractors or that was also the fault of the managers of the bank or the shareholders of the banks? 13. If any manager or shareholder has mismanaged his bank, does the law says you should collapse the bank? 14.Doesn't the law provide multiple actions which can be taken to restructure and strengthen the bank? 15.So the decision to collapse the banks was SOLELY a Government call and neither Richard Ahiagbah or the talkative Governor of the Central bank can convince anybody otherwise. The decision was CRUEL, RECKLESS, WICKED and borne out vile ENVY as stipulated by Rev. Charles Agyin Asare. Mensah Thompson Executive Director, ASEPA 0542120628 CC. Danquah Institute All Media Houses A celebrity brand strategist has revealed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle are in the ideal position to switch their Sussex Royal Instagram account to their new Archewell Foundation. Phil Pallen, at philpallen.co, told FEMAIL that Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, could be planning a clever PR move by transferring the 11-million strong fan following they have built up on their Instagram account, to their charity endeavours. Describing a social media fanbase as 'the digital equivalent of waterfront real estate', he predicted that the couple will 'pivot' Sussex Royal to Archewell, once the foundation is 'ready for its reveal'. Scroll down for video Phil Pallen, at philpallen.co, told FEMAIL that Harry, 35, and Meghan, 38, (seen in March) could be planning a clever PR move by transferring the 11-million strong fan following they have built up on their Instagram account, to their charity endeavours Describing a social media fanbase as 'the digital equivalent of waterfront real estate', he predicted that the couple will 'pivot' Sussex Royal to Archewell, once the foundation is 'ready for its reveal' Phil told FEMAIL: 'Now that Harry and Meghan have left the Royal family, they have independence to speak boldly about social movements, politics, and other topics of importance to the couple. 'The Sussex Royal Instagram account is a platform and tool that allows Harry and Meghan to communicate with conviction to an adoring audience. 'If Harry and Meghan still have authority over the Instagram account, I suspect that Harry and Meghan will pivot the Sussex Royal account to Archewell when the non-profit is ready for its public reveal.' He explained: 'On social media, digital real estate is everything. The Sussex Royal Instagram account is the digital equivalent of waterfront real estate. 'While the account isn't being utilized to its full potential right now, it's a symbol of legacy, and it's a powerful tool for communicating important messages to a devout audience. Phil revealed Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (seen in South Africa last year)are in the ideal position to switch their Sussex Royal Instagram account to their new Archewell Foundation 'The Sussex Royal account grants prime access to an audience that's emotionally invested in the Royal family's journey; transferring or disposing of the account would potentially sever ties with loyal fans.' The Duke and Duchess of Sussex's defunct Instagram account - which stood at 11.3 million at its peak - has dropped 400,000 followers to 10.9 million followers following their retreat from the limelight. Harry and Meghan performed their final duties in March before stepping down as senior royals to focus on their own charities and build a more private life in LA - losing 200,000 followers last month alone as they are no longer able to post from their account. The couple were forced to drop the Sussex Royal branding as part of their release from The Firm, starting an Archewell Foundation instead, and are thought to be waiting until after the pandemic to announce any further details on their charity or any new social media accounts they may be launching. The pair are currently residing in actor Tyler Perry's Hollywood mansion with their 1-year-old son Archie, were they are keeping a low profile amid ongoing charity work. Last month the Duke and Duchess of Sussex's defunct Instagram account has dropped to 11.1 million followers following their retreat from the limelight (seen in November at the Royal Albert Hall) The couple performed their final duties in March before stepping down as senior royals to focus on their own charities, and building a more private life in LA - and last month had 200k less followers as they have been forced to stop posting The couple revealed their new charitable foundation 'Archewell' in April, which will replace Sussex Royal. Unveiling the new project, which will incorporate the causes close to their heart, the couple revealed the Greek word in the project Arche meaning source of action was the inspiration behind the name of their son Archie Mountbatten-Windsor. And it has now been revealed that the couple submitted an application for their non-profit foundation to be called 'Archeway' with the United States Patent and Trademark Office on February 28. The duke and duchess said they were focusing their efforts on the coronavirus pandemic but felt 'compelled' to reveal details of the venture. 'Like you, our focus is on supporting efforts to tackle the global Covid-19 pandemic but faced with this information coming to light, we felt compelled to share the story of how this came to be. 'Before SussexRoyal, came the idea of Arche the Greek word meaning source of action. 'We connected to this concept for the charitable organisation we hoped to build one day, and it became the inspiration for our son's name. To do something of meaning, to do something that matters. 'Archewell is a name that combines an ancient word for strength and action, and another that evokes the deep resources we each must draw upon. 'We look forward to launching Archewell when the time is right.' Prince Harry and Meghan Markle (pictured above on March 5) announced they will be launching a new charity At the end of March the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hit 11.4 million followers on Instagram, just beating the Sussexes by 100,000 followers. Prince William, 37, and Kate Middleton, 38, who run the Kensington Palace Royal account only overtook Harry and Meghan ,who ran Sussex Royal, in recent months, despite being on the social network considerably longer. The Sussexes had seen their following skyrocket since announcing their retreat from the public eye in January, but were overtaken by the Cambridges when they begun to post less amid their new life - initially started in Canada. The Cambridges now boast 11.9 million followers, as the royal family continue their new 'scaled back' model of The Firm. The Sussexes experienced a surge in followers after their final week of royal duties, which saw them attend the Endeavour Awards, the Mountbatten Festival of Music and Commonwealth Day Service. Meghan and Harry were also seen attending church service with the Queen, and visiting The National Theatre and Robert Clack Upper School in Dagenham. The couple apparently bid a tearful farewell to their staff during an intimate dinner, and Meghan has returned to Canada to be with baby Archie. At the end of March the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge hit 11.4 million followers on Instagram, just beating the Sussexes by 100,000 followers President Donald Trump pressed President Emmanuel Macron on Frances role in Libya during a phone call today. White House spokesman Judd Deere announced that the two leaders discussed ways to de-escalate the situation in Libya, which has been exacerbated by the presence of foreign forces and arms. France is close to Libyan warlord Khalifa Hifter in his war against the Turkey-backed Government of National Accord (GNA). Trump held a separate phone call on Libya with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last week. Why it matters: The Trump-Macron phone call comes after national security adviser Robert OBrien expressed sympathy for France last week over a June incident in which Paris accused Turkey of harassing French vessels as they sought to stop a Tanzania-flagged ship allegedly smuggling arms to Libya. But the next day, Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs David Schenker complained that the European Union only interdicts Turkish military material destined for Libyas GNA while ignoring Russian, Emirati and Egyptian violations of the embargo to support Hifter. The presidential-level focus on the issue is also noteworthy, as the Trump administration has mostly outsourced Libya policy to lower-level State Department diplomats until now. The US Embassy in Libya threatened sanctions on those who undermine the Libyan economy and cling to military escalation earlier this month. And last month, a US delegation pushed militias affiliated with both the GNA and Hifters forces to disband. Whats next: NATO has ordered an investigation into the France-Turkey naval clash, but it remains classified. However, France said the report did not establish the facts and pulled out of the NATO naval operation that enforces the Libya arms embargo earlier this month. France has issued four demands that it wants its NATO allies to meet before rejoining the Mediterranean naval operation. Know more: Bryant Harris rounds up last weeks developments in US Libya policy here. MEMPHIS, Tenn., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Dr. George Flinn, Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, will stand up to President Trump when needed, putting conservative values first. Dr. Flinn believes President Trump isn't always right and that it's the job of Republicans to grow the party and support conservative solutions. "As your U.S. Senator, I will fight for Tennessee conservative values," said Flinn. "Defending a person's actions when they are wrong, even President Trump's, simply because he's our leader, is nothing but blind loyalty. That is dangerous. If needed, I will stand up to President Trump to defend our values." Dr. Flinn is offering voters another choice a candidate who will not be blindly loyal to President Trump or anyone else. Dr. Flinn pledges his loyalty to Tennesseans and conservative values. Dr. Flinn believes that the job of a U.S. Senator is not, and never was, meant for a round table of 'yes men' or blind, loyal cheerleaders. Elected Republican leaders have been given the job, by the people, to fulfill a duty to stand up for conservative beliefs. Dr. Flinn will vote for President Trump and willfully and passionately support his conservative policies but not by being blindly loyal. According to Flinn, there are too many leaders who go along to get along and not enough who will stand up for what they believe. "As a conservative, it is my job to push solutions that I know will benefit Americans," said Flinn. "That is why if anyone, even my own party or the President himself, stands in the way of implementing long-lasting conservative policies, I will not hesitate to speak up and do what I know is right. I will question our leaders and hold them accountable, as I hope people will hold me accountable if I am elected for the U.S. Senate." To learn more about Dr. Flinn's stance and Real Solutions for Tennessee, visit www.flinnforsenate.com . SOURCE Dr. George Flinn for U.S. Senate Related Links https://www.flinnforsenate.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 07:44 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f6d4b 1 Business economic-recovery,response-team,COVID-19,coronavirus,erick-thohir,pandemic,Airlangga-Hartarto,Budi-Gunadi-Sadikin,doni-monardo,public-health Free The government launched on Monday a new team to tackle both the public health and economic aspects of the COVID-19 pandemic as the countrys economy restarts amid a surge in cases. The National Economic Recovery and COVID-19 Response Team will be led by Coordinating Economic Minister Airlangga Hartato as chairperson and State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) Minister Erick Thohir as executive chairperson. We do not want the public to misinterpret the new normal term by returning to their activities freely without complying with [public health] protocols. At the end of the day, the economy will suffer, Erick told a virtual press briefing. The team will come up with an outline of a plan by Tuesday and submit it by Wednesday to the team chairman. Head of the economic recovery task force Budi Gunadi Sadikin and head of the COVID-19 response task force Doni Monardo will join the team to coordinate and integrate the countrys policies on handling the pandemic from the public health and economic aspects. The establishment of the new team comes at a time when Indonesias confirmed COVID-19 cases surged following the governments decision to reopen the economy. Indonesias confirmed COVID-19 cases surpassed the official toll in China on Saturday, reaching 88,214 on Monday, with 4,239 dead. Enny Sri Hartati, an economist at the Institute for Development of Economics and Finance (Indef), said Indonesia needed better leadership rather than a new government team. The main problem hindering the countrys COVID-19 response was miscoordination between government ministries and regional administrations, she added. When the Jakarta administration was planning to suspend intercity and interprovincial buses in late March, for example, the then acting transportation minister Luhut Pandjaitan blocked the plan. The Industry Ministry also issued its own coronavirus guidelines that allowed factories to open amid the large-scale social restrictions, when the Quarantine Law actually stipulated a suspension of workplace activities. There is no synergy between government ministries or agencies, Enny said in a phone interview. This is evident in the fact that very little of [the COVID-19 response budget] has been spent. As the pandemic worsens, Bank Indonesia (BI) has forecast that domestic economic growth will contract by 4.8 percent year-on-year in the second quarter of 2020. The Finance Ministry expects the country to fall into recession in the third quarter of the year. Indonesias GDP growth fell to a 21-year low in the first quarter, at 2.97 percent year-on-year. President Joko Jokowi Widodo signed on Monday a presidential regulation to establish the team to optimize coordination between government ministries and agencies, said Airlangga. The team also comprises the Coordinating Minister of Maritime Affairs and Investment, the Coordinating Legal, Political and Security Affairs Minister, the Coordinating Human Development and Culture Minister, the Finance Minister and Home Minister. The task is to oversee the national economic situation and COVID-19 developments, including the availability of test kits, vaccine and antibody production, as well as multilayered economic programs, said Airlangga. Economic recovery will take time, he added. The economic recovery task force will map out sectors hit hardest by the pandemic and consult with other government ministries and regional administrations to design a program in response, said Budi, who also serves as deputy SOEs minster. Budi said on Monday the government would maintain the current national economic recovery policy, including social assistance. The government has allocated Rp 695.2 trillion (US$47.6 billion) for its COVID-19 response. The largest chunk of the budget is allocated for social safety net programs. One of our main tasks is maintaining Indonesias economic growth, said Budi. We will maintain it by protecting jobs and peoples purchasing power. With additional support from the team, the government is planning to step up its testing capacity to 30,000 specimens per day, according to Doni, who also serves as the head of the National Disaster Mitigation Agency (BNPB). The government is currently testing around 20,000 specimens every day. The plan to increase testing is designed to better detect infected people as regional administrations have reported that 80 percent of confirmed cases show no symptoms. We hope this collaboration can increase collective awareness and public compliance, said Doni. If compliance can improve, we hope the cases will decline. Bhima Yudhistira, an economist at Indef, said on Monday that there should be no trade-off between public health and the economy if the government could speed up the disbursement of the COVID-19 stimulus, especially the social aid. It is somewhat nonsensical to expect people to return to grocery stores and offices when the confirmed cases are still rising, Bhima told the Post in a phone interview. The urgent thing to do is to strike a balance between public health and the economy by getting the pandemic under control. The High Court has adjourned the National Democratic Congress (NDC) suit challenging the registration exercise conducted in Senior High Schools. The case is to be heard after the legal vacation. NDC sued the countrys election management body over what the party described as an illegal registration of Senior High School students. The NDC argues that the Senior High Schools have not been gazetted for the registration and thus asked the court to nullify the three sets of voter registrations already conducted at Senior High Schools by the Electoral Commission. Both the Court and Counsel for the NDC at the time of the hearing on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 had not been served with the Electoral Commission (defendant) statement of the case and response to the application for an injunction. Though the Court presided over by Justice E.K. Mensah, also made provision for the case to be heard during the legal vacation, lawyers for the Electoral Commission said they could not sit during the period. The Court thus adjourned the case to 26th October 2020. A Deputy General Secretary of the NDC, Peter Boamah Otokunor told Citi News that the Electoral Commission has adopted an unfortunate delay tactic to frustrate the case. It is rather unfortunate that the Electoral Commission is playing delay tactics. They know exactly what the rudiments of the courts are. They know the courts will be going on vacation and by the time they resume, the exercise would have ended but what they do not know is that the issues we have raised if you think you are swerving it, you will not be able to swerve it. We are coming back to the court on the 26th of October but we are very sure that by then they would have finished the exercise and we are hopeful that even though they wouldve finished exercise, we can still take action of the issues weve raised, he added. ---citinewsroom Zvishavane District Hospital in Zimbabwes Midlands Province has suspended admissions and other health care services after 25 workers tested positive for COVID-19. Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister Larry Mavima, also the provincial COVID-19 taskforce chairperson, said this in a statement on Tuesday in Harare. The health workers that tested positive were mostly nurses and three officials from the district registrars office. The latest infections put to the fore concerns by health workers at the front that they remain at high risk from contracting the virus. Three other healthcare workers at Claybank Private Hospital in Gweru, also in the Midlands Province, have also tested positive to the virus. This had added to the increasing number of infected healthcare workers after at least 13 nurses from Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo fell victim. Mr Mavima said that 29 samples were taken at Zvishavane District Hospital last week after some health care workers had tested positive. On July 13, Zvishavane District Hospital received eight PCR positive results of which two were of health care workers. These results prompted the testing of other health care workers and other probable contacts within the hospital on the same day. The hospital received the results today on July 20 and 25 out of 28 health care workers tested positive. There are three staffers from the district registrars office who also tested positive, said Mr Mavima. He said the hospital was now under quarantine with investigations underway to establish the source of the infections and that health authorities were tracking contacts of the 28 positive cases, including visiting their homes in and around Zvishavane. Investigations are underway to establish the source and the pattern of transmission of the infections. Measures being taken include contact tracing and testing of other members within the institution, he said. (Xinhua/NAN) Kanye West is now publicly sparring with his own family. In the wake of his controversial first presidential campaign rally speech during which he detailed how he and wife, Kim Kardashian, came close to aborting her pregnancy with their daughter North West and admitted his wife may want to divorce him over the public admission the rapper went on a Twitter rant Monday night about the famous family, as well as dragging some other well-known names. Amid reports that the Kardashians are concerned and upset over his wild remarks, which also saw him ripping Harriet Tubman, and fear hes in the middle of a serious bipolar episode, having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder in 2016, West claimed his wife and mother-in-law are trying to "lock me up." Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance on July 19 in North Charleston, S.C. (Photo: Lauren Petracca Ipetracca/The Post And Courier via AP) "Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday," West who was diagnosed with bipolar disorder four years ago wrote in a series of now-deleted tweets. (In another tweet, he said everyone knows the Jordan Peele-director horror film is about me.) (Screenshot: Kanye West via Twitter) West also took aim at Jenner, writing, Kriss dont play with me you and that calmye are not allowed around my children Yall tried to lock me up. Calmye is an apparent reference and dig at Jenners boyfriend, Corey Gamble. (Screenshot: Kanye West via Twitter) He added, "Kim tried to bring a doctor to lock me up with a doctor and If I get locked up like [Nelson] Mandela Yall will know why. Though West made it clear he loves Kardashian, whom he shares four children with, posting, I love my wife My family must live next to me, presumably referring to his Wyoming ranch. Its not up to E, home of her reality show, or [E!s parent company] NBC anymore. West also made pleas for Kriss and Kim to call me now, posting a screenshot of a text he sent to Jenner that read, "This Ye you ready to talk now or are [you] still avoiding my calls." He went on to attack Jenner, who made her daughters famous as their manager. He called out his wifes career path to fame, which included a sex tape and a Playboy pictorial in 2007. Story continues I put my life on the line for my children that Norths mother would never sell her sex [tape], he wrote, referring to Kardashians romp with singer Ray J, released as pornographic film entitled Kim Kardashian, Superstar in 2007, which helped propel her to fame. He added, I put my life on my God that Norths mom would never photograph her doing playboy and thats on God Im at the ranch ... come and get me. One of the few tweets West left up after he concluded his rant was one saying his children with Kardashian will never do Playboy. West children will never do playboy west pic.twitter.com/HkhaDSFGxD ye (@kanyewest) July 21, 2020 HIs ire was directed beyond his family though. West went on to post a tweet that said Drake, with whom hes been locked in an ongoing feud. Another said, Come and get me ... this is the exodus like Pusha [T] said. West also suggested actor Shia LaBeouf was a no-show at a Yeezy Gap collaboration photo shoot. He also slammed Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour related to that clothing line. He said the fashion queen always showed me love but when I told her I was going to GAP she looked at me like I was crazy Then she called back kissing my ass. West wrapped things up by deleting most the of tweets, but added a last few thoughts, which he left up. One was a poorly spelled search of the term righteous indignation, which is anger toward what one considers unfair, mean or shameful. And he said hell be focusing on his music for now, including his album Donda, named after his late mother, which he said will be released on Friday. Ima focus on the music now ye (@kanyewest) July 21, 2020 DONDA coming this Friday pic.twitter.com/HGibF3PHYf ye (@kanyewest) July 21, 2020 While West campaigned in South Carolina on Sunday night his first rally since his bizarre proclamation that he will be running for president he failed to meet requirements for a 2020 presidential ballot in the state, it was reported by Charleston's Post and Courier and New York magazine's Intelligencer. The Chicago native did collect enough signatures to make it onto the Illinois ballot, according to CBS Chicago. There have been rumblings of marital trouble between Kardashian and West basically since they were married in 2014. However, it has been pretty steady over last year even prior to him announcing his presidential aspirations after her bought property in rural Wyoming. While she had made trips to the ranch a cool and different backdrop for her reported million-dollar Instagram posts it seems at odds with her extremely glamorous lifestyle, which is headquartered in her native L.A. Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: By Kumerra Gemechu ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian poultry farmers have destroyed hundreds of thousands of chicks, as the sector reels from a collapse in demand from the hotel sector because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ethiopia's movement restrictions to try to contain the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has led hotels in Addis Ababa to reduce operations or even to close, removing a major source of demand for poultry products. Government data was not available but EthioChicken, one of the biggest suppliers of poultry products in Addis Ababa, said it had to kill nearly 650,000 chicks in five weeks over May and June and estimated millions had been destroyed country-wide By Kumerra Gemechu ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopian poultry farmers have destroyed hundreds of thousands of chicks, as the sector reels from a collapse in demand from the hotel sector because of the COVID-19 pandemic. Ethiopia's movement restrictions to try to contain the novel coronavirus, which causes COVID-19, has led hotels in Addis Ababa to reduce operations or even to close, removing a major source of demand for poultry products. Government data was not available but EthioChicken, one of the biggest suppliers of poultry products in Addis Ababa, said it had to kill nearly 650,000 chicks in five weeks over May and June and estimated millions had been destroyed country-wide. "We also had to actually pull some eggs from our hatchery, so that we could destroy them as eggs instead of chicks," Fseha Tesfu, in charge of marketing at EthioChicken, told Reuters. The impact is extremely disrupting for the sector and has potentially devastating social consequences in a country where Finance Minister Ahmed Shide said in May nearly 15 million people could need government help because of the pandemic. "This sector used to employ a vast group of society in different regions of the country, whether it is the youth or women, in all sorts of age groups," Meba Gabriel Estifanos, a veterinarian, who also owns a small farm in Addis Ababa, said. "Now, because we are not receiving day-old chicks as the supply chain is totally disrupted, the society employed by the sector is not working at all." The hotel sector has been largely paralysed and unable to pay staff, while the latest official data shows the country has confirmed 9,503 coronavirus cases and 167 deaths. "If we are not working, it is difficult for us to pay our employees," Bantayehu Wolde-Michael, manager of Capital Hotel, a five-star hotel in Addis Ababa, told Reuters. (Additional reporting and writing by Dawit Endeshaw; Editing by George Obulutsa and Barbara Lewis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Washington: The top US Democrat said on Monday that Donald Trump might not like the outcome of the November 3 presidential election but reminded the Republican President that he will have to vacate the White House if he loses. "There is a process. It has nothing to do with if the certain occupant of the White House doesn't feel like moving and has to be fumigated out of there because the presidency is the presidency," House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi said in an interview with MSNBC. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. Credit:AP Trump equivocated when asked in a Fox News Sunday interview, "Are you suggesting that you might not accept the results of the election?" "No. I have to see," Trump said. "Look you - I have to see. No, Im not going to just say 'yes.' I'm not going to say 'no.' And I didn't last time, either." On Monday night, Fox News host Tucker Carlson made a surprising accusation: the New York Times, he said, was trying to endanger him and his family by revealing where they live in an upcoming story. As he lambasted the newspaper on-air, Carlson suggested that his prime-time show could expose the home addresses of the reporter and Times editors. Within hours, an army of conservative Twitter accounts started publicly posting the address and personal information of the reporter Carlson identified as the story's writer. Many encouraged people to harass the reporter. In a statement to The Washington Post, a spokesperson for the Times denied Carlson's claims. "While we do not confirm what may or may not publish in future editions, the Times has not and does not plan to expose any residence of Tucker Carlson's, which Carlson was aware of before tonight's broadcast," the spokesperson said. The spokesperson declined to comment further when asked about the reporter's doxing. Carlson made the allegation against the Times as he found himself in the middle of a fresh controversy Monday - stemming from a lawsuit filed earlier in the day accusing him, Sean Hannity and other prominent Fox News personalities of sexual misconduct. (The network has denied the allegations.) Instead of addressing the lawsuit or the recent resignation of his chief writer, who was linked to anonymous blog posts containing racist, homophobic and misogynistic language, Carlson used the final minutes of his first broadcast back from a "long-planned" vacation to take aim at the Times. The newspaper, Carlson alleged, has been "working on a story about where my family and I live" in an effort to intimidate him. "They hate my politics. They want this show off the air," Carlson told his millions of viewers Monday. "If one of my children gets hurt because of a story they wrote, they won't consider it collateral damage. They know it's the whole point of the exercise: to inflict pain on our family, to terrorize us, to control what we say. That's the kind of people they are." During Monday's show, Carlson claimed that he had called the Times and expressed concern that the planned story would put him and his family in danger. The host noted that his home address in Washington was made public in 2018, prompting a group of activists to show up outside one night to protest. Referring to the group as "screaming Antifa lunatics," Carlson, a father of four, said the protesters vandalized his residence and threatened his wife, who had been home alone that night. Police, who responded to the scene after Carlson's wife called 911, said about 20 demonstrators participated and that an anarchy symbol had been spray-painted in his driveway. Carlson said Monday that he and his family continued to be targeted after his address was released, receiving threatening letters that ultimately led to them selling their home and moving. "But the New York Times followed us," he said. "Their story about where we live is slated to run in the paper this week. Editors there know exactly what will happen to my family when it does run." He identified the reporter behind the story as Murray Carpenter, airing his photo and calling the freelance writer a "political activist." Carpenter's website states that he focuses on science and environmental stories, and has written for the Times, The Washington Post and National Geographic, among other outlets. Carlson also mentioned photographer Tristan Spinski and the Times's media editor Jim Windolf by name. "How would Murray Carpenter and his photographer, Tristan Spinski, feel if we told you where they live, if we put pictures of their homes on the air?" Carlson asked. "What if we published the home address of every one of the soulless, robot editors at the New York Times, who assigned and managed this incitement of violence against my family?" He added: "We could do that. We know who they are." Despite the Times's denial that an upcoming story would publish Carlson's residence, his accusation sparked fierce backlash from a number of prominent conservatives, including at least one GOP lawmaker. "There is absolutely no reason for the NY Times to do this, unless of course it is to intimidate Tucker Carlson - or anyone who has views like him," tweeted Rep. Eric A. "Rick" Crawford, R-Ark., sharing a video of the host talking. "This isn't 'reporting' and should be condemned by any news entity who has any credibility left." Acting deputy secretary of homeland security Ken Cuccinelli retweeted criticism that the Times is promoting violence against Carlson, adding "That is clearly their intent," while Meghan McCain, co-host of ABC's "The View," condemned doxing as "the most violating thing in the entire world." Meanwhile, Carlson's supporters quickly got to work. Several accounts shared addresses, phone numbers and other contact information for the reporter. One account tweeted, "Give him a taste of his own meds." "Maybe Tucker can't do anything about it but somebody else can," another user wrote. Carpenter did not respond to a request for comment from The Post late Monday. By early Tuesday, at least one tweet that publicized Carpenter's personal information had been hidden by Twitter and flagged for violating the platform's rules. - - - The Washington Post's Jeremy Barr contributed to this report. Highlights Samsung is all set to host the Galaxy Unpacked 2020 event on August 5. The event will see Samsung launch five new Galaxy products. Of these products, the most anticipated is the Galaxy Fold 2 and the Galaxy Note 20 series. We're slowly getting close to Samsung's second Galaxy Unpacked event for 2020. The event is scheduled to take place on August 5, and ahead of it, Samsung has officially announced that it will be launching five devices on the date. The information was revealed by Tae-moon Roh, the president and head of the company's mobile communications business, who shared this information via a blog post published by Samsung on Monday. "At this summer's Galaxy Unpacked, we'll be introducing five new power devices ... you will be empowered to live life to the fullest with these devices in your hand (and in your ears, and on your wrist)," he said in the post. While he did not confirm any confirm what the new products will be, there have been a number of leaks in the recent past which suggest that they could include the Galaxy Note 20, and Galaxy Note Ultra phones being launched alongside the all-new Galaxy Fold 2, a new Galaxy smartwatch and Galaxy Buds. Apart from this, Roh also talks about the three priorities for Samsung. He explained that going forward, the company's mobile division will focus on first, on what he says are "meaningful innovations." According to Roh, Samsung has invested significantly in research and development over the past six months, and now he claims these investments will lead to "even bolder innovation." "We'll make mobile technology that's more personal, intelligent, useful, and secure... From foldable to 5G, we have a tremendous amount in the pipeline, with some ready to be shown just around the corner," he added. He also revealed that the company is looking to strengthen its partnerships that are critical to the company's future strategy. Of which, partnerships with Google, Spotify and Microsoft could be at the top of the list. And last, but not least, he also said that Samsung's Mobile Division also plans to be more flexible in its approach to tackling the ongoing pandemic. "The pandemic posed a stiff test... It meant transforming quickly to take care of our local communities, partners, and employees, while still building resilience for future operations," he said. It is interesting to note that Samsung had appointed Roh as its new mobile chief, only earlier this year. He had taken over from DJ Koh. Roh has been with Samsung since 1997 and has been one of the major names in Samsung's R&D unit. Film critic Rajeev Masand who reached Bandra police station on Tuesday afternoon to record his statement in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput's death left at around 8 PM after concluding the interrogation, an official said. Masand's interrogation ended after 10 hours. The police were likely to question Masand about the ratings and reviews he had given to Rajput's films, the official said. The development came days after Kangana Ranaut on her Nation Wants to Know interview with Republic TV's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami named Masand as a person who she felt should be summoned in the investigation. Mumbai: Film critic Rajeev Masand leaves from Bandra police station where he had come to record his statement in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case. Statements of 39 people have been recorded so far in connection with the case. https://t.co/qduwPdZBIa pic.twitter.com/xEHYlEcCwG ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2020 Kangana in her interview with Republic TV had said, "I am not saying that anyone wanted Sushant to die, but definitely doomed. These people are emotional vultures. They want to see people lynch themselves. To date, Mahesh Bhatt is selling Parveen Babi's illness in so many versions through his films. Why is Mumbai Police not summoning Aditya Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, Karan Johar, Rajeev Masand? These 4 people. Why, because they are powerful? With this interview, I only have things to lose." Rajeev Masand arrives at the Bandra police station for Sushant Singh Rajputs case This is a small victory for all who fought for #JusticeForSushant. Rajeev Masand most vile,vindictive& bikau journalist who mercilessly butchered Sushants character is being called to police, even if he feels 1% of helplessness, agony-anguish Sushant felt we'll feel vindicated https://t.co/wUBbwuaav2 Team Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) July 21, 2020 The 34-year-old 'Chhichore' actor was found hanging at his apartment in Mumbai on June 14. No suicide note was found at the scene. The police had last week recorded the statement of filmmaker and Yash Raj Films chairman Aditya Chopra about the contract the deceased actor had signed with the production house. Statements of at least 35 people have been recorded by the police, who are investigating allegations that professional rivalry, besides clinical depression, had driven the actor to suicide. Swara corrects Kangana after she claims, 'Parallel cinema happened in 2014 with Queen' Kangana Ranaut Shares A Detailed List Of Articles, Blind Items Written About Sushant & Her Sharing a list of blind items film critic Masand wrote about Sushant, Kangana questioned, "Who were his sources?". She also shared a long thread by a fan who shared articles targetted at Kangana Ranaut. To this, Team Kangana Ranaut (an unverified page handled by the actor's team) wrote, "Heres a series of recent blind items spread by the mafia to sabotage Kanganas career, reputation, mental health and brand value,after so many endless rumours being spread by chaploos journalist, is it possible for anyone to remain sane?" [sic] Heres a detailed list of all the gutter gossip #RajeevMasand wrote about Sushant, tarnishing his image, causing several nervous breakdowns, he spoke about to his family and friends. Please read, we need to know who were his sources ? https://t.co/mbyDa5U0Ph Team Kangana Ranaut (@KanganaTeam) July 21, 2020 (with PTI inputs) Such issues have never been and cant be raised to any official of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia, the minister or at any level of Armenian-Russian relations. Armenia has partnering ties with Russia that are hinged on sovereignty and the centuries-old friendship. As far as the content of the statement is concerned, I am authorized to answer questions from journalists and analysts and comment on issues related to Armenias foreign policy. I am not authorized to comment on the personal opinion of a journalist. I have my personal opinion on the journalists comment, but I will refrain from talking about it on this platform. This is what Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Anna Naghdalyan said during a Facebook press conference on RFE/RL Armenian Service, responding to a few social network users question on the position of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia on the famous comment made by editor-in-chief of Russia Today Margarita Simonyan. In regard to the fact that Simonyans comment was posted on the website of the Collective Security Treaty Organization for a short period and then deleted from the website, Naghdalyan explained that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs had contacted the relevant department of the Organization via Armenias representative. The issue was immediately solved, and the Organization explained that there had been a technical mistake. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs accepts as a basis the CSTOs explanation and will be consistent to make sure such mistakes are not made in the future, she said. One of the social network users asked what actions the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is taking to protect Armenian exporters of agricultural products from discrimination. In response, Naghdalyan said the following: We saw the effective cooperation between the Ministry of Economy of Armenia and the Embassy of Armenia in Russia. Deputy Prime Minister Mher Grigoryan also touched upon the issue during a session of the Board of the Eurasian Economic Commission, considering the attitude inacceptable and called on his colleagues to examine the issue. Naghdalyan assured that the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will also be consistent to prevent such developments in the future. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, July 22 2020 A potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech will undergo Phase III clinical trials in Bandung, West Java, the national COVID-19 task force announced on Tuesday. Padjajaran University Medical School professor Kusnandi Rusmil said he hoped the vaccine would pass the third phase in January. We are very optimistic. We expect the clinical trial to be completed in January with a total of 1,620 samples tested, Kusnandi said at a media conference on Tuesday, following a meeting with President Joko Jokowi Widodo. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login WASHINGTON Several Chinese firms and the major international brands they supply pushed back against the Trump administrations decision to add 11 Chinese companies to a government blacklist for aiding human rights violations, saying they had found no evidence of forced labor or other abuses in their supply chains. On Monday, the Trump administration added the Chinese companies to the so-called entity list, which bars them from buying American technology and products without a special license. Nine companies were added to the list for their use of forced labor, while another two were included for conducting genetic analyses that were used to further the repression of Uighurs and other Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang region, the Commerce Department said. The Chinese government has carried out a campaign of mass detentions in Xinjiang, placing one million or more members of Muslim and other minority groups into large internment camps intended to increase their loyalty to the Communist Party. Some of these detainees are forced to work in factories in or near their camps. Patrons dine at an outdoor restaurant along 5th Avenue in downtown San Diego, Calif., on, July 17, 2020. (SANDY HUFFAKER/AFP via Getty Images) GOP Seeks to Protect Businesses From COVID-Related Lawsuits WASHINGTONLawmakers have less than two weeks to reach a deal on the next stimulus package but the two sides remain far apart on several issues, including providing a liability shield for businesses. Companies demand protections against coronavirus-related lawsuits, as they worry about being sued if an employee or customer contracts the virus. Without such protection, Republicans fear many companies will be vulnerable to a wave of lawsuits and may go out of business. President Donald Trump said he wanted to see certain liability protections for businesses in the next relief package. We do need protections because businesses are going to get sued just because somebody walked in. You dont know where this virus comes from, Trump said in an interview with Fox News Sunday anchor Chris Wallace on July 19. Theyll sit down at a restaurant; theyll sue the restaurant, the guys out of business. So we do need some kind of immunity. Trump said Democrats have refused to provide liability protection to businesses because theyre totally captured by the lobby of lawyers. The lawyers lobby is probably the most powerful in the country. Liability protection was one of the key themes of the meeting Trump had with Republican leaders at the White House on July 20 to discuss the next COVID-19 relief bill. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) reiterated the need for liability protection, saying, We dont need an epidemic of lawsuits on the heels of the pandemic were already struggling with. Senate Republicans plan to unveil a new coronavirus bill soon and begin to negotiate with Democrats. Congress has less than two weeks to resolve differences on a legislative package. McConnell earlier proposed a five-year liability shield retroactive to 2019 through 2024 to protect businesses, hospitals, and schools. Ken Rusk, founder and president of Ohio-based Rusk Industries, a construction business, believes the next relief package should include some protection against a likely range of lawsuits by aggressive law firms looking to cash in. The company rehired most workers who were furloughed during the lockdown. The business now operates with more than 200 employees. As a business owner, Im always on the lookout for the next unintended consequence of running a large employee-intensive operation, Rusk told The Epoch Times. You could almost liken it to carrying 200-plus employees in a large raft down a level 2 white water rapids river. You realize you are only so much in control of the raft as you focus on steering it safely downstream, trying to avoid the rocks, both seen and unseen. Rusk argues that the same holds true with the latest challenge of trying to navigate the coronavirus and its unintended costs. David Reischer, an attorney from New York City, also thinks Congress should provide immunity to businesses in the next coronavirus relief package. The virus is a risk that is very difficult for an employer to fully protect against and it would be unfair and costly to hold businesses to a strict liability standard to guarantee protection from COVID-19 infection, Reischer told The Epoch Times. Some labor unions and employment lawyers, however, oppose expanding liability protections for companies, arguing that it would promote reckless behavior. So-called liability protection is another attempt by big business interest groups and politicians to take away accountability when people suffer harm, Justin Effres, a personal injury attorney from California, told The Epoch Times. Accountability keeps people safe. Taking away the ability to sue is taking away accountability, and that is very dangerous. Several states, including Utah, North Carolina, Oklahoma, and Wyoming, have enacted new liability shields to protect businesses. While liability protection may let some businesses breathe easier, its very hard for plaintiffs to prove that they were exposed to the virus at the workplace, according to Damien Weinstein, a business and employment attorney from New York City. But, as many business owners know, defending against even meritless claims can still be costly, he noted. Democrats said they wouldnt support liability protections and instead pushed for stronger rules for workplace safety. In May, House Democrats passed a $3 trillion relief bill that would require the Occupational Safety and Health Administration to put in place an emergency standard to safeguard workers during the pandemic by requiring businesses to follow strict health guidelines. That is absolutely essential for us to have to protect our workers, at all times, but an even stronger one at the time of coronavirus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) told reporters on July 16. Pelosi said the best protection for the employer is to protect the workers. The Security Service of Ukraine (SBU) and the State Fiscal Service of Ukraine (SFS) are raiding facilities of JSC Ukrzaliznytsia. The company said on its website on Tuesday that the investigative actions are being made as part of the pretrial investigation into alleged abuse of office and tax evasion by managers of private companies and Ukrzaliznytsia. The company said that it is ready to present all the required information to law enforcement authorities. Pack had fired the technology groups top officials and bipartisan board since being confirmed June 4 as chief executive of the U.S. Agency for Global Media, which oversees Voice of America and four U.S. government-funded news outlets: the Open Technology Fund, Radio Free Europe, Radio Free Asia and Middle East Broadcasting Networks. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Seven U.S. senators, including Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) and Lindsey O. Graham (R-S.C.), wrote Pack expressing deep concern about the staff cuts he has ordered. Republican House members have also aired misgivings, and four existing board members, including two former U.S. ambassadors, filed suit to halt the changes. A lower court said earlier in the case that international broadcasting sponsored by the United States for nearly 80 years has served as a trusted and authoritative global news source and model of journalistic excellence that has helped to undermine and topple some of historys most oppressive regimes. The defendant, Michael Pack is accused of putting this legacy at serious risk, the lower court said. Story continues below advertisement In Tuesdays order, U.S. Appeals Court judges David S. Tatel, Thomas B. Griffith and Patricia A. Millett ruled that it appeared Pack did not have statutory authority to appoint or control the funds board members or operations. Advertisement In staying Packs changes pending a highly expedited appeal, the judges said existing board members who filed suit showed that the governments actions have jeopardized OTFs relationships with its partner organizations, leading its partner organizations to fear for their safety. The court said the fund also would face an increasing risk that its decision-making will be taken over by the government, undermining its reputation and effectiveness. Read the courts order here The Justice Department declined to comment. Spokesmen for the U.S. Agency for Global Media did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Story continues below advertisement In lobbying for Packs confirmation, Trump and the White House portrayed Voice of America as an out-of-control news organization that has distributed propaganda favorable to regimes in China and Iran a claim vigorously disputed by VOA. Packs team in news statements has defended some changes, citing obstructionism that held up his nomination, bias and partisanship and unspecified but known mismanagement and scandals that have plagued the agency for decades. Advertisement Begun as a Radio Free Asia pilot project in 2012, the Open Technology Fund has grown into an independent nonprofit grantee of the Agency for Global Media, incorporated last year and appropriated $20 million by Congress. The group has funded programs in 60 countries with more than 2 billion people to allow secure and uncensored access to U.S. information sources and the broader Internet through tools such as the encrypted communications app Signal and the anonymous Web-accessing network Tor despite authoritarian government controls. It has also worked to protect journalists, sources and consumers from digital attack and aided researchers and technology developers. Story continues below advertisement In an interview, plaintiffs attorney Deepak Gupta said: Were thrilled that the court recognized today that the federal government does not have the power to take over this independent, nonprofit organization. This is critically important because many of the people who rely on Open Technology Funds work are activists and journalists in repressive regimes in places like Tehran and Hong Kong and they cant afford to lose that support while this case proceeds. Advertisement Packs critics warned that activists and technology developers who work with the fund take great risks by revealing their identities to it, making it essential that the group remain independent of the U.S. government in perception and reality. The suit alleged that Packs aggressive moves to obtain physical access to and control of the funds office has caused some to question their security and the potential for [their] data to be obtained by a hostile actor. The appeals panel ruling partially overturned a July 2 denial by Chief U.S. District Judge Beryl A. Howell of Washington of a temporary restraining order sought by plaintiffs, in which Howell declined to block changes to the other broadcasting agencies. Story continues below advertisement Howell found that if Packs actions turn out to be misguided, diminishing the U.S. global presence and strengthening totalitarian governments, accountability for the changes at the media agencies rests at the ballot box. Advertisement The appeals courts decision came one day after D.C. Attorney General Karl A. Racine (D) brought a separate lawsuit in D.C. Superior Court under his offices authority to protect nonprofit groups in Washington and their assets, asserting Pack illegally removed the funds board and certain officers. The plaintiffs are board members Pack moved to replace June 17: former ambassadors Ryan C. Crocker and Karen Kornbluh, public relations executive Michael W. Kempner and Democratic technology policy adviser Ben Scott. Voice of America faces loss of international journalists as new overseer lets visas expire After departure of Voice of America editors, new Trump-appointed overseer fires heads of four sister organizations Undaunted, U.S. global media chief plows ahead with changes Aurora Cannabis (NASDAQ:ACB) is closing several of its offices abroad and launching a new round of layoffs. The company confirmed a report from BNN Bloomberg that was published on Monday (and sourced from an internal memo the media outlet had seen) that it plans to shutter its offices in Spain, Portugal, and Italy. Meanwhile, it will reduce headcount by around one-fourth in certain other European countries and at its regional office. It is unclear which specific country offices will be affected. "Like the Canadian recreational market, several European medical markets that Aurora currently has [a] presence in have not developed as quickly as we once anticipated," the company wrote in the memo. "We must reduce operating costs and focus on immediate revenue opportunities in key markets," it added. The company's forays abroad have not resulted in meaningful business. In Aurora's third quarter, the company's international sales came in at $4 million, forming a very small part of its $75.5 million in overall net revenue for the period. Marijuana legalization is proceeding slowly, if at all, in many markets overseas. The company has already made a raft of job cuts so far this year. Last month, it announced it was laying off roughly 700 people and closing five production facilities. Like many companies in the marijuana industry, Aurora is facing multiple difficulties in its business. These include regulatory delays, persistent competition from black-market product, and costs that drive its bottom line into the red. On Tuesday Aurora's shares rose by 0.6%, exceeding the gains of the top equity indexes. Bijay Mohanty was admitted to hospital on Monday evening after his condition deteriorated Veteran Odia actor Bijay Mohanty died at a private hospital here on Monday night following a prolonged illness, family sources said. He was 70. Mohanty was admitted to hospital in the evening after his condition deteriorated, they said. He was suffering from a heart ailment and underwent treatment at Hyderabad, from where he was brought to Bhubaneswar in a special ambulance last month. He is survived by his wife Tandra Ray, an actor in the Odia film industry, and daughter Jasmine. A host of dignitaries including Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Union Petroleum and Steel Minister Dharmendra Pradhan mourned Mohanty's death. Patnaik described Mohanty as a legendary personality who enriched the Odia film industry through his versatile talents. "He occupies a very special place in the hearts of millions of fans across the state and outside. His death marks the end of an era in the Odia film industry and has created a deep void in the industry. His contributions to Odia films will leave an unforgettable imprint for all times to come," Patnaik said in a message. Expressing his deep sympathy to Mohanty's bereaved family, the chief minister announced that the veteran actor's mortal remains will be cremated with state honours. "His demise marks the end of an era in the Odia film world. Bijay Mohanty, who won the hearts of millions through his acting, will be remembered for the times to come," Pradhan said in a message. Born in 1950, Mohanty had started acting during his school days. He had passed from the National School of Drama and had devoted himself to directing plays in the mid-seventies. Mohanty had started his career in the Odia cinema in 1977 with Chilika Tire which had won the national award for that year. He had acted in a number of Odia films including Naga Phasa, Samay Bada Balaban, Danda Balunga, Sahari Bagha, Chaka Bhaunri, and Chaka Akhi Sabu Dekhuchi. He had joined the drama department of the Utkal Sangeet Mahavidyalaya and had retired as a professor from the institute. Mohanty also had a brief stint in politics when he joined the Congress in 2014 and unsuccessfully contested the Lok Sabha elections in the same year from Bhubaneswar. He had quit politics soon after that. JULY RENT COLLECTIONS OUTPACE PRIOR THREE MONTHS VIRGINIA BEACH, Va., July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. (NYSE: AHH) today provided an update on rent collections for July. As of July 17, the Company had collected 91% of Julys monthly portfolio rents, exceeding the prior months collection rate of 87% as of June 19. Our rent collections continue to trend upward through the first half of July and we anticipate finishing the month with over 95% of our portfolio rents collected, said Louis Haddad, President and Chief Executive Officer. Substantially all of our office tenants remain current, and we expect to collect nearly all July multifamily rents consistent with the previous three months. Furthermore, our retail rent collection rates continue to improve now that essentially all of our tenants are open and operating. The strength and resiliency of our retail portfolio are demonstrated by July rent collections of over 80% and deferment agreements now largely in place. We look forward to our August 4th earnings call and intend to provide additional clarity on the remainder of the year at that time. Monthly rent collections by tenant type and in the aggregate across the Companys portfolio are presented in the below table: Rent Collected as a % of Monthly Billings Full Month As of Tenant Type(1) April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 17, 2020 Office 100 % 100 % 100 % 100 % Multifamily 99 % 99 % 99 % 95 % Retail 67 % 69 % 78 % 82 % Portfolio 85 % 86 % 90 % 91 % (1) May differ from financial reporting segment groupings for tenants in mixed-use properties. About Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. Armada Hoffler Properties, Inc. (NYSE: AHH) is a vertically-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust ("REIT") with four decades of experience developing, building, acquiring, and managing high-quality, institutional-grade office, retail, and multifamily properties located primarily in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern United States. In addition to developing and building properties for its own account, the Company also provides development and general contracting construction services to third-party clients. Founded in 1979 by Daniel A. Hoffler, the Company has elected to be taxed as a REIT for U.S. federal income tax purposes. For more information, visit ArmadaHoffler.com . Story continues Forward-Looking Statements Certain matters within this press release are discussed using forward-looking language as specified in the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, and, as such, may involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results or performance to differ from those projected in the forward-looking statements. When used, the words "anticipate," "believe," "expect," "intend," "may," "might," "plan," "estimate," "project," "should," "will," "result," and similar expressions, which do not relate solely to historical matters, are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Forwarding-looking statements may include, but are not limited to, comments relating to the Companys development pipeline, the timing of future dividend payments, if any, the Companys construction and development businesses, including backlog, timing of deliveries and estimated costs, and the Companys expectations and projections, including estimated rent collections, the estimated construction segment gross profit range, projected mezzanine loan interest income and expected financing activities such as issuances under the Companys at-the-market equity offering program. The Companys actual future results and trends may differ materially from expectations depending on a variety of factors discussed in the Companys filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the SEC). These factors include, without limitation: (a) the impact of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic on macroeconomic conditions and economic conditions in the markets in which the Company operates, including, among others: (i) disruptions in, or a lack of access to, the capital markets or disruptions in the Companys ability to borrow amounts subject to existing construction loan commitments; (ii) adverse impacts to the Companys tenants and other third parties businesses and financial condition that adversely affect the ability and willingness of the Companys tenants and other third parties to satisfy their rent and other obligations to the Company, including deferred rent; (iii) the ability and willingness of the Companys tenants to renew their leases with the Company upon expiration of the leases or to re-lease the Companys properties on the same or better terms in the event of nonrenewal or early termination of existing leases; and (iv) federal, state and local government initiatives to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, including additional restrictions on business activities, shelter-in-place orders and other restrictions, and the timing and amount of economic stimulus or other initiatives; (b) the Companys ability to continue construction on development and construction projects, in each case on the timeframes and on terms currently anticipated; (c) the Companys ability to accurately assess and predict the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the amount and timing of rent collections, results of operations, financial condition, acquisition and disposition activities and growth opportunities; (d) the Companys ability to maintain compliance with the covenants under its existing debt agreements or to obtain modifications to such covenants from the applicable lenders; and (e) the information under the heading Risk Factors included in the Companys Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2019 and in other filings the Company makes from time to time with the SEC, including the Companys Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the SEC on April 2, 2020. Omar al-Bashir is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide linked to the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. (AFP) Cairo: Sudan's ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir was back in court on Tuesday, this time facing charges of plotting the 1989 Islamist-backed coup that removed an elected government and brought him to power. Dozens of people, mostly al-Bashir's supporters, gathered outside the courthouse in the capital, Khartoum, as the former president was brought from jail and the proceedings got underway. The military overthrew al-Bashir in April 2019 amid massive public protests against his rule. Months after the overthrow, the army generals and a pro-democracy movement behind the protests set up a transitional government. The 76-year-old al-Bashir has been jailed in Khartoum since his ouster, facing several separate trials related to his rule and the uprising that helped oust him. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide linked to the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. Sudan's transitional authorities announced in February that they have agreed to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC to face justice, as part of a deal with rebels to surrender all those wanted in connection with the Darfur conflict. But since that announcement, there has been no follow-up action on his extradition. In one of the cases he faces in Khartoum, al-Bashir was convicted last December of money laundering and corruption and sentenced to two years in a minimum-security lockup. In Tuesday's case, prosecutors accuse al-Bashir of plotting the 1989 coup that ousted the elected government of Prime Minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, according to the state-run SUNA news agency. Al-Bashir is on trial along with over two dozen top officials in his government, including former vice president, Ali Ossman Taha, and former defence minister, Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, who is also wanted by the ICC over the Darfur conflict. During his three-decade rule, al-Bashir kept an iron grip on power and brutally suppressed any opposition, while monopolizing the economy through allied businessmen. After years of war, he was forced to allow the secession of South Sudan, a huge blow to the north's economy. He became an international pariah over the bloodletting in Darfur and the United States targeted his government repeatedly with sanctions and airstrikes for his support of Islamic militants. Canadians like reason over passion. That is hardly the tenor of modern times. My feelings are mixed, as are my opinions. I try to be reasonable. This is in reaction to Donald Trump whose feelings are monoliths, impermeable, and unmoving, and whose opinions are like his Mexican border fence, faulty, spendthrift, and silly. The man Trump most hates, Barack Obama, once said he couldnt support a dumb war, a rash war, a war based not on reason but on passion. No wonder they dont get along. To Trump, you are a friend or an enemy, black or white. People are Republican or Democrat. His world is made up of friendly nations and sh hole nations. Misogynists accuse women of having too many feelings. Trump has nothing but. I began this column by distinguishing between feelings and opinions. I often see news stories about how people are feeling, an easy question. But unless theyve suffered a personal catastrophe, its more useful to ask what they think. For instance, I feel angry about the refusal of men to wear masks consistently or even correctly, i.e. a man in a Danforth cheese shop telling us loudly that he wouldnt wear a mask because he has asthma, not grasping that asthma makes him more likely to die of COVID-19. But I think Ontario should make masks mandatory. I cannot walk along Bloor St. W. because the blocked sidewalks make distancing impossible. Wear masks outdoors too. This is a good opinion, a reasonable one. My feeling about the cheese shop bro was merely briefly entertaining, an anecdote to bolster a useful thought. When Trump was elected, childlike American reporters headed into previously overlooked Rust Belt states to uncover Trump voters feelings. The answer: hard-done-by and boiling with resentment towards liberals, Blacks and city folk. But if they had been asked their thoughts, they would have talked more about money and how it is made. This would have helped their cause. Can industrialism return? Could they better market local goods? Could schools change to train rural students for new jobs? Why not raise taxes? Equally, Canadian women have been the hardest-hit in the pandemic, with jobs generally done by women at their lowest level for decades. Child-rearing duties were still left largely to them, daycares and schools closed, and precarious jobs left them easily discarded without compensation. How do they feel? Enraged, blasted out of existence, panicked by sudden poverty, one imagines. But what do they think? That schools and daycares are essential services, that job security rather than precarious work is the basis of a working economy, that the minimum wage must rise, and that the whole economic system should shift to accommodate emergencies like COVID-19. There will be more emergencies, you see. What do I feel about the WE charity scandal? It is a worthwhile but minor story. What do I think about its prominence? It takes time away from reporters covering financial news about government debt, the failure to provide PPE for all Canadians by now, how schools can be rejigged to accommodate every single student, the fact that women may never recover from this economic blow, that violence against women is soaring, that police are at a crisis level of incompetence. Ottawa faces almost insurmountable problems right now; so do we. Work on that first. I always read Star race and gender columnist Shree Paradkar, especially her slice-of-life stories, a variant of Reddits plaintive AITA subreddit. She recently wrote about a young teacher who had done a number of things that upset the principal at a Scarborough school. What did I feel? Sad that the teacher had received so little guidance in college and then in a first job. What did I think though? Look, teachers cant photograph young students at naptime and post it on Twitter. Its dangerous and births parent lawsuits. The N-word should never be used in school without permission because students may be shocked and hurt. School is intended to be rational. Young teachers and students are human; they make mistakes. But rules provide structure for learning. Can schools find a balance between reason and passion? Can governments, corporations, workplaces, and families? Can we try? Heather Mallick is a Toronto-based columnist covering current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: is a Toronto-based columnist covering current affairs for the Star. Follow her on Twitter: @HeatherMallick The 13th President of the Senate, and Chairman of the 8th Session of the Nigerian House of Assembly, Bukola Saraki on Monday expressed his condolences to President Muhammadu Buhari over the death of the Nigerian rulers close friend and ally, Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua. Inalilahi Wa Ina Ilaehi Rajihun. I condole with His Excellency, President Buhari GCFR, on the death of Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua, Saraki said in a brief statement. As a valued associate of my late father, Alhaji Funtua always made himself available as a fountain of wisdom. He was always ready to offer his advice and give a fresh perspective to issues. I will miss him and the country will miss a detribalised Nigerian and symbol of national unity that he was. My condolences go to his family, his associates, the people and government of Katsina State and the entire country. May Almighty Allah (SWT) forgive his sins and grant him a place in Aljannah Firdaus, he said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Jeila Aliyeva - Trend: Westport Trading Europe Limited (WTL) is building a complex of delayed coking and tar deasphalting in Turkmenistan, WTL told Trend. The total cost of the complex would be 120 million euro, WTL said. "The project is being implemented at an accelerated pace thanks to the optimization of the production process, effective organization of labor resources, use of modern technological equipment, along with well-coordinated work of the company's management and staff," the company's representative said. In general, the project is at an early stage of development, WTL said. The implementation of this project started at the end of 2019 and is scheduled to be completed in 2022. It will allow to produce up to 900,000 tons of products per year at the delayed coking unit (DCU) and up to 500,000 tons per year at the tar-deasphalting (SDA) unit. The delayed coking unit is designed for processing tar, fuel oil and asphalt to get additional volumes of gas, gasoline, light and heavy gas oil and petroleum coke. The tar deasphalting unit is used to extract paraffin-naphthene hydrocarbons deasphalted oil from tar for further production of oils and asphalt. In addition, WTL won a tender in Turkmenistan for the turnkey construction of a new installation for crude oil atmospheric distillation with an electric desalting unit at the Seydi Oil Refinery of Turkmenistan. During its activity, gaining experience and developing, WTL reorganized itself into a successful EPC Contractor (Engineering, procurement and construction), implementing turnkey projects for the oil refining industry. In recent years, WTL has completed a number of projects for the Turkmenbashi Complex of Oil Refineries , building and commissioning road Bitumen and Catalytic reforming plants at Seidinsky Oil Refinery. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @JeilaAliyeva live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Jubilant Life Sciences said it has received drug regulator DCGI approval for generic version of antiviral drug remdesivir 100 mg/vial for restricted emergency use in India for treatment of severe COVID-19. The company's subsidiary Jubilant Generics has received the approval from Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) to manufacture and market investigational drug remdesivir 100 mg/vial (lyophilized injection), Jubilant Life Sciences said in a late night filing to BSE. Jubilant's remdesivir will be marketed under the brand name 'JUBI-R' in India and will be made available in 100 mg vials (injectable), it added. The company will distribute the drug in the Indian market through its network and it will be available by the first week of August 2020, the filing said. The company said it is focused on quickly making this drug available in India in required quantities and at affordable prices. Jubilant Life Sciences, however, did not provide any details about the price of the drug. In May 2020, Jubilant entered into a non-exclusive licensing agreement with Gilead Sciences Inc that granted it the right to register, manufacture and sell Gilead's investigational drug remdesivir in 127 countries, including India. Italy inaugurates new bridge in Genoa almost two years after tragedy. Genoa's new road bridge, built to replace the structure that collapsed in 2018 resulting in 43 fatalities, will be inaugurated on 3 August at 18.00, announced Genoa mayor and reconstruction commissioner Marco Bucci. The bridge will open to traffic two days later, on 5 August, reports Italian news agency ANSA. In late July a stress test was carried out with 56 lorries, weighing 44 tons each, being driven across the new structure, for a total weight of around 2,500 tons. President Mattarella is expected to attend the inauguration of the new bridge which has been designed by celebrated Italian architect and Geona native Renzo Piano. Prior to the ceremony, which begins with the national anthem at 18.00, Mattarella is due to meet relatives of those killed in the tragedy. The viaduct, which spans about one kilometre, is being built by a consortium comprising inspection and engineering services group RINA, construction giant Salini Impregilo and shipbuilder Fincantieri. The collapse of the Morandi Bridge on 14 August 2018 has led to a deal in which the Benetton group will gradually exit Italian motorway management and allow its toll road business to be nationalised. Under the deal, agreed on 15 July almost two years after the tragedy, Benetton will cede its 51 stake in motorway company Autostrade (ASPI) to state lender Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP). Putin Replaces Governor Of Restive Far East Region Amid Ongoing Protests By RFE/RL's Russian Service July 20, 2020 MOSCOW -- Russian President Vladimir Putin has fired the governor of the Far Eastern region of Khabarovsk, Sergei Furgal, who was arrested on murder charges, which sparked massive rallies in his support. The Kremlin said on July 20 that Putin has appointed Mikhail Degtyaryov, who like Furgal is a member of the Liberal Democratic Party of Russia led by outspoken nationalist politician Vladimir Zhirinovsky, as acting governor of the Khabarovsk region. Zhirinovsky said he accepted the move but added that his party will continue to insist that all charges against Furgal be dropped. As the change was announced, hundreds of people marched across the city of Khabarovsk, the region's capital, demanding Furgal's release. While marching through a heavy downpour, the protesters briefly stopped near the regional police headquarters and the regional radio and television corporation, demanding "full coverage of the protests and transparent and detailed information about the investigations of Furgal's case." They also want any possible trial to be held in the region, and not Moscow. The 50-year-old Furgal denies the charges, which his supporters say are politically motivated. Furgal was elected governor of Khabarovsk, which borders China, two years ago in an upset for the longtime incumbent, who represented the ruling United Russia party. Over the weekend police briefly detained two protesters in Khabarovsk and jailed for five days one protester in Vladivostok as thousands of people took part in protests in several cities in Russia's Far East to demand Furgal's release. Organizers said a July 18 protest was attended by some 50,000 people in Khabarovsk, a city of only 600,000 people. Furgal, who was arrested in Khabarovsk on July 9 and transferred to Moscow, is charged with attempted murder and ordering two murders in 2004-05. On July 16, the Moscow City Court in a closed-door decision upheld Furgal's pretrial detention. The continuing protests, far from the Russian capital, are a rare public show of defiance of the Kremlin and come following a controversial nationwide vote that set the stage for Putin to remain in power until 2036. The authorities have been unnerved by the protests, with the regional capital's mayor calling for calm and saying such rallies were illegal and could spread the coronavirus. Russia's Federal Security Service (FSB) has also warned of an alleged terrorist threat involving explosives, which it claimed to have already foiled. In addition, authorities in the Khabarovsk region said they were considering a return to strict quarantine and attributed this to the "difficult situation with the spread of coronavirus infection." Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/putin- replaces-governor-of-restive-far-east-region- amid-ongoing-protests/30737842.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 FedEx driver has been caught on doorbell camera footage refusing to help an elderly man from Texas who had fallen over on his front doorstep and was unable to get back up. All that could be seen of the 89-year-old man from Freeport near Galveston, were the tops of his hands and legs after he slipped and fell, ending up on his back while trying to get inside his own home. Shortly after he had fallen, a FedEx truck could be seen pulling up to his home, and the driver got out to deliver a package. A FedEx driver was caught on camera delivering to a home where an old man was seen lying on the floor of his porch But instead of walking up to the front door, the delivery worker quickly dropped off the item several feet away from the fallen gentleman who called out for help. But the driver quickly turned around to walk away. 'A little help here please...' the man asked politely. 'Give me a hand,' he said. 'I can't get up.' The FedEx driver who was already running back to his truck clearly having seen the fallen victim responded immediately: 'I can't do that poppa. I'm sorry.' The poor man accepted the man's response replying with resignation, 'Oh okay.' After dropping off the packaged the elderly gentleman called for help. The delivery driver told him 'I can't do that' and walked off back to his truck The man was eventually helped 10 minutes later by his daughter who saw what had happened on the camera. The man's arms can be seen at the bottom of this picture as he lay fallen The short video ends with the delivery driver shutting the doors to his truck and with the old man still on the floor. The man had been on the ground for around 15 minutes before the delivery was made, according to his daughter, Maria Kouches. 'He didn't at least ring the doorbell or call 911!' Kouches wrote in a Facebook posting. 'Thank God he's OK, but what if he hadn't been?' Kouches explained that her father has dementia and trouble with his legs. He was on the ground for a further ten minutes before his she was able to be on scene to help him back up. The FedEx driver drove away leaving the man all alone. His daughter came by ten minutes later to help her father get back on his feet 'We try to keep an eye on him but he does still move around with his walker,' Kouches said. 'It seems he was maybe trying to go back inside and his leg gave out. He gets confused and easily upset with new things.' FedEx have since released a statement after the video came to light. 'We extend our thoughts and concerns for the well-being of the person depicted in this video. The safety of our team members and customers in the communities that we serve is our highest priority. We are reviewing the circumstances behind this incident and will take the appropriate action.' By Katie King San Jose Spotlight Silicon Valley's congressional delegation wants answers about whether the federal government unlawfully surveyed residents during the recent nationwide protests calling for police reform. Rep. Anna Eshoo of Palo Alto and Rep. Bobby Rush of Illinois penned a letter last month -- sent to the National Guard Bureau, Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI and U.S. Customs and Border Protection -- sharing their concerns about the alleged government surveillance being reported by some media outlets. The representatives received unhelpful responses from the FBI and the CBP, according to a news release from Eshoo's office. Eshoo and Rush are now demanding answers in separate follow-up letters to these two agencies. The letters, which were shared in the release, were signed by 21 other Democratic members of Congress, including Rep. Ro Khanna of Fremont and Rep. Zoe Lofgren of San Jose. "The First and Fourth Amendments protect protesters from government surveillance," both letters state. "The reason our Constitution has such critical protections is that government surveillance has a chilling effect on peaceful protests, and Americans should not have to take proactive measures to protect themselves from government surveillance before engaging in peaceful demonstration." Among other questions, the letter to the FBI asks for a detailed list of every aircraft the agency has flown over or near protests in the U.S. since May 25, and whether these aircraft were equipped with any surveillance equipment, such as rangefinders, thermal imaging devices, facial recognition technology, video surveillance systems, radio frequency sensors or other telecommunications interception equipment. "The total lack of information in your (previous response) letter ignores the important role of congressional oversight of the Executive Branch, which is enshrined in the Constitution," it states. "We believe the FBI can, and must, share some information about recent activities without jeopardizing specific law enforcement investigations." The letter to the CBP asks for more details regarding the unmanned aircraft system the agency flew over Minneapolis on May 29, such as the exact surveillance equipment that was on board and whether any information the CBP gained was shared with other federal, state, local, tribal or international agencies. The representatives additionally inquired about the accuracy of two media reports from last month: An article from The New York Times stating that the Justice Department directed the CBP to provide surveillance of the demonstrations in Detroit, and an article from Vice Motherboard stating that a CBP-108 was recently flown above San Antonio. The news release also shared both agencies initial response letters. Jill Tyson, an assistant director for the FBI's Office of Congressional Affairs, responded to the first letter from the representatives on July 2. She said the violent actions of some protesters compromised the safety of others. "The FBI is committed to identifying, apprehending, and supporting prosecutions of violent instigators who exploit legitimate, peaceful protests and engage in violations of federal law," she wrote. Tyson added that it would be inappropriate to disclose sensitive information about specific operations or methods. Mark Morgan, the CBP's chief operating officer, responded to the representatives' first letter on July 1. His letter explained that the CBP flew an unmanned aircraft system over Minneapolis for about two hours on May 29, but was unable to observe any activities on the ground due to cloudy conditions. "CBP's UAS helps to enhance situational awareness and increase public and officer safety by providing aerial support to officers on the ground," Morgan wrote. "...The imaging systems onboard these aircraft alone cannot be used to identify a person." His letter states that the CBP did not fly an unmanned aircraft system over Detroit or San Antonio during those demonstrations. Both of the representatives' follow-up letters request a response by July 31. George Floyd, a 46-year-old black man, was killed in police custody in Minneapolis on May 25. His death sparked international outcry and ongoing demands for police reform. Some of the protests, particularly those in major cities like Atlanta, Minneapolis and Washington, D.C., turned violent when police and protesters clashed. San Jose was no exception. Thousands took part in marches and sit-ins throughout Santa Clara County. Some of the protests remained peaceful. Others became chaotic, with police making arrests and firing rubber bullets into the crowds. Silicon Valley's representatives have stood firmly behind the protesters. During a House Judiciary Committee hearing last month, Lofgren credited the activists for bringing attention to an important cause. "African Americans have been mistreated in many cases in many communities by law enforcement," she said. "I think (the protests for George Floyd) have opened the eyes of Americans across the United States about the need for reform." Khanna has also praised the protesters for their dedication. "Peaceful protests are the hallmark of any democracy," he wrote in a Jun. 18 Twitter post. "We should be thrilled to see so many Americans taking to the street to voice their concerns. That's how we create and sustain this movement." Contact Katie King at KatieKingSJS@gmail.com or follow @KatieKingCST on Twitter. 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. Some of Australia's most popular magazines including NW, OK!, Harper's Bazaar and Elle will be shut down permanently in another major blow to the local media industry. Staff at magazine publisher Bauer Media Australia were told on Tuesday that eight titles, which were temporarily suspended in May, would close down permanently due to social-distancing restrictions and significant declines in advertising spending caused by the coronavirus pandemic. Bauer Media will permanently shut magazines including InStyle, Elle and Harper's Bazaar. Credit:Rhett Wyman The closures will affect about 40 jobs and are the first to take place under the magazines' new owners, private equity firm Mercury Capital, which formally acquired the business last week. It comes amid intense industry speculation over the future of Bauer Media's current boss Brendon Hill who has been in his role for just over 12 months. The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age have been told by multiple industry sources that Mercury has been searching for alternatives to Mr Hill, but a Bauer spokeswoman said that he would remain with the business. Announcement of Periodic Review: Moody's announces completion of a periodic review of ratings of Flanders, the Community of Global Credit Research - 20 Jul 2020 Paris, July 20, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service ("Moody's") has completed a periodic review of the ratings of Flanders, the Community of and other ratings that are associated with the same analytical unit. The review was conducted through a portfolio review in which Moody's reassessed the appropriateness of the ratings in the context of the relevant principal methodology(ies), recent developments, and a comparison of the financial and operating profile to similarly rated peers. The review did not involve a rating committee. Since 1 January 2019, Moody's practice has been to issue a press release following each periodic review to announce its completion. 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 outlook/review 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. Key rating considerations are summarized below. The credit profile of Flanders, the Community of (Aa2) reflects the community's long history of budgetary balance and its contribution to the fiscal consolidation efforts at the national level, as well as its strong liquidity profile, with diversified external liquidity sources. The credit profile is further strengthened by the territory's wealth, particularly in comparison with the rest of Belgium. The coronavirus pandemic and the associated economic recession will weigh on the community's revenues as well as on unexpected expenditures. The Community of Flanders benefits from an aa2 baseline credit assessment (BCA) reflecting Flanders' strong financial position and a systemic risk of Aa2, which exceeds the sovereign bond rating by one notch (Government of Belgium, Aa3) as the Belgian constitution prevents the federal government from unilaterally taking decisions that could negatively affect the financing of communities and regions. Story continues The credit profile of Aquafin NV (Aa2) reflects its very strong links with the Community of Flanders (Aa2), as the publicly-owned company in charge of the region's wastewater treatment infrastructure. Aquafin's alignment with the rating of Flanders reflects the strategic nature of the services that the company provides which links it very closely to the Community of Flanders. As such, its rating is derived primarily from the strength of the Community of Flanders without assigning a Baseline Credit Assessment (BCA). The Management Agreement (MA) between the company and the community also establishes supportive regulatory and financial frameworks. 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 methodologies used for this review were Regional and Local Governments published in January 2018 and Government-Related Issuers Methodology published in February 2020. Please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of these methodologies. 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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File pic Lashing out again at dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot, Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday said those betraying the party will not be able to face the public. Gehlot also reiterated that a conspiracy to topple his government was being hatched but said he was confident that they will complete their tenure. The state government is fighting with coronavirus crisis and at the same time, a leader who was a state Congress president and a few other MLAs in collusion with the BJP were hatching a conspiracy to topple it, he alleged without taking the name of Pilot or any other party leader. "This is intolerable and condemnable. Those betraying the party will not be able to show their faces in public," Gehlot said addressing a Congress Legislature Party meeting at a hotel here. According to a statement issued by Congress chief whip Mahesh Joshi, Gehlot said efforts are being made to weaken democracy in the country but Congress legislators are fighting firmly to save it. The fight will continue till the victory of truth, he claimed, adding that his government is strong and stable and will continue to serve people of the state for five years. The truth will prevail and the state government will emerge victorious in all circumstances, he said. The CM also said those playing hide-and-seek can never be with the truth. Gehlot also thanked the Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) and Rashtriya Lok Dal legislator for supporting the Congress. The statement said the MLAs in the meeting expressed faith in the leadership of Gehlot, saying they will together win the battle of truth. Senior party leaders, including AICC general secretary in-charge for the Rajasthan Congress Avinash Pande; K C Venugopal; Ajay Maken; Randeep Surjewala; Vivek Bansal and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot attended the meeting. This was the third meeting of the CLP in the past one week. A political turmoil is raging in the state apparently because of a tussle for power between dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot and Gehlot. Last week, Pilot and 18 other MLAs rebelled against the chief minister, defying a whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings. Pilot was then sacked as deputy chief minister and state Congress chief. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- One of the last public appearances Rep. John Lewis made was to visit the Black Lives Matter plaza in Washington D.C. where the civil rights mantra is painted in big bold letters on the street leading up to The White House. Rep. Lewis and the Rev. C.T. Vivian figuratively helped make the first brushstrokes in the Black Lives Matter message decades ago. Both leaders passed away Friday. Lewis from a battle with cancer at age 80. Vivian from natural causes at age 95. In 1947, the Rev. Cordy Tindell (CT) Vivian participated in a sit-in at a lunch counter in Peoria, Illinois, the first of many he would join. He would later become one of the original Freedom Riders of civil rights activists who rode buses through the south to push for enforcement of desegregation laws on buses and along the interstates. John Lewis was just a 17 year-old sharecroppers son when he met the Rev. Martin Luther King and began marching with him. At 23, he spoke at the March in Washington in 1963 when King shared his iconic dream with the nation. Lewis had been the last surviving speaker from that march. During his 1965 march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, Lewis had his head cracked open by a State Trooper and nearly died in the police attack dubbed Bloody Sunday. Pettus was a former Grand Wizard of the Klu Klux Klan who would become a US Senator following the Civil War. Lewis didnt anticipate having his head cracked open, but he did know there was a possibility he would be thrown in jail. So Lewis carried a backpack he bought at an Army surplus store. In the backpack for a potential jail stay, Lewis packed an apple, orange and two books, one from a Harvard Political Science professor and another from a Roman Catholic monk. At least the State Troopers who attacked the demonstrators in Selma were uniformed law enforcement, unlike the camouflaged, unidentified, unnamed ,helmeted, masked and armed squads now beating and apprehending demonstrators in Portland, Oregon. The Selma march and public outrage over the attack by law enforcement, led directly to President Lyndon Johnson signing the Voting Rights Act of 1965. That Act would be watered down, not up, by a 2013 U.S. Supreme Court ruling. Lewis, who was elected to Congress in 1987, representing Georgias 5th district, and became known as the Conscious of Congress, led the passage of the 2019 Voting Rights Advancement Act in the House. It now sits buried of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnells desk in the U.S. Senate. This is some of what Lewis had to say upon his visit to the Washington D.C. Black Lives Matter plaza and are among his final public remarks. Despite real progress, I cant help but think of young Emmett (Till) today as I watch video after video of unarmed Black Americans being killed, and falsely accused. My heart breaks for these men and women, their families, and the country that let them down -- again. My fellow Americans, this is a special moment in our history. Just as people of all faiths and no faiths, and all backgrounds, creeds and colors banded together decades ago to fight for equality and justice in a peaceful, orderly, non-violent fashion, we must do so again. I tell you in the past few days (have) been so inspiring to me. To see so many young people, so many children...it gives me great hope and were going to get there. Its all going to work out. But we must help it work out. We must continue to be bold, brave, courageous, push and pull till we redeem the soul of America and move closer to a community at peace with itself. But no one, no one, will be left out or left behind because of race or color or nationality. Lewiss parents had instructed him when growing up in Alabama Dont get in trouble. His message as an activist became nonviolent demonstration and to Get into good trouble, necessary trouble. The nation should be grateful that Rep. Lewis and Rev. Vivian got into good trouble. That their lifes actions mattered. The first Black President of the United States, Barack Obama, awarded both Rev. Vivian and Rep. Lewis the Presidential Medal of Freedom. The way Rep. Lewis should be further honored now is for his Voting Rights Advancement Act being signed into law and the Selma bridge to be renamed for him, an American hero, not a KKK Grand Wizard. The union labour ministry informed a Parliamentary panel that it will insist on appropriate compensation for workers in states which diluted factory laws to allow longer shifts. As the demand for workers in factories jumped after production lines restarted in May, many states relaxed labour laws to extend daily shifts from 8 hours to 12 hours to help industries cope up with the shortage of staff. Deposing before the parliaments standing committee on labour, Hiralal Samariya, labour secretary, said that if an industry makes workers slog for extra hours, then it has to pay 200% of daily basic payas stipulated in the lawfor each extra hour. Samariya also added that if the worker is on duty in a holiday, then he has to be paid 300% of his basic. Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Punjab, Haryana and Himachal have relaxed labour laws. Panel chairman, BJDs Bhartruhari Mahtab, questioned the authenticity of the ministrys headcount for migrant workers. When the officials said that they have calculated number of passengers in shramik special trains to conclude that 1.09 crore migrant workers have returned home, Mahtab argued that shramik special trains also carried stranded students and tourists. Also read: Rajasthan creates most jobs for migrants under govt plan The panel also insisted that the ministry must come up with special social security card for all migrant workersthose coming through agencies, self-employed or joining factories directlythat will help them getting social security coverage. The panel said that as migrant workers have started returning to cities, the receiving states must make the social security cards. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A Russian venture capitalist is claiming "very substantial" damages over claims in a dossier about alleged links between Donald Trump and Russia that suggested he was involved in "cyber-crime". Lawyers for Aleksej Gubarev, who runs an IT business, told a court former British spy Christopher Steele's dossier made grave allegations "as to knowing involvement" in the hacking of the Democratic National Committee in the run-up to the 2016 US presidential election. Mr Gubarev, and a company he runs called Webzilla, launched their legal action after BuzzFeed published the 'Steele Dossier' in 2017. He says he has been defamed by Mr Steele and Orbis Business Intelligence, a London corporate intelligence consultancy co-founded by Mr Steele. Orbis and Mr Steele are fighting the claim at a High Court hearing in London, which began yesterday. Andrew Caldecott QC, who leads Mr Gubarev's legal team, said the dossier consisted of memoranda written by Mr Steele on the relationship between Mr Trump, his team and Russia. "One memorandum within the Steele Dossier named the claimants, making grave allegations as to knowing involvement in the hacking of the computer systems of the Democratic National Committee in the run-up to the 2016 election," he told Mr Justice Warby. "Needless to say, the Steele Dossier, or the gist of its allegations, went viral. "The suggestion Mr Gubarev and his companies were knowingly using their servers for cyber-crime created, we submit, an obvious likelihood of serious financial loss." The dossier was commissioned by a Washington DC consultancy acting for a law firm, the judge heard. But Mr Caldecott said the "ultimate client" had been the DNC and/or the Clinton campaign. Mr Caldecott said there was a "practical ceiling" of about 325,000 (359,000) on defamation damages. He said he would not argue an award at the "very top of the bracket" was appropriate. But "very substantial damages" were required to vindicate and compensate Mr Gubarev. Mr Caldecott said there was "no suggestion" that the allegations against Mr Gubarev and Webzilla were true. He said BuzzFeed had apologised and "redacted" the names of Mr Gubarev and Webzilla from their website. He added that Mr Gubarev was not suggesting that Orbis and Mr Steele had been "malicious". But the "central question" was whether they were "responsible in law" for the publication of the Steele dossier by BuzzFeed. He said Mr Gubarev's case was that they were. Mr Steele disagrees and says the claim should be dismissed. Gavin Millar QC, who leads Mr Steele's legal team, said BuzzFeed's publication of a "confidential memorandum" was "unauthorised". He said neither Orbis or Mr Steele intended the memorandum to be made public, did not provide it to BuzzFeed and could not have foreseen that anyone would acquire or publish a copy. The memorandum was produced for the "sole purpose" of ensuring authorities in the US and UK were aware of "confidential and sensitive intelligence" which had "significant" national security implications. Earlier this month, two Russian businessmen won a data protection fight at the High Court in London after making complaints about the dossier. Petr Aven and Mikhail Fridman were each awarded 18,000 compensation after complaining that information about them in the dossier was inaccurate and a breach of English data protection law. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 23:42:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KIEV, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The upcoming meeting in Minsk of the Trilateral Contact Group (TCG) on Wednesday will help to reach an agreement on a ceasefire in eastern Ukraine, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said Tuesday. "I honestly expect that tomorrow there will be a ceasefire decision at the end," Zelensky said during a briefing here. He also said he expects to meet in the Normandy Four Format soon, since Germany and France support the negotiations. "Everyone understands how important it is for all of us to meet in Normandy format," said Zelensky. In December 2019, the leaders of Ukraine, Russia, France and Germany met in Paris for the Normandy Format summit dedicated to resolving the conflict in the East of Ukraine. The ongoing conflict in Eastern Ukraine, which has taken the lives of some 13,000 people and left as many as 30,000 injured, started in April 2014. Enditem At the launch of that election campaign, in December 2004, Mugabe set the tone with the words: Regime change, Mr Blair? Who are you? Who are you to talk of regime change in Zimbabwe? One of us, by what connection sir, do you hear me? Ancestral connection? And who were these ancestors, can we know? No, Zimbabwe is for Zimbabweans. And only Zimbabweans can determine who shall rule them and who shall not. Whether there is a situation here of political order, of lawlessness, violation of the rule of law, violation of human rights, lack of democracy, our neighbours would know that better than the British government It is our land, ancestral land, our sacred land, never an extension of Britain. CNBCAFRICA.com Sri Lanka: Low tide heralds stilt fishing in Koggala July 21,2020 | Source: Daily News LK With the customary spell of low tide along the Southern coast at this time of year, stilt fishing along the beach at Koggala in Habaraduwa, has begun. The sight of fishermen perched on poles has been a familiar sight despite the outbreak of coronavirus. Stilt fishing is one of the most interesting traditional fishing methods in Sri Lanka. This mode of fishing is popular along the coast near Sinha Fishing Village in Habraduwa. There are three fishing spots in this area. The sight of fishermen perched on poles as they skilfully fish from dawn to dusk is a spectacular sight along the Southern coast in towns such as Koggala, Kathaluwa and Ahangama. On our visit to Koggala, we could see over a 100 fishermen who were busy with harvesting fish in an occupation they loved. The fishermen told us that those who had lost their livelihoods in the tourism industry amidst the Covid-19 pandemic were also engaged in this age-old industry. With the re-commencement of the industry, the stilt fishermen have been able to earn a satisfactory income for their day-to-day survival. However, non-arrival of tourists due to the health restrictions of the day has noticeably affected them. Stilt fishing is a popular spectacle for the overseas tourists. The foreigners habit of taking photographs also brought some extra income to these traditional anglers. Nevertheless, these fishermen are faced with a drastic decline of fish resources in the shallow seas. Many of the small-size fish that are caught by the stilt fishermen have been wiped out due to the illegal fishing methods carried out. A stilt fisherman of Sinha Fishery Village, A.W. Ramyasiri (58) said that they go fishing from May to October every year during which period small-size fish such as koraburuwo and salayo are found in abundance in the shallow waters near Koggala. The fish resources have been largely destroyed due to the fishing by motorised boats. They used nylon nets for fishing which are harmful to the fish. The fish which are caught by our fishing rods are very small. The big fish are caught by fishing nets, Ramyasiri said. Before the outbreak of coronavirus many tourists visited this area. They photographed us and paid us, providing us a good income. Now there are no tourists here, he said. Traditional fisherman B.W. Kithsiri (51) said, We are carrying out our occupation without any specific problem. We earn our living from this method of fishing. The low tide is favourable for stilt fishing. Our fish harvest is also good. We can earn about Rs. 1,500 per day which is enough to cover our daily expenses. M.A. Ariyasena (70) of Sinha Fishery Village said: Stilt fishing has been our main occupation for many years. Almost all others lost their livelihoods due to the coronavirus outbreak. But we could carry out our job unhindered during the recent difficult period. We engage in our industry from dawn to dusk and earn a moderate income for our daily needs. We have three thriving specific fishing areas in Koggala, namely, Maraduwala, Modarahinna and Andana. They are our popular fishing spots. We have a good market for our fish harvest. However, catching fish using lead weights is an environmentally friendly mode of fishing. We produce them ourselves by using cuttlefish bones as moulds for casting. So our fish are free of poisonous substances. They are tastier than the fish harvested by using nylon nets, Ariyasena said. The US is a large export market for Vietnams textile and garment businesses. (Photo: congthuong.vn) The US Department of State has said this on its Twitter account on the occasion of the 25th founding anniversary of diplomatic ties. According to the department, in 2019, the two-way trade exceeded USD77 billion in goods and services, "a remarkable reflection of our expanding ties over the past two decades. Statistics from the US Department of Commerce showed that US exports of goods and services to Vietnam created some 54,000 jobs in this country, including 41,000 jobs in goods export and 13,000 in service export. Vietnam is currently the 17th largest goods trading partner of the US. Meanwhile, as of the end of 2019, total registered investment capital of US businesses in Vietnam exceeded USD11 billion, ranking 11th among countries and territories investing in Vietnam. In an interview with the Vietnam News Agency, Dr. Vu Hong Lam, and expert at the Hawaii-based Asia-Pacific Center for Security Studies, described the Vietnam-US relationship as special one. He said it took two decades for the US-Vietnam relationship to fully normalise after the restoration of diplomatic relations between the two countries in 1995. The greatest achievement in Vietnam-US relations since 1995 is the transformation of the relationship from one between former enemies to comprehensive partnership between the two sides, he added. He noted that Vietnam is one of the key regional partners of the US both in the rebalance strategy of the Obama administration and the free and open Indo-Pacific strategy of President Donald Trump's administration. According to the expert, the relationship between Vietnam and the US is rooted in a bipartisan consensus in the US and a consensus in Vietnam about the importance of diversification of relations with other countries, including the US. More joint activities and collaboration will deepen mutual understanding and trust, he said./. Pressure group OccupyGhana says it has noted with grave concern reports that the Special Development Initiatives Minister fired a gun at a registration centre in her constituency. The group said, it has had occasion, especially in the wake of the Ayawaso West Wuogon by-election, to condemn the use of violence in our electoral politics, whether by government agents or private persons. The use of force or violence is a crime under our laws unless there is reasonable justification, and within the strict bounds provided by law. Specifically, it is a crime to fire a weapon in a town without lawful and necessary occasion. Possession of a firearm without lawful excuse is a first-degree felony. And it is also a crime to have an offensive weapon while in a public place, public meeting, or at a public assembly of people, without lawful authority, it said. Specifically, it is a crime to fire a weapon in a town without lawful and necessary occasion. Possession of a firearm without lawful excuse is a first-degree felony. And it is also a crime to have an offensive weapon while in a public place, public meeting, or at a public assembly of people, without lawful authority, it said. It added, We condemn all election-related violence. We also condemn the inexplicable circumstances under which the Minister took a loaded weapon to the registration centre in the first place, when the Minister has police guard, paid for by the state and whose job is to protect her. Arguing its point further, it stated that the law that regulates the registration of voters also provides a process for challenging ineligible people who register or attempt to do so. That is what should be followed, if people are breaking the law. No individual has the mandate or power to seek to prevent others from registering simply because that individual believes that the law is being flouted, OccupyGhana said. The pressure group said, In a country governed by the Rule of Law, you do not prevent an alleged breach of the law, by breaching the law yourself. What the Minister did endangered the lives of not only the political actors but innocent people whose only interest in being at the registration centre, was ostensibly to exercise their constitutional right to be registered and to vote in the coming elections. According to OccupyGhana, the country cannot have a registration exercise and then an election where people would feel so threatened that they would either stay at home and not vote at all, or go to the registration or polling stations armed. Ghanaians are already battling the spread of the dreadful coronavirus. This should not be combined with needless threats to our lives and safety. We call on the police to quickly investigate the circumstances under which this incident occurred. If it is found that the Minister breached the law, she should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible under the law, it said. Source: Myjoyonline.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 A British tourist caused a coronavirus scare in Lanzarote after she arrived from the UK for a holiday on the popular Canary island. Health chiefs confirmed the woman tested positive for COVID-19 and is now in quarantine. Nine other people with whom she had contact with also had to undergo a coronavirus test but all proved negative. Health authorities on Lanzarote have been testing tourists showing symptoms for Covid-19 and their close contacts. A British woman has tested positive after her husband became symptomatic - although he tested negative for coronavirus Passengers arriving in Lanzarote have to wear face masks while making their way through the airport. Anyone showing Covid symptoms is tested and risk being placed into quarantine The Briton is the first holidaymaker from the UK to test positive in Lanzarote since Spain opened its borders on June 21st. It was actually the woman's husband who felt unwell on arrival at their hotel and had a fever. However, two tests for coronavirus proved negative. The woman was routinely tested and despite having no symptoms of ill-health whatsoever was the one who was confirmed to have COVID-19. The island's health department said the coronavirus protocols had been activated at reception on the couple's arrival so they had minimum contact with other people. A specialist team immediately went into action to trace all contacts, including staff. The health department hasn't specified where the woman is in quarantine or if her husband is with her or if the nine others also have to self-isolate. Lanzarote currently has eleven active cases of coronavirus: the British tourist, a resident who came from Mexico and went to the Jose Molina Orosa Hospital Emergency Department with symptoms and nine illegal immigrants who tried to smuggle themselves into the island in a tiny boat. Leaders of the Canaries say other illegal migrants have tested positive and this is giving a wrong impression of the level of coronavirus on the islands which have had a relatively low incidence of infections and deaths. Last Friday, a boat containing 61 immigrants arrived on the neighbouring island of Fuerteventura and 47 proved positive. Health chiefs say there is no threat to people's health and the situation is properly under control. Nalini Sriharan, convicted for life in the assassination case of former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi, had threatened to commit suicide in the Vellore Women's Prison after an argument with another inmate, an official said on Tuesday. According to prison officials, a complaint against Nalini had emerged that she was taking the assistance of another prisoner for daily chores, unduly burdening the latter. The officials decided to move the complainant to another cell, which led Nalini to threaten that she would kill herself. However, Nalini's lawyer P Pugalenthi refuted the version and alleged a cover up by the officials. "For the last 28-29 years, there was no complaint against Nalini. Reason given by prison officials was not valid. Prison officials say she threatened suicide after an oral complaint was given. I heard from some prison officials that she tried to strangle herself with a cloth and attempted suicide. She is not someone who will do this. She always takes legal recourse," Pugalenthi told News18. Pugalenthi added that Nalini was, by nature, of a robust mentality. According to him, she must have been subject to torture that contemplated her to take the extreme step. Currently, the convict is being monitored closely. Seven persons were convicted in the killing of Rajiv Gandhi -- A.G. Perarivalan, V. Sriharan alias Murugan, T. Suthendraraja alais Santhan, Jayakumar, Robert Payas, Ravichandran and Nalini Sriharan, wife of V. Sriharan. All the convicts are in prison since 1991, the year a woman LTTE suicide bomber blew up herself, killing Rajiv Gandhi on the spot at an election rally near Chennai. The Tamil Nadu government has passed a resolution for the release of all the convicts, but the Governor is yet to take a decision on the matter. (With inputs from D Selvan and IANS) A lot has been said about Kanye Wests explosive speech during his campaign rally in South Carolina. The 43-year-old rapper, who announced his contest for US president earlier in July, admitted during his speech that the couple was considering abortion of their eldest child, North, 7, when Kim Kardashian got pregnant during their relationship. Among others, his emotional and rambling statements did not go down well with his wife Kim. According to a report in People, Kim was furious about West sharing something so private at the rally and was shocked by her husband speaking about North. Kims main concern is how Kanyes confessions about their personal life could impact their four kids. In addition to North, Kim and West have a four-year-old son Saint, two-year-old daughter Chicago and one-year-old son Psalm. "She (Kim) loves her kids tremendously and wants to protect them. Her favourite thing in the world is being a mom, an insider was quoted by People as saying. A representative for Kim revealed now the relationship between them has started to suffer owing to West's conduct. It has happened suddenly and significantly broken down things between the couple. "Kim is mortified. She has desperately been trying to help West, keep him calm and prevent him from having any public meltdowns. But go out and say that about (their eldest, daughter) North is shocking. She's worked so hard to help him, but she won't let him do this to their children," added the report. Apparently, Kim had no knowledge that West was going to bring the private anecdote during his first speech. West had said, he'd be "at peace ... even if my wife were to divorce me after this speech. Motherhood: Motivated, Observant, Tender, Helpful, Eternity, Respected, Happy, Open-Minded, Outstanding, Devoted: a potent guide that brings assurance and self-confidence to a parent by laying out advices and information as they choose what is best for their children. Motherhood: Motivated, Observant, Tender, Helpful, Eternity, Respected, Happy, Open-Minded, Outstanding, Devoted is the creation of published author Elizabeth Parson, a minister who serves God and His people wholeheartedly. A mother of six, she finds that motherhood isnt easy; but with Gods wisdom and principles, she is able to make it. Parson shares, Motherhood provides mothers with different aspects, encouraging them to be the best mother possible and giving them insight and tools to make sure their children grow and become productive and successful in our society. Motherhood includes strategies for raising responsible and respectful children who are successful and can function in our society effectively. As childrens first teachers, mothers need to provide a solid foundation for living in our society. Mothers certainly have to be skillful to manage the many tasks that they must tackle daily. Topics include the following: Single mothers Verbal communication Childrearing Is Like Artwork Mother-and-child relationship Mother involvement Mothers growing stages Rewards of being a mother Mothers are an important part of a childs development and must utilize tools that are beneficial to their children. However, mothers can become overwhelmed with all the information available on the internet in books, magazines, and pamphlets. Elizabeth Parson helps mothers feel confident and calm by providing information that empowers them to make decisions that are best for their children while also embracing their unique inner potential and purpose. Mothers can stay in control while also giving their children the necessary freedom to mature themselves. Published by Christian Faith Publishing, Elizabeth Parsons new book is a beautiful read that will accompany mothers in their decision-making and provide them with parenting strategies. With this, parents can raise children to be good citizens of society and good persons of the world. View a synopsis of Motherhood: Motivated, Observant, Tender, Helpful, Eternity, Respected, Happy, Open-Minded, Outstanding, Devoted on YouTube. Consumers can purchase Motherhood: Motivated, Observant, Tender, Helpful, Eternity, Respected, Happy, Open-Minded, Outstanding, Devoted at traditional brick & mortar bookstores, or online at Amazon.com, Apple iTunes store, or Barnes and Noble. For additional information or inquiries about Motherhood: Motivated, Observant, Tender, Helpful, Eternity, Respected, Happy, Open-Minded, Outstanding, Devoted, contact the Christian Faith Publishing media department at 866-554-0919. A federal grand jury handed up drug distribution charges against a St. John the Baptist Parish firefighter who was arrested while allegedly trying to sneak 130 lbs. of marijuana past a checkpoint at the Texas-Mexico border. Michael Moscona faces a count of possession with intent to distribute 59 kilograms of marijuana in an indictment returned by a grand jury in Corpus Christi, Texas, on July 14. Mosconas attorney, Alejandro Guerra, said Tuesday that Moscona intends to plead not guilty to the case at a hearing tentatively set for Wednesday. Guerra declined further comment. St. John firefighter busted with 150 pounds of marijuana near Mexican border, feds say A St. John the Baptist Parish firefighter tried to sneak more than 150 pounds of marijuana past a checkpoint at Texas border with Mexico but Moscona, who is out of jail on an unsecured bond of $75,000, could receive a maximum of 20 years if convicted as charged. According to a criminal complaint last month, Moscona was driving near an immigration checkpoint north of McAllen, Texas, on the morning of June 17 when Border Patrol agents stopped him. Moscona allegedly claimed he was vacationing with relatives in South Padre Island but was returning to St. John alone in a rental truck because the firefighting crew to which he belonged was short-staffed. Agents said Moscona became visibly nervous when questioned about a new toolbox in the bed of the truck. The agents forced the box open after a drug-sniffing dog showed an interest in it. 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 Inside the box were several bundles of marijuana worth more than $100,000 wrapped in black plastic, the complaint said. Agents arrested Moscona and seized a pistol in the front seat. The complaint alleged that Moscona confessed that he was delivering marijuana from Texas Rio Grande Valley to Ponchatoula in Tangipahoa Parish. Moscona allegedly said he had made several such deliveries in previous months. The complaint accused Moscona of having more than 70 kilograms of marijuana. The indictment, without elaborating, dropped the amount by some 11 kilos. Moscona was placed on paid leave pending an internal disciplinary investigation on June 29 and left the fire department on July 15, parish officials said. The parish stopped short of specifying whether he was fired or if he resigned. Moscona had been a St. John firefighter for 15 years when he was arrested and had formed part of a team which won a state firefighting drills competition multiple times. Note: This story was updated on July 22, 2020, with information from St. John parish officials. Toni Carter has constantly aspired for more. Born in rural Alabama, Carter moved with her parents to Cleveland to escape the Jim Crow treatment they had received in the South. Eventually she left Cleveland to go to school in Northfield, Minn., where she found a vibrancy in life and an education that she had been yearning for. After college Toni Carter moved to St. Paul, married, had a good job, had the picket fence with a dog and kids lifestyle that she thought would be the perfect life, but still something was missing. I know that it was my ability to have more of a direct impact on what I felt was a community yearning to blossom, she says. I found that there were people here in this land of milk and honey who looked like me, who werent doing so well. Toni Carter has public service in her blood. She began fulfilling her desire to help the community first by running for the local school board. Then she realized that there were more underlying concerns than just student achievement, so she ran for, and won, a position on the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners, where she has served four terms across 15 years. When she was first elected in 2005, she was the first Black American to serve on a county board in the state. She has created a legacy of community development, not only through her own achievements and actions but also through her children. Her son, Melvin Carter III, has been mayor of St. Paul, Minn., since 2018, the citys first African-American mayor. While proud of the achievements that her community has achieved, Carter continues to push for progressive change, especially in the wake of George Floyds death. There are so many things that we have been able to change, but there are also so many things that we still need to do, as is observed from the George Floyd killing here in the Twin Cities area, she explains. Carter sees there are reforms that need to be made within the system of law enforcement, but also through larger social systems that allow everyone to not just survive, but to thrive. I felt compelled in working with my community, on behalf of my community, to help those voices be heard and to help those changes that are required to be made. And I still do, she says. Listen to the episode as Toni Carter discusses the future of Ramsey County, the community support that has blossomed in the wake of George Floyds death and her new adventures with the upright bass.Governing A federal grand jury has returned an 11-count indictment against two Chinese hackers for a "sweeping global computer intrusion campaign" that began over 10 years ago and recently targeted companies developing coronavirus vaccines and treatments, the Justice Department announced Tuesday. Why it matters: It's believed to be the first time the U.S. government has charged foreign hackers with targeting coronavirus research, according to AP. It's also the first time the Justice Department has brought charges against criminal hackers for activity done for their personal gain and for state-sponsored attacks, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said at a press conference. The big picture: Intelligence officials have been warning of virus-related cyber intrusions for months. In May, U.S. officials announced an uptick in Chinese-government affiliated hackers targeting medical research and other facilities in the U.S. for data on a potential cure or effective treatments to combat the virus. Last week, the U.S., U.K. and Canada warned that Russian hackers were attempting to do the same. Details: The Chinese hackers allegedly targeted robotics, aircraft and marine engineering, clean energy engineering, biotechnology, advanced rail technology, non-governmental organizations, human rights activists in the U.S., China and Hong Kong, as well as vaccine and testing development for the coronavirus, the Justice Department said. In January 2020, hackers are alleged to have done reconnaissance on a Massachusetts firm conducting research on a coronavirus vaccine. In February, a separate California business working on antiviral drugs was invaded, according to DOJ. Most recently, the Chinese hackers sought vulnerabilities in a California firm working on diagnostic research for COVID test kits on May 12. The bottom line: The Justice Department did not allege that the hackers succeeded in stealing coronavirus research, but officials pointed out that attempted hacks could still slow down research. The DOJ said that hundreds of millions of dollars worth of trade secrets, intellectual property and other information was stolen over the decade-long hacking campaign. What they're saying: China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being on call to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist partys insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies hard-earned intellectual property, including COVID-19 research. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers Read the indictment via DocumentCloud. The spaceborne visitor Comet NEOWISE is 4.6 billion years old, which makes older than Earth and as old as our Solar System. However, it was not until March 2020 that NASAs Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer (NEOWISE) telescope captured the sight of this icy ball moving in our solar system. Alongside Comet NEOWISE, in March NASA had also discovered Comet ATLAS and Comet SWAN. But unlike the icy space visitor NEOWISE, the other two comets fizzled out while making a slingshot around the Sun. Read on to find out, Neowise July 21 location. Read | Comet NEOWISE pictures with the aurora-filled sky, STEVE, steal the heart of many Comet NEOWISE in the night sky above Northern Arizona. pic.twitter.com/I5FoZpM812 Austin Young (@youngazn45) July 18, 2020 NEOWISE July 21 location: How to find NEOWISE tonight? Space Enthusiasts were mind-blown when Comet Hale-Bopp had graced the Earths sky in 1997. Comet Hale-Bopp remained visible for a year and a half since its first appearance. Nearly a quarter-century later Comet NEOWISE is putting on a spectacular show for the sky watchers in Earths Northern Hemisphere. Comet NEOWISE is visible to skywatchers during the month of July but what are the best times to catch a glimpse and where should you look? Get the details: https://t.co/fQ7NraGezz pic.twitter.com/YqQIMiUU8C NASA (@NASA) July 15, 2020 Comet NEOWISE July 21 location is under the Big Dipper. Unlike what most people believe, The Big Dipper is not a constellation in itself, they are a group of stars that appears as a part of the Ursa Major constellation. In fact, finding the Big Dipper will also not only help stargazers to spot Comet NEOWISE but will also help them to locate the North Star Polaris. But, all stargazers need to beware and grab a peek at the stellar show, that Comet NEOWISE is currently putting on because each evening the comet is climbing higher in the sky until eventually, it will fade from view entirely. Another very important fact here is that, if one misses this rare opportunity of seeing the comet with the naked eye, they will not get to witness Comet NEOWISE again in their lifetime as this space-rock will only reappear after in 6,800 years. Read | Comet NEOWISE spotted by NASA spacecraft Comet NEOWISE from the Cohutta Overlook on Elijay, GA pic.twitter.com/y6CR3knEzZ ham (@snailsafe) July 18, 2020 Read | NASA shares skywatching tips on how to photograph Comet NEOWISE Comet NEOWISE Time and Location Apart from its marvellous nighttime show, Comet NEOWISE will also become temporarily visible to early risers in the morning time. If the astronomy lovers get away from the city lights and look to the Northeast before approximately 45 to 60 minutes before sunrise, they will be able to witness the sneaky space visitor. As Sun begins appears to appear in the Eastern morning sky, NEOWISE will soon slip beneath the horizon and out of view. Read | Asteroid 2002 BF25 will pass very close to Earth's orbit on July 21: NASA Amy Mainzer, who is the principal investigator for the NEOWISE project and also a professor of planetary sciences at the University of Arizona, claimed in an interview given to a well-known news portal that, NASA is aiming to spot objects like Comet Neowise before they make any close approaches towards Earth. NASA uses the NEOWISE telescope, to hunt for celestial objects which could potentially endanger Earth. One such space missile was the Chicxulub impactor, which is named for its collision site in present-day Mexico. The Chicxulub impactor is believed to have wiped out the dinosaurs from the face of Earth 65 million years ago. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 16:59:10|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TBILISI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Georgia has successfully contained the spread of the coronavirus in the country and set a good example for other countries as its health minister Ekaterine Tikaradze said the country has given top priority to the well-being of its nationals. In a recent interview with Xinhua, Tikaradze said that amid this challenging period, Georgia has prioritized the health interests of the citizens and taken prompt and strict quarantine measures to cope with the COVID-19. The number of COVID-19 cases in Georgia amounted to 1,049 on Tuesday, with 903 recoveries and 16 death. "Immediately following the virus outbreak, we have started learning the practices of other countries and conducted continuous observation on their experience," said Tikaradze, adding that Georgia set up special groups very early to guide the fight and closely followed the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other international bodies. The minister stressed that the health of the Georgian citizens has been and will always remain the main priority of the government, so it has to take strict quarantine measures even if they will affect the economic sectors. "At the initial stage, at the borders, anyone with even relatively small fever and the slightest symptoms was directly transferred to the quarantine zones, where testing was performed," said Tikaradze, indicating that strict enforcement of quarantine measures is one of the key factors for the country to contain the coronavirus. "We can say that Georgia made timely and proper assessment of the risks associated with the coronavirus and used all mechanisms to prevent the spread of COVID-19 in the country," she said. Meanwhile, the minister highlighted the active involvement of the citizens in the battle against the COVID-19. "I would like to underline that we have achieved this result with active involvement of all sectors, including our citizens. The high level of social responsibility, the compliance with social distancing rules, and the adherence to staying at home policy greatly contributed to virus containment," she pointed out. For the re-opening of the economy, the minister said the governmental and health sectors are continually working in the very mobilized mode to prevent the second wave of the virus. "Accordingly, in parallel with reopening of economy, the ministry issued mandatory recommendations which should be observed by business sectors and public with the purpose of prevention of the disease and as a guarantee of the health," she said. Meanwhile, the minister highlighted the important role that China has been playing in Georgia's fight against the coronavirus. " I would like to take this opportunity and express special gratitude to the Chinese government for its active support in fighting the coronavirus pandemic," she said, adding that starting from the very first stage of outbreak, Georgia's healthcare system had received significant support from China. She pointed out, for example, that China has donated a large number of PCR tests, nucleic acid analysis equipment and personal protective equipment to Georgia to support it fighting against the virus. The minister also stressed that besides the material assistance, China also organized video conferences with the participation of medical personnel and field experts of Georgia to better exchange ideas and experience about COVID-19 epidemiological surveillance, laboratory diagnostics, and disease control and treatment, which has been playing a very import role in the coronavirus prevention and control in the country. Enditem Walmart employees are getting a much-deserved day off this Thanksgiving. The retail chain on Tuesday announced it will close all of its U.S. stores on Thanksgiving Day this year. Sam's Club locations will also be closed again on Thanksgiving, the company said. "We know this has been a trying year, and our associates have stepped up," John Furner, the president and CEO of Walmart U.S., said. "We hope they will enjoy a special Thanksgiving Day at home with their loved ones. We are certainly thankful to our people for all of their efforts." Walmart has been open on every Thanksgiving for more than 30 years, The Wall Street Journal reports. But Furner in an email told employees that during the COVID-19 pandemic, "we know holiday shopping will be different this year, and we will be managing sales events differently," per the Journal. Employees who can enjoy the 2020 Thanksgiving holiday at home evidently have a manager at one of Walmart's Texas locations, who Furner reportedly said suggested the idea, to thank. The company on Tuesday additionally announced new bonuses of $300 for full-time hourly workers, as well as $150 for part-time hourly and temporary workers. It didn't, however, release further information about any possible adjustments to Black Friday this year, saying "information for store and club hours on Friday, Nov. 27, will be shared at a later date." More stories from theweek.com CNN's Brianna Keilar cuts off live interview with 'lying' Trump campaign official 39 Miami police officers to form mask enforcement unit Serena Williams' 2-year-old daughter is now the youngest owner in pro sports Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - Attorney General Mark Brnovich announced that the Attorney General's Office (AGO) has reached a settlement to conclude a lawsuit challenging the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentrys (ADCRR) lethal injection procedures. The settlement allows Arizona to move one step closer to ensuring justice is carried out for victims of the most heinous crimes. "Anti-death penalty activists continue to file lawsuit after lawsuit, attacking the court system and seeking retaliation against companies lawfully supplying execution drugs," said Attorney General Mark Brnovich. "Meanwhile, the victims' families continue to suffer as justice is further delayed. Enough is enough. Justice demands that the law be enforced and that those convicted of the ultimate crimes be held accountable for their gruesome acts." The lawsuit, initiated by Arizona death row inmates and the First Amendment Coalition of Arizona in 2014, sought information about the identity of lethal injection drug suppliers, which is confidential under Arizona law. The lawsuit also sought to ensure that the public had a right to not only view but also hear the entirety of an execution. The AGO achieved a major victory in the case at the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, where the AGO argued that the disclosure of the source of lethal injection drugs would make it impossible for ADCRR to obtain them because of concerted efforts by anti-death penalty advocates to harass and retaliate against suppliers. The ruling ensures that those who provide the supply of lethal injection drugs to the State of Arizona will remain confidential and protected from harassment or retaliation from anti-death penalty activists. The Ninth Circuits opinion alleviates any concern that a federal court will use the First Amendment as grounds to breach a suppliers confidentiality. Additionally, as part of the settlement, ADCRR modified its execution protocol and will leave microphones turned on in the execution chamber during executions moving forward. 115 inmates are currently on death-row in Arizona and 20 of those inmates have fully exhausted their appeals. Some of the inmates committed their heinous crimes in the 1970s and early 1980s. Arizona has not conducted an execution since 2014. The AGO stands ready to request execution warrants for these inmates when ADCRR provides notice that it has obtained lethal injection drugs and is prepared to resume executions. This week, General Brnovich sent a follow-up letter to Governor Doug Ducey, once again urging him to obtain pentobarbital to allow Arizona to resume executions by lethal-injection. General Brnovich sent his original letter in July 2019. The U.S. Supreme Court confirmed this week pentobarbital is widely conceded to be able to render a person fully insensate and does not carry the risks of pain that some have associated with other lethal injection protocols. See Barr v. Lee, No. 20A8 (U.S. July 14, 2020). DALLAS, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, OnePlus, a leading global mobile technology company, announced its first truly wireless earbuds, the OnePlus Buds. Packed with leading technology features such as Warp Charging, within the convenience and comfortable headset experience, the OnePlus Buds are designed to deliver high-quality audio playback and wireless freedom for a more immersive on-the-go sound experience. Consumers can purchase the OnePlus Buds in white starting on July 27, 2020 or in gray in early August at a price of $79.00 at www.oneplus.com . "The OnePlus Buds are our first true wireless earbuds and a key step in the development of our connected ecosystem," said Pete Lau, founder and CEO of OnePlus. "Users will enjoy the OnePlus Buds' quality sound, Warp Charge capabilities, long battery life and seamless connection to keep their phone calls, music and podcasts playing effortlessly while on the go." True wireless earbuds are more demanding of design and engineering, and the OnePlus Buds excel in quality, performance and features. Designed to satisfy the most demanding audio needs while simplifying the listening experience, the OnePlus Buds feature amazing battery life and fast charging, great sound quality with deep bass, and comfortable design with ease of use for all users. Long Battery Life Plus Warp Charging The OnePlus Buds incorporates OnePlus's leading Warp Charging technology, which allows users to charge the device for 10 minutes to keep music going for up to 10 hours. Packed with a big battery, a 430mAh battery in the case and each earphone incorporating a 35mAh battery, it gives the OnePlus Buds an industry-leading 30 hours of audio playback time with the case and seven hours with the earbuds. Premium Sound Quality with Bass Boost With three active microphones built into each bud to reduce ambient noise, the OnePlus Buds produce clear and crisp voice recordings and calls. In addition to enhanced 13.4mm dynamic drivers, the OnePlus Buds also come with Bass Boost and Dolby Atmos support, which produce cleaner vocals, deeper bass and richer tones for a breathtaking stereo soundstage. Comfortable Design and Customizable Features The OnePlus Buds feature a sleek and ergonomic half in-ear design for all-day comfort over extended periods of wearing. The OnePlus Buds also comes with an IPX4 water resistance rating to handle splashes of water from any direction, making it a powerful companion to have during workouts or a regular jog. Complementing design are customizable features such as auto-on/off sensors, Fast Pair capabilities compatible with Android 6 smartphones and above, and customizable double tap and long press features on OnePlus smartphones that give users more controls at their fingertips. About OnePlus OnePlus is a global mobile technology company challenging conventional concepts of technology. Created around the "Never Settle" mantra, OnePlus creates exquisitely designed devices with premium build quality and high-performance hardware. OnePlus thrives on cultivating strong bonds and growing together with its community of users and fans. For more information, please visit oneplus.com. SOURCE OnePlus Related Links http://www.oneplus.com MONTREAL, July 13, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- TFI International Inc. (NYSE and TSX: TFII), a North American leader in the transportation and logistics industry, today announced that it will issue its financial results for the second quarter ended June 30, 2020 via news release on Monday, July 27, 2020 after market close. The Company will host a conference call for the investment community with Alain Bedard, Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer, on Tuesday, July 28, 2020 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time, to discuss results. Business media are also invited to listen to the call. Please dial in 10 minutes prior to the start of the call. Details of conference call: Date: Tuesday, July 28, 2020 Time: 8:30 a.m. Eastern Time Call-in number: 877-223-4471 A recording of the call will be available until midnight, August 11, 2020, by dialing 800-585-8367 or 416-621-4642 and entering passcode 9527458. ABOUT TFI INTERNATIONAL TFI International Inc. is a North American leader in the transportation and logistics industry, operating across the United States, Canada and Mexico through its subsidiaries. TFI International creates value for shareholders by identifying strategic acquisitions and managing a growing network of wholly-owned operating subsidiaries. Under the TFI International umbrella, companies benefit from financial and operational resources to build their businesses and increase their efficiency. TFI International companies service the following segments: Package and Courier; Less-Than-Truckload; Truckload; Logistics. TFI International Inc. is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange and the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbol TFII. For more information, visit www.tfiintl.com. For further information: Alain Bedard Chairman, President and CEO TFI International Inc. 647-729-4079 abedard@tfiintl.com Billionaire media titan John Malones Liberty Media Corp. has had designs on San Antonio radio broadcasting company iHeartMedia Inc. for at least a couple of years. Before iHeart owner of roughly 850 radio stations and the nations top podcast publisher landed in bankruptcy in 2018, Liberty offered almost $1.2 billion for 40 percent of the restructured companys equity. Liberty later withdrew the offer after iHeart turned it down, but Liberty didnt go away. It owns 5 percent of iHearts stock. Then, in December, a Liberty Media affiliate asked the Justice Department for approval to acquire a larger stake in iHeart. Last week, antitrust prosecutors gave their blessing to the request. On ExpressNews.com: Pandemic drives iHearts 1Q loss of $1.68B Liberty obviously sees a lot of benefits of combining satellite radio company SiriusXM and streaming music service Pandora with iHearts radio and podcast business. Liberty owns 72 percent of SiriusXM, which acquired Pandora for a reported $3.5 billion last year. Close ties among the trio may help them ward off competition from tech companies streaming ambitions, Bloomberg reported in December. What Liberty might have planned couldnt be determined. A spokeswoman for Liberty, based in Englewood, Colo., didnt respond to a request for comment. An iHeart spokeswoman also didnt respond to an inquiry. News that Liberty won approval, first reported by Politico, boosted iHearts shares by almost 20 percent to $8.63 Thursday. They closed at $8.68 Monday, down 18 cents. Even with Thursdays spike, the shares are still trading well off their high for the year of $18.22, set in January. Libertys request to increase in its stake in Heart drew opposition from six artist and consumer groups, including Public Citizen. SA Inc.: Get the best of business news sent directly to your inbox Alex Harman, a competition policy advocate for Public Citizen in Washington,D.C., said the Justice Departments decision is incredibly disappointing given the groups raised a lot of concerns about Libertys request. Public Citizen and the five other organizations penned a letter to DOJ opposing Liberty in hopes that the company would be blocked from significantly increasing its investment. The groups also spoke with DOJ officials. The potential impact on radio markets is evident and likely catastrophic, removing competitive discipline across multiple segments, the letter stated. It was published in Radio & Internet News in April. Harman couldnt offer any insight on why Libertys request only involved acquiring additional shares up to 50 percent. We think this is going to result in greater consolidation, but (also) significant harms for advertisers, significant harms for artists, significant harms for consumers, Harman said. It puts unprecedented control of audio content in the hands of one organization. For example, he said, Liberty could offer advertising packages across the Heart network, SiriusXM and Pandora to national advertisers. You could easily box out the ability for local advertisers to be able to competitively afford advertising on those radio stations, Harman added. Theres also a possibility of even greater homogenization across the radio dial, with less local programming and fewer local employees, he said. The Justice Department didnt respond to a request for comment. On ExpressNews.com: iHeart furloughs workers, cuts exec pay in response to coronavirus iHeart emerged from bankruptcy a leaner company last year, shedding more than half of its $20.3 billion in debt. Its debt holders became the companys owners. The companys local stations included WOAI-AM and FM stations 96.1 KXXM and 101.9 KQXT. The company syndicates Rush Limbaugh, Ryan Seacrest and Steve Harvey. In April, amid the spreading coronavirus, iHeart announced it would eliminate about $200 million in costs from the business through furloughs, pay cuts and other initiatives. It had 11,400 employees as of Feb. 21. Patrick Danner Patrick Danner covers banking, insurance, business litigation and bankruptcies. To read more from Patrick, become a subscriber. pdanner@express-news.net | Twitter: @AlamoPD The Police in the Federal Capital Territory (FCT) have arrested three suspects in the gruesome murder of the proprietor of Suncell Pharmacy, Gwarinpa in Abuja, Sunday Ike. The police spokesperson in the FCT, Anjuguri Manzah, disclosed this in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. He said the deceased, who was also the Publicity Secretary, Association of Community Pharmacists of Nigeria (ACPN), was killed at his shop on June 19. Mr Manzah said the investigation that led to the arrest of the suspects had also resulted to the recovery of the deceaseds Huawei phone and his Toyota Camry car. He said the phone and car were stolen by the assailants, adding that the three suspects, arrested on July 12 are in police custody. Mr Manzah said the suspects were arrested at Lafia in Nasarawa State and Jos in Plateau after a painstaking investigation by operatives of the Commands Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS). According to him, two of the suspects were arrested at Lafia in possession of the deceaseds Sky blue Toyota Camry car. He said the third suspect, 35, was arrested in possession of the deceaseds Huawei phone at his hideout in Jos. Mr Manzah said efforts were being intensified to arrest the leader of the gang who is currently at large. (NAN) Asia Pacific markets rose Tuesday after investor sentiment was supported by a slew of positive news on the coronavirus vaccine front and likely also from a pivotal European deal on a pandemic recovery fund. In Japan, the Nikkei 225 gained 0.73% to 22,884.22 and the Topix index added 0.36% to 1,582.74. South Korea's Kospi index rose 1.39% to 2,228.83, while in Australia, the benchmark ASX 200 added 2.58% to close at 6,156.30, with the heavily weighted financials subindex up 2.9%. Hong Kong's Hang Seng index advanced 1.83% in afternoon trade while the Straits Times index in Singapore gained 0.53% and the Jakarta Composite rose 1.41%. India's Nifty 50 and the Sensex also gained more than 1% each. Chinese mainland shares also rose: The Shanghai composite recovered from earlier losses to gain 0.2% to 3,320.89 while the Shenzhen component index added 0.65% to 13,536.17 and the Shenzhen composite was up 0.72% at 2,232.69. The session in Asia followed overnight gains on Wall Street due to a strong performance in technology shares. U.S. futures pointed to opening gains on Tuesday. "Global equities kicked off the trading week on a positive note as vaccine hopes supported optimism," Felicity Emmett, a senior economist at ANZ, wrote in a morning note. Pfizer and BioNTech reported early positive data on a joint coronavirus vaccine candidate. Another candidate from Oxford University and AstraZeneca also showed a positive immune response in an early trial. The coronavirus pandemic, which was first reported in China late last year, has infected more than 14.6 million people and killed over 608,000. European leaders reached a breakthrough agreement over new fiscal stimulus, following marathon talks in Brussels over four days. The European Union's executive arm, the European Commission, will tap into financial markets to raise 750 billion euros ($857 billion), which would be distributed among countries and sectors most affected by the pandemic. The funds would be disbursed in the form of grants and loans. Elsewhere, Moody's Investors Service said in a report that Chinese companies' earnings were set to grow slower or even decline this year due to the pandemic's impact on economic growth before recovering in 2021. The largest downward revision was for companies in the auto and auto-related, oil and gas, and oilfield sectors. "We expect credit quality will weaken, especially for companies in vulnerable sectors that are most affected by reduced revenues, margins and disrupted supply chains," said Lina Choi, a senior vice president at Moody's, in a statement. Representative Image Justice R Bhanumathi, the latest judge to retire from the Supreme Court, leaves behind an illustrious tenure at Indias apex court. According to data published in the Supreme Court Observer Bhanumathi holds the distinction of having authored the most number of judgments among current judges, at 398; averaging 64.3 a year the second highest, among current judges. Bhanumathi was also the first woman judge in the Supreme Court Collegium (the body which selects Supreme Court judges, comprising of the senior-most five judges) in 13 years, and only the second woman ever. Yet, in what will be nothing short of a historical injustice, during her eight-month tenure as part of the collegium, not even a single appointment was made to the Supreme Court. However, it should still make us deeply uncomfortable how women have had a say in only six of the 76 judges appointed to the Supreme Court after the year 2000 the collegium system was created only in 1998. These six appointments were made when Justice Ruma Pal was in the collegium (2003-2006). Neither of the two remaining women Supreme Court judges will make it to the collegium (barring unexpected deaths or retirements), and there wont be another woman in the collegium till at least 2025). We will not have a woman Chief Justice of India till at least 2027. The picture in the high courts isnt any better. As on July 1, only 80 of the almost 700 high court judges were women, as per the list of judges found on the website of the Department of Justice. Speaking at a webinar on July 19, Justice Indu Malhotra, judge of the Supreme Court, said that appointment to public offices, like that of a judge, should not be just about representation, but also be based on merit. So many women who are in positions of authority say that they would not give opportunity to a woman simply because of their gender. So the argument is not that if there were women in the collegium, which would automatically translate to more women judges. Far from it. However, all the same, to pretend that the heavily skewed ratio in favour of men is simply a reflection of merit is just insulting our collective intelligence. A person no less than the current president of the Supreme Court Bar Association, Dushyant Dave, has written about how more often than not, selection to of judges to the higher judiciary has been made on the basis of reciprocity among collegium members. Appointments to high courts are initiated by the Chief Justice of the High Court, along with the two senior-most judges of that court, which is finally affirmed by the Supreme Court collegium consisting of the three senior-most judges of the Supreme Court. Currently, across 25 high courts, only seven have women as one of the three senior-most judges. Analysis of recommendations from the high court collegiums between October 2017 and April 2019 by Fulbright scholar Rangin Pallav Tripathi show that 87.63 percent of recommendations from the high court collegiums were of men. In the period selected for the study, only the High Courts of Madras, Gauhati, Jharkhand and Chhattisgarh included at least 20 percent women in their recommendation to judgeship at their respective courts. In most states, the percentage was well below 10 percent. The proportion of women in recommendations accepted by the Supreme Court collegium, which also did not have a woman member, is similar at around 12 percent. So the lack of women judges in the collegiums become a self-perpetuating cycle. Male-dominated collegiums tend to recommend a higher proportion of males, who then occupy the collegium as they attain seniority. Therefore, merit becomes just a strawman argument. Justice Bhanumathi has been a trailblazer in many ways. She is one of the few Supreme Court judges who have worked their way all the way up from being a district judge. Her record at the apex court speaks for itself. There simply cannot be a better argument for the need to have more women in judiciary than the Justice herself. If only the men in robes would make some way. The owner of Australia's biggest theme park announced Tuesday it was facing charges over the deaths of four people on a popular water ride in 2016. Two women and two men died when rafts collided on the Thunder River Rapids ride at the Dreamworld tourist attraction on the Gold Coast. Dreamworld owner Ardent Leisure said in a statement Tuesday that prosecutors had filed three charges under Queensland state workplace health and safety laws over the disaster. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of Aus$1.5 million ($1 million), making a total potential penalty of Aus4.5 million. The company, which came in for heavy criticism for the way it handled the tragedy, including trying to re-open before the funerals had taken place, said there had been "considerable change" at the theme park in the past few years. "Dreamworld has taken substantive and proactive steps to improve safety across the entire park and continues to enhance existing systems and practices, as well as adopt new ones," it said in the statement to the Australian Securities Exchange (ASX). Ardent has previously said it lost millions of dollars after the tragedy and has pledged to build a memorial to the victims. Floral tributes left at the Dreamworld theme park after the 2016 tragedy Kolkata, July 21 : Targeting the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), West Bengal Chief Mamata Banerjee said on Tuesday that Bengal will not be ruled by any outsider. "Gujarat model cannot rule Bengal," the Chief Minister said while addressing Trinamool Congress' annual Martyrs' Day meeting here. She said that no outsider will be able to control Bengal. Banerjee, however, did not name Prime Minister Modi or Home Minister Amit Shah, but referred to Gujarat, their home state, instead. "People of Bengal are enough to rule the state. We do not need any outsider to rule over here. She (Banerjee) has understood that already in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls. People will give her a befitting reply in next year's Assembly elections," said state BJP President Dilip Ghosh. Ghosh said the number of Trinamool Congress seats in the Lok Sabha had already reduced by half, and next year it would be completely wiped out politically in Bengal. "Next year Mamata Banerjee would be seen doing street meetings, not mass rallies. But our government will give her that permission. We will not stop her," the BJP state President said. Supermarkets have seen a number of Covid-19 outbreaks around the country as staff became infected with the virus, it emerged yesterday. Fast-food outlets have also been among the workplaces where the number of cases of the virus have been found. One of the fast-food outbreaks, which was in Kildare, was significant but it is under control. Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn said that as people return to work they need to remember to maintain their physical distance from colleagues. "People know their co-workers and can drop their guard," he warned. He said he was not aware of any customers in shops getting the virus. "There have been a number of clusters in retail settings around the country," he said. "They would not necessarily be big clusters. They may be no more than three, four or five people, no bigger that what you would see in a private household." He also referred to the outbreak involving around 20 workers on a Dublin construction site. The spotlight on workplaces came as a GP expressed concern that some people perceive a stigma about having potential Covid-19 symptoms. People experiencing symptoms of Covid-19 are urged to come forward for testing. There were no new deaths reported yesterday, while six new cases of the virus were diagnosed. Dr Glynn said: "We are now seeing outbreaks of the virus in a range of work settings, including in construction, in fast-food outlets and in supermarkets. "We can't underestimate how quickly clusters develop. We have come so far together, but we need to stay vigilant to prevent a resurgence across the whole country in the coming weeks. "Many workplaces have introduced the new regimes and safety measures necessary to reopen their businesses. "I would remind all employers that the workplace, and most particularly shops, services and supermarkets, are the new frontline, we are asking you to do everything you can to put the safety of your staff and customers first. With the increase in outbreaks in our communities, I would urge everyone to wear face coverings in healthcare settings and when shopping, including in the supermarket and other indoor retail services." He said it was clear from observations that not all centres are following the rules on face coverings in shops and on public transport and also physical distancing. He said keeping the two- metre distance appears to be where "people are falling down generally", including when outdoors. Dr Sumi Dunne of the ICGP said: "There is no blame in contracting the virus. "Please stay alert and look out for common symptoms such as a cough or a high temperature." The numbers in hospital with the virus remains low at 11. Ten people are in intensive care. Asked about the 'green list' of countries people can travel to, without the need for quarantine, he said the advice remained not to go abroad for non-essential reasons. Around one in 20 of new cases of the virus here are travel related. Most of the new cases of the virus, which has been on the rise, were picked up due to travel here. Asked about the reopening of pubs that do not serve food, he said he accepted they were in a terrible position but they could represent the highest-risk environment. Over the past 14 days, the total number of confirmed cases notified has risen to 270. Of these 57pc were in women and the median age was 34 years old. Seven in 10 were under 45 years of age. The new cases were spread across 20 counties. More than half were in Dublin, 10pc in Kildare and 6pc in Cork. Meanwhile, the Irish Nurses and Midwives Organisation said 65pc of nurses who have recovered from Covid-19 are still experiencing post-viral fatigue. Of the 545 respondents to a survey who said they had recovered from the virus, 91pc said they continued to experience symptoms, including headaches and breathing problems. By April Joyner NEW YORK (Reuters) - The benchmark S&P 500 <.SPX> U.S. stock index is now positive for the year, yet most of its components have sat out the rally. After a steep, months-long climb, the index is up 0.8% on the year and at its highest level since Feb. 21. Yet for every stock that has advanced on the S&P 500 this year, 1.7 have declined, according to Michael O'Rourke, chief market strategist at JonesTrading in Greenwich, Connecticut. That is partially because investors have gravitated to a small group of tech-related stocks they believe have the best chance of delivering steady profits in a climate fraught with uncertainty over the coronavirus pandemic and its economic fallout. The five most valuable S&P 500 companies - Apple Inc , Microsoft Corp , Amazon.com Inc , Alphabet Inc and Facebook Inc - account for some 23% of the index's market capitalization, the highest level on record, according to Goldman Sachs. "It's hard to imagine the index going up if you lose that leadership," said Robert Phipps, director at Per Stirling in Austin, Texas. "Most of the market is really not participating here." Tech-related sectors to which those stocks belong have outperformed other sectors by significant margins this year. The technology <.SPLRCT> index, which includes Apple and Microsoft, has climbed about 18%, while the consumer discretionary <.SPLRCD> index, which includes Amazon, has jumped 15%. The communication services <.SPLRCL> index, which includes Alphabet and Facebook, has risen nearly 6%. Only one other sector, healthcare <.SPXHC>, has had year-to-date gains. While U.S. equity valuations stand at their highest level since the dot-com boom, the flight to large-cap, tech-related companies reflects caution rather than euphoria, said Quincy Krosby, chief market strategist at Prudential Financial in Newark, New Jersey. Story continues Moreover, the top five S&P 500 companies today have a greater share of the index's earnings and trade at a lower multiple than the top five companies in 2000 did, Jonathan Golub, chief U.S. equity strategist at Credit Suisse, wrote in a research note on Tuesday. Given their relatively strong balance sheets and steadier revenue streams, many investors believe large-cap, tech-related companies are better positioned to withstand the economic pressures resulting from the novel coronavirus pandemic. "These are strong companies," Krosby said. "You're not seeing a move to tech that is experimental, that doesn't have any profits." Meanwhile, the underperformance of the Russell 2000 small-cap index <.RUT> and shares in cyclical sectors such as financials <.SPSY> and industrials <.SPLRCI> suggests a still-tentative outlook toward the U.S. economic recovery, Krosby noted. Such shares have outperformed for brief periods over the past couple of months, but tech-related shares have then quickly resumed leadership. (Reporting by April Joyner; Editing by Ira Iosebashvili, Jonathan Oatis and Dan Grebler) Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon, who was a veteran political figure in Uttar Pradesh where he had served as a cabinet minister, died at a hospital in Lucknow early Tuesday. The 85-year-old was admitted to the hospital on June 11 with breathing problems, fever and difficulty in urination. He died at 5:35 am at the Medanta Hospital, according to his son Ashutosh Tandon, who is a cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh. Lalji Tandon is survived by wife and three sons. According to Director, Medanta Hospital, Dr Rakesh Kapoor, Tandon died following cardiac arrest. "He was admitted on June 11 and on investigation he was found suffering from liver ailment. Later, liver and kidneys stopped functioning and he was put on life support system. Despite all efforts, he breathed his last on Tuesday morning," Kapoor said. Ashutosh Tandon said his father's body will be kept at his official residence in Hazratganj and later, at his Sindhi Tola residence in Chowk for people to pay their last respects. In a statement, he said that the last journey will start at 4 pm for the Gulala Ghat where his father's last rites will be performed adhering to COVID-19 pandemic directives. Condoling the demise of Lalji Tandon, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said he will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. In a series of tweets, Modi recalled that Lalji Tandon played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu, in his condolence message, described Tandon as a "people's leader" who worked relentlessly for the upliftment of the downtrodden. "He will be remembered as a dedicated social worker, great thinker, able administrator and a distinguished parliamentarian," the Vice President's Secretariat tweeted. Uttar Pradesh Governor Anandiben Patel recalled Lalji Tandon's contribution in the state's politics as well as in the development of Lucknow . Defence Minister and MP from Lucknow Rajnath Singh said, "I have had the opportunity to work with Tandonji. His long public life was dedicated to serving people and he left his mark through his work." He was popular and the development works done by him are still praised by the people," Singh said in a tweet. Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath and Bahujan Samaj Party president Mayawati also expressed grief over Lalji Tandon's death. "In his death the country has lost a popular leader, capable administrator and a social worker who was an integral part of Lucknow," the chief minister said. The Uttar Pradesh government has announced three days mourning as a mark of respect to Lalji Tandon, a former cabinet minister, an official spokesman said. Rajasthan Governor Kalraj Mishra and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot also condoled the death of the Madhya Pradesh governor. Belonging to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani era of BJP leaders, Lalji Tandon proved himself as an able administrator during his decades long political career in Uttar Pradesh. The former Lok Sabha MP was later given the gubernatorial responsibility. He took oath as Madhya Pradesh governor on July 29 last year when the Congress was in power in the state, after serving in the same post in Bihar for nearly 11 months. Four months into the United States coronavirus lockdown, going to the grocery store is no longer a frustrating, impossible quest. While the supply chains for meat and toilet paper appear to have rebounded, one item seems to have remained a holy grail: disinfectant wipes. Even still, shoppers and businesses eager to rid any and all surfaces of coronavirus droplets are snatching up canisters of wipes at an unprecedented tempo. Sales for wipes rose by 144 percent from March to May, and theyre still a rare sight on store shelves. Manufacturers insist more wipes are coming and that theyve been tinkering with their production processes and working overtime to accommodate demand. But they cite several factors preventing them from completing the taskincluding pockets of increased demand as various parts of the country reopen and reclose, difficulties with the sourcing of some materials, and safety regulations. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Whats within the control of the companies right now is theyre continuing to operate their production facilities 24/7, said Brian Sansoni, senior vice president of communication for the American Cleaning Institute, a trade group for cleaning-product manufacturers. In the past month or so youve seen different regions of the U.S. reopening as they move into different phases. Those restaurants, those offices have their employees using more wipes and disinfectants and sanitizers. The rapid spread of the virus in states like Texas and Florida has also pushed the already-high demand even higher, which has ramifications up and down the supply chain. Lets start with the materials. According to Sansoni, restrictions on factories in China made it difficult for American companies to source quaternary ammonium compounds, which are the antimicrobial disinfectant chemicals found in cleaning wipes and sprays, though the shortage has abated somewhat. Sellers of packaging components for all cleaning productslike wipe canisters, hand sanitizer pumps, and spray bottlesare also experiencing strains because manufacturers abruptly increased their orders all at once. Finally, some companies are having trouble getting their hands on enough fabric because the same materials are being used to make personal protective equipmentmaybe the only item in even higher demand than wipes these days. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The process for making wipes differs from company to company, but it generally involves cutting up massive rolls of fabric into usable squares, placing them in a container, and then running the containers through a production line that deposits cleaning solution. Companies are now developing a number of different strategies to streamline this process and increase capacity, even with reduced access to materials. The private-label wet-wipes manufacturer Athea Laboratories has been rethinking the way it does packaging, placing its product in a wider variety of canister sizes based on whats in stock from the packaging supplier in order to yield higher volumes. (Athea produces wipes for retail customers as well as gyms, department stores, and grocery stores.) The company has also stopped using coloring to identify its canisters in some cases. Some customers will get a colored cap and have their brand be reflected by a certain look of the canister, said John Patton, executive vice president of sales and marketing at Athea Laboratories. Now theyre just happy with white, because thats what we can get. The manufacturer Rockline Industries has reportedly been placing its wipes in soft packs to get around the canister shortage. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Other companies have been shifting their production lines to focus on their more popular, all-purpose wipes, and some factories are lending out their facilities to help out with larger operations. Retailers like Safeway or Giant or Target have their own branded [disinfectant wipe] products. Under normal circumstances, those plants arent operating 24/7, said Sansoni. Companies that focus exclusively on cleaning products are now contracting those factories out to ramp up production. Major players like Lysol and Clorox are increasing production as well, and theyve said their products wont fully be back in stock until later in July or August. Because of health and safety regulations, however, theres only so much a company can do to adjust the product and the manufacturing process. For example, Athea Laboratories has had some trouble finding the right fabric for its wipes. Many wipe fabrics, like polypropylene, are also used in face masks and hospital gowns. According to Patton, some fabric suppliers are more motivated to use their materials to make masks because there are fewer EPA restrictions on them than there are for wipes. Only certain fabrics are EPA-approved for use in disinfectant wipes, which restricts the number of alternative materials that a company can seek out. I just had a situation where we placed a purchase order for fabric back in May. We found out today that the manufacturer will not fulfill it, and they dont have plans to fulfill it this year, Patton said. We have hundreds of thousands of each product that need to be produced. Now were scrambling to try and find suitable alternatives and [determine] whether or not that will fit in their current packaging. Swapping any component of the product also involves changing the content label, which can add more delays. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The employees of these disinfectant wipe companies themselves have been working overtime, even on weekends, over the course of the pandemic. Athea Laboratories plans on adding more shifts. Luckily for them, though, getting access to supplies for cleaning workstations hasnt been as much of a challenge as it has been for other companies because Athea makes the products itself. Theres nowhere cleaner, in theory, than a cleaning-product factory. The cleaning-supplies industry is anticipating heavy demand for a while into the future, so wipe companies are trying to figuring out ways to more permanently increase their factories capacities. I still think cleaning and hygiene practices will be front and center for a lot of folks. This has been so traumatic on so many levels, so I think well see continuing demand, Sansoni said, who added that he expects the potential arrival of a COVID-19 vaccine to eventually dampen demand. Athea Laboratories is currently looking into purchasing equipment for another production line to fill wipe containers with cleaning solution. However, sourcing even that equipment is a struggle, so the company wont likely see the benefits of the addition until March of next year. Unfortunately, theyre pretty sure Americans desire for their product will still be high. For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below. SAN DIEGO and SHANGHAI, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Fudan University's Taizhou Health Science Institute and Singlera Genomics, focused on non-invasive early cancer detection, today announce the publication of a peer reviewed manuscript demonstrating the initial results from the Taizhou Longitudinal Study (TLS), showing Singlera's PanSeer assay can detect five types of cancer up to four years before conventional diagnosis with a single blood draw. Some results from this study were also presented at the AACC 71st Annual Scientific Meeting held August 4-8 2019 in Anaheim, California, and selected as one of three finalists in the Disruptive Technology Award competition. This collaborative study was a joint effort between Singlera Genomics with Professor Kun Zhang at the University of California San Diego, and Professor Li Jin at Fudan University. The TLS study was launched by Professor Li Jin of Fudan University and began in 2007 collecting plasma samples from over 120,000 healthy individuals. Study participants were monitored for a 10-year period through linkages with local cancer registries and health insurance databases. Over 1.6 million specimens have been collected and archived to date. "We really appreciate the reviewers and the editor for scrutinizing our study very carefully as this is one of the first retrospective longitudinal studies that demonstrates blood based non-invasive early detection of multiple cancer types four years before conventional diagnosis," said Yuan Gao, Ph.D., one of senior authors of the study and co-founder and Chairman of Singlera Genomics. Rui Liu, Ph.D., another senior author on the paper and co-founder/CTO of Singlera Genomics, added, "one unique aspect is that we use a longitudinal cohort with 10+ years of efforts to show detection of cancer before conventional diagnosis is possible, while previous work has mostly focused on a case-control design with symptomatic cancer patients that have already been diagnosed with the standard care. It is excited to see that cancer signatures can be detected so early in as little as 1ml plasma with Singlera's PanSeer assay." Professor Kun Zhang said: "I am very pleased to see that early developments of DNA methylation methods in my laboratory at UCSD were further improved and optimized at Singlera, leading to the PanSeer assay that is both robust and accurate in detecting cancers in blood early." Professor Li Jin said: "This study demonstrated that a large cohort such as TLS could offer a powerful tool for evaluating technologies for early and precision diagnoses." The next logic phase would be a prospective cohort study and clinical trial. However, the difficulty for prospective study is the length of time and the amount of resource involved. Singlera Genomics is in the process of raising additional funds for this purpose. Furthermore Singlera Genomics has also met with FDA twice for its blood-based colorectal cancer colonES assay and is expected to launch the trial in the near future. The research team is in the process of extending this early detection approach to additional cancer types, and Singlera is currently looking for collaboration partners in the United States. Fudan University ( http://www.fudan.edu.cn/en/ ) Fudan University, established in 1905, is located in Shanghai, China. The name "Fudan" originated from a famous statement, meaning unremitting effort. Fudan University comprises 17 full-time schools (including 66 specialties) and 69 departments across 4 campuses. It has 68 specialties for Bachelor's Degree Candidates, 209 specialties for Master's Degree Candidates, and 157 specialties for Doctoral Degree Candidates. It has nearly 44,300 students, including full-time students, students in Continuing Education or Network Education, as well as overseas students. Singlera Genomics Inc. ( www.singlera.com ) Singlera Genomics Inc., a company focusing on non-invasive genetic diagnosis, was co-founded in July 2014 in San Diego, California. The company currently has R&D centers and business operations in both La Jolla, California, and Shanghai, China. Singlera has proprietary technologies in single cell sequencing, DNA methylation, and bioinformatics. SOURCE Singlera Genomics Related Links www.singlera.com WASHINGTON - House Republicans facing electoral uncertainty in November turned on one another in a private meeting on Tuesday, as a small group of conservative lawmakers confronted House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney over what they said was disloyalty to President Donald Trump. The lawmakers called out Cheney for her support of Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nations top infectious-disease expert, and for supporting a primary challenger to Rep. Thomas Massie, R-Ky., according to people familiar with the closed-door meeting who spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss it. Republican Rep. Jim Jordan of Ohio noted Cheneys criticism of Trump on defence and foreign policy and accused her of not supporting the president on his coronavirus response. Leading the criticism was Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, who recounted the confrontation on his podcast, Hot Takes with Matt Gaetz, shortly after it happened. He also tweeted about Cheney, who is the daughter of former Vice-President Dick Cheney, and said she should step down from her post as head of the GOP conference. Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda, Gaetz tweeted. House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair. Liz Cheney should step down or be removed. #MAGA. Trumps son Donald Trump Jr. retweeted Gaetzs message and wrote, We already have one Mitt Romney, we dont need another... we also dont need the endless wars she advocates for. Utah Sen. Mitt Romney has been one of the only Senate Republicans to regularly separate himself from Trump and voted to convict him on one article of impeachment earlier this year. The confrontation comes as the president has struggled with a response to the coronavirus pandemic and Republicans in Congress have been somewhat split on his handling of the crisis. As Trump has pushed to quickly reopen the economy and played down the importance of coronavirus testing, some have indicated they disagree with him on those points. Others such as Gaetz and Jordan have rushed to defend him. Cheney, R-Wyo., didnt back down in the meeting and did not apologize for breaking with Trump, according to one of the people familiar with the exchange. At a GOP news conference later in the day, she told reporters that she absolutely still supports Fauci, who she said she has known for many years. She also noted that Trump Jr. is not a member of the Republican conference. She said she takes her position seriously and had a great conversation with Massie after the conference meeting. I think the beauty of our system, and frankly the magnificence of this country and one of the things that the founders fought for, and that so many throughout history have died for, is our freedom of speech and the right for all of us to have this kind of healthy exchange and debate, Cheney said. Cheney has shot up to the No. 3 GOP leadership spot since she was elected in 2016. While she has voted mostly in step with the president, she has sometimes differed with him on foreign policy as he and his allies have argued against endless wars. She has rarely criticized Trump by name but has separated from him on that issue and others, including the pandemic. In a June tweet, for example, Cheney alluded to Trumps frequent refusal to wear a mask by featuring a photo of her masked father. Dick Cheney says WEAR A MASK. #realmenwearmasks, she wrote. Republican leader Kevin McCarthy stood alongside Cheney at the afternoon news conference and said he was honoured to have her as conference chair. She does an amazing job, he said. In addition to Gaetz and Jordan, Cheneys critics at the meeting included Texas Reps. Chip Roy and Louie Gohmert, Arizona Rep. Andy Biggs and Massie himself. Cheney had donated money to Massies primary opponent, Todd McMurtry. Massie won that primary in June. Roy specifically criticized Cheney for her support of Fauci and asked her to consider the full breadth of research out there on the coronavirus, according to a person close to Roy. The person spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the private conversation. Some of the members who criticized Cheney are members of the hard-right House Freedom Caucus that often clashed with leadership when Republicans were in the majority. ___ This story was first published on July 21, 2020. It was updated on July 23, 2020, to correct that not all of the members criticizing Cheney are members of the House Freedom Caucus. Rep. Matt Gaetz of Florida and Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky are not members. It was also updated on July 24, 2020, to correct erroneous dates in the Editors Note. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 09:47:21|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- China voiced on Monday strong condemnation and firm opposition after the United Kingdom (UK) decided to suspend the extradition treaty with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) immediately and indefinitely and extend the arms embargo to the HKSAR. A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said that recently the kingdom has repeatedly made wrong remarks on the national security law for the HKSAR to interfere in China's internal affairs. "The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations to the UK side on many occasions to express our grave concern and strong opposition," the spokesperson said. "Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of China's solemn position and repeated representations. It once again contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations and blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the National Security Law for the HKSAR and undermine the city's prosperity and stability," the spokesperson said. According to the spokesperson, the Chinese government remains unwavering in its resolve to implement the law to safeguard national sovereignty, security and development interests, and to oppose external interference. "China will firmly fight back at any move that interferes in its internal affairs," the spokesperson added. The national security law is an anchor for the steady and sustained implementation of "one country, two systems" and for the long-term security, prosperity and stability in the HKSAR, the spokesperson said. "This Law will make Hong Kong a safer, better and more prosperous place," said the spokesperson, adding that "any attempt to pressurize China and obstruct the implementation of this Law will meet the strong opposition of 1.4 billion Chinese people, including Hong Kong compatriots, and such attempt is doomed to failure." Enditem A passenger at Newark Liberty International Airport was arrested Monday after hiding an assault rifle and a stash of ammunition in the liner of luggage, authorities said. The East Orange woman artfully concealed an assault rifle, a high-capacity magazine, four boxes of hollow-point bullets, three magazines one of which was fully loaded and two additional boxes of rifle ammunition in the lining of the suitcase she checked in through Terminal C, the Transportation Security Administration said in a statement. TSA officers found the gun and ammo while screening the bag and notified Port Authority police, who tracked down the passenger near the boarding gate and took her into custody. The rifle, hollow-point bullets and magazine are illegal in New Jersey, the TSA noted. Our TSA officers are very skilled at detecting firearms and other prohibited items, Federal Security Director for New Jersey Tom Carter said. This was an incredibly good catch on the part of our officers because the traveler attempted to evade detection by concealing the items beneath the lining of her suitcase. Port Authority police couldnt immediately provide the passengers name and the charges against him. Editors note: This post has been update to correct that the passenger was a woman. Jeff Goldman may be reached at jeff_goldman@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @JeffSGoldman. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. She recently announced that she is expecting her second child with actor husband Josh Brolin, 52. And Kathryn Brolin gave fans a glimpse of her burgeoning baby bump, while admitting on her Instagram Story that she 'officially can't button' her jeans. In the snapshot seen by her 126,000 followers, the 32-year-old model posed with one hand in her wavy blonde hair and the other resting atop her bump. Can't do it: Kathryn Brolin gave fans a glimpse of her burgeoning baby bump, while admitting on her Instagram Story that she 'officially can't button' her jeans She also stated that she is doing 'a week of clean eating' in order to help alleviate any bloating she may have acquired in quarantine. Kathryn paired her Midheaven Denim jeans with a white tank top and a green flannel shirt. Josh and Kathryn married in September of 2016 and share one-year-old daughter Westlyn Reign. Prior to her denim debacle, Kathryn uploaded a mirror selfie that showed Westlyn sleeping in her arms, while donning a red striped backpack. Baby #2: She recently announced that she is expecting her second child with actor husband Josh Brolin, 52; Josh and Kathryn pictured in 2019 Big girl: Prior to her denim debacle, Kathryn uploaded a mirror selfie that showed one-year-old daughter Westlyn sleeping in her arms, while donning a red striped backpack 'Backpack-wearin big girl now,' she wrote. Kathryn used her Instagram to announce that she is pregnant with her and Josh's second child, but did not reveal the impending baby's gender. 'The Brolins are a growin !! Our little December babe is on the way,' she wrote in her post's caption. Along with her words, Kathryn included a sweet portrait of herself planting a kiss on daughter Westlyn, while revealing her bump. Insta-announcement: Kathryn used her Instagram to announce that she is pregnant with her and Josh's second child, but did not reveal the impending baby's gender; Kathryn and Westlyn pictured on Instagram on July 7 December: She did reveal that their child would be born sometime in December; Kathryn pictured on Instagram on July 11 'Wow. Thats amazing! Congratula...wait...WHAT?!?!' joked Josh in the post's comment section. Shortly after their baby announcement, Kathryn, Josh, and Westlyn escaped the confines of their home to enjoy a weekend in the countryside. Kathryn shared numerous snapshots from the getaway on her Instagram Story, including one photo that showed Josh and Westlyn playing together. She also could not help but snap some pictures of her bump in the sunlight. By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, under fire over his administration's response to the surging coronavirus, said on Monday he will resume holding news briefings on the pandemic after a lengthy hiatus By Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump, under fire over his administration's response to the surging coronavirus, said on Monday he will resume holding news briefings on the pandemic after a lengthy hiatus. He told reporters in the Oval Office the resumption was prompted by a "big flareup in Florida, Texas, a couple of other places." The virus has killed 140,000 Americans and infected some 3.7 million, both figures leading the world. White House debate has centered on whether Trump should risk doing daily briefings after he was mocked for musing that people might inject household disinfectants as a way to protect themselves from contracting the virus. The briefings ended in early May after the new White House of chief staff, Mark Meadows, sought a new focus for the president's messaging on the subject. In the weeks since, the Republican Trump has received negative reviews and fallen in opinion polls for a seemingly hands-off approach to the pandemic. He has lost ground to Democrat Joe Biden, his presumptive rival in the Nov. 3 election. Last Friday Trump senior adviser Kellyanne Conway told reporters she favored a return of the briefings, which she said had bolstered his approval ratings. White House advisers say Trump's daily appearances could put pressure on Biden, who has limited his campaign appearances amid the country's struggle to control the pandemic. Trump said he expected the first new briefing would take place about 5 p.m. EDT (2100 GMT) on Tuesday. "We're going to give you a lot of briefings over the next week and the next few weeks," he said. He said he would bring in the heads of some companies involved in the search for vaccines and other treatments for the virus, such as Johnson & Johnson. (Reporting by Steve Holland; Editing by Howard Goller) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. English Chinese (Simplified) Chinese (Traditional) SAN FRANCISCO & MIANYANG, China, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sichuan Changhong Network Technologies Co., Ltd, a leading technology company headquartered in Mianyang, and Via Licensing, the collaborative licensing leader, today announced they have entered into an Advanced Audio Coding (AAC) patent pool agreement granting Changhong a worldwide license to use the patented technology in its set top boxes. We are glad to reach this global strategic agreement with Changhong, and deeply appreciate Changhongs genuine respect for intellectual property rights. We welcome Changhong into the AAC patent pool, said Joe Siino, President, Via Licensing. Changhong, with its global visions and ambitions, joins approximately 1,000 licensees across Vias licensing programs. "Changhong Network is a leading high-tech company driven by innovation. We have always respected intellectual property and have a long-term commitment to fostering and creating high-value intellectual property, said Mr. Richard Li Cheng, CEO of Changhong Network. We are delighted to have signed this license with Via, which furthers Changhongs product innovation and ongoing internationalization. Vias AAC patent pool fairly and efficiently addresses unique market considerations, like those presented in China." Advanced Audio Coding is a coding method that allows consumers to enjoy high-quality audio with high compression efficiency, reducing the amount of data to be transmitted and the processing power required for playback. About Changhong Changhong was established in 1958, with the head office located within Mianyang High Tech Industrial Park and has approximately 60,000 employees. Changhong is a large-scale high-tech corporation mainly engaged in the development and manufacturing of consumer electronics, display devices, digital set top boxes, security monitors, IoT, network communication, refrigerators, washing machines and LED lighting etc. In 1994 Changhong was listed on the main board of Shanghai Stock Exchange (600839). After a development of more than 60 years, Changhong has become a world famous brand worth almost CNY 160 billion. About Via Licensing Corporation Via Licensing Corporation is a global intellectual property solutions provider dedicated to enabling innovation in partnership with technology companies, entertainment companies and universities around the world. Via develops and manages licensing programs on behalf of highly innovative companies in markets such as audio, wireless, broadcast, and automotive. Via is an independently managed subsidiary of Dolby Laboratories, Inc., a company with more than 50 years of experience in innovation. For more information about Via, please visit www.via-corp.com. Contacts: Changhong Eric Zhao +8613881171688 haijun.zhao@changhong.com Via Licensing Liz Weber +1 415-645-4124 press@vialicensing.com Mumbai, July 22 : Actor Keshav Sadhna is exploring a taboo topic in an upcoming web series, which made him feel as if he is working in a project like Ayushmann Khurrana, who is known for picking up subjects that are often shunned from being openly discussed. Keshav will be seen in the web series "It's My Pleasure", which revolves around a corporate guy who leaves his job and decides to launch his dream startup -- a sex toy portal. The journey is laden with comedy of errors, and four stories where sex is truly happiness. The show also unravels the hypocritical and weird ways of Indian society. "When I read the script and when I was shooting for it, I thought of movies done by Ayushmaan Khurrana. Not as an actor but as an individual, I feel connected with the script, since a lot of people leave their jobs for launching the startups but the idea shown in 'It's My Pleasure' is out of the box," Keshav said. The series also features Saadhika Syal and Saif Ansari along with Manoj Bakshi and Lavina Khanchandani. Sharing her experience, Saadhika said: "It's a sensitive topic that we're dealing with and I did have a few concerns before saying yes to it. However, once I met the makers and read the script, I was confident that we were going to be presenting the story in a sensible and responsible manner, the way it was done in films like 'Vicky Donor' and 'Badhaai Ho'. After gaining this clarity and confidence from the makers, I had no second thoughts before saying yes to the project." "It's My Pleasure" is helmed by Harkirat Sandhu and written by Reena Kamath. And will stream on Watcho. SOUTHBOROUGH, Mass., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Block Engineering, LLC, a developer of open-path, wide-area chemical detection products, has released the next generation of its award-winning LaserWarn (TM) product family. LaserWarn identifies chemical threats within seconds from hundreds of meters away, protecting people from terrorist threats and accidental chemical releases. Block's LaserWarn products now detect and report on multiple chemicals simultaneously in real time. Additionally, the software engine has been upgraded to include AI-driven algorithms that deliver significantly lower limits of detection and near-zero false alarm rates. Chemical detection libraries are customizable for specific end-user market requirements or target applications. The LaserWarn family now includes a ruggedized, IP66-certified version for hazardous environments, as well as a lighter version that can be used in portable configurations. The quantum cascade lasers that power LaserWarn are eye-safe and provide coverage over a range of 90,000 square meters. "We're very excited by the launch of our new LaserWarn product and its improved capability set," said Al Weggeman, President of Block Engineering. "We currently have LaserWarn units installed globally at airports and other transportation hubs providing 24/7 monitoring for toxic industrial chemicals/materials and chemical warfare agents. This new product addition will enable us to provide even more protection capability to an even broader array of CONOPS. Our new IP66 ruggedized LaserWarn will also enable chemical manufacturers and refineries to provide similar protection against fugitive emissions and accidental chemical releases. Employees and neighboring populations can be warned within seconds about potential threats." Dan Cavicchio, CEO of Block added, "In government testing in a critical facility, LaserWarn detected toxic gas releases one minute faster than conventional technologies. This earlier warning is the key to saving lives. We are proud of the work that the Block Engineering team has done to bring this new technology to market." About Block Engineering, LLC: Block Engineering is a leading provider of safety and security chemical detection equipment for commercial, OEM, and global government customers. Block has been awarded numerous government contracts and awards over the past decade for the application of its technologies toward the detection of explosives, buried IEDs, chemical warfare agents, toxic industrial materials, chemical clouds, and other CBRNE applications. Please visit us at https://www.blockeng.com. Press contact: Al Weggeman, President, (508) 251-3104 SOURCE Block Engineering, LLC Related Links http://www.blockeng.com Switzerland allocates 108 mln francs in humanitarian, technical aid to Ukraine 23:59, 21.07.20 581 The talks were part of President Sommaruga's state visit to Kyiv. Iran Executes Man Accused of Spying for US, Israel By VOA News July 20, 2020 Iran's judiciary says a former translator Monday, whom the government accused of spying for U.S. and Israeli intelligence, and of helping to locate Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani has been executed. Soleimani was killed in an America drone attack earlier this year. The execution of Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, who was arrested in 2018, comes as millions of Iranians have taken to social media to protest the death sentences of three young men accused of participating in anti-government protests last November. One of their attorneys, Babak Paknia, said Sunday that their executions had been suspended. The lawyer identified the three as friends Amirhossein Moradi, a 26-year-old retail worker, Said Tamjidi, a 28-year-old driver for Snapp (Iran's Uber), and Mohammad Rajabi, also 26 and unemployed. The country's Supreme Court decided to review their case, state TV also reported on Sunday. "Suspension of execution of three sentenced-to-death defendants and re-examination of the file, after follow-ups of the lawyers of the three defendants accused of robbery by using force, as well as rioting in last year's November protests, on implementation of Article 474 which means re-examination of the lawsuit, the Supreme Court of the country has accepted their appeal," Ali Zohourian IRIB newsreader reported. Rights activists said the sentences for the three men were aimed at discouraging future protests and intimidating potential participants. The Farsi hashtag "Don't execute" was re-tweeted millions of times last week. Meanwhile, state news agency IRNA quoted Iranian police as saying Monday that they had arrested people participating in last week's protest in Behbahan city, in the southwest of the country, for "an illegal and norm-breaking gathering." The number of those arrested and their identities were not revealed. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By Express News Service BENGALURU: Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa on Tuesday declared that the Karnataka government will not extend the weeklong lockdown in Bengaluru that will end early on Wednesday morning. "There won't be a lockdown in Bengaluru or any other part of the state," the CM said in his first address to people of the state after the outbreak of the pandemic. "Lockdown is not the answer to contain the spread of COVID-19. We need to wear masks and strictly follow social distancing," the CM said during his 22-minute address that was streamed live on social media platforms. Emphasising the need to revive economic activities, the CM said the government will focus on resource mobilization even as it takes measures to fight the pandemic. Reassuring people on the measures taken by the government to tackle the health crisis, the CM attributed the surge in cases in the last few weeks to people travelling to Karnataka from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu and other states that were reporting high numbers of cases. "We are doing everything possible and there is no need to panic, but we all need to take adequate precautions to prevent the spread," the CM said and explained various measures taken by the government, including its focus on 5Ts: Trace, Track, Test, Treat and Technology. He also exhorted citizens to strictly follow the guidelines and cooperate with the government Admitting that there were certain shortcomings in the system, especially related to allocation of beds in private hospitals and treatment of COVID and non-COVID patients, the CM said all those issues have been resolved and they have sufficient number of beds. Not a rupee misappropriated Responding to opposition Congress leaders' allegations, the CM said not even a single rupee has been misappropriated in the purchase of medical equipment and officers will provide any information sought by opposition leaders Appealing to Congress leaders not to create confusion among people, the CM said everyone needs to work together to fight the pandemic. The Congress has accused the government of misappropriation in the purchase of PPE kits, ventilators and other equipment. Yediyurappa asked people not to panic or resort to extreme measures as 98 percent of people who tested positive have recovered. He also asked people to be kind to those who tested positive and not stigmatize them. After this summer's announcement that the University of North Georgia (UNG) will resume face-to-face instruction in August, students and their families want to know how courses, classrooms and campus life will differ. UNG administrators plan to address courses, the revised academic calendar, preparations to return to campus, and more in a virtual town hall session from noon to 1 p.m. July 27. Geared toward students, their parents and families, the online town hall may be accessed on Zoom. "As all of our students return for the fall, whether virtually or face to face (or a combination), UNG is committed to providing an engaged student experience that will enhance their learning environment," said," said Dr. James Conneely, vice president for Student Affairs and Enrollment Management. "Even though some of our programs and services may look different, we are committed to the same quality and variety that will help students to be successful at UNG! I strongly encourage all students to take advantage of the opportunities being provided and to build connections that will enrich their educational experience." Students, parents and family members may submit their questions in advance or during the town hall to enrollment@ung.edu. Questions will be compiled and asked during the question-and-answer portion, which will conclude the online session. Before the Q&A, several UNG officials will speak about various aspects of the fall 2020 plan, which are covered on the website Nighthawks Together: UNG's Fall Reopening Plan. Topics will range from academic advising and enrollment to the student life experiences and financial challenges and scholarships available. "We will also talk about health, wellness and safety on campus. We want our students and their families to know that we are taking every precaution to protect our campus community during the pandemic," said Michelle Eaton, director of enrollment management for student success. "We will touch on resources available to help students be successful this fall." Eaton believes this digital platform will allow students, parents and their families to voice their questions and concerns about the health care crisis created by the COVID-19 pandemic. "I think the students and their families deserve to be heard and to hear UNG's plan for the fall," Eaton said. "Plus, they deserve the opportunity to have their questions addressed." Eaton said holding another online town hall in the fall has been discussed. "First-time students at UNG may not have questions before they start their courses, but I expect they will have some once classes begin," Eaton said. For students, parents and family members unable to attend, a recording of the digital town hall will be available on the Nighthawks Together website. More than global 600 panellists participated in a webinar organised by the Maritime Standard focussing on the financial issues facing the shipping industry as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. The Covid 19: A Leadership Perspective Webinar series drew in dignitaries such as former DP World Group CEO, former Assistant Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation for Economic & Trade Affairs, UAE and CEO of Green Dome Investments, Dr Mohammad Sharaf, was joined by Petros Doukas, Mayor of Sparta, Chairman of International Chamber of Commerce, and former Deputy Minister of Finance and Foreign Affairs, Greece; Sanjay Mehta, Chairman of S One Capital; Mrs. H.K Joshi Chairperson & Managing Director, The Shipping Corporation of India; Bill Guo, Executive Director, Shipping, ICBC Financial Leasing; Nitin Mehta, CEO, Tomini Shipping; and Chris Peters, CEO, Tristar-Eships. Clive Woodbridge, TMS Editor and Webinar moderator, said: This was the most eminent and knowledgeable group that we have assembled so far and the exchanges between the panellists were extremely insightful and informed. There was a clear consensus that, while these are difficult times, shipping for the most part is in a good place financially and is set to recover strongly over the coming year. Dr Mohammed Sharaf underlined the fact that the shipping industrys performance during the pandemic was creating confidence in the marketplace. Certain parts of the industry have been financially impacted, but there are other parts that have taken full advantage of it. Shipping is part and parcel of everyday life and that is a powerful reality. The inevitability that global trade needed shipping and would bounce back as people returned to normal patterns of life was echoed by Joshi. She argued that Shipping has fared pretty well during the pandemic and I am certainly optimistic going forward. Looking at the industry from a lender perspective Bill Gou believed that Chinese economic growth in the second half of the year would drive up the dry bulk market in particular and this would in turn boost confidence in shipping. His company, he stressed, was not pulling back, with lending to shipping over the first six months of this year the same as in the first half of 2019. Both of the UAE-based shipowners on the panel were upbeat in their assessments. Nitin Mehta pointed out that rates were recovering well and welcomed that fact that banks were being forthcoming with their help and support. Shipping as a sector is doing better than many others, and overall, there is much less for us to worry about, he suggested. Similarly, Chris Peters pointed out that tanker shipping companies finances were holding up well, albeit because of high demand for storage. As ports begin opening up and products start moving again, business from trade will also start coming back, he said. One of the leading financiers, Sanjay Mehta, said he had been bearish about shipping for some time and that the pandemic had not changed that assessment. Global trade tensions are problematic, he accepted, but the drive to green shipping and investments in green infrastructure and services will create significant opportunities. Highlighting macroeconomic trends, Petros Doukas was more cautious and said the industry was in for some hard times. Banks and shipping have both been hit and there is not a lot of money around to finance commercial operations. But I am confident that human ingenuity will get us out of this situation. Sponsored by Abu Dhabi Ports, ADNOC L&S, JM Baxi,Tomini and Tristar, the webinar was watched online by an international audience, many of whom submitted interesting and demanding questions for the panelists to answer in a special Question Hour during the event. These ranged from prospects for a switch away from the US dollar as shippings global currency, and the possibility of more companies delisting to go private, to plans to buy new ships and how supportive financial institutions have been. The Maritime Standard will be staging a sixth webinar in the series on July 22. TradeArabia News Service With more than 30% of the worlds mineral reserve, mining on the African continent dates back to the 15th century currently, mining industries in Africa produce more than 60 different metals: copper, diamond, gold, gemstones, platinum, aluminium, bauxite, manganese, coal, iron ore, nickel, lead and zinc are a few of the highly sought after minerals on the continent. Mining improves the economic output of African countries as highlighted by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), over 50% of countries in Africa export mineral commodities with minerals accounting for more than half of the export revenue of countries such as Democratic Republic of Congo, Guinea, Botswana and Mozambique. Excessive reliance on mineral resources for economic growth at the expense of agriculture and rural development has neglected about 85% of poor households in rural communities. Over reliance on mineral resources have detrimental socio-economic and environmental effects in Africa - for instance in comparing Resource-Rich Countries (RRC) to Non-Resource Rich Countries (NRRC) in the region, the World Bank, asserts that life expectancy is 4.5 years shorter in RRC, literacy rates are 3.1 percentage points lower in RRC, malnutrition among women and children is more pervasive in RRC, incidence of domestic violence is higher by 9 percentage points in RRC and voice and accountability measures are weaker in RRC. However the contributions of the mining sector has been essential to the socio-economic growth of countries in Southern Africa, providing employment, investment, revenue to government and infrastructure in South Africa, the mining of gold has played a significant role in the development of the Johannesburg-Pretoria metropolitan area, the countrys economic and financial hub. According to a World Bank report published in 2019, the worlds richest mineral deposits can be found in Southern Africa it is estimated that non-energy mineral deposits in South Africa is worth more than $2.4 trillion. Excluding petroleum reserves, South Africa is the wealthiest mining jurisdiction in the world. Source: United Nations Comtrade Database In Botswana, where mining of diamonds constitute more than 90% of the minerals produced, the mining sector accounts for 92% of exports with tax revenue generated from the sector representing 10.1% of GDP. In 2017, the mining sector contributed 19% of the countrys GDP. The contribution of the mining sector to South Africas economy has decreased from a fifth to 8% of GDP in 2018. The mining sector is one of the largest exporters in the country as mining exports represents 28% of total exports. Although the mining sector accounts for only 4% of formal employment, a critical analysis indicates that due to the high wages received in the sector, every new job created, lifts 1.3 people out of poverty. However, the mining sector is not a major contributor to the economy for all countries in the region - in Namibia and Eswatini the mining sector accounts for 13% and less than 1% of GDP, respectively. Whiles Namibia is a major producer of zinc, uranium, diamonds and gold with the mining sector contributing 51% of total exports, Eswatini produces diamonds, gold and coal in small quantities although other mineral deposits such as arsenic, copper, manganese and thin have been discovered in the country. Other countries in Southern Africa such as Lesotho and Zimbabwe have large reserves of mineral deposits Lesotho has reserves of high grade diamonds with a 910 carat gem, the fifth largest gem-quality diamond in the world. With diminutive investment in mining, the sector employs 0.7% of the workforce, accounting for 8% of GDP and less than 1% of exports. Zimbabwes mining sector also has some of the richest deposits in the world as the country has about 4000 gold deposits with 90% in greenstone belts and the second largest deposit of platinum-group metals (PGM) in the world - South Africa is the largest producer of platinum with the country holding 80% of the worlds reserves. South Africa is also the second largest producer of gold in Africa. The mining sector serves as a key source of revenue for governments in Africa in Ghana, Mali and Tanzania, Africas first, third and fourth largest producers of gold, governments in these countries generate revenue from the mining of gold through profit taxes, property rate, royalties, ground rates, excise and import duties. Between 2001 and 2013, governments in these three countries recorded a significant increase in revenue from the mining of gold but a fall of 28% in the price of gold in 2013 on the international market after the price of the commodity reached its peak in 2011 reduced revenue accumulated from the mining of gold Ghana, Mali and Tanzania received an annual average of $300 million, $362 million and $137 million, respectively from gold mining between 2005 and 2013. Source: World Bank Evidently, the mining sector is an indispensable integrant in the growth of African economies but the benefits received from mining comes at the expense of the social and environmental system. Lack of data has limited the authoritative conclusion of the social impact of mining on the continent. The World Bank cited limited data as a challenge in a research that examined the socio-economic impact of mining in Mali, Ghana and Tanzania. Although Mali had a reliable source of data on socio-economic indicators, Ghana and Tanzania did not have this data resource. The findings of the study reveal that in Mali, primary school enrolment in mining communities and even communities closer to a mine were higher as compared to non-mining communities. The rate of poverty reduction in mining communities in Mali has also been relatively slow as compared to non-mining communities - a condition attributed to the inward migration into mining areas. The average population growth rate in Mali per year between 1998 and 2009 was about 3% - in non-mining communities the average annual population growth rate was 3.5% but in mining communities in the country, the average annual population growth rate was 5.7% within the same period, clearly depicting an exodus of people from low-income areas to mining communities which are perceived to be high-income areas. Again, the usage of basic social services such as electricity and fuel for cooking was extremely low in mining communities before the commencement of the mining boom in 1998 less than 2% of the population in mining communities used electricity or improved fuel for cooking. Even though mining areas have recorded a higher paved road per capita than non-mining communities, irrigation per capita is comparatively lower in mining communities. In another study conducted by the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) to determine the social impact of Chinese-controlled mining in 38 Sub-Saharan African countries between 1997 and 2015, the outcome of the research shows that Chinese investments in the mining sector is linked with the development of infrastructure such as improved access to piped water and paved roads within the resource-extraction regions but these Chinese-operated mines do not generate job opportunities for the local communities as they rely largely on Chinese labour force. Conversely, non-Chinese mining operations have significantly reduced unemployment in mining towns this condition has intensified the indignation of local communities with proximity to Chinese-controlled mines, in spite of the commitment Chinese-controlled mining companies exhibit to local communities in the form of corporate social responsibility. About the Authors Alexander Ayertey Odonkor is a chartered financial analyst and a chartered economist with a stellar expertise in the financial services industry in developing economies. Alexander has carried out the International Monetary Funds (IMF) program on Financial Programming and Policies with a masters degree in finance and a bachelors degree in economics and finance, he also holds a postgraduate certificate in mining from Curtin University. Emmanuel Amoah-Darkwah is an economist with specialization in economic policy analysis and an ambassador for the United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals. Emmanuels work has been covered by the BBC, Bloomberg, CGTN, CNBC Africa and other major domestic news outlays in Africa. Rank and file Labor Party members are calling for the parliamentary party to reject the Morrison government's push to hand control of environmental assessments to the states, warning MPs they will not stand for policies that don't reflect the party's platform. The Labor Environment Action Network (LEAN), an influential group of branch members, said it had campaigned in the lead up to the party's 2018 national conference to ensure federal environmental laws were not watered down. Labor's environment movement is calling on MPs including environment spokesperson Terri Butler to ensure its policy matches the party's national platform. Credit:Alex Ellinghausen Convenor Felicity Wade said the government's plans contradicted key elements of Labor's environment policy - such as the creation of an independent federal Environmental Protection Agency and stronger protections for threatened species - and urged Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese and environment spokeswoman Terri Butler to reject them. "LEAN is working again, across our national network, to ensure the party's response reflects the national platform," Ms Wade said. Coronavirus cases in Spain have soared in just over two weeks, according to the latest figures from the Spanish Health Ministry, which were released Monday after a three-day delay. The cumulative incidence of Covid-19 is now 27.39 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, a sharp rise from the 8.76 cases per 100,000 reported on July 3. The cumulative incidence of the virus is nearly the same as it was on May 11, when Spain began to deescalate the lockdown rules that were introduced in mid-March in a bid to curb contagion. From that date on, the figure began to slowly fall, reaching a record low on June 25, with 7.74 cases per 100,000 inhabitants. But since then, the figure has steadily risen. This increase happened slowly at first but a significant spike was detected last week. According to data from the World Health Organization (WHO), Spain is the only European country with the exception of small states like Luxembourg and countries that do not belong to the European Union where the number of coronavirus cases is on the rise. On Sunday, the organization reported that the 14-day cumulative incidence in Spain had doubled in two weeks, representing a rise of 103%. Only Israel (147% increase), Luxembourg (151%), Montenegro (161%) and Kyrgyzstan (354%) recorded a higher two-week spike in the incidence of coronavirus. According to Fernando Rodriguez Artalejo, the spokesperson of the Spanish Epidemiology Association, cumulative incidence is one of the best ways to measure the evolution of the epidemic. Measurements in rates (cases per inhabitants) are more accurate than absolute numbers, he explains, and cumulative rates are even better because they consolidate the data and soften daily discrepancies that are often unrelated to the transmission of the disease, for instance the underrreporting over weekends. Uneven situation Spanish Health Minister Salvador Illa. Ricardo Rubio (Europa Press) Health Minister Salvador Illa reported on Monday that there were 201 active coronavirus outbreaks in Spain, with 2,289 associated cases. But the situation in the country is very uneven. According to Rodriguez Artalejo, the outbreaks in the Spanish regions of Aragon, Catalonia and Basque Country are of most concern. The situation in these regions is very worrying, he explains. If they are not controlled immediately and thoroughly, we will have a very complicated situation. In Aragon, the incidence of coronavirus is at 160 cases per 100,000 inhabitants, up from 98 last week; in Catalonia, the rate rose from 63 on Friday to 84.5 on Monday, and in Basque country, the figure nearly tripled in the same period: jumping from 16 to 35.5. To understand the increase in the incidence [of coronavirus], we have to see to what extent it is due to Aragon and Catalonia, and if, excluding these regions, they [the cases] correspond to well controlled outbreaks, which appears to be the case, says Rodriguez Artalejo. Spanish epidemiologist Ildefonso Hernandez agrees: The rest of the regions are not bad, some are following a downward trend like Castilla y Leon, Madrid, Galicia and Extremadura, where there was a spike last week which appears to have stabilized. Regional authorities in both Aragon and Catalonia reintroduced lockdown measures in an effort to slow the rising number of cases. In Aragon, four comarcas a traditional administrative division in parts of Spain were moved back to Phase 2 of the coronavirus deescalation plan. And in Catalonia, residents in Barcelona and its metropolitan area, the Lleida comarca of La Noguera and a number of municipalities in Segria, have been advised to stay at home and limit travel. Social restrictions, including limits on the capacity of bars and restaurants, and the closure of nightlife venues, cultural activities and gyms, have also been introduced. On these restrictions, Rodriguez Artalejo, says: We know that strict confinement is very effective. But nobody knows how effective these other measures are. There is not enough research on them. It will take longer for them to produce results, but we dont know how much longer. Illa said on Monday that the central government supported the semi-lockdown in Catalonia and called on residents in the affected areas to respect the measures. Social gatherings Tourists walk at the resort of Magaluf on the Balearic island of Mallorca. Joan Mateu (AP) While several outbreaks in Spain are linked to infections among seasonal workers in Aragon and Catalonia, many others are connected to social gatherings and parties. These days we are seeing an increase [in cases] due to nightlife activities, parties and social gatherings. They are situations that are beginning to especially worry us because they are more difficult to control, said Maria Jose Sierra, from the Health Ministrys Coordination Center for Health Alerts, on Monday. In Andalusia, the number of coronavirus cases linked to a party at a nightclub in Cordobas rose to 83. In Murcia, the regional government closed all nightlife venues, with 40 infections detected. And in the Basque Country, in the municipality of Ermua, the capacity at bars has been reduced to 50% after an end-of-school-year party led to a coronavirus outbreak, with 23 new cases reported on Monday, bringing the total to 48. Contact tracing According to a report from the Carlos III Health Institute, Spain is only detecting an average of one contact for every confirmed coronavirus case. The document, dated July 15 and up to date until May, points out, however, that there is a big discrepancy in tracking capacity among the regions. In Canary Islands, for instance, six contacts are detected for each Covid-19 case, and in Andalusia, Extremadura and Navarre, the figure is five. The figure is scandalously low, its hard for me to believe it, says Rodriguez Artalejo, who adds that failure to track contacts could worsen the situation in Catalonia. How many contacts are they tracking per case? he asks. In what percentage is the source of the contagion identified? It would be very good if it were 80%, but with 20% it would be very problematic. According to data provided by regional health authorities with the exception of Galicia and the Canary Islands there are 3,533 contact tracers in Spain. This is the equivalent of one per 12,000 inhabitants, far below the recommended rate of one per 5,500 people. Another 8,500 professionals would be needed to meet this rate, estimates Alex Arenas, an investigator at the Rovira i Virgili University in Tarragona. English version by Melissa Kitson. Bhopal, July 21 : Political leaders paid tributes to Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon who passed away at a hospital in Lucknow on Tuesday following prolonged illness. He was 85. Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said as governor of MP Lalji Tandon always inspired us to follow the virtuous path. His love for the nation and his contribution to the development of the state will be remembered forever. "The soul is immortal. He is not among us today, but he will always live in our memories through his thoughts. I pray to God to give peace to the departed soul and give the grieving family the strength to bear this irreparable loss," Chouhan added. Paying tributes to Tandon, BJP state president Vishnu Datt Sharma said the late leader was not just the governor but played a stellar role in upholding the rule of law. He was a guide for people of all classes. Lalji Tandon was the political and natural heir of former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, Sharma added. State public works minister Gopal Bhargava also condoled the death of the governor, saying, "Tandanji, who had journeyed from a Councillor to Parliament and Parliament to Raj Bhavan, identified himself as an outspoken politician. His contribution to the development and expansion of the BJP is incredible. We have lost a skilled politician and guide with his demise." Congress MP from Chhindwara Nakul Nath offered condolences on the death of Tandon saying, "May God bless him and give the bereaved family the strength to bear the sorrow." The bitter court battle between Johnny Depp, Amber Heard and News Group Newspapers continues as more and more high-profile celebrities are being dragged over in the case. In a written statement to London's High Court, the "Aquaman" actress claimed that the "Pirates of the Caribbean" star accused her of having multiple relationships during their marriage. "He accused me of having affairs with each of my costars, movie after movie: Eddie Redmayne, James Franco, Jim Sturgess, Kevin Costner, Liam Hemsworth, Billy Bob Thornton, Channing Tatum; even women co-stars like Kelli Garner," the 34-year-old actress revealed. Heard have worked with the younger Hemsworth for their 2013 thriller film "Paranoia," while she and Franco have worked twice during their 2008 action-comedy "Pineapple Express" and 2015 crime thriller "The Adderall Diaries." Johnny Depp Insults Leonardo DiCaprio, Channing Tatum With Harsh Nicknames In addition, Depp also accused the blonde beauty of having an affair with fellow Hollywood A-lister and Oscar nominee Leonardo DiCaprio, whom she once auditioned with. Heard revealed to the court that "The Lone Ranger" actor would usually mock her with these claims when he's high on substance. "He also accused me of having affairs with stars I auditioned with, like Leonardo DiCaprio. He would taunt me about it --especially when he was drunk or high -- and had derogatory nicknames for every one of my male co-stars he considered a sexual threat," Heard alleged. She went on and continued that Depp has a list of insults for her co-stars, calling the "Inception" actor a "pumpkin-head" and "Magic Mike" star a "potato-head." Tatum, on the other hand, immediately denied the allegations and described this as "nonsense" and "untrue." "This is complete nonsense and absolutely untrue," the "Step Up" star's representative told E! News. Johny Depp, Amber Heard Throwing More Allegations The "London Fields" actress also pointed out that his ex-husband has a "controlling and isolating behavior." She recalled the moments when Depp would try to catch her on the phone by telling her that "someone had" informed him that she "was having an affair." Heard's recent claims were part of the 14 different instances of abuse against Depp, to which he all denied. Aside from his court battle with Heard, the "Sleepy Hollow" actor is also suing News Group Newspapers, who owns the British tabloid The Sun. The said publication labeled him as a "wife-beater" in the wake of his controversies with Amber. To recall, executive editor Dan Wootton wrote a 2018 article titled "GONE POTTY How can JK Rowling be 'genuinely happy' casting Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film after assault claim?" In the piece, Wooton pointed out that the renowned author is facing a massive backlash from the #MeToo movement over her decision to stand by the actor amid the abuse allegations. Meanwhile, during their previous trial, the 57-year-old Depp claimed that Heard attacked her while citing testimonies from their former and current employees. Heard opposed Depp's accusation and revealed that any acts of violence she's accused of committing were done in "self-defense." Johnny Depp, Amber Heard and NGN are in the midst of a three-week trial in the U.K. With that said, more allegations are expected to surface as both camps launch their claims and evidences. READ MORE: Kim Kardashian FURIOUS After Kanye West's Massive Abortion Claim [REPORT] View live politics updates ChevronRight Since then the stock has blasted off like a rocket at SpaceX, another Musk-led company. The electric car and solar panel maker has successfully opened a factory in China, introduced the Model Y electric SUV, made debt payments and posted profits for three straight quarters. Musk has also toned down his inflammatory posts on Twitter that had cost him and the company $40 million in penalties from U.S. securities regulators. Story continues below advertisement Today, Teslas market value is three times that of Ford, General Motors and Fiat Chrysler, combined. A single share of Tesla now goes for nearly $1,600 a seven-fold increase from a year ago making it one of the most expensive publicly traded shares in the world. Advertisement Things just turned on a dime, said Garrett Nelson, an analyst at CFRA who specializes in the automotive industry. Its just been one positive announcement after another. The dizzying performance on Tuesday qualified Musk for his second huge payday in less than three months, this one worth more than $2 billion. His net worth has soared to an estimated $72 billion, just behind Warren Buffett on the Forbes Billionaires list after passing the famed investor earlier this month. In total, Musk and other Tesla shareholders have made about $240 billion since March 18 when the stock stood at $361 its low point for this year. Story continues below advertisement With second-quarter sales of Tesla vehicles outpacing the first despite a global pandemic, shares could jump again if Tesla surprises on Wednesday with a fourth consecutive profitable quarter. That could lead to Teslas admission into the club of corporate giants: the S&P 500 stock index. Advertisement But analysts have begun to question if the shares are running too hot. Analysts polled by FactSet expect a $228 million net loss from April through June. Only one analyst has a 12-month stock price target above the current value. A message was left Tuesday seeking comment from Tesla. Nelson says shares have outpaced Teslas fundamental performance, and hes telling clients to sell. He placed a price target at about two-thirds the current value of shares. Story continues below advertisement In an interview, Nelson said April-to-June registrations of Tesla vehicles fell by nearly half in California, the companys biggest U.S. market. Thats an indication of waning demand for its vehicles, which start at $37,990 for a base Model 3 but the car can easily hit $60,000 with options. Tesla also cut the price of its long-range Model Y by $3,000, which Nelson sees as a red flag. And the company is about to engage in a bout of heavy spending with new factories going up in Germany and the U.S. Advertisement There are also market factors that have flung share prices far higher, Nelson said. Short sellers who perceived flaws at Tesla have since been buying shares to cover massive losses as the stock price leaped, Nelson said. Short-sellers now account for only 7.5% of Teslas outstanding stock, down from over 23% a year ago, he said. Story continues below advertisement Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas has a $740 price target on Tesla, arguing that the market overestimates the companys share of future electric vehicle and connected car revenue. Investors are treating Tesla like tech stocks Apple and Amazon, which took off years ago after hitting $300 billion in market value, Jonas wrote in an investor note. Tesla hit that mark last week, but its revenue and pretax earnings are far smaller than either tech company when they reached the $300 billion valuation, he wrote. Advertisement Those who buy Tesla at around $1,500 per share have to believe that long-term U.S.-China trade relations will remain stable, older automakers will fail to make competitive electric vehicles, and big tech companies such as Google, Amazon and Apple wont be successful in developing electric vehicle systems, he wrote. Story continues below advertisement Jonas, who is uneasy about deteriorating relations between the worlds two biggest economies, says traditional automakers are ready to spend over $400 billion on electric vehicles in the next five years, and he expects tech companies to enter the transportation business. In the meantime, Musk is sitting pretty. The run-up in Teslas stock positioned him for a big payday after the Palo Alto, California, company awarded him a stock package worth more than $700 million in May. That compensation is part of an incentive-laden deal that Teslas board worked out two years ago to inspire Musk to build a company that eventually generates $175 billion in revenue, and is valued at $650 billion. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Musk cleared another hurdle Tuesday when Teslas market value averaged $150 billion for a six-month stretch, according to data compiled by FactSet Research. Hitting that threshold means Musk is in line to receive 1.69 million stock options valued at $350.02, or nearly 80% below Tuesdays closing price of $1,568.36. The huge gap would make those stock options worth $2.06 billion on paper, although Musk cant sell the shares for at least five years. ____ AP Business Writer Alex Veiga contributed from Los Angeles. Liedtke reported from San Ramon, California. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Wreckage of a rickshaw and a car destroyed are seen at the scene of an explosion in Mogadishu By Abdi Sheikh and Feisal Omar MOGADISHU (Reuters) - The head of Somalias military escaped unhurt and one civilian was killed on Monday when a suicide attacker drove a bomb-laden car into a convoy in the capital Mogadishu, according to a military spokesman and an ambulance service. The al Qaeda-linked al Shabaab group said it was behind the attack. General Yusuf Rage was driving in the convoy near the military hospital in Mogadishu's Hodan district when the blast struck, Colonel Abdiqani Ali, the military spokesman said. "The commander's guards opened fire on the suicide car bomb as it speedily tried to swerve into the convoy. The bomber was shot dead and his car bomb exploded. The commander and his guards escaped unhurt," he said. Mogadishu's Aamin Ambulance service said it had collected the body of one civilian. Al Sabaab's military operations spokesman Abdiasis Abu Musab said in a statement: "We conducted a martyrdom operation in Mogadishu. The target was a military convoy escorting senior apostate commanders." Since 2008, the Islamist militant group has been fighting to overthrow the central government and establish its rule based on its own harsh interpretation of Islam's Sharia law. (Editing by George Obulutsa) "During the campaign, it was made clear that now Attorney General-elect Miyares and Attorney General Herring have very different visions for the office," said Miyares spokeswoman Victoria LaCivita by email. "We are restructuring the office, as every incoming AG has done in the past." The United States should discard its Cold War mentality, zero-sum game mindset, and ideological prejudice, and correctly view China and China-US relations, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said at a press conference here. The website of the US Department of Defence published an article which cites US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper as saying that the United States is in an era of great power competition, which means that the US's top strategic competitors are China, then Russia and that China is the bigger problem. He also accused China of wanting to rewrite the rules of the international order that have served the nations of the world, including China, so well since the end of World War II. In response, spokesperson Wang Wenbin on Monday said certain individuals in the United States always viewed China-US relations from the perspective of Cold War mentality and zero-sum game mindset, and advocated containing and suppressing China's development. "It is one of the important reasons why China-US relations are facing severe challenges," he said, Xinhua news agency reported. Wang said China has upheld the international order all along, and always advocated international fairness and justice, which was in sharp contrast to the United States, who frequently pulls out of international treaties and organisations, abides by international law that suit its purpose, and discards those that it finds obstructive. "The international community knows well who is the troublemaker." China wants to rewrite, if anything, the obsolete model of a country seeking hegemony when growing stronger, and is firmly committed to working with other countries to find a new path of peaceful development and win-win cooperation, the spokesperson said. Noting that the leadership of the CPC is the defining nature of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Wang said the CPC is the fundamental guarantee of China's development and rejuvenation, and also an active force in safeguarding global peace and promoting common development. The United States should respect and accept the reality that the CPC is endorsed and supported by the Chinese people, instead of wantonly slandering the CPC, sowing discords between the CPC and the Chinese people, and creating ideological confrontations and forming a clique on the international stage, the spokesperson said. "China's policy toward the United States is consistent and clear," Wang said, adding that China is committed to developing a China-US relationship featuring non-conflict, non-confrontation, mutual respect and win-win cooperation. Meanwhile, China firmly safeguards its sovereignty, security, and development interests. "We urge the United States to discard the Cold War mentality, zero-sum game mindset and ideological prejudice, correctly view China-US relations, stop those negative words and deeds, and work with China to move bilateral relationship back onto the right track of coordination, cooperation and stability," Wang said. Burma In Myanmar, Even a Chief Minister is Prone to Military-Controlled Intelligence An alleged member of Special Branch, wearing a black uniform on the right, records Chief Minister Dr. Zaw Myint Maungs press conference on July 19. / The Irrawaddy Yangon Mandalay Regions chief minister banished Special Branch (SB) officers from his Sunday press conference, showing even a senior member of Daw Aung San Suu Kyis civilian government is still prone to be watched by military-controlled intelligence like under the military dictatorship. Some SB members attended the press conference along with journalists while the chief minister, Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, who is also vice-president of the National League for Democracy (NLD), was meeting the media after the Martyrs Day commemoration on July 19. In a video that has been widely shared online, the chief minister tells SB officers to leave the room after he noticed they are not journalists. Get out of here. This is none of your business, said Dr. Zaw Myint Maung. While being watched by the military-controlled SB during his press conference, he said the surveillance was unacceptable and officers should follow a code of conduct. Politicians and activists were jailed after SB probes produced controversial, anti-government charges under the military dictatorship from 1988 to 2010. NLD members, including Dr. Zaw Myint Maung, were no exception. The SB used to be a department of Myanmars police, collecting information and arresting dissenters after the powerful military intelligence network headed by Lieutenant General Khin Nyunt was dissolved in 2004. In February 2015, the Home Affairs Minister, Lieutenant General Ko Ko, took the SB under direct ministerial control. Currently, the military-controlled ministry is led by the former chief of military security affairs, Lieutenant General Soe Htut. He was approved as home affairs minister in February, replacing outgoing Lieutenant General Kyaw Swe. According to politicians and activists, the activities of rights organizations are monitored by the SB and other units backed by the police and military. Ko Ye Wai Phyo Aung of Athan, a group advocating freedom of expression, told The Irrawaddy that the organizations training sessions and public events have been watched by the SB. He said the SB used to take records of groups activities and lists of participants. In the 21st century, privacy is a human right. Rights must be protected by the government. There are many cases where peoples freedoms are undermined by the government and military, said Ko Ye Wai Phyo Aung. Ko Zaw Moe, the chief researcher at the Assistance Association for Political Prisoners (AAPP), told The Irrawaddy on Tuesday that units like the SB should be used to investigate security issues and other cases to protect citizens instead of shadowing innocent people. Old procedures of shadowing are still being used. Rights groups are annoyed by the surveillance. People are concerned that information might become a threat in the future because they are being watched, said Ko Zaw Moe. The Ministry of Home Affairs could not be reached for comment on Tuesday. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Conservationists Slam Moves for Endangered Irrawaddy Dolphins Captive Breeding Myanmar Authorities Bust Illegal Bordertown Casino Myanmars Garment Sector Facing Implosion as Orders Slump with COVID-19 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 01:27:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Mongolian police have seized a total of 109 dead marmots so far this year, which could have spread the bubonic plague, the country's National Police Agency (NPA) said Monday. The dead marmots were found in 20 vehicles heading to the capital city of Ulan Bator, the NPA said in a statement. Under Mongolian law, a person convicted of killing, transporting and buying or selling the rodent will be fined up to 3 million Mongolian tugriks (about 1,055 U.S. dollars). A total of eight suspected cases of bubonic plague have been reported across the country so far this year, and 17 out of all 21 Mongolian provinces are now at risk for the bubonic plague, the country's National Center for Zoonotic Diseases said. The bubonic plague is a bacterial disease that is spread by fleas living on wild rodents such as marmots. The disease can kill an adult in less than 24 hours if not treated in time, according to the World Health Organization. Enditem Boris Johnson and Vladimir Putin at a summit in Berlin in January. A House of Commons committee has released a report about Russian influence in the UK. (Sputnik/AFP via Getty Images) The House of Commons intelligence and security committee has published its eagerly anticipated report on Russias influence in the UK. The report had been in existence for nine months, having been submitted to Boris Johnson on 17 October, but was only released on Thursday. After it was finally published, here are seven revelations... 1. Reticent governments took their eye off the ball The report says it has been clear for some time that Russia under [president Vladimir] Putin has moved from potential partner to established threat, fundamentally unwilling to adhere to international law. It says the 2006 murder of Alexander Litvinenko in London and annexation of Crimea in 2014 were stark indicators of this. We therefore question whether the government took its eye off the ball because of its focus on counter-terrorism: it was the opinion of the committee that until recently the government had badly underestimated the response required to the Russian threat and is still playing catch-up. Russia under Vladimir Putin has become an 'established threat', according to the report. (Alexei Druzhinin/Sputnik/Kremlin pool photo via AP) The report says the government has now begun to take a more assertive approach towards Russia, as compared to previous administrations. It states: The UK has historically been reticent in attributing cyber attacks as recently as 2010, this committee was asked to redact mention of Russia as a perpetrator of cyber attacks, on diplomatic grounds. It says the governments approach changed in November 2017, when Theresa May was prime minister. 2. UK is a top target only behind US and NATO The report states Russia considers the UK one of its top Western intelligence targets. While we may not experience the level and type of threat that countries on Russias borders suffer, witnesses have suggested that we would sit just behind the US and NATO in any priority list. This is likely to be related to the UKs close relationship with the US, and the fact that the UK is seen as central to the western anti-Russian lobby. The report goes on to say the UK is clearly a target for Russian disinformation campaigns and political influence operations and must therefore equip itself to counter such efforts. Story continues It also details how GCHQ the UKs intelligence, cyber and security agency had said Russian actors orchestrated phishing attempts against government departments, including the Foreign Office, during the early stages of the investigation into the Salisbury attacks in 2018. 3. Government didnt look at Brexit referendum allegations The report acknowledges widespread public allegations that Russia sought to influence the 2016 EU referendum. However, it says the government did not provide any post-referendum assessment of Russian attempts at interference. This, the report states, is in stark contrast to the US handling of allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. It points out an intelligence community assessment was produced within two months of the vote. Meanwhile, the report doesnt seek to judge whether Russia did influence the referendum vote, saying it would be difficult if not impossible to assess. 4. Putin allies integrated into UK business and social scene Russias elite and those close to Putin have put money into so many different sectors, particularly in London, that any government measures against them would be damage limitation, says a section in the ISC report. Russian influence in the UK is the new normal, it states. There are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth. This level of integration in Londongrad in particular means that any measures now being taken by the government are not preventative but rather constitute damage limitation. 5. New legislation needed to tackle foreign spies The report warns: Russia poses a tough intelligence challenge and our intelligence agencies must have the tools they need to tackle it. In particular, new legislation must be introduced to tackle foreign spies: the Official Secrets Act is not fit for purpose and while this goes unrectified the UK intelligence communitys hands are tied. More broadly, we need a continuing international consensus against Russian aggressive action. 6. Social media companies not playing their part Social media companies are criticised in the 50-page document for failing to tackle the spread of disinformation. It says: We note that as with so many other issues currently it is the social media companies which hold the key and yet are failing to play their part. The government must now seek to establish a protocol with the social media companies to ensure that they take covert hostile state use of their platforms seriously, and have clear timescales within which they commit to removing such material. Those companies which fail to act should be named and shamed by the government, the report says. 7. Paper and pencils are keeping UK elections safe One positive is the reports assurances that UK elections are safe from interference... thanks to its paper and pencils-based voting system. It states: We have been informed that the mechanics of the UKs voting system are deemed largely sound: the use of a highly dispersed paper-based voting and counting system makes any significant interference difficult, and we understand that GCHQ has undertaken a great deal of work to help ensure that the online voter registration system is safe. (CNN) First, there was very good news on the vaccine front Monday. Read more here. But there's still a very long way to go until we're all getting one. That's why the US Surgeon General got on Fox News and begged Americans to wear face masks in public. "I'm pleading with your viewers. I'm begging you," Jerome Adams said during the appearance before the conservative audience on "Fox & Friends." "Please understand that we are not trying to take away your freedoms when we say, 'Wear a face covering.'" So why no face mask requirement? "If you are going to have a federal mandate you have to have a federal enforcement mechanism and right now as scientist and an educator, I would rather help people understand why they should cooperate with wearing a mask and how they benefit from it, versus just simply saying we are going to force you to do it, particularly by sending in federal troops or using federal mechanisms," Adams said. The pivot. President Donald Trump later in the day tweeted a photograph of himself wearing a mask, calling it "patriotic." Here's the entire history of mask recommendations. Here's a list of all the states now requiring masks in public. 50% reduction: "People need to know that wearing masks can reduce transmission of the virus by as much as 50%, and those who refuse are putting their lives, their families, their friends, and their communities at risk," Dr. Christopher Murray, director of the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation at the University of Washington, told CNN's Holly Yan. Horrible, sick irony. Trump and other leaders did not lead the way in the US on encouraging face masks even after it was clear they helped stop the spread of Covid in part because they wanted to focus on reopening the country. Now, as the Washington Post points out, countries that did focus on masks are in a stronger position to reopen, albeit still with masks, and the US is finding itself on more travel restriction lists and more parts of the country may have to return to more stringent restrictions on daily life. Admitting there's a problem There is clearly a new line from the White House and federal officials. Trump used to deny there was a problem. Now he's admitting to a "big flare-up in Florida, Texas, and a couple of other places." The assistant secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, Adm. Brett Giroir, said on CNN Monday, "There is no question we're having a surge right now." That's been clear for weeks in the continued high number of positive tests. It's clear in the growing number of hospitalizations in many states, like Mississippi, where the governor said Sunday on CNN that the number of Covid-19 patients needing hospital care has about doubled in two weeks. The growth is actually across most of the country, according to CNN's report. As of Monday morning, 31 states have seen more new cases this past week compared to new cases from the previous week, according to data from Johns Hopkins University. Read this set of bullet points in a story from CNN's Christina Maxouris and Holly Yan. What follows weeks of increased infections? Overwhelmed hospitals. - Los Angeles reported its highest number of Covid-19 hospitalizations in a day, with at least 2,216 people hospitalized. And more than half of the 2,848 new cases reported Sunday were among people under 41 years old, officials said. - In Florida, at least 49 hospitals had no more ICU space available on Sunday, according to data from Florida's Agency for Health Care Administration. - Arizona reported its highest number of Covid-19 deaths in one day -- 147 -- according to the Covid Tracking Project and Johns Hopkins. At least two states reported record single-day case increases Saturday, according to data from Johns Hopkins. Trump says he'll get involved again Perhaps it is an increasingly difficult situation in states with GOP governors increasingly implementing their own mask orders that has Trump looking more isolated and changing his tune. But his solution, rather than more federal money for testing and contact tracing, is a return to his own press conferences. "I'll get involved and we'll start doing briefings," he saId. You might recall his previous briefings, which CNN's Kevin Liptak describes as "a hallmark of the pandemic's earlier days. They ceased after Trump repeatedly found himself sparring with reporters and going on tangents, including one about ingesting disinfectant." Why the switch? Liptak writes: "Trump's aides worry he appears absent as the crisis continues to rage. Trump no longer attends daily coronavirus task force meetings and hasn't held an event specifically focused on the virus in two weeks." He also noted that Trump views this in terms of ratings rather than infections. "I think it's a great way to get information out to the public," Trump said, adding they would likely resume on Tuesday at 5 p.m. ET -- the same time he typically briefed in the spring. "We had a good slot. A lot of people were watching," Trump said, using television ratings lingo to describe the sessions. "We had record numbers watching," he said. "In the history of cable television there's never been anything like it." One has to wonder how effective these new briefings will be if Trump spouts in the self-defeating way he did to Chris Wallace of Fox News on Sunday, in which he said he'll be right eventually on Covid. How many people will die and how long will that take? No, martial law is not 'law and order' Over the weekend we saw distressing images of protesters in Portland being plucked off the street by unidentifiable masked men. Trump applauded those tactics at the White House Monday and said they're on the way to other cities run, he said, by "liberal Democrats." That's the President targeting cities run by his political opponents with a militarized police force. That's not normal. That shouldn't be normal. It's clear his view of "law and order" is more like "martial law." Read more here. This story was first published on CNN.com, "The surgeon general is begging you to wear a mask. Trump finally agrees." President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered kind words to Ghislaine Maxwell, the British socialite criminally charged with procuring underage girls to be sexually abused by the late investor Jeffrey Epstein. "I just wish her well, frankly," Trump said of Maxwell, during a White House press conference on the coronavirus pandemic. Maxwell, 58, last week was ordered held without bail in the case, where she is also charged with perjury. One of her accusers was just 14 years old at the time that Epstein allegedly sexually abused her in the mid-1990s. Trump's offer of well wishes to Maxwell came after a reporter asked him if "you feel that she's going to turn in powerful men?" Maxwell and Epstein had socialized with many well-known people, including Trump and Britain's Prince Andrew, as well as former President Bill Clinton. When Epstein was arrested last July on child sex-trafficking charges, there was speculation that he would inform authorities about possible sexual misconduct by others. He died from what was ruled a jailhouse suicide a month later. "I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, [Florida,] and I guess they lived in Palm Beach," Trump said of Maxwell and Epstein, who was a former friend of Trump's. "Dr. Fauci at the beginning said, 'This will pass. Don't worry about it. This will pass.' He was wrong." "Dr. Fauci told me not to ban China, it would be a big mistake. I did it over and above his recommendation. Dr. Fauci then said, 'You saved tens of thousands of lives' - more than that." "Look, Dr. Fauci said, 'Don't wear a mask.' " - President Trump, in an interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News, July 19, 2020 - - - Over and over, the president has the same three complaints about Anthony Fauci, the renowned director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. The three items of dispute all appeared in the Chris Wallace interview, but they have popped up in various interviews since April. As one would expect, Trump's memory is faulty. Here's a guide to his gripes. - 'Dr. Fauci at the beginning said, "This will pass." ' Trump often projects his insecurities, and one of his biggest political problems now is that many Americans believe he did not take the emergence of the coronavirus seriously. For weeks in January, February and half of March, Trump played down the threat of the new virus, insisting it would disappear on its own. Fauci never said anything like "This will pass." He spoke as a scientist, evaluating the data in front of him. From the start, he warned of the need to be vigilant. On Jan. 20, Fauci told CNN: "It really is an evolving situation, and we have to be prepared for the worst. I mean, I don't think there is cause for panic on anyone's part, but we certainly need to be following it and watching this very carefully." A month later, on Feb. 22, he also told CNN, "If this evolves into a pandemic, there's no way we in the United States are going to escape having more infections in this country." On Feb. 29, on the "Today" show, Fauci was asked whether daily routines should be changed. "Right now, at this moment, there's no need to change anything that you're doing on a day-by-day basis. Right now the risk is still low, but this could change," he responded. "When you start to see community spread, this could change and force you to become much more attentive to doing things that would protect you from spread." He added: "I mean, this could be a major outbreak. I hope not. Or it could be something that's reasonably well controlled." Later that same day at a news conference, Fauci noted: "When you have cases throughout the world, the way we're seeing now - South Korea, Italy, Iran and places like that - the United States cannot be completely immune to that. The challenge is how we deal with it." In May, as Trump pressed states to reopen faster, Fauci warned of "needless suffering and death" if states failed to stick to federal guidelines. "If we skip over the checkpoints in the guidelines . . . then we risk the danger of multiple outbreaks throughout the country," Fauci said. "This will not only result in needless suffering and death but would actually set us back on our quest to return to normal." In other words, Fauci never said "Don't worry about it." That was Trump himself: Feb. 10: "Now, the virus that we're talking about having to do - you know, a lot of people think that goes away in April with the heat - as the heat comes in. Typically, that will go away in April." Feb. 27: "It's going to disappear. One day - it's like a miracle - it will disappear." July 1: "I think we are going to be very good with the coronavirus. I think that, at some point, that's going to sort of just disappear." - 'Dr. Fauci told me not to ban China' Here, Trump takes a little factoid and spins it into a mistruth. We're not sure exactly what Fauci might have said to Trump, but he did initially express public skepticism about the effectiveness of travel restrictions. "That would create a lot of disruption economically and otherwise and it wouldn't necessarily have a positive effect," Fauci told S&P Global Market Intelligence in a report published Jan. 24. On Jan. 31, Trump announced that, effective Feb. 2, non-U.S. citizens were barred from traveling from China, but there were 11 exceptions. Meanwhile, U.S. citizens and permanent residents could still travel from China but were subject to screening and a possible 14-day quarantine. Trump's action did not take place in a vacuum. Many airlines were canceling flights, and by our count, at least 38 countries took similar action before or at the same time the U.S. restrictions were put in place. But by the time of the announcement, Fauci was a supporter of the idea. "These were the uniform recommendations of the career public health officials here at HHS," Health Secretary Alex Azar said shortly after the announcement. (The National Institutes of Health is part of the Department of Health and Human Services.) The New York Times reported that officials at the National Security Council and the Department of Homeland Security initially pressed for travel restrictions. Once the public health officials, including Fauci, agreed to the idea on Jan. 30, the plan was brought to Trump in an Oval Office meeting: "Trump was skeptical, though he would later claim that everyone around him had been against the idea. The two countries were in delicate trade negotiations. Was this the time to provoke China? he asked. And what about the consequences on the economy?" Fauci publicly supported the travel restrictions - and similar action against many countries in Europe - though contrary to Trump's claim, he offered no calculation on how many lives were saved. In any case, it may have been too late. The New York Times calculated that at least 430,000 people arrived in the United States on direct flights from China since Jan. 1, including nearly 40,000 in the two months after Trump imposed restrictions. Screening was haphazard and inconsistent, according to the Associated Press: "When U.S. residents flying from mainland China arrived at U.S. airports, the system meant to flag and monitor them for the development of symptoms lost track of at least 1,600 people in just the first few days the ban went into effect, according to an internal state government email obtained by the AP." Meanwhile, a Washington Post examination found that Trump's abrupt decision to announce European travel restrictions led to one final viral infusion before the United States was forced to shut down, as thousands of Americans rushed to come home and were stuck for hours in crowded airport terminals. - 'Dr. Fauci said, "Don't wear a mask." ' Fauci did say this, as did other health experts in the U.S. government. He says he was motivated by early fears that N95 masks needed by hospital workers would quickly run out of stock. Once science indicated that the virus was spread by people who were asymptomatic, the guidance was updated, because even fabric masks can help halt the spread if everyone wears them. "I don't regret anything I said then because in the context of the time in which I said it, it was correct. We were told in our task force meetings that we have a serious problem with the lack of PPEs [personal protective equipment] and masks for the health providers who are putting themselves in harm's way every day to take care of sick people," he said in an interview with InStyle magazine. "When it became clear that the infection could be spread by asymptomatic carriers who don't know they're infected, that made it very clear that we had to strongly recommend masks," he said. "In the context of when we were not strongly recommending it, it was the correct thing. But our knowledge changed and our realization of the state of the outbreak changed." Here again, Trump appears to be projecting. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention changed its guidance on wearing masks on April 3. At the time of the announcement, Trump announced he would not be wearing a mask, stressing that the guidance was voluntary. For weeks, Trump suggested that people who wore masks were making a political statement against him. The Trump campaign even ran Facebook ads mocking former vice president Joe Biden for wearing a mask, complete with an image of a Chinese flag behind him. Trump at one point dismissed a reporter as being "politically correct" for wearing a mask. Only on July 20, more than three months after the announcement, did Trump suggest that wearing a mask could be seen as patriotic. - - - The Fact Checker is a verified signatory to the International Fact-Checking Network code of principles Success! An email has been sent to with a link to confirm list signup. By PTI WASHINGTON: Former US secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Tuesday blamed the Trump administration's "inconsistent" foreign policy for the current Chinese territorial aggression against its own people and neighbours, including India. Clinton, who lost to President Donald Trump in the 2016 elections, claimed that both Russia and China are benefitting from his weak foreign policy. However, the Trump administration has asserted that no administration in the past has been tougher on China than President Trump. "And if you're China, which is an easy jump to make, and you're looking at the chaos that the Trump administration has created in the world, while you're trying to assert yourself more, while you're cracking down internally on dissent, on the Uyghurs, setting up surveillance nation, trying to dominate the South China Sea, engaging in border skirmishes with India," she said. The troops of India and China are locked in a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead. China is also engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area. "All this other activity that we're watching with some concern coming out of China, well, Donald Trump is your biggest ally," Clinton said. "You know, his being president with his incoherent, inconsistent foreign policy has given you a tremendous opportunity," said the former top American diplomat. A day after Democratic party's presidential nominee Joe Biden warned that Russia, China, Iran and some other foreign players are working to interfere in the US presidential elections, Clinton told MSNBC in an interview that she is glad that the former vice president and his campaign are speaking out about what they are learning from intelligence briefings. "It's very clear that Russia succeeded. They believe that they were able to influence the minds and even the votes of Americans, so why would they stop? They really want to pursue their agenda of dividing us, undermining trust within our country, electing, helping to elect someone favourable to their agenda," Clinton said. Clinton said she was happy that Biden, with all of his experience in foreign affairs from the Senate, was trying to warn the American people that what happened in 2016 and which she claimed was underway again. Clinton said the US needs to rebuild its alliances with its friends around the world who have been looking at America with confusion, with pity, with deep concern about what this means to the future of democracy and their relationships. "We're going to have to be very clear with adversaries like Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, that we are back in the business of diplomacy, tough-minded diplomacy, to try to deal with the vacuums that have been created by this administration," she said. Clinton said bringing America back in the business would take a lot of time and effort and intensive work. "But it can be done," she said. "I dare not think about what we would be left with if for some reason, Trump were to be re-elected, because then I think the damage to our institutions, to the rule of law, to America's unity and our role in the world would be much, much harder to repair," Clinton said in response to a question. Two private schools in North Platte have plans to open on schedule and as normally as possible, while following the COVID-19 directed health measures. North Platte Catholic Schools, which includes St. Patrick High School and McDaid Elementary and Our Redeemer Lutheran School are all looking forward to getting students back in the classroom. Kevin Dodson, Catholic schools superintendent, sent a letter to parents outlining the plans for fall semester. Were making no changes in our startup plan, Dodson said. Were bringing our teachers in on Aug. 13. The seventh graders come in early, on Aug. 17, and the rest of the grades will begin Aug. 18. We plan to start on time unless told otherwise, Dodson said. Our No. 1 priority is to have the doors open and the students in the classrooms. And throughout the day, we want to keep the operation as routine and as close to normal as possible. He said there would be a few changes in how the schools operate but they will try to keep those as limited as possible. MIDDLETOWN The chairman of the citys Republican Town Committee is offering an olive branch he hopes will appease residents and alumni of the former high school who are split on the renaming of the new middle school. William Wilson, a 1982 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, has proposed a plan to bring back the Wildcat mascot and maroon and gray school colors. It would lessen the blow of a name change to Beman Middle School, he said. The school colors currently are black and gold, and the mascot a ram. The idea is an effort to unite those for and against naming Woodrow Wilson Middle School after the Beman family, who were instrumental in Middletowns antislavery movement and participation in the Underground Railroad. There should be some kind of compromise that would maintain a sense of pride among graduates, Wilson said. The facility is named after President Woodrow Wilson, who lived in Middletown for two years and taught at Wesleyan University. The old high school was located across the street from the current construction site, a building that was turned into apartments. It was open from about 1930 to 1984, Wilson said. The new $87.35 million, state-of-the-art facility will incorporate sixth-graders from Keigwin Middle School with seventh- and eighth-graders who will attend the school at 1 Wildermans Way. No plans have been made yet for that building. Several residents spoke during the comment session of the Public Works & Facilities Commission meeting June 10. Six people in favor of the name change included a WWMS teacher and municipal historian Deborah Shapiro. Opposition was expressed by former councilwoman Hope Kasper, Claudia DeFrance and Tom DAquilla, Wilson said. He is frustrated at the lack of response from the Board of Education and naming committee about the proposal. We havent been offered anything, he said. The panel voted unanimously to send the matter to the Common Council, which is expected to vote on the resolution at its Aug. 3 meeting. The first public hearing before the council was in July. The council has sole authority to name all city property, according to the charter. Some say the cost of changing the mascot and colors would be expensive and unnecessary, Wilson said. He countered that by saying it will be equally as pricey to purchase new stationary, business cards, uniforms and other items. Were going to be stuck forever with the name. How is that being a good neighbor? he asked of those opposed to the matter. Were not trying to be difficult. A Facebook page for supporters of retaining the Wilson name has been set up, where many still are debating the notion. There are differing opinions in the group, DeFrance said. We are 100 percent behind the Beman name, Common Council Majority Leader Gene Nocera said Tuesday. The council was very very sympathetic to both sides, but we see this as a new school and not a return to the old name. Common Councilmen Ed Ford Jr., Minority Leader Phil Pessina and Ed McKeon are among those who support the Beman name. This is not an attempt to erase history, this is simply the refusal to give glorification and honor to a legacy of racism, Ford wrote in a July 9 letter to the Middletown Press. History should always be taught so we wont be bound to repeat it. However, it is unacceptable to preserve the name of a man on one of our schools, who, if he were alive today, wouldnt even want me to use the same bathroom as him, let alone sit on Middletowns council as a Black man. The graduates of Woodrow Wilson really enjoyed the impact the school had on their lives. Its great. But we have a very, very different population now, Pessina said. These young children Black, white, brown, whatever theyre going to be going into a brand-new school where they can learn about the Beman family. Jehiel Beman (1789-1858), Jesse Baldwin and Benjamin Douglas formed the Middletown Anti-Slavery Society in 1834. Beman was a minister at the AME Zion Church on Cross Street. I have said and written for many years that we should not be naming a school after an avowed racist. The Beman family is the perfect family for a lot of reasons. Historically, they have not been recognized in the way they should be, McKeon has said. Meanwhile, Nocera is pleased the project is on schedule, which is amazing considering all that has happened this year. Construction is expected to be complete by August 2021. He expects windows and the a huge hallway block, as well as drywall, to be installed by the end of summer. Wilson earlier proposed that a vote on the new name should be sent to referendum. First opposed to the Beman plan, Wilson later said he would agree to calling it Middletown Middle School. The naming committee and members of the public did consider the idea during the process, but it was rejected. Lisa Loomis, chairwoman of the Middletown Democratic Town Committee and Middle School Naming Committee, who has expressed her support of the resolution, did not return requests for comment Tuesday. Days after Delhi government schools showed an improved performance in the Central Board of Secondary Education (CBSE) classes 10 and 12 exams, deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia on Tuesday interacted with teachers from high-performing schools. As many as 20 Delhi government school teachers, who teach seven different subjects were called upon for a special interaction with Sisodia. The teachers were from high enrolment schools in nine Delhi districts that secured a 100% pass percentage in board exams. The meeting was held to understand their approach and strategies and emulate the same in other schools, government officials said. We will record the experience of our high-performing teachers in short videos and share them widely so that other teachers and students can also benefit, Sisodia said. Various factors, including increased concentration levels due to entrepreneurship classes and a stronger teacher-student connection, were stated as the reasons behind the improved performance of students. This year, Delhi government schools recorded a pass percentage of 97.8%a jump of three percentage points from last year. English is a foreign language for students; earlier they lacked interest in the subject and were stressed about it. Mindfulness [practiced during entrepreneurship classes] has helped a lot in easing stress and helping them concentrate better, said Poonam Arora, who teaches English at Sarvodaya Kanya Vidyalaya in Timarpur. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 20, 2020 / Silver Elephant Mining Corp. ("Silver Elephant" or the "Company") (TSX:ELEF)(OTCQX:SILEF)(Frankfurt:1P2) announces it has engaged Mercator Geological Services Limited ("Mercator") to prepare an updated Technical Report (the "Report") as defined under National Instrument 43-101 (NI 43-101) for the Pulacayo-Paca Project. The project is located in Bolivia, 107 km northeast of Sumitomo Corporation's San Cristobal silver mine, 210 km southwest of New Pacific Metals Corp.'s Silver Sand project, and 139 km north of Pan American Silver Corp.'s San Vicente silver mine. Between 2008 and 2017, there has been cumulative of 69,739 meters of drilling at Pulacayo and 18,160 meters of drilling at Paca. The Mineral Resource Estimate ("MRE") will function as an update to the Company's currently filed technical report dated October 20, 2017, taking into account changes in metal prices, the results from recent drilling campaigns in late 2019 and early 2020, and constraint optimization such as cut-off grades and strip ratios. The Report will include separate NI43-101 MRE's for both the Pulacayo and Paca mineral deposits that comply with the reporting guidelines of the CIM Definitions Standards for Mineral Resources and Reserves. The Company also reports that the national COVID-19 quarantine in Bolivia was lifted in late-June. While the Company has access to the Pulacayo Paca Project, restrictions remain within the nearest Town of Uyuni, which is still under quarantine. This limits the Company's ability to provide safe and adequate work environment for its team at this time. Silver Elephant will resume exploration activities at Pulacayo when it is safe and practical to do so. Separately, the Company reports that it expects to receive assay results later this month from 2 infill drill holes completed within the Pulacayo resource in February 2020. Story continues About Silver Elephant Silver Elephant is a premier silver mining company. The Company's goal is to enable shareholders to own as much silver in the ground as possible by sizing up Pulacayo and Triunfo and by acquiring more pre-production-stage silver deposits. SILVER ELEPHANT MINING CORP. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD "John Lee" Chairman For more information about Silver Elephant, please contact Investor Relations: +1.604.569.3661 ext. 101 ir@silverelephant.com www.silverelephant.com Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this news release, including statements which may contain words such as "expects", "anticipates", "intends", "plans", "believes", "estimates", or similar expressions, and statements related to matters which are not historical facts are forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Such forward-looking statements, which reflect management's expectations regarding Company's future growth, results of operations, performance, and business prospects and opportunities, are based on certain factors and assumptions and involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties which may cause the actual results, performance, or achievements to be materially different from future results, performance, or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These factors should be considered carefully, and readers should not place undue reliance on the Company's forward-looking statements. The Company believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements contained in this news release and the documents incorporated by reference herein are reasonable, but no assurance can be given that these expectations will prove to be correct. In addition, although the Company has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual actions, events, or results to differ materially from those described in forward-looking statements, there may be other factors that cause actions, events, or results not to be as anticipated, estimated, or intended. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly release any future revisions to forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this news or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events, except as expressly required by law. SOURCE: Silver Elephant Mining Corp. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/597862/Silver-Elephant-to-Prepare-Independent-Pulacayo-Paca-Resource-Estimates--Expects-Pulacayo-Drill-Results-Shortly The men, Luis Lugo, 48, and Jorge Mancebo-Reyes, 22, collided sometime after nightfall near the Evers Marina in the Country Club neighborhood, a Police Department spokesman said on Tuesday. The collision threw the men into Eastchester Bay, a body of water between City Island and the Bronx mainland. The operator of a private boat pulled both from the water and rushed them to shore, the spokesman said. From there, they were then taken to Jacobi Medical Center, where they were pronounced dead, the spokesman said. Officers from the Police Departments Harbor Unit were still trying on Tuesday to determine what caused the deadly crash. There are several brands of jet ski, and the police did not identify which the men were riding. For many of New Yorks boating enthusiasts and for those who live near where the accident happened, the deaths of the men, whose families could not be reached for comment, were a tragic reminder of the safety concerns raised by the citys jet ski boom. People dont take their own safety as seriously as they really should, said Brian Orenstein, who owns a Hoboken, N.J., company that provides jet ski tours of New York City. They dont realize that this thousand-pound machine can remove your limb in half a second. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday gave a second stellar speech at the Karnataka Lingayat Education (KLE) Society in Belgaum, where he paid tribute teachers and took a jibe at century old families and parties in Indian national polity. PM Narendra Modi attended the valedictory function of the year-long centenary celebrations of the KLE society. Here are the live updates: #There is 'pain' here, but what is more is 'gain' for the country: PM Narendra Modi in Belgaum,Karnataka #Belgaum: Dishonest people be aware, Modi will not hesitate after Dec 30: PM #Demonetisation did not bother poor citizens, but only rich people, says Modi #This Government will never trouble innocent citizens & at the same time the Government wants to ensure those who are guilty are punished: PM #What was the news in 2012, 2013 and first half of 2014- the scams, the corruption...did you see their condition after 8th November: PM #Congress ke log keh rahe hain 1000/500 notes kyun band kardi? Aapne jab chawanni band ki thi, maine poocha tha?: PM Modi #Belgaum, Karnataka: PM Narendra Modi talks about Government's decision to scrap Rs 500/1000 notes, says Govt doesn't trouble honest people #Our universities are not among the top 100 in the world, 10 Govt and 10 private universities should resolve to do that, come forward:PM Modi #Can I ask you something? When Tokyo hosts Olympics in 2020, KLE would get some gold medals? I think you can: PM Modi in Belgaum #PM Modi once takes jibe at opposition leaders for comments against demonetisation #I Invite all students and government universities to take innitiative and bring India international recognition in Science: PM #All conncessions and scholarships will be provided to those who want to innovate: PM #Innovation is key to life, those who do not innovate fall back: PM # PM Modi asks youth: Can KLE win some gold medals for India in Tokyo Olympics in 2020? #Indian youth has took India from a nation of snake charmers to computer revolution #But within a few years, now Indian youth has transformed the world with its computer prowess: PM #100 years ago India was known as a country of snake charmers: PM #Parties and families do not survive for 100 years: PM Also read: Watch | PM Narendra Modi delivers powerful speech on black money, corruption in Goa: Top quotes For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. President Muhammadu Buhari is currently meeting with former President Goodluck Jonathan at the State House, Abuja. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the agenda of the meeting is unknown to journalists as at the time of filing this report. NAN, however, gathered that Mr Jonathan would update the president on his recent international assignment in Mali. Mr Jonathan headed the mediation team of Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) on Malis lingering political crisis. NAN also reports that Mr Jonathan may use the opportunity to condole with the president over the death of his friend, Ismaila Isa Funtua, who died of cardiac arrest on Monday night. READ ALSO: (NAN) (Alliance News) - Budget airline Ryanair Holdings PLC will shutter its base at Frankfurt Hahn Airport andA is considering doing the same in Berlin Tegel and Weeze Airport near the Dutch border, Ryanair division Malta Air said in an internal memo seen by dpa on Tuesday. The move comes after majority of German pilots voted against a proposed deal of savings including paycuts that Ryanair said were required because of disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic. "We must move on to deliver savings in other ways and adjust our German operations to tackle the unsustainable cost base at our German airports," the Malta Air memo said. German pilots union Vereinigung Cockpit said late Tuesday that as many as 170 pilots could be affected by the decision, adding that negotiations with the airline had not been concluded. The airline's British-based pilots acceptedA pay cuts of up to 20% on July 8, withA a similar deal announced in Ireland five days earlier. Last week Ryanair announcedA it would cut "up to 1,000 flights"A between Ireland and Britain during August and September, blamingA the Irish government for itsA requirement thatA arrivals self-isolate for 14 days. Described as Europe's largest airline, Ireland's Ryanair said in May that it would cut 3,000 jobs due to the pandemic, which has brought international travel to a near-standstill. The virus has infected almost 15 million people and killed over 610,000, according to official figures collated by Johns Hopkins University. source: dpa Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. WASHINGTON - Homeland Security officials said Monday that they are preparing to deploy federal agents to Chicago, and President Donald Trump threatened to send U.S. law enforcement personnel to other Democratic-led cities experiencing spates of crime as he defended his use of force in Portland, where agents have clashed nightly with protesters and made arrests from unmarked cars. Calling the unrest in Portland "worse than Afghanistan," Trump's rhetoric escalated tensions with Democratic mayors and governors who have criticized the presence of federal agents on U.S. streets, telling reporters at the White House that he would send forces into jurisdictions with or without the cooperation of their elected leaders. "We're looking at Chicago, too. We're looking New York," he said. "All run by very liberal Democrats. All run, really, by the radical left." "This is worse than anything anyone's ever seen," Trump continued. "And you know what? If Biden got in, that would be true for the country. The whole country would go to hell." With his poll numbers sinking amid widespread frustration at his response to the coronavirus pandemic, Trump has cast himself as a law-and-order strongman who will pacify U.S. communities roiled in recent months by spreading disease, the economic crisis and large street protests for racial justice. Three Department of Homeland Security officials said Monday the agency has been making preparations to deploy agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to Chicago, but the officials said operational details of the plan are not yet finalized. The officials, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the plans, said the agents, who are part of ICE's Homeland Security Investigations division, would not engage in immigration enforcement operations, and probably would assist with intelligence-gathering and targeting of the drug-trafficking groups and gangs driving the violence. Trump has mentioned New York and Philadelphia as two other cities where his administration is looking to send in federal agents, but two DHS officials said Chicago is the only city where their plans have advanced. The Chicago Tribune first reported on the plans Monday, and said up to 150 agents would be involved, but the DHS officials said the size of the HSI contingent remains in flux and would likely be smaller. DHS officials involved in the preparations also said the federal agents would be directed by the Department of Justice, and their assignment in Chicago would be very different from the standoff between federal forces and protesters in Portland, despite the president's attempts to link the two. On Sunday Trump lashed out at the Democratic officials in Oregon who have asked his administration to withdraw from Portland, saying the tactics of DHS agents was exacerbating the confrontation outside the federal courthouse where violent clashes have played out over the past several weeks. Border Patrol SWAT teams from the agency's BORTAC tactical unit have squared off against militant protesters including anarchists wielding fireworks, laser pointers and slingshots, among other improvised weapons. "The Radical Left Democrats, who totally control Biden, will destroy our Country as we know it," the president wrote Sunday in a tweet. "Unimaginably bad things would happen to America. Look at Portland, where the pols are just fine with 50 days of anarchy. We sent in help. Look at New York, Chicago, Philadelphia. NO!" Portland and Seattle are the only cities that have seen sustained clashes between militant protesters and authorities. Homeland Security officials sent BORTAC agents as well as ICE tactical officers to both cities in anticipation of clashes on the Fourth of July holiday, but the federal forces have mostly been withdrawn from Seattle. In Portland, they remain to defend the federal courthouse that has become a proxy for the Trump administration. The tactical teams are trained in riot control and mass demonstrations, but their field experience has mostly occurred along the border - where the Border Patrol has repelled migrant "caravans" with tear gas - and immigration jails where detainees sometimes riot. "These guys go up against the worst of worst along the southwest border, and their teams were built to have capability to do crowd controls and riots - that's part of their basic certification," said Ron Vitiello, the former Border Patrol chief and acting director of ICE until 2019. On the streets of Portland, they have been flummoxed by protesters and anarchist groups using tactics to disguise their identities and work in coordination to confuse agents, DHS officials said. One official said protesters over the weekend had arrived to the clashes armed with leaf blowers, using them to disperse tear gas and sent irritants back at federal agents. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Chicago's gun violence has long been a focus of Trump's ire, and he has repeatedly criticized law enforcement and city officials - sometimes by name - when invoking it. During the 2016 presidential campaign, he said police in the city needed to be "much tougher." Shortly after taking office, Trump said that the violence was "very easily fixable" and that officials there were "not doing the job." Trump tweeted early in his tenure that he would "send in the Feds!" even though there were a number of federal officials in Chicago working with task forces that included the city's police. City officials had said they welcomed more federal help prosecuting gun crimes. Trump's focus on Chicago has continued as bloodshed there has declined. Gun violence in Chicago surged in 2016 - with the city having its deadliest year in two decades - and homicides have declined in the years since. But this year has seen a dangerous reversal of those trends, with shootings and killings both rising. As of Monday morning, there had been 414 homicides, more than 1,600 shootings and more than 2,000 shooting victims this year, according to Chicago police data - all numbers significantly ahead of where they were at the same point last year. Some other major American cities were also seeing increases in homicides over last year, while reports of some other crimes had declined. Last month, Trump released a letter assailing state and city officials for the violence, describing them as having a "lack of leadership on this important issue." He also criticized local taxes on residents. In response, Mayor Lori Lightfoot, a Democrat, dismissed his comments in a statement posted on Twitter, saying the president was "using the victims of gun violence in our city to score cheap political points." Trump also mentioned Philadelphia on Monday, days after taking aim at Larry Krasner, the city's district attorney. Krasner is one of the most high-profile liberal prosecutors elected in recent years who have pledged to decline lower-level charges and change other criminal justice policies. Trump repeatedly criticized Krasner, and last week referred to places "appointing left-wing social justice prosecutors, like you have in Philadelphia." In a statement on Monday responding to Trump's suggestion that he could send more federal forces to Philadelphia, Krasner invoked his father and uncles who "served in World War II to fight fascism . . . so we would not have an American president brutalizing and kidnapping Americans for exercising their constitutional rights." Krasner also bluntly warned that federal officials could face prosecution. "Anyone, including federal law enforcement, who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people will face criminal charges from my office," Krasner said. "At trial, they will face a Philadelphia jury. It's the least we can do to honor those who fought fascism, including those who are fighting it even now." - - - The Washington Post's Devlin Barrett contributed to this report. The National Science Foundation recently awarded a Pennsylvania College of Technology graduate and Lebanon County native $500,000 in funding for academic and research endeavors. The foundation honored Gregory Ditzler with a Faculty Early Career Development Award. The agency said this is its most prestigious grant given to faculty in their first academic assignment. Ditzler is a University of Arizona assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering. He completed his undergraduate at Penn College before receiving his doctorate in electrical engineering at Drexel University. The press release said the funding will support his academic and research endeavors for the next five years. Ditzlers research focuses on machine learning, which he defines as the process of building mathematical models that can learn from data without being explicitly programmed, so the model will be able to make inferences when presented with new input. The NSF award will allow Ditzler to enhance his classes with additional research and collaborative learning opportunities. According to the release, Ditzlers Machine Learning and Data Analytics Group a mix of select undergraduate and graduate students will also benefit from the award. The group focuses on adversarial machine learning and its applications. The group hopes to devise methods to shield computer models from adversaries and apply them to cybersecurity data. The award also will fund a workshop for middle schoolers that will expose students to artificial intelligence through robots. Were targeting middle school because thats the time when you start thinking about what youre going to do for college, he said. My goal is to introduce them to engineering and hopefully woo them over enough to go toward engineering and STEM. The national organization said in the fact sheet that it disagreed with Ms. Sangers decision to speak to members of the Ku Klux Klan in 1926 as she tried to spread her message about birth control. It also condemned her support for policies to sterilize people who had disabilities that could not be treated; for banning immigrants with disabilities; and for placing so-called illiterates, paupers, unemployables, criminals, prostitutes, and dope fiends on farms and in open spaces as long as necessary for the strengthening and development of moral conduct. In a statement, the national organization said it supported the New York chapters decision to strike Ms. Sangers name from the clinic. There is no sign on the facility, but it had been identified both internally and publicly by Ms. Sangers name. It will now be known as the Manhattan Health Center. Planned Parenthood, like many other organizations that have existed for a century or more, is reckoning with our history, and working to address historical inequities to better serve patients and our mission, Melanie Roussell Newman, a spokeswoman for the group, said in the statement. Ms. Sanger still has defenders who say the decision to repudiate her lacks historical nuance. Ellen Chesler, a senior fellow at the Roosevelt Institute, a think tank, and the author of a biography of Ms. Sanger and the birth control movement, said that while the country is undergoing vast social change and reconsidering prominent figures from the past, Ms. Sangers views have been misinterpreted. The eugenics movement had wide support at the time in both conservative and liberal circles, Ms. Chesler said, and Ms. Sanger was squarely in the latter camp. She rejected some eugenicists belief that white middle-class families should have more children than others, Ms. Chesler said. His life spread laughter across the globe. His death brought tears to the Bay Area and beyond. The Chronicles front page from Aug. 12, 2014, covers the passing of beloved comedian and actor Robin Williams. Williams, the manic genius of comedy who rose from small clubs in San Francisco to become a worldwide television and film star, was found dead of an apparent suicide in his Tiburon home Monday, authorities said. He was 63, the story read. The news of Williams death spread quickly. It shocked and saddened the many fans who had seen him on the big screen, TV or just walking around the city. The irrepressible Robin Williams frenetic humor, pop-culture zingers, hilarious impressions and much-honored film career gained him international stature, but the Oscar-winning actors heart never strayed far from his adopted home of San Francisco, The Chronicles Peter Hartlaub, Leah Garchik and David Lewis wrote. Even as Williams ... was starring in such movies as Good Will Hunting, Dead Poets Society, Good Morning, Vietnam and The Fisher King, he did local gigs for everything from a Save the Old Spaghetti Factory! benefit in the 1980s to more recent appearances at Neil Youngs Bridge School benefit concerts. It was not unusual to see him around town, which he considered a very large asylum, they wrote. I can walk down the streets of San Francisco, he said in 2007, and here Im normal. See more front pages: Go to SFChronicle.com/covers to search a database of hundreds of Chronicle Covers articles that showcase the newspaper's history. More from the Archive The Vault Home of the San Francisco Chronicle's archive and more than 150 years of journalism covering the Bay Area and beyond. Chronicle Covers highlights one classic Chronicle newspaper page from our archive every day for 366 days. Library director Bill Van Niekerken and producers Kimberly Chua, Michelle Devera and Jillian Sullivan contributed to the project. Tim O'Rourke is the executive producer of SFChronicle.com. Email: torourke@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @TimothyORourke Chuck Blount /Staff Anyone in need of a warm meal can get one at Chunky's Burgers and More free of charge. The Callaghan Road fixture, known for creative eats like the "4 Horseman," is offering a hand to anyone who needs one with a 1/3-pound burger, fries and a drink, no questions asked, owner Joey Prado said. Illegal deforestation is a crime in Brazil and sustainable agriculture a priority, a government spokesperson said Large imports of soy and beef from Brazil to Europe have been produced in deforested lands, a study conducted by the journal Science found. The findings of the study suggest that the Brazilian government needs to come up with stringent environmental legislation and implement existing environmental laws. About 2% of properties in Amazon and Cerrado, Brazil, are responsible for 62% of all potentially illegal deforestation. Additionally, 20% of soy and 17% of beef exports from both these regions may be contaminated by deforestation, the research showed. According to The Guardian, the study distinguished between legal and illegal deforestation linked to the production of soy and beef by compiling a new set of land-use and deforestation maps from national online environmental registry and cattle transport permits. The study, however, also clarified that a vast majority of Brazilian agriculture output is sustainable and deforestation-free. It added that the government could ensure that the agriculture supply chain was more transparent and enforce clear policies on deforestation. It is not enough to claim to be the worlds most sustainable agriculture while a share of the sector fails to comply with the countrys own environmental laws, and supports the governments undoing of past environmental achievements, the researchers told The Guardian. Often, fines for deforestation are ignored or rarely enforced some environmentalists have said. A spokesperson for Brazils government told The Guardian, Illegal deforestation is a crime and fighting it is a priority for Brazil. The [paper] acknowledges that the vast majority of Brazilian agriculture output is sustainable and deforestation-free. Trade restrictions would not contribute to solve the problem and would rather harm hardworking families. Last year, the Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro came under heavy fire from the international communities for his inaction over the massive fires in the Amazon and other eco-sensitive regions. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Celine Cornu (Agence France-Presse) Naples, Italy Tue, July 21, 2020 08:08 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f83ee 2 Lifestyle Italy,Britain,fashion,Naples,neckties Free Film star Marcello Mastroianni, John F. Kennedy, even Prince Charles -- all have donned handmade ties from one shop in Naples so famed for its artisanal finery some devotees boast thousands. The painstaking needlework cannot be rushed, despite demand for E. Marinella ties usually far outstripping production. In Naples, the tiny shop near the sea remains much as it was when it opened in 1914, with its wood-framed windows, chandelier, and counter where the red, blue, polka dot or diamond-patterned ties are displayed. Maurizio Marinella, 64, who is the third generation to head up the company, says his family's success in the southern Italian city, which struggles with poverty and unemployment, was "a kind of miracle". "It all started in 20 square meters in Naples, where everything is a little more difficult than elsewhere," he told AFP. Maurizio's grandfather Eugenio wanted to create "a little corner of England in Naples" in this city with its view of Mount Vesuvius, offering men's shirts and accessories with fabrics shipped directly across the Channel. Little by little, however, the tie became Marinella's signature piece. Read also: Milan goes 'phygital' for first apres-lockdown fashion week 'Maniacal' care for detail The silk is still hand-printed in Macclesfield, England, and the ties themselves are sewn by hand in a workshop close to the boutique, which employs 20 seamstresses. Loyal customer Rudy Girardi has been frequenting the shop since his late teens and now boasts "thousands of Marinella ties", costing from between 130 to 215 euros. "The tie is fundamental," he says, as a sign of "respect", and he loves Marinella for its "maniacal care for every detail". He changes his ties several times a day, selecting a colorful one in the morning, something a little more institutional in the afternoon, and an elegant option for upmarket dinners. Each Marinella tie takes about 45 minutes to make, with ten steps in all, from cutting the silk to doing the stitching, and adding the loop and label. "It's precision work, comparable to that of a goldsmith. We work on half-millimetres," says Maria Rosaria Guarino, 60, who has worked for the company for 38 years. Customers can personalize the length, width or thickness of the ties. Every day, about 150 ties are produced. But the demand pre-coronavirus crisis was much higher -- as much as double or even triple. And in the three months leading up to Christmas, it could be "as high as 900 ties a day", Marinella said. The company had ruled out making more, however, saying it would compromise quality. "Each tie is a unique work of art", he says, admitting that "quality is almost an obsession" for him. Personalities from all over the world have donned the ties, including Chancellor Helmut Kohl -- a "giant for whom we made ties 65 centimeters longer than normal". Read also: Masks and social distancing at Dolce & Gabbana's first COVID-era catwalk 'Pamper them' Almost every day, Sunday included, from 6.30am, Marinella is at the shop to "welcome, pamper the customers, offer them coffee", in the pure Neapolitan tradition. While the brand had a turnover of 18 million euros in 2019, it is expected to suffer a "significant" drop this year because of the coronavirus epidemic, which forced the shop to close, stopped tourism and saw many formal events cancelled. The sector has suffered in general, even before the pandemic. Exports of ties, bow ties and neckties fell by 10 percent between 2015 and 2019, with Chinese products making up 46.5 percent of the market, compared to 13.6 percent for Italy, according to the International Trade Centre (ITC). Fads are to blame: youngsters have gone off ties, and some big firms and banks have made wearing one optional. "Fortunately, fashions are cyclical. Lately we've seen a bit of a shift away from street wear to classic fashion, where the tie is the cardinal point," notes 25-year-old Alessandro Marinella, who represents the company's fourth generation. He wants to shift the house's focus "towards a 'total look', including women's wear", a move begun a few years ago, so that the humble tie now represents less than half the company's turnover -- though all of its reputation. Topics : Italy Britain fashion Naples neckties The month after Donald Trumps inauguration, Yale historian Timothy Snyder published the bestselling book On Tyranny: Twenty Lessons From the Twentieth Century. It was part of a small flood of titles meant to help Americans find their bearings as the new president laid siege to liberal democracy. One of Snyders lessons was, Be wary of paramilitaries. He wrote, When the pro-leader paramilitary and the official police and military intermingle, the end has come. In 2017, the idea of unidentified agents in camouflage snatching leftists off the streets without warrants might have seemed like a febrile Resistance fantasy. Now its happening. According to a lawsuit filed Friday by Oregons attorney general, Ellen Rosenblum, federal agents have been using unmarked vehicles to drive around downtown Portland, detain protesters, and place them into the officers unmarked vehicles since at least last Tuesday. The protesters are neither arrested nor told why theyre being held. Theres no way to know the affiliation of all the agents theyve been wearing military fatigues with patches that just say Police but The Times reported that some of them are part of a Border Patrol group that normally is tasked with investigating drug smuggling organizations. The Trump administration has announced that it intends to send a similar force to other cities; on Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported on plans to deploy about 150 federal agents to Chicago. I dont need invitations by the state, Chad Wolf, acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security, said on Fox News on Monday, adding, Were going to do that whether they like us there or not. In Portland, we see what such an occupation looks like. Oregon Public Broadcasting reported on 29-year-old Mark Pettibone, who early last Wednesday was grabbed off the street by unidentified men, hustled into an unmarked minivan and taken to a holding cell in the federal courthouse. He was eventually released without learning who had abducted him. A federal agent shot 26-year-old Donavan La Bella in the head with an impact munition; he was hospitalized and needed reconstructive surgery. In a widely circulated video, a 53-year-old Navy veteran was pepper sprayed and beaten after approaching federal agents to ask them about their oaths to the Constitution, leaving him with two broken bones. Theres something particularly terrifying in the use of Border Patrol agents against American dissidents. After the attack on protesters near the White House last month, the military pushed back on Trumps attempts to turn it against the citizenry. Police officers in many cities are willing to brutalize demonstrators, but theyre under local control. U.S. Customs and Border Protection, however, is under federal authority, has leadership thats fanatically devoted to Trump and is saturated with far-right politics. It doesnt surprise me that Donald Trump picked CBP to be the ones to go over to Portland and do this, Rep. Joaquin Castro, D-Texas, told me. It has been a very problematic agency in terms of respecting human rights and in terms of respecting the law. It is true that CBP is not an extragovernmental militia, and so might not fit precisely into Snyders On Tyranny schema. But when I spoke to Snyder on Monday, he suggested the distinction isnt that significant. The state is allowed to use force, but the state is allowed to use force according to rules, he said. These agents, operating outside their normal roles, are by all appearances behaving lawlessly. Snyder pointed out that the history of autocracy offers several examples of border agents being used against regime enemies. This is a classic way that violence happens in authoritarian regimes, whether its Francos Spain or whether its the Russian Empire, Snyder said. The people who are getting used to committing violence on the border are then brought in to commit violence against people in the interior. Castro worries that since the agents are unidentified, far-right groups could easily masquerade as them to go after their enemies on the left. It becomes more likely the more that this tactic is used, he said. On Friday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi tweeted about whats happening in Portland: Trump and his storm troopers must be stopped. She didnt mention what Congress plans to do to stop them, but the House will soon vote on a homeland security appropriations bill. People outraged about the administrations police-state tactics should demand, at a minimum, that Congress hold up the departments funding until those tactics are halted. Through the Trump years, theres been a debate about whether the presidents authoritarianism is tempered by his incompetence. Those who think concern about fascism is overblown can cite several instances when the administration has been beaten back after overreaching. But all too often the White House has persevered, deforming American life until what once seemed like worst-case scenarios become the status quo. Trump has established that his allies, like Michael Flynn and Roger Stone, are above the law. What happens now will tell us how many of us are below it. Goldberg is an op-ed columnist for The New York Times. If the Supreme Court allows immunity from prosecution for the assets of Bhushan Power and Steel (BPSL), the lead bidder JSW Steel may rope in strategic investor, divesting 49 per cent stake in the bankrupt firm, to complete the deal despite the volatility in the market. JSW Steel had agreed to acquire BPSL for Rs 19,700 crore in the bankruptcy proceedings. Though JSW Steel had been adjudged as the winner for the BPSL assets in September 2019, the company failed to conclude the deal after Enforcement Directorate intervened. The central probe agency wanted to attach the assets as part of the pending corruption charges against erstwhile promoters, the Singal family. JSW will proceed with the acquisition if the Supreme Court grants protection for the BPSL assets under the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), the management stated earlier. ALSO READ: JSW Group to cut imports from China to zero in 2 years Bringing in strategic investors will reduce the liability of JSW Steel, especially when the market is choppy due to the coronavirus pandemic. According to a research report by Motilal Oswal, the acquisition will increase the debt of JSW Steel by Rs 3,000 crore. JSW Steel is expected to raise 70 per cent of the acquisition value as debt on the books of BPSL. Half of the Rs 6,000 crore equity will be contributed by JSW Steel, which in turn will hold 51 per cent stake. JSW Steel has already tied up with the banks for raising the debt in to a Special Purpose Vehicle (SPV). The steelmaker is keen to de-risk the acquisition as it has an expansion plan on cards. The company is also facing unprecedented challenges in the steel market. JSW Steel saw its net profit for financial year 2019-20 almost halved on account of coronavirus pandemic and subsequent lockdown. The Sajjan Jindal-led steelmaker saw its consolidated net profit decline by 48 per cent to Rs 3,919 crore. JSW Steel's acquisition of BPSL also faced another hurdle after Sanjay Singal, former chairman of the bankrupt firm, challenged the deal in the Supreme Court. JSW Steel's deal to acquire BPSL ran into rough weather earlier as the Enforcement Directorate (ED) seized the bankrupt firm's assets in connection with a money laundering probe against Singal. The major relief came for Jindal after the government in December 2019 amended the Insolvency and Bankruptcy Code (IBC), including protection of buyers from criminal proceedings against previous promoters of the bankrupt firm. It introduced Section 32A to the IBC, providing immunity to the new management. ALSO READ: Coronavirus impact: Moody's confirms JSW Steel's Ba2 ratings with negative outlook The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) had permitted JSW Steel to acquire the bankrupt firm on February 17 and granted it immunity from prosecution by the ED. JSW Steel's production capacity will increase to 21.5 million tonnes (MT) from 18 MT post the Rs 19,700 crore acquisition. The deal follows JSW-AION's buy of insolvent Monnet Ispat for Rs 3,700 crore. Monnet is run as a separate company, in which AION is the major promoter shareholder. JSW Steel plans to ramp up exports to 30 per cent of sales in this financial year, compared to 21 per cent in FY20 and 16 per cent in FY19 to compensate for weak demand in the domestic market. The company has cut the capital expenditure by Rs 6,000 crore for conserving cash. It scaled down the capex target for FY21 to Rs 9,000 crore - Rs 8,200 crore for expansion and Rs 800 crore for the mining - from the earlier guidance of Rs 15,000 crore. The company's net debt increased to Rs 53,500 crore from Rs 46,000 crore in the last financial year. The company has to repay a debt of Rs 13,900 crore in this financial year. Since the company has cash and cash equivalents of Rs 12,000 crore on books, the analysts see the repayments as a lesser burden. ALSO READ: JSW Steel cuts capex outlay for FY21 by 45% to Rs 9,000 crore Protesters pushed a federal officer off a man during a protest outside Hatfield Federal Courthouse in Portland, Oregon, on July 21. In this footage captured by Cory Elia, an officer can be seen being shoved off the individual by protesters, who then pull back. Elia claims that the officer was attempting to arrest a protester when the altercation took place, and said the federal officer was never struck by protesters just wrestled away from the one that he is attempting to arrest, he told Storyful. Storyful has not confirmed the circumstances of the altercation and is seeking comment on the incident from the Department of Homeland Security. Protests have been taking place in the city for over 50 days according to media reports. On July 20, Portlands police chief Chuck Lovell called for an end to the nightly violence. Credit: Cory Elia via Storyful Washington: Theyre the kind of scenes youd expect to see in a dystopian movie: military guards grabbing protesters from the streets and putting them into unmarked vehicles; a photojournalist getting shot 10 times with impact munition by federal agents; angry demonstrators storming a police union building and setting it on fire. Yet Portland, Oregon, is not meant to be a dystopian hellscape, but rather a laidback west coast city filled with friendly hipsters, microbreweries, and picturesque gardens. Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters on July 2. Credit:AP With just more than 100 days before the US election, the so-called City of Roses now finds itself at the centre of a political storm, as Donald Trump tries to assert himself as America's president of law and order. Federal troops were sent to Portland to crack down on protests - without the consent of local and state authorities - raising constitutional concerns. Then, on Monday, US time, the President threatened to expand the policy by sending federal agencies into other cities run by very liberal Democrats such as Chicago, New York, and Philadelphia. Yuki Okinaga Hayakawa Llewellyn, who came to symbolize one of America's darkest chapters, has died nearly eight decades after being shipped to a US internment camp during World War II. A 1942 photo of her sitting alone on a suitcase at a Los Angeles train station embodied the cruelty of the US policy of confining Japanese-Americans, who officials claimed were a war-time threat. More than 120,000 people like her were forced into camps throughout western states and Arkansas during the war, an act for which the US government later apologized and paid reparations. She died at the age of 80 in March, but her death was largely overshadowed by the coronavirus pandemic until a family friend contacted the Los Angeles Times. Yuki, looking lost and uncertain, was pictured as she and her mother, both US citizens, were en route to one of the barbed-wire ringed camps in California. There was no due process for deciding who would be confined, just a presidential order after Japanese forces attacked the US military installation at Pearl Harbor in December 1942. Yuki ended up in the notorious camp at Manzanar, a desolate site at the foot of the Sierra Nevada mountain range in California. She and her mother were among the first confined and last liberated from the site. Her family settled far away in the Midwest American city of Cleveland. She later attended university, was married and had a son, according to her obituary in The News Gazette. In India, AIIMS began Phase 1 of human trials of COVID-19 vaccines on Monday, results of which are expected in three months Few vehicles ply on roads after a total lockdown was imposed due to surge in the COVID-19 cases, in Kolhapur. PTI photo New Delhi: According to the Union Health Ministry, the case fatality rate in India continues to register a steady decline and has dropped to 2.46 per cent on Monday. Officials said India has one of the lowest case-fatality rates in the world In India, where daily rising COVID-19 numbers are a major cause of concern, AIIMS began Phase 1 of human trials of COVID-19 vaccines on Monday, results of which are expected in three months. Covid cases saw a new high on Tuesday as India's COVID-19 tally zoomed past 11 lakh cases with a whopping 37,148 new detections in one day. The total cases in India so far are now 11,55,191 while overall deaths are 28,084 out of which 587 were recorded in the last 24 hours. There are 4,02,529 active cases of the coronavirus infection currently in the country, while 7,24,577 people have recovered till now. Thus, 62.72 per cent people have recovered so far, it said. The total number of confirmed cases includes foreigners. This is the sixth consecutive day when COVID-19 cases increased by more than 30,000. Of the 587 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, 176 are from Maharashtra, 72 from Karnataka, 70 from Tamil Nadu, 54 from Andhra Pradesh, 46 from Uttar Pradesh, 35 each from West Bengal and Delhi, 20 from Gujarat, 17 from Madhya Pradesh and 10 from Jammu and Kashmir. Nine fatalities have been reported from Rajasthan, followed by eight in Punjab, seven in Telangana, six each in Haryana and Odisha, four in Jharkhand, three in Uttarakhand, two each in Tripura and Meghalaya, and one each in Assam, Goa, Chhattisgarh, Kerala and Puducherry. According to Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR), a cumulative total of 1,43,81,303 samples have been tested up to July 20 with 3,33,395 samples being tested on Monday. Of the total 28,084 deaths reported so far, Maharashtra accounted for the highest 12,030 fatalities followed by Delhi with 3,663 deaths, Tamil Nadu 2,551, Gujarat 2,162, Karnataka 1,403, Uttar Pradesh 1,192, West Bengal 1,147, Madhya Pradesh 738 and Andhra Pradesh 696. So far, 568 people have died of COVID-19 in Rajasthan, 422 in Telangana, 355 in Haryana, 262 in Punjab, 254 in Jammu and Kashmir, 217 in Bihar, 97 in Odisha, 58 in Assam, 55 in Uttarakhand, 53 in Jharkhand and 43 in Kerala. Puducherry has registered 29 deaths, Chhattisgarh 25, Goa 23, Chandigarh 12, Himachal Pradesh 11, Tripura seven, Meghalaya four, Arunachal Pradesh three, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and Ladakh have reported two fatalities each. The health ministry stressed that more than 70 per cent of the deaths occurred due to co-morbidities. Maharashtra has reported the highest number of cases at 3,18,695 followed by Tamil Nadu at 1,75,678, Delhi at 1,23,747, Karnataka at 67,420, Andhra Pradesh at 53,724, Uttar Pradesh at 51,160, Gujarat at 49,353 and Telangana at 46,274. The number of COVID-19 cases has gone up to 44,769 in West Bengal, 30,390 in Rajasthan, 27,646 in Bihar, 26,858 in Haryana, 25,382 in Assam and 23,310 in Madhya Pradesh. Odisha has reported 18,110 infections, Jammu and Kashmir 14,650, Kerala 13,274, while Punjab has 10,510 cases. A total of 5,756 people have been infected by the virus in Jharkhand, 5,561 in Chhattisgarh, 4,642 in Uttarakhand, 3,853 in Goa, 3,079 in Tripura, 2,092 in Puducherry, 1,925 in Manipur, 1,631 in Himachal Pradesh and 1,195 in Ladakh. Nagaland has recorded 1,021 COVID-19 cases, Arunachal Pradesh 790 Chandigarh 737 and Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu together have reported 684 cases. Meghalaya has reported 466 cases and Sikkim 305 cases. Mizoram has registered 297 infections so far, while Andaman and Nicobar Islands has recorded 207 cases. In view of rising cases, West Bengal has decided to follow Uttar Pradeshs strategy and announced complete lockdown for two days every week. Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, West Bengal, Assam, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Andhra Pradesh are the states that have reported 80% of the total new cases. Health Economist Riju M. John said such single-day spikes are a worrying trend and if this trend continues it can put severe pressure on hospital infrastructure and potentially increase the mortality rates. According to his calculations, the daily cases are expected to hit 60,000 to 65,000 by the second half of August. He added the daily growth rate of active cases has been growing steadily over the past two weeks and has now surpassed the growth of total cases. Another Economist Prof Shamika Ravi said active cases are now growing at the rate of 4.1% which means India will have 7.8 lakh active cases by August 6. Containment policy clearly failing in several states, she said while adding Bihar infection growth is much faster at 10% than all India 4.1% and the deaths are faster too 3.1 % compared to 2.4% all India. She said Bihar is not testing enough. A central team is in Bihar to monitor the situation and assist the state government in disease management. Delhi, which has shown an impressive recovery, now has a recovery rate close to 85 %, with active cases just 12 %. In Delhi, more than 50 % of all the infected persons are recovering in-home isolations. AIIMS Director Dr Randeep Guleria said certain areas of the city have hit their peak in Covid-19 cases while some areas are yet to reach the peak. He added that there is not much evidence of community transmission happening at the national level but there are hotspots in different cities where there is a spike of cases and it is very likely that local community transmission in those areas is happening. Thunberg was selected among 136 nominees from 46 countries for the first annual prize for her ability to "mobilize younger generations for the cause of climate change," Chair of the Grand Jury Prize Jorge Sampaio said in the winner's announcement. She received a separate award in May for her activism, and she donated all $100,000 of it to UNICEF to protect children from the COVID-19 pandemic. The charity that awarded her the prize, Denmark's Human Act foundation, matched her donation and launched a campaign to safeguard children's welfare during the pandemic. Thunberg was 15 when she first began holding climate strikes, and eventually, she mobilized thousands of young people across the world to skip school on Fridays to protest the climate crisis. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Riska Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 07:43 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f6260 1 Business Danareksa,equity-market,fundraising,JCI,pandemic Free Brokerage firm PT Danareksa Sekuritas has suggested that there is a huge potential for equity fundraising next year as it projects the economy to start recovering from the pandemic. Investment banking director Boumediene Sihombing said on July 16 that the firm expected the equity market to recover given that there were concerted efforts to battle the pandemic. There are opportunities for recovery in the development of vaccines and expedited health budget realization, he said during a webinar. Global and domestic pharmaceutical firms are currently working toward developing a vaccine for the coronavirus, which is expected to be ready for commercial use in 2021. Due to slower-than-expected budget disbursement caused in part by red tape, the Indonesian government will accelerate healthcare spending, including disbursing incentives to medical workers, by allowing regions to verify and directly decide who will receive incentives. The government has earmarked Rp 87.55 trillion (US$5.9 billion) from the state budget to strengthen the healthcare system, including Rp 65.8 trillion for COVID-19 management. The Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), the Indonesia Stock Exchange's (IDX) main gauge, has lost 19.82 percent of its value so far this year following a global stock market crash in March caused by investors concerns over the pandemics impacts on the global economy. According to market player projections, the JCI will likely end the year at between 5,000 and 5,500, a wide range that shows how difficult it has been to predict market movements as pandemic-related risks will likely continue to create volatility. The government expects the economy to shrink 0.4 percent this year under a worst-case scenario or grow 1 percent in a best-case scenario, with the economy tipped to contract 3.8 percent in the second quarter. It expects growth of between 4.5 percent and 5.5 percent next year. Boumediene is also upbeat on the markets prospects for initial public offerings (IPOs) in the second half of the year. He said companies that were engaged in the poultry, media, consumer, telecommunications and tower provider sectors could potentially enter the equity market earlier than companies in other sectors. They could gain an advantage by entering the market earlier than companies from other sectors because they still have good prospects due to their minimal exposure to the pandemics impact, he said. In regard to IPOs, the surge of new investors entering the bourse following the stock market crash in March is also expected to boost the market, according to Boumediene. The number of single investor identification (SID) numbers rose to 1.2 million as of May 29 from 1.11 million at the end of 2019, according to IDX data. This proves that companies shouldnt be worried about whether or not their IPOs will be absorbed by the market or not, IDX assessment director I Gede Nyoman Yetna said during the webinar. Given these conditions, he suggested that companies with their sights on an IPO start preparing themselves for the opportunity to seek funding in the countrys equity market. The bourse saw 28 IPOs launch up until June, the most among exchanges in Southeast Asia, according to consulting firm McKinsey & Co. A gifted school, funded by the Vietnamese Government, has just been put into use in Xiengkhouang province. (Photo: NDO) According to the Laos-Vietnam Cooperation Committee, local authorities in some northern Lao provinces are requesting the Government to allow Vietnamese workers and experts to enter Laos so that some Vietnam's aid to Laos projects can be completed soon. Due to COVID-19, Vietnamese workers are currently unable to return to Laos. On July 19th, Mr. Khamphoi Keokinnaly, Lao Deputy Minister of Planning and Investment, and Standing Deputy President of the Laos-Vietnam Cooperation Committee, said some of Vietnam's aid projects in Laos Houaphanh and Xiengkhouang provinces are going to be completed; however, the construction must be temporarily stopped in the absence of Vietnamese experts and labourers. Talking about the progress of the construction project of the Houaphanh Friendship Hospital, Mr. Khamphoi Keokinnaly said that the project had entered the second phase with electricity, water system and medical equipment being installed, while the construction of the Xiengkhouang Friendship Hospital is waiting for only medical equipment installation to be put into use. Assessing the progress of the projects, Mr. Khamphoi Keokinnaly said that they could be completed by the end of this year or early next year, ready to provide healthcare for the two provinces residents. Apart from the Vietnamese Government's non-refundable aid projects for Laos, there are a number of projects invested by Vietnamese enterprises in these two provinces. Since 2011, Vietnamese enterprises have invested USD83 million in Xiengkhouang, and USD64 million in Houaphanh province since 2006. These are two provinces of Laos bordering Vietnam, twinned with many localities and having many investment co-operation activities with enterprises from central Vietnam into Laos. Due to the negative consequences of COVID-19, a number of large projects funded by Vietnam as non-refundable aid, as well as investment projects of Vietnamese enterprises in Laos, are behind schedule, including the construction of the new National Assembly House of Laos in Vientiane, or the construction project of Nongkhang Airport in Houaphanh province./. Alex Trebek speaks during a rehearsal before a taping of Jeopardy! Power Players Week at DAR Constitution Hall on April 21, 2012 in Washington, DC. "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek says if his current treatment for Stage 4 pancreatic cancer doesn't work, he'll probably stop pursuing medical intervention. In his touching new memoir, "The Answer Is...Reflections on My Life," the Sudbury, Ont.-raised TV personality writes that "quality of life was an important consideration" in the decision. The seven-time Emmy Award winner says he and his wife, Jean Currivan, and their two children had "a good cry" when he told them. Trebek adds he's "lived a good, full life," knows he's nearing the end of it, and is "not afraid of dying." The 79-year-old, who lives in Los Angeles and turns 80 on Wednesday, announced his cancer diagnosis in March 2019 and has continued to work on "Jeopardy!" throughout his treatment. His new memoir looks back on his life and career, and gives up-to-date reflections on his health, the world, and the COVID-19 pandemic. The ever-poised quiz-show legend has kept viewers updated on his cancer treatment with social-media videos in which he's often on the "Jeopardy!" set wearing a suit and speaking in a positive tone. But in the book he admits there are moments when he regrets going public with his diagnosis, noting he feels "a lot of pressure to always be tough." Trebek, who is usually private about his personal life, writes about his vulnerable moments and the toll cancer has taken on his body. He says there are days when he's been "a basket case" before taping. But as soon as he gets onstage, "it all changes suddenly. I'm myself again. I feel good," he writes. "No matter how I feel before the show, when I get out there it's all forgotten because there's a show to be done. Work to do." Trebek writes about getting his affairs in order and talking to his doctor about hospice care. As for retirement, he says he knows there will come a time when he won't be able to host as well as the job demands. "Whenever it gets to that point, I'll walk away," he writes. "The Answer Is...Reflections on My Life" (Simon & Schuster) also has photos of Trebek as it runs down his upbringing with his younger sister Barbara and parents George Edward Terebeychuk and Lucille Lagace. His father was a Ukrainian immigrant and chef at a hotel, and his French-Canadian mother tended the house and spent about a year and a half in a sanatorium being treated for tuberculosis. They eventually separated. During and after his philosophy studies at the University of Ottawa, Trebek started announcing and hosting for CBC radio and TV, on programs including "Music Hop" and the quiz show "Reach for the Top." He eventually moved to Los Angeles, landing many hosting gigs on game shows including "The Wizard of Odds," "High Rollers" and "Battlestars." Trebek made his debut as "Jeopardy!" host in 1984 and has become a mainstay for weekday family viewing and a beloved figure in pop-culture, inspiring several impersonations of him that he addresses in the book. "Jeopardy!" fans will delight in Trebek's reflections on his favourite moments and contestants on the show, and his thoughts on whether certain strategies help in winning. Trebek also peppers the chapters with salty language, offering fun tidbits on his famous moustache and "expensive hairpiece." Each chapter title begins with "What Is..." in a nod to the "Jeopardy!" format, in which clues are presented in the form of answers and contestants have to say their guess in the form of a question. The final chapter breaks from the format with: "The Answer Is...Life." Trebek writes he'd like to be "remembered first of all as a good and loving husband and father," and for helping people perform at their best. "Because that was my job. That is what a host is supposed to do." I know weve had the pandemic, but life goes on, Hill said. All Im asking is: Where is the money? How was the money allocated? And the fact that the Illinois State Police needs help, Chicago police needs help, all of these individuals need help and its almost like theyre downgrading the situation and ignoring it, and I dont think they want to do that. The guidance, obtained by The Washington Post, is described as a job aid for personnel implementing an executive order that President Trump signed last month, targeting protesters who threatened to remove statues honoring Confederate officers and other people they consider racist. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The document refers to apparently ongoing intelligence activities, directing the guidance to personnel collecting and reporting on various activities in the context of elevated threats targeting monuments, memorials, and statues. Trump threatens to deploy federal forces to Chicago and other cities led by Democrats The guidance, first reported by the blog Lawfare, appears to authorize monitoring of social media posts as well as the use of public information sources to keep tabs on individuals or groups the department says may damage or destroy any public monument, memorial, or statue. The document makes no distinction as to types of monuments and doesnt state that they must be located on federal property. Personnel are told that they must be able to articulate why someone is a threat and cannot rely on hunches and intuitions, which are insufficient. Story continues below advertisement The document is unclassified and was issued by the departments Office of Intelligence and Analysis. DHS didnt respond to a phone call and email requesting comment. Advertisement Since its inception, DHS has played a limited role in protecting revered American symbols such as the Gateway Arch in St. Louis and the Statue of Liberty and always acts against terrorist attacks, not protests by American citizens, said Paul Rosenzweig, a senior policy official at the department during the George W. Bush administration. The new guidance is a complete misapplication of existing authorities to benefit the president, said Rosenzweig, now a senior fellow at R Street, a think tank. Trump is morphing DHS into his private little rogue, secret army. Story continues below advertisement The administrations deployment of DHS forces to police demonstrations and detain protesters in Portland, Ore., has drawn strong condemnation from officials in the state. Trump has portrayed the protesters as lawless radicals intent on damaging and destroying property. Advertisement Nothing in the intelligence document directs or allows the department to detain protesters. But it does say that DHS may collect information about individuals or groups, as well as their tactics, techniques, or procedures and refers to existing rules on what information can be collected. The existing rules do allow the department to use the least intrusive means to collect information about U.S. citizens, specifically physical surveillance, the use of mail covers, and the use of monitoring devices, which cannot be hidden and may include public information sources. Mail covers allow the government to record information on the outside of an envelope or parcel before its delivered. Story continues below advertisement Some of those collection rules are limited to U.S. citizens believed to be engaged in or preparing for espionage, other intelligence activities, sabotage, or assassination on behalf of a foreign power, organization, or person. Its not clear from the new guidance how that applies to Americans protesting monuments or peacefully exercising their rights to free speech and assembly. Advertisement The department is not authorized to conduct electronic surveillance such as wiretapping. But it can ask other federal agencies to do so, Rosenzweig said, principally the FBI. The document explicitly prohibits any intelligence activities for the sole purpose of monitoring activities protected by the First Amendment or for deterring free speech. It also spells out guidance for collecting information about threats of violence to law enforcement and other government personnel and facilities. Story continues below advertisement Any information the department collects on U.S. citizens must be discarded after 180 days if it doesnt further another appropriate government mission. But the information can be shared with a broad range of other groups, including within the federal government, as well as state and local organizations and private-sector groups engaged in law enforcement, counterterrorism and homeland security operations, the document states. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket from the Cape Cavernal Air Force Station in Florida, on July 20, lifting a South Korean military communications satellite into orbit. The launch involved two rocket stages, with the first falling away before successfully landing on a SpaceX vessel stationed in the Atlantic Ocean. The second stage propelled the South Korean Anasis 2 satellite into space. The launch also saw both of the rockets fairing pieces each reportedly worth around $6 million caught after the launch, according to a tweet from SpaceX CEO Elon Musk. Part of the SpaceX mission has been to create reusable rockets that make spaceflight cheaper. Credit: Port Canaveral via Storyful The United States Justice Department indicted two Chinese nationals for hacking defence contractors, COVID-19 researchers and hundreds of other victims worldwide, according to a court filing published on Tuesday. US authorities said the Chinese nationals, Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi, participated in a multi-year cyber-espionage campaign that stole weapons designs, drug information, software source code as well as targeting dissidents and Chinese opposition figures. Contact details for Li and Dong were not immediately available. The indictment did not name any companies, but officials said the investigation was triggered when the hackers broke into the Hanford Site, a decommissioned US nuclear production complex in eastern Washington state. China rejected the allegations on Wednesday, accusing the US of slander. The Chinese government is a staunch defender of cyber security, and has always opposed and cracked down on cyber attacks and cyber crime in all forms, foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a regular news briefing in the capital, Beijing. The indictment says Li and Dong stole terabytes of data from computers around the world, including in the US, Britain, Germany, Australia and Belgium. US Attorney William Hyslop said there are hundreds and hundreds of victims in the United States and worldwide. Li and Dong were one of the most prolific group of hackers weve investigated, said FBI Special Agent Raymond Duda, who heads the agencys Seattle field office. He said the pair was implicated in the theft of hundreds of millions of dollars in intellectual property. The document alleges that Li and Dong acted as contractors for Chinas Ministry of State Security, or MSS, a comparable agency to the US Central Intelligence Agency. The MSS, prosecutors said, supplied the hackers with information into critical software vulnerabilities to penetrate targets and collect intelligence. Among those targeted were Hong Kong protesters, the office of the Dalai Lama and a Chinese Christian non-profit. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said in a virtual news conference that the hackers occasionally worked for themselves, including a case in which Li allegedly tried to extort $15,000 in cryptocurrency from a victim. Demers said China had joined the shameful club of nations who provide a haven for cybercriminals in exchange for their services stealing intellectual property. One expert said the indictment showed the extremely high value that governments such as China placed on COVID-related research. It is a fundamental threat to all governments around the world and we expect information relating to treatments and vaccines to be targeted by multiple cyber-espionage sponsors, said Ben Read, a senior analyst at cybersecurity company FireEye. He noted that the Chinese government had long relied on contractors for its cyber-spying operations. Using these freelancers allows the government to access a wider array of talent, while also providing some deniability in conducting these operations, Read said. The indictment alleged the hackers operated from 2014 to 2020 and most recently attempted to steal cancer research. Camelina is still a relatively unknown product in Ireland, but it is highly-prized in many countries across the globe. Jack Rogers is trying hard to raise its profile here. "It's better known in Europe and the Middle East, where it's better known as Golden Pleasure," he says. "The seed is seen as a super-seed. "It's as close as you can get to something that's almost wild. There has been so little done to it, despite it being around for millennia. "It was found in a mummified body in Lake Constance in Switzerland. His last meal was camelina, so that shows how much they thought of it." Expand Close Pressing issue: Robbie Fitzsimons fills a bottle of Irish rapeseed oil in Newgrange Gold's headquarters in Crewbane, Slane, Co Meath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Pressing issue: Robbie Fitzsimons fills a bottle of Irish rapeseed oil in Newgrange Gold's headquarters in Crewbane, Slane, Co Meath One of those growing camelina for Jack is David Hobson, who runs a tillage farm in Warrenstown, Co Meath alongside his father, John. David says that although the crop is relatively low-yielding, it requires very little inputs and it is a low risk for diseases and pests, which makes it attractive to grow. "We've been growing oilseed rape since the 1980s. Camelina is another crop in the rotation that helps keep diseases, pests and weeds away, because you're using different active ingredients," he says. "It is a cheap crop to grow - we only spread 75kg of nitrogen on 20 acres, while it's only got one fungicide spray and no herbicide has been applied so far." According to David, the biggest cost when it comes to growing camelina is the seed, and this, he says, is still relatively cheap. It has a short growing period, usually sown in April and harvested in late July or early August. Expand Close High-tech: Jack Rogers (right) and David Hobson examine a grain cleaning and drying facility at Warrenstown farm in Drumree, Co Meath / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp High-tech: Jack Rogers (right) and David Hobson examine a grain cleaning and drying facility at Warrenstown farm in Drumree, Co Meath David is still learning about the best management of the crop and how to make more gains growing it. Camelina is grown in both Iran and Finland, which show how diverse it can be, he says. "We know it is very drought-resistant - it thrived in 2018 and this year. We sowed it in April and May, and it kept growing. It is not a fussy crop." David says camelina is ideal if you want to put something in the rotation before getting your land ready for winter wheat or winter barley. "The sowing rate was quite high this year, with too much seed going into the ground, which was a mistake but that worked out well for us," he says. "It meant the weeds were quite small, but it's a clean enough crop. "The biggest challenge is harvesting the crop. The seeds are tiny, so when you're harvesting it you're taking in all the trash as well, so that's why the cleaner is really handy, it gets rid of all the shells, stones, wheat seeds etc." Further, the Hobsons installed a drying and cleaning system in Warrenstown, where they process the seed for Jack, who then processes it further. Although Jack Rogers now runs the family business Newgrange Gold, pressing and selling cooking oils in Slane, Co Meath, it wasn't always the obvious career path for him to take. "I studied Agricultural Science in UCD before qualifying as a barrister but decided that the law wasn't for me," he says. Despite growing up in Dublin, he had a love for the countryside after his father John, a barrister and former attorney general, bought a farm near Slane, Co Meath in the early 1990s. The family spent most weekends and summers on the farm and initially his father kept a suckler herd, before growing oilseed rape; the initial intention was to use it as a biofuel but then decided it was better to use it as a cooking ingredient. Jack explains that they started off producing rapeseed oil and pressing it in 2010, using a production unit they built on the farm by two workers, Ian Downey and Tommy Gorman. They were then introduced to a more unusual crop. "Dad then came across camelina sativa through Michael Hoey of Country Crest [a big horticultural company]," Jack says. "They had a shed of it and we said we'd press it for them. So, we pressed it and put it in a bottle. We thought there would be something in it because of its high omega-3 content and there is a lot of vitamin E in it as well." Health benefits Jack is trying to grow the market for camelina. "The market for speciality oilseeds is growing, but it's coming from a small base. There are only four to five million people living in Ireland, which is tiny, and of those people, only 1pc of people will be interested in buying our product," he says. Camelina is a flowering plant, part of the brassicaceae family that also includes mustard and cabbage. According Jack, its oil is nutrient-dense, with 30 times more omega-3 than olive oil, while it also has high amounts of fatty acids, which are essential for heart health. "It has a stronger taste than most oils and works well with a bit of olive oil, or beetroot. I know people who will just take a teaspoon of it in the morning," he says. According to Jack, many consumers find it helpful in the treatment of conditions such as psoriasis or eczema. "Omega-3 is very important as it is great for fighting inflammation," he says. "A new study from the University of Eastern Finland shows that camelina sativa oil reduces the formation of fatty acid derivatives that may be harmful to cardiovascular health." Tillage Today, Jack and the family have outsourced the growing of crops for the business and despite the introduction of camelina, plain oilseed rape production still makes up over 90pc of the business - they produce around 120,000 litres a year. "We came to the conclusion we'd never be able to grow enough rape or camelina to keep up production, so we enlisted other farmers to grow it for us," Jack says. "We also ran into problems with our ground with weeds and were advised to sow grass in it for a number of years by an advisor, to give it break." In total, there are around 150-200 acres of oilseed rape, including camelina, grown for producing oil every year for the Rogers business, which, according to Jack, is yielding 300-500t of seed depending on the year. From a practical point of view, when it came to processing camelina, the crushing and pressing processes are the same as for rapeseed, but as it's a relatively unknown crop in Ireland, they are still learning about the best conditions for growing it. "While we are only selling 10,000l of camelina and other rapeseed infused oils at the moment on an annual basis, they are still important products for us as they are a premium product and help us expand our range of oils." Camelina is stocked by a number of restaurants, but Jack has had more success selling it to retail, with SuperValu and Tesco now stocking it nationwide. When it comes to the future Jack is keeping his feet on the ground. "Our number one goal is survival", he says. "I want to nail down what we're doing and make sure we get it right - you have to walk before you can run. I'm looking at getting involved in the export market, but selling as a private label under a recognised brand. We don't have the marketing budget to start selling under our own banner abroad." Pastor Greg Fairrington, the pastor of Destiny Christian Church in Sacramento told his congregants that he will defy official mandate by continuing to hold in-person services. "I believe my mandate as a pastor is to obey the word of God. Worship is a part of what we do together as a church corporately and we need to do this," the pastor shared in a video he posted on Facebook. "We are not going to allow the government to use data that is not supported factually to shut the church down," Farrington added. He worded his speech to encourage his congregants to not "live in fear" and to come out and defy the mandate with him as seen in a statement, "Our mandate is to obey the Word of God, and worship is a part of what we do as a church corporately," the church's statement read. "As we pull together as a community, we choose to live in faith over fear. Just like our currency states, our founders pledged, and our churches believe: In God We Trust." California reported 7,346 new coronavirus cases on July 13 totaling the state's coronavirus cases to 336,508 according to data from the state's health department. Respectively, California Governor, Gavin Newsom's announced his second shutdown on Monday. In a livestream church survive held earlier in July, the pastor told the congregants that he would run for governor if he gets enough support. "If we don't take a stand, all we're doing is kicking the can down the road and we will be having the same conversations in three weeks, six weeks, six months, or even a year from now," Pastor Farrington said. "We need to collectively take a stand and say, 'We are the church, and we have a biblical and First Amendment right to worship together,'" the pastor said to encourage his congregants to physically come out to service. Farrington reopened his church on May 31 after President Trump declared "houses of worship" as "essential" and threatened to override governors that didn't allow them to open. - Nicki Minaj fans have been pushing her to get her little one and she has finally revealed to be expectant - The rapper shared several photos of her baby bump photoshoot and she definitely looked closer to the due date - Nicki noted in one of the photos that she was overflowing with excitement and gratitude Our Manifesto: This is what YEN.com.gh believes in Nicki Minaj's fans will find it hard falling asleep tonight after their favourite rapper finally confirmed she was expectant. The loyal Berbies have been pushing their queen to get her mini-me and she has finally answered their prayers. READ ALSO: 15-year-old author and philanthropist from Ghana changes lives abroad Nicki Minaj with her hubby Kenneth Petty at a previous event Photo: Getty Source: UGC The female rapper shared several photos of her baby bump on Instagram which instantly went viral. The first photo was captioned "preggers" and was of Nicki posing kneeling down, smiling and showing off her huge baby bump. READ ALSO: Prof. Herbert Winful receives IEEE Photonics Society Quantum Electronics Award READ ALSO: Meet 27-year-old Francisca Oteng, the youngest MP in Ghana She also shared a second photo in which she was standing in a queen like pose and another one sitting down on a pink couch with the message of how excited she was. "Love. Marriage. Baby carriage. Overflowing with excitement and gratitude. Thank you all for the well wishes," she wrote. READ ALSO: 37-year-old doctor and husband win, among top 2020 doctors in Charlotte, US The Anaconda hitmaker seems to be a few weeks to her due date and many will be waiting for her to reveal the gender of her little angel. This comes after months of speculation regardng the hip-hop star being expectant. Thursday, May 12, saw Twitter light up with the burning question of if the 37-year-old rapper was indeed pregnant. READ ALSO: Young man lands huge job offer after asking social media to pray for him Hints were dropped after a fan asked Nicki how she was keeping herself busy and she responded saying she was having cravings for red meat. During a question and answer session with her followers, one asked if she was also experiencing vomiting in the morning and having to use the bathroom more often. Nicki replied that she fortunately was not throwing up, but she was nauseous and could not stop rushing to the washroom for a short call now and then. With everyone eager to find out, a fan asked if she would post a picture of her baby bump. Instantly replying, Nicki told fans that she would but the world "ain't ready yet" adding fans would have to wait for a couple of months for that special pic. Nicki's official DJ also let the cat out of the bag recently after asking her if he will still DJ at her baby shower while the two were holding an interview. In other news, Kanye West wants everyone who has a baby to get $1 million "or something in that range". Kanye was speaking at his first presidential campaign rally in North Charleston, South Carolina on Sunday, 19 July. Sunday was the last day before the state's deadline to file signatures as an independent candidate. The rapper spoke shortly after 5 pm at the Exquis Event Center rally. The rapper is going up against President Donald Trump and presidential hopeful Joe Biden in his quest to become the second black president in the US. Enjoy reading our stories? Download YEN's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Ghana news! Faces of Ghana: 2 brothers paving roads in Ghana with granite and cobblestones: Share your stories and news by getting interactive on our Facebook page! Source: YEN.com.gh One of the vaguest titles in Hollywood, a producer can be a writer, an investor, an idea man, a manager or all of the above. In film, the head producer is called the executive producer and is responsible for each and every phase of filmmaking: pre-production, production and post-production. In pre-production, the producer reads scripts and hears ideas from writers, directors and agents. After choosing an idea, the producer has to raise money to fund the project. One route is to get the backing of a major movie studio. Another is to go independent and seek funding from individual investors. Advertisement Now the producer has to hire a screenwriter, a director, production staff, casting directors, art directors, camera and lighting crews, and editors. It's the producer's job to make sure that the project stays within budget throughout production and post-production. A good producer not only makes good films, but makes money for the investors. Like most jobs in the film industry, producers work their way up. You might start as a production assistant or a script reader, learning how to spot a good idea and how to bring it to fruition. Or you can just leap right in and learn by trial and error, making small, low-budget films and working up to bigger ones. According to May 2020 numbers from the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the average annual salary for a film producer is $113,860. For the 23,680 producers and directors working in the Los Angeles area, that number jumps to $135,160. Remember, though, that producers seldom work on salary. Most take a cut of the film's earnings at the domestic and foreign box offices, plus from DVD sales, streaming video contracts and more. And those earnings move quickly into the millions. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rizki Fachriansyah (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, July 22, 2020 21:02 546 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406682c159 1 National COVID-19,COVID-19-vaccine,Sinovac,BioFarma,BPOM,pandemic,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,Padjajaran-University,Unpad,pharmaceutical-industry Free A potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by Chinese biopharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech is set to have its Phase III clinical trials in Bandung, West Java, the national COVID-19 task force revealed on Tuesday. Padjajaran University Medical School professor Kusnandi Rusmil said he hoped the vaccine could pass the third phase as early as next January. We are very optimistic. We expect the clinical trial to be completed in January with a total of 1,620 samples tested, he said in a press conference on Tuesday, following a meeting with President Joko Jokowi Widodo. Hopefully, it could be followed with immediate distribution by the Health Ministry. Read also: Potential COVID-19 vaccine arrives in Indonesia for clinical trial In the same press conference, Food and Drug Monitoring Agency (BPOM) head Penny Lukito said the current phase was crucial and could make or break the vaccine. This is the most important and advanced phase, meaning that we are close to actually producing the vaccine, she said, adding that the BPOM had ensured the validity of all testing protocols. State-owned pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma president director, Honesti Basyir, said the company expected to distribute 40 million doses of the vaccine per year as soon as the government authorized its widespread usage. We plan to expand it to 250 million doses per year, he said. According to the official government count, Indonesia has 88,214 confirmed COVID-19 cases with 4,239 deaths as of Monday. Category Select Category Apparel/Garments Textiles Fashion Technical Textiles Information Technology E-commerce Retail Corporate Association Press Release SubCategory Select Sub-Category The US State Department placed Chechen Republic leader Ramzan Kadyrov on its blacklist of human rights violators Monday for alleged torture, extrajudicial killings and other violations it said go back more than a decade. The department said Kadyrov, his spouse Medni Kadyrova, and his daughters Aishat Kadyrova and Karina Kadyrova, were designated under its Section 7031(c) sanctions, which bans them from travelling to the United States. "This designation is due to Kadyrov's involvement in gross violations of human rights in the Chechen Republic," said Secretary of State Mike Pompeo in a statement. The designation "serves to notify Mr Kadyrov that his involvement in gross violations of human rights has consequences, both for him and his family," said Pompeo. In response Kadyrov posted a picture of himself on his Telegram account wielding two machine guns with a taunt: "Pompeo, we accept the fight! From now it's going to get more interesting!" Separately on the social media platform VKontakte, he questioned why the new sanctions were applied to his wife and children. "What crimes have they committed, and what rights have they violated?" he said, calling the United States "schemers, liars and global provocateurs." The US move came two weeks after two Russians from Chechnya were arrested in Austria over the fatal shooting of a Chechen dissident blogger, Mamikhan Umarov, in Linz. Kadyrov blamed the murder on unspecified "foreign security services" who sought to make him look culpable. In January 2020 Chechen opposition leader Imran Aliev was found dead in a hotel room in the northern French city of Lille, stabbed 135 times. In February Tumso Abdurakhmanov, a blogger critical of Kadyrov, was attacked with a hammer in Sweden. Two Russian citizens were arrested for attempted murder. A loyal ally of President Vladimir Putin, Kadyrov has led Chechnya since 2007 and is widely seen as having carte blanche from Moscow to use heavy-handed tactics. He is accused by rights activists of crushing freedom of speech and overseeing harsh reprisals against opponents and the LGBT community. Kadyrov and several associates are already under economic sanctions set by the US Treasury. The State Department said they are concerned that Kadyrov "is now using the excuse of the coronavirus pandemic to inflict further human rights abuses on the people of the Chechen Republic." In Moscow a government spokesperson told local news agencies that Russia would react to Washington's action. "It will be difficult to mirror the move but we will think of something," she said. MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ Wasserstein is proud to announce its partnership with the Made for Google program. Made for Google-certified products go through a stringent certification process to ensure full compatibility with Google Nest devices. Thus far, three of Wassersteins products have successfully undergone this process: Adjustable Stand for Google Nest Hub Max, Lens Cover for Google Nest Hub Max and Adjustable Stand for Google Nest Hub. Wasserstein Accessories for Google Nest Hub Devices Wasserstein Accessories for Google Nest Hub Devices What is Made for Google? The Made for Google badge signifies that a product was designed and made by one of Googles leading product partners. Made for Google products are Google device-compatible and the majority of them are accessories: cases for Pixel phones, chargers, headphones, etc. From design to development and testing, Google and partner manufacturers coordinate every step of the way. Only products that meet Googles standards receive a Made for Google badgecustomers looking for Google Nest device accessories are assured of the products compatibility and quality. Our companys roots run deeply with Google. We started out making accessories for the Dropcam, which was acquired by Google in 2014 and is the predecessor of the Nest Cam. So really, weve been making accessories for Google devices since way back. Weve been in talks with Google since November 2018, working out the details of the Made for Google program, how we can work together to delight our customers and how we can provide them with more thoughtful accessories. I am very excited that our teams hard work is slowly coming to fruition. Both Wasserstein and Google customers will now have access to our accessories at the time of new Google product launches. Thanks to the cooperation with the Made for Google team, we will be able to make great devices even better. Story continues Christopher Maiwald, Founder of Wasserstein About Wasserstein Wasserstein is a leading manufacturer of smart home devices and accessories. They design and manufacture a wide selection of thoughtful accessories for a variety of smart home systems: Google Nest, Ring, Arlo, Echo, and more. Wasserstein products are available in more than 50 countries, through their website and over 10 retailers, such as Amazon, Best Buy, Target, Home Depot, Lowes and many more. To learn more about Wasserstein, please visit: www.wasserstein-home.com Related Links : https://www.wasserstein-home.com The post Wasserstein Announces Partnership with Google appeared first on UNTV News. "With more than 25 states looking at this issue, Nebraska has an opportunity to be a leader in providing economic freedoms to college athletes," Hunt said in a statement following enactment of the bill. "Nebraska is the third state in the nation to enact name, image and likeness rights legislation," she said. "We are already leading on this issue, exemplified by the University of Nebraska, which is already at the forefront of providing a name, image and likeness program for all athletes," Hunt said. "By restoring college athletes' rights, we're sending a clear message to students across the country: You're welcome in Nebraska." University of Nebraska President Ted Carter said he was "very pleased" by enactment of the bill and praised Hunt for "working closely with the university" on the proposal. In other action, senators amended a bill (LB153) that would exempt 50% of military retirement benefits from the state income tax by delaying implementation from 2021 to 2022. The delay was prompted by the uncertainties of revenue flow triggered by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic. Magan Smith, Omaha Half-time approach is wrong The lead editorial in the July 14 Wall Street Journal came out in full support of reopening the schools this fall, offering these statistics: Thirty children under the age of 15 have died from COVID-19 in the U.S. versus, in a typical year, 190 from the flu, 436 from suicide, 635 from homicide and 4,114 from unintentional deaths such as drowning. And in Sweden, which kept schools open, only 20 children under age 20 0.6% of confirmed cases have been admitted to the ICU, and only one has died. These statistics contrast with the Omaha Public Schools decision to conduct classes on a half-time basis, largely because of the inability to practice adequate social distancing with full-time attendance due to school overcrowding. In terms of the science, it would be very helpful if the OPS decision-makers could provide evidence that social distancing has any impact on whether or not school-age children contract the virus, and if not, that therefore these children are at any risk of passing on the virus to others. Assuming such evidence does not exist, I implore these same decision-makers to declare that the OPS schools will be open for all students on a full-time basis. U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams speaks during the daily briefing of the White House Coronavirus Task Force in the James Brady Briefing Room April 10, 2020 at the White House in Washington. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) Surgeon General: Coronavirus Transmission Rate Should Determine School Reopening Plans The transmission rate of the CCP virus should dictate the decision to reopen schools, according to Surgeon General Jerome Adams, a member of the White House task force on the COVID-19 pandemic. What I want people to know is the biggest determinant of whether or not we can go back to school actually has little to nothing to do with the actual schools, Adams said Tuesday on CBS This Morning. Its your background transmission rate. He said people who wish to safely return to their regular life need to wear face coverings and practice social distancing. Weve seen in Norway, weve seen in Denmark that when they start with a low background transmission rate they were able to safely reopen schools with minimal to no transmission among young people, particularly people under the age of ten or twelve, Adam said. Adams noted that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has recommended strategies that schools can adopt when they reopen this fall, but again the most important thing is what we do outside of schools before we reopen to lower the transmission rate. We know the risk is low to the actual students. But we know they can transmit to others, he told CBS host Gayle King. We need to take measures to make sure we protect those who are vulnerable either because they are older or they have chronic medical conditions. According to Rt.live, a website that tracks and calculates the rate at which the virus is spreading, 12 U.S. states managed to maintain a transmission rate under 1.0 as of Tuesday morning, namely Utah, South Dakota, Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey, Arizona, New Hampshire, Delaware, South Carolina, Ohio, Washington, and Oregon. A transmission rate below 1.0 means it takes more than one infected person on average to infect one healthy person each day, indicating the spread of the disease is slowing. Adams remarks came as the CDC delayed the release of its school reopening guidance to the end of July. The CDC issued interim guidelines for schools in April, which have been frequently updated to provide new information. The latest version of the CDC guidelines recommend a host of practices for schools to reopen, such as that staff and older students wear face coverings when feasible, implement staggered arrival and drop-off schedules to reduce physical contact, install physical barriers to promote physical distancing, among many others. Vice President Michael Pence, who heads the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said last week he doesnt want the guidance to be used as a reason to keep schools closed. To be very clear, Pence said during a roundtable on school reopening, we dont want CDC guidance to be a reason why people dont reopen their schools. Were going to respect whatever decisions are made. We have long been dangerously slow to recognise, let alone resist, the undermining of liberal democracies by Russian President Vladimir Putins post-KGB thugocracy and Chinas more economically successful version of aggressive Leninism. I saw the Russian side of the problem up close when I was the European Unions commissioner for external affairs from 1999 to 2004. Too many European countries, led by Silvio Berlusconis Italy, thought that they could do business with Putin, and perhaps even turn him into a geostrategic ally. Meanwhile, Putin was presiding over a regime that sought to overturn the post-World War II international order and to fracture both the EU and the transatlantic alliance. Putins regime bullied neighbors, invaded other countries, and murdered its critics even on foreign soil. Moreover, Putin and his cronies understood very clearly liberal capitalisms weak spot: the greed of those who were usually already rich. Just consider how much of London property, businesses, and members of the political elite Russian money bought in the 1990s and the aughts of this century. And Russian cyberwarfare and money have recently distorted both American and British politics, the latter most egregiously during the 2016 Brexit referendum campaign. Until recently, the Chinese threat was less widely noticed. But since the novel coronavirus began its deadly global rampage, President Xi Jinping has led a bruising campaign around Asia and the world to impose his regimes interests on the rest of us. Asserting this plain truth does not amount to Sinophobia, as apologists for the ruling Communist Party of China want people to believe. The problem is the CPC itself, which currently has its most aggressive and hardline leaders since the Mao Zedong era. Xi expressed his hostility to liberal values in the instructions he issued to party, government, and military officials back in 2013. Hong Kong's former and final British colonial governor, Chris Patten Photo: Anthony Wallace/AFP/Getty Images His Communique on the Current State of the Ideological Sphere itemised everything, from press freedom to parliamentary democracy, that could undermine communist rule. Unhappily for Hong Kong, the city exemplifies most of the values that Xi hates. Despite Chinas promise to respect these values after it regained sovereignty over Hong Kong in 1997, Xi has now caged the territory with a rule of fear, maintained by what Winston Churchill called the odious apparatus of a police state. The great China scholar Perry Link has compared the CPCs control mechanism to the anaconda in the chandelier: at any moment it can drop and throttle you, but you never know when this will happen. The assault on Hong Kongs autonomy and rule of law, embodied in the hastily adopted security legislation that China imposed on the territory at the end of June, is only one of Xis recent transgressions. In the last few months, China has wielded its cosh from India to Australia, Canada to the South China Sea, and from Japan and Taiwan to Europe. Of course, some who live in the worlds free societies including the United Kingdom claim that this isnt happening, or that China is too important for us to stand up to it. The excuses for kowtowing come thick and fast. Because we cant change China from the outside, why bother to denounce human-rights abuses like the regimes eugenic barbarity toward Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang? Other CPC apologists warn us not to poke the Chinese dragon at a time of worldwide economic distress, because we need its market. And what about Britains own behavior toward China in the nineteenth century, or the other nasty regimes that we still do business with today? In fact, some of these useful idiots often seem to define our national interest by how much we accept its subordination to Chinas. But what will happen to the values that form the core of our political and cultural identity if we do not stand up for them? And is the UK still strong enough, on its own, to do so? Here, I cannot recommend strongly enough Anne Applebaums recent book Twilight of Democracy: The Failure of Politics and the Parting of Friends. Advancing her arguments with eloquence and personal testimony, Applebaum passionately decries the corrosion of liberal, open-society values in the last three decades. Her book is a practical reminder of what all democrats should have learned from reading Karl Poppers magisterial The Open Society and Its Enemies, itself written in liberal democracys darkest hours during WWII. By allowing Britains political identity to be subsumed in a narrow nostalgia for a nonexistent past an inward-looking worldview nurtured by a ragbag of social media paranoias many Brexit supporters have lost sight of the difference between right and wrong in world affairs. They have also cast aside our understanding that we need to work together with other liberal democracies to deal with bullies like China and Russia. We must unite to defend the values that made the second half of the twentieth century so much better than its blood-soaked first half. Liberal societies the United States under a president who believes in alliances, our EU allies, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, and our Asian friends, including India, Japan, and South Korea should be partners in defense of what we know is right. In another extraordinary essay in The Atlantic criticising senior US Republican Party politicians collaboration with a leader whom we know is wrong President Donald Trump Applebaum recalls the great Pole Wadysaw Bartoszewski. Imprisoned by both Nazis and Communists, Bartoszewski later served as foreign minister in two democratic Polish governments after the collapse of the Soviet Union. What had guided Bartoszewski through his brave and honorable life? It was not, he said, some big, abstract idea. It was a simple credo accessible to everyone: just try to be decent. That seems to me pretty good advice for all democrats. It may be especially useful to heed it in the turbulent times that lie ahead. - Chris Patten, the last British governor of Hong Kong and a former EU commissioner for external affairs, is Chancellor of the University of Oxford. Families of missing people are being urged to give DNA samples to try to solve hundreds of cases, some of which date back nearly 70 years to 1951. Gardai said 813 cases of people who disappeared in Ireland have not been closed. A national DNA database set up five years ago has been credited with bringing a number of long-term cases to a close. It relies on a DNA sample from a missing person's family. "The majority of persons reported missing return soon after their disappearance without suffering any harm," a spokeswoman for the garda Missing Persons Bureau said. Crime "A small percentage may come to harm or be the victim of crime. "An investigation will remain open until the missing person has been located, irrespective of the time passed." The unit has called on families to provide DNA. "Parents, siblings and children of missing persons can provide a DNA sample, which will be uploaded to the Missing Persons Database," the spokeswoman said. The database, managed by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), has been hailed as "one of the most important crime-fighting tools introduced within the state in recent times". Operation Runabay was launched in 2017 with the aim of collecting DNA to identify remains found along the west coast of Britain that may belong to people who went missing in Ireland. Last year, the operation helped solve the case of Conor Whooley (24), who disappeared from Dublin in August 1983. His remains were identified in a graveyard in Wales. In 2018, the database helped to identify five missing people, bringing "much-needed closure to their families and friends". The FSI developed new technology that helped it identify DNA from bones, including those recovered from water. This meant that bodies found years earlier, but which could not have DNA taken from them, could finally be identified. The body of Aengus 'Gussie' Shannon (20), who went missing from Limerick in 2000, was identified 18 years later. Bones were found in the Shannon in 2001, but it had been impossible to take a DNA sample from them until 2018. In November that year, the technology successfully identified the remains of two more long-term missing persons. Margaret Glennon, a 49-year-old mother-of-four, went missing from her home in Baldoyle in 1995. Remains discovered by a JCB operator in Malahide in 2014 were confirmed as hers in 2018, using new DNA technology. The disappearance of James Gallagher (18), from Cabra, who went missing in 1999, was also solved. It was confirmed that remains discovered in Dublin in 2002 were his. The FSI also worked with two police forces in 2018 to identify the remains of two other missing people. Beach A body found on a North Wales beach 33 years before was finally identified as that of Joseph Brendan Dowley (63), from Kilkenny, who was last seen boarding a ferry from Ireland to Britain in October 1985. Paul Shine-Dixon, a 28-year-old father-of-three from Finglas, went missing while on his way to meet his partner in Barcelona in 2009. He was travelling through Europe by train when he got off in the French city of Perpignan on May 2. His remains were discovered buried near a canal in Perpignan in 2018. Garda used the national DNA database to work with French authorities to identify his remains. In December 2018, the nat- ional forensic science lab used a National Missing Persons Day event at King's Inn in Dublin to collect DNA from families of missing people. Planning for an energy-rich future, illustration photo/ Shutterstock How do you estimate the potential of Vietnams renewable energy and what is the proportion of renewable and new energy sources in the future? Vietnam has good potential for developing renewable energy (RE). As per a study on wind energy potential research conducted by the German International Cooperation Agency in 2017, Vietnam has an onshore wind power potential of about 25-50 gigawatts. The potential for developing wind power in this country is much greater if taking into account offshore areas. In addition, many areas in Vietnam have an average solar potential ranging from 4.5-5.5 kilowatt hours per square metre. Studies evaluating the potential of renewable energies show that Vietnam could develop about 8,000 megawatts of small hydroelectricity, 20,000MW of wind power, 3,000MW of biomass power, and 35,000MW of solar power by 2030. The rate and structure of our countrys renewable energy source has been clearly determined. Up to now, the total capacity of renewable energy sources (biomass, wind, and solar power alone) accounts for 10 per cent of the total system capacity. However, electricity output only accounts for about 2 per cent of total electricity production. Among that, there are nine wind power projects connected to the grid with total capacity of 440MW in operation; 91 large-scale solar power projects with a capacity of about 4,500MW; and about 20,000 rooftop solar power systems with total capacity of about 300MW in operation. In order to promote maximum exploitation and use of domestic renewable energy sources, the government set targets for RE developments to also gradually increase the proportion of renewable energy in national energy production and consumption towards sustainable development. The Politburos Resolution No.55 NQ/TW dated February 11 on the countrys development strategy for energy over the next 10 years and with a vision towards 2045 sets high priority on fast and sustainable energy development, aiming to increase share of renewable energy sources in total primary energy production to 15-20 per cent by 2030, and 25-30 per cent by 2045. How is the current status of development and what will the MoIT do to promote private sector development in the power sector? Encouraging and creating favourable conditions for all economic sectors, especially the private sector, to participate in the development of the energy sector is a huge policy of the Party and the state. This sector has a significant contribution to make for the power sector. For example, build-operate-transfer projects are large and important ventures that have been invested in by non-state enterprises, contributing to reduce the burden on arranging capital for state-owned enterprises and ensuring power supply for socio-economic development. In recent years, the development of renewable energy has also grown strongly, attracting large capital sources by the private sector. In the coming time, the development of RE will grow even stronger. This means that it needs mechanisms and policies to encourage more private investment. From experience of attracting investment capital from non-state economic sectors, the most important policy is the price signal to attract private funding. When an investor sees a guaranteed price that recovers costs and is profitable, they will invest. Thus, the tax mechanism and policy to ensure the price signal is also a problem that the MoIT has recently studied and advised the government as well as proposed mechanisms and policies to develop renewable energy sources. Vietnam has developed renewable energy, mainly solar and wind power, through FiTs and it is suitable for all newly-developed countries, when the renewable energy market still has untapped potential. Currently, the price of renewable energy and technology changes quickly so the mechanism for fixed prices will only apply in the fixed period. As Vietnams RE market has matured, there will be appropriate mechanisms, such as bidding, to ensure competition, transparency, and fairness as well as efficiency for both the government, businesses, and residents. What are challenges and tasks for Vietnams RE development to ensure power security and a green path? Resolution 55 identified that the Vietnamese energy sector has developed quite strongly recently, but it still pointed out that it faces challenges to ensure energy security. One of the challenges is that Vietnam has become increasingly dependent on imported fuel. This change is going to impact the security of energy supply but can be reduced through increased energy efficiency and by exploiting domestic sources. Additionally, Vietnams industrial infrastructure is still limited. For example, in the current transmission grid, if we develop stronger renewable energy, it remains to be seen if Vietnams electricity transmission system can meet the requirements. Recognising these challenges, the MoIT has identified and proposed many solutions to ensure energy security and power supply. These solutions focus on ensuring energy projects to meet schedules as planned and supplementing the planning as well as mechanisms and policies to develop renewable energy to reduce dependence on imported fuels and protect the environment. In parallel with promoting renewable and clean energy sources, the MoIT has also implemented a series of solutions for efficient use of energy and promoting modern and reliable infrastructure for the energy industry. The overall planning will also include the energy sector, the planning of infrastructure, the national petroleum supply reserve, and the development strategy of Vietnams coal industry as it is necessary to amend the laws on electricity and petroleum, develop a law on renewable energy development, and complete the legal framework as well as formulate a planning strategy. Women who do not need pain relief during childbirth may be carriers of a key genetic variant that acts a natural epidural, say scientists at the University of Cambridge. In a study published today in the journal Cell Reports, the researchers explain how the variant limits the ability of nerve cells to send pain signals to the brain. Childbirth is widely recognised as a painful experience. However, every woman's experience of labour and birth is unique, and the level of discomfort and pain experienced during labour varies substantially between women. A collaboration between clinicians and scientists based at Addenbrooke's Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust (CUH), and the University of Cambridge sought to investigate why some mothers report less pain during labour. A group of women was recruited and characterised by the team led by Dr Michael Lee from the University's Division of Anaesthesia. All the women had carried their first-born to full term and did not request any pain relief during an uncomplicated vaginal delivery. Dr Lee and colleagues carried out a number of tests on the women, including applying heat and pressure to their arms and getting them to plunge their hands into icy water. Compared to a control group of women that experienced similar births, but were given pain relief, the test group showed higher pain thresholds for heat, cold and mechanical pressure, consistent with them not requesting pain relief during childbirth. The researchers found no differences in the emotional and cognitive abilities of either group, suggesting an intrinsic difference in their ability to detect pain. "It is unusual for women to not request gas and air, or epidural for pain relief during labour, particularly when delivering for the first time," said Dr Lee, joint first author. "When we tested these women, it was clear their pain threshold was generally much higher than it was for other women." Next, senior co-author, Professor Geoff Woods, and his colleagues at the Cambridge Institute for Medical Research sequenced the genetic code of both groups of women and found that those in the test group had a higher-than-expected prevalence of a rare variant of the gene KCNG4. It's estimated that one approximately 1 in 100 women carry this variant. KCNG4 provides the code for the production of a protein that forms part of a 'gate', controlling the electric signal that flows along our nerve cells. As the joint first author Dr Van Lu showed, sensitivity of this gatekeeper to electric signals that had the ability to open the gate and turn nerves on was reduced by the rare variant. This was confirmed in a study involving mice led by Dr Ewan St. John Smith from the Department of Pharmacology, who showed that the threshold at which the 'defective' gates open, and hence the nerve cell switches 'on', is higher - which may explain why women with this rare gene variant experience less pain during childbirth. Dr St. John Smith, senior co-author, explained: "The genetic variant that we found in women who feel less pain during childbirth leads to a 'defect' in the formation of the switch on the nerve cells. In fact, this defect acts like a natural epidural. It means it takes a much greater signal - in other words, stronger contractions during labour - to switch it on. This makes it less likely that pain signals can reach the brain." "Not only have we identified a genetic variant in a new player underlying different pain sensitivities," added senior co-author Professor Frank Reimann, "but we hope this can open avenues to the development of new drugs to manage pain." "This approach of studying individuals who show unexpected extremes of pain experience also may find wider application in other contexts, helping us understand how we experience pain and develop new drugs to treat it," said Professor David Menon, senior co-author. ### The research was support by the Addenbrooke's Charitable Trust, the National Institute for Health Research Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre, Wellcome Trust, Rosetrees Trust and the BBSRC. Reference Lee, M.C. et al (2020). Human labour pain is influenced by the voltage-gated potassium channel Kv6.4 subunit. Cell Reports; 21 July 2020; DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2020.107941 Ron Nichols knew when the 911 call came in last Monday that neither of his ambulance crews could respond. One just left for the long drive to Beaumont. The other sat at Houston Methodist Baytown, where he said crews might wait hours to check in patients. So the Chambers County emergency services director who planned to spend his day on conference calls and payroll instead rushed in his Tahoe to meet a supervisor who arrived with a third ambulance, which wasnt staffed because so many crew members were quarantined. Across the region, the rural health care system has been strained as the number of novel coronavirus cases has surged. Urban hospitals they relied on to take acute patients began to fill requiring creative, if not desperate, solutions from EMTs needing to offload patients and rural hospital staff needing to get patients to a higher level of care. At least one rural hospital was pushed to the brink. Matagorda Regional Medical Center at times was holding patients in the emergency room because its six ICU beds were full. One patient died waiting for a bed. Others devoted valuable resources to finding places for patients who needed care they could not provide. Sweeny Community Hospital emergency room staff spent between nine and 24 hours trying to find somewhere to send three recent noncoronavirus patients ultimately sending one 370 miles to San Angelo. A hospital in Anahuac made headlines transporting one patient 300 miles to Granbury and another 150 miles to El Campo. The hospital in Anahuac, Bayside Community Hospital, was among rural facilities that also took lower-need patients from Houston to free up space, a flow several said they had never seen before, highlighting the regionwide need for out-of-the-ordinary actions to meet rising demand. Were doing like everybody else is doing: trying to prepare for the worst and hoping for the best, said Steve Gularte, the hospitals CEO. The worst for us would be to hit our total census of 14 and have more patients arriving and nowhere to send them. The big hospitals too are having the same worry. What happens when we get full? *** Rural hospitals typically rely on urban hospitals to care for patients who have greater needs than they can accommodate, such as trauma, heart attacks or strokes. But the pandemic upended normal referral patterns, said Don McBeath, government relations director for the Texas Organization of Rural & Community Hospitals. The SouthEast Texas Regional Advisory Council, or SETRAC, stepped in to help. Typically the big city serves as the place to call for a rural hospital needing to transfer a patient, said Darrell Pile, SETRACs CEO. However, because we are well aware of capacity levels and ER saturations, we have been used to (assisting) rural hospitals who have exhausted their normal chain. Already, a handful of rural hospitals in the region consistently needed help placing patients, said Lori Upton, vice president for disaster preparedness and response for SETRAC. They turned to the organization as the last resort for assistance, Upton said. Texas Medical Center data on Monday showed the regular ICU bed capacity was full and additional ICU beds planned for the pandemic were being occupied. St. Lukes Health said in a statement that it was working closely with SETRAC to accommodate the communitys needs. Memorial Hermann said it was currently accepting patient transfers from a number of different hospitals across the region. Marc Boom, president and CEO of Houston Methodist, said that while the hospital had declined a couple of transfer requests from within the greater Houston region, the transfer process could be complicated even in normal times. We always work hard to do the best to service the greater Houston community but also the rural communities around us, he said. Obviously during a time when we have so many additional patients with COVID-19 its even more challenging. When ER staff in Baytown told 57-year-old David Hillyer he had blood clots in his lungs and needed to be hospitalized but said Methodist could not take him he told them, Get me in wherever you can. *** Small hospitals knew how to make do. Since 2010, 27 rural Texas hospitals have closed, said John Henderson, president and CEO of TORCH, which advocates for rural health issues, and many were operating with worn-out staff and thin financial margins as they entered the spike. At Matagorda Regional which has 30 general beds and six ICU beds hospital officials discharged enough patients to keep going every time they seemed to reach the breaking point, hospital spokesman Aaron Fox said. In Sweeny, the two nurses staffing six ER beds juggled the time it took to arrange the transfers with treating their other patients, CEO Kelly Park said. In Chambers County, Nichols sent supervisors to sit with patients on extra stretchers at hospitals so crews could return to responding to 911 calls. (A spokesperson for Houston Methodist said Monday the emergency department at Houston Methodist Baytown was not experiencing long delays.) Bradley Gates, a paramedic supervisor for Chambers County who called himself the air traffic controller for local EMS, helped determine where paramedics should take patients by checking hospital bed availability and talking to family members about where those open beds were. Relocation might mean hours of driving once a family member was released, so discussing alternate options with family members could be sensitive. We cant always go exactly where everybody wants to go, so its kind of a give-and-take a little bit, Gates said. As he talked, a loud bell went off in the background, notifying Gates that a truck was needed from his station. Jon Shapley, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer *** With the coronavirus, every patient is impacted differently, said Wick Webber, 31, a paramedic who grew up in Chambers County. Paramedics cant always predict how someone will respond, such as the Granbury patient who was stable and then suddenly started to decline. Because of that, dialogue between smaller and larger hospitals about which patients to transfer has been a benefit, said Nancy Dickey, executive director of the Texas A&M Rural and Community Health Institute. Gularte at Bayside Community said the hostpial usually transfers out about 17 of roughly 250 patients that come through its doors every month typically to Houston. So far, its beds have not filled up, allowing it also to take Houston-area patients. At TORCH, Henderson said hes gotten roughly two dozen calls from rural hospitals over the past week that were accepting recovering COVID-19 patients and others requiring less-intensive care from urban hospitals. El Campo Memorial took some 15 patients from the Houston area recently, said Nathan Tudor, CEO of the MidCoast Health System, which includes the hospital. Rural hospitals in general are always creative and always say we can do more with less because thats how we operate, Tudor said. We have to be really resourceful. On Monday afternoon at the hospital, three of four ICU beds were full with coronavirus patients when nurses heard a fourth COVID-19 patient needed an ICU bed. The small staff adjusted quickly, calling in another nurse to help and downgrading one ICU patient to keep a bed free. Another patient needed an oncologist something they couldnt provide and they got work finding her a bed in another hospital. No one sat idle. They were tired but the hospitals they called couldnt take her, so they kept calling until they found someone who could. Mark Mulligan contributed to this report. Emily Foxhall is the Texas Storyteller for the Houston Chronicle. Read her on our free site, chron.com, and on our subscriber site, HoustonChronicle.com. | emily.foxhall@chron.com | Twitter: emfoxhall New Zealand Ambassador Wendy Matthews (left) and Director General of the General Directorate of Vocational Education and TrainingTruong Anh Dung (right) at the signing ceremony The arrangement was signed between New Zealand Ambassador to Vietnam Wendy Matthews and Director General of the General Directorate of Vocational Education and Training under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Truong Anh Dung as a framework for the sharing of best practices in vocational training, qualification frameworks, and industry engagement. Under the arrangement, New Zealands G2G will contribute to Vietnam's workforce improvement efforts by facilitating partnerships between New Zealands government agencies, vocational institutions, and research institutes with the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training as well as other relevant agencies and institutions in Vietnam. Ambassador Wendy Matthews stated, New Zealands Qualification Framework, established in 1992, was one of the first comprehensive qualification frameworks in the world. We continue to ensure that the system incorporates improvements and innovations in order to make sure that our vocational training and qualification systems best respond to the needs of our evolving industries. New Zealand has retained its top global ranking in the English-speaking world as well as the Asia-Pacific region in the Economist Intelligence Units (EIU) Worldwide Educating for the Future Index 2019. Our high-quality education system and expertise in vocational training make us well placed to deliver more joint initiatives focused on improving the quality of Vietnam vocational education system so as to increase the competitiveness and productivity of the countrys workforce to meet global demands, said Wendy. Truong Anh Dung, director general of the Directorate of Vocational Education and Training, shared, Vietnams vocational education and training system has seen positive achievements over the past years. General public and businesses perception on the importance of vocational training has been improved. There are more people choosing to study at vocational institutions as graduates have a higher chance to get a job and stable income. In the context of the digital economy, the knowledge-led economy, the Fourth Industrial Revolution and international labour mobility trend, vocational training needs to speed up its renovation to improve training quality in order to meet the increasingly high demand for labour force. 2020 is an important milestone for New Zealand and Vietnam as the countries celebrate 45 years of friendship and diplomatic relations. People-to-people links, particularly in the area of education, have been the bedrock of the relationship and these links will continue to flourish when safe travel between our countries resumes. Violinist Vasko Vassilev had such a great reception last time he was in Majorca that hes coming back. His new show, Pasion Flamenca will be staged at Bellver Castle and features Guitarist, Carlos Llave, Percussionist, Juan Heredia and Victor Vallejo on piano and trumpet. The programme features works by Sarasate, Paco de Lucia, Piazzolla, Saint-Saens and Bizet and the even is being organised by the Associacio dAmics de la Musica of the Balearics. Vasko Vassilev was born in Sofia, Bulgaria, and started learning violin when he was just five years old. The Bulgarian Government sent him to the Moscow Conservatory to continue his training and from there he went on to the Guildhall School of Music and the Royal College of Music in London. Hes won a raft of prestigious violin competitions, including the Jacques Thibaud in Paris and the Paganini Competition in Genova. Vassilev has been the Concertmaster at the Royal Opera House in London since he was 23 and has been a regular guest Concertmaster at the London Symphony Orchestra, Philharmonia and London Philharmonic Orchestra and others. Hes performed in more than 20 countries and worked with musicians such as Placido Domingo, Sting, Ronnie Wood and Erasure during his career. Vasko Vassilev is the founder of the musical group Laureate and has had an extensive recording career. The concert takes place on Wednesday, August 5 with a show at 21.00. Tickets on sale at ticketib.com. First batch of Air Force pilot cadets flying JL-10 jet trainers graduate PLA Daily Source: China Military Online Editor: Wang Xinjuan 2020-07-20 21:11:31 By Li Min and Cao Fan BEIJING, July 20 -- The first batch of pilot cadets trained with JL-10, a new type of advanced jet trainer, all graduated with excellent performance from the Shijiazhuang Flight Academy under the PLA Air Force (PLAAF) in early July, qualified for the requirements of combat troops. It is reported that, on the basis of the PLAAF's new-generation training outline, the academy initiated the training program with JL-10, a new type of advanced jet trainer based on the third-generation fighter jet, in a bid to shorten the training period of pilot cadets and to promote their familiarization with the equipment in combat troops. After one year's training, the batch of pilot cadets have completed all the prescribed training subjects and achieved excellent examination results. Compared with predecessors, their per capita consumption of airborne ammunition has doubled under the same flight duration. Now, they have been assigned to the combat troops, and will carry out actual combat flight training after necessary adaptation training. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Fears of a second wave of Covid-19 in Britain this winter grew today after scientists warned a lull in the outbreak this summer could simply be a reprieve because the disease is milder in the warmer months. Scientists from around the world who have tracked the pandemic have found a 1C increase in temperature is linked to a 15 per cent decline in deaths caused by the coronavirus. Professor Tim Spector, a King's College London epidemiologist who runs the Covid Symptom Tracker app and led the study, said summer was a 'window of opportunity' to run the virus out of Europe. People appear to be less susceptible to severe disease when weather is warmer and more humid, he said, and more in danger when it's cold outside. This was a 'particular worry' for Britain because thousands of people are still getting infected every day and the end of summer is already approaching, Professor Spector said. Scientists have repeatedly warned about the dangers of cold weather returning with coronavirus still circulating, because many other viruses such as colds and flu are much worse in the winter months. Cells lining the airways are less resilient in the cold, experts say, and people spend more time indoors which increases the risk of the virus spreading because they are closer together and touch more of the same surfaces. Professor Tim Spector said summer could be an opportunity for Europe to stamp out Covid-19 and it was likely the virus would be more deadly in the winter if it is still circulating in cold weather (Pictured: Tourists on a beach in Benidorm, Spain on July 17) Mortality in people admitted in hospitals with Covid-19: Graphs show many patients admitted to hospital with the coronavirus died in two-week periods in the cities studied. Results show the odds of dying fell 4.1 per cent per day between March 2 and May 19 in Barcelona (top left). But no change was observed over a similar time frame in Zhenjiang in China (bottom left) between January 17 and 21 March Speaking on BBC Radio 4 this morning, Professor Spector said: 'In Europe, where we had seven hospitals recording data and temperatures and time, we saw that for every degree of centigrade increase we saw a reduction in mortality of about 15 per cent. 'So generally, as the weather got warmer the severity of the disease reduced and mortality reduced over time. 'And the same was not true in the Chinese data that we've got which was running from December to February when the temperature wasn't heating up.' Professor Spector also looked at data from 37,000 people using the app he is running in the UK, and found people appear to be having shorter, less severe illness now that the weather is warm. He worked with scientists around the world looking at data from nearly 7,000 patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in Croatia, Spain, Italy, Finland, Poland, Germany, the UK and China. While death rates and severe disease measured by intensive care admissions fell as Europe warmed up, they did not change in China where most cases happened in winter. The study found that the strongest association was found in Barcelona, Spain, where the odds of dying fell by 4.1 per cent per day between March 2 and May 19. Overall, the hospitals in Europe saw that the need for intensive care fell by 2.2 per cent per day between late February and late May. And the need for patients to be moved onto ventilators fell by 2.1 per cent per day. Meanwhile, no change had been observed over a similar time frame in Zhenjiang in China - between January 17 and 21 March. The researchers did not give a breakdown of exact numbers for how many people were being hospitalised and dying over time. They said the weakening of the disease appeared too big to be explained purely by better treatments. They also noted that hot, humid countries in East Asia which had seen outbreaks of Covid-19 had not had death tolls as devastating as those seen in cooler Europe. In Indonesia, for example, there have been 86,521 cases and 4,143 deaths a rate of 4.8 per cent, compared to a death rate of 15.4 per cent in the UK. In Singapore there have been 47,913 cases and 27 deaths (0.06 per cent), according to the World Health Organization, and in Japan 25,096 cases and 985 deaths (4 per cent). Spain's death rate has been 11 per cent, according to WHO data, and Italy's 14 per cent. This may have been because Asian countries were better prepared - they generally had faster testing and a better understanding of the disease because of the SARS outbreak 18 years ago - but researchers suspect the weather played a part, too. While temperatures do get high in Europe, it is generally a drier heat than in Asia, where the air is more humid. Daily ambient temperatures during the study period in Croatia (Zagreb), Spain, Italy (Bergamo, Milan), Finland (Helsinki), Poland (Warsaw), Germany (Coburg), the UK (Nottingham) and China (Zhenjiang). The solid black line is the average daily temperature. The red is the daily maximum and the blue line is the daily minimum Professor Spector also looked at data from 37,000 people using the app he is running in the UK, and found people appear to be having shorter (see left), less severe illness (see right, measured by number of symptoms reported) now that the weather is warm Professor Spector said: 'There's two things going on there's obviously the actual temperature and what's believed to be important is the humidity as well.' When asked if the hot weather of Europe's summer provided a chance for the continent to drive out Covid-19, he said: 'I think there is a window of opportunity to do that because of the temperature... 'But our symptom app is showing, as are the government data as well, that we've actually bottomed out about two weeks ago and the rates of decline stopped at the beginning of July. '[Infection] rates are even slightly higher non-significantly higher at the moment we're still having 2,000 cases roughly a day still occurring and this is rather worrying if these trends continue. 'It's likely that in a month's time the weather's going to start getting colder again and these cases are going to last longer and be more severe so this is a worry, particularly when we're talking about people going back into employment where there's air conditioning and things like this, which might have a big effect on how this virus behaves.' The paper by Professor Spector and other international experts has been published on the website medRxiv without review from independent scientists. Commenting on the findings, Professor Rowland Kao, the Sir Timothy OShea professor of veterinary epidemiology and data science at the University of Edinburgh, said: 'This paper has not yet been peer reviewed, and thus its conclusions should be viewed with the caution we would take with any preprint. 'Should its results hold, then this represents an important outcome namely, showing that in a variety of settings, there is strong evidence for an increase in severity of COVID-19.' He mentioned that the decline in death rates may be as a result of improved health care in hospitals over the past few months. Or, it could be because those who are most likely to catch the infection and die from it the elderly and people with pre-existing health conditions caught it earlier in the pandemic. Dr Simon Clarke, an associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said: 'We dont currently know whether Covid-19 cases have any association with the seasons,' noting that the US was currently experiencing rising cases despite warm temperatures. 'This study shows an association between temperature and severity of symptoms, but it does not demonstrate why that happens. It may be because low temperatures slow down the normal mucus clearing of infecting viruses in our nasal passages. 'If there is indeed a wave of infections in the UK this winter, it could coincide with the annual flu season, which itself puts significant stress on the NHS. 'We could experience a double-whammy of serious respiratory diseases, which could cause the NHS to grind to a halt.' BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Over the past 24 hours, Armenian armed forces have violated the ceasefire along the line of contact between Azerbaijani and Armenian troops 62 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. Greta Thunberg has said she will donate 100,000 (90,175) of prize money to help tackle the spread of Covid-19 in the Brazilian Amazon. The Swedish climate activist received the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity on Monday and was awarded a total of 1m. Thunberg, 17, immediately promised to use all of the prize money to support climate projects around the world through her Fridays for Future Foundation, with the first 100,000 going to SOS Amazonia, an organisation that protects the rights of Brazil indigenous people. The prize money, which is one million euros, that is more money than I can even begin to imagine, Thunberg said in a video posted on her Twitter page. But all the prize money will be donated through my foundation to different organisations and projects who are working to help people on the front lines, affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis, especially in the global south, Thunberg added. Also to help organisations and projects who are fighting for a sustainable world and who are fighting to defend nature and the natural world. Another 100,000 will be donated to the Stop Ecocide Foundation to support their work to make ecocide an international crime. Thunberg was awarded the Portuguese prize on Monday. Jorge Sampaio, chair of the prize jury, said Thunberg was given the award for the way she has been able to mobilise younger generations for the cause of climate change and her tenacious struggle to alter a status quo that persists. The teenage campaigner said she was extremely honoured to have been awarded the prize, adding: I hope that it will help me do more good in the world. Coronavirus continues to surge through Brazil. Health authorities there have reported 2 million cases and more than 80,000 deaths. The disease has been slowly spreading through Amazon territories. According to the New York Times, more than than 1,000 workers for Brazils indigenous health service, known as SESAI, have tested positive for the virus. At least 15,000 indigenous Brazilians have been infected with the novel disease, according to official figures. Two-thirds of infections have occurred in protected areas. A 4G-enabling analogue TV switch-off is almost complete in Cape Verde. According to TeleGeographys CommsUpdate, the government of the ten-island country, some 560 kilometres off the west coast of mainland Africa, has given the state-supported company Cabo Verde Broadcast (CVB) the go-ahead to switch off all analogue terrestrial TV services from August this year. This process, as in many other countries, is aimed at freeing up frequencies that can be used for 4G as the country works on upgrading and expanding LTE network services. There will also be a continuing transition from analogue to digital terrestrial TV (DTT), something that has been underway for some years and not just in Cape Verde. The switchover to digital terrestrial television (DTT) in the countries of sub-Saharan Africa began in 2015 and is expected to continue until at least this year. However, the roll-out of DTT differs from country to country. In Cape Verde the analogue TV switch-off will free up a chunk of 800MHz 4G spectrum. However, Cape Verdes incumbent mobile operators, CV Movel and Unitel T+, have already launched commercial 4G 1800MHz services. The award, by Cabo Verdes Multisectorial Regulatory Agency of the Economy (ARME), of commercial 4G LTE mobile licences to the two operators was announced late last year and followed about three months of network trials that began in June 2019 on the island of Sal, which, with about 34,000 inhabitants, is the fifth most populous island in Cape Verde. There have even been rumours that 5G is on the way, though, since ARMEs chairman Isaias Barreto was quoted as saying that Cabo Verde will conduct a 5G technology pilot experiment, there seem to have been no further details. Erminia De Angelis celebrated her 86th birthday July 13 with a drive-by birthday parade past her house, in the 4100 block of Pardee Avenue, and with socially distanced lawn visits. De Angelis, a mother of three, who has six grandchildren, is a past school secretary at both Pardee Elementary and Best Junior High schools in Dearborn Heights, and who is currently undergoing treatment for a blood cancer, was thrilled with the surprise, and her face mask undoubtedly hid a non-stop smile, if the sparkle of delight in her eyes was any indication. The event, which took place at 6 p.m. July 13, was organized by her oldest daughter, Tina Di Cesare, 64, of Lake Orion, whose husband Tony led the drive-by parade with his truck. As passersby enthusiastically honked their car horns, neighbors spilled out onto their porches to watch the enthusiastic parade of well-wishers. Her daughter Tina greeted each vehicle, handing out party favors from curbside in front of the decorated lawn. Her son-in-law Tony Di Cesare said she was well-known by many school children, now grown-up, whom she interacted with as a school secretary. They all loved her, he said. Her daughter Tonia Wernette, 57, of Clarkston, said they were able to keep the parade a surprise from her mother until she came outside onto her front lawn, at which time she asked what was going on. Wernette said they had a big party for their mother on her 80th birthday, but with her current battle with cancer, they did not want to pass up a chance to celebrate her birthday this year, so they adapted their celebration to comply with the pandemic precautions in place. So, this is like a really big deal, Wernette said. She was a school secretary, so everybody knows Mrs. D. She said her mother was like a surrogate parent for many of the students she served, and she has heard so many heartwarming stories over the years from people whose lives she touched. Wernette said her mother is also a phenomenal cook, who makes Italian dishes from scratch. We can our own tomatoes, we make our own pasta, she makes homemade pizza, she said. Wernette said the outpouring of love from the people in the drive-by parade had her all choked up. My mother never wants to show emotion, and to see that much love, and people doing that, is heartwarming, she said. She deserves it. Wernette said her mother is very passionate about everything she does. Whether it is getting involved in politics, helping out the community or making sure the family is together has always been her thing, she said. Wernette said her mothers faith was also important, and she was a lector at St. Albert the Great Catholic Church, 4855 Parker in Dearnborn Heights. Erminia De Angliss son, Roberto De Angelis, 61, of Pittsfield Township, said he was filled with joy by the volume of people who drove by to share birthday wishes with his mother. He said while it was kind of awkward for the three siblings to go to school where their mother was the secretary, she was like a mom to all the students, and everyone knew Mrs. D. Roberto De Angelis said his mother is know for her caring nature and her amazing cooking, and that she taught all of her children how to cook. Daughter-in-law Stacey De Angelis said her mother-in-law taught her how to cook all her Italian specialties when she became engaged to Roberto. She said, You need to learn how to cook, so you can feed my son,' Stacey De Angelis said. I took four months of cooking lessons, every Sunday. She said she probably makes the lasagna the most, and her mother-in-laws tomato-based sauce is amazing. When we were dating, I was skinny, and now she laughed, left the comment unfinished and smiled. Stacey Di Angelis said her mother-in-law is strong-willed and independent woman, who wants to stay in her own house instead of living with her adult children. Her daughter Tina Di Cesare said she is so glad she initiated a drive-by birthday parade. My mom just loves everybody in the area, and they all love her, she said. It was a nice turnout. She said she also encouraged friends and family to mail birthday cards to her mother, which were exciting for her to receive. She said before the drive-by parade, they encouraged her to sit out on the lawn, where they placed folding chairs for the immediate family, to allow for a socially distanced visit. Erminia De Angelis said she was totally surprised by the drive-by birthday parade. Its the biggest surprise of my life, she said. Ive never had anything like this, and now that I am dying, I think its the last good-bye. As a school secretary, she said she was like a second mom to her students. If they had a problem, they came to the office, and Mrs. D would fix it, Erminia De Angelis said. I enjoyed every day working with the kids at the school. St Marks Girls Sr Sec School, Meera Bagh, organises online MUN Amid the challenges confronting the entire world due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Model United Nations (MUN) Secretariat of St. Marks Girls Senior Secondary School, Meera Bagh, organised a two-day online MUN conference. The Secretariat comprised three Class 12 students namely Mehak Sharma, Diya Anand and Pritika Thukral. As many as 63 delegates from different schools across India participated in that conference, making it one of the largest e-debate platforms. During the event, the students played roles of delegates of different countries and caricaturists and defended the national policies of countries through their research and by portraying the current situation of the pandemic through the political cartoons. The proceeds from that event were donated to PM CARES Fund for the nations fight against the Covid-19. The MUN empowers students with knowledge and skills to solve global issues, and become leaders in their schools and societies. This pandemic is a global issue which requires strong leadership. Through the MUN, we can prepare todays students to be tomorrows leaders. There is no better time to do this than now. St Martins, Delhi Cantt, helps the needy St. Martins Diocesan School, Delhi Cantt, extended its helping hands to the underprivileged by giving them essential items With an aim to bring light to the lives of the poor and the needy in the times of the Covid-19 pandemic, St. Martins Diocesan School, Delhi Cantt, initiated an act of compassion and service with assistance from Delhi Cantt sub-divisional magistrate Piyush Arun Rohankar. The school extended its helping hands to the underprivileged by giving them essential food items and sanitizing kits among other things. Those things were distributed among the poor at school and selected quarantine centres. As the lockdown period extended and the days filled with gloom after the number of Covid-affected people rose around the world, the young Martiners imbibed the spirit of compassion and empathy of their school principal K Sudha. They came together to release their maiden music video from within their homes, striving to bring in rays of hope and love to the suffering world through their little venture. The Martiners continue to team up in various social outreach programmes to reach out to the needy. Virtual trip for pupils of DAV, Sreshtha Vihar It was an amazing opportunity for the students of Class 6 of DAV Public School, Sreshtha Vihar, to experience a virtual field trip to the elephant sanctuary located at Tennessee in the USA. Morgan Kaelin, the sanctuary coordinator, took the students for a virtual tour via a PowerPoint presentation and live camera coverage. Kaelin introduced the students to all the elephants living in the that sanctuary and discussed about their behaviour. Students enjoyed a lot and had many queries about elephants which were well answered by the coordinator. It was a wonderful session and students learnt a lot about the elephants and developed a sense of care and compassion towards the wildlife. Parent-teacher webinar conducted at Mount Olympus School, Gurugram Believing that guidance and care should never stop, the department of guidance and counselling of Mount Olympus School, Gurugram, planned a series of developmental workshops for all the stakeholders including teachers, students and parents. A parent-teacher webinar titled Together We Can was conducted. The webinar, which witnessed a participation of 80 parents and teachers, focused on a much pertinent topic i.e. building emotional resilience in children. The audience comprising parents and teachers was enthralled by the day-to-day real life examples cited by renowned neuro-clinical psychologist Dr Bhavana Chadha, founder of Adhyapann - The Skills Hub, New Delhi. Dr. Chadha facilitated the audience in introspecting their own behaviour as mentors before focusing on that of their children. She urged to work on the cause of the behaviour rather than the explicit behaviour itself. The neuro-clinical psychologist also laid emphasis on the urgent need of learning and teaching emotional regulation to ensure achievement, success and happiness in our lives. The parents and teachers acknowledged the valuable guidance provided by Dr. Chadha and appreciated the commitment of school principal Dr Neeti C Kaushik and the school for their commitment towards absolute well-being of each and every Mount Olympian, and for their putting in consistent efforts towards creating a positive school climate. They also appreciated the exclusive handholding by the school towards strengthening the parent child school connect. Cultural session held at BBMS, Sector 4, Gurugram Around 30 students were part of that knowledge-augmenting session To build culturally-enriched international camaraderie, a team of Blue Bells Model School (BBMS), Sector 4, Gurugram, organised a cross-cultural exchange session for the young global netizens on a virtual platform. The school collaborated with a language school Step By Step Sorjon, Macedonia, to bring together the students from India and Macedonia. Around 30 students were part of this knowledge-augmenting session. The students expressed their opinions and shared their experiences about the present scenario of the Covid-19. The students had a great learning experience while having fruitful conversations about a wide range of topics such as curricular & co-curricular activities, ways to maintain a positive outlook during the global pandemic and various other things like favourite books and habits. There was a special emphasis on learning the customs and routines of people from a completely different walk of life and nourishing mental health. Exchange of pedagogical practices was a mutual learning experience. The bond between students and facilitators showcased the happy learning environment. The students generated a realisation of kindness and respect being the universal languages understood by all. The session acted as a welcome break in these challenging times and motivated all to use this time in the most constructive manner. Doctors Day at GHPS, Punjabi Bagh Staff and students paid tribute to corona warriors The staff and students of Guru Harkishan Public School (GHPS), Punjabi Bagh, celebrated Doctors Day by expressing their gratitude to the doctors and health workers for all the care they take to make our life comfortable. Many staff members showed their reverence for selfless workers. Students made posters, wrote slogans, recited poems, delivered speeches and sang songs as a tribute to doctors, who are the frontline corona warriors. The school management and principal JK Ahluwalia hailed students for their overwhelming response and encouraged all to put in their efforts to show kindness during the pandemic crisis. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON One of the more useful features you can access through Assistant on Android and iOS is Google Lens translations. The tool allows you to snap a photo of something in the real world and let Lens transcribe the text into a language you can read. Google is now making that functionality available on KaiOS phones in India. KaiOS, if you need a refresher, is an operating system for feature phones that includes select Google services. As of last year, the software was running on more than 80 million devices globally. And by one estimate, it passed iOS in 2018 to become the second-most popular mobile operating system in India. The update adds a dedicated "Camera translate" button to KaiOS version of Assistant. By tapping the icon, Indian users can snap a photo of a product label, street sign or document, and Assistant will translate the text into English, Hindi, Bengali, Telugu, Marathi or Tamil. Support for two other languages -- Kannada and Gujarati -- is coming soon. Like its smartphone counterpart, Assistant on KaiOS can also read words out loud, as well as define them. "This is another step in our commitment to make language more accessible to everyone," Google said. "... we hope this will enable millions of KaiOS users across the country to have a more seamless language experience." Since its initial $22 million investment in KaiOS back in 2018, Google has worked with the company to make more of its marquee apps and services available on the platform. The move also comes on the heels of a separate expansion Google made into India. Last week, the company bought a $4.5 billion stake in Jio, the country's largest wireless carrier. The two said they would develop low-cost Android phones as part of the partnership. LEBANON, Pa. A former Pennsylvania lawmaker was sentenced to jail Tuesday for possession of child pornography in a case that prompted him to resign from the state Senate and plead guilty. Michael Folmer, a Republican who represented a district based in Lebanon County, got one to two years in the county jail and must register as a sex offender for 15 years. Im not mad at anyone but myself, Folmer, 64, told the judge, the Lebanon Daily News reported. "I understand that there are consequences for my actions. He pleaded guilty in February to three counts of possessing child pornography and one count of criminal use of a communications facility for having items on his cell phone. A prosecutor described them as images of nude children that depicted indecent contact, and said Folmer had cooperated when questioned. He was not classified as a violent sexual offender under state law. Attorney General Josh Shapiro, whose office handled the prosecution, said people who make laws are not above the law. "This was a public official whose constituents trusted to do whats right, but he failed. He engaged in the sexual exploitation of children, Shapiro said in a statement issued after the hearing. Investigators said the search of his cell phone was prompted by a tip from Tumblr, a blogging and social media platform. Tumblr sent a complaint in early 2019 to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children, saying a user had uploaded at least one image that contained suspected child pornography in December 2017, according to court papers filed by the Attorney Generals Office in September. Investigators traced the Tumblr account to Folmers email address and home address, they said. Folmers lawyer, Brian Perry, said Tuesday that Folmer has been undergoing counseling and treatment for sexual addiction. Folmer served in the Senate from 2007 to 2019. A Vietnam court on Tuesday condemned a man to death after he murdered his own mother, grandmother, and aunt last year, thinking they were robots. The Ho Chi Minh City Peoples Court handed down the capital punishment on Truong Tin, 30, who lives in Binh Tan District on Tuesday morning. Tin was a drug addict and has been rehabilitated for two times, according to court documents. He took drugs before going to work at a construction site at 6:00 pm on May 2, 2019. He returned home at 10:00 pm and made a noise so his mother, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Thuy, scolded him. The two had a row when Tins aunt, Nguyen Thi Ngoc Phung, who lives in the same house as him, came to rebuke the man. Infuriated, Tin broke many objects in the house and then took drugs again. His father, Truong Van Hanh, reported to police in Binh Tri Dong Ward, Binh Tan District after seeing Tin make a mess. Tin rushed to the kitchen to take two knives and went upstairs when high on drugs. Thuy held him back when seeing the man about to open the door of Phungs room. He broke out of Thuys arms and repeatedly slashed Nguyen Thi Ngoc Kieu, another aunt, who was standing in front of him to death. Thuy shouted, Its mom, Tin!, before he fatally stabbed her with both knives in hand. The intoxicated man went on to kill his grandmother, Le Thi Dieu, on the spot. Tin then got back to the construction site and threw the knives there before being arrested when he was drinking coffee with his friends. Tin pleaded guilty at the Ho Chi Minh City court. He killed the victims because he was hallucinated, thinking they were robots which were going to harm him, Tin said at his trial. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A nurse (R) draws blood from Professor Francois Venter (L) before receiving the experimental vaccine for COVID-19 coronavirus at the Respiratory & Meningeal Pathogens Research Unit (RMPRU) at Chris Hani Baragwanath Hospital in Soweto on July 14, 2020. Six senior clinicians in the Faculty of Health Sciences at Wits University have volunteered to participate in South Africas first COVID-19 vaccine trial. (Luca Sola / AFP) Seven months after COVID-19 was first identified in China and has since killed more than 600,000 people worldwide and battered economies, there is growing alarm over fresh outbreaks of the disease. Until recently, Africa had remained relatively unscathed by the pandemic compared to other parts of the world. But the situation has become increasingly worrying, particularly in South Africa, where the death toll passed 5,000 mark and the number of infections reached 350,000 at the weekend. The WHO's emergencies chief Michael Ryan told a virtual news conference in Geneva that the situation in South Africa could be seen as "a warning" for what the rest of the continent might have in store. "I am very concerned right now that we are beginning to see an acceleration of disease in Africa," he said. - 'Promising option' - Meanwhile, as European leaders in Brussels struggled to salvage a 750-billion-euro (860 billion dollar) coronavirus aid package for the EU, two studies published in The Lancet medical journal appeared to show progress towards a vaccine. One trial among more than 1,000 adults in Britain found that a vaccine induced "strong antibody and T cell immune responses" against the coronavirus. A separate trial in China involving more than 500 people showed most had developed widespread antibody immune response. "If our vaccine is effective it is a promising option as these types of vaccine can be manufactured at large scale," said co-author Sarah Gilbert from the University of Oxford. British biotech firm Synairgen also said on Monday a randomised trial of an aerosol-based treatment shows it could drastically reduce the number of new coronavirus patients dying of the disease or requiring intensive care. Europe has been the worst-hit continent by the pandemic with more than 200,000 deaths, but European Union leaders remain bitterly split on how to help member countries like Italy and Spain, which have suffered the highest death tolls. On a fourth day of a summit marked by furious rows between the 27 countries, EU Council chief Charles Michel said Monday he believed a deal was in reach. "I know that the last steps are always the most difficult, but I'm confident," Michel told reporters. - Trump U-turn on masks - In the United States, President Donald Trump, who for months refused to encourage mask wearing as a way to combat the novel coronavirus, tweeted a picture of himself with his face covered and touted his patriotism. "We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance," Trump wrote. "There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!" With close to 3.8 million cases and more than 140,000 deaths, US authorities are struggling to contain the surge, and Trump has been criticised for his response to the crisis. The United States - the worst-hit country in the world -- has recorded 60,000 new cases a day for more than a week. Brazil, the country with the second highest death toll, on Monday reached the grim milestone of 80,000 deaths. - New restrictions - Many countries in Europe had largely brought their outbreaks under control and were considering further easing of restrictions before fresh clusters were detected. Governments are struggling to balance public health concerns against the need to open up economies crippled by months of virus lockdowns. France has made face masks compulsory in public indoor spaces, Spain asked millions to stay at home again, while the German state of Bavaria said it would soon offer free virus tests at airports. Spain's Catalan regional government has urged residents of Barcelona and its suburbs to leave their homes only for essential tasks in a bid to slow a new outbreak. On Monday, Spain's southeast Murcia region also closed bars and clubs without terraces, limited group gatherings and restricted visits to retirement homes. French authorities have reported 400 to 500 active outbreak clusters but there are no signs of an imminent "second wave," Health Minister Olivier Veran said Monday. But an anti-mask demonstration in London on Sunday highlighted the challenge still facing governments and health experts, despite the mounting COVID-19 toll. Dozens gathered to protest the face mask requirement in England's shops and supermarkets, many of them holding banners with widely discredited conspiracy theories -- such as coronavirus prevention measures being used for "mind control". Despite the vocal and stubborn opposition to lockdowns and face masks in some parts of the world, they remain among the few options for authorities to control new outbreaks in the absence of a vaccine. There was grim evidence of how quickly the virus can spread over the weekend, with Iran's president saying an estimated 25 million people in the country have already been infected. The Rafales could begin combat operations by September-October, reports Ajai Shukla. IMAGE: The Rafale will be based at the Indian Air Force's Ambala base. Photograph: Pascal Le Segretain/Getty Images In a boost to the morale of the Indian Air Force, which finds itself preparing for the possibility of hostilities with China, its first five Rafale fighter aircraft will land on Indian soil on July 27. The aircraft will form the nucleus of the IAF's first Rafale squadron, Number 17 Squadron, which calls itself the Golden Arrows. They will be based in Ambala. The five Rafales will take off from Istres, France, and will be flown to India by IAF pilots, with mid-air refuelling en route from an accompanying French airforce tanker aircraft. They will make just one stopover -- at the United Arab Emirates's Al Dhafra air base near Abu Dhabi, according to Livefist, an authoritative defence blog. The IAF stated on Monday that the arrival of the first Rafales will be low-key and without ceremony or media coverage. A more public inauguration will take place at the end of August. In September 2016, the IAF had signed a 7.8-billion contract with the French aerospace firm Dassault for 36 Rafale fighter aircraft, which were to commence delivery in September 2019. As it turns out, the delivery is commencing nine months late. With the first squadron likely to take about three months to become operationally ready, the Rafales could begin combat operations by September-October. 'IAF air crew and ground crew have undergone comprehensive training on the aircraft, including its highly advanced weapons systems and are fully operational now. After arrival, efforts will focus on operationalisation of the aircraft at the earliest,' the IAF stated. With the IAF pressing Dassault to deliver fighters quickly to make up for lost time, there are expectations that one-two more Rafales would join the fleet every month. At that rate, both Rafale squadrons could be delivered and operational by late 2022. Those could potentially be followed by more Rafales. In November, the Supreme Court dismissed a bunch of petitions against the Rafale contract, clearing the decks for Dassault to compete with other global vendors in another ongoing Indian procurement for 114 medium fighters. The weapons that give the Rafale its combat edge over any other in-service fighter in the region have already been delivered to India, ahead of the fighters. The most potent of these weapons in air-to-air combat (fighter-versus-fighter) is the Meteor beyond visual range, air-to-air missile. With a range that is estimated to be well above 120 kilometres, the Meteor outranges any other missile in aerial combat and allows a Rafale pilot to strike enemy aircraft from beyond the range of the enemy's missiles. According to MBDA, the French firm that has developed the Meteor, it is powered by a rocket-ramjet motor that gives it greater engine power and a significantly longer range than any other BVR missile. The ability to fly faster, for longer distances, and manoeuvre more sharply than other air-to-air missiles give the Meteor a 'no-escape zone' (the arc in which the target aircraft cannot evade the missile) many times greater than its competitors. The IAF's Rafales will also carry the shorter-range MICA air-to-air missile, which is separately being fitted on to the IAF's Mirage 2000 fighter aircraft fleet as part of its ongoing upgrade. MBDA claims the MICA is the world's only air-to-air missile that features two interoperable seekers (active radar and imaging infrared), allowing the missile to be used in close-in, fighter-to-fighter dogfights as well as in the BVR role. One of the MICA's key attributes is its ability, while in the BVR mode, to fly much of the distance to the enemy aircraft in passive mode -- without radiating radar waves, which alert the adversary. When it approaches the target, the seeker starts radiating only in the final stages when the target has little time to take evasive manoeuvres or to deploy effective countermeasures. For striking ground targets, the IAF Rafales will carry the French SCALP deep-strike cruise missile. This stealth weapon has the ability to strike hardened and protected targets deep inside hostile territory from stand-off ranges -- without the need for the Rafale to enter hostile airspace, which could be heavily defended with air defence missiles. The SCALP has the capability to create havoc at the target end due to its powerful tandem warhead and multiple detonation modes. 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 PHOENIX, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, University of Phoenix announced all CARES Act funding has been distributed directly to students, providing emergency relief aid to those who were not exclusively studying online before the COVID-19 pandemic. The Education Stabilization Fund requires higher education institutions to use at least 50 percent of any funding received for direct financial assistance to students, but as stated in April, University of Phoenix has distributed 100 percent of federal dollars it received to 3,201 eligible students. In keeping with the promise of complete transparency, the university provided between $800 to $2,411 in direct financial assistance to eligible students, awarding additional funds to those students who were impacted most, including single parents, healthcare workers and first responders, and those facing unemployment. A full accounting of these funds is available on the university's website. "The COVID-19 pandemic continues to test our nation and each of us as individuals. But we are proud of the resilience that the University of Phoenix community has shown in the face of this adversity," said University of Phoenix President Peter Cohen. "The university remains committed to ensuring every penny of future funds allocated to address the ongoing educational impact of this pandemic will be sent directly to impacted students, and we urge other institutions to set a similar example." "As a national leader in online higher education, University of Phoenix recognizes the importance of this moment as hundreds of institutions across the country transition their fall cohorts to online learning," said Andrea Smiley, Vice President of Public Relations at University of Phoenix. "We believe it is our responsibility to take care of our students and their families, many of whom are on the frontlines of the pandemic. We are particularly proud of the 160 working adult students who were eligible for funding but opted to pay it forward to other students who were in greater need." Crystal Brown received approximately $2,400 from the university as part of the CARES Act. Crystal was in the middle of moving her family when the pandemic hit. Already strapped by expenses associated with the move, the inability to access the resources at the University of Phoenix campus she attends left her with unexpected, additional expenses to set up computer and internet service, so she could continue classes toward her Bachelor of Science in Human Resources. "After the costs associated with my move, I was literally down to my last $160 until later in the month, when I would be paid next," said Brown, who lives and works in Georgia. "When I logged into my bank account and saw the CARES funds, I couldn't believe it. I called the university immediately to verify what I was seeing. It was a miracle! And, it has helped me manage through all of this change in my life. I'm so grateful I can continue my studies and work to finish my degree." About University of Phoenix University of Phoenix is innovating to help working adults move efficiently from education to careers in a rapidly changing world. Flexible schedules, relevant and engaging courses, and interactive learning can help students more effectively pursue career and personal aspirations while balancing their busy lives. University of Phoenix serves a diverse student population, offering associate, bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degree programs from campuses and learning centers across the U.S., as well as online throughout the world. For more information, visit phoenix.edu. SOURCE University of Phoenix Related Links http://phoenix.edu Two Oregon state lawmakers, the Western States Center Inc., a Portland church and a Portland attorney have joined to sue four federal law enforcement agencies that are providing tactical officers to defend the downtown federal courthouse. State Reps. Janelle S. Bynum, D-Clackamas, and Karin A. Power, D-Milwaukie, along with Portland lawyer and legal observer Sara D. Eddie, the First Unitarian Church of Portland and Western States Center, which tracks extremist groups and provides support to social movements, filed suit Tuesday in U.S. District Court in Portland against the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customers and Border Protection, Federal Protective Service and U.S. Marshals Service. The point is this: whether, and how, to police is left to the states and their municipalities. Presidents cannot change that, the suit says. While the federal government may protect its property and personnel, the federal government is constrained by the Constitution from policing the City of Portland broadly speaking, and there is no positive delegation of authority in any law that makes the federal governments recent forays into general policing in Portland either legal or constitutional. The suit comes as local, state and congressional leaders from Oregon have condemned what theyve described as heavy-handed force used by the federal officers sent to Portland through an executive order signed by President Donald Trump earlier this month. The officers have fired tear gas and impact munitions at crowds and journalists, struck some protesters with batons, fired an impact munition at the head of a 26-year-old protester who had his hands above his head holding a music speaker and plucked at least one person from a city street and whisked him off in an unmarked van only to release him later with no charges. The suit contends federal officers, who have gone beyond the sidewalks outside the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse, have encroached on state powers and violated the First Unitarian Church of Portlands right to protest and practice social activism that are tenets of its faith and protected under the First Amendments free exercise of religion clause, according to attorney Clifford S. Davidson, who filed the suit on behalf of the plaintiffs. It seeks a court order that restricts the federal officers actions to the federal courthouse and demands that the federal officers identify themselves and have probable cause to arrest anyone. These acts of violence perpetrated by federal law enforcement are designed to pass down a legacy of fear and further the interminable control of the movements of Black and Brown bodies since the days of American slavery, Bynum said in a statement. I will not let my children, or any of our children, inherit paranoia and mistrust of the people we commission to protect us. The suit follows similar federal complaints filed by Oregons attorney general and the American Civil Liberties Union of Oregon against the federal law enforcement agencies. Both Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum and the ACLU are seeking temporary restraining orders to restrict federal law enforcement in Portland. Mayor Ted Wheeler and Gov. Kate Brown have urged the Trump administration to remove the federal forces from Portland, arguing that they have heightened tensions on the street. But the president has professed that political leaders in the city and Oregon have failed to clamp down on violent demonstrators who have thrown objects at police, set fires and vandalized the federal courthouse and other public buildings. -- 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. Survey Reveals Prayer Distinguishes Christians from Other Adults NEWS PROVIDED BY The Presidential Prayer Team July 21, 2020 SCOTTSDALE, Az., July 21, 2020 /Standard Newswire/ -- What does it mean to be a Christian in America these days? To answer this question, The Presidential Prayer Team, a non-partisan, non-profit organization, commissioned a two-dimension study that included both an outward look for the general public and inward look at prayer team members. This first study, the outward look, engaged "average" Americans so that the prayer team could learn how to better reach and how to better communicate with the general public about prayer. This national study discovered that the question can be answered in different ways and produce different perspectives. Defined by Beliefs One way of defining what it means to be Christian would be to examine the beliefs and practices of those who identify as Christians and compare those responses to those of people who do not claim to be Christian. Highlighting substantial differences in beliefs and religious behaviors between self-described Christians and those who are not would produce a portrait of what attributes are most likely to distinguish Christians from other people. Upon comparing more than three dozen beliefs and practices addressed in the survey, the ten factors shown below not only characterize a large majority of the self-described Christians, but also differentiate them most dramatically from other Americans: God exists and is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect and just creator of the universe who still rules that universe today(69% of self-identified Christians adopt that view, compared to just 21% of other adults) The Bible is the only true and authentic word of God (67% versus 20%, respectively) The Bible is the ultimate and final moral authority (61% compared to 18%, respectively) Personally pray during several days in a typical week (72% versus 28%) Believe that prayer helps people cope with situations (61% versus 17% called that a very accurate description of their view) Prayer is their way of communicating with God (71% compared to 19% called that a very accurate description of their view) Prayer is central to their relationship with God (64% versus 14% called that a very accurate description of their view) Prayer is a way of worshipping God (64% versus 15% called that a very accurate description of their view) They pray for the country every week (64% versus 24%) They pray for the people in their life, such as friends, family, co-workers, and their community (79% vs. 31%) While there was no single factor that perfectly differentiates between self-described Christians and other adults, those ten factors together effectively differentiate between the two population segments. That list of factors also shows that two elements beliefs about the reliability of the Bible and beliefs and practices related to prayer are primarily what distinguish self-identified Christians from other Americans. Views and practices related to prayer, in particular, emerged as the most unique distinctive of the faith of self-identified Christians. The survey also revealed that segments within the self-identified Christian population such as born-again Christians or those who attend evangelical Protestant churches are minority groups within the aggregate Christian community (and thus not truly representative of the larger body of people who claim to be Christian) that have an even larger body of distinctives from the general population. Faith Background An alternative approach to understanding what it means to be Christian these days is by asking those who claim to be Christian what that association means to them. The survey found that the answers vary widely, with no response garnering support from more than one out of every three respondents. The most common response was "to have a personal relationship with God based on salvation through Jesus Christ." That view was offered by 33% of the self-identified Christians. The next most frequent answer was "being a good person and trying to do what you think is right." That view was adopted by one-quarter of the self-identified Christians (24%). Each of three perspectives was embraced by about one out of every ten self-identified Christians. Those views included "praying to God regularly" (mentioned by 11% of the self-identified Christians); "believing the Bible to be true and to be the primary guide for your life" (11%); and having been "raised in a Christian family" (10%). About half as many adults provided one of two other points of view. Five percent of the self-identified Christians indicated that being Christian is synonymous with being American since Christianity is the dominant religion in the nation. Another 4% equated being Christian with attending church services regularly. The personal background of respondents was also related to perspectives about what it means to be a Christian. For instance, people who attend Protestant churches were most likely to define being Christian as having a personal relationship with God, through Christ. However, Catholics were most likely to describe being Christian as being a good person and trying to do what is right. Age-wise, people 18 to 29 years old were more likely than older adults to view Christianity as being about personal goodness while older adults leaned more toward a relationship with God as the defining characteristic. Politically, those who are conservative were the most likely to see Christianity as defined by a relationship with God, while both moderates and liberals considered Christianity to be about being and doing good. Other Faith-Related Findings The Presidential Prayer Team survey also discovered in this first public study that many of the traditional religious beliefs common in America are no longer so common. Belief in a traditional, biblical view of God that He is the all-knowing, all-powerful, perfect and just creator of the universe who still rules that universe today, has declined to a small majority of adults (55%). In fact, less than half of some population segments embrace that description of God. An example is adults 18 to 29 years of age; only 43% agree with that description of God. Other segments for which a minority holds an orthodox view of the nature of God include political liberals (40%), Hispanics (47%), and residents of the western states (47%). While about two out of every three adults (64%) believe they will experience Heaven after they die, barely half of those (35%) contend it will be solely because they have confessed their sins and accepted Jesus Christ as their savior. Non-traditional beliefs about the afterlife have been gaining steam in recent years. For instance, 12% now argue that there is nothing after this life; upon death you simply cease to exist. Reincarnation the belief that a person will return to earth in a different life form or as a different person is now embraced by 7% (one in every 14 people) even though less than 1% of the public aligns with any of the eastern religions that promote reincarnation. The flux in the public's thinking about life after death is evident in the 17% who say they do not know what will happen to them after they die. Challenge to Enhance Prayer Lives "Taking the 'spiritual temperature' of praying Americans in this first public study reinforced for us that The Presidential Prayer Team has our work cut out for us as we approach reaching more of America in the future," said James Bolthouse, the team's president and CEO. "We expected some of these results from the outside look but other outcomes from the research clarify the relative importance and role of prayer in people's lives. Because prayer emerged as the most widespread spiritual activity in the country, we look forward to helping people enhance their prayer life and reap the benefits for their spiritual journey and life experience." About the Research The research was developed and implemented by George Barna, Director of Research of the Cultural Research Center at Arizona Christian University. The survey was conducted among a nationwide sample of 1,000 adults associated with an online survey panel managed by Braun Research. The demographic profile of the survey results reflects that of the adult population of the U.S., as determined by the U.S. Bureau of the Census. The two-dimensional study was commissioned by The Presidential Prayer Team (PPT), a non-partisan, non-profit organization based in Phoenix as part of Pray The Vote. The second and much larger study - yet forthcoming - will be an inward dimension. The focus will be on a larger segment of prayer team membership in order to learn ways to better encourage their members, provide helpful prayer resources, and to improve their prayer life during the upcoming election season and into the future. About The Presidential Prayer Team Since its inception in 2001, The Presidential Prayer Team has become the nation's largest intercessory prayer movement. Regardless of party politics and ideology, The Presidential Prayer Team is dedicated to encouraging and facilitating prayer for the nation's president, political leaders, and military leaders. It seeks to ignite a lifestyle characterized by robust prayer based on the belief that prayer will transform the nation, one heart at a time. More information about The Presidential Prayer Team and the national survey can be accessed at www.presidentialprayerteam.org or www.praythevote.org. Interviews with President James Bolthouse available. SOURCE The Presidential Prayer Team CONTACT: Teresa Corelli, 866-433-7729 A Houston Fire Department captain died Monday from COVID-19, according to Chief Sam Pena. Capt. Leroy Lucio, a 29-year veteran of the department, was battling the virus at a hospital in his hometown of San Antonio. The HFDs Firefighter Support Network and members of the HFD Honor Guard were with him and his family, according to a news release. May he rest in peace, Pena said on Twitter. Please keep the Lucio Family in your prayers. (The Houston Fire Department) will provide more information in the days to come. Lucio was a captain at Houston Fire Station 103 in the Kingwood area, according to the Houston Professional Fire Fighters Association. He is the first firefighter in Houston to die from the virus, the union said, adding that his passing will be classified as a line-of-duty death. julian.gill@chron.com Teachers at Colorado Springs' largest school district are pushing back on a plan to get students back into the classroom this fall. Some teachers at Academy School District 20 have started a petition asking the district for a virtual re-opening in the fall. Your browser does not support the video tag. The number of domestic trips to Egyptian coastal cities and tourist hubs will also be increased in a bid to stimulate local tourism EgyptAir will increase the number of international destinations to which it is operating regular flights from 30 to 35 starting August, the national carriers chairman Roshdy Zakria said in a statement on Tuesday. The number of domestic trips to Egyptian coastal cities and tourist hubs will also be increased in a bid to stimulate local tourism, he added. The company will operate trips to Turkey starting next month, raising its total number of European destinations to 17. These include Amsterdam, Athens, Brussels, Budapest, Paris, Copenhagen, Rome, Frankfurt, Geneva, London, Madrid, Munich, Milan, Vienna, Larnaca, and Istanbul. Other flights will be operated to two more African countries, Chad and Kenya, bringing the total number of destination cities on the continent to seven: Addis Ababa, Juba, Dar Al-Salam, Tunis, Khartoum, N'Djamena and Nairobi. Two other destinations in the Middle East have been added, Baghdad and Erbil, alongside current flights operated to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Sharjah, Bahrain, and Beirut. Currently, the flagship carrier runs flights to three cities in North America (Washington, New York, and Toronto), and one city in Asia (Guangzhou). Egypt resumed international flights earlier in July after a three-month closure due to the coronavirus pandemic. Foreign tourists are now allowed to fly into three coastal governorates only, which have recorded the lowest numbers of coronavirus cases in the country, with more cities planned to reopen for foreign visitors in later stages. Travelers must sign at departure airports that they are free of the virus prior to boarding their planes, while those coming from countries with high rates of coronavirus are required to submit test results to prove they are virus-free before travelling. EgyptAirs occupancy rate during the first stage of operation is 60 to 70 percent, the company said. Search Keywords: Short link: Days after an abducted Sikh leader was finally released in Afghanistan, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) has reportedly approved long-term visas to 700 Sikh and Hindus currently living in Afghanistan. According to Kashmiri journalist Aditya Raj Kaul, such long-term visas are granted only to persecuted minorities in the region. As per the report, the Indian government is fulfilling all necessary formalities to bring the said Afghan nationals to India before Independence Day. The report noted that about 600 Sikhs had applied for such long-term visas to India after the attack on Gurudwara that occurred on March 25 this year and left 27 dead. A government official informed, To begin with, over 700 such individuals have been identified and the required formalities are underway to bring them to India before 15 August. Reportedly, the Afghan minorities who will arrive in India include those who have received security threats and have relatives in India. It is notable here that there are very few Sikh and Hindu communities left in Afghanistans Muslim majority regions controlled mostly by Islamic hardliners. Indias CAA last year had eased the process for persecuted minorities in neighbouring Islamic countries to gain Indian citizenship. Abducted Sikh leader released in Afghanistan India had earlier thanked the Afghan leadership for its efforts in facilitating the release of 55-year-old Nidan Singh Sachdeva, an Afghan Sikh community leader. He was abducted a month ago from a gurudwara in the Pakita province of Afghanistan and got released on Saturday. Anurag Sachdeva, spokesperson Ministry of External Affairs expressed appreciation to the Afghan leadership, security forces and tribal elders. The Indian government has hinted that if he applies for Indian citizenship under Citizen Amendment Act, the government will process the request. Sachdeva had moved to India in the 1990s with his family and is eligible for Indian citizenship. BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the Palestine question has always been the core issue in the Middle East region, and China supports the "two-state solution" as the right direction. During his phone talk with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, expressed sincere condolence and firm support to the Palestinian government and people in their fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. Xi said China and Palestine are good brothers, good friends and good partners, and the two sides have always firmly trusted and supported each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns. Since the start of the outbreak, China has provided multiple batches of supplies and sent medical experts to Palestine, organized video conferences between Chinese medical experts and their Palestinian counterparts, and offered anti-epidemic assistance to Palestinian refugees, Xi said. The Chinese side will continue sharing its experience with Palestine with no reservation, and doing what it can in providing material and technical support, said Xi, adding that his country will, according to Palestine's needs, keep on implementing the projects that are conducive to advancing Palestine's economy and improving people's livelihood so as to bring more and better benefits to the Palestinian people. China is ready to work with Palestine and other countries to strengthen cooperation, support multilateralism, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, he said. Xi emphasized that the Palestine question, which has always been the core issue in the Middle East, concerns regional peace and stability, international fairness and justice, as well as human conscience and credibility, saying that China's position on the Palestine question is consistent and clear. China firmly supports Palestine's just demands, as well as all efforts conducive to resolving the Palestine question, Xi said. China supports the "two-state solution" as the right direction, and sticks to dialogue and negotiations on an equal footing, Xi said, adding that the international community should take an objective and fair position and build up efforts for promoting peace. He also said that China is ready to continue making active contributions to a comprehensive, fair and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question at an early date. Abbas said that the Palestinian side speaks highly of China's important achievements in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, and sincerely thanks China for providing timely and invaluable support and assistance to Palestine in its epidemic battle. He also appreciated China's efforts to uphold justice on the Palestinian issue, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the Palestinian people, saying that facts have proved time and again that China is the most reliable friend of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian side will continue to stand firmly with China, and support China's legitimate position on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other matters concerning China's core interests, said Abbas, adding that his country expects China to play a more important role in promoting a just settlement of the Palestinian issue. (Source: Xinhua) French shipping and logistics company CMA CGM Group has suspended all timber exports from the Gambia over suspicions that undeclared shipments of rosewood may have been part of cargo shipments. The group has decided to halt its timber exports from the country until further notice, said a statement from the Marseilles-based company on 9 July. Rosewood is listed as a protected flora under the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES). Gambia, Ghana and Nigeria represented 85 percent of the reported global trade in Pterocarpus erinaceus rosewood in 2017, according to CITES. The customs code which is used is very vague, so this wood is very difficult to trace, Guilhem Isaac Georges, director for sustainable development at CMA CGM, told RFIs Stanislas Ndayishimiye. We have carried out internal investigations, and we came to the conclusion that rosewood is very likely to be part of this freight, said Georges. In a 2017 threat assessment by CITES, export permit data provided by Gambia suggested that 99.7 percent of the timber exported and reported as received by importers, had no CITES export permit issued by the countrys managing authority. Rosewood from Casamance CITES said that senior officials in the Gambia estimated that nearly all the rosewood it exports was illegally sourced from the Casamance area of Senegal, a region which has previously been home to an armed separatist movement at odds with the government in Dakar. We must have collaboration between the states where it's coming from and investigators its a shared responsibility, said Isabel Camarena, scientific support officer at CITES. Its not just about putting pressure on states where it's exported from, but also talking to countries which are the destination for this illegal trade. They have to collaborate with the countries where it's coming from to better control it, said Camarena. The West African region has emerged as a source of rosewood for exports to China fuelled by demand for Pterocarpus erinaceus, native to West African forests, for use in furniture, according to non-governmental organisation Environmental Investigation Agency (EIA). EIA says rosewood is perhaps the worlds most lucrative form of wildlife crime. DETROIT, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Stratview Research announces the launch of a new research report on Fiber-Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Panels & Sheets Market By Process Type (Continuous Laminates, Pultruded Panels, Prepreg Laminates, Sandwich Construction, and Others), By End-Use Industry Type (Aerospace & Defense, Building & Construction, Recreational Vehicle, Transportation, Marine, and Others), By Resin Type (Thermoset Composites {Polyester and Others} and Thermoplastic Composites), By Fiber Type (Glass Composites and Carbon Composites), and By Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2020-2025. This 300-page strategic assessment report, from Stratview Research, provides a comprehensive analysis that reflects today's FRP panels & sheets market realities and future possibilities for the forecast period of 2020 to 2025. The report estimates the short- as well as long-term repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic on the demand for FRP panels & sheets at the global, regional, as well as country level. Also, the report provides the possible loss that the industry will register by comparing pre-COVID and post-COVID scenarios. The vital data/information provided in the report can play a crucial role for market participants as well as investors in formulating short-term as well as long-term growth strategies. Fiber Reinforced Plastic (FRP) Panels & Sheets Market: Highlights from the Report Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) is a composite material made of polymer matrix reinforced with fiber. Commonly used fibers are glass and carbon. Resins can be either thermoset or thermoplastic, depending on the performance requirement such as flame retardancy, corrosion resistance, chemical resistance, and cost-effectiveness. Commonly used resins are polyester, epoxy, and vinyl ester. FRP panels & sheets are majorly used due to their lightweight, mold resistance, durability, high strength-to-weight ratio, easy to clean, high moisture resistance, chemical resistance, low maintenance, high impact resistance, and easy installation. FRP panels & sheets are majorly manufactured with glass fiber reinforced polyester resins. FRP panels & sheets hold a diminutive share (less than 5%) of the global composite end products market and hold a unique position in the overall composites domain, increasingly being preferred over their arch-rivals such as aluminum panels, wood panels, and plastic panels. Key market participants have gained excellent product development capabilities and high brand identity after dedicating eons of market presence and efforts in research & development. Today, manufacturing FRP panels & sheets for different industries is a tough job, owing to high technological requirements coupled with the high cost of raw materials, a key factor limiting the number of manufacturers active in the market. COVID-19 Impact The COVID-19 outbreak has severely affected most of the end-use industries including aerospace & defense, recreational vehicles, marine, transportation, and building & construction, where FRP panels & sheets are used due to their lightweight advantage along with higher strength compared to conventional panels & sheets. The COVID-19 is still spreading and taking major economies in its clasp and has weakened the market conditions. The FRP panels & sheets market consecutively grew during the last four years of trend period (2014-2018) followed by a decline in 2019 mainly due to the grounding of B737 MAX and US-China trade war. Now, the rapid spread of the COVID-19 pandemic has entirely flipped the market dynamics and fueled the existing industry challenges such as delays in B737 MAX approval, production halts across regions, declining shipment trends of RVs, decline in automobile production and construction activities due to lockdown. As of now, it is difficult to state when the impact of the pandemic starts to fade away. However, it is predicted that the demand for FRP panels & sheets would stabilize in 2021. The impressive recovery is anticipated to begin from 2022, followed by subsequent healthy growth till 2025 to reach US$ 4.0 Billion. An expected recovery in the GDP across regions, increasing construction activities, expected increase in commercial aircraft production, B737 MAX's approval from FAA and other bodies, expected entries of COMAC and Irkut, and increasing outdoor participation will help the major industries to recover, which, in turn, assist the recovery of the FRP panels & sheets market. Click Here and Run Through the TOC of the Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/toc/169/fiber-reinforced-plastic-panels-and-sheets%20.html Sandwich Construction is the Most Dominant Process Type Stratview has firstly segmented the FRP panels & sheets market based on the process type as continuous laminates, pultruded panels, prepreg laminates, sandwich construction, and others. Sandwich-constructed panels are likely to remain the most preferred type in the market in the coming years. Sandwich-constructed panels are increasingly finding usage in aerospace & defense interiors (galleys, floor panels, lavatory, stowage, seats, cabin interiors, cabin equipment) and exterior (control surfaces, etc.); transportation (railway trams floor, ceiling panels, and side walls); marine, and building & construction industries. Continuous laminates have higher penetration in the RV industry and have found great usage in the building & construction and transportation industries as well. Aerospace & Defense is the Most Dominant End-Use Industry Type Based on the end-use industry type, aerospace & defense is expected to remain the dominant segment of the FRP panels & sheets market during the forecast period. An expected increase in commercial aircraft production, expected entries of COMAC and Irkut, B737 MAX's approval from FAA and other bodies, and increasing preference of FRP panels over traditional panels are some of the factors, driving their uses in the segment. Building & construction, transportation, and recreational vehicles also generate impressive demand for FRP panels & sheets. Thermoset Composite Panels are the Dominant Ones Based on the resin type, thermoset composite panel & sheet is expected to remain the larger segment of the market in the foreseen future. Polyester and epoxy resins are the choices in the market. Polyester composites are used in cost-sensitive applications owing to their lower cost with good mechanical and adhesion properties. Epoxy composite panels are increasingly found usage in the high-performance applications, owing to their superior benefits over other thermoset and thermoplastic composite panels. Register Here for a Free Sample of the Detailed Report: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/Request-Sample/169/fiber-reinforced-plastic-panels-and-sheets%20.html North America Will Maintain Its Leading Position Despite being hit by the pandemic, among regions, North America is expected to remain the largest market during the forecast period. Post pandemic, the USA is expected to rebound quickly and will act as the growth engine of the region's market. The country is marked by the presence of several OEMs (transportation, RVs, aircraft, and marines), tier players, FRP panel & sheet suppliers, and raw material suppliers. Asia-Pacific, a relatively smaller market, is likely to heal up with the fastest pace in the post-pandemic market scenario. The region's demand will be driven by a host of factors including an expected increase in the demand for commercial aircraft to support rising passenger traffic, opening of assembly plants of Boeing and Airbus in China, upcoming indigenous commercial and regional aircraft (COMAC C919 and Mitsubishi SpaceJet), increasing penetration of composites in the building & construction industry, presence of major global players and raw material suppliers. China, Japan, and Australia are projected to be the growth engines of the region's market. Key FRP panel & sheet manufacturing companies are Brianza Plastica S.P.A., Crane Composites Inc. (The Crane Company), Collins Aerospace Systems (UTC), Euro-Composites Corporation, JAMCO Corporation, LAMILUX Heinrich Strunz Holding GmbH & Co. KG, Safran S.A., Stabilit, The Gill Corporation, Toray Industries Inc., Triumph Group, Inc. among others. Some of the Key Strategic Alliances in the market: In 2018, Creative Pultrusions Inc. acquired Composite Advantage LLC. Through this acquisition, Creative Pultrusions widened the portfolio in terms of manufacturing techniques. In 2017, Creative Pultrusions Inc. also acquired Kenway Corporations and Tower Tech Company. In 2018, United Technologies Corporation (UTC) acquired Rockwell Collins for an agreed amount of US$ 30 Billion . It was one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the aerospace industry. After the acquisition, the company formed Collins Aerospace division- the combination of Rockwell Collins and UTC Aerospace Systems. . It was one of the largest acquisitions in the history of the aerospace industry. After the acquisition, the company formed Collins Aerospace division- the combination of Rockwell Collins and UTC Aerospace Systems. LAMILUX Heinrich Strunz Holding GmbH & Co. KG acquired three companies from Roda, in 2018 and strengthened its subsidiaries profile. This acquisition led Lamilux to strengthen its daylight systems business for smoke and heat exhaust ventilation system business. Report Features This report provides market intelligence in the most comprehensive way. The report structure has been kept such that it offers maximum business value. It provides critical insights on the market dynamics and will enable strategic decision making for the existing market players as well as those willing to enter the market. The following are the key features of the report: Market structure: Overview, industry life cycle analysis, supply chain analysis. Market environment analysis: Growth drivers and constraints, Porter's five forces analysis, SWOT analysis. Market trend and forecast analysis. Market segment trend and forecast. Competitive landscape and dynamics: Market share, product portfolio, product launches, etc. Attractive market segments and associated growth opportunities. Emerging trends. Strategic growth opportunities for the existing and new players. Key success factors. This report studies the FRP panels & sheets market and has segmented the market in five ways, keeping in mind the interest of all the stakeholders across the value chain. Following are the five ways in which the market is segmented: FRP Panels & Sheets Market, By Process Type Continuous Laminates (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Pultruded Panels (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Prepreg Laminates (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Sandwich-Constructed Panels (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Other Process-based FRP Panels & Sheets (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) FRP Panels & Sheets Market, By End-Use Industry Type Aerospace & Defense (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Building & Construction (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Transportation (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Recreational Vehicles (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Marine (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Other End-Use Industries (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) FRP Panels & Sheets Market, By Resin Type Thermoset Composite Panels & Sheets Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW Resin Type Analysis: Polyester and Others Polyester (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Others (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Thermoplastic Composite Panels & Sheets (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) FRP Panels & Sheets Market, By Fiber Type Glass Composite Panels & Sheets (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) Carbon Composite Panels & Sheets (Regional Analysis: North America , Europe , Asia-Pacific , and RoW) FRP Panels & Sheets Market, By Region North America (Country Analysis: The USA , Canada , and Mexico ) Europe (Country Analysis: France , Germany , the UK, and Rest of Europe ) Asia-Pacific (Country Analysis: China , Japan , Australia , and Rest of Asia-Pacific ) Rest of the World (Sub-Region Analysis: Latin America , the Middle East , and Others) Stratview Research has several high value market reports in the advanced materials industry. Please refer to the following link to browse through our reports: https://www.stratviewresearch.com/market-reports/Advanced-Materials.html Other related reports from Stratview Research: Aircraft Interior Sandwich Panel Market by Aircraft Type (Narrow-Body Aircraft, Wide-Body Aircraft, Very Large Aircraft, Regional Aircraft, and General Aviation), by Application Type (Floor Panel, Sidewall Panel, Ceiling Panel, Stowage Bin, Galley, Lavatory, and Others), by Core Material Type (Nomex Honeycomb, Aluminum Honeycomb, and Others), by End-User Type (OE and Aftermarket), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Market Size, Share, Trend, Forecast & Competitive Analysis: 2020-2025. Composite Sandwich Panels Market by Product Type (Glass Fiber Composites and Carbon Fiber Composites), by End-Use Industry Type (Aerospace & Defense, Building & Construction, Transportation, Marine, and Others), by Core Material Type (Nomex Honeycomb Composites, Aluminum Honeycomb Composites, and Other Composites), and by Region (North America, Europe, Asia-Pacific, and Rest of the World), Trend, Forecast, Competitive Analysis, and Growth Opportunity: 2020-2025. About Stratview Research Stratview Research is a global market intelligence firm providing wide range of services including syndicated market reports, custom research and sourcing intelligence across industries, such as Advanced Materials, Aerospace & Defense, Automotive & Mass Transportation, Consumer Goods, Construction & Equipment, Electronics and Semiconductors, Energy & Utility, Healthcare & Life Sciences, and Oil & Gas. We have a strong team of industry veterans and analysts with an extensive experience in executing custom research projects for mid-sized to Fortune 500 companies, in the areas of Market Assessment, Opportunity Screening, Competitive Intelligence, Due Diligence, Target Screening, Market Entry Strategy, Go to Market Strategy, and Voice of Customer studies. Stratview Research is a trusted brand globally, providing high quality research and strategic insights that help companies worldwide in effective decision making. For enquiries, please contact: Stratview Research E-mail: sales@stratviewresearch.com Direct: +1-313-307-4176 The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Accra has handed over Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Solidaridad, an international civil society organization. The equipment includes face shields, surgical masks, FFP2 masks, gloves, gumboots, overalls, hair covers, and goggles. Other items are infrared thermometers, methylated spirit, bleach and alcohol-based hand sanitizers. Solidaridad will also distribute the equipment to seven health facilities that can be accessed by cocoa and oil palm growing communities in the Eastern, Central, Ashanti, Ahafo and Western North regions of Ghana, as part of the organization's COVID-19 response. The beneficiary health facilities would include Sefwi Wiawso Government hospital, Goaso Government Hospital, Dunkwa Government Hospital, St. Francis Xavier Hospital, Assin Fosu, Suhum Government Hospital, Sabronum health centre and Wiawso Health Centre. With the increasing COVID-19 infection rate in Ghana, the gesture by Solidaridad and its funding partner, the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is to complement efforts by government and other entities to curb the spread of the virus among frontline healthcare workers. The Dutch Ambassador, Ron Strikker assured the Embassy's commitment to support Ghana in diverse ways to manage the COVID-19 pandemic. As frontline workers lead the effort to deal with the pandemic, they are exposed to health and safety risks which cannot be overlooked. It is in this light that we are working with Solidaridad to contribute towards the protection of these frontline workers operating near communities where the Netherlands government supports cocoa and oil palm programmes, Mr Strikker said. For his part, the Regional Director of Solidaridad West Africa, Isaac Gyamfi said while Solidaridad, in collaboration with other stakeholders, is working to improve the lives of farmers in Ghana, the organization is also sensitive to the need to contribute toward the fight against COVID-19. We are already doing a lot to reach beneficiaries of our cocoa and oil palm programmes with remote extension support and the supply of PPE amidst the pandemic. But we also need to properly equip healthcare workers, who are a critical resource for securing the health and well-being of the public, including our beneficiary farmers, to carry out their work in a safe environment, Mr Gyamfi explained. The distribution of the equipment by Solidaridad is part of a broader COVID-19 response and resilience plan being implemented in Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone where the organization implements cocoa, gold and oil palm sustainability programmes. In these countries, except Nigeria, the Netherlands government funds the Cocoa Rehabilitation and Intensification Programme (CORIP) implemented by Solidaridad to transform the cocoa sector of the countries. In Ghana, the Netherlands and Swiss governments jointly fund the Sustainable West Africa Palm Oil Programme (SWAPP), aimed at building a thriving and resilient oil palm economy. Solidaridad has over 50 years of experience in developing solutions to make underprivileged communities more resilient. It currently works in over 40 countries, on five continents, through eight independently supervised regional offices. In West Africa, Solidaridad implements sustainability interventions in Cote dIvoire, Ghana, Liberia, Nigeria and Sierra Leone in the cocoa, gold and oil palm value chains. --- (Newser) Another fatal police shooting is getting attention, this one involving the Los Angeles Police Department. It happened on April 22, before the death of George Floyd, but it is now getting renewed interest from the Black Lives Matter movementin part because of the officer's social media presence prior to the shooting. Coverage: The shooting: LAPD officer Toni McBride, 23, shot and killed Daniel Hernandez, who continued to approach her and ignored her three commands to drop his knife. McBride fired six rounds, all of which hit the 38-year-old, reports the Los Angeles Times. Police had been called to the scene after Hernandez allegedly caused a multiple-vehicle accident. The LAPD released bodycam video of the shooting. LAPD officer Toni McBride, 23, shot and killed Daniel Hernandez, who continued to approach her and ignored her three commands to drop his knife. McBride fired six rounds, all of which hit the 38-year-old, reports the Los Angeles Times. Police had been called to the scene after Hernandez allegedly caused a multiple-vehicle accident. The LAPD released bodycam video of the shooting. The officer: McBride was something of an Instagram star before the shooting, appearing in a slew of videos in which she shows off her shooting skills at Taran Tactical Innovations, a private training center where the likes of Keanu Reeves are known to show up. (Owner Taran Butler helped train actors for the John Wick movies, notes the Appeal.) In fact, this clip shows McBride with Reeves, who references the "Shootin' Newton" nickname of McBride's police division. Butler, meanwhile, tells the Times his specialty is highlighting "beautiful girls who shoot as good as they look." story continues below More on her: McBride also earned "top shot" honors in her police academy class, and she appeared in a cover profile of the Blue Press, a firearms ammunition catalog. She's also the daughter of Jamie McBride, described by Los Angeles Magazine as a powerful figure in the LAPD union. That's adding a whole new political wrinkle to the investigation and the district attorney's race, and the magazine digs into that. McBride also earned "top shot" honors in her police academy class, and she appeared in a cover profile of the Blue Press, a firearms ammunition catalog. She's also the daughter of Jamie McBride, described by Los Angeles Magazine as a powerful figure in the LAPD union. That's adding a whole new political wrinkle to the investigation and the district attorney's race, and the magazine digs into that. Lawsuit: Hernandez's teenage daughter has filed a federal civil rights suit, arguing that McBride had "reckless violent and homicidal propensities," reports NBC Los Angeles. Generally, the family feels McBride was too quick to resort to deadly force. The Times talks to an outside expert, however, who defends the officer's actions as a "clear-cut justified shooting." McBride is back on patrol as the investigation unfolds. Hernandez's teenage daughter has filed a federal civil rights suit, arguing that McBride had "reckless violent and homicidal propensities," reports NBC Los Angeles. Generally, the family feels McBride was too quick to resort to deadly force. The Times talks to an outside expert, however, who defends the officer's actions as a "clear-cut justified shooting." McBride is back on patrol as the investigation unfolds. LAPD: The department says it doesn't monitor officers' activity outside the job, but the lawyer for Hernandez's daughter says that should change. "I don't think a peace officer should be glorifying guns and violence like this," Narine Mkrtchyan tells the Appeal. "The way she rejoices at these shooting rangesI think it shows a very immature police officer." She adds: "We really think LAPD should discipline her. If it wasn't for her trigger happiness, I don't think this would have happened." (Read more LAPD stories.) Eight new adorable puppy recruits have been welcomed into an elite dog squad. NSW Police introduced the newest members of their team in a video posted to Facebook on Tuesday, with the playful pups running rings around their handlers. The newest canine members of the force, four boys and four girls, form the 'B' litter and were born nine weeks ago on Saturday May 9. The boys have been named Bluey, Bonus, Bruno and Bane and the girls are called Bailey, Bounty, Bindi and Bibi. After undergoing rigorous training, the fluffy recruits could embark on a serious careers searching for missing children or tracking violent offenders. The NSW Police Force has introduced eight new furry recruits (pictured) into their elite dog squad Leading Senior Constable Leo Clarke noted the young recruits said had a lot of work ahead of them but were eager and promising students. 'At the moment they are quite feisty, they are very playful like all puppies, but their are very highly driven,' he sis. Commander of the Dog and Mounted Unit, Superintendent Peter McErlain, added: 'Those pups will shortly embark on a rigorous training regime that will see them go through various disciplines. 'If they are successful, those disciplines could be urban search and rescue, they could be trained in tracking violent offenders.' 'They could also be conversely trained to find and locate children and missing persons. There talents will be many and varied.' Superintendent McErlain has no doubt the litter of black German shepherds will excel in their role of protecting the community. 'They are a valuable asset to the NSW Police Force and the community of NSW,' he says. The German Shepherd puppies (one pictured) will undergo rigorous training before going on to serve in various disciplines 'Of all the talents they bring to the job, they keep the community and their handlers safe.' The Dog Unit, formed in 1932, is the largest police dog unit in Australia with more than 100 police officers, nine civilian staff and more than 100 police dogs. The names for the puppies were chosen from within the Dog and Mounted Police Command as it is the first litter to be born since the unit merged with the Mounted Unit on 24 February this year. NSW residents were delighted by news. 'Beautiful Pawtrollers of the future. Be the best you can be for the boys and girls in blue,' one woman wrote. Another comment read: 'What gorgeous bunch of new recruits!!' BAGHDAD Kidnappers in two vehicles seized a German arts advocate at dusk on Monday as she was leaving her office near one of Baghdads busiest thoroughfares, Iraqi security officials said. The advocate, Hella Mewis, was a well-known figure in the neighborhood, home to the Beit Tarkib Arts Center, which she had established with Iraqi artists to encourage and showcase their work. Ms. Mewis was also active last fall in supporting anti-government protesters, whose ranks included many intellectuals and artists. Scores of anti-government protesters were kidnapped during the demonstrations last fall and winter, which the United Nations human rights division documented in a recent report, suggesting that armed groups operating outside of government control were responsible. Originally from Berlin, Ms. Mewis went to Iraq in 2010 with the Goethe Institute, an organization that promotes German language and culture around the world, according to an article in the journal International Politics. U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation Director Christopher Wray testifies before the House Judiciary Committee on Capitol Hill in Washington on Feb. 5, 2020. (Tom Brenner/File Photo/Reuters) Top Democrats Request an FBI Counterintelligence Briefing about 2020 Election Interference Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), Intelligence Committee Chairman Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) sent a letter (pdf) to the FBI Director requesting the Bureau hold a defensive counterintelligence briefing for Congress regarding foreign efforts to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In the letter to Christopher Wray, the top democrats expressed their concern for a disinformation campaign that they say is targeting Congress and could affect the outcome of the 2020 presidential election. We are gravely concerned, in particular, that Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign interference campaign, which seeks to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity, public debate, and the presidential election in November, the democratic members wrote. In January of this year, Acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said his agency is expecting Russia to interfere in the upcoming presidential elections, underscoring the need for action at the local, state, and federal levels ahead of the November 2020 polls. Unlike China, Russia doesnt seek to weaken our economy and surpass us on the world-stage; rather they focus on actions that disrupt and undermine the American way of life, Wolf said, according to a transcript of a speech he gave in January. As we saw in 2016, we fully expect Russia to attempt to interfere in the 2020 elections to sow public discord and undermine our democratic institutions. We are working with our federal partners to make sure those officials on the frontlines of our elections have the information and the tools they need to combat Russian interference, Wolf added. Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray was asked about the intelligence on the possibility of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) meddling with the 2020 presidential elections in July, to which he responded that there are chances given the severity of Chinas malign influence campaign against the United States (pdf). Well, I would say that of course, Chinas malign foreign influence campaign targets our policies, our positions, 24/7, 365 days a year. So, its not an election specific threat. Its really more of an all year, all the time threat, Wray said. Wolf echoed Wrays sentiments about the CCP. Saying the CCP, uses the openness of our society and institutions against usbe it our academic and scientific communities, or Silicon Valleyto aggressively expand its ability to shape information and the Chinese narrative abroad. In a 2019 Joint Statement from the U.S. Departments of Justice (DOJ), Defense (DOD), Homeland Security (DHS), National Intelligence (DNI), FBI, National Security Agency (NSA), and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Agency (CISA) on Ensuring Security of 2020 Elections the officials said, Election security is a top priority for the United States government. The federal agencies said they are proactively, sharing information with all levels of government to mitigate any threats to the election process. In an unprecedented level of coordination, the U.S. government is working with all 50 states and U.S. territories, local officials, and private sector partners to identify threats, broadly share information, and protect the democratic process. We remain firm in our commitment to quickly share timely and actionable information, provide support and services, and to defend against any threats to our democracy, the joint statement said. Our adversaries want to undermine our democratic institutions, influence public sentiment, and affect government policies. Russia, China, Iran, and other foreign malicious actors all will seek to interfere in the voting process or influence voter perceptions, continued the joint statement. The joint statement said these countries use a variety of means, including social media campaigns, directing disinformation operations, or conducting disruptive or destructive cyberattacks on state and local infrastructure to achieve their goals. While the Democrats letter to Wray does not name specific countries or threats, they have been concerned about election interference particularly, from Russia, since President Donald Trump was elected. The Federal Bureau of Investigation did not reply immediately to the Epoch Times request for comment on the Democrats letter. The Greater Iberia Chamber of Commerce continues to keep businesses and the community at large connected, informed, and supported. After a successful launch of the new webinar series Up Next, the Chamber has scheduled its second webinar for Tuesday July 21st to discuss the new Louisiana Main Street Recovery Grant Program and what it means for eligible businesses in Iberia Parish. Chamber membership is not required to attend. The webinar is free and open to the public. Join the virtual conversation on July 21st at 2pm to engage with panelists and ask questions that are pertinent to your business. State Legislators representing Iberia Parish will be providing details. Register for this free webinar at iberiachamber.org. Find the Up Next button at the top of our homepage. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! Dan Bartok has been the CEO of Forestar Group Inc. (NYSE:FOR) since 2017, and this article will examine the executive's compensation with respect to the overall performance of the company. This analysis will also assess whether Forestar Group pays its CEO appropriately, considering recent earnings growth and total shareholder returns. Check out our latest analysis for Forestar Group How Does Total Compensation For Dan Bartok Compare With Other Companies In The Industry? According to our data, Forestar Group Inc. has a market capitalization of US$775m, and paid its CEO total annual compensation worth US$1.2m over the year to September 2019. We note that's an increase of 30% above last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$300k. In comparison with other companies in the industry with market capitalizations ranging from US$400m to US$1.6b, the reported median CEO total compensation was US$4.1m. In other words, Forestar Group pays its CEO lower than the industry median. Furthermore, Dan Bartok directly owns US$290k worth of shares in the company. Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary US$300k US$225k 24% Other US$948k US$737k 76% Total Compensation US$1.2m US$962k 100% On an industry level, around 32% of total compensation represents salary and 68% is other remuneration. In Forestar Group's case, non-salary compensation represents a greater slice of total remuneration, in comparison to the broader industry. If non-salary compensation dominates total pay, it's an indicator that the executive's salary is tied to company performance. A Look at Forestar Group Inc.'s Growth Numbers Over the last three years, Forestar Group Inc. has shrunk its earnings per share by 24% per year. It achieved revenue growth of 356% over the last year. Story continues The decrease in earnings could be a concern for some investors. But on the other hand, revenue growth is strong, suggesting a brighter future. In conclusion we can't form a strong opinion about business performance yet; but it's one worth watching. Historical performance can sometimes be a good indicator on what's coming up next but if you want to peer into the company's future you might be interested in this free visualization of analyst forecasts. Has Forestar Group Inc. Been A Good Investment? Given the total shareholder loss of 5.9% over three years, many shareholders in Forestar Group Inc. are probably rather dissatisfied, to say the least. This suggests it would be unwise for the company to pay the CEO too generously. In Summary... As we noted earlier, Forestar Group pays its CEO lower than the norm for similar-sized companies belonging to the same industry. But poor shareholder returns earnings growth have hampered the company over the past three years. In contrast, revenues have increased more recently. Although it's fair to say CEO compensation is modest, shareholders might want to see healthier investor returns before thinking Dan deserves a raise. CEO compensation is an important area to keep your eyes on, but we've also need to pay attention to other attributes of the company. In our study, we found 5 warning signs for Forestar Group you should be aware of, and 2 of them can't be ignored. Switching gears from Forestar Group, if you're hunting for a pristine balance sheet and premium returns, this free list of high return, low debt companies is a great place to look. 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. Photo credit: Photo Illustration: Mike Stillwell; Photos: Getty Images - Getty Images From Town & Country Can the wedding of Princess Beatrice to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi, a decidedly intimate affair, actually be the most royal ceremony of them all? Jewelry experts have declared it so. And it just might be because of the tiara. Expert and author historian (and must-follow Instagram user) Vincent Meylan wrote the history of the headpiece in a post on Sunday and prefaced it with this: Princess Beatrice of Yorks secret wedding at Windsor yesterday turned out to be more royal than them all. And Fred Leightons creative director and expert Rebecca Selva texted me with enthusiasm and exclamation marks the second the images were released: Could there have been a more perfectly beautifuland royalfamily wedding! This wedding was about family: celebrating love, honoring family and respecting tradition, with a great sensitivity to and awareness of the times we are living! Photo credit: BENJAMIN WHEELER - Getty Images The question then becomes, as Queen Elizabeth herself chose Queen Marys fringe tiara for her granddaughter, a bride forced to scale down her much anticipated nuptials due to a pandemic compounded by a looming family scandaldid her Majesty choose with these intentions? Did the Queen know a jewel with so much family history and provenance would signal solidarity and strength and endurance? Of course she did. How could she not? Her namesake, the Virgin Queen herself, used pearls as power. See the legendary Armada portrait of Elizabeth I fresh from her victory over an invading Spanish Armada, portrayed in the portrait laden with the white pearls of wisdom and chastity. Pearls proved an effective and enduring signifier of her reignshe had proven victorious at sea and was draped in treasures from it. And anyone who doubts the Queens clever use of jewelry to control the narrative might remember that royal power is bestowed and sealed with a collection of jewels. Almost every ritual in the anointment of a sovereign is marked with gold or precious stones: the Coronation Ring placed on the fourth finger by the Archbishop of Canterbury, the Sovereigns Orb, and the Sceptre with the Cross. Story continues The Orba gold sphere with diamonds, pearls, and other gemstones and topped with a golden cross, consecrates the role of Defender of the Faith. The Sceptre, symbolizing that the monarch has temporal authority under God, is set with the second largest diamond in the world. And at the end of the ceremony, the Imperial State Crown, a jewel whose historic stones contain multitudes is placed on the monarchs head. It is jewelry, for lack of a better term, that seals the deal. Photo credit: Hulton Deutsch - Getty Images And we need not even go that far back. In early April, at the height of the pandemic, Queen Elizabeth came on screen to calm the world and reassure her public that they would indeed meet again while wearing a diamond and turquoise brooch that belonged to Queen Mary, who had seen the country and the King through the horrors of the First World War. Also note: in legend, turquoise been celebrated as a stone of healing and love and protection, worn for centuries as amulet and talisman, and thought to enhance powers of leadership. Her Majesty wears the emerald version of the Vladimir tiara on official visits to Ireland and a maple leaf brooch for Canada. Like any grandmother, she wanted to make sure that though Princess Beatrices wedding might be diminished due to circumstances, the bride herselfin a vintage dress made for the Queen by couturier Norman Hartnell, the designer behind both Queen Elizabeth and Princess Margaret's own wedding gowns would not be. And she knew what a tiara could say to the world. The Queen Mary Fringe tiara began as a necklace given to Queen Mary by Queen Victoriaone of Englands most beloved Queens and one half of its most enduring and love filled marriages. Mary, as was her way, transformed it into a tiara and wore it often. She was stern, but strong. And it was this womans legacy that Queen Elizabeth herself chose to Telegraph when she selected the Fringe to wear at her own wedding to Prince Philip in 1947. And yes it snapped the morning of (it was originally meant to be a necklace after all) but the crisis was averted and the monarchy carried on, as did this royal marriage. The Queens daughter Princess Anne also chose to wear it to her own weddinga clear and direct line to the official love of her own parents. (Annes marriage to Captain Mark Phillips did not have the same luck, but no matter.) Photo credit: Getty, Benjamin Wheeler - Getty Images And for Beatrice, on a wedding day that might have been small and where she might not have been surrounded by a royal court or heads of state, she still, thanks to her Grandmother, had a clearly established show of support, and a glittering connection to a series of enduring royal marriages, strong women, and survival, despite it all. You Might Also Like Net employment creation in the formal sector stood at 3.18 lakh in May 2020, shows data released by the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO). As per the updated data, 3.10 lakh jobs were created in the same month in 2019, while 3.88 lakh EPF subscribers were added in May 2018. During the month of May, 2,79,023 new members joined the EPF scheme while 2,36,213 members exited the scheme. However 2,75,979 members re-joined and re-subscribed to the EPF scheme. The highest net additions in May 2020 were made in the age group of 29-35 years followed by more than 35 years, 18-21 years, 22-25 years, 26-28 years and less than 18 years. The states where most of these jobs were created are Maharashtra Gujarat, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Haryana. Provisional payroll data released by the EPFO for the previous month (April) had shown that net new enrolments stood at 1,33,080. The figure has now been revised downwards to 1,00,825; a correction of 32,255 jobs. In April 2019, 4.99 lakh jobs were created whereas in April 2018, 4.86 lakh net jobs were created. In the current financial year (FY21), job creation has taken a severe hit amid a global pandemic. As it's evident from the EPFO's payroll data, only 4,19,614 net jobs have been created. This too is subject to revision in further EPFO releases. On average, only 2.09 lakh jobs have been created every month, in the first two months of FY21. While in the previous fiscal, 6.54 lakh jobs were created on average. Implying a 68% drop in average job creation in the first two months of FY21 after coronavirus pandemic. In the pre-pandemic months of January 2020 and February 2020, 9.98 lakh jobs and 10.21 lakh jobs were created. Meanwhile, according to CMIE, the unemployment rate has reached new high post coronavirus pandemic. In the first two months of FY21 the unemployment rate exceeded 23% while it was a tad higher than 7% during the pre-pandemic months of January and February 2020. In the month of June 2020 the unemployment rate has fallen sharply and stands at 10.99%. According to a statement released by Labour Ministry in June, the Employees' Provident Fund Organisation (EPFO) has settled 36.02 lakh claims during coronavirus lockdown, disbursing an amount of Rs 11,540 crore under the EPF scheme. Out of this, 15.54 lakh claims amounting to Rs 4,580 crore were related to the recently introduced COVID-19 advance under Pradhan Mantri Garib Kalyan Yojana (PMGKY). In terms of wage slab, nearly two-third of total claimants during the lockdown period belonged to less than Rs 15,000 wage bracket. The high income category with wages more than Rs 50,000 accounted for a mere 2% of the claimants. A quarter of claims were made by the members with wages falling between Rs 15,000 and Rs 50,000, the ministry said. In March, the labour ministry had announced that about 4.8 crore EPF beneficiaries can withdraw 75% of the amount standing to their credit, not exceeding their three months' basic pay, to tide over the COVID-19 pandemic. The ministry had issued a notification in this regard to amend the Employees' Provident Fund Scheme 1952, so that organised sector workers can withdraw the non-refundable advance. EPFO has been releasing the payroll data of new subscribers since April 2018, covering the period starting from September 2017. The data also showed that during September 2017 till May 2020, the number of net new subscribers was 1.59 crore. The estimates are net of the new members enrolled, members exited and rejoined during the month, as per records of EPFO. CLEVELAND, Ohio -- Fox News personalities Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson and Howard Kurtz, along with former anchor Ed Henry, have been named in lawsuit filed by two women. The lawsuit includes charges that range from sexual harassment to rape and reveals what led to Henrys firing on July 1. The lawsuit was filed by Jennifer Eckhart, a former producer for Fox Business, and Cathy Areu, a former frequent guest on the network. The most disturbing allegations are made by Eckhart against Henry, who served as anchor of Americas Newsroom up until his dismissal. She claims Henry used his influence at the network to coerce her into a sexual relationship and assaulted her on office property and at a hotel where Fox News, which is also named in the lawsuit, lodges visiting employees. The lawsuit describes an incident at the hotel where Eckhart says she was handcuffed by Henry, who took nude photos of her without her consent and then violently raped her, leaving her bruised and with bloody wrists. The claim includes screenshots of text messages from Henry using violent and abusive language towards her. Henrys attorney, however, said Eckhart initiated the relationship and that it was consensual. The Me Too movement has helped to bring to light a number of injustices in our society, and everyone that has suffered deserves to be heard. This is not one of those cases, Catherine Foti said in a statement. Fox News responded by saying Eckhart is free to pursue her claims directly with Henry as the network said it acted swiftly upon learning about her case on June 25 by launching an investigation and then firing him a few days later. In the same lawsuit, co-plaintiff Areu accuses Henry of harassment for sending her sexually explicit messages and photos. She also accuses Hannity, Fox News biggest star, of misogynistic behavior for offering $100 to any man on the set of Hannity who would take her out for drinks. When she refused to play along, Areu, a frequent contributor at the time, says she was hardly ever, if ever at all, invited back to appear on the show. Areu alleges Carlson, the host of Tucker Carlson Tonight, the most-watched news show on cable, of making an unwanted sexual advance when he specifically mentioned to her in December 2018 that he would be staying alone in his hotel room without any wife or kids following the networks annual Christmas party. When she didnt respond, she says her appearances on his show dwindled to none by 2020. She also says her appearances on Kurtzs show, Media Buzz, became less frequent after she refused an invitation to his hotel room in July 2019. She accuses Gianno Caldwell, a Fox News political analyst, of dangling his friendship with Ann Coulter, who Areu wanted to meet, to entice her into a date with him. Fox News, which has been trying to repair its workplace culture the last few years following sexual harassment scandals involving former CEO Roger Ailes and host Bill OReilly, called these allegations baseless. Based on the findings of a comprehensive independent investigation conducted by an outside law firm, including interviews with numerous eyewitnesses, we have determined that all of Cathy Areus claims against FOX News, including its management as well as its hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity & Howard Kurtz and its contributor Gianno Caldwell, are false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit, the network said in a statement. We take all claims of harassment, misconduct and retaliation seriously, promptly investigating them and taking immediate action as needed in this case, the appropriate action based on our investigation is to defend vigorously against these baseless allegations. Ms. Areu and Jennifer Eckhart can pursue their claims against Ed Henry directly with him, as FOX News already took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckharts claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network. The plaintiffs are seeking unspecified damages against Fox News and the defendants for creating a hostile work environment, sexual harassment and gender discrimination. Eckhart is also asking for monetary relief against Fox News and Henry for violations of federal sex trafficking laws. The Trump administration has imposed trade sanctions on 11 Chinese companies complicit in human rights abuses against Uighur Muslims in the countrys northwest. Mondays announcement increases pressure on Beijing over Xinjiang, where Muslim minorities are believed to have faced mass detentions, forced labour and other abuses. The 11 companies named on Monday, according to The Department of Commerce, would be blocked from purchasing US goods and technology. They include current and former suppliers to major international brands such as Apple, Ralph Lauren, and Google. This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Partys despicable offensive against defenseless Muslim minority populations, said Commerce Department secretary Wilbur Ross in a statement. The Commerce Department named two gene-sequencing companies, Xinjiang Silk Road BGI and Beijing Liuhe BGI, as those who were conducting genetic analyses used to further the repression of Muslim minorities. Human rights groups say Xinjiang authorities are creating a genetic database with samples from millions of people, although the practice of gathering genetic information has existed for almost two decades in the country. An estimated 1 million or more Uighurs and other Muslim minorities are believed to have been placed in internment camps, which the Chinese government had described as vocational training facilities. Camp survivors and close relatives say those held inside are forced, often with the threat of violence, to denounce their religion, culture and language and swear loyalty to Communist Party leader and Chinese president Xi Jinping. Chinas foreign ministry said on Tuesday that it opposed the Trump administrations latest economic sanctions, and accused the US of abusing export control measures. Foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said during a daily media briefing that China would take all necessary measures to ensure the legitimate rights of Chinese firms. The US Commerce Department imposed similar restrictions in June and October last year on 37 companies it said were engaged in or enabling abuses in Xinjiang. The department issued a warning on July 1 that companies that handle goods made by forced labour or that supply technology that might be used in labour camps or for surveillance might face unspecified reputational, economic and legal risks. Additional reporting by The Associated Press The black boxes were decrypted in the presence of two Ukrainian experts, as well as representatives of other countries. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said flight recorders from Ukraine International Airlines (UIA) flight PS752 downed in Iran this January were successfully decrypted in France yesterday. "According to my information, it was a successful effort, but I'd like to emphasize that, despite all explanations we hear from the Iranian side, we have waited too long for the black boxes to be handed over for decyphering," the minister said during an online briefing on Tuesday, an UNIAN correspondent reports. "And when we hear arguments that air traffic was suspended, that it was impossible, I'd like to assure you that, in order to resolve the issue of transporting black boxes for decryption, both Ukraine and other countries affected were ready to take extraordinary measures, including sending an airplane so that those flight recorders could be decrypted in an authoritative laboratory as soon as possible," Kuleba said. The minister also said the black boxes had been decrypted by the French Bureau of Investigation and Analysis of Civil Aviation Safety in Lyon in the presence of two Ukrainian experts, as well as representatives of other countries. Read alsoPS752 downing: Ukraine releases intercepted tower communications proving Iran was aware of missile launch all along As UNIAN reported earlier, a Kyiv-bound UIA flight PS752 crashed shortly after takeoff from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport in the early hours of January 8. It was carrying 167 passengers and nine crew members on board. Two passengers and the crew members were Ukrainians. There were also 82 citizens of Iran, 63 citizens of Canada, 10 citizens of Sweden, four citizens of Afghanistan, three citizens of Germany and the United Kingdom each. There were no survivors. On January 11, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani officially admitted that the Ukrainian airliner had been shot down by accident as a result of a "human error" and that those responsible would be held accountable. Member countries of the International Coordination and Response Group for Flight PS752 Victims have repeatedly demanded that Iran hand over "black boxes" of the plane to the group. On July 6, the Iranian side promised to send the black boxes from the downed Ukrainian plane to France to decipher their data by specialists from the United States, Canada, France, Great Britain, and Ukraine. According to a report from Iran's Civil Aviation Organization, an Iranian air defense unit that "forgot" to adjust its radar system triggered a chain of communication and human errors that led to the deadly downing of the Ukrainian passenger jet in January 2020. On July 14, Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba said Kyiv could not agree with Iran's statement that Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 was shot down by the Iranian military outside Tehran as a result of human error. Ukraine's foreign ministry also does not rule out that the country will have to sue Iran over the downing of flight PS752, and bring the case to the International Court of Justice. On July 18, Iran sent the black boxes from UIA flight PS752 downed near Tehran to France. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 17:48 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406682d3df 1 National Bebean,Balinese-Kite,Denpasar-Bali,Denpasar-Police Free The police have arrested a 50-year-old man whose kite reportedly broke and fell onto a substation owned by state electricity firm PLN in Pesanggaran, Denpasar , Bali, leading to a five-hour blackout in three districts on the resort island on Sunday. The incident reportedly occurred when the man, identified as DKS, was flying a Balinese bebean (large traditional fish-shaped kite) attached to a 150-meter long string in a vacant lot near the Benoa port. DKS, who was flying the kite with his child, later tied the kite's string to a tree before heading home. However, the string broke, causing the kite to fly away and fall onto PLN's Pesanggaran substation. According to the police, DKS knew at that time that the kite had flown away, but he did not try to find it. The big kite fell on a busbar and consequently caused three transformers in the substation to short circuit, Denpasar Police chief Sr. Comr. Jansen Avitus Panjaitan said in a statement on Monday. Read also: Oldest kite in the world comes from Southeast Sulawesi: Museum The power outage lasted for around five hours from 4:45 p.m. local time and affected 71,121 houses and buildings in Kuta, South Denpasar and East Denpasar on Sunday. The incident was subsequently reported to the police. DKS admitted his wrongdoing and was charged under Article 188 of the Criminal Code for negligence endangering others, which carries a sentence of one month to five years' imprisonment. Jansen appealed to the public to think about their location before flying kites so as not to endanger other people and public facilities. We are taking this measure to give a deterrent effect so that people will be more considerate in choosing the location and the length of the string they use when playing with kites," he said as quoted by kompas.com, "Flying a kite is not prohibited, but please be considerate." (aly) Roy Den Hollander was a self-described anti-feminist lawyer who flooded the courts with seemingly frivolous lawsuits that sought to eliminate womens studies programs and prohibit nightclubs from holding ladies nights. In one of his most recent cases, he openly seethed against a federal judge in New Jersey, Esther Salas, whom he described in a self-published, 1,700-page book as a lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama. Den Hollander left the case, in which he challenged the male-only U.S. military draft, last summer, telling a lawyer who replaced him that he had terminal cancer. On Sunday afternoon, Den Hollander showed up at Salas home in North Brunswick, New Jersey, and fired multiple gunshots, killing the judges son and seriously wounding her husband, who is a criminal defence lawyer, investigators said. The judge, who was in the basement at the time, was not injured. The New York State Police found Den Hollanders body near Liberty, New York about a two-hour drive from the judges home after he shot himself in an apparent suicide, officials said. The startling sequence of events was a reminder of the dangers encountered by judges, who typically do not receive special security outside the courthouse unless they face specific threats. The FBI on Monday contacted New York states chief judge, Janet M. DiFiore, to notify her that Den Hollander had her name and photo in his car, according to her spokesman, Lucian Chalfen. The agents did not indicate whether Den Hollander had intended to target her as well, he said. Investigators were exploring whether Den Hollander had decided to take out some of his enemies, given his cancer diagnosis, before he died, according to one law enforcement official. Den Hollander, 69, identified with a broader movement of men who in often abusive, misogynist and hateful language rail against feminazis. He wrote numerous online screeds, some of which exceeded 1,000 pages. The judges husband, Mark Anderl, 63, was in the hospital in stable condition, Carlos Salas, an older brother of Salas, said. The couples son and only child, Daniel Anderl, 20, died from a gunshot wound to the heart. Daniel Anderl was about to start his junior year at Catholic University of America in Washington and was interested in pursuing a legal career as his parents had. Zinnia.com, a website for job seekers, recently analyzed Google Trends to determine each states favorite snack food. It found that Oreos are the favorite in five states, sunflower seeds are popular in the Midwest and most of us prefer sweet over salty snacks. In Pennsylvania, Zinnia determined that our favorite snack food is Hersheys. We like that answer. Not only because it is local but also because there are a gazillion kinds of candy under Hersheys. There, of course, are the obvious milk chocolate, dark chocolate, Hershey Kisses. But the brand also includes miniatures, snack mixes, nuggets, syrups, Kit Kat, Reeses Peanut Butter Cups, Krackel, Mr. Goodbar, Hugs, Reeses Pieces, Twizzlers, Mounds, Almond Joy, York Peppermint Patties and the variations of some of those big peanut butter cups, little peanut butter cups, white chocolate peanut butter cups, Kisses with almonds, Cookies and Cream Kisses, Caramel Kisses and so on. The study also found that Pringles, Fritos, Doritos, Cheez Its and Cheetos were popular along with Alaskas granola bars (really Alaska?). Illinois likes Skinny Pop, Kansas likes Nutter Butter cookies and Michigan snackers are reaching for South Patch Kids. Zinnia said it compiled the results after looking at 45 different favorite snack foods in Google Trends. We, being sane reasonable humans, excluded gum and sodas from out pretend vending machine snack roulette. Hopefully, you dont swallow gum. Plus, liquid isnt a snack its a liquid. We then selected a range of popular chips, cookies, candies and a few other vending machine favorites. I am moving to Montana their favorite is Rice Krispy Treats. Or Kentucky, I like Fritos, too. Reese's Peanut Butter Cups. Halloween candy. (Charlie Miller | cmiller@syracuse.com) READ MORE 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 resurfaced Christian Bale interview has shed light on Heath Ledgers portrayal of the Joker in Christopher Nolan film The Dark Knight. Published by The Hollywood Reporter, the interview sees Bale who played Batman recount his memory of the committed performance from Ledger. The film was released 12 years ago today (21 July) in the UK. Bale revealed that the actor, who died months before the film was released, wanted to be hit for real in one of its key scenes. The interview, conducted by Joseph McCabe in 2008, is featured in the book 100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Speaking about the interrogation scene between Batman and Joker, which occurs midway through the film, Bale remembered: As you see in the movie, Batman starts beating the Joker and realises that this is not your ordinary foe. Because the more I beat him the more he enjoys it. The more Im giving him satisfaction. Recommended Why The Dark Knight is not a superhero film Heath was behaving in a very similar fashion. He was kinda egging me on. I was saying, You know what? I really dont need to actually hit you. Its going to look just as good if I dont. And hes going, Go on. Go on. Go on. Bale continued: He was slamming himself around, and there were tiled walls inside of that set which were cracked and dented from him hurling himself into them. His commitment was total. Ledger went on to win a posthumous Oscar for the role a year later. While much has been reported over the years about how Ledgers loyalty to the role altered his mental health before his death, his family dismissed such claims earlier this year. The Dark Knight was preceded by Batman Begins (2005). Trilogy-closer The Dark Knight Rises followed in 2012. Access unlimited streaming of movies and TV shows with Amazon Prime Video Sign up now for a 30-day free trial Sign up Bale previously revealed that hes not a fan of his own performance in the trilogy, admitting that he feels he didnt quite nail it. Nolans new film, Tenet, has just been delayed indefinitely by Warner Bros due to the coronavirus pandemic. It was supposed to be released in August. UPDATE: Massive blaze kills hundreds of thousands of chickens at South Jersey egg farm Firefighters on Monday night were battling an inferno at a farm in Salem County. The blaze continued to burn in the 100 block of Cemetery Road, near the Mannington-Pilesgrove town line, at an egg farm, according to a report from 6abc.com. Authorities did not immediately release information on the fire and it was unclear if there were any injuries. Footage from the scene showed at least two structures on fire, sending smoke and flames shooting above the scene. #BREAKING: Fire continues to rage in #Pilesgrove, Salem County, NJ. Chopper 6 remains overhead as flames shoot into the night sky. This is the 100 block of Cemetery Road @6abc pic.twitter.com/tGXUCJKB9c Chuck McDade (@Squared6abc) July 21, 2020 LAAAAAARGE BUILDING FIRE!!! Woodstown/Mannington, Cemetary Rd! Helping stretch and pump! **5 Truck was added to the... Posted by Ron Taylor on Monday, July 20, 2020 Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday that France would not ban China's Huawei from investing in the country, in contrast to Britain which has decided to purge the firm's equipment from its 5G network by 2027. Le Maire told France Info radio there was "no blanket ban" on Huawei in France, but that sensitive locations would be protected. "We won't ban Huawei from investing in 5G, we will protect our national security interests," Le Maire said, adding that he had reaffirmed France's position to Chinese authorities on Monday. Le Maire nevertheless condemned China's alleged abuses against the country's minority Muslim population, saying they were "revolting and unacceptable". UN experts and activists say at least a million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims are being held in detention centres in Xinjiang. China describes them as training centres helping stamp out terrorism and extremism and giving people new skills. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China last week, saying the United States would impose visa restrictions on Chinese firms such as Huawei that he accused of facilitating human-rights violations. As the calendar ticks closer to the start of a new school year in west-central Illinois, unique this August because it will mark the first time teachers and students have met in person since mid-March, the only certainty is uncertainty. School administrators have been working for the past month to adapt guidelines created by the Illinois State Board of Education and the Illinois Department of Public Health. Many of the checklists of items to help prevent COVID-19 can be done now, such as moving desks to create more separation and doing deep cleaning and disinfecting in buildings, but the larger challenge will come when students, faculty and staff members return to the classrooms. Since March 17, the 4,266 public school buildings across the state have essentially been ghost towns. Gov. J.B. Pritzker directed the nearly 3 million students in 1,070 school districts to switch to remote learning as the pandemic started to spread in Illinois. Online learning has its limitations, though, and Pritzker said at a news conference in June that classroom learning provides necessary opportunities for our students to learn, socialize and grow. That is a message reiterated by the American Academy of Pediatrics, which said in a statement that the goal is having students physically present in school. Studies have indicated depression and feelings of isolation can result from extended time away from the support network schools can provide because it is difficult for schools to identify and address important learning deficits as well as child and adolescent physical or sexual abuse, substance use, depression and suicidal ideation. The classroom will be significantly different this year, though. Students and teachers will be screened for coronavirus symptoms each day and will be required to wear face coverings. Gatherings of more than 50 people in classes and hallways will prohibited. The same limit applies to extracurricular activities although field trips are discouraged and although playgrounds can be open, schools are urged to consider whether to allow use of playground equipment. Beyond handling the logistics of the guidelines, some are questioning whether they will be enough to prevent an outbreak in schools. The Illinois Education Association and Illinois Federation of Teachers have expressed concerns about having the resources and being able to reduce class sizes enough to ensure safety. On Monday, the Illinois Federation of Teachers urged state officials to keep classes online this fall. Were in the worst crisis in at least 100 years. As much as anybody, we want to be back with our students, [but] at this time, the safest option is not in-person teaching, federation President Dan Montgomery said during a news conference. Journal-Courier readers who took part in a non-scientific survey about having students return to the classroom largely supported in-person classes resuming, with 50% in favor, 37.5% opposed and 12.5% undecided. Im at a quandary as to physically how it could be done, one person responded, but I do know anyone anywhere close to being at risk will fall off the cliff. Single-parent households with students too young to stay home alone while the parent works will be placed in a tremendous bind. But all those who responded believed there was a risk to students and teachers. The majority, 42.9%, believed the risk was significant. About 29% considered the risk marginal, and the same percentage felt there would be some risk involved. No one responded that there would be no risk, which raised concern among a few respondents. One death is too many, one person commented. A fourth of those who took the survey did not believe there needed to be any safety measures enforced, while most 37.5% said social distancing requirements would be important. Twenty-five percent said schools needed to screen students, faculty and staff each day, and 12.5% said face coverings should be required. At the same time, the majority of those responding did not think remote learning negatively impacted the childs education (50%) or mental well-being (62.5%). More respondents believed there had been a negative impact to education (37.5%) than to well-being (25%). I'm more concerned with the social and physical education disruption. I am lucky enough that my child adapts quickly and is a quick learner, but realize others are not as lucky, one parent said. I think some of the hands-on learning that has really helped kids develop and learn will also take a hit. I do not envy the teachers and administration staff. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing unprecedented levels of disruption and uncertainty to the global economy. What is the economic outlook of Middle East and how Middle East companies could capture business opportunities from the post-pandemic recovery? Hong Kong Trade Development Council (HKTDC) will be hosting a free webinar in collaboration with the Dubai Exports, Saudi Chinese Business Council and Egyptian Industrial Development Authority to provide insights on business continuity during the coronavirus outbreak and beyond. Join us as we host experts from Hong Kong, UAE, KSA and Egypt on 14th July, 2020 at 11:00am (UAE Time) / 10:00am (KSA Time) / 09:00am (Egypt Time) / 15:00pm (HK Time). An armed man has taken bus passengers hostage in the center of Lutsk city. "In the center of Lutsk, an unknown person has taken bus passengers hostage and threatened to blow it up. He himself reported this to police on July 21. The criminal said that he had grenades and other automatic weapons," the Konkurent local newspaper informs. The newspaper quotes Head of the National Police Volyn Regional Department Yuri Kroshko, who assures that the situation is under control. "The situation is under control. The city center is blocked, we try not to let civilians there so that no one is injured. The residents and guests of the city are asked not to come close as we have heard a sound resembling a gunshot," Kroshko said. The head of the National Police department also said that the criminal was protesting against the system in this way. The man allegedly posted his demands on Twitter, now the police monitor his account, trying to call him. It has not yet been established which weapon the shots were fired from. No one has been injured. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky stated that he kept the situation with hostage-taking in Lutsk under personal control. Minister of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Arsen Avakov urgently flew to Lutsk to personally coordinate the actions of divisions of the Ministry of Internal Affairs. ol For regular readers who are wondering what happened to the Algar bid for the mobile division of troubled Brazilian telecommunications business Oi, it seems that it may still be on. A few weeks ago Brazilian regional operator Algar Telecom and Singaporean sovereign wealth fund GIC, which has a stake in Algar, were rumoured to be working together on a possible bid for Oi, according to Brazilian press reports. Now, according to TeleGeography's CommsUpdate, Digital Colony Management has got involved. The US-based digital infrastructure investment platform of Colony Capital was last seen in these pages when it announced the establishment of Scala Data Centres, a hyperscale data centre platform headquartered in Sao Paulo. Last year it acquired Highline do Brasil II Infraestrutura de Telecomunicacoes S/A, an independent infrastructure solutions provider for the telecommunications industry, from Patria Investments, a major name in alternative asset management in Latin America. Now it is apparently ready to back Algar Telecoms takeover bid for Ois mobile assets, according to the Brazilian news magazine Veja. If this is true, the partners in the bid are taking on some heavyweight competition in the form of Claro Brasil, Telefonica Brasil and TIM Brasil, whose joint bid for Ois mobile assets was announced late last week. However, there has apparently been no further detail offered by Algar or its supposed backers. In addition, earlier reports that Algar and GIC were also interested in Ois fixed line business (which is not for sale) are still unconfirmed. To confuse matters even further, Highline has apparently made a binding offer, worth about $201 million, for Ois tower unit. Theres still a lot to play for. As things stand, the sealed bids process may not favour the highest bidder if the second highest bid provides greater legal assurances and certainty for the closing of the sale. Representative image Cars24 will now offer consumers loans against their cars, the company said on July 21, a move aimed at helping owners looking to sell their vehicles to tide over a cash crunch. The company wanted to provide people with a loan and help them retain the asset at the same time through this new product, the Gurugram-based used cars startup said. We have witnessed a lot of cases where people have shown interest in selling their cars to fulfil their financial needs. Knowing that owning a car is becoming a necessity these days, we came up with an initiative so that our customers can secure funds and retain their assets at the same time, Cars24 vice president Vandita Kaul said. READ MORE: CARS24 introduces pre-owned two-wheeler sales on its platform This offering will be part of the lending arm of the startup that recently received Rs 10 crore in debt funding from Vivriti Capital. Earlier, the company offered loans to only its customers and business loans to its Cars24 dealers. This is the first time it has extended the facility to those who have not bought cars from it. While the new facility has been launched in Delhi and its suburbs, together known as the National Capital Region, the programme will be rolled out in Hyderabad and Bengaluru in August and other metro cities by the end of the financial year 2020-21. The company said customers would get benefits like same-day loan approval and up to 100 percent funding against the cars current market value. The loan amount will be decided after an inspection of the car. The company will also install an anti-theft device and offer easy foreclosure options. Cars24 has already disbursed Rs 35 lakh in loans under the scheme and is looking to expand the portfolio, it said. Cars24 was founded by Mehul Agarwal and Vikram Chopra, who were founders of FabFournish. The startup is backed by Sequoia Capital along with a clutch of global investors. Attorney Scott Harrison, Monge & Associates It was a pleasure to take a difficult situation where the insurance company denied coverage and turn it into a great outcome. The Georgia Supreme Court unanimously ruled punitive damages can be awarded to the party that negligently entrusted a vehicle to a drunk driver causing injury to an innocent motorist. In reaching its decision, the Court unanimously overruled more than a decade of case law limiting punitive damages to only the drunk driver in such cases. The case S20A0107. REID v. MORRIS et al. began in 2016 when Keith Stroud and Lakenin Morris were drinking alcohol. According to Justice Michael Boggs unanimous opinion, Stroud asked Morris to drive his car and gave him the keys even though Morris was obviously drunk and Stroud knew that Morris was drunk, did not have a valid drivers license, and had a habit of recklessness, Morris then proceeded to hit a car driven by Alonzo Reid. Morris would later plead guilty to the charge of Driving Under the Influence. Alonzo Reid, represented by Scott Harrison, with Monge & Associates, then brought a claim against Morris and an added claim against Stroud for negligent entrustment of his vehicle in Spalding County State Court, where both were found liable for Reids injuries (Morris by default and Stroud by summary judgment). In the decision leading to the high court case, the trial court declined Reids request for punitive damages against Stroud in his role as the negligent entrustor despite a finding that Stroud had acted while under the influence and engaged in conduct susceptible to punitive damages. The trial court felt compelled to follow the rule as outlined by the Georgia Court of Appeals in Capp v.Carlitos Mexican Bar & Grill, 288 Ga. App. 779 (2007); Corrugated Replacements v. Johnson, 340 Ga. App. 364 (2017); and Am. Material Services v. Giddens, 296 Ga. App. 643 (2009). After Reid appealed, the case then went to the Georgia Supreme Court where Justice Michael Boggs stated that although precedent held that only the DUI driver was the active tortfeasor, there is no such categorical rule and to the extent that other cases suggest otherwise, they are hereby disapproved." Boggs finally stated, we must vacate the trial courts judgment to the extent that the court failed to consider awarding punitive damages against Stroud and remand the case for further consideration. "It was a pleasure to take a difficult situation where the insurance company denied coverage and turn it into a great outcome for the client and for Georgia law said Scott Harrison. According to the prevailing lawyer for the injured plaintiff, Scott Harrison, the impact of the case remains to be seen in that it depends on how the trial courts interpret the Supreme Courts decision, but it would seem to allow for punitive-damages awards that are not limited by a $250,000 statutory cap on punitive damages in cases involving multiple defendants. In closing, Harrison added, this could be a significant improvement in Georgia law that may be applicable in only a small percentage of cases, but in those cases where it does apply, it can make a significant difference to the injured party. Bangalore, 21 July 2020: In a life-saving surgery, 6-year-old Sarvesh, a child from RR Nagar received a live liver transplant from his mother recently. He was suffering from a very rare kind of tumour called hepatoblastoma, which had grown to a large size and had almost occupied his liver. Hepatoblastoma are rare malignant tumours which mostly occur in children less than 5 years of age. The boy was only 5 years and 6 months old when the tumour was detected. Sarvesh initially had symptoms of stomach pain in Dec 2019 and his mother noticed that he had developed a swollen abdomen. Investigations revealed a growth within the liver. This tumour is very sensitive to chemotherapy and the child had already undergone 6 cycles of chemotherapy at another specialist hospital. Following this they were referred to the Integrated Liver Care Group at Aster RV Hospital. Dr. Rajiv Lochan, Sr. Consultant HPB and Liver Transplantation Surgery, Aster RV Hospital said, Chemotherapy shrinks the tumour and, some children can undergo a liver operation to remove the tumour and leave enough liver behind to support the child. However, in some patients, the tumour is so large that a safe operation to remove a part of the tumour-bearing liver is not possible, even after chemotherapy. This was the situation for Sarvesh. In such cases, a paediatric liver transplant (operation to remove the whole liver and replace it with a part donated from another individual, usually a parent) is done. This is a living donor hemi-liver transplant. Hepatoblastoma is a unique paediatric solid tumour which has an extremely favourable response to liver transplantation. Following successful treatment, these children can lead normal lives as the chance of recurrence of these tumours is extremely small. Sarvesh and his mother underwent a full and extensive transplant assessment. The whole operation for both the mother and child took 16 hours to complete, where a portion of the donors left side of liver was removed. Sarveshs liver which was replaced by a large tumour was removed completely and a portion of his mothers liver was meticulously joined to the various blood vessels and a new bile duct. All national protocols related to the prevention of the spread of the COVID was followed during the conduct of this surgery. The operation was conducted without the need for blood transfusion and the child was transferred to the Transplant ICU. He spent 14 days in the hospital and was discharged. Both mother and child have recovered completely. The child is free of tumour. This successful transplant has led to a very high possibility of a complete cure from cancer resulting in a new lease of life to the child. Dr Chetan Ginigeri, Consultant, Pediatric Intensive Care, Aster RV Hospital explained the importance of post-operative care, Taking care of children with Liver disease is a complex exercise. As the liver coordinates the entire energy supply, waste management of body cells and stops the bleeding from injury and enables healing; any disease-causing suboptimal function will have a cascading effect on every aspect of childs growth. Poor feeding, poor digestion, irritability, sleep disturbances and overall growth failure to name a few. Sarvesh responded well to his operation and needed artificial ventilation only for a day. Originally, the World Wide Web was envisioned as exactly that: a global vehicle for the unimpeded flow of information, without barriers, dams, blocks, filters, or censors. In techno-talk, the Internet was built on principles of "end-to-end neutrality," an engineering rule of thumb that recommends placing fancy features and "intelligence" at the edges of the networktypically, in the computers of end-usersrather than in the middle. The network itself had the simple job of enabling the open flow of data. But the Net has evolved, and what once appeared to be the first truly global information medium is now in danger of becoming balkanized into merely nationwide webs, according to recent research by assistant professor of law Jonathan Zittrain, J.D.-M.P.A. '95, and first-year law student Benjamin Edelman '02. Saudi-blocked websites include pages for cannabis as well as for swimwear and the Israeli Defense Forces. Last spring, the Saudi Arabian government allowed the Law School's Berkman Center for Internet and Society, which Zittrain co-directs with professor of law Terry Fisher and Weld professor of law Charles Nesson, to access a Saudi proxy server that restricts the Internet's availablity to Saudi citizens. For two weeks, Berkman computers ran 24 hours a day, attempting to call up more than 60,000 Web pages. The center's report reveals that the Saudi government's Internet Services Unit blocked access to 2,038 of the websites tested. The researchers tried, for example, to fetch 795 pages containing pornography, but 695 were blocked. In the category of religion, including Islam and Judaism, they encountered 246 blocks. The Saudi gatekeepers also filtered out some music, humor, and movie sites, as well as 13 pages on homosexuality. Amnesty International's reports on human rights in Saudi Arabia were inaccessible, as were certain "translation" sites that could translate verboten material from other languages. "Anonymizer" sitestechnological proxies that request a page on behalf of the end userwere blacklisted as well. To accomplish this Web filtration, the Saudis use a popular American product, SmartFilter software. They are doing on the national level what many Web users do privately. In fact, the ideal of an untrammeled Net never really existed in pure form. Early on, for example, parents insisted on mechanisms that would allow them to block their children from visiting web pages that offered explicit sexual material, drug-related information, and gambling. Blocking software allows companies to control employees' access to leisure sites. By paying an annual subscription fee, users can continually refresh their lists of off-limits URLsjust as anti-virus software packages update virus definitions as hackers launch new viral strains. Zittrain and Edelman have also done a preliminary study in China, which blocks the BBC site as well as Playboy.com and has even unplugged the search engine Google on occasion. China "is interested in creating a China Wide Web, bordered by language and technology," Zittrain says. "The Chinese are trying to maintain a distinct culture, and feel hemmed in on all sides." Other governments and government agencies have agendas as well. French courts, for example, have demanded that Yahoo! stop French users from visiting on-line auctions of Nazi memorabilia. In his course on Internet law, Zittrain teaches a case study on Quebec's language lawswhich require any commercial speech in English to have a French version in larger typeand asks, "How might this apply to the Web?" "We're trying to track the evolution of the Net," says Zittrain. "Is this a worldwide instrumentality that will be the same everywhere, or one that has local flavors and limitations?" Ultimately, Zittrain would like to monitor Web filters around the clock by using a "distributed application" similar to the special screensavers volunteers have installed on their computers to crunch SETI (Search for Extra-Terrestrial Intelligence) data when the machines are idle. That way, he says, "computers all around the world would give us an instant mosaic of where the blockages are." ~Craig Lambert Jonathan Zittrain e-mail address:[email protected] Berkman Center for Internet and Society website: http://cyber.law.harvard.edu Update: Man indicted for triple killing in NE Portland A Portland man is accused of shooting and killing three people Friday in Northeast Portland. Brett Edward Pruett, 58, faces murder charges in the deaths of Elmer Edwin Hughes, Tashia Cobb, and Lawrence Murphy, the Multnomah County District Attorneys Office announced Monday. Portland police also did not notify the public of the triple homicide until Monday, three days after the killings occurred and two days after officers arrested Pruett. Police have not yet explained the delay. Police have so far disclosed few details about the killings. Officers said they found the three victims dead at 10 p.m. when they arrived at a home on 122nd Avenue between Brazee and Russell streets. Court records from 2019 list Pruetts address on the same block. One of the victims, 77-year-old Murphy, lived directly across the street from Pruetts listed address in 2019, according to state records. Officers said they arrested Pruett Saturday afternoon. Court documents say Pruett has been convicted of 13 felonies and had a warrant for his arrest in San Diego. He also escaped from jail in California in 1984, according to state documents. Pruett is charged with three counts of first-degree murder, three counts of unlawful use of a weapon, two counts of being a felon in possession of a firearm, one count of first-degree burglary and one count of second-degree assault with a firearm. Prosecutors said some of the charges are tied to an assault of a woman Thursday, the day before the shooting. Pruetts social media pages say he was engaged to the living victim, who the judge ordered Pruett not to contact, state records show. Court records as recently as 2018 list the living victims address as a residence directly across from Hughes, one of the homicide victims. Pruett is next scheduled to appear in court July 28. -- Celina Tebor ctebor@oregonian.com @CelinaTebor The rod-like spike proteins on the surface of SARS CoV-2 are the tip of the spear of the COVID-19 pandemic. The spikes bind to human cells via the ACE2 receptor and then dramatically change shape, jack-knifing to fuse the cell membrane with the coronavirus's outer membrane and opening the door to coronavirus infection. A study led by Boston Children's Hospital for the first time freeze-frames the spike protein in its "before" and "after" shapes. The study, published July 21 in Science, also captured some surprise features of the spike protein, which is also the main protein targeted by our antibodies and the protein used in most vaccines now in human testing. The investigators, led by Bing Chen, PhD, believe the unexpected features may help SARS-CoV-2 hide from the immune system and survive longer in the environment. They may also have implications for vaccine and therapeutic development. Using the technique of cryogenic electron microscopy, Chen and colleagues in Boston Children's Division of Molecular Medicine established the structure of the spike protein, both before and after fusion of the virus and cell membranes. In the "after," post-fusion state, the protein assumes a rigid hairpin shape folded in on itself, they showed. Intriguingly, they also found that the spike protein sometimes goes from its original "before" shape into the "after" form prematurely, without the virus binding to the ACE2 receptor. "We propose that there are two routes for the conformational changes," says Chen. "One is ACE2 dependent, and allows the virus to enter a host cell. The second is ACE2 independent." A coronavirus defense mechanism? As a result of the spontaneous shape change, coronavirus particles often bear both forms of the spike protein, with the rigid "after" form protruding slightly more from the virus surface. Chen suggests that being able to assume this alternate shape even without binding to a cell may help keep SARS-CoV-2 viable in the environment, preventing it from breaking down when it lands on a surface for example. That could explain why the virus appears to remain viable on various surfaces for hours to days. "Most viruses don't survive long outside the host," Chen says. "We think the rigid structure of these post-fusion spikes protects the virus." Evading immune detection The researchers speculate that having some spikes assume the post-fusion form prematurely may also protect SARS-CoV-2 from our immune system, inducing antibodies that are non-neutralizing and ineffective in containing the virus. In effect, the post-fusion spikes may act as decoys that distract the immune system. The team was also surprised to find that the post-fusion spikes, similar to the pre-fusion spikes, have glycans, or sugar molecules, at evenly spaced locations on their surface. Glycans are another feature that helps the virus avoid immune detection. Chen believes his team's findings have implications for vaccine development. He notes that current vaccine formulations that use the spike protein to stimulate the immune system may have varying mixes of the pre- and post-fusion forms, and that this may limit their protective efficacy. "We need to think about how to stabilize the spike protein," he says. "If the protein is not stable, you may be able to induce antibodies, but they will be less effective in terms of blocking the virus. There may be batch-to-batch variation." Building on experience with HIV Chen's many years of research on HIV have helped give his team a leg up on studying SARS-CoV-2. Both viruses are what's known as envelope viruses, and need to fuse their membranes with those of the cells they're seeking to enter. Both use the same jack-knifing shape change, and both have spike proteins on their surface that are decorated with sugars. Finally, HIV vaccine development is plagued by the challenge of developing neutralizing antibodies -- it, too, distracts the immune system into creating multiple antibodies that do not shut down the virus. "I think SARS-CoV-2 is probably an easier target than HIV, but we will have to see," says Chen. "If this first round of vaccines does not work well in Phase 3 trials, this new understanding of the spike structure may help us design stronger vaccines." ### To view an animation of the spike proteins shape change and how it drives fusion of the viral and host-cell membranes, visit: https://youtu.be/e2Qi-hAXdJo Yongfei Cai and Jun Zhang in Chen's lab were first authors on the paper. Researchers from the Harvard Cryo-EM Center for Structural Biology and the Blavatnik Institute of Harvard Medical and SBGrid Consortium also collaborated on the study. The work was supported by the National Institutes of Health (AI147884, 3R01AI147884- 01A1S1, AI141002, AI127193) and a COVID19 Award from the Massachusetts Consortium on Pathogen Readiness. About Boston Children's Hospital Boston Children's Hospital is ranked the #1 children's hospital in the nation by U.S. News & World Report and is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. Home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. Today, 3,000 researchers and scientific staff, including 9 members of the National Academy of Sciences, 21 members of the National Academy of Medicine and 12 Howard Hughes Medical Investigators comprise Boston Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Boston Children's is now a 415-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care. For more, visit our Discoveries blog and follow us on social media @BostonChildrens, @BCH_Innovation, Facebook and YouTube. For generations, school has been a place for children to learn and make friends. But in the United States, school is important to many parents for another reason. It is a safe place that cares for their children while they are working or a necessity for them to be able to work at all. The spread of the coronavirus this year, and the resulting changes, have caused these ideas of school in American life to collide. Now, President Donald Trump is demanding that schools reopen in a few weeks. But with virus infection rates rising, many working parents see no good options. Michelle Brinson lives in Nashville, Tennessee. She works full-time for a nonprofit group while raising her 11-year-old child alone. She told The Associated Press she does not have the option of a husband or other family member to care for her son. At age 50, and with health conditions, Brinson says she is "terrified of getting infected with the coronavirus. She is worried that if her son goes back to school, he could bring the virus home to her. If Im dead or connected to breathing equipment, she says, what good am I to him? This is not the first time American schools have closed or talked about it because of an epidemic. It happened in 1918 with an influenza pandemic and in the 1930s and 1950s, when polio was a major health issue. But the nature of school has changed completely since the 1950s, notes education historian Jonathan Zimmerman. School used to teach basic skills and citizenship, but extensive schooling was not needed for many jobs. The whole structure of the economy changed after World War II. And schooling became a necessity for personal independence like it never had before, he explained. In a way, schools have also become like social service agencies. They provide necessities like meals and mental health services. That is where the conflict comes in. Asking a parent to work full time while supervising schooling and daytime meals can lead to stress and impossible expectations. That is especially true for a parent trying to raise a child alone. Rebecca Witte offers evidence of that. For Witte, the experience of working from home while helping her two young children finish the school year from home is not one she wants to repeat. Witte works as a spokeswoman for the Kansas Department of Corrections. During a coronavirus outbreak that infected more than 900 prisoners, she remembers her children coming into the room and shouting one day while she was being interviewed. Her husband, the head of a school, shared the homeschooling responsibilities but was also busy helping teachers at his school move to online learning. Trying to work, it was hard, Rebecca Witte said. She is waiting to see what the plan is for the new school year and is hopeful they wont be home full time with me trying to teach and work. Before the virus, Michelle Brinson says she went to her workplace every day and her son went to school and then went to after-school programs daily. Brinson was totally unprepared when schools closed in March. So, she took several days off until she got permission to work from home. Now her employer is pushing her to come back to the office. Yet in many ways, Brinson and Witte are lucky. Their jobs offer at least some room for compromise. Taryn Walker has been depending on her two teenage children to care for her 5-year-old child while she works as an office assistant. Her offices never closed and she is not permitted to work from home. The situation has also hurt Walker financially as her food costs rise. Because they are home all day, I'm paying two or three times the amount I did before, she says. But Walker also does not feel safe sending the children back to school. Elizabeth Ananat is an economics professor at Barnard College in New York City. She served as an economic advisor to Barack Obama during his presidency. She has been surveying a group of 1,000 hourly service workers for almost a year. Ananat told the AP she has found that working families with young children have been especially harmed by the health crisis. Parents need to work to pay for food but also need to care for their children. And they cannot risk getting sick. Those issues existed before. But the lack of school and other childcare programs and the deadly nature of the virus are adding to the pressures. Ananat calls the situation a disaster. She says federal aid for businesses and the unemployed has helped, but not everyone who was eligible was able to get it. But now much of that money is running out, she notes. And businesses are pressuring parents to return to the workplace, while school systems do not have a plan to make that happen, Ananat says. In Florida and Texas, two states with rising infection rates, officials are requiring school districts to offer in-person schooling to those who want it. Im Alice Bryant. The Associated Press reported this story. Alice Bryant adapted it for Learning English. George Grow was the editor. Quiz - Back-to-School Plans Worry Working Parents in Virus Era Start the Quiz to find out Start Quiz ____________________________________________________________ Words in This Story collide v. to crash together or to crash into something option n. the chance or ability to choose something or to choose between two or more things terrified adj. extremely afraid epidemic n. an occurrence in which a disease spreads very quickly and affects a large number of people stress n. a state of mental tension and worry caused by problems in your life interview v. to question or talk with someone in order to get information teenage adj. between the ages of 13 and 19 survey v. to ask many people a series of questions to gather information about what people do or think about something eligible adj. able to do or receive something school district n. an area or region containing the schools that a school board is in charge of The pastor, whose passport shows a different name to the one he is known by, is from Zimbabwe He publicly apologised to Ralawe on a video which was posted on YouTube recently and which was also uploaded on his Facebook page in which he admitted to performing fake miracles and running a cult. We need to have our health in our own hands. We need to have the freedom to choose if we wear a mask or not. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. "We need to have our health in our own hands. We need to have the freedom to choose if we wear a mask or not." Patrick Allard, the head of Manitoba Together "There is a lot of stuff saying COVID is not a big deal. It is a big deal. Im seeing people very sick in the hospital. This is not an imaginary hoax. People say this is an infringement on our freedom. We have restrictions on our freedoms every day. When I drove to work today, I drove on the right side of the road." Dr. Joe Vipond, ER physician, Calgary, and member of Masks4Canada.org Less than a week ago, Manitobans were celebrating the fact that our province had gone 13 days without any new cases of COVID-19 cases being found. Then last week Tuesday, there were suddenly five new cases, one of them involving a passenger who flew on a WestJet flight from Winnipeg to Calgary on June 27 and then returned to Winnipeg on July 2. As of yesterday a mere six days later were back up to 29 active cases in this province, with one case hospitalized in the ICU. Eighteen of them were identified over the weekend, with three of those announced yesterday in the Prairie Mountain Health region. Of the 18 new cases made known yesterday, 10 have been linked to Hutterite colonies, two from international travel, one is a transport driver and three others are close contacts of known virus carriers. Next door in Saskatchewan, our neighbours reported 19 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of cases in that province to 962. Manitobas lab-confirmed positive and probable positive cases stand at 354. A reporter with The Canadian Press in Saskatchewan noted that most of the provinces active cases have been found in the far south and central areas, including Kindersley and Yorkton. And like Manitoba, several of the infections have been tied to Hutterite colonies, as well as other communities in the region. As Manitobas chief provincial public health officer, Dr. Brent Roussin, told reporters yesterday, it was not unexpected to see more cases as the province reopens. What this goes on to prove, perhaps, is that while Prairie folk would really like to be done with the COVID-19 pandemic, that virus is not done with us not by a long shot. And yet, we really dont have much to complain about when compared to the situations facing Quebec, Ontario and Alberta, which have had the lions share of Canadas 110,635 confirmed cases as of July 20. In both Quebec and in some parts of Ontario, the use of masks at indoor public venues is now mandatory. And with a new surge of COVID-19 in Alberta, a group of doctors under the name Masks4Canada is urging the City of Calgary to implement a mandatory masking bylaw. But the growing calls to make masks mandatory has prompted pushback from a small but vocal minority who believe their rights will be infringed upon by having to don a piece of cloth that helps prevent the spread of the virus. Understandably, doctors like Joe Vipond are baffled as to why such a simple intervention "that has been done in 129 countries and 25 U.S. states seems to have such incredible resistance here." And its not just in Alberta. Over the weekend, several Canadian cities were host to a "March to Unmask" demonstration, including Winnipeg, where protesters urged the province to rule out mask requirements during the pandemic. Dr. Roussin has previously told media that while there are no plans as yet to make mask wearing mandatory in Manitoba, he has not ruled out the possibility. Nor should he. There is ample and growing evidence that wearing masks severely curtails the spread of the coronavirus, when used together with social distancing and hand washing. The basis for the weekend protest that mandatory mask-wearing infringes upon personal freedom is a weak argument at best, and a deliberately harmful one at worst. If wearing a mask could help keep businesses open, allow some of our kids to stay in school for their education, and keep our society healthier through any potential second wave of the pandemic, then it should be an easy decision to make. When the time comes. US President Donald Trump promised Monday to resume televised coronavirus briefings and finally spoke out in favor of mask-wearing -- a marked change of tune as polls show him headed for election disaster. With only just over 100 days until the election against Democrat Joe Biden, Trump is scrambling to respond to public anger over his troubled months-long handling of the pandemic. Since the virus first hit the United States, Trump has insisted that it will just "disappear." But that sunny claim is now badly strained even among loyal supporters, as they watch COVID-19 cases surge through populous Republican-led states like Florida and Texas. More widely, polls show public trust in Trump's management of the crisis tanking. Throughout, he has sought to deny the seriousness of the problem, an attitude symbolized by his mockery of masks and refusal to back up doctors' recommendations for mass use. Trump went some way to addressing that Monday with a tweeted picture of himself in a black mask with the presidential seal and a call for patriotism. "Many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance," Trump wrote. "There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!" However, his tweet stopped well short of endorsing calls from some for a nationwide mandate to wear masks in public. Trump, a lifelong real estate salesman and more recently reality TV performer, says the real problem is that Americans just aren't hearing the right news. So, likely from Tuesday he will resume the regular evening televised briefings from the White House that he gave until late April, often finding himself accused of giving confusing or misleading information. "I think it's a great way to get information out to the public," he told reporters. "We're doing very well in so many different ways." Trump acknowledged a current "big flare-up" of cases in the country but once again distanced himself from responsibility for the problem, underlining that the disease is also ravaging "Mexico, Brazil, many countries in Europe, all over, Russia." "When you watch the news, the local news, and you see it, and it's, it's like all about the United States. They never like to talk about what's going on in the world," he said. Trump said the briefings would focus on good news regarding vaccine development and therapeutics. "We think we're doing very well in that regard," he said. "I think I'm going to be bringing in some of the great companies that are working very successfully." "We're really coming up with some very good answers," he said. Trump has great faith in his ability before the cameras. He has transformed the image of the US presidency during his first term with unprecedented streams of press conferences, tweets and rallies. But his previous spell as the nation's pandemic-spokesman in chief ended badly in late April. Trump often turned what were billed as opportunities to provide the anxious public with information into testy exchanges with reporters in the White House briefing room. He finally ditched the events after a PR fiasco where he mused on air about the possibility of injecting household disinfectant to combat COVID-19. He later said he had been speaking "sarcastically," although there was no evidence of that at the time. The president has consistently sought to play down the severity of the health crisis, hoping that voters will instead focus on what he touts as his good management of the economy. In an interview with "Fox News Sunday," he once again claimed that the virus, which has killed more than 140,000 Americans and caused massive economic disruption, would somehow go away by itself. "I'll be right eventually," he said. But with the virus on the rebound, he finds himself accused of failing to lead. Biden has opened a double-digit lead in election polls, and an ABC/ Washington Post poll released Friday showed nearly two-thirds of Americans mistrust Trump on the coronavirus. Trump, nevertheless, appears to be looking forward to his chance to get back to the briefing room podium. "We had very successful briefings. I was doing them and we had a lot of people watching, record numbers watching. In the history of cable television, there's never been anything like it," he said. As of the July 21, the Houston Community College Center for Entrepreneurship at its West Houston Campus is now known as the Glenda & David Regenbaum Center for Entrepreneurship at Northwest College in recognition of a $100,000 gift that the couple made to the center this past April. The Regenbaurm Center for Entrepreneurship is located at the HCC Alief Hayes campus in West Houston which is located southwest of the intersection between Westheimer Road and Wilcrest Drive. The Center for Entrepreneurships mission is to help entrepreneurs start and grow their small businesses. We do this by offering workshops, seminars, summits, classes and competitive training and advising, while also providing practical knowledge, resources and connections according to the Houston Community College website. HCC 2020: Houston Community College sees summer enrollment increase The Regenbaums moved to Houston from South Africa in 1979 and started Association Management, Inc. (AMI), a highly successful business specializing in the management of condominium and homeowners association. The Regenbaums sold AMI in 2014, and David joined HCC in 2015 as a volunteer, donating his time and entrepreneurial expertise as the Entrepreneur-in-Residence, a position that he created to David created to provide guidance to individuals who are starting or growing their own companies. As a result, HCC now has four Entrepreneurs-in-Residence who serve at each of HCCs Centers for Entrepreneurship. Upcoming school year: Houston Community College announces plans for next year David also serves as the Chairman of the Board of the HCC Foundation, which is dedicated to providing scholarships and grants promoting student success through philanthropic support aligned with key HCC institutional initiatives. He is also a faculty member for the Goldman Sachs 10,000 Small Business Program, leads the training in the HCC Business Plan Competition, and designed and teaches the HCC Small Business Success Program, a curriculum of five practical courses designed to provide the basic structure of a business. Glenda is also active in the Houston community. She served as the Executive Director of Holocaust Museum Houston from 1995 to 1997, and currently serves on the Board of Directors of Seven Acres Jewish Senior Care and is a volunteer at Jewish Family Services. Glenda also creates unique jewelry and is the managing member of Only Yours Jewelry, a division of Luda Enterprises, LLC. HCC is grateful for the Regenbaums contributions to the college through both their entrepreneurial leadership and philanthropic gifts. Their support and leadership has been invaluable and their counseling and mentoring has been an inspiration to countless prospective and existing entrepreneurs and small business owners, Houston Community College said in a statement released announcing the new name. Center for Entreprenership at UH: UH Wolff Center for Entrepreneurship receives $13M gift Learn more about the Regenbaurm Center for Entrepreneurship at Northwest College at https://tinyurl.com/y48p7kpn. elliott.lapin@hearst.com Researchers at the University of Sussex have developed a system which can accurately predict a period of drought in East Africa up to ten weeks ahead. Satellite imagery is already used in Kenya to monitor the state of pastures and determine the health of the vegetation using a metric known as the Vegetation Condition Index. These are conveyed to the decision makers in arid and semi-arid regions of Kenya through drought early warning systems. However, these systems, operated by the National Drought Management Authority (NDMA), only allows organisations and communities to intervene when the impacts of a drought have already occurred. By that point, such extreme weather would already have had a devastating effect on the livelihood of local people. Instead, a team of researchers from the University of Sussex and the NDMA have developed a new system called Astrocast. Part-funded by the Science and Technology Facilities Council, the project allows humanitarian agencies and drought risk managers to be proactive when it comes to dealing with the impacts of extreme weather by forecasting changes before they occur. In a research paper published in Remote Sensing of Environment, they explain how an interdisciplinary team of data scientists (astronomers and mathematicians) with geographers used techniques from astronomy science; processing data directly from space telescopes before using advance statistical methods to forecast extreme weather. advertisement Dr Pedram Rowhani, Senior Lecturer in Geography and co-founder of Astrocast, said: "In many cases, the first signs of a drought can be seen on natural vegetation, which can be monitored from space. "Our approach measures past and present Vegetation Condition Index (VCI), an indicator that is based on satellite imagery and often used to identify drought conditions, to understand trends and the general behaviour of the VCI over time, to predict what may happen in the future." Joint first author on the paper and Lecturer in Machine Learning and Data Science, Dr Adam Barrett said: "After conversations in corridors with Dr Rowhani about AstroCast, I saw an opportunity to apply methodology I'd been developing in theoretical neuroscience to a project with potential for real humanitarian impact. "With Sussex actively encouraging interdisciplinary working, we decided to combine skillsets. It's been eye-opening to see how our techniques can be applied to a real-world problem and improve lives." There has been a growing demand within the humanitarian sector to develop systems that focus on advance warnings and encourage a more proactive approach to disasters. advertisement The Kenyan NDMA already provides monthly drought bulletins for every county, which state detected changes in the vegetation and are used to make decisions about whether to declare a drought alert. But with Astrocast forecasts, these bulletins could also include a prediction of what the VCI is likely to be in a few weeks' time, giving farmers and pastoralist valuable time to prepare. Seb Oliver, Professor of Astrophysics and co-founder of Astrocast, said: "A large part of my astrophysics research requires processing data from astronomical space telescopes, like the Herschel Space Observatory. Earth observation satellites are not that different. "We often use cutting-edge statistics and machine-learning approaches to interpret our astronomical data. In this case we've used machine-learning approaches, and we've been able to forecast the state of the vegetation up to ten weeks ahead with very good confidence. "We imagine that our reports might be used to define a new warning flag allowing county leaders to make decisions earlier and so prepare better. But this information could also be used by humanitarian organisations like the Kenya Red Cross as well as other organisations like the Kenya Met Department. "Earlier preparation is well known to be much more effective than reactive response." BARCELONA (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co. is willing to postpone until June 2021 the closure of its three Barcelona plants, which had originally been due to close by December 2020, but only if workers resume production, a top executive said on Tuesday. The decision to shut its three Barcelona plants and lay off around 3,000 workers was announced in May as part of a turnaround plan for Nissan, triggering protests by workers and a commitment by Madrid to convince the company to stay BARCELONA (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co. is willing to postpone until June 2021 the closure of its three Barcelona plants, which had originally been due to close by December 2020, but only if workers resume production, a top executive said on Tuesday. The decision to shut its three Barcelona plants and lay off around 3,000 workers was announced in May as part of a turnaround plan for Nissan, triggering protests by workers and a commitment by Madrid to convince the company to stay. The postponement deal would also imply an agreement on compensation for laid-off workers and this would have to be reached before July 30 or early August when a negotiation period ends, Frank Torres, the head of the Japanese carmaker's industrial operations in Spain, told reporters. In exchange Nissan would not conduct layoffs until the end of 2020, Torres said. The postponement decision aims to give Spanish authorities time to find another company that could be interested in the plants, he said, adding that Nissan still saw no alternative to the plants' closure. Union leaders at Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Joan Faus; Writing by Nathan Allen and Joan Faus; Editing by Mark Potter and Jane Merriman) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. One-Second Glaucoma Laser Treatment nearing reality for millions of Glaucoma patients YAVNE, Israel, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- BELKIN Laser, the Israel-based start-up offering a 1-second, non-invasive glaucoma laser treatment announced today that it has finalized its round B financing with an oversubscription totaling $12.25M. Rimonci Capital and Santen Ventures, Inc. co-led the round. They were joined by BioLight Life Sciences, CR-CP Life Science Fund, and C-Mer Eye Care Holdings, chaired by prominent ophthalmologist Dr. Dennis Lam. CEO, Daria Lemann-Blumenthal said: "These investments signal to us that the industry has trust in our technology which will impact the lives of millions of glaucoma patients by opening a new viable drop-less treatment option. The funds will be used to continue GLAUrious, our multi-center trial in Europe and initiate trials in Asia. Our team's hard work has paid off and the good news is that fast, easy and effective glaucoma treatment is one step closer for millions of patients." Globally 140M people have glaucoma or ocular hypertension (OHT), a leading cause of blindness, but there are only 200,000 ophthalmologists and just 6,000 glaucoma specialists to treat them worldwide. BELKIN's automated, non-contact, painless treatment is activated by a touchscreen, controlled by a high-resolution image acquisition algorithm and a proprietary eye tracker. This unique technology, the brainchild of Prof. Michael Belkin, can be easily used by all ophthalmologists, dramatically increasing the number of treated patients, both in central and rural areas, while opening a new revenue stream for their clinics and hospitals. Prior to this round the company raised $6.6M, which includes the Israel Innovation Authority incubator grant at the Rad Biomed Accelerator, as well as the prestigious European Horizon 2020 grant of $3M. An additional $2.5M investment was raised as part of the Series A financing round led by ZIG Ventures from Singapore. Rimonci Capital CEO, Richel Liu said "As an early investor in both series A and B, I'm extremely impressed by what BELKIN Laser has accomplished so far - from proof of concept to positive first in human results and finally the nuanced development process of the commercial device. The capability to give greater access to glaucoma care is even closer." Ken Araki, President of Santen Ventures, stated "Santen looks forward to helping to drive new innovation that can enable more therapeutic choices for patients, to, in turn, achieve better outcomes." Liu Da, Managing Director at CR-CP Life Science Fund said "BELKIN's technology aligns perfectly with our investment strategy of developing long-lasting, profitable partnerships which will greatly benefit Chinese glaucoma patients". Dennis Lam, chairman and CEO of C-MER, who will join BELKIN's medical advisory board, states "BELKIN Laser's technology is very exciting, in particular their unique solution to potentially treat angle closure glaucoma, which is prevalent in Asian populations." "BELKIN's DSLT will open up a new world for glaucoma patients," states Dr. Richard Lindstrom, Chair of BELKIN Laser's Medical Advisory Board. "This next generation SLT promises to make this procedure quicker and easier to perform, allowing doctors to meaningfully help their patients." About BELKIN Laser: BELKIN Laser, an Israeli clinical-stage medical device company, established in 2013 and is developing an intuitive, automated one-second glaucoma laser treatment, aimed at promoting accessibility to first-line drop-less glaucoma care by allowing any ophthalmologist and other eye care providers to treat many more patients in any location. Visit the BELKIN Laser website to learn more. Related Links: www.belkin-laser.com BELKIN Laser LinkedIn BELKIN Laser YouTube For Press Images, please visit our Dropbox Another explosive device has reportedly been planted in an unnamed crowded location in the city, the attacker claims. A terrorist who has hijacked a commuter bus in the town of Lutsk, western Ukraine, has published his demands to Ukraine's government. In particular, he "congratulated" everyone on "Anti-system Day" and said "the state is a primary terrorist." "The truth voiced by the 24 will save hundreds of lives," he wrote on Twitter, urging church leaders, ministers, chiefs of courts, prosecutors' offices, and parliament to record and upload on YouTube videos stating on camera that they are "legalized terrorists." Read alsoArmed man hijacks commuter bus in Ukraine's Lutsk, city center cordoned off (Photo, video, live from scene) Also, the man claims he has an automatic weapon, grenades, and two bombs on the bus. Another explosive, the culprit claims, has been planted in an unnamed crowded location in Lutsk. The terrorist, who reportedly goes by the name of Maksym Plokhoy, says he will set off the explosive devices if his demands are not met. President Volodymyr Zelensky has addressed the incident in a Facebook post. "Everything is being done to resolve the situation without casualties. I keep the developments under personal control," the head of state said, noting that the police and the SBU security service have been engaged. Negotiations with the terrorist are underway. >>> NA Chairwoman visits policy beneficiary families in Quang Nam, Da Nang >>> Activities held to pay tribute to national contributors The handover took place at a ceremony held in Tam Ky City, the capital of Quang Nam Province, on July 21. Organised by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) in coordination with local authorities, the event is part of various activities being held nationwide to mark the 73rd anniversary of Vietnam Wounded and Fallen Soldiers Day (July 27). On behalf of the Party and State leaders, NA Chairwoman Ngan joined other senior officials to grant the national remembrance certificates to 73 relatives of martyrs' families from various provinces and cities throughout the country, one part of 580 certificates to be awarded during this years event. The top legislator paid tribute to the martyrs who scarified their lives for the Fatherlands independence, as well as giving her deep gratitude to other national contributors. She emphasised that, during the most recent resistance wars for the nations independence and reunification, millions of soldiers and compatriots fell, while many others returned home no longer healthy or suffering from severe post-war consequences. She said that to honour the great sacrifices and contributions by martyrs, heroic Vietnamese mothers, war invalids and people with meritorious services to the nation, during the past 73 years, the Party, State and Vietnamese people always pay attention to the work of paying tribute to war invalids, martyrs and people with meritorious services to the country, reflected in the promulgation of various guidelines, policies and laws on preferential treatment for such groups, while also regularly reviewing to make timely amendments and supplements to ensuring the proper implementation of such preferential policies. NA Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan speaks at the ceremony. (Photo: NDO/Tan Nguyen) NA Chairwoman Ngan proposed that the MOLISA should continue perfecting policies and laws on incentives for people with meritorious services to the revolution, as well as boosting the review and confirmation of unresolved documents on this target group to offset their suffering and losses. She also called on the relevant sectors, localities, socio-political organisations and compatriots both at home and abroad to work together to take better care of people with meritorious service to the nation, considering it as an affection, honour and responsibility to those who have made a great contribution to the cause of national liberation, reunification, construction and defence. The NA leader expressed her hope that the wounded soldiers, veterans and families of the meritorious people would continue to promote their revolutionary tradition to gain more achievements and become good examples in the patriotic emulation movements, thereby contributing to firmly building and defending the Fatherland. On the occasion, the organisers presented 20 gratitude houses, each worth VND50 million, to the families of Quang Nams social policy beneficiaries, in addition to 200 scholarships, each including a gift and VND1 million in cash, to local disadvantaged students. Earlier, on the morning of the same day, NA Chairwoman Ngan and other senior leaders joined local officials in offering flowers and burning incense for fallen soldiers and heroic Vietnamese mothers at the Quang Nam Martyrs Cemetery and the Heroic Vietnamese Mother Monument in Tam Phu Commune, Tam Ky City. Nic Coury/Special to the Chronicle Boekenoogen Winery is a complete family affair. After five generations of cattle ranching, patriarch John Boekenoogen whose great-grandfather George came to California in a covered wagon in search of gold in the 1850s decided to plant grapevines on their Santa Lucia Highlands property in 1998. His wife, Susan, handles creative aspects such as label design (which features a family crest dating back to the 1200s) while their son, Garrett, is in charge of grape-growing and winemaking. And Garretts sister, Holly, used her advertising and marketing degree to launch the family label in 2008. (Their other sister, Kate, tends primarily to the cattle.) In 2005, the Boekenoogens also decided to plant warmer weather grapes on their Bell Ranch property, located deep in the upper Carmel Valley. The following year, they built a winery on their Santa Lucia Highlands property, with views stretching all the way to the Monterey Bay. Scottish oil firm Cairn Energy on Tuesday said an international arbitral tribunal is expected to give a decree by the end of summer on its challenge to the Indian government seeking Rs 10,247 crore in retrospective taxes. Summer in Europe is from June to August. "The arbitral tribunal has indicated that, whilst it has encountered some difficulties created by the COVID-19 pandemic, it does not expect significant delays and hopes to remain reasonably within the lead-time it had anticipated," Cairn said in a statement. The three-member tribunal, which had in December 2018 completed main court hearings in Cairn's challenge to the Indian government using a retrospective legislation to seek Rs 10,247 crore in taxes, was supposed to give an award by February 2019. But in March 2019, it delayed it to 2019-end and then to the summer of 2020. "Whilst it (the tribunal) is not yet able to commit to a specific date for its ruling, it expects a "release of the award after the end of the summer"," the company said. It, however, did not say which month the tribunal had indicated for giving of the award. The company is seeking full restitution for losses totalling more than USD 1.4 billion resulting from government expropriation of its investments in India in 2014. "Cairn continues to have a high level of confidence in the arbitration and is seeking full restitution for losses of more than USD 1.4 billion," the statement said. The company, which gave the country its biggest oil discovery, received a notice from the income tax department in January 2014, requesting information related to the group reorganisation done in 2006. Alongside, the department attached the company's near 10 per cent shareholding in its erstwhile subsidiary, Cairn India. In March 2015, the tax department sought Rs 10,247 crore in taxes on alleged capital gains made by the company in the internal reorganisation. Cairn Energy had in 2010-11 sold Cairn India to Vedanta. Following the merger of Cairn India and Vedanta in April 2017, the UK firm's shareholding in Cairn India was replaced by a shareholding of about 5 per cent in Vedanta issued together with preference shares. In addition to attaching its shares in Vedanta, the tax department seized dividends totalling Rs 1,140 crore due to it from those shareholdings and set off a Rs 1,590-crore tax refund against the demand. Cairn Energy in 2015 initiated an international arbitration to challenge retrospective taxation. Pending final award, the tax department sold Cairn Energy's shares in Vedanta to recover part of the tax demand. It had previously stated that the arbitration panel is expected to issue a binding and internationally-enforceable award. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) The remains of overseas Filipino workers who died in Saudi Arabia are scheduled to arrive in the country next week, according to the Department of Labor and Employment (DOLE). DOLE said the third batch of repatriation will bring home 57 OFWs who died from COVID-19, based on initial figures from its overseas offices and the Philippine Embassy in Riyadh. We will accord our fallen modern-day heroes the same grand welcome and memorial ceremonies due them upon their arrival, Labor Secretary Silvestre Bello III said. The flight will arrive in Manila on July 28. Bello said the remains will follow the same health protocols observed in the first two batches of repatriation where COVID-19 victims were brought directly to crematoriums upon arrival. Criminal Justice Coordinating Council joins the Ohio Purchasing Group Registered vendors can access bids, related documents, addendum and award information. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council announced it has joined the Ohio Purchasing Group and will be publishing and distributing upcoming bid opportunities on the system. BidNets Ohio Purchasing Group connects participating agencies from across Ohio to a large vendor pool and streamlines the bid and vendor management process. BidNets Ohio purchasing group provides notifications to registered vendors of new relevant solicitations, as well as any addenda and award information from participating agencies from across Ohio, and can be accessed at http://www.bidnetdirect.com/ohio. The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) joined the purchasing group in July, and will be utilizing the system to streamline their purchasing process including bid management, bid distribution, electronic bid submissions and vendor relations. The Ohio Purchasing Group is a single, online location for managing sourcing information and activities and provides local Ohio government agencies the tools needed to minimize costs and save time throughout the purchasing process. The Ohio Purchasing Group expands an agencys vendor pool and enhances vendor competition without increasing distribution costs. In addition to the existing vendors on the Ohio Purchasing Group, all vendors looking to do business with the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council can register online: http://www.bidnetdirect.com/ohio. The CJCC invites all interested bidders to register today. Registered vendors can access all open bids, related documents and files, additional addenda and award information. In addition, the Ohio Purchasing Group offers a value-added service to notify vendors of new bids targeted to their industry, all addenda and allows vendors to submit bids electronically. Registered vendors have access to not only the CJCC bid opportunities, but all participating agency bids. Our vendors can now save time and paper. They not only have direct access to our open bids, but those from other agencies throughout the state. We invite all vendors to register on the Ohio Purchasing Group to start receiving business opportunities, stated Holly Matthews, Executive Director of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council. Vendors may register on the Ohio Purchasing Group at: http://www.bidnetdirect.com/ohio. BidNets vendor support team is available to answer any questions regarding the registration process or the bid system at 800-835-4603 option 2. Other local Ohio government agencies looking to switch from a manual bid process, please contact the Ohio Purchasing Group for a demonstration of the no-cost sourcing solution. About the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council: The Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC) was established in 1981 as legal successor to the Criminal Justice Supervisory Council formed in 1972. The CJCC is a special purpose unit of local government, formed under Chapters 167 and 181 of the Ohio Revised Code and by resolution of the City of Toledo and Lucas County. CJCC is a 13member board comprised of criminal justice professionals, elected officials, and citizen representatives. An operational staff works to achieve the boards mission. The mission of the Criminal Justice Coordinating Council is to promote and foster cooperation, coordination, and cost-savings between governmental units and agencies, and to improve the criminal justice system through information services, technical assistance, analysis, grant development, research, and by providing regional services requested by the governmental units served. The CJCC offers integrated criminal justice information systems through the Northwest Ohio Regional Information System (NORIS). NORIS was founded in 1976 to provide records automation for Toledo Municipal Court, the Toledo Police Department, and the Lucas County Sheriffs Office. Currently, NORIS supports over 1,000 terminals in seven counties that link 2,400 users who collectively perform more than seven million transactions per month. Criminal histories are maintained on 650,000 offenders and on-line access to 92,000 active warrants is offered. NORIS has evolved into a model of systems integration across many different agencies. About BidNet Direct: BidNet Direct, a Mediagrif product, is a sourcing solution of regional purchasing groups available at no cost to local government agencies throughout the country. BidNet Direct runs regional purchasing groups, including the MITN Purchasing Group, across all 50 states that are used by over 1,500 local governments. To learn more and have your government agency gain better transparency and efficiency in purchasing, please visit https://www.bidnetdirect.com/buyers HONG KONG / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / TechCom, Inc. (the "Company" or "TechCom") (OTC PINK:RMDM) ( FKA: RMD Entertainment Group) is pleased to announce the appointment of Mr. Calvin Lam as International Associate Director and Dave Tan, Joseph Lee, Sunny Ng, Xugis Gan as Marketing Officers for the company. Mr. Calvin Lam as the associate directors of the TechCom, Inc. with the addition of Mr. Calvin Lam to our team, his vast professional network will be leveraged upon to continue our business expansion across South East Asia, including the engagement of institutional and strategic investors, enhancing cross-border promotion of real estate developments, and strengthening of distribution networks. Mr. Cal vin Lam (International Associate Director) Mr. Calvin Lam is a Malaysian national and a well-known entrepreneur. Mr. Calvin Lam graduated from the Universiti Teknologi Petronas (UTP) of Malaysia in 1996 with a bachelor's degree. After graduation, he went to Texas Tech University to continue his studies to obtain a master's degree in petroleum engineering. Mr. Calvin Lam has 15 years of rich experience in the petroleum and resource companies. He has held important positions (including chief geologist, director of project safety, director of oilfield exploration and development division, etc.) of many well-known oil companies in the United States. Mr. Calvin Lam returned to Malaysia in 2017 and is active in the Malaysian business circle and has participated in multiple of Chamber of Commerce activities (Malaysia Natural Gas Association, Malaysia Petrochemical Association, etc.). Currently, Mr. Calvin Lam leads the Corporate Team of TechCom, Inc and responsible to develop TechCom, Inc.'s business penetration in Asia region. Dave Tan (Marketing Officer) Mr. Tan obtained his Degree in Business Management through Help University in 2008. Dave serves as Unit Manager with Allianz Insurance Company for more than 5 years, as Team Manager of J' Property Agency for 3 years, and as Director of Event Planning company for more than 3 years too. Story continues Currently, Dave serves as member of Techcom Inc's Regional Marketing department, promoting and developing business activities of Techcom Inc, in Asia region. Joseph Lee (Marketing Officer) Mr. Lee obtained his Degree in Financial from University of the West of England, Bristol in 2014. Joseph has been involved in financial consultation industry, with his vast knowledge and exposure, he managed to develop and manage all aspects of financial planning, budgeting, and forecasting for complex projects. He also involved in multiple disciplines/business units, to develop guidelines and/or make recommendations to management. Currently, Joseph serves as member of Techcom Inc's Regional Marketing department, developing business activities of Techcom Inc in China, for local financial compliance task and marketing set up. Sunny Ng (Marketing Officer) Mr. Ng obtained his Degree in Banking & Finance from Taylor University in 2013. Sunny had joined Public Bank Berhad, currently one of the largest banks in Southeast Asia and had been exposed to a comprehensive range of financial products and services which include personal banking, commercial banking, Islamic banking, investment banking, share broking, trustee services, nominee services, sale and management of unit trust funds. Currently, Sunny serves as member of Techcom Inc's Regional Marketing department, responsible for investment analytical and marketing development. Xugis Gan (Marketing Officer) Mr. Gan obtained his Degree in Engineering Management in Sheffield Hallam University, UK in 2012 and another Degree in Financial Management through Tunku Abdul Rahman College University in 2012. Xugis was the International Marketing Chief of Quest International and Marketing and the Associate Partner of GenX United team building since 2009. Currently, Xugis serves as member of Techcom Inc's Regional Marketing department, responsible for international financial investment and marketing development. ABOUT TechCom, Inc. Techcom Inc, is an Oil and Gas Service Company with a vision to become complete oil & gas service provider for upstream and downstream sectors in South East Asia. Considered being the biggest sector in the world in terms of dollar value, the oil and gas sector is a global powerhouse using hundreds of thousands of workers worldwide. Techcom Inc, focused in providing services in this following area, petroleum trading, geoscience and petroleum engineering, port services, bunkering, fabrication, environmental services, HSE consultancy, manpower services, oil tank management, storage and investment. With Techcom Inc,'s team being the asset and core values of the Company, it generates multiple discipliners capabilities to provide solutions to its Client across the regions. FORWARD-LOOKING STATEMENTS Statements included in this release may constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Such statements involve a number of risks and uncertainties such as competitive factors, technological development, market demand and the Company's ability to obtain new contracts and accurately estimate net revenue due to variability in size, scope and duration of projects, and internal issues in the sponsoring client. Further information on potential factors that could affect the Company's financial results, can be found in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2016 and in its Reports on Forms 8-K filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission ("SEC"). For more information contact: Name : Fion Fong Telephone: +85229803711 E-mail: info@techcominc.com SOURCE: TechCom, Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/598286/TechCom-Inc-Announces-Appointment-of-International-Associate-Director-Marketing-Officers While all airlines started requiring travelers to wear face masks in late April, the dirty little secret was that the policy wasnt enforced once the cabin door closed. Most travelers complied, even though wearing masks was uncomfortable, especially on long flights. After all, it only takes one unmasked passenger with the virus to potentially spread COVID-19 around the cabin. Still, news stories featured the occasional surly passenger refusing to don a mask while the flight crew looked the other way. Dont blame the flight attendants. Management told them to encourage passengers to wear their masks, but not to make an issue of it, according to memos leaked to news outlets. Now carriers are finally getting tough, banning passengers who refuse to wear face coverings even though the airlines desperately need the revenue to stay in business. American Airlines and Southwest Airlines have even toughened their policies, announcing Wednesday that they will bar passengers who wont wear masks even if they have a medical condition from flying. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz wont find himself on the banned list, but only because he has political power that the rest of us travelers lack. Still, the Texas Republican did get a talking-to of sorts from American reiterating its mask rules. Cruz was outed by a fellow passenger who snapped a photo of him maskless on an American flight. A second photo showed the senator at the gate waiting for his plane, maskless then, too. On ExpressNews.com: Texas Sen. Ted Cruz photographed without a face mask on American Airlines flight Cruz reportedly wasnt wearing a mask during the entire 68-minute flight from Houston to Dallas on July 12. Masks were and are required at Houstons George Bush Intercontinental Airport, as well as on flights. Cruz spokeswoman Jessica Skaggs told me the account was not true. To help promote safety, Sen. Cruz wears a mask when traveling, and practices social distancing where possible, she said. Consistent with airline policy, he temporarily removes the mask while eating or drinking. On Sunday, during his flight, he removed his mask to drink and put it back on afterward. American Airlines would not reveal the results of its promised investigation, but it did not confirm Cruzs account. Airline spokeswoman Stacy Day said, While our policy does not apply while eating or drinking, we have reached out to Sen. Cruz to affirm the importance of this policy as part of our commitment to protecting the health and safety of the traveling public. Day said the airline has banned some customers from flying because they wont wear a mask at least for the duration of the pandemic. Any restriction lasts for the duration of our policy for required face coverings, Day said. More from The Wary Traveler: On Southwest flights, empty middle seats are cold comfort Another carrier, Alaska Airlines, started asking passengers on June 30 to sign an agreement before boarding to acknowledge and attest to their willingness to adhere to the mask policy. Alaska is giving passengers who violate the policy in-flight, except when eating or drinking, a yellow card. The card features a drawing of an Alaska passenger wearing a mask and cites studies showing that face coverings significantly reduce the spread of coronavirus. It concludes: This is our final notice to comply with our policy. Next, we will file a report, which could result in the suspension of future travel on Alaska Airlines. Well see if that applies to VIPs such as Sen. Cruz. Passengers still can get out of the mask requirement if they have a qualifying medical condition on airlines other than American and Southwest. On ExpressNews.com: 11 summer activities ranked for level of risk of coronavirus infection Some airlines will waive mask requirements, for example, if the face coverings would make it hard to breath for someone with respiratory problems. Its surprising that more mask haters dont lie about their medical condition, but maybe they do. United Airlines, for one, says it will take passengers at their word, meaning a maskless flight for those who feel their liberty is being violated and who dont mind lying about having a medical condition. Airlines cant be entirely blamed for the mask controversy. The larger issue of wearing masks has been a political flashpoint for months now. Its a shame that something so simple, something thats been shown to prevent the spread of the coronavirus and save lives, is even up for debate. Blame should be put on the toothless Federal Aviation Administration under President Donald Trump, which has never enacted rules or fines for passengers who fly maskless. Think about how this compares to a passenger who smoke a cigarette in a planes lavatory. A smoker could be fined $4,000 and subject to arrest under FAA rules. On ExpressNews.com: Coronavirus concerns expected to keep travelers off roads, out of airports for holiday Rules on wearing a mask at the airport are even more complicated. The FAA has no regulations on the matter, leaving airports to determine whether there should be a mandatory mask policy. Almost all the largest airports in the U.S. require face masks. But confusion reigns at one of the biggest. At Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, Delta Air Lines main hub, masks are required. At least according to Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, who issued an order requiring masks when in public, including the city-run airport. But Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp is suing the mayor and the Atlanta City Council over the requirement. Further muddying the issue, Kemp recommends that everyone wear a face mask when venturing outside their homes, which obviously includes traveling through the airport. Is it any wonder that airlines and travelers are still wresting with mandatory mask-wearing? Randy Diamond covers avation and tourism and also writes the weekly Wary Traveler column To read more from Randy, become a subscriber. randy.diamond@express-news.net OKLAHOMA CITY The gaming compacts Gov. Kevin Stitt signed with two tribes are invalid, the Oklahoma Supreme Court ruled Tuesday. Senate Pro Tem Greg Treat, R-Oklahoma City, and House Speaker Charles McCall, R-Atoka, filed suit June 4 challenging Stitts ability to bind the state to provisions in the compacts that are not allowed in state law. Stitt signed the compacts with the Comanche Nation and Otoe-Missouria Tribes, and the compacts were deemed approved by inaction from the U.S. Department of the Interior. The court ruled that the governor must negotiate compacts within the bounds of the laws enacted. The tribal gaming compacts Governor Stitt entered into with the Comanche Nation and Otoe-Missouria Tribes are invalid under Oklahoma law, the opinion states. The State of Oklahoma is not and cannot be legally bound by those compacts until such time as the Legislature enacts laws to allow the specific Class III gaming at issue, and in turn, allowing the Governor to negotiate additional revenue. The vote was 7-1 with one justice recusing. Welcome Guest! You Are Here: Home Regional News East On July 13, Bharatiya Tribal Party (BTP) issued a whip to its two MLAs asking them to not vote for BJP or Congress in case of a floor test. The party also declared its distance through a formal statement issued on social media, saying it would maintain distance from both the national parties in case of a floor test just as it had done in the case of recently held Rajya Sabha polls in Gujarat, where BTPs two MLAs did not cast their votes and which cost Congress dearly. No support to Congress nor to BJP (sic), the party founder and MLA Chhotubhai Vasava stated from his Twitter account on July 13. On the following day, July 14, a BTP MLA from Rajasthan Rajkumar Roat put out a video claiming he was being held hostage by police. He claimed that police had stopped him from going to his constituency and his car keys had been snatched by the policemen. The video sparked outrage with many senior BJP leaders sharing the video, accusing Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot of pressurising the tribal MLA and demanding his immediate release. But in a remarkable turn of events, on July 14, both the BTP MLAs, including Roat, met Gehlot and handed over a letter pledging their support to the chief minister. A photo of the two MLAs and senior BTP leaders with the CM was shared by Gehlot on his Twitter account on Saturday. In the following press conference, both the MLAs said attempts to topple a legitimate government were improper. Rout said Gehlot had personally assured him that the interests of tribals would be taken care of, which is why his party had decided to back him in case of floor test. With buzz growing around a floor test on the floor of the Rajasthan assembly house soon, BTPs support is likely to tilt scales in well in favour of the Congress. Soon after his meeting with BTP MLAs, Gehlot met governor Kalraj Mishra and submitted a list of MLAs who support him. While neither Sachin Pilot nor Ashok Gehlot have given the exact number of MLAs whose support they enjoy, it is understood that in the list that Gehlot has submitted to Rajasthan governor he has claimed support of well over 101 MLAs, the halfway mark in the 200-member assembly. Excluding the 19 MLAs in Pilots camp, some of who Gehlot claims want to return, Congress has 88 MLAs of its own, and support of 13 independents, and of one MLA each from CPI(M) and RJD and now two MLAs of Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP). On the other hand, BJP has 72 MLAs and its political ally RLP has three. When it comes to proving numbers, a lot depends on which way the independents and smaller parties vote on the day. In a crunch situation, every vote will matter and the smaller parties understand this. Which is why perhaps Chhotubhai Vasavas son and party president Mahesh Vasava, in an interaction with media on Sunday, called himself a kingmaker. PTI quoted Vasava saying, We have two MLAs in a House of 200, yet we are in the position of kingmakers We have fought against the Congress and the BJP on tribal issues but if the government now assures full support on the issues raised by us, why shouldnt we support it? After all it is fulfilling the agenda of tribal welfare and development. 13:55 | Lima, Jul. 21. Lopez explained that Peru is coordinating with different institutions both public and private to ensure timely access to a vaccine , considering that several laboratories have already entered Phase 3 of their clinical trials in human beings. "We are working specifically with laboratories in China and the United States, as well as with other countries, in order to participate in the vaccine clinical trials," the government official said in remarks to TV Peru. "And by clinical trials, I mean the vaccine development process itself. In this sense, Peru is a country that attracts the interest of laboratories in conducting trials throughout the national territory," he added. Lopez noted that Peru has a geographic, racial diversity and biodiversity capabilities , so the country meets various requirements needed to perform this clinical testing. Trump's administration is pondering over sending federal agents across the entire nation, including Chicago, despite state and local officials criticizing the tactics used by the agent in detaining protesters using unmarked vehicles in Portland and wearing a uniform with no sign of affiliation. Massive force deployment A source who wished to remain anonymous stated the proposals include sending out nearly 200 officers to the city of Chicago, some of which would be taken from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), as reported by USA Today. In a statement, Trump noted that anarchists were assaulting Democrat-led cities as the violent protests continued. The United States president, along with his allies, has frequently criticized the demonstrations. The city of Portland had become home to nearly every day protests calling out police brutality starting from George Floyd's death on May 25, an African-American man who was killed when a police officer knelt on his neck for nearly ten minutes. In the weekend, tensions within Portland kept escalating, and Mayor Ted Wheeler called to recall the federal agents, saying their deployment into the city resulted in heightened tensions. Mayor Lori Lightfoot, in response to being asked about her plans for Chicago, on Monday said she had significant worries given how the government of Portland conducted themselves. Lightfoot said federal agents who bore no affiliate insignia or who drove around in unmarked vehicles coming and dragging people off the streets and detaining them unlawfully. Also Read: Son of Federal Judge Assigned to Epstein Case Assassinated by Man Dressed as Fed-Ex Driver Wheeler and Lightfoot wrote a joint letter of request that asked for the withdrawal of the agents from within their territorial jurisdiction. Several other mayors from major cities have joined the efforts and said that federal officers had no supervision and openly disregarded local regulations about wearing official identifications and using violent methods. The involved mayors also shared their criticisms of Trump's actions in deploying federal officers to further their political agendas. Battling violent protests According to CNN, on Monday, Trump threatened to send out federal agents to enforce the law in several cities across the United States that were being run by Democratic politicians. The move is the most recent in the US president's attempts at branding himself as a personality of law and order. In a meeting in the Oval Office, Trump said that they would not be allowing all the cities run by Democrats to be the fate of the US. Reportedly, Trump's administration was discussing plans to send out federal agents to the city of Chicago this week. Chad Wolf, the acting Homeland Security Secretary, told reporters in an interview that prioritizing politics over the safety of the public would not only have severe consequences in the short term but would also result in extreme ramifications in the long term. A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, in an interview with reporters, said that the agency was not giving out comments over the alleged leaked operational plans when asked about the possibility of federal agents being deployed to the city of Chicago. Related Article: School Reopenings Wants 'Flexible Learning System' to Continue Classes Amid Coroanvirus Threat @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Sumi Sukanya Dutta And Sudhir Suryawanshi By Express News Service NEW DELHI/MUMBAI: The Phase III clinical trial of a potential vaccine candidate against Covid-19, developed by Oxford University, will also involve more than 1,500 volunteers across many hospitals in India and could begin as early as the first week of August. Its experimental vaccine AZD1222, which has been licensed to AstraZeneca, showed promising immune response in early-stage clinical trials, raising hopes that it could be available for public use by the end of the year. Adar Poonawalla, the CEO of the Serum Institute of India, which has entered into a manufacturing partnership with AstraZeneca, told this newspaper that based on the success of the trials, his company was expecting to launch the vaccine by the year-end. ALSO READ | Here's how India's vaccine candidates under development are progressing We will start making one billion doses for India and other low-and-middle-income countries. I believe by the first quarter of next year it will start reaching the masses, he said. Poonawalla claimed it was too early to comment on the vaccines price but we will keep it under Rs 1,000. The Indian leg of the trial is important because of the normally higher pre-existing immunity levels in our population. If Indians happen to be immune to the common cold virus or adenovirus that infects chimpanzees which has been genetically modified to become the building block of the Oxford vaccine candidate volunteers taking the shot in India could possibly not develop a strong immunological response. Pre-existing immunity may vary across the world. Some studies indicate that it could be 80% in India, 60% in South Africa and under 30% in the US, so its important to assess how the vaccine works among Indians, an official explained. The Serum Institute will seek approvals from the Drug Controller General of India next week for the Phase III trials. India has a very heterogeneous population and while the effect of the vaccine in Indian population may not be very different from the Western population, we will not know unless we test it here, Dr Rajeev Dhere, the executive director told The New Indian Express. Warning on valve masks The Centre on Monday warned against inappropriate use of N95 masks with respiratory valves. The use of valved respirator N95 masks ... does not prevent the virus from escaping out of the mask, it said ALSO SEE: Photo credit: Instagram From Seventeen Addison Rae can officially add "podcast star" to her resume. The 19-year-old TikToker just released the first episode of her new podcast, "Mama Knows Best" with her mom, Sheri Nicole on Spotify. "Mama Knows Best is a weekly podcast where Addison and her mom will provide "an intimate and authentic look," into their lives and relationship, according to a press release. On the first episode of the podcast, the mother/daughter pair dove into Addison's upbringing and her eventual move to LA last year. Addison revealed that her parents actually got divorced when she was younger and were on-and-off for most of her childhood. Because of that, her family moved around a lot, from Louisiana to Texas and then back to Louisiana. At one point, their family even lived out of a camper that had "one main room and a bunkbed." Finally, in 2017, Addison's father, Monty, and Sheri got remarried. In 2019, Addison graduated high school and was planning to go to Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge in the fall to study broadcast journalism. To save money on a dorm and a meal plan, Addison's family decided it would make more sense for them to all move to Baton Rouge as well so Addison could live at home while attending college. It was around this time, though, that Addison got into TikTok. She downloaded the app in July 2019, and while she started getting popular quickly, the family didn't think much of it. "We didn't even consider it like, 'blowing up, oh my gosh,' because we just didn't know what it was or what it held," Addison said on the podcast. Addison noticed something was up, though, when she got to LSU. During orientation week, people started recognizing her. "They were like, 'Oh my gosh, my sister follows you on TikTok,'" she said. Soon after, Addison explained that she decided she had to move to LA to further her career. Of course, she had to convince her parents, who had just moved to Baton Rouge for her to go to school. Story continues "After a while [my dad] was like, 'You know what, whatever. If you really believe that you're going to do this and you're going to make it work and you have a plan, do it. I believe in you, I trust you.'" Addison explained that both of her parents were extremely supportive so she moved to LA. It became clear however, that she needed her parents there, so she asked them to move out there and in just a week, they had joined her. "When we moved out here collectively as a family, that's when things really started sky rocketing," she said. Of course, now Addison's entire family is famous in their own right. "I mean it's true, the rest was history." The story was a rare look into Addison's personal life, something she's usually more quiet about. From the looks of it, we will continue to get these exclusive looks into Addison and Sheri's life, both before and after TikTok, on their new podcast. Follow Carolyn on Instagram. You Might Also Like Rajasthan political crisis: CM Ashok Gehlot assures party's safety; Urges supporters to 'stand firm' India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, July 21: Rajasthan Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot on Tuesday urged legislators supporting him to "stand firm like a rock" and assured the mandate is with the Congress party as he faces a tug of war with former deputy Sachin Pilot. The state Chief Minister was addressing more than 100 members of legislative assembly (MLAs) in the third meeting of the Congress Legislature Party (CLP) at Fairmont Jaipur, a luxury hotel where his supporters have been staying since last week. CLP holds meeting as Rajasthan high court's order on rebel Congress MLAs awaits "We will have more than 115 MLAs, including some from among the absentees. And nobody wants elections to happen, be it the Congress or the BJP," Gehlot allegedly said during the meeting. Senior Congress leaders including national general secretary and Rajasthan in-charge Avinash Pande, KC Venugopal, Ajay Maken, Randeep Surjewala, Vivek Bansal along with Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot are present at the meeting. Act on plaint against Congress demands Rajasthan BJP This is the third meeting of the CLP in the last one week. A political turmoil is raging in the state apparently because of a tussle for power between dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot and Gehlot. Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News Last week, Pilot and 18 other MLAs rebelled openly, defying a party whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings. He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and state Congress chief. Bay of Plenty You will be operating the Roller and also required to help out the team hands on. You will be working near Bayfair for a... View or Apply on GoodWork.co.nz Slate's Who Counts? series is made possible by the support of Slate Plus members and readers like you. Donald Trumps new memorandum to exclude undocumented immigrants from the next round of congressional apportionment is morally repulsive, illegal, and impossible. It is repulsive because it borrows the logic of the notorious Three-Fifths Clause to declare that undocumented immigrants are not full persons under the Constitution. It is illegal because it seeks to exclude these immigrants from a states population when counting how many seats each state gets in the House of Representatives, which violates the Constitution. And it is impossible because there is no way that the government can count undocumented immigrants with any accuracy by the December deadline. Advertisement None of these problems will stop Trump from trying to rig the census to strip House seats from states with large undocumented populations. Even if this scheme fails, however, the memo will do insidious damage to the bedrock principle that all people count. Trump has formally endorsed the notion of excluding noncitizens from the redistricting process, an idea that red states are already exploring to boost the electoral power of white, rural voters at the cost of diverse urban centers. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. Trumps census order, released on Tuesday, is not actually an order at all but a memorandum that announces the policy of the United States (i.e., the Trump administration). It attempts to revert back to the preCivil War practice of diminishing the constitutional personhood of certain residents. Originally, the Constitution counted enslaved people as three-fifths of a person when apportioning House seats. The 14th Amendment repealed this Three-Fifths Clause by stating that representatives shall be apportioned among the several states according to their respective numbers, counting the whole number of persons in each state, excluding Indians not taxed. House seats would now be apportioned on the basis of persons living in each state. There would be no more degrading distinctions on the basis of legal status. Ever since, Congress has counted all persons, meaning a states inhabitants, another term used in the 14th Amendment. Advertisement Advertisement Trump wants to disrupt this historical practice by decreeing that undocumented immigrants are not persons under the 14th Amendment. In other words, he wants to import the racist logic of the Three-Fifths Clause into an amendment designed to abolish that very principle. On what legal basis? Trump provides two arguments. Advertisement First, he equates undocumented immigrants with diplomats, tourists, and businessmen. Because these individuals are only visiting the U.S., they are not deemed inhabitants and thus excluded from the census. But a large majority of undocumented immigrants cannot be considered foreign tourists on a temporary jaunt through America. They live here, put down roots, and often raise children who are citizens. They are members of their communities with an established presence in the country. To dismiss them as non-inhabitantsand, by extension, not whole personswould run counter to the 14th Amendment. Advertisement Second, Trump presents a policy argument thinly disguised as a legal claim. Increasing congressional representation based on the presence of aliens who are not in a lawful immigration status, his memo states, would create perverse incentives encouraging violations of Federal law. States that adopt so-called sanctuary laws to protect undocumented immigrants should not be rewarded with greater representation in the House of Representatives. And excluding these immigrants from the census count is more consonant with the principles of representative democracy, because states with more citizens deserve more formal political influence. Advertisement Advertisement This logic transforms a constitutional command into a tool of partisan manipulation. In Trumps view, the executive gets to decide who is and is not a person based on principles of representative democracy. If certain people deserve less political influence, they can be excluded from the count with a wave of the presidents magic wand. Moreover, the executive can punish states that pass laws he dislikes by refusing to count some of their residents, diminishing their congressional representation. This view is not the law, or anything close to it. No court has ever allowed the government to exclude an entire class of inhabitants from the census count based on a presidents idiosyncratic conception of who is a person. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement This logic transforms a constitutional command into a tool of partisan manipulation. Yet an even bigger logistical problem looms over this endeavor: The government does not know how many undocumented immigrants live in each state and has no way to find out. Trump notoriously tried to count noncitizens on the 2020 census, but the Supreme Court blocked the question. He then tried to tally noncitizens by drawing on existing records, but the process has floundered: Only four states have turned over citizenship data to the federal government. And states do not track the number of undocumented immigrants within their borders, so even if Trump could tally all noncitizens, he could not identify which are authorized to live here. By law, Trump must turn over census apportionment data to Congress within a week of Jan. 3, 2021. How does he intend to come up with nonexistent citizenship data in less than six months? The memo does not explain. Advertisement And heres where things get messy. The Constitution grants Congress power over the census and congressional apportionment. Congress has delegated most of those responsibilities to the executive branch. Under current law, the president reports census apportionment data to Congress, then the clerk or sergeant at arms of the House of Representatives certifies the information and sends it to state governors. Presuming Democrats retain control of the House, Speaker Nancy Pelosi could direct the clerk or sergeant at arms not to certify Trumps data. And if Joe Biden beats Trump, he could withdraw Trumps report, replacing it with an accurate, constitutional count. Advertisement Before this potential showdown, though, the Trump administration will be sued. States with large undocumented populations like Californiawhich the president is trying to punish by reducing their congressional representationwill probably join the legal pile-on. It seems unlikely that the same Supreme Court that blocked the census citizenship question will now let the Trump administration fabricate data to promote unconstitutional apportionment. Indeed, this entire operation reeks of the kind of arbitrary and capricious executive action that federal law forbids. Advertisement Despite these strong odds that Trumps plan will fail, it does tee up an inevitable, monumental legal battle just around the corner. For decades, states have drawn districts on the basis of overall population. But now, as they prepare for another round of redistricting in 2021, red states like Texas are considering how they can shift power away from cities and communities of color. Once House seats are apportioned, states get to draw the lines for their congressional districts. They also draw districts for their own legislatures. And some state lawmakers are eager to draw these districts by counting citizens, not people. This method would transfer power from diverse urban regions toward white, rural areasbolstering Republican power in Congress and state legislatures. The Supreme Court has declined to say whether redistricting on the basis of citizen population is unconstitutional, though it very obviously is. Trump, then, is essentially firing the first shot of this impending battle. He has thrown the weight of the executive branch behind the basic proposition that only citizens deserve political representation. And he has sent a message to his political allies in the states to pursue their own efforts to strip immigrants, and the communities that welcome them, of political power. Even if Trump loses this fight over apportionment, the war over who counts in America is really just beginning. For more of Slates legal coverage, listen to a special edition of the Amicus podcast. UPDATE, 7AM WEDNESDAY, JULY 22: An unstable armed man who seized more than a dozen hostages on a long-distance bus in Ukraines western city of Lutsk was detained late Tuesday after a standoff that lasted for over 12 hours and all hostages were freed unharmed, officials said. The assailant agreed to release the hostages following a 15-minute phone call with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy, Zelenskiys deputy chief of staff Kyrylo Tymoshenko told reporters. Shortly after the call, Zelenskiy posted a brief video message on his Facebook page to urge Ukrainians to watch Earthlings, a 2005 American documentary exposing humanitys cruel exploitation of animals - as the hostage-taker had wanted. Minutes later, the assailant walked out of the bus and surrendered to the police. Authorities said all 13 hostages he held were freed and no one was hurt. EARLIER STORY: An armed man has seized a long-distance bus and taken several people in it hostage in northwestern Ukraine, launching an hours-long stand-off with police. About 10 people are being held hostage, Ukraine's Security Service said in a Facebook statement. Police earlier had put the number at 20. It was unclear how many people had been on board to start with, and whether any escaped. Police sealed off the centre of Lutsk, a city 400km west of the capital Kyiv. The assailant is armed and carrying explosives, police said. They said he threw a hand grenade that failed to explode at officers and shot at them at least twice during the still-ongoing siege. An undated photo released by Ukrainian Police showing Maksim Krivosh holding a gun. Krivosh is identified as the man who has taken some 20 people hostage inside a bus in the city centre of Lutsk. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said negotiations with the man are under way. "We're doing everything to free the hostages," Zelenskiy told reporters. The man called the police himself at 9.25 am on Tuesday after taking control of the bus and introduced himself as Maksim Plokhoy, Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said on Facebook. In a Telegram account reportedly belonging to him, Plokhoy apparently admitted to taking people on the bus hostage, said that "the state has always been and always is the first terrorist" and demanded that top Ukrainian officials release statements on their social media pages calling themselves terrorists. Story continues According to Gerashchenko, police have identified the man as Maksim Krivosh, a 44-year-old Ukrainian born in Russia. Krivosh had allegedly been convicted twice on a wide range of charges - robbery, fraud, illegal arms handling - and spent a total of 10 years behind bars. The bus with hostages on a road in the downtown of the Western Ukrainian city of Lutsk. Source: AAP Interior Minister Arsen Avakov travelled to Lutsk to supervise operations. Ukrainian media reported that gunshots were regularly heard at the scene. It wasn't immediately clear whether anyone has been injured. According to reports, Krivosh tried to reach out to journalists through hostages and their phones, demanding that they spread the word about his demands and get more reporters to arrive to the scene. Zelenskiy said earlier on Tuesday he is personally monitoring the situation. 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. KUALA LUMPUR (Reuters) - Construction of a $880 million light rail project linking Malaysia's southern state of Johor with neighbouring Singapore will begin next year, after both countries formalise the deal on July 30, Malaysia's transport minister said on Tuesday. The Rapid Transit System (RTS) Link, as the project is known, was suspended last year after the former Malaysian administration led by Mahathir Mohamad pledged to tighten finances and review major deals. The countries had earlier this year agreed to a July 31 deadline to finalise the project, after talks were hit by movement restrictions to contain the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. Malaysia's Transport Minister Wee Ka Siong said the agreement will be signed on the Johor Causeway - the main thoroughfare for land traffic between Malaysia and Singapore - in a brief ceremony to be witnessed by both prime ministers. "Our expectation is by the end of 2026, we will see the start of RTS operations between Johor Bahru and Singapore," Wee said at a news conference in parliament. Wee said the total cost of the project would be 3.75 billion ringgit (693.14 million pounds), including the construction of a maintenance depot which was not included in the earlier estimate. Singapore is paying 61% of the costs and Malaysia 39%, a transport official said. Both sides have an agreed text on the changes to the project for presentation to both governments for approval, Singapore's transport minister Khaw Boon Wan said in a post on his Facebook page, adding that a venue for the signing of the deal was being discussed. Mahathir had said in October that the project cost was cut by a third from about 4.93 billion ringgit to 3.16 billion ringgit after discussions between both countries. In March, a new Malaysian government led by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin was sworn in after Mahathir's sudden resignation. (Reporting by Joseph Sipalan, additional reporting by Aradhana Aravindan in Singapore; Editing by Kim Coghill and Chizu Nomiyama) A number of regional towns in Cork will be included in the so-called smoky coal ban from September 1, Environment Minister Eamon Ryan has confirmed with a full ban nationwide during the lifetime of the current Government. Minister Ryan said the ban on the sale, marketing, distribution and burning of bituminous coal, or the smoky coal ban as it is commonly known, is being extended to include towns such as Mallow, Midleton and Cobh in Cork. Other towns included in the ban are Killarney and Tramore in Munster, and the likes of Ballina and Castlebar in Mayo, Cavan and Longford towns, Enniscorthy in Wexford and Tullamore in Offaly. In response to a query from Labour TD Duncan Smith, Minister Ryan said the geographical boundaries of the new areas were set following extensive consultation with the relevant local authorities. He added he would introduce the necessary measures over the term of Government to move towards the implementation of a full nationwide ban. According to the Department of the Environment, a ban on the burning of smoky coal and other prohibited fuels now applies in designated low smoke zones, to complement the ban on the marketing, sale and distribution of those fuels in those areas. This means even "smoky" fuels bought elsewhere cannot now be burned in such a zone, the Department adds. Minister Ryan said the existing Cork low smoke zone is now being extended to include Carrigtwohill and certain surrounding townlands. The smoky coal ban, according to the Department, allowed significant falls in respiratory problems and premature deaths from the effects of burning smoky coal in the existing low smoke zones. It cites the original ban in Dublin 30 years ago as becoming something of an icon of best practice within the international clean air community. Approximately 8,000 premature deaths have been averted in Dublin since the introduction of the smoky coal ban back in 1990, according to the Department. The ban came in response to severe episodes of winter smog that were a direct result of smoky coal being burned in family homes, the Department said. The ban is in place in 26 cities and towns, while air quality monitoring by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has shown lower levels of harmful air particles than towns with no ban. According to the Departments figures, the ban in Dublin has resulted in at least 350 fewer annual deaths, or 20m in health costs. Reduced fuel costs to consumers are estimated at 184m per year, it said. Minister Ryan said the Department is currently working to finalise Irelands first National Clean Air Strategy, which is expected to be completed by the end of this year. View live politics updates ChevronRight But opponents said there could not be a worse time to take money out of the pockets of residents who pay some of the highest tax rates in the state and are already suffering financially because of the coronavirus pandemic. Story continues below advertisement More than 134,000 unemployment claims have been filed since March in Prince Georges, which has a population of 909,000. Lawmakers are worried that another housing crisis is threatening in the majority-black suburb, which was hit especially hard by the 2008 downturn. Facing a looming budget crisis, Prince Georges lawmakers spark a debate on taxes It became clear last week that the charter amendment did not have the eight votes needed to be placed on the ballot, after several council members who initially backed its introduction said they were rescinding their support. Advertisement Council member Derrick Leon Davis (D-District 6), who sponsored the bill, introduced the motion to table it Tuesday but said he hopes that residents remain engaged in conversations about tax structure and revenue sources. He said the county must find ways to generate additional tax dollars to address issues such as the underfunding of the health and human services department. Story continues below advertisement Our county needs this desperately, he said. Statewide, the homestead property tax credit caps the amount a homeowner pays in property taxes on their primary residence at 10 percent of the rise in property assessment. Each jurisdiction in Maryland has the ability to set a lower rate for itself, and since 1992, the rate in Prince Georges has been tied to the area consumer price index, with a cap of 5 percent. The measure that was tabled meaning it was not voted on at all would have allowed the council to raise the cap to 10 percent. Advertisement Residents joined the virtual meeting to offer a chorus of criticisms of the proposal, including that council members failed to seek enough public input, proposed language that was unclear and had poor timing amid the pandemic. Story continues below advertisement You should find different ways to manage the budget, not tax your citizens who voted for you, Fort Washington resident Sandra Fleming said, adding that many are already struggling to meet basic needs including food and home security. Longer police response times could delay home building in Prince Georges The charter amendment was publicly opposed by County Executive Angela D. Alsobrooks (D), who said the county should focus on raising revenue by growing its commercial tax base. On Monday, Maryland Comptroller Peter Franchot (D) joined those opposing the measure, writing a letter to the council that said the measure would widen homeownership disparities between black and white households. Advertisement Asking Prince Georgians to pay more in property taxes would further exacerbate this already widening gap, and would make it all the more difficult for black Prince Georges residents to purchase and own a home, and accumulate wealth, Franchot wrote. Story continues below advertisement Also on Tuesday, the council narrowly passed a bill that would allow it and the county executive to waive fees for developers building subdivisions in districts where police response times are longer than 10 minutes. The measure came after response times last year ticked past 10 minutes for two police districts that cover swaths of rural Prince Georges, which triggered a 2004 law requiring developers to pay fines. County Council Chair Todd M. Turner (D-District 4), who was one of six council members who voted for the bill Tuesday, said it was drafted after extensive conversation with then-Police Chief Hank Stawinski. Five council members and several residents who joined the virtual meeting opposed the measure, saying it would lead to additional sprawl that would strain county resources. Facing a looming budget crisis, Prince Georges lawmakers spark a debate on taxes A white restaurateur told a black customer not to wear an I cant breathe shirt. Protests and a boycott followed. Prince Georges County launches nationwide search for new police chief VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / NV Gold Corporation (TSXV:NVX)(OTC PINK:NVGLF) ("NV Gold" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that, further to its news release dated July 6, 2020, it has received TSX Venture Exchange acceptance of its letter agreement (the "Option Agreement") with Exodus Mineral Exploration Ltd. ("Exodus") under which NV Gold holds an option to acquire up to an 85% interest in Exodus' mineral claims comprising the high-grade mineral exploration and development project known as the "Exodus Gold Project", located in the Cariboo Mining Division, 40 km NNW of Prince George, British Columbia (the "Transaction"). "We are pleased to receive TSX Venture acceptance and excited to immediately begin our 2020 exploration program at the high-grade Exodus Gold Project," commented Peter A. Ball, President & CEO. "The Company has commenced a property-wide geophysical survey to assist in identifying additional hidden geological structures and potential drill targets and has engaged a technical team to accelerate exploration activities on the ground. We will be aggressively pursuing our summer/fall exploration program with the aim of identifying multiple high-grade targets to be tested by a focused diamond drill program in the fall of this year. In addition, the Company is advancing exploration efforts on its projects in Nevada, with further news anticipated in early August." NV Gold has commenced an aggressive exploration program at its new high-grade Exodus Gold Project, with the aim of identifying multiple high-grade targets to be tested by a focused diamond drill program in the fall of this year. To meet this goal, the Company has engaged Precision GeoSurveys to complete property-wide helicopter-borne high resolution aeromagnetic ("High-Res Mag") and radiometric surveys within approximately one week's time. In addition, the Company has also engaged the respected SGDS Hive geological team to commence a property wide reconnaissance exploration program commencing July 27, 2020. This program will include mapping, rock and soil sampling, trenching, structural modelling to help finalize drill targeting, and collection of environmental data necessary for drill permitting. Importantly, data from aforementioned geophysical surveys will be available to help ground crews focus on property wide target identification. Key members of the Company's technical team and board members, including Dr. Quinton Hennigh, Dr. Odin Christensen, John Watson and Alf Stewart, will fully assist with evaluation of incoming data. Please refer to the press release dated July 6, 2020, which highlights detailed information on the high-grade Exodus Gold Project and the terms of its option to acquire up to an 85% interest in the project. The link to the property page on the Company's website is located at www.nvgoldcorp.com/properties/british-columbia/exodus-gold-project/ and also includes detail on the Option Agreement Terms. As per the terms of the Option agreement, and TSX Venture acceptance, the Company has paid CDN$25,000 and issued 250,000 shares of NV Gold Corporation to Exodus Mineral Exploration Ltd. Please visit the Company's Media section for the most recent interviews with NV Gold's CEO at the following link: www.nvgoldcorp.com/investors/media/, recently updated today on July 21, 2020. COVID-19 Response During the Covid-19 pandemic, NV Gold is committed to advancing exploration in a socially responsible manner, respecting good health and safety guidelines to protect its own employees, consultants, and contractors as well as the citizens of the communities in which it is working. NV Gold would like to thank all its stakeholders for their patience and support. About NV Gold Corporation NV Gold (TSXV: NV)(US:NVGLF) is a junior exploration company based in Vancouver, British Columbia that is focused on delivering value through mineral discoveries, leveraging its highly experienced in-house technical knowledge, and identifying and drilling 2-3 priority projects per year. NV Gold controls multiple drill-ready projects in Nevada, and has entered into an Option Agreement on a high-grade gold near-drill ready project in British Columbia, Canada. On behalf of the Board of Directors, Peter A. Ball President & CEO For further information, visit the Company's website at www.nvgoldcorp.com or contact: Peter A. Ball, President & CEO Phone: 1-888-363-9883 Email: peter@nvgoldcorp.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward Looking Statements This news release includes certain forward-looking statements or information. All statements other than statements of historical fact included in this release, including, without limitation, the plans to complete exploration or development of the Project and add additional technical personnel and other future plans and objectives of the Company, are forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from the Company's plans or expectations include regulatory issues, market prices, availability of capital and financing, general economic, market or business conditions, timeliness of government or regulatory approvals and other risks detailed herein and from time to time in the filings made by the Company with securities regulators. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise except as otherwise required by applicable securities legislation. SOURCE: NV Gold Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598254/NV-Gold-Commences-Exploration-at-the-High-Grade-Exodus-Gold-Project-after-Receiving-TSX-Venture-Acceptance Downed Ukrainian Airline's Flight Data Recorders in France for Analysis By VOA News July 20, 2020 Canada's Foreign Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne said the flight data recorders from a Ukrainian passenger plane downed by an Iranian missile are in Paris where they are expected to be taken to France's Civil Aviation Safety Investigation Authority for analysis Monday. Champagne said on Twitter that officials from Canada's Transportation Safety Board will be present for the investigation. Most of the 176 people on board the plane were Canadian citizens or residents, or were traveling to Canada. Iran says its military accidentally shot down the Ukraine Airlines plane in January, shortly after it took off from Tehran's airport, mistaking it for an incoming missile. The incident happened during a time of heightened tensions between Iran and the United States, just after Iran had launched missiles at several bases in Iraq in response to the U.S. killing of top Iranian general Qassim Soleimani. Canada, Ukraine and other nations whose nationals were on board the plane have demanded a thorough investigation, and the analysis of the so-called black box recorders recovered from the wreckage has been the subject of negotiation. The plane was manufactured by Boeing, a U.S. company, and due to U.S. sanctions on Iran the United States rejected sending Iran a piece of equipment needed to recover the data from the recorders. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A new hotspot map reveals how coronavirus has spread across Sydney after Melbourne's second wave of infections jumped the border. NSW recorded 16 new COVID-19 cases on Wednesday, following an outbreak which started at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, in the city's south-west. The 'patient zero' of the hotel outbreak has been identified as a Melbourne freight company employee who attended the venue on July 3. NSW Health said there are now 50 cases associated with the Crossroads Hotel cluster and 26 linked to the Thai Rock restaurant at Wetherill Park. Victoria reported 374 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday. Pictured: A map showing coronavirus cases recorded since July 1. South-west Sydney has been hit the hardest, with 11 cases in the Liverpool local government area. The postcodes seen in the lightest shade of red have recorded one case in the past three weeks. The map shows the Sydney hotspots battling coronavirus infections since July 1. There are 90 COVID-19 cases active in NSW. In the Liverpool local government area, there are 11 active cases in Carnes Hill and Cecil Hills and eight in Casula and Chipping Norton following one positive test result in each area over night. Another coronavirus case was recorded in Bossley Park, in the Fairfield LGA, bringing the number of active cases in the suburb to three. The Lower Blue Mountains saw an additional person test positive and the area now has five active coronavirus infections. Sydney's south recorded another positive case in Caringbah, taking the suburb's active number of cases to two, while another infection was recorded in Grays Point. There are five active cases in Airds, Ambarvale and Appin in the Campbelltown LGA and five in Bardia, the Liverpool LGA. Belmore, in Sydney's inner south-west, has four active coronavirus cases. NSW ACTIVE COVID-19 CASES SYDNEY'S SOUTH WEST Carnes Hill, Cecil Hills: 11 Casula, Chipping Norton: 8 Airds: 5 Balmoral: 5 Fairfield: 4 Cabramatta: 4 Belmore: 4 Bardia: 2 Bossley Park, Prairiewood, Abbotsbury: 3 Revesby: 1 Catherine Fields: 1 Currans Hill, Mount Annan: 1 Smithfield: 1 Glenfield: 1 SYDNEY'S SOUTH Lugarno, Peakhurst, Riverwood: 2 Engadine, Heathcote, Waterfall: 1 Beverley Park: 1 Allawah, Carlton: 1 Caringbah: 2 Grays Point: 1 SYDNEY'S WEST and BLUE MOUNTAINS Katoomba, Leura: 4 Winmalee, Springwood: 1 Constitution Hill: 3 Schofields: 2 Blacktown, Arndell Park: 2 Oatlands, Dundas: 1 Erskine Park: 1 Glenmore Park: 1 Emu Plains, Emu Heights, Jamison: 1 Caddens: 1 SYDNEY'S NORTH Baulkham Hills: 3 Carlingford: 1 NORTHERN NSW Charlestown: 2 SOUTHERN NSW Avondale: 1 Lake Illawarra: 1 Batemans Bay: 4 Lavington: 2 Advertisement Victoria reported 374 new coronavirus infections on Wednesday. Pictured: A graph showing Victoria's second wave of COVID-19 cases VICTORIA'S ACTIVE CASES BY LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS Hume - 308 Brimbank - 289 Melbourne - 272 Wyndham - 370 Moreland - 191 Casey - 103 Moonee Valley - 212 Stonnington - 38 Banyule - 130 Whittlesea - 166 Melton - 119 Boroondara - 43 Darebin - 88 Greater Geelong - 18 Mornington Peninsula - 11 Monash - 37 Glen Eira - 18 Port Phillip - 34 Yarra - 119 Maribyrnong - 95 Frankston - 12 Manningham - 39 Hobsons Bay - 65 Bayside - 15 Kingston - 26 Whitehorse - 48 Greater Dandenong - 44 Knox - 14 Cardinia - 18 Mitchell - 14 Greater Shepparton - 2 Maroondah - 13 Advertisement NSW recorded 13 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, following an outbreak of COVID-19 cases at the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, the city's south-west According to NSW Health there were 90 active cases in the state as of Tuesday. Sydney's inner west, eastern suburbs and northern beaches have so far remained unscathed. Despite the rising cases, NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian on Tuesday said she wouldn't yet follow Victoria's lead by enforcing mask use in public, but urged people wear them when social distancing was impossible. 'What NSW Health and myself are worried about most at this moment in time is what people are doing when they're entering hospitality venues ... you can't wear a mask when you're having a meal,' Ms Berejiklian told 2GB radio. 'That's where the biggest risk is at the moment, indoor events. Pictured: A map shows Sydney's coronavirus hotspot sites There are 26 cases linked to the Thai Rock restaurant at Wetherill Park (pictured) 'The health advice to date has served NSW extremely well and it's not for politicians to make this stuff up as we go.' Three women have died of coronavirus in Victoria as the state continues to grapple with 3,147 active infections. Premier Daniel Andrews confirmed the women aged in their 80s, 90s and 100s died overnight, bringing the number of deaths in the state to 42 and the national toll to 126. One of the women was an aged care resident. There are 174 people in hospital, 36 of whom are receiving intensive care. 'It's always challenging to analyse any one day's results, you'd like to see numbers coming down,' Mr Andrews told reporters on Tuesday. Latest COVID-19 case locations in NSW NSW HEALTH SAYS IF YOU VISITED THE BELOW LOCATIONS DURING THE LISTED TIMES YOU SHOULD SELF-ISOLATE AND GET TESTED. Batemans Bay: Soldiers Club Monday 13 July, Wednesday 15 July to Friday 17 July Campbelltown: Plus Fitness 9am to 10am, Saturday 11 July Casula: Crossroads Hotel Friday 3 July to Friday 10 July Casula: Planet Fitness Saturday 4 July to Friday 10 July Harris Park: Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral 5.30pm Mass on Wednesday 15 July 6pm Mass on Thursday 16 July 1:30pm Funeral and 6pm Mass on Friday 17 July Merrylands: Anytime Fitness Gym 8:30pm to 10:30pm on Tuesday 14 July Picton: Picton Hotel Saturday 4 July, Sunday 5 July, Thursday 9 July, Friday 10 July Wetherill Park: Thai Rock Restaurant Thursday 9 July, Friday 10 July, Saturday 11 July, Sunday 12 July, Tuesday 14 July Advertisement Pictured: Two women and a child wear a face mask in Burwood, Sydney's inner west on Monday 'At the end of the day, we're not seeing the doubling and doubling again. 'So what that says to me, and I'm sure the chief health officer can speak to this in more detail, is that the sorts of measures we have put in place are having a direct impact.' Victoria's Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said community transmission did appear to be heading down. 'We have seen some stabilisation in some postcodes especially the postcodes where there have been restrictions for a long period of time,' Professor Sutton told reporters. 'That's encouraging. 'There are other postcodes where the restrictions for stage three have been in place for almost two weeks, but that's not as long as the some of the other postcodes are destabilising, so I'm still hopeful that we can see some levelling off in decreasing numbers in those areas.' Fatima Sana Shaikh is all set to make her debut on OTT with her upcoming film LUDO. The actress has time and again ruled the hearts of the audiences with her strong portrayal of characters and giving things a spin, the actress will now make her audiences laugh. Fans are looking forward to the film and have flooded the actress social media with love and support. Here's what they have to say: "Eagerly waiting for the epic blockbuster Fatima Your hardwork will pay off" " @fatimasanashaikh you look patakha " "Waiting for Ludo " "Superb " "Waiting " "Wow very excited to see watch Love uuuu Fatima Mam" "Lagda dhamaka hoga Netflix PR " "Super " " Aag laga di" The director's favourite had already revealed all the fun BTS from the sets on her social media which had built up the excitement for her film. The actress has donned a red saree look and also learnt Marathi in order to achieve the precision that her character requires in the film. With such passion for every project, the film is sure to be a hit. The audiences are all fuelled up for another new character and look with a performance thats sure to tickle the funny bones. Apart from this Fatima also has another project in the pipeline titled Suraj Pe Mangal Bhari and that's also sure to be another promising performance from Fatima's end. ALSO READ: Abhishek Bachchan's Ludo, Sanjay Dutt's Torbaaz; Netflix Announces New Line-Up Of Indian Premieres ALSO READ: Fatima Sana Shaikh Is One Of The Most Moldable Actors In Bollywood Raut reiterated that Thackeray keeps visiting Ayodhya and has done so before and after becoming the chief minister of Maharashtra Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will definitely go for Ram temple bhoomi pujan, said party MP Sanjay Raut. (PTI Photo) Mumbai: Maharashtra Chief Minister and Shiv Sena president Uddhav Thackeray will definitely go for the ground-breaking ceremony of Ram temple construction in Ayodhya, party MP Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday. Asked whether Thackeray has received an invitation for the ceremony, Raut said, It will come." Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to visit Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh on August 5 for the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony to begin the construction of the Ram temple. Chief Minister Thackeray will definitely go for the 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony, because the Shiv Sena shares sentimental, religious and national ties with this issue," Raut told a TV channel. As I had said yesterday, the Shiv Sena had made a big contribution, and (Shiv Sainiks) shed their blood and made sacrifices for the cause of Ram temple construction, he added. Raut reiterated that Thackeray keeps visiting Ayodhya and has done so before and after becoming the chief minister of Maharashtra. The ceremony is historic from the point of view of the country, Hindutva, for the thousands of martyrs, he said. Raut also said lakhs of Lord Ram devotees would have turned up for the ceremony had there been no COVID-19 crisis prevailing. The Rajya Sabha member on Monday claimed his party paved the way to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and removed roadblocks in the temple construction for the cause of Hindutva and not for politics. It needs to be seen how many people will be invited for the temple's ground-breaking ceremony next month and what social distancing measures will be taken at the event (in view of the COVID-19 outbreak), Raut said. "What 'political social distancing' they will observe remains to be seen," he said. After a protracted legal tussle, the Supreme Court on November 9 last year paved the way for the construction of Ram temple by a trust at the disputed site in Ayodhya. The apex court directed the Centre to allot an alternative five-acre plot to the Sunni Waqf Board for building a new mosque at a "prominent" place in the holy town in Uttar Pradesh. There was plenty of drama on Tuesday night's episode of Bachelor in Paradise. And after Timm Hanly called co-star Niranga Amarasinghe a 'rat' over his close friendship with Ciarran Stott's ex Renee Barrett, Niranga has hit back on Instagram. The 28-year-old shared a picture of himself hugging Renee and said it was 'healthy to have friends of the opposite sex'. Hitting back: Bachelor in Paradise star Niranga Amarasinghe (left) has taken a swipe at Timm Hanly, who called him a 'rat' over his friendship with Renee Barrett (right) on Tuesday's episode 'It's healthy to have friends of the opposite sex... so it's okay to be JUST friends,' Niranga captioned the post, adding the tongue-in-cheek hashtag #friendzone. Even Bachelor in Paradise host Osher Gunsberg got involved, tweeting: 'Okay Timm, let me get this right. 'Ciarran pashes Renee's mates (more than one) and that's okay. But Niranga being just a friend (yes, there is such a thing) to Renee isn't okay? Don't know if I see it that way.' Close: The 28-year-old shared a picture of himself hugging Renee on Instagram and said it was 'healthy to have friends of the opposite sex' His take: Even Bachelor host Osher Gunsberg got involved, tweeting: 'Okay Timm, let me get this right. Ciarran pashes Renee's mates (more than one) and that's okay. But Niranga being just a friend (yes, there is such a thing) to Renee isn't okay? Don't know if I see it that way' During Tuesday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise, Timm went off at the dinner party when he saw Niranga and Renee hugging. 'You must be close!' he remarked, noting that the pair had recently returned from a holiday in Bali with other friends. Timm later exploded in front of producers, and called Niranga a 'rat'. 'Niranga spent a week with Ciarran and Renee in Bali so he thinks he's really good mates with Ciarran's missus! You need to have Ciarran's back, you rat,' he said. 'He's a rat!' During Tuesday's episode of Bachelor in Paradise, Timm went off at the dinner party when he saw Niranga and Renee hugging He added: 'I just don't think you should be talking to your mate's missus when they break up. End of story.' At the dinner table, Timm took a jab at Renee and said she had a 'new man' in Niranga. A furious Renee later called Timm 'an absolute peanut' for stirring the pot. During Tuesday's show, Ciarran was left blindsided by Renee's arrival in Fiji. 'It's absolutely horrendous having my ex in Paradise right now. Yeah, it's pretty tense between myself and Renee, you know,' Ciarran acknowledged. 'She doesn't want to look at me. She doesn't want to give me a bar or a moment. So, yeah, I guess this'll be a fun night.' Sticking up for his friend: At the dinner table, Timm took a jab at Renee and said she has a 'new man' and said they look 'a bit close' Finally, Ciarran decided to try and take control of the situation, addressing the tension between himself and his 26-year-old ex. 'Obviously we're here to discuss, you know, myself and Renee. Everybody knows it. It's not rocket science,' he began in a speech to the table, after previously admitting he'd cheated on her during their short-lived relationship. 'Erm, I think she's a beautiful person. What I did to her was wrong, and I explained that the other night. I am sorry that is what I did to you. I shouldn't have done it. Awkward! During Tuesday's show, Ciarran (pictured) was left blindsided by Renee's arrival in Fiji Their story: Ciarran previously admitted that he had cheated on Renee during their short-lived relationship 'It was a d**k move by myself. But I've owned it. And it was stupid. I shouldn't have done it. I think you're a beautiful person. You did nothing wrong. You did nothing to deserve that. And I am so sorry for hurting you the way I did.' But while Renee sat largely silent for the duration of his speech, she later said she had no intention of accepting his apology. Things went from bad to worse when Timm started reading from a box of questions, telling his best friend all of the questions in the box were about him. A furious Ciarran then kicked back his chair, before shouting, 'Oh, f**k this! F**king bulls**t, the lot of ya. I'm done,' and storming off. He then walked over to the bar, before sitting down and breaking down in tears. Also during Tuesday's episode, Renee revealed that Ciarran had secretly been in contact with her when he was on Angie Kent's season of The Bachelorette in 2019. Bachelor in Paradise continues Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Ten In spite of the rise in COVID-19 infections and death rates within the sub-region and beyond, Speaker of ECOWAS Parliament Sidie Mohamed Tunis has urged community citizens not to lose hope. Mr Tunis while declaring open the Second Extra-Ordinary Session of Parliament via video conference said even though no vaccine has been discovered as yet, the picture was not all gloomy. He said although the world was still grappling to control the spread of the virus, medical personnel were already mastering the different stages and administering the right treatment. The picture of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic is not entirely gloomy. Admittedly, infection rates are growing daily and deaths are still being recorded from complications associated with the virus. Furthermore, the world is yet to find neither a cure nor a vaccine for the virus. In the course of treating patients, however, our dedicated medical personnel are continuously learning the behaviour of the virus across the globe, our sub-region inclusive. Doctors are becoming more familiar with the nature of complications that lead to death. Consequently, they are working towards ensuring that they treat symptoms as they appear. They have also identified certain existing drugs meant for other ailments to assist in limit damages to infected patients. With this continuous knowledge of the behaviour of the virus, doctors are optimistic that death rates of infected patients will reduce in the next coming months, since there would be improved management, he said. He called on all community citizens to continually commend and pray for medical personnel who are risking all to care for the sub-region. Mr Tunis further admonished citizens of member states to strictly abide by the health protocols, including hand washing, use of sanitiser, social distancing and limiting unnecessary movements. He called on his colleagues, Members of Parliament to encourage those whom they represent to help themselves by adhering to the health protocols and all non-pharmaceutical measures. These non-pharmaceutical measures will immensely assist in limiting the spread of the virus and hence accelerate our transition away from the pandemic. We should encourage our people to help themselves and not rely on the Government for a daily reminder of the safety protocols. The period of this pandemic has remained a trying period for us all. The economic effects are yet to be determined, since the pandemic is still raging. I am, however, hopeful that with collaboration and togetherness, we shall come out free and tell the story one day, the Speaker said. Mr Tunis hinted that Parliament will consider a lot of referrals during its session, assuring that the views of the people will be reflected in all its decisions. (NAN) The demands from retailers are fourfold: One, allow kiranas, general trade stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and wholesalers to operate every day of the week till 9 pm. Two, ensure uniform and regular opening of all categories of retail. Three, hassle-free movement of goods and employees, and four, lift bans on malls in states like Maharashtra. With little signs of revival in their business, retailers have urged state and local authorities to ease localised lockdowns. Ad-hoc lockdowns, they said, have been counterproductive since the country entered Unlock 2.0 on July 1. Imposed by over a dozen states, ad-hoc shutdowns have not only quashed hopes of any recovery but could add to the rising Covid-19 count, they argued. The Retailers Association of India (RAI), a not-for-profit organisation representing the rights of retailers, is making representations to state governments and local authorities, seeking permit for longer hours of operations. The arbitrary lockdowns, imposed by different bodies in different areas spread across the country, have only compounded their woes, they rued. In its first leg, the RAI has approached the authorities in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, and Karnataka, apart from respective state secretariats. The need of the hour is concerted efforts by all stakeholders. While retailers are doing their bit by following stringent hygiene practices, policymakers, too, need to ensure economic revival. "Only consumption can support the business environment, said Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive officer (CEO), RAI. The demands from retailers are fourfold: One, allow kiranas, general trade stores, supermarkets, hypermarkets, and wholesalers to operate every day of the week till 9 pm. Two, ensure uniform and regular opening of all categories of retail. This will help avoid overcrowding outside stores since demand will get evenly distributed, they said. Three, hassle-free movement of goods and employees. Four, lift bans on malls in states like Maharashtra. Retailers have argued that arbitrary rules followed by agencies in different regions are causing more harm than good. The ad-hoc restrictions that keep changing create confusion about what is allowed and what is not, they said. Arvind Mediratta, MD and CEO, METRO Cash & Carry India, said: The decision to close all stores on weekends in UP and to reinforce stringent lockdown in Bengaluru is going to severely impact business. "We would request Karnataka and UP to allow unhindered operations of food and grocery retail and wholesale stores. "Such hastily implemented decisions undermine investor confidence and would come in the way of making India self-reliant. Sandeep Kataria, CEO, Bata India, said: Restricted shopping time can lead to unnecessary overcrowding at stores. "Longer operational hours will support recovery for retailers as well as help adhere to social distancing. Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO, Unlimited from Arvind Lifestyle Brands, said: Customer convenience and preventing crowding are served best by having regular retail timings. "Odd-even dates or few hours trading time inconveniences buyers and results in overcrowding. "I request the local authorities to take a larger contextual view and issue notifications with more stable working days and timings to ensure customer safety and convenience. Photograph: PTI Photo A file photo of recently released convicted sex offender Cary Jay Smith, who has been traveling throughout Southern California. (Courtesy of Orange County District Attorney) SoCal Law Enforcement Continues to Track Released Sex Offender Convicted sex offender Cary Jay Smith has moved steadily across Southern California after being released from Coalinga State Hospital on July 14and public officials have been tracking him all the way. Smith was last spotted at a motel in northern San Diego County on July 19, after making stops in Lake Elsinore, Corona, Orange, and Los Angeles. Local law enforcement and city officials have been using social media to keep the public informed of Smiths whereabouts. Smith spent nearly 21 years in mental health hospitals for fantasizing about killing and raping young boys before being released. He was institutionalized on a civil commitment that allowed for a release review every six months. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer issued a press release on July 14 warning residents of Smiths release and calling for Gov. Gavin Newsom to require Smith to register as a sex offender. This sexual predator has repeatedly testified under oath that he will re-offend if he is released and we should believe him, Spitzer said. Smith, 59, arrived in San Diego from Lake Elsinore, where he spent less than 24 hours. When Smith was spotted on July 19, Lake Elsinore Councilwoman Natasha Johnson called for a public protest. Smith left the area just hours before the protest was scheduled to begin. Elsinore was not and is not his home, Johnson said in a Facebook video. While we focused on our backyard today, we are hoping that the next community that is forced to deal with this exception can share their concerns as we and other cities havevery quickly. Prior to arriving in Lake Elsinore, Smith stayed briefly in the City of Corona, in Riverside County. On July 18, the Corona Police Department released a community alert on Twitter informing residents that officers were watching Smith while he is in Corona to ensure the safety of the community. Later that day, they alerted the public via tweet that Smith had decided to leave the city. The City of Orange Police Department began tracking Smith as soon as he arrived on July 17. In a tweet, they informed the public that a Dangerous Sex Offender Recently Released from State Mental Hospital is Residing in Orange, adding that Smith had checked into a Facility in the area of Tustin and Chapman. We immediately set up a surveillance detail and we have consistently monitored Smith since he arrived in Orange, the tweet stated. Smith arrived at the adult residential facility following a one-night stay in Los Angeles after being released. Smith refers to himself as Mr. RTK, standing for rape, torture and kill, and has admitted more than once his intentions to continue his pursuit of inflicting harm upon minors. Smith has written letters and poems describing torturing children and having sex with them. Smith had been required to register as a sex offender in 1985 following a guilty plea to a misdemeanor sexual offense involving a child, but the requirement was removed in 2005 for an unknown reason. Spitzer wants to know why. He and Orange County Board of Supervisors Chairwoman Michelle Steel have urged Newsom to reinstate the requirement. According to Kimberly Edds, the DAs public information officer, psychologists have testified in court that Smith is an imminent danger to the public. BRUSSELS (Reuters) - EU state aid regulators cleared on Monday an Irish scheme to produce electricity from renewable sources, saying it was in line with the bloc's rules and its environmental objectives. Ireland's Renewable Electricity Support Scheme aims to support electricity production from renewable sources, including solar photovoltaic and wind, to help the country shift away from fossil fuels. The project, budgeted between 7.2 billion euros and 12.5 billion euros, will run until 2025. State aid will be allocated through auctions. The European Commission said the scheme will contribute to the bloc's environmental objectives without unduly distorting competition. (Reporting by Foo Yun Chee) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) A supermarket in Pasig City has been temporarily suspended for its managements failure to implement social distancing, Pasig mayor Vico Sotto said on Tuesday. The grocery section of Landers Superstore in Barangay Ugong will be closed from July 21 to July 27, after reportedly violating the city government's general work and health guidelines meant to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In a tweet, the mayor clarified that the restaurant, barbershop, plant shop, pharmacy, and parking lot may remain open for business. He also said the stores management has already expressed its intent to abide by the suspension order. Landers has been encouraged to use the one-week period to improve its health and safety protocols, Sotto added. Usually when we suspend for this reason, we dont announce the name, Sotto said. We dont want them to have bad publicity; we just want their customers safe. But this is a big business, so youll probably hear about it anyway, he explained. Authorities continue to remind the public to strictly adhere to health protocols, including wearing of face masks and practicing social distancing, to avoid transmission of COVID-19. As of July 21, the viral disease has infected more than 70,000 and killed around 1,800 people in the country, according to the Health department. While some businesses are doing really well, sadly others arent in the same position. Hospitality and gymnasiums are an example of that, theyre really battling it, said Mike McShane (pictured above), director at McLardy McShane. Read next: Australia hit by spike in coronavirus cases McShane manages around 100 Melburnian clients in industries including retail, transport, services and construction, but he says its the hospitality sector that will suffer the most. Hospitality is struggling, and Ive got a few hotels and restaurants who are really battling, he admitted. Theres not a lot we can do other than try when possible to minimise their premiums by reducing estimated turnovers. Some are accepting of those and some arent. Weve had to change a couple of things in their coverage to adapt to those slight changes in business. While restaurants, cafes and bars are using this down time to re-evaluate their menus, staffing and marketing, McShane says theyre only surviving on thin ice thanks to government support. A lot them are now looking at how they could keep their business going by utilising the government stimulus and by also offering takeaway food, takeaway alcohol and home deliveries, he continued. While they havent had the same sort of turnover, with the help of the government stimulus, a lot of them have just survived. Scott ONeill (pictured below), director of CP Insurance Services which specialises in retail, paints a similarly bleak picture. The discussions about the second wave are certainly very concerning for businesses and the biggest challenge is to work out how theyre going to navigate their way through the ever-changing climate that were facing, ONeill conceded. Much like back in March, when we first saw the initial set of restrictions coming in, they were being imposed so quickly that it felt like just as we got used to them, a second set of restrictions came through. ONeill believes that if Premier Daniel Andrews imposes Stage Four restrictions, the situation will deteriorate. How are they going to get through this and ensure that their business stays alive or continues through? If the shutdown goes further to Stage Four, they may have to shut their doors and thats going to have a really dramatic impact on their business, he said. Thats the concern. Gavan Burke (pictured above), director at Active Insurance Solutions, which services around 200 Melbourne clients in the gym and fitness industry, says the decline in income has devastated his clients. If the government had terminated the JobKeeper program in September, it could have spelled the end for many. The drop in income has been significant for these businesses, Burke said. Theyve had significant downturn in income a lot of them are closed and, for others, JobKeeper is the only thing keeping them going, he conceded. At the end of August, when theyre able to reopen and receive an income then it shouldnt be so bad. But if the government extends the shut down and JobKeeper ends, they will be significantly impacted, and I say that some businesses wont survive. Read more: "The single biggest challenge will be once JobKeeper finishes" The federal government outlined JobKeepers future on Tuesday, announcing the vital program will continue are lesser rates. However, if the outbreak in Melbourne is controlled during the six-week lockdown, Burke says his clients will be less dependent on government support. JobKeeper ending in September was a significant concern for them, he said. If JobKeeper ends but the government successfully manages the virus in the six-week lockdown period, then JobKeeper wont be that much of an issue because they will be able to get back to work, so its what happens within the next six weeks that counts. However, its not just financial hardship facing some of Burkes clients with temporary closures leaving vacant properties vulnerable, some have had to lodge claims for burglaries and damaged property, such as broken windows and water damage from leaked water fountains. Burke says supporting clients around the clock during the second wave has been his highest priority. Weve been here full-time; we havent stopped trading whatsoever. Weve been here 100% of the time back in the office - its all about providing advice and service, he said. ONeill echoes these sentiments, encouraging brokers to support their clients experiencing hardship. Find a way to work with your clients work together as a team and recognise that youre there to help them out. Youre not the bad guy, we cant help them by giving them a loan or we cant extend their mortgage we can instead help them in other ways, he said. Just take the opportunity to affirm with your clients that youre there to work with them and that youre also a part of the team at their disposal. Beacon International Companies (http://www.beaconequip.com), a global leader in the pre-owned medical imaging equipment market, announced today its expansion into the European, Middle East and Africa regions, creating the UK-based company, Beacon International Medical Systems. The announcement comes at the same time the company has rebranded Beacon International. Celebrating nearly 15 years in business, this rebranding campaign builds on Beacon Internationals expanding global leadership in pre-owned, medical imaging equipment evaluations, acquisitions, sales, de-installations/installations, logistics and complete project management, expanding both its geographical footprint and portfolio of companies. The comprehensive rebrand also reflects Beacon International's efforts to offer best-in-class services all backed by a world-class culture of customer service. This is a new era for Beacon International and our rebranding campaign illustrates our commitment to lead the industry, demonstrates our focus on faster, high-quality customer service and expansion around the world, said Jon DeRoost, CEO of Beacon International Companies. We are looking forward to better serving our customers in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The expansion creates the parent company, Beacon International Companies, of Beacon International, LLC, which will continue to lead the business efforts within the US, Canada and South America, Beacon International Medical Systems, Ltd. will be headquartered in Worchester, UK, with an office in Madrid, Spain, and MedPart Solutions, which has been operating in the UK. Along with this comes the rebranding of the company by redesigning their Corporate Identity Program and launching a new website. More information about Beacon International and Beacon International Medical Systems is available at http://www.beaconequip.com. For more information about MedPart Solutions, visit http://www.medpartsolutions.com. About Beacon International Companies Beacon International is a global leader in the pre-owned, medical imaging equipment market. Beacon International is known throughout the US and internationally for equipment evaluations, acquisitions, sales, de-installations/installations, logistics and complete project management. What makes Beacon International unique is that their entire medical imaging equipment inventory is owned by Beacon International directly. MEDIA CONTACT Carol Berreckman +1 916-240-6360 carol@beaconequip.com Investment platform Robinhood has announced it has indefinitely postponed its planned UK launch in the wake of a fraught year for the company. In an email sent to customers, the company said it was closing down its wait list and shuttering its UK website in the near future. Given the uncertainty created by COVID-19, as well as issues with its platform, it made sense for Robinhood to focus on the US. As such, international expansion has been put on ice until the global situation improves, whenever thatll be. A push to the UK has been in the works for several months, and said as recently as June 12th that it was still working hard behind the scenes to give you access as quickly as possible. The company added that it will be wiping the details of UK users who signed up to the waitlist, as well as their email addresses. Given the wording in the statement, dont expect Robinhood to make another crack at the UK until next year at the very earliest. The UK was a target market for Robinhood for a long time, especially with a number of other companies also offering commission-free stock trading. That included Revolut, Freetrade and Trading 212, amongst others, all of which offered a similar sort of service in the market. Robinhood markets itself as a zero-fee stock-trading app which also lets you trade cryptocurrencies where allowed. In 2020, however, it has been beset by a series of crises that have eroded trust in its platform and led to real-world tragedy. In March, a series of unplanned outages prevented people from selling stocks during a banner trading day at the start of the COVID-19 lockdowns. That led to frustrated traders being offered free premium service and, potentially, refunds as teams worked to resolve the issue. And then, in June, a 20-year-old Robinhood trader died by suicide after the app incorrectly told him he was $730,000 in the red. In a statement, co-CEOs Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt expressed their condolences and pledged to fix the app, as well as offer education and training, to ensure history didnt repeat itself. In addition, Robinhood made a $250,000 donation to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention. Washington, July 21 : US President Donald Trump called wearing masks "patriotic," seemingly endorsing the practice after an interview aired just the previous day in which he denied the effectiveness of doing so in curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Trump in his tweet on Monday didn't explicitly say he would don masks from now on, but said "many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!" Xinhua news agency reported. Along with the words, the president posted a picture of himself wearing a mask while visiting Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on July 11, the first time he wore a mask in full view of the press since the pandemic reached the United States. He was spotted wearing one behind the scene at a Ford plant in Michigan in May. Having resisted wearing a mask in the past, Trump has until recently denied the effectiveness of masks in curtailing the spread of the virus. "I don't agree with the statement that if everyone wore a mask, everything disappears," he said in an interview with Fox News anchor Chris Wallace aired Sunday, confirming that he won't issue a national mask mandate. The Monday tweet came as the confirmed cases in the United States surpassed 3.8 million and death toll topped 140,800, according to an update by Johns Hopkins University on Monday afternoon. Both of the figures are the world's largest, leading those of other nations by wide margins. Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters that he would resume the daily coronavirus briefings at the White House, possibly as soon as 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday. "I think it's a great way to get information out to the public as to where we are with the vaccine, with the therapeutics, and generally speaking where we are," Trump said. "So I think we'll start that, probably starting tomorrow." Trump appeared at the briefings featuring the White House Coronavirus Task Force almost daily between March and April, before the gatherings at the White House West Wing came to a sudden halt. Vice President Mike Pence and other task force members held the media sessions a few times during the past month when cases spiked sharply in the country. Paul Fusco, a photographer whose eye for the human impact of earthshaking events was perhaps never more evident than in the pictures he took of track-side mourners while riding Senator Robert F. Kennedys funeral train in 1968, died on July 15 at an assisted-living center in San Anselmo, Calif. He was 89. His son, Anthony, said the cause was complications of dementia. In a long career behind the camera, Mr. Fusco worked for Look magazine and the Magnum photo agency and pursued self-financed projects, including a photo series documenting the sobering aftermath of the 1986 accident at the Chernobylnuclear power plant in Ukraine. His varied body of work included images of hard-luck coal miners in Kentucky in 1959, Cesar Chavez and his farm workers in 1966, AIDS patients in San Francisco in 1993 and the funeral and protests that followed the death of Alberta Spruill during a botched police raid in Harlem in 2003. Moving forward: PSU modifies operations to mitigate risk during reopening Tuesday, July 21, 2020 10:00 AM Academics, News Pittsburg, KS Editors note: This is the first in a series of stories that will explore the ways in which Pittsburg State University, the community's largest employer and education provider, has been preparing all summer for the fall semester in an effort to be as safe as possible during the COVID-19 pandemic. Future stories will focus on specific aspects of campus life, including academics in each of the universitys four colleges, recreation, student health, and more. Q. What steps is Pittsburg State University taking in order to mitigate risk as the campus reopens amidst the COVID-19 pandemic? A. The universitys approach has been thoughtful and based on CDC recommended best practices, the product of three working groups and a lengthy roster of staff and administrators who have spent most of the summer preparing Plan A, Plan B, Plan C, and beyond. "The health and safety of our campus community remains our highest priority and has been the driving focus behind all of our decision making, said PSU President Steve Scott. Well continue to carefully monitor the situation and assess needs, making adjustments as we go." The guiding principle: focus on the safety of those who spend time at Pittsburg State University in offices, classrooms, and public spaces, while serving as a model to the community. Masks A mask requirement went into effect earlier this summer in work spaces where social distancing could not be maintained, and, just prior to the statewide executive order by Gov. Laura Kelly, was extended to the entire campus effective June 29. On Friday, July 17, the university finalized a policy that governs how the mask requirement will be enforced; that policy was sent to students, parents, and employees and can be found at pittstate.edu/coronavirus. On Monday, July 20, when many employees began returning to campus after having worked remotely, each was given a mask by the university. When students return on Aug. 17, theyll be given masks provided by Mpix, a community partner. Scientific studies have shown that mask wearing dramatically reduces the chances of spreading COVID-19. The requirement will be in place on campus for the foreseeable future and will be reassessed regularly. Our goal is not only to open, but to stay open until we dismiss students on Nov. 20 for fall break and online completion of the semester, Scott said. To achieve that goal, we must each take individual responsibility, and one of the things known to prevent transmission of the virus is wearing a mask. Meetings When employees transitioned in the spring to working remotely amid shelter-in-place orders, they began using tools like Microsoft Teams and Zoom to hold virtual meetings, and to collaborate on shared projects. That strategy will continue as much as possible even when employees are fully back on campus in order to reduce the number of people gathered in meeting rooms. Social distancing is another best practice known to reduce transmission, and with the expertise of our IT department and Center for Teaching and Learning Technology to help guide us, were using resources that will make that possible, Scott said. Measures The university has shared a guide for reopening with employees, which will be updated and expanded in coming weeks. The university also continues to remind those who travel this summer to high-risk areas to follow the KDHE recommendation to quarantine for 14 days upon their return. That list currently includes Florida and Arizona. Department heads are working with employees to stagger times in the office to minimize density, with the goal of offices fully being staffed on Aug. 3. Those who manage high-traffic areas have worked with a local manufacturer to make plexiglass sneeze guards for public-facing areas. They produced social distancing floor stickers for areas that might have lines or congregating. The university has moved Fall Break from October to Nov. 23-24, and will go fully online from Nov. 27 to Dec. 11, so that once students return home for Thanksgiving, they dont return to campus until the start of the spring semester. An important factor in transmission and spread is traveling and participating in gatherings, so to reduce this risk among our students, faculty, and staff, we chose to alter our academic calendar for the fall, said Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs Howard Smith. Keeping our campus community safe is our top priority, and making these changes lowers our risk of an outbreak on our campus and in our community. Commencement will be held on Nov. 20-21. Students and parents were emailed a link last week to a student guide for returning to campus; it can be found at pittstate.edu/coronavirus. In it, students are asked to stay away from large gatherings in the weeks before coming to campus, to not travel to high risk areas, and to isolate if experiencing symptoms or after possible exposure. Those coming from high risk areas are asked to quarantine for 14 days prior to coming to campus, or by Aug. 3 to prepare for the Aug. 17 start of school. Cutline: Pittsburg State University has made many safety modifications this summer, and continues to make them, as the campus reopens and anticipates the arrival of students in a few weeks. Among them: plexiglass barriers in high-contact areas and a mandatory mask policy. West Bengal chief minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday launched a scathing attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the government it leads at the Centre, claiming there is reign of fear across the country. People are unable to speak due to reign of fear across the country, Banerjee said while addressing a virtual rally of the Trinamool Congress (TMC). Calling the BJP a party of outsiders, Banerjee said they will never get a chance to run West Bengal. The central government has neglected us. People of West Bengal will give them a befitting reply. Outsiders will not run the state. There are some people who dont have any political experience. They speak of killing people and setting things ablaze, said the chief minister. Sharpening her attack further, Banerje said that the Centre is conspiring against Bengal by saying every day there is violence. What about UP where jungle raj prevails? What is happening in Uttar Pradesh? People in that state are afraid of lodging complaints with the police. Several policemen were killed in a single incident, she said. Centre has deprived West Bengal of resources, people will give a befitting reply for injustice, Banerjee added. The chief minister also accused the BJP of using the state agencies to try and topple the Trinamool Congress government in West Bengal and attacked the saffron party of destabilising governments in Madhya Pradesh, Bengal and Rajasthan. Banerjee said that the Trinamool Congress will win the assembly elections this time too. Trinamool Congress will form the government again. The next elections will show a new direction to the state as well as to the country, the TMC chief said. Assembly elections are due in West Bengal next year and the BJP has vowed to dethrone Banerjee. In the 2019 Lok Sabha polls, BJP won 18 of the states 42 seats, marking the partys highest ever growth in Bengal. The party has attacked Banerjee and her Trinamool Congress for violence in West Bengal. On June 9, Union home minister Amit Shah sharpened his attack on the chief minister, saying that while democracy has strengthened its roots in the entire country West Bengal remains the only state where political violence is propagated. Banerjee had stormed to power in 2011 by overthrowing the 34-year-old Left government. Before coming to power, Banerjee had promised to end political violence but killings and turf wars continued. The 2018 panchayat polls saw a spate in violence. While only 10 people died on the day of polling, against an all-time high of 76 in 2003 and 39 in 2013, the elections stood out because of rigging, booth capturing and burning of ballot papers in front of the media and policemen. More people were killed after the elections. Technavio has been monitoring the electric vehicle remote diagnostics market and it is poised to grow by USD 1.49 billion during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of over 47% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200720005536/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Electric Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 on COVID-19 Impact The market is fairly concentrated, and the degree of concentration will accelerate during the forecast period. Frequently Asked Questions- 1. At what rate is the market projected to grow during the forecast period 2019-2023? A. The market is expected to growing at a CAGR of over 47% during the forecast period. 2. Based on segmentation by application, which is the leading segment in the market? A. The passenger car segment is expected to be the leading segment. 3. What is the key factor driving the market? A. The increase in demand for EVs due to declining battery prices is one of the key factors driving the market growth. 4. Who are the top players in the market? A. Bosch, Continental, Vector Informatik, Verizon, Vidiwave, and WABCO are some of the major market participants. 5. Which region is expected to hold the highest market share? A. APAC 6. What is the major trend for the electric vehicle remote diagnostics market? A. The adoption of 5G technology is a major trend in the market. The increase in demand for EVs due to declining battery prices will offer immense growth opportunities. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. Electric Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market 2019-2023: Segmentation Electric Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market is segmented as below: Application Passenger Cars Commercial Vehicles Geographic Landscape The Americas EMEA APAC To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download latest free sample report of 2020-2024: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30419 Electric Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market 2019-2023: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our electric vehicle remote diagnostics market report covers the following areas: Electric Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market size Electric Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market trends Electric Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market analysis This study identifies the increasing use of 5G technology in automobiles as one of the prime reasons driving the electric vehicle remote diagnostics market growth during the next few years. Electric Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the electric vehicle remote diagnostics market, including some of the vendors such as Bosch, Continental, Vector Informatik, Verizon, Vidiwave, and WABCO. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the electric vehicle remote diagnostics market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Electric Vehicle Remote Diagnostics Market 2019-2023: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023 Detailed information on factors that will assist electric vehicle remote diagnostics market growth during the next five years Estimation of the electric vehicle remote diagnostics market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the electric vehicle remote diagnostics market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of electric vehicle remote diagnostics market vendors Table Of Contents: PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT 2.1 Preface 2.2 Preface 2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis PART 04: MARKET SIZING Market definition Market sizing 2018 Market size and forecast 2018-2023 PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY APPLICATION Market segmentation by application Comparison by application Passenger cars Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Commercial vehicles Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Market opportunity by application PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023 EMEA Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Americas Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Key leading countries Market opportunity PART 09: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challenges PART 10: TRENDS PART 11: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview Landscape disruption PART 12: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Bosch Continental Vector Informatik Verizon Vidiwave WABCO PART 13: APPENDIX Research methodology List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200720005536/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ New Delhi, July 21 : Strategic partners in Jio Platforms, Facebook and Google will be inducted on the board of the company. While Facebook is the largest strategic investor in Jio Platforms with 9.9 per cent stake, Google acquired a 7.73 per cent stake in Jio Platforms (JPL) by investing $4.49 billion at valuation of $58.9 billion. The Google investment is from the committed $10 billion fund for India. The Facebook entry is to Jio Mart and WhatsApp with its subscriber base of 350 million. On the other hand, Google is looking to leverage Jio's strength at the entry level smart phone because Google Pixel is not a mass market phone. Google announced in a blog that it is extending a new capability to the millions of Google Assistant users on KaiOS devices in India. Google has introduced Google Lens camera-based translation abilities to KaiOS users in India. The KaiOS software runs on popular phones like the Jio Phone and Jio Phone 2 in the country. From Assistant, they can click the camera icon to simply point their phone at real-world text (like a product label, street sign, or document, for example,) and have it read back in their preferred language, translated, or defined. Google Assistant has made it easy for users in India to find answers and get things done on their devices using their voice. "Since its launch at Google for India in 2017, Google said it has worked hard to bring more helpful features like integrated voice typing on KaiOS, voice-based language selection, and support for Indian languages to help first-time internet users overcome barriers to literacy and interact with technology and their devices more naturally. In 2019, Google brought camera based translation to Google Lens to help users understand information. "With Lens, you can point your camera at text you see and translate it into more than 100 languages. Lens can even speak the words out loud in your preferred language. We brought these Lens capabilities to Google Go, too, so even those on the most affordable smartphones can access them", Google said. "In India, our rich diversity of languages presents an exciting challenge especially in the context of millions of new users coming online every day. Nine out of ten of these new users are non-English speakers. While many would be fluent at speaking and understanding their native language, there are others who might struggle when it comes to reading and writing it", Google said. Facebook and Google both are now investors in Jio which indicates that both have non-overlapping commercial arrangements with Jio. According to a research report by BofA Securities, "We note that Google and Facebook are competitors in India with both controlling 80 per cent plus of the digital ad market in India. They also compete in other markets like commerce, payments", the research said. Both taking minority interest in JPL indicates that both have non-overlapping commercial arrangements with Jio, both are focused on non-competing partnerships and both see value and opportunities to co-exist. The research said that the Google-Jio partnership focuses on digitization across the length and breadth of India, JPL and Google has also entered into a commercial agreement to jointly develop an entry level affordable smartphone with optimizations to the Android operating system and the Play Store. "We note that Jio's 4G feature phone on KaiOS ecosystem has 120 million users. An affordable 4G and 5G smartphone would help both. Developing an Android 5G app ecosystem focused on emerging markets would also could be an area of focus for Google from medium-term perspective", the research said. The research report said that on the other hand, Facebook's partnership with Jio focuses on integrating JioMart app inside WhatsApp. WhatsApp has also entered into a commercial partnership agreement with Reliance Retail to further accelerate its online commerce business, FB could improve traction of its "Facebook marketplace" by leveraging JPL's feet on the street team as it could help remove the merchant friction with tech, the report said. "We expect Jio overtime to have access to 500 million mobile users, 20 million households and 10 million SMEs. Furthermore RIL has also India's biggest physical retail stores. Such a wide reach of users and merchants allows RIL to have clear and demarcated non-overlapping partnerships with each of them", the report said. HARTFORD, Conn. - A college student who avoided capture in several states for six days after a homicide, kidnapping and home invasion spree in Connecticut pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a second murder charge and other crimes. Peter Manfredonia, 23, a former University of Connecticut student, took part in the arraignment at Milford Superior Court via a video feed from the courthouse detention area. A judge set bail at $5 million on the new charges, adding to the $7 million in bail imposed previously on another murder charge and other alleged crimes. The new charges are connected to the fatal shooting of Nicholas Eisele and the kidnapping of his girlfriend in Derby on May 24. The girlfriend, who has not been named by authorities, was found unharmed at a rest stop near Columbia, New Jersey, later the same day. Eisele was killed two days after police allege Manfredonia killed 62-year-old Ted DeMers and seriously wounded another man in a Samurai sword attack in Willington, about 70 miles (110 kilometres) from Derby. After the sword attack, Manfredonia is accused of breaking into another mans house in Willington and holding him hostage for about 24 hours before taking off with his truck and firearms, police said. Relatives of Manfredonia and Eisele were in court Tuesday, as well as a lawyer for Eiseles girlfriend. The lawyer, Eugene Riccio, read a statement by her. Nicholas Eisele will forever be remembered as a loving, protective boyfriend but also a hero following his own selfless actions on that day, the statement said. The healing process can not begin until we can be assured that justice has been served and Peter Manfredonia is held accountable for his actions that altered and destroyed the lives of both Nick, myself, and countless others. Manfredonias lawyer, Michael Dolan, declined to comment on the charges. Manfredonia wore an orange prison jumpsuit and a mask because of coronavirus precautions, appearing via the video feed. His parents were in court, but left before the proceeding began, Dolan said. To see their son in custody was very difficult, Dolan said. Its just a very sad day. The entire Manfredonia family is just ... heartbroken. Their hearts go out ... for all the families. The new arrest warrant affidavit in Eiseles killing provides the first public account by his girlfriend of the harrowing events in Derby. The woman told police that Manfredonia burst into her and Eiseles apartment shortly before 6 a.m. She said the two men knew each other from growing up in Newtown, and Manfredonia had come to the apartment a few months earlier to buy marijuana from Eisele. She said the men got into a fight and Manfredonia shot Eisele. Then, she said, Manfredonia forced her to drive him in her car out of state. During the drive through Newtown and to New Jersey, Manfredonia told her he killed Eisele and DeMers because they said things that made him snap, but he did not elaborate. Dolan has said that Manfredonia had a history of depression and anxiety, but had never shown signs of violence. After Manfredonia let the woman go in New Jersey, investigators tracked him to Pennsylvania, where police said he took an Uber to a Walmart in East Stroudsburg. Authorities searched the area but didnt find him. A man fitting his description was later spotted near Scranton, Pennsylvania, prompting another search there. Police believe Manfredonia stole a car and abandoned it in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, before taking another Uber to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he was captured without incident when police spotted him near a truck stop. Manfredonia previously pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, home invasion and other charges connected to the events in Willington. FLINT, MI -- City officials say they will form a special police unit and buy back guns in the city as part of a broader effort to tamp down rising violent crime. Mayor Sheldon Neeley announced the plan in a news conference Tuesday, July 21, less than 24 hours after a man in his 20s was shot and killed on Clement Street -- the 28th homicide in Flint this year. We are at the intersection of a crisis ... As you watch the number grow in violent crime in our community, we have to do more than our best ..., Neeley said. Its a very trying time. Using officers already working in the Police Department, Chief Phil Hart said a new special investigative unit will target areas of Flint where violent crimes are most concentrated as long as its needed, with the goal of taking illegal guns off city streets. Flint has just 98 sworn officers but will ramp up efforts to fill 14 vacant positions, targeting city residents for the open jobs, and residents will be offered $100 per handgun or $50 per long gun during a no-questions-asked, buy-back program that will be funded by philanthropic partners. Dates and times of the buy-back program will be announced at a later time, Hart said. Tuesdays news conference included several Flint pastors who Neeley said would work with the city to stem the number of fatal shootings, including the Rev. Jeffrey Hawkins of Prince of Peace Missionary Baptist Church, who has lost two sons to violent crimes. Yesterday at a homicide scene, I had the opportunity -- as unfortunate as it was -- to comfort a mother who stood there and watched her son, who was on the pavement, covered up, as a homicide victim, Hawkins said. Thats not an experience anyone should have to go through ... The violence has to stop. Everybody has to be accountable. In Mondays fatal shooting, Flint police and Michigan State Police troopers responded at around 3:15 p.m. to Clement Street near Dupont Street for a report of shots fired into an occupied dwelling. Emergency dispatch advised a short time later that a man, whose name has not been released, was unresponsive in the roadway and was pronounced deceased at the scene after suffering multiple gunshot wounds. As of July 12, Flints homicides were up 12.5 percent and violent crime had increased 17 percent compared to the same time in 2019. Flint police statistics show property crime had decreased 21 percent and overall crime was down about 5 percent during that same time. Neeley said the increase in violent crime is partly the result of the city lockup having been closed and the population of the Genesee County Jail having been purposely reduced in response to the coronavirus pandemic. We have people that exploit (that), the mayor said. He said the city is continuing to work with police officers from Mott Community College, the University of Michigan-Flint, the county and MSP to reduce crime in Flint. In May, Neeley announced the re-establishment of cooperative relationships with college police departments to increase community patrolling and said Tuesday hes building on those efforts. Tuesdays news conference comes four days after former Police Chief Tim Johnson, a candidate for county sheriff, said said the public was being lied to and misled about rising crime in the city, and accused Hart of not knowing how to police this city. Hart is also a candidate for county sheriff as is current Sheriff Chris Swanson, and Stephen Sanford, the lone Republican on the August primary election ballot. Man killed in daytime shooting in Flint Ex-Flint police chief claims crime is on the rise, current chief says not so: both candidates for sheriff Flint police partner with campus police to increase community patrols Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong, left and Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun By Baek Byung-yeul Samsung Group leader Lee Jae-yong had a second meeting with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun, Tuesday, this time at Hyundai's Namyang R&D Center in Gyeonggi Province. The two discussed further cooperation in the electric vehicles (EVs), self-driving technology and urban air mobility (UAM) sectors, according to officials from the two companies. The meeting following Chung's visit to the Cheonan plant of Samsung SDI, the Samsung Group's battery-making arm, in May, which is where the two discussed business together for the first time. Given that this meeting was held at the same time as U.S. EV giant Tesla is pushing for a new sales record for its EVs here, it has drawn keen attention among Korean media as Samsung has indicated that the EV battery business will be one of its next growth engines. Samsung said Lee visited the Namyang R&D Center with ranking officials of the group and had a ride in Hyundai Motor's self-driving car and test drove a fuel-cell-powered car before having lunch with Chung. "Members of Samsung's management visited the research center and talked about cooperation in the future cars and mobility sectors with Hyundai Motor executives," a Samsung official said. Established in 1995, Hyundai Motor Group's Namyang R&D Center is the country's largest automotive research center, developing future driving technologies and testing Hyundai's new cars. Samsung leader Lee was accompanied by Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Kim Ki-nam, Samsung SDI CEO Jun Young-hyun and Kang In-yup, president of the System LSI Business at Samsung Electronics. "During the meeting, the Samsung executives listened to explanations about Hyundai Motor's future business areas such as UAM, robotics and other technologies," the Samsung official added. Though they didn't elaborate on the details, industry officials said the two leaders' series of meetings have major implications in the automotive and related industries given Samsung and Hyundai used to be archrivals in the business landscape. For Hyundai Motor Group, which aims to launch 23 EV models and sell 1 million EVs by 2025, expanding its partnerships with EV battery makers has become a top priority as it needs to establish a stable supply chain ahead of mass production of the EVs. Chung has already held a series of meetings with the heads of local battery makers including LG Group Chairman Koo Kwang-mo and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won over the past two months. While Tesla is aiming to corner the future car market by producing EV battery cells by itself and further refining its Autopilot driver-assist technology, industry analysts expect the Samsung-Hyundai partnership could become a strong competitor for the U.S. giant as Samsung holds a leading position in chips, displays and EV battery cells while Hyundai has its edge in the fuel-cell and EV sectors. Samsung Group has been speeding up efforts to join the lucrative future car business since it acquired U.S. automotive electronics company Harman in 2017. Samsung Electronics sells Exynos Auto semiconductors used for in-vehicle infotainment systems and self-driving technologies. Despite the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the global economy, Samsung SDI has weathered the outbreak well, seeing a growth in its battery sales globally. Industry analysts estimated the second quarter operating profit for Samsung SDI will come to 72.1 billion won ($60 million), which is slightly higher than the market consensus of 70 billion won. "Despite stagnant demand for its EV batteries, the company has been weathering the pandemic reasonably well thanks to its European buyers who are making plug-in-hybrid electric vehicles. After falling into a contraction in the European market in April due to massive shutdown measures, the firm started to see growth in May," said Kim Ji-san, an analyst at Kiwoom Securities. * Euro zone periphery govt bond yields: http://tmsnrt.rs/2ii2Bqr By Elizabeth Howcroft LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Italian government bond yields fell to their lowest since early March after European Union leaders agreed on a massive recovery fund to support European economies hit by the coronavirus crisis. The EU agreed on the 750 billion euro ($858.2 billion) fund in the early hours of Tuesday morning after a prolonged summit that lasted almost five days. [nL5N2ES0EV Under a compromise deal the package will comprise 390 billion euros of grants - less than the originally targeted 500 billion euros - and 360 billion euros of cheap loans. The 10-year Italian government bond yield fell to its lowest since the first week of March on Tuesday morning, dropping about 3 basis points to 1.128%. Italy's tourism-driven economy was among those hardest hit by the crisis. After spiking in mid-March, its government bond yields have been falling gradually since the recovery fund was first proposed on May 18. Spreads between core and peripheral yields tightened, with the Germany-Italy 10-year yield spread at its narrowest in four months, down about 5 bps at 156.26 bps. "With drawn-out negotiations having been avoided, we see the path cleared for the 10Y Italy-German spread going through our 150bp target this summer," ING strategists wrote in a note to clients. "The carry benefit of peripheral debt, and lower prospective volatility thanks to the ECB intervention, make it a superior alternative to core bonds, in our view." The Portuguese, Spanish and Greek spreads over Germany also tightened. Spain's 10-year government bond yield fell to its lowest since March, down 3 bps at 0.338%. German, French and Dutch yields edged up by about 1-2 basis points as the risk-on mood sparked by the EU agreement prompted an investor retreat from safer government debt. Markets took confidence not only from the size of the fund itself but also from the demonstration of solidarity and debt-sharing between EU countries. Total European Central Bank (ECB) bond purchase volumes fell last week, the ECB said on Monday. But ECB board member Isabel Schnabel was quoted on Teusday as saying that investors should not read too much into this because purchases could increase later, adding that the ECB is likely to use its entire bond purchase quota. ($1 = 0.8739 euros) (Reporting by Elizabeth Howcroft Editing by David Goodman) Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 20) The House Committee on Constitutional Amendments is opening deliberations once again on Charter reform when Congress opens session later this month, its panel chair said Monday, amid allegations that the real motive in tinkering with the constitution is to postpone the 2022 elections. Cagayan de Oro Rep. Rufus Rodriguez said his committee is ready to discuss proposals from local government officials to amend the 1987 Constitution within the first two weeks of session, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The second regular session will start on July 27, the same day that President Rodrigo Duterte will deliver his fifth State of the Nation Address before a joint session of the House and Senate. I will call a virtual meeting of our committee possibly within the first two weeks of our session to tackle the proposals of our 1,489 town mayors and other pending measures, Rodriguez said in a statement. The lawmaker was referring to the League of Municipalities of the Philippines, composed of mayors mostly allied with the Duterte administration, and their proposal to institutionalize the so-called Mandanas Ruling of the Supreme Court in the Constitution. Under the ruling, regions will get their share from all national taxes, apart from internal revenue allotments. This will supposedly help local government units address the pandemic better and "strengthen local autonomy" in the country, Rodriguez said. The LMP also sought to lift restrictions on foreign investment in industries currently limited to Filipinos. Rodriguez hinted easier deliberations on this proposal due to pending resolutions already docked in the lower chamber. Especially this time when we need more foreign investments and to invite more foreign businesses relocating from China, in order to provide much needed jobs for our people, this amendment is worth considering," he added. In a separate briefing, House Speaker Alan Peter Cayetano said that there is nothing wrong with discussing Charter change in the House. However, holding a plebiscite to approve constitutional amendments seem impractical at this time. He also said that the lower chamber will not force constitutional reform on people if they do not want it. "I think people should discuss it but they should not worry it will be rammed down their throat. We only want constitutional change if the people want it, and want it very badly," Cayetano said. Vice President Leni Robredo on Sunday slammed the fresh calls to amend the Constitution and cited the "misplaced priorities" of the administration including the swift passage of the Anti-Terrorism Law and the killing of ABS-CBN's franchise bid. Senate Minority Leader Franklin Drilon warned over the weekend that the real motive of those rallying for Cha-cha is to postpone the 2022 national and local elections and to remove politicians' term limit. He and Senate President Vicente "Tito" Sotto III had expressed confidence that Cha-cha will not be part of Senate priorities during the start of the session. Cha-cha not Duterte's priority Meanwhile, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque clarified that Duterte has not floated the idea of pushing through with Charter reforms anytime soon, while the government grapples with the prevailing crisis. "Linggo-linggo nakipag-usap naman ang Pangulo sa taumbayan at hindi naman po lumulutang ang Charter change bilang isang prayoridad," he said. [Translation: Every week, the President speaks to the public and Charter change does not appear in the list of priorities.] "Nakatutok ang Presidente, ang buong national government dito sa COVID-19. Hindi po prayoridad ang Charter change." [Translation: The President, the national government is focused on COVID-19. Charter change is not a priority.] Duterte admitted last year that passing federalism one of his main campaign promises in the 2016 elections would unlikely push through, as many Filipinos still do not support the proposed shift. However, Malacanang said back in December that the President will not intervene in the affairs of Congress should they start tackling anew proposals to amend the Constitution. CNN Philippines Correspondent Xianne Arcangel contributed to this report. Shortly after the proceedings opened, the trial was adjourned till Aug. 11 so that the defense lawyers could prepare their arguments, said attorney Mohammed al-Hassan who is on al-Bashirs defense team. Story continues below advertisement The military overthrew al-Bashir in April 2019 amid massive public protests against his rule. Months after the overthrow, the army generals and a pro-democracy movement behind the protests set up a transitional government. Advertisement The 76-year-old al-Bashir has been jailed in Khartoum since his ouster, facing several separate trials related to his rule and the uprising that helped oust him. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide linked to the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. Sudans transitional authorities announced in February that they have agreed to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC to face justice, as part of a deal with rebels to surrender all those wanted in connection with the Darfur conflict. But since that announcement, there has been no follow-up action on his extradition. Story continues below advertisement In one of he cases he faces in Khartoum, al-Bashir was convicted last December of money laundering and corruption and sentenced to two years in a minimum security lockup. In Tuesdays case, prosecutors accuse al-Bashir of plotting the 1989 coup that ousted the elected government of Prime Minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, according to the state-run SUNA news agency. Advertisement Al-Bashir is on trial along with over two dozen top officials in his government, including former vice president, Ali Ossman Taha, and former defense minister, Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, who is also wanted by the ICC over the Darfur conflict. Al-Hassan, the lawyer, said coups happen historically, from time to time, referencing the many upheavals since Sudan gained independence in 1956. Story continues below advertisement We think that there is no case for something that is part of Sudans history, he said. During his three-decade rule, al-Bashir kept an iron grip on power and brutally suppressed any opposition, while monopolizing the economy through allied businessmen. After years of war, he was forced to allow the secession of South Sudan, a huge blow to the norths economy. He became an international pariah over the bloodletting in Darfur and the United States targeted his government repeatedly with sanctions and airstrikes for his support of Islamic militants. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Our team is honored that Regency Palms Long Beach is being recognized in Seniors Housing Business magazine for being a unique 1920s gem in Long Beach. National Seniors Housing operator Meridian Senior Living is pleased to announce that its community Regency Palms Long Beach Assisted Living and Memory Care (RPLB) has been featured in the national publication for Seniors Housing Real Estate and Operations, Seniors Housing Business magazine. RPLB is showcased on the front cover and cited in an article entitled, The Adaptive Reuse Gamble of the July 2020 edition of Seniors Housing Business. Our team is honored that Regency Palms Long Beach is being recognized in Seniors Housing Business magazine for being a unique 1920s gem in Long Beach, expressed Glen Cummins Regional Director of Operations of Meridian Senior Living. We are thrilled that our community offers such a beautiful environment rich in both history and high-quality resident care. Donning the front cover, the striking art-deco designed lobby at RPLB offers a preview into the articles essence of outlining how select seniors housing developers across the nation are opting to take the more challenging avenue by restoring old buildings into more appealing products in lieu of embarking on new developments for some of their communities. Standing out from the standard construction of todays senior living facilities, RPLBs building is the product of a renovated 1929 pre-art deco, Moderne style building, listed on the National Register of Historic Places. Restoring such a unique building delivers its residents rich history immersed in the walkable neighborhood of downtown Long Beach with access to shopping, dining, and transportation to downtown Los Angeles. Historically a medical office building and enduring a destructive earthquake in 1933, the RPLB building was restored by KTGY Architecture + Planning as a 102 assisted living and memory care facility for Global Premier Development. Since its completion in 2018, The RPLB building has been recognized with a 2019 Shaping Advancements in Generational Environments Gold Award in the category of Best 55+ Remodeled Project and a 2018 Seniors Housing News Award for Architecture and Design. The restoration of RPLBs building was so successful that it set an architectural precedent for subsequent projects in downtown Long Beach. KTGY designed the buildings entrance to be filled with natural light and welcoming to the public, strengthening the connection of residents and the Long Beach community. The common areas feature pre-deco style elements that include vibrant patterns and multi-textured materials matched with exceptional craftsmanship. Located at 117 E. 8th Street in Long Beach, CA, RPLB remains open and admitting new residents for move-ins. The building offers an ideal layout for social distancing as it offers seven floors of residential apartments with up to sixteen residents per floor with their own separate dining room. Outdoor activities are supported by its Sky-Lounge, a beautiful private rooftop deck, that includes panoramic views of Long Beach, fresh air, and opportunities for soaking up some vitamin-D. To learn more about RPLB, please call (562) 205-8110, visit the community website: regencypalmslongbeach.com, or visit the community Facebook page: @regencypalmslongbeach. About Meridian Senior Living: Meridian Senior Living, a privately held company based in Bethesda, Maryland, owns and operates seniors housing communities across the country and provides operational consulting to 24 communities in China. With more than 75 communities in 21 states and more in development, Meridian is one of the largest seniors housing operators in the U.S. The company prides itself on providing the highest quality care, exceptional lifestyle programming and a distinctive dining experience for its residents. For more information on Meridian Senior Living, visit meridiansenior.com. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson discussed China's actions in Hong Kong and its treatment of Muslims in Xinjiang, according to a British summary of the discussion. "They spoke about shared global security and foreign policy issues, including China's actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, the situation in Iran and the Middle East Peace Process," Downing Street said. "The Prime Minister and Secretary of State also underlined their commitment to negotiate a strong UK-US Free Trade Agreement that benefits the economies of both countries." Johnson and Pompeo underscored the importance of the US-led Five Eyes intelligence alliance. Johnson also raised the death of 19-year-old Briton Harry Dunn who was killed in a road collision with a US diplomat's wife. "The Prime Minister reiterated the need for justice to be done for Harry Dunn and his family," Downing Street said. "He said there was a strong feeling among the people of the UK that justice must be delivered." African leaders are expected to sit down on Tuesday for a virtual meeting about Ethiopias controversial mega-dam across the Blue Nile. It comes after recent talks between Ethiopia, Sudan and Egypt ended without a deal. Ethiopia hopes the dam will bring electricity to tens of millions of its people currently living without access to regular power, but Egypt - which gets most of its freshwater from the Nile - is concerned that it will threaten its water supply. After almost a decade of construction, the reservoir behind the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam is starting to fill up without a hoped for deal between Ethiopia and the downstream countries of Sudan and Egypt. Ethiopia is keen to start generating electric power as soon as possible but Egypt and Sudan want guarantees that essential water supplies will not be reduced. Previous attempts to arrive at an agreement have not borne fruit. The current effort by the African Union has not yet reached a settlement but the heads of state, including South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, will see if any progress has been made and whether there are new paths to pursue. When its turned on, the dam will generate 6,000 megawatts, which will make it the largest hydroelectric dam in Africa. Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Subscriber content preview An official said bringing equipment and personnel from the U.S. mainland could now require double the preparation time. HONOLULU (AP) Scientists planning to build one of the world's largest telescopes on a Hawaii mountain said last week construction won't begin until at least next year. TMT International Observatory Vice President Gordon Squires told Hawaii News Now that the coronavirus pandemic presents a complicated and unsafe situation for moving ahead. . . . A clapperboard is clicked as filming continues in Glasgow for a new movie for the Batman superhero franchise. (Photo by Andrew Milligan/PA Images via Getty Images) The Warner Bros studio has set up an anonymous system to allow cast and crew-members on movie sets to report instances where coronavirus safety precautions are not being adhered to. According to Deadline, the system, which is being set up for shoots in Europe, will mean that those working on movies can directly inform management of rule breaking. Read more: Movie production to recommence in the UK post-lockdown The measure was reportedly announced last week during a meeting between Warner Bros executive vice president for production Kevin Trehy and the Bectu union, which represents those working in broadcast, movies and theatre. The studio has said that it's 'our own strictest police force' when it comes to safeguarding members of its staff. Trehy added: No-one knows what a schedule looks like in the new normal. Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them (Credit: Warner Bros) It follows news that film and TV production can recommence, with a new set of safety measures having been published by the British Film Commission, in consultation with the likes of Bectu and the BFI. A number of high profile movies found their UK-based productions curtailed by the coronavirus outbreak, including Warner Bros' The Batman, which was shooting in Glasgow and London. Read more: How will social distancing work in cinemas? The news also comes ahead of the studio starting work on the third Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them movie. Warner had to postpone filming for it on 16 March, the same day it was set to commence. Shrenu Was Confident That She Cannot Have COVID-19 The actress revealed to TOI that she caught cold on July 4 and thought it was because of weather and took tablet. On July 7, she got fever and she again took tablet, but fever didn't subside. She also revealed that she had consulted doctors on phone as meeting or leaving the house was not safe. She also added that she had started distancing herself from the family as precautionary measure, although her mother felt she was being too negative. Shrenu said that she was confident that she cannot have COVID-19, as she had hardly stepped out of her home and was doing yoga regularly. Turning Point Came When She Couldnt Sense Smell She added that the turning point came when she couldn't sense smell. Shrenu told the leading daily, "I was having black coffee, which usually fills the entire room with aroma, but I couldn't smell it. My brother even said, "Sardi mein kahan se smell aayegi?" But then, we tried everything-from ittar and sanitiser to room freshener, and I still couldn't smell anything. Since I had all the symptoms, I decided to get tested with the doctor's consent. Those 24 hours were the worst ones of my life, as I was worried, nervous and afraid. Next morning, I woke up feeling better and thought, "Probably viral hi tha, ab theek ho gaya hoga." But this feeling was short-lived. On July 10 morning, I got a call from my doctor, who informed that I had tested positive." The Actress Says The Ishqbaaz actress added that she went numb after the doctor's call and the realisation didn't sink in for a few hours. She added, "My parents immediately informed about the development at their respective workplaces and we also informed our maids, asking them not to come. I was asked to take my stuff and visit a COVID hospital. Even now, I was living in denial ki I'm feeling fine, what's wrong? It was hard to believe that I was actually sick. At the hospital, there were no beds available, and it broke my heart to see so many people having to go back. I was told that if I wanted to get admitted, I needed to go to the general ward. I agreed because getting treated ASAP was more important than anything else." I Experienced So Many Emotions She further said, "After getting admitted, when my brother left, that's when I faced the reality. It is during times like these that your willpower steps in. I broke down on a couple of occasions, but never in front of the family. I experienced so many emotions-anger (of not knowing where I caught it), guilt (of probably infecting my people), fear (of dying), confusion (about whether I had been careless, even after being so careful). I had all the time in the world to sit and ponder." The Actress Is Still Wondering As To How She Contracted The Virus Shrenu added that the next step was to get family tested and inform everyone who had met her. She further added that luckily, all of them were tested negative, which ruled out the possibility of her infecting them and vice-versa. The actress is still wondering as to how she contracted the virus as after coming to Vadodara (on May 6), she had been extremely careful and had stepped out only once. She added that she's not sure if she caught it during that shoot. Shrenus Respect For All These COVID Warriors Has Gone Up By Several Notches Furthermore, Shrenu revealed that she spent almost a week at the hospital, and the staff there had become like family. She added that the hospital staff were extremely patient when she would cry while taking injections, or during blood tests. She further said that her respect for all these COVID warriors has gone up by several notches. The Eagles Forum, a movement that aims to galvanize all progressive Ghanaian professionals worldwide who share in the social democratic ideology, has congratulated Prof Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, for being selected as the running mate to National Democratic Congress (NDC) flagbearer, John Dramani Mahama. The group says her selection as the running mate to John Mahama has rekindled a new hope in Ghanaians across the board. Former President John Mamaha on July 6, 2020, nominated Prof Naana Jane Opoku Agyemang, who as subsequently endorsed by the party's A statement issued by the Secretary-General of Eagles Forum, Bruchim Linus Kweku Labik said members of the Forum look forward to supporting her by intensely interrogating her policies to ensure that it is truly centered on the ordinary Ghanaian and that those policies will lift our young people out of poverty and provide them with the sustainable and well-paying jobs they so much desire. Read the full statement below CONGRATULATIONS, PROCESSOR NAANA JANE OPOKU AGYEMAN RUNNING MATE OF H.E JOHN DRAMANI MAHAMA, THE FLAG BEARER AND PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATE OF THE NATIONAL DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS (NDC) EAGLES FORUM congratulates you, Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman on your selection and endorsement as the Running mate to His Excellency John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer and Presidential Candidate of the biggest opposition party and Government in waiting, the National Democratic Congress (NDC). Your selection has inspired many, including the working and middle class, the entire academic community, trade unions, and most importantly ordinary Ghanaians who have almost given up on politics and politicians in general. Your selection as the Running mate to John Dramani Mahama, the flagbearer of the NDC has rekindled a new hope in Ghanaians all across the board. Your impeccable achievements in Academia, first as an intellectual par excellence, and as an astute and accomplished leader, providing the required leadership in managing the complexities of an institution such as a public university is worthy of note. Successfully running a public university is akin to efficiently managing a highly sophisticated society. Not only are you dealing with very young and intelligent students, but equally dealing with qualified and knowledgeable colleagues with varying and diverse opinions and interests. The concerns of members of the surrounding community whose economic sustenance depends on the larger University community, and that of the Junior and Senior Staff mattered to you as well. To have flawlessly managed such a highly distinguished group of people and achieved great success doesnt only make you a formidable leader of immense substance, but lays bare your skills, competencies, wisdom, intelligence and knowledge that will become the embodiment of the qualities that are needed to make our country great and strong. As Minister of Education from 2013 to 2016, your dexterity at working and dealing with the demands of the largest institutional workforce wasn't surprising. You did not resort to mantras and media encounters to court attention, but rather worked hard to deliver the mandate of the President with respect to ensuring affordable and accessible quality education to the Ghanaian child. You gave hope to the youth by overseeing an all-inclusive educational system that ensures every child in Ghana has access to quality Education and opportunities to excel for greater heights. We thus applaud your sterling record of unwavering commitment to quality outcomes, innovative policy initiatives and massive infrastructural development during your tenure at the Ministry of Education. Your openness to new information and your consultative leadership will ensure that the much-needed collaboration between politicians, the academia and industry which has eluded this country for a long time will once again come to the fore. No nation develops on the ideas of politicians. Nations develop when policy makers listen to new innovations from academia and help transit these new ideas and innovations into industry. This is what will create the much needed growth and sustainable jobs for the youth. Your consultative leadership is guaranteed to ensure that. Data from the Ghana Living Standard Surveys (GSSL 7) 2019 illustrates that 66% of the employed in Ghana are engaged in vulnerable jobs, i.e. low paying informal work arrangements or work with no social security while 20% remain unemployed. Today, the confluence of big data, connectivity and artificial intelligence is revolutionizing old industries and creating entirely new once. It is what is driving the modern society and opening up huge opportunities for the youth while radically changing the way society works and interacts. Your openness to new ideas and intellectual capacity ably demonstrated over the years makes you the best fit to lead in unleashing innovation and the entrepreneurial spirit embedded in our able and brilliant youth and help move this country onto a new trajectory. At EAGLES FORUM we look forward to supporting you by intensely interrogating your policies to ensure that it is truly centered on the ordinary Ghanaian and that these policies will lift our young people out of poverty and provide them with the sustainable and well-paying jobs they so much desire. Once again, accept our warmest congratulations Professor Naana Jane Opoku-Agyeman. Signed Bruchim Linus Kweku Labik Secretary General Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Michigan Supreme Court Rules Against Overreaching County Tax Collector The Michigan Supreme Court ruled that counties may not keep for themselves as a windfall funds left over from the sale of real property for unpaid taxes, an unconstitutional practice the property owners lawyers denounce, calling it home equity theft. According to the Pacific Legal Foundation (PLF), a public interest law firm headquartered in Sacramento, California, that represented the property owner, the decision may be good news for property owners in Michigan, but there are still 12 other states in the country that allow similar practices, including Arizona, Colorado, Massachusetts, and Nebraska. The U.S. Constitution forbids excessive fines and the unauthorized taking of property. Michigan twisted the foreclosure process into nothing more than government-sanctioned theft, allowing officials to seize and sell the property of delinquent taxpayersand keep all proceeds above whats needed to pay off the debt, according to a PLF summary. Michigan law allows bureaucrats to kick people out of their homes and steal their life savings to collect on debts as small as $8. This is neither fair nor constitutional. Predatory government foreclosure particularly threatens the elderly, sick, and people in economic distress. No one in Michigan should lose the entire equity in their home or land for falling behind on their property taxes, said Christina M. Martin, a PLF staff attorney. We will continue the fight to help other vast numbers of people whose nest eggs have been robbed by this abuse of tax foreclosure law. [The] decision sends a message across the country that this kind of abuse should not be tolerated in the United States any longer. This decision will protect people across Michigan by prohibiting county governments from stealing from struggling property owners. According to the Michigan Supreme Courts ruling July 17, in the case cited as Rafaeli LLC v. Oakland County, the plaintiff Rafaeli LLC owed $8.41 in unpaid property taxes from 2011, which grew to $285.81 after interest, penalties, and fees. Oakland County foreclosed on Rafaelis property for the delinquency, selling it at auction for $24,500, and keeping all the sale proceeds in excess of the taxes, interest, penalties, and fees. Rafaeli had bought a rental property in Southfield for $60,000 in August 2011, but failed to remit the 2011 taxes due on the property in the amount of $536.24. Rafaeli sent a payment to the county in August 2012, but the payment fell short of the amount owed. He sent another payment in January 2013 but still owed $8.41, plus $2.26 in interest, penalties, and fees. The delinquency was never paid, and on March 1 that year, the property was forfeited to the county. A second plaintiff, Andre Ohanessian, owed about $6,000 in unpaid taxes, interest, penalties, and fees from 2011. His property was auctioned off for $82,000, and the county retained the entire sale price. The issue in this case, the court stated, is whether the county has committed an unconstitutional taking by retaining the surplus proceeds from the tax-foreclosure sale of Rafaelis and Ohanessians properties that exceed the amount plaintiffs owed in unpaid delinquent taxes, interest, penalties, and fees under the General Property Tax Act. The court held that defendants retention of those surplus proceeds is an unconstitutional taking without just compensation under the Michigan state constitution, and remanded the case to the Oakland Circuit Court for proceedings consistent with this opinion. There is, in fact, a traditional right for a debtor that traces all the way back to England and colonial days and fortunately, the Michigan Supreme Court recognized that, Martin told The Epoch Times in an interview. The government can seize your property to pay a debt, but it does so subject to the traditional requirement that it sell the property and that it refund the extra profits to the former owner. This decision will end the practice in Michigan, perhaps the worst state in the country on the topic until now, and it will hopefully also send a message to those dozen other states, because if they dont [change their ways], Pacific Legal Foundation is coming for them. We want to end this practice in the United States. County financial officials didnt immediately respond to a request by The Epoch Times for comment. The House of Representatives has begun investigation into the immigration documents of Chinese immigrants living in Nigeria. The investigation which began on July 20 in Abuja, is being conducted by the joint house committees on Interior, Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring and Commerce. The Speaker of the House, Femi Gbajabimila, recalled that in April, photos and videos which went viral on the social media allegedly depicted institutionalised racial discrimination, maltreatment of Nigerians in China. He said it also showed xenophobic assaults, embarrassments, illegal detentions and forceful evictions of Nigerians and other Africans living in Guangzhou, China. Mr Gbajabimila said that he summoned the Chinese Ambassador to Nigeria, Zhou Pingjian precisely on April, 10 to register Nigerias displeasure with the incident. Subsequently, the House of Representatives on Tuesday, April 28, issued a strong worded House Resolutions, condemned, in its entirety, the maltreatment, discrimination and xenophobic attacks against Nigerians in the Peoples Republic of China. Apart from urging the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-General of the Federation and Minister of Justice to provide financial and other assistances to affected Nigerian citizens in China, the house took a two-pronged approach by constituting two joint committees to undertake two specific assignments towards remedying the ugly situation, he said. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila meeting with Chinese Ambassador. Photo Credit: Speakers office The speaker said that the house also mandated the House Committees on Foreign Affairs, Inter-Parliamentary Relations, Human Rights, and Diaspora to ascertain the extent of violation of rights of Nigerians in China. He said that the committees were also to determine losses arising from such maltreatments, and to further engage the Chinese Parliament appropriately to register Nigerias National Assembly condemnation of the maltreatment. Mr Gbajabimila said that the house also mandated committees to investigate the Nigeria Immigration Service (NIS) Corporate Affairs Commission (CAC), Nigeria Content Development and Monitoring Board, and any other relevant ministry, department or agency to check the validity of all immigration documents of every Chinese person in Nigeria. READ ALSO: According to him, the committee is to look into the expatriate quota of all the Chinese immigrants in Nigeria, and to repatriate them to China to regularise. I therefore implore all the relevant stakeholders to assist the joint committee in discharging the mandate entrusted to it. The joint committee is imbued with legal and statutory powers to conduct this hearing as stipulated in the Standing Orders of the House, Legislative Houses (Powers and Privileges) Act, 2017 and the 1999 Constitution (as amended). The powers include right to order attendance of witnesses, issuance and service of summons to attend and power to issue warrants to compel attendance. We are all partners in progress and I trust that the joint committee will be fair in the conduct of its assignment, he said. (NAN) A voter enters their local polling place at the Douglass Branch of the Detroit Public Library in Detroit, to cast their vote for the 2020 primary election on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. (Mike Mulholland | MLive.com)Mike Mulholland | MLive.com Voters in Michigans 14th Congressional District will choose between two Republicans seeking their partys nomination to compete for a U.S. House seat traditionally held by Democrats. The 14th Congressional District contains portions of Wayne and Oakland counties, including a portion of Detroit. It is among the most Democratic-voting districts in Michigan and currently represented by U.S. Rep. Brenda Lawrence, D-Southfield, who is seeking reelection to a fourth term. Voters will choose between civil defense attorney Daryle Houston II and self-employed contractor Robert Vance Patrick in the GOP primary on Aug. 4. The winner will go on to face either Lawrence or Terrance Morrison, a retired Detroit city employee challenging her in the Democratic primary. Lawrence served as the mayor of Southfield for 13 years before joining the U.S. House in 2014. She was re-elected to a third term in 2018 and did not face a Democratic primary challenger that year. Vance appears to have a sizable fundraising advantage in the Republican primary. He raised $20,159 throughout the campaign cycle and had $12,020 left to spend on the race at the end of June, according to the most recent financial statements available. Houston did not file any financial statements with the Federal Election Commission. Lawrence had $860,962 left to spend on her reelection campaign at the end of June. Morrison did not file quarterly statements in 2020 but had raised $1,000 by the end of 2019. Voters in the 14th Congressional District can cast a ballot in either the Republican primary or Democratic primary, but not both. This year, MLive Media Group partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information for readers. Each candidate was asked to outline their stances on a variety of public policy issues. Information on all state and federal races and many of Michigans county and local races will be available at Vote411.org, an online voter guide created by the League of Women Voters. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties. The candidates submitted responses to questions posed by the League of Women Voters, which are included in its online voter guide. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should not be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties. Heres a look at how the candidates responded to questions on some key issues: HEALTHCARE: What do you see as the federal governments role in health care? Given the Covid19 pandemic, what are your concerns and plans regarding U.S. health coverage, policies and programs, including Medicare and Medicaid? Daryle Houston II, Republican: I believe the federal governments role in healthcare is to ensure that the individuals who desire healthcare have access to it. In addition, I think its the federal governments responsibility to ensure that the healthcare providers are held accountable when it comes to price structure for services. We should not have anyone suffering or passing away from treatable diseases due to the inability to pay outrageous prices for medicines and procedures. My concern for the future of our health system is its nationalization. A single-payer method controlled by the government would be a disaster, much like the VA system. Robert Vance Patrick, Republican: The COVID 19 crisis exposed shortcomings on the federal level regarding the control and containment of infectious disease. A thorough review of U.S. policies related to travel to and from foreign countries, vaccinations and other areas is call for. Once that house is in order we can address its impact on other programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid. ECONOMY: What federal policies do you support for a healthy economy and to help the broader American public improve their economic positions? Daryle Houston II, Republican: I support re-negotiating our trade deal with China. I also support the USMCA. However, I also think there is much more work to be done when it comes to the economy and ensuring that trade balance is fair and that our American workers and families are reaping the benefits. Robert Vance Patrick, Republican: The three years prior to the COVID 19 crisis saw an historic revival and expansion of the American economy. This was widely experienced across all sectors, including minority groups that too often are left behind. Most of this was due to the removal of regulations that impede the economy. The crisis put much of that on hold, and the fastest way to help all sectors of the economy rebound is to return to the process of deregulation as quickly as possible. ELECTIONS: What federal policies do you advocate regarding elections, campaign funding and voting rights? Do you support mailing ballots to all eligible voters? Daryle Houston II, Republican: I do not support mailing ballots to all eligible voters. Voters should not be discouraged from requesting and voting by mail if that is what they choose. However, mailing ballots to all voters is a waste of money and a breeding ground for voter fraud and corruption, as we have seen in the past. I believe that we need to update our in-person voting stations to increase access, efficiency, sanitization, and timeliness. Robert Vance Patrick, Republican: The Jill Stein 2016 vote recount exposed disturbing areas of the electoral process that are open to corruption. It seems that broadening the mail-in voting process only increases the opportunity for corruption. Cleaning up the voting system, not loosening the checks against corruption, should be a bipartisan issue. SOCIAL JUSTICE: Do you believe there is systemic racism, economic disparity, and other social injustices which should be addressed by Congress? If so, what policies do you support? Daryle Houston II, Republican: There was a time in Americas history where systematic racism was evident. Currently,I believe that the systems themselves do not support racism. However, I do believe that there are racist individuals within the systems and in the age of social media when those individuals commit open acts of racism it is reflected upon the entire system. I believe economic disparity exists. There is a large and evident wealth gap between minority communities and non-minority communities. Racism cannot be legislated, it is a heart issue. Economic disparities can be reduced with policies such as the economic empowerment zones. Robert Vance Patrick, Republican: Any systemic racism exists outside the individual protections of the Constitution. Congresss role in addressing institutionalized racism and disparity should be driven by the members Oath of Office to protect and uphold the Constitution. ENVIRONMENT: What policies do you support to meet U.S. energy needs while protecting our water, air and land for current and future generations? Daryle Houston II, Republican: I believe that it is our responsibility to take care of Gods earth and to ensure we keep it clean for our families and their families. I support policy that works towards those goals, but not in an extreme way where it destroys sectors of our economy overnight. There are ways to ensure we are being good stewards of the earth without taking food out of the mouths of our children because of job losses due to overreaction. Robert Vance Patrick, Republican: Being personally invested in the reopening and operation of public aquarium in the middle of the Great Lakes water system, I am keenly aware of the importance of protecting our natural resources. It seems unrealistic to expect the United States to wean itself off of the use of fossil fuels for its energy needs, however. We must continually encourage private sector initiatives for more efficient and cleaner energy use. IMMIGRATION: What policies do you support relative to immigration into the U.S.? Daryle Houston II, Republican: Immigration is a pillar of our nation. I believe that we should support immigrants who truly want to come here for the betterment of themselves and their families. Our current immigration system needs to be overhauled. We would not have a problem with illegal immigration if the system worked as it should. I think we need to rebuild our immigration system from the ground up to support the ones with righteous goals of becoming a U.S. citizen and weeding out the ones who have ill intentions or just want to take advantage of our social services system, without the intent of becoming a contributing member of society. Robert Vance Patrick, Republican: I support enforcing existing laws related to immigration. We're always interested in hearing about news in our community. Let us know what's going on! Go to form By Online Desk The Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board (SASB) said on Tuesday said that this year's Amarnath Yatra has been cancelled due to conditions created by coronavirus. The traditional rituals shall be carried out as per past practice. Also, the Chhadi Mubarak shall be facilitated by the Government, a statement said. India recorded 37,148 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing its tally to 11,55,191 , while the total number of recoveries increased to 7,24,577, according to Union health ministry data on Tuesday. The death toll due to the disease rose to 28,084 with 587 fatalities reported in a day, the data updated at 8 am showed. There are 4,02,529 active cases of the coronavirus infection currently in the country, while 7,24,577 people have recovered till now. Thus, 62.72 per cent people have recovered so far, it said. Meanwhile, Chennai recovery path registered another positive milestone on Monday as 1269 patients were discharged, taking the number of people who have recovered from the deadly coronavirus in the city to 70,651. With this, 81% of the total persons tested positive for COVID-19 have recovered. To the Editor: Re To Citys Alarm, Federal Officers Police Portland (front page, July 18): I live in Portland, Ore. I am 68 years old, a retired psychologist, a mildly left-of-center boomer. I want to report that Portland is not at all convulsed by a violent mob of anarchists, as the acting homeland security secretary, Chad F. Wolf, claims, or anything close. A small number of protesters, generally far fewer than 100, gather each evening to protest peacefully. A few wrongheaded individuals paint graffiti or throw rocks, and that is certainly not OK. But two blocks away, in any direction, things are completely normal. In fact, I had not watched the news for a few days, and I thought the protests had stopped. There is absolutely no justification for the intrusion of federal troops to engage in tactics like kidnapping people off the streets in unmarked cars, as was done under the Pinochet dictatorship in Chile. This is clearly a case of President Trump wanting to create drama for his right-wing base, ginning up a state of anarchy that does not exist, so he can look tough to his base, and so he can try to scare people into thinking there is some kind of threat to America posed by people who disagree with him and his party. Mark Tilson Portland, Ore. To the Editor: Re Federal Officers in Portland Lack Proper Training (news article, July 19): In your coverage of the federal response to the protests in Portland, we learn that the paramilitary forces being used against protesters were from Homeland Security and not trained or equipped for the job they were sent to do. This may partly explain why protesters were placed in unmarked vans by unidentified individuals. FRANKFURT (dpa-AFX) - Deutsche Bank AG (DB) said Tuesday that it expects results for the second quarter of 2020 to be slightly above average consensus estimates. The company estimates its Common Equity Tier 1 or CET1 ratio as of June 30, 2020, to be about 13.3% compared to 12.8% at March 31, 2020. It is above market expectations and prior management guidance. The increase in the CET1 ratio in the second quarter is principally driven by lower than anticipated credit risk weighted assets or RWAs. The lower RWAs reflect lower loan balances driven by higher than expected repayments of credit facilities by clients, notably in the later part of the quarter, and a reduction of derivative volumes. The client facilities were initially drawn in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic economic challenges and subsequently repaid or refinanced. The company will release its second quarter results on July 29. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Incessant rainfall has claimed three lives, including two minors, in the past 24 hours across Uttarakhand. In Pauri Garhwal district, a private car driver died, while two passengers were missing after their vehicle was swept away by strong currents due to heavy rains in Kotdwar on Tuesday afternoon, the police said. The private taxi, bearing a Delhi registration number plate, was returning to the national capital carrying two passengers after dropping two others at Dugadda near Kotdwar, the police said. The incident occurred at around 2 pm, when the private taxi was heading towards Kotdwar town from Dugadda after dropping two passengers there. The vehicles driver is identified as Bhupender Singh, a resident of Uttarakhands Champawat district, but lived with his family in south Delhis Munirka area. He used to drive a private taxi in Delhi. On his way back, Singh picked up two passengers for Kotdwar, said Manoj Raturi, station house officer (SHO), Kotdwar police station. The car got swept away on the way, as the mud came down flowing at a high speed from uphill into a monsoon-fed rivulet alongside the road. Though Singh was thrown out of the car, he was rescued. Unfortunately, he succumbed to his injuries later. While the other two passengers in the car got swept away, the SHO added. A search operation has been launched by the State Disaster Response Force (SDRF) authorities along with local police personnel to trace the two missing persons, Raturi said. The missing persons are suspected to have been swept far away from the spot, as the water current is strong. Their footwears were found at least 500 metres away from where they went missing. Perhaps, their bodies will be found after the water level goes down, he added. In Udham Singh Nagar district, two minor boys drowned in a pond, whose water level has increased due to rainfall, on Monday while taking a bath. Kuldeep Singh Adhikari, in-charge of the ITI police station at Kashipur, said, Two boys drowned in a pond at Paiga village in Kashipur on Monday. They have been identified as Asif Ali (13) and Robin (9). Dr. Rajiv Chauhan of LD Bhatt Government Hospital said the minor boys were brought dead on arrival. Intermittent rains continued across the Himalayan state on Tuesday and waterlogging incidents were reported from many parts. In Haridwar district, waterlogging affected traffic movement at several places, including Chandracharya Chowk, Bhagat Singh Chowk, Sandesh Nagar Colony, Vivek Vihar, Awas Vikas, Kankhal, Jwalapur, Moti Bazaar, and parts of Ranipur. In Chamoli district, NK Joshi, district disaster management officer, said the road leading to Badrinath shrine is still blocked near Pipalkoti, a landslide-prone zone, due to falling of debris from the mountain. Though the blockade, which was on since Monday, was partially lifted on Tuesday afternoon, the falling debris from the mountain has disrupted traffic flow again, Joshi added. On Tuesday afternoon, India Meteorological Department (IMD) issued a red alert --- the public is urged to steer clear of potentially dangerous areas --- for the next 24-hours in five districts, including Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, and Chamoli. The IMD authorities have advised the district administrations to be on their guard and maintain a strict vigil at settlements such as people living nears banks of rivulets, streams, and landslide-prone areas. On Wednesday, heavy to very heavy rainfall is likely to occur at isolated places in Uttarakhands Uttarkashi, Rudraprayag, Chamoli, Pithoragarh, Bageshwar, Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, and Nainital districts. On Monday, July 20, Oxford University announced good news--the team said their candidate coronavirus vaccine showed promising results. The vaccine is set to be widely-produced and distributed by September. Here's the problem, though. New speculation is ruining the name of Oxford University, and it involves their newly-created drug. Oxford does 'challenge trials'? Daily Mail UK reported on Tuesday, July 21, that the scientists who created the promising Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine face an issue about their creation of the vaccine. Reports allegedly claim that Oxford University created and tested the vaccine out of patients that are not really infected with the virus. It suggests that the scientists came up with 'challenge trials.' This means Oxford paid people to be intentionally infected with the virus in order for them to make test trials. The speculations, however, were already answered back by the researchers from Oxford. Professor Sarah Gilbert, who is leading the Oxford team, clarified that there were no 'challenge trials' that happened within their testing. She said that these types of trials are only made for other respiratory diseases like flu. And not applicable to COVID-19, since the virus is more dominant. "But in order for it to happen you have to have a number of things in place and one of those is having an effective therapy for people who you deliberately infect as part of the challenge trial who maybe don't clear the infection and at the moment we don't have that effective therapy," said her. Gilbert also cleared out that they did their trials in most infected countries like South Africa and Brazil. Since the United Kingdom records a smaller population of COVID-19 patients at the beginning of test trials. How can the Oxford vaccine treat COVID-19? Tech Times reported on Monday that the University of Oxford had announced the good news to all. British researchers created an experimental vaccine that was found with unwavering 'early results' that can trigger the immune response of a COVID-19 patient. "We are seeing good immune response in almost everybody," said Dr. Adrian Hill, the Jenner Institute director at Oxford. "What this vaccine does particularly well is triggered both arms of the immune system." According to the report, the experimental vaccine known as AZD1222 tested over 1,000 people in April. The results came very promisingly, which said to developed T-cells and antibodies in the human body that can fight the SARS-CoV-2 virus. 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. The Global Smart Home Security Cameras Market size is expected to reach $10. 4 billion by 2026, rising at a market growth of 16. 5% CAGR during the forecast period. A home security camera is a surveillance device that can be installed either outside or within the house/building to monitor suspicious activities in and around the premises. New York, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Reportlinker.com announces the release of the report "Global Smart Home Security Cameras Market By Application, By Product, By Region, Industry Analysis and Forecast, 2020 - 2026" - https://www.reportlinker.com/p05933123/?utm_source=GNW Various cameras, such as wireless cameras, IP cameras, dome cameras, and PTZ cameras, enable users to access and monitor the camera using smartphones. Security issues in developing countries are a key driver of the growth of the home security camera market. Growing penetration of smart homes, particularly in developing and developed countries around the globe, is driving demand for smart home security cameras. In addition, the increasing prominence of security devices through the home automation process to access security 24/7 paves the way for different indoor and outdoor security smart home security cameras. Increased expansion of home automation devices, such as lights, locks, and security cameras, with remote technology on smartphones, tablets, or wearables, generates greater consumer demand to ensure maximum safety. Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) solutions are expected to make a significant contribution while responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and addressing ever-changing challenges. The current situation as a result of the outbreak of the epidemic will encourage pharmaceutical suppliers and healthcare establishments to enhance their R&D investment in AI, acting as a key technology for enabling various initiatives. The insurance industry is expected to face the pressure associated with cost-efficiency. Using AI will help reduce operating costs and, at the same time, increase customer satisfaction during the renewal process, claims, and other services. VR/AR will assist in e-learning, which would boost competition due to the closure of many schools and universities. Furthermore, VR/AR may also prove to be a valuable solution in delivering remote assistance as it can also avoid needless travel. Based on Application, the market is segmented into Doorbell Camera, Indoor Camera and Outdoor Camera. Based on Product, the market is segmented into Wired and Wireless. Based on Regions, the market is segmented into North America, Europe, Asia Pacific, and Latin America, Middle East & Africa. The major strategies followed by the market participants are Partnerships and Product Launches. Based on the Analysis presented in the Cardinal matrix, Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is the major forerunner in the Smart Home Security Camera Market. Companies such as ADT, Inc., Vivint Smart Home, Inc., Godrej Group, and Arlo Technologies, Inc., SimpliSafe, Inc., and iSmart Alarm, Inc. are some of the key innovators in the market. The market research report covers the analysis of key stake holders of the market. Key companies profiled in the report include Godrej Group (Godrej Security Solutions), Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group), Arlo Technologies, Inc., Vivint Smart Home, Inc., ADT, Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.), SimpliSafe, Inc., Protect America, Inc., FrontPoint Security Solutions, LLC, Skylinkhome Technologies, Inc., and iSmart Alarm, Inc. Recent strategies deployed in Smart Home Security Camera Market Partnerships, Collaborations, and Agreements: Apr-2020: Arlo Technologies announced partnership with Kartchner Homes, a premier home builder in Utah and Idaho. The partnership was aimed to integrate Arlos Video Doorbell into homes built over the next 12 months providing homebuyers a premier solution in smart entry technology. Feb-2020: ADT came into partnership with HHHunt, a diversified leader in real estate development. The partnership was aimed to install smart home and property automation technology into new and existing HHHunt multifamily and student housing communities. Jun-2019: ADT signed a partnership agreement with BH Management Services, LLC, a leading multifamily property management company. The partnership was focused on providing smart technology integration and convenience services. May-2019: Vivint collaborated with Georgia Power, one of the nations largest generators of electricity. Together the companies aimed to bring customers the latest in-home security and automation solution. Vivint has been exclusively offering Georgia Powers customers who sign up for Vivints home security and automation system a $0 activation fee, free installation, and a Vivint Element Thermostat. Georgia Power customers also have access to exclusive offers on Vivints integrated smart home system with in-home consultation, professional installation, and 24/7 customer support. Acquisition and Mergers: Jan-2020: Vivint Smart Home merged with Mosaic Acquisition Corporation. The combined company has been named as Vivint Smart Home. Vivints smart home technology empowers the customer to control the entire home from one app, and its offering is delivered with a customer-focused approach to sales, installation, and service. Oct-2019: ADT acquired I-View Now, a leading video alarm verification service. I-View Nows verification technology, paired with the core monitoring strengths of ADT, helped to reduce false alarms and optimize priority response from emergency services. Product Launches and Product Expansions: Jun-2020: Arlo Technologies introduced the Essential Spotlight Camera. This is the latest addition to Arlos smart home security ecosystem, which is easy to install anywhere, indoors, or out. The Essential Spotlight Camera features 1080p HD video, two-way audio, an integrated spotlight with color night vision, and motion detection alerts, all in a beautifully compact, wire-free design. Mar-2020: Vivint Smart Home launched the Vivint Doorbell Camera Pro, an AI-powered doorbell camera. This camera intelligently detects packages and actively helps protect them from porch pirates and other potential threats. The doorbell camera provides homeowners with peace of mind by helping to prevent crime before it happens. Jan-2020: ADT released its first do-it-yourself (DIY) home security platform, Blue by ADT. The platform provides an alternative to its professionally installed security systems. Blue by ADT is its newest product line, a series of individual home security components that users can install themselves and configure with options for professional monitoring and storage. Jan-2020: Arlo launched the Arlo Pro 3 Floodlight Camera, which has a plate of powerful LEDs to better light the area in the cameras field of view. The Floodlight Camera has various features such as 2K video with HDR, a built-in siren, color night vision, a 160-degree field of view, and two-way audio. Jul-2019: LifeShield, an ADT Company launched the LifeShield HD Video Doorbell to its lineup of easy-to-install and professionally monitored smart home security products. The new Wi-Fi-connected HD video doorbell complemented the brands flexible "Build Your Own Set package, making it easy to tailor a security system to your smart home needs. Jun-2019: Samsung Electronics introduced the SmartThings Cam. This camera has been designed for helping the families keep an eye on what matters most at home. SmartThings Cam is a smarter way to monitor home with premium monitoring features at an approachable price. Scope of the Study Market Segmentation: By Application Doorbell Camera Indoor Camera and Outdoor Camera By Product Wired and Wireless By Geography North America o US o Canada o Mexico o Rest of North America Europe o Germany o UK o France o Russia o Spain o Italy o Rest of Europe Asia Pacific o China o Japan o India o South Korea o Singapore o Malaysia o Rest of Asia Pacific LAMEA o Brazil o Argentina o UAE o Saudi Arabia o South Africa o Nigeria o Rest of LAMEA Companies Profiled Godrej Group (Godrej Security Solutions) Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. (Samsung Group) Arlo Technologies, Inc. Vivint Smart Home, Inc. ADT, Inc. (Apollo Global Management, Inc.) SimpliSafe, Inc. Protect America, Inc. FrontPoint Security Solutions, LLC Skylinkhome Technologies, Inc. iSmart Alarm, Inc. Unique Offerings Exhaustive coverage Highest number of market tables and figures Subscription based model available Guaranteed best price Assured post sales research support with 10% customization free Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p05933123/?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 HONG KONG - A year ago, an extradition bill in Hong Kong that could have sent suspects to mainland China for trial sparked the largest protests and biggest political crisis the semi-autonomous territory has seen since its return to China in 1997. Now, the issue has come full circle. After China used the demonstrations as justification to impose a sweeping new security law in Hong Kong, the U.K. this week became the fourth country to suspend its extradition treaty with the former British colony, joining the United States, Australia and Canada. As with Hong Kongs now-withdrawn extradition bill, the concern was the possibility that people could be handed over to mainland Chinese law enforcement and disappear into its opaque and frequently abusive legal system. Extradition, at the bottom of it, is a political act. Its a political act whether or not you surrender a person, said Philip Dykes, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association. Extradition treaties with Hong Kong were always on the basis that whatever happens, a person will not be removed to the mainland. The moves underscore a growing divide between authoritarian China and the U.S. and other like-minded democracies over human rights and other issues. Just three years ago, Australias conservative government was making a high-profile push for an extradition treaty with China, an effort that ran afoul of parliamentary opposition. Now, not only has Australia suspended extradition with Hong Kong, it is warning its citizens of the risk of arbitrary detention in China. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, after meeting U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab in London, applauded Britains suspension of the extradition treaty and other recent steps against China. We want every nation to work together to push back against the Chinese Communist Partys efforts in every dimension that I have described, he said. China says the new security law is needed to combat terrorism and separatism and prevent Hong Kong from becoming a base for undermining Chinese state power. In general, cases would be tried in Hong Kong, but the law allows for mainland jurisdiction in some circumstances. The legislation that launched last years protests was triggered by a murder case. A young Hong Kong man, Chan Tong-kai, allegedly killed his girlfriend while on vacation in Taiwan before fleeing home. Hong Kong authorities could not send Chan to Taiwan for trial without an extradition agreement. The government cited Chans case as an example of the loophole the extradition legislation would close, allowing Hong Kong to transfer fugitives to any jurisdiction with which it did not have a treaty, including Taiwan and mainland China. The proposal triggered a massive backlash from Hong Kong residents, who feared that suspects could be sent to the mainland for trial. While the Hong Kong legal systems fairness and transparency has helped establish the city as a centre for business and finance, Chinas Communist Party-dominated courts are accused of handing down convictions based on political considerations and using coerced confessions. Though the government eventually withdrew the bill, the demonstrations took on a broader anti-government and anti-police agenda and grew increasingly violent. Chinas detention of several Hong Kong booksellers in late 2015 had already focused concern on the undermining of the legal autonomy the territory was promised when the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997. The booksellers vanished before resurfacing in police custody in mainland China. Among them, Swedish citizen Gui Minhai was abducted from his vacation home in Thailand and later appeared twice in videotaped confessions, the second time after being taken off a train by police in eastern China in January 2018 while in the company of two Swedish diplomats. Another of the booksellers, Lam Wing-kee, later fled to Taiwan. The prospect of falling afoul of the new law and disappearing into the Chinese legal system is prompting others to leave as well. Nathan Law, a leading member of Hong Kongs opposition movement, fled to Britain after the law was enacted. Simon Cheng, a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong who had left earlier, was granted political asylum in Britain earlier this month. China has pledged to retaliate for Britains decisions to cancel its extradition treaty with Hong Kong as well as ban the sale of military-grade equipment to the territory. China urges the British side to abandon the illusion of continuing colonial influence in Hong Kong ... so as to avoid further damage to China-Britain relations, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Tuesday. The U.K.-Hong Kong extradition agreement has not been widely used. In the last decade, no one was extradited from Britain to Hong Kong, and only three people were sent in the other direction, according to the Hong Kong government. Chinas dissatisfaction is based on issues of national pride as well as more practical concerns. Under President Xi Jinping, China has pushed hard for the return of corrupt officials and others who have fled abroad with their ill-gotten gains. While that effort has scored some successes, it has been frustrated by the lack of extradition treaties with key countries. Cancelling extradition to Hong Kong represents a further vote of no-confidence in Chinas legal system, one already registered by the refusal of the U.S., Britain and other nations to sign extradition agreements with Beijing. Australia abandoned plans to do so in 2017. Parliaments endorsement of the treaty was to be a highlight of Chinese Premier Li Keqiangs visit to Australia in March of that year, a high point in a volatile diplomatic relationship. Since then, ties have deteriorated to a historical low. ___ McGuirk reported from Canberra, Australia. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report. By PTI WASHINGTON: The US House of Representatives has unanimously passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), slamming China's aggression against India in the Galwan Valley and its growing territorial assertiveness in and around disputed areas like the South China Sea. The NDAA amendment, moved by Congressman Steve Chabot along with Indian-American lawmaker Ami Bera and passed on Monday, said that India and China should work towards de-escalating the situation along the Line of Actual Control. The troops of India and China are locked in a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead. Passed unanimously by the House of Representatives along with scores of other amendments, it said that the expansion and aggression of the People's Republic of China in and around disputed territories, such as the Line of Actual Control, the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands, is of significant concern. The bipartisan amendment states Congress' opposition to Chinese aggression against India in the Galwan Valley on the India-China border, and expresses its concern toward the growing territorial assertiveness of China. China has used the distraction of the coronavirus to attempt to seize territory belonging to India, as well as to press its territorial claims in the South China Sea, it said. China claims almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. China has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. China has impeded commercial activity like fishing or mineral exploration by countries like Vietnam and the Philippines. Ties between China and Japan have been strained by a territorial row over a group of islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China. "India is a critical, democratic partner in the Indo-Pacific," Chabot said in a statement after the House passed the NDAA amendment. "I am a strong supporter of our bilateral relationship, and I stand with India, and all our partners in the region, as they confront China's hostile acts of aggression," he said. "I am proud to be joined by Congressman Ami Bera, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, to bring this important amendment to the floor in a bipartisan manner," he added. The Chabot amendment said that in the months leading up to June, 15, along the Line of Actual Control, China reportedly amassed 5,000 soldiers; and is believed to have crossed into previously disputed territory considered to be settled as part of India under the 1962 truce. China and India have reached an agreement to de-escalate and disengage along the Line of Actual Control, the Chabot amendment said, adding that on June 15, at least 20 Indian soldiers and an unconfirmed number of Chinese soldiers were killed in skirmishes following a weeks-long standoff in Eastern Ladakh, which is the defacto border between the two countries. Following the deadly violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India stated, whenever there have been differences of opinion, we have always tried to ensure that those differences never turned into a dispute," the amendment said. Another bipartisan amendment moved by Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi along with eight others urging Beijing to de-escalate the situation at the border through existing diplomatic mechanisms and not by force is slated to come up for vote before the House on Tuesday. The two resolutions comes days after the House of Representatives Caucus on India and Indian-Americans in a letter to India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, said that over the last few months, the Chinese authorities have been acting with impunity and have attempted to transgress on the LAC, which resulted in diplomatic discussions to implement a process for de-escalation along the LAC on July 6. It was led by Congressmen Holding and Brad Sherman and signed by seven other lawmakers. "It is my hope that they scale back on their excessive weaponry and infrastructure at the Line of Actual Control and uphold both their longstanding and new founded agreements with India," said the lawmakers who offered their condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers. The Agona Swedru Magistrate Court has sentenced a 24-year-old activist of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) in the Agona East Constituency, Mohammed Haadi, to a fine of GH1,200 for defacing posters of Professor Kwesi Yankah, the New Patriotic Party (NPP) parliamentary aspirant. The court, presided over by Mr Isaac Apeatu, ordered Haadi to compensate the complainant with GH500. The convict is also to sign a bond to be of good behaviour for six months or in default serve a three-month prison term. Plea Haadi pleaded guilty with explanation to the charge of removal of poster and banner contrary to Section 8 of the Representation of the People Law, 1992 (PNDC Law 284). In his explanation, Haadi told the court that he only defaced one poster and not 100 posters as had been indicated in the charge against him. The prosecution then amended the charge taking into account Haadis explanation, and he was subsequently convicted on his own plea of guilty by the court. Facts Prosecuting, Inspector Chare N. Salia said on Sunday, April 5, 2020, three members of the Agona East NPP reported Haadi to the Mankrong Junction Police for allegedly defacing posters and other paraphernalia of the party. He indicated that as part of preparations towards the upcoming general election on December 7, 2020, political parties and aspirants were displaying posters and banners of their respective candidates in the constituency. However, he noted that members of the NPP realised that unknown persons were destroying, removing and defacing the NPP aspirants posters and banners within the Mankrong Junction town and its environs. Surveillance According to the prosecutor, the constituency executive and party supporters mounted surveillance between January and March 2020 and Haadi was arrested in the act of removing one poster of Prof. Yankah. He was arrested and handed over to the police for investigation and after that, Haadi admitted the offence in his caution statement and was duly charged and arraigned before the court. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Almost a third of Michigan residents would not be comfortable participating in contract tracing linked to cases of coronavirus, according to a new survey released this week by University of Michigan. Two-thirds being willing to engage is good but not enough, because contact tracing is very important to our ability to really mitigate the spread of this disease, said Marianne Udow-Phillips, executive director of the Center for Health and Research Transformation. [The stream is slated to start at 5 p.m. ET. Please refresh the page if you do not see a player above at that time.] President Donald Trump is holding a coronavirus press briefing Tuesday for the first time in months, as a recent spike in Covid-19 cases spurs many state leaders to halt or reverse their reopening plans. Trump announced the return of the briefings a day earlier, after acknowledging that the U.S. has "had this big flare-up in Florida, Texas, a couple of other places." But the White House said Trump, who faces a tough reelection fight in less than four months, plans to use the briefings to deliver "good news" about his administration's progress combating the pandemic. It was unclear ahead of the briefing if any of the administration's public health experts on the Covid-19 task force, such as coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx or Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top infectious disease expert, would appear alongside Trump. The White House declined to comment on CNBC's request for a list of attendees. When asked at a general press briefing earlier Tuesday about participation, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said, "You'll have to tune in to see." Trump regularly participated in the White House coronavirus task force's briefings when they were being held on a near-daily basis earlier this year. While crucial information about the virus was delivered in those briefings by task force members, the press events came to be defined by Trump's freewheeling and often bombastic exchanges with reporters. In late April, the briefings came to an abrupt end, shortly after Trump speculated from the press room lectern about whether injecting disinfectants can help to treat Covid-19. A day later, the president claimed he was "asking a question sarcastically." The task force, led by Vice President Mike Pence, held a public briefing in June. Trump was not present at that briefing. McEnany told Fox News on Tuesday morning that the revived briefings would be "short," and said that viewers would hear about "other topics" in addition to the coronavirus. Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. DENVER After previously looking to an outsider to address misconduct and excessive force allegations in its jails, Denver is hoping a longtime member of the sheriffs department can help transform the troubled agency. Mayor Michael Hancock on Monday named Elias Diggins, who has served at every level of the department over his 25 year career, as the citys new sheriff, who is principally in charge of running the citys two jails. Diggins, who is Black and grew up in Denvers predominantly Black Montbello neighborhood, previously served as interim sheriff following the departure of Sheriff Gary Wilson and the hiring of Patrick Firman. The city has been without a permanent sheriff since Firman, a longtime corrections official from northern Illinois, resigned in September 2019. Firmans departure followed the death of an inmate at the hands of deputies and a lawsuit filed over an inmate who gave birth in at the jail. Hancock said the nations criminal justice system is at a critical juncture and that he thought now, more than ever, the sheriff needed to be someone with deep community experience, an inside knowledge of the department and a believer in the power of second chances. Diggins has had some public troubles of his own at the department. When he was interim sheriff, it was reported that he had lied to a judge in 1996 about having car insurance after being in an accident and pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor. Hancock did not address that directly but said he expected some to question his track record as a deputy and challenges and regretful moments he has had but he said that Diggins had grown and his experiences would help him. Quite frankly, in todays world, as a sheriff who understands the travails and challenges of people in front of him that he is charged with protecting and serving and detaining, is going to make him in my heart and in my mind, I think, the perfect sheriff to lead this department, Hancock said. Diggins began his remarks by thanking God and quoting a verse from the Biblical book of Proverbs: The godly fall down seven times and get up. The past is the past and I have had challenges but I am ready to move forward to lead this department where we need to go, he said. Diggins said he wanted to make sure that all members of the department lead with their humanity and remember that all jail inmates are members of the community. He also said he thought it was important for members of law enforcement to see themselves as part of the community too. It is my hope as we move forward that we can bring the community to the table and re-earn the trust that has been broken, Diggins said. DUBLIN, Ohio, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Golden Eagle Insurance and Innovative Risk Solutions are excited to announce their merger and new company name of Unitas Financial Services, which will be completed by January 1st, 2021. Unitas, pronounced [yoo-NI-tahs], is a Latin word that means "Oneness or Unity". The name "Unitas'' was chosen because our core beliefs and goals are to provide a cohesive work environment within the company and to build close and long-lasting relationships with their clients. The mission of our new company is to lead the industry in products, innovation, and client experiences through superior service, unmatched responsiveness, and attention to detail. Both companies are focused on the specialty insurance space for financial institutions and real estate investors. The ownership team of Bill Jones, President of Golden Eagle Insurance, Lisa Cooper, President of Innovative Risk Solutions, and Greg Shimkus, EVP of Innovative Risk Solutions have partnered on several projects the past 20 years and felt like the timing was right to take the next step and merge the two companies. Together they bring nearly 100 years of experience to the industry. Unitas will be headquartered in Johnstown, OH which has been the home of Golden Eagle Insurance since its inception. The company also has offices in DeBary, Florida (Innovative Risk Solutions headquarters), Dublin, Ohio, Ashland, Kentucky, Greensboro, North Carolina, Allen, Texas, Fort Lauderdale, Florida, Encampment Wyoming, and a new office opening in Denver, Colorado this summer. Unitas has plans for more regional offices around the country in 2021 and beyond. When asked about the merger Unitas Co-Owner and President Bill Jones responded "These two companies were a perfect fit. The owners were already doing business together and our mutual goal was simple: Be even better for our lending and investor customers in every area products, systems, claims, and most important of all, highly responsive service. Community lenders have a lot of advantages to offer over the large big box banks and we have those same advantages to offer community lenders over the big box national brokers and insurance companies." Golden Eagle Insurance was founded 25 years ago on July 17th, 1995. Golden Eagle is a leading provider of loan portfolio protection and other insurance solutions to financial institutions. They are leaders and innovators in Blanket Insurance concepts and bring this expertise to Unitas. Their flagship product, Blanket 360, fully protects lender portfolios while creating operational efficiencies. One of their core strengths for success has been the ability to market their insurance innovations leading to a change in the way financial institutions view risk in concert with providing an exceptional service experience. Innovative Risk Solutions was founded almost 15 years ago on March 8th, 2006. Innovative Risk specializes in providing insurance solutions to both financial institutions and private real estate property portfolios. Innovative Risk's most popular products are Lender Placed Hazard, Flood Protection, and their Master Real Estate Investor Insurance Program which has helped many real estate investors streamline their hazard insurance processes. One of their core strengths has been their ability to increase efficiency in risk transfer programs by clearly defining the exposure and delivering a targeted solution. Additionally, they possess the expertise in the systems to streamline and administer both the lender-placed and investor insurance programs and the accompanying letters and billings associated with them. Unitas will be well-positioned in the market to provide insurance solutions and systems to financial institutions and real estate investors. They will also be able to partner with independent insurance agencies and brokers to increase their competitive advantage in the market by providing improved products to their clients. Lisa Cooper, Co-Owner, and President of Unitas Mortgage Division stated "We see a void in the market where community-minded lenders who strive to give their clients quality products and service do not get quality products and service from their vendors. Unitas will fill that void for lenders that value service and a partner that wants to develop a quality long-lasting relationship with them." A focus for both companies has always been to provide premier levels of customer service and satisfaction with a personal touch. Unitas will keep customer service as a priority and will continue to create long-lasting relationships with their customers. According to Co-Owner Greg Shimkus, President of Unitas Specialty Division, "The client-centric culture at Unitas will enable our team to deliver program solutions that differentiate our organization from the competition. Every individual on our team has the authority to make decisions and do whatever is required to ensure we exceed client expectations." Both companies would like to recognize and thank their existing clients for their loyalty in the past and are excited to serve them in the future. Media contact: Christine Hannigan [email protected] 800-461-9224 ext.3418 SOURCE Golden Eagle Insurance Back and better than ever! E!'s Morgan Stewart made her return to Daily Pop on Monday, and as her co-host Erin Lim pointed out, she was sporting a noteworthy new piece of jewelry: an engagement ring! The Nightly Pop co-host announced her engagement to Jordan McGraw on the Fourth of July by posting a photo with the shiny ring on full display, and as she revealed on Daily Pop, the proposal was indeed a surprise. "Coincidentally, I took this break before I knew anything was happeningeverything was a surprise, obviouslyso it all lined up perfectly," Morgan explained. "But then people were like, 'When are you coming back to talk about this?'" She didn't come back alone, though! Jordan himself made a surprise appearance, and both Erin and Scott Tweedie were armed with questions about how the proposal went down. "I just want to know, Jordan, how did you manage to surprise this woman who literally knows everything?" Erin asked. 2020 Celebrity Engagements Jordan's adorable answer? "Well, I've been waiting 10 years to do it." Even Morgan was impressed, responding, "Aww! That was a good answer. We didn't even practice that!" The two had been dating for seven months when Dr. Phil McGraw's son proposed, but as Morgan previously revealed, they first began seeing each other over a decade ago. They split after a year together, reunited in 2020 and the rest was history! Jordan was so eager to propose, he explained, that as soon as he had the ring, "there was no waiting." "We were staying at a hotel because we were in the process of moving, and we were sitting outside...and we kind of got into, not a mini-fight, but..." Morgan began before Jordan interjected, explaining that the "fight" was planned. "You gaslighted me a little bit, talking about how I'm going to be a long-term girlfriend. Obviously [I] did not respond well to that and got a little bit upset." Story continues According to Morgan, she said something along the lines of, "I don't know who the hell you think you're with, but this is not a girlfriend for five years." Dr. Phil Has the Sweetest Reaction to Son Jordan McGraw's Engagement to Morgan Stewart Morgan continued, noting that at this point in the argument, Jordan went inside the hotel. "Then he came back, he said, 'Let's change that. Will you stop being my girlfriend?' and got on one knee," Morgan revealed. "And then he opened the box, and I was like, '100 percent I'm saying yes, regardless if I like you.'" Yep, the ring was that good! "I was also so surprised, genuinely, that I had a lot of emotions," Morgan explained, admitting that she cried. "You did not cry, but you got a little teary." Necessary Realness: Morgan Stewart's Outtakes & One-Liners "That was my goalif I got you to cry, it was a win," Jordan said. "The cry was better than the win." Get more details on the sweet proposal (and the breathtaking engagement ring!) from Morgan and Jordan by watching the complete Daily Pop clip above! SOUTH NORWALK, Conn., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- JuiceBar, a manufacturer of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations known for their sleek design and cutting-edge technology, announced today that it has launched an innovative line of chargers that deliver the safest and fastest electric vehicle charging experience and which do not require network servicing agreements. JuiceBar Gen 3 charging stations installed at Pride Stores in Massachusetts. "Our JuiceBar Gen 3 Chargers were designed to respond to the demands of property owners, installation partners and EV drivers," said Paul Vosper, President and CEO of JuiceBar. "JuiceBar has future-proofed its Gen 3 chargers by providing the highest levels of power and charging speeds in preparation for the longer range EVs and the increased demands of mass-market adoption. The Gen 3 48-amp is 60% faster than the industry's standard 30-amp Level 2 charger, and the Gen 3 80-amp charging speed is more than 2.5X the speed of the average Level 2 charger." As the most powerful Level 2 EV charger on the market, the Gen 3 eliminates installation and maintenance worries of our clients while providing the most reliable and flexible service to their customers, employees, and guests. Unlike most chargers on the market, the Gen 3 does not force buyers onto a proprietary subscription-based network. Instead, property owners can choose their own network, a degree of flexibility that utilities throughout the country are encouraging as the marketplace for EVs evolves and buyers demand competitive pricing, new options to generate revenue and manage electricity usage. The JuiceBar Gen 3 carries on the timeless design of the original JuiceBar charging station which was developed with BMW Designworks USA. The JuiceBar design provides owners with options to customize their chargers with logos and unique designs, allowing brand building and advertising opportunities. The Gen 3, which meets the Society of Automotive Engineers' recommendations for Level 2 charging, is available with single and dual ports and supports higher charging speeds with 32, 40, 48 and 80-amp power levels. Other features include double safety relay switches, easy installation, a weatherproof wall or pedestal mounted aluminum enclosure, and the first integrated cord management system to reduce tripping and arcing risk. "We are excited to be the first company in Massachusetts installing the JuiceBar Gen 3 charging station in multiple locations in the U.S.," said Bob Bolduc, CEO Of Pride Stores. "Pride is dedicated to making it easy for our customers and employees to reduce their carbon footprint by installing JuiceBar Gen 3 chargers at multiple Pride locations." Since 2009, JuiceBar's consultative approach has helped hundreds of customers navigate through the early phases of EV charging station infrastructure and network decisions. "We are thrilled to be one of the first companies installing JuiceBar Gen 3 charging stations at 3 locations in the U.S.," said Sam Cooper, Associate Director Facilities Operations at Regeneron. "Our company appreciates the hardware upgrades that JuiceBar implemented for us during our 5-year relationship. JuiceBar's continued flexibility and enhancements based on real use feedback on prior models has us excited to install this new Gen 3 product with its advanced features." As the demand for electric vehicles continues to surge, JuiceBar has geared up to meet the demand from leading workplaces, apartment complexes, hotels, hospitals, universities, real estate companies, charger hubs and municipalities for fast, safe and reliable EV charging stations. About JuiceBar JuiceBar has been leading the EV Charger rEVolution since 2009 and is committed to building a national EV charging infrastructure that sustains the environment for future generations. Our chargers are deployed across >100 cities in the United States and Canada and are manufactured and assembled in the U.S.A. We are recognized for our technology, elegant and resilient charger designs with custom branding, a superior user experience, and our ability to consult and guide buyers through a cost-effective transition to e-mobility solutions. www.JuiceBarEV.com Interested in learning how JuiceBar can help your company? Contact us here to set up a meeting or visit www.JuiceBarGen3.com. SOURCE JuiceBar Related Links https://www.juicebarev.com Mr Samuel Nii Adjei Tawiah, the Municipal Chief Executive (MCE) for Korley Klotey, has called on the assemblies to lead in the fight against COVID-19, by educating the citizenry to adhere to the health protocols. He said the Metropolitan, Municipal and District Assemblies have the mandate to enforce the sanitation bye-laws within their confines to prevent diseases. Mr Adjei Tawiah made the call in an interview with the Ghana News Agency and commended the Ministry of Water Resources and Sanitation for its initiative to clear certain areas in Accra of filth to complement efforts to stem the spread of the coronavirus. He assured that the Korley Klotey Assembly would continue to give sanitation serious attention in the scheme of things, to promote the health of the people as the taskforce of the Assembly would ensure the adherence to the bye-laws. The MCE lauded the traders at the Adabraka Market for keeping the area tidy. Mr Adjei Tawiah said the Assembly, though relatively young, had initiated plans to facelift infrastructures and to profile all businesses to increase revenue generation to finance development projects. 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 Director of Content and Operations Spencer McKee is OutThere Colorado's Director of Content and Operations. In his spare time, Spencer loves to hike, rock climb, and trail run. He's on a mission to summit all 58 of Colorado's fourteeners and has already climbed more than half. The Brazilian-based B2B cleaning line YVY Naturals, once known for selling to hospitals, schools and green buildings, is bringing its easy-to-use, eco-friendly products to consumers in the USA. During one of the biggest crises of the Rio 2016 Games, we had a huge challenge to fix and clean the Olympic Village, approximately 20,000 rooms, Tostes said. The situation was a mess and we would need a lot of speed to increase productivity from our teams. The Olympic Games have the power to transform lives. While many stories focus on athlete Cinderella dreams coming to fruition, we often forget about how this worldwide event impacts numerous people working behind the scenes. The 2016 summer games in Rio de Janeiro did more than award record-setting champions, it spurred the idea for a new way to clean. YVY Naturals (pronounced ee-vee) owes its success in part to the complicated logistics of cleaning the Olympic Village. The brand makes the high-performance cleaning agents that are made with 100 percent Brazilian citrus and Amazonian flowers with one additional twist. These formulas come packaged ultra-concentrated in a container no bigger than a coffee capsule. Rodrigo Tostes, YVY Naturals co-founder, first discovered the power and convenience of these cleaning pods as he was appointed 2016 Summer Olympics Chief Operating Officer. He had a very large role even before the opening ceremony, managing 400,000 people in 56 areas: transportation, security, technology, accreditation, accommodations, and venues to name a few. If overseeing the large-scale logistics of over 60 million items wasnt enough of a challenge, he took on an additional role, one in crisis management. The Rio 2016 Olympic Village has been described as the largest in Olympic history, but a dark cloud overshadowed this architectural achievement. Some officials deemed the athletes' village as "unlivable" and unsafe due to major plumbing and electrical hazards discovered before the opening. Blocked toilets, leaking pipes, exposed wiring, unlit stairwells, and dirty floors were among the reported problems at some apartments in the complex. The Rio Olympic organizers conceded that there were isolated cases of sabotage by employees during village construction. During one of the biggest crises of the Rio 2016 Games, we had a huge challenge to fix and clean the Olympic Village, approximately 20,000 rooms, Tostes said. The situation was a mess and we would need a lot of speed to increase productivity from our teams. He turned to his lifelong friend and YVY Naturals co-founder Marcelo Ebert Ribeiro, who was the CEO of a cleaning company at the time. It produced 100 percent natural products, which Tostes found to be beneficial for two reasons. Workers could clean rooms safely with the athletes already there and they would have less environmental impact; eco-friendly options were highly preferred in the host city that struggled with pollution. When Ebert Ribeiro mentioned testing out a new solution that would create less waste, Tostes became immediately interested. Before testing finished, he ordered 2,000 samples. Ebert Ribeiro drove from Sao Paulo to Rio de Janeiro with the pods and testing them at the Olympic site proved to be successful. Tostes saw this type of product as a game-changer. His teams could move faster to clean thousands of rooms because the pods were much lighter cleaning supplies. Not only did they save time and money, they reduced plastic not needing to toss out single-use bottles when empty, and pods were much easier to store. These capsules were the first prototypes of YVY Naturals. Today, the company is on a mission to streamline your cleaning routine. Products come delivered right to your door. Customers can sign up for their subscription-based service and pause at any time. First time users choose from home, bathroom, kitchen, and all-purpose solution kits. From there, they select how often they would like to receive the refill pods. The cleaners work by adding water to the kit bottles, placing the capsule on top, and fastening the spray nozzle. These industrial-grade formulas clean effectively, yet theyre safe to use with kids and pets too. About YVY Naturals: The Brazilian-based B2B line once known for selling to hospitals, schools and green buildings is bringing its easy-to-use, eco-friendly products to consumers in the USA. Named after the Brazilian indigenous word that means the communion between man and nature, YVY is committed to formulating products with non-toxic ingredients that are better for the planet in forms that eliminate less single use plastic and rely on a consumers own water consumption. CLEVELAND, Ohio An 37-year-old man accidentally shot his 9-year-old stepson while picking up a loaded gun off a table, according to police. Zachary Stover of Cleveland is charged with child endangering, a third-degree felony. Stover on Tuesday was released from the Cuyahoga County Jail after a judge set a personal bond at his hearing Tuesday in Cleveland Municipal Court. The incident happened about 11 a.m. Sunday at a home on West 93rd Street near Detroit Avenue in the citys Cudell neighborhood. Four children were inside the home at the time, court records say. Stover picked the loaded gun up off the dining room table in order to take it out of the room, according to police. He accidentally fired the gun once. A bullet hit the 9-year-old boy in the hand and grazed his leg, court records say. Investigators noted there were no signs of violence and that everyone inside the house described the shooting as an accident. Read more from cleveland.com: Cleveland police officer shot, injured in citys Fairfax neighborhood, police say Cuyahoga County Jail officer accused of trying to rob man with fake gun in Brooklyn Stolen car strikes Cleveland police cruiser, crashes into trailer during East Side chase As schools debate how and when to fully re-open in person, children and teenagers under 18 now account for one in every 10 novel coronavirus infections in Bexar County, health officials reported Monday. They also noted that a majority of people who have contracted the virus in recent months were infected after prolonged contact with a person that had COVID-19 not through community transmission or travel. Billy Calzada /San Antonio Express-News The only safe gathering that should be conducted right now are (with) people within your household, Mayor Ron Nirenberg said at the daily city-county briefing about the virus. If you start introducing people who don't live with you, you start expanding that social circle, that's when the risk of transmission goes up. The mayors plea for people to stay home comes as coronavirus infections continue to spread in Bexar County, with 481 new cases and five more deaths reported Monday. Since the start of the pandemic, 31,316 people are known to have contracted the virus. The local death toll now stands at 262, with nearly 100 of those deaths occurring in the last 10 days alone. Im sorry to say we are still under a severe to critical risk of COVID-19 in our Bexar County community, Nirenberg said. Our case levels are still very high with hundreds and sometimes thousands of cases reported every day. As of Monday, 1,193 patients were being treated in San Antonio area hospitals, down six from Sunday. That left 11 percent of staffed beds available. Of those hospitalized, 430 were in intensive care units and 294 were on ventilators to help them breathe. Both figures were down slightly from the day prior. On ExpressNews.com: Last responders also feel stress of coronavirus pandemic in San Antonio Among the deaths announced Monday, two were Hispanic females in their 50s and 60s and three were Hispanic men in their 30s, 60s and 90s. Three died at area hospitals. Two died at home. These are people, Nirenberg said. These are men, women and children of all ages, races and walks of life. Again, this virus does not discriminate. We should all do our part to protect each other. Anita Kurian, who leads the communicable disease division at the San Antonio Metropolitan Health District, said the increase in children and teenagers contracted the virus has been rapid. In late May, children and teenagers accounted for 5 percent of cases in Bexar County, local health data shows. By mid-July, that had more than doubled to 11 percent. Two children between the ages of 10 and 17 have died of the virus. It does happen to young people, Bexar County Judge Nelson Wolff said, referring to early studies that suggested children did not contract or transmit the virus. They need to understand that. On ExpressNews.com: Get the latest update on coronavirus and a tracking map of U.S. cases Bexar County ranks third among Texas counties for active COVID-19 cases, but fifth for deaths. Hildago County in the Rio Grande Valley, where cases have surged in recent weeks, is fourth in deaths. Nirenberg and Wolff said its hard to pinpoint exactly why cases are increasing. As of July 11, 57 percent of people who contracted the virus were infected after prolonged contact with a person that had COVID-19. The remainder of cases were the result of spread in the community or, in a small number of cases, through travel. Billy Calzada /Staff photographer While it seems that the onset of these cases tends to be right around the July 4th weekend, theres not a smoking gun with this, Nirenberg said. Wolff agreed. He also pinned the numbers on orders from Gov. Greg Abbott that prohibited local governments from instituting their own rules. We were stripped of our authority to demand masks and penalties, and everyone put their guard down, Wolff said. People gathered. They went to bars and other large settings. Were still in a terrible time here, trying to work our way out of it, he added. When the genie gets out of the bottle, its very very hard to put it back in. Emilie Eaton is a criminal justice reporter in the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Emilie, become a subscriber. eeaton@express-news.net | Twitter: @emilieeaton Email To : Multiple e-mail addresses must be separated with a comma character(maximum 200 characters) Email To is required. Your Full Name: (optional) Your Email Address: Your Email Address is required. The Executive Director of the Danquah Institute, Richard Ahiagbah, has debunked claims that the institution schemed to collapse some banks in the country. According to the Executive Director, the claims contained in a circulated video are a complete fabrication and distortion of facts. He accused the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) of being behind what he terms as a wicked act to deliberately spread false information about the institution. In a video circulating on social media, a male voice is heard detailing how some of the indigenous Ghanaian banks collapsed, alleging it was a well-orchestrated plan by the Akufo-Addo government before officially assuming office. The video claimed President Akufo-Addo together with the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta and the Governor of the Bank of Ghana, Dr. Ernest Addison executed the plan to collapse the financial institutions in accordance with an article by the Danquah Institute that showed some banks belonging to members of opposition parties must be crippled to prevent them from financing their political parties. The unidentified voice further claimed a document specifically mentioned Dr. Kwabena Duffuor, a member of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) who founded uniBank and Papa Kwesi Nduom of the Progressive Peoples Party (PPP) who founded GN Bank. Addressing journalists on the matter in Accra, Mr. Ahiagbah stated that though the institution has no concrete evidence to prove the opposition NDC is truly behind the claims, it is however convinced the claims are consistent with the opposition NDCs propaganda narrative. He revealed a total of 9 universal banks, 23 specialized depositing taking institutions and 386 microfinance and credit institutions, were barely hanging in 2017 when the government assumed power. The banking sector problems, what this government inherited, and what measures it has put in place to restore sanity are no secrets. Ghana risked a total collapse if nothing was done decidedly different from the NDC-John Mahama approach to resolve the challenges. Caught in the balance were 4.6 million depositors, thousands of retail, corporate and institutional investors. Ghana needed a bold and decisive leadership that was willing to prioritize the interests of depositors, investors, and the economy above all other considerations. Unless you are a mischief-preneur, you know that a willful collapse of banks or financial institutions, as claimed in the video, is not the disposition of a center-right policy institute or government whose policy bias is the growth and wellness of private enterprise, property and property rights, economic freedom and the rule of law among others. The government chose, arguably, the most challenging approach but one that is realistic and consistent with its compassionate liberal-conservative values to protect the interest of depositors, employees, and the economy. Its approach has saved the solvent but struggling banks through the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) and cleanup of the insolvent banks to promote long-term growth and confidence in the sector, he said. The video makes wild and objectionable claims that appear to implicate the Institute in a ploy to wilfully collapse some banksWe wish to state unequivocally that the claims contained in the video are false, a complete fabrication and distortion of the fact. Though we do not know the source or the people behind the video, its content is consistent with the opposition NDCs propaganda narrative and so we respond to it as such, he added. Read the full statement below: DANQUAH INSTITUTE PRESS BRIEFING ON BANKING SECTOR MISINFORMATION Good Afternoon and welcome to the Danquah Institute. We have called you ladies and gentlemen this Afternoon to respond to a despicable video that is circulating about the Danquah Institute, the government, and personalities associated with the institute. The video makes wild and objectionable claims that appears to implicate the institute in a ploy to willfully collapse some banks. First, let us watch the video. We wish to state unequivocally that the claims contained in the video are false, a complete fabrication and distortion of the facts. Though we do not know the source or the people behind the video, its content is consistent with the NDC's propaganda position. The banking sector problems, what this government inherited, and what measures it has put in place to restore sanity are no secrets. A total of 9 universal banks, 23 specialized depositing taking institutions and 386 microfinance and credit institutions, were barely hanging in 2017 when the government assumed power. Ghana risked a total collapse if nothing was done decidedly different from the NDC-John Mahama approach, to resolve the challenges. Caught in the balance were 4.6 million depositors, thousands of retail, corporate and institutional investors. Ghana needed a bold and decisive leadership that was willing to prioritize the interests of depositors, investors, and the economy above all other considerations. Unless you are a mischief-preneur, you know that a willful collapse of banks or financial institutions, as claimed in the video, is not the disposition of a center-right policy institute or government whose policy bias is the growth and wellness of private enterprise, property and property rights, economic freedom and the rule of law among others. The government chose, arguably, the most challenging approach but one that is realistic and consistent with its compassionate liberal conservative values to protect the interest of depositors, employees, and the economy. Its approach has saved the solvent but struggling banks through the Ghana Amalgamated Trust (GAT) and a cleanup of the insolvent banks to promote long-term growth and confidence in the sector. Ladies and gentlemen, the decision was a choice between a comprehensive cleanup or the failed liquidity support approach of the John Mahama administration. Recall in 2015 and 2016, the IMF supported the Bank of Ghana to undertake an asset quality review. The exercise revealed severe challenges with solvency, asset quality, and liquidity; in fact, some banks were significantly under-provisioned and suffered capital shortfalls. To respond to the report, the John Mahama administration opted to use liquidity support without a plan to address the underlying regulatory deficits and corporate governance malpractices. As it turned out, much of the liquidity support given to its friends were diverted to fund unrelated investments. Poor corporate governance practices ruled the day paving the way for related interests deals to the detriment of employees, depositors and investors. Owners and directors of some financial institutions appeared to be in lockstep with regulators which may have caused them to look away as depositors' funds are funnel into personal investments. These owners and directors were emboldened and threw all caution to the wind. For instance, under the NDC-Mahama government, shareholders and directors of a bank advanced personal loans to themselves contrary to Section 70 (4) of Act 930. Again, four owners and directors of one of the collapsed banks owed the bank a sum of 494.6 million cedis. Further, the receiver of the insolvent financial institutions, Mr. Eric Nana Nipah, on Friday, July 17th, revealed that some of the owners of the defunct financial institutions bought houses outside Ghana with depositors' money. These are peoples lifetime savings and investments that are being diced up and shared to acquire foreign property by owners and directors of financial institutions. Recall in the video; the narrator talks about peoples' "bojaboja," it is clear now that the owners of the financial institutions are the ones using depositors bojaboja under the NDC to acquire foreign homes. Please think through this illustration with meif depositors save their monies with a financial institution called AB Bank, and the owners and directors of AB Bank siphon the savings to buy homes abroad, divert them into personal enterprises or make personal loans to themselves against the banking laws. What do you think will happen to AB Bank? This was what happened in the case of the collapsed banks. Unlike the NDC-Mahama administration, this administration took a comprehensive and inclusive view of the problem it inheritedprimarily to save depositors funds, jobs, and to build an enduring financial services sector. It was either this bold and decisive way or no way because the alternative has been tried, it has failed and should never be an option. Thankfully, the results are beginning to show. Liquidity and capital adequacy, which in 2017 were 25% and 14.6% respectively, have improved as of May 2020, to 39% and 21%, respectively. Good corporate governance and prudence have led to a drastic reduction in non-performing loans from 21% to 14.3% or in cedi terms about 1.46 billion cedis. This is building the banking sector, not collapsing it. While this government is working to fix the problems in the financial sector, it is disingenuous for those who created the problem to hide behind cameras to mischaracterize its labor. Since the Danquah Institute has been mentioned, I would like to take a minute to illustrate how like our imaginary AB Bankowners and directors stifled and eventually collapsed the banks. The collapse of UT and Capital Bank and the rest that were consolidated resulted vastly from mismanagement and diversion of depositors' funds by owners and directors for personal benefits. Their loss positions equaled 11.65 billion cedis. That is how much depositors funds they have diverted, and was not available when needed to keep the banks solvent and save them from collapse. So, the claim that government owed UniBank, that is why it collapsed is entirely false and without merit. Granted that government owed UniBank 1 billion cedis as claimed in the video. That 1 billion cedis will not have been enough to save UniBank, because the gap in its balance sheet is far more significant than 1 billion cedis. The NDC knew about the impending collapse and vulnerabilities of the Ghanaian banks, including UniBank, from the updated 2016 asset quality review report. It is against this background that the IMF worked with the NDC to pass the Banks and Specialized Deposit-Taking Institutions Act, 2016, to resolve the challenges in the sector. But somehow, the NDC failed to attend to the crisis faithfully. Ladies and gentlemen of the media, these are the facts. I submit to you that the video circulating on social media, which claims the Danquah Institute has conspired with the government to collapse UniBank and others, is nothing but a callous plot to besmirch the our reputation and mischaracterize the government's honest effort to see through a painful but necessary clean up exercise. But, expect more of these fabricated videos to be circulated as part of a grand strategy to poison the atmosphere, create enmity, and distorts the issues. It is my hope that you will set the record straight anytime you come across these fabrications about the Danquah Institute or the government. Ghanaian falls for them. Thank you. 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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 03:22:04|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ANKARA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Turkish Interior Ministry ordered governors on Tuesday to lift the working hour restrictions on cafes and restaurants in the country. Businesses such as restaurants, cafes, tea houses, and clubs were reopened in June after months of closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Turkey. Turkey's daily COVID-19 cases were 928 on Tuesday, while the total cases rose to 221,500, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca said. Meanwhile, 18 people died in the past 24 hours, taking the death toll to 5,526, he tweeted. Turkish health professionals conducted 42,846 tests in the past 24 hours, bringing the overall number of tests to 4,359,627, he said. A total of 1,009 patients recovered in the last 24 hours, raising the total recoveries to 204,011 in Turkey, Koca said, noting that 1,246 patients are being treated in the intensive care units and 379 are intubated. Turkey reported the first COVID-19 case on March 11. Turkey and China have supported each other in the fight against COVID-19. Chinese doctors and medical experts held video conferences with Turkish counterparts to share China's experience in treating coronavirus patients, protecting medical workers, and controlling the spread of the virus. Enditem Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) Work at the Presidential Communications Operations Office has been suspended for the week after one of its employees tested positive for COVID-19 The suspension began on Tuesday, according to a statement from PCOO Undersecretary for Administration Marvin Gatpayat. He said as a safety precaution, the New Executive Building will be disinfected. Secondary and primary contacts of the infected employee will also undergo swab testing. "Work will resume on 27 July 2020 (Monday)," said Gatpayat. In a separate statement, PCOO Secretary Martin Andanar said the staffer who tested positive is already under quarantine. "PCOO has already been in touch with the patient and the patient's family for any assistance and support that we can provide," he said. "We continue to pray for the speedy recovery of our personnel." Andanar said the temporary closure of their office does not mean there would be a pause in their services. "The daily briefings being held at the NEB will continue to operate virtually or remotely to keep all Filipinos updated on the government's actions in fighting the pandemic and managing its effects," he said in the statement. The pandemic appears to have taken some of the shine off downtown living, long the favoured destination of young professionals eager to reside close to their jobs. Newly released Nanos research for the Ontario Real Estate Association (OREA) suggests home buyers are more attracted to the space and lower-density populations outside the city since COVID-19. Among those considering a home purchase in the next two years, 61 per cent of online survey respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that COVID-19 has increased their interest in suburban or rural housing. Only 34 per cent said they were more drawn to downtown living since the public health crisis hit. Younger people showed slightly more interest in living in the suburbs with about 63 per cent of those 18 to 54 agreeing or somewhat agreeing, compared to about 58 per cent of those 55 and older. The level of appeal when it comes to living in a downtown, high-density urban area right now is not as strong as the suburban and rural, pollster Nik Nanos said Tuesday in an online presentation of consumer perceptions of the real estate market. The findings could suggest a disconnect between reality and perception, he said. If people are in downtown Toronto they know that its OK. For people that are living in other parts of the province perhaps theres a little more anxiety on that front, said Nanos. The research shows the pandemic has boosted the desire among renters to become homeowners, with 25 per cent of respondents saying they are more interested in owning a home now than before. Only 13 per cent of renters were less interested in buying a home as a result of COVID-19. Fifty-four per cent said their interest in buying hadnt changed. Those renting consumers are under the most personal pressure because they may not have the space they want to work from home, he said. People are now looking at places where they live as places that they work and places they spend more time. This has put a significant level of pressure on renters. When we ask respondents what they want in a new space, its space to work, a back yard. That might explain why theres a significant level of appeal right now for suburban properties and properties in rural areas, said Nanos. He said other research has shown that people are looking for a simpler life with more connection to family and friends. Realtor Melanie Piche said the pandemic has accelerated everything from technology to virtual business practices by five or 10 years. The same is true with real estate. People who were thinking about moving out of the city or into the city are choosing to do it sooner rather than later, accelerating their lifestyle choices. I dont think there is going to be a mass exodus from the city, but I think people will make faster lifestyle choices than they might have made if it wasnt for this new way of living that weve all gone through, she said. OREA president Sean Morrison said affordability has been prompting consumers to consider housing outside the city for some time. But, he said, This has definitely accelerated peoples plans of moving out. Nanos surveyed 1,005 Ontario residents between June 23 and June 30. Respondents expected to be buying or selling a home within two years. Navy's P-8Is deployed in Ladakh; MiG-29K jets likely to move to air bases in north India oi-Madhuri Adnal New Delhi, July 21: The Indian Navy's P-8I surveillance planes are carrying out frequent sweeps over the Eastern Ladakh sector, the Navy's maritime fighter jets MiG-29K will be deployed in the Northern sector for operations. The Indian Navy's Poseidon 8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft have also been deployed in eastern Ladakh to carry out surveillance along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and some of its MiG-29K jets are likely to be stationed in key IAF bases in the northern sector amid the border row with China, sources said on Tuesday. The sources said the military brass is considering deploying Indian Navy's MiG-29K fighter jets in a couple of air bases in the northern sector as part of efforts to bring in tri-services synergy in dealing with national security challenges. The maritime fighter jets will complement the Indian Air Force's(IAF) efforts to significantly boost deep strikes and air dominance capabilities, they said. At present, the Navy has a fleet of around 40 MiG-29K jets and at least 18 of them are deployed on board the country's aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The IAF has already positioned almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the LAC, a move that came against the backdrop of the border row with China. Diplomatic and military talks between China and India are continuing for complete disengagement of troops from a number of friction points in eastern Ladakh. The IAF has been carrying out night time combat air patrols over the eastern Ladakh region in the last few weeks as part of its preparedness to deal with any eventualities in the mountainous region. By the second half of August, the IAF is planning to deploy five Rafale fighter jets in the Ladakh sector which are expected to significantly enhance its combat capabilities. India is scheduled to receive the first batch of five Rafale jets on July 27. As part of its high-level of alertness, the IAF has also deployed Apache attack choppers as well as Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to transport troops to various forward locations in eastern Ladakh. The sources said Poseidon 8I aircraft of the Navy has been deployed for monitoring the movement of Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. The long-range anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft was deployed in Doklam along the Sikkim border too during the 73-day standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in 2017. The P-8Is were also deployed to keep an eye on movement of Pakistani troops after the Pulwama terror attack last year. The deployment of the naval fighter aircraft at the Indian Air Force (IAF) bases is in line with Prime Minister Narendra Modi's directives for enhancing jointness between the three services and Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat's call for the possibility of deployment of maritime combat aircraft along the northern or western borders with the Air Force. The Indian Navy has a fleet of over 40 MiG-29K fighter jets that are deployed on the aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya and carry out regular flying from the naval fighter base INS Hansa in Goa. Indian Navy carries out military drill with US carrier strike group off Andaman sea In the midst of the border row with China, the Indian Navy on Monday and Tuesday carried out a military drill with a US Navy carrier strike group led by nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The Indian Navy has increased its surveillance missions and beefed up operational deployment in the Indian Ocean region in the wake of the country's bitter border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. The Indian Navy is also ramping up its operational cooperation with various friendly naval forces like the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in view of the fast evolving regional security landscape, the officials said. Navies from the US, India, Australia, Japan and France have been deepening their mutual cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in view of China''s growing attempt to expand military influence in the resource rich region. Defence Ministry approves proposal to acquire 21 MiG-29 and 12 Sukhoi fighter jets from Russia Following escalation in tension between India and China in eastern Ladakh, the government put all the three forces on high alert. Amarnath Yatra cancelled amid Covid-19 pandemic & surge in cases | Oneindia News The Indian Navy was asked to raise its alert-level in the Indian Ocean Region where Chinese Navy has been making regular forays. Rich Landau in V Street, his bar-restaurant near Rittenhouse Square, on March 20, 2020 Read more V Street, the casual Rittenhouse Square sibling of vegan-dining landmark Vedge, has closed for good after 5 years due to the pandemic, owners Rich Landau and Kate Jacoby said. Despite getting [a Paycheck Protection Program loan] in early July to invite some former staff members back to work, many we contacted expressed concerns about the virus, and we completely understand their hesitation, the couple wrote in a statement to The Inquirer. Unfortunately, under continuing pandemic conditions, it became clear that we are not able to make the business model work at that location, and we are now in the process of returning the loan. The restaurant industry has been long overdue for meaningful change on many levels, and despite our needing to close this location, we look forward to being a part of that change as we all navigate these unprecedented times. Employees were notified of the closing Friday in an email responding to a July 10 email, signed by 34 V Street workers, seeking redress of a multitude of issues. Tensions are running high throughout the restaurant industry as owners, employees, landlords, and vendors attempt to chart a course to survival amid uncertainty, fear, shifting rules, and a hard reckoning of the culture. For months, Landau and Jacobys employees have complained within the industry about the couples lack of communication, particularly about the status of their jobs. The company employed 92 people at the two restaurants, employees said. Although V Street had been closed, Vedge recently reopened four nights a week for takeout and for eight tables of outdoor dining. A third restaurant, Fancy Radish in Washington, D.C., had been open for takeout but is closed temporarily. Last weekend, employees created an Instagram account called @VStreetWorkers to list demands, including an accounting of unused sick pay, a living wage and hazard pay of $20 an hour plus tips for Vedge workers, and a move to dismantle white supremacy within the restaurant group. In interviews, workers criticized the couples reluctance to start a GoFundMe campaign to help kitchen workers unable to collect unemployment compensation and the couples response to the calls for social justice following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The couple in the July 17 email offered to follow up with individual employees but not the group. Landau and Jacoby declined to comment beyond their statement. V Street opened in late 2014 at 126 S. 19th St. with a bar and a street-food menu. The couple expanded next door in 2016 with a counter-service sandwich shop called Wiz Kid. In early 2019, they closed Wiz Kid and expanded V Street into the space to achieve more seating. NDCs Parliamentary Candidate for Awutu Senya East, Phyllis Naa Koryo says she is in shock with the Minister of Special Development Initiatives, Mavis Hawa Koomsons Rambo style of handling issues in the ongoing voters registration exercise. She condemned a shooting incident by the MP for the area that marred the voter registration exercise at a centre within the Awutu Senya East Constituency (Kasoa) on Monday, 20 July 2020. Madam Hawa Koomson has admitted to firing warning shots in self-defence after she was informed of a conspiracy by the NDC to bus non-residence to register in her constituency. "I fired the warning shots; I'm an MP, I need to protect myself" According to her, she took a gun to the centre for personal protection in her attempt to stop the parliamentary candidate, Phyllis Naa Koryoo, from busing aliens to the area to register. None of my men carried guns to the centre, she told Accra-based Adom FM, adding: I fired the warning shots myself. Im a Member of Parliament, I need to protect myself. It was at dawn; my police escort had not started work yet. So, that is the modus operandi I engaged in his absence, she said. Who did she want to kill? Phyllis Naa Koryo who was accused of busing aliens to the constituency in an interview with NEAT FMs morning show Ghana Montie denied the allegation. I dont know of anyone busing people to registration centres to register. I was home when I heard about the shooting incident. I dont need to bus people to Kasoa, she said. Adding that She [Hawa Koomson] came to the registration station for a purpose. The police must investigate the matter. Who did she want to kill? Bullets fly, 3 bikes burnt, EC officials run There was confusion at the Step To Christ registration centre in the Awutu Senya East Constituency (Kasoa) of the Central Region during the ongoing voter registration exercise today, Monday, 20 July 2020, when heavily-muscled gun-wielding men stormed the premises to disrupt the exercise. Officials of the Electoral Commission took to their heels when the men, numbering about 15, ransacked the place. According to eyewitnesses, this led to a scuffle and pandemonium as live bullets were fired as warning shots into the air. At least, three motorbikes were burnt in the mayhem. 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 One of the suspects in a major financial corruption case in Iran has gone "missing," the Young Journalists Club, an Iranian state TV affiliate, revealed on Tuesday July 21. The missing man, Ali Ashraf Riahi, is the son-in-law of former industry minister Mohammad Reza Nematzadeh. Riahi is believed to be on the run somewhere in Iran while his wife and daughter have reportedly fled the country, the report said. It did not mention where exactly they have found refuge. The corruption case, better known as the case of mishandling foreign currency at the Petrochemicals Trading Company, has been under investigation a court in Tehran since early 2019 and its 10th hearing session started on Monday 14 months after the previous session. On March 13, 2018, the National Iranian Petrochemical Industries Company (NIPIC) announced in an official statement that PCC has failed to return 500 million euros of debt to NIPIC since 2013. The statement also asserted that managers of PCC paid the government for oil exports in local currency instead of euros, pocketing illegal profits in the process. The suspects allegedly kept the foreign currency gained from exports in their own accounts and pocketed the interest. There are at least 15 suspects in the case, but five of them including Mr. Riahi, are of special interest to the media in Iran as they live outside Iran and the judges charge that they have "fled" the country. Nonetheless, they are not the only regime insiders who have managed to exit the country despite being implicated in a major criminal case. Even some of those who are supposed to be serving jail sentences have been outside the prison and sometimes causing controversies. A good example is former Vice-President Hamid Reza Baqai. According to Iranian media, earlier this week he showed up at the office of Sharq newspaper in Tehran and videos on social media show him attacking journalists and causing damage to the office as he believed a story about him in the paper was libellous. Baqai, an aide of former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, was jailed for financial corruption last year, but hardly spent any time in jail. In another example, President Rouhani's brother reportedly came out of prison hours after being jailed for convictions relating to financial corruption including bribery. He has not been seen after that. However, people arrested or convicted of political offenses rarely are allowed to go free on bail. Some spend months in prison before even a trial is held. In some cases health emergencies of political prisoners are ignored and they endure solitary confinement. Mr. Riahi's wife Zeynab who has fled the country, has been convicted by a court in another case of disrupting the country's economy and hoarding medicines. Her sister Shabnam Nematzadeh, nicknamed by Iranian media as "the queen of medicine" was sentenced to 20 years in prison in January. The judge at the court on Monday, July 20 said that Riahi was also traveling abroad. However, he went missing after returning to Iran. The judge accused him of disrupting the economy and acquiring wealth through illegitimate ways. In a court session last year, Riahi rejected the accusations, nevertheless, he did not show up at the court session on Monday. He had also said at the hearing last year that he has not taken advantage of his family ties with the former Industry Minister. He said that he was employed as a technical adviser by the company 6 years before marrying the minister's daughter. Two of the daughters of the ex-minister, who is currently an adviser to Iran's oil minister and a key player in Iran's petrochemicals industry, were convicted in the case relating to a pharmaceutical company. Based on a 2016 report by Expediency Council member Ahmad Tavakoli, Mr Nematzadeh's wife and two of his daughters have been active as managing director and board members in 10 different petrochemical companies. Nematzadeh's daughters and their husbands are not the only individuals linked to regime insiders who have been implicated or convicted for involvement in financial corruption. The son of a former army commander and the son-in-law of labor minister Mohammad Shariatmadari have also been convicted for financial corruption in two recent major cases. Ukrzaliznytsia has developed a state program for the renewal of the freight car fleet for 2021-2025. According to the company's website, the goal of the program is to improve the technical condition of the wagons operated in Ukraine and to support domestic rolling stock manufacturers. The program, in particular, establishes quotas for import of foreign-made freight cars and contains a ban on loading cars owned by non-residents at Ukrainian stations. "The state should take these steps as soon as possible to protect the domestic market from expansion, when thousands of old foreign cars are imported to Ukraine. Most of these cars are imported from Russia. Their condition, to put it mildly, is not good, and this threatens traffic safety, and sometimes, as we can see, it even leads to derailing of the railcars. At the same time, this situation also hinders the development of the domestic car building industry," Ivan Yuryk, the acting chairman of the board of Ukrzaliznytsia, said. According to him, the program will also include the calculation of the required fleet of cars for each type to ensure the transportation of the projected cargo volumes. "The freight carriage market should not simultaneously have a significant surplus of one type of wagons and a catastrophic shortage of another. There must be a balance that will fully meet business needs for freight transportation by rail. We will also strengthen technical requirements for extending the service life of freight wagons. They should go out on the way only with proper quality," the expert said. Ukrzaliznytsia plans to approve the state program for renewal of the freight car fleet of Ukraine for 2021-2025 by the end of this year. Fireworks explode over soldiers from the military wing of the Karen National Union as part of celebrations marking Karen Revolution Day at the ethnic army's headquarters in eastern Myanmar's Kayin state, Jan. 31, 2015. Myanmars army said Monday it is holding two soldiers who admitted to shooting dead an ethnic Karen mother of three children in eastern Kayin state last week, a killing the local ethnic army reported as a violation of a fragile nationwide cease-fire pact. On July 16, two privates went to Poloe Htar village carrying small firearms without permission, drank bootleg alcohol with three villagers, and accidentally shot the woman in the neck and back during a scuffle after one of the soldiers tried to grab a gold chain necklace, the military said in a statement. Privates Hein Min Htet and Than Soe Lwin, whose gun killed the woman, ran and hid in a forest between the village and their military base, but surrendered on July 17. The two confessed to the shooting and are now being detained in a military prison in neighboring Mon state, the army said. The military will further investigate and will take action in a serious, timely, and transparent manner according to military codes of conduct and laws, the military statement said. The court martial will also prosecute responsible officers from the base who failed to report the incident in timely manner, said the army, which sent a team of officers to the region on July 19 to investigate the incident because it involved the use of a serviceman's weapon on a civilian. The Karen National Union (KNU), an ethnic army that controls the part of Hpapun district where the killing took place, identified the victim as Naw Mu Naw, 40, the wife of Poloe Htar village administrator Saw Pu Aye and the mother of three children. Two soldiers from the Hla Goon Pyo camp arrived in Poloe Htar village, and then they shot and killed Naw Mu Naw, after she refused to give them the empty rice bags they had asked for, said Major Ae Do from the KNUs Division No. 5. This is a violation of the NCA agreement, he said, referring to a 2015 nationwide cease-fire agreement to which the Karen force is a party. The KNU is one of 10 ethnic armies that have signed the NCA, a pact intended to end decades of conflict that have stymied Myanmars political and economic development. Ae Do said the KNU, Myanmars oldest ethnic rebel army, has filed a complaint about the incident with the state-level Joint Ceasefire Monitoring Committee (JMC), which monitors the implementation of the truce. The complaint accuses Than Soe Lwin and Hein Min Htet from the 409th Infantry Division under the No. 8 Military Operation Command of murder and theft. Ae Do said that Section 3 of the NCA mandates that military troops must protect the lives of civilians. They have done the opposite, so we have filed compliant to take action against them, he said, adding that the violation of the terms of the NCA has eroded the KNAs trust in the government. Killed for no reason The KNU Concerned Group, a breakaway hard-line group led by former KNU vice chairwoman Naw Si Phora Sein, issued a statement Monday demanding that two international rights groups be included in the investigation of the killing. This innocent woman was killed for no reason, Naw Si Phora Sein said. We would like to demand that Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch be involved in the investigation to ensure that justice for her is served. Only then will these kinds of acts be stopped, she added. The KNU Concerned Group said Myanmar soldiers have committed many crimes not only in Kayin state, but also in other ethnic areas, and that Myanmars judicial system does not permit effective legal action against military violators. Aung Myo Min, executive director of Equality Myanmar, a human rights education group based in Yangon, said he is concerned about the prospects for the NCA because of violations of the truce's terms by the national army. This is an apparent violation of the NCA agreement, he told RFA. Such actions also undermine the direction in which the NCA signatories are heading. An insignificant issue could develop into a larger problem, and if there is no security for local civilians, the prospects for peace would be very concerning, he said. Reported by Kyaw Lwin Oo for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Advertisement Sara Sampaio looked overjoyed to be on vacation in the desert wonderland that is Lake Powell in Arizona. The Victoria's Secret model shared five new images to Instagram this week where she was taking in the majestic cliffs and the stunning lake that accents the rugged terrain. 'Really one of the most beautiful places on earth!' wrote the Portuguese model in her caption as she had an early celebration for her 29th birthday which has fallen on Tuesday. Dreamy trip: Sara Sampaio looked overjoyed to be on vacation in the desert wonderland that is Lake Powell in Arizona Into the wild: The Victoria's Secret model shared five new images to Instagram this week where she was taking in the majestic cliffs and the stunning lake that accents the rugged terrain The statuesque looker added, 'I've been dreaming of coming here for so long cant believe it took me this long!' The catwalk star was seen with a deep tan as she modeled a skimpy black and white bikini while lounging around on a speed boat. 'Went on the most beautiful boat ride yesterday ,' the Elle cover girl said in one caption. The star had on no makeup and wore her hair down under a white cap. She was beaming as she looked happy to be away from a big city. Birthday time: 'Really one of the most beautiful places on earth!' wrote the Portuguese model in her caption as she had an early celebration for her 29th birthday which has fallen on Tuesday This comes just a week after she was seen at home in a leopard print bikini. 'Whos ready for the weekend?' she asked. Sara beamed while lounging in her backyard in the tiny triangle top and string bottoms. Not needing much to look like a 10, the Victoria's Secret Angel went makeup free and rocked natural, air dried locks. She did add a hint of polish with a pair of delicate earrings and a necklace bearing her 'S' initial. Speedy: The looker added, 'I've been dreaming of coming here for so long cant believe it took me this long!' The catwalk star was seen with a deep tan as she modeled a skimpy black and white bikini while lounging around on a speed boat Her heart's desire is fulfilled: 'Went on the most beautiful boat ride yesterday ,' she said in one caption The model's post comes after she told her fans earlier in lockdown that she had put on a little weight - but rather looked on the bright side. 'Do you know one thing they don't tell you about gaining weight? It's that your boobs get bigger,' she said on her Stories. 'So I'm just trying to understand - what do I want more abs or boobs?' The beauty also shared how she was managing her mental health issues during lockdown. Sexy! Sampaio was simply stunning in a new swimsuit selfie shared over a week ago when at home during lockdown 'I actually deal with anxiety and depression on a regular basis so I gotta be honest, the first few weeks I was the least anxious I've ever been,' she admitted. Top model! Sara is best known for being a Victoria's Secret Angel; seen in November 2018 The Portuguese fashionista, who was born in Porto, confessed: 'But these past two weeks I've been a little bit more down and anxious.' She also got candid about managing her trichotillomania. That is a disorder characterized by a powerful drive to pull one's own hair out. 'I've been having it since I'm 15 and I still do it,' admitted the star. 'There are times where I pick more than others,' the supermodel revealed. 'There was a few couple of weeks during quarantine that i was just ripping them off,' Sara told her more than seven million Instagram followers. She has learned that 'when my nails are short I don't tend to pick as much and that helps them growing back. 'So I've been trying to keep them short during the quarantine, but sometimes it's hard to because it feels so good.' Sara has been in lockdown with her long-term boyfriend, Oliver Ripley. They've been dating since 2015. A federal appeals court has upheld Alabamas photo voter ID law, affirming a lower courts ruling in favor of Secretary of State John Merrill and against advocacy groups who claimed the law discriminates against Black voters. One judge on the three-judge panel disagreed. The law has been in effect since 2014. Greater Birmingham Ministries and the Alabama State Conference of the NAACP, along with four individual voters, filed the lawsuit in 2015. In 2018, U.S. District Judge L. Scott Coogler dismissed the case, granting Merrills motion for summary judgment, or a ruling without a full trial. The plaintiffs appealed. Todays ruling upheld Cooglers decision. The burden of providing a photo ID in order to vote is a minimal burden on Alabamas voters -- especially when Alabama accepts so many different forms of photo ID and makes acquiring one simple and free for voters who lack a valid ID but wish to obtain one, Circuit Judge Elizabeth Branch wrote in the majority opinion. The Alabama voter ID law does not violate the Fourteenth and Fifteenth Amendments of the Constitution, nor does it violate the Voting Rights Act. Branch noted that the U.S. Supreme Court upheld Indianas photo voter ID law in 2008. Circuit Judge Ed Carnes concurred. District Court Judge Darrin P. Gayles of the Southern District of Florida, designated as the third judge on the panel, dissented. Gayles found the motion for summary judgment was not justified. I find that there are genuine issues of material fact as to both the discriminatory purpose and impact of Alabamas Photo ID Law such that summary judgment should not have been granted, Gayles wrote. Merrill called the decision a win for election security and integrity. Photo ID is required when purchasing alcohol or tobacco products, operating a motor vehicle, checking into a flight, purchasing a gun, or booking a hotel, he said in a press release. Voting is equally or more important than all of these other examples where a photo ID is required. Attorney General Steve Marshall also applauded the decision. Opponents have repeatedly argued that Alabamas voter ID laws requirement that a voter must provide a photo ID is overly burdensome, Marshall said. As I have previously stated, Alabamas voter identification law, by both design and practice, is easily satisfied, and it contains procedures to allow anyone who does not have a photo ID to obtain one. The appeals court in its opinion agreed. Islamabad, Pakistan Pakistans telecommunications regulator has banned video streaming platform Bigo and issued a final notice to Chinese video social media giant TikTok over concerns they are encouraging immoral, obscene and vulgar content. The Pakistan Telecommunications Authority (PTA) said on Monday that it had earlier raised the allegations with both companies and had received responses that were not satisfactory. Therefore PTA has decided to immediately block Bigo and issue final warning to TikTok to put in place a comprehensive mechanism to control obscenity, vulgarity and immorality through its social media application, said a government statement. In 2016, Pakistans parliament passed the Pakistan Electronic Crimes Act (PECA) to regulate, among other things, content on the internet, giving the PTA broad powers to block content considered to be against the glory of Islam or the integrity, security or defence of Pakistan or public order, decency or morality. Rights groups said PTA had blocked more than 800,000 websites and platforms from being accessed within the country. The list of blocked websites includes pornographic platforms, but has also included news outlets considered critical of the countrys security and foreign policies, some social media, and certain political parties websites. In 2012, PTA blocked popular video-sharing website YouTube for the hosting of a trailer for an amateur film considered blasphemous against Islams Prophet Muhammad. That ban remained in place for four years. Last year, in a landmark case wherein the Awami Workers Party (AWP) challenged a ban on its website, the Islamabad High Court ordered PTA to frame rules that would clearly delineate the criteria and process by which websites could be blocked. No transparency Rights activists, however, said little had been done to make the process more transparent. Farieha Aziz, co-founder of digital rights group Bolo Bhi, said the telecommunications authority has been exercising blanket powers on censorship. [The criteria] is just what the PTA believes or what consensus it believes exists in society, she told Al Jazeera. These terms have never been defined [and] the PTA is making these decisions unilaterally and with no transparency. Recent research by Bolo Bhi found the telecommunications regulator had been using content reporting mechanisms with global hosting and social media companies such as Google, Facebook and Twitter to report political speech as being anti-state. In one case, PTA reported a letter hosted on Googles Docs cloud-based collaborative workspace written by Pakistani academics against repression on campus as being anti-state. Earlier this month, the regulator suspended access to the popular online game PlayerUnknowns Battlegrounds, better known by the acronym PUBG, saying it was addictive, wastage of time, and poses serious negative impact on physical and psychological health of the children. Threat to national security Bigo, a Singapore-based company, provides live video streaming and video content creation services to users on its platform. Its Likee platform, popular in Pakistan, has more than 100 million global monthly users, according to company data. The company did not immediately respond to an Al Jazeera request for comment. Pakistans move to potentially ban TikTok, a social media platform that allows users to share short videos, follows a ban by authorities in neighbouring India, where the government said the app, along with 58 other Chinese software applications, was a threat to national security because of data privacy concerns. On Monday, US President Donald Trumps re-election campaign began running ads calling for supporters to sign a petition seeking a ban on TikTok over similar data privacy concerns. Earlier this year, Australian legislators also called for greater transparency in the way the company deals with user data. 200512080420931 Developed by Chinese developer ByteDance, TikTok has been downloaded more than two billion times worldwide, according to technology research firm Sensor Tower. India was the apps largest market, with more than 611 million downloads, followed by the US with 165 million downloads, according to Sensor Towers data. In Pakistan, the app is popularly used across a range of economic backgrounds to share short videos, often depicting people singing along, or lip-syncing, to popular songs; or acting out scenes overdubbed with popular Bollywood movie dialogue. In a statement, TikTok told Al Jazeera it considered maintaining a safe and positive in-app environment our top priority, and had removed more than 3.7 million videos from Pakistan in the second half of 2019 for violating content guidelines. We are committed to further strengthening our safeguards to ensure the safety of our users, while increasing our dialogue with the authorities to explain our policies and demonstrate our dedication to user security, the company said. Romaisa Khan, 20, is a TikTok star in Pakistan, with 2.8 million followers and videos that regular register more than 500,000 views. She said the platform needs stricter content moderation, especially for users who are minors, but the government should not ban it outright. I dont think banning is a solution, because there are a lot of people who are earning [a living] through TikTok or getting work through TikTok, so its kind of a good thing as well, she told Al Jazeera. Khans TikTok fame helped her break through in the countrys television industry, she said, with the exposure she got on the platform helping her first get modelling jobs with large national and multinational brands. This year, it helped her land her first role in a major television soap opera. The industry has a lot of nepotism, and its kind of hard to break into the industry if you dont have anything behind you, she said. [TikTok] helps you to get into this, people want to work with you. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim Mumbai, July 21 : Rinzing Denzongpa, son of veteran actor Danny Denzongpa, will resume shooting for his debut film soon. Titled "Squad", 70 per cent of the film has been shot in Belarus. Rinzing could not finish the shoot because lockdown was imposed in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic. After more than three months, with the lockdown being relaxed, the film industry is resuming shoots with precautions. The team of "Squad", which also stars Malvika Raaj, will resume shooting next month in Belarus. "These are unprecedented times and no one thought we would go through a crisis where each and everyone will get affected. Unfortunately we couldn't go back to shoot in April but we are now gearing up to resume shoot with all safety measures and protocols in place. We will be one of the first major motion pictures to resume shooting first," said the film's director Nilesh Sahay. The action film boasts of names like stunt co-ordinator Keir Beck of "Mad Max: Fury Road" fame, working on the action sequences along with stunt crew from six other countries and with 400 stuntmen. The film was supposed to release this summer. The makers are now eyeing a release date in December 2020. Looking for a way to give back safely during the pandemic? Some Texans have decided to "pay it forward" through participation in the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine trial. The Moderna COVID-19 vaccine is now entering the Phase 3 of testing, and Houston clinics are looking for volunteers. "It's super exciting," Recruitment lead for DM Clinical, Dr. Sarah Hasan said. "The volunteers who are taking their valuable time to help us are medical heroes. Without these medical heroes, we wouldn't have the vaccines that we now have." COUNTY WARNING: Texas county warns COVID-19 positive residents must stay home or face prosecution Houston is one of the 87 locations across the country where the Moderna vaccine will be tested. Approximately thirty thousand people will receive testing in Phase 3. The Texas Center for Drug Development is looking for 1,000 volunteers for participation in the vaccine trial. "We're looking to enroll 1,000 total, but that means we may have to talk to 3,000 or 5,000 people," Hasan said. "It's a huge project." Hasan emphasized that this vaccine trial is a safe procedure. "It's not a live vaccine, so you cannot get coronavirus from this" Hasan said. Those who would not qualify are those who have active cancers or autoimmune disorders. For those who are interested in the vaccine trial, you can apply at www.houstonfightscovid.com. You must be 18 or older to be eligible to apply for this vaccine trial. EXHAUSTED DOCTORS: Houston ICU doc says caregivers are exhausted, describes long-lasting effects of COVID-19 "These participants can get up to $2,000 because we know how valuable their time is," Hasan added. "We also offer transportation costs. We show them how grateful we are for these medical heroes." "We hope that by end of this year, or the beginning of 2021 we will at least have an answer whether the vaccine or vaccines - plural - are safe and effective," National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci told NBC News. Hasan said that the vaccine trial projects has been one of the most rewarding experiences for her as a doctor. "I'm really lucky because I've been a part of this," Hasan said. "Something like this affects everybody. This is a direct help for my family, my friends. If I'm able to help out a little bit, that's the real point of living. The way Houstonians come together is amazing." alison.medley@chron.com Reuters Swedish teen activist Greta Thunberg said on Monday she would donate 1 million euros ($1.14 million) from a new prize she has won to groups tackling climate change and defending nature. The first projects to benefit from Thunberg receiving the inaugural Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity are medical aid for indigenous communities in the Amazon battling the coronavirus pandemic and a push to make ecocide an international crime. The 17-year-old said in a video posted on Instagram that the award was "more money than I can even begin to imagine" and she hoped it would help her "do more good in the world". All the prize money will be donated through my foundation to different organisations and projects who are working to help people on the frontlines affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis, especially in the Global South, she said. One of Thunbergs first two donations of 1,00,000 euros each will go to SOS Amazonia, a crowdfunding campaign launched in June to buy medical supplies and provide telemedicine services to residents of Brazils Amazon rainforest. The second will back the Stop Ecocide Foundation, which is lobbying for the Hague-based International Criminal Court to prosecute people responsible for large-scale destruction of the natural world. Thunberg was selected from 136 nominees in 46 countries for the prize, launched by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, a Portuguese philanthropic organisation. The annual prize aims to recognise people and groups worldwide whose contributions to mitigating and adapting to climate change stand out for innovation and impact. Jorge Sampaio, chair of the prize jury and former president of Portugal, called Thunberg one of the most remarkable figures of our days for her ability to mobilise younger generations in support of action to tackle climate change. On Friday, Thunberg marked the 100th week of the student climate protests she started by holding a solitary vigil outside the Swedish parliament in mid-2018. Her example has inspired millions of young people around the world to skip classes on Fridays to hold marches calling for political attention to stop the warming of the planet. Coronavirus restrictions have now forced those efforts online. Thunberg has also addressed U.N. summits and politicians, from Europe to North America, urging them to heed scientists warnings on the need for a swift response to avert the worst effects of wilder weather and rising seas as the Earth heats up. Work from home, yes. Classes from home, that too. But travel from home? The COVID-19 pandemic forced a new normal as people, particularly in urban India, went about their jobs and academics from the confines of their homes. Now, as one month slips into another and the infection shows little sign of abating, the young, the not-so-young and the restless are touring the world from their armchairs, their living room couch or maybe their beds. The new breed of travel potatoes are not just browsing the net but actually booking holidays through major travel operators. So, you can drive around Berlin, walk through the Sistine Chapel or go up the Eiffel Tower. Virtually if not really is what Vritti Tandon decided to do when the long planned family trip to Europe didnt happen because of the global pandemic. I booked for Florence and Paris. I got to see and know so much more about Eiffel Tower, Notre Dame, Statue of David, Uffizi Gallery and many others. The guides were well-informed, interactive and gave many fun facts along with tips for future travel, the Class 12 Delhi student told PTI. It had been a long and difficult summer and the 17-year-old was despondently surfing through images of places she could have visited in a normal 2020 when up popped a link for a travel company providing virtual tours. Tandon knew it was her best bet as leisure travel doesnt seem possible in the foreseeable future. With 11,55,191 COVID-19 cases and 28,084 fatalities till Monday, India is behind only the US and Brazil in the global tally and has currently restricted international air travel to repatriation missions only. So, from no option to suddenly spoilt for choices, Tandon sat in her pyjamas, set the AC to her preferred temperature and explored the two European cities last month from the comfort of her home. I have to admit that before booking I was a bit iffy about whether this would be worth it. But after having visited Paris and Florence, I am now looking forward to Barcelona. I will strongly recommend this to everyone, Tandon said. With no holidays being planned in the near future, several companies have jumped on the virtual travel bandwagon. MakeMyTrip offers a live virtual guided tour experience with local hosts and travel guides taking the tourist sightseeing in video platforms. Others, like Expedia, offer a part live and part recorded experience, including a licensed guide led webinar packed with photos, videos, polls and a fully interactive chat function. There is also a live Q&A at the end. From driving around Berlin or Barcelona, admiring the stunning treasures of the Vatican Museums and Sistine Chapel and the Uffizi Gallery to a fun-packed tour of Harry Potter Studio in London, there are many journeys on offer for armchair travellers. Many international tours, with a duration of at least 60 minutes or more, cost less than Rs 1,300 per person on Expedia. International and domestic experiences on MakeMyTrip too are not pocket-heavy and start at Rs 799 and Rs 99 per person, respectively. Domestic experiences offered by MMT, including a tour of the Taj Mahal and the Khajuraho Temples, are offered depending on availability. TourHQ, Viator, ToursByLocals are some other platforms providing the facility of this new found form of travel. According to Expedias 2019 annual Vacation Deprivation Study, which deep dived into the motivations and benefits of taking a holiday, the positive impact on mental wellbeing experienced by taking a holiday, can be achieved without the physical act of travelling. In fact, 92 per cent of Indians say taking regular holidays is important for their general health and wellbeing and that they find it de-stressing to tap into those vacation memories. This mindset and mood of positive effects is what Expedia has termed as being in a Vacation State of Mind. These virtual experiences will continue to be available on our website as even with the gradual lifting of lockdown, consumers are still not planning a holiday in the immediate future and thus these virtual experiences are helping fill the gap, Manmeet Ahluwalia, Expedia Indias marketing head, told PTI. After more than four months, travellers are itching to go back to experiencing travel, added a MakeMyTrip spokesperson. We launched our Live In-City experiences in early July. The response has been extremely encouraging. In the two weeks following the launch, we have received interests from 50k users for both, international and domestic travel and for culinary experiences that bring the taste of a destination home, the spokesperson added. Vandana Kinra, who has booked a virtual tour to Paris, is one of those eager to get back on the road and just relive her earlier holidays. Every year we travel for a month or so. This year we had planned to go to the United Kingdom. But of course we had to eventually cancel it because of coronavirus and the subsequent lockdown. Thats when I got to know about virtual tours and immediately signed up for a Paris one. I had visited Paris in the past, but I wanted to relive those travel memories or see Disneyland again. It was really good, said the 44-year-old. According to the World Tourism Organization (UNWTO), international tourism could shrink by 60-80 per cent in 2020 due to the ongoing pandemic, resulting in the revenue loss of $910 billion to $1.2 trillion and placing millions of livelihoods at risk. Its not just sightseeing. Virtual trips are also helping people hone their skills. Aspiring cooks, for instance, can learn the secrets of making pasta, perfect the original tiramisu from Italian chefs or transport themselves to the streets of Barcelona and learn the secret to dishing up delicious tapas. There are other experiences in store. Airbnb India recently announced the launch of At Home With Airbnb, online experiences that bring together Indias most popular celebrities, artists and influencers. It allows guests to visit the hosts personal spaces to learn their craft in small group. The virtual experiences on offer include workout sessions with celebrity trainer Nam Wook, zero wastage cooking with Sandeep Sreedharan and learning the art of fashion illustrations from popular designers Shivan and Naresh. I attended two sessions. One of fashion illustrations by Shiven and Naresh and second of cocktail making by Pankaj Balachandran. Both were pretty good. Since you cant go out, it is always better to hone your skills by virtual experiences like these for the time being, said Riaan George, a lifestyle journalist and blogger based in Mumbai and Colombo. That said, given a choice, George said he would always pick an in-person experience over online and doesnt see virtual travel and experiences finding takers once things get back to normal. Till then, either wait or watch - literally. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The price tag for the next COVID-19 aid package could quickly swell above $1 trillion as White House officials negotiate with Congress over money to reopen schools, prop up small businesses, boost virus testing and keep cash flowing to Americans while the virus crisis deepens in the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday promised a new round of direct payments to earners below a certain income level, similar to the $1,200 checks sent in the spring. He also wants $105 billion to reopen schools. President Donald Trump insists on a payroll tax holiday for workers. And Democrats want billions to outfit schools and shore up local governments. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin (center) walks to a Republican luncheon on Tuesday while attending meetings on Capitol Hill. In the background at center left is White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Tuesday that he wanted to see another batch of checks go to Americans as part of the next coronavirus relief bill that is currently being negotiated on Capitol Hill President Donald Trump speaks to the media while meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy in the Oval Office Monday Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (left) and other Republicans negotiating the next coronavirus package met with President Trump (right) in the Oval Office on Monday White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows was making the rounds Tuesday as lawmakers negotiate a new coronavirus relief bill 'Regretfully, this is not over,' McConnell said, urging Americans to learn to live with the new virus by wearing masks and practicing social distancing until a vaccine can be found. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows spent the day on Capitol Hill, meeting separately with McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others trying to broker a compromise between the GOP's emerging $1 trillion proposal with the House's more sweeping $3 trillion bill. Several GOP senators emerged from a private lunch session outraged at the potential outlays, vowing to stall the relief bill's passage. 'They should be ashamed of themselves,' said Rand Paul of Kentucky, a fiscal conservative with libertarian leanings. Paul compared fellow Republicans to the 'Bernie bros' - referring to the young supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. 'This is insane. ... There's no difference now between the two parties.' Sen. Rick Scott, of Florida said it's wrong to 'bail out' cash-strapped states. 'Florida taxpayers are not going to pay for New Yorks expenses,' he said. With the pandemic showing no signs of easing, officials acknowledge the daunting challenge of trying to contain the coronavirus and prevent further economic distress. The U.S. has rising infections and a death toll of 140,800, more than anywhere else in the world. The health crisis is worsening just as emergency aid is about to expire. Meadows told reporters the president wants to ensure the funding package 'meets the legitimate needs that are before the American people.' The Republicans are poised to roll out a $1 trillion package, what McConnell called a 'starting point' in talks. It's a counter-offer to Pelosi's $3 trillion House-passed plan as they race to strike a deal by the end of the month. That's when a $600 weekly unemployment benefits boost and other aid, including a federal rental moratorium on millions of apartment units, expires. McConnell's package wold send a fresh round of direct cash payments to Americans below a certain income level, likely $75,000 for singles, extend small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program and create a five-year liability shield against what he warns is a potential 'epidemic' of coronavirus lawsuits. It's also expected to include at least $70 billion to help schools reopen and $25 billion in virus testing funds. Republicans want to replace the $600 weekly federal jobless benefit with a lower amount, to prevent the unemployed from receiving more aid than they would through a normal paycheck, Republicans said. But the president's priorities are splitting his GOP allies in Congress giving momentum to Democrats as talks are underway. Trump wants a full repeal of the 15.3 per cent payroll tax, which is split among employers and employees, and funds Social Security and Medicare. Experts say that alone would cost $600 billion. At a White House meeting on Monday, GOP leaders told Trump they preferred to include only a partial payroll tax cut. Easing the payroll tax is dividing Trump's party because it does little to help out-of-work Americans and adds to the debt load. The tax is already being deferred for employers under the previous virus relief package. Supporters say cutting it now for employees would put money in peoples pockets and stimulate the economy. The administration also panned the push for more virus testing money, saying earlier allotments remain unspent. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday the administration wants 'targeted' funds for the next round of aid, rather than adding more to the existing pot. She said no one is holding up the money. Senate Democrats began investigating why the Trump administration has left almost half the testing money unspent. Democrats broadly dismissed the emerging GOP plan as favoring corporate interests over America's working families. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the White House and Senate Republicans delayed action as the crisis deepened and Americans are 'experiencing needless pain.' House Democrats have approved $100 billion as an education stabilization fund and Senate Democrats are seeking even more, $430 billion for schools and universities to re-open - with money for spacing students apart, buying masks for daily use and alternating bus schedules. The political stakes are high for both parties before the November election, and even more so for the nation, as the virus crisis and economic fallout hits cities large and small. Joe Biden, the Democrats' presumed presidential nominee, stated his own priorities, urging 'a lifeline to those who need it most: working families and small businesses.' Trump's renewed focus on therapeutics and a vaccine is falling flat on Capitol Hill as lawmakers understand any COVID-19 cures remain months, if not a year, from widespread distribution in the U.S. The federal government is still struggling to provide basic medical supplies and personal protective equipment to health care providers. Mnuchin vowed to stay on Capitol Hill for the next two weeks, determined to reach a deal by month's end. The proposed virus aid package would be the fifth, following the $2.2 trillion bill passed in March, the largest U.S. intervention of its kind. The jobless rate has remained in double digits, higher than in the last decades Great Recession, and a federal eviction moratorium on millions of rental units approved in the last bill is about to expire. M ichael Gove has donned a face covering in Pret a Manger after he sparked a backlash for failing to wear one days after telling the public is it "good sense" to do so. The Cabinet minister was pictured leaving a branch in Westminster last week without a covering - eight minutes apart from Cabinet colleague Liz Truss who wore a mask in the same shop. Just days before, Mr Gove had said on TV: It is basic good manners, courtesy and consideration to wear a face mask if, for example, you are in a shop. The apparent discrepancy raised doubts about the coherence of Government policy on masks. They will become mandatory in shops in England from this Friday, enforced with the threat of a 100 fine. But on Tuesday morning, he was snapped wearing a black covering while purchasing his morning coffee on his return to Pret. Michael Gove donned a face covering in Pret this morning / Jeremy Selwyn The rule is not set to apply to cafes, but Health Secretary Matt Hancock said last week: "You do need to wear a face mask in Pret because Pret is a shop. But the Prime Minister's spokesman said hours later: My understanding is that it wouldnt be mandatory if you went in, for example, to a sandwich shop in order to get a takeaway, to wear a face covering. Where it is mandatory were talking about supermarkets and other shops. Michael Gove was criticised for not wearing a mask while shopping in Pret, while fellow cabinet minister Liz Truss was pictured covering her face in the store Chancellor Rishi Sunak added to the confusion after he then tweeted a picture of himself wearing a mask in Pret. Police chiefs, industry leaders and medics have raised concerns the face mask rule in shops is "illogical" and will be "impossible" to enforce. Conservationists are being forced to clean up after inconsiderate Britons who flock to beauty spots and camp overnight but refuse to tidy up after themselves. As lockdown restrictions have eased in the UK, many people have taken camper vans or tents into the countryside with friends as a form of impromptu staycation. However, as many campsites remained closed people have been illegally pitching up at beauty spots without permission. The National Trust has today revealed a huge spike in so-called 'fly-camping', and the people responsible for it are often leaving behind all manner of litter and waste, including tables, tents, used toilet paper and chairs. Sites in the Lake District, Peak District, Cotswolds and beyond are being abused by members of the public and it is leaving experts having to remove the rubbish in order to protect wildlife and natural habitats. Scroll down for video The National Trust has today revealed a huge spike in so-called 'fly-camping' and the people responsible for it are often leaving behind all manner of litter and waste, including tables, tents, used toilet paper and chairs. Pictured, debris left by fly-campers at the Peak District, where an unprecedented rise in fly-camping and campervan 'staycations' has led to an increase in discarded equipment and rubbish Dovedale in the Peak District has been swarmed with visitors recently, with 170 large bin bags of rubbish collected over just three days in June. In the Lake district, fly-camping has become a major issue on lakeshores, while campervans cram into the car park. The National Trust today said that teams of rangers are spending around 20 per cent of their time tidying up litter. Barbecues, chairs, tents and tables are being left behind as well as human waste, used toilet paper and food packaging. Longshaw Area Ranger Chris Millner commented: 'The volume of debris left behind is overwhelming and something we've not experienced before. 'After people have finished having fun it's like they abandon ship. What they couldn't be bothered to carry out they just left for someone else to clean up.' Steve Sudworth, Lead Ranger along the north Cornish coastline adds: 'The overnighters are frequently leaving human waste, used toilet tissue, BBQs and other litter across the beautiful countryside they have themselves come to enjoy. 'This is damaging these landscapes and spoiling them for everyone whilst causing a health hazard in already challenging times. 'We urge people to treat the countryside with respect, please only stay overnight at authorised sites, take your rubbish home with you when you visit and do not go to the toilet where there are no facilities.' Sites in the Lake District, Peak District, Cotswolds and beyond are being abused by members of the public and it is leaving experts having to remove the rubbish instead of focusing on protecting nature Pictured, an abandoned campsite at Longshaw in the Peak District. Rob Rhodes, head of rangers at the National Trust, said in a statement that much of the conservation work was forced to stop due to the Covid-19 pandemic Dovedale in the Peak District has been swarmed with visitors recently, with 170 large bin bags of rubbish collected over just three days in June Bumblebees and butterflies get a boost from the COVID-19 lockdown Road verges, if well cared for, could be a vital resource for pollinators such as bumblebees and butterflies, a study shows. Allowing wildflowers to flourish on the council-owned patches of land as well as letting the grass run wild would turn the plots into vital corridors for many insects. The Covid-19 crisis may have helped in this regard, as furloughed staff were not trimming the verge, allowing wildlife to thrive. Green verges and hedgerows can form a network of 'corridors' that provide food and shelter for insects if better managed, scientists say. Advertisement Rob Rhodes, head of rangers at the National Trust, said in a statement that much of the conservation work was forced to stop due to the Covid-19 pandemic. At this stage in the year, much of the work involves managing wildflower meadows, caring for wildlife in said meadows and maintaining footpaths. However, he bemoans the 'unsociable behaviour' which is 'taking our staff away from vital conservation work and engaging with visitors'. Ben McCarthy, head of nature conservation and restoration at the National Trust said: 'We have seen a huge increase in the number of people fly-camping at our places over the past few weeks, and they are leaving not only vast quantities of litter behind, but in some instances tents and much of their equipment. 'We are seeing a disposable festival mentality which we've not experienced at our places before.' Conservation work is more important now than in a pre-coronavirus world, charities warn, as the time left unattended could have dramatic implications for nature. UK-based wildlife charity People's Trust for Endangered Species (PTES) warns that wildlife conservation is in danger of being forgotten during the Covid-19 pandemic. Nida Al-Fulaij, Grants Manager at PTES, explains: 'Covid-19 has had an unprecedented impact on every aspect of life, and while the toll on human health, global economies and education is catastrophic, we mustn't forget about the world's most vulnerable species too. 'Species such as Asian elephants and giant anteaters, already in trouble before Covid-19, now hang in the balance if we don't act quickly.' OCEAN CITY, NJ Manco & Manco Pizza is gradually opening its three boardwalk shops following last week's coronavirus closures. The pizzeria reopened its 9th Street location and will soon restart operations at its 12th Street shop. Manco & Manco temporarily closed all three boardwalk shops after three employees tested positive for COVID-19. Two of the employees were asymptomatic. All three are quarantining for 14 days. The Cape May County Board of Health didn't require them to close, according to Manco & Manco. But all employees who worked with the three staff members must get tested before returning to work. Test results for their staff of more than 200 only yielded one positive case. The employee shows no symptoms and is self-quarantining for 14 days. New Jersey Coronavirus Updates: Don't miss local and statewide announcements about coronavirus precautions. Sign up for Patch alerts and daily newsletters. Meanwhile, Manco & Manco will continue requiring customers to wear masks. "Please do your part in keeping our team safe as well," the business wrote Sunday on social media. "We know that masks are uncomfortable and that for many it's a touchy subject, but at our establishment, masks must be worn when interacting with our employees." The county health department has reported six active coronavirus cases, 46 cleared off quarantine and three deaths in Ocean City as of Tuesday morning. Read more: NJ Coronavirus, Reopen Updates: Here's What You Need To Know Click here to get Patch email notifications on this or other local news articles or get Patch breaking news alerts sent right to your phone with our app. Download here. Follow Ocean City Patch on Facebook. Have a news tip? Email josh.bakan@patch.com. This article originally appeared on the Ocean City Patch Since George Floyds murder, America has begun a remarkable reckoning with racial injustice. People of every race and generation have come together in largely peaceful protests across the nation to halt police brutality, which is disproportionately directed at people of color. But many Americans are demanding much more that we finally redress the systemic racism that persists in this country, understanding that it diminishes us all. This defining moment, unlike any since the 1960s, has the potential to transform the country into one that is far more just and equal for all its citizens. Yet, this incipient movement also risks being reduced to a fleeting instant of heightened consciousness, one that dissipates in the fog of pandemic, economic recession and a bitter presidential campaign. Much of the progress to date, while welcome, has been symbolic or superficial. Once reluctant institutions, from NASCAR to the Mississippi State Legislature and the U.S. military, now bar the Confederate battle flag from public display. Black Lives Matter murals adorn streets outside the White House and Trump Tower in New York. Confederate monuments are coming down. In the corporate world, executives are scrambling to diversify their c-suites and boardrooms, to source more products from African-American suppliers and donate to nonprofits supporting communities of color. Companies are rushing to retire brands with racially charged histories, like Aunt Jemima pancakes and Washingtons N.F.L. team. Walmart calls its employees heroes for putting their health at risk to work during the pandemic. AT&T champions L.G.B.T.Q. rights. Microsoft is undertaking one of the countrys most ambitious corporate efforts to eliminate its carbon emissions. At a time when Corporate America is speaking up on some of the most important issues of our time, there is a contradiction between companies words today and the role they played in helping create the moment we find ourselves in. An examination of political spending over the past decade shows how those companies and dozens of other Fortune 500 corporations quietly funded political efforts that are antithetical to their public stances. They financed state attorneys general seeking to undo the Affordable Care Act, which has provided health insurance for millions of Americans during the pandemic; they provided funds that backed local legislators who tried to roll back L.G.B.T.Q. rights; and they gave money that supported candidates challenging federal climate change initiatives. Uniquely, public companies are the biggest benefactors of key political committees supporting the campaigns, donating more than individuals or other groups. JAIPUR: The Rajasthan Board Class 12 Arts result 2020 will be declared by the Rajasthan Board Secondary Education (RBSE) in a few minutes at RBSE official website on Tuesday (July 21, 2020). The result date and time was confirmed by Rajasthan's Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra who said that the RBSE 12th RBSE Chairman DP Jaroli will release the result at 3.15 pm today. Once declared the students will be able to check their result at Rajasthan Board Secondary Education (RBSE) official websites are - rajresults.nic.in and rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in. The criteria to pass both class 10 and 12 exams of Rajasthan Board remains the same. To pass the exam, students need to obtain at least 33 per cent marks in each subject as well as on an aggregate. For subjects having different theoretical and practical aspects, students will have to clear both the exams separately. Check live updates on Rajasthan Board Class 12 Arts results 2020 Here's how to check your RBSE Class 12th Arts results online: 1. Go to one of these official websites of the RBSE rajresults.nic.in; rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in 2. Click on the 12th Arts results option. 3. Enter your roll number and other required details. 4. Your result will display on the screen. Official documents supporting the result will be issued by the RBSE after the result declaration. Notably, Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12th Science results 2020 were declared on July 8 and the overall passing percentage was recorded at 91.96. On July 13, the Rajasthan board had announced class 12 commerce results. The Class 12 examination was conducted in March 2020. Some papers were then cancelled due to the outbreak of the pandemic followed by a nationwide lockdown. The remaining papers were conducted from June 18 to 30, 2020 following all the social distancing guidelines. Around 3,000 staff at online electricals retailer AO World could share a 240 million bonus pot as part of a bumper reward scheme unveiled by the group (AO.com/PA) Around 3,000 staff at online electricals retailer AO World could share a 240 million bonus pot as part of a bumper reward scheme unveiled by the group. AO World said its new scheme called the value creation plan would pay out bonuses to staff for share price rises above 5.23 a share equivalent to a 2.5 billion stock market value and marking a rise of more than 200% on current stock prices. Executive bosses could land up to a mammoth 20 million each in bonuses under the proposed plans if shares hit 9.41. But founder and chief executive John Roberts has pledged to donate any rewards he receives to a youth charity to help disadvantaged young people in the UK. Expand Close AO World founder and chief executive John Roberts will donate any bonuses under the scheme to a youth charity (Jon Super/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp AO World founder and chief executive John Roberts will donate any bonuses under the scheme to a youth charity (Jon Super/PA) The scheme will be measured over a five- to seven-year period, with employees sharing out 140 million if shares hit 9.41 by 2025 and 240 million if they get to the dizzying height of 12.55. This would mean a near eight-fold increase over the next five years. Mr Roberts said: The decision to create an opportunity for every AO employee to receive a meaningful reward for the value they create is one that Im proud to tell my mum about. It is a vote of confidence in our people and the future were building, he added. But the potential payouts for top bosses could raise eyebrows among big investors, with lucrative share-based incentive schemes coming under heavy fire in recent years. AO Worlds annual report also separately showed Mr Robertss total pay soared by 44% in the year to March 31 as he took home 732,924 in pay and bonuses. His annual salary increased by 50,000 to 450,000, while he was also awarded just over 215,000 in bonuses under its long-term incentive scheme. It came after the company saw revenue jump by 16% to 1.05 billion in the year to March 31, while it swung to a pre-tax profit of 1.5 million for the period. Mr Roberts reclaimed the top job in February last year after a two-year hiatus. AO World was valued at 1.5 billion when it floated on the stock market in 2014, with shares worth 2.85 on its initial public offering. But a string of profit warnings have since seen its shares suffer steep falls, with the stock closing on Monday at 1.65. Since April 4, WestJet operated 28 flights to 14 destinations to bring 4,073 Canadians home from the Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Grand Cayman, Haiti, Jamaica, Panama and Trinidad and Tobago. "By working together with our Government of Canada partners, we have returned more than 4,000 citizens to Canadian soil," said Ed Sims, WestJet President and CEO. "Our commitment to the Prime Minister was to bring as many Canadians home as possible; and following 28 missions, we are grateful for the volunteer contributions of more than 200 WestJetters and the collaboration from our airport and government partners. These individuals came together and demonstrated their Canadian spirit to ensure the safe return of our country's citizens." Since the airline's inaugural repatriation flight to Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago on April 4, it flew approximately 122,00 miles, the equivalent to five trips around the world, to carry Canadians home. The airline made stops in one new continent (South America), five new countries (El Salvador, Panama, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti) and 10 destinations previously served by WestJet. "Over the last few months, Canada undertook its largest and most complex ever consular operation in peace time to help Canadians return home during the COVID-19 pandemic. This operation could not have been a success without the extraordinary support of airlines and their dedicated employees who helped us bring more than 50,000 Canadians home. I extend our sincere gratitude to WestJet for their contribution in making these repatriations possible during this unprecedented health crisis," said The Honourable Francois-Philippe Champagne, Minister of Foreign Affairs. Across 104 days, it took hundreds of WestJetters to organize the flights and operating crews, most of whom volunteered for the missions. At each destination airport partners ensured all guests were health screened and temperature checked prior to boarding. In the end, flight crews assisted guests of all ages, safely returned 75 pets and provided more than 400 guests in wheelchairs with assistance during their journey home. The 28 flights were a collaboration between WestJet and the Government of Canada and were part of WestJet's efforts to bring Canadian citizens home following the suspension of the airline's international service due to the COVID-19 pandemic. WestJet's repatriation flights by the numbers 122,146 miles flown (round-trip), the equivalent of five trips around the world* miles flown (round-trip), the equivalent of five trips around the world* 4,073 guests guests More than 400 guests in wheelchairs assisted guests in wheelchairs assisted 286 hours of flying time (approximately 12 straight days of flight)* hours of flying time (approximately 12 straight days of flight)* 200+ volunteer WestJetters* volunteer WestJetters* 103 days of organization and missions days of organization and missions 75 pets in cabin pets in cabin 28 flights flights 9 WestJet destinations ( Cuba , Grand Cayman , Bahamas , Costa Rica , Belize , Dominican Republic , Jamaica , Barbados , Trinidad and Tobago ) WestJet destinations ( , , , , , , , , ) 5 new countries ( El Salvador , Panama , Guatemala , Guyana , Haiti ) new countries ( , , , , ) 2 different aircraft (Boeing 737-800, 737-700) different aircraft (Boeing 737-800, 737-700) 1 new continent ( South America ) * These numbers are approximates based on schedules Photo highlights and infographic from WestJet's 28 flights are available for download here. About WestJet WestJet and WestJet Encore continue to connect all 39 of the airline's domestic airports, with a reduced frequency, to ensure essential travel, trade and cargo can continue during the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, WestJet has maintained its status as one of the top-10 on-time airlines in North America as named by Cirium. For more information about everything WestJet, please visit westjet.com . Connect with WestJet on Facebook at facebook.com/westjet Follow WestJet on Twitter at twitter.com/westjet Follow WestJet on Instagram instagram.com/westjet/ Subscribe to WestJet on YouTube at youtube.com/westjet Read the WestJet blog at blog.westjet.com Recent recognition includes: 2019/2018/2017 Best Airline in Canada (TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards for Airlines) 2019 Winner Among Mid-Sized Airlines in North America (TripAdvisor Travellers' Choice awards for Airlines) 2019 Number-One Ranked Canadian Airline Loyalty Program in Member Engagement (Bond Brand Loyalty) 2019/2018 Number-One-Ranked Airline Credit Card in Canada (Rewards Canada) SOURCE WESTJET, an Alberta Partnership For further information: Media contacts: To contact WestJet media relations, please email [email protected] Related Links http://www.westjet.com Chairman of the National Peace Council (NPC), Most Reverend Dr. Emmanuel Asante has highlighted the need for Ghanaians to be tolerant with each other ahead of the general election in December 7, 2020. To him, an eye for an eye will leave everybody blind, and so let us, as Ghanaians, love Mother Ghana, and deescalate the tensions by saying and doing things that will not inflame passions. Lets learn to keep tempers cool. In an interview with the Ghana News Agency, Rev. Dr. Asante in reaction to reports of violence at some voters registration centres in some parts the country, charged politicians to provide leadership, saying, at such a time like this, we look up to them. politicians who are bussing people to places for them to register should stop. It is against the law, and it wont help anybody, the NPC Chairman said. His comments come after a registration exercise at the Step to Christ registration centre at Kasoa in the Awutu Senya East constituency on Monday after gun-wielding men stormed the premises. According to eyewitnesses, the men numbering at least 15 arrived at the centre around 8 am and tried to sack some prospective voters. This resulted in a scuffle that saw gunshots fired and three motorbikes burnt. Later that day, the MP for the area, Hawa Koomson admitted firing the gunshots. She said she went to the registration centre because she received intelligence that her opponent was bussing people to the centre. Rev. Dr. Asante expressing worry over the incident, reminded politicians to act as role models in all manner of circumstances; recalling that such acts are punishable under the Vigilante Act, Act 999. Meanwhile, the Central Regional Police Command says it is investigating the incident. According to the police, the MP has honoured their invitation and given her statement on the matter. The four person who were arrested in connection with the incident. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[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 A top ABC News executive accused of making racially inappropriate remarks at black staffers has been fired following an internal investigation. Barbara Fedida, the head of ABC News talent, will not be returning to her job after being suspended during the month-long probe into her actions. Peter Rice, chairman of ABC News parent Walt Disney Television, broke the news to staff in a memo on Monday announcing the results of the probe. The investigation began in June after Fedida was accused of making sexist remarks and racist comments toward black journalists at the network. Among them, she was accused of quipping that ABC News doesn't make GMA host Robin Roberts 'pick cotton' when questioning a potential pay raise for her. Barbara Fedida, the head of ABC News talent, will not be returning to her job after the results of an internal investigation, the network told employees Monday Fedida was accused of making sexist remarks and racist comments toward black journalists at the network. Among them, she was accused of quipping that ABC News doesn't make GMA host Robin Roberts 'pick cotton' when questioning a potential pay raise for her 'The investigation substantiated that Ms. Fedida did make some of the unacceptable racially insensitive comments attributed to her,' wrote Rice in Monday's memo to staff, NBC News reported. 'It also substantiated that Ms. Fedida managed in a rough manner and, on occasion, used crass and inappropriate language,' Rice explained. 'Lastly, the investigation found no basis for the claims that Ms. Fedida was the subject of dozens of HR complaints and that ABC News spent millions of dollars in confidential settlements related to Ms. Fedida, as alleged in some press accounts.' His last comments were in reference to a June 13 Huffington Post report which first described the alleged claims and complaints. The news outlet said it conducted interviews with 34 sources who alleged she made inappropriate comments to staffers about everything from mass shootings to directing foul language at female employees. 'To say that she's an abusive figure is an understatement,' one source told Huffington Post at the time. 'Although Ms. Fedida made contributions to the organization over the 20-year span of her career, in light of the overall findings, we have determined that she can no longer serve in a leadership role and will not be returning to ABC News,' Rice said. Peter Rice, chairman of ABC News parent Walt Disney Television, in a memo to staff on Monday, said the internal investigation 'substantiated that Ms. Fedida did make some of the unacceptable racially insensitive comments attributed to her' Fedida has denied all allegations and maintained that she never engaged in 'abusive' or inappropriate behavior during her time with ABC News. 'Throughout my career, I have been a champion for increased diversity in network news. Building a news division where everyone can thrive has been my life's mission. 'I am proud of my decades of work of hiring, supporting and promoting talented journalists of color. And, unlike these heartbreaking and incredibly misleading claims about me, that track record is well-documented and undeniable.' One claim raised in the Huffington Post was Fedida's alleged racially offensive quip towards Robert, an African-American journalist who's co-anchored Good Morning America for 15 years. In 2018, Roberts reportedly asked for a pay raise as part of her contract renewal with the network. Fedida, in a meeting with colleagues discussing the contract, reportedly felt Roberts' paycheck was more than enough and questioned what else she could possibly want. Fedida has denied all allegations and maintained that she never engaged in 'abusive' or inappropriate behavior during her time with ABC News. She is pictured at an event hosted by Variety in New York last year It wasn't as if ABC Network was forcing Roberts to 'pick cotton,' she reportedly said, according to a source who witnessed the incident. Two additional sources who had heard about the alleged incident also confirmed the event with Huffington Post. The comment was reportedly one of many disturbing remarks made by Fedida, who at the time was said to have more than a dozen human resources complaints against her and was the subject of a human resources investigation in 2016. The investigation led ABC News to hire an executive coach, sources claimed. Two years after the alleged quip about Roberts, Fedida's presence remained so 'toxic' that sources claimed leaving the network was like fleeing an abusive marriage. The allegations also proved especially disturbing given the fact that Fedida was overseeing the network's diversity and inclusion efforts. An ABC spokesperson was not able to immediately respond when DailyMail.com reached out for additional comment about Fedida's termination. NBC and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels are reportedly planning the cast and crew's safe return to Studio 8H in Manhattan's 30 Rockefeller Plaza for season 46 amid the coronavirus pandemic. Producers will ditch the live studio audience, but they're eager to get the old-fashioned show back together in time for the presidential election this fall, two sources told Variety. Last week, NBC put host Jimmy Fallon and his Roots band back inside 30 Rock's Studio 6A to tape socially-distanced episodes of The Tonight Show featuring video-conferenced guests. Home sweet home! NBC and Saturday Night Live creator Lorne Michaels are reportedly planning the cast and crew's safe return to Studio 8H in Manhattan's 30 Rockefeller Plaza for season 46 amid the coronavirus pandemic Ensemble: Producers will ditch the live studio audience, but they're eager to get the old-fashioned show back together in time for the presidential election this fall (pictured April 25) As of Monday, there have been over 221K confirmed COVID-19 cases in New York City leading to over 23K deaths - according to Johns Hopkins University. The late-night sketch show's abbreviated 45th season ended in May with three SNL At Home episodes virtually hosted by the likes of Tom Hanks, Brad Pitt and Kristen Wiig. The highlight of season 45 was definitely the triumphant return of former castmember Eddie Murphy, who drew 9.9M viewers making it the most-viewed episode since May 2017 - according to THR. Michaels hasn't kept his not-ready-for-primetime players off the air since the 2007-2008 Writers Guild of America strike when season 33 shrunk to 12 episodes. Guinea pigs: Last week, NBC put host Jimmy Fallon (R) and his Roots band back inside 30 Rock's Studio 6A to tape socially-distanced episodes of The Tonight Show featuring video-conferenced guests (pictured July 13) Lockdown laughs: The late-night sketch show's abbreviated 45th season ended in May with three SNL At Home episodes virtually hosted by the likes of Tom Hanks (pictured April 11), Brad Pitt, and Kristen Wiig Epic: The highlight of season 45 was definitely the triumphant return of former castmember Eddie Murphy, who drew 9.9M viewers making it the most-viewed episode since May 2017 The BJP leader regretted that Pawar was unnecessarily trying to politicize the Ram temple issue Bhopal: Senior BJP leader and former Union minister Uma Bharti on Monday coined a new term, Ram Drohi (anti-Ram), to pull up Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) supremo Sharad Pawar for criticising Prime Minister Narendra Modi for choosing to attend the foundation laying ceremony for construction of Ram temple in Ayodhya on August five at a time when the coronavirus pandemic hit the economy of the country hard. The firebrand saffron leader regretted that Pawar was unnecessarily trying to politicize the Ram temple issue, saying, The PM will hardly take two hours to attend the event. Can the economy of the country be salvaged in two hours? His (Pawars) comments are not in good taste. He sounded like Ram Drohi, she said. Bharti was visiting the ancient shrine of Ganesh in Sehore, nearly 40 km from here. She said it was a dream of millions of Hindus to see a Ram temple in the birthplace of Lord Ram in Ayodhya and the dream was taking shape now after centuries of struggle by the Hindus. Pawar had earlier hit out at PM for deciding to attend the foundation laying ceremony of Ram temple in Ayodhya, scheduled to be held on August 5, saying, for some people bhoomi pujan for Ram temple is more important than salvaging the economy of the country ravaged by the coronavirus pandemic. Congress veteran Digvijay Singh on Monday supported Pawars view saying that had Modi and Union minister Amit Shah heeded to Pawars advice, the country would not have come to such a pass. Reacting to Nepal Prime Minister K P Sharma Olis recent remarks that Ram was born in Nepal not in Ayodhya, Ms Bharti said Lord Ram is omnipresent and she would request Oli to build a Ram temple in his country when she met him. I will be happy even if America will put forth the claim of being the birthplace of Ram. Lord Ram is present everywhere, she quipped. Victoria has recorded 374 new cases of coronavirus and three elderly women have died as New South Wales teeters on the brink of a major outbreak that may lead to tighter restrictions. Victoria's total is far higher than Monday's figure of 275 and is the state's second-biggest after 428 on Friday. The women who died were in their 100s, 90s and 80s. On Monday the number of active cases in Melbourne fell in most local government areas - but Brimbank and Wyndham saw numbers continue to rise. Brimbank, west of the CBD, on Monday recorded 19 new cases to hit a total of 271, while Wyndham, south-west of the city, suffered 10 more cases to reach 350. Cases in Yarra increased by six to reach 111 and Greater Geelong recorded two extra cases to hit 13. Meanwhile, NSW recorded 20 cases on Monday, its highest total since 21 on April 29, as the government considers stricter rules to contain the spread. The state's police commissioner is nervous about a Black Lives Matter protest planned for next Tuesday, which could see thousands gather in the CBD - and accused demonstrators of playing 'Russian roulette' with people's lives. Brimbank, west of the CBD, on Monday recorded 19 new cases to hit a total of 271, while Wyndham, south-west of the city, suffered 10 more cases to reach 350 Active coronavirus cases in two Melbourne suburbs are increasing as New South Wales teeters on the brink of a major outbreak that may lead to tighter restrictions Masks are compulsory in Victoria, with $200 fines for failing to wear them from Thursday Sources have told the Sydney Morning Herald that sector-targeted lockdowns, such as the closure of pubs and restaurants, are more likely than total lockdown if infections continue to climb. 'Lockdowns of secors could happen, predominantly pubs and restaurants,' one minister said. Another minister said there was 'no appetite for a full lockdown' but a feeling that some restrictions needed to be altered. 'I think there is a feeling that some things may have gone too far, too quickly and we will need to tighten some areas again,' the minister said. 'I think given the cautious nature of Gladys, she was probably pushed further into opening things up by [Deputy Premier John] Barilaro and [Treasurer Dominic] Perrottet than she felt comfortable with.' As Melbourne approaches its third week of lockdown, the number of active cases is falling in several suburbs. Pictured: Residents wear masks Brimbank on Monday recorded 19 new cases to hit a total of 271, while Wyndham suffered 10 more cases to reach 350 New South Wales Labor has called for all residents to wear masks on public transport. Masks are compulsory in Victoria, with $200 fines for failing to wear them from Thursday. Three of the 20 cases reported in NSW on Monday are linked to the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, bringing the total number of cases linked to the cluster to 48. Eight new cases are linked to the Thai Rock restaurant in Wetherill Park, four are linked to the Batemans Bay Soldiers Club, four are returned travellers in hotel quarantine and one is a person who has returned from Victoria. Ms Berejiklian said she was concerned that NSW was at a 'critical point' in the pandemic. She said the state has the chance to get ahead of the virus and control the spread if residents limit their activities and practise social distancing over the next few weeks. 'If you cannot guarantee social distancing where you're going... you must wear a mask,' she told reporters in Sydney. 'We encourage everybody to limit their behaviour or activity in the next few weeks especially around large crowds.' The state government has already tightened some coronavirus restrictions by reducing pub bookings from 20 to 10 and limiting venues to a max of 300. Pictured: Medical staff at a pop-up COVID-19 site in Casula, Sydney's south-west A couple wearing face masks in Melbourne this week. The protective item will be mandatory in the state from 11.59pm on Wednesday Victoria reported 275 infections and the death of an aged care resident in her 80s on Monday NSW Chief Health Officer Kerry Chant said there were 96 people being treated for coronavirus with two patients in intensive care including a person in their 30s. 'I also would like to highlight that one of those cases in intensive care is actually a person in their 30s,' Dr Chant said. 'I think it always is important to highlight that because often we tend to say, ''This disease affects the elderly'' - and it does on average, but there will still be young people that are impacted. The worrying spread of the highly contagious virus comes as thousands of protesters plan another Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller slammed demonstrators for 'playing Russian roulette' as COVID-19 cases continue to grow. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller slammed demonstrators for 'playing Russian roulette' as COVID-19 cases continue to grow Mr Fuller says NSW Police will attempt to block the protest planned for July 28 in the Supreme Court. He urged the public not to be 'selfish' during this time, encouraging people to protest online in order to protect the community. 'Looking at the intelligence coming out of the Black Lives Matters protest in Melbourne, and that people who attended it came from the vertical towers, there are serious concerns,' he told The Australian. 'I don't want to see the same thing happen in NSW, and getting a big group together for a Black Lives Matters protest in Sydney, when you know the dangers, is playing Russian roulette with the nearly eight million people who live in the state. 'We'll be going to the Supreme Court to stop it from going ahead win, lose or draw, if anyone turns up and breaches public health orders, we'll start writing tickets for a thousand dollars.' More than 4000 people have registered their interest in attending the rally, which aims to highlight the issue of Aboriginal deaths in custody. Event organisers provided 'a COVID-19 safety checklist' on Facebook on Monday, encouraging protesters to obey social distancing, wear masks and obey hand hygiene, with 'safety teams' present at the rally to monitor and provide these items if needed. 'While large crowds continue to gather in Sydney for commercial purposes ... we will continue to assert our rights to protest,' the Facebook post read on Monday. Pictured: Black Lives Matter protesters gather at Sydney's Town Hall on June 6 A terrifying map shows how far coronavirus has spread across Sydney, with cases continuing to pop up at gyms, McDonald's, busy pubs, restaurants and supermarkets The worrying spread of the highly contagious virus comes as thousands of protesters plan another Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney. Pictured: Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney on June 6 Tasmania's public health department confirmed the new COVID-19 case on Monday night. The woman had been in hotel quarantine in Tasmania's south but is now being treated in the Royal Hobart Hospital. The state had last recorded a COVID-19 infection more than 60 days ago and became free of active cases in mid-June. The new infection takes Tasmania's overall number of cases since the start of the pandemic to 227. Further information about the woman is expected to be revealed on Tuesday. 'I've said to Tasmanians on many occasions, we will see positive cases,' Premier Peter Gutwein said. 'Importantly, this one has been picked up in our hotel quarantine.' Tasmania has banned the entry of non-essential travellers from Victoria but residents are allowed to return home from the virus-hit mainland state provided they quarantine in government accommodation for two weeks. Queensland Health reported one new coronavirus case on Monday, following the positive test result of a man in his 20s. From Thursday, face masks will be compulsory for Victorians living in locked down areas People walk along Bondi Beach in Sydney on Sunday. Residents are being urged to avoid public transport and social gatherings as case numbers increase The man, who was on a freight ship off the coast of Queensland, has been transferred to Sunshine Coast University Hospital. There are 18 crew members still on board. They have all tested negative to coronavirus but will stay on the ship, which is currently anchored 17km off Queensland's coast, to undergo further testing. Queensland currently has two active COVID-19 cases. Both cases are in hospital. Almost 3,000 coronavirus cases remain active in Victoria, with 147 people in hospital, including 31 in intensive care. Sixteen of those in intensive care are on ventilators, a state government spokeswoman said. After more than a fortnight of triple-digit case number increases every day, including a record 428 on Friday, Premier Daniel Andrews said it was too soon to know if the curve was flattening. 'We had a very big day Friday and then we had a substantial drop-off, even though we had done more tests,' he told reporters on Monday. Mr Andrews said it could take up to two weeks for the effects of the stage three lockdown in Melbourne and Mitchell Shire to be reflected in the figures. 'Let's wait to see how the week unfolds, certainly, we're always happier to report lower numbers than higher ones, particularly when you see testing continue at such a high rate,' he said. From 11.59pm on Wednesday, face masks will be compulsory for Victorians living in locked down areas. People wear masks as they walk around Melbourne on Sunday. The city has been under a second lockdown for almost two weeks Pictured: Medical staff at a pop-up COVID-19 testing clinic in Sydney on July 11 If residents of metropolitan Melbourne and Mitchell Shire leave their house for one of the four allowed reasons without a mask or face covering after Wednesday, they could be hit with a $200 penalty. Swinburne University of Technology dean of Health Science Bruce Thompson has urged Victorians to treat their face masks like underwear. 'Assume your mask is like underwear. So don't take it off in the middle of public. Don't fiddle with it in the middle of public, don't share them with somebody else,' Professor Thompson said on Monday. 'The concept of actually taking your underwear off in public and putting them on a kitchen bench is horrible - but that's effectively what you are doing.' He recommended having six to 12 masks ready for use on rotation, just as a person would with underwear. 'Masks are important and they are basically another tool in the armoury,' Prof Thompson said. 'The only way for the virus to actually spread is it has some form of human-to-human contact, either direct touching or via a droplet or something like that because someone is in very close proximity to them.' NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac (BNIC)the entity promoting, protecting and developing the Cognac Geographic Indication and cultureis pleased to announce the launch of its new Cognac Connection campaign in the US. This online program has the core objective of educating and inspiring cocktail professionals on the Cognac region and spirit, as well as providing support during these challenging times. Partnering with industry guiding lights and vanguards, Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix of Speed Rack, along with media partner, VinePair, the multi-faceted campaign includes a series of activations such as virtual tastings for trade and media and Instagram lives with Speed Rack, Cognac Educators and cocktail influencers. The pillar of the campaign, the "Cognac Connection Challenge", is a cocktail competition open to all professional bartenders/mixologists. Entrants are required to submit an original cognac-based cocktail, which will be judged both on creativity and deliciousness, along with other criteria. The competition will run from August 1 through August 31, 2020. The judging panel includes Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix of Speed Rack, certified Cognac Educators and a VinePair representative. Ten bartenders whose cocktails receive the top scores will each receive a scholarship award valued at $1,000, and their cocktails will be showcased across social media channels as well compiled into a digital recipe book, which will be available for download this fall on CognacConnection.com. Virtual events include an educational webinar for trade and a media happy hour in August. "The US is our #1 market due in part to the dedicated cocktail professionals across the country who have embraced cognac. We are pleased to support them in in these challenging times," stated Claire Caillaud, Director of Communications, BNIC. Co-founders of Speed Rack, Lynnette Marrero and Ivy Mix, shared, "We're thrilled to partner with the BNIC for the Cognac Connection campaign. This initiative will be an immersion into the world of Cognac, and the cocktails we love made with this incredibly versatile spirit." Visit CognacConnection.com for complete campaign details and competition rules. ABOUT THE BNIC The BNIC (Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac) represents, fosters and protects the Cognac Appellation d'Origine Conrolee in France and abroad. In the 150 countries where Cognac is sold, this AOC assures consumers a product of exceptional quality. With a membership that equally represents the agricultural and commercial interests of Cognac, the BNIC is the consultative and decision-making body for the 4,260 winegrowers, 120 distillers and 280 merchants of the Cognac appellation. US PRESS CONTACTS Teuwen Communications Amanda Torres | [email protected] BUREAU NATIONAL INTERPROFESSIONNEL DU COGNAC 23, Allees Bernard Guionnet BP 900 18 16101 Cognac Cedex France @CognacUSA | Cognac.fr/en SOURCE The Bureau National Interprofessionnel du Cognac Related Links https://cognacconnection.com Finding a suitable family for each and every orphan is the main purpose of the recent amendments issued by the High Committee for Alternative Families, head of the national programme for protecting homeless children and adults at the Ministry of Social Solidarity Hosni Youssef told Al-Ahram Weekly. According to Egypts 2014 constitution, legislation in this area should follow Sharia Law (Islamic Law) under which adoption is strictly forbidden. However, an alternative care system for abandoned children referred to in Arabic as kafala exists, and this allows orphans to be raised as part of a foster family. According to Youssef, a member of the High Committee at the ministry, the system of alternative families started in 1980s when the idea was to find children for families who could not have them. The ministry has issued amendments to the system of alternative families as part of its strategy over the longer term to reduce the number of orphanages. The ministry encourages alternative families to apply to foster children instead so that they can have the benefit of family life, according to the conditions set out in the law, which is better for the children than living in charitable associations, Youssef said. Heba Abul-Amayem, a member of the High Committee at the ministry, explained its development. The vision of the ministry to develop the system was crystalised in 2014 with a view to developing the project for alternative families. In 2016, the High Committee for Alternative Families was formed consisting of a number of experts in various fields and representatives of different ministries, along with Al-Azhar and the Dar Al-Fatwa, responsible for issuing Islamic legal rulings, she said. The number of children fostered by alternative families has increased by 40 per cent during the last two years compared to when the system was established in the 1980s, Youssef said. There are now some 11,500 children in some 11,000 alternative families, he said. There has also been an increase in the number of orphans. Children may be orphaned as a result of the death of the father, born of unknown descent, lost, or abandoned by divorced parents. These children pay the price of problems among their biological parents, and we need to exert all efforts and increase religious awareness to put an end to such problems, he added. According to statistics from the UN childrens agency UNICEF, there are around 1.7 million orphans in Egypt. Abul-Amayem told the Weekly that unfortunately, the number of found children is increasing, and babies are found daily in the streets of some big cities. Such developments led to the amendments in June 2020 after seven months of study to develop the system of alternative families. They aim for the best for the children concerned, and older terms have been abandoned in favour of newer ones that focus on the childrens welfare, including found children instead of abandoned ones, kafala alternative families, and children of unknown descent being changed to children of generous descent (kareem al-nasab). Some conditions have also become more flexible for the alternative, or foster, families. Only one member of the couple should have Egyptian nationality instead of both, and they should be aged at least 21 instead of 25. The kafala fosters should pay LE3,000 into a saving account for the child instead of LE5,000. One of them should have received the Thanaweya Amma certificate (high-school diploma), instead of both, though the other must also be literate. The alternative family can have full educational authority over the child after passing a ministry evaluation. It can be the legal guardian of the child after passing a similar evaluation, and the child can have the first name of the mother and the first name of the father or his family name on the birth certificate, taking into consideration that the record of finding the child remains on his or her file. Youssef added that widows, divorced women, and those who have never married and have reached at least 30 years old are also entitled to kafala fostering after approval. FOSTERING UNDER KAFALA The kafala family is obligated to facilitate and accept the supervision of the Family and Childhood Administration at the ministry, including visiting the family home, interviewing the child, and following up on the childs welfare without violating confidentiality, Mahmoud Shaaban, head of the Family and Childhood Department at the ministry, told the Weekly. According to Abul-Amayem, an agreement has been made with a private company to send out 10 million text messages to promote the alternative families system. A campaign has also been launched called A Family for Every Child to raise awareness of the importance of kafala. A hot line working 24 hours a day seven days a week replies to inquiries for alternative families, and registering online to foster a child can be done online through the ministrys website. The committee organises qualifying courses, publishes a guide for employees in the system, and trains the alternative families before they take the children, she said. Many of the efforts have been the result of cooperation between FACE, a leading child-protection actor in Egypt and the only NGO allowed to care for young abandoned children, and the Ministry of Health. Buildings have been made available to FACE projects, and there is active collaboration with the local and national authorities. FACE teams in Egypt are entirely composed of Egyptian personnel, but they are supervised and monitored by a team of specialists in Belgium on finance, HR, and child protection, Nabila Al-Gabalawi, director of training and case-management at FACE, said. FACE strongly believes that the best place for a child to grow up and develop happily is in a family. Since 2012, FACE has made a strategic turn to focus its work on the promotion of family-based care in Egypt. And through its two programmes working with children, it has supported close to 900 children to integrate them into their foster families, she said. One mother who had fostered two baby girls told the Weekly how life had totally changed as a result of the newcomers. Happiness entered our home through their presence, she said. The sound of the girls of eleven months and two years old could be heard in the background as she talked. She had been married for 21 years and had tried all possibilities to have a baby, but all of them had failed. She persuaded her husband to foster an orphan. He was totally against the idea at first, but then they spent a month finishing the procedures for kafala. I started looking in orphanages for a girl that resembled me. They then phoned me as they had found a girl I could foster. I named her and got the approval of the High Committee for Alternative Families, the mother, who preferred to remain anonymous, told the Weekly. Two years later I adopted her sister, she said, her husband adding that he had asked the authorities to give the girls their full names and not only their first names. The full names will help them later on, especially when they get married, he said. Many such stories of fostering are among families who have no children or single mothers who want to experience further motherhood. However, Um Mariam has a different story of adoption. I gave birth to four children, two girls and two boys, but I found myself attached to Mariam as well, whom my husband found wrapped in a blanket near a mosque at dawn and brought to the house, she told the Weekly. Um Mariam has worked at an orphanage for 15 years and believes that the tender love an orphan receives inside a family is better than life inside an orphanage. She also feels that the recent amendments may save many innocent children from facing uncertain futures, as it will allow them to be integrated into families. She hopes that the officials who pay regular visits to the families will treat them kindly and bear in mind that they foster the orphans willingly. Although we were a big family before adopting Mariam, every day we love her more and more and are more and more attached to her, she said. Why did she accept to adopt a girl when she already has two daughters of her own? I felt pity for her and felt that I could raise her for Gods sake and I feel the blessings of this decision every day, Um Mariam said. While the amendments pave the way for a healthy and happy life for fostered children, one expert coordinator at an orphanage association, who preferred to remain anonymous, was less optimistic. The worst stage for a fostered child and his or her alternative family is the teenage phase. Some alternative families spoil the children during their early childhood, and if the circumstances of the family change by the death of one of the parents, for example, or by jealousy that may appear from one spouse towards the fostered teenager, things can become difficult. Two cases left their families after crucial incidents, and no one knows anything about them after they showed an aggressive attitude towards their foster families. These amendments are promising for the benefit of the children concerned, but the results need to be evaluated 10 or 12 years from now, he concluded. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Khloe Kardashian takes her fitness routine very seriously - so seriously that not even a few precious hours of sleep will get in her way. The 36-year-old Keeping Up With the Kardashians star took to her Instagram story to show her millions of followers what real dedication to fitness looks like with an early morning treadmill snap on Tuesday. In the past, Khloe has likened exercise to therapy and says that it is how she decompresses from life. Working out: Khloe Kardashian took to her Instagram story to show her millions of followers what real dedication to fitness looks like with an early morning treadmill snap on Tuesday Khloe shared two photos from her tricked out home gym to her Instagram story before dawn. The first showed the mother of one stepping on to a treadmill with maroon sneakers and black leggings with the time '5:28 AM' written over the photo. She then appeared to follow up her cardio with some weight training and shared a shot of free weights and kettlebell's lined up. The Good American mogul frequently shares shots from her sweat sessions on social media which showcase both her fit frame and, often times, workout clothes from her own brand. Crack of dawn: Khloe shared two photos from her tricked out home gym to her Instagram story as she stepped onto the treadmill with maroon sneakers and black leggings at 5:28 a.m. Time to sweat: She then appeared to follow up her cardio with some weight training and shared a shot of free weights and kettlebell's lined up Earlier in the pandemic, Khloe shared some of her favorite at-home workouts and inexpensive equipment must-haves on her sister Kourtney's lifestyle website Poosh. 'Jumping rope is probably one of the best workouts you can do. There is a slew of reasons why jumping rope is so beneficialfrom burning major calories in a short time span to decreasing ankle or foot injuries all the way to improving bone density and coordination,' Khloe revealed. She also touted portable resistance bands which are so convenient they fit in a purse or bag leaving people with 'no excuses' not to keep up with their fitness. Fitness fiend: Earlier in the pandemic, Khloe shared some of her favorite at-home workouts on her sister Kourtney's lifestyle website Poosh and touted the benefits of jumping rope and resistance bands During particularly hard times, like her split with ex Tristan Thompson in 2019, Khloe hits the gym because it's like 'therapy.' Kardashian is having a bit of a stressful week currently, after an up-and-coming designer accused her of trying to sell a dress he claimed to have loaned to her. Cowan took to social media on Sunday to slam the reality star, alleging that his 'runway samples' were available for sale on her family's luxury consignment site Kardashian Kloset. Mindful: Khloe has said in the past that she turns to exercise for 'therapy' and her early morning sweat session came after she had been accused this week of re-selling a dress that the designer alleged was only on loan However, a source told DailyMail.com that Khloe had been given the dress as a gift through her stylist and was never informed that it was a loan. They added: 'It was never said to her it was a loan and the designer never asked for it back at least to Khloe.' As of Monday the dress was no longer listed on Kardashian Kloset. Tripura Chief Minister Biplab Deb has stirred yet another controversy by saying Punjabis and Jats are physically strong but less brainy while Bengalis are known to be very intelligent. Every community in India is known for its certain type and character, the Bharatiya Janata Party leader said while addressing a programme at the Agartala Press Club on Sunday. Later, he apologised for his statements and said he did not intend to hurt sentiments. In a series of tweets in Hindi on Tuesday morning, the chief minister sought forgiveness for his remarks and said many of his friends were Punjabis and Jats, and he is proud of people hailing from the two communities. "I always salute the contributions of the Punjabi and Jat communities in the freedom struggle of the country. And I can never imagine raising questions on the role played by these two communities in advancing India," Deb tweeted. "I had expressed the views some people have about them. I am proud of Punjabi and Jat communities. I have lived among them for quite some time... If my statement has hurt anyone's feelings, I apologise for that," the chief minister said on Twitter. The Congress has termed chief minister's remarks "shameful and unfortunate". A video clip of Deb's statement has gone viral on social media. "For Bengal or Bengalis, it is said that one should not challenge them when it is regarding intelligence. Bengalis are known as very intelligent and it is their identity," Deb was heard saying in the clip. Whereas, Punjabis and Jats are known for their physical strength, he said. "When we talk about the people of Punjab, we say he's a Punjabi, a Sardar. They may have less intelligence but are very strong. One can't win them over by strength but with love and affection. A large number of Jats live in Haryana. So what do people say about Jats? Jats are less intelligent but are very healthy. If one challenges a Jat, he will bring a gun from his house," Deb said. Pijush Biswas, the Congress state unit chief, said Deb should be more cautious while making a statement. "His remarks are unacceptable. He is holding a very responsible post and should not make such comments. He should be careful while making a statement," Biswas told reporters. Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala has said Deb has insulted the "Sikh brothers" of Punjab and the Jat community of Haryana. "This is the BJP's lowly mindset.Why are Khattar ji and Dushyant Chautala silent? Where are Modi ji and Nadaji? Apologize, take action," Surjewala had tweeted. Earlier, too, the chief minister had courted controversies on several occasions. In 2018, he said internet and satellite television existed in the time of the Mahabharata. He had questioned the crowning of Diana Hayden as "Miss World" in 1997 and alleged that international beauty pageants were a farce. Last year, he claimed that Mughals intended to destroy the cultural wonders of the state by "bombing" its arts and architectures. Alleged Israeli airstrikes reportedly killed pro-Syrian government forces on Monday night. Israel is suspected of carrying out several bombings of Iranian targets in Syria this year. The suspected Israeli bombs struck south and southwest of Damascus late last night, according to the UK-based and pro-opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. Five members of an Iran-backed militia were killed. Four members of the militia and seven government soldiers were also injured. The airstrikes destroyed a missile depot and also damaged weapons and ammunition warehouses, the Observatory reported. The Syrian state-run outlet SANA also reported that Israeli missiles hit south of Damascus. Seven government soldiers were hurt, and the missiles were fired from the Israeli-controlled Golan Heights. Syrian air defenses intercepted some of the missiles, according to SANA. Israel rarely comments on its military operations abroad, but the Syrian government, Syrian rebels and some regional intelligence sources believe they often strike Iranian targets in Syria and the region. Most recently, in late June, suspected Israeli airstrikes hit Syrian government and Iran-backed militia targets in the eastern Deir ez-Zor province and near the central city of Hama. Iran supports the Syrian government and the twos mutual ally the Lebanese Hezbollah group in Syria. Israel sees the Iranian presence there as a threat due to Syria bordering Israel and the animosity between Iran and Israel. The Syrian government is a key ally for Iran as it gives Iran access to Lebanon as well as the Mediterranean. Although Israel does not comment on such strikes, in April, its then-defense minister said the country moved from blocking Irans entrenchment in Syria to forcing it out of there. Also, this month, an unnamed Middle Eastern intelligence official told The New York Times that Israel was behind an explosion at a nuclear site in Iran amid a string of mysterious explosions and fires in the Islamic Republic. Tesco bypass to be unaffected by Samkong power outage PHUKET: The Tesco Lotus mall on the bypass road has confirmed it will be unaffected by a scheduled power outage that will affect the Samkong area this Friday (July 24), saying the outlet will use their own backup generators in order to remain open. construction By The Phuket News Tuesday 21 July 2020, 11:58AM A map of the areas to be affected by the power outage on Friday (July 24). Image: PEA The confirmation comes after the Provincial Electricity Authority (PEA) announced that the electricity supply will be temporarily shut off in the area on Friday as work is carried out on installing new high-voltage cables. The areas to be affected by the power outage, from 9am to 4:30 pm, are along Yaowarat Rd, and will affect the Chilva market and Tesco Lotus mall on the bypass road, the notice read. Our mall will be open as normal, as we have our own electric generators, a call operator at the Tesco mall told The Phuket News today. In its announcement, the PEA apologised for any inconvenience caused while the work is carried out. For more information call the PEA at 076-354379 or call centre 1129. The United Kingdoms Government has signed up for an additional 90 million doses of potential Coronavirus vaccines being developed by pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and German biotech firm BioNTech. The process to develop a vaccine usually takes years, however experts are racing against time to develop a working coronavirus vaccine, with more than 20 human trials underway in a process that experts and pharmaceutical firms say will likely take up until 2021 to yield effective results. On Monday, the U.K.s business department announced it has secured access to a further 30 million doses of another vaccine in development by Pfizer and german firm BioNTech, which is in early to mid-stage trials. Five pharmaceutical giantsMerck, Moderna, Pfizer, AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson will appear before the British Congress on Tuesday to discuss how their vaccine development is progressing, according to Forbes. Britains has also agreed in principle to buy up 60 million doses of a vaccine being developed by French firm Valneva, with the option to acquire an additional 40 million doses if the vaccine, now in pre-clinical trials, is proven safe and effective. The U.K. government previously signed up for 100 million doses of an AstraZeneca vaccine being developed by researchers at Oxford University, which is being made from a genetically engineered virus. That means the U.K. has now secured the supply of up to 230 million vaccine doses, although a working vaccine is yet to be signed off. Britain has further secured an additional 1 million doses of a treatment being developed by AstraZeneca to protect those who cannot have vaccines, including cancer patients and those who are immunocompromised. Kate Bingham, Chair of the U.K.s vaccine taskforce, said in a statement: The fact that we have so many promising candidates already shows the unprecedented pace at which we are moving. But I urge against being complacent or over optimistic. The fact remains we may never get a vaccine and if we do get one, we have to be prepared that it may not be a vaccine which prevents getting the virus, but rather one that reduces symptoms. Pfizer and BioNTech say they expect to make 100 million vaccine doses this year, and scale up to 1.3 billion by the end of 2021. The firms say they could seek regulatory approval for the vaccine in October this year. Source/Forbes NEW YORK, July 21, 2020, the consumer search technology company, announced the appointment of Mary Young as Vice President of Business Development and Todd Adest as Vice President of Advertiser Sales. Young, who is running adMarketplace's search publisher growth strategy, brings more than 15 years of business development experience working with brands across the globe. She most recently served as Vice President of Strategic Alliances at IAC, where she was responsible for building nine-figure supply and demand partnerships. "I am grateful to work with such a talented and devoted team that continues to innovate and enhance their market solutions for publishers - it is what has enabled adMarketplace to not only survive, but thrive during difficult times," said Young. Adest is leading adMarketplace's advertiser demand business, building on 20 years of advertising brand partnership experience. Previously, Adest was SVP of Sales at NinthDecimal, a mobile location activation and attribution platform. Throughout his career at Microsoft, Neustar, and Innovid, Adest has worked with the biggest brands and agencies in the world to help solve some of their most complex challenges. "With the decisive and fundamental shifts in consumer behavior currently taking place globally, I'm excited to join the adMarketplace team in providing brands with performance-based solutions and results that matter most," said Adest. Jamie Hill, adMarketplace Chief Executive Officer said, "Mary and Todd both bring a wealth of industry expertise that matches the progression of our supply and demand strategies. Their innovation and proven leadership will advance our mission to add value to every search." Adam J. Epstein, adMarketplace President and Chief Operating Officer added, "We are excited about the excellent leadership that Mary and Todd bring to our advertiser and publisher teams as we grow our partnerships on both sides of the marketplace." Young and Adest will be based in adMarketplace's New York City office. About adMarketplace: (Newser) An exchange on the steps of the Capitol between Reps. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a New York Democrat, and Ted Yoho, a Florida Republican, was in the headlines Tuesday. A reporter from the Hill writes that Yoho confronted AOC over a recent assertion that poverty and unemployment were big drivers of a rise in New York City crime. Yoho told AOC she was "disgusting" and added, "You are out of your freaking mind," according to reporter Mike Lillis, who overheard them. After AOC called Yoho rude and they parted ways, Lillis writes that he heard Yoho say, "f---ing b----." Later, however, a spokesman for Yoho denied it, reports NBC News. "He did not call Rep. Ocasio-Cortez what has been reported in the Hill or any name for that matter," said the spokesman. "Instead, he made a brief comment to himself as he walked away summarizing what he believes her polices to be: bulls---." story continues below AOC, meanwhile, said "that kind of confrontation hasn't ever happened to me ever," and she later tweeted that she had never spoken with Yoho previously. "Believe it or not, I usually get along fine w/ my GOP colleagues," she wrote. "We know how to check our legislative sparring at the committee door. But hey, 'b*tches' get stuff done." Lillis writes that GOP Rep. Roger Williams of Texas was present and in a position to hear what the pair said, but Williams says he was thinking about other things and not paying attention to their argument. AOC accused Williams of lying and poked fun at his "courage" in a tweet: "when he undeniably sees another man engaged in virulent harassment of a young woman, just pretend you never saw it in the most cartoonish manner possible and keep pushing." (Read more Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez stories.) Please register or log in to keep reading. No credit card required! Stay logged in to skip the surveys. Chevron said Monday that it has entered into an agreement to acquire Noble Energy, a large independent oil-and-gas producer, in a $5 billion all-stock transaction. Why it matters: It will expand Chevron's footprint in the U.S. shale patch, where the company is competing with rival Exxon. Noble also has operations in the Mediterranean Sea and West Africa. The total deal value, including debt, is $13 billion, according to Chevron. The Wall Street Journal notes that it's the "largest oil-patch tie-up since the coronavirus pandemic delivered a shock to the industry." Some analysts see the coronavirus pandemic leading to substantial new consolidation in the U.S. sector. Flashback: Chevron was already looking for acquisitions before the pandemic took aim at the oil industry. Last year, Chevron looked to buy Anadarko Petroleum, another large independent player, but declined to enter into a bidding war with Occidental Petroleum, which ultimately bought the company. What they're saying: Chevron said the deal for Noble would enhance its position in several areas, including the prolific Permian Basin. Tale of 3 Republics Is Cautionary for US Today Commentary The next three months will be among the most perilous in American history. Will Donald Trumpa man who inspires frothing fury in his enemies, who have sworn to depose him by any means necessarydefeat the hologram of a semi-senile and reclusive Joe Biden? Or will the party of slavery, segregation, secularism, and sedition seize control not only of the Congress, as seems increasingly possible, but the White House itself? And if Biden somehow wins, with an activist vice president at his side who will really be running the country in his place, will the current levels of street violence in America subsideor will an emboldened left, unbridled at last, ratchet up the mayhem? Or will the thus-far quiescent right, which has remained admirably stoic in the face of overwhelming provocationbuildings, including churches, burned, statues of great men pulled down, conservatives assaultedfinally say, along with Howard Beale, Im mad as hell and Im not going to take this anymore!? Republican Rome The past offers us some lessons. Call it the Tale of Three Republics. Republican Rome was wracked by not one but a series of bloody civil wars, first between Sulla and Marius between 88 B.C. and 80 B.C., and then the epic struggle between Pompey and Caesar that ended in 48 B.C. at the battle of Pharsalus, with Pompeys defeat and Caesars accession to dictator for life shortly before his assassination in 44 B.C.an event that saw the end of the Republic and the rise of the Roman Empire under Caesars adopted son, Augustus. The dynastic struggles among Romes patrician families have a counterpart in the United States today. Since George H.W. Bush won an undistinguished term as Ronald Reagans successor in 1988, and was defeated by Bill Clinton in 1992, our electoral politics have been an undemocratic succession of Bushes and Clintons, with son succeeding father in the GOP and wife vying to supplant her husband for the Democrats. Only the victory of Barack Obama over Hillary Clinton for the 2008 nomination broke the skein; and, mercifully, Jeb Bush failed utterly to win the Republican nomination in 2016. Should Michelle Obama decide that being Joe Bidens veep would suit her and the former president just fineafter all, theyve never left D.C.its hers for the asking. And another dynasty would begin. As Rome showed, however, dynasties arent a good thing: the first five emperors of the Julio-Claudian dynasty included Caligula and Nero. American Civil War Americans have forgone an actual civil war since 1865, but today, we find ourselves in the midst of what I have termed since 2009 the Cold Civil Wara conflict of ideologies and pathologies that find their modern embodiments in the forms of the Democratic and Republican parties, but even more so in what we have come to call the blue and red states. In the period between James Monroe (the fifth and last of the founding presidents), who left office in 1825, and the election of the first Republican chief executive, Abraham Lincoln, the presidents are mostly an obscure lot, aside from John Quincy Adams (son of the second president) and Andrew Jackson. By the time we got to James Buchanan in 1857, the country was spiraling toward civil waran event that would arrive almost simultaneously with Lincolns inauguration in 1861. Then, as now, the Democrats refused to accept the election, and the Southern states under their control promptly seceded. Four years later, unable to accept Lincolns reelection and their defeat in what they disinformationally chose to call the War of Northern Aggression, one of their numberan actor from the slaveholding Union state of Marylandassassinated the president a few weeks after his second inauguration. As in the 19th century, our conflict today is geographic as well, although the regions arent contiguous. The Democrat blue states hug the coasts and the upper Midwest, while the Trump supporters in MAGA country occupy the vast middle. Should it come to a peaceful dissolution of the American Republica once crazy idea now being discussed openly in chatrooms across the countryand its division into two separate nations, there would be no easy way to effect partition. It would also mean that, in effect, the old Democrat-controlled Confederacy would finally have won the War Between the States that the Republicans Lincoln and Grant thought they had ended at Appomattox. Like their Confederate forbears, the blue states have sought to nullify the Constitution by rejecting federal authority over such national issues as immigration and narcotics. With sanctuary citiessanctuary not from persecution but from U.S. lawthey openly thumb their noses at Washington while endangering their own taxpaying population. From the start of the Trump administration, they have sought to hound and harass the president. The Democrat-Media Complex, in the late Andrew Breitbarts famous formulation, fired the first shot when, at 5:19 p.m. on Jan. 20, 2017, The Washington Post announced, The campaign to impeach President Trump has begunand they havent let up since. The Russian collusion hoax was only the first of several attempted coups, among them the ridiculous spectacle of the Ukrainian impeachment farce. Latterly, the Democrats and their media buddies have decided to weaponize the near non-existent crisis of the CCP virus, which has seen their petty Caligulas and Neros (and, to be fair, some Republicans) enforce lockdowns in defiance of the Constitution and in the hopes of irrevocably destroying the once-booming Trump economy in order to pin the Chinese Communist Party virus on him, so they might run as saviors of the republic in November. Sound familiar? Weimar Which brings us to our third, and ugliest historical lesson, this one occurring on Jan. 30, 1933, in the wake of what turned out to be the last election in Germany for the next 16 years. For it was on that date that Adolf Hitler was appointed chancellor. As the Weimar Republic tottered, the brownshirts of the National Socialist German Workers Party were colliding in the streets with the Red Brigades of the Communists. Both parties were opposed to democracy, to the existing order, and to the aristocrats who continued to rule Germany after the collapse of the Bismarckian order after World War I, emblemized by the portly figure of Paul von Hindenburg, the wartime general-turned-president of the Reich. The National Socialists won. It isnt true that Hitler was unelected. His party, known as the NSDAP, had won the most votes in the elections of 1932 and was the largest party in the Reichstag, or German parliament. The chancellorship was rightly his. But what followed quickly spelled the end of the Republic: on Feb. 1, parliament was dissolved, with new elections scheduled for March 5; 27 days later, the Reichstag building itself was badly damaged by fire, upending German democracy; and a month after that, the Enabling Act of March 24 was passed, effectively making Hitlerlike Caesardictator for life. The chances of either Trump or Biden becoming dictators are admittedly low. Orderly, constitutional succession has been the rule since the founding. But we are in uncharted territory now. Twenty years ago, no one would have taken seriously the notion that a defeated president would refuse to leave officebut Hillary Clinton floated that very notion about Trump just the other day. Still, far more worrying is the prospect of indefinite one-party rule should the Democrats win it all in November. Already, theyre agitating for a mail-in electiona clear invitation to fraud. Their shock troops still roam the streets freely, unmolested by the demoralized police forces of our major cities. Weve already seen shows of force at the polls, as in Philadelphia in 2008, when the New Black Panther Party openly intimidated voters trying to exercise their franchise. If they win in the fall, they dont plan to lose another national election for a very long time. If you thought ballot harvesting was bad in California two years ago, you aint seen nothing yet. Another sign of their intentions is the attempt to end-run the Electoral College via the blatantly unconstitutional National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, which would award all of a states electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote, regardless of how the state voted. Thus far, 15 states and the District of Columbia have already signed on, giving the motion 73 percent of the 270 electoral votes needed for ratification. And then it would be up to the Supreme Courtand who knows how Chief Justice John Roberts would rule? To sum up: Nearly a half-century of civil wars destroyed the Roman Republic. Parliamentary shenanigans and brute force atomized the Weimar Republic. And the American republic survived by the skin of its teeth in 1865. To say it cant happen here would be ahistorical and counter-factual. As Niccolo Machiavelli, put it in his Discourses on the First Decade of Livy: Prudent men are wont to sayand this not rashly or without good groundthat he who would foresee what has to be should reflect on what has been, for everything that happens in the world at any time has a genuine resemblance to what happened in ancient times. No wonder the left has taken history out of the classrooms. But thats no reason we shouldnt heed it. Michael Walsh is the editor of The-Pipeline.org and the author of The Devils Pleasure Palace and The Fiery Angel, both published by Encounter Books. His latest book, Last Stands, a cultural study of military history from the Greeks to the Korean War, will be published in December by St. Martins Press. Follow him on Twitter @dkahanerules. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. 21.07.2020 LISTEN July 21, 2020, Accra Women in PR Ghana, a professional networking summit that empowers women to reach their full potential will hold its 4th annual summit on Friday July 24th from 10am3pm. The summit which will be streamed live on Facebook and updated across various Women in PR Ghana social media pages such as Instagram and Twitter encourages professionals and students, mostly women in the Public Relations and communication sectors to join in. Recognized as the leading event for women in the communications industry in Ghana, the summit allows professionals to share their career journey and experiences and discuss how to leverage their knowledge and skills to drive impact and develop professionally. This years' summit will have 3 main speakers; Nana Efua Rockson, Group Head, Corporate Affairs & Digital Marketing, GLICO Group, Georgina Asare Fiagbenu, Senior Manager, Corporate Communications at MTN Ghana and Funmilayo Marian Onuma, Country Manager, Silverbird Cinemas Ghana on the topics, Self branding as part of the new normal, The CEO PR relationship as a Strategic Business Asset and Driving impact: your way to the boardroom respectively. Speaking on the summit, the founder, Faith Senam Ocloo said, Women need to be heard and seen as having an authentic voice that reflects who they are and what they stand for. Through this summit, we hope to lead conversations that will encourage women to build strategic relationships and networks for their personal and professional development Ohenewaa Brown and Stephanie Adenyo are hosts for the event, and Newmont Ghana Communications Officer, Abigail Naa Karley Clegg will moderate the panel discussion on the topic; Women on the web: Leveraging on social media in shaping today's PR leaders with 3 other Panelists. Panel members for the discussion include Whitney Boakye-Mensah, Managing Partner & Creative Director, Innorvations EventsWBM, Awoyaa Mensah, Director of Marketing & Corporate Partnerships, Webster University Ghana Campus and Stephen N. Boadi, Marketing & Communications Professional, Enable Growth Consult. This years' edition will run on the theme, Finding and owning your voice in the New Normal aiming to inspire women to find and use their voice to drive impact in their personal development and organizations. The official hashtag for the summit is #wiprsummit2020 #womeninprghana and will be streamed on Women in PR Ghana Facebook page. For further information and enquiries about the summit and Women in PR Ghana, kindly contact us on 0555757881 or email us at [email protected] or follow us on our social media platforms; Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter @womeninprghana. Alcudia is a city. It is one of seven cities in Majorca. Felanitx, Inca, Llucmajor, Manacor, Palma and Soller are the others. The Ciutat de Mallorca, i.e. Palma, was given this name following Jaume Is 1229 conquest. Almost three centuries were to pass before there was a second, official Ciutat. This was Alcudia. The other five were given the title between 1886 and 1916. The royal privilege of Ciutat (or Ciudad) was in recognition of their commercial and industrial significance. Alcudia received its honour for a very different reason. It was granted in July 1523 by Carlos I of Spain, who was also Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor. Alcudia was, the citation read, the most faithful city to the Emperor. This faithfulness had been shown by Alcudia in having remained loyal to the king during the Revolta de les Germanies, the Revolt of the Brotherhoods. The nobility who hadnt been massacred were able to take refuge inside the walls. Alcudia stood firm, more or less; the walls were badly damaged. After the revolt was crushed by the kings forces, Alcudias role was officially recognised. The Ermita de la Victoria, the Hermitage of La Victoria, is some seven kilometres from the historic centre of Alcudia. Notable for, among other things, the view across the bay of Pollensa, the origin of the hermitage was a mid-thirteenth century sanctuary and watchtower. It is known that at the start of the fifteenth century there were hermits in the mountains of La Victoria. One of them, Father Diego Garcia, is attributed with having founded the hermitage. A document of 1403 gave permission for mass to be celebrated at the sanctuary, where the image of the Virgin Mary was to become known as Nostra Dona de Fra Diego. It is believed that Father Diego was from the Carmelite Order, as it was Carmelites who, from 1482, set about improvement work at the hermitage. This work had been completed by around the time that the Revolt of the Brotherhoods started in 1521. The image of the Virgin had been removed while the work was being carried out. It was in safe keeping behind Alcudias walls, and this perhaps fortuitous temporary relocation was - according to one hypothesis - the reason for the image having been renamed as Mare de Deu de la Victoria (literally, the Mother of God of the Victory). At the start of July each year, the Festa de la Mare de Deu de la Victoria is held. The feast day is July 2, on which day in 1680 Father Jaume Barcelo delivered a sermon in which he explained the origins of the image of the Virgin, which were not dissimilar to the circumstances surrounding the Black Madonna, Our Lady of Lluc. Around 1300, a shepherd boy named Joan Boi heard angelic chanting. He joined in with the chanting, and the participants kissed the hand of a beautiful lady, the Virgin. This miracle was repeated on three occasions. The boy told the rector of the parish, who didnt believe him. Eventually, the rector and others were persuaded to head up to the mountains. They found the image of the Virgin hidden among some bushes. A solemn procession then followed, the people of Alcudia going to marvel at this image. But when they arrived, the image had disappeared. It was then found in the same spot where the shepherd boy had first seen the Virgin - in an area of pine trees, looking out across the bay. The interpretation was that this was where the Virgin (and her image) wished to remain - the site of the hermitage. So, the image and the hermitage had long formed part of local folklore by the sixteenth century and therefore the renaming of the image in that century. The fiesta itself was seemingly first celebrated in 1643, when the Mare de Deu was named patron of the Ciutat, city of Alcudia, and July 2 was the day because this was supposedly was when the visitation (the appearance of the Virgin to the shepherd boy) occurred. But what was La Victoria, the Victory? There are two other interpretations. One concerns Charles V, whose forces had stopped in Alcudia en route to battle against the Ottoman Barbarossa in Tunisia in 1535. Charles and Father Antoni dAvila of the Carmelites prayed to the image for victory. Tunis was recaptured. The second has to do with an October 1551 invasion by some 500 Moors. The image of the Virgin came to the help of the people of Alcudia in repelling the invaders. The 1551 interpretation is the one commonly referred to, but it is almost certainly wrong. The text of the eighteenth century La Victoria goigs (meaning something like songs of joy) refers to the armies of the Brotherhoods, while when victory over the Brotherhoods was secured, Father Antoni dAvila apparently took to the streets and squares of Alcudia, shouting Victory, Victory. The image was of course in Alcudia at the time and not at the hermitage. There is a slight politically correct problem with this, the consequence of the fact that the Brotherhoods are nowadays considered by many to have been heroic in their having sought a form of anti-monarchist and anti-feudal democracy. For this reason, it might be suggested, 1551 is a more convenient interpretation. By Aisha Jabbarova Targeting of civilian objects, including critical objects in Armenia by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces has not been on the agenda, Presidential Aide Hikmat Hajiyev said in presser on July 21. Hajiyev was commenting on Armenian allegations about Azerbaijans possible attack on Metsamor nuclear power plant in Armenia. The official said Armenia sought to politicize the issue by cicultation misinformation. The Armenian side uses the views expressed on an individual basis to cover up its crimes, Hajiyev said. He recalled former Armenian Presidents statement that Armenia would target the oil and gas structures in and around Baku with Iskander missiles. "During the recent events, Armenia stated that it will target critical oil and gas structures and critical facilities," Hajiyev said. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz President of Armenia Armen Sarkissian today hosted German medical workers who are in Armenia to help their Armenian colleagues in the fight against the coronavirus and share their experiences. Among the attendees of the meeting were First Deputy Minister of Health Anahit Avanesyan, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Armenia to the Federal Republic of Germany Ashot Smbatyan and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of Federal Republic of Germany to Armenia Michael Banzhaf. President Sarkissian expressed gratitude to the medical workers for their mission and stated that the only way to overcome the coronavirus is to lead a global fight against it. Sarkissian also took the opportunity to express his gratitude to the German people and his good friends, President Steinmeier and Chancellor Merkel and invited everyone to visit Armenia with their families and friends after the pandemic is over. German Ambassador to Armenia Michael Banzhaf expressed gratitude for the reception and stated that Germany views the pandemic as a global challenge and that the medical workers are here to support the efforts to overcome it. According to him, the medical workers visit will also help establish long-term cooperation between the two countries in the field of medicine. By William Schwartz | Published on 2020/07/20 Following reports that an online fan community of "The World of the Married" star Han So-hee had been scammed by the mother of the actress for around twenty thousand dollars, with another previouslt defaulted loan of ten thousand dollars claimed to have been reported to the police. Now, Han So-hee has weighed in on the issue in an event described in the South Korean press as 'Beet Too', a play on words between the South Korean word for debt and Me Too. Advertisement In Han So-hee's apology, she mentioned being aware of her parents' generally untrustworthy nature. According to Han So-hee, she was actually raised by her maternal grandmother, her parents being a constantly unreliable presence in her life, saddling her with debts in adulthood. Such context gives new interpretation to previous discussions of Han So-hee's Cinderella story, working in a bar to make ends meet. According to Han So-hee her parents divorced when she was four years old. Han So-hee explained that she did not bring this issue up sooner because she saw little purpose in publically defaming her parents, not imagining they would attempt to trade on her fame for money. An online commenters claiming to be a classmate of Han So-hee confirmed her story, mentioning her grandmother and her grandmother's friends coming to her graduation but not her parents. In spite of this, the commenter claimed that Han So-hee appeared to be quite happy. Written by William Schwartz Imperial Valley News Center Kentucky Man Sentenced for Role in Concealing Hundreds of Thousands of Dollars in Corporate Contributions to U.S. Senate Campaign Lexington, Kentucky - A Kentucky man was sentenced Thursday to 21 months in prison followed by two years of supervised release for his role in orchestrating a multi-year scheme to funnel more than $200,000 in secret, unlawful corporate contributions into a campaign for United States Senate and for causing the concealment of those contributions from the Federal Election Commission (FEC). Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt of the Justice Departments Criminal Division, U.S. Attorney Robert M. Duncan Jr. of the Eastern District of Kentucky, and Special Agent in Charge James Robert Brown Jr. of the FBIs Louisville Field Office made the announcement. Gerald G. Lundergan, 73, of Lexington, Kentucky, was sentenced before U.S. District Judge Gregory F. Van Tatenhove of the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Kentucky. On September 12, 2019, following a five-week trial, a jury convicted Lundergan of one count of conspiracy, one count of making corporate campaign contributions, four counts of causing the submission of false statements to the FEC and four counts of causing the falsification of documents with the intent to obstruct and impede a matter within the FECs jurisdiction. According to the evidence presented at trial, Lundergan used the funds of S.R. Holding Company Inc. (S.R. Holding), a company he owned, to pay for services provided by consultants and vendors to a campaign for a U.S. Senate seat in the 2014 election cycle. The candidate for this seat was Lundergans daughter, Alison Lundergan Grimes (Democrat). The evidence established that Lundergan caused the issuance of a number of payments from S.R. Holding funds for services that included audio-video production, lighting, recorded telephone calls and campaign consulting, between July 2013 and December 2015. The corporate contributions also included monthly payments from S.R. Holding to co-conspirator Dale C. Emmons and his company during this period. Emmons provided services to the campaign and sought and received compensation from Lundergan and S.R. Holding. Emmons also used the funds of his corporation, Emmons & Company Inc., to pay other vendors and a campaign worker for services rendered to the campaign. Those services included recorded telephone calls, technological support services, and other campaign-related expenses. The evidence established that Lundergan and Emmons concealed these activities from other officials associated with the campaign. Their concealments caused the campaign unwittingly to file false reports with the FEC because the reports failed to disclose the source and amount of the corporate contributions. The FBI investigated the case. Deputy Chief Robert J. Heberle of the Criminal Divisions Public Integrity Section and Assistant U.S. Attorneys Andrew T. Boone and Kate K. Smith of the Eastern District of Kentucky are prosecuting the case. US Sanctions Aim to Keep Russian Financier from Meddling in Sudan's Future By Salem Solomon July 20, 2020 Known as Russian President Vladimir Putin's "chef" because of the billions he made in the catering business, Russian financier Yevgeniy Prigozhin had far more cooking abroad, including meddling in U.S. elections and suppressing democracy in Sudan, according to U.S. charges. Now, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration is issuing strong deterrents to ensure that Prigozhin and his network of offshore interests and fronts for mercenaries do not interfere in Sudan's future. This month the U.S. Treasury Department imposed sanctions on businesses tied to Prigozhin. The Putin ally is accused of supporting former Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir and advising him to violently suppress protests. In return for this support, Sudan gave businesses linked to Prigozhin access to gold and the ores of precious metals. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Prigozhin has been "exploiting Sudan's natural resources for personal gain and spreading malign influence around the globe." The U.S. action comes as Sudan is struggling to form a democratic government as protests are growing in intensity against the transitional government charged with reforming the legislative system and the judiciary. With Bashir jailed, U.S. officials do not want Prigozhin to serve as a conduit for Russian meddling in Sudan's future. Prigozhin, who denies interfering in the West, Africa and Asia, finances the actions of Russia's Internet Research Agency, a massive online troll farm accused of trying to influence elections around the world. Vitaly Bespalov, a 23-year-old journalism school graduate, had no idea what to expect when he arrived at a nondescript four-story business center in St. Petersburg to interview for a job.Everything about the building at Savushkina 55 seemed odd. Security was heavy and the windows were tinted. Guards dressed in camouflage demanded his passport and his home address before letting him into the building. And, as he negotiated his entry, Bespalov noticed a woman enter the lobby in a rage."She was yelling In Sudan, a business he controls called M-Invest is accused of spreading disinformation and advising Bashir on ways to quell protests that swept the nation in 2019. "M-Invest is believed to have advised Omar al-Bashir on how to create a whole system of false propaganda to discredit the leaders of the popular pro-democracy protests," said Suliman Baldo, senior adviser at The Sentry, an investigative and policy group researching money connected with war criminals. "Then also, they advised him to stage public executions and kill a reasonable number of protesters so as to quell the protest against his regime," Baldo said. As payment for this support, Bashir's regime is accused by the Treasury Department of granting gold mining concessions to Meroe Gold, a subsidiary of M-Invest. "What Russia is doing is practicing a new form of colonialism, and they are exploiting the natural resources of Sudan. The natural heritage of the Sudanese youth who are peacefully protesting is being given away to Russians," Jonathan Hutson, a human rights advocate in Washington, told VOA last year. When a crowd in Bambari, in the Central African Republic, accused Mahamat Nour Mamadou of belonging to a militia group tied to the country's previous regime, the consequences were swift and harsh.Soldiers whisked Mamadou away to a nearby town hall, where he was questioned, and then to a base, where he was tortured for five days.Mamadou told the AFP news agency that soldiers choked him with a chain, slashed his back with a knife and sliced off one of his fingers. Even though Prigozhin and the businesses are outside of U.S. jurisdiction, the sanctions can still have a strong effect, analysts say. "There is a huge reputational impact that comes with that designation by (the Office of Foreign Assets Control)," Baldo said, adding that the move will make it difficult for Pregozhin-linked businesses to operate around the world. "This leads to the freezing of its accounts and assets that are within reach of U.S. jurisdiction, of course. But it also leads to delisting by international financial institutions and international corporations from dealing with a company that is sanctioned by the U.S. Department of Treasury," he said. Meroe Gold, a mining company listed in the sanctions, is still active in Sudan and has deep ties to Sudan's security forces. Baldo believes that Sudan's transitional government will be eager to cut ties with the entity. "I believe that these reputational consequences will be a deterrent for the transitional pro-democracy government of Sudan today to continue the type of partnerships that Meroe Gold had with Sudanese security agencies," Baldo said. "They will be concerned that the U.S. would again be basically unhappy about their continued cooperation with a company of such ill repute on the record in the continent of Africa." Baldo said the totality of charges show how Russia sought to prop up an autocratic government in Sudan while profiting from the strife. "This is how they are linked to the anti-democracy attempts by a dictatorial regime, a genocidal regime against its own people," he said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address An all-party parliamentary committee heard on Tuesday from the clerk of the privy council who told them there was no way Finance Minister Bill Morneau and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau could have avoided being involved in a now-controversial agreement with WE Charity. Given the scope and importance of the program, Ian Shugart, clerk of the privy council, told MPs on the parliamentary finance committee that he didnt see how Trudeau and Morneau could not have taken part in discussions. Shugart is the latest high-ranking public servant to testify in front of the committee thats been holding hearings about the WE Charity deal announced by the Liberal government last month. Its since been cancelled amid charges of cronyism by the Opposition, allegations there were conflicts of interest in cabinet, and an ethics investigation. On Tuesday, NDP MP Peter Julian asked Shugart if there were discussions about ministers recusing themselves from conversations around the deal, as well as about Trudeau and Morneaus financial connections to WE through their family members. Shugart said that he wasnt aware of financial connections between Morneau and the charity but that Trudeaus involvement with WE was in the public domain. It did not particularly cross my mind that there was anything that needed to be disclosed because this was a well-known fact, he said. I do not see a way that the prime minister, or the finance minister responsible for public funds, could not have had involvement in the policy development and in the approval of finances on this scale. Earlier this month, Trudeau and Morneau apologized for not recusing themselves from cabinet discussions around the WE agreement. The charity was set to deliver up to $900 million in grants to students under the agreement and could have received $43.5 million to administer the program. But after the agreement was announced, it was revealed that Trudeaus mother and brother received a combined $282,000 between 2016 and 2020 from the group and that Morneaus daughter works for WE. Both politicians are facing ethics investigations. Shugart said that conflict of interest issues didnt come up at the public service level, and he doubled down on what politicians and public servants have been saying for weeks that the public service wasnt in a place to deliver the grant program, so it needed to be done by WE. Shugart said he made no judgment about the prime minister and finance minister not recusing themselves from discussions about the WE deal. Morneau is set to appear before the finance committee on Wednesday. Hes the highest ranking politician to testify so far and the second cabinet minister. Last week, the first hearing at the committee saw Diversity and Inclusion and Youth Minister Bardish Chagger testify, along with high-ranking public service officials. Up until then, the government had only said that $19.5 million was set aside for the charity to administer the Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG) program. Chagger revealed the government was prepared to provide as much as $43.5 million to WE. Discussions about WE running the program began in April, high-ranking public servants told the finance committee last week. WE Charity had an unrelated proposal about a social entrepreneurship program circulating with federal ministers through the beginning of April, the committee heard. Rachel Wernick, an assistant deputy minister in the department of employment and social development, testified that she volunteered to reach out to WE on April 19, just a few days before the grant program was announced publicly. Then, on April 22, on the same day the program was announced, WE reached out with a proposal to run it, having adapted their social entrepreneurship program to do so, Wernick said. Wernick later recommended to cabinet ministers that WE Charity was the organization best suited to run the federal grant program. However, the Star learned on Monday that days before the program was announced, on April 17, Chagger spoke with WE co-founder Craig Kielburger. They didnt discuss the Canada Student Service Grant (CSSG) program, a spokesperson from Chaggers office said, they spoke about a separate social entrepreneurship program. The finance committee will continue hearing testimony on Wednesday. ABC Allegedly Breaches Own Code of Practice in Reports: Falun Gong Spokesperson The president of the Falun Dafa Association of Australia (FDAA) has written a letter to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) saying she is deeply concerned about reckless, misleading, and unsubstantiated allegations published by the public broadcaster in a media release and trailer for an upcoming episode of Foreign Correspondent titled The Power of Falun Gong. In a letter dated July 17, obtained by The Epoch Times, and now published online, FDAA President Dr. Lucy Zhao said Falun Gongs reputation may be harmed by the ABC program and requested an urgent meeting with ABC producers and executives to articulate the groups concerns. Zhao asserts the program may contravene ABC policies on hate speech and trauma by inciting undeserved hatred and hostility toward members of a religious minority. In particular, Zhao noted that the ABC intends to publish the story one day after the 21st anniversary of the start of the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) persecution of Falun Gong adherents in China. The date of the intended broadcast is noteworthy: July 20 marks the start of the CCPs nationwide persecution of Falun Gong in China. The only two groups who attach significance to this anniversary are the Chinese Communist Party and Falun Gong, Zhao said. That the ABC would broadcast this documentary to coincide with the 21st anniversary of the persecution of the practice shows how unworthy of dignity and respect the reporters and editors involved in this program seem to think we are, she added. Falun Gong is a spiritual practice of the Buddhist tradition, whose adherents are taught to live by the principles of truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. It was first introduced to the public in China in 1992 by founder Mr. Li Hongzhi. It spread rapidly, mostly by word-of-mouth, and by 1999, a government survey estimated that about 70 to 100 million people were practicing all across the country. Believing the popularity of the spiritual practice to be a threat to his power and the atheistic ideology of the Communist Party, then-Party leader Jiang Zemin ordered the practice to be eradicated on July 20, 1999. Since then, millions of Chinese people have been targeted by the regime; thousands have or are facing arbitrary detention, forced re-education, torture, or have been murdered for their vital organs. On July 20, the Falun Dafa Info Centre published a joint statement signed by over 600 lawmakers from 30 countriesincluding over 20 Australian politicianscalling for the Chinese regime to end the persecution of Falun Gong, and acknowledging the 21-year suffering of its adherents in China. ABCs Code of Practice Zhao believes the plans to broadcast the program one day after the anniversary of the Chinese regimes crackdown contravenes the ABCs Code of Practice (pdf), which states the broadcaster must never gratuitously harm or offend, and should avoid the unjustified use of stereotypes or discriminatory content that could reasonably be interpreted as condoning or encouraging prejudice. If the media release disseminated about the forthcoming documentary is at all representative, the documentary clearly fails to adhere to these standards, Zhao said. A public broadcaster has a moral duty to treat their subjects in an open-minded, fair, balanced, and accurate manner. This duty is even more important when reporting on an already vulnerable and persecuted minority group, to avoid causing undue harm or exacerbating the groups marginalisation, she said in the letter. On July 21, the ABCs report was picked up and reported by the Chinese Communist Partys 610 office. The 610 office, named for the date of its creation on June 10, 1999, is a secret police force that was established with the sole purpose of eradicating Falun Gong. It reported directly to then-leader Jiang Zemin and became the main weapon in the regimes struggle against adherents. Read More Leaked Documents Reveal 610 Office Intensified Persecution of Spiritual Group in Recent Years ABC Misrepresents Falun Gong Views on Homosexuality and Race The ABC media release claimed that Falun Gong teaches intolerant, racist, and homophobic viewsclaims which Zhao denies. In her letter, Zhao explained: Falun Gong does not forbid individuals of any sexual orientation or gender identity from practising the discipline, nor does it promote or condone hatred or discrimination based on race, sexual orientation, or identity. On the contrary, Zhao wrote, Falun Gongs teachings stress that all people should be treated equally, with tolerance and compassion. She added that same-sex attracted individuals are among the community of practitioners and are treated no differently from anyone else. Moreover, Falun Gong does not seek to impose its ethical precepts on anyone, Zhao explained. Instead, she is concerned that the ABCs media release and trailer are misleading, reckless, and divisive and could expose Falun Gong practitioners who are gay or biracial to needless anguish. It is also worth noting that a significant proportion of Falun Gong adherents in the West belong to mixed-race families. This reality about the Falun Gong community cannot be reconciled with the claim of discrimination or intolerance towards people of mixed race, Zhao wrote. Allegations of Being Anti-Medicine The ABC Foreign Correspondent trailer is also alleged to have accused those who practice Falun Gong of refusing medical treatment, which Zhao said is entirely unfounded. Falun Gong has no prohibitions on seeking medical treatment, and the Falun Gong community does not apply social pressure to discourage individuals from seeking medical treatment. To the contrary, its teachings state that hospitals and Western medicine can be effective at treating illness, and that people experiencing severe illness should seek medical care, Zhao noted. Zhao wrote that scholars and researchers had conducted extensive field work in the faith community and confirmed that the group does not prohibit practitioners from taking medicine or apply social pressure to that end, she said. Zhao noted that how an individual interprets the teachings of Falun Gong and how they choose to apply them in their lives is entirely up to them. The Epoch Times reached out to the ABC for a comment but the broadcaster did not respond. Read More Falun Gong Community Protests Outside ABC Headquarters Ahead of Scheduled Reports Yesterday Danquah Institute was in the news busily defending the cruel Collapse of some Banks and financial institutions. I listened to their Executive Director Richard Ahiagbah on Eye Witness News on CitiFM making all manner of claims to justify the collapse of some banks by Akufo Addo. Particular of those claims was that it wasn't President Akufo Addo or the Danquah Institute that ran those bank aground or mismanaged the banks and so they cannot be blamed for their take-down however reckless. Granted, but the fundamental question which everyone has been asking which was recently amplified by the Rev. Agyin Asare is "Couldnt these Ghanaian owned Banks however weak have been saved?" Of course not even the Chief Architects President Akufo Addo and Ken Ofori-Attah have been able to answer this multi-million dollar question and so I don't expect Richard Ahiagbah to do any a better. Now here a few questions. 1.Yes Unibank had a few managerial weaknesses just like many other banks and neither Ken Ofori Atta or President Akufo Addo was responsible for those weaknesses but, did Government of Ghana owe Unibank to the tune of GHC1billion Cedis at the time of it's collapse? 2. Were those debt owed by Government and its Agencies downgraded by the Bank of Ghana three times in a month to weaken the bank even further? 3. If those monies have been paid, would Unibank have gotten the GHC400Million to recapitalize and an extra GHC600Million to inject as Liquidity into the Bank? 4.So why didn't Government pay its indebtedness to Unibank? Why didn't Government order its Agencies to also settle all their indebtedness to Unibank? 5. So the question Rev. Agyin Asare is asking is, was there nothing Government could have done to save the Unibank? 6. The answer is simple, there were multiple things Government could have done to save Unibank and if it deliberately refused to do all that then it only means one thing.... The government was determined to Collapse Unibank it only needed a reason on paper. 7. What about GN bank? Is it true Government was owing GN bank and Royal bank to the tune of 2.2billion? 8.Why didn't Government pay those monies to them? 9. Is it true Government was owing Contractors who had borrowed monies from GN bank to execute Government contracts? 10. Is it true Government deliberately refused to pay these contractors? 11. Is it true Bank of Ghana then went to GN bank and force it to write those loans given to Government contractors off? 12. Was it not a Government decision not to pay these Contractors or that was also the fault of the managers of the bank or the shareholders of the banks? 13. If any manager or shareholder has mismanaged his bank, does the law says you should collapse the bank? 14.Doesn't the law provide multiple actions which can be taken to restructure and strengthen the bank? 15. So the decision to collapse the banks was SOLELY a Government call and neither Richard Ahiagbah or the talkative Governor of the Central bank can convince anybody otherwise. The decision was CRUEL, RECKLESS, WICKED, and borne out vile ENVY as stipulated by Rev. Charles Agyin Asare. Mensah Thompson Executive Director, ASEPA 0542120628 CC. Danquah Institute All Media Houses There have been some difficult times for the manufacturing industry in recent months We have a strong cohort of around 2,200 advanced manufacturing, materials and engineering (AMME) companies in Northern Ireland. They employ over 46,000 people and are worth approximately 3.2bn to the local economy, accounting for around 8% of our economic output. This is one of the key sectors I will be focusing on as we work to rebuild the economy after the impact of Covid-19 - alongside digital, clean energy, and life and health sciences. These four areas are a vitally important part of my long-term plan to deliver higher paying jobs, a highly skilled workforce and a more regionally balanced economy. The AMME sector is expected to require around 1,500 new workers every year, with opportunities across all skills levels and work which includes R&D, new product development and manufacturing. Recent technical skills required by job applicants included welding, engineering drawings and Mig and Tig Welding as well as softer skills such as teamwork/collaboration customer service and scheduling. AMME is a highly productive sector, generating output per worker of 68,199 - 23% above the Northern Ireland average. It covers automotive, construction, materials handling, electronics, consumer products, water, and aerospace and defence. There have been some difficult times for the manufacturing industry in recent months with redundancies announced at some companies due to the impact of Covid. But I am confident it will rebuild and this sector has a central role to play in our economic recovery plan. Over the last three years Invest NI has provided support and business advice to 622 companies in the sector. The financial assistance offered, covering investment in R&D, job creation and growing exports, totals 98m and will contribute towards 612m of investment in the economy and the creation of 3,350 new jobs. Northern Ireland has a world-class reputation for its strengths in many areas including plastics and polymers, composites design and manufacturing, precision manufacturing, and specialist joinery and fit-out. AMME was one of our biggest exporters in 2019. Machinery and Transport Equipment was our second biggest export to Ireland (526m), our biggest to the Rest of the EU (844m) and the biggest to the Rest of the World (2bn). There can be significant interdependencies between our manufacturers with many of them operating within integrated supply chains. Some manufacturing companies in recent months have had to consider how their production could be done differently to comply with new social distancing rules and fortunately they have adapted quickly and positively to accommodate these challenges. Success in this sector has always required innovation and I intend to build upon that and encourage it even more. Robotics and automation have a part to play throughout our economy. In the wider context of the City and Growth Deals, there are many strong AMME related opportunities which would help support the future growth and development of the sector. Matrix, Northern Ireland's science industry panel, has conducted a study on Women in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) and is working closely with WISE, a UK body committed to encouraging women and girls to take up careers in science and engineering, to develop a Northern Ireland regional hub aimed at showing girls that STEM careers are exciting, well-paid and fulfilling. Matrix has also carried out a detailed foresight study into the AMME sector. My department will continue to work with Matrix on the recommendations made and also in identifying opportunities and technologies likely to emerge over the next decade to ensure Northern Ireland maintains a competitive edge. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Agence France-Presse) Stockholm Tue, July 21, 2020 12:09 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406681011c 2 Environment Greta-Thunberg,awards,environment Free Climate activist Greta Thunberg was on Monday awarded a Portuguese rights award and promptly pledged the million-euro prize to groups working to protect the environment and halt climate change. "That is more money than I can begin to imagine, but all the prize money will be donated, through my foundation, to different organisations and projects who are working to help people on the front line, affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis," the Swedish teen said in a video posted online. She was awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity for the way she "has been able to mobilize younger generations for the cause of climate change and her tenacious struggle to alter a status quo that persists", Jorge Sampaio, chair of the prize jury, said earlier. The first 100,000 euros of the prize money will go to the "SOS Amazonia" campaign led by Fridays For Future Brazil to tackle the coronavirus outbreak in the Amazon. Another 100,000 euros will go to the Stop Ecocide Foundation "to support their work to make ecocide an international crime", Thunberg said on Twitter. Read also: Canada oil firm apologizes for sexualized 'Greta' image Im extremely honoured to receive the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. Were in a climate emergency, and my foundation will as quickly as possible donate all the prize money of 1 million Euros to support ... -> 1/3 pic.twitter.com/Eti6AJXSvj Greta Thunberg (@GretaThunberg) July 20, 2020 The million euro ($1.1 million) is the largest prize won by the 17-year-old environmental campaigner who has also won Amnesty International's top human rights prize and the Swedish Right Livelihood Award, often presented as an alternative Nobel. She said Monday she was "extremely honored" to receive the annual Gulbenkian prize. Thunberg and three other young climate activists on Thursday launched an appeal to EU leaders to "face up to the climate emergency", in an open letter signed by 150 scientists and a host of celebrities. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 15:57:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TIANJIN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- North China's Tianjin port ranked first in liquefied natural gas (LNG) imports among the country's LNG import ports in the first half of this year, according to Tianjin Customs. LNG imports through the Tianjin port increased by 26.1 percent year on year to hit 5.95 million tonnes in the period. The LNG imported through the port during the six-month period mainly came from Australia, Russia, Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore. The sustained growth in LNG imports can be attributed to the optimization of the port's customs clearance efficiency and its geographical location, a pivotal seaport for northern China. As an efficient and green energy source, imported LNG ensures the supply for winter heating and new energy vehicles like LNG buses in northern China. Enditem Slovakia marks 140 years since diplomat M. R. Stefanik was born on July 21, 1880 in Kosariska. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled General Milan Rastislav Stefanik acted in critical moments as a statesman, President Zuzana Caputova said about this Slovak diplomat and astronomer at a ceremony commemorating 140 years since his birth. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement To achieve the freedom of his nation, he went to the limits of self-sacrifice, she said in Kosariska (Trencin Region), where Stefanik was born on July 21, 1880. He always did what he considered his moral duty because he felt responsible for the people he had acquired for his historical dream, Caputova continued. We need to remind ourselves more often how Stefanik understood democracy - as an obligation to think about whether we do not harm our neighbour, the nation, society, by our actions, she added. Therefore, politicians should not talk about but tackle problems, she emphasised in her speech. The president also encouraged people to act and live in the spirit of Stefaniks legacy. A great Slovak The ceremony, held in his native house that now serves as the museum, was attended by PM Igor Matovic (OLaNO), Speaker of Parliament Boris Kollar (Sme Rodina), and the representatives of Churches, local governments, various associations and organisations. Related article Related article M. R. Stefanik: an uncompromising politician and royalist with debts Read more Matovic said the Slovak statesman, who co-founded Czechoslovakia after WWI, was the first Slovak European citizen to travel the world. But he always wanted to return home, he noted. His heart never stopped beating for Slovakia and he used his contacts, knowledge and ingenuity to help our ancestors in Slovakia create a country in which they will be able to live as a nation," Matovic said, as quoted by the TASR newswire. The well-being of the nation is paramount, because our nation is our mirror and our future, Kollar said during the ceremony. He also reminded representatives of political power that sacrifices must be made for the nation and asked people to not give up on their right to change things for the better. Stefanik as an inspiration Read also Read also Stefanik co-founded Czechoslovakia but did not live to see it thrive Read more Several ministers have celebrated Stefanik's legacy on Facebook as well. They pointed out that despite his poor background, thanks to his hard work and determination he became one of the greatest Slovaks, also known outside Slovakia. Stefanik remains an inspiration for his ability to navigate through the complex labyrinths of European politics, former PM Peter Pellegrini said. His diplomatic experience is an inspiration, showing us how to professionally represent the interests of a small nation in the world of power politics, he added. Rumour Has It! According to an online portal, the duo is in a serious relationship and are desiring to take a step forward in their lives. For the unversed, the actors have earlier worked in Alai (2003) directed by Vikram Kumar, but garnered huge attention and appreciation of the masses with Gautham Vasudev Menon's 2010 movie Vinnaithaandi Varuvaayaa. When Trisha And STR Joined Hands For Gautham Menon Recently, the duo shared screen space for a spin-off of Menon's short film titled Karthik Dial Seytha Yenn, which yet again created a buzz on social media. There are several fans who are wishing for the actors to marry each other and lead a perfect life. However, only Trisha and Simbu's official confirmation about the wedding will prove if the news is just a rumour or the much awaited-wedding is actually going to happen soon. Trisha And STRs Past Relationships STR's relationships with Lady Superstar Nayanthara and Hansika Motwani have grabbed eyeballs long back, and it's known to all. On the other hand, Trisha was rumoured to have a special bond with Rana Daggubati and Dhanush. Trisha and STRs Upcoming Movies Talking about their future projects, Trisha will start shooting for her next with Mani Ratnam. Titled Ponniyin Selvan, the movie has an ensemble cast of Vikram, Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Aishwarya Lekshmi and Vikram Prabhu. On the other hand, STR will next be seen in Venkat Prabhu's Maanaadu with Kalyani Priyadarshan. He will also essay an extended cameo in UR Jameel's Maha starring Hansika Motwani. How to Clip Click and hold your mouse button on the page to select the area you wish to save or print. You can click and drag the clipping box to move it or click and drag in the bottom right corner to resize it. When you're happy with your selection, click the checkmark icon next to the clipping area to continue. Want to win a New Jersey primary election? First, outraise your opponent. All but two of the states 16 House and Senate contests earlier this month were won by the candidates with the most money, including all nine incumbents facing challengers, according to Federal Election Commission figures through June 30, a week before the states July 7 primary. Money is not a panacea, said Sheila Krumholz, executive director of the Center for Responsive Politics. But you cant win without it. In the 3rd Districts Republican primary, business executive David Richter lent himself $600,000 to outspend and defeat union official Kate Gibbs for the Republican nomination against Democratic Rep. Andy Kim. Former investment banker Frank Pallottas $435,000 personal loan helped him amass more campaign cash than any of the other candidates in the 5th District GOP primary for the seat now held by Democratic Rep. Josh Gottheimer. And in the states hottest congressional race, South Jerseys 2nd District, the winning Democratic candidate, educator Amy Kennedy (of the famous Kennedy family) raised more than $1 million and lent herself $500,000, giving her a 3 to 1 financial advantage over Brigid Callahan Harrison, a Montclair University political science professor. The fundraising gap also helped explain why progressive challengers to New Jerseys Democratic incumbents fizzled out. Every lawmaker got at least 70% of the vote in winning renomination. One of the great incumbent advantages is great name recognition, said Ross Baker, a political science professor at Rutgers University. Its hard to overcome that if youre not well known. If you dont have the money, youre not going to be competitive. Five Democratic insurgents who supported Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for president either ran under his Not Me. Us. slogan or received his endorsement. They brought in a combined $1.1 million. More than half of that, $570,895, was raised by just one candidate, Glen Rock Council member Arati Kreibich, who ran against Gottheimer. Meanwhile, Gottheimer raised $5.7 million, more than any other Senate or House candidate in the state. Media in new Jersey is expensive, Baker said. Money is tremendously important to get your message across. A lot of these people did not have the ability to challenge people with name recognition. Only in two Republican primaries did the candidate with the most money fail to win. Engineer Hirsh Singh finished behind Rik Mehta, a pharmacist and lawyer, for the GOP Senate nomination against U.S. Sen. Cory Booker. And while former political campaign manager Tim Walsh raised more money, Air Force veteran Billy Prempeh emerged as the GOP nominee to take on Rep. Bill Pascrell Jr., D-9th Dist. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Jonathan D. Salant may be reached at jsalant@njadvancemedia.com. Paramedics: Britain's Lifesavers viewers were left 'emotional' after a paramedic revealed he had to watch his own mother's funeral on Skype after losing her to Covid-19. In last night's episode of the Channel 4 show, Richard, from the West Midlands, told how like so many other people, he wasn't able to say 'goodbye' to his mother when she died from the virus because her care home wasn't allowing any visitors - even for end of life. And those who tuned in were quick to take to social media to express their sympathies for the NHS worker - who revealed only eight people were allowed to attend her funeral due to government guidelines. 'Poor Richard losing his mum and not being able to be with her when she died,' wrote one, while a second commented: 'Not being able to go to end of life must be awful. Then not being able to attend the funeral.....I just cant imagine the heartbreak...' Paramedic Richard (pictured) left viewers in tears after revealing he continued working on the frontline despite losing his mother to Covid-19 in last night's episode of Channel 4's Paramedics: Britain's Lifesavers The NHS worker (pictured) told how his mother's care home wasn't allowed any visitors even for end of life, so he wasn't able to say goodbye to her Taking to Twitter, one viewer penned: 'Poor Richard losing his mum and not being able to be with her when she died' (pictured) During the episode, an emotional Richard explained: 'My mother, she contracted coronavirus and passed away on Easter Sunday. 'She contracted COVID-19 while she was in a care home. She was taken to the Queen Elizabeth hospital and unfortunately due to her age, she was put on what they call a tender loving care ward. She passed away on that ward a few days later. 'They weren't allowing any visitors even for end of life. I found that really hard to deal with. I missed saying goodbye to her.' 'How many of our older generation have we lost? We don't value them enough. Not nearly enough.' Speaking of his mother's funeral, Richard continued: 'How many more people are going to die? There's eight of us. We can't all go to the funeral so I'll be watching from Skype at home. 'It's weird not being able to say goodbye properly. It's wrong.' The NHS worker explained to a colleague (pictured) that it was 'weird not being able to say goodbye properly' Viewers were left saddened by Richard's story after he revealed he couldn't go to his mother's funeral because only eight people were allowed Richard, who continued working on the frontline despite his mother's death, went on to say how working on the frontline is the place for him, helping patients. 'It is the hardest thing I have ever experienced, but I wouldnt be anywhere else,' he said - and many were quick to take to social media to express their gratitude to all of those who tirelessly work on the frontline. 'Amazing selfless wonderful people. Thank you,' praised one, while a second penned: 'Just where would we have been without the dedication and bravery of these #TrueHeros.' A third added: 'Love watching the heroes of our #NHS doing what they do best. #Paramedics #ParamedicsBritainslifesavers We Should All Be So Grateful. These people are Superstars,' while a fourth commented: 'We appreciate you, very emotional episode.' A further wrote: 'Im a mess!! What a programme - and what superheroes!' Consumers hope that they will get benefits when foreign distributors are allowed to join the petroleum retail market. Three years have elapsed since the time that IQ8, a joint venture between Japans Idemitsu Kosan Group and Kuwait Petroleum International Ltd (KPI), officially opened its first distribution station in Vietnam, becoming the first foreign petroleum retailer in the market. Foreign investors set up a petroleum retail company in Vietnam in a special case thanks to the governments commitment given to the investors of the Nghi Son Oil Petrochemistry and Oil Refinery project in Thanh Hoa. To date, it remains the only foreign retailer in Vietnam and the market is still under the governments control. Foreign investors set up a petroleum retail company in Vietnam in a special case thanks to the governments commitment given to the investors of the Nghi Son Oil Petrochemistry and Oil Refinery project in Thanh Hoa. MOITs plan to open the petroleum retail market to foreigners has caught special attention from the public. The ministry, drafting the decree to amend articles of Decree 83 on petroleum trade, is considering allowing all businesspeople trading petroleum products to transfer no more than 35 percent of shares to foreign investors. The draft decree, if approved, is expected to create a more competitive petroleum retail market. Asked why MOIT considers opening the petroleum retail market to foreign investors, a senior official said it is necessary to consider the time for opening very carefully. In 2007, when it joined WTO, Vietnam did not commit to open the petroleum market. After 13 years of joining WTO, Vietnams economy has deeply integrated into the world economy and has signed a lot of FTAs with large economies. It has allowed foreign businesses to invest in many important business fields, including power, oil and gas, banking and aviation. As for the petroleum distribution, after a period of protection, Vietnamese enterprises have organized large distribution networks and have entered a new development period. They need to build specialized storehouses and wharves and make investment in production, a field that needs huge investment capital. Some key state-owned enterprises in the field have been equitized and have received the nod from the Prime Minister to sell shares to foreign investors with specific ratios. Petrolimex, for example, can transfer 20 percent of shares to foreign investors, PVOIl 35 percent and Binh Son Petrochemistry and Oil Refinery 49 percent. Nguyen Thanh Son, former director of Song Hong Energy JSC, said MOETs intention to allow foreign investors to join the market shows a more open mindset in market management. However, he thinks that it would be better not only to open the petroleum retail market, but also allow foreign businesses to invest in all links of the distribution chains, from import to wholesale and retail. Mai Lan Local petroleum firms forecast plunging revenue in 2020 Pressed by COVID-19 and the oil price war between Russia and the OPEC, local petroleum manufacturers expect great plunges in revenue. Andrew Buncombe expected his assignment on July 1 to be relatively straightforward: covering the clearing of a Seattle protest site for the British daily The Independent. Instead, the reporter found himself in a situation he had never experienced before. Irons were strapped to his ankles and a chain wrapped around his stomach. He was in a van heading toward Seattles West Precinct, in close quarters with others who, like Buncombe, had just been arrested. At one point, the belly chain became so tight that he told the officers he could not breathe a phrase similar to the words spoken by George Floyd, Eric Garner and other Black Americans who died while in police custody, and one that has become a rallying cry in Black Lives Matter demonstrations. In response, an officer told him If you can speak, you can breathe, Buncombe said. It felt surreal and it felt crazy and just ridiculous that I would have to use those words to an officer who just arrested me, Buncombe told VOA. Their response to me speaks for itself. The Seattle police did not respond to VOAs emails requesting comment. The Office of Police Accountability and King County sheriffs department, which covers Seattle, were reviewing details of the journalists arrest, Buncombes newspaper reported. Buncombe is one of more than 70 journalists arrested while covering demonstrations sparked by the May 25 death of Floyd in Minneapolis. The U.S. Press Freedom Tracker has received reports on over 500 incidents involving journalists, including 114 attacks. Advocates say the incidents could have dangerous implications for press freedom in the U.S. There's no comparison because never before, certainly in modern history and certainly in the Trackers history, have there been simultaneous protests happening at one time, Kirstin McCudden, the Trackers managing editor, said referring to the U.S. 'Window of insight' Buncombe, The Independents Chief U.S. Correspondent, was reporting from Cal Anderson Park on the clearing of the Capitol Hill Organized Protest, an area protesters declared autonomous for over three weeks. Within five minutes of arriving at the park, Buncombe said, police told him he was in an out of bounds location and arrested him. He said he held up press pass and told them he intended to take photographs. Reporters are exempt from dispersal orders unless they are physically obstructing efforts by police, according to the Seattle Municipal Code. Buncombe was in police custody with 10 others, most of whom were protesters, and said he was anxious about contracting the coronavirus. He said he told officers he was a journalist. After about six hours, police told the journalist he would be charged with failure to disperse, and he was released. On July 15, the charges were dropped. Buncombe said the incident was not close to the worst treatment that people and other journalists have experienced. But, he said, it did shed light on the criminal justice system. It was just this tiny, tiny, tiny window of insight into the system, he said. You can shout and scream, and you can hold up your press pass and say I'm innocent. I havent done this. I've done nothing wrong. I'm not a protester. Until they've kind of dealt with you, until you've gone through the process, you might as well just sit there and be quiet. New trend The start of protests marks the most incidents documented by the Press Freedom Tracker since it was created in 2017, McCudden said. On average, the tracker reported about 150 incidents annually. McCudden has noticed several trends, including the role law enforcement has played. Of the 114 reported physical attacks, a law enforcement officer was the alleged assailant in 68 of them about 60 percent. Last year, she said, 39 journalists were attacked, six allegedly by law enforcement. Instead of providing and creating an environment where both demonstrators and journalists can exercise the right to demonstrate and cover the news, [they] are confronted in highly aggressive methods. For us, that's a very concerning trend, Carlos Martinez de la Serna, the program director for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), told VOA. CPJ helps the Tracker with its reporting. Many of the arrests and attacks took place after the journalists identified themselves and offered to change locations, Martinez de la Serna said. Press freedom advocates worry that the incidents will damage the countrys previous standing as a beacon of press freedom globally. The U.S. has experienced a steady decline in press freedom, even before this year. In Reporters Without Borders 2020 World Press Freedom Index, the U.S. ranked 45 out of 180 countries, with 1 being most free. The country has declined by 13 spots since 2013. I am absolutely concerned about the state of press freedom in the United States, Nora Benavidez, the director of U.S. Free Expression Programs at PEN America, told VOA. Much of our work now is trying to acclimate people to understanding that press freedom is not an abstract concept. It is a fundamental aspect of our democracy. Others said the public nature of the incidents could hinder other countries perception of the U.S. It's the images of journalists being attacked and violence against demonstrators across 71 cities, across the whole U.S, Martinez de la Serna said. That's on top of a lack of leadership in terms of press freedom. Advocates say change and justice is needed including consequences for those involved in incidents with journalists. Press freedom groups, including the CPJ, have called on U.S. governors and President Donald Trump to ensure the attacks are fully investigated and to respect the right of journalists to cover protests. In addition, rights groups are pushing for a reduction in anti-press sentiments nationwide. People need credible information, and that really does start with journalists, Benavidez said. They need to have the latitude and the freedom to be able to report as they wish, and to be free from retaliation. The petition has gained 25,000 votes required to be considered by president. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky has responded to a petition calling for a ban on the introduction in Ukraine of the 5G mobile telecommunications technology. In particular, the president called on Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Head of Ukraine's National Commission for Communications and Informatization Regulation (NCCIR) Oleksandr Zhivotovsky to inform Ukrainian citizens about the impact of 4G and 5G mobile technologies on human health. Zelensky also noted the importance of introducing permissible electromagnetic radiation ceilings when introducing high-speed communications. "The main thing in terms of health care in introducing 5G is standardization of maximum admissible levels of electromagnetic radiation," he said. Read alsoRFE/RL: Russia denies nuclear incident following detection of isotopes in Northern Europe The 2019-2020 action plan to launch 5G in Ukraine this year has not been approved yet, according to the president's response to the petition. Zelensky, citing research by international organizations, also stressed that there was no evidence that 5G was harmful to humans. As UNIAN reported, on July 6, a petition calling for a ban on 5G in Ukraine, gained 25,000 votes required for its consideration by the president. Several local officials have apparently instructed the police to "stand down" when dealing with rioters. However, there are cases where they seem to be overzealous in their desire to convict certain law violators. Her name is Beverlyn Beatty pic.twitter.com/M3gxtU2o8M Jack Posobiec (@JackPosobiec) July 20, 2020 Conservative gadfly Katie Hopkins remarked, "There is a real sense now that we are against our own government, that the establishment is working against us." It is becoming increasingly apparent that Hopkins is correct. The Democrat Party, the media, academia, the judiciary, major corporations, many state and local governments and even a considerable number of Republican leaders have consistently sided with radical mobs as they riot in our cities. Their outlook is summed up by Massachusetts attorney general Maura Healey who claimed, "Yes, America is burning, but that's how forests grow." Rioters and looters following George Floyd's death have had little to fear of being arrested. Nearly all rioters have been freed from jail in Washington, D.C. and most have had felony riot charges dropped against them. The Washington Post reported, Although many of those arrested were charged by police with felony rioting, that charge was dropped by prosecutors in most cases. St. Louis' chief prosecutor Kim Gardner announced that all suspects arrested for looting and rioting have been released. This was after 4 police officers were shot and one retired police captain was killed. Gardner claimed she needed more evidence from police in order to prosecute. Portland, a very progressive city, dropped charges against only 59 of the 400 rioters arrested. Those charges not dismissed must have been pretty serious. Portland police arrested a 25-year-old protester for allegedly setting fire to a Chase Bank in downtown Portland on May 30. He was charged with arson, criminal mischief and riot. The charges were dismissed. Most of the looters and rioters arrested by the NYPD are immediately released as a direct result of New Yorks new bail-reform law. In order to induce them to show up for trial Mayor Bill de Blasio has offered them free tickets to Mets games, movie tickets, and gift cards. Few governors and mayors are as foolish as former Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake. After the 2015 riots that destroyed much of her city she remarked, we also gave those who wished to destroy space to do that as well. Present day mayors are more discreet when they issue "stand down" orders. There are numerous examples of this policy. A 911 operator in Columbus, OH told a caller, We were told by our mayor to stand down, so the mayor has given them full range of the street. The police chief was quick to deny this. However, did they respond to this call? A young woman in Fredricksberg, VA called 911 when rioters surrounded and climbed on her car screaming obscenities. She had her young daughter in the car. The dispatcher informed her, "We cant do anything, maam. The city told us that this is a sanctioned event." The dispatcher advised her, "We would suggest you call up city hall to let them know about your frustrations." In New York City, Ed Mullins, president of New York Sergeants Benevolent Association, claimed, "We have no leadership coming from City Hall. We are being told to stand down." Former New York City Mayor Rudy Giuliani claimed Mayor De Blasio has been calling individual police chiefs to tells them not to enforce the law and not to make arrests. In this way he avoids informing the police commissioner. The Portland police have reportedly been told to stand down leaving federal police to protect federal property. When Mark McCloskey's home was approached by a mob he called 911. These mobs had already demonstrated their proclivity for violence. When the police did not respond he confronted them with a firearm. There are cases where the government is quick to respond and spares no expense. They wasted no time seizing the weapon Mark McCloskey used to defend his home. He now faces felony charges for defending his home. That is why the government spent approximately half a million dollars to arrest Roger Stone in a pre-dawn raid, and the FBI sent special agent Johnnie Sharp Jr. with a team of 15 FBI agents to investigate a noose that had been found in the Talladega Superspeedway garage stall belonging Bubba Wallace. The Black Lives Matter painted on the street in front of Trump Tower has been defaced twice. Mayor de Blasio has put police on high alert with 27 officers assigned round the clock to protect it. When it come to opponents of the Deep State money is not a problem. This is where Beverlyn Beatty enters the picture. Beverlyn is a Black woman opposed to the Black Lives Matter movement. She decided to deface the slogan with black paint. During the attempt to restrain her an officer was "injured." He may be out for several days and may even have be medically retired. She was eventually handcuffed. The entire episode demonstrated the incredible patience of the NYPD members and perhaps their fear to use what would be interpreted as excessive force. Free Beverlyn Beatty! 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. The brain behind the stunning Google Pixel camera, Marc Levoy, recently joined Adobe and is working on this new app. Marc Levoy is the person who used software to create the incredible cameras Google Pixel became famous for. After recently leaving Google, Levoy joined Adobe and is working on a universal camera app. At Google, Levoy headed the team the developed the computational photography technology that made the cameras on the Google Pixel one of the best in the industry. This tech included features like Night Sight, Portrait Mode and HDR+. Levoys work also helped the Google Pixels take exceptional photos without requiring a tonne of hardware like multiple lenses. Just a camera on the Pixel was good enough to compete with the likes of the Apple iPhones and other top-of-the-line smartphones out there. When the competition got a little tougher and people started looking for sharper zoom images, thats when Google added a second telephoto lens to the Pixel and that happened as late as last year with the Pixel 4. In comparison, Apple first added a second camera to its stack on the iPhone 7 Plus back in 2016. The company said in its email that Levoy will be working with the Photoshop Camera, Adobe Research and Sensei AI teams, and going by that, Photoshop Camera is going to be his main focus. (Twitter ) Now at Adobe, Levoy is working on making a great camera for all smartphone users, not just the Pixel. He is working on computational photography initiatives across Adobe and the company announced in an email that his efforts will centre around the concept of a universal camera app. Adobe has not explained what exactly this universal camera app is yet and this phrase has also been tied to an app platform that Facebook, Snapchat and others can use to create their own camera apps that will work across a smartphone and even a DSLR. Adobe already has Photoshop Camera and theres another camera app thats built into the Adobe Lightroom app, so possibly, this universal camera app is a part of the companys grander vision for camera apps in general. The company said in its email that Levoy will be working with the Photoshop Camera, Adobe Research and Sensei AI teams, and going by that, Photoshop Camera is going to be his main focus. Levoy left Google in March this year. On Tuesday this week another case that should have never made it this far will actually go to court. The MPs who served with me on the Board of the Catalan Parliament [in 2017] will be tried in a court of law. The Board the body tasked with preserving the sovereignty of the chamber, upholding the right of MPs to table initiatives, protecting the free exercise of political thought and the freedom of expression will sit in the dock with them. It will be an unfair trial that will expose, once again, how basic rights, such as free speech and the right to political representation, are trampled on in Spain. We have seen judges decide what may and may not be debated and what the Catalan Parliament may and may not vote on. We have even seen them decide who gets to take up a seat in parliament and who doesnt. We have seen how some courts are looking to turn the Parliamentary Board into a censoring body and we cant allow that. As democratic citizens, we cannot allow censorship to enter the Catalan Parliament. For this reason, I wish to reiterate that [back in 2017] neither my colleagues nor I ever abused or infringed on any rights. Every MP was free to voice their views, promote their ideas and put forward their parliamentary proposals as they saw fit [ahead of the independence vote in October]. We always conducted ourselves in accordance with the duties of our office, upholding basic rights, free speech and, needless to say, following the Rules and Regulations of Parliament to the letter. Even my own sentence to eleven and a half years in prison acknowledges that I complied with the Rules of Parliament and does not mention any violation of rights. It does say that I disobeyed the Spanish Constitutional Court, like so many Spanish institutions before me (and since then). As a matter of fact, I do not know of any other instance when allowing a parliamentary debate has been punished with a prison sentence. As Speaker, I conducted myself with honour and responsibility, always standing up for parlamentarianism and the values I believe in: democracy, freedom, peace, equality, social justice, transparency and dialogue. I stand my ground. A parliament should be able to discuss any topic, including Catalonias right to self-determination. Particularly when the general public is also discussing the matter and it has become the central issue in the political conflict we currently find ourselves in. Even more so when the same point had been discussed and voted on in earlier terms, probably because the parties that supported independence were in a minority. Its all about letting them vote when they dont have a majority and denying them that same right when they do and they might win the vote. Thats why the Spanish institutions and courts of law didnt take any action [before 2017]: self-determination didnt have enough parliamentary support. Those institutions exist as part of the 1978 regime, an outdated system devoted to persecuting, slandering and imprisoning a political ideal: Catalan independence. Only a few days ago we had further evidence of this when it transpired that Catalonias pro-independence leaders had been targeted by sophisticated spyware. In the face of this darkness, of such a tattered, patriarchal regime, the only way forward is democracy, equality and feminism. The path to a better, fairer future where basic rights and democratic liberties are asserted. A future that is respectful of diversity, without discrimination: Catalonia is a diverse nation and we want to keep it that way. A future where political dissidents are not persecuted. A future where the republican values of equality, fraternity and liberty prevail and where the stale, corrupt monarchy is left behind. A future where there will be equal pay for women and they will have the same opportunities as men. This is the future we want now: the Catalan Republic. Still, I realise it wont be a bed of roses and there will be many hurdles along the way, like the one my colleagues will be facing on Tuesday. But I know that if we persevere, we shall prevail. To my friends and colleagues Anna Simo, Ramona Barrufet, Lluis Corominas and Lluis Guino; also my fellow MP Mireia Boya and my colleague Joan Josep Nuet, who will stand trial in the Supreme Court, like I did: you are facing a court of law, with all the strain, anxiety and worry that it involves, but also with a clear conscience, knowing that you always did the right thing. You were honourable members of Parliament and served with me on the Board. I am proud to have worked with you. Egypt has repeatedly said military intervention in Libya is a last option to defend national security. In Cairo, the Turkish presence in Libya is viewed as a major threat to the security of the whole region, and especially to neighbouring countries such as Algeria, Tunisia, Egypt and Sudan. It is this threat that prompted parliament this week to unanimously approve the sending of troops on combat missions outside Egypts borders in reaction to the Turkish-backed Libyan Government of National Accords (GNA) manoeuvering to capture the key coastal city of Sirte. MPs approval came days after Libyan tribal leaders called on Egypt to intervene to protect the national security of Libya and Egypt. Even the Libyan parliament called on Egypt to directly intervene in the countrys conflict to protect the national security of Libya and Egypt if they see an imminent danger to both countries. Ali Al-Hefni, a former deputy to Egypts foreign minister, says the vast majority of states in the region understand and support Cairos repeated attempts to bring the warring factions to the negotiating table and preserve the unity of the Libyan state. That was reflected last month in the Cairo Declarations roadmap to a ceasefire and a settlement that includes all forces except the terrorist groups and militias, Al-Hefni told Al-Ahram Weekly. Political science professor Tarek Fahmi says the Egyptian approach has always been to promote a political resolution of the crisis. That was reflected last month in the Cairo Declaration that reasserted the basis for resolving the crisis in Libya according to a defined political and strategic mechanism and according to the outcomes of the Berlin Conference. In the meantime, Egypt is ready for all options, settlement, confrontation and escalation, based on what happens in Sirte, says Fahmi. Algeria, too, is prompted by national security, a fear of Turkish expansion in the region and concern about growing Muslim Brotherhood influence in the Maghreb. One problem though, says Fahmi, is that Turkey is the biggest investor in both Algeria and Tunisia, the two countries that, like Egypt, are directly affected by developments in Libya. Algerian President Abdelmajid Tebboune this week declared that his country was cooperating with Tunisia in an attempt to forge a new initiative to resolve the crisis in Libya. Tebboune appealed to all parties involved in Libya to talk in order to reach a peaceful political solution that preserves Libyas unity away from any foreign intervention. Algeria is also considering constitutional amendments that will allow the army to act beyond Algerias borders in defence of national security. Meanwhile, Ankara has been attempting to pressure the Algerian authorities to accept Turkeys military presence in Libya. Saudi Arabia and the UAE have supported Egypts attempts to protect its borders. Both states have also backed forces based in eastern Libya, especially after Turkey began increasing its military presence in Libya. Last week, Saudi Arabia reiterated its support for a political solution in Libya. In a phone call between Foreign Minister Sameh Shoukri and his Saudi counterpart Faisal bin Farhan both ministers stressed the importance of reaching a comprehensive settlement to the Libyan crisis that preserves the countrys territorial integrity. The two top officials also highlighted the enormous challenges that face the region and require greater mutual coordination, especially in light of foreign interference in the affairs of a number of Arab countries. The Arab League (AL) has also reiterated its support for a political solution. In an interview with the state-owned Middle East News Agency (MENA), AL Secretary-General Ahmed Abul-Gheit rejected illegal Turkish intervention in Arab countries, and described Ankaras military operations in Libya as a threat to Arab national security. He pointed out that the Cairo Declaration outlined a roadmap for settling the Libyan conflict through mechanisms dealing with the military, security, political, and economic aspects of the crisis. The AL, says Al-Hefni, has shown strong support for Cairos position which is based on reaching a political settlement, and rejecting foreign intervention to avert what happened in Iraq and Syria. The AL and regional powers agree that resort to a military option is likely to be costly, including in terms of lives. Despite the fact the majority of regional parties seek a solution in Libya, Fahmi expects the next few weeks will see further escalation on the part of Turkey. Ankara rejects any political solution and is banking instead on the terrorist militias it supports in Libya, and the mercenaries that it pays. Fahmi does not rule out an open-ended scenario should Turkey refuse to withdraw from Libya. Any political settlement needs coordination between the concerned parties and must involve the two main players in Libya, as well as the UN. Without pressure from an international body, Libya will remain divided between east and west, he says. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Millions of federal dollars will flow to Middlesex County to help bring a new ferry service to life. On Monday, U.S. Rep. Frank Pallone, D-6th Dist., announced that the U.S. Department of Transportation will grant $5.3 million to South Amboy for a ferry service between the Raritan Bay city and downtown Manhattan. The money, which comes from the DOTs Passenger Ferry Grant program, will be used to help build a new ferry terminal in South Amboy. The proposed 20,000-square-foot facility will be able to handle up to three ferries and will have 700 parking spaces, including some with chargers for electric vehicles. Once ferry service is operational, South Amboy which is on NJ Transits North Jersey Coast Line will be the only place in New Jersey to offer ferry and rail services within walking distance of each other, according to the city. This is great news for New Jersey and for commuters who rely on passenger ferries every day. This funding will go a long way to ensure that our transportation infrastructure is able to accommodate the increased demand in ferry service and will help reduce vehicle traffic between New Jersey and Manhattan, Pallone said. South Amboy Mayor Fred Henry said in a statement that the city has been working for permanent ferry service for about two decades, and he thanked Pallone for helping to secure these new funds. This ambitious project has not been without complications, Henry said. However, we are finally able to move forward with construction of this major transportation improvement that will benefit our residents, and the residents of Middlesex County. Rendering of a proposed ferry terminal in South Amboy. Courtesy of South Amboy.Courtesy of South Amboy The ferry terminal will be a two-story building, and city officials hope the second story will attract a restaurant to take advantage of the space with waterfront views. The terminal will be alongside the Manhattan Beach Club, a 1,875-unit luxury apartment complex that is currently under development. The push for a ferry terminal in South Amboy has been underway since the 1990s, when the city received an $18 million federal grant to get started on the project, according to MyCentralJersey.com. Ferries have been part of South Amboy area since the late 1600s. In the wake of the September 11th attacks, a temporary ferry service ran between South Amboy and Manhattan from 2002 to 2006. The new ferry terminal project has had progress slowed by environmental remediation at the waterfront site, which Glenn Skarzynski, South Amboys business administrator, told NJ Advance Media had previously been heavily contaminated. The discovery of historic artifacts related to the Camden and Amboy Railroad, one of the nations earliest rail lines, at the site also delayed the ferry terminal project. The railroad previously operated at the site in the 1800s. Henry said the new ferry terminal would incorporate some of the artifacts into its design. While we always have to look to accommodate our needs for the future, we dont want to neglect the role the city has played as a transportation hub in the past, Henry said. Now the ferry terminal has gotten every approval it needs except one from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Skarzynski said. He added that the Army Corps is currently reviewing the plans for the project. Its our hope and expectation to be out to bid before the end of the year, to have construction begin, Skarzynski said. South Amboy officials expect that the new DOT grant will cover the majority of construction costs for the terminal. Weve got enough to move forward, and by the time were done, if theres a remaining small balance well make accommodations for that, Skarzenski said. No company has yet been selected to serve as the ferry operator for the routes running to and from South Amboy. Skarzynski added that South Amboy expects ferry service to be operational in less than a year from now, while complete construction of the terminal should be done within 18 months. Currently, ferries to New York City operate out of Jersey City, Hoboken, Weehawken, Edgewater, Highlands, Atlantic Highlands, and the Belford section of Middletown. Carteret has also proposed a ferry to the city. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Michael Sol Warren may be reached at mwarren@njadvancemedia.com. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he wanted a link to be made between the handout of European Union funds and the rule of law a connection aimed at Poland and Hungary, countries with right-wing populist governments that many in the EU think are sliding away from democratic rule. To confront the biggest recession in its history, the EU will establish a 750 billion-euro coronavirus fund, partly based on common borrowing, to be sent as loans and grants to the hardest-hit countries. That comes on top of the seven-year, 1 trillion-euro EU budget that leaders had been haggling over for months even before the pandemic. The days and nights of brutal summiteering will surely have left many wounds between member states, but as history has proven, the EU has an uncanny gift to quickly produce scar tissue and move on. Even if Tuesday's agreement was a giant leap forward, the European Parliament, which has called the moves of the member states too timid considering the challenge, still has to approve the deal. But Tuesday was a moment to revel in the achievement itself. The coronavirus has sent the EU into a tailspin, killing around 135,000 of its citizens and plunging its economy into an estimated contraction of 8.3% this year. The leaders mulled a proposal from the five wealthy northern nations that suggested a coronavirus recovery fund with 350 billion euros of grants and the same amount in loans. The five northern nations the Netherlands, Austria, Finland, Sweden and Denmark had long opposed any grants at all, while the EU executive had proposed 500 billion euros. The latest compromise proposal stands at 390 billion euros in grants. President Moon Jae-in talks during a cabinet meeting in Seoul, Tuesday./ Yonhap By Kim Se-jeong The government decided Tuesday to designate Aug. 17 a one-off holiday in an attempt to encourage citizens to travel and spend more, while granting healthcare workers time to rest amid the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic. The decision was made during a cabinet meeting on Tuesday morning, to make a three-day weekend starting from Aug. 15, Liberation Day, which falls on a Saturday this year. Tuesday's decision followed up Prime Minister Chung Sye-kyun's proposal made on Sunday. "I hope this could bring comfort to citizens who are tired of the lingering pandemic," President Moon Jae-in said during the meeting. The government is also hoping to see a boost in consumer spending which nosedived since the outbreak started. On Monday, Hyundai Research Institute projected the extra holiday will increase production by 4.2 trillion won and create 36,000 jobs. Some welcomed the move but others express concern that it may push up virus cases as seen in early May. On Monday, Korea reported 45 new cases, raising the total number of cases to 13,816. No additional deaths were reported. Among the 45 new cases, 25 of the infected had recently traveled outside Korea. Eighteen patients were identified through immigration-related testing. The government said some tested positive even though they submitted negative test results before departing for Korea. Korea is now asking people arriving from high-risk COVID-19 countries to take the test 48 hours prior to departure and submit the results at the airport. Among 20 domestic cases, three were linked to an elderly care center located in Gangseo-gu, southwestern Seoul. The first case from the facility was reported on Sunday and so far 12 confirmed cases have been reported. The facility had 21 employees and 45 patients when the outbreak was reported. The quarantine authorities also found an additional 118 who had been in contact with them and conducted virus tests. All tested negative. On Tuesday, the government said 1,039 people who had recovered from the virus volunteered to donate their blood for the plasma therapy development. "We thank them for their support," said Kwon Joon-wook, a senior official responsible for the government's response to the virus. "A process to make plasma therapy is already underway and we are expecting to start clinical trials sometime in August." Pharmaceutical companies and governments around the world are in a race to develop treatments and vaccines. In Korea, remdesivir, developed by U.S. company Gilead Science, has been authorized for use. Kwon said 76 patients are currently undergoing the remdesivir treatment. The government said it is providing local companies support to develop a vaccine as well as making efforts to import potential vaccines. China issues statement slamming the UK for violating international law by interfering in internal affairs, decision to suspend HKSAR extraditon treaty on allegations of human right violations after the passage of the tyrannical national security law that takes away Hong Kong's autonomy. China voiced its condemnation and firm opposition to the United Kingdoms (UK) decision to suspend the extradition treaty with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said that recently the kingdom has repeatedly made wrong remarks on the national security law for the HKSAR to interfere in Chinas internal affairs. The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations to the UK side on many occasions to express our grave concern and strong opposition, the spokesperson said. Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of Chinas solemn position and repeated representations. It once again contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations and blatantly interfered in Chinas internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the National Security Law for the HKSAR and undermine the citys prosperity and stability, the spokesperson said. Also read: US sanctions 11 Chinese companies over Uyghur persecution in Xinjiang Also read: Ugly faces: US, China embassies lash out at each other in Myanmar A spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in London said that recently the UK has repeatedly made wrong remarks on the national security law for the HKSAR and interfering in Chinas internal affairs, reported Xinhua. The United Kingdom is not the first country to sever extradition ties with China regarding the Hong Kong issue. Last month, US President Donald Trump criticized China for passing the Hong Kong National Security law and said that it was a tragedy. He said that China broke its word of assuring autonomy to the people of Hong Kong. Also read: Canada to review security equipment deal worth $6.8 million with China For all the latest World News, download NewsX App A government app used by South Korea to monitor at-home quarantines was found to contain a serious security flaw. According to a report from The New York Times, the self-isolation app, which was a major component of the country's plan to drastically reduce the number of cases effectively and quickly, exposed users' names, phone numbers, medical symptoms, and their real-time location data. Software engineer, Frederic Rechtenstein, who lives in Seoul, came across the flaws after using the app during his own isolation period. South Korea's home isolation app was found to contain two serious security flaws that exposed personal information of users like phone number, name, and medical symptoms (stock) Rechtenstein found that the app was assigning users easily guessable ID numbers meaning that hackers could easily figure out a user's credentials and use it to access their data. The app also used an insecure from of encryption that with a code written directly into the app. Additionally, that code followed a simple, easy-to-guess pattern which was '1234567890123456.' With that access, hackers would have also been able to make it appear as though a user was breaking isolation rules by making unauthorized trips outside their homes. A new update has reportedly rectified the security flaws in the app, which has 162,000 downloads, and government officials have since apologized for the security lapse. A The oversight was a product of the speedy rollout according to government officials interviewed by The Times. 'We were really in a hurry to make and deploy this app as quickly as possible to help slow down the spread of the virus,' Jung Chan-hyun, an official at the Ministry of the Interior and Safetys disaster response division told The Times. 'We could not afford a time-consuming security check on the app that would delay its deployment.' There's currently no evidence that the flaws were exploited according to The Times. Although many sections are currently seeing boat traffic, the entire opening the New York State Canal System, which allows boats to travel from one end of the state to the other, and in and out of Lake Ontario, wont be completed until at least Aug. 10, according to Canal Corporation spokesman. Opening day for the canal system, which stretches from Buffalo to Albany, was supposed to be May 15. However, following Gov. Andrew Cuomos economic pause order all offseason maintenance and repair work on eight different locks in the system was halted. The required work projects resumed on a regional basis under the NY Forward Reopening plan. Weve been making some pretty good progress (since work commenced) and some things are up to Mother Nature, said Shane Mahar, a spokesman for the NYS Canal Corporation. The Canal Corporation runs and maintains the 524-mile system that includes four canals and stretches from Buffalo to Albany, and to the southern end of Lake Champlain. Mahar noted the Oswego River section of the canal system has been open for weeks, with the exceptions of Lock 06 and 07 at the city of Oswego. Lock 07 has undergone a major three-year construction project, which should be completed in a couple more weeks tentatively by Aug. 10. Once Lock 07 is opened, the nearby Lock 06 will follow. Then, mariners in the canal system will be able to get in and out of Lake Ontario, he added. Update on projects as of July 20, 2020 off work on the NYS Canal System. Going east to west in the system, Mahar said the majority of the Champlain Canal part of the system (with the exception of Lock C-12 in White Hall), has been open since June 26. Major pump out and maintenance work on Lock C-12 in Whitehall, which allows boats from southern Lake Champlain into the system, however, wont be finished until least Aug. 10, Mahar said. Meanwhile, motorists along the state Thruway passing in sight of the Mohawk River, undoubtedly have noticed how that part of the canal system has been extremely low in recent weeks. That should change by the end of this week, Mahar said. Completed work on Lock E-2 in Waterford to Lock E-11 in Amersterdam has enabled that stretch of water to be opened to navigation. That began last week. In addition, the stretch between Lock E-11 in Amsterdam and E-18 in Jacksonburg in Herkimer County should be finished this week. That work, coupled with the installation of movable dams along the Mohawk River, will increase the water in the stretches between the locks and the dams. Were just waiting for the pools (the stretches between the locks and dams) to fill. It may take a few extra days due to the lack of rain. But once the water gets deep enough, well install the navigational buoys and open it up to boat traffic, Maher said. However, boat traffic will still have to stop at Lock 19 in Frankfort just east of Utica, where work on that lock will continue to block boat traffic. That work should be finished by Aug. 7. At that point, youll be able to travel by boat on the canal system from Waterford to Tonawanda (near Buffalo), Mahar said. In the Cayuga-Seneca Canal, Lock CS-1 in Cayuga which allows passage into Cayuga Lake, has been been open since June 26. Lock CS-4 in Waterloo, opened a couple of weeks ago as well, allowing boat traffic into Seneca Lake as well as Van Cleef Lake in Seneca Falls, up to Lock CS-2/3. That lock, which is currently undergoing a complete re-wiring, is slated to open Aug. 3. When that opens on Aug. 3, youll have full navigation through the entire Cayuga/Seneca Canal, Mahar said. See the complete project list and status of the work for the 2020 reopening of the canal system on the state Canal Corporation website All the projects are on track, Mahar said. MORE NYUP Chips? Chips and salsa? Cuomos new rules on food sales at bars still causes confusion High Peaks elopement: Couple get married on Adirondack mountain summit Federal court overtunes EPA decision denying NY, NJ protection from other states air pollution Kiev, July 21 : Police are engaged in a tense stand-off with an armed man who has taken about 20 people hostage on a bus in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk on Tuesday. Officers said they had come under fire and a grenade was thrown, although it did not explode. The man has been named by police as Maksym Kryvosh, 44, from Russia who has previous convictions and has undergone psychiatric treatment, the BBC reported. He is said to be demanding that senior politicians state they are terrorists. Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko said police were talking to the man in the hope of resolving the crisis "through negotiations". Pictures from the scene showed officers of the counter-terrorism SBU security services surrounding the bus. Police said two shots had been fired from it and the man claimed to also have explosives. "The attacker threw a grenade from the bus, which, fortunately, did not detonate," a statement said. There is no word on the condition of the hostages, who have been on the bus for several hours. According to the prosecutor general's office, the gunman says he has placed an explosive device in a public place in the city that could be detonated remotely. Police have cordoned off the city centre and told residents not to leave their homes or offices. Herashchenko said Kryvosh had spent around 10 years in prison on convictions including fraud and illegal handling of weapons. Ukrainian media have shared what appears to be the man's Twitter account, on which he is posting criticism of senior national figures. President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was closely following the situation. "We are in full control of the situation. I am talking with our specialists who are in Lutsk. Professionals are working, doing everything to free our hostages," he said. Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine is among those calling for Ohio Speaker of the House Larry Householder to resign, following the Glenford Republicans arrest July 21 for an alleged bribery scheme involving a House bill that subsidies the states two nuclear power plants. Householder, along with four others and Generation Now a private 401(c)(4) allegedly operated by Householder are accused of violating the racketeering statute through honest services wire fraud, receipt of millions of dollars in bribes and money laundering. Two freshmen state representatives who sponsored House Bill 6 are referred to as Representatives 3 and 4 in the document. Its alleged in the affidavit the two were Householder candidates and Generation Now spent money supporting both by paying for advertising, campaign strategy, and staffing. The arrests come almost exactly one year after the legislation, House Bill 6, was signed into law. DeWine in his statement called it a sad day for Ohio. Because of the nature of these charges, it will be impossible for Speaker Householder to effectively lead the Ohio House of Representatives; therefore, I am calling on Speaker Householder to resign immediately, DeWine said in a statement. Other statewide officials including Attorney General Dave Yost, Secretary of State Frank LaRose and Auditor of State Keith Faber also called on Householder to resign. He is entitled to a presumption of innocence regarding the criminality of his acts, but he is entitled to no presumption of continuance in office, Yost said in a statement. He should resign immediately. If he refuses, the House should eject him under Article II, section 6 of the Ohio Constitution. Locally, Ohio Sen. Kenny Yuko, D-Richmond Heights, also called on Householder to resign. Yuko, who serves as the Senate Minority Leader, voted for House Bill 6 last year. Yuko said Householder has dishonored the legislature and tarnished the reputation of public officials across our state. Ohio has been under one-party rule for most of the past two decades, Yuko said in a statement. This has allowed certain politicians to feel untouchable and caused a culture of corruption to spread among our government institutions. This is a culture that we must eradicate. State Rep. Jamie Callender, R-Concord Township, said in a phone interview that he was shocked by the news. Callender, whose district includes the Perry Nuclear Power Plant, sponsored House Bill 6 along with Rep. Shane Wilkin, R-Hillsboro. If theres any truth to them, its a sad day, Callender said. Callender said House Bill 6 was something he worked hard for and campaigned on. He said it saved jobs in Lake County and protected the tax base, especially for Perry Schools. Its very sad these allegations are tainting what was a very good bill and a bill that was very good for Lake County, he said. When asked how involved Householder was in writing House Bill 6, Callender said it was a team effort and he was certainly part of that. Prior to House Bill 6, there were other legislative efforts to subsidize the states two nuclear plants, but those efforts stalled. It wasnt totally a new concept, it was a little bit of a different direction on it, Callender said. The stalled efforts came during previous legislative sessions, before Householder was selected to serve as Speaker. State Rep. John Rogers, D-Mentor-on-the-Lake, who also voted for House Bill 6, said the allegations are saddening to say the least and tragically, sickening if found true. Economic power and the authority that accompanies it can and should be used for the common good, Rogers said in an emailed response to a request for comment. That is what the publics trust is about. Abuse it because of greed or a need for even greater personal power and you will ultimately have corruption, time and time again. And if this bastardization of our system of government, by one arm of its leadership is found true, it is but one more example of why campaign finance reform is so desperately needed, because this type of behavior threatens the very fundamental tenets of our democracy. Lake County Commissioner Jerry Cirino in a phone interview said he was angry about Householders alleged criminal conduct but said he still supports House Bill 6. I still think that House Bill 6 was a good bill that protected our employment here and in Ottawa County, Cirino said. but the goings on behind the scenes that none of us were aware of obviously cast a negative dispersion on the bill. House Bill 6 went into effect in October 2019. The bill among other things, gives North Perrys Perry Nuclear Power Plant and Ottawa Countys Davis-Besse Nuclear Power Plant $150 million annually between 2021 and 2027. The funds are raised through charges paid by residential, commercial and industrial electric customers. FirstEnergy Solutions, the owner of Ohios two nuclear plants, filed for bankruptcy in March 2018 and had plans to shut down both plants by 2021 if it did not receive subsidies. FirstEnergy Solutions officials emerged from Chapter 11 bankruptcy Feb. 27 of this year as Energy Harbor. U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers said at a July 21 press conference said they are not commenting as to the wisdom of House Bill 6. It was clear from the affidavit, House Bill 6 was passed with millions of dollars, tens of millions of dollars, that were hidden from the people of the state of Ohio, DeVillers said. An Energy Harbor spokesperson said in a statement they are reviewing the complaint and will cooperate fully with the governments investigation. FirstEnergy said in a statement it received subpoenas in connection with the investigation surrounding Ohio House Bill 6. We are reviewing the details of the investigation and we intend to fully cooperate. The federal investigation is ongoing. This is end of the beginning, not the beginning of the end, FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman said at the press conference. SOMERVILLE, Mass., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Raise Green the impact investment marketplace for green infrastructure and clean energy projects today announced the launch of the first crowdfunding platform for investment in clean energy projects nationwide, as well as their initial offering on the platform, the first of more than 50 projects in the pipeline. The Greentown Labs -incubated company's first project with the National Energy Improvement Fund (NEIF) will include loan options for families and small to medium businesses conducting energy efficiency retrofits and resiliency improvements to essential infrastructure. Raise Green is the first company to offer equity crowdfunding focused on investments for climate solutions nationwide since the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission's (SEC) finalization of equity crowdfunding regulations . Raise Green aims to give people the direct impact they have been looking to make on climate change by providing access to verifiable investment opportunities. If you invest in a solar project listed on Raise Green, you'll know exactly the amount of clean power your dollar has produced. Raise Green is a two-sided marketplace that brings together innovators seeking financing and a wide range of investors, empowering anyone in the U.S. to participate. Raise Green makes financing small projects more profitable than ever; for the first time, retail, accredited, and institutions can invest in the same security, offering truly blended capital. Whether it is as little as $100 or as much as $100,000, everyone can be directly involved with a climate action project to support sustainable infrastructure. "Raise Green empowers anyone to take meaningful action in the fight against climate change by offering direct investment opportunities in local resilience through community solar power and energy efficiency projects," said Franz Hochstrasser, CEO and Co-Founder of Raise Green. "It's a kind of local and grassroots 'Green New Deal,' for those who don't want to wait for government or big financial institutions to act." To avoid the worst impacts of climate change, experts state that there needs to be at least $1 trillion in global investments into clean energy and climate solutions each year between now and 2050. If global investments in green infrastructure and decarbonization total $110 trillion, it would create massive socioeconomic gains and resilience to climate crises across the world. Moreover, millennials have shown an increased interest in sustainable investments amid COVID-19 , marking significant generational momentum. By early March, environmental social governance (ESG) aware companies "outperformed other stocks by up to 5.7%," and, as of last year, 67% of millennials were actively investing in sustainable products. Raise Green's first of many sustainable investment opportunities through the National Energy Improvement Fund is available nationwide. "As a certified B corporation, NEIF is committed to providing fair, simple, and transparent financing options to help increase the affordability of energy efficiency and resilience improvement," said Peter Krajsa, Founder and Co-Chair of NEIF. "We are excited to work with Raise Green to bring our Climate Action Investment Notes and the opportunity to support this effort to a broader investor market through their sustainability-focused crowdfunding platform." Raise Green's marketplace offers a wide variety of replicable, templatized investment opportunities for solar power, affordable housing, electric vehicle charging stations, agriculture, water projects, and microgrids. Each investment vertical is designed to have an immediate impact on the resiliency of local communities with a chance to earn returns while building sustainable infrastructure. Individuals or organizations looking to start their own clean energy project can also find the proper resources through Raise Green's "Originator Engine" developed in partnership with IBM to guide anyone who is interested through the process of facilitating a project from start to finish. This includes opening up access to tax equity investment for eligible projects and investors. Greentown Labs the largest climate tech startup incubator in North America is proud to have Raise Green as a member company in its Somerville headquarters. After relocating to the Boston area in 2019, Raise Green joined Greentown's community of nearly 100 clean tech and climate tech startups to solve the climate crisis through entrepreneurship and collaboration. "If we're going to drive meaningful, long-term change in the fight against the climate crisis, we need more people and more capital to get on board," said Emily Reichert, CEO at Greentown Labs. "Raise Green gives people the opportunity to engage locally through investments in clean energy projects in communities across the country. At a time when investment in climate action is so needed, we are excited to see Raise Green's tremendous efforts lead to the launch of this platform." Raise Green's innovative platform is spearheaded by CEO and co-founder Franz Hochstrasser, a Yale School of the Environment alumni who served for eight years in the Obama Administration as a White House appointee on energy and climate. He is joined by fellow Yale alumni Matthew Moroney, who serves as the co-founder and COO of Raise Green, and is a data scientist with over 10-years of experience in environmental remediation, permitting and corporate sustainability strategy. Previously the founders of Raise Green launched two successful pilot projects through New Haven Community Solar which provided discounted electricity for the Jim Vlock First Year Building Project -- a partnership between the Yale School of Architecture and Columbus House , a nonprofit organization based in New Haven that serves people who are homeless by providing shelter and housing and fostering personal growth and independence. Supported by a team of industry leaders and experts in finance, climate action, and sustainable energy Raise Green works to empower everyone with the resources needed to take direct action in the fight against climate change. The Greentown Labs-incubated marketplace is backed with investments from veterans of the renewable energy industry and project financing and is in the process of fundraising towards their Series Seed. To learn more about Raise Green and to utilize their platform to invest in or start clean energy projects, visit: raisegreen.com. About Raise Green : Raise Green is the first marketplace in the U.S. for local and inclusive impact investment with verifiable and demonstrable environmental benefits. Through the platform, anyone can be an originator of their own community solar project. On Raise Green's investor marketplace, anyone (individuals and institutions) can invest in community-focused climate resilience projects across a varied range of project scales and minimum investments. Early investors in Raise Green are veterans of the renewable energy industry and project financing. Investors can derive value while at the same time creating quantifiable impacts in local communities, as well as receiving financial returns if the project is successful. About NEIF: NEIF is a PA public Benefit Corporation and serves people and local small/medium-sized businesses with financing needs with an emphasis on affordable efficiency and carbon-pollution-reducing upgrades available to low/moderate-income households. NEIF began making loans in 2018 and has received accolades from the Department of Energy. More their investment campaign can be found here . About Greentown Labs: As the largest climate tech startup incubator in North America, Greentown Labs brings together startups, corporates, investors, politicians, and many others with a focus on scaling climate solutions. Driven by the mission of providing ground-breaking startups the resources, knowledge, connections, and equipment they need to thrive, Greentown Labs offers prototyping and wet lab space, shared office space, a machine shop, an electronics lab, software and business resources, a large network of corporate customers and investors, and more. Greentown Labs' 100,000-square-foot campus in Somerville, MA is home to more than 100 startups and has supported more than 280 startups since the incubator's founding in 2011. These startups have collectively created more than 6,500 direct jobs and have raised more than $850 million in funding. For more information, please visit www.greentownlabs.com or Twitter , Facebook , and LinkedIn . SOURCE Raise Green View live politics updates ChevronRight Most confounding given the final results, 55 percent of those surveyed said they would never vote for Trump, while just 43 percent said the same about Clinton. The survey of 750 people was conducted shortly after Trump said that a federal judge of Mexican descent couldnt be impartial in a case against Trump University because of the candidates push for a U.S.-Mexico border wall. Story continues below advertisement This comment earned him a stern rebuke from then-Speaker of the House Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) remember him? saying Trumps comment was the textbook definition of a racist remark. Ryan was Mitt Romneys running mate in 2012, the year Trump, while watching Romney sink during his second debate with President Barack Obama, said to himself, I can win. Advertisement What emerged from the Bloomberg poll, as well as dozens of others leading up to Election Day, was the inescapable conclusion that Clinton would win. Even Trump believed so, despite his rally-to-rally winning refrain. In other words, what we think we know isnt always so. When Trump was elected in 2016, the news was received in the nations capital, where I lived at the time, like the arrival of unwanted, unexpected out-of-town visitors. Usually friendly neighbors stared vacantly at one another as they reached for their morning papers. Wordlessly, they quickly retreated back inside, away from the searing light of unbearable truth. Sign up for The Odds newsletter for election updates from data columnist David Byler Even as the number of U.S. coronavirus cases passes 3 million, President Trump has repeatedly played down covid-19s toll on the country. (The Washington Post) Everyone had been so sure! The models and internal polling had all agreed! But models and polls, like reporters and columnists, are only as good as their sources. And political history hasnt been coy about the pitfalls of relying too heavily on textbook scenarios. Politics has a scent, and the nose usually sniffs out outcomes before the eyes can see. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Sweat equity wins every time. How much are people willing to wait in lines, make cold calls, give of their own money and rally strangers to support their candidate? Which candidate is most able to rally people to do the hard work? We speak in terms of authenticity, but thats not the whole of it. For good or ill, winners have a certain instinctual allure. This makes Bidens current status as the front-runner a bit uncertain. Biden-in-the-basement has worked well so far, but he may not be able to compete with a fully unleashed Trump on the hustings. Trump is part showman, part chief marketing officer, part bomb-thrower. Past elections remind us, too, that voters sometimes lay their own explosives when the pollster rings. Many wont even take that call, or stay on it for very long. (This is such a problem that many pollsters have given up surveying by telephone.) Advertisement Story continues below advertisement And when the calls do go through, other problems arise: Even in those places where Trump won handily last time, folks are reluctant to express political views. Were still a relatively private and polite society, and nothing brings out the bless-their-hearts (genteel Southern code for a long eye roll) like a conversation about politics. Four years ago, I wrote about that sort of voter: the kind who pulled the lever for Trump just to tick off all the right people. That same voter, likely well-entertained these past four years, is more concerned now about the socialist bent of the Democratic Party and whether Biden is strong enough to stem the tide. Theres also concern that Biden may not be as cognitively nimble as in earlier years, and that his vice-presidential pick wont be seen as presidential. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Which is to say, Trump could win reelection despite his unfavorable numbers or the galloping pandemic. In his recent, free-ranging interview with Fox News anchor Chris Wallace, Trump defaulted to fake polls when asked about his losing. Im not losing, he insisted. And, contrary to everything we think we know, he may not be wrong. Read more from Kathleen Parkers archive, follow her on Twitter or find her on Facebook. Read more: Read a letter in response to this piece: Dont underestimate what this years polls are saying Jennifer Rubin: Another Trump failure: His campaign against voting by mail Michael Gerson: The entire foundation of Trumps appeal in 2016 has been swept away Story continues below advertisement Paul Waldman: Trumps strategy to win the suburbs with racial division has a big flaw Advertisement Jennifer Rubin: Republicans want to save themselves but only if the price is low Podcast | Tammy Duckworth: Trump cares more about dead traitors than he does about our troops Truro, Canada - June 12, 2017: Walmart storefront. Walmart is an American orporation with chains of department and warehouse stores. There are more than 11,000 stores in 27 countries. The COVID-19 pandemic has accelerated Walmart Canadas digital transformation plans, pushing the company to invest $3.5 billion to build new distribution centres and renovate stores as customers adjust their shopping habits. Walmart Canada (WMT) announced Monday that it will spend $3.5 billion over the next five years to expand its e-commerce capacity, build two new distribution centres in Ontario and B.C. and renovate more than 150 locations to become smarter stores. The coronavirus probably did more for digital transformation than any CEO out there, Horacio Barbeito, Walmart Canadas chief executive, said in an interview with Yahoo Finance Canada. Sometimes you have no choice but to go forward. One of the learnings from this crisis is having the agility and opportunity to be faster and accelerate where it matters for the customer. While many retailers across North America have been struggling amid the coronavirus pandemic, Walmart has experienced a spike in demand, particularly when it comes to e-commerce and grocery. In its most recent financial quarter, reported on May 19, the retail giant saw comparable sales jump by 10 per cent as customers purchased more items in fewer trips. Walmart believes at least some of these consumers changes are here to stay, which is part of the reason for the $1 billion store renovations coming to 150 locations across the country over the next three years. For example, the company plans on introducing larger self-checkouts that will be able to handle the bigger purchases customers are now making. Walmart also wants to reduce touchpoints at checkout, and will introduce technology that will allow employees to checkout customers anywhere in the store. Technology will be deployed throughout the store, Barbeito said, to create a so-called smarter store. Customers will see a different layout proposition and a lot of digital interaction in the store, Barbeito said. In general, its going to be a lot of technology thats going to make life easier for our associates and deploy more associates to better serve customers. Story continues In Canada, Walmarts e-commerce business reached volumes the company was not anticipating to hit for another two to three years, Barbeito said. Part of the $3.5 billion will go towards expanding Walmart Pickup program to 70 per cent of its stores by the end of 2020. The company will also test micro fulfilment centres in the backrooms of some of its supercentre locations, a pilot project it says will increase the speed of fulfilment for pickup and delivery. Walmart Canada will also spend $1.1 billion building two new distribution centres one in Vaughan, Ont. and another in Surrey, B.C. while also renovating an existing facility in Cornwall, Ont. While Barbeito did not say how many new jobs will be tied to the facilities, he said the company typically employs between 500 and 2000 employees at its distribution centres, depending on the level of automation. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android and sign up for the Yahoo Finance Canada Weekly Brief. Connecticut schools are devising plans for in-person learning at the request of Gov. Ned Lamont, who has asked for them to be prepared by Friday, July 24. The state Board of Education voted to waive the 180-day requirement for classes. Districts are now required to fulfill 177 days with three extra days for additional COVID-related training. Ned Lamont said early state-wide district surveys to parents suggest about 15 to 20 percent of parents statewide are planning stay-at-home options for their kids. "Obviously that would open up more social distancing within the classrooms," Lamont said during one of his daily COVID-19 updates. "If any state can open safely, I think it is Connecticut." Masks have been a point of contention as some parents and teachers have expressed concerns about kids being asked to wear masks all day. The idea of "mask breaks" has been brought up. "The guidance certainly talks about being outside as an opportunity for mask breaks as long as you are being socially distant. Obviously when you are eating you have to take off your masks, so that would be considered a break," Bethel Public Schools Superintendent Dr. Christine Carver said in an online meeting. "We are waiting for more guidance from the Department of Public Health that would define what that is." Ahead of the deadline, take a look at what some Connecticut school districts are planning: The introduction of predictive risk scoring provides VASPs with a powerful new tool to identify potentially illicit funds before those transactions are finalized on the Bitcoin blockchain. CipherTrace announces cryptocurrency real-time transaction risk scoring with the addition of predictive capabilities to help exchanges, ATMs, OTC desks, hedge funds, custody solutions, payment processors, and financial investigators to ensure compliance with Anti-Money Laundering (AML), Counter-Terrorist Financing (CTF), and sanctions requirements. This capability is now available to select CipherTrace customers, including law enforcement investigating the Twitter hacking case, and will be generally available to the entire customer base as of July 31st. Real-time analytics and predictive risk scoring for cryptocurrencies enables exchanges and other Virtual Asset Service Providers (VASPs) to be able to score transactions from low to high risk based on whether the funds have been tainted by traveling through illicit paths or associated with known bad actors or sanctioned geographies. CipherTrace implements this foresight without sacrificing user privacy, as the software does not process any personally identifiable information. What does Real-Time Predictive Risk Scoring Do? Predictive and real-time analysis of cryptocurrenciesnow a trillion-dollar marketallows a safer environment for the worlds transactions. Being able to perform predictive analysis allows customers to see and protect stolen funds, freeze those funds, stop ransomware launderers, and protect customers from fraud. It also allows law enforcement agencies to take action immediately to protect investors, operators, and consumers. How Does Real-Time Predictive Risk Scoring Work? Before a bitcoin transaction is confirmed on the blockchain, it is first created and broadcasted to the network. Then, it is stored in a mempool of other unconfirmed transactions until a miner validates it and adds it to the blockchain. At this point, the transaction is final. This process can take at least ten minutes and sometimes hours to complete and places exchanges and other custodial services in the awkward position of forcing customers to wait for their transactions to be confirmed so that they can perform necessary due-diligence on transaction risk. "It is our goal to make cryptocurrency global and available for everyone, while protecting personal privacy," said Dave Jevans, CEO of CipherTrace. "Cryptocurrency exchanges and other VASPs have regulatory obligations to address the risk of money laundering, terrorist financing, human trafficking, and weapons of mass destruction programs. The introduction of predictive risk scoring provides VASPs with a powerful new tool to identify potentially illicit funds before those transactions are finalized on the Bitcoin blockchain. This capability will also help VASPs offer an improved, more efficient user experience to their customers." VASPs utilizing CipherTrace's monitoring suite will be able to freeze an account that is flagged as having a high probability of originating with stolen funds. By halting the movement of illicit funds, VASPs will deter future cryptocurrency crimes and help to change bitcoin's lingering reputation created by its early use on the illegal Silk Road marketplace. Most VASPs are required to file suspicious activity reports whenever they receive funds likely to contain illicit origins, and CipherTrace's predictive risk scoring capabilities will facilitate that process. For media inquiries, please contact Kili Wall at (310) 260-7901 or Kili(at)MelrosePR(dot)com About CipherTrace CipherTrace, leading cryptocurrency intelligence company, protects financial institutions from crypto laundering risk and is helping to grow the crypto economy by making virtual assets trusted by governments and safe for mass adoption. CipherTrace delivers the worlds most comprehensive cryptocurrency intelligence to detect money laundering, inform law enforcement investigations, and enable regulatory supervision. CipherTrace founders are dedicated to protecting consumer privacy, while defending against illicit finance. Deep expertise in cybersecurity, eCrime, payments, banking, encryption, and virtual currencies form the foundation for CipherTrace's commercial offerings. For more information, visit http://www.CipherTrace.com or follow us on Twitter @CipherTrace. SAO PAULO, July 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian telecoms firm Algar Telecom SA has joined efforts with U.S. fund Digital Colony to make a bid for the mobile unit of bankrupt carrier Oi SA, local newspaper Valor Economico said on Tuesday, citing two unnamed sources. The bid competes with at least one other offer jointly presented by the country's major telecoms operators: TIM Participacoes S, Telefonica Brasil SA and America Movil's Claro, the media outlet added. The three carriers proposed the minimum price of 15 billion reais ($2.81 billion) set up by Oi for its mobile unit and certain conditions that could imply a discount, the sources told Valor. Besides U.S. fund Digital Colony, which has been actively investing in telecommunications and infrastructure assets in Brazil, Algar Telecom is also backed by Singapore's sovereign wealth funds GIC, which holds a 25.3% stake in the company, the newspaper added. Swiss bank UBS had been hired to assist Algar in the competitive process for Oi's mobile businesses, the report said. ($1 = 5.3288 reais) (Reporting by Gabriela Mello; Editing by Bernadette Baum) Thiruvananthapuram, July 21 : The gold smuggling case that has rocked the Pinarayi Vijayan government over the links of his former principal secretary and also the IT secretary M. Sivasankar with prime accused Swapna Suresh took a fresh turn with another name surfacing who allegedly has links with top notch politicians. Congress Lok Sabha member and convenor of the party-led UDF, Behanan on Tuesday told the media about the role played by a young businessman from Alappuzha named Kiran in allowing Swapna and Sandip Nair to escape from Kerala by road to Bengaluru earlier this month. "This Kiran wields considerable influence among the top notch ruling front politicians. His house has been a venue for such high profile people in the recent past. A probe will reveal who all had visited his house in the recent past," said Behanan. The BJP had also questioned the role played by Kiran in the facilitation of the prime accused in the gold smuggling case. Reacting sharply to these allegations Kiran told the media on Tuesday that all that is being said about him is baseless and unfounded and he has no role at all in the present controversy. Meanwhile the NIA court in Kochi on Tuesday extended the custody of Swapna and Sandip till July 24 as the NIA probe team said that they needed more time for questioning and collecting evidence. The gold smuggling case first surfaced when P.S. Sarith, a former employee of the UAE Consulate here, was arrested by the Customs Department on July 5 when he was facilitating smuggling of 30 kg of gold in the diplomatic baggage to Thiruvananthapuram from Dubai. It turned murkier when the name of Swapna, a former employee of the UAE Consulate here and employed with the state IT Department, surfaced. On Tuesday the NIA team brought Sarith from Kochi to the state capital and took him to all the places where the smuggling gang had met. LONDON, July 21 (Reuters) - Prompt British wholesale gas prices rose on Tuesday morning as the gas system was undersupplied due to a drop in flows from Norway. * The day-ahead contract was up 0.35 pence at 13.15 p/therm by 0922 GMT. * The within-day contract rose by 0.65 p to 13.15 p/therm. * The gas system was undersupplied by 19.8 million cubic metres (mcm), with demand forecast at 177.6 mcm and supply at 157.8 mcm, National Grid data showed. * The undersupply is due to a strong drop in flows from Norway, Refinitiv analysts said in a morning note. * Norwegian deliveries to Britain dropped by 25 mcm to 27 mcm on Tuesday from the day earlier, Gassco data showed. * A trader said the drop in flows follows a fall in gas prices in the previous day when high imports from Norway weighed on prompt prices. * There was also an expectation of a slight increase in gas-for-power demand on Tuesday, Refinitiv data showed. * On the curve, gas contracts were supported by a rise in prices on oil, carbon and stock markets, the trader said. * The UK August contract was up 0.57 p at 12.85 p/therm. * The benchmark Dec-20 EU carbon contract was up 0.59 euro at 26.76 euros per tonne. * Oil prices rose on Tuesday, helped by positive news about vaccine trials and a European Union stimulus deal. * The day-ahead contract on the Dutch TTF hub was up 0.27 euro at 4.70 euros per megawatt hour. (Reporting by Ekaterina Kravtsova; editing by Nina Chestney) The US House of Representatives has unanimously passed an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), slamming China's aggression against India in the Galwan Valley and its growing territorial assertiveness in and around disputed areas like the South China Sea. The NDAA amendment, moved by Congressman Steve Chabot along with Indian-American lawmaker Ami Bera and passed on Monday, said that India and China should work towards de-escalating the situation along the Line of Actual Control. The troops of India and China are locked in a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead. Passed unanimously by the House of Representatives along with scores of other amendments, it said that the expansion and aggression of the People's Republic of China in and around disputed territories, such as the Line of Actual Control, the South China Sea, the Senkaku Islands, is of significant concern. The bipartisan amendment states Congress' opposition to Chinese aggression against India in the Galwan Valley on the India-China border, and expresses its concern toward the growing territorial assertiveness of China. China has used the distraction of the coronavirus to attempt to seize territory belonging to India, as well as to press its territorial claims in the South China Sea, it said. China claims almost all of the 1.3 million square mile South China Sea as its sovereign territory. China has been building military bases on artificial islands in the region also claimed by Brunei, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan and Vietnam. China has impeded commercial activity like fishing or mineral exploration by countries like Vietnam and the Philippines. Ties between China and Japan have been strained by a territorial row over a group of islands in the East China Sea, known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China. India is a critical, democratic partner in the Indo-Pacific, Chabot said in a statement after the House passed the NDAA amendment. I am a strong supporter of our bilateral relationship, and I stand with India, and all our partners in the region, as they confront China's hostile acts of aggression, he said. I am proud to be joined by Congressman Ami Bera, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Asia, the Pacific, and Nonproliferation, to bring this important amendment to the floor in a bipartisan manner, he added. The Chabot amendment said that in the months leading up to June, 15, along the Line of Actual Control, China reportedly amassed 5,000 soldiers; and is believed to have crossed into previously disputed territory considered to be settled as part of India under the 1962 truce. China and India have reached an agreement to de-escalate and disengage along the Line of Actual Control, the Chabot amendment said, adding that on June 15, at least 20 Indian soldiers and an unconfirmed number of Chinese soldiers were killed in skirmishes following a weeks-long standoff in Eastern Ladakh, which is the defacto border between the two countries. Following the deadly violence, Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India stated, whenever there have been differences of opinion, we have always tried to ensure that those differences never turned into a dispute," the amendment said. Another bipartisan amendment moved by Indian-American Congressman Raja Krishnamoorthi along with eight others urging Beijing to de-escalate the situation at the border through existing diplomatic mechanisms and not by force is slated to come up for vote before the House on Tuesday. The two resolutions comes days after the House of Representatives Caucus on India and Indian-Americans in a letter to India's Ambassador to the US, Taranjit Singh Sandhu, said that over the last few months, the Chinese authorities have been acting with impunity and have attempted to transgress on the LAC, which resulted in diplomatic discussions to implement a process for de-escalation along the LAC on July 6. It was led by Congressmen Holding and Brad Sherman and signed by seven other lawmakers. It is my hope that they scale back on their excessive weaponry and infrastructure at the Line of Actual Control and uphold both their longstanding and new founded agreements with India, said the lawmakers who offered their condolences to the families of the fallen soldiers. Also read: Coronavirus: UK biotech firm announces 'breakthrough' results from protein-based treatment By Jesus Aguado and Rachel Armstrong MADRID, July 21 (Reuters) - The European leaders' agreement on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus battered economies should help kick-start cross-border consolidation in Europe and complete the European banking union, Santander Chairman Ana Botin said. "What was agreed yesterday (in the early hours of Tuesday) means the opportunity and the probability that we do get a banking union and cross-border consolidation is much higher," Botin told Reuters in a Zoom call. "It will require changes, but I think those changes are much more likely today than they were yesterday," Ana Botin said. Santander is the euro zone's second-biggest lender in terms of market value. Remarks by Botin echoed comments from European Central Bank vice-president Luis de Guindos, who on Monday said that he expected banks to engage in both national and cross-border consolidation within weeks or months. Consolidation is seen as inevitable among banks in the euro zone to gain scale, but low valuations and different legal frameworks around countries are hampering any such transactions. Profitability across the euro zone bank sector is low and an economic recession in the region is expected to further dampen the banks' prospects, partly due to also higher loan-loss provisions related to the impact from COVID-19 outbreak. "What has happened yesterday on the agreement in Europe is a clear stepping stone for the banking union in Europe. And banking union and free transfer of euros across countries is a pre-requisite for cross-border euro mergers and consolidation," Botin said. "I do think it's the time. I do think European banks need scale," Botin said, adding that for now Santander was not interested in taking part. "As of today, no, with the current rules, no. When the rules change who knows. Even then I think there are others who are more likely to be ahead of us," she said. Story continues The agreement between EU leaders paved the way for the European Commission to raise billions of euros on capital markets on behalf of all 27 states, an unprecedented act of solidarity in almost seven decades of European integration. "It is really important for Europe, I think it is a game changer, this is really a turn in the road, in the right direction," Botin said, adding that this "will be seen in time as key step in the construction of Europe." Botin also that the agreement had diminished and averted the chances a sovereign risk and fragmentation problem in Europe and that the person, the country, who had taken the lead to make this possible was (Chancellor Angela) Merkel and Germany. "We could have hoped for something bigger but not for something better," she said. (Reporting by Jesus Aguado and Rachel Armstrong; additional reporting by Emma Pinedo; Editing by Nick Zieminski) Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 15:23:03|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HANGZHOU, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Alibaba's communication app DingTalk said that it will invest 100 million yuan (about 14.3 million U.S. dollars) in the digitalization of 100 Chinese county-level regions and help build digital infrastructure for 10,000 villages. Digital solutions have been rolled out by DingTalk to promote e-government, business services, and improve people's livelihood in those regions. Digital platforms for rural areas will also be established to enhance grassroots governance. Yang Meng, vice president of DingTalk, said the company will focus on building smart government offices, promoting government-enterprise interaction, and supporting the construction of a digital countryside this year. "Our partners are also encouraged to customize their own functions on DingTalk, based on their needs," Yang added. Enditem Odisha: Paradip Port ideal for marine products export July 21,2020 | Source: Daily Pioneer As huge marine products are available in Odisha for export, the State Government has urged the Union Ministry of Shipping to impress upon the shipping liners to operate from the Paradip Port for the purpose. MSME Secretary Satyabrata Sahu has requested the Ministry of Shipping to take up the issue with shipping liners as the Paradip Port authorities are ready to offer more facilities to them. The issue was discussed at a workshop on Export of Marine Products from Odisha: Potential held here on Wednesday which all stakeholders attended. Utkal Chamber of Commerce and Industry (UCCI) president Ramesh Mahapatra, Director Fisheries SR Pradhan, officials of Paradip Port, Paradip International Cargo Terminal, MPEDA, COBNCOR and airport authorities and the Director Export Promotion and Marketing shared their views. It came to the fore that marine products worth Rs 3,029 crore were exported from Odisha through the Visakhapatnam and Kolkata Ports last year. However, there is a lot of scope to export marine products from the Paradip Port. It was appraised that due to non-availability of shipping liners, export of containerised cargo is not made through the Paradip Port, which, though, has enough infrastructure for the purpose. MPEDA Chairman KS Srinivas was urged to make their quality control laboratory at Bhubaneswar operational by end of September 2020. It was pointed out that a multimodal logistic park is being established at the Paradip Port over an area of 100 acres, which would be operational by December 2020. With such facilities soon to be available, exports from Odisha could be undertaken through the Paradip Port. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: A graduate of Azerbaijan State University of Economics (UNEC) has achieved the highest result in the country according to the GAI. Eltaj Rajabov, a graduate of the faculty of Economics, majoring in "International Relations", scored 99.84 points and took first place among graduates of other universities in the country according to the General Average Success Index (GAI). In accordance with the tradition of the university, the name of E. Rajabov was engraved on the stone of honor of the UNEC for the highest score (98.53). During his 4-year education, E. Rajabov has won UNEC's TOP 15 scholarships. E. Rajabov, who plans to study for a master's degree in Germany, also received a DAAD scholarship funded by the German government. Oil Minister Says Foreign Countries Refusing To Sign Agreements With Iran Radio Farda July 20, 2020 Iran's Oil Minister on Monday told reporters that all foreign countries are now refusing to sign agreements with Iran in all areas due to the U.S. sanctions and are even discontinuing existing contracts. Bijan Namdar-Zanganeh said a previously negotiated agreement with India to develop the offshore Farzad gas field shared with Saudi Arabia in the Persian Gulf, has been cancelled because no country is willing to sign agreements with Iran in any area and added: "We need to rely on our own domestic capacities". Zanganeh made the remarks when making the announcement that a $1.3 billion deal for the development of South Azadegan oil field has been awarded to Petropars Engineering and Development, an Iranian company, to boost its production capacity to 320,000 barrels per day from 140,000 over a period of 30 months. Responding to a question about a 25-year pact with China, the Oil Minister said in oil sector there will be "long-term cooperation in development of gas and oil fields as well as petrochemical and refining industries" but refuted the claims that concessions have been made to China. The planned deal with China has caused massive negative reactions by the Iranian public and social media users who have described it as "a sell-out of Iran". Zanganeh also defended the agreement with China and said it is a 25-year road map and will be put to the vote of the Parliament after being finalized. The final draft proposal of the agreement with China was approved in a meeting of the cabinet ministers on June 21. There has been no official reaction from China, who generally abides by U.S. sanctions on Iran. Zanganeh told reporters that Iran is ready "to sign similar cooperation road maps with all countries except Israel". He also claimed that Iran has not excluded the United States from its gas and oil fields, as contractors or investors. "It's them who have limited themselves," he said. Regarding the lawsuit against China's CNPC which in 2014 was expelled after a five-year delay in implementation of a deal to develop Azadegan oil field, Zanganeh said: "some meetings have been held and agreements have been reached in some areas but generally relations with China good and without tension". Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/oil -minister-says-foreign-countries-refusing-to-sign- agreements-with-iran/30737553.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 Chinese Nationals Li Xiaoyu (above), 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 31, allegedly stole 'hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of trade secrets, intellectual property, and other valuable business information' in a sophisticated, decade-long scheme A British biotech company was hacked by two Chinese nationals linked to Beijing who have been charged int he US with stealing troves of sensitive government information. Li Xiaoyu, 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 31, allegedly stole 'hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of trade secrets, intellectual property, and other valuable business information in a sophisticated, decade-long scheme. An unnamed British artificial intelligence and cancer research firm was listed among hundreds of companies and government organisations targeted in the US and internationally. Washington said the plot, said to have begun in 2009, was not only carried out for personal financial gain but also for the benefit of the Chinese government. It comes as the foreign secretary Dominic Raab today met with his US counterpart Mike Pompeo to discuss Chinese aggression. Mr Pompeo accused Beijing of trying to steal intellectual property from American corporations and spoke of an alliance with the UK and other nations to impress upon China its commitments to the international community. Mr Raab told reporters: 'We think that the entire world needs to work together to ensure that every country - including China - behaves in the international system in ways that are appropriate and consistent with the international order. 'You cant go make claims for maritime regions that you have no lawful claim to. You cant threaten countries and bully them in the Himalayas. You cant engage in cover-ups and co-opt international institutions like the World Health Organisation.' Mr Pompeo applauded Britain for axing its 5G deal with Chinese telecoms giant Huawei but said MPs had to be tougher on Beijing. This latest case in the US highlights the risk posed by China and why Mr Pompeo said the UK needs a 'grand strategy' against Beijing, not just piecemeal gestures. The government said the plot, said to have begun in 2009, was not only carried out for financial gain but also for the benefit of the Chinese government Donald Trump 's top diplomat also met Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab today amid growing tensions over Hong Kong 'The hackers stole terabytes of data which comprised a sophisticated and prolific threat to U.S. networks,' Assistant Attorney General for National Security John Demers said during a press conference Attorney General for National Security John Demers told reporters in New York today that Beijing has been 'providing a safe haven for criminal hackers who, as in this case, are hacking in part for their own personal gain but willing to help the state and on call to do so.' He added: 'The hackers stole terabytes of data which comprised a sophisticated and prolific threat to U.S. networks.' Li and Dong allegedly breached defence contractors and stole sensitive military information, prosecutors said, including about military satellite programs and communications systems. The indictment says the two men were assisted by an unnamed Chinese intelligence officer who is known to the grand jury. The two men were indicted by a grand jury for the purported hacking campaign, which not only targeted companies in the US, but also in Australia, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, and the United Kingdom. Their targets included high tech manufacturers, medical device makers, civil and industrial engineers, gaming software makers, solar energy companies, pharmaceutical makers, and defence contractors, the US Department of Justice said. Among the 13 US victims were the Department of Education's Hanford site in Washington, a California tech and defense company, a Maryland tech and manufacturing company, a Texas engineering firm, a Virginia defense contractor, a Massachusetts software firm, a California gaming software company, and several U.S. drug makers. 'In at least one instance, the hackers sought to extort cryptocurrency from a victim entity, by threatening to release the victim's stolen source code on the Internet,' the FBI said. 'More recently, the defendants probed for vulnerabilities in computer networks of companies developing COVID-19 vaccines, testing technology and treatments.' None of the affected companies or parties were named in the indictment. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo flew into London and the middle of a huge row with China today as he held talks with Boris Johnson Mr Pompeo, who earlier held talks with the Prime Minister and Mr Raab, told a press conference: 'Yesterday you suspended your extradition treaty and extended your arms embargo on China to Hong Kong itself. We support those sovereign choices, we think well done' The inclusion of the coronavirus-related victim comes as US security agencies have warned that China is seeking to gain an upper hand in the global search for a vaccine. The FBI warned in May that Chinese government hackers have been 'observed attempting to identify and illicitly obtain valuable intellectual property and public health data related to vaccines, treatments, and testing from networks and personnel affiliated with COVID-19-related research.' There was no immediate indication from the indictment that the hackers had successfully obtained any information pertaining to COVID-19 research, despite efforts to snoop on the companies. But prosecutors say that in January, the defendants conducted reconnaissance on the computer network of a Massachusetts biotech firm known to be researching a potential vaccine and searched for vulnerabilities on the network of a Maryland firm less than a week after it said it was conducting similar scientific work. Demers said the actions of the hackers are 'concrete examples' of two concerning trends. 'China is using cyber intrusions as part of its "rob, replicate and replace" strategy to technological development,' Demers said. The DA added that Beijing is also 'providing a safe haven for criminal hackers who, as in this case, are hacking in part for their own personal gain but willing to help the state and on call to do so.' They're accused of hacking hundreds of companies, government organizations, dissidents, human rights activists and private companies, including those engaged in COVID-19 vaccine research Demers claimed that China has increased its brazen efforts to engage in theft and espionage through computer intrusions in breach of their international commitments. 'China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being 'on call' to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist Party's insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies' hard-earned intellectual property, including COVID-19 research,' Demers said. FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich shared the Demers' sentiments. He accused China of stealing 'Intellectual property and research which bolsters its economy, and then they use that illicit gain as a weapon to silence any country that would dare challenge their illegal actions. 'This type of economic coercion is not what we expect from a trusted world leader. It is what we expect from an organised criminal syndicate.' The indictment of Li and Dong marks the first time the US has charged suspected Chinese hackers with not only working to enrich themselves, but also on behalf of their native government. The Chinese government has routinely denied it conducts or sponsors hacks of foreign networks for purposes of economic espionage. The country has come under fire from the Trump Administration and a number of other world leaders for downplaying and failing to contain the coronavirus, which originated in Wuhan in 2019. China has strongly opposed those accusations and accused the US of using the global pandemic as a political pawn. The country has not yet responded to the charges levelled against Li and Dong. Paris (AFP) - With monikers as divergent as the "Professor" and the "Destroyer", the Islamic State group's new head has a reputation for brutality, but otherwise remains largely an enigma. Amir Mohammed Said Abd al-Rahman al-Mawla replaced Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after his death in a raid by US special forces last October. Mawla was initially presented to the world by the Islamic State (IS) as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi -- a man about whom America and Iraq had little intelligence. US officials later came to believe that al-Qurashi was Mawla's nom de guerre, recognising him in March as the new head of IS. The State Department immediately placed him on its "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" list, sparking a quest to learn more about a most-wanted man who now has a $10 million bounty on his head. One thing everyone seems to agree on is Mawla's brutal nature. He is probably best known for playing "a major role in the jihadist campaign of liquidation of the Yazidi minority (of Iraq) through massacres, expulsion and sexual slavery," according to Jean-Pierre Filiu, a jihadism analyst at the Sciences Po university in Paris. The new IS leader was born, likely in 1976, in the town of Tal Afar, some 70 kilometres (40 miles) from Mosul. He was born into a Turkmen family, making him a rare non-Arab to ascend the ranks of IS, which at its height ruled vast parts of Iraq and Syria and drew volunteers from the West. His ethnic origins prompted the United Nations to predict in a January report that he might be a "temporary choice until the group finds a more legitimate 'emir', a direct descendant from the Quraysh Hashemite tribe who could therefore command the full support of the remote provinces." - Sharia jurist - Mawla graduated from the Islamic Sciences College in Mosul. A former officer in the army of Saddam Hussein, he joined the ranks of Al-Qaeda after the US invasion of Iraq and Hussein's capture in 2003, according to the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) think-tank. Story continues He took on the role of religious commissary and a general Sharia jurist for al-Qaeda. In 2004, Mawla was detained by US forces at the Camp Bucca prison in southern Iraq, where he met Baghdadi. Both men were later freed, and Mawla remained at Baghdadi's side as he took the reins of the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda in 2010, then defected to create the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), later the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In 2014, according to the CEP, Mawla welcomed Baghdadi to Mosul "before leaving al-Qaeda and pledged allegiance and full support to the radical's mission, providing ISIS the support to quickly take control of the city". A profile drawn up by the CEP said that Mawla "quickly established himself among the insurgency's senior ranks, and was nicknamed the 'Professor' and the 'Destroyer'". He was well respected among IS members as a "brutal policymaker" and was responsible for "eliminating those who opposed Baghdadi's leadership", it said. - Down but not out - Analysts believe Mawla will now seek to prove he is his own man by attempting to reboot an organisation weakened by years of US-led assaults and the loss of its self-proclaimed "caliphate" in Syria last year. And he may choose to act now that the US is withdrawing troops from Syria. In a portent of things to come, IS fighters have carried out an attack every three days on average in Syria in recent months, according to the Washington-based Centre for Global Policy (CGP). Hisham Al-Hashimi, a Baghdad-based specialist on the extremist movement who was assassinated in Baghdad this month, recently estimated the group's monthly revenues in Iraq from investments and taxes it collects at some $7 million. "Despite its serious losses in territory and manpower, it remains financially solvent, creative, lethal, and once again confident enough to threaten those who violate its principles," CGP analyst Abdullah Al-Ghadhawi wrote. This means Mawla has both the incentive and the means to assert himself. "There are complaints about him from the field, there are still questions about what kind of organisation he will be running, how competent of a leader he is going to be, how successful he'll be in reconstituting a caliphate, how inspiring he'll be," Seth Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington told AFP. "There is going to be a lot of challenges, in inspiring the field but also avoiding to be killed like Baghdadi," Jones said. "If he is successful and recreates a caliphate, if the US withdraws its forces, if they're able to capitalise in other countries, that could go a long way to reduce concerns about his background," he warned. While the group's weakened position renders unlikely a major strike such as the 2015 jihadist assault on Paris unlikely for now, officials should not rule out smaller, less devastating but symbolic attacks on the West, Jones added. Advertisement The anti-feminist lawyer who killed a federal judge's son in New Jersey on Sunday then killed himself wrote a 1,700-page self-published book where he ranted about how much he hated the women in his life and described the judge as 'hot' but 'lazy' and 'Latina'. Roy Den Hollander was found dead in the Catskills on Monday morning, a day after he killed 20-year-old Daniel Anderl and wounded 63-year-old Mark Anderl at their home in New Brunswick. On Tuesday, friends of the couple said they were 'holding up very well' and that Anderl was recovering from surgery. 'He's doing very, very well,' Carlos Salas, the judge's brother, told Fox News. Hollander was dressed as a FedEx employee and opened fire on Daniel when he opened the door of the family's home. Judge Esther Salas, Daniel's mother, was in the basement of their home and was unharmed. It remains unclear why Hollander wanted to target Salas and her family. She was presiding over a case that he was once involved in but that he was removed from when his client changed her lawyer. In one of his online ramblings, he complained that she was taking too long to rule on it. 'Just unbelievable, by now we should have been knocking on the U.S. Supreme Courts door, but lady unluck stuck us with an Obama appointee. Female judges didnt bother me as long as they were middle age or older black ladies. 'They seemed to have an understanding of how life worked and were not about to be conned by any foot dragging lawyer. 'Latinas, however, were usually a problemdriven by an inferiority complex,' he fumed. Roy Den Hollander described Judge Esther Salas as 'hot' but 'lazy', 'incompetent' and 'Obama-appointed' in a rambling 1,700-page self-published book where he trashed all the women in his life. He shot himself on Sunday after killing Judge Salas' 20-year-old son and wounding her husband at their home in New Jersey The book is titled 'Stupid Friggin Fool' and this is the dedication Later, he claimed she only became successful as a result of 'affirmative action'. In one racist diatribe, he wrote: 'After Salas agreed to allow the DOJ its fourth motion to dismiss, I checked her bio. It was the usual effort to blame a man and turn someone into super girldaddy abandoned us, we were indigent, which means they lived off of the taxpayer, but we overcame all odds. 'Right, affirmative action got her into and through college and law school. Salas worked as an associate in an ambulance chasing firm doing basic criminal work. Left that firm to work as a public defender in the New Jersey District Court representing lumpen proletariat neer-do-wells. Joined 135 politically correct organizations trying to convince America that whites, especially white males, were barbarians, and all those of a darker skin complexion were victims. 'She did, however, have one accomplishmenthigh school cheerleader.' Sources say he may also have planned to target New York Judge Janet DiFiore, whose name and photograph were found on a piece of paper in his car, and authorities are also probing if he was involved in the murder of a California lawyer who was shot dead in his home by someone dressed in a FedEx uniform earlier this month. In his rambling, 1,700-page book titled Stupid Frigging Fool, Hollander referred to Salas as 'this hot Latina Judge in the U.S. District Court for New Jersey whom Obama had appointed.' He wrote: 'At first, I wanted to ask the Judge out, but thought she might hold me in contempt.' Elsewhere in the book, he called her a 'lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama.' The book's dedication reads: 'To mother. May she burn in hell'. It also tells the story of Hollander's marriage to a Russian bride, Angelina, who was younger than him and left him when they moved from Moscow to the US after obtaining a green-card through their marriage. The first chapter is titled 'Dream Lover' and tells the story of how they met. He had been at a party in Moscow where he admitted 'eyeing' girls who were just 16 and 17 before being approached by 23-year-old Angelina. 'Russian babes are real womennot like the man-haters in America who try to act like men,' he wrote. In the book, Hollander tells how he met and married a 23-year-old Russian woman, called Angelia, in 2000 after meeting her in Moscow. They are shown above After obtaining her visa, Angelina - who Hollander claimed was a stripper and prostitute - left him, according to people who knew the pair. He wrote in the book that he left her He used vile language to describe her later, after allegedly learning that she'd been unfaithful to him, and described fleeing Russia without her, calling her a 'dark angel'. By then, she'd obtained her visa. LAWYER GUNMAN'S POSSIBLE TIES TO MURDER OF CALIFORNIA ATTORNEY Marc Angelucci, 52, was shot dead earlier this month Police are investigating whether Hollander was also involved in the murder of Marc Angelucci, a California attorney shot dead at his home last month. Angelucci was also involved in the lawsuit over the military draft and he was a member of the National Coalition for Men. He and Hollander had shared values so it's unclear why he may have wanted him dead. Angelucci's friends said he was killed by someone posing as a delivery driver. On Sunday, Hollander is believed to have dressed up as a FedEx driver to attack Judge Salas' family. Advertisement After returning to the US, he made it his life's work to take on what he called 'Feminazis'. He filed numerous lawsuits to protect 'mens' rights', including one against a Manhattan bar which offered women free entry, and another against Colombia University, his alma mater, for offering a Women's Studies course which he said was sexist. He lost them all. Elsewhere in the book, Hollander wrote about his recent cancer treatment and desire to use the rest of his time to 'wrap up his affairs.' 'No more chances now, if there ever really were any, for glory and fortune, but maybe a little old time justice as in all those 1950s television westerns I watched as a kid when the lone cowboy refused to give up without a fight,' he wrote. 'The only problem with a life lived too long under Feminazi rule is that a man ends up with so many enemies he can't even the score with all of them. But law school and the media taught me how to prioritize.' Hollander's online writings also appeared to point towards a potential connection between himself and the Beaverkill community where his body was found - as Hollander had made reference to going to a family cabin in Beaverkill at one point. And he had written online about posing as a FedEx delivery person to speak with a young girl, which mirrors the alleged tactic he used at the door to the judge's home. Hollander had recently been diagnosed with cancer and was suing a hospital which treated him, claiming malpractice. He also declared bankruptcy several years ago. He came into contact with Judge Salas in 2015 when he was hired to represent a 17-year-old girl who sued Selective Service System, claiming the military's male-only rule when enforcing a draft was discriminatory. Hollander is believed to have killed 20-year-old Daniel Anderl (left) and injured 63-year-old Mark Anderl on Sunday night in an as-yet unexplained attack on the family Hollander also had a picture of Judge Janet DiFiore in his car, along with her name written down on a piece of paper There has not been a military draft for more than 40 years, and women are able to enlist in the military voluntarily if they are qualified. Judge Salas allowed Hollander's case to proceed, which was a win for him. In 2019, Hollander was however removed from the case when his client replaced him for unknown reasons. Daniel Anderl was Judge Salas' only child. He was a college student and also hoped to become a lawyer. Her husband Mark is in a stable condition after undergoing surgery on Monday. The family have been universally described by friends and neighbors as good and kind-natured. When police found Hollander's body, they also found a piece of paper which had the name and photograph of New York Judge Janet DiFiore on it. Judge Salas' home in New Brunswick, New Jersey, where her son was killed and husband was injured on Sunday Hollander was found near this home in the Catskills on Monday morning Police are now also investigating whether he may be tied to the shooting death Marc Angelucci, a lawyer who was shot dead in his home in California earlier this month, reportedly by someone dressed in a FedEx uniform. It is unclear if he had connections to either of them. On Sunday night, Hollander is believed to have arrived at Judge Salas' home at around 5pm. He knocked on the door and Daniel answered. Hollander is thought to have opened fire immediately, shooting him in the heart. The young man's father then went to the front door and was shot multiple times before Hollander fled. Judge Salas, who had been downstairs, ran up the staircase when she heard the commotion, according to her brother. Pro-Trump murderer lawyer turned to a life of women-hating after he was dumped by younger Russian bride and posted thousands of rambling, racist rants online including threats to 'Feminazis' to 'be careful' Roy Den Hollander's hatred of women seems to stem back to his marriage to a Russian woman called Angelina who left him in the late 1990s after using him for a visa The lawyer who murdered New Jersey Judge Esther Salas' son made racist remarks about her and other Latinas in thousands of online ramblings after devoting his life to tearing down women's rights in the wake of an embarrassing break-up with his Russian bride. Roy Den Hollander is believed to be the gunman who shot dead 20-year-old Daniel Ardel, Judge Esther Salas' son, on Sunday and injured her husband Mark. He then killed himself in the Catskills and his body was found on Monday. In a 1,700-page self-published book online, which he dedicated to 'mother - may she burn in hell' - he described his failed love life, troubled law career and 2018 melanoma diagnosis. Hollander also discussed Salas at length. He complained that she was taking too long to rule on a case he was involved in that was over the military's male-only draft. 'Just unbelievable, by now we should have been knocking on the U.S. Supreme Courts door, but lady unluck stuck us with an Obama appointee. He was angry that the case was taking so long in Salas' court. Female judges didnt bother me as long as they were middle age or older black ladies. 'They seemed to have an understanding of how life worked and were not about to be conned by any foot dragging lawyer. Latinas, however, were usually a problemdriven by an inferiority complex,' he wrote. Hollander graduated from Columbia law school in the 1990s. He then moved to Moscow to work for a security firm. After being dumped, Hollander devoted his career to filing lawsuits to chip away at women's rights and argue that men were unfairly treated This is a screengrab from the misogynistic lawyer's website In his rambling, 1,700-page book he refers to Salas in racist, derogatory terms repeatedly That is where he met Angelina, the Russian bride who broke his heart by allegedly deceiving him. In his rambling book, he went from describing her as 'Angel' to describing her as a 'h*'. The unhinged murderer recently turned his attention to the COVID-19 pandemic and blamed Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the surge in cases in New York He claimed, without evidence, that she was a sex worker and that she used him for a green card. In a 2008 Jezebel article, it's claimed that she left him after getting her visa to the US. He claimed in the book it was him he broke off the romance. Thereafter, the bulk of his work was dedicated to what he called defending men's rights. Hollander made a name for himself as a litigious misogynist who hated women. He sued a Manhattan bar for offering women free entry and free drinks in 2008, claiming it was discriminatory against men. He also sued Columbia for offering a women's studies course. Judge Esther Salas. Hollander said she was 'hot' and contemplated 'asking her out' but also said she had an 'inferiority complex' The case against the bar won him the nickname 'Ladies Night Lawyer' and he was ridiculed by Stephen Colbert on his show. Hollander was undeterred. In recent years, he filed a lawsuit against the hospital that treated him for cancer, alleging malpractice. He appeared frequently on cable news networks to share his controversial views. Hollander's work appears to have dried up in recent years. On social media, his post recent posts - in April - were about the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was partially to blame for the state's large death toll. He hated Obama, who he said had 'an obsession to turn America into a banana republic', Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who described as 'angry that nobody had invited her to her high school senior prom' and Clinton supporters who he called ' Clinton 'teary-eyed, sad-sack, PC loonies'. He called himself a Trump campaign 'volunteer', and said he'd worked the phones during the president's first campaign. 'Once in a while some hot young model chick would show up to make calls. They never sat next to me,' he claimed. 'I did volunteer work for Trumps campaign because I hate PC-Feminism more than I hate America. If I had hated America more, I would have worked for Hillarys campaign,' he wrote. He does not make any direct threat to women specifically but said in one portion of the book: 'The Feminists should be careful in their meddling with nature. There are 300 million firearms in this country, and most of them are owned by guys. 'It makes no sense for men to disarm in the face of an evil that wants to exercise totalitarian power over them. They have a right to revolt against that tyranny, to take it down. 'It doesnt matter whether its the tyranny of George III or the Feminists.' The final sentence of his bizarre book asks 'what's the point?'. It's unclear when it was written. Prime Minister Boris Johnson (right) welcomes the United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo, to Downing Street ahead of a private meeting. Boris Johnson and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have had candid talks as tensions mounted between China and the Western allies. The meeting followed the Governments U-turn on Chinese tech giant Huaweis involvement in 5G networks, a move welcomed by Washington, and after Mondays suspension of the extradition treaty with Hong Kong in response to Beijings national security law. China has warned Britain will bear the consequences of its actions. Constructive visit with @BorisJohnson today. Our two countries long-standing, strong bilateral relationship has laid the foundation for todays candid discussion on issues ranging from 5G telecommunication to our negotiations for a U.S.-UK free trade agreement. pic.twitter.com/9j1o3bK8e6 Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 21, 2020 A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London said in a statement Beijing had expressed its concerns over the UK interfering in Hong Kong matters which are internal affairs of China. Downing Street said Mr Johnson and Mr Pompeo, along with Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, discussed shared global security and foreign policy issues, including Chinas actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang where there are concerns about the abuse of the Uighur Muslims. They also discussed the importance of the Five Eyes alliance, the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, taking an ambitious approach to working together on the technologies of the future, something apparently aimed at ending the reliance on Chinese technology from firms such as Huawei. Support for Hong Kong unites @SecPompeo and UK Foreign Secretary @DominicRaab in London @ForeignOffice. pic.twitter.com/q85OPLV8wB Charge d'Affaires Philip T. Reeker (@USAmbUK) July 21, 2020 Downing Street said they also discussed a possible US-UK trade deal. Mr Pompeo said it was a constructive visit and our two countries long-standing, strong bilateral relationship has laid the foundation for the candid discussion on issues ranging from 5G telecommunication to our negotiations for a US-UK free trade agreement. Expand Close United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo arrives at the In And Out Club in London to meet backbench MPs and members of the Henry Jackson Society (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp United States Secretary of State, Mike Pompeo arrives at the In And Out Club in London to meet backbench MPs and members of the Henry Jackson Society (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Downing Street rejected Chinas condemnation of the UKs actions over the extradition treaty and the extension of an arms embargo to cover Hong Kong. It was a reasonable and proportionate response to Chinas failure to live up to its international obligations with respect to Hong Kong, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said. The UK has accused China of breaking the terms of an international treaty by imposing the national security law, which the Government believes undermines some of the autonomy Hong Kong has previously enjoyed. But Beijing has reacted furiously to the UKs actions over both Hong Kong and Huawei. A spokesman for the Chinese embassy said: Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of Chinas solemn position and repeated representations. China opposes foreign interference in #HongKong affairs. The #NationalSecurityLaw for Hong Kong is aimed at plugging loopholes in HKSAR national security legislation. The independent judicial power, including power of final adjudication, will not be affected. pic.twitter.com/M3V52bsL6v Chinese Embassy in UK (@ChineseEmbinUK) July 21, 2020 It once again contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations and blatantly interfered in Chinas internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the national security law for Hong Kong SAR and undermine the citys prosperity and stability. China urges the UK side to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are Chinas internal affairs, in any form. The UK will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road. Ahead of his meeting with the Prime Minister, Mr Pompeo attended an event hosted by the Henry Jackson Society think tank with senior Tory MPs. Guests included former Conservative leader Sir Iain Duncan Smith, who has struck a hawkish tone on China, Defence Select Committee chairman Tobias Ellwood and former Cabinet minister Damian Green. YEREVAN, July 13 (Reuters) - Armenia said on Monday it had extended until Aug. 12 a state of emergency to try to contain the spread of the novel coronavirus as the number of daily infections has yet to start declining. Despite the state of emergency, almost all sectors of the Armenian economy are functioning after businesses reopened in early May to ward off economic collapse. But the country's borders remain closed and international flights have not resumed. Armenia, a country of around 3 million, has registered 32,151 confirmed coronavirus cases and 573 deaths so far from COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. It is the worst-affected country in the South Caucasus region and hundreds of new infections are still being recorded each day. Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan said earlier this month that if people did not follow anti-epidemic measures, Armenia might face a new lockdown, which could cause a severe economic crisis. His government has made wearing face masks in public mandatory. Specialists from foreign countries and international organisations arrived in Armenia last month to help the country fight the COVID-19 pandemic. (Reporting by Nvard Hovhannisyan; Editing by Barbara Lewis) Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 02:01:02|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday said that the Islamic republic will strike a "reciprocal blow" at the United States for killing an Iranian senior commander in Iraq in January. "Iran will never forget this issue, and will certainly strike a reciprocal blow at the Americans," Khamenei was quoted as saying by the leader's official website. Khamenei made the remarks in a meeting with visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi on Tuesday. A U.S. airstrike on January 3 killed Qassem Soleimani, former commander of the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), along with an Iraqi militia commander, near the Baghdad International Airport. In retaliation, the IRGC hit the U.S. base of al-Asad in Iraq on Jan. 8 with a wave of surface-to-surface missiles. Enditem Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Poppy McPherson and Karen Lema (Reuters) Tue, July 21, 2020 07:20 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f3ded 2 World social-media,US-China,US-China-tension,South-China-Sea,bilateral-spat,bilateral-tension Free Tensions between the United States and China over the South China Sea have erupted into a war of words on social media, in what analysts see as a change in US strategy amid a burgeoning superpower rivalry in Southeast Asia. After Washington last week hardened its position by explicitly rejecting Chinese maritime claims in the South China Sea, US embassies in the region produced an unprecedented flurry of op-eds and statements criticizing Beijing's actions. China's response was fiery, accusing Washington of "defaming China with untrue words so as to mislead the public" in the region. "We are a battleground now," Renato de Castro, an analyst with the Albert Del Rosario Institute for Strategic and International Relations in the Philippines, told Reuters by phone. "It will be a long game." A week ago, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called Beijing's claim to about 90% of the potentially energy-rich South China Sea "completely unlawful" and accused Beijing of seeking a "maritime empire". US embassies in Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines and Cambodia followed up with comments on Facebook and in editorials in local news outlets saying that Beijing's actions fitted a pattern of encroachment on others' sovereignty. The US ambassador to Thailand accused Chinese dams of holding back water from the region's Mekong river during a drought last year. The embassy in Yangon drew parallels between the South China Sea and ways it said China was interfering in Myanmar, citing investments it said could become debt traps, the trafficking of women to China as brides, and the inflow of drugs into the country. In a swift counterattack, China's ambassador to Thailand accused Washington of "attempting to sow discord between China and other littoral countries". In a Facebook post that twice referred to the United States as "dirty", China's Myanmar embassy said its agencies abroad were doing "disgusting things" to contain China and showed a "selfish, hypocritical, contemptible, and ugly face". The statements attracted thousands of regional social media comments, many attacking China while questioning the motives of both countries. "Thank you USA for doing what is the law requires," commented Chelley Ocampo under the U.S embassy in the Philippines' Facebook post. After someone wrote on the US embassy in Malaysia's page, "Imperial Yankee Go Home !!!!!!", American diplomats replied, "Are you saying that you are ok with the PRC's bullying tactics in the SCS?" 'Clarifications and rebuttals' Wang Wenbin, China's foreign ministry spokesman, told a news conference in Beijing it was the "US that first published comments attacking and condemning China" and its diplomats were issuing clarifications and rebuttals in response. The US State Department did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the apparently coordinated social media offensive. The war of words marks a strident new tack for U.S diplomacy in the region, analysts said. The US statements aimed to tie the South China Sea to local concerns "to depict Beijing as an unequivocal threat to the sovereignty of the Southeast Asian nations", said Sebastian Strangio, author of an upcoming book on China's regional influence. Meanwhile, China's response was consistent with "pugnacious 'Wolf-Warrior' diplomacy" since the onset of the coronavirus pandemic, he said, referring to increasingly nationalist Chinese rhetoric. Strains have become more evident in the South China Sea recently, with US and Chinese navies holding simultaneous exercises in a waterway that China claims over smaller rivals, including the Philippines and Vietnam, on the basis of history. China "couldn't afford allowing the U.S to make appreciable gains in turning regional opinion", said Collin Koh Swee Lean, a research fellow at the Rajaratnam School of International Studies in Singapore. "At least some of the Southeast Asian governments... may secretly, if not publicly, welcome the latest Pompeo statement and thereby possibly be emboldened to resist its moves in the disputed waters." Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon breathed his last on Tuesday morning after a month-long struggle against acute illness, comprising multiple organ failures, at a super specialty hospital in Lucknow. He was 85. The veteran of Indian politics will, however, be remembered for long because of his good nature and social and political outreach that was never curtailed by his political ideology. A true embodiment of the Atal school of politics, Tandon -- referred to as "Babu ji" by his admirers -- will be remembered as a man who despite being a die-hard saffron soldier excelled at the art of political navigation in such a manner that his moves against rivals were never ugly. He was one among that fast-thinning breed of politicians who had good personal relations across the political spectrum; case in point being his relationship with BSP supremo Mayawati who tied a 'rakhi' to him every year. In early March this year, it was his last interaction with a few journalists in Lucknow. Tandon was back home in the old city area of Chowk in Lucknow for Holi celebrations, a tradition he had never missed. While he was at home, Madhya Pradesh was hit by political crisis as the then Kamal Nath government came under a storm after rebellion from Jyotiraditya Scindia. As journalists scrambled to get Tandon's take as the governor on the erupting crisis, they were only met with delicious Gujhiyas and a smile. This was the style Tandon professed. Clearly, he was not a man in hurry, despite the fact that beleaguered Madhya Pradesh chief minister Kamal Nath had already sent him a letter, requesting immediate sacking of six of his cabinet colleagues This was the kind of political functioning that Tandon has mastered over the decades. In local parlance, its the typical Lucknowi-style of moving unhurriedly, chewing something fine before swallowing it. Born and brought up in Lucknow, Tandon got associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and erstwhile Jan Sangh when he was young. However, his links with saffron politics never limited his outreach and connections with people from different sections of society. Having started as a corporator in early 1970s, Tandon entered the upper house of the UP legislature a decade later. However, his meteoric rise within the BJP and saffron politics came with Atal Bihari Vajpayees entry in the electoral race from the constituency of Lucknow in 1991. Tandon became the election manager for the BJP stalwart. His political connect across the social spectrum came as added advantage in the constituency which did not just have a sizeable Muslim population but also had a very distinct secular character. Since then, he never looked back. Having seen and reported for long on Tandon, senior journalist Brijesh Shukla says, There was a clear imprint of the "Tehzeeb" amidst which he had grown up. He reflected the spirit of Lucknow, the city known for mutual co-existence and reverence for different religions and ideologies." As his personal bonding grew with Vajpayee, Tandon steadily climbed up the ladder within the BJP. He was appointed the urban development minister in the first BJP government in UP, with Kalyan Singh as chief minister in 1991. Those were also the hay days of the temple movement, but very much like his political mentor, Tandon too remained a soft face of Hindutva, never venturing out on the frontlines of the Ram Janmabhoomi agitation. For Tandon, loyalty to his political mentor was supreme. Post mid-nineties as BJP's pioneer of temple movement and former chief minister Kalyan Singh got into an inner party struggle with top leadership, specially Vajpaee, Tandon firmly stood with the Atal camp. Later on, Tandon, along with former UP CM and emerging face of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh Rajnath Singh and Kalraj Mishra, became the most established troika of the BJP in the state. As Vajpayee led the country as PM from 1999 to 2004, Tandon continued to be his key man in Lucknow. This unshaken commitment gradually earned him the title of political heir to Atal Bihari Vajpayee, when it came to his constituency of Lucknow. As Vajpayee gradually withdrew from the political arena because of ill health, Tandon was the natural choice for replacing him as the BJP candidate from Lucknow in the 2009 parliamentary elections. He was elected to the 15th Lok Sabha by a margin of over 40,000 votes over Rita Bahuguna Joshi of the Congress. In 2014, as he was denied a poll ticket and was forced to pave the way for Rajnath Singh as a candidate from Lucknow, many thought it was the end of the political journey for Tandon. A man well versed in the Atal school of politics was considered to have lost in the era of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah. However, Tandons old-school practice of patience and buying time in politics didnt go in vain. As former BBC correspondent Ram Dutt Tripathi says, Lucknow is known for the culture of pehle aap (after you). Tandon has mastered it in his political discourse. So, even when it comes to fighting the odds, he refrains from being the one to deliver the first blow. This style of politics slowly brought the focus back on to him, as he got the governorship of Bihar in August 2018 and was then shifted to Madhya Pradesh in 2019, the office he was currently holding. News of Tandon's demise on Tuesday morning was shared on Twitter by his son Ashutosh, a cabinet minister in Uttar Pradesh's Yogi Aditananth government. A one-line message "Babuji nahi rahe was enough to let all know it was the end of Tandons worldly journey. As developments related to the Libyan crisis pick up pace, Egypt has stepped up political and military preparations in connection with the Sirte-Jafra red line that Egypt has defined as the western boundary of its national security realm, in the event that forces fighting for the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) attempt to advance further eastward. Cairo has simultaneously urged the international community to press for a ceasefire along this line and to compel the GNA and the Libyan National Army (LNA) to deescalate and return to the negotiating table in the framework of the outputs of the Berlin Conference and the Cairo Declaration that seek to advance the UN-sponsored peace process for Libya. Ankara, by contrast, remains bent on the military solution. It continues to reject all ceasefire initiatives out of hand as it ratchets up its military supplies to the GNA, intensifying its belligerent rhetoric, saying that there is nothing to compel it to adhere to the Sirte-Jafra line or to ceasefire initiatives. Although the battle between Cairo and Ankara has so far confined itself to rhetorical outbursts and diplomatic manoeuvres, the likelihood of a slide into a military clash is increasing while the prospects for a political settlement are receding. Both sides have staged a series of military manoeuvres. The Egyptian armys Hasm 2020 drills near the border with Libya were meant to convey the message that Egypt will act with resolve in order to defend its national security. Turkey responded with sabre rattling in the form of naval manoeuvres off the coast of Libya. Both sides then moved to bolster their respective allies in Libya. Cairo helped the Libyans build an anti-occupation resistance army, made up of Libyan tribes, to supplement the ranks of the LNA, which is fatigued after six years of fighting radical forces. In addition to more shiploads of military hardware to the GNA, Ankara has increased its shipments of mercenaries to supplement the GNAs attack force that is preparing to breach the Sirte-Jufra red line. But even as they escalate verbally and posture militarily, some factors might be working against a military conflagration. One is the alarming prospect of a clash between two regional powers the size of Egypt and Turkey which are roughly equivalent in military might. The repercussions of a military locking of horns between them in Libya would reverberate well beyond that encounter to throw havoc into the balances of power throughout the entire Middle East. Both sides are aware of this. This is why President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, in his meeting with representatives of Libyan tribes last week, stressed that the Sirte-Jufra line was the peace line, meaning the line to conclude a ceasefire and restart the political process. Turkey, too, seemed to soften its rhetoric somewhat, saying that it did not want a military confrontation with Egypt. It appears, therefore, that the warring parties and their backers appreciate that their options are limited. Every option comes at a cost and with obligations. For example, escalation can only aggravate the complexities of the Libyan crisis and put the prospects of a solution further out of reach. This is all the more the case given that the record of modern warfare in the Middle East tells us that there is no such thing as a winner and loser in regional conflicts but only a redrawing of lines and balances of power that accompany stakeholders to the negotiating table. As the Prussian military theorist Carl von Clausewitz put it, war is a continuation of politics by other means. On the other hand, the political option also has its red lines that can be adhered to while averting the slide into war. Egypt took the lead with the Cairo Declaration, a peace initiative it proposed to Aguila Saleh, speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives. This position rests on the principles of international legitimacy and the framework of the UN-sponsored process to resolve the Libyan crisis (as manifested in the political, economic and military tracks that were the outputs of the Berlin Process). At the same time, Cairo set the Sirte-Jufra line as the limit to the political, military and economic ambitions of the GNA, an unelected body that has forfeited its legitimacy under the Skhirat Agreement, as a result of its behaviours. Most importantly, here, the GNA concluded an illegitimate pact with a foreign power to help it monopolise government and secure control over the sources of Libyan wealth in exchange for channelling much of that wealth into Turkish coffers and private pockets. Egypt also maintains that security reform must not serve as a pretext to exclude the LNA in favour of illegal militias, and that social reform must not serve as a pretext to exclude authentic Libyan tribes in favour of a Turkish-backed ideological organisation such as the Libyan chapter of the Muslim Brotherhood or its offshoots in Misrata, in order to advance the political and economic fortunes of a non-Arab axis in Libya. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Carey Mulligan and Marcus Mumford have warned that children living in war zones face a dire situation amid the coronavirus pandemic as they launched an appeal for War Child. The couple, who have been married since 2012 and share two children, are global ambassadors for the charity, which provides care to young people suffering war or the aftermath of conflict. Speaking during an online Q&A with chief executive of War Child UK Rob Williams, Mulligan explained how lockdown had caused her to reflect on her charity work. Were very excited to announce that our Emergency Coronavirus Crowdfunder is now live! https://t.co/XaXdrcUnLJ #KeepThemSafe pic.twitter.com/Yh3LyD81tq War Child UK (@WarChildUK) July 21, 2020 She said: Like most people I have spoken to throughout this, people have been reflecting on what their experiences have been like, and we have been super lucky to have a good family time in this. And then it immediately makes you think how people are experiencing this in other parts of the world. We have both recently been on trips to Iraq. In a way, you cast your mind back to when you were in a camp and think that if you take away education, if you take community from these children, if you take away their ability to share with other kids and play, it is a dire, dire situation. It did feel there was an urgency to ensure that nothing else is taken away from them and, in fact, more can be given to them. Expand Close Marcus Mumford (Ian West/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Marcus Mumford (Ian West/PA) Video of the Day Whatever is possible within the ways these countries are running at the moment, but they should have as much support as they can, given that their situation right now is so difficult and must be so hard. That definitely feels like an emergency and thats why this really is an emergency crowdfunder because we need to make sure all the services War Child are providing right now continue. She added: We have been really lucky that this has been an amazing family time for us. But again that has really made me think about the work War Child do and how families can be tested and really challenged by this. It made me feel tested as a large family here. How much more testing would that be for a family in a conflict zone or a situation where you dont have your parents? Expand Close Carey Mulligan (Ian West/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Carey Mulligan (Ian West/PA) War Child is aiming to raise 300,000 during its six-week Emergency Coronavirus Crowdfunder. Actresses Vanessa Kirby and Emma Stone, actors Jude Law and Jamie Dornan, and Louis Tomlinson, Coldplay and The 1975 have contributed items and experiences. Mumford, frontman of folk group Mumford & Sons, has gifted a guitar and a private performance over video call to the auction. Oscar-nominated actress Mulligan has offered breakfast and a screening of her new film Promising Young Woman. Recalling how the fundraiser began, Mumford said: We talked quite a lot this year about what fundraising might look like. We talked right at the beginning of lockdown about looking ahead towards how this might affect War Childs fundraising efforts this year, and how it might affect the kinds of children we have had the privilege to meet in conflict zones around the world. We talked about how it might hit some of the most vulnerable people really hard. Many of the charity concerts and dinners that usually fund War Child have been cancelled due to coronavirus. The items will be on sale online between now and September 1. Five people including three children in Ha Giang Province in the northern highlands died Tuesday amid heavy flooding in the region due to prolonged rain. A 44-year-old woman and her 15-year-old daughter were asleep in their house in Hoang Su Phi District when rocks collapsed onto the house at around 5 a.m. Authorities tried to rescue the two, but failed. A small hut is left after most of a house has been buried under rocks and soil following heavy rains in house in Hoang Su Phi District, Ha Giang Province, July 21, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Quang Vinh. At 7 a.m., another woman and her 13-year-old daughter were buried as landslides hit their rent house in Ha Giang Town, the capital of the province. Authorities found them after several hours and rushed them to hospital, but only the 48-year-old mother survived. Another child, two years of age, from Bac Quang District, drowned amid the floods. Also on Tuesday morning, a truck passing a spillway in Bac Me District slid into a nearby stream with the driver still stuck inside. Authorities had deployed bulldozers to recover the vehicle, only to find the driver dead, said Cung Thi May, district chairman. The truck was transporting minerals at the time of the incident. Ha Giang has experienced flooding the past three days due to heavy rainfall, between 100 and 300 mm a day. Rainfall of 180 mm or more a day is considered heavy. Rainfall from 7 p.m. Sunday to 7 p.m. Monday in Ha Giang Town was measured at 347 mm, the heaviest per day since 1961, said Hoang Phuc Lam, deputy director of the National Center for Hydrometeorology and Forecasting. Prolong rains and flooding have caused traffic jams and landslides in several areas. Most streets were flooded about a meter deep, while cars could not traverse a section of National Highway 2 due to a collapsed city gate. Two cars were also swept away into the Lo River. Nguyen Manh Thang, chief of Ha Giang Town People's Committee, said: "The city has never been as severely flooded. Were busy calculating the damage." Flooding almost bury cars on a street in Ha Giang Town, the capital of Ha Giang Province, July 21, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Xuan Hoa. Trieu Son An, deputy chairman of Hoang Su Phi District, said the rain has subsided as of Tuesday and authorities were monitoring and evacuating locals from areas vulnerable to landslides and erosion. Meanwhile in Quan Ba District, about 50 km from Hoang Su Phi, heavy rains had also brought floods and landslides that buried several structures in Thai An Hydropower Plant, pausing operations. Several northern Vietnamese areas have seen heavy rains since Friday last week, including Ha Giang and Bac Giang Provinces, meteorologists said. More heavy rains are expected on Tuesday and Wednesday in Lai Chau, Lao Cai and Ha Giang provinces, according to the Central Steering Committee on Natural Disaster Prevention and Control. Floods and landslides may also occur in these regions, the committee added. OSU researchers part of international effort to save critically endangered seabird CORVALLIS, Ore. - The global population of the critically endangered Chinese crested tern has more than doubled thanks to a historic, decade-long collaboration among Oregon State University researchers and scientists and conservationists in China, Taiwan and Japan. The project included OSU's Dan Roby and Don Lyons and was led by Chen Shuihua of the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History. When it began, fewer than 50 of the seabirds remained. "The species is still far from being safe from extinction, but the population is now well over 100 adults and the future is much brighter than 10 years ago," said Roby, professor emeritus in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Findings were published in Biological Conservation. First described in 1863, the Chinese crested tern has been a largely mysterious species and is arguably the world's most threatened seabird. After 21 specimens were collected in 1937 along the coast of Shandong Province, China, it wasn't until 2000 that any other sightings were confirmed: four adults and four chicks within a large colony of greater crested terns in the Matsu Islands, Taiwan. The discovery was big news in the ornithology world, which had generally considered the Chinese crested tern to be extinct. In the years since, breeding has been confirmed in five locations: three along the Chinese coast, plus an uninhabited island off the southwestern coast of South Korea and the Penghu Islands of Taiwan. The Chinese crested tern is among the nearly one-third of seabird species threatened with extinction because of entanglement with fishing gear, reduction in food supplies, environmental contaminants, overharvest, and predation and other disturbances by invasive species. "Most seabirds select nesting habitat largely by social cues, whose absence may delay recovery even when there is suitable habitat," Roby said. "Since the 1970s, new techniques have been developed and implemented to enhance seabird restoration efforts. These techniques are social attraction and chick translocation and have been used in at least 171 different seabird restoration projects conducted in 16 locations in an attempt to restore 64 seabird species." Social attraction was the strategy for the Chinese crested tern project, the first major conservation effort for seabirds in the People's Republic of China. "Terns feed their young and provide other parental care for extended periods post-fledging, suggesting that chick translocations would likely not result in fledged young that would survive to recruit into the breeding population," Roby said. Social attraction involves decoys, recorded bird vocalizations, mirrors, scent and artificial burrows that work in concert to lure adult seabirds to restoration sites with the goal of establishing breeding colonies. "The most serious immediate threat to the survival of the species was the illegal harvest of eggs by fishermen," Roby said. "Beyond just taking the eggs, the disturbance associated with fishermen landing on breeding islands to collect eggs or shellfish apparently caused breeding terns to abandon their nesting sites." The scientists believed that if Chinese crested terns could be attracted to a site with suitable nesting habitat that was continuously monitored and secured against egg harvest and other human disturbances, the species could have a chance to recover from the brink of extinction. In 2013, a tern restoration project was launched on Tiedun Dao, an uninhabited, densely vegetated, 2.58-hectare island in the Jiushan Islands, home to a former breeding colony of Chinese crested terns that was abandoned in 2007 in the wake of illegal egg harvesting. "It's near the original breeding island of Jiangjunmao but was not known to have been previously occupied by breeding seabirds," Roby said. "To improve the chances for Chinese crested tern success, we used social attraction techniques to try to establish a new breeding colony of greater crested terns because since their rediscovery, Chinese crested terns had only been found nesting in large colonies of greater crested terns." In 2015, Yaqueshan, a 1-hectare island in the Wuzhishan Archipelago, was chosen as a second restoration site, where social attraction would be deployed in an attempt to stabilize the breeding colony there. Three years later, the researchers attracted a total of 77 breeding adult Chinese crested terns to the Tiedun Dao and Yaqueshan colonies - 88.5% of the known number of breeding adults in the global population for that year. Also in 2018, 25 Chinese crested tern chicks fledged from the Tiedun Dao and Yaqueshan colonies, or 96% of the known number of Chinese crested tern fledglings produced that year. "Consequently, we now know for the first time in history that the global population of Chinese crested terns exceeds 100," Roby said. "The population increase from under 50 to more than 100 is a cautiously hopeful sign that this species can be brought back from the very edge of extinction. The success of this international project is a testimony to what can be accomplished when scientists from China, the U.S. and Taiwan work together toward a common conservation goal." ### Supporting the project were the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Zhejiang Technological Research Project for Public Welfare, the National Key R&D Program of China, the Biodiversity Investigation, Observation and Assessment Program of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, the Zhejiang Rare and Endangered Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Project, the Endangered Species Monitoring Fund from the State Forestry Administration of China, the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, the China Association for Science and Technology, the Japan Fund for Global Environment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Pacific Seabird Group. This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Just because we are in a recession doesn't mean it's a bad time to invest in stocks. After all, buying shares of great companies -- and holding these shares for long periods -- remains one of the best ways to accumulate wealth. Of course, before putting your money in the stock market, it's essential to ensure that you have enough saved for a rainy day. In case you do, and if you still have $2,000 lying around, here are two stocks that could be great long-term picks: Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) and Pfizer (NYSE:PFE). Both of these healthcare giants have been involved in the fight against COVID-19. And even beyond their coronavirus-related efforts, there are great reasons to invest in them. 1. Abbott Laboratories Abbott Laboratories has developed five COVID-19 diagnostic tests, one of which is the ID Now COVID-19 antibody test. According to the company, this device can give positive results in as little as five minutes. This test did run into a little bit of trouble, however, when in May, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) warned consumers that it could return false negatives. Fortunately, the company issued interim data from a clinical study that showed that ID Now is highly reliable. Abbott's COVID-19 tests are having a positive effect on its financial results, too. During the second quarter, the company's diagnostics segments reported sales of about $2 billion -- a 7.1% year-over-year organic increase -- which the company largely attributed to its newly developed coronavirus tests. Overall, Abbott recorded total sales of $7.3 billion during the second quarter, a 5.4% year-over-year decrease on an organic basis. Investors should remember that the COVID-19 crisis is hurting Abbott's business -- and those of many other medical device companies, for that matter. But the healthcare giant is managing to weather the storm. The sales number was above the $6.75 billion analysts were expecting. The healthcare company could benefit from several growth drivers. In particular, Abbott's diabetes care segment is performing well, largely thanks to its continuous glucose monitoring (CGM) system called the FreeStyle Libre. During the first and second quarters, sales of this device increased by 62.5% and 40% year over year, respectively. What's more, the FDA recently cleared the newer and better (according to Abbott) FreeStyle Libre 2. In late June, Abbott entered into a partnership with Tandem Diabetes Care. The two companies will combine forces to integrate Tandem Diabetes Care's innovative t:slim X2 insulin pump with Abbott's FreeStyle Libre technology "for future automated insulin delivery systems." The diabetes care market constitutes just one potential growth area for Abbott, and that -- combined with its ability to keep its financial results afloat amid the crisis -- will allow the company to outperform the market in the long run. 2. Pfizer Pfizer is collaborating with BioNtech to develop a vaccine for COVID-19. The companies have several candidates, four of which are undergoing a phase 1/2 clinical trial. The trial is testing the safety, immunogenicity, and optimal dose level of these vaccines. In early July, Pfizer released positive interim data from this study. What's more, the FDA granted a fast-track designation to two of these candidates, BNT162b1 and BNT162b2. Pfizer and BioNtech plan on starting a phase 2b/3 clinical trial for the most promising candidates, which will enroll up to 30,000 participants, as early as late July. Pfizer is one of the companies that was selected as part of Operation Warp Speed, which means it will receive federal funds, logistical support, and assistance with clinical trials to help it develop its coronavirus vaccine candidates. Beyond its involvement in the hunt for a COVID-19 vaccine, Pfizer is a pharma stock worth buying. The company is currently in the process of spinning off its Upjohn generics unit to Mylan, which will allow it to focus on its more profitable biopharma business. During the first quarter, Pfizer's biopharma segment reported a revenue of about $10 billion, an 11% year-over-year increase. By contrast, revenue from its Upjohn unit came in at about $2 billion, representing a 37% year-over-year decline. Overall, the company's revenue was $12 billion, 7% lower than the prior-year quarter. Getting rid of its poorly performing generic unit should allow Pfizer to grow its revenue and earnings at a good clip. Pfizer currently offers a dividend yield of 4.1%, a payout ratio of 51.3%, and a cash payout ratio of 70.1%; the company has raised its dividends by 35.7% over the past five years. The combination of these factors should allow Pfizer to recover from its poor year-to-date performance and provide solid returns for long term investors. Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau skipped the opening day of a session of Parliament that his Government had scheduled even as discussions in the House of Commons were dominated by the controversy over the grant of a contract worth nearly a billion dollars to a charity with close links to his family. The contract to WE Charity has already been cancelled after an outcry and revelations that Trudeaus mother, brother and wife was paid fees by the organisations at various times. This has already led to a formal investigation being launched by the countrys Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioners while two Parliamentary panels are also looking into the matter. Also Read: WE Charity controversy: Trudeaus finance minister to be investigated The new sitting on Monday was to discuss legislation to extend a sweeping subsidy package to businesses in the country to help them retain employees in the wake of the economic devastation caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, Trudeau was missing and his official schedule said that he had taken a personal day. While one Opposition party Bloc Quebecois has already asked Trudeau to step aside and for Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland to take charge in his place, on Monday, the leader of principal opposition Conservative Party Andrew Scheer said the onus was on Liberal MPs to seek Trudeaus resignations. In a press conference in Ottawa, Scheer said, If they allow him to continue, if they dont demand that he resign, then they are telling Canadians that they are comfortable with his corruption. Freeland, in fact, bore the brunt of questioning in the House of Commons, and her response was, Obviously, the way this unfolded was regrettable, and that is why the charity is no longer administering the project. The Opposition attack came after Liberal members of the House of Commons Ethics Committee prevented the resolution of a motion to examine the contract and question some of the parties involved by resorting to the tactic of a filibuster, which meant taking up the prescribed time for the meeting with long-winded speeches. As the outlet CBC News reported this included 30-minute long monologues on various topics their personal resumes, democracy, ancient Greece, French political theory and the virtues of the University of Sherbrooke, among others that pushed the committee meetings duration well past its scheduled end time. WASHINGTON President Trump directed the federal government on Tuesday not to count undocumented immigrants when allocating the nations House districts, a move that critics called a transparent political ploy to help Republicans in violation of the Constitution. The presidents directive would exclude millions of people when determining how many House seats each state should have based on the once-a-decade census, reversing the longstanding policy of counting everyone regardless of citizenship or legal status. The effect would likely shift several seats from Democratic states to Republican states. There used to be a time when you could proudly declare, I am a citizen of the United States, Mr. Trump said in a written statement after signing a memorandum to the Commerce Department, which oversees the Census Bureau. But now, the radical left is trying to erase the existence of this concept and conceal the number of illegal aliens in our country. This is all part of a broader left-wing effort to erode the rights of Americans citizens, and I will not stand for it. The action directly conflicts with the traditional consensus interpretation of the Constitution and will almost surely be challenged in court, potentially delaying its effect if not blocking its enactment altogether. But it fit into Mr. Trumps efforts to curb both legal and illegal immigration at a time when he is anxiously trying to galvanize his political base heading into a fall election season trailing his Democratic opponent. HDFC Life Insurance Company gained 1.37% to Rs 625.60 after consolidated net profit rose 5.83% to Rs 450.54 crore on 11.20% decline in net premium income to Rs 5,733.73 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Profit before tax (PBT) gained 2.9% to Rs 450.65 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against Rs 437.97 crore in Q1 June 2019. The result was announced during trading hours today, 21 July 2020. Total premium fell 10% to Rs 5,863 crore in Q1 FY21 over Rs 6,536 crore in Q1 FY20. Individual Annualized Premium Equivalent (APE) dropped 22% to Rs 1,072 crore in Q1 FY21 over Rs 1,378 crore in Q1 FY20. Total APE tumbled 30% to Rs 1,198 crore in Q1 FY21 over Rs 1,710 crore in Q1 FY20. New Business Margins stood at 24.3% during the quarter from 29.8% in the corresponding period of previous year. Asset Under Management (AUM) jumped 8% to Rs 1,39,975 crore in Q1 FY21 over Rs 1,29,581 crore in Q1 FY20. Net worth rose 22% to Rs 7,448 crore in Q1 FY21 over Rs 6,084 crore in Q1 FY20. Indian embedded value grew 17% to Rs 22,580 crore in Q1 FY21 over Rs 19,230 crore in Q1 FY20. Value of new business skid 43% to Rs 291 crore in Q1 FY21 over Rs 509 crore in Q1 FY20. The solvency ratio stood at 190% in Q1 FY21 over 193% in Q1 FY20. Commenting on the current situation, Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO said As the economy is coming to terms with the effects of the pandemic, we are increasingly witnessing encouraging on-ground trends. Business has started to pick up on a month-on-month basis and we are seeing higher traction, especially in the individual protection business. As the situation begins to normalise, we expect life insurance to emerge as an important avenue for both protection as well as long term savings, and consequently help attract a higher quantum of inflows from Indian households." Commenting on the Q1FY21 performance, Vibha Padalkar, MD & CEO said "We continue to exhibit resilient performanceevenin the current scenario. Ourmarket share in terms ofIndividual WRP has increased by 100 basis pointsfrom 17.5% to 18.5%. Our calibrated approach of maintaining a balanced product mix has again enabled us to manoeuvre through a turbulent environment and adapt faster than the overall market.We remain well positioned to provide a sustainable value proposition to our customers,partners and shareholders in these challenging times." With regards to COVID-19 outbreak, the company's business has started to pick up on a monthonmonth (M-o-M) basis and is witnessing a higher traction, especially in the individual protection business. As the situation begins to normalise, the insurance firm expects life insurance to emerge as an important avenue for both protection as well as long term savings, and consequently help attract a higher quantum of inflows from Indian households. The individual weighted received premium (WRP) market share increased by 100 basis points to 18.5% in Q1 FY21 from 17.5% in Q1 FY20. It fell 19% during Q1 FY21 on a high base of 63% growth same quarter last year and delivered better than the private industry which degrew by 23% on a base of 24% growth same quarter last year. In June 2020, the company's degrowth stood at 3% on a base of 87% growth in the same month last year, thereby showing improving business momentum. The strength of the company's digital assets enabled it to minimize the impact of the pandemic on the business operations. HDFC Life Insurance Company provides various individual and group insurance solutions across India. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) TAOISEACH Micheal Martin apologised to Ruth Morrissey, her family, and to all the other women and their families for the "litany of failures in relation to the operation of cervical screening operating in Ireland". He spoke before TDs in the Dail stood for a minute's silence in memory of the mother-of-one from Monaleen. She will be laid to rest on Wednesday. The taoiseach said he was deeply saddened to learn of Ms Morrisseys passing on Sunday. He said, "Over the last two days everyone was touched by the accounts of her ability to help people in a kind and touching way". "I know that her husband Paul and her daughter Libby and all her family and friends are truly devastated. No words of mine will provide them with any consolation at this heart-breaking time." Deputy Martin described Ms Morrissey as a "courageous woman who worked tirelessly for others and for the future generations of women in this country." "She fought a long hard battle with her illness and also fought very hard for her own rights". He said Ms Morrissey and other women worked together to highlight the diagnostic failings in the CervicalCheck screening programme so that others would not have to go through what they went through. "On behalf of the State I would like again to sincerely apologise to Ruth, to Ruths family, to all the other women and their families for the litany of failures in relation to the operation of cervical screening operating in Ireland. "This government, like the previous government, acknowledges the failure that took place in the CervicalCheck programme and are profoundly sorry for what was allowed to happen. Too many women who should be here and enjoying life with their families are gone because of those failings." The taoiseach said this government will implement the recommendations of the Scally report. Police say arrested Tranform Zimbabwe leader Jacob Ngarivhume and investigating journalist, Hopewell Chinono, are facing charges of inciting public violence. In a statement, police spokesperson, Paul Nyathi, said Ngarivhume and Chinono, who are in police custody, are expected to appear in court soon. The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms that Jacob Ngarivhume of Transform Zimbabwe and Hopewell Chinono have been arrested in connection with allegations of contravening Section 187 (1) (a) as read with section 37 (1) (a) (i) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23, incitement to participate in public violence. Section 187 (1)(a) stipulates that any person who, in any manner, communicates with another person intending by the communication to persuade or induce the other person to commit a crime, whether in terms of this Code or any other enactment; or realising that there is a real risk or possibility that the other person may be persuaded or induced by the communication to commit a crime, whether in terms of this Code or any other enactment; shall be guilty of incitement to commit the crime concerned. Section 37 subsection (1)(a)(1) also stipulates that any person who acts together with one or more other persons present with him or her in any place or at any meeting with the intention or realising that there is a real risk or possibility of forcibly disturbing the peace, security or order of the public or any section of the public shall be guilty of participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, a breach of the peace or bigotry, as the case may be, and be liable to a fine not exceeding level ten or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or both. The crime of participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, a breach of the peace or bigotry is committed whether the action constituting it is spontaneous or planned in advance, and whether the place or meeting where it occurred is public or private. According to the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights, the law enforcement agents alleged that Chinono, who is represented by Beatrice Mtetwa, Gift Mtisi and Douglas Coltart of Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights (ZLHR), allegedly posted various messages on his Twitter account using the handle @daddyhope between May 2020 and July 2020 calling upon Zimbabweans across the country to engage in acts of public violence against the government on 31 July 2020. The journalist allegedly posted several messages on Twitter which read; @Ngarivhume and many others have come to put their hands up and said they will lead anti-looting demo on 31 July, Zimbabwe will never be free from looters through elections it is just a waste of time and If you feel like shouting#zanuPFMustGo and Mnangagwa and his regime has failed, how they will go will be determined by history and yet Mnangagwa refuses change will come by any means. ZRP members alleged that by posting such messages Chinono intended to disturb the peace, security or order of the public. The law enforcement agents also raided Chinonos residence late on Monday evening looking for some gadgets, including laptops and mobile phone handsets. Ngarivhume, who is represented by Moses Nkomo of ZLHR, allegedly incited Zimbabweans to revolt against President Mnangagwa. Ngarivhume posted a message on twitter a few hours before he was arrested saying, When I proposed a national demonstration I knew the risks. But it is sickening for the state to pretend to care about COVID 19 lives yet send me messages threatening to kill me and my family. Chinono posted a video on his twitter feed claiming that he was being arrested. He posted a message before shooting the video, which read, They are breaking into my home. Alert the world! In a tweet, Information Secretary, Nick Mangwana, said journalists are supposed to follow the countrys laws. There is no profession which is above the law. Journalists are not above the law. Lawyers are not above the law. Doctors and nurses are not above the law. Politicians & bankers are not above the law. Anyone suspected to have commited a crime should be subjected to due process. In separate tweets, the United States Embassy-Harare and Dutch High Commission expressed concern over the arrest of the two men. We have learned @PoliceZimbabwe officials are at Hopwell Chinonos home now and are deeply concerned for his welfare. #ProtectJournalists, read the USA Embassy tweet posted early Monday morning. In its tweet, the Dutch Embassy urged Zimbabwean authorities to allow journalists to operate freely in the country. Allowing journalists to do their work is vital in the fight against corruption. The arrest of @daddyhope today is part of a worrying trend against free speech in #Zimbabwe. @edmnangagwa @MinisterSBMoyo @PoliceZimbabwe #FreeHope. An improvised explosive device detonated in Afrin, wounding 13, with Kurdish groups suspected of being responsible reports Zaman Al-Wasl. At least 13 people, including six children, were wounded on Sunday by an improvised explosive device in the northern city of Afrin, the Civil Defence agency said. According to the rescue group, the IED went off in the city center. The IED follows a series of attacks by the Kurdish YPG militia against civilians in Turkish-held areas. Since April, more than 55 civilians have been killed in blast attacks. Turkeys military and its Syrian rebel allies seized Afrin, a mainly Kurdish district, from the YPG in March 2018 after a major offensive. Ankara views the YPG as a terrorist group linked to Kurdish militants on its own soil and has mounted military operations in northern Syria to push it back from the border. This article was edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. New Delhi: Amidst worsening floods in Assam and other North Eastern states, sources in the Indian Air Force have revealed that Eastern Air Command is monitoring the flood situation in the North Eastern states carefully and has kept its assets like helicopters including the Mi 17 and Advanced Light Helicopter (ALH) on standby. A senior official from Indian Air Force said, We are monitoring the situation and the assets for Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) are kept on standby at key locations and will be deployed based on requisition by State. Today, Home Minister Amit Shah spoke to Meghalaya Chief Minister Conrad Sangma regarding the loss of lives due to floods in the state. Loss of lives due to the floods in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya is very disturbing. I have spoken to the Chief Minister, Sangma Conrad and assured him all possible help from the Central government. Nation stands resolutely with the people of Meghalaya in these trying times, Shah tweeted. Loss of lives due to the floods in West Garo Hills, Meghalaya is very disturbing. I have spoken to the Chief Minister, Shri @SangmaConrad and assured him all possible help from the Central government. Nation stands resolutely with the people of Meghalaya in these trying times. Amit Shah (@AmitShah) July 21, 2020 Meanwhile, the India Meteorological Department (IMD) has issued red warning predicting very heavy to extremely heavy rains at isolated places over sub-Himalayan West Bengal (North Bengal districts), Sikkim, Assam and Meghalaya. It has made forecast for heavy rains in North Bihar too. It is believed that the heavy rains predicted ahead may accentuate the existing flood conditions in Assam. Notably, the floods in Assam have affected 24 districts affecting over 24 lakh people and causing damages to 1,09,600.53 hectares of crop area in the state. According to the flood situation report by the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA) on Monday (July 202020), the rising water levels has deluged a total of 2,254 villages. The area affected by flood as per the ASDMA reports includes - Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Darrang, Baksa, Nalbari, Barpeta, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Cachar districts. Goalpara is the worst hit with over 4.59 lakh people suffering, followed by Barpeta with more than 3.37 lakh people and Morigaon with around 3.35 lakh people. The National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) evacuated 56 people from flood-affected areas in Matia, Goalpara on Monday.Incessant rainfall since the past three days in the state has led to water levels rising in the Brahmaputra and its tributary Krishnai river in the region. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 20, 2020) -Pan Global Resources Inc. (TSXV: PGZ) (OTC: PGNRF) ("Pan Global" or the "Company") today announced it has completed its previously announced non-brokered private placement by the issuance of 22,753,997 units (the "Units") at a price of $0.18 per Unit for aggregate gross proceeds of $4,095,719.38 (the "Offering"). Each Unit is comprised of one (1) common share and one half (1/2) of one common share purchase warrant, with each whole warrant entitling the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $0.28 for two years from closing of the Offering. The expiry date of the warrants may be accelerated by the Company if the common shares of the Company achieve a volume weighted average trading price greater than $0.32 for twenty (20) consecutive trading days. The Company announced a financing of 11,500,000 Units for aggregate gross proceeds of $2.07 million on June 2, 2020. Due to strong demand, the financing was increased from 11,500,000 to 16,666,666 Units on July 13, 2020, and further increased to 20,850,000 units on July 15, 2020. The financing was over-subscribed, and the Company was not able to accommodate all investors asking to participate. Tim Moody, Pan Global President and CEO, said: "We are pleased with the overwhelming support for this financing. Pan Global is now well placed to proceed to the next step of exploration at the Company's Spanish projects. Preparations are now well underway to re-commence drilling at the Escacena project." Finders' fees in the aggregate of $91,889.99 and 509,000 finders' warrants were paid on a portion of the Offering. Each finder's warrant entitles the holder to purchase one additional common share at a price of $0.28 for two years (subject to acceleration) from closing of the Offering. The Units, common shares, share purchase warrants, finders' warrants and shares issued upon exercise of the share purchase warrants and / or the finders' warrants are subject to a four month hold period, expiring November 20, 2020. About Pan Global Resources Pan Global Resources Inc. is actively engaged in base and precious metal exploration in Spain, and is pursuing opportunities from exploration through to mine development. The company has committed to operating safely and with respect to the communities and environment where we operate. On behalf of the Board of Directors www.panglobalresources.com. FOR FURTHER INFORMATION PLEASE CONTACT: info@panglobalresources.com Statements which are not purely historical are forward-looking statements, including any statements regarding beliefs, plans, expectations or intentions regarding the future. It is important to note that actual outcomes and the Company's actual results could differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. Risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to, economic, competitive, governmental, environmental and technological factors that may affect the Company's operations, markets, products and prices. Readers should refer to the risk disclosures outlined in the Company's Management Discussion and Analysis of its audited financial statements filed with the British Columbia Securities Commission. NEITHER TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER (AS THAT TERM IS DEFINED IN THE POLICIES OF THE TSX VENTURE EXCHANGE) ACCEPTS RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60023 MONTREAL - Quebec posted its highest number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in more than a month on Tuesday as the provincial government said it was watching the situation closely. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. A discarded face mask is shown on the floor of a food court in a shopping mall in Montreal, Saturday, July 18, 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues in Canada and around the world THE CANADIAN PRESS/Graham Hughes MONTREAL - Quebec posted its highest number of confirmed COVID-19 infections in more than a month on Tuesday as the provincial government said it was watching the situation closely. The 180 new confirmed cases were the most the province has seen in a single day since June 12, when it reported 181 infections. "More screening may lead to more cases," Health Minister Christian Dube tweeted alongside the daily tally. "We are monitoring the situation closely, especially in Montreal." On Monday, the province's deputy premier said the pandemic in Quebec was under control and that increased tests were likely to bring about more positive cases, adding the percentage of positive results remained stable at about two per cent. Dr. Matthew Oughton, assistant professor of medicine at McGill University, said it might not be shocking that more testing is revealing more positive cases, but, he added, it's important to dig deeper into what the numbers mean. "If you take a step back and look at what's happening across Canada, it's certainly notable that Quebec is not the only province that's having increased numbers of new cases," said Oughton, who is also an infectious disease specialist at Montreal's Jewish General Hospital. "The common thread in all of these is that, by and large, a much higher proportion now of these new cases are happening in people that are younger and not only younger, but they appear to be connected to higher-risk activities," he said in an interview Tuesday. Quebec has ramped up testing, reaching about 15,000 tests for three consecutive days last week. On Sunday, the last day for which data is available, the province conducted 10,501 tests. The spike in tests came after health authorities in Montreal on July 11 urged anyone who had worked or visited a bar since July 1 to get tested. More recently, authorities said community spread is occurring through house parties as opposed to bars. "In terms of the bigger picture, what this is telling me is we need to be careful about relaxing too much and engaging in these activities," Oughton said. "As we've seen time and time again with this pandemic, what happens is you get the disease into one segment of society." In Quebec, the virus started with returning travellers from spring break, spread to long-term care residents and then to health-care workers. Those infected workers brought the virus home to their families and neighbourhoods. "If we're seeing more and more cases in young people they don't live in a vacuum," said Oughton. "They will have contact with all other segments and this is just the next step in how this could spread." Slightly more than half the cases reported Tuesday were registered in Montreal, and the majority of the rest of the were in surrounding regions such as the Laurentians, Lanaudiere, Laval and Monteregie. The province has reported a total of 57,796 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 50,298 of which are considered recovered. 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. Other indicators have remained stable: authorities reported one new death for a total of 5,658, while hospitalizations declined by four to 247, with 15 people treated in intensive care, a reduction of two. And while bars were initially identified by public health authorities as a concern, contract tracing led them to conclude spread is happening elsewhere. The government has also tightened rules for bars, limiting operating hours and the number of people allowed in an establishment. On Monday, authorities said out of 924 bars on the island of Montreal, only three were identified as having had COVID-19 cases, in addition to one other establishment on the city's south shore. "Maybe what's happening is at bars, there are still rules," Oughton said. "Maybe people who don't want to wear a mask, perhaps they are doing this in a private setting rather than a bar because the rules aren't enforced." Quebec's public health department and Montreal's regional health department did not have anyone available to comment on Tuesday's numbers. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2020. The finance ministry on Tuesday said banks have sanctioned loans worth about Rs 1,27,582 crore under the Rs 3-lakh crore Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) for the MSME sector impacted by the economic slowdown triggered by COVID-19. However, disbursements against this stood at Rs 77,613 crore till July 20 under the 100 percent ECLGS for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). The scheme is the biggest fiscal component of the Rs 20-lakh crore Aatmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan package announced by Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman in May. The latest numbers on ECLGS, as released by the finance ministry, comprise disbursements by all 12 public sector banks (PSBs), 22 private sector banks and 21 non-banking financial companies (NBFCs). "As of 20 July 2020, the total amount sanctioned under the 100% Emergency Credit Line Guarantee Scheme by #PSBs and private banks stands at Rs 1,27,582.60 crore, of which Rs 77,613.06 crore has already been disbursed," the finance minister said in a tweet. 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 ECLGS, the loan amounts sanctioned by PSBs increased to Rs 70,894.59 crore, of which Rs 45,797.29 crore has been disbursed as of July 20, she said. At the same time, private sector banks have sanctioned Rs 56,688 crore and disbursed Rs 31,815 crore. "Compared to 15 July 2020, there is an increase of Rs 4,237.44 crore in the cumulative amount of loans sanctioned & an increase of Rs 9,301.51 crore in the cumulative amount of loans disbursed, by both #PSBs and private sector banks combined as on 20 July 2020," Sitharaman said. Market leader SBI has sanctioned loans worth Rs 20,988 crore and disbursed Rs 14,811 crore. It is followed by Punjab National Bank, which has sanctioned Rs 9,372 crore. Its disbursements stood at Rs 5,047 crore as of July 20. On May 20, the Cabinet approved additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore at a concessional rate of 9.25 percent through ECLGS for the MSME sector. Under the scheme, 100 percent guarantee coverage will be provided by the National Credit Guarantee Trustee Company for additional funding of up to Rs 3 lakh crore to eligible MSMEs and interested Micro Units Development and Refinance Agency borrowers in the form of a guaranteed emergency credit line (GECL) facility. For this purpose, a corpus of Rs 41,600 crore was set up by the government, spread over the current and next three financial years. The scheme will be applicable to all loans sanctioned under GECL facility during the period from the date of announcement of the scheme to October 31 or till the amount of Rs 3 lakh crore is sanctioned under GECL, whichever is earlier. All MSME borrower accounts with an outstanding credit of up to Rs 25 crore as on February 29, which were less than or equal to 60 days past due as on that date, i.e., regular, SMA-0 and SMA-1 accounts, and with an annual turnover of up to Rs 100 crore are eligible for GECL funding under the scheme. Police in Mexico have arrested a Florida Keys man in connection with a June 15 fatal shooting on Stock Island, according to the Monroe County Sheriffs Office. Jose Luis Espinosa Gomez, 34, will return to Monroe County to face charges in the killing of Jose Manuel Clemente, 45, a local fisherman, local police said. Jose Luis Espinosa Gomez Gomez on Tuesday was being held by police in the city of Juarez, said Adam Linhardt, the Monroe County Sheriffs Office spokesman. A second suspect in the killing Mayque Marin Gomez, 31, remains at large. A second man was wounded in the gunfire, but survived. Iliecer Noa, 43, was airlifted to a Miami hospital on June 15. Clemente died at the crime scene, a commercial fishing-trap yard in the 5000 block of 5th Avenue known locally as La Curva. Police have offered no motive for the shooting, other than to say it involved a Mercedes-Benz and was a targeted hit, not a random crime. All four men involved in the incident live on Stock Island. Mayque Marin Gomez Anyone who has any information about the shooting should contact the Monroe Sheriffs Office at 305-289-2351. Callers who wish to remain anonymous can call Crime Stoppers at 866-471-8477. Tipsters can remain anonymous. If a tip leads to an arrest in the case, the caller may be eligible for a cash reward. Tips may also be submitted online at www.floridakeyscrimestoppers.com or via a text message using the smartphone app called P3 Phone. Tips can also be submitted via social media such as Facebook at Crime Stoppers of the Florida Keys, click on contact us. Keys police searching for two gunmen in fatal shooting. The killing was a targeted hit, cops say Thousands of homes near the Laois border south Kildare are affected by a Boil Water Notice, which is still in place as of this evening, Tuesday, July 21, Irish Water has confirmed. There are an estimated 6,500 residents impacted in parts of Monasterevin, Kildare town, Rathangan, Tullylost and Ellistown, since the Boil Water Notice was imposed by Irish Water last Thursday, July 16. According to Irish Water, issues arose with the disinfection process at the Water Treatment Plant, leading to inadequate chlorination of the public water supply. The Boil Water Notice was imposed as a precautionary measure, leaving residents unable to use tap water for drinking unless it had been boiled. The issue at the treatment plant has now been fixed, according to Irish Water, but as of Monday evening it could not confirm how long the Boil Water Notice would last. The test results of a number of water samples will be required to confirm adequate chlorination of the public water supply in order to lift the Boil Water Notice, it said in a statement. Cllr Noel Connolly, a resident of Lackagh, Monasterevin, is, along with his fellow neighbours, relying on the kindness of his neighbour, farmer Eamon Dempsey, whose water supply is not affected by the Boil Water Notice. Cllr Connolly said: We are here 10 years and it never happened.It is the first that we have heard of it. Thankfully one of our neighbours has a well, you cant brush your teeth with water. Cllr Connolly said: They say to do a rolling boil for a minute. When building a house, I had to give a 15,000 levy and 5,000 for water connection. We are lucky to have the neighbours. There are people in parts of Monasterevin who are not even sure if they are affected it is not clear. Irish Water is being criticised for the lack of information that has been given to residents. Rathangan-based, Cllr Anne Connolly says an explanation on what exactly happened will be needed from Irish Water. She said: I am a resident and I have not had anything from Irish Water and the residents should be notified. Expressing relief that no-one has reported being sick, Cllr Connolly says it will be very difficult for young families and the elderly. She said: I have not heard of anyone getting sick, nobody has contacted me.We have no idea at all when it will be back up and running. The water is very hard in Rathangan, we had a lot of lime and were told that we had very good quality water. There was no different colour to it, and it definitely didnt smell. We will have to find out what happened so that it wont happen again and get a full report from Irish Water on it. We have had areas in the country that have had it (a Boil Water Notice) for months on, we wont want it going on for too long. I was very surprised, we never had anything like this, and you think the worst. We are still waiting. We definitely need to know what happened and how it happened. Delhi violence accused JNU student Sharjeel Imam on Tuesday tested coronavirus COVID-19 positive. The special cell of the Delhi Police was scheduled to bring him to the national capital but just ahead of his departure for Delhi, he tested positive for COVID-19. Imam is an accused in a case related to alleged inflammatory speeches during the protests against CAA and NRC and is currently lodged in Guwahati jail in a case related to Unlawful Activities (Prevention) Act (UAPA) registered by the Assam police. The Delhi High Court had on July 10 had dismissed the plea by Imam, who was arrested on January 28, challenging the trial court's June 25 order granting three more months to the Delhi Police, beyond the statutory 90 days, to complete the investigation in the case under the stringent UAPA. "This court has already held there are good/justifiable grounds for extending the investigation. In view of my above conclusion, the present petition filed by the petitioner (Imam) is devoid of merit and is as such dismissed," the judge, in its 54-page order, said. The high court noted that the prosecutor's report filed in the trial court stated since March 24, 2020, due to global COVID-19 pandemic a lockdown has been imposed due to which the pace of investigation was seriously disrupted and said this clearly depicts the reasons for not completing the investigation in 90 days. Imam was arrested on January 28 from Bihar's Jehanabad district in the case related to violent protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) near the Jamia Millia Islamia (JMI) University in December 2019. The statutory period of 90 days from the arrest had concluded on April 27. He had also sought default bail in the matter on the ground that the probe was not concluded within the statutory period of 90 days and when the police had filed an application for more time to complete the investigation, he was not given a notice as required under the law. The trial court had dismissed the bail plea. Initially, a case under section 124 A (sedition) and 153 A IPC (promoting enmity between classes) and 505 (statements conducing to public mischief) of the IPC was lodged by the Crime Branch, pursuant to the alleged speeches addressed by Imam, allegedly instigating a particular religious section of the society to disrupt/block the access to North East region of India from rest of India, police had claimed. Imam was allegedly involved in organising protests at Shaheen Bagh but came into limelight after a video showed him making controversial comments before a gathering at Aligarh Muslim University, following which he was booked under sedition charges. Separate cases have also been registered against him in Assam, Manipur and Arunachal Pradesh. GOP Sen. Tom Cotton spoke with the president of the conservative Manhattan Institute on Monday, July 20. YouTube GOP Sen. Tom Cotton on Monday defended the deployment of undercover federal agents in Portland by comparing protesters in the city to the Confederacy. "It's no more a violation of the prerogatives of Oregon as a state than trying to defend Fort Sumter was from insurrectionists in 1861," Cotton said of the presence of federal officers in Oregon. Federal agents have reportedly been abruptly arresting peaceful protesters without explanation while driving around downtown Portland in unmarked vehicles. The governor of Oregon and the mayor of Portland have both called on the Trump administration to withdraw the federal officers, who are with the US Marshals Service and an elite US Customs and Border Protection unit. Republican Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas on Monday compared anti-racism demonstrators in Portland to the Confederacy as he defended the controversial presence of federal agents in the Oregon city. During a conversation with Reihan Salam, the president of the conservative Manhattan Institute, Cotton was asked whether the presence of undercover Homeland Security agents in Portland is a violation of state's rights. Cotton rejected the notion it violates Oregon's rights as a state, adding, "It's no more a violation of the prerogatives of Oregon as a state than trying to defend Fort Sumter was from insurrectionists in 1861." The first military engagement in the American Civil War took place at Fort Sumter in South Carolina. The Confederacy fired the first shots after federal troops refused to surrender the fort, sparking the bloodiest conflict in US history. In short, Cotton essentially just equated anti-racism protesters to the racist, traitorous army that catalyzed the Civil War. The federal government has a "right" and "duty" to defend "all federal property," Cotton went on to say. The Arkansas Republican once again analogized the protesters in Portland to the Confederacy in a "Fox & Friends" appearance on Tuesday morning. Story continues "These insurrectionists in the streets of Portland are little different from the insurrectionists who seceded from the Union in 1861 in South Carolina, and tried to take over Fort Sumter," Cotton said on Fox News. Cotton has repeatedly condoned deploying the US military to crackdown on protesters in cities across the country, likening demonstrators to anarchists and terrorists. "If local politicians will not do their most basic job to protect our citizens, let's see how these anarchists respond when the 101st Airborne is on the other side of the street," Cotton said on Fox News in June. In this photo provided by Doug Brown, agents from different components of the Department of Homeland Security are deployed to protect a federal courthouse in Portland, Ore., Sunday, July 5, 2020. Protesters who have clashed with authorities in Portland are facing off not just against city police but a contingent of federal agents who reflect a new priority for the Department of Homeland Security: preventing what President Donald Trump calls "violent mayhem." The agents clad in military-style uniforms include members of an elite Border Patrol tactical unit, and their deployment to protect federal buildings and monuments is a departure for an agency created to focus on threats from abroad. (Doug Brown via AP) Associated Press Federal agents from the US Marshals Service and an elite US Customs and Border Protection unit have controversially been deployed in Portland by the Trump administration. The federal officers have reportedly detained peaceful protesters abruptly and without explanation while driving around downtown Portland in unmarked vehicles. The governor of Oregon and the mayor of Portland have both decried these tactics, warning that the presence of the federal agents has only exacerbated tensions. The governor and mayor have called on President Donald Trump to remove the agents from the city, but he's shown no signs of backing down and appears poised to send federal officers into other major US cities. "The Trump administration needs to stop playing politics with people's lives," Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, told NPR's Michel Martin. "We don't have a secret police in this country. This is not a dictatorship. And Trump needs to get his officers off the streets." Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, also a Democrat, on Sunday told CNN the "tactics that the Trump administration are using on the streets of Portland are abhorrent." "People are being literally scooped off the street into unmarked vans, rental cars, apparently. They are being denied probable cause," Wheeler said. "And they are denied due process. They don't even know who's pulling them into the vans. The people aren't identifying themselves. And, as far as I can see, this is completely unconstitutional." "Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism," Wheeler said of the federal agents in his city. "And it's not helping the situation at all. They're not wanted here. We haven't asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave." The ACLU and the attorney general of Oregon have filed lawsuits against the Trump administration in relation to the presence of federal agents in Portland and the tactics they've employed against protesters. Meanwhile, Trump has been accused by congressional Democrats of using "secret police" on US citizens and behaving like an authoritarian. There have been ongoing protest across the US over the summer against police brutality and racism. Portland has seen some of the most sustained demonstrations, which have largely been peaceful. Protesters in Portland were tear-gassed by law enforcement outside of a federal courthouse on Sunday after some demonstrators tore down fencing outside of the building. Trump and his GOP allies have painted Portland as a city consumed by chaos, but local leaders have fervently disputed that notion and reporting from local media has portrayed the unrest as limited to a certain section of the city. Read the original article on Business Insider Deadly flooding will persist in Bangladesh for the next 10 days, officials warned Tuesday, as South Asia battles torrential monsoon rains which have already pounded the region for weeks. In flood-prone Bangladesh -- where almost one-third of the impoverished nation is underwater -- officials warned of an extended disaster in one of the worst deluges in recent years. "The flood has been going on for at least 20 days," the deputy chief of Bangladesh's Flood Forecasting and Warning Centre, Udoy Raihan, told AFP, adding that flooding usually lasted two weeks. "And it is likely continue for another 10 days due to heavy rains in Bangladesh and India." The annual monsoon is critical for replenishing water supplies, but also wreaks havoc across vast swathes of the densely populated region, causing widespread death and damage. At least 81 people have died in Bangladesh, mostly from drowning, officials said, with almost three million people hit by the natural disaster through flooded homes and inundated communities. In Srinagar, a rural town just outside the capital Dhaka, some villagers fled to evacuation centres while others slept on boats and rafts made out of banana trunks lashed together with ropes to watch over their flooded homes. "The last time we saw such flood was in 1998. We haven't seen such dangerous floods since then," Sheikh Moslem, 66, told AFP. Sufia Begum, 40, said the flood levels were up to her neck. "I am more worried about my two cows," she told AFP as she looked at her submerged home and cowshed. "They are my only source of income. I can't leave them here." In India's northeastern state of Assam, conditions eased as the death toll since the start of July edged up to 58 people. Many villagers whose homes were not fully submerged said they preferred to stay with their belongings despite the difficult conditions, and were being given food and water supplies from the government and local aid agencies. "There is ankle-deep water inside our home. We will stay here until it's not manageable," Anima Begum, 40, told AFP from the Morigaon district in Assam. At Assam's World Heritage-listed Kaziranga National Park, 116 animals have died so far, including nine rare one-horned rhinos. In neighbouring Nepal, the government issued a fresh warning about rising river levels for the next three days as rescuers searched for 51 people missing in landslides and floods. "Rescue and relief efforts are going on and we are on alert for areas at risk," Nepal's National Emergency Operation Centre chief Murari Wasti said. At least 84 people have died in Nepal as multiple landslides ravaged the Himalayan nation's hill districts while incessant rainfall since Sunday has inundated parts of the southern plains. burs-grk/je Catalan deputy of the Spanish parliament Marta Rosique expressed her support for Artsakh in connection with the escalation of violence on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan. "All support to the colleagues of the Artsakh Republic in the face of the escalation of violence these days on the border of Armenia and Azerbaijan," she tweeted. "The international community must respond to the aggressions of Azerbaijan in the defense of the right of peoples to self-determination!" Government funding needs in the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) have increased significantly in 2020, as low oil prices and the economic repercussions of the Covid-19 pandemic have significantly widened governments' fiscal deficits, says a S&P Global Ratings report. The total GCC government debt is expected to increase by a record-high of about $100 billion in 2020 alone, with an additional $80 billion run-down in government assets to finance an aggregate GCC central government deficit of about $180 billion, the report says. "Based on our macroeconomic assumptions, we expect to see GCC government balance sheets continue to deteriorate up until 2023. Most GCC sovereigns have demonstrated ready access to the international capital markets this year, and are in the enviable position of having substantial pools of external liquid assets to fund their fiscal deficits should market access become constrained," the report says. Addressing some frequently asked questions from investors on the funding of GCC governments' fiscal deficits in the coming years, S&P Global Ratings says: "GCC sovereigns' central government deficits will reach about $490 billion cumulatively between 2020 and 2023. About 55% of this deficit relates to Saudi Arabia, the GCC's largest economy, followed by Kuwait with 17% and Abu Dhabi with 11%. Here S&P Global Ratings focuses on the central government balance, as this is usually the largest part of governments' funding requirements. Estimates of government debt refinancing is excluded as well as the estimate of income related to the sovereign wealth fund." A large part of the surge in GCC government funding needs relates to central government deficits in 2020, with the simple average reaching 18% of GDP compared with 5% in 2019. In the wake of the sharp decline in oil prices from second-half 2014, the 2016 combined deficit was at similar levels -- $190 billion, or 16% of combined GDP. S&P Global Ratings expects fiscal deficits to shrink from 2021 given its assumption that oil prices will improve and the tapering of oil production cuts in line with the April 2020 Opec Plus agreement. S&P Global Ratings forecasts an average Brent oil price of $30 per barrel (/bbl) for the rest of 2020, $50/bbl in 2021, and $55/bbl from 2022, relative to $64/bbl in 2019. However, as deficits still remain quite sizeable in some cases, GCC government balance sheets will continue to deteriorate up until 2023, it says. Saudi Arabia's deficit makes up the majority of the GCC fiscal deficit in nominal terms. As a percentage of GDP, however, Kuwait has the highest 2020 central government deficit-to-GDP ratio of 39%, followed by Oman (17%), Saudi Arabia (15%), Abu Dhabi (13%), Bahrain (12%) and Qatar (10%). - TradeArabia News Service Along with sculptor Mahmoud Mokhtar and painters Mahmoud Said and Ragheb Ayad as well as several others, Mohamed Nagy (1888-1956) belongs to the first generation of modern Egyptian artists the pioneers. His work drew on both ancient Egyptian heritage and the nationalist movement, but he was unique among his peers in his eagerness to travel to Africa. Born in Alexandria, he graduated from the University of Lyon with a degree in law, but went on to study at Florences Academy of Fine Arts, the first Egyptian to do so, where he fell under the influence of Claude Monet. He soon travelled to Ethiopia where he produced work emphasising the historical and cultural links between the two countries. In this sense Nagy managed to be a truly international artist. He melded his European training as an impressionist with a strong sense of identity and a belief in the natural and historical bonds linking people all along the Nile from the south to the north of the continent. This, he expressed in poetry and writing as well as painting. He also drew on the Latin American mural tradition and his paintings had clear political messages, with Egypt Renaissance, a horizontal composition that won first prize winner at the Salon de Paris for example showing the goddess Isis, symbol of fecundity and progress, riding among her loyal people. When the health of a society runs out, he said in the course of a speech he gave in Prague in 1928, showing prescient wisdom, it is up to the people close to the nourishing origins of the civilization to feed it through its inexhaustible resources. A formative figure as well as an eager collector and talent scout, Nagy cofounded Cairos School of Fine Art and founded the Cairo and Alexandria ateliers. He directed the Cairo Modern Art Museum in 1939-47 and the Egyptian Arts Academy in Rome in 1947-1950. In 1924 Nagy started working as a diplomat, living in Paris, Athens and Rio de Janeiro, but he resigned in 1932 to spend time in Addis Ababa as an Egyptian government delegate. He made portraits of Emperor Haile Selassie, whom he met on Palm Sunday three months after arriving in Ethiopia, as well as studies of everyday life in Ethiopia and numerous landscapes. Ethiopia had fascinated him since childhood, when he visited his grandfather who was an army officer stationed on the Ethiopian-Sudanese border. On his journey from Port Said through the Suez Canal by French boat to Djibouti, and onto Addis Ababa by train, he saw dazzling flora and fauna that he describes to his sister, the renowned painter Effat Nagy, in a letter. His fascination with all he saw was to find expression in his paintings. By the end of his stay the emperor had granted him the countrys Gold Medal and asked him to paint the empress. In 1968, many years after Nagys death, the then Minister of Culture Tharwat Okasha opened a museum dedicated to him at the site of his studio in Giza; it was closed for renovations and reopened in 1991. The space houses over 120 paintings as well as 400 sketches and drawings in addition to the artists easel, brushes and his library. But only 60 paintings have been on display since the museum reopened. According to museum director Mahinaz Maher, Nagys paintings are being restored to be exhibited. I wanted to portray the Ethiopian landscape as it was, full of life, activity and rituals, Nagy wrote to his sister. I discovered a new world of daring colours laid boldly in large spaces on canvas. I used abstraction as I learned it from ancient Egyptian and Islamic art. I reached an almost epic style that reflects the common artistic heritage and culture of the land of the Nile. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: The two Suspects, Inusah Iddisah and Salifu Abubakar with the weapons 21.07.2020 LISTEN The Savannah Regional Police Command has nabbed two persons for illegal possession of firearm at Kojokora in the West Gonja district of the Savannah region. DGN Online gathered that the suspects Inusah Iddisah and Salifu Abubakar claimed they were escorting the passengers to the registration centre with weapons due to the rampant robbery incidents in the area. The suspects were arrested with guns , ammunition's and machetes. The Savannah Regional Police Commander, DCOP Adetwum Bediako who confirmed the arrest to DGN Online said during interrogations, the suspects said they were using the weapons to protect the passengers by escorting them to the registration centre. According to him, the suspects will be charged and arraigned before court after investigations. The ruling New Patriotic Party(NPP) in the Savannah Region has accused the NDC for recruiting the suspects to escort the passengers to the registration centre to register them in the ongoing voters registration exercise. The Savannah Regional Communication Director, Mohammed Issah claimed that upon an alert from the hardworking Damango Constituency Executives of the NPP, the Police and Military quickly moved in to arrest the NDC vigilante group. The NPP is and will remain law abiding citizens and will do nothing to disrupt the peace that is being enjoyed in the the Nana Addo created Savannah Region. Meanwhile , the Savannah NDC Communication Officer ,Malik Basintale however denied that the suspects were NDC vigilante group. Such fake stories are capable of causing serious tensions in the region and we call on the security services, particularly the police to as a matter of urgency invite whoever is behind this false accusation for strict interrogation and hence be used as a scapegoat to deter others who may engage in such despicable acts in the near future. ---Daily Guide Nasal swab test kits and medical gloves are seen at a mobile COVID-19 testing station in a public school parking area in Compton, Calif., on April 28, 2020. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) At Least 22 States Count Probable COVID Cases or Deaths in Totals At least 22 states count in their COVID-19 statistics cases or deaths that havent been confirmed with a diagnostic test. These probable cases are determined based on symptoms and other general characteristics. While useful to track for epidemiologists, such cases add noise to the national data as some states report them and some dont. Also, different states began reporting such cases at different times, making data comparisons with earlier periods difficult. COVID-19 is caused by a novel coronavirus that emerged in China in 2019 and has since spread around the world. The United States has seen more than 3.8 million cases and more than 140,000 related deaths, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The problem is that different states report statistics on the epidemic differently. Some states, such as Arizona, Ohio, Michigan, and Virginia, include probable cases and deaths in their totals. The nonprofit Council of State and Territorial Epidemiologists (CSTE) instructed health officials in April (pdf) to define probable cases in people with at least some symptoms (such as a headache and a sore throat) who belong to a risk cohort, or have had contact with people whove tested positive, such as by residing in an area with sustained, ongoing community transmission. Probable deaths are usually defined as someone dying at least partly due to an illness that looked like COVID-19, but wasnt confirmed by a laboratory test (which can be conducted postmortem). Some states, such as Arkansas, New Jersey, and Washington, only include probable deaths, but not probable infections. Some states, it appears, only include probable infections, but not deaths. Maine and Kansas may be in this category, their COVID websites indicate. The Epoch Times contacted all 50 states and the District of Columbia, but only 33 responded to the inquiries. Maine and Kansas were among those that didnt immediately respond. Then there are at least 12 states, including Alabama, Illinois, Massachusetts, Minnesota, and South Carolina, that report probable cases or deaths or both, but list them separately. In these cases, the CDC still includes the probable cases and deaths in the totals for those states. At least eight states, including Alaska, Georgia, Missouri, North Carolina, Nevada, and Oklahoma, report neither probable cases nor deaths. There are also special cases. Florida, for example, says in its COVID reports that it counts people who tested positive for COVID antibodies among its case total. That introduces another problem, because people normally retain coronavirus antibodies for months, so the tests may reveal weeks- or months-old infections that have little to do with the current state of the epidemic. Antibody tests are also usually less reliable. At least some states count fatalities of persons whove tested positive toward COVID deaths, even though the people may have died of other causes. Washington state has counted all deaths of people who tested positive for COVID. Since June, it has vowed to work on changes to provide more context to death reporting and report death counts that reflect deaths where COVID-19 caused or contributed to the death, states its COVID web page. As such, it has removed 65 deaths. Of those, 56 were natural deaths unrelated to COVID-19 and the rest were suicides, homicides, and accidents, according to the Washington State Department of Healths July 14 report (pdf). The Colorado health department reports on its website both Deaths Among Cases as well as Deaths Due to COVID-19. But the CDC only uses the higher Deaths Among Cases figure. Connecticut and North Dakota count COVID deaths in a similar fashion. None of the four most populous states (California, Texas, Florida, and New York) immediately responded to The Epoch Times inquiries. Trump niece book nears million sales Mary L. Trumps scathing memoir about her uncle, President Donald Trump, is nearly a million seller on preorders alone. Simon & Schuster announced that Mary Trumps Too Much and Never Enough had sold a company record 950,000 copies in combined print, digital and audio editions as of its date of sale. Another anti-Trump book from Simon & Schuster, former National Security Adviser John Boltons The Room Where It Happened, sold nearly 800,000 copies in its first week when released last month. President Trump and his allies had tried to stop both books from coming out, alleging that Bolton had revealed classified information and that Mary Trump had violated a nondisclosure agreement. Judges in each case denied requests for injunctions. Rabbi says Cannon is sorry, concerned A prominent rabbi who met with Nick Cannon says the television host and producer is genuinely concerned about the hurt he caused by making anti-Semitic remarks, and they intend to work together to reject hate. Cannon apologized to the Jewish community for his hurtful and divisive words, a day after ViacomCBS cut ties with him for the comments made on a podcast where he discussed racial bias, and following a phone conversation with Rabbi Abraham Cooper, the Simon Wiesenthal Centers associate dean. Cooper asked him to post the apology on social media, and then met with him for a three-hour conversation at Cannons business headquarters in Burbank, California. He appears to be someone whos genuine in his desire to make sure people understand his apology, Cooper told The Associated Press. But also not to move forward saying, OK, I have to go back to my regular things, thank you for helping to give me a lifeline after this terrible error. That wasnt it. The thrust was: OK. Now, what do we do? How do we roll up our sleeves? What can we do together? Cooper said that hes confident that Cannon will use his wide-ranging social media presence to talk openly about mistakes, fight for social justice and reject messages of hate. It could have a very, very positive impact on young people, Cooper said. Cooper said he will meet with Cannon again this week and show him historic documents preserved at the Wiesenthal museum, including a 1919 letter by Adolf Hitler painting Jews as Germanys post-World War I enemies. Cannon was fired as producer of the comedy improv series Wild n Out on VH1, the ViacomCBS-owned cable channel, over comments he made in an episode of the podcast Cannons Class. Associated Press Iridium Communications partner Appareo has released the Gateway 360, an edge-computing platform for assets and machinery deployed off the grid that bridges the off-highway connectivity gap for heavy machinery. Offering machine control, telematics information, and virtual terminal support, the Gateway 360 provides real-time flexibility to update, manage and monitor deployed asset performance, the company said. As an advanced computing and communications platform for mobile equipment, the Gateway 360 offers an array of solutions for off-highway connectivity challenges. This includes the ability to inexpensively deploy firmware updates over the air as well as a wide spectrum of capabilities that go beyond traditional preventive maintenance and remote support applications. Since off-highway machines are often used in remote parts of the world which lack cellular coverage, Appareos use of the Iridium satellite constellation helps keep assets connected wherever they are deployed. The presence of Iridium connectivity on the device helps ensure that critical machine data can be sent and retrieved regardless of whether the equipment is on land, in the air, or at sea, it said. As one of the select few Iridium partners to integrate our 9603N chipset, Appareo continues to deliver groundbreaking telematics solutions that work anywhere in the world, says Tim Last, Vice President and General Manager, IOT Line of Business, Iridium. By bridging the communication gap for machine applications with the Gateway 360, operator experience and efficiency for off-highway heavy machinery is greatly improved and enabled regardless of where their OEM customers wish to operate and manage their assets. The Gateway 360 joins a suite of Appareos award-winning line of telematically enabled electronic control units (ECUs) offering a wide spectrum of capabilities that go beyond traditional telematic data usage for preventive maintenance and remote support. - TradeArabia News Service CHICAGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Master Data Management Market by Component (Solutions & Services), Data Type, Deployment Type (Cloud & On-Premises), Organization Size (SMEs & Large Enterprises), Vertical (BFSI, Retail, Manufacturing, and Healthcare), and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global MDM Market size is expected to grow from USD 11.3 billion in 2020 to USD 27.9 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 19.8% during the forecast period. The major driving factors in the MDM market are increase in the use of data quality tools for data management and rising need for compliance. Browse in-depth TOC on "Master Data Management Market" 331 - Tables 49 - Figures 286 - Pages Download PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=267174702 Rising need for remote and real-time insights from unstructured clinical data resulting healthcare vertical to account for the highest market share during the forecast period The healthcare industry is undergoing extensive development due to advancements in technologies which are enhancing the overall industry. It is a comprehensive sector which has to deal with diverse clinical, administrative, and financial data on a daily basis. The industry is highly regulated and needs channelized data insights, improved data quality, and accurate clinical information which is consolidated through the deployment of MDM solutions. The data consists of comprehensive details about patients, physicians, employees, doctors, administrative staff, procedures, and inventory, among others. Increasing the need to have a 360-degree view of enterprise data to enhance agility between business processes resulting in the solution segment to hold a larger market size The MDM Market, based on components, covers solutions and services. MDM solutions are increasingly being adopted by organizations to efficiently manage the growing volume of data to enhance productivity and maintain business continuity. The proliferation of data has led vendors, such as IBM, SAP, Oracle, and Informatica, to develop and design MDM solutions as well as help the IT team simplify and manage master data. Vendors in the market are offering MDM solutions, thereby facilitating automated management of master data without human intervention. These solutions provide the users with in-depth insights into product lifecycle, vendor listing, multi-domain customer requirements, and inventory data. This consolidated master data also provides the users with information that helps them improve their customer experiences, accelerate their analytical and transactional operations, and make faster business decisions. Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=267174702 North America to dominate the market during the forecast period North America is expected to dominate the global market from 2020 to 2025, owing to the presence of several solution vendors in the US. Canada has the highest internet penetration rate responsible for the growth of North America. Additionally, the presence of several vendors and favorable support environments has led to the foundation of a robust support ecosystem in the region. The MDM Market in North America is expected to grow steadily, as enterprises are consolidated multi-domain MDM software applications, as a part of their strategy, to to have data comprehensively managed, processed, and analyzed through a master copy provided exclusively through MDM and achieve improved business functioning. The major vendors offering Master Data Management Market are IBM (US), Oracle (US), SAP (Germany), SAS Institute (US), TIBCO Software (US), Informatica (US), Talend (US), Cloudera (US), Riversand (US), SynForce (US), Stibo Systems (Denmark), Profisee Group (US), Reltio (US), Semarchy (US), EnterWorks (US), Symantec (US), Ataccama (Canada), AWS (US), Teradata (US), Mindtree (US), Magnitude Software (US), Contentserv Switzerland Vitria (US), Veeva (US), Qlik (US), MapR (US), GoldenSource (US), AWS (US), MuleSoft (US), Micro Focus (UK), Zaloni (US), and Actian (US). Browse Adjacent Markets: Analytics Market Research Reports& Consulting Browse Related Reports: Enterprise Data Management Market by Component (Software (Data Security, Data Integration, Data Migration, and Data Quality) and Services) Deployment Mode, Organization Size, Industry Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/enterprise-data-management-market-69219339.html Cognitive Data Management Market by Component (Solutions (Data Integration & Migration, Data Governance & Quality) Services), Deployment Type, Enterprise Size, Business Function, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2023 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cognitive-data-management-market-174582873.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. 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Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: sales@marketsandmarkets.com Visit Our Website: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/master-data-management-market.asp Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/master-data-management.asp Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/660509/MarketsandMarkets_Logo.jpg Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) The Food and Drug Administration has warned the public against using face masks with exhalation valves, claiming that they are only designed with a one-way protection against the virus. "The person wearing the mask with a valve can be protected from the virus. However, if that person has the virus, he/she can infect other people," FDA Director General Rolando Enrique Domingo said in a statement on Monday. According to Domingo, masks with a one-way valve allow exhaled air to pass through a small round or square filter disc attached to the front piece. This can also be seen in some commercially available cloth masks, providing only a one-way barrier protection against respiratory droplets. "Two-way protection is needed to prevent possible transmission of the virus. The presence of valves may cause a potential source of leakage permitting air to flow out of the respirator facepiece," it added. The agency also reminded that valved masks should not be used in hospitals, clinics and other healthcare facilities including swabbing centers, or in situations where a sterile field must be maintained such as operating rooms as unfiltered exhaled air may escape to the field. A circulating memo from the Makati Medical Center advised against the use of valved masks to protect its patients, staff, and other visitors. Patients and companions wearing such type of masks will not be allowed to enter the premises in any of its branches. "Masks with exhalation valves/vents are not allowed in the hospital in the context of COVID-19 pandemic," the memo read. "If you come to MMC with a mask with vents, you will be asked to replace your mask with surgical mask." The FDA reminded the public to wear face masks which must cover the nose and mouth. This may be complemented with other infection prevention and health measures to limit the spread of the virus. The Philippines has logged 68,898 COVID-19 cases to date. A total of 23,072 individuals have already recovered, while 1,835 have succumbed to the disease. John Richardson, the art historian and Picasso biographer who died last year at 95, was a collector. He collected friends Picasso, Georges Braque, Francis Bacon, Lucian Freud and Andy Warhol, to name only a few. He also collected images of friends, by friends. He had a portrait of Mick Jagger by Warhol and an etched self-portrait of Freud. He also had six prints by Picasso. And he had an oil portrait of himself, painted by Freud. The Picassos and the self-portrait of Freud will be sold at Sothebys in New York in the fall, with bidders online or on phones, and the Warhol will be sold in a single-lot online sale in September. A monumental landscape by the Symbolist painter Lucien Levy-Dhurmer and a pastel on paper by the artist Pavel Tchelitchew will be included in other sales in the fall, and the gallery Stair will hold a sale of furniture and other items from Richardsons Fifth Avenue apartment on Sept. 17. Freuds expressive portrait of Richardson will be displayed at Sothebys in London until July 28 but will not be sold: It is bound for the National Portrait Gallery in London, a bequest of John Richardson to the American Friends of the National Portrait Gallery, a New York-based nonprofit group. Register with JOC.com and receive 5 free pieces of content for the first thirty days. After thirty days, you will receive 3 pieces of content and after sixty days you will receive 1 piece of content. To receive full access, Subscribe Today . You can also subscribe to our daily newsletter. Register VANCOUVER Restrictions on flavoured pods and some of the most stringent limits on nicotine levels in Canada are among new B.C. regulations aimed at stopping young people from vaping. The proposed changes, expected to be in place by the end of summer, are garnering praise from health advocates. They would immediately stop all retailers from selling non-nicotine or nicotine-cannabis-blended vapour products. Health Minister Adrian Dix told a news conference Monday that the sale of flavoured nicotine vapour products, which are attractive to youth, will now be restricted to adult-only shops. We have the power to restrict flavours, he said. Only tobacco flavours will be allowed. As well, retailers will only be allowed to sell vapour products plainly packaged with health warnings. The new changes are particularly aimed at discouraging youths from taking up vaping. The province initially made promises to tighten its vaping regime last fall. A survey on Canadian student tobacco, alcohol and drug use found youth vaping among students in grades 10 to 12 increased in British Columbia from 11 per cent in the 2014-15 school year to 39 per cent last year. Across the country, the increase was from nine per cent to 29 per cent. Chris Lam, president and CEO of the B.C. Lung Association, applauded the regulations, saying theres major misunderstandings among young people about what they are inhaling when vaping and how harmful it could be. We really want to focus on getting vaping out of the hands of our kids, Lam said. The effects are so incredibly scary on our youth that that has to be the primary focus. The amount of nicotine allowed in a vapour pod will also be restricted to 20mg/ml, which Lam praised as an aggressive measure. Other jurisdictions, including Ontario, have limited the nicotine content levels to 20mg/ml but speciality stores are still allowed to sell the higher levels. Nicotine content is a particular concern for youth, Lam said, as research has shown it has negative effects on developing brains. Anything that we can do to get a vape device out of the hands of a child, we should be doing that wholeheartedly, Lam said. Nicotine will be treated under the Public Health Act as a public health hazard, which allows the government to make the regulations, Dix said. Vaping is of course, for some people, harm reduction. And if you are a lifetime smoker, it can have that impact, it can reduce the harm from smoking, he said. But if you are a young person, if you are under 19, it is not harm reduction, it is just harm. Dix said the changes introduced are in accordance with European Union standards, which has seen a significant success in limiting the use of vaping products by young people. Health Canada set out new rules earlier this month banning the promotion of vaping products in places young people can access and preventing dessert, cannabis, soft drinks and candy flavours. The Canadian Cancer Society welcomed the announcement saying the new regulations will have a significant impact. In B.C. and in Canada, youth vaping has more than tripled over a four-year period, a statement from the society said. The high levels of nicotine in e-cigarettes are an important factor contributing to skyrocketing rates of youth vaping in Canada, it said. It is hoped that the action by the B.C. government will prompt the federal government to establish the same maximum nicotine level for all of Canada. The Convenience Industry Council of Canada said the proposal to reduce nicotine concentrations could force adult customers of vaping products back to cigarettes. These regulations, while allowing specialty vape shops and online retailers to continue to operate unchecked, will not address youth vaping, the council said in a statement. Most of the changes, including the nicotine and flavouring regulations, will be immediately enforced, Dix said. The remainder of the regulations will be implemented starting Sept. 15. Education Minister Rob Fleming said while vaping is a relatively new public health concern, its a repackaging of the old and deadly enemy, nicotine and tobacco. What makes these vaping products especially dangerous is that they disguise toxins with harmless sounding flavours, things like cotton candy or melon lush, and those harmless sounding flavours have directly targeting youth as consumers for way too long. Read more about: - Bonnie Musambi revealed he contracted COVID-19 three weeks ago and was symptomatic - Musambi said he went into isolation after the test and had managed to recover from the disease - The journalist was, however, waiting to undergo another test which will allow him to resume normal duties - About three weeks ago, testing was conducted on KBC staff after the broadcaster announced some of its staff had contracted COVID-19 Radio presenter Bonnie Musambi has revealed he is among patients who have tested positive for coronavirus in the country. In a statement, Musambi said he was diagnosed with the disease about three weeks ago but decided not to make it public. READ ALSO: Wilbroda recounts last moments with Papa Shirandula: "Papa was simply telling us goodbye" Journalist Bonnie Musambi and his wife pose for a photo. He said his family was safe. Photo: Bonnie Musambi. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Mwanahabari wa Kenya,Samuel Okemwa akamatwa kwenye mpaka wa Tanzania The KBC radio host who also doubles up as a TV news anchor said he was symptomatic and isolated himself after the diagnosis. "It is done, now I can reveal. I tested positive for COVID-19 but now am healed. I got the disease more than three weeks ago but only tested after defeating the symptoms. However, I isolated myself, followed my doctor's instructions and now am well," said Musambi. READ ALSO: Ballon d'Or: 2020 awards cancelled due to coronavirus pandemic Radio presenter Bonnie Musambi when he was tested for COVID-19. Photo: Bonnie Musambi. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Mt Elgon MP Fred Kapondi pleads with Uhuru to pardon John Waluke, have him out of jail At some point, the journalist said an ambulance was dispatched to give him a ride to hospital but he declined the offer. He added that his family was safe but was quick to urge Kenyans not to be doubting Thomas stating that "COVID-19 was real". "My family is well and am glad to be back on my feet. I will be taking a re-test later this week and will post the results. COVID-19 is real. Do everything to avoid it. At some point, an ambulance came for me but I declined. All Glory to God! I will live for him," Musambi shared. READ ALSO: Kenyan newspapers review for July 21: Parliament put on lockdown after 50 staff tested positive for COVID-19 Bonnie Musambi said he had healed from the disease but would take another test later in the week. Photo: Bonnie Musambi. Source: Facebook In a separate story, TUKO.co.ke reported that Citizen TV's Jeff Koinange was among the latest household names that have tested positive for the virus. READ ALSO: 5 things to do to pay off debts you accumulated during quarantine He revealed this days after reporter Stephen Letoo confirmed that he had also contracted the virus. As of Monday, July 20, Kenya had recorded 13,771 cases of the virus out of which 5,616 were recoveries and 238 deaths. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Kamotho, Virginia and Tabitha meet in court over custody battle | Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke Katie Price told a bankruptcy hearing she has lost everything as she spoke about being burgled and attending the Priory. The former glamour model, who was declared bankrupt in November last year, has had average recent monthly earnings of 45,000 (49.9k), a court heard. She joined a hearing at the insolvency and companies court at the Rolls Building in London today via Skype. The 42-year-old said she was going to visit her son Harvey in hospital after the hearing, adding: Its one thing after the other. At the weekend, she shared a video saying Harvey was feeling a lot better after confirming on July 12 that the 18-year-old, who suffers from partial blindness, Prader-Willi syndrome, autism, and learning and behavioural difficulties, had been admitted to intensive care. Katie Price with her son Harvey (Nick Ansell/PA) Asked about what assets she has, Price told the court she owns a house but is currently living in a rented property. She also said she has a Beetle car, one horse and one pony, but nothing else. Price said: I havent got anything, I havent got absolutely anything left, everything has been stolen off me. She said she had been burgled and cannot get any insurance, adding: Ive lost everything. One of her representatives told the court that over the last three years he had been observing the mental abuse Price had been on the receiving end of. She told the hearing she had a bad breakdown last year and that she was an inpatient at the Priory for five weeks. Katie Prices former husband Alex Reid (Ian West/PA) Price said she had had suicidal thoughts, but added: I am here, I am sorting myself out. Judge Catherine Burton adjourned the case for a further hearing on October 27. Prices ex-husband Alex Reid attended the hearing in person. The former model, formerly known as Jordan, was once said to be worth more than 40 million (44.4m). At a hearing in October 2018, she was given time to negotiate a deal with the taxman over her finances and her proposal for an Individual Voluntary Agreement (IVA) was accepted. An IVA is a formal agreement which lets people with debt repay their creditors at an affordable rate in a bid to avoid bankruptcy. However, the renewed bankruptcy proceedings last year were brought after she failed to meet the terms of the agreement. Education minister Manish Sisodia on Monday ordered the directorate of higher education to initiate legal proceedings against Delhi University for not responding to correspondence over the formation of governing bodies (GBs) in colleges partially or fully-funded by the Delhi government . This is the first time the Delhi government is initiating legal proceedings against the central varsity. The role of governing bodies includes taking all decisions for the smooth functioning of a college, such as the appointment of teaching and non-teaching staff. The 10-member governing bodies in these colleges have people nominated by both the university and the Delhi government. For over a year now, the Delhi government and the university have been engaged in a tussle over the formation of GBs in 28 colleges. In the order issued on Monday, Sisodia said the university had not sent a complete panel of names to the colleges concerned despite reminders to forward the names of six Delhi government nominees. On March 13 this year, DUs executive council recommended sending these names back to the state government for reconsideration. A week later, the government said these six names were to be continued. On May 13, the university forwarded a list of nominees to colleges, except the six names in contention. ..Despite repeated reminders directing the University of Delhi to send the six names of nominees of Delhi government to the concerned colleges, namely Lakshmibai College, Kalindi College, Keshav Mahavidyalaya, Aditi College, Maharishi Valmiki College of Education, and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya College, the university has not sent a complete panel of names to the concerned colleges, Sisodia wrote in Mondays order. Not just this, a few of these colleges have initiated the process of the election of the chairperson even in the absence of a complete panel. This seems to indicate a conspiracy to cover up corruption in these colleges. Since DU has not responded to the repeated correspondence of the Delhi government, the Directorate of Higher Education should move legal proceedings against the University of Delhi, deputy CM ordered. The tenure of the GBs in 28 Delhi government colleges ended last year and these have not been reconstituted since. Colleges are functioning with truncated governing bodies since March 2019, the order read. Two months ago, on May 26, Sisodia had written to vice-chancellor Yogesh Tyagi, alleging that the university was deliberately delaying the formation of GBs in 28 Delhi government-funded colleges to shield corrupt officials. The vice-chancellor could not be contacted despite attempts. DU Dean of Colleges Balaram Pani said, Out of 140 names, the university cleared 134. Only six names are facing certain objections from some quarters. When these were forwarded to the government for reconsideration, the government sent back the names and then the Covid-19 crisis struck. No EC meeting could be held thereafter. If the names have to be passed, it will be through the EC, which has the power to take a call on the names. Pratyush Vatsala, principal of Lakshmibai College, said, The university had already forwarded us the names of the panel except for one name that was dropped. The Delhi government nominee had approached court, asking for a stay on the elections and the court directed that we could conduct the GB elections to ensure day-to-day functioning is not affected. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A model who woke from a nap paralysed from the neck down has vowed to walk again despite despite doctors warning she may be in a wheelchair for the rest of her life. Sonia Vera, 40, from Fulham, south-west London, was left in a state of 'shock' when she was rushed to hospital in June 2017 after waking up unable to move. While doctors struggled to pinpoint the cause, Ms Vera was eventually diagnosed with a rare neurological autoimmune disease which has no known cure. After spending a gruelling six months in hospital, the model, who ran her own fashion brand Sonia Vera Swimwear and often used to model her designs for the Victoria's Secret model Alessandra Ambrosio, is now wheelchair-bound. Sonia Vera (pictured after her diagnosis) 40, from Fulham, south-west London, was diagnosed with a rare neurological autoimmune disease after she was rushed to hospital in June 2017 The model (pictured before her diagnosis), who ran her own fashion brand Sonia Vera Swimwear, woke up from a nap unable to move from the neck down Ms Vera (left and right) spent a gruelling six months in hospital and is now undergoing physiotherapy to help with her condition Ms Vera, who is originally from Los Angeles, said: 'I miss being able to walk, model, design my swimwear for my company, travel, dance and be a wife to my husband. 'When I walk again, and I know I will, I want to return to modelling and start my swimwear brand again. 'I tried not to panic when I woke up paralysed, I was just in shock and thought that the doctors would be able to fix what was wrong with me as soon as I got to hospital. 'It took 24 hours at the Chelsea Westminster Hospital to convince doctors that I was in fact paralysed and was eventually moved to Charing Cross Hospital for an MRI where I was pronounced paralysed from the neck down.' Ms Vera, who had to end her swimwear business as a result of the diagnosis, now wants to raise 65,000 for either epidural stimulation surgery or stem cell therapy at a special rehabilitation centre in the U.S. which could enable her to walk again. The model's terrifying ordeal began in June 2017 when she suddenly suffered pins and needles in her right hand, chest and left arm. Despite doctors saying she was suffering from anxiety, less than 24 hours later, Ms Vera woke up paralysed. The swimwear model (left and right), who is originally from Los Angeles, said she missed being able to walk, model, design her own swimwear, travel and dance Ms Vera was initially rushed to the Chelsea Westminster Hospital and then moved to Charing Cross Hospital for an MRI Following an MRI, Ms Vera was pronounced paralysed from the neck down and had to end her swimwear business The model (pictured in hospital) now wants to raise 65,000 for either epidural stimulation surgery or stem cell therapy She continued: 'I was released from hospital in October 2017 and was completely unrecognisable to myself in a wheelchair. They kept telling me at the hospital that I needed to live and accept my life in a wheelchair. 'My life isn't easy but it certainly is a journey, a long journey, of new experiences and gratitude for being alive. 'When I initially had my MRI at the hospital, the diagnosis was that I had an inflammation at the spinal cord. 'I was placed on a high dosage of steroids and they ran every possible test but they all came back negative meaning they never found out what caused this.' The model (pictured before her diagnosis) hopes that treatment at a special rehabilitation centre in the U.S. could enable her to walk again The model was placed on a high dosage of steroids and underwent a series of tests but they all came back negative and doctors were unable to find the cause Ms Vera (pictured after diagnosis) was released from hospital in October 2017 and was told by hospital staff that 'she needed to live and accept her life in a wheelchair' For the past three years, Ms Vera has had to adapt to life in a wheelchair but is determined to walk again with the help of the rehabilitation centre and has managed to raise 7,885 so far. She continued: 'I was told that there was nothing else that could be done for me when I was discharged from the hospital. 'There are no modern rehabilitation centres in London for those with paralysis but I want to bring awareness and show other people like me that there is a cure out there. 'I hope to be able to raise the money I need with Go Fund Me so that I can walk again' To donate visit: https://www.gofundme.com/f/please-help-me-have-the-gift-of-walking-again Minister of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine Dmytro Kuleba considers that a meeting between President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in Crimea is implausible as long as the peninsula is a temporarily occupied territory. "The meeting of President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky with President of the Russian Federation Vladimir Putin in Crimea is possible only during the removal of the Russian flag and raising of the Ukrainian flag there in connection with the restoration of Ukraine's full sovereignty over the temporarily occupied Crimea," Kuleba said at a briefing on Tuesday, an Ukrinform correspondent reports. Unfortunately, he noted, Putin went to Crimea with a completely different purpose: to participate in keel laying ceremony for the Russian Black Sea Fleet ships, thus demonstrating the further strengthening of the military presence in Crimea and the violation of Russia's obligations as an occupying power. "Therefore, a meeting in Crimea or a meeting on the border is absolutely implausible," the minister stressed. As reported, Putin arrived in the Russian-occupied Crimea on Monday, July 20. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Ukraine condemned yet another visit of Russian President Vladimir Putin to the annexed Crimea and the city of Sevastopol, calling it a gross violation of Ukraines state sovereignty. ol The continued surge in coronavirus infections has extended from Melbourne into Sydney, Australias largest city. Acting Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly revealed on Sunday that the basic reproduction rate (R0) is 1.4 in Sydney and New South Wales (NSW), even higher than neighbouring Victoria, which continues to have the largest number of active infections. This effectively means that for every two people who become infected, three more are catching it from them, posing the dangers of an exponential growth. Eighteen cases were reported in NSW on Sunday, followed by twenty on Monday. While the absolute figures remain relatively low, it is clear that community transmission is once again underway. Commentators have noted parallels between the current situation in NSW, and that which existed several weeks ago in Victoria, a state that is now recording hundreds of infections every day. Despite the dangers, the NSW Liberal government, like its counterparts across the country, is proceeding with a pro-business campaign to compel employees back to work in the interests of corporate profit. This was underscored by the reopening of schools throughout NSW yesterday. Even though state health authorities warned on Sunday of an inherent risk connected to public transport, the following day thousands of students and teachers were forced onto the trains and the buses to get to classes. In a particularly criminal move, educators at a high risk of succumbing to coronavirus, including those with suppressed immune systems, have also been compelled to return to schools. There are now multiple clusters being investigated across NSW, with hotels, restaurants, shopping centres and gyms among the affected venues. The worst remains the Crossroads Hotel in Casula, a working-class suburb in Sydneys outer west, which has 50 infections linked to the venue. These include 15 people who visited the hotel on July 3 and July 5, as well as 33 people who did not go to the hotel but had contact with those who did. The cluster is connected with multiple other venues that have been classified as hotspots, with anyone present during affected dates asked to be tested and to self-isolate, even if the test result is negative. Venues include a freight company in Wetherill Park, Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Harris Park and Thai Rock Restaurant in Wetherill Park, where 10 of the 13 new cases in the state that were reported today originate from. For other at-risk venues, the official advice for people who may have been present at the same time as a confirmed coronavirus case is only to self-monitor for symptoms and to get tested if these emerge. These include Westfield shopping centre in Mount Druitt, Bankstown, YMCA in Revesby, and McDonalds in Albion Park. Management of at least two affected venues were kept in the dark by health department officials. Jack Carter, who runs the Village Inn in the inner-Sydney suburb of Paddington, told the Sydney Morning Herald that he only learned that a potentially infectious person had been at his pub through media reports. Operators of the C1 Speed Go Karting centre in Albion Park were advised by NSW Health inspectors to do a deep clean, but were not told that a coronavirus patient had attended the venue while infectious. Most of the affected sites are in Sydneys working-class areas, in contrast to the initial stages of the pandemic when many infections were registered in upper-middle class families returning from international holidays. The uptick in cases is the direct result of the negligent policies of federal and state governments, Labor and Liberal, which prioritise the demands of big business and finance capital ahead of public health and safety. Last Tuesday, New South Wales Liberal Premier Gladys Berejiklian declared: We cannot shut down every time we have a cluster of cases I dont ever want to be in a situation again where we have to lockdown NSW. She added this would create chaos for businesses and affect corporate confidence, and insisted that we need to accept that people need to go to work. This is nothing but a rejection of medical and epidemiological science. Strict lockdown measures have been proven as the most effective way of quickly suppressing transmission of COVID-19, preventing mass infections and mass deaths. Yet governments in Australia, like their international counterparts, are refusing to take the necessary measures in order to maintain corporate profit rates. Berejiklian, like her counterparts in Victoria and other states, is seeking to lay the blame for the rise in infections on individuals she accuses of not properly socially distancing. This is a transparent effort to evade scrutiny of her governments refusal to halt large gatherings at corporate venues, such as pubs, clubs and Luna Park. The federal Liberal-National government of Prime Minister Scott Morrison today announced additional measures to coerce workers back into unsafe workplaces, centred on the slashing of its pandemic wage subsidies and welfare benefits. This threatens to impoverish more than three million unemployed or under-employed workers. JobKeeper wage subsidy payments will be extended beyond the original September cut-off date for some businesses. But it will be at a rate reduced from $1,500 to $1,200 a fortnight for an additional three months, and then to $1,000 for the next three months to March 30. There will be even steeper cuts to $750, and then $650, for part-time or casual employees on less than 20 hours a week. At the same time, the $1,115 fortnightly JobSeeker unemployment and welfare allowance will be cut by $300 a fortnight to $805, just marginally above the starvation level of $556 a fortnight for the pre-COVID Newstart jobless payment. This level may be cut further after December 31. In the meantime, recipients will be compelled to actively search for work, despite the lack of jobs, and will be penalised if they reject a job, no matter how poor the pay and conditions. While meeting the demands of big business for an extension of JobKeeper subsidies, precisely because of the resurgence of COVID-19 in Victoria and NSW, the government was explicit about pushing employees into workplaces despite the worsening danger. It cited Treasury advice that the current payment rates for workers potentially blunted their incentives to work, or to take on additional hours of work. The pandemic meanwhile continues to worsen in the state of Victoria. Limited lockdown measures have been put in place in Melbourne and neighbouring Mitchell Shire, with people only permitted to leave their homes to exercise, purchase groceries and supplies, care for others, or to go to work and study. Wearing masks or face coverings is mandatory from Thursday. Yet schools remain open, with all Years 11 and 12 students attending, together with many other children, including those with disabilities and those whose parents cannot work from home. In addition, no non-essential industries have been closed, despite the recent revelation that 80 percent of all coronavirus infections since May have occurred within workplaces (see: Australian coronavirus surge hits workplaces, factories). As a result, it remains unclear whether the limited lockdown will work to flatten the curve of infections. Daily positive cases remain at record levels. Earlier today another 374 cases were reported. Of these, only a minority, 62, have been connected to known outbreaks, while 312 are under investigation. This indicates continued large-scale community infection. Three more deaths were also registered in Victoria. Another 174 people are being treated in hospital for COVID-19, with 36 of them in intensive care. The states intensive care capacity is at 82 percent. Unless the infection rate is lowered, the hospital system will soon be overwhelmed. This danger is being covered up by the state government, which is refusing to comment on either intensive care emergency surge capacity or on the number of infected healthcare workers. According to the Guardian, 429 healthcare workers have contracted COVID-19, with 164 of these active, while hundreds more are in quarantine awaiting test results. President of the Victorian branch of the Australian Medical Association, Julian Rait, has demanded transparency from the government, with proper reporting of the number of infections occurring in hospitals and medical centres. Rait also demanded the provision of more effective personal protective equipment (PPE), including fitted n95 masks and face shields. He revealed the extraordinary fact that official guidelines still allow doctors and nurses to deal with confirmed COVID-19 cases equipped only with gloves and loose fitting surgical masks. This is further evidence of the governments inadequate and neglectful response to the pandemic. AMBLER A districtwide plan for reopening schools amid the COVID-19 pandemic was met with more questions before being narrowly rejected by the Wissahickon School District school board during a meeting Monday night. I feel like I need to see the revised document before Im gonna vote on it. Im not comfortable voting on this today, said Zeffy Karagiannakis, a member of Wissahickon School District school board. More than 3,000 people tuned into Mondays roughly three-hour-long virtual meeting where elected education officials tried to piece together a plan of what the upcoming school would look like once classes begin on Aug. 31. Another virtual meeting was scheduled for Wednesday where the plan passed in a 6-3 vote with School Board members Ronnie Hayman, Marshall Bleefeld and Amy Ginsberg dissenting, according to Wissahickon School Districts Communications Coordinator Kristen Rawlings. School board members met and the policies were approved as originally presented on Monday, Rawlings said. Rawlings said on Tuesday morning that 500 people had joined the Zoom meeting and another 2,942 watched on the districts Youtube page. Several parents and area residents submitted comments prior to the scheduled meeting, voicing their concerns with the current ideas involving hybrid and virtual options. Some called for educational officials to take a step back and have a more conservative outlook on the situation at hand as schools were closed for several months earlier this year as COVID-19 cases continued to climb locally. I implore you to as board members and administrators to keep our students, teachers and staff members safe, and meet the needs of all of the secondary students by planning for synchronous virtual learning for the first semester, said Christine DeLaurentis, a Wissahickon School District Parent. Others, including parent Anne Gittes, were simply uncomfortable with the choices provided. You are asking me to choose between giving my child a great Wissahickon education, and putting her physical health at risk. Or giving her, in my opinion, a lesser education and keeping her physically safe, Gittes said. That is not a comfortable choice. Wissahickon Superintendent James Crisfield introduced a series of options to the school board and members of the public during a special meeting on July 13. The followup session on Monday was designed to vote on a health and safety plan to be sent to the Pennsylvania Department of Education as well as a summary of student program options for 2020-21. Crisfield said he plans to take direction from the Montgomery County Department of Health when it comes to local initiatives such as contact tracing and other policies. Crisfield noted several new standards for lunch, busing and cleaning. However, Bleefeld took issue with the frequent and feasible language involving sanitation practices. I dont think we have any ability, nor do I think pretty much anyone would have the ability, to clean every single desk between every single period any time there is a change, said Business Administrator Wade Coleman. When referencing the options, Crisfield laid out separate scenarios for parents to consider: In-person return to school or fully virtual for elementary school students. A hybrid approach for middle school students or virtual options depending on a certain grade level. Sixth graders could opt for a virtual environment with Wissahickon School District teachers, while seventh and eighth graders would learn from MVP teachers using an asynchronous learning format. High school students could choose between a hybrid option, where students alternate attending in-person classes on different days, or a virtual choice via the Wissahickon Virtual Academy. Anyone interested in electing to have their child take virtual classes needs to inform school officials by July 31. I dont envy the district, said Solicitor Jeff Sultanik. I dont envy the administration, and I dont envy the community in terms of dealing with these multiple options, because depending upon your own ages of your children, depending upon your own particular work needs, your own ability to address some of these issues, whatever option you choose is going to carry with it some substantive negatives. During last weeks meeting, several board members inquired about the potential of having cameras in the classroom as a tool for remote instruction during a hybrid learning scenario at the high school level. District officials investigated the matter to determine its feasibility, and conducted a simulation using Microsoft Teams, however there were reservations to the practicality. I believe that for this particular tool to be used it should be used as the teacher sees it would be valuable for a given lesson, said Assistant Superintendent Gary Abbamont. School Board Vice President Tracie Walsh agreed. I dont think that it should be every day it would have to be synchronous, she said. I think we can lead what would best fit their plan. She also suggested another option involving potentially mounting a camera or positioning it in an interactive and efficient way for the teacher, the students in the classroom and those at home. School Board President Joseph Antonio disagreed. While he acknowledged that its technically feasible, he said those days will be [a] poor substitute for what you would get if you were actually in class and worse option than a curriculum program thats designed to have asynchronous components at home. However, eleventh grade student representatives Morgan Wilson and Alex Gindea appeared to be on board. From a student perspective, I believe that synchronous classes would be much better because it helps prioritize schooling, and it forces you to actually do the work as oppose[d] to asynchronous classes, Wilson said. Bleefeld urged his colleagues to embrace the idea of innovation when it comes to finding ways for teachers to teach in a safe environment. We are an institution of learning, Bleefeld said. We teach math, we teach science, we teach technology, and I dont think were leaving it at the door because of a pandemic. Eventually, when it came down to a vote, the state mandated plan was narrowly approved in a 5-4 vote with members Bleefeld, Ginsburg, Hayman, and Karagiannakis dissenting. Antonio was in favor of submitting the document, along with Walsh, and School Board members Paul Badger, David Frank and Ron Stoloff. When moving onto the districtwide plan, Anotnio added it included a motion for an addition amending the statement of the hybrid learning for [grades] seven [through] 12 to eliminate the asynchronous learning days and replace it with some language that references synchronous participation in classes on days when theyre not in school. It was then rejected in a 4-5 decision with Bleefeld, Ginsburg, Hayman, Antonio, and Karagiannakis voting against the plan, while Badger, Frank, Stoloff, and Walsh endorsed it. Its no secret I voted no because of the way its written, Bleefeld said. I wasnt certain we were gonna get it the way we wanted to be necessarily to try and put it to a positive vote. With the virtual selection deadline fast approaching, local leaders agreed there needed to be updated protocols approved as soon as possible. The districts school board unanimously moved to recess the meeting and continue it at 7 p.m. on Wednesday July 22 so they could vote on the new changes, which current concerns were set to be sent to Crisfield so he could make the necessary revisions. I think weve debated on it, Bleefeld said. We just need to put it on paper so everybodys comfortable, we vote on it so parents grandparents, caregivers are able to vote on how they want kids to show up. This article was updated to reflect the Wissahickon School District School Boards additional vote taken on Wednesday evening. Kalyan: A 26-year-old man from Kalyan, who tested positive for Covid-19 on Saturday after taking a rapid antigen test at Rukminibai Hospital, was tested negative after he underwent a swab test the next day at a private lab, raising doubts over testing at civic hospitals. I was surprised when I got a negative report, a day after my antigen test came positive at Rukminibai Hospital. As citizens dont understand medical terms, there needs to be better transparency in the reports. Now I dont know which report should I believe in, the man said. Officials and experts claimed that the error may have occurred owing to the viral mutations in an individuals body. Dr Pratibha Panpatil, health officer, Kalyan Dombivli Municipal Corporation (KDMC), said, The results can vary depending on the viral load in the body, especially if the testing is done on different days. The man was asymptomatic and asked to be quarantined at home after his first result came positive. Prashant Patil, secretary, Indian Medical Associations (IMA)) Kalyan chapter, said that the viral load of a person with good immunity can come down within 24 to 48 hours. This must have happened with the Kalyan resident oo. If his antigen test has come positive, the virus exists in the patient and he should follow strict isolation norms. There are various factors such as clinical acumen, CT scan of lungs and RT-PCR reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction tests that together help in diagnosing if a patient is positive. The Kalyan resident said he developed weakness and so approached the antigen testing centre at Kalyans Rukminibai Hospital for a test. A day after I went into isolation, I felt that I need to cross-check the test report and so I visited a private laboratory in the vicinity to get myself tested. The next day, my report came negative, leaving me baffled, he added. Meanwhile, KDMC recorded 268 Covid-19 positive cases and nine deaths on Tuesday, taking the total number of cases to 16,602 and deaths to 264. The twin city recorded the lowest number of positive cases on Tuesday since July 12, when it had the highest day spike of 661 cases. KDMC commissioner has issued directives to set-up fever clinics in every Covid-19 hospital, where citizens who develop symptoms can get antigen tests done. Driving at excessive speed gets man arrested in Cancun Cancun, Q.R. A man who was stopped by police for his excessive speed was arrested after he was found carrying a loaded gun. Police report the arrest of 39-year-old Jose N when he was stopped for excessive speed at the intersection of Kabah avenue and Coba. Their report says when he was intercepted by police for a road violation, they found the subject carrying a squad-type pistol and 54 bullets. The man was arrested in SM 31 and his black Audi SUV seized. They say the subject admitted to not having a license to carry a weapon. The vehicle was plated from the state of Morelos. South Korea and the U.S. will downsize joint military exercises scheduled for next month due to the coronavirus epidemic, which makes it hard for U.S. forces to travel from the mainland. The downsizing will involve mainly the U.S. Forces Korea and shorten the drills to about two weeks. They were originally intended to test Seoul's ability to take over full operational control of its troops in wartime, but the curtailment could scupper plans to complete the handover before 2022. A government source said Monday, "Taking into account the spread of COVID-19 and inter-Korean relations, South Korea and the U.S. will decide as early as this week whether to hold" the exercises. "We're strongly considering a smaller joint exercise without massive movements of American troops to the Korean Peninsula from the U.S. mainland." South Korea still wants to focus on training for the transfer of operation control, while the U.S. just wants to sharpen combat readiness. But a substantial team of American observers would have to come to South Korea to see if it is ready to handle all aspects of operational control, and that seems now unlikely due to quarantine. So far this month, 49 USFK officials and soldiers who arrived here tested positive for the virus. Against that background, various measures have been introduced to help companies rebound, maintain jobs, and halt income reductions, but much still remains to be done. Over 30 million jobs affected According to the General Statistics Office (GSO), 30.8 million Vietnamese workers were hit by the coronavirus in the first half of 2020, including those losing jobs, working alternate days, or having their working hours and income reduced. Those with income cuts accounted for the largest part at 57.3% of affected workers. Workers in the services sector suffered the most, followed by industry-construction and farming. The April-June quarter saw the number of people with jobs down 2.4% from the first three months and down 2.6 million from the same period last year, which the GSO has said is the biggest decline in the past decade. The statistical agency added that the ratio of workers who were unable to work at their full potential also increased by 1.5 times compared with the previous year, especially among workers below 34. The average monthly income also fell in the second quarter, the first time in the past five years, but the decrease was not considerable as one third of the working population are in the farming sector, which has been minimally affected by the virus. According to the National Centre for Job Services, the number of applications for unemployment benefits in the second quarter surged by 24% compared with the same quarter in 2019. Vietnams jobless rate in the first half of 2020 was 2.73%, up 0.57 percentage point from the same period in 2019 but still lower than the global average. Business registration also remains no different from the job situation in the first six months of 2020, with newly established enterprises, registered capital and expected number of hirings down by 7.3%, 22% and 21.8%, respectively. Signs of rebound began to appear in May after social distancing measures were lifted, and many businesses have resumed their operation. Data showed the number of new businesses in May and June returned to growth across 17 sectors and those resuming activities in the first six months of 2020 rose by 16.4%. Long-term support package needed Many countries around the world are still struggling to contain the coronavirus with possible risks of a second wave, which will definitely continue to affect jobs and incomes of Vietnamese workers. Economists have stated that the first half of 2020 was not yet the peak of job losses because enterprises were still fulfilling orders from last year. Labour-intensive sectors are expected to suffer a serious blow in the third quarter as there have been no orders for manufacturing in the final months of the year, and workers jobs and incomes will largely rely on the resilience of their enterprises. In order to support business recovery, the GSO suggested accelerating the implementation of the governments VND62 trillion (US$2.67 billion) package while ensuring that it is correctly targeted and effectively spent. GSO Deputy Director Pham Quang Vinh said that as of June 2020, the disbursement rate was just a little over 18%, especially disbursement for household businesses and workers who have lost their jobs. At the same time, it is necessary to effectively implement business support policies so as to boost economic recovery, especially in such sectors as manufacturing, wholesale and retail, transport, accommodation and eatery services. As the coronavirus is still gripping many countries around the world and the number of workers unable to work at their full capacity is rising, the government needs to introduce policies to encourage workers to enhance their skills in order to meet the new requirements of employers in the post-coronavirus period. Support is also needed to help employers retrain their employees and adopt innovations. At the same time, enterprises and workers need to recognise the requirements of the economy in a new situation and take necessary changes accordingly. Since Vietnamese enterprises are still weak, especially small and medium-sized ones, economists have warned that in addition to measures to deal with the effects of the coronavirus, it is necessary to introduce special policies to boost business restructuring in terms of inputs, investment and labour in order to increase the economys overall resilience. Support packages should be a long-term plan, not only for 2020 but also for one or two subsequent years. Currently the government is commissioning the formulation of a general plan to stimulate the economy in the long run, with various policy tools to boost growth and address the difficulties facing enterprises and the people. On Thursday, my restaurant, Devils Den, opened at 4 p.m. We had a few reservations set up for outdoor dining later in the evening, but we had several tables open for walk-in guests. A gentleman asked if he could sit and have a beer. We told him that he would need to order food to sit at a table, but if he just wanted a beer, he would have to buy it to go. He rode away without purchasing anything. In a time where every dollar counts, I was forced to turn away a sale. As a restaurant owner, I have been complying with every coronavirus-related mandate over the last four months. But the most recent guideline, tying alcohol sales to food, has created a no-win situation for restaurants like mine, as well as for Philadelphias many wineries, breweries, and distilleries. I understand that city and state officials must set guidelines in order to best protect Philadelphians from the pandemic, but the lack of clarity and the short timelines have been frustrating and almost impossible to manage. In March, Gov. Tom Wolf shut down businesses and mandated stay-at-home orders. Reservations were canceled, and business slowed. At noon on March 16, we were ordered to shut down by 5 p.m. five hours notice. We rushed to inform staff, figured out how to handle perishable goods, and planned for a short closure. While many businesses quickly opened for takeout, I took the time to apply for grants, which quickly dried up, and loans, which I will have to repay. I researched third-party delivery services, attended online seminars, and read every article I could on how to reopen safely. READ MORE: Were scapegoats,' say suburban Philly restaurant and bar owners fighting back at tighter coronavirus restrictions When restaurants reopened for outdoor dining in June, we were told that we were responsible for upholding the state and citys guidelines and refuse service to anyone not wearing a mask. Although Ive been happy to enforce this rule for the safety of my guests and staff, this has led to my staff and I getting verbally assaulted and harassed by patrons and passersby who are unwilling to wear proper face coverings. Then, we were told to prepare for indoor dining on July 3. I made the decision not to reopen for indoor dining. I could see that people were still not complying with the mask mandate, and numbers were going up. It was a good decision the city decided to postpone indoor dining while many businesses had already invested in additional food, started taking reservations, and hiring staff. Then on Wednesday, July 15, the guidelines changed again. The governor decided that guests couldnt enjoy an alcoholic beverage unless they were also ordering a meal and this was to go into effect the next day. This newest mandate is extremely hurtful to small local breweries, distilleries, and wineries whose licenses didnt previously require food sales. We still dont know what constitutes a meal. A Philadelphia Magazine reporter spoke to a local health inspector, who said that any food item would count as a meal, like a bag of chips, popcorn, etc. However, many attorneys say that isnt the case, that a meal means food sufficient enough to constitute a breakfast, lunch, or dinner. When I call the Pennsylvania Liquor Control Board or the state looking for clarification, they say theyll send the information when they finalize the law. So weve been required to enforce a law that hasnt even been defined by the lawmakers yet. READ MORE: You now must buy a meal to drink inside a Pennsylvania bar or restaurant. But what is a meal'? I believe that these new guidelines are a result of the actions of a few bad apples. Many bars are still violating the rules and allowing people in without masks, not properly social distancing, etc. Why cant the city fine them and take away their licenses? If they can send agents to my bar multiple times, then they should be able to send them to those establishments as well. When I inquired about this, I was told that its on me to call 311 and report them. So not only do I have to police my guests, but Im also supposed to police other bar owners as well? HELP US REPORT: Are you a health-care worker, medical provider, government worker, patient, frontline worker, or other expert? We want to hear from you. Philadelphias vibrant food and drink scene was already in a state of crisis due to the coronavirus, as thousands of servers, bartenders, line cooks, and front of house staff have been unemployed for months. We need every sale we can get, but because of this new mandate, many of the citys beloved establishments will not make it to the other side of this crisis. Erin Wallace is the owner of Devils Den in South Philly and founder of the Philly chapter of Pink Boots Society, a nonprofit organization with an international membership that supports women working in the brewing profession. On July 7, Bangladeshi courts jailed two jute mill union activistsWaliar Rahman, 44, and Nur Islam, 48after plain clothes police raided their homes between 2.30 and 3.30 a.m. the previous day. The arrests came amid rising anger by jute mill workers over the governments announcement on July 2 that it was shutting all 25 state-owned Bangladeshi Jute Mills Corporation (BJMC) plants and laying off 50,000 workers, including 25,000 permanent employees. Rahman and Islam were temporary workers at Eastern Jute Mills and Platinum Jubilee Jute Mills, respectively, in Khulna. Rahman is the convener of Jute Industry Protection Youth Alliance and Islam is an adviser to the alliance. The men will be held for a week in Khulna jail for questioning. According to one press report, they were planning to hold a press conference to denounce the mill closures. Family members told Agence France-Presse (AFP) that they feared both men could be murdered in a so-called crossfire incident. Crossfire is a pretext commonly used by security forces to justify extra-judicial killings. Islams son Mohammad Jewel told the AFP that they had visited several police stations before he was informed about the arrests and the charges, more than 30 hours after his father had been seized by police. Police claimed that Rahman and Islam were arrested because they were suspects in the vandalism of a police box [police post] and had obstructed police during workers protests over unpaid wages on April 4, 2019. The allegations are bogus and have been cooked up in an attempt to intimidate jute workers opposing the Bangladeshi governments destruction of thousands of jute mill jobs. Prime Minister Sheikh Hasinas administration has exploited the crisis created by COVID-19 pandemic to push ahead with long-held plans to sell-off the state-run jute industry, claiming it cannot compete against the private sector. There are about 130 private sector jute and spinning mills in Bangladesh employing some 120,000 workers whose poverty-level monthly wage is just 4,380 taka ($US52) or less than half that paid to government workers. On June 27, state-sector mill workers opposed to the governments privatisation agenda walked out on strike for three days before unions called it off on the basis of a worthless government promise to reconsider its plans. A few days later the government announced that it was closing all 25 plants. In line with World Bank demands for the privatisation of all state-owned industries, Hasina declared that jute mill workers should peacefully accept the closures and help the government to implement the decision. The Stalinist Communist Party of Bangladesh (CPB) and other left unions in the jute industry claim to disagree with the closures and have denounced the arrest of Rahman and Islam. However, these apparatuses have paved the way for privatisation of BJMC plants and the mass job destruction. Instead of mobilising jute mill workers in nationwide industrial action, the unions and so-called left parties have organised harmless protests appealing to the government to change course. In the lead up the governments closure announcement, the union bureaucracy, including the Patkal Sangram Parishad (PSP), the main jute mill union, held high-level meetings with State Minister for Labour Monnujan Sufian. In late June, PSP convener Shahidullah Chowdhury, who is also president of the CPB-controlled Garment Workers Trade Union Centre, called on the Hasina government to invest 10 billion taka ($US118.5 million) to make the mills profitable. The PSP dropped its opposition, however, after the government announced a so-called golden handshake redundancy program. The redundancy scheme does not include the 25,000 casual and temporary workers employed in the industry. The Hasina government has cynically claimed that its measures will revive the glory of the jute sector in the future and last month allocated 366 billion taka to create an investment-friendly environment for the private sector. Only 50 billion taka is allocated to terminate permanent jute mill employees and to pay pensions owed to workers who have retired since 2014. Following the arrest of Rahman and Islam, the left parties, including the CPB and Socialist Party of Bangladesh (SPB), along with the Workers Partya government coalition partnerand several other groups, held nominal demonstrations demanding their release. These formations, however, have refused to mobilise garment workersone of the largest section of the Bangladeshi working classin solidarity with the jute workers for the release of Rahman and Islam or to fight the mill closures. While CPB President Islam Selim has called for a united movement against the mill closures these appeals are entirely nationalist and directed towards defending the capitalist elite in Bangladesh. The privatisations, Selim declared, are a violation of the spirit of the 1971 war of independencei.e., the struggle to establish Bangladesh as a capitalist nation state. In 1980s, Bangladesh had the worlds largest jute industry, employing over 250,000 mill workers and earning 80 percent of Bangladeshs national export income, today the industry annually earns just under $1 billion. Corruption and mismanagement, privatisation, the emergence of jute substitutes, and outdated machinery have produced a decades-long decline of the industry and the closure of scores of mills. Jute workers have for years fought for wage increases, repeal of the privatisation program, payment of pensions and gratuities to retired workers and funds for the modernisation of the jute industry sector. These demands have been systematically betrayed by the unions. In January this year, protests by tens of thousands of workers were sold out by the unions on the basis of bogus government promises. Workers were demanding the monthly minimum wage be lifted from 4,150 taka ($US48) to 8,300 takaa level recommended five years ago by the 2015 national wage commission. In mid-May, Khalishpur Jute Mill workers in Khulna walked out on strike to demand full payment of the annual Eid religious festival bonus and five weeks outstanding wages during the national COVID-19 lockdown. Their counterparts in other industries in Bangladesh face similar attacks. During and after the COVID-19 lockdown, thousands of garment workers, sugar mill employees, tea estate workers, agricultural workers, journalists and others have staged protests against plant closures, job and wage cuts, and unsafe working conditions. These struggles have been betrayed by the unions. To defend jobs and wages, jute mill workers must break from the unions, form independent rank-and-file committees and turn out to other sections of the working class under attack. Rather than trying to pressure the government, workers need to unify their struggles to fight for a workers and peasants government based on a socialist and internationalist perspective. The author also recommends: Bangladeshi jute mill unions call off workers protests [3 January 2020] Garment workers protests hit Bangladesh industrial belts [7 May 2020] To celebrate the generous spirit of her father after he died in January, The Woodlands resident Jessica Li decided to find a way to give back to the hospital that took such good care of him. When COVID-19 hit, Li found her opportunity and procured 10,000 masks to donate to the MD Anderson Cancer Center. Almost a year ago, and just a few days before his birthday, Bing Li was diagnosed with stage four colon cancer. The local oncologist actually gave us a prognosis of two weeks, Jessica said. His daughter Jessica and her fiance Weimen moved him from Maryland to Houston because of the specialized cancer care he would receive at MD Anderson. They wanted to give him as long as possible. The support that they found at MD Anderson went beyond just medical care, Jessica said. Also from an emotional perspective that weve gotten from everybody, she said, especially the advocacy for a stage four cancer patient. A lot of hospitals may say Palliative care will let him go in peace, but MD Anderson actually really fought hard for my dad. Near the end, Bing was put on a mechanical ventilator and was in the ICU for 12 days. Jessica stayed with him through it all until he passed away early on the morning of Jan. 29, telling her one last time I love you. Fathers spirit In life, Bing was a giver. He immigrated to the U.S. in 2000 when he was 40-years-old. In Maryland, he was a reporter with a local Chinese paper, Sing Tao Daily, and was frequently volunteering at local events. He freely gave his time and talents to the community. Not only did he write for the paper, but he delivered it too, driving from Washington D.C. to New York City daily for several years. Then, it was Philadelphia to Washington D.C. My fathers spirit is one that he always is looking to give back, and even if hes no longer with us physically his spirit is with us eternally, and thats how I look at this project, how can I give back? Jessica said. I did not think that what happened to me would portend a commonplace tragedy that would befall hundreds of thousands of families in this country. For many COVID-19 patients who end up in the hospital, a mechanical respirator becomes a necessity to help them breathe. The procedure, while a regular one, can be hard to watch as a family member or friend. A tube is placed down the patients throat and they cannot talk. Jessica and Weimen found it difficult to watch her father on the ventilation and if they can they want to prevent other families from having to watch the same thing. Its incredibly sad to watch, Weimen said. Hearing that COVID-19 does that to patients to a lot of people its heartbreaking. Tragedies like fires and hurricanes have stark visuals that show their destruction, but COVID-19 is different. Because of privacy and health laws, there are few visuals available of the worst parts of the destruction the virus can wreck. Those images are hidden behind ICU doors. I think maybe not enough people realize what an awful, just absolutely awful experience that truly is, Jessica said. Giving back After talking with family and friends, Jessica and Weimen decided what they wanted to do to give back and help. Weimens uncle in China already works in the medical equipment field and was able to help them purchase a few different kinds of masks. To make sure the process of bringing the masks into the U.S. wasnt going to be hindered, they created a company, Gnomedica LLC, named in honor of one of Bings nicknames, Gnome. While her father was going through chemotherapy his immune system was weak and extremely vulnerable. A cough or a sneeze near him would put Jessica on edge. She has the same concern for cancer patients now, as COVID-19 cases have increased dramatically across Texas. With this donation and possible future donations, she wants to remind people that wearing a mask could help protect patients like her father from the virus. Since creating the company in April, they have been looking for opportunities to help local organizations access masks during COVID-19. Jessica said their goal with Gnomedica is to keep PPE at an accessible price. jamie.swinnerton@chron.com U.S. Border Patrol agents from the Cotulla Station arrested several individuals on consecutive days who had boarded northbound freight trains north of Laredo. The first incident occurred on the morning of July 17, when agents observed several individuals on board a freight train that was traveling northbound near Cotulla, Texas. The agents contacted the rail service company and requested the train be stopped for inspection. The train came to a stop just north of Cotulla. Agents apprehended 13 individuals who were determined to be in the United States illegally from the country of Mexico. The second incident occurred the following morning on July 18, when agents observed several individuals on board another freight train that was traveling northbound near Cotulla. Again, the agents contacted the rail service company and requested the train be stopped for inspection. Once the train came to a full stop, agents encountered and detained 23 individuals who were in the United States illegally. While agents made these arrests, several others individuals jumped off the train and were observed running away. Several hours later, Cotulla agents received a report of a large group of people north of where the train had been inspected. Agents responded and apprehended 11 more individuals who were in the country illegally. Investigation revealed that they were the ones spotted running from the train earlier that morning. In all, 34 individuals from the countries of Mexico and Guatemala were arrested. This dangerous method of furthering illegal entry into the United States by illegal immigrants is strongly discouraged as it often results in serious injury or death. In recent days, Laredo Sector agents came to the aid of an individual who had severed part of his foot while attempting to board a moving freight train. The Laredo Sector Border Patrol continues to warn against the dangers of people crossing illegally into the United States through dangerous and hazardous means. Despite the ongoing global pandemic, U.S. Border Patrol agents of the Laredo Sector continue to stand at the ready to secure the nations borders, prevent the flow of illegal immigration, the exploitation by human smugglers and the spread of COVID-19. To report suspicious activity such as human and/or drug smuggling, download the USBP Laredo Sector App or contact the Laredo Sector Border Patrol toll free at 1-800-343-1994. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has relaxed norms for facilitating work from home (WFH) for IT firms till the end of 2020 due to the novel coronavirus, or COVID-19, outbreak. In an order dated July 21, DoT, said, In the view of ongoing concerns due to COVID-19, the department has decided to further extend these relaxation up to December 31, or until further orders, whichever is earlier. The order for relaxation, which was first granted till April 30, was extended to July 31. The relaxation is for the Other Service Provider (OSP) licence, which is necessary for companies to enable WFH. Earlier, Nasscom has written to the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology to make relaxations around WFH permanent. But the industry is now looking to adopt a hybrid working model on the back of the pandemic. The relaxation will give companies enough room to extend WFH for all their employees until the end of the year. As per current State government orders, IT companies can operate anywhere between 30 percent and 50 percent capacity. 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 Pune, where the lockdown was imposed for 10 days from July 13, companies can work at 30 percent capacity. However, in most IT firms, less than 5 percent of their employees are working from offices and companies are in no hurry to bring their employees back to work. Companies do not see more than 5-10 percent of their employees working in campuses till a vaccine is found. Indian IT/ITeS industry employs about 50 lakh people. Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has made WFH more or less permanent as it does not expect more than 25 percent of its employees working from offices not more than 25 percent of the time. However its peers Wipro, Infosys and HCL Technologies are looking at a hybrid model, where some percent of the workforce will work from office and home. VV Apparao, Chief Human Resource Officer, HCL Tech, told Moneycontrol in a recent interaction that the company is not making WFH permanent since permission from government and clients are temporary. In addition, the management does not think working from home continuously will be healthy, either physically or mentally, he added. The Black Automotive Media Group (BAMG), has challenged the nations automakers to address fairness and equity regarding Black media who cover the industry. BAMG is a distinguished group of seven Black reporters and writers who have over 150 years of combined experience in automotive journalism within radio, television, print, videography, event planning and influencing, and social media. They represent a coalition of Black journalists who either work for or own various automotive media platforms. In a letter to 20 U.S. market automaker brands, the BAMG outlined concerns over a lack of inclusion for Blacks in automotive media and in automobile industry corporate positions. Automakers were asked to take action on the three pillars outlined in the letter: 1) Access to press and special events 2) The lack of automotive advertising and marketing dollars for Black-owned Websites, newspapers, magazines, broadcast media, and marketing events 3) The lack of Black professionals who participate in developing, designing, engineering, or promoting new vehicles The letter also noted the lack of diversity on the North American Car, Truck and Utility of the Year (NACTOY) Jury, a prestigious panel of 50 North American journalists and engineers, which as of the release of our letter had no Black Jurors. The BAMG feels that addressing these pillars is crucial to reversing decades of exclusion that Black automotive journalists have faced. As a result of the letter, all manufacturers responded, and a series of video calls were executed. The conversations were informative and sometimes uncomfortable, and souls on both sides of the discussions were bared. We need to be an adequate part of the solution, said one automaker. We need a strategic corporate reset, said another. These are interesting times of reflection for everyone. But it also marks a moment of introspection for each individual that, in turn, comprises the totality of corporate culture in America, stated BAMG member Kimatni D. Rawlins. And the auto industry is not absolved due to equivalent philosophies, directives, and practices that have excluded African Americans from receiving a fair share of the resources and opportunities extended to mainstream media. Some brands responded with immediate solutions and pledges to enhance their diversity efforts to at least 15% for press event representation. However, a few were less than contrite, which was disturbing. The BAMG made it clear that diversity directives can only be successful when the mission and portfolio are integral parts of the corporate vision. Other progress includes electing two Black male journalists onto the NACTOY Jury shortly after a panel discussion with the Motor Press Guild (MPG) on the plight of Black journalists in automotive media, and after the BAMG industry letter reached automakers. Most manufacturers asked for assistance from the BAMG in identifying the next generation of young Black journalists and social media devotees who are rising stars in automotive media. These conversations are but a first step in a long journey, as a dedicated, long-term approach will help strengthen relationships not only with Black media but also within the African American community. According to http://www.nielsen.com, Black Americans contribute $1.2 Trillion annually to the U.S. economy, and their marketing and media value should reflect our buying power within the automotive sector. The BAMG expects to meet quarterly with manufacturers to assess progress made towards greater inclusion. ### Members of the Black Automotive Media Group include: Greg Morrison, Bumper2Bumpertv Roosevelt Gist, AutoNetwork Kimatni D. Rawlins, AutomotiveRhythms.com / FitFathers.com Frank Washington, AboutThatCar.com Ken Chester, RoadWorthy Drive Productions Ronda Penrice, Freelance Writer Brian Armstead, Autosense/Roadgear Lawmakers in the Lagos State House of Assembly on Tuesday eulogised one of their deceased colleagues, Tunde Braimoh, as they held a valedictory session in his honour. Mr Braimoh represented Kosofe Constituency II in the assembly before his death on July 10. He was a second term lawmaker and the Chairman, House Committee on Information, Security and Strategic. The Speaker of the house, Mudashiru Obasa, said it was the belief in Islam that a day is dedicated for everybody to die. Mr Obasa described the late Braimoh as a rare legislator, whose death would be greatly missed by all. I have lost one of the most resourceful members that I depended on for advice, who was always willing to offer his advice at every given opportunity. He never disappointed me. He never had no for an answer and he had a ready answer to any question. He was a man with an uncommon intelligence and political sagacity and a man of honour. He was a respecter of constituted authority. He has made his impact and contributed to the growth of Kosofe Local Government and his vacuum in the House of Assembly cannot be filled in the next decade, he said. The speaker further said the house had lost a formidable member of rare quality in the late Braimoh. We have lost a very valuable member, who was outstanding as a lawmaker. We will miss his insightful and intelligent contributions to issues on the floor of the chamber. We recall his sharp wits and words. I will miss his cheerfulness and his closeness to everybody, he said. The speaker urged the lawmakers to use their positions to serve humanity, adding that a day would come when people would talk about them. Mr Obasa directed the Clerk of the House, Azeez Sanni, to formally write the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) about Mr Braimohs death. Also, Rotimi Abiru (Shomolu II), said nobody knew when he or she would depart the world, regretting that Mr Braimohs death happened at a period they were enjoying him. It is most unfortunate that he has dropped at his own bus stop. May the Almighty God give the family the fortitude to bear this irreparable loss. I commiserate with his family, his political family, the people of Kosofe Constituency II and the members of the state house of assembly, he said. In his comment, the Deputy Speaker of the House, Wasiu Eshinlokun-Sanni (Lagos Island I), said he went to the same university with Mr Braimoh and they graduated together. Mr Eshinlokun-Sanni said they started the fourth republic together in 1999 and the late lawmaker was sociable and intelligent. He prayed that the assembly would not lose any of its members again. May we all finish the journey together. I commiserate with his family members and this is one death too many, he said. Also speaking, Mojisola Miranda (Apapa I) commiserated with the people of Kosofe Constituency II and the family members of Mr Braimoh. Mrs Miranda said Mr Braimoh was a good man and a good listener, adding that she had worked with him in various committees. Advertisements Setonji David (Badagry II) said in his comments that the deceased was a very passionate and charming colleague. There was never a dull moment with him. The few times we had discussions, he was full of ideas. I will miss him personally. I commiserate with the Speaker over this sad occurrence and I pray that we will never witness this kind of incident again, he said. Gbolahan Yishawu (Eti Osa II) said he imagined if Mr Braimoh were to be in the chamber to speak. Mr Yishawu said the deceased had a lot of words to describe them and had a name for each and every one of them, especially during their birthdays. We will miss him, he was very sound and he contributed extensively to the success of the House. His vocabulary was very deep; he was very fluent. He spoke even Yoruba Language extensively. Death is a certainty and we pray that when the time comes, may the Almighty God accept us into paradise. He prayed that the Almighty God would forgive him and grant him Aljana. Also, Lukman Olumoh (Ajeromi/Ifelodun I) commiserated with the Speaker on the loss of one of his most trusted aides. OMr lumoh said Mr Braimoh was very religious, courageous and was a team player. Tobun Abiodun (Epe 1) said he had lost a friend, a brother, a socialite and a team player. Who else would understand my way of life like Tunde Braimoh. I wept when his wife said that her helper had gone. That was the first time I would cry since 1970, when my father died, he said. NAN reports that other lawmakers took turns to describe the late Mr Braimoh in glowing terms. The House later adjourned sitting to Monday at noon. (NAN) Out-of-state visitors who do not self-quarantine for 14 days, or refuse a health questionnaire, could get fined $1,000, Gov. Ned Lamont announced Monday. Lamont, during his daily news conference, said that if travelers from 22 states where the virus is raging can show proof of recent tests in which they were COVID-negative, they can be allowed into the state without quarantining. Enforcement of that will evolve over time, but we wanted to send the message loud and clear that as we look at the incredible infection rates in other parts of the country, we know that COVID came to this part of the country by airplane and we dont want it to come by airplane again, Lamont said. Asked when he would impose such fines, however, Lamont said Well see. He said that airlines and travel agents will be giving it to air travelers to fill out, but Lamont stressed that vehicle drivers will also be expected to have the questionnaires also. The governor has largely left the state to police itself on mask wearing and social distancing, but at the beginning of the month he held off on Phase 3 reopenings of bars, as well as allowing restaurants to open at full occupancy, because of the now-raging pandemic in more than 40 states after many governors allowed them to open too fast. Lamont announced 10 more fatalities in the coronavirus pandemic, bringing the total to 4,406, while a net reduction of 12 hospitalized patients brings that statewide total to 54. There were 162 new COVID-19 cases found among the latest 27,323 tested over the previous three days. The numbers are all trending, blessedly, in the right direction, still, Lamont said, adding that the positivity rate is six tenths of one percent, one of the lowest in the country. He said that in states where the virus is still raging, hospitals are reaching capacity, while Connecticuts hospital census peaked on April 22 at 1,972. Every place we go the number one factor in terms of influencing reducing the spread is wearing the mask, Lamont said, noting that a map of places in the state indicates that mask wearing is decreasing in the big cities of Bridgeport, New Haven and Hartford, while Eastern Connecticut has a very low infection rate. Four states - Florida, Texas, Arizona and Southern California - represent half of the nations infections. If we have about 17 infections per 100,000 population in our state, the average across the country is 140 infections per 100,000, Lamont said. Thats across the country. While there has been more travel in the state by residents over the last seven weeks, according to an analysis of cellphone use, infections are not increasing in Connecticut. Its just a fair warning out there, Lamont said, adding that during a meeting Monday with White House officials led by Vice President Mike Pence, it was noted that infection rates are increasing in Maryland, Delaware and Virginia.. Last week, Delaware was added to the self-quarantine list. kdixon@ctpost.com Twitter: @KenDixonCT Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb on Tuesday regretted his earlier comment that had snowballed into a raging controversy of comparing his own Bengali stock to be intellectually superior to Jats and Punjabis and made a U-turn in his apologetic remark that hes proud of both these north Indian communities. I had expressed thoughts about my Punjabi and Jat brothers at an event in Agartala Press Club recently. I didnt intend to hurt any community. I am proud of both Punjabi and Jat communities. I myself have spent a lot of time with them, Deb tweeted as a mark of apology. Many of my close friends are from these communities. If my statement has hurt anyones sentiments, I personally seek apology for that, he further tweeted as a sign of atonement. In another tweet, he said that he was aware of these communities immense contributions to the countrys freedom struggle and would never doubt their role behind Indias growth story. Earlier, CM Deb had landed in a soup after Congress spokesperson Randeep Singh Surjewala circulated a video on social media that quickly went viral. The video showed Deb making a pronouncement with a great degree of certitude that Jats are blessed with less intellect, but are healthy, while Bengalis, a community to which he belongs, are known for their intellectual prowess. Surjewala himself is a Jat. In Haryana, there are Jats. Let me tell you about them. Jats are less intelligent, but are physically healthy. While for Bengalis, it is said that they should not be challenged regarding their intelligence. They are known for their intelligence across the country, Deb had said at a programme in Agartala Press Club recently. Bijan Dhar, a local veteran Communist Party of India (CPI) (Marxist), a party that had ruled Tripura for two decades on the trot until 2018 and was a formidable political force until recently, termed CM Debs statement as objectionable and smacked of racism. This kind of statement is objectionable. Its a racial slur to divide the people of this country. It poses a threat to the union and the integrity of our nation. However, if this news is, indeed, fake, then he must counter it publicly, Dhar said. Opposition Congress, a dwindling political force in the state, also jumped on the bandwagon. The ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stands for divisive politics. This is not the first time that the CM has made such off-the-cuff remarks and later ended up eating the humble pie, said Tapas Dey, state vice-president, Congress. The ruling BJP, however, sprang to CM Debs defence. The CM didnt intend to degrade any particular communitys intelligence quotient. His speech was misconstrued. He wanted to delineate the characteristics of various communities across the country. His comments were misinterpreted and spun out of content to give a political twist to it and create unnecessary controversy, said Subrata Chakraborty, BJPs state spokesperson. However, CM Deb, a gymnasium instructor-turned-politician, is no stranger to putting his foot in his mouth. Earlier, he had claimed that the internet existed even during the mythological Mahabharat era. He had also drawn flak for his uncharitable remark that Diana Hayden didnt deserve to win an international beauty pageant contest. His unscientific temper had also made him a butt of ridicule, when he had said that ducks release oxygen to the atmosphere during swimming in the water. As if the Flyers needed another nail in their hopes of this season becoming something... The advantages of one real estate firm over others will lie in its land holdings. Though they have complained about poor market performance, real estate firms still can arrange huge amounts of money to buy land plots in advantageous positions. Hung Thinh Group has just bought a land plot of 1,000 hectares in Lam Dong province. Prior to that, the realtor spent trillions of dong in 2019 to take over many projects in Binh Dinh, including a 1,000 hectare urban area. Nam Long, which has 681 hectares of land, continues to buy land with an annual budget of VND2 trillion. Though they have complained about poor market performance, real estate firms still can arrange huge amounts of money to buy land plots in advantageous positions. The firm only eyes large land plots located in satellite provinces, or at gateways of the southern key economic zones. A local newspaper reported that Danh Khoi Group is negotiating to buy the golden land area in Da Nang City. It has just signed a contract on Phat Dat Real Estate on the wholesale purchase and development of a complex in Binh Duong province. Meanwhile, An Gia, a tenderfoot in the stock market, announced at the annual shareholders meeting held in June a plan to enlarge its land fund. The management board of the company, believing that it is now the right time to buy more land, decided to budget VND3-5 trillion to buy land plots in 2020. An Gia, which has a 30 ha land plot in Long An and another 30 ha in Binh Chanh district, HCM City, is still seeking new land plots to buy. HCM City remains its major market, but it has also begun eyeing land plots in neighboring localities, including Bien Hoa City in Dong Nai, Long An, Ba Ria Vung Tau and Binh Duong. VnExpress cited a Savills Vietnams report as showing that real estate M&A activities were very busy in the first months of 2020 and the number of deals will be higher in the future. Nguyen Thi Thanh Huong, CEO of Dai Phuc Land, confirmed that real estate firms are hurrying to buy as much land as possible. Realtors fear that if they are slow, they will miss the opportunities to own golden land which determines the success of projects, and to buy land at reasonable prices. It is more and more difficult to buy land, because it is getting scarcer. Meanwhile, the site compensation costs have increased sharply, which reduces investors profits, she explained. While affirming that realtors with huge land funds would have advantages over others, Huong pointed out that only businesses with powerful financial capability can accumulate land. Huge amounts of money will be buried in land plots, but businesses still dont know when the land can bring profits, she said. Linh Ha Vietnam rises in global real estate transparency index: JLL Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City have contributed to the country's higher rank in the 2020 index. On July 19, China's ambassador to the United Kingdom Liu Xiaoming dismissed recent drone footage from the Xinjiang region and denied allegations about human rights abuses against the Uighur Muslims and other ethnic minorities in the country. Xiaoming raised questions over the authenticity of the CCTV footage concern, which showed shackled and blindfolded prisoners herded on to trains and allegedly torture by Chinese authorities. In a televised interview with a leading British broadcaster, Xiaoming said, I do not know where you get this videotape," adding, "sometimes you have a transfer of prisoners, in any country. Read: UK Asks Japan To Help Build Its 5G Wireless Networks Without Huawei Further, on the live-streamed program, the Chinese ambassador insisted that Uighur people in China live in peaceful and harmonious coexistence with other ethnic groups." His statements come as the CCTV clip, which first appeared in October 2019, recently started making rounds on the internet prompting debate about human rights abuse of ethnic minorities in China. A report claimed that an estimated one million to two million Uighurs Muslims have been confined in "re-education camps" in China's Xinjiang province. Only last month, a New York-based news agency reported that China was engaging in a "sweeping campaign of forced birth control and sterilisation on Uighurs and other minorities. The report stressed that the abuses were far more widespread and systematic than was previously known, having described the scenario as demographic genocide. Read: Second UK-wide COVID-19 Lockdown Like Nuclear Deterrent: Boris Johnson Upholding human rights across the is at the forefront of our work. Pleased we have published our annual human rights report outlining our work & concerns in our 30 priority countries. We continue to raise human rights concerns at the highest level https://t.co/jT16Pra21D pic.twitter.com/fhBKGk3R4h Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) July 16, 2020 "The reports of forced sterilization to the re-education camps are reminiscent of something we have not seen for a long, long time. And this is from a leading member of the international community, who wants to be taken seriously" said Dominic Raab, UKs Foreign Secretary, in a televised show. UKs Foreign Secretary accuses China In another television show that aired worldwide, UKs Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab accused China of human rights abuses and called it out for committing gross, egregious human rights abuses in Xinjiang. In response to Raabs statement, China warned that it will deliver a resolute response in case Britain sanctioned officials involved in the alleged human rights abuses of the Uighur population. Read: China Determined To Give 'resolute Response' If UK Sanctions Chinese Officials Read: UK PM Johnson Reluctant To Impose Nationwide Lockdown As COVID-19 Cases Near 3 Lakh MPs have told Boris Johnson to order an assessment of 'potential' Kremlin interference in the Brexit referendum, as the long-suppressed Russia report is finally released. Successive prime ministers are accused of failing to investigate such fears in stark contrast to the US handling of allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election. The intelligence and security committee says the issues at stake in the EU referendum campaign are less clear-cut. But it adds: It is nonetheless the committees view that the UK intelligence community should produce an analogous assessment of potential Russian interference in the EU referendum and that an unclassified summary of it be published. Kevan Jones, a Labour MP on the committee, said the outrage was not that there definitely was meddling in the 2016 referendum, which was not known. The outrage is that no-one wanted to know if there was interference. And that comes through very loud and clear in our report, he told a press conference. Stewart Hosie, an SNP member, saidd: There has been no assessment of Russian interference in the EU referendum and this goes back to nobody wanting to touch the issue with a 10-foot pole. He added: There must now be one, and the public must be told the results of that assessment. The investigation concluded last autumn but Mr Johnson refused to agree to its publication before last Decembers general election and has held up release for the seven months since. It was launched after the revelation that Russia-based Twitter accounts posted more than 45,000 messages about Brexit in just 48 hours during the 2016 referendum. Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Show all 66 1 /66 Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A message projected onto the White Cliffs of Dover Sky News/AFP via Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Big Ben, shows the hands at eleven o'clock at night AFP via Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Nigel Farage speaks to pro-Brexit supporters PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-Brexit demonstrators celebrate on Parliament Square REUTERS Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU The Union flag is taken down outside the European Parliament in Brussels PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU campaigners outside the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A pro-Brexit supporter jumps on an EU flag in Parliament Square PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU EU Council staff removed the Union Jack-British flag from the European Council in Brussels, Belgium EPA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A pro-Brexit supporter pours beer onto an EU flag PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pedestrians pass in front of the Ministry of Defence Building on Whitehall, illuminated by red, white and blue lights in central London AFP via Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A Brexit supporter shouts during a rally in London AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU campaigners outside the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU campaigners take part in a 'Missing EU Already' rally outside the Scottish Parliament, Edinburgh PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A large pro-EU banner is projected onto Ramsgate cliff in Kent PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU supporters light candles in Smith Square in Westminster PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man waves Union flags from a small car as he drives past Brexit supporters gathering in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU The five-year old Elisa Saemann, left, and her seven-year old sister Katie hold a placard during a rally by anti-Brexit protesters outside the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro Europe supporters gather on Brexit day near the British embassy in Berlin, Germany EPA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Anti-Brexit protester hugs a man while holding a placard REUTERS Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A decorated, old fashioned fire pump in Parliament Square PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro Brexit Elvis impersonator performs at Parliament Square Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU An anti-Brexiteers stands with his dog in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Paddy from Bournemouth wears Union colours as he sits next to an EU flag decorated bag in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A pro-EU activist plays a guitar decorated with the EU flag during a protest organised by civil rights group New Europeans outside Europe House, central London AFP via Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU People celebrate Britain leaving the EU REUTERS Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A Pro Brexit supporter has a Union Jack painted onto his face at Parliament Square Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Men hold placards celebrating Britain leaving the EU REUTERS Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro Brexit supporters dance in the street draped with Union Jack flags at Parliament Square Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU An anti-Brexit demonstrator spreads his wings during a gathering near Downing Street AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro EU supporters display a banner ' Here to Stay, Here to Fight, Migrants In, Tories Out' from Westminster bridge EPA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-Brexit supporters burn European Union flags at Parliament Square Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man poses for a picture on Parliament Square in a 'Brexit Day' t-shirt Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU People celebrate Britain leaving the EU Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU AFP via Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man wears a pro-Brexit t-shirt Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Anti-Brexit demonstrators visit Europe House to give flowers to the staff on Brexit day Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro Brexit supporter wears a novelty Union Jack top hat outside the Houses of Parliament Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Customers Scott Jones and Laura Jones at the Sawmill Bar in South Elmsall, Yorkshire, where a Brexit party is being held throughout the day PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU activists protest Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A pro-Brexit demonstrator burns a European Union flag AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro Brexit supporters Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro Brexit supporters Getty Images Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A Brexit supports holds a sign in Parliament Square AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man carries an EU themed wreath Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Ann Widdecombe reacts with other members of the Brexit party as they leave en masse from the European Parliament PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Anti-Brexit demonstrators in Parliament Square PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro EU supporters let off flares from Westminster Bridge Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU British MEPs Jonathan Bullock, holding the Union Jack flag and Jake Pugh leave the European Parliament, in Brussels on the Brexit day AFP via Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Newspapers and other souvenirs at a store, near Parliament Square Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Brexit supporters hold signs in Parliament Square AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU protesters hold placards in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU French newspapers PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Sinn Fein leader Mary Lou McDonald with a Border Communities Against Brexit poster before its unveiling in Carrickcarnon on the Irish border PA Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU National growers organisation British Apples & Pears has renamed a British apple to EOS, the Greek goddess of dawn, to commemorate Brexit day AP Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Pro-EU protesters hold placards in Parliament Square AFP via Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Britain's departure from the European Union was set in law on January 29, amid emotional scenes, as the bloc's parliament voted to ratify the divorce papers. After half a century of membership and three years of tense withdrawal talks, the UK will leave the EU at midnight Brussels time (23.00 GMT) on January 31 Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man poses with paintings on Parliament Square Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU People sporting Union Flags gather in Parliament Square Getty Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A man walks with a St. George's flag at Westminster bridge on Brexit day Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU A British bulldog toy and other souvenirs at a souvenir store Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU British pro-brexit Members of the European Parliament leave the EU Parliament for the last time Reuters Brexit day: UK says goodbye to EU Jonathan Bullock waves the Union Jack as he leaves the European Parliament EPA Mr Jones said the prime ministers claims for suppressing the report were categorically not true, although he swerved a question about whether he had lied. Pointing to the swift action in the US on Russian meddling, the report says: An intelligence community assessment was produced within two months of the vote, with an unclassified summary being made public. Mr Jones dismissed a suggestion that the intelligence services should have been more proactive in investigating Russian meddling, insisting that was a government decision. They couldnt have missed this. To sidestep and blame the agencies is not fair, he said, adding: The government have got to take responsibility for this. The report says it was clear that Russia under Putin has moved from potential partner to established threat pointing to the murder of Alexander Litvinenko in 2006 and the annexation of Crimea in 2014. The government appeared to have taken its eye off the ball because of its focus on counter-terrorism, the report said, adding: The government had badly underestimated the response required to the Russian threat and is still playing catch up. Russia poses a tough intelligence challenge and our intelligence agencies must have the tools they need to tackle it. "In particular, new legislation must be introduced to tackle foreign spies: the Official Secrets Act is not fit for purpose and while this goes unrectified the UK intelligence community's hands are tied. The report adds: Russia's cyber capability, when combined with its willingness to deploy it in a malicious capacity, is a matter of grave concern, and poses an immediate and urgent threat to our national security. GCHQ had advised that Russian actors had orchestrated phishing attempts against government departments, including against the Foreign Office and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) during the early stages of the investigation into the Salisbury attacks in 2018. More than one in 10 Irish SMEs have ceased trading temporarily or permanently as a result of Covid-19, a Central Bank report has found. The SME Market Report 2020 highlights the challenges faced by firms during the coronavirus pandemic. The survey found that 24% of businesses had ceased trading temporarily or permanently in April but this fell to 11% by May 31 as lockdown restrictions eased. Firms in the accommodation and food sector recorded the biggest decline in turnover. Covid-19 has posed unique challenges to SMEs operating environment, the report notes. It states that the primary economic impact from the pandemic has been the high level of uncertainty and the closure of many firms. It said companies have adjusted to lower turnover through workforce measures such as decreased hours or temporary layoffs. Government support for firms and employees includes the Temporary Wage Subsidy Scheme (TWSS) and Pandemic Unemployment Payment (PUP). The report also notes the heavy impact on firms turnover, with 21% of businesses reporting that turnover is down by 75%, although this differs by sector. Around 39% of companies have unpaid invoices due to business lost during the pandemic, amounting to around 20% of 2019 revenue for the typical firm. As many as 42% of firms report changing or deferring payments to manage cash flow, increasing to 91% of businesses in the accommodation and food sector. Actor Sushmita Sen, who recently made a comeback of sorts with the Disney+Hotstar series Aarya, once refused to shoot a song because its lyrics were too suggestive. Choreographer Ganesh Hegde recalled in an interview that the lines had to subsequently be rewritten. There was a line that went aa garmi le mere seene se (come feel the heat of my bosom) and she refused to sing it. She said, I wont just do it, Hegde told HuffPost in an interview. Composer Anu Malik had to change the lines to aa narmi le mere aankhon se (bask in the softness of my eyes). It was unheard of at that point of time, to command and extract that kind of respect, Hegde said. Mehboob Mere was performed by Sunidhi Chauhan and Karsan Sargathiya. It was a part of the soundtrack for Fiza. She dominated the screen. I knew that from the first time I choreographed her for a stage performance, and unlike what we did with most actors, we let her dance alone on the stage to Stings Desert Rose. Its a gamble on a massive stage like that, but I knew Sushmita could hold the stage down all by herself, the choreographer said, noting how Sushmita broke the norm for shooting item numbers. Also read: Fan asked Sushmita Sen how she survived nepotism in Bollywood, this was her reply But then, there is nothing usual about her. A lot of the dancing, especially the belly dancing moves, she did herself. Theres a trance-like feel to her dancing and in those sequences, I did not do anything. It was mostly her, he added, noting that she was very particular about how she projected herself on screen. The actor drew praise for her performance in Aarya, in which she is forced to take control of her husbands criminal empire. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Despite the recommendation of the OPEC+ JMMC to ease the oil output cuts by 2 million bbl/d, oil markets maintained their bullish sentiment over the past week as Brent was trading above $43 while WTI was trading above $40. A surge in COVID-19 cases in several counties including the US, Spain, and Australia capped oil price gains. Bullish figures from the EIA Markets were primarily supported by a continued withdrawal in commercial crude inventories which declined by 7.5 million barrels w/w to stand at 531.7 million barrels. Gasoline inventories also declined by 3.1 million barrels w/w reflecting a significant rise in demand levels. Along the decline in inventories, crude imports fell by 1.83 million bbl/d w/w and are currently standing at 5.57 million bbl/d, which may be part of the reason for the drop in inventories. The other reason for the decline in inventories is the balance in the markets where demand now exceeds supply, something we had anticipated, last April, to take place in July. We currently expect commercial inventories to continue to decline especially during July and August as these months historically are the peak of driving season. U.S. oil production continues to be fixed at 11 million bbl/d for the 3rd consecutive week. The decline in oil rigs continues, with the latest figure being 1 rig w/w, and it may have already reached its lowest level at around 180 rigs. Demand figures continue to be revised up Similar to the IEA and EIA, OPEC raised its 2020 demand forecast to 90.72 million bbl/d, up by 0.13 million bbl/d from its previous forecast, which is 0.375 million bbl/d higher than CMarkits forecast. This includes an expected average demand of 92.22 million bbl/d and 96.22 million bbl/d in Q3 and Q4 2020, respectively. This is higher than CMarkits forecast by 0.11 million bbl/d and 1.89 million bbl/d, respectively. Furthermore, non-OPEC supply is expected to stand at 61.76 million bbl/d in 2020, down by 3.26 million bbl/d w/w, which is 0.99 million bbl/d higher than CMarkits forecast. The majority of production decline will come from the US and FSU due to forced shut-ins and participation in the OPEC+ output cuts. Furthermore, the OPEC-10 countries have collectively achieved a total compliance of 103.64% in June, despite many countries falling behind their targets including Angola, Congo, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Iraq, and Nigeria. The total OPEC+ compliance was reported to stand at 107% supported by voluntary contributions from Saudi Arabia, UAE and Kuwait. OPEC+ additional production will be offset by deeper cuts Meanwhile, OPEC+ JMMC has recommended transitioning into the 2nd phase of the cut agreement which is set to ease output cuts by 2 million bbl/d starting from August. Yet the impact of this decision was little felt on the markets last week, for three reasons (i) demand is still expected to be higher than supply in Q3 and Q4, and (ii) deeper cuts from low-compliance countries will amount to at least 0.8 million bbl/d in Q3, and (iii) the increase in production will not lead to an increase in exports. The Nigerian Energy Minister has confirmed that his country would commit to achieving a 100% compliance by the end of July including deeper compensatory cuts, and this will continue till the end of Q3. Related: Can Saudi Arabia Extend The OPEC Deal Until 2022? It is expected that the August production figures will include the 7.68 million bbl/d cuts plus at least extra 0.4 million bbl/d of compensatory cuts from previously non-complying countries leading to effective cuts of at least 8.1 million bbl/d. Still some countries are yet to submit their compensation plans by the end of July. Saudi Arabia and Russia will equally be ramping up their individual production by around 0.5 million bbl/d which will go to national consumption of gasoline and diesel as the two countries re-open their economies. This was confirmed by both the Saudi and the Russian Energy ministers. According to our forecast, Q3 demand figures are expected to stand at 3.69 million bbl/d and 4.40 million bbl/d for Saudi Arabia and Russia, respectively. Although OPEC+ may celebrate the first phase of the achievement, it remains cautious with easing its cuts through the 2nd half of the year. Fears of a 2nd wave of COVID-19 in many countries around the world continues to have an impact on the markets. Saudi Arabia's Energy Minister has emphasized that the group is open to revise its decision if the market situation changes, particularly referring to demand shocks similar to those in April. Despite the relaxation of OPEC+ cuts, crude continued to trade within the $40-43 range. Yet, Saudi Arabias Energy Minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman, had highlighted that although OPEC itself does not have a price target, current prices are not sustainable for the industry, leading to potential insecurity of supply in the long term. CMarkits latest forecast sees an average price of $43 for Brent in July that may rise to $50 by December if demand continues to smoothly recover. Morgan Stanley had also raised its forecast for Brent by $5 to $40 in Q3, something we had predicted at the beginning of Q2. Another bullish indicator for crude is the development of a vaccine against COVID-19. Oxford University announced last week that a potential vaccine may be introduced by September which could have a dramatic impact on the global economy. While OPEC+ has noted improving compliance levels and market conditions, we believe that the remaining challenge is not only the price, but most importantly the continued drawdown of oil inventories, which remain near historic highs. Bringing inventory levels back to pre-crisis levels, which we do not expect to be reached until mid 2021, is a major goal for OPEC as highlighted by Prince Abdulaziz. The Saudi Oil Minister also stated that the agreement is biblical in a way and that it cannot be changed even if the demand picture comes up better than what was expected in 2021 and 2022. Even if the agreement ends in 2022, an equivalent agreement should make sure the crude market remains balanced. The next JMMC meeting will be held virtually on August 18th which is expected to review July production figures, compliance rates while verifying compensation plans of countries that didnt reach 100% compliance. By Yousef Alshammari by Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Offer a personal message of sympathy... By sharing a fond memory or writing a kind tribute, you will be providing a comforting keepsake to those in mourning. If you have an existing account with this site, you may log in with that below. Otherwise, you can create an account by clicking on the Log in button below, and then register to create your account. The flood situation in Assam remained critical with one more person losing his life in the deluge, in which over 24 lakh people were affected in 24 districts of the state, officials said on Monday. Floods caused by the overflowing Brahmaputra have also created havoc in Bihar and neighbouring Nepal displacing lakhs of people. 'Ready to support the Indian govt ' On Tuesday, Stephane Dujarric, spokesperson for United Nations General Secretary Antonio Guterres said that the UN is ready to support India. "Nearly 4 million people have been displaced in Assam, India and neighbouring Nepal due to heavy flooding from monsoon rains, with the death toll at 189. United Nations stands ready to support the Government of India if required," ANI quoted him as saying. According to the daily flood report of the Assam State Disaster Management Authority (ASDMA), one person died at Sonapur near Guwahati in Kamrup Metropolitan district. The total number of people losing their lives in this year's flood and landslide has gone up to 111 across the state, of whom 85 people were killed in flood-related incidents and 26 died due to landslides. The ASDMA said over 24.3 lakh people are hit due to floods in Dhemaji, Lakhimpur, Biswanath, Darrang, Baksa, Nalbari, Barpeta, Chirang, Bongaigaon, Kokrajhar, Dhubri, South Salmara, Goalpara, Kamrup, Kamrup Metropolitan, Morigaon, Nagaon, Golaghat, Jorhat, Majuli, Sivasagar, Dibrugarh, Tinsukia and Cachar districts. Goalpara is the worst hit with over 4.59 lakh people suffering, followed by Barpeta with more than 3.37 lakh people and Morigaon with around 3.35 lakh people. Assam is facing the twin challenge of combating floods and the coronavirus pandemic. READ | One more person dies in Assam floods, over 24 lakh people hit Assam Minister visits Kaziranga National Park Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma and Agriculture Minister Atul Bora visited the flood-ravaged Kaziranga National Park and took stock of the situation of the animals and forest guards. The deluge has so far taken away the lives of 113 different animals, while 140 others were rescued in Kaziranga National Park, the bulletin said quoting DFO of the Eastern Assam Wildlife Division. The picturesque Kaziranga National Park and its wonderful inhabitants are struggling with fury of flood. I made an extensive visit of the Park to gauge the extent of damages, & have instructed officials to do the best we can. My compliments to the staff for their spirited work. pic.twitter.com/QehWCqPi63 Himanta Biswa Sarma (@himantabiswa) July 20, 2020 READ | Assam Floods: Water rises in Barak river, further rains may cause flood-like situation According to The Guardian, Due to the floods, 110 people have been killed and 50 are still missing in the rising waters and mudslides in Nepal, while more than a million people are displaced. With heavy rains expected to continue over the next few days, authorities said the number of dead was likely to increase. READ | China: 700-year-old temple survives raging floods in Hubei province READ | Assam floods: 108 animals die at Kaziranga National Park; 80% of park's area flooded (With agency inputs) Aleksandra Aleshchenko/iStockBy CATHERINE THORBECKE, ABC News (WASHINGTON) -- The U.S. Department of Commerce announced Monday that 11 Chinese companies would be blacklisted for alleged human rights violations. The companies are implicated in abuses associated with the People Republic of China's campaign of "repression, mass arbitrary detention, forced labor, involuntary collection of biometric data, and genetic analyses targeted at Muslim minority groups from the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region," the Commerce Department said in a statement. The blacklisting means the companies will not be able to purchase U.S. equipment or technology. The companies range from tech firms to apparel makers and even hair product suppliers. "Beijing actively promotes the reprehensible practice of forced labor and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens," Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross said in a statement. "This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Partys despicable offensive against defenseless Muslim minority populations." Nine of the companies named by the Commerce Department -- including Changii Esquel Textile Company, Hefei Bitland Information Technology Company and Tanyuan Technology Company -- were blacklisted in connection with the practice of forced labor involving Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups. The other two companies were hit with the sanctions in connection with conducting genetic analyses used to further the repression of Uyghurs and other Muslim minority groups, the Commerce Department said. The action from the U.S. government comes after a March 2020 report from the think tank Australian Strategic Policy Institute, which accused major U.S. companies, including Apple and Nike, of using Uyghur labor in their supply chains. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. (Newser) A Michigan teen placed in juvenile detection after failing to do her homework won't be getting out in the near future, despite claims that the case represents "the criminalization of Black children," per NBC New York. The 15-year-old identified as Grace told Oakland County Judge Mary Ellen Brennan on Monday that she missed her mom and wanted to go home. But Brennan decided Grace wasn't ready to be with her mother, whom she's accused of assaulting in November in an argument over a phone, and is better off in the juvenile detention center that's been her home since mid-Maythe result of a probation violation regarding homework. Brennan noted Grace was detained "because I found her to be a threat of harm to her mother," per ProPublica. But Grace said there'd been no incident since November. "That altercation should not be defining who I should be now," she said. story continues below Brennan acknowledged Grace was "blooming." But "the worst thing I can do is say you are doing great, now let's get you home and watch the whole thing blow up," she went on. She said Grace needed to finish counseling programs at Children's Village in suburban Detroit, which caseworkers said would take 3.5 months. Grace argued she was "getting behind in my actual schooling" and receiving inadequate therapy. "I believe placement in my home with the same, consistent therapy that I was getting beforehand, and love and support that will always be around me, will be a benefit for myself, my mom, my family, and my community," she said. ProPublica reports Grace and her mother "embraced for more than a minute" in their first physical contact since May 14 and "sobbed audibly through their masks before leaving the courtroom separately." The next hearing is set for September. (Read more juvenile detention stories.) A grandfather-of-four who developed nasal cancer from wood dust during his career as a furniture maker has won 320,000. Edward Kennedy, 62, was prescribed nasal spray for four years after complaining of a runny nose after doctors said his symptoms were hay fever or sinusitis. But when he lost his sense of smell in 2015 he begged his GP for an MRI scan, which discovered he had cancer. Medics told him it had been there for 15 to 20 years - spreading extensively - and could kill him at any minute. Grandfather-of-four Edward Kennedy, 62, after an operation to remove his cancer They said it had developed from exposure to wood dust as previous workplaces he had been in had failed to take the precautions to protect staff members. Rigorous treatment programme he has had to tackle the cancer has resulted in him losing sight in one eye, partial deafness, bone death of the jaw and multiple tooth loss. In his long career Edward had prepared wooden veneers at Younger Furniture for some of Britain's largest kitchen producers, including Neville Johnson and Magnet Kitchens. Now Younger Furniture and another company have settled a claim brought by him for loss of earnings that has seen him awarded 320,000. Mr Kennedy said of the diagnosis: 'I was absolutely devastated. I felt like one of my family had just died and I started thinking I don't have long left. Tracey and my girls were in absolute pieces. 'Never did I think that my exposure to wood dust would be the end of my career with wood. I was always so proud of my work and my job. It took me all over the place. Edward with his beloved four granddaughters Grace, Tilly, Rosie May and Shauna 'It has been a really tough few years. I loved my job, and was really well qualified, taking lots of courses and eventually moving into management. 'To have cancer in the head is a terrible place to have it as you immediately know the dangers. 'It became so bad that they had to get the best surgeon in the country.' The dad-of-two revealed how he has struggled with his nose for five years prior to his doctor's appointment. 'My nose was running permanently, I pretty much had to carry a hankie around with me all the time', an emotional Edward confessed. 'My wife Tracey would always say 'you don't half sniff a lot' - and the doctors kept prescribing nasal sprays like Sterimar for about three years. Mr Kennedy with wife Tracey who alerted him to his nose problem not knowing it was cancer 'It was going on all year and I had a repeat prescription every month. There was never any thought to investigate, they just thought it was hayfever or asked what I did for a living. I was just on a conveyor belt of people going to the doctors. 'If I'd have caught it earlier, it wouldn't have been as much of a problem, I wouldn't have been in such a state. 'People need to push harder for a referral.' He lost his sense of smell in June before visiting The Lister Hospital, west London, for an MRI scan two months later. 'When I could no longer smell anything, that's when it dawned on me that this was a bigger issue. It was more than what the doctors were telling me. 'At that point, I thought this could be ominous.' Mr Kennedy developed nasal cancer after a career working in the furniture business And within 24 hours, he was diagnosed with nasal cancer. He immediately knew the severity as medics rushed him to Charing Cross Hospital, London, to be operated on September 9. Edward was then given radiotherapy and then chemotherapy to try and remove any remaining cancer cells at Mount Vernon Hospital, Rickmansworth, Herts And in a heartbreaking turn of events, the disease returned in 2017 - having grown through the right-side of his nasal passage, seeping into the left, through the eye socket, and into the brain - leaving him blind in one eye. He was immediately given a navigator after losing his sight, in May, before severe chemotherapy a month later. Edward added: 'My right eye started changing to a very faint colour, and within a day or two, I completely lost my sight. 'They told me the cancer had taken out the optic nerve, so the fear was then losing sight in the other one. I told them that if I lost the other one, I don't want to live anymore. Mr Kennedy was regarded as so good at his job he was even featured in trade magazines 'I can deal with fading hearing, one eye and tooth loss - but that's as much. I'm dealing with so many minor issues which are making it unbearable. 'The doctors said 'we're going to hit you as hard as we can with chemo - and it'll probably take you close to death, but it's the only chance you've got'. 'We didn't know if I'd make it through. I'd leave at 6am and get back by six in the evening - for 18 weeks. 'I never thought I would still be alive today, as one of my oncologist's had told me to be prepared for the worst and get my will ready. We didn't think I had more than two or three months. 'The miracle doctors have saved me. But if some of my local GPs had seen it earlier and taken me seriously, I would probably still be working and not lost my senses.' He was initially given three months left to live, before they kept adding on an extra year. Now he is given an MRI every three months to check it hasn't returned - followed up with an appointment with the oncologist. And visits Luton and Dunstable University Hospital every two weeks for dental work. 'I've been in terrible shock. The pain for those around can be immense - and the effect it could have on their lives', Edward added. Edward's grand-daughters, who are 15 to nine, have supported him throughout the journey. And after a five-year battle, the family have finally received acknowledgment from his previous employer. Edward began a civil case against his employers Younger Furniture and Radio Veneers through Slater and Gordon five years ago after working for them both between 1975 and 2000. Both firms based in London eventually accepted their former employee had been exposed to wood dust whilst employed by them and that they were responsible for causing his nasal cancer by not taking proper steps to protect him by effective dust extraction and respiratory equipment. Edward was out of work for five years and forced to retire early - due to the operation. He has managed to settle the claim after facing a loss of earnings since 2015. But Edward is yet to receive 120,000 owed by Radio Veneers, formally based in Leyton, London, who no longer exist. He added: 'I'm relieved to finally have some compensation. There was dust on the wood, in the air, and even when I went into my car, parked outside, there was even dust inside. 'Anyone who works in the wood making industry needs precautions, just like asbestos. 'Wood dust, in its own way, isn't far off that. There are materials like MDF and resin glues. 'Sometimes it was so hot, I'd have to take my mask off for a brief moment. You couldn't physically wear a mask every day. There's so much dust, you can't avoid it.' He worked at Younger Furniture from 1975 to 1993, before joining Radio Veneers in 1993 to 2000. Lawyer Pauline Chandler explains: 'Both Younger Furniture and Radio Veneers accepted they were at fault for not protecting Mr Kennedy against the cancer that was brought on by his exposure to wood dust. But Radio Veneers, which has ceased trading, were uninsured during most of Mr Kennedy's employment with them. This means he has not received the proportion of his compensation due from them and it is a significant sum. 'The relationship between nasal cancer and woodwork is still not well known and like most cancers, it can develop years after exposure and the effects can be devastating as in this case where Mr Kennedy has already lost his sight in one eye and risks going totally blind in future. 'His life expectation is also significantly reduced and in some cases nasal cancer results in premature death.' Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! We've lost count of how many times insiders have accumulated shares in a company that goes on to improve markedly. Unfortunately, there are also plenty of examples of share prices declining precipitously after insiders have sold shares. So before you buy or sell Constantine Metal Resources Ltd. (CVE:CEM), you may well want to know whether insiders have been buying or selling. 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, rules govern insider transactions, and certain disclosures are required. We would never suggest that investors should base their decisions solely on what the directors of a company have been doing. But equally, we would consider it foolish to ignore insider transactions altogether. For example, a Columbia University study found that 'insiders are more likely to engage in open market purchases of their own companys stock when the firm is about to reveal new agreements with customers and suppliers'. See our latest analysis for Constantine Metal Resources Constantine Metal Resources Insider Transactions Over The Last Year There wasn't any very large single transaction over the last year, but we can still observe some trading. In the last twelve months Constantine Metal Resources insiders were buying shares, but not selling. The average buy price was around CA$0.30. This is nice to see since it implies that insiders might see value around current prices (around CA$0.17). The chart below shows insider transactions (by companies and individuals) over the last year. If you click on the chart, you can see all the individual transactions, including the share price, individual, and the date! There are plenty of other companies that have insiders buying up shares. You probably do not want to miss this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying. Story continues Constantine Metal Resources Insiders Bought Stock Recently Over the last three months, we've seen a bit of insider buying at Constantine Metal Resources. insider John Tognetti bought CA$16k worth of shares in that time. We like it when there are only buyers, and no sellers. But in this case the amount purchased means the recent transaction may not be very meaningful on its own. Insider Ownership Many investors like to check how much of a company is owned by insiders. We usually like to see fairly high levels of insider ownership. Constantine Metal Resources insiders own about CA$1.8m worth of shares. That equates to 24% of the company. We've certainly seen higher levels of insider ownership elsewhere, but these holdings are enough to suggest alignment between insiders and the other shareholders. So What Do The Constantine Metal Resources Insider Transactions Indicate? We note a that there has been a bit of insider buying recently (but no selling). Overall the buying isn't worth writing home about. However, our analysis of transactions over the last year is heartening. Overall we don't see anything to make us think Constantine Metal Resources insiders are doubting the company, and they do own shares. 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. To assist with this, we've discovered 2 warning signs that you should run your eye over to get a better picture of Constantine Metal Resources. Of course Constantine Metal Resources may not be the best stock to buy. So you may wish to see this free collection of high quality companies. For the purposes of this article, insiders are those individuals who report their transactions to the relevant regulatory body. We currently account for open market transactions and private dispositions, but not derivative transactions. 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. The US has called for the UK and countries around the world to form a coalition aimed at persuading China to change course as tensions continued to mount between Beijing and the West. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo welcomed steps taken by the UK including a ban on Huaweis involvement in 5G networks and the suspension of an extradition treaty with Hong Kong but he said countries needed to work together to increase pressure on Beijing. Mr Pompeo, who held talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, said we have seen Hong Kongs freedoms crushed and watched the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) bully its neighbours. I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the British Government for its principled response to these challenges, he said. We support those sovereign choices, we think well done. But he indicated that more was needed from allies including the UK to respond to the increasingly assertive China under Xi Jinping. Expand Close Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo give statements at Lancaster House (Hannah McKay/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo give statements at Lancaster House (Hannah McKay/PA) We think that the entire world needs to work together to ensure that every country including China behaves in the international system in ways that are appropriate and consistent with the international order. You cant go make claims for maritime regions that you have no lawful claim to. You cant threaten countries and bully them in the Himalayas. You cant engage in cover-ups and co-opt international institutions like the World Health Organisation. Mr Pompeo also highlighted the Chinese government directing state-owned firms to steal intellectual property from US firms. We want every nation to work together to push back against the Chinese Communist Partys efforts in every dimension that I have described, he said. Expand Close Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab following a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Peter Summers/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab following a meeting with US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (Peter Summers/PA) That certainly includes the United Kingdom, it includes every country. We hope we can build out a coalition that understands the threat and well work collectively to convince the Chinese Communist Party its not in their best interests to engage in this kind of behaviour. Mr Pompeo held talks with senior backbench Tories including leading China hawk Sir Iain Duncan Smith before his meetings with ministers. But Mr Raab insisted that the UK Government would not be pushed into a tougher position by Washington. I dont think there is any question of strong-arming Mike and I always have constructive discussions, he said at a press conference alongside his US counterpart. Pressed on Mr Pompeos meeting with Tory MPs, Mr Raab said: When I go to Washington I meet with folks on the Hill in all parties, on all sides quite right. China has warned that Britain will bear the consequences of its actions over Hong Kong. Constructive visit with @BorisJohnson today. Our two countries long-standing, strong bilateral relationship has laid the foundation for todays candid discussion on issues ranging from 5G telecommunication to our negotiations for a U.S.-UK free trade agreement. pic.twitter.com/9j1o3bK8e6 Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 21, 2020 Valuable discussion with @SecPompeo about shared priority issues, including the Middle East and the diversification of telecoms & the full range of bilateral issues. & do a tremendous amount together - we'll always work together to uphold security & prosperity of our people pic.twitter.com/FJ2RJ0j5fn Dominic Raab (@DominicRaab) July 21, 2020 A spokesman for the Chinese Embassy in London said in a statement Beijing had expressed its concerns over the UK interfering in Hong Kong matters which are internal affairs of China. Downing Street said Mr Johnson and Mr Pompeo used their talks to consider shared global security and foreign policy issues, including Chinas actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang where there are concerns about the alleged abuse of the Uighur Muslims. They also discussed the importance of the Five Eyes alliance, the US, UK, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, taking an ambitious approach to working together on the technologies of the future, something apparently aimed at ending the reliance on Chinese technology from firms such as Huawei. Expand Close Mike Pompeo arrives in London to meet backbench MPs (Stefan Rousseau/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mike Pompeo arrives in London to meet backbench MPs (Stefan Rousseau/PA) Downing Street rejected Chinas condemnation of the UKs actions over the extradition treaty and the extension of an arms embargo to cover Hong Kong. It was a reasonable and proportionate response to Chinas failure to live up to its international obligations with respect to Hong Kong, the Prime Ministers official spokesman said. The UK has accused China of breaking the terms of an international treaty by imposing the national security law, which the Government believes undermines some of the autonomy Hong Kong has previously enjoyed. But Beijing has reacted furiously to the UKs actions over both Hong Kong and Huawei. China opposes foreign interference in #HongKong affairs. The #NationalSecurityLaw for Hong Kong is aimed at plugging loopholes in HKSAR national security legislation. The independent judicial power, including power of final adjudication, will not be affected. pic.twitter.com/M3V52bsL6v Chinese Embassy in UK (@ChineseEmbinUK) July 21, 2020 A spokesman for the Chinese embassy said: Now the UK side has gone even further down the wrong road in disregard of Chinas solemn position and repeated representations. It once again contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations and blatantly interfered in Chinas internal affairs in an attempt to disrupt the implementation of the national security law for Hong Kong SAR and undermine the citys prosperity and stability. China urges the UK side to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are Chinas internal affairs, in any form. The UK will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road. AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson promised to offer their coronavirus vaccines to the US at cost during testimony before a Congressional committee on Tuesday. UK-based Astrazeneca also said that it would ramp up production of its prospective vaccine - created with Oxford University - to ensure that 300 million doses are available to the US immediately upon its hopeful Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval. Spokespeople for Moderna, Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson, and Merck all admitted that they intended to profit on the COVID-19 vaccines they are developing, although Johnson & Johnson (J&J) said it would provide its shot at-cost for the duration of the national emergency. Questioning during the hearing focused largely on the accessibility, supply chain and safety of the vaccine. The firms promised that they would include minority participants in their clinical trials. They deferred, however, on questions of ensuring the most vulnerable populations have access to their vaccines, referring to US government guidelines and their intentions to follow them. As trade-tensions between the US and China simmer, all five of the companies also vowed that they would not rely on materials or production for China for their US supply chains - although AstraZeneca hinted that this may not be true for the doses of vaccine it has promised to other countries, like the UK. As results start to come in from tests of five companies' coronavirus vaccines, the House Energy and Commerce Committee questioned them on costs, supply chain and accessibility of their shots (file) The hearing comes a day after both AstraZeneca and Chinese vaccine maker CanoSino reported promising data from their tests of their coronavirus vaccines. The results of AstraZeneca's phase I trial, published Monday in The Lancet, showed that about 1,000 participants had two types of immune responses. Shots triggered the production of antibodies as well as a T cell response. AstraZeneca's shares shot up by 5.5 percent on the heels of the journal publication. But Dr Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice President, BioPharmaceuticals R&D at AstraZeneca was measured in his optimism during the Tuesday hearing. He noted that the company still does not know how much protection either of those immune responses confer. AstraZeneca is ahead of the other four companies, in terms of timeline, but US firm Moderna is not far behind. Moderna's early studies, too, have returned positive data, suggesting its vaccine triggers an immune response too. It began recruiting subjects for its phase 2 safety trial in May, and intends to dose its first phase 3 efficacy trial patient this month. Dr Mene Pangalos (left) of AstraZeneca said his company will provide 300 million doses to the US at cost. Johnson & Johnson's Dr Macaya Douoguih (right) said her company will offer its vaccine at cost so during the national emergency 'The phase 3 trial is a little beyond our control,' said Dr Stephen Hoge, President of Moderna, during the Thursday hearing. 'Assuming able to accrue cases relatively quickly towards the fall or end of year we should be able to submit for [FDA] approval also make millions of doses available by then.' He said Moderna, which received $430 million from the US government to fund development of its vaccine, hopes to know if its vaccine is safe and effective by the end of the year. The company is part of the Trump administration's Operation Warp Speed vaccine initiative, but does not have a contract with the US government. AstraZeneca has receive more than $1 billion in government funding, and has a contract to provide 300 million doses of its potential COVIDs-19 vaccine. J&J and Merck have received $456 and $38 million, respectively, from the US government to fund their work on coronavirus vaccines, but neither has a contract with the government. Merck Executive Vice President and Chief Patient Officer Dr Julie Gerberding said that Merck does not plan to sell its vaccine at-cost, indicating the company stands to profit from the shot. However, Dr Gerberding's company did promise to offer its considerable manufacturing capacity to support other companies' production of coronavirus vaccines and treatments. J&J has agreed to offer its vaccine at-cost for the duration of the coronavirus national emergency, but intends to raise its price after the emergency period is declared over. When asked about offering the pharma giant's manufacturing capacity to other companies, Dr Macaya Douoguih, Head of Clinical Development and Medical Affairs for J&J's Janssen Vaccines department said she that her company would 'discuss' that possibility, if its own vaccine failed. Pfizer, the third titan of industry represented in the hearing, rejected funding from the US. Representative Jan Schakowsky, a Democrat from Illinois pressed Pfizer's Chief Business Officer, John Young, to assure the US the company would not attempt to price gouge, should its vaccine win the race. Young said the decision to reject funding was made in an effort to speed development. He did not explicitly address price gouging, but said Pfizer believes that a COVID-19 vaccine should be free to the public. Merck is the furthest behind in its development timeline, and Dr Gerberding said the company does not yet know if its shot will require one or two doses. J&J is developing two different candidate vaccines, and aims for at least one of theirs to work in a single dose. The other three firms - AstraZeneca, Moderna and Pfizer - all anticipate that two doses of their vaccine will be necessary, at least at first. As the House committee members noted, this means that their promises of millions of doses will actually only be enough to inoculate half that many patients. Eleven former policemen from Rajasthan were convicted on Tuesday by a court here for killing Raja Man Singh of the erstwhile Bharatpur royal family and his two colleagues over 35 years ago in Deeg area of the state. Mathura District Judge Sadhna Rani Thakur will pronounce the quantum of sentence for the convicts, including former Deeg Dy SP Kan Singh Bhati and local police station in-charge, sub-inspector Virendra Singh, on Wednesday. Days after the killings of the royal family chief and his two colleagues, Sumer Singh and Hari Singh, in a police encounter at the Deeg grain market on February 21, 1985, the case was transferred by the then central government to the CBI on February 27, said advocate Narayan Singh Viplavi, the counsel for complainant Vijay Singh in the case. The trial was later shifted from a Jaipur special court to Mathura in Uttar Pradesh by the Supreme Court in November 1989 on the plea of complainant Vijay Singh, a son-in-law of the slain chief of the erstwhile riyasat, he said. According to the prosecution, Singh and his colleagues were killed in an encounter by the Deeg police a day after Singh, then contesting the state Vidhan Sabha election as an independent candidate, had allegedly banged his jeep into former Rajasthan''s chief minister Shiv Charan Mathurs helicopter. He was also accused of damaging some publicity material and a stage set up for Mathur to address an election rally in favour of the Congress candidate Brajendra Singh, a retired IAS officer, the prosecution had told the court. Though we have got delayed justice, I am happy that guilty persons have ultimately been convicted, said Krishnendra Kaur Deepa, a member of the Bharatpur royal family and a multiple-term MLA in the state assembly between 1985 and 2018. Deepa, who also represented Bharatpur once as a BJP MP, had been pursuing the case since 1985. The murder case against policemen was registered on the complaint of Vijay Singh who too was sitting in the jeep of Raja Man Singh during the encounter, said complainants counsel Viplavi. After the encounter, the police rushed the three injured persons, Raja Maan Singh and his colleagues, to Bharatpur hospital where they were declared brought dead. Following the encounter, police arrested Vijay Singh on charges trying to kill policemen involved in the encounter, but he was granted bail the same day and lodged the complaint against the police team two days later, said Viplavi. The police initially lodged two cases against Raja Man Singh and his colleagues and began the investigation but all cases were transferred to the CBI by the Centre. The CBI later filed the charge sheet in the case in a special court in Jaipur, but its trial was transferred to the Mathura court by the apex court. The CBI indicted 18 Rajasthan policemen out of whom three died during the trial, one was discharged and three others were acquitted of charges under section 218 of the IPC, an offence related to public servants fudging records to shield accused. The remaining 11 were convicted by the court on charges of murder. The convicted policemen included former DySP Kan Singh Bhati and ex-SI Virendra Singh. The nine other convicted former policemen are Sukh Ram, Jeevan Ram, Jag Mohan, Bhanwar Singh, Hari Singh, Chhatar Singh, Sher Singh, Daya Ram and Ravi Shekhar. The three policemen who died during the trial are Sita Ram, Neki Ram and Kuldeep and the case was abated against them. The three ex-policemen who were acquitted of charges of shielding their colleagues by creating false records are Kan Singh Shirvi, Hari Kishan and Govind Prasad. The sole former policeman who was discharged in the case is Mahendra Singh. JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is in advanced negotiations with AstraZeneca for the future purchase of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, Israel's YNET news website reported on Monday. A Health Ministry spokesman said the ministry 'does not disclose contacts being held in this sensitive matter.' The experimental coronavirus vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford university was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, keeping alive the hope it could be in use by the end of the year. AstraZeneca was not reachable for immediate comment JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israel is in advanced negotiations with AstraZeneca for the future purchase of its experimental COVID-19 vaccine, Israel's YNET news website reported on Monday. A Health Ministry spokesman said the ministry "does not disclose contacts being held in this sensitive matter." The experimental coronavirus vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford university was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, keeping alive the hope it could be in use by the end of the year. AstraZeneca was not reachable for immediate comment. Israel has already signed such an agreement with Moderna Inc for its vaccine candidate. (Reporting by Ari Rabinovitch; Editing by Edmund Blair) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. An overwhelming majority of shareholders have given a proposed $60-million takeover of the Toronto Stars publisher their seal of approval. A total of 98.7 per cent of Torstar shareholders voted in favour of the 74-cent-per-share bid from NordStar, a company controlled by entrepreneurs Jordan Bitove and Paul Rivett. The approval came in a special shareholders meeting Tuesday morning. While questions from minority shareholders opposed to the deal had been expected, none came in the brief online meeting, which lasted less than 15 minutes. Torstar chairman John Honderich said he was happy with the results of the vote. Im very pleased with the outcome, Honderich said. The deal needed approval from two thirds of all shareholders, as well as a majority of class A shareholders and class B shareholders. All three conditions were met. Because of hard lock-up agreements with the companys largest shareholders the five family voting trust and Fairfax Financial the latter two conditions were guaranteed to be met. According to a Torstar press release, 99.7 per cent of the votes by class A shareholders were in favour of the deal, along with 98.1 per cent of class B shareholders. Even among shareholders who hadnt signed lock-ups, support was strong, with 81.9 per cent voting in favour. Former Ontario premier David Peterson, whos part of the NordStar team, said the strong support for the bid bodes well for a fairness hearing taking place Thursday in Ontario Superior Court. He noted that the bid had the unanimous support of the board as well as support from the voting trust, Fairfax and more than 98 per cent of all the shareholders. We trust the court will see through capital markets participants misleading the public and waiving a purported non-binding unsupported bid after a robust process was closed, Peterson said in a written statement. The deal is expected to close on July 28 and Bitove and Rivett have said they plan to take Torstar private. Bitove and Rivetts bid is being financed by Canso Investment Counsel. A day before the shareholders vote, a second bid group, Canadian Modern Media Holdings, offered 80 cents per share for Torstar. That bid was criticized by Torstar chairman John Honderich as disingenuous. Finance industry veteran Neil Selfe, a member of the CMMH group, declined to comment on the shareholder vote, citing a nondisclosure agreement signed with Torstar. Technology executive brothers Matthew and Tyler Proud are the other members of the CMMH bid team. The CMMH bid is being financed by Canadian Western Bank, an Alberta-based business bank. By Trend The main goal of the work of the Permanent Secretariat (PS) of the Intergovernmental Commission (IGC) TRACECA is creating an international transport corridor that meets the requirements of the 21st century, namely, competitive in both the cost of transportation and the time of delivery of goods, Secretary General of the Permanent Secretariat of the IGC TRACECA Asset Assavbayev told Trend. Assavbayev said that the TRACECA is currently working in several directions. "Presently, we are working towards digitalization, transferring processes and documentation into electronic format, creating an online platform for all participants in the process of transporting goods,'' he said. "In addition, were also working in several areas, such as: development of a new agreement on a single transit permit TRACECA for international road transport; strengthening cooperation in the field of modern integrated border management within the competence of TRACECA; development of TRACECA multimodal transport in accordance with best practice throughout the entire corridor; improving the safety of transportation; attracting a container flow to the TRACECA corridor to increase the volume of transportation by rail," the secretary general noted. "It is expected that the member countries of the TRACECA Permit System will implement in the near future a pilot project on the use of electronic permits and launch this mechanism by 2022," Assavbayev said. "There are many technical details that we have to agree on and approve. In particular, these are issues of verifying the authenticity of permits, developing appropriate software, cyber security issues and others related to the functioning of the information system," he said. The TRACECA representative said that these permits in hard copy are annually distributed among the member countries of the TRACECA Permit System and are used by international road carriers. "The need for permits among road carriers is high, and therefore the question of transferring permits to electronic media was raised. The member countries of the Permitting System, including Georgia, Moldova, Romania, Turkey, Ukraine and others, have signed the corresponding Protocol under the auspices of our organization," he added. "The reconstruction of Sarpi checkpoints on the Georgian-Turkish border has led to positive results in simplifying border crossing procedures, which is also noted in the reports of the UN committees. The border crossing time has also been reduced, which takes no more than five minutes," the secretary general said. The TRACECA member countries are actively working on simplifying border crossing procedures by increasing the crossing capability of checkpoints and introducing information technologies, Assavbayev said. "One of the most vivid examples, confirmed by international organizations, is the Sarpi checkpoint on the Georgian-Turkish state border. In addition, currently at the borders of the TRACECA countries, the principles of single window, risk assessment systems, electronic information and preliminary declaration, an online payment system and others have been introduced. All this has a significant impact on reducing the time of customs clearance at the borders," he said. Currently, the Permanent Secretariat is working to assess bottlenecks at border crossing for further harmonization of the activities of checkpoints along the entire corridor, the secretary general noted. "If to talk about the role of the corridor in the development of transit traffic between Europe and Asia, then here, first of all, I would like to highlight the launch of a container train that went from China to Europe in November 2019. The train, loaded with 42 containers with electronics, passed from China to Czech in transit through Kazakhstan, Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Bulgaria, Serbia, Hungary and Slovakia," added Assavbayev. "At the same time, the China-Turkey container train was also launched this year, consisting of 41 forty-foot containers with various consumer goods. The travel time was 16 days," he said. "Work is underway to develop railway communication between Europe and Asia. In the future, the launch of a regular container service will create a competitive route. The work carried out made it possible to achieve a twofold growth in 2019 in terms of the volume of cargo transported by container trains (30,000 containers - in 2019, 15,000 containers in 2018)," noted the secretary general. "In the field of road freight transport, I would like to emphasize once again the role of a single transit permit, which is under consideration by the countries at the moment. In the near future, we hope that the introduction of this permit in electronic form, along with the work on harmonization of the activities of checkpoints, will increase freight traffic along the corridor and attract additional freight traffic,'' he said. Agreement on a Single Transit Permit (STP) of TRACECA is on the stage of approval by the authorized bodies of the countries of the corridor. The STP TRACECA initiative is aimed at increasing the competitiveness of the corridor by digitizing the processes and procedures for obtaining permits, and will also help reduce the time and cost of the transportation process and optimize control procedures by reducing the number of permits. Thus, this agreement will create conditions for increasing the attractiveness of the route and attracting additional road freight traffic. "I am sure that the implementation of this agreement and the application in practice of the STP in electronic form will increase the volume of transported goods by attracting freight flows from alternative transport routes. Of course, this will also be a significant step in the formation of the TRACECA digital ecosystem," he said. Touching upon the issue of the COVID-19 pandemic, Assavbayev said that in order to counter the spread of the pandemic in the world, the cargo transportation by rail was practically not affected, but, unfortunately, seriously affected the market of international road freight transportation. In connection with the outbreak of COVID-19,countries in the Eurasian region have taken a number of temporary measures to prevent the spread of the pandemic. "At the same time, in the context of existing restrictions in some TRACECA countries, measures taken at the national level were more stringent and, as a result, road carriers faced serious difficulties in performing international delivery of goods by road. For example, the decision of some countries to introduce a 2-week quarantine against drivers of freight vehicles significantly increased the time of transportation, while the decision by other countries to prevent foreign vehicles from entering their territory significantly affected the expediency of transporting goods by road," he said. "As a result of unilaterally adopted restrictions on drivers, significant congestions of trucks have formed at some checkpoints. The total run time has grown significantly, which has increased the cost of the transported goods. As a result, it negatively affected the competitiveness of road transport," said Assavbayev. "A number of shippers have decided to reorient their cargo in favor of rail transport. So, since early 2020, there was an increase in cargo transportation by rail, while the volume of road transportation tended to decrease," he noted. "In the current conditions, TRACECA came up with an initiative to harmonize the measures taken by the parties, developed a number of recommendations and, as an alternative, offered the countries to adopt the Agreed Conditions of Carriage of Goods in the context of the spread of the COVID-19," Assavbayev said. The TRACECA representative noted that the balance of the cargo transportation system, taking into account the current requirements of different countries at border crossings, will allow transporting essential goods, supporting the transport industry and at the same time ensuring the safety of the population. Arun Manjare makes navigating the labyrinthine rural public healthcare system easier for many in Shirol taluka This story is part of a series on everyday heroes of rural Maharashtra. Suraj Manes neighbours were in deep distress; Mane* an agricultural labourer in his late 40s had slashed his stomach with shards of glass. He was frustrated, Mane said, and wanted to get rid of alcoholism. While Manes neighbours in Shirol taluka (in Maharashtras Kolhapur district) were reassured when he was rushed to the government hospital in Sangli, they knew there would be roadblocks ahead: police inquiries, the cost of the treatment. I wasnt expecting to survive, says Mane, looking back on the incident. But Mane and his neighbours had help in the form of Arun Manjare, who had rushed the injured man to the hospital and completed the requisite formalities. Manjare, a 52-year-old power loom worker and electrician from Shirols Bubnal village, has over the past two decades helped countless individuals in the area avail their right to healthcare. In rural Maharashtra, marginalised individuals find they have to jump through several hoops to get access to medical services in government hospitals: Shortage of medicines, unavailability of functional equipment in addition to prevailing red tapism makes timely diagnosis and treatment seem out of reach for many. Primary Health Centres (PHC) and rural hospitals have a large number of vacancies. These issues might explain why nearly 80 percent of the population in rural Maharashtra seeks treatment at private hospitals instead. Manjare had witnessed the issues with the rural public healthcare system firsthand, when in the early 2000s, a distant relatives property case took a violent turn. Manjare took his injured relative to CPR Hospital in Kolhapur city. There, doctors asked him to move the patient to a private hospital, citing complications in the case. Even as he sought treatment for his relative at the private hospital, Manjare noticed that the authorities werent discharging a particular patient because the family had been unable to clear the dues. Neither was the patient showing signs of recovery. As he observed these events unfold over a fortnight, Manjare began to see several problems in the way the healthcare system interacted with individuals who required medical care. If the government hospital hadnt denied this patient treatment, the family wouldnt have had to go through this at a private hospital, Manjare felt. Over the next few years, he began helping others navigate the complex labyrinth of accessing care at government hospitals, while also unravelling the ills that made rural healthcare systems in his area a morass. Manjare helped by his own reckoning at least 100 people undergo surgeries, and avail of treatment for tuberculosis, cancer, diabetes, heart problems, kidney failure, among other conditions. Collectively, he has helped these individuals save several lakhs of rupees, covering the process from diagnosis to post-op care. Manjare himself doesnt charge a rupee for this support. Even though the amount of time he spends at various hospitals sometimes means losing out on his everyday income (Manjare earns about Rs 200 a day; he supplements his power loom wages with his work as an electrician). When asked what he gets out of this service he offers others, he says, Mental peace. *** One of Manjares major successes came in early 2017. Three cases of dog bites were reported in Shirols Kurundvad village. The doctors at the PHC said there were no medicines available to treat the victims. Manjares attempts to pressure them into procuring the medicines came to naught, so he took the three patients to Sanglis Civil Hospital. The next day, he staged a non-violent protest in front of the PHC; Manjare says no patient has been denied medicines at the Centre since. But availability of prescribed medication, medical equipment and surgical items continues to be hit-and-miss. Manjare requests the relevant authorities for aid in such situations. Sometimes, when help isnt forthcoming, he warns that he will stage non-violent protests or file a Right to Information application. When diagnostic equipment isnt available at a certain government hospital, he asks the authorities to direct him to the nearest public hospital that does have the facility. Hospitals in the region have taken cognisance of Manjares work and he is a frequent presence at the Civil Hospital in Miraj and Sangli, and at CPR Hospital in Kolhapur city. A December 2019 Indiaspend report noted that only about 10 percent of the poorest one-fifth of Indians in rural India had any form of private or government health insurance. Against this backdrop, Manjares work gains even more importance. He travels door to door across several villages to raise awareness about government health schemes like the Mahatma Jyotiba Phule Jan Arogya Yojana and Pradhan Mantri Jan Arogya Yojana. Manjare is of the opinion that the government should deploy information officers in all hospitals and PHCs, who will make people aware of these schemes. His social service doesnt always meet with his familys approval. His wife Rukmini initially wondered why he was spending so much of his time in helping others. Manjare told her, I dont do drugs, gutka, matka (gambling), and alcohol. My only addiction is social work. If you want, I can leave social work and pick one of the others. Now I like the work hes doing, Rukmini says. I encourage him to help more people. *Name changed on request English Icelandic Arion Bank will publish its financial results for the second quarter of 2020 on Wednesday 29 July, after markets have closed. Investor meeting / Webcast in English 30 July at 10:30 CEST (8:30 GMT) Arion Bank will be hosting a meeting / webcast on Thursday 30 July at 10:30 CEST (8:30 GMT) where CEO Benedikt Gislason, CFO Stefan Petursson, Deputy CFO Eggert Teitsson and Head of Investor Relations Theodor Fridbertsson will present the results and answer questions from participants. The meeting will take place in English at the Banks headquarters, Borgartun19, Reykjavik, and will be streamed live. Those attending at Borgartun 19 need to register here . The webcast will be accessible live on financialhearings.com and a link will also be made available on the Banks website under Investor Relations . To participate in the webcast via telephone and put forward questions please call in using the relevant number indicated below before the start of the webcast: SE: 46 850 558 369 UK: 44 333 300 9261 Iceland: 354 800 7520 United States: 1 833 823 0586 The Supreme Court on Monday asked the Uttar Pradesh government to consider appointing a retired Supreme Court judge and a former Director General of Police in a panel enquiring the July 10 encounter killing of dreaded gangster Vikas Dubey, even as the top court observed that it was the failure of the institution that a criminal who should have been in jail was out on bail instead. Solicitor General Tushar Mehta, appearing for the UP government, agreed to bring a draft notification by Wednesday that will have the names of the retired Supreme Court judge and a former DGP selected by the state government. Once it is approved by the apex court, the same shall be notified. The state appointed retired Allahabad high court judge Shashi Kant Agarwal on July 12 to investigate the death of the gangster, who faced over 60 criminal cases, in an alleged encounter. We are appalled at the fact that such a person was released on bail despite having so many cases. As an institution we have failed to keep a person behind bars, a bench headed by Chief Justice of India SA Bobde said, hearing a batch of pleas against the killing of Dubey and his associates by the police. The three-judge bench, also comprising Justices AS Bopanna and V Ramasubramanian, told the Uttar Pradesh government that it was the states duty to uphold the rule of law. Dubey, who faced over 60 criminal cases, was shot dead on July 10 after he tried to escape from police custody while being transported to Kanpur, officials said. He was arrested from Madhya Pradeshs Ujjain the previous day. Dubey and his associates killed eight policemen, including a deputy superintendent of police, in a 15-minute ambush in Bikru village near Kanpur city on July 3 after the police team reached there to carry out a raid and arrest the gangster. Dubey and his aides escaped after the attack. Before Dubey was shot dead police said he snatched a pistol from an official, fired at the team bringing him back to Kanpur and tried to escape after the vehicle carrying him overturned five of his alleged accomplices too were killed in separate encounters. The court had indicated last week that it was keen to set up a judicial committee to probe the Dubey killing incident similar to the one it had set up in December 2019 when four rape-murder accused were shot dead in an encounter with Telangana police. Senior advocate Harish Salve, who represented UP DGP told the Court that a judicial enquiry in this case will demoralize the police force. He said the policemens rights when faced with a dreaded criminal who slaughtered policemen, must be upheld as well. The bench said, If rule of law is to be strengthened, it will not demoralize forces. You (police) must also understand that you are responsible for maintaining rule of law. It requires arrest, trial and sentence, if guilty. CANBERA (dpa-AFX) - Australia will on Wednesday see June results for the leading economic index from Westpac Bank, highlighting a modest day for Asia-Pacific economic activity. In May, the index added 0.2 percent on month. Japan will see July results for the manufacturing, services and composite indexes from Jibun Bank. In June, the manufacturing index was at 40.1, the services index was at 45.0 and the composite was at 40.8. Thailand will release June figures for imports, exports and trade balance. In May, imports were down 34.41 percent on year and exports fell 22.5 percent for a trade surplus of $2.69 billion. Taiwan will provide June figures for unemployment; in May, the jobless rate was 4.16 percent. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. DALLAS, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Spectral MD and the American College of Cardiology (ACC) announced today that they will collaborate to investigate the clinical potential of Spectral MD's DeepView technology in the assessment of critical limb ischemia (CLI). CLI is the most advanced form of peripheral Artery disease. It results from blockages in the lower extremity arteries that can greatly reduce blood flow and cause pain or even tissue loss. Early diagnosis is key to better outcomes, and if CLI is not diagnosed and treated quickly, it can lead to gangrene and even amputation. Spectral MD is a wound healing prediction company that has developed proprietary optical technology and AI algorithms to accurately assess perfusion within the microvasculature of patients with peripheral artery disease. The mission of the ACC is to transform cardiovascular care and improve heart health, and its vision is to reflect a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. In support of the mutual mission of both parties, the ACC has formed an advisory work group of experienced clinicians to provide scientific oversight and assessment of Spectral MD's imaging technology to the identification of end-stage peripheral artery disease. "CLI is a severe condition and can be devastating for patients, but diagnostic evaluation is often inaccurate or invasive," stated Dr. Sahil A. Parikh, chair of the ACC member advisory work group. "This new, innovative technology has the potential to provide a more accurate assessment of tissue level perfusion in a less invasive way, leading to earlier diagnosis and hopefully improved outcomes and quality of life for CLI patients." Wensheng Fan, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Spectral MD, stated "This is an incredible opportunity to partner with such a highly-regarded and forward-thinking organization such as the ACC. We look forward to engaging the ACC's physicians through a translational medicine approach to answer real-world clinical problems through the integration of our AI-enhanced imaging solution to guide therapies. Ultimately, we hope that this partnership results in the development of an imaging device that can improve the standard of care for patients suffering from peripheral artery disease." About Spectral MD: We are a dedicated team of forward-thinkers striving to revolutionize the management of wound care by "Seeing the Unknown" with our DeepView Wound Imaging System. www.spectralmd.com [email protected] About American College of Cardiology: The American College of Cardiology envisions a world where innovation and knowledge optimize cardiovascular care and outcomes. As the professional home for the entire cardiovascular care team, the mission of the College and its 54,000 members is to transform cardiovascular care and to improve heart health. The ACC bestows credentials upon cardiovascular professionals who meet stringent qualifications and leads in the formation of health policy, standards and guidelines. The College also provides professional medical education, disseminates cardiovascular research through its world-renowned JACC Journals, operates national registries to measure and improve care, and offers cardiovascular accreditation to hospitals and institutions. For more, visit acc.org. SOURCE Spectral MD The U.K. government has ignored Russian campaigns to interfere in its democratic system for years, including during the contentious 2014 Scottish independence referendum and 2016 Brexit referendum, according to a long-delayed report released by Parliament on Tuesday. Why it matters: The damaging report did not conclude whether the Russian influence campaigns were successful, but found that the U.K. government failed to be alert or avoided looking for evidence that the Kremlin was seeking to attack its democracy. The backstory: This report was anticipated primarily for what it would say about Russias interference in the 2016 EU referendum, the aftershocks of which led to Brexit and brought Prime Minister Boris Johnson to power. The report does not take a position on whether Russia influenced the result, though it does note efforts to amplify pro-Brexit or anti-EU messages. It is more definitive on the failures of the British government to respond to long-running Russian interference in British democracy, a skittishness they contend effectively enabled this "new normal." A succession of British governments has been accused of turning a blind eye to Russias actions on its soil from attacks on Russian exiles, to money laundering through Londons property market and now to Brexit and the 2014 referendum on Scottish independence. The report was originally seen and approved by the U.K. government in 2019, but Johnson refused to release it ahead of last year's election. The seven-month delay intensified allegations by Johnson's opponents that he was seeking to bury evidence of Russian interference that had benefited his Conservative Party. What they're saying: The government here has let us down, said Kevan Jones, a Labour member of Parliament who serves on the intelligence committee that released the report. The outrage isnt if there is interference, the outrage is no one wanted to know if there was interference." Downing Street denied the claim that it had "badly underestimated" the threat from Russia, while the Kremlin dismissed the report as "Russophobia," according to the BBC. Read the report via DocumentCloud. KYODO NEWS - Jul 21, 2020 - 15:50 | All, Japan, Coronavirus Japanese adults are planning to spend 65,157 yen ($600) on average during their summer holidays, down 2,914 yen from a year earlier and the lowest level on record, amid the novel coronavirus pandemic, a private survey showed Tuesday. The amount was the lowest since Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance Co. started conducting the survey in 2006, in yet another indication of sluggish personal spending in the world's third-largest economy. According to the survey, 45.6 percent of respondents said they would spend less this summer than the previous year, with 63.0 percent saying their spending would be curtailed as they would refrain from going out due to the pandemic. The survey also showed that 32.9 percent would save money and that 26.2 percent have less income. Asked how they would spend their summer holidays, 60.6 percent of the respondents said they will relax at home, up from 56.2 percent in 2019. Only 8.5 percent said they plan to visit their hometowns to meet parents or relatives, down from 14.6 percent. Meanwhile, 7.1 percent plan to travel in Japan, down from 13.4 percent, and only 0.5 percent plan to travel abroad, down from 3.6 percent in 2019. Yuichi Kodama, chief economist at Meiji Yasuda Life Insurance, said the results were not surprising because many companies had cut summer bonuses. "We are watching whether the Go To Travel Campaign can curb a further deterioration in consumer sentiment," Kodama said, referring to the government's travel subsidy initiative. Under the 1.35 trillion yen program to spur domestic tourism, the government will subsidize up to half of travel expenses, including accommodation and transport fees. But economists cast doubt over its effectiveness after the government decided to exclude trips to and from Tokyo as well as residents of the capital from the initiative amid concern that the planned nationwide campaign could add to a resurgence of virus infections in Japan. The online survey, conducted between June 15 and 18, received responses from 1,120 men and women aged between 20 and 59. Photos of a dunk tank posted to the Bloomsburg Fairs Facebook page have drawn criticism for transphobia, even after they have been removed. The dunk tank, according to the initial post made by the fair, was part of an effort to raise money for fire companies in the Bloomsburg area. The post included photos of someone in a dunk tank wearing a dress and wig, meant to resemble Dr. Rachel Levine, Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health. Dr. Levine? Thank you. You were a hit and raised a lot of money for the local fire companies, the post read. It goes on to say Wonder why so many were trying to dunk you with a smiling emoji, suggesting disapproval or dissatisfaction with the states handling of the coronavirus pandemic. Dr. Levine, a transgender woman, has been at the forefront of Pennsylvanias coronavirus response as Secretary of the Pennsylvania Department of Health under Governor Tom Wolf. This has led to her being targeted by critics of the states shutdowns and health mandates, criticism often accompanied by attacks on Levines identity. READ MORE: Please dont misgender me: Reporter calls Pa. health secretary sir multiple times during interview The post has since been removed from the Bloomsburg Fairs website, but not before images of it were captured and began to circulate on social media. Several comments condemning the event and demanding apologies for Dr. Levine and the LGBTQ+ community were also made on the fairs other posts. The Bloomsburg Fair has yet to issue a public comment on the post or the dunk tank, and as of publishing did not reply to requests for comment on this story. Bloomsburg Fair [Columbia County] shared these photos from their offensive fundraising activity focusing on the pandemic and the highly decorated Dr. Rachel Levine, said Justin M. Correll, board member of the NEPA Rainbow Alliance, on his own Facebook page. There is no way for them to state that this was a slip of the keys or accidentally clicking post. This was a fully thought out episode of a clear lack of judgment, criticizing both personally & professionally a well-respected medical professional and all out display of hate. This bigotry is clearly not an accident as the post and multiple pictures from the event are depicted. Pennsylvania State Representative Brian Sims, a graduate of Bloomsburg University, made the following statement on Twitter, denouncing the dunk tank and the Bloomsburg Fairs actions: BLOOMSBURG: As an extremely proud @BloomsburgU alum, and as someone who truly loves the Town of Bloomsburg, I cant begin to say how disgusted I am with the transphobia that occurred at, and was subsequently promoted by, the @BloomsburgFair today. 1/5 pic.twitter.com/j4U3ZROp0h Brian Sims (@BrianSimsPA) July 20, 2020 The Pa. Department of Health did not have a response to this story, other than to refer to a statement made by the Pennsyvlania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs in June defending her public service record and denouncing the vile and toxic transphobia which is sometimes spread by her critics. Since the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak in the United States, Pennsylvanians have tremendously benefited from the steadfast leadership of Department of Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine, read a statement by the Pennsylvania Commission on LGBTQ Affairs made in June, a response to other instances of transphobic comments or actions made toward the secretary. The statement continued, stating, Week after week, members of the LGBTQ community and thousands of Pennsylvanians have tuned in to be informed by our Health Secretary only to be assaulted by streams of comments and slurs aimed directly at Dr. Levine and indirectly at all transgender Pennsylvanians. Whether a member of the media is misgendering her or social media comments are lobbed her way, we admire how Dr. Levine has shown poise and the highest degree of professionalism. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 19:41:47|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ISLAMABAD, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A bomb blast ripped through a market in Pakistan's southwest Balochistan province on Tuesday morning, killing one person and leaving at least eight others injured, police said. Waheed Murad, a local policeman, told Xinhua that an improvised explosive device was planted in a motorcycle parked outside an auto workshop in the busy market area of Turbat, a city in Balochistan. Earlier in the day, local media reported that the blast happened in the Turbat Bazaar area of Quetta, the provincial capital of Balochistan. "At least two adjacent shops and several motorcycles were also damaged in the blast," said Murad, adding that the target of the blast is yet to be confirmed and all the casualties were civilians. Police told local media that window panes of the nearby buildings were also shattered due to the impact of the blast. Security forces and rescue teams rushed to the site and shifted the injured to a nearby hospital. Law enforcement agencies cordoned off the area and kicked off a search operation to arrest the culprits. Taking notice of the incident, Chief Minister of Balochistan Jam Kamal Khan has sought a detailed report into the incident and directed the authorities concerned to provide the best medical treatment to the injured. "Some elements want to create disturbance to keep Balochistan underdeveloped for their personal benefits. The process of peace and development in Balochistan will continue no matter what," Khan said. He said more effective security measures will be ensured across the province for the protection of the masses. Pakistani Interior Minister Ijaz Ahmed Shah condemned the blast and expressed deep grief and sorrow over the loss of l ife and injuries to the people. "Miscreants involved in such attacks are enemies of Pakistan and deserve the strictest punishment," the minister said. Enditem Companies that provide support to manufacturing and processing industries may have grown steadily in recent years but many are still struggling to connect to the global market. Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh spoke about the best way forward for local companies to reach a wider customer base. Minister Tran Tuan Anh. How do you assess the manufacturing industry and supporting industries in Vietnam today? We know the processing and manufacturing industry is developing day by day and plays a very important role in Vietnam's economic structure. In export growth, processing and manufacturing industries play a huge role. In 2019, the proportion of processed and manufactured products for export has increased to 92.82 per cent from 78 per cent last year. In the context of international deep and broad integration, the trend of industrial development is heading towards modernisation with the increasing proportion and role of processing and manufacturing industries. The processing and manufacturing industry has a great role to play attracting investment and development in Vietnam. Of the total US$32 billion investment in Vietnam 's economic sectors last year, nearly $22 billion was in the processing and manufacturing industry, and that shows that this is not only Vietnam 's current industrialisation strategy, but also its sustainable integration and import-export strategy. Globally these industries are witnessing huge changes in the context of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, globalisation, especially due to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. These factors create a great opportunity for Vietnam to approach changing trends in the formation of supply chains and the movement of investment sources. Accurate planning and strategy as well as ensuring the implementation process on the basis of transparency are essential. Not only for the Government of Vietnam but also the business community and investors. The ability to connect and participate in the production chain is always the weakness of Vietnamese enterprises. What are the solutions from the Ministry of Industry and Trade to help businesses connect to the worldwide market? We have signed a Free Trade Agreement with the European Union which will take effect from August 1, creating favourable conditions from tariff reductions, preferential market access and other services. Clearly in such a context, connecting businesses and how to get information for businesses to meet each other is very important. The Ministry of Industry and Trade has implemented a database system in the manufacturing and processing industry, which can be considered as the industry's first data system. This system is new and limited, only in some areas of processing and manufacturing such as the automobile industry, food processing, electronics, footwear and textile industries. But this system will help investors capture fully and promptly information about policies as well as facilities and comprehensive development conditions, especially those related to the system of industries in Vietnam. In addition, domestic investors will also be able to capture and better understand the possibility of participating in the supply chain of foreign investors in Vietnam. From such basis, we will have conditions to affirm and continue to strengthen our position in this supply chain. This will also be an extremely an important database system for the Government and the Ministry of Industry and Trade to continue to firmly grasp and thoroughly understand the industry, ensuring quick construction and planning, appropriate and accurate development policies and at the same time improve the environment on the basis of transparency, openness and consistency. Finally, we believe this is an opportunity for domestic and foreign investors to easily connect with each other to continue to promote the development of the trading system based on the database. Then we will continue to build and develop e-commerce platforms, creating a continuous connection between businesses as well as between the state and businesses. You mentioned e-commerce floor, promoting e-commerce for businesses. Can you elaborate on this? The Ministry of Industry and Trade is continuing to innovate the mode of trade promotion, especially e-commerce promotions by the Ministry of Industry and Trade which have already taken place with countries such as Korea, Japan, Australia, or between ASEAN countries and China. These activities are not limited to the Governments activities, but also to the business community and are highly appreciated and actively participated by businesses. In the future, the Ministry will continue to improve both legal institutions as well as electronic platforms to promote e-commerce activities. The Ministry is continuing to monitor and urge the implementation of projects which are still pending and especially those in the framework of the public investment package issued by the Government. We will create favourable conditions for businesses and economic sectors to participate in public investment packages to both contribute to growth and continue to create markets for the consumption of products of industries as well as domestic material manufacturing industries. With e-commerce, we will try to create platforms in related ministries and sectors such as Ministry of Information and Communications and the State Bank to ensure sustainable e-commerce development, ensuring the protection of interests for consumers, businesses and effectively fight against commercial frauds as well as the trading of counterfeit and banned goods. VNS Big investors pouring money into Vietnam's manufacturing industry Instead of injecting money into the real estate or service sector which allows profit after a short time, Vietnams most powerful corporations are investing in the processing and manufacturing industry. 100 Years Ago 1920: Three hundred representative business men of Chester and Delaware County yesterday afternoon inspected the new coal gas plant of the Philadelphia Suburban Gas and Electric Company at the Tilghman Street plant. Through the inspection J.D. Shattuck, general manager of the gas company, and his assistants, acted as guides and explained the details of the improvements and the routine of operation. The inspection, spanning two blocks between Norris Street and Central Avenue, amazed the delegation, for it was the first opportunity many had of knowing that Chester possessed such a gigantic gas plant. 75 Years Ago 1945: Owners of weed-grown vacant lots in Chester may soon face an invasion by a small army whose principal weapon will be a variation of the flame-thrower. This was predicted today by Director of Public Safety Michael Honan in announcing acquisition by the city of what is officially known as a torch flame kerosene burner and saying the lots are not only unsightly but theyre a health menace. 50 Years Ago 1970: Delaware County legislators played a leading but losing role Monday as the State House in Harrisburg passed a bill extending collective bargaining rights to public employees, approved the Senate last week. Delaware Countys 10 House members were among the Republicans who cast the negative votes in its 157-34 approval, and proposed six of 10 attempts to amend it. Edward B. Mifflin (R-161), of Swarthmore proposed removing county and municipal employees from the bills coverage, going down 142-46. 25 Years Ago 1995: Aston Commissioners said the Five Points intersection crossed by 10,000 vehicles a day is about to undergo a major reconstruction project. It includes new, upgraded signals with pre-emption lights for emergency vehicles; a left-turn arrow for eastbound traffic on Concord Road; trimming the sharp corner from The Last Stands parking lot (formerly Pats Takeout); extending the length of the left-turn lane on Pennell Road; and reconstructing a short portion of Concord Road from Five Points to Thomas Road, near Cheeks Pub. 10 Years Ago 2010: Robert A. Cramer, of Wallingford, Nether Providence, and John T. Hudyma, of Ridley Township, received the Williamson Free School of Mechanical Trades Distinguished Alumnus Award recently. Cramer, a 1954 graduate of the power plant technology program, worked 35 years at Scott Paper Co. in management for several departments and was awarded the Outstanding Achievement award for his work in computer-assisted decision processes. Hudyma, a 1989 graduate of the carpentry program, is the owner of J. Hudyma & Sons, a general contracting and building company in Morton. COLIN AINSWORTH Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 05:12:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa (C) attends a handover ceremony of medical supplies donated by China at the State House in Harare, Zimbabwe, on July 21, 2020. China on Tuesday donated a consignment of medical supplies to Zimbabwe to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. (Photo by Wanda/Xinhua) HARARE, July 21 (Xinhua) -- China on Tuesday donated a consignment of medical supplies to Zimbabwe to help fight the COVID-19 pandemic. The donation included 30,000 testing kits donated by the Chinese government, and 220,000 surgical masks and 40,000 medical gloves by the International Department of Central Committee of the Communist Party of China. Chinese ambassador to Zimbabwe Guo Shaochun handed over the donation to Zimbabwean President Emmerson Mnangagwa at a ceremony held at the State House in Harare that was attended by cabinet ministers and other senior government officials. The donation came at a time when Zimbabwe is experiencing a surge in COVID-19 cases. As of Tuesday, Zimbabwe recorded 1,820 confirmed cases of COVID-19, including 488 recoveries and 26 fatalities. While receiving the donation, Mnangagwa expressed profound gratitude to China for its continued support to Zimbabwe's fight against the pandemic, adding that the assistance is greatly assisting the country to combat the spread of the virus. "This timely gift is certainly a huge contribution whose impact will go a long way to mitigate the suffering amongst our people and boost our capacity for disease control," he said. Mnangagwa said the support that Zimbabwe continues to receive from China is a testimony of the excellent relations that exist between the two countries. Guo commended Zimbabwe's efforts in combating the pandemic, adding that China will always stand with Zimbabwe in fighting the virus. Although the pandemic has brought many challenges, solidarity and cooperation between China and Zimbabwe have been advancing, he said. "It also challenges our traditional friendship to show greater strength, able to withstand the attack of natural and political viruses. This is a test we will pass with flying colors because what is at stake is the life of our people," Guo said. Enditem Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 22:27:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BANGKOK, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Thailand's National Security Council (NSC) will propose to the Center for COVID-19 Situation Administration (CCSA) that the current state of emergency should be extended until the end of August, said NSC secretary-general Gen Somsak Rungsita on Tuesday. Somsak said that despite Thailand inching toward 60 days free of COVID-19 local transmission, the emergency decree should be extended, citing uncertainty. "The State of Emergency should be extended so that the head of state can quickly act to stem the spread of COVID-19," said the CCSA. "There are second waves of COVID-19 spikes in many countries, and Thailand can not afford to experience another wave of infections." The extension will be proposed to the CCSA, headed by Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha, which is scheduled to meet on Wednesday. The current state of emergency is currently due to expire at the end of this month. If approved, the extension will be the fourth since it was first declared on April 3. During an emergency, the Thai prime minister can order the stay-at-home measure, ban assembly of any sort, ban reporting of misinformation, prohibit the use of certain transport routes or vehicles, prohibit the use of certain buildings or places, or evacuate people from certain area. Enditem Sydney, Australia, July 21, 2020 - (ABN Newswire) - iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) Shareholders may recall that the ASX directed ISX to engage a partner from one of Australia's top law firms - law firms nominated by the ASX - to conduct an Independent Expert review. The Independent Expert review has been completed and was jointly authored by two partners of Clayton Utz. The findings speak for themselves, and we encourage shareholders to read the attached in full. On the issue of material announcements, the Company's approach has been consistent, and it has met its continuous disclosure obligations. We are pleased that the findings of the Independent Expert with regards to the practices of Company have been consistent with best practice of an ASX300 Company. This is despite the majority of materials that were reviewed by the Independent Expert relating to a time when the Company was in startup phase, ahead of ISX's eventual entry into the ASX300 (albeit only for a few days). As with any policy or procedure, there is always room to improve, and the Company welcomes the constructive review and recommendations from Clayton Utz. The Company has accepted the umpire's decision. Where the Independent Expert has found that there have been shortfalls, we will improve. The Independent Expert's recommendations will be implemented in the Company's Continuous Disclosure Policy. ASX Reaction The ASX's reaction to the Independent Expert report has been unexpected, even under these unique circumstances. Aside from blocking release on Friday, we are now aware that over the weekend the ASX has engaged in an unseemly squabble with the Independent Expert. For the ASX to place pressure on the Independent Expert - one of its own choosing - simply because it does not like its findings is an unprecedented and extraordinary act from the self-declared 'heart' of the Australian financial markets. As we have said for many months, the ASX has been unable to separate its role as market operator, from that of being the defendant in $50m plus damages claim brought by ISX. The ASX, in its role as defendant, may not like the Independent Expert report. But that is no justification for the ASX as an Australian Market Operator to ignore its licence obligations and prevent the release of the report. ISX believe that the ASX is now running further risk of misinforming the market by withholding material information. To view the Independent Report, please visit: https://abnnewswire.net/lnk/4140U9N4 About iSignthis Ltd: Australian Securities and Frankfurt Stock Exchange listed iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) (FRA:TA8) is the global RegTech leader in remote identity verification, payment authentication with deposit taking, transactional banking and payment processing capability. iSignthis provides an end-to-end on-boarding service for merchants, with a unified payment and identity service via our Paydentity(TM) and ISXPay(R) solutions. By converging payments and identity, iSignthis delivers regulatory compliance to an enhanced customer due diligence standard, offering global reach to any of the world's 4.2Bn 'bank verified' card or account holders, that can be remotely on-boarded to meet the Customer Due Diligence requirements of AML regulated merchants in as little as 3 to 5 minutes. Paydentity(TM) has now onboarded and verified more than 1.5m persons to an AML KYC standard. iSignthis Paydentity(TM) service is the trusted back office solution for regulated entities, allowing merchants to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and focus on growing their core business. iSignthis' subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, trades as ISXPay(R), and is an EEA authorised eMoney Monetary Financial Institution, offering card acquiring in the EEA, and Australia. ISXPay(R) is a principal member of Visa Inc, Mastercard Inc, Diners, Discover, (China) Union Pay International and JCB International, an American Express aggregator, and provides merchants with access to payments via alternative methods including SEPA, Poli Payments, Sofort, Trustly, WeChat, AliPay and others. UAB Baltic Banking Service, a wholly owned subsidiary of iSignthis Ltd, provides API based access to SEPA Core, SEPA Instant and SEPA business scheme, for neobanks, banks, credit unions and emoney institutions, and provides a bridge to the Central Bank of Lithuania's CENTROLink service. Contact: Investor Relations Chris Northwood Investor Relations Director iSignthis Limited chris.northwood@isignthis.com +61 (0) 458 809 177 Media Enquiries Mark Hawthorne Director Civic Financial Communications mark.hawthorne@civicfinancial.com.au +61 (0) 418 999 894 Investor Relations Europe Dr Eva Reuter Friedrich Ebert Anlage 35-37 Tower 185 60327 Frankfurt e.reuter@dr-reuter.eu +49 (0) 69 1532 5857 Source: iSignthis Ltd Copyright (C) 2020 ABN Newswire. All rights reserved. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh on Tuesday announced that the city has created a new coronavirus mobile testing team that will be moving between neighborhoods to boost testing in communities that have so far lacked it. The testing unit will be in operation for the next three months beginning on Tuesday, where it is currently stationed at the Jackson Mann Community Center in Allston. Walsh said the mobile team will work to meet testing needs and ensure continued widespread access to testing throughout all of Bostons neighborhoods. It reflects our commitment to leading our recovery with a robust, equitable public health strategy, Walsh said. This is a dedicated city-led effort to meet community needs and to ensure that we are getting testing wherever there might be gaps in access, or evidence of inequality. The AllstonBrighton neighborhoods have not had adequate testing resources since the beginning of the health crisis, Walsh said. Lower-income and Black and Latino communities in parts of the city saw higher rates of infection compared to your wealthier ZIP codes. Earlier on in the crisis, facilities like Massachusetts General Hospital reported that up to 40% of patients being treated for coronavirus were Hispanic or Latino. An ACLU of Massachusetts analysis released then showed that neighborhoods like Chelsea and neighboring Greater Boston communities that were seeing the highest rate of infection were also home to more essential workers. Sections of Boston, like Mattapan, Dorchester and Hyde Park, were seeing extensive community spread at the time. Walsh said the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Boston increased to 13,860 on Tuesday, up four cases from Monday. There were no new deaths reported on Tuesday. Since the start of the crisis, 722 Boston residents have died. The mobile testing unit will move to a new neighborhood every two weeks. Related Content: Japan Airlines Co. has decided not to hire new graduates for fiscal 2021, with the exception of pilots and certain other positions. It will be the first time in nine years for the airliner to drastically reduce its hiring. If there is a prolonged surge in new coronavirus cases, other companies may also cancel recruitment plans. JAL had planned to offer a total of 1,700 jobs. The company will still recruit about 80 aspiring pilots and disabled staff as planned, and hire about 150 people who have already received an official job offer. "Amid the current situation, we can't provide jobs for new employees even if they join our company next year," JAL Executive President Yuji Akasaka said in an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun. "I am very sorry to say this, but we cannot hire anyone." ANA Holdings Inc. canceled offers of about 2,500 jobs, excluding pilots and certain other positions, as "the decline in aviation demand is creating a personnel surplus," according to its public relations department. It had offered about 3,200 jobs at its 37 group companies, including All Nippon Airways Co. ANA Holdings will still hire a total of about 100 new graduates, including aspiring pilots and people with disabilities, and will not cancel job offers already given to about 600 people, including those from vocational schools to be hired as ground staff. Major travel agency H.I.S. Co. also canceled its plans to hire new graduates. The company initially intended to hire about 600 people, but suspended recruitment in late March due to the outbreak, as it was "difficult to foresee the future business environment," according to its spokesman. The airline and travel industries have been hit hard by restrictions on entry into Japan, as well as voluntary restrictions on business trips. According to the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry, air transportation of passengers in April decreased by more than 80% year-on-year for both domestic and international flights. In May, the total number of people who booked accommodations in Japan fell 84.8% to 7.81 million, the lowest since the survey began in 2007. Looking beyond aviation Amid the deterioration of its earnings due to the pandemic, JAL's president said the company was eager to stabilize its management by diversifying its business. Akasaka said he hoped the sales and profit of the non-air transport business - which excludes domestic and international flights of passengers, cargo and mail - account for "about one-third of the total in the next three to four years." Non-air transportation services include credit cards and mileage services. In fiscal 2019, those services accounted for more than 20% of the company's total sales and "still have a good chance of growing," he said. JAL plans to shore up cooperation with Mobility as a Service, or MaaS, which provides the most appropriate means of transportation out of various options including taxis and railways. It also plans to do more with agritourism. In June, the number of passengers on domestic flights dropped about 80% and that on international flights fell about 99% compered to the same month last year. Asked when demand will recover, Akasaka said, "It will take about a year for domestic flights, and three to four years for international flights." By the end of this fiscal year, the number of domestic flights could return to 80% and international flights to half, he said. To improve its earnings, JAL will focus on profitable domestic routes as well as routes connecting Japan and Hawaii or North America, Akasaka said. "We will respond to tourism demand with our low-cost carrier," he said, noting that business trips will decrease because of more people working from home even after the pandemic is contained. Asked about the possibility of soliciting early or voluntary retirement, Akasaka said: "I'm not thinking of that at all. If we reduce our manpower, we won't be able to function [after a recovery in demand]." The white St. Louis couple who aimed weapons at Black Lives Matter protesters in front of their home last month were charged with felony counts of unlawful use of a weapon. The charge was announced Monday by Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner weeks after a viral video showed Mark and Patricia McCloskey, both in their 60s, come out of their home pointing weapons, including a semi-automatic rifle, at protesters in the street nearby. At the time, several hundred protesters were making their way to the home of the citys Democratic mayor nearby to protest. As they passed, Mark McCloskey emerged wearing khakis and a tucked-in pink polo shirt while swinging around the semi-automatic rifle. Patricia McCloskey looked wild-eyed as she unevenly pointed a pistol in the direction of the protesters. The couples wild conduct during the standoff with peaceful protesters who were largely Black was ludicrous verging on parody. It was also clearly dangerous and, according to the district prosecutor, against the law. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis, Gardner said in a statement. The couple, both of whom are personal injury attorneys, said they were scared for their safety, as one does to lay the groundwork to try to get away with violent conduct, particularly against people of color. The Class E felony charge carries with it a potential four-year prison sentence, though Gardner is pushing for a diversion program that would result in community service. Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. The charges have prompted the usual apoplectic response from the gun-toting right. Moments after the charges were filed, the state attorney general filed a brief calling for the charges to be dismissed. The basis for the dismissal is Missouris Castle Doctrine, which allows residents wide legal leeway in protecting their homes. It is a measure that has been pushed by the National Rifle Association at the state legislature level across the country and has had the effect of legalizing white violence under the auspices of an expansive definition of self-defense to include ones property. On cue, the Republican establishmentfrom President Donald Trump down to Missouri Gov. Mike Parson and Sen. Josh Hawleyhas called for a civil rights investigation into the prosecutor for having the audacity to investigate, and ultimately prosecute, the matter. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement A lawyer for the couple said the McCloskeys support the First Amendment right of every citizen to have their voice and opinion heard. This right, however, must be balanced with the Second Amendment and Missouri law, which entitle each of us to protect our home and family from potential threats. Potential threats, not actual ones. Not that the distinction will actually matter, as the states Republican governor has suggested he will pardon the couple, short-circuiting the legal system before it has even warmed up. For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below. Musicians gathered on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a musical candlelight vigil on Sunday. The vigil started with George Walker's "Lyric for Strings." Read more Had Sunday nights musical vigil on the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art happened a year or two ago, chances are the Adagio for Strings would have made an appearance. Samuel Barbers glowing, justifiably beloved work has existed for decades as our reliable national lament. But although notes on the page dont change, pieces of music somehow do. A lot has happened in the last few months, a dizzying lot. COVID-19 and its awful losses have kept us inside, Black Lives Matter and the struggle for justice has sent us into the streets. And somehow, one of the works string players chose for Sundays Art Museum vigil and another this past Wednesday at Malcolm X Park in West Philadelphia has emerged as our new soundtrack to sorrow with a considerable asterisk of hope. George Walkers Lyric for Strings has hardly suffered in obscurity. It is the composers most frequently played work. Now, though, it has become the perfect ode to our times. Within the first 15 seconds of its performance on both nights of the vigil, it settled upon listeners and this one in particular as the only possible piece for the moment. Barber's Adagio for Strings reveals its pain from the opening notes and unleashes it in waves through the excruciating climax. Walker's Lyric for Strings, though, is made of subtler stuff. It's more ambivalent. The first few notes of the main melody start out suggesting a minor key, and then the theme takes a sunnier turn. It continues to shift back and forth between the two, countervailing forces living side by side. What could be more emblematic of our times? It is undeniably somber and it does grow intense. It lives in the half-shadow of our mourning (to borrow from Edith Wharton). But the ultimate effect is as a balm. It never loses the faith. Walker wrote the piece, originally titled Lament, in dedication to his grandmother, who had been enslaved, said violinist Gregory Walker, one of the composers sons. For me, that piece represents almost a resignation, but also a hope that comes from just ageless experience looking out at the present, he told me. She was a very quiet presence in the household, and you have this sense of him processing it from the vantage point of all that she had already been through. Lyric for Strings was used to open the two recent Philadelphia vigils organized as a call to justice on behalf of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old massage therapist and violinist whose brutalization and death at the hands of police last August in Colorado has drawn national protests. The events also honored the memory of Mouhamed Cisse, a young cellist shot and killed in West Philadelphia June 1 by unknown assailants, and both evenings also featured works like Lift Every Voice and Sing and Amazing Grace. Violinist Alberta Douglas, one of the organizers of the two Philadelphia vigils, has described the emotional character of Lyric for Strings like this: In the piece, you can hear it goes in and out of happiness as if to remember all the sweet memories of the person and the sadness and longing for the person who you can no longer walk beside. What would the composer think about his work being played now at these vigils? "I think he would be so pleased," said Gregory Walker. George Walker died in 2018 at age 96 after a long career that won him a Pulitzer Prize and many other accolades, though likely not as many had he not been Black. Requests to perform Lyric for Strings, his most popular work, dropped off in March as the pandemic shut down concerts. But since June, theres been an uptick in performances, his publisher says. The six-and-one-half-minute work has often been compared to the Adagio for Strings. Both works are adapted from string quartets, both came from the pens of Curtis Institute of Music graduates, both deploy stepwise melodic building blocks. They were written within a few years of each other the Barber in 1936, the Walker in 1946 bookending a particularly bloody, tumultuous decade. The Adagio for Strings ends feeling emotionally spent and a little unresolved. Lyric for Strings leaves us with something we need right now. Whether listening to it through the lens of police brutality, COVID-19, a government separating children from their families or some other horrific marker of this trying era, there might be no other piece that speaks to us as directly as this one. Philadelphia Orchestra double-bassist Joseph Conyers, who conducted All City Orchestra in Lyric for Strings during a 2015 tour of Italy, once put it like this: Theres an arch in the piece that begins with an optimism embodied in love and compassion. That love morphs into an acknowledgment of the struggle that such positive forces can face in the world a world where optimism can seem in short supply. Ultimately, hope wins out, and the listener is left both content and comforted. No one present Sunday at the Art Museum or last week in Malcolm X Park could have doubted it. Mayor Diane Therrien said mandatory masks in Peterborough starting Aug. 1 makes sense because more people are out and about as businesses gradually reopen. Now that Ontario has entered Phase 3 of reopenings with restaurants open for indoor dining, for instance Therrien said we do need to be careful ... nobody wants to have to go back to Stage 2 or Stage 1. Masks will be required in public indoor spaces, starting Aug. 1 in Peterborough. On Monday, Peterborough Public Health announced that medical officer of health Dr. Rosana Salvaterra invoked a directive under the provinces Emergency Management and Civil Protection Act. The decision was made after discussions with elected officials. Therrien mentioned that many Ontario health units, including the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit, have already issued similar orders. It puts us in line with many of our neighbours.... Its a small sacrifice to make for the greater good, she said. Also on Monday, councillors reviewed a report from the new COVID-19 economic recovery task force co-chaired by Mayor Diane Therrien and Peterborough County Warden J. Murray Jones. The report states that the Peterborough and the Kawarthas Home Builders Association has noted a decline in residential construction. It recommends the city consider measures such as waiving all building permit fees and planning application fees for PKHBA members who enter into third-party contracts within Peterborough, or to defer development charge payments until a building permit is issued. Coun. Keith Riel, who isnt on the task force, asked how much these measures would cost the city. City CAO Sandra Clancy said a report would be coming in September with details. I think theres a huge negative impact at budget time, Riel said. Ill be waiting for that report in September. Also on councillors agenda at the committee meeting on Monday: Peterborough Naval Association Councillors voted unanimously to precommit $200,000 to complete the purchase price of $900,000 to acquire the Peterborough Naval Association property at 24 Whitla St. The city had reached a deal with the association in 2013 to purchase the property in full in 2023 for $900,000. But in June, the Naval Association announced it was selling its property to the city three years earlier than planned due to increased maintenance costs and loss of revenue in the COVID-19 pandemic. The city will turn the property into public land. It is located next to Beavermead Park, where a future extension to the citys trail system around Little Lake is planned. Cleantech Commons Councillors unanimously voted to precommit $2.3 of the $3.3 million in the 2021 city budget for the servicing of Cleantech Commons, a planned industrial park for green-tech firms at Trent University. The idea of pre-committing the funds now is to keep the local contractor, Drain Brothers, working on-site (rather than having to stop and restart next year). The total estimated cost to service Cleantech Commons is expected to be about $10.7 million, with most costs for servicing to be funded from lease payments from future tenants. Although the university owns the 85 acres of land, the plan is for the city and Trent University to share the lease revenues paid by tenants until the citys capital costs are recovered. Its a lot of money, but I do think its an appropriate investment that will bring returns from all over the world, said Coun. Henry Clarke. Cavan Monaghan policing Councillors agreed without discussion to extend policing services for an additional year to Cavan Monaghan Township. The Peterborough Police Services Board accepted the townships proposal in June. Cavan Monaghan Township would pay $324,200 to the city to have Peterborough Police patrol the community between Oct. 1, 2020 and Sept. 31, 2021. City police have been covering Cavan Monaghan since 2015. That deal is set to expire Sept. 30. City police also patrol Lakefield under an agreement with Selwyn Township. Bhubaneswar used to have ten natural drainage channels that carried rainwater coming from uplands in Chandaka forest and other areas around the city. A major challenge of civic infrastructure in Bhubaneswar is that of drainage. The city used to have ten natural drainage channels that carried rainwater coming from the uplands in Chandaka forest and other areas around the city. But in the last few decades, most natural drainage channels have been encroached by illegal constructions blocking water flow. We have asked the state government to give Rs 1000 crore to stabilise the citys drainage problem, said Debasunder Mohapatra, engineer with the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC). Presently, because of erratic rainfall due to climate change, we have to prepare for unexpected sudden heavy rainfall. We have been experiencing this lately. In 2018, we had an unprecedented 200 mm rain within 4 hours. If there is 40 mm rainfall per hour continuously for 3 to 4 hours in Bhubaneswar, some areas will be submerged, he said. Scientists in the meteorology department say that the last 3-4 years have seen more rains in short time spans, as mentioned by Mahapatra, in several places of Odisha, including Bhubaneswar. Since Bhubaneswar is a larger urban centre and rainwater does not drain easily, waterlogging has become a recurrent problem. Whenever there is a low pressure centre in the Bay of Bengal at a 80-100 km distance from the coast, particularly to the east of coastal districts of Kendrapara and Bhadrak, it rains heavily at Bhubaneswar and nearby areas, explains Sarat Sahu, Director, Meteorology (Retd), Bhubaneswar. If the low pressure system becomes stationary at that location, it will generate more rainfall. During the monsoon, when there is cyclonic circulation or north to south trap (extended low pressure system), it leads to heavy rainfall. Such traps are associated with traplines, a mapping device which marks these spots prone to such weather phenomena. The trapline extends from Bihar to Andhra Pradesh. Sahu adds, these days, one sees sudden temperature fluctuations, which leads to more rainfall. Bhubaneswar used to have pleasant weather all the year round. But the expanding concrete jungle has warmed up the city considerably as compared to the 1980s. After the afternoon heat, Bhubaneswar used to get airy and pleasant in the evening, recalls Prof Radhamohan. That has been affected. However, Ananta Jena, MLA from Bhubaneswar Central and two-time mayor insists, Bhubaneswar is still a greener city in comparison to other cities of India. Depleting water table Old Bhubaneswar, developed around the 11th Century temple, is now facing a major water problem. The city badly needs rainwater harvesting and other water conservation measures as the groundwater level has fallen below 300 feet. Though the city is getting its major water supply from Naraj at Mahanadi, many households have installed borewells to augment supply, which further affects the groundwater table. The old city has several old tanks which, if properly, maintained can recharge ground water. The 34-kilometre west canal of the Daya, meant for agriculture and which passes through the city, has become a sewage and wastewater carrying channel. The water resources department is trying to renovate it at a cost of Rs. 395 crores. Since the twin cities of Bhubaneswar and Cuttack are the most populous urban areas of the state, most people from other districts prefer to settle here, leading to lopsided development of the region. The green belt around this area has become a concrete jungle and natural drainage channels have been encroached upon, leading to flooding of low-lying areas. In 1982, the river Mahanadi overflowed on the Kolkata-Chennai national highway that passes through twin cities, cutting off road connectivity between Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. Since then, nothing has been done to prevent another such natural disaster. A second dam on Mahanadi besides Hirakud, built just after independence, is not feasible as it would submerge much of western Odisha. The populated low-lying areas between the two cities face a real danger if and when floods happen. Experts have pointed out that growth towards Cuttack should be curbed as the area linking the two cities is the main flood discharge plain and has valuable agricultural land. New master plan Now, a revised master plan for Bhubaneswar has been prepared by IIT-Kharagpur. But urban planners say the master plan has many inadequacies. Retired IAS officer Fanibhushan Das, who was Secretary of Urban Development and Housing in the nineties, feels Bhubaneswars planning and execution did not move in the manner its planned counterparts Chandigarh and Gandhinagar did. The ambition was to develop Bhubaneswar from a small temple town into a well planned metro. But unplanned distribution of land and haphazard infrastructure development have messed up everything, says Das. This article was first published in Citizen Matters, a civic media website and is republished here with permission. (c) Oorvani Foundation/Open Media Initiative. Eduard Aslanyan, attorney of victim of the events of March 1, 2008 Sergey Yeghiazaryan, filed a motion with the court to dismiss the prosecutors under the case of second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan and other ex-officials. As Aslanyan stated, the motion is linked to the subjectivity of the prosecutors. He thoroughly indicated the violations by which his client was declared as a victim, the absence of documents certifying the damage caused to him and the fact that his rights to submit a civil claim within the scope of the case are restricted. Based on the aforementioned, Aslanyan filed a motion to dismiss prosecutors Petros Petrosyan and Gevorg Baghdasaryan. Seda Safaryan, another attorney of the victims, expressed the view that the motion was groundless, and the victims shared that opinion. Attorney Hayk Alumyan recorded the governments biased approach to compensation for the damage caused to the victims. Attorney Hovhannes Khudoyan seconded his fellow attorney and stated that there are good and bad victims and that the Prosecutor Generals Office divides the victims into good and bad. Attorneys Vardges Gevorgyan and Eric Alexanyan also supported the motion. Gevorgyan stated that when the attorneys demand the dismissal of a prosecutor, this is expected, but when the victims demand this, this shows the serious problems with court examination. As expected, the prosecutors went against this. Petros Petrosyan sharply appealed the subjective approach and declared that all victims have received compensation for damage. Ivanka Trump distributes food boxes at DC Dream Center We are pleased to partner with suppliers to bring meat, produce, and dairy products into the homes of the most food-insecure families, said Dave Donaldson, CityServe co-founder. Local churches have played an extraordinary role in delivering the food boxes through the Last Mile of Need." Since the food box program launched on May 15, 2020, the CityServe/World Vision distribution model has supplied over 2 million food boxes to their collaborative network of churches & faith-based organizations to feed individuals and families living in the Last Mile of Needdelivering to households with unmet food needs and insecurities. Over 1.7 million food boxes are currently committed a month to the Faith-Based Community in support of the USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program for round two, occurring July 1 through August 31, 2020. We are pleased to partner with suppliers to bring meat, produce, and dairy products into the homes of the most food-insecure families in America, said Dave Donaldson, CityServe co-founder. Local churches have played an extraordinary role in delivering the food boxes through the Last Mile of Need in ways which are unique during this challenging time. But we still have more work to do as more families need help. Several USDA-approved suppliers have worked with the Faith-Based Community in support of Farmers to Families for what has proven to be a successful execution of relief for both families and suppliers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Suppliers who have committed food boxes to the Faith-Based Community to offer an effective and efficient strategy of delivery include GA Foods, Travel Well Holdings, Dimare, Go Fresh, Borden, among others. The food box program has been a relief to suppliers who have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic and forced to furlough or lay off employees, cover cultivated farmland, or watch fresh produce and meats spoil. As the food box program has brought a solution that allows the surplus to meet the needs, approved suppliers have the responsibility of constructing a distribution plan and partnering with organizations to connect food boxes with people who need it. It is rewarding to see the distribution of fresh nutritious foods be accomplished in the same spirit in which the food box program was designed, said Desiree Rodriguez, owner of Travel Well Holdings, a USDA-approved supplier for the Farmers to Families Food Box Program. We are committed to bringing relief to families who have been affected during this season and it is why we are so grateful for the collaborative effort we have with CityServe. CityServe/World Vision Distribution Model USDA-approved suppliers deliver food boxes to warehouse distribution centers known as HUBs who receive, store, and distribute food boxes to church PODs (point of distribution). CityServe PODs hand out or deliver food boxes to the most vulnerable in their neighborhoods. CityServe, in partnership with World Vision USA, is facilitating the Faith-Based Community in support of Farmers to Families which also includes Convoy of Hope, Operation Blessing, Citygate Network, The Dream Center Network, Teen Challenge, Mercy Chefs, Gods Pit Crew, Victory Churches, and other faith-based organizations. Food box commitments to the Faith-Based Community continue to increase weekly as the HUB & POD distribution model proves effective in reaching those most vulnerable to food insecurity. On June 23rd, the USDA announced the Farmers to Families Food Box Program had reached 20 million food boxes distributed. Over the past few weeks, the Farmers to Families Food Box Program has continued to pick up steam, getting food in the hands of more and more Americans while providing much needed support to our agricultural sector, said Secretary Perdue. This milestone is a testament that the program is accomplishing what we intendedsupporting U.S. farmers and distributors and getting food to those who need it most. Its a real trifecta, which is why we call it a win-win-win. About CityServe CityServe is a collaborative network of churches and community leaders connected to help those in need to live better lives. CityServe empowers the local church to fulfill its purpose to overcome despair and transform lives by resourcing them with tangible goods and capacity building. CityServe brings the church to the table to address community challenges by offering long-lasting relationships that lead to transformation and has been designated a Community of Faith and Opportunity by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. For more information about CityServe and its initiatives, please visit https://cityserve.us or on social platforms @cityservehq. About World Vision World Vision is a Christian humanitarian organization conducting relief, development, and advocacy activities in its work with children, families, and their communities in nearly 100 countries to help them reach their full potential by tackling the causes of poverty and injustice. World Vision serves all people regardless of religion, race, ethnicity, or gender. For more information, please visit http://www.worldvision.org or on Twitter @WorldVisionUSA. About USDA Farmers to Families Food Box Program On April 17, 2020, the USDA announced the program as part of the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program developed to help farmers, ranchers, and consumers in response to the COVID-19 national emergency. The USDA has approved contracts to suppliers for meat, produce, and dairy packaging and distribution to food banks, nonprofit and faith-based organizations. The first round of purchases totaling up to $1.2 billion occurred from May 15 through June 30, 2020. The second round, July 1 through August 31, 2020, has produced $4.3 million in invoiced food boxes to date. Additional information on the Farmers to Families Food Box Program, including webinars and FAQs, is available at https://www.ams.usda.gov/selling-food-to-usda/farmers-to-families-food-box. ### Former state Sen. Mike Folmer, who was once a power to be reckoned with in the Legislature, took on a new title in a Lebanon County courtroom Tuesday morning. Hes now a prison inmate. Despite pleas for leniency and a profession of his Christian faith, county Senior Judge Joseph Madenspacher hit the 64-year-old Lebanon County Republican with a 1- to 2-year jail term for Folmers guilty pleas in a child pornography case. That penalty, a standard-range sentence, was sought by Senior Deputy Attorney General Christopher Jones. Madenspacher also ordered the disgraced legislator to spend 8 years on probation. By law, Folmer also will have to register with state police as a sex offender for 15 years. And hes starting his prison term immediately, despite a plea defense attorney Brian Perry made for a delayed reporting date. Folmers shoulders seemed slumped in defeat as he stood before Madenspacher 10 months after state investigators found child porn on his private cell phone. The ex-senator pleaded guilty to child porn possession charges in February. He had no sentencing deal. Madenspacher imposed the prison term which actually translates into 364 to 728 days, after Perry urged him to consider the good Folmer did for the state as a legislator. He stressed Folmers role as a lead proponent of the legislation that made medical marijuana legal in Pennsylvania. Folmers family, including his wife and daughter, accompanied him to the courtroom and are standing by his side, Perry said. What is most important to Mike Folmer is his family, he added. They have accepted what he has done. They have forgiven him. He has not forgiven himself, Perry said. He noted the criminal charges that caused Folmers political career to instantly implode centered on three child porn images. Most of the images found on Folmers phone during the probe by federal and state investigators involved adult porn, Perry said. He had an addiction to pornography, Perry said. Counseling has helped him to overcome that addiction, to control it. Folmer was contrite as he spoke to the judge. He said the first thing he though of when investigators came knocking last Sept. 17 was Lord, forgive me for offending you. Im not mad at anyone but myself, Folmer said. I let my Lord down. I let my family down. I let my constituents down. He said he is drawing strength from his faith, especially from Psalm 51 in which King David sought Gods forgiveness after committing adultery with Bathsheba. The Lord accepts a broken, contrite spirit, Folmer said. And thats me. I want a chance to continue to heal. While seeking a prison term, Jones said there are no grounds to deem Folmer a sexually violent predator, a designation that, among other things, would have required the ex-legislator to register his whereabouts with police for life. The prosecutor then flipped one of Perrys arguments, the one focusing on Folmers past good works. Mr. Folmer may have done a lot of good in the Senate. At the same time, he was a senator when he committed these offenses, Jones said. He held a position of trust. And that trust was violated. One question regarding Folmers fate wasnt immediately resolved. Exactly where he will serve his jail time wasnt specified by Madenspacher. Officials of the Lebanon County prison dont want to hold Folmer over fears for his safety, Perry said. He said Folmer hopes to be admitted to a work-release program, but noted Lebanons prison doesnt allow sex offenders into its work-release program. State Attorney General Josh Shapiro issued a statement, saying: This was a public official whose constituents trusted to do whats right, but he failed. He engaged in the sexual exploitation of children. No one is above the law, including those who make the laws. I will continue to work to protect children and hold those who abuse them accountable. * This post was updated to include the attorney generals statement. Lewis was one of the six main organizers including the Reverend Martin Luther King Junior of the Washington march, when King gave his I Have a Dream speech at the Lincoln Memorial. In the Congress, John Lewis was revered and beloved on both sides of the aisle and both sides of the Capitol, said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a statement. May his memory be an inspiration that moves us all to, in the face of injustice, make good trouble, necessary trouble. In the 1961 Freedom Rides, black and white civil rights activists rode buses together through the South in an effort to end segregation in public transportation facilities after the U.S. Supreme Court had outlawed it. In Montgomery, Alabama, Lewis was hit in the head with a wooden crate. It was very violent, he said in a 2001 interview with CNN on the 40th anniversary of the rides. I thought I was going to die. I was left lying at the Greyhound bus station in Montgomery, unconscious. On March 7, 1965, a day that would become known as Bloody Sunday, Lewis and fellow activist Hosea Williams led more 600 marchers across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma. Police charged the demonstrators, beating them with night sticks. Lewis suffered a fractured skull. In 2015, Lewis, President Barack Obama and scores of members of Congress joined a reenactment of the march to mark its 50th anniversary. In a statement after Lewiss death, Obama said they both had recently been in a virtual forum with young activists who were leading demonstrations after the death of George Floyd while in custody of Minneapolis police. He could not have been prouder of their efforts of a new generation standing up for freedom and equality, a new generation intent on voting and protecting the right to vote, a new generation running for political office, Obama said. They had learned from his example, even if they didnt know it. They had understood through him what American citizenship requires, even if they had heard of his courage only through history books. Read more from KidsPost: Protests have long been a way to bring about change The March on Washington: Looking back 50 years later Graphic novel March wins the National Book Award A judge in Michigan refused to release a teenage girl from a juvenile detention center after she failed to do her online homework in mid-May. The judge said the 15-year-old Black girl was a threat to the community. Oakland County Judge Mary Ellen Brennan announced her decision on Monday in a case that has stoked outrage among politicians and activists. Many claim it shows systematic racism and the criminalization of Black youths. According to the judge, the girl still needed to take the residential treatment program at the detention center. She also claimed the teenager is not yet ready to be with her mother. The next hearing is scheduled for September, NBC News reports. How did she end up in juvenile detention? The 15-year-old, identified only as Grace, had previously gotten into trouble for fighting with her mother and stealing. She was charged with assault and theft. During an April 21 hearing, the young girl was placed on probation. She was incarcerated in May after the judge claimed she violated her probation after she failed to complete and submit her online homework, AJC reported. Judge Brennan deemed her a threat to the community. She sentenced the Black youth to the Children's Village juvenile detention center on May 15 despite growing concerns the COVID-19 pandemic may spread fast in crowded environments. She had been locked up since. In Brennan's ruling, she said grace was guilty of failing to get up for school and failing to fulfill the expectation on school performance. During the sentencing, caseworkers, the prosecutor, and Grace's court-appointed attorney agreed she needed mental health and anger management treatment. They asked to put her on probation because she did not commit new offenses. However, she was led out of the courtroom wearing handcuffs. The sentence was made as Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer urged juvenile judges to send children home due to the threat of the pandemic. What do attorneys and advocates say? The confidentiality of juvenile court cases make it impossible to fully determine Grace's situation. However, attorneys and advocates say they had never heard of other cases where the child is sentenced to juvenile detention for failing to meet academic requirements after schools closed due to the pandemic. The advocates say the decision may be violating recommendations that urged the government to prioritize children's health and safety amid the health crisis. Experts and Grace's mother also said the teenager's case reflects systematic racial bias, as reported by ProPublica Illinois. Grace's mother also said the case "does not make sense." Her statement came after officers at the detention center refused to let her see Grace. She attempted to visit her daughter in mid-June. But the officials sent her away with a bag full of toiletries and clothes. According to the officers who are working in the facility, the items violated the rules. It is unclear whether there are other children held at the juvenile detention center that is facing a similar situation as Grace. Want to read more? Polk County Sheriff Offers $30,000 Reward For Information About the Polk County Triple Murder MS-13 Gang Members Indicted for 6 Murders in US Eight members of the transnational street gang MS-13 have been indicted for six murders on Long Island in New York state, according to a recently unsealed indictment. The defendants were involved in a series of brutal murders in 2016, federal officials said. In one case, 19-year-old Oscar Acosta was lured to a wooded area near an elementary school in Brentwood. After gang members beat him with tree limbs, knocking him unconscious, they tied his hands and feet and moved him to a more secluded area. Gang members slashed Acosta to death with a machete and buried him in a shallow grave. In another case, a gang member is accused of approaching 24-year-old Carlos Ventura-Zelaya, who MS-13 members believed was part of a rival group called the 18th Street Gang. The gang member allegedly fired nine rounds from a 9 mm handgun, killing Ventura-Zelaya. The defendants committed multiple murders and other violent and wanton crimes on Long Island to further MS-13s vicious code, acting U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of New York Seth DuCharme said in a statement. Putting these men in a federal prison for the rest of their lives, or facing possible death sentences, may not mean much to them as members of MS-13 because it fits their macho bravado, added FBI Assistant Director-in-Charge William Sweeney. But it means a tremendous amount of relief to the communities on Long Island theyve terrorized by using machetes to murder teenagers. Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) ICE agents detain a suspected MS-13 gang member and Honduran immigrant at his home in Brentwood, N.Y., on March 29, 2018. (John Moore/Getty Images) MS-13, also known as Mara Salvatrucha, was started in Los Angeles in the 1980s by refugees from El Salvador before spreading to more than a half-dozen countries. The gang is notorious for attracting young men and keeping them in line through threats; in some cases, gang members turn on one of their own for suspected or confirmed betrayal. Many of the members in the United States are illegal immigrants. Defendants in the newest case were identified as Carlos Alfaro, 23, David Sosa-Guevara, 28, and Victor Lopez-Morales, 32, of Roosevelt, New York; Ever Morales-Lopez, 26, and Kevin Torres, 25, of Freeport, New York; Jose Moises Blanco, 30, of Salisbury, North Carolina; Oseas Gonzalez, 28, of Charlotte, North Carolina; and Jose Jonathan Guevara-Castro, 25. All defendants are in custody except for Guevara-Castro. According to the indictment and a detention letter from the government, two MS-13 cliques known as the Sailors and Hollywood collaborated in criminal activities on behalf of the gang, including killing people they suspected of belonging to rival groups. Charges include racketeering, conspiracy to commit murder, kidnapping conspiracy, conspiracy to distribute marijuana, and conspiracy to distribute cocaine. President Donald Trump began a campaign to try to destroy MS-13 earlier in his tenure. Trump and Attorney General William Barr announced last week the arrest and indictment of dozens of MS-13 members, including some crucial leaders. The administration is seeking the death penalty for one member, Alexi Saenz, who was indicted for allegedly committing seven murders, including the 2016 slayings of two teenage best friends, Kayla Cuevas and Nisa Mickens. Janita Kan contributed to this report. No Material Non Compliance Findings by Independent Expert Sydney, July 21, 2020 AEST (ABN Newswire) - iSignthis Ltd ( ASX:ISX ) Shareholders may recall that the ASX directed ISX to engage a partner from one of Australia's top law firms - law firms nominated by the ASX - to conduct an Independent Expert review.The Independent Expert review has been completed and was jointly authored by two partners of Clayton Utz.The findings speak for themselves, and we encourage shareholders to read the attached in full.On the issue of material announcements, the Company's approach has been consistent, and it has met its continuous disclosure obligations.We are pleased that the findings of the Independent Expert with regards to the practices of Company have been consistent with best practice of an ASX300 Company. This is despite the majority of materials that were reviewed by the Independent Expert relating to a time when the Company was in startup phase, ahead of ISX's eventual entry into the ASX300 (albeit only for a few days).As with any policy or procedure, there is always room to improve, and the Company welcomes the constructive review and recommendations from Clayton Utz.The Company has accepted the umpire's decision. Where the Independent Expert has found that there have been shortfalls, we will improve.The Independent Expert's recommendations will be implemented in the Company's Continuous Disclosure Policy.ASX ReactionThe ASX's reaction to the Independent Expert report has been unexpected, even under these unique circumstances. Aside from blocking release on Friday, we are now aware that over the weekend the ASX has engaged in an unseemly squabble with the Independent Expert.For the ASX to place pressure on the Independent Expert - one of its own choosing - simply because it does not like its findings is an unprecedented and extraordinary act from the self-declared 'heart' of the Australian financial markets.As we have said for many months, the ASX has been unable to separate its role as market operator, from that of being the defendant in $50m plus damages claim brought by ISX.The ASX, in its role as defendant, may not like the Independent Expert report. But that is no justification for the ASX as an Australian Market Operator to ignore its licence obligations and prevent the release of the report.ISX believe that the ASX is now running further risk of misinforming the market by withholding material information.To view the Independent Report, please visit:About iSignthis Ltd iSignthis Ltd (ASX:ISX) (FRA:TA8) is a hybrid monetary financial institution and also a RegTech leader in remote identity verification, payment authentication with deposit taking, transactional banking and payment processing capability. iSignthis provides an end-to-end on-boarding service for merchants, with a unified payment, electronic money and identity service via our Paydentity(TM) and ISXPay(R) solutions. By converging payments and identity, iSignthis delivers regulatory compliance to an enhanced customer due diligence standard, offering global reach to any of the world's 4.2Bn 'bank verified' card or account holders, that can be remotely on-boarded to meet the Customer Due Diligence requirements of AML regulated merchants in as little as 3 to 5 minutes. Paydentity(TM) has now onboarded and verified more than 1.5m persons to an AML KYC standard. iSignthis Paydentity(TM) service is the trusted back office solution for regulated entities, allowing merchants to stay ahead of the regulatory curve, and focus on growing their core business. iSignthis' subsidiary, iSignthis eMoney Ltd, trades as ISXPay(R), and is an EEA authorised eMoney Monetary Financial Institution, offering card acquiring in the EEA, and Australia. ISXPay(R) is a principal member of Mastercard Inc, Diners, Discover, (China) Union Pay International and JCB International, an American Express aggregator, and provides merchants with access to payments via alternative methods including SEPA, Poli Payments, Sofort, PRZ24 and others. Probanx Solutions Ltd, a wholly owned subsidiary of iSignthis Ltd, provides API based access to CORE Banking solutions, SEPA Core, SEPA Instant and SEPA business scheme, for neobanks, banks, credit unions and emoney institutions, and provides a bridge to the Eurosystem's Central Bank of Lithuania's CENTROLink service. Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer's office released an internal investigation on the Seal Beach Mass Shooting case where two of its former prosecutors committed malpractice. The malpractice took root when then Orange County prosecutors Dan Wagner and Scott Simmons ignored using a veteran government informant to get a confession from the man behind the mass shooting, Scoot Dekraai. The issue was a so-called "snitch scandal" in Orange County. Dekraai avoided the death penalty due to their malpractice when eight people were killed, and one was wounded. Civil Rights Were Violated Former D.A. Tony Rackauckas argued for years that his office had made mistakes. But he insisted that they were not done on purpose. The probe showed the reverse. Wagner and Simmons violated Dekraai's civil rights on purpose by using an informant after Dekraai had retained a lawyer and was charged formally. The 57-page report concluded that the two men made a "deliberate choice not to find out the criminal and informant history." Fernando Perez was housed next to Dekraai when he was said to have confessed to the mass shooting days after his arrest, reported Los Angeles Times. Wagner and Simmons were not mentioned by name in the report but by their roles in the case. The roles of the Orange County Sheriff's Department in the controversy that began to unfold in 2013 were not explored as well, said Orange County Register. CBS Los Angeles reported that the prosecutors feared Dekraai would try to defend of insanity to dodge the death penalty. So they improperly used an off the record informant to gain comments that will make Dekraai appear guilty of the crime. Sources said Dekraai bragged about the killing to the informant. There were claims of Dekraai saying he felt like he was "in the matrix." The report noted that there was "intentional negligence" done by the prosecutors. Spitzer's office pointed out that the evidence was "clear and convincing." Spitzer took over the post-January last year after reports on corruption during the past leader came up. The report said that the mistakes made in the case "would not have been made by junior-level attorneys." Both Wagner and Simmons have resigned late last year and have since gone into a defense firm in Irvine. They did not return calls and e-mails Monday. The scandal led to many homicide cases in Orange County to have a retrial. Some cases led to reduced sentences. Using Confidential Informants The report said there wasn't enough evidence to find misconduct or malpractice in five other cases where confidential informants were used. It also noted that the D.A.'s office has done some great reforms to address the losses that come with using confidential informants. Dekraai's attorney, Scott Sanders, panned the report. He said the report was not what was needed by those affected by informant-related misconduct. Sanders pointed out that the prosecutors in the case were no longer employed by the office. The misconduct also happened years ago and was found by trial and appellate courts. Want to read more? Check these out! WASHINGTON - Metro will ramp up transit service in August, operating at about 70% capacity to address an expected increase in ridership driven by the return of federal workers to offices and the possible reopening of District of Columbia schools. Metro, which has been operating at historic lows because of the coronavirus pandemic, will add more cars to service Aug. 16, and Metrobus will expand its routes Aug. 23. The increase was scheduled as part of Metro's phased recovery plan, but it is being driven by businesses that have resumed operation and the federal government's push to get its workforce back into offices. "We were hearing at the time that a lot of groups were looking at the Labor Day time frame, and I think that's something we had in our minds [expecting] that was a time when people were coming back to work," Metro board chairman Paul Smedberg said Monday. "We will see how it goes forward with the recent surges, but so far in our areas, things have been fairly stable. But we have had to stay ahead of the demand in increasing service." The seven-day average of coronavirus cases in the greater Washington region has nearly doubled in the past month after falling from an early-summer peak. Metro has been operating a skeletal bus and rail system over the past four months that until recently included the closure of nearly 30 of the transit system's 91 stations, smaller operating windows, longer wait times and low ridership numbers the regional transportation agency has never seen before. As recently as Thursday, records show that Metrorail's passenger trips for the day made up 9% of what Metro ran on a similar day before the pandemic. Metrobus showed slightly higher numbers - 32% of pre-virus ridership. Transit officials have said the system is operating at a level that is about a third of normal, partly by design to discourage all but essential riders because of the ease that closed, confined spaces such as rail cars or buses presents to the spread of the coronavirus, which causes the disease covid-19. The transit system has required rear-door bus boarding that limits operators' exposure to passengers, while it has made wearing a mask or other face covering mandatory. For months, Metro-commissioned surveys have shown that the region's nonessential employers and employees have said they have no plans to go back into offices until at least fall, and Metro created a recovery plan that mirrored the response. The transit agency does not anticipate a return to full service until spring, when a coronavirus vaccine might be ready. But late last month, as D.C., Maryland and Virginia began lifting business and social restrictions, Metro began to see a trickle of riders consistently returning to the system. Some of the passenger traffic came from federal workers, whom the White House wants back in offices to help create a sense of life returning to normal - and to potentially boost public confidence. According to Metro's surveys, of the organizations with more than 40% of employees commuting to work now, 34% are government agencies, while 8% are private businesses. "Public agencies are summoning employees back to the workplace at a much faster rate than private businesses," the Metro staff stated in a report. "As conditions improve, jurisdictions will continue to relax stay-at-home policies and additional businesses, schools and child care facilities will reopen. Accordingly, more customers are expected to commute to work or travel for other needs." On Aug. 16, Metro will put 81 of its 91 stations back in operation, with others scheduled to reopen around Labor Day. Metrorail will bring back peak-rush-hour service - more trains and shorter, five-to-eight-minute waits during weekday commuting hours - for the first time since it was stopped in mid-March. Peak-rush-hour service runs weekdays from Metrorail's opening to 9:30 a.m. and from 3 to 7 p.m. The rail system will expand its operating hours to 5 a.m. to 11 p.m. weekdays, increasing nighttime service by two hours. Service will open at 7 a.m. Saturdays, an hour earlier than now, and will end at 11 p.m. instead of 9 p.m. And Sunday service, which starts at 8 a.m., will expand its closing time to 11 p.m. from 9 p.m. as well. Wait times during peak service hours will be shorter than 10 minutes on all lines, while waits during off-peak hours will be 15 minutes or less, Metro said. The agency said the new schedule will be locked in place through the end of the year. Metrobus on Aug. 23 will start a revised schedule that will start an hour earlier, at 4 a.m. and run until midnight, an hour later. The bus system will operate 52 of the system's busiest lines on normal, pre-pandemic schedules, while 64 will operate at reduced frequencies. Thirty-seven routes will remain closed. Metro estimates that the weekly schedule will bring back 73% of pre-pandemic service. On Saturdays, 53 routes will operate on their old weekend schedules, 30 will run at reduced frequency and 12 will remain closed. The agency said the schedule is 87% of what Metrobus ran before March. Metrobus's Sunday schedule will be 86% of its pre-pandemic Sunday schedule, with 73 lines operating normally and four lines operating at reduced frequency. Even as Metro is limiting passengers on buses, allowing operators to skip stops if they feel too many people are already aboard, some buses are carrying more passengers than social distancing guidelines would recommend. Metro has tried to decrease crowding by redirecting more buses from routes with few passengers to busier ones, but Smedberg said he hopes an expanded system will help alleviate some of those conditions. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "That's what we're hoping, and I'm sure that's what management is hoping," he said. Metro said it will also increase cleaning and disinfecting to coincide with the expected increase in staffing. Contractors will make 35 "proactive recovery disinfecting cleanings" each month at Metro rail yards and bus garages and at other Metro workforce buildings, officials said. "As this phase may continue for several months and ridership levels and conditions are likely to evolve, staff will continue to monitor ridership and workforce availability and consider more significant service changes if warranted," Metro said. Before the pandemic affected the region, Metro was slated to expand late-night Metrorail service to midnight during the week and 2 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. But those plans have been suspended until at least spring, since many bars and late-night businesses remain closed. The transit system said it recognizes that there are still late-night workers who rely on public transportation, and in response the agency said it is doubling an after-hours subsidy program that provides Lyft service to help overnight workers get to and from jobs. From 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. Mondays through Thursdays and from 1 to 7 a.m. Fridays and Saturdays, Metro customers with registered SmarTrip cards will receive a subsidy of $6 per ride, up from $3. "We know that the system closing times still leave some gaps, particularly for employees whose shifts start or end during the time that Metro service isn't operating," Metro spokesman Dan Stessel said. "While the earlier closing times are necessary to undertake the massive cleaning effort that occurs nightly across hundreds of rail cars and buses, Metro is stepping up its support of overnight workers by doubling the subsidy." Metro said it remains on track to reopen the Silver Line and all stations west of Ballston, which have been closed since Memorial Day weekend for platform replacements or testing to connect the yet-to-be-opened Silver Line extension to Dulles International Airport. Six stations are scheduled to reopen Aug. 16, while Vienna, Dunn Loring and East Falls Church are slated to come back online around Labor Day, Metro said. One thing not coming back: Metro's Rush Hour Promise, a money-back guarantee anytime a Metro commute is delayed by 10 minutes or more during peak hours, Metro said. While the federal Cares Act coronavirus relief legislation is helping to fill budget shortfalls, Metro continues to lose money at fare boxes while it braces for subsidy cuts from local governments also struggling because of reduced tax revenue. The transit agency said the guarantee was a cut officials had to make. "The program was suspended indefinitely as Metro began reducing service to protect public health, and now, given the budget challenges faced by all of our funding jurisdictions, there are no immediate plans to restore the program, as we think about how every dollar is spent," Stessel said. Pioneer Pacific College notified state agencies Tuesday that it plans to permanently close its Oregon Culinary Institute in downtown Portland and the Pioneer Pacific facilities in Portland, Beaverton and Springfield. The private, for profit colleges blamed the coronavirus pandemic for the decision. The closures, though, are the latest in a string of private college failures that started long before the pandemic. The Oregon College of Art and Craft, Marylhurst and Concordia University Portland all closed in the last three years. The Pacific Northwest College of Art said last month it was laying off and furloughing staff in anticipation of a sharp decline in enrollment. Oregons public colleges and universities dont appear in immediate danger of failing, but community colleges and four-universities are cutting jobs and salaries in anticipation of low enrollment this fall. Pioneer Pacific and the Oregon Culinary Institute did not respond to a phone call or an email seeking comment on the closure plans and information about how the closures will affect students currently enrolled. The schools said they will permanently lay off 131 faculty and staff. The letters to state workforce officials describe the closure as permanent, beginning July 31. Neither schools website has any information about them shutting down permanently, and both continue to solicit new enrollment. The last update on the schools websites indicated they planned to reopen July 13 after closing because of the COVID-19 epidemic. Its not clear how many students were enrolled at each school. U.S. News and World Report says Pioneer Pacifics Beaverton campus had 892 students last year. Pioneer Pacific offered programs in health care, management and paralegal studies; the Culinary Institute had programs on baking and pastries and on cooking. Pioneer Pacifics annual tuition and fees ranged from $17,000 to $57,000, depending on the program. The Culinary Institutes degrees ranged from $18,000 or $33,000. -- Mike Rogoway | mrogoway@oregonian.com | twitter: @rogoway | OTTAWA - The federal government's top public servant says there is no evidence to suggest Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with WE Charity before the organization was awarded a deal to run a student-volunteer program. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau holds a press conference at Rideau Cottage in Ottawa on Monday, July 13, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Sean Kilpatrick OTTAWA - The federal government's top public servant says there is no evidence to suggest Prime Minister Justin Trudeau spoke with WE Charity before the organization was awarded a deal to run a student-volunteer program. Clerk of the Privy Council Ian Shugart made the comment during testimony Tuesday morning before the House of Commons finance committee. He faced numerous questions about the decision to have WE Charity administer a $900-million student-volunteering program, including whether anyone in the public service raised red flags about the organization's finances. Shugart told the committee Trudeau was briefed about the development of the program, and suggested the prime minister had no contact with the organization to which Trudeau and his family have close ties. "There is absolutely no evidence, no suggestion in anything that I have reviewed that would suggest the prime minister had any interaction with the WE Charity in relation to this program," Shugart said. "None whatsoever." The now-aborted deal with WE could have paid the organization some $43.5 million. Shugart said the first tranche of funding for grants in exchange for volunteer hours was to be $500 million, with a budget ceiling of $912 million. MPs want Trudeau to appear before the Commons committee, but he didn't answer a question from the opposition Tuesday about whether he'll accept the invite. In the House of Commons itself, Trudeau and his cabinet were pummelled with questions about WE, with Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer at one point accusing Trudeau of using the pandemic as an excuse for corruption, something Scheer called "gross and disgusting." At the outset of the crisis, the Liberals had sought to give themselves extended and broad spending power, with limited oversight. They reversed course on that position but Scheer said Tuesday that Canadians now know why they wanted it. "They will stop and take the time to reward their friends, that is the essence of this Liberal party, under this Liberal prime minister. I don't even have a question. It's just disgusting," Scheer said. In response to direct questions on WE, Trudeau reiterated that he regretted not recusing himself from deliberations, but cabinet was following the advice of the non-partisan public service. "The public service took a look at the ways they could deliver that program and determined that the WE organization was the only one that could deliver that program as ambitious as it was this summer," Trudeau said. "I should have recused myself because of the connection with ... my family, but that doesn't take away from the fact that the public service recommended that organization." Shugart's testimony provided more details about the timeline for that decision. WE sent an unsolicited proposal to Youth Minister Bardish Chagger and Small Business Minister Mary Ng in early April for a program to help youth become entrepreneurs, which carried a price tag of between $6 million and $14 million. Federal officials were already discussing ways to help students unable to work this summer due to the pandemic, intending to announce something by mid-May. The notion WE could be involved came up in conversations between the Finance Department and Employment and Social Development Canada, which oversees student-related programs. Rachel Wernick, a senior ESDC official, called WE co-founder Craig Kielburger on April 19, at which time she and from what the Shugart said Tuesday, the Privy Council Office as well learned of the original proposal. Three days later, on April 22, Trudeau announced a $9-billion package of student aid, including the outline of a volunteer program paying students up to $5,000 toward education costs, based on the number of hours they volunteer. Kielburger emailed Wernick an updated proposal the same day, mirroring Trudeau's announcement. The decision was ultimately made to have WE run the program. Shugart said the Privy Council Office asked about running a competitive process to oversee the grants, and ministers questioned whether WE Charity could deliver on what the government wanted. He said all were confident in the recommendation to go with the group. In early July, the organization handed back control of the program to the government. Shugart said a program will roll out, but will offer much less in the way of support services to students as a consequence of the public service having to deliver the program. Finance Minister Bill Morneau is set to appear before the committee Wednesday afternoon. NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh called on the prime minister to waive cabinet confidentiality and release all documents around the WE agreement. He said the affair raises concerns about the Liberals' handling of emergency aid programs to help Canadians concerned about their jobs, finances and health. "To deal with all these concerns, not having a job, the future, a pandemic, people need to have confidence in their government," Singh told a morning news conference. 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. "What this scandal has done is really rocked the confidence of people in a government that doesn't seem to be acting for the interest of people, but to help out their close friends." The WE organization released a statement saying its charity was in "good financial standing" when it got the contract for the volunteering program. It also said the agreement included several levels of financial oversight, from basic audited financial statements all the way up to allowing an audit by the federal auditor general. The idea, the statement says, was that WE would enumerate its expenses in running the program so that those, and only those, could be reimbursed. Bloc Quebecois Leader Yves-Francois Blanchet said Tuesday the faster the prime minister reveals the entirety of what was said and done around the WE agreement, the better it would be for the country. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2020. with files from Stephanie Levitz Lawmakers used the murder of Army Spc. Vanessa Guillen as a rallying cry Tuesday to call for an end to the culture of sexual harassment and assault that has plagued the U.S. military and the Department of Veterans Affairs. Supporters holding posters of the 20-year-old Fort Hood, Texas, soldier, who was allegedly slain by a male service member, surrounded lawmakers, including Reps. Jackie Speier and Julia Brownley, both D-California, and Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, at a press conference outside the U.S. Capitol. Read Next: Coast Guard Bans Confederate Flag from its Installations "Hashtag I am Vanessa Guillen has become a rallying cry for survivors of ... sexual harassment and sexual assault that they have endured at the hands of brothers and sisters in arms," Speier said, describing how many victims are now speaking out about the "military's failure to hold assailants and harassers accountable." Guillen, a 3rd Cavalry Regiment soldier who disappeared April 22, was allegedly murdered by Spc. Aaron Robinson, according to a July 2 criminal complaint filed by the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Western District of Texas. Robinson shot and killed himself when confronted by local police. Two days later, federal authorities filed a criminal complaint charging 22-year-old Cecily Aguilar, a civilian and the estranged wife of a former Fort Hood soldier, with conspiracy to tamper with evidence in Guillen's disappearance. Robinson told Aguilar that he killed Guillen "by striking her in the head with a hammer" while on post April 22, then smuggled her body to a remote site in Bell County, according to the complaint. Aguilar allegedly helped Robinson mutilate and dispose of Guillen's body. Natalie Khawam, an attorney representing Guillen's family, has alleged that Robinson sexually harassed Guillen. Fort Hood and Army Criminal Investigation Command officials maintain that there is no credible evidence that Guillen was the victim of sexual harassment. Speier, who chairs the House Armed Services Committee's subcommittee on military personnel, called this a "watershed moment" in the fight against sexual harassment and assault. "We all know that sexual harassment is often the first act of ... a predator who is probing to move onto sexual assault," she said. Guillen told her family that she experienced sexual harassment, but "she did not have faith in the institution to file a report," Speier said. On July 10, Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy announced that he had ordered an independent review of the command climate and culture at Fort Hood in connection to the Guillen case. Army veteran Melissa Bryant, who serves as the national legislative director of the American Legion, called for passage of "meaningful legislation that will remove unlawful command influence and bias" when dealing with reports of sexual assault and harassment crimes -- an entrenched culture that has "has plagued our military justice system and has discouraged women veterans and service women for reporting these incidents." "Vanessa deserves better; we deserve better," Bryant said. Data shows that of, every 20,000 incidents of sexual assault, only 5,000 will be reported. And only 500 of those cases will be sent to courts-martial, Speier said. "The military's approach has failed, an epic moral failure that is a stain on military leadership," she added. A culture of sexual harassment and assault has also existed for too long at the VA, said Brownley, who chairs the Women Veterans Task Force. One in four female veteran employees experiences sexual harassment throughout the department, she said. "This is unacceptable," she added. "The agency responsible for providing health care and benefits to survivors of military sexual trauma is also the site of continued violence and trauma." Brownley recently joined House and Senate colleges in a bipartisan letter urging VA Secretary Robert Wilkie "to act swiftly" on policies to address sexual harassment at the VA. The VA "doesn't tolerate harassment and has championed several efforts to prevent it," VA spokeswoman Christina Noel said in a statement to Military.com. "Women are not only coming to VA for health care, they're coming here to lead it," Noel said. "Women are sixty percent of our workforce, and that includes the first female acting deputy secretary in VA history." Noel added that the VA will continue transforming the department to meet the needs of those who have worn the uniform and "this includes serving women veterans with the respect and dignity this country owes them." In January, however, Wilkie came under fire from VA Inspector General Michael Missal, who criticized him for suggesting that congressional staffer Andrea Goldstein, a Navy Reserve lieutenant, made "unsubstantiated claims" that she was groped and sexually harassed at the Washington, D.C., VA Medical Center in September 2019. -- Matthew Cox can be reached at matthew.cox@military.com. Related: IG Rebukes VA Secretary for Saying Navy LT's Sexual Assault Claim 'Unsubstantiated' Ulster Unionist leader Steve Aiken said neither he, nor any of his party's representatives, will be going on foreign holidays this year - but stopped short of instructing members of the public to do the same. His comments come after a spotlight was shone on the Executive's Covid-19 holiday rules on Monday, with Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw stating that she would be going on a holiday to Italy this weekend, only to backtrack hours later. According to the official advice on the NI Direct website, you must only travel abroad if the trip is "essential". The website also lists, however, some 60 countries where you can visit without being required on self-isolate on your return. This has led to confusion as to what is permitted by law and what is simply advised. On Tuesday morning, Steve Aiken said there is "an issue with the guidelines" surrounding foreign travel, however it is important the they are followed as closely as possible. He added it was not his job to "dictate" to the public if and where they should go on their holidays. "I'm not going on any foreign holidays, none of my MLAs are going on any holidays outside our country, and it is up to people to make their own minds up on this issue," he told the BBC. "The guidelines are there for people to look at them and follow them and if you don't have a reason to be going (abroad), what I'm saying is, and the decision I am making myself, is I am not going anywhere, but it is up to people themselves." When pressed, Mr Aiken refused to state that the public should not go on foreign holidays. "What I am telling the citizens of Northern Ireland is - follow the guidance. I am not going to dictate to them what they should do," he said. "It is up to the people of Northern Ireland to make that decision, that's what the guidelines are for. If you breach the guidelines, or if you breach the rules and regulations, you are very likely to increase the spread of [Covid-19]." Expand Close Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Alliance MLA Paula Bradshaw Mr Aiken also raised concerns regarding travellers from the US arriving in Dublin, arguing that the R rate of coronavirus, the reproductive rate, is higher in the Republic than in Great Britain. "One of the things we should be more worried about on this island is the fact that even this morning, there are direct flights coming from the southern United States into Dublin," he said. "There doesn't seem to be any checks and balances and controls there." Following the controversy surround Paula Bradshaw on Monday, First Minister Arlene Foster said foreign travel is down to individual judgement. "It's not up to me to tell people should they go or should they not go," she said. "If they have booked a holiday and they (the destination) are on the green or amber list, then they can go without having to quarantine when they come back. "Whether they go or not is entirely a matter for their own judgment." Mrs Foster said Stormont officials were seeking to "tidy up" coronavirus regulations to keep them in line with recent decisions taken by the Executive. The California Department of Transportation has agreed to pay $2 million for destroying belongings during sweeps of homeless encampments from 2014 to 2019. The class-action lawsuit, filed in 2016 on behalf of unhoused Californians, claims that belongings, including, food, clothing, and medical supplies, were destroyed during the sweeps enacted by Caltrans. The Alameda County Superior Court approved the settlement last week. Under the ruling, Caltrans is required to set up a $1.3 million fund to compensate people for their loss of property and give $700,000 to the nonprofit organization Homeless Action Center to provide housing and benefits services for the unhoused. For years, Caltrans has unjustly seized the of property of unhoused people, violating the Fourth Amendment, and has swept countless homeless encampments, leaving the most vulnerable people in our society with nowhere to go, Elisa Della-Piana, Legal Director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights, told KTVU. Individuals who believe that theyre eligible for reimbursement will now be able to begin filing claims, but there is concern that many of the unhoused population in Oakland, who may be eligible for payouts, are unsure of the steps required to make claims or even know about the lawsuit at all, reports Berkeleyside. Those living on Caltrans property often areas beneath or next to a freeway in the East Bay between December 2014 and October 2019 who believe their personal belongings were unfairly taken and destroyed by Caltrans may be eligible for reimbursement. The claim form can be downloaded here, and includes questions about what individuals experienced with Caltrans and what property was destroyed. Della-Piana said that her committee is available to help anyone in moving through the process by calling 510-467-0105 for free assistance. Caltrans wont review the claims until after a October deadline, and payments will likely be made in November. Andrew Chamings is an editor at SFGATE. Email: Andrew.Chamings@sfgate.com | Twitter: @AndrewChamings Cartier Carey is proving no one is too young to make a difference. The 11-year-old is working hard to provide relief for single mothers one cup of lemonade at a time. He says that he wanted to alleviate the strains that Covid-19 has put on families. I wanted to help mothers who were struggling, Cartier added. Cartier Carey (center) is working hard to provide relief for single mothers one cup of lemonade at a time. (Courtesy of Britany Stewart) The young kid is rallying members of the Hampton, Virginia, community to raise money by selling lemonade and other tasty treats. All the proceeds go toward buying diapers and wipes for mothers in need. However, his lemonade stand is only his latest effort to offer aid during the pandemic. Earlier this year, Cartier created care packages called Carti packs, filled with deodorant, soap, and tissues to give to the homeless population. He founded his own nonprofit organization called Kids 4 Change 757 about a year ago. Cartier says he was motivated to create the movement so he could help the community and make the community better. (Courtesy of Britany Stewart) His wisdom stretches far beyond his years, as do his goals. Not only does he want to provide support for his own community, but Cartier also says with Kids 4 Change 757 he aims to inspire the youth around the world. Cartiers mother says his altruistic drive has always been part of him. Were very proud, added Britany Stewart about her son. She recalls that he has always wanted to help, and his desire continues to grow as he gets older. His lemonade stand has yielded close to $3,000 in three days. He doesnt want to spend any of the money on himself, Stewart said. He just wants to continue to keep buying diapers and giving each day. (Illustration Star Stock/Shutterstock) Cartier is rewarded by seeing his impact on the people around him. It makes me feel happy that Im actually helping people, Cartier said, alluding to his mission. Some of the people he has supplied have approached him to offer their gratitude. Cartier says knowing he is making a difference encourages him to continue his work in the community. The CNN Wire contributed to this report. Former President John Dramani Mahama has congratulated his son Shafik on his marriage. Shafik Mahama reportedly tied the knot with his Algerian girlfriend Asma over the weekend. Media reports suggested the pair said their vows at a private ceremony in the UAE. In an Instagram post, Mr Mahama congratulated the couple on the marriage and wished them well. He posted: "Congrats Shafik and Asma. God richly bless your union". Videos from what appears to be the reception of the wedding ceremony show the couple feeding each other wedding cake in front of friends and family. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Hospital fundraising provides critical resources but a new study looks to ensure it's done effectively and ethically ANN ARBOR, Michigan -- As many hospitals and health centers face dramatic drops in revenue from ramping down services during the coronavirus pandemic, donations from grateful patients and philanthropists become more important than ever. A new study looks for the first time at patients' views of hospital fundraising, including legally allowable practices that encourage physicians to work with their hospital's fundraising professionals. "Fundraising is essential. We cannot abandon philanthropy for hospitals and health systems, especially in the current environment. But we need to learn how best to do this both effectively and ethically," says Reshma Jagsi, M.D., D.Phil., director of the Center for Bioethics and Social Sciences in Medicine at the University of Michigan and lead author of a new paper published in JAMA. The paper is the first to ask groups of patients about their attitudes toward hospital fundraising. Researchers surveyed 513 members of a U.S. national survey panel, reflective of the general population. Participants were asked how they felt about common strategies hospitals use to identify, solicit and thank donors. These practices are all legally allowed. Just under half of the responses endorsed doctors giving patient names to hospital fundraising staff after asking a patient's permission, and 9% said it was OK without asking permission. While 80% said doctors could talk to patients about donating if the patient brought it up, 14% said it was acceptable if the patient had not brought it up. Wealth screening, in which fundraising staff use publicly available data to identify patients who might be capable of large donations, was endorsed by 10% of respondents. "These policies were made with the best intent to facilitate fundraising for hospitals and health care institutions. We don't want to hamstring this as the money is used to the benefit of society as a whole," Jagsi says. "But I think it's also important to understand public perspectives toward these practices. We found that certain specific practices cause a lot of people concerns, and maybe those should be avoided." The survey also assessed how hospitals could show thanks to those who make large donations. Half said it was acceptable to provide nicer hospital rooms, a quarter endorsed expedited appointments and 20% said it was OK to provide doctors' cell phone numbers. "As a practicing physician asked to engage my patients around philanthropy, it's occurred to me that this could be a potential conflict of interest," Jagsi says. "I want guidance to navigate this, to understand what I should do to encourage philanthropy but also to protect my patients and maintain their trust." The authors suggest additional research is needed to further understand the attitudes and preferences of patients and the general public. Jagsi says she hopes this work helps inform future conversations about policy so that hospital fundraising efforts can continue in ways that are both effective and ethical. "Especially in the midst of a pandemic, we've discovered how vulnerable health systems are. Now perhaps more than ever it's incredibly important for development and philanthropy to thrive. We want to help development professionals continue doing their important work in ways that the public views as ethically appropriate," Jagsi says. ### Additional authors: Kent A. Griffith, Joseph A. Carrese, Megan Collins, Audiey C. Kao, Sara Konrath, Stacey A. Tovino, Jane L. Wheeler, Scott M. Wright Funding: Greenwall Foundation Disclosure: None Reference: JAMA, doi: 10.1001/jama.2020.9442, published July 21, 2020 Ethiopian poultry farmers have killed hundreds of thousands of chicks, as the sector is hit hard due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Ethiopia's movement restrictions to try to contain coronavirus has led hotels in Addis Ababa to reduce operations or close down. This removes a major source of demand for poultry products. Reuters Government data was not available but EthioChicken, one of the biggest suppliers of poultry products in Addis Ababa, said it had to kill nearly 650,000 chicks in five weeks over May and June and estimated millions had been destroyed country-wide. "We also had to actually pull some eggs from our hatchery, so that we could destroy them as eggs instead of chicks," Fseha Tesfu, in charge of marketing at EthioChicken, told Reuters. Reuters The impact is extremely disrupting for the sector and has potentially devastating social consequences in a country where Finance Minister Ahmed Shide said in May nearly 15 million people could need government help because of the pandemic. "This sector used to employ a vast group of society in different regions of the country, whether it is the youth or women, in all sorts of age groups," Meba Gabriel Estifanos, a veterinarian, who also owns a small farm in Addis Ababa, said. Reuters "Now, because we are not receiving day-old chicks as the supply chain is totally disrupted, the society employed by the sector is not working at all." "If we are not working, it is difficult for us to pay our employees," Bantayehu Wolde-Michael, manager of Capital Hotel, a five-star hotel in Addis Ababa, told Reuters. 21.07.2020 LISTEN The Divisional Queen mother of Ngleshie Amanfrom in the Ga South municipality of Greater Accra Region, Nana Tambia (IV) has said members in her traditional area are consistently being attacked by land guards. Her comments seek to rubbish reports circulating on social media that there are no such attacks. A publication carried by Ghanaweb reported that there are no land guard attacks in Ngleshie Amanfrom. But the traditional leader says she is amazed by the false reportage. She indicated that the online report was attributed to a press release drafted by one Dr. Benjamin Amuzu who is imposing as the PRO of the Ngleshie Amanfrom Traditional Stool. In a joint statement from Nana Tambia (IV) and Abusuapayin Nii Armah Okine of Ngleshie Amanfrom, they have narrated how attacks by some wicked people nearly resulted in the death of one person but for the intervention of the Ghana Police Service. Currently the case is under investigation and also court has put an injunction on the chief activities but he is going against the orders of the court. The community is still experiencing gunshots and attacks by some unscrupulous people who are close allies of the chief, Nii Kwashie Gborlor IV, the press statement has added. The statement added that the publication on Ghanaweb has been sent to the Ghana Police Service together with Dr. Benjamin Amuzu who signed the press release to appear before the court. Read the press statement from Nana Tambia (IV) and Abusuapayin Nii Armah Okine below: Large retail chains have started requiring customers to wear masks inside all of their stores, as coronavirus cases surge across the country and politicians and public health experts clamor for widespread use of face coverings to stem the spread of the disease. On Friday, McDonalds, one of the largest fast-food chain in the United States with 38,984 locations as of March 31, joined other retailers and restaurants with mask mandates. After Walmart, Americas largest retailer, announced on July 15 that it would mandate in-store mask-wearing, a flurry of other companies, including Kroger, Target and Walgreens, followed suit. This means that customers will be required to wear face masks in stores even in places without local mask ordinances. The National Retail Federation has encouraged companies to set nationwide mask policies to protect employees and shoppers. Some chains, however, have moved in the opposite direction. After establishing a customer mask requirement in early July, Dollar Tree and Family Dollar reversed course on July 20, saying they would require masks only if mandated by state or local rules. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 18:02:51|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Health workers prepare at a free drive-thru COVID-19 testing facility in Manila, the Philippines on July 21, 2020. The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 70,764 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,951 new infections on Tuesday. (Xinhua/Rouelle Umali) MANILA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines surged to 70,764 after the Department of Health (DOH) reported 1,951 new infections on Tuesday. The DOH said that the number of recoveries further rose to 23,281 after 209 more patients have survived the disease. The death toll also increased to 1,837 after two more patients died, the DOH said. The Philippines reiterated on Tuesday that it is ramping up COVID-19 testing and contact tracing to contain the community transmission amid the sharp spike of cases recorded in the country. Health Secretary Francisco Duque said in a televised meeting with Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte that the government aims to test up to 40,000 people a day from the current 20,000 to 25,000. The government, which has tested nearly 1.12 million people so far, aims to test 10 million people by 2021, he added. "Our target is to test more than 10 percent of the total population. Of the total population at 109 million, we might be able to reach about 10 million Filipinos by 2021," Duque said, adding that early detection is vital in clinical management. In a televised public address aired on Tuesday, Duterte threatened to arrest Filipinos who continue to wantonly defy the lockdown rules of wearing a face mask and maintaining safe distancing when outside their homes. He instructed the police and the local government officials to strictly implement the rules especially in the densely populated slums in Metro Manila and other urban areas. "We will have to ask our police to be more strict. They will be arrested. A little shame would put them on notice forever," he said. "I hate to arrest people for a mere violation of (not following rules like wearing a face mask and social distancing.) But they need to cooperate. The mayors have to do more," he said. "There is no other way that we can prevent COVID-19 from transferring from one person to the other unless we obey," Duterte said. Scott Morrison told a reporter that no-one cares about his question during a press conference to announce the extension of JobKeeper on Tuesday morning. Sky News political editor Andrew Clennell asked the prime minister if he was planning to call an election next year to capitalise on his popularity. A stern Mr Morrison responded by saying Australians do not care about the next election when people are dying in Victoria. 'Politics is nowhere near my mind,' he said. Scott Morrison (pictured) roasted a reporter during his press conference to announce the extension of JobKeeper on Tuesday morning 'I mean, I don't think Australians could care less when the next election was and, frankly, right now it's got nothing factoring into my thinking not at all. 'I know it may totally fascinate people who stand in this courtyard, at least some of them, but it is just not a factor,' the Prime Minister continued. 'I mean, we have got an outbreak in Victoria and people are dying and you're asking me questions about when the next election is. 'I think we need to focus on what the real issues are here and its not when the next election is.' Mr Morrison then moved on to another question without letting the reporter reply. Speculation has been growing that Mr Morrison will call an election next year because he is so popular after successfully handling the coronavirus crisis. A Newspoll on Monday found Mr Morrison has a 33-point lead as preferred prime minister over Labor leader Anthony Albanese. Mr Morrison is on 59 per cent while his rival's support remains steady at 26 per cent. When is the next election due? A House of Representatives election can be requested at any time but, if the Government has control of the House and is able to proceed with its legislative program, the Governor-General is highly unlikely to agree to such a request within the first year of a new parliament. The latest possible date of the next election is within 68 days from the expiry of the House. As the 46th Parliament first met on Tuesday 2 July 2019, it is therefore due to expire on Friday 1 July 2022. The election for the House of Representatives must therefore be held by 3 September 2022, the last Saturday within this 68 day period. However, an election may be held at any time before that date. Generally, elections are called well before there is a constitutional or legal necessity. Source: aph.gov.au Advertisement Today the Prime Minister announced that JobKeeper will be extended until March but two million Australians will lose access from September as the payment and the JobSeeker supplement are reduced by $300. Scott Morrison today announced the wage subsidy, which currently helps 3.5million Australians, will be reduced in phases as the economy recovers from coronavirus lockdowns. The payment was due to end on 27 September but instead it will be decreased from $1,500 to $1,200-a-fortnight. A lower rate of $750-a-fortnight will go to people who worked fewer than 20 hours a week in February, before coronavirus struck. The two-tiered system has been brought in because one in four casuals are earning more on JobKeeper than when they worked. From 4 January, the payments will be reduced to $1,000-a-fortnight for full time staff and to $650-a-fortnight for those who worked fewer than 20 hours. The JobKeeper payment will be extended until March and an increased JobSeeker rate will last until December. Pictured: The Prime Minister meeting businessmen on Monday How are the support payments changing from September? JOBKEEPER * The $1500 fortnightly wage subsidy will continue until September 27 * From the end of September to January, JobKeeper will be reduced to $1200 for full-time workers and $750 for people working 20 hours or less * From January to March, the full-time rate will be $1000 and part-time will reduce to $650 * Businesses turning over less than $1 billion will have to requalify for the program at both stages through showing a 30 per cent drop in revenue. * Businesses with more than $1 billion in turnover have to demonstrate a 50 per cent fall JOBSEEKER * The elevated unemployment benefit will remain at $1100 a fortnight until September 27 * From that date until the end of the year the $550 coronavirus supplement will be cut by $300 to make the overall fortnightly payment $800 * People will be able to earn up to $300 without having their payment reduced * The mutual obligation rules requiring people to search for four jobs a month will restart on August 4 * Penalties for people refusing a job offer will be reintroduced * Job search requirements will increase in September when the assets test will also return * The permanent JobSeeker rate to take effect from January next year will be announced in the October 6 budget. Advertisement Fewer businesses will be eligible for JobKeeper as they must continue to prove a revenue decline of 30 per cent compared to before coronavirus. Many will not meet this threshold because business has picked up after lockdowns ended. This means that the number of people on Jobkeeper is expected to decline from 3.5million now to 1.4million between October and December, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said today. From January 1million people are expected to receive the payment. Australian Council of Trade Unions boss Sally McManus said she feared the lower rates would lead to mass sackings. 'Businesses will be getting less support from the government per worker so they may decide to cut numbers,' she said. From September 24 the JobSeeker supplement will be reduced from $550 to $250, meaning the total benefit will be worth $800-a-fortnight instead of $1,100 in total. That level will last until December 31 and the Prime Minister expects some level of supplement to remain beyond that. JobSeekers will be able to earn $300 while keeping their full benefits. They will have to apply for four jobs a month to qualify for the benefits and must not refuse a job if offered. Owing to the ongoing Covid-19 outbreak, the state is looking to conduct an online public hearing on the proposed 27-storey Metro Bhavan in Aarey colony. The state invited suggestions and objections, on the change in land-use for 2.03 hectare (ha) of land in the contested Aarey area from green zone to Metro Bhavan and Metro rail allied users last year in August . In February, HT reported that despite 2,563 objections filed by citizens, the state is yet to conduct a hearing on the issue. We are looking to conduct the hearing next week, after which we will submit a report to the state government, said AB Patil, deputy director of town planning. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA), which is executing the Metro lines , planned a central operation and control centre on the 2-ha plot at Aarey. The basement-plus-27-floor building will be constructed at 1,033 crore. The decision to construct Metro Bhavan in Aarey also stands on a sticky ground for the current regime. After assuming office in November 2019, chief minister Uddhav Thackeray stalled the Metro-3 car-shed construction at Aarey, stating that no more trees will be cut in the green lung for the project. However, the state did not made its stance clear on the Metro Bhavan plan. Environmentalist Zoru Bhathena, in his objection to the proposed building said no land-use change can be proposed in a green zone without the Centres prior permission. MMRDA has hectares and hectares of its own vacant land across Mumbai, which can be used to build the Bhavan. There is no need to destroy a natural area for the purpose, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON San Antonio police are asking the for the public's help in identifying two people suspected of taking hundreds of dollars worth of property from a Southwest Side home. On July 10, a male and a female broke into a residence near the 3100 block of Pine Hollow just before 9:30 a.m. Mr Kelly said he will seek to make changes to the Civil Liability Act which will make it easier for terminally ill women and their families to access support. He told the Dail that he will do it in honour of prominent CervicalCheck campaigner Ruth Morrissey, who died earlier this week. Mrs Morrissey, who died on Sunday, aged 39, was among hundreds of women affected by the controversy around incorrect smear test results. Mr Kelly said that as part of her legacy, the Government should also ensure that the CervicalCheck tribunal is not adversarial. I know what she wanted is the Civil Liabilities Act to be amended to do as I just said, and as the chief justice outlined himself, Mr Kelly added. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said that Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is appointing a judge and two other independent members to the tribunal, which was scheduled to begin in March, but was postponed because of Covid-19 restrictions. Advertisement Mr Martin said the tribunal was the most effective mechanism to enable women involved to resolve these issues without having to go before the courts. Mr Martin also apologised to Mrs Morrissey and her family on behalf of the state and acknowledged the litany of failures in the cervical screening system. Too many women who should be here and enjoying life with their families are gone because of those failings," Mr Martin told the Dail. This government, like the previous government, acknowledges the failures that took place with CervicalCheck programme and are profoundly sorry for what was allowed to happen Last July the Oireachtas passed legislation to set up to the CervicalCheck tribunal and the statutory tribunal that will deal with the issue of liability in a non-adversarial way. After his statement in the Dail, TDs held a minutes silence for Mrs Morrissey. Research by the University of Southampton shows European countries need to work together when lifting lockdown measures, to prevent COVID-19 cases rising again on the continent. A study by WorldPop, experts in population mapping, has found any resurgence of the virus would be brought forward by up to five weeks if well-connected countries prematurely end their non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs), such as social distancing and self-isolation, without coordinating efforts. This would give less time to expand testing programmes and develop new treatments or vaccines. Detailed findings are published in the journal Science. Lead author of the study, Dr Nick Ruktanonchai comments: "Our study shows the timing of any second epidemic across Europe depends on the actions of countries that are populous, well-connected and currently have strong interventions in place. The uncoordinated easing of NPIs can lead to much earlier secondary epidemics, while coordination can mean much higher likelihoods of eliminating all local cases." Director of WorldPop, Professor Andy Tatem, says: "Intergovernmental organisations, such as the World Health Organization, have stressed the importance of international solidarity to share resources and expertise to combat COVID-19. Our results underline this and suggest that coordination between countries removing lockdown measures is vital. One country ending NPIs before others could lead to an accelerated resurgence of the disease." The researchers used anonymised Vodafone mobile phone data and a Google mobility dataset to provide information on trends of population movement. They combined this with publicly available COVID-19 infection data. Using a sophisticated model, the team ran multiple exit strategy scenarios -- each estimating the effect of relaxing different lockdown measures in different country combinations among 35 European countries, to examine how this affected virus spread in Europe over a six month period (April 2020 onwards). The researchers concluded that if countries work together, it could greatly improve the likelihood of ending community transmission of COVID-19 throughout the continent. In particular, they showed that synchronizing intermittent lockdowns across countries would lead to half as many lockdown periods being necessary to achieve an end to transmission of the virus among people in Europe. Across 1200 simulations, the researchers found that if countries synchronised implementation and relaxation of NPIs, an end to community transmission (over the six months period) was always the most likely outcome. If this was achieved, it would shift the emphasis to testing, tracing and quarantining cases coming to the region from elsewhere. The study also showed that certain countries have a higher potential to cause a resurgence of COVID-19 than others. France, Germany, Italy, Poland and the UK were all identified as being a greater risk to triggering any new wave of infection. Furthermore, the way in which each country would contribute to any resurgence varies. For example, Germany was shown as most likely to spark epidemics in neighbouring countries, whereas virus spread from France tends towards adversely affecting main population centres continent-wide. This suggests the most effective interventions may depend on the country considered. For instance, airport closures might be more useful for France, while limits on local travel may be more effective for Germany. The researchers believe their approach could be used to study virus resurgence beyond Europe and plan to undertake future work to examine the effect of coordinated relaxation of NPIs at a global level. Entrepreneur Network Hear Startup Story Live speaker Erik Huberman, founder of full-service marketing consultancy Hawke Media, talk about why now is an opportunity for businesses to gain market share. Huberman discusses his companys early response to COVID-19 and how new customers made up for business lost due to marketing budget cuts. Huberman talks about how situations such as the pandemic necessarily cause companies to lose affected and scared customers, but that waiting and holding on for dear life will not reverse a decline. He recommends instead that businesses focus on acquiring new customers with sales and marketing. Gay marriage was legalized in Canada on July 20, 2005. Yet exactly 15 years later, an Ontario couple in the process of planning their own wedding got a reminder that discrimination can still sour the event. Kelly Roberts, 26, and Mallory Arthur, 26, who live in Woodstock, Ont., got engaged in January, just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic response got underway in the province. Their plan was always to get married next year, but with the pandemic postponing so many nuptials, they have been planning full force since rebookings have made 2021 a busier wedding year. Roberts came across a videography company based in Brantford, Ont. called Caramount Pictures run by Ian Hamstra and Cara Hamstra and sent an inquiry over this past weekend. On Monday, Roberts got this reply from Cara: I say this with much care, because I know that your union is incredibly important to you, but we do not film homosexual weddings, the email read. Caramount Pictures did not respond to the Stars requests for comment. The fact that she didnt even try to mask her homophobia in writing I think that was the shocking part, Roberts said in an interview with the Star. The fact that she didnt even try to mask it just shows that its such a normal thought for her to have, Arthur continued. The Ontario Human Rights Code states that every person has a right to equal treatment with respect to services, goods and facilities, without discrimination because of several identities, including sexual orientation. Roberts, who is on the Pride committee for Oxford county, shared a screenshot of the email response on her Facebook page and Instagram stories and received several messages of support. Since then, the companys Facebook and Google profile have also been flooded with hundreds of negative reviews related to the email, dropping its rating to 1.0 stars on Facebook. This wasnt Arthur and Roberts first experience with discrimination while wedding planning. They said they reached out to an officiant based in London, Ont. that they found via the app Wedding Wire. Once Mallory sat down beside me for the meeting, he realized that were a gay couple, Roberts said. She says he then told them he wouldnt be able to support their wedding due to his religious beliefs. There is an exception in the OHRC that allows a religious official to refuse to perform a marriage ceremony if it would be against the persons religious beliefs or principles. Since we had that experience, especially, when I reach out to someone I try to make it clear that its two brides marrying each other just because it was such a bad taste in my mouth before, Roberts said. The fact that I need to out myself in a way to every single vendor that I reach out to, just because I dont want to face this problem, its sad. The two are still focused on planning a day for each other and having fun anticipating their wedding day set for October 2021. If I could do it tomorrow I would, Arthur said. Mr Roland Affail Monney, President of the Ghana Journalists Association (GJA) has asked journalists to shift from evil to righteous journalism. He expressed worry about how media reportage in the country was becoming provocative and unfortunately attracting more audience against reports that promoted peace and development. Mr Monney was launching the Watch Your Tongue-(WYT), peace campaign towards the upcoming 2020 General Election. The campaign is on the theme: Help maintain Ghana Peace and would use conferences; virtual and roadshows in regions, visits to Parliament among others to sensitise the public on helping to maintain peace in the country. The GJA President said the toxic media contents were evil journalism, thus, journalists should avoid that and promote developmental (righteous) journalism. He said it was unfortunate that many hearts were troubled ahead of the December polls because the citizenry had relegated peace to the background with regular reports of violence at registration centres and charged the media to change the narrative. Mr Monney said the media had a charge to keep the peace by reporting in a way that would not ignite violence, as well as not endangering the peace and stability of the country. They should not repeat words of violence by politicians, he added. Sergeant Daniel Kwasi Ofori Appiah, Founder, and Leader of the WYT Campaign Team called on the citizenry to think right, speak right, act right and write right before, during, and after the elections to contribute to the peace in Ghana. He asked politicians to avoid heated arguments in the media that would incite supporters. Mr Bessa Simons, Acting President of the Musicians Union of Ghana advised musicians not to use provocative words that would spark violence when engaged by politicians for campaign songs. He said the songs must rather encourage voters to choose for themselves their leaders. Volunteers took turns to address the citizenry in various local languages, including, Dagbani, Ewe, and Akan on the need to maintain peace, before, during, and after the polls. In attendance were WYT volunteers, traditional and religious leaders. 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 Leke, son of Enoch Adeboye, the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has taken to social media to question t... Leke, son of Enoch Adeboye, the general overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), has taken to social media to question the love people have for God. In a post on his Instagram page, Leke said he noticed that he gets fewer engagements when he shares posts on Bible passage while irrelevant posts get lots of likes. He also wondered why people are just after distractions and are always on the lookout for flaws in men of God so as to judge them. I posted Bible passage at most would get 1,500 likes. I post heart shaped pothole and get 7, 500 views, he wrote. I post morning devotional, l get 120 likes. People dont really want God, theyre just after distractions or what they can use to judge you. Whats is wrong with us? Leke, who is a pastor at RCCG, had made the news in March after some social media users expressed reservations with his mode of dressing which they said was akin to that of a ganster. His father also stirred controversies on Twitter recently after some Nigerians faulted his birthday message to Foluke, his wife, on her 72nd birthday. Ms Leon was forced to close her restaurant on Tuesday for deep cleaning. Ive tried to call the Health Department but I cant get through, she said. No one can tell me what to do. Nationals MP for East Gippsland Tim Bull called for calm amid anger in the community, which on Tuesday had just one confirmed active case of coronavirus. Disappointing and infuriating as it is, we cant undo whats been done, he said. Well work together and make sure we get on top of this. Mr Bull said the woman, who previously lived in East Gippsland but moved to Melbourne, crossed the metropolitan border and arrived just before the weekend. East Gippsland MP Tim Bull has called for calm after a woman from Melbourne visited Orbost and subsequently tested positive. Credit:Justin McManus She was tested for COVID-19 then travelled to East Gippsland and subsequently received a positive result. The state government confirmed the woman received the result late on Monday night. East Gippsland is not under the same stage three restrictions imposed on Melbourne and Mitchell Shire, where residents are forbidden from travelling outside their local area for all but four reasons: work if it can't be done from home; shopping for essential supplies; caregiving and medical appointments; or daily exercise. Police are staging rolling checkpoints around the border between the lockdown zone and the rest of the state to prevent people travelling to regional Victoria without an approved reason. In a statement on Tuesday night, Victoria Police said a police officer in Orbost was in self-quarantine as a precaution after coming into casual contact with the woman. "Victoria Police will work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services as they conduct contact tracing to determine whether anyone else was in casual or close contact with this employee," Victoria Police said. "There has been no impact on the Orbost police station and associated service delivery." Rachel Jones, one of the owners of the Marlo Pub, said her business was told by a friend of the person who tested positive that she had visited their business. They rang us up [on Monday] night and told us the person and their partner had been here for dinner on Saturday and drinks on Sunday, she said. Loading The pub has closed and will undergo a deep clean as staff are tested. In a statement posted to Facebook, Snowy River Tackle said it was advised someone who visited its shop at the weekend had tested positive. The shop closed for deep cleaning on Tuesday and will remain shut pending advice from authorities. The Orbost Foodworks supermarket also took to social media, saying it received word a customer who was in the store on Monday for about two minutes tested positive. The staff member who served the customer was asked to self-isolate, as were customers nearby. Premier Daniel Andrews said nobody should be going to regional Victoria while waiting for test results. Whether you had a test result coming or not, theres no need to be going to the far east of the state for instance, he said. The scare in East Gippsland came as the Colac Otway Shire recorded the greatest number of infections in regional Victoria, with cases more than doubling to 27 on Tuesday. The Health Department confirmed 13 of those cases were linked to the Australian Lamb Company abattoir. Oakland and Berkeley have set themselves on a path to fundamentally rethink the police. The question now is whether they can deliver. Cities that vow to quickly chop law enforcement budgets will come under scrutiny. In wanting to be leaders, they will confront powerful police unions that tend to land the best municipal labor contracts. They will weigh the publics appetite for a different version of public safety and test politicians willingness to start a process that may take years. I want to treat this as a real thing and a real mandate, Oakland Councilwoman Lynette Gibson McElhaney said, adding that she hopes to debunk the perception that police keep us safe. But as the cities look to slash police funding in half cuts that would amount to $150 million in Oakland and about $36 million in Berkeley they face obstacles that range from collective bargaining agreements and peculiar tax issues to tense debates among various camps. Multiple crises hover in the background: the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic wreckage to city budgets, skyrocketing unemployment and civil unrest prompted by high-profile instances of police violence. All of these things make the present an inopportune moment to chase a political hashtag, former New York City Police Commissioner William Bratton said in an interview Monday. Yalonda M. James / The Chronicle Oakland City Council is set to discuss several proposals Tuesday, including removing police from special event security. Voters approved a parcel tax in 2014 that the city can collect only if it maintains a force of 678 officers. Under the terms, Oakland has to reach a threshold of 800 officers before it can lay anyone off. The city currently has 732 officers. We have basically ... been defunded over the last decade or so, Oaklands interim police chief, Susan Manheimer, told reporters last week. We did furloughs, layoffs, and we still have not caught up. We have over 60 openings. She added that Oakland Police respond to more than 2,000 calls for service each day, all from individual people who need help. And in Berkeley, advocates against drunk driving initially pushed back against a measure to steer police away from traffic enforcement. The opponents said it would undo years of progress to discourage people from driving under the influence. Even as cities just peek over the cliffs edge, its already clear that policing as an institution is deeply embedded in our society and our psyche. Unraveling it could be an extraordinarily complex endeavor. Skeptics wonder, for example, whether a motorist with a broken tail light would obey commands from an unarmed person in an orange vest. One of the reasons police have been given so many responsibilities over time is that they have the force of authority, said Bratton, who is now the executive chairman of Teneo, a security consulting firm. Over several decades, police officers have become larger-than-life, on television and on the streets, said John Roman, senior fellow at the National Opinion Research Center at the University of Chicago. He noted that significant changes to public safety may require an overhaul of public opinion. Now Playing: Inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement, local artists and community members paint over boarded-up storefronts in Downtown Oakland. The grassroots project responds to the civil unrest over police violence and systemic racism, sparked by the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Video: Caron Creighton I dont know if it was a comfort to see a police officer in the 1970s, when he was driving a Dodge Dart thats probably worse than whatever youre driving, Roman said. Now hes driving a $100,000 souped-up SUV. Before he was wearing uniform pants, like a security guard, but now hes wearing military gear. ... We went from Andy of Mayberry to G.I. Joe. Calls for police reform gained momentum after the 2014 killing of Michael Brown an 18-year-old Black man who lay bleeding in the street for four hours after an officer shot him in Ferguson, Mo. Browns death sparked protests that ricocheted around the country, heightening after police confronted crowds with armored vehicles and assault rifles. In Oakland, criticism of law enforcement has been part of the political discourse for decades, touched off by a 2000 civil rights lawsuit over The Riders scandal in which a group of West Oakland officers were accused of beatings and corruption. While the officers were found not guilty, the incident ultimately put the city under a federal court monitor and that oversight continues to this day. Yet the slow-motion killing of George Floyd, a Black man who died begging for air and his mother while Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes, jolted the nation into a new phase of reckoning. Oakland diverted $14.3 million from the Police Department in its June budget and activists have continued calling for more aggressive measures, including a transition team of city administrators and community members who would help disband large sections of the department. Berkeleys City Council voted this week to begin shifting police away from minor traffic and parking enforcement, with a goal of delegating those responsibilities to a new Department of Transportation. Oakland took a similar approach in 2018, when police stopped pulling people over for minor infractions to repair a corrosive relationship with the community. San Francisco Mayor London Breed and Supervisor Shamann Walton pledged in June to redirect funds from the citys police budget toward the African American community. The proposal so far, a broad gesture will take shape when Breed introduces her budget in August. Michael Short / Special to The Chronicle While some elected officials are pressing for budgets to be lacerated right away a message thats grown louder as reform advocates threaten their re-election chances administrators and police chiefs warn it may not be logistically possible. In a staff report to the Oakland City Council, Manheimer cited memorandums of understanding with the Oakland Police Officers Association that prohibit layoffs or involuntary furloughs before June 30, 2024. If the city wants to chisel away at the budget, it would have to be done through attrition, according to the report. 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. Leaders also appear divided over whether to dive into reforms, or come up with a long-term plan. Berkeley Councilmember Lori Droste, who chairs the citys budget committee, argued against a proposal for a dramatic gutting of Berkeleys $73 million police budget. It won support from just three of the citys eight council members, too few to move it forward. I fundamentally believe that people do not understand the immediate impact of firing over 90 city employees with no transition plan, Droste said. We need data to know how to pursue something like that. At the same time, powerful coalitions of activists are taking out newspaper ads, marching to city council members homes, calling into virtual council and committee meetings that last late into the night, and grooming candidates to represent an anti-police platform in November. McElhaney, for instance, is facing a contest with community organizer Carroll Fife, who launched her campaign Saturday with two car caravans through Oakland. Fifes supporters have said that McElhaney is too moderate. However, its still unclear whether defunding police will appeal to a much larger audience, especially in Oakland, which as of 2018 had the nations highest rate of violent crimes per officer. Mayor Libby Schaaf ran her 2014 campaign on a promise to boost the force to 800 officers, an issue that won votes in the affluent hills and seemed to resonate with some residents of the lower-income flatlands. Everyone is saying, Lets defund, defund, defund, and Im saying, No, lets reform, said Preston Turner, a longtime resident of the Melrose neighborhood in East Oakland and member of the neighborhood crime prevention council. He empathizes with victims of police violence but also relies on police auto burglaries are pervasive in the Melrose and reckless drivers speed down its main arteries, High Street and Foothill Boulevard. For now, Oakland and Berkeley are conducting studies. Oaklands City Council requested a comprehensive review of 911 and non-emergency calls, and that report is due in October. Berkeleys city auditor is planning a similar analysis of police call loads and the departments budgets. The process is scheduled to be finished next April. Some within the city administrations have characterized the reviews as a necessary first step. Activists and some council members, however, call them a delay tactic. There are mountains and mountains of studies, said Cat Brooks, co-founder of the Anti Police-Terror Project in Oakland. She ran unsuccessfully against Schaaf in 2018 in a campaign that now seems ahead of its time. Brooks called for the Police Department to be partially dissolved and many responsibilities to be shifted over to counselors and social workers. Two years ago that idea seemed radical. Now its held up as a model that some city leaders tout and are scrambling to implement. Rachel Swan and Brett Simpson are San Francisco Chronicle staff writers. Email: rswan@sfchronicle.com, brett.simpson@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @rachelswan @brettvsimpson In two recent interviews, Vladimirs Remi shared what he has learned throughout his career in the e-commerce and fintech sectors NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Vladimirs Remi was recently featured in two exclusive interviews with Ideamensch and Kivo Daily. He spoke about his career in e-commerce and fintech. With 14 years of experience as a business owner, Vladimirs Remi is the CEO of his own fintech company. He also owns a group of companies with the goal to expand operations beyond Europe, into the U.S. and Asia. In his interview with Ideamensch, Vladimirs Remi explained how he brings ideas to life. "Just dream and then do," said Vladimirs Remi. "I have a lot of dreams that I want to complete, so if I want something I just start moving to that direction and to make at least something in this direction and after that everything just starts happening." In his interview with Kivo Daily, Vladimirs Remi explained that he decided to create his own business because it gave him the freedom to choose his own career path and pursue his unique vision. He further explained traits he possesses that make him a successful leader. "As a leader, I am very focused, clear, and decisive about where my company is headed. I also have a very strong work ethic and a tremendous amount of willpower," said Vladimirs Remi. "I am committed to consistently doing what is in the best long-term interests of my company and my family. I am a dreamer as well as a doer and I am always moving forward." For more information, visit https://vladimirsremi.com/ About Vladimirs Remi Born in Riga, Latvia, Vladimirs Remi is an experienced and successful entrepreneur in the fintech sector. He holds a Professional Bachelor's degree in E-Commerce from the Riga International School of Economics and Business Administration. He is a certified high-risk underwriter and successfully completed the International English Language Testing System Exam in 2010. He began his career as a call support specialist in the world's leading fintech company. He went on to become a software engineer, project manager, and later the Head of e-commerce department in a bank. Today, Vladimirs Remi is the owner and CEO of his own fintech company. He hopes to expand his business beyond the European Union into the U.S. and Asia. Contact: Vladimirs Remi vladimirs.remi@gmail.com https://uk.linkedin.com/in/vladimirsremi SOURCE: Vladimirs Remi View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598313/Vladimirs-Remi-Shares-Career-Insights \PHILADELPHIA (AP) The owner of an award-winning organic dairy who pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of nearly $60 million was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison. Philip Riehl, an accountant and the majority owner of Trickling Springs Creamery, ran a long-running Ponzi scheme that preyed on hundreds of Amish and Mennonite investors, according to federal prosecutors. He pleaded guilty in February to securities and wire fraud and conspiracy. Chambersburg-based Trickling Springs Creamery opened in 2001 and produced milk, cream, butter, ice cream, yogurt and cheese. The dairy's products were sold up and down the East Coast. Court documents said Riehl lured investors to a fund that made most of its loans to Trickling Springs and paid off older investors with money from new investors. He and a co-conspirator also sold promissory notes in an effort to prop up the struggling creamery, lying to investors that it was profitable when in reality it was losing money, according to court documents. The business abruptly closed its doors last fall. "The people who invested their money, sometimes their entire life's savings, with Philip Riehl believed implicitly that they could trust him because he was one of their own," U.S. Attorney William McSwain said in a written statement. "Riehl preyed upon that trust, swindling them out of tens of millions of dollars in an effort to keep his creamery business from going under." A federal judge ordered Riehl to pay restitution, though authorities acknowledged that Riehls victims wont be made whole. More: Police searching for man accused of throwing child out of car onto highway Schuylkill County man admits falsifying records to be appointed constable in Mount Carmel Babysitter arrested, charged in death of missing 2-year-old Pa. boy: report Political analyst Mutahi Ngunyi is undoubtedly a highly-divisive figure. Many Kenyans find it hard to disagree with some of his unsettling observations in the same manner others struggle to agree with him. This was the case last week when the analyst described Deputy President William Ruto as the new Lord of Poverty". READ ALSO: Policewoman who controlled traffic barefooted during heavy rains promoted Mutahi Ngunyi said Ruto was the new lord of poverty. Photo: Mutahi Ngunyi. Source: UGC READ ALSO: Johnson Sakaja: Court sentences senator to 3 months in prison with option of KSh 15K fine In a simple yet thought-provoking tweet, Ngunyi turned the tables on Ruto and gave him a taste of his own medicine. The DP had for long used the derogatory term to refer to ODM leader Raila Odinga on account of alleged failure to bring development to his strongholds such as Luo Nyanza and the sprawling Kibera slums despite his many years in politics. Never mind that this was an insurmountable task for someone who has spent almost all of his political life in the heart of Kenyas opposition. Ruto has also infamously accused Odinga of opposing state development projects as a way to propagate poverty that he would later exploit for political gain. But the shoe is now on the other foot. Odinga is now in the heart of government orchestrating what Ruto was accusing him of not doing. He is spearheading the development agenda not just in Nyanza, but across Kenya and Africa. READ ALSO: Jalang'o gets tested for COVID-19 day after attending Papa Shirandula's burial Ruto has been sidelined by President Uhuru for endless politicking. Photo: William Samoei Ruto. Source: Facebook Ruto on his part finds himself on the other side, appearing more like the unofficial opposition leader, and with a new tag to boot. Ngunyis description might have appeared debatable, but the DP finds himself in the most awkward position to convince Kenyans that he is not the new Lord of Poverty. Ruto and his Tanga Tanga allies have been ruthlessly sidelined by President Uhuru Kenyatta after openly sabotaging the development agenda. He immediately after the 2017 elections embarked on nationwide tours to drum up support for his 2022 presidential bid, defiantly ignoring repeated pleas by the President to first help him fulfil his election promises to Kenyans. READ ALSO: Opinion: William Rutos non-starter 2022 war council will badly embarrass him Ruto took with him governors and MPs, distracting them from delivering on their pre-election pledges and setting the country on an unprecedented route to five years of politicking at the expense of development. Was this a formula to end poverty in Kenya? Certainly not. Kenyans would have ended up poorer at the end. Similarly, Ruto has over the past two years led his camp in opposing Kenyattas war against corruption. The war targeted looters of taxpayers money, whove been the biggest obstacle to development in independent Kenya. But Tanga Tanga opposed the auditing of public servants and the arrest of individuals who had stolen billions of shillings from dam, electricity, roads and other critical projects aimed reducing Wanjikus poverty. READ ALSO: Nyeri: Madaktari 12 miongoni mwa visa 19 vya maambukizi ya COVID-19 Rutos allies even protested the arrests of cereals board officials who were paying billions of shillings to cartels while impoverishing genuine peasant farmers in the Rift Valley. The DP is today also still opposing legal reforms that would ensure a more united Kenya where shared prosperity is entrenched in law. These are arguably the pointers that made Kenyatta kick Tanga Tanga hard; having realized that his vision for the country will never materialize with when opposed to development share a table with him. A closer look at the DPs operations since his days in YK92 equally betrays the fact that he is a firm believer in tokenism rather than tangibly helping the less fortunate in society change their economic situations. In recent weeks, for instance, Ruto has been in the news for extending assistance to women, youth and small businesspeople, the constituency he perceives to form the bulk of his so-called hustler nation. READ ALSO: Kenya doesn't need another lockdown, it's past that stage - AMREF Africa boss However, these handouts are not sustainable and only serve to fulfill his short-term political goals. As one critic put it, by giving out donations of money acquired through questionable means, here and there, on a daily basis, across the country, by acts of tokenism, Ruto's mission is to blind Kenyans into believing that he is a generous man who shares his wealth with the poor. In turn, he hopes such gestures will endear him to the masses and eventually translate into votes come 2022. As Ngunyi noted, buying benches to be used by youth in jobless corners serves no long-term purpose even if he pays top dollar for them. Compare this to Kenyatta's initiative to link the youth with business opportunities through the tendering process as he did when he tasked two youths to produce 500 beds for use in public hospitals. The Ksh10 billion Kazi Mtaani initiative is also another game changer for jobless youths who are now in a position to earn money that would sustain them during this Covid-19 pandemic but also gain useful skills that would come in handy in the future. According to the government, those engaged in the Kazi Mtaani Initiative will in future also be linked up with the Access to Government Procurement Opportunities (AGPO) programme whose aim is to facilitate the enterprises owned by women, youth and persons with disabilities to be able to participate in public tenders. Until recently, Ruto's Tanga Tanga brigade claimed they held the majority in both the National Assembly and Senate. Its leading lights also held powerful leadership positions in Parliament, including the Leader of Majority and Chief Whip positions. However, you cannot even count on the fingers of one hand any Bills or motions that they used their numerical strength to sponsor and pass with the aim of addressing the issue of youth unemployment in this country. According to census data released early this year, 5.3 million or 38.9 percent of the 13.7 young Kenyans are jobless. Such a situation can only be reversed through robust government interventions in terms of policy and legislation. But Ruto did not deem it fit to push for this through his majority numbers, all the while derogatorily calling others as Lord of Poverty. With the tag now on his shoulders, and with the impact of Covid-19 set to radically slow down economic growth, it is time for Ruto to sit back and watch as Kenyatta works to ensure the dreams of our youth are restored. Dwelling on cheap politics under the guise of steadying the ship will not do. The writer is Milan Kiplagat, a regular commentator on social, economic and political affairs. Do you have a groundbreaking story you would like us to publish? Please reach us through news@tuko.co.ke or WhatsApp: 0732482690. Contact Tuko.co.ke instantly. Babies with babies: The sad life of single teenage mothers in Kenya | Tuko TV. Source: TUKO.co.ke The reality-show President has decided its time to restore his role as the pandemics executive producer. Facing lagging poll numbers, dwindling public confidence in his ability to manage a response to the coronavirus threat and a shrinking window to turn it all around before Election Day in November, President Donald Trump plans to return to the White House briefing room on Tuesday evening to restart the regular coronavirus briefings. It turns out musing about cleaning-solvent and sunlight injection treatments are not sufficient reasons to banish a contestant from the klieg lights after all. Trump last participated in a full televised debrief with his coronavirus task force on April 23. At the time, Trump enjoyed a 49% job approval rating, according to Gallups polling. Since then, with 3.8 million Americans now diagnosed with coronavirus and more than 141,000 U.S. deaths, Trumps overall approval rating has slid to 38%. Compared to this point in the presidencies of his six most recent predecessors, Trump trails the four who won re-election, according to models from statisticians at FiveThirtyEight. As much as Americans didnt love his conduct as coronavirus czar, they seem to have preferred him bungling the response over him being an absentee executive. Make sense of what matters in Washington. Sign up for the daily D.C. Brief newsletter. Its clear to everyone now that the coronavirus crisis and the ensuing economic meltdown show no immediate signs of relenting. As much as the President likes to say itll all go away, the only things disappearing are jobs and the belief that Trump can bring them back. The unemployment rate is still expected to be around 12% in the final quarter of the year, according to the non-partisan Congressional Budget Office. (The year began with 4% of Americans reporting they were unemployed.) The other vanishing commodity in the Presidents field of vision? His odds of re-election. For Trump to win a second term, he is going to have to shift the focus from the ravaged economy to its recovery. Presidents can win a second term with tough unemployment numbers if the trends are going in the favor of the incumbent. But weve not seen the double-barrel question of wanton joblessness and public health implosion in recent history. The best analog may be the election of 1920, when Democrats refused to nominate the unpopular and ill incumbent President Woodrow Wilson to a third term in the wake of World War I and the 1918 Spanish Flu that, according to U.S. estimates, left 675,000 Americans dead. Story continues Trumps return to the nations daily healthcare lecturer is one of necessity. Trump trails his presumptive rival Joe Biden by a wider gap than he trailed his 2016 competitor Hillary Clinton at this point. The latest ABC News/ Washington Post poll has Trump trailing by double-digits. The political headwinds seem so strong that last week he replaced his campaign manager and brought on-board other aides in an effort to shore up some sort of firewall. Winning campaigns simply dont fire their chiefs. Nevertheless, Team Trump isnt openly despondent. Trump himself has taken a shine to mocking polling data that shows him behind. In an interview that aired Sunday, Trump summarily dismissed the surveys. Im not losing because those are fake polls. They were fake in 2016 and now theyre even more fake, Trump told Fox Newss Chris Wallace. Its not an irrational assertion. At this point in 2016, surveys showed Clinton with an easy wallop over Trump. Although she did triumph by 3 million votes, the raw tallies didnt matter. She trailed by 80,000 votes in three battleground states and ended up losing the Electoral College vote. Its why Trump keeps puffing up his chest a little bit when his doubters roll their eyes eyes that, no doubt, will be on the White House podium come Tuesday evening. A version of this article first appeared in The DC Brief, TIMEs politics newsletter. Sign up here to get stories like this sent to your inbox every weekday. Questo comunicato e stato pubblicato piu di 1 anno fa. Le informazioni su questa pagina potrebbero non essere attendibili. USA, 21 Jul 2020 - Do you know that people who are close to nature are more efficient and effective in their life? Staying connected to nature helps them to nurture the elements that nature pours into the atmosphere. The beauty that nature has is immensely pure and pleasing that it continuously gives soulful energy to the people who nourish it. For such people, it becomes necessary to install outdoor furniture for patio areas as it allows them to stay connected with nature whether they are performing their job from home or reading any knowledgeable content. People who want to install adequate outdoor furniture at patio areas in their home, they are not able to do that because either it is very costly to do it or no one wants to get puzzled while installing it. Well, to the people who were thinking of it as a big issue, this problem has now been taken care of. You can now easily install your favorite outdoor furniture at your convenient place without getting tangled. Madbury Road, a US-based company has come up with uniquely designed outdoor furniture which can be fixed with no complication. The website offers a vast range of outdoor furniture which includes round outdoor daybed as one of the best-customized furniture with different-different designs and styles. All types of furniture available on this website, are made using the finest material so that you can have comfort, modular, and luxurious living. And the most important thing to know about round daybed is that it is more reliable and durable than the indoor furniture as it is weather resistant. It can undergo a situation when there is heavy mildew, rains, etc. The ability to resist to color-fading, water draining, and drying quickly, makes it a better option than indoor furniture. The high-quality round patio daybed, help the person to relax and feel stress-free. The furniture also comes with the feature to set it up in different arrangements which means that any round daybed can be arranged in dynamic positions whichever you feel like. After installing it, the problem with seating capacity would be wiped off as it offers a seating capacity of eight people. So far it has been a favorite choice of most of the couples as it gives them ideal space to get intimate. People who want to know more about round outdoor daybed may visit this website. To offer a variety of round daybed, this website also has a collection of Santorini, Gray Santorini, Bali Teak Daybed, and Whitewash Santorini. Once you buy any round patio daybed from this website, you will forget buying new furniture as all the products mentioned on this website are 100% durable and inviolable, which last for many years. As of now, the company operates its delivery operations only in the US and Canada but would reach more locations very soon. For more information about round daybed, you can check on Madbury Road. If necessary, interested people can click here or on our official website to get complete insights Round Outdoor Daybed. You can also contact them by providing the information below Website : https://www.madburyroad.com/outdoor-daybeds/ Add : 30 Martin St, Cumberland, RI 02864, USA phone : +1 866-331-6042 mail : info@madburyroad.com Rome, July 21 : The race for the Scudetto seems a foregone conclusion as Juventus run away with the league after beating Lazio 2-1 in a highly-anticipated showdown in the ongoing Serie A competition. The competition for the top-scorer became intense as Cristiano Ronaldo on Monday bagged a brace and Ciro Immobile also managed to get on the scoresheet. The two strikers are the league's joint top-scorers with 30 goals each, reports Xinhua news agency. Lazio challenged Juventus for a long time this season, and were only point behind the Bianconeri before the suspension of Serie A. However, with a poor run after the restart, the Biancocelesti slipped to fourth place. Both sides had an opportunity to score in the first half as Alex Sandro's header smacked the upright while Immobile's screamer also rattled the woodwork. Juventus almost found the net straight after the break when Paulo Dybala's attempt was blocked, and Ronaldo's follow-up was cleared off the line. The Old Lady broke the deadlock in the 51st minute when Ronaldo's strike hit Bastos' arm, the referee awarded Juventus a penalty after viewing the VAR, and Ronaldo converted it, becoming the first player to score at least 50 goals in the Premier League, LaLiga and Serie A respectively. The home side quickly rode the momentum three minutes later when Luiz Felipe's error sparked a counter-attack, Dybala surged forward, flicking the ball to a totally unmarked Ronaldo to tap in from a close range. The Aquile pulled one goal back through a penalty after Leonardo Bonucci brought down Immobile, and the Italian international kept his cool to convert it. Juventus now lead the table with 80 points, eight points ahead of second-placed Inter Milan with four rounds remaining, which means the Bianconeri only need four points to capture their ninth consecutive Scudetto. Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer of Google LLC, arrives to the White House for a meeting in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Thursday, Dec. 6, 2018. Three Big Tech companies scaled back their U.S. lobbying spending in the second quarter as the coronavirus pandemic created economic uncertainty. The Chinese company that owns the social networking app TikTok, however, increased its lobbying spending by more than 66% as TikTok faced increased scrutiny from U.S. lawmakers over concerns about whether it shares user data with the Chinese government. Still, TikTok owner ByteDance's overall lobbying spending was far less than the largest tech companies. Here's the breakdown of Big Tech lobbying spend in the second quarter: Facebook : $4.8 million, down 8% from last quarter $4.8 million, down 8% from last quarter Amazon: $4.4 million, up 1% Microsoft: $2.9 million, up 22% Google: $1.7 million, down 6% Apple: $1.5 million, down 31% Combined lobbying spending for the five tech giants fell 4% to $15.3 million. Amazon and Microsoft were the only Big Tech firms to scale up their lobbying spending during the April 1 to June 30 period. Amazon's $4.4 million spend marked a new quarterly record for the company, surpassing its previous record set during the first quarter of 2020. Amazon lobbied on issues including data protection, encryption, price gouging during the pandemic, cloud computing, Covid-19 testing and more. Microsoft also lobbied on a variety of issues, including the EARN IT Act, which would tie Section 230 immunity for tech platforms to compliance with best practices for detecting and reporting child exploitation materials. The bill has raised concerns, however, that it could undermine encryption. Microsoft also lobbied on cloud computing policy issues, facial recognition and competitiveness in the tech sector. The company recently said it would stop selling facial recognition technology until Congress passed a law regulating it that is "grounded in human rights." Microsoft is also the only company of the group that is not thought to be under active antitrust scrutiny. It faced an antitrust lawsuit around the turn of the century. Attention has since shifted to Amazon, Apple, Facebook and Google for their competitive practices. The CEOs of those four companies are set to testify before a House panel on Monday. Apple, Facebook and Google have lowered their lobbying spending for the quarter, though they continued to lobby on a variety of issues. Google lobbied on online advertising regulation in the quarter as well as competition and privacy concerns in that sector. It also lobbied on data privacy and connected education as students increasingly relied on its platforms during virtual schooling. Apple similarly lobbied on student privacy issues as well as government requests for data. Apple has been engaged in an ongoing argument with law enforcement officials about its reluctance to provide a "back door" to its encrypted devices in criminal investigations. Facebook lobbied on the Honest Ads Act, which would modernize political advertising regulations to cover online platforms. It also discussed election security and Section 230, including the EARN IT Act. Holidaymakers, airlines, tourism businesses and health experts have all been crying out for clarity around travel. They finally got Ireland's 'green list' last night... along with further confusion. What countries are on the green list? The countries on the list where it is now deemed "safer" to travel include Malta, Finland, Norway, Italy, Hungary, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Cyprus, Slovakia, Greece, Greenland, Gibraltar, Monaco and San Marino. If you have to go abroad for essential reasons, this is a list of countries from which travellers will not have to restrict their movements for 14 days on return. Read More Can we holiday in green list countries? Green suggests 'go', and there are direct flights from Ireland to holiday hotspots like Malta, Italy and Greece, but the Government still says the safest thing to do is not to travel. "The Pandemic is not over and the public health advice remains the same," it said in a statement last night. Nphet, though it doesn't set policy, also says we should holiday at home. However, confusion remains - as the Department of Foreign Affairs' travel advice for countries on the green list has now been downgraded from "avoid non-essential travel" to take normal precautions. What does that mean? Ireland has four official travel advice categories - "avoid non-essential travel" is Level 3, which since March has applied across the board (and still applies to all other countries). Switching 'green list' countries to Level 1 ('normal precautions') is a surprise, and could be seen by some as a reason to holiday there, despite the Government's wishes. And, in another confusing note, a general Covid-19 advisory to "avoid non-essential travel until further notice" is still listed on 'green list' country advice pages. All passengers coming into Ireland will still have to fill out locator forms. Sign up for our free travel newsletter! Like what you're reading? Subscribe to 'Travel Insider', our free travel newsletter written by award-winning Travel Editor, Pol O Conghaile. Will my travel insurance work in a green list country? Yes, if the advice is to take 'normal precautions', you will most likely be covered by your policy - however, it remains to be seen if the general Covid-19 advisory (above) presents an issue. The issue of travel insurance had been a concern before publication of the list, as most policies won't cover a country to which "non-essential travel" is advised against. What are the notable omissions from the list? There are many - but in terms of popular holiday destinations, Spain, Portugal and France have not made the list. Nor have the UK or US, as was widely expected - despite being two of Ireland's largest tourism markets. Some have suggested regions like the Canary Islands, which are popular with holidaymakers and have lower caseloads than Ireland, could be well-suited to a 'green list' or 'air bridges'. But the Government has stuck with a broad approach, excluding the Canary and Balearic Islands under the broader omission of Spain from the list. How was the list compiled? The list is based on countries that have lower caseloads of Covid-19 than Ireland. Ireland's 14-day cumulative number of cases per 100,000 people stands at 4.8, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control. Italy's, the country with the highest incidence on the 'green list', is 4.6. Greece is 4.2 and Malta 1.0, by comparison. Germany (6.5) and the Netherlands (6.6) narrowly missed the cut, but it seems clear now that France (12.6), Spain (27.1) and Portugal (45.2) were not in the picture - despite outbreaks being in specific regions. What else has the Government said? It added that it will "continue with plans to strengthen the existing measures for monitoring passengers who arrive into Ireland, including the introduction of an Electronic Passenger Locator Form, enhanced follow-up procedures, a call centre operated by the Dublin Airport Authority, and a proposed testing regime for symptomatic passengers at airports and ports". Will the green list change? It is expected to be reviewed fortnightly, based on changing caseloads. In theory, that could present another problem for travellers - what happens if a country is removed from the list, and the travel advisory changes while you're on holiday there? Why publish it then? By now, ministers must wish a 'green list' had never been mentioned. In just a few weeks, targets have moved, caseloads have risen, the pandemic has worsened and a new Government is at the wheel. During this time, the list appeared to have evolved from one of safe "air bridges" or "travel corridors", to one of countries considered safe for "essential" trips only, and from which returning travellers won't need to restrict their movements for 14 days. It is unclear whether the new list will clear up the confusion. Haven't people been travelling overseas anyway? Yes, airlines have slowly been resuming routes from Ireland, and Ryanair in particular are pushing summer services and sales, but the figures are all very relative. About 12,000 passengers are passing through Dublin Airport each day on 200 flights - but that compares to 112,000 on up to 800 daily flights last July. Others are trying to cancel or reschedule, with up to 1m being lost every day on "no-shows", the Irish Travel Agents' Association (ITAA) says. The mess has made the business of travel almost impossible. If I cancel my flight, will I get a refund? This is a key issue for many customers trying to decide whether to travel. But if an airline operates a service, it has fulfilled its part of the contract, and does not have to offer you a refund. Both Aer Lingus and Ryanair are offering free flight changes for a limited time (through December and September respectively), but customers who decline to travel may not be able to get their money back. What if family or friends visit us from green list countries? "Family and friends arriving from a green list country should be treated as visitors," the Government advises. "This means you should follow social distancing and other public health guidelines. You should not interact with them in the same way as the people in your household that you live with every day." What about transiting passengers? Passengers coming to Ireland from 'green list' countries, but who make connecting flights in countries not on the list, do not have to restrict their movements, Foreign Affairs Minister Simon Coveney has said. Speaking on RTE's Morning Ireland, the Minister said: If you fly through an airport into another destination, its the destination that youre heading to, or the destination that you originate from, thats the country that determines whether you are effectively on the so-called green list." What will the new list mean for tourists coming to Ireland? It depends. People who live in 'green list' countries may be more likely to visit if they don't have to restrict their movements for 14 days. Travellers are favourably disposed towards Ireland, according to Tourism Ireland research, but quarantine is a significant block - three quarters of consumers in the US, UK, Germany and France say that they would not travel under such circumstances. However, even if they did, the end of summer is now in sight, the numbers of people who visit Ireland from the 15 'green list' countries is small, and visitors may be further put off if Ireland's list keeps changing or they feel unwelcome. Either way, any gain would not make up for the devastation of losing our most important tourism markets - the UK and US. How did it come to this? The basic debate is about how Ireland should protect its progress against coronavirus, while restarting life, school and business. Rising cases, a lack of quarantine enforcement and airport testing and the open Border with Northern Ireland (there are some 60 countries on the UK's travel list) have unnerved many. Some believe Ireland should severely curtail travel, or even seal itself off like New Zealand. Others say connectivity is crucial, travel-related cases are relatively low, and that we should work more closely with the North and improve measures to manage outbreaks. What has the Government said about Northern Ireland? "There is no change to the current policy in respect of travel from Northern Ireland," it says. What have other countries been doing? Many EU countries have been opening for travel and business - to mostly EU member states and with 'travel corridors' to limited countries beyond (e.g. Canada, New Zealand and Japan). Italy was first to open its borders on June 3. Though a common approach would make sense from some perspectives, countries have largely been creating their own "safe travel" lists - the UK, for instance, names over 60 territories and countries from which returning travellers do not need to self-isolate. NB: This is a developing story, and is being updated. A Ghaziabad-based journalist was hospitalised after he was shot at by some assailants near his home and nine people have been arrested so far in connection with the case, police said on Tuesday. The attack comes days after Vikram Joshi, who works with a local daily, lodged a complaint at Ghaziabads Vijay Nagar police post against some people for harassing his niece on July 16. Joshi was returning home in Vijay Nagar area with his two daughters on a motorcycle when he was waylaid by over half a dozen armed men at around 10.30 pm on Monday, officials said. The journalist was shot in the head by one of the accused, who then fled the spot, leaving him severely injured. He was taken to a hospital where he is in a critical condition, they said. Senior Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad, Kalanidhi Naithani said nine people, including two of the three named in the FIR, have been arrested while the local police post in-charge was suspended in the wake of the incident. The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempted murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (act done by several people with a common intention) on complaint by Joshis brother Aniket Joshi, Naithani said. The FIR had three named suspects Chhotu, Akash Bihari and Ravi besides some unidentified people. Chhotu and Ravi have been arrested, while searches are underway to nab Akash and six police teams are working on the case, he added. The police have also arrested Mohit, Dalbir, Akash, Yogendra, Abhishek, Abhishek and Shaqir based on evidence in connection with the case, Naithani added. In his complaint lodged at the Vijay Nagar police post, Joshi had named Chhotu, Ravi and Akash, his family said. The journalist was given a life threat by the accused men, according to the allegations made in the FIR. The family has alleged inadequate action by the local police post in-charge, who has been suspended with immediate effect considering the gravity of the matter. A departmental inquiry has been ordered and the local Circle Officer will probe the matter, SSP Naithani said. Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the law-and-order situation in the state following the incident. Ghaziabad falls in NCR. Going by the state of law and order here, one can get an idea of the situation in the entire state of UP. A journalist was shot at because he complained to the police against molestation of his niece. How will common man feel safe in such a jungle raj, she said in a tweet in Hindi. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Margareth S. Aritonang and Ganug Nugroho Adi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 07:45 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f73b9 1 Politics PDI-P,Gibran-Rakabuming-Raka,President-Jokowi,Surakarta-mayoral-election,political-dynasty Free The Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P) has long prided itself on being a modern political party where meritocracy is the guiding principle. Those who have reached top positions in the party are mostly party veterans who have climbed their way up the career ladder within the decades-old political party. Even the party's current chairperson Megawati Soekarnoputri started her career in the PDI-P in the early 1990s when the party was still under tight control by the New Order regime. The same rule is also supposed to apply in the recruitment of party candidates to run in the 270 local elections scheduled to take place in December. On paper, the party central board requires at least three consecutive years of active membership for members to win a ticket to join a race. PDI-P member Teguh Prakosa, 62, who has been with the party for the past 20 years and whose last position was treasurer of the partys Surakarta, Central Java, branch, meets all the criteria and last week he finally got the central boards nod to run for deputy mayor of the city. But there is always an exception to any rule. At the top of the ticket, running alongside Teguh, is the eldest son of President Joko Jokowi Widodo, Gibran Rakabuming Raka, a 32-year old businessman, who once swore off politics, claiming he would stick to running his catering business. Gibran only applied for membership of the PDI-P in September last year shortly after he had a change of heart and decided to run in this years mayoral race. And with no experience in politics or bureaucracy, Gibran has secured the blessing from the PDI-P leadership to run for mayor of Surakarta, following in the footsteps of his father, who ran for mayor in the city in 2005 and was elected for two terms. Despite this seeming aberration, PDI-P secretary general Hasto Kristiyanto said that the nomination of Gibran, along with the 270 other candidates that the party endorsed in this year's regional elections, should be seen as a sign of the success of its political recruitment process, one of the key functions of a political party in a democracy. These upcoming regional elections are an opportunity for the PDI-P to strengthen the partys institution in preparing future leaders, Hasto told a press briefing following a virtual ceremony staged to formally announce the candidates last week. The party is functioning properly in educating the people by recruiting young Indonesians to be leaders through a gradual and structured regeneration process. Political analysts challenged Hastos claim, saying that by promoting privileged individuals like Gibran, the party had in fact shown itself to be a failure in terms of party institutionalization, which in turn resulted in the neglect of democratic values such as a merit-based recruitment system. This is pretty well-known, the democratic process is absent from within the countrys political parties, political analyst Ujang Komaruddin of the Jakarta-based Al-Azhar University, told The Jakarta Post. Ujang added that such undemocratic practices would only nurture an oligarchy and promote the rise of political dynasties, whose members controlled financial resources and political networks. He added that this would also take its toll on the public services that needed to be delivered. Good, capable individuals are unable to become local administrators in this country and this results in poor governance and rampant corruption. The decision by the PDI-P to nominate Gibran was the first time since the Reform era that the offspring of an incumbent president has chosen to contest an election, a precedent that would inevitably lead to an "abuse of power", according to political analyst Pangi Syarwi Chaniago. It is the Presidents son [who will contest the election]. Losing is not an option. The President can't afford to lose face, therefore all necessary measures to secure his son's victory will be made, Pangi told the Post. In fact, what could be described as an abuse of power had taken place last week, said Pangi, when six months before balloting in Surakarta President Jokowi summoned Surakartas current deputy mayor Achmad Purnomo, who had been nominated by the Surakarta branch of PDI-P to run in the next election, and personally briefed him that he should drop out of the race. The Surakarta branch of the PDI-P, chaired by incumbent Mayor FX Hadi Rudyatmo, has declined to join Gibran's bandwagon and insists on nominating Achmad. Speaking after the State Palace meeting, Achmad said he had only learned about the decision on Gibran after being told by Jokowi. The incumbent deputy mayor also said that he was not surprised at the decision to nominate the President's son. I only learned about it from Pak Jokowi when he asked me to come to the Palace. It is not a problem [for me] because this is the real situation. BSF had ordered that personnel weighing over 105 kg be posted out to hard areas. There are about two dozen such personnel in this category. New Delhi: The Border Security Force has ordered an inquiry to find out how a jawan weighing 160 kg was "declared fit" to take a physical fitness course during which he died, an official spokesperson said Monday. Constable Vinod Singh, 45, died on 17 July after he "felt giddiness in the evening hours near his barracks" at the BSF subsidiary training centre in Rajasthan's Jodhpur. He was rushed to a hospital but was declared brought dead, the spokesperson said. Working as a water carrier in the 114th battalion, Singh had joined the training centre to undergo a physical fitness course on 15 July, according to the BSF statement. These fitness courses have been envisaged by BSF chief SS Deswal, who has ordered that all fat and obese personnel in the 2.5-lakh-strong force should be identified and sent for physical training. Deswal, also the ITBP director general, is heading the BSF in additional capacity for over four months now. He has ordered a number of fitness courses at BSF and ITBP training centres and attended the closing day events of some. "The jawan was a low medical category person having weight of 160 kg with a BMI of 52.98," the spokesperson said. "However, it has been found that the deceased constable was declared fit for the above course. An inquiry has been ordered to ascertain the circumstances under which the individual was declared fit for the course," he added. The BSF Inspector General of the Rajasthan frontier, that guards the India-Pakistan border, has been directed to probe the incident and submit a report. "DG BSF and all ranks are grief-stricken with the untimely demise of our comrade constable Vinod Singh. Prahari pariwar (border guards family) will always stand firm with the family members of the deceased," the spokesperson said. Singh is survived by his mother, wife and two sons. Recently, the headquarters of the force here had ordered that personnel "weighing more than 105 kg be posted out to hard areas." There are about two dozen such personnel in this category in the BSF, a senior official said. From Mayor Ted Wheeler to President Donald Trump, political leaders have been speaking out over the past few days about federal officers presence at the ongoing Portland protests and the growing controversy around their involvement. Tensions have ebbed and flowed over 50 days of protests with the federal courthouse being a consistent gathering point. Federal officers were first seen in Portland on June 27, but they sparked national outcry after they began arresting protesters and putting them in unmarked vans. Trump and Wheelers opposing views were on vivid display during national newscasts and tweets over the weekend. Wheeler spoke Sunday on CNN about the Trump administrations efforts in Portland: The president has a complete misunderstanding of cause and effect, Wheeler said. Whats happening here is we have dozens, if not hundreds of federal troops descending upon our city and what theyre doing is they are sharply escalating the situation. Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism. He told Jake Tapper on the weekly news show State of the Union that federal agents are denying protesters due process during arrests'' and called their actions unconstitutional. Wheeler made it clear he wants the officers out of the city On NPR Sunday, Wheeler told Lulu Garcia-Navarro that Trump sending federal forces was a last gasp effort for his reelection campaign. Last Monday, Trump praised the officers efforts during a July 13 White House appearance. Portland was totally out of control, and they went in, and I guess we have many people right now in jail and we very much quelled it, and if it starts again, well quell it again very easily, said Trump during a public appearance Monday at the White House. Its not hard to do, if you know what youre doing. His comments came after a federal officer shot a 26-year-old protester, Donavan La Bella, with an impact munition during a protest. He remains in the hospital for his injuries. We are trying to help Portland, Trump wrote on Twitter, not hurt it. We are trying to help Portland, not hurt it. Their leadership has, for months, lost control of the anarchists and agitators. They are missing in action. We must protect Federal property, AND OUR PEOPLE. These were not merely protesters, these are the real deal! Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 19, 2020 Trump spoke Monday to federal officers in Portland, praising their work. They really have done a fantastic job in a short period of time, Trump said. These are anarchists. These are not protesters. These are people that hate our country. Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf called Wheelers weekend comments completely irresponsible during a Monday interview with Fox & Friends. The facts dont lie and the facts are that these violent anarchists and extremists were violent well before DHS surged federal assets into Portland, Wolf said. Wheeler and federal officials have not provided information about the extent that federal officers and Portland police coordinate. --Alex Hardgrave | ahardgrave@oregonian.com | @a_hardgrave Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Two Chinese hackers have been accused of stealing trade secrets from hundreds of global targets and, more recently, probing for vulnerabilities in U.S. companies involved in the development of testing, treatments and vaccines to combat the deadly coronavirus. Assistant Attorney General John Demers, chief of the Justice Department's National Security Division, said that while the suspects' activities resulted in hundreds of millions of dollars in losses, there is no evidence to indicate that they had actually obtained virus-related research or slowed the operations of the targeted firms. Yet as recently as May, federal prosecutors said the hackers had been surveying a California company dealing in coronavirus test kits. The 11-count indictment charges Ll Xiaoyu, 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 33, in a far-reaching computer intrusion campaign that spanned more than 10 years, leaving a trail of victims in nearly a dozen countries. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers, speaks during a news conference to announce a criminal law enforcement action involving China, at the Department of Justice in Washington, Thursday, Nov. 1, 2018. The accused hackers, both Chinese citizens, worked for their own benefit and at the direction of Chinese intelligence services, said Demers and FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich. The relationship between criminal hackers and the Chinese government has become increasingly common as China has continued to seek a global economic advantage across industries, the officials said. Demers said the government has provided a "safe haven" for those who are willing to provide assistance to Chinese authorities. "In this manner, China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran, and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being 'on call' to work for the benefit of the state," the Justice Department said in a written statement. 'Stealing the future': AG Barr suggests China is 'stealing the future' as he pushes Trump administration's attacks on Beijing The suspects' alleged targets included high-tech manufacturers, pharmaceutical companies, engineering firms, defense contractors, and the electronic gaming and solar energy industries. At the same time, according to court documents, the hackers allegedly sought information from individual Chinese dissidents and human rights activists in the United States, China and Hong Kong. Story continues Federal authorities said the suspects, who remain in China and out of U.S. reach, were continuing their activities even as the charges were being disclosed. "We are bringing these charges to put Chinese authorities on notice," Bowdich said. The Justice action comes as the Trump administration has been hammering Beijing as a chief adversary in escalating cyber and trade wars. President Donald Trump also has repeatedly blamed China for not being forthcoming as the country responded to the coronavirus outbreak. Trump and congressional Republicans also have made criticism of China a major campaign theme for the Nov. 3 election. Last week,Trump signed an executive order revoking a decades-old special trade status reserved for Hong Kong and approved bipartisan legislation to impose sanctions on Chinese officials believed to be undermining Hong Kong's autonomy. At the same time, administration officials have taken turns in recent weeks pummeling China for targeting U.S. firms for valuable intellectual property. Attorney General William Barr offered a searing assessment last week, denouncing China as "stealing the future" from the next generation of Americans. During an address in Michigan, he claimed that Beijing was "engaged in an economic blitzkrieg." "For American companies in the global marketplace, free and fair competition with China has long been a fantasy," he said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Chinese hackers charged in trade secret theft; probed for coronavirus research Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 10:27:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TRIPOLI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Monday that more than 240 illegal immigrants were rescued off the Libyan coast in the past week. On July 13-20, "243 migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to Libya," the IOM said. The IOM mentioned that a total of 6,119 illegal immigrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast and returned to Libya since 2020, while 9,225 illegal immigrants were rescued and returned to Libya last year. Among those rescued off the coast and returned to Libya this year were 453 women and 327 miners, the IOM added. The state of insecurity and chaos in Libya makes the country a preferred point of departure for thousands of illegal immigrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe. Immigrant shelters in Libya are overcrowded with immigrants, despite repeated international calls to close those centers. Enditem So, five Rafales will touch down in India next Monday. The French fighters will give the Indian Air Force a distinct edge as it prepares for the possibility of a short war with China. "If we had sent a few airplanes (into Tibet), we could have wiped the Chinese out. And everything could have been different in the 1962 War," Wing Commander Jag Mohan ('Jaggi') Nath -- the first of six Indian military officers to have been twice decorated with the Mahavir Chakra, India's second highest war time military decoration -- had told Claude Arpi in a memorable Rediff.com interview last year. The Modi government's decision to buy the Rafales has been controversial with much unsubstantiated muck flying around since the deal was struck -- it may have even cost the Congress several Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general election since its then party president made the Rafale a one-tone campaign issue even when it was clearly out of sync with the post-Balakot mood of the nation. The Rafales's presence on Indian terra firma comes just weeks after Prime Minister Modi made Atmanirbhar Bharat -- a self-reliant India -- his mantra for the wracked-by-COVID-19, confronted-by-China, depressed-by-a- sinking-economy India of 2020. The Made in France Rafales are clearly not the best advertisement for Modi's Atmanirbhar agenda, but as long as none of its parts have Made in China embossed on them, we guess it is chaal se as the Amadavadis would say. Dominic Xavier offers his take on the Rafales's arrival. Feature Production: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com The 3 percent advertising tax was among the last-minute tax increases authorized by the council when lawmakers cast their first budget vote on July 7. Chairman Phil Mendelson (D) proposed the tax on July 6. Local newspapers, including The Washington Post, and marketing groups mobilized against it, garnering support from business groups and several council members. They say the tax would hurt businesses that are already struggling during the coronavirus pandemic and make it harder for small media outlets to sell advertisements they depend on to survive. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Mendelson on Tuesday proposed rolling back the tax to exclude the planning and creation of advertisements which he said he never meant to tax and to offset the change by reducing funding for libraries. That prompted an uproar from his colleagues on the council, who complained about the potential effect of the tax on businesses and the potential for cuts to library hours. Mendelson then offered another option: Eliminate the advertising tax outright and balance the budget by cutting elsewhere. He directed the legislatures budget office to review all spending increases approved by council committees changes that include more funding for violence interruption programs, rental assistance, mental-health treatment in schools and more. Story continues below advertisement Everyones going to be unhappy about something, Mendelson said. Thats the only way you get to $18 million in cuts. Advertisement The council voted 8 to 5 to punt the budget debate to Thursday, despite protests that Mendelsons push to identify budget cuts out of the public eye is an affront to transparent government. The idea that you can in a day or in a week find $18 million cuts that we are going to agree on does not make any sense whatsoever, said Council member Brianne K. Nadeau (D-Ward 1). Business groups welcomed the move to ditch the advertising tax. With so many companies struggling to survive the economic damage from the pandemic, it certainly makes no sense to burden these companies with additional taxes on the effort to sell, said Dan Jaffe, an executive with the Association of National Advertisers, in a statement. Story continues below advertisement But liberal advocacy groups mobilized to urge lawmakers against cutting money from programs that would have benefited from the advertising tax. Advertisement Choosing to further starve vital programs like child care, mental health counseling, housing, and library services at a time when there are still serious unmet needs in the city . . . is reckless, undemocratic, and immoral, said Joanna Blotner, an activist with Jews United for Justice, in an email. Council member Elissa Silverman (I-At Large) suggested the council preserve the funding by raising income taxes on the wealthy an idea lawmakers voted down earlier this month. Other lawmakers said the dispute shows why the council should always hold hearings and scrutinize consequences before raising taxes. The advertising tax, as well as higher taxes on gas and estates, were quickly approved without an opportunity for the people affected by the taxes to testify. Story continues below advertisement This is a dangerous way to make tax policy, said council member Brooke Pinto (D-Ward 2), who joined the body last month. Advertisement The tussling over a relatively small slice of the city budget illustrates the financial problems the District is facing as revenue plummets during a pandemic-driven recession. The council backed D.C. Mayor Muriel E. Bowsers plan to mostly plug a $800 million shortfall by freezing government employee pay and tapping reserves. But they also raised more than $60 million for social service programs by passing new taxes on gasoline, advertising sales and businesses. Bowser (D) criticized lawmakers for adding additional taxes and spending to her budget proposal, but she has no line-item veto power. Story continues below advertisement On Sunday, she suggested D.C. Chief Financial Officer Jeffrey S. DeWitt, an independent financial watchdog, should consider declining to certify the budget over cuts to the police department. DeWitt declined to comment on the matter, but his past threats to refuse to certify the budget have come earlier in the process. City leaders are bracing for additional budget cuts this fall after financial forecasters revise their revenue estimates in August. D.C. is on the brink of allowing federal inmates to vote from prison Nationals decide to stay at Nats Park after tiff over coronavirus regulations MLK Library will reopen in September, giving the city a new central hub China on Tuesday sought to defend its recent claims over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan, saying the boundary between the two countries is yet to be demarcated and it has proposed a "package solution" to resolve the border dispute. In a surprise move, China recently staked claim over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council and opposed funding to the project. Asked about China's claim over the sanctuary in Bhutan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that the boundary between the two countries is yet to be demarcated. "China's position remains consistent and clear. The boundary between China and Bhutan has not been delimited and there are disputes in the middle, eastern and western sections," he said. "So, China advocates a package solution to resolve the dispute," he said. "China is opposed to making an issue of these disputes at multilateral forums and China remains in communication with the relevant parties on this issue," the spokesman said. Asked about reports that China is making fresh territorial claims in its boundary dispute with Bhutan, Wang said, "I (have) already made China's position clear". "The boundary between China and Bhutan has not been demarcated. There are disputes in the central, eastern and western sections of the boundary," he said According to reports, Bhutan's embassy in New Delhi issued a demarche to the Chinese Embassy over Beijing's claim over the sanctuary. The GEF Council has reportedly cleared the funding for the Sakteng sanctuary after Aparna Subramani, the World Bank official representing Bhutan, as well as India, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka, said that Bhutan totally rejected the claim made by China. China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations but maintain contacts through periodic visits by officials. The two countries have held 24 rounds of boundary talks in a bid to resolve the boundary dispute. China's claim over Bhutanese territory came in the midst of Beijing's aggressive moves in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control. China is also engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area. Sudrania Fund Services - Cloud Based Fund Administration Knowing that fund managers want to move away from legacy software platforms validates our vision for a seamless, cloud-based fund administration model. Sudrania Fund Services Corp ("Sudrania") today shared data from the first half of 2020, showing 52 new clients added to their platform. The company also noted that sixty percent of these were conversions from administrators utilizing legacy software to their proprietary end-to-end cloud-based fund administration model. Nilesh Sudrania, Founder & CEO of Sudrania, remarked, Knowing that fund managers want to move away from legacy software platforms validates our vision for a seamless, cloud-based fund administration model. Being first to market in 2016, it is gratifying that 200+ clients value our end-to-end, asset-agnostic solution coupled with a high-touch service experience, which is delivered by a seasoned team with deep fund industry experience. When asked why they chose Sudrania, clients provided the following compelling reasons: SOC 1, SOC 2, and SOC 3 Audits/certificates All NAVs (including daily NAVs) delivered on time during the recent pandemic Option to have all historical data captured and replicated when converting from other providers with legacy software Allows scalability and elasticity Confidence that the technology specifically can address the needs of their fund types (e.g., Cryptocurrency Funds, Hedge Funds, FoFs, Impact Funds, Private Equity Funds, Real Estate Funds, Venture Capital Funds, and an RIA solution). Nitin Somani, President, Sudrania Fund Services, added, Our focus has consistently been on providing holistic infrastructure that can handle the high volume and complexity that todays investment managers require and deep expertise to make our client onboarding a smooth process. 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Sudranias Seamless platform is an integrated portfolio, fund, and investor accounting system with a full-scale general ledger. It can process millions of trades and produce daily NAV for all fund types. For more information, visit http://www.sudrania.com. By PTI NEW DELHI: Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra on Tuesday attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the law-and-order situation in the state after a journalist was reportedly shot at in Ghaziabad. The Congress general secretary has been attacking the Yogi Adityanath government over the law and order in UP. "Ghaziabad falls in NCR. Going by the state of law and order here, one can get an idea of the situation in the entire state of UP. A journalist was shot at because he complained to the police against molestation of his niece. How will common man feel safe in such a jungle raj," she said in a tweet in Hindi. The journalist was reportedly shot at by some assailants on Monday night in Ghaziabad, adjoining Delhi. The police said they have nabbed five accused. Photo credit: Bill Clark - Getty Images From Harper's BAZAAR I remember the day started out cold, Representative John Lewis told me of the day he set out to march across Selmas Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965. Cold enough to see our breath as we walked. It was March 7, 2015, and I was standing with Representative John Lewis just outside the Brown Chapel AME Church in Selma, Alabama. Fifty years earlier, a young Lewis, then chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC), had knelt in prayer with some 600 courageous black folk before embarking on that fateful march. I'd asked him what he remembered. I was accustomed to engaging guests with lighthearted banter during commercials while filming my cable news show, but nothing about standing next to John Lewis in Selma felt lighthearted. Fifty years earlier, a young Lewis, then chair of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) suffered a fractured skull when he was brutally beaten by one of the 150 Alabama state troopers who attacked the peaceful voting rights demonstrators with clubs, bullwhips, and tear gas . Ive seen the historic image many timesLewis on his knees, his right hand covering the first wound to his head, the state trooper holding the collar of Lewis trench coat, club raised to strike another blow. I never wondered why he was wearing a long coat on a spring morning in Alabama. Now I knew: Lewis was cold. It was an important reminder that for him, Bloody Sunday was not a metaphor or symbol. It was lived experience, as stark and real as the brutality enacted on his body. Photo credit: AP Edmund Pettus was a Confederate Army officer and leader of the Alabama Ku Klux Klan . In the wake of Representative Lewiss passing, there is renewed energy to strip the iconic bridge of its racist homage, and rename it for Congressman Lewis . I dont care about statues or memorials. As a Southerner, raised amid pervasive Confederate iconography, I am not overly concerned with what chunk of concrete or metal will be raised or renamed to honor the late Congressman John Lewis. Story continues He was human, not granite. He felt cold and pain. There is only one monument that can begin to acknowledge the sacrifices and successes of this most courageous legislator of our age: restoration of voting rights by immediate passage of the For the People Act. Four years after Representative Lewis commemorated the 50th anniversary of his own bloody sacrifice in Selma, Alabama, he presided over the House of Representatives as it passed HR1: For the People Act of 2019 . The bill restores key protections of the Voting Rights Act, which was gutted six years earlier by the Supreme Courts 5-4 decision in Shelby County v. Holder (2013) . Shelby invalidated Section 4b, the criteria in the 1965 Voting Rights Act used to determine which states and localities were required to seek federal approval (also known as preclearance) before making changes to their voting processes. Without preclearance requirements, states were free to enact aggressive measures reducing access to the polls and they did so with breakneck speed and efficiency following the Courts decision. According to the Brennan Center for Justice the Shelby County decision unleashed a wave of voter suppression efforts including voter ID requirements, voter purges, reduction and elimination of polling places, and restriction of early voting days. The long lines, broken voting machines, and voter purges that marred the state elections of Lewis own state of Georgia in 2018 and again this year are a disgusting and disturbing inversion of his legacy. The provisions in HR 1: For the People have the power to breathe life into our mortally wounded democracy. The bill includes provisions to modernize and protect voting systems and to once again require federal preclearance for states with a long history of voter suppression. After successfully passing the House of Representatives the bill arrived in the Senate, where it has been sitting on the desk of Senate Majority leader Mitch McConnell for more than 225 days. Our ravaged electoral system in the midst of a deadly, global pandemic, means that voting in 2020 is terrifying, potentially even life threatening. John Lewis was intimately familiar with risking your life to vote. Lewis told me he was not afraid when he faced Alabama state troopers in 1965. In that moment I was keenly aware that I was prepared to die for what I believed in. He never waveredthrough passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, to leadership of the Voter Education Project of the 1970s , to advocacy of the the periodic reauthorizations of the VRA, to witnessing the Supreme Court stab the Voting Rights Act in the heart, to his return to Selma even as he battled stage 4 cancer. His courage is unparalleled. Photo credit: Joe Raedle - Getty Images I have known great men who become smaller as you get closer to themtall, bright, big-voiced and with fancy titles from afar, but up close their selfishness, unkindness, brutishness, or sexism comes into focus. John Lewis was the opposite. Soft-spoken and diminutive, he could grow to the stature of a titan before your eyes. Universally beloved by his Congressional staff and unreservedly admired by his colleagues, Lewis was consistently and publicly supportive of younger activists making good trouble. He was stern with the powerful, and gentle with the powerless. He even occasionally tweeted about his cats and played with rescue puppies . I learned something new and was newly inspired by every single encounter I had with him . I wept unreservedly when I learned of his passing. John Lewis was human, certainly imperfect, but likely better than most of us even aspire to be. He deserves roads, bridges, statues, and holidays, but he has earned much more than thathe has earned a living legacy for his lifes work. Lewis lived with an urgent determination to fulfill the promise of American democracy. We have the power to demand that Congress honor his legacy with immediate action to pass the For the People bill into law. You Might Also Like The vote is the most powerful nonviolent tool we have to make change in a democratic society, U.S. Rep. John Lewis wrote in his 2017 book, Across That Bridge: A Vision for Change and the Future of America. That is why, across our history, the powerful have tried so hard to limit its access. That is why, as we mourn the loss of the late Georgia congressman and civil rights icon, we must honor his legacy by protecting it. To understand the significance of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 that Lewis and thousands of other dedicated activists helped pass with their peaceful demonstrations, one must understand the intimidating, humiliating and highly effective voter suppression tactics that compelled it into being. As Lewis recounts in his book, Black people trying to register to vote in 1960s Alabama werent just required to fill out a four-page application and pass a nearly impossible literacy test that frequently stumped professors and lawyers. They sometimes faced a bonus question: count the number of jellybeans in the jar. For Black people, the mere act of attempting to register could be punished by eviction or loss of a job, their names published in the newspaper and reported to the Ku Klux Klan, which stood ready to attack offending citizens. In the face of that unyielding hate, the movement Lewis helped lead answered with unyielding patience and persistence. It paid off, helping pass perhaps the most effective piece of legislation in 50 years. The Voting Rights Act of 1965 outlawed literacy tests and grandfather clauses and also, as Lewis wrote, provided for periodic reauthorizaton to curtail present day efforts to limit free and fair access to the ballot box. Those present-day efforts include unfair gerrymandering and voting restrictions meant to, if more subtly, impose echos of the jellybean jar. The best way to honor Lewis, who died Friday night of cancer after a lifetime of courage and service, is for the United States Senate to approve the voting rights bill that bears his name. Already passed 228-187 in the Democrat-led U.S. House of Representatives, it now lies moribund in the Senate judiciary committee, but all of America ought to cry out for each of our 100 senators to take it up and send it to the president with resounding support. What I remember most about John, said his longtime colleague and friend Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee, D-Houston, was his commitment to the fierceness of now. When things were bad he did not get angry or hurtful. He came with hope and a plan of action. Urgency is sorely needed now. All over America, agony stemming from the still unrealized dream of equality before the law, regardless of race, is on vivid display. The death of George Floyd in Minneapolis, which has led to protests in dozens of cities, including our own, has flushed out truths about our society that too often festered in the shadows. Lewis life was a long series of counterexamples to that tendency to turn away or to accept. In 1963, on the same stage from which Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. would deliver his famed I Have a Dream speech that same day, Lewis spoke on behalf of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee, focusing the crowds attention on those who werent able to attend. While we stand here, there are sharecroppers in the Delta of Mississippi who are out in the fields working for less than three dollars a day, twelve hours a day, he said, Where is the political party that will make it unnecessary to March on Washington? Two years later, Lewis helped organize a march across the Edmund Pettus Bridge in Alabama, where state troopers savagely beat the peaceful demonstrators, leaving Lewis himself with a cracked skull. In the days since his death, many have called for renaming the bridge for Lewis, which is appropriate.More urgently, we must advance his work by passing the John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2020. It would restore what Lewis called the most powerful section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965 which was gutted by a U.S. Supreme Courts 2013 decision. In that decision, Chief Justice John Roberts naively reasoned that racism had so diminished in America that requirements for states such as Texas to get advance approval for voting changes were no longer necessary. The court was tragically mistaken, as countless examples of moves by states that were once subject to the pre-clearance requirement have shown. The responsibility to restore the acts power lies especially with judiciary committee members, including Texas Sens. John Cornyn and Ted Cruz. They must help get this bill to the floor even if it means challenging the iron will of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell. In his 2017 book, Lewis spoke of the virtues and power of patience and strategic waiting, which over the long run worked as a ramrod breaking down the doors of resistence. But his words decades earlier at the March on Washington are prescient in this moment. We do not want our freedom gradually, but we want to be free now, he said. We are tired. We are tired of being beaten by policemen. We are tired of seeing our people locked up in jail over and over again. And then you holler, Be patient. How long can we be patient? More than 57 years later, America has a tough enough row to hoe without going backward. We must restore the Voting Rights Act immediately to its 1965 power, as the first of many more steps required for all Americans to realize their power in this democracy. New Delhi/Jaipur, July 21 : Amid the political crisis in Rajasthan, officials of the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday questioned Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot's OSD Devalal Saini and Congress MLA and former Olympian Krishna Poonia in connection with the suicide case of a police officer, official sources said on Tuesday. "A team of CBI officials from Delhi questioned Saini in Jaipur in connection with the suicide of Vishnu Dutt Vishnoi, who was the SHO of Rajgarh police station in Churu district," a CBI source in Delhi told IANS. The source further said that after questioning Saini for over two hours, the agency sleuths went to the residence of Poonia in Jaipur to quiz her again. Poonia, a Congress MLA from the Sadulpur constituency in Churu district, was questioned for over four hours on Monday. Former discus thrower Poonia is a three-time Olympian, Padma Shri and Arjuna Award winner, and a gold medalist at the 2010 Asian Games. The development comes at a time when the Gehlot government is facing a rebellion by party leader Sachin Pilot and his supporting MLAs. Pilot was sacked as Deputy Chief Minister and Rajasthan Congress chief on July 14. The Rajasthan government, in an order issued on Monday, said that the officials of the CBI will not be allowed in Rajasthan without the permission of the state government. The decision of the Gehlot government was taken a day after the Union Ministry of Home Affairs on Sunday summoned the state government in the alleged phone tapping case. Vishnoi was found hanging at his government residence on May 23. The CBI had registered a case on June 26 against unknown persons following Rajasthan government's request. The state had opted for a CBI probe on June 6. In a suicide note addressed to the Churu Superintendent of Police, the SHO had said he was not able to "bear the pressure created around him". A screenshot of a WhatsApp chat between the SHO and his activist friend had gone viral wherein the police officer claimed that he was "being trapped in dirty politics at the local level". Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Kyodo News) Tokyo Tue, July 21, 2020 12:48 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40668150ec 2 News Japan,travel,travel-advisory Free Japan on Tuesday raised its travel advisory for Palestine and 16 countries, including Nepal, Kenya and Venezuela, warning against going to them amid concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the areas are now at Level 3, bringing the total number of countries and regions at the second highest on the Foreign Ministry's four-point scale for infectious diseases to 146. The other newly-added areas are Botswana, the Comoros, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Namibia, Paraguay, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname and Uzbekistan. Read also: No kissing and disinfect the microphone: Japan nightlife sets its virus rules They are expected to be added to a list of countries and regions subject to an entry ban for foreign travelers after discussion by the National Security Council. International travel to and from Japan has slowed to a trickle due to border controls imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The number of incoming foreign visitors and outgoing Japanese nationals have both plunged more than 99 percent in recent months compared to a year earlier. The United States, China and all of Europe are among the 129 countries and regions already covered by the entry ban, which applies to foreign nationals who have been to any of the areas within two weeks of arriving in Japan. CNBC is looking at how places around the world have tackled Covid-19. By talking to a wide range of experts, as well as everyday citizens, we're taking stock of what's gone well and what hasn't. Germany has confirmed more than 200,000 cases of Covid-19 and more than 9,000 deaths in a population of more than 83 million. Germany's mortality rate per 100,000 is among the lowest in Europe. By way of comparison, the U.S., with about four times the population, has had more than 3.8 million cases and 140,000 deaths. What went really well Science communication A women walks past street art painted by artist Kai 'Uzey' Wohlgemuth featuring a nurse as Superwoman on April 14, 2020 in Hamm, Germany. Lars Baron | Getty Images Germany, like many other countries, had a contingent of people who fought lockdowns and argued that Covid-19 was a hoax. But it also had a handful of prominent scientists communicating regularly and openly with the public. That played a huge role in drowning out rumors and misinformation, locals tell CNBC. "We have a great educational system and everyone has access to it," said Dennis Traub, a tech worker in Hamburg, Germany. "So I believe that many people and the majority listened to both sides and one of those sides sounded much more reasonable." Christian Drosten, Director of the Institute of Virology, speaks about the novel coronavirus 2019-nCoV, February 13, 2020. Britta Pedersen | picture alliance via Getty Images On the side of science, virologist Christian Drosten grew his podcast, "Das Coronavirus-Update" to millions of followers in the early days of the pandemic. Drosten is now a cult icon in Germany akin to Dr. Tony Fauci in the United States. He doesn't dumb down the science. Instead, he shares complex ideas in an accessible way and gets real with the public about aspects of the virus that are not well understood. In addition to that, the public regularly hears from the (now very well-known) Minister of Health Jens Spahn, as well as Germany's chancellor, Angela Merkel. In April, Merkel drew from her own science background by walking Germans through the basic reproductive number (the "R0") -- a mathematical term that indicates how contagious a virus is -- as a way to instill confidence in lockdowns. Moreover, Germans say their children got educated on the coronavirus via popular television shows like "Die Sendung mit der Maus" (Germany's equivalent to "Sesame Street"). Germans say the guidelines now are clear. "If you have a set of rules that are communicated well, people don't feel like they're on their own," said Florian Otto, a German health tech entrepreneur who co-founded the payments start-up Cedar. "And when people know what to do, they encourage each other." Hospitals weren't overwhelmed Hospitals in Germany were not overwhelmed by Covid-19. That meant doctors could even treat patients from neighboring countries, including Italy and Spain, where critically ill people were airlifted in. How did that happen? Well, in March, Germany's hospital system started freeing up intensive care beds and pushing back elective surgeries to make space for a potential flood of Covid-19 patients. Many hospitals also shared data with a federal website to map out their supply chain needs relative to other facilities. "The website is (now) a live-dashboard of all available ICU beds in participating hospitals Germany wide," said Niklas Rindtorff, a medical student in his final year of studies in Heidelberg, Germany, who also has a background in medical informatics. Hospital doctors are instructed how to operate a ventilator at the Universitaetsklinikum Eppendorf in Hamburg, on March 25, 2020. Axel Heimken | POOL | AFP | Getty Images Germany also built out extra intensive care facilities just in case. "After the collapse of the hospitals in northern Italy, the German government built up additional capacities in the intensive care units," said Uwe Frers, an entrepreneur based in Berlin. "This was the right step, even if the capacities were ultimately not needed." Some experts believe that Germany's high-quality intensive care -- as well as its focus on testing -- helped reduce the mortality of the disease in the country. Germany has one of the highest numbers of coronavirus cases, but relatively few citizens died compared with other European nations. Some experts are even referring to the phenomenon as the "German anomaly." Mental health support After sheltering in place, many Germans were encouraged to exercise outdoors as long as they were able to keep their distance from others. There was also a concerted effort to encourage Germans to stay in contact via Skype or Zoom, so people wouldn't feel lonely or isolated. "There was a big campaign around mental health," said Dr. Sandra Kamping, a psychologist based in Hamburg. "Here people could go outside even during lockdown for a walk or a bike ride," added Carlos Barragan, an IT worker based in Germany. Nurse Sylke Pflugmacher takes a sample at a testing point for medical staff members at the community hospital in Magdeburg, eastern Germany, on April 16, 2020 during the novel coronavirus COVID-19 pandemic. Ronny Hartmann | AFP | Getty Images Access to doctors Germany is known for its strong network of family practitioners, who are typically the first point of contact for accessing health care. "There is very low barrier to entry to see a high-quality doctor," said Christian Dierks, a lawyer focused on medicine who runs an innovation consultancy firm in Berlin. "Sick leave is also very easy, and you can take time off from work to see your doctor." Because of that, some locals say, citizens were able to access some routine care and get advice if they were experiencing symptoms of Covid-19. In some cases, they were told to stay home while others with more serious symptoms were referred to the hospital. That might have helped Germans navigate to the right place. The Merkel effect German Chancellor Angela Merkel adjusts her protective mask on her way to a Bavarian state cabinet meeting at Herrenchiemsee Island, Germany. Peter Kneffel | Pool via Reuters What went OK States making their own decisions In Germany, the federal government and the states haven't always agreed about the right next steps during the pandemic. In some ways, that lack of consistency isn't helpful. But others point out that it's also an opportunity to share lessons learned: "Germany's federal system gives the individual states a very high degree of freedom in choosing the means of overcoming the crisis," said Frers. "On the one hand, good for learning from each other, on the other hand, critical when quick decisions have to be made on a large scale." Citizens walk at the pedestrian zone in Guetersloh, western Germany. Ina Fassbender | AFP | Getty Images Ramping up testing Germany is considered ahead of most other European countries when it comes to testing. It very quickly ramped up drive-through testing via nasal swabs and, according to the BBC, carried out more diagnostic swab tests than any other major European country. It may still not be enough as the country reopens -- a point that the local press has emphasized -- but it's better than most. "We are very good in testing because we have a centralized but still coordinated testing system," said Christian Angermayer, an entrepreneur and investor from Germany. "Almost from the beginning, we had widespread testing." Contact tracing apps When Germany released an app for contact tracing, called the Corona-Warn-App, more than 15 million people signed up. "Many people downloaded it, representing a huge chunk of the population in Germany," said Otto. Germany's Health Ministry has reported some success: More than 500 people who tested positive used the app to notify others who might have been exposed. Health officials noted that the apps were designed with privacy in mind, but reports indicate that no system is perfect. One recent issue that's emerged is that Google Android users must first turn on their device location, which could allow Google to follow their movements. Still, Germany embraced tracking (both the tech and more traditional, analog version) and testing early on, which may have contributed to its success. Germany's coronavirus contact-tracing app, Corona-Warn, is displayed on an iPhone in Berlin on Tuesday, June 16, 2020. Krisztian Bocsi | Bloomberg via Getty Images Financial support According to Kamping, the mental health expert, it also helped alleviate stress and anxiety that many Germans did not fear losing their livelihoods. If companies were struggling, there's a program in place for employees to receive a high percentage of their usual pay rather than being laid off. The idea is that instead of having employers cut staff, workers can apply for unemployment benefits and the government will subsidize those employers directly. Some 10 million Germans are benefiting from the program, called "Kurzarbeit," according to Propublica. But some say that corporations might have fared better than small businesses. "In my view, however, the small and medium-sized enterprises, which are so important in Germany, have been left behind due to a lack of lobbying power, unlike the large corporations," said Frers. And the programs didn't cover everyone: There has still been a bump in unemployment in Germany, which could rise further still with additional Covid-19 outbreaks. What could have been better Mask shortages and policies In the early days of the pandemic, some Germans say it was a challenge to access masks. The problem was so stark that a group of doctors in late April even posed nude to raise awareness of the problem of personal protective equipment shortages. The idea was to show the public how vulnerable they were without protection. In response, many Germans banded together to start making their own masks, including to sew them. "I received at least five offers (of masks) from family and friends," said junior doctor Pascal Nohl-Deryk, who noted that his hospital also started sharing masks for his own personal use. Now, he says, masks are available across Germany at low prices. One other issue that's come up recently is whether to mandate the use of masks in supermarkets. There's some debate about it, but some doctors say that politicians should support the measure. "There's enough scientific evidence about transmission in indoor spaces," said Dr. Harald Schneider, an endocrinologist based in Germany. "I'm convinced we need strong measures." Rumors and conspiracy theories Germany may have had an enviable Covid-19 response, but it still had its fair share of conspiracy theories. As local reporters have shared, groups of protesters have mobilized to share unfounded rumors and misinformation. Some accused Bill Gates of forcing vaccinations on the population, while others targeted Merkel. Drosten, the popular virologist, received death threats and was accused of spreading fear about the coronavirus. "For many Germans, I'm the evil guy who is crippling the economy," Drosten told the Guardian. Problems with easing lockdowns Going into lockdown may have been easier for Germany than getting out. After watching Italy and China, Germany began to get prepared and was relatively early in imposing restrictions to stem the spread of Covid-19. But as one local outlet points out, it could have even come sooner. Still, Germany used its time well and the lockdown, by all accounts, was fairly effective in combating the spread of the virus. However, some have noted that Germany may have been a victim of its own success. Because some citizens didn't have much exposure to the virus, they questioned whether the measures were too draconian. And once the country decided to reopen, some states rushed to open faster than others -- (critics felt there could have been a more cohesive national strategy). Meanwhile, as recent outbreaks have struck a few regions, Germany has started to impose restrictions once again. How Germany scores overall: 8.25/10 A worker wears a mask while organizing merchandise at a Walmart store, in North Brunswick, N.J., on July 20, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) Walmart Stores Will Be Closed on Thanksgiving Day Walmart plans to close all of its stores on Thanksgiving this year, it announced on Tuesday. The Arkansas-based retail giant said Sams Club locations will also be shut down on Nov. 26. We know this has been a trying year, and our associates have stepped up. We hope they will enjoy a special Thanksgiving Day at home with their loved ones, John Furner, president of Walmart U.S., said in a statement. We are certainly thankful to our people for all of their efforts. Stores will operate as normal the day before Thanksgiving but will have run on adjusted schedules the day after, which is also known as Black Friday. Information for hours for Nov. 27 will be shared at a later date. Many large chains remain open on Thanksgiving. A large percentage of Christmas shopping is done on Thanksgiving or Black Friday. The COVID-19 pandemic is causing some companies to rethink normal operations, as some states, cities, and counties hold restrictions to try to keep the case count low. Customers wear masks as they shop inside a Walmart in Burbank, Calif., on July 17, 2020. (Robyn Beck/AFP via Getty Images) Macys CEO Jeff Gennette told analysts on July 1 that the chain was looking to shift more Black Friday business online. We have a very strong game plan about how were going to keep this trend of digital going, Gennette said during a conference call. But when you think about Black Friday, if you think about the 10 days before Christmas, what does that mean in terms of traffic if people are nervous about gathering with crowds? Everything is on the table right now. Macys plans to release full details for the major shopping day in September. Walmart also announced a cash bonus for workers. Full-time, hourly associates will receive $300 while part-time workers will receive $150. Some other workers will also receive a bonus, which was not specified. Walmart says the payout will add up to approximately $428 million. Our associates have been working at an incredible pace, theyve solved problems, and theyve set an amazing example for others, Furner said. To further appreciate their incredible work, we are pleased to share another special cash bonus this summer. Walmart employees some 1.5 million in the United States. Walmart has over 4,700 stores in the country. The companys revenue for the previous fiscal year was $524 billion. Accusing China of not being transparent about the COVID-19, US President Donald Trump has said that Beijing could have stopped the deadly virus from spreading across the world but they "chose" not to. Trump has in the past expressed disappointment over China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, he claimed that it was the incompetence of Beijing that led to the mass killing across the globe. More than 600,000 people globally, including 143,000 Americans have died due to coronavirus that emerged from China's Wuhan city. Over 14 million people across the world, including over 4 million in the US, have tested positive with this deadly virus that has brought the global economy to standstill. China has denied US' 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. COVID-19 Vaccine Frequently Asked Questions View more How does a vaccine work? A vaccine works by mimicking a natural infection. A vaccine not only induces immune response to protect people from any future COVID-19 infection, but also helps quickly build herd immunity to put an end to the pandemic. Herd immunity occurs when a sufficient percentage of a population becomes immune to a disease, making the spread of disease from person to person unlikely. The good news is that SARS-CoV-2 virus has been fairly stable, which increases the viability of a vaccine. How many types of vaccines are there? There are broadly four types of vaccine one, a vaccine based on the whole virus (this could be either inactivated, or an attenuated [weakened] virus vaccine); two, a non-replicating viral vector vaccine that uses a benign virus as vector that carries the antigen of SARS-CoV; three, nucleic-acid vaccines that have genetic material like DNA and RNA of antigens like spike protein given to a person, helping human cells decode genetic material and produce the vaccine; and four, protein subunit vaccine wherein the recombinant proteins of SARS-COV-2 along with an adjuvant (booster) is given as a vaccine. What does it take to develop a vaccine of this kind? Vaccine development is a long, complex process. Unlike drugs that are given to people with a diseased, vaccines are given to healthy people and also vulnerable sections such as children, pregnant women and the elderly. So rigorous tests are compulsory. History says that the fastest time it took to develop a vaccine is five years, but it usually takes double or sometimes triple that time. View more Show It came from China. It should have never been allowed to get out. They could have stopped it. They could have stopped it easily. They chose not to, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. We'll have further reports on that. But it came from China. They could have stopped it, but they didn't. They stopped it from going into China, but they didn't stop it from going to the rest of the world. It didn't stop it from going to Europe, to us, he said. They should have stopped it. They could have stopped it. They weren't transparent at all; they were the opposite. It's not good, Trump said. Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Monday over the pandemic. And all of us, and all of us together -- I've had many conversations with leaders all over the world over the weekend, and over the last couple of weeks in particular. And this is a pandemic that is flaring up all over the place. Countries thought they were in good shape and then, all of a sudden, they have a big flare-up, he said. Coronavirus, he said, is a worldwide problem and the US is helping other countries with ventilators. We're helping a lot of countries. They don't have ventilators, and we're sending thousands of ventilators to different countries. But I do want people to understand this is a worldwide problem caused by China, but it's a worldwide problem, Trump said. Countries are going through hell. We're going to give you a lot of briefings in the next week and over the next few weeks as to -- I think it's very important to do it, the vaccines and the therapeutics. I think I'm going to bring some of the great companies that are working, and very successfully in the past have worked on these things, and they're going to tell you very specifically what they're doing and how they're doing. But we think we're doing very well in that regard, said the president. Meanwhile, the State Department on Monday announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his July 20-22 visit to the UK will meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson? and Foreign Secretary Dominic? Raab? to discuss global priorities, including coordination on COVID-19 recovery and? issues related to the People's Republic of China (PRC).? He will also discuss the ongoing negotiations for the US-UK Free Trade Agreement, an official statement said. In another development, Congressman Michael Burges said that China and the Chinese Communist Party continues to threaten American national security with cyber-attacks. The US should get more specific with sanctions and use our economic power to punish hackers, he demanded. Follow our full coverage of the coronavirus pandemic here A veteran deputy at the Harris County Sheriffs Office was held Tuesday at the county lockup on charges he sexually assaulted a young mother in front of her child while on duty in March. Deputy Kenneth Wayne Reed, 45, of Montgomery, has since been released on $10,000 bond. Reed, who has worked for the sheriff since 1997, faces a criminal felony charge of sexual assault. He remains employed, but could face disciplinary action, including termination, following a civil service review, according to Jason Spencer, spokesman for the office. He spent four months on desk duty after the woman reported the assault. The weekday afternoon assault took place March 18 when a 26-year old mother was walking back to her car on a dead end street after walking her pit bull with her 7-year-old daughter, according to the womans lawyer, U.A. Lewis. A uniformed Reed approached the woman in the 15700 block of Bammel Village Drive and struck up a conversation, according a statement from the sheriffs office. He told her to put her daughter into her truck, her lawyer said. She said he then called her over to his patrol car, parked a short distance away, and made lewd comments about her body. He then sexually assaulted the woman with his hands, according to the sheriffs office. Her lawyer said the womans daughter used a pad of paper in the car to write a note to her mother, which she held to the window. Lewis said the girls note said something along the lines of, Mommy why is he touching you like that? The deputy also programmed his number in the womans phone and called himself so he had her number, Lewis said. Later that day, after she left the area, the deputy texted her a lewd photograph and a sexually explicit video of himself, her lawyer said. The victim was worried about reporting the crime, her lawyer said, because she was afraid the man who had just assaulted her might be assigned to the case. But she did report the assault, showing investigators the photograph and video from a person who had programmed his name into her phone as Officer Kenny Reed. The woman explained her daughter had witnessed the attack. The officers got permission to interview the girl and asked what she had seen. They also took the girls note as evidence, her lawyer said. The woman submitted to a rape kit. The sheriffs office assigned Reed to desk duty and began an internal investigation. The sheriffs sexual assault unit concluded its investigation and handed the case to District Attorneys Office on April 28. The woman repeatedly inquired whether charges would be filed against the officer, including making a trip to the DA's office where she was told if she didn't have an appointment she had to leave. Before charges were filed, Harris County prosecutors said Reeds lawyer had said that he would plead guilty to a misdemeanor charge of official oppression in exchange for two years probation, according to Lewis. The deputy said he would give up his Texas Commission on Law Enforcement (TCOLE) license, which grants him permission to be a police officer, Lewis said. A spokesperson for the DA did not respond to multiple requests for comment. The DAs public integrity unit filed a criminal felony charge of sexual assault early Tuesday, three months after the assault was reported. Reed faces two to 20 years. The womans attorney plans to file a civil lawsuit alleging that Reed engaged in an Fourth Amendment violation of the womans privacy. We expect to see the same justice with this white officer and a Black female victim as we would see with a Black officer, Lewis said. If he is released on bail, Reed will not return to work until after his civil service review takes place, the sheriffs spokesman said. Investigators asked any other possible victims to contact the sheriffs internal affairs division at 713-274-5003. Gabrielle.Banks@chron.com Julian.Gill@chron.com For good reasons, Chris Wallace's extensive interview with President Donald Trump was widely praised. Wallace, while remaining respectful and calm, didn't allow the prevaricator-in-chief to get away with too much. He pushed back firmly, fact-checking Trump in real-time within the interview itself as well as showing viewers the results of more fact-checking performed after the fact. Most notably, Wallace countered Trump's confidently uttered claim that Joe Biden had called for abolishing the police. There's no evidence of that, Wallace said so to Trump's face and later noted that, despite promises to the contrary, the White House never followed up on promises to send him proof of it - because there isn't any.) "A tip of the Stetson to Chris Wallace," tweeted former CBS News anchor and native Texan Dan Rather. "A consummate pro. Tough. Prepared. Fair." The interview was praiseworthy, though it really should not be quite so remarkable to see a journalist hold the president's feet to the fire. (Wouldn't this have been just another day at the office for the late Tim Russert on NBC's "Meet the Press"?) Laudable as it was, the Wallace interview also does some insidious harm to truth-telling writ large. It serves as a journalistic fig leaf for Fox News - something the network's brass and public relations staff can point to in order to counter the criticism that Fox is a nothing but cheerleader for the president. Call it the "but Chris Wallace!" syndrome. Sunday may have been a spotlight for Wallace's chops, but Monday morning things were back to their democracy-damaging normal at the nation's most popular cable network. We learned that Tucker Carlson - who took a sudden vacation after justifiably harsh criticism earlier this month - would be back on the air. His extremely mild rebuke of a key staff's racist and misogynistic behavior, coupled with his own appalling commentary on Sen. Tammy Duckworth (he described the Purple Heart recipient as a coward who hates America) are bygones. Apparently, this kind of thing simply doesn't matter if the ratings are high enough - and Carlson's are. On "Fox & Friends," the president's favorite morning show, the Sunday interview got a proud mention ("our very own Chris Wallace"), as it should, but otherwise the hosts, as usual, let the president have his way twisting the facts. They aired a clip in which Trump defends the shockingly high rates of covid-19 by claiming that it's because the U.S. is doing more testing (the greatest testing, don't you know). That's not the case, as Wallace duly pointed out on his show - but "Fox & Friends" didn't show that part. Once again, Trump was allowed to get away with misleading the public. Viewers also were treated to the sound of host Steve Doocy repeating Trump's usual trashing of factual information he doesn't like: "We've heard, according to the polls - although the president said yesterday, he does not believe the polls, they're fake polls - the federal response has been poor. . . ." Business as usual, in other words. Sean Hannity, second only to Carlson in ratings popularity on Fox, is devoting much of his time and energy to Portland, Ore., using alarmist video of unrest in a city where federal officials - some in camouflage without badges to identify them as law enforcement - have seized racial-justice protestors on the street and detained them without charges or record of an arrest. CNN's Brian Stelter, who is writing a book about the culture of Fox News, suggested in his Monday newsletter that the Trump administration and Fox's talk shows have picked Portland as a new stage for Trump's 'Law and Order' show: "Programs like Fox & Friends have been prioritizing urban violence over the covid-19 crisis for several weeks; Portland was just the latest news peg." During the Wallace interview, Trump criticized Fox News, which he claims to have been disappointed in since co-founder Roger Ailes stepped down in disgrace a few years ago. He professes, at times, to prefer the upstart One America News. But let's face it, Trump has absolutely nothing to complain about with Fox, which - for the most part - is a water-carrier for a president who consistently lies and attacks democratic norms. It's not going too far to call a lot of what Fox offers by its proper name: propaganda. That Chris Wallace swoops in, on rare occasions, to show how Fox journalism might be done with integrity doesn't change that one iota. By providing cover to Fox's dependable sycophants and cheerleaders, he may even make things worse. WASHINGTON - The emerging GOP coronavirus relief bill appears likely to embrace some of President Donald Trump's key priorities, despite opposition from within his own party, including a payroll tax cut, little aid to state and local governments, and measures tying school funding to the reopening of classrooms. Some of these provisions are already sparking pushback from key Senate Republicans, and an even bigger showdown with Democrats appears inevitable. That clash could come Tuesday, when Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows are set to meet with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., for the first bipartisan talks on what will almost certainly be the last major coronavirus relief bill before the November elections. Mnuchin and Meadows will also meet with Senate Republicans on Tuesday as they seek to quell any discontent. In a sign of the hard sell the White House faces, Senate Finance Committee Chairman Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, sounded skeptical when asked about the payroll tax cut Monday evening. "I think you'd better ask me after [Tuesday] so we can hear from the administration if they're really serious about it," Grassley said. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., is giving Congress three weeks to write the bill before adjourning for summer recess. With multiple issues dividing the two parties and creating rifts between the White House and Senate Republicans, it's shaping up as a daunting task. Mnuchin said Monday that the White House wants the bill to amount to roughly $1 trillion in new programs, though officials are expected to use budget gimmicks to make the initial package slightly larger. Still, Democrats were looking for a much bigger bill. Their opening offer is a $3 trillion package they passed in May that would extend unemployment benefits, include new stimulus checks, and help cities and states, among other things. At a White House meeting Monday, Trump touted the benefits of a payroll tax cut, something he has pushed for close to a year, telling reporters: "It's a tremendous saving, and I think it's an incentive for companies to hire their workers back and to keep their workers. So the payroll tax cut, to me, is very important." During the private portion of the meeting, Trump called a conservative economist he's friendly with, Art Laffer, and put him on speakerphone to discuss the benefits of a payroll tax cut and how best to structure it, according to several people familiar with the events. Laffer confirmed the call in an interview with The Washington Post. The payroll tax is the 7.65% tax paid by employers and employees that goes toward the Social Security and Medicare trust funds. The administration is considering structuring the payroll tax cut in the legislation as a deferral rather than an outright cut, which would keep down the technical cost of the overall bill, according to one person briefed on the package, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss private deliberations. Such a deferral could require Americans to pay back the tax cut at a later date, but lawmakers could decide to waive the repayment. Congress already deferred the employer portion of the payroll tax cut in an earlier coronavirus bill. After first floating the idea of a payroll tax cut last year, only to be met with bipartisan opposition, Trump renewed his push once the coronavirus pandemic began to devastate the economy this spring. Still, Senate Republicans have repeatedly rebuffed him. Trump has said such a tax cut would give workers more money to spend, but critics argue that unlike sending stimulus checks to individual Americans, cutting payroll taxes benefits only those who have jobs. More than 20 million Americans remain unemployed. Illustrating the tricky path forward, Mnuchin insisted to reporters that the payroll tax cut would be in the legislation. He was then asked about a Washington Post report over the weekend that said the White House wanted to block new money for coronavirus testing. Mnuchin responded, "I'm not going to comment on the specifics," even though he had freely opined on the payroll tax component. Mnuchin and other White House officials have faced enormous pushback from lawmakers in both major parties over blocking this funding, with Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., telling reporters that the idea was "wrong." Blunt also criticized the proposal to put conditions on education funding for school districts. Trump has made the payroll tax cut a major sticking point and said he may not sign the legislation if it doesn't include the cut. McConnell appears set to include the provision in his bill. There were signs Monday, however, that he could face difficulties getting Senate Republicans to fall in line. "I think it's problematic because, obviously, the trust funds for Social Security and Medicare are already on their way to insolvency," Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, told reporters Monday, referring to cutting the payroll tax. "And then we'd raise them again, we'd raise taxes . . . I'm not a fan." Schumer did not wait to discuss the legislation with White House officials before denouncing it in a Senate floor speech Monday. "It appears that the Republican proposal is unlikely to meet the moment," Schumer said. "From what we understand from press reports, McConnell's bill will prioritize corporate special interests over workers and Main Street businesses. It will fail to adequately address the worsening spread of the virus. There are currently between 20 million and 30 million unemployed Americans, and from all accounts the Republican bill will not do nearly enough for them." Earlier, at the Oval Office meeting, Mnuchin confirmed that Republicans plan to reduce a $600-per-week enhanced unemployment benefit, approved in March, which will begin running out for millions of Americans later this week. Republicans argue that workers are making more on unemployment than they would on the job. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "We're going to make sure that we don't pay people more money to stay home than go to work," Mnuchin said, adding that he hoped to see Congress act on the issue before benefits expire at the end of the month. During the private portion of the Oval Office meeting, Trump criticized the enhanced unemployment benefit, saying it never should have been agreed to in the first place, according to three people familiar with the meeting who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss it. The president's comment highlighted resentment among some congressional Republicans toward Mnuchin, whom they blame for cutting bad deals with Democrats on the first four coronavirus bills, which pumped about $3 trillion into the economy in March and April. Those bills passed with major bipartisan support, but it's already clear that the coming deal - if there's an agreement at all - will not inspire such widespread accord. With the economy still reeling, and coronavirus infections and deaths on the rise, the coming days will be key in whether the negotiations succeed or fail. Mnuchin said he wants a deal on the unemployment benefits by next week. The emerging GOP legislation will also contain liability protections for businesses, health-care providers and others, which McConnell has repeatedly described as a red line for him. The bill is expected to omit new aid that Democrats have sought for cities and states, instead allowing governors and local leaders more flexibility to spend the $150 billion already allocated, according to two other people with knowledge of the talks. Under the GOP plan, states would get money for schools - but it would be explicitly tied to schools reopening, a major focus of late for Trump, according to the first person briefed on the negotiations. It was unclear how exactly the money would be structured to prod schools to reopen or what would constitute reopening. People involved with the talks cautioned that negotiations were ongoing and that provisions were fluid and subject to change. Republicans are aiming to roll out their legislation this week and expect it to cost $1 trillion, though they also predict that the price tag will grow significantly once horse-trading with Democrats begins in earnest. Pelosi and Schumer have made clear that additional aid to cities and states is a top priority. Democratic votes will be needed for any final deal to pass the House and Senate. - - - The Washington Post's Paul Kane contributed to this report. SAN FRANCISCO (dpa-AFX) - Financial services company Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC) announced Tuesday that Mike Santomassimo will join the company in fall 2020 as Chief Financial Officer. Santomassimo will report to CEO Charlie Scharf and serve on the company's Operating Committee. Santomassimo will succeed John Shrewsberry, who has announced plans to retire following a successful 22-year career with Wells Fargo, including the last six years as the company's CFO. Shrewsberry will continue in his role as CFO until Santomassimo joins the company and will assist with the transition thereafter. Santomassimo, with more than 20 years of leadership experience in banking and finance, joins Wells Fargo from BNY Mellon, where he was CFO since 2018. Prior to joining BNY Mellon, he spent 11 years at JPMorgan Chase in a number of key finance leadership roles, including CFO for Banking. He also served as CFO of JPMorgan's Securities Services & U.S. Private Banking businesses. He began his career at Smith Barney. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Amid higher recoveries, 77% of Delhis population still susceptible to coronavirus A serological survey has found that 77% of Delhis population is still susceptible to coronavirus, the government said Tuesday. The results of the sero survey came as Delhi is recording a higher rate of recoveries and lower cases of new infections and casualties due to Covid-19. Read More Order on Sachin Pilot, rebels plea on July 24, Rajasthan speaker asked to wait The Rajasthan high court said on Tuesday that it will pronounce its verdict on the writ petition filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident Congress MLAs, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the state assembly speaker, on Friday. The speaker has been asked to take no action against the MLAs till then. Read More Ranvir Shorey asks Anurag Kashyap not to belittle others when they are crying out Kangana Ranauts recent statements on Bollywood actors and filmmakers seem to be dividing people in Hindi film industry. Now Ranvir Shorey has launched an attack at independent film crusaders who have turned into mainstream Bollywood flunkies. And the first one to take offence at his tweet is Anurag Kashyap. Read More Dilip Doshi recalls banter with Javed Miandad in India vs Pakistan 1983 Bengaluru Test In a recent interview, recalling the incident that took place during the India vs Pakistan 1st Test in 1983 at Bengaluru, Dilip Doshi revealed what exactly transpired between him and Javed Miandad. Read More HP launches OMEN 15, Pavilion Gaming 16 laptops with Vector mouse and headsets in India HP has updated its OMEN gaming portfolio in India with OMEN 15 gaming laptops, Pavilion Gaming 16, OMEN Vector Mouse and more. The OMEN 15 gaming laptops come in two major configurations, while one runs on Intel processors that start at Rs 79,999, the other one runs on AMD and starts at Rs 75,999. Read More Transformers, The Hulk and more: Ban Hun Leks scrap metal sculptures draw large crowds in Thailand Thailands Ban Hun Lek has become a popular weekend spot for Instagram selfies and family getaways against a backdrop of Hollywoods much-loved film franchises. Read More to find out why. Gurugram Rain: People flood Twitter with pics of dark clouds Several residents of Gurugram have taken to Twitter to share pictures of the dark clouds in the sky before it began raining on Tuesday afternoon. From sharing their joy about the beauty of the sky to being happy about the rain, here are some of the reactions shared by people on Twitter. Read More Landslide in Uttarakhands Chamoli following heavy rain Uttarakhand has been reeling under heavy rainfall. Following a landslide near Pipalkoti in Uttarakhands Chamoli, the NH-07 was shut. On Monday, IMD predicted heavy to very heavy rains during next two days. It. however, added that the intensity and distribution of rain likely to decrease thereafter. Watch the video Nurses care for a patient in an Intensive Care ward treating victims of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Frimley Park Hospital in Surrey, Britain, May 22, 2020. (Steve Parsons/Reuters) Protein Trial Results Suggest a Possible Treatment for COVID-19 Patients The preliminary trial results for a possible treatment for COVID-19 seem to suggest a possible breakthrough for one United Kingdom company, according to multiple reports. Synairgen PLC, a biotech company from Southampton, UK, issued a statement on its website that on Monday, July 20, the company had yielded positive results from SNG001, the treatment that featured inhalation of a protein called interferon beta. As indicated by Synairgen PLCs CEO Richard Marsden, Interferon Beta is a protein that an individual creates in their bodies when that individual gets any viral infection, according to an interview with Proactive. As reported by BBC, the COVID-19 seemed to keep the body from producing this protein to fight viral infections in order to bypass the bodys immune system, and by giving patients doses of interferon beta, the body would be able to create enough anti-viral response, if not more, in order to help the body battle the disease. We are all delighted with the trial results announced today, which showed that SNG001 greatly reduced the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients who progressed from requiring oxygen to requiring ventilation. It also showed that patients who received the SNG001 were at least twice as likely to recover to the point where their everyday activities were not compromised through having been infected by SARS-CoV-2, Marsden indicated, according to the statement on the company website. The trial, which took place between March 30 to May 27, was a double-blind placebo-controlled test trial, and in total, there were a total of 101 patients who were recruited from nine different hospitals of the United Kingdom. Through this trial, Synairgen PLC discovered that patients who received the treatment had a 79 percent chance to lower the risk of getting worse as opposed to those who received the placebo, according to the website statement. Marsden explained during the video interview with Proactive that what he meant by getting worse is the need to get back on the ventilators, or in a worst-case scenario, they die. In addition to helping patients recover, the trial treatment result indicated that SNG001 had reduced breathlessness, which is one of the symptoms of a severe case of COVID-19, the statement read. Now that the trial has shown promise to become a possible treatment, Synairgen PLC will be presenting the findings from the trial to the medical regulators across the globe in order to see if they approve of the treatment in the next couple of days, according to BBC. The approval process for treatments could take months, although the British Government has promised to go through and approve treatments that show promise as fast as possible. Welcome back to the Year of Fear. Each week until Election Day, CJR and the Delacorte Review will bring you another chapter from one of our four towns. Click here to subscribe to our weekly newsletter. On June 29, I attended a press conference at the Hidalgo County Commissioners facility to get an update on the rapidly escalating cases of COVID-19 in deep South Texas. The administrators for seven regional hospitals, the county judge, the county health director and the countys health authority physician all urged the community to tread cautiously as deaths were increasing daily. Dr. Ivan Melendez, the Hidalgo County Health Authority Physician, was about twenty feet in front of me speaking about the need to maintain social distancing, facial coverings in public and limiting outings unless absolutely necessary. Then mid-way through the hour-long press conference, he disappeared. I later learned that he had received an urgent message telling him to leave the room and get on a call, on which he was informed that he had tested positive for coronavirus. I wrote a story for Border Report explaining that he had been masked for the duration of the news conference, as had everyone else. I never interviewed him one-on-one, since he left early, and I counted my blessings that the press corps had been positioned feet apart in the back of the room, hopefully far away enough to avoid contracting the virus. My husband, Carlos Sanchez, was also at the news conference. A former Washington Post reporter and editor for the Waco Tribune-Herald, the McAllen Monitor, and Texas Monthly, he left journalism this February to take over as the countys director of public information. He had organized the news conference, in fact. He talked to several reporters and dignitaries and made sure everyone had secured the interviews they needed. I watched him have many close interactions with others that day. Shortly after midnight, on July 1, my husbands sixtieth birthday, he shook me awake and told me to get out of the room because he had a fever and body aches. In my sleepiness I didnt quite comprehend what was happening. I grabbed my pillow and ran out of the room. As I lay on the family room couch without a blanket I realized what had just happened and I began to pray for my family. My eighty-six-year-old father was asleep down the hall. My three young adult children who have been staying with us during the pandemic were upstairs. My husband isolated himself in our bedroom suite for the next eleven days, but his fever never broke. Luckily that room has a door to the backyard and I was able to stock the garage refrigerator with drinks and food for him and leave hot meals at his door. He continued to work, however, answering media calls, writing press releases and soldiering on. He tested negative twice, but we still suspected it was COVID-19. Sign up for CJR 's daily email He almost passed out after facilitating a Zoom press conference on July 9 with a 102-degree fever. My eldest son sent him hot soup, but his appetite continued to decrease, his breathing got more and more labored, and three days later, as the rest of us were about to eat dinner, he suddenly appeared in the dining room and headed for the front door. He was going to the hospital, he announced groggily. My eldest son threw two masks on and drove him there with the car windows rolled down. Hours later, we learned that my husband had COVID-19. A day later, he was transferred to another hospital where he was placed on oxygen and given a cocktail of IV drugs and painful blood thinner injections through his stomach. He is just two miles away from us but we have no access to him. He calls me on a landline phone when he feels good. The hours, and sometimes days in between, I fear the worst. But I know he is lucky to have gotten into a hospital at all. Hundreds in the Rio Grande Valley are suffering at home with this disease, unable to get medical care. Hidalgo County Judge Richard Cortez announced Sunday night that the county had 1,320 new cases and 17 deaths. 27 people died on Friday; 35 died last Wednesdaya one-day record. Altogether, 12,263 people have COVID-19 or have recovered from it in this county of just 860,000. The numbers grow astronomically every day as this border region faces what community leaders had so desperately warned could happen months ago when the governor reopened Texas. With Mexico just six miles to our south and San Antonio four hours away, South Texas was slower to see cases rise and was holding its own until the state was reopened in phases on May 1. By the time the virus was peaking in mid-May in the northern Mexican state of Tamaulipas just across the Rio Grande, bars and restaurants here were allowed to reopen; gyms were accepting patrons once again and a feeling of complacency began to spread after months of tense waiting and worrying over when (or if) the novel coronavirus would strike the region. It feels like the rest of the state and the nation do not realize what is happening here now. I have spoken to friends in the Northeast and Northwest who are completely unaware that we are the nations hotspot right now. They are unaware that last Monday, leaders from the nonprofit Samaritans Purse came to tour the area to see where they could build a field hospital and/or step-down convalescent unit for recovering survivors, like the organization did in New York City and Italy. They are unaware that suddenly, late last Wednesday, the nonprofit announced it wasnt going to help aid efforts here. The Wall Street Journal reported that Governor Greg Abbott dissuaded the group from setting up operations here. That garnered stiff criticism from Representative Vicente Gonzalez, a Democrat whose hometown is McAllen. The governor needs to let those who want to help our overextended and exhausted medical personnel in South Texas do so. We have people who are suffering and dying. How can any governor see fit to deny a field hospital and critical medical services to overrun COVID-19 hospitals? Gonzalez said in a statement. I urge Governor Abbott to reconsider this decision and expedite the deployment of a field hospital by Samaritans Purse to the Rio Grande Valley. McAllen and South Texas need help now. The Wall Street Journal story also quoted Melendez, the countys health physician who had COVID-19 and had recently been cleared to resume seeing patients. The story said Samaritans Purse was informed that the governor had sent adequate resources to the region. Abbott had sent a surge team of healthcare workers a few weeks earlier and an ambulance strike force was also sent to augment transport vehicles for the sick. But as numbers rose and hospitals were overwhelmed, it became clear that this was not enough. This region needs help and it needs it now. Every major media organization is here in town reporting on this story including the New York Times and the Los Angeles Times. On Thursday, Melendez was interviewed on CBS News and CNN mere hours apart. Cortez on Monday issued new shelter-at-home orders, which he acknowledged have no legal backing, but in a statement, he said, I strongly hope everyone will voluntarily follow so that we can slow the spread of COVID-19. I wish my husband could shelter at home with us but he is hooked to tanks of oxygen in a bright zero-pressure room. They are already discussing discharging him because others need the bed and hes not on a ventilator. But where will he go? Ive been told if he comes home we five (and three dogs) will have to go elsewhere because of his viral load. A field hospital and convalescent station sure sound like the answer to many of our prayers right now. This piece has been updated for clarity. This project is supported by a gift from the Delacorte Center for Magazine Journalism Fund at The New York Community Trust. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Sandra Sanchez has been an award-winning newspaper journalist for the past 30 yearsincluding many years covering the Southwest border and immigration for USA Today. She began her career in her hometown of Washington, D.C., working for the Washington Post. In 1994, she moved to Austin as USA Todays Southwest correspondent. During her tenure with the nations largest newspaper, she covered the Los Angeles riots, Oklahoma City bombing, Hurricane Hugo, and many immigration stories from Arizona to Brownsville, Texas. She was the opinion editor for The Monitor newspaper in McAllen, Texas, from 2013 to 2018 during the initial surge of migrants on the Southwest border. She is passionate about border and immigration issues and enjoys being a correspondent for Nexstar Media Groups BorderReport.com. The New Development Bank (NDB) will lend Brazil 1 billion U.S. dollars to neutralize the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, bringing total loans to Brazil to 4 billion dollars, the institution said on Monday. The funds will be given to the Brazilian government's emergency aid payment program, designed to help millions of low-income people. "NDB financing is an important tool for the Brazilian government to ensure a robust fiscal response to fight the pandemic and allow priority investments to be made, thus supporting the economic recovery," the NDB said in a statement. The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in the five countries and other emerging economies and developing countries. 2 Stocks That Are Smashing New All-Time Highs This Year The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt a harsh blow to many businesses. Border closures, movement control orders and strict lockdowns have adversely impacted a wide range of industries. As a result, hotels, airlines, retail and food and beverage outlets have suffered plunging demand. No one knows when things will pick up again, despite the easing of the circuit breaker measures on 2 June. Not all businesses are reeling from a lack of demand, though. There have been bright spots amongst the wreckage, and some companies have managed to shine despite the tough challenges facing the economy. Some of these businesses can continue to operate as they are providing essential services, while others have digital capabilities and a strong online presence that helps to mitigate the effects of the pandemic. Here are two stocks that continue to smash new all-time highs even during this crisis. Sheng Siong Group Ltd (SGX: OV8) Sheng Siong is one of the largest supermarket chains in Singapore, with a network of 61 outlets across the island as of 31 March 2020. The groups supermarkets carry a mix of fresh and processed food products, as well as an assortment of general merchandise such as toiletries and essential household products. Sheng Siong offers over 1,200 products under its 18 house brands. Year to date, the groups shares have risen by 29% to close at S$1.63. This is just shy of its all-time high reached in late-June of S$1.70. The pandemic has prompted many to rush to stock up on food items and essential supplies. As Sheng Siongs supermarkets are selling such essential items, they have been allowed to continue operating throughout the circuit breaker period. In a business update released for the first quarter of 2020 (1Q 2020), the supermarket chain reported a 30.7% year on year jump in revenue, while net profit soared 50% year on year to S$29 million. Gross profit margin improved from 26.1% to 27.0% due to the increased sale of house brand items which command a higher gross margin. Story continues Of the 30.7% year on year increase in revenue, 9% came from new store openings, while the bulk (19.7%) came from higher comparable store sales as demand spiked due to hoarding. While demand has normalised during the second quarter, Sheng Siong should still report a decent set of earnings due to elevated purchase demand for home cooking, and also for more office workers and students who work and study from home. The group secured two new HDB spaces for the opening of new stores, at Tampines and Sengkang West. Besides, a tender was also won for a shop in Potong Pasir Community Club. The securing of these new leases is in line with the groups plans to open three to five new stores per year over the next three to five years. iFAST Corporation Limited (SGX: AIY) iFAST is a financial technology company that operates a platform for the buying and selling of unit trusts and securities such as equities and bonds. The group was formed in 2000 and has grown its assets under management (AUA) to S$9.54 billion as of 31 March 2020. iFasts share price has been on a tear this year, hitting an all-time high of S$1.76 recently, up 69% year to date. Though its AUA has dipped briefly from a record high of S$10 billion as at end-2019, the group reported that AUA has since regained the S$10 billion milestone on 22 April. Record net flows have also been recorded in the first quarter of 2020 as many investors opened new brokerage accounts to take advantage of bear market valuations. As iFAST conducts its business mainly through online channels, CEO Lim has mentioned that the group is minimally impacted by the pandemic. The wealth management industry continues to grow despite the crisis, and iFAST is in a good position to capture these inflows. Also, the group is gunning for a digital wholesale bank (DWB) licence in Singapore. During mid-June, iFAST announced that it had successfully moved to the next stage of assessment, being one of 14 contenders to do so. If the group does clinch one of the three DWB licences, it could be a game-changer for the business as this would attract significantly higher inflows than currently. With share prices battered to multi-year lows, many attractive investment opportunities have emerged. In a special FREE report, we show you 3 stocks that we think will be suitable for our portfolio. Simply click here to scoop up your FREE copy before the next stock market rally. Click here to like and follow us on Facebook and here for our Telegram group. Disclaimer: Royston Yang owns shares in iFAST Corporation Limited. The post 2 Stocks That Are Smashing New All-Time Highs This Year appeared first on The Smart Investor. By Azernews By Aisha Jabbarova Azerbaijani presidential aide Hikmat Hajiyev has said that the links between some U.S. Congressmen and the Armenian lobby in that country must be investigated. Hajiyev made the remarks during the presser on July 21. Hajiyev said that certain congressmen are under the influence of the Armenian lobby. He also denied as a rumor Armenian allegations that the U.S. has adopted an amendment against Azerbaijan. Hajiyev stressed that there are people in the US socio-political circles who are well aware of the Armenian provocation and the socio-political situation in the region, including the strategic partnership between the United States and Azerbaijan. Furhtermore, Hajiyev said during the presser that Armenian is engaged in the illegal supply of weapons on the black market by creating fake companies. "I call on the countries cooperating with Armenia in this area to be careful," Hajiyev said. The coronavirus vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca shows promise as it can generate both antibodies and cell-mediated immune responses, say several scientists in India and abroad, while cautioning that there is still a long way to go. "Very promising", "comforting" and "interesting" were some of the reactions from the scientific community a day after The Lancet revealed the vaccine appears safe and induces a strong immune response following the first phase of human trials. Doses of the vaccine were given to 1,077 healthy adults aged between 18 and 55 in five United Kingdom hospitals in April and May as part of the phase one clinical trial. With scientists and researchers across the world racing to develop a vaccine against the disease that has infected more that 14.7 million people across the world and claimed more than 6,00,000 lives, the Oxford-AstraZeneca results are being examined closely. It is "ideal" that the vaccine is able to generate both humoral and cell mediated immunity, virologist Upasana Ray said. Humoral immunity is the production of antibodies by the body's B cells. While antibodies make up the protein component of the immune system, T cells offer vital cell-mediated immunity, she explained. Ray, senior scientist at Kolkata's CSIR-Indian Institute of Chemical Biology, added that both components are essential to provide effective immunological memory and also for long-term protection. "The preliminary findings look very promising with responses to the vaccine similar to what is seen post natural infection," added Beate Kampmann, professor of paediatric infection & immunity and director of The Vaccine Centre, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. "The immune responses to the ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine were measured both in terms of quantity and quality of antibody as well as for T cell responses to the spike protein in a subgroup of individuals," Kampmann said in a statement. Researchers also found it promising that a booster dose of the vaccine in 10 of the trial's participants produced more immune response. "Trial participants developed the all-important neutralising antibodies, in most cases after one shot, and in all cases after two shots," noted Ian Jones, professor of Virology at the University of Reading in the UK. Satyajit Rath, an immunologist from the National Institute of Immunology in New Delhi, found it interesting and promising that the boost with the same vaccine candidate tended to increase antibody levels further despite pre-existing antibodies. "The vaccine candidate shows no unexpected awful adverse effects," Rath told PTI, adding that the formal addition of paracetamol showing some relief from adverse effects without modifying immune responses is useful information too. Commenting on the side effects of headache and fatigue reported by the participants in the study, experts said they are not a major concern and commonly observed in vaccines. "Such side effects have been seen in other vaccines as well and these subside in a few days' time. So, as of now, I don't see these as major points of concern," Ray said. The results show the desired and expected effects in terms of the immune response and does not have serious adverse effects seen in the numbers recruited so far", said Stephen Evans, professor of pharmacoepidemiology at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine in the UK. While the study showed there was an immune response generated by the vaccine, scientists cautioned that direct evidence showing whether or not it would prevent or reduce actual novel coronavirus infection has not been documented yet. "Generating immune response and providing immunological protection might not always run parallel," Ray said. "Hence, long term population-based studies where vaccinated people could be monitored for future infection/outbreak are important," the CSIR-IICB virologist added. Pointing to the way forward, she said there should be elaborate trials in geographical locations where severities and mortality of COVID-19 are currently high. According to the virologist, another concern is monitoring long the immunity lasts in terms of antibodies being generated and also the T cell counts. "We do not know yet if the currently observed levels are enough to protect against infection. The study needs to be run longer," Ray said. Rath agreed. "Data that T cell responses are occurring too are expected but still comforting to have, although they provide as yet no information about whether they are functionally relevant for providing protection," he said. "It is a comforting study in that there are no unpleasant surprises, and it allows this vaccine candidate to move on to actual efficacy trials," the immunologist noted. Vaccine development is a multi-phase process. Phase 1 trials are small-scale, usually involving few participants, to assess whether the vaccine is safe for humans. Phase 2 trials often involve several hundred subjects, and mainly evaluate the efficacy. The final phase involves thousands of people to further assess the efficacy of the vaccine over a defined period of time, and can last several months. China warns UK not to head down 'wrong path' amid Hong Kong-related tensions Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 10:35 AM China has advised Britain against treading the "wrong path" with regard to Hong Kong and bilateral ties, warning that Beijing will respond to actions that amount to interference in its internal affairs. Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin urged London on Monday to avoid making further steps down the wrong path concerning its relations with Beijing. He made the comments during a daily media briefing, adding that China would respond resolutely to actions that interfered with China's internal affairs in Hong Kong. "These HK-related remarks turn a blind eye to the basic facts that the national security law is for the sustained success of One China, Two Systems," Wang said, referring to the way Hong Kong has been governed since it returned to Chinese rule in 1997. "We strongly condemn these actions. We urge the UK to take no more steps down the wrong path, so as to avoid further damage to China-UK relations." His remarks came following multiple reports that London was poised to suspend an extradition treaty signed between Britain and Hong Kong after Beijing introduced a national security law in Hong Kong. UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab Raab is slated to update the Commons on Monday afternoon about a Foreign Office review into the UK's extradition treaty with Hong Kong, and is expected to follow the US, Canada and Australia in suspending it. London and its allies claim the law would undermine the city's autonomy and the "one country, two systems" principle. China has repeatedly slammed them for their "interference" in the domestic affairs of Hong Kong. Beijing says it will resolutely push forward with its decision to implement the national security law over the territory. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A St. Louis couple who waved guns at protesters outside their home last month were charged Monday by Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner for felony unlawful use of a weapon. According to The Associated Press, Gardner said that the McCloskey's actions risked creating a violent situation during an otherwise nonviolent protest. Patricia and Mark McCloskey face a single felony count each of unlawful use of a weapon. A widely viewed video shows Mark waving a rifle at protesters and Patricia waving a handgun. Gardner said that the charges were made after thorough investigation of the incident. A charge for unlawful use of a weapon is a class E felony, which can carry a sentence of up to four years in prison and a fine of $10,000. It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis," Gardner said in a statement. Gardner also said in the statement that she encourages the McCloskey's to participate in a diversion program that would prevent jail time if fully completed. Defense lawyer Joel Schwartz said in a statement that the charges are disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed. 1/ Statement from Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner - Today my office filed charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey following an incident involving peaceful, unarmed protesters on June 28th. Full statement below: pic.twitter.com/zPucQ3MHs5 Circuit Attorney (@stlcao) July 20, 2020 More: Couple who pointed guns at protesters investigated Missouri Gov. Mike Parson has said he doesn't think the couple should face charges. "A mob does not have the right to charge your property or come on your property," Parson said at a news conference last week. "They had every right to protect themselves." Story continues According to St. Louis Post-Dispatch, protesters took a shortcut through the private neighborhood on their way to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewsons house. The demonstration took place on June 28 after Krewson read the names and addresses of some who had called for defunding police on Facebook Live. According to a police report, the couple heard a loud commotion and saw a group of people break an iron gate. A protest leader, the Rev. Darryl Gray, told Fox 6 Now that the gate was open and that protesters did not damage it. The demonstration came after St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson read aloud the names and addresses of people who want to defund police. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: St. Louis couple facing felony charges for waving guns at protestors A lawsuit has been filed by Fob James Law Firm in the Houston County Circuit Court against former Dothan financial advisor James Blake Daughtry. According to information obtained from the law firm, the lawsuit alleges Daughtry and other conspirators forged signatures, opened fraudulent accounts, transferred retirement savings into sham entities, and stole millions of dollars of clients retirement savings. Six retirees from Dothan and the Florida Panhandle area allegedly lost their life savings due to financial industry fraud. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} The lawsuit also alleged breach of fiduciary duties and negligence on the part of two financial institutions, Kestra Investment Services LLC of Austin, Texas and Equity Trust Company of Westlake, Ohio. My clients are hardworking men and women, Fob James IV said. The money they have saved for retirement was earned from their conscientious labor over decades. According to James, the evidence associated with the case shows his clients were repeatedly lied to, their signatures forged, their retirement savings stolen, and their broker-dealers and financial institutions involved failed to stop it or warn his clients. London: US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has said global institutions trying to deal with an aggressive China are no longer fit for purpose, in part because Australia does not have a leading role in many of them. And in extraordinary comments, Pompeo has hit out World Health Organisation boss Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, accusing him of aiding China's initial cover-up of the pandemic, saying that was the reason for "dead Britons" because he has been "bought by the Chinese government". Pompeo made the remarks in London to an assortment of British MPs at the Millbank headquarters of the Henry Jackson Society, a think tank that is hawkish on China. The society has been instrumental in leading the putsch against British Prime Minister Boris Johnson's original approval for Chinese firm Huawei to build Britain's 5G networks. MPs from all parties, including the Conservative and Labour parties as well as the Liberal Democrats attended the meeting, which was held before the former CIA director met Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. He added that the Y's programs will keep the building as close to a school as possible. Wieser said the Y's programs have been outgrowing what the Franklin Center can provide. "Without obtaining variances that allow the YMCA to grow its operations at Ready Elementary, the Griffith YMCA would need to close as a last option," Marketing Director Jill Schaffenberger said in May. Moving to Ready would double the program sizes, add more members, allow larger spaces and more efficient classrooms, she added. During the public hearing portion of the meeting, three residents spoke in favor of the relocation, although one woman wondered how difficult it would be to reopen the school if future student populations call for it. There probably are avenues that can be taken for the school town to take over the building because it will be leasing the building instead of selling it, Commission Chairman Carl Kus said. Board member Tom Wichlinski questioned the parking situation if the Y moves to Ready. There is a lot of parking at Ready, especially if the employees park in the back, said Jay Buckmaster, CEO of Crossroads YMCA. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. The Israeli ''Jerusalem Post'' has printed an articles authored by Alex Galitsky headlined ''Israel should rethink its relationship with Azerbaijan''. The author notes that Azerbaijan's burgeoning relationship with Israel has long been predicated on the false narrative that Azerbaijan is a country of tolerance. Azerbaijan has often paraded the existence of a small, but vibrant, Jewish community in the country as a testament to its commitment to diversity and tolerance. However, Azerbaijan, a dictatorship based on petrodollars that has been ruled by the same family for over a half-century, is anything but that. The article notes that Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey and fellow denier of the Armenian Genocide, has actively sought the eradication of the regions indigenous Armenian inhabitants and traces of their millennia-old civilization. '' The Azerbaijani SSR denied cultural, political, linguistic and economic rights to the Armenians of Artsakh (also known as the Nagorno-Karabakh) and Nakhijevan, and in the late 80s and early 90s, Azerbaijani authorities started to engage in government-backed pogroms and massacres of Armenians in Azerbaijan to suppress calls for Artsakhs independence. These pogroms also targeted Jewish communities, which began to flee Baku en masse in response to the increasing incidents of harassment'', Alex Galitsky wrote, adding that Azerbaijans assault on the regions Armenians ultimately culminated in a full-scale war which ended with a ceasefire that effectively secured the establishment of an independent and democratic Artsakh. '' For the last 30 years, the Azerbaijani government has frequently deployed rhetoric advocating for the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia itself regularly referring to Armenians as enemies of the state and denying the thousands of years of Armenian civilization in the region'', reads the article. The Jerusalem Post notes that during the beginning of 2000s some 28,000 Armenian cultural monuments in Nakhijevan were destroyed by Azerbaijan as part of an unprecedented cultural genocide. The article also recalls the brutal murder of a sleeping Armenian officer in Hungary by Azerbaijani Ramil Safarov in Hungary during a NATO training program. '' Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan six years into a life sentence handed down by Hungarian courts but upon his arrival was pardoned, promoted in rank and lauded by the media as a national hero for doing his Azerbaijani patriotic duty by killing an Armenian'', reads the article. The Israeli ''Jerusalem Post'' newspaper writes that Azerbaijan provoked a large-scale agression against Armenia this week, striking civilians by heavy artillery and UAVs. '' In Azerbaijan, tens of thousands came to the streets chanting Death to Armenia and calling for a war with Armenia. The institutionalization of state-sponsored racism towards Armenians should be an immediate cause of concern for any nation that has not only experienced genocide, but continues to struggle against the promulgation of racist and discriminatory rhetoric by those who deny it its fundamental right to exist'', reads the article, adding that in addition to Azerbaijans flagrant disregard for minority rights, the country has also long worked against the strategic interests of Israel. ''Azerbaijan has also refused to open an embassy in Israel due to regional pressure. On the other hand, Armenia has consistently taken tangible steps towards good faith relations with Israel including a commitment to establish an embassy in Tel Aviv'', reads the article. The author of the Israeli newspaper notes that given the aformentioned, Israel should rethink its relations with Azerbaijan. The attack wounded at least seven Syrian troops, according to the official SANA news agency Five Iran-backed fighters were killed in an Israeli missile strike south of the Syrian capital, a Britain-based war monitor said on Tuesday. The missile attack on Monday night hit weapons depots and military positions belonging to Syrian government forces and Iran-backed militia fighters south of Damascus, according to the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The attack wounded at least seven Syrian troops, according to the official SANA news agency, which said the missiles were launched by warplanes over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights. The five killed were all non-Syrian paramilitary fighters, according to the Observatory. It added that 11 combatants were wounded in total -- four non-Syrian fighters and seven Syrian troops, of which two were in critical condition. A military spokesman in Israel told AFP that its army "does not comment on foreign reports". Israel has launched hundreds of strikes in Syria since the start of the country's civil war in 2011. It has targeted government troops, allied Iranian forces and fighters from the Lebanese Shiite militant group Hezbollah, saying its goal is to end Tehran's military presence in Syria. It rarely confirms details of its operations in Syria but says Iran's presence in support of the regime is a threat and that Israel will keep up strikes. The nine-year-old conflict in Syria has killed more than 380,000 people and displaced more than half of the country's pre-war population. Search Keywords: Short link: BENGALURU, India, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Infosys (NYSE: INFY), a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting, has been awarded the 2020 ServiceNow Global Service Provider Partner of the Year for achieving overall excellence in delivery and ServiceNow pipeline growth. The ServiceNow Global Alliances and Channel Ecosystem acknowledged the achievements of its best-in-class partners by evaluating a combination of attributes such as revenue contribution, product line expansion, skill growth, and business transformation. Infosys offers a suite of offerings for IT Service Management (ITSM) and Enterprise Service Management to automate, modernize and transform enterprises' service management landscape. Equipped with an automated knowledge base, CXO dashboards, and innovative real-time service management capabilities, Infosys' ServiceNow offerings improve user experience and minimize platform customizations to deliver greater value to its customers. Narsimha Rao Mannepalli, EVP and Head - Cloud & Infrastructure, Infosys, said, "We are proud to be recognized by ServiceNow as the 2020 ServiceNow Global Service Provider Partner of the Year. This milestone highlights Infosys' commitment and dedication to transform our clients' service management landscape by digitizing their business workflows. By utilizing Infosys' ServiceNow offerings, clients can achieve superior productivity savings and efficiencies required to drive innovation and continuous service improvement for business and IT functions. About Infosys Ltd. Infosys is a global leader in next-generation digital services and consulting. We enable clients in 46 countries to navigate their digital transformation. With nearly four decades of experience in managing the systems and workings of global enterprises, we expertly steer our clients through their digital journey. We do it by enabling the enterprise with an AI-powered core that helps prioritize the execution of change. We also empower the business with agile digital at scale to deliver unprecedented levels of performance and customer delight. Our always-on learning agenda drives their continuous improvement through building and transferring digital skills, expertise, and ideas from our innovation ecosystem. Visit www.infosys.com to see how Infosys (NYSE: INFY) can help your enterprise navigate your next. Safe Harbor Certain statements in this release concerning our future growth prospects, financial expectations and plans for navigating the COVID-19 impact on our employees, clients and stakeholders are forward-looking statements intended to qualify for the 'safe harbor' under the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, which involve a number of risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in such forward-looking statements. The risks and uncertainties relating to these statements include, but are not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding COVID-19 and the effects of government and other measures seeking to contain its spread, risks related to an economic downturn or recession in India, the United States and other countries around the world, changes in political, business, and economic conditions, fluctuations in earnings, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates, our ability to manage growth, intense competition in IT services including those factors which may affect our cost advantage, wage increases in India, our ability to attract and retain highly skilled professionals, time and cost overruns on fixed-price, fixed-time frame contracts, client concentration, restrictions on immigration, industry segment concentration, our ability to manage our international operations, reduced demand for technology in our key focus areas, disruptions in telecommunication networks or system failures, our ability to successfully complete and integrate potential acquisitions, liability for damages on our service contracts, the success of the companies in which Infosys has made strategic investments, withdrawal or expiration of governmental fiscal incentives, political instability and regional conflicts, legal restrictions on raising capital or acquiring companies outside India, unauthorized use of our intellectual property and general economic conditions affecting our industry and the outcome of pending litigation and government investigation. Additional risks that could affect our future operating results are more fully described in our United States Securities and Exchange Commission filings including our Annual Report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2019. These filings are available at www.sec.gov. Infosys may, from time to time, make additional written and oral forward-looking statements, including statements contained in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission and our reports to shareholders. The Company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements that may be made from time to time by or on behalf of the Company unless it is required by law. SOURCE Infosys DUBLIN, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Breast Imaging Market: Global Industry Trends, Share, Size, Growth, Opportunity and Forecast 2020-2025" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The global breast imaging market grew at a CAGR of around 8% during 2014-2019. Breast imaging refers to the radiological technique of diagnosing breast cancer in both males and females. It involves a range of equipment to screen, detect and determine the location of the tumor and other breast-related infections, lesions and cysts. It also entails various procedures such as mammography, breast biopsy, ultrasound, tactile imaging and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI). The aim of conducting these procedures is to detect the disease at its earliest and most treatable stage. Procedures such as mammography produce digital images in which the brightness, darkness and contrast can be altered as per the requirement, thus making the differentiation between malignant and benign cells simpler. These procedures are considered safe, are non-invasive and cause minimum discomfort to the patient. The increasing prevalence of breast cancer, along with the rising awareness of the early detection of the disease, is among the key factors driving the growth of the market. Furthermore, the growing geriatric population, which is more susceptible to such ailments, are also contributing to the increased adoption rate of breast imaging procedures. Various technological advancements in the imaging equipment have enabled improved diagnosis of dense breast tissues. Patients are increasingly opting for digital mammography systems that offer high detection rates in comparison to traditionally used analog devices. Additionally, various organizations and healthcare centers are conducting cancer awareness campaigns to educate individuals about breast health and cancer diagnostic measures. Moreover, technological innovations such as the introduction of breast tomosynthesis or 3D mammography, rising healthcare expenditure, growing disposable income, and government initiatives to improve cancer screening and diagnosis are also driving the market growth. Looking forward, the publisher expects the market to exhibit moderate growth during the next five years. Competitive Landscape: The report has also analysed the competitive landscape of the market with some of the key players being Allengers Medical Systems Limited, Aurora Health Care Inc. (Schoen Clinic), Canon Inc., Carestream Health Inc. (Onex Corporation), Delphinus Medical Technologies, Dilon Technologies Inc., Fujifilm Holdings Corporation, GE Healthcare, Hologic Inc., Koninklijke Philips N.V., Micrima Limited, Planmed Oy, Siemens Healthineers AG (Cerner Corporation), Toshiba Corporation, etc. Key Questions Answered in this Report: How has the global breast imaging market performed so far and how will it perform in the coming years? What are the key regional markets? What is the breakup of the market based on the technology? What is the breakup of the market based on the end-user? What are the various stages in the value chain of the industry? What are the key driving factors and challenges in the industry? What is the structure of the global breast imaging market and who are the key players? What is the degree of competition in the industry? Key Topics Covered: 1 Preface 2 Scope and Methodology 2.1 Objectives of the Study 2.2 Stakeholders 2.3 Data Sources 2.3.1 Primary Sources 2.3.2 Secondary Sources 2.4 Market Estimation 2.4.1 Bottom-Up Approach 2.4.2 Top-Down Approach 2.5 Forecasting Methodology 3 Executive Summary 4 Introduction 4.1 Overview 4.2 Key Industry Trends 5 Global Breast Imaging Market 5.1 Market Overview 5.2 Market Performance 5.3 Market Forecast 6 Market Breakup by Technology 6.1 Ionizing Breast Imaging 6.1.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Major Types 6.1.2.1 Mammography 6.1.2.2 Positron Emission Tomography-Computed Tomography 6.1.2.3 Molecular Breast Imaging 6.1.2.4 Positron Emission Mammography 6.1.2.5 Cone-Beam Computed Tomography 6.1.3 Market Forecast 6.2 Non-Ionizing Breast Imaging 6.2.1 Market Trends 6.1.2 Major Types 6.1.2.1 Breast Ultrasound 6.1.2.2 Breast MRI 6.1.2.3 Automated Whole-Breast Ultrasound 6.1.2.4 Breast Thermography 6.1.2.5 Electric Impedance Tomography 6.1.2.6 Optical Imaging 6.2.3 Market Forecast 7 Market Breakup by End-User 7.1 Hospital 7.1.1 Market Trends 7.1.2 Market Forecast 7.2 Diagnostic Imaging Center 7.2.1 Market Trends 7.2.2 Market Forecast 7.3 Ambulatory Surgical Centers 7.3.1 Market Trends 7.3.2 Market Forecast 7.4 Others 7.4.1 Market Trends 7.4.2 Market Forecast 8 Market Breakup by Region 8.1 North America 8.1.1 United States 8.1.1.1 Market Trends 8.1.1.2 Market Forecast 8.1.2 Canada 8.1.2.1 Market Trends 8.1.2.2 Market Forecast 8.2 Asia Pacific 8.2.1 China 8.2.1.1 Market Trends 8.2.1.2 Market Forecast 8.2.2 Japan 8.2.2.1 Market Trends 8.2.2.2 Market Forecast 8.2.3 India 8.2.3.1 Market Trends 8.2.3.2 Market Forecast 8.2.4 South Korea 8.2.4.1 Market Trends 8.2.4.2 Market Forecast 8.2.5 Australia 8.2.5.1 Market Trends 8.2.5.2 Market Forecast 8.2.6 Indonesia 8.2.6.1 Market Trends 8.2.6.2 Market Forecast 8.2.7 Others 8.2.7.1 Market Trends 8.2.7.2 Market Forecast 8.3 Europe 8.3.1 Germany 8.3.1.1 Market Trends 8.3.1.2 Market Forecast 8.3.2 France 8.3.2.1 Market Trends 8.3.2.2 Market Forecast 8.3.3 United Kingdom 8.3.3.1 Market Trends 8.3.3.2 Market Forecast 8.3.4 Italy 8.3.4.1 Market Trends 8.3.4.2 Market Forecast 8.3.5 Spain 8.3.5.1 Market Trends 8.3.5.2 Market Forecast 8.3.6 Russia 8.3.6.1 Market Trends 8.3.6.2 Market Forecast 8.3.7 Others 8.3.7.1 Market Trends 8.3.7.2 Market Forecast 8.4 Latin America 8.4.1 Brazil 8.4.1.1 Market Trends 8.4.1.2 Market Forecast 8.4.2 Mexico 8.4.2.1 Market Trends 8.4.2.2 Market Forecast 8.4.3 Others 8.4.3.1 Market Trends 8.4.3.2 Market Forecast 8.5 Middle East and Africa 8.5.1 Market Trends 8.5.2 Market Breakup by Country 8.5.3 Market Forecast 9 SWOT Analysis 9.1 Overview 9.2 Strengths 9.3 Weaknesses 9.4 Opportunities 9.5 Threats 10 Value Chain Analysis 11 Porters Five Forces Analysis 11.1 Overview 11.2 Bargaining Power of Buyers 11.3 Bargaining Power of Suppliers 11.4 Degree of Competition 11.5 Threat of New Entrants 11.6 Threat of Substitutes 12 Price Indicators 13 Competitive Landscape 13.1 Market Structure 13.2 Key Players 13.3 Profiles of Key Players 13.3.1 Allengers Medical Systems Limited 13.3.1.1 Company Overview 13.3.1.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.2 Aurora Health Care Inc. (Schoen Clinic) 13.3.2.1 Company Overview 13.3.2.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.3 Canon Inc. 13.3.3.1 Company Overview 13.3.3.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.3.3 Financials 13.3.3.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.4 Carestream Health Inc. (Onex Corporation) 13.3.4.1 Company Overview 13.3.4.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.4.3 SWOT Analysis 13.3.5 Delphinus Medical Technologies 13.3.5.1 Company Overview 13.3.5.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.6 Dilon Technologies Inc. 13.3.6.1 Company Overview 13.3.6.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.7 Fujifilm Holdings Corporation 13.3.7.1 Company Overview 13.3.7.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.7.3 Financials 13.3.7.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.8 GE Healthcare 13.3.8.1 Company Overview 13.3.8.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.8.3 Financials 13.3.8.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.9 Hologic Inc. 13.3.9.1 Company Overview 13.3.9.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.9.3 Financials 13.3.9.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.10 Koninklijke Philips N.V. 13.3.10.1 Company Overview 13.3.10.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.10.3 Financials 13.3.10.4 SWOT Analysis 13.3.11 Micrima Limited 13.3.11.1 Company Overview 13.3.11.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.11.3 Financials 13.3.12 Planmed Oy 13.3.12.1 Company Overview 13.3.12.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.12.3 Financials 13.3.13 Siemens Healthineers AG (Cerner Corporation) 13.3.13.1 Company Overview 13.3.13.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.13.3 Financials 13.3.13 Toshiba Corporation 13.3.13.1 Company Overview 13.3.13.2 Product Portfolio 13.3.13.3 Financials 13.3.13.4 SWOT Analysis For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/byj0fw Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1904 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Armed homeowners Mark and Patricia McCloskey, standing in front their house along Portland Place, confront protesters marching to St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson's house in the Central West End of St. Louis. Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP A St. Louis couple made national headlines on Jun 28 for pointing guns at peaceful protesters in their gated community. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, two personal-injury lawyers who are white, were photographed standing outside their mansion brandishing what looked like a semiautomatic weapon and a handgun. On Monday, prosecutors charged the pair with felony unlawful use of a weapon. "We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation will not be tolerated," Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner said in a statement. Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A white St. Louis couple who gained infamy for drawing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters will face criminal charges in connection with the June 28 incident. Mark and Patricia McCloskey, two personal-injury lawyers, were standing outside their mansion, pointing what looked like a semiautomatic rifle with an extended magazine and a handgun at people marching through their upscale gated neighborhood. The group was heading to Mayor Lyda Krewson's house to demand her resignation over her doxxing people who supported defunding the police. On Monday, the Associated Press reported that prosecutors charged the McMcloskeys with felony unlawful use of a weapon. Kimberly Gardner, the circuit attorney for St. Louis, issued a statement on the matter, saying that the decision to file charges stemmed from an investigation into the encounter, according to a tweet by a St. Louis Public Radio reporter. "It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in the city of St. Louis," she said. Gardner expressed willingness to have the couple participate in a diversion program that is "designed to reduce unnecessary involvement with the courts." Story continues "We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation will not be tolerated," she added. For their part, the McCloskeys threw their support behind the Black Lives Matter movement and accused a few violent demonstrators for scaring them. "The McCloskeys want to make sure no one thinks less of BLM, its message and the means it is employing to get its message out because of the actions of a few white individuals who tarnished a peaceful protest," their attorney, Albert Watkins, said in a statement. But local reports indicate that this wasn't the first time the McCloskeys reacted aggressively. They have "nearly constantly sued other people and ordered people off their property," and threatened neighbors at gunpoint, according to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Expanded Coverage Module: black-lives-matter-module Read the original article on Insider Lalji Tandon (Image: Twitter/@airnewsalerts) A seasoned politician, Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon had a dominating presence in Uttar Pradesh where he served as cabinet minister and was elected to the assembly and council multiple times. Belonging to the Atal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani era of BJP leaders, Tandon (85), who died at a hospital in Lucknow early Tuesday, proved himself as an able administrator during his decades-long political career in Uttar Pradesh. A former Lok Sabha MP, he was later given gubernatorial responsibility. Fondly known as "Babuji" among his supporters, Tandon was known for his proximity to Vajpayee. Tandon represented the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat (2009-14) when the former prime minister did not contest from the high-profile constituency on account of his poor health. He took oath as Madhya Pradesh governor on July 29, 2019, when the Congress was in power in the state, after serving in the same post in Bihar for nearly 11 months. His tenure in the Raj Bhavan here, too, lasted for nearly 11 months. After taking charge as governor during the Congress government, Tandon ensured his presence was felt in the administration. His gubernatorial skills were put to test when the Congress government of Chief Minister Kamal Nath faced an internal revolt when 22 party MLAs, including six ministers -all supporters of former Union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia -resigned in March this year. When the Nath administration delayed taking the floor test, Tandon, a seasoned politician and administrator, intervened and directed the Congress government to prove its majority on the floor of the assembly, triggering a "letter war" between the CM and the governor. Then came a bitter legal battle between the Congress government, the governor and the BJP which was finally settled by the Supreme Court that ruled in favour of Tandon's directive on the matter. Reduced to minority post the resignation of 22 MLAs, the 15-month-old Nath regime collapsed, paving the way for the BJP to form its government under Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan. During the COVID-19 crisis, Tandon opened the Raj Bhavan kitchen for preparing food packets for the needy. The governor's kitchen has been sending out as many as 100 food packets on a daily basis and sometimes even at a short notice, a spokesperson from the Raj Bhavan said. Tandon personally examined each item packed in the food parcels and also tasted them to ensure quality, the spokesperson added. As chancellor of state universities, he regularly monitored educational institutions and ensured teaching standards are maintained at all cost. Born on April 12, 1935 in the Chowk area of Lucknow, to Shiv Narayan Tandon and Annapurna Devi, Tandon entered politics after completing graduation. Tandon became a member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Council for the first time in 1978. He served two terms in the Upper House of the state legislature - from 1978 to 1984 and 1990-1996. He was elected as an MLA three times between the period 1996-2009 and served as a minister for the first time in UP's BJP government in 1991-1992 and held the power portfolio. Tandon also served as leader of the legislative council from 1997-2002 and held the same post in the assembly from 2003-2007. Upon the BJP's ascension to power in Uttar Pradesh, he served as a minister on more than one occasion. He was urban development minister in the Uttar Pradesh cabinet under Mayawati, who was heading the BSP-BJP coalition government. Tandon had also served in the Kalyan Singh ministry. Tandon was cabinet minister for urban development and poverty alleviation two times, from 1999-2000 and from 2000-2002. From 2002 to 2003, he was the UP cabinet minister for housing, finance, urban development and tourism. He married Krishna in 1958 and they have three sons. One of them, Ashutosh Tandon, is now the UP cabinet minister for urban development. The veteran leader was appointed the Bihar governor on August 23, 2018 and remained in the post till July 28, 2019 after which he was moved to Madhya Pradesh He had established a number of educational, social and cultural organisations in the Awadh region of Uttar Pradesh and had special interest in cattle rearing. Investigators survey the aftermath of an explosion at a hospital in Tehran (ANSA) An explosion at a medical clinic in Iran's capital, Tehran, kills at least 19 people, which state-run media says was caused by a gas leak. By Nathan Morley At least 19 people were killed in Iran after a powerful explosion at a clinic in northern Tehran. The explosion happened just before 9pm local time. Significant damage was caused to buildings in the district, and a cloud of thick black smoke was sent into the atmosphere. Local media reported the explosion occurred as gas canisters caught fire in the clinic's underground cellar. A fire service spokesman said that 19 people died in the incident. Firefighters managed to rescue 20 people from the medical centre. By Trend The Head of Jordan-Azerbaijan Inter-parliamentary Friendship Group, Senator Marvan Abdulhalim an-Namr Al-Hamud has sharply condemned the recent provocations of the Armenian armed forces in the direction of the Tovuz district of Azerbaijan on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, Trend reports on July 21 referring to Azerbaijan's State Committee on Work with the Diaspora. According to Zumrud Dadasheva, chairperson of the Jordan-Azerbaijan Friendship Society, the senator in his appeal strongly condemned the artillery strikes of the Armenian armed forces on Azerbaijans military facilities and residential settlements near the state border with Armenia, which resulted in the death of Azerbaijani army officials and a civilian. Expressing his deepest condolences to the families of martyrs and the Azerbaijani people, the senator wished the wounded people soonest recovery. He stressed once again that the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan supports the territorial integrity of independent Azerbaijan and recognizes Nagorno Karabakh as the ancestral territory and integral part of Azerbaijan. The senator also added that the group headed by him will always support Azerbaijan's position. He called on the occupying country Armenia to stop military aggression and not to aggravate the situation in the region. 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. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz New Delhi, July 21 : In view of the worsening flood situation in the country, the National Disaster Response Force (NDRF) doesn't want to leave anything to chance. It has positioned 85 teams at 74 locations in 20 vulnerable states to meet any eventuality. One team each has been deployed in Chhattisgarh, Himachal Pradesh, Jharkhand, Manipur, Rajasthan, Sikkim and Tripura. Two teams each have been deputed in Arunachal Pradesh, Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir, and three teams each in Kerala, Punjab and Uttarakhand. While four teams have been deployed in Karnataka, six teams each have been deputed in UP and West Bengal. There are seven teams in Maharashtra and nine in Gujarat. Given the gravity of the situation, 12 teams have been deployed in Assam and 19 in Bihar to deal with the flood situation. In addition to this, 37 teams are stationed at 26 locations in 23 states at the Regional Response Centres (RRCs) of the NDRF. These RRCs are located in the vulnerable areas for prompt response to any disasters. The NDRF's 122 self-contained teams, comprising trained responders, like doctors, divers, para-medics and engineers, equipped with adequate boats and other flood rescue equipment are on alert. Additional teams have also been kept on alert at the NDRF battalions in Guwahati (Assam), Kolkata (West Bengal), Mundali (Odisha), Arakkonam (Tamil Nadu), Pune(Maharashtra), Vadodara (Gujarat), Bhatinda (Punjab), Ghaziabad and Varanasi (UP), Patna (Bihar), Guntur (Andhra Pradesh) and Itanagar (Arunachal Pradesh). "The Force is in constant touch with the state governments to chalk out combat strategies," an NDRF statement said. The NDRF control room at New Delhi is monitoring the situation and is in touch with other agencies. SOME of the world's biggest insurers are wrong to deny a payout to hundreds of thousands of small British businesses battered by the Covid-19 pandemic, the London High Court was told yesterday. The UK's financial markets watchdog has taken eight insurers, including Hiscox, RSA, QBE and Zurich, to court. The case has parallels here, where insurer FBD is facing legal action from hundreds of publicans who claim their business interruption insurance cover should pay out for business lost due to the pandemic. The UK action involves businesses, from restaurants to leisure groups, who said they faced ruin after insurers rejected their attempts to claim millions of pounds collectively in compensation for lost business. Colin Edelman, a lawyer representing the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), told the court on the first day of an eight-day hearing that the 17 policy wordings under scrutiny in the case were similar to wordings used by more than 60 insurers in total. Around 370,000 policyholders could be affected, he said. The FCA says the pandemic should trigger payments under the policies, which provide cover when insured premises cannot be used because of restrictions imposed by a public authority and in the event of a notifiable disease. The insurers say the policies covered local incidents, rather than a pandemic and national lockdown. "They're not to be protected from the fact that a cataclysmic event has happened. That's just bad luck being an insurer," Mr Edelman said. The FCA, which is concerned customers should be treated fairly, said in its skeleton argument published last week that the policyholders in the case were "generally not sophisticated or well-resourced insurance buyers". The hearing is due to conclude on July 30. Reuters MIAMI, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Florida Community Care ("FCC") has been providing support to their providers as well as Florida's senior communities during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic by partnering with organizations to address food insecurity. In partnership with the Florida Assisted Living Association ("FALA") and assisted living facilities statewide, FCC facilitated the distribution of over 300,000 fresh produce boxes ensuring seniors have access to fresh fruit and vegetables as part of their COVID-19 relief efforts. Leveraging the food provided by the non-profit, Independent Living Community Services ("ILCS"), FCC ensured this food reached seniors in communities throughout Florida by managing the program and collaborating with FALA to secure volunteers at delivery sites throughout Florida. These efforts successfully and safely facilitated the distribution of the fresh produce kits to Florida communities and seniors. Seniors make up a significant part of the high risk community and food distribution initiatives such as this support the ability of seniors to remain healthy, independent and safe from exposure during quarantine. Seniors across Florida continue to face challenges beyond medical care, due to COVID-19 and the evolving uncertainty. "FCC has proudly dedicated significant staff time and resources to coordinate these deliveries which help support our providers and ease their financial burden. This also ensures that our seniors have access to fresh, healthy food during this difficult time", said FCC CEO, Nestor Plana. "We continue to be driven by our commitment to the quality of life of our vulnerable members and the support of our dedicated network of providers." This program has offered much needed support to FCC providers, the senior living communities, which have endured additional financial hardships, due to the increased operating costs caused by the pandemic. These costs include increased PPE and staffing to protect their residents from the dangerous COVID-19 virus. Providing senior living communities with additional support during this emergency, is one of the many ways FCC has continued to show its commitment to their providers. As a Provider Sponsored Network ("PSN"), FCC values its network of providers and understands the important role they play in the lives of the seniors FCC serves. FCC, a subsidiary of ILS, was founded in 2018 and provides integrated services statewide to Florida's Medicaid enrollees who are eligible to receive long-term care services. In addition to long-term care services, FCC's programs integrate social services to address social determinants of health to deliver person-centered care through health benefits and wellness programs. FCC leverages the support of its parent company ILS. ILS has extensive experience delivering care management, provider network services and administrative services to its managed care health plan clients for over two (2) decades. ILS' history and instrumental role in developing the long-term care program in Florida has led to FCC's success as the state's first long-term care PSN. FCC established as a guiding principle, a commitment to partnerships with community-based organizations, providers and caregivers, to enhance its ability to deliver value-based managed care services, specifically aimed at fostering independence and improving health outcomes for its members. About Florida Community Care: Florida Community Care ("FCC") is a Provider Services Network ("PSN"), contracted to provide Managed Medical Assistance ("MMA") and Long-Term Care ("LTC") services across the state of Florida; sponsored by FCC and the State of Florida, Agency for Health Care Administration. FCC serves the long-term care eligible individuals, focusing on preventing unnecessary admissions into institutionalized settings, and fostering independence by connecting members to community resources that meet their long-term care needs and addressing social determinants of health. For more information, visit www.fcchealthplan.com. About Independent Living Systems: Independent Living Systems ("ILS") is a Florida-based health care services company that provides a range of health care management services on behalf of health care plans, health systems, providers, and community based organizations. ILS provides member-centric health and support solutions to millions of America's Medicare, Medicaid, dually eligible, and Special Needs populations including those requiring Long-Term Services and Supports. For more information, visit www.ilshealthservices.com. About Independent Living Community Services: Independent Living Community Services Inc. ("ILCS") is a non-profit organization committed to providing supportive services that promote independence to the elderly in Miami-Dade County, Florida. For more information, visit www.ilshealthservices.com. Media Contact Mari Netto VP Marketing, ILS [email protected] SOURCE Florida Community Care/Independent Living Systems A 25-year-old Highland Township man was arrested Sunday night after reportedly assaulting a woman and then fighting Oakland County Sheriffs deputies called to the scene. The sheriffs office said it was shortly before 11 p.m. when deputies were dispatched to the 2600 block of Loch Drive on a report of a domestic assault in progress. The caller said a neighbor was trying to fight her boyfriend after he went to the aid of a woman that the neighbor had just assaulted. A deputy on scene saw an irate male, who appeared to be intoxicated, walking toward a woman with his fists clenched, and said he refused his orders so he took him into custody. The man reportedly refused to cooperate with deputies and, while being placed in a squad car, kicked one deputy in the chest. No injuries were reported, the sheriffs office said. The female victim told deputies that she and the man had a verbal altercation that turned physical, with him slamming her into the side of a shed, the sheriffs office said. The man was lodged in the Oakland County Jail pending issuance of charges. READ THIS NEXT: This all-electric Mustang Mach-E prototype cranks out a staggering 1400 horsepower. Ford Performance Ford Performance has worked with RTR Vehicles to create a Mustang Mach-E that cranks out 1,400 all-electric horsepower. The Mustang Mach-E 1400 is a one-off prototype that has seven motors and can drift as well as it drag races. Mark Rushbrook, Motorsports Director for Ford Performance, talked to Business Insider about the insane machine. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. "It's big number," Mark Rushbrook, the Motorsports Director for Ford's Performance division, said. You could accuse him of understatement. He was talking about a one-off prototype of the Mustang Mach-E. When the all-electric vehicle was revealed last year, extending the Mustang brand for the first time since 1965, models started at 266 horsepower and moved up to 459 horsepower, depending in configuration. The Mustang Mach-E 1400, however, lives up to its name: it generates a staggering 1,400 horsepower. A big number, indeed. "We wanted to push the boundaries of engineering," Rushbrook said in an interview with Insider. The all-electric Mustang Mach-E arrived in 2019 Ford Mustang Mach-E. Ford The vehicle was launched with much fanfare in late 2019, with plans to bring it to market in late 2020. The coronavirus pandemic has threatened Ford's scheduling, but consumers have still been placing $500 order reservations. The Mach-E will be available in three trim levels, with both rear-wheel and all-wheel-drive choices. The Mustang Mach-E takes the basic Mach-E to a whole new level Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400. Ford Performance "As it sits right now, it's a one off," Rushbrook said. "We built it without considering a specific racing series." He added that the Mach-E 1400 is "more of a blank canvas to show what the new platform is capable of." Engineers were impressed with the basics that they started with, as they developed a bespoke powertrain. For example, while the top-spec GT trim level (due to arrive in 2021) has two electric motors, the 1400 has ... seven. Story continues "The battery is nice and low, and that helps handling," Rushbrook said. "The architecture and the car's bones are very much performance-oriented. We wanted to take that to the next level." The Mach-E 1400 wasn't designed to be simply a straight-line-fast drag racer Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400. Ford Performance According to Rushbrook, Ford Performance decided to make the car an all-around athlete, able to blast down a drag strip, but also drift in a plume of tire smoke and tackle something like the road course at Daytona International Speedway in Florida, host of the annual Rolex 24 endurance race. "Performing at all levels required the powertrain to [produce] high torque, and the tires had to have grip," he added. Enter the team that developed the wizardly aerodynamics on the Ford GT supercar, the racing version of which won the 24 Hours of Le Mans in its class in 2016. These engineers were able to reduce drag and create 2,300 lbs. of downforce, to keep the Mach-E 1400 stuck to the tarmac at 160 mph! 10,000 hours of collaborative work to develop an electric beast that can do it all Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400. Ford Performance Ford said that Mach-E 1400 could be used for drifting and for competition on different track setups. "Power delivery can be split evenly between front and rear, or completely to one or the other," the carmaker revealed in a statement. Ford added that the car has a "56.8-kilowatt-hour battery made up of nickel manganese cobalt pouch cells for ultra-high performance and high discharge rate." Heat is the enemy of electric cars, and high-performance EVs are notorious for giving out after brief stints of speed. But Ford said the Mach-E 1400's "battery system is designed to be cooled during charging, decreasing the time needed between runs." Ford Performance developed the Mustang Mach-E 1400 with RTR Vehicles, known for its Mustang mods Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400. Ford Performance Rushbrook is no stranger to Mustangs. He oversaw the 2005 redesign of the icon, its fifth generation. "I thought that was the pinnacle," Rushbrook said of a job that tends to be extremely coveted at Ford. Little did he know that fresh challenges were ahead. Not to mention opportunities for understatement, like what he has here with the Mach-E 1400. "I'm a very fortunate person," he said. Read the original article on Business Insider Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 05:05:46|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Egypt reported on Monday 627 new COVID-19 cases, taking the total infections in the country since mid-February to 88,402, said the Egyptian Health Ministry. It is the 12th consecutive day for Egypt's daily COVID-19 infections to be below 1,000, with record 1,774 daily infections seen on June 19. Meanwhile, Egypt confirmed 50 coronavirus-related deaths, bringing the death toll to 4,352, the ministry's spokesman Khaled Megahed said in a statement. The spokesman added that 544 patients have recovered and left hospitals in the past 24 hours, bringing the total recoveries to 28,924. Egypt announced its first confirmed COVID-19 case on Feb. 14 and the first death from the highly infectious virus on March 8. The country resumed international flights on July 1 after more than three months of suspension, amid a "coexistence plan" to maintain anti-coronavirus precautionary measures while resuming economic activities. The government has recently lifted a partial nighttime curfew it has been imposing since late March, and reopened restaurants, cafes, theaters and cinemas, as well as hotels, museums and archeological sites for tourists, all with limited capacity. Egypt and China have been joining hands in fighting the pandemic through exchanging medical aid and expertise. In early February, Egypt provided aid to China to help with its fight against COVID-19 and China later sent three batches of medical aid to the North African country, the latest of which was in mid-May. "So far, Chinese medical experts have held eight video conferences with Egyptian counterparts over COVID-19," Chinese Ambassador to Egypt Liao Liqiang said earlier this month. Enditem Timi Frank, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Tuesday condemned Governor Douye Diri... Timi Frank, former Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the All Progressives Congress, APC, on Tuesday condemned Governor Douye Diri of Bayelsa State for rejecting a congratulatory message sent to him by his challenger and former Managing Director of Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC, Chief Timi Alaibe, after the Supreme Court judgement. Frank said Diris attitude had clearly shown that he will govern the state with a heart full of bitterness, for the sleepless nights he had while the case against him was ongoing. Alaibe, who contested the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) governorship ticket with the governor had challenged Diris candidacy to the Supreme Court but lost. The former had, however, sent a congratulatory message but the governor rejected the message publicly. Responding to the development through a statement on Tuesday, Frank said Diri had proven his inexperience as a politician and not worthy to hold a public office. Frank said it was sad for a sitting governor, who should have rather called on those who opposed him to support his administration, to take an unpopular decision. The Bayelsa born political activist declared that Diris action will surely hunt him for the rest of his tenure. Frank believes that it is never a crime for Alaibe to contest his right in Court, adding that if not for the same Court, Diri wouldnt have become a governor. Jitry governor Diri became the governor through a back door. Instead of him to appreciate Gods faithfulness in his life, he has turned himself to the Biblical Bayelsas Nebuchadnezzar by openly rejecting a hand of fellowship extended to him by the much loved Timi Alaibe. Governor Diri should not forget so soon that Bayelsans did not Vote for him as governor because he was not their choice but the Court and providence did. Diri has forgotten that four years will end before he knows it. The governors proud heart will soon disappoint him. If Diri was not jittery, how come he couldnt appoint his Commissioners months after the Court declared him governor? U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo delivers a speech on the Report of the Commission on Unalienable Rights at the National Constitution Center on Thursday, July 16, 2020. Read more Last week, Mike Pompeo came to the National Constitution Center in Philadelphia to release a yearlong State Department study on the U.S. approach to human rights. You might think the secretary of states timing strange, as President Donald Trump mocks basic human rights principles at home and abroad. But Pompeo told his audience, The timing couldnt be better. I agree. This is a moment in time when Americans should be having a national dialogue led by the White House on how to transform the inalienable rights enshrined in the Constitution into reality in race relations. It is also a time when the country needs to reexamine whether and how our leaders can promote human rights abroad. READ MORE: Trump attack on legal immigration undermines American values | Trudy Rubin But those vital debates arent happening. And that is not, as Pompeo charged at the National Constitution Center, because too many leading voices promulgate hatred of our founding principles. They arent happening because the president openly assaults the values Pompeo claims to be defending, and stokes racial hatred while blaming his critics for the chaos he creates. It is still useful, however, to pay attention to the report of the State Departments Commission on Unalienable Rights, which casts light on the national dialogue we should be having. The commission was originally tasked with reexamining the role of human rights in U.S. foreign policy. What emerged is a document Pompeo is shamelessly using to appeal to President Trumps conservative religious base. The secretary distinguishes between the inalienable rights promised in our founding documents the report stresses property rights and religious liberty as the most essential and contrived rights created by politicians. The implication is that the latter includes reproductive rights and LGBTQ rights, which are undeserving of protection (especially when you need evangelical votes). Equally egregious, the secretary uses the report to claim that never before have Americas founding principles been under such relentless assault. He denounces outrageous efforts to erase American history by tearing down statues of our nations founders. In other words, a report on the nations founding principles is used as a vehicle to misrepresent the struggle to implement those principles with demonstrations that have been overwhelmingly peaceful. No mention of Trumps sending military-clad federal agents uninvited into U.S. cities, in autocrat wannabe mode. And when it comes to statues of our nations founders in the few instances where they have been threatened the Trump administrations behavior makes it harder to defend them. I believe that statues of the founders should be honored, not defaced, because those men embraced universal principles unique to the times they lived in, principles that we are still struggling to live up to. Trump could be making that argument in an effort to bring the country together. Instead, he and Pompeo choose to stir ugly divisions that undercut the very principles they claim to endorse. And that fake Pompeo piety is equally egregious when it comes to promoting human rights abroad at a time when American leverage is waning. He uses the report to argue that Trumps critics have lost sight of the fundamental difference between autocracies and liberal democracies. That is the most appalling part of the report, notes Michael Posner, the former assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights, and labor under President Barack Obama. Look at Xinjiang, Hong Kong, Hungary, the Philippines, and Saudi Arabia, Posner told me. Indeed, the list goes on and on of places where Trump has failed to raise human rights issues with autocratic leaders he favors, even as he critiques such violations in countries he dislikes, such as Venezuela, Iran, and Cuba. Until recently, when attacks on China became a campaign necessity, Trump turned a blind eye to the mass concentration camps in which Beijing has interned millions of Muslim Uighurs. Only months ago, the president was praising the great progress made by China in Hong Kong. And, oh yes, Trump praised North Koreas Kim Jong Un as a man whose country does love him, with naught a word about the huge concentration camps in the country. And laughed with Vladimir Putin about the deaths of Russian journalists. READ MORE: Beijing's attack on Hong Kong is dangerous for the world | Trudy Rubin Apparently it is Trump who cant tell the difference between liberal democracies and autocracies, nor can his secretary of state. Yet, Pompeos sycophantic defense of his rights report is still useful, because it reminds us of the debates that will be necessary if the administration changes in November. The country will need to revisit the issue of how to restore human rights advocacy as a serious element of U.S. foreign policy, not one dependant on presidential whim. Far from disqualifying America as a rights promoter, our internal struggles over race are a sign that most Americans care about the founding principles that Trump and Pompeo keep insulting. I think the civil rights struggle is an opportunity, Posner told me. We are an open society, and that hard debate over our failings makes the world recognize we take these things seriously. More seriously than the current administrations pretend concern for values it dishonors every day. First it was just a handful conservative rabble-rousers calling out House GOP Conference Chairwoman Liz Cheney on Tuesday for defying Donald Trump on the coronavirus pandemic, foreign affairs decisions, and other matters. Then Senator Rand Paul piled on, retweeting Florida Congressman Matt Gaetz' message calling for her removal and writing that the Wyoming congresswoman's behaviour was "unacceptable." Now, the president's son, Donald Trump Jr, has pounced. "We already have one Mitt Romney, we dont need another," Mr Trump Jr tweeted, referring to the Utah senator who was the only Republican to vote to convict his father during his impeachment trial earlier this year. "We also dont need the endless wars [Ms Cheney] advocates for," Mr Trump Jr wrote, attacking Ms Cheney for her hawkish interventionism in foreign matters, particularly the Middle East. Ms Cheney's position as conference chairwoman makes her the third-most-powerful lawmaker in her party in that chamber. She is the daughter of George W Bush's vice president, Dick Cheney. More follows Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, municipal workers disinfect the main streets of Puno, in the highlands of Peru close to the border with Bolivia, on July 17, 2020. (CARLOS MAMANI/AFP via Getty Images) Peru Should Distance Itself From the Chinese Regime Amid Virus Outbreak Commentary In June, Latin America became the center of the CCP virus pandemic. Peru is the second-most hard-hit country in Latin America after Brazil. As of July 21, Peru has over 353,000 confirmed cases and 13,187 deaths, according to data compiled by John Hopkins University. Peru has the second-highest number of confirmed cases in Latin America and is the sixth-highest in the world (excluding China and Iran, where official statistics are unreliable). Interestingly, the government has fostered closer ties with the Chinese regime since the virus began spreading throughout the world. Peruvian Foreign Minister Gustavo Meza-Cuadra was invited to a dinner by the CCPs ambassador to Peru on Jan. 30. He said that China was a good friend and Perus largest trading partner and source of investment. Peru firmly supports China in its fight against the epidemic and has full confidence in the ability of the Chinese government and people to overcome the epidemic as soon as possible. On Feb. 10, the Peruvian Foreign Ministry issued a communique, saying that the Peruvian government supports the CCP governments efforts to fight the virus. It also reiterated its support for the CCP and expressed willingness to work together to cope with the pandemics challenges. On March 6, Peruvian President Martin Vizcarra announced on television that Peru had confirmed its first case of the CCP virus. On March 18, the president imposed a nationwide nighttime curfew. On the evening of Apr. 30, Chinese leader Xi Jinping had a phone call with Vizcarra, according to several Chinese state media reports. Xi said China hopes to advance international cooperation against the epidemic and indicated that China was willing to work with Peru to jointly build the Belt and Road and promote a China-Peru comprehensive strategic partnership, according to state media. The Belt and Road is the Chinese regimes flagship foreign policy initiative, with the aim of gaining influence through financing infrastructure projects around the world. Vizcarra responded by thanking China. I fully agree with what Xi said. The epidemic shows the importance of building a community of a shared future for mankind, Chinese state media quoted him as saying. The epidemic has since spun out of control. Since May 26, the number of new infections per day has reached 5,700 or more. On May 29, Xi and Vizcarra exchanged letters and jointly put forward proposals to strengthen practical cooperation in fighting the epidemic. Peruvian lawmaker Merino de Lama also said that cooperation in the fight against COVID-19 would bring the relationship between the two countries to a new level. On March 15, Mario Vargas Llosa, 83, a Peruvian Nobel Prize laureate in literature, published a commentary in a major newspaper in Spain, El Pais. He pointed out that the CCP virus originated in China, and the CCP delayed informing the world about the outbreak during its early stages. Llosa wrote that if it wasnt for Chinas undemocratic political system, the global pandemic would not have happened. Doctors in China, he wrote, initially tried to warn of the virus, but were silenced. Do those idiots still think that the Chinese modelthe authoritarian free market is a model for the third world? Lets hope this pandemic opens the eyes of the ignorant, he wrote. It is clear that Llosas views differ greatly from those of the Peruvian authorities and deeply disgraced the CCP. In a statement posted on its website, the Chinese embassy in Peru accused Llosa of irresponsibly attacking China, with absurd and outrageous arguments. Shortly after Llosas article was published, the CCPs media at home and abroad criticized Llosa in unison. Chinese e-commerce platform Dangdang.com took down all of Llosas titles from its website that day. Born in 1936, Llosa is a Peruvian writer and poet. He has written novels, plays, essays, poetry, literary criticism, and political essays. He has also directed plays and films, and hosted radio and television programs. In 2010, he was awarded the 2010 Nobel Prize in literature for his cartography of structures of power and his trenchant images of the individuals resistance, revolt, and defeat. He also ran for President in Peru in 1990, but lost in the second round of voting. The CCP is now likely to seek a closer relationship with Peru as the latter has signaled its support for the CCPs pandemic efforts. Perus economy has been hit hard by the pandemic. Economic activities in Peru fell 40.49 percent in April from a year earlier, according to INEI, Peruvian governments statistics agency. Mining, which accounts for 60 percent of the countrys exports, has been sharply curtailed by COVID-19 restrictions. The economy contracted by 13.1 percent. Carlos Castillo, the Archbishop of Lima, warned that Peruvians are at risk of hunger due to the economic crisis caused by the local epidemic. Perus government, and its people, may pay a heavy price if they fail to recognize the nature of the CCPs ambitions and the hidden dangers of cooperating with it. Views expressed in this article are the opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of The Epoch Times. WASHINGTON, DC, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- via NEWMEDIAWIRE -- Xalles Holdings Inc. (OTC: XALL), a Fintech holding company providing technology and financial services solutions, today announces that it has executed a Share Exchange Agreement to acquire 100% of Adaptive Metadata Solutions Inc. (Adaptive). Adaptive Metadata Solutions is a Master Reseller of Adaptive products and provides industry leading metadata analytics (data that describes other data), and artificial intelligence solutions to large enterprises. Adaptive provides Fortune 500 clients with essential software solutions that deliver a business discipline of data governance, control and innovation to the enterprise. Industries currently serviced include Insurance, Financial Services, Government Agencies, Healthcare, Energy, and many other regulated industries, where compliance and data governance are critical to operational and strategic success. Adaptive is projected to generate at least $5 million in 2020 revenue and more than $10 million in revenue in 2021. Collectively, Adaptives product suite is used by clients that include Bank of America, Federal Reserve Bank of New York, Western Union, the U.S. Governments General Accounting Office (GAO), Dell, United Natural Foods, and numerous central banks and financial services companies. The cloud based or on-premises Adaptive platform enables organizations to understand the entire data landscape of an enterprise providing end-to-end data lineage analytics. Gartner named Adaptives platform as a Leader in its 2019 Magic Quadrant for Metadata Management Solutions. Clients leverage the Adaptive platform for enhanced data governance, analytics, Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning best practices and reuse. Adaptive Metadata Solutions Inc. is led by its CEO, Eric Reehl. Mr. Reehl has over 25 years of experience as an investor and advisor to companies, lenders, and investors across a range of industries for both debt and equity capital. He has led in excess of $5 billion of direct investments and restructurings as a principal or advisor. He previously served as a Managing Director for Plainfield Asset Management LLC, a $5.2 billion Greenwich, Connecticut-based hedge fund. He received his Masters Degree in Business and undergraduate degree from the University of Texas at Austin. Story continues Adaptives CEO commented, The Adaptive and Xalles relationship will facilitate our growth in multiple vertical markets to build upon our successful client implementations. Adaptive is perfectly positioned for rapid global growth in the next 2 years through our alliances and channel partners, which account for a significant number of our business referrals. The Adaptive acquisition is the definition of synergy. Adaptive will add value to our existing operating companies and technologies, while Argus Technology Partners will expand Adaptives reach into new vertical markets, stated Thomas Nash, Xalles Holdings CEO. We have a unique opportunity to cross sell our products between companies. Adaptives offerings will create additional opportunities that will enable our client base to achieve tremendous savings and compliance benefits through data analytics, and artificial intelligence to support governance applications and cyber security. The real value proposition of this acquisition to our shareholders comes in the form of building a recurring revenue stream with a growing base of blue chip clientele as we complete our current fundraising effort. Xalles Technology Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Xalles Holdings Inc., will acquire all of the shares of Adaptive Metadata Solutions Inc., making Adaptive a wholly owned subsidiary of Xalles Technology. The acquisition agreement defines the closing date for this transaction as on or before August 10, 2020. About Xalles Holdings Inc. (OTC: XALL) Xalles Holdings Inc. is a holding company that focuses on acquisition and support of disruptive fintech companies. The company actively seeks targets in which it can partner with or acquire to accelerate growth, targeting companies with solid management teams and business models, large total attainable markets (TAM), and lucrative exit opportunities. The company places an emphasis on leveraging blockchain technologies to provide industry-leading financial reconciliation and auditing solutions, which, over time, will allow for the capture of recurring revenue streams. For more information visit: http://Xalles.com About Adaptive Adaptive Metadata Solutions Inc. is headquartered in Dallas, Texas. The Adaptive platform was named by Gartner as a leader in the 2019 Magic Quadrant for Metadata Management Solutions along with Oracle, IBM, Infomatica, and SAP. Adaptive is a market leader with a long history of helping simplify the complex data that organizations generate by adapting and eliminating the time consuming and expensive tasks of managing corporate information. The companys offerings are designed to support the rapidly changing business and IT environments, which are driven by the ever increasing demands of compliance, regulatory pressures and governance requirements. Adaptive provides innovative solutions that enable enterprises to align their capabilities with strategic intent. Adaptive offers standards-based solutions that help organizations better align their valuable information by supporting specific management challenges including Data Governance, Data Quality, Metadata Management, Enterprise Architecture Management and IT Portfolio Management while ensuring Knowledge is retained as systems evolve. For more on the Adaptive product suite, visit www.adaptive.com Forward-Looking Statements Disclaimer: This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the following words: "anticipate," "believe," "continue," "could," "estimate," "expect," "intend," "may," "ongoing," "plan," "potential," "predict," "project," "should," "will," "would," or the negative of these terms or other comparable terminology, although not all forward-looking statements contain these words. Forward-looking statements are not a guarantee of future performance or results, and will not necessarily be accurate indications of the times at, or by, which such performance or results will be achieved. Forward-looking statements are based on information available at the time the statements are made and involve known and unknown risks, uncertainty and other factors that may cause our results, levels of activity, performance or achievements to be materially different from the information expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements in this press release. This press release should be considered in light of all filings of the Company that are contained in the Edgar Archives of the Securities and Exchange Commission at www.sec.gov and in OTC Markets at www.otcmarkets.com Investor Relations Contact: Info@Xalles.com www.Xalles.com 202.595.1299 Office Corporate Communications: NetworkNewsWire (NNW) New York, New York www.NetworkNewsWire.com 212.418.1217 Office Editor@NetworkWire.com WASHINGTON Republicans and Democrats in Congress are on a collision course over what is likely to be the last coronavirus relief legislation before the election and Californias budget hangs in the balance. Lawmakers returned from a Fourth of July break this week, with only three weeks to pass a funding bill before a scheduled August recess. But the parties are far apart on what should be in the package. Democrats, led at the negotiating table by House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of San Francisco, consider $1 trillion in support to state and local governments to be a key piece of any relief package. Thats the total that the House included in a $3 trillion bailout bill passed in May. The Senate, however, is only now beginning negotiations on its version of the bill, and many Republicans are opposed to substantial aid to states and cities. If the money doesnt come through, it could be devastating for California. The state is relying on getting at least $14 billion from Washington to avoid steep cuts to services including universities, courts, affordable housing programs and state worker pay. Gov. Gavin Newsom has repeatedly pleaded with the federal government to come through with the funds, saying if it doesnt, essential workers like firefighters, nurses and teachers would be the ones most hurt. These are cuts that could be triggered and eliminated with the stroke of a pen, Newsom said in May. If the federal government does what it must do under the circumstances to help states large and small all across this nation, these cuts would go away. Under the Houses $3 trillion relief bill, California would receive more than $20 billion this year and $26 billion next year. Cities and counties in the state would directly receive a cumulative $30.5 billion this year and $15 billion next year. That aid would be crucial to cities such as San Francisco, which is facing a budget deficit of up to $1.7 billion. GOP lawmakers have been resistant to that price tag on state and local funding, however, arguing that Democratic-run states would use the money to plug budget holes unrelated to the pandemic caused by alleged mismanagement. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., drew fire for suggesting in April that he would consider allowing states to declare bankruptcy. Newsom and other governors say the funding in the House version is what they need to stave off disaster. Its unclear how much money Republicans might consider in their proposals for state and local governments. Sen. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican plugged in with Senate leadership, told reporters Monday that he cant imagine we wont do something more on state and local funding. On Tuesday, McConnell said a proposal he was crafting would include $105 billion specifically for schools. But Republicans are only in the early stages of their own negotiations, let alone working with Democrats. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows described talks as being on our own 20-yard line, and McConnell loudly laughed and said no when a reporter asked if a bill could be passed by the end of next week. President Trump met with GOP leaders in Congress on Monday, and his chief of staff and Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin huddled with Senate Republicans at their weekly lunch Tuesday. Meadows and Mnuchin also met with Democratic leaders to begin outreach across the aisle. And state and local funding is not the most contentious part of discussions. McConnell says including protections for businesses to shield them from coronavirus-related lawsuits is a red line, and Trump is pushing for a payroll tax cut. Democrats have some openness on liability protections, but the tax cut is unpopular even among some Republicans. How much to provide for testing and contact tracing is another point of debate. Extra jobless benefits totaling $600 a week for out-of-work Americans also expire on July 31. Democrats want them extended, while Republicans have resisted the $600 figure, arguing it creates a disincentive for people to go back to low-wage jobs. Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., is also pushing for state funds to be contingent on mask mandates. As negotiations continue, Democrats say they will insist on money for states and local governments. Its the speakers highest priority and the California delegations highest priority to get that state and local funding, Rep. Ro Khanna, D-Fremont, said in a call with reporters. This is going to be the highest priority in the negotiation, so we will get as much of that aid as we possibly can. Maryland Rep. Steny Hoyer, the No. 2 Democrat in the House, called state and local funding absolutely essential. The local governments are hemorrhaging money, revenues have fallen off very substantially, Hoyer said. If we do not replace that revenue that they were expecting and have already budgeted, then we will be confronted with a situation where theyre going have to lay off people ... and those people are critical to confronting this crisis. Earlier this month, when a reporter asked Pelosi at a news conference whether she had misspoken when she said, we need a trillion dollars for state and local, instead of billion, Pelosi made clear she was set on the trillion-dollar figure. I am saying trillion ... with a TR, Pelosi said. Lets put it this way: $1 trillion for state and local. That is half of the cost of the Republican plan in their tax scam, which added $2 trillion to the national debt. So, yes, I am saying trillion. San Francisco Chronicle staff writer Alexei Koseff contributed to this report. Tal Kopan is The San Francisco Chronicles Washington correspondent. Email: tal.kopan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @talkopan 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. New Delhi, July 21 : The Indian government on Tuesday amended its export policy concerning Personal Protection Equipment to allowing certain items to be shipped out. The Directorate General of Foreign Trade amended its June 22 notification on export of PPEs, either as part of kits or as individual items. "Effect of this Notification: 'Notification No. 14 dated 22. 06.2020' is amended to the extent that only surgical drapes, isolation aprons, surgical wraps and X-Ray gowns are removed from prohibition under the medical coveralls of all classes and categories," the notification said. "All other items as described above, including other types of medical coveralls of all classes and categories, exported against the mentioned HS codes or falling under any other HS code, continue to remain prohibited for export, as part of prohibition on personal protection equipments." Last month, th government had prohibited the export of medical coveralls and face shields by amending the export policy for PPEs and masks. North Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 20, 2020) - Lion One Metals Limited (TSXV: LIO) (OTCQX: LOMLF) (ASX: LLO) ("Lion One" or the "Company") is pleased to announce discovery of Tuvatu style lodes at Banana Creek, approximately 3 km northeast of the Tuvatu resource. Banana Creek is a new, high-priority greenfields target situated within Lion One's recently granted Navilawa tenement, part of its 100% controlled Tuvatu alkaline gold project, Fiji. Drill rig #1 recently completed two diamond drill holes at Tuvatu West and has now resumed deep drilling under the main Tuvatu lode system. Rig #2 has initiated drilling new targets within the Navilawa license area. Highlights: Since commencement of the dry season, approximately one and a half months ago, Lion One has been aggressively opening roads and trench cuts within the new, large Navilawa tenement situated north of the Tuvatu mining license. At present, efforts are focused at Banana Creek located approximately 3 km northeast of the Tuvatu resource, where the Company's team has discovered multiple outcropping lodes of similar nature to those seen at Tuvatu (Figures 1, 2,and 3). Recent assay results including multiple high grade results from the current benching and mapping program are presented in the first table below. Results from outcropping lodes include 39.74 g/t Au over 0.60 m, 17.37 g/t Au over 0.45 m, 10.82 g/t Au over 0.70 m and 12.71 g/t Au over 0.40 m at Banana Creek and its access and 31.22 g/t Au over 0.80 m at the nearby Vunilolo prospect. Systematic sampling of newly discovered structures continues, and more discoveries are being made daily. Lion One will update the market as more assays return. Diamond drill rig #1 recently completed two holes, TUDDH496 and TUDDH497, both north-oriented, at the western extremity of the Tuvatu West lode network in an area underlain by a profound controlled source audio-magnetotelluric ("CSAMT") resistivity gradient thought to be a major, deep-rooted structural zone that may have allowed mineralizing fluids to ascend near surface. Hole TUDDH496, inclined at -55 degrees, encountered numerous mineralized intervals between 72.10 and 312.66 m (see Table 2), the most significant of which include 0.73 m grading 6.86 g/t Au beginning at 267.20 m and 1.8 m grading 6.41 g/t Au. Hole TUDDH497, drilled from the same pad at a somewhat steeper inclination of -62 degrees, similarly encountered numerous mineralized intervals between 31.00 and 417.60 m, the most significant of which include 3.00 m grading 6.19 g/t Au beginning at 304.50 m and 1.27 m grading 4.41 g/t Au beginning at 357.63 m. Given the broad distribution of numerous mineralized structures in these holes, Lion One believes these intercepts are a high level expression of a deeper gold system underlying this area. Further drilling is needed at a deeper level, perhaps 200 meters vertically below these intercepts to determine how these multiple mineralized structures might come together into a feeder zone. Rig #1 has recently been moved to the pad on which deep hole TUDDH495 is situated. The original plan was to re-enter this HQ-sized drill hole with smaller NQ-sized drill pipe and extend the hole through the target area underneath the Tuvatu lode system. Upon investigating the status of this hole, it was recognized that the upper portion had collapsed, likely a result of wet season torrential rains coursing through near-surface fractured zones. Therefore, a new hole has been collared at a slightly different azimuth and will be drilled through the target zone. The bottom of hole TUDDH495 displayed promising zones of alteration and veining at its very end, possibly an indication of proximity to mineralized lodes. Diamond drill rig #2 recently commenced drilling new targets within the Navilawa tenement. Biliwi, where high-grade samples were collected early in 2020, is the first target to be tested in this tenement. Depending on awaited results from newly discovered lodes at Banana Creek discussed above, this rig may be shifted to that area very soon. A third diamond rig recently purchased by the Company is currently in transit from South Korea. Arrival of this rig is expected in a few weeks at which point it will join rig #1 in undertaking the Tuvatu step-out and feeder test program. Story continues "Crews in Fiji are finding new outcropping lodes daily at Banana Creek and surrounding areas as they open up roadcuts and trenches," commented Quinton Hennigh, technical advisor to Lion One. "Many of these are generating high-grade assays and appear similar to gold lodes seen at Tuvatu nearly 3 km to the southwest. We are now seeing a steady stream of assays come in from these new areas and we expect many more over coming months. Drill targets are quickly emerging at Navilawa. Two holes at Tuvatu West appear to have encountered high level splay structures, possibly above a deeper feeder structure. We plan more drilling at a deeper level in this area later this year. Meanwhile our Tuvatu step-out and feeder drill program continues. This is shaping up to be a busy, exciting year." Table 1: Gold results from recent rock chip Bench sampling in Navilawa Tenement area Bench number Coordinates From To Interval Au (g/t) Prospect Bench 1716 3922769.04 1876793.42 0.85 1.75 0.90 6.26 Kingston incl 1.50 1.75 0.25 11.69 Bench 1737 3922706.03 1877071.73 2.80 3.80 1.00 1.36 Central Ridge 4.30 4.90 0.60 7.53 4.90 5.90 1.00 1.14 6.90 7.40 0.50 2.55 Bench 1741 3922707.56 1877030.37 0.61 0.82 0.21 5.17 Kingston 1.20 1.32 0.12 6.30 1.55 1.75 0.20 8.92 Bench 1866 3923325.00 1878650.00 0.70 1.30 0.60 39.74 Banana Creek Bench 1867 3923328.00 1878645.00 0.70 1.40 0.70 1.69 Banana Creek 2.60 3.50 0.90 5.37 Bench 1886 3923424.00 1877539.00 1.50 2.40 0.90 5.45 ObaRidge/BananaCk access 2.60 3.10 0.50 1.55 Bench 1887 3923424.00 1877555.00 2.30 2.76 0.46 15.37 ObaRidge/BananaCk access Bench 1888 3923414.13 1878509.29 1.60 5.30 3.70 3.96 ObaRidge/BananaCk access incl 2.80 3.50 0.70 10.82 and 4.80 5.30 0.50 8.69 Bench 1897 3923433.47 1878602.21 6.50 7.00 0.50 1.42 ObaRidge/BananaCk access 7.00 7.30 0.30 4.83 Bench 1908 3923332.13 1878663.02 0.00 3.97 3.97 8.66 ObaRidge/BananaCk access incl 1.30 1.70 0.40 12.71 Bench 1909 3923327.76 1878660.28 0.00 1.40 1.40 6.75 Republic Ridge incl 3923327.76 1878660.28 0.70 1.40 0.70 11.58 Bench 1934 3923364.94 1878793.60 0.55 1.35 0.80 31.22 Vunilolo Although some samples from hole TUDDH497 have yet to be returned, results from holes TUDDH496 and TUDDH497 received to date include: Table 2: Drilling Results: TUDDH 496 & 497 (true widths still to be determined because of limited drilling in the area and depth below existing drilling makes interpretation difficult at this stage of exploration) Drill Hole From (m) To (m) Drilled Interval (m) Au (g/t) TUDDH496 72.10 72.60 0.5 1.12 123.00 123.20 0.2 4.78 194.50 195.90 1.4 2.31 196.90 197.70 0.8 1.87 233.00 233.90 0.9 1.59 267.20 267.93 0.73 6.86 Inc. 267.20 267.65 0.45 10.04 272.60 273.40 0.8 1.08 276.52 277.60 1.08 2.50 288.25 288.45 0.2 1.88 291.00 291.40 0.4 8.08 293.85 295.65 1.8 6.41 Inc. 293.85 294.15 0.3 22.76 and 295.37 295.65 0.28 16.13 305.90 306.50 0.6 7.75 312.45 313.32 0.87 1.61 Inc. 312.45 312.66 0.21 3.92 TUDDH497 31.00 31.50 0.50 2.61 135.80 136.50 0.70 1.33 279.70 280.00 0.30 2.07 284.50 285.00 0.50 1.34 304.50 307.50 3.00 6.19 Inc. 306.50 307.00 0.50 13.53 308.50 309.50 1.00 1.80 336.13 337.94 1.81 2.04 357.63 358.90 1.27 4.41 374.55 374.86 0.31 12.82 391.77 392.22 0.45 1.80 408.75 409.05 0.30 1.45 416.60 417.60 1.00 1.24 429.90 430.20 0.30 4.54 452.80 453.10 0.30 8.94 473.80 474.10 0.30 1.34 Table 3: Drill hole logistics of the holes in the current diamond drilling program. Note, TUDDH494 and 495 were terminated prior to target depths but will be followed up with TUDDH500 Hole No coordinates RL depth (m) dip azimuth TN N E TUDDH493 3920704.98 1876221.00 225.50 536.90 -55.0 97.00 TUDDH494 3920704.98 1876220.40 225.50 748.60 -67.0 97.00 TUDDH495 3920667.00 1876756.00 306.00 768.70 -75.0 240.00 TUDDH496 3920506.34 1875857.41 274.42 696.00 -57.0 61.00 TUDDH497 3920506.00 1875857.00 274.42 869.4 -63.0 61.00 Maps showing drill hole locations are available at www.liononemetals.com Figure 1: Current benching from Banana Creek prospect, SPL 1512, exposing intensely altered mineralised structures with sulphides rich veins and visible specks of bornite with magnesium oxide. Note that 5g/t Au was sampled from this area prior to benching. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/60078_77a7b1e554910ac3_001full.jpg Figure 2: Highly silicified veins in the vicinity of Banana Creek. This exposed Iliesa Vein contains gold and visible galena and sphalerite plus vuggy texture with other sulphides. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/60078_77a7b1e554910ac3_002full.jpg Figure 3: Exposed structure from recent benching at Banana Creek prospect. Lodes intersected are the same orientation as the Tuvatu UR lodes but dipping steeply to the west. Structure consist of intense alteration including quartz with sulphides rich veins and visible bornite. To view an enhanced version of Figure 3, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2178/60078_77a7b1e554910ac3_003full.jpg Qualified Person The scientific and technical content of this news release has been reviewed, prepared, and approved by Mr. Stephen Mann, P. Geo, Managing Director of Lion One, who is a qualified person pursuant to National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI-43-101). Samples are analysed at the Company's own geochemical laboratory in Fiji, whilst duplicates of all results greater than 0.5g/t Au are sent to ALS laboratories in Australia. All samples are pulverised to 80% passing through 75 microns. Gold analysis is carried out using fire assay with an AA finish (ALS code Au-AA26). Multielement results are determined by ICP-OES in the Lion One laboratory. Samples which have returned grades greater than 10g/t Au by Au-AA26 have been reanalysed by gravimetric method (ALS code Au-GRA22). Check results are analysed by ALS Townsville, Queensland, Australia and include Au-AA26, and also Au-GRA22 where applicable. About Tuvatu The Tuvatu gold deposit is located on the island of Viti Levu in the South Pacific island nation of Fiji. The mineral resource for Tuvatu as disclosed in the technical report "Tuvatu Gold Project PEA", dated June 1, 2015, and prepared by Mining Associates Pty Ltd of Brisbane Qld, comprises 1,120,000 tonnes indicated at 8.17 g/t Au (294,000 oz. Au) and 1,300,000 tonnes inferred at 10.60 g/t Au (445,000 oz. Au) at a cut-off grade of 3 g/t Au. The technical report is available on the Lion One website at www.liononemetals.com and on the SEDAR website at www.sedar.com. About Lion One Metals Limited Lion One's flagship asset is 100% owned, fully permitted high grade Tuvatu Alkaline Gold Project, located on the island of Viti Levu in Fiji. Lion One envisions a low-cost high-grade underground gold mining operation at Tuvatu coupled with exciting exploration upside inside its tenements covering the entire Navilawa Caldera, an underexplored yet highly prospective 7km diameter alkaline gold system. Lion One's CEO Walter Berukoff leads an experienced team of explorers and mine builders and has owned or operated over 20 mines in 7 countries. As the founder and former CEO of Miramar Mines, Northern Orion, and La Mancha Resources, Walter is credited with building over $3 billion of value for shareholders. On behalf of the Board of Directors of Lion One Metals Limited "Walter Berukoff" Chairman and CEO For further information Contact Investor Relations Toll Free (North America) Tel: 1-855-805-1250 Email: info@liononemetals.com Website: www.liononemetals.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Service Provider accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This press release may contain statements that may be deemed to be "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, included herein are forward looking information. Generally, forward-looking information may be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "proposed", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate", or "believes", or variations of such words and phrases, or by the use of words or phrases which state that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, or might occur or be achieved. This forward-looking information reflects Lion One Metals Limited's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to Lion One Metals Limited and on assumptions Lion One Metals Limited believes are reasonable. These assumptions include, but are not limited to, the actual results of exploration projects being equivalent to or better than estimated results in technical reports, assessment reports, and other geological reports or prior exploration results. Forward-looking information is subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause the actual results, level of activity, performance or achievements of Lion One Metals Limited or its subsidiaries to be materially different from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Such risks and other factors may include, but are not limited to: the stage development of Lion One Metals Limited, general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; the actual results of current research and development or operational activities; competition; uncertainty as to patent applications and intellectual property rights; product liability and lack of insurance; delay or failure to receive board or regulatory approvals; changes in legislation, including environmental legislation, affecting mining, timing and availability of external financing on acceptable terms; not realizing on the potential benefits of technology; conclusions of economic evaluations; and lack of qualified, skilled labour or loss of key individuals. Although Lion One Metals Limited has attempted to identify important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those contained in forward-looking information, there may be other factors that cause results not to be as anticipated, estimated or intended. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking information. Lion One Metals Limited does not undertake to update any forward-looking information, except in accordance with applicable securities laws. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60078 Anyone going to China will have to prove they don't have coronavirus before boarding their flight, Beijing announced Tuesday, as the country seeks to prevent new infections after easing travel restrictions. China has been relaxing a ban on most foreign travellers that was imposed in March to prevent an influx of infections after authorities largely brought the domestic epidemic under control. All arrivals were screened for the virus on landing, and also had to spend 14 days in quarantine at their own expense at designated hotels. But under new regulations announced Tuesday by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC) citizens must now also upload a picture of their negative test certificate to a health app, while foreigners must apply to a Chinese embassy or consulate with proof of their status. The tests should be done within five days of travel, the CAAC said. China has reported more than 80,000 infections and 4,634 deaths since COVID-19 first emerged in the central city of Wuhan late last year. More than 2,000 cases were imported, mostly from Chinese nationals returning home as the pandemic rages abroad. In recent months China has allowed some foreign diplomats, employees of large enterprises and other business travellers back into the country on specially chartered flights. It has also eased limits on flights from foreign airlines, although they are subject to penalties if any passengers are found to be infected. Many Chinese nationals stranded overseas have complained about the difficulty of getting back home because of a scarcity of flights and skyrocketing ticket prices. Passengers wearing facemasks at Tianhe Airport in Wuhan. China says all new arrivals will have to prove they don't have coronavirus before boarding incoming flights Parents will have a multiple choice question to answer this fall should their children continue remote learning or attend school and for what period of time? These options are all in keeping with Connecticuts guidelines for the coronavirus amid the pandemic from the virus, but the new fluidity adds a range of new challenges for educators. The state is asking schools to plan for parents and students who may temporarily choose not to participate in the return to school, according to the Adapt Advance Achieve: Connecticut Plan to Learn and Grow Together. Students may opt to stay home because of health issues. However, parents and guardians may also voluntarily choose for students to temporarily engage in learning from home for a variety of other reasons, the state document says. So we are solving for a very complex problem, which is we are keeping those students at home as closely as aligned with whats happening in the classroom to allow for that fluidity of motion back and forth, New Canaan Superintendent of Schools Bryan Luizzi said during a Facebook forum hosted by Democratic state Rep. Lucy Dathan of New Canaan and Democratic state Sen. Will Haskell of Westport on July 16. Local educational agencies should develop temporary support options for students who continue remote learning from home, including but not limited to offering families the robust educational support options, the document says. The only thing that is different is who is in the room and who is not in the room. I think that is the most simplistic way to describe it, Bethel Public Schools Superintendent Christine Carver said at the forum. We will have some who may opt out, which is perfectly fine. We have others, who because of the conditions of their families, or others, may have to quarantine for a period of time, and then those who opt out may choose to come back, and others who are there to begin may choose to go out, Luizzi said. So, there would be that fluidity in and out, he added. The whole idea that kids are going to be coming in and out and adds a very different layer from what we had in the spring, Ridgefield Public Schools Superintendent Susie Da Silva said at the forum. As a result, what are the opportunities that we have to provide children with an experience that is either streamed into their classroom for part of their days, so if they are coming in and out, or if the conditions change we can run parallel from one day to the next, Da Silva said. During remote learning students experience synchronous learning, which is learning in real time with the teacher; asynchronous, or independent learning; and a hybrid of the two. Bethel is considering a combination of synchronous learning environment where students can participate in the class, so if they opt for distance learning, they can participate in (the) classroom environment, Carver said. If you have to move between phases, it is seamless, she added. Of course, as a public school, if somebody tells us on Monday that they are going to stay home, and then on the following week say they would like to come back to school, our doors our open. Lets figure that out and make that happen, Luizzi said. I am sure that a lot of parents who may decide they are cautious at the beginning, they want to keep their kids at home, will be relieved to know their children will also have high quality educational opportunities, Haskell said. State Duma adopts amendments permitting to cast votes over course of up to 3 days RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 15:32 21/07/2020 MOSCOW, July 21 (RAPSI) The State Duma has approved in the third and final reading amendments to the electoral laws envisaging that the voting may be carried out within the space of several (but no more than three) days. The document also envisages that citizens are to be able to cast their votes outside stationary polling stations by using temporary facilities set up near their houses and on common premises. The need to vote for several days running and the duration of the multiday voting is to be determined by electoral commissions responsible for carrying out elections or referendums within 10 days after an official announcement that such are to take place is published; the decisions are to be final. At local elections and referendums the respective decisions are to be taken by regional electoral commissions. The responsible commissions are also to have the right to set up additional voting facilities near or on common premises of residential houses in order to ensure that all citizens have an opportunity to exercise their voting rights. No early voting or voting with the use of absentee certificates is allowed in cases the multiday voting is organized, the document reads. The bill sets forth more strict requirements as to vote monitors; the maximum number of those during multiday voting is to be increased, and only the citizens having the right to cast their votes may be monitors at the respective elections. The girl had been on probation after she pulled her mothers hair and bit her finger in November, the judge said. The police referred the case to the Oakland County court, and an assault charge was filed against the girl. A few weeks later, she was charged with larceny after she was caught on surveillance video stealing a cellphone from a fellow student at Birmingham Groves High School in Beverly Hills, northwest of Detroit, according to ProPublica. Im getting behind in my actual schooling while here, she said, according to a video recording of the proceedings. My mom wanted for me to get help anywhere get help anywhere else but the judicial system, and I am not doing well emotionally. The girls mother said detention had kept her daughter from receiving the support she needs. This situation is an emotional challenge, but is also a window into the brokenness that demands and deserves attention and repair as to prevent other children and families from being negatively impacted by a system that is supposed to offer protection and support, she said in a statement. The Oakland County prosecutor, Jessica Cooper, said the girl had a long history of behavioral issues, including domestic violence toward her mother. She said the girls mother was the one who notified the caseworker that her daughter was not in compliance with the conditions of her probation. The mother now has changed her position and wants her home, Ms. Cooper said in a statement on Wednesday. We recommended that she be released, but the judge disagreed. John Nevin, spokesman for the Michigan Supreme Court, said the court was working with the Oakland County Circuit Court to review the judges processes. The review was prompted by the level of outcry and concern over the case, he said. Rai LaNier, Wayne County director at Michigan Liberation, said that in affluent Oakland County, there were resources for children who have learning disabilities and need additional help but that those resources were largely not going to Black children. Security expert Professor Kwesi Aning says the gun action by Special Development Minister Hawa Koomson at a registration Centre in Kasoa undermines President Akufo-Addos fight against vigilantism in the country. According to him, the MP is unfit to hold herself out as a lawmaker and also as a member of the ruling New Patriotic Party. Speaking on Starr Today Tuesday, Head of the Department of Research at the Kofi Annan International Peacekeeping Training Centre said if the President does not take action against his appointee, the police will be weakened in their efforts at curbing vigilantism. This woman is a disgrace to her party, to the president, and to the republic. If we dont sack this woman, the police will never be able to deal with anyone on vigilantism. she has undermined everything the president has done with vigilantism. Hawas behaviour is a disservice to the NPP, the president and everyone. She is a disgrace to the Republic of Ghana, he said. The MP who has confessed firing a warning shot at the centre claimed it was to defend herself after feeling threatened while touring registration centres in the constituency Monday. Im a Member of Parliament, I need to protect myself. It was at dawn; my police escort had not started work yet. So, that is the modus operandi I engaged in his absence, she told Accra-based Adom FM. Meanwhile, Pressure group OccupyGhana has called on the Police Service to prosecute the Special Development Minister if she found guilty in the shooting incident at a registration centre at Kasoa. We cannot have a registration exercise and then an election where people would feel so threatened that they would either stay at home and not vote at all, or go to the registration or polling stations armed. Ghanaians are already battling the spread of the dreadful coronavirus. This should not be combined with needless threats to our lives and safety. We call on the police to quickly investigate the circumstances under which this incident occurred. If it is found that the Minister breached the law, she should be prosecuted to the fullest extent possible under the law. ---starrfmonline Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Rana Moussaoui (Agence France-Presse) Paris Tue, July 21, 2020 18:09 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066830a15 2 Entertainment Klaus-Makela,classical-music,conductor Free He is the new wunderkind of classical music. At only 24, the young Finn Klaus Makela has been appointed musical director of the Orchestre de Paris. While he may seem head-spinningly young for such a post, Makela has actually been training to be a conductor since he was 12. "I must confess it is relatively uncommon," the modest millennial admitted to AFP when asked about taking on the baton so young. Also a brilliant cellist, he did himself no harm by wowing audiences in the French capital last year with a rapturously received concert. The age question in a profession dominated by grey heads is not something that bothers a man who was named chief conductor of the much sought-after Oslo Philharmonic two years ago. "I never thought of it, but I was very lucky because I've been conducting every week since I was 12," said Makela, a graduate of the Sibelius Academy in Helsinki, which has turned out a long line of podium stars including Esa-Pekka Salonen, Mikko Franck, Jukka-Pekka Saraste and Susanna Malkki. Read also: UK pianist Alexis Ffrench bids to change image of classical music 'Natural thing to do' "It became a very natural thing to do," said the latest "Flying Finn" to turn heads in the classical music world. Indeed, Makela was bitten early by the bug, his eureka moment coming when he made his debut on the stage of the Finnish National Opera at seven as a part of the children's choir for "Carmen". While the "drama and great music" of Bizet's opera intoxicated him, it was the conductor which really caught his eye. "We were in the middle of this amazing machine, for a child it is a great experience," he recalled. "My attention was on the conductor" in the middle of everything. Makela -- who will stay on at Oslo when he takes up the Paris baton in September 2022 -- said he learned early that "leadership is quite a complicated thing". From his long apprenticeship, standing week after week "on the podium became this very natural place to be. I think authority does not come from dictating or forcing people to do things, it comes from proving what you do, which is natural authority," he said. That winning mix of swagger, precision and rigor was clear to everyone who saw Makela rehearse for a concert at the Paris Philharmonie earlier this month. But so too was his warmth, slipping in little jokes to help the orchestra understand what he was looking for. "Imagine Don Giovanni playing the mandolin at his window," he quipped at one stage, much to the musicians' amusement as they rehearsed Ravel's "Couperin's Tomb". "Despite his young age, he is impressively mature," said one of the orchestra's violinists, Anne-Sophie le Rol. "Like all great conductors, he does not need to speak, he can transmit everything through a gesture. "He can help us create very particular sounds and to go further to bring out the nuances" of a piece, she added. "You get the feeling that you are being led by a colleague," added solo oboist, Alexandre Gattet. The new 'revolutionary cool'? Much of this ease Makela puts down to his time in the Sibelius Academy. "I was lucky to be in class every week to learn" under the conductor and composer Jorma Panula, "a fountain of wisdom", who has launched two generations of Finnish classical talent on the world, said Makela. Even if the classical music audience is ageing despite innumerable attempts to attract younger fans, Makela is hugely optimistic about its future. He acknowledges that young people have shorter attention spans. "People look at their phones all the time. They want so many things at the same time and very quickly, which is good. But our art is totally the opposite. "It is all about sitting quietly listening and watching." But the fact that it is so different might actually make it "cool", argued Makela, who will take over in Paris from another relatively youthful conductor, Briton Daniel Harding. "Because people are starting to become quite annoyed with the pace of life and many young people want to slow down, the most revolutionary thing you can do is to come to concert and listen to a Bruckner symphony," he insisted with a smile. 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. (TNS) More than $200,000 for laptop and tablet computers and other technology to allow city employees to work from home.About $28,000 in cleaning and sanitation supplies and services.And $25,000-plus to prepare the former Serrenti Memorial Army Reserve Center to receive overflow coronavirus patients from local hospitals.So far, Scranton has spent more than $309,000 responding to the pandemic. It plans to spend $516,000 more on its response by the end of the year.City council will likely introduce legislation tonight authorizing an application for $824,553 in relief funding through the Lackawanna County COVID-19 County Relief Block Grant program. The funding would come from $18.9 million in federal coronavirus aid the county received to offset its own pandemic-response costs and those of its 40 municipalities.Commissioners approved the $18.9 million COVID-19 County Relief Block Grant contract with the state Department of Community and Economic Development earlier this month. That money comes from the federal Treasury by way of DCED under provisions of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act that Congress passed in response to the public health crisis.County officials notified municipalities of the available funding in June and instructed officials to submit eligible pandemic-response expenses, including anticipated future expenses, for possible reimbursement. Officials in the countys department of planning and economic development are reviewing the submissions for eligibility.Most of the countys 40 municipalities submitted expenses, many hoping to recoup money spent on personal protective equipment or to enable remote work, acting county economic development Director Brenda Sacco said.Scranton ... is definitely requesting the most (funding), Sacco said.Of the $308,753.23 in pandemic-response expenditures Scranton accrued to this point, the vast majority represent the cost of software and hardware allowing employees to work from home. The city spent about $219,395 on laptop and tablet computers, web cams, headsets, accessories and other technology, including remote support software and virtual private network, virtual meeting and cloud storage licensing, according to the application.Scranton also spent $35,590.32 on personal protective equipment, $28,329.51 on cleaning supplies and sanitation services and $25,438 on plumbing and electrical work at the Serrenti building on Pine Street and Colfax Avenue. That work was to prepare the building to serve as a potential overflow site for COVID-19 patients if the local hospital systems were overwhelmed.Specific line-item totals for each expense are included in the citys request for funding Future costsThe city expects $515,800 in additional pandemic-response expenses this year, including the anticipated $250,000 cost of transitioning to a hybrid cloud network that would support additional remote workers. Scranton will need to buy additional software licenses and engage professional services to develop a functioning hybrid model and make that transition.Broadly were trying ... to improve the security and the technology of all of our systems, Mayor Paige Gebhardt Cognetti said. But with COVID and having so much work from home (happening), its even more important that we make these transitions.Other anticipated future costs include $50,500 for additional cleaning supplies, $70,000 for additional PPE and $40,000 to continue sanitizing city parks, buildings and vehicles.The county economic development departments review of expenses submitted by municipalities and county departments is ongoing and Sacco said theres currently no set date for when the relief money will be disbursed.Cognetti called the CARES Act money the county will distribute critical, but noted it cannot be used to replace lost tax revenue or plug budget shortfalls at the local government level. She and other mayors across the state are lobbying the U.S. Senate to provide flexible revenue-loss relief funding in a future pandemic relief package. Council adopted a resolution earlier this month urging the Senate to do the same.The pandemic and resulting revenue loss threaten to crater the citys finances. The Pennsylvania Economy League, Scrantons state-appointed Act 47 coordinator, shared projections earlier this month showing the city could face budget deficits of $3.61 million this year, $4.08 million in 2021, $5.61 million in 2022 and $8.1 million in 2023. The following editorial appeared in the July 14 edition of the Iowa City Press-Citizen: If the governor wont do it, Iowas cities should follow Muscatines lead in issuing a mask mandate, take its enforcement to court Wearing a mask protects public health and reduces the spread of the coronavirus. Period. As scientists learn more about the airborne spread of the virus, this has only become increasingly clear. While the science and communication around mask-wearing was a bit muddled in the beginning, public health officials have reached a consensus: The CDC recommends that everyone should wear a mask in public, particularly indoors or where social distancing will be difficult. According to a June 2020 Pew Research study, roughly seven in 10 Americans support wearing a mask in public most of the time. So why is Gov. Kim Reynolds refusing to issue a statewide mask mandate? Further, why would she refuse to allow local municipalities and counties from issuing their own mandates particularly as they watch their case numbers continue to rise? Perhaps she should learn from her counterpart in Texas, who issued a similar ban on local mandates only to reverse course and issue a statewide mandate last week as the state has become a coronavirus hotspot. While Iowas cases may not be rising as fast as Texas, the goal should be to protect public health before ICU beds start filling up. The cases in Johnson County are rising, and its only going to get worse when students return to school in a month. We need to act now. The University of Iowa has already mandated masks be worn in all university buildings, and the Iowa City Public Schools have indicated masks will be required when and if students return in the fall. Iowa City, Coralville, North Liberty and our neighbors should follow in the footsteps of Muscatine, whose mayor issued a city-wide order last week. Reynolds claims to make science-based decisions; however, the decision to not allow local mask mandates not only flies in the face of public health guidance but also of the local government control she claims to support. For example, why does Reynolds trust local governments to ban wind turbines with little scientific basis but not mandate mask-wearing, where the science is increasingly proven? Or regulate any other number of issues locally, such as the use of plastic bags, the minimum wage, the placement of CAFOs or the possession of firearms in municipal buildings? This is not the first time during this pandemic that local municipalities have fought the governors office to issue stricter public health protections, and more than a few legal professionals have indicated these local measures are likely unenforceable. However, if there was ever a time to take a stand and challenge the law, protecting public health during a pandemic seems to be it. And we would not be alone several cities in Georgia, including Savannah and Atlanta, are issuing similar orders over the objections of their governor. Until our elected leaders act to protect all residents, the citizens of Iowa City, Johnson County and beyond are going to have to band together to protect each others health and proudly wear our masks in public. The email, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, also said the department would not be going back to business as usual. The guiding principle going forward, Commander Gerlicher wrote, would be to do no harm, and he highlighted potential reforms, including, Looking for reasonable and safe alternatives to police services in some areas. Front line supervisors play the most critical role in making meaningful changes, he wrote. Dont take this lightly. With fewer officers to patrol, some of those on the streets find themselves stretched thin and working longer hours. Complaints about the lack of support from politicians, community members and even department commanders are part of the daily conversation in precincts and squad cars. For years, police departments nationwide have faced a work force crisis, according to a report published last year by the Police Executive Research Forum. In a survey of more than 400 departments nationwide, the forum found that 63 percent of them saw a slight or significant decrease in the number of applicants over the previous five years, 41 percent had growing staff shortages and nearly half reported that officer tenures were decreasing. The current climate differs from six years ago when the police killing of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Mo., sparked national unrest in that the demands are not just to reform police departments, but to get rid of them, said Chuck Wexler, the executive director of the forum. Many activists see an overdue reckoning for an institution that they say has long gotten away with brutalizing people of color with impunity. Policing as an institution has largely been untouchable, despite the many, many, many failings that are cultural, said Jeremiah Ellison, a Minneapolis City Council member who supports defunding the police. Here we are in a moment where people all over the country are saying, No, no, no, no, no, we are interested in real accountability. Slate is making its essential coronavirus coverage free for all readers. Subscribe to support our journalism. It seems increasingly unlikely that Congress will be able to pass another coronavirus relief bill before crucial federal unemployment benefits expire for millions of Americans in the coming days. For that we can thank the Republican Partys gross ineptitude: GOP leaders spent months pointlessly dithering, refusing to negotiate a deal, instead waiting until the last minute out of a misplaced hope that the economy would bounce back strongly enough on its own that thered be no need for another major bill. Now, with the pandemic still raging across the South and West and time running out on aid for the jobless, Republicans are discovering they arent even close to internal agreement about what should be in the next package they bring to the Democrats, as the Washington Post details at length. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement During a visit to Capitol Hill, Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin told members that the goal was to pass something before unemployment benefits officially expire on July 31 because theres a lot of people who are still out of work. (Too true!) When asked by reporters if that was realistic, Majority Leader Mitch McConnell laughed and answered: No. I just asked @senatemajldr if he anticipates a coronavirus bill will pass by the end of next week which is what @stevenmnuchin1 and @MarkMeadows are running around the Hill saying. MCCONNELL let out a big laugh and said: No. Jake Sherman (@JakeSherman) July 21, 2020 Advertisement Advertisement This is all an embarrassing reminder of the current GOPs typical inability to govern and habit of trying and failing to do its homework the night before its due. (Personally, Im getting flashbacks to the serial failed attempts to repeal Obamacare in 2017.) But thankfully, there is a very obvious and simple way to deal with this situation: Congress should just extend the $600-per-week unemployment benefits that are now in place for an additional two or three weeks. That way, the GOP can have some time to get its act together and hash out a deal with Chuck Schumer and Nancy Pelosi, and families wont have to worry about staying solvent. This isnt the only way Congress could make sure people get unemployment benefits to cover the next few weeks. Lawmakers could also agree to backdate whatever benefits are included in the next bill so that they cover any gaps. But that approach could require Americans to wait a long while for their money, since it will take states at least a couple of weeks from whenever Trump signs a bill to reprogram the ancient computer systems that administer their unemployment insurance programs and send out the new dollar amounts. In the meantime, families will need to figure out how to pay their rent and their bills. And nobody should have to worry about putting food on the table because Sens. Tom Cotton and Ted Cruz are having a tiff about the appropriate size of government during a pandemic. (Which is a thing thats apparently happening right now.) It would be much better to just keep things simple. Republicans should admit theyve messed up, swallow some pride, and agree to a temporary unemployment insurance extension while they spend the next few weeks haggling. If they cant manage basic competence, at least they could show some basic decency. For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below. Saudi Arabia's economy is expected to grow at an average rate of around 3% during 2021-24, nearly double the average during 2015-19 (1.6%) but lower than the 4.1% growth rate recorded during 2005-14, Moody's Investors Service said in an annual report today. Moodys expects real GDP to decline by 4.5% in 2020 as a result of the dual shock triggered by the coronavirus pandemic. The shock to the business and consumer activity in the non-oil sector, stemming from the restrictions out in place by the government to control the spread of the pandemic, will contribute to the non-oil GDP contraction of around 4% of GDP after relatively strong non-oil growth of 3.3% in 2019. Moodys expects higher fiscal deficits in the next few years will increase government debt above 35% of GDP from 22.8% at the end of 2019. Saudi Arabia's credit strengths include a robust but deteriorating government balance sheet, underpinned by still-moderate debt levels and substantial fiscal and foreign currency buffers, Moody's Investors Service said in an annual report today. A large stock of proved hydrocarbon reserves with low extraction costs and prudent financial system regulation also support the sovereign credit profile. The Saudi government has made some initial progress in its ambitious and comprehensive reform plans to diversify fiscal revenue streams and the economy away from hydrocarbons, said Alexander Perjessy, a Moody's Vice President - Senior Analyst. However, their full implementation will be challenging and their positive impact will only be felt over the longer term. Saudi Arabia's credit challenges include its economic and fiscal exposures to declines in global oil demand and prices, such as those in 2020, and socio-economic challenges posed by rapid population growth and elevated unemployment. Geopolitical risk also weighs on the credit profile, driven by regional security threats and tensions with Iran. The negative outlook reflects increased risks to fiscal strength stemming from the shock to global oil demand and prices triggered by the coronavirus pandemic and uncertainty regarding the degree to which the government will be able to offset its oil revenue losses and stabilise its debt burden and assets in the medium-term, said the report. Evidence that the government is able to contain the deterioration in its balance sheet and stabilise and ultimately reverse the debt trajectory through implementation of additional fiscal consolidation measures, possibly supported by a faster recovery in oil prices, would likely lead to the outlook being stabilised, it said. The increasing likelihood of a materially larger fiscal deterioration with a markedly faster rise in the governments debt burden or erosion of reserve buffers than in Moody's baseline scenario - would likely put downward pressure on the rating, the report said. - TradeArabia News Service South Africa: Emulate Madiba's values of tolerance, urges Pandor Minister of International Relations and Cooperation Naledi Pandor has called on the international community to emulate the values of former President Nelson Mandela. Speaking at the Informal Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly, following Mandela Day on Saturday, Pandor said Nelson Mandelas life was that of a global symbol of the struggle against racism. As we celebrate Madibas remarkable life we call on all nations of the world, developed and developing alike, to emulate Nelson Mandelas values of tolerance, dialogue, respect, unity and reconciliation and to embrace his qualities of humility, forgiveness and compassion and his dedication to the service of humanity. We are disappointed that despite all efforts, the scourge of racism still rears its head in many parts of the world. Racism is inhumane. Its basis is the belittlement of others, casting them as inferior and therefore deserving of all manner of ill-treatment, the Minister said. She said racism fuels deep hatred and divisions. The United Nations should use the aftermath of the death of Mr Floyd to revisit our work in its area and make our organisation the lodestar of the fight against racism. Pandor was speaking about the tragic death of George Floyd that led to protests throughout the world. Nelson Mandela International Day and Madibas life story offers us an important reminder that no matter how daunting our challenges may be, we must never abandon our principles and humanity and that all life has value and dignity, the minister said. Touching on the COVID-19 pandemic, Minister Pandor said no country acting alone can successfully deal with the pandemic. We are witnessing commendable collaboration amongst member states of the UN in seeking solutions and providing assistance to each other as we deal with the pandemic. Minister Pandor said the pandemic reminds all of the indispensable value of multilateralism. We need to continue this collaboration, including in the search for vaccines, which should be global public goods available to all countries who need them. Let us also come together to design a global socio-economic response to the pandemic with the United Nations and its agencies such as the World Health Organisation playing a key leadership role, the minister said. The pandemic is a time to rethink the continued imposition of unilateral coercive measures on some countries as such punitive measures inhibit countries ability to respond to the pandemic with dire consequence for their populations especially women and children. Pandor congratulated two Laureates of the United Nations Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela Prize, which recognises the achievements of those who have dedicated their lives to the service of humanity in the spirit of Nelson Mandela. I therefore wish to congratulate the Female and Male category winners of the Prize, namely Ms Marianna Vardinoyannis from Greece and Dr Morissanda Kouyate from Guinea. We hope that their outstanding example will inspire many more people, particularly the youth, Minister Pandor said. The year 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the United Nations. The United Nations (UN) Secretary-General Antonio Guterres delivered the 18th Nelson Mandela Annual Lecture on Saturday, on what would have been the late statesmans birthday. Owing to the COVID-19 pandemic, the lecture was, for the first time, an online event, delivered at the UN headquarters in New York City. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. BOGOTA, Colombia, July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Medcolcanna Organics Inc. (Medcolcanna, MCCN or the Company) (TSXV: MCCN), a leading Colombian and globally integrated cannabis company, is pleased to announce that it has entered into a distribution agreement with Greenstein Capital Ltd. (Greenstein or GC), a private Maltese company. This agreement, which includes the distribution of a minimum quantity of 1,000 kg of active cannabinoid ingredients per year, will see MCCN products commercialized in Europe. The companies have also agreed on immediate financing to MCCN via a share issuance and participation in a debenture offering more particularly described below. MCCN and GC have also committed to continue ongoing discussions towards a corporate transaction in the future. Distribution Agreement The distribution agreement entered into with Greenstein Trading Ltd. (GT), a subsidiary of GC, consists of transferring cannabinoid ingredients to GT on a COGS basis for Active Pharmaceutical Ingredients (APIs) and bulk products, and a COGS plus 25% price on all finished products. The agreement includes a profit-sharing mechanism stating that the final sale price minus the transfer price from MCCN to GT will generate profit to be shared equally between the parties. The agreement also provides a minimum purchase of 1,000 kilograms of product per year (subject to EUGMP conformity) or a penalty of 50% of average cost of production to be paid by GT to MCCN for quantities unsold. Financing The share subscription is being via the issuance of shares at a value of CAD $0.08 per share, for a total amount of CAD $800,000 and a total issuance of 10,000,000 common shares in the capital of the Company (Common Shares). In addition, GC has subscribed for CAD $800,000 worth of convertible secured debentures (the Debentures). The Debentures will be convertible into Common Shares on the following terms: the Debentures will be convertible into Common Shares at a price of $0.20 per share and will have a term of two (2) years from the date of issuance, with interest payable at expiration date of fourteen percent (14%) per annum (simple not compounded), payable in cash or shares. The Debentures will be subject to earlier redemption by the Company in the event the Common Shares are trading on the facilities of the TSX Venture Exchange (or such other stock exchange on which the Common Shares may then be trading) at a volume weighted average trading price at or above $0.40 per share for a period of not less than ten (10) consecutive trading days. Story continues The Debentures will include five common share purchase warrants (each, a Warrant) for every one dollar of principal amount of Debentures subscribed for, with each Warrant exercisable at a price of CDN$0.20 to purchase one Common Share for a period of 24 months from the date of issuance. The Warrants will have a forced conversion feature whereby the Company will have the option to force the conversion of Warrants upon the Common Shares trading on the facilities of the TSX Venture Exchange (or such other stock exchange on which the Common Shares may then be trading) at a volume weighted average trading price at or above $0.40 per share for a period of not less than ten (10) consecutive trading days. The Company also wishes to announce that it has changed the terms of its previously announced offering of $1 million principal amount of debentures such that the conversion price of the debentures and warrants issued in connection therewith will be at $0.20 and not $0.25 as previously announced and the term of the warrants will be for two years and not five years. The transaction is non-brokered and is subject to final approval of the TSX Venture Exchange, including the pricing and other material terms thereof. Management Commentary Felipe de la Vega, CEO of Medcolcanna, commented: "This transaction comes at a time when the Company has finalized its first stage in becoming a global leader in the cannabis industry by developing state of the art cultivation and extraction facilities, with capacity to attend local and global markets. The Company is now beginning to move into a commercialization phase and shares common outlook with the Greenstein team. Greenstein has received all the necessary licenses to import and distribute cannabis products in Germany. Greensteins experienced multidisciplinary team of traders, strong marketing, regulatory affairs and technical team have already been involved in setting up the type of distribution channels that will allow the MCCN brand to grow outside of Latin America and establish a competitive foothold in Europe and more widely globally. MCCN considers this a very important next step in our strategic vision to participate in an industry that is increasingly more globalized requiring strategic partnerships to help enter new markets more efficiently and competitively, while complying with all regulatory requirements in Europe to establish a strong presence in that important market. The details of the share swap are still being negotiated and we have agreed to continue that process for the next 3 to 6 months to have a clear path that generates value for MCCN shareholders and GC. Chris Reid, CFO, commented: Management believes that the Companys infrastructure as well as the Companys potential are not fully appreciated by the market, this may be due to MCCN not being well known in the market. GCs partnership with MCCN will include direct capitalization as well as their participation in the convertible debenture offering, underscoring their belief in MCCNs ability to generate value and limit dilution for its shareholders. Reid continued, This financing is in addition to a concurrent CAD$1 million debenture offering which is expected to close in the near future and provides MCCN with capital requirements to execute its commercial strategy that will allow us to reach self-sustainability increasing profitability for our shareholders. Chief Corporate Development Officer, Daniel Herrera, stated: We are pleased with the development of this distribution agreement, share swap and financing agreement as it cements a strategic partnership that comes on the tail end of MCCNs operational build out and development of a diversified product portfolio spanning API bulk and final finished product sales, to wellness and nutraceutical products, as well as pharmaceutical grade THC, CBD, CBG and other cannabinoids. The addition of Greensteins commercial capabilities in Europe position MCCN to execute its plan to expand globally and participate in bringing MCCN products to various markets competitively and becoming a global leader in the development and commercialization of cannabis products. Max Stahl, President of Greenstein Group, commented: This transaction is part of a well-defined strategy that has been discussed with MCCNs management team to have a global footprint in the cannabis industry, where both companies will benefit from consistent access to premium low cost cannabis products to supply our buyers in Germany and the rest of Europe through the distribution channels that we have established. Through this partnership, we believe that we are setting up one of the most solid and strongest cannabis alliances in the world. As both GC and MCCN complement each others capabilities, we see this as a first step in forming a closer alliance based on a shared vision that will help both companies reduce costs and competing more effectively in global markets. In this respect, we give priority to profitability above growth as we believe, contrary to other players, that only businesses that produce solid financial results in the short run can survive in the long run. We strongly believe in MCCN and its managements capabilities and combined with our financial strength, business development and marketing capabilities, we expect to become a top tier player in our operating segments. OTHER CORPORATE DEVELOPMENTS In addition, the Company announces that it has entered into a marketing agreement dated effective June 25, 2020 (the Marketing Agreement) with Hybrid Financial Ltd. (Hybrid) out of their Toronto, Ontario office for a six month term, such term automatically extending for additional three month terms until such time as the Company provides notice to Hybrid no less than thirty days in advance that it wishes to terminate the agreement. The Company shall pay Hybrid a total of $22,500 per month during the initial term of the agreement and $15,000 per month during the renewal period(s). Hybrid will provide marketing services with the objectives of increasing the Company's reach within the investment community. There are no performance factors contained in the agreement. Hybrid and the Company are unrelated and unaffiliated entities, but Hybrid and/or its clients may have an interest, directly or indirectly, in the securities of the Company. The Company feels that now is the time to invest in marketing initiatives as it has not undertaken such activities before as it was conserving cash but now that it has advanced to a new stage of development, such expenditures are deemed to be prudent. ABOUT GREENSTEIN Greenstein Capital is a privately held corporation based in Malta consisting of multiple companies, with Greenstein Germany GmbH being fully licensed to import and distribute cannabis products in Germany, Greenstein Trading being charged with distribution and sales across Europe as well as providing trade finance solutions for the industry, Greenstein Nutraceuticals being dedicated to creating CBD-based nutraceuticals for sales focused in Germany and other European countries, and Greenstein Refinery GmbH being in the process of becoming established for the purpose of refining and purification of extracts to final pharmaceutical APIs produced in Germany. Greenstein has deployed capital in getting the best human resources to achieve its goals in the industry and has entered into strategic acquisitions to guarantee sales of its products. Greenstein partners bring experience from different industries as their main shareholders and partners, are important entrepreneurs and investors in pharma, med tech, real estate, finance and debt markets in Europe and the U.S. ABOUT MEDCOLCANNA Medcolcanna is a Canadian integrated medical cannabis company, whose fully licensed operations are based in Colombia. Led by a proven and successful management team, Medcolcanna has facilities in optimal growing locations which positions the Company to become a global leader in the medical cannabis market. Medcolcanna employs state of the art organic agricultural technology and innovative pharmaceutical processes to produce high-quality products. The Companys scalable production model and network of pharmaceutical partnerships globally ensures that they remain at the forefront of the medical cannabis industry. If you would like to receive News Releases via email as soon as they are published, please subscribe here: https://medcolcanna.com/contact-us/ or write to info@medcolcanna.com . Additional information about Medcolcanna can be found on its web site at www.medcolcanna.com Medcolcanna Investor Relations Contact: Chris Reid, CFO Carrera 49b # 93-62 Bogota, Colombia Phone: +571 642-9113 Email: info@medcolcanna.com Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking information and forward-looking statements (collectively, forward-looking statements) within the meaning of the applicable Canadian securities legislation. All statements, other than statements of historical fact, are forward-looking statements and are based on expectations, estimates and projections as at the date of this news release. Any statement that involves discussions with respect to predictions, expectations, beliefs, plans, projections, objectives, assumptions, future events or performance (often but not always using phrases such as expects, or does not expect, is expected, anticipates or does not anticipate, plans, budget, scheduled, forecasts, estimates, believes or intends or variations of such words and phrases or stating that certain actions, events or results may, could, would, might or will be taken to occur or be achieved) are not statements of historical fact and may be forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties, and other factors which may cause the actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Such factors include, but are not limited to general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; and the delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals for any proposed transaction, including those discussed herein. 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 the forward-looking statements and information contained in this news release. Medcolcanna assumes no obligation to update the forward-looking statements of beliefs, opinions, projections, or other factors, should they change, except as required by law. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange Inc. nor its regulation services provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Production at JA Solar Vietnam in Quang Chau industrial park of Bac Giang (Photo:VNA) Bac Giang The northern province of Bac Giang plans to focus on developing industrial parks and clusters to welcome a new wave of investment to the locality, according to Director of the provincial Department of Industry and Trade Tran Quang Tan. Tan said that from now until the end of 2020, the province will prepare necessary conditions, especially in infrastructure and human resources as well as land, in anticipation of foreign investment, especially from multi-national groups. The province will complete dossiers and submit to the Prime Minister for making decisions on several investment proposals, including a project to build infrastructure for the Vietnam-Republic of Korea industrial park, along with the addition of two industrial-urban-service areas of Yen Son-Bac Lung and Yen Lu into the national master planning on industrial parks development to 2020. At the same time, Bac Giang will concentrate on speeding up the implementation of projects, especially those on construction of infrastructure in industrial parks and clusters of Hoa Phu, Quang Chau, and Song Khe-Noi Hoang, thus creating a land fund for investment attraction. Within 2020, the Bac Giang Department of Industrial and Trade will advise the province on the building of planning for industrial parks and clusters, and integrating them into the provinces planning, Tan said. The official elaborated that in the period from 2021 to 2030, 16 industrial parks will be formed, adding 5,044 hectares to the total area of industrial parks in the province. Meanwhile, 22 industrial clusters will be formed or expanded with total area of 1,321 hectares, making the province ready in terms of clean land for receiving investment projects, creating a momentum for economic development. Bac Giang will also work to ensure that the expansion of industrial parks and clusters is made in association with the protection of security and defence, as well as the protection of ecological environment and food safety. Meanwhile, industrial areas will have synchronous infrastructure in terms of electricity and water supply, transportation, and telecommunications, along with the construction of urban, service and trade areas as well as housing for workers and other social infrastructure systems such as health care and education. In industrial parks, the province will encourage companies with high and green technologies in electricity, electronics, telecommunications equipment, precision engineering, and support industry. In industrial clusters, Bac Giang will call for small and medium-scale projects in production, which use local workers, with priority on projects in food and agricultural product processing. In the time ahead, Bac Giang will also focus on speeding up the construction of the Bac Giang city logistics centre, thus making it coherent with the development of industrial parks and clusters and optimising the flow of goods and currency, reducing cost and enhancing goods value. This will help improve the supply chain and expand multi-form transportation, enhancing the localitys attraction to investors. Currently, Bac Giang has 1,322 hectares of industrial parks and 1,384 hectares of industrial clusters. The province has attracted 1,269 domestically-invested projects worth over 88 trillion VND (3.79 billion USD at current exchange rate), along with 461 foreign-invested projects with combined capital of more than 6.1 billion USD. Despite the impacts by the COVID-19 pandemic, in the first six months of 2020, Bac Giang enjoyed a 9.2 percent year-on-year growth in industrial production to 115 trillion VND, fulfilling 41.8 percent of the localitys target for the whole year. In the period, production of the State-owned sector grew 10 percent, while that of the non-State sector fell 2.6 percent, and FDI firms rose 11.6 percent. Businesses enjoying increase in production included Fuhong Precision Component with 704 billion VND, Vina Cell Technology with 962 billion VND, and Sjtech VN with 1.16 trillion VND. A passenger bus with 20 people on board has been taken over by a gunman armed with explosives in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk. Police have blocked off the centre of the city, located 250 miles west of Kiev, while the demands of the assailant were not immediately known. Officers said in a statement on Facebook that the hostage-taker was armed and carrying explosives. Local media reported that gunshots have been heard in the area but it remains unclear whether anyone has been hurt. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky confirmed the reports about gunshots and stressed that measures were being taken to resolve the situation without casualties. Recommended Children caught in the crossfire as violence surges in Ukraine In a statement on Facebook, the president said: "Gunshots have been heard, the bus is damaged." A photograph from the scene, which shows a broken mirror towards the front of the bus, corroborates the president's comments. Anton Geraschenko, the deputy interior minister, said the hijacker called the police himself to inform them about the hostage situation, introducing himself as Maksim Plokhoy. Mr Geraschenko added that a man of the same name has written an online book about life in prison. "For 15 years they've been correcting me, but I haven't been corrected, on the contrary - I've become even more who I am," one passage from the book said, according to Mr Gerashchenko. In response to the incident, interior minister Arsen Avakov is on his way to Lutsk. The man left the bus on his own. Maksym Kryvosh, the terrorist who took bus passengers hostage in Lutsk on Tuesday morning, has been detained. This information was confirmed by Ukrainian Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, who shared a video from the scene. "[It's] over," the minister said on Twitter. Speaking at a follow-up briefing, Avakov said that 13 hostages had been freed. According to him, the terrorist left the bus on his own and then was detained by SWAT police. As UNIAN reported earlier, an armed man took hostage passengers and the driver of a commuter bus in Lutsk, western Ukraine, on July 21. The police said the terrorist had firearms on him along with an explosive device. The man expressed his indignation with the existing state system in Ukraine, saying that "the state is terrorist No. 1." According to media reports, the Lutsk terrorist was identified as Maksym Stepanovych Kryvosh, 44, while "Maksym Plokhoy" is his nickname. He reportedly has two criminal records. A criminal case under Part 2 of Article 147 (hostage-taking) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine was opened following this incident. On Tuesday evening, he set the first three hostages free after long-lasting negotiations with police. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) The cities of Bacolod and Iloilo will temporarily close their borders starting Tuesday and Wednesday, respectively, after recording a spike in local COVID-19 cases. Bacolod City Mayor Evelio Leonardia announced on his Facebook page that the city will be closing its borders to passengers coming from Iloilo City, Iloilo province, Panay, and Guimaras, starting at 11:59 p.m. Tuesday. Mayor Jerry Trenas also announced on Facebook that Iloilo City will not allow entry to people coming from Bacolod City, Negros Occidental, and Negros Oriental starting Wednesday. Iloilo City currently has a total of 94 confirmed COVID-19 cases, while Bacolod City had 92 as of Monday. Only over the past decade has Beijing asserted a kind of ownership of most of the South China Sea, based on vague historical claims and a map depicting nine dashes covering most of the sea. Included within that area are numerous uninhabited islands, shoals, and submerged features, many of which are surrounded by rich fishing waters. The area may also be sitting on rich mineral deposits, including an estimated $2.5 trillion in recoverable oil and natural gas assets. Since 2013, Beijing has stepped up its attempts to assert control over most of the South China Sea through an extensive campaign of destructive land reclamation and construction of military facilities of disputed features as a way of asserting claims to maritime areas that lack a foundation in international law. China also conducts a campaign of saber-rattling and bullying targeted at other claimant states. In July 2016, an arbitral tribunal constituted under Annex VII of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea ruled that there was "no legal basis for China to claim historic rights" within the nine-dash line and that Peoples Republic of China could not assert maritime claims beyond those specifically provided for in the Convention. Nonetheless, the PRC persists in pressing its unlawful maritime claims. On July 13, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said in a written statement that the U.S. position on Chinas maritime claims in the South China Sea is aligned with key aspects of the Tribunals decision.Beijings claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them. This means that the United States does not recognize Beijings maritime claims to waters within the 370 kilometer [200 nautical mile] Exclusive Economic Zone of another country beyond a lawful territorial sea generated from islands it claims in the Spratlys, nor do we recognize its claims to underwater features like James Shoal or low-tide elevations like Mischief Reef and Second Thomas Shoal, which, under international law, may not be claimed by any state and are incapable of generating maritime zones of their own. The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire, said Secretary of State Pompeo in the statement.America stands with our Southeast Asian allies and partners in protecting their sovereign rights to offshore resources, consistent with their rights and obligations under international law. We stand with the international community in defense of freedom of the seas and respect for sovereignty and reject any push to impose might makes right in the South China Sea or the wider region. Bengaluru, July 21 : In an address to the people of Karnataka through television news channels and social media platforms, Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Tuesday said there would be no more lockdowns in the southern state from Wednesday. "As lockdown is not a solution to defeat COVID-19, there will not be anymore lockdown in Bengaluru or anywhere in Karnataka," Yediyurappa told the people in a 20-minute address in Kannada from here on Tuesday evening. The 9-day renewed lockdown in Bengaluru Urban and Rural districts ends at 5a.m. on Wednesday. "The only way to fight corona virus pandemic is to compulsorily wear mask, wash hands and maintain social distancing by every citizen. Each citizen has to take care of his/her health by strictly following the guidelines," asserted the Chief Minister. Restrictions on movement of people and vehicles will continue in containment areas across Bengaluru and cities and towns where more Covid cases are reported. Admitting that there was a delay in getting test reports earlier, Yediyurappa said steps have been taken to ensure they (reports) were delivered in 24 hours. "We have been taking measures to contain the virus spread in the state since mid-March and control the situation in hotspots. A real-time dashboard has been set up to track beds for COVID-19 patients," the chief minister reiterated. Referring to reports of Covid positive patients attempting to commit suicide, the chief minister appealed to them not to resort to drastic action but recover soon. Refuting the opposition Congress charges of irregularities and corruption in the purchase of medical equipment, Yediyurappa said not a rupee had been misappropriated and all expenditure had been accounted for. "I appeal to the opposition to make constructive criticism but not hinder our work and service to the people in this hour of crisis. This is not the time to bicker but cooperate with the government in fighting the pandemic," he added. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) A prominent Pakistani journalist known for his criticism of the country's powerful military has been kidnapped, raising concerns his life may be in danger. Matiullah Jan, one of the country's leading journalists, was abducted on July 21 in the capital, Islamabad, by several men after they intercepted his car, his colleague Asad Toor said. Footage from surveillance cameras showed men dragging a driver out of his vehicle and pushing him into another car before driving away. Jan's wife said the first car in the video belonged to her husband. Information Minister Shibli Faraz would only confirm that Jan had been kidnapped. Leading politicians, activists, and journalists took to Twitter to call for the journalist's release, with the hashtag #BringBackMatiullah trending in the country, while the Austrian-based International Press Institute (IPI) demanded that Jan be freed. We fear that Matiullah Jans life is in danger, and immediate steps must be taken to locate him and ensure his release from his apparent kidnappers, IPP Deputy Director Scott Griffen said in a statement. Given the history of violence against journalists in Pakistan, the authorities cannot delay in seeking to protect Jans safety. Jan, who has worked as a print and broadcast journalist for the past three decades, has previously been intimidated, harassed, and attacked, his friend Azaz Syed said. After being fired by Pakistan's Waqt TV station, allegedly under pressure from the military -- a frequent target of his criticism -- he continued to maintain a voice via social media, including on YouTube and Twitter, even receiving a contempt of court notice earlier this month for a tweet. Criticism of the army has long been seen as a red line for the media, with journalists and bloggers inside Pakistan complaining of intimidation tactics including kidnappings, beatings, and even killings if they cross that line. The military has an oversized role in the domestic and foreign affairs of the South Asian country of around 220 million. A spokesperson for the military declined to comment on Jans case. Several Pakistani journalists were briefly detained in recent months, allegedly by the military's spy agency, in what is thought to be an attempt to silence criticism of the powerful military. The military has denied the accusations. With reporting by dpa and AP Advertisement A 'breath-taking, vast and intimidating' image of ocean waves crashing has won the top prize in a prestigious photography competition celebrating Australian and New Zealand snappers. Oscar Hetherington, of Otago, New Zealand, was awarded Grand Prize for his submission, titled Backwash, to the fifth annual Sony Alpha Photography Awards. Hetherington's photograph was chosen from more than 3,000 submissions in the 2020 competition across 12 categories. The Alpha Awards was designed to showcase the work of Australian and New Zealand photographers on Sony Alpha lenses. 'On the morning this photo was taken, my car broke down on the way to the beach so it was a surprise I even made it out for a swim this day but sure lucky I did even though it included a ride home on the back of a tow truck,' Hetherington said about Backwash in a post on Facebook. Other winners included Laurie Winter, of Wellington, New Zealand, for her submission titled Mt Taranaki Eruption in the Astrophotography category; David Symonds, of Melbourne, Australia, for Mediation in City/Street; and Australian photographer Gary White for his On The Street Vienna in Compact Camera. Photographers Grant Galbraith, Ilan Wittenberg, Jesse Little, Simon Runting, Judi Thies, Scott Barbour, Karl Dalyell, Benjamin Lane and Alex Marshall were also awarded first place in a variety of other categories. Hetherington, the Grand Prize winner, was awarded $10,000 worth of Sony camera gear. Other category winners each took home $2,000 worth of equipment. World Photographer Organisation CEO Scott Gray, one of 26 judges, said: 'It is very difficult to capture a single image which is engaging, elegant and timeless which is why I chose Oscar Hetherington's "Black Wash". 'The sea is a vast, breath-taking, intimidating and constantly changing force that is difficult to compartmentalise into a single image and I believe this image goes a long way in achieving that; it is both breath-taking and calm'. GRAND PRIZE WINNER Photographer Oscar Hetherington was awarded Grand Prize for his image, titled Backwash. It was labelled as 'vast', 'intimidating' and 'breath-taking'. The New Zealander said on social media: 'Short backstory behind the image on the morning this photo was taken, my car broke down on the way to the beach so it was a surprise I even made it out for a swim this day but sure lucky I did even though it included a ride home on the back of a tow truck' ASTROPHOTOGRAPHY WINNER Photographer Laurie Winter was awarded Astrophotographer winner for her submission, titled Mt Taranaki Eruption (pictured). The image was taken on a Sony A7R iii and 24mm F1.4 GM lens, and was captured when she left Level 3 COVID-19 lockdown in New Zealand. Winter said on social media: 'How lucky we are as a country that we are able to start getting freely amongst nature again. Even though I was freezing cold standing here under the stars, it is hard to feel more alive. I am still practicing my astrophotography, and there are a number of things I would do differently if I tried this photo again' CITY/STREET WINNER Photographer David Symonds was awarded as winner in the City/Street category for his submission, titled Mediation (pictured). It was taken in Thiruvannamalai, Tamilnadu, India. Taking to social media, Symonds said: 'So happy to be the winner of the 2020 Sony Alpha Awards - City/Street, Australia and NZ for my entry Meditation taken on a recent street photography workshop in India. My thanks to Sony Australia and my street photography mentor' COMPACT CAMERA WINNER Photographer Gary White was awarded as winner in the Compact Camera category for his image, titled On The Street Vienna (pictured). The image is of a young girl holding her dog's leash tightly, in a bid to prevent it from running toward another dog, which it is staring at. White's image was taken on Sony camera DSC-RX100M3, which has a Vario-Sonnar T* ft. 8 lens CREATIVE WINNER Photographer Grant Galbraith was awarded as the winner of the Creative category for his image, titled The Arrival (pictured), submitted into Sony's 2020 competition. It is a beautiful black and white image, which holds a lot of mystery as it is not specifically of anything particular EDITORIAL WINNER Photographer Ilan Wittenberg, of New Zealand, was awarded as Editorial winner for his submission, titled Timid (pictured). Taking to social media, Wittenberg said: 'During this project, I made a point to learn basic phrases of the Maasai language to connect with the community I found that the Maasai people opened up much more when they saw that I was engaged in their language and culture. I faced numerous challenges during this project, including extremely limited time for photographing the people as well as technical issues in capturing facial details using natural light only. I made a point to ask peoples permission, and create rapport. One of the guides taught me how to say: My name is Ilan. What is your name? using the Maa language. I also ensured that I was able to tip the people who agreed to be photographed to thank them for their time' LANDSCAPE WINNER Photographer Jesse Little took home first prize in the Landscape category. He was awarded for his submission, titled Golden Glow (pictured), which was taken at Poon Hill. Taking to social media, Little said: 'After trekking the Annapurna Circuit for the previous 20 days, our final hurdle was a hike up to Poon Hill to see the the sunrise. We left early and hiked hurriedly up the 400 metre stepped ascent. When we reached the top it was still foggy, not a mountain in sight. Just as we were joking that this was a bleak end to an otherwise fantastic journey, the clouds parted for a mere 3 minutes and let through this incredible view of the golden morning light hitting the Annapurna South Peak' NATURE WINNER Photographer Simon Runting's picture of 'a red billed gull having a wash', titled A Red Billed Gull Washing (pictured), took home first prize in the Nature category. The photographer is based in Auckland, New Zealand, and runs a commercial and editorial photo agency, called Onsite Images PORTRAIT WINNER Photographer Judi Thies, of Adelaide, Australia, was awarded first place in the Portrait category for her beautiful picture of a young girl with curly dark hair, titled Achang (pictured). Taking to social media, Thies said: 'So proud to win Portraiture Category in Sony Alpha Awards 2020. Thank you Acheng. You are beautiful' SPORT WINNER Photographer Scott Barbour, of Melbourne, Australia, took home first place in the Sport category for his image of Melbourne Cup Day at Flemington Racecourse in Melbourne (pictured) SEASCAPE WINNER Photographer Karl Dalyell, of Wollongong, Australia, won the Seascape category for his image of sea waters titled Golden Twist (pictured) WEDDING WINNER Photographer Benjamin Lane's image of a couple embracing each other during a kiss on their wedding day was awarded first place in the Wedding category. The picture is titled Wild Love (pictured). The photographer is from Hamilton, New Zealand YOUTH WINNER To help people understand the research he conducts at the Department of Energy's Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, Wenliang "Bill" Li likens it to studying the dark side of the moon. Now, the research he is undertaking from this unusual perspective has earned him the 2020 Jefferson Science Associates Postdoctoral Prize. A postdoctoral researcher at William & Mary, Li is studying proton structure just like many people who conduct their nuclear physics research at Jefferson Lab. But he's studying a new aspect of it: the backward perspective. Usually, nuclear physicists at Jefferson Lab measure proton structure from the forward perspective. They shoot electrons at a proton target, which forms a spray of particles that fly forward into detectors, telling them more about proton structure. But Li is looking at the particles created in that same interaction that go backward instead of forward. Using Jefferson Lab's 12 GeV electron beam to blast a proton target, he'll study what's flying backward after the electron hits the proton to learn more about proton structure. "It's not that intuitive. It's adding a new perspective to the overall picture," he said. "If we don't understand what I'm measuring now, then we cannot declare the victory of knowing the true structure of a proton." Previously, many physicists assumed there was little worth measuring in the backward perspective. "The idea that there are measurable, important particles flying backward is new," Li explained. He said that's why he compares his research to the dark side of the moon to explain it. "We look at the moon all the time, but we only look at the side always facing us," he said. "Looking at the backward angle of the electron-proton interaction is almost like probing the side of the proton that you cannot see from the forward angle." Previously, all of the equipment at Jefferson Lab, including the detectors and targets, was set up to only examine proton structure from the forward perspective. Li had to figure out how to use the existing detectors and targets to capture the interaction from the backward perspective. He has already helped conduct experiments measuring the so-called backward-angle observables, but these interactions are still not fully understood. The Jefferson Lab User Organization Board of Directors has awarded the JSA Postdoctoral Prize since 2008. The group represents the scientists who come to Jefferson Lab to conduct research with its unique facilities. The board judges each applicant on their record of accomplishment in physics, proposed use of the research grant, and the likelihood of further accomplishments in the Jefferson Lab research fields. "While all submissions were of outstanding quality, Wenliang Li's proposal was selected as the winning entry based on the research impact, the scientific importance of the research, and the ability of the candidate to carry out the project, taking into account the candidate's CV, research statement, and support letters," said Will Brooks, JLUO BOD chairperson and founding experimental group leader at Universidad Tecnica Federico Santa Maria, Valparaiso, Chile, where he is also a professor. "Wenliang gave a compelling invited talk related to his project at the recent JLUO Annual Meeting, demonstrating that it will have an important impact on the future of Jefferson Lab for our international community of theorists and experimentalists. Young scientists like Wenliang and his peers are crucially important for the vigor and excellence of the scientific future of our field, and it is of utmost importance for our community to support them in every possible way." The grant is funded by the Jefferson Science Associates Initiatives Fund program, which JSA provides to support programs, initiatives and activities that further the scientific outreach, and promote the science, education and technology missions of Jefferson Lab and benefit the laboratory's user community. The competition was coordinated by Edward Brash, a professor at Christopher Newport University and the JLUO BOD chair-elect, who formed an external committee of reviewers to assess the submitted projects. "It was a big encouragement receiving this grant," Li said. Li is currently in his first postdoctoral position. He graduated in 2017 with a doctorate in experimental nuclear physics from the University in Regina in Canada. He first began working with Jefferson Lab 10 years ago as a master's student. Back then, he helped his supervisor build a detector for the 12 GeV Upgrade for Hall C. "Now, I'll be able to use the detectors I helped build," he said. For his project, titled "Studying the Backward-angle Physics in JLab 12 GeV and EIC," Li initially planned to use the $10,000 prize money to bring in a collaborator: Kirill Semenov-Tian-Shansky from the National Research Centre Kurchatov Institute - Petersburg Nuclear Physics Institute in Gatchina, Russia. While Li is an experimental physicist, Semenov-Tian-Shansky is a theoretical physicist. Semenov-Tian-Shansky and his colleagues, Bernard Pire from Ecole Polytechnique and Lech Szymanowski from the Soltan Institute for Nuclear Studies, have published pioneering work in backward-angle physics. "He is really the leading expert in this field," Li said. The plan was for Semenov-Tian-Shansky to come to Virginia for one month, so that the pair could work together in person, but that's no longer an option due to recent global events. Now, Li isn't sure when, or even if, Semenov-Tian-Shansky can come to the U.S., so they have to work long distance. "I was really delighted to hear about Bill's award," Semenov-Tian-Shansky said. "He is an extremely bright, young experimentalist. I must say that he inspired me much with his enthusiasm." Li will conduct experiments to measure the backward angle interactions, and Semenov-Tian-Shansky will perform calculations to relate it to proton structure. As they progress, Semenov-Tian-Shansky will tell Li what measurements he needs to do to develop a better mathematical picture of what's going on in the backward perspective. "Much still has to be done to single out and interpret properly this new kind of structural information," Semenov-Tian-Shansky said. "Fortunately for us, Jefferson Lab's experimental setup includes detectors with fantastic capabilities, and even more important is that these detectors are handled by the outstanding experimental team. I think this is the beginning of another beautiful collaboration." Together, Li and Semenov-Tian-Shansky will also develop a strategy to transition experiments on backward-angle observables from the 12 GeV research program at Jefferson Lab to the proposed Electron-Ion Collider (EIC), which will be built at DOE's Brookhaven National Laboratory in New York in collaboration with Jefferson Lab. "We feel urgency to get our work done, because the EIC is also getting started," Li said. "The timing is actually driving us to finish this work soon. We're pumped!" Contact: Kandice Carter, Jefferson Lab Communications Office, 757-269-7263, kcarter@jlab.org ### Jefferson Science Associates, LLC, a joint venture of the Southeastern Universities Research Association, Inc. and PAE, manages and operates the Thomas Jefferson National Accelerator Facility, or Jefferson Lab, for the U.S. Department of Energy's Office of Science. DOE's Office of Science is the single largest supporter of basic research in the physical sciences in the United States and is working to address some of the most pressing challenges of our time. For more information, visit https://energy.gov/science. A teenage security guard has lifted the lid on Melbourne's botched hotel quarantine program and sensationally claimed she was recruited via WhatsApp and told to work without any training. Shayla Shakshi, 19, only worked one shift subcontracted to an inner-city hotel because she was concerned safety precautions were not being followed and her co-workers treated coronavirus as a 'joke'. 'I just knew something would happen because it's just like guards were hitting each other. They were hugging each other. They were touching each other,' she told ABC's 7.30. 'They weren't actually serious about how serious this COVID is. Shayla Shakshi worked as a security guard at a Melbourne coronavirus quarantine hotel 'They were taking it as a joke. Like, ''It's just some virus that anyone can get. We're not going to get it''.' Victoria recorded 374 new coronavirus cases on Tuesday as it grapples with a second wave of coronavirus infections. The outbreak came after new COVID-19 cases in late May and early June were linked to infection control breaches by security guards at quarantine hotels. An inquiry is investigating a string of shocking claims, including that security guards had sex with returned travellers who they were supposed to be ensuring were isolating. Ms Shakshi, who is from Melbourne's north, said she was offered the job via messaging platform Whatsapp in May and claimed she was not given proper training. 'I was hired on a Whatsapp group and I just got told that you need to be here at this certain time and you're going to dress in a certain way and this is your pay rate and that's it,' she said. 'We never got any training. We had to put a mask on and gloves on and that was it. It was like, ''OK, how do I wear a mask? How do I sanitise?''' The teenager claimed she was taken into a meeting at the end of her shift, where she was asked to bring her own personal protective equipment for the next day. Ms Shakshi said she was told: ''OK, guys, you have got to come in a team and bring your own masks from tomorrow. Bring your own gloves, your own sanitisers because me might run out because we have so many guards on site.' Ms Shakshi, who is from Melbourne's north, was offered the gig via messaging platform Whatsapp in May and claimed she was not given proper training But Ms Shakshi said it was her 'first and last shift' at the site as she 'didn't want to go back there' amid the alleged safety breaches. She is not the first security guard to make explosive claims about the city's botched hotel quarantine program. One security guard, named only as Sam, said his colleagues would share lifts with groups of travellers, escort them for exercise and then go into the community as normal despite the risk of spreading the virus. 'On their break, guards were going for a break, and they were going to 7-Eleven, McDonalds, KFC, everywhere, and they were exposing everyone to that,' he told 9News. 'We were trying to control the virus, but the way they have done everything, I think we were spreading the virus, not controlling the virus.' The security guard also claims he was told not to take a test for COVID-19 in case he wouldn't be able to work. Pictured: A graph shows Victoria's daily coronavirus cases as the state battles a second wave Pictured: Returned travellers are seen carrying their luggage ahead of two weeks hotel quarantine during the coronavirus pandemic 'When I knew that there was positive cases in the hotel I have asked them, do I need to go for a test or something? And they said no, no, no don't worry, don't stress because we need people, so if you (go) for a test they will ask you to self-isolate, so don't go, we will let you know when to go for a test,' he said. The hotel quarantine program is now subject to an inquiry, which was launched by the state government and is headed by retired judge Jennifer Coate. 'Information already available to the inquiry suggests the possibility of a link between many of the cases of coronavirus identified in the Victorian community in the past few weeks and persons who were quarantined under the hotel quarantine program,' senior assisting counsel Tony Neal QC said. 'Comments made by the chief health officer to the media have suggested that it may even be that every case of COVID-19 in Victoria in recent weeks could be sourced to the hotel quarantine program.' The decisions and communications between the government, hotel operators and private contractors will be examined and submissions have been ordered from them by the end of July. All returned travellers to Australia are required to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine to stop coronavirus from spreading through the country. Pictured: People depart a bus Pictured: Returned travellers in face masks arrive at an airport during the coronvirus pandemic That includes the Department of Health and Human Services, Department of Jobs, Precincts and Regions, Department of Treasury and Finance, Department of Premier and Cabinet, Victoria Police, Emergency Management Victoria and Ambulance Victoria. Two hotels with known large coronavirus outbreaks, Rydges on Swanston and Stamford Plaza have been put on notice, along with Travelodge Melbourne, Park Royal Hotel Melbourne Airport, Holiday Inn Melbourne and Four Points Sheraton. Quarantine security guards were provided by the government and were not employed by the respective hotels. The hotels were not responsible for selecting the guards or ensuring they obtained proper training. The eight security companies of interest to the inquiry are Wilson Security, United Risk Management, Unified Security Group, Ultimate Protection Services, MSS security, Elite Protection Services, Australian Protection Group and Security Hub. Medical experts, hotel staff and returned travellers who stayed in quarantine will be called to give evidence. Employers face significant penalties if they attempt to deter employees from giving evidence to the inquiry. 'I expect no less than full, frank and timely cooperation from all government entities and persons to enable me to do my job for the people of Victoria,' Justice Coate said. Pictured: Australian Defence Force (ADF) personnel watch over returning overseas travellers in March It is not known if Premier Daniel Andrews, Health Minister Jenny Mikakos or Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton will be called to give evidence, but Mr Andrews said neither he nor any government minister had been approached. 'I won't tell a former judge how to do her work. She will call whomever she thinks she needs to call. Anyone who is called should turn up,' Mr Andrews told reporters on Monday. 'What has gone on here is completely unacceptable to me - and unacceptable to all of us.' Opposition Leader Michael O'Brien said Mr Andrews and responsible ministers should front the inquiry. 'When the government has made mistakes and people have died as a result, Victorians need answers. First of all to work out what went wrong and secondly to make sure nothing like this can ever happen again,' he said. Corrections Victoria now manages the hotel quarantine program. International flights have been diverted from the state until the situation is under control. Public hearings will be held from August 6 and a final report is due on September 25. All returned travellers to Australia are required to spend 14 days in hotel quarantine to stop coronavirus from spreading through the country. Also having left Chicago, I returned and jumped back into city politics as a media consultant to Harold Washingtons 1983 mayoral campaign. When I attended my first meeting I found myself surrounded by virtually all of those I had known between 1965 and 1969 plus some new folks; they were part of the Councils Progressive Chicago Area Network, or PROCAN. It was this group that initially formed the core of the campaign that brought Harold Washington to office Black leadership, with Raby and Berry still at the helm, along with former Students for a Democratic Society and civil rights activists as well as new voices such as Renault Robinson, Danny Davis, Conrad Worrill, Chuy Garcia, Luis Guttierez, Helen Shiller. Global shutdown continues to hinder export numbers-illustration photo/ Shutterstock Since March this year, Vietnamese-Taiwanese joint venture Huasheng Garment and Textile Co., Ltd. has seen a 50-per-cent fall in export orders from the EU, which accounted for 70 per cent of its export turnover last year. We are exporting to France, Belgium, Germany, and Hungary. However, we are not sure about our exports in these markets as since August, partners from these nations are cutting imports, causing a big loss to us, said Pham Van Can, sales manager from Huasheng based in the northern province of Hung Yen. We have had to lay off to about 500 workers, or half of our total number of employees. In another case, Red Lotus Trading Co., Ltd. in Hanoi has also since March found it hard to export its agricultural products to the ASEAN, Japan, South Korea, and Australia due to their reduced demand. Our export turnover has dropped by 70 per cent since March as these markets, which created 60 per cent of our export revenue last year, have reduced import orders, said Tran Hai Van, director of Red Lotus. Since March, the export price of agricultural products has also reduced. According to statistics from the General Statistics Office (GSO), since April, the export prices of many agricultural items globally have dropped, such as cashews (12.9 per cent), tea (13.1 per cent), and pepper (19 per cent). In Vietnam, agro-forestry-fishery products accounted for 15.5 per cent of the economys total export turnover of $263.5 billion last year. The Ministry of Industry and Trades fresh calculations demonstrated that the quantity of export orders in April and May of garment, textile, and footwear firms plummeted 70 per cent on-year, while new orders from June onwards have yet to be negotiated. Meanwhile, enterprises efforts to shift their outlets to the domestic market are not feasible because most of them are providing goods for foreign brand names with materials used to meet the demand of non-Vietnamese people. The Ministry of Planning and Investment (MPI) reported that the COVID-19 pandemic has and will continue to negatively affect Vietnams export landscape this year, because the countrys key export markets are bogged down in great difficulties with lowered demand for imported goods. Challenges are expected to grow strongly from now until the years end as Vietnams economic growth largely depends on exports, imports, and tourism. Among 17 leading economic and tourism partners of Vietnam (responsible for the countrys 70 per cent of trade, 90 per cent of foreign direct investment, and 80 per cent of tourism), the majority will find it hard to resume their normal trade activities in the third quarter of 2020, said an MPI report released over a week ago. These 17 markets are Japan (importing goods worth $20.4 billion from Vietnam last year), South Korea ($19.72 billion), Taiwan ($4.4 billion), Thailand ($5.27 billion), China ($41.4 billion), Hong Kong ($7.15 billion), Germany ($6.55 billion), Australia ($3.5 billion), India ($6.67 billion), Indonesia ($3.37 billion), the US ($61.34 billion), Singapore ($3.2 billion), Malaysia ($3.8 billion), the Netherlands ($6.88 billion), Russia ($2.67 billion), the British Virgin Islands, and Samoa. These markets occupy 72.44 per cent of Vietnams total export turnover last year. The EU, in an example, is now trying to find measures to escape from difficulties and recover local demand and consumption. The 27 governments within the bloc are negotiating a proposal for 750 billion ($841 billion) to tackle the pandemic. However, the new stimulus plan has sparked division among EU member states and it is unclear when they will manage to bridge their differences, which are mostly over how much they should borrow from capital markets, with some nations arguing the 750 billion is too much, and over how that money should be distributed and in which form. Meanwhile, the US, India, and Russia are now the worlds biggest, third-biggest, and fourth-biggest COVID-19 hotspots, respectively. The other 14 markets are also home to thousands of infected cases, with many deaths, and are struggling to stimulate domestic demand and consumption. According to the MPI, these markets will not be safe in the short term and may even face a second wave. Meanwhile, it will remain complex for Vietnam to take advantage of opportunities to boost export of items of high demand such as medical equipment because the countrys supporting industries remain underdeveloped. Statistics from the GSO showed that in the first half of 2020, Vietnams total export turnover hit $121.2 billion, down 1.1 per cent on-year. The US was Vietnams largest export market ($30.3 billion, up 10.3 per cent on-year), followed by China ($19.5 billion, up 17.4 per cent on-year thanks to a 128 per cent rise in Vietnams export of mobile phones and their spare parts). Vietnams export turnover from other key markets fell on-year, including the EU market ($16.1 billion, down 8.8 per cent), ASEAN member markets ($11.1 billion, down 14.2 per cent), and Japan ($9.4 billion, down 2.3 per cent). Vietnams export turnover from South Korea touched $9.3 billion, up 2.3 per cent on-year. We support those sovereign choices, we think well done, Pompeo said. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Downing Street said Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Pompeo discussed shared global security and foreign policy issues, including Chinas actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, where concerns have been raised about rights abuses targeting the Uighur minority. Pompeo told reporters: We have seen Hong Kongs freedoms crushed and watched the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) bully its neighbors. He also criticized the Chinese Communist Partys exploitation of the pandemic as disgraceful. He said the U.S. hopes like-minded nations can build a coalition with a joint understanding of the threat of China, including its ambitions in the South China Sea. Story continues below advertisement We want every nation to work together to push back against the Chinese Communist Partys efforts in every dimension that I have described, he said. Advertisement The talks came just hours after Britain joined the U.S., Australia and Canada in suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong. It also blocked arms sales to the former British territory angering Beijing after China imposed a tough new national security law that critics say delivers a fatal blow to the liberties and rule of law promised to the city when it reverted from British to Chinese rule in 1997. Last week Britains government drew more ire from Beijing when it U-turned on an earlier decision to allow Huawei a limited role in the countrys superfast 5G network. The U.S. has lobbied its allies to shun Huawei because it says the Chinese government could use the companys technology to spy on Western nations. Huawei denies the allegations and argues that U.S. protectionism is behind the move. Story continues below advertisement A Downing Street spokesman said Johnson, Pompeo and British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab discussed the importance of Five Eyes countries taking an ambitious approach to working together on the technologies of the future. Advertisement He was referring to the intelligence alliance between the U.S., U.K., Australia, Canada and New Zealand. Asked whether Britain had been pushed by Washington into a tougher stance against Huawei, Raab said: I dont think there is any question of strong-arming. Mike and I always have constructive discussions and, in the vast majority of cases, our views overlap. Chinas ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, reiterated Tuesday that Britains recent moves regarding Hong Kong constituted blatant interference. Story continues below advertisement China urges the U.K. side to immediately stop interfering in Hong Kong affairs, which are Chinas internal affairs, in any form, the Chinese embassay said in a statement. The U.K. will bear the consequences if it insists on going down the wrong road. Pompeo described his talks in London as being constructive and ranging from 5G telecommunication to our negotiations for a U.S.-U.K. free trade agreement. Advertisement Pompeo also met with senior members of Johnsons Conservative Party who led the blockage of Huawei from Britains infrastructure. The U.K. has already accused the Beijing government of violating the Sino-British Joint Declaration under which Hong Kong was returned to China, and announced it would open a special route to citizenship for up to 3 million eligible residents of the territory. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. It was Fathers Day, and Linda Stoltzfoos was on her way home from church. She told friends shed meet them at a youth meeting after she went back to her familys Bird-in-Hand farm to change her clothes. But she never made it, and she hasnt been seen since. The 18-year-old Amish girls disappearance on June 21 left authorities scrambling for answers. The FBI and Pennsylvania State Police soon joined the search, and earlier this month, 34-year-old Justo Smoker was charged with her kidnapping. Smoker remains behind bars but hasnt confessed to taking the teenager, let alone any details on where she may be, authorities said. Anyone with information can contact state police at 717-299-7650, or the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI. Here is everything we know about Stoltzfoos disappearance, a month after she was last seen. June 21, 2020: The last day friends and family saw Linda Stoltzfoos parents told East Lampeter Township police the 18-year-old planned on coming home to change after a Sunday church service, then attend the youth gathering. But when they couldnt find any church clothes in her room, her parents came to believe she never made it back. Stoltzfoos was last seen at a farm on Stumptown Road between the intersection of Beechdale and Gibbons roads in Bird-in-Hand, police said. Several members of the Amish community said they saw a red Kia Rio, later found to belong to Smoker, passing through the area that day with someone resembling Stoltzfoos in the passenger seat. What happened to Stoltzfoos after that remains unclear. However, clothing found buried in a wooded area of Ronks match what authorities believe Stoltzfoos was wearing that day. The Amish community has rallied around the Stoltzfoos family since the 18-year-olds disappearance, even conducting searches of their own in neighboring towns. During a Thursday press briefing, Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams admitted the evidence doesnt suggest a happy outcome. East Lampeter Township police said they believe Stoltzfoos could have been harmed after she was abducted. Lancaster County District Attorney Heather Adams sought the public's help during a press conference on the disappearance of Linda Stoltzfoos, an 18-year-old Amish woman. Who is Justo Smoker? Smoker was a Pequea Valley High School wrestling star who, in 2006, was charged and convicted in a string of armed robberies in Lancaster County and sentenced to 12-and-a-half years in state prison. However, its unclear why hed want to kidnap an 18-year-old from a quiet Amish community. Authorities said the 34-year-old hasnt given any clues as to where Stoltzfoos could be, but he admitted to driving his beat-up 2007 Kia Rio through the Bird-in-Hand area around the time she went missing. Two separate witness testimonies have since placed an Amish woman inside Smokers car on June 21 in that area. Police believe surveillance camera footage from the Beechdale Road area in Upper Leacock Township could have captured the kidnapping. The recording shows two people walking along the roadway that fateful Sunday afternoon the same road on which Stoltzfoos family lives, authorities said. They walk out of view, then a red, four-door Kia Rio with black trim and a rear spoiler is seen driving by the camera from the area where the two people had walked. Police believe the car was tucked away on a farm lane. The on-camera encounter lasted 34 seconds. Police are asking the public to provide information regarding this car, and older Kia Rio with a missing right front hubcap, that was driven by the man accused of kidnapping Linda Stoltzfoos, an 18-year-old Amish woman. Where does the investigation go from here? Authorities want to know where Smokers car was right before, during and immediately after Stoltzfoos disappearance. Theyre asking residents of East Earl, East Lampeter, Paradise and Salisbury townships to think about whether it looks familiar, and check their home security cameras for sightings. The FBI is offering up to $10,000 for information leading to Stoltzfoos whereabouts. Early in the investigation, the police and dedicated, trained teams started using dogs, horses, ATV equipment and drones to broaden the search. They also interviewed friends and family, and a composite picture was released of what Stoltzfoos would look like in English clothing were released. We will continue to work on this case until we find Linda, East Lampeter Township Police Chief Stephen Zerbe vowed on Thursday. READ MORE: Bloomsburg Fair says dunk tank with Rachel Levine impersonator had nothing to do with her gender identity Man at Pa. Walmart accused of spitting in womans face for asking him to wear face mask: state cops Just how deadly is COVID-19? Growing body of studies narrowing it down New Jersey may not physically bar all entrances to a gym that publicly challenged Gov. Phil Murphys statewide shutdown, a Superior Court judge ruled Monday, nor will the owners be held in contempt of court. However, the Atilis Gym of Bellmawr must follow state health department guidelines to combat the coronavirus or risk being found in contempt of court in the future, according to Judge Robert Lougys order. The gym claimed victory on Facebook, writing, BATTLE WON, WAR STILL ON. On Monday, owner Ian Smith posted a video saying they would remain open while following safety protocols, and he previously said they would remove the gyms doors if officials tried to padlock them closed. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage The business did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The state attorney generals office, which argued that health officials should be able to shutter the building, said all gyms were still limited to individual training sessions in separate rooms, not unrestricted public use. Although the court did not yet hold the gyms owners in contempt, spokesman Leland Moore wrote in an email, the health commissioner could take the owners to court again, if the gym violates the order in any way. The gym gained national attention after publicly challenging orders to stay closed. On Friday, a federal judge declined to intervene on the gyms behalf after the owners filed a lawsuit arguing that the lockdown was unconstitutional. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Blake Nelson can be reached at bnelson@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @BCunninghamN. Have a tip? Tell us: nj.com/tips. A UN finance support platform tagged One UN COVID-19 Response Basket Fund, says it has received additional one million dollars to help Nigeria to address challenges posed by the pandemic in the country. The UN Development Programme (UNDP), which manages the basket fund, made this known in a statement on Tuesday in Abuja. The statement quoted Mohamed Yahya, the UNDP Resident Representative in Nigeria, as saying that the additional fund was to aid Nigeria, as it witnessed a rapid rise in the number of confirmed cases. Mr Yahya said the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation has donated one million dollars in support of the Nigerian government in addressing the challenges of COVID-19 pandemic on July 14, 2020. He said the UN welcomed the contribution of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation as it aimed to support the countrys response in the management of the crisis and the realities of post-crisis, particularly in the protection of vulnerable persons. He added that as a recognised COVID-19 Response Financing and Investment Platform, this facility provides us a timely opportunity to stand with Nigeria and channel financial contributions toward the COVID-19 multi-sectoral response. Working as one UN enables us to minimise the risk of duplication of efforts and ensures efficient mobilisation and rapid deployment of resources. The UNDP resident representative said that the unfolding COVID-19 situation in Nigeria called for solidarity and coordinated support to the government to the response plan of the country. Through the Basket Fund, the UN aims to ensure policy coherence, programmatic alignment, harmonisation, and coordination of support to the Government of Nigeria during the time of crisis, Yahya said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) recalls that the UN, in collaboration with the Nigerian government, launched the One UN COVID-19 Response Basket Fund on April 6, 2020. The Basket Fund serves as the One COVID-19 Financing and Investment Platform, through which different stakeholders can channel their financial support to the multi-sectoral efforts of the Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 Response. The overall management of the One UN COVID-19 Response Basket Fund is led and coordinated by the Project Board. The Project Board has representation from the Presidential Task Force; Federal Ministry of Health, Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), relevant government departments, fund contributing donors and the UN. As of June 2020, the Basket Fund, managed by UNDP mobilised 61.3 million dollars, including 54.6 million dollars from the European Union (EU) and 2.2 million dollars from UN agencies. Also, the fund received four million dollars from the private sector (Dangote 3.8 million dollars and AP Maersk 0.2 million dollars); and 0.4 million dollars from the Government of Switzerland. (NAN) AUSTIN, Texas, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- HanAra Software has expanded its US presence, adding three members to its team. As more US enterprises begin or continue their Industry 4.0 journey, HanAra's industry experts will provide insights and recommendations to help the process and discrete industry to transform data into actionable intelligence. Based in Austin, Stephen Ames, Omar El-Batouty, and Yvette Jorgensen will help customers improve operational excellence through data management and machine learning solutions. Ames brings his IoT, security, automation, and data networking experience to the process industry, including Oil and Gas and Manufacturing. Ames' consultative approach mandates that the customers' technology solutions address their specific challenges and unique operating environments. Ames' experience with large-scale integration and technology deployment projects will allow organizations to take advantage of HanAra solutions quickly and easily. El-Batouty brings his Oil and Gas field experience to HanAra, connecting his passion for technology with the process industry. In both fields, El-Batouty has honed his skills for process improvement and creative problem solving through customer-centric discussions. El-Batouty will work with customers to overcome real-world challenges faced in the field managing communication and analysis tools. Jorgensen brings years of experience in the Semiconductor and Manufacturing space to HanAra. Jorgensen has demonstrated leadership in driving system performance and efficiencies. From spearheading efforts to establish Korean and Chinese partners and establishing new manufacturing and sales segments, Jorgensen will guide HanAra customers to build a strong technology ecosystem for effective operations. Hojoon Seo, president of HanAra, explained why the company chose Austin. "The Austin talent pool is one of the reasons we chose Austin to be our US headquarters. With the addition of Ames, El-Batouty, and Jorgensen, HanAra will ensure we connect our proven solutions to US industries. For HanAra, it's about combining our expertise with our customers' expertise to break through the limitations." About HanAra Software HanAra connects industry knowledge with innovative technology to provide integrated data management and predictive maintenance solutions. Through the implementation of HanAra solutions, plants yield results including reduced costs, increased efficiencies, and ultimately improved plant safety. HanAra combines solutions with training and care programs to support clients every step of the way. HanAra is the North American headquarters of South Korean-based BNF Technology. Since 2000, BNF has provided solutions to more than 250 units across two continents to help them achieve operational excellence. SOURCE HanAra Software Related Links https://www.hanarasoft.com tech2 News Staff Editor's Note: This article has been re-published on 20 July 2020 as the UAE's Hope Probe was launched successfully. Editor's Note: The launch of UAE's Hope Mars mission has been delayed due to poor weather conditions at the launch site in Tanegashima Space Center, Japan. Originally scheduled to blast off on 15 July at 2.21 am IST, the revised launch attempt is now targeting Friday, 17 July at 2.13 am IST. The United Arab Emirates is gearing up to launch its first-ever interplanetary mission this week a Mars orbiter called 'Hope'. The primary goal of the mission is to study the Martian atmosphere, with the hope of preventing the Earth's atmosphere from becoming as uninhabitable as present-day Mars'. With the Hope mission, UAE also hopes to inspire other nations in the region to pursue space, on top of advancing our scientific understanding of the Red Planet. In an interview with Space.com, Hessa Al Matroushi, science data and analysis lead for the mission at the UAE's Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Center said "I think one of the messages of this mission is hope, which is the name of the probe itself. If a small nation like us (UAE) is able to achieve this kind of mission and get ourselves to Mars, then everything is possible." The Hope probe was developed through a partnership between Mohamed bin Rashid Space Centre (MBRSC), Laboratory for Atmospheric and Space Physics at the University of Colorado-Boulder, and Arizona State University (ASU). The Hope mission is a Mars orbiter spacecraft, which will study the thin atmosphere of Mars and help explain how the planet loses hydrogen and oxygen from its atmosphere into space. The mission is officially named the Emirates Mars Mission (EMM) and the orbiter has been named Hope or 'Al Amal'. If successful, the Hope orbiter will join six others in studying Mars, from the US, Europe and India. Also read: UAE's Mars orbiter mission seeks to bring Hope to more places than just the red planet The Hope orbiter The Hope probe has a mission life of one Martian year, which is almost two Earth years. The spacecraft weighs around 1.35 kgs, is 3 metres tall and around 8 metres wide. It also has 600-watt solar panels that will charge its battery. The three main objectives of the Hope probe are: to understand the climate dynamics and global weather map of Mars by studying the lower atmosphere of Mars. to explain how the weather of Mars affects the escape of hydrogen and oxygen, by correlating conditions in the lower and upper atmosphere to understand the presence and variability of hydrogen and oxygen in the upper atmosphere, and why Mars is losing these gases to space Another unofficial objective of the Hope probe is to understand how Mars evolved into the Red desert we know. It is a known fact that the Red Planet was once habitable, from signatures of flowing water and organic material that point to a past that could have supported living things. An understanding of Mars' past could help scientists understand the future of Earth. Instruments on the Hope probe The Hope Probe has three scientific instruments aboard to collect data for its mission. 1. The Emirates eXploration Imager (EXI): a multi-wavelength imager capable of capturing 12-megapixel visible-light and ultraviolet imagery of the Martian atmosphere. With EXI, mission scientists are hoping to measure the distribution of water-ice and ozone in the lower atmosphere in 3 different ultraviolet wavelengths of light. EXI can also capture images in 3 visible light wavelengths (RGB). 2. The Emirates Mars Infrared Spectrometer (EMIRS): designed to study the lower Mars atmosphere in infrared light, to analyse dust, ice clouds and water vapor. EMIRS also measures the temperature of the surface and the lower atmosphere of Mars. The instrument is designed to study the distribution of dust, ice clouds, water vapour, along with its temperature profile of the Red Planet's lower atmosphere. 3. The Emirates Mars Ultraviolet Spectrometer (EMUS): designed to study the upper atmosphere of Mars in far-ultraviolet wavelengths. This, scientists are hoping, can determine the distribution and fluctuation of carbon monoxide and oxygen in the upper layers of the Mars atmosphere. EMUS can also reportedly measure the distribution of oxygen and hydrogen in the Martian exosphere the outermost region of the planet's atmosphere. This is also the region where the escape of gases into space is thought to begin. Launch of UAE's Hope Mission The United Arab Emirates' orbiter is scheduled to launch on 15 July 12.51 am UAE time (2.21 am IST). The launch window begins on 14 July and stays open till 12 August 2020. The launch is planned from the Tanegashima Space Centre in Japan, aboard the H2A202 rocket part of the H-IIA launch vehicle family developed by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. It will take around 200 days to cover the 49,35,00,000-km-distance to reach Mars, with a landing expected in 2021. According to NASA Space Science Data Coordinated Archive, the Hope probe will enter an elliptical orbit around Mars that is roughly 22,000 x 44,000 km (nearest x farthest) in altitude, taking approximately 55 hours to complete a single orbit after it has breached the gravity of Mars. For an interplanetary mission, the idea for the mission came not from scientists but from the UAE government, as per a report in Nature, chasing a non-negotiable deadline of 2 December 2021 the countrys 50th anniversary. As per plans, Hope is designed to carry out two years of science operations starting May 2021, with a possibility of a two-year extension to do more science till 2025. Also read: UAE's first Mars orbiter Hope to launch at 2.21 am IST tonight: How to catch the action live During and after launch: What to expect After the rocket carrying the Hope orbiter lifts off, the final stage of the rocket will park itself in a high orbit around Earth. Using thrusters and maneuvers, the rocket will be prepared for a launch towards Mars as it comes into perfect alignment with Earth. Once this alignment is achieved, the rocket's thrusters will reignite, propelling itself and the Hope orbiter inside it, on a trajectory towards Mars. Once the right direction and velocity (11km/s) are achieved, the rocket's final stage is expected to release the Hope orbiter to continue on the rest of its journey to Mars. The orbiter will power up after separating from the rocket, and its solar panels will be deployed, kick-starting the spacecraft's charging mechanism to power its flight and communication with the mission control team. The Hope probe's communication link will be transmitting to Earth via the NASA Deep Space Network ground station in Madrid. According to the Emirates Mars Mission website, "once the signal is received on the ground station, the EMM Operations Team will begin their checks on the spacecraft." The team will also ensure the Hope spacecraft is moving along in the right trajectory and its propulsion system is working in tandem. Once Hope reaches Mars' orbit, it will be slowed down using its own thrusters, allowing it to be captured by the Red Planet's gravity. This critical step requires precision, so the orbiter isn't lost to space, and the mission doesn't fail. The EMM team will oversee a series of fuel-burning thrusts to slow the orbiter down from a velocity of 1,21,000 km/h to approximately 18,000 km/h. This phase will continue for around half an hour designed to be completed automatically, since there is a signal delay of 13-26 minutes between the spacecraft and the mission control team depending on the spacecraft's relative position to Earth. Communication with the probe will "go dark" after it inserts itself into a "capture orbit" around Mars, since it will be orbiting the far side of Mars. Once it comes out from behind Mars and faces Earth, the spacecraft will re-establish contact with the ground team. If all goes well, the orbiter will spend the next six weeks preparing for its science objectives. It will also click its first image of Mars in this time, and relay it to Earth. The spacecraft will make its move from the capture orbit to a science orbit, a process that will take around 55 hours to complete, and bring the orbiter to a 20,000 km x 43,000 km (nearest x farthest altitude). This science orbit, the space agency has said, will allow Hope to "complete the first-ever planet-wide, 24x7 picture of Mars atmospheric dynamics and weather." The first images and science data from the Hope mission is due sometime around August 2021. NASA's Perseverance Mars rover and China's Tianwen-1 mission a three-in-one combo of an orbiter, lander and rover are also slated to accompany UAE's Hope probe on its journey, with their launches scheduled for later in July 2020. The Perseverance Mars rover is expected to launch on 30 July, while the Tianwen-1 mission is slated for a 23 July launch. Also read: Launch of UAE's first interplanetary missions to Mars Hope Probe might be delayed due to bad weather in Japan The Ghana Union of Traders' Association (GUTA) has called for the immediate closure of shops owned by foreign traders operating illegally at Kwame Nkrumah Circle in Accra. According to GUTA, most of the foreign traders have blatantly refused to close their shops despite not meeting the requirement to operate in Ghana. In a statement signed by the President of GUTA, Dr Joseph Obeng, the group warned that the authorities will have themselves to blame if tensions rise as a result of the non-closure of these foreign shops. It has come to our notice that the illegal foreign retail traders at Circle have blatantly refused to close their shops after the committee on Foreign Retail Trade in the country had opened for inspection for their documents and ordered them close the shops back. We hereby want the authorities and the general public to note that these recalcitrant foreigners have taken the laws of our country into their own hands with impunity while the authorities look on unconcerned, the statement read. There has been a trade war between Ghanaian traders and their foreign counterparts, especially Nigerian traders over the involvement of the latter in retail business in Ghanaian markets. This has led to the closure of some Nigerian shops in Accra and Kumasi. Clashes between Ghanaian and Nigerian traders have led to the destruction of some properties of Nigerian traders. The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) blamed the country's weak institutions and lack of enforcement of laws against the illegal activities of foreigners. The government has given indications that it is trying to approach the situation with tact to ensure that the relationship between the two countries is not marred but GUTA believes that government is not serving their interest. GUTA has been urged to sue government over the non-enforcement of laws that bar foreigners from operating in Ghana's retail space. ---citinewsroom WASHINGTON Former Vice President Joe Biden announced a sweeping new plan Tuesday that aims to fundamentally shift the way American families care for each other, both at the beginning of life and at the end. Dubbed the "21st Century Caregiving and Education Workforce" plan, Biden's proposal would invest $775 billion over 10 years to rebuild and fortify the nation's caregiving economy, focusing on daycare in early childhood, in-home elder care and long-term care for the disabled. Speaking in New Castle, Del., Biden said he knew firsthand what it was like to struggle to afford child care, as well as what it was like to care for aging parents at home in the last months of their lives. "I was a single parent for five years after my wife and daughter were killed and my two boys were badly injured," said Biden, recalling the deadly 1972 car crash in which he lost his wife and daughter. "Even though I had a lot more support than a lot of people going through tough times today, it was hard. It was hard," he said. "We cared for our parents at the end. My dad was months in hospice in our home, same with my mom," Biden said, adding that his whole family had cared for his eldest son, Beau Biden, before he died of brain cancer in 2015. "If we truly want to reward work in this country, we have to ease the financial burden of care that families are carrying," Biden said, adding that to do that "for more families going forward, we have to make long-term federal investments." The first thing Biden pledged to do was provide emergency funding to state, local and tribal governments, enabling them to keep struggling child-care centers and home-care workers afloat throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Both child-care and elder-care providers have been especially hard hit by the deadly virus, as millions of families have opted not to send their children to daycare for fear of infection, and older Americans have chosen to isolate themselves to reduce risk. Beyond the emergency coronavirus funding, Biden's longer-term plan is comprised of three main planks: Expanding child care for kids up to five years old, including universal preschool Expanding care options for elderly and disabled people, particularly community- and home-based care Improving pay and prospects for people who work in the caregiving industry The Biden campaign has so far provided few specifics as to where all this money would come from. But a senior campaign official told reporters a Biden administration would take aim at so-called like-kind exchanges, which allow investors to defer paying taxes on the sale of commercial real estate if the capital gains are reinvested in another property. The official also said they would prevent investors with incomes over $400,000 from using real estate losses to lower their income tax bills. One of master penman Michael Sulls favorite things to write is peoples names. Because so many people cant write their names! They scribble their names. You scribble your name, youre showing a lot of disrespect for yourself. I mean, your name is your most personal form of identification. Youve had it since you were born. And you should write it well, Sull said. In the old days, if you wrote your name well, you were really admired; people could tell if you were a cultured person, that you cared about who you were, it showed about your education, there was a sense of identity. Today nobody thinks about that, and its a shame. So I love to show people how beautiful their names are, Sull said. Writing their names in such a beautiful way has sometimes brought people to tears. (Courtesy of Michael Sull) Sull is credited with the revival of Spencerian scriptcursive handwritingrescuing the American style of writing from near extinction. There have been hundreds of timesIve been doing this for over 40 yearswhen I write peoples names and tears come out. And its not me, its just this style brings that out because it shows them how beautiful handwriting is, how beautiful their name can be, and nobody does it anymore, Sull said. When you converse in person, there are a million little visual cues to take in, Sull said. And you might think thats lost in text correspondence, but its not if you know how to really write. The beauty of Spencerian script, with its nature-inspired curves and room for freedom and embellishment, is that it makes handwriting the act of translating your human thoughts and emotions into visible language. Sulls own great passion for handwriting has inspired a movement, to his delight. Youve got to be a little crazy to do what I did, you know. I wrote a 600-page book, and when I was done, I was $100,000 in debt and had to declare bankruptcy. And I didnt care, because that wasnt important to me. Money comes and money goes, he said. And yet, thats the way your passion really drives you to do these things. And people see that, and its catching. They become part of that with you, and then it enters their life. His one-man mission slowly bore fruit; Sull took on students, who then took on students, and now with social media, his work has spread all around the world in an instant, and the interest is only growing. People find so much beauty in this traditional handwriting style they are brought to tears, even in places where a different language is used. Sulls book has been translated into Chinese, for instance, which has nothing resembling Latin letters. Sulls penmanship greets students at Platt R. Spencer elementary school in Geneva, Ohio. (Courtesy of Michael Sull) A Forgotten Script Few people spend time considering the history of the mechanics of handwriting. After all, it seems to come naturally to us. Just like nobody writes a book about how to brush your teeth, its such a commonplace activity, Sull said. Sulls mother had beautiful handwriting, and as a secretary, she wrote everything by hand until the advent of the typewriter. But Sull himself didnt do much writing until after college and after the Navy. He couldnt find a single book that taught handwriting, but in the 1970s, calligraphy became popular, with guilds popping up all over the country. Sull, a Vietnam-era U.S. Navy veteran, served onboard the USS Pawcatuck from 19711973 as a quartermaster. He is the recipient of the American Spirit Honor Medal. (Courtesy of Michael Sull) I became involved in that, and I really enjoyed it a lot, he said. But at the time, calligraphers across America were writing in European styles, following in the styles of a few famous English and other European type creators. In grade school, students would learn Palmer-style cursive, which was adapted and simplified from Spencerian script. Everybody forgot about American penmanship, and most of the old masters were gone, passed away, Sull said. He had a stroke of fortunebeing in a calligraphy guild led to meeting one of the last living master penmen. His name was Paul OHara, he was born in 1880. When I met him, he was 90, Sull said. OHara was a master from what is considered the Golden Age of penmanship and studied under the master penman Charles Paxton Zaner, who founded the Zanerian College of Penmanship (now the Zaner-Bloser Company). And there was another gentleman, his name was David Fairbanks; he was born in 1913, and he was a master at engrossing, which is doing those big fancy certificates. No one had talked to him about penmanship, when I met him, for 50 years. So I renewed his interest in it; it was something he loved very much. He told me about the history and the story of American penmanship. He taught me this beautiful style of penmanship, Sull said. American handwriting is really, really unique. A Style Based on Nature A quadruple twister O in ornamental penmanship penned on John Neal deluxe lined black paper. (Courtesy of Michael Sull) Platt Spencer was a Romantic. Born in 1800 in a small New York village, he spent his time surrounded by dense forests and by the water. Spencer developed a great love for the beauty of nature, to him a creation of God. The Spencerian script is distinct in its sense of movement, curvature, variety, and contrastelements he gleaned from nature. The English scripts in usewhat the Declaration of Independence was written inwere uniform and by comparison rigid; in this style, everyones handwriting is the same. Spencers script allowed for individuality and personality to shine through. He began teaching handwriting while still a teenager, and the beauty and personality of this style made it a widespread and enduring one. It allowed people to write individually yet have a reference for how to make it look nice, Sull said. From the Civil War up to the typewriter, our story is all handwritten, and primarily in Spencerian script. Over time, others would modify Spencerian script into more simplified versions of American cursive with different methodologies, such as the DNealian cursive style, Zaner-Bloser cursive, the Palmer method, and something between cursive and print with detached letters that still resemble the cursive style. Today, few schools teach cursive at all; we hunch over and scribble, and then dismiss handwriting as inferior. Ironically, the changes we have made for efficiencys sake come at the cost of aches and painsnot just writers cramp in your hand, but the subsequent leaning over your work, and the arm and shoulder, and even back pains. Legibility then suffers too. Spencerian script, on the other hand, requires for many a change in grip, how you hold your arm, and your posture. The Storyteller In the mid-1980s, Sull applied several times to the International Calligraphy Convention to teach Spencerian script, and got rejection after rejection. Its part of our history, so I became a one-man mission to write the biggest, most comprehensive book on American penmanship that has ever been done, so that it would bring it back, Sull said. There were three books Sull could find that mentioned Spencer, and one of them said Spencer was English. Sull was determined to bring the script back, because if people only knew about it, he was sure they would love it. Manila, Philipines Spencerian Workshop Dikirim oleh Michael Sull pada Minggu, 10 Juli 2016 They said, Thats just cowboy lettering,' he said. Cowboy in that term means a sense of individual freedom, cowboys are known to do what needed to be done, they dont stand on ceremony, so it was thought that this kind of writing was a free form that just anybody did, there was no discipline to it. But they were wrong. There is quite a bit to it. Sull decided to start his own program, a week-long course on the shores of Lake Erie, where Spencer lived. He directed it for 26 years, later handing it on to co-director and protege Harvest Crittenden who still conducts his week-long course Spencerian Saga today. Sull finished his 600-page, two-volume book in 1989 and went back to give the first copy to his teacher, who was then 101 years old. Master penman Michael Sull. (Courtesy of Michael Sull) It was very emotional. He certified me as a master penman and passed away six months after that, he said. So ever since then, its been my goal to bring back our heritage of American penmanship. Part of being a master penman is making a commitment to teach, and Sull has been to nearly 40 states and 20 countries where people continue to be awed by this beautiful style of writing. Its not me, Im just the storyteller, he said. Thats how much people really admire this American penmanship that everybody had just forgotten about. The Human Touch Sull wrote this message for his students and friends this past spring, adding on social media, As we shoulder the corona virus pandemic in our own way, I constantly have warm thoughts for each of youyour kindness to me, your enthusiasm for penmanship and the joy I get from teaching you. During this time, I wish you the best of health for you and your loved ones, and offer the following to you. (Courtesy of Michael Sull) Spencerian script can be used for everything from note-taking to thoughtful thank you cards; it isnt always fancy, but its easy to see why people so love the embellishments. Along with teaching, many master penmen take on some work for graphic designers (the Coca Cola logo is Spencerian) and take commissionstypically fancy certificates (called engrossing). Perhaps it says something about us, that when we want to celebrate human achievement like a graduation, a victory, a wedding, we prefer something done by hand, imbued with human emotion. Sull is sometimes commissioned to create certificates marking important events in peoples lives. (Courtesy of Michael Sull) It is a unique, human endeavor, Sull said. Aside from writing names, he enjoys being commissioned to write quotes and poems that hold a lot of meaning for the gift recipient, which he says is a beautiful expression of human emotion. By not teaching handwriting, children, adults in their 20s, theres a lot of people who cant read handwriting. So they cant read the documents that founded our country. They cant read the Declaration, the Constitution, the Articles of Confederation, they cant read letters that their grandparents wrote, he said. Theyre missing out on a huge part of the actual communication that established our country, what we call social correspondence of people who came before us, in our family, or the people who were instrumental in our country. I mean, what would it be like if we just learned all about the Civil War by emails? he said. There is a certain amount of your physical being revealed when you write, and that is part of your expression to do it, and its part of what is received by the reader to know what you were like when you wrote it. Your work, your lettering, your handwriting, wont look like anyone elses, he said. Its you, and there is nothing else thats like you. Sull wrote this for National Handwriting Day on Jan. 23, 2014: Handwriting is the intimate expression of emotions, wishes and dreams made visible on paper. Through this personal medium we have the privilege of sharing our Humanity with everyone, or with no one one at all. It is an intensely private occupation that can never be exactly duplicated yet always reveals a glimpse of the writers soul. (Courtesy of Michael Sull) People light up when they realize this, and find a unique way to express themselves. Nobody elses handwriting will look like yours. When it comes out of your pen, it comes out of your pen because it came from your thoughts, he said. Even though everyone has a computer in their pocket and the world is on a digital path, we still have human thoughts and emotions and a wish to express them. And the most personal way to do that thats visible is handwriting. Sull has fun with flourishing at a workshop in Dallas. (Courtesy of Michael Sull) It is a very animated form of expression, he said. You can put inflection in your lettering just like you do with your voice, with fancy letters, or more shade, or bigger letters. It changes text to visible language, and theres nothing else that does that. Its unique human activity, and American penmanship does it to a greater extent than any other language that uses the Roman alphabet. The first time I taught in St. Petersburg, Russia, Russian uses a calligraphy form called Cyrillic alphabet, its a heavy broad-pen hand, heavy letters. Its very beautiful, but very rigid. When I wrote the names of my students, a number of them had tears in their eyes and cried, because they didnt realize they could have such freedom and such beauty in writing their names. Spencer wrote his students names too, Sull said. He would do it beautifully and give it to them as an example, and say, Copy that! It would inspire them to improve their own work. Its a very long tradition, Sull said. South Africa: Speedy arrest of Gauteng MPL murder suspect welcomed The chairperson of the Portfolio Committee on Police, Tina Joemat-Pettersson, has welcomed the speedy arrest and court appearance of a suspect in the murder case of Gauteng Member of the Provincial Legislature, Mapiti Matsena. Monoko Francis Thoka, 29, made a brief appearance at the Pretoria North Magistrate's Court on Monday, facing a murder charge. Matsena was the chairperson of the Provincial Safety and Security Committee. He was allegedly attacked and fatally stabbed at his home in Doornpoorton, Tshwane, on the night of 16 July 2020. The speedy arrest is testament to the good capabilities of the police and will hopefully bring justice to the Matsena family. The arrest should further strengthen the credibility in the police in resolving acts of crime expeditiously, Joemat-Pettersson said. She urged the police to ensure that investigations are completed quickly and qualitatively to ensure that prosecutions deter criminal acts. She said the committee hopes that the police will work with the prosecution team to ensure an effective prosecution. All criminals must be removed from our streets to ensure that safety and security return to our streets. Furthermore, the community must work hand-in-hand with police in the fight against crime, as crime has social and economic impacts on everyone, the chairperson said. The committee has extended its heartfelt condolences to the Matsena family for his senseless and brutal murder. The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Khehla John Sitole, has applauded the Acting Provincial Commissioner, Major General Johan Ndlovu and his team for their speedy and positive response to the 72-hour Activation Plan. The police have appealed to anyone, who may have any information on crime, to contact the SAPS via Crime Stop on 086 00 10111. Information may also be provided to the SAPS via MySAPSApp, an application which can be downloaded on any android or iPhone. All information will be treated with the strictest confidence and callers may remain anonymous, National Commissioner spokesperson, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo, said. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. The Suspect, Yusuf Police operatives from Satellite Town in Lagos have arrested the notorious leader of a gang and he reportedly claimed he was the son of a Lagos monarch. The man identified as Yusuf aka Prince, was arrested at Abule Oshun where he allegedly led his gang to a warehouse to rob and extort the owners. Trouble was said to have started after members of the gang stormed a warehouse in Abule-Osun with the intention of extorting money from the owner but the attempt was resisted leading to a fierce crisis. The gang reportedly wounded scores of people and destroyed properties in the process. Unconfirmed report claims that two persons were feared killed during the crisis that erupted Saturday morning, July 18, and their bodies were taken away to an unknown place. Yusufs arrest comes after several months manhunt. He had reportedly been on the polices wanted list for a series of crimes. When he was arrested, he allegedly claimed to be the son of a man who claims to be the Oba of Oguntade village in Satellite Town. Lagos State Police PRO, Bala Elkana said: I know we have a particular Yusuf in our custody, which has been on our wanted list for series of crimes in the past, around that axis. I dont know whether hes a son to any Oba somewhere. He added: We have a Yusuf arrested who is involved in a series of crimes in the past that were investigating. In a sign that cases are rising outside Tokyo, Aichi Prefecture reported a record-high 51 new coronavirus cases Tuesday while Kyoto Prefecture also confirmed most-ever cases, with 27. Osaka Prefecture reported 72 cases a day after confirming 89 cases in its second-highest daily total ever. Meanwhile, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government reported 237 new cases of the novel coronavirus on Tuesday, surpassing 200 for the first time in three days. That marks a rise from 168 cases on Monday but was below a record 293 cases reported last Friday. Total infections in the capital rose to 9,816 cases. Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike on Tuesday urged Tokyo residents to refrain from nonessential travel outside the capital during the four-day holiday from Thursday. Infections are aspreading across various age groups,a Koike told reporters Monday, warning elderly residents to stay alert. A total of 417 infection cases were recorded nationwide Monday. The national daily count topped 400 for the sixth straight day. The battle begins Christianity, for people who dislike Christianity. A palatable form of faith served with a side of post-liberalism and postmodernism belief. The modern-day battle within Christianity. A war which proposes to separate more than denominational divides, by blurring the definition of Christianity itself. In contrast to historic Christianity, progressive Christianity accepts that there are multiple ways to connect with God. Furthermore, it renounces that Jesus is the only way for us to connect with God. It declares that different religions are alternative pathways to connect with a Universal Christ. Interestingly, this Universal Christ is nothing like the Messiah foretold for thousands of generations in the Old Testament. Nothing like Jesus. Richard Rohr, a progressive theologian explains that Universal Christ is God is everywhere in other people and in creation. He goes as far as to announce that to be a Christian means to see Christ in everything. Progressive Christianity affirms that Jesus teaching provides one of many routes to experience god (the sacredness, oneness, and unity of life). Confused yet by this heresy? Perhaps, you are wondering when Christianity married a New Age belief system and birthed this strange Christian-New Age hybrid? Me too. Deconstruction and demolition I am somewhat ashamed to confess that progressive Christianity is a phenomenon actioned by generation. Birthed from good church abiding youths who grew into adults fed-up with the hypocrisy of the evangelical church. Being a generation willing to question tradition, many young people began the task of deconstructing their faith. Many with the opinion that why worship God when you can imagine an even better god. Although I too believe that there are many benefits to critiquing our childhood faith traditions, I am not in the business of faith demolition. The deconstructionist movement goes beyond rejecting tradition. It manipulates beliefs fundamental to the Christian faith. It scoffs at historic beliefs which portray humanity as fallen, inherently sinful, and in need of redemption. Rather, the deconstruction movement denies the reliability of the Bible and encourages people to look inward for the meaning of life. Apart from being inherently misleading, the deconstruction movement has resulted in many people renouncing their faith either becoming progressive Christians or agnostic. The battle as old as time What progressive Christianity fails to acknowledge is that although there are many quirky and arguably unbiblical traditions in the church, the Bible is inherently the Word of God. Therefore, before we decide to write-off Christianity, we need to utterly understand what we are renouncing whether it be tradition or God Himself. The reason why these grown-up youths have become so mislead in their faith is the fact they essentially do not know the Word of God. They have grown-up going to kids church where the purpose was primarily social. Instead of reading the Bible, they have spent their Sunday mornings playing games that differ little to Scouts or Girl Guides. This results in a generation of biblically illiterate adults. Adults, who now attempt to reform the definition of Christianity? Where to from here? Christianity for people who dislike Christianity is it possible? Does deducting from the Word of God create a more palatable form of Christianity? Or rather does it create the greatest act of treason again God Himself? It is time for historic Christianity to step-up and match its progressive counterpart. What we need is a counteracting deconstructionist movement whereby people are challenged to question faith traditions and to seek understanding of who God is. The Hungarian low cost airline Wizz Air is launching a number of flights from Zaporizhia to European countries. According to the press service of Wizz Air, on July 20 the carrier began work at the airport in Zaporizhia and performed the first flight from Zaporizhia to Budapest. "Over the next weeks, Wizz Air will launch flights on six more announced routes from Zaporizhia to Dortmund, Gdansk, Wroclaw, Vienna, Krakow and Vilnius. In addition, from October 2020, Zaporizhia travelers will be able to discover the outstanding fashion capital of Italy Milan," the report says. Wizz Air continues to expand its Ukrainian route network and connect European cities with the southeastern part of Ukraine, offering flights on 77 routes to 15 countries from five Ukrainian airports. By Gail Tsukiyama HarperVia. 320 pp. $26.99 --- Gail Tsukiyama's first novel in nearly a decade, "The Color of Air," takes readers to the 1930s Hawai'i of her Japanese father, where sugar was king and labor was hard. Enormous sugar cane and pineapple plantations, owned by privileged white haole families and managed by Portuguese overseers known as lunas, ran on the backs of immigrants seeking a small piece of the American Dream. Tsukiyama's book focuses on those immigrants and some of their descendants, living in the town of Hilo in 1935, on the cusp of the Mauna Loa volcanic eruption. Her characters include the dependable Koji, who recently lost his lifelong love Mariko to cancer. Koji considers himself a surrogate father to Mariko's son, Daniel, recently returned from the mainland at the same time as his high school sweetheart, Maile. These characters all harbor secrets that hold them back from developing deeper relationships. But before we can learn more about their backstories, Mauna Loa erupts: "The great white plumes of smoke turned an ash-filled dusty brown before emerging white again, only to be chased away by a spewing red-hot curtain of lava that blew from the fissures hundreds of feet into the air." The 1935 eruption did threaten Hilo; from late November until December, the lava flow advanced a mile per day. Toward the year's end, troops commanded by Lt. Col. George S. Patton dropped bombs to divert the flow; no one knows whether they were successful or whether the eruption simply ended. Tsukiyama uses this real-life event to great effect, weaving in the beliefs of her characters who think the goddess Pele's anger caused the eruption. "Pele can't stay mad forever," one character says. "Yeah, she can," another replies. She's "not like one of your girlfriends you can sweet-talk out of being mad at you." Daniel was born during an earlier eruption, and his mother liked to say that meant, "Pele will always watch over you." Now, Daniel's not so sure. As he and Maile return home, both are reeling. A well-educated Chicago doctor, he has a diagnosis on his conscience, and Maile is on the run from an abusive relationship. We learn much more about Daniel than Maile, an imbalance that rankles. Tsukiyama makes up for it in part with her wise decision to create sections that dive into earlier history ("Island Voices") and passages in which she allows the dead to speak ("Ghost Voices"). These interstitials not only provide background and crucial information, they also make the 1930s material feel more urgent and contemporary than it otherwise might in a historical novel. As Daniel cares for a dementia-ridden Hilo elder, we see that the traditions of Hawai'i need not be subsumed by modernization; Western medicine can coexist with indigenous remedies. We also see, through Koji's memories of the fight to unionize the plantations, that some forms of modernization aren't simply niceties. In "The Color of Air," the beauty is in finding the balance. --- Patrick is the editor, most recently, of "The Books That Changed My Life: Reflections by 100 Authors, Actors, Musicians and Other Remarkable People." Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 12:28:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Aerial photo taken on July 21, 2020 shows the landslide site in Mazhe Village of Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, central China's Hubei Province. A landslide has blocked a river in central China's Hubei Province, forming a barrier lake that threatens nearby villages and the downstream city of Enshi, local authorities said Tuesday. The barrier lake was formed on the Qingjiang River, a tributary of Yangtze River, in the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, said the flood control and drought relief headquarters of Enshi City. Officials said evacuations of local residents have started. (Xinhua/Xiao Yijiu) WUHAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A landslide has blocked a river in central China's Hubei Province, forming a barrier lake that threatens nearby villages and the downstream city of Enshi, local authorities said Tuesday. The barrier lake was formed on the Qingjiang River, a tributary of Yangtze River, in the Enshi Tujia and Miao Autonomous Prefecture, said the flood control and drought relief headquarters of Enshi City. Flood water may break through the lake "at any moment" to trigger a flood, the headquarters said. Officials said evacuations of local residents have started. Enditem Intelligence says one invader was killed and another two were wounded as Joint Forces returned fire. One Ukrainian soldier was killed and one was wounded as Russia-led forces mounted 17 attacks in Donbas, eastern Ukraine, on Monday, July 20. "Russia'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 21. "Unfortunately, as a result of enemy shelling, one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and one was wounded." The enemy opened fire, using proscribed 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns, sniper rifles, and small arms. Read alsoJFO HQ reveals enemy death toll in Donbas over week Under attack came Ukrainian positions near the towns of Popasna and Maryinka, and the villages of Myronivskiy, Shumy, Orikhove, Novotoshkivske, Prychepylivka, Luhanske, Starohnativka, Pavlopil, Shyrokyne, Kamianka, Hnutove, Vodiane, and Opytne. Joint Forces returned fire to each enemy shelling. According to intelligence reports, one member of Russia-led forces was killed and another two were wounded on July 20. The enemy did not attack Ukrainian positions from 00:00 to 07:00 Kyiv time on July 21. No casualties have been reported since Tuesday midnight. Carriageworks, the state's most high profile arts casualty of the COVID-19 lockdown, has been saved from liquidation with it set to reopen as a much leaner organisation. Creditors overwhelmingly voted to accept a multimillion-dollar philanthropic-led bailout of the multi-arts venue at a teleconference meeting on Tuesday morning, guaranteeing the entitlements of staff and returning between 20 and 30 cents in the dollar to unsecured creditors. Carriageworks: soon to reopen its doors. Credit:Rhett Wyman The arts organisation was likely to emerge from its near-death experience more "financially risk-averse" in terms of its future artistic program, chief executive officer Blair French said. On-site activity would return only as COVID-19 restrictions were lifted, Mr French said, while the reopening of the Carriageworks Farmers Market is planned for early August. Staff would return part-time, on a needs basis, over coming weeks as the organisation built up its operations. Rajasthan polices director general has written to his counterparts in Haryana and Delhi seeking cooperation in the special operation groups (SOG) probe in a case related to alleged attempts to destabilise the Ashok Gehlot-led government, news agency ANI reported on Tuesday. ANI said DGP Bhupendra Yadav wrote his counterpart in Haryana and the commissioner of Delhi Police. Yadavs letter came after the SOGs teams fail to question rebel Congress legislator Bhanwarlal Sharma, who has been booked in connection with an audiotape related to an alleged plan to topple the Rajasthan government, in Haryanas Manesar on Sunday night. Also read: Rahul Gandhi lists govts achievement, crisis in Rajasthan is one of them According to people aware of the developments, the team went to a resort where it suspects the rebel Congress MLAs are staying but was not allowed to enter the premises by the hotel management. It was asked to come back in the morning. Acting on a tip-off, a team has been sent to Manesar to quiz Sharma. A notice has been sent to the residence of Sharma in Churu and Jaipur, said Ashok Rathore, additional director general of police, SOG. Important details have been obtained from [alleged middleman Sanjay] Jain. We are verifying that, Rathore said. Jain was arrested on Friday night on charges of offering money to Congress and independent MLAs with an aim to dislodge the Ashok Gehlot government in Rajasthan. A court in Jaipur remanded Jain to four days in police custody on Saturday. He received Rs 100 crore from an unidentified mastermind to lure three lawmakers, said an official of SOG, which is probing the case. Also read: In Rajasthan crisis today, hearing in high court and Congress party meeting A SOG official said Jain, Ashok Singh and Bharat Malani all suspected middlemen were arrested in the case. Before that, another SOG team was not allowed to enter the ITC Grand Bharat resort in Nuh on Friday, where several MLAs from Rajasthan have gathered as part of a rebellion of former deputy chief minister Sachin Pilot. The five-member special police team from Jaipur was surrounded by dozens of Haryana police personnel outside the luxury resort. The team, which arrived to question one of the MLAs in connection with an audio recording that suggested a possible attempt to break the government in the state, was initially stopped for around one-and-a-half hours before it was allowed to enter the resort. While we've all made our sacrifices during the Covid-19 pandemic, for Irish people living and working abroad it can be particularly tough. Perhaps the toughest thing about dealing with the situation is the uncertainty and for many living abroad, they simply do not know when they will see their families again. In Toronto, Canada, Curracloe native Louise Piper, her partner David Fitzpatrick and their near two year-old daughter Frankie Fitzpatrick are effectively stuck. Unable to return home to family, they've also had to postpone their wedding plans as the fall-out from the pandemic rumbles on. Toronto has seen over 100,000 confirmed cases and, like Ireland, they are starting the process of re-opening and hopeful of returning to some form of normality. Like Ireland, while many have lost their jobs in Canada, either temporarily or permanently, Louise has never been busier as her work pertains directly to the pandemic. 'I suppose we're both very lucky to still be working,' she said. 'In fact I'm working more than normal because I'm working on a Covid vaccine. It's very busy and it's a race to the finish line now for all companies who have something in design or further along. They all need to work together in order to meet the demand for the whole world.' 'I've always worked remotely and was doing my work in Ireland and flying over and back to Canada but now we are effectively stuck. My partner is on a project where he needs to be in Canada and separating as a family wasn't really an option.' In recent weeks, Toronto residents have been re-emerging and, slowly but surely, the streets are getting busier. 'We are progressing through phases of re-opening at the moment,' Louise explains. 'My daughter is back to play-school and we can work a lot more now. The city of Toronto has enforced the wearing of masks inside any shops etc and they have also taken over part of the main roads around the city for businesses to expand their patios for dining and drinking. There is zero inside dining at the moment. We're lucky with the weather here, but it may not work in Ireland.' However, the hardest part for Louise and her little family, is the uncertainty surrounding when they will see family back home again. 'We're finding it hard not getting home to our family, especially so they can see our daughter,' she said. 'I've read about tourists entering Ireland at the moment and if it's true, it's very frustrating because we've cancelled all our planned flights home to see our family. I really fear that Ireland will go back into lockdown pushing out the time even further before our family can see our daughter again. It's been since Christmas now, which really isn't that Long in the grand scheme of things I suppose. While it's part of choosing to live abroad, it's upsetting all the same.' Louise, David and Frankie had planned on returning to Ireland in March before going to Portugal to book their wedding. They've re-booked their March flights for September, but Louise has her doubts as to whether they will be able to fly at that stage either. In the meantime, all they can do is make the best of things, stay in touch with loved ones at home by phone and Zoom and continue to work away until things calm down a little more. 'We've very much laid low and haven't gone out much at all,' said Louise. 'But we did go out for a meal tonight. One lane of the road on either side was set aside for restaurants and bars to open in a bid to make some money this summer. Winter will be a different story.' A recent writ petition on renaming India as Bharat, which got dismissed by the Supreme Court, is discussed. There are political motives behind naming or renaming a place, but Hindustan, Bharat, and Hindare all part of the package that is India. Earlier in June, the Supreme Court of India heard a writ petition that sought to remove the name India from Article 1 of the Constitution. As it stands, Article 1 reads: India, that is Bharat, shall be a Union of States. The petitioner argued that the national name India was one given by the colonial Raj, and was thus a symbol of slavery. As legal principle, the petitioner proffered Article 21, the fundamental right to life and personal liberty, to argue that the continued use of such a colonial relic violated the citizens right to call their nation by its rightful name, Bharat. Bharat, the petition added, is favourably associated with the legacy of the anti-colonial resistance, and was therefore preferable. Seeking the exercise of the Courts writ jurisdiction in public interest, the petitioner sought the direction to the union government, through the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs, to remove the allegedly offensive national name via an amendment to Article 1 of the Constitution. On 3 June 2020, the Supreme Court dismissed the petition with the advice that it be treated as a representation by the appropriate Ministry. (W)e cant do it, the Court reportedly said (Indian Express 2020). Past Efforts A new public service announcement makes a point that federal leaders have largely overlooked: Asian-Americans are facing a surge of harassment linked to fears about the coronavirus pandemic. The spot, which debuted on Tuesday, includes testimonials from a firefighter, a nurse, a driver, an artist, the celebrity chef Melissa King and others, who describe being told to go back to China or having people spit in their direction. The somber ad, produced by the nonprofit Advertising Council with help from the Emmy-winning writer Alan Yang, ends with a request: Fight the virus. Fight the bias. Anxiety about the novel respiratory virus, which was first detected in Wuhan, China, has fueled xenophobia and bigotry toward people of Asian descent. A coalition of civil rights groups recorded more than 2,100 incidents in 15 weeks; the New York City Commission on Human Rights recently described a sharp increase in instances of hostility and harassment. A list of recent cases compiled by the Anti-Defamation League chronicles surging reports of xenophobic and racist incidents, including Asian-owned stores defaced with racist graffiti, video chats disrupted by anti-Asian comments and people being beaten or denied entry to businesses. Former United States secretary of state Hillary Clinton on Tuesday blamed the Trump administration's 'inconsistent' foreign policy for the current Chinese territorial aggression against its own people and neighbours, including India. Clinton, who lost to President Donald Trump in the 2016 elections, claimed that both Russia and China are benefitting from his weak foreign policy. However, the Trump administration has asserted that no administration in the past has been tougher on China than President Trump. "And if you're China, which is an easy jump to make, and you're looking at the chaos that the Trump administration has created in the world, while you're trying to assert yourself more, while you're cracking down internally on dissent, on the Uyghurs, setting up surveillance nation, trying to dominate the South China Sea, engaging in border skirmishes with India," she said. The troops of India and China are locked in a standoff in several areas along the Line of Actual Control in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The situation deteriorated last month following the Galwan Valley clashes that left 20 Indian Army personnel dead. China is also engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area. "All this other activity that we're watching with some concern coming out of China, well, Donald Trump is your biggest ally," Clinton said. "You know, his being president with his incoherent, inconsistent foreign policy has given you a tremendous opportunity," said the former top American diplomat. A day after Democratic party's presidential nominee Joe Biden warned that Russia, China, Iran and some other foreign players are working to interfere in the US presidential elections, Clinton told MSNBC in an interview that she is 'glad' that the former vice president and his campaign are speaking out about what they are learning from intelligence briefings. "It's very clear that Russia succeeded. They believe that they were able to influence the minds and even the votes of Americans, so why would they stop? They really want to pursue their agenda of dividing us, undermining trust within our country, electing, helping to elect someone favourable to their agenda," Clinton said. Clinton said she was happy that Biden, with all of his experience in foreign affairs from the Senate, was trying to warn the American people that what happened in 2016 and which she claimed was underway again. Clinton said the US needs to rebuild its alliances with its friends around the world who have been looking at America with confusion, with pity, with deep concern about what this means to the future of democracy and their relationships. "We're going to have to be very clear with adversaries like Russia, Iran, China, North Korea, that we are back in the business of diplomacy, tough-minded diplomacy, to try to deal with the vacuums that have been created by this administration," she said. Clinton said bringing America back in the business would take a lot of time and effort and intensive work. "But it can be done," she said. "I dare not think about what we would be left with if for some reason, Trump were to be re-elected, because then I think the damage to our institutions, to the rule of law, to America's unity and our role in the world would be much, much harder to repair," Clinton said in response to a question. First China-Europe freight train with only toys departs from E Chinas Yiwu A train loaded with 94 TEUs of toys departed from the Yiwu West Railway Station in Yiwu, east Chinas Zhejiang province, bound for the Czech capital Prague, on Tuesday morning. It is the first China-Europe freight train carrying toys arranged by China to meet market needs. The first China-Europe freight train carrying toys departs from Yiwu in east Chinas Zhejiang province. (Photo/Li Xulong) The train X8020 is scheduled to arrive in Prague in 15 days. By July 20, the China-Europe freight trains running between Yiwu and European cities had made a total of 314 trips this year, transporting 29,408 TEUs of commodities, up 183.59 percent year on year. The train service has become an efficient international logistics network for transporting commodities, supplies for the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic and daily necessities to European countries. China has been the Czech Republics largest trading partner outside the European Union, while the Czech Republic is Chinas second largest trading partner in Central and Eastern Europe. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Inforial (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta, Indonesia Tue, July 21, 2020 07:00 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f2eb4 4 Inforial Free Many of us are familiar with this issue: the high prevalence of childhood stunting in Indonesia. According to the Health Ministrys 2019 basic health research, the prevalence rate of stunted children under 5 years old stands at 27.7 percent. This means 28 out of 100 children live with the issue. Despite a slight improvement in Indonesian childrens nutrition, stunting prevalence remains high and efforts to combat it are hampered by the COVID-19 pandemic. Amid the high stunting prevalence in Indonesia, it is reported that more than 200 children, including newborns and those under 5 years old, are believed to have died from COVID-19 in the country as the virus has devastated the countrys already fragile health system. Prior to the pandemic, more than 2 million Indonesian children have suffered from severe wasting, while more than 7 million others under 5 years of old experienced stunted growth. We are highly concerned about this fact, since several longitudinal studies have shown that stunted children have poor cognitive abilities and educational achievement through later childhood and adolescence. On top of that, stunting has also been shown to have long-term detrimental effects on adult cognitive ability, attained schooling and income. The World Health Organization (WHO) expert committees since 1993 have categorized prevalence ranges, grouping them into low (less than 20 percent), medium (20-29 percent), high (30-39 percent) and very high (more than 40 percent). Meanwhile, wasting below 5 percent was considered as acceptable, around 5-9 percent was deemed poor, between 10 and 14 percent was considered serious and more than 15 percent critical. Based on the WHO prevalence range, Indonesia's stunting and wasting numbers in 2018 were still categorized as high and serious. According to the WHO, stunting is linked to many factors, among them are inadequate nutrition and anemia in women of reproductive age. Malnutrition in children is frequently attributable to the mothers lack of awareness about the importance of consuming nutritious foods during the first 1,000 days or the first two years of a childs life. Amid low awareness about the issue, the number of vulnerable households is expected to rise due to COVID-19, with companies and industries downsizing. With reduced incomes, more parents wont be able to ensure that their children are well nourished. Inadequate nutrition, one of the causes of stunting, is a complex issue. It is crucial that the government and all relevant parties work together and act swiftly to ensure the well-being of children amid the pandemic, particularly those from poor households. JakPost webinar on stunting prevalence The Jakarta Post webinar series will discuss necessary efforts to put the health of Indonesian children at the center of policy development to reduce stunting during the pandemic. In commemoration of National Childrens Day, which falls on July, 23, the series, a partnership between Tanoto Foundation and The Jakarta Post Foundation The Jakarta Posts philanthropic arm, will feature authoritative speakers from relevant stakeholders to bring about diverse points of view regarding the matter to enlighten the audience on problems, challenges and possible solutions pertaining to childrens health. The series is to highlight issues, such as: Job losses, an overloaded healthcare system and limited access to food supplies amid the health crisis could exacerbate the already poor living conditions of children deemed most susceptible to stunting and wasting. Possible inequality of data and health services, especially related to services given to patients outside Jakarta. Lessons learned from other neighboring countries, like Malaysia, Vietnam, Singapore and Thailand since no deaths were reported among children so far. Efforts necessary to avoid the worst-case scenario as the global number of children dying before their 5th birthday could increase for the first time in decades, according to UNICEF. The Zoom webinar will be held in Indonesian from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. on Thursday, July 23, and will feature: Fasli Jalal, professor of public health and rector of YARSI University Bambang Widianto, executive secretary of the National Team for Accelerated Poverty Reduction (TPN2K) Samuel Thomas Clark, the World Bank senior social development specialist Eddy Henry, Tanoto Foundation of head of Early Childhood Education and Development Prof. Fasli Jalal will speak on: What is stunting and how bad is the current state in Indonesia? Why it poses a serious threat to the future of Indonesian children, how the pandemic has worsened severe wasting and stunting, as well share expert recommendations to tackle severe wasting and stunting during the pandemic. Bambang Widianto will talk about: Government programs to fight stunting, new strategies and initiatives formed during the pandemic to scale-up prevention and treatment services for malnourished children, challenges and opportunities in putting children at the center of policy development to reduce stunting in Indonesia. As an expert in social development, Samuel Thomas Clark understands the relationship between poverty and a nations progress and will give insight into: How bad will the pandemic upend Indonesias economy and poverty reduction progress and impact stunting prevalence, lessons learned from other countries, as well as share advice on strategies to stop COVID-19 from undoing decades of progress. Eddy Henry will share Tanoto Foundations (TF) experience in fighting stunting and cover various topics, including TFs support for the governments program to reduce stunting. The JakPost webinar will be useful for individuals ranging from activists, public and private sector executives, government officials, academics and researchers ,as well as those interested in seeking information about the latest developments in childrens heath, stunting in particular, and in establishing a partnership to work hand-in-hand in combating stunting. Extinction Rebellion climate change protesters have blocked one of Brisbane's busiest roads, sparking peak hour chaos. A small army of activists stopped traffic at a major intersection on Sandgate Road in inner-city Albion in what they described as a 'seven minute swarm' on Tuesday morning. Traffic came to a standstill, blocked by protesters holding large banners as they demanded action on climate change. They claimed that the climate crisis would kill more people than the coronavirus, just hours before Victoria announced another three elderly women had lost their lives to the disease. Protesters stood in a line to block one of Brisbane's busiest roads on Tuesday morning (pictured) 'There is no normal to go back to, climate collapse is imminent on our current path,' Extinction Rebellion Brisbane captioned the live streamed footage on Facebook. 'We need to flatten the curve that will lead to many more deaths than COVID-19. 'A binding Citizens Assembly on getting to net zero emissions by 2025 will take the power out of the hands of corrupt politicians and let the people decide how stop this mess.' Some protesters wore face masks to protest themselves as the ongoing pandemic continues. Motorists and truck drivers frustrated by the delays beeped their horns as the traffic jam grew by several hundred metres. Traffic came to a standstill as protesters made their climate change message loud and clear (pictured on Tuesday) One protester described the traffic disruptions as a 'small inconvenience and price to pay' for the mass extinction and complete climate collapse that could occur in the next few years unless changes are made. 'We can see how quickly people and the government can respond to a crisis such as COVID-19 ... we know that it is possible to draw down our carbon emissions and get to net-zero in our carbon emissions,' the woman explained in the footage. She added the pandemic has demonstrated how quickly the government and Australians can respond in times of crisis. One protester (pictured) described the major traffic disruptions as a 'small inconvenience' 'There's been complete inaction on the climate crisis,' the protester said. 'We know that it is possible to draw down our carbon emissions and get to net zero in the nest five years. 'It is a lack of political will and action that is preventing this from being achieved.' The livestream was briefly interrupted by an angry passer-by, who told off the protesters for blocking the road. 'Let them (the traffic) through,' the man told the group as he crossed the road. Queensland Police said no arrests were made at the protest. The Uttarakhand high courts (HC) landmark verdict on Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board on Tuesday was welcomed by chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat, as it seeks to improve the facilities for pilgrims, the preservation of the shrines and their infrastructure and also ensure Devbhoomis priest communitys well-being. Rawat described the formation of the board as the biggest corrective action in the states history since its formation on November 9, 2000. The CM made the statement while interacting with media persons at his official residence and reacting to the HC judgement, which earlier in the day had dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) filed by BJP Rajya Sabha (RS) member Subramanian Swamy against the state governments takeover of the Char Dhams and 51 other shrines through the formation of Board. The court in its ruling upheld the constitutional validity of Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019. We welcome the HC ruling and accept it. We hope that all others opposing it will also accept it, as the government has maintained that the Board has been formed to improve the facilities for pilgrims, preservation of the shrines and development of the infrastructure, said Rawat. The Board was not formed to usurp the rights of the all-important priest community of the Char Dhams, but to alleviate their plight. It was never our governments intention to take back their rights. Our state is known as Devbhoomi because of the priest communitys invaluable services. How can we neglect their well-being? he asked. The CM recounted the bid to form the Board. In 2004, the then CM ND Tiwari had first thought of forming a Board for the Char Dham, but it didnt materialise and he instead formed the Char Dham Development Council. Our government formed a Board for better management of the shrines and facilities for pilgrims, he said. The CM underscored the verdict as not a battle of prestige for anyone. He also allayed the apprehensions of all those, who might have been aggrieved by the judgement. Its not a question of victory or loss, but a concerted bid on how to make the Char Dham yatra better for millions of Hindus across the world, the CM added. Rawat, however, refused to be drawn into any controversy about his party colleague Swamys role, as he had filed the PIL in HC against his government in February and is likely to be smarting under Tuesdays judgement. The PIL had challenged the constitutional validity of the Uttarakhand Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019, by which the administration and control of major Hindu religious institutions have been taken over by the Uttarakhand government or by any authority functioning under the state government. Last December, the Uttarakhand assembly had passed the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board Bill. In January, Uttarakhand Governor Baby Rani Maurya gave her assent for the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019. Aggrieved priests had threatened that they would move the HC against the Act, as they claimed to have been kept in the dark about the new law. They had alleged that the government took the step to ensure its control over shrine-related issues, bypassing the powerful priest community. On February 10, a four-member delegation of the states priest body met Swamy and submitted documents that were required to file a PIL along with a copy of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Act, 2019. Soon, Swamy had filed the PIL against the formation of the Char Dham Devasthanam Management Board and the resultant Act. Ethnic Kayan women gather for a National League for Democracy party campaign rally in Demoso township, eastern Myanmar's Kayah state, Sept. 10, 2015. Hundreds of ethnic Kayan women who used to sell textiles and crafts in Thailand have returned to Myanmar in recent months, forced to leave when the coronavirus pandemic triggered the collapse of the Thai tourism sector, with only grueling farmwork available back home. The returnees, famous for wearing stacked brass neck coils that appear to lengthen their necks, made a living in the northern Thai tourist city of Chiang Mai by selling colorful traditional attire and handicrafts and posing for photos. But when COVID-19 shut down Thailands tourism industry, the Kayan, a subgroup of the Karenni or Red Karen people, could not make a living and returned with their families to eastern Myanmars Kayah state to perform casual labor, some of the returnees told RFAs Myanmar Service. The pandemic is the main reason they have returned, Bae To, the administrator of Kayah states Pan Pet village tract, told RFA on Tuesday. Business is not good on the Thai side [of the border]. Tourists dont come anymore. They could not make enough money to make a living there, so they had to return, he said. Bae To said about 270 Kayan women wearing brass neck rings recently had arrived in the village tract in Kayahs Demoso township. Local authorities in Kayah state estimate that at least 500 Kayan women who wear the neck coils now live in the Hantawkhu and Lopu communities of the Pan Pet village tract and in Daw Sabone village in Loikaw township. The Kayan people live mainly in villages in Demoso and Loikaw townships and in Pekon township of southern Shan state. Struggling alone Mu Kyat, a 70 year-old Kayah woman, said she worked in the tourism industry in Thailand for more than 10 years, but can barely make ends meet now after going without steady work since returning to Myanmar in April. I am struggling alone, she told RFA, adding that she must support her only son. Mu Kyat said she sold woven items in Thailand and received 20-30 Thai baht less than one U.S. dollar to pose for a photo for tourists. Now, I do nothing and stay at home, she said. Because I dont have any income, I want to return to Thailand if I can when the situation improves. The women also received financial help from the Thai government which provided expenses for their stay in the country along with subsidies of 1,000-5,000 baht (U.S. $31-157) per month depending on the type of work they performed. But Kayan women who have returned to Myanmar report that they now make only about 6,000 kyats (U.S. $4.31) a day from farmwork. Mutee, a Kayan woman who returned in March after working 12 years in Thailand, said she has resumed doing farmwork for lack of another means of making money. Before, I worked on farms, she told RFA. Then I went to Thailand because I could not make much money here. Now, I am back from Thailand because of the pandemic. Local governments in Kayah state have been trying to develop community tourism in the region, but the number of visitors to the area, particularly to the Pan Pet village tract and Daw Sabone village, has plunged. Farming is the only viable choice, the Kayan woman said. Mutee said she preferred to work in Thailand because farmwork in Myanmar is very laborious and exhausting. It is not good for me, she added. Hardships for everyone Maung Thar, who is in charge of community tourism in the Pan Pet village tract, said up to 50 percent of the women from Kayan tribes relied on the tourism industry. Their survival is connected entirely to the industry, he said. Many local handicraft shops are now closed. Even with farmwork, its related to community-based tourism, so it has caused hardships for everyone. Hla Myo Swe, minister of Bamar ethnic affairs in Kayah state, said the state government has no plans to provide assistance to the Kayans who have returned from Thailand. We dont have any plans to help these returning Kayan people, he told RFA. We have an awareness that these people are facing hardships. As a Bamar ethnic affairs minister myself, I will follow the state governments plans, [but] we dont have any specific plans to help these people. As of Tuesday, Thailand had registered 3,255 confirmed cases of COVID-19 and 58 related deaths. A July 1 report by the U.N. Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) estimated that Thailand could lose U.S. $47 billion, or 9 percent of GDP this year, as a result of the pandemics impact on tourism. During the coronavirus pandemic, hundreds of thousands of the 2.8 million registered foreign workers in Thailand of which those from Myanmar make up the largest share returned to their home countries after losing their jobs when their employers closed businesses, according to NGOs in the region. Reported by Soe Soe Htet for RFAs Myanmar Service. Translated by Ye Kaung Myint Maung. Written in English by Roseanne Gerin. Two years ago, Aarti started a small business selling traditional handicrafts online, supporting artisans based in rural Karnataka. After an initial phase of struggle, she had a steady stream of orders and was looking to procure manufacturing equipment and scale the impact of her business by supporting more local talent. All this came to a grinding halt in March 2020. The pandemic, and subsequent lockdown, meant severe restrictions on travel and business. Aartis new equipment couldnt be delivered and she had no way to move her existing inventory. She was slowly burning through her savings and was unsure about how she would continue to provide basic income to her staff and artisans. Moreover, her in-laws had moved in with her family, which meant she now had extra caregiving responsibilities. Unfortunately, Aartis story is not unique. 2020 marks 25 years since the adoption of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action, once declared the most progressive blueprint for advancing womens rights. Despite the years that have passed since, this story continues to be the reality for many working women, especially women entrepreneurs, who have had to deal with significant lifestyle changes in the wake of the pandemic, both personally and professionally. We are no strangers to the fact that women are disproportionately impacted during crises. Women make up a larger percentage of health and social care workersprofessions whose representatives are increasingly on the frontline fighting this pandemic. Historically, it has been documented that economic crises widen existing inequalities for women across key facets like access to healthcare, education, and finances. Nearly 40 percent of women in wage employment are estimated to lack access to social protection mechanisms. In the social sector, there have been several articles and online webinars in the past two months that have brought to light how the pandemic and lockdown has exacerbated gender inequities across the board. Does this impact extend to women entrepreneurs? Initial evidence indicates that it does so, disproportionately. Factors impacting women entrepreneurs Increase in unpaid care work One in four of women entrepreneurs surveyed by WeConnect International stated that the increased care demands placed on them, with families being physically distanced and confined to their homes, has reduced the time they spend on their businesses. This shouldnt come as a surprise because in most of the Global South, a majority of responsibilities at home have traditionally been borne by women. With support services like domestic help and daycare facilities also being impacted due to the pandemic, women like Aarti are now having to shoulder an increased domestic workload, in addition to trying to keep their businesses afloat. Disproportionate gender balance in affected sectors Small and growing businesses (SGBs) have definitely been one of the hardest hit segments during the pandemic. Close to 40 percent of SGBs in emerging markets are staring at potential failure in the next half of the year. Latest estimates from the Sixth Economic Census suggest that 13.8 percent of Indian establishments are owned by women, majority of which are microenterprises and self-financed. However, many of these women-led businesses are found in sectors like tourism, education, and beauty, which are also the ones most affected1 due to new physical distancing measures. Although we are still computing the actual economic losses, a recent survey conducted by us at the Aspen Network of Development Entrepreneurs (ANDE) shows that women-led businesses are twice as likely to consider shutting shop. Lack of external investment Prior to the pandemic, supporting and catalysing women entrepreneurship was a topic that was gaining traction across intermediary organisations and investment firms. Gender-lens investing was becoming a part of mainstream conversations. Now, all gears have shifted to focus on immediate relief. As one entrepreneur stated, We were just about to raise our seed equity round when the pandemic struck. The world of equity impact investing is hard to break into for a women entrepreneur, and this has definitely set us back even further.2 Once we enter the recovery and rebuilding phase, it is likely that women will take longer to resume their business/careers, (as was seen in the last downturn). This will only reinforce and widen existing investor biases and slow down investment in women-led enterprises. An assumption of access A lot of support services for entrepreneurs have shifted online to ensure that they have access to the guidance they require even in the absence of physical convenings. However, in doing so, the assumption that both men and women have equal access to space, internet, and available time to leverage these resources, is in itself flawed. Additionally, women often do not have the same network of peers to reach out to for moral or technical support. What can we do? Supporting women entrepreneurs with relevant trainings, and providing access to flexible financing options to help keep their businesses afloat are definitely good places to start. We have an opportunity to pivot and rebuild support structures. Here are some things to keep in mind as we do so: Make interventions gender responsive We need to ensure that, in addition to considering gender norms, roles, and relations, our interventions understand how these affect access to resources, and offer remedial action to overcome these obstacles. Collaborating with known experts in the field is a good way to work towards this. For example, the Indian Women Social Entrepreneurs Network (IWSEN), formed from one such collaboration, seeks to provide women social entrepreneurs across India with leadership and management skills to help scale their businesses, especially in these times. Make financial services more inclusive Women in developing countries tend to not have the same access to information, skills, or awareness to fully leverage financial services. The pandemic provides governments and private finance providers an opportunity to design or tweak existing financial services to be made more inclusive for women entrepreneurs, both from rural and urban backgrounds. Focus on digital inclusion SGBs are undergoing a transformation to make it through this crisis. In a country where the female internet user population is only half of that of the men, with the divide being more distinct in rural India, this overhaul of services to digital platforms can widen inequalities. Entrepreneur-support organisations must work with SGBs to set in place an inclusive plan to gradually build digital awareness and adoption. This pandemic has acted as a mirror for the unequal systems and structures we had become accustomed to as a society. However, it is also presenting us with an opportunity to change the status quo and look at designing inclusive and sustainable support systems for entrepreneurs. Let us use it to build back better. This article first appeared on India Development Review Lets get to the news. Our numbers are surging. And youve just told The Atlantic that weve got to do a reset, which, of course, makes perfect sense. But given the reluctance of some governors, businesses and citizens to abide by the basic rules of social distancing and mask wearing, is it possible to get this pandemic under control without a federal response? It would be better if things were a little more uniform. It just seems that unfortunately, in some sectors, theres this feeling that theres opening the country on one end of the spectrum, and public health measures that suppress things and lock them down on the other. They should not be opposing forces. The guidelines that we put out a couple of months ago, those should be followed and appreciated as the vehicle to open the country, as opposed to the obstacle to opening the country. You said it would be nicer if some things were more uniform. Like what? The fundamentals. Wear a mask. Avoid crowds. Close the bars. Bars are the hot spots But Americans have already been told this, right? And we still dont do those things. If you were an executive for the day, what lever would you pull? But Jennifer, would you want me to say something thats directly contrary to what the president is doing? Thats not helpful. Then all of a sudden you dont hear from me for a while. I definitely dont want anyone weaponizing anything youre saying. Ive just been doing this for so long, and Im trying to do my best to get the message across without being overtly at odds, OK? The only thing I can do is to get out there with whatever notoriety or recognition I have and say, these are the four or five things. Please pay attention to them. And if we do that, I feel confident that well turn this around. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed the Parivartan rally at Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh as part of the Bhartiya Janta Partys UP assembly polls campaign. During his speech, PM Modi once again attacked opposition for protesting against demonetiosation of old Rs 500 and Rs 1000 currency notes. He also recalled the period of Emergency in 1975 when much of the press freedom was curtailed by ruling Congress party. Here are the top quotes from PM Modis speech at Ghazipurs Parivartan Rally PM Modi on Ghazipur: (Read live updates here) #I salute this land(Ghazipur) which gave birth to Vir Abdul Hamid, who taught Pakistan a lesson in 1965 war. #Ghazipur's leader in 1952 raised the issue of region's poverty to Pandit Nehru, which led to set up of Patel committee: PM Modi #Will fulfil promises made my eight PMs from UP before me: PM ModiPM Modi on Ghazipurs development #Will work towards encouraging corruption free and prosperous vegetable trade from the region PM Modi in Ghazipur #Scheme for crop insurance will help scores of farmers: PM ModiPM Modi on demonetisation #No draught of cash in India, but the problem is that it is in wrong hands: PM Modi #Sensitive to see common man's problem from demonetisation, trying to abate it as much as possible: PM Modi #PM Modi demands support during tough decisions PM Modi attacks Congress: #I will complete incomplete work of Pandit Nehru, even as his family blames me: PM Modi #Modi hits out at Congress, recalls 19month long Emergency PM Modi on link between terrorism and black money: #Enemy is flooding our nation with these counterfeit notes. We need to put an end to this: PM Modi #Yes, those against me are strong people. But, I will not be scared of them. I will not leave the path of truth & integrity: PM Modi For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The requested page is currently unavailable on this server. Back to [RTHK News Homepage] We were really in a hurry to make and deploy this app as quickly as possible to help slow down the spread of the virus, said Jung Chan-hyun, an official at the Ministry of the Interior and Safetys disaster response division, which oversees the app. We could not afford a time-consuming security check on the app that would delay its deployment. The ministry fixed the flaws in the latest version of the app, which was released in Google and Apple stores last week. South Korean officials said they had not received any reports that personal information was improperly retrieved or misused before the vulnerabilities were patched. Governments worldwide have raced to deploy virus-tracing apps only to face complaints about poor security practices. With the software gathering so many details about users, their health and their locations, the apps are prime targets for hackers. But pressure to act quickly appears to have allowed software with inadequate security features to be rushed out in several nations. The Times found this spring that a virus-tracing app in India could leak users precise locations, prompting the Indian government to fix the problem. Amnesty International discovered flaws in an exposure-alert app in Qatar, which the authorities there quickly updated. Other nations, including Norway and Britain, have had to change course on their virus apps after public outcry about privacy. In April, South Korea began requiring all visitors and residents arriving from abroad to isolate themselves for two weeks. To monitor compliance, they had to install an app whose name in Korean means Self-Quarantine Safety Protection. Amber Heard has accused ex-husband Johnny Depp of abusing her both physically and verbally and that at various times during their tempestuous relationship she feared for her life. On the first day of her testimony at Britains High Court in London on Monday in Depps libel trial against The Sun newspaper over an April 2018 article that labelled him a wife beater, Heard also denied accusations she was a heavy drug-taker and drinker as well as being controlling and abusive herself. I was never violent towards him, she said in court. When I felt my life was threatened, I tried to defend myself. Depp, 57, is suing The Suns publisher, News Group Newspapers, and the papers executive editor, Dan Wootton, over the article. The Hollywood star, who strongly denies abusing Heard, was at the court to hear his ex-wifes evidence. Heards testimony is due to last for three days. She also described an incident in January 2015 in a hotel room in Tokyo over a prenuptial agreement between herself and Depp, and suggested there was an argument about it. There was an argument in a hotel room in Tokyo that resulted in Johnny kneeling on my back and hitting me on the back of the head, she said. In written testimony released as she took to the witness box, Heard said she worried Depp would kill her at various times during their relationship that saw her enduring punching, slapping, kicking, head-butting and choking. She also said some incidents were so severe that I was afraid he was going to kill me, either intentionally or just by losing control and going too far. According to the 34-year-old Heard, Depp explicitly threatened to kill me many times, especially later in our relationship and that he blamed his actions on a self-created third party that he referred to as the monster. Heard said Depp has a unique ability to use his charisma to convey a certain impression of reality and that he is very good at manipulating people. Heard has been present throughout the trial, watching the proceedings as her ex-husband gave evidence over five days. She is facing questioning over 14 allegations of domestic violence that The Suns publisher News Group Newspapers is relying on in its defence of the April 2018 article. Depp and Heard met in 2009 on the set of the film The Rum Diary, which was released two years later. They married in Los Angeles in February 2015. Heard filed for divorce the following year, and the divorce was finalized in 2017. The Suns defence relies on the 14 allegations made by Heard of violence by Depp between 2013 and 2016, in settings including his private island in the Bahamas, a rented house in Australia and the couples downtown Los Angeles penthouse. Depp claims Heard was the aggressor during their volatile relationship, which he has likened to a crime scene waiting to happen. In nine days of testimony at the High Court, judge Andrew Nicol has heard from Depp and from several current or former employees who have backed his version of events. Heard claimed in her written testimony that Depp often didnt remember what he had done because of the amount of alcohol and drugs he had consumed, and that it was as if it hadnt happened for him. The South Atlantic anomaly is a "weak spot" in Earth's magnetic field. (University of Liverpool) In recent years, some researchers have suggested that Earths magnetic field could be about to flip for the first time in more than 700,000 years. Its a moment which could bring chaos to our wired world, but new research from the University of Liverpool suggests that a flip isnt about to happen any time soon. Researchers analysed the South Atlantic anomaly (a magnetic weak point over the ocean), and found that it has existed for up to 11 million years - and does not represent an impending reversal of Earths magnetic field. The South Atlantic anomaly is an area with a significant reduction in the strength of Earths magnetic field, when compared with areas at similar latitudes. Read more: Earths magnetic field can flip 10 times faster than we thought Within the area, protection from harmful radiation from space is reduced, causing technical malfunctions aboard satellites and spacecraft. Some scientists have suggested that it represents the start of the total weakening of the field and a possible upcoming pole reversal. Lead author of the paper, University of Liverpool PhD student Yael Engbers, said: Our study provides the first long term analysis of the magnetic field in this region dating back millions of years. Researchers analysed rocks from the British Island St Helena in the Atlantic Ocean. (Getty) It reveals that the anomaly in the magnetic field in the South Atlantic is not a one-off, similar anomalies existed eight to 11 million years ago. This is the first time that the irregular behaviour of the geomagnetic field in the South Atlantic region has been shown on such a long timescale. It suggests that the South Atlantic anomaly is a recurring feature and probably not a sign of an impending reversal. Read more: Antarctic records hottest temperature ever Engbers said: It also supports earlier studies that hint towards a link between the South Atlantic anomaly and anomalous seismic features in the lowermost mantle and the outer core. This brings us closer to linking behaviour of the geomagnetic field directly to features of the Earths interior. Story continues Research by the University of Liverpool has revealed that strange behaviour of the magnetic field in the South Atlantic region existed as far back as eight to 11 million years ago. Liverpool paleomagnetic researchers analysed the record of Earths magnetic field preserved in igneous rocks from the island Saint Helena, which lies in the midst of the South Atlantic anomaly. Read more: Scientists drill into mysterious lake buried 3,500 feet under Antarctica The geomagnetic records from the rocks covering 34 different volcanic eruptions that took place between eight and 11 million years ago revealed that at these occurrences the direction of the magnetic field for St Helena often pointed far from the North pole, just like it does today. The South Atlantic anomaly is a topic of debate between scientists in this field. The paper Elevated paleomagnetic dispersion at Saint Helena suggests long-lived anomalous behavior in the South Atlantic is published in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UK Recommended Pop-rock star Rick Springfield has amassed an impressive body of acting work over the decades, coming a long way from his 1973 Saturday morning cartoon series Mission: Magic! or his star turn as Dr. Noah Drake on General Hospital. He has earned critical acclaim playing against-type, creepy villain roles on Californication, True Detective, and American Horror Story, and he has even shared the big screen with three-time Oscar-winner Meryl Streep. But suffice to say, the 80s flick that was intended to be his cinematic breakout was never nominated for any Oscars. Springfields musical rom-com Hard to Hold did spawn a hit soundtrack, which celebrates its anniversary this week. But as Springfield tells Yahoo Entertainment with a rueful chuckle, It was a horrible script. It was something I wish I hadn't done, in retrospect. I got a good song out of it, Love Somebody, but that's about it. Hard to Hold came out only three years after Jessies Girl had turned Springfield into an MTV heartthrob, and it was quite scandalous at the time that the movie featured shots of his bare butt considering that his core audience consisted of mostly young girls who wouldnt be able to buy a ticket for an R-rated film. (I know someone accused me of having a body double, but that was me, Springfield quips.) The Motion Picture Association of America eventually gave Hard to Hold a preteen-friendly PG rating, but Springfield shockingly reveals that at one time the film was going to be X-rated, because seriously, the sex scenes were so full-on. The singer clarifies that there was no actual, you know I don't know how to say this on TV no actual insertion of anything. But it was pretty intense. So they cut [the sex scenes] way, way, way, way, way back. 'Hard to Hold' movie poster, 1984. (Photo: Universal Pictures) At the time, the films female lead, Janet Eilber, told the Philadelphia Daily News, "I thought it would be rated PG. After all, the majority of Springfield's fans are teenage girls. But the script plainly called for a nude love scene. I convinced myself it would be a matter of doing the scene under a sheet or something. But two or three days after we shot the scene I realized there was no sheet and there would be no PG." (As one user has observed in a review on IMDB.com: This movie came out before the PG-13 rating came along, so the editing is extremely choppy in places since the producers were trying to avoid an R rating.) Story continues Springfield admits that actually filming the steamy boudoir moments between his character, womanizing rocker Jaime Roberts, and his nemesis-turned-love interest, uptight psychologist Diana Lawson (Eilber), wasnt such a sexy experience despite the fact that their convincing onscreen chemistry was, aside from the music, the movies only saving grace. It was very, very awkward. First of all, there's probably 30 or 40 men and women standing around. And I just walked in, completely naked, Springfield laughs, recalling the robe-robbing on-set moment. You have to break the ice at first, because everybody's uncomfortable. There's no other way around it other than to walk in and go, Here it is! This is all I got! Adding to the on-set awkwardness elsewhere was the fact that supermodel Patti Hansen, who was dating her future husband Keith Richards at the time, played Jaime Robertss crazy ex-girlfriend and bandmate, Nicky Nides. Springfield was apparently such a hot property in the early 80s that even the iconic Rolling Stones guitarist felt compelled to visit during production, just to make sure that nothing was going on between Springfield and Hansen. Actually, Keith came down to the set, because Patti and I got along really well. She's a fabulous girl. And I heard that Keith was, you know, What's going on with you and the Springfield guy? So he came down to the set to check me out I think thats what the story is, says Springfield. It was great to meet him, of course. I had always been a big fan. (Hansen and Richards married in December 1983, shortly after shooting for Hard to Hold wrapped, and theyre still going strong.) Hard to Hold was a bomb, debuting in seventh place in its opening weekend and receiving mostly terrible reviews. But it has become a bit of a cult classic, and its soundtrack went to No. 16 on the Billboard album chart and yielded three Top 40 singles, including the top five smash Love Somebody. And while Hard to Hold didnt quite kick Springfields movie career into high gear as planned, hes still a steadily working and respected actor today. And these days, instead of trying to be a matinee idol, the 70-year-old show business veteran prefers to go for the weird acting jobs, like the murderous priest on AHS or the freaky Dr. Irving Pitlor on True Detective a different sort of doctor from the dreamier and prettier Noah Drake. In fact, Springfield did such a great job in the Pitlor role, which involved wearing layers of scary prosthetic makeup, that people didn't even know it was me, he recalls. I actually read a review that said Wow, whoever played Dr. Pitlor has a serious acting career ahead of him. Check out Rick Springfields extended Yahoo Entertainment interview, in which he discusses his charity single The Wall Will Fall, his memoir, his famous dog Ron, mental health, and much, much more: Read more from Yahoo Entertainment: Follow Lyndsey on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Amazon, Spotify. A western Sydney pub has been fined $5000 for being in breach of New South Wales' latest COVID-19 compliance measures a week after they were rolled out. Liquor and Gaming NSW on Tuesday fined the Auburn Hotel after plain clothes officers discovered patrons sitting too closely at the poker machines on Saturday. Gamblers were sitting side-by-side and the venue's COVID-safe plan was insufficient, Nine News reported. Police also discovered the register guests were asked to sign was full of false information. Liquor and Gaming NSW Compliance Director Dimitri Argeres said the pub was not creating a digital record of its customers, nor registered as a COVID-safe business. 'This really isn't good enough, especially as Auburn Hotel is in Sydney's west which is currently linked to a number of COVID cases,' he said. Liquor and Gaming NSW on Tuesday fined the Auburn Hotel after plain clothes officers discovered patrons sitting too closely at the pokie machines on Saturday 'No premises should be willing to risk its ability to continue trading, least of all in areas where clusters are appearing.' The tough new restrictions for pubs across NSW was implemented from 12.01am on July 17 and requires venues to enforce customer sign-in, physical distancing measures of 1.5 metres and crowd control, depending on the size of the venue. Any business in breach of the latest restrictions could face a penalty of up to $55,000 and a further $27,500 penalty each day an offence continues. The National Tribune reported Mr Argeres added pubs and hospitality venues needed to adhere to the rules in order to remain open and protect workers, customers and the community. 'Yes it's going to mean more administration and some behavioural change, but this is our new normal for the foreseeable future,' he said. The Auburn Hotel's fine comes just a day after a licensed premises at Armidale was issued a penalty infringement notice (PIN) following a breach of public health and safety during the COVID-19 pandemic. New England Police attended the premises on Faulkner Street about 9pm on July 17 to find upward of 30 patrons occupying two small areas of the premises, with no social distancing measures in place. Police said patrons were instructed to vacate the area immediately, which they complied with, and the venue has been spoken to by police. The unnamed venue has since been fined $5,000 for failing to comply with requirements of a Public Health Order - COVID-19. New England Police District Commander Superintendent Scott Tanner said police would continue to work with businesses in relation to their COVID-19 safety plans and provide advice and guidance. 'Whilst it is the responsibility of licensed premises to ensure they're complying with Public Health Orders, the public have to understand they're putting those premises at risk and they may also be held liable,' he said. 'They're putting the livelihoods of these businesses at risk, and if people don't think it's going to happen in our area they only have to look at other regional areas that are being impacted.' The self-described anti-feminist lawyer who authorities said fatally shot the son of a federal judge and wounded her husband in an attack at their Middlesex County home had a case before the jurist and railed against her in a racist and sexist post on his website. Roy Den Hollander also wrote he spent time in Russia, filed a suit against journalists claiming they were preventing President Donald Trump from being elected, and wrote in an online essay last year that he was dying of cancer. The FBI identified Den Hollander as the primary suspect in the shooting Sunday evening at the North Brunswick home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas. Den Hollander was found dead Monday from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in the New York town of Rockland, according to officials. Authorities have not commented on a motive for the shooting, which killed Salas 20-year-old son Daniel Anderl and left her husband, Mark Anderl, hospitalized. Salas was the judge in a 2015 lawsuit he filed in federal court claiming the Selective Service System, which requires men to register for military draft, discriminates against both sexes in violation of Equal Protection as incorporated into the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. A then-20-year-old Morris County woman wanted to register, but was denied because of her gender, according to published reports at the time. Salas ruled the suit could move forward, though Den Hollander has since left the case. CNN reported he told another lawyer he left the case because he was terminally ill. Den Hollander wrote in an online essay in 2019 about having cancer and about a planned hearing apparently before Salas, the first Hispanic woman to be appointed to the U.S. District Court in New Jersey. All of this was a nice stressful addition since it occurred in the middle of preparing for oral argument in a federal case before a lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama, he wrote. In another online screed, Den Hollander wrote he researched Salas background and made racist comments about Hispanic judges. The document was posted on a website with its domain name registered to Den Hollander. He decried Salas earlier legal career, describing her as working for an ambulance chasing firm and representing neer-do-wells as a federal public defender. Den Hollander also criticized Salas for joining politically correct organizations trying to convince America that whites, especially white males, were barbarians, and all those of a darker skin complexion were victims. The document also disparaged Hispanic women on the bench as usually a problem driven by an inferiority complex. Den Hollander graduated from Columbia University Business School with an MBA in 1997, according to a school spokesman, and George Washington University Law School in 1985, a representative for that school confirmed. His resume, posted online on his website, says he worked at the U.S. Department of the Treasury in the mid 1980s, after spending two years as a producer and editor at WABC-TV News in New York City. The suspect gunman worked for a law firm and also a solo attorney, his resume says, including in the 1990s as an attorney, for companies, individuals, and nonprofit organizations in America, Russia, and Ecuador, he wrote. Den Hollander attracted brushes of notoriety over the years as a mens rights advocate, who raged against feminism. Among suits he filed was a case alleging night clubs in New York City discriminate against men by offering ladies nights discounts. Now is the time for all good men to fight for their rights before they have no rights left, a passage on his website read. His site also refers to a Lady Judge who decided one of his cases. He also spent time in Russia and, according to his online resume, worked in Moscow for security and investigations firm Kroll between 1999 and 2000. The company could not be immediately reached Monday night. In another suit, Den Hollander brought an unsuccessful suit against Columbia University that claimed its women studies program discriminated against men, according to the New York Times. The 2008 lawsuit alleged the program demonizes men and exalts women in order to justify discrimination against men based on collective guilt. In all these cases, I tried to use the courts to fight the malignant ideology that has mutated half of the American population into automatons of the PC/Feminist collective. But it was no use--the courts were already infected, a post on his website said. NBC News reported he sued some of the networks anchors and other prominent journalists, claiming they were part of a scheme to prevent President Trump from being elected. Noah Cohen may be reached at ncohen@njadvancemedia.com. The Victim A woman has cried out for justice after her brother suffered a horrific accident at work that cost his life. The woman said her brother worked for a steel industrial company in Amuwo Odofin but occupational hazard led to his death. She further alleged that the company is trying to cover up her brothers death and she asked Nigerians to help her get justice for her brother. Sharing a photo of her brother before the accident, she wrote: I lost my brother yesterday (July 16) to an accident at work,he works with saba steel industrial company at amuwo odofin we were not told what happened until we got to hospital his corpse was not shown to us until we start fighting with people from the company this is my brother before. She then shared graphic photos of her brother after the accident and wrote: The accident we were told it was a minor accident on his arm when we got to the hospital with plenty fight and shouting we were allowed to see our brother this was what we saw my brother head was splinted into two that was why they were hiding the corpse telling us we are Muslim let them dress him up for burial. It was a painful exit we need to people who can help is fight for our brother they are trying to cover it up pease tag all everybody that can fight retweet till it get to the proper authorities cause with what we are hearing and seeing. She also shared a video of her brothers corpse and wrote: They want to sweep it under the rug they are telling is insurance cover him that all we are hearing my brother his a graduate no work thats why he was working with this company they killed him and they are not telling us how it happened. NSW Wont Make Masks Compulsory Yet The NSW government wont mandate the wearing of masks in public despite the growing COVID-19 caseload, with the premier noting indoor hospitality venues pose the biggest risk for potential outbreaks. Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she wont yet follow Victorias lead by enforcing mask use in public but urges people to wear masks when social distancing is impossible. She says social distancing remains vital while NSW Health encourages people to avoid non-essential travel. What NSW Health and myself are worried about most at this moment in time is what people are doing when theyre entering hospitality venues You cant wear a mask when youre having a meal, Berejiklian told 2GB radio on Tuesday. Thats where the biggest risk is at the moment, indoor events. The health advice to date has served NSW extremely well and its not for politicians to make this stuff up as we go. The NSW Rail, Tram and Bus Union called on the Berejiklian government to provide all public transport workers with masks if they requested it and encourage mask-wearing on public transport. At a very minimum, workers should be provided with masks if they request this protection and everyone should be urged to wear mask at points of congestion on the bus network where physical distancing cant be maintained, tram and bus division secretary David Babineau said in a statement on Tuesday. While passenger limits are in place, the reality is bottlenecks occur and its patchy whether people adhere to them. NSW recorded 13 new COVID-19 cases from almost 16,000 tests in the 24 hours to 8 p.m. on Monday, including 10 people associated with an outbreak at the Thai Rock Restaurant in Stockland Mall at Wetherill Park. Another two new cases were associated with the Crossroads Hotel cluster in Casula, which has risen to 50 cases. NSW Health is urging anyone who visited the Salamander Bay Shopping Centre on July 15 to watch for COVID-19 symptoms following a confirmed case in the Port Stephens area. The new case is a man in his 60s, who was infected by a visitor from Sydney. The Sydney contact also visited the Windsor Castle Hotel in East Maitland between 6 p.m. and 8 p.m. on July 13. NSW Health on Monday afternoon also directed anyone who attended Our Lady of Lebanon Cathedral in Harris Park between July 15 to 17 to self-isolate for 14 days and come forward for testing after a visit by a confirmed case. Berejiklian said NSW had the chance to get ahead of the virus if residents socially distance over the next few weeks and warned hospitality venues faced major penalties if they failed to ensure social distancing. This can get away from us very quickly, which is why Id rather everyone do the right thing now while we can still be in a position to control the spread, she said. NSW will from Wednesday enforce tougher border restrictions for people wanting to enter the state from Victoria, with a border zone to be set up along the Murray River and outstanding travel permits to be cancelled. The community has been urged to avoid travel where possible and to expect significant delays at border entry points. NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller reiterated the state is at a critical stage of the pandemic and warned any behaviour that jeopardises the health and safety of the community would be condemned. In this current environment, I am reluctant to honour warnings for anyone who knowingly and deliberately breaches ministerial directions, he said in a statement on Tuesday. He also warned the public against attending a Black Lives Matter protest planned for Sydney on July 28. There are 90 people being treated for the coronavirus in NSW, with two patients in intensive care, including a person in their 30s. By Angelo Risso and Dominica Sanda (Newser) A Florida teachers union is going to court to block an order reopening schools next month. The Florida Education Association's lawsuit is over the state education commission's order decreeing schools will be open five days a week, WJXT reports. Richard Corcoran is named in the suit, as is Gov. Ron DeSantis, who has echoed President Trump's call to bring students back full time for in-person classes. Fedrick Ingram, president of the Florida Education Association, said Sunday that the realities of the pandemic in the state mean it's too soon to reopen public schools. Until we get control of the community spread, until we understand that our schools will not be superspreader events, we have got to get rid of this hell-or-high-water approach in opening up our brick-and-mortar schools," Ingram said. The suit was filed in state court in Miami. story continues below The union argues that the commissioner's order is in violation of the state constitution, per NPR, which requires schools to be operated safely. Reopening "without the proper plan, resources, and safety precautions will inevitably exacerbate the spread of the virus, jeopardize public health, and ultimately cause longer closures," the union said. Richard Corcoran, the education commissioner, said he doesn't think the union has read or understands the order. It leaves the final decision up to local school officials but ties state funding to their decision. Under the order, schools will keep the money if they have their reopening plans approved by the state. DeSantis said the order is intended to be a recommendation but declined to take responsibility for it. "I didn't give any executive order," the governor said Monday. (New study suggests young children aren't big spreaders, but older ones are.) A trio of empanadas with different stuffings from the Red Store, a popular Cape May Point restaurant only selling food to go this summer. These are filled with ground beef, caramelized onions and cheese, and wilted greens with ricotta. Read more Ive had some of my best Jersey Shore meals over the years at the Red Store, Deanna Ebner and Lucas Mantecas dreamy update of a historic general store and cafe in Cape May Point. But with the complications of COVID-19 and lush coastal wetlands nearby assuring too many mosquitos for regular outdoor dining, this popular restaurant has resorted to takeout for survival. Its a good thing that the Argentina-born Mantecas vast repertoire of empanadas is destination-worthy. There are at least eight varieties to consider, including breakfast empanadas stuffed with house chorizo. But Im always a fan of the classic turnovers stuffed with ground beef piquant with raisins, hard-boiled eggs and cuminy onions. It made for a perfect post-beach snack along with the Green Goddess filled with wilted greens and ricotta, and another filled with sweet onions, oregano and provolone thats inspired by a popular Argentine pizza combo called fugazetta. Manteca, whose Quahogs in Stone Harbor and Beachwood in Sea Isle City are open for alfresco meals, hasnt given up completely on outdoor dining at the Red Store, based on the sold-out six-course Argentine grill pop-up hes cohosting July 24-25 with Gauchonfire. (Enough open fire to smoke out the mosquitos, he said). But visiting the store to shop during regular hours (mask required) is also worthwhile to pick up some of Mantecas unique pantry items. We always grab a jar of the savory-sweet tomato spread called Jersey Jam. But the yellow blend of his new Smart Seasoning is also intriguing. I didnt notice any obvious superfood boost from its blend of turmeric, nutritional yeast and dulse seaweed. But it definitely added a colorful crunch of flavorful seasonings to everything from avocado toast to scrambled eggs and buttered corn. Craig LaBan Empanadas, $3 each; Jersey Jam, $9; Smart Seasoning yellow blend, $15 for 5 oz. jar, at the Red Store, 500 Cape Ave, Cape May Point, 609-884-5757; capemaypointredstore.com and smartseasoning.com. (Natural News) In order to return back to school this fall, college students enrolled at a number of American universities will have to get vaccinated with flu shots and sign social distancing contracts in accordance with draconian new Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) guidelines. Both Harvard University and the University of Tennessee Knoxville have already announced that getting an annual jab for seasonal influenza will be a new requirement for all students who attend classes in person. And UT-Knoxville specifically has added the caveat that once a Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine is released that is proven to be safe and effective, it, too will be a requirement for students wanting to come back to campus. While we have received a small amount of mixed feedback, we believe this action is in the best interest of our students and campus communities, stated UT-Knoxville communications director Melissa Tindell. At Harvard, students will also be required to participate in routine COVID-19 testing, as well as wear masks in all public spaces. There will also be limited access to on-campus buildings at Harvard, which is pushing its students to settle for virtual socializing rather than in-person socializing as the first option for social contact. Cornell University, Princeton University, and the University of Colorado Boulder have all indicated that they will likewise be drastically revamping the student experience on their campuses. What is it with Knoxville trying to micromanage peoples lives? The consulting firm EAB recently conducted a survey of 69 different educational institutions to see what they are planning to do in response to the plandemic. A shocking 40 percent of them indicated that they are planning to ask students to sign agreements to follow university and public health guidelines. One in six institutions also told the firm that they are planning to punish students who violate social distancing mandates, while another 37 percent are still in the process of considering doing the same. That UT-Knoxville is among the first American universities to impose some of the strictest and most draconian measures for its students in response to the plandemic is actually not all that surprising, seeing as how Knoxville itself was also one of the first American cities to impose aggressively unconstitutional reopening mandates that prohibited churchgoers from singing with their congregations and reading their Bibles during services. All medical interventions, including vaccines, must be a choice, responded Danielle Goodrich from the Tennessee Coalition for Vaccine Choice about this latest move by UT-Knoxville to strip students of their right to make their own medical choices. Our schools and public health should uphold our inalienable, God-given rights, she added. Another major problem with these mandates is that the vaccination component in particular forces students to be injected with untested chemicals and abortion-derived DNA material that is known to cause serious injury or even death in some people. Fear of a disease which we know very little about, relative to other similar diseases must not lead to knee-jerk reactions regarding public health, nor can it justify supporting the hidden agenda of governmental as well as non-governmental bodies that have apparent conflicts of interest in plans to restrict personal freedoms, warns LifeSiteNews. A LifePetitions petition created by LifeSiteNews calls on people everywhere to oppose any and all attempts at mandating a Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine, not to mention all other vaccines. You can sign that petition at this link. Virtually overnight we have become a nation of hysteric germophobes, wrote one LifeSiteNews commenter about this dire situation that is transpiring. More news about the dramatic changes being made to higher education in response to the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is also available at CampusInsanity.com. Sources for this article include: LifeSiteNews.com NaturalNews.com LifePetitions.com The Oregon Liquor Control Commission met virtually with city and health officials, as well as local distillery, winery, liquor store and restaurant owners on Tuesday to discuss the continuance of alcohol delivery. Alcohol delivery has been allowed in the state of Oregon since 1933, the year Prohibition ended in the United States. Since then, the commission has updated rules to better reflect the market, such as going from only allowing wine to be delivered to including malt beverages, and mostly recently distilled spirits. With the COVID-19 pandemic forcing businesses around the country to close, stores and restaurants have had to switch to curbside pickup, takeout only, delivery and more. In March and April the commission temporarily amended all rules to further allow the at-home delivery of beer, wine and distilled spirits. Rules have also been updated to clarify the ability to do curbside pickup of alcoholic beverages. The commission plans to meet again to further clarify and discuss the new rules, as well as allow the public to weigh in on the new rules and regulations. The next commission meeting is set for 9 a.m. Aug. 20, but an agenda has not yet been posted. -- Ty Vinson tvinson@oregonian.com 503-221-4315; @ty_vinson_ Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Manipur: Loktak Lake: A gem perishing in front of our eyes The simple meaning of environment comes up as, "the surroundings or conditions in which a person,animal,or plant lives or operates." I grew up in humble and serene surroundings of a village called Keibul Lamjao with our state's gem, the Loktak Lake in the background. After two and a half decades of having lived in the hustle and bustle of Imphal city one can't help but admire the ingenuity and charm of the lake, whenever the chance arrives. But this charm and ingenuity is on the brink of fading into oblivion due to some shortsighted decisions taken 47 years ago. Atoning for that is perhaps the biggest will we can leave behind for our children. Loktak Lake, the largest freshwater lake of Manipur, is the lifebelt for the people of the state. But it has an emotional and spiritual connection with the fishermen community. This lake is their primary source of livelihood. But now it has become a fight for survival for the fishermen. Government policies announced to conserve the lake constitute huge threats to the fishermen as most of them lack alternative livelihood skills. According to the jewel of India's folklore, Loktak was formed when gods sought the support of the valley's people. The lake has seen the very notion of Manipur take form. It was on its shores that the beloved Meitei folklore of princess Thoibi and Khamba and their timeless romance came to life. Poubi Lai, a mythical creature integral to the Meitei belief system, is believed to inhabit the heart of the lake. Encompassing an area of about 26,000 hectares, the Loktak lake is our state's largest fishery resource, accounting for more than 50% of the fish producing area. About 12% of the state's population depend on its resources. No wonder, it is referred to as 'Mother' by our fishing community. Something which we often ignore while discussing our state's climate is that the lake serves as a generating base for bio energy of the region, particularly for our state. It synchronizes climatic conditions and stimulates different ethos, cultural fabrics in the area. In a sense the Loktak lake itself is a generator of all kinds of cultural and ethnic endemicity for the people of Manipur, particularly the fishing community in and around the periphery of the lake. Of which it may be cited one of the best and remarkable points is the technique of 'Phum Namba' which is still in vogue for the livelihood of the region. The term Phum Namba is known in the region since the time immemorial. It may be described as follows: The people of the region particularly fishing community and the community of the Thanga island and people of the peripheral area of the Loktak lake who practise this technique (basically the fishing community) cultivate water weed in the form of circular as well as semi-circular just at the water level of the lake. This particular Phum Namba will be preserved for about a year. During this period the local indigenous fish species sanitate in and around the Phum. The fishing community also feed a plethora of local nutrients to the area every day. These nutrients are mainly derived from rice husking powder and some other aquatic vegetables. So, as in and around, the Phum will always concentrate inside the core of the planted Phum , all these Phums will be harvested during the lean season of the year, which commences from October and concludes in the month of March. This type of harvesting is known as Phum Namba . It is also reported that there are more than 1000 floating Phum hut dwellers. Their basis cultivation is the cultivation of Phum and to above, i.e Phum Namba for their livelihood. There are other techniques of fishing other than Phum Namba techniques are namely: 1. Trapping by net ( Lang Thakpa) 2. Bamboo Trap ( Lu Thumba) 3. Pulling of Fishing Net (In Chingba) 4. Ancling and Longthinba However, the removal of a large number of fish culture ponds from the core area of the lake has led to massive economic deracination. In the 70s, the National Hydroelectric Power Corporation Limited (NHPC) pitched an ambitious project to the then government of Manipur; a power station to harness the hydropower potential of the Loktak Lake. The 105 MW capacity power station would provide cheap electricity to Manipur and its neighbouring States. It would also provide lift irrigation for 23,000 hectares of land in the valley. The State government approved the project without making any effort to study its impact on the lake's ecosystem and on livelihoods dependent on the lake. In 1983, NHPC constructed a barrage at the conflux of the Manipur and Khuga rivers two of the five major rivers that drain into Loktak Lake near Ithai village. The Ithai Barrage was to act as a barrier and create an artificial reservoir with the water level maintained at 768.5 metres throughout the year, much higher than Loktak's water level. The barrage became operational that year. First, Loktak's perimeter broke. Then thousands of hectares of agricultural land around the lake was flooded and thousands of people lost their lands and homes overnight. Farmers became fishermen. And the fishermen now became too many. Loktak and the 20 other wetlands became one water body for good; seasonal changes in the water level stopped and the ecosystem started crumbling. From time to time, the fishing community are rendered unable to practice their traditional technique. Before the implementation of the Loktak National Hydro Electric Project and the commissioning of Ithai Barrage there were two different seasons of fishing to all the surrounding fishing areas; viz one on the arising of the Loktak level and another in the following of the Loktak water level and another in the following of the Loktak water level during the lean seasons. Now, as a consequence of the loktak hydel project, the lake's water level remains high throughout the year. Hence, the two seasons of fishing in the region has already been spoiled in an unreplaceable condition: over and above most of endemic plants of Loktak has also been endangered seriously. In all honesty, the lake is slowly but surely dying in all forms. There's a saying, "We realise the value of certain things once we lose it". Let us not be known as the generation that did nothing while perhaps our most precious resource perished slowly right in front of our eyes. Let us all; the people of Sanaleibak, take a pledge to contribute in concrete, meaningful efforts to save this god given treasure, whose immense value we have often ignored. The force caused the semi trailer to rock side-to-side. Ellis black Nissan appeared to be crushed. The roof was pushed down into him, police said. He was extracted by the Hammond Fire Department and airlifted to the University of Chicago, the release stated. Three men have been arrested after a stolen car burst into flames when it crashed into a lamppost in south Belfast. Police said it was reported that three men approached a man as he stood beside his car on Strandview Street in the city at around 8pm on Monday. One of the men then jumped into the drivers seat and sped off, stopping a short distance away to allow the other two men to get in. At around 8.20pm the car was found on fire after it crashed into a lamppost on the Purdysburn Road in Newtownbreda. The three men, aged 31, 32 and 33, were found by a police patrol at the nearby Hydebank Playing Fields and were arrested on suspicion of a number of offences, including aggravated vehicle taking and robbery. The all remain in custody. A PSNI spokesperson said: "Anyone with any information about this incident or who may be able to help with the investigation, is asked to call officers in Lisburn Road on the non-emergency number 101 quoting reference number 2036 20/07/20, or submit a report online using the non-emergency reporting form via http://www.psni.police.uk/makeareport/." Information can also be provided anonymously to Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. JERUSALEM - Jordans prime minister says the kingdom would look positively on the creation of a binational state that guarantees equal rights to Israelis and Palestinians if Israels proposed annexation of parts of the occupied West Bank closes the door on a two-state solution. The international community and the Palestinian leadership remain committed to a two-state solution to the decades-old conflict. Israel rejects the idea of a binational state, fearing an eventual Palestinian majority would endanger its existence as a Jewish and democratic state. But Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahus pledge to annex up to a third of the West Bank in line with President Donald Trumps Mideast plan would make it virtually impossible to establish a viable Palestinian state. Critics say that would force Israel to choose between being an apartheid state or granting equal rights to all. You close the door to the two-state solution, I could very well look at this positively, if were clearly opening the door to a one-state democratic solution, Jordans Prime Minister Omar Razzaz told the UKs Guardian newspaper in an interview published Tuesday. But nobody in Israel is talking about that, and so we cannot just sugar-coat what theyre doing. Whos talking about the one-state solution in Israel? Theyre talking about apartheid in every single sense, he added. I challenge anybody from Israel to say yes, lets end the two-state solution, its not viable, he said. But lets work together on a one-state democratic solution. That, I think, we will look at very favourably. But closing one and wishful thinking about the other is just self-deception. Jordan, a close Western ally and one of just two Arab states to have made peace with Israel, is strongly opposed to annexation. Along with most Arab and Western countries, it supports Palestinian demands for a state in the West Bank, Gaza, and east Jerusalem, territories captured by Israel in the 1967 war. Earlier this month, a prominent Jewish American commentator came out in favour of a binational state, sending shock waves through the Jewish establishment and Washington foreign policy circles. Peter Beinart, a journalism professor at City University of New York and contributor to The Atlantic, argued that the two-state solution was no longer possible and endorsed the idea of a single democratic state between the Mediterranean and the Jordan River with equal rights for Jews and Palestinians. Support for a democratic, binational state is still largely confined to a small group of intellectuals on both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. No major party or faction in Israel or the Palestinian territories endorses it. While the two-state solution is still widely seen as the only way of resolving the conflict, the two sides remain deeply divided about the core issues and have not held substantive talks in more than a decade. The 90 Day Fiance drama continues. The hit TLC franchise has a new spinoff on the way, and today the network released a first look at what promises to be a wild ride for fans of the iconic Darcey and Stacey Silva. The identical twins rose to fame over the past four seasons of 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days as Darcey, with Stacey by her side, embarked on relationships with both Jesse (from the Netherlands) and Tom (from England). Both of those relationships are now over for Darcey, but she's met a new man from Bulgaria, and Stacey's looking forward to a future with her Albanian fiance Florian, whose visa was finally approved. You can get a little sneak peek of it all in the trailer above! Which 90 Day Fiance: Before the 90 Days Couples Are Still Together? Stacey and Darcey may be excited about their relationships, but not all is well. Florian was caught in pictures with another woman who says it's not her fault that Florian "wanna taste her honey," and Darcey's Bulgarian boyfriend might be hiding a secret baby. Darcey & Stacey, 90 Day Fiance "In Darcey and Stacey, the twins open the doors wide to their lives while they juggle relationships, family, and their unique world of being twins," TLC's description of the series reads. "As the series begins, we follow while Darcey heals over yet another failed relationship with British ex-boyfriend Tom and as Stacey gears up for another major step in her own love life." "From their hair extensions and nails to their eye-catching fashions, Darcey and Stacey are as over-the-top in their style as their joint determination to find international love," the network's synopsis continues. "Yet they are also relatable as great mothers, devoted sisters and fabulous women in their 40s yearning for stable, long-lasting love. This season will also take a closer look at the rest of the Silva family including their father Mike, Darcey's teenage daughters Aniko and Aspen and their mother, Nancy." "For the past four seasons of our record-breaking series Before the 90 Days, fans have become obsessed with Darcey and her twin sister Stacey. They have clamored to follow along further on their quest for true love," said TLC President and General Manager Howard Lee. "One of the reasons for the success of the 90 Day franchise is the raw, real and captivating individuals who share their stories with us. Darcey and Stacey don't hold backthey live life out loud. We cannot wait to share their next chapter in this all-new series." Darcey & Stacey premieres Sunday, August 16 at 10 p.m. on TLC. Media Watch last night mounted a hefty analysis of Murder in the Outback which screened on Seven, questioning allegations raised. It also noted that former lawyer Andrew Fraser, and producer Victor Susman, had previously given similar interviews to Sunday Night in 2011 and The Project in 2017. Amongst a list of questions, Media Watch asked producers for the new evidence teased by the promos. CJZ replied Seven makes the promos, (which is entirely standard in such situations). In a lengthy response to questions they claimed there was enough evidence to suggest doubt about key aspects of the case against killer Bradley Murdoch. ABC also asked why the UK screening on Channel 4, which aired prior to Seven, also omitted claims by Vince Millar that 2 pages of his original statement went missing. UK broadcast regulator, OfCom did not allow the claim to be aired without seeing evidence. CJZ replied, Different versions of different series are often made for different territories, as they have to comply to different legal and regulatory frameworks. In the series, truck driver Vince Millar makes the claim that he saw a red car with some men in it just before he found Joanne Lees. In his interviews, he further claimed that he had made a statement about the car at the time, but said those pages later went missing. We were told by our UK broadcaster Channel4 that UK OfCom compliance procedures required that we provide copies of the missing pages. As we were unable to provide those pages Channel4 requested we not include that information in the series. Once the series aired in the UK, there was strong criticism of Vince. i.e why hadnt he told anyone about the red car at the time? As we were still working on the Australian version of the series, we decided to include this part of the story. We felt we had a duty of care to contextualise Vinces position and tell the missing piece of the story. John Daulby, Assistant Commissioner, Northern Territory Police also told ABC the documentarys claims were outrageous to say the least. You can see the Media Watch report here and read statements by CJZ, Victor Susman and John Daulby. CAIRO, July 20 (Reuters) - Egypt's parliament on Monday approved the deployment of armed forces abroad to fight "criminal militias" and "foreign terrorist groups" on a "western front" - a likely reference to western neighbour Libya. It said the troops would be defending national security, without going into further details. It corrected an earlier statement which had referred to an "Arab", not a "western" front. (Reporting by Ulf Laessing, Nadine Awadalla, Mahmoud Mourad and Cairo newsroom; Editing by Andrew Heavens) View live politics updates ChevronRight Any worries that Italy might struggle to fund itself have been dispelled by the recovery funds mutually provided arsenal, from which Rome can access 82 billion euros of grants and 129 billion euros of super-cheap loans. The country also expects to secure 25 billion euros of loans from the EUs SURE (emergency unemployment support) program, according to analysts at NatWest Markets. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday that drawing on further credit lines from the EUs separate bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, is not our objective. The availability of the new pandemic grants means Italy can pick and choose its most beneficial route for financial support a luxury it hasnt experienced in recent times. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Investors in 10-year Italian government bonds have been anticipating this, with yields on this debt having more than halved since they hit a 2.42% peak in mid-March, during the dark early days of lockdown. They are fast approaching 1%. Given Europes unprecedented commitment to providing both fiscal and monetary support, there might be further improvement in store. No one wants to allow a sharp increase in the countrys borrowing costs. The record low yields of 80 basis points, last seen in September, are back in sight. Bond investors are still desperate for any kind of yield, which makes the debt of Italy and Greece attractive, especially if volatility remains modest over the summer. As well as the new EU fund, the European Central Bank has its own 1.35 trillion-euro pandemic program steadily hoovering up bonds. In relative terms, the difference between yields on Italian 10-year bonds and those of their German equivalents has narrowed to its tightest range since late February. This could tighten even further to the 100 basis-point difference last seen in late 2015. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Rome is already nearly three-quarters of the way through its planned bond issuance of 320 billion euros this year. It will persist with this plan as the EU funds dont kick in until 2021 and theyre spread out over several years. But, as I pointed out in April, its debt load is less terrifying than it first appears, and the nation can certainly keep its cash flow going with all of the assistance available. Unless the pandemic makes a sudden and unwelcome return, this all bodes well for a relaxed summer. Its all very different from 2018, when investors sold off Italian debt after the far-right League and the populist Five Star formed a governing coalition. Italian politics are as febrile as ever, but the backing of the countrys European peers no longer looks in doubt. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Marcus Ashworth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European markets. He spent three decades in the banking industry, most recently as chief markets strategist at Haitong Securities in London. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The Beckham family's plans to build a lake in the grounds of their 6million Cotswolds estate have been blocked to protect wildlife. It has been revealed that the plans put to West Oxfordshire District Council to create a stretch of water spanning 3000 square meters have been blocked due to potential impact on the species in the area. Earlier this month, it was first revealed that the couple are planning to build a kidney-shaped lake on their sprawling Cotswolds estate. New build: The Beckham family's plans to build a lake in the grounds of their 6million Cotswolds estate have been blocked to protect wildlife The report, viewed by The Sun, read: 'The loss of the grassland will potentially impact on protected and priority species including amphibians (including great crested newts), reptiles, mammals and ground nesting birds... 'The grassland may also show botanical interest.' The attempted addition will be the latest in a long-line of alterations to the Beckhams' estate after they were previously awarded permission to install a secret underground tunnel, wine cellar and 'super garage'. David, 45, and Victoria, 46, submitted plans for a lake that will be four metres deep and surrounded by an array of wildflowers and trees yet it has now been blocked. Expansive:It has been revealed that the plans put to West Oxfordshire District Council to create a stretch of water spanning 3000 square meters have been blocked due to potential impact on the species in the area (artist's impression) The planning application stated that the aforementioned trees will include 'Hazel, Oak, Honeysuckle, Bramble, Sycamore, Wayfaring trees Yew, Hornbeam, Birch, Hawthorn, Crab apple, Wild cherry and Sorbus'. The Heritage Impact Statement included in the submission stated that: 'The proposed lake (or large pond) will be broadly kidney-shaped and will be situated in the southern half of these grounds, in the lowest-lying part of the site. 'It will be approached and encircled by a mown grass path which will wend its way through newly created gently sloping grass meadowland. Family fun: The couple have spent lockdown with their three youngest children, Romeo, 17, Cruz, 15, and Harper, eight in the stunning location 'This will be distinct from the formal lawn closer to the house, which will extend as neatly mown grass down to the northern edge of the lake.' David and Victoria's representatives declined to comment when approached by MailOnline. It comes after the couple's idyllic lifestyle was reportedly on the verge of being disrupted by the construction of a huge car park. The 100-space underground car park has been planned by a nearby business, according to The Sun. Home: The Beckhams own a home in the idyllic Oxfordshire enclave, where they've been spending the summer months amid the nationwide lockdown The unnamed applicant will also reportedly build six five-bedroom lodges, an upscale leisure centre with pool and a restaurant a stone's throw away from the mega-rich family's countryside bolthole. The Sun reports that West Oxfordshire District Council received notice that works had begun on the large project on March 31 - three years after plans were approved. But David and Victoria have already been awarded planning permission of their own to install a secret underground tunnel, wine cellar and 'super garage' at their Cotswolds home. Proud: Before news emerged of the couple's new house plans, David took to Instagram to share a snap detailing his pride at his many career achievements They were recently granted permission to extend their sprawling property, as long as they begin the work within three years. Before news emerged of the couple's new house plans, David took to Instagram to share a snap detailing his pride at his many career achievements. He added a caption reading: 'Sometimes the road is long and u need to take a breather .. Manchester United , Real Madrid , La Liga and the premiership wasnt built in a day... Teams , players and clubs need time to flourish but when they do... 'All the hard times seem so distant... Its important to take time to reflect on what we have achieved so far... Im proud of my team , our club and the amazing fans that we have... Patience is a virtue'. For decades, the UK government invested in a strategy to influence Russias political and business elite closely integrating them into Britain, and especially its stock market, in the hope that laws, rights and rules would be reflected back home. The long-awaited Russia report all but confirms the end of that quixotic strategy. If anything, it suggests the opposite was true: Russian business practices were exported much more successfully into the UK. Globalised links between Moscow and Londongrad have, the report concludes, provided ideal mechanisms for dirty money and building influence across the British establishment. Intelligence, state power and business have meanwhile become completely intertwined and near-impossible to untangle. Russian influence in the UK has become the new normal, it concludes. The document is mostly written in caution and redaction the language of an intelligence report whittled down by the censors at GCHQ, MI5 and MI6, or the Secret Intelligence Service. It would be a stretch to say it contains an obvious smoking gun. It does not list any of the individuals mentioned in newspaper reports, for example and it only obliquely mentions references to vulnerabilities around Conservative Party donors. Possible embarrassment around potential Russian interference into the Brexit referendum is also avoided with the admittedly remarkable admission that the government didnt actively investigate it. But if the detail of the report failed to produce a major revelation for seasoned Russia watchers, it helped stand up several long-held assumptions. For example, there was an admission by the National Crime Agency (NCA) that they simply dont have the resources to do their jobs and investigate rich individuals. Officially, the UK government is committed to removing the City of London of illicit money. Ministers and Foreign Office officials have, for example, frequently touted the supposed power of new legal instruments such as Unexplained Wealth Orders. These allow courts to freeze the assets of those who cannot document the legal origins of their funds. But there has been a massive gap between rhetoric and action. To date, not a single case has been successfully brought against a Russian individual. The Independent understands one case collapsed earlier this year at the preparation stage due to spiralling fees and legal problems, at a cost of millions to the taxpayer. We should have been suspicious of any ideology that makes a virtue out of making a whole load of cash Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland: The Inside Story of the Crooks and Kleptocrats Who Rule the World The Intelligence Committee assessment concedes such wealth orders are mostly useless when it comes to the Russian elite. We are, bluntly, concerned about the impact on our budget, because these are wealthy people with access to the best lawyers, it quotes the NCA as saying. The report falls short of giving up on the UKs 30-year-old strategy of engaging with Russias elite. Whitehall is still committed to developing a Russia that chooses to cooperate, rather than challenge or confront, it says. But it also appeared to walk back the assertion that doing business in the UK can somehow trigger democratisation in Russia. Oliver Bullough, author of Moneyland: The Inside Story of the Crooks and Kleptocrats Who Rule the World, says successive governments have willingly fooled themselves and turned a blind eye to corruption because of the money at stake. We should have been suspicious of any ideology that makes a virtue out of making a whole load of cash, he says. In fact, what weve been doing all along is providing kleptoservices to crooks, selling financial expertise that allow people to steal anything that isnt nailed down. And now weve figured out it isnt a great idea, but its also a bit too late. The intelligence report appears to concede that the horse has bolted on fully controlling the Kremlins Londongrad influence. But it does offer suggestions about limiting the more egregious moments. It proposes, for example, beefing up anti-corruption bodies like the National Crime Agency. It seems to propose a public inquiry and a lessons-learning exercise into alleged influence over Brexit. It also proposes a new foreign agents register and a reworking of the Official Secrets Act, which it describes as anachronistic. (It does admittedly appear remarkable that it is not a crime under British law to be an undeclared international agent.) Another group of recommendations calls for the better coordination of intelligence agencies MI5, SIS, GCHQ and military intelligence around Russia policy. Here, the cautious language of the report shields some quite astonishing allegations: that either the main intelligence services were too narrowly focussed on terrorism to be concerned by the Kremlin, or that they passively awaited orders from politicians that never came. Its mostly fair criticism and the recommendations are simple to implement, says Philip Ingram, a former intelligence officer. But the criticism that no one took a lead on the very serious allegations of interference is shocking. The acting secretary of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday doubled down on the need for federal officers in Portland, forcefully rebuking local leaders for failing to curb the nightly lawlessness'' in and around the downtown federal courthouse. If you did your job from a local perspective, we wouldnt be there, said Chad F. Wolf. What we have in Portland is very different than what we have in any other city. He blamed city decisions that have led to a lack of coordination between local police and federal agencies needed to handle what he called a persistent criminal element continuing to cause destruction in Portland. Wolf said that stemmed from 2018 when Portland officials took a hands off approach and restricted police from helping federal officers respond to an encampment outside the headquarters of the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement office in Southwest Portland. Wolf described it as a pattern Im concerned about. At a news conference at Homeland Security headquarters, Wolf stood with the deputy director of the Federal Protective Services and the acting secretary of U.S. Customs and Border Protection to defend their officers authority at the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in the wake of weeks of demonstrations against police violence and systemic racism. The government agents have responded on and off federal property, arresting people suspected of vandalizing federal buildings, shining green lasers or throwing fireworks, bottles and other objects at them. While President Trump has said the enhanced federal presence has quelled the protests, larger crowds of demonstrators have turned out in downtown on recent nights and echoed calls by Gov. Kate Brown and Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler to get the aggressive paramilitary squads out of the city. Later Tuesday, Wheeler said in a statement that the federal intervention is uninvited, untrained, and unwelcome. The Acting Secretary knows we feel that way, but were happy to tell him again, Wheeler said. The violence was being contained and started to de-escalate before they arrived. They intervened and escalated tensions to new levels. The crowds had begun to dwindle to much smaller but still chaotic gatherings until regaining momentum last week after a deputy U.S. marshal fired an impact munition at the head of a 26-year-old protester now recovering from a skull fracture and Customs and Border Patrol officers whisked away a man in an unmarked van for questioning. Over the weekend, a marshal battered a U.S. Navy veteran with a baton as he tried to talk to federal officers. The protests have swelled to more than 1,000 people and they are once again attracting a broader base in a city thats increasingly unified and outraged. Yet the protests also have consistently devolved into violent encounters late at night and into early morning hours with some protesters damaging buildings including the federal courthouse, setting fires and confronting federal officers and Portland police. In the last week, three separate lawsuits have been filed against federal officers as local, state and many of Oregons Democratic Congress members have condemned their heavy-handed force that has included indiscriminate and frequent use of tear gas, less-lethal rounds and strikes with batons. Wolf said the federal officers have made 43 arrests. But the Oregon U.S. Attorneys Office said there had been 24 federal arrests as of Sunday, with 13 people charged. The other 11 were arrested on suspicion of a crime and released without being charged, according to Kevin Sonoff, a spokesman for the office. Another seven people were arrested late Monday into early Tuesday on federal allegations. The charges have included assault on a federal officer, destruction of federal property and attempted arson. The Federal Protective Service in Portland asked Customs and Border Protection and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement for help in late June. Our staff was quickly overwhelmed,' said Chris Cline, deputy director of the Federal Protective Service. Under existing federal code, and with no additional powers extended by President Trumps executive order, the secretary of Homeland Security may cross-designate employees transferred to the Federal Protective Service to protect federally owned property, Cline and Wolf noted. According to the federal code, these officers can make arrests without a warrant for any offense against the United States committed in the presence of the officer or agent or for any felony and conduct investigations, on and off the property in question, of offenses that may have been committed against property owned or occupied by the Federal Government or persons on the property. The governor dismissed the justification for the boosted federal presence as more of the same from a presidential staff seeking to score campaign points. This is coming from an administration that has deployed secret police to abduct people into unmarked vehicles. This is a democracy, not a dictatorship, Brown said in a statement. If the Trump administration was really interested in problem solving or public safety, they would be focused on reducing the confrontation and retraining their officers. Its clear, however, that they are only interested in political theater. The Trump administration needs to stop playing politics with peoples lives. Despite reports that have said federal officers arent wearing identifying insignia on their uniforms, Cline and Mark S. Morgan, acting secretary of Customs and Border Protection, held up examples of the ballistic vests that say POLICE'' on the front or back, with Border Patrol patches on the shoulders. They also provided photos of the dark blue uniforms worn by Federal Protective Services and the camouflage gear worn by Customs and Border patrol agents. 6 Homeland Security briefing on federal forces in Portland The U.S. Inspector Generals Office is looking into the baton beating of Navy veteran Christopher David Saturday night and allegations that unidentified federal officers are picking people up off the street without probable cause. In reference to one video that has circulated on social media showed federal officers in camouflage taking a man into an unmarked van off a Portland street, Cline said the person was questioned, believed to have shined a laser at officers. The federal officers tracked the man to a quieter area away from the courthouse, not wanting to wade into a violent crowd, and placed him in the van to take him to another spot for questioning. He was released after federal officers determined he wasnt the person sought, Cline said. Its not a custodial arrest,' he said. It was a simple engagement. Oregons Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum is suing federal law enforcement and seeking a temporary restraining order that would bar federal officers from removing people from city streets and placing them in unmarked cars without apparent probable cause. Morgan defended his officers use of unmarked vans for their work as standard practice and appropriate in todays climate, citing vandalism to marked law enforcement cars in the wake of anti-police brutality demonstrations across the country. It makes sense to use an unmarked vehicle for protection of agents doing their job and for the protection of the public,' he said. Both Morgan and Wolf called it offensive for Portlanders or others to describe federal officers as unidentified storm troopers or the gestapo. In an attempt to counter a New York Times report, Morgan said the Customs and Border Protections Special Response Team and Border Patrol Tactical Team known as BORTAC are highly trained to respond to riot control in detention facilities. The Times quoted from a Homeland Security internal document prepared for Wolfs trip to Portland, which warned the federal officers in Portland were not specifically trained in riot control or mass demonstrations. Wolf, who visited the federal courthouse last Thursday, said he called Portlands mayor and Oregons governor last Wednesday. He asked if they needed federal personnel or other assets'' to address the nightly violence in the city. They said no thanks and leave. Im willing to work with them,' Wolf said. We need to de-escalate. We need to find a peaceful outcome. But he pledged to keep federal officers in Portland until the violence ends. We still have a job to do, he said. If we left tomorrow, they would burn that building down. While Wolf didnt say how many federal officers are in Portland, Gabriel Russell, who is regional director of the Federal Protective Service, said there were 114 federal law enforcement officers working to protect the federal buildings in Portland. Russell described the officers as taking a defensive posture from May 27 through July 3, staying inside the courthouse and exiting only in response to serious crimes or attempts to breach its doors at night. But that all changed late July 3 and July 4, when some people are accused of tossing fireworks and liquid-filled balloons through the front door of the courthouse, tried to barricade the door and the front glass door shattered, Russell said in a statement. According to Cline of the Federal Protective Service, members of Oregons U.S. Attorneys Office are present at each evening roll call with the federal officers stationed at the courthouse, reviewing the uses of force and rules of engagement. Cline said the federal officers are acting under the direction of the Federal Protective Service. Oregonian staff writer Everton Bailey contributed to this story. -- 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. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo speaks during a joint press conference with Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab at Lancaster House, London, on July 21, 2020. (Peter Summers - WPA Pool/Getty Images) Pompeo Calls for Global Coalition to Push Back Against Chinese Regime U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is in London for a two-day visit, has called on all democratic countries in the world to build a coalition to push back against the threat from the Chinese Communist Party (CCP). Pompeo held talks with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on a range of China-related issues, including the Hong Kong national security law, Chinas state-backed telecom giant Huawei, and the global pandemic caused by the CCP virus, also known as the novel coronavirus. At a joint press conference with Raab, Pompeo started by extending his condolences to the British people for their losses from what he called a preventable pandemic. The CCPs exportation of this disaster to further its own interests has been disgraceful, he said. Rather than helping the world, General Secretary Xi has shown the world the partys true face. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) and Britains Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab take part in a joint press conference at Lancaster House, London, on July 21, 2020. (Peter Summers WPA Pool/Getty Images) Pompeo congratulated Britain on its principled responses to the challenges posed by the Chinese regime such as the Hong Kong national security law, and praised its decision to purge Huawei gear from its 5G network. Johnson announced on July 14 that the UK was going to ban Huawei from further input into the UKs telecoms infrastructure by the end of 2020, and to strip existing Huawei kit from the countrys 5G network by 2027. We know that U.S.-UK cooperation is absolutely integral to global security and stability. Glad to meet with @DominicRaab once again our dynamic discussion covering our shared security concerns and our continued coordination within the G7 reinforced how deep U.S.-UK ties are. pic.twitter.com/RHgmxdAZoT Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) July 21, 2020 Pompeo also criticized the Chinese regime for its threatening behavior in the South China Sea and on the Sino-Indian border, as well as its infiltration of international organizations. You cant go make claims over maritime regions you have no legal claim to. You cant threaten countries and bully them in the Himalayas. You cant engage in cover-ups and co-opt international institutions like the World Health Organization, said Pompeo. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo (L) meets with Britains Prime Minister Boris Johnson at Downing Street in London on July 21, 2020. (Hannah McKay/WPA Pool/Getty Images) The United States wants to see every nation that values freedom and democracy to understand this threat the Chinese Communist Party is posing to them and to work together to push back against the Chinese Communist Partys efforts, he said. I hope we can build out a coalition that understands this threat and will work collectively to convince the Chinese Communist Party that its not in their best interest to engage in such behavior. For his part, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said that the UK wants to work with the United States and other international partners to protect our freedoms and interests and, as we are showing on Hong Kong, stand up for our values. Across the full range of international challenges, of which there are many, we recognize we are always a lot stronger, and always more effective, when we work together. And that is what we are going to continue to do in the weeks and months ahead, he said. A police officer raises his pepper spray handgun as he detains a man during a march against the national security law at the anniversary of Hong Kongs handover to China from Britain in Hong Kong, on July 1, 2020. (Tyrone Siu/Reuters) The UK announced it will extend immigration rights for an estimated 3 million Hong Kong residents who hold British National (Overseas) status after the Chinese regime imposed a draconian national security law on Hong Kong on June 30. The law, which Britain said constitutes a clear and serious breach of the Sino-British Joint Declaration, criminalizes individuals for any acts of subversion, secession, and collusion with foreign forces against the CCP regime, with a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. Raab said yesterday the UK was also suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and expanding its arms embargo on mainland China to the former British colony. Pompeo is also due to meet Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law, who fled to London after the imposition of the security law, and the last British governor of Hong Kong Chris Patten. Pompeo will visit Denmark on July 22. He will meet Danish Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen to discuss the pandemic, China, and other matters. Students in Clear Creek schools will start classes a week later than originally planned through a phased approach in which all students will work online away from campuses for the first week of instruction. The change follows new Texas Education Agency guidelines. The school year was originally slated to begin Aug. 18 with students either physically in schools or, they choose, receiving lessons online. But the TEA recently said that schools could start the year with up to eight weeks of all students on online instruction before opening buildings. Many districts in the area made the decision to push back the start of the school year and on July 20, the Clear Creek board followed suit. Classes will now resume Aug. 24, but the buildings will not be open for students, who will receive all lessons online for the first week. Reasoning behind the districts approach Schools will be physically open Aug. 31, but only for a comparative handful of the districts students. The Galveston County Health District has endorsed our transition plan to bring smaller numbers of students in first, Superintendent Greg Smith said. The pupils who will be physically able to go into schools will be those in pre-K, kindergarten and sixth and ninth grades children who will be entering school at new levels, such as elementary, intermediate and high school. Students in the rest of the grades will continue to receive instruction online. The toughest transition is the one going to a new (level of) school, Smith said. On Sept. 8, the day after Labor Day, all the schools will be open for those students whose parents opted for on-campus instruction. We will be able to go full bore with all the students, Smith said. The slow ramp-up will be beneficial for both teachers and students, the superintendent said. The one-week delay to the start of the calendar will allow educators time to get familiar with safety protocols and prepare for the demands of online teaching. In the following weeks, both students and teachers will ease into the virtual education process. Even though the school year is starting a week later, the last day of school will remain May 27, since 10 minutes have been added to the school day to provide time for hand washing and sanitizing materials and extend the time for passing between classes. Numbers close between those choosing online, on-campus learning Parents have been asked to go online and choose a learning option for their child, whether it is the traditional on-campus way or going online. To date, the results have been pretty evenly split, with the number of students going the brick-and-mortar route totaling 5,711, while 4,840 wanted to get their lessons via computer. Breaking things down further, at the elementary level, the parents of 2,260 students have chosen to physically be in school, while parents of 1,945 wish to go online. At the intermediate level, the split is 1,407 for in-person attendance and 1,356 for studying at home, while 2,044 high schoolers wish to be on campus and 1,539 plan to study online. Smith said that while only 10,551 of the districts 42,000 students had made their choices by July 20, the district expects the numbers to keep trending the same way, with about 52 percent of students staying on campus and 48 percent learning online. But, if no choice is made, the default is that the kids would attend school in the traditional manner. Parents have until Aug. 11 to make their choices. To access more information about making that choice, visit https://bit.ly/3jlimJE. Online classes will be done through the districts Clear Connections online learning program, and for the most part, the teachers for on-campus students will be different from those who go online. Some however, may be teaching some in-person classes and some via the internet, but not at the same time. With the large number of students opting for virtual learning, district trustees OKd hiring more online instructors to the tune of $771,600. The exact number needed will not be known until the final counts for in-person and online students is completed. New Delhi, July 21 : The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) on Tuesday reviewed the progress of the National Broadband Mission (NBM) with officials of several states and Union Territories along with officials of Tower and Infrastructure Providers Association (TAIPA), COAI and field units of DoT through a video conference. Officials from Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Kerala, Punjab, Gujarat, Puducherry and Lakshadweep were present at the virtual meeting. The meeting was held under the chairmanship of Hari Ranjan Rao, Joint Secretary, Telecom, and the topics discussed included the pursuance of the objectives of the National Broadband Mission, implementation of the Indian Telegraph Right of Way Rules, 2016 and constitution and meetings of state broadband committees. T.R. Dua, Director General of TAIPA said: "We discussed key issues with regards to RoW Policies and operational issues in detail which required an urgent intervention and support by the respective state governments and UTs." Some of the key operational issues that were discussed in the meeting were long pending permissions for new telecom towers, non-availability of single-window online portal, rationalisation of property tax among others, he added. Prominent Hong Kong democracy activist Joshua Wong yesterday applied to run for a seat in the Chinese-ruled city's legislature, raising the prospect of a battle with authorities after being barred from running previously. Mr Wong is one of more than a dozen young, more confrontational politicians who outshone old guard democrats in unofficial opposition primaries this month in what many saw as a protest vote against a national security law imposed by Beijing. The September 6 vote will see the opposition try to reclaim some influence in an assembly stacked with Beijing loyalists, where only half the seats are directly elected. Political analysts and activists expect authorities will try to disqualify some candidates. Beijing says the primaries were illegal and may have violated the security law, which punishes what China defines as secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces with up to life in prison. "With the possibility of facing a life sentence... I still hope to receive people's mandate and let the world know that we will continue to fight until our last breath," Mr Wong, who sees himself as a prime target of the new law, told reporters. In the past four years, authorities have barred 18 democrats, including Mr Wong, from running in local elections, says the group Civil Rights Observer. Mr Wong, who was 17 when he became the face of the 2014 student-led Umbrella Movement, has not been a leader of the often-violent protests that shook the semi-autonomous financial hub last year. However, he has drummed up support for the pro-democracy movement abroad, meeting politicians from the United States, Europe and elsewhere, drawing the wrath of Beijing, which says he is a "black hand" of foreign forces. He was disqualified from running in the former British colony's district council elections last year on the grounds that advocating for Hong Kong's self-determination violated electoral law, which he described at the time as political censorship. Mr Wong has said he supports the idea of a non-binding referendum for people to have a say over Hong Kong's future but that he is against independence. Mr Wong did not sign a form in which candidates are asked to pledge allegiance to Hong Kong and its mini-constitution, the Basic Law. The form is not mandatory, but candidates are required by the security law to pledge allegiance in writing or through other means. Fresh reports suggest that Nvidia will only launch 8 nm GPUs this year, with a possible 7 nm "Super" refresh scheduled for 1H 2021. This could allow AMD to steal the GPU performance crown with 7 nm Big Navi GPUs this year and jump to 5 nm next year. Working For Notebookcheck Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! English native speakers welcome! News Writer (AUS/NZL based) - Details here Youtuber Moores Law Is Dead has recently updated his previous Ampere vs RDNA2 rumor roundup. The latest information comes from unnamed AMD and Nvidia insiders, and the youtuber is confident about the accuracy, but we still recommend a grain of salt here and there. Long story short, it looks like AMD could snag the gaming GPU performance crown from Nvidia this year. Moores Law is Dead is reporting that Nvidias arrogance in forcing TSMCs hand is going to cost them the performance crown this year. Apparently, TSMC was not able to meet Nvidias production demands and so Nvidia needed to tap Samsungs 8 nm nodes for most of its gaming GPUs launching this year. Now, Samsungs 8 nm nodes are mostly improved 10 nm nodes so they are not actually 1 nm behind TSMC, which clearly gives AMDs RDNA2 GPUs manufactured on the 7 nm EUV process at TSMC the superior position. Therefore, more and more Nvidia insiders are concerned about AMDs Big Navi GPUs. The youtuber has also received updated specs for a July GA102 engineering sample card. Some of the specs are unchanged from his previous reports, but there are others that appear to be modified. Here is a quick list of all the revised engineering sample specs and performance figures: Comes with the unusual three-fan design 12-pin power connector instead of dual 8-pin >300 W TGP at stock clocks Decent OC potential, could reach 400 W TGP 12 GB VRAM - 18 Gbps bandwidth, 5376 CUDA Cores 2 GHz base clock, 2.2 GHz OC 40% faster rasterization performance in 4K 3-4X ray tracing performance gains with solid IPC increase over RTX 2080 Ti NVCache still included - leverages DDR and SSD speeds to boost GDDR6 bandwidth DLSS 3.0 could launch with RTX 3000 and be on by default, forcing reviewers to use it when directly comparing results with AMDs RDNA2 GPUs All Ampere gaming GPUs launching this year may end up coming from Samsungs 8 nm foundries. Apparently there already are 7 nm TSMC samples, but TSMC can only meet production demands by 1H 2021, so we may see a 7 nm Super refresh for the RTX 3000 cards next spring. However, AMD is rumored to be moving to 5 nm next year, so Nvidia might enjoy the performance crown for less than half a year. As far as estimated performance figures go, the AMD RDNA2 GPUs are now expected to integrate 72 compute units with 20% higher clocks leading to 195%-225% performance increase over the current Radeon RX 5700 XT. This translates to ~50% better performance when compared to the Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti. Nvidia, on the other hand, is estimating that the RTX 3080 Ti would be only ~40% faster than the RTX 2080 Ti, while the RTX 3070 Ti would match the RTX 2080 Ti, and the RTX 3070 could be as fast as the RTX 2080 Super. Curiously enough, the AMD insiders are not completely convinced that Big Navi is faster than the RTX 3080 Ti. EBay Inc. agreed to sell its online classifieds business to Norways Adevinta ASA for $9.2 billion, ending one of the largest auctions of the year. Under the deal, EBay will get $2.5 billion of cash and 540 million shares in the Norwegian firm, the companies said in a statement on Tuesday. Shares in Adevinta rose as much as 39%. Adevinta beat out Naspers Ltd.s Prosus NV and a private equity consortium that included Blackstone Group Inc., Permira and Hellman & Friedman, whod also been pursuing the unit, people familiar with the matter had said. The bid from Oslo-based Adevinta, which operates a number of online marketplaces across Europe and Latin America, got a surprise boost because EBay wanted to keep a significant stake in the business, people said. The deal, Norways biggest in more than a decade, will significantly boost the size of Adevinta, which was spun off from Scandinavian media conglomerate Schibsted ASA last year. Chief Executive Officer Rolv Erik Ryssdal, whos been charged with expanding the company, had said in an interview last week that the industry has seen a surge in demand for online shopping, buoyed by the Covid-19 lockdowns. EBay has been under pressure from activist investors Starboard Value and Elliott Management Corp. to sell assets and focus on its main online marketplace EBay.com. In 2019, the company agreed to appoint two new directors from Starboard and Elliott, which stepped up pressure to divest non-core assets. The same year Devin Wenig stepped down as CEO after balking at the sales. EBay reported strong results in its more recent quarter thanks to a boost from Covid-spooked consumers shopping online, but the classified business suffered because the pandemic forced the shuttering of thousands of car dealerships. The companys classifieds business includes separate online marketplaces such as Kijiji, which is used in Canada and Italy, and Gumtree, which is popular in the U.K., Australia and South Africa. It also owns Bilbasen, a Danish online vehicle marketplace, and British car search website Motors.co.uk. Theyll be added to Adevintas portfolio, which includes shopping app Shpock, vacation reservation site Locasun and job hunting platform InfoJobs. EBay said in February it was in active talks with multiple parties about a potential deal for its classifieds business. The San Jose, California company in November sold StubHub, an online marketplace for concert and sporting event tickets, to Switzerland-based rival Viagogo for $4 billion. Half of elementary principals prefer to reopen schools this fall with a hybrid schedulea blend of remote learning and in-person instruction, according to new survey released Monday. In a poll of nearly 800 principals and assistant principals in all 50 states, only 17 percent of school leaders chose the all-remote option as the best model for the fall, while 26 percent said in-person schooling five days a week was the best model. The findingsfrom a poll conducted earlier this month by the National Association of Elementary School Principalscomes amid tense debate about the best ways to reopen schools as coronavirus cases spike across the country, but especially in the South and the West. The survey also showed that many principals are working in districts that have not yet decided on a reopening strategy. With start dates quickly approaching, 62 percent of principals said their districts had a reopening plan and only 35 percent said they had been consulted a lot in the process. Seventeen percent said they had not been consulted at all. Read: Scheduling the COVID-19 School Year The American Academy of Pediatrics has endorsed in-person classes in the fall, especially for younger children, and a new study from South Korea is showing that children under the age of 10 are less likely to transmit the virus than adults. That same study, however, found that young people between the ages of 10 and 19, are almost as likely as adults to spread the virus. President Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos have been pressuring school districts to reopen as normal, even issuing threats to withhold federal funds to districts that do not. And some states have taken a similarly hardline approach, with Florida directing districts to provide in-person schooling five days a week when they reopen. On Monday, the Florida Education Association sued the state over the order. Large districts, such as Los Angeles and San Diego in California, and Prince Georges County in Maryland, have said they will hold classes remotely in the fall. Superintendents are weighing a host of uncertainty: the viruss unknown path, a shortage of funds to buy masks and other protective equipment and to pay for other changes to keep students and staff safe, as well as deep reluctance and fear from teachersmany of whom are at a higher risk for getting sick or dying from COVID-19. And theres the simple math: in many cases, districts just cant fit all of their students into their buildings if they are to follow physical distancing guidelines and ensure that students remain six feet apart. Amid all of that, principalswho will be tasked with making sure that district plans are followed and are communicated clearly with staff, students, and parentsare increasingly saying theyre unsure theyd be able to keep students and staff safe when schools reopen. In the new NAESP poll, only 22 percent of the school leaders who responded said it was very or somewhat likely theyd be able to protect staff and students from the virus if schools reopen for in-person classes. And 40 percent said they were very concerned about their personal safety and their staffs safety. Its not just elementary school leaders who are worried. Another poll released last week by the National Association of Secondary School Principals showed that middle and upper level principals were also not so sure theyd be able to keep those in their buildings safe and healthy. In that poll, 29 percent of principals said they were unsure that they or the district would be able to keep students safe. The rest were nearly evenly divided, with 34.9 percent saying they were not confident theyd be able to keep students and staff safe and another 35.2 percent saying they felt confident theyd be able to do so, according to that poll. Money Is a Big Concern Among the hybrid reopening models, more than half of school leaders53 percentsaid they preferred a cohort model, a kind of rotation schedule where one group of students attend school on specific days and work remotely on the days when they are not in school. About 10 percent preferred split days, with some students attending in the morning and others in the afternoon. Thirty-eight percent of those who responded said their district had enough money to pay for some of the changes necessary to make in-person schooling workincluding for enhanced cleaning, protective equipment. Only 6 percent said their district had enough to hire more staff for the new safety protocols and 4 percent said there was enough money for more buses and bus drivers. And 60 percent of school leaders said they had developed learning loss plans for students, while 90 percent said theyd need more money to make them work. These results affirm that school principals have real concerns about ensuring the safety of students and staff when schools reopen, L. Earl Franks, the associations executive director said in a statement. Principals will be implementing school reopening plans and they are making absolutely clear they need Congress to step up and deliver additional funding to provide the necessary cleaning protocols, protection equipment, and spacing inside school buildings to keep students and school staff safe. If Congress does not act, they will be hanging schools out to dry. Though school leaders from all regions of the country responded to the survey, the majority of school leaders52 percentworked in suburban school systems. The survey was conducted from July 7-16 and got 798 responses. As we witness the defacing and destruction of our historical symbols and monuments, it is evident that there is a concerted effort to annihilate any remnant of our history. Those who have stolen a legitimate concern for equal justice under the law are no longer in the shadows but are brazenly disrupting our major cities with their Marxist, communist agenda to transform America. Unfortunately, we have willing accomplices in positions of power assisting in this endeavor. The images before us are a stark reminder that American education has failed us. We no longer educate; we indoctrinate. "The best means of forming a virtuous and happy people will be found in the right education of youth. Without this foundation, every other means, in my opinion, must fail." George Washington. 20th century historians like Charles Beard, Henry Steele Commager and many textbook writers have tried to alter America's heritage in favor of a secular humanist creed diametrically opposed to our Declaration of Independence. Alexander Solzhenitsyn stated that "To destroy a people you must first sever their roots." America's educational system has been under assault to accomplish that goal for decades. Quality education has been part of the American Dream since the first individuals stepped upon the shores of New England in 1620. After spending 11 years in preparation for their first voyage, the Puritans finally left Holland where their children were negatively influenced by the Dutch. Education was the first order of business for families coming to the New World. Education was so important to the Puritans that over 100 men with university educations left Europe to become teachers and pastors in the New World. By 1636 the new Americans established Harvard, where ministers were trained. Classes for new immigrants included reading of the scriptures, history, literature, theology, mathematics, science, calculus, geometry and astronomy. They believed that to develop this new world, it was better to educate "many." Europe typically limited education to the few who could afford it. The Puritans understood that establishing a government, required an educated people. Today, conventional wisdom places the responsibility for education on the government. Education in colonial times fell primarily on the parents. This parental responsibility was understood. In 1800 President Jefferson conducted a study on education. It concluded that the literacy rate was better than 99%. President Jefferson stated, "not more than four people in 100 are unable to write legibly even neatly." He gave credit to the fathers who regularly read aloud to their children. Local newspapers included narratives on many issues, and excerpts from great books. Education was provided in the home, or by the community under parental oversight. In 1830, Alexis Tocqueville reported: "There has never been, under the sun, a people as enlightened as the population of the United States." In 2020 grades K-12 are no longer under the domain of church, family and community. Instead, a Department of Education, the Supreme Court, or U.S. Congress ultimately control the curriculum. Many parents have relinquished their responsibility to the government, not realizing what their children are being taught. If parents do object to a radical curriculum, what options do they have? Shouldnt parents have the opportunity to choose what education is best for their children in Montana in America? For far too long American schools have been bastions of indoctrination. This has been the norm in colleges and universities for decades. Unfortunately, it is now permeating the primary and elementary grades. "Think about every problem, every challenge, we face. The solution to each starts with education." George H.W. Bush Gary and Joan Carlson write from the Bitterroot Valley. Their columns appear every other Tuesday on the Missoulian's Opinion page. They can be reached by email at garykcarlson11@gmail.com. You must be logged in to react. Click any reaction to login. Love 1 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 1 Angry 1 The attack comes days after journalist Vikram Joshi lodged a complaint at a local police post against some people for harassing his niece Ghaziabad: A Ghaziabad-based journalist was hospitalised after he was shot at by some assailants near his home and nine people have been arrested so far in connection with the case, police said on Tuesday. The attack comes days after Vikram Joshi, who works with a local daily, lodged a complaint at the local Vijay Nagar police post against some people for harassing his niece on 16 July. Joshi was returning home in the Vijay Nagar area with his daughters on a motorcycle when he was waylaid by over half a dozen armed men at around 10.30 pm on Monday, officials said. The journalist was shot in the head by one of the accused, who then fled the spot, leaving him severely injured. He was taken to a hospital where he is in a critical condition, they said. Senior Superintendent of Police, Ghaziabad, Kalanidhi Naithani said nine people, including two of the three named in the FIR, have been arrested while the local police post in-charge was suspended in the wake of the incident. The FIR was registered under Indian Penal Code sections 307 (attempted murder), 506 (criminal intimidation) and 34 (act done by several people with a common intention) on complaint by Joshi's brother Aniket Joshi, Naithani said. The FIR had three named suspects Chhotu, Akash Bihari and Ravi besides some unidentified people. Chhotu and Ravi have been arrested, while searches are underway to nab Akash and six police teams are working on the case, he added. The police have also arrested Mohit, Dalbir, Akash, Yogendra, Abhishek, Abhishek and Shaqir based on evidence in connection with the case, Naithani added. In his complaint lodged at the Vijay Nagar police post, Joshi had named Chhotu, Ravi and Akash, his family alleged. The journalist was given a life threat by the accused men, according to the allegations made in the FIR. The family has alleged inadequate action by the local police post in-charge, who has been suspended with immediate effect considering the gravity of the matter. A departmental inquiry has been ordered and the local Circle Officer will probe the matter, SSP Naithani said. Meanwhile, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra attacked the Uttar Pradesh government over the law-and-order situation in the state following the incident. "Ghaziabad falls in NCR. Going by the state of law and order here, one can get an idea of the situation in the entire state of Uttar Pradesh. A journalist was shot at because he complained to the police against molestation of his niece. How will common man feel safe in such a jungle raj," she said in a tweet in Hindi. (Natural News) If you listen carefully, you might notice that some big-name vaccine proponents have been backing down on their promises for a coronavirus vaccine. Microsofts Bill Gates and National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Director Dr. Anthony Fauci, along with the World Health Organization, have been promising a shot that will give 7 billion people around the world immunity to COVID-19 and prevent transmission of the disease while causing minimal side effects. Many people have been skeptical from the start considering the poor track record of existing vaccines that have decades of development behind them; why would a rushed vaccine created as part of Operation Warp Speed be any better? Now, Gates and Fauci have realized the impossibility of the task and are starting to lower peoples expectations, but even these revised expectations are still setting the bar too high. Gates has been hinting that the vaccine might not prevent transmission of the disease in recent interviews. He said that a vaccine has two aspects, and that the coronavirus vaccine may be better at stopping the vaccinated person from getting the disease than it is at preventing people from transmitting it. Its not guaranteed that the vaccine will be a perfect transmission blocker, he told CNNs Anderson Cooper. Meanwhile, Dr. Fauci now says that he thinks 70 percent immunity would be good. When CNNs Elizabeth Cohen asked what percentage of protection we might expect from the vaccine, he said that although we wont know without further tests, he warned that he doesnt think any vaccine can ever be 100 percent effective. He said he would settle for 70 to 75 percent efficacy. Studies show front-running vaccines are seriously flawed One of the vaccines moving forward in the development process is a joint effort between Oxford University and Big Pharma firm AstraZeneca. The vaccine received 111 million from the British government and theyre manufacturing billions of doses. Although an animal trial showed that the Oxford vaccine is not effective against COVID-19, AstraZeneca has proceeded to launch human trials. Of course, like most vaccine trials, they wont be testing it against an inert placebo. Instead, participants in the control group will be given a vaccine known to be reactogenic the meningitis vaccine which is a common tactic used in these trials to mask the injuries caused by experimental vaccines. The meningitis vaccine is no joke, with 50 listed side effects including pneumonia, appendicitis, staphylococcal infection, Cushings syndrome, seizures, sepsis, suicidal depression, viral hepatitis, convulsions and death. What vaccine wouldnt look good compared to that? Another widely-hyped coronavirus jab, the Moderna vaccine, caused negative side effects in more than half of clinical trial participants. The side effects were dose-dependent, with those receiving higher injection doses experiencing greater side effects. In the high-dose second round vaccinations, 100 percent of the participants experienced systemic and local symptoms, and nearly 100 percent experienced fatigue, myalgia and chills. Moreover, although it does generate some antibodies in the short term, studies have shown that these antibodies fade rather quickly, defeating the purpose of getting a vaccine in the first place. With some studies showing that coronavirus antibodies can fade within about three months, Modernas mRNA vaccine would need to be administered up to four times a year in order for people to enjoy continued high levels of antibodies. However, with the study indicating that each injection sees the vaccine growing more toxic and creating more side effects in people, this route is not only ineffective its also dangerous. Even having antibodies may not be enough, either. Scientist Dr. William Haseltine said that only 15 percent of people who test positive for antibodies are actually making the neutralizing antibodies that are needed for developing immunity. With so much working against it, its not surprising that even huge vaccine proponents like Bill Gates are dialing back some of their enthusiasm about the possibility of an effective COVID-19 vaccine. Sources for this article include: ChildrensHealthDefense.org NaturalNews.com - Raffy Tulfo admitted that many netizens have been asking him to comment about the issue on motorcycle barrier - He then aired three questions for the inter-agency task force regarding the said move - One of the claims that the broadcast-journalist aired was the redundancy of the whole idea - According to Raffy, an expert must be consulted before the said action is implemented PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Raffy Tulfo, a known supporter of President Rodrigo Duterte, recently aired his frank reaction to the idea that there should be a protective divider on two-wheeled vehicles. KAMI learned that the said move was approved by the Inter-Agency Task Force on the Management of the Emerging Infectious Disease (IATF-MEID) in the hope of preventing riders from having physical contact with their passengers. Although there are people who do not agree with the said idea, the Joint Task Force COVID Shield still pushes through and they even set the deadline of installation to July 26. In the recent episode of Wanted sa Radyo, Raffy admitted that there are netizens who are urging him to comment on the motorcycle barrier that is being implemented for riders. The veteran broadcast-journalist first clarified that he supports the government in all of its efforts against the novel coronavirus. Raffy Tulfo (Courtesy of Google Images) Source: UGC PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! He stated that although he is not a rider, he will use his common sense in reacting to the said idea. The prominent personality just threw three questions to the IATF, the group that serves as the creator or implementer of the said move. Here is an excerpt of Raffys statement: Meron ho bang isa sa inyo na sertipikadong rider o beteranong rider na maraming karanasan sa pagmo-motorsiklo? Pangalawang katanungan para sa mga taga-IATF, kayo po ba ay kumonsulta sa mga eksperto? Halimbawa po, sa mga manufacturer ng motor o sa isang aerodynamics engineer Pangatlo, hindi ho kaya redundant yan? Sana po bago kayo mag-conceptualize ng isang bagay, dapat po meron na kayong karanasan tungkol diyan Wag ho kayong gagawa ng sariling patakaran na kayo-kayo lang Hindi ko maintindihan eh. Nandiyan na nga yung face mask, nandiyan pa yung helmet, bakit kinakailangan pa maglagay ng barrier? Maglalagay-lagay ka ng barrier, pagbaba ni misis magki-kiss Useless yung barrier! PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback Watch the video below: Raffy Tulfo is a popular broadcast-journalist in the Philippines. He is loved by many people because of his willingness to help. A few days ago, he reacted to the statement of Janella Salvador amid her issue with her former personal assistant. The said personality also opposed the stand of his brother Ben Tulfo on issue of victim-blaming. POPULAR: Read more news about Raffy Tulfo! 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 Loading Outbreaks which have spread through major hospitals and rehabilitation centres have also increased. There are now 24 cases that have been linked to the Royal Melbourne Hospital's Royal Park campus, up from 18 infections yesterday. The campus is home to a ward which provides rehab services to a large cohort of vulnerable and immuno-compromised patients. Fifteen infections have been linked to a St Vincent's Hospital outbreak, while 15 more cases have been linked to a cluster at the Woolworths distribution centre in Mulgrave in the city's south-east. Premier Daniel Andrews said he was pleased the daily numbers were not increasing day-on-day. "It's always challenging to analyse any one day's results. You'd like to see numbers coming down at the end of the day, though we're not seeing the doubling and doubling again," he said. "So what that says to me ... is that the sorts of measures we've put in place are having a direct impact." More than 29,000 tests were conducted yesterday. Mr Andrews said it was too early to discuss whether restrictions needed to be hardened. Victoria entered stage three restrictions almost two weeks ago, on July 9. The Premier said it could take days after the two-week mark to see numbers fall, due to the time lag in receiving test results. "Tomorrow does mark the first two-week period of a six-week lockdown," he said. "It's too early for us to be talking about next steps. It's too early for us to be, I think trying to be definitive about what the third week and the fourth week look like. This is very fast-moving." From Thursday, Victorians in lockdown areas will be required to wear masks. Mr Andrews welcomed the federal governments extension of JobKeeper and JobSeeker and flagged additional state stimulus. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Tuesday morning the government would cut the JobKeeper wage subsidy to $1200 a fortnight for full-time workers and $750 for part-time workers, down from the current rate of $1500 for both. The Victorian budget later this year would include financial boosts for both individuals and businesses, he said. He applauded the federal government for tailoring its wage subsidy to target those in hard-hit industries. "The commitment was always that hardship would drive the Commonwealth government's response and it seems from the reporting, and I'll let the Prime Minister obviously make the detailed announcements, but it would seem that he's been true to his word," Mr Andrews said. The wage subsidies would be a feature of the response to the pandemic for many months to come, he said. Chief Health Officer Brett Sutton said case numbers had plateaued and the lockdown restrictions were having a positive effect. The states modelling of case numbers from two weeks ago suggested daily case numbers could be in the thousands each day by this point in time, he said. He said there had been more pronounced reductions in case numbers in hotspots locked down prior to the metropolitan-wide lockdown. "Certainly we're seeing a roller coaster of numbers," he said. "There has been some levelling in the last four or five days, and I know that day-to-day changes can be substantial. INFICON, a leading provider of Smart Manufacturing/Industry 4.0 enabling software and hardware solutions for the electronics device manufacturing industry, today announced it has entered into a reseller agreement with VisAbility Solutions. Under the terms of the agreement, INFICON will integrate and be the sole reseller in semiconductor and related markets of VisAbility's market-leading visual tracking system and provide location tracking solutions to factories around the world. VisAbility's vision tracking system complements the functionality provided by INFICON's operations management software, including NextMove VTS and Factory Scheduler, to bring accurate and automatic real time WIP location tracking to electronics device manufacturers. INFICON is integrating VisAbility SmartMarker technology support into the NextMove location tracking and management system to create NextMove VTS (Vision Tracking System). This enables NextMove VTS to automatically locate material and provide automatic processing of WIP based upon the current location. The combined solution will also provide capability to track the location of reusable parts and equipment, such as lithography reticles and shared maintenance equipment such as helium leak detectors. INFICON will also provide direct customer support for the embedded application. "We are excited to integrate VisAbility's vision tracking system to help factories automatically locate and process lots," said John Behnke, General Manager of FPS at INFICON. "Integration of the VisAbility system with INFICON applications enables fabs to better optimize WIP movement and maximize utilization of labor resources." About INFICON INFICON is a leading provider of innovative instrumentation, critical sensor technologies, and advanced process control software that enhance productivity and quality in sophisticated industrial vacuum processes. These analysis, measurement and control products are essential for gas leak detection in air conditioning/refrigeration, and automotive manufacturing. They are vital to equipment manufacturers and end-users in the complex fabrication of semiconductors and thin film coatings for optics, flat panel displays, solar cells and industrial vacuum coating applications. Other users of vacuum based processes include the life sciences, research, aerospace, packaging, heat treatment, laser cutting and many other industrial processes. We also leverage our expertise in vacuum technology to provide unique, toxic chemical analysis products for emergency response, security, and environmental monitoring. INFICON is headquartered in Switzerland and has world-class manufacturing facilities in Europe, the United States and China, as well as subsidiaries in China, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Liechtenstein, Singapore, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, the United Kingdom and the United States. INFICON registered shares (IFCN) are listed on SIX Swiss Exchange. For more information about INFICON and its products, please visit www.inficon.com. About VisAbility Solutions VisAbility Solutions is a leading provider of cutting-edge computer vision software to enhance productivity in many markets. We set to develop a unique approach for tracking assets using a traditional label that has been in use for several decades and added the computer vision augmented layers. This allows customers that have been using traditional barcoding which requires manual scanning to a fully automated method of tracking and locating inventory in a blink of an eye without changing the fact that product/jobs still need a label. Now with the SmartMarker added to clients label and using a standard camera and SmartMarker enterprise software we can identify and track accurately the location of all inventory in multiple markets. We allow our customers to Print IT, Stick IT, and Track IT without ever requiring battery keeping your current label process intact and affordable solution to track assets. https://visability.io View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005590/en/ Contacts: Naomi Kissel-Johns Marketing Communications Manager INFICON 1.315.434.1234 naomi.kisseljohns@inficon.com Development: The building site in Townsend Street, Dublin, where workers tested positive for the virus. Photo: Arthur Carron A city-centre building site has temporarily closed on HSE advice after more than 20 cases of Covid-19 were detected among workers there. Up to 200 staff were working on the site, and those who came into contact with the workers are being urged to get tested as soon as possible to prevent the virus from spreading further. The site was shut temporarily after advice from the Health Service Executive (HSE) yesterday. Further tests on staff are being carried out. John Paul Construction has confirmed a number of its building workers at the site had contracted coronavirus. There are fears over the infection rate due to the large number of people on site. The building site in Townsend Street, Dublin, is being developed for a 393-bedroom hotel, 202-aparthotel, a restaurant, along with 21 apartments. Acting chief medical officer Dr Ronan Glynn described it as "the first significant outbreak" on a construction site to date. "I really want to use this as a signal to employers to look at what you and your staff are doing," he said. It is understood one employee was initially diagnosed with Covid-19 at the latter end of last week. Comprehensive testing was carried out once the company became aware of the positive case and a number of other staff have since tested positive. Labour councillor Kevin Donoghue described the outbreak as "very concerning". He has called for testing to be made available for locals and shop workers in the area who may have come into contact with the staff from the construction site. "The workers on the site would have been using shops locally during breaks and we need to be ready to test local residents who might be impacted by this," he said. "Measures should be put in place to allow all residents in the area who are concerned to get tested immediately. "In their statement the construction company involved said comprehensive testing of workers had been carried out after one person tested positive for the virus. We need to ensure that testing is made available for locals also, especially where they may be concerned about at-risk family members." In a statement, John Paul Construction, which has offices in Dublin, Galway, Cork, London and Riyadh, said: "We have followed the specific advice of the HSE and the Health and Safety Authority at all times in relation to this matter and are assisting the HSE in arranging further tests as required. We have temporarily closed the site. "The health, safety and wellbeing of those who work with us and the communities in which we operate is our top priority and we wish those affected a speedy recovery." The situation has been described as "fluid" and staff are due to be retested next week. Authorities in the central Vietnamese city of Da Nang confirmed on Monday they had recently quarantined 24 Chinese citizens after carrying out an inspection at a local hotel. Police officers examined a local hotel on Saturday and discovered that 24 Chinese people were staying at the venue, according to Dr. Nguyen Van Thuyen, deputy director of the municipal Department of Health. They were then brought to another hotel on Loseby Street in Son Tra District for a mandatory 14-day quarantine period. All of the Chinese nationals have tested negative for the novel coronavirus and are in stable health, Dr. Thuyen stated. It is not immediately clear how these Chinese could enter Vietnam, as the country is closing its borders to foreigners. Further investigation into the case is ongoing. A similar case was discovered in neighboring Quang Nam Province on Saturday. A group of 21 Chinese nationals who had entered the country illegally were found staying at a villa in Dien Duong Ward, Dien Ban Town. They started to flee when officers stormed the villa, but eventually were caught and sent to a quarantine center in Tam Ky City, the capital of Quang Nam Province. They have been tested for the novel coronavirus once with all results coming back negative. The owner of the villa faces a harsh penalty for allowing the foreigners to stay at the place without identification papers. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will now require travelers from 31 states to self-quarantine for 14 days to limit the spread of coronavirus as cases continue to surge across the country. Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced that 10 new states had been added to the list: Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, Washington. The travel order - first issued in June by Cuomo and the governors of New Jersey and Connecticut - already had restrictions for 21 other states where the positive test rate is higher than 10 per 100,000 residents over a seven-day rolling average. Cuomo said he is planning to impose a $2,000 fine for travelers arriving from states on the list who leave airports in New York without submitting a form that says where they are arriving from and where they're going. 'New Yorkers showed incredible courage and resiliency throughout this pandemic, and nowhere is their work more evident than in the numbers we release every day, including in New York City, once a global hotspot,' Cuomo said. 'However, the success of our efforts depends on citizens' willingness to comply with state guidance, socially distance, wear masks and wash their hands, and rising cases around the country continue to threaten our progress, which is why new states have been added to New York's travel advisory.' Scroll down for video New York, New Jersey and Connecticut will now require travelers from 31 states (above in red) to self-quarantine for 14 days to limit the spread of coronavirus as cases surge across the US Governor Andrew Cuomo on Tuesday announced that 10 new states had been added to the list: Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, North Dakota, Nebraska, Virginia, Washington. 'The infection rate across the country is getting worse, not better,' Cuomo said The 31 states on NY and NJ's mandatory quarantine list - Alabama - Alaska - Arizona - Arkansas - California - Delaware - Florida - Georgia - Indiana - Iowa - Idaho - Kansas - Louisiana - Maryland - Mississippi - Missouri - Montana - Nebraska - North Carolina - North Dakota - New Mexico - Nevada - Ohio - Oklahoma - South Carolina - Tennessee - Texas - Utah - Virginia - Washington - Wisconsin Advertisement The list of states that meet the travel advisory's metrics has grown each week as coronavirus cases continue to spike nationwide. With the latest additions, the quarantine requirements now apply to more than two thirds of the nation's population. Cuomo acknowledged that the quarantine policy is 'imperfect', but said it will be effective if people actually follow it. The policy requires travelers from the states on the list to fill out a location form with information about where they came from and where they're going before they leave airports in the tri-state area. Airlines have been handing the forms out on planes and they are also available online. State officials plan to use the forms to randomly track travelers and ensure they're following quarantine restrictions. Airport travelers who fail to fill out the form face a hearing and an order requiring mandatory quarantine. Minnesota was previously on the list but was removed under Tuesday's update as its positivity rate has fallen below 10 percent. Delaware and Washington state were re-added after having been removed from a previous version of the list. Governors in the tri-state area - once the epicenter of the US coronavirus crisis - have been working hard to keep cases down in recent weeks as other states continue to smash their own records. As of Tuesday, New York has reported 408,181 cases and 25,058 deaths after several consecutive weeks of gradual decline. The state's percentage of positive results has plateaued around 1 percent since mid-June, with 1.2 percent of 66,000 tests conducted Monday coming up positive. The bulk of the state's cases came out of New York City, which entered the fourth and final stage of its reopening plan on Monday. But Cuomo has warned that restrictions could be re-implemented if the city sees a significant uptick in cases in coming weeks. On Tuesday he noted that there was an increase in cases linked to celebrations on Fourth of July weekend. 'It's clear based on contact tracing that many of the new cases in New York are a result of a lack of compliance during the July 4 weekend and illustrate how quickly the virus spreads, with one party, for example, infecting more than a third of attendees,' Cuomo said. 'I cannot be more clear: Look at what's happening in the rest of the country. If we are not smart, if we don't wear masks and socially distance, cases will spike. No one wants to go back to the hell we experienced three months ago, so please stay vigilant.' The list of states that meet the travel advisory's metrics has grown each week as coronavirus cases continue to spike nationwide. As of Tuesday more than 3.8 million cases and 140,397 deaths have been reported across the US Cuomo has praised New Yorkers for flattening the state's curve, but said his administration is watching potential spikes in Bronx, Long Island and parts of upstate. The Democratic governor, who's voiced concern about young people congregating in bars, said New York's liquor authority has suspended the licenses of four bars and restaurants in Queens and Suffolk County. Since March, the state has suspended 27 licenses and brought 410 charges against establishments, who must follow social distancing and face covering rules on top of Cuomo's requirement - announced last Thursday - to only serve alcohol to people who order and eat food. Cuomo said his administration will close restaurants and bars with three violations, while 'egregious' violations can result in the immediate loss of a liquor license or closure. 'That is a very serious situation, that means they can't operate,' Cuomo said. 'I'm sorry it's come to this. But it's a dangerous situation.' Cuomo claimed Tuesday that New York never 'opened outside drinking'. Still, the state's previous guidance allowed consumption of 'food and/or beverage' on a licensee's premises in outdoors, open-air areas while seated at tables six feet apart. Cuomo's senior adviser Richard Azzopardi said the state has reined in the rules because of reports of individuals standing outside restaurants and bars and engaging in 'mask-less, non socially distanced outdoor drinking'. 'That clearly wasn't the intent and is why the rules had to be tightened,' he said. ORRVILLE, Ohio, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The J. M. Smucker Company (NYSE: SJM) (the "Company") today announced its Board of Directors approved an increase in the quarterly dividend from $0.88 to $0.90 per common share. The dividend will be paid on Tuesday, September 1, 2020, to shareholders of record at the close of business on Friday, August 14, 2020. The Company remains committed to returning value to shareholders, as this represents the nineteenth consecutive year of dividend growth. The J. M. Smucker Company Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains a forward-looking statement about dividends. This statement is made on the basis of the Company's views and assumptions as of this time, and the Company undertakes no obligation to update this statement unless required by law. This statement is not a guarantee of future performance, and actual events or results may differ materially from this statement. Investors should consult the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (including the information set forth under the caption "Risk Factors" in the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the 2020 fiscal year ended April 30, 2020) for information about certain factors that could cause such differences. Copies of these filings may be obtained by visiting the Company's website at jmsmucker.com. About The J. M. Smucker Company Inspired by more than 120 years of business success and five generations of family leadership, The J. M. Smucker Company makes food that people and pets love. The Company's portfolio of 40+ brands, which are found in 90 percent of U.S. homes and countless restaurants, include iconic products consumers have always loved such as Folgers, Jif, and Milk-Bone plus new favorites like Cafe Bustelo, Smucker's Uncrustables, and Rachael Ray Nutrish. Over the past two decades, the Company has grown rapidly by thoughtfully acquiring leading and emerging brands, while ensuring the business has a positive impact on its 7,000+ employees, the communities it is a part of, and the planet. For more information about The J. M. Smucker Company, visit jmsmucker.com. The J. M. Smucker Company is the owner of all trademarks referenced herein except for Rachael Ray, a registered trademark of Ray Marks II LLC, which is used under license. SOURCE The J. M. Smucker Company Related Links http://www.jmsmucker.com US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo urged "the entire world" Tuesday to stand up to China but denied forcing Britain's hand in its decision to ban the communist superpower's private telecoms giant Huawei. Pompeo met Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the heat of an emerging crisis in relations between London and Beijing over everything from China's treatment of Hong Kong to its persecution of more than one million ethnic Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities. The top US diplomat used a press conference with his UK opposite number Dominic Raab to air a host of grievances President Donald Trump's administration had built up against Beijing. He accused China of engaging in "a cover-up and co-opting" the World Health Organization by allegedly suppressing early details of the "preventable" coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 610,000 people globally. The Chinese Communist Party's "exploitation of this disaster to further its own interest has been disgraceful", he said. Pompeo also castigated China for claiming disputed areas of the South China Sea "you have no lawful claim to" and trying to "threaten and bully" its neighbours. "We think that the entire world needs to work together to ensure that every country, including China, behaves in the international system in ways that are appropriate and consistent with the international order," he said. - 'Right thing to do' - Pompeo's last visit to London in January came just days after Johnson ignored Washington's warnings and allowed Huawei to take a leading role in building Britain's next-generation mobile data network. This trip was announced just a day after Johnson last week decided to risk drawing the wrath of China and phasing out Huawei from the speedy new system. The Chinese foreign ministry responded by accusing Britain of becoming "America's dupe". But Pompeo and Raab both tried to dispel suggestions the White House was dictating British affairs. "I think that decision was made not because the United States said it was a good decision but because the leadership here in the United Kingdom concluded (that it was) the right thing to do," Pompeo said. Johnson is keen to avoid being too closely associated with Trump -- whose approval in Britain is languishing at around 20 percent -- despite the "special relationship" between the two historical allies. The UK government stresses it only ditched Huawei after new US sanctions imposed in May endangered the safety of future 5G equipment produced in China. "The reality is it is a result of US sanctions," Raab said. Washington argues that the Chinese Communist Party can force Huawei to either intercept UK data or shut down the British network in times of war. Huawei has always denied this and Britain had previously concluded that it could mitigate any security flaws. - 'Golden decade' - But the range of steps taken by Johnson in the past month threaten to bring an early end to a "golden decade" in cooperation that former British finance minister George Osborne promised on a visit to Beijing in 2015. London has also outraged Beijing by offering nearly three million residents of Hong Kong a pathway to UK citizenship in response to a highly controversial security law that China imposed on the former British colony last month. Britain followed that up on Monday by suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extending an arms embargo of "potentially lethal weapons" that had previously applied only to mainland China. Pompeo's visit includes a sideline meeting with exiled Hong Kong protest leader Nathan Law aimed at further stressing the seemingly new understanding about Beijing. The UK parliament's release of a delayed report that took the government to task for failing to properly look into any Russian meddling in the 2016 Brexit referendum also hung over Pompeo's visit. The report was commissioned in response to concerns that Moscow attempted to help Trump win the presidency in 2016. Trump and Pompeo reject suggestions that Russia played any meaningful role in the vote. Raab said Britain viewed Russia as "a top national security priority" but Pompeo did not address the issue in his public remarks. Britain is edging closer to the US administration in its geopolitical tug-of-war with China Steps taken by Britain's Prime Minister Boris Johnson in the past month threaten to bring an early end to a 'golden decade' in cooperation with China Washington argues that the Chinese Community Party can force Huawei to either intercept UK data or shut down the British network in times of war A prolonged period of heavy rain which triggered severe flooding from July 19 to July 21 in the northern mountainous province of Ha Giang has caused significant losses to local households and construction sites throughout the locality. A series of heavy downpours destroyed several houses in Ha Giang city and Vi Xuyen district, and submerged many major transport routes in the region, seriously affecting the lives of local citizens. The violent floods also damaged construction works in the province. The Thai An hydropower plant in Quan Ba district was forced to halt operation due to the rising floods Relevant forces have been mobilized to evacuate people to safe places and regulate traffic as heavy rain and floods are forecast to hit over the coming days Ha Giang province is taking measures to assist people to overcome the aftermath of the natural disasters. All forces are put on standby around the clock to deal with any incidents caused by floodi Rising floods affect local peoples life in Ha Giang city VOV AVENTURA, Fla., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In continued efforts to create a purpose-driven company, as well as be stewards of the environment, Life's Butter Cosmetics is launching new, environmentally friendly packaging. As part of our continued efforts to be as green as possible, the company is making several innovative changes to their packaging. All their products now come in 100% recyclable packaging. Their new series of tube packaging will be made from sugarcane plastic, an organic byproduct of farming, as opposed to traditional plastic made from fossil fuels. The marketing team also announced that the informational booklet with instructions is now being transformed into video series and tutorials on how to get the best out of the product and the dry brush. Life's Butter In addition to Life's Butters' commitment to environmentally conscious packaging, they ensure that the products are also never tested on animals. The company released the following statement: "We make sure everything we produce is and always will be 100% cruelty-free. We take our overall commitment to the environment so seriously that even our invoices we send to customers are printed on recycled paper." - Stephanie E. (Head of product development) Life's Butter Anti-Cellulite Cream helps women fight the unwanted appearance of bumps and dimples from cellulite for smoother and firmer skin. This natural anti-cellulite, the skin-firming product is specially formulated to help improve the appearance of the skin which helps give women more confidence and healthier looking and feeling skin. We are currently seeing a boom in sales for Life's Butter's flagship product both on LifesButter.com and Amazon.com. The customers that are buying this product are experiencing amazing results and are also loving the smell and feel of the product as well as the natural ingredients and eco-friendly packaging. Series of blog posts featured on the company's blog help women fight cellulite: Life's Butter Cosmetics [email protected] (786) 284-2519 Related Images lifes-butter-anti-cellulite-kit.png Life's Butter Anti-Cellulite Kit Related Links Company Website Life's Butter Review SOURCE Life's Butter The Morrison government will cut the JobKeeper wage subsidy at the end of September to $1200 a fortnight for full-time workers and to $750 for part-time workers, down from the current single rate of $1500. The scheme is being extended for six months, until March 28 next year, but will be revised down further at the start of January to $1000 for full-time workers and $650 for part-time employees working 20 hours a week or less. The JobSeeker coronavirus supplement will also be reduced at the end of September from $550 to $250 a fortnight, meaning those without a job will have their payments cut back to about $800 a fortnight under the unemployment scheme. The rate of JobSeeker, formerly known as Newstart, was about $560 a fortnight before the pandemic. This was increased to $1100 with the supplement that was due to end in September, alongside the wage subsidy scheme. ONeil, 33, ultimately became one of three executives from the firm convicted of federal crimes as part of a crackdown on so-called scam PACs, or political action committees that enrich consultants and vendors rather than campaigns. The convictions also sparked an investigation in Indiana of a casino executive allegedly linked to the illegal donations. Story continues below advertisement Strategic Campaign Group raised more than $20 million from more than 9,000 conservative donors between 2011 and 2018; less than 2 percent actually went to political candidates. Advertisement Defense attorney Steven McCool emphasized that ONeil did not admit involvement in the misuse of funds raised in the name of veterans and former Virginia gubernatorial candidate Ken Cuccinelli, now acting deputy secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. ONeil was only convicted of conspiring to make illegal campaign contributions under other peoples names. ONeil admitted funneling contributions from an Indiana casino executive to a Republican congressional candidate; the matter is under investigation by the Indiana Gaming Commission. Story continues below advertisement I realized after the first Cuccinelli case it was time for me to leave, ONeil said in court. But he said it became clear that unless he could provide assurances that his involvement in the firms legal troubles were over, I was not going to get a job. So he stayed through a settlement with Cuccinelli for $85,000 in 2015 and an FBI raid in 2017; he left when his boss, Kelley Rogers, pleaded guilty last year. Rogers, who was sentenced to three years in prison, took the blame for leading ONeil astray. Chip acted, at all times, under my instruction and direction, he wrote. WASHINGTON President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Tuesday claiming that undocumented migrants should not be counted in the census for purposes of deciding how many members of Congress are apportioned to each state though the practical impact of the president's expected move is uncertain at best. "Respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the President's discretion under the law," Trump said in the brief document. The memo, which the White House presaged for months, will almost certainly draw legal challenges just as an earlier effort by Trump to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census prompted a court battle that went to the Supreme Court, an effort the president lost. Trump backed down from adding the citizenship question last year. Related video: Trump resuming coronavirus briefings amid spike in cases The memo does not say how the U.S. Census Bureau could distinguish citizens from non-citizens for any reason because counters are prohibited from asking a citizenship question. Apportionment is the process of deciding how many members of the House of Representatives members each state will receive based on that state's population. Elizabeth Wydra, president of the Constitutional Accountability Center, said Trump's demand is "blatantly unconstitutional" because it amounts to not counting undocumented people in the census at all. "The federal government has a constitutional obligation to count all people living in the United States," she said, "whether they are citizens or noncitizens, whether they were born in the United States or in a distant part of the world." Legal analysts said Trump's effort to essentially discount immigrants in the country illegally for purposes of reapportionment is already a dead letter, citing a Supreme Court decision from last year blocking the president's attempts to add a citizenship question to the census. Story continues "The Constitution says count 'persons' not citizens," tweeted Joyce Alene, a law professor at the University of Michigan. "His unconstitutional EO today, directing a count of only citizens is red meat for his base & an effort to distract from Covid & his other disasters." In a written statement issued by the White House, Trump said his memo reflects "a better understanding of the Constitution." In a more political vein, Trump who trails Democratic challenger Joe Biden in numerous pre-election polls said "the radical left" is trying to "conceal the number of illegal aliens in our country." He also claimed "a broader left-wing effort to erode the rights of Americans citizens, and I will not stand for it." Census takers are prohibited from asking respondents whether or not they are U.S, citizens; it is hard to know how they can determine whether respondents are in the country illegally. Joshua Geltzer, executive director of the Institute for Constitutional Advocacy and Protection, tweeted that the language of the Constitution, federal statutes, and Supreme Court precedent "makes Trumps position outrageous." President Donald Trump The American Civil Liberties Union said the "the Constitution requires that the Census count EVERYONE in the United States," tweeted: "Reminder, we won at the Supreme Court last year against the administrations last anti-immigrant Census scheme. If Trump issues this unconstitutional order, well win again." Trump has served notice that he will make immigration a major issue in his re-election campaign, just as he did during his first run in 2016. Opponents said Trump is demonizing Hispanic migrants, and people of color in general, in a base appeal to white workers. More: Donald Trump drops fight to get citizenship question on 2020 census; other federal records to be used More: Supreme Court blocks 2020 census citizenship question for now, handing Trump administration a major defeat The coming legal battle echoes the one inspired by Trump's failed attempt last year to add a citizenship question to the census. In June 2019, the Supreme Court ruled against the citizenship question, saying the Trump administration's reasons for wanting to include it in the census appeared to "have been contrived." Trump said he thought about ordering the question anyway, but decided against. Instead, he ordered government agencies to obtain citizenship data by reviewing existing databases and documents. We are not backing down on our effort to determine the citizenship status of the United States population," Trump said a year ago. Trump cited that 2019 order in his new memo on apportionment. "Last summer in the Rose Garden, I told the American people that I would not back down in my effort to determine the citizenship status of the United States population," Trump said. "Today, I am following through on that commitment." Contributing: John Fritze This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Trump to tell census to not count undocumented for apportionment Rep. Davis Calls for Capitol to Reopen to Visitors, Claims Dems Obstructing Rep. Rodney Davis (R-Ill.), the ranking Republican on the House Administration Committee, says its time for visitors to be allowed again to visit the U.S. Capitol, but he doubts Democratic leaders will let that happen before the November election. Its crucial. I was doing a Zoom meeting with constituents earlier today in Statuary Hall and they asked me what its like in Washington, whats it going to be like in the next few months, Davis told The Epoch Times on July 21. I spun my phone around and showed them I was sitting where Abe Lincolns desk used to sit in Statuary Hall, sitting in a chair all by myself, social-distanced from anyone because no one is there. Its July 21st, at 10:30 in the morning. Are you kidding me, Davis said. That place would be packed in any other year, but thats what were under and that one instance reminded me of what weve got to get back to, he continued. I dont believe the Democratic majority in the House ever wants to get us back to that point because they are not doing the things necessary to mitigate the risk on the House campus, to test House employees, and in the end, to plan for funding for antibody testing, he said. While the House is officially back in town this week, it continues to operate with thousands of personal and committee aides still telecommuting, as they have since late March, due to the CCP virus, which is commonly known as the novel coronavirus and causes the disease COVID-19. No visitors are allowed anywhere in the Capitol complex, and, with minimal administrative staff present, often the only humans seen in the three House office buildings adjacent to the Capitol are members of the Capitol Police force. Committees are meeting and votes are being taken on the House floor but under tight social distancing rules such as teleconferencing from remote sites and proxy voting by representatives who arent physically present in the House chamber, although the Constitution requires that votes be taken in person. The House Administration Committee, on which Davis is the top Republican, oversees the day-to-day operations of the House of Representatives and has oversight of federal elections. A spokesman for committee Chair Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) didnt immediately respond to an email request by The Epoch Times for comment. Davis is especially concerned that antibody testing isnt being implemented aggressively enough. The only true way for this country, and the Capitol complex for that matter, to understand the true impact of COVID is to understand who may have been sick but didnt know it, and now have the antibodies, Davis said. The mortality rate for the CCP virus decreased last week, marking the 12th consecutive weekly decline, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). We are in a very different place than what we were in February and March, U.S. Surgeon General Vice Adm. Jerome Adams told CBS News last week. If you actually get diagnosed with COVID, your chance of dying from it is significantly lower than what it was in February and March. Asked why he thinks House Democrats arent moving to restore a more normal routine on the Capitol campus, given the CDC data and Adamss comment, Davis pointed to two factors. I think it has to do with control and I think it has to do with politics, Davis said. He noted that bills such as the $3 trillion HEROES Act, approved by the House in May, was completely manufactured and written in [Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosis] suite. Davis also noted the House Democratic leaders imposition of proxy voting as a political move, claiming when people arent here, youre usually able to convince them to vote your way. Asked if he expects congressional staff and members of the public to be allowed to return to the Capitol complex after the November election, Davis said, I certainly hope so, but I would like to see us back to a sense of normalcy now. The problem is that Democrats know they can control their agenda and not have bipartisan input when they dont have us back in Washington. And I believe their leadership and committee chairmen will do as much as possible to keep us out of Washington, Davis added. Davis also is a member of the Select Committee on the Modernization of Congress. Contact Mark Tapscott at Mark.Tapscott@epochtimes.nyc Delhi's sero-prevalence study has found that around 23 per cent of the people tested had an exposure to the novel coronavirus in the city, which has several pockets of dense population, the Union health ministry said on Tuesday. IMAGE: COVID-19 recovered Delhi Police personnel donates his blood for plasma at AIIMS hospital in New Delhi. Photograph: ANI Photo Director of the National Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh said the remaining 77 per cent are still vulnerable to the viral disease and containment measures need to continue with the same rigour. The study was conducted from June 27 to July 10 by the NCDC in collaboration with the Delhi government and involved testing 21,387 samples. It showed that 20 per cent population in eight of the 11 districts in the national capital have developed antibodies against COVID-19. The survey also indicated that a large number of infected people remain asymptomatic. A sero-survey involves testing of blood serum of individuals to check for the prevalence of antibodies against infection. NCDC Director Singh said, "When the prevalence was adjusted against the sensitivity and specificity of the ELISA test kits, the prevalence in Delhi was found to be 22.86 per cent and this is an adjusted figure... Eight of the total 11 districts have more than 20 per cent sero-prevalence." He attributed this to the government's efforts to prevent the spread of infection, such as lockdown, containment and surveillance measures, including contact tracing and tracking, as well as citizen's compliance to COVID-19 appropriate behaviours. Earlier during the day, the ministry had said in a statement, 'The results of the sero-prevalence study show that on an average, across Delhi, the prevalence of IgG antibodies is 23.48 per cent. 'The study also indicates that a large number of infected persons remain asymptomatic.' The sero-surveillance was done to estimate the proportion of people exposed to the coronavirus in the total population of Delhi and the number of people selected from each district for the survey is proportionate to the population of that area, Singh said. Southeast district was found to have sero-prevalence of 22.12 per cent, Shahadara 27.61 per cent, northwest 23.31 per cent, New Delhi 22.87 per cent, central 27.86 per cent, southwest 12.95 per cent, northeast 27.7 per cent, east 23.9 per cent, north 25.26 per cent, south 18.61 per cent and west 19.13 per cent. "As antibodies take around 14 days to develop, the study represents the picture of Delhi around the third week of June, (18th and 19th day of the month) when the cases were increasing at a high speed," NITI Aayog member V K Paul said. "The findings of the survey show that in a city like Delhi with high population density, around 23 per cent were exposed to the infection and the credit for that goes to the efforts of the government and the best practices followed by the people," he said but cautioned against letting the guard down as a significant portion of the population is still vulnerable. The Union health ministry underlined that non-pharmacological interventions such as physical distancing, use of face masks, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and avoidance of crowded places must be followed strictly. For the survey, blood samples were collected from selected individuals after taking written informed consent and then tested for IgG antibodies and infection using COVID KAVACH ELISA approved by the Indian Council for Medical Research (ICMR). It was one of the largest sero-prevalence studies conducted in the country using the ELISA testing. The ministry said that the tests performed was not a diagnostic one but only provides information about past infection due to SARS-CoV-2 in individuals who test positive. "Symptoms-based screening and testing policy may not be able to assess the burden of infection in the community effectively, hence, periodic sero-surveys are required to assess the extent of infection in the community," Singh said. Delhi recorded 1,349 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the tally in the city to over 1.25 lakh, while the death toll mounted to 3,690, authorities said. But Kellyanne Conway, the presidents counselor, publicly said that the presidents poll numbers were better when he was doing the briefings and that she hoped he would again. Vice President Mike Pences team has also wanted him to do more, but the presidents communications aides bristled at the vice president appearing at them when they thought Mr. Trump should be leading the effort. By the end of last week, Mr. Kushner and Ms. Hicks were rethinking their concerns, according to people familiar with the discussions. The pandemic is the No. 1 topic of conversation around family dinner tables and Zoom conversations, so the president is smart to ensure his message is getting into those discussions, said Cliff Sims, a former White House media aide under Mr. Trump. If we learned anything during the 2016 campaign and in the White House, its that hes always his own best messenger and our ability to shape the debate is always bolstered by having him out front. But Democrats scoffed at the notion that the president would handle the briefings any better this time around. Its pretty clear that the resumption of briefings is more about Trump feeding his own ego, in an absence of other forums, and sharing his own distorted version of history directly with his base than it is about sharing fact-based updates with the American public, said Jen Psaki, a White House communications director under President Barack Obama. The original coronavirus briefings from March to April were made-for-television events, with scientific information provided by public health experts often overshadowed by a confrontational president castigating governors, lawmakers, China, reporters and others he deemed insufficiently grateful to him for his leadership. He used them to defend his administrations response to the virus and to promote a pet drug as a possible treatment over the advice of his own experts. Mr. Trump eventually quit holding them after he was widely mocked for suggesting that people might be able to counter the virus by ingesting or injecting disinfectants like bleach, an offhand comment that sent public health agencies scrambling to warn the public not to try such an approach because it could be fatal. But in recent weeks, the surge of cases has frustrated Mr. Trumps effort to play down the seriousness of the continuing pandemic. The United States now records more than twice as many cases each day as it did during the height of the daily briefings, and the number of deaths, which had fallen substantially, has begun to rise again as well. White House officials have said in recent days both that the president is too busy to attend coronavirus task force meetings and that he is working around the clock on the virus. But even as hospitals fill up and governors reverse decisions to reopen, Mr. Trump has continued to insist that the virus would simply vanish on its own. CAIRO (AP) Forces loyal to a Libyan commander said they will only allow the reopening of oil fields and terminals once a mechanism has been set up to fairly distribute revenue across the country, which is split between rival, warring factions. Powerful tribes in eastern Libya loyal to Khalifa Hifter closed export terminals and choked off major pipelines at the start of the year. The move was aimed at pressuring their rivals in the U.N.-supported government in the capital, Tripoli, in the country's west. In a statement late Saturday, Ahmed al-Mosmari, a spokesman for Hifter's forces, called for oil revenues to flow into a bank account in a foreign country with a clear mechanism to distribute funds fairly among Libyas regions. He did not name a country to host the account. He also demanded international guarantees that oil revenues would not to be used to fund terrorists and mercenaries. He was apparently referring to the mercenaries, mostly Syrians, that Turkey brought in recent months to fight on the side of the Tripoli government, which is backed by an array of local militias as well as Turkey, Qatar and Italy. Hifter's forces are also backed by a patchwork of armed groups as well as foreign patrons, including the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, Russia and France. Al-Mosmari also called for an audit to Libyas Central Bank in Tripoli to review the spending in the past years. Oil, the lifeline of Libyas economy, has long been at the center of the civil war, as rival authorities jostle for control of Africas largest reserves. The closures have deprived authorities of over $6.5 billion. Hifters supporters say the Libyan Central Bank, which is based in the capital and collects oil revenue, only uses it for the benefit of the Tripoli government. Last month, the tribes offered to end the closure as part of a political settlement. They mandated Hifters forces to negotiate the opening of the oil facilities. The state-run National Oil Corporation said Friday it has resumed crude exports, shipping 730,000 barrels to Italy. Al-Mosmari said the shipment, which was contracted before the closures, was allowed in order to ease the strain on storage facilities. In recent weeks, regional countries have been quietly negotiating with the Tripoli-based government over the distribution of oil revenues in talks supervised by the U.N. and the U.S., according to the state-run oil company. Story continues But on Sunday, the National Oil Corp. said Hifters forces reversed their cooperative posture in the negotiations to reopen oil facilities. It accused the UAE of ordering Hifter to reimpose the blockade, without providing evidence. There was no immediate comment from the UAE. There was no immediate reaction to the oil companys allegation from the UAE, a federation of seven sheikhdoms on the Arabian Peninsula. Its Foreign Ministry did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The U.S. Embassy in Libya on Sunday also rebuked what it called foreign-backed efforts against Libyas economic and financial sectors, saying they "impeded progress and heightened the risk of confrontation." The embassy statement threatened sanctions against those who undermine Libyas economy and cling to military escalation." The statement did not name specific outside countries, but criticized both the Tripoli government's illegal obstruction of an audit of Libya's banking sector, as well as Saturdays statement by Hifter's forces and an incursion by Hifter-allied Russian mercenaries into a vast oil field last month. Hifter's forces launched an offensive in April last year to try to capture Tripoli. The offensive quickly stalled, however, and in recent weeks Hifter's forces have fallen back as the Tripoli-allied militias, with Turkish support, gained the upper hand. The Tripoli-allied forces are now threatening to retake the Mediterranean city of Sirte, which Hifter took in January. Capturing Sirte could allow Tripoli administration and its backers to gain control of Hifter-held oil fields and facilities in the south. A tropical disturbance moving into the Gulf of Mexico may produce scattered thunderstorms this weekend in San Antonio, according to the National Weather Service. The National Hurricane Center is monitoring the tropical disturbance near western Cuba and over the Florida Straits. It is is forecasted to emerge into the Gulf of Mexico on Tuesday and has a 40 percent chance into developing into a larger storm and possibly a hurricane, according to the hurricane center. On Tuesday and Wednesday, NWS meteorologist Ethan Williams said there is a 30 percent chance for rain but says chances increase Friday night and into the weekend as the storm approaches the Texas coast, which is it's projected path. FIND OUT FIRST: Get San Antonio breaking news directly to your inbox Williams said it is too soon to determine specific impacts from the tropical wave, but he added it is looking like it's going to be some beneficial rain for San Antonio this week. He said to expect a combined 1 to 2 inches of rain for the area for the rest of the week. "All of this is certainly welcomed rain, but of course we don't want too much at one time," he said. "If something does end up spinning up in the Gulf later this week, we could run into some issues, but right now it's looking like it's going to be beneficial rainfall, which we need pretty bad right now." Williams said the San Antonio area has not had widespread rainfall since late June. High temperatures for the rest of the week in San Antonio are expected to be in the mid-90s Priscilla Aguirre is a general assignment reporter for MySA.com | priscilla.aguirre@express-news.net | @CillaAguirre A total of 287 COVID -19 patients out of the 294 confirmed cases in the Western North Region have fully recovered and discharged as at Sunday 19 July 2020. The Region now has seven active cases with one death. All the seven active cases are from the Bibiani Anwhiaso Bekwai Municipality. This was contained in a Public Health Emergency Management Committee Report, signed by Dr Marion Okoh-Owusu, Regional Health Director and copied to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Sefwi- Wiawso. She applauded health professionals and stakeholders for their immense contribution to achieve the feat. Dr Okoh Owusu encouraged residents to continue to adhere to all the precautionary measures to be free from the pandemic. "By strictly observing social distancing, wearing of masks, regular hand washing, and sanitizing your hands, we can stop COVID-19." The Regional Director asked Ghanaians especially residents of the Region to desist from stigmatisation since according to her, those who have recovered and discharged were free from COVID -19 and must be accepted into the society. Dr Okorh-Owusu tasked those who have recovered to act as ambassadors and educate residents on the 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 New Delhi/Jaipur: The Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) on Tuesday questioned Rajasthan chief minister Ashok Gehlots officer on special duty (OSD) Deva Ram Saini and Congress MLA Krishna Poonia in its probe into the death of station house officer (SHO) Vishnudutt Vishoi, whose body was found hanging from the ceiling of his house on May 23, officials familiar with the development said. A team of CBIs special crime unit in Delhi was in Jaipur to record their statements. The team questioned Saini for nearly two hours, while Poonia was quizzed for about two-and-a-half hours at her residence, an official said on condition of anonymity. This was the second time Poonia, an Olympian, was questioned in connection with the matter. The agency quizzed her for nearly three hours at her Jaipur residence on Monday evening. On May 23, Vishnoi, an SHO at the Rajgarh police station in Churu district, was found hanging from the ceiling of his official residence. Two suicide notes were recovered from Vishnois mobile phone one addressed to his parents and the other to then superintendent of police, Churu. One of the notes, still being verified, appeared to suggest that Vishnoi indicated he was trapped in dirty politics. Shorty after the incident, the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party and its ally Rashtriya Loktantrik Party alleged that Vishnoi was being pressured by Congress MLA Poonia, a charge she has denied. The two parties demanded a CBI probe. The questioning comes at a time when Gehlot is locked in a political battle with Sachin Pilot, who has been ousted from the posts of the deputy chief minister and the state Congress president. While the Rajasthan government recently withdrew its default consent to the CBI to probe cases in the state after its July 19 notification, the state government itself handed over the probe into Vishnois death on June 4. On Tuesday, the CBI said Poonia and Saini were not being treated as suspects at this point. The official said that the questioning was being conducted to seek clarification on certain aspects of the case. Saini, who is a Rajasthan police officer posted in the chief ministers office, said: I am extending full cooperation and provided all required information. Poonia said: I have nothing to do with the suicide. I am cooperating with the CBI and will answer all their questions. Kevin "therealkg" Gerhart Wins Second Career Bracelet in WSOP Online Event #20 July 21, 2020 On Monday night, the 2020 World Series of Poker (WSOP) Online Event #20: $500 PLO 6-Handed attracted 627 players who rebought 510 times. The 1,137-entry field generated a $511,650 prize pool and after 13 hours of play, Ohio native Kevin "therealkg" Gerhart, who now resides in Las Vegas, captured the $97,571.65 top prize and his second gold bracelet. Gerharts first piece of WSOP hardware came last year when he took down the 2019 WSOP Event #54: $1,500 Razz for $119,054. It was a career-high live score for Gerhart, who according to HendonMob has just over $600K in live tournament earnings. That includes $10,493 and a ring for winning the 2018 WSOP Circuit Planet Hollywood Event #6: $400 PLO, as well as $69,561 for winning the Wynn Winter Classic $600 NLH Event back in December. Check Out the WSOP Online Bracelet Schedule A total of 85 bracelets will be won online from July to September this year. Find out more information right here on PokerNews! CLICK HERE 2020 WSOP Online Event #20 Final Table Results Place Player Prize 1 Kevin "therealkg" Gerhart $97,572 2 Cody Duckmoney420 Brinn $60,324 3 Jenny Mobey Svancara $41,290 4 Chris Robotbob47 Moorman $28,601 5 Adam AdamJ080584 Jones $20,210 6 Shanmukha Shanmukha Meruga $14,480 Don't miss the PokerNews Podcast with bracelet winners Ryan Depaulo & Ron McMillen After Kenneth KBconcepts Phillips bubbled in 151st place, the in-the-money finishers included Jamie DanBilzerian Kerstetter (111th - $920.97), Phil Lumestackin Hellmuth (95th - $920.97), Ryan bitc0in Riess (55th - $1,227.96), Event #12 champ Ryan joeyisamush Depaulo (51st - $1,381.45), Shaun ddtgg Deeb (36th - $2,30242), Tom looter Marchese (12th - $5,935.14), Connor 666666 Drinan (11th - $5,935.14), and Tammy rynom Brindise (8th - $10,591.15). Gerhart began the final table as the chip leader while Shanmukha Shanmukha Meruga was the short stack and first to fall. Meruga got it in good calling off on the flop with nines against Gerharts threes, but the latter turned two pair for the win. Cody Duckmoney420 Brinn then dispatched Adam AdamJ080584 Jones in fifth place after making trip queens to overcome tens, and then Chris Robotbob47 Moorman let it ride on a flopped gutshot straight draw against Gerharts two pair, which held to eliminate the online legend in fourth place. 888poker ambassador and online legend Chris "Robotbot47" Moorman finished in 4th place ($28,601) New Jerseys Jenny Mobey Svancara, the first woman to make a final table in the 2020 WSOP, bowed out in third place after getting it in with a flopped two pair only to have Gerhart turn a bigger two pair. The $41,290 she received for her deep run marked her sixth cash of the series. Gerhart began heads-up play holding a slight chip lead over Brinn, but an early double saw the latter pull out to a 7:1 lead of their own. The two would jostle back and forth until Gerhart double back into the lead before closing it out by completing a wrap draw on the turn against Brinn's overpair. 2020 Online WSOP Bracelet Winners Download WSOP.com in Nevada and New Jersey The first step in getting set up to play on WSOP.com is to download the client. You can do so for both mobile (Android and iOS) and desktop (Windows 7 or higher and Mac OS X 10.6.8). To get the correct version of the client, use the links below: The next tournament on the schedule Event #21: $777 NLH 6-Handed will take place at 3 p.m. PDT on Tuesday. The PokerNews Live Reporting Team will once again be reporting all the action, so be sure to tune in then to see who captures the next 2020 WSOP bracelet! Sharelines The Ohio native followed up on his 2019 Razz victory and won $97,572 in the $500 PLO 6-Max. Arizonas largest backpack and school supply giveaway event, Phoenix Tools 4 School, is moving locations. Due to high demand, the backpack drive has been moved to South Mountain Community College (7050 S. 24th St.) on Saturday, July 25, from 7 to 10 a.m. The event is an effort between the HeroZona Foundation and the Travis L. Williams Post American Legion 65 to support local families with the cost of their kids returning to school and to ensure the health and safety of volunteers, community members, students and their families, this years backpack drive will be adhering to COVID-19 CDC guidelines. This means the Tools 4 School backpack drive will now be a drive thru event and families will be asked to stay in their car while receiving supplies. This year has been especially tough on students and their families given the impact of COVID-19, says U.S. Army Desert Storm Veteran and Co-Founder of the HeroZona Foundation, Alan AP Powell. Through providing basic school readiness supplies for students whose families cannot afford any or all the necessary items to start off the school year, we hope to alleviate some of their financial burden. In just seven years, the Phoenix Tools 4 School annual event has impacted over 50,000 students and family members by providing them with supplies needed for their education, such as book bags, notebooks, writing utensils and more. Pre-coronavirus, the Tools 4 School event has also hosted a carnival and workshops from Maricopa Community Colleges and Arizona State University for 7th and 8th grade students to prepare them on their path to higher education. For families interested in learning more about K-12 resources from the university, they can visit eoss.asu.edu/access, which includes virtual workshops, career quizzes and financial aid support. The event on July 25 is free and open to the public and is expected to draw thousands of families. Tools 4 School is open to all students in grades kindergarten through 8th grade. Supplies are limited, and backpacks will be distributed on a first come first served while supplies last. People can preregister at Herozona.org. Attendees are encouraged to show up early and students must be present to receive their backpack and supplies. This years event is supported by partners such as APS, UPS, Phoenix Suns, and Crescent Crown Distributing. Community supporters include SRP, ASU, Roosevelt School District #66, Southwest Airlines, EPCOR, 101.1 The Beat, Mega 104.3, 101.9 Campesina and Dollar Days. For more information about Phoenix Tools 4 School on July 25, visit herozona.org. About HeroZona Foundation The mission of HeroZona Foundation is to create and empower Heroes in Phoenix communities. The HeroZona Foundation Awards, which honors companies and individuals supporting veteran initiatives in fields such as entrepreneurship, education and employment, will return to the Valley on May 15, 2021, on Armed Forces Day. Notable past recipients include Jerry Moyes, CEO of Swift Transportation, Johnny Clayton Taylor, Jr, CEO of the Society for Human Resource Management, and Dr. Michael M. Crow, President of Arizona State University. Other programs include the Bridge Forum, Phoenix Tools 4 School, Play it Forward, a performing arts program for students, and Veterans Reach to Teach. For more information, visit herozona.org ### The sun sets behind a crude oil pump jack on a drill pad in the Permian Basin in Loving County, Texas, U.S. November 24, 2019. Oil rose on Tuesday, helped by positive news about vaccine trials and an EU stimulus deal, taking prices to levels last seen when an oil price war erupted in early March between Russia and Saudi Arabia. Benchmark Brent crude was up $1.37, or 3.17%, at $44.65, on track for its biggest daily rise since mid-June. West Texas Intermediate crude gained 2.82%, or $1.15, to settle at $41.96 per barrel, the highest level since March. Prices were buoyed by an agreement among European Union leaders on a 750 billion euro ($859 billion) fund to prop up their coronavirus-hit economies, lifting prospects for fuel demand. In other financial markets, world shares and the euro also hit their highest in several months on Tuesday. The dollar, in which most oil contracts are priced, fell to its lowest since March against a basket of currencies. The EU deal allows the European Commission to raise billions of euros on capital markets on behalf of all 27 states, an unprecedented act of solidarity in almost seven decades of European integration. Oil prices were also supported by promising coronavirus vaccine data released on Monday, raising confidence that a vaccine may be created even if a global rollout will take time. In China, some cinemas reopened on Monday after a six-month closure, another sign of recovery in the world's second-largest economy. Countries from the United States to India are reporting record numbers of coronavirus infections, while others such as Spain and Australia are battling new outbreaks. In the first big energy deal since the coronavirus crushed fuel demand, Chevron Corp said it would buy Noble Energy Inc for about $5 billion in stock. U.S. crude oil stockpiles were seen falling last week, while inventories of refined products are also likely to have dropped, a preliminary Reuters poll showed on Monday. Industry-compiled U.S. crude stockpile data is due at 2030 GMT, while government data is due on Wednesday. Despite its intl. obligation, US still violates UNSC Resolution 2231: Iran diplomat Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 2:26 PM Iran's permanent ambassador to the United Nations says despite its international obligation to abide by resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council, the United States is still in violation of the world body's Resolution 2231, which endorses a landmark nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Majid Takht Ravanchi made the statement in a tweet on Monday, which marks five years after the UN Security Council endorsed Iran's nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), through the unanimous adoption of Resolution 2231 on July 20, 2015. "2 years ago, the US ceasedin its own words 'participation' in JCPOA and relinquished all rights as Participant. US is obliged to abide by UNSC resolutions, yet remains in violation of 2231," Takht Ravanchi said. In May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally pulled his country out of the JCPOA and later re-imposed the sanctions that had been lifted against Tehran on the back of the deal. Although it is no longer a party to the deal, the US is currently exerting pressure on the UN Security Council to extend an arms embargo against Iran, which will expire under the JCPOA in October, as part of Washington's so-called "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran. France, Britain and Germany -- the three European signatories to the JCPOA have argued against the lifting of the arms embargo against Tehran, resonating the US claims. Tehran has firmly rejected Washington's plans, arguing that the US is no longer a party to the nuclear deal ever since it withdrew from the multilateral agreement. China and Russia, which are both signatories to the JCPOA, have echoed Iran's position. The US recently served the UNSC with a draft resolution on the extension of the arms embargo, with American Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft saying Washington will push the Security Council to vote on the draft as soon as mid-July. Washington has threatened to force a "snapback" of all sanctions against Tehran if its drive to renew the arms embargo fails. Addressing a virtual UNSC meeting late in June, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the United States is an "outlaw bully" that the world body should not surrender to, warning that giving in to Washington's pressure threatens to restore the "law of the jungle." "The international community in general, and the United Nations Security Council, in particular, are facing an important decision," he said. "Do we maintain respect for the rule of law or do we return to the law of the jungle by surrendering to the whims of an outlaw bully?" the top diplomat asked. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address - President Rodrigo Duterte addressed the Filipinos on Tuesday morning, July 21 - He discussed the current COVID-19 situation in the country with the Inter-Agency Task Force - According to the President, the Filipinos should persevere during the pandemic - He also urged the public to dedicate their sacrifices to the Lord as the cases in the country continue to rise PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed! President Rodrigo Duterte turned to the Lord Jesus Christ as he asks the Filipinos to persevere amid the COVID-19 crisis in the country. KAMI learned that President Duterte urged the Filipinos to dedicate their sacrifices to the Lord. In a report by GMA News Online (authored by Llanesca Panti), the President said that the Lord will not neglect the needs of the Filipinos, as the Philippines is a Catholic country. The important thing here is perseverance. You must persevere during this time, he said. Marunong ang Diyos. Hindi tayo pababayaan, lalo na Pilipino tayo, Kristiyano tayo, he added. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedback He also said that the Filipinos should face the sacrifices as the Lord did when he was crucified. Magsakripisyo tayo, tutal ang idol natin, hinampas-hampas, pinako pa sa krus. Tayo, simba-simba lang. Dedicate your sacrifices to the Lord, dedicate the suffering for the country, he said. PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! President Rodrigo Duterte once drew flak in the past for his controversial statements against God, the Bible, and the Catholic Church. However, in one of his speeches last year, he admitted that he believes in God and that he is afraid of karma. Just a few months ago, the President already sought for Gods help as he leads the Philippines against the coronavirus disease or COVID-19. Please like and share our amazing Facebook posts to support the KAMI team! Dont hesitate to comment and share your opinions about our stories either. We love reading about your thoughts and views on different matters! Source: KAMI.com.gh Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 21:59:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Stakeholders in Zambia have expressed worry that people's laxity in adhering to preventive guidelines against the COVID-19 pandemic, coupled with the cold weather, has resulted in a rise in cases and deaths. Minister of Health Chitalu Chilufya says the country has seen a rise in both cases and deaths in the last 10 days, an indication that the pandemic has taken a new twist in the country. According to the latest figures, Zambia has reported 3,326 cases and 128 deaths, with the health minister indicating that the cases may continue to rise up to August unless people changed their attitudes towards adhering to the guidelines. The health minister said the country is in a dangerous surge of the virus due to the cold weather and that high cases may be persistent until August. According to him, collective action is needed in order to contain the pandemic. The situation has been compounded by the fact that many people have dropped their guard as they have stopped following the laid-down preventive measures such as wearing face masks, avoiding handshakes, maintaining social distancing, and sanitizing, among others. Another issue fuelling the spike in cases is that some Zambians believe that the pandemic is not real but just a hoax. Stakeholders have expressed worry about the sudden surge in cases and deaths. The Jesuit Center for Theological Reflection (JCTR), an influential economic and social lobby organization, has warned that laxity among citizens on preventive measures will result in the death of many citizens. Father Alex Muyebe, the organizations' chief executive officer said it was unfortunate that compliance with the stipulated preventive measures is not the same as it was around April. "It is worrying that laxity on COVID-19 preventive measures in Zambia has come at a time when community transmission is steadily increasing. It is evident that people in the communities have prematurely dropped the guard," he is quoted as saying by local media. According to him, the failure to comply with the preventive measures was a recipe for disaster. The country's human rights body, the Human Rights Commission (HRC), is also concerned at the relaxation to adhere to guidelines. The human rights body, which conducted a random survey in selected urban and peri-urban areas, said one of the reasons behind relaxation to adherence is the myth that the pandemic is a hoax. Mweelwa Muleya, the human rights body spokesperson called for a change of attitude and revival of the campaign to combat the global pandemic. The human rights body also established that some people do believe that the pandemic does not kill hence the move to relax in observance of health guidelines. According to him, there is a need to have a national communication strategy to provide comprehensive guidance to various stakeholders in order to avoid any misinformation and ambiguity in the fight against the pandemic. Indeed, COVID-19 is real and not a hoax and if people continue with their attitude of disregarding the health guidelines, the country will continue seeing a rise in cases and deaths. Zambia needs to take a warning from the World Health Organization (WHO) which has stated that South Africa's surging numbers could be a "precursor" for outbreaks across Africa. Enditem RESTON, Va., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Reston-based consulting firm Counter Threat Solutions LLC (CTS) recently promoted Matthew Smith to the role of Program Manager. In this capacity, Smith will oversee the day-to-day operations and growth of several of the firm's contracts, as well as three teams of CTS employees. Matt Smith, Program Manager at Counter Threat Solutions A retired intelligence community officer, Smith joined CTS after nearly 30 years of providing integrated executive, analytic, and technical support around the world. He led sizable teams in hostile environments, ensuring timely, innovative, secure, and sustainable solutions to a myriad of enterprise-wide challenges. "Matt brings decades of leadership and talent development expertise to this new role, not to mention a deep understanding of our client's mission and needs," states CTS CEO Theresa Keith. Smith earned a Masters of Arts in International Affairs from George Washington University, and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and International Studies from Miami University. Originally from Columbus, Ohio, he and his family now reside in Northern Virginia. "CTS employs an impressive cadre of talent across numerous skills sets and disciplines," says Smith. "I look forward to connecting our subject matter experts with some of our nation's most pressing intelligence challenges to deliver tangible, actionable results." About Counter Threat Solutions Counter Threat Solutions LLC (CTS) is a Woman-Owned Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business (SDVOSB) consulting company named a 2020 Best Place to Work by The Washington Business Journal. CTS provides mission-savvy subject matter experts to the U.S. Government's intelligence and defense communities, as well as innovative financial and IT solutions to its civilian clientele. Learn more about CTS at ctstruenorth.com or LinkedIn. Media Contact: Valerie Passwaiter (703) 987-1584 [email protected] SOURCE Counter Threat Solutions OTTAWA - New outbreaks of COVID-19 among young adults across the country are sparking concern about the impact these clusters of new cases could have on the ongoing easing of pandemic restrictions. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Deputy Chief Public Health Officer Howard Njoo responds to a question during a news conference, Tuesday, July 21, 2020 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - New outbreaks of COVID-19 among young adults across the country are sparking concern about the impact these clusters of new cases could have on the ongoing easing of pandemic restrictions. Ontario is reporting its largest daily number of confirmed COVID-19 infections since the end of June with 203 new cases Tuesday, prompting Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott to urge citizens to follow physical distancing rules to stop the concerning trend. Alberta and British Columbia have also seen surges in new COVID-19 infections over the last two days. Manitoba has seen an outbreak on a few Hutterite colonies in recent days and a couple of positive tests among international travellers. Canada's deputy chief public health officer, Dr. Howard Njoo, said the uptick in new cases nationally is giving public health authorities cause for concern. Canada's daily new case numbers had slowed to an average of about 300 new cases a day, but this has increased to an average of 460 new cases per day for the last four days. The majority of the newly infected are young adults, many of whom have contracted the novel coronavirus by going to bars, restaurants and attending indoor parties, Njoo told reporters Tuesday at a briefing in Ottawa. "I think everyone's been tired after spending the winter cooped up," he said. "And now with the nicer weather and the summer I think people just want to get out, so I think there is a fatigue factor in terms of trying to maintain all of those good public health measures." Njoo said he believes there is an "invincibility factor" also playing into the outbreaks among young people, which is being fanned by scientific evidence emerging that shows youth who contract COVID-19 are less likely to become seriously ill. "I think at a certain age you think you can get away with anything ... That's where I think the challenge is, because even if they have only mild symptoms or they are asymptomatic, the fact is they're part of our society." Njoo suggested some young people attending indoor parties and not following proper physical distancing measures might be doing so because the ongoing relaxing of pandemic restrictions including the reopening of bars and restaurants has sent a signal that they can let their guard down. But it's up to local authorities to decide whether these establishments should be allowed to remain open, Njoo said. "Moving forward we also recognize we need to at some point reopen our society. The tricky part, really, is trying to find that balance as we slowly as a society figure out how we move forward with the appropriate amount of caution in terms of various sectors." New daily case numbers greater than 100 have become the norm in Alberta in recent days. The province reported 141 new cases on Tuesday. There are now 1,193 active cases of the virus in Alberta. "If you think you can socialize with large groups of people in close quarters, knock it off," Premier Jason Kenney said at a press conference. "If you are young and healthy, remember you could still carry and transmit the virus that ends up killing someone who is old or vulnerable." Even with the higher numbers, Alberta announced plans to open schools in September. "I want to stress that there is no risk-free approach to living with COVID-19, yet we still have to learn to live with it," said Alberta's chief medical officer Dr. Deena Hinshaw. "There are no easy choices in front of us." Ontario Premier Doug Ford said he was especially concerned by data showing 57 per cent of Tuesday's cases in his province were in people aged 39 or younger and that some of the outbreaks have been linked to people attending indoor parties. "I just ask people to hold off on these parties, I don't know why everyone wants to party so bad but enough. We have to keep this in control and we will." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2020. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version misspelled the surname of Ontario Health Minister Christine Elliott. The BIG-MAP project, which is funded by the European Union (EU), aims to significantly shorten the time it takes to develop new types of batteries - with a special focus on sustainability. Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the Ulm University are participating in the project via the CELEST research platform. At the same time, the project boosts the research activities in the joint POLiS cluster of excellence. In order to achieve the climate neutrality targeted by the EU and Germany by 2050, greenhouse gas emissions from road traffic, among other things, must be reduced significantly. The systematic expansion of electromobility is expected to make a major contribution to this objective. However, this will require more cost-effective and sustainable alternatives to the existing batteries. "This is a huge challenge because the development of new batteries takes quite a long time using the current methods. In the BIG-MAP project, we want to accelerate this process significantly," says Professor Maximilian Fichtner, scientific spokesman of CELEST and POLiS and Vice Executive Director at Helmholtz Institute Ulm (HIU), which KIT founded together with the Ulm University. The purpose of the BIG-MAP (BIG stands for Battery Interface Genome; MAP for Materials Acceleration Platform) EU project is to establish completely new methods and thus significantly boost battery development - among other things through systematic automation and the use of artificial intelligence (AI). In future, the methods established in BIG-MAP will speed up the development of sustainable and ultra-high performance batteries by a factor of ten. "However, our vision is not only to be able to develop new batteries much faster, but also to ensure that they can store energy efficiently and that they can be produced in a sustainable manner and at such a low cost that, in future, it will be even more attractive to store electricity, for example from the sun and wind, in batteries," Fichtner explains. "A realignment of the existing discovery, development, and manufacturing processes for battery materials and technologies is necessary to enable Europe to rival its main competitors in the US and Asia." The BIG-MAP budget amounts to 16 million euros, 34 institutions from 15 countries are involved. KIT, with its three professors Maximilian Fichtner, Wolfgang Wenzel, and Helge Stein, is the second largest recipient of funds, following the coordinating Technical University of Denmark (DTU). Accordingly, the Post-Lithium Storage excellence cluster (POLiS), which is operated by KIT in cooperation with the Ulm University, the ZSW (Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wuerttemberg), and the University of Gieen, will also play an important role in the development of the new methods. BIG-MAP will initially run for three years, with the option of an extension for a further seven years. It is the largest single research project of the European research initiative for batteries, BATTERY 2030+. "With BATTERY 2030+ and BIG-MAP, we will have to reinvent the way we develop batteries. Last year, the Nobel Prize for Chemistry was awarded to the inventors of the lithium-ion battery. It was a fantastic invention, but it took 20 years from idea to product - we need to be able to do it in a tenth of that time if we want to provide sustainable batteries for the energy turnaround," says Tejs Vegge, professor at DTU and head of BIG-MAP. AI and robots to speed up battery development The BIG-MAP project aims to create a common European data infrastructure that will enable us to autonomously collect and process data from all stages of the battery development cycle and then use them in cooperative workflows. Physical access to the differently equipped test facilities will then hardly be necessary for BIG-MAP researchers any longer, and they will be able to collaborate across national borders and time zones. AI-orchestrated experiments and synthesis will be based on huge amounts of collected data, with a focus on battery materials, interfaces, and intermediate phases. The data will be generated by computer simulations, autonomous high-throughput material synthesis and characterization, in operando experiments, and device-level tests. Novel AI-based tools and models will use the data to "learn" how battery materials and interfaces interact, thus laying the foundation for the improvement of future battery materials, interfaces, and cells. "We will be able to explore the complex chemical space with the help of autonomously acting robots at an unprecedented speed and quality. Our understanding is supported by a central artificial intelligence feature," explains Professor Helge Stein (HIU and POLiS), whose research group is responsible for the development of the AI required for faster material discovery and its distribution across the European continent. For more information on BIG-MAP, see: https://www.big-map.eu/ ### About the BATTERY 2030+ consortium Apart from Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) and the University of Ulm, five universities are consortium members of BATTERY 2030+ consortium: The University of Uppsala (coordinator), the Polytechnic Institute of Turino, the Technical University of Denmark, the Free University of Amsterdam, and the University of Muenster. In addition, several research centers have joined the consortium: the French Research Center for Alternative Energies and Nuclear Energy CEA, the French National Center for Scientific Research CNRS, Forschungszentrum Julich, Fraunhofer Society, Fundacion Cidetec, the National Institute for Chemistry of Slovenia, the Organization for Applied and Technical Research of Norway. Other members of the consortium are the industry associations EMIRI, EASE, RECHARGE, and the Absiskey company. The consortium is supported by official European and national bodies such as ALISTORE ERI, EERA, EIT InnoEnergy, EIT RawMaterials, EARPA, EUROBAT, EGVI, CLEPA, EUCAR, KLIB, RS2E, by the Swedish Center for Electromobility, PolStorEn, ENEA, CIC energigune, IMEC, and the Tyndall National Institute. For more information on Battery 2030+, see: http://www.battery2030.eu About the CELEST Research Platform The CELEST (Center for Electrochemical Energy Storage Ulm & Karlsruhe) research platform for strategic collaboration was established in 2018 by KIT, Ulm University, and the Center for Solar Energy and Hydrogen Research Baden-Wuerttemberg (ZSW). It is one of the biggest battery research activities in international comparison. 46 working groups from 31 institutes of KIT, Ulm University, and ZSW contribute their complementary expertise to CELEST - from fundamental research to close-to-practice development to technology transfer. CELEST focuses on three research fields: Lithium-ion technology, energy storage beyond lithium, and alternative technologies for electrochemical energy storage and conversion. For more information, see: http://www.celest.de For further information, please contact: KIT: Dr Martin Heidelberger, Phone: +49 721 / 608 21169, Email: martin.heidelberger@kit.edu HIU: Patrick von Rosen, Phone: +49 731 50 34013, Email: patrick.rosen@kit.edu Ulm University Annika Bingmann, Phone: +49 731 50 22121, Email: annika.bingmann@uni-ulm.de POLiS: Daniel Messling, Phone: +49 731 50 34504 Being "the Research University in the Helmholtz Association," KIT creates and imparts knowledge for the society and the environment. It is the objective to make significant contributions to the global challenges in the fields of energy, mobility and information. For this, about 9,300 employees cooperate in a broad range of disciplines in natural sciences, engineering sciences, economics, and the humanities and social sciences. KIT prepares its 24,400 students for responsible tasks in society, industry, and science by offering research-based study programs. Innovation efforts at KIT build a bridge between important scientific findings and their application for the benefit of society, economic prosperity, and the preservation of our natural basis of life. KIT is one of the German universities of excellence. While some Taliban talk about once more occupying Kabul and running the country, most Taliban are more concerned with personal prosperity, peace and some stability. Most mid-level (local) Taliban leaders know the areas they operate in and realize the Taliban do not have much popular support and are actively hated in the non-Pushtun north. Trying to take control of Kabul risks seeing the city destroyed again, as it was in the 1990s after the Russian-backed government collapsed in 1992. These differing attitudes are on hold because Taliban leadership assures everyone that once the Americans are gone the Taliban will be the most powerful force in the country. Many Taliban and most Afghans realize that does not mean the Taliban will be in control of the entire country. Currently the top leadership of the Taliban are all taking orders from Pakistan, something that most Afghans see as treason. One example of that treason was the recent appointment of Mullah Yaqoob, the 30-year-old eldest son of Taliban founder Mullah Omar, as the commander of Taliban combat operations. This is meant to diminish interest in rumors that the figurehead supreme leader 59-year-old Mullah Hebatullah Akhundza and his deputy (and real head of the Taliban) 45-year-old Sirajuddin Haqqani, of the infamous Haqqani criminal organization, both have covid19. The Taliban will neither confirm nor deny that any of their senior leaders are ill from the coronavirus. Akhundza is more of a cleric than a military leader. He stayed in Afghanistan most of the time since 2002 and kept a low profile to survive. Sirajuddin Haqqani is a resourceful gangster who sees running the Taliban as more of a business opportunity than a political or religious duty. While Mullah Omar got along with al Qaeda, his son Yaqoob embraced tactics and teachings of al Qaeda. Yaqoob, Haqqani and Akhundzada all have one thing in common; they will do what Pakistan orders them to and have no problems working with the Afghan drug gangs. That is their main source of income while the Pakistani military provides sanctuary for the Afghan Taliban and the Haqqani Group, and does not interfere with the drug gangs obtaining chemicals (to create heroin from opium plants) via Pakistan. The Pakistani military also takes a fee from smugglers who move most of that heroin through Pakistan to the rest of the world. Most Afghans and a growing number of Taliban oppose this Pakistani domination and especially the presence of all that heroin in Afghanistan. Over 80 percent of the worlds heroin is produced in Afghanistan, mainly in Helmand province. Right across the border is Quetta City, the Pakistan sanctuary for the Afghan Taliban. Resentment over being pawns of Pakistan have caused a growing number of Taliban factions to rebel. These defections broke out into open warfare in 2015, led by the example of Mullah Rasool. The Rasool faction broke away from the Pakistan based Taliban leadership because of a dispute over who should run the Taliban. The current Taliban leader, Mullah Hebatullah Akhundzada, is unpopular with many Taliban faction leaders, in part because Akhundzada is seen as a figurehead and his chief deputy, the head of the Haqqani Network, is actually in charge. During the late 1990s Mullah Rasool was the Taliban strongman in the southwest as governor of Nimroz. That ended in late 2001 when the U.S.-backed Northern Alliance ousted the Taliban. The Rasool clan had made a fortune controlling the drug smuggling down there. Rasool had lots of contacts in Iran and saw himself as a potential supreme leader of the Afghan Taliban, if only because Rasool was always a close ally of Taliban founder and leaders Mullah Omar. This Taliban civil war is the result of disagreements over who should take over as Taliban leader after it was revealed in 2015 that founder Mullah Omar had died of kidney failure in 2013 (in a Pakistani hospital) at age 53. The information was known to only a few key Omar associates who were accused of doing this as part of a plot to install an Omar successor (Mullah Mansour ) who was second-rate but backed by the Pakistan military. Since Pakistan created it in the mid-1990s, they saw the Taliban as an inexpensive way to keep Afghanistan dependent on Pakistan and cooperative whenever Pakistan wanted something, From late 2015 to mid-2016 Rasool fought other Taliban factions for control. Heavy fighting began in late November 2015 when Mullah Mansour ordered attacks against the forces loyal to Mullah Rasool. This marked a major defeat for the Taliban as they lost a major asset; unity. Most of the fighting took place in Herat, Zabul and Farah provinces. There were apparently several thousand casualties and the heavy fighting did not cease until July 2016. Meanwhile Pakistan backed their man Mansour, who was then killed in May 2016 by an American air strike. Pakistan used its considerable control over the Afghan Taliban to get the head of the Pakistan backed Haqqani Network appointed as one of the three senior Taliban leaders. Rasool apparently backed down in the face of all this and was thought to have left the country. That was not the case as the Rasool faction remains active in western Afghanistan along the Iranian border. Rasool cooperates with Iran in return for access to Iran for some supplies. Rasool only controls about five percent of Taliban manpower but he is not the only anti-Pakistan faction. There are many more but these other factions go along with the main Taliban leadership while waiting for an opportunity to openly side with Rasool or some other Taliban leader free of Pakistani control. All these dissidents and Rasool account for about a third of Taliban strength. A smaller number of Taliban were so fed up with the drug gang connection and Pakistani dominance that they joined ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant). For most Taliban the drug money is too good, or simply essential for survival, to ignore. Even some ISIL factions will extort drug smugglers for needed cash rather than just blocking the movement of exportable heroin. These ISIL defections were more of a nuisance than a threat because ISIL is essentially a self-destructive purist Islamic terrorist faction that considers everyone not part of ISIL to be an enemy. That includes all other Islamic terror groups as well as all existing governments. Joining ISIL is a form of suicide because of the ISIL code of establishing global dominance or die trying. ISIL attacks are planned for maximum shock value and media attention. The Taliban offers another path, one that brings the possibility of great wealth, or at least a regular job. It is unclear how many Taliban leaders really believe the Taliban can take control of the entire country. To do that would ignore the fact that the elected Afghan government is largely controlled by the old Northern Alliance coalition of anti-Taliban Afghans who consider the Taliban an instrument of Pakistan influence in Afghanistan. The Northern Alliance represents the majority of Afghans who, despite continuing tribal and ethnic differences, agree that heroin is bad and Pakistani interference inside Afghanistan is worse. The Taliban never controlled all of Afghanistan. They had not yet done so on September 11, 2001, the date the U.S. decided to aid the Northern Alliance in defeating the Taliban and Pakistani interference. Nineteen years later that basic situation has not changed. Pakistan will keep trying to control what goes on in Afghanistan and will continue to support the use of terror and mass murder to make that happen. Worst case if all foreign troops leave and foreign aid is withdrawn (because of the corruption) is that Afghanistan returns to its traditional condition over the last few thousand years. That means the country/region we call Afghanistan gets picked apart by more powerful neighboring states. Traditionally this has meant Persians and Indians. Now its Iranians and Pakistanis (who are basically Indian Moslems who demanded their own Moslem state). Pakistan is broke and economically dependent on China. The Chinese dont want their numerous investments in Pakistan attacked by Islamic terrorists, tribal separatists or anyone else. Pakistan justifies (to China) the expense of meddling in Afghanistan because it is necessary to control the Pushtun minority in Pakistan. There are twice as many Pushtun in Pakistan as in Afghanistan but Pakistan has a much larger non-tribal (Punjabi and Sindi) population so the Pushtuns are only 15 percent of all Pakistanis. The Baluchi tribes account for another four percent. That makes about 19 percent of Pakistanis tribal and not particularly happy with the Chinese presence or the brutal treatment of tribal people in Pakistan. Iran historically controlled, when it was profitable to do so, much of western Afghanistan just as the northern Indians controlled eastern Afghanistan and Kabul. This foreign occupation was expensive because the tribes constantly fighting most foreigners. When the once lucrative Silk Road trade route between China and the Middle East/Europe fell out of use (because of cheaper travel via new European ship designs armed with cannon the Chinese, Iranians or Indians lacked). Afghanistan went back to being a region without a unifying government. That changed in the 18th century when the various tribes agreed to declare a kingdom of Afghanistan mainly to keep the foreigners out. A Pushtun king in Kabul kept his job by negotiating with foreigners and providing a neutral space for quarreling tribes to send leaders to try and negotiate an end to the many mutually destructive tribal feuds. Taliban leaders say they want to unite Afghanistan as a caliphate (Islamic religious dictatorship). That fact that caliphates have never worked well or maintained any unity for long is seen as irrelevant. It is Gods Will that Afghanistan become a caliphate. Its one of those non-negotiable things that kaffirs (non-Moslems) simply cannot comprehend. There was actually a Kafiristan region of northeast Afghanistan until the 1930s, when the last of the non-Moslem Kaffirs there was killed or converted. These kaffirs were actually an ancient sect of Hindus that Alexander the Great noted when he conquered parts of Afghanistan 2,400 years ago. There are still a few thousand of these kaffirs (called Kalash) living in Pakistan, but just barely. Pakistan means, literally, land of the pure and these days pure means Sunni Moslem. Neither Pakistan nor Iran see any profit in annexing adjacent portions of Afghanistan. While Pakistan, or at least the Pakistani military, is content to tax Afghan drug operations that need access to Pakistan, the Iranians, like most civilians in the region, see the opium and heroin coming out if Afghanistan as something evil that must be fought. That means the Afghan/Iran border has long been a combat zone between Iranian security forces and armed Afghan drug smugglers. The Viral Invader So far, the covid19 coronavirus has been far more lethal in neighboring Iran than in Afghanistan. Iran has 3,286 confirmed cases and 171 deaths per million population. The Iranian deaths per million are more than double the global average of 79 and higher than nearly 90 percent of the words nations. Iran is considered the epicenter of covid19 infections in the region and the source of infection for most of its neighbors. For example, Afghanistan has 912 confirmed cases and 30 deaths per million people, Turkey has 2,614 and 65, India 837 and 20, Pakistan 1,204 and 26. Northern neighbor Tajikistan has 725 and six, while in the Gulf Saudi Arabia has 7,300 cases and 72 deaths per million while the UAE has 5,800 and 34 per million. Iranian officials recently revealed that they believe about 30 percent of the population is infected and that death rates will reach equally high levels of over a thousand deaths per million people. This would higher than Western nations, which tend to report accurately. Currently Spain has 608 deaths per million while Italy has 580, Britain 667, France 462 and the U.S. 434 deaths per million people. Afghanistan is, unlike most of its neighbors, still overwhelmingly rural with only about 24 percent of the population living in urban (cities and large towns) areas. About five percent of Afghans are officially classified as nomads and most of the rural population has little contact or concern with the urban-based economy or job market. The normal level of violence in rural Afghanistan is higher than in urban areas and much higher than in the West. This was first noted by U.S. Army Special Forces troops who specialized in the region and spoke the languages of Afghanistan (mainly Pushto and the Iranian dialect Dari). The vastly different culture of rural Afghanistan is still largely incomprehensible to Westerners. On the plus side the isolation of rural Afghans protects them from covidd19. Note that the population continues to grow. It is currently about 33 million, but grew from 21 million when the Taliban were ousted in 2001. Afghan GDP is now expected to decline 5-7 percent in 2020 because of the global economic impact of covid19. Despite that, most urban and many rural Afghans support the current stability provided by American removal of the Taliban government in 2001. That was followed with billions a year in American financial aid. Since 2001 the economy continues to grow and corruption slowly declines. The reality is that getting Afghanistan into the 20th century, much less the 21st, will take several decades of effort and since 2001 there have been barely two decades. Most Afghans are well aware that in many ways their lives are much better since the Americans arrived and the Taliban were deposed. GDP has grown continuously since 2001 with average family income increasing noticeably each year. GDP grew 2.9 percent in 2019 and was expected to do 3.3 percent in 2020, unless the civil war broke out. No Taliban related civil war yet but the unexpected covid19 pandemic did some damage. In early 2001 only a million children were in school, all of them boys. Now there are over eight million in school and 40 percent are girls. Back then there were only 10,000 phones in the country, all very expensive land lines in cities. Now there are over 22 million inexpensive cell phones with access even in remote rural areas. Back then less than ten percent of the population had access to any health care, now a least 80 percent do and life expectancy has risen from 47 years (the lowest in Eurasia) to 62 (leaving Bangladesh to occupy last place). This is apparently the highest life expectancy has ever been in Afghanistan and the UN noted it was the highest one decade increase ever recorded. Afghans have noticed this even if the rest of the world has not. But all this was accompanied by more corruption because now there was more to steal. Recently that included money allocated to deal with covid19. This is no surprise to many Afghans who feel the corruption situation wont show significant improvements, at least in their lifetimes, so many Afghans leave if they can. More economic growth leads to more rural Afghans arming and defending themselves against Taliban and bandit threats. During 2019 there were 18 percent fewer civilians killed by terrorist violence. The Taliban was responsible for 71 percent, the security forces 14 percent, five percent by ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and nine percent by unknown perpetrators. For most of 2019 it looked like the annual total would be higher but Taliban violence against civilians (and in general) greatly declined in the last three months of the year. The Taliban concentrated on hurting Americans, which was a lot more dangerous for the Taliban. In 2020 civilian casualties continued to decline, mainly because the Taliban were concentrating their attacks on the Afghan security forces and foreign troops. The Taliban continued to cause most of the civilian casualties. July 20, 2020: In the east (Kunar province) Pakistani troops fired dozens of rockets and mortar shells at targets inside Afghanistan over the last week. There were some casualties. The national government contacted Pakistan and the Pakistanis apologized and said they would halt the attacks. Back in early 2019 the Afghan government sent the UN a letter complaining about nearly a decade of similar Pakistani border violence. The Afghan letter detailed incidents from 2012 to early 2019 in which Pakistani troops fired 28,849 rockets, mortar or artillery shells into eastern Afghanistan . Much of this firepower is directed at Kunar province and has been going on since 2010 in an effort to hit real or suspected Pakistani Taliban bases there. These incidents increased to the point where the Afghans began keeping track of them in 2012. Since then this violence has killed or wounded nearly 300 people that the Afghan government knows about. The shelling occurs against rural areas that are often unpopulated so it is unclear if the Pakistanis have hit many Pakistani Taliban. The Pakistani government propaganda insists that these Taliban Islamic terrorists are based in eastern Afghanistan and regularly cross into Pakistan to carry out attacks. The letter details how the situation is getting worse and that since in the previous year alone there had been 161 of these incidents that involved at least 6,025 Pakistani projectiles landing in Afghanistan. The letter pointed out that several elected Pakistani leaders have pledged to halt these border violations but those pledges are ignored by the Pakistani military. There was a large scale (neatly 200 shells and rockets) Pakistani attack in late 2019 but since the UN was notified and the Pakistani habit of cross border attacks became news, there have been fewer of these Pakistani attacks. In the north (Kunduz province) the Taliban carried out attacks on two border posts. The attacks were repulsed but the point was made; that the Taliban would keeping attacking border posts until border force commanders agreed to cooperate with the Taliban and the drug smugglers that hire the Taliban. Payments from drug gangs are what keep the Taliban in business and business is expected to grow enormously if the Taliban can negotiate a departure of all foreign, especially American, forces. Those negotiations are not going well because not all Taliban factions agree on the terms and that has led to a lot more delays and Taliban violence. Negotiations between the Taliban and Afghan government are also stalled because while the government has freed 4,000 imprisoned Taliban, to get back a thousand captured soldiers and police, the Taliban are insisting that the government release 500 Taliban imprisoned for multiple murders as well as planning attacks on civilians. No progress here in over a month. Turkey banned all commercial flights between Iran and Afghanistan until the covid19 danger recedes. July 19, 2020: Since late 2019 there have been 17 attacks on religious gatherings by ISIL or the Taliban seeking to intimidate Islamic clergy that speak out against the Taliban. These 17 attacks caused 442 casualties, 39 percent of them fatal. July 18, 2020: Nigeria has been officially declared polio free. This comes after three years with no new cases of polio. That means all of Africa is now free of polio, along with Europe, the Americas and most of Asia. Only Afghanistan and Pakistan still suffer from polio. In those two nations the same Moslem intolerance and paranoia that delayed Nigeria becoming polio-free are still in play. Another complaint was that the organization mainly responsible for the polio free movement, Rotary International, is an American fraternal charity whose members are largely responsible for the $5 billion effort to eradicate polio by vaccinating enough children so that the polio virus no longer has a human host and, like smallpox, becomes extinct. This polio free effort began in the 1980s and a decade ago ran into problems with conservative Islamic clergy who spread the rumor that the polio vaccine was actually a plot to poison Moslem children. This has delayed eradication of polio in Nigeria for nearly a decade and still delays it in Pakistan and Afghanistan. July 14, 2020: Despite the increased Taliban violence, civilian casualties continue to decline. The Taliban leadership has finally accepted and implemented tactics that try to avoid civilian casualties. In the first six months of 2020 there were about 1,200 civilian deaths caused by the Taliban/drug gang violence. For years the civilian deaths 20-30 percent higher. The Taliban has long relied on terror to intimidate rural civilians. That eventually backfired as the rural tribes got better armed, organized and cooperated more with the security forces. The Taliban still account for most of the civilian deaths, but no longer 80-90 percent and that is mainly because of fewer deaths. Most of those missing fatalities would have, in the past, been victims of Taliban violence. For years there were at least 3,000 civilian dead a year. There were some disputes over which dead were the result of the Taliban/drug gang/Islamic terrorist violence and not the normal rural violence. The Taliban are trying to improve their image by reducing their violence against civilians and since the Taliban have long been the main cause of civilian deaths reduction has had some impact. Meanwhile ISIL (Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant) and other Islamic radicals continue to kill civilians. July 12, 2020: First Vice President Abdul Rashid Dostum was promoted from general to marshal, as part of the political compromise that ended the dispute between the two leading candidates in the last presidential elections. Since the 1980s and the Russian invasion Dostom has been one of the main warlords in the north. He is still a major political factor with the non-Pushtun majority in Afghanistan. Since the Taliban are largely a Pushtun group they have long sought to kill Dostom. In 2019 Dostum survived several Taliban assassination attempts. In mid-2018 ISIL took credit for a suicide bombing at the Kabul airport in an effort to kill Dostum, who was returning from 14 months outside the country to deal with personal and family matters. The ISIL attack was apparently meant for Dostum but the timing was off and the Dostum convoy had just left when the suicide bomber struck. The explosion killed 14 people and wounded more than fifty. Dostum had left the country just for medical treatment, he also wanted to avoid prosecutors who sought him for questioning about the kidnapping and torture of a political rival in the north (Jawzjan province). This was not the first time Dostum has been accused of that sort of thing. In the past he eventually escaped prosecution, sometimes by leaving the country for months. Dostum is a powerful man, a classic Afghan warlord and supreme in the north. There is no official leader of the non-Pushtuns but the most powerful of these leaders is outspoken about the continued disruptive Pushtun dominance of the government. The best example of this is Dostum, who has been a foe of the Taliban since the 1990s. Dostum is a powerful Uzbek politician, and a long-time warlord. He was also a general in the communist army that was dissolved in 1992. The Uzbeks are Turks, and comprise nine percent of the population. The Uzbeks have always been hostile to the Taliban and drugs. Dostum is their leader but has become popular with Afghans who openly oppose Islamic terrorists. Dostum makes the most of this by regularly giving speeches condemning Islamic terrorism. This involves constantly travelling and exposing himself to terrorist attack. So far he has survived dozens of attacks and this increases popularity while enraging the Islamic terrorists he publicly berates and condemns. Dostum has long been a major critic of Pakistan and how Pakistan continues to support Islamic terrorists operating in Afghanistan. If the Taliban do regain control of the national government they will find that, as in the 1990s, they cannot control the north. In part that is because of leaders like Dostum and many other prominent northerners like him. June 27, 2020: A major new railway giving Afghanistan access to world markets is nearing completion. This is because of the 2017 agreement that had Iran and India finance and build a 1,300-kilometer-long rail line from the Chabahar port near the Pakistan border, to the Afghan border (in the north and then inland to Heart city. The last link is actually an earlier (2007) project to build a rail line from the Iranian city of Khaf to the Afghan city of Herat. Most (77 kilometers) of the railroad is in Iran with the other 62 kilometers in Afghanistan. This is all part of a larger Afghan project to build their first national railroad system. India provided over two billion dollars to upgrade the port of Chabahar and build new roads and railroads to Afghanistan and Central Asia. For Iran the Central Asia link is the most valuable one. But for Afghanistan having another way to move most of their imports and exports is a major achievement because Pakistan and Iran will have to complete and that will keep costs down for Afghans and reduce the use of closing the border, which Pakistan has done frequently, to coerce the Afghans. SonaCare Medical, LLC, the leading developer and manufacturer of high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technologies, is pleased to announce that on July 8, 2020 it received regulatory approval from the National Medical Products Administration (NMPA), formerly known as the Chinese FDA, for the Sonablate HIFU device for use in the treatment of prostate cancer and benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Along with NMPA approval, Sonablate was chosen as one of the top one hundred imported technologies/innovations the NMPA has approved in the past twenty years and will be part of a permanent display at the NMPA Medical Device Evaluation Center. Chinese regulatory approval represents a significant step in ensuring all men have access to Sonablate HIFU technology and opens a significant market for SonaCare Medical. Dr. Mark Carol, SonaCare Medical CEO and President, said, China is the largest medical market in the world and has a growing need for advanced treatment modalities for prostate cancer and BPH. Sonablate, the first HIFU technology to be approved in China for the treatment of these indications, has been shown in multiple studies to control prostate cancer while minimizing the occurrence of the side effects that typically are a part of prostate cancer treatment. Achieving NMPA authorization has been a multiyear long process that has involved a multitude of people. We are extremely honored and excited to have achieved this milestone. As Chief Commercialization Officer for SonaCare Medical, Alex Gonzalez will be leading the sales effort in China alongside SonaCare Medical Board Member and President of the Asian Master Distribution arm for SonaCare, Mr. Richard Yang. Mr. Gonzalez said, The interest in our Sonablate technology expressed by Chinas top tier universities and hospitals has been remarkable. The physicians already enrolled in our training program represent the best in urologic care in the country, and our Sonablate technology will be a perfect complement to the world class facilities that will be the first to adopt our device in China. Our sales and support teams in China, which are overseen by Mr. Yang, are ready for this great challenge and look forward to providing the industry leading training and support that has become synonymous with SonaCare Medical around the world. Tom Mendell, SonaCare Medical Chairman of the Board, believes that being the only transrectal HIFU device with NMPA authorization shows the value and utility of the Sonablate device. Mr. Mendell said, NMPA authorization represents a very significant development in the history of SonaCare Medical. With approval, our minimally invasive transrectal device enables our Chinese physician partners to now offer prostate cancer patients the same excellent cancer control, with significantly lesser side effects than standard treatments, as we provide currently to patients in Europe and America. We are also confident that over time Sonablate HIFU will become the preferred minimally invasive treatment option of Chinese physician and patients for BPH. Since Sonablate received FDA clearance on October 9, 2015, many thousands of patients have had a Sonablate HIFU prostate procedure across the 60+ locations in the U.S., including top-tier academic institutions in California, Indiana, Oklahoma, Maryland, New York, Arizona and Texas. Over 70 U.S. physicians now offer HIFU prostate tissue ablation to their patients as a minimally invasive alternative to surgery or radiation. Sonablate has 501(K) clearance in the U.S. and is indicated for the transrectal high intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) ablation of prostate tissue. Caution: Federal (USA) law restricts this device to sale by or on the order of a physician. ABOUT SONACARE MEDICAL, LLC SonaCare Medical is a world leader in minimally invasive focused ultrasound technologies. SonaCare Medical is committed to developing focused ultrasound related technologies that support precise and innovative procedures for the treatment of a range of medical conditions. SonaCare Medical, with its subsidiary Focus Surgery, Inc., designs and manufactures medical devices, including the following: Sonablate, which has 501(K) clearance in the U.S.; Sonablate 500, which has CE Marking and has obtained regulatory authorization in more than 50 countries outside the U.S., Sonatherm laparoscopic HIFU surgical ablation system, which has 510(K) clearance in the U.S., has CE Marking and has obtained regulatory authorization in more than 30 countries outside the U.S. For additional information, visit http://www.SonaCareMedical.com COMPANY CONTACT: SonaCare Medical, LLC Karen Cornett (704) 805-1885 KarenCornett@SonaCareMedical.com FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS The Company's forward-looking statements are based on management's current expectations and assumptions regarding the Company's business and performance, the economy and other future conditions and forecasts of future events, circumstances and results. As with any projection or forecast, forward-looking statements are inherently susceptible to uncertainty and changes in circumstances. The Company's actual results may vary materially from those expressed or implied in its forward-looking statements. Any forward-looking statement made by the Company speaks only as of the date on which it is made. The Company is under no obligation to, and expressly disclaims any obligation to, update or alter its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, subsequent events or other factors. SonaCare Medical | (888) 874-4384 | info@SonaCareMedical.com MTN Ghana is encouraging customers to update their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) details to ensure all customer details are captured accurately by the company. In view of this, MTN Ghana is sending messages via SMS to inform customers to update their SIM registration details. Customers will receive messages with a URL link to effect the update. The Regulations on SIM registration requires a subscriber, for the purpose of registering a SIM, to furnish the network operator or service provider with certain details and an identification document. To ensure that the existing details in MTNs data base are accurate and up-to-date MTN is inviting both new and existing customers to voluntarily provide their information for identification and validation purposes. The information being updated includes the customers name, date of birth, gender, residential or occupational address (physical address), valid ID number and details of a valid national identification document of the customer. To complete the process, a Ghanaian customer will have to provide a valid National ID (e.g. Voter ID, Passport, Drivers License and Ghana Card) whilst a foreign national will be required to update details with their National passport. Customers who wish to register or update their details with the National identification card, are advised to do so only at MTN service centers. Commenting on the process, Sales and Distribution Executive of MTN Ghana, Mr. Eric Nsarkoh said, This exercise is an important regulatory requirement. It will also to help us update our customer records to enable us design solutions to suit their needs. Mr. Nsarkoh said We continue to assure our Customers that their information is safe and protected with MTN. Data privacy and protection is of greater importance to us. The SIM update process commenced on 1st June 2020 and will continue to the end of December 2020. 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 Advertising during the age of the coronavirus has become a tricky business. Advertisers who dont have a specific product to sell, but instead are seeking to remind consumers that they remain in business, run the risk of having their message lost in an ever-growing field of were for you and were all in this together bromides, experts say. And if an advertiser does have a product or service to sell, how do they do it in a way that doesnt seem opportunistic and recognizes concerns consumers have about spending in a difficult economic climate? Katie Place, an associate professor of strategic communications at Quinnipiac University, said advertisements like those that offer first responders discounts on products and services in recognition of the important work they do in the community smacks of opportunistic behavior. It seems as if the organizations doing this are looking to gain publicity from a difficult situation, Place said. Its much more ethical and effective if you reach out in a way that creates a more organic dialogue, she said. What are they (advertisers) doing to help marginalized communities, how are they helping those who have been severely affected by the coronavirus? Arnold Gold / Hearst Connecticut Media Place said some advertising professionals she has talked with said that in some cases, the best message is no message at all, at least not right away. Sometimes, keeping things on the quieter side is just the best thing to do rather than coming up with some knee-jerk reaction, she said. You must be flexible, listen to what is going on in the community and then communicate your message in a way that respectful to what people are feeling. Economic worry Richard Gamer, creative director for Bethany-based Mason Inc., said generally speaking, advertisers with a product or service to sell are just looking to sustain business in a very tough time. Most of them are looking to keep their heads above water and will do anything they can to get someone to come in the door, Gamer said. Those without a product or service to sell are looking for a way to enhance their brand without sounding too opportunistic, he said. Its just to say, We havent forgotten you, Gamer said of the message that type of advertiser is sending. But sending that message in a way that stands out from the pack is difficult at best, according to Lori Gaffney, chief executive officer of Portland, Ore., advertising agency Borders Perrin and Norrander. We have a financial institution, a credit union that is very community-oriented, Gaffney said. They wanted to do a campaign that involved their CEO talking. But after working on it for two weeks, we scrapped the idea because every CEO was out there talking in advertising. Over the past four months of the pandemic, consumers also have grown weary of the repetitive message being delivered in brand-building commercials, she said. Its so cliche across every (advertising) category, Gaffney said. At this point, theres so much fatigue in terms of the kind of language that is used, in terms of the kind of visuals used. One advertiser finding much success nationally is Wayfair, the Boston-based online furniture and home goods retailer, she said. Wayfair isnt doing any kind of coronavirus advertising, Gaffney said. Theyre killing because they recognize that people are home more, decorating more. But none of their ads mention the coronavirus, she said. Careful planning One way to break through the advertising clutter surrounding the coronavirus pandemic and reach consumers is by linking a company message to a cause, she said. But Gaffney said advertisers taking that route need to be careful. You have to really be thoughtful before you jump on a band wagon because can end up being called out because of your message, she said. You have to walk the walk (with your message), especially if you have younger people as the target. Wendy Marx, president of Marx Communications, a Trumbull public relations firm, said one way of linking a company to a cause is to donate a portion of proceeds to an organization addressing that cause. I dont think that advertising this way is a bad idea, Marx said. You just want to do it with some sensitivity. Wallingford Fire Chief Richard Heidgerd has a different perspective on advertising that targets first responders, particularly when it is local. Heidgerd said his firefighters appreciate local merchants recognition of the work they do and try to patronize those local businesses whenever possible. We appreciate their support, their goodwill, he said. And at the same time recognize that any discount offered or donation given by a local business is no small gesture given the current state of the economy. We want these businesses to survive and continue to be around when this is all over. Heidgerd said even with larger franchised businesses, such as when McDonalds offered first responders nationwide free meals for a two-week period in late April and early May, he doesnt view the gestures as being opportunistic. Many of these businesses have roots in the community through their local franchisee, Heidgerd said. Another new advertising effort targeting first responders is coming from Webster Bank. The Waterbury-based bank recently launched Frontline Heroes, a program for essential health care workers and first responders. The program offers a variety of benefits and fee waivers for first responders who are switching their banking to Webster as well as those who are existing customers. The benefits include: a WebsterOne Checking account with the monthly fee waived; free automated teller usage anywhere, including other bank ATM fees rebated; an additional 0.25 percent off on loans; a $250 mortgage closing costs rebate; and a waiver of the advisory fee normally associated with a Guided Wealth Portfolio account, in which customers can get advice on how to manage their money. The program will be available through the end of this year, according to Webster officials. Benefits that are part of the package are extended through at least the end of 2021. Nitin Mhatre, executive vice president and head of community banking at Webster, said the Frontline Heroes program is a recognition that nobody in the banking industry is doing anything specific to help our front-line heroes. We didnt do this to set a target to get a specific number of new customers, Mhatre said. The overarching thing is that we want to be there for the customer. John Carusone, president of the Bank Analysis Center, a Hartford-based industry consulting firm, said the Frontline Heroes program appears to be one of the first of its kind in the country. This is a great gesture by a company that has a reputation as a good corporate citizen, Carusone said. This is something that the big banks should be doing and putting millions of dollars behind. But Carusone also said he is skeptical that the program will result in anything more than an incremental increase in Websters market share. Its more symbolic than anything else, Carusone said. Desiree Wolfe, a senior vice president and director of product management at Webster, said research showed bank officials that one of the biggest concerns first responders have is their financial well-being. These are middle-income people, not high-wealth people, Wolfe said. In addition to first responders, Mhatre said the Frontline Heroes program is available to any full- or part-time employees currently in essential health care, including hospitals, nursing homes, medical and dental practices and home health care. A reassessment of the messages that advertisers are sending comes during a drop in ad spending. Advertising revenue in this country is expected to be $213 billion by the end of the year, a 17 percent decline (excluding political commercials) according to the latest forecast from MagnaGlobal. the media research arm of ad giant Interpublic Group. luther.turmelle@hearstmediact.com Lucknow, July 21 : To boost major investment projects in Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government has now set a deadline of 15 days for allotment of land after it receives an application. The state government has issued an order, setting timelines for allotment of land for various categories of investment projects under the UP Industrial Investment and Employment Promotion Policy, 2017. It states that land allotment for mega, mega plus and super mega industrial units will be fast-tracked to be completed within 15 days of receipt of application. A monthly cycle for land allotment will be fixed, under which allotment through e-auction for applications received by a certain date, will be carried out by the end of the month. The steps, being taken to improve ease of doing business in the state, will be implemented by land owning agencies like Noida, Greater Noida, Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority, UP State Industrial Development Authority, Lucknow Industrial Development Authority (LIDA), Gorakhpur Industrial Development Authority, Satharia Industrial Development Authority and Delhi-Mumbai Industrial Corridor Integrated Industrial Township Greater Noida Ltd. According to UP Industries Minister Satish Mahana, "UP is getting investment proposals from many multi-national and national investors, especially in focused sectors like defence, aerospace, logistics, warehousing and electronics manufacturing. "To build investor confidence in the state, it is necessary to have land available and a policy for quick allotment." The minister further said that all major industrial development authorities are also working to create a GIS-linked online land bank to enable prospective investors to select land of their choice in a transparent manner. Additional Chief Secretary for infrastructure and industrial development, Alok Kumar said that in case of mega, mega plus and super mega industrial units, investment would be calculated on the basis of their detailed project report at the specified norm of a minimum Rs 2 crore per acre to ensure that investors do not obtain land more than what is required for their projects. "Along with this, we are also working to increase our land bank. Industrial development authorities have been asked to organize camps for land purchase through mutual agreement. Another system they have been asked to consider is to change land use of an available plot to industrial, as per law, and compensate for it when new land is purchased," he explained. He added that industrial authorities had been asked to cancel allotment of unutilised land after a prescribed time to ensure that no land remained blocked endlessly. Another system for opening up land was to allot land meant for specific industries under reserved industrial areas to other industries. The scheme, which was approved at a cabinet meeting, is expected to be rolled out in the next 6-7 months after completing tendering process and other necessities. New Delhi: The Delhi government on Tuesday approved doorstep delivery of ration to eligible beneficiaries, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal announced, terming it as a "revolutionary" move. The scheme will be known as "Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Ration Yojna", he said. The scheme, which was approved at a cabinet meeting, is expected to be rolled out in the next 6-7 months after completing tendering process and other necessities. "Under the scheme, wheat, flour, rice and sugar packed hygienically in bags will be delivered to doorstep of people. Taking ration from a PDS shop will be optional," he said in a virtual press briefing. In its previous stint, the ruling AAP was involved in a long drawn tussle with the Lieutenant Governor's office over its flagship doorstep delivery of ration scheme. In March 2018, LG Anil Baijal had asked the Delhi government to refer its proposal for doorstep delivery of ration to the Centre with full details. With the implementation of the scheme, the Centre's 'One Nation One Ration Card' scheme will also come into effect in Delhi, said the chief minister. The state governments in cooperation with the Centre distributes ration but there are different kinds of complaints like shortchanging, overpricing, delays and quality. Getting ration should be right of the poor, he said. "In five years since the AAP came to power, we have made several changes. Now, ration is available to the people," he said. Kejriwal said he and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia, as RTI activists before joining politics, fought for rights of people to ration and even faced attacks for it from the ration mafia. "We used to fight for rights of the poor in the slums through Parivartan organisation. We made maximum use of RTI for helping poor people get ration in a proper way," he recalled. Kejriwal said like the doorstep delivery of services scheme implemented by his government, this scheme was also a revolutionary milestone in the field of governance. Amit Sadh, who has starred alongside Abhishek Bachchan in the new web series Breathe: Into The Shadows, is praying for the well-being of the actor and his family, and hopes to be able to give him a hug soon. Amit Sadh took to his Instagram handle to share his experience of working with Abhishek in Breathe. Sharing BTS photos from the web series, Amit Sadh wrote, "This one is for my senior, my brother, @bachchan. The actor whom I've been closely following and looking upto since Guru, Yuva, Bunty & Babli and the list goes on and on. Bro, I just want to thank you. Thank you for being the best senior. For being an actor who treated me like his equal. You never once let me feel that you're more or I'm any less. You're the best listener in between takes." Amit is looking forward to working with Abhishek again. "My performance as Kabir Sawant in Breathe is invaluable, incomplete without you. My celebration of Breathe, the happiness of our series reaching the depths of our country will not begin or conclude without this mention. You inspire me & I can't wait to get back on a set to work with you. I love J and I love Avinash. They became great friends. I love the relationship that developed between Kabir & Avinash," he wrote. He continued, "As you read this, I just pray to God that you, Mr Bachchan and your entire family (Aishwarya, Aradhya) recover from COVID and come back home healthy." Abhishek, his dad Amitabh Bachchan, wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and daughter Aaradhya Bachchan tested positive for the Novel Coronavirus. He concluded his note with a sweet wish. "So that you and I can meet and I can give you a tight hug. If they want to quarantine me for that for two weeks, I'm ready to be shut in for a month. I love you so much bro. Can't wait to see you soon!" he wrote. Breathe: Into The Shadows is a crime drama thriller series by Amazon Prime Video. Directed by Mayank Sharma, it also stars Nithya Menen. ALSO READ: Abhishek Bachchan's Breathe Co-Star Amit Sadh Tests Negative For COVID-19: We Never Dubbed Together MOKOLOKI, Nigeria, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- RMI, IBEDC, and Nayo Tech, with support from the Nigerian Rural Electrification Agency (REA), joined forces to accelerate the commercial deployment of undergrid minigrid technology. The Mokoloki project demonstrates a financially viable business model that could provide electricity access to millions living in underserved rural communities throughout Nigeria. "We are delighted to witness strategic collaborations geared toward accelerating energy access in unserved and underserved communities across Nigeria. What makes this project unique, beyond being Nigeria's first commercial undergrid minigrid in a rural community, is the social and economic transformation that the project ultimately brings to the Mokoloki community," said Ahmad Salihijo, MD/CEO of the REA. "By the time this project stabilizes, Mokoloki will be like a town. They will have more regular power supply than cities," explained Engr. John Ayodele, IBEDC chief operating officer. IBEDC was the first Nigerian distribution company to initiate a tripartite contract negotiation with a rural community as required for interconnected minigrids by regulation. "We are excited to be in the forefront of undergrid minigrid development in Africa as a scalable and sustainable business opportunity with good social impact on our host communities," added Anayo Okenwa Nas, chief executive officer of Nayo Tech. Mokoloki, a rural community in Ogun State, previously struggled with intermittent electricity access and poor voltage quality. However, its bustling market and proximity to main trade routes promised major commercial activity, making it an ideal site for an undergrid minigrid, as explained in the newly released project brief. This undergrid minigrid pilot embodies recommendations from RMI's reports. Under the Grid outlines business opportunities for undergrid minigrid development, while Electrifying the Underserved expands on specific business models to guide project implementation. An estimated 40 million rural residents are underserved by the main grid in Nigerianearly 35 percent of whom could be served by over 4,000 commercially viable undergrid minigrid systems. "Mokoloki's undergrid minigrid shows how utilities, developers, and communities can collaboratively develop innovative power solutions, and this willingness to test new approaches has unlocked a new option for increasing energy access," added James Sherwood, principal at RMI. Using a modular design approach, the solar-hybrid minigrid initially provides 100 kW of generation for an estimated peak load of 88 kW, with an expansion plan in place for anticipated load growth. After three months of operation, it is serving 230 households and over 60 commercial and public enterprises. CONTACT: Katie Lau, klau@rmi.org, (832) 455-1165 Related Links http://www.rmi.org SOURCE Rocky Mountain Institute German bean sprouts source of E. coli outbreak Germany blamed vegetable sprouts on Friday for a bacteria outbreak that has killed at least 33, left some 3,000 ill and cost farmers across Europe hundreds of millions in lost sales. A scientist runs tests on bean sprouts in the southern German town of Fellbach. After a weeks-long hunt for the elusive source of the contamination, German officials said they were confident they had found the origin. "It\'s the sprouts," Reinhard Burger, the president of the Robert Koch Institute, the national disease centre, told a news conference on the outbreak of enterohaemorrhagic E. coli (EHEC) in northern Germany. "People who ate sprouts were found to be nine times more likely to have bloody diarrhoea or other signs of EHEC infection than those who did not," he said, citing a study of more than 100 people who fell ill after dining in restaurants. Test results on a packet of vegetable sprouts recovered from the garbage can of two sick people living in the western state of North Rhine-Westphalia later provided the first direct trail evidence for the virulent bacteria. The sprouts, which showed traces of the EHEC strain 0104, were grown at a farm in the northern village of Bienenbuettel on which suspicion had fallen last weekend. The farm has been closed and all its products recalled. The government had earlier lifted a warning against eating raw tomatoes, lettuce and cucumbers which had dealt a stinging blow to farmers at the peak of the fresh produce season in Europe. "This is a good sign for consumers because we now have more clarity," Health Minister Daniel Bahr told reporters, as he defended the government\'s crisis management against criticism from the opposition and abroad. "We are pretty relieved," Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Minister Ilse Aigner added at the joint news conference, in comments echoed by the German farmers\' association. All 33 confirmed fatalities, three of which were reported Friday, have been in Germany except for one woman who died in Sweden after visiting Germany. The warning against raw salad vegetables, first issued two weeks ago, has cost growers in Europe hundreds of millions of euros (dollars) in lost sales and sparked diplomatic spats across Europe. German authorities had initially fingered cucumbers imported from Spain as responsible for the outbreak. But they later retracted the statement based on subsequent tests, infuriating Madrid and sparking threats of lawsuits. And the European Union blasted Russia for imposing a "disproportionate" blanket ban on vegetable imports from the 27-nation bloc. Moscow agreed at a summit with the EU on Friday to lift the ban although it was not immediately clear when the announcement would come into effect. In an attempt to help hard-hit farmers, the EU has offered 210 million euros ($303 million) in compensation. The outbreak is believed to have started at the beginning of May, with the first people falling ill in the second week of May, the Robert Koch Institute said. To date, more than 2,800 people have been contaminated in Germany, it added although other estimates have put the number higher. People in at least 14 countries have also been sickened by the outbreak, most of them having recently visited northern Germany where some 75 percent of the cases have been registered, most of them among women. "The number of new infections is declining," Burger told the news conference Friday following announcements of a drop in cases earlier this week. But he warned that the "outbreak is not yet over", saying that some people were still falling ill after being contaminated several days ago. After criticism of the government\'s handling of the crisis, the agriculture and health ministries said Berlin would review the response on the federal and state level. Bahr insisted that Germany had been right to warn against eating raw tomatoes, cucumbers and lettuce as long as the source of the contamination had not been pinpointed. "Public health is the priority," he said. Ukrainian police freed 13 hostages and arrested an armed man who held them on a bus for more than 12 hours on Tuesday, after the country's president agreed to his demand to post a movie recommendation on social media. The SBU security service said a joint operation had resulted in all the hostages being released unharmed after a police stand-off in the western city Lutsk with the man, who threatened to detonate an explosive device unless his strange requests were met. The tense hostage situation seemed to be resolved swiftly after the man spoke on the phone with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, who then recorded a short video, apparently meeting one of the man's demands. Three hostages were quickly let go, followed by the rest about an hour later. Footage published by Ukrainian officials showed police escorting people as armed special forces stood over a man lying face down on the pavement near the bus with his hands behind his back. The hostage-taker had earlier fired shots and thrown an explosive package into the street in the centre of Lutsk, a city of over 200,000 some 400 kilometres (250 miles) from capital Kiev. - 'He convinced him' - The man initially made contact with the police identifying himself as Maksym Plokhoy, a pseudonym which translates to "Bad Maxim", police said. He was identified as Maksym Kryvosh, 44, who had previously spent around 10 years in prison on various charges. An account which was later suspended by Twitter had posts under Kryvosh's name claiming he was armed, including with bombs, and demanding top Ukrainian personalities convey anti-establishment messages on social media. President Zelensky apparently carried out one of the demands posted on the account when he recorded a Facebook video calling on people to watch the 2005 documentary film "Earthlings". Narrated by Joaquin Phoenix, the film chronicles the harsh treatment of animals at the hands of humans. Zelensky spoke with Kryvosh after a phone was handed to him, deputy head of Zelensky's administration Kyrylo Tymoshenko told a briefing in Lutsk. "He had a telephone conversation, speaking with him for 15 minutes, he convinced him to release three hostages," Tymoshenko said. The president later deleted the short video from his account. "Today loved ones can hug everybody who languished all day on the bus with a gun pointed at them," Zelensky wrote after the crisis was over. "We did not lose a single person," added the president, a former TV comedian before his 2019 election win. - 'There was a threat' - Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Kryvosh came out of the bus following the negotiations. "He really had a functioning pistol, an automatic rifle, he really had a grenade. There was a threat. But it's all in the past," Avakov said. "A lengthy prison sentence awaits him," he said, calling Kryvosh an "unstable man". Earlier footage showed the blue and white bus with several windows shattered and curtains drawn, surrounded by a heavy police presence. Police earlier said there were 20 hostages, but it turned out there were only 13. While a heavy security presence including armoured vehicles were around the immediate area, people walked the streets beyond the perimeter and shops were open, an AFP correspondent said. The hostages were onboard the bus from around 9 am (0600 GMT) with no access to food or a toilet. They were given access to water many hours later. The SBU security service pronounced the situation an "act of terror" and launched a probe. Ukraine, which has been fighting Russia-backed separatists since 2014, has been struggling with a proliferation of illegal weapons. Police in late 2017 stormed a post office in the eastern city of Kharkiv, where an armed man claiming to be strapped with explosives captured 11 people. As an intense search for missing 10-year-old Breasia Terrell extends into its second week, her family say they believe she is being held against her will and said they are not giving up hope that shell be found safe. Shes out there somewhere and when shes home safe, thats when the story begins. Thats when shell tell us what happened, Breasias mother, Aishia Lankford, told Dateline. But we just have to find her. Thats what were focused on now. Breasia, known to her family as Bree, was last seen during the early hours of Friday, July 10, at an apartment on East 53rd Street in Davenport, Iowa. Aishia told Dateline that it had already been planned that her 8-year-old son, Brees half-brother, would spend the night of July 9 with his father, Henry Dinkins, and Henrys girlfriend, at their apartment on East 53rd Street. Henry had also offered to watch Bree. Shes close with her brother and wanted to hang out with him, Aishia said. We had no reason to worry that anything bad would happen. Aishia said she checked on her children that night and they told her they were playing video games and having a good time. Bree texted me and said, Good night, Mama, I love you, Aishia said. And thats the last time I heard from her. When Aishia got to work the next morning, she got a call from Henry Dinkins. She said that Henry told her that when he woke up, Bree was gone. At first I laughed because it sounded like a joke. It didnt make any sense. Its not like her, Aishia said. She would never walk out, especially in the middle of the night. In the dark? No. Never. Davenport Police Department Bree was reported missing that day and an investigation was launched by the Davenport Police Department. Later the same day, a search warrant was executed at the home of Henry Dinkins, and the 47-year-old was arrested and charged with a second-offense sex offender registration violation and a probation violation, according to the criminal complaint filed in Scott County District Court. Story continues On July 15, 2020, the Davenport Police Department named Henry Dinkins as a person of interest in relation to Breasias case. He is not currently a named suspect and no charges have been filed against him related to this case. At a press conference on Monday, July 20, Davenport Police Chief Paul Sikorski said they are still actively investigating Breasias disappearance. It was also announced that there was no longer a need for search parties to search further out into Clinton County. We are incredibly grateful to the community to assist in the search for Breasia, Chief Sikorski said. Several hundred community members responded to our call for volunteers to search, showing the care and compassion of our community. Police said they are focusing their efforts on the investigation and thanked the community and the agencies with their assistance in the search efforts. At this time, we continue to focus resources on the investigation to pursue the leads that have been developed and are evaluating the tips that were provided to us by the community, he said. Chief Sikorski said anyone who is interested in assisting or donating items that will help protect the searchers can contact Family Resources. On Tuesday, family and friends continued their own searches, in other areas around Davenport. Hundreds have joined them and the family said they are grateful. Were just out here every day, hanging fliers and giving them to businesses to display, Brees uncle, Demarcus Lankford, told Dateline. We just need to get her face out there as much as possible. We need to find her. Brees mother remains convinced that the answers to her daughters whereabouts can be answered by Henry Dinkins. She told Dateline she spoke to him last week at Scott County Jail, where he remains in custody on those unrelated charges. He broke down after only a few minutes, Aishia said. Ive known him for 11 years and Ive never seen him show that kind of emotion. I know he knows something. I told him, Youre never going to have a good nights sleep in that cell until shes home. Aishia added that when her daughter is returned home safe, she believes thats when theyll hear the truth about what happened. I cant wait until she comes home and I have my girl back, Aishia told Dateline. And shell have her voice. And shell be able to tell us everything. Breasia is described as being 45 tall, weighing about 75 pounds, with black hair and brown eyes. The Davenport Police Department also continues to ask the public for any information regarding the whereabouts of Henry Dinkins from 10 p.m. on Thursday, July 9 to 12 p.m. on Friday, July 10. Dinkins primary vehicle is believed to be a 2007 Maroon Chevy Impala. Anyone with information about Breasias whereabouts is asked to immediately call (563) 326-6125. Pictures of Henry Dinkins and his vehicles can be found at www.davenportiowa.com/missingchild. UPDATE: FBI Special Agent in Charge Kristi Johnson announced a $10,000 reward Wednesday for anyone who has information that assists law enforcement in finding 10-year-old Breasia Terrell or leads to the arrest of anyone involved in her disappearance. Agents and personnel from the FBI Omaha headquarters and the Quad-City resident agency have participated in searches, reviewed cell phone records and provided other technical, investigative resources, according to a press release issued by the Davenport Police. Because of the nature of our work, many wont see the FBI working this investigation, Johnson said. Weve been here from the beginning, thanks to the commitment of our partner, the Davenport Police Department, to use all the resources available to them to find Breasia and bring the person responsible for her disappearance to justice. Big number: 18%, the percentage of the population thats Black in the areas of Toronto that have the highest COVID-19 case rates, according to Toronto Public Health data. Across the city, about 9% of Torontos overall population is Black. There has been a torrent of data released during this pandemic. Weve got giant spreadsheets and granular maps and elaborate charts. A data renaissance in the middle of a dark age for Toronto. And the data is telling us stories. Consider what it told us about transit, for example. In June, the TTC board was presented with maps showing that even as overall TTC ridership remained way below pre-pandemic levels, there were some routes where crowding was becoming scary common. Two of the most glaring hotspots were bus routes on Eglinton Avenue East and Jane Street. The TTC was already considering ways to ease crowding on routes like these, but the data eliminated any doubt. If these routes were still crowded in the midst of a lockdown, that meant they were being relied on by some of the citys most essential workers, many of whom have no other option for getting around. The pandemic data made clear something that was true before and will be afterwards: these are some of the most important buses in Toronto. And so last week, the TTC board greenlit a plan to install dedicated bus lanes on five corridors, prioritizing Eglinton East and Jane. The plan isnt perfect Eglinton bus lanes are scheduled to be installed this fall, but Jane isnt coming until next spring and still needs to be approved by Toronto council later this month, but its a pretty good demonstration of a platonic ideal of how government should work. Data told an urgent story and government took action action driven by real numbers, not ideology, partisan politics or a gut feeling. Similar action should follow. Over the last few weeks, my Star colleagues have been bringing you important stories about neighbourhoods in the northwest corner of Toronto. These stories emerged because Toronto Public Health released neighbourhood-level data showing COVID-19 cases were much higher in this area, which also generally has higher rates of poverty. Its not a revelation that this part of the city has suffered from poor access to services and economic inequality, but the pandemic data should make it impossible to ignore. It should shape short- and long-term plans for affordable housing, transportation, education, youth spaces and other government programs. Future data releases could be even more illuminating. According to Coun. Joe Cressy, the chair of the citys Board of Health, the citys public health agency is working to release more anonymized socioeconomic data about COVID-19 cases, including race and occupational data, in the weeks ahead. Some preliminary data was presented earlier this month, showing the depth of inequity. Black people are nine per cent of Torontos population, for example, but have made up about 18 per cent of the population in areas of the city hard hit by the virus. That should underscore why its important to continue an honest analysis of how racism and unconscious bias affect government programs. Access to data like this doesnt always come easy. Transparency eludes some public agencies. The ongoing debate about funding for the Toronto police, for example, is hampered by a lack of transparency in the data behind the police budget only high-level summaries are available, instead of detailed spreadsheets. (A motion approved by council at its last meeting asks police to start releasing detailed budget info this month.) Coun. Paul Ainslie has been on a mission over the last few years to identify and push departments that arent collecting and publishing data to the citys Open Data portal. Hes had a lot of success, but at times its like pulling teeth to get the data. The effort is worth it, though. Cressy calls data the counterpoint to anecdote. And the stakes of this pandemic, along with examples from south of the border, make it clear why government-by-anecdote is a bad idea. Data is better, and will prove its value long after COVID-19. This pile of maps, charts and spreadsheets contains directions for building Toronto out of this pandemic, and making a more equitable city afterwards. Its more than just a collection of numbers. Its a map. A 68-year-old Berks County man has been sentenced to 10 years in jail and three years of supervised release after pleading guilty to charges tied to a $60 million Ponzi scheme he ran that targeted members of the Amish and Mennonite communities, authorities reported Monday. Federal Judge Edward G. Smith, who formerly sat on the Northampton County bench, also ordered Philip Elvin Riehl, of Bethel Township, to pay $59,688,297 in restitution and the same amount in forfeiture, the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania said in a news release. He was also to give up two pieces of property, $22 million in loans receivable and $1.145 million in payments, the U.S. attorneys office said. Riehl faced 45 years in prison, the Associated Press previously reported. Riehl, an accountant who was also a principal in Trickling Springs Creamery in Franklin Township, previously pleaded guilty to charges of conspiracy to commit securities fraud, securities fraud and wire fraud, authorities said. He fraudulently solicited tens of millions of dollars from accounting clients and others -- many of them from religious communities -- into an investment program he ran and then he funneled the money into the creamery, which eventually failed and went bankrupt in 2019, authorities said. He lied about the safety, security and performance of the investments, authorities said. Investor losses totaled about $60 million, making it one of the largest Ponzi schemes ever in Pennsylvania, the U.S. attorneys office said. Such affinity fraud preys upon members of identifiable groups, such as religious or ethnic communities, the news release said. The people who invested their money, sometimes their entire lifes savings, with Philip Riehl believed implicitly that they could trust him because he was one of their own, U.S. Attorney William M. McSwain said in the news release. Riehl preyed upon that trust, swindling them out of tens of millions of dollars in an effort to keep his creamery business from going under. No matter what community they belong to, fraudsters like Riehl must be held accountable under the law for justice to prevail. The FBI headed the investigation. While no form of fraud is ever acceptable, it takes a particularly vile person to target their own religious community, said Michael J. Driscoll, special agent in charge of the FBIs Philadelphia Division. Philip Riehls investors knew him and they took him at his word. He fully exploited that trust, misleading them repeatedly, with some $60 million of their hard-earned money disappearing into what proved nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme. While we can never make his victims whole financially or emotionally, today he is being held accountable and that is some measure of justice for those hes wronged. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a voluntary subscription. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. Biju E Paul By Express News Service ALAPPUZHA: A Malayali becoming a national hero in faraway Croatia might sound highly improbable. But Biju Raveendran hailing from Pullukulangara here managed to beat the odds and is now a popular figure in Bjelovar in the strikingly beautiful Balkan state. Now, what actually did the 41-year-old from Kandalloor South, Kayamkulam, do which had his exploits splashed all over Croatian media? Without bothering about his safety, Biju rescued a local woman and her two children stuck inside a three-storey building which had caught fire. He was feted by the local government for the act of bravado. The incident took place around 2am Croatian time (5.30am IST) on July 10 on the top floor of the building in whose ground floor Biju and two of his Malayali friends stayed. Biju said, We were sound asleep and were jolted awake by a loud sound. There was blinding light outside. Immediately, I scrambled to my feet and got out. By then, the blaze had engulfed the upper floor. The screams of the woman and her children rented the air. Local people also gathered, but there was none to rescue the trapped family. Using a ladder belonging to another resident, an electrician, I tried to scale the building. Due to the leaping flames and plume of smoke, I couldnt get on to the balcony. But I managed to locate the ventilator and broke the glass pane. Helana Roobilu, the woman, handed over her children, aged three and five, through the ventilator. Since she was unable to reach up to the ventilator, I took a smaller ladder and passed it to her. As she emerged through the ventilator, I placed the bigger ladder using which she got down safely. My friends and colleagues Varghese and Jobi from Pathanamthitta assisted me. Everything happened in less than 30 minutes. Later, fire fighters reached the area and put out the fire, Biju, working as a welder in an oil refinery, who had come to Croatia 14 months ago from the Gulf, told TNIE over phone from Bjelovar. The fire started from the washing machine and the rooms were almost gutted, he said. Dario Hrebak, Mayor of Bjelovar, invited me to his office and felicitated me. After the incident, I have been getting many job offers from Croatians, said Biju, whose wife Soja and 12-year-old daughter Adithya are in his native village. In their zeal to promote the importance of climate change as an ecological driver, climate scientists increasingly are ignoring the profound role that indigenous peoples played in fire and vegetation dynamics, not only in the eastern United States but worldwide, according to a Penn State researcher. "In many locations, evidence shows that indigenous peoples actively managed vast areas and were skilled stewards of the land," said Marc Abrams, professor of forest ecology and physiology. "The historical record is clear, showing that for thousands of years indigenous peoples set frequent fires to manage forests to produce more food for themselves and the wildlife that they hunted, and practiced extensive agriculture." Responding to an article published earlier this year in a top scientific journal that claimed fires set by Native Americans were rare in southern New England and Long Island, New York, and played minor ecological roles, Abrams said there is significant evidence to the contrary. In an article published today (July 20) in Nature Sustainability, Abrams, who has been studying the historical use of fire in eastern U.S. forests for nearly four decades, refutes those contentions. "The palaeoecological view -- based on a science of analyzing pollen and charcoal in lake sediments -- that has arisen over the last few decades, contending that anthropogenic fires were rare and mostly climate-driven, contradicts the proud legacy and heritage of land use by indigenous peoples, worldwide," he said. In his article, Abrams, the Nancy and John Steimer Professor of Agricultural Sciences in the College of Agricultural Sciences, argues that the authors of the previous paper assumed that the scarcity of charcoal indicated that there had not been burning. But frequent, low-intensity fires do not create the amount of charcoal that intense, crown-level, forest-consuming wildfires do, he pointed out. advertisement "Surface fires set by indigenous people in oak and pine forests, which dominate southern New England, often produced insufficient charcoal to be noticed in the sediment," said Abrams. "The authors of the earlier article did not consider charcoal types, which distinguish between crown and surface fires, and charcoal size -- macro versus micro -- to differentiate local versus regional fires." Also, lightning in New England could not account for the ignition of so many fires, Abrams argues. In southern New England, lightning-strike density is low and normally is associated with rain events. "The region lacks dry lightning needed to sustain large fires," he said. "Moreover, lightning storms largely are restricted to the summer when humidity is high and vegetation flammability is low, making them an unlikely ignition source." Early explorers and colonists of southern New England routinely described open, park-like forests and witnessed, firsthand, Native American vegetation management, Abrams writes in his article, adding that oral history and numerous anthropological studies indicate long-term burning and land-use for thousands of years by indigenous people. Burning near Native American villages and along their extensive trail systems constitutes large land areas, and fires would have kept burning as long as fuel, weather and terrain allowed, he explained. Following European settlement, these open oak and pine woodlands increasingly became closed by trees that previously were held in check by frequent fire. advertisement The authors of the previous paper also argued that fire should not be used as a present-day management tool, a view that Abrams does not support. The role of anthropogenic fires is front and center in the long-running climate-disturbance debate, according to Abrams, who notes that fires increased with the rise of human populations. The world would be a very different place without those fires, he contends. "Surprisingly, the importance of indigenous peoples burning in vegetation-fire dynamics is increasingly downplayed among paleoecologists," he writes. "This applies to locations where lightning-caused fires are rare." Abrams points out that he is not denying the importance of climate in vegetation and fire dynamics or its role in enhancing the extent of human fires. "However," he writes, "in oak-pine forests of southern New England, Native American populations were high enough, lighting-caused fires rare enough, vegetation flammable enough and the benefits of burning and agriculture great enough for us to have confidence in the importance of historic human land management." Gregory Nowacki, a scientist in the U.S. Department of Agriculture's Eastern Regional Forest Service Office in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, contributed to the article. The Grease prequel Summer Loving has taken a move forward at Paramount with the hiring of a director. Brett Haley, 36, has been picked to direct the film about the budding romance between greaser Danny and nice girl Sandy, according to an article Monday by Deadline. The musical film Grease premiered in 1978 and was based on the 1971 stage musical of the same name that premiered in Chicago before making its way to Broadway. Prequel movie: Summer Loving has moved forward at Paramount with the hiring of a director for the prequel to the 1978 musical Grease starring Olivia Newton-John and John Travolta Grease starred John Travolta, 66, as Danny and Olivia Newton-John, 71, as Sandy. The film was directed by Randal Kleiser, 73, who previously had directed Travolta in the 1976 made-for-TV drama film The Boy In The Plastic Bubble. Grease was an immediate commercial and critical success and was the highest-grossing musical film ever at the time. It spawned a sequel Grease 2 starring Michelle Pfeiffer, 62. Studio film: Brett Haley, shown in February in Hollywood, will direct the Grease prequel Fox aired Grease: Live, a live TV-adaptation of the musical, in 2016 that starred Julianne Hough, 32, as Sandy and Vanessa Hudgens, 31, as Rizzo. The 1978 Grease film focused on high school teens Danny and Sandy who enjoy a summer fling and then learn they attend the same high school. The couple before reuniting famously detailed their romance in the song Summer Nights in which Sandy emphasized the romantic nature of their relationship while Danny highlighted their physical attraction. Live television: Fox aired Grease: Live, a live TV-adaptation of the musical, in 2016 that starred Julianne Hough, 32, as Sandy and Vanessa Hudgens, 31, as Rizzo Hit movie: Olivia and John starred in the hit 1978 movie Grease based on the play of the same name 'Summer loving had me a blast, Summer loving happened so fast,' the song begins providing the name for the prequel. Haley's directing credits include: I'll See You In My Dreams, The Hero, Hearts Beat Loud and the teen romantic drama All The Bright Places that was released in February by Netflix. Summer Loving from Paramount is being produced by Temple Hill and Picturestart. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez says she never had a conversation with Rep. Ted Yoho before Monday, when the Florida Republican reportedly accosted her on the steps of the U.S. Capitol. The freshman Democrat from New York said that Yoho, who was exiting the Capitol with Rep. Roger Williams, R-Texas, suddenly flew into a rage. I was walking up the Capitol steps to vote when Reps. Yoho and Williams came around the corner of the second flight, Ocasio-Cortez recalled Tuesday, speaking to Yahoo News via Twitter direct messages. When I pass other members on the steps, regardless of party, I usually nod or say hello if Im able. Out of nowhere, Yoho comes up to me and puts his finger in my face and flies off in a rage. He started going off about shootings and bread and nonsense, calling me crazy, shameful, out of my mind, etc. At first I tried to talk to him, but that just made him yell over me more, she continued. Williams then started joining in, yelling things at me and said something about throwing urine I dont know what that was about. I said he was being rude and that this was unbelievable and started to walk away. He said, IM RUDE? Youre calling ME rude?! And I just kept walking to my vote. A spokeswoman for Williams denied the allegation that he yelled at her about "throwing urine. According to The Hill, which first reported the incident, Yoho called Ocasio-Cortez a f***ing bitch as he walked away. A spokesman for Yoho denied the report. He did not call Rep. Ocasio-Cortez what has been reported in The Hill or any name, for that matter, Brian Kaveney, Yohos press secretary, said in a statement. Instead, he made a brief comment to himself as he walked away summarizing what he believes her policies to be: bulls***. Ocasio-Cortez told Yahoo News she did not hear exactly what he said at the time. He kept muttering insults at me as I was walking away, but I didnt try to make it out, she explained. I thought he had said something but didnt assume thats what he said. Story continues I actually confronted him later that day about what he did and he doubled down, yelling at me again for a second time later in the afternoon. But their exchange on the steps of the Capitol was unusual, even in a highly partisan town like Washington. There is usually a general understanding and decency among members on House grounds, she explained. We are all in politics and understand how vicious media and campaign attacks are almost everyone has had bad-faith or unfair attacks levied against them at some point, which creates a strange sort of common ground among members when it comes to this sort of thing. Folks at least ask if you actually said whats being reported, or if its being taken out of context, etc. But to launch into an attack based off some random segment is really unusual. To launch into an attack of any kind on House grounds, with not just one but two members, is virtually unheard of. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., wears a face mask as she walks down the House steps of the U.S. Capitol before a House vote on April 23.(Photo By Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images) Yohos spokesman denied it was an unusual exchange. Congressman Yoho had a brief member-to-member conversation on the steps of the Capitol, Kaveney said. As you know, these conversations happen frequently when the House is in session. He added: It sounds better for the Hill newspaper and gets more media attention to say he called her a name which he did not do. It is unfortunate that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is using this exchange to gain personal attention. Its unclear what, if any, repercussions Yoho could face for his conduct. House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called on Yoho to apologize to Ocasio-Cortez on the House floor. Mr. Yoho owes not only the congresswoman an apology, but also an apology on the floor of the House of Representatives, Hoyer told reporters Tuesday. It was the act of a bully, the Maryland Democrat added. Bottom line, I think it was despicable conduct. It needs to be sanctioned. Yohos reported rant may have been triggered by comments Ocasio-Cortez made during a virtual town hall about a recent spike in crime in New York City. Ocasio-Cortez, who represents the Bronx and Queens in Congress, said economic desperation caused by the coronavirus pandemic is partly to blame. Maybe this has to do with the fact that people arent paying their rent and are scared to pay their rent, and so they go out and they need to feed their child and they dont have money, she said. Theyre put in a position where they feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry that night. The comments were featured on Fox News and by other outlets, accusing her of conflating petty crime and gun violence. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cotez, D- NY and Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla. (Photo illustration: Yahoo News, photos: AP, J. Scott Applewhite/AP) Ocasio-Cortez said her comments were purposely taken out of context by the right, but she couldnt recall any past conversations with Yoho on this or any other topic. I tend to get along with Republicans I serve on committees with (as much as they drive us nuts sometimes), but I dont recall having a conversation with Yoho in my entire time here, she wrote. Asked what she sees as a solution, the congresswoman said she wasnt sure. I do not know what the solution to conservative media is, but it is dangerous, she said. My office always sees spikes in violent threats after I am on Tucker, Hannity, & Ingrahams programs in particular. We know its their programs because the people who call tend to repeat lines and topics from their show the night before almost verbatim in their attacks. She said many of her GOP colleagues understand that much of what she says is intentionally manipulated or taken out of context, but many do not. Ive had some GOP members ask me in confidence if some conspiracy theory-esque right wing claims about me are true, Ocasio-Cortez said. This has very real implications for policy making. Policy making aside, Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., tweeted in support of his Democratic colleague. I can confirm that AOC gets along [with] many of her Republican colleagues on a range of things that dont have anything to do [with] legislation or politics, Gaetz wrote on Twitter. She is not a bitch. ___ Read more from Yahoo News: The type of shoe that Koio makes is very expensive, so it was very important for me to get discounts for those who are in my community, because we simply cant afford it well, even if we can its still very expensive, she said of the discount code she got for a limited number of shoes. I was like OK, we need to figure out a discount code or something because this is way too much to be paying for a shoe especially considering everything going on right now and the money can go elsewhere. That was just good to think about. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 23:05:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iran and Iraq are keen on increasing bilateral trade value to 20 billion U.S. dollars in near future, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday in a joint press conference with the visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al-Kadhimi. Rouhani said at a live broadcast from the state TV that the two sides are determined to implement their earlier agreements, particularly connecting the Iranian Shalamcheh to the Iraqi Basra city via railway. Iran is also prepared to cooperate with Iraq for the peace and stability of the Arab country and the region, he noted. The Iranian president said that Iran would stand by the Iraqi people in their fight against the COVID-19 and will provide them with medical and health needs. For his part, Al-Kadhimi said that Iran and Iraq need cooperation and coordination in the face of challenges, like the spread of COVID-19 pandemic and the fall in the crude oil prices. He said that his government will not allow the Iraqi soil to be used as a platform for threats to Iran. The Iraqi prime minister expressed his gratitude to the Iranian side for Tehran's supports and assistance to the Iraqi people in their fight against the Islamic State extremist group. Al-Kadhimi pointed out that Iraq has turned into a big market for Iranian products and his country will also help Iran overcome its economic challenges. Al-Kadhimi arrived in the Iranian capital Tehran on Tuesday for talks on bilateral issues and regional cooperation. During his two-day visit, the Iraqi prime minister is also scheduled to meet other Iranian top officials, according to IRNA news agency. Enditem Trump: Americans should wear a mask when they cannot keep social distance President Donald Trump, in a shift in rhetoric on facial coverings, encouraged Americans on Tuesday to wear a mask if they cannot maintain social distance from people around them in an effort to curb the spread of the coronavirus. In his first briefing focused on the pandemic in months, Trump told reporters at the White House that the virus will probably get worse before it gets better. Trump has been reluctant to wear a mask himself in public. He wore one for the first time in public during a recent visit to a military hospital but has otherwise eschewed putting one on in front of the press. As cases rises in states around the country, including in politically important states such as Florida, Texas and Arizona, Trump is shifting his tone to try to get the number of cases under control. We're asking everybody that when you are not able to socially distance, wear a mask, get a mask. Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact, they'll have an effect and we need everything we can get, he said. Trump said he was getting used to masks and would wear one himself in groups or when on an elevator. 'I will use it, gladly,' he said. 'Anything that potentially can help... is a good thing.' The president also urged young Americans to avoid crowded bars where the virus could spread. Robert Alexander/Getty Images A woman in Roseville, Calif., allegedly urinated on the floor of a Verizon store last week after being asked to leave for refusing to wear a mask, officials say. Staff called 911, and in the dispatch call, the operator tells the officer that three people were in the store and declined to wear mask and that a female "is pulling down her pants and is now urinating inside the business, according to CBS Sacramento. Thiruvananthapuram, July 21 : Even as the number of Covid cases is rising, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, who is under fire from the Congress and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), here on Tuesday, used statistics to say everything was under control and there was no need of panic. During the day, 720 new cases were reported, taking the Covid tally to 13,994. It included 528 local infectees. There are 8,056 active cases in the state. "In the early days, critics said there were low reporting of cases. Now when the cases are rising, they are saying there's a huge spike. We can't do anything about those who feign ignorance," said Vijayan. He said many failed to understand that population density in Kerala was double the national average and the state had the largest percentage of senior citizens. "Despite all that, the fatality rate in Kerala was 0.33 per cent, against 4.4 per cent in Gujarat, 3.8 per cent in Maharashtra and 2.1 per cent in Karnataka," said Vijayan. He also used Monday's data to support his case. On Monday, there were 36,906 cases and 596 deaths across the country, 4,985 cases and 70 deaths in Tamil Nadu, and 3,648 cases and 72 fatalities in Karnataka. He accepted being concerned about rise in cases and added, by July 23, 742 Covid first line treatment centres with 69,215 beds would be ready. By July 19, 187 such centres with 20,404 beds had started functioning, he added. A university student and another have been convicted to a total of five years by an Accra circuit court for posting nude photographs and videos of a 14-year-old Junior High School (JHS) female student. Desmond Appleton, 23, a university student, was convicted and sentenced for 36 months in hard labour while his friend, Elvin Boakye Agyemang Nana Kofi, unemployed, was handed 24-month jail term in hard labour by the court presided by Mrs Abena Oppong Adjin-Doku. They were charged for conspiracy to commit crime to wit child pornography, procurement of child pornography, possession of child pornography and publication of child pornography. They both pleaded not guilty to all charges but were found guilty by the court. The Director of the Cybercrime Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Gustav Herbert Yankson of the Police Service disclosed these to the Ghanaian Times in Accra yesterday. He said in January, 2017 Agyemang visited the school of the victim to sell branded T shirts and struck acquaintance with her. ACP Yankson said Agyemang and the victim talked on telegram, a social media platform and Agyemang convinced the victim to send him nude videos and photographs, which she did. ACP Yankson said Agyeman sent the nude videos and its screenshots to Appleton in April, 2017, and he started chatting with the victim on telegram and threatened her to send him more of her nude photographs and videos else he would leak those he already had online. ACP Yankson said the victim obliged and took ten photographs of her nude self which she sent to Appleton, adding that when Appleton demanded for more photographs the victim refused and uninstalled the application in order to avoid future communication. He said on July 16, 2017 victims mother had a phone call from a teacher of the victim and informed her of the leaked video of the victim on social media platforms. ACP Yankson said when the victim was interviewed, she confirmed her ordeal and a report was made to the Cyber Crime Unit. 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 Russia-occupation forces 17 times opened fire on Ukraine's positions in Donbas in the past 24 hours, as a result of which one serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine was killed and another one wounded, the press service of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) headquarters has said. "In the past 24 hours, regrettably, one Ukrainian serviceman was killed and one more serviceman was wounded as a result of enemy attacks," the JFO headquarters said on its Facebook page on Tuesday. The enemy violated the ceasefire regime in Donbas using 122mm artillery systems, 120mm and 82mm mortars, grenade launchers, heavy machine guns, sniping weapon and small arms. In the area of responsibility of the Pivnich (North) task group, the enemy mounted attacks near Myronivske using 122mm artillery systems and 120mm mortars, near Shumy using grenade launchers of various types, small arms and sniping weapon, near Orikhove and Novotoshkivske using 120mm and 82mm mortars, and near Prychepylivka, Popasna and Luhanske using grenade launchers and machine guns. In the area of responsibility of the Skhid (East) task group, the enemy attacked Ukraine's positions near Maryinka, Starohnativka, Pavlopil, Shyrokyne, Kamyanka, Hnutove, Vodiane and Opytne using grenade launchers of various types, heavy machine guns and small arms. According to Ukrainian intelligence data, one member of illegal armed forces was killed and two wounded in the past 24 hours. Details are emerging about the reason why the controversial pastor, Daniel Obinim, founder of the International Gods Way Church (IGWC), was hauled before the Kaneshie Magistrate Court in Accra. According to documents filed in court by the police, Obinim allegedly forged and published a Police Persons Wanted Form against a man in Kumasi without official endorsement. The said wanted person form bearing the details of the supposed fugitive called Isaac Opoku, according to court documents, was circulated on social media platform of certain individuals who are linked to Obinim. The alleged forgery of police documents by the controversial Man of God resulted from some GH51,280 he reportedly deposited in Mr. Opokus bank account. According to court documents, Bishop Obinim transferred GH49,160 out of the amount into his Kaizer Bank account in Spain, but it was later returned into Mr. Opokus bank account in Ghana. Mr. Opoku then spent the money, claiming he did so because of a promise Obinim made to him in front of his congregation to buy him a car. It was the back and forth that followed efforts by Obinim to retrieve the money that led to the alleged forgery of police document. Main Charges Obinim is facing two charges of publication of false news, as well as forgery of a document, contrary to Sections 208 and 159 of the Criminal and other Offences Act, 1960 (Act 29). He has since pleaded not guilty before a Kaneshie District Court, Accra, presided over by Magistrate Rosemond Agyiri and is currently on a GH100,000 bail with three sureties, one to be justified with a title deed. The prosecution, led by ASP Sylvester Asare in May, had opposed the grant of bail, but Ralph Poku Edusei, who was the initial counsel for Obinim, pushed for the court to grant their request for bail. Obinim Appearance When the case was called yesterday, Obinim who was neatly dressed in a beautiful leaf green suit and wearing his face mask was present in court. He was in the company of some of his church members who were all not allowed into the courtroom except him due to the Covid-19 protocols put in place by the Judicial Service. He had come to court in his sleek brown Range Rover. Prosecution Documents During the proceedings, Dela Blagogee, who is the new counsel for Obinim, demanded that the prosecution should furnish the defence team with the documents they intend to rely on for the trial to enable them to prepare adequately. According to him, it has been some time since the charges were levelled against his client but said that beyond the charge sheet and fact sheet, the prosecution had not been able to supply them with any document they intended to use for the trial. He said Obinim was innocent of the charges levelled against him and described the charge as frivolous and vexatious. Long Adjournment The case took another long adjournment after the prosecution asked the court for a month to enable them to prepare well. The prosecution on June 1, 2020 had asked the court to give them time to conclude their investigations into the matter, but during the proceedings yesterday, it was clear that they were still not ready to commence full trial. The prosecution had told the court that they were far advanced with their investigations into the matter and had prayed the court to adjourn the case to give them more time to put final touches to the work done so far. The case was subsequently adjourned to July 20, 2020 but appearing before the court yesterday, Inspector Lawrence Kofi Anane, who held the brief of ASP Sylvester Asare, prayed for another adjournment. He told the court that his senior was in another court and prayed that the court grant them another month of adjournment. Dela Blagogee did not oppose the request for adjournment but stated that the prosecution must endeavour to furnish them with the trial documents by the next sitting. The case was subsequently adjourned to September 9, 2020. Case Facts According to the fact filed before the court, Bishop Daniel Obinim on November 14, 2019 deposited an amount of GH51,280 into the Fidelity bank account of Mr. Opoku and subsequently transferred GH49,160 out of the money to his Kaizer bank account in Spain. It said the GH49,160 was returned into Mr. Opokus account in Ghana, which he withdrew for his personal use based on a promise Bishop Obinim allegedly made to him in front of his congregation to buy him a car. WhatsApp Threats Bishop Obinim, according to the fact, demanded a refund of the money, but the complainant refused to pay back and the accused allegedly sent an audio via WhatsApp threatening to declare the complainant wanted by the police the next day if he did not return the money by close of day. The brief fact said Mr. Opoku later saw a publication on the Facebook walls of followers of Bishop Obinim declaring him wanted. The said false publication is said to have contained the phone number of a police officer who allegedly serves as body guard for Obinim. The police officer, according to the facts, denied any knowledge of the content of the false publication although he admitted the phone number was his. The facts sheet revealed further that Obinim denied publishing Mr. Opoku as wanted by the police but admitted knowing the owners of the various Facebook accounts to be members of the Kumasi branch of his church. He was later picked by the police pursuant to a warrant of arrest and dragged before the court. Bail Drama Obinim was in police custody for about three nights after he was arrested and charged, before he was later able to extricate the bail bond. Obinim was arrested after a brutal media war ensued between him and the Member of Parliament for Assin Central, Kennedy Ohene Agyapong, who has launched a crusade to expose fake pastors, claiming Obinim is one of them. When the issue started, Mr. Agyapong confirmed that he personally reported the pastor to the Inspector General of Police for offences including fraud, money laundering and misuse of the police logo to harass some of the boys he has been having criminal deals with. 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 Dr. David Williams will finish his five-year term as Ontarios Chief Medical Officer of Health (CMOH) next February. He has great qualifications to stay on. He is a physician, a mandatory requirement, and a public health masters degree. He has been a regional medical officer of health and even served a stint as acting CMOH (2007-09) there is no better preparation for a job, than the job itself. Public health policy distils slowly from research over years. Individual case reports lead to small studies, then large experiments, and eventually systematic reviews articulate definitive new knowledge. In public health peacetime, the CMOH studies this research, recommends public policy, and reports annually on the state of public health in Ontario. With his civil service experience, Dr. Williams is the consummate CMOH. His avuncular style mild, reserved, indirect, and cautious, one might also say embraces the ideal tone to convince the public to eat more fibre, or drink less alcohol. But this isnt peacetime, it is a major emergency, and the effective time window to act is tiny. We are learning about COVID-19 quickly, through real-time case reports and small, rapid studies. Collectively, these provide converging, urgent guidance about what to do and not do to save lives. If the CMOH dithers when urgent action is needed, then politicians with zero understanding of public health may fill the vacuum with political reasoning. That is what the Ford administration is doing right now. The awful spectre of a public health emergency being mismanaged by politicians in Ontario was clearly identified in the wake of SARS. In 2004, the role of the CMOH was transformed to become powerful and wholly independent from political interference. These changes were announced to clarify that the CMOH is the central authority during times of potential health emergencies, free to act on his/her own initiative based on assessed risk This amendment removes authority for these powers from the minister and vests them with the CMOH. Ontarios CMOH has the power and the obligation to act independently and quickly in an emergency. However, Dr. Williams approach been marked by inaction and passivity. By early February, case reports told us that COVID-19 spreads asymptomatically, requiring broad proactive testing based on occupational and demographic risk. But Dr. Williams opted for the classical approach of strictly limiting testing to those with severe symptoms. The result: a lot of avoidable illness and avoidable death. We stayed blind to who is most vulnerable, because Dr. Williams would not collect demographic data from cases. We stayed blind about who the virus kills because Dr. Williams refused to order post-mortem testing for those who died before diagnosis. New evidence tells us that mandatory masks prevent transmission. But the gentle Dr. Williams prefers a voluntary approach. Most damningly, Premier Ford citing the advice of Dr. Williams in opening bars, in stark conflict with emerging global evidence that is disastrously dangerous. Dr. Williams has strikingly failed the articles of his office. Worse still, those most aware of how our CMOH has been failing are physicians. But like most licensed professions, they wont criticize or even contradict each other publicly, let alone call for the dismissal of one of their own. Our associate CMOH, Dr. Barbara Yaffe, seems cut from the same cloth as Dr. Williams, making a solution to this problem even harder to conceive. What can be done? Physicians and public health professionals must write to Drs. Williams and Yaffe to beg them both to step down. An urgent conclave of Ontarios 34 regional Medical Officers of Health which include some brilliant public health leaders could then elevate a new CMOH for the lieutenant governors approval. The right CMOH would act quickly on emerging evidence. They could give us mandatory masks, close bars, and get our children back to school safely with daily screening. And they could direct real support to Ontarios marginalized, racialized communities still being ravaged every day. What Ontario needs to manage the second wave of COVID-19 is clear. We just need a CMOH who is willing to do it. By Emma Pinedo and Belen Carreno MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's King Felipe was greeted by hundreds of chanting protesters during a visit to Catalonia on Monday as pressure mounted on him in Madrid to respond to corruption allegations swirling around his father, former king Juan Carlos. While the demonstrators squared off with police and shouted 'We don't have a king' as Felipe and Queen Letizia visited a monastery near Tarragona, ministers are demanding action amid calls for a parliamentary investigation. In June, Spain's Supreme Court opened an investigation into Juan Carlos' involvement with a high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia after Switzerland's La Tribune de Geneve newspaper reported he had received $100 million from the late Saudi King. By Emma Pinedo and Belen Carreno MADRID (Reuters) - Spain's King Felipe was greeted by hundreds of chanting protesters during a visit to Catalonia on Monday as pressure mounted on him in Madrid to respond to corruption allegations swirling around his father, former king Juan Carlos. While the demonstrators squared off with police and shouted "We don't have a king" as Felipe and Queen Letizia visited a monastery near Tarragona, ministers are demanding action amid calls for a parliamentary investigation. In June, Spain's Supreme Court opened an investigation into Juan Carlos' involvement with a high-speed rail contract in Saudi Arabia after Switzerland's La Tribune de Geneve newspaper reported he had received $100 million from the late Saudi King. Through his lawyer, Juan Carlos, 82, has repeatedly declined to comment on the allegations. The newspaper added that Juan Carlos later gave $65 million to Corinna zu Sayn-Wittgenstein, a businesswoman with whom he had a relationship that led to his abdication in 2014. Her representatives have said she's done nothing wrong. Juan Carlos was popular for his role in the country's transition to democracy in the late seventies, before various scandals eroded public approval a decade ago and forced him to pass the throne to his son. This time, the focus is on the rail contract affair. "We want a pretty intense investigation into the activities of the citizen Juan Carlos de Bourbon," Consumer Affairs Minister Alberto Garzon, of the leftist Izquierda Unidad party, told reporters on Monday, referring to the former king. A government source told Reuters that the cabinet "expects some gesture from King Felipe, something that will distance his father even more from the Royal House." "The options are various ... It's something that must be decided by the royal house. Looking for a way out of the (royal family's) Zarzuela palace, as some media have said, may be an option. The decree of abdication could also be studied to reduce privileges. Whatever it is must be announced now, imminently." Another option raised by Spanish media is whether Juan Carlos could lose the title of King Emeritus, which he has had since abdicating following outrage over a secret luxury elephant-hunting trip and a corruption scandal centred on his daughter and her husband. The monarchy itself, or any change in the constitution, is not at stake at this stage, experts said. There is no majority for that in the Spanish parliament and the constitution gives the former king immunity for his time on the throne. Javier Perez Royo, professor of Constitutional Law at the University of Seville, said it was "science fiction" to think the constitution could be changed. He said one possibility would be for Felipe to tell his father to leave palace and stop being a member of the royal household. But voters were likely to want more than that, so no immediate resolution of the problem was in sight. The Royal House and a representative for Juan Carlos did not immediately respond to requests for comment. They have repeatedly refused to comment in recent weeks. A friend of Juan Carlos, Jaime Carvajal Urquijo, said on Twitter: "The government's pressure on Felipe VI to take action against his father, without waiting for the courts to rule and without respecting the presumption of innocence, is outrageous!" In mid-March, when latest the corruption allegations surfaced, Felipe had already renounced any inheritance from his father and ended the former king's palace allowance. (Reporting by Emma Pinedo, Belen Carreno; Additional reporting by Albert Gea, Joan Faus, Inti Landauro; Writing by Ingrid Melander; Editing by Giles Elgood) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. A 45-year-old man who was shot multiple times in Mashpee Monday evening has died, authorities said Tuesday. Mashpee police responded to the area of Collins Lane at around 11:30 p.m. for a report of a shooting. Police said they found a man who had been shot multiple times. Emergency personnel took him to Cape Cod Hospital. The man died sometime later, according to the Cape & Islands District Attorneys office. Massachusetts State Police detectives assigned to the District Attorneys Office and Mashpee Police officers are investigating, they said, in a statement. Assisting are crime scene services personnel from the State Police. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: The situation on the line of contact between the troops of Azerbaijan and Armenia continues to remain tense, Spokesperson for the Ministry of Defense, Colonel Vagif Dargahli told Trend. By the use of small arms, the enemy is violating the ceasefire in various directions of the front. The activity of Armenians on the front line is adequately and immediately suppressed by the units of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces," said the official. Dargahli said that as a result of preventive measures taken, two servicemen of the Armenian army were severely wounded. Previously, Azerbaijan destroyed two Armenian reconnaissance UAVs in the directions of Azerbaijans Aghdam and Tovuz. On July 16, the EU did not include Ukraine in the EU Council's updated list of countries whose citizens will see travel restriction lift. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba says the ministry continues to negotiate the reopening of borders within the Schengen zone for Ukrainian travelers. "The situation with the Schengen countries is the most sensitive because there are general recommendations of the European Union on crossing into the Schengen zone. Some countries may make certain concessions as part of recommendations, but in general, they try to comply. We are indeed in constant talks with all countries that are potentially interesting for the Ukrainian tourism sector, trying to create at least the most favorable conditions and create at least a narrow corridor for the entry. But the situation is really very complicated. However, we do not abandon our efforts," he told during an online briefing on July 21. The minister also cited the example of Slovenia, where the authorities allowed Ukrainians to enter the country subject to a 14-day quarantine. This shows that "we must continue our work rather than give up," he added. Read alsoAnother 13 countries reopen to Ukrainians Kuleba recalled that under the EU recommendations, entry into EU member states is allowed for citizens traveling for educational purposes; seafarers (bound for their ships); highly qualified workers from third countries (if their employment is economically justified and cannot be postponed, namely seasonal workers); and those who have a residence permit in the EU (or a similar document), as well as for diplomats. As UNIAN reported, on July 16, the European Union did not include Ukraine in the EU Council's updated list of countries for which travel restrictions should be lifted amid the COVID-19 pandemic. So, Ukrainian citizens will not be able to travel freely to EU countries for at least another two weeks. The EU Council says the criteria to determine the third countries for which the current travel restriction should be lifted cover in particular the epidemiological situation and containment measures, including physical distancing, as well as economic and social considerations. They are applied cumulatively. Regarding the epidemiological situation, third countries listed should meet the following criteria, in particular: number of new COVID-19 cases over the last 14 days and per 100,000 inhabitants close to or below the EU average (as it stood on June 15, 2020), as well as stable or decreasing trend of new cases over this period in comparison to the previous 14 days. On July 21, the Ukrainian foreign minister also said that another 13 countries had lifted COVID-19-related lockdown to allow Ukrainians to visit. The building owner, I believe, is based in Melbourne and he was told by his tenant that his place went up in smoke and he can be quite concerned, he said. He cant leave Victoria because theyre in a lockdown situation, so he cant even get up here to view the building. Ive called him four times today just to keep him in the loop, as I have done with the tenant of Federal Backpackers. Ive spoken with them as well on several occasions today and things are going really well as far as the process of the claim. Read next: ICA welcomes national approach to reforming building sector While police are yet to determine where and how the fire started, the town is anxious over its origins. Coe says the investigation is still in the polices hands. No-ones dispersed any type of suggestion it was an arson attack yet but, as you know, with any fire and with any place, police have got to rule it out, he said. Ive already had that conversation with my clients because thats a part of the investigation. But for now, its more of a police investigation than it is an insurance investigation until its established how the fire started. However, the police cant conclude their investigations to allow the insurance claim to go ahead until forensics have access to the building, which is hindered by the buildings severe damage. The forensic team have got to get in there first but even before that this is the drama right now the building has to be certified that it is safe to enter. Now, until thats done, the police cannot do their investigations, the assessors are not allowed inside, and no-one can do anything other than try and keep it under control. The building is still smouldering in different sections at this time, Coe explained. To assess how safe the building is for forensics to enter, GHD Engineering has been engaged to inspect it for the assessor. GHD Engineers will establish how safe the building is and the integrity of the walls, but in this particular case, there are brick walls on the outside and the inside is completely timber, Coe said. We also have a completely missing roof and the third floor is gone and, when thats the case, it certainly compromises the integrity of the entire building because thats what actually keeps the building together. Coe says the engineer has already told him the building has been deemed too unsafe to enter at this point in time. As such, the police have had to cordon off the main street where the damaged building is located. Its right in the main street area of Bundaberg and so the main street has been cordoned off by the police because of the size of the three-storey building, he continued. If it was to collapse, pedestrians would be at risk, as would the drivers of vehicles going past. Security has been called in to ensure no-one goes anywhere near the building until its determined as to how safe it really is by the engineers. The hostel blaze comes at a heartbreaking time, when the small regional town was commemorating 20 years since the Childers Hostel arson attack, which killed 15 tourists. Read more: Insurance fraudster caught on video plotting alleged arson, court hears To see another backpackers place burn to the ground is not something you want at this time, Coe said. I assume its probably going to create a lot of media attention. However, in this case here, the owner of the hostel was up at all hours of the night making sure all backpackers were evacuated from the building and that was done successfully. No-one was injured and theres been no fatalities. Everyone was evacuated safely, and everyone is happy at this point in time. Were just mainly looking at material loss rather than life loss. The 60 hostel guests have been relocated, however, their property inside the backpackers hostel was burned inside the building. Coe says the tourists can claim for losses with their own travel insurers. The tourists have all got lives to live they all had their belongings inside the building, which have all gone up in smoke as well, he said. Theyre going to be looking at trying to recover what they can through their own policies of travel insurance or whatever theyve got and thats just another avenue of this whole event. The blaze comes at a devastating time for his clients who were already grappling with the economic hit from the COVID-19 pandemic. Coe says both his clients were getting back on their feet before this event happened. However, Coe is grateful for the quality of service he and his clients have received from the insurer. To be honest with you, right now the insurance group and the assessing group I couldnt have asked for a speedier result than what weve had so far, Coe said. Everyones pulled their weight, everyones done the right thing, and everyone has really worked hard to ensure that weve got to where we are now. Going from here, we have to look at how the loss occurred, weve got to rule out arson and make sure theres been no foul play and once thats done we can then progress to looking to see if its going to be a total loss or not. LONDON, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 1, 2020, Seadrill Partners LLC ("SDLP" or "the Company") announced that it had elected not to make an approximately $49 million interest payment due and payable on June 30, 2020 (the "Interest Payment") under its Term Loan B (the "TLB") and enter into a 30-day grace period expiring on July 30, 2020. After concluding discussions with TLB lenders representing over 70% of TLB principal amounts outstanding (the "Ad Hoc Group"), an agreement has been reached that removes the potential for an event of default related to non-payment of interest at the end of the grace period and provides the Company with the flexibility to address its 2020 debt maturities by paying down c.$230 million in secured bank debt (the "Amendment"). The vessels securing the bank debt will become part of the collateral securing the TLB after closing the Amendment. The Ad Hoc Group have agreed to support the transaction and to provide a super senior loan in lieu of receipt of cash interest with respect to the June 30 Interest Payment. The option to participate will be offered to all TLB lenders on a pro rata basis; however participation beyond the Ad Hoc Group is not required for closing. Assuming 100% participation of TLB lenders, a $69 million super senior loan maturing in February 2021 will be created carrying PIK interest of Libor+1000 bps and a 10% exit premium. The consent solicitation period for non-Ad Hoc Group TLB lenders will expire at 5:00 p.m., New York City time on July 28, 2020. FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS This report includes forward looking statements. Such statements are generally not historical in nature, and specifically include statements about the Company's plans, strategies, business prospects, changes and trends in its business and the markets in which it operates. In particular, but without limitation, statements regarding an agreement with lenders under the Company's Term Loan B that would address the payment of interest thereunder and potential events of default and other mattersare considered forward-looking statements. These statements are made based upon management's current plans, expectations, assumptions and beliefs concerning future events impacting the Company and therefore involve a number of risks, uncertainties and assumptions that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this news release. Important factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements include, but are not limited to offshore drilling market conditions including supply and demand, dayrates, customer drilling programs and effects of new rigs on the market, contract awards and rig mobilizations, contract backlog, the performance of the drilling units in the Company's fleet, delay in payment or disputes with customers, the outcome of any pending litigation, our ability to successfully employ our drilling units, procure or have access to financing, liquidity and adequacy of cash flow from operations, fluctuations in the international price of oil, changes in governmental regulations that affect the Company or the operations of the Company's fleet, increased competition in the offshore drilling industry, and general economic, political and business conditions globally. Important additional factors include the Company's operational dependency on Seadrill Limited for certain management and technical support services, the Company's ability to continue to comply with loan covenants and the Company's ability to negotiate the refinancing of its near term debt maturities with its lenders and whether the terms of any such refinancing would be as favorable as or any more favorable than the terms of the Company's existing term loan facility. Consequently, no forward-looking statement can be guaranteed. When considering these forward looking statements, you should keep in mind the risks described from time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made or to reflect the occurrence of unanticipated events. New factors emerge from time to time, and it is not possible for us to predict all of these factors. Further, the Company cannot assess the impact of each such factor on its business or the extent to which any factor, or combination of factors, may cause actual results to be materially different from those contained in any forward looking statement. CONTACT: [email protected] This information was brought to you by Cision http://news.cision.com SOURCE Seadrill Limited FETP field investigation with the Amazonas State Department of Health in San Juan de Atacuari, on the border with Brazil, May 2020. A lot has happened since CDC and the National Health Institute (INS) in Colombia established a group of disease detectives through Colombias Field Epidemiology Training Program (FETP) in 1992. Since then, INS has strengthened its reputation as the go-to public health institution in Colombia, and FETP has taken leading roles in disease detection response. Their strengths have been particularly evident during the current COVID-19 response. Both have been using a new application to prevent and contain the spread of COVID-19 in Colombia. The INS began using CoronApp in March after Ivan Duque Marquez, the president of Colombia, supported app improvement efforts to include COVID-19 prevention, containment, and mitigation measures. CoronApp shares the latest government messaging and information about COVID-19 with users. The app also captures user locations, which allows mapping of all suspected cases. Additionally, it confirms whether users have provided information to the national surveillance system for future follow-up. Two FETP residents conducting contact tracing in Mitu village, Vaupes, Colombia (border with Brazil) the first eleven COVID-19 cases were detected. As of the end of June, the app had been downloaded nearly 11 million times, and more than 5.5 million active users had entered their health status and symptoms. The health status information identifies people at risk for severe COVID-19 infection, and the symptom data alerts officials about possible COVID-19 cases. FETP residents and graduates use the CoronApp to monitor data collected from users in real time and apply the data to coordinate Colombias COVID-19 response with local, departmental, and national authorities. Some residents and graduates based in Bogota help lead the federal response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Others have been deployed to help local and departmental authorities with disease response efforts. At the national level, FETP residents and graduates play essential roles within the INS Public Health Emergency Operations Center, helping the EOC build their workforce capacity to handle all facets of the COVID-19 pandemic. For example, residents and graduates use the skills they learned from FETP to lead and manage risk analysis rooms. They also use their technical skills to capture vital information on probable cases from sources such as notification forms, clinical histories, and laboratory results. FETP residents with the Amazonas State Department of Health conducting a field investigation for COVID-19 in San Juan de Atacuari on the Brazilian border. One example of the value of FETPs contribution at the local level was recently seen in the city of Leticia, which lies on Colombias border with Brazil. A cluster of 20 cases of COVID-19 was detected with the CoronApp alert notification system. Understanding the location of the cluster led seven FETP residents and graduates to activate a rapid response team, deploy to the field, collect samples, confirm cases, trace contacts, and isolate people to prevent further spread of the disease. In the department of North Santander, the CoronApp helped discover 40 cases of COVID-19 in a community where many were at high risk for severe infections. This led FETP residents and graduates to quickly deploy to North Santander to coordinate with local health services to investigate cases, identify contacts, and isolate ill people to prevent the spread of COVID-19. In addition, FETP residents and graduates developed risk-specific messages for the community and prepared health facilities to meet the healthcare needs of COVID-19 patients. This isnt the first time FETP residents and graduates have used an app to monitor infectious diseases in Colombia. During Pope Franciss 2017 visit to Colombia, they used a mobile surveillance system app called Guardianes de La Salud (Guardians of Health) to identify potential disease outbreaks. The work of FETP residents and graduates in Colombia is a classic example of FETP trainees mobilizing to support disease control efforts at all levels of the country. With their disease detective training and an innovative app, FETP residents and graduates are playing a vital role in Colombias response to the COVID-19 pandemic. PHOENIX Alex Beric, a 44-year-old immigrant from England, applied for naturalization in May 2019. He was hoping to become a U.S. citizen in time to vote in the presidential election this November. But now he is one of more than 300,000 immigrants at risk of not becoming citizens in time to cast ballots after the federal agency in charge of processing naturalization applications suspended in-person interviews and oath ceremonies this spring amid the coronavirus pandemic. "It would be fairly disappointing," said Beric, who came to the U.S. in 2004 and lives in Gilbert. "My wife and I have made our life here. We have no intention to return to England, so it would be nice to take part in local and federal elections." U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, the agency that processes immigration benefits, notified Beric in early March that his naturalization interview, which is done in-person, had been scheduled for April 21. Shortly after, Beric said he received another notification that his naturalization interview would be rescheduled due to the coronavirus pandemic. More than three months later, Beric, a software product manager, is still waiting for his naturalization interview to be rescheduled. Meanwhile, time is running out. The deadline in Arizona to register to vote in the Nov. 3 general election is Oct. 8, according to the Arizona Secretary of State's Office. A big budget shortfall only got worse with the pandemic In March, U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services announced all in-person naturalization interviews had been suspended because of the coronavirus pandemic, said Randy Capps, director of research for U.S. programs at the Migration Policy Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit research organization. The agency also suspended naturalization oath ceremonies, the final step immigrants go through to become U.S. citizens after passing their naturalization interview, Capps said. USCIS resumed oath ceremonies in June and is conducting in-person naturalization interviews, an agency spokesperson said. Story continues Since resuming in-person services on June 4, our first priority has been to conduct naturalization ceremonies for those whose ceremonies were postponed due to the temporary COVID-related closures. We have also prioritized rescheduling interviews for naturalization and adjustment of status that were postponed," Jessica Collins, the USCIS spokesperson, said. "Weve reopened our offices in accordance with the CDCs guidelines. ... We are conducting naturalization interviews and are committed to conducting as many interviews as we can in manner that is safe for our staff and for the public. What's more, USCIS, which operates mostly on the application fees it collects from immigrants applying for naturalization and other immigration benefits, faces a huge budget shortfall. The shortfall started last year, but was worsened by the pandemic, Capps said. As a result, more than two-thirds of the agency's staff are facing furloughs starting in August unless the agency receives a bailout from Congress. The agency is asking Congress for $1.2 billion to cover the fiscal crunch. The furloughs could further hamper efforts to plow through the huge backlogs of immigrants waiting to be naturalized, Capps said. 2020 election: Election lawsuits set record pace amid COVID-19 pandemic as results decide who votes and how Nov. 3 "Everyone who doesn't get an oath ceremony or doesn't get a completed application process by October obviously is not going to be able to vote in the next election, at least in Arizona," Capps said. Voter registration deadlines vary by state. In most states, the deadline is in October. A handful of states allow voters to register in person on Election Day. About 315,000 immigrants may not be able to vote in the November election because their citizenship applications won't be completed in time, according to an analysis of previous USCIS data by Boundless Immigration, a technology company that helps immigrants navigate the system. The estimate is based on the 63,000 immigrants who typically complete in-person naturalization ceremonies and oath ceremonies a month. There is typically a two-month lag between the in-person interview and going through the oath ceremony, the final step to becoming a U.S. citizen. Protests, reforms: We looked at protester demands from across the nation and compared them with recent police reforms. Although USCIS reopened in June, few, if any, in person naturalization interviews have been rescheduled, said Boundless CEO Xiao Wang. In 2018, more than 700,000 immigrants became citizens That leaves a backlog of five months of potential U.S. citizens who are on hold, Wang said. "We think that over 300,000 immigrants wont be able to become U.S. citizens in time who otherwise would have been able to become citizens in time to vote," Wang said. About 761,000 immigrants became U.S. citizens in fiscal year 2018, according the most recent Department of Homeland Security data. Wang said USCIS has missed out on an opportunity to modernize the process for naturalization by switching from in-person interviews and oath ceremonies to handling those functions remotely, just as many schools and companies have adjusted during the pandemic. As a result, many immigrants will be denied the opportunity to feel like they are fully American by not being able to vote, Wang said. Aden Bashir Hillowle, 57, from Somalia, is an overland truck driver and a married father of nine children. His naturalization ceremony was scheduled for March 12, 2020, but was put on hold because of the new coronavirus pandemic, when the government temporarily suspended naturalization ceremonies. He was relieved when he received a letter informing him that his ceremony finally had been rescheduled for July 10, four months after he was supposed to be sworn in as a new U.S. citizen. "Actually, this is my best day in the world. This is the opportunity country," he said. Shortened ceremony, but 'my best day in the world' On a recent Friday morning, Aden Bashir Hillowle, a 57-year-old immigrant from Somalia, strolled out of the Sandra Day O'Connor U.S. Courthouse in downtown Phoenix. Minutes earlier, Hillowle, a truck driver, wearing maroon and gold mask over his face, had raised his right hand and recited a 140-word oath swearing allegiance to the United States. And with that he had become a U.S. citizen. The ceremony, however, had been bittersweet. Because of COVID-19 precautions, Hillowle was not allowed to bring any guests to witness the ceremony. That meant his wife and nine children had to stay home. The ceremony was also unusually brief. After the oath was administered, new citizens were handed their certificates, a judge said a few congratulatory remarks and they were done, he said. Each new citizen also had to stand at least 6 feet apart. There was no hugging or handshakes. He was originally scheduled to take the oath ceremony on March 12. But then USCIS notified him that his ceremony had been suspended. He received notice on June 26 that his ceremony had been rescheduled to July 10. Hillowle said he was headed home to meet his wife and children. He had rented a van and the family planned to celebrate with a trip to California. "Actually, this is my best day in the world," said Hillowle, clutching his naturalization certificate in his hand. 3 new citizens plan to vote for Trump Several new citizens interviewed outside the federal courthouse on July 10 said voting in the November election was one of the main reasons they applied for citizenship this year. Wang said immigrants tend to vote Democratic, which may give the Trump administration less incentive to work through the backlog of immigrants waiting to complete the citizenship process. However, three of the four new citizens interviewed at the federal courthouse in Phoenix, including Hillowle, said they planned to vote for President Donald Trump. The fourth declined to say how she planned to vote. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, new citizens could register to vote at tables set up by election officials outside the courtroom. But the new citizens said there were no voter registration tables there when they left the courtroom. "It's really good timing because I can vote now," said Saha Bektas, a 34-year-old truck driver originally from Bosnia and Herzegovina. Cendie Taylor, a 54-year-old immigrant from the Philippines, said she was scheduled to take the citizenship oath on March 10. But then it was postponed because of the pandemic. "I was a little bit worried" it would not be rescheduled in time to vote, she said. She was relieved when she was notified a week before that her ceremony had been rescheduled for July 10. She described the ceremony as "short, solemn and heartwarming." And now she will get the chance to vote. "I'm very excited," she said. Follow reporter Daniel Gonzalez on Twitter @azdangonzalez. 'I don't think I'm fake news': Highlights from Chris Wallace's contentious interview with Trump Study: Black children are more likely to die after surgery than their white peers This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Citizenship process faces big backlog due to COVID-19 pandemic CHICAGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Brilliant, an award-winning direct-hire, contract and consulting practice specializing in accounting, finance and technology, was named one of Chicago's 2020 Best and Brightest Companies to Work For by the National Association for Business Resources. This marks the seventh consecutive year for Brilliant to receive the recognition. Each year companies throughout Chicago compete to be named one of Chicago's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For. Only organizations that distinguish themselves as having the most innovative and thoughtful human resources approach can be bestowed this honor. "We are very proud to be recognized for our employee engagement initiatives for seven consecutive years," says Brilliant President Kathy Spearing. "We pride ourselves on offering an innovative, empowering and inclusive work environment for our team members." She continues, "Since our inception in 2009, we have made it our mission to help others and that starts with our own colleagues. Winning this award for a seventh time is validation of that." An independent research firm evaluates each company's entry, based on key measures in various categories. They include Compensation, Benefits and Employee Solutions; Employee Enrichment, Engagement and Retention; Employee Education and Development; Recruitment, Selection and Orientation; Employee Achievement and Recognition; Communication and Shared Vision; Diversity and Inclusion; Work-Life Balance; Community Initiatives; Strategic Company Performance; and the Best of the Best Small Business, Medium Business and Large Business. Nearly 1,200 companies participated in the competition. Brilliant and 156 other organizations were selected to receive this recognition. Winning companies will be honored at the annual awards symposium which will be a digital event, due to the COVID-19 pandemic, set to take place on July 24. For more information, visit the Brilliant website. About Brilliant Brilliant is an award-winning direct-hire, contract and consulting practice specializing in accounting, finance and technology for the Greater Chicago and South Florida labor markets. The firm represents high-quality accounting, finance and technology professionals and matches them with companies throughout all industries looking to hire talent for their teams or projects. Many of Brilliant's team members include former accounting and finance professionals from the Big 4 audit firms, and IT experts who are leaders in the industry. Since its inception in 2009, Brilliant has ranked on various lists including Forbes America's Best Professional Recruiting Firms four years in a row (No. 2 in 2018), Forbes America's Best Executive Recruiting Firms (2020 & 2017), Crain's Chicago Business Fast 50 for five straight years (No. 1 in 2015), Staffing Industry Analysts Fastest-Growing U.S. Staffing Firms (No. 2 in 2015), ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Talent five years in a row, ClearlyRated's Best of Staffing Client, Inc. 5000, Best Places to Work South Florida (2019 & 2017), Chicago's Best and Brightest Companies to Work For seven consecutive years, and others. To learn more about Brilliant, visit www.brilliantfs.com, call 312.582.1800 or follow @BrilliantFS on social media. About the Best and Brightest Companies to Work For The Best and Brightest Companies to Work For is a program that provides the business community with the opportunity to gain recognition, showcase their best practices and demonstrate why they are an ideal place for employees to work. This national program celebrates those companies that are making better business, creating richer lives and building a stronger community as a whole. It is presented annually in several markets, including Atlanta, Boston, Dallas, Detroit, Houston, Milwaukee, San Diego, San Francisco Bay Area, and West Michigan, as well as Nationally. Nominations are now being accepted. Visit www.thebestandbrightest.com to obtain an application Laurie Vicente, CSMP Sr. Director of Marketing & Communications Brilliant [email protected] 312.582.1812 SOURCE Brilliant Related Links https://www.brilliantfs.com U.S. District Court of New Jersey Judge Esther Salas in a file photo. (Courtesy of Rutgers University) Suspect in NJ Judge Family Shooting May Have Targeted Another Judge: Official The suspect in the shootings a Judge Esther Salas home in New Jersey on Sunday may have been targeting another female judge, officials said. Roy Den Hollander, who is believed to be the suspect in the case, was found dead on Monday, according to the FBIs Newark office. Den Hollander had a photo of New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore, her spokesman told ABC News. We were alerted that her photo and name were in his recovered effects, said the spokesman, Lucian Chalfen, in the report. Den Hollander is accused of shooting and killing Salas son and injuring her husband, attorney Mark Anderl, who is recovering at a nearby hospital, officials said. Officials suspect he wore a face covering and a FedEx uniform before knocking on the door. When someone opened, he opened fire. The house of federal judge Esther Salas, where her son was shot and killed and her husband was injured, in North Brunswick, N.J., on July 20, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) Law enforcement officials are seen outside the home of federal judge Esther Salas in North Brunswick, N.J., on July 20, 2020. (Eduardo Munoz/Reuters) The judge was in another section of the home but was not harmed, authorities said. The suspect, who described himself as an anti-feminist lawyer, had reportedly received media attention for lawsuits on Fox News, Comedy Central, and other news outlets. The FBI wrote that Den Hollander was the primary subject in the attack and confirmed he had been pronounced dead but it provided no other details, including the cause. Den Hollander argued one case before Salas, involving a lawsuit where he represented a woman and her daughter who tried to register for the militarys selective service. The lawyers clients claimed the draft was unconstitutional because it banned women from registering, according to reports. Daniel Anderl, Salas son, was identified as the slain victim. He was scheduled to go back to The Catholic University of America in the District of Columbia. I was shocked last night to hear news of Daniel Anderls tragic death Sunday evening in New Jersey. Daniel was a rising junior, enrolled for classes beginning in the next few weeks, university President John Garvey wrote on Twitter. He turned 20 last week. Salas, who was appointed by former President Barack Obama, notably presided over high-profile cases, including one that was linked to disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein and one involving Real Housewives of New Jersey reality TV stars Teresa and Joe Giudice. Attorney General William Barr wrote in a statement Monday that the FBI and the U.S. Marshals are investigating. This kind of lawless, evil action carried out against a member of the federal judiciary will not be tolerated, his office said. The U.S. Census Bureau will bring its Mobile Questionnaire Assistance program to Walker County over the next two weeks to encourage and assist residents with responding to the 2020 Census.The MQA program is part of the Census Bureaus final push to encourage people to complete the 2020 Census before enumerators start going door to door in mid-August.About 56 percent of households in Walker County have already responded to the 2020 Census online, by phone or by mail since invitations began arriving in mid-March.That number lags behind the state and national average.Walker County receives roughly $2,300 each year in funding directly related to the census count for things like school programs, healthcare, public transportation and housing. An undercount in 2020 due to poor participation will adversely impact the community for the next decade, officials said.The MQA program will visit the following locations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.:July 22 Rossville Public Library (504 McFarland Ave., Rossville)July 23 Chickamauga Public Library (306 Cove Road, Chickamauga)July 24 Chickamauga Public Library (306 Cove Road, Chickamauga)July 29 LaFayette Public Library (305 S Duke St., LaFayette)July 31 LaFayette Public Library (305 S Duke St., LaFayette)Census representatives will be on site to help people complete the 2020 Census on a tablet or on their own device, while practicing social distancing. All census workers have been trained in COVID-19 protocols and issued personal protective equipment to be worn during MQA support.A number of activities have been held in Walker County in recent months to raise awareness about the importance of filling out the 2020 Census. Some of the outreach includes three community Census Train parades, several food distribution events, a PSA contest, along with banners, posters, bookmarks and other printed material. Tuesday, July 21, 2020 Critical Covid Cases on the Rise in Israel! Netanyahu prepares for the next lockdown. Guest: David Rubin via Phone, Skype, or Zoom Intro: Israel is seeing a sharp increase of serious Covid cases and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is looking to close down the economy again, but is that the best plan of action? Here to discuss this with us today is David Rubin, former mayor of Shiloh, Israel and author of "Trump and the Jews." Question: As with many countries, Israel opened up its economy and is now experiencing a rise in virus cases. What is the problem with shutting down again to stop the spread? Answer: The previous lockdown did manage to flatten the curve and get the numbers down, at the cost of millions of shekels in damage to the economy, serious mental health traumas and crises, and potential threats to our national security. He then quickly - too quickly, it seems, although many of the people saying that now were the ones who castigated him for not ending the lockdown fast enough - opened the economy and the country came back to life, but we soon saw a steep increase in cases. Now it all seems so obvious to the prime minister. Just close down the restaurants, close down the schools, the gyms, the pools and the shuls and the rates will go down. However, the statistics disagree. According to a recent study reported by the Knesset Research and Information Center, by far the most common location of infection, 65%, has been the home, while only single digits have been infected in restaurants, in pools, in gyms, or in synagogues. When there is a lockdown, families are forced into their homes where they infect others. A prime example of this has been the ultra-Orthodox community, which has been especially hard-hit by the pandemic, and is known for its large families, often living in dense housing blocks. Is it any wonder that closing down neighborhoods, thereby forcing people to stay near home and at home is just making the problem worse? Quarantines at home are clearly not the solution. Question: Although it met with some initial opposition from Netanyahu, there was an effective strategy that was put in place that seemed to work. Can you tell us about what that was? Answer: While serving as defense minister in the previous government, MK Naftali Bennett of the right-wing Yamina party despite initial resistance from Netanyahu, established the network of some thirty "corona hotels", removing lightly and moderately infected individuals from their homes and treating them in the hotels, and not releasing them until they were virus-free. The IDF was activated in a major operation of peace and healing in the city of B'nei Brak to help the afflicted residents and to get them into the hotels. This effective strategy at preventing further infection was ended with the subsequent flattening of the coronavirus curve, and now there are only a handful of these hotels, but more are planned. Question: What other plans have been proposed? Answer: Bennett has come out with an excellent fifteen-point plan to combat the current health crisis without shutting down the economy, which includes such aspects as expanded corona hotels, opening of airports with comprehensive testing before and after flights, and appointment of a Corona czar to oversee and implement the strategy. Question: What should be done next? Answer: Netanyahu should show true leadership and national unity by adopting the key elements of this plan and then putting either Bennett, who is now in the opposition, and/or current Defense Minister Benny Gantz, who is in the coalition, in charge of implementing it, but let's put someone in charge and get moving. A true leader is not afraid of delegating responsibility, even if those two individuals do happen to be Netanyahu's political rivals. Shutting down completely again does not seem to be the answer, and no, it is not about right, left, or center, nor is it about party politics. It is about common-sense solutions that are vital, both for Israel's economy and for saving lives. Question: Tell us where our viewers/listeners can get a copy of your book, "Trump and the Jews?" Answer: They can go to my website, www.DavidRubinIsrael.com or just go to Amazon and type in the words "Trump and the Jews". Rubin is the founder and president of Shiloh Israel Children's Fund, established after he and his then three-year-old son were wounded in a terror attack. He can be found at www.DavidRubinIsrael.com or at http://www.ShilohIsraelChildren.org CONTACT: Rachel Ford rford.specialguests@gmail.com or Jerry McGlothlin of Special Guests at 919-437-0001 jerry@specialguests.com Laxman Pai, Opalesque Asia: Global asset manager Schroders has raised 312m ($358m) from European and Asian investors for its second pan-European infrastructure debt fund. Schroder Euro Enhanced Infrastructure Debt Fund II, also known as Julie II, is managed by Schroder Aida, the specialist infrastructure finance subsidiary launched by Schroders in 2015. Julie II was launched in Q1 2020 and aims to invest in European sub-investment grade debt opportunities with a target of raising 750 million in total. It is the second vintage of this strategy whose first fund (Julie) was launched in 2017 and raised almost 350 million. This was almost fully deployed within two years. Julie II focuses on mid-sized brownfield core assets based in Europe, with an emphasis on delivering diversified debt exposure across countries and sectors. According to a company press release, infrastructure debt is an increasingly attractive asset class for institutional investors due to its defensive nature. In particular, sub-investment grade infrastructure debt enables healthy yields to be captured in the low-interest-rate environment, while maintaining a stronger credit profile than other assets with similar ratings. Investors from Asia and Europe supported this close, bolstered by a strong re-up rate from clients in the first vintage, particularly insurance companies. Augustin Segard, Head of Enhanced Infrastructure Debt and Fund Manager, said: "The strong investor appetit...................... To view our full article Click here NPP National Youth Organizer, Henry Nana Boakye has jumped to the defence of the Awutu Senya East MP and Special Development Initiatives Minister, Mavis Hawa Koomson who fired gunshots at a voter registraton center in the Central Region. Hon. Hawa Koomson was spotted with a gun and firing warning shots at the Step to Christ voters' registration centre in the Awutu Senya East constituency. Her action has been condemned by many people in the nation but Henry Nana Boakye, popularly called Nana B says Ghanaians should cut the MP some slack. According to him, Hon. Hawa Koomson acted out of fear for her life. Contributing to Peace FM's morning programme 'Kokrokoo', Nana B narrated the circumstances that led her to react in the manner she did at the center. "Her life was under threat. She got information in the morning that some people are being bused to the registration centre. At the same time, she also was receiving messages of attack on her. So, she had information that a bus had brought some people to do the registration. While she was on her way to the centre, she was met by some unidentifiable men on motorcycles and was sore afraid when they started approaching her. Looking at how the situation was unfolding, she was compelled to fire warning shots," he narrated. He further noted that the Police has begun investigations into the issue, therefore calling on Hawa Koomson's critics to tone down on her matter. "The Police has begun investigations into this issue, so I will not want to pre-empt their job. But what happened was purely self-defence. Her life was under serious attack. She had to protect herself which obviously it's also allowed under our laws. As the Police are handling the issue, I plead that whoever is found culpable should face the rigors of the law," he said. Source: Ameyaw Adu Gyamfi/Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video The coronavirus pandemic and the oil price crash that began with the Saudi oil price war on Russia and then deepened amid the pandemic, has crippled South Sudans plans to develop its nascent oil industry, Bloomberg reports. South Sudan, which seceded from Sudan less than ten years ago, is not a major producer of crude oil, with an average production below 200,000 bpd, but it has plans to develop the industry, which is its only big source of export revenues. Last year, South Sudan announced its first oil find after the secession, at 5.3 million barrels of recoverable crude. At the time, its oil production averaged 180,000 bpd, down from 350,000 bpd before the separation from Sudan, but the country planned to increase it substantially. Now, these plans are in the trash bin. We have been affected much more than others because South Sudan, being a new country just emerging from war, has a lot of challenges, Ministry of Petroleum undersecretary Awow Daniel Chuang told Bloomberg in an interview. In addition to the challenges inherent in South Sudans position, the country is also a member of OPEC, so it had to comply with the cartel-wide production cuts of 9.7 million bpd that aimed to reduce the crude oil supply overhang that weighed on prices. We have been getting pressure from OPEC and, of course, we understand the background of this and we are working also to balance our needs, and at the same time cooperate, Chuang said. South Sudan has also been facing pressure from the IMF for taking advance payments from oil importers on oil that has yet to be produced, which will finance this production. In 2019, the international lender warned the country to stop the practice, but a later investigation by the UN found it was still doing it, compromising the transparency of its oil industry. By Charles Kennedy for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: WILLIAMSPORT Only three defendants remain in the lawsuit of a former medical director at the State Correctional Institution at Muncy who claims he was unlawfully detained as part of criminal investigation. That is the result of action taken Monday by U.S. Middle District Judge John E. Jones III in the three-year-old suit brought by Dr. Donald J. Stone and his wife Deborah of Stillwater. Stone, an employee of Correct Care Solutions, was fired June 3, 2015, amid allegations he inappropriately touched a female inmate. Criminal charges filed against him in Lycoming County alleged he sexually touched the inmate in the infirmary while she still was under the influence of anesthesia from same-day shoulder surgery. He denied the allegation but eventually pleaded guilty disorderly conduct and harassment and was ordered to pay costs and fines. The focus of Stones federal court complaint was an interview and search of his vehicle conducted in 2015 by security Capt. Shawn Waltman pursuant to a Prison Rape Elimination Act investigation. Stone contends he was interviewed for more than four hours in a holding cell without being advised of his Miranda rights. He claims he was escorted to the bathroom to ensure he did not leave. State Trooper James Wool arrived during the interview but Jones pointed out he did not initiate the detention. During the interview Stone admitted kissing an inmate, providing her food and exchanging notes with her but claimed it was part of his holistic approach to the practice of medicine. A notebook that contained what prison officials described as intimate exchanges between Stone and the inmate were found during a consensual search of his truck. Jones pointed out in his opinion that county Judge Nancy L. Butts in the criminal case suppressed statements Stone made after Wool arrived because the doctor had not been given his Miranda rights. She also ruled a notebook taken from the doctors truck could not be used as evidence. Since the suit was filed in 2017 the number of defendants and claims have been reduced through voluntary dismissals by the Stones and Jones orders. All that remains, according to the judge, are Stones contention his detention and the search of his vehicle were illegal. Only Waltman, Wool and corrections officer Michael Shirey remain as defendants, Jones said. Shirey escorted Stone to the restroom and Waltman, besides questioning him, led him out of the prison. The Stones voluntarily dismissed claims against Corrections Secretary John Wetzel, former Muncy Superintendent Robert Smith and former state police Commissioner Tyree Blocker. Jones removed corrections officer William Fritz and Stones supervisor Leslie Blair-Morrison. Other defendants had been removed previously. When the suit was filed, Stone claimed he had lost $540,000 in salary by not being able to practice medicine. State police in 2015 charged Stone with rape involving another inmate but those counts were withdrawn when she refused to testify at the preliminary hearing. -- Other recent John Beauge stories published on PennLive Woman, granddaughter killed in Lycoming County house fire are identified White nationalist group members, many armed, stage peaceful rally in Williamsport Reinstated Williamsport cop sues, claims firing was retaliation for his union activities Federal lawsuit accuses Williamsport of violating disabilities act; focus is on City Hall No charges will be filed in state trooper accident related to Snyder County shooting: state police 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. If you have a longing for a pint and cash to spare, why not head West and buy your own pub? Situated in the artisan town of Kiltimagh in the West of Ireland, this charming 100-year-old pub is currently on the market. Described as having been "refurbished in such a way as to retain all the former glory of a traditional Irish Bar," a warm welcome awaits at Kitty McGreal's. The pub takes its name from the three sisters who were its original owners - Kitty, Margaret and Bridie - and the venue boasts two blazing fireplaces that give an authentic and friendly feel. The picturesque town of Kiltimagh, Co. Mayo is in the heart of the county and is centrally located as an ideal base for touring the West. Just one hour from Sligo, Galway, Westport and Achill, 20 minutes from Ireland West Airport Knock and Foxford Woollen Mills and just 10 minutes from Knock Marian Shrine. Revived trades and crafts of artisans from a bygone era make the town a living, historical experience. Much of its bygone charm as a bustling market town is still evident in the architectural outline of the town, the Market Square and the shop facades. Kitty McGreals is "what a typical Irish pub is all about" - A place to meet with your friends or simply read the daily newspaper while enjoying a pint. The property is listed for 130,000. You can see the full listing by clicking here. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Authorities say mens rights attorney Roy Den Hollander -- whos suspected of gunning down the son of a federal judge -- might have been hunting down foes after learning he had cancer, according to multiple reports. Hollander also might be linked to the July 11 killing of another attorney in California, the New York Post reported. A day after the home invasion Sunday in North Brunswick, when authorities say Hollander killed the 20-year-old son and wounded the husband of Federal Judge Esther Salas, he was found dead from an apparent suicide in Sullivan County, about two-hours from where the incident occurred. The FBI has since contacted New York Chief Judge Janet DiFiore to say her name and photo were inside Hollanders car, but didnt specify if they believed she was a target, the New York Times reported. An attorney in California, Marc Angelucci, was shot at his California home earlier this month by a man in a FedEx uniform, which matches the description of tactics used in the New Jersey shooting. Hollander, who had a recent case in front of Salas, wrote recently online that, The only problem with a life lived too long under Feminazi rule is that a man ends up with so many enemies he cant even the score with all of them, the Post reported. Georgia state health officials reported on Tuesday there have been 148,988 confirmed cases of coronavirus - an increase of 3,413.There have been 3,254 people in the state who have died from the coronavirus - 78 more since Monday.Hospitalizations are at 15,494 - up 447 since Monday.Whitfield County has 49 new cases for a total of 2,347 and remains at 23 deaths. Officials said 108 have been hospitalized, up six from Monday.Walker County has added three new cases at 414 and is still at 14 deaths.Nineteen people have been hospitalized.Dade County has one new case for 88 and one death. Five have been hospitalized.Catoosa County has 12 new cases for a total of 407 and remains at eight deaths. Twenty-eight have been hospitalized.Chattooga County has five new cases for 98 and remains at two deaths. The county has had five hospitalization.Bartow County south of Chattanooga at Cartersville has 30 new cases for 1,172 and now has 49 deaths, up three from Monday.Floyd County (Rome) has 22 new cases for 889 and remains at 15 deaths.Gordon County (Calhoun) has 16 new cases for 711 and has 20 deaths from coronavirus, up one from Monday. Fifty have been hospitalized in Gordon County.The cases remain centered around the Atlanta area, with Fulton County reporting 13,779 cases and has eight more deaths at 348. Cobb County has 8,759 cases and has 267 deaths, up three since Monday. There are now 9,950 cases in Dekalb County (Decatur) and has 190 deaths, up two from Monday. Gwinnett County has increased to 13,878 cases and has 204 deaths, up five from Monday.Dougherty County (Albany) has 26 new cases for 2,343 and remains at 158 deaths. With the Trump administration wanting to bar foreign students from staying if their universities switch to online-only courses, Hien Anh has stepped up to fight for her friends. On July 6, the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and Department of Homeland Security (DHS) announced the new regulation, subjecting international students to deportation if they did not attend classes on campus as universities grappled with the question of whether or not to reopen during the pandemic. The new visa rule dumped over 1.1 million international students in the U.S. into quagmire. Ton Hien Anh, student at Harvard University, did not worry too much since she had registered for a repatriation flight back to Vietnam in August. But witnessing her friends stretch themselves thin as travel restrictions stop many from going home, Anh knew she "must do something." Right after learning about the new ICE visa rule, she stayed up all night to research its effects on international students. After, she wrote to the university, asking it to safeguard student rights. Ton Hien Anh at Harvard University. Photo by La Thanh Ha. On behalf of international students stranded in America, she sent her letter to the university's Board of Overseers. In the meantime, she talked with organizations and individuals, encouraging them to use the letter she prepared to show their support. On the morning of July 7, the university held an urgent meeting. The dean responded to Anh's email, telling her Harvard would officially sue ICE. Different from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), one of the first institutions suing ICE, Harvard University will go 100 percent online in fall. While ICE gave universities 10 days to change their plan for the upcoming semester, no one knew how long the lawsuit would last before the judge's final decision. Anh, one more time, worked against the clock to suggest the university organize on-campus courses so international students could join and maintain their visa status. The Vietnamese student studied how other universities were reacting to the new visa rules, policies of 15 institutions holding on-campus courses, and over 30 student movements calling universities to mitigate the rule's negative effects. "I was researching and receiving feedback from friends, alumnus, and professors who cared about this matter to complete the letter and call for more support," Anh said. In her open petition, she summarizes the consequences international students at Harvard would have to face if ICE won the lawsuit. Accordingly, they could be deported or have their visas revoked if they overstayed in America. Many countries have closed their borders amid the pandemic, placing many students into a dilemma. Besides, traveling across country also poses Covid-19 infection risks. Anh poposed several feasible solutions for Harvard, affordable and easy to carry out without violating social distancing rules, such as organizing on-campus courses. She mentioned several universities in the Ivy League that will run on-campus activities in fall, such as Princeton and Yale. Other institutions like Colombia University and UC Berkeley added on-campus courses to their programs right after ICE released the new visa rules. At the end of her open letter, she quoted university president Lawrence Bacow stating: "We will not stand by to see our international students' dreams extinguished by a deeply misguided order. We owe it to them to stand up and to fight, and, we will." In the first 20 hours, the petition attracted over 1,000 signatures from Harvard professors, universities, and alumni, including more than 50 presidents and management board members of organizations within the university. Dean Rakesh Khurana of Harvard College said he had submitted Anh's letter to the Board of Overseers to consider plans for the fall semester, thanking the Vietnamese student for raising her voice. On July 8, Harvard and MIT officially sued the administration, attracting dozens of universities, state authorities, and tech companies to join the fight by opposing the new visa rules, which were rescinded on July 15 after a federal court hearing. Right after, David C. Lamberth, professor of Philosophy and Theology at Harvard, sent an email to Anh, telling her he was delighted about the government's new decision. "The wide range of voices from all across the country, from students, faculty, universities and industry all came together in less than a week, and the kind of self-advocacy you did contribute in no small part," he told her. The fight was not full of roses. Anh faced several challenges while calling for support. Many did not understand the law or the reasons why they should care about international students. Some, including professors, even told her to keep quiet. To Hien Anh (second from left) and her family at her sister's graduation in the U.S. Photo by La Thanh Ha. Her mother was like a cat on hot bricks after learning her little daughter was standing up to the American school. "She is just an international student, how can she talk with university leaders. I was worried she would be deported," said La Thanh Ha, Anh's mother. But the Vietnamese student is a real fighter. "I want to bring voices from the Harvard community to university leaders. I want to help them have a comprehensive understanding of what would happen if international students are sent home amid the pandemic," she told her mother, who later gave her 100 percent support. Anh is not the first in her family to go to Harvard on a full scholarship. Her elder sister, Ton Ha Anh, also attended the 384-year-old university and now works as a senior business analyst at American management consulting firm McKinsey in New York. While Ha Anh is more sociable, Hien Anh is more introverted and has a passion for social activities to demand justice for the underprivileged. She is a member of the management board of a school organization which has been raising money for over 100 eye operations for poor children and supplying food and shelter to the homeless. Last semester, Hien Anh was one of the top students in her class. Bonnie Talbert, a lecturer in Social Studies, impressed after reading her final paper about racism in America and the Black Lives Matter movement, sent the paper to Dean Rakesh Khurana. Now, nearly everyone knows about the Vietnamese student who raised her voice to protect international students at Harvard. In case of aggression against Armenia, Moscow will fulfill its obligations as a CSTO member state, Russian first deputy chairman of the committee of the State Duma for the CIS Konstantin Zatulin told KP. When asked whether Russia will use the CSTO tools if the escalation on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border continues, he noted that Moscow "is simply obliged to fulfill its obligations under the treaty in the event of a military attack against Armenia." "We would really not want Baku or Yerevan to use aggravation for their internal political reasons to strengthen their positions." "But the question of whether Russia will or will not fulfill its obligations is a subject of speculation both in Azerbaijan and in Armenia. Of course, in case of aggression against Armenia, Moscow will fulfill its obligations as a CSTO member," he added. A 22-year old final year student, Enoch Agyemang has been remanded into prison custody for the alleged murder of his girlfriend, Agnes Amoah at Ekon, a suburb of Cape Coast in the Central Region. The Cape Coast District Court presided over by Gloria Bonsu, did not take the plea of the accused who is a third year student of the Sammo Senior High School in Cape Coast. He will reappear on Tuesday, July 28. Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Daniel Gadza told the court that last Wednesday July 15, the accused left the premises of his school without permission to visit the deceased in her house and left around 7pm. He said on Thursday, the police had information that a lifeless body has been found at Ekon and proceeded to the scene and later identified the deceased as Agnes Ampah. According to ASP Gadza the police found the body in a pool of blood and on examination saw bruises on her forehead and the left side of her ribs. He said a statement written by the accused indicated that the deceased asked for GHC 50 from him to travel but he could not give it to her and this resulted in a heated argument. The prosecution said during the scuffle the deceased pulled out a pocket knife in an attempt to stab the accused and in trying to defend himself, he took the knife from her and stabbed her twice on her left rib and forehead. The Prosecution said the accused then surrendered himself to the police on Friday July 16 and was arrested for investigation while the body of the deceased was deposited at the Cape Coast Teaching Hospital for preservation and autopsy. ---Daily Guide Albany, N.Y. Travelers from another 10 states must now self-quarantine for 14 days when arriving in New York, Gov. Andrew Cuomo said today. The new additions to the quarantine list are Alaska, Delaware, Indiana, Maryland, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, Virginia and Washington. Minnesota was removed from the quarantine list, leaving a total of 31 states. Delaware was removed last week, but is now back on. New York first began requiring quarantines in June for travelers from states where the coronavirus is still spreading rapidly. Cuomo has said repeatedly he is concerned that rising cases in other parts of the country could eventually lead to a resurgence of the pandemic in New York. The full quarantine list now includes: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, California, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota, North Carolina, New Mexico, Nevada, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, Virginia, Washington and Wisconsin. The quarantine applies to any state with a positive coronavirus testing rate higher than 10 people per 100,000 residents or with an overall positive rate of 10% or higher, both based on seven-day rolling averages. The state now requires all travelers entering New York from states on the quarantine list to submit a form to authorities with their contact information, where theyre coming from and where theyre going. Travelers who dont fill out the form risk a $2,000 fine and a court summons. The form is available online. Cuomo has said the state uses the forms to conduct some follow-up checks on whether travelers are completing the required quarantine. The state has also been sending enforcement teams to airports to meet flights and ensure passengers from states on the quarantine list follow the rules. Cuomo on Monday traveled to Georgia, one of the states on the list, but said he would not quarantine when returning since he is exempt as an essential worker. The policy also includes an exemption if travelers are in a state on the list for less than 24 hours. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources 9 days for coronavirus test results? Systems failure threatens CNYs handle on virus NY schools reopening: We read 145 pages of rules on masks and woodwinds so you dont have to Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Contact Kevin Tampone anytime: Email | Twitter | Facebook | 315-282-8598 HOPEWELL JUNCTION, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / eMagin Corporation, or the Company (NYSE American:EMAN), a leader in the development, design and manufacture of Active Matrix OLED microdisplays used in military and commercial AR/VR devices, and other near-eye imaging products, announced today preliminary revenues for the second quarter of 2020 and backlog at June 30, 2020. The Company currently estimates revenues in the second quarter of 2020 will be between $7.4 million to $7.7 million, which would represent a 38% to 44% increase from revenues of $5.4 million for the second quarter of 2019 and a 10% to 15% increase from revenues of $6.7 million for the first quarter of 2020. The estimated improvement in preliminary revenues reflects both the expected strength in military demand as well as increased revenue contributions from commercial programs. At June 30 2020, the backlog of open orders was $14.8 million, including $13.6 million of orders that were shippable within twelve months. As of June 30, 2020, the Company had cash of $5.3 million and a revolving credit loan balance of $0.4 million. The June 30, 2020 cash balance includes $1.96 million in proceeds from a loan under the Paycheck Protection Program which the Company expects to be forgivable. This compares to cash of $3.1 million and a revolving credit loan balance of $2.2 million as of March 31, 2020. "As we expected, our sales increased during the second quarter of 2020, reflecting strong first quarter military business bookings and increased revenue contributions from our commercial contracts," said Andrew Sculley, President and Chief Executive Officer. "Our military business remained strong during the quarter, reflecting the contribution of large programs which drove the increase in our backlog and which we expect will continue throughout 2020. We look forward to sharing additional details of our second quarter results on our quarterly conference call in August." About eMagin Corporation The Leader in OLED microdisplay technology for the next generation of computing and imaging devices, serving world-class customers in the military and consumer, medical and industrial markets. We invent, engineer and manufacture display technologies of the future in the USA, including our Direct Patterning Technology (dPd) that will transform the way the world consumes information. Since 2001, our microdisplays have been, and continue to be, used in AR/VR, aircraft helmets, heads-up display systems, thermal scopes, night vision goggles, future weapon systems and a variety of other applications. www.emagin.com Forward-Looking Statements and Statement on Preliminary Results The foregoing information reflects our estimate with respect to total revenues based on currently available information which is preliminary and unaudited, is not a comprehensive statement of our financial results and is subject to completion of our financial closing procedures. Our final results that will be issued upon completion of our closing procedures may vary from these preliminary estimates. Important Cautionary Information Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended, including those regarding eMagin Corporation's expectations, intentions, strategies and beliefs pertaining to future events or future financial performance Actual events or results may differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including those described in the Company's most recent filings with the SEC. For a more complete description of the risks factors that could cause our actual results to differ from our current expectations, including impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, please see the section entitled "Risk Factors" in eMagin's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2019, Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the quarterly period ended March 31, 2020 , and in other documents we file with the SEC from time to time. CONTACT: eMagin Corporation Mark A. Koch, Acting Chief Financial Officer 845-838-7951 mkoch@emagin.com Betsy Brod Affinity Growth Advisors 212-661-2231 betsy.brod@affinitygrowth.com SOURCE: eMagin Corporation View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598140/eMagin-Comments-on-Preliminary-Second-Quarter-2020-Revenues AUBAGNE, France, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Based on dynamic business performance in the first six months of 2020 and on expectations that demand will remain high for the rest of the year, Sartorius Stedim Biotech, a leading partner of the biopharma industry, raised its growth and earnings forecast for fiscal 2020. "Growth was strong across all product categories and regions, and additional demand related to COVID-19 vaccines and therapeutics, in particular, was higher than previously expected," said Joachim Kreuzburg, Chairman of the Board of Directors and CEO. "The integration of the life science businesses acquired from Danaher is progressing well, despite the current restrictions. We are therefore entering the second half of the year with great confidence, even though the coronavirus pandemic still poses considerable challenges and uncertainties." Sales revenue rose by 22.0 percent (reported: + 22.5 percent) to 869.1 million euros and was fueled by strong demand across all product categories. As expected, close to three percentage points of the growth were attributable to the most recent acquisitions, namely the Danaher life science businesses, initially consolidated since May 2020, and the cell culture media specialist Biological Industries, consolidated since December 2019. Order intake1 also surged sharply by 34.1 percent (reported: + 34.8 percent) to 1,048.7 million euros. The coronavirus pandemic had a positive effect on growth and resulted in additional demand for products used to manufacture vaccines and antiviral medications. Strong project business, particularly in the Asia | Pacific region, also contributed to substantial order intake. Hence, the strong dynamics at the beginning of the year continued into the mid-year. Earnings of the Group grew over proportionately relative to sales revenue. Underlying EBITDA1 was up by 27.8 percent at 262.3 million euros; the corresponding margin rose to 30.2 percent from 28.9 percent in the same period of the previous year. Double-digit sales growth in all regions Sartorius Stedim Biotech increased its sales revenue by double digits in all business regions. In the EMEA region which contributes the highest share of total Group sales of around 39 percent, revenue stood at 340.3 million euros, up 18.3 percent. The Americas region, which generates some 36 percent of Group sales, saw revenue rise by 21.9 percent to 312.6 million euros. The Asia | Pacific region accounting for around 25 percent of total sales recorded the highest momentum, with business rising 28.5 to 216.2 million euros. (All changes in sales revenue and order intake1 are given in constant currencies, unless otherwise stated) Key financial indicators At 57.9 percent, the equity ratio remained at a very comfortable level, despite the closing of the recent acquisitions (64.4 percent as of December 31, 2019). As a result of the acquisitions, gross debt increased from 138.6 million euros as of December 31, 2019, to 332.6 million euros as of June 30, 2020; net debt also edged up from 110.4 million euros as of December 31, 2019, to 243.2 million euros at the end of the reporting period. Therefore, the ratio of net debt to underlying EBITDA was 0.5 compared with 0.3 at year-end 2019. Sartorius Stedim Biotech's CAPEX ratio1 in the first half of 2020 stood at 5.8 percent compared with 9.0 percent in the previous year. Personnel further increased As of June 30, 2020, the Sartorius Stedim Biotech Group employed a total of 6,690 people worldwide. Compared with December 31, 2019, headcount thus rose by 467 or around 7.5 percent. About 100 employees joined the company in the course of the acquisition of the Danaher businesses. The additional increase is due, in particular, to the hiring of additional production staff in response to higher capacity utilization at some plants. The number of employees in EMEA was around 4,700 in the reporting period. As of the end of the period under review, Sartorius Stedim Biotech employed more than 1,000 people in the Americas region, and personnel increased in Asia | Pacific to nearly 1,000. Full-year 2020 guidance raised For fiscal 2020, management now projects sales growth of 26 percent to 30 percent (previously 17 percent to 21 percent) and an underlying EBITDA1 margin of approximately 31 percent (previously around 30 percent), with figures given in constant exchange rates as in the past. In comparison to the former guidance a significant portion of the additionally expected business is attributable to the current coronavirus pandemic: Sartorius Stedim Biotech products are used for manufacturing both vaccines and antiviral medications. As previously forecasted, initial consolidation of Biological Industries is expected to contribute two percentage points to sales revenue, and the inclusion of the portfolio acquired from Danaher a good three percentage points. CAPEX ratio1 is expected to be around eight percent (previous year: 9.4 percent). Net debt to underlying EBITDA1 is now forecasted at slightly below 0.5 at year-end (before: approximately 0.5; 0.3 as of Dec. 31, 2019). Due to the ongoing pandemic, this guidance is subject to greater uncertainty than usual. In particular, these updated projections are based on the assumptions that logistics chains will continue to be stable and production lines remain in operation. All forecast figures are based on constant currencies, as in the past years. Medium-term projections unchanged Despite the current increase in demand, Sartorius Stedim Biotech sees no need to adjust its medium-term forecast up to 2025 at the present time. For 2025, the company continues to expect sales revenue of around 2.8 billion euros at an underlying EBITDA1 margin of approximately 30 percent2. This is based on the assumption that the medium-term fundamentals of the biopharmaceutical sector remain unchanged. For example, it is currently not foreseeable whether the current additional demand from the vaccine and antiviral drug areas will lead to a sustainable increase in demand in these areas. In addition, it is becoming apparent that the market approval of some biopharmaceuticals could be delayed due to postponed clinical trials as a result of the pandemic. It is currently not possible to quantify the impact of these various effects concerning amount or timing. 1 Sartorius Stedim Biotech publishes alternative performance measures that are not defined by international accounting standards. These are determined with the aim of improving the comparability of business performance over time and within the industry. Underlying EBITDA: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and adjusted for extraordinary items Order intake: all customer orders contractually concluded during the respective reporting period Underlying net profit: profit for the period after non-controlling interest; adjusted for extraordinary items and non-cash amortization, as well as based on a normalized financial result and tax rate Underlying earnings per share: relevant net profit for the period divided by the number of shares outstanding (92,180,190) CAPEX ratio: investment payments in relation to sales revenue for the same period. 2 Further information is provided on page 22 of the Sartorius Stedim Biotech 2019 Annual Report This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future development of the Sartorius Stedim Biotech Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Sartorius Stedim Biotech assumes no liability for updating such statements in light of new information or future events. This is a translation of the original French-language press release. Sartorius Stedim Biotech shall not assume any liability for the correctness of this translation. The original French press release is the legally binding version. Follow Sartorius on Twitter @Sartorius_Group and on LinkedIn. Conference call Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg, Chairman of the Board and CEO of the Sartorius Stedim Biotech Group, will discuss the company's results with analysts and investors on July 21, 2020, at 3:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST), in a teleconference. You may register by clicking on the following link: https://services.choruscall.de/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNumber=5546778&linkSecurityString=6e873ee42 Alternatively, you can dial into the teleconference, without registering, at: +49 (0) 69 566 03 7000 The presentation will be available on the same day starting at 3:15 p.m. CEST, for viewing on our website at: https://www.sartorius.com/en/company/investor-relations/sartorius-stedim-biotech-sa-investor-relations/presentations Current image files https://www.sartorius.com/en/company/newsroom/downloads-publications Financial calendar October 20, 2020 Publication of nine-month figures (January to September 2020) Key performance indicators for the first half of 2020 in millions of unless otherwise specified 6 months 2020 6 months 2019 Change in % Change in % cc1 Sales Revenue and Order Intake Order intake 1048.7 778.1 34.8 34.1 Sales revenue 869.1 709.3 22.5 22.0 - EMEA2 340.3 288.0 18.2 18.3 - Americas2 312.6 251.8 24.1 21.9 - Asia | Pacific2 216.2 169.6 27.5 28.5 Results EBITDA3 262.3 205.3 27.8 EBITDA margin3 in % 30.2 28.9 Net profit4 167.4 131.1 27.7 Financial Data per Share Earnings per share4 in 1.82 1.42 27.7 June 30, 2020 Dec. 31, 2019 Balance Sheet | Financials Balance sheet total 2,224.1 1,845.4 Equity 1,287.9 1,188.9 Equity ratio in % 57.9 64.4 Net debt 243.2 110.4 Ratio of net debt to underlying EBITDA 0.5 0.3 1 cc = in constant currencies 2 According to customers' location 3 Underlying EBITDA = earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, and adjusted for extraordinary items 4 Underlying net profit = net profit after non-controlling interest; adjusted for extraordinary items, amortization and based on a normalized financial result and tax rate Statement of reconciliation 6 months 2020 in mn 6 months 2019 in mn EBIT (operating result) 206.5 167.2 Extraordinary effects 11.7 6.0 Amortization | IFRS 3 10.6 6.9 Normalized financial result1 -2.5 -2.1 Normalized income tax (2020: 26%, 2019: 26%)2 -58.8 -46.3 Underlying net profit 167.4 131.8 Non-controlling interest 0.0 -0.7 Underlying net profit excluding non-controlling interest 167.4 131.1 Underlying earnings per share in 1.82 1.42 1 Financial result excluding fair value adjustments of hedging instruments and currency effects related to financing activities 2 Underlying income tax, based on the underlying profit before taxes and non-cash amortization A profile of Sartorius Stedim Biotech Sartorius Stedim Biotech is a leading international partner of the biopharmaceutical industry. As a total solutions provider, the company helps its customers to manufacture biotech medications safely, rapidly and economically. Headquartered in Aubagne, France, Sartorius Stedim Biotech is quoted on the Eurolist of Euronext Paris. With its own manufacturing and R&D sites in Europe, North America and Asia and an international network of sales companies, Sartorius Stedim Biotech has a global reach. The Group has been annually growing by double digits on average and has been regularly expanding its portfolio by acquisitions of complementary technologies. In 2019, the company employed approx. 6,200 people, and earned sales revenue of 1,440.6 million euros. Contact Petra Kirchhoff Head of Corporate Communications +49 (0)551-308-1686 [email protected] SOURCE Sartorius Stedim Biotech Related Links https://www.sartorius.com Two things are emerging from the Rajasthan crisis. One obviously that Ashok Gehlot has usurped the narrative and he looks in control. But there is a second and more serious impact for the Congress. A little away from Jaipur, Delhi looks weak while the regional satraps seem to have become stronger. After a dozen calls from senior Congress leaders and a few from the Gandhis, Sachin Pilot is still the rebel. His rebellion may not have made him stronger, but it has made the Gandhis look weaker. There is no denying the fact that unlike in previous cases like Scindia's, this time the Gandhis stood up for Sachin Pilot. The party was told to be a little soft in its press conferences. Through the day, the Gandhis would call up senior leaders tracking the developments in Jaipur and ask "what's the latest? But as time has passed and some serious evidence has been given to the Gandhis that there indeed was a bid to topple the government and Pilot had a role behind it, the hands of the family are now tied. They have little choice now but to distance themselves from Pilot and the dissident MLAs. Sources close the Gandhis say, An ideal situation would have been not to let Sachin Pilot go. He could always be in Delhi and take charge of states where we have potential but are weak. But he is not keen and now even we are finding it difficult to accommodate him. If there is one thing that Sonia Gandhi cannot forgive, it is betrayal. There have been questions raised over her alliance with the DMK (who were believed to have gone soft on Rajiv Gandhi's killers) or even Sharad Pawar who attacked her over her foreign origin. But she was ready to forgive them as the larger goal was to keep the BJP away. Where money allegations come up, however, Sonia Gandhi is reticent. Natwar Singh and now Sachin Pilot are prime examples. She is believed to have said that enough is enough. But while reasons for this final distancing from Pilot may be grave, it also throws up the fact that the Gandhis dont always have their way. When there seemed a possibility that Pilot would be given an opportunity to come back at the central level, we saw some strong comments from Gehlot who even called Sachin Pilot "nikamma". Those who know Gehlot say this is not his style. He is shrewd and firm but is careful with his words. So Gehlot's choice of words has a reason behind it. He clearly wants to ensure that Pilots wings are completely clipped and the break with the Gandhis is complete so that he never has a chance to return. In this, a few other Congress leaders also have had a role to play. Some conveyed to the Gandhis that Pilot was not to be trusted and that bringing him back at the Centre would set a bad precedent. It would give the signal that one can breach all boundaries and get away with it. And there would always be the trust deficit. Sachin Pilot would constantly have to give an agni pariksha. The Gandhis had a choice of Pilot on the one hand and the rest of the organisation on the other. It seems the Gandhis may end up dumping Pilot for the sake of the party. But this also reflects the fact that they have been unable to help their own. Another case in point is that of Navjot Singh Sidhu. It's an open secret that he was roped in and chosen by Priyanka Vadra. Sidhu with his aggressive style and huge popularity was seen as an asset. But soon the scuffle with chief minister Captain Amarinder Singh began. Then also the Gandhis were made to choose. And then again for the sake of keeping the government intact and Amarinder happy, Sidhu was dumped. This feeling of not being supported by the top leadership is something which Jyotiraditya Scindia and Priyanka Chaturvedi have been vocal about. There's a famous quote by one of Americas biggest businessman Arnold Glasgow: One of the tests of leadership is the ability to recognize a problem before it becomes an emergency." Thats perhaps where the Gandhis have gone wrong. With the timing. Developed a new 2D material to produce hydrogen, which is the basis of alternative energy; the material efficiently generates hydrogen molecules from fresh, salt, and polluted water by exposure to sunlight Scientists of Tomsk Polytechnic University jointly with teams from the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague and Jan Evangelista Purkyn? University in Usti nad Labem have developed a new 2D material to produce hydrogen, which is the basis of alternative energy. The material efficiently generates hydrogen molecules from fresh, salt, and polluted water by exposure to sunlight. The results are published in ACS Applied Materials & Interfaces (IF: 8,758; Q1). "Hydrogen is an alternative source of energy. Thus, the development of hydrogen technologies can become a solution to the global energy challenge. However, there are a number of issues to solve. In particular, scientists are still searching for efficient and green methods to produce hydrogen. One of the main methods is to decompose water by exposure to sunlight. There is a lot of water on our planet, but only a few methods suitable for salt or polluted water. In addition, few use the infrared spectrum, which is 43% of all sunlight," Olga Guselnikova, one of the authors and a researcher of the TPU Research School of Chemistry & Applied Biomedical Sciences, notes. The developed material is a three-layer structure with a 1-micrometer thickness. The lower layer is a thin film of gold, the second one is made of 10-nanometer platinum, and the third is a film of metal-organic frameworks of chromium compounds and organic molecules. "During the experiments, we watered material and sealed the container to take periodic gas samples to determine the amount of hydrogen. Infrared light caused the excitation of plasmon resonance on the sample surface. Hot electrons generated on the gold film were transferred to the platinum layer. These electrons initiated the reduction of protons at the interface with the organic layer. If electrons reach the catalytic centers of metal-organic frameworks, the latter were also used to reduce protons and obtain hydrogen," Olga explains. Experiments have demonstrated that 100 square centimeters of the material can generate 0.5 liters of hydrogen in an hour. It is one of the highest rates recorded for 2D materials. "I this case, the metal-organic frame also acted as a filter. It filtered impurities and passed already purified water without impurities to the metal layer. It is very important, because, although there is a lot of water on Earth, its main volume is either salt or polluted water. Thereby, we should be ready to work with this kind of water," she notes. In the future, scientists improve material to make it efficient for both infrared and visible spectra. "The material already demonstrates a certain absorption in the visible light spectrum, but its efficiency is slightly lower than in the infrared spectrum. After improvement, it will be possible to say that the material works with 93% of the spectral volume of sunlight," Olga adds. ### The studies are carried out in collaboration with the University of Chemistry and Technology, Prague and Jan Evangelista Purkyn? University in Usti nad Labem. This research project became was used in an application, supported by the TPU Competitiveness Enhancement Program (VIU-ISHKHBMT-194/2020, the scientific supervisor is Assoc. Prof. Pavel Postnikov, TPU Research School of Chemistry & Applied Biomedical Sciences Weapons originating from China: India seeks probe findings from Thailand, Myanmar India oi-Vicky Nanjappa New Delhi, July 21: India has asked Thailand and Myanmar to share the details of a probe in which illegal arms originating from China were seized. It may be recalled that the Royal Thai Army had intercepted a big consignment of illegal arms and ammunition. The ammunition having its origin in China was smuggled into Myanmar. New Delhi's envoy to Bangkok, Suchitra Durai held a meeting with Unsit Sampuntharat, governor of the Tok province of Thailand. Local police and immigration officials too were present at the meeting. India is keen to find out about the renewed flow of illegal weapons that originate from China. Did Myanmar refer to China as foreign power supplying arms to terror groups? These weapons make their way through South-East Asia and end up in India. The findings of the probe would help India ascertain whether the insurgents in the north-east region are receiving arms from China. Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News The Royal Thai Army had intercepted weapons which included 33 M16 and AK47 rifles, M79 grenade launchers and machine guns. Two Thai and six Myanmar nations were arrested. Officials tell OneIndia that there have been various instances in the past where arms from China have been supplied to the insurgent groups. The probe findings by the Thai and Myanmar officials will help us understand this modus operandi further and hence we have sought the details, the officer also said. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 8:31 [IST] Sanjana Sanghi opened up on the allegations of sexual harassment levelled against her Dil Bechara co-star, the late Sushant Singh Rajput, in 2018, and said that she was disturbed by them. She also revealed why it took her some time to clarify that the claims were absolutely baseless. In an interview with Pinkvilla, Sanjana said, Everyone thinks only Sushant was the one troubled there but I was as troubled. We knew our truth - I know what he meant to me, he knew what he meant to me and thats what is important. We were on set shooting every day. When one or two articles come, you cant pay heed to every rumour that comes out, so you just let it go. Sanjana said that she has no respect for baseless articles. Nothing changed between us because there was nothing. All that happened was, How should we make them believe the truth? Imagine what a sad state of affairs it is for two people who actually adore each other to have to sit back and be like, How do we prove it? He was like, Should I put out these chats? I said, Go for it, maybe that will help. So he put up the chats but still people were refusing to believe it. Then I, the girl who has supposedly accused the boy, put out a clarification. Even that didnt work, she said. In October 2018, Sushant had shared screenshots of his conversations with Sanjana and denied all claims of sexual misconduct. I feel sad to reveal personal information but it seems that there is no other way to state what actually happened, in the midst of this curated, well-timed and agenda-driven smear campaign. From the first day of the shoot till the last day, this is what happened on the sets with Sanjana. Misconduct? Not at all. Agenda? You decide, he had written in an Instagram post. Sanjana clarified in a tweet, a few days later. Id like to clarify that no such incident took place with me. Lets put an end to these conjectures, she said. Also see: Taapsee Pannu shares old video of Kangana Ranaut defending star kids and their privilege, takes a dig at her. Watch When asked about why it took her a few days to set the record straight, Sanjana said, They see it as time, but the truth is they dont know our reality. If they are waiting for lies to be clarified, I dont want to perpetuate that culture. I dont want to be in a place where every rumour that is written about me, I have to come out with my trusted colleagues to clarify them time and again. I shouldnt have needed to clarify anything in the first place is the point. Because nothing happened. He was the greatest co-star I could have had and I have every ounce of love and respect for him, as he did for me. If something had actually happened, we wouldnt have gone ahead and finished our Paris schedule, finished our film It would have not been like this. I just would really urge people to really believe the truth. Its sad that the truth is not fed to them, though, and it is not their fault, she added. Sanjana is making her debut in a leading role with Dil Bechara, which is an adaptation of John Greens young-adult novel The Fault In Our Stars. The film, Sushants last, will release on Disney+ Hotstar on July 24. Follow @htshowbiz for more Professor Sarah Gilbert said it would not be safe for them to do a so-called 'challenge trial' of Oxford University's Covid-19 vaccine candidate An Oxford academic today dismissed the idea of deliberately infecting volunteers with Covid-19 to test the university's experimental vaccine because no treatment currently exists to keep patients safe. Hopes of ending the Covid-19 pandemic with a vaccine grew yesterday after data revealed Oxford's jab was safe and provokes an immune reaction that lasts for at least two months. It led the team to say it was 'possible' that the vaccine could be ready by December but there are fears the roll-out of the jab will be held up due to a lack of data. The virus is not circulating as much as it was at the start of the trial, meaning volunteers may not naturally be exposed to the coronavirus, which has prompted calls for so-called 'challenge trials'. But Professor Sarah Gilbert, who is leading the Oxford team, said it would not be safe for them to carry out a 'challenge trial' because there is no effective drug to save those who get severely sick. While scientists globally are racing to find a cure for Covid-19, no drugs have been proven to stop the disease progressing once someone is infected. Two medicines remdesivir and dexamethasone have only been shown to reduce the risk of death in patients already hospitalised. But Professor Gilbert is still confident the jab, being mass-manufactured by pharma giant AstraZeneca, could be ready for the most vulnerable people by the end of the year. The Oxford team initially hoped it would be ready by September when they began trials in April. Ministers have already bought 100million doses and hoped they could start vaccinating in the autumn. However, there are a number of hurdles to get through first, including proving the vaccine actually works. The results from the first phase, revealed yesterday in The Lancet, only show it has promise. But Professor Gilbert still has confidence the jab could be ready for the most vulnerable people by Christmas. Pictured: Elisa Granato being given the vaccine in April The Oxford team had initially hoped it would be ready by September when they began trials in April (pictured) Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Today programme, Professor Gilbert said a challenge trial is not something that will be conducted by Oxford in the foreseeable future. Challenge trials are commonly deployed by scientists trying to develop a vaccine and have been used in malaria, typhoid and flu. But, unlike those illnesses, there is little to stop the participants falling seriously ill with the coronavirus. Professor Gilbert said: 'It is something thats done for a number of different vaccine development programmes for other respiratory viruses such as flu. 'But in order for it to happen you have to have a number of things in place and one of those is having an effective therapy for people who you deliberately infect as part of the challenge trial who maybe dont clear the infection and at the moment we dont have that effective therapy. BRITAIN SIGNS DEALS WITH TWO PHARMA FIRMS FOR 90MILLION DOSES OF DIFFERENT COVID-19 VACCINES Britain has signed deals with two foreign pharmaceutical giants for 90million doses of different experimental coronavirus vaccines. Agreement has been reached for 30million doses from German firm BioNTech and the US company Pfizer, and 60million doses from France's Valneva. The figure is in addition to the 100million doses of vaccine that are being developed by Oxford University in partnership with AstraZeneca, as well as another at Imperial College London which started human trials in June. Business Secretary Alok Sharma said the new agreements would 'ensure the UK has the best chance possible of securing a vaccine that protects those most at risk'. It is not clear exactly how much the Department of Health has paid for individual vaccines, but it announced in May a 131m fund to develop vaccine-making facilities. And it has given Valneva - the French company supplying 90m vaccines - an undisclosed amount of money to expand its factory in Livingston, Scotland. But campaigners have been critical of the UK using its buying power to swoop over the heads of poorer countries and snap up promising jabs. Heidi Chow from Global Justice Now said: 'This UK-first approach exposes the governments rhetoric on equitable global access to COVID-19 vaccines as mere lip-service. 'Buying up advanced supplies of unproven vaccines encourages other rich countries to do the same which will ultimately leave poorer countries without. The only way to beat this pandemic is through collaboration rather than competition.' Roz Scourse, from Medecins Sans Frontieres, added: 'This deal is the UKs latest attempt to get first access to COVID-19 vaccines. 'Access to a successful vaccine should not be determined on who can pay the most, but on health needs and should prioritise health care workers and vulnerable populations worldwide. 'Despite what the UK has been saying about the need to ensure equitable access to COVID-19 vaccines globally, what these secretive deals will actually do is use up initial supplies of vaccines, undermining allocation according to need.' Advertisement 'We will need everything to be done safely before we can start to do challenge trials and ethics would require having an effective treatment.' Scores of experts have called for controversial challenge trials during the pandemic as a way of speeding up the hunt for a vaccine. A group of 100 leading scientists recently wrote an open letter to the US National Institutes of Health saying the benefits of bringing a vaccine to the masses outweighs the risk to trialists' health. The group called for healthy people to be purposely infected because it could rapidly accelerate studies on experimental jabs which are struggling to recruit volunteers. With falling Covid-19 infection rates in some parts of the world, including Europe, there are concerns trial results will take too long to come out. Professor Gilbert has previously said low transmission rates in the UK mean there is 'little chance' of trials in the country proving the vaccine is efficient. It has led Oxford to take their vaccine trial to South Africa and Brazil, two countries where cases of Covid-19 are accelerating. However, Professor Gilbert said: 'The end of the year target for getting vaccine rollout is a possibility but theres absolutely no certainty because we need three things.' Those three things are the results from phase three trials, the ability for manufacturers to produce large quantities of the virus, and regulators to approve the vaccine. 'The regulators have to agree under emergency-use licensure. The regulators are in control of how long that decision will take,' Professor Gilbert said. 'Those three things have to happen before we see large numbers of people being vaccinated.' Data from Oxford University's phase one trial were published yesterday after huge anticipation, and showed the jab is safe and provokes an immune reaction that lasts for at least two months. The Covid-19 vaccine, named AZD1222, had been given to 543 people out of a group of 1,077. The other half were given a meningitis jab so their reactions could be compared and scientists could be sure the effects of the coronavirus jab weren't random. Researchers wanted to find out whether the vaccine boosted either of two types of immunity antibodies, which are disease-fighting substances; and T-cell immunity, with T cells able to produce antibodies and also to attack viruses themselves. The vaccine produced 'strong' responses on both accounts, the study found. More than 91 per cent of volunteers injected produced an immune response against the coronavirus that lasted a month or more. Immune responses remained strong for at least 56 days, according to results in The Lancet. But it won't be licensed for human use yet because it has not been proven to work. If the vaccine is given to the public it is likely to be in two doses given close together, developers said, because that seems to strengthen the body's response. Professor Gilbert admitted today that although Oxford University's vaccine called AZD1222 has shown promise, there is a need to find 'long-term answers'. Scientists haven't quantified the level of immune response that a vaccine will need to provoke in order for it to actually protect against Covid-19. Professor Gilbert said: 'As more vaccines go into phase three trials and we start to see how effective different vaccines are, well have a lot more information about the level of antibody and T-cell responses that are needed to protect people, and we need to see some vaccines that dont work particularly well in order to really understand what level of immunity to get to for a vaccine that does work well .' Crucially, nobody suffered any bad side effects from the vaccine and it is stimulating the immune system as scientists hoped. Some people developed headaches, tiredness and pain in their arm after they were given the jab, but scientists claimed none of the side effects were severe. Professor Adrian Hill, director of the Jenner Institute at Oxford, said: 'Its possible therell be a vaccine being used by the end of the year. 'What that needs is enough cases in the probably about 50,000 people who will be in trials by six weeks time, including the very large US trial, and to have an adequate incidence. 'But of course the vaccine has to work. Even if it worked by early November, it might be a little before that, you might have emergency use authorisation in a month and then you would be deploying in December. 'So its possible but we certainly cant guarantee it that depends on incidence of the disease, as I said earlier.' However Prime Minister Boris Johnson yesterday tried to temper expectations when he admitted he wasn't totally confident there would even be a vaccine by the end of next year. Speaking on Sky News, Mr Johnson said: 'I wish I could say that I was 100 per cent confident we'll get a vaccine for Covid-19. 'Obviously I'm hopeful I've got my fingers crossed but to say I'm 100 per cent confident that we'll get a vaccine this year, or indeed next year is, alas, just an exaggeration we're not there yet. 'If you talk to the scientists they think the sheer weight of international effort is going to produce something. They're pretty confident that we'll get some sort of treatments some sort of vaccines that will really make a difference. 'But can I tell you that I'm 100 per cent confident? No. 'That's why we've got to continue with our current approach - maintaining the social distancing measures... we've got to continue to do all the sensible things; washing our hands. All those basic things.' Mr Johnson added: 'It may be that the vaccine is going to come riding over the hill like the cavalry but we just can't count on it right now.' Oxford University's vaccine is already being manufactured by pharmaceutical giant AstraZeneca and the UK Government has ordered 100million doses ahead of time. A deal has been secured for a further 90million doses of two types of experimental jab being developed in France and Germany, it was revealed yesterday. Agreement has been reached for 30million doses from German firm BioNTech and the US company Pfizer, and 60million doses from France's Valneva. Britain is shoring up stocks of vaccines in development all over the world in its spread-betting approach in the hope that at least one of them will pay off. iStock/narvikkBy: KARMA ALLEN, ABC News (NEW YORK) -- Connecticut health officials issued a warning on Monday, saying a state-run laboratory had delivered false-positive COVID-19 test results to dozens of patients, including many nursing home residents. The Connecticut Department of Public Health said it uncovered a flaw in a testing system at the state's Public Health Laboratory, which caused 90 people to receive false positive results between June 15 and July 17, according to a statement released Monday. Health officials said the results were from "a widely-used laboratory testing platform" that the state laboratory started using on June 15. The exact cause of the false-positive results is still under investigation, officials said. The patients, many of whom were nursing home residents, were notified through their respective healthcare facilities. The flaw has also been reported to the manufacturer and the federal Food and Drug Administration, the department said. We have notified the healthcare facilities for everyone who received a false positive test result from our state laboratory, Acting Department of Public Health Commissioner Deidre Gifford said on Monday. Accurate and timely testing for the novel coronavirus is one of the pillars supporting effective response to the COVID-19 pandemic." She also thanked her team at the state lab for their "quick action" and said adjustments had already been made to ensure the accuracy of future results from the testing platform. The department said it would still rely on the platform for tests, including those for SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19. Going forward, all positive results will be further analyzed by multiple laboratory scientists, and if indicated, retested using another method, the department said. The news comes as states across the country struggle to keep up with testing demands amid a resurgence of infections. Last week, Rhode Island officials revealed that a private laboratory had delivered false-positive COVID-19 results to 113 patients. Those tests were taken between July 9 and July 14. Over 14.5 million people across the globe have been diagnosed with COVID-19, according to data compiled by the Center for Systems Science and Engineering at Johns Hopkins University. The United States has become the worst-affected country, with more than 3.7 million diagnosed cases and at least 140,541 deaths. Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray will go to Ayodhya for the bhoomipujan ceremony of the Ram temple, Sena leader Sanjay Raut said on Tuesday. The Rajya Sabha MP did not clarify if Thackeray has received an invitation for the ceremony as yet. Raut refuted rumours of differences over the Ram temple issue among the parties in the ruling Maharashtra Vikas Agadhi (MVA) alliance in the state. He said NCP chief Sharad Pawar hasnt criticised the construction of the Ram temple in Ayodhya, and the three parties in the coalition have different ideologies but work on a common minimum programme. Speaking to reporters in Mumbai, Raut said, The moment that we all were waiting for has come, but due to the Corornavirus [outbreak], not many people will be thereNow around 250 to 300 people are going to be invited. The prime minister is going to be there for the first time. Definitely, Uddhav Thackeray, Maharashtra chief minister, will go there but so far the details of the programme have not come. It is known the bhoomipujan is in the first week of August. Raut said the Shiv Sena shares a religious and national connection with the Ram Mandir movement. Thackeray attending the foundation laying ceremony of the Ram Mandir could create issues within MVA. On Sunday, Pawar criticised the Central government over the issue. Eradication of Covid-19 is the priority of the Maharashtra government, but some people think constructing a temple will help in its mitigation, Pawar said. Echoing Pawar, Maharashtra minister and Maharashtra Congress president Balasaheb Thorat alleged the BJP was using the issue to divert attention from the Union governments failure to take effective measures to combat Covid-19. Dismissing reports of a rift over the issue, Raut said, Sharad Pawar has not criticised the creation of the Ram Mandir. I have heard his statement. When the Supreme Court gave its judgement, Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Sharad Pawar welcomed it. He (Pawar) has expressed his opinion on what should be the priority in the current Covid-19 situation. This is a government of three parties, and nowhere in the MVAs formation, it is written we have to have consensus on an issue. As a government, it has to be run with unanimity to implement the programmes for the people as per the common minimum programme. Raut said there are no issues within MVA over Thackerays plan to visit Ayodhya. This is not a political or a religious issue but a matter of national pride. It is being implemented after the Supreme Courts orders. The common minimum programme will remain our guiding light to run the government. Whether to go to Ayodhya or not is not an agenda of the government, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON The grounds of Tanglewood are quiet this summer because of COVID-19, but the BSO has scheduled a season of virtual offerings for classical music lovers everywhere. Tanglewood Serves Up Virtual Menu As the coronavirus has necessitated the cancellation of virtually all publicly presented classical music concerts in venues large and small, music lovers in the Berkshires and Southern Vermont have been made bereft of all live music performances. We have had, though, other options: streaming via the Web, YouTube and Facebook videos are legion, and, for opera lovers, Metropolitan Opera hi-def recordings on several regional PBS TV channels have continued past the traditional end-of-season May broadcasts. Tanglewood, the Boston Symphonys Berkshire summer festival in Lenox, was forced to cancel its full season but has found a novel way to surmount this misfortune via streaming a wide range of musical offerings to the public. Many are free, while some are pay-only these include a remarkably varied range of recitals, "shop talks," a "Great Performers" series, Tanglewood Music Center (TMC) chamber concerts, TMC orchestra performances, Tanglewood Learning Institute (TLI) lectures and much else. Tanglewood's archive of historically significant filmed concerts combined with newly recorded performances make for a richly diverse cornucopia of musical treasures. The bottom line: If you can't be in the Shed, Ozawa Hall or on the lawn, you can still experience some of the worlds greatest music - and it's all at your fingertips, with no driving or parking issues with which to contend. Turn on your computer or iPad, plug in your headphones and settle back in your easy chair; the glories of Tanglewood will emerge before you all through the magic of digital audio and video streaming. The Tanglewood 2020 Online Festival is a groundbreaking digital series of audio and video streams featuring newly created content recorded at Tanglewood's Linde Center alongside previously recorded material from Tanglewood being released for the first time. The Boston Symphony Orchestras first-ever Tanglewood digital festivaldesigned to capture the beauty and spirit of the Tanglewood groundswill feature artists and programs of the originally announced 2020 Tanglewood season, among other content. Tanglewood highlights BSO musicians and favorite guest artists to be featured in newly created video streams, inspired by originally-announced 2020 Shed and Ozawa Hall programming, to be pre-recorded in the Linde Center for Learning and music and great concert venues around the world. Great Performers in Recital from Tanglewood: 2020 Tanglewood guest artists, including pianist Emanuel Ax, violinist Joshua Bell and pianist Jeremy Denk, violinist Augustin Hadelich and pianist Orion Weiss, cellist Yo-Yo Ma, violinist Gil Shaham, pianist Conrad Tao, pianist Daniil Trifonov, and violinist Pinchas Zukerman and cellist Amanda Forsyth, featured in video stream performances, available on Saturdays at 8 p.m. through Aug. 21. BSO Musicians in Recital from Tanglewood: Boston Symphony Orchestra musicians featured in video stream performances, available on Fridays at 8 p.m. through Aug. 21. Recitals from the World Stage: 2020 Ozawa Hall guest artists, including the Boston Symphony Chamber Players, Danish String Quartet, Silk Road Ensemble, duo-pianists Lucas and Arthur Jussen, pianist Paul Lewis and pianist Garrick Ohlsson, as well as string quartet Brooklyn Rider, in video stream performances, available on Wednesdays at 8 p.m. through Aug. 19. Access information: These three newly created online offerings are available for a minimum fee online; they will remain available for viewing/listening one week following the initial online presentation Here is this week's schedule of events, from Wednesday, July 22, to Tuesday, July 28: Wednesday, July 22, 1 p.m.: Internationally recognized soloist, chamber artist, and teacher Astrid Schween is cellist of the Juilliard String Quartet and a TMC faculty member. As a longtime member of the Lark Quartet, Astrid performed at major venues around the world and received many honors including the Naumburg Chamber Music Award. During her tenure, the quartet produced critically acclaimed recordings for the Arabesque, Decca/Argo, New World, CRI, and Point labels, and commissioned numerous works. TMC Associate Director Michael Nock is host. Video available July 22 at 1 p.m. through July 29. TLI Masterpass, $5 for video stream, $32 for series Wednesday, July 22, 8 p.m., Recitals from the World Stage: The Brooklyn Rider string quartet from Studio E, Linde Center for Music and Learning. Caroline SHAW: Schisma, ROBERTS: Borderland, BEETHOVEN: String Quartet No. 15 in A minor, Op. 132, movement III. Molto AdagioAndante. Philip GLASS: String Quartet No. 3, Mishima. $8 for single event, $42 for series. Thursday, July 23, 1 p.m., TLI. ShopTalks: Nicole Cabell, soprano, and Nicholas Phan, tenor. Thursday-afternoon ShopTalks feature candid, informal discussions on life, music, and the future of the field with conductors, composers, soloists, and unsung heroes. For this week, host and Tanglewood Learning Institute Director Sue Elliott interviews two distinguished vocal artistssoprano Nicole Cabell (who is also hosting this summers Great Performers in Recital from Tanglewood series) and tenor Nicholas Phanabout their careers, struggles, and successes, and their visions for the artform. Video available July 23 at 1 p.m. through July 30. $5 for single video stream, $32 for series. Thursday, July 23, 8 p.m., Tanglewood Virtual Gala, Celebrating the 100th Anniversary of Isaac Sterns birth: Ara Guzelimian, host.; Vadim Gluzman, violin; Midori, violin; Nancy Zhou, violin; Isaac Stern archival footage to be shown throughout evening. Anthony Fogg and Nina Jung-Gasparini, moderator. The program will include tributes to and reminiscences of Isaac Stern. Free but donations will be accepted. Friday, July 24, 8 p.m., BSO Musicians in Recital from Tanglewood Series, hosted by Lauren Ambrose: In addition to working together in their usual large-ensemble setting, the BSOs individual musicians frequently perform as soloists or together in chamber music, a pursuit requiring a different, more intimate mode of musical collaboration. The violinwhose presence by sheer force of numbers dominates the orchestral stageis the focus of this chamber music program by BSO musicians. Victor Romanul plays several solo selections, including one of the single most challenging pieces in the repertoire, the Chaconne from Bachs D minor partita. Tatiana Dimitriades performs two works for violin and piano: Mendelssohns early Sonata in F and important American composer William Grant Stills beautiful lullaby "Mother and Child" from his 1943 Suite for violin and piano. Both Stills work and Florence Prices String Quartet (performed by Catherine French, Xin Ding, Daniel Getz, and Mickey Katz) were influenced by their composers African American heritage. Completing this wide-ranging program is Antonin Dvoraks Terzetto for two violins and viola, which is infused with elements of Czech folk music. $5 for single video stream, $28 for series Saturday, July 25, 8 p.m., Great Performers in Recital from Tanglewood Series, hosted by Nicole Cabell: Italian-born Austrian violinist Augustin Hadelich and American pianist Orion Weiss, who began touring together as a duo in 2019, perform Debussys Violin Sonata in G minor, Brahms Violin Sonata No. 2 in A, Op. 100, and John Adamss Road Movies. $12 for single video stream, $80 for series. Sunday, July 26, 10 a.m., Tanglewood Music Center chamber concerts (audio only): TMC Fellows perform BEACH: Piano Quintet in F-sharp minor, Op. 67; STRAVINSKY: Sonata for Two Pianos; Sarah GIBSON: I prefer living in color; VILLA-LOBOS: O Boizinho de chumbo from A prole do bebe, Book II; and Alan SMITH: To the Muse. BEETHOVEN: Piano Trio in B-flat, Op. 97, (Archduke). Free. Monday, July 27, 8 p.m. Tanglewood Music Center Orchestra encore performances: Andris Nelsons and Stefan Asbury, conductors, with Yo-Yo Ma, cello, and Jessica Zhou, harp, performing BERNSTEIN: Three Meditations from Mass; John WILLIAMS: Highwoods Ghost; and COPLAND: Symphony No. 3. Free. Tuesday, July 28. 1 p.m., TLI Celebrates Beethoven: "Beethoven and the Musical Workshop of Prince Lobkowicz. Presenter: Kathryn L. Libin, Vassar College. $5 single event, $20 series. Tuesday, July 28, 5 p.m.: Tanglewood Family Concert with W.B.U.R.s Circle Round, Thomas Wilkins, conductor. BSO soloists with Rebecca Sheir and Eric Shimelonis, narrators. Free. For more information and for prices and access to all video or audio streaming concerts, lectures and special events, go online or call 888-266-1200. The Zongo youth especially in the Kumasi Metropolis have been commended for their peaceful conduct in the on-going voter registration exercise. Sheikh Mubarak Alhassan Osman, a renowned Islamic cleric in Kumasi, who applauded the comportment of the youth, said their involvement in political violence during such exercise had always been a source of worry for the Islamic community. Speaking in an interview with the Ghana News Agency (GNA), Sheikh Osman said it was refreshing that not much political violence spearheaded by young people from the Zongos had been recorded in the current registration exercise. It appears we are making progress in the fight against hooliganism among the Zongo youth as being witnessed in the registration, he opined. He said unlike previous years when some politicians mobilized Zongo youth to storm registration centers to cause all sorts of mayhem, they are now beginning to appreciate that they were being exploited. I think our efforts of counseling our youth to stay away from violence through sermons in the mosques and other Islamic events are beginning to yield positive results, emphasized. Islam, he noted, was a peaceful religion and did not condone any form of violence and urged the Muslim youth to serve as worthy ambassadors of the religion at all times. They must resist any attempt by politicians to use them to achieve their parochial interests at the expense of their own future. He said not only were the Zongo youth departing from hooliganism but some have also assumed leadership positions in government and other key private institutions. This is the way to go in order to bring progress and development to the Zongo community, instead of being used as a tool to create chaos during elections, he noted. Sheikh Osman who has authored a book on Islam and political vigilantism believes Islam had a lot to offer to improve Ghanas democratic dispensation and discounted the misconception that Islam connotes violence. He entreated the Muslim Youth to live above reproach and aspire to become responsible citizens capable of contributing to national development. 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 NILES, Ill., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Specialty Print Communications (SPC) is pleased to announce the release of a guidebook for students that shines the light on a career in print communications, an industry which in 2019 generated more than $818 billion globally.* "It's simply too big for today's students to overlook," said SPC Executive Vice President Ryan LeFebvre. "Just look around and print communications is everywhere in society, from retail signage to billboards to direct mail and so much more. Our industry needs to show our strength and work harder attracting top talent to lead this industry into the future." Nurturing the Next Generation of Print Leaders is a free guidebook developed by SPC for students interested in print communications. It's full of helpful tips and resources to give interested students a pathway into the industry. Whether interested in print production, sales, account service or management, readers can learn about how to improve their resume or even take an online quiz to help define where they best fit within the print communications industry. "Print communications is a terrific career choice," adds Lefebvre. "It's been such an exciting ride for me and I want to help make that same opportunity available for the next generation." For a free copy of Nurturing the Next Generation of Print Leaders, go to: https://www.specialtyprintcomm.com/blog/nurturing-next-gen-print-leaders/ About Specialty Print Communications Niles, Illinois-based Specialty Print Communications is a family-owned, integrated marketing service organization that offers expertise in the creative development and production of direct mail, loyalty kits and card issuance, digital imaging, lettershop production, postal optimization, fulfillment, and digital brand execution. SPC's roster of clients includes companies in the retail/e-tail, healthcare, finance, automotive, and travel & leisure industries, as well as agencies and other entities that work with these companies. For more information on Specialty Print Communications, visit: https://www.specialtyprintcomm.com/ *https://www.smithers.com/services/market-reports/printing/the-future-of-global-printing-to-2024 SPC Media Contact Ryan LeFebvre 847-600-5616 [email protected] SOURCE Specialty Print Communications Netflix has been releasing some binge-worthy dating reality shows on the platform for some time now. First came Love Is Blind, then Too Hot To Handle, following its streak, Netflix released the Indian dating and matchmaking show Indian Matchmaking on July 16, 2020. The show follows a well-known Indian Matchmaker Sima Tiparia, who is helping her clients find suitable life partners for them. The new Netflix show is presenting the tradition of arranging a marriage with the twist of dating. Find out, Is Indian Matchmaking scripted? Read | Tom Holland starrer 'The Devil All the Time' premiere date on Netflix announced Is Indian Matchmaking scripted? Indian Matchmaking on Netflix follows the world-renowned Indian Matchmaker Sima Tiparia. Tiparia works with clients in India and abroad. On the new Netflix Dating Show, viewers follow Sima Tiparia as she travels through India and America, meeting her clients and taking copious amounts of notes to understand what the client is looking for in tier partner. The cameras also follow Sima Tiparia in a bit of her day-to-day life back home. However, since the series release on Netflix, Indian netizens have taken to Twitter to express their discontent and dislike towards the show and what it represents. Many have gone ahead and claimed that Indian Matchmaking on Netflix is scripted. The reason arranged marriage is predominantly a "Desi" thing is because it is rooted in caste. Its not about finding love, it's about keeping the bloodline "pure" or some other such nonsense. This institution needs to die, not be given a Netflix special. #IndianMatchmaking Uday (@UdaySRana) July 17, 2020 wow Indian matchmaking is really a cesspool of casteism, colourism, sexism, classism and what is this matching kundlis and all. are we in the 21st century?? @NetflixIndia wtf do better!! Riddhi (@riddhhiiii) July 16, 2020 I've been seeing a lot of hate for Akshay and I totally agree but only reason he has 0 personality and is like that is cause of how toxic and controlling his mom is. #IndianMatchmaking pic.twitter.com/zIM80Un5az Vivek (@vivekg1997) July 20, 2020 Read | Sanjana Sanghi shares a 'special' memory of Sushant from 'Dil Bechara'; See here Is Indian Matchmaking real or scripted? Shekar and Nadia were a fan favourite on Indian Matchmaking. During the show, Shekar revealed that the show was filmed about a year ago which is in early 2019. Nadia also took to her Instagram shortly before the series released to announce that she was going to be a part of the new Netflix series. According to the reports of a media portal, many fans of the show have since been asking Nadia, if Indian Matchmaking Show was staged, scripted or fake in any way. Nadia Christina Jagessar took to her Instagram and shared a post. In the caption, the reality TV star wrote that she could guarantee that nothing was scripted on Indian Matchmaking. She went on to add that that everything was real, at least from her end. The New Jersey-based event planner claimed that the story was told in such a genuine way and she admired how it was presented. In the post, the Guyanese-Indian-American added saying that her experience of working with the team was great and that the producers made it easy for her to share the story of her family. Nadia also claimed that she would proud to represent Guyana, her family, and her culture on such a great platform. Hence, if fans take the word of the reality TV star, then Indian matchmaking was not scripted, it was indeed real. However, one of the suitors that Nadia met on the show, Vinay Chadha has told a different story. In his recent Instagram post, Vinay explained the situation between him and Nadia. He claimed that the show portrayed him as the one who stood up Nadia. Vinay, alleged that it was actually Nadia had who abruptly cut ties with him, and stood him up. The reality TV star wrote in his post, The meeting dinner with her friends never happened. I was left heartbroken and ghosted. But, viewers who have watched the Netflix show can clearly see that Vinay has been shown as the one who broke Nadia's heart. While the depths of the truth of Vinay and Nadia's relationship is not known to the viewers, it is still a well-known fact that reality shows are never entirely real. At some points, events are either entirely scripted or sensationalized to create drama. Read | Indian Matchmaking: Why Netflix's New Show On Arranged Marriages Has Kicked Up Controversy Indian Matchmaking Reddit reviews It seems as though Indian Matchmaking on Netflix is not sitting well with many of its viewers. On the social news sharing website Reddit, many viewers have used the word cringe to describe the show. Another user took to Reddit to express how Indian Matchmaking highlighted the shallowness of the whole institution of arranged marriages in India. Many Reddit users expressed anger and claimed that the show represented regressive and abusive Indian values against women. A Reddit user wrote in a post that Indian Matchmaking was infuriating to watch. The Reddit user went on to add that Indian parents need to understand that their sons are men and full-blown adults. Hence, people need to raise the bar instead of asking our women to lower theirs to the ground and settle for unworthy partners. Read | 'Indian Matchmaking': Netizens react to 'cringy' yet 'fascinating' Netflix reality show Indian Matchmaking Review On IMDb, the Netflix Show Indian Matchmaking scored 5.8 out of 10. The reality show has scored 60 per cent in Audience Score. The dating and matchmaking reality show is available to watch on Netflix now. 21.07.2020 LISTEN Two armed men are in the grips of the Damongo police for allegedly possessing illegal weapons. The two were arrested at the Kojope community, a suburb of the West Gonja Municipality of the Savannah region by some military officers after a tip-off. At the time of arrest, the suspects had in their possession four single barrel guns, some cartridges, and machetes. Padfmonline sources say the two are residents of Kiblema in the Bole District. Our sources at the police headquarters say investigators are working to ascertain what they were doing or going to do with the weapons. But the NPP in the Savannah region is accusing the NDC of being behind the failed attempts to disturb the peace of the region. According to the partys Savannah Regional Communications Director, Mohammed Issah at a press briefing hours after the arrest, the two are NDC vigilantes, alleged to be protecting and transporting aliens to a registration center in Kojope to be entered into the voters' register. He said the two are known NDC boys who work for the MP of the Bole-Bamboi constituency, Alhaji Yussif Sulemana, who it is alleged organized Ivorian illegal miners being escorted by the suspects to register at Damongo, so they can vote for his colleague, the Damongo MP. But the NDC in a counter statement signed by its Savannah Regional Communications Officer denied the allegations, tagging it as a shameful attempt to equalize the thuggery of the NPP. "Such fake stories are capable of causing serious tensions in the region...the security services, particularly the police must as a matter of urgency invite whoever is behind this false accusation for strict interrogation and hence be used as a scapegoat to deter others who may engage in such despicable acts in the near future, he said. Meanwhile the Municipal Chief Executive of West Gonja, Hon. Muhazu Saeed Jibril said information available to him indicates the two are worriers of Kiblemawura in the Bole traditional area. Speaking in an interview with PAD FM at the Regional Police Headquarters after the suspects were brought in, Hon. Jibril said we have the information they are worriers of Kiblemawura and that he sent them to accompany people to come and register in Damongo. If we find out he is the one who sent them, he will also be arrested. We want peace in Damongo so he shouldn't come here and cause problems for us. Meghan Markle is giving 'punchier' speeches because she is not adhering to the 'constraints' of royal life, her biographer has claimed. Royal expert Omid Scobie, author of Finding Freedom: Harry and Meghan, and the Making of a Modern Royal Family, explained the Duchess of Sussex, 38, had more freedom to speak 'from the heart' on topics including racial injustice and gender equality now that she is living in Los Angeles. He referred specifically to the Duchess of Sussex's recent address to the Girl Up Leadership Summit last week, for which she relied on loose bullet points, rather than the structured speech usually given to members of the royal family for public engagement. Speaking on the Heirpod podcast, he said: 'This was Meghan really being able to talk without the constraints of some of the things you might have to bear in mind when writing a speech as a working member of the royal family.' Meghan Markle, 38, is 'punchier' without the 'constraints' of royal life, a royal expert has claimed (pictured, while speaking at the Girl Up Leadership Summit last week He continued: 'I understand she spent a long time preparing for this speech. Usually we see members of the royal family reading from very tight scripts when they go up onto a stage, I understand Meghan had bullet points.' He said that the royal was 'perhaps a little punchier than we've seen in the past, adding: 'She spoke more from the heart than from a script.' The royal expert continued: 'I had an interesting conversation with Team Sussex after this happened. 'They said this speech really spoke to many of the issues she will continue to focus on passionately moving forward, gender equity, racial injustice, youth empowerment... 'This worked a really great preview for the Duchess of Sussex and some of her future speaking engagements.' Omid Scobie said the Duchess of Sussex would 'speak from the heart' in future speeches and is now able to talk 'without constraints' which she may have faced as a working royal (pictured, the Duchess launching her Smart Works capsule collection in London) The Duchess joined the event on Tuesday organized by UN initiative Girl Up, to give a passionate speech about racial and gender injustices. During the speech, she insisted that young women are the key to global change if they are willing to put aside negativity and focus on 'building each other up'. Standing in front of a plain wall while wearing a vibrant blue dress, Meghan told participants that they must challenge world leaders and executives to fight major issues including racial injustice and gender inequality, as well as gun violence, mental health awareness, and the reform of the criminal justice system. It is the latest in a series of public steps taken by Prince Harry and Meghan as they shift the focus of their royal work towards racial equality and social justice. It comes a month after the news emerged the Duke and Duchess have signed up with the Harry Walker Agency, a high-profile speaking agency Last month it emerged that Prince Harry and Meghan could earn more than 1million each time they do a speech after signing up with an elite agency. The Duke and Duchess have joined New York-based Harry Walker Agency, which represents the Obamas and the Clinton and plan to be available for talks on social issues including racial justice, gender equality, the environment and mental health, according to the LA Times. It is their first career move since leaving the royal family and moving to Los Angeles. Speaking could prove an extremely lucrative booking for the Duke and Duchess, who vowed to become financially independent from the royal family when they stepped back in January. John Powell, a Houston-area church planter and former Southern Baptist Theological Seminary staff member, was killed in a highway accident over the weekend. He was helping a driver who had stopped in traffic. The Houston Chronicle reported that in Powells final sermon to his congregation, Emmanuel Baptist Church in New Caney, Texas, he preached on Psalm 72 and prayed that in the poor mans distress, Christians might be there. Less than two weeks later, on Saturday, July 18, Powell and another man pulled over to assist a car that had caught fire after hitting a truck. Powell, 38, was struck by a semi and killed, according to a report from the Sherman, Texas, police department. The driver of the car that was on fire survived. News of Powells death was shared on social media by Russell Moore, president of the Southern Baptist Conventions Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission. Moore was a friend and former professor of Powells. I am shocked and shaken and grieving this morning, beyond what I can say, Moore wrote on Twitter. My former student John Powell was killed last night, hit by an eighteen wheeler while helping stranded motorists off of a highway. Nathan Lino, one of Powell's closest friends in the ministry and the pastor of Northeast Houston Baptist Church, which sponsors Powell's church plant, told Baptist Press that planting a church is extraordinarily difficult, and so I got to see John under enormous stress and at all times he wanted to know and do the will of Christ. He loved the local church. As much as John loved to preach, and he did, he had an equal passion for the personal wellbeing of his people. Powell left behind his wife and four young children. He and his family had moved to New Caney, north of Houston, from Hamlin, Texas, in 2016. He had previously been director of admissions at Southern Seminary and discipleship pastor at Carlisle Avenue Baptist Church in Louisville, Kentucky, according to his ERLC bio. On Sunday, news of his death was met with grieving and tributes on social media. It is impossible to imagine the heartbreak of this young family in the death of their husband & father & of this church in losing their pastor, wrote Al Mohler, president of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. But John Powell loved Christ, preached Christ, trusted Christ. Our hearts break for them. This is why we sing that all we have is Christ. Jason Allen, president of Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary, called Powell one of the best men Ive ever known. Author and pastor Dean Inserra described Powell as a humble pastor who did not seek the spotlight. He never cared about being known, wrote Inserra. Faithfully plowed daily as a family man and local church pastor. He did not sweat what many sweat. A GoFundMe site to raise funds for Powells family was set up by Andrew Walker, a professor at Southern. We are asking for friends and family to help care for the Powell family as they deal with unspeakable tragedy and grief, the appeal reads. As they have shown all of their family and friends love in times past, let us now, as the body of Christ, show them love and care. On Monday, Emmanuel released a statement, saying the work of the church goes on. This past weekend, our church experienced one of the greatest tragedies we can imagine, the church said. Pastor John Powell, in an act in the image of His sacrificial Savior, was killed in a traffic accident. While we deeply grieve this loss, we remember what he would want us to remember: that Christ is the head of this church, and the vision and passion that John instilled in us is still alive. The Houston Chronicle quoted from his final sermon: How could we pray that God would have compassion on those that need it while not having compassion on them ourselves? he had asked, 13 days before the highway accident. It would be like praying for someone who got robbed and beaten and thrown into a ditch alive while we pass on our way to wherever were going. A van driver set himself on fire using hand sanitiser and a cigarette lighter in court because he wasn't 'fairly treated'. Kamil Kalwarski, 38, previously said he would set himself alight in protest during his Teesside magistrates' court sentencing for breaching an order. Even though two police officers were on guard in the courtroom - and all sanitiser dispensers were taken away - Kalwarski was still able to follow through with his claim after smuggling in a bottle of his own. Van driver Kamil Kalwarski (pictured) set himself on fire using hand sanitiser and a cigarette lighter in court He doused his arms in the liquid and used a cigarette lighter to start the fire. Kalwarski, from Middlesbrough, knocked over a court clerk as he charged towards District Judge Tim Capstick during the shocking incident. Police officers were able to tackle Kalwarski - who burned off some of his hair and scorched his ear and arms - to the floor. Kalwarski, 38, previously said he would set himself alight in protest during his Teesside magistrates' court (pictured) sentencing for breaching an order Kalwarski told The Sun: 'I was only intending to harm myself. 'I don't think I have been fairly treated by the courts. I wanted people to pay attention.' Kalwarski will be sentenced at a later date. He was arrested but not charged. Florida has seen a trend in the past decade of rising sea levels along its coastlines. Its been causing high-tide flooding in a few areas, which is growing in severity, according to a new report from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). This is so called sunny day flooding when the high tides spill into streets or rise up from storm drains. According to NOAAs 2019 State of High Tide Flooding and 2020 Outlook, coastal communities across the country continued to see record-setting high tide flooding (HTF) in 2019, with the trend expected to continue into 2021. Of the 25 locations where HTF in 2019 was above the predicted range, 19 broke their all-time records, including two in Florida: Virginia Key in Miami with 9 days of flooding and Cedar Key on the west coast with 11 days. Among the 15 tide stations in Florida monitored by NOAA, four of them, including Virginia Key and Cedar Key, had between 5-10 high tide flood days in 2019. The other two were Trident Pier on Cape Canaveral with 8 days last year and Clearwater with 4 days. These four are expected to see the same range this year Other highlights from the report: In 2019, the national annual flood frequency reached 4 days (median value), just shy of the record of 5 days set in 2018. High tide flooding is now accelerating at 75% of locations along the East and Gulf Coasts. Through May 2021, the national high tide flood frequency is expected to accelerate, with U.S. coastal communities seeing an average of 2 to 6 days of flooding in the coming year. Communities along the northeast and western Gulf coasts will see higher levels. No HTF is predicted for the U.S. Island coastlines. By 2030, high tide flooding is likely to be in the range of 7 15 days and by 2050, if the trend continues, between 25 75 days. These long term outlooks are based on the range of relative sea level rise more likely to occur by 2030 and 2050 using projections of the Fourth National Climate Assessment. As sea-level rise continues, damaging floods that decades ago happened only during a storm now happen more regularly, such as during a full-moon tide or with a change in prevailing winds or currents, said Nicole LeBoeuf, acting director of NOAAs National Ocean Service. For more information on flood risk and protection, please visit our Flood Insurance & Resilience webpage. Source: Lisa Miller & Associates Newsletter of 7-20-20 Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy witnesses the signing and exchange of an MoU between the state government and Amul, in Amaravati on July 21, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy witnesses the signing and exchange of an MoU between the state government and Amul, in Amaravati on July 21, 2020. (Photo: IANS) Image Source: IANS News Amaravati, July 21 : In a move aimed at giving fillip to the dairy industry in Andhra Pradesh, the state government on Tuesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with cooperative giant Anand Milk Union Limited (AMUL). The MoU signed in the presence of Chief Minister Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy at his official residence is expected to give a boost to the empowerment of women self-help groups by encouraging the milk cooperatives in the government sector. Terming Andhra Pradesh as the gateway to the South, the Chief Minister said that joining hands with AMUL will help the women groups and dairy farming in the cooperative sector with an opportunity and exposure to world class infrastructure, technology and marketing opportunities which would improve their standard of living and self reliance of women. The MoU was signed by Special Chief Secretary Agriculture, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development, Poonam Malkondaiah and AMUL Chennai Zonal Head Rajan. Jagan spoke to Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, Managing Director RS Sodi, and Chairman of Sabarkant District Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited, Sambalbhai Patel through video conference. It was during his 3,648 km padayatra that the dairy farmers had told him about the exploitation of dairy units to benefit the private company Heritage Food (owned by the family of former Chief Minister and TDP president Chandrababu Naidu). The price of one liter water bottle was Rs 22 and one liter bottle of milk was sold at the same price as the government of the day exploited the dairy sector in the cooperative sector to the hilt to benefit Heritage Foods. All dairies under the State Diary Cooperative Federation have been put in the red, said a statement from the Chief Minister's Office. Though the State stands fourth in milk production, only 24 per cent was going to the organised sector. The partnership with AMUL will help farmers to get good price and women groups, it added. She was among the large group of reality stars and influencers who made a beeline for the shores of Spain this month, after COVID-19 travel restrictions were eased. And Francesca Allen clearly had her next sunny getaway on her mind on Tuesday, when she shared shots of herself posing in a variety of flattering swimsuits. The Love Island star, 24, posed up a storm in the beach attire, which included a deeply plunging leopard-print swimsuit and a high-cut black patterned number. Sunny delight: Francesca Allen clearly had her next sunny getaway on her mind on Tuesday, when she shared shots of herself posing in a variety of flattering swimsuits The brunette beauty also wowed in a black bikini, which she teamed with a matching chiffon cover-up as she modelled the items from her In The Style edit. Captioning the images, which appeared to have been taken from her recent sojourn in Spain, Francesca wrote: 'Cant wait to be in a bikini again! Loving these one pieces and cover ups from my latest @inthestyle edit.' Her posts came two days after she was spotted enjoying Sunday lunch with her Love Island co-stars Amber Gill and Anna Vakili. Wow: The Love Island star, 24, posed up a storm in the beach attire, which included a deeply plunging leopard-print swimsuit and a high-cut black patterned number The trio were in high spirits as they stepped out for brunch at east London fish restaurant Smiths of Wapping, days after returning from their post-lockdown travels. Meanwhile, Francesca was spotted cozying up to a new man during a boozy night out in London on Friday. She looked to be on cloud nine as she got up close and personal with Edward Crossan, vice chairman of London-based waste management company Powerday. The TV personality put on a very affectionate display with her apparent new beau, who was previously been linked to TOWIE's Amber Turner. Ensemble: The brunette beauty also wowed in a black bikini, which she teamed with a matching chiffon cover-up as she modelled the items from her In The Style edit The star beamed as she sat on the hunk's lap, walked hand-in-hand and even wandered off for a private chat with a glass of wine in hand. Hunky Edward later appeared to place his hand on Francesca's pert derriere before leaning in for a kiss. In May last year, Edward was seen enjoying a jaunt on a yacht in Ibiza with TOWIE star Amber Turner, 24. The accomplished businessman was named vice chairman of his father's company in January and is featured on the company's website. Spain: The scintillating snaps appeared to have been taken from her recent sojourn in Spain His working title is described on the website as: 'Edward joined the family business in 2007, starting as a machine driver and has worked in various roles within the company to now being a director overseeing the development of the business.' MailOnline has contacted Francesca Allen's representatives for comment. Earlier this year, Francesca was involved in an explosive row with another woman, reportedly over a man, leading to police intervention. The reality star and the other woman, flouted social distancing rules as they got close to each other's faces and shouted at one another outside the King Oak pub in High Beech, Epping Forest. Bikini: She also took to her Instagram Stories to share snaps of herself posing in swimwear In a clip of the confrontation, Francesca can be seen waving her hands in the face of a woman standing in front of her, who in turn, is shrieking at her. The starlet aggressively points her fingers and shouts: 'You're not going to do anything, you're not going to. Why come over here then!' Meanwhile the other woman grows increasingly angry and loses her temper. The woman, whose friend holds onto her hand in an apparent bid to quell the situation, then lunges forward and repeatedly yells at Francesca. Within a matter of seconds, Francesca bites back and shouts in her face with her fist clenched, in the shocking footage. Another bystander, who appears to be friends with them, barges forward and tries to act as a mediator. She struggles to contain her frustration and repeatedly says 'Woah'. Francesca puts her hand in the air to block the woman out. The pair then break away from the group and square up to each other as groups of stunned onlookers watch on. Seconds later, the screaming gets louder and a police officer is seen dragging Francesca's apparent nemesis away. See UPDATE, below. On June 28, in St. Louis, Missouri, Black Lives Matters protesters broke down a fence to enter a private street. Mark and Patricia McCloskey heard the racket and, terrified by the mobs descent, emerged from their house holding what appeared to be a pistol and a semi-automatic rifle, and warned the protesters away from their home. A video of the gun-toting couple went viral. Now, St. Louiss hard-left prosecutor, whose campaign George Soros funded and who drove a Republican governor out of office, has filed charges against the couple. Here are the known facts, starting with that prosecutor. Kimberly Gardner was elected as a St. Louis circuit attorney in 2016. A George Soros super PAC gave $200,000 to her campaign. In 2018, Gardner essentially forced Governor Eric Greitens, a Republican and former Navy SEAL, out of office by using an outside investigator, William Tisaby, who committed slanderous perjury against Greitens, with Gardner covering for him. Gardners taking out Greitens had the smell of a political hit job. Gardner is seeking reelection this year. Fast forward to June 28. Mark and Patricia McCloskey live in an expensive house on a private road that leads to the home of St. Louis Mayor Lyda Krewson. A group of about several hundred Black Lives Matter protesters headed to Krewsons house. To enter onto the private road, they had to break down a fence marked private street and no trespassing. The couple, hearing noise from the mob moving towards them, thought that their home was being attacked. They emerged from the house with their weapons and told the mob that they were trespassing on private property. The McCloskeys perception was that people in the mob immediately got aggressive and began shouting threats at them, with some pulling out pistol magazines. Speaking to Sean Hannity, the McCloskeys said the crowd was very threatening: People were screaming everything, Mark McCloskey said. [They said] that they were going to kill us, Patricia McCloskey added Monday night. They were going to come in there. They were going to burn down the house. They were going to be living in our house after I was dead, and they were pointing to different rooms and said, Thats going to be my bedroom and thats going to be the living room and Im going to be taking a shower in that room, she recalled. The couple said protesters also threatened to harm their dog, who was outside at the time of the incident. They said Im going to be killing her, too, Patricia told Sean Hannity. Representatives for the protesters claim that all of them were peaceful and respectful. On July 11, the police entered the McCloskeys home with a warrant and seized a semi-automatic rifle. Then, on Monday, Kimberly Gardner charged both the McCloskeys with a felony. According to a statement from Gardner, the protesters were peaceful and unarmed. Further, It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest. It's true that Missouri Rev. State. 571.030.1(3) makes it unlawful if a person Exhibits, in the presence of one or more persons, any weapon readily capable of lethal use in an angry or threatening manner. However, 571.030.5 states explicitly that subdivision (3) shall not apply to persons who are engaged in a lawful act of defense per 563.031. That statute, in turn, sets out the states Castle Doctrine (the right to defend ones person and home) and a stand-your-ground doctrine: 1. A person may, subject to the provisions of subsection 2 of this section, use physical force upon another person when and to the extent he or she reasonably believes such force to be necessary to defend himself or herself or a third person from what he or she reasonably believes to be the use or imminent use of unlawful force by such other person. . . . [snip] 2. A person shall not use deadly force upon another person under the circumstances specified in subsection 1 of this section unless: [snip] (3) Such force is used against a person who unlawfully enters, remains after unlawfully entering, or attempts to unlawfully enter private property that is owned or leased by an individual, or is occupied by an individual who has been given specific authority by the property owner to occupy the property, claiming a justification of using protective force under this section. 3. A person does not have a duty to retreat:(1) From a dwelling, residence, or vehicle where the person is not unlawfully entering or unlawfully remaining;(2) From private property that is owned or leased by such individual. . . . Cutting through all that statutory language, what it means is that its an absolute defense to a charge of unlawfully waving around a gun without retreating if a person has a reasonable belief that he or someone else is in imminent danger. In this regard, its irrelevant that Gardner claims the crowd was peaceful and exercising its right to protest. What is relevant is that a mob of several hundred people smashed through a barrier onto private property, and swarmed near the McCloskeys, something that would terrify anyone. Sen. Josh Hawley has asked Attorney General Bill Barr to investigate Gardners office for violating the McCloskeys civil rights. Missouri Gov. Mike Paron has also said that without a doubt he will pardon the McCloskeys. Neither action, of course, will protect them from the wrath of the mob, which has been threatening them since their story went viral. And now theyre disarmed. Update from Thomas Lifson: Missouri's Attorney General Eric Schmitt reacted to the charges by filing a motion to dismiss with the court, as Hank Berrien of The Daily Wire reports: ... Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt filed a brief that would dismiss the charges. The brief stated that Schmitt respectfully requests that the Court dismiss this case at the earlier possible opportunity. The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine, which provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm, Schmitt told Fox News, adding, Despite this, Circuit Attorney Gardner filed suit against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety. As Missouris Chief law enforcement officer, I wont stand by while Missouri law is being ignored. President Trump has a political opporunity in this case. Verbal support for the McCloskeys and attacks on the prosecutor, and Soros who backed her, will play well with suburban voters afraid of the mobs. UPDATE: Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt has filed a brief to dismiss the charges against the McCloskeys on the ground that the charges violate the McCloskeys' Second Amendment rights: The right to keep and bear arms is given the highest level of protection in our constitution and our laws, including the Castle Doctrine, which provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm, Schmitt said in a prepared statement provided to Fox News. Despite this, Circuit Attorney Gardner filed suit against the McCloskeys, who, according to published reports, were defending their property and safety. As Missouris Chief law enforcement officer, I wont stand by while Missouri law is being ignored, Schmitt said. The brief filing says the attorney general respectfully requests that the Court dismiss this case at the earlier possible opportunity. Image: YouTube screengrab Tyner would like the county to implement a special-needs registry. Residents would submit information about someone in their home who may be deaf, nonverbal or have another condition that can affect how an officer approaches a situation if a 911 call is made to that address. So many times, weve had a tragedy occur when there was just simply a miscommunication or the person was nonverbal or deaf and couldnt understand, the prosecutor said. White echoed the idea of progress being a two-way street. In addition to the efforts the police are making to improve, he urged citizens to not meet officers with resistance right away. Ive seen too many times where routine stops or (stops for) a simple, minor cause spiral out of control and force had to be used, and sometimes deadly force because of noncompliance, White said. So even if someone feels that the police stopped them unfairly or shouldnt have stopped them, you have to comply with the officers instructions. When you get a resistant person, things sometimes quickly escalate out of control, especially if the officer is not properly using deescalation techniques. By PTI JAHOAs COVID-19 death toll in South Africa soared past 5,000, there was a tinge of desperation in the tone and choice of words of Health Minister Zweli Mkhize when he urged citizens to help the government in the fight against the deadly virus. There are now 3,64,328 confirmed coronavirus cases, 1,91,059 recoveries and 5,033 deaths in the country. "As Government, we have mobilized every resource, every faculty and wherewithal at our disposal to effect the necessary interventions," Mkhize said on Monday as he called on citizens to play their part. "But government cannot manage this unilaterally. Every single South African now needs to focus on adhering to recommendations pertaining to non-pharmaceutical interventions." Mkhize said the emerging laxity in basic measures was set to see soaring infections. "We are extremely concerned that fatigue seems to have set in and South Africans are letting down their guard at a time when the spread of infection is surging. We see poor or no social distancing in communities. Masks are being abandoned or not worn properly and there is laxity setting in around frequent hand-washing," the minister said. Mkhize predicted that this would cause a huge rise in infection numbers within the ensuing fortnight. "We must all appreciate that there is a direct causal link between the surge of cases and our ability, or inability, to adhere to these very basic principles," he said. "We do not have a vaccine. We do not have a cure. Our ability to break the cycle of infection depends on our willingness to remain focused and disciplined and take non-pharmaceutical interventions seriously," Mkhize said. Mkhize said the cooperation between the government and the people would result in beating the pandemic. "We can beat this pandemic together. We have already proved this during the lockdown" "It remains in each and every citizen's hands to admonish family members, colleagues, and friends who refuse to adhere to measures that protect lives by limiting the spread of this virus," Mkhize concluded. With Mkhize's plea, social media was abuzz with pictures of masses of people at the funeral of struggle icon Zindzi Mandela, youngest daughter of the late President Nelson Mandela and his wife Winnie. Masks and social distancing were largely ignored at the service, with some politicians also sharing group photos ignoring these requirements. Calls have even been made for them to be charged, as not wearing a mask in public is now a punishable offence in terms of the lockdown regulations. Funerals are also restricted to a maximum of 50 people by the regulations. The families of more than 50 Ghanaian and other West African migrants killed in Gambia and Senegal 15 years ago have yet to learn the full truth and obtain justice concerning the massacre, 11 human rights organizations said today. Amid growing evidence that the murders were carried out by Gambian security force members acting on the orders of then-president Yahya Jammeh , the groups called for an international investigation of the massacre. A credible international investigation is needed if were ever going to get to the bottom of the 2005 massacre of West African migrants and create the conditions to bring those responsible to justice, said Emeline Escafit , legal adviser at TRIAL International. Until now, information has come out in dribs and drabs, year after year, from different sources. On July 22, 2005, Gambia security forces arrested the migrants, who were bound for Europe, after their boat landed in Gambia, on suspicion of involvement in a coup attempt. Over the next 10 days , almost all the migrants, including about 44 Ghanaians, 9 Nigerians , 2 Togolese , and nationals of Cote dIvoire and Senegal, plus 1 Gambian, were killed in Gambia or taken across the border into Senegal and shot and their bodies dumped in wells. I have been fighting for 15 years for truth and for justice for my companions who were killed, said Martin Kyere from Ghana, who jumped into the forest from a moving truck carrying other detained migrants who were killed shortly thereafter. When Kyere returned to Ghana he began rallying the victims families . African leaders say that migrants should be treated with dignity, but for us, honoring their memory means justice, not lies and cover-ups. While several Gambian soldiers have confessed to the murders and said they acted on Jammehs orders, the chain of events leading to the killings is unclear. There is still no information on exactly where migrants were buried in Senegal nor are all the victims identities known, including 8 of the 9 Nigerians . Gambia returned 6 bodies to Ghana in 2009, but the families question whether the bodies were those of the murdered migrants. The groups said that because the crimes took place across two countries, Gambia and Senegal, involve victims from six countries, and a primary suspect, Jammeh, now resides in Equatorial Guinea, an international investigation would be best placed to uncover all the facts. They said that if neither Gambia nor another country like Ghana would conduct a transnational investigation, they should support an independent inquiry that could investigate in all the countries concerned. Previous efforts to investigate the massacre have repeatedly been stymied or flawed, the groups said. Following initial campaigning by Kyere and Ghanaian families and rights groups, Ghana attempted to investigate the killings in 2005 and 2006, but was blocked by the then-Jammeh government. In 2008, the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formed a joint investigative team, which produced a report in April 2009. The UN wrote that the report concluded that the Gambian government was not directly or indirectly complicit in the deaths and disappearances, blaming it on rogue elements in Gambias security services acting on their own. The joint report has never been made public, however, despite repeated requests by the victims and by five UN human rights monitors . The Gambian and Ghanaian governments have said that they do not have copies. A 2018 report by Human Rights Watch and TRIAL International, based on interviews with 30 former Jammeh-era officials including 11 directly involved in the incident cast serious doubt on the UN/ECOWAS conclusion, however. Human Rights Watch and TRIAL International found that the migrants were detained by Jammehs closest associates in the army, the navy, and the police, and then summarily executed by the so-called Junglers, a unit of Gambian soldiers operating under Jammehs orders . The Gambian government also destroyed key evidence before the UN/ECOWAS team arrived. In July 2019, three former Junglers testified publicly before the Gambia Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) that they and 12 other Junglers had carried out the killings on Jammehs orders. One of the officers, Omar Jallow, recalled that the operations leader told the men that the order from Jammeh is that they are all to be executed . The groups said that even though the UN and ECOWAS had delayed the search for justice for 10 years by wrongly clearing Jammeh in 2009, the fall of Jammeh combined with the new revelations provide the opportunity to move forward. The UN and ECOWAS can make a real contribution now by releasing their report and working with Gambia, Ghana, and Senegal to uncover exactly how this crime was committed so that the victims can have justice at long last, said Reed Brody , senior counsel at Human Rights Watch and an author of the 2018 report . With Jammeh out of power, getting to the truth is just a matter of political will. In a 2009 Memorandum of Understanding between Ghana and Gambia following the UN/ECOWAS report, the two countries pledged to pursue through all available means the arrests and prosecution of all those involved in the deaths and disappearances of the Ghanaians and other ECOWAS nationals. Now that several people have testified as to their role and that of others, political will is needed for arrests and prosecutions, the groups said. Families of the Ghanaian victims have called for Ghana to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the killings under its laws against enforced disappearances. The Ghanaian government announced on May 27, 2018 that it had tasked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-Generals Department to study [the matter] and explore the full extent of its legal and diplomatic implications and also advise the government on the way forward. The Gambian government pledged to cooperate with any investigation by Ghana. However, no concrete actions have been taken by the affected countries. In 2005, about 44 Ghanaians were cruelly murdered in a foreign country, said William Nyarko , executive director of the Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), who coordinates the Jammeh2Justice campaign in Ghana. We now know who some of the direct perpetrators of these killings were and that the evidence points to Jammeh as having given the orders. The time has come for the government of Ghana to act. In December 2019, Ghanas president, Nana Akufo-Addo, responding to growing impatience from victims, members of the Ghanaian Parliament , and West African civil society, told the media that he knew in 2005 when he first sought to investigate the case as foreign minister that Jammehs government was complicit in the killings. He added that following the confessions by the Junglers, the Gambian government should instigate the trials of the people who had been named. He said that he had spoken to President Adama Barrow of Gambia, who he said answered things are still insecure, please give me time. The Gambian government has stated that it is awaiting the recommendations of the Truth Commission, expected in 2021, before deciding on which Jammeh-era crimes to prosecute. The commission has announced that, in addition to the Junglers who testified in July 2019, it will hold hearings on the migrants case this year. The groups urged the commission to hear the testimony of three Ghanaians who survived the massacre as well as former Gambian officials involved in the incident and the subsequent coverup, and the UN and ECOWAS experts who worked on the report. The groups making the call were ACILA , African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances (ANEKED) , Amnesty International Ghana , Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative , Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations , Ghana Centre for Democratic Development , Human Rights Advocacy Centre , Human Rights Watch , Media Foundation for West Africa , POS Foundation , and TRIAL International . CINCINNATI, Ohio Federal prosecutors charged Ohio House of Representatives Speaker Larry Householder with conspiracy to commit racketeering on Tuesday in connection to a nuclear bailout bill Householder shepherded through the state legislature last year shortly after he ascended to his leadership position. Householder faces up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine, court officials said Tuesday. Also facing identical charges are former Ohio Republican Party Chair-turned-lobbyist Matt Borges, prominent lobbyist Neil Clark, FirstEnergy Solutions lobbyist Juan Cespedes, and Householder aide Jeff Longstreth. Criminal complaints against the defendents were unsealed on Tuesday, but they were redacted, indicating likely that prosecutors are hoping to protect witnesses or other sensitive information. The quintet made their initial appearance via video Tuesday in front of U.S. Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman in Cincinnati. Householder and Longstreth were represented by David Thomas, an attorney who has performed work for Householder in the past, including in a 2018 case in Perry County. The hearing, which a reporter observed through a telephone conference, is ongoing. Householder is one of Ohios most powerful politicians, and the investigation against him, news of which broke Tuesday morning, sent shockwaves through Ohio political circles. A preliminary hearing, at which more details of the case likely will be discussed, was set for Aug. 6. The defendents didnt speak in court other than to answer the magistrates procedural questions. Prosecutors did not seek a monetary bond, although as a condition of their release, Bowman ordered them to surrender their firearms, to remain in the Southern District of Ohio, and to not have contact with other defendants or potential witnesses. This would mean Householder, one of the states most powerful politicians, could not travel the entire state or have contact with lobbyists or conceivably even other state lawmakers. The U.S. Attorneys Office in Columbus is set to hold a news conference at 2:30 to discuss the case. It has described the case as a public corruption racketeering conspiracy involving $60 million. This story will be updated. Cleveland.com and The Plain Dealer reporter Eric Heisig contributed to this report. Britain's government suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong on Monday and blocked arms sales to the former British territory, after China imposed a tough new national security law. As tensions grow with Beijing, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said he had concerns about the new law and about alleged human rights abuses in China in particularly in regard to the treatment of the Uighur minority. He described the measures being taken Monday as "reasonable and proportionate.'' "We will protect our vital interests,'' Raab said. "We will stand up for our values and we will hold China to its international obligations. Raab followed the example of the United States, Australia and Canada by suspending extradition arrangements with the territory. A trio of 13 race cards highlighted a warm and adventurous weekend at Hawthorne Race Course this past weekend. Leading the way throughout the weekend was the father-son pair of Todd and Ridge Warren. Friday night was 'Ridge Warren Night' at Hawthorne, as he made his presence known early in the evening. Ridge kicked off his hot night winning the first leg of the early Pick 4 sequence with 5-1 shot Impressive Art (1:53.2) for trainer Dane May. While Ridge started the pick 4 with a win, he completed a sweep of the entire sequence. In Race 4, the second leg of the early Pick 4, Warren guided home Mckee Creek (1:53.3) to a late rallying victory for trainer Nick Prather. He followed that with winning behind He Gone Jack (1:52.1) for the second straight week for trainer Mike Brink. Ridge closed the sequence with the upset of the night as Terry Leonard trained Pondas Prospect (1:51) upset Terry Leonard-trained Illinois Champ Fox Valley Gemini, winning the open pace by a neck. Ridge rounded out his night taking the 12th race behind Better Watch Out (1:52.2) for trainer Merv Chupp, capping a five-win evening. While Ridge Warren had the big night, his father, Todd, won the biggest race on the Friday card. Leg two action of the $17,500 Incredible Finale, for Illinois-bred two-year-old male pacers was the featured event. An early break by favoured Well Basically opened the door for Todd Warren to give a perfect trip to Frontier Charley, as the Jim Eaton-trained youngster won by a head in 1:57.1. Mekkas Big Guy was a game second while Partyatmosasplace finished third. Todd would make it a Friday double, taking the nightcap with Artofficial Flavor (1:54.2) for trainer Angela Coleman. The tables turned on Saturday night, as that time it was Todd Warren stringing together victories on the card. Trying to repeat the feat of Ridges Friday night early Pick 4 sweep, Todd nearly did just that. In the first leg of the Saturday sequence, Todd got things started, pulling off the big upset with 29-1 shot Helens Girl (1:54.3) for trainer William Crone. In the following race it was Todd Warren again in the winners circle, this time with Crooked Creek (1:55.4) for trainer Mike Brink. The third leg of the Pick 4 also went to Todd Warren as he drove Tappin Outamessage (1:52.2) to a clear win for trainer Harold Herrera. Todd almost got the sweep of the sequence but Fox Valley Torrid came up short, finishing third in Race 6 as favoured Lilly Von Shtupp (1:53.2) wasnt to be denied. With Todd Warren winning races early, it meant it was Ridge Warrens turn to take the spotlight for the stakes event. Leg two of the $17,500 Incredible Tillie for Illinois-bred two-year-old filly pacers followed. Heavily favoured was Ridge Warren driven Connie On The Go and she didnt disappoint, controlling the pace for the majority of the race, winning clearly for trainer Jamaica Patton in 1:58. Princess Mooss rallied to finish second while longshot Kandis Fortune held third. Ridge was able to grab his second win on the card, taking Race 12 with Hello Art (1:55) for trainer Mike Brink. Saturday also saw a driving triple from Casey Leonard, winning the second with Meetmeatthefinish (1:54.1), sixth race behind Lilly Von Shtupp (1:53.2), and 11th with Louscardamon (1:58.4). Kyle Wilfong had a pair of wins on the card, guiding home favourites Stella Kemp (1:58.4) and Ok Jewel (1:54.4) to wins in the ninth and tenth races. An eventful Sunday evening at Hawthorne wasnt dominated nearly as much by the Warren family, although the father-son duo were the race five exacta as Todd drove Shelly On My Mind (1:53.2) to a win over Ridge and Pretty Iris. Juvenile trotters were the focus on the card with a pair of divisions of the $17,500 Fox Valley Flan for two-year-old filly trotters and two divisions of the $17,500 Kadabra for two-year-old male trotters. The first division of the Fox Valley Flan was dominated by the favourite as Bbr Lady grabbed the early lead for driver-trainer Freddie Patton Jr. and never looked back, winning easily in 2:01.4. Lucky Valerie was a good second while Lou Lou Lamour recovered from a break to finish third. The second division of the Fox Valley Flan saw a minor upset as Kyle Wilfong guided Lous Voodoo Woman (2:01.2) to the score over favoured Myonly Sin. Bcs Rose finished third. Lous Voodoo Woman was trained by Steve Searle. In the first leg of the Kadabra we saw an upset as well as Rndmnunpredictable uncorked a late rally to catch favoured Sudden Approach on the wire, winning in 2:01.2 for driver Mike Oosting and trainer Steve Searle. Imnotalocaldude finished third. The second leg of the Kadabra had the two favourites rallying late as Coco Dlascito (2:03.4) rolled to the win for Casey Leonard and trainer Jenna Lubeck. Slight favourite Shady Maple Spirit was good enough to finish second while Lousrolando was third. The tenth race Sunday had a scary moment as Captain Classic stepped on a front hobble at the top of the stretch, causing a chain reaction spill that included Fox Valley Jude and Master Ken. In the spill, drivers Kyle Husted, Tyler Shehan, and Casey Leonard were all unseated. Fortunately all three horses escaped injury and Shehan and Leonard were able to walk away from the incident. Husted was transported to the hospital but reports that he was dealing with knee soreness from a prior injury and hopes for a quick return to the bike. (Hawthorne Race Course) Negotiations have been ongoing with the mentally unstable hostage-taker. At least three blasts were heard by the bus parked in the center of Lutsk, western Ukraine, where a terrorist is holding almost two dozen people hostage, an UNIAN correspondent reports from the scene. No confirmation has been provided yet as journalists have no clear view of the bus. The crime scene has been tightly cordoned off by police SWAT units. Read alsoArmed man hijacks commuter bus in Ukraine's Lutsk, city center cordoned off (Photo, video, live from scene) As UNIAN reported earlier, a gunman is holding nearly 20 hostages on a commuter bus he hijacked on Tuesday morning. The man had firearms on him and, reportedly, at least one explosive device. Also, he claimed he had planted bombs in crowded locations in Lutsk. Earlier today, the Russian-born terrorist, 44, published his demands which police said were merely incoherent phrases with no clarity in them. The attacker, who resides in Lutsk, urged church leaders, ministers, chiefs of courts, prosecutors' offices, and parliament to record and upload on YouTube videos stating on camera that they are "legalized terrorists." Read alsoHostage taker in Lutsk issues demands, threatens to set off bombs The culprit, a convicted felon identified as Maksym Kryvosh, reportedly with a history of mental disorders, said he would set off the explosive devices if his demands are not met. Tenet has been shifted from 17 July, then 31 July, and now, 12 August Christopher Nolans Tenet, which had hoped to herald Hollywoods return to big theatrical releases, has yet again postponed its release due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. Warner Bros said Monday that Tenet will not make its 12 August release date. Unlike previous delays, the studio this time didnt announce a new target for the release of Nolans much-anticipated $200 million thriller. Tenet had already shifted from 17 July, then 31 July, and then 12 August. Nolan, a staunch advocate for the big-screen experience, has strenuously hoped that Tenet could lead the resumption of nationwide and global moviegoing. But the surge of the virus across much of the US has upended the industrys aims for even a late-August return. Last week, California ordered its cinemas closed. Warner Bros Pictures Group chairman Toby Emmerich said the studio will soon share a new 2020 release date for Tenet. It may be a much different rollout, with the film opening in staggered international release. We are not treating Tenet like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that, said Emmerich. Emmerich said the pandemics spread has forced the studio to reevaluate its plans. Warner Bros also shifted the horror sequel The Conjuring 3 from 11 September to 4 June, 2021. Our goals throughout this process have been to ensure the highest odds of success for our films while also being ready to support our theater partners with new content as soon as they could safely reopen, said Emmerich. Were grateful for the support weve received from exhibitors and remain steadfast in our commitment to the theatrical experience around the world. Other films have planned their releases partially around the launch of Tenet. Walt Disney Cos Mulan remains scheduled for theatrical release on 21 August. Movie theaters remain in a precarious limbo. Without new releases, US indoor theaters and drive-ins that are open have played mostly older films and a smattering of smaller new releases. Before the recent spike in the coronavirus crisis, theater chains have sought to assure moviegoers with protocols like limiting theaters to 25-50% capacity and cleaning seats in between showings. But months of closed theaters and no new product has put enormous pressure on an already stressed business. AMC Theaters, the worlds largest chain, recently reached a debt deal to help itself remain solvent. AMC has been aiming to reopen most locations 30 July. Cineworld, which owns Regal Cinemas, had set 31 July for its reopening. Republican Rep. Ted Yoho (pictured) called his Democratic colleague Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez a 'f***ing b***h' during a heated exchange at the Capitol on Monday A Republican congressman issued a profanity-laced insult toward Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez at the Capitol, but the freshman congresswoman shot back in a tweet on Tuesday: 'B*****s get stuff done.' In a contentious exchange with the progressive congresswoman on the steps of the Capitol on Monday, Representative Ted Yoho, 65, was overheard by a reporter with The Hill calling Ocasio-Cortez, 30, a 'f***ing b***h,' according to a report published Tuesday. The progressive New York City lawmaker was ascending the stairs to cast her vote on the same day the House stood in a moment of silence to honor the late Rep. John Lewis after he died Friday months after being diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. 'You are out of your freaking mind,' Yoho told Ocasio-Cortez in the brief interaction. The Florida Republican also called AOC, as she was dubbed early on in her political career, 'disgusting' for recent comments where she said the spike in New York City crime in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic are due to increased levels of poverty and unemployment. Ocasio-Cortez detailed to Yahoo News Tuesday that the representative put his finger in her face. Yoho insisted to the Daily Caller that he did not use the vernacular outlined by The Hill. Instead, he said he used the word 'bulls**t,' and said Ocasio-Cortez is trying to use the brief exchange for her personal benefit. 'He did not call Rep. Ocasio-Cortez what has been reported in The Hill or any name for that matter,' Yoho's office told the right-leaning media outlet. 'It sounds better for the Hill newspaper and gets more media attention to say he called her a name - which he did not do.' 'It is unfortunate that Rep. Ocasio-Cortez is using this exchange to gain personal attention,' his office added. 'Instead,' it insisted, 'he made a brief comment to himself as he walked away summarizing what he believes her polices to be: bulls**t.' 'He kept muttering insults at me as I was walking away, but I didn't try to make it out,' she explained. 'I thought he had said something but didn't assume that's what he said.' House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called the behavior 'despicable' and demanded Tuesday that Yoho make a personal amends as well as a speech on the House floor apologizing to Ocasio-Cortez. The 65-year-old congressman's office claimed he did not call the congresswoman names, but instead insulted her thoughts on crime being linked to unemployment as 'bulls**t' The progressive 30-year-old congresswoman said Yoho put his finger in her face as he called her 'disgusting' and 'out of your freaking mind' for linking a surge in crime in New York City on rising unemployment levels in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic She also shot back on Twitter Tuesday, claiming, 'B*****s get stuff done,' and asserting she usually gets along with her GOP colleagues House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer called on Yoho Tuesday to personally apologize to Ocasio-Cortez, and demanded he also make amends for comments in a speech on the House floor 'Mr. Yoho owes not only the congresswoman an apology, but also an apology on the floor of the House of Representatives,' Hoyer told reporters. 'It was the act of a bully,' the Maryland Democrat continued of Yoho. 'Bottom line, I think it was despicable conduct. It needs to be sanctioned.' Ocasio-Cortez told Yoho, who was joined by Texas Rep. Roger Williams on the Capitol stairs, that he was being 'rude.' As the two walked away from each other, Yoho said audibly: 'F***ing b***h.' She later expanded on her response on Twitter following the release of the report over the exchange. 'I never spoke to Rep. Yoho before he decided to accost me on the steps of the nation's Capitol yesterday,' the social-media active lawmaker posted Tuesday morning. 'Believe it or not, I usually get along fine w/ my GOP colleagues.' 'We know how to check our legislative sparring at the committee door,' she asserted. 'But hey, 'b*tches' get stuff done,' Ocasio-Cortez quipped, adding a shrugging emoji. The Hill reported that Williams was in ear-shot of the whole back-and-forth, but when approached about the specifics of the comments said he wasn't paying attention to it at the time. 'I was actually thinking, as I was walking down the stairs, I was thinking about some issues I've got in my district that need to get done,' Williams said. 'I don't know what their topic was. There's always a topic, isn't there?' Ocasio-Cortez wasn't buying the excuse. 'Gotta love Republican courage from Rep @RogerWilliamsTX: when he undeniably sees another man engaged in virulent harassment of a young woman, just pretend you never saw it in the most cartoonish manner possible and keep pushing,' she tweeted, adding in a parentheses, '(He's lying, by the way. He joined in w/ Yoho)'. 'What's wild to me @RogerWilliamsTX is why would you blatantly lie to a reporter who saw this exchange?' she continued in calling out the Republican representative. 'You were yelling at me too, about 'throwing urine.' Ocasio-Cortez explained the incident in more detail in a direct message with Yahoo News on Twitter. 'When I pass other members on the steps, regardless of party, I usually nod or say hello if I'm able,' the progressive lawmaker detailed. 'Out of nowhere, Yoho comes up to me and puts his finger in my face and flies off in a rage.' 'He started going off about shootings and bread and nonsense, calling me crazy, shameful, out of my mind, etc.,' she continued. 'At first I tried to talk to him, but that just made him yell over me more,' she claimed. 'Williams then started joining in, yelling things at me and said something about throwing urine I don't know what that was about,' she added. 'I said he was being rude and that this was unbelievable and started to walk away.' She asserted that it was Yoho who called her 'rude' and not the other way around, and said following the interaction she 'just kept walking to my vote.' Texas Republican Rep. Roger Williams was accompanying Yoho down stairs on the east side of the Capitol after a vote when they confrontation occured. But he asserted he was not paying attention to the back-and-forth: 'I was actually thinking, as I was walking down the stairs... I don't know what their topic was' Ocasio-Cortez didn't buy Williams excuse, claiming he 'joined in w/ Yoho' in 'harassing' her 'Why would you blatantly lie to a reporter who saw this exchange?' she questioned of the Texas lawmaker, asserting he was yelling at her about 'throwing urine' Yoho has served in Congress since 2013, but in December 2019 the Florida lawmaker announced he will not seek reelection in November. He has been married to his wife since he was 19-years-old, and hey have three children together two daughters and one son. His daughters Laueen, 32, and Katie, 33 are just a few years older than Ocasio-Cortez. Yoho's comments when confronting AOC were about remarks she made earlier this month during a virtual town hall where she defended the rise in crime in New York City as people 'stealing bread to feed their children during record unemployment.' Police data shows that shootings in the city last month were up 130 per cent this year from 89 shootings last year to 205 this year. But Ocasio-Cortez, who represents parts of Queens and The Bronx, questioned: 'Do we think this has to do with the fact that there's record unemployment in the United States right now?' 'Maybe this has to do with the fact that people aren't paying their rent and are scared to pay their rent,' she continued. 'And so they go out, and they need to feed their child and they don't have money so they feel like they either need to shoplift some bread or go hungry.' The comments were widely chastised by Republicans, who pointed to the rise in violent crime rather than shoplifting or petty theft. 'That kind of confrontation hasn't ever happened to me ever,' Ocasio-Cortez, who is often criticized publicly by GOP lawmakers, told The Hill of the in-person interaction. 'I've never had that kind of abrupt, disgusting kind of disrespect levied at me.' Yoho, however, had 'no comment' on the matter. Brexit Latest News: With risk appetite on the rise and the US Dollar on the ropes, the British Pound has been able to build on recent bullish momentum. Now, GBP/JPY and GBP/USD rates are looking at near-term bullish breakout scenarios. Even though the UK economy continues to inch towards a hard Brexit, the latest round of negotiations taking place in London offer some hope, as does another round of talks in August. Retail trader positioning sees conflicting signals among the majors GBP-crosses. Attention Returns to Brexit? The British Pound has slowly but surely clawing back some of its coronavirus pandemic losses in recent weeks, enjoying what has been a quiet yet positive July largely on the back of a continually weakening US Dollar. In part, as the United States bears much of the financial media worlds attention due to the escalating nature of the COVID-19 outbreak, Brexit and the late-June deadline have gone under the radar. But Brexit is back in the spotlight, now that the next round of negotiations between the EU and the UK have opened up for a three-day meeting in London. Expectations for an agreement in any form even an extension to the transition period, never mind a full trade deal are extremely low. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson is reportedly resigned to the idea that the August talks will be the last such talks, even if they yield no movement. British Pound Ignores Hard Brexit Threat, For Now Brexit would appear to becoming a threat to the British Pound once again, if you squint far enough into the future. But the very nature of the market leaning hopeful thanks to all of the stimulus provided by central banks and governments, as well as promising news on the coronavirus vaccine front means that bad news has been and continues to be discounted, if not outright ignored. What does this mean? There is nothing stopping the EU and the UK from negotiating for a new extension. True, this is an agreement between people; were not dealing with the laws of nature, i.e. gravity. The context in which this is occurring against the backdrop of the coronavirus pandemic means that even a late request for an extension to the transition period is likely to be granted, and the negotiations could drag on until the very end of the year. Contextually, this allows traders to ignore the threat of a hard Brexit in the near-term. To be clear, a hard Brexit would be bad for the British Pound. If the EU and the UK are unable to reach an agreement before the end of 2020, then we are looking at a situation where the UK will lose all of its access to its privileges and it will be treated as if it were subject to WTO rules. The UK would have to pay substantial taxes, higher tariff rates and the cost of goods coming into the UK would increase significantly all of which would hurt British businesses and households, especially during a fragile recovery. GBP/USD Rate Technical Analysis: Daily Chart (July 2019 to July 2020) (Chart 1) GBP/USD rates have made meaningful improvement in recent days, sustaining their elevation after being rejected at the descending trendline from the December 2019, March 2020, and June 2020 highs. To this end, price action in the second half of July has seen this descending trendline yield to a bullish breakout attempt; in context of the rising trendline from the March 2020 and June 2020 swing lows, it appears that a symmetrical triangle has formed and given way to a bullish move. Further to this point, GBP/USD rates are attempting to climb back above the ascending trendline from the October 2016 and January 2019 lows as well, which has been an area of interest on numerous occasions over the past year (grey shaded boxes on Chart 1). Momentum is strong, even as GBP/USD rates have just begun their bullish breakout attempt. GBP/USD rates are above their daily5, 8-, 13-, and 21-EMA envelope, which is aligned in bullish sequential order. Daily MACD is trending higher in bullish territory, while Slow Stochastics are moving back into overbought territory. If GBP/USD rates are able to retake the June high at 1.2814, it would hold that the path of least resistance is still to the topside, with targets coming into play near 1.3200 towards the end of Q320. IG Client Sentiment Index: GBP/USD Rate Forecast (JULY 20, 2020) (Chart 2) GBP/USD: Retail trader data shows 48.16% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders short to long at 1.08 to 1. The number of traders net-long is 22.41% lower than yesterday and 5.16% lower from last week, while the number of traders net-short is 20.18% higher than yesterday and 7.15% higher from last week. We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-short suggests GBP/USD prices may continue to rise. Traders are further net-short than yesterday and last week, and the combination of current sentiment and recent changes gives us a stronger GBP/USD-bullish contrarian trading bias. GBP/JPY Technical Analysis: Daily Rate Chart (July 2019 to July 2020) (Chart 3) GBP/JPY rates have been on stronger footing than GBP/USD rates, continuing a trend that was noted in early-July. But like the GBP/USD prognosis at the start of the month, the outlook for GBP/JPY should have been more optimistic (hindsight is 20/20). In reaching fresh monthly highs today, GBP/JPY rates have also returned to the 38.2% retracement of the 2018 high/2020 low range at 136.45. Yet whereas GBP/USD rates have already started their bullish breakout attempt from the symmetrical triangle in place dating back to the December 2019 high and March 2020 low, GBP/JPY rates have not; triangle resistance is closer towards 137.50 over the coming days. GBP/JPY rates are above their daily5, 8-, 13-, and 21-EMA envelope, which remains in bullish sequential order. Daily MACD has risen in bullish territory above its signal line, while Slow Stochastics are returning into overbought territory. IG Client Sentiment Index: GBP/JPY Rate Forecast (JULY 20, 2020) (Chart 4) GBP/JPY: Retail trader data shows 61.36% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders long to short at 1.59 to 1. The number of traders net-long is 5.73% higher than yesterday and 19.09% higher from last week, while the number of traders net-short is 6.69% lower than yesterday and 30.25% lower from last week. We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-long suggests GBP/JPY prices may continue to fall. Traders are further net-long than yesterday and last week, and the combination of current sentiment and recent changes gives us a stronger GBP/JPY-bearish contrarian trading bias. EUR/GBP Technical Analysis: Daily Rate Chart (July 2019 to July 2020) (Chart 5) EUR/GBP rates have been trading sideways through July, warranting a reconsideration of the idea that a breakout from a seven-week sideways consolidation between 0.8682 and 0.8786 was in process. Instead, it may be the case that like GBP/JPY and GBP/USD a symmetrical triangle has formed. Still, it holds that the EUR/GBP rally has met resistance at the descending trendline from the 2008 and 2017 highs. Despite the pullback from long-term resistance, the symmetrical triangle remains in place. EUR/GBP rates are above the daily 5-, 8-, 13-, and 21-EMA envelope (which is losing bullish sequential order). To this end, daily MACD remains in bullish territory but is turning lower, while Slow Stochastics have started to turn back to their median line. While near-term bullish momentum has weakened, the technical perspective remains bullish; a break below 0.8937 (July 10 low) would invalidate this point of view. IG Client Sentiment Index: EUR/GBP Rate Forecast (JULY 20, 2020) (Chart 6) EUR/GBP: Retail trader data shows 47.83% of traders are net-long with the ratio of traders short to long at 1.09 to 1. The number of traders net-long is 37.29% higher than yesterday and 27.44% higher from last week, while the number of traders net-short is 7.51% lower than yesterday and 0.73% lower from last week. We typically take a contrarian view to crowd sentiment, and the fact traders are net-short suggests EUR/GBP prices may continue to rise. Yet traders are less net-short than yesterday and compared with last week. Recent changes in sentiment warn that the current EUR/GBP price trend may soon reverse lower despite the fact traders remain net-short. The Coronavirus Pandemic Changed Brexits Trajectory In December last year, after the Tory partys general election trouncing, public opinion was in favor of a Brexit as soon as possible, with the plan to finish the transition period with a completed trade deal by December 31, 2020. But the circumstances have changed over the past six-plus month thanks to the coronavirus pandemic. As the coronavirus perspective has worsened and government approval has eased in the UK, the opinion polls that once supported Brexit as soon as possible have shifted: now, more Brits are saying they dont need to leave as soon as possible, with suggestions the government should request an extension something that the EU is willing to grant. Effectively during the transition period, the UK gets all the benefits of being a full-fledged member of the EU. And the EU is okay with the UK retaining those privileges for a longer period of time due to the uncertainties brought on by the coronavirus pandemic. Retaining this market access will make the UKs economic recovery that much easier in a post-coronavirus pandemic world. --- Written by Christopher Vecchio, CFA, Senior Currency Strategist The World Health Organisation, WHO, has said coronavirus vaccination could commence on a large scale by mid-2021. WHOs Chief Scient... The World Health Organisation, WHO, has said coronavirus vaccination could commence on a large scale by mid-2021. WHOs Chief Scientist, Soumya Swaminathan expressed this optimism in an interview with DPA, yesterday, NAN reports. Swaminathan disclosed that the COVID-19 vaccination was currently undergoing research processes and could be ready by the middle of next year. She said: We have now over 20 candidates in clinical studies. So we are hopeful that a couple of them will work. It would be very unlucky if all of them fail. So if we are very practical, then we are looking at the middle of 2021 when we will have a vaccine that can be widely deployed. Of course, its impossible to predict. The WHO official stated that the global race to develop a vaccine had been the fastest timeline we have ever seen. COVID-19, which was first discovered in Wuhan Province of China has spread throughout the globe. ALBANY Russian adventurer Sergey Sinelnik has crossed deserts on foot, ridden a motorcycle the length of South America and sailed a variety of ships across the worlds oceans. When it came time to sail the three-masted, 42-foot wooden 18th-century replica Russian ship Pilgrim across the Atlantic Ocean, he did not have to look far for a crew. Sinelnik recruited his wife, Marina, and their two sons, Sviatoslav, 13, and Yaroslav, 11. They set sail in 2018. The ocean is the best teacher. This was a great education for them, said Sinelik, who got approval to take the boys out of school in Moscow for a year. While his wife took charge of the galley and prepared meals, the boys helped their father with hoisting sails, charting a course, taking a turn steering with the tiller and the never-ending upkeep required of a wooden boat. My sons worked very hard, Sinelnik said. Theyre quick and nimble. His wife and two sons returned to Russia last fall and Sinelnik resumed the voyage. There were some anxious moments during two severe fall storms when gale-force winds of more than 40 miles per hour whipped up 10-foot waves that tested the square-rigged sailing vessels limits. The Pilgrim weighs just 14 tons and has a four-foot draft so it can maneuver in shallow rivers and inlets without grounding. This also means that it gets tossed about like a cork in a gale, requiring a skilled sea captain. We reefed the sails and came through the storms alright, Sinelnik said. No problem. I spoke with Sinelnik aboard the Pilgrim during the ships two-week stopover in Albany, which is both practical and cultural. We want to invite the Russian-speaking community and the public to tour the Pilgrim, said Tanya Deptola, president of the New Russia Cultural Center in Rensselaer, which is organizing free tours of the Pilgrim. This is something positive during coronavirus troubles. Its symbolic to have the Pilgrim in Albany, which connects Russian history with New York history, said Anton Konev, a board member of the Albany-Tula Alliance, which is also assisting the ships visit. Tula is Albanys Russian sister city. The coronavirus pandemic nearly scuttled the expedition after it had covered 10,000 miles. The ship was put in dry dock in Annapolis over the winter and was delayed four months due to quarantine and travel restrictions. A lot of people told me to give up, Sinelnik said. I had to keep going because I had a dream when I was 15 to build this ship and sail it around the world. The Pilgrims next destination during its around-the-world goodwill expedition is Duluth, Minn. on Lake Superior. Duluth is a sister city of Petrozavodsk, a northern Russian city where the Pilgrim was built in 2016 with dozens of volunteer laborers, small donations and local sponsors. The Albany layover is also to ensure that all of the state canals 35 locks are open and navigable before the Pilgrim embarks for the Great Lakes. The coronavirus pandemic halted work on the locks and delayed the initial opening of the canal, but maintenance has been largely completed and most of the locks are now in operation. Meanwhile, Sinelnik, 46, and two new crew members who joined him in Florida to help sail the ship up the East Coast Yuriy Pogorelskiy, 50, and Alexey Volchok, 42 will greet visitors and tell the story of the Pilgrim. It was a work boat used for fishing and transporting cargo in the White Sea as early as the 16th century. It was built heavy-duty of local pine to withstand being frozen into winter sea ice. The Pilgrims around-the-world circumnavigation promotes Russian culture, history and traditional boat building. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Below deck, visitors can view a small display of traditional wooden crafts, ship models, Russian icons and photographs of Pilgrims construction. The ship has participated in tall ship festivals and visited port cities in Europe and the U.S. Sailing past the Statue of Liberty was a highlight, as boaters waved and cheered for the Pilgrim. A lot of people really like this boat, Sinelnik said. Under sail, the Pilgrim makes slow progress of about six miles per hour in ideal conditions. The square-rigged sails make it difficult to sail into the wind or to tack easily. Narrow river channels require dropping the sails and switching to a 40-horsepower diesel engine. Charlotte Buchanan, founder of the Albany-Tula Alliance, visited the Pilgrim and brought the crew homemade cookies. She reiterated her not-for-profit organizations commitment to cultural exchange. More Information What: Free public tours of the Russian 18th-century replica ship Pilgrim. Where: Snow Dock, Dutch Apple Cruises, Quay Street, Albany, along the Hudson River adjacent to the U-Haul warehouse. When: 10 a.m. to 6:30 p.m. Mon. through Thurs. until July 30. By reservation only. Info.: Covid-19 protocols are in place and visitors must reserve a free ticket to go aboard. To register online, go to www.eventbrite.com/e/russian-replica-ship-tickets-113897484442. See More Collapse The Cold War drove American and Russian citizens to think that all of us were enemies. Somehow, our governments have become enemies again in recent years, Buchanan said. It never should have happened. By opening our homes to each other in Tula and Albany, we have gotten to know each other and developed understanding, tolerance and respect for our similarities and differences. Pogorelskiy, who has dual Russian and U.S. citizenship, lives in Orlando and works as a trucker. He travels frequently to Moscow to visit children and family members. I love this country and my home country, he said. Theres no reason we should be enemies. As we sipped a red Russian fruit kompot, or compote, Sinelnik spoke wistfully about his life back in Russia. I miss my family, Sinelnik said, conceding he was suffering a brief bout of homesickness. Even an extreme adventurer, it seems, gets the blues. Paul Grondahl is director of the New York State Writers Institute at the University at Albany and a former Times Union reporter. He can be reached at grondahlpaul@gmail.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 14:37:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the United States is raising the risk of a double-dip recession if the country is unable to reign in the pandemic, economists have warned. A total of 34 U.S. states have seen increasing rates of COVID-19 infection since the Memorial Day weekend in late May, with the majority of new infections occurring in the south and southwest, said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at accounting and consulting firm RSM US LLP. "Nationally, we registered more than 68,000 reported cases per day in the second week of July. That is twice the April peak of 32,000 cases per day recorded in the first wave of infections centered along major population centers in the Northeast, Chicago and the West Coast," Brusuelas wrote Monday in a blog post. "Given the current rate of infection, and unless states quickly respond to that spread by reinstating restrictions on social interaction, we expect the number of infections to approach and surpass 4 million cases in late July," Brusuelas said. As of Monday night, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 3.8 million with more than 140,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, believed that the "overly rapid" business reopenings, combined with the "chaotic management" of the healthcare crisis, has reignited the pandemic. "The economic damage is already becoming clear. Initial claims for unemployment insurance, which fell sharply from mid-April to early June, have been stuck at over 2 million per week," Zandi wrote Monday in an analysis, expecting more job losses later this summer as some businesses are required to close again or at least impose tighter social distancing measures. "This sounds like a double-dip recession or W-shape outlook. Indeed, the only reason we expect a better outcome, namely a more-or-less flat economy between now and when the pandemic ends with a vaccine that is widely distributed and adopted, is that we expect lawmakers to step up," Zandi noted. U.S. Congress, which returned to work on Monday, is under immense pressure to craft a new fiscal package, including further aid to households and businesses, before a looming deadline for enhanced unemployment benefits. Some 25 million Americans are set to lose 600 U.S. dollars a week each in federal unemployment benefits at the end of the month, according to local media. "If they fail to agree to help out hard-pressed state and local governments; extend the enhanced unemployment insurance benefits, at least in part; and provide more income support such as another round of stimulus checks, then the economy will quickly descend back into recession," Zandi said. U.S. lawmakers need to approve a package of effective fiscal support totaling at least 1.4 trillion dollars to avoid a double-dip recession, the economist added. "This double dip may not be the most likely outcome, right now. But it is a highly plausible worst-case scenario if the national spread of the virus is not brought under control soon," said Gavyn Davies, chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management and former head of the global economics department at Goldman Sachs. Economists at IHS Markit also wrote in a recent report that the recent rise in COVID-19 infection rates in large countries, including the United States, India and Brazil, underlines the fragility of the rebound and the risk of a W-shaped economic cycle. "The new wave of infections has reduced the probability of a V-shaped cycle, something to which we did not subscribe, and increased the risk of a double-dip recession (W-shaped cycle)," the report said, noting a second economic downturn could arrive in late 2020 or early 2021. The U.S. economy officially entered a recession in February, ending a decade-long recovery from the 2008 global financial crisis, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. While U.S. employment, retail sales and other economic data rebounded in May and June as states gradually eased lockdowns and reopened, high frequency data points to a stall in U.S. economic activity in recent weeks amid the COVID-19 resurgence. At least 22 U.S. states have either paused or partially reversed their efforts to reopen their economies to limit the spread of COVID-19, local media reported. Noting that the premature reopening of the U.S. economy has exacerbated the pandemic, Brusuelas said "it has become increasingly clear that there will not be a meaningful domestic or global economic recovery until an effective coronavirus vaccine regimen is in place." Enditem Could it be the end of a trend and the start of a new one? To hear Gloucester County real estate agents tell it, this place is hot, hot, hot. While the 6%-commission crowd may always be optimistic about demand for its housing inventory, it is a nationally recognized phenomenon that interest in living in the suburbs is rising, while even the best parts of central cities are starting to lose at a decades worth of allure. You can imagine the reasons, especially as this affects Gloucester and nearby Salem county. Empty nesters find the convenience of Rittenhouse Square in Philly amazing until they discover a bunch of looted businesses on the street floor of their condo buildings. Social distancing is a lot easier to accomplish especially for growing families when you have your own private yard and wish to exercise without a mask or someone sitting on a stoop two feet away. And, for millennials and Generation Z, who have fueled a resurgence in South Philadelphia, Northern Liberties, etc., the biggest attraction has been the walkable restaurant, bar and music scenes. Wheres your trendy food now? In a takeout box, if youre lucky. Dont even mention the fate of live concerts. Also, with mortgage rates near record lows, the buy-vs.-rent decision tilts toward buy, and you still get a lot more space for your money in the suburbs. Some people never looked at an area like this, said Haley DeStefano of Keller Williams Hometown Realty in Mullica Hill. Theyre shocked at what you can buy. Other agents report multiple bids for homes in just about every price category. So, there may be more folks headed to East Greenwich, Harrison and Woolwich Townships than there were before. Older single homes in Deptford and Washington townships might represent particularly good value, as could fixer-uppers in Pitman and Woodbury. This represents good opportunity for everyone in the Gloucester county housing market. But a responsible reality check is important. Completed sales transactions in Gloucester County, both in May and year-to-date, lag behind the same 2019 periods However, available units, expressed as months of supply, are down sharply from a year ago, and prices per unit are higher. Some local agents remember the 2005 and 2006 bubble that came before prices crashed in 2008 and 2009. The crash wasnt as severe in South Jersey as some other places, but it started later and lasted longer. It wouldnt take much to make sheriffs sale classified ad sections grow again. Secondly, lets not translate We need a little more space as Sprawl is good. It never was, which explains a shift in recent years toward more compact suburban communities. Suburban lifestyles still consume more resources, and creates more traffic and pollution than city living. Not every Gloucester County township needs a built-from-scratch faux downtown, but theres a desire for amenities that residents can reach without their cars. Remember the states transit-hub planning and Smart Growth initiatives? They havent become stupid. Folks moving out of the cities will value some semblance of the convenience they left behind. Finally, the one group that loses during a housing surge is still out there. Low-income families may see their rents spike, and homelessness could increase. New, affordable units must be part of the discussion. Do-gooder housing advocates, clueless lawmakers, reactionary governors, overreaching courts and impermeable regulators have all screwed up fair-share subsidized housing allocations in New Jersey for years. Now, lets see more of these units actually get built. If a housing boom is coming to South Jersey, it should not leave those who need homes the most on the sidelines. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Send a letter to the editor of South Jersey Times at sjletters@njadvancemedia.com Bookmark NJ.com/Opinion. Follow on Twitter @NJ_Opinion and find NJ.com Opinion on Facebook. Dial M for Films, moderated by Smriti Kiran, focuses on breaking down what lies behind the moving image through sharply curated, specific, live conversations with film talent The Mumbai Film Festival has launched an online knowledge series, Dial M For Films, curated by Artistic Director Smriti Kiran, which features celebrated figures from the film industry. Filmmakers Kabir Khan, Zoya Akhtar, Reema Kagti, Bejoy Nambiar, Vasan Bala, Shakun Batra, Ruchi Narain, actor Parvathy Thiruvothu, and editor Shweta Venkat Mathew have previously appeared in these sessions. "These sessions are a gold mine of anecdotes and insight gained through lived experience of years spent in the industry by some of the best in the business we have today. I feel inspired by these conversations and I am hoping that so will the next generation of filmmakers and their contemporaries. This kind of honest sharing by the creators with their audience, aspiring film professionals and their fellow artists is why the series was started in the first place," said Smriti. Khan spoke about how journalist Saeed Naqvi's believed that everything we consume in terms of international news is usually through a Western prism. While on a trip across Central Asia, he along with Naqvi landed in Tashkent. To prove his aforementioned point, Naqvi went around on the streets and asked people to direct him to the nearest mosque. "It took us an hour and a half of asking around, and yet nobody could point us to a mosque. This was a country, which, according to Western media, was being overrun by Islamic fundamentalists. And right there a realisation dawned upon me that there is always a gap between the story that's being told to us and the story that should have been. That gap in the story has fascinated me for years. In retrospect, when I look at some of my films, almost all of my films explore that gap. That gap between what should have been told to us and what was told to us." Batra, known for his acclaimed dramedy Kapoor & Sons, spoke about directing one of his commercials, which was produced by Rajkumar Hirani. The young filmmaker he explained his vision for the commercial to Hirani, whose only question was, "What is the story?" Batra said he wondered why Hirani was so adamant on the story of a 30 second advertisement. Hirani's line of questioning soon made him realise that the technicalities of filmmaking were as important as what it is that one wants to communicate. He said now that he often asks this question to most of his collaborators. "I think that's how you define the rhythm. Once you decide what it is that you want to communicate and make the audience feel, everything that's happening around you has to add to that feeling, has to add to that communication," added Batra. Nambiar discussed the magic of collaboration with different actors and filmmakers. He grew up watching Mohanlal's films and eventually had a chance to direct the actor in his short film Reflections. But before the opportunity landed in his lap, he approached the actor at a film set alongside a friend who was also a Mohanlal buff. Nambiar narrated his story to Mohanlal, who agreed to work in the short. After his first short, Nambiar worked on Mani Ratnam's film Guru, which led him to believe that collaboration is one of the most magical processes in filmmaking. "Guru opened my eyes. It was a completely new experience for me. Coming from the short film mentality, I saw this massive film being put together with all these different people coming together who were the best of the best in the industry. We had Rajiv Menon for cinematography; Samir Chanda doing production design; A.R. Rahman sir for music; Abhishek (Bachchan), Mithun Chakraborty and Aishwarya Rai (Bachchan) in the lead roles, so it was just the best of the best coming together. I was starstruck not just by the actors but also by the technicians. I was like a fly on the wall just watching everything. What I thoroughly enjoyed was how every head of department, people in these departments took onus of the script and were able to push the envelope within their own spectrum; how they were able to push that much harder to give vision to what Mani sir wanted to do. I saw that in close proximity," shared Nambiar. Vikramaditya Motwane spoke about the importance of feedback, and developing trust in the people one collaborates with. Motwane formed a Sunday script club called Skeptic Tank with Akshat Varma so writers and directors could feel safe and receive constructive feedback on their stories. Some of the members were Anvita Dutt, Devashish Makhija, Neeraj Ghaywan, Navdeep Singh, Arpita Chatterjee and Abhishek Chaubey. "When you're listening to feedback, don't defend yourself in the moment; never defend yourself in the moment. Just listen. Let people tell you what they feel. Imbibe it and listen to them. Then afterwards, if you need to, you can form a defence. But dont defend your intention because if your intention is not on the paper, then your intention has not come through in your material. You have to be aware of it," explained Motwane. Watch the Dial M For Films series here: https://bit.ly/DialMForFilms BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Elchin Mehdiyev Trend: The House of Representatives of the US Congress has adopted very important amendments, Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry Leyla Abdullayeva said at the press-conference in Baku, Trend reports on July 21. The spokesperson said that the authors of the amendment are the members of the US Congress. "The issue is to submit a report on citizens who were displaced from the occupied territories of Azerbaijan, Georgia, Ukraine and Moldova, as well as killed in these territories, to the Congress, after coordination with the US secretary of state and secretary of defense," Abdullayeva said. The spokesperson drew attention to the key components of the amendments and stressed that they confirm the fact of the illegal occupation of the Azerbaijani territory, as well as territories of other mentioned countries. "The issue is a specific amendment adopted by the House of Representatives of the US Congress, which envisages the collection of information on displaced and killed citizens in the occupied territories, and its further transfer to the Congress, together with the Department of Defense, the spokesperson added. At this stage, this amendment is of great importance to us because it confirms the fact of occupation of the Azerbaijani territories," Abdullayeva added. Gabriel Suswam, Chairman, Senate Committee on Power says the senate has no plans to reverse the privatisation of the power sector. H... Gabriel Suswam, Chairman, Senate Committee on Power says the senate has no plans to reverse the privatisation of the power sector. He spoke on Monday during the committees oversight visit to some government structures being occupied by the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company (AEDC). Suswam said, on the contrary, the Senate supports government privatisation of the industry. He said teething problems will not be a reason for a review The lawmaker said the Senate was only interested in enhanced performance to create efficiency. Unfortunately, the process itself started on a faulty note. Some of the parameters used were a bit faulty so the sector has been faced with problems that ordinarily would have been avoidable. The former Benue governor said the legislature is trying to identify the core challenges in order to help the executives in addressing them. This is why we are here to see what we have been told by the Nigeria Electricity Liability Management Company (NELMCO). Suswam recalled that NELMCO told the committee that they handed over some assets to AEDC when the company was incorporated and the committee needed to be sure it was true. Here are assets of the government and it is being occupied by AEDC which is a private company and we are wondering why they are occupying government property. The managing director has told us they are supposed to be paying rent but because the property has been advertised for sale, they also have the right of first refusal. A rock core from Petrified Forest National Park, Arizona, has given scientists a powerful new tool to understand how catastrophic events shaped Earth's ecosystems before the rise of the dinosaurs. The quarter-mile core is from an important part of the Triassic Period when life on Earth endured a series of cataclysmic events: Our planet was struck at least three times by mountain-sized asteroids, chains of volcanoes erupted to choke the sky with greenhouse gases, and tectonic movement tore apart Earth's single supercontinent, Pangea. Among the chaos, many plants and animals, including some of the long-snouted and armored reptiles that ruled Pangea throughout the Triassic, vanished in a possible shake-up of life on Earth that scientists have yet to explain. The study, published July 20 in GSA Bulletin, offers scientists a foundation to explain the changes in the fossil record and determine how these events may have shaped life on Earth. By determining the age of the rock core, researchers were able to piece together a continuous, unbroken stretch of Earth's history from 225 million to 209 million years ago. The timeline offers insight into what has been a geologic dark age and will help scientists investigate abrupt environmental changes from the peak of the Late Triassic and how they affected the plants and animals of the time. "The core lets us wind the clock back 225 million years when Petrified Forest National Park was a tropical hothouse populated by crocodile-like reptiles and turkey-size early dinosaurs," said Cornelia Rasmussen, a postdoctoral researcher at the University of Texas Institute for Geophysics (UTIG), who led the analysis that determined the age of the core. advertisement "We can now begin to interpret changes in the fossil record, such as whether changes in the plant and animal world at the time were caused by an asteroid impact or rather by slow geographic changes of the supercontinent drifting apart," she said. Petrified Forest National Park's paleontologist Adam Marsh said that despite a rich collection of fossils from the period in North America, until now there was little information on the Late Triassic's timeline because most of what scientists knew came from studying outcrops of exposed rock pushed to the surface by tectonic movements. "Outcrops are like broken pieces of a puzzle," said Marsh, who earned his Ph.D. from The University of Texas at Austin's Jackson School of Geosciences. "It is incredibly difficult to piece together a continuous timeline from their exposed and weathered faces." Marsh was not an author of the study but is part of the larger scientific coring project. UTIG is a unit of the Jackson School. The Petrified Forest National Park core overcomes the broken puzzle problem by recovering every layer in the order it was deposited. Like tree rings, scientists can then match those layers with the fossil and climate record. advertisement To find the age of each layer, the researchers searched the rock core for tiny crystals of the mineral zircon, which are spewed into the sky during volcanic eruptions. Zircons are a date stamp for the sediments with which they are buried. Researchers then compared the age of the crystals with traces of ancient magnetism stored in the rocks to help develop a precise geologic timeline. Geoscience is rarely so simple, however, and according to Rasmussen, the analysis of the core gave them two slightly different stories. One shows evidence that a shake-up in the species might not be connected to any single catastrophic event and could simply be part of the ordinary course of gradual evolution. The other shows a possible correlation between the change in the fossil record and a powerful asteroid impact, which left behind a crater in Canada over 62 miles wide. For Marsh, the different findings are just part of the process to reach the truth. "The two age models are not problematic and will help guide future studies," he said. The research is the latest outcome of the Colorado Plateau Coring Project. The research and the coring project were funded by the National Science Foundation and International Continental Drilling Program. The Rajasthan Board Secondary Education (RBSE) Board is expected to release Secondary Education Rajasthan (BSER) Class 10 results 2020 soon. Once declared, the results will be available on board's official websites - rajresults.nic.in, or rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in. Around 11 lakh students appeared in Rajasthan board Class 10 exam in 2020. Here's how to check Rajasthan Board Class 10th results online: Step 1: Go to one of these official websites of the RBSE rajresults.nic.in; rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in Step 2: Click on the 10th class results option. Step 3: Enter your roll number and other required details. Step 4: Your result will be displayed on the screen. It may be recalled that the Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12th Science results 2020 were declared on July 8 and the overall passing percentage was recorded at 91.96. On July 13, the Rajasthan board had announced class 12 commerce results. The exams scheduled from March 20 to 24, 2020 were postponed due to COVID-19 and the subsequent nationwide lockdown announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to curb the spread of coronavirus COVID-19 in the country. The exams were later held on June 29 and 30. Jaye Gardiner, a Fox Chase Cancer Center post-doctoral researcher, uses comics to communicate about science. This photo was taken last fall at a AAAS IF/THEN Ambassador Program summit in Dallas. Read more A stalk of celery got Jaye Gardiner into science. As a precocious first grader in Chicago, she was invited to take part in a second-grade science class, where the students were conducting an experiment. Gardiner, whod always been intrigued by science, was super-excited. The experiment was simple: Put stalks of celery into cups of colored water, then watch what happens. Over time, as the stalks absorbed the water, their leaves changed color to match the water. It was like magic to Gardiner. That was the first thing that had me go, What is this? How does this work? Gardiner said. I would say that mystery, and that drive to solve puzzles, is probably what attracts me to science. Gardiner is now 31 and a postdoctoral researcher at the Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia. Shes studying pancreatic cancer and the tumor microenvironment. In the past, shes researched HIV and other viruses. Shes also using her time at Fox Chase to learn the skills she will need to operate her own laboratory one day a goal of hers. But the little girl who got so excited about color-changing celery is still alive and well and very much wants to share that wonder with a wide range of folks, young and old, future scientists and nonscientists. Thats why, these days, shes not just a scientist, but a science communicator, whose tools are less conventional than the test tubes and microscopes found in a lab. In 2015, she cofounded JKX Comics a website that uses comics to explain scientific concepts and diseases with her friends Kelly Montgomery, now a grad student in at the University of California at San Francisco, and Khoa Tran, who is doing postdoctoral work at the University of Pennsylvania. The trios motto: Science creates the narrative. We tell the story. Their goal: We simplify STEM concepts from multiple disciplines to create engaging comics to increase students scientific literacy. JKX Comics target audience is middle-school age and up. Topics have ranged from cell division and Alzheimers disease to a breakdown of the Epstein-Barr virus and political activism by scientists. The text is simple and straightforward, the illustrations colorful and playful. Currently, the comics are available free on the JKX website, but the partners plan to put them into print and make them available to schools and libraries. Gardiner said the group has been exploring scholastic options with the Madison Reading Project, a Wisconsin nonprofit literacy program. But science communication, like science comics, isnt just kid stuff. Making science accessible is about increasing science literacy at all ages, Gardiner believes. Thats terribly important, she said, because it helps everyone make more informed decisions about their health or about different policies that affect their health. Last year, Gardiner launched a line of scientist trading cards featuring profiles of scientists of diverse genders, ethnicities, and backgrounds. For now the cards are available online, but she hopes to eventually produce them for home and school use. Theyre intended to expand awareness of who scientists actually are. If you were to Google scientists, everyone you would get would look more like Albert Einstein, but so many more people do science, she said. Literally anyone can be a scientist. You need to apply yourself, and you need to work hard. Were not all geniuses. As a youngster, Gardiner was fortunate to have parents who encouraged her interests. Gardiner is both the child of immigrants from Belize and a first-generation college graduate. Her mother and father stressed effort more than grades. So I would always put in more and more effort, she said. She was also lucky to have teachers who knew how to fire up students enthusiasm and make material accessible. One of her favorites, Mr. Coy, had his students write science-themed lyrics to the tune of Led Zeppelins Stairway to Heaven, which the class then fashioned into a video. Its a project she still remembers vividly, 15 years later. He made science so much fun that I fell completely in love with it, she said. Because Gardiners teachers made such a difference in her life, shes become passionate about doing the same for others, via teaching and mentoring. Until the pandemic shut things down, she was involved with Fox Chases Teen Research Internship Program. In addition, last year she was one of 125 women innovators in STEM selected by the American Association for the Advancement of Science to mentor girls middle-school age and up. She believes diversity in mentors is important for young people, to let them see the possibilities for themselves. But the diversity may also lead to scientific solutions brought about by new approaches to scientific problems. Everyone views the world through their own lens that is developed by the experiences they have had, she said. In mentorship, diverse voices will breed diverse strategies to overcoming hardship, maneuvering careers, and acquiring success. Gardiner still has a way to go in charting her own career, including two more years in her postdoctoral post at Fox Chase. What my actual position in the end will be is kind of unknown, she said. I definitely think Im making it up as I go along, and Im not opposed to that idea. Whats certain is that her plans will include sharing the wonder that got a little girl in Chicago so jazzed about science to begin with. Science is a part of all our lives, whether we realize it or not. It can give a deeper appreciation for the things that we just take for granted, she said. Just to know how things work having that knowledge is powerful. T he Duchess of Cornwall served up a treat for volunteers who have dished out meals during the Covid-19 lockdown. Camilla, along with husband Prince Charles, praised workers at the Treverbyn Community Hall, in St Austell, Cornwall. The couple helped out at the Hive project, which has cooked up 100,000 meals since March. Camilla, 73, served up two portions of rogan josh with project lead Brian Honey-Morgan. In jovial spirits, the duchess joked: "They are not allowed seconds. But I hope somebody enjoys that. And added: "Thanks so much for all you've done and volunteering. People are brilliant." The Hive had also used the kitchens at Rick Stein's restaurant in Padstow during the pandemic. The Duchess of Cornwall, along with husband Prince Charles, praised workers at the Treverbyn Community Hall / Getty Images Charles and Camilla were told about the initiatives run by the community group since the start of the outbreak, and also met primary school pupils who had recently returned to class. The projects are run by Cornwall Community Foundation, for which the duchess is a patron. Among them was a 'Phone A Friend' scheme, where volunteers armed with a list of vulnerable residents make a round of calls every week. The royal couple were also shown a library and jigsaw-lending scheme for locals, both of which are run from the centre. They also saw a community larder where people could grab food from a market stall outside the hall. Prince Charles introduced Camilla, who will tomorrow take over from the Duke of Edinburgh as Colonel-in-Chief of The Rifles. The duchess quipped: "You had better watch out. I'll be in charge." The Prince of Wales told volunteers: "I'm so glad it helped." / PA Charles's Duchy of Cornwall Benevolent Fund has previously donated 1.5million to the Cornwall Community Foundation. The Prince of Wales told volunteers: "I'm so glad it helped." The prince spoke to Brian, of The Hive, who revealed chefs had secured food unwanted by supermarkets to create their meals. Charles said: "It is very good stuff. Thank you for your fantastic work. It is such a marvellous community." The prince and duchess were also given bunting as a gift. Charles and Camilla were told about the initiatives run by the community group since the start of the outbreak / PA Leaving the community, Charles and Camilla were greeted by primary school children from The Treverbyn Academy, which has 207 pupils aged between four and eleven. Teachers have made sure pupils have access to school meals and welfare and homework. The youngsters waved homemade rainbow flags and most had been homeschooled during the pandemic. The duchess said: "My children will be quite glad when it's over." Charles asked Sadie, four, what was her favourite meal. She replied: "Cake and crisps". The Duchess of Cornwall became Patron of Cornwall Community Foundation in 2005. Over the last six years, Treverbyn Community Hall has evolved into an essential hub providing many activities and services for the rural communities that surround it. Last year alone over 25,000 visits were made to the Hall. During lockdown, local volunteers, including those from Cornwall Community Foundation used the centre as a base to make sure medical and food supplies got to those in need. A grant from Cornwall Community Foundations Emergency Covid Appeal funded running costs and a skeleton team. They provided food boxes, frozen meal packs and lunch takeaways for those struggling to access shops and introduced a food share point. Loading.... Other services have included a 24/7Phone a Friend telephone helpline and outreach for the community in particular, those suffering job loss and financial difficulty as a result of the crisis. - S. Korea reports 45 more cases of new coronavirus, total now at 13,816 - No additional coronavirus-related death, total now at 296 - 71 more released from coronavirus treatment, total now at 12,643 South Korea reported more than 40 additional new coronavirus cases on Tuesday due to cluster infections tied to a nursing hospital in the capital city, while imported cases remained high. The country identified 45 new cases, raising the total caseload to 13,816, according to the Korea Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (KCDC). Of the newly added cases, 20 were local infections. The country's new daily virus cases fell below 30 for the first time in more than three weeks on Monday, driven by a sharp decline in local infections. South Korea added just four local cases, which was the first single-digit figure in two months. Of the locally transmitted cases reported on Tuesday, 18 were from Seoul. On Monday, health authorities said a nursing home in western Seoul reported nine new COVID-19 cases that were not included in the previous day's tally. The country's southern resort island of Jeju added one new case. South Korea normalized the operation of public facilities, such as museums and libraries, in the greater Seoul area this week, as local transmissions continued to hover around 20 or below recently. The facilities will still obligate visitors to go through quick response (QR) code-based registration system that can help health authorities track potential virus cases, according to the authorities. The system is already applied in clubs and bars. Imported cases have risen by double-digit figures for 26 consecutive days. The latest increase was mostly attributable to workers returning from Iraq and a series of cluster infections on Russian-flagged vessels docked in the country's southeastern port city of Busan. Health authorities worry that the number of imported cases may continue to climb down the road as global air travel is slowly being normalized, with the country also planning to send another chartered flight to Iraq to bring home 300 nationals. The country also has been requesting foreign arrivals from six high-risk nations to hand in virus test results upon their arrivals. But health authorities said imported cases are unlikely to lead to local infections. Health authorities say South Korea is not likely to suffer a new wave of the pandemic as observed earlier this year when the daily new cases even breached 900 at one point, but they are still alert over the summer vacation season when more people are likely to make short trips home. The country's death toll came to 296, remaining unchanged from the previous day, according to the KCDC. As of Tuesday, 12,643 of the infected have been released after a full recovery, up 71 from a day before. (Yonhap) Fully implementing a body camera program within the Worcester Police Department could come with a price tag as high as $11 million over five years, Worcester Police Chief Steven Sargent said in a report that will go before the City Council Tuesday. The report, written by Sargent and sent to City Manager Edward Augustus Jr., details the pilot program that began in May 2019 and ended in October 2019. The chief calls the cameras an effective tool to preserve factual representation of officer/civilian interactions and are effective in capturing video and audio evidence for use in criminal investigations, internal investigations, officer training and increasing transparency. He also wrote the program will require a significant investment in training and personnel. A unit of roughly five officers and two officials would need to be created to review the footage, the chief added. The videos are public records which means the department would have to manage requests. Managing public records requests creates a significant workload for the police department, and creates the possibility of public embarrassment for officers or citizens, Sargent wrote. There were only three public records requests during the pilot program, the chief said. Sargent discussed officer morale in the report. Officers in the pilot program felt less able to use discretion at times and felt more robotic and unable to joke around and have fun while doing their jobs, the chief wrote. Officers felt pressure to have the demeanor of an officer testifying in court, which has the potential to hurt the ability for officers to enjoy working and reduce community engagement, Sargent said. From May 1 to Nov. 1, Worcester police are running a body camera pilot program that equips 20 officers with body-worn cameras. He also noted privacy concerns for citizens, possible reduction in witness cooperation especially in serious or gang-involved crimes, an impact on proactive policing, officer distraction and making officers hesitant to use force when necessary. Sargent found the most useful application of the camera footage to be officer training. The presence of the cameras did calm citizens down in some situations. The cameras can be used to resolve citizen complaints, but Sargent noted none of the officers in the pilot program received any complaints. A handful of videos from the pilot program, obtained by MassLive via a public records request last year, offered a glimpse into police interactions with the public. Sargent said body-worn cameras could increase community confidence and support for the department. Dozens of residents had argued in council meetings that a fiscal 2021 budget increase for Worcester police should have gone to social services. The attempt to cut the budget was not successful. The Massachusetts House and Senates new police reform bill contains a proposal to create a task force to develop regulations into the procurement, use, and storage of body-worn cameras for officers. Last month in Springfield, the first dozen city police and supervisors were outfitted with body-worn cameras with the department anticipating that the entire police force will be trained by the end of summer. The ACLU of Massachusetts has said body-worn cameras can be a useful tool in preserving evidence of police misconduct, providing greater oversight, and increasing accountability of police officers but the proper protocols and policies need to be in place. Calls for police accountability, defunding of police departments and reviews of the use of force have been echoed by people and groups nationwide after the deaths of Black people in officer-involved incidents. In the report, Sargent said running the program was more time-consuming than the department expected. Axon provided three different cost quotes that cover a 5-year period. The prices are to equip 461 police personnel positions. The quotes ranged from $4.4 million to $5.7 million over five years. Sargent said another $811,212 per year, or roughly $4 million over five years, would be needed to fund additional personnel to run the program. Cell phones would also be needed for all officers to run the program effectively, the chief said. That would cost $150,000 a year or $750,000 over five years. Training, a one-time cost, comes in at $545,364. There is no money in the police budget for a body camera program this fiscal year. From May 1 to Nov. 1, Worcester police are running a body camera pilot program that equips 20 officers with body-worn cameras. District 1 City Councilor Sean Rose filed an order for the Tuesday meeting calling for Augustus to put a police body camera program in place by Jan. 1. The Defund WPD group believes the cost of any program would be better used for social services. In a petition filed for the meeting, Eliana Stanislawski said if a body camera program is put in place, the money needs to come from within the police departments budget and not from any other city departments. Worcester police officials researched the use and application of body cameras before the 6-month pilot program began last year. Officials reviewed other law enforcement agencies using body cameras. The pilot program in Worcester launched in May 2019 and involved 20 officers, including 16 from the Operations Division, two from the Traffic Division and two from the Neighborhood Response Team. The officers volunteered to wear the cameras for their shifts. Two lieutenants and four officers were assigned to oversee the program and assess the performance of the cameras. Axon provided body cameras to the department and extras in case of malfunctions. The city did not pay Axon for any aspect of the pilot program, the chief said. Axon provided training, equipment, storage of video evidence and support. All audio and video were uploaded at the end of an officers shift and all the officers were trained in the use of the cameras per department policy. The body camera pilot program in Worcester lasted from May 1, 2019, to Oct. 31, 2019. Once a week, sergeants would compare two random incidents within the departments Records Management System and the Axons Evidence.com account. This was done to make sure officers complied with department policy as to when to activate the cameras. The videos were used, when appropriate, to review uses of force and distribute videos to officers, not in the pilot program. The officers within the pilot program created roughly 7,707 videos with roughly 1,100 hours of recorded video, which equaled more than 4,000 Gigabytes of data. The videos were placed in categories: use of force, arrest, reports, criminal summons/warrants, traffic stops, investigative stops, no report/code, assisting officer and training. Related Content: Patterson Legal Group 100 Backpacks Giveaway in Topeka. "We wanted to assist our community neighbors to offset back-to-school costs and give students tools to make the school year a success. -Gary Patterson, Esq. Patterson Legal Group is pleased to announce that their law firm will host a backpack giveaway on Saturday, August 29 at their law office located at 2641 SW. Wanamaker Road, #100, Topeka, KS 66614. 100 backpacks stuffed with school supplies will be handed out from 10:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m., while supplies last. The law firm decided to host the backpack giveaway to help offset costs associated with preparing for the 2020-2021 school year. The law firm is also hosting two other backpack giveaways. One will be held on Saturday, August 8 in St. Joseph, MO and the other on Thursday, August 27 in Topeka, KS. Parents with school-age children may find this upcoming school year extra challenging because of financial difficulties related to COVID-19 closures. That is why our team decided to host a backpack giveaway, remarked Managing Partner, Gary Patterson. We wanted to assist our community neighbors to offset back-to-school costs and give students tools to make the school year a success. Social distancing and other precautionary measures will take place to ensure the health and safety of all participants. Those interested in attending are advised to arrive early as supplies are limited and will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis while they last. For more information about the Patterson Legal Group backpack giveaways, please contact Ella Reusser with Patterson Legal Group at (888) 687-2400, or via email at ella@pattersonlegalgroup.com. You can also contact the law firm by sending a direct message through their Facebook page. More About Patterson Legal Group, L.C. Patterson Legal Group is a personal injury law firm with offices located throughout Kansas and Missouri. Founded on the principle of helping injury victims pursue their legal rights, they are not afraid to take on large insurance companies or to hold negligent persons accountable for injuring a client. Their lawyers are champions of consumer rights with a strong track record for helping people suffering from personal injury or disability. Learn more about the specific legal services and community outreach activities of Patterson Legal Group at pattersonlegalgroup.com. You can also connect and socialize with their legal team through the law firms Facebook page (/PattersonLegalGroup/). ### Amina Jones, 11, of Philadelphia, beats the heat at the Love Park fountain on Monday. Read more With heat indexes forecast to climb past 100 once again, Philadelphias heat emergency remains in effect through 8 p.m. Wednesday. As of 2 p.m., the index had reached 99 officially at Philadelphia International Airport. While the temperature, 91, was several degrees lower than the highs the previous two days, that likely had to do with the suns having to evaporate some of water vapor filling the air, which could incite trouble later on when strong storms are possible. While the National Weather Service hasnt issued a heat warning for Wednesday only an advisory the city is erring on the side of caution, given the potential cumulative effects of a heat wave that began Friday and the fact that the nights have been oppressive. The low Monday morning, 81, tied a record for a highest minimum temperature for the date in Philadelphia; Tuesday it got no lower than 76, and Wednesday, 77. The threat is definitely still there, and we want to offer as many supports as we can, said James Garrow, spokesperson for the Public Health Department. As part of the emergency response, the Philadelphia Corporation for Aging will again staff its heat helpline (215-765-9040); the city is keeping some cooling shelter open; and in an unprecedented move, is enlisting SEPTAs help. Several of SEPTAs large accordion buses will keep their motors idling and air-conditioners running until 5 p.m to serve as makeshift cooling centers. It might not be as refreshing as a dip in a city swimming pool, all or which are closed, but it is cool. This is a first for SEPTA, said spokesman John Golden, adding that it was the brainchild of the citys Office of Emergency Management. Weve never offered our buses as cooling stations before. READ MORE: Forecasters see blistering summer despite cool start. But about those spring outlooks ... Health experts heat waves become more hazardous the longer they last, and this one is in Day 6. Protracted heat makes it harder for houses to cool off, especially when nights are hot. That buildup is especially dangerous for the elderly who live alone, and the Corporation for Aging estimates that more than 100,000, or better than 35%, of Philadelphians 60 and older live alone. And it has been quite hot this week. Philadelphia officially got up to 94 by 3 p.m. Tuesday, and that was considered a respite as relative humidity decreased. That was a mere retreat, however, as water-vapor levels have returned. Any storms could be drenchers. The most likely period for storms would be in the early evenings Wednesday and Thursday. The precipitable water values will be quite high, and given that the atmosphere is in a state of summery torpor, slow storm motion looks to be an additional issue. READ MORE: An unreal sequence was behind the hail, downpours, and floods in the Philly area The governments Storm Prediction Center in Norman, Okla., has the region under a slight risk for severe storms, primarily for wind. The criterion is gusts of about 60 mph or better. The chance of severe weather is higher on Thursday, it said. Thursday might also be the technical end of the heat wave, as temperatures might fall just short of 90. The weekend will still be warm, with highs in the 90 neighborhood, forecasters say, but it should be comfortable, at least relatively. READ MORE: With summer forecasts calling for dangerous heat, pandemic is clouding Phillys response plans In the meantime, although the coronavirus has presented unique challenges, Health Commissioner Thomas Farley advised family members and neighbors to look in on those who live alone. Here are the cooling options. Those using them are asked to wear masks and maintain social distancing. Libraries Haddington Library, 446 N. 65th St. Lillian Marrero Library, 601 W. Lehigh Ave. Logan Library, 1333 Wagner Ave. Schools West Philadelphia High School, 49th and Chestnut Streets. Kensington High School for Creative and Performing Arts, 1901 N. Front St. Buses Germantown and Hunting Park Avenues. Wyoming and Rising Sun Avenues. Frankford and Allegheny Avenues. 52nd Street and Larchwood Avenue. 29th and York Streets In addition, all the citys spraygrounds will be open. Here is a complete map of the citys cooling options. Hillary Clinton has claimed that President Donald Trump commuted the sentence of his former adviser as 'a continuation of the cover-up' into the Russia probe. The former Secretary of State opened up on Joy Reid's inaugural The ReidOut show on MSNBC Monday night, telling the host that the controversial move was 'to basically shut up Roger Stone.' The political operative's 40-month prison sentence for lying to operatives and witness tampering in the Robert Mueller-led probe into Russia meddling on the 2016 election was commuted by Trump on July 10. It was just days before Stone was to report for detention. Hillary Clinton appeared on Joy Reid's inaugural The ReidOut show on MSNBC Monday night The host asked her to respond to Donald Trump commuting Roger Stone's three-year sentence this month for lying to operatives and witness tampering. She said he used his power to 'basically shut up Roger Stone' but didn't elaborate on what Stone may know. Stone is pictured July 12 'It's clear that Stone threatened him privately and publicly of what he would say if he had to go to prison,' for the conviction in the Russia probe, Clinton claimed about President Trump Stone has known Trump for more than 40 years. He entered the political arena while still at college, leading a campaign for President Nixon before becoming a self-described 'dirty tricks' master. 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. Reid played Clinton a tape of Trump asking Russia to find her missing emails and said: 'I want to give you a chance to respond to the fact that Donald Trump has now commuted the sentence of at least one of the people who were listening. 'Russia was listening and so was Roger Stone. What do you think of the commutation of his sentence?' 'It's clear that Stone threatened him privately and publicly of what he would say if he had to go to prison,' Clinton claimed. 'This is a continuation of the cover-up, it's an ongoing cover-up that Trump and Stone are two of the major participants in to try to prevent us from knowing all of the details about what they actually did in 2016.' 'Some of it was very public, I mean, asking Russia in public, to interfere in American elections. But some of it was clandestine, behind the scenes, sending messages 'What he did was to use the awesome power of commutation as part of the pardon power of the president, to basically shut up Roger Stone.' Clinton added to Reid (left) that 'this is a continuation of the cover-up' into Russia meddling in the 2016 election Clinton didn't elaborate on what Stone may know. However she said Russia was successful in swinging votes. 'It's very clear that Russia succeeded,' Clinton said. 'They believe that they were able to influence the minds and even votes of Americans, so why would they stop? They really want to pursue their agenda of dividing us.' But she added she is 'glad that Vice President Biden, with all of his experience in foreign affairs is trying to warn the American people that what happened in 2016 is sadly underway again.' 'It's very clear that Russia succeeded,' she told MSNBC. 'They believed that they were able to influence the minds and even the votes of Americans, so why would they stop?' Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also appeared on the show on Monday. On the show Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin 'knows I mean what I say.' The same day he said that he is putting Russia and other foreign governments 'on notice' that he would act aggressively as president to counter any interference in US elections. Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden also appeared on the show on Monday. On the show Biden said Russian President Vladimir Putin 'knows I mean what I say,' as he too claimed Russia is meddling in this election The statement came hours after Democratic leaders issued a new warning that Congress appears to be the target of a foreign interference campaign. Biden said in a statement that he would treat foreign interference as 'an adversarial act that significantly affects the relationship between the United States and the interfering nations government.' He criticized President Trump for not doing enough in response to US intelligence agencies' assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. 'If any foreign power recklessly chooses to interfere in our democracy, I will not hesitate to respond as president to impose substantial and lasting costs,' Biden said. The new alarms give a renewed urgency to concerns that foreign actors could be trying to influence the vote or sow disinformation. Biden said last week that he had begun receiving intelligence briefings and warned that Russia, China and other adversaries were attempting to undermine the presidential election. Biden gave no evidence, but he said that Russia was 'still engaged' after 2016 and that China was also involved in efforts to sow doubts in the American electoral process. During an online fundraiser Monday night, Biden added: 'It's going to be tough, there's not much I can do about it now except talk about it, and expose it, but it is a serious concern. It is truly a violation of our sovereignty.' Baku, represented by Assistant of the Azerbaijan President, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs, Hikmet Hajiyev, has put forward another ultimatum to the OSCE Minsk Group, Azerbaijani media reported. According to him, what comes to the activities of the Minsk Group, the OSCE must declare that the Azerbaijani side is not going to participate in the talks of a simulated nature on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. H. Hajiyev noted that according to the mandate of the Minsk Group co-chairs, the Helsinki Final Act and the UN Security Council resolutions should be taken as a basis. It is necessary to put an end to Armenia's attempts to disrupt the talks through lies and various pretexts. 11 states are participating in the Minsk process. There is a need to hold an expanded meeting of the Minsk Group. Note that Turkey is also a part of the above-mentioned 11 states, thus the further plans of Baku and Ankara become obvious. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 22:45:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People wearing face masks visit a reopened mall in central Baghdad, Iraq, on July 21, 2020. The Iraqi Health Ministry on Tuesday recorded 2,466 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 97,159. (Xinhua) BAGHDAD, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Iraqi Health Ministry on Tuesday recorded 2,466 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total number of infections nationwide to 97,159. It reported 81 more deaths during the day, raising the death toll from the infectious virus to 3,950. And 2,114 patients recovered, bringing the total recoveries from the disease to 64,950. The new cases were recorded after 16,280 testing kits were used across the country during the day, and a total of 825,802 tests have been carried out since the outbreak of the disease, according to the statement. Meanwhile, Manar Abdul-Mutalib, a female member of the Iraqi parliament, said in a press release that the "time has come to coexist with the coronavirus and lift both the full and partial curfews. But still, the citizens must strictly apply the preventive measures to avoid COVID-19 infection." "The citizens across the country have lived difficult months with the pandemic due to the repercussions of the curfew, causing great harm to low-income people," she said. On July 16, the Higher Committee for Health and National Safety, headed by Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, decided to reduce the hours of the partial curfew, except for the full curfew on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday. It also decided to completely lift the curfew after the Eid al-Adha holiday, which is expected to end in the early days of August according to the Islamic lunar calendar. 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 help 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 From cutting-edge research and clinical trials focused on cancer care to creating a new center devoted to protecting personal data privacy, University of California, Irvine scholars, scientists and physicians are blazing new paths to help change the world. And their impact keeps growing. In fiscal 2019-20, which ended June 30, UCI researchers received the most funding in campus history: $529 million in grants and contracts. Awards from federal and state agencies, leading foundations and forward-thinking companies increased by 20 percent over 2018-19 totals, reflecting strong and burgeoning support for UCI's top-ranked faculty, first-rate facilities, diverse and talented student body, and community-based programs. This research funding milestone surpasses our campus strategic plan goal of $500 million while accelerating UCI's ascent among its Association of American Universities peers as a world-class research university. Despite the hurdles we face during the COVID-19 pandemic, the UCI community continues to make a meaningful impact on regional economic development and to improve society through globally prominent research." Howard Gillman, UCI Chancellor "Our faculty, students and staff are truly excelling in an environment of tremendous competition for financial support of research and innovation," said Pramod Khargonekar, vice chancellor for research at UCI. "Research is a primary mission for us, and these outstanding results indicate that UCI's preeminent research enterprise will make even greater and more productive contributions to the state, the nation and the world." A boost in biomedical research UCI Health Sciences experienced the greatest jump in research funding. The School of Medicine alone garnered $190 million, accounting for 36 percent of UCI's 2019-20 total and representing a second year of over 20 percent growth. The Chao Family Comprehensive Cancer Center - Orange County's only National Cancer Institute-designated comprehensive cancer center - brought in $44 million for basic, translational and clinical research, a 75 percent increase from last year. The Institute for Memory Impairments and Neurological Disorders received a five-year, $14.4 million renewal grant from the National Institute on Aging for its Alzheimer's Disease Research Center, the only one in Orange County and one of just 32 across the U.S. conducting leading research to improve the diagnosis, care and treatment of people with Alzheimer's disease and related dementias. "The health and well-being of our local and global communities depend on the cutting-edge, evidence-based care we provide every day. UCI offers the very best to our patients because we advance the frontiers of knowledge through groundbreaking research," said Dr. Steve Goldstein, vice chancellor for health affairs. "UCI is the region's only academic health center, and year-over-year growth in external funding is one tangible indicator that we are leading the way through empowering discoveries while we train the diverse, interprofessional healthcare workforce of the future to carry on that legacy." New NSF-funded centers in engineering Researchers in The Henry Samueli School of Engineering will be using large awards from the National Science Foundation to launch new centers that will put UCI in the forefront of materials science and data privacy research. With $18 million in NSF funding, Xiaoqing Pan, the Henry Samueli Endowed Chair in Engineering and a professor of materials science & engineering and physics & astronomy, is starting a Materials Research Science and Engineering Center. It will join 16 existing centers at leading research institutions in the U.S. and establish UCI as a major research hub for Southern California's academic and industry materials ecosystem. And with $10 million in NSF support, Athina Markopoulou - Chancellor's Fellow, professor and chair of electrical engineering & computer science - will lead the creation of a new research center dedicated to safeguarding personal data privacy in an increasingly networked world. Sources of funding Support from the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, which encompasses the National Institutes of Health, the largest single source of research funding at UCI, rose 21 percent over last year to $189 million. The National Science Foundation provided $65 million, 18.4 percent more than in 2018-19. And gifts and grants from philanthropic foundations and charitable trusts reached $85 million, a 38.5 percent hike. Other noteworthy new research awards and recipients in 2019-20: Nancy Rodriguez, professor of criminology, law & society, received a $2.7 million gift from Arnold Ventures to conduct the most comprehensive study to date into the sources and consequences of prison violence in seven states. Findings from the three-year, multistrategy investigation will inform the creation of an evidence-based framework for reducing and preventing incidents of violence. Jenny Yang, associate professor of chemistry, will use a $1.5 million grant from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation to help develop methods for the capture and removal of carbon dioxide from the air and from flue gases emitted by fossil fuel plants. The funding will support an interdisciplinary team - led by Yang - from UCI, UCLA and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in its attempt to form new molecular compounds for electrochemical CO2 capture and removal. The Institute for Clinical & Translational Science was awarded $24 million over five years by the NIH's National Center for Advancing Translational Science. Marking the third highly competitive and successful funding cycle for UCI's ICTS, the grant will go toward initiating and extending efforts to speed the transformation of scientific discoveries into medical treatments for patients. Jessica Millward, associate professor of history and African American studies, and Tiffany Willoughby-Herard, associate professor of African American studies, received a three-year, $271,902 UC-HBCU Initiative grant to partner with Morgan State University, a public and historically black research university in Baltimore, to encourage UC faculty to actively engage with faculty and students at historically black colleges and universities to attract and retain graduate scholars who reflect the communities of the world. Additional data on UCI's 2019-20 research funding: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Dzulfiqar Fathur Rahman (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, July 22, 2020 21:40 546 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406682af7e 1 Business Taiwan,Meiloon-Technology,subang-west-java,relocation,China,COVID-19 Free Taiwan-based audio system manufacturer PT Meiloon Technology Indonesia has officially begun the relocation of its factory from China to Indonesia. It broke ground on the new factory in Subang, West Java, on Tuesday. The firm is one of seven companies that committed in June to move their factories from China to Indonesia, representing a total investment of US$850 million. As global supply chains are disrupted during the pandemic, many firms have begun to question their heavy reliance on China. The company, whose factory was previously located in Suzhou, Jiangsu province, China, pledged to invest $90 million and employ more than 8,000 workers in Indonesia, according to the Investment Coordinating Board (BKPM) data. As a result of special assistance from the BKPM, Meiloon is the first recorded company in Indonesia to begin the construction of its facilities before its business license has been issued. This should serve as an example to other regions, BKPM head Bahlil Lahadalia said in a virtual press event on Tuesday. It is no longer the time to deter investors. Now, we have to collaborate with the regency administrations, provincial administrations, the government and investors to grow the economy in the regions. President Joko Jokowi Widodo previously ordered the BKPM to simplify the process of obtaining business permits to cater to relocating firms. He also asked them to pledge to back up investors if problems with land procurement or other bureaucratic hurdles occurred. Read also: Seven companies to relocate facilities to Indonesia, invest $850m Indonesia is seeking to reverse its declining foreign direct investment, which was down by 9.2 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 98 trillion in the January-March period. Bahlil said Meiloon would give priority to local workers and local suppliers of raw and intermediate goods. The firm hopes to start production no later than the second half of this year. It plans to sell all of its products overseas, including to its American partner, audio firm JBL. For the past two years we have spent our time surveying many countries, and finally, we decided that Indonesia and Subang were the best country and city to grow our business, said Eva Kuo, the chief financial officer of Meiloon Industrial Co. Ltd. The government is preparing thousands of hectares of land in Majalengka regency, West Java, to develop an industrial park to attract more investment, according to Bahlil. An industrial park in Batang regency, Central Java, has also been developed and has become a manufacturing hotspot. West Java Governor Ridwan Kamil said on Tuesday that he planned to travel to China, Taiwan and other countries to promote West Java to foreign investors once pandemic-related travel restrictions eased. Those who go to get the ball themselves will win the investment, and those whose politics is wait and see will become obsolete, Ridwan said, adding that he hoped West Java would remain a top destination for foreign capital inflow. Leopaard Prawira, a shareholder of Meiloon Technology Indonesia, said that he hoped the construction of the firms factory would encourage other companies to develop their businesses in Indonesia. This groundbreaking ceremony proves that business licensing in Indonesia can be done quickly, said Leopaard. There are currently 199 companies considering developing their businesses in Indonesia with a total potential investment of $41.4 billion and the potential addition of 162,000 jobs, according to the BKPM. London: The UK has suspended immediately and indefinitely its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and is extending its arms embargo from mainland China to the territory it once occupied. Britain's arms embargo includes a ban on the export of items used for controlling riots that could be used against democracy protesters including shackles, firearms, smoke grenades and equipment used for interception. Scrapping the treaty: Britain's Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. Credit:AP The embargo was first introduced for mainland China after the 1989 Tiananmen Square massacre. Australia and Canada have already dropped their extradition treaties with Hong Kong as a result of China's new security law which silences free speech and protest - which the UK says violates the treaty China signed in 1984 when the UK handed back the territory in 1997. The Bahamas is closing its borders to travelers from the United States due to concerns over the coronavirus. The move comes just three weeks after the country reopened its borders to visitors from other countries, including Americans. International commercial flights and commercial vessels [cruise lines] carrying passengers will not be permitted to enter our borders, except for commercial flights from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, a statement on the Bahamas tourism website says. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 16:06 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066824e47 1 National MONUSCO,DR-Congo,Indonesian-Military Free The Indonesian peacekeeping contingent of the United Nations Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), or MONUSCO, has succeeded in helping to free a United States citizen who was held hostage by an armed bandit group in the African country. Col. Daniel Lumban Raja, the commander of the Indonesian Militarys Garuda Contingent XXXIX-B Rapidly Deployable Battalion (RDB), said the US national, identified as Sarah, was released after having been held by the bandit group for 16 days in Ake village, some 10 kilometers from DRCs Lulimba. The rescue began with the transfer of information from the MSF team to the Lulimba Static Combat Deployment (SCD) commander, Maj. Yoni, Daniel said in a statement published on Monday. Before the operation took place, the Indonesian military members started by planning a negotiation with the bandit group as they feared that Sarahs condition might have worsened after more than two weeks held hostage. Yoni, together with the MSF team, the village chief, the DRC armed forces (FARDC) regiment commander and the local police, held a briefing in Lulimba to finalize the negotiation plan and prepare anticipatory steps. Read also: Death of Indonesian peacekeeper highlights dangers of field operations Daniel said the village chief and two members of the MSF team carried out the negotiation successfully and reached an agreement with three bandits armed with AK-47s. The RDB played an important role in ensuring that the situation was under control by implementing outer ring security in order to provide backup and take action in the event of a critical situation during the hostage negotiation process, Daniel said. The bandit group finally agreed to free Sarah. She was reported to be in stable condition during the time of the release and was immediately admitted for intensive medical examination afterward. The Indonesian Military, however, did not mention the date of Sarah's release in its statement. (syk) Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 23:36:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LAGOS, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Armed gunmen on Monday evening invaded Gora Gan village in Zango-Kataf area of northern Kaduna state, killing 10 people, including the village head, a source said Tuesday. A security source told Xinhua that among those killed was a 7-year-old child. This happened after gunmen attacked Kukum Daji village in Kagoro chiefdom of the Kaura area of the state. At least 21 people were reportedly killed in that attack while scores sustained varying degrees of injuries. In the fresh attack, scores of residents sustained varying degrees of injuries, the source said. Isaac Ango-Makama, vice chairman of the Christian Association of Nigeria in the Zango-Kataf area, who confirmed the incident, said several houses were burnt during the attack. Enditem BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 Trend: Unlike Armenia, Azerbaijani armed forces never shell civilian objects, Assistant to Azerbaijans President, Head of Foreign Policy Affairs Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said. He made the remark at a press conference held on July 21, Trend reports. Hajiyev noted that Armenia is deliberately spreading such disinformation in order to politicize this issue. He added that the Azerbaijani side has never made statements about possible strikes on Armenian civilian objects. However, Armenia has repeatedly made threatening statements related to strikes on Azerbaijans Mingachevir reservoir, oil and gas pipelines, and Azerbaijani cities. All this shows the insidious goals of the Armenian military-political leadership. With these issues the Armenian side is trying to hide its crimes and divert the attention of the international community." 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. A chief contractor on the refurbishment of Grenfell Tower talked about using 'Essex boy patter' in an attempt to persuade others involved on the project to use cheaper cladding, the inquiry into the fire has heard. Giving evidence on Tuesday, Rydon contracts manager Simon Lawrence said the company wanted a cheaper 'face-fix' system to be selected for the west London block, rather than the cassette-fix option which gives a smoother exterior look. The decision on which cladding to pick was down to Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO). Simon Lawrence, contracts manager at Rydon Maintenance Ltd told the Grenfell Inquiry described the proposed zinc cladding for the tower block as 'luxurious' and he was going to give his 'hardest sales pitch' to convince Kensington and Chelsea Tenant Management Organisation (KCTMO) to use the cheaper option Chief contractor on refurbishment of Grenfell Tower used 'Essex boy patter' to try and persuade others involved in the project to use cheaper cladding, inquiry hears In an internal Rydon email from May 2014 shown to the hearing, Mr Lawrence told colleagues: 'I have a gut feeling that KCTMO may go for the cassette-fix option on the cladding due to perceived planning risk. 'This gives us a benefit of 126,259 rather than the preferred face-fix option which will generate 200,798 benefit.' He added: 'I'm giving it my hardest sales pitch as we speak. 'Come on the Essex boy patter.' Aluminium (ACM) panels with cassette fixings were eventually chosen for the renovation and the blaze that engulfed the 24-storey tower in June 2017 - killing 72 people - was fuelled by the cladding system, which had a polyethylene core. The revelation comes after the inquiry heard that Rydon gave KCTMO altered figures and sought to take 'some of the savings for themselves' when it came to the choice of cladding. In March 2014, Rydon told KCTMO that it could save 293,368 if it chose to wrap the high-rise block in an aluminium cassette form of cladding, or 376,175 if it went for a face-fixed cladding. However, four days earlier, Rydon was told by cladding installer Harley Facades that the cassette installation could present a saving of 419,627 and the face-fixed option a saving of 576,973. Rydon gave KCTMO altered figures and sought to take 'some of the savings for themselves' when it came to the choice of cladding Asked by inquiry lawyer Richard Millett QC how he accounted for the difference, Mr Lawrence said: 'I would suggest by that Rydon took some of the savings for themselves.' Asked whether he knew that at the time, Mr Lawrence added: 'I think I probably did, yes.' Tuesday's hearing also heard that Rydon had been keen to persuade KCTMO and architects Studio E away from using the more expensive zinc material in the cladding system. KCTMO was hoping to make a total of 800,000 in savings across the whole Grenfell project. Under questioning from Mr Millett on Tuesday, Mr Lawrence explained that zinc 'is seen to be a fairly luxurious material, so we could understand why the planners and why the architect in particular wanted to use the luxurious material'. 'The intention was we needed to make the case for everybody that ACM wasn't a cheap, throwaway material in comparison to zinc,' he said. Sun Qian, a Falun Dafa adherent who has been illegally detained in China since February 2017, in an undated photo. (The Epoch Times/Handout) Canada Must Demand Release of Canadian Businesswoman Jailed in China: Former Justice Minister Canada should demand the immediate release of Sun Qian, a Canadian citizen and Falun Gong adherent imprisoned in China for her faith, says former Liberal justice minister Irwin Cotler. Sun was arrested at her Beijing residence in February 2017 and has been held in custody ever since. On June 30 she was sentenced by a Beijing court to eight years in prison for practising Falun Gong. Sun had recently renounced her Canadian citizenship and is suspected of giving a coerced confession under prolonged torture while in police custody. The Canadian government should still see her as a Canadian citizen, should call for her immediate release, and for the Chinese authorities to cease and desist from all forms of torture and abuse, Cotler, a former Attorney General of Canada and an expert on human rights law, said in an interview. Cotler, who has worked on Suns case, says her sentence violates Chinas own constitutionwhich stipulates freedom of religious beliefand also violates international treaties to which China is a part. Were not asking [Beijing] to respect Canadian law. Were asking them to respect their own law and to respect international treaties to which they are a state party, he said. [Suns] case is a classic case of the criminalization of innocence not for anything she has done, but for who she is: the bearer of the values of truth and compassion and tolerance, which reflect and represent the values of the Falun Gong community. Former MP and justice minister Irwin Cotler speaks at a press conference in support of efforts to secure the release of Canadian citizen Qian Sun detained in China for her practice of Falun Gong, on Parliament Hill in Ottawa on May 9, 2017. (Jonathan Ren/NTD Television) Sun has been represented by nearly a dozen lawyers since her arrest, all of whom had to drop her case due to pressure from the authorities. Since 2019, she has been allowed to only use a government-designated lawyer, who could at best ask for leniency rather than argue for her innocence. The Falun Dafa Association of Canada says Sun has been subjected to prolonged physical and mental torture in detention, including being shackled to a steel chair, pepper-sprayed in the face, and subjected to sustained brainwashing and psychological manipulation. Suns former lawyer Xie Yiyan said she was mentally manipulated to the point where she decided to donate her wealthhundreds of millions of dollarsto the detention centre where she was being held. Sun Qian basically has given up everything. However, she did so while detained and without being free. Legally, it shouldnt be valid because it is not an expression of her free will, Xie said. Before her arrest, Sun was the founder and vice-president of Beijing Leadman Biochemistry, a multimillion-dollar company she co-owned with her husband, Shen Guangqian. Suns sister, Sun Zan, told The Epoch Times in previous interviews that Shen colluded with Chinese officials to have Sun incarcerated so that he could take over her shares in the company. Beijings Retaliation Xie Yiyan has said Suns June 30 sentencing is directly related to the Meng Wanzhou extradition casewhich came a month after the British Columbia Supreme Court dismissed a bid by Meng to be released, and just days after Prime Minister Justin Trudeau rejected calls to release the Huawei CFO, arrested in Canada on a U.S. extradition request. Since Meng was arrested in Vancouver in December 2018, Beijing has engaged in a retaliatory pattern, says Cotler. This includes the arrest of Canadians Michael Kovrig and Michael Spavor; the death sentence of Robert Schellenberg, a Canadian arrested in China on a drug smuggling charge; and trade sanctions on Canadian agricultural exports. This pattern of aggressive behaviour, he notes, is part of Beijings overall strategy to intimidate anyone who it perceives as a threat and use violence to repress themsuch as Hong Kong democracy activists or members of the Uighur Muslim minority. What we see here has been a retaliatory pattern but we should also see it as part of a massive repression by Chinese authorities down the line, Cotler said. As we speak, we are seeing horrific collective actions and massive repression being undertaken by the Chinese authorities. However, as more countries wake up to the China threat and band together amid fallout from the pandemic, it weakens Beijings ability to intimidate and isolate single countries that criticize it, he explains. [Beijing] will seek their bullying of each of the individual countries one by one, but will have to deal with a collectivity [in response]. And that will, in effect, provide a kind of justice and accountability in relationships with China, said Cotler, adding that democracies could unite through trade sanctions against China or moving supply chains out of China. If the community of democracies and beyond come together and say thats it, thats enoughwe can redefine our relationships as a collectivity. I think then things will begin to change. And maybe that will be the beginning of the movement towards the proper normalization of relations between the international community and China. With reporting by Limin Zhou SAN MATEO, Calif., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Applitools (https://applitools.com/), provider of a next generation test automation platform through Visual AI and Ultrafast Grid, today announced new AI capabilities for its end-to-end automated testing platform. Auto-maintenance AI leverages the power of Applitools Visual AI technology to accelerate test maintenance efficiency through virtual assistant recommendations. AI powered smart assist automatically analyzes large batches of test results, often numbering in the hundreds or even thousands of tests. It then removes all redundancies by grouping similar visual and functional regressions together. Applitools auto-maintenance AI instantly performs the mundane and redundant tasks often associated with manual testing without fatigue or errors. It reduces maintenance time by up to 90 percent so users reach better results with less effort, and allow engineering teams to release higher quality apps much faster with greater confidence. To see Applitools auto-maintenance AI in action, set a quick call with a test automation expert at ( https://info.applitools.com/uG9U ). Hundreds of Applitools customers use AI auto-maintenance and smart assist to reduce maintenance costs and improve efficiency: "It's well-known that AI has transformed how businesses make decisions. In today's climate, it's not only business decisions that benefit from AI - engineering teams are also leveraging AI to help digitally transform their application development," said Parasar Saha, Enterprise Automation Architect at a leading North American airline. "AI that can reduce repetitive and error-prone tasks to free up time and resources is what you should look for to help transform your team. Applitools AI powered auto-maintenance does exactly this and is a perfect example of how AI can be leveraged effectively." "We use Applitools extensively in our regression testing at Branch," said Joe Emison , CTO at Branch Financial. "Visual AI is incredibly accurate, but equally impressive are the AI powered maintenance features. With the volume of tests that we run, the time savings that the AI auto-maintenance features afford us are extensive." "Applitools auto-maintenance AI has transformed the repetitive and tedious process of analysing results into a streamlined process saving us an incredible amount of time," said Marie Drake , Principal Test Automation Engineer at News UK. Test maintenance overhead is the leading challenge for QA and development teams with most teams spending 40-70 percent of their time on maintenance. As businesses digitally transform, the maintenance work required to ensure a visually and functionally perfect user experience across all browsers, devices, and viewports continues to increase. Dev teams are unable to maintain quality while also working toward faster release cycles. "Test maintenance is a painstaking and error-prone task, which is exactly what AI is meant to solve," said Adam Carmi, CTO of Applitools. "Applitools' core Visual AI technology helps automate test maintenance processes and does most of the heavy lifting to save test engineers and developers time while reducing errors. The assistant-like Visual AI recommendations are uniquely intelligent, accurate, and right-on-time to ensure that customers are tapping the full potential of the Applitools Platform. We are giving test engineers the time back to write new tests instead of getting bogged down in laborious and tedious maintenance work." Developers and Test Engineers can start using AI auto-maintenance and AI virtual assist today. To learn more about Applitools and the latest developments around Visual AI, visit ( https://applitools.com/ ). About Applitools Applitools delivers a Next Generation Test Automation Platform through Visual AI and Ultrafast Grid. We enable engineering teams to release high quality web and mobile apps at incredible speed at a reduced cost. Applitools Visual AI modernizes important test automation use cases -- Functional Testing, Visual Testing, Web and Mobile UI/UX Testing, Cross Browser Testing, Responsive Web Design Testing, Cross Device Testing, PDF Testing, Accessibility Testing and Compliance Testing -- to transform the way organizations deliver innovation at the speed of CI/CD at a significantly lower Total Cost of Ownership (TCO). Hundreds of companies from verticals such as Tech, Banking, Insurance, Retail, Pharma, and Publishing -- including 50 of the Fortune 100 -- use Applitools to deliver the best possible digital experiences to millions of customers on any device and browser, and across every screen size and operating system. Applitools is headquartered in San Mateo, California, with an R&D center in Tel Aviv, Israel. For more information, please visit applitools.com. Media Contact: Jeremy Douglas Catapult PR-IR +1 303-581-7760, ext. 16 [email protected] SOURCE Applitools Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 19:32:40|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PARIS, July 21 (Xinhua) -- French President Emmanuel Macron on Tuesday hailed a "historic" European Union (EU) deal on a post-pandemic recovery fund that would help build a "green and prosperous Europe" and further improve European solidarity. "A historic day for Europe! A massive recovery plan is adopted: a common loan to respond to the crisis in a united way and invest in our future. We had never done this (before)!" Macron tweeted. "With Germany we have make this plan possible...Since the euro (creation), we had not seen such a progress," he added. After four days of talks, EU leaders agreed on an unprecedented 1.82 trillion euros (2.08 trillion U.S. dollars) deal to confront the worst recession in the EU's history. The plan will be submitted to the European Parliament for approval. The first physical summit of EU leaders had been scheduled to end on Saturday, but met deadlock due to disagreements over a number of issues including the overall size of the fund, the ratio of grants versus loans, the rebates offered to the wealthier countries and prerequisites for the use of the money. (1 euro = 1.14 U.S. dollars) A man who subjected his vulnerable step-daughter to daily rape and sexual abuse and repeatedly forced her to video herself using a sex toy has been sentenced to 12 years in prison. The Central Criminal Court heard that during one incident of oral rape the child's mother walked in and caught the man. She told him that it should not happen again but the abuse continued. The now 16-year-old girl and her siblings have been in State care since she disclosed the abuse to a classmate in the special school she attends. She is now only allowed supervised access with her mother. The 41-year-old man pleaded guilty to 12 charges of rape, 12 of oral rape, 11 charges of exploitation and six charges of production of pornography on dates between November 2015 and October 2018 at their family home when the girl was aged between 11 and 14 years old. The pleas were accepted by the State on the grounds that they are sample counts representing 288 charges in total. The man, who is a foreign national, has no previous convictions and came to Ireland in 2010. David Humphries BL, prosecuting, said the now 16 year ago girl is considered a vulnerable child and had been attending a local special needs school. She told specialist garda interviewers in February 2019 that the man made her have sex with him and take photos and videos of herself for him on her mobile phone, while her mother was at work. She said the man told her to put my butt to the camera and use a vibrator on herself. He would then download the videos and photos onto his laptop. The girl said the man threatened to keep her out of school or take her phone off her if she didn't do as he asked. He admitted to gardai that he told the girl he would publish the photos online if she did not do as instructed. A local detective garda said the man was arrested in June 2019 and admitted that there had been at least 70 incidences with his step-daughter, outlining that he raped her at least 50 times and had at least 20 recordings of her. He told gardai it felt bad but at the same time I felt good. He said he had told her this is our little secret and accepted that she would have been afraid of him. The detective garda said the man later stated that he had abused the girl 120 times or more and said that in one day she had taken 50 photographs of herself with a selfie stick under his instruction. He claimed he never shared the recording or photographs with anyone else. The garda said the girl has been in state care since January 2019 and is currently attending a child psychologist. Mr Justice Paul McDermott suspended the final year of a 12 year sentence on strict conditions including that the man engage with the Probation Service for a year and undergo the appropriate sexual offender's treatment while in custody and for a year upon his release. He also imposed a five year post release supervision order and said that the man is to have no contact with the victim or any unsupervised contact with any child. Mr Justice McDermott described the abuse as appalling degrading and humiliating and said the man's continual actions were a daily feature of the girl's childhood. He said it required a degree of planning and manipulation and he showed no respect for her as a human being. He noted the abuse continued despite the fact that the man was caught by the child's mother and added that the woman provided little protection for the child, stating that she was the only other adult the girl could turn to for support. He acknowledged that the man's plea of guilty saved the girl the ordeal of giving evidence at trial and accepted that he had assisted gardai in retrieving deleted files from his laptop. He said he hoped that in time the man would gain real insight into the damage he has done. A victim impact report stated that for the first few months with her step-father she thought he was nice but said she soon realised he was only pretending. I knew later that he was not a good father figure to me, she continued. She said she was afraid to say anything because she didn't want her family to break up. You think that your parents are supposed to look after you. I called him 'Dad', she said. She said she would like to know why? Why did you do that to me? What was point of doing it. I would like an apology from him. He should not have done it. She said the man told her it would be all her fault if the family broke up. I would never know what it would feel like to be safe or the right thing to do when bad things happen. I knew things that I didn't want to know at my age. I hope I can keep myself safe in my relationships in the future, the girl continued before she added I now know what safe feels like, referring to the foster family she has been living with since being taken into care. The detective garda agreed with Ronan Munro SC, defending, that during questioning the man was very emotional at times and other times he put his hands over his ears because he couldn't listen to what was being said. He accepted that the man acknowledged that he had ruined the girl's life and had moments of insight into his behaviour. Mr Munro submitted that his client had made unguarded admissions through guilt and remorse. Counsel told Mr Justice McDermott that it seems his client cannot cope with what he has done but he wanted his step-daughter to know that it is his fault and his fault alone. He is sorry for what he has done, She needs to know that the blame belongs to him and he hopes that gives her some comfort, Mr Munro said. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Tamilla Mammadova Trend: Air France will launch regular flights from Tbilisi International Airport to France from August, Minister of Economy and Sustainable Development Natia Turnava said, Trend reports citing Georgian media. She added that negotiations are also underway with Air Baltic, the flag carrier of Latvia; however, at this stage, the minister could not specify whether the airline will launch regular flights from August. "We talked about the resumption of direct flights in August with representatives of five countries to which Georgia unconditionally opened its border, Turnava said. According to her, in the case of Germany, negotiations with Lufthansa have been successfully completed; the company has already published the flight schedule and the tickets are on sale. "The next step was to hold negotiations with Air France; today we have confirmed to the company that from the beginning of August, it will be able to carry out regular flights twice a week. The exact date should be set by the company itself," the minister said. Recently, Georgia opened its borders for travelers from five countries including Germany, France, Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia, all of which have also opened borders for Georgia. On July 20, it was announced that the German airliner Lufthansa will resume regular flights Munich-Tbilisi-Munich from August 2. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 DOYLESTOWN >> A man and woman will face decades in state prison for the repeated sexual assault of three children under the age of 13, abuse that they also filmed in more than 40 videos of child pornography. Leonard F. Hewitt Sr. 51, and Krystyn Anne Smock, 40, both of Bristol Township, committed the acts for more than four years... - Another possible treatment against the novel coronavirus disease will enter the final stage of human trials - The vaccine candidate developed by Sinovac has received approval to proceed to the third phase - As reported by Agence France-Presse, it is the third in the world to enter the late stages of trials - Brazil and Bangladesh are among the countries that will try the effectiveness of the said vaccine PAY ATTENTION: Click "See First" under the "Following" tab to see KAMI news on your News Feed Another possible vaccine for the novel coronavirus disease is set to enter the final stage of human trials. KAMI learned that the vaccine candidate developed by Chinese pharmaceutical firm called Sinovac has been approved to proceed to the third phase of trials. Based on a report by Agence France-Presse, the said possible treatment against the virus is the third in the world to enter the last step before regulatory approval. Brazil is one of the countries that will try to test the effectiveness of the said vaccine. It will reportedly be administered to volunteers across six states in the said country. "Trials of CoronaVac, one of the vaccines that has advanced furthest in testing in the world, will begin at the Clinical Hospital of Sao Paulo," said state governor Joao Doria, adding that initial results are expected within 3 months. The global race for the first COVID-19 vaccine continues (Photo from Getty Images) Source: Getty Images PAY ATTENTION: Enjoyed reading our story? Download KAMI's news app on Google Play now and stay up-to-date with major Filipino news! Reuters also published an article that revealed Bangladesh will also host the late-stage trial of the said vaccine candidate. The process could begin next month, with the International Centre for Diarrhoeal Disease Research, Bangladesh (ICDDR,B) to be at the helm. We have given ethical permission for the trial after reviewing the research protocol, Mahmood Uz Jahan, the director of the Bangladesh Medical Research Council (BMRC), stated in an interview. PAY ATTENTION: Shop with KAMI! The best offers and discounts on the market, product reviews and feedbacks. The global race in finding the effective vaccine for the novel coronavirus disease continues as the said illness still wreaks havoc in the lives of millions of people. A few weeks ago, an Italian doctor claimed that the said disease is becoming less dangerous now and it may disappear without the need for a vaccine. It was also reported that Moderna, a prominent biotechnology firm in the United States, will begin the final trial of its COVID-19 vaccine later this month. 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 Birthday wishes Call 281-422-8302 or email david.bloom@baytownsun.com to wish someone a happy birthday. We will print your birthday wish on Page 2 of The Sun. Happy Birthday Wishes Fraser Seitel Orthodoxy means not thinkingnot needing to think. Orthodoxy is unconsciousness. George Orwell, "1984" Among the lasting tragedies of the Trump era is the assault on freedom of speech and the triumph of mob rule. Ever since George Floyd was murdered in May at the knee of a crazed Minneapolis cop, freedom of speech has been subordinated in a mad frenzy to expose bigots behind every rock, from Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel appearing in blackface 20 years ago to deep-sixing Christopher Columbus to hatcheting the Atlanta Braves tomahawk chop. The essence of so-called cancel culture is that everything must go, no questions asked. This intensifying phenomenon should be of concern to all communicators, including public relations counselors, whose employment and reputation depend on speaking boldly, dispassionately and freely. And in the post-#MeToo/post-George Floyd era, should some brave but naive soul have the audacity to challenge the appropriateness or logic or fairness of jumping on whatever bandwagon the mob currently favors, theyre immediately categorized as sexist or racist or unwoke. The result: Few challenge the zealots and freedom of speech evaporates. Much of this, of course, can be traced to the reign of Donald Trump, whos inflamed such blind loyalty among his supporters and extreme hatred among his detractors that any chance at compromise or understanding or even listening to someone elses point-of-view is impossible. (Ironically, lately Trump, himself, has begun repeating the mantra that he stands for freedom of speech, although he doesnt really.) But Trump and political partisans arent the only culprits in the demise of open-mindedness and compromise and objectivity. Schools, professors, news organizations, journalists, athletes and artists from musicians to actors all share the blame in elevating bullies as the ultimate arbiters of acceptable thought. In July, Harpers published a bold open letter from 153 prominentmany of them, left-leaningartists and intellectuals warning of this insidious trend of 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, which argued against groupthink as well as silencing those who oppose common wisdom, was orchestrated by African-American columnist Thomas Chatterton Williams, who noted that the signatories included plenty of Black thinkers, Muslim thinkers, Jewish thinkers, people who are trans and gay, old and young, right wing and left wing. Mr. Williams and his co-signers didnt have to wait long to prove their point. Almost immediately, Twitter and its competing social media platforms lit up with criticism and vitriol, ostracizing and ridiculing the signatories for, as the Times put it, thin-skinnedness, privilege and fear of loss of relevance. Sure enough, the outpouring of social media mob vitriol caused several of those who had signed the letterincluding one mortified New York Times opinion columnistto turn tail immediately and ask that their names be removed from the original missive. So much for freedom of speech and the courage of ones convictions. A few days later, another Times columnist, Bari Weiss, caused a stir by resigning over what she claimed, in a letter on her website, was a civil war at the paper between (most young) wokes and (mostly 40+ liberals), one of whom was herself. On her way out, Ms. Weiss warned erstwhile associates at the worlds greatest newspaper, Never believe an editor or publisher who urges you to go against the grain. Eventually, the publisher will cave to the mob, the editor will get fired or reassigned, and youll be hung out to dry. Anyone who wonders about objectivity at todays New York Times no longer need wonder. Which brings us to the role of public relations advisors in this climate of go along to get along or risk the wrath of the thought police (as opposed to the real police, who are personae non gratae). Where do you, personally, come out in this important, current dilemma? Here are two recent real-life cases, one national and one local, that may help determine where you stand. In each case, what would your counsel be? The first case is that of the New York Times, which in June ran a controversial op-ed piece by pro-Trump Republican Senator Tom Cotton, calling for the President to activate the military to quell violent street protests in cities like Portland (which a month later, Trump did). The Cotton op-ed immediately triggered an insurrection in the Times newsroom, led by African-American staff members, one of whom tweeted that the Cotton op-ed puts Black @NYTimes staff in danger. The Times tweetstorm was followed by a letter from more than 800 apparently equally-petrified staff members protesting the papers decision to publish the op-ed. And calls rang out for the Times to fire editorial page editor James Bennet, whod worked at the paper for 20 years. Question: If New York Times Publisher A.G. Sulzberger and Executive Editor Dean Baquet were your clients, what would you recommend they do? The second case occurred in July in an affluent New York City suburb, when photos were anonymously sent to social and traditional media and public officials featuring a member of the local high school board of education wearing blackface. The 30-year-old trustee admitted hed naively worn the blackface at a Halloween party 12 years ago as a teenager, when, frankly, he didnt know any better. He explained hed never again done such a thing, apologized profusely to those offended and begged the community to allow him to undo his wrong through wiser, more mature and sensitive actions. What followed was an online petition signed by 2,700 concerned citizens seeking the young mans immediate resignation and an emergency seven-hour board meeting, lasting until 3 in the morning, in which residents lined up to express their hurt and humiliation over the scurrilous 2008 photo. Typical was the response of one recent graduate, wise beyond her years, Im 17-years-old and I would never wear blackface. Question: What do you recommend your clients, the other eight members of the school board, do? In both cases, the accused individuals were summarily fired by their employers. (Well, technically they each resigned, but cmon.) Mr. Bennet was quickly thrown overboard by his long-time colleagues Messrs. Sulzberger and Baquet, two of the weakest of weak-kneed media managers. And the young trustee was voted out by seven of his brave band of board brothers, one of whom summed things up this way: "By stepping down he shows our students that the behavior will not be tolerated. Students are craving diversity, and with that diversity brings true understanding and reform." And also, one might add, another nail in the slowly sinking coffin of freedom of speech. *** Fraser P. Seitel has been a communications consultant, author and teacher for 40 years. He is author of the Pearson text The Practice of Public Relations, now in its 14th edition, and co-author of Rethinking Reputation" and "Idea Wise. He may be reached directly at yusake@aol.com. Canberra, July 21 : The operator of Australia's Dreamworld theme park was on Tuesday charged with safety breaches over a water ride malfunction that killed four people in 2016. The collision took place at the end of the Thunder River Rapids ride, an attraction that simulated the experience of white-water rafting, the BBC reported. The victims died almost instantly when their raft collided with another and overturned, crushing them. Authorities have filed three charges against parent company Ardent Leisure. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of A$1.5 million. Prosecutor Aaron Guilfoyle said the three charges alleged that Dreamworld failed in its duty of care. They would be the only charges brought, he added. Queensland Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said: "They are the maximum charges in the act, and the prosecutor is independent and we respect his decision and await the outcome from the courts." Tuesday's development comes after the police last yearrecommended that no Dreamworld employees should face criminal charges, the BBC reported. The park closed for six weeks after the accident, and the Thunder River Rapids ride was demolished. Other rides have shut since. Chicago Mayor Confirms White House Deploying Federal Agents to City The mayor of Chicago said Tuesday that the Trump administration wont deploy unnamed federal Department of Homeland Security agents to Chicago, as seen in Portland recently. What I understand at this point, and I caveat that, is that the Trump administration is not going to foolishly deploy unnamed agents to the streets of Chicago, Mayor Lori Lightfoot told reporters on Tuesday. We have information that allows us to say, at least at this point, that we dont see a Portland-style deployment coming to Chicago. She said that the White House instead will send agents from the FBI, Drug Enforcement Administration, and the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). Unlike what happened in Portland, what we will receive is resources that are going to plug in to the existing federal agencies that we work with on a regular basis to help manage and suppress violent crime, she said. Ive been very clear that we welcome actual partnership, but we do not welcome dictatorship, according to USA Today. The U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Illinois, John Lausch, said hes aware of the situation. Lightfoot was addressing questions about the legality of the Trump administrations move to send federal officers to a number of large cities beset by violent crimes in recent days. So far this summer, Chicago has experienced a significant rise in shootings, including incidents that have claimed the lives of small children. The White House hasnt responded to a request for comment about Lightfoots remarks. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters Tuesday that the president has written a letter to the mayor about the rise in violence in Chicago. You have children who have been shot, McEnany said. People who have died, roughly a dozen people, every single weekend, more people are dying in the city than in Iraq and Afghanistan. This is incredible. McEnany, meanwhile, said that the DHS has authority under 40 U.S. Code 1315 to do this and protect federal property and thats what theyve done against a lot of lawlessness and anarchy. Police investigate the scene of a shooting in Chicago, Ill., on July 4, 2020. (Carly Behm/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Lightfoot, who has faced criticism for her response to the violence epidemic, wrote a letter to President Donald Trump and said she hopes the agents will battle street violence. We are not going to have people that dont know our streets, dont know our neighborhoods then are engaging in clearly unconstitutional conduct operating at will in our city. That is chaos, that is lawlessness and we are absolutely not having it, she also said, according to ABC7. On Monday, Trump vowed that federal agents would be deployed. New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore were not going to let this happen in our country, the president told reporters in the Oval Office. We will have more federal law enforcement. That I can tell you. He also said Oakland, California, could see federal officers. Speaking about the recent events in Portland, Trump said, [The officers] grab em, a lot of people in jail, their leaders, these are anarchists, these are not protesters these are people who hate our country and were not going to let it go forward. And various governors, mayors, and senators are physically afraid of these people, he added, referring to individuals that he described as violent anarchists. By PTI KATHMANDU: The much-awaited meeting of Nepal's ruling communist party to iron out differences between Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and the rival faction led by former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' finally took place on Tuesday despite the former's absence. The crucial Standing Committee meeting of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) took place after it was postponed seven times to allow Oli and Prachanda more time to sort out their differences. Prime Minister Oli did not appear at the meeting, said Ganesh Shah, member of the Standing Committee and a senior leader of the NCP. On Tuesday also the meeting was deferred by two hours as the two leaders sought some time for informal discussion to settle key issues. The Standing Committee meeting started at around 1. 20 pm on Tuesday at Prime Minister's official residence at Baluwatar in the national capital, Shah said. Senior leader of the party Dev Gurung told the media that the meeting started with the consent of Prime Minister Oli, though he did not attend it. Shah said the meeting will discuss a power sharing deal among top leaders of the ruling NCP. It is also likely to fix the date for the 441-member Central Committee meeting of the party that would play a key role in settling the power-sharing deal among senior CPN leaders. The 45-member strong Standing Committee meeting is expected to decide the fate of Oli, who is facing strong pressure from the dissident group led by Prachanda to step down from the top post. Top NCP leaders, including Prachanda, have been demanding Oli's resignation, saying his recent anti-India remarks were "neither politically correct nor diplomatically appropriate. " They are also against Oli's autocratic style of functioning. The differences grew further after Oli said that some of the ruling party leaders are aligning with the southern neighbour to remove him from power after his government issued a new political map incorporating three Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. The Prachanda-Nepal faction rejected Oli's allegations, saying it is them who have asked for resignation, not India. Prachanda has said that he will not allow the party to split and any attempt from anywhere to weaken its unity would hurt the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters. Prachanda on Monday said efforts were going on to resolve the intra-party differences and ruled out an early general convention of the party as proposed by embattled Prime Minister Oli. "Going for the general convention is not a bad idea but without proper preparations, it is not possible as various issues including the party ideology also need to be sorted out," Matrika Yadav, a Standing Committee member, quoted Prachanda as saying at the meeting. Prachanda's remarks came amid reports that he had reached an understanding with Oli on holding the general convention by November/December and that the prime minister would back him as the party chair. One more suspect has been arrested by the police in connection with hacking into a bank and attempted to transfer GH46, 129,473 to eight individuals in different banks. Aisha Konatey, an Ivorian woman, is currently in the custody of the police assisting in investigations, the Director of the Cybercrime Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Dr Gustav Herbert Yankson, told the Ghanaian Times in Accra, yesterday. He said Aisha was arrested after investigations revealed that she sent text message to one of the suspect that the money was in his account. ACP Yankson said the police have mounted a search for the arrest of two others, Boateng Mends, and one other identified as Pussy Cat who were on the run. The Ghanaian Times in its Wednesday, July 15, 2020, issue reported that six people, who allegedly hacked into a bank and attempted to transfer GH46, 129,473 to eight individuals in different banks have been arrested by the police. They are Hudu Abdul Mumuni, Emmanuel Adams, Moro Issah, Agbenu Fefous Chrissy, Sam Acquah, a former banker and owner of Adom Sika Savings and Loans Limited and James Taylor, a web developer. ACP Yankson said on July 2, 2020 a petition was received by the unit from the management of the bank (name withheld) that someone remotely logged into the banking software and used the login credentials of some staff that were on leave to transfer the money to eight individuals of different banks. He said on July 3, Mumuni was arrested at First Atlantic Bank at Ridge, Adams at Fidelity Bank at Madina, while Issah and Chrissy were apprehended at Dansoman when they showed up to withdraw money transferred from the bank. ACP Yankson said on July 2, between 1am and 10am 13 fake swift transactions with some initiated outside working hours were fraudulently made to the accounts of eight people. He said management of the bank detected the fraudulent activity and disabled the SWIFT to prevent further transfer, and all banks involved were quickly alerted to prevent withdrawals. ACP Yankson said forensic examination of the devices retrieved from suspects indicated that Mends and Pussy Cat were part of the syndicate. He said the suspects were currently on police enquiry bail while investigations were ongoing. 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 SIMI VALLEY, Calif., July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- In a virtual celebration on June 26, the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute in partnership with GE recognized this year's class of GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program award winners. The recipients are: Parth Amin , from Van Nuys, California ; attending Dartmouth College , from ; attending Dartmouth College Adina Cazacu-De Luca , from Severn, Maryland ; attending Columbia University , from ; attending Michael Chen , from Green Cove Springs, Florida ; attending Massachusetts Institute of Technology , from ; attending Elliott Detjen , from Draper, Utah ; attending Harvard University , from ; attending Chase Eastham , from Somerset, Kentucky ; attending University of Kentucky , from ; attending Creighton Harrington , from Loup City, Nebraska ; attending Chadron State College , from ; attending Eleanor Hummel , from Louisville, Kentucky ; attending University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill , from ; attending Andrew Pasco , from Haddonfield, New Jersey ; attending California Institute of Technology , from ; attending Braedon Price , from Bowling Green, Kentucky ; attending Harvard University , from ; attending Emma Wiley , from Jackson, Ohio ; attending The Ohio State University The ten students will receive $10,000 per year for up to four years towards college tuition and room and board. To date, the scholarship program, now in its tenth year, has awarded $7 million to 175 students. "In these uncertain times, now more than ever, we need today's youth to be strong, hopeful and thought-provoking," said John Heubusch, executive director of the Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute. "We are honored to award college scholarships in President Reagan's name to these proactive, informed and engaged young adults, who will only continue to make a difference in their communities and our nation in the years to come." "This year's recipients represent President Reagan's characteristics of leadership, optimism, service to others, and most importantly, persistence," said Tony Denhart, University Relations Director for GE. "As they embark on their journey in higher education during an unprecedented time, these traits will serve them well, and I look forward to seeing the lasting impact that they'll bring to their communities and the world." The GE-Reagan Foundation Scholarship Program has been cited by U.S. News and World Report as one of four "huge scholarships worth $10,000 or more" that students should seriously consider. The scholarship selection committee evaluated the applicants on four values personified by President Reagan: Leadership, drive, integrity, and citizenship. About The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute: The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute is the nonprofit organization created by President Reagan himself and specifically charged by him with continuing his legacy and sharing his principles - individual liberty, economic opportunity, global democracy and national pride. The Foundation is a non-partisan organization which sustains the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library and Museum in Simi Valley, CA, the Reagan Center for Public Affairs, the Presidential Learning Center, The Air Force One Pavilion and the award-winning Discovery Center, as well as the Reagan Institute, which carries out the Foundation's work in Washington, D.C. The Reagan Library houses over 60 million pages of Gubernatorial, Presidential and personal papers, over 1.6 million photographs, a half million feet of motion picture film, 25,000 audio recordings, 22,000 video recordings, and over 83,000 objects chronicling the lives of Ronald and Nancy Reagan. It also serves as the final resting place of America's 40th President and his First Lady. www.reaganfoundation.org About GE: GE (NYSE: GE) is the world's Digital Industrial Company, transforming industry with software-defined machines and solutions that are connected, responsive and predictive. GE is organized around a global exchange of knowledge, the "GE Store," through which each business shares and accesses the same technology, markets, structure and intellect. Each invention further fuels innovation and application across our industrial sectors. With people, services, technology and scale, GE delivers better outcomes for customers by speaking the language of industry. www.ge.com Media Contacts: Melissa Giller, Reagan Foundation [email protected] Jeff Caywood, GE [email protected] SOURCE The Ronald Reagan Presidential Foundation and Institute Related Links https://www.reaganfoundation.org China on Tuesday warned the UK of a forceful counter-attack after London suspended an extradition treaty with Beijing-ruled Hong Kong weeks after the mainland implemented a controversial security bill in the former British colony. China will make a forceful counter-attack to the UKs wrong actions, Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin, said at the daily news conference in Beijing. China urges the UK to give up its fantasies of continuing colonial influence in Hong Kong and immediately correct its mistakes, Wang said, adding that Londons decision violated international law and norms. The two countries have had testy exchanges over the new security law for Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997. Ties have been further soured after the UK banned Chinese technology giant Huawei from taking part in the rollout of 5G network. Calling the decision to suspend the treaty an interference in Chinas internal affairs, Wang added that the Hong Kong affairs are Chinas internal affairs, and no foreign country has the right to interfere. He added that the Chinese government is unwavering in its determination to safeguard its national sovereignty, security and development interests, and in its determination to fully and accurately implement the one country, two systems policy. In London, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy said that recently London has repeatedly made wrong remarks on the national security law for the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) to interfere in Chinas internal affairs. The Chinese side has lodged solemn representations to the UK side on many occasions to express our grave concern and strong opposition, the spokesperson said. Earlier this month, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new law violates Hong Kongs high degree of autonomy and is in direct conflict with Hong Kong Basic Law, the de-facto constitution of Hong Kong that came into effect in 1997. Beijing had responded strongly to Johnsons offer to extend residency rights and a path to citizenship for up to 3 million people in Hong Kong after the law was ratified. Foreign ministry spokesperson Zhao Lijian had then urged countries to stop making use of Hong Kong issues to interfere in Chinas internal affairs. Zhao reiterated in a statement that China is Nobody and nothing could shake the Chinese government and peoples resolution and will to safeguard national sovereignty and security and uphold Hong Kongs prosperity and stability. His statement concluded: Any attempt seeking to undermine Chinas sovereignty, security and development interests is doomed to fail. From October, the JobKeeper rate of $1500 a fortnight will be replaced by reduced entitlements for part and full-time workers. Eligible full-time workers will receive $1200 a fortnight while part-time workers will receive $750 over the same period. In this episode, senior journalist Jacqueline Maley is joined by economics correspondent Jennifer Duke to talk about how the JobKeeper extension will affect the economy. Our supporters power our newsrooms and are critical for the sustainability of news coverage. Becoming a subscriber also gets you exclusive behind-the-scenes content and invitations to special events. Click on the links to subscribe to The Age or The Sydney Morning Herald. ICMR and Bharat Biotech are jointly working on the clinical development of Covaxin, which has received approvals for phase-I and phase-II human trials Panaji: Goa Chief Minister Pramod Sawant has said that the human trials of coronavirus vaccine have begun at the state's Redkar Hospital and congratulated the team behind it. Human trials of #Covaxin, an indigenously developed vaccine for #COVID19 has begun at Redkar Hospital in Goa. This is a testimony of India's immense potential in healthcare innovation. My best wishes to the entire team working on #Covaxin. #IndiaFightsCOVID19 Dr. Pramod Sawant (@DrPramodPSawant) July 20, 2020 Meanwhile, Preventive and Therapeutic Clinical Trial Unit was inaugurated at Bhubaneswar's Institute of Medical Sciences and SUM Hospital on Monday, ahead of the commencement of the human clinical trial of COVID-19 vaccine. Covaxin is one of the first indigenous vaccines developed against COVID-19 and is derived from a strain of SARS-CoV-2 isolated by ICMR-National Institute of Virology (NIV), Pune. The Indian Council of Medical Research and Bharat Biotech are jointly working for the preclinical as well as clinical development of this vaccine. It has already received approval for phase-I and phase-II human trials by the Drug Controller General of India (DGCI). Professor G Sahoo, Dean, IMS and SUM Hospital, Bhubaneswar speaking about the process told ANI that close to 30-40 candidates will be chosen for the first phase of the human trials which will commence from 22 July. "Recruitment and screening of volunteers have already started. After screening, we will select healthy individuals between the age of 18-55 for the first phase of trials. We will start the first phase of human clinical trial of the COVID-19 vaccine from Wednesday, after that volunteer will be in contact with us for two to three months," Sahoo told ANI. "We will monitor those candidates and they will be in constant touch with us. We will also call them here to test the antibody level in their blood after taking the vaccination if it found adequate, then we will go for the second and then for the third phase," he added. The dean also said that till a vaccine is found and is made readily available, all the precautions for COVID-19 should be followed strictly by the people taking the rising number of the cases in the country in mind. Further, Dr E Venkat Rao, principal investigator in the COVID-19 vaccine trials said, "We are committed to the maintenance of quality, ethics, patient safety and confidentiality of the highest level. We conduct clinical trials involving investigational drugs/molecules approved by the DCGI and the Central Drug Standardisation Control Organisation (CDSCO)." Healthy volunteers who wish to participate in these clinical trials can contact the institution, to register online through their website- ptctu.soa.ac.in or contact +91 89172 11214 through WhatsApp, Dr Rao said. The report released on July 21 surveyed over 2,600 businesses across 14 countries, markets and territoriesthroughout the world including businesses in Vietnam. The survey stated that this is a good time for Vietnamese enterprises to proactively address any disadvantages and begin considering restructuring to take advantage of new opportunities. The report pointed out some important motivations for enterprises including digital competency to help Vietnam accelerate again, aiming at reaching an historic growth rate. In particular, the recent ratification of the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA) in June 2020 has helpedVietnam to redesign its supply chain to meet EU regulations and take full advantage of opportunities from this agreement. The COVID-19 pandemic also contributed to warning businesses including Vietnamese businesses about the necessity of diversifying their supply chains to avoid risks due to overdependence on a specific market. HSBC Vietnam Chief Executive Officer Tim Evans said that the COVID-19 pandemic has pushed businesses into an unprecedented crisis, but at this difficult time,technology is becoming the optimal solution to help businesses and the economy survive. Many companies in Vietnam have shown that they are also harnessing the power of technology to promptly meet business activitiy needs and market trends, the HSBC Vietnam CEO said. Government said Matiullah Jan, known for his criticism of Pakistans powerful military, was kidnapped outside a school. Islamabad, Pakistan A prominent Pakistani journalist known for his criticism of the countrys powerful military is safe with his family 12 hours after he disappeared on Tuesday. Police said Matiullah Jan was last seen outside a government school in the Pakistani capital Islamabad on Tuesday morning. Jans wife Kaneez Sughra, 42, earlier told Al Jazeera she heard sounds of a scuffle outside the school, but she had not thought seriously about it at the time. I could hear that something was going on outside, but I couldnt hear my husbands voice When I called him, he was not answering. Sughra later told Al Jazeera by telephone Jan had been released and was back with his family. The circumstances of the journalists disappearance were not immediately clear late Tuesday. Pakistani Information Minister Shibli Faraz acknowledged the abduction in a press conference held in Islamabad. Faraz was speaking after a weekly cabinet meeting chaired by Prime Minister Imran Khan. I assure you that, while I do not have all of the details, this much is clear that he was kidnapped, said Faraz. We will try our best that today we find out where he is and what steps be taken to recover him. It is obvious that this is the duty of the government, and the government will fulfill its duties. Threats from many actors Journalists in Pakistan are under threat from a variety of actors, with rights groups decrying increasing government and military censorship, intimidation and harassment of journalists in recent years. Rights group Reporters Without Borders (RSF) ranked Pakistan 145th out of 180 countries in its 2020 World Press Freedom Index. Since 1992, at least 61 Pakistani journalists have been killed in connection with their work, according to the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). We are extremely concerned for the fate and wellbeing of Matiullah Jan, said Amnesty International shortly after the reported disappearance. He has been the subject of physical attacks and harassment for his journalism. The authorities must establish his whereabouts immediately. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) demanded the government immediately ensure the safe recovery of journalist Matiullah Jan. We are deeply concerned at increasing attempts to control the media, suppress independent voices, and curb political dissent, thereby creating an environment of constant fear, said Mehdi Hasan, HRCPs chairperson. Matiullah Jan has stood courageously by the people of Pakistan striving to realise their constitutional and fundamental rights Mr Jans abduction is an act of cowardice and warrants immediate redressal. HRCP demands that the government immediately ensure the safe recovery of journalist @Matiullahjan919, whose family confirms that he has gone #missing. Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (@HRCP87) July 21, 2020 Last year, an Al Jazeera investigation uncovered a sustained campaign of censorship through widespread distribution disruptions and intimidation in Pakistan, allegedly committed by Pakistans military and civilian governments. On Tuesday, prominent Pakistani news show host Hamid Mir told Al Jazeera that a segment of his nightly show that reported on Jans abduction was censored before broadcast without explanation. Jan, known for his outspoken political commentary, had become increasingly critical of Prime Minister Khans government since 2018, when he resigned from hosting a news television talk show on Waqt News. He has also singled out the countrys military, which has directly ruled the country for roughly half of its 73-year history since independence, for particular criticism, often using tongue-in-cheek YouTube videos to poke fun at senior military and civilian officials. Last week, the countrys Supreme Court issued a contempt of court notice to Jan over a tweet in which he had criticised the judiciary. Asad Hashim is Al Jazeeras digital correspondent in Pakistan. He tweets @AsadHashim Mewis was taken from outside Beit Tarkib, the arts center where she works on Baghdads Abu Nawas Street, around 8 p.m. local time Monday by armed men in two vehicles, a security official and human rights monitors said. Story continues below advertisement Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who traveled to Tehran on Tuesday on an official trip, has promised to reign in armed groups, but the pressure is mounting on the government amid repeated rocket attacks targeting U.S. installations, assassinations and disappearances. Advertisement We call on the Iraqi security authorities to strive seriously and expeditiously to search for her, said civil activist Hana Edwar at a news conference following Mewis disappearance. We also ask the kidnappers, if she was kidnapped, to ensure her safety and health and to release her as soon as possible. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, during a visit to Athens on Tuesday, said the German Foreign Ministry had established a crisis task force to deal with Mewis disappearance, German news agency dpa reported. Story continues below advertisement Maas said he did not want to talk about the case in detail considering the sensitivity of the situation but said we have started at the foreign office to take care of the case and look for a solution that secures the concerned persons well being. Mewis is a beloved figure in Baghdad, where she has resided for seven years and runs an arts program for young Iraqis through Beit Tarkib. She was often seen on her bicycle zipping along bustling Karada Street, an unusual sight in Baghdad, where foreigners are often cautious of the unpredictable security situation. Advertisement The men who abducted Mewis were driving a pickup and a van, the security official said, citing initial investigation reports. With details still unclear, he said security forces expect the kidnapping was perpetrated by armed groups or gangs linked to armed groups. Story continues below advertisement The security official spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to brief the media. Ali Akram al-Bayati, spokesman for the semi-official Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights, said witnesses saw Mewis being taken by the armed men. She had good relations with different NGOs in Iraq and Iraqi youth, he said. Mewis is a supporter of mass anti-government protests that erupted in Baghdad and across Iraqs south Oct. 1. Dozens of activists and protesters were kidnapped during the months-long demonstrations for speaking out against armed groups. Demonstrators gathered in the thousands to decry rampant government corruption, poor services and unemployment. ___ Associated Press writer Kirsten Grieshaber in Berlin contributed to this report. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A 15-year-old Black girl who has been incarcerated in Michigan since mid-May after she failed to do her online schoolwork won't be returning home, a judge decided Monday, in a case that has stoked outrage that it is emblematic of systemic racism and the criminalization of Black children. Oakland County Judge Mary Ellen Brennan determined that the girl has been benefiting from a residential treatment program at a juvenile detention center, but is not yet ready to be with her mother. Brennan, the presiding judge of the court's Family Division, scheduled another hearing for September, NBC affiliate WDIV reported. The girl, who is being identified only by her middle name, Grace, was the subject of a report published last week by ProPublica Illinois, with politicians and community activists expressing outrage over her incarceration. During a three-hour proceeding, Brennan told Grace that it was in her best interest to stay in the program after all of the progress she had been making. "Give yourself a chance to follow through and finish something," Brennan said, according to the Detroit News. "The right thing is for you and your mom to be separated for right now." Grace, however, told the judge that she wanted to go home: "I miss my mom. I can control myself. I can be obedient." After the hearing, an attorney for the family, Jonathan Biernat, confirmed that Grace had been making strides, but the "fight for her release" is ongoing. He was unavailable for further comment later Monday. A protester sits on top of a car in support of a Black student at Groves High School in Beverly Hills, Michigan, who was jailed due to a probation violation of not keeping up with her online schoolwork. (Emily Elconin / Reuters) This past school year, Grace was a sophomore at Groves High School in the Birmingham Public Schools, which is 79 percent white, according to school district data. Over the past few days, parents and students in suburban Detroit have protested in support of Grace's release from the Children's Village in Oakland County, the detention center where she's been held in the midst of the coronavirus pandemic. Story continues Download the TODAY app for the latest coverage on the coronavirus outbreak. At Monday's hearing, Brennan stressed that police had responded to incidents between the mother and the daughter three times, and that Grace's detainment was the result of that, the Detroit News reported. "She was not detained because she didn't turn her homework in," Brennan said. "She was detained because she was a threat to her mother." Brennan also addressed the scrutiny the case has come under. "My role is to make decisions that are in this young lady's best interest, period," Brennan said. "I took an oath that I would not be swayed by public clamor or fear of criticism." Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Michigan, is among those who have questioned whether race was a factor in detaining Grace. Black youth in Michigan are more than four times as likely to be detained or committed than white youth, according to 2015 data analyzed by the nonprofit Sentencing Project. "If it was a white young person, I really question whether the judge would have done this," Dingell said Monday on MSNBC. "Putting a young person in a confined area in the midst of COVID isn't the answer." White students join in protests in support of a Black high school student who was jailed after not keeping up with her online schoolwork during the coronavirus pandemic. (Emily Elconin / Reuters) On Thursday, the Michigan Supreme Court said it would review the circumstances surrounding Grace's detainment. Her case not only touches upon the issue of racial bias within the criminal justice system, but is also entwined with larger concerns over the coronavirus' spread in juvenile detention centers, as well as how children with learning disabilities are being disparately affected during the pandemic as a result of home schooling. According to ProPublica, Grace has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and receives special education services. The girl and her mother, identified as Charisse, had bouts of conflict. In 2018, Grace was placed into a court diversion program for "incorrigibility," but was released from it early, Charisse told ProPublica. In November, an assault charge was filed against Grace after police were called to an incident in which the mother said Grace became violent because she was upset she couldn't go to a friend's house. Weeks later, according to ProPublica, Grace was charged with larceny after she was caught on surveillance video stealing another student's cellphone from a school locker room. The phone was subsequently returned. A juvenile court hearing was held virtually in April, and a caseworker told the judge that Grace should receive mental health and anger management treatment at a residential facility; the prosecutor agreed. A court-appointed attorney asked for probation for Grace because she had not been in any further trouble since November and because of COVID-19 concerns at detention facilities, ProPublica reported. "My mom and I are working each day to better ourselves and our relationship, and I think that the removal from my home would be an intrusion on our progress," Grace said at the time, according to ProPublica. Robin Alford writes messages on her car at Groves High School in support of a Black fellow student. (Emily Elconin / Reuters) Brennan sentenced Grace to "intensive probation," with several requirements, including staying home, checking in with a caseworker, no phone use and completing her schoolwork. But the girl was unable to focus properly while learning from home, and she told a new caseworker in April that she felt anxious about the probation and overwhelmed. After her caseworker learned she had fallen back asleep one day and failed to do her homework, a hearing was held in May and the judge decided she had violated the terms of her probation. ProPublica noted that Grace's teacher had told the caseworker in an email that Grace was "not out of alignment with most of my other students," and how she was coping was "no one's fault because we did not see this unprecedented global pandemic coming." Watch TODAY All Day! Get the best news, information and inspiration from TODAY, all day long. Grace was ordered to juvenile detention because she was deemed a "threat to community as original charge was assault and theft," according to court records. Grace's supporters say the court's decision to incarcerate her simply underscores the racial disparities in even the juvenile system. According to ProPublica, from January 2016 through June 2020, about 4,800 juvenile cases were referred to the Oakland County Circuit Court. About 42 percent involved Black youth, although the population in the county is about 15 percent. Tylene Henry, who has a teenage son in the local school district and was among several supporters outside of the courthouse Monday, said she doesn't know Grace, but her situation has "opened up my eyes to the school-to-prison pipeline problem." Henry said she supports Grace's release and a larger overhaul of the juvenile system. "There's a lot of students like Grace. They're put into the criminal justice system as children instead of getting the help they really need," she said. "Why does mental health and behavioral health treatment have to come at a cost of being held in a detention center?" This article was originally published on NBCNews.com. Related video: President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky has said Ukraine hopes that a Normandy summit in Berlin will be scheduled soon and is ready for it. "Now we understand that we have a confirmation from Germany and France and Russia also does not mind. Therefore, everyone understands how important it is for all of us to meet in the Normandy format. So, we hope a Normandy summit will be scheduled soon," he told a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday, following a meeting with the president of Switzerland. COVID-19 Has Not (Yet) Caused a Flood of Loneliness Among Americans The coronavirus pandemic and its social distancing, work-from-home implications had many experts worry that Americans would become overwhelmed with loneliness. While mental health and loneliness have definitely worsened, people are surprisingly good at staying connected, studies show. Many of us have realized the importance of face-to-face and in-person interactions over the last few months. The coronavirus pandemic has sent people home from work and school, cancelled all concerts, large events and parties, and caused serious isolation feelings for so many individuals. Many experts had concerns that social distancing, although crucial for public safety, would severely hurt Americans health. While overall mental health has not been great lately, studies have shown that people are getting more creative and intentional when it comes to connecting with coworkers, friends and familyeven distantly. A Lonely Hypothesis The U.S. already has high levels of loneliness, and social scientists worried that social distancing (although the right move) would have a bad effect on Americans. One NPR article explains, though, that Americans have actually been much more resilient and intentional in building relationships during the pandemic. You might expect this would make things much worse, said Julianne Holt-Lunstad, a neuroscientist and social psychologist at Brigham Young University. Actually, a handful of studies have shown that a huge increase in loneliness has not occurredat least not yet. Researchers studying the pandemics emotional effects say humans might be responsible for this somewhat positive response. He is set to voice the main character in Paramount Animations The Tigers Apprentice, which is slated for a 2022 release date. And Henry Golding looked every bit the leading man on Monday afternoon as he strolled arm in arm with wife Liv Lo, 35, in Los Angeles. The 33-year-old Crazy Rich Asians star cut a stylish, but casual figure in a plain black tee and a pair of grey linen shorts. Suave: Henry Golding looked every bit the leading man on Monday afternoon as he strolled arm in arm with wife Liv Lo, 35, in Los Angeles Golding shielded his eyes from the sun with a pair of RayBan shades and he had his hair neatly styled with gel. He rounded out his ensemble by slipping his feet into a pair of Birkenstock sandals. Henry carried a reusable water bottle and a black bandana in his hand as he trekked down the sidewalk with his wife of nearly four-years. Liv showed off her taut tummy in a white crop top and a pair of yellow drawstring shorts. Strolling: Henry carried a reusable water bottle and a black bandana in his hand as he trekked down the sidewalk with his wife of nearly four-years Lunch time: The couple - who wed in 2016 - used their bandanas as mask, while grabbing food to-go from Belcampo She wore a pair of white sneakers with red and blue accents and had a black bandana tied around her neck. Liv's golden brown hair was styled into a middle part and rested just above her shoulders. The couple - who wed in 2016 - used their bandanas as mask, while grabbing food to-go from Belcampo. New project: It was announced last week that Henry would voice the tiger named Mr. Hu in Paramount's impending animated film The Tigers Apprentice; Henry pictured in 2019 It was announced last week that Henry would voice the tiger named Mr. Hu in Paramount's impending animated film The Tigers Apprentice. The Tigers Apprentice, which is based off the best-selling children's book of the same name, will be directed by Carlos Baena, a Pixar animator who worked on Wall-E and Toy Story 3, according to Deadline. The film is expected to premiere in theaters on February 11 in 2022. Chelsea are reportedly willing to offer West Ham both Ross Barkley and Michy Batshuayi in a swap deal for Declan Rice this summer. Frank Lampard is keen to bolster his defensive options in the summer transfer window after a season that has seen his side concede 49 times in the Premier League. Rice, who has emerged as key player for the Hammers in the last two campaigns, appeals to Lampard because of his ability to play in both central defence and defensive midfield. Chelsea are set to offer West Ham Ross Barkley and Michy Batshuayi for Declan Rice (above) Frank Lampard is keen to bolster his defensive options in the summer transfer window And, according to The Times, the Blues are hoping to tempt West Ham into an exchange deal with Lampard willing to offload both Barkley and Batshuayi to the London Stadium if it will help get their man. But is is claimed Chelsea have already been rebuffed and West Ham have made it clear they have no intention of selling Rice. They are also said not to be interested in Barkley or Batshuayi. Rice started out at the Chelsea academy but left for West Ham at 14. The Hammers know they do not need to sell their star man after being almost certain of their Premier League status next season. West Ham have been interested in signing Batshuayi, the Belgian striker, on loan in the past. The striker is now in the final year of his deal at Stamford Bridge, reportedly worth 120,000 a week, and has failed to make his mark on Lampard's team. West Ham have been interested in signing Batshuayi, the Belgian striker, on loan in the past Barkley has failed to cement his place as a regular starter in Chelsea's midfield this season Tammy Abraham's emergence has pushed him down the pecking order this season while the impending arrival of Timo Werner from RB Leipzig means Batshuayi is set to leave the club. Barkley, meanwhile, has failed to cement his place as a regular starter in Chelsea's midfield this season. The 26-year-old has made 28 appearances in all competitions since Lampard took charge last summer. The former Everton midfielder still has three years left on his contract though and is believed to earn more than 150,000 a week, a significant outlay if West Ham were to bring him in. Newcastle have also been linked with a move for the England international. 2.8% pay increase for doctors and dentists in Wales This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Jul 21st, 2020 Health Minister Vaughan Gething has announced a 2.8% pay increase for doctors and dentists in Wales. The increase is in line with the recommendations of the 48th Report of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body (DDRB) which was laid before Parliament today. Mr Gething said: I am pleased to announce that I will accept the recommendations of the Doctors and Dentists Review Body in full. This includes a base increase of 2.8% to all groups of doctors and dentists. This increase is well-deserved recognition for our hardworking doctors and dentists, and their contribution to the NHS in Wales. The Welsh Government is committed to supporting our NHS workforce, who have once again proved their dedication and commitment by delivering excellent health care in very difficult circumstances recently. The 2.8% increase is for all groups of doctors and dentists, including consultants, doctors in training, specialty and associate specialist (SAS) doctors, salaried GPs and dentists. The uplift in pay for contracted GPs and Dentists is part of overall contract changes and the Welsh Government will be engaging with the representative bodies. Mr Gething added: The UK Treasury has provided no additional funding to help cover the cost of any recommended uplift above 1% and so the additional funding needed will need to be found from existing budgets. Andrew RT Davies MS the Shadow Minister for Health has broadly welcomed the announcement of a pay settlement of 2.8 percent for doctors and dentists that matches the award made earlier today (July 21) by the UK Government. Mr Davies said: The announcement by Rishi Sunak MP, the Chancellor of the Exchequer, of a pay-rise for many in the public sector will be a welcome reward for the hard work and dedication shown by so many during the struggle against Covid-19, and I am pleased that the Labour Party here in Wales has followed suit for doctors and dentists. He added: Staff in all of these sectors have performed fantastically hard during the pandemic, and these settlements reflect the incredible contribution made by many frontline workers who have been under the sort of pressure and risk that most of us cant imagine. The Covid-19 pandemic has had a swift and severe impact on the globally integrated automotive industry. The global economy is currently in some form of lockdown and knocks to economic activity continue across the globe. Shinkichi Izumi, managing director of Nissan South Africa How has Covid-19 impacted Nissan South Africa? What's the biggest challenge the company is currently facing during this pandemic? Nissan has launched shop@home services. What exactly does this entail? Have an interactive video call with Nissans dealers nationwide linking digital solutions to the physical dealer environment virtually connect with our highly skilled sales executives for a real-time virtual demonstration of the vehicle. Order online the car of their choice Get a quotation or request a call back Complete the buying process online with the help of a finance calculator What was the process like? At Nissan, our goal and mission is to create a seamless customer journey through digital solutions and tools to support the rapidly changing consumer expectations, and with this overnight change in customer needs due to Covid, we were agile enough to developed a range of online solutions and services that our customers can make use of, from the comfort and safety of their own homes. Besides the obvious, what are the additional benefits of the shop@home service? Do you think that this new customer experience will impact the future of how cars are bought? Are physical dealerships a thing of the past? We find that human interaction through face to face discussions still has an important role in guiding purchase decisions. We see the Shop@Home services as a flexible, efficient and innovative way of adding to, and complementing, the showroom experience. For customers coming to dealerships, what sort of patterns and trends are you seeing? What do you think the next 12 months will be for the automotive industry? What has been the biggest lesson from all of this? For Nissan, responding to this unprecedented crisis has meant taking measures to protect employees, customers, and all members of the global Nissan family by positively changing how we do business on a daily basis. The automotive cluster is an important industrial sector in South Africa and its continuity is critical to the future industrial and economic landscape of the country.With that being said, there is now an urgent need for car dealers around the country to find new ways of engaging their potential customers without exposing them to the risk of contracting the coronavirus. More and more consumers are now relying to the web and are looking for innovative ways to interact with the cars that they intending to buy before making their final decisions.Taking the lead in innovation is Nissan South Africa, who have launched the shop@home services, a virtual experience that brings the showroom directly into potential buyers homes. All the most popular services, queries and bookings associated with a trip to your local dealer can now be done virtually from the comfort of your home.Shinkichi Izumi, managing director of Nissan South Africa, takes us through the future of buying a car...The pandemic has had a profound impact on businesses and people. We are adapting to a new normal by providing the functionality needed around buying and owning a vehicle, with the safety, flexibility, and ease of doing so from home or place of work. Now more than ever, it is about convenience for our customers.Like other organisations, there are different challenges. One of the recent challenges has been completing the manufacturing facility upgrades, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This has resulted in a slight delay in the production of the new Navara.Through Nissans newly launched shop@home services, customers can do the following:More added value features are in the pipeline and will be added to these existing functions in the future.The process involved empathising with our customers, understanding all the services and queries associated with a trip to the local dealer, and finding simple ways to offer these same services from the ease of customers own homes or place of work.In the next week, our pre-finance app and home test drive offered by selected dealers will be going live, including a comprehensive service and warranty information. Next on the list will be a full virtual showroom experience, providing a 360 virtual tour of the dealership and all vehicles from the safety of your living room.Well, people now have a choice between the physical and virtual experience of purchasing a vehicle. Due to Covid-19, there is evidence that more people will switch to online services. The digital space offers huge potential in revolutionising the vehicle purchase and ownership experience, and it is important to stay abreast of these changes.Many people still regard a physical showroom as the best way to interact and purchase vehicles of their choice.As expected, we are seeing that some of the customers are anxious. We have made sure that we adhere to all regulations as stipulated by the government, and guarantee safe and hygienic showrooms for our employees as well as our customers. We have also developed a range of online features and services that allow people to choose, compare, configure and even purchase a vehicle from the comfort and safety of their own homes.We cannot deny that Covid-19 has had a tremendous effect on the motoring industry, however, we remain optimistic about the future of the manufacturing sector in our country. Vehicle sales figures will increase in the next 12 months despite a weak new vehicle market, brought on to us by the Covid-19 pandemic.Covid-19 has affected every aspect of society. It has changed concepts of medicine, societal systems, social distance and is expected to change the positioning of mobility going forward. A former supervisor at the Miccosukee Tribes gaming complex was sent to prison Monday for a casino caper that churned out more than $5 million. Lester Lavin was sentenced to just over four years in prison and his girlfriend, Anisleydi Vergel Hermida, 31, to six months for helping him launder his cut of the stolen money, prosecutors said. Lavin, 44, of Miami Beach, pleaded guilty to conspiring to steal the funds, commit computer fraud and money laundering. Hermida, 31, pleaded only to the laundering charge. Last year, the couple and six others were charged in federal court with a scheme that involved tampering with electronic gaming machines at the West Miami-Dade casino, prosecutors said. The other defendants have pleaded guilty and await sentencing. Four former Miccosukee employees, including Lavin, a video supervisor, rigged the gaming machines to generate credit vouchers falsely showing winnings that they then exchanged for cash at ATM machines on the casino floor, according to an indictment. They also converted some vouchers to cash through cashiers at the casino. The 63-count indictment charged the eight defendants with conspiracies involving computer fraud, embezzlement and money laundering. Heres how the scheme worked: The four casino workers generated false coin-in amounts on the electronic gaming machines, including video slots, which resulted in fraudulent credit vouchers for the same totals, the indictment says. Mechanically, the four workers connected one end of a wire to a device inside a gaming machine that would recognize coins. They then connected the other end of the wire to another metal surface inside the cabinet that would cause the machine to generate the coin-in amounts. To erase their tracks, the indictment says, they conducted a hard reset or RAM clear of the [gaming machine], which would delete the history of the false and fraudulent coin-in amounts from the [machine]. The total take was $5.3 million, according to federal prosecutor Dwayne Williams. The alleged computer fraud scheme lasted from Jan. 29, 2011 to May 27, 2015. Story continues All eight of the defendants committed money laundering by taking the stolen casino funds and buying real estate, investment properties, vehicles and college savings plans in Florida, the indictment says. Lavins take was at least $654,150, the prosecutor said. The four former Miccosukee employees named in the indictment are: Lavin, Michel Aleu, Yohander Jorrin Melhen, and Leonard Betancourt. The other defendants are: Hermida, Maria Del Pilar Aleu, Anisleydi Vergel Hermida, Milagros Marile Acosta Torres, and Yusmary Shriley Duran. The investigation was led by the FBI with assistance from the Miccouskee Police Department. The National Union of Ghana Students (NUGS) has implored the National Peace Council (NPC) to speak up in the face of what it describes as "multiple acts of violence being perpetrated by government officials and functionaries of the government". According to NUGS, the NPC has been "awfully silent" giving "credence to the many rumors that the once revered institution is now defunct". According to the student union, if the NPC wants to be taken seriously by Ghanaians it must speak up and restore sanity to the political landscape. In a statement issued today, NUGS said it is puzzled that the NPC is yet to comment about the alleged brutal murder of one Master Silas Wulochamey, a graduate teacher trainee. Mr Wulochamey reportedly lost his life after he was stabbed following an altercation between some New Patriotic Party (NPP) and National Democratic Congress (NDC) supporters at a registration centre in the Eastern Region. "Not too long ago, Master Silas a graduate teacher trainee was allegedly brutally murdered in Banda by individuals alleged to have been assigns of the ruling party. It has been three weeks and nothing has been heard from the Peace Council concerning that unfortunate incidence," the statement said. The statement adds that the ongoing voter registration exercise has been marred with reports of intimidation of opposition party agents. NUGS cites "attacks" at Ledzokuku, where it says the private office of the NDC parliamentary candidate was breached by armed police and military personnel and Kasoa, where an MP and the Minister for Special Initiatives Hon Mavis Hawa Koomson admitted to firing a gunshot as instances of unprovoked attacks. "In all these instances, the National Peace Council is awfully silent and giving credence to the many rumors that the once revered institution is now defunct. If the Council want Ghanaians to take them seriously, they should speak and act now to restore sanity in our political landscape. The youth and students of Ghana do not feel safe enough and the mounting tension does not give us comfort. The time to act is now". 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 Traditional leaders in the Northern region have been urged to use their leadership roles and governance structures to help prevent political vigilantism among residents before, during and after the December 7 general elections. Alhaji Abdul Razak Saani, the Northern Regional Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), said Chiefs and Elders should not intervene for people who went against the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019, but they should help to bring such individuals to book. He said this when the NCCE in partnership with NORSAAC, a Non-Governmental Organisation (NGO), presented a copy of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 (ACT 999), to Gulkpe Naa Alhassan Abdulai, the Paramount Chief of Tamale. The presentation formed part of the NORSAACs Decent Elections 2020 Project, aimed at contributing to the effective implementation of Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019 as well as the roadmap and code of conduct to end political vigilantism for peaceful election in 2020. It is being implemented by a consortium including Sagani TV, with funding support from the STAR-Ghana Foundation. We are urging the Chiefs not to intercede on behalf of anyone who goes against the law because it undermines democracy. We want them to know that the law is there and anybody whose actions are found to be a threat of violence in the interest of a political party will be dealt with, he said. Alhaji Saani encouraged traditional rulers to help observe violent-free elections, adding that they should ensure the enforcement of the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act, 2019. Gulkpe Naa, Alhassan Abdulai, expressed gratitude to the organizations for the initiative and said they would uphold the law to ensure an end to political vigilantism in the region and the country as a whole. He appealed to political parties in the country to disband any vigilante group they had formed to guarantee peace before, during and after the 2020 elections. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video ROME - European Union leaders on Tuesday provided a vital lifeline for the Mediterranean countries that have sometimes felt abandoned by Brussels amid the coronavirus pandemic, reaching a deal to pump money into their hard-hit economies. Though the rescue package was celebrated by nearly all the leaders after tense, four-day negotiations, the reaction was perhaps most notable in Europe's south - particularly in Italy, where months ago politicians on the left and the right had expressed fury at the disunified European response. Under the deal struck Tuesday, Italy will receive the largest share of the stimulus money, with Spain receiving the second-largest. Nearly as important as the result were the political dynamics: Though some northern nations wanted a smaller rescue package with tighter conditions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron pushed back, smoothing over a north-south divide that has plagued previous crises. "It's a historic day for Italy," Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. "We have a chance to relaunch Italy with strength, to change the face of our country." He said Italy, which will receive $240 billion of the $859 billion recovery fund, would receive even more than had been earmarked in earlier proposals. That money comes in a form of loans and grants - the grants being more important for southern European countries, which are already saddled with high levels of debt. In Greece, whose economy last decade had required a bailout with onerous E.U.-dictated terms, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the stimulus deal a "national success." Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose country is set to receive $160 billion, said, "One of the most brilliant pages in E.U. history has been written." In April, the bloc's finance ministers approved a smaller stimulus package, but Italy and other countries walked away, saying a broader effort - involving the joint issuing of debt - was still needed. In the deal reached Tuesday, Europe plans to raise money by selling bonds, the first time it has used such a mechanism. Europe's southern countries, as well as France, are forecast to see their economies contract in the range of 10 percent this year. Spain and Italy emerged as coronavirus epicenters in the spring, and both imposed lengthy, rigid lockdowns that brought business activity to a near-halt. Even though the virus's spread has since slowed dramatically, southern European economies are being battered by a collapse in tourism. When debate about the pandemic response kicked off, many southern Europeans were fearful that any ambitious plan might unravel amid rancor - in a replay of the divisions among E.U. nations over sharing the duties of accepting asylum seekers during the height of the migration crisis. In Italy, in March and April, even reliably pro-European politicians had been warning that the future of the bloc was at risk. France and Germany were initially reluctant to share medical equipment, and Italy's proposal for "coronabonds" was shot down. Nathalie Tocci, director of the Italian International Affairs Institute, said Tuesday that the tune in Rome toward Europe has "changed fairly dramatically" since then. She said this European deal would prove to be the enduring memory. "The E.U. had been doing the bare minimum to survive, and this time it didn't," she said. "All of the divisions that we're so used to talking about, notwithstanding all of that, we did it." The Euroskeptic, far-right League party remains Italy's most popular, and its leader, Matteo Salvini, criticized the rescue package as a "big rip-off" in which Rome would be subservient to Brussels. But the League and Salvini personally have bled support during the pandemic, while the centrist Conte has risen in popularity. Matteo Renzi, a former Italian prime minister and member of Conte's governing coalition, said the deal was an "excellent result" for Italy and a "masterpiece" for Europe. "The sovereigntists lose," Renzi wrote on Twitter. "The agreement shows that a pro-European government is good for Italy." - - - The Washington Post's Stefano Pitrelli contributed to this report. By Nathan Layne July 21 (Reuters) - The mayor of New York City said on Tuesday he would take U.S. President Donald Trump to court if he went forward with a threat to send federal agents to help police the country's most populous city, but predicted that Trump was bluffing. Mayor Bill de Blasio spoke to reporters a day after Trump said he would send law enforcement to New York, Philadelphia, Chicago and other cities in a federal crackdown on anti-racism protests sparked by George Floyd's death in Minneapolis police custody on May 25. A Republican, Trump made a point of saying the mayors of the cities on his list were liberal Democrats, underpinning concerns the threat was politically motivated. Federal agents last week began cracking down on protests in Portland, Oregon, where the mayor is also a Democrat. De Blasio said Trump's threat may prove to be bluster, but added the city would challenge any deployment in the courts. He said unidentified officers grabbing citizens from the streets "appeared to violate basic constitutional rights." "This president blusters and bluffs and says he's going to do things and they never materialize on a regular basis, so we should not overrate his statements, they are so often not true." Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney predicted the deployment of federal agents would backfire by exacerbating tensions at a time when the cities are still grappling with the spread of COVID-19. "That the White House seeks to impose federal involvement in this way, after months of abrogating its responsibility to lead a federal response to COVID-19, is both ironic and offensive," Kenney said in a statement. Kenney said he would "use all available means to resist such a wrong-headed effort." He was no more specific. Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum sued the U.S. Department of Homeland Security last week and asked a federal judge to grant a temporary order blocking its officers from what she called unlawful detentions that lacked probable cause. "Ordinarily, a person exercising his right to walk through the streets of Portland who is confronted by anonymous men in military-type fatigues and ordered into an unmarked van can reasonably assume that he is being kidnapped and is the victim of a crime," the lawsuit said. Story continues The American Civil Liberties Union has also sued the department, saying its officers used violence against journalists and legal observers. After Trump cited Detroit as a possible target for a deployment, Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer, also a Democrat, assailed him for what she characterized as a "politically motivated threat". "There is no reason for the president to send federal troops into a city where people are demanding change peacefully and respectfully," Whitmer said in a statement. "Quite frankly, the president doesn't know the first thing about Detroit." (Reporting by Nathan Layne in Wilton, Connecticut and Gabriella Borter and Jonathan Allen in New York; Editing by Howard Goller) Web Toolbar by Wibiya On the one hand, the Justin Trudeau government recently expressed great public indignation when the U.S. Donald Trump administration presented a proposal to move U.S. troops close to the Canadian border. On the other hand, Trudeauapparently in secrecy and apparently roughly "two to four years ago" according to CTVhas allowed up to and potentially more than 100 U.S. troops to be stationed in Winnipeg, Manitoba. "There is a nice size American contingent here that are here for between 24 years," said Lt.-Col. Brian Hardeman of the U.S. Air Force. "We are embedded in the community, and we are happy to be here." Rest assured that the North American Aerospace Defence Command (NORAD) has been around since 1957, and if such a contingent of U.S. troops in Canada was not needed during the height of the "Cold War" with the former Soviet Union, when a nuclear war at times seemed potentially imminent, like during the Cuban Missile Crisis of the 1960s, then there ought not to be any international strategic military need for such a contingent now. This relatively recent migration of U.S. troops into a major Canadian city is therefore outrageous. I also find it shocking how CTV just sort of plopped in this information without asking any questions. My fellow Canadians, this is a recipe for the prospective takeover of Canada by the United States under the ideological pretext Manifest Destiny. Just ask Puerto Rico. Indeed, what the Americans are doing with the collaboration of the Justin Trudeau government is the oldest trick in the book on how to takeover a country while minimizing bloodshed. And this is how Puerto Rico got taken over by the United States. First, you offer to send your troops to be stationed in the country of your intended takeover in the name of "friendship," "peace" or "providing added security against the threat of a common enemy." Then, to quote Lt.-Col. Brian Hardeman of the U.S. Air Force in Winnipeg, once you have "embedded" over time a sufficient amount of your troops that have been acting the whole time as "sleeper cells" of military takeover, you then order your troops to secure annexation. The obvious purpose of these troops is not to support NORAD but instead to gather intelligence against Canadian military and political infrastructures on how best to efficiently expedite U.S. annexation of Canada, using the same playbook that the American political-military-industrial complex had executed against Puerto Rico. By the time Puerto Ricans figured out what was going on, they were made a U.S. colony. I can also tell you that "Wexit" specifically and so-called "Western alienation" in Canada has been contrived by the embedding of U.S. troops and American big business interests working together to turn Western Canadians to support an "American way of thinking" and not "socialism," which remains strong in other parts of Canada in the view of American elites. The Reform Party, which has now morphed into the Conservative Party of Canada, is an apparent principal front of clandestine operations to subvert Canadian sovereignty. Trudeau's allowing of U.S. troops in Winnipeg is therefore nothing short of a betrayal of Canadians in general, and specifically, the Canadians along with their First Nations and British allies who lost their lives fighting in the War of 1812 to push U.S. troops out of Canada. American troops had temporarily annexed parts of the Niagara Peninsula and worked their way to seek a takeover of both Quebec and Fort York, which is now Toronto. It is no secret that manifest destiny was on the mind of the American president who ordered a war against Canada in 1812, and manifest destiny against Canada remains on the minds of Americans. Indeed, a recent poll recorded a desire by a strong minority of Americans in general for the takeover of Canada, and rest assured, a majority of elites in the U.S. political-military-industrial complex would support such a takeover. After all, it was also very recently that U.S. President Donald Trump sought to buy Greenland from Denmark. The United States remains an essentially predatory imperialist society where elites seek to conquer foreign lands and where the average American is often left to suffer in a system driven by the insatiable pursuit of commercial profit and power. That's the milieu which has created disastrous conditions for the spreading of the prevailing pandemic. It is our so-called "socialism," as opposed by the U.S. political-military-industrial complex, which has enabled Canada to control the spread of the pandemic. The sooner that "embedded" U.S. troops are sent back home by the Canadian Parliament, the sooner that we as Canadians will reaffirm national sovereignty in North America against any desires south of the border to "complete the job" set out by American military commanders, political elites, and industrial interests in pursuit of manifest destiny against Canada. My question is how many more U.S. troops has Trudeau allowed to be embedded in Canada? There already seems to be enough U.S. troops in Winnipeg to seize Manitoba's provincial capital. Our national survival may be at stake in our efforts to hold the Justin Trudeau government accountable for its act of hypocrisy in allowing contingents of U.S. troops free rein to collect military and other intelligence. Such intelligence could be used to carry out a planned annexation of Canada, which has driven American elites since America's War of Independence against Britain. 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. Figure 1 Plan View of San Diego Project Outlining Four Key Exploration Zones Plan View of San Diego Project Outlining Four Key Exploration Zones Figure 2 Cross-section 1849 Target & Fernandez Zone along hole SD-12-49 (view to ENE) Cross-section 1849 Target & Fernandez Zone along hole SD-12-49 (view to ENE) Figure 3 Plan View of Fernandez Zone at 875 m Level 2012 Drilling Results Plan View of Fernandez Zone at 875 m Level 2012 Drilling Results Figure 4 Longitudinal Section of Trovador Zone (view north at 028) Longitudinal Section of Trovador Zone (view north at 028) TORONTO, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Golden Tag Resources Ltd. (Golden Tag or the "Company") (TSX.V: GOG) is pleased provide an update on the Companys strategic opportunities and plans for growth. As silver prices continue to rebound, the Companys 100% owned San Diego Project is well positioned as one of the largest undeveloped silver projects in Mexico, with significant potential for resource expansion. Key Highlights: The San Diego Projects potential was confirmed by SGS Canadas view that the 43-101 silver resources could potentially be expanded based on existing structures, as well as lateral and depth extensions Managements four key high priority targets include the 1849, Fernandez, Trovador, and Arroyo Zones. The San Diego project is fully permitted for drilling. A drill program is being designed to be implemented as the silver price continues to recover. Opportunities are being evaluated including mergers, strategic, corporate or direct project acquisitions in the Americas having a primary focus on silver. Greg McKenzie, President and CEO commented, "Since taking over leadership of the Company in May 2020 we are pleased to see the share price begin to strengthen, however, we are excited about the tremendous organic and strategic growth opportunities and believe that with the ongoing support of our strong shareholder base Golden Tag is well positioned to capitalize on the continued rebound in silver prices." Meaningful Organic Growth at the San Diego Project The 100% owned San Diego project, located in the prolific Velardena Mining district within Durango, Mexico, is among the largest undeveloped silver assets in Mexico. This district, dominated by Penoles, S.A.B. de C.V., has hosted silver and base metal mining operations for over 100 years. In 2013, the Company published a 43-101 resource prepared by SGS Canada, as outlined in Table 1 below on the San Diego Project. The resource was based on 33,000 metres of drilling and included mineralization from 23 different zones with strong lateral and vertical continuity. The last phase of drilling on the property was completed in 2012. Story continues Table 1: Summary of Estimated Mineral Resources- San Diego Project (SGS 2013) SAN DIEGO RESOURCE ESTIMATE (1) CoG (2) Tonnes Au Ag Pb Zn Ag.EQ (3) Ag Oz (g/t) (Mt) (g/t) (g/t) (%) (%) (g/t) (M oz) INDICATED RESOURCES Oxide Veins [6] 133 0.31 0.43 211 NA (4) NA (4) 234 2.11 Sulfide Veins [14] 52-125 1.38 0.20 123 1.23 1.85 197 5.43 Fernandez Zone [2] 52 14.8 0.06 51 0.65 1.17 94 24.1 TOTAL (5) 16.5 31.6 INFERRED RESOURCES Oxide Veins [8] 133 0.29 0.43 238 NA (4) NA (4) 261 2.2 Sulfide Veins [19] 52-125 13.1 0.11 93 1.41 1.83 171 39.2 Fernandez Zone [2] 52 28.7 0.05 46 0.7 1.08 88 42.4 TOTAL (5) 42.1 83.8 Notes: (1) Please refer to Table 1, page 3, SGS Canada NI 43-101 Technical Report: Updated Mineral Resource Estimate San Diego Project effective date April 12, 2013 available on www.sedar.com or the Golden Tag Web site www.goldentag.ca for further information. (2) CoG: Cut-Off Grade Ag.EQ (g/t); please refer to Table 31 on page 104 of the report for further information. (3) Ag.EQ: Silver Equivalent based on commodity prices of US$1455/oz Au, US$28.10/oz Ag, US$1.00/lb Pb, US$0.96/lb Zn applying estimated mill recoveries & smelter deductions & payables of 64.9% Ag, 76.4% Pb & 57.5% Zn for sulfide and 60.5% Ag & 62.5% Au for oxide resources. Zn and Pb are excluded from Ag.EQ for oxide resources and Cu and Au are excluded from Ag.EQ for sulfide resources. Please refer to Table 30 & Pages 103-104 of the report for more information. (4) Pb and Zn are excluded from oxide vein resources due to lack of metallurgical tests illustrating their potential recoveries. (5) Totals may not add up precisely due to rounding. (6) (Mt): million tonnes; (M oz): million ounces. Cautionary Statement: Mineral Resources that are not Mineral Reserves do not have demonstrated economic viability. The resource estimate for the 21 veins and mineralized body were defined by a drill pattern and applying reasonable geological shapes to limit the lateral extent of the veins and mineralized body. Combinations of cross sectional and plan level views were used in order to develop an understanding of the structural relationship and cut off grades were applied. The indicated and inferred categories were partially based on historic structures that consistently exhibit lateral continuity and constant thickness, many of which can be traced along surface for hundreds of metres. There are no known factors such as environmental, permitting, legal, title, taxation, socio economic, marketing, political or other relevant factors which could materially affect the resources. The San Diego property was originally known for narrow, high grade Ag veins in surface outcrop and shallow historic underground mine workings developed to mine oxidized veins. Initial exploration drilling confirmed the veins extended beneath the oxide zones as several laterally extensive, high-grade Ag-Pb-Zn sulfide veins to depths in excess of 400 metres. Drill campaigns in 2011-2012 demonstrated that below 500 metres, vein zones often widen, in some cases to more than 20 metres. This drilling campaign also identified broader mineralized zones, associated with intrusive bodies and hornfels, where massive sulfide, stockwork, and skarn mineralization and replacement sulfides in limestones occur in the southern part of the property (Figure 1). In the 2013 resource report, SGS recognized the prospective nature of the property and concluded that existing known mineralized zones, extended laterally and along their dip, could potentially provide an additional 20-50 million tonnes grading from 100 to 150 g/t Aq.Eq. It should be noted that the SGS stated range of potential tonnage and grades are conceptual in nature and insufficient exploration work has been performed to define a mineral resource in these areas, and it is uncertain if further exploration will result in the target being delineated as a mineral resource. However, the potential to expand the resource tonnage is a positive organic growth opportunity for the Company. The Companys new management team have reviewed the historical work performed on the project, including SGSs recommendations, and would like to highlight four key drill ready targets where the existing resources could potentially be expanded through additional drill programs: The 1849 Target lies at the intersection of the East-West Fault Zone (EWFZ) and Western Contact Zone (WCON) at the western contact of the central diorite intrusion on the property approximately 100 metres northwest of the Fernandez Zone, which is on the eastern contact of the diorite (Figure 2). This target area is located east of and within 250 vertical metres between holes SD-12-49 (20.4 m @ 73 g/t Ag, 1.81% Pb, 0.89% Zn & 14.9 m @ 72 g/t Ag, 1,86% Pb, 1.94% Zn)(1) and SD-07-18 (14.5 m @ 82 g/t Ag, 1.78% Pb, 1.94% Zn & 15.8 m @ 34 g/t Ag, 0.49% Pb, 0.62% Zn)(1), and along the 350 metre up-dip extension to surface. Mineralization encountered at the bottom of hole SD-07-18 is similar to that found within the Fernandez Zone. Further drilling will be required to confirm the potential of this target. In 2012, the Fernandez Zone was discovered ~450 metres below surface (1650 Level) and has been drilled down to a vertical depth of 850 metres below surface (Figures 2 & 3). This zone is located between two major structures, offers bulk mining potential, and remains open to the west, up-dip and at depth. The top of the zone was interpreted by SGS in 2013 at a vertical depth of 450 metres below surface, but no drilling has been conducted in this area to verify the upward extent of the zone. Impressive historical holes within the 43-101 resource include: SD-12-47 : 212 m @ 54 g/t Ag, 0.48% Pb, 1.28% Zn (1) SD-12-49 : 238 m @ 64 g/t Ag, 0.77% Pb, 1.59% Zn (1) SD-12-50A : 257 m @ 66 g/t Ag, 0.74% Pb, 1.69% Zn (1) SD-12-50W2 : 186 m @ 53 g/t Ag, 0.56% Pb, 1.20% Zn (1) The Trovador Zone target is in a 400 x 400 metre area between indicated resources located 150 m below surface (in proximity to the historical workings), and above inferred resources estimated in 2013 at depth (Figure 4). Within this prospective area, inferred resources were estimated around hole SD-11-42: 7.03 m @ 0.21 g/t Au, 87.7 g/t Ag, 2.06% Pb, 1.39% Zn (445.50 - 452.53 m)(1). The Trovador Zone is also open along strike to the west with historical drill intercepts ranging from 7 metres (SD-12-47: 6.92 m @ 66.9 g/t Ag, 0.9% Pb, and 3.22% Zn: 1004.4-1011.3 m) to over 50 metres (SD-11-40: 56.12 m @ 42.9 g/t Ag, 0.57% Pb, and 0.77% Zn: 782.1-838.2 m)(1). The Arroyo Zone was discovered in 2007 in hole SD-07-27 (166 g/t Ag over 4.60 m, including 776 g/t Ag over 0.6 m with 1.55% Cu)(2). This vein has been traced over a strike length of 525 metres from the surface to shallow depths with few, widely spaced drill holes from previous programs and contains near surface, higher-grade Ag dominant oxide and sulfide mineralization which warrants further investigation. Notes: (1) drill intercepts taken from Tables 12 & 15, pages 58-60 & 68-69 of the April 12, 2013 SGS 43-101 report; drill intercepts do not necessarily represent true widths. (2) Company news release dated August 27, 2008. The Company is fully permitted to resume drilling at the San Diego Project and is in the process of designing a drill program, to be implemented as the silver price continues to recover. Corporate Development Opportunities The Company has commenced evaluating strategic opportunities to add shareholder value through merger & acquisitions or by acquiring projects directly. The focus will be in the Americas having a primary focus on silver. About Golden Tag Resources Golden Tag Resources Ltd. is a junior exploration company exploring for high-grade silver deposits. The Company holds a 100% interest, subject to a 2% NSR, in the San Diego property in Durango State, Mexico. The San Diego property is located within the prolific Velardena Mining District, the site of several mines having produced silver, zinc, lead, and gold over the past century. For more information regarding the San Diego property please visit our website at www.goldentag.ca. Golden Tag has no debt and cash balances of approximately $2.1 million. For additional information, please contact: Greg McKenzie, President & CEO Ph: 416-504-2024 Email: greg.mckenzie@goldentag.ca www.goldentag.ca Qualified Person The scientific and technical information in this document has been reviewed and approved by Bruce Robbins, P.Geo., a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101. Cautionary Statement: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This News Release includes certain forward-looking statements which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Companys future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company, or management, expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, anticipated growth of the resource through exploration drilling, anticipated project acquisitions or merger/acquisition activities, the ability to find and acquire new resource mineral projects, and the ability to fund future drill programs. Figure 1: Plan View of San Diego Project Outlining Four Key Exploration Zones https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/65858160-5ed3-4ebc-8f08-f0fc6f00e276 Figure 2: Cross-section 1849 Target & Fernandez Zone along hole SD-12-49 (view to ENE) https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/3c3abcfb-d96f-403c-b906-0c4b7c48efc2 Figure 3: Plan View of Fernandez Zone at 875 m Level 2012 Drilling Results https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/a4649e6b-63f3-42f1-8c7a-e55e4e7958a7 Figure 4: Longitudinal Section of Trovador Zone (view north at 028) https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/9453f35c-547b-4afa-9528-22de82c838d4 GAUTIER, Mississippi -- A Harrison County deputy serving on a U.S. Marshals task force was wounded when shots were fired during the execution of an arrest warrant at a Gautier motel Tuesday morning. FBI spokesperson Brett Carr said local, state and federal law enforcement agents were executing a state warrant for the arrest of Joseph Dale Sonnier at the Siegel Select Hotel when Sonnier began shooting.. The deputy was assigned to the U.S. Marshals Gulf Coast Fugitive Task Force. Jackson County Sheriff Mike Ezell said the officer was shot once in the neck and was taken to Ocean Springs Hospital, where he was treated for his injuries and released later Tuesday. Sonnier, 31, is wanted in Hancock County for two counts of kidnapping, two counts aggravated assault, armed robbery and possession of a weapon by a convicted felon, according to Ezell. Federal charges for shooting the officer are pending, Carr said. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigation (MBI) is investigating the shooting and processing the crime scene, while the FBI is leading the investigation into the assault on a federal law enforcement officer. Carr said no other information will be released until the investigation is concluded. AURORA, Colo. - An investigation spurred by the death of a 23-year-old Black man after suburban Denver police stopped him last year will be led by a former Justice Department lawyer who oversaw its investigation of police in Ferguson, Missouri following the death of Michael Brown in 2014. Jonathan Smith, the executive director of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, will lead the three-person panel reviewing policing policies at issue in the death of Elijah McClain, Sentinel Colorado reported Tuesday. Three officers stopped McClain as he walked down an Aurora street on Aug, 23, 2019 after a 911 caller reported him as suspicious. Police placed him in a chokehold, and paramedics administered 500 milligrams of ketamine, a sedative, to calm him down. He suffered cardiac arrest, was later declared brain dead and taken off life support. His death generated renewed attention after the death of George Floyd while in police custody in Minneapolis in May stirred worldwide protests over racial injustice and police brutality. Smith was the chief of the Special Litigation Section of the Civil Rights Division at the Justice Department from 2010 to 2015, according to Smiths biography on the Washington Lawyers committees website. The Justice Department division is responsible for investigations of civil rights violations by law enforcement, juvenile justice and mental health and disability agencies. His selection was announced Monday night as the Auroras city council unanimously backed the scope of the investigation. Smith is expected to start his work ahead of the selection of two other panel members. Auroras investigation will focus mainly on city policies at issue in McClains death, including use of force and the use of ketamine, while the state attorney generals probe examines whether criminal charges are warranted in McClains death. Last year, the local district attorney said he could not file charges against the officers because a pathologist could not determine whether the officers actions caused McClains death. Federal authorities recently revealed they have been researching since last year into whether they should launch a civil rights investigation into McClains death. Officials have had difficulty determining who to select to serve on the panel to be led by Smith because they are seeking experts who do not have conflicts of interest, said city council member Allison Hiltz. One leading expert on ketamine was rejected by city officials because that person has lived in Denver for 20 years. They are trying to find experts from outside Colorado. Iraq's Premier Cancels Visit To Saudi Arabia As King Salman Taken To Hospital Radio Farda July 20, 2020 The visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi to Saudi Arabia has been postponed after the hospitalization of King Salman, the Saudi foreign minister said on Monday. "In recognition of the importance of the visit and a desire to make it succeed, our wise leadership in coordination with our brothers in Iraq has decided to postpone the visit," Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud wrote on Twitter. Al-Kadhimi was scheduled to arrive in Saudi Arabia on Monday for a one-day visit and then travel to Iran on Tuesday and later to the United States on his first foreign travel after becoming prime minister in May. Visiting both Saudi Arabia and Iran during one trip by Iraqi prime ministers has turned into a diplomatic practice to keep the balance between its two powerful neighbors. It is not clear if al-Kadhimi will still go ahead with his trip to Iran and the United States. Iran and Saudi Arabia are arch-rivals in the region, while Iraq's majority Shiites share religious identity with Iran and Arab identity with Saudi Arabia. Iraq receives financial and military support from Washington, another important player in the region. Baghdad also tries to balance its relations with the United States and Iran, which carries significant political influence among Iraq's Shiites and controls a vast network of armed militias. This has led to anti-Iran sentiments that have manifested themselves in popular protests since October 2019. The protests brought down the previous Iraqi government and after months of uncertainty Mustafa Al-Kadhimi became prime minister. He has exhibited more independence from Iran and a tougher stance against Iran's armed proxies. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iraq-s-premier -cancels-visit-to-saudi-arabia-as-king-salman- taken-to-hospital/30736926.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 On July 24, 2018, then-Boatswain's Mate 3rd Class Victoria Vanderhaden was taking an evening stroll on the boardwalk on Fire Island, New York, when she saw two swimmers in the water. It was 8:45 in the evening, waves were four to six feet, and winds were gusting up to 30 miles an hour. Read Next: Space Admiral? House Lawmakers Want Navy Ranks for Space Force The pair -- both men -- were shouting for help in Spanish. Vanderhaden, assigned to Coast Guard Station Eatons Neck, didn't hesitate. She asked a bystander to call 911, as well as the local Coast Guard unit, and jumped in. "Once I realized how much danger they were in, I knew I had to act fast," Vanderhaden said in a news release shortly after the event. "My training as a lifeguard and my knowledge as a Coast Guard member prepared me for instances just like this." She was able to reach both men -- one had drifted 50 yards offshore -- and help them stay afloat while the three swam out of a rip current. On Monday, Vanderhaden became only the second female Coast Guard member to receive the Silver Lifesaving Medal, given to those who rescue, or endeavor to rescue, any other person from drowning, shipwreck or other peril of water. She is the daughter of Master Chief Petty Officer of the Coast Guard Jason Vanderhaden. "Today, I had the honor to witness my daughter, [Boatswains Mate 2nd Class] Victoria Vanderhaden receive the #CoastGuard Silver Lifesaving Medal for rescuing two men off the beach of Fire Island in the summer of 2018. I couldn't be more proud to see Rear. Admiral [John] Nadeau ... pin the medal on her today in front of her mother and I, and a small group of her shipmates," the MCPOCG wrote on his Facebook page. More than 2,000 individuals have earned the Silver Lifesaving Medal since it and the Gold Lifesaving Medal -- for daring rescues that take place despite risk to the rescuer's life -- were established in 1874. In 2011, Chief Warrant Officer Beth Slade -- then a chief boatswain's mate -- received the medal for a 2001 rescue in which she and a member of a local rescue team entered dangerous conditions to save a man trapped in a capsized boat at Cape Disappointment State Park in Washington state. She and the other rescuer, Doug Knutzen, used a chainsaw to cut through the boat's fiberglass hull to save the fisherman. During Monday's ceremony, Vanderhaden, now assigned to Coast Guard Sector Mobile, Alabama, expressed gratitude for the award. "I am glad I was at the right place at the right time," she said following the rescue two years ago. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Monster.com. Follow her on Twitter @patriciakime. Related: Badassery on Display: Coasties Seize Nearly 20 Tons of Cocaine Getting it over the line wasnt just about responding to a virus that has claimed the lives of more than 100,000 Europeans and tipped the bloc into its worst recession in decades. It also meant settling scores between northern and southern Europe, with the frugal Dutch and Austrians reluctant to hand out cash to the heavily indebted Italians and Spanish. There was also a need to bridge the political gap between the west of the EU and the east, where democratic backsliding by the likes of Hungarys Viktor Orban has increased the pressure on Brussels to be more discerning about where it sends money. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Several radical new steps have been proposed. First, rather than individual countries raising the funds, the EU as a whole will use its collective financial muscle to borrow 750 billion euros on capital markets to rebuild its virus-scarred economies. Second, almost 400 billion euros of that money will be handed out as grants, and the rest as low-interest loans, making it cheap and easy to spend. Third, the European Commission the EUs executive arm will study a range of possible new taxes, including technology and financial transaction levies, to help pay for the fund. This isnt quite a United States of Europe brought together by the modern equivalent of a Hamilton bond, but the power to tax and spend is important. The fund is being presented as a temporary one-off, but this is still a big moment for supporters of deeper European integration. The deal also upends the traditional approach of a bloc that for years under the economic influence of Germany has preached fiscal rectitude and austerity as the response to economic crises. Past EU joint-funding efforts for struggling member states have been plagued by the top-down imposition of punitive terms and conditions, as analysis by the Institut Jacques Delors think tank shows. The treatment of Greece during its debt bailout program is the most depressing example. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement This pandemic recovery fund, by contrast, is intended to help needy countries without making their already strained finances worse. Thats a healthy development, even if it took a public health crisis to achieve it. Its also fair: Covid-19 is not the fault of any nation. Theres still a risk that this breakthrough in European solidarity might be weakened by overly strict conditions on how the money is awarded and used, which the frugal nations have called for. While some oversight is needed to avoid abuse, fraud or cronyism excessive scrutiny and obstruction could delay spending and trigger long political disputes. If a small group of countries can easily veto others plans, the recovery fund might be less effective. So far, it looks like the right balance has been struck on conditions. National Covid-19 recovery plans will be assessed by the Commission and signed off by a qualified majority of EU governments. Further down the line, individual governments can complain if another EU state isnt sticking to its promises, but it doesnt look like this would derail the spending. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Obviously, these are early days. The lingering lack of trust between states after the Covid-19 emergency is hard to ignore. Even with the U.K. gone and Germany swearing off frugality, the EUs North-South divide hasnt gone away. Part of the price of securing the approval of Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte and his fellow frugals was a big increase in their EU rebates, which cuts the amount of money they have to pay into the blocs budget. There may be more fights to come as national spending plans kick off. Skeptics will also wonder whether 750 billion euros is really enough. The EUs GDP is set to shrink by 7.8% this year, and yet its 27 members have been at each others throats over a stimulus package worth about 5% of GDP. Still, its an encouraging first step. The EU is showing that it can combine fiscal stimulus with monetary support from the European Central Bank without sacrificing its values. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement And, as French historian Frederic Bozo puts it, once the emergency faucets are opened, its hard to turn them off. If the EU can deliver a mixed monetary and fiscal response, backed by mutual borrowing, then such rescue packages will be forever within the realms of the possible rather than the fantastical. This fund may be the messy progeny of many governments rather than one, but its progress. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Lionel Laurent is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Brussels. He previously worked at Reuters and Forbes. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion 2020 Bloomberg L.P. The chief executive of PNB Paribas Asset Management, one of Europes largest investment firms, has said the global economy is facing the mother of all recessions as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic spreads around the world. Reporting on his remarks, the Financial Times said CEO Frederic Janbon had poured cold water on the idea of a swift recovery from the pandemic, pointing to what he called a very, very substantial drop in activities in pretty much all of the economies around the world. Janbon said a V-shaped recovery was unlikely and predicted a long recession before any upturn in economic activity, adding that the escalation of the stock markets since the middle of March did not reflect underlying global economic conditions. The huge rally we have seen over the course of the few months from the low point in March is probably a bit fast and probably does not take into account the risk of a second wave, he said, pointing to the rise in virus infections worldwide. The reference to a second wave is something of a misnomer. In the US, Latin America and many other parts of the world the first wave is still growing. Moreover, even if the virus is brought under control, its impact on the economy will be long lasting. Millions of jobs have been destroyed and will not be coming back. The Wall Street Journal reported at the weekend that many large US companies have determined the measures they took in March and April are not going to be sufficient. The increase in COVID-19 cases and related shutdowns have dashed hopes for a quick recovery. Consequently, businesses from airline companies to restaurant chains are shifting their strategies turning furloughs into permanent lay-offs, de-emphasizing their core businesses and downsizing production indefinitely. Amid sweeping job cuts in the airline industry,American Airlines has said 25,000 jobs are at risk and United is looking to axe 36,000 staffDelta said it had shelved plans to add more flights over the summer and did not expect business flying to return to pre-pandemic levels. The article cited remarks by Pret A Manger chief executive Pano Christou on the announcement by the sandwich chain that it had suffered an 87 percent drop in US sales and was planning to close 20 stores. We cannot defy gravity and continue with the business model we had before the pandemic, he said. Summing up the overall situation, the article noted: Executives who were bracing for a months-long disruption are now thinking in terms of years. Their job has changed from riding out to reinventing. Roles once thought core are now an extravagance. Strategies set in the spring are obsolete. That is, processes already underway, in the US and around the world, before the pandemic struck, are now being accelerated by it. Whole industries are undertaking a major restructuring in which millions of jobs will be destroyed. Those who remain will be forced to accept lower wages and conditions under the threat of unemployment as governments start to withdraw the limited support packages put in place in March. The effects of the crisis range across the entire economy. Bloomberg reported yesterday that global real estate investment fell by 33 percent in the first half of the year. So far the Asia-Pacific region has been hardest hit with investment down by 45 percent from a year earlier. With international tourism at a virtual standstill, hotel investment plunged by 59 percent in the first half of the year. Investment in retail properties dropped by 41 percent. The decline in trade is delivering devastating blows to export-dependent economies, most sharply expressed in the massive contraction in the economy of Singapore, which sits at the centre of the trading lanes of the Southeast Asian region. According to data released by the island states Ministry of Trade and Industry last week, gross domestic product (GDP) in the second quarter declined by 41.2 percent from the previous three months. Japan, the worlds third largest economy, after the US and China, is predicted to announce a 20 percent contraction in GDP on an annualised basis in the second quarter compared to the previous three months. The International Monetary Fund has said it expects global gross domestic product to contract by 4.9 percent this year with the total loss of output for 2020 and 2021 to reach $12.5 trillion. China recorded a 3.2 percent increase in GDP for the second quarter, following a 6.8 percent contraction in the first. The rise was largely a result of decisions by the central government to increase the amount local authorities can borrow for infrastructure projects that led to an increase in steel production. However, retail sales fell by 3.9 percent. Liu Aihua, a spokeswoman for the National Statistics Bureau, said the figures showed a gradual recovery, but pointed to mounting external risks and challenges due to the continued spread of the coronavirus. Despite signs of some revival, the Chinese economy is not going to be able to play the same role it did after the 2008 financial crisis when a massive stimulus package, the result of government spending and increased debt, provided a boost for raw material exporting economies around the world. In Europe, the European Central Bank (ECB) has forecast a contraction of close to 13 percent in the second quarter with a rebound in the third. But following a meeting of its governing council last week, ECB president Christine Lagarde warned that the loss of income and jobs, as well as exceptionally elevated uncertainty, would weigh on consumer sentiment and business investment. Leaving the ECBs monetary policy on hold, while announcing it would continue with its asset purchasing program of 1.35 trillion until June next year, Lagarde urged leaders of the European Union to waste no time in reaching agreement on a 750 recovery fund for countries hit by the pandemic. EU leaders then held their second longest meeting in history. Starting on Friday and reaching into the early hours of Tuesday morning, it was marked at times by bitter exchanges before reports emerged they were closing in on a deal. The main conflict was with the so-called frugal fourthe Netherlands Austria, Denmark and Swedenthat demanded a significant reduction in the allocation of grants to economically weakened countries from the 500 billion proposed in the initial French-German plan. The intensity of the disputes led Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte to comment at one point that failure to strike a deal could lead to the destruction of Europes single market. The rift may have been covered over for now but divisions are certain to re-emerge under conditions of deepening recession. A wind power project expected to generate 400 megawatts of electricity has stalled as government appears to brood over the current excess capacity in the system. It is being developed by Swiss-based engineering company, NEK Umwelttechnik AG, together with its affiliated company, Upwind International AG. The power project consists of two wind farms located at Konikablo and Ayitepa in the Greater Accra Region. They are to bring an installed electricity capacity of more than 400 megawatts of clean, renewable, cheap and sustainable energy when completed. The two sites are part of a total of five large-scale wind energy projects being undertaken by the two companies to generate around 1,000 megawatts of electricity. A Project Management Officer of NEK, Miss Jasmine Kappiah, said although the Ayitepa Wind Farm project had received all required permits, including a power purchase agreement (PPA) with the Electricity Company of Ghana (ECG) by the end of 2017, the project had stalled because government had not given the investors the go-ahead to start construction. Tour Briefing a media team during a tour to the Ayitepa wind farm in the Ningo-Prampram District on Wednesday, July 15, 2020, Miss Kappiah said the 225 megawatts Ayitepa Wind Farm project, consisting of up to 75 wind turbines with heights of up to 140 metres on about 1,000 acres, were secured by NEK under a 30-year land lease agreement with the owners of the land. She said the project, scheduled to be carried out in two phases, is estimated at an investment volume of $450 million. The first phase will generate 150 megawatts, while the second phase will generate 75 megawatts. She attributed the delay to Ghanas excess capacity in the energy sector and the governments commitments to different independent power producers (IPPs), including Karpowership, Aska, Amandi, Ameri, and Cenpower. She noted that while the other IPPs were producing electricity using oil and gas at a high cost to consumers, NEKs wind farms would, however, produce electricity on a much cheaper level in a sustainable and environmentally friendly manner. She said the Konikablo Wind Farm, also located on the Tema-Aflao Highway, would have a capacity of up to 200MW clean, affordable and reliable electrical energy once completely commissioned. Moratorium Miss Kappiah said due to the moratorium placed on any new renewable energy project by the government, the investors had decided to sell the electricity from the Konikablo Wind Farm to bulk consumers in Ghana, and export to other countries in the West Africa sub-region. To that end, NEK in October 2019, signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with ECOWAS for the export of cheap power from the Konikablo Wind Farm to Togo, Burkina Faso and other neighbouring countries through the West African Power Pool Grid to offtakers in those countries. She said NEK was in the process of acquiring the authorisations, and that the construction of the Konikablo Wind Farm would commence in 2022. Commitment The Executive Director of the Institute of Energy Security (IES), Nana Amoasi VII, called on government to show the same effort and commitment to renewable energy as it had shown for non-renewable energy sources over the years. Nana Amoasi, known in private life as Paa Kwasi Anamua Sakyi, noted that although the 2017 Budget stated that government would facilitate the implementation of the wind farm projects by 2018, nothing had been done three years on. He called on the government to show more commitment by investing in renewable energy to expand energy access and enhance efficiency. He said effective investment in renewable energy would help cut global warming emissions, create new jobs, diversify power supply and decrease dependence on fossil fuel. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 02:00:07|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump discussed during a phone conversation on Monday the recent developments in the war-torn Libya. During the phone call, Sisi stressed Egypt's strategic stance towards the Libyan issue, which aims at "preserving the country's national institutions and preventing further deterioration of the security conditions by illegal foreign interventions," Egyptian Presidential Spokesman Bassam Rady said in a statement. He added that Sisi also affirmed that the foreign interventions only worsened the security situation in the oil-rich country, which consequently affected the regional stability and security. For his part, Trump expressed his understanding of Egypt's concerns regarding the negative repercussions of the Libyan crisis on the region, praising the Egyptian efforts to solve the Libyan issue, Rady said. The spokesman added that both leaders agreed to enforce a cease-fire and de-escalation in Libya to pave the way for reactivating dialogue and political solutions. Rady revealed that Sisi and Trump exchanged visions on the recent developments of the Grand Ethiopia Renaissance Dam (GERD) being built on the Nile River. They have also highlighted the importance of continuing negotiations to reach a comprehensive agreement that achieves the interests of Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. On July 16, Sisi vowed that his country will not stand idle in face of any direct threats to the security of Egypt and Libya. His remarks came after tribal leaders allied to the eastern-based Libyan National Army (LNA) led by Khalifa Haftar authorized him, during a meeting in Cairo, to intervene militarily in Libya. Libya has been engaged in a civil war since the ouster and killing of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. The situation escalated in 2014, splitting power between two rival governments with warring forces: the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) based in the capital Tripoli and the LNA. Egypt, Russia and the United Arab Emirates support Haftar's LNA, while the GNA is mainly backed by Turkey and Qatar. Enditem Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! When close to half the companies in the United Kingdom have price-to-earnings ratios (or "P/E's") below 15x, you may consider Cello Health plc (LON:CLL) as a stock to avoid entirely with its 36.1x P/E ratio. Nonetheless, we'd need to dig a little deeper to determine if there is a rational basis for the highly elevated P/E. For example, consider that Cello Health's financial performance has been poor lately as it's earnings have been in decline. It might be that many expect the company to still outplay most other companies over the coming period, which has kept the P/E from collapsing. You'd really hope so, otherwise you're paying a pretty hefty price for no particular reason. See our latest analysis for Cello Health How Does Cello Health's P/E Ratio Compare To Its Industry Peers? An inspection of average P/E's throughout Cello Health's industry may help to explain its particularly high P/E ratio. The image below shows that the Media industry as a whole has a P/E ratio similar to the market. So we'd say there is little merit in the premise that the company's ratio being shaped by its industry at this time. In the context of the Media industry's current setting, most of its constituents' P/E's would be expected to be held back. However, what is happening on the company's own income statement is the most important factor to its P/E. pe Although there are no analyst estimates available for Cello Health, take a look at this free data-rich visualisation to see how the company stacks up on earnings, revenue and cash flow. How Is Cello Health's Growth Trending? There's an inherent assumption that a company should far outperform the market for P/E ratios like Cello Health's to be considered reasonable. If we review the last year of earnings, dishearteningly the company's profits fell to the tune of 35%. Unfortunately, that's brought it right back to where it started three years ago with EPS growth being virtually non-existent overall during that time. So it appears to us that the company has had a mixed result in terms of growing earnings over that time. Story continues Comparing that to the market, which is predicted to shrink 15% in the next 12 months, the company's positive momentum based on recent medium-term earnings results is a bright spot for the moment. With this information, we can see why Cello Health is trading at a high P/E compared to the market. Investors are willing to pay more for a stock they hope will buck the trend of the broader market going backwards. Nonetheless, with most other businesses facing an uphill battle, staying on its current earnings path is no certainty. The Bottom Line On Cello Health's P/E Using the price-to-earnings ratio alone to determine if you should sell your stock isn't sensible, however it can be a practical guide to the company's future prospects. We've established that Cello Health maintains its high P/E on the strength of its recentthree-year growth beating forecasts for a struggling market, as expected. Right now shareholders are comfortable with the P/E as they are quite confident earnings aren't under threat. Our only concern is whether its earnings trajectory can keep outperforming under these tough market conditions. Although, if the company's relative performance doesn't change it will continue to provide strong support to the share price. And what about other risks? Every company has them, and we've spotted 2 warning signs for Cello Health you should know about. Of course, you might find a fantastic investment by looking at a few good candidates. So take a peek at this free list of companies with a strong growth track record, trading on a P/E below 20x. 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. Announcement: Moody's extends review for downgrade on three Sri Lankan banks' ratings Global Credit Research - 21 Jul 2020 Singapore, July 21, 2020 -- Moody's Investors Service has today extended its review for downgrade on Bank of Ceylon's (BOC), Hatton National Bank PLC's (HNB) and Sampath Bank PLC's (Sampath) long-term local currency deposit and foreign currency issuer ratings of B2. A full list of the ratings and assessments on review is provided at the end of this press release. RATINGS RATIONALE The extension of the review for downgrade on the banks' ratings follows the review for downgrade that remains in place on Sri Lanka's B2 sovereign rating. Moody's believes that there is a high level of dependency between the creditworthiness of the banks and that of the sovereign, given that the banks operate mainly within the country and hold significant amounts of sovereign debt. Furthermore, the government's ability to support the banks in times of need is a key input to Moody's assessment of the banks' ratings. Moody's had earlier initiated the review for downgrade on the banks' ratings following its placement of the sovereign rating on review for downgrade. For more information on the sovereign rating action, please refer to the announcement at: https://www.moodys.com/research/Moodys-places-Sri-Lankas-B2-ratings-on-review-for-downgrade--PR_422296 WHAT COULD CHANGE THE RATING UP/DOWN Given the review for downgrade, the banks' Baseline Credit Assessments (BCAs) and long-term ratings are unlikely to be upgraded during the review period. Nevertheless, Moody's could confirm the ratings if Sri Lanka's sovereign rating is confirmed. A downgrade of the sovereign rating could lead to a downgrade of the banks' BCAs and long-term ratings. Moody's could also downgrade the banks' BCAs if there is a material deterioration in asset quality. A significant decline in capitalization could also exert downward pressure on the banks' BCAs. PRINCIPAL METHODOLOGY The principal methodology used in these ratings was Banks Methodology published in November 2019 and available at https://www.moodys.com/research/Banks-Methodology--PBC_1147865. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. Story continues Bank of Ceylon, headquartered in Colombo, reported total assets of LKR2,603 billion at 31 March 2020. Hatton National Bank PLC, headquartered in Colombo, reported total assets of LKR1,219 billion at 31 March 2020. Sampath Bank PLC, headquartered in Colombo, reported total assets of LKR1,028 billion at 31 March 2020. The full list of ratings and assessments on review is as shown below: Issuer: Bank of Ceylon .... b3 Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment .... b3 Baseline Credit Assessment .... B2(cr) Long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment .... B2 Long-term Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign and Local Currency) .... B2 Long-term Issuer Rating (Foreign Currency) .... B3 Long-term Deposit Rating (Foreign Currency) .... B2 Long-term Deposit Rating (Local Currency) .... Outlook, Rating Under Review Issuer: Hatton National Bank Ltd. .... b2 Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment .... b2 Baseline Credit Assessment .... B1(cr) Long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment .... B1 Long-term Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign and Local Currency) .... B2 Long-term Issuer Rating (Foreign Currency) .... B3 Long-term Deposit Rating (Foreign Currency) .... B2 Long-term Deposit Rating (Local Currency) .... Outlook, Rating Under Review Issuer: Sampath Bank PLC .... b2 Adjusted Baseline Credit Assessment .... b2 Baseline Credit Assessment .... B1(cr) Long-term Counterparty Risk Assessment .... B1 Long-term Counterparty Risk Rating (Foreign and Local Currency) .... B2 Long-term Issuer Rating (Foreign Currency) .... B3 Long-term Deposit Rating (Foreign Currency) .... B2 Long-term Deposit Rating (Local Currency) .... Outlook, Rating Under Review Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating. 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. Tengfu Li Analyst Financial Institutions Group Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. Ltd. 50 Raffles Place #23-06 Singapore Land Tower Singapore 48623 Singapore JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350 Client Service: 852 3551 3077 Graeme Knowd MD - Banking Financial Institutions Group JOURNALISTS: 852 3758 1350 Client Service: 852 3551 3077 Releasing Office: Moody's Investors Service Singapore Pte. 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David Hollister used to field messages comparing him to Nazis over his proposal to mandate the wearing of seat belts. In 2020, some protesters of Gov. Gretchen Whitmers coronavirus restrictions mockingly chanted Heil Whitmer. That isnt the only example of history repeating itself. Four decades ago, politicians in Lansing argued whether legally requiring drivers to wear seat belts was a violation of individual liberty and responsibility. As Whitmer and Michigan Democrats argue that masks save lives, Republican opponents question whether such mandates should come from Lansing or from local governments. Let me reiterate this: if 95% of the U.S. population wears a mask in public, we will save more than 45,000 lives, Whitmer wrote in a July 8 tweet. Wear a mask. Save lives. The governor referenced an Institute of Health Metrics and Evaluation study from June 2020 that concluded mask use results in a 50 percent reduction in COVID-19 transmission. The study does not align a percentage of mask wearing to a number of lives saved, but it predicts 169,890 coronavirus deaths in the United States by Oct. 1, based on current behavior. Hollister, who represented the Lansing area, was similarly drawn to seat belt legislation because studies at the time were indicating that thousands of lives could be saved. Secretary of State Dick Austin brought me to his office and told me there were two studies he wanted me to read, Hollister said. One study said that mandatory seat belts would save lives, cause fewer injuries and they would be less severe... Eventually, we won, because the numbers were eventually just obviously on our side. Related: When and where masks are required in Michigan, now Seat belts saved an estimated 14,955 lives in 2017 and could have saved an additional 2,549 people if they had been worn, a National Highway Traffic Safety Administration study says. Democratic legislators are making similar points, and in some cases, are directly connecting the safety benefits of donning masks and wearing seat belts. You wear a life jacket when on the water, wrote Rep. Darrin Cammileri, D-Brownstown., in a July 10 tweet. You wear a seat belt in the car. You wear goggles and earplugs on the factory floor. You wear a hat and gloves when its cold... and you wear a mask at stores, restaurants, indoor places, and outdoor gatherings. Others followed suit. They do not infringe on your freedom, said Sen. Mallory McMorrow, D-Royal Oak, in a July 13 tweet. They give us the freedom to keep businesses open, see our family and friends, ensure schools can open safely in the Fall. Just like seat belts gave us the freedom to travel more with less danger. Sen. John Bizon, R-Battle Creek, said he definitely sees the health benefit of wearing masks, but views a statewide mandate as too broad an approach. The former otolaryngologist, or ear, nose and throat doctor, and Air Force flight surgeon, said the rules on mask-wearing should not be one size fits all throughout Michigan. Mandate is a strong word, he told MLive. I would argue that oftentimes, what you see in your local community may be very, very different, depending on where you are. If youre from the Upper Peninsula and you have to drive miles before you see anyone, much less before you see anyone with the disease, it would seem like the need to wear a mask might be less urgent than if you were coming from a city thats more populated with infected residents. The majority vice chair of the Senate Health Policy and Human Services Committee further proposed that county health departments set the policy, not Whitmer. Regardless of whether its government-mandated, Bizon urges individual responsibility to wear masks to prevent transmission in high-risk areas. If you wear a mask, you not only protect yourself, but you protect others around you, he said. If you are at risk, like we might very well may be in the Capitol, and were coming across other people in the hallways, than yes, I support it. Mask-wearing is not an inherently political issue, said Sen. Peter Lucido, R-Shelby Township, but there must be exceptions for people with breathing issues that could be exacerbated by masks. Under Whitmers latest executive order, businesses cant assume someone without a face covering is medically exempt from wearing one, though they can accept that explanation if the customer offers it. Related: Whitmer tightens Michigan mask order, says businesses cant assume customers are exempt The medical exemption in particular got a lot of attention from legislators such as Lucido, who argued it could violate the Americans with Disabilities Act. Attorneys interviewed by MLive, however, said businesses are unlikely to run afoul of the ADA if they turn away customers who say they are medically exempt from wearing masks. Lucido credited Whitmer for the exception, but requested further nuance and clarity to her statewide orders. Related: When and where masks are required in Michigan, now Arguments about civil liberties and local autonomy echo in the ears of Hollister, who said he had to overcome heavy opposition during the seat belt battles. One study from the University of Michigan said 65 percent of people opposed wearing seat belts in 1982, he said. Legislators got letters upon letters complaining about the legislation, which paralyzed action. Its hard to change public opinion, and we had to overcome the civil liberty argument. To do that, he had a slide built for legislators to experience a collision at just 5 mph, and he passed around grisly crash photos to demonstrate the damage caused by not wearing seat belts. By July 1985, the law was put into effect. A COVID-19 simulation isnt necessary in this case, Hollister said, since most government officials seem to be on the same page on the effectiveness of masks. However, he thinks the difference between the 1980s and now is that President Donald Trump is undermining his own partys thinking. The message from the White House really undermines the ability for collaboration on this argument, he said. The data is all there. Its all on the side of the science. This is not a data-driven system, though, its an emotionally-driven one. Rather than changing the minds of the opposition, Hollister instead thinks the decision will be made in November. As long as theres political division, the legislation for mask-wearing will flounder, he said. We probably have to wait until the next election is over, and theres a rejection of Trumps chaos. Read more from MLive: When and where masks are required in Michigan, now Are Michigan students really going back to school? Teachers, health officials say reopening is a minefield GOP lawmaker pushing to override Whitmer veto of tax deferral bills French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire told France Info radio on Tuesday that France would not ban China's Huawei from investing in the country, in contrast to Britain which has decided to purge the firm's equipment from its 5G network by 2027. Le Maire nevertheless condemned China's alleged abuses against the country's minority Muslim population. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China last week, saying the United States would impose visa restrictions on Chinese firms such as Huawei that he accused of facilitating human-rights violations. Johannesburg, South Africa Ten of Africa's biggest musical artists are uniting to record Stand Together, a rallying call to all Africans to unite against COVID-19. With artists from seven African countries, the song is a powerful reminder that no one is safe from COVID-19 until everyone is protected from the disease. The biggest crisis facing Africa today is the COVID-19 pandemic, which comes on top of already high unemployment and poverty levels and is placing an increased strain on struggling healthcare systems. The good news, however, is that we are seeing an unprecedented mobilization of resources and collaboration across the continent in response to the virus. Building on this collective unity and resolve, the artists are collaborating with the ONE Campaign to launch an anthem to call for solidarity in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic, while calling on African leaders to keep standing alongside African citizens in fighting this pandemic. Participating artists include TuBaba (Nigeria), Ben Pol (Tanzania), Teni (Nigeria), Yemi Alade (Nigeria), Amanda Black (South Africa), Stanley Enow (Cameroon), Gigi la Mayne (South Africa), Prodigio (Angola), Betty G (Ethiopia) and Ahmed Soultan (Morocco). Stand Together was produced by Cobhams Asuquo. The song is being launched in partnership with ONE, the Nelson Mandela Foundation and MTV Base on Mandela Day, an annual celebration of the life of Nelson Mandela. Stand Together will debut during the annual Nelson Mandela Lecture on Saturday 18 July 3PM SAST/9AM EST. Edwin Ikhuoria, ONEs Africa Executive Director stated: ONE is delighted to collaborate with these 10 fantastic artists, MTV Base and the Nelson Mandela Foundation to release Stand Together, a beautiful and powerful message to all Africans that we will overcome COVID-19 with a spirit of unity, resolve and shared responsibility. We call on Africa leaders to follow the lead of these artists who are uniting the continent in line with the legacy of Nelson Mandela. This year's keynote address will be delivered by the United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres under the theme: Tackling the Inequality Pandemic: A New Social Contract for a New Era. Other notable speakers include South African and African Union chair President Ramaphosa and Dr. Graca Machel. We have been encouraged by solidarity at so many levels as the world has responded to the challenge of the pandemic. But much more needs to be done. We hope that the coming together of artists in the ONE Campaign will signal a call to such action, said Nelson Mandela Foundation Chief Executive, Sello Hatang. Speaking on the collaboration, Monde Twala, Senior Vice President and General Manager for ViacomCBS Networks Africa commented We are extremely proud and excited to partner with the ONE Stand Together campaign uniting all Africans in the fight against Covid-19. As a youth culture platform, it is important to ensure that we reach out and inspire young Africans with a positive message of hope and resilience to help overcome the challenges we all face. We are not alone and stand together, unified, through music and culture. Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon died on Tuesday at the age of 85. He was admitted to Lucknows Medanta hospital on June 11 after complaining of breathlessness, difficulty in urination and fever. Leaders cutting across party lines have condoled Tandons death. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, other central ministers and chief ministers also expressed shock and paid tributes to Tandon. He is survived by wife Krishna Tandon and three sons. One of his son, Ashutosh Tandon, is a minister in Uttar Pradesh government. Tandon was born in Chowk in Lucknow on April 12, 1935, to Shivnarayan Tandon and Annpurna Devi. He entered Uttar Pradesh assembly as a Member of Legislative Council (MLC) in 1978. He again entered the upper house in 1990 and it was during this second term as MLC, when he became a minister for the first time. Tandon was given charge of the power ministry in Uttar Pradesh. Tandon started contesting UP Assembly elections from 1996 and became MLA thrice between 1996 to 2009. From 1997 to 1999, he was the UP urban development minister. He held a number of portfolios in his long political career. Before becoming Governor of Madhya Pradesh, Tandon served as Bihar Governor from August 2018 to July 2019. He won the Lucknow Lok Sabha seat in 2009. He was considered close to former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. PM Modi said Tandon will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. He played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He made a mark as an effective administrator, always giving importance of public welfare. Anguished by his passing away, PM Modi tweeted. Defence minister Rajnath Singh also condoled Tandons death and remembered his as one of the tallest leaders of Uttar Pradesh. The Bahamas is closing its borders to travelers from the United States due to concerns over the coronavirus. International commercial flights and commercial vessels carrying passengers will not be permitted to enter our borders, except for commercial flights from Canada, the United Kingdom, and the European Union, a statement on the Bahamas tourism website says. In a sharper attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi said the LAC standoff in Ladakh is not simply a border dispute but a design by China to target his image as a "56-inch strongman". BJP president J P Nadda hit back at Gandhi, accusing him of indulging in "mudslinging" and describing his attack as another 'failed" edition of 'Project RG Relaunch'. He also accused "one dynasty" of trying to weaken India and strengthen China. Gandhi said the Chinese are trying to put pressure on PM Modi to act in a way they want him to, else they will destroy his strongman image, and so far he has been seen as one succumbing to it. Targeting the Prime Minister for saying that China is not occupying any Indian territory in Ladakh, the Congress leader said Modi is defending his image by saying so. "It is not simply a border issue. It is a border issue designed to put pressure on the Prime Minister of India. And they are thinking of putting pressure in a very particular way. And what they are doing, is that they are attacking his image. "They understand that in order for Mr Narendra Modi to be an effective politician; in order for Mr Narendra Modi to survive as a politician, he has to protect the idea of 'Chhapan Inch'. And this is the real idea, the Chinese are attacking," Gandhi said in a short video while explaining his views on China's strategic and tactical game plan. The former Congress president said the Chinese are basically telling Modi that if he does not do what they say, they will destroy "the idea of Mr Narendra Modi as a strong leader". Nadda slammed the Congress leader's remarks , saying, "We saw yet another (failed) edition of 'Project RG Relaunch' today. Rahul Gandhi Ji was, as usual, weak on facts and strong on mudslinging. Attempts to politicise defence and foreign policy matters shows one dynasty's desperation to wash their past sins of 1962 and weaken India." "For years, one dynasty has been trying to destroy PM Narendra Modi. Sadly for them, PM Modi's connect with 130 crore Indians is deep-rooted. He lives and works for them. Those who want to destroy him will end up only further destroying their own party," he said in a series of tweets. "In recent years, be it Doklam or the present, Rahul Gandhi Ji prefers briefings from the Chinese instead of believing India's armed forces. Why does one dynasty want a weak India and a strong China? Many leaders in Congress also disapprove of one dynasty's shenanigans! "Since the 1950's, China has made strategic investments in one dynasty that has given them rich dividends. Remember 1962, giving away of a UNSC seat, losing a lot of land to China in the UPA years, MoU Signed with much fanfare in 2008, funds to RGF and more," said Nadda. Countering Nadda's charge, Congress leader K C Venugopal said he should use his energy to answer the questions on China instead of targeting Rahul Gandhi. "Naddaji, what you saw today is the truth which you've been known to shy away from. Use the energy with which you attack Rahulji, to answer these questions - 1. Why is the BJP afraid of openly condemning China for its actions? 2. What is the BJP Government doing to reclaim our land?". Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also retorted through a series of tweets saying instead of abusing the opposition, the BJP chief should start fighting the pandemic, the economic downturn and joblessness. The video is part of a series launched by Gandhi to explain his views on key issues before the country. The Congress leader has been critical of PM Modi and his government over the handling of the border issue with China in Ladakh and has even accused the prime minister of having "surrendered" Indian territory to China. The former Congress chief said the Chinese don't do anything without thinking about it strategically. He said they have mapped the world in their thinking and they are trying to "shape the world" and "restructure the planet". At the tactical level, Gandhi said the Chinese are trying to improve their position. "Whether it is Galwan, whether it's Demchok or whether it is Pangong Lake. The idea is to position themselves." "They're disturbed by our highway, they want to make our highway redundant and if they are thinking on a larger scale, they want to do something with Pakistan in Kashmir," he also said in the video. Open Letter By Diaspora Iranians To Biden Urges Vigilance Radio Farda July 20, 2020 A group of diaspora Iranians and two opposition groups released "an open letter" to the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Monday appealing to him to take steps against Iran's "human rights violation" and "global terrorism networks". The Constitutional Party of Iran and Iranian Americans for Liberty (IAL) are two opposition groups leading the initiative calling on Biden to "open dialogue with the Iranian American community" over the behavior of the Islamic Republic and its "suppression of basic civil rights of the Iranian people". Many Iranians who are opposed to the Islamic Republic and seek a regime change have been content with President Donald Trump's tough stance against Tehran. But with presidential elections approaching in November, some fear a Biden victory could change U.S. policy to a more conciliatory approach toward Iran. "The world has long viewed the United States as a beacon of freedom and an advocate of the oppressed and the marginalized. The United States government has a moral obligation to protect and promote human rights in the face of violators anywhere and anytime. We strongly urge the U.S. to hold the Islamic Republic accountable and send a clear message that violations of basic human rights will not be tolerated.," an official of the Constitutionalist Party of Iran said in a statement. The letter appeals to Biden for "Engagement and dialogue with the Iranian-American community to form a multi-faceted comprehensive approach in dealing with the Islamic Republic regime." The signatories also ask for bipartisan support in confronting cyber threats from Iran against the United States. The letter also urges "Robust financial counterterrorism measures against the Islamic Republic's funding of Hezbollah, the Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Dictator Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela". Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/open-letter-by-diaspora -iranians-to-biden-urges-vigilance/30737586.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 Police service dog Wolfe, who retired from active duty in 2018 after seven years of service with Peterborough Police, has died. Wolfe was donated to city police by the Ernest J. Wolff Knights of Columbus Council 798 in Peterborough. He was paired with Const. Tim Fish, who continued to care for Wolfe after the retirement. He was crazy tough, but was always great with kids, Fish stated. We did so many school presentations, at all levels, including college and university. We would never turn down anyone who wanted a picture or ask questions. He was the best. We always did Kids and Cops and Take Your Kid To Work Day. Every chance I had to show him off I did. Retirement was tough for Wolfe but he ended up loving it. He was so amazing. Wolfe earned a Commanders Commendation for Outstanding Police Work in 2015 after arresting an armed suspect. He was responsible for many successful tracks and located about $10,000 in cash and more than $20,000 in drugs during a search at Brookdale Plaza. He was also available as a support to all units, specifically front line patrol officers and the emergency response team. Wolfe is among the six retired police dogs honoured on the Peterborough Police Canine Unit plaque at police headquarters on Water Street. The canine unit was formed in 1997. Portland, Oregon, was grappling with dwindling anti-racism protests and adjacent acts of vandalism in early July, weeks after police killed George Floyd in Minneapolis. But state and local officials all agree a surge of federal agents made everything much worse. Portland Mayor Tom Wheeler, Gov. Kate Brown (D), and other Oregon officials are demanding the federal agents leave Portland President Trump and the Homeland Security Department's acting leaders are refusing and Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum sued DHS and U.S. Marshals Service in federal court Friday, seeking a restraining order to "immediately stop federal authorities from unlawfully detaining Oregonians." The top federal prosecutor in Oregon also asked for an investigation by federal inspectors general. So did the leaders of the House Oversight, Judiciary, and Homeland Security Committees. On the streets of downtown Portland, the demonstrations grew, drawing out people who had not protested before but were furious over the federal incursion. Ive heard crowd estimates of anywhere from 300 to 1000, but its a cool 500 easy. One of the biggest in the last 52-ish nights for sure. pic.twitter.com/sLjdz9rzP9 Wm. Steven Humphrey (@WmSteveHumphrey) July 20, 2020 The crowd on Sunday night included a larger "Wall Of Moms" than the one that debuted Saturday night. It is beginning to look like repeatedly tear gassing a crowd of moms may have been a tactical error. pic.twitter.com/ythgPWLpz6 Robert Evans (The Only Robert Evans) (@IwriteOK) July 20, 2020 The most famous first-time protester Saturday night was Christopher David, a 53-year-old Navy veteran who wanted to talk to the feds and was instead beaten with a club and pepper-sprayed. Story continues But there was also "Naked Athena," a woman who walked out in front of police at about 1:45 a.m. Sunday morning wearing nothing but a face mask and cap. "Everyone seemed surprised and kind of astounded," said Dave Killen, an Oregonian photographer who witnessed the NSFW scene. "She was incredibly vulnerable," he said. "It would have been incredibly painful to be shot with any of those munitions with no clothes on." She stood, did ballet poses, sat. The police left after about 10 minutes, and so did she. The protests have been overwhelmingly peaceful, and being used as pawns for Trump's re-election effort is "really terrible," local resident Joel Barker told the Times. "I want America to understand how terrible it is to feel like a city you love is being occupied by your own federal government, because that's how it feels." More stories from theweek.com China's top COVID-19 vaccine candidate showed weak results among older Phase II test subjects Creator of cognition test Trump brags of acing says it's 'supposed to be easy' for unimpaired people The millennial pandemic Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 16:53:29|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUWAIT CITY, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Kuwait said on Tuesday that it will host a virtual forum of Arab media leaders on Aug. 10 to discuss media's role during the spread of coronavirus. The three-day forum will held under the slogan "Media transformation in times of crisis," said Madhi Al-Khamis, general secretary of the Arab Media Forum, in a statement. The media played a major role during the coronavirus pandemic in all its means, while governments took firm measures by dealing with rumors through awareness campaigns, denying fake news, or delivering medical facts to citizens, he noted. During the forum, Arab ministers of information will talk about their countries' experience and procedures during the pandemic, and express their views on the future of Arab media and its changes, according to Al-Khamis. The forum will include a number of sessions that address several urgent issues on the Arab media scene, Al-Khamis said, adding it will attract media representatives, academics, researchers, specialists and writers. Enditem Consumer Reports has no financial relationship with advertisers on this site. A toaster oven earns its spot on the counter for being able to do a lot more than turn out toast. It can broil burgers, roast asparagus, bake cookies, and reheat leftovers. And unlike when using a microwave, your pizza turns out crispy. But how long before it conks out? Ninety-two percent of the toaster ovens CR members purchased since 2011 were still being used when they were surveyed, while only 5 percent had been replaced because of reliability problems. Thats good news if youre looking to buy a toaster oven. Our survey is based on the track records of 27,239 toaster ovens CR members purchased between 2011 and 2019. We crunch that data to produce a rating for predicted reliability, which estimates the likelihood that newly purchased toaster ovens from a given brand will develop problems or break within the first four years. The owner satisfaction rating reflects the proportion of CR members who are extremely likely to recommend the toaster oven they bought. Youll see both reliability and satisfaction ratings combined with lab test results for models in our toaster oven ratings. Prices range from $33 to $550, and performance varies just as widely. Below, we detail our survey results for 13 brands, including Breville, Cuisinart, Hamilton Beach, Panasonic, and Wolf. Most Reliable Toaster Oven Brands Breville, Panasonic, and Oster are the most reliable brands in our survey, snagging an Excellent rating for predicted reliability. Owners of Breville and Panasonic models are also generally very happy with them; these brands also earn Excellent ratings for owner satisfaction. Oster, however, earns a midrange Good rating for owner satisfaction. Cuisinart garners a Very Good score for both reliability and satisfaction. Seven brands earn middling Good ratings for reliability, but owner satisfaction varies widely: Calphalon and Wolf earn Excellent ratings for owner satisfaction, Hamilton Beach and KitchenAid earn Good ratings, and Black+Decker earns a Fair rating. Owners of Bella and Toastmaster toaster ovens are the least satisfied with their toaster ovensthese two brands earn a Poor rating for owner satisfaction. Story continues Least Reliable Toaster Oven Brands At the bottom of the reliability rankings: DeLonghi earns a Fair rating and Farberware earns a Poor rating. As a result, CR cannot recommend either brand, regardless of how well they perform in the lab tests. Impressive Toaster Ovens from CR's Tests Our tests found that you cant get a toaster oven thats great at everything, so consider which functions are the most important to you and check our ratings to find the models that earn high scores in those tests. One hint from our members: Look for a model that we rate as easy to clean, because difficulty cleaning was survey respondents biggest complaint. Here are four toaster ovens that perform well and earn high scores in our reliability tests. More from Consumer Reports: Top pick tires for 2016 Best used cars for $25,000 and less 7 best mattresses for couples Consumer Reports is an independent, nonprofit organization that works side by side with consumers to create a fairer, safer, and healthier world. CR does not endorse products or services, and does not accept advertising. Copyright 2020, Consumer Reports, Inc. If Afghanistan is the proverbial "graveyard of empires," Libya is becoming a crucible for would-be regional powers. The intractable civil war that has carved apart the oil-rich North African country is in reality a multisided chess match between a variety of outside actors, from Turkey to the United Arab Emirates, France and Egypt. On the ground, the battle involves thousands of Syrian militiamen, Sudanese mercenaries and Russian contractors. In the air, countries are deploying a growing number of drones, fighter jets and missiles. Earlier this month, U.N. Secretary General Antonio Guterres warned that "foreign interference" was "reaching unprecedented levels." The biggest victor this summer seems to have been Turkey, which came to the rescue of the U.N.-recognized government based in Tripoli and pushed back the months-long offensive waged by the forces of renegade Gen. Khalifa Hifter. Now, the Turkish-backed Government of National Accord, or GNA, is firmly in command of Libya's west and may hope to wrest control of the country's strategic "oil crescent," an arc of coastal towns and oil facilities in the interior in between Tripoli, the capital, and the eastern city of Benghazi. If it manages to do so, the GNA will have consolidated a strong position and Ankara will be able to reap a geopolitical dividend. "Erdogan and some of his allies believe that Turkey is restoring its importance in the eyes of its western allies," Ozlem Kaygusuz, an associate professor of international relations at Ankara University, told the Financial Times. "They believe that the more Turkey plays an assertive role, the more it will become valuable and impossible to ignore for western interests in the region." But much still hangs in the balance. On Monday, Egypt's parliament rubber-stamped a motion authorizing the deployment of troops outside its borders, a move that could possibly lead to Egyptian personnel entering eastern Libya to aid Hifter's forces. The Libyan warlord is also backed by the Emiratis, the Russians and, to a lesser extent, France. While some of these governments have grown frustrated with Hifter's bloody-minded pursuit of a military victory, Egypt's dictatorial President Abdel Fatah al-Sissi seems keen on entering the fray against Turkey's allies. There's an element of a personal and ideological clash. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has railed against Sissi ever since the latter came to power in a 2013 coup that brought down Egypt's short-lived, democratically elected Islamist government. "They are each other's nemeses," Soner Cagaptay, a Turkey scholar at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, told Today's WorldView. "A secularist general who locked up political Islamists, and a political Islamist who locked up secularist generals." There's a broader game afoot, though. As part of its intervention, the Turkish government secured a major agreement with Tripoli over maritime rights and access to drill off Libya's coast. The deal has provoked Brussels, with European Union officials seeking to preserve the interests of Greece and Cyprus in the eastern Mediterranean. But Turkish strategists see an alarming axis of rivals, from old adversary Greece to Egypt and Israel, working in concert against their concerns in the region. "There's not a single policymaker in Ankara, including those who hate Erdogan, who is not worried about this idea of being encircled in the eastern Mediterranean," said Cagaptay. Turkey is far from the only country that sees its foothold in Libya as a ticket for wider ambitions. The Kremlin is linked to the private security firm Wagner Group, which has hundreds of Russian mercenaries deployed in the fight on Hifter's behalf. Moscow had a historic relationship with Libya during the Cold War and is opportunistically making itself a key interlocutor in discussions over the country's political future. "Proxy forces . . . have previously had a seat at the negotiating table and have had undue influence on the outcome, but now have almost become the principal interlocutors," Rear Adm. Heidi Berg, the top intelligence officer at U.S. Africa Command, said in an interview with my colleagues. "That highlights what Russia has wanted: international prestige and the ability to impose costs on the international community - to be the one that counts at the negotiating table." Over the weekend, in a joint statement, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron and Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte urged "all foreign actors to cease their interference and respect the arms embargo established by the United Nations Security Council." But such calls ring hollow when set against France's own engagement in the conflict, which sees it butting heads with a fellow NATO member state. Critics accuse Macron's government of indulging Hifter as part of its own jockeying for influence. "It does not take Macronian cynicism to see his rhetorical bluster toward Turkey as a desperate effort to distract attention from French culpability," wrote Bloomberg Opinion columnist Bobby Ghosh last month. "He has other battles with Ankara, including the contest over energy rights in the Eastern Mediterranean. A more charitable suggestion might be that Macron retains fantasies of French influence in the southern Mediterranean." U.N. officials warn that some 125,000 civilians remain in harm's way as Tripoli's forces prepare to press their advantage against Hifter. The United States, meanwhile, has chosen to take a back seat. "First and foremost, this is a European problem," said a senior State Department official, who spoke to my colleagues on the condition of anonymity. The official, who was not authorized to speak publicly, added in blunt terms that what is happening now "is enormously complex, the Syrianization of Libya." In August, Brandiss Pearson will defend her dissertation for a doctorate in education from St. John Fischer College. At one point, a doctorate might have seemed out of reach. After graduating from Nottingham High School in 1999, Pearson had begun studying accounting at the University of Buffalo. She soon realized she was pregnant. She left college after her freshman year, had her baby, went back to work at Wegmans, and moved into public housing. The contentious topic of the US military presence in Iraq was at the heart of a meeting between Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and visiting Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi in Tehran July 21. The Islamic Republic expects officials in Baghdad to follow up on ousting Americans from Iraq because their presence sparks insecurity, Khamenei told the Iraqi prime minister while stressing that Iran is not after interfering in US-Iraqi ties. Still, he advised the Iraqi friends to know the nature of the US government as the enemy whose presence anywhere can be a source of corruption and destruction. The comments by the Iranian supreme leader came within wider diplomacy and lobbying in Baghdad for the expulsion of US forces from Iraqi soil, a policy Tehran has been intensifying after top Iranian Quds Force commander Maj. Gen. Qasem Soleimani was killed in a US drone strike outside Baghdads international airport in January. They killed your guest and openly confessed to their crime, and this is no minor issue, Khamenei told Kadhimi, renewing the pledge that Tehran will definitely respond to the Americans in kind over the Soleimani killing. According to Iranian state media reports, Kadhimi expressed gratitude to the Iranian leadership for standing by his nation in the fight against terrorism. However, he stopped short of making any mention of either the Soleimani case or the US military ouster from Iraq. Kadhimis perceived pro-American approach, especially with new arrangements in the political and security structure, has not been welcomed by Iranian officials. What has also further countered Iranian interests is Kadhimis actions toward the Tehran-backed Shiite militias known as the Popular Mobilization Units (PMU). The issue did not go unnoticed by Khamenei. The PMU are a great blessing for Iraq and ought to be preserved, the Iranian supreme leader said. The new Iraqi government, nevertheless, considers the PMU to be a parallel military organization that has to accept integration into the regular army. The meeting in Tehran also marked Khameneis first one-on-one appearance in an official capacity since late February, when Iran was hit with the coronavirus pandemic that prompted an unprecedented cancelation on his frequent speeches to crowds of loyalists at his residence in Tehran. For Kadhimi, it was his first foreign visit since becoming Iraqs new prime minister. Before meeting the Iranian supreme leader, Kadhimi wrapped up a presser with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, where the latter spoke of the two sides resolve to raise the bar in bilateral trade, by augmenting it to an ambitious volume of $20 billion. In the same briefing, Kadhimi made it clear that Baghdad seeks relations with Tehran based on the principle of non-interference, a clear message that the Islamic Republic is facing an uphill battle maintaining its influence in Iraq. According to political circles in Tehran, among other agenda topics, Kadhimi was also expected to bring up mediation between Iran and Saudi Arabia, two regional foes that have been in heightened tensions since 2016 when a group of Iranian hard-liners stormed the Saudi Embassy in Tehran over the kingdoms execution of Shiite cleric Sheikh Nimr al-Nimr. It was not immediately known if mediation was discussed in Kadhimis Tehran talks. In his original plan, he was scheduled to land in Riyadh first. His itinerary, however, had to be revised after the 86-year-old Saudi ruler, King Salman bin Abdul-Aziz Al Saud, was hospitalized for medical treatment. DRDO-developed drone likely to be deployed in Ladakh India pti-PTI New Delhi, July 21: A drone, indigenously developed by the Defence Research Development Organisation (DRDO), is likely to be deployed by the Army in eastern Ladakh to enhance surveillance in the area that has seen a face-off between the forces of India and China, sources said. A DRDO official said the drone will be dispatched soon for the Army. The drone christened 'Bharat' has been developed by DRDO's Terminal Ballistics Research Laboratory (TBRL), Chandigarh. Indian Navy to move MiG-29K fighter jets to northern sector amid border row with China It has been made to operate in high-altitude areas and can also adapt to extreme climates. It is also known to be agile. The drone can provide real-time video transmission and has advanced night vision capabilities, the sources said. They also said it is likely to be deployed in eastern Ladakh, adding the deployment is likely to enhance surveillance in the high-altitude and mountain terrain. The region has witnessed a face-off between the armies of India and China. Amarnath Yatra cancelled amid Covid-19 pandemic & surge in cases | Oneindia News Last month, 20 Indian soldiers were killed in Galwan. There were casualties on the Chinese side as well but the number of fatalities were not known. When asked whether the drone could be deployed in other border areas, the sources said the Army will decide on it. Joe Biden shed a little more light on his vice presidential selection process during a Monday night interview with Joy Reid on her new MSNBC program 'The ReidOut.' 'I am not committed to naming anyone but the people I've named, among them there are four black women,' Biden said Reid when she asked whether he would name a woman of color to the No. 2 position. Biden didn't specify which four black female politicians are being vetted, though again vowed that his administartion 'will look like America.' Joe Biden shed more light on his vice presidential selection process during a Monday night interview with MSNBC's Joy Reid for her new show 'The ReidOut.' Biden said four of the women on his shortlist are black MSNBC host Joy Reid (left) had asked Joe Biden (left) if he had committed to picking a woman of color as his running mate. He said he hadn't committed to anything more than picking one of the women on his vetting list - and that his administration 'will look like America' Sen. Kamala Harris is among those the Biden campaign is potentially vetting to be his running mate. Harris ran against Biden in the 2020 Democratic primary, though dropped out the race before any votes were cast Reps. Val Demings (left) and Karen Bass (right) are also potentially on Biden's list of black female running mate choices. Demings is the former Orlando police chief, while California's Bass could help Biden win over more progressives President Obama's National Security Advisor Susan Rice served with the former vice president in the last administration and is said to be among the black women he's vetting. She comes equipped with years of national security experience If Biden is interested in trying to turn Georgia into a swing state he could choose either Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms (left) or former Georgia gubernaorial candidate Stacey Abrams (right) Among those who have been rumored to be part of the list: Sen. Kamala Harris, who competed in the Democratic primary against Biden, Rep. Val Demings, a Florida congresswoman who previously served as Orlando's police chief and Atlanta Mayor Kiesha Lance Bottoms. Additionally, former Obama National Security Advisor Susan Rice, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams and California Rep. Karen Bass, who comes with strong progressive credentials. 'So it is important that my administration, I promise you, will look like America,' Biden told Reid. 'Both from vice president, to the Supreme Court, to cabinet positions, to every major position int he White House. It's going to look like America. It's critically important that be the case. I can guarantee you that.' Biden said he was still in the middle of the vetting process for a running mate, explaining that the campaign is getting detailed reports about the candidates, which took 'about six weeks' to compile and those reports are just being finished. He said the process resembled a 'public physical examination.' 'There's a two-hour vetting report from the lawyers and women and men of color, as well as white folks, that are doing the vetting,' the former vice president explained. 'And we've gone through four candidates so far in a two-hour vetting.' 'And then when I get all the vetting done of all candidates then I'm going to narrow the list and then we'll see - and then I'm going to have personal discussions with each of the candidates who are left,' Biden said. On Reid's show, Biden boasted that he had long held the support of black women. 'And by the way, black women have supported me my entire career,' he said. 'You all act like suddenly there was an epiphany in South Carolina.' Biden's support among black Democrats in South Carolina changed his fortunes in his party's primary. While Biden struggled in Iowa and then New Hampshire, and got a distant second place in the Nevada caucuses to rival Bernie Sanders, Biden won the first southern primary in late February overwhelmingly. The momentum coming out of South Carolina - and some key endorsements from former rivals including Pete Buttigieg and Amy Klobuchar - allowed Biden to have a successful Super Tuesday, with the primary being essentially over in March. Sanders, the last rival standing, threw his support behind Biden in April, after both candidates had been pulled off the campaign trail due to the threat of the coronavirus. Speaking of his strong support from black women, Biden said, 'And so they are the ones, as that old saying goes, that brought me to the dance.' 'I have been loyal, they have been loyal to me,' he added. New Delhi: Amid a spurt in coronavirus cases in the country, regulator Irdai on Tuesday allowed health insurers to offer 'Corona Kavach' as a standard group insurance policy to help public, private sector companies and other business entities to provide insurance cover to their employees. As per insurance companies, the individual short-term Corona Kavach health indemnity policy has evoked good response after its launch on July 10. All 30 insurers have started offering the policy. The standard group policy is expected to be useful to various private and public establishments for covering the COVID-19 related medical needs of their employees, the Insurance Regulatory and Development Authority of India (Irdai) said in a circular. "The group policy can provide protection to a large number of employees engaged in manufacturing, services, SMEs, MSMEs, logistics sector, migrant workers and bring peace of mind to them, their family members and the employers," the regulator said. The group policy will also be useful for various categories of frontline workers as groups. In case the group consists entirely of doctors, nurses or healthcare workers, Irdai said, adding "a discount of 5 per cent will also be available as a mark of recognition of their contribution in fighting the society's battle against COVID-19." All terms and conditions of standard policy will be same as that for the Corona Kavach policy for individuals which has already been launched by health insurance companies. The short-term Corona Kavach policy can be issued to the public for durations of three-and-a-half months, six-and-a-half months and nine-and-a-half months. The insured amount varies from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh. Irdai has also allowed insurers to use the standard product name for group policy after adding the word "group", provided all terms and conditions applicable to the standard individual policy remain the same except premium rate and specification on operation of group policy. The regulator has also directed all insurers to engage with their policyholders to disseminate information on precautions to be taken by them to protect themselves from infection. President Muhammadu Buhari has sent his condolences to the government and people of Katsina State over the death of Ismaila Isa Funtua. In a statement released by presidential spokesperson, Garba Shehu, on Monday, the president described the deceased as greatly admired and respected. Premium Times reported that the close associate of Mr Buhari died on Monday night while keeping a doctors appointment, according to family sources. The Katsina-born newspaper publisher and industrialist was a minister under the civilian administration of Shehu Shagari. A member of the 1994-1995 Constitutional Conference, he was also the founder of Bulet International Nigeria Limited, which built some of the iconic public buildings in Abuja. According to the statement, Mr Buhari received with deep sadness information on the passing of his longtime friend and associate, who was Life Patron of International Press Institute and Newspapers Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN). President Buhari said his demise has created a huge gap as Malam Funtua consistently stood by the president in his political journey. The president prayed to Allah for the repose of Mr Funtuas soul, and to grant the family strength and fortitude to bear the loss. Condolence messages pour in Also, a former Vice President and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) 2019 Presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar, has commiserated with the family of Mr Funtua. In a statement released on Twitter on Tuesday morning, he said, Inna lillahi wa inna Ilaihi Rajiun! On behalf of my family, I convey my deepest condolences to the Funtua family over the loss of its patriarch, Ismaila lsa Funtua. May Allah forgive his sins and grant him Aljannah Firdaus. I pray for the needed comfort and strength for his family, friends and associates to bear the loss. Ameen, he added. In his message, a former Senate President, Bukola Saraki, also commiserated with the family of Mr Funtua. In a statement released on Monday night, Mr Saraki said, Inalilahi Wa Ina Ilaehi Rajihun. I condole with His Excellency, President @MBuhari GCFR, on the death of Alhaji Ismaila Isa Funtua. As a valued associate of my late father, Alhaji Funtua always made himself available as a fountain of wisdom. He was always ready to offer his advice and give a fresh perspective to issues. I will miss him and the country will miss a detribalised Nigerian and symbol of national unity that he was. My condolences go to his family, his associates, the people and government of Katsina State and the entire country. May Almighty Allah (SWT) forgive his sins and grant him a place in Aljannah Firdaus, he added. Former senator representing Bayelsa East constituency, Ben Murray-Bruce, in a post on Twitter on Monday said, I am saddened by the death of my brother and senior colleague, Mallam Isa Funtua. I spoke to him just three hours before his reported death, and he promised to further call me tomorrow. I pray that God comforts his family and loved ones, and may his soul rest in peace. Also, a former Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, in a statement on Twitter on Monday said,Malam Ismaila Isa Funtua was a Distinguished elder statesman, media icon, construction magnate, industrialist & a patriot whose legacies are too numerous to list. My condolences to his family, friends, associates, the people & Govt of Katsina state. May his soul rest in peace. A former Fox Business Network producer and a frequent Fox News guest on Monday filed suit against the network and several of its most prominent hosts, including recently fired anchor Ed Henry, alleging sexual assault and harassment. The legal complaint was filed by Jennifer Eckhart, a longtime employee at Fox Business Network, and Cathy Areu, a frequent guest who appeared as a commentator. The most startling and graphic charge in the suit alleges that Henry raped Eckhart - an allegation Henry's attorney denied. Fox announced July 1 that it had fired Henry, saying that he had been credibly accused by a former colleague of "sexual misconduct in the workplace years ago." But, the new lawsuit says the network's statement "intentionally downplayed the severity of the situation" in an attempt "to avoid taking accountability for what actually happened." In the complaint, Eckhart accuses Henry of sexually assaulting her in a guest office on the 17th floor of the Fox News office building in New York in September 2015, and raping her in a New York hotel room in 2017, after handcuffing her and taking naked photographs of her. After Eckhart reported details of her "toxic work environment" to a human resources executive and her supervisor in February 2020, the lawsuit alleges, Fox News terminated her as an act of retaliation in June, once it realized that Eckhart "engaged in protected activity by hiring counsel and putting Fox News on notice of her intent to bring legal claims." The lawsuit also says Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Howard Kurtz and Gianno Caldwell of engaging in inappropriate and suggestive behavior. Fox News released the following statement to The Washington Post: "Based on the findings of a comprehensive independent investigation conducted by an outside law firm, including interviews with numerous eyewitnesses, we have determined that all of Cathy Areu's claims against Fox News, including its management as well as its hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Howard Kurtz and its contributor Gianno Caldwell, are false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit." It continued: "We take all claims of harassment, misconduct and retaliation seriously, promptly investigating them and taking immediate action as needed - in this case, the appropriate action based on our investigation is to defend vigorously against these baseless allegations. Ms. Areu and Jennifer Eckhart can pursue their claims against Ed Henry directly with him, as Fox News already took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckhart's claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network." Henry released a statement through attorney Catherine Foti: "The Me Too movement has helped to bring to light a number of injustices in our society, and everyone that has suffered deserves to be heard. This is not one of those cases. The evidence in this case will demonstrate that Ms. Eckhart initiated and completely encouraged a consensual relationship." As part of the complaint, Areu, who made hundreds of appearances on Fox News programs as a commentator, alleges that Fox News "strung [her] along as a candidate for a full time position, all while she was being sexually harassed and retaliated against." She says Henry "sent [her] a slew of wildly inappropriate sexual images, messages and videos through the first half of this year, including many texts in which he implied that Ms. Areu should have sex with him and that he would assist Ms. Areu's career if she did so." Areu also alleged that prime-time host Tucker Carlson made an advance toward her after an appearance on his show in 2018. "Following the show, Mr. Carlson . . . began telling Ms. Areu that he would be alone in New York City that night, and specifically said that he would be staying alone in his hotel room without any wife or kids," the complaint alleges. After Areu "declined to spend the night at his hotel," the complaint says, he "retaliated" against her by inviting her on his show only three times in 2019 and this year. In addition, Areu recounts an alleged incident in March 2018, after an appearance on prime-time host Sean Hannity's show. Areu says Hannity "threw $100 on the set desk" and "began calling out to the men in the room and demanding that someone take Ms. Areu out on a date for drinks" at a local New York restaurant. "Ms. Areu was completely mortified and made clear that she was incredibly uncomfortable with Mr. Hannity's misogynistic behavior," according to the complaint. Kerry TD Danny Healy Rae says he wont be wearing a mask in the Dail chamber. But he told the Irish Independent he was not making a point about personal freedoms. He was medically unfit to wear one, he said. I tried wearing one and I couldnt stop coughing. I cant wear one. Im not trying to say anything to anyone or make any point, just that I cant wear one because it starts me into a fit of coughing. Read More Mr Healy Rae acknowledged the Ceann Comhairle has asked for masks to be worn throughout the building and in the chamber, which he had not entered by 4.20pm yesterday. But he complained: Arent we socially distanced already? Dont we have to sit far away from each other? I thought that was enough. Mr Healy Rae told the Irish Independent he had not sought a medical certification as to his condition, but would consider the matter if anyone asked him for one. Expand Close Mr Healy Rae told the Irish Independent he had not sought a medical certification as to his condition. Photo: Damien Eagers / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Mr Healy Rae told the Irish Independent he had not sought a medical certification as to his condition. Photo: Damien Eagers It was a personal matter, because he had tried to wear a mask on occasion, but had been unable to continue because it prompted a continuous outburst of coughing and spluttering, he said. The colourful TD, who easily held his Kerry seat in February despite early opinion poll findings that he could struggle to hang on, has endured criticism for his long-standing conviction that climate change has been hyped and is not a serious threat to mankind since climate has fluctuated severely over the centuries. He stressed that he was not attempting to make any point about the severity of coronavirus or reports of its highly-contagious nature, and was otherwise taking appropriate precautions. Its just that I cant wear a mask because it starts me into a terrible fit of coughing. in response to the increasing Corona-Infection rates for Austria extends the mask duty. In super markets, Bank and post office branches had to be worn from Friday to a mouth-nose protection, said the German Chancellor, Sebastian Kurz (OVP) in Vienna on Tuesday. Recently, the mask was compulsory only in buses and trains, in the medical field as well as in some regions. Since the beginning of July, had been infected in Austria, part of more than 100 people daily. A total of 1400 people in the Alpine Republic is currently infected with the Virus. "It starts to bubble a little bit," said health Minister Rudolf Anschober (Green). The Wearing of the mask also have a symbolic effect, said Short. "The more it disappears from our everyday life, the greater the carelessness is." He also announced stricter border controls with Hungary and Slovenia. A lot of new Corona cases had been introduced in recent times by travellers who had returned from countries in the Balkans, said the head of government. Also Arriving from high-risk areas could be done only if there is a negative Corona-the Test, called PCR, existed, which had been issued by a is also recognised in Austria the lab, or if the travellers go in quarantine. The whole world is talking about the Coronavirus. All the news and analysis about the spread and control of pandemic on a daily basis in your E-Mail Inbox. to be pushed In addition, churches and religious communities with respect to high-risk areas abroad, a General mask of duty. In the free churches, and a Serbian Orthodox Church in Vienna Corona were recently localized Cluster. If a positive case was being recorded, needed to close the affected Church, it said. Overall, the government increased the pressure, the quarantine is also mandatory. So far, 56,000 people had been checked, said the Minister of the interior Karl Nehammer (OVP). In 260 cases, penalties have been imposed. It is necessary to prevent a second wave and a second Lockdown with all the Power, said Vice-Chancellor, Werner Kogler (Green). Updated Date: 21 July 2020, 13:19 Amid reports of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case life-convict Nalini Sriharans suicide attempt at Vellore Special Prison for Women, her advocate Pugalendhi told WION that the preliminary information was not convincing enough to believe that Nalini tried to commit suicide inside jail. Nalini is a fighter and has endured so much in her 29-year incarceration, I doubt if the reasons stated by officials would lead her to take such an extreme step. She has never done anything of this kind during her nearly 3-decade jail term. Perhaps, there is more to it than meets the eye, Pugalendhi said. Pugalendhi said that he received a call at the intervening night of July 20-21 and was informed that Nalini had attempted suicide at Vellore Special Prison for Women. According to Pugalendhi, the jail officials told him that Nalini and another life-convict had a misunderstanding, which later aggravated. Pugalendhi added that the life-convict complained to the jailer about her quarrel with Nalini. Apparently, the jailer had conducted an enquiry with Nalini at around 8:30pm, after which a disturbed Nalini attempted suicide. While some versions stated that Nalini threatened to take the extreme step, others say that she had attempted suicide by using a cloth. Pugalendhi stated that tussles between prisoners and wardens taking sides were common occurrences in jails. But he points out certain anomalies - it is likely that the prisoner might have complained to the jailer before 6pm, when the prisoners are required to return to their cells. If the complaint was made at 6pm, why was it necessary for the jailer to visit Nalini and question her at 8:30pm for what seems to be a normal issue ? After 7pm the jailer doesnt visit the prisoners who are in their cells, there are only routine visits that happen daily in the morning. What was the need to go in at night and question her ? Suspecting that there is more to it than what is being said about this attempted suicide, Pugalendhi talks about the torture and mental agony that Nalini has faced over the last 29 years of her life, which she has spent in jail. He asserts that Nalini has always been a fighter who has stood up for her rights and believed in fighting legal battles. From how much I know her, she is not the kind of person that would think of taking an extreme step for the above reasons. She has not attempted anything of this sort in the last 29 years. She is a strong character he says. Pugalendhi also talks about another important aspect that might hold a clue to what went on inside the prison. In the weekly call that convicts can have with their lawyers, Nalinis husband, Murugan (a) Sriharan had recently said that legal action be initiated to shift Nalini to the Puzhal prison. Nalini is lodged in the Central Prison for Women in Vellore in Tamil Nadu, her husband Murugan (a) Sriharan is lodged in the Prison for male convicts in the same facility. Nalini and her husband are allowed to make two calls to each other every month. However, there is s case pending in the Madras High court on whether Nalini and her husband can make video calls to their family members who are residing abroad, in Sri Lanka and the United Kingdom. Seven people including Nalini and her husband were convicted by the special TADA court for their role in the assassination of former Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi on May 21st by an LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) suicide bomber during an election rally in Sriperumbudur, in the outskirts of Chennai. The convicts were initially sentenced to death, but later it was commuted to a life imprisonment. Besides Nalini and her husband Murugan Sriharan, the other convicts are Perarivalan, Santhan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran and Robert Payas. Kukum Daji village in Kaura local government area of Kaduna state was on Sunday thrown into mourning as gunmen stormed a wedding which held in the area leaving no fewer than 21 persons dead. Also, no fewer than 28 persons were reported to have sustained various degrees of injuries as a result of the attack. The President of the Community, Mr. Yashen Titus told Channels Television that the gunmen, are suspected to be Fulani herdsmen. Titus, who explained that the suspected herdsmen opened fire on the people who attended the party, said 19 people died on the spot while two others later died at the hospital. Advertisement The remaining injured ones according to him were rushed to the Barau Dikko teaching hospital and other clinics in the state capital for treatment. The State Police Command is yet to confirm the incident. - Surge in demand for breathable and durable flame-resistant clothing from various sectors and increase in standards of medical hygiene across the healthcare industry drive the growth of the global protective clothing market PORTLAND, Ore., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research published a report, titled, "Protective Clothing Market by Type (Aramid & Blends, Polyolefin & Blends, Polybenzimidaloe (PBI), Cotton Fibers, Laminated Polyesters, and Others), Material Type (Thermal, Mechanical, Chemical, Biological/Radiation, and Others), and End-Use Industry (Oil & Gas, Construction & Manufacturing, Pharmaceuticals/Medical, Military & Defense, Firefighting, and Others), Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027" According to the report, the global protective clothing industry garnered $8.7 billion in 2019, and is expected to reach $12.0 billion by 2027, registering a CAGR of 6.0% from 2020 to 2027. Drivers, restraints, and opportunities: Surge in demand for breathable and durable flame-resistant clothing from various sectors and increase in standards of medical hygiene across the healthcare industry drive the growth of the global protective clothing market. However, higher pricing associated with protective clothing hinder the market growth. Furthermore, growing demand for protective clothing to protect healthcare workers from COVID-19 transmission is expected to create new growth opportunities for market players in the next few years. Request Sample Report at: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-sample/371 COVID-19 Scenario Several protective clothing manufacturers have halted their production activities due to disruption of raw material supply chain amid the lockdown. Due to outbreak of COVID-19, the demand for protective clothing is expected to surge from the healthcare industry to protect the healthcare workers from getting infected with coronavirus. The demand for protective clothing is expected to decline during the pandemic as the workforce of construction and manufacturing industries has been migrated back to their homes due to halt in most of the industrial activities amid the lockdown. The aramid & blends segment to dominate throughout the forecast period: Based on type, the aramid & blends segment accounted for more than one-fourth of the total share of the global protective clothing market in 2019, and is expected to maintain its lead status in terms of revenue throughout the forecast period. This is due to fact that aramid is broadly used for protective clothing as it has excellent mechanical properties as compared to steel or glass fiber of same weight, and also resistant to heat and flame. However, ploybenzimidaloe segment is estimated to portray the fastest CAGR of 7.0% from 2020 to 2027. This is attributed to increase in demand for lightweight and fuel-efficient materials, growing usage of high-performance fibers in the renewable energy market, and rise in demand for greater safety & security. Get Detailed COVID-19 Impact Analysis on the Protective Clothing Market @ https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/request-for-customization/371?reqfor=covid The construction & manufacturing segment held lion's share during the forecast period: Based on end-use industry, the construction & manufacturing segment contributed to the highest market share, accounting for more than one-fourth of the global protective clothing market share in 2019, and is estimated to maintain its leadership position during the forecast period. This is due to high adoption of protective clothing in the construction & manufacturing sector as there is a high labor population. However, the pharmaceutical/medical segment is estimated to portray the fastest CAGR of 8.6% from 2020 to 2027. This is attributed to surge in need for safe medical treatments. North America to maintain its dominant share by 2027: Based on region, North America accounted for the highest share, holding for nearly one-third of the global protective clothing market in 2019, and is projected to maintain its dominant position throughout the forecast period. This is attributed to presence of various industrial and manufacturing industries across the region and awareness regarding safety of workers at workplaces. However, Asia-Pacific is estimated to portray the fastest CAGR of 6.7% from 2020 to 2027, owing to rise in industrial activities and increase in stringent regulations for adoption of protective clothing in worker dense sectors such as construction. Leading market players Lakeland Industries DuPont 3M Company Company Ballyclare Limited Teijin Limited Koninklijke Ten Cate NV Cetriko S.L. VF Corporation Glen Raven Inc W.L. Gore & Associates, Inc. Interested in Procuring this Report? visit: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/purchase-enquiry/371 Avenue Basic Plan | Library Access | 1 Year Subscription | Sign up for Avenue subscription to access more than 12,000+ company profiles and 2,000+ niche industry market research reports at $699 per month, per seat. For a year, the client needs to purchase minimum 2 seat plan. Avenue Library Subscription | Request for 14 days free trial of before buying: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/avenue/trial/starter Get more information:https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com/library-access Similar Reports: Healthcare Personal Protective Equipment Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 Disposable Protective Clothing Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Sports Protective Equipment Material Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2019-2026 Industrial Gloves Market: Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2020-2027 About Us Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domain. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States USA/Canada (Toll Free): 1-800-792-5285, 1-503-894-6022, 1-503-446-1141 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1(855)550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allied-market-research Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg Kumbungu MP Ras Mubarak has said the Member of Parliament for Awutu Senya East Constituency (Kasoa), Mrs Mavis Hawa Koomson, should be hauled before the Privileges Committee of the House for disgracing the institution. Mr Mubarak described the firing of warning shots by Hawa Koomson at a voter registration centre in her constituency on Monday, 20 July 2020, as most embarrassing and a situation that has lowered our governance to a low degree. Shes brought the name of parliament into disrepute, shes embarrassed parliament, the opposition lawmaker told Class91.3FMs parliament correspondent Charles Akrofi. He insisted that hauling her before the Privileges Committee for embarrassing parliament is the obvious thing to do. Personally, Mr Mubarak said he was exploring the possibility of filing a motion for her to appear before the Privileges Committee because what she did could have serious consequences. However, Majority Whip Mathew Nyindam, in a separate interview, disagreed with Mr Mubarak that Mrs Hawa Koomson should be hauled before the Privileges Committee. The minister admitted on Monday to firing the warning shots that marred the voter registration exercise at Kasoa. She said she took a gun to the centre for personal protection in her attempt to stop the parliamentary candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Phyllis Naa Koryoo, from busing aliens to the area to register. None of my men carried guns to the centre, she told Accra-based Adom FM, adding: I fired the warning shots myself. Im a Member of Parliament, I need to protect myself. It was at dawn; my police escort had not started work yet. So, that is the modus operandi I engaged in his absence, she said. Mr Nyindam told Accra100.5FMs parliamentary correspondent, Richard Appiah Sarpong on Tuesday, 21 July 2020, that: I dont agree with those calling on Parliament to drag Hawa Koomson before the Privileges Committee of Parliament. Where I will side with them is if they allow the police to investigate the matter. The fact that she is a Member of Parliament does not mean that any action of hers should attract the attention of the Privileges Committee, the lawmaker said. I cannot tell what necessitated the gunshot and, so, if the police have invited her, we should all allow the police to do their work, he urged. I am sure she will tell her side of the story to the police for all of us to know. I think that it should be left to the police and not parliament, he suggested. ---classfmonline Amid a continuous debate regarding the opening of schools, United States' Missouri governor Mike Parson's recent controversial comments about children going to school has drawn a lot of flak from US officials. Speaking to talk-radio host Marc Cox, Parson said, "These kids have got to get back to school," since they are at "the lowest risk". He further said that if the children get Covid-19 (which was likely), they need not go to hospitals or wait at the doctor's office. "They're going to go home, and theyre going to get over it," Parson said. Parson's upsetting comments were soon met with indignation from state officials, when State Auditor Nicole Galloway, the Democratic candidate for governor, remarked that his comments displays a "stunning ignorance" towards children. Nicole further reminded the governor that the "virus doesn't stop with our children." "The teachers, bus drivers, janitors, food service workers, parents, grandparents, and neighbors who our children see every day are susceptible to this virus too. We need a plan that keeps all Missouri families safe," added Nicole. This virus doesnt stop with our children, @GovParsonMO. The teachers, bus drivers, janitors, food service workers, parents, grandparents, and neighbors who our children see every day are susceptible to this virus too. We need a plan that keeps all Missouri families safe. #MOGov pic.twitter.com/QFe2s2Ad0d Nicole Galloway (@nicolergalloway) July 18, 2020 In another strike, Dr. Alex Garza, incident commander of the St. Louis Metropolitan Pandemic Task Force, called Parson's remarks about returning to school a Gordian knot. According to a report, Garza said, "We worry about those in school who are not children teachers, support staff and volunteers. Many of those people will have a much more serious response to the virus and that is what we want to avoid. These children could also come home and spread the virus to others in their household who could also be at a greater risk of a serious outcome." New York resident, Chelsea Clinton, an author and advocate, also came down heavily on the governor saying, "If Republican leaders, including @realDonaldTrump, actually cared about getting kids back to school next month, they would be doing everything possible to crush #covid19 transmission today." If Republican leaders, including @realDonaldTrump, actually cared about getting kids back to school next month, they would be doing everything possible to crush #covid19 transmission today. And, @GovParsonMO, some kids dont get over it, some get very, very sick, and some die. https://t.co/DAobxlBeu0 Chelsea Clinton (@ChelseaClinton) July 20, 2020 This is stunning ignorance from @GovParsonMO on how COVID-19 affects children. He admitted that he's okay with your kids (and your families) getting the deadly disease when he sends them back to school. Does he not realize multiple American kids have died after being infected? pic.twitter.com/UZtjt043Fs Nicole Galloway (@nicolergalloway) July 17, 2020 This comes at a time when several large U.S schools have declared that they will not re-open for any in-person instruction anytime soon, in the fall session. However, US President Donald Trump along with Vice President Mike Pence and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos, have demanded the re-opening of schools fully as it's essential. He has even threatened to withhold federal funding from districts that do not resume in-person classes. Of the more than 139,000 Americans who have died from the coronavirus, children under the age of 15 account for 31 of those deaths, according to the latest CDC data, reports Forbes. 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 Saturday, 8 a.m. Boyle Heights. Myra Vasquez stands, masked, on the porch of her 113-year-old Craftsman house. Following physical distancing guidelines to insure everyone's safety, she prepares for the dozens of customers who will show up in the next few hours to pick up one of her elaborate, eye-popping gelatinas. Ah, the gelatina. Loved by people on both sides of the Mexico-United States border, the wobbly, silky dessert is a staple at birthdays, weddings and graduations. But even its fans often see it the way many people see Jell-O salad: good in a pinch but never much better. The mass-produced gelatinas you'll find in supermarkets such as Northgate Gonzalez and Vallarta would support that theory. While other desserts Mexican character cakes, pan dulce and bizcochitos (cinnamon and anise sugar cookies) have undergone glow-ups in recent years, most young Latinx pastry chefs have ignored the gelatina. Vasquez wants to change that. Through her cottage business GeLATINX, the 45-year-old, self-taught baker is reimagining this culinary art form, combining traditional Mexican ingredients with modern techniques and a multicultural palate. This gelatina created by Myra Vasquez is filled with Gansito. (Cynthia Rebolledo for LAist) Flavors include cafe de olla, Gansito (the Mexican equivalent of chocolate Twinkies) and guayaba with cheesecake. Vasquez often tops her custom-made creations with graphic art images (created by her husband, Nico Avina) of Latinx icons such as Selena and Juan Gabriel. "Myra created a gelatina that captured the essence of Selena," says Xochitl Palomera, who requested one for an office holiday party. "It didn't just look pretty, the flavor was amazing. It was grape and lechera [condensed milk]." The praise and comments flooding GeLATINX's Instagram account suggest Vasquez is not only satisfying a sweet tooth, she's tapping into a vein of deep nostalgia. "I've had customers tell me, 'Oh, my gosh. I remember when my grandma used to make these in the summer. We'd come in the house and abuelita would have gelatinas for us,'" Vasquez says. A busy mother to two boys, Vasquez co-owns Espacio 1839, a Boyle Heights retail store that highlights local artists and gives people of color a platform in the gentrifying neighborhood. Vasquez previously owned a similar space, Teocintli, that hosted free spoken word, creative writing and theater workshops. "Our priority is to keep any money that comes from Espacio going back into the space so we can keep our doors open to the community," Vasquez says. To provide these services, Vasquez has always had to find other ways of providing for her family. "I was an early childhood educator for 18 years and ran a licensed daycare out of my home," she says. Two years ago, she decided to close the business and focus on her health. This sweet and spicy mango gelatina from GeLATINX comes doused in Chamoy and topped with a small bottle of Tajin and tamarind candy. (Chava Sanchez/LAist) Not one to stay put for long, Vasquez was inspired by her Tia Chela to start making and eventually selling gelatinas. "Anybody that knows me, knows I like to cook. I've always created pastries, cupcakes, flans and things like that for my kids' birthday parties and family gatherings but I'd never really thought to put it out there," she says. When coronavirus stopped day-to-day life in its tracks, GeLATINX became the only source of income for Vasquez and her family. Despite the quarantine, people still need to eat and, Vasquez says, they still need to celebrate special moments birthdays, anniversaries, the occasional wedding, downsized now because of coronavirus. Thankfully, she has been able to keep her head above water. Pivoting to survive, Vasquez, with the help of her husband and mother-in-law, started making masks. "We're hanging in there. We haven't opened [Espacio] for almost four months so that's hard but we're doing our best. We have the online store open and that's helping us out," Vasquez says. She also has her community. Espacio has become a cultural hub and that was never more clear than when poet Yesika Salgado paid one month's rent for the space in April. "It's our community that is holding us up. Without them we are nothing," Vasquez says. "Yesika told us the donation was in the name of all the artists we've ever supported. I cried for a whole week." Most of Vasquez's gelatina molds she currently owns 52 are vintage or come from mercados in Mexico, where she also sources many of her ingredients. Hunting for them is part of the fun, although she hasn't done that in months. "I just think about what is going to make your mouth water," Vasquez says. "What's going to make you think, 'Oh, my god. I want a bite of that'?" Vasquez incorporates fresh fruit, creamy textures and flavors such as red velvet and mango chamoy in her gelatinas. You might spot a layer of mazapan (an almond and honey confection) or a layer of choco-flan (chocolate flan) in one of her desserts. But with the hoarding and panic buying that happened at the start of the pandemic, Vasquez, like many others, struggled to source essential ingredients. A gelatina from GeLATINX. (Cynthia Rebolledo for LAist) "In the beginning, when COVID started, there was nothing at the markets. I was having to cancel orders," she says. "I have a limited menu now, there are certain flavors that I can't offer because I can't be running to the market all the time. I try not to expose myself because I have my kids and a senior that lives with me." Completely self-taught, Vasquez has developed proprietary techniques for what she refers to as her "gelatinarte." It's a process that demands patience, precision, practice and a healthy tolerance for failure. A classic fruit gelatina decorated with mango, coconut flakes, grapes and strawberries. (Chava Sanchez/LAist) "Making gelatinas can be stressful because you don't know how it's going to turn out until you've flipped over the mold. They can take anywhere from six to eight hours because they have to sit, especially if I'm doing layers," Vasquez says. Given that she sells them for $18 to $35 each, that's a steal. Since launching GeLATINX in September 2019, Vasquez has experienced steady growth, especially in the last few months. She now makes anywhere from 15 to 20 gelatinas a week. "My customers don't want to go out in public and they don't want to stand in line. [COVID-19] has helped me out," Vasquez says. Her two most popular items are the mosaico de tres leches, creamy trio of red, green and white, and the classic fresa (strawberry). She currently uses powdered gelatin, made from collagen, for her desserts but she is exploring vegan options. A fresa (strawberry) gelatina from GeLATINX. (Cynthia Rebolledo for LAist) On a Saturday morning back in March, her first customers were a young couple who wanted something special for a birthday. Before placing the gelatina in the trunk of their car, Vasquez opened a pink pastry box to reveal a large red and yellow gelatina with sweet and spicy mango chamoy trickling down its ridges. Their faces lit up when they saw the cake. They were followed by a young girl picking up a cafe de olla gelatina for her mother's birthday. Then, an older gentleman arrived to fetch a frutas con agua de coco. Over the next two hours, Vasquez sold eight of her gelatinas, in most cases to customers who know her only from Instagram. The photos of her lovingly sculpted creations creations have been seductive enough to draw people out of their quarantine malaise. "The reward is seeing my gelatinas tagged on social media, people enjoying them at their intimate parties, the reaction on children's faces when they see their gelatina for the first time," Vasquez says. "I feel like those moments are the biggest compensation in these hard times." The gelatinas from GeLATINX are custom-made and always elaborately decorated. On the left, a decorated mixed fruit gelatina and on the right, a mango chamoy gelatina. (Chava Sanchez/LAist) The Australian share market finished session higher on Tuesday, 21 July 2020, as investors risk appetite buying underpinned after the country's central bank advocated for further fiscal stimulus. Meanwhile, hopes for the development of a COVID-19 vaccine in Britain which has shown positive results in trials also lifted the market mood. At closing bell, the benchmark S&P/ASX200 index spurted 154.73 points, or 2.58%, to 6,156.30. The broader All Ordinaries surged 156.52 points, or 2.56%, to 6,268.79. Australia's shares were firm from the outset after the country's central bank advocated for further fiscal stimulus. Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) Governor Philip Lowe on Tuesday urged the government to borrow more and boost public spending to support the country's economic recovery. Lowe said the government could "smooth things out" through direct cash transfers to households and businesses as well as by boosting public spending on infrastructure and wage subsidy schemes."The RBA talked up the labour market and kept the status quo in many ways. Overall market sentiment also improved after a team of scientists at Oxford University said their experimental coronavirus vaccine has been shown in an early trial to induce an immune response. The positive results of recent tests in the United States and Britain provided something for the market to look forward to, to help an economic recovery. The Technology sector rose 5.7% and was the top gainer on the Australian benchmark index. WiseTech Global closed 4.3% higher, while Afterpay added nearly 8%. Healthcare stocks rose 3.7%, cheering the potential vaccine results, with CSL Ltd gaining 3.9%, and Cochlear firming 5.7%. The heavyweight financial index rose 3%, with the Big Four banks closing above 2%. Australia's travel stocks also rebounded, with travel services provider Corporate Travel Management closing over 9% higher. CURRENCY NEWS: The Australian dollar traded at $0.7042, climbing from levels near $0.6960 in the previous week. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Sophia Garabedian had been dealing with a persistent fever and painful headache when her parents found her unresponsive in her bed one morning last fall. Doctors ultimately diagnosed the then-5-year-old girl with Eastern equine encephalitis, a rare but severe mosquito-borne virus that causes brain swelling. Garabedian survived the potentially fatal virus after about a month in hospitals, but her parents say her ordeal and ongoing recovery should be a warning as people take advantage of the outdoors this summer. Its been a rough year, said David Garabedian, her father. With any brain injury, its hard to tell. The damage is there. How she works through it is anyones guess. As the coronavirus pandemic subsides for now in many states, public health officials are warning about another potentially bad summer for EEE and other insect-borne illnesses. The disease saw an unexpected resurgence last summer across 10 states: Alabama, Connecticut, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, North Carolina, Rhode Island and Tennessee. There were 38 human cases and 15 deaths from the virus, with many of the cases in Massachusetts and Michigan, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Most years, the country sees just a half-dozen cases of the virus in humans, the agency said. Officials already have detected EEE in mosquitoes this year in some East Coast states, the earliest on record. There have been no human or animal cases yet. Its unnerving, said Scott Crans, who heads up mosquito control efforts for the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection. It could signal a busy year. Crans and other state health officials say EEE, which has no cure in humans, tends to come in two- to three-year cycles, but they also stress that mosquito borne-diseases are notoriously tricky to predict. A relatively mild winter may have benefited mosquito populations, but below-average rainfall also could have provided a welcome counterweight, he said. Health officials also are warning about the risk of contracting other insect-borne illnesses as more people spend a longer time outdoors amid the coronavirus pandemic. In Michigan, an invasive mosquito known to transmit dengue, Zika and other tropical viruses already has been detected for the first time this season, said Mary Grace Stobierski, the states public health veterinarian. The state also had its first case of West Nile virus this season. A more common but less severe mosquito-borne disease than EEE, it can cause fevers, headaches, body pain and other symptoms. The infection was found in a captive hawk in early June. Ticks also are expected to be out earlier and in larger numbers this season because of the relatively mild winter, warned Aaron Bernstein, a pediatrician and a director at Harvards School of Public Health. That could mean more cases of debilitating Lyme disease and other tick-related illnesses for health care systems already feeling the pressure of responding to the coronavirus, he said. Some of the people going into the woods more now might not be experienced with how to protect themselves in the forest, and thats a concern, he said. Officials say people should avoid the evening and early morning hours when mosquitoes are most active, use bug spray and wear long clothing where possible when outdoors. The CDC has offered states additional help with mosquito testing this season as the coronavirus pandemic has overwhelmed state public health offices, said Candice Hoffmann, an agency spokeswoman. Officials in eight states and the District of Columbia have taken up the offer so far: Maryland, Ohio, North Carolina, South Carolina, Vermont, Maine, Florida and Arizona. David and Kirstin Garabedian say theyre optimistic their daughter can continue to heal from EEE. Now 6, she was able to return to kindergarten in January before the coronavirus pandemic shuttered schools weeks later. But her parents say she still regularly goes to speech and occupational therapy to deal with lingering speech and memory problems. Kirstin Garabedian says she understands people want to take advantage of the outdoors this summer. Go outside and enjoy yourself, but take the proper precautions, she said. Just be vigilant. Use common sense. Kaia Gerber and her prominent parents Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber took necessary precautions before dining al fresco at celeb sushi hotspot, Nobu Malibu, on Monday. The 18-year-old DNA Model, the 54-year-old nineties supermodel, and the 58-year-old restaurateur wore masks and face coverings - which California Governor Gavin Newsom made mandatory for all public outings on June 18. After California's coronavirus numbers spiked, Newsom ordered the closure of indoor dining in 30 counties last Monday in order to slow the spread of the virus. Taking precautions: Kaia Gerber (R) and her prominent parents Cindy Crawford and Rande Gerber dined al fresco at celeb sushi hotspot, Nobu Malibu, on Monday As of Monday, there have been over 159K confirmed COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County, which has lead to 4,104 deaths - according to Johns Hopkins University. That same evening, Kaia unveiled her latest magazine cover, this time for Vogue Japan's September edition featuring the teen in YSL lingerie and skintight pants. '@voguejapan september cover by @luigiandiango,' Gerber - who boasts 6.7M social media followers - wrote. 'Thank you to everyone who made my last job before quarantine the best I could ask for. It's hard not to miss working when I get to be surrounded by so many talented people. Luigi & Iango, I love you both so dearly. Thank you!' Safety first: The 18-year-old DNA Model, the 54-year-old nineties supermodel, and the 58-year-old restaurateur wore mandated masks and face coverings Not many dine-in options in Malibu: After California's coronavirus numbers spiked, Governor Gavin Newsom ordered the closure of indoor dining in 30 counties last Monday in order to slow the spread of the virus Pandemic: As of Monday, there have been over 159K confirmed COVID-19 cases in Los Angeles County, which has lead to 4,104 deaths Speaking of Vogue, the 5ft9in catwalker just opened up about mental health in the modeling industry last Thursday. 'You have to wake up every day and choose that happiness for yourself, not for someone else and not based on anyone else,' Kaia stressed in the video. 'What you see in the media most times is the highlight reel. It's okay not to be okay sometimes. It's okay to be sad. It's okay to have bad days. Those aren't the days that we're putting on Instagram.' That same evening, Kaia unveiled her latest magazine cover, this time for Vogue Japan's September edition featuring the teen in YSL lingerie and skintight pants Gerber gushed: '@voguejapan september cover by @luigiandiango! Thank you to everyone who made my last job before quarantine the best I could ask for. It's hard not to miss working when I get to be surrounded by so many talented people' Gerber last made headlines on Wednesday for packing on the PDA with Carnival Row star Cara Delevingne at a Black Lives Matter rally held outside the Hall Of Justice. The nepotistically-privileged socialite was only 14 when she originally met the British 27-year-old backstage at the Microsoft Theater during the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards. Meanwhile, Cindy modeled in her first photo shoot since the coronavirus quarantine shot outdoors by photographer JuanKr and styled by Sarah Schussheim. 'It's okay to be sad': Speaking of Vogue, the 5ft9in catwalker just opened up about mental health in the modeling industry last Thursday Sapphic: Kaia last made headlines on Wednesday for packing on the PDA with Carnival Row star Cara Delevingne at a Black Lives Matter rally held outside the Hall Of Justice Bad Blood crew: The nepotistically-privileged socialite (R) was only 14 when she originally met the British 27-year-old (top) backstage at the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards 'First shoot back!' Crawford - who boasts 9.7M social media followers - wrote on July 11. 'Definitely lots of changes, but so happy to see friends (even from behind masks) and get out of my sweatpants!' Hairstylist Richard Marin coiffed the Meaningful Beauty founder's voluminous brunette waves and make-up artist Jo Strettell made sure she was ready for her close-up. 'First shoot back!' Cindy modeled in her first photo shoot since the coronavirus quarantine shot outdoors by photographer JuanKr and styled by Sarah Schussheim Crawford wrote on July 11: 'Definitely lots of changes, but so happy to see friends (even from behind masks) and get out of my sweatpants!' Legend: Hairstylist Richard Marin (top) coiffed the Meaningful Beauty founder's voluminous brunette waves and make-up artist Jo Strettell made sure she was ready for her close-up (pictured July 10) On Monday, Rande shared a poolside snap of himself having a Zoom meeting on his laptop while sporting a cap for Casamigos Tequila, which he co-founded with George Clooney and Mike Meldman in 2013. As for the Gerber's 21-year-old son Presley, he lives in their Malibu guesthouse and works in the kitchen of his father's Cuban and Mexican restaurant, Cafe Habana. Presley will be on probation through 2022 after pleading no contest to one misdemeanor DUI stemming from a January 1, 2019 arrest, according to TMZ. 'Monday morning meetings': On Monday, Rande shared a poolside snap of himself having a Zoom meeting on his laptop while sporting a cap for Casamigos Tequila, which he co-founded with George Clooney and Mike Meldman in 2013 In many ways, Messages is the most important app on the iPhone. Obviously, sending and receiving texts is one of the most popular uses for smartphones, and it is a necessary part of many two-factor authentication setups. But iMessagethe blue-bubble internet messaging platform introduced in iOS 5is a critical part of the Apple ecosystem. It solved a lot of the problems with texting at a critical time, and it is important that Apple continues to make the blue bubble as meaningful as possible. With each new release of iOS, Apple makes some improvements to Messages. This year, iOS 14 will bring several welcome new features that recognizes the way people use it today. The focus is on organizing an increasingly big list of messages, and more clearly carrying on group conversations. When you upgrade to iOS 14 this fall (or participated in the iOS 14 beta) these are the features youll find. Better message filtering In iOS 13, you can filter Messages from unknown senders by going to Settings > Messages and turning on Filter Unknown Senders. This will put iMessages received from people who arent in your contacts into a separate tab and stops you from getting notifications from them. Any SMS message or iMessage from someone in your contacts will go into a separate tab and still generate messages. With iOS 14, Apple improves both the logic and the interface for this. With Filter Unknown Senders enabled, you will see a Filters selection in the upper left corner of the Messages screen. Tap that and you can switch between three views: All Messages, Known Senders, and Unknown Senders. IDG Filtering messages is smarter, and there are no tabs to get in your way. Known Senders is a list of both iMessages and SMS messages from people in your Contacts, as well as those from numbers you have recently called or sent the first text to. You dont need to add the plumber to your contacts if you called them and then got a text later on. Unknown Senders includes everything else, including all those SMS verification codes and spam texts. Pinned conversations We get so many messages these days that the conversations with people we most want to reach are often buried several screens down. Rather than hunting for your most important conversations, you can pin them. IDG Pin conversations so you dont have to to scrolling to find the ones you use most. You can swipe a conversation to the right to pin it, or long-press and choose the Pin option. You can pin up to nine conversations, and theyll appear in circles at the top of your screen. Long-press one to unpin it. Pinned conversations sync across iPhone, iPad, and macOS (after the Big Sur update). Inline replies It can be hard to keep track of replies in group messages, or to reply to a message that someone sent earlier in your conversation. In iOS 14, you can long-press on any message and choose reply to create an inline or threaded reply. It will show up as the most recent message as it normally would, but users on iOS 14 will see the original message as well, with a little bracket connecting it, and a list of how many replies are in the thread. You can tap those to see and read the entire inline conversation. IDG Inline messages can be a little confusing, but not nearly as much as conversations with no threads at all. The interface and design for this can be a little confusing, and Apple may still polish it up a bit before release, but its less confusing than trying to keep track of what everyone is talking about in a six-person group message. Mentions A key part of most group chat software is the ability to grab someones attention with a mention or namecheck. Now iMessages can do that, too. Just type the name of anyone in the message and it will turn grey. Tap it to see a little name icon, and select that to turn their name into a Mention. It will light up blue with a fancy animation. You can also simply type @name and it will immediately become a Mention. IDG Mentions will let you ignore a group text until someone grabs your attention. Whats the point? Well, group texts can really blow up your notifications. Its not uncommon for people to long-press on a group message conversation and choose hide alerts or swipe from right to left and tap on the bell icon. With Mentions, you have the option (in Settings > Messages > Notify Me) to hide notifications for chats but still get one only when you are mentioned. Customized groups Groups no longer have to exist as a string of names in your message conversation listin iOS 14 you can name them! Simply open a group text, tap the round icon at top, and choose Info. From the Info page youll have the option to change the name and photo of your chat group, using a photo, bold text, or emoji and memoji. The name and image will update for everyone else in the group. IDG Groups can have customized names and images, and the latest activity shows around the edge. When people in the group chat, their images will show up around the edge of the group icon, with the most recent person to talk a little bigger and even a preview of their message. Its a good way to get a visual indicator of the group activity when you dont have notifications enabled for it and arent checking up on it constantly. Emoji search While its not specifically a Messages thing, the iPhone keyboard in iOS 14 adds a feature that will probably be used in Messages more than any other app: a search bar for the emoji picker. IDG The emoji picker finally has its own search, and its really good. Yes, the emoji picker how has a search bar on top, so you dont have to type a word in your text and then hope that the emoji you want comes up in the predictive text line or else scroll through pages of little yellow faces to find what youre looking for. And its pretty smart, too: It doesnt just look for a specific name, but surfaces all relevant emoji. A search term like birthday brings up the birthday cake and birthday face, but also the balloon, present, confetti, and so on. The All Progressives Congress national leader, Bola Tinubu, has congratulated the publisher of PREMIUM TIMES, Dapo Olorumyomi, on his achievement as one of the four awardees for 2020 International Press Freedom Award, by the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). Mr Olorunyomi won the CPJ award along with three other journalists from Bangladesh, Iran and Russia. They have all been arrested or faced criminal prosecution in reprisal for their reporting, at some point in their career. In a congratulatory message to the journalism icon, Mr Tinubu, in a statement by his media team, on Monday, said the award serves as evidence of using technology in executing ideal journalism. It is significant that Premium Times has harnessed the power of technology in executing its mission by using the website to make facts and opinions available to a global audience that shares the vision of Nigeria as a superpower struggling to manifest her natural potentials, he said. He also advised the publisher to strive harder in his patriotic endeavour to bring power to the people by encouraging the responsible use of freedoms to make Nigeria a country of great pride and promise, In the same view, the governor of Ekiti State, Kayode Fayemi, while congratulating the publisher, said his mentoring to younger journalist in development journalism is needed more. While we congratulate Olorunyomi for this honour, the challenge before him now is to commence a deliberate mentoring of younger crop of journalists in development journalism. This he owes our country and his teeming admirers as we pray for his tribe to increase. He attested to Mr Olorunyomis prowess as a first-class Nigerian journalist, who, through a lot of hard work, has built global reputation and set a high standard in investigative and development journalism. The board and management of Project PINK BLUE- Health & Psychological Trust Center, while reacting to the news in a letter on Monday said the honor is well deserved. READ ALSO: This honour is well deserved as you have been an enviable figure in Nigerias democracy since 1993 and have continued to use investigative journalism to bring to the fore the ills of governance with your premiere online news platform. Nigerias president and other personalities had earlier congratulated Mr Olorunyomi on his award. Every Rumor on Moto E7- Moto E7 appears on the Canadian website New Delhi, Tue, 21 Jul 2020 NI Wire Although, the smartphone Moto E7 is still not publicized by the company but its sight has been caught on a Canadian website known as Freedom Mobile. Photos of Moto E7 were circulated online along with a video that showed its several aspects like the design. Back in May, the device was sported on Android Enterprise Recommended devices list which ultimately gave an insight into its various specifications. Specifications as per rumours: As per Canadian Carrier website Freedom Mobile, its likely that the smartphone will sport a 6.2 inch long screen. For performance, its going to equip 2GB of RAM and 32GB of internal storage. The word around also suggests that a Qualcomm Snapdragon 632 SoC will be used to power the device. Moto E7 may also run on Android 10. When it comes to rear camera, a dual setup feature takes place which consists of a primary camera of 13MP and a 2MP sensor. For selfies, a 5MP lens is housed by the device. Moto E7, which is the advanced version of Moto E6, is also said to be much lighter with thin top and bottom bezels. The design will also comprise of a fingerprint sensor at the back of the phone. There is no variant that is expected as of now. Also, as per hearsay, the smartphone will come in one colour only. The website stated that Moto E7 is priced at CAD 189 (Rs 10,400) which makes it a budget friendly smartphone. Nothing else like its global launch date or pricing is revealed yet. In part 1, I looked at the effect on the Vietnamese economy of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic and the scale of the problem locally. Now, as part of Vietnams remarkable recovery, it stands to move on and build up again, so lets explore some of the options for Vietnam. Obviously, every nation at the stage of bringing down the COVID-19 infection rate and hopefully lifting lockdown restrictions is thinking of how to rebound from the financial costs of the health treatments and lockdown losses to business. Such countries also think of how to regain or recover the eye-watering amounts of money spent on supporting people, livelihoods and entire industries. In an odd way, Vietnam might be a Goldilocks country. It is not too big in any major industry car-making, aircraft production and high-tech goods although it is involved in these sectors; not too small a large, young population and a decently sized domestic market not too far from the rest of the world. It is not overwhelmed medically a critical factor meaning that patients suffering from other ailments are not dying because of overcrowded hospitals. The Southeast Asian country is positioned well between the major opposing economies of China and the U.S., earning money from both and making good inroads in the EU and regional markets. 'Regional' means Vietnams traditional market relationships with its neighbors Thailand, Indonesia and the Philippines, and further Japan and South Korea, both big investors in the country. For example, the Philippines recently mentioned a 'sigh of relief' as Vietnams rice exports began moving again to its neighbor. A scramble to meet its food supply requirements would have involved piecemeat deals around the Southeast Asian region and a significant time delay. Both Indonesia and the Philippines are also major importers of Vietnamese-manufactured generators, water pumps, electric appliances, and telecommunications equipment. As Vietnam takes the leadership of ASEAN, it is now ideally placed to promote itself even further into regional markets which often have preferential tariffs with the geographical advantage of shorter and quicker transportation routes than to the Western markets. This has been a somewhat neglected or overlooked option that could accelerate Vietnams economic recovery. Interestingly enough, working with agents and businesses in regional markets would be easier than the tougher challenge of entering Western markets or attracting businesses to start up within Vietnam. Thankfully there is keen interest from foreign direct investment (FDI) companies in Vietnam. Both Apple and Samsung are looking for managers, engineers and skilled workers for projects locally; Google and Microsoft are soon to begin high-tech manufacturing here as well. Foxconn, a Taiwanese electronic parts maker, has plans to expand its factories in Vietnam, too, seeking Vietnamese government permission to build a 600-hectare industrial park in Bac Giang to move more production there. However, Vietnam is up against tough competition from India, Thailand and Malaysia all offering tax breaks and financial incentives and highlighting their ability to take on large-scale projects using up-to-date technology, equipment and easier exporting infrastructure. Vietnam has a more modest manufacturing ability and sits in the middle of supply chains for parts rather than producing everything from go to whoa. Yet Vietnam does offer many incentives for large FDI projects and participates in a high number of free trade agreements. Also, the Vietnamese dong has been very stable for a long time. Certainly, the rest of the country should adapt to the current situation faster, with more transparency regarding legal issues in attracting FDI and setting up businesses here, and finally make importing and exporting simpler. There are far too many restrictions, and fees, requiring paperwork to multiple government agencies. Phan Huu Thang, former director of the Foreign Investment Agency, has pointed out this need to modernize the business environment and adopt the experience of Ho Chi Minh City which has been very successful in attracting FDI. Aiding the supply of medical equipment and related products to countries reeling from COVID-19 is another potential bright spot. Vietnams richest man, billionaire Pham Nhat Vuong who heads Vingroup, plans to export ventilators around the world. The design sourced from device maker Medtronic Plc can be made quicker and cheaper than others, retailed for around US$7,000 in Vietnam. As of the end of June, the company had been granted approval to begin production. Both Africa and South America would be immediate targets and a mix of goodwill supplies and efficient supply chains will increase Vietnams reputation as an exporter of high standard goods. Vingroup also has plans in the middle of 2021 to start producing electric cars for the American market and such an achievement could change the way the world views Vietnam. Just as Japan proved to the world it could make modern, high-tech products many decades ago, so it is up to Vietnam to achieve the same goals now. In part 3, I will write about what more Vietnam can do to rise above the pandemic storm and transform its economy quickly enough to take advantage of the current window of opportunity. Blood vials. Photo: Getty Images/Science Photo Library As scientists around the world have raced to understand COVID-19, the general public has been inundated with a flurry of early studies and ensuing recommendations, some of which have been contradictory, leaving us with coronavirus whiplash. A recent source of confusion has been the relationship between the coronavirus and blood type. Early in the pandemic, some scientists observed that people with type A blood seemed to be at a higher risk for developing a serious case of COVID-19. However, conflicting research has mounted, and it now looks like the link between the coronavirus and blood type is much weaker than early studies suggested. Heres what we know about the coronavirus and blood type. Early research suggested blood type might be a significant risk factor for developing a serious case of the coronavirus. In the early months of the pandemic, a handful of studies suggested that blood type could be a risk factor for both getting infected with the coronavirus and developing a severe case. In March, a study out of China compared blood samples of 2,173 coronavirus patients with samples from healthy individuals and found that 38 percent of the patients had type A blood, in comparison to 32 percent of the unaffected population in surrounding areas; they also found that those with type O blood appeared to have a reduced risk of getting infected. But in the study itself, researchers cautioned against using their findings to make clinical decisions, and instead urged for further investigation of the relationship between the ABO blood group and the COVID-19 susceptibility. (And as MIT Technology Review noted, the study was not peer-reviewed.) In June, The New England Journal of Medicine published a peer-reviewed study on the subject, in which European researchers looked at more than 1,600 patients who contracted severe cases of COVID-19. (The study characterized serious illness by the need for a ventilator or another form of oxygen supplementation.) Overall, the study found that those with type A blood had a 45 percent higher risk of developing a serious case of COVID-19, while those with type O had a 35 percent reduction in risk. Newer studies show that the link between blood type and the coronavirus isnt so strong. Last week, the New York Times reported on two newer studies that indicate that blood type may not be as big of a risk factor as earlier research suggested. One study was conducted at Columbia Presbyterian Hospital, which reviewed medical records of 7,770 coronavirus cases. The researchers found that people with type A blood actually appeared less likely to develop a case of COVID-19 serious enough to require ventilation. (Researchers released the initial results from this study, involving 1,559 coronavirus patients, in April; per the Times, the entire study, involving the larger sample size, is still under review for publication in a scientific journal.) A second study, by Massachusetts General Hospital, showed that blood type did not increase ones likelihood of falling seriously ill, which researchers defined as requiring intubation or dying. Researchers did, however, find that people with type AB and B blood had a slightly higher risk of testing positive. Per the Times, both studies found that people with type O had a slightly lower risk of getting the coronavirus. But Anahita Dua, a senior author of Massachusetts General Hospitals study, cautioned against jumping to conclusions. These findings need to be further explored to determine if there is something inherent in these blood types that might potentially confer protection or induce risk in individuals, she told Harvard Medical School. No one should assume theyre protected from the coronavirus. Public-health experts agree that, no matter what your blood type, no one should assume theyre protected from the coronavirus. Everybody should practice exactly the same way, whatever your blood type is, in terms of appropriate masking and social distancing, Dr. Aaron Glatt, chief of infectious diseases at Mount Sinai South Nassau in New York, told NBC News earlier this month. Dua told the Times she wouldnt even bring up blood type when examining why a person mightve tested positive for the coronavirus. Instead, public-health experts stress that people should place more weight on known risk factors in particular, older age and underlying health conditions. Stay in touch. Get the Cut newsletter delivered daily Email This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. Terms & Privacy Notice By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms and Privacy Notice and to receive email correspondence from us. The following editorial appeared in Tuesday's Japan News-Yomiuri: - - - How to put in place a system to cast and count votes fairly and promptly while preventing the spread of the novel coronavirus is a major issue for the U.S. presidential election in November. A focal point in the election is expanding the use of "mail-in ballots." Voters can avoid the risk of becoming infected at polling stations by using the mail to return ballots that were sent to their homes or drop off their ballots at designated locations. All 50 states have adopted mail-in ballots as a means of absentee voting. In the presidential election four years ago, nearly a quarter of all votes were cast by mail. This time, moves to facilitate mail-in voting are more noticeable as California has decided to send ballots for mail-in voting to all registered voters. It is understandable that calls for promoting mail-in voting are spreading at a time when there is no sign of the coronavirus crisis being brought under control. The problem is that the pros and cons of such a system could deepen political divisions and leave mutual hard feelings even after the election. U.S. President Donald Trump and his Republican Party oppose mail-in voting, saying that it enables illicit acts, including counterfeiting of ballots and bogus voting in which a person assumes a different identity to cast a vote. On the other hand, former U.S. Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic Party's presumptive nominee to challenge Trump, supports the expansion of the voting system, saying that it is necessary to make voting easier. Voter turnout of black and Latin American voters, who are the support base for the Democrats, tends to be lower than that of white voters. Trump and the Republicans, whose core support base is white people, seem to think that an increase in voter turnout due to the expansion of mail-in ballots will work against their camp. To reduce political conflict over mail-in voting, it is essential to take thorough measures to prevent irregularities, such as checking the signatures of voter registration documents against those on reply envelopes, to increase the credibility of postal voting. It is also important to strengthen the system to shorten the time needed to gather and count votes. Taking the ballots out of envelopes will inevitably require a lot of work. In some states, voting-day postmarks are valid even if the ballots arrive the next day or later. In a presidential election, the winner is determined not by the total votes for each candidate, but by a state-by-state tally of wins and losses. It is feared that vote counting work will be prolonged and candidates will fight a close race in several states, and as a result, the winner will not be known even the day after the ballot voting and counting is scheduled to take place. It is also worrisome that Trump declines to say whether he will accept the outcome of the presidential election. He seems to be trying to leave room for objections, saying that there was fraud in the mail-in ballots and other areas, even if information indicating his defeat is released. Elections are the foundation of democracy. The outcome of the U.S. presidential election will influence the course of not only the United States but also the entire world. It is hoped that the United States will recognize its heavy responsibility and set an example. BCCL In early June, the Delhi Government was preparing for the worst when the total number of COVID-19 cases in the national capital was predicted to be 5.5 lakh by the end of July. Read more Here's more top news of the day: 1) To Prevent Animal Deaths In Floods, Govt To Build A 32-km Artificial Highland Inside Kaziranga afp But things could soon change as the Centre has accepted Assam's proposal to construct a 32-km artificial highland inside the Kaziranga to shelter animals from the flood. Read more 2) With Over 25 Lakh Migrant Returnees, Bihar's Abysmally Low COVID Testing Numbers Are Worrying BCCL The rising number of COVID-19 cases in Bihar coupled with extremely low testing numbers had prompted the government to reimpose a strict lockdown across the state. Many experts believe that Bihar may become the next coronavirus hotspot in the country. Read more 3) Pune Is Now Recording Highest Number Of COVID Cases In The Country & Is India's Biggest Hotspot Reuters Over the past one week, the number of cases in Pune have spiralled. The district, until now, appeared to have managed the crisis while it had its first COVID case before it was detected in Mumbai, a hotspot. Read more 4) Refused Admission By 3 Bengaluru Hospitals, Pregnant Woman Gives Birth In Auto; Baby Dies Representational Image/Reuters In sheer display of medical apathy, a pregnant woman was denied by three public hospitals in Bengaluru. She gave birth to a child in an auto-rickshaw outside a hospital but the infant could not survive due to lack of medical care. Read more 5) Andhra Pradesh Horror: 16-Yr-Old Girl Allegedly Confined, Drugged & Raped By 10 Men For Days BCCL/ FILE In a horrifying incident in Andhra Pradesh, a 16-year-old girl from the Dalit community was allegedly drugged and raped by 10 men for many days after being held against her will in a house, as per a TNN report. Read more JACKSON, MI Bella Notte Ristorante was born out a desire for restaurant ownership when it opened in November 2001. Annette Walker runs the business at 137 W. Michigan Ave. in Jackson, but her husband, Gregory Walker, provided the Italian heritage. Gregory Walkers grandfather and grandmother immigrated to the United States from Italy through Ellis Island in 1902 and met later in Chicago. The love of good food and wine was passed down to him, he said, adding his father ran a meat market in Chicago. Now, nearly 20 years later, much of Bella Nottes appeal and vibe is inspired by that family history, Gregory Walker said. I came from a family that was in the food business, he said. Just like every Italian family, food was really important. Meals are something where the family gets together and enjoys themselves. A lot of effort is put into them. That kind of premise is what we built the restaurant on. Some of the staples of the restaurant include the veal, chicken marsala and the lasagna, along with an extensive and diverse selection of current and vintage wines from New Zealand, Spain and Italy. The couple hand picks the restaurants produce, specifically traveling to Detroit to make sure they get authentic Italian San Marzano tomatoes or using the vegetables grown on the restaurants roof. Their commitment to authentic food, Gregory Walker said, is mandatory for their success. Rooftop garden provides fresh produce for downtown Jackson restaurant We enjoy what we do, we enjoy making great food and I love seeing people smile, Gregory Walker said. Its a lot different than a plumber or somebody who comes and cleans your drains. Usually people are frowning when they hand you money, but in the restaurant people hand you money and theyre smiling at you at the same time. That is why reopening since the novel coronavirus pandemic restrictions have been eased has been such a pleasure for the Walkers, he said. Theres still a large segment of the population thats scared to go out and thats fine, Gregory said. We havent been overwhelmed. We got all our staff back, which was great. Its going OK. Were gonna be fine. We are going to survive. Read more Local Eats: Local Eats: 4 Corners Cafe owner brought to tears by community support amid pandemic Local Eats: Soul food restaurant serves up comfort in Ypsilanti Township Local Eats: ZooCity Beastro opening soon in Kalamazoo Local Eats: The Hunt Club struggles, but leans on family-like workplace during reopening phases Advertisement Key conclusions of the Russia report The Intelligence and Security Committee concluded following an 18 month investigation that: There is 'credible' evidence that Russia did try to influence the 2014 Scottish independence referendum There is 'no evidence' that Moscow tried to interfere in the 2016 Brexit vote - but this is because the Government failed to ask 'for the work to be done'. Successive governments had 'underestimated' the threat posed by the Kremlin and as a result the UK is having to 'play catch up'. Russian oligarchs had been welcomed into Britain 'with open arms' and have been 'recycling illicit finance through the London 'laundromat''. 'Enablers' like lawyers and accountants effectively become 'de factor agents of the Russian state'. The Official Secrets Act must be urgently updated to prevent spying amid fears security agencies' 'hands are tied'. Social media companies should be forced to remove 'covert hostile state material' as soon as possible or face being named and shamed. Russia's cyber attack capability 'when combined with its willingness to deploy it in a malicious capacity, is a matter of grave concern' which represents an 'urgent threat to our national security'. Advertisement An influential committee of MPs today warned the UK's legal system and security services have been ill-equipped to combat the threat of potential Russian interference in British democracy. A bombshell report into allegations of Russian meddling said there is 'credible' evidence that Moscow did try to influence the result of the 2014 Scottish independence referendum. But on Brexit, the Intelligence and Security Committee said it had not been provided with any evidence that the Kremlin had sought to influence the 2016 vote. However, it accused the Government of failing to conduct any formal investigation into the matter as it demanded that ministers now launch an official probe into the EU referendum campaign. The committee said on Brexit that it 'would be difficult, if not impossible, to prove' the 'actual impact' of any Russian interference but that an investigation similar to the one held into the 2016 US presidential election should now take place to determine the extent of any potential interference. The Government immediately rejected the call as it insisted it had seen 'no evidence of successful interference in the EU Referendum' and that the 'Intelligence and Security Agencies produce and contribute to regular assessments of the threat posed by Hostile State Activity'. It said it will 'always consider the most appropriate use of any intelligence it develops or receives' and that 'given this long standing approach, a retrospective assessment of the EU Referendum is not necessary'. The Prime Minister's Official Spokesman said Boris Johnson is 'absolutely' confident the 2016 EU referendum result was fair. The ISC report savaged successive governments for the way in which they have approached the subject of Russian meddling. It said Britain had long 'underestimated' the threat posed by the Kremlin and as a result the UK is now having to 'play catch up' because it is 'clearly a target for Russian disinformation'. The committee said it 'questions whether Government took its eye off the ball on Russia' as it warned that 'Russian influence in the UK is the new normal'. It also claimed that Russian oligarchs and their money had been welcomed into British society by successive governments 'with open arms'. This had provided the oligarchs 'with a means of recycling illicit finance through the London 'laundromat'' as well as with 'connections at the highest levels with access to UK companies and political figures', the report said. The report said there had been a 'growth industry' of so-called 'enablers' like lawyers, accountants and estate agents who it argued had effectively become 'de factor agents of the Russian state'. The ISC said that while it was now too late to 'shut the stable door' on such activity the Government must 'urgently' bring forward 'greater powers and transparency' to address the problems. Meanwhile, the report has demanded that social media companies step up to quickly remove 'covert hostile state material' from their platforms, called for the Official Secrets Act to be updated and warned Russia's cyber attack capability is a 'matter of grave concern'. The results of the ISC's 18 month-long probe were finally published this morning after a nine month delay and following Number 10's failure last week to install chosen candidate Chris Grayling as chairman as he was beaten by fellow Tory Julian Lewis following a Labour and SNP 'coup'. The report's findings prompted an immediate wave of criticism directed at the Government as Labour's shadow foreign secretary Lisa Nandy said it is 'very clear that the Government has underestimated the response required to Russia and it is imperative we learn the lessons from the mistakes that have been made'. The decision by the Government to immediately rule out a Brexit probe sparked Remainer fury as acting Liberal Democrat leader Sir Ed Davey said it was 'outrageous that Russian interference in UK elections and referendums has never been investigated properly'. He said the failure to launch an investigation into the 2016 campaign is 'a green light for Russia to interfere with our democracy in future, knowing there will be no consequences'. The publication of the report came as: I SC committee members said there was 'no reason' for the report to have been delayed for so long as they blamed Downing Street for the long wait. Businessman and Vladimir Putin critic Bill Browder said the findings were 'strong' and the ISC had recognised 'the whole Russian enabler problem in London-lawyers, accountants and consultants getting rich off dirty Russians'. Guy Verhofstadt, chief Brexit negotiator for the European Parliament, said the report shows 'just how many questions remain unanswered' about the Brexit vote which was a 'gift to Putin'. Nigel Farage said that after 'years of lies and smears from Remain politicians and much of our media' there is ' no evidence of Russian involvement with Leave.EU or me in the referendum'. Nicola Sturgeon said she had 'no objection' to an inquiry being launched into Russian interference in the Scottish independence referendum. The Intelligence and Security Committee today published its long-awaited report into Russian interference in British democracy Russian President Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin have long faced accusations of trying to meddle in the affairs of rival nations Nicola Sturgeon says she has 'no objection' to probe into Scottish independence vote Scotland's First Minister today said she has 'no objection' to an inquiry being launched into Russian interference in the Scottish independence referendum. Speaking at the Scottish Government's coronavirus briefing on Tuesday, hours after a heavily redacted report by Westminster's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) was published, Nicola Sturgeon said governments should not be 'complacent' about the possibility of interference in democratic processes. The UK Government response to such warnings could be viewed as 'negligence', she said. The ISC report, which was due to be published before the 2019 general election but faced months of delays, said there is 'credible open source commentary' suggesting Russia had tried to influence the independence referendum campaign in 2014. Evidence of the claims in the report were redacted by the committee. The Scottish Tories and Labour's shadow Scottish secretary Ian Murray have called for inquiries to be launched into the matter. Ms Sturgeon said that as intelligence and security is a devolved matter, it would be for the UK Government to undertake an investigation. She said: 'If there's to be an inquiry into that - and I would have no objections, to the contrary - it is for the UK Government to do.' The First Minister said she hopes the ISC report will lead to a 'much more rigorous approach' by the UK Government in dealing with interference. Advertisement Here is what the ISC's long-awaited Russia report has concluded on key issues: Government 'did not want to know' about potential evidence of Russian interference in Brexit vote The committee looked extensively during its investigation at how secure the UK's democratic process is and it found that the paper-based voting system is 'largely sound' and is difficult to meddle with. But the ISC said the UK 'cannot be complacent about a hostile state taking deliberate action with the aim of influencing our democratic processes'. There have been repeated allegations of Russia trying to meddle in the 2016 Brexit vote and in the 2014 Scottish referendum. On Brexit, the committee said it had not seen any official evidence that Russia had tried to intervene in the 2016 vote on the EU. But it said this was because the Government had failed to go looking for such information. ISC member Kevan Jones said: 'There was no evidence that we saw. The reason why there was no evidence was because no one asked for the work to be done. 'In terms of saying did Russia interfere in the EU referendum? We can't say that because nobody really asked that either.' Mr Hosie said that no one in Government knew if Russia interfered or sought to influence the 2016 referendum 'because they did not want to know'. As a result, the ISC has urged the Government to now launch a formal investigation into the Brexit campaign, similar to the one conducted in the US examining whether Russia tried to interfere in the most recent presidential election. The report said: 'There have been widespread allegations that Russia sought to influence voters in the 2016 referendum on the UK's membership of the EU: studies have pointed to the preponderance of pro-Brexit or anti-EU stories on RT and Sputnik, and the use of 'bots' and 'trolls', as evidence. 'The actual impact of such attempts on the result itself would be difficult if not impossible to prove. However what is clear is that the Government was slow to recognise the existence of the threat only understanding it after the 'hack and leak' operation against the Democratic National Committee, when it should have been seen as early as 2014. Eight claims made by the ISC that the Government rejects The government hit back at the ISC report this morning, rejecting eight main claims: It denied there was a need for an inquiry into Russian interference in the 29016 Brexit referendum, with a spokesman saying: 'Where new information emerges, the Government will always consider the most appropriate use of any intelligence it develops or receives, including whether it is appropriate to make this public. Given this long standing approach, a retrospective assessment of the EU Referendum is not necessary.' It rejected the suggestion that it 'badly underestimated' the threat from Russia for years, saying: 'The government has long recognised there is an enduring and significant threat posed by Russia to the UK and its allies, including conventional military capabilities, disinformation, illicit finance, influence operations, and cyber-attacks. As such, Russia remains a top national security priority for the government.' The report said that the ability to stop Russian interference was being held back by being over-complicated. The Government: 'There is a clear line of accountability for HMG's policy on Russia: the Russia and Ukraine national security implementation group reports to the national security adviser and to ministers on the national security council. Ultimate ministerial oversight is provided by the prime minister.' Downing street resisted the suggestion that MI5 and the police needed to work more closely together, saying they already were working closely. 'MI5 has already developed closer working with police and Home Office partners in tackling the threat posed by hostile state activity, including working together closely on a number of hostile state activity cases.' Poor communications with Russia were also criticised, saying improvements would 'reduce the risk of miscommunication and escalation of hostilities'. The Government said it already had established channels of communication. More powers for the Electoral Commission.'We continue to consider the recommendations from the Electoral Commission itself to enhance their powers. The commission has civil sanctioning powers that apply to referendums and elections. More serious criminal matters can and are referred to the police, and then considered by a court of law.' Toughening the Sanctions Act to allow greater presser to be leverages against suspect Russians. The Govermment said the law already allowed for 'sanctions in the interests of national security, in the interests of international peace and security and to further a foreign policy objective of the government'. Unreasonable delay to releasing the report, which was ready for release before December's election. The PM's official spokesman said today: 'There is no set timetable for a response, nor is it set in legislation. The Prime Minister took the appropriate time to consider publication of a report which by definition relates to matters of national security.' Advertisement 'As a result the Government did not take action to protect the UK's process in 2016. The Committee has not been provided with any post-referendum assessment - in stark contrast to the US response to reports of interference in the 2016 presidential election. 'In our view there must be an analogous assessment of Russian interference in the EU referendum.' The committee said that it had 'sought to establish whether there is secret intelligence which supported or built on' open source studies which suggested Russia had tried to influence the EU referendum. But it said a request for written evidence from MI5 was met with a reply with just 'six lines of text'. The committee said it believed this was 'indicative of the extreme caution amongst the intelligence and security Agencies at the thought that they might have any role in relation to the UK's democratic processes'. The ISC said such an attitude is 'illogical' and that 'this is about the protection of the process and mechanism from hostile state interference which should fall to our intelligence and security Agencies'. The Government dismissed the call for a probe into the EU referendum. It said in its official response to the report: 'Where new information emerges, the Government will always consider the most appropriate use of any intelligence it develops or receives, including whether it is appropriate to make this public. Given this long standing approach, a retrospective assessment of the EU Referendum is not necessary.' On Scotland, the ISC did conclude there 'there has been credible open source commentary suggesting that Russia undertook influence campaigns in relation to the Scottish independence referendum in 2014'. How Putin's hackers 'weaponise information' phished from malicious cyber activity - and social media companies are 'failing to play their part' to stop them Russia has been repeatedly accused of using online social media trolling activity to try to influence democratic decisions and sow division in a number of countries. The ISC report has demanded that social media companies 'must take action and remove covert hostile state material' as quickly as possible as it said they currently are not doing enough. It also suggested that the Government should 'name and shame' any firms which fail to do so with formal deadlines set for the removal of such content. The report said that it is 'the social media companies who hold the key' to tackling the spread of disinformation online. But it said that so far social media firms are 'failing to play their part'. 'The Government must establish a protocol with these companies to ensure that they take covert hostile state use of their platforms seriously, with agreed deadlines within which such material will be removed, and Government should 'name and shame' those which fail to act,' the report said. It added: 'Russia's promotion of disinformation and attempts at political influence overseas - whether through the use of social media, hack and leak operations, or its state-owned traditional media - have been widely reported.' The report also warned that Russia's cyber attack capability 'when combined with its willingness to deploy it in a malicious capacity, is a matter of grave concern' and one which poses an 'immediate and urgent threat to our national security. Committee member Stewart Hosie said the UK was 'one of Russia's top western intelligence targets' as he said Moscow 'weaponises information'. Mr Hosie added: 'Russia poses an all-encompassing security threat which is fuelled by paranoia about the West and a desire to be seen as a resurgent great power. 'It carries out malicious cyber activity in order to assert itself aggressively, for example by attempting to interfere in other countries' elections.' The ISC report will pile pressure on Boris Johnson to bring forward new measures to bolster UK defences against potential foreign interference What does the ISC report say about disinformation and how has the Government responded? A report looking into Russian interference in UK affairs has laid bare concerns about the spread of disinformation. Here is a breakdown of the concerns raised by the ISC and the Government's response. - What does the report highlight? Widely-reported attempts by the Kremlin to interfere in overseas elections are highlighted, such as alleged bots and trolls on social media and 'hack and leak' operations in relation to the 2016 US presidential election. It believes there may be various reasons why Russia chooses to spread disinformation, but notes that such activity is 'all in support of its underlying foreign policy objectives'. Despite these threats, the UK's paper-based voting and counting system is deemed 'largely sound'. Regardless, the UK is clearly a target for Russia's disinformation efforts and must therefore equip itself to counter them, MPs say. - So, who needs to step up? The finger is pointed at social media companies, saying they must take action and remove 'covert hostile state material', urging the Government to name and shame those that fail to act. 'It is the social media companies who hold the key but are failing to play their part,' the report states. But the committee also said that it was 'surprisingly difficult' to establish who has responsibility for what in terms of who leads the UK's response to foreign interference. No one organisation considers itself to be in the lead, or apparently willing to conduct an assessment of such interference, a position the committee wants to see changed. 'Overall, the issue of defending the UK's democratic processes and discourse has appeared to be something of a 'hot potato', with no one organisation recognising itself as having an overall lead,' it writes. 'DCMS (Department for Digital, Culture, Media & Sport) is a small Whitehall policy department and the Electoral Commission is an arm's length body; neither is in the central position required to tackle a major hostile state threat to our democracy. 'Protecting our democratic discourse and processes from hostile foreign interference is a central responsibility of Government, and should be a ministerial priority.' The committee believes MI5 should have an operational role, utilising the relationship already built with social media companies when dealing with terrorist content on their platforms. - What does the Government say? The Government says its relationship with social media giants 'continues to evolve'. 'In the context of the Covid-19 response, we are learning valuable lessons which will be applied to our future approach to countering disinformation and other forms of online manipulation,' the Government said in response to the report. 'While the Government welcomes the actions taken by social media companies thus far, including the cooperation they have shown in tackling these issues together, there still issues to be addressed. 'DCMS will continue pushing platforms to take the actions necessary to improve and safeguard the information environment.' - What about other cyber threats? Russia's cyber capability is highlighted as a matter of 'grave concern' which poses 'an immediate and urgent threat to our national security'. GCHQ has claimed that Russian GRU actors have orchestrated phishing attempts against Government departments, as well as seeking to employ organised crime groups to supplement its cyber skills. - What do the social networks say? Facebook has declined to comment. Twitter is yet to respond. Advertisement Russia tried to hack the Foreign Office and Porton Down military laboratory after Salisbury spy poisoning The ISC report said Russia had used its cyber attack capabilities to target key government departments and national infrastructure. The committee said that since 2014 Russia had carried out 'malicious cyber activity in order to assert itself aggressively in a number of spheres'. In a partially redacted section of its report, the committee said the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) had advised there is 'Russian cyber intrusion' into the UK's critical national infrastructure (CNI). The report also highlighted that GCHQ had advised of 'orchestrated phishing attempts' against Government departments by 'Russian GRU actors'. The GRU is the Main Intelligence Directorate of the General Staff of the Russian Armed Forces. As an example, the report said attempts were made against the UK's Foreign and Commonwealth Office and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) during the early stages of the investigation into the Salisbury poisonings in 2018. Headquartered in Porton Down, Wiltshire, scientists at DSTL were involved in conducting tests after Russian double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were exposed to Novichok. Porton Down's identification of the substance used in the attack was a key plank in evidence presented by the UK in then prime minister Theresa May's successful bid to recruit international support in the dispute with Moscow, which resulted in the expulsion of more than 100 Russian diplomats from over 20 countries. The ISC concluded: 'Russia's cyber capability, when combined with its willingness to deploy it in a malicious capacity, is a matter of grave concern, and poses an immediate and urgent threat to our national security.' How corrupt lawyers, estate agents and businesses have helped super-rich Russian oligarchs with links to Putin use the 'London laundromat' to clean their dirty money Super-rich Russian oligarchs with links to the Putin regime have been able to use the 'London laundromat' to clean their dirty money with the aide of corrupt lawyers, estate agents and other disreputable industries, the ISC concluded. The committee said that wittingly or unwittingly 'a growth industry of enablers' had helped further the aims of their questionable clientele further their influence in the capital, influence often linked to helped 'promoting the nefarious interests of the Russian state'. It also suggested that a 'large private security industry' had sprung up in a city mockingly described as 'Londongrad' because of the large number of affluent Russians with question marks over the source of their wealth. These firms had helped protect oligarchs and their families, seek 'kompromat' - blackmail material - on rivals, and 'on occasion help launder money through offshore shell companies and fabricate ''due diligence'' reports, while lawyers provide litigation support.' Russians with shiny clean money had been provided with access to important business and political figures in a way that cannot now easily be undone, the report noted. It said: 'It is widely recognised that Russian intelligence and business are completely intertwined. The Government must ... take the necessary measures to counter the threat and challenge the impunity of Putin-linked elites.' Russia's 'elite' and those close to President Vladimir Putin - aided by the UK's 1994 investor visa scheme - have put money into so many different sectors, particularly in London, that any Government measures against them would be 'damage limitation', said one section in the ISC report. 'What is now clear is that it (the investor policy) was in fact counter-productive, in that it offered ideal mechanisms by which illicit finance could be recycled through what has been referred to as the London 'laundromat',' said the committee. 'The money was also invested in extending patronage and building influence across a wide sphere of the British establishment - PR firms, charities, political interests, academia and cultural institutions were all willing beneficiaries of Russian money, contributing to a 'reputation laundering' process. Labour committee member Kevan Jones said this morning: 'What we do know about Russian interference in the UK is that it is the new normal. 'Successive governments have welcomed Russian oligarchs and their money with open arms and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are now very well integrated into the UK business, social and political scene - what has been referred to as Londongrad. 'Yet few if any questions have been asked regarding the provenance of considerable wealth. This open door approach has provided an ideal mechanism by which illicit finance could be recycled through the London laundromat.' No one single agency takes the lead to tackle Russian interference - and the Official Secrets Act is 'not fit for purpose' Russia report finally published after Downing Street failed in bid to install Chris Grayling as ISC chairman The Intelligence and Security Committee finally published its report on Russian meddling today after Downing Street failed in its bid to install Chris Grayling as chairman. Mr Grayling was Number 10's chosen candidate to lead the ISC as it was finally reconvened last week following a nine month hiatus caused by the 2019 general election. However, the former transport secretary saw his hopes of securing the top job dashed as Tory MP Julian Lewis won the role after launching a last minute bid and securing the support of Labour and SNP votes. The so-called 'coup' prompted a furious response from Downing Street as Dr Lewis, a former chairman of the Defence Select Committee, was swiftly stripped of the Tory whip. The Russia report was handed to Downing Street before Boris Johnson called the December general election. The 2019 version of the ISC was dissolved because of the poll being called, stopping the report from being released. The Government was then accused of bring slow in signing off on the creation of the 2020 committee, something which has now happened. Advertisement The committee raised significant concerns about which Government organisation is actually responsible for protecting the UK against foreign interference. It said the issue seemed to be a 'hot potato' within the government with no single agency in charge of coordinating action. It said: 'Yet the defence of those democratic processes has appeared something of a 'hot potato', with no one organisation considering itself to be in the lead, or apparently willing to conduct an assessment of such interference. This must change.' The committee said it had found it 'surprisingly difficult to establish who has responsibility' for preventing foreign interference in elections as it recommended ultimate responsibly should lie with MI5. It said: 'We understand the nervousness around any suggestion that the intelligence Agencies might be involved in the mechanics of the democratic process, but that does not apply when it comes to the protection of those processes. 'And without seeking to imply that those organisations currently responsible are not capable, the Committee have questioned whether DCMS and the ElectoralCommission have the weight and access required to tackle a major hostile state threat. 'Democracy is intrinsic to our country's success and well-being. Protecting it must be a ministerial priority, with the Office for Security and Counter-Terrorism taking the policy lead and the operational role sitting with MI5.' Meanwhile, the report said the UK's legal powers to combat spying were no longer adequate and that the Official Secrets Act needs to be updated. 'In particular, new legislation must be introduced to tackle foreign spies: the Official Secrets Act is not fit for purpose and while this goes unrectified the UK intelligence community's hands are tied,' it said. The ISC questioned whether the Government 'took its eye off the ball on Russia' and 'finds that they underestimated the response required to the Russian threat and are still playing catch up'. UK prime ministers' legacy of inaction over Kremlin: Theresa May and David Cameron 'failed to take any action against Russian interference' Boris Johnson was not the only prime minister to come in for criticism in the report as it also laid blame at the doors of his predecessors Theresa May and David Cameron for failing to take any action to determine Russian interference under their tenures. The report said that as early as 2014, when Mr Cameron was in charge, no effort had been made to assess what efforts, if any, they made to subvert that year's Scottish independence referendum, which the No campaign won 55-45. Mr Cameron visited Moscow in 2011, a year into his term in office, in an attempt to repair Russo-British relations. He met with then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev, a Putin puppet who held the role to allow his mater to circumvent Russian political laws on terms served. PM David Cameron in Moscow in 2011 meeting then Russian president Dmitry Medvedev (left) and (right) taking part in a wreath laying ceremony at the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier The ISC said the response to the Salisbury spy poisoning 'must not be allowed to become the high water mark in international unity over the Russia threat'. Theresa May is pictured with Mr Putin in June 2019 But by 2014 the relationship had soured, following Moscow's invasion and occupation of Crimea, and the downing of the passenger jet MH17 over Ukraine. But it was only two years later, after the EU referendum, when Russian efforts to interfere in the US presidential election against the Democrats that the Government in the UK 'belatedly realised the level of threat which Russia could pose in this area', the report noted. Nonetheless, no action appears to have been taken by Mrs May, whose time in No10 was almost entirely occupied by Brexit and related bitter factional Tory infighting. The ISC said: 'There has been credible open source commentary suggesting that Russia undertook influence campaigns in relation to the Scottish independence referendum in 2014.' In censored comments that follow, it notes: 'It appears that (redacted) what some commentators have described as potentially the first post-Soviet Russian interference in a Western democratic process.' More now needs to be done by security services and the intelligence community to assure the public that elections and the democratic process are safe, said the ISC. 'Whilst the issues at stake in the EU referendum campaign are less clear-cut, it is nonetheless the committee's view that the UK intelligence community should produce an analogous assessment of potential Russian interference in the EU referendum and that an unclassified summary of it be published,' the committee stated. 'Even if the conclusion of any such assessment were that there was minimal interference, this would nonetheless represent a helpful reassurance to the public that the UK's democratic processes had remained relatively safe.' House of Lords and their links to the Kremlin: Report calls for 'more scrutiny' over business interests linked to Russia and peers who work directly for major Russian companies Members of the House of Lords should face 'scrutiny' of any business links to Russia and rules on outside work should be tightened, the ISC report suggested. It pointed out that while MPs have to declare any income of more than 100 from outside interests, peers face no such accountability. This would make it easier for 'cash-for-questions' situations to arise without the public being any the wiser. The report said: 'It is notable that a number of Members of the House of Lords have business interests linked to Russia, or work directly for major Russian companies linked to the Russian state these relationships should be carefully scrutinised, given the potential for the Russian state to exploit them. 'It is important that the Code of Conduct for Members of the House of Lords, and the Register of Lords' interests, including financial interests, provide the necessary transparency and are enforced. 'In this respect, we note that the Code of Conduct for Members of Parliament requires that MPs register individual payments of more than 100 which they receive for any employment outside the House this does not apply to the House of Lords, and consideration should be given to introducing such a requirement.' Fox News fired Ed Henry, one of the networks most prominent anchors, this month after the network investigated a former employees accusation of sexual misconduct against him. On Monday, the former employee sued Mr. Henry and Fox News, describing a history of workplace harassment and a relationship with the anchor that she said included violent sex and rape. The woman, Jennifer Eckhart, a former associate producer at Fox Business, said that Mr. Henry had coerced her into a sexual relationship by promising to advance her career. A co-plaintiff, Cathy Areu, a frequent guest on Fox News programs, alleged in the lawsuit that Mr. Henry had harassed her, as well, by sending sexually explicit messages. Ms. Areu also described exchanges with other Fox News stars, including the anchors Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity and Howard Kurtz, that she called inappropriate and sexually charged. Fox News, in a statement, said that it had retained an outside law firm to investigate Ms. Areus claims and determined them to be false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit. Fox News issued the statement on behalf of the network as well as Mr. Carlson, Mr. Hannity and Mr. Kurtz, who were also named as defendants in the suit. A senior nurse who spent 40 days in a coma because of Covid-19 said she has been given a second chance at life after finally going home. Ayesha Orlanda, 52, was originally admitted to Bradford Royal Infirmary (BRI), the hospital where she works, in May suffering the effects of coronavirus. She spent 41 days in intensive care before being transferred to a ward, and was given an ovation by her colleagues as she went home on Monday after a total of 67 days in hospital. Ms Orlanda, who is originally from the Philippines, said: I want to extend my gratitude to all the staff who cared for me, they kept me alive, kept encouraging me and were there for me. I feel like I have been given a second chance at life. I am one of the lucky ones. In footage released by Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, an emotional Ms Orlanda, a senior sister on the BRIs acute dialysis unit, is seen being wheeled out of the hospital in a wheelchair as staff give her a guard of honour. Also there was her husband Asif, who spent time by her side and holding her hand while she was in ICU. Ms Orlanda said she was looking forward to eventually returning to work after a period of recuperation. NEWS: A dedicated nurse received an emotional send-off from @BTHFT colleagues after spending 67 days battling #Covid19. Colleagues from across the Trust gathered to applaud as Ayesha Orlanda, 52, finally left BRI. #WeAreBradford #NHSHero FULL STORY: https://t.co/4QFWFP6hs8 pic.twitter.com/RtQvSO7WL4 Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS FT (@BTHFT) July 20, 2020 She said: I learnt a lot from this journey, its really hard to be a patient when youre a nurse! Story continues I understand so much now about how important it is to be there for your patients, to spend time talking to them and to try and slow down. Be patient with your patients. Matron for cardiology and respiratory, Sonya Tetley, whose team looked after Ayesha, said: We are absolutely delighted to see Ayesha being discharged today. Shes been in hospital a long time and its been very traumatic for her, but shes made a brilliant recovery and we are very proud of her. Growing concern over an emerging second wave of COVID-19 in NSW could result in Queensland declaring more hotspots and denying entry to more people from the state. Queensland has just two active COVID-19 cases while 96 people are being treated for the virus across NSW. Melbourne is in lockdown with wearing face masks in public to become mandatory from 11.59pm on Wednesday. Queensland has declared the whole state of Victoria a hotspot, as well as the Liverpool and Campbelltown areas near a popular pub in southwestern Sydney which is linked to about 50 cases. Growing concern over an emerging second wave of COVID-19 in NSW could result in Queensland declaring more hotspots and denying entry to more people from the state (pictured: traffic banks up near the NSW-Queensland border) Pictured: A map showing coronavirus cases recorded in Sydney since July 1. The city's south-west has been hit the hardest. The areas seen in the lightest shade of red have record one case in the past three weeks. The city's inner west, eastern suburbs and northern beaches have so far remained unscathed Pictured: A map shows Sydney's coronavirus hotspot sites Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says her government is looking at blacklisting even more areas in NSW. 'I had a preliminary discussion yesterday with the deputy premier and also the chief health officer,' she told reporters on Tuesday. 'We're going to look at what happens in NSW today, but we are considering adding further hotspots at this stage,' she said. The placement of checkpoints along the Queensland-NSW border remains a sore point for both premiers, with neither prepared to concede ground. Ms Palaszczuk wants the border moved south to the Tweed River to resolve traffic congestion in Tweed Heads and Coolangatta, where locals have been blocked into their driveways. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says her government is looking at blacklisting even more areas in NSW Queensland has just two active COVID-19 cases while 96 people are being treated for the virus across NSW. Pictured: A shopper is seen wearing a face mask while walking through Pitt Street Mall in Sydney NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says, if anything, checkpoints should move further into Queensland. Tight border controls have resulted in hundreds of people being sent packing for trying to enter Queensland in breach of lockdown laws, including a man who hid in a car boot. Two women were caught trying to smuggle the man into Queensland in a scene reminiscent of an East German making a break for freedom beyond the Berlin Wall. The vehicle was stopped just after dark on Sunday at Wallangarra, in the Southern Downs, and police found the 41-year-old man hiding in the rear. He was fined $4003 for attempting to enter Queensland without a Border Declaration Pass and denied entry while the women, aged 28 and 29, were also refused entry. Anyone going to China will have to prove they don't have coronavirus before boarding their flights, according to the country's new regulations. China had been relaxing a ban on foreign travellers that was imposed in March to prevent an influx of infections after authorities largely brought the domestic epidemic under control. But the aviation authorities have established the tough rules on Tuesday as the country seeks to 'reduce the risk of cross-border spread of the virus', according to an official notice. Anyone going to China will have to prove they don't have coronavirus before boarding their flights, according to the country's new rules. In this file picture, a group of passengers wearing face masks wait in a long queue to board a flight at Tianhe Airport in Wuhan of Hubei province China had been relaxing a ban on foreign travellers that was imposed in March to prevent an influx of infections after authorities largely brought the domestic epidemic under control. This file picture shows a medical worker taking a girl's body temperature at an airport in Shanghai In March, China ordered all flight arrivals to be screened for the virus on landing, and also to spend 14 days in quarantine at their own expense at designated hotels. But under new regulations announced Tuesday by the Civil Aviation Administration of China (CAAC), citizens must now also upload a picture of their negative test certificate to a health app, while foreigners must apply to a Chinese embassy or consulate with proof of their status. The tests should be done within five days of travel, the CAAC said. People who fail to provide the sufficient documents will not be allowed to board their flight. China has reported more than 80,000 infections and 4,634 deaths since COVID-19 first emerged in the central city of Wuhan late last year. In March, China ordered all flight arrivals to be screened for the virus on landing, and also to spend 14 days in quarantine at their own expense at designated hotels. In this file picture, security officers disinfect their devices at Shanghai Hongqiao International Airport on July 9 In recent months China has allowed some foreign diplomats, employees of large enterprises and other business travellers back into the country on specially chartered flights. This file picture taken on July 14 shows passengers boarding a flight at Pudong International Airport More than 2,000 cases were imported, mostly from Chinese nationals returning home as the pandemic rages abroad. In recent months China has allowed some foreign diplomats, employees of large enterprises and other business travellers back into the country on specially chartered flights. It has also eased limits on flights from foreign airlines, although they are subject to penalties if any passengers are found to be infected. Many Chinese nationals stranded overseas have complained about the difficulty of getting back home because of a scarcity of flights and skyrocketing ticket prices. Scores of beloved Australian wildlife could be lost forever after mass land clearings and bushfires destroyed their habitats and killed millions of animals, experts warned. Habitat loss from urban development, agriculture, and land clearing since 2000 has been declared a primary reason behind animal extinction and biodiversity loss in Australia. The Black Summer Fires from 2019 to 2020 also significantly contributed, after it destroyed 12 million hectares of land in the eastern states. The blazes decimated the habitats of 832 creatures and killed roughly one billion animals, including roughly 10,000 koalas. The fires, in combination with dwindling habitats due to land clearing, have resulted in scientists demanding 49 different types of native animals be added to Australia's threatened species list. Habitat loss from urban development, agriculture, and land clearing has been declared a primary reason behind animal extinction and biodiversity loss in Australia since 2000 (pictured: Koalas seek refuge in a bulldozed part of Kin Kin in QLD on March 22, 2019) The Black Summer Fires from 2019 to 2020 also significantly contributed after it destroyed 12million hectares of land (pictured: Fires in Bilpin, NSW on December 19, 2019) Up to eight million hectares of land which contained the habitats of threatened species were cleared between 2000 and 2017, experts predict. Bush-tailed possums were once common across the country but they are extinct in specific areas even though their population numbers are relatively healthy. The population numbers of the grey-headed flying fox have also decreased dramatically. But the habitat destruction of the koala has been the most significant in recent years. Koala habitats cleared for land projects in NSW increased by about 32 and by seven per cent in Queensland. This has caused the koala population in NSW to decrease by up to 61 per cent, while Queensland's koala population has been halved. The habitats of koalas have been destroyed at such a fast rate that the beloved animal was declared a vulnerable creature in 2012. Vets and volunteers treat a koala at Kangaroo Island Wildlife Park, on Kangaroo Island, southwest of Adelaide (pictured: January, 12 2020) The fires in combination with the dwindling habitats due to land clearing resulted in scientists demanding 49 different types of native animals be added to Australia's threatened species list (pictured: An injured koala on Kangaroo Island after a fire on January 7) A study by Conservation Science and Practice in 2019 found that 93 per cent of land clearing was not assessed under the appropriate legislation even though the parties involved had the power to do so. 'There is no legal requirement for anyone to fund or implement these plans or advice, nor be accountable for their progress and that's a big problem,' Australian National University ecologist Professor Sarah Legge told The Sydney Morning Herald. The Commonwealth Auditor-General filed a report in June which found the Environmental Department failed to protect endangered wildlife. The report stated 79 per cent of land clearing approvals were non-compliant and contained clear errors. It said approval conditions designed to manage the environmental damage of a project were 'not assessed with rigour, are non-compliant with procedural guidance and contain clerical or administrative error.' A dead koala outside Ipswich after more than one million hectares of bush, forest and trees have been cleared in Queensland since 2013 (pictured in 2017) Crews monitor fires and begin back burns between the towns of Orbost and Lakes Entrance in east Gipplsland (pictured: January 2, 2020) Wildlife experts estimated at least 8,000 koalas perished in the bushfires, almost a third of the entire population in New South Wales, after fires destroyed millions of hectares after a long drought season. It is estimated almost half a billion animals died in the blazes. Scientists feared the destruction of nesting grounds and forests could have long-term implications for the populations of many species of birds. Ecologists said the animals may disappear from some regions altogether and were reclassified as an endangered species. Macquarie University climate scientist and biologist Professor Lesley Hughes said climate change is a 'threat multiplier' for threatened species. 'As the temperature continues to rise and we get more heatwaves, droughts and bushfires, threatened species will be in an even worse place than they are now.' United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres is seriously concerned over growing tensions between Armenia and Azerbaijan, Stphane Dujarric, Spokesperson for the UN Secretary-General, said, Trend reports citing TASS. "The Secretary General is following with deep concern the current tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia," he said. "He calls for maximum restraint as a full conflict between these two countries would be disastrous." Starting from July 12 afternoon, while grossly violating the ceasefire regime in Azerbaijans Tovuz district on the Azerbaijan-Armenia state border, the Armenian armed forces opened fire at the Azerbaijani positions by using artillery. As a result of the appropriate measures, the Armenian forces were forced to retreat, suffering losses. Azerbaijan lost sergeant Vugar Sadigov and corporal Elshad Mammadov, who died repelling the attack of the Armenian armed forces. Another serviceman of Azerbaijan's army Khayyam Dashdemirov died, despite the doctors' efforts. The tensions continued on the border, July 12. During the night battles, by using artillery, mortars and tanks, the Azerbaijani armed forces destroyed a stronghold, bombshells, vehicles, as well as killed Armenian servicemen on the territory of the Armenias military unit. Azerbaijani senior lieutenant Rashad Mahmudov was killed during the battles. The battles continued on the night of July 13. Major General Polad Hashimov, Colonel Ilgar Mirzoyev, Major Namig Ahmadov, Major Anar Novruzov, Ensign Ilgar Zeynalli, Ensign Yashar Babayev and soldier Elchin Mustafazade became martyrs during the battles. LUTSK, Ukraine -- A tense hostage situation on a bus in western Ukraine has ended without casualties after a standoff with police and after President Volodymyr Zelenskiy spoke with the hostage-taker by phone and agreed to one of his demands. Police arrested the suspected hostage taker, whom the Ukrainian Security Service (SBU) identified as 44-year-old Maksym Kryvosh and said he had propagated "extremist views." Interior Minister Arsen Avakov said Kryvosh was armed with guns and a grenade, adding to the concerns of security forces during the 12-hour standoff. The hostages were freed after an armored personnel carrier with special forces pulled up alongside the bus around 9:30 p.m., seconds after an explosion created a bright flash near the vehicle, a video posted by an onlooker showed: Officials said Kryvosh was a two-time convict who also went by the last name "Plokhoy," which means "bad" in Russian. Police said Kryvosh ranted against "the system" in his negotiations, called the country's oligarchs and officials "terrorists," and demanded that people watch the 2005 documentary film Earthlings about the suffering endured by animals at farms, research labs, and other locations. In response, Zelenskiy posted a short video on Facebook recommending that people watch the documentary. Local media said Kryvosh was following the news about his hostage-taking on his smartphone. Zelenskiy deleted the video after Kryvosh's capture. He said he had spoken to Kryvosh for around seven to 10 minutes and persuaded him to release three of the hostages, including a pregnant woman. Zelenskiy then agreed to publish the short video. "We agreed that he would release three people and after that I will record a video," Zelenskiy said. "I congratulate all those who fought all day for the release of the people in Lutsk and, in fact, for their lives," Zelenskiy said in a statement after the hostages were freed. Regional police chief Yuriy Kroshko said earlier in the day that Kryvosh had told police that he was armed and had a large amount of explosives with him. He also claimed to have placed a bomb at another site in the city and said he could detonate it remotely. The SBU published a picture of Kryvosh lying face down with security personnel standing over him after his arrest. Avakov said an accomplice was detained in the eastern city of Kharkiv. With reporting by Suspilne, UNIAN, Volynski Novyny, Ukrayinska Pravda, and the Kyiv Post President Donald Trump warned Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic in the United States will probably "get worse before it gets better." "That's something I don't like saying about things, but that's the way it is, it's what we have," he said during a White House briefing on the pandemic. "You look over the world, it's all over the world." Trump's comments come as the coronavirus continues to rapidly spread across the nation. The virus has infected more than 3.8 million Americans and killed at least 141,118 as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. Texas and Florida hit a grim record Monday for daily coronavirus deaths based on a seven-day moving average, as hospitalizations continue to surge in 34 states across the United States. Trump's response to the pandemic has also come under increasing scrutiny. In recent weeks, Trump has downplayed the threat of the virus, tying the surge in new cases to an increase in testing. However, public health officials and infectious disease experts dispute those claims, saying the rate of cases that test positive in the U.S., hospitalizations and deaths remain high in some states. A coronavirus model once cited by the White House now projects more than 220,000 Americans could die of Covid-19 by Nov. 1, as new cases reach record highs in parts of the country while restrictions put in place to contain the virus are lifted. Trump said Tuesday that state leaders across the U.S. are working "very, very hard," adding the state of Florida "is in a big tough position." He said the federal government is helping by providing its "tremendous" supplies of ventilators, gowns and other medical equipment needed by hospitals. He said some governors have indicated that they have enough bed capacity. "At the beginning, people never had an experience like this, where we needed so many ventilators so fast," he said. "The doctors and nurses and helpers have become incredibly good at the use of ventilators. It's actually a really complicated procedure." He said he would not call for a nationwide shutdown, saying it would be "completely unsustainable, produce debilitating economic fallback and lead to catastrophic public health consequences, there are consequences to shutdowns." He said the U.S. only initially shut down to prevent the overflow of hospitals and to allow the U.S. to meet the demands caused by the global pandemic, including the ventilators. "We've saved potentially millions of lives with the initial shutdowns but now we're very aware of this disease," he said. "We understand the disease to a large extent. Nobody's going to maybe ever fully understand it. But we'll end up with a cure, we'll end up with therapeutics, we'll end up with a vaccine very soon." "A permanent shutdown was really never an option in terms of what we're doing right now," he added. Trump touted the nation's coronavirus testing, saying the U.S. is leading the world with close to 50 million tests. "We're doing a tremendous amount of testing," he said, adding he would be OK with doing more. "I don't think any president, any administration has accomplished so much." He reiterated his claim that the virus would "disappear," something public health officials and infectious disease experts dispute. Experts, including at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, have warned cases and deaths could rise this fall. "The virus will disappear. It will disappear," Trump said. Busan venue celebrates 6th birthday HQ Gwangan, near Busan's Gwangalli beach, is celebrating its sixth birthday with a party on Saturday. The punk bands Sidecar, from Busan, and Gumiho, from Seoul, alongside ska-punk band Talkbats, also from Seoul, wil be performing. The party starts at 7 p.m., with bands starting at 10 p.m., and lights go out at 3 a.m. There is no covercharge, and the bar promises tons of drink and food deals. Visit fb.com/hq.bar.5 for more information. jdunbar@koreatimes.co.kr Seorae hosts zero waste talk Zero Waste Seorae, a group of residents of the southern Seoul neighborhood, is hosting an online talk on zero waste, July 28. Zimie Rim and Anne Gellereau will lead the talk, giving practical advice on how to adopt more sustainable consumption habits and lifestyle. After, there will be a 30-minute question-and-answer period. The online event is run by Seorae Global Village Center. Space is limited so participants are required to register online. Visit fb.com/seoraezerowaste for more information. The center also offers free Korean language classes and online yoga sessions. Visit for more information. jdunbar@koreatimes.co.kr A 19-year-old man accused of abducting a little girl from her Tennant Creek home while she slept has been charged. Northern Territory police allege the sleeping child, nine, was taken from a house on Scheelite Crescent about 12.30am on Sunday. The incident occurred after the man allegedly socialised at the girl's home, the ABC reported. Northern Territory police allege a sleeping child, nine, was abducted by a man, 19, from a Tennant Creek (picture) residence about 12.30am on Sunday Police said the child then woke outside a nearby unit complex and screamed at the man before fleeing to safety. She ran home to her family, who notified police. Police told Daily Mail Australia 'thankfully the child was not harmed therefore there was no requirement for medical treatment.' The 19-year-old has since been arrested and charged with abduction of a child under 16 years and trespass on enclosed premises. He remains in custody at the Tennant Creek Watch House and will appear at Alice Springs Local Court on July 22. Tennant Creek Investigation Unit detectives are investigating the incident. "TikTok is spying on you" read the adverts plastered over Facebook by the Trump campaign. "Do you think we should ban TikTok? Sign the petition NOW!" Trump's dramatic ads, which began to appear on Friday (US time), are just the latest in a growing campaign by the US against the Chinese company. Founded in 2016 by ByteDance, one of the world's most-valuable start-ups, TikTok has surged in popularity with its viral dance routines and comedy sketches. The app has about 800 million users worldwide and has been downloaded more than two billion times. However, it could soon find itself banned in the US following concerns that it poses a national security risk by sending user data to China - something the company has repeatedly denied. Founded in 2016, TikTok has grown into one of the world's most valuable start-ups, Credit:Alamy "Geopolitics used to be defined by oil and natural gas. Now it's being defined by emerging technologies," says Abishur Prakash, the head of the Centre for Innovating the Future in Canada. "The reason why TikTok is in the crosshairs is because it represents the beginning of Chinese technological ecosystems that until now have been largely defined by the US." The prospect of a ban could force ByteDance to sell a majority stake in TikTok, abandoning an app which has seen meteoric growth and focusing instead on Douyin, its video app for Chinese users. (Newser) The only problem with a life lived too long under Feminazi rule is that a man ends up with so many enemies he cant even the score with all of them. So wrote Roy Den Hollander in a 1,700-page book he self-published online last year, reports the New York Times. Now, authorities are looking at whether the 72-year-old lawyer, who was found dead of a self-inflicted gunshot wound on Monday and is suspected of killing the 20-year-old son of New Jersey federal judge Esther Salas, went after other perceived enemies. The AP reports federal investigators are poring over financial and travel records to see whether Den Hollander had a hand in the killing of Marc Angelucci, a fellow men's rights lawyer who was shot dead on July 11 in San Bernardino County, California. An unnamed official said the killer in that case is believed to have dressed as a delivery driver, as in the Salas case. More: Both Den Hollander and Angelucci participated in lawsuits that were trying to make it mandatory for women to register for a possible military draft along with men. Den Hollander's suit was filed in 2015 and assigned to Salas. Though Salas allowed the case to proceed in 2018, Den Hollander still faulted her for the pace at which it was moving forward. He withdrew from the case in 2019 and told a fellow lawyer that he was doing so because of a terminal cancer diagnosis. story continues below Salas' husband, Mark Anderl, was critically injured in the shooting that took son Daniel's life on Sunday. CNN spoke with Anderl's law partner, who says Anderl is in stable condition following a second surgery, and that a third is scheduled for Tuesday. As for a potential motive in the Angelucci case, Harry Crouch, president of the National Coalition for Men, said there was bad blood between the men regarding a case that Angelucci was leading. Roy was just not happy that we did not involve him as a co-counsel. I think unhappy is an understatement, Crouch said. He called me up and threatened me." ABC7 reports authorities found the name and photo of New York state's chief judge, Janet DiFiore, in Den Hollander's vehicle. It's unclear whether she was a target but security has been put in place for her. NBC New York reports Den Hollander mentioned Salas by name in his online book, snarking that her biggest achievement was being a high school cheerleader and describing her as a lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama. As for the source of Den Hollander's "anger toward feminists," the Times reports it interviewed him in 2008 and that he blamed a nasty divorce from his wife, whom he had married in Russia. (Read more Roy Den Hollander stories.) BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Fidan Babayeva - Trend: The greenhouse gas emissions will decrease by 35 percent in Azerbaijan by 2030 compared to the main index of 1990, head of the environmental policy department of the Azerbaijani Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources Rasim Sattarzade told Trend. "Having sufficient resources of fossil fuels, Azerbaijan continues to develop the country's alternative energy to reduce emissions of toxic substances into the atmosphere," Sattarzade added. "We may quite easily produce energy for many years by using oil and gas, but nevertheless, the country's leadership constantly focuses on improvement of the environmental situation," head of the department said. "The solar and wind energy plays an important role in reducing global emissions of greenhouse gases," Sattarzade said. "This will reduce domestic consumption of "blue fuel" and thus release additional volumes for its export." "Azerbaijan has certain obligations within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gases to prevent air pollution," head of the department stressed. Sattarzade reminded that Azerbaijan also cooperates with international companies in the field of ecology. "For example, UKs BP, the operator of the two biggest projects in the country's oil and gas sector (Azeri-Chirag-Gunashli and Shah Deniz), signed a letter of intent with the Azerbaijani Ministry of Energy to jointly explore the potential of renewable energy sources in the country," head of the department said. "A corresponding agreement has been concluded with French Total company and Norwegian Equinor company in the field of alternative energy," Sattarzade said. "Azerbaijan prioritizes the development of alternative energy sources," head of the department said. "While maintaining an ecological balance, the country protects the environment and strives for socio-economic development." There is a three-stage model of energy development, the initiator of which is the Azerbaijani State Agency on Alternative and Renewable Energy Sources. The project "A Thousand Houses - A Thousand Power Plants" envisages equipping each house with an environmentally friendly and safe small power plant that may convert solar energy into electricity. In accordance with the Buzovna Eco-Kend project, energy supply in this territory will be provided through solar panels. The Gobustan 2020 project is one of the pilot projects that will be implemented through the Smart Network system. This will reduce energy loss. The consumers will be provided with more qualitative energy. Eleven reservoirs of various volumes and other economic, agricultural and industrial facilities are planned to be built. The Agency has created an automatic lighting control system for roads and residential buildings, the purpose of which is to illuminate roads and residential buildings depending on the time. It is also possible to illuminate roads depending on the intensity of road traffic. This saves energy and reduces road maintenance costs. ---- Follow the author on Twitter: Fidan_Babaeva Twinkle Khanna was in the mood for some banter with hubby Akshay Kumar on social media on Monday. It all began with Akshay sharing a video link where he is seen urging people to wear masks if they don't want to be abused in different languages. At the end of the video, he is seen wearing a face mask with floral prints. He wrote on the link he shared on his verified Twitter account: "Go about your life normally but follow the #safenormal." Twinkle re-tweeted Akshay's message from her verified Twitter account and wrote: "Also get your own mask and don't rob your partner's freshly washed, pretty, floral one:) #SafeNormal." This is not the first time Twinkle and Akshay have indulged in such funny exchanges on social media. The couple keeps posting such witty retorts. Akshay and Twinkle got married in January 2001 and have two children, Aarav and Nitara. Earlier this year, on their 19th wedding anniversary, the actor wished his wife with a hilarious Instagram post. In the picture, he was seen dressed as Pakshirajan, his character from 2.0, about to dig his fangs into her. Visual representation of what married life looks like...some days you wanna cuddle and some days look like...as you can see. All said and done, I wouldnt have it any other way, Happy Anniversary Tina...with love from Pakshirajan, he wrote. Meanwhile, Akshay is gearing up to make his digital debut with his upcoming film, Laxmmi Bomb. Directed by Raghava Lawrence, the film will release on the streaming platform Disney+ Hotstar. Howard asked the undercover officers if they were the police during a sale in April 2019, according to the complaint. Howard tested the officers by asking what kind of heroin the operation sells and how the drugs are usually packaged. An officer answered correctly and negotiated with Howard to buy three packs of heroin. An investigation is underway after two men were killed and a woman was injured in a shooting at a home in Burbank early Tuesday morning. (Al Seib / Los Angeles Times) An early morning shooting at a Burbank home Tuesday left two men dead and one woman wounded, officials said. The Burbank Police Department received a call about a shooting around 1:24 a.m., and an officer arrived at the home in the 900 block of Cambridge Drive within 30 seconds, authorities said. "We happened to have an officer within a block of the call, just by chance," Burbank police Sgt. Derek Green said. There, the body of one man was found in the driveway, and a handgun was discovered outside the home. Inside the house, officers found the body of another man and a woman who had also been shot. The man was pronounced dead at the scene, and the woman was transported to a hospital. She was in critical condition Tuesday morning, authorities said. Three children were also found inside the home, although none was hurt. They are "in the care of the police right now, safe," Green said. Authorities are still working to determine a motive, but said they think the adults and children, none of whom has been identified, all lived in the home where the shooting occurred. "There are so many possibilities here. The key piece of this is going to be to identify the person who was deceased on the driveway and determine exactly what relationship he has to the people who live in the home," Green said. "I don't know that that's going to come quickly. It's probably going to be days." Detectives said they are not actively searching for suspects but have not ruled out the possibility that others were involved in the shooting. The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) will announce Class 12 board results today (July 20) likely at around 11 am on its official website pseb.ac.in. The Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) will declare the PSEB 12th results on the basis of the best-performing subjects formula as suggested by the Centre. The decision to declare the PSEB 12th results on the basis of the best-performing subject formula, was taken after the cancellation of the remaining examination of Class 12 amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The Punjab government informed about the cancellation of exam by Tweeting, ''#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." The PSEB 12th result has been evaluated on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme. PSEB class 12 results: Where to check the scorecard: Once the Class 12 results are declared by the PSEB, students can check their scorecard on the official website pseb.ac.in. The website will also be accessible from mobile phones. PSEB class 12 results: How to check online Step 1: Students are advised to visit the official website pseb.ac.in Step 2: Click on the result link on the homepage Step 3: Enter their required details like Roll No or date of birth. Step 4: Ensure that the details entered match the data provided with PSEB class 12 exam admit card. Step 5: Submit and view your result. Students are advised to download a copy of the result for future reference. Last year, 86.41 per cent of students passed the PSEB 12th examination. The pass percentage among girls was 90.86 per cent. Three students were joint toppers. Sarvjot Singh Bansal from Ludhiana, Aman from Mukhtasar and Muskan Soni from Nakodar, had bagged the first position securing 98.89 per cent marks. EDMONTON, Alberta, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Leveraging artificial intelligence and machine learning to better measure and locate methane emissions, and prototyping new approaches to convert natural gas to hydrogen, are two of 20 technology innovations that will receive funding from the Government of Alberta through Emissions Reduction Alberta (ERA). Alberta's Minister of Environment and Parks, Jason Nixon, and Associate Minister of Natural Gas and Electricity, Dale Nally, announced the finalists of the Natural Gas Challenge with ERA CEO, Steve MacDonald, on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, at the opening of the Maximizing Funding Potential Workshop , presented by ERA and Alberta Innovates. ERA is committing $58.4 million for 20 projects worth $155 million. Funding for ERAs challenges comes from the carbon price paid by Large Final Emitters in Alberta through the Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) fund. "Todays announcement by the Government of Alberta supports investment attraction, job creation, and economic growth. Some projects will have an immediate impact by improving the performance of the natural gas sectors existing operations and others are accelerating transformative opportunities, like hydrogen production, that can change the face of the industry. Steve MacDonald, CEO, ERA The Natural Gas Challenge was launched in October 2019 and was open to projects involving technologies at the pilot, demonstration, or first-of-kind commercial deployment stages. ERAs selection committee reviewed 117 submissions and of these, twenty projects were selected based on their potential to unlock innovation across Albertas natural gas value chain, from production to the end consumer. Projects announced include: MultiSensor Canada Inc. Methane Imaging Solution for Continuous Leak Detection and Quantification for Tank Emissions and Facility Monitoring Total project value: $3,200,000 | ERA commitment: $1,600,000 Permanent installation and demonstration of an infrared camera at 100 well sites to provide continuous leak detection and quantification for tank emissions and facility monitoring. Qube Technologies Emissions Reductions Through Artificial Intelligence Total project value: $16,200,000 | ERA commitment: $4,000,000 Deployment of an industrial device designed to collect large quantities of data to use artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques to better quantify, locate, and classify emissions. University of Calgary UCalgary-Canadian Natural Fugitive Emissions Pilot Study: Field-Scale Deployment and Acceleration of Made-In-Alberta Technology for Fugitive Emissions Detection and Reduction Total project value: $3,200,000 | ERA commitment: $1,600,000 Full-scale, field pilot of a new vehicle-based technology designed for equipment-level emissions screening to support effective regulatory leak detection and repair. Canadian Natural Resources Limited Canadian Natural Fugitive Emissions Study Using Aerial Detection Technology Total project value: $1,900,000 | ERA commitment: $927,000 Pilot project of both aerial screening technology and ground-based detection at conventional oil and gas facilities to validate technology performance and inform a broader Alternative Fugitive Emissions Management Program (FEMP). Challenger Technical Services Multi Component Downhole Injection System Total project value: $2,600,000 | ERA commitment: $1,000,000 Development, testing, and validation of a multicomponent downhole injection system that uses epoxy resins to rapidly seal leaking oil and gas wells and eliminate surface casing vent flow. Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) Affordable Zero-Emission Fail-Safe Electric Dump Valve Actuator (EDVA) Phase 2 Total project value: $2,200,000 | ERA commitment: $550,000 Applied research, prototype design and development, and field pilot testing of an electrically-driven valve actuator that is more compact, powerful, and lower maintenance than alternative pneumatic options. Kinitics Automation Limited Kinitics Valve Actuator for Gas Producers Total project value: $1,100,000 | ERA commitment: $552,000 Testing a novel electric actuator at 15 well sites in Alberta to validate the technology as a cost effective, technically viable alternative to eliminate venting from established pneumatic devices. Westgen Technologies Inc Unlocking EPOD Economic Zero Bleed Pneumatic Instrument Air Retrofit Solution Total project value: $4,000,000 | ERA commitment: $1,300,000 Demonstration of a solar-hybrid power generation system for remote well sites to provide reliable electricity to prevent gas venting from pneumatic devices in a cost-effective manner. Modern Wellbore Solutions Demonstration of a Full-Scale Multilateral Junction Assembly Total project value: $12,100,000 | ERA commitment: $3,500,000 Full-scale deployment of a multilateral junction tool assembly that will allow natural gas operators to drill, complete, and operate multibranched wells for unconventional reservoirs. The technology reduces emissions by enabling lateral junctions rather than requiring separate wells. Tourmaline Oil Corp. Natural Gas Mobile Unit for Drilling Rig Power Generation Total project value: $7,989,000 | ERA commitment: $3,200,000 Pilot demonstration of a plug and play, mobile power generation system for drilling rigs that uses smart energy to automatically start and stop generators to match the power demand of the rig. ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd. Fort Saskatchewan Hydrogen Blending Total project value: $5,700,000 | ERA commitment: $2,800,000 Pilot project to test hydrogen blending in ATCO's Fort Saskatchewan natural gas distribution system. The project will source and test equipment and determine applicability of existing codes, standards, and legislation. Ekona Power Inc. Development and Field Testing of a Tri-Generation Pyrolysis (TGP) System for Low-cost, Clean Hydrogen Production Total project value: $13,800,000 | ERA commitment: $5,000,000 Prototyping a new approach to converting natural gas to hydrogen and a solid carbon by-product representing a new pathway to produce zero-emissions hydrogen, electricity, and other products by decarbonizing natural gas. Standing Wave Reformers Inc. A New Wave in Hydrogen Production Total project value: $8,200,000 | ERA commitment: $3,000,000 Design optimization, system integration, pilot demonstration, techno-economic analysis, and advancement of commercial deployment plans for a technology system to decarbonize natural gas. ATCO Gas and Pipelines Ltd. ATCO and Future Fuel RNG Total project value: $15,900,000 | ERA commitment: $7,900,000 First-of-its-kind commercial demonstration to produce renewable natural gas (RNG) to be sold and used within the province in Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) fleet vehicles and commercial applications. Sustainitech Inc. Co-Locating Natural Gas and Indoor Agriculture for Alberta's Future Total project value: $17,862,298 | ERA commitment: $5,000,000 Design, construction, and operation for a first-of-kind commercial deployment of a modular farming system that combines automation, hydroponics, adsorption cooling, and advanced lighting to grow crops. Enersion Inc. Greenest Natural Gas-Powered Quad-generation with a 41% GHG Reduction Total project value: $3,800,000 | ERA commitment: $1,800,000 Technology that uses natural gas to generate electricity, cooling, and heating in an integrated package for multiple applications, including industrial, agricultural, commercial, and residential sectors. Stone Mountain Technologies, Inc. Demonstration of Thermally Driven Heat Pumps for Residential Heating Applications Total project value: $1,972,510 | ERA commitment: $986,250 Design and prototyping of technology that uses natural gas to drive a heat pump cycle. Unlike electrically-driven heat pumps, the technology is ideal for cold climates. Anax Power Turboexpander Project Total project value: $6,200,000 | ERA commitment: $2,400,000 Installation and operation of technology that provides clean, distributed electricity from the pressure and flow of natural gas without combustion. Innovative Fuel Systems Advanced Dual-Fuel System Commercial Demonstration Total project value: $2,800,000 | ERA commitment: $1,200,000 Commercial validation of technology that allows heavy duty truck engines to displace up to 50 per cent of their diesel with cleaner burning natural gas. Converting Landfill Gas to Renewable Natural Gas Total project value: $25,000,000 | ERA commitment: $10,000,000 The project will explore opportunities to upgrade landfill gas at Clover Bar Landfill and inject it into Albertas natural gas system as renewable natural gas (RNG). Stakeholders in the Clover Bar Landfill, the City of Edmonton and Capital Power, are exploring these possible opportunities. If successful, these technology innovations will lead to cumulative GHG reductions of almost one million tonnes of CO 2 e by 2030equivalent to the GHG emissions from 750,000 passenger vehicles driven for one year. It is anticipated these projects will also deliver approximately 760 new jobs. Projects were selected through ERAs competitive review process. A team of experts in science, engineering, business development, commercialization, financing, and greenhouse gas quantification conducted an independent, rigorous, transparent review overseen by a Fairness Monitor. All recipients are required to produce a final outcomes report that will be shared publicly for the broader benefit of Alberta. All projects involve field piloting, demonstration, or commercial deployment of technology within the province. ERA funding is critical to the transformative jump from pilot to market-ready innovation. SWR is unique in that it is a novel application based on well-understood, existing components. This allows us to move quickly from lab to market entry in Canada. With ERAs funding and partners, together, we can make a substantial near-term difference in global decarbonization. Kathleen ONeil, CEO, Standing Wave Reformers, Inc. Were very pleased to have the support of ERA in the final steps of commercial validation of our technology. Working with ERA and Westcan will help us showcase our technologys ability to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the heavy-duty trucking industry, while also allowing the industry to significantly cut fuel costs. Leland Oberst, President and Chief Executive Officer, Innovative Fuel Systems Working with our industry partners, Kinitics plans to demonstrate the companys shape memory alloy-based electric actuators as a viable alternative to methane-venting pneumatic actuators at production well sites. ERAs contribution will allow us to raise awareness of the technology in the industry, significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and potentially eliminate methane-venting devices entirely in Western Canada. Dean Pick, President, Kinitics Automation Our primary product, EPOD, has proven itself as a great solution for new well sites. However, we believe the real opportunity for Alberta lies in addressing its thousands of existing well sites. Funding from ERA will enable us to demonstrate an economically attractive instrument air retrofit solution. We believe this has potential to create a step change in the environmental performance of our industry. Connor OShea, President, Westgen Technologies Inc. At MultiSensor, we have been developing a cost-effective methane monitoring Internet of Things solution since 2016. ERAs Natural Gas Challenge funding is material for us to commercially demonstrate our cloud-connected cameras in the field at scale. Our automated remote monitoring solution will enable Albertas oil and gas industry to focus leak detection and reduction efforts on where it delivers the biggest reductionsidentifying, quantifying, and repairing leaks and vents as they occur. Stefan Bokaemper, President, MultiSensor Canada, Inc. ERA funding is a stepping-stone to translate our vehicle-based emissions screening system into a scalable commercial solution that helps industry lower and monitor methane emissions more efficiently and cost-effectively. We will undertake a full-scale field pilot over two years with our industry partner using a fleet of vehicles to survey thousands of facilities, while collecting additional emissions measurements from public roads across most operating areas of Alberta. Dr. Chris Hugenholtz, Associate Professor & Parex Innovation Fellow, University of Calgary The funding provided by ERA is key to commercialization of the LMT EDVA, a technology project that will not only enable cleaner oil and gas production to achieve Canadas methane emissions reduction targets, it may also help revive our struggling oil and gas and cleantech sectors. Soheil Asgarpour, President, Petroleum Technology Alliance Canada (PTAC) We are actively exploring innovative technologies that can improve the efficiency and sustainability of our operations. The funding received from ERA will enable us to implement a natural gas mobile power generation unit, contributing to Tourmalines diesel displacement initiative and reducing fuel costs and GHG emissions. Earl McKinnon, Vice President, Operations, Tourmaline Oil Corp. "Challenger is an Alberta-based service company with a solution for oil and gas wells that leak carbon emissions into the atmosphere. At Challenger, we are grateful to have a home province that not only welcomes innovation, but actively supports it. ERA's funding will be critical in bringing our technology to market and allow us to advance rollout to other jurisdictions seeking to control fugitive GHG emissions." Colton Hoffman, President, Challenger Technical Services To help streamline the application process, ERA collaborated with the Natural Gas Innovation Fund (NGIF) to leverage funding opportunities beyond ERAs scope through NGIFs $3 million Cleantech Competition. NGIF announced its semi-finalists on June 23, 2020. Six of ERAs Natural Gas Challenge winnersKinitics Automation, Westgen Technologies Inc., Challenger Technical Services, Ekona Power Inc., Modern Wellbore Solutions, Standing Wave Reformerswere announced as shortlisted for NGIF's funding competition. For more information contact: Emissions Reduction Alberta Kevin Duncan 403.431.2859 | kduncan@eralberta.ca ABOUT EMISSIONS REDUCTION ALBERTA (ERA): For more than 10 years, ERA has been investing the revenues from the carbon price paid by large final emitters to accelerate the development and adoption of innovative clean technology solutions. Since ERA was established in 2009, they have committed $607 million toward 183 projects worth $4.1 billion that are helping to reduce GHGs, create competitive industries and are leading to new business opportunities in Alberta. These projects are estimated to deliver cumulative reductions of 34.8 million tonnes of COe by 2030. A photo accompanying this announcement is available at https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/edd11ac7-08f3-425d-9275-7d73ca4588ad Mental health is a raging topic this season. Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide has brought the focus on the issue of mental health. The ongoing lockdown and the fear of corona too has contributed largely to the issue. With the pandemic causing anxiety and fear in people, it's become imperative to talk about mental health. No wonder then, Kartik Aaryan has a psychiatrist in the next episode of his chat show Koki Poochega. Kartik Aaryan has been talking to frontline warriors of the pandemic, like doctors, nurses, police officers and corona survivors on his chat show, to highlight the work being done by them. The actor has now invited a psychiatrist, Dr Geetha Jayaram, from John Hopkins hospital, USA. Kartik shared a teaser on social media from his new episode and captioned it saying, Agar abhi address nahi kiya toh agla Pandemic Mental illness ka ho sakta hai. #KokiPoochega Episode 7 out Tonight Dr Geetha Jayaram.' The young star says it like it is. While mental illness may not be contagious, it is as fatal as the ongoing pandemic. Several netizens have dropped comments about the great job the actor is doing and how they are awaiting the next episode. The actor was supposed to release the episode last night, but he couldnt meet his deadline and will release it today. He shared a post on social media apologising about the delay. I sent a letter to the president yesterday outlining various ways in which, if he really wanted to partner with us, that he could do so. There are some things the federal government is uniquely qualified to handle. We would welcome that, Lightfoot said. What we do not welcome, and what we will not tolerate, and we will fight against is the deployment of unnamed federal special secret agents onto our streets to detain people without cause and effectively take away their civil rights and their civil liberties without due process. That is not going to happen in Chicago, and if we see that, the minute we see it, we will be rushing into court to stop that from happening. Unlock 2.0: Night curfew & Sunday lockdowns to continue in Bengaluru India oi-Madhuri Adnal Bengaluru, July 21: With the nearly week-long lockdown in Bengaluru urban and rural areas coming to an end, the Karnataka government on Tuesday issued an order reimplementing unlock 2.0 guidelines issued on June 30, under which there will be night curfew and Sunday lockdown. The order, signed by Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar, said night curfew would be from 9 pm-5 am state-wide and that the lockdown on Sundays currently in place would continue. The order also restricts the use of gym equipment and sitting on benches in parks. Serum Institute to begin trials of Oxford's COVID-19 vaccine candidate by Aug-end It also said that vegetable markets, not only in Bengaluru but also in district and taluk level, would be relocated to large open spaces or Agricultural Produce Market Committees, with the aim of restricting crowds. Amarnath Yatra cancelled amid Covid-19 pandemic & surge in cases | Oneindia News The unlock 2.0 guidelines will be effective from 5 am on July 22 to July 31. Bengaluru urban and rural areas were under "complete lockdown" since 8 pm on July 14 and it will be effective till 5 am on Wednesday. The lockdown was implemented amid a spike in COVID cases in the city. Acting homeland security secretary Chad Wolf on Tuesday hit back at criticism of the departments officers deployed in Portland, Ore., slamming media coverage of federal police activities in the city as well as local officials response to rioting. Portland has seen continuous rioting since the death of George Floyd, an African American man killed in May during his arrest by Minneapolis police officers. Portland mayor Ted Wheeler lamented the violence in comments on July 3, writing on Twitter that the rioters continue to hurt small businesses owned by people of color, instill fear in communities of color, and start fires in buildings with people inside. Federal police officers have deployed to the city over the past two weeks, drawn from various units, including Border Patrol special operations. Those units have drawn media criticism after some demonstrators reported being grabbed off the street and transported to a different location by federal officers without identifying insignia on their uniforms. All officers are identified as police law enforcement officers, Wolf asserted during a press conference. They are only targeting those who have been identified as committing criminal acts. Wheeler has blamed federal officers for exacerbating the violence, saying on Friday that their presence in the city reignited tensions. Wolf said in response, rational people know that is not true. Portland Police Association head Daryl Turner decried the violence on Sunday, after rioters set fire to part of the associations headquarters. This is no longer about George Floyd, racial equity, social justice reform or the evolution of policing, Turner said. This is about violence, rioting and destruction. Our city is under siege by rioters. More from National Review Outer space visitor Comet NEOWISE is 4.6 billion years old, which makes it older than Earth and as old as our Solar System itself. However, it was not until March 2020 that NASAs NEOWISE telescope, also known as Near-Earth Object Wide-field Infrared Survey Explorer, captured the sight of this speedily floating space rock moving in our solar system. According to NASA reports Comet NEOWISE completed its slingshot around the Sun on July 3, 2020. It is rapidly travelling on its course, and NASA reports claim that on July 23, which is 20 days after the comets slingshot around the Sun, it will make its closest approach towards Earth. Watch some breathtakingly surreal pictures and timelapse of the Comet NEOWISE here. Read | NASA shares skywatching tips on how to photograph Comet NEOWISE Comet NEOWISE breathtaking videos and pictures Comet #NEOWISE is just spectacular! The last time humans would of seen a sight like this, Stone Henge was a baby at ~500 years old and the Great Pyramids of Giza weren't built fully! The next time we see it will be the year 8,820CE... maybe this is the last time humans see it?! pic.twitter.com/TufQzpFGMd Cosmic Webb (@Cosmic_Webb) July 16, 2020 This is perhaps one of the most marvellous and surreal pictures of NEOWISE captured so far. The breathtaking picture is taken at Stonehenge, the prehistoric monument in England. The Twitter user who shared this mesmerising picture pointed out the fact that the last time humans had witnessed this cosmic spectacle was when, the prehistoric monument, Stone Henge, was only 500 years old. Stone Henge is over 5,000 years old at this point. The twitter user also mentioned that the next time, Comet NEOWISE will be spotted in Earths sky will be in the year 8,820CE. Read | Comet NEOWISE to be clearly visible in India for 20 days form July 14 onwards Timelapse from Monday night's Northern Lights and Comet NEOWISE show in Southern Ontario. pic.twitter.com/Plu1BN5QtC Jason O'Young (@jasonoyoung) July 16, 2020 This time-lapse video was shared by a Twitter user name Jason Young. The twitter user has captured the cosmic show of Comet NEOWISE against the backdrop of one of the most surreal phenomenons visible from Earth, which are the Aurora Borealis lights, also famously known as Northern Lights. The time-lapse video was captured in Southern Ontario in Canada. Read | Where is Comet Neowise tonight? Know the time when it will be visible Sedona last night pic.twitter.com/rfzDZol9TO David Lennard (@dlennard) July 15, 2020 The above picture is captured by twitter in Sedona, Arizona. The icy comet looks enthralling in the colourful predawn sky and with rocky mountains in the foreground. It was mentioned by the twitter user in the comments that the picture was captured at 3:45 AM. Read | How long is Neowise visible each night? Here is all about the comet's visibility What a sight! Amazing timelapse shows Comet Neowise moving across the sky. pic.twitter.com/vBKyuDbJcZ TheSpaceAcademy.org (@ThespaceAcad) July 14, 2020 This time-lapse video of Comet NEOWISE looks hypnotising. It has not been mentioned by the twitter account as to where this time-lapse video has been taken. But it seems to span across a long period of time, as Comet Neowise is seen from evening time till before the sunrise. Read | Comet NEOWISE spotted by NASA spacecraft NEOWISE Comet Viewing: How to find NEOWISE? Comet NEOWISE July 21 location is under the Big Dipper. The Big Dipper is not a constellation in itself, they are a group of stars that appears as a part of the Ursa Major constellation which is also known as the Big Bear. Comet NEOWISE will be visible in Northwestern Skies of the Northern Hemisphere. While Comet NEOWISE is visible with naked eyes, NASA has recommended the use of binoculars or even a small telescope for a better viewing experience. The comet will also become temporarily visible to early risers in the morning time. If the astronomy lovers get away from the city lights and look to the Northeast before approximately 45 to 60 minutes before sunrise, they will be able to witness the sneaky space visitor. Kansas City Still Hiring Some industries still hiring in Kansas City despite pandemic KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Millions of people have lost their jobs in the four months since the COVID-19 pandemic began. Many hope to return to the same job, or at least the same industry, eventually. But that's not an option for everyone. Experts Claim Youngsters Need School Reopen Soon Children's Mercy Hospital experts say getting local kids back to school in person is critical KANSAS CITY, MO (KCTV) - Some parents are anxious to get kids back to school, others are concerned about the health risks. Monday, doctors with Children's Mercy and the KU Health System said, get the PPE and screening in place, and get them back. "We know kids need social and emotional support. Rock Chalk Takeaway JoCo ambulance stolen from KU Health System hospital KANSAS CITY, Mo. - Authorities in Kansas City, Kansas, are searching for a person who stole an ambulance Monday afternoon. A Johnson County Med-Act ambulance was in a bay at the University of Kansas hospital when around 3:30 p.m., someone took off with the ambulance, according to a KCKPD spokesperson. Demi Shares Fashion And Vacay Goodness With The World Demi Rose puts on an eye-popping display in a multi-coloured bikini She has recently been soaking up the sun during a trip to Ibiza with her friends. And Demi Rose set pulses racing once again as she shared a series of sultry snaps to her Instagram from her holiday on Sunday. Prez Trump Tweets For Masks Trump tweets photo of himself wearing a mask President Trump Donald John Trump Kanye West says Harriet Tubman 'never actually freed the slaves' at rally Trump-Afghan deal passes key deadline, but peace elusive GOP governors in hardest hit states split over COVID-19 response MORE on Monday tweeted for the first time a photograph of himself wearing a mask and described the practice as a patriotic act amid the coronavirus pandemic. Federal Case Over Ameircan Crime Crackdown Dem leaders demand FBI briefing on 'foreign interference campaign' targeting lawmakers Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer have demanded an all-Congress briefing from the FBI after learning of "specific" intelligence that a foreign influence operation targeted lawmakers to "launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity." Conservative Talkers Confront Rape & Harassment Case Ex-Fox News Star Ed Henry Accused of Rape in Brutal New Lawsuit In addition to Henry's alleged violent sexual misconduct, the lawsuit also claims sexual harassment by Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity, Howard Kurtz, and Gianno Caldwell. A former Fox News reporter and associate producer, along with a frequent guest on the network, have leveled brutal and disturbing sexual-assault allegations against former host Ed Henry as well as harassment allegations against current on-air talent like hosts Sean Hannity, Tucker Carlson, and Howard Kurtz. U.S. Debt Game Growing This billionaire says the US stock market is overlooking the rapidly growing national debt As the US stock market has made a dramatic recovery from March lows, it has felt at times as if the market and the economy are no longer on speaking terms. Race For COVID Cure COVID-19 vaccine candidates show promising early results, but finish line still far ahead Professor Adrian Hill, of Oxford, called the latest data very "encouraging." A flurry of research, newly released by multiple manufacturers of COVID-19 vaccine candidates, provides reassuring glimmers of hope that scientists are on track to develop an effective and safe vaccine at record speed. Home Team Struggling With Coronavirus Protection Royals put Junis on IL; RHP missed time because of COVID-19 KANSAS CITY, Mo. (AP) - The Kansas City Royals placed right-hander Jakob Junis on the injured list Monday to allow him to continue preparing for the upcoming season after he missed the first part of summer camp following a positive test for the coronavirus. Kansas City Hipsters Offer Important Voting Info Want to vote by mail? Deadlines are coming up fast If you're like any of the millions of people who said they'd crawl over broken glass to vote this year, it's time to pony up. With a certain virus going around and the Missouri and Kansas primaries both happening on August 4, it's more important than ever to make your plan to vote. Local Flooding Risk Rain, scattered storms possible Tuesday Hide Transcript Show Transcript THE BOUNDARY. WE WILL SEE SPOTTY SHOWERS THIS EVENING, THEN A BETTER CHANCE, WHICH IS WHY I ADDED THE YELLOW TRIANGLE, MORE OF AN IMPACT CLOSER TO MIDNIGHT AND PRE-DAWN, KIND OF NOISY LIKE IN SOME AREAS THIS MORNING. THE FIRST PORTION OF TUESDAY, ON THE WET SIDE. A peek at community news inspired byas we offer an overview of pop culture, community news and info from across the nation and around the world . . .And this is thefor right now . . . Vijay Kumar medidates with fellow Falun Dafa practitioners at Townsend Park in San Jose on July 18, 2020. (David Lam/The Epoch Times) Falun Dafa Practitioners in California Mark 21 Years of Persecution SAN LEANDRO, Calif.Dressed in yellow and standing six feet apart, Falun Dafa practitioners in the San Francisco Bay Area commemorated July 20 differently this year. Normally, practitioners of the Chinese meditation discipline known as Falun Dafa (also called Falun Gong) hold a parade on or around July 20, the anniversary of the day in 1999 when the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) began to violently persecute Falun Dafa. The persecution has continued for the past 21 years, and so have practitioners efforts to raise awareness of it. This year, because of the pandemic, they raised awareness by gathering in smaller groups in their local areas. Falun Dafa practitioners do a meditative standing exercise at Marina Park in San Leandro, Calif., on July 18, 2020. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times) Falun Dafa practitioners meditate at Marina Park in San Leandro, Calif., on July 18, 2020. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times) Over a span of three days, practitioners in San Leandro, San Jose, and San Francisco set up information tables at their local parks and did the five exercises of Falun Dafa together. The exercises involve gentle movements and meditation. All of these people are kindhearted because of the principles [of Falun Dafa]truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance. And yet they are so brutally persecuted, and we want to bring this up to everybodys attention, Samuel Zhang, a systems engineer, told The Epoch Times. He has been practicing Falun Dafa since 1999, and he feels that it has benefited his mind and body. Vijay Kumar, an app developer at Clara Analytics, Inc., started practicing it a few months ago. He recently learned about the significance of July 20. He felt that his interest in other types of movement and exercise come and go. But if you really learn about Falun Dafa and if you do the exercisesdo it for one week, and I dont think youll go back, Kumar said. He also learned about the CCPs crimes against practitioners. In China, the CCP has persecuted practitioners by subjecting them to harassment, imprisonment, torture, and even death. Someone told me about [the persecution]. I looked into it and then saw how kind of gross it was. Until then, I dont know if its just me, out of my ignorance, but I never really heard about it, Kumar said. Falun Dafa practitioners hold signs at Townsend Park in San Jose, Calif., on July 18, 2020, to raise awareness of the Chinese Communist Partys crime of forced organ harvesting against Falun Dafa practitioners. (David Lam/The Epoch Times) A sign sits atop a parade car on July 18, 2020. (David Lam/The Epoch Times) With signs on top of their cars, Falun Dafa practitioners created a car parade from Townsend Park to 99 Ranch Market in San Jose, California. They visited Costco, H Mart, Ocean Supermarket, Safeway, Marina Grocery, and Lion Supermarket on the way. Practitioners both old and young came out to join the activities. I think its important because its a way to remember the people who were persecuted for something that they believed in, 16-year-old Kaitlyn Li told The Epoch Times. Daren Chou, a student at San Jose State University, told The Epoch Times hes been attending the July 20 anniversary events for 17 consecutive years. He has been to events in Portsmouth Square in San Francisco, and he asked, Why is the Chinese Communist Party doing this to good people? Chou visited China once when he was younger, but he has not gone back since. I do hope, one day when the persecution ends, that Im able to go backvisit my relatives in a more different kind of environment, he said. A basket of flyers informs passersby about Falun Dafa. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times) A flyer about rejecting the CCP. (Ilene Eng/The Epoch Times) The practitioners said they hope to expose the CCPs lies. Ever since the persecution began, the CCP has been spreading propaganda against Falun Dafa in an attempt to garner support for the persecution. For instance, multiple investigations, including those by Washington Post reporter Phillip Pan, have found the CCP staged an incident at Tiananmen Square in which several people set themselves on fire. It claimed that those people were Falun Dafa practitioners. The CCP used the incident in China and abroad to negatively portray Falun Dafa. Those who spoke up about it were allegedly silenced. Thats whats happening in China. People [are] scared to say the truth, said Zhang. He recalled the CCPs attempts to silence doctors and other people who tried to warn others about the CCP virus (commonly known as the novel coronavirus) early on. Thats why COVID-19 [went] spreading to the world, he said. We came out here today to tell everyone the truth about Falun Gong. It teaches people how to be sincere and compassionate, living according to truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance to be a good person, Huimei from the East Bay said. Do you think a society without truthfulness, compassion, and forbearance is normal? Zhang said. Congratulations, clairporium.com got a very good Social Media Impact Score! Show it by adding this HTML code on your site: Clairporium.com scored 79 Social Media Impact. Social Media Impact score is a measure of how much a site is popular on social networks. 4/5.0 Stars by Social Team This CoolSocial report was updated on 28 Jan 2014, you can refresh this analysis whenever you want. The total number of people who shared the clairporium homepage on StumbleUpon. This is the sum of two values: the total number of people who shared the clairporium homepage on Twitter + the total number of clairporium followers (if clairporium has a Twitter account). The total number of people who shared the clairporium homepage on Delicious. 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Twitter account link TWITTER PAGE LINK FOUND TWITTER PAGE twitter.com/#!/Clairporium DESCRIPTION Clairporium - a safe and loving place for you to explore ACCOUNT CREATED ON 07 Nov 2013 LOCATION Conneaut TWEETS 140 FOLLOWERS 202 LISTED 0 The Odikro (Sub-chief) of Adiembra Number Two, Nana Belfour Centum Ampofo II, has called on parents to ensure that their children use the period of staying home profitably. She said the coronavirus holidays are not meant for loitering about mand playing together, and forming groups to hunt for animals. As stakeholders in education, parents need to put in place measures to halt all forms of social vices to help arrest the poor educational standard, and also ensure peace and calm in their area, she stated. Baffour Ampofo, popularly called IGP, said such interventions would help combat criminal activities like games and betting, video shows, nightclubbing, and gambling. Speaking to Journalists at her palace at Adiembra Number Two in the Asamankese Traditional Area of the Eastern Region, he stated that the children are at home because of the deadly virus, COVID-19 disease, and not for recreational purpose and therefore, parents need to be vigilant on their childrens movements. The Odikro, one-time an appointee to the West Akim Municipal Assembly, said she would personally intervene to enable the assembly put in measures that would restrict childrens movements and prevent them from contracting the disease. According to her, each day children are seen playing together without observing social distance and more so without a nose mask, saying, such a situation can easily make them contract the virus. She appealed to Watch Committees in all the 32 electoral areas, to help combat criminal activities, like games and betting during this period, and also advised the municipal assembly and the Ghana Education Service to be committed to turning around the poor academic performance in her Adeambra area. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Moscow, July 21 : In a sensational claim, the Russian military has said it is ready with its experimental coronavirus vaccine, which is yet to even finish Phase II trial and the all-critical Phase III one, The Moscow Times reported on Tuesday. Last week, the Russian Defence Ministry had claimed that it has developed a "safe" adenoviral vector-based vaccine, following clinical trials on a group of volunteers. According to the new report, First Deputy Defence Minister Ruslan Tsalikov told the Argumenty i Fakty newspaper that military experts and scientists at the Gamaleya Research Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology have made "final assessments". "At the time of discharge, all volunteers without exception received immunity from the coronavirus. Thus, the first domestic vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection is ready," Tsalikov was quoted as saying on Tuesday. However, Russia's Health Ministry disputed the Deputy Defense Minister's claim, saying the vaccine's trials have not yet ended and the ministry plans to "work on the candidate vaccine's state registration process after Phase II of the trials". The ministry hopes to produce 200 million doses of coronavirus vaccine with foreign partners by the end of this year. Last week, the Russian Defence Ministry had claimed that 18 people had participated in the research and were discharged without "serious adverse events, health complaints, complications or side effects". Meanwhile, the US, British and Canadian security services have alleged that a hacking group, believed to be operating as part of Russian intelligence services, was targeting organisations involved in Covid-19 vaccine development. Russia's ambassador to Britain, Andrei Kelin, later rejected the claims that his country's intelligence service attempted to steal information about a Covid-19 vaccine. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A comparison of children in Hong Kong, mainland China and the UK has found that British boys' development of key thinking skills, known as 'executive functions', is unusually reliant on their socio-economic status. The findings emerged from an ongoing project which is exploring contrasts in the development of these skills in Eastern and Western societies and their relationship to academic achievement. Executive functions are cognitive skills that help us to meet goals - such as our ability to ignore distractions or switch between tasks - and they significantly affect children's performance at school. Across two linked studies, researchers found that the socio-economic background of British boys is directly connected to these skills. Those from wealthier families typically performed better in tests of their executive functions, while those from less-affluent backgrounds did worse. The connection was far less direct for British girls, however - and absent altogether among boys or girls from mainland China and Hong Kong, who, despite being generally less affluent than their British peers, consistently outperformed them in the tests. These results imply that specific cultural factors in children's lives that shape the acquisition of executive functions, also influence socio-economic gaps in academic outcomes. It is not clear what these cultural 'drivers' are, but they may include differences in curriculum, parenting, or attitudes to education. The research was by a team of academics from the Faculty of Education and the Centre for Family Research, University of Cambridge. Dr Michelle Ellefson, Reader in Cognitive Science at the Faculty of Education, said: "Based on other research, we might have anticipated a direct link between socio-economic status and executive functions; in fact, this existed only for British boys. Pretty much any test pupils do at school requires executive functions, so if we want to reduce the achievement gap between children from different backgrounds, it's important that we understand the mechanisms behind that relationship." Claire Hughes, Professor of Developmental Psychology in the Centre for Family Research, said: "There is concern in the UK that among children from less-advantaged backgrounds, boys in particular often under-perform academically, and the possibility has been raised in some research that features of their home environment play a role in this. What is interesting here is that we saw no relationship between socio-economic status and executive functions for boys in Hong Kong and China. We need to investigate why that might be the case." The research was part of the Family Thinking Skills project, which is exploring links between executive functions, school attainment and cultural differences in Britain and Hong Kong by comparing data from children and parents in both countries. Executive functions are mediated by the brain's prefrontal cortex, which develops into our mid-20s, and this means that they are likely to be shaped in part by cultural influences like upbringing and environment. The latest pair of studies looked at whether socio-economic status, which is known to influence children's performance at school, does so because it impacts on their executive functions, or has an effect independent of cognitive skills. They also investigated how consistent the relationship is across genders. "Very little research has looked at this in Asia, and big differences with the UK might point to cultural differences driving attainment," Ellefson said. Initially, the researchers used data from 835 children aged 9 to 16 living in Hong Kong and the UK. The participants completed computer-based thinking games to test their executive functions, and various mathematical tests to assess numeracy. Data about socio-economic status was also provided by their parents and through a survey. Because children in Hong Kong are highly adept with computers from an extremely young age, which might distort the results in the thinking skills tests, a second study was undertaken with 453 children in Shandong, China, led by PhD researcher Chengyi Xu. This deliberately targeted children whose use computers much less. Overall, British students performed significantly worse in the numeracy tests, and their executive functions were about two years behind the level of their Chinese peers, even though British children tended to be from wealthier backgrounds. Within countries, there was little difference between girls' and boys' average test scores, although girls displayed slightly higher cognitive flexibility. The children's levels of executive function and socio-economic status were both shown to affect their numeracy scores, but in most cases they did so independently of each other. The exception was British boys, for whom socio-economic status directly predicts executive functions, which in turn affects their numeracy. The researchers also measured general cognitive skills, beyond executive functions alone. Here, they found that both boys and girls from wealthier backgrounds in the UK tend to have better general cognitive skills than those from less-affluent families, whereas in China and Hong Kong, there was no relationship to socio-economic status. The data from Shandong also confirmed that computer usage had no effect on the acquisition of executive functions. The results strongly suggest that cultural distinctions have shaped a gulf between the thinking skills of British and Asian children, with consequences for their relative attainment. More research is needed to establish what these are, but the nature of the school curriculum, teaching styles, parental expectations, or social attitudes to education, may be some of the factors involved. In addition, the close link between socio-economic background and thinking skills for British boys in particular suggests that understanding more about these cultural drivers may help to narrow the attainment gap within the UK. "A clearer picture of why differences exist in the development of executive functions between children in Britain and Hong Kong would potentially help to inform interventions to reduce that gap," Hughes said. ### Both studies are published in the Journal of Experimental Child Psychology. By Robert Skidelsky LONDON I have long criticized economics for its lack of realism, and for producing "models" of human behavior that are at best caricatures, and at worst parodies of the real thing. In my recent book What's Wrong with Economics?, I argue that, in their attempt to establish universal laws, economists willfully ignored the particularities of histories and culture. The economist and sociologist Thorstein Veblen brilliantly captured this blindness. In a 1908 article, Veblen imagined economists explaining the behavior of "a gang of Aleutian Islanders slushing about in the wrack and surf with rakes and magical incantations for the capture of shellfish" in terms of utility maximization. In the 18th century, practitioners of economics the study of how people went about the ordinary business of making a living decided to align their inquiries with the so-called "hard" sciences, especially physics, as opposed to "human" sciences like history. Their ambition was to construct a "physics" of society in which social structures were just as subject to invariant laws as natural structures. Thus the law of gravity, which explains the orbit of the planets round the sun, found its economic counterpart in the law of self-interest, which ensures the equilibrium of markets. The authority of economics is based on the precision of its reasoning and its emphasis on measurement. Anything that can be counted should be, while anything that can't is a matter of opinion, not knowledge. (Scientists' ongoing attempts to uncover the causes and progress of COVID-19 are based on precisely this method.) I still regard economics' detachment from culture as a serious shortcoming in understanding human behavior. But I now see considerable merit in this cultural neutrality, because it provides a "safe space" for thinking amid the culture wars that currently convulse the non-scientific intelligentsia and about which journalists love to pontificate. The virulence of the current outbreak of culture war partly reflects the lack of alternative news: the media cannot live off the pandemic alone, and the normal business of economics, politics, and international affairs is at a standstill. "Cancel culture" surely would not be gaining the attention it has if there were more (and more important) news. More generally, the re-engineering of Western culture to make it more acceptable to, and accepting of, other cultures has been gathering pace since the 1960s. At some point in the future, historians may still be free to debate whether the voluntary dismantling of the iconography, language, and thought habits of Western imperialism, racism, patriarchy, sexism, and so on represents a civilizational advance or retreat, and in what proportions. Of course, the answers will depend on how the future turns out. But at the moment, few educated people under the age of, say, 30 have enough historical memory to challenge current standards of judgment. To be sure, economics is no more exempt from controversies than other fields. I am currently involved in one concerning the role of the state in economic life an unsettled question, going back to the start of economics, pitting those who believe that state intervention worsens economic performance against those who believe the opposite (with all the necessary qualifications on each side). Another unsettled question of particular salience today is what causes the gap between rich and poor within all countries to grow. Is it the superior talents of the wealthy, or rather their cumulative socioeconomic advantages? These debates are fierce; they give rise to political movements of reaction, reform, and revolution. But at the intellectual level, they are governed by a protocol that participants regard as binding: that better reasoning and better evidence in other words, better science can in principle resolve these arguments. The protagonists' cultural biases are not weapons to be deployed in the battle of economic ideas, because ad hominem or ad feminam arguments do not advance the debate. Another point in favor of economics is its valid claim to be color- and gender-blind. The economist treats the individual only as a consumer, taking his or her preferences and budgets as given, and ignoring what causes these to be what they are. On the whole, this blindness also applies to business. Firms are not concerned with their customers' color, gender, or political beliefs; rather, they respond to consumer demand at the point of actual or expected sale (although they also help to create the demand). Without a huge cultural blind spot, therefore, no accurate calculation of economic or business outcomes is possible. Yet, having conceded all this, I am still uneasy at the thought that my particular discipline protects me from the culture wars. For I can't help feeling that what goes on in "the culture" is actually more significant for good or ill than what is happening in the economy. This is because humans do not live for bread alone. As the former Archbishop of Canterbury Rowan Williams sagely remarked, monetary exchange is simply one of the things humans do. They also want to feel "at home in the world". And "good economics," if by that one means ever-greater consumption, is not necessarily the best way to achieve this. Some economists may prefer to concentrate on the current economic situation while standing apart from cultural questions, or to say that the culture war will recede as soon as the economy improves. But this is to abdicate responsibility, and to choose the easy road under cover of their discipline's neutrality. Jean-Paul Sartre would have called this "bad faith." Blunter observers would call it cowardice. Robert Skidelsky, a member of the British House of Lords, is professor emeritus of political economy at Warwick University. His article was distributed by project syndicate (www.project-syndicate.org). Navalny's Greatest Hits: FBK's Best Corruption Exposes During Its Nine-Year History By Todd Prince July 20, 2020 Russian opposition activist Aleksei Navalny has announced that he will be closing his Anti-Corruption Foundation (FBK), which has angered oligarchs and officials alike with his blistering investigations, after a Kremlin insider won a large defamation lawsuit. However, Navalny said he would open a new organization soon to continue his work exposing corruption at the highest levels of the Russian government. "Not a joke. Not a marketing trick. The Anti-Corruption Foundation, which I established nine years ago, will soon be taken away by Putin's Chef and his friends," the activist said in a July 20 tweet. FBK last year lost an 88 million-ruble ($1.2 million) defamation lawsuit filed by Yevgeny Prigozhin, a Kremlin insider known as "Putin's Chef," after it accused his catering firm of serving meals at Moscow schools that caused a bout of food poisoning. FBK currently has 7,607 sponsors that donate money on a monthly basis. That money would now go to Prigozhin if FBK was not liquidated, Navalny said in his tweet. "Instead of the previous FBK, we are creating a new legal entity and will continue to work," spokeswoman Kira Yarmish said on Twitter. During its nine years of existence, the FBK has been instrumental in exposing corruption in Russia, producing dozens of detailed investigative videos on oligarchs, government officials, executives at state-owned companies, and their friends and relatives. Putin has extended state control over the media, including national television, during his more than 20 years in power as either president or prime minister, neutering its work and turning it into a mouthpiece for the Kremlin. That has left hard-hitting investigative pieces to independent outlets like FBK, which has largely relied on open-source information, such as property documents as well as photos and videos published on social media, to expose its targets. The following are among the five most popular videos produced by the FBK. The 50-minute video Don't Call Him Dima explored the wealth of Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev, who has sought to portray himself as a politician with more liberal values and a fighter against corruption. Published in March 2017, the video has garnered 35 million views, the equivalent of one-quarter of the Russian population, and more than double any other video produced by the FBK. The investigation started after a Russian hacker broke into Medvedev's telephone in 2014 and published his seemingly harmless exchanges, including information about his purchases of gadgets online, Navalny says in the introduction. Following the online trail left by the purchase data, Navalny and his FBK team say they discovered a business empire secretly owned by Medvedev through nonprofit organizations, including mansions, yachts, and vineyards. Medvedev "is crazy about money and elite real estate, not gadgets like we all thought," Navalny tells his audience in the video. The prime minister is "one of our country's richest individuals and one of its most corrupt officials." Medvedev denied the allegations and called Navalny "a scoundrel," adding that commenting on the video would only benefit the activist. FBK's second-most popular investigation, with 12 million views, focuses on Prosecutor-General Yury Chaika and his family. The 43-minute film, released in December 2015, accuses Chaika's two sons of using the cover of their father's subordinates to illegally enrich themselves. The FBK alleged that Chaika's family and senior officials in the Prosecutor-General's Office had business ties to a notorious gang that for years terrorized a small town in southern Russia. The gang's leaders were convicted of murdering 12 people, including four children, in 2010. Chaika has described the allegations as "a hatchet job" financed by William Browder, an American-born British citizen who was a prominent investor in Russia before he was banned from the country in 2005. Browder has been instrumental in getting the United States and European countries to pass laws granting their governments the power to sanction Russian individuals for corruption and human rights abuses. The film alleges that Artyom Chaika, who is a permanent resident of Switzerland, illegally privatized industrial facilities and businesses in Russia that has allowed him to purchase a luxurious hotel in Greece and a villa in Switzerland. The film also claims that Chaika's other son, Igor, who owns several large Russian business enterprises, has been illegally awarded state tenders for construction and development projects in Russia. An FBK investigation titled Yachts, Oligarchs, Girls: A Man Hunter Exposes A Bribe Taker follows the social-media posts of self-proclaimed Belarusian sex trainer Anastasia Vashukevich -- aka Nastya Rybka -- to connect Russian tycoon Oleg Deripaska to one of country's top foreign-policy officials. The FBK video, which uses Vashukevich's posts, appears to show then-Deputy Prime Minister Sergei Prikhodko being offered lavish treatment on Deripaska's yacht in 2016. The two also appear to discuss U.S. politics. In the February 2018 video, which has garnered more than 11 million views, Navalny goes on to claim that Prikhodko's sojourn on Deripaska's yacht effectively amounted to a bribe from the oligarch. He also listed the deputy prime minister's hugely valuable property holdings in and around Moscow. After the FBK published the video, Vashukevich was arrested in Thailand on charges of violating labor laws and deported. She was detained in January 2019 in Russia upon her arrival at a Moscow airport. She was eventually released and returned to her native Belarus. The Secret Dacha Of Putin, released in August 2017, alleges that the Russian president uses a venerable country house on a Russian island near the Finnish border for holidays. The 50-hectare property, located on the islet of Lodochny, not far from the city of Vyborg, in a bay north of the Gulf of Finland, is home to several buildings and a helicopter landing pad. In the video, which has more than 10 million views, Navalny says land records show that the property belongs to Oleg Rudnov, a Putin confidant from St. Petersburg who headed a company called the Baltic Media Group. Rudnov headed another company belonging to another Putin confidant, classical musician Sergei Roldugin, who has been alleged by the Panama Papers investigative project to be a conduit for some of Putin's secretive wealth. One of Navalny's most recent investigations targets the country's new prime minister, Mikhail Mishustin, who was appointed by Putin in January to replace Medvedev. The immediate family of Mishustin, who previously oversaw Russia's federal tax agency, owns property in and around Moscow valued at 2.8 billion rubles ($40 million) despite the fact that he has largely worked for the government his whole life. Mishustin has claimed that his wealth was largely earned during a two-year stint with a Moscow-based private equity firm from 2008 to 2010. The money was then invested in high-interest-yielding bank deposits, he claims. The video, released on January 28, has been viewed more than 9 million times. Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/navalny-greatest- hits-fbk-best-corruption-expos%C3%A9s-during-its -nine-year-history/30738107.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 TOKYO - Japan is paying 87 companies to shift production back home or into Southeast Asia after the novel coronavirus pandemic disrupted supply chains and exposed an overreliance on Chinese manufacturing. While China's economy is already recovering from the coronavirus shock, the pandemic threatens to dent its reputation as the "factory of the world" - at least in some industries. Indeed, alarm bells started ringing in Japanese boardrooms as soon as the virus emerged in the Chinese city of Wuhan, a major hub of the auto parts industry. Japanese automaker Nissan was forced to temporarily halt production at a plant in Japan in February over shortages of parts from China, while a Japanese consumer goods company, Iris Ohyama, found itself unable to meet surging local demand for masks after supplies to its factory in China were disrupted and export controls out of China were tightened. In March, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said the government wanted to bring production back home and diversify into Southeast Asia. The following month, the government set aside $2.2 billion in its coronavirus economic recovery package to subsidize that process. It has now announced a list of companies that will benefit from the first round of subsidies, with 57 companies receiving a total of $535 million to open factories in Japan and 30 others paid to expand production in Vietnam, Myanmar, Thailand and other Southeast Asian countries. China is Japan's largest trading partner, but Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) has been trying for several years to reduce the country's dependence on its giant neighbor. The 2008 global financial crisis, the 2011 northeastern Japan earthquake and the coronavirus pandemic all disrupted supply chains, while U.S.-China trade tensions are also a factor. "We already started to see the risks of the vulnerability of the supply chain, and we encouraged industries to look at such risks and asked them to diversify their source of supply," a METI official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity under ministry policy, said in an interview. "We think this is another chance to rethink global supply chains." The subsidies aim to cover suppliers of the sorts of goods needed in an emergency - such as masks - as well as industries where supplies can be disrupted by an economic shock. Companies benefiting include producers of auto and aviation parts, hygiene products such as alcohol-based sanitizers, fertilizer, medicines and paper products. Iris Ohyama was the first company to take advantage of the subsidy and is using the money to open a factory to produce masks in Sendai in northeastern Japan, to complement existing plants in the Chinese cities of Dalian and Suzhou. "We decided to produce inside Japan a portion of the production consumed in Japan," said Executive President Akihiro Ohyama in an interview. Iris Ohyama has gradually been shifting production out of China in recent years, due to higher wage costs there, as well as tighter environment regulations, and recently higher tariffs to export from China into the United States. In addition to plants in Taiwan, South Korea and Vietnam, it has opened factories in France and the United States to be closer to markets there, with plastic containers, plastic pet cages, small electrical items and masks made or soon to be made in Wisconsin, Arizona and Texas. "I think we are at the beginning of a new phase of globalization," Ohyama said. "Not many companies have yet been doing what we have been doing. But going forward, I think more companies will follow." He said large items such as refrigerators and washing machines that involve complex supply chains will continue to be produced in China and East Asia, but other production may shift. "I think we will see a trend, a shift in producing goods in large volume where personnel costs are low, to places closer to where they are consumed," he said. Ohyama said he viewed the trend very positively, with local production providing local jobs, and less shipping benefiting the environment. For Japanese automakers, though, the shift may be less marked; most have weathered the initial virus shock and decided to remain in China. A survey of Japanese companies, subsidiaries and affiliated companies in China conducted by the Japan External Trade Organization found 22% saying in April they planned to expand their business in China, up nearly seven percentage points from March. A similar survey found just 5.6% considering relocating out of China, down from 9.6% in March. Indeed, Damien Ma of the MacroPolo think tank argued in a commentary in June that East Asia supply chains had in general survived the coronavirus shock, largely because this part of the world has dealt with the pandemic more successfully than the West. The METI official said it was unrealistic to bring all production home, adding that Japan's vision is different from U.S. Trade Representative Robert Lighthizer's view that the era of offshoring is over. Instead, Japan wants a combination of domestic and overseas production, together with international cooperation - especially when it comes to emergency supplies. "We are not retreating from globalization, but we have to update globalization," he said. "Japanese companies have to adjust to that new normal, but globalization is still on the way." - - - The Washington Post's Akiko Kashiwagi contributed to this report. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' trial on felony fraud charges will be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Her trial was originally slated to start in just over a week and was then rescheduled to start in October due to virus concerns. On Monday US District Judge Edward Davila in San Jose, California appeared in court by himself to announce another delay, citing risks the pandemic poses to participants. He appeared alone in the courtroom with Holmes appearing via video-conference in a gray blazer. Holmes launched her blood-testing company in 2003. She and her former boyfriend ex-Theranos president Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani are accused of falsely claiming the companys machines could perform breakthrough blood tests with a single drop of blood, duping investors out of millions and misleading doctors and patients. Theranos founder Elizabeth Holmes' trial on felony fraud charges will be delayed due to the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday Judge Edward Davila cited the safety of trial participants in pushing back the court date. Holmes pictured leaving a status hearing in July 2019 Theranos became a big name in Silicon Valley led with Holmes, a Steve Jobs-obsessed leader who wore black turtlenecks everyday like her Apple idol. She attracted investors and venture capital firms and the company was valued at $9billion before crashing to the ground in 2015. 'It is unrealistic that were going to go to trial on that date. Its just not going to happen,' Judge Davila said at the Monday status hearing, according to Mercury News. Prosecutors have identified 170 witnesses from more than a dozen states who plan to testify and many come from coronavirus hotspots such as Arizona, Texas, Georgia and Florida. According to current federal health guidance, witnesses who fly to California should quarantine for two weeks before testifying. Furthermore, the four counties from which jurors will be drawn are all currently on the State of Californias coronavirus watch list. School closures would further affect jury selection. 'The ability to get an impartial jury in this setting for a trial of this length is doubtful,' Lance Wade, a lawyer for Holmes, said. Holmes launched her blood-testing company in 2003. She and her former boyfriend ex-Theranos president Ramesh 'Sunny' Balwani are accused of falsely claiming the companys machines could perform breakthrough blood tests with a single drop of blood, duping investors out of millions and misleading doctors and patients Pictured arriving to court with lawyers in January 2020 in San Jose, California The biggest reason for the delay is for the safety of participants. 'I look out and I try to envision what a jury trial for three months would look like here,' Davila said. 'I dont know what is the Constitutional ramification of that.' Holmes' lawyer Wade said a new date should be chosen to ensure proceedings are safe 'but also safe from a Constitutional standpoint where our client has all of the rights that shes entitled to, given that her liberty is in jeopardy.' Wade proposed Homes' trial start in April. Prosecutor Robert Leach said the government is ready for a fall start but says theres a challenge when it comes to securing witnesses. 'April of 2021 is too long. If the court is inclined to move the trial, it should move the trial to February.' Holmes' claim that her finger prick blood test could run a myriad of medical tests was one of the biggest frauds in Silicon Valley They also discussed the possibility of conducting the trial fully or partly via video. Wade said it was discussed with prosecutors and 'we did not see a workable solution on a case of this size.' An official new date has not been set. Davila instructed the defense and prosecution to agree on a date for the next status conference. Holmes, a Stanford University drop out, launched her Palo Alto blood-testing start up in 2003. She and Balwani are accused of scamming investors out of more than $700million. They claimed their machines could conduct a full range of tests using a few drops of blood from a finger prick but the technology was not able to, it was inaccurante and unreliable. Both have denied the allegations. Lawyers for Holmes argued in December that the governments case was 'unconstitutionally vague' and lacked specific claims of misrepresentation. About a month ago I learned Erlanger Hospitals nurses were being forced to endure unfair and shameful working conditions and I stood up for them. The hospitals Board of Trustees took delight in chastising me and talking a lot but in the end its said I did more for the nurses than they did. That, in and of itself, disgusts me; it is not my place to police, criticize, nor expose Erlangers shortcomings. But if my words can deter just one preventable death, a lack of popularity within a crowd of the repeatedly dysfunctional doesnt even make my eyes blink. The hospital made some key changes and, while colossal under-staffing problems remain, Erlanger which is still Hamilton Countys greatest asset has hopefully improved in at least one area. The Hospitals newest nightmare to be outed has been simmering for well over a year and I am assured comes as of no surprise to its trustees. It is now alleged the childrens neonatal unit is among the worst in the United States for a hospital its size. This is exacerbated, of course, because Erlangers NICU is, quite candidly, the only choice a preemie has within 100 miles of East Third Street when seconds matter in a newborns life. Last week a group of neonatologists in our area contacted me to say they were gravely concerned about the care of babies who are admitted to Erlangers Neonatal Intensive Care unit. Since I know nothing about the delicate art, nor the difference in mortality and morbidity in premature births, allow me to share some of what I have learned with the grim belief several trustees know about this appalling catastrophe but have not mentioned the lack of oversight or concerns in recent board meetings. It seems that until December of 2018, the hospital had a for-profit contract with a group known as Mednax that provided Erlanger with NICU services. The contract was not renewed and since it is believed the NICU has been managed by a combination of Vanderbilt and UT personnel. It is also believed the day-to-day operation and management of the NICU unit has been in house. However, most NICU units in the United States maintain a national database through the Vermont Oxford Network. By comparing statistics, VON has become invaluable as a means for identifying areas of improvement for NICU units across the country. It has been learned that Erlangers VON input for 2019 allegedly shows an inordinate amount of mortality in premature babies. The numbers that are being skipped across Tennessee and the Southeastern United States report a 70 percent mortality in babies born between 23- and 26-weeks gestation (average gestation is 280 days, or 40 weeks.) It is also reported Erlangers 2019 mortality rates for infants born between 27- and 29-weeks gestation is 50 percent. Again 50 percent. Here is the alarming news: For a baby born at 23 weeks gestation, 70 percent mortality is expected. However, 70 percent cumulative mortality for all babies between 23 and 26 weeks is not normal and should warrant serious investigation, according to most-reliable and well-versed sources. In fact, the (determining tools most widely used by experts) disregards any gestational age (more than) 25 weeks because the survivability is expected to be so high (commonly higher than 80 percent)." Fortunately, babies born between 23 and 26 weeks are not as common as babies born at higher gestational ages. Once again according to medical experts, With a small denominator (total number of patients), anytime the numerator (deaths) changes by just a little, a NICU could have seemingly wonderful outcomes, or terrible outcomes, and nothing has changed in the NICU practice. Therefore, in the words of one neonatologist who is candidly professional in his analysis yet gravely worried about Erlangers outcomes said, a 50 percent mortality in babies born between 27 and 29 weeks, if accurate, is criminal. Never in my professional career have I seen that degree of mortality in a NICU of Erlanger's size. My motivation in reporting this to you is because myself and my colleagues have devoted our lives to taking care of babies, one area neonatologist wrote to me, and we are all have a visceral reaction to this information. (visceral is doctor-speak for felt in or as if in the internal organs of the body or, deeply emotional. You think? Sour grapes? I am convinced this is not the case, not some former Mednax-employed doctor bitter that the contract was not renewed in 2018. Proof? Hamilton Memorial Hospital in Dalton would, in the past, send critical preemies to Erlanger. Several months ago it was learned Dalton specialists stopped relying on Erlanger, sending their most-critical to Atlanta instead. Yes, Atlanta is an hour further, but it comes down to trust. Please, how can an Erlanger-hired physician, in no way connected to the hospitals NICU yet duty-bound to provide the best medical to the people in our region, stand idly by, knowing that every chain is gauged by its weakest link? Erlangers chief of staff is said to be a pediatrician, for heavens sake, yet he must be aware of what the neonatologists have revealed, no? It is also believed the effort to build a new childrens hospital fizzled into an ornate office building, that the de-emphasis of the Childrens Hospital dream has been appalling to those who donated millions and were given broken promises in return. The once-proud Childrens NICU is now part of the main hospital and the results now speak volumes. I know, I know Erlangers board will soon issue some comment about this latest attack on Erlanger, like its my fault the 50 percent mortality is criminal. Please, talk amongst yourselves for all I care. Instead, on behalf of every pregnant mother within 100 miles, I plead that Erlanger do whatever it takes stat to properly staff an adequate number of qualified nurses and doctors immediately to its floundering NICU unit. And not because outside neonatologists across the state, in Georgia, Alabama and North Carolina are gravely concerned, but because somewhere in our orbit right now, there is a problem gestation ticking and that precious kid is going to need a chance. Real soon. Be there for that baby. royexum@aol.com Common Threads is hosting a free virtual summer camp to help reinforce healthy habits. The program will allow children to have fun summer learning activities in this current environment The program design not only provides fun activities for campers, but also infuses experiential learning to help set children up for success in the coming year. - Stephanie Folkens, VP of Programs To help students and families mitigate the summer slide, Common Threads is offering a free, two-week virtual summer camp for approximately 200 rising fourth, fifth and sixth graders. Consistent with Common Threads mission, the camp will include cooking lessons while also featuring activities that support wellness, including yoga, dance, mindfulness, reading and art. The schedule includes a family cooking class that encourages parents and guardians to participate. Participants will receive free Camp At-Home Kits that include groceries, cooking supplies, physical activity equipment, a T-shirt and more. The camp will be offered to five cohorts of students and will run for three hours per day for 10 days (Mondays-Fridays). Instructors and camp counselors will lead the groups of 12 at a time, with special guests lined up to teach some of the lessons. Guest instructors include: Chef Art Smith (Common Threads co-founder & board president; TABLE Fifty-Two, Art and Soul, LYFE Kitchen, Southern Art and Bourbon Bar, Chef Art Smiths Homecomin and 1500 SOUTH Restaurant & Bar; CEO, Art Smith, LLC) Chef Michelle Bernstein (Common Threads board member, Cafe La Trova, Michelle Bernstein Catering) Chef Jernard Wells (Haute Cuisine) Gail Simmons (Top Chef, Food & Wine magazine) Chef Timon Balloo (Balloo) With students across the nation facing the likelihood of continued virtual education in the fall, the summer camp has been designed to support learning in core academic subjects. Common Threads virtual summer camp gives children and families the opportunity for summer enrichment at a time when there are so many limitations in place due to COVID-19, said Stephanie Folkens, vice president of programs for Common Threads. The program design not only provides fun activities for campers, but also infuses experiential learning throughout the program to help set children up for success in the coming year. Students have been pre-selected for the camp from Common Threads school and nonprofit partners. On-demand content will also be made available for children to participate on their own at no charge at http://www.commonthreads.org/camp. The camp is generously supported by the Walmart Foundation, Quaker Oats Company, Marianos, Julia Child Foundation for Gastronomy and the Culinary Arts, Change Happens Foundation, FMI Foundation, Seeds of Change, Griffith Foods, 84.51, Starkist, Giant Eagle, PepsiCo, and the Chicago Blackhawks. ABOUT COMMON THREADS Common Threads is a national nonprofit that provides children and families cooking and nutrition education to encourage healthy habits that contribute to wellness. We equip under-resourced communities with information to make affordable, nutritious and appealing food choices wherever they live, work, learn and play. We know that food is rooted in culture and tradition, so we promote diversity in our lessons and recipes, encouraging our participants to celebrate the world around them. Common Threads was founded in 2003 and currently operates in 12 major cities including Austin, Texas; Chicago; Dallas-Ft. Worth; El Paso, Texas; Erie, Pa.; Houston; Los Angeles; Miami; New York City; Pittsburgh, Pa.; San Antonio, and Washington D.C. To learn more, visit http://www.commonthreads.org or on social media, @CThreads on Facebook and @Common__Threads on Instagram and Twitter. Commerce minister Piyush Goyal on Tuesday proposed a preferential trade agreement with the US covering a limited number of goods and services as the next step after the signing of a quick trade deal that was just a few phone calls away and before the conclusion of a more ambitious Free Trade Agreement (FTA) that could take years. India and the United States have been working on a limited trade deal to expressly address the more urgent issues of concern to both sides and have said they planned to start negotiations on a broader Free Trade Agreement (FTA) later in the year, either before or after US elections in November. Another couple of calls and we should be able to sort that out, the minister said of the deal currently under negotiations. He was participating virtually an annual summit of the US-India Business Council (USIBC, a trade body), which was to take place in New Delhi but was being held virtually in view of the Covid-19 epidemic. But as the two countries worked towards a much more sustainable, much more robust and much more enduring partnership in the form of an FTA, which may take years to conclude, the two sides should also look at early harvest in the form of a preferential trade agreement, Goyal said. It could include may be 50, may be 100 products and services where the two sides could engage with mutual trust and open spirit to kickstart the trade partnership, the minister added. No other details were available of this interim trade pact. But people familiar with trade talks between the two sides, which have been on a long time but with renewed urgency for the last one year, said the idea is to keep the ball moving by continuing to address trade issues in small and manageable and not wait for the FTA, which will be a long and tedious process. The quick deal, as the minister described it, has been ready and waiting to be signed, but is being held over a frustrating desire from the US side to squeeze out as much as it can. According to the same people familiar with the talks, the United States has pushed for greater market access in agriculture, dairy and medical devices sectors in the limited trade agreement being finalised. India has sought restoration of preferential trade benefits under the US Generalized System of Preferences (GSP), which were terminated by the Trump administration in summer of 2019 to force Indias hand. President Donald Trumps insistence on trade deficit reduction and reciprocity precipitated a trade crisis between the countries, bringing long simmering issues to a head. He first slapped higher tariff on steel and aluminium imports from India and then evicted India from the GSP programme, which accounted for $6.3 billion worth of Indian exports to the United States in 2018, roughly 12% of total Indian goods exports to the United States. The two sides had tried to stitch together a Phase 1 of the deal in time for announcement during Trumps February visit to India, but failed; Indians had complained about the constant sifting of the goalpost. The two sides announcement then a plan to wrap a limited deal shortly and a larger deal later in the year. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 19:09:44|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KUALA LUMPUR, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia will reintroduce requirement for all returnees from abroad to undergo a mandatory quarantine for COVID-19 at centers designated by the government starting July 24, Defense Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob said on Tuesday, following local infections caused by imported cases. Ismail Sabri said at a press conference that those undergoing mandatory quarantine will bear the accommodation costs, be it in hotels or other quarantine centers. He said the decision to bring back mandatory quarantine at designated facilities was due to recent incidents where returnees failed to abide by home quarantine requirement and caused local transmission. Foreigners living or working in Malaysia who are allowed to return will still be subject to swab tests before boarding flights. Malaysia allowed those who tested negative upon arrival at the country to observe a home quarantine since June, as part of the easing of restrictive measures to allow social and economic activities to resume. But at least three clusters were identified since then involving foreign returnees who only showed symptoms several days after arriving, causing local transmissions. Meanwhile, Health Ministry Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said in a press briefing that another 15 new COVID-19 cases were detected on Tuesday, bringing the national total to 8,815. Of these, four are imported cases, with the remaining 11 being local transmissions, including five cases from a new cluster in the northern Borneo state of Sarawak. Another seven cases were released, bringing the total cured and discharged to 8,562 or 97.1 percent of all cases. Of the remaining 130 active cases in the country, four are being held in intensive care and one of those is in need of assisted breathing. No new deaths were reported, leaving the total deaths at 123. Enditem Reports have circulated that suggest the coronavirus is spreading in Syria and that there is insufficient supplies to test and prevent the virus. Those who have been following developments of the situation in Damascus find the news regarding the coronavirus worrying. Both pro and opposition Syrian media reported inconsistent figures. The governments official news agency, SANA, reported that the Health Ministry announced on Monday 26 new coronavirus cases, all of whom were in close contact with carriers. Ten patients have recovered while four others have passed away. The Ministry said in a statement that the total number of documented cases in Syria has reached 522, of which 154 have recovered while 29 have passed away. Officials blamed the negligence of the citizens, such as Co-Director of Communicable and Chronic Diseases, Dr. Atef al-Taweel, who criticized, some peoples negligence, who will not realize the gravity of the situation except when one of them catches the virus and needs a ventilator or to be admitted to the hospital, as he put it. The Syrian Doctors Syndicate expressed sadness over the passing of Dr. Ghassan al-Takleh from the virus. Takleh was working in intensive care at Ibn al-Nafees Hospital in Damascus. This came after pro-regime pages disclosed the death of a doctor who worked with the Red Crescent in regime-controlled areas. The Sowt al-Asima website quoted sources saying that the coronavirus had recently spread in the Damascene neighborhood of al-Midan and that the cause of the rapid spread is due to several factors including the fact that the neighborhood is home to a large number of hospitals and medical centers and, knowing how small it is, it is vulnerable to infections. Private sources revealed to Sowt al-Asima that Damascus is running low on PCR swabs, necessary to detect coronavirus infections, in addition to there being a severe shortage of preventative measures and face masks, coinciding with the lack of oxygen that government hospitals are suffering from. The sources added that the medical conditions at the Ibn al-Nafees Hospital are very poor, and that precautionary measures are almost non-existent, despite the presence of a large number of patients who have the coronavirus in the hospital. One of the doctors working at the hospital told Sowt al-Asima that all doctors in the hospital take turns to wear the one available protective suit during their examinations, stressing that the suit is not being sterilized before or after use. The doctor pointed out that the hospital is suffering from a shortage of face masks as well, indicating that some nurses are choosing which doctors to give masks to, which prompted many doctors to buy masks at their own expense. Another doctor working in government hospitals in Damascus said in a voice message circulated by residents of the capital that the spread of the virus in Damascus and its countryside is on the rise, but it has not reached an explosive state yet, stressing that the hospitals do not have the ability to conduct PCR tests for everyone. The doctor pointed out that the symptoms of the virus differ from one country to another, stressing that symptoms in Syria come in the form of fever, joint and muscle pain, or digestive problems. According to reporting by Baladi News, local sources revealed that new infections had been recorded in the city of Arbin in eastern Ghouta in the Damascus countryside, including in two prominent doctors and a religious leader. The sources said that the city of Arbin in eastern Ghouta alone recorded about 15 new infections, while the regimes media kept the spread of the virus under wraps in the areas it controls. Last week it was announced that five clerics had died in Damascus, in addition to a young cleric who died in Aleppo, and another who died about two weeks ago. Rumors are circulating that they were killed by the coronavirus. However, the Ministry of Endowments, affiliated with the regime, denied the claims, saying that, the deaths were caused by other ailments, such as heart disease in addition to old age. This article does not necessarily reflect the opinion of The Syrian Observer. Daniel Tepfer BRIDGEPORT More than two dozen people stood outside the Golden Hill Street courthouse Monday morning in the sweltering heat waiting for the doors to open for the first time in four months. Most of them were disappointed. The FBI on Monday said Roy Den Hollander, a self-proclaimed "anti-feminist" lawyer, is the primary suspect in Sunday evening's shooting in North Brunswick, New Jersey, which left a federal judge's son dead and husband seriously injured. Den Hollander, 69, is believed to have approached the home of Judge Esther Salas wearing a FedEx uniform before shooting her son, Daniel Anderl, 20, in the heart. Salas' husband, Mark Anderl, was also shot several times, and is hospitalized in stable condition. The judge was in her basement during the attack, and was not hurt. Den Hollander's body was found on Monday near Liberty, New York, and authorities said it appears he died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound. In 2018, Den Hollander argued a case before Salas, representing a mother and daughter who claimed the draft is unconstitutional because women are not allowed to register for it. Salas let the case proceed, but last year, Den Hollander asked another lawyer to take over for him because he had terminal cancer. In a self-published book, Den Hollander insulted Salas, calling her a "lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama." Den Hollander filed lawsuits to try to stop nightclubs from holding "ladies' nights," arguing this violated the 14th Amendment, and end women's studies programs at colleges. He also referred to the Violence Against Women Act as the "Female Fraud Act." In 2008, Den Hollander told The New York Times his anger against feminists stemmed from a bad divorce. One law enforcement official told the Times that investigators are looking into whether Den Hollander, because of his terminal cancer diagnosis, decided to "take out" his perceived enemies before dying. A spokesman for New York State's chief judge, Janet DiFiore, told the Times the FBI called her on Monday and said Den Hollander had her name and photo in his car, but it is not clear if he planned on targeting her as well. More stories from theweek.com CNN's Brianna Keilar cuts off live interview with 'lying' Trump campaign official 39 Miami police officers to form mask enforcement unit Serena Williams' 2-year-old daughter is now the youngest owner in pro sports A woman has been arrested in connection with the hacking of the software of one of the universal banks in the country, bringing the number of arrested persons to seven. The woman, identified as Aisha Konate, an Ivorian, was arrested following the interrogation of the six men who had been earlier arrested. All the seven arrested persons have so far been granted police enquiry bail and will be assisting the police in their investigations, after which they will be put before court. Their bail terms include a sum of GH8 million, two public servants and one other as sureties. Arrest The Cyber Crime Unit of the Ghana Police Service arrested six persons after they had allegedly attacked a bank and succeeded in moving more than GH46 million into the bank accounts of eight people in different banks. Those arrested included a former banker and owner of Adom Sika Savings and Loans Limited, Sam Acquah, and a web developer, James Taylor. The others were Hudu Abdul Mumuni, Emmanuel Adams, Moro Issah and Agbenu Febous Chrissy, who were arrested when they showed up to withdraw the money transferred into their accounts through the illegal wire transaction. Suspects Two other suspects, said to be part of the syndicate and identified only as Boateng Mends and Pussy Cat, are, however, on the run and the police have mounted an intensive search for their arrest. The cyber hackers allegedly logged into the banking software of the bank remotely and used the login credentials of some staff of the bank, some of whom were on leave, to effect the illegal transfers. The Director of the Cyber Crime Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the Ghana Police Service, Assistant Commissioner of Police (ACP) Dr Gustav Herbert Yankson, who confirmed the incident, said the unit received a complaint about the fraudulent wire transfer on July 2, 2020. After receiving the complaints, the banks to which the money had been transferred were alerted to prevent withdrawals, and that prevented the attacked bank from losing any funds. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video (Natural News) Three months from the election, the country is getting a preview of the kind of chaos thats coming as the November vote nears. (Article by Joe Saunders republished from WesternJournal.com) Conservative commentator Michelle Malkin was on the front lines literally for the latest episode, as she was among several pro-police demonstrators attacked Sunday when thugs she described as BLM/Antifa stormed a rally for law enforcement in Denver. And law enforcement was apparently powerless to stop it. According to a sugar-coated account by KMGH-TV in Denver, Malkin was at a rally in Denvers Civic Center Park to demonstrate support for the countrys police officers at a time when theyre under physical and social attack from Black Lives Matter activists and the so-called anti-fascist groups known as antifa. As KMGH described it, there were a few scuffles between members of the two groups. Malkin described it much more vividly and posted video to back up her point: Not only did some of those who invaded the stage carry collapsible batons as weapons, but they also sprayed an aerosol substance in the faces of the pro-police supporters. WARNING: The following tweets and videos contain graphic language that some viewers will find offensive. This is the moment one of our people was beaten on stage by invading BLM/Antifa, Malkin tweeted. This is the moment one of our people was beaten on stage by invading BLM/Antifa. Then BlackBloc lady took out baton. That's why I screamed @kyleclark. The crap BLM bitch sprayed in my face was still all over me. #WhatsWrongWithYou #DenverAnarchoTyranny @jaredpolis @denverpolice pic.twitter.com/JGRLdkGsnt Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 20, 2020 Here's where BLM bitches attacked several women on stage. We were sprayed in our faces w/aerosol string, which @kyleclark thinks is hilarious. BLM girl takes off mask & lays hand on woman in front of me as I shout at her to get back. #DenverAnarchoTyranny pic.twitter.com/GTjLF1e2RG Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 20, 2020 This was me shouting at masked BLM/Antifa thugs who swarmed our stage UNPROVOKED. This was me after witnessing a veteran & an organizer who had just led group prayer getting beaten on stage while police did nothing. This was me shouting at masked Antifa wielding a baton. https://t.co/pBEZITyaNY Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 20, 2020 Now, videos are notorious for presenting a misleading view of an incident as the nations police officers know too well. In a police brutality video, the question is always: What happened before the cameras started rolling to motivate cops into using force? That doesnt come up here. The black-clad thugs are clearly menacing Malkin and her police-supporting colleagues. Theres not much call for introducing a collapsible baton into a political dispute unless you plan to use it on the opposing side. But Americans whove been even half-paying attention should know by now that the groups generally known as antifa dont balk at busting heads. And no matter how much the mainstream media bleats about mostly peaceful Black Lives Matter demonstrations that have an amazing habit of degenerating into riotous looting, Black Lives Matter is virtually synonymous with violence at this point. Viewers of Malkins posts knew what they were seeing. Outrageous violence. These tyrannical, left-wing anarchists hate free speech. If you do not agree with them, they believe you must be beaten down literally. @michellemalkin https://t.co/aiyJqQTtxm Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli (@HomelandKen) July 20, 2020 These speakers who are Backing the Blue should be surrounded by the Blue! For God's sake, they were here in support of police but police were not there in support of them! I am really upset by this! NYgrandma (@grandma4all) July 20, 2020 Why are these terrorists being allowed to continue this? That girl took out an expanding baton and was clearly threatening to use it. Total intimidation tactic. Enough. Clint (@thetruthhurts45) July 20, 2020 This one puts it perfectly. This is who Antifa and BLM are pic.twitter.com/WlHrtdPlxr Timothy Tobin (@tatobin2) July 20, 2020 A Denver Post headline was a welcome dose of reality after KMGHs saccharine treatment of the case: Anti-police protesters mob rally supporting law enforcement in Denvers Civic Center. The story itself, however reluctantly, also made it clear which side was the aggressive party: The anti-police protesters greatly outnumbered the pro-police crowd, and moved into their rallys space in the parks amphitheater shortly after the demonstration supporting law enforcement started around 3 p.m. The protesters banged drums, blew whistles, clanged pots, clapped and shouted obscenities to drown out the pro-police rally, where a band had been playing music to a small crowd, The Post reported. The chaotic clash between groups led to some violence, with several people throwing punches in isolated disputes. Law enforcement officers attempted to form a line around the two groups, but could not completely separate them. So law enforcement couldnt completely separate a group of anarchic, violent political terrorists from a group of civilians who had gathered to rally in support of law enforcement. (Take a guess which group was the one more likely to go out of control.) According to The Post, Randy Corporon, a Denver attorney who organized the pro-police rally, said Police Chief Paul Pazen asked him to reschedule or move the pro-police rally, expressing concern that police officers would be put in harms way by the event. Its a pretty good bet that the police chief wasnt worried about pro-cop demonstrators putting his officers in harms way. Its important to remember that this is still July, with the hot summer month of August ahead before the fall. American politics hasnt seen a nation so violently divided since the 1960s, and considering how police forces around the country have been cowed by protesters, the lies of the mainstream media and a Democratic Party that has long since abandoned any sense of responsibility for behaving like an actual political party rather than a #Resistance force, its all too likely that the kind of incidents like Sundays, where leftists attack conservatives with impunity, are going to continue. This is the @denverpolice chief presiding over #DenverAnarchoTyranny. No protection for the law-abiding, but linked arms & allegiance to the mob:https://t.co/JsUMDZ3UkL@randycorporon @PatrickForCO Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 20, 2020 So what happens then? Theres likely to come a point where the provocation is going to be too much, where the police presence is too little and when antifa and BLM bullies are going to find theyre up against opponents who arent as complacent as many have been so far. That might be just what the leftists actually want. What could make a law and order candidate like President Donald Trump look worse than endless video replays of his supporters skirmishing in the streets with antifa or BLM ruffians? Theres no question which side the mainstream media will declare the aggressor. The only question is whether enough Americans still believe the likes of CNN and The New York Times anymore. Three months out from Nov. 3, and as bad as whats playing now, its only a preview of whats coming. Read more at: WesternJournal.com BERLIN A young German man charged with killing two people last fall after his plan to blast his way into a synagogue filled with Jews observing Yom Kippur failed, told a court on Tuesday that he was inspired by the white supremacist who had killed 51 worshipers at two mosques in New Zealand earlier last year. Stephan Balliet, 28, is charged with two counts of murder in the deaths of a 40-year-old woman, who spoke up as Mr. Balliet planted explosives around the entrance to the synagogue in the eastern city of Halle, and a 20-year-old man he thought was a Muslim. He is also charged with 68 counts of attempted murder and other crimes for the attack last Oct. 9. If convicted of murder, Mr. Balliet faces life in prison. The attack raised alarm that even Germany, a country that prides itself on its culture of humility and atonement for the crimes of the Nazis, is not immune to the international influence of far-right extremism and white supremacy that has incited rampages from New Zealand, to Pittsburgh. In 2019, crimes against Jews in Germany reached their highest level since the country started tracking them in 2001. Mr. Balliet was flown to the courtroom in Magdeburg hours before the trial opened. He wore a protective vest and jeans, and his hands and feet were in handcuffs and shackles similar to those of defendants whove faced terrorism charges. The trial had been moved from a smaller court in Naumburg to accommodate all of the participants and the news media. Chairman of Iran's Red Crescent Society (IRCS) Karim Hemmati on Monday announced that the United States has allowed the launch of a financial channel for transfer of international humanitarian aid to Iran. Speaking to the government news agency IRNA Hemmati said the launch of the channel was negotiated through the President of the International Committee of the Red Cross with the U.S. Department of Treasury and Diplomacy Division. Hemmati also said a portion of the aid that had been reserved for Iran's Red Crescent Society abroad and could not be transferred to Iran due to the U.S. sanctions has now entered the country by the virtue of the waiver. The U.S. Treasury Departments Office of Foreign Assets Control requires a special license for making charitable donations to Iran. According to the Chairman of IRCS, the U.S. Treasury will not object to transfer of aid by individual or legal entities provided that none of the parties is American. Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif often suggest that U.S. sanctions hamper international humanitarian aid to Iran but U.S. officials have repeatedly rejected that. Since the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, several countries have offered material and financial support to Iran to combat the spread of coronavirus including several shipments of pharmaceutical ingredients, test kits and medicines from Germany and South Korea but this is the first time that aid in the form of foreign exchange funds is being made available. The Chairman of the IRCS did not disclose the amount of the transferred and expected aid but the official government news agency IRNA said the amount of the foreign exchange funds expected to be transferred to Iran in the near future is "significant". There has been no confirmation yet of an agreement by U.S. officials. Tata Steel Ltd is quoting at Rs 352.9, up 0.14% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The stock is down 24.2% in last one year as compared to a 1.69% drop in NIFTY and a 24.73% drop in the Nifty Metal. Tata Steel Ltd is up for a fifth straight session in a row. The stock is quoting at Rs 352.9, up 0.14% on the day as on 12:49 IST on the NSE. The benchmark NIFTY is up around 1.2% on the day, quoting at 11154.9. The Sensex is at 37908.8, up 1.31%. Tata Steel Ltd has risen around 8.35% in last one month. Meanwhile, Nifty Metal index of which Tata Steel Ltd is a constituent, has risen around 2.38% in last one month and is currently quoting at 2106, down 0.35% on the day. The volume in the stock stood at 50.4 lakh shares today, compared to the daily average of 145.28 lakh shares in last one month. The benchmark July futures contract for the stock is quoting at Rs 352.85, flat on the day. Tata Steel Ltd is down 24.2% in last one year as compared to a 1.69% drop in NIFTY and a 24.73% drop in the Nifty Metal index. The PE of the stock is 4.97 based on TTM earnings ending March 20. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) One of the most striking phenomena concerning the current COVID-19 pandemic was the closing of intra-national and international borders on a scale unheard of in recent history. Such travel bans became a crucial point in combating the spread of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) and thus containing the outbreak to a locality. However, when is it the right time to reopen borders? Is it when there are no more local cases? A new study published on the preprint server medRxiv* in July 2020 shows that travel restrictions are highly effective in preventing future outbreaks. The Study: Impact of Reopening Borders on Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador make up a Canadian province that has not reported a single COVID-19 case since the second half of April 2020, after having had 261 cases of which 3 died. On July 3, 2020, not having had any new cases for 36 days, air travel resumed within the Atlantic Bubble, comprising the corridor between the four provinces on the Atlantic seaboard. These are Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island. Air travel between these provinces will not require travelers to be quarantined on arrival. Public pressure is on to open up the borders completely. Thus, leadership-level decisions now have to be made on how to accomplish this given the possibilities of either perfect quarantine or quarantine violations. The province of Newfoundland and Labrador is sparsely populated, with just about 520,000 inhabitants. Over 90% live on the island of Newfoundland and the rest on Labrador on the mainland. Its populace has the highest rates of obesity and overweight, metabolic disease, and cancer, as well as smoking and other markers of an unhealthy lifestyle. The Basic Questions The first COVID-19 case was on March 14, 2020, followed by a spike caused by a superspreader. However, the outbreak was rapidly controlled, and no fresh waves occurred since then. This means that any future cases will be imported from outside. Given this, the health policy has been that only residents, workers, and those having special permits will be allowed to enter the province. About 75% of all entering travelers do so by air since there are only a few entry points into the province. The current study, therefore, chose to assess the impact of travel bans on the risk of importing disease by using passenger flights. The questions to be answered include the effect of the Atlantic Bubble, how further opening to the other Canadian provinces and the US would affect Newfoundland, and how quarantine violations will affect the outcome. The study uses a method of modeling that will allow mobility between various local populations to be observed and prediction of the parameters based on reported case data as well as real-time updating of these parameters. The researchers thus first developed a local epidemiological model and then added in air traffic from first the Atlantic Bubble only, then all of Canada, and then all of the continent. The Changing Conditions of the Outbreak in North America As of July 1, 2020, the largest exposed population is in Florida and Arizona, followed by South Carolina, Nevada, and Texas, ranging from 0.134% to 0.065%. The largest infectious population on the same day was in Arizona, Florida, South Carolina, Nevada, and Texas, from 0.25% to 0.11%. In contrast, exposed or infectious populations in Canadian provinces have never crossed 0.011%. Secondly, on the day of reopening, the effective reproduction number R(t) was largest at 2.15 in Florida and ranged from 2.1 to 1.8 in Nevada, Montana, Idaho, and Delaware. However, in Canada, it was possible to calculate this index only in Alberta, British Columbia, Saskatchewan, and Ontario, ranging from 1.3 down to 0.33. Newfoundland and Labrador, the other Atlantic provinces, and other territories had so few cases that no R(t) could be assessed. Instead, the population-weighted mean effective reproduction number for Canada and North America is used for the predicted reopening in Newfoundland and Labrador. Exposed and Infectious Travelers Most exposed and infectious travelers are from Florida and Texas, Nevada, Alberta (exposed only), Quebec (exposed only), and Ontario. With a full reopening of air traffic under July 1 outbreak conditions, the researchers estimate that 0.2 and 0.33 exposed and infectious travelers will enter the province every day. In other words, one infected case may be expected every 3 days, and an exposed individual every 5 days, on average. Quarantine vs. No-Quarantine The researchers also estimate that if there is 100% quarantine of all incoming travelers, vs. 50%, vs. 0%, the effect is predicted to be zero, a mild outbreak of new cases, and a rapid exponential outbreak. If the province is reopened to the Atlantic Provinces, to all of Canada, or to all of North America, the effect is a non-significant increase in new cases in the first two scenarios, but a rapid exponential rise in new cases in the third. Travel Restrictions When the researchers compared the effects of a travel ban vs. quarantine, using the population-weighted mean reproductive numbers for all of North America and for all of Canada, they found that with no quarantine and no travel restriction, 0.1% of the population would be affected by COVID-19 after 38 or 39 days respectively. With 50% quarantine, the lag time increases to 46 or 48 days, respectively. With 95% quarantine, it is 80 and 92 days, respectively. If travel is banned within Canada, this lag period increases to 97 and 125 days. If travel is allowed only within the Atlantic Bubble, the time goes up to 102 and 132 days. What This Means for Future Travel Bans While many people fiercely resent the imposition of travel bans, it is a very effective way to counter the spread of the pandemic. In conjunction with a ban on large gatherings, some states or provinces have eliminated current cases. The best way would be, therefore, to keep these provinces free by cutting its travel links with the outside world. However, this curtails freedom of movement and maintain economic constraints. The researchers comment, From an outbreak dynamics perspective, the picture is quite clear: Without proper control, an influx of infected travelers can easily become the seed for a new exponential outbreak. Thus, reopening plans are being made, two of which are analyzed in the current study. This can be extended to any region in which there have been no fresh cases for over two months. Since the pandemic case number changes continuously outside the province with zero cases, the reopening strategy must also be subject to constant change. Beginning with a seven-day average of 1717 new cases in Canada, on May 4, 2020, it went down to 311 by July 1, 2020. In Nova Scotia, one of the Atlantic provinces, it began at 12 and dropped to 0.3. The other Atlantic provinces had low rates of infection throughout the whole period. Overall, therefore, Canada shows a slowing trend with respect to new cases, unlike the USA, and community transmission in all the Atlantic provinces is minimal. Opening Up to Canada Vs. to The Whole of North America This data shows that travel within the Atlantic provinces is unlikely to push up cases, travel from the rest of Canada might increase cases to a mild extent because of the current low case numbers in these provinces. However, with states like California, the travel frequency is low, but the case number high. This suggests that removing travel restrictions between Newfoundland and all of North America would expose the former to an unreasonably high risk of exponential spread. The researchers also point out that with the 3 day and 5 day frequency of exposed and infectious traveler entry, every other day, a new COVID-19 case would enter the Newfoundland and Labrador via air travel. Without rigorous quarantine requirements, this will inevitably lead to spread as such individuals are notoriously asymptomatic or presymptomatic for the most part. Conclusions The study authors say, The forecast confirms our intuition that there are two strategies to prevent a new outbreak, either mandating strict quarantine requirements or limited travel within the Atlantic Bubble. Beyond 60 days of reopening, predictions become unreliable, and there is every chance of the outbreak going out of control within weeks. The prediction of the time period required for over 0.1% of the population to be infected suggests they say, that, under current conditions, banning air travel from outside Canada is more efficient in managing the pandemic than fully reopening and quarantining 95% of the incoming population. The only alternative is strict and universal quarantine regimes for all incoming travelers, or universal testing, tracing and contact isolation policies. The study concludes with the warning that laxity in reopening and quarantine efforts could result in a ballooning outbreak within weeks. This would take extensive efforts and much money to contain, via lockdowns and other unpopular non-pharmacological interventions. *Important Notice medRxiv publishes preliminary scientific reports that are not peer-reviewed and, therefore, should not be regarded as conclusive, guide clinical practice/health-related behavior, or treated as established information. By Associated Press CAIRO: The coronavirus has infected people inside several Egyptian prisons and killed at least 14 detainees, as authorities seek to stifle news of the spread of the virus behind bars, a leading human rights watchdog said Monday. Human Rights Watch released a report based on letters smuggled from prison and interviews with inmates and their relatives. It documented multiple cases of detainees who died after experiencing suspected virus symptoms without being tested or receiving adequate medical treatment. Tens of thousands of people in Egypt are crammed into what rights groups say are overcrowded and unsanitary prisons. Despite appeals for the government of President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi to release thousands of inmates to curb the pandemic, authorities have accelerated a long-running crackdown on dissent, arresting health workers, journalists and critics who voice concerns over the government's handling of the pandemic. One activist Sanaa Seif, was arrested last month after raising the alarm over a possible outbreak in the prison where her brother, prominent political prisoner Alaa Abdel-Fatah, is being held. Her family's fears have grown since authorities suspended visitation rights as a precaution against infection. Prison policies have been applied erratically since the start of the pandemic, said her sister Mona Seif, with guards often refusing to let in disinfectants and medicine for inmates or pass letters to families desperate for information. "Instead of providing adequate medical care and health measures needed to prevent the spread of COVID-19, the Egyptian government tries to obscure a serious health crisis in prisons," said Joe Stork, deputy Middle East and North Africa director at HRW. An Egyptian press officer did not respond to a request to comment on the report. The group reported that Egypt's National Security Agency summoned, interrogated and punished inmates when news media began to crackle with reports of suspected virus cases in prisons. In one case, inmates said they were stripped, beaten with sticks and electric cables for complaining about their conditions. Despite the news blackout, unofficial reports suggest there could be runaway transmission in Egypt's prisons. The pandemic has surged in Egypt, with 88,402 reported cases of infections and 4,352 killed, the highest death toll in the Arab world. Even as the daily infection rate in the nation has declined this month, accounts of virus cases in prisons are mounting. Last week, prominent journalist Mohamed Monir died of COVID-19 just days after his release from prison. The HRW report cited the Geneva-based human rights group Committee for Justice saying it has documented over 190 suspected COVID-19 cases across a dozen prisons and 29 police stations, including 160 inmates and 30 employees. Multiple prisoners reported they and their fellow inmates had fever, cough, body aches and loss of taste and smell. Of the 14 deaths, nine died in a hospital after being transferred from detention. Although Hamdy Abdel Aal Ryaan, 58, suffered severe suspected virus symptoms for days, he was rushed to a hospital in the Central Security Forces camp, north of the capital, only when he was dying, the report said, citing a relative. Ryaan, squeezed in a small cell with over 20 others, received almost no medical care. The cause on his death certificate reads: "not yet determined." In al-Mahallah First Police Station, in northern Egypt, three political detainees held without trial died last month. The family of one of them, retired math teacher Moawad Mohamed Suleiman, 65, was told he died of a heart attack, but received no medical proof. Later, his relatives learned that Suleiman had suffered virus symptoms. Fellow detainee Hassan Ziadah, 56, was transferred to a health center designated for COVID-19 patients last month and died handcuffed to his hospital bed. In almost all cases, HRW said, prison authorities have done little to protect prisoners from infection beyond grouping suspected cases in the same cell. Officers in at least three prisons prevented inmates from obtaining or wearing masks, it said. Aldi announced today that it will open more than 70 new stores by the end of 2020. In the statement on its website, the grocer also noted that it has opened its 2,000th store. The expansion includes plans to enter the greater Phoenix market and support further Gulf Coast store expansion with a new distribution center in Loxley, Alabama. The grocer said, In recent years, ALDI has invested more than $5 billion in a multi-year, nationwide growth initiative to update existing stores and to open hundreds of new locations. The company also increased its fresh food selection by 40% with a focus on new produce, meat and organic options, as well as easy to prepare foods, without compromising its commitment to low prices. ALDI has also expanded its e-commerce offerings and in May announced the accelerated rollout of its Curbside Grocery Pickup service to nearly 600 stores by the end of July." The coast-to-coast expansion includes stores in Arizona, its 37th state, later this year with four new stores in the greater Phoenix area. The company plans to build the new regional headquarters and distribution center in Alabama in 2021. Aldi is part of the German company, Aldi Sud. It opened its first store in the U.S. in 1976. It currently has 2,000 stores in 36 states. Aldi did not disclose where the new stores will be located. READ MORE 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. Almost every decent law and order American regrets the tragic loss of Mr. George Floyd's life by an evil cop, and we support the removal of the minority of rogue cops in all cities across America. However good and decent people of all races are being manipulated by the leaders of this so called "Black Lives Matter" movement to achieve their own goals, far beyond that of black injustice. This organization was started and is led by three highly educated black female anarchists that proudly proclaim that they are Marxists, with the goal of the overthrow of our capitalist and Judeo-Christian culture. They have co-opted the anger over Mr. Floyd's death for their own benefit, and it isn't about him. Do your homework and you will find that these three Marxists hate the America of our founders. Alicia Garza, Patrisse Cullers, and Opal Tomet have a list of goals that would destroy our country. To quote Patrisse Cullers; "Myself and Alicia in particular are trained organizers. We are trained Marxists!" A few of their stated goals are defunding of city police forces, the end of "white supremacy," "disrupt Western-prescribed nuclear family structure, excluding fathers from vision of community", "we foster a queer affirming network" (their words, not mine), and they define the family as- "atheistic communism". Wake up, America. Anarchists, God hating atheists, Marxists, and those that despise our Judeo-Christian heritage are on a mission to destroy patriotism, our U.S. Constitution, and the very freedoms that our founders bled and died to leave to future generations. Bill Reesor Karnataka chief minister B S Yediyurappa said Tuesday that lockdown is not a solution for the Covid-19 pandemic and that his government would now focus on the economy to help rebuild livelihood Lockdown is not a solution. There is no question of lockdown either in Bangalore or any other district in the state, he said in an address to the state. The CM also said that normal economic activity would resume across the state from Wednesday except in containment zones. The CMs address was seen as an attempt to bring clarity and to end uncertainty after the state had implemented a week-long lockdown in Bengaluru urban and rural from July 14 to July 22 to check rising cases of Covid-19. Apart from Bengaluru, five other districts in the state had implemented lockdowns of varying periods. We will focus on the economy and help rebuild livelihoods.Restrictions will remain only in containment zones. All others across the state will fully return to normal economic activity, the CM said. Yediyurappa also said that the recovery rate of Covid-19 patients in the state is 98% and there is no need to panic. The CMs statement not to enforce lockdown in any part of the state came on a day when Karnataka registered 3,649 new Covid cases taking the total to 71,069 cases which includes 25,459 discharges and 1,464 deaths. Bengaluru continued to report the bulk of the cases with 1,714 new infections on Tuesday. But Yediyurappa sounded confident of tackling the pandemic saying, Trace, track, test, treat and technology will be the 5T mantra in the state to fight Covid-19. The chief minister asked people to follow social distancing and wear masks to stop the spread of the disease. He warned of strict action against those who do not wear masks in public He also sought the oppositions cooperation in combating the pandemic and insisted that there has been no corruption in the drive against Covid-19. All purchases are transparent and the is no corruption We will provide any details and documents sought by opposition within 24 hours. Not one rupee has been misused, he said. Earlier this month, senior Congress leader and former chief minister and leader of opposition in the Karnataka assembly Siddaramaiah had alleged that there was a Rs 2,200 crore scam in the purchase of Covid-19 related equipment. Meanwhile,Medical Education minister Dr K Sudhakar after a meeting of the Covid taskforce on Tuesday said that the rates for testing for has been fixed at Rs 2,000per person if they come through government referral and Rs 3,000 per person ifthey directly approach a private lab. In another development, KPCC President D KShivakumar said that if the government failed to meet the demands of ASHAworkers in the state who are protesting for the last 12 days demanding enhancedpay and insurance cover, the Congress party would join hands with them toensure justice to Covid warriors. Prosecutor says Mark and Patricia McCloskeys actions risked causing violence during an otherwise non-violent protest. Prosecutors in St Louis, Missouri on Monday charged a white husband and wife with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest outside their mansion. Mark and Patricia McCloskey are both personal injury attorneys in their 60s. Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner said their actions risked creating a violent situation during an otherwise non-violent protest last month. It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner that is unlawful in the city of St Louis, Gardner said. An attorney for the couple, Joel Schwartz, in a statement called the decision to charge disheartening, as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed. Supporters of the McCloskeys said they were legally defending their $1.15m home. We will not allow law-abiding citizens to be targeted for exercising their constitutional rights. https://t.co/6t5dUxdVgp Mike Parson (@mikeparson) July 18, 2020 Gardner is recommending a diversion programme such as community service rather than jail time if the McCloskeys are convicted. Typically, class E felonies could result in up to four years in prison. Several Republican leaders have condemned Gardners investigation, including United States President Donald Trump, Missouri Governor Mike Parson and US Senator Josh Hawley, who has urged Attorney General William Barr to undertake a civil rights investigation of Gardner. Parson said in a radio interview on Friday that he would likely pardon the couple if they were charged and convicted. Gardner said Trump, Parson and others are attacking her to distract from their failed approach to the COVID-19 pandemic and other issues. St Louis, like many cities across the US, has seen demonstrations in the weeks since George Floyds death in Minneapolis, and the McCloskeys home was initially incidental to the demonstration on June 28. Several hundred people were marching to the home of Democratic Mayor Lyda Krewson, a few blocks from the McCloskeys home. Krewson had angered activists by reading on Facebook Live the names and addresses of some who had called for defunding the police. The McCloskeys live on a private street called Portland Place. A police report said the couple heard a loud commotion and saw a large group of people break an iron gate marked with No Trespassing and Private Street signs. A protest leader, the Reverend Darryl Gray, said the gate was open and that protesters did not damage it. In this video you can see protestors walk right through the gate. Its not destroyed when they walk onto the street. You can hear McCloskey, get the hell out of my neighborhood. pic.twitter.com/ZbBNP2Xc4v Alexis Zotos (@alexiszotos) June 29, 2020 Mark McCloskey confronted protesters with a semiautomatic rifle, screamed at them and pointed the weapon at them, according to a probable statement from police officer Curtis Burgdorf. The statement said Patricia McCloskey then emerged with a semiautomatic handgun, yelling at protesters to go and pointing the gun at them. Protesters feared being injured due to Patricia McCloskeys finger being on the trigger, coupled with her excited demeanor, the statement said. No shots were fired. Trump spoke by phone with Parson last week to criticise Gardners investigation. Parson, when he was in the state legislature, co-authored Missouris castle doctrine law that justifies deadly force for those who are defending their homes from intruders. He has said that the McCloskeys had every right to protect their property. Gardner, St Louiss first Black circuit attorney, declined to discuss why she decided the castle doctrine did not apply. Schwartz said the McCloskeys support the First Amendment right of every citizen to have their voice and opinion heard. This right, however, must be balanced with the Second Amendment and Missouri law, which entitle each of us to protect our home and family from potential threats. Several Black leaders in St Louis have expressed support for Gardner, including Democratic Congressman William Lacy Clay, who has said protesters should never be subject to the threat of deadly force, whether by individuals or by the police. Microsoft plans to launch its Windows 10X operating system for single-screen devices next year, according to a report by ZDNet. Sources told the publication that development was progressing well on Windows 10X, with the commercial release of the software slated for Q2 2021. According to the report, the dual-screen version of Windows 10X will launch around a year later. The initial launch of the operating system will reportedly be targeted at business users, with the 2022 release adding support for dual-screen devices. This follows after Microsoft announced a change in its strategy for the deployment of its upcoming Windows 10X operating system earlier this year. The world is a very different place than it was last October when we shared our vision for a new category of dual-screen Windows devices, said Microsoft Windows and Devices chief product officer Panos Panay. As we continue to put customers needs at the forefront, we need to focus on meeting customers where they are now. What is Windows 10X? Windows 10X is an upcoming version of Microsofts Windows 10 operating system built for use with specific single- and dual-screen devices. It is designed for unconventional interfaces and consequently supports more advanced touch controls than the standard version of Windows 10. For example, long-pressing on a file will bring up a basic context menu with options to delete, cut, copy, share, rename, and view properties. Additionally, users can move files around by dragging and dropping them. Microsoft planned to ship the operating system with support for both UWP and Win32 applications, but it now looks like the company has delayed implementation of native support for Win32 apps, Windows Central reports. The report added that when Windows 10X launches in 2021, it will be aimed at the low-end market and will not include support for legacy Win32 apps. This support may be added when a more refined version of the operating system is released in 2022. For twelve years Earl Gage Jr. was San Francisco's only Black firefighter. Gage was hired by the San Francisco Fire Department in 1955 at age 28 after graduating from UC Berkeley. During his time at the department Gage pushed to improve racial diversity, despite facing a torrent of racial abuse from his colleagues. Gage will now be memorialized in the city's Western Addition, after the San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to name a block-long street in the city after him last week. The section of Willow Street between Buchanan and Laguna Streets is to be renamed Earl Gage Jr. Street. The Texas-born firefighter retired from the department in 1983, and died in 2017 at the age of 90. That's when the president of the San Francisco Black Firefighters Association, Sherman Tillman, thought of the street naming idea, per KQED. I think looking at a person who could go through all the things that Earl Gage did, and still have love for his fellow man, it's just inspiring, Tillman told KQED. Everyone needs to know that type of story. Everybody needs to know that type of love in a person that could withstand all the hate and anguish, and the We don't want you, but still overcome it. 2020 has seen a national reckoning on race and how we commemorate figures from the past, after the historic resurgence in the Black Lives Matter movement that erupted following the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Schools, streets and even ski resorts across California and the country are in the process of changing their names. During Gage's tenure at the department he faced a series of racial abuse. Fellow firefighters soiled and threw out his mattresses and refused to sleep on a bed after he had slept there. Gage would bring his own mattress in his car and carried it in and out of the different stations, according to his daughter Blondell Chism. He set out to be just a person in the fire department who happened to be a Black person and really wanted to be seen that way, even though the society was set up very differently. I think that being said, he stood his ground for 12 years and kept pushing. Chism told KQED. The level of racism and threats directed at Gage resulted in him moving from fighting fires to serving as director of community services, becoming the first Black man to hold a departmental command position. There he improved the diversity among staff and also launched two departmental programs, field trips for children to visit fire departments and seasonal holiday decorations at firehouses. Andrew Chamings is an editor at SFGATE. Email: Andrew.Chamings@sfgate.com | Twitter: @AndrewChamings The 2020 gas price crunch has substantially cooled down the hype around the Eastern Mediterraneans recent discoveries in Egypt, Israel and Cyprus. Israel was the first EastMed nation to commission an offshore field and has scored some genuinely impressive discoveries in Leviathan and Tamar, however the string of new finds has largely dissipated and erstwhile ambitious plans to become the gas hub of the Levantine Basin now seem much less convincing. Yet Israel has been making headway in meeting its primary objective to satisfy its own domestic needs. With much of the infrastructure in place and the remaining part expected to come onstream in the upcoming months, Israels impending wave of commissioning might provide a boost to the 3rd Offshore Licensing Round. The most recent development in the Israeli offshore was Energean tying up the 85 BCm Karish and 23 BCm Tanin gas fields it operates to the continental shore. Once commissioned, the gas would be fed from the fields to the Energean Power 8 BCm per year FPSO the recently built 80km pipeline link would link the floating vessel to the Israeli shore. Interestingly, the deepwater subsea pipeline (depths up to 1.7km) was laid by the Solitaire vessel, rerouted from the Baltic Sea where it worked on Nord Stream 2. Connecting the gas fields three producing wells to the FPSO will take some more time and is assumed to be ready by Q1 2021. As of today, Energean has firm sales agreements of 5.6 BCm per year and all are with Israeli customers under take-or-pay provisions, meaning that beyond Leviathan the expansion of Israeli offshore gas into neighboring countries is still to materialize. After a series of discoveries in the 2010s (the 283 BCm in 2009, the 623 BCm Leviathan in 2010, the 23 BCm Tanin in 2012, the 85 BCm Karish in 2013), the forthcoming decade was supposed to be the prime time of Israeli offshore. The largest discovery so far, Leviathan was commissioned on the last day of 2019 right on the next day on January 01, 2020 Israel started exporting to Jordan and then 15 days later also to Egypt. Despite the initial success, Leviathans operations have been hindered by the governments repeated grievances of the fields operator allegedly violating the emissions permit. According to Israeli media reports, in the first 5 months of Leviathan producing there were 35 malfunctions, most of them required gas flaring. Related: Weak Demand Forces Buyers To Cancel U.S. LNG Cargoes On the back of the environmental permit transgressions the Ministry of Environmental Protection has ordered Leviathan to stop utilizing the turbo expander, decreasing the overall production volumes. The authorities are in a certain way compelled to act upon the malfunctions as residents in Haifa, onshore some 130km from the Leviathan field, have been complaining about the flares and the worsened ozone levels that have allegedly come with it. Having informed the general public about 15 production breakdowns this year, the Energy Ministry has launched a thorough investigation into the operation of the rig, starting its assessment on June 21 and hopefully providing some sort of recommendations in the upcoming weeks. The assessing team will most probably have an in-person experience of the malfunctions as the most recent one (one of the power generators detected an abnormal electric current and shut down both generators) took place July 01. This being said, the Israeli public need not perceive flaring as an oddity per se only too many political commentators are trying to portray it as a sign of the inherently flawed nature of EastMed gas production. If one is to read the malfunction reports as provided by the Energy Ministry one can see that air quality was not impacted nor were there any damages to the drilling rig itself. A lot of crucial fields all around the world have had shaky beginnings and then went on to produce under normal circumstances (just think of Kashagans wobbly path) and Leviathan should also be given time to normalize its operations, devoid of any political point-scoring. Source: MEES. Israeli authorities have also launched the countrys 3rd Offshore Round late June, comprising of one single exploration block, Block 72 (formerly known as Alon D). This block, covering an area of some 258km2, was initially awarded in 2009 to Noble Energy yet the operator failed to carry out an exploratory drilling on Alon D despite a 3-year extension in 2017. Noble asked the Israeli Ministry of Energy for another extension in February this year, however this time the authorities were less acquiescent and decided to reauction the block. Israels relaunching of Block 52 which adjoins the disputed maritime border with Lebanon, has sparked some furor in Lebanon which decried it as an extremely dangerous step and some MPs even referred to it as a declaration of war. The previous Offshore Licensing Round was concluded July last year, with 12 exploration licences awarded. Amongst the companies receiving the acreages there were no international majors, a consortium consisting of Cairn Energy, SOCO International and Ratio Oil Exploration got 8 blocks, whilst the consortium of Energean and Israel Opportunity Energy Resources received 4 blocks. On the back of past licensing rounds, Energean seems to be emerging as a top driller in todays tumultuous environment under its drilling contract with Stena Drilling, the Greek-owned London-listed company still has 7 additional wells to spud. Amongst the most anticipated wells, the Zeus-1 wildcat located within Block 12 (between the Tanin and Karish discoveries) was assumed to be drilled this year but has been postponed into 2021. By Viktor Katona for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: Vietnamese police have broken up a ring that smuggled drugs from Vietnam to other countries, with the kingpin found to be an ex-policeman of South Korea. The racket was busted last weekend, police said on Monday. Officers urgently checked a 20-foot shipping container weighing 30 metric tons in a raid at Cat Lai, a busy port in Ho Chi Minh City, on Sunday. The container, whose consignor said it contained granite, was bound for Incheon, South Korea. Police officers found almost 40kg of drugs inside the granite. Police said a South Korean national who had been a policeman for 20 years headed the ring, with coordination from Chinese accessories. Ring members dug holes in granite masses to hide drugs for export by sea to other countries, officers said. Authorities have expanded their probe to catch other henchmen. Trafficking of more than 100 grams (3.5 oz) of heroin is punishable by death or life imprisonment in Vietnam. Colonel Nguyen Van Vien (R), director of the Investigation Police Department on Drug-Related Crimes, questions a South Korean national suspected of heading the drug ring in this photo supplied by police officers. Drugs were found in granite masses in a shipping container at Cat Lai, a busy port in Ho Chi Minh City. Photo: Supplied This supplied photo shows almost 40kg of drugs found inside granite masses in a shipping container at Cat Lai, a busy port in Ho Chi Minh City. Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! With the Texas pink and yellow sun setting in the background, the Kingwood High School graduating class joined together sitting 6 feet apart, masks on at Turner Stadium in the 81-degree heat to kick off graduation week for Humble ISD. Kingwood High seniors have faced trials throughout their four years, which was reflected in speeches from student leaders. While every high school across the nation found an abrupt and unexpected ending to in-person classes often followed by unusual graduations, the Kingwood class of 2020 was also displaced by Hurricane Harvey in 2017 when the water reached the second floor of their campus. Despite their challenges, the graduating class self-reported over $7.4 million in scholarships, according to Kingwood High Principal Michael Nasra. CLASS 0F 2020: Kingwood, K-Park grads prepare to enter their next phase Students gathered in Turner Stadium in Humble where chairs were set out on the field for social distancing. Viewers sat in the stands, which had a 25 percent capacity limit, to watch the graduation in person while those at home had the option to watch through a livestream by TexanLive.com. Noting that Kingwood High celebrated its 40th anniversary this year, Nasra said there is no better group of students to exemplify the tradition of excellence of their school, acknowledging the hardships they have faced and continued to succeed through. He said it was an honor to be at their graduation and celebrate their success. Youre at another transition period in your life, one that will test you and challenge you in ways that youve not anticipated, Nasra said. In those moments I encourage you to remember the values that have helped you throughout your high school career, including honesty, kindness, respect and patience, coupled with joy, love and compassion. Your strong work ethic, dedication and commitment have enabled you to move closer to becoming the very best version of yourself. Class Treasurer and Salutatorian Sabrina Rizzo discussed her contemplation on what success looks like through the perspective of her fellow students, which has changed greatly over their time in Humble ISD. Rizzo said the class motto, now you see us may no longer fit them as they continue to strive toward success in their future. What started as a simple play on words turned out to describe our high school experience more accurately than we ever could have imagined, Rizzo said. Knowing this and looking upon our class now, I no longer think this motto fits. You may think you have seen us, but I assure you, you havent seen anything yet. Q&A: Humble ISD Superintendent Elizabeth Fagen emphasizes safety in return to school on Aug. 11 Valedictorian Seaver Sasso passed along advice given by his father that guides him. Sasso reminded his fellow classmates that difficulties are bound to arise, but its the reaction to those situations that matter. Regardless, every decision counts, Sasso said. So go into every day with the best attitude you can and make every decision as if its the most important one youve ever made because what you do today and everyday hereafter will shape the rest of your lives. Senior Class President Jacob Vasquez said it has been a privilege to attend Kingwood High for the education opportunities inside and out of the classroom, and acknowledging that privilege is the best way to better understand and appreciate the struggles of previous generations. He urged students to question and reflect on how they see the world and to put themselves into someone elses shoes. Sure, KHS shaped us, but weve equally shaped KHS, Vasquez said. Well forever be the class that graduated during a global pandemic, but the primary reason why our class specifically is so unique is not necessarily because of what weve done, but what we will do in the coming years. Student Body President Xomie Sukach thanked her own family and the families watching for the work they have done to bring to the senior class to where they are now. To my Mom who started chemotherapy the first week I started high school, thank you for being there for me even as you overcame your illness, Sukach said. You taught me how to be strong in the midst of difficulty. She noted the challenges they faced as well as what they learned through their trials, such as tearing out wet drywall, navigating two campuses, taking online classes and still having fun while going through difficult times. She remembered pep rallies, school clubs, and successful playoff runs they completed as they navigated these challenges together. As we continue toward our future through life struggles, may we recall the memories, the strength and the resilience we gained in Kingwoods blue and white, Sukach said. savannah.mehrtens@chron.com Thank you to Attorney General Ken Paxton for his guidance letter that stated the states religious private schools need not comply with local public health orders, like the one that barred in-person instruction in Dallas County until after Labor Day. As protected by the First Amendment and Texas law, religious private schools may continue to determine when it is safe for their communities to resume in-person instruction free from any government mandate or interference, Paxtons letter read. Religious private schools therefore need not comply with local public health orders to the contrary. As reported recently in the Dallas Morning News, governmental jurisdictions in Dallas County, Travis County, El Paso, San Antonio and Laredo are among those that have issued orders stating instruction could begin in a virtual-only format. Last week, the Dallas County judge offered an order that called for all schools public and private to be only online through Sept. 7. The Morning News report continues to state that because Gov. Greg Abbotts executive orders addressing the COVID-19 crisis explicitly prohibited local governments from closing religious institutions, or requiring specific mitigation strategies from them, local governments are similarly prohibited from issuing blanker orders closing religious private schools, Paxton stated. Midland is home to more religious private schools per capita than just about anywhere else in the state. And while it would be hard to comprehend the Midland County judge from duplicating an order similar to the one in Dallas County, it is good to know that schools such as Midland Christian, Trinity School of Midland, Midland Classical Academy and St. Anns Catholic School would be protected. My expectation is that Midlanders who choose to send their children to religious private schools have confidence that school leaders will make the correct decisions about when to begin in-person instruction, they will put in place safety measures, and they will provide online alternatives for those interested. In a recent report from the Houston Chronicle, Laura Colangelo, executive director of the Texas Private Schools Association, said the group was grateful to Abbott for recognizing the independence and autonomy of religious private schools in Texas. Private schools need to be flexible and responsive to their students, staff, and communities and this ruling allows that to happen, Colangelo said. As always, the health, safety, and education of students in Texas is our highest priority. One last thing here. Paxtons ruling doesnt provide improper preference for a certain group of people but protects the liberties of all residents in our state. I would remind our readers that private school leaders like their counterparts at Midland ISD -- certainly have an interest in the growth of the entire student and are not going to allow their students or the greater population to be put in danger. They should have the freedom to make decisions, such as when it is appropriate to congregate. Thanks to Attorney General Paxton, they know they have that ability. --Editor Stewart Doreen He won an Academy Award for Best Actor in 2001 thanks to his critically acclaimed performance in Gladiator. But Russell Crowe has admitted that an overwhelming sense of guilt prevented him from fully embracing his moment in the spotlight. Speaking to Today's Richard Wilkins on Tuesday, the 56-year-old said he didn't deserve the level of praise he received for the role, because it was Gladiator's director, Ridley Scott, who really made the film a success. 'Why did I get all the attention?' Russell Crowe has admitted that an overwhelming sense of guilt overshadowed his Oscar win for Gladiator in 2001. Pictured as Maximus in Gladiator '[After starring in Gladiator], I got so many pats on the back, and, you know, I got some big awards and all that, and obviously that sort of stepped me up to a different level for quite some time,' Russell explained. However, the thespian said he felt a pang of guilt while recently watching a live screening of Gladiator at the Colosseum in Rome. 'I watched that movie, and it is a director's film,' he said. 'It was one of those moments of, "Why did I get all the attention, when the Academy Award belongs to Ridley Scott?"' Mixed emotions: Speaking to Today's Richard Wilkins on Tuesday, the actor said he felt a pang of guilt while recently watching a live screening of Gladiator at the Colosseum in Rome 'I watched that movie, and it is a director's film': Russell said the Academy Award deserved to go to Gladiator's director, Ridley Scott (pictured in October last year) It comes after Russell revealed on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon that he almost turned down his career-making role in Gladiator. Appearing on the program via video-link last week, the New Zealand-born star described making Gladiator 20 years ago as 'a unique experience', partly because 'the [initial] script they had was so bad'. 'It was just so bad!' Russell confessed. 'It was like, "Okay, ummm. Yeah."' Harsh feedback: Russell recently described called making Gladiator 'a unique experience', partly because 'the [initial] script they had was so bad'. Pictured: Russell Crowe in Gladiator Despite his reservations, Russell agreed to take the role after meeting the director. The film went on to win Academy Awards not only for Russell, but also for Best Picture, Best Sound, Best Visual Effects and Best Costume Design. In his latest film, Unhinged, Russell plays a man with extreme road rage who stalks a woman for beeping at him on the highway. Farmers in Duy Tien District in the northern province of Ha Nam are busy these days harvesting lotus seeds. The locality hosts the largest area of lotus in the north with 28ha in Chuyen Ngoai, Moc Nam and Moc Bac communes. A lotus field in Chuyen Ngoai Commune, Duy Tien Town, Ha Nam Province. VNA/VNS Photos Thanh Tuan In the past five years, the whole area for planting rice in Chuyen Ngoai Commune has been used for lotus as the profit from lotus is five to seven times higher than from rice. Farmers combine planting lotus with raising shrimp and fish. A farmer collects lotus pods in Chuyen Ngoai Commune. Lotus seeds can be used as food in sweetened lotus seeds, salt lotus seed porridge and sweetened lotus porridge. Lotus seeds have various good effects for health like moderating cholesterol in the blood and treating fatty liver disease. Local farmers like this young man work early in the morning to avoid the heat. Nguyen Thi Thu, 38, a local, said her family has 36,000sq.m of lotus. She nurtures lotus seedlings at the end of lunar second month of the year and plants the seedlings in the middle of the fifth lunar month. It rained less this year so there are many empty seeds, which affects overall productivity, she said. Each harvest season her family may gather up to 100kg of lotus seeds. Each person can work on up to 40kg of lotus pods a day. Farmers use knives to separate seeds from lotus pods (sepal of the lotus flower). Each person can work on up to 40kg of lotus pods a day. Wholesale buyers gather lotus seed on the site to bring to Hanoi and other localities to sell. A bowl of sweetened lotus seed porridge, a popular kind of snack, which is believed to cool the body off in the summer. VNS Photo Truong Vi Nguyen Kim Lien, a wholesaler, said 1kg of fresh lotus seeds, after peeling and removing the green sprout in the middle, offers 500 grams of pure seeds. To preserve the white seeds, people should cover the seeds with some paper and put in the fridge to use for a long time, she said. The green sprout in the middle of the seed has long been used in Eastern medicine to treat loss of sleep, sunstroke and to cool down the body. VNS Picturesque view of summer lotus flowers blooming in Hanoi As thousands of lotus flowers begin to fully bloom following the arrival of June, Hanoi is being blessed with an array of picturesque and peaceful scenery. View live politics updates ChevronRight At the time, in the early 1970s, the United States and the Soviet Union were nearly three decades into the Cold War, which brought with it the threat of nuclear holocaust. The U.S. president was often imagined with a finger on the button. The button was not a button but rather a complex set of procedures and verifications designed to give the commander in chief rapid control over nuclear forces. From his vantage point in the bunker, Dr. Blair concluded that the risk of accidental nuclear war was too great. Then as now, if the United States detects an incoming nuclear attack, the president has only a few minutes to decide how to respond. With weapons on what is termed launch ready alert, missiles can be fired within 12 minutes of a presidents order. Once the missiles take off, they cannot be recalled. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Deeply marked by his experience, Dr. Blair devoted the rest of his professional life to reducing the nuclear threat not through the pacifist philosophies that animated many antinuclear activists but through rigorous analysis of the command-and-control system in which he had played a role. The recipient of a 1999 MacArthur genius grant, Dr. Blair became one of the most prominent voices in the nuclear policy debate, respected in Washington and Moscow, in the military and intelligence communities, as well as among activists. He died July 19 at a hospital in Philadelphia at age 72. The cause was a stroke, said his wife, Sally Blair. Former U.S. senator Sam Nunn (D-Ga.), a co-chair of the nonprofit Nuclear Threat Initiative, described Dr. Blair in a statement as an extraordinary public servant who committed his life to reducing nuclear risks around the world. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement He spent 13 years as a senior fellow at the Brookings Institution before establishing his own Washington-based think tanks, including Global Zero, which he co-founded in 2008 with a mission to stop the spread of nuclear weapons, secure all nuclear materials and eliminate all nuclear weapons: global zero. He published books, conducted a highly classified review of the weaknesses of the U.S. nuclear command-and-control system in the 1980s, briefed members of Congress on nuclear policy and traveled to Moscow to consult with Soviet nuclear experts. But never far from his mind was his service as a launch officer, standing by for an order to fire nuclear-tipped intercontinental ballistic missiles powerful enough to kill millions of people. It illuminated for me the speed at which this process unfolds and how theres really no latitude to question an order, he told a publication of Princeton University, where he had been a research scholar since 2013. It sensitized me to the magnitude of devastation at stake, which is humongous. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Dr. Blair was a vocal proponent of de-alerting nuclear arsenals by removing weapons from launch-ready alert a status known colloquially as hair-trigger alert and by physically separating warheads from missiles. The goal of such measures is to build more time into the presidential decision-making process and reduce the chance of error. U.S. and Soviet officials have only a few minutes, at best, in which to evaluate reports of an apparent incoming missile strike and decide the fate of the world, he told the New York Times in 1999. This is an intolerably short time. In a sensational op-ed published in the Times in 1993, Dr. Blair revealed the existence in Russia of a secret doomsday system, built in the Soviet era and known as the Dead Hand, that allowed Moscow to launch a nuclear counterattack even if its leadership had been killed or incapacitated. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Bruce had an intense curiosity, driven by experience he had served in the Minuteman silos, touched the codes and keys, and wanted to understand how nuclear alerts worked on both sides of the Cold War, observed David E. Hoffman, a contributing editor at The Washington Post and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning volume The Dead Hand: The Untold Story of the Cold War Arms Race and Its Dangerous Legacy. His curiosity, Hoffman said in an email, led him to ask the penetrating questions in Moscow that revealed the existence of the dead hand system. He grasped the absurdity and danger and worked the rest of his career to make the world safer from it. The end of the Cold War brought about reductions in U.S. and Russian nuclear arsenals, but both countries continue to aim nuclear-armed missiles at each other. The post-Cold War period also heightened fears about the possible nuclear capabilities of terrorists and rogue states such as North Korea, now led by Kim Jong Un. Dr. Blair continued pressing for the reduction of nuclear arms worldwide and for greater caution with those that remained. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The end of the Cold War encourages greater determination to become something more than cogs in the nuclear machinery, he wrote in the 1993 Times op-ed. It is time to be its master, not its minion. Bruce Gentry Blair was born in Creston, Iowa, on Nov. 16, 1947. His father worked in hardware sales after serving with the Army Air Forces in Europe during World War II, and his mother was a homemaker. Dr. Blair received a bachelors degree in communications from the University of Illinois in 1970 before serving in the Air Force. He received a doctorate in operations research from Yale University in 1984. After leaving the Brookings Institution, Dr. Blair led the Center for Defense Information, later known as the World Security Institute, whose initiatives included Washington ProFile, a news service that distributed content around the world. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement His books included Strategic Command and Control (1985), The Logic of Accidental Nuclear War (1993) and Global Zero Alert for Nuclear Forces (1995). In an effort to reach the public and not only policymakers about the nuclear threat, he was an executive producer of the 2010 documentary Countdown to Zero. Dr. Blairs marriages to Cindy Olsen Hart and Monica Manchien Yin ended in divorce. Survivors include his wife of 28 years, the former Sally Onesti of New Hope, Pa.; two daughters from his first marriage, Carrie Blair Shives of Thurmont, Md., and Erica Blair Lockney of Middletown, Md.; a daughter from his second marriage, Celia Paoro Yin-Blair, and a son from his third marriage, Thomas Onesti Blair, both of New York City; his mother, Betty Ann Blair of Shakopee, Minn.; three sisters; and seven grandchildren. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement During the 2016 presidential campaign, Dr. Blair organized a letter signed by 10 former nuclear launch control officers declaring that they did not believe then-nominee Donald Trump, if elected to the White House, should be granted the nuclear codes. He has shown himself time and again to be easily baited and quick to lash out, dismissive of expert consultation and ill-informed of even basic military and international affairs including, most especially, nuclear weapons, the letter read. Donald Trump should not be the nations commander in chief. He should not be entrusted with the nuclear launch codes. He should not have his finger on the button. The month after his election, Trump tweeted that the United States must greatly strengthen and expand its nuclear capability until such time as the world comes to its senses regarding nukes. Dr. Blair told the Princeton Alumni Weekly in 2018: Ive been arguing for decades about the risks of accidental or mistaken launch, false warnings, nuclear terrorism, and proliferation. But in the past, not many of us concerned ourselves with the rationality of the leadership. The ascendance of leaders like Trump and Kim have really underscored that point. Read more Washington Post obituaries TEHRAN, Iran, July 21 Trend: The head of the Iran-Iraq Joint Chamber of Commerce Yahya al-Ishaq said that the Iraqi Prime Minister's visit to Iran will have an important impact on the development of relations between the two countries, Trend reports via IRNA. Al-Ishaq said the talks will mostly focus on economic issues. Plans to bring the Iran-Iraq trade turnover to $20 billion, he added. He went on to say that Iraq's debt to Iran for electricity and energy is another important issue. "Agreements have already been reached on the return of about $3 billion of Iraq's debt to Iran, which is gradually being carried out, he said, adding that the system of re-payment of the debts will be negotiated during this visit. Referring to the outbreak of the coronavirus and the related restrictions imposed on the southern borders of Iran, he says that the visit of high-ranking Iraqi official can accelerate the reopening of the borders. ANN ARBOR, MI Two Ann Arbor hospitals are receiving almost $9 million in coronavirus relief funding. U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell D-Dearborn, announced Monday, July 20, that funds are being directed toward eight hospitals in the 12th District, including St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital and Michigan Medicine Von Voigtlander Womens Hospital. The funding comes from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, which recently began distributing $10 billion to hospitals nationwide in areas highly impacted by the novel coronavirus pandemic, According to a news release form Dingells office. In total, St. Joseph Mercy Ann Arbor Hospital will receive about $4.8 million, plus an additional $1.4 million for the Select Specialty Hospital located within St. Joseph Mercy, and Michigan Medicine Von Voigtlander Womens Hospital will receive $2.36 million. Hospitals in Dearborn, Taylor, Trenton and Wyandotte are also receiving funding, which totals $29.5 million distributed within Dingells district. Hospitals are the front lines and a key component of protecting public health, Dingell said. This critical support is welcome news that additional relief is on its way to hospitals and providers in our community. As the crisis continues, we will not stop working until all hospitals in Michigan have the resources they need. More From MLive: Two Ann Arbor arts organizations receive federal funds to help during pandemic Rajput calls Dingell progressive in name only in 12th District congressional debate We felt it was important. Ann Arbor raises Black Lives Matter flag at city hall CHICAGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- According to the new market research report "Security as a Service Market by Component (Solution and Service), Application Area (Network Security, Endpoint Security, Application Security, and Cloud), Organization Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2025", published by MarketsandMarkets, the Security as a Service Market size is expected to grow from USD 11.1 billion in 2020 to USD 26.5 billion by 2025, at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 18.9% during the forecast period. The key factors driving the security as a service industry include the mandates to follow regulatory & data protection laws, an increase in demand for cloud-based security solutions, and high costs & risks in managing on-premises security solutions. Request for PDF Brochure: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/pdfdownloadNew.asp?id=132531603 Browse in-depth TOC on "Security as a Service Market" 300 Tables 42 Figures 269 Pages The Identity and Access Management (IAM) segment to account for the highest market share in 2020 Security and vulnerability management is the procedure in which vulnerabilities in IT are identified and the risks of these vulnerabilities are assessed. It is a proactive approach to secure sensitive data by eliminating the weaknesses of network security, which include contingent cyber threats, such as dormant malware attacks and other advanced invasion techniques. The process consists of checking and identifying risks, along with mitigation and patching of the unwanted software program. Businesses rely on the solution to quickly assess and prioritize the vulnerabilities, along with scanning the network asset information, security configuration, and threat intelligence. With the increasing instances of cyber-attacks, the Internet of Things (IoT) and connected device vulnerabilities and growing pressure from cybersecurity regulations, the SIEM segment is expected to garner the highest revenue during the forecast period. The application security segment is expected to grow at a higher CAGR during the forecast period Application security solutions and services enable enterprises to secure their business-sensitive applications through greater visibility, control, and the use of existing security solutions, such as Identity and Access Management (IAM), web filtering, and application whitelisting. These enable the security of enterprise applications and software codes from external and internal threats, including web attacks, Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), site scraping, and frauds. Business-sensitive applications are one of the primary targets of attackers, as they carry information about critical assets, as well as processes that are followed by an enterprise. Cloud-based application security solutions and services are providing cost-effective and scalability functionality to customers, which is thereby inducing high growth in this market. The BFSI vertical is expected to maintain the leading position in terms of revenue generation during the forecast period Increased instances of spyware/keylogger, Trojans, viruses, ransomware, and other malware in the Banking, Financial Services, and Insurance (BFSI) vertical are driving the adoption of security as a service solutions. The BFSI vertical is also a major target for cybercriminals, as it holds sensitive information of employees, customers, assets, offices, branches, and operations. Furthermore, with stricter regulations and increasing instances of frauds and cyber-attacks, the need for real-time detection and protection from advanced threat and brand protection is driving the growth of the Security as a Service Market in the BFSI vertical. North America is expected to account for the largest market size during the forecast period North America is expected to account for the largest market size in the overall Security as a Service Market during the forecast period. The increase in the number of IoT & connected devices, and vulnerabilities associated with them are some of the factors driving the adoption of security as a service. The presence of many securities as a service vendors, as well as widespread awareness about these solutions would continue to account for the region's highest market share during the forecast period. Speak to Analyst: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/speaktoanalystNew.asp?id=132531603 The Security as a Service Market comprises major solution providers, such as McAfee (US), Trend Micro (Japan), Zscaler (US), IBM (US), Microsoft (US), Clearswift (UK), Alert Logic (US) Cygilant (US), Barracuda Networks (US), Panda Security (Spain), Stratejm (Canada), Radware (China), Mindsight (US), Sentinel Technologies (US), Happiest Minds (India), Okta (US), ProofPoint (US), Qualys(US), Symantec (US), Sophos (UK), Egress Technologies (UK), Forcepoint (US), Fortinet (US), Kaspersky Lab (US), CipherCloud (US), DXC Technology(US), Cisco (US), AT&T (US), Axcient (US). The study includes an in-depth competitive analysis of the key players in the Security as a Service Market, along with their company profiles, recent developments, and key market strategies. Browse Adjacent Markets: Information Security Market Research Reports & Consulting Browse Related Reports: Cloud Security Market by Service Type (IAM, DLP, IDS/IPS, SIEM, and Encryption), Security Type, Service Model (IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS), Deployment Type (Public, Private, and Hybrid), Organization Size, Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2022 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cloud-security-market-100018098.html Cybersecurity Market by Solution (IAM, Encryption, UTM, Antivirus/Antimalware, Firewall, IDS/IPS, Disaster Recovery, and DDOS Mitigation), Service, Security Type, Deployment Mode, Organization Size, Industry Vertical, and Region - Global Forecast to 2023 https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/cyber-security-market-505.html About MarketsandMarkets MarketsandMarkets provides quantified B2B research on 30,000 high growth niche opportunities/threats which will impact 70% to 80% of worldwide companies' revenues. Currently servicing 7500 customers worldwide including 80% of global Fortune 1000 companies as clients. Almost 75,000 top officers across eight industries worldwide approach MarketsandMarkets for their painpoints around revenues decisions. Our 850 fulltime analyst and SMEs at MarketsandMarkets are tracking global high growth markets following the "Growth Engagement Model GEM". The GEM aims at proactive collaboration with the clients to identify new opportunities, identify most important customers, write "Attack, avoid and defend" strategies, identify sources of incremental revenues for both the company and its competitors. MarketsandMarkets now coming up with 1,500 MicroQuadrants (Positioning top players across leaders, emerging companies, innovators, strategic players) annually in high growth emerging segments. MarketsandMarkets is determined to benefit more than 10,000 companies this year for their revenue planning and help them take their innovations/disruptions early to the market by providing them research ahead of the curve. MarketsandMarkets's flagship competitive intelligence and market research platform, "Knowledge Store" connects over 200,000 markets and entire value chains for deeper understanding of the unmet insights along with market sizing and forecasts of niche markets. Contact: Mr. Aashish Mehra MarketsandMarkets INC. 630 Dundee Road Suite 430 Northbrook, IL 60062 USA: +1-888-600-6441 Email: [email protected] Visit Our Web Site: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com Research Insight: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/ResearchInsight/security-as-a-service-market.asp Content Source: https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/PressReleases/security-as-a-service.asp SOURCE MarketsandMarkets Gov. Gavin Newsom didn't mention it in his hour-long press conference on Friday, but new state guidelines banning in-school instruction in counties on a monitoring list for coronavirus infections includes a waiver provision that could exempt elementary schools. On Friday, hours after Newsom released his guidelines, Santa Clara County's superintendent of public schools and the director of public health sent out a letter inviting public and private school officials to apply for the waiver. "The County Public Health Department and Santa Clara County Office of Education strongly encourages elementary schools to follow this process so that they can safely resume in-person instruction this fall," said the letter signed by county Superintendent Mary Ann Dewan and Dr. Sarah Cody, director of the county's public health department. Other county superintendents reported getting many questions about possible waivers over the weekend. "The waiver provision in the guidance is generating a lot of attention around the state," said Edgar Zazueta, senior director of policy and government relations for the Association of California School Administrators. Cody and other county health officers would have the authority to grant the waiver after consulting with the California Department of Public Health, according to the wording, which can be found as a footnote in a 5-page "framework" for reopening in-person learning for K-12 schools that was released on Friday. The waiver provision was not mentioned in the 19-page Covid-19 Industry Guidance: Schools and Schools-Based Programs, also released on Friday, nor in a press release from Newsom's office. When asked about it during a press conference on Monday, Newsom acknowledged a waiver would be possible but did not elaborate. More than 30 of California's 58 counties, encompassing nearly all the state's urban and suburban counties, are on the watch list, which requires that they close bars, malls and indoor restaurants, along with in-person school instruction, for a minimum of 14 days. Counties could come off the list only if their coronavirus data fell below a number of benchmarks, including rates of infection, transmission and hospitalization. A waiver would permit at least some elementary school children, perhaps in small groups, to attend schools during that period if they follow the state's safety guidelines. The footnote mentioning the waiver opportunity does not elaborate on which conditions must be met before a county health officer could allow in-person instruction. It reads as follows: A waiver of these criteria may be granted by the local health officer for elementary schools to open for in-person instruction. A waiver may only be granted if one is requested by the superintendent (or equivalent for charter or private schools), in consultation with labor, parent and community organizations. Local health officers must review local community epidemiological data, consider other public health interventions, and consult with (the California Department of Public Health) when considering a waiver request. What's not clear is whether "consultation" means that opposition from teachers unions would prevent a superintendent from seeking a waiver. The California Teachers Association has stated that a large majority of teachers would not return to school until conditions are safe. During the webinar explaining the guidelines Monday, newly-appointed California State Epidemiologist Dr. Erica Pan said that her office would put in place by the end of the week the process by which county health officers could determine if local Covid-19 data and safety measures, including protective equipment at school and the availability of testing, would permit a waiver. She said that the waiver would apply to K-8 school districts. Along with perhaps some school districts, charter schools and private schools in Santa Clara County, which includes 19 districts in San Jose, rural elementary districts in counties on the monitoring list might be the first in line. "I do think we will have candidates," said Michael Hulsizer, chief deputy for governmental affairs for the superintendent of schools in Kern County. "The metrics in rural districts are not the same countywide or, in Bakersfield." A week before the new state guidelines were announced, about a third of districts in the county were considering a hybrid form of instruction, including some in-school instruction. Some of these might be interested, perhaps initially on a smaller scale, he said. In encouraging districts to consider a waiver, Dewan and Cody emphasized that "based on the current best available scientific evidence," the risks that children under 12 would transmit the coronavirus to adults and become infected themselves would be low, compared with other older children and adults. And they wrote that in-person instruction is "academically and socially critical for younger students" - and especially so for lower- income students who are "particularly harmed" by a lack it. Dewan said in an interview Sunday that her letter "was not at all an effort to circumvent or undermine" the new state regulations or to return to full in-person instruction. But many districts have been considering in-school learning centers to supplement distance learning for small groups of "high-needs students." That might be one possibility, she said. Districts would set their own priorities, which could include students who have lacked computers and internet access at home, homeless and foster children and students with disabilities. Any permission for in-school instruction "would not be a waiver of safety requirements by any stretch and would require full adherence" to the new state rules on masks and social distancing, she said. "There is a question what the provision's intent is," Zazueta said. "Is it aimed at allowing small groups for targeted in-person instruction or to give communities within a county a pathway to open up, even if the county is on the monitoring list?" 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. A young woman has been left fighting for her life after a doctor mistakenly dismissed cancerous lumps on her legs and feet as fat. Gemma Malins, 27, was diagnosed with stage-four metastatic melanoma in October last year. The New Zealand woman, who was studying to be an early childhood teacher, is now in the fight of her life as she battles the disease. There is no cure for the aggressive cancer and it has already spread to her brain and lungs. Ms Malins and her partner Brandon, 20, fast-tracked their wedding plans after getting the shattering diagnosis. Gemma Malins, 27, (pictured with her husband Brandon) was diagnosed with stage-four metastatic melanoma in October last year She and her partner Brandon, 20, fast-tracked their wedding plans after getting the shattering diagnosis The couple tied the knot in a small beach ceremony in December 2019 after two weeks of planning. Ms Malins described it as the most 'perfect day'. 'We fast tracked the wedding as we just didn't know what the future held, we still don't,' she said. Speaking to Daily Mail Australia, she shared how she has been left fuming because she first raised her concerns about the lumps with her GP a year earlier. The first doctor she saw said the lumps on her legs were lipoma, a fatty tissue which can develop under the skin as people age. The benign growths are rarely harmful. Brandon, 20, quit his job as a beekeeper to be by her side throughout the treatment (Pictured: The couple on their wedding day last year) But as the growths spread throughout her body, Ms Malins grew concerned. She went to a new GP who broke the news that the lumps could be more serious. What is stage-four metastatic melanoma? Stage 4 melanoma means the cancer has spread to other parts of the body, such as the lungs, brain, or other organs and tissue. It may have also spread to lymph nodes that are a good distance from the original tumor. As such, stage 4 melanoma is often hard to cure with current treatments. Advertisement But she had to endure another three-month wait before she saw a specialist who confirmed the cancer diagnosis. 'It was such a shock at the time I actually couldn't even process it,' Ms Malins said. 'It changed our whole lives dramatically. 'It's frightening. I'm scared about dying all the time. 'We had planned to have children, we have so much baby stuff that we've collected up but now we can't even think about that.' Ms Malins is now undergoing a type of immunotherapy called Keytruda, with a two-year plan in place. Her husband has given up his beekeeping job to care for his wife while she fights for her life. 'He's been by my side for every treatment and every good and bad day,' she said. 'My husband has been a soldier.' The couple are now hoping to raise money so Ms Malins can 'tick items off her bucket list' including horse riding, glamping and trips around New Zealand. They have started a Givealittle page to raise money for their adventures. After weeks of delay and mixed messages, the Cabinet is finally set to sign off Ireland's green list - the countries to which travel is deemed safe and from which travellers will not have to restrict their movements on return. Punters, airlines, tourism businesses and health experts have all been crying out for clarity and hope they will get it this week. What countries will make it on to the green list? Government favours a short list but upwards of a dozen countries could be included, based on rates of Covid-19 similar to, or better than, Ireland's. Our 14-day cumulative total is 4.8 cases per 100,000 people. Norway, Malta, Cyprus, Finland, Hungary, Italy, Greece and Estonia are among those with fewer; Germany (6.3), Holland (6.4) and Denmark (5.3) some with slightly more. France (11.5) is an outside bet. Who won't make it? The UK, US and Sweden are very unlikely. Spain (18), Portugal (46.1) and Croatia (29.5) are also in doubt. So can we holiday in green list countries? Green may suggest go but all the signals are that the government will continue to advise against non-essential travel, even to green list countries. Without clear direction, the worry is that people will continue to take decisions into their own hands. Why publish it then? The government must wish a list had never been mentioned. But a line needs to be drawn under this urgently. Rising cases and a lack of quarantine enforcement and airport testing have unnerved many, with some believing Ireland should seal itself off like New Zealand. Others say connectivity is crucial and that travel-related cases are relatively low. Whatever happens, the confusion needs to end. Could the government change its travel advice for green list countries? It's possible, but unlikely. Ireland has four travel advice categories. Avoid non-essential travel is Level 3, which now applies. Switching green list countries to Level 2 (high degree of caution) is an option but would be seen as encouraging travel, which the government does not want to do. Will the list be reviewed? Yes, fortnightly, taking account of caseloads. That could present another problem for people who decide to travel: what happens if a country is removed from the list while you're there? Aren't people travelling overseas anyway? Yes, but the figures are relative. About 12,000 passengers are passing through Dublin Airport a day but that compares to 112,000 last July. Others are trying to cancel or reschedule. The mess is making travel impossible to plan and undermining the travel advisory system. Will travel insurance work in a green list country? No. Most policies will not cover you if you travel to a country to which the government advises against non-essential travel. Will it be enforced? Unlikely. Inbound passengers are required to fill out locator forms and advised to restrict their movements for 14 days after inbound travel. This is not policed, however - a cause of much debate recently. What is the problem? On the one hand, the government is asking people to avoid non-essential travel. On the other, it has described a green list of countries to which you would not have to self-isolate or restrict movements on return and would not have as much risk as Killarney or Dublin. What does this mean for inbound tourism? It depends on the wording. If overseas visitors from green list countries take that as a free pass to visit Ireland, there could be some resumption - but clearly local businesses would have to trust in the process and not turn such visitors way. But months of delay, mixed messaging and the exclusion of our two most important markets - the UK and US - will have devastating effects on Irish tourism and the businesses that supply it. (Newser) Three weeks after reopening its borders, the Bahamas is shutting them againat least to most US travelers. Effective Wednesday, all commercial flights to the country will be halted except for those departing Canada, the UK, and the European Union, reports CNBC. Private international flights, pleasure craft, and yachts will still be accepted regardless of departure point, but all overseas travelers must have an approved Health Visa. They must also present a negative COVID-19 test result no more than 10 days old, says Prime Minister Hubert Minnis. In an additional step, national airline Bahamasair will cease all outgoing flights to the United States. story continues below The Bahamas had been free of COVID-19 cases for two months when it began accepting commercial airlines on July 1. Since then, it has seen dozens of new cases, per Travel and Leisure. "If we do not take these measures now, we will pay a higher and deadlier price later," says Minnis. He adds "while there are countries that continue to make progress, such progress can be reversed because of what is happening in neighboring and other countries." Even those who are permitted to enter will find many beaches and parks closed. CNN reports 50% of the Bahamas GDP comes from tourism, and most tourists to the country each year hail from the US. (Read more Bahamas stories.) A Delhi court Tuesday allowed 121 people from Kyrgyzstan and Indonesia to walk free on payment of different fines, after they accepted mild charges under the plea bargain process related to various violations including visa norms while attending Tablighi Jamaat event here during the COVID-19 lockdown. Metropolitan Magistrate Rajat Goyal allowed 98 Indonesians to walk free on payment of a fine of Rs 10,000 each, said advocate Ashima Mandla appearing for them. The court directed them to deposit the fine to PM CARES Fund. Metropolitan Magistrate Rohit Gullia allowed 23 foreign nationals from Kyrgyzstan to walk free on payment of a fine of Rs 5,000 each. Sub-divisional magistrate of Defence Colony, who was the complainant in the case, Assistant Commissioner of Police of Lajpat Nagar and Inspector of Nizamuddin said they have no objection to their plea bargain. However, two foreign nationals each from Kyrgyzstan and Indonesia did not plead guilty to the charges against them and claimed trial before the court. Under plea bargaining, the accused plead guilty to the offence praying for a lesser punishment. The Criminal Procedure of Code allows for plea bargaining in cases where the maximum punishment is 7-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. The foreigners were chargesheeted for attending the religious congregation at Nizamuddin Markaz event in the national capital by allegedly violating visa conditions, indulging in missionary activities illegally and violating government guidelines, issued in the wake of Covid-19 outbreak in the country. They were granted bail earlier by the court on a personal bond of Rs 10,000 each. DEAR ABBY: I have come into contact with my first and forever love again after 30 years. We have had a few encounters throughout the years. When they happened, we fell right back into our comfort zone. We both have current relationships with others that are not satisfying. We have both had failed relationships as well. No relationship I have ever been in compares to the one I have with this man. Hes successful and buries himself in his work. Even though he never says it, I know in my heart he has hidden feelings toward me as well. This man has held my heart my entire life. I never stopped loving him. Do I finally tell him how I feel and risk possibly losing him forever, or should I remain silent and enjoy the encounters we have when they happen? -- WANTS IT ALL IN PENNSYLVANIA DEAR WANTS IT ALL: I think you should finally let this man know how you feel about him. If you do, it will either enable him to tell you he feels the same as you do, or stop you from fantasizing about a relationship that will never happen. If he is satisfied with the status quo, it doesnt necessarily mean these encounters will end, but at least you will know them for what they are. DEAR ABBY: My mother has no faith in me, mostly because I have a disability. Even though its not that bad, she still doesnt think I can do anything hard. Although Im almost 40, she still tells me what to do and criticizes me in any way she can, including my parenting. I cant spend a day with her without wanting to come home and take a bat to the walls. I have a lot of anger inside, and I dont trust her because she tends to tell her friends or family things I would rather were kept private. What can I do about this? -- IRRITATED IN ILLINOIS DEAR IRRITATED: If this is any comfort, I receive letters with the same complaint as yours from readers who dont have disabilities. If your children are healthy and doing well and your mothers criticisms are baseless, my advice is to tune your probably well-meaning but overbearing mother out. Because she discusses things you confide in her with others, quit telling her anything you dont want broadcast. Its easier than trying to muzzle her. You might also consider seeing your mother less often, which could save your walls and the wear and tear on the bat youre tempted to use after those encounters. DEAR ABBY: I would like to propose a new word for general use. Its wasband. Definition: male to whom I am no longer married. Reason: Ex seems a pejorative term. I didnt want to add that burden to the baggage our kids may have picked up. I have used it since the mid-1990s. I began to think of a new term when I was in a social situation with my wasband, his wife and mutual friends. I bumped into a colleague and wasnt quick enough to think of a polite term for my former husband, so I could only introduce him as the father of my children. I think wasband is a less awkward term. What do you think, Abby? -- LOVER OF LANGUAGE IN WASHINGTON DEAR L.O.L.: I think it is clever. The term is listed in the Urban Dictionary, and because you started using it so early shows you are one smart cookie. Dear Abby is written by Abigail Van Buren, also known as Jeanne Phillips, and was founded by her mother, Pauline Phillips. Contact Dear Abby at www.DearAbby.com or P.O. Box 69440, Los Angeles, CA 90069. IndiGo, which had 23,531 employees on its rolls as of March 2019, said it was flying only a small percentage of full fleet of 250 airplanes IndiGo said it will cut 10% of its workforce as it grapples with declining revenues due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. (PTI Photo) BENGALURU: IndiGo, Indias biggest airline, said it will cut 10% of its workforce as it grapples with declining revenues due to the fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic. Airlines around the world have been hammered by a slump in travel demand due to restrictions aimed at containing the coronavirus outbreak, and few expect a quick recovery. IndiGo in June said it would cut up to 40 billion rupees ($533 million) in costs and speed up the return of older planes to leasing companies. These cost savings are clearly not enough to offset the decline in revenues, Ronojoy Dutta, chief executive of IndiGo, said in a statement. Impacted employees will get a severance pay and will be paid for the notice period as well, the company said. IndiGo, which had 23,531 employees on its rolls as of March 2019, said it was flying only a small percentage of its full fleet of 250 airplanes. Following coronavirus-related restrictions, India allowed airlines to resume flights in May on domestic routes only and at one-third capacity. The countrys aviation regulator earlier this month extended restrictions for international passenger services until July 31. Indian airlines have, however, been operating rescue flights to bring back stranded citizens living overseas and have so far flown back over 220,000 people from dozens of countries. Parent Interglobe Aviation (INGL.NS) reported a net loss of 8.73 billion rupees for the quarter ended March 31, including just over a week of Indias coronavirus lockdown. She is hoping to find long-lasting love on Channel Seven's reboot of the reality dating show, Farmer Wants A Wife, which is set to premiere this month. However, contestant Marnie - who is vying for the affection of farmer Nick - has admitted that she was originally supposed to be a bride on the hit show Married At First Sight. Speaking to Woman's Day, the 48-year-old explained: 'I thought I was confirmed for the show and I was preparing to get married.' Second time lucky? Farmer Wants A Wife contestant Marnie, 48, has admitted that she was originally supposed to be a bride on the hit show, Married At First Sight. Marnie revealed she was left disappointed after eventually 'getting an email saying that she didn't make it through to the next stage' on MAFS. While she will now be having a second crack at reality television thanks to Farmer Wants A Wife, Marnie has admitted that a former MAFS groom, Steve Burley, sent her a direct message on Instagram. However, Marnie noted: 'He's not my type, there's nothing going on.' Settling for second: After her first choice of reality show was rejected, Marnie has now found herself vying for the affection of farmer Nick [pictured] 'He's not my type!' Marnie has admitted that a former MAFS groom, Steve Burley, sent her a direct message on Instagram Meanwhile, the new dating series will reportedly be embroiled in a 'runaway farmer' scandal after one bachelor disappears. In a separate report from Woman's Day, farmer Jack Beaton went missing after filming of the show was temporarily put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. The sheep farmer, 27, was originally unveiled as one of the six eligible bachelors on the hunt to find love in November last year but has since been pulled by production. A Seven spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday: 'It's common practice for production to have back-up cast members for many reasons.' Scandal: Meanwhile, lSeven's Farmer Wants a Wife will be embroiled in a 'runaway farmer' scandal after one contestant disappeared while filming the new series [Pictured host Natalie Gruzlewski] Disappeared: According to Woman's Day, farmer Jack Beaton (pictured) went missing after filming the show was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic 'Farmer Wants A Wife has had back-up farmers since the first season. If farmer Jack's situation remains the same, then he will most definitely be considered when casting future seasons.' Farmer Wants A Wife first aired in 2007, and was originally on Channel Nine. It ran for eight seasons before it was cancelled, before being renewed in 2016 only to be axed again due to disappointing ratings. Interestingly, Australia's version of the show has resulted in nine marriages and also 19 babies. It's back! Seven are now 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. The show will be premiering this month. It has yet to be given an exact air date. NEW YORK and TEL AVIV, Israel, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Illusive Networks, the leader in deception-based cyber defense solutions, announced today that CRN, a brand of The Channel Company, has named Illusive to its 2020 Emerging Vendors list in the Security category. This annual list honors new, rising technology suppliers that exhibit great promise in shaping the future success of the channel with their dedication to innovation. The list recognizes channel-focused organizations across eight categories: Cloud, Data Center, Security, Big Data, Internet of Things (IoT), Storage, and Networking/Unified Communications. The Illusive Platform is designed to stop cyberattack movement by creating an environment that is hostile to attackers. With Illusive, organizations reduce their attack surface by finding and removing errant credentials, connections, and high-risk pathways to critical systems. Agentless technology then quickly deploys deceptive data creating the illusion of an expanded attack surface to detect attackers early in the attack process. Finally, Illusive provides analysis, active insights, and rapid access to precision forensic data that speeds response and shifts the odds in favor of defenders. CRN's Emerging Vendors recognizes pioneering technology suppliers in the IT channel that are driving innovation and growth. This list serves as a valuable resource for solution providers in search of the latest technologies. The Emerging Vendors list is selected by CRN's esteemed editorial team. These vendors are inspiring the IT channel with groundbreaking technologies and best-in-class offerings that are elevating businesses driving success with solutions built to battle the challenges of the IT channel. Ofer Israeli, CEO and founder, Illusive Networks, said: "Partners play a key role in helping our customers enjoy increased confidence defending against the increasing intensity and frequency of today's attacks. We're gratified to have our unique technology acknowledged and honored as a CRN Emerging Vendor." Blaine Raddon, CEO, The Channel Company, said: "CRN's 2020 Emerging Vendors list recognizes vendors that are revolutionizing the IT channel with innovative solutions that meet the complex demands of our industry. It honors inspirational new vendors that are driving channel growth with state-of-the-art technologies that will continue to shape the channel into the future." The 2020 Emerging Vendors list will be featured in the August 2020 issue of CRN Magazine and online at www.CRN.com/EmergingVendors. About Illusive Networks Illusive Networks uses next-generation deception technology to stop cyber-attacks by paralyzing attackers, destroying their ability to make decisions, and depriving them of the means to move sideways towards attack targets. Illusive's inescapable deception and attack surface reduction capabilities eliminate high-risk pathways to critical systems, force attackers to reveal themselves early in the threat lifecycle, and capture real-time forensics that accelerate incident response. Built on agentless, advanced automation, and requiring very little security team support, Illusive immediately shifts the advantage to defenders, freeing precious resources from the complicated and data-heavy approaches that overloaded them in the past. For more information, visit www.illusivenetworks.com , contact us at [email protected] or follow on LinkedIn , @Illusivenw on Twitter and Facebook . Media Contact: Corey Eldridge 831-440-2414 [email protected] SOURCE Illusive Networks Related Links http://www.illusivenetworks.com Since his ouster amid popular protests last year, Sudan's veteran leader Omar al-Bashir has been behind bars and become the Arab world's latest fallen strongman. For three decades, he had tenaciously held onto power, even after the 2011 Arab Spring revolts that toppled Hosni Mubarak of Egypt and Libyan leader Moamer Kadhafi. But Bashir's fate was sealed after his own military reacted to mounting popular anger against the regime and ousted him in April last year after months of street demonstrations. The 76-year-old, who had ruthlessly crushed dissent after his rise to power in a 1989 Islamist-backed coup, has since been held in Khartoum's Kober prison where many of his opponents were once detained. Already convicted of corruption, Bashir could now face the death penalty after going on trial Tuesday over the coup in which he grabbed power. The former leader has also been indicted by the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague over war crimes and genocide in the war-ravaged Darfur region of western Sudan. One of Africa's longest-serving presidents, Bashir showed many different faces during his 30 years at the helm. Known for his trademark dancing and waving of a cane before addressing loyalists, Bashir had remained defiant in the face of growing street protests before his overthrow. He long proved himself a political survivor, evading not only the ICC but also a myriad of domestic challenges, from economic misery to bloody internal conflicts. Darfur conflict Bashir was indicted by the ICC over the Darfur conflict that erupted in 2003 when ethnic minority rebels took up arms, accusing Khartoum of political and economic marginalisation of their region. The United Nations estimates 300,000 people were killed and 2.5 million displaced in the conflict. Human rights groups say Khartoum targeted suspected pro-rebel ethnic groups with a scorched earth policy, raping, killing, looting and burning villages. Bashir openly defied the ICC, travelling within Africa and further afield to countries including Russia and China and winning re-election in 2010 and 2015 in polls boycotted by opposition groups. The ex-president even flew to Damascus, just days before protests erupted at home, to meet Syria's President Bashar al-Assad. It was not until February that Sudan's transitional authorities who came to power months after his ouster agreed he be handed over to the ICC. Protests Bashir, who has two wives and no children, was born in 1944 in Hosh Bannaga, north of Khartoum, to a farming family. Bashir performs with his cane as he addresses a rally of his supporters in the capital Khartoum in January last year. By ASHRAF SHAZLY (AFP) He entered the military at a young age, rising through the ranks and joining an elite parachute regiment. He fought alongside the Egyptian army in the 1973 Arab-Israeli war. In 1989, as brigade commander, he led the bloodless coup orchestrated by Islamist scholar Hassan al-Turabi against the democratically-elected government then led by Sadiq al-Mahdi. A career soldier, Bashir was known for his populist touch, insisting on being close to crowds and addressing them in colloquial Sudanese Arabic. "Bashir became skilful over time. He learned the trade. At the beginning, he was not a prominent figure," Marc Lavergne, an Africa expert at the National Centre for Scientific Research in Paris, has said. He made several public appearances even as protests raged against him following his government's decision in December 2018 to triple bread prices, and as Sudan grappled with shortages of food, medicines and foreign currency. At a rally in January 2019, Bashir voiced his disdain for protesters, calling them "traitors", "conspirators" and "rats" that should "return to their holes". But the protests kept going until tens of thousands marched on April 6 to set up a sprawling encampment outside the army headquarters in Khartoum. Months of unrest and clashes with security forces left dozens dead, hundreds wounded and thousands jailed. Hosting bin Laden The deposed president sits in a defendant's cage during his corruption trial at a court in Khartoum in December last year. By - (AFP) Between 1992 and 1996, Bashir had led Sudan towards a more radical brand of Islam, hosting Al-Qaeda founder Osama bin Laden, and sending jihadist volunteers to fight in the country's civil war with the south Sudanese. Bin Laden was expelled under US pressure after Washington placed Sudan on its list of "state sponsors of terrorism". Under Bashir's rule, ethnically diverse Sudan saw the south gain its independence in 2011 after two decades of conflict between the Arab Muslim north and the mainly Christian or animist south. The secession -- under a peace deal that Bashir accepted -- saw the south take the bulk of Sudan's oil fields. As economic woes mounted, Bashir's cash-strapped administration broke ties with Shiite Iran in favour of its rival, Saudi Arabia. Khartoum provided troops to the Saudi-led coalition battling Iran-backed Shiite rebels in Yemen, in a move criticised by Bashir's opponents at home. In his trial last year, Bashir admitted to having received millions of dollars from Saudi royals, including the kingdom's de facto ruler, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. He insisted the funds "were not used for private interests but as donations" to support individuals and entities. Middle school teacher Brittany Myers (center) protests in front of the Hillsborough County Schools District Office on July 16, 2020 in Tampa, Florida. Octavio Jones/Getty Images Teachers, students, and parents across the US are overwhelmingly concerned about going back to packed classrooms this fall, with the novel coronavirus still on the loose. President Donald Trump has been bullish about reopening schools to in-person classes, even as experts warn that is a very risky move. But there are many things that could be done to make classes safer, including holding them outside, insisting on masks, and keeping a good distance between students. These moves are already being tried out in other places around the world. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Teachers, parents, and students across the US are worried about returning to packed classrooms this fall, as the coronavirus continues to spread rapidly across America. The nation's largest school district in New York City is already preparing for a "blended" system of in-classroom and at-home learning in the fall. In Los Angeles, where coronavirus cases are surging, the district will be online-only when school resumes this August. And in Florida, teachers are suing the state over its plan to reopen schools fully next month, even while coronavirus cases are still soaring there. "What we want to do is we want to get our schools open," President Donald Trump said on July 7. "We want to get them open quickly, beautifully in the fall." But disease experts in the federal government maintain that holding traditional, full-size, in-person classes where students are not spaced apart during the pandemic is a very risky move. Complicating matters further, roughly one in five teachers across the US is over the age of 55, making them at high risk for dangerous coronavirus complications, if they were to contract the virus at school. "I am urging all schools to open, and to be providing their students a full-time education," Education Secretary Betsy DeVos told CNN on July 12, echoing President Trump. "The go-to needs to be kids in school, in person, in the classroom." Story continues The truth, though, is that going back to school this fall does not have to be such an all-or-nothing, jam-packed indoor classrooms versus distance learning proposition. Here are just a few of the creative, and often low-cost ways that students and teachers around the world and through the ages have been holding classes, while keeping infectious diseases at bay: The virus does not spread well outdoors, and many schools around the world are already using that knowledge to their advantage. A teacher greets with the elbow a pupil during the 'Noi ci siamo' event organized to allow children to say goodbye on the last day of school in Turin, Italy, June 1, 2020. Nicolo Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images "Outdoors, there's infinite dilution ventilation," Dr. Don Milton, a virologist and environmental health professor at the University of Maryland, who studies how people catch and transmit viruses, previously told Business Insider. Crowded, stuffy places, like fully-packed classrooms and indoor bars can be great places for the coronavirus to spread. Schoolchildren social distanced at a school yard in Nicosia, Cyprus on May 21, 2020, on the first day schools re-opened following the easing of a coronavirus lockdown. Iakovos Hatzistavrou / AFP via Getty Images Keeping your distance, even when outside, helps avoid spreading the virus, as these kids in Cyprus seem to know. Primary schools in Italy are already experimenting with outdoor, socially distanced classes for kids. A teacher reads a book to kindergarteners in Turin, Italy, on May 26, 2020, as part of a pilot test to see how schools might reopen after the coronavirus lockdown. Nicolo Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images It's still unclear how well kids transmit the coronavirus to others. It's a lot like a strategy that was once successfully implemented in the US, to prevent the spread of tuberculosis in the early 1900s. Children do handicrafts on a roof during open-air schooling in New York City, circa 1912. Philipp Kester/ullstein bild via Getty Images Kids in chilly Chicago and New York avoided catching that respiratory pathogen by getting out into fresh, cold air, as the Chicago Tribune and New York Times recently reported. It's tougher for wayward coughs, shouts, and sneezes to spread infections through fresh air outside. Left: a pupil at an open-air school in Providence, Rhode Island, circa 1912. Right: Children bundled up inside an open-air classroom in New York City circa 1911. Universal Images Group, Philipp Kester/ullstein bild via Getty Images But open-air schools may definitely require some bundling up in the winter time, and overhead protection from rain or snow. Relatively few studies have attempted to answer the question of whether outdoor instruction is inherently better than learning inside. A pupil in Turin, Italy sanitizes her hands during the 'Noi ci siamo' event organized by an elementary school class on June 1, 2020 to allow children to say goodbye on the last day of school, respecting rules to contain the novel coronavirus. Nicolo Campo/LightRocket via Getty Images But scientists have long said that being out in greenery is good for our mood, even if researchers aren't sure, yet, if learning to do your math outside is really much different than multiplying numbers indoors. Outdoor, exploratory school days in Denmark, called udeskole, have shown some promise helping kids develop their own scientific inquiry skills, and (as a bonus) they keep students more physically active throughout the day. In Thailand, classrooms like this one appear to be hip to the idea that keeping the windows open to circulate fresh air is another smart antiviral move. Students observed social distancing in class at the Makkasan Phitthaya government secondary school in Bangkok, Thailand on July 1, 2020. Romeo Gacad/AFP via Getty Images Other good practices for virus control you can see at work in this classroom include having the desks spaced apart, and wearing masks. "It's not one thing; it's not just about the issue of masks, or it's not just about the issue of hand-washing ... It is a combination of measures," the World Health Organization recently said. Thai Monks wear face maks and face shields to protect themselves from the coronavirus during their Pali language course at Wat Molilokkayaramon April 17, 2020 in Bangkok, Thailand. Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images "We don't know what the perfect combination is of interventions," the WHO's executive director of health emergencies, Mike Ryan, said on Friday, "What we do know is if individuals and communities are very aware of those risks, very aware of the virus transmission in the area, if the authorities are taking action to ensure that people are safe, safe in schools, safe in restaurants, safe in buildings, and if all of that comes together in an organised and understandable way for communities in the main those countries, those areas, control this virus." In the Kashmir Valley, these students are practicing social distancing, wearing masks, and getting fresh air, all while learning some math. Mathematician Muneer Alam instructs students in an open-air class at the Eidgah ground in the wake of lockdown imposed against coronavirus on July 1, 2020 in Srinagar, India. Waseem Andrabi/Hindustan Times via Getty Images "I first tried teaching online," their teacher, Muneer Alam told The Indian Express. "But on 2G internet, it was near impossible." Masks are required attire in this outdoor class, and there's also a "no mingling" allowed policy. Students attend an open-air class in Srinagar city, the summer capital of Indian-controlled Kashmir, July 6, 2020. The socially-distanced classes begin at sunrise. Javed Dar/Xinhua via Getty Images Alam's teaching his math course on a pay-what-you-can scale amid the pandemic, when so many people are out of work. "Education is very important in a place like Kashmir," Alam said. "It's the only way to keep our youth away from depression, drugs, or violence." Read the original article on Business Insider If the adversarys unmanned aerial vehicle is in the zone of visibility detection of our device, striking it will no longer be a problem. This is what Chief of the Staff of Air Defense Units-Deputy Head of Department of the Armed Forces of Armenia, Colonel Garik Movsisyan told reporters today. During the Four-Day Artsakh War, we had a problem because such resources were being used for the first time in the history of Armenia, and there hadnt been good calculations. After the war, we drew conclusions, prepared the troops for this and improved efforts to detect any flying object that had a target. We have upgraded our systems and obtained new devices. If the unmanned aerial vehicle is in the zone of visibility detection of our device, and we lead intelligence in different ways, striking it wont be a problem anymore, he said, adding that the Hermes 900 UAV was struck as a result of right tactics. According to the Colonel, UAVs made in Armenia are no different from the ones made in Israel and are even more improved in terms of visibility. Greg Crum, Advisor at Engel & Volkers St. Augustine Our real estate advisors are highly trained, dedicated to their profession and truly understand our clients special needs in the high-end real estate market. I am confident that Greg will feel perfectly at home in our shop and will push us to even greater success. Engel & Volkers St. Augustine today announced Greg Crum has joined its shop as a real estate advisor dedicated to serving the specialized, residential property needs within the greater St. Augustine area. Greg makes a wonderful addition to our talented team, said Jenn Bryndal, License Partner of Engel & Volkers St. Augustine. Our real estate advisors are highly trained, dedicated to their profession and truly understand our clients special needs in the high-end real estate market. I am confident that Greg will feel perfectly at home in our shop and will push us to even greater success. Crum comes to Engel & Volkers St. Augustine from Watson Realty St. Augustine Beach, where he was ranked as the #1 Broker Associate in the Northeast Region for the company. Following a nine-year career with FedEx, as an operations and quality assurance manager, he made the switch to the real estate industry where he has been tremendously successful. During his 14 year career, Crum has consistently closed over $20-million in transactions a year. His specialties include waterfront, single and multi-family homes, condominiums and vacant land throughout St. Augustine. Crum has regularly been honored among the Top 3 Best Realtors by the St. Augustine Record, ranked as the #1 Top Producer for St. Johns County three of the past four years, is a multi-year recipient of the Five Star Award for customer service and is a Certified Luxury Home Specialist. Not every real estate agent is the best fit for our shops, explained Peter Giese, Chief Growth Officer of Engel & Volkers Florida. Engel & Volkers has high expectations of its real estate advisors to participate in continuous training and to work toward a very high standard of service that isnt often found in real estate here in the Americas. Greg clearly can handle that challenge and will deliver outstanding results to his clients. Bryndal obtained the license rights to Engel & Volkers St. Augustine in July of 2019 and most recently Engel & Volkers Palm Coast. She is currently building out the new shop, which is located at 6401 A1A S. and plans to open in August. A grand opening event is tentatively planned for late 2020. ### Press contact: Linzee Werkmeister, Director, Public Relations & Franchise Support Email: Linzee.Werkmeister(at)evrealestate.com Tel: (239) 348-9000 About Engel & Volkers: Engel & Volkers is a global luxury real estate brand. Founded in Hamburg, Germany in 1977, Engel & Volkers draws on its rich European history to deliver a fresh approach to luxury real estate in the Americas with a focus on creating a bespoke, white-glove concierge client experience at every stage of the home buying or selling process for todays savvy homeowner. Engel & Volkers currently operates approximately 175 shop locations with more than 4,000 real estate advisors in the Americas, contributing to the brands global network of over 12,000 real estate professionals in more than 30 countries, offering both private and institutional clients a professionally tailored range of luxury services, including real estate, yachting and aviation. Committed to exceptional service, Engel & Volkers supports its advisors with an array of premium quality business services; marketing programs and platforms; as well as access to its global network of real estate professionals, property listings and market data. Each brokerage is independently owned and operated. For more information, visit evrealestate.com. About Engel & Volkers Florida: Engel & Volkers Florida is the Master License Partner of the global luxury real estate brand Engel & Volkers in the state of Florida. Recognized for uniquely recruiting, training and equipping some of the top professionals in the real estate industry, Engel & Volkers Floridas exclusive franchise model positions its license partners at the top of the premium market to gain market share and support their bottom line. The company represents franchise locations in: 30A Beaches, Belleair, Boca Raton, Bonita Springs-Estero, Cape Coral, Clermont, Delray Beach, Destin, Fort Lauderdale, Fort Myers Downtown, Gainesville, Islamorada, Jacksonville, Jacksonville Beach, Jupiter, Leesburg, Madeira Beach, Marco Island, Melbourne Beachside, Melbourne Central, Melbourne Downtown, Miami Coconut Grove, Olde Naples, Orlando Downtown, Orlando-Winter Park, Palm Beach, Palm Coast, St. Augustine, St. Pete, Stuart, Wellington, and Windermere. Engel & Volkers Florida is continuing to strategically strengthen and expand its presence in premium real estate markets across the state of Florida. If you would like to know more about the Engel & Volkers brand or how to join its global network, which is known for demonstrating competence, exclusivity and passion, feel free to call our corporate office, located at 633 Tamiami Trl N, Suite 201, Naples, FL 34102 USA. Tel: +1 239-348-9000. For more information about Engel & Volkers Florida, please visit florida.evrealestate.com A paper by Kazan Federal University appeared in early access in Carbon. Project lead Ayrat Dimiev has been working on this topic since 2012, when he was a part of Professor James Tour's group at Rice University. First results saw light in 2014. That paper, which has amassed 490 citations at this moment, dealt with the mechanism of turning graphite into graphene oxide (GO). Dr. Dimiev later transferred to the private sector and resumed his inquiries in 2017, after returning to Kazan Federal University and opening the Advanced Carbon Nanomaterials Lab. The experimental part of this new publication was conducted by Dr. Ksenia Shukhina and Dr. Artur Khannanov. Natural graphite, used as the precursor for graphene oxide production, is a highly ordered crystalline inorganic material, which is believed to be formed by decay of organic matter. It is extremely thermodynamically stable and resistant to be converted to the organic-like metastable graphite oxide. On this route, it goes through several transformations, resulting in respective intermediate products. The first intermediate product is graphite intercalation compound (GIC). GICs have been intensively studied in the second half of the 20th century. In recent years they gained renewed interest due to the discovery of graphene and related materials. The second step of the complex reaction, i.e. the conversion of GIC to pristine graphite oxide, remained mysterious. The most interesting question was about the nature of species attacking carbon atoms to form covalent C-O bonds. For many years, it was conventionally assumed that the attacking species are the manganese derivatives like Mn2O7 or MnO3+. In this study, the authors unambiguously demonstrated that the manganese derivatives do not even penetrate graphite galleries; they only withdraw electron density from graphene, but the actual species attacking carbon atoms are water molecules. Thus, reaction cannot proceed in fully anhydrous conditions, and speeds up in presence of small quantities of water. Another new finding, registered by Ksenia Shukhina for the first time, was the imaginary reversibility of the C-O bond formation, as long as the graphite sample remains intercalated with sulfuric acid. The as-formed C-O bonds can be easily cleaved by the laser irradiation, converting GO back to stage-1 GIC in the irradiated areas of the graphite flake. After careful analysis, this "reversibility" was interpreted by the authors as the mobility of the C-O bonds, i.e. the bonds do not cleave, but freely migrate along the graphene plane for micron-scale distances. The discovered phenomena and proposed reaction mechanism provide rationale for a range of the well-known but yet poorly understood experimental observations in the graphene chemistry. Among them is the existence of the oxidized and graphenic domains in the GO structure. The results of this fundamental study give a comprehensive view on the driving forces of the complex processes occurring during the transformation of graphite into graphene oxide. This is the first time such a multifaceted description of a dynamic system has been made, and this is the result not only of newly obtained experimental data, but also of many years of reflection on the issue by the project lead. Understanding these processes will finally let one to control this reaction and get products with desired properties. This applies not only to the final product of graphene oxide, but also to the entire family of materials obtained by exposing graphite to acidic oxidizing mixtures: expanded graphite, graphene nano-platelets containing from 3 to 50 graphene sheets, graphite intercalates, and doped graphene. As for graphene oxide itself, its successful use has already been repeatedly demonstrated in such areas as composite materials, selective membranes, catalysis, lithium-ion batteries, etc. However, the use of graphene oxide is hampered by the high cost of its production and the lack of control over the properties of the synthesized product. The published research addresses both of these problems. Currently, work is ongoing to study the interaction of graphene oxide with metals. The researchers are firmly convinced that this process is based not just on electrostatic attraction, or on non-specific adsorption, as it is commonly believed, but on a chemical interaction with bond formation through the coordination mechanism. The objective now is to describe the complex reaction mechanism of the rearrangements, leading to the metal bonding in the dynamic structure of graphene oxide. NEW YORK - Not only can President Donald Trump's niece Mary sell books, she can draw a crowd on television. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - MSNBC television anchor Rachel Maddow, host of the Rachel Maddow Show, moderates THE "Perspectives on National Security" panel on Oct. 16, 2017, in Cambridge, Mass. Maddow and Mary Trump, President Donald Trump's niece, make a formidable TV combination. Her one-hour interview with Rachel Maddow last Thursday reached 5.2 million people, the biggest audience ever for one of Maddow's shows and largest ever for a regularly-scheduled show on MSNBC, the Nielsen company said. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File) NEW YORK - Not only can President Donald Trump's niece Mary sell books, she can draw a crowd on television. Her one-hour interview with Rachel Maddow last Thursday reached 5.2 million people, the biggest audience ever for one of Maddow's shows and largest ever for a regularly-scheduled show on MSNBC, the Nielsen company said. That's not bad for July, when television audiences are generally the smallest of the year. Mary Trump's book, Too Much and Never Enough: How My Family Created the World's Most Dangerous Man, approached 1 million units sold on pre-orders alone. First-week sales figures are due later this week. Mary Trump also drew a crowd to CNN on Friday, where she was interviewed by Chris Cuomo during the 8 and 9 p.m. Eastern hours, though not to the level as Maddow's audience. Cuomo's first-hour audience of 2.19 million was up 28% from the year's average, while the second hour's 2.66 million was up 39%, Nielsen said. CBS won the week in prime time, averaging 3.2 million viewers. NBC had 3 million, ABC had 2.8 million, Univision had 1.4 million, Fox had 1.3 million, ION Television reached 1.1 million and Telemundo had 820,000. Fox News Channel led the cable networks with an average of 2.94 million viewers in prime time. MSNBC was second with 2.03 million, CNN had 1.59 million, HGTV had 1.29 million and TLC had 1.26 million. ABC's World News Tonight led the evening news networks with an average of 8.9 million viewers. NBC's Nightly News had 7.6 million and the CBS Evening News had 5.2 million. For the week of July 13-19, the top 20 shows in prime time, their networks and viewership: 1. America's Got Talent, NBC, 7.63 million. 2. The Rachel Maddow Show (Thursday), MSNBC, 5.24 million. 3. NCIS, CBS, 5.04 million. 4. 60 Minutes, CBS, 4.96 million. 5. FBI, CBS, 4.42 million. 6. America's Funniest Home Videos, ABC, 4.26 million. 7. United We Fall, ABC, 4.24 million. 8. Young Sheldon, CBS, 4.08 million. 9. Celebrity Family Feud, ABC, 4.03 million. 10. Tucker Carlson Tonight (Monday), Fox News, 4 million. 11. Hannity (Monday), Fox News, 3.99 million. 12. FBI: Most Wanted, CBS, 3.97 million. 13. Hannity (Tuesday), Fox News, 3.843 million. 14. Hannity (Thursday), Fox News, 3.835 million. 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. 15. Tucker Carlson Tonight (Tuesday), 3.81 million. 16. World of Dance, NBC, 3.76 million. 17. Blue Bloods, CBS, 3.753 million. 18. Titan Games, NBC, 3.752 million. 19. Hannity (Wednesday), Fox News, 3.74 million. 20. "Magnum, P.I., CBS, 3.738 million. Channel Seven's reboot of reality dating show Farmer Wants A Wife is set to premiere this month following a four-year hiatus. But the new dating series will reportedly be embroiled in a 'runaway farmer' scandal after one bachelor disappears. According to Woman's Day, farmer Jack Beaton went missing after filming of the show was temporarily put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic. Scandal: Seven's Farmer Wants a Wife will be embroiled in a 'runaway farmer' scandal after one contestant disappeared while filming the new series. Pictured host Natalie Gruzlewski The sheep farmer, 27, was originally unveiled as one of the six eligible bachelors on the hunt to find love in November last year but has since been pulled by production. A Seven spokesperson told Daily Mail Australia on Tuesday: 'It's common practice for production to have back-up cast members for many reasons.' 'Farmer Wants A Wife has had back-up farmers since the first season. If farmer Jack's situation remains the same, then he will most definitely be considered when casting future seasons.' Disappeared: According to Woman's Day, farmer Jack Beaton (pictured) went missing after filming the show was put on hold due to the coronavirus pandemic Farmer Wants A Wife first aired in 2007, and was originally on Channel Nine. It ran for eight seasons before it was cancelled, before being renewed in 2016 only to be axed again due to disappointing ratings. Interestingly, Australia's version of the show has resulted in nine marriages and also 19 babies. It's back! Seven are now 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. The show will be premiering this month. It has yet to be given an exact air date. It's also expected to include at least $105 billion for education, with $70 billion to help K-12 schools reopen, $30 billion for colleges and $5 billion for governors to allocate. The Trump administration wanted school money linked to reopenings, but in McConnell's package the money for K-12 would be split 50-50 between those that have in-person learning and those that do not. Two men in their early sixties died due to Covid-19 in Patiala and Jalandhar, while a woman patient breathed her last at DMC Hospital in Ludhiana on Tuesday. The state recorded 379 new cases on Tuesday, taking the patient tally to 10,889. The death count due to coronavirus has gone up to 265. A 62-year-old Covid-19 positive man, who was diabetic, died in Patiala, while the virus took the life of a 61-year-old man at a private hospital in Jalandhar. Among the fresh cases, 46 infections were recorded in Patiala, 39 in Jalandhar, 34 each in Ludhiana and Amritsar and 23 in Mohali. With 39 fresh Covid-19 cases, Jalandhar districts tally has gone up to 1,729. Health officials said 23 patients were contacts of positive patients while 16 were new cases. Meanwhile, a 37-year-old man tested positive of the novel coronavirus in Kapurthala district. In Ludhiana district, 34 infections were detected on Tuesday, while a 53-year-old woman of Kartar Nagar died while undergoing treatment at DMC Hospital on Tuesday. Out of the fresh cases reported on Tuesday, 28 belong to Ludhiana while the rest are from other districts. With this, the total number of positive patients belonging to the district has gone up to 1,946, out of which 49 have died. There are 585 active cases in the district. Among the fresh cases, eight are relatives of Congress councillor who tested positive on July 16. Also, four MC sanitation workers too were found infected. 16 BSF personnel among 34 patients in Amritsar Thirty-four more people from Amritsar, including 16 personnel of Border Security Force (BSF), tested positive for Covid-19 on Tuesday, health officials said. Amritsar civil surgeon Dr Navdeep Singh said, Among these, 15 are fresh community transmission cases and most of them are symptomatic. The other 19 patients are the close contacts of the Covid-19 patients. Also, three residents of Gurdaspur district also tested positive for the virus. 2 cops among 23 infected in Mohali In Mohali, two policemen from Gharuan police post were among the 23 new Covid-19 cases confirmed on Tuesday, taking the district count to 574. The two male constables are aged 46 and 47. On Sunday, three cops had tested positive from the same police post. Mohali civil surgeon Dr Manjit Singh said most of the cases were contacts of already positive patients. All patients have been admitted to Gian Sagar Hospital in Banur. Most of them are asymptomatic, he added. Ten people tested positive for coronavirus in Bathinda on Tuesday. Civility is perhaps the least one can expect from civil servants. But in India, sexism seems to trump common sense. The past two days have been vile for women across professions. On one hand, actress Swara Bhasker was abused and slut-shamed to the world's end for an old and unflattering video of a wardrobe malfunction. On the other, IAS officer Tina Dabi received casteist slurs after being appointed an honorary adviser for BRICS Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) Young Leaders. Though highly accomplished in their own fields, neither of them are strangers to online abuse and threats on Indian social media. Bhasker has been faced and vociferously fought right-wing trolls on the internet for nearly four years now. Her support for former student leader Kanhaiya Kumar during the Lok Sabha elections 2019 and vocal criticism of fascism and bigotry as well as the government coupled with her no-nonsense attitude toward sexism have made her an easy target for trolls. The fact that she does not shy away from owning her own skin on and off-screen ignites sexist trolls into a frenzy but also provides them with further fuel. But what about Tina Dabi? The 2015 batch IAS topper did not appear in racy scenes on screen. Neither has she lent her explicit support to a political faction. In fact, Dabi was recently dubbed a "corona warrior" for the "Bhilwada model" of containment which the officer implemented to contain the spread of coronavirus in one of India's first hotspots in Rajasthan's Bhilwara district. Unimpressed right-wing and casteist trolls, however, don't fail to find faults, especially with women. Dabi's Dalit identity was instantly attributed to her success. Trolls claimed that she was the daughter of IAS officers and thus received an unfair advantage. Others used Dabi's success to besmirch caste-based reservation. The last straw seems to have been her 2016 wedding to IAS officer Athar Aamir-ul Shafi Khan from her batch and second in rank after her. The criticism of her personal decision to marry her long-time beau was such that the Hindu Mahasabha even wrote a letter to Dabi's parents, warning them of love jihad and imploring them to stop the wedding. What was disturbing about the latest case of trolling was the fact that many who were themselves civil servants indulged in cheap sexism on Twitter. Deputy Commissioner of the Indian Revenue Services.. civils ???? @IRSAssociation some of your officers need some gender sensitisation and general decency training I think! pic.twitter.com/97GSNzNhAq Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) July 20, 2020 Calling all IAS officers, esp women. Im sorry that you have to work alongside this misogynist creep. And these are the guys who will probably be in charge of implementing pro-women policies? This isnt about the acting talent of anyone, its about demeaning a woman. https://t.co/uwWAIGZSBM Vasundhara Sirnate (@vsirnate) July 20, 2020 The first tweet was made by a Twitter user who claims to be a Deputy Commissioner of the Indian Revenue Services. The second was also made a civil servant Sanjay Dixit. The crass language used in both ought to get both of their accounts banned. But expecting Twitter to do the right thing and hold online abusers of women accountable is a ship that sailed long ago. Incidentally (and unsurprisingly) not many male civil servants have come out in support of their colleague Dabi who has been on the reiving end of inane casteism despite achieving an important accolade. I have a question for all of u. Would you like to get treated by a doctor, who topped in his ug pg entrance exam like tina dabi, rank 1 in reserved category, by lesser hardwork compared to a general cat doctor who ranked 200 but scored higher marks than her? Ankit Mishra (@drankit007) July 20, 2020 But in a country where male civil servants are lauded for rampant displays of sexism against an actress while a woman IAS officer is trolled for her choice of husband and her caste, what is a safe space for women? And which of the women are safe? This is not just a case of online abuse. Last week, a civil court in Araria, Bihar, sentenced a rape survivor to prison for contempt of court. She had allegedly raised her voice while recording her statement in front of the magistrate and demanded that an activist be present with her while she records her statement. Such arbitrary verdicts reek of misogyny and reflect not only the state of gender equality in India but the psyche of lawmakers and those in charge of upholding and implementing them. Politicians and lawmakers need to start taking matters like "Women's safety" seriously and not just a poll SOPS. But what about the servants of the government that are entrusted with ensuring public safety? Perhaps the civil servants need to remember that civility is part of their job profile which is aimed at serving the public which includes women like Swara Bhasker and Tina Dabi. The alleged gunmen who killed the son of Esther Salas, the judge recently assigned to the Epstein-Deutsche Bank case, worked for a company of corporate spies and mercenaries with ties to intelligence and also to Deutsche Bank. The news of the shooting of the husband and son of Esther Salas, the judge recently assigned to oversee the Jeffrey Epstein Deutsche Bank case, caused shock and confusion while also bringing renewed scrutiny to the Epstein scandal just a week after Epsteins main co-conspirator, Ghislaine Maxwell, was denied bail in a separate case. The case Salas is set to oversee is a class action lawsuit brought by Deutsche Bank investors who allege that Deutsche Bank failed to properly monitor customers that the Bank itself deemed to be high risk, including, among others, the convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. The case came after the New York state Department of Financial Services had settled with Deutsche Bank over the banks failure to cut ties with Epstein-linked accounts, resulting in Deutsche Bank paying a $150 million fine . Deutsche Bank, unlike other financial institutions, failed to close all of its accounts linked to Epstein until less than a month prior to his arrest last year, even though the bank had identified him as high risk yearsbefore. Beyond the tragedy of Sundays shooting, which claimed the life of Salas only child, the quick discovery of the death of the main suspect , Roy Den Hollander, of a self-inflicted gunshot to the head before he could be arrested or questioned by authorities has led to speculation that there is more to the official narrative of the crime than meets the eye. With law enforcement sources now claiming that Esther Salas was not the intended target of the attack and some media reports now suggesting that Den Hollanders motive was related to his dislike of feminism, it appears there are efforts underway to distance Sundays tragic shooting from Salas recent assignment to the Epstein case, which occurred just four days before the tragic shooting. The most likely reason for any such damage control effort lies in the fact that both U.S. law enforcement investigations and mainstream media reports have consistently downplayed the connections of Jeffrey Epsteins sexual trafficking and financial crimes to intelligence agencies in the U.S. and Israel. Similarly, Roy Den Hollander previously worked for a New York firm has been described as a private CIA with ties to those countries intelligence agencies and, also, ties to Deutsche Bank. A Private CIA According to his website, Den Hollander once worked for Kroll Associates Moscow Office, where he managed and upgraded Krolls delivery of intelligence and security in the former Soviet Union from 1999 to 2000. A few years prior, Kroll had won a considerable bid from the Russian government to locate money allegedly spirited out of the country by the directors of state enterprises when they realized that privatization was inevitable. The Kroll executives in charge of the Russian portfolio prior to Den Hollander were E. Norbett Garrett, a former CIA station chief in Cairo and Kuwait, and Joseph Rosetti, former chief of security for IBM. During that period and prior to his hiring at Kroll, Den Hollender worked as a lawyer in Russia regarding legal and business issues, including international financing and marketing and married a Russian woman he met during his time there that he subsequently claimed was part of the Russian mafia. Founded by Jules Kroll in 1972, Kroll Associates would later become known as the CIA of Wall Street and Wall Streets Private Eye and was alleged to be an actual front for the CIA by French intelligence agencies, according to the Washington Post . Part of the reason for this nickname, which was once a boasting point for top Kroll executives, owes to the fact that the firm frequently hired former CIA and FBI officers, as well as former members of MI6 and Mossad. K2 Intelligence, the successor to Kroll Associates founded by Jules Kroll and his son Jeremy in 2009, has similar hiring practices , counting former FBI and NSA officials among its ranks alongside former high-ranking members of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) and Shin Bet, Israels domestic intelligence agency. Kroll also boasted ties to the Bush family, with Jonathan Bush (George Bush Sr.s brother) serving on its corporate advisory board , and Kroll was also employed by Bill Clintons first presidential campaign. Though it is mainly involved in corporate security and investigations, Kroll has also frequently investigated targets of Washington foreign policy, including Saddam Hussein, and was also the company tapped to reorganize Enron in 2002. Kroll Associates also has long been a subject of scrutiny for those that question the official narrative on the attacks of September 11, 2001, given that the company was put in charge of security for the World Trade Center complex from 1993 bombing up through the 2001 attacks and has no shortage of ties to companies and individuals that profited from the attacks. Kroll itself experienced a surge in business following the events of 9/11, a day when its top executives all avoided going to work despite ostensibly providing security for the complex. Kroll Security International. Its A similar surge in business for Kroll followed the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq after the companys investigations into Saddam Husseins and the Bath Partys finances had been used as partial justification for the military incursion. Kroll became a major provider of mercenaries along with companies like Blackwater and DynCorp to the U.S. invasion and subsequent occupation through its subsidiaryKroll Security International. Its clients included the United States Agency for International Development (USAID), which has long fronted for the CIA, and also provided mercenaries for the war in Afghanistan. Kroll executives over the years have commented to the press on their reputation as a private CIA and have also noted the advantages of being a private as opposed to public intelligence agency. For instance, E. Norbett Garrett, the former CIA official turned Kroll executive, told The New Yorker in 2009 the following: Garrett explained the disparity between what Kroll could do and what the C.I.A. could in a place like Sudan. They have to rely on public and covert sources, he said. But we can go straight to Salah Idris. Hes our client, after all. We can go straight to his friends. We can be manipulated, of course, shown incomplete information, and sometimes we have to walk away from a case if we dont trust somebody. But we definitely have some advantages. Kroll Associates and the Epstein Network Aside from Kroll Associates own role as a private intelligence firm, it is also worth pointing out that Jules Kroll had an odd meeting with Robert Maxwell, Ghislaine Maxwells father, shortly before his death, alleged by most Maxwell biographers and his family to have been a homicide. Roughly two weeks before his death, Kroll met with Maxwell at New Yorks Helmsley Palace Hotel. According to a 1992 article in Vanity Fair , Maxwell had ushered Kroll and two other men out onto the patio so that their conversation could not be overheard or bugged, with Maxwell allegedly seeking to hire Kroll to uncover people out to get him, to destroy his empire, to cripple him financially, and to destroy his life and business in any way they could. The article further notes that the meeting broke up with Maxwells promising that he would send Kroll what he called a memorandum of suspicions and unexplained events. Maxwell was working on this compendium, said the [anonymous] participant [in the meeting], when he met his death. Kroll Associates was never formally hired. Much more recently Kroll came under scrutiny after being hired by disgraced media mogul Harvey Weinstein alongside the private Mossad for hire firm Black Cube. Weinstein had been instructed to hire Black Cube by Ehud Barak, the former Israeli military intelligence head and Israeli Prime Minister with close ties to Jeffrey Epstein and a frequent visitor of Epsteins residences. Weinstein hired Kroll to harass and cyberstalk women who had accused him of sexual assault. Weinstein was a one-time business partner of Jeffrey Epsteins and the testimony of Epstein victim Maria Farmer strongly implies that Ghislaine Maxwell and Epstein shared women, and potentially underage girls, with the film producer. The Daily Beast later reported that Epstein had used his ties to Weinstein to impress and recruit potential victims and at least one of those victims landed a role in a film produced by a Weinstein-owned company due to Epsteins ties to Weinstein. In addition, Krolls long-time executive Vice President for Operations, James Bucknam, was previously chief adviser to former FBI director Louis Freeh and is now CEO of the Freeh Group. Freeh has since become notorious for having been hired by Epstein associate, lawyer Alan Dershowitz, to investigate the Epstein scandal, and was also involved in the cover-up of the Penn State child molestation and abuse scandal. Freeh was also director of the FBI when the Bureau declined to investigate accusations regarding Leslie Wexner, Ghislaine Maxwell and Jeffrey Epstein and their involvement in the sex trafficking of minors, first reported to the FBI in 1996 by Maria Farmer. The Kroll Deutsche Bank Revolving Door After retiring from Kroll associates, Jules Kroll created a credit-rating agency, a field he had called just years earlier a heck of a racket. Named the Kroll Bond Rating Agency (KBRA), the firm was envisioned by Kroll as a credit-rating agency on steroids, but has failed to make a dent in the market shares of the so-called Big Three credit-rating agencies: Standard & Poors, Moodys Investors Service, and Fitch Ratings. Though it hasnt managed to become a dominant force in credit ratings, KBRA has managed to be profitable and to have produced something of a revolving door between its senior management and Deutsche Bank executives. For instance, KBRAs top executive in Europe, Mauricio Noe, had previously been a Managing Director of Deutsche Banks London branch. In another example, Vice President for Credit Structuring at Deutsche Bank in New York, Ian Ross, was previously employed by KBRA and Yee Cent Wong, managing director of KBRA for CMBS, was previously Vice President of the Credit Solutions Group at Deutsche Bank Securities. Another managing director of KBRA, Bill Baneky , had previously served as Deutsche Banks Vice President and National Relationship Manager. One of KBRAs senior managing directors, Rosemary Kelley, is also a former Deutsche Bank Vice President , while another, Ken Kockenmeister , was Deutsche Banks Director for Large Loan Securitization and Underwriting. doing the right thing which is to provide support for the bank and diffuse the situation or does she want to be remembered for standing by when one of the largest banks in Europe failed? While they may not be the biggest credit-rating agency, KBRA analysts and executives frequently speak to media outlets where they comment on the state of various businesses, Deutsche Bank among them. Given the amount of overlap between Deutsche Bank and KBRA, it is unsurprising that KBRA has lobbied in the press on Deutsches behalf. For instance, KBRA analyst Christopher Whalen told Business Insider in 2016 that The problem with Deutsche Bank may be the end of Merkels career, adding that The question is does she want to be remembered for or does she want to be remembered for standing by when one of the largest banks in Europe failed? Jeffrey Epsteins Links to Deutsche Bank Jeffrey Epsteins ties to Deutsche Bank go back decades, and potentially earlier. After working for Bear Stearns earlier in his career and then as a so-called financial bounty hunter with ties to intelligence-linked arms dealers and Wall Street, Epstein set up a Ponzi scheme with Steve Hoffenberg called Tower Financial, which collapsed in 1993 and subsequently landed Hoffenberg 20 years in prison. Epsteins name, despite being a clear co-conspiractor, was suspiciously dropped from the case during the trial. Hoffenberg subsequently alleged that Epstein used his ill-gotten gains from Tower Financial alongside a series of suspect loans from Deutsche Bank to create his investment company. His lead bank is Deutsche Bank, Germany, that runs the lead on his financial trust company. They run the platform in the trading of the currencies for Epstein and with Epstein. Hes never disclosed to the investors that provide the money to Deutsche Bank his true legacy, thats securities fraud. Following that point, Epsteins financial activities, aside from his Deutsche Bank-enabled investment vehicle, were publicly conducted through Bear Stearns (until its 2008 collapse) and J.P. Morgan. When J.P. Morgan dropped Epstein as a client, he again turned to Deutsche Bank in 2013, becoming a client of the banks private wealth division in New York. Anti-money laundering compliance officers at the banks branches in New York and Florida subsequently flagged Epsteins accounts in 2015, in 2016 and again in 2019, creating suspicious activity reports regarding the movements of large amounts of funds tied to Epstein-linked accounts outside of the U.S. Ties that Bind The narrative emerging that Den Hollander was motivated to kill Esther Salas husband and sons due to his hatred of feminism is a rapid attempt to explain away a story that clearly warrants further investigation, albeit into avenues that mainstream media and powerful individuals in the public and private sectors prefer remain untouched. As the heinous act targeting the Salas family has shown, individuals with a lot to lose are willing to go to the farthest extremes to keep the ties of Epstein to the financial sector and to intelligence out of sight and out of mind. Indeed, just last December, Epsteins personal banker at Deutsche Bank, Thomas Bowers, the chief of Deutsche Banks Private Wealth Management division in New York from 2012 to 2015, was found dead in his home. His death was quickly ruled a suicide by hanging. Bowers had also signed off on unorthodox loans , not just for Epstein, but Donald Trump, who has his own ties to the Epstein scandal. While some have been quick to point out that Trump (as well as his son-in-law Jared Kushner) could stand to lose from potential revelations in the Epstein-Deutsche Bank trial, there are other key power-brokers tied to both Epstein and Deutsche Bank who could also be feeling the heat. For instance, Lynn Forester de Rothschild, who became close to Epstein in the early 1990s and subsequently connected him to the Clinton White House and later to Alan Dershowitz , is intimately involved in the Deutsche Bank Microfinance Consortium. Aside from Epsteins use of the money, Deutsche Bank has been notorious for years as a cesspool of money laundering for organized crime networks, paying $14.5 billion in fines in just seven years for official action taken against the bank by several governments. It is highly likely that the brutality of what happened outside the Salas family home on Sunday is more related to Deutsche Bank than Epstein, as numerous powerful individuals have ties to the embattled bank. Even the recent move by Attorney General William Barr to remove SDNY District Attorney Geoffrey Berman from his post appears to be more related to Bermans efforts to investigate Deutsche Bank than the Epstein scandal, as some have alleged. This is because Barrs new pick for Bermans old job counts Deutsche Bank among his former clients and notably defended the bank in a recent anti-money laundering probe, whereas Berman was investigating the bank (albeit for political reasons that took aim at the banks dealings with Trump). While Epsteins egregious and criminal actions targeting minors have now become public knowledge, in role in facilitating white collar crime, money laundering and financial frauds on behalf of corporations, governments and oligarchs remains sorely under-covered, despite his role in such activities preceding and continuing after his involvement in an intelligence-linked sexual blackmail operation. It arguably remains one of the key components of the Epstein scandal, yet the most poorly understood and most under-investigated. If anything, the tragic events at the Salas family home on Sunday, and what appears to be a rapid yet shoddy cover-up of the shooters ties to Kroll Associates and actual motives, reveal that Epsteins financial ties are more frightening to certain powerful individuals and institutions than his trove of sexual blackmail. BRISTOL, Tenn. Part of West State Street in Bristol, Tennessee was closed to traffic Tuesday as officials responded to a natural gas leak outside the construction area for a Holiday Inn hotel near downtown. The leak was first reported around 10:40 a.m. after workers with Bristol Tennessee Essential Services hit a gas line, according to Tommy Castle, assistant chief of operations for Bristol Tennessee Fire Rescue. No injuries were reported, and Atmos Energy also responded to the scene. Leading up to the incident, BTES crews had been working to relocate a streetlight in conjunction with the hotel project. While crews were digging with substantial clearance from the located utility lines and in an area that had no markings showing underground facilities were in that location, BTES hit a gas line, the utility said in a statement. After hitting the line, BTES contacted the gas company and the proper authorities. Brannon Taylor, a spokesperson for Atmos Energy, said one of the companys smaller lines had been damaged, and they shut off gas in the area as crews responded to make repairs. Our first priority is the safety of the community and our employees, and we appreciate the patience and understanding of everyone affected, Taylor said. West State Street between Volunteer Parkway and Bob Morrison Boulevard was temporarily closed to traffic during the response. Local officials also evacuated nearby buildings as a precaution, Castle said. This article has been updated with comments from Bristol Tennessee Essential Services and Atmos Energy. 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. Russias first vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection, which was created by military specialists and scientists of the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology, is ready, First Deputy Defense Minister Ruslan Tsalikov told Argumenty i Fakty newspaper. "Final assessments on the results of testing by our specialists and scientists of the National Research Center have been already made. At the moment of release all volunteers without exception developed immunity against the coronavirus and felt normal. So, the first domestic vaccine against the novel coronavirus infection is ready," Tsalikov told the newspaper. The Russian Ministry of Industry and Trade told TASS that on June 30 documents for registering the vaccine were submitted to the Health Ministry. In June, the ministry issued a permit for clinical tests of a liquid and freeze-dried vaccines developed by the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology jointly with the Russian defense ministrys research institute No48. The liquid vaccine is being tested on 43 volunteers at the Burdenko Main Military Hospital and the freeze-dried vaccine is being tested at the Sechenov Medical University, also on 43 volunteers. The Defense Ministry reported on Monday that jointly with the Gamaleya National Research Center for Epidemiology and Microbiology it had successfully completed clinical trials of the coronavirus vaccine on volunteers on the basis of the Burdenko Main Military Hospital. The Buhari presidency promptly Tuesday replied the Nigerian Senate over its resolution asking the Service Chiefs to step aside over the deteriorating insecurity in Nigeria. The presidency said it noted the resolution, but excoriated the senators for offering the unsolicited advice. (the) appointment or sack of Service Chiefs is a Presidential prerogative, and President Muhammadu Buhari, in his capacity as Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces, will do what is in the best interest of the country at all times, presidential spokesman Malam Garba Shehu said. Senator Ali Ndume sponsored the resolution passed on Tuesday. Ndume is the chairman of Senate Committee on the Army and is representing Borno South, where an 11 year-old insurgency war is raging. All the service chiefs, Gabriel Olonisakin, chief of defence staff; Tukur Buratai, chief of army staff; Sadique Abubakar, chief of air staff; and Ibok-Ete Ekwe Ibas, chief of naval staff; are all overdue for retirement. But President Buhari has kept them in office, even when security challenges are mounting. On Saturday, no fewer than 23 Nigerian soldiers were ambushed and killed in Katsina by bandits. In Borno, insurgents often raid villages, killing wantonly. It was this concern that prompted Senator Ali Ndume to move the motion. He cited order 42(1) and 52 to seek the leave of the Senate to Present a Motion on rising number of casualties among the Nigerian Army and other security agencies recently to ambushes. The spirit of this motion is that our armed forces are trying very heard. The good is still not enough. We need to continue to encourage and provide for them. They lay their lives on behalf of all of us and it is very sad that some of them have deserted the war front, Senate President Ahmad Lawan said. He then suggested that the Joint Committees should get to the root of about 200 soldiers who have deserted. He also offered condolences to the families of the fallen heroes. Related Washington is playing a stronger hand in this tech competition than some analysts have realized. U.S. companies still control the commanding heights, even after rapid Chinese advances. As a result, Americas ability to constrain China, at least in the near term, is greater than generally appreciated. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement In a decoupled world, well do better than the Chinese can, contended a senior Trump administration official in an interview Tuesday. Theres a lot of defeatism around about the U.S. technology position. People dont understand the enormous technology advantage we have. The administrations upbeat assessment of the strong U.S. position against Huawei is confirmed by details in the new British government report. The British explain that by expanding in May its Entity List designation of Huawei, the United States can now prevent sales not only of technology produced by U.S. companies, but also the transfer of systems produced by global companies that depend on U.S. technology or software. Designing and building equipment largely independent of US technology or tools within a couple of years presents a truly Herculean task, argued an unclassified analysis released July 14 by Britains National Cyber Security center, a unit of its communications intelligence agency, known as GCHQ. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Because Huawei depends on semiconductors and chips made by U.S. fabrication technology, our estimate is that Huaweis supply will be impacted within the next 3-12 months, the report noted. Even if Huawei rushed to build its own alternatives, that process would take several years, and the hardware and software would be unreliable. The equipment will have been built with unknown and untested tools, created under extreme time pressures. It is highly likely that the quality issues . . . will increase significantly, the British report notes. It will be extremely challenging to gain confidence in Huaweis post-sanction equipment, and it may be impossible. The British findings are important, because the British government has been wary of the Trump administrations push against Huawei and had sought, until now, to preserve the option of keeping Huawei as a 5G supplier. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The Huawei confrontation comes at a time when both Beijing and Washington are flexing their muscles in contested areas. The Chinese suspension of human rights laws in Hong Kong and U.S. reprisals are one example; another is both sides assertion of naval power in the South China Sea. U.S. and British officials describe a similar set of challenges to replace a newly constrained and unreliable Huawei as a 5G supplier. In the short run, they hope to bolster alternative European telecom suppliers Nokia and Ericsson; in the medium term, they hope Asian companies such as South Koreas Samsung and Japans Fujitsu and NEC will enter the 5G market aggressively. Over the long run, both U.S. and British officials predict that Huaweis 5G technology will be disrupted by new software-driven systems, such as Open Radio Access Networks, or O-RAN. The senior administration official expressed confidence that the United States and its tech allies will prevail on this front, arguing, China doesnt hold a candle to us in software development. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Any military or covert effort to control the raw materials of this tech war could backfire for China, though. The fabrication plants in Taiwan might not survive intact. And Taiwanese scientists might flee to refuge in the United States, much as German scientists did after World War II. A battle in the tech sector is inherently dangerous, like wrestling over a ball made of glass. A Chinese diplomat in Europe recently offered a menacing warning: We treat our friends with fine wine, but for our enemies we have shotguns. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Tough talk. But in the Huawei fight, it turns out, the heavy weapons seem to be on the American side. Read more from David Ignatiuss archive, follow him on Twitter or subscribe to his updates on Facebook. Read more: David Ignatius: We may be dramatically overestimating Chinas capabilities The Posts View: U.S. allies should heed the warnings about Huawei Josh Rogin: Congress warns Britain to stay away from Huawei Fareed Zakaria: The blacklisting of Huawei might be Chinas Sputnik moment John Pomfret: A deeper tech concern is at the core of the U.S.-Huawei spat Henry Olsen: Britain just chose China over the U.S. Clearly, our alliance system needs a reboot. Mark and Patricia McCloskey were charged on Monday with unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a protest outside their mansion last month. Footage of the white couple, who are both personal injury lawyers in their 60s, went viral amid worldwide Black Lives Matter protests. St Louiss top prosecutor, Kim Gardner, told The Associated Press the McCloskeys actions risked creating a violent situation during an otherwise peaceful protest. It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner that is unlawful in the city of St Louis, Ms Gardner said. A lawyer for the couple, Joel Schwartz, released a statement calling the decision to charge the couple disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed. Supporters of the McCloskeys said the couple were legally defending their home. Advertisement Ms Gardner is recommending a diversion program such as community service rather than jail time if the McCloskeys are convicted, although the charge can bring sentences of up to four years in prison. Several Republican leaders have condemned Ms Gardners investigation, including President Donald Trump, Missouri governor Mike Parson and senator Josh Hawley, who has urged Attorney General William Barr to undertake a civil rights investigation of Ms Gardner. Mr Parson said in a radio interview on Friday that he would likely pardon the couple if they were charged and convicted. Ms Gardner said Mr Trump, Mr Parson and others were attacking her to distract from their failed approach to the Covid-19 pandemic and other issues. The McCloskeys home was initially incidental to the demonstration on June 28. Several hundred people were marching to the home of Democratic Mayor Lyda Krewson, a few blocks from the McCloskeys home. Ms Krewson had angered activists by reading on Facebook Live the names and addresses of some who had called for defunding police. The McCloskeys live on a private street called Portland Place. A police report said the couple heard a loud commotion and saw a large group of people break an iron gate marked with No Trespassing and Private Street signs. One protest leader said the gate was open and protesters did not damage it. Mr McCloskey confronted protesters with a semi-automatic rifle, screamed at them and pointed the weapon at them, according to a probable statement from police officer Curtis Burgdorf. The statement said Mrs McCloskey then emerged with a semi-automatic handgun, yelling at protesters to go and pointing the gun at them. Protesters feared being injured due to Patricia McCloskeys finger being on the trigger, coupled with her excited demeanour, the statement said. No shots were fired. Photos emerged as memes on both sides of the gun debate. Mr Trump spoke by phone with Parson last week to criticise Gardners investigation. Democratic leaders are asking the FBI for an urgent briefing arising out of concern that members of Congress are being targeted by a foreign operation intended to influence the 2020 presidential election, according to a letter they released publicly on Monday. Among the Democrats concerns is that a Senate investigation being led by Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) has become a vehicle for laundering a foreign influence campaign to damage Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden, according to two people familiar with the demand. Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer demanded the all-Congress briefing Monday, citing specific intelligence that a foreign influence operation targeted lawmakers to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity. Though the letter did not mention the Johnson investigation, it included a classified addendum that the two sources say identified the probe as one of the sources of their concern. We are gravely concerned, in particular, that Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign interference campaign, which seeks to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity, public debate, and the presidential election in November, Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Schumer (D-N.Y.) wrote in their letter, which was also signed by the chair of the House Intelligence Committee, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and the vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, Sen. Mark Warner (D-Va.). All four Democratic signatories are members of the Gang of Eight, a group of eight lawmakers who are briefed on classified intelligence by the executive branch. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of Calif., joined by Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer of N.Y., speaks during a news conference, on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Feb.11, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon) Asked about Democrats contention, Johnson, who chairs the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, told POLITICO: Theyre simply wrong. And Schiff is the last person to talk, he added. A Johnson aide added that the senator himself had sought an FBI briefing on these issues. Story continues Committee staff has already requested and received a staff briefing on this issue, and Chairman Johnson has requested an additional briefing at the member level, the spokesman said. That briefing has not occurred in part because the agencies requested additional information from minority staff, which has not followed on these requests since mid-May. The letters authors did not publicly offer additional details about the nature of the counterintelligence threat they described. But lawmakers of both parties have warned for months that foreign powers like Russia are intent on interfering in the 2020 U.S. election process including, Democrats say, through Johnsons investigation, which targets Bidens son Hunter. The probe centers on claims that a Democratic public-relations firm sought to leverage Hunter Bidens role on the board of a Ukrainian energy company, Burisma, to influence the State Department under the Obama administration. Johnson has asked several former State Department officials to testify, and he is eyeing subpoenas as soon as this week if they do not agree to appear for depositions voluntarily. Johnson renewed his demand for transcribed interviews and documents from the former officials days after a Ukrainian lawmaker Andriy Derkach, who has met with Trumps personal lawyer Rudy Giuliani to discuss investigating the Biden family used a news conference to accuse the Bidens and Amos Hochstein, a former special envoy for international energy affairs at the State Department, of an elaborate conspiracy to steal hundreds of millions of dollars from Ukraine. The last time senators were briefed on election security and foreign influence operations, Democratic lawmakers confronted Johnson behind closed doors about his investigation, arguing that it threatens the integrity of the 2020 election and relies on Russian disinformation to tar a political opponent. They cited in particular Johnsons initial effort to subpoena Andrii Telizhenko, who has pushed unsubstantiated claims about coordination between the Ukrainian government and the Democratic National Committee in 2016. Johnson dropped plans to subpoena Telizhenko after the FBIs foreign influence task force briefed senators about him, focusing on concerns over his credibility. Last week, Sen. Gary Peters of Michigan, the top Democrat on the Homeland Security Committee, renewed his request for defensive briefings from the FBI as Johnsons investigation intensifies. Some Senate Republicans, too, have previously signaled unease with Johnsons investigation. In December, Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who was chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee at the time, privately told Johnson that his inquiry could aid Russia, according to two congressional sources familiar with the meeting. And Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) warned in February that any derogatory information coming out of Ukraine about any American should be vetted by intelligence agencies because Russia is playing us all like a fiddle. The Democratic leaders letter was dated July 13 and addressed to FBI Director Christopher Wray, but they released it publicly Monday. Given the seriousness and specificity of these threats, as members of congressional leadership and the congressional intelligence committees we believe it is imperative that the FBI provide a classified defensive briefing to all Members of Congress and that the briefing draw on all-source intelligence information and analysis, consistent with due regard for the protection of sensitive intelligence sources and methods, they continued. The FBI has acknowledged receiving the letter, but the bureau declined to comment further. In their letter, the Democratic leaders demanded the briefing prior to the August recess at the earliest possible opportunity, and they want a schedule in place by the end of the day Monday. The logo of Nissan is seen through a fence at Nissan factory at Zona Franca during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak in Barcelona BARCELONA (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co. is willing to postpone until June 2021 the closure of its three Barcelona plants, which had originally been due to close by December 2020, but only if workers resume production, a top executive said on Tuesday. The decision to shut its three Barcelona plants and lay off around 3,000 workers was announced in May as part of a turnaround plan for Nissan, triggering protests by workers and a commitment by Madrid to convince the company to stay. The postponement deal would also imply an agreement on compensation for laid-off workers and this would have to be reached before July 30 or early August when a negotiation period ends, Frank Torres, the head of the Japanese carmaker's industrial operations in Spain, told reporters. In exchange Nissan would not conduct layoffs until the end of 2020, Torres said. The postponement decision aims to give Spanish authorities time to find another company that could be interested in the plants, he said, adding that Nissan still saw no alternative to the plants' closure. Union leaders at Nissan did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Reporting by Joan Faus; Writing by Nathan Allen and Joan Faus; Editing by Mark Potter and Jane Merriman) In this article Shares of Facebook , Amazon , Netflix , Microsoft and Apple were all down more than 1%. This muted performance comes after a big run-up in July. These stock are all up at least 2.5% month to date. Bank stocks which have taken a beating this year rose broadly. JPMorgan Chase advanced 2.17% and Bank of America climbed 3.56%. Delta Airlines advanced 0.80% and United Airlines climbed 2.29%. "The price action is the reverse of Monday directionally as cyclicals/value outperform while investors book profits in growth/momentum," said one trader. Investors were also monitoring the talks in Washington on the next coronavirus relief bill. Lawmakers face pressure to pass legislation before the end of the month, when the $600 per week federal unemployment insurance benefit is set to expire. Weekly mortgage applications data and existing home sales numbers are set for release Wednesday along with Microsoft and Tesla earnings. Subscribe to CNBC PRO for exclusive insights and analysis, and live business day programming from around the world. Despair and pessimism. Probably, these words can be used to characterize publications in the American media devoted to the internal situation in the country. Fiasco and disaster. These are the assessments of the majority. Two problems that have caused many others problems and shaken the reputation of the United States as a superpower: coronavirus and anarchy. The New York Times writes that Florida reported almost as many new Covid-19 deaths as the entire European Union, the population of which is 20 times larger than this American state. At the same time, the blame for the disaster is placed on President Donald Trump, who refused to recognize the epidemic as a national threat and demonstratively disregarded the recommendations of epidemiologists until recently, refusing to wear a medical mask and setting a bad example for the whole country. More precisely, its part that recognises him as "their'' president. To match the leader, similar frivolity was shown by the heads of the so-called local administrations, members of the Republican Party or those close to it. The fathers of the modern U.S., defending their position, referred to economic interests. Sometimes they did it too cynically, recommending to calculate what is less harmful - an epidemic that kills Americans, or stopping the economy for quarantine purposes. The NYT writes that the catastrophe is that the economy still declined, although many experts predicted more sad results. Financial support of socially vulnerable groups turned out to be not so effective either. Only a certain category of people had unemployment benefits, which were only partial. However, catching the growing discontent, the authorities hastily adopted a law to expand financial support, and those who lost their jobs due to the pandemic were given $600 more weekly. But the actions of the authorities turned out to have a hidden agenda. Yes, the increase in financial aid has cushioned the impact of the crisis that destroyed more than 20 million jobs. Yes, it helped those economies that abandoned quarantine to survive, as new unemployed would cut their spending, which would cause a decline in trade, which in turn would lead to new cuts, a new wave of unemployment, mortgage and housing problems, special problems, and, possibly, replenishment of the outrageous "anarchists" army across the U.S. However, on the other hand, the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program is drafted in such a way that the $600 co-payment can be received one week before the end of the month. This is a complicated scheme, the meaning and expediency of which only the law's authors understand. In fact, The NYT writes that it turns out that incomes of millions of unemployed will suddenly drop by 60% or more in the last week of the month. According to the article, it indicates a poor understanding of the general situation by the authorities, because they do not hide their hopes for a quick economic recovery, not imagining the possibility of a second coronavirus wave and the ongoing outrage provoked by the sensational murder of the black man by a white policeman during his arrest. The riots exposed a number of other problems that were considered obsolete in the world's "most prosperous country". It turned out that racism has not gone anywhere - thousands of whites have announced their readiness to take up arms if the authorities are unable to put an end to the bacchanalia that is destroying cities and towns. It turned out that the "anti-racism" of people of color towards whites had long been added to traditional racism. It turned out that the tension between the north and south remains from the time of the Civil War. It turned out that the Americans are not just respectful and proud of the police, but quite the opposite. It turned out that the famous American patriotism has more to do with films and books, and not with real life with too many people seeing the country not as a home, but as a place for extracting personal benefits. This is a catastrophe. Where is the American Dream? What's it like now? What replaced it? How to form a new worthy one, capable of attracting young people and igniting them with this very dream? There are too many questions, both practical and philosophical, for both the American authorities and American society to give quick answers. These questions are too complex to answer them before the presidential elections, which are increasingly beginning to resemble for Trump a thundercloud that suddenly appeared in the recently cloudless sky. In terms of foreign policy the situation is not great either. There is no sign of the impending defeat of the Celestial Empire's defeat in the trade war with China. There's ongoing sanctions confrontation with Russia, which cannot be canceled without losing face. There are growing contradictions with the European Union, including publicly expressed doubts by German Chancellor Angela Merkel about the ability of the United States to protect Europe. There are turbulent relations with Turkey, inefficiency in the Middle East. In addition, there was sharp criticism from Japan, which publicly reproached the United States for deliberately hiding data on coronavirus cases at U.S. military bases in Okinawa. The Japanese were especially outraged by the fact that the American military from the bases with the coronavirus outbreak celebrated U.S. Independence Day, spreading the infection among local residents. As a result, the governor of the island demanded the American leadership through the country's foreign ministry to lock the soldiers at the bases until better times and in order to avoid a big scandal. In general, the United States has bad days now. This is a test of strength, but also the need to act today in the name of tomorrow. Ros Wong, from Flinders University's Climate and Sustainability Policy Research (CASPR) group, was part of a team conducting research across four countries to understand the extent to which COVID-19 restrictions affect women and men differently. "Women have had to endure additional burdens associated with both paid and unpaid work, often without consideration or the alleviation of other life responsibilities," says Ms Wong, who has completed her PhD at Flinders University this year. "Women were also tasked with the ongoing organisation of their homes and families under pandemic conditions." Ms Wong conducted interviews with women from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia that highlight intersections between COVID-19 and gendered burdens, particularly in frontline work, unpaid care work and community activities. "Our analysis during the early months of the pandemic indicates that women's burdens are escalating. We estimate that women will endure a worsening of their burdens until the pandemic is well under control, and for a long time after." Ms Wong is critical that public policy and health efforts have not sufficiently acknowledged issues concerned with the associations between gender and disease outbreaks. She says the study's results will be fundamental to understanding the broader impact both during the crisis and during societal recovery. "It is critical that public policy and health efforts are proactive in devising transformative approaches that address women's subordinate position in the context of this disease," she says. "In our analysis, we consistently identified that women's burdens across all spheres were not only heavier, but also more dangerous." Under COVID 19 restrictions in Sri Lanka, women working in frontline health care roles say they faced discrimination in supermarkets when buying groceries, were threatened with eviction, and refused access on public transport. In Malaysia, only the male head of the household was allowed to shop. Combined with only one person being allowed in a car, this meant that many women were confined to the house unless employed as a frontline worker. However, after a few weeks, this restriction was relaxed, mainly because men struggled to shop effectively and buy basic necessities required for a family. News media in Vietnam portrayed COVID-19 restrictions as providing the perfect opportunity for women to relax, enjoy a chance for renewed intimacy and to spoil their men - this despite women having to wait in long queues to purchase food and their increased caring duties. In Australia, childcare and schools did remain open to aid the many health and essential workers with childcare to continue working. However, this placed an extra burden on women as they negotiated school runs, extra housework and caring duties while still employed in essential work. "COVID-19 restrictions for many women demonstrated once again that women continue to be disadvantaged during natural disasters, war and global pandemics," says Ms Wong. ### The paper - COVID-19 and Women's Triple Burden: Vignettes from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Vietnam and Australia, by Helen Jaqueline McLaren, Karen Rosalind Wong, Kieu Nga Nguyen and Komalee Nadeeka Damayanthi Mahamadachchi - has been published in Social Sciences journal (doi.org/10.3390/socsci9050087) Hugh Grant has labelled Rupert Murdoch a 'danger to liberal democracy' and said his life was 'extremely difficult after his Divine Brown escapade' in a new documentary. The actor, 59, is set to appear in BBC2's controversial new documentary Rise of The Murdoch Dynasty, which focuses on the phone-hacking scandal which rocked the moguls News International empire between 2009 and 2011. In the documentary, Hugh hit out at Rupert Murdoch, 89, as he details how he struggled with press attention in the 1990s. It comes as BBC bosses face criticism for failing to be impartial by omitting crucial background details about contributors Hugh, Tom Watson, and Max Mosley in the three-part documentary. Scroll down for video Hugh Grant (pictured) has labelled Rupert Murdoch a 'danger to liberal democracy' in a new BBC Two documentary The episode, entitled The Rebel Alliance, either fails to mention or glosses over details such as Grant's criminal record or the role Mr Watson played in promoting unsubstantiated allegations of a VIP child abuse ring at Westminster, which were subsequently proved to be false. In the programme, Hugh details: 'The tabloids started writing about me when I suddenly had some success in 1994 after Four Weddings and a Funeral. 'In the wake of my Divine Brown escapade, I knew there would be a s*** storm and thought "Okay this is my punishment". 'But anywhere you went, bang, there was a pap and you would think "How do they know where I am?" We now know it's because they were hacking your phone.' Hugh goes on: 'Life at that time was extremely difficult and remained difficult for 10 or 15 years, because their power grew and grew'. Later Hugh adds: 'Murdoch is a proper danger to liberal democracy, if liberal democracy is your thing.' Alan Rusbridger, the then editor of The Guardian newspaper, and investigative reporter Nick Davies, Hugh, along with Tom Watson, and Max Mosley, are credited with exposing how News of the World journalists hacked the phones of celebrities and even murder victims, including Milly Dowler. Hugh describes the group as a 'resistance' and praises Nick Davies as being 'fearless' in the face of a 'scary enemy'. The programme was criticised for not dwelling on the arrest of Grant in 1995 after he was caught in a 'lewd act' with sex worker Divine Brown (right) , which he brushed off as an 'escapade' 'Our little resistance grew,' says Hugh. 'And it was immensely helpful that we all had each other, because it is a scary enemy, there is no doubt about that.' He later adds: 'Nick Davies started the whole thing and he's fearless.' In 1995 Hugh was famously arrested near Sunset Boulevard after paying around 45 ($60) for Divine to perform oral sex on him in his car. Hugh was sentenced to a fine of $1,000 (761) and ordered to attend an education programme about Aids. Brown was sentenced to 180 days in prison for engaging in lewd conduct in a public place, and had also violated her probation for previous prostitution charges. The News of the World published a photo of Divine Brown on their front page in a Versace safety-pin dress like the one that delivered fame to the star's girlfriend, Liz Hurley (pictured in 1994) In a statement at the time Hugh said: 'Last night I did something completely insane. I have hurt people I love and embarrassed people I work with. For both things I am more sorry than I can ever possibly say.' The episode led to personal humiliation for Hugh, then 34, when The News of the World, published a story with Brown, real name Stella Marie Thompson. The publication used a photo of her on their front page in a Versace safety-pin dress like the one that delivered fame to the star's girlfriend, Liz Hurley. Grant's relationship with Hurley did not survive the fallout. Hugh said he knew the scandal would lead to negative press attention. Pictured, Rupert photographed next to a portrait of his father, Keith Murdoch in 2006 Brown went onto make around $1 million through the publicity surrounding the scandal. The documentary also details how ex-Formula 1 boss Mosley began helping to fund those who wanted to take legal action against the press, prompting Grant to hail him a 'hero'. Mosley successfully sued now-defunct newspaper The News of the World after it published a story claiming he had been involved in a Nazi-themed sex orgy. The documentary will detail how ex-Formula 1 boss Max Mosley (pictured) began helping to fund those who wanted to take legal action against the press In 2008, a judge ruled there was no substance to the claim of the Nazi theme which, Mr Mosley tells the programme, 'they completely invented'. He says the heartbreak unleashed by the publicity surrounding his private life encouraged his son Alexander to rekindle a drug addiction, which claimed his life in 2009. Hugh explains: 'Max decided to try and redress the wrongs of the British tabloid press, he's been a hero really. ' Rise of The Murdoch Dynasty is set to air on BBC2 at 9pm and is available on BBC iPlayer Divided EU leaders will meet again on Monday to try to agree the terms of a huge coronavirus economic rescue package after a night of tense haggling failed to yield a breakthrough. After three days and three nights of talks, the 27 states still cannot settle on the exact size and rules of a 750-billion-euro ($860-billion) bundle of loans and grants to help drag Europe out of a recession caused by the pandemic. The leaders gathered briefly on Monday morning after spending the night negotiating in smaller groups in pursuit of a deal, only to adjourn until 4pm (1400 GMT). Over a working dinner on Sunday night, summit host and EU Council President Charles Michel made a fresh effort to win over the coalition of "Frugals" -- the Netherlands, Sweden, Austria, Denmark and Finland -- which has sought to cut the size of the package and impose strict rules on how it is used. As fears grew that the summit would collapse without agreement, Michel suggested cutting the grant portion of the deal to 400 billion euros -- down from his initial proposal of 500 billion -- and raising the loan part to 350 billion, up from 250 billion. But this was not enough for the Frugals, who insisted grants be cut to 350 billion and demanded big rises in the rebates they get on their EU contributions. - Testy exchanges - Tempers flared as frustration boiled over after a full weekend of haggling, with French President Emmanuel Macron upbraiding the Dutch and Austrian leaders for their intransigence and threatening a walkout. The French leader banged the table and accused Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte of behaving like former British premier David Cameron -- who took a hard line at EU summits but ended up leading his country into a referendum to quit the bloc, and losing his job. Macron, who was pushing for grants to stay at 400 billion, said he would rather walk away than make a bad deal. In a bid to break the deadlock, Michel came up with a new proposal on Monday morning, which a diplomat said could be a "route to a deal". "A plan with 390 billion in grants but smaller rebates for the Frugals," a European official explained. In a promising sign for Michel's new plan, Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz tweeted his approval. "Tough negotiations have just come to an end, we can be very satisfied with today's result," he wrote. Round after round of small group meetings went on all day Sunday as Michel, aided by Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel, tried to drag the Frugals and the more indebted -- and virus-ravaged -- on board for a compromise, but progress was painfully slow. - Veto demand - Rutte wants member states to have a veto on national economic plans by the likes of Italy and Spain, in order to oblige them to pursue reforms to borrowing and their labour and pensions markets -- an effort that was angrily resisted by Italy. Over dinner, Michel made a heartfelt speech reminding leaders of the devastating human cost of the pandemic -- 600,000 dead including 200,000 in Europe -- and urged them to come together to complete what he called a "mission impossible". "The question is this: are the 27 leaders, responsible for the people of Europe, capable of building European unity and trust?" Michel said, according to a copy of his remarks seen by AFP. "Or will we present the face of a weak Europe, undermined by mistrust?" Meanwhile, another obstacle emerged when Hungary's hardline premier Viktor Orban accused Rutte of waging a personal vendetta against him and his country -- and vowed to prevent any agreement on efforts to tie EU spending to recipient countries' respect for EU standards. A law-breaker, holding hostages on a bus in Lutsk, fired several shots at a drone used by SBU officers, then threw an object from the bus that exploded, said Deputy Head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko. "At the scene, SBU officers use an unmanned aerial vehicle. The criminal fired several shots in its direction, after which he threw an unidentified object from the bus, which exploded. Nobody was hurt," Gerashchenko told Interfax-Ukraine on Tuesday. In recent decades, the combination of a slow-but-certain incrementalism couched in parables attributed to Confucius and other Chinese notables had made Beijings diplomatic behaviour inscrutable, and yet, viewed as benign. It gave the country an advantage in being able to change facts on the ground, and attract zero retaliation and minimal critique. It was the perfect excuse for western and Indian companies and governments to look the other way, and continue with the high profits that this authoritarian regime brought. This has now dramatically changed. The rest of the world has a red hot smoking gun of Beijings new diplomacy. As two astute American analysts, Kurt Campbell and Mira Rapp-Hooper put it, Beijing appears less image-conscious now than in the past. And they argue, Xi (Jinping) has endured the reputational damage of his governments Wolf Warrior diplomacy (named after a series of nationalistic action films), likely calculating that China will gain more by flexing its military and economic muscles even if it loses some of its soft power along the way. Recall, Chinas big advantage for the last decades has been its incrementalism. Especially in its foreign policy, its method was to move little-by-little, step-by-step, under-the-radar. This was a strategy of managing to stay just below the level of a full-blown provocation, such that any concrete retaliation by injured parties would look like a hysterical overreaction. In fact, one can apply this insight to other aspects of Chinas behaviour too. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is a case in point. China has slowly, deliberately, and quietly chipped away at the rules that underpin the multilateral trading system, but attracted scarce attention. In contrast, President Donald Trumps diatribes against the WTO, and in-your-face decision to paralyse the Appellate Body of the Dispute Settlement Mechanism, has led even allies to view the United States (US) with disappointment and anger. There is considerable irony in the fact that a sulky US the guarantor of trade multilateralism for decades has chosen not to join the parallel interim dispute settlement mechanism (created by the European Union (EU), Norway, Canada and others), but China has. Similarly, deeply frustrated with the World Health Organization (WHO)s apparent complicity with China, the US announced on May 29 that it would withdraw from the organisation. In doing so, the US has attracted the ire of the great and the good of the world. China, in contrast, for all its mishandling of the pandemic, and in spite of the threats that it issued to countries that demanded an enquiry (such as Australia), still manages to present itself as being on the side of the angels by reiterating its commitment to WHO. The international community cannot dismiss Hong Kong as it has done Chinese excesses in Xinjiang. The issue goes to the heart of international jurisprudence and Chinas new aggressive interpretation of its sovereignty. Hong Kong is not just another unit in Chinas domestic jurisdiction; underpinning the handover of Hong Kong to China was the guarantee of one country, two systems. Hong Kong is not just another artificial island, being quietly militarised, somewhere in a faraway sea that the West does not need to bother about in many ways, it is a cornerstone of a liberal, English-speaking, democratic West. Hong Kong is not even just another fatal border conflict with India, which the West can dismiss as a product of misperceptions over unclear boundaries drawn by careless colonial masters. What has happened in Hong Kong should matter to all of us because of the deeply worrying repercussions it carries for its citizens. But as foreign policy is too seldom about values, heres a straightforward reason why all realists should also be concerned about Hong Kong. Chinas actions in Hong Kong are a clear signal of the heavy costs that its government is willing to bear to openly assert, consolidate, and further expand its power. The costs for China are huge, both reputational and financial. Hong Kong along with Taiwan was a symbol of reassurance that China, despite its different model of governance and development, could co-exist peacefully with other models based on freedom, democracy, and free markets. Besides, the financial attractiveness of Hong Kong stemmed from the fact that there was rule of law, transparency, independent judiciary, checks and balances. Companies knew that they would be given a fair deal, if they entered into conflict with a state-owned enterprise. With these advantages gone, financial costs will be inevitable and China has shown that it is ready to incur them. This does not augur well for Taiwan, for the region at large, or for global order. And this is why banal statements from all defenders of the liberal multilateral order need to stop. German chancellor Angela Merkel, for instance, still talks remarkably of the need to seek dialogue with the Chinese government on the basis of a relationship of trust. EU high representative, Josep Borrell, also stated It is clear that China has a global ambition. But, at the same time, I do not think that China is playing a role that can threaten world peace. No, Mr Borrell, think what you may, theres no way you can really know that. None of us can. Because ultimately, we can never know the intentions behind the actions of states. But when states take actions entailing high costs especially to themselves these are signals that must not be ignored. We could all be Hong Kong tomorrow. And this is why and not only for altruism we should all be acting with one voice, with the people of Hong Kong now. Amrita Narlikar is president, German Institute for Global and Area Studies and Non-Resident senior fellow at ORF; Amitabh Mattoo is professor, JNU and University of Melbourne The views expressed are personal China has ordered Christian villagers to renounce their faith and worship the nation's Communist Party leaders instead. Chinese authorities visited Christian homes in Linfen in the northern province of Shanxi in April and told residents who were on welfare benefits that they had to take down all crosses, and replace any displays of Jesus with portraits of Chairman Mao and President Xi Jinping, according to religious freedom magazine, Bitter Winter. Any Christians who refused to comply with the demand had their welfare subsidies annulled. One local pastor reported to Bitte Winter: "All impoverished households in the town were told to display Mao Zedong images. The government is trying to eliminate our belief and wants to become God instead of Jesus." In one village, a Christian from the state-sponsored Three-Self Church reported how authorities forcefully eliminated all Christian imagery including any images of Jesus in his home. Officials replaced the images with a portrait of Mao Zedong. The officials told the Christian: "Impoverished religious households can't receive money from the state for nothing they must obey the Communist Party for the money they receive." In another incident in May, authorities entered the home of a Christian in the eastern province of Shandong. There they posted up portraits of Mao Zedong and Xi Jinping and said, "These are the greatest gods. If you want to worship somebody, they are the ones." In Henan's Shangqiu city, officials visited the home of an elderly Christian woman and cancelled her minimum living allowance because they discovered an image of a cross posted on her door. The elderly Christian reported: "They tore it down immediately. Afterward, both my minimum living allowance and poverty alleviation subsidy were canceled. I am being driven to a dead end. I have diabetes and need injections regularly." In June, authorities in Henan province arrested one Christian man, and two other Christian women were injured when officials raided Sunzhuang Church. They demolished the church using cranes and other heavy duty machinery. Re-posted courtesy of Christian Today Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 10:49:45|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close by Matthew Rusling WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The White House is weighing the possibility of reducing U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula. The move has drawn harsh criticism from inside U.S. President Donald Trump's own party, as well as from U.S. experts. U.S. media reported recently that the Pentagon had given the White House options for the possible reduction of the U.S. troop presence in South Korea, amid a battle with Seoul in which Washington is demanding significantly more cash to keep U.S. forces there.in A U.S. military official told the Wall Street Journal that the Pentagon reviewed the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, as part of a broader look at shifting deployments worldwide. "It looks like Trump is serious," Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Xinhua, adding that he believes the strategy is "disconnected and non-strategic." Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon held the same view. "I think Trump is serious about the idea," he said. Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Washington-based non-profit Korea Economic Institute, said that there are good reasons to consider a restructuring of U.S. forces in South Korea. But in the absence of a vision for the future role for U.S. troops there, "it is difficult to view this as little more than the latest effort to extract concessions from South Korea on burden sharing." "President Trump has been clear that he does not value U.S. alliances in the same way that prior U.S. presidents have," Stangarone told Xinhua. The possible move was lambasted by lawmakers in Trump's own party, including from Senator Ben Sasse, who labeled any such decision as "strategic incompetence." Trump has caused much anxiety in Washington by threatening allies that he would remove U.S. troops from various strategic areas. Last month the administration announced it would pull thousands of troops from Germany, claiming that allies are not paying their fair share of NATO costs. For his part, Trump has long said U.S. allies are taking advantage of the United States, arguing that Washington has footed the defense bill for years for several allies. This comes at a time when the White House has already canceled a number of large U.S.-South Korea military exercises in a bid to keep the nuclear talks on the Korean Peninsula going. Enditem Ambassador Walpita Gamage Sampath Prasanna sends a message to Viet Nam News readers to celebrate 50th anniversary of friendship between Vietnam and Sri Lanka. President Ho Chi Minh's bust in front of the National Library of Sri Lanka in Colombo, a symbol of Sri Lankan people's' respect to President Ho. -- Photo courtesy of the embassy Today, July 21, Sri Lanka and Vietnam commemorate the 50th anniversary of their establishment of formal diplomatic relations. Although only officially founded in 1970, Sri Lanka and Vietnams deep-rooted relationship spans several centuries. Notably, during these years, the founder of modern Vietnam, the late President Ho Chi Minh, paid numerous visits to Sri Lanka, in 1911, 1928 and 1946, on his way to Europe. President Ho was warmly welcomed by a nation that became one of the first to support Vietnam in its struggle against French and US occupation, acting as a staunch ally. Together, Sri Lanka and Vietnam enjoy amicable ties in bilateral, regional and multilateral diplomacy equally. Co-operation between the two countries extends to wider areas of politics, trade, investment and economics, defence, culture, education, tourism, agriculture etc. In addition, the Sri Lanka Vietnam Parliamentary Friendship Group maintains tight-knit cordial relations between the Parliament of Sri Lanka and the National Assembly of Vietnam. This robust relationship is also marked by high-level visits undertaken by leaders of both countries. Furthermore, Sri Lanka and Vietnam share close trade relations, with the trade balance in favour of Vietnam over the years. The total trade volume of 2019 was US$381 million where Sri Lanka imported goods/services worth $302 million from Vietnam and exported goods/services worth $79 million to Vietnam. With regard to investment, leading Sri Lankan apparel industry companies, such as Hidramani Group and MAS Holdings, have established factories in Hanoi, HCM City and Da Nang. These factories have employed more than 10,000 Vietnamese citizens. Sri Lankan cosmetics and perfumes producer, Natures Secret, also has a footprint in Vietnam. President of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa, while conveying his warmest greetings and felicitations on this important milestone to his Vietnamese counterpart, Nguyen Phu Trong, Party General Secretary and President of Vietnam, recalled the rich history of relations between the two countries, rooted in mutual trust, friendship and respect. President Rajapaksa also congratulated Vietnam on its leadership of ASEAN as the Chair for 2020, non-permanent membership at the UN Security Council for the term 2020-21 and effective control of the nations COVID-19 outbreak. Extending his compliments to Prime Minister Nguyen Xuan Phuc, Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Mahinda Rajapaksa recognised the shared values, deep sincerity and continuous reciprocity that have existed between the two countries through generations of leaders and peoples. Prime Minister Rajapaksa congratulated Vietnam on its tremendous achievements under the guidance of the Communist Party during the last 90 years. Dinesh Gunawardena, Minister of Foreign Relations of Sri Lanka, also commended his Vietnam counterpart, Pham Binh Minh, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Affairs, on this important milestone. Minister Gunawardena recalled the remarkable achievements of both countries during the last 50 years, giving prominence to Vietnams productive contributions in regional and multilateral fora. He stated that although the COVID-19 pandemic has prevented the two countries from celebrating this momentous landmark, he is confident that plans will be made to hold appropriate celebratory events in the year ahead. Sri Lankan leaders also extended invitations to their Vietnamese counterparts to visit Sri Lanka during the celebratory year. VNS Members of the U.S. House of Representatives held a moment of silence Monday in honor of Georgia congressman and civil rights leader John Lewis, who died last week at age 80. The veteran lawmaker and son of sharecroppers was heavily involved in the 1960s civil rights movement, from speaking at the monumental 1963 March on Washington, to marching in his native Alabama in 1965. During a Selma-to-Montgomery march that year, Lewis was beaten badly as he and other protesters attempted to cross the Edmund Pettus Bridge to get to the state capital. Lewis suffered a fractured skull during the confrontation with state troopers. The violence came to be known as Bloody Sunday. According to a bio about Lewis on House.gov, news broadcasts and photographs revealing the senseless cruelty of the segregated South helped hasten the passage of the Voting Rights Act of 1965. In the wake of Lewis death, there are calls to rename the bridge after Lewis. Edmund Pettus was a Confederate general and a Ku Klux Klan leader in Alabama. Lewis served as the congressman for Georgias 5th District from his first election in 1987 until the day he died. Lewis passed away on Friday, about seven months after he was diagnosed with Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer also gave a tribute to Lewis Monday. Hoyer said that Lewis was a veteran legislator and person of wisdom and experience who still carried in his heart the same energy, optimism, and determined spirit that he bore in his youth. John never stopped being the young man who dreamed of change and knew it could be achieved. Hoyer concluded by stating, He was our inspiration, he was our guide, he was our friend, he was our colleague. As I said on Saturday morning, there is a hole in the heart of America. Earlier, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, in an interview on the CBS television network, noted she served with Lewis for 33 years in Congress. Pelosi told CBSs Gayle King that Lewis challenged our conscience in so many ways in terms of equality and justice. And it was justice for all. Pelosi also described Lewis as a patriot. Separately, photos posted on Twitter showed workers putting a dark-colored drape over the door to Lewis Capitol Hill office, where handwritten notes had been left. State law requires that the Georgia Democratic Party appoint a nominee to replace Lewis one business day after his death. The committee in charge of appointing a nominee has announced five finalists to replace him on the ballot in November. Chinese leader Xi Jinping arranges his papers at the closing session of the regimes rubber stamp legislature Congress in Beijing, China on May 28, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Chinese Regime Announces Purge Campaign, Hints at Factional Infighting Top Chinese officials recently announced that the Communist Party would begin a purge of the powerful Political and Legal Affairs Commission (PLAC), a Party agency that oversees the countrys security apparatus, including police, courts, and prisons. The Party will complete the purge by the first quarter of 2022, right before its 20th National Congress, a conference that occurs every five years to determine the next succession of Party leaders. The PLAC was formerly the stronghold of current Party leader Xi Jinpings political rivals, namely, officials who were loyal to former Party leader Jiang Zemin. Since Xi took power in 2012, he has launched a wide-ranging anti-corruption campaign that has felled many of his opposition, including top officials within the PLAC. In recent years, the agencys power was diminished when Xi removed the PLAC chief from the Politburo Standing Committee, the Partys top decision-making body. But experts say the announcement of a forthcoming purge indicates Xi is still struggling to keep PLAC officials in line. Chinese Communist Party delegates attend the regimes rubber-stamp legislative conference in Beijing, China, on May 28, 2020. (Kevin Frayer/Getty Images) Campaign On July 8, PLAC Secretary-General Chen Yixin hosted a meeting in Beijing to begin the cleansing campaign. The PLAC teams [in the whole country] are impure, unjust, and lack executive force. Some members even violate law and discipline. They are bad horses, have bad impact, and have done great damage, Chen said. We have to turn the blade to face ourselves in order to treat the problem. Chen announced that five districts from five provinces, as well as two prisons in the northeastern city of Harbin, would start the campaign from July to October as the first phase. Then, the whole country would implement the campaign from 2021 to the first quarter of 2022. Chen pointed out six stubborn diseases that the campaign would target: PLAC officials who interfere with the judicial system; officials who operate companies; officials who own shares of private companies or lend money with interests; officials spouses or children who operate illegal businesses; officials who shorten prisoners sentences or release them after receiving bribes or other special favors; and officials who control criminal cases. While the initiative appears to be an anti-corruption drive, the mention of eliminating bad horses from the Party refers to getting rid of officials who endanger the Partys stability. U.S.-based China affairs commentator Tang Jingyuan says the Party may be seeking to achieve two purposes with the purging campaign. One is removing officials who have power but dont follow Xi Jinpings lead, he said, as Xi may be concerned that the PLAC would grow into an anti-Xi faction and become the Partys second Central Committee, referring to the Partys 200-plus committee of top officials. The other purpose is to distract the Chinese public from current crises such as the economic depression, pandemic, flooding, and other disasters. The CCP wants to convince people that all bad things were done by these so-called bad horses, Tang said in an interview. The Chinese Communist Partys Politburo Standing Committee, the nations top decision-making body (L-R): Han Zheng, Wang Huning, Li Zhanshu, Chinese leader Xi Jinping, Premier Li Keqiang, Wang Yang, and Zhao Leji meet the press at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing on Oct. 25, 2017. (Wang Zhao/AFP via Getty Images) Political Security Earlier this year, the Party also initiated an effort aimed at Party cohesion. On April 21, state media Xinhua reported that the CCP Central Committee set up a peaceful China construction coordinating team. PLAC Chairman Guo Shengkun will lead the team. On July 6, Chinas supreme court-operated website Peoples Court News reported that the coordinating team has set up a political security branch, led by Lei Dongsheng, vice secretary-general of PLAC. Within CCP politics, political security refers to the safety and stability of the CCPs rule. According to the report, Lei said political correctness was a priority. So far this year, two high-ranking officials who made their careers in the PLAC system were recently ousted. Chinas vice public security minister Sun Lijun was detained on April 19 for an internal Party investigation, before being officially dismissed on May 8. Meanwhile, minister of justice Fu Zhenghua, a member of the Jiang faction who opposed Xis rule, was dismissed from several positions he held within the legal system between April 20 and May 5. Sun and Fu were promoted by Meng Jianzhu, who was PLAC chairman from 2012 to 2017, and another key player in the Jiang faction. Several other subordinates of Meng were dismissed in May and June. Sun was dismissed because he was involved in a coup plan, in which the Jiang faction was vying to replace Xi, an insider from Beijing told the Chinese-language Epoch Times in April. Jaipur, July 21 : Indian Premier League teams are known to have vociferous fans and in an effort to compete with the die-hards from Chennai or Mumbai among others, Rajasthan Royals is looking to build the largest fan army -- digital and on-ground -- among all IPL teams. In that effort, the Royals from over 6 million fans around the world have zeroed in on a select group of 20 individuals who have been Rajasthan Royals supporters all through. These fans will stand by RR, whether they win or lose. This has seen RR tag them as Super Royals. The franchise wants the world to know that their fans are vociferous. They want other teams to take notice and if possible, even feel intimidated by the sheer presence of the Super Royals, who will grow in number in the years to come. While the vision is to build the largest fan army, the objective is to give the Super Royals a platform to voice their opinions and show their support on a larger scale than ever before. The franchise also has special benefits for the Super Royals and some of them are: All Super Royals will receive Royals merchandise; The leaders will have regular access to some members of the Royals management; They can be part of video calls with a player and management on a few occasions; RR will be reviewing their performances regularly and have a recognition-cum-reward plan as well. The top performer could visit one of the Royals camps. Some of the others can attend the Colts/Sparks or school tournaments as well. Latest updates on IPL 2020 CALGARY, Alberta, July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Cardinal Energy Ltd. ("Cardinal") (TSX:CJ) announces that approximately 62% of the outstanding principal amount of its 5.50% convertible debentures have exercised their right to exchange their debentures for a new series of 8.00% convertible debentures. In addition, Cardinal has elected to extend the period of time that debentures can be exchanged from 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on Monday, July 20, 2020 to 5:00 p.m. (Eastern time) on Tuesday, August 4, 2020. Please contact us via email at info@cardinalenergy.ca or our exchange agent, Computershare Investor Services Inc., at 1-800-564-6253 or via email at corporateactions@computershare.com if you need any assistance in exercising your exchange right. The exchange right is optional so you must contact your broker to have your exchange right in order to receive the extended debentures. Debentureholders who have previously validly deposited their 5.50% convertible debentures for exchange do not need to take any further action. Cardinal maintains the right, in its sole discretion, at any time and from time to time, to further extend the period of time during which the exchange right is open. Cardinal also maintains the right, in its sole discretion, prior to the expiry time: (a) to not exchange and return all tendered debentures to the holders thereof; and/or (b) at any time or from time to time, to vary the terms of the exchange right in any respect, subject to compliance with the indenture governing the debentures, as amended and supplemented. The terms of the exchange right are more fully described in Cardinal's information circular dated May 24, 2020 which is available on SEDAR at www.sedar.com and on our website at www.cardinalenergy.ca . About Cardinal Energy Ltd. One of Cardinal's goals is to continually improve our Environmental, Safety and Governance mandate and operate our assets in a responsible and environmentally sensitive manner. As part of this mandate, Cardinal injects and conserves more carbon than it directly emits making us one of the few Canadian energy companies to have a negative carbon footprint. Cardinal is a Canadian oil focused company with operations focused on low decline light, medium and heavy quality oil in Western Canada. For further information: M. Scott Ratushny, CEO or Laurence Broos, VP Finance Email: info@cardinalenergy.ca Phone: (403) 234-8681 Website: www.cardinalenergy.ca The rediscovery of a lost planet could pave the way for the detection of a world within the habitable 'Goldilocks zone' in a distant solar system Discovery of cooler planet brings astronomers closer to finding more worlds in the habitable 'Goldilocks zone' Found thanks to new method pioneered by University of Warwick team designed to spot planets orbiting further out from their star NGTS-11b is among hundreds of 'lost' worlds that can now be rediscovered with the NGTS telescopes using this novel technique The rediscovery of a lost planet could pave the way for the detection of a world within the habitable 'Goldilocks zone' in a distant solar system. The planet, the size and mass of Saturn with an orbit of thirty-five days, is among hundreds of 'lost' worlds that University of Warwick astronomers are pioneering a new method to track down and characterise in the hope of finding cooler planets like those in our solar system, and even potentially habitable planets. Reported in Astrophysical Journal Letters, the planet named NGTS-11b orbits a star 620 light years away and is located five times closer to its sun than Earth is to our own. The planet was originally found in a search for planets in 2018 by the Warwick-led team using data from NASA's TESS telescope. This uses the transit method to spot planets, scanning for the telltale dip in light from the star that indicates that an object has passed between the telescope and the star. However, TESS only scans most sections of the sky for 27 days. This means many of the longer period planets only transit once in the TESS data. And without a second observation the planet is effectively lost. The University of Warwick led team followed up one of these 'lost' planets using the telescopes at the Next-Generation Transit Survey (NGTS) in Chile and observed the star for seventy-nine nights, eventually catching the planet transiting for a second time nearly a year after the first detected transit. Dr Samuel Gill from the Department of Physics at the University of Warwick said: "By chasing that second transit down we've found a longer period planet. It's the first of hopefully many such finds pushing to longer periods. "These discoveries are rare but important, since they allow us to find longer period planets than other astronomers are finding. Longer period planets are cooler, more like the planets in our own Solar System. "NGTS-11b has a temperature of only 160C - cooler than Mercury and Venus. Although this is still too hot to support life as we know it, it is closer to the Goldilocks zone than many previously discovered planets which typically have temperatures above 1000C." The Goldilocks zone refers to a range of orbits that would allow a planet or moon to support liquid water: too close to its star and it will be too hot, but too far away and it will be too cold. Co-author Dr Daniel Bayliss from the University of Warwick said: "This planet is out at a thirty-five days orbit, which is a much longer period than we usually find them. It is exciting to see the Goldilocks zone within our sights." Co-author Professor Pete Wheatley from the University of Warwick said: "The original transit appeared just once in the TESS data, and it was our team's painstaking detective work that allowed us to find it again a year later with NGTS. "NGTS has twelve state-of-the-art telescopes, which means that we can monitor multiple stars for months on end, searching for lost planets. The dip in light from the transit is only 1% deep and occurs only once every 35 days, putting it out of reach of other telescopes. " Dr Gill adds: "There are hundreds of single transits detected by TESS that we will be monitoring using this method. This will allow us to discover cooler exoplanets of all sizes, including planets more like those in our own Solar System. Some of these will be small rocky planets in the Goldilocks zone that are cool enough to host liquid water oceans and potentially extraterrestrial life." ### 'NGTS-11 b / TOI-1847 b: A transiting warm Saturn recovered from a TESS single-transit event' will be published in Astrophysical Journal Letters, DOI: 10.3847/2041-8213/ab9eb9 The research, including the operation of NGTS, received funding and support from the Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC), part of UK Research and Innovation. The involvement of Dr David Armstrong from the University of Warwick in the research was supported by STFC, through an Ernest Rutherford Fellowship. Notes to editors: For interviews or a copy of the paper contact: Peter Thorley Media Relations Manager (Warwick Medical School and Department of Physics) | Press & Media Relations | University of Warwick Email: peter.thorley@warwick.ac.uk Mob: +44 (0) 7824 540863 The Science and Technology Facilities Council (STFC) is part of UK Research and Innovation - the UK body which works in partnership with universities, research organisations, businesses, charities, and government to create the best possible environment for research and innovation to flourish. For more information visit UK Research and Innovation. STFC funds and supports research in particle and nuclear physics, astronomy, gravitational research and astrophysics, and space science and also operates a network of five national laboratories, including the Rutherford Appleton Laboratory and the Daresbury Laboratory, as well as supporting UK research at a number of international research facilities including CERN, FERMILAB, the ESO telescopes in Chile and many more. Visit https://stfc.ukri.org/ for more information. @STFC_Matters Press release Business activity resilient in H1 Solid performance (+1.6% vs H1 2019) given the health crisis and economic backdrop First-half revenues up 1.6% Substantially outperforming our markets (-17%) Positive momentum heading into H2 London, 21 July 2020 - Invibes Advertising, an advanced technology company specialising in digital in-feed advertising, has reported is first-half 2020 revenue: Unaudited consolidated data, in k H1 2020 H1 2019 ? Consolidated revenue 3,666 3,610 +1.6 % In the first half of 2020, Invibes Advertising chalked up organic revenue growth of +1.6% to 3.7 million. This performance was all the more remarkable when compared to the 17% slump in the French display and video advertising during the period, a trend mirrored in other European markets in which the Group operates. "I'd like to extend my warmest thanks to all of our teams, who remained mobilised and proactive during this period which was hit by the Covid-19 outbreak. Their team spirit and mutual support is a perfect illustration of our corporate philosophy: "Invibes Good Vibes". Their commitment spurred us to substantially outpace our markets, both in terms of growth and performance. After working from home full time since March, and as soon as national regulations allowed, our teams headed back to the office, to rebuild the social ties from which our company draws its strength." says Nicolas Pollet, Invibes Advertising's CEO and co-founder. Sustained momentum, combining new business wins and growth in existing client base Sales momentum continued in the first half, in spite of the health crisis caused by the Covid-19 outbreak, helped by the combined impact of several factors: Further new business wins among a raft of major international brands, which were drawn both to the Group's disruptive advertising formats that stand apart from other solutions on the market, and to its expanding geographic reach. INVIBES Advertising thus signed up the following new advertising clients: Disney, H&M, Bayer, Nikon, Casio, Ebay, Tinder, HBO, Ikea, Vodafone, Huawei, Genova, Scottish Gov, Lottomart, among others. among a raft of major international brands, which were drawn both to the Group's disruptive advertising formats that stand apart from other solutions on the market, and to its expanding geographic reach. INVIBES Advertising thus signed up the following new advertising clients: Disney, H&M, Bayer, Nikon, Casio, Ebay, Tinder, HBO, Ikea, Vodafone, Huawei, Genova, Scottish Gov, Lottomart, among others. Renewed confidence shown by existing clients, such as Dyson, Subway, McDonald's, Lexus, Orange, Clarins, Cartier, Qatar Airways, FCA Group, Siemens, Leroy Merlin, Volvo, Levi's, PMU, BNP Paribas, Nestle, IBM, Leclerc, Hyundai, KIA, Mylan, ASUS, Citroen, Hewlett-Packard, Toyota, Krys, Ford, Celio, El Corte Ingles, Jaguar, Citroen, Audi and a host of others. Catalogue extended to unlock growth in the most vibrant segments of the market Invibes Advertising has added new formats and technological functions to its catalogue, with the aim of unlocking growth in the most vibrant segments of its market (series, cars, temporary offers, etc.): Invibes Preview, Invibes Showroom, Invibes Cinema, and Invibes Countdown. By enhancing its offering in this way, Invibes Advertising can now offer advertisers heightened visibility and user engagement. Pushing ahead with expansion in Europe Invibes Advertising also pushed ahead with its international expansion drive in Q1, recruiting a management team in the UK to help step up growth in that market, which harbours considerable potential. In the second quarter, the Group launched its Benelux operations, opening premises in Antwerp and hiring a Chief Sales Officer to develop business in the region. The Group is thus cementing its geographic footprint in Europe, with operations now spanning eight countries. This expansion drew attention from the major European media groups, of which the following names were some of the latest to join the Group's network of publishers: Tiscali, Sportfair, BBC, TheMirror, 20minutes, and Webedia. Invibes Advertising recruited 15 new employees across all of these sites, most of whom in sales. At 30 June, it had a total headcount of 88 people. 2020 outlook The Group continues to gain from a virtuous circle, as the integration of these new media solutions further strengthens the existing offering, attracting new advertisers, and thereby paving the way to new locations. Invibes Advertising's dense presence in Europe and its ability to roll out communication solutions across several countries at once should enable it to take full advantage of the rally in the advertising market when the situation starts to gradually return to normal. To this end, the Group has been activating all of its levers to growth to ensure it is prepared for the coming months. In light of the strong performances already chalked up in the first three weeks of July, the company is confident it will see a return to robust growth in the second half, assuming conditions on the health front have stabilised. In 2020, Invibes Advertising will also endeavour to maintain positive EBITDA, consistent with its strategy, despite ramping up its investment to fuel long-term growth. About Invibes Advertising Founded in 2011, Invibes Advertising is a technology company specializing in digital advertising. It has developed advertising solutions using an in-feed format built into media content, based on a principle that is similar to social networks. The format is optimized for dissemination in a closed network of media websites: Bertelsmann, Hearst, Lagardere, and many others. Its clients include major brands such as Mercedes, Samsung, Air France, and IBM. Invibes Advertising is listed on Euronext Growth in Paris (Ticker: ALINV - ISIN: BE0974299316). Read our latest press releases at: https://www.invibes.com/investors.html Follow the latest news about Invibes Advertising on: LinkedIn @Invibes Advertising Twitter@Invibes_adv Facebook@Invibes Advertising Financial & Corporate Contacts: Invibes Advertising Kris Vlaemynck, CFO kris.vlaemynck@invibes.com Listing Sponsor Atout Capital Rodolphe Ossola rodolphe.ossola@atoutcapital.com +33 (0)1 56 69 61 80 Group Investor Relations Actifin Alexandre Commerot acommerot@actifin.fr +33 (0)1 56 88 11 11 Media Relations Fair Communications Victoria Fairclough victoria.fairclough@faircommunications.co.uk +44 79 1991 3348 Attachment Drug company executives insisted Tuesday they aren't cutting corners in fast-tracking development of potential vaccines to prevent infection of the coronavirus. Executives from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna and Pfizer told Congress the Food and Drug Administration hasn't eased its requirements for proving their vaccines are safe and effective. They also said they should be able to produce a safe and effective vaccine by the end of the year or early 2021. "I think the guidelines the FDA have issued are absolutely to the normal standards and I think that if we are able to meet them, we will have a safe and efficacious vaccine," Dr. Mene Pangalos, AstraZeneca executive vice president for biopharmaceuticals research and development, said during a hearing with the House Energy and Commerce Committee on efforts to create a vaccine. "There's nothing that gives me pause that they're lowering their standards in any way." Public health officials say there is no returning to "normal" until there is a vaccine. There are no FDA-approved drugs or vaccines for the coronavirus, which has infected more than 14.7 million people worldwide and killed at least 610,560 as of Tuesday, according to data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. More than 100 potential vaccines are being developed worldwide, according to the World Health Organization, with at least 23 already in human trials. It's a record-breaking time frame for a process that normally takes about a decade to develop an effective and safe vaccine. The fastest-ever vaccine development, for mumps, took more than four years and was licensed in 1967. But according to a poll from the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, only about half of Americans say they would get a coronavirus vaccine if scientists succeed in making one that works. Among Americans who say they wouldn't get vaccinated, 7 in 10 worry about safety, according to the poll. Dr. Julie Gerberding, executive vice president and chief patient officer at Merck, emphasized that there are still some safety concerns that scientists have to watch out for, including "enhancement of the respiratory disease under this kind of immunologic pressure." "I think while we are fully prepared to move as quickly as we can through the things we can do in parallel, and gearing up for manufacturing now at risk, we do not expect to be able to accelerate the safety assessment, and in fact we're quite relieved that the FDA insisted upon applying the same high standards of safety and efficacy even under these emergency conditions and that they would apply to any of the vaccines that we've" produced in the past, Gerberding said. Health regulators have fast-tracked approvals for coronavirus research and development, allowing scientists to skip through months of red tape and to ramp up manufacturing before receiving regulatory approval. Because of the pandemic, health officials, drug companies and researchers have been accelerating the development of vaccine candidates by investing in multiple stages of research even though doing so could be for naught if the vaccine ends up not being effective or safe. While the vaccine may be safe, the executives told Congress it is "understandable" the public would be concerned, adding they will need to work to gain that trust. "Vaccine hesitancy is probably one of the greatest challenges for public health that America faces," said John Young, Pfizer's chief business officer. "All of us need to play a role, should we be successful in this mission, that there's confidence in the safety and effectiveness of our vaccines based on data, based on confidence the FDA will only approve a vaccine if it's safe and effective." In the U.S., Black people continue to make up a disproportionate share of Covid-19 fatalities, according to U.S. data. Conditions such as diabetes, hypertension and asthma that tend to plague African Americans more than other racial groups could be contributing to more Covid-19 deaths. Income inequalities and disparities in access to health care, which generally lead to poorer diets and overall health, tend to hurt minority and lower-income populations more than others. The executives said it will be critical to work with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to get the vaccine to people who are most at risk. Mr. Kaiser was the great-great-grandson of John D. Rockfeller, who founded the Standard Oil Co. in the 19th century and eventually became the worlds richest person. When Standard Oil was found to be in violation of the Sherman Antitrust Act by the U.S. Supreme Court in 1911, it was broken into 34 smaller companies. Story continues below advertisement Two of the companies became Exxon and Mobil, which merged in 1999 to form ExxonMobil, now the worlds largest oil and gas corporation. Rockefeller descendants, meanwhile, went on to varied careers in business and public service and formed several foundations to promote philanthropic causes. Advertisement Mr. Kaiser became president of one of those entities, the Rockefeller Family Fund, in 2015. That year, reporters from InsideClimate News an environmental news organization supported in part by other Rockefeller groups uncovered evidence that Exxon had been aware of the potential harmful effects of climate change as early as 1977, years before it became a significant public concern. Present thinking holds, a company scientist told top executives, that man has a time window of five to ten years before the need for hard decisions regarding changes in energy strategies might become critical. Story continues below advertisement In 1982, Exxon produced an internal document acknowledging that greenhouse gases, caused by fossil-fuel emissions, would raise global temperatures and lead to rising sea levels and catastrophic coastal flooding. Advertisement Nonetheless, for decades Exxon executives cast doubt on the warnings of climate scientists or denied that there was a problem at all. Even after the revelations from InsideClimate News and other news organizations, an Exxon official complained that these guys go down and pull some documents that we made available publicly in the archives and portray them as some kind of bombshell whistle-blower expose. In 2003, Mr. Kaisers mother, Neva Rockefeller Goodwin the daughter of financier David Rockefeller demanded that Exxon study the companys impact on the environment, but attempts by the family to sway Exxon policies had little effect. Story continues below advertisement Do the Rockefellers still matter? a Wall Street Journal columnist wrote. In 2014, another Rockefeller family group, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, announced that it would no longer invest in fossil-fuel companies. Under Mr. Kaiser, the Rockefeller Family Fund issued a grant to Columbia University to support investigative reporting on climate change. Advertisement By 2016, the fund announced that it would divest from Exxon altogether for what Mr. Kaiser called the companys morally reprehensible conduct. The actions set off a prolonged legal battle and war of words. Its not surprising that theyre divesting from the company, Exxon spokesman Alan Jeffers said at the time, since theyre already funding a conspiracy against us. Story continues below advertisement Mr. Kaiser and Lee Wasserman, director of the Rockefeller Family Fund, outlined their views in a two-part article in the New York Review of Books. The family generally doesnt do public things in this way, Mr. Kaiser told the New York Times in 2016. He admitted the obvious historical irony of members of the Rockefeller family turning against Exxon, which had been a principal source of their fortune. We want attention, he added, because we think it will make clear to the public that the so-called debate over climate science has been a fake one, artificially manufactured, and a basically dishonest one from the beginning. Advertisement Not everyone in the family agreed with him. A cousin, Ariana Rockefeller, said, I dont think denouncing a family legacy is the best way to go about doing this. Story continues below advertisement David Walter Kaiser was born July 27, 1969, in Cambridge, Mass. His father was an English professor at Harvard University. His mother is on the advisory board of Boston Universitys Global Development Policy Center. Mr. Kaiser graduated from Columbia University in 1991. In addition to climate change, his work with the Rockefeller Family Fund included promoting employment opportunities for women and advancing citizen participation in government. In 2019, his sister, Miranda Kaiser, became president of the family fund. In addition to his mother and sister, Mr. Kaisers survivors include his wife of eight years, Rosemary Corbett; and two daughters. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement In 2016, Exxon sued the attorneys general of New York and Massachusetts, charging that their investigations of possible fraud by the company were done in bad faith and were part of a political vendetta. A federal judge in New York, Valerie E. Caproni, dismissed the case in 2018, saying Exxon was running roughshod over the adage that the best defense is a good offense. During the proceedings, an Exxon lawyer sought to include Mr. Kaiser and other members of his family as part of a wide-ranging conspiracy against the company. Didnt Standard Oil grow up to be Exxon? Caproni asked the lawyer, Justin Anderson. What happened to those Rockefellers? Story continues below advertisement Your Honor, Anderson replied, what happened was they got on this bandwagon The judge interrupted him. They care, she said, whether subsequent Rockefellers can breathe. Read more Washington Post obituaries Christopher Dickey, journalist and author of acclaimed memoir, dies at 68 John Lewis, front-line civil rights leader and eminence of Capitol Hill, dies at 80 Kirk R. Smith, scientist who warned of health hazards of open-fire cooking, dies at 73 The Bahamas, that is heavily dependent on tourism, reopened their borders earlier this month amid the coronavirus pandemic. However, since reopening, the Bahamas has had 49 new coronavirus cases, according to an AFP report. It has seen only 153 confirmed cases and 11 deaths since the start of the pandemic, the report adds. The Bahamas is a global tourist destination thats home to 400,000 inhabitants. Last year, it was hit by Hurricane Dorian that affected the business, economy and livelihood in a large way. Despite being on a road to recovery, it shut its borders on April 6, battening down as the pandemic gathered force around the world. The Bahamian government has now decided to ban travellers from countries where coronavirus cases are surging incessantly, especially the United States. The move comes into force to prevent the further spread of the virus in the Caribbean nation. All international commercial flights have been banned from entering the Bahamas, effectively from Wednesday. The only exemptions are visitors from the United Kingdom, European Union and Canada who have tested negative, Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said in a nationally televised address on Sunday (local time). Sea vessels carrying commercial passengers will also not be permitted to enter. However, private international flights, charters and yachts from all countries will continue to be allowed. National airline Bahamasair will end flights to the US immediately and a number of beaches and parks have been closed until further notice, according to Minnis. Our current situation demands decisive action if we are to avoid being overrun and being defeated by this virus, Minnis said in his address. The Bahamas move to ban most international travellers, especially Americans, is significant as 50 per cent of the nations gross domestic product (GDP) worth USD 5.7 billion comes from tourism alone, with the majority of the 5.5 million tourists who visit the Bahamas each year coming from the US, according to the Bahamas Investment Authority. With the US beating its own daily record of new coronavirus cases at least nine times in a month, Minnis was adamant in saying that the Bahamas needed to focus on saving lives and limiting spread of the virus. The better we are at this, the more our economy could open up and people could make a living, he said. -- with ANI inputs Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter East Haddam Fire Department photo EAST HADDAM The Federal Emergency Management Agency will be disbursing $4.6 million in direct assistance grants to 85 fire departments nationwide through the agencys FY2020 Assistance to Firefighters Grant COVID-19 Supplemental program. Additional phases will soon be announced, according to a press release. The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) daily basket price stood at 43.22 U.S. dollars a barrel on Friday, compared with 43.80 dollars per barrel on Thursday, according to OPEC Secretariat calculations released on Monday. Also known as the OPEC reference basket of crude oil, the OPEC basket, a weighted average of oil prices from different OPEC members around the world, is used as an important benchmark for crude oil prices. Stocks to watch today: Here is a list of top stocks that are likely to be in focus in Tuesday's trading session based on latest developments. Investors are also awaiting April-June quarter earnings that are scheduled to be released today. Companies set to announce their earnings are Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv among others. IndiGo: Company's chief executive Ronojoy Dutta said in a statement that the company will lay off a tenth of its staff or about 2,800 people, to survive the disruptions caused by covid-19 pandemic. Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel: The Supreme Court yesterday reserved its order on the timeline of staggered payment of adjusted gross revenue related dues by telecom operators including Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices. Where both Vodafone Idea and Bharti Airtel have requested for a 15-year window to clear the dues, Tata Teleservices has asked 7-10 years. Jubilant Life Sciences: Company's subsidiary Jubilant Generics, has received DCGI approval for generic version of antiviral drug remdesivir for restricted emergency use in India for treatment of patients with severe covid-19 symptoms. SBI Cards Q1: The company's net profit rose 14% to Rs 393 crore in the first quarter ended June 30, as against the profit of Rs 346 crore in April-June quarter of the fiscal ended March 2020. ACC Q1: Company reported a 40.53% drop in its consolidated net profit to Rs 270.95 crore for the quarter ended on June 30, as agaisnt Rs 455.68 crore in the same quarter a year ago. Indian Oil: Company said Fitch Ratings on Monday said it has affirmed a 'BBB-' rating with a negative outlook to the company. Q1 Earnings today: Axis Bank, Hindustan Unilever, Bajaj Finance and Bajaj Finserv, among others will today announce their April-June quarter earnings today. Chief Minister on Tuesday issued a clarification over his statement on Sardars and Haryanvi saying, he had mentioned the views of "some people" about these two communities. "In an event organised at Agartala Press Club, I had mentioned the views of some people about my Punjabi and Jat brothers. My impression was not to hurt any community. I am proud of both Punjabi and Jat communities. I myself have lived among them for a long time," he tweeted. "Many of my integral friends are from this community. If my statement has hurt someone's feelings, I am personally apologetic for that," CM Deb said in another tweet. "I always salute the contribution of Punjabi and Jat communities in the freedom struggle of the country. And, I can never imagine raising questions on the role played by these two communities in advancing India," Kumar added. Yesterday, Congress leader Randeep Singh Surjewala shared a video of Deb allegedly terming Sardars and Haryanvi as "less brainy". In the 48-second video clip, Deb can be heard saying, "When we talk about the Punjabis, we say the Sardars are not afraid of anyone. They have a lot of strength but they are less brainy." He goes on to explain that the of Haryana are physically well-built but have "limited brains". (Only the headline and picture of this report may have been reworked by the Business Standard staff; the rest of the content is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) The World Health Organization has warned that Africa might be headed for a much larger outbreak than current numbers are suggesting. "I am very concerned right now that we are beginning to see an acceleration of disease in Africa," WHO's emergencies chief Michael Ryan said. So far, the continent has managed to avoid becoming a hotspot with around 15,000 deaths and 725,000 confirmed infections. But a surge in South Africa - the continent's worst-hit country - could be seen as a warning for what might happen to the rest of Africa. There are more than 370,000 cases and 5,000 deaths in the country. "This isn't just a wake-up call for South Africa," Ryan said. "We need to take what is happening in Africa very, very seriously." Source: BBC Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video This expansion comes on the back of the company's $150 million funding round, and at a time of considerable demand for Globalization Partners' solution. The new Asia Pacific operations will support companies based in Asia who are looking to expand both within and outside the region. It will also support the company's growing Asia Pacific customer base. "Globalization Partners provided us with exceptional insight into employment standards and regulations in Australia, enabling us to quickly and easily hire our director of services to facilitate our expansion into that region," said Robert DeSteno, Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Archive360. "As the emerging global standard for intelligent enterprise information management, their solution made it easy for us to continue to concentrate on our business while avoiding the need to invest heavily in time or infrastructure that would typically be associated with expanding our team in Asia Pacific." "Our intention is to take our solution that enables any company to hire anyone, anywhere, in as little as twelve hours into every market around the globe," said Nicole Sahin, Chief Executive Officer and Founder of Globalization Partners. "The Asia Pacific region represents a significant opportunity and Charles Ferguson's exceptional entrepreneurial and executive experience in Human Capital Management solutions will be key in enabling us to meet our growth goals." Reporting to Diane Albano, Chief Revenue Officer, Ferguson will be responsible for the scaling and efficiency of the Asia Pacific revenue-generation team, managing the company's partner strategy and ultimately replicating the phenomenal success of Globalization Partners in North America, by capturing the market need for Asian companies looking for a simple and easy way to go global. "We anticipate that APAC will be one of our fastest-growing regions and Charles will be instrumental in executing our on-the-ground strategy," said Diane Albano, Globalization Partners. His strong leadership and unparalleled expertise in leading business expansion initiatives in Asia is ideally suited as we grow our presence there." Charles was most recently Group Chief Commercial Officer for Tricor Group, a leading business expansion specialist in Asia where he was responsible for designing and executing the global sales, marketing, and product innovation strategy. Prior to this role, Charles was President and General Manager for the Asia Pacific region at ADP, where he brought his experience and technology passion to the fore as the driver for delivering ADP's employee engagement and Human Capital Management solutions to firms of every size in Asia. Charles also co-founded management consulting and advisory services firm ReedHamilton where he led the technology and innovation practice. Prior to that he held positions at SAP, Salesforce, Microsoft and Intel. "Asia Pacific is one of the most dynamic markets in the world and I am looking forward to working with the team to build out our presence and drive opportunities in the region," said Charles Ferguson, General Manager, APAC, Globalization Partners. About Globalization Partners Globalization Partners enables companies to quickly and easily expand internationally across six continents and 187 countries. Our solution allows companies to hire employees in as little as 12 hours without having to navigate complex international legal, tax, and HR issues. When companies find top talent, that team member is put on our locally compliant payroll. We are the most trustworthy solution in the market and offer 24/7/365 premium support services. We have teams and offices worldwide with global headquarters located in Boston and California and regional headquarters in London, Ireland, Singapore and Dubai. Globalization Partners' innovative platform is Privacy Shield certified for HR Data , and has consistently attained 97% customer satisfaction ratings by making it easy for companies to go global. To find out more, please visit: globalization-partners.com or connect with us via Twitter , LinkedIn , Facebook , or check out our Blog . Contact: Karen Pantinas [email protected] 617-729-4466 SOURCE Globalization Partners Related Links https://www.globalization-partners.com/ TORONTO, ONTARIO / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Pelangio Exploration Inc. (TSXV:PX)(OTC PINK:PGXPF) ("Pelangio" or the "Company") is pleased to provide an update of activities on its Manfo gold project located in Ghana, West Africa. HIGHLIGHTS Completed considerable data recompilation, reinterpretation and target generation for the 96 square kilometer ("km 2 ") Manfo project which hosts three deposits that constitute the current maiden resource estimate; ") Manfo project which hosts three deposits that constitute the current maiden resource estimate; Designed programs of soil sampling and RAB drilling for the Manfo project covering multiple targets with RC drill testing of favourable results proposed to follow; and, Commenced the soil sampling program - July 15, 2020 Ingrid Hibbard, President and CEO of Pelangio, commented, "We are very pleased to commence our newly generated work programs at the Manfo project after a long hiatus. We feel confident that with the current stronger gold price, and renewed interested in gold exploration, Pelangio is poised to create value for our shareholders by our renewed exploration on the Manfo project. We approach these newly designed programs after having spent a great deal of time re-evaluating and reinterpreting the vast amount of data generated from previous exploration. Should these initial programs be successful in further discovery at Manfo, resource definition drilling will follow with the aim to add to the current resource base that was established by SRK in 2013". Pelangio holds two large property positions totalling 380 km2 in the highly gold endowed Sefwi-Bibiani and Ashanti greenstone belts of southwestern Ghana. The Manfo Project, in the Sefwi-Bibiani belt, is located within 17 kilometers ("km") of Newmont's recently expanded 10 million tonne per annum Ahafo plant. Pelangio's Obuasi Project is situated immediately adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's recently restarted 31 million ounce Obuasi Mine in the most gold fertile greenstone belt of West Africa, the Ashanti Belt. Note: Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's property. Both projects saw considerable exploration work conducted by Pelangio during the period of 2007 through 2012, including the discovery and definition of the maiden gold resource on the Manfo Project. However, minimal work has been conducted on either project since the gold price decline in 2012. With the strengthening gold price and increasing appetite for investment in quality gold projects, the Company believes that a resumption of exploration activities on its Ghana projects is now warranted. Both projects hold a number of robust exploration targets which have remained untested since the downturn. In addition, Pelangio geologists have completed considerable data recompilation, reinterpretation and target generation, with additional targets identified for exploration testing. Initial exploration work programs have been designed for the Manfo project and have recently commenced, while the review of data and target generation is in progress for the Obuasi project. Figure 1 illustrates the location of Pelangio's projects in southwestern Ghana in relation to current gold production. Ghana surpassed South Africa in 2018 to become the largest gold producer in Africa and produced a total of 4.58 million ounces of gold in 2019. (Source: 2019 gold production figures are from The Ghana Chamber of Mines 2019 Annual Report). Figure 1: Location of Pelangio's Manfo and Obuasi Projects and Gold Mines in Southwestern Ghana Notes: The Obuasi Mine just restarted production in December 2019; 400Koz/y is Anglogold Ashanti's approximate projected gold production from 2021 2019 Measured + Indicated Resource (M+I Res) figures are inclusive of Reserves and were sourced from the companies 2019 Annual Reports Mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's property. Manfo Project, Sefwi-Bibiani Greenstone Belt The Manfo project comprises 96 km of Prospecting Licenses located within the Sefwi-Bibiani greenstone belt in southwestern Ghana, 70 km west of Kumasi the second largest city in Ghana, and 17 km south of Newmont's 10 million tonne per annum Ahafo plant site. Prior to Pelangio acquiring the Manfo property in 2010, initial exploration work was conducted over the area by AngloGold Ashanti followed by Newmont. During the period of 2010 through 2012, Pelangio conducted considerable exploration work including soil sampling (7,926 samples), trenching (2,921 meters ("m")), auger drilling (783 holes), a VTEM, magnetics and radiometrics airborne geophysics survey (1,173 line km), a ground gradient IP/Resistivity survey (36 km2) and 178 diamond drill holes for a total of 37,313 m were completed. Drilling discovered seven significant gold prospects along a 9 km mineralized trend and defined a maiden resource in three of the prospects, Pokukrom East and West plus Nfante West, of 195,000 oz (at 1.52 g/t Au) Indicated and 298,000 oz (at 0.96 g/t Au) Inferred, estimated by SRK in June of 2013. Refer to the Mineral Resource Evaluation Technical Report, Manfo Gold Project, Ghana, authored by SRK and released by Pelangio on June 21, 2013. In addition to the resource estimation, SRK also reviewed all of the exploration data including the airborne geophysics data and conducted a geological and structural interpretation and generated multiple targets for follow up with more soil sampling plus rotary air blast ("RAB"), reverse circulation ("RC") and diamond drilling ("DD"). The majority of these targets remain untested. Since 2012, exploration work conducted by Pelangio on the Manfo project has been limited to several rounds of data review and target generation culminating in a small drilling program conducted during October 2017 through April 2018 consisting of 63 air core ("AC") and RC holes (2,524 m) plus 5 DD drill holes (882 m) to test the strike extension of the Nkansu prospect plus conceptual exploration targets to the east of the principal mineralized trend. This last drilling program at Manfo addressed few of the targets generated by SRK's work and returned generally weak to modest results. Manfo Exploration Plans Recent data review and reanalysis has shown that multiple compelling targets, including those generated by SRK's work, remain on the Manfo project and warrant further work. The deposits that constitute the current resource at Manfo appear to have limited potential for significant extension immediately on strike, however there may be potential for resource expansion down-plunge. Exploratory drilling along strike from several of the prospects, particularly Nkansu, Nfante East and Sika North is justified, and there are gaps in the drilling along the principal mineralized trend of up to 1 km which should be evaluated by scout drilling. In addition, areas of lower tenor gold ("Au") in soil anomalism coinciding with structural targets identified by SRK's work are present along and near to the principal mineralized trend, and relatively robust Au in soil anomalism is evident along a subparallel trend 2 to 3 kms to the west of the main trend. The soil sampling to the west of Pokukrom West was on 400 to 800 m spaced lines and is therefore fairly coarse and may have missed areas of mineralization. Also, there is very limited soil sampling over a 900 m strike south of Nfante East to the southern property boundary. Planned exploration work at Manfo intends to address these gaps in the current soil sampling coverage. A program of soil sampling has been designed consisting of 1,404 samples covering the area south of Nfante West plus areas of interest to the west of Pokukrom West. The sampling has been prioritized by interpreted prospectivity, with Priority areas 1 through 3 (747 samples) comprising Phase I of the program and Priorities 4 through 7 (657 samples) being Phase II of the program. Phase I soil sampling commenced on July 15, and it is anticipated that Phase II will follow shortly thereafter. Refer to Figure 2. Figure 2: Planned Soil Sampling Program for Pelangio's Manfo Project In addition to the soil sampling, a program of RAB drilling has been engineered as a first pass drill test of some of the more promising targets generated by SRK's work (geological, structural and geophysical targets) coincident with generally lower order Au in soil anomalism. These targets occur along and near to (within 1 km of) the principal mineralized trend and will be tested by 15 "heel-to-toe" RAB drill fences for a total of approximately 7,000 m of RAB drilling. Refer to Figure 3. The RAB drilling is not contingent upon completion of and receipt of results from the current soil sampling programs and accordingly can be initiated anytime, however it is best deferred until after the current rainy season to later in the year. Contingent upon the results of the soil sampling and RAB drilling programs, follow up testing of favourable results by RC (and possibly DD drilling) is anticipated. An amount of 3,500 meters of RC drill testing is proposed. Figure 3: Planned RAB Drill Testing for Pelangio's Manfo Project Obuasi Project, Ashanti Greenstone Belt The 284 km Obuasi project is located within the Ashanti Belt of southwestern Ghana, and immediately adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's Obuasi Mine. Data reanalysis and targeting exercises are ongoing for the Obuasi project and exploration work plans are being developed. Qualified Person Mr. Kevin Thomson, P.Geo. (Ontario), is a qualified person within the meaning of National Instrument 43-101. Mr. Thomson approved the technical data disclosed in this release. About Pelangio Pelangio acquires and explores land packages in world-class gold belts in Canada and Ghana, West Africa. In Canada, the company is focusing on the 6.7 km2 Grenfell property located approximately 10 km from the Macassa Mine in Kirkland Lake, the Dome West property located 800 meters from the Dome Mine in Timmins, the 34 km2 Birch Lake and Birch Lake West properties located in the Red Lake Mining District and the Dalton Property located 1.5 km from the Hollinger Mine in Timmins. In Ghana, the Company is focusing on two 100% owned camp-sized properties: the 96 km2 Manfo Property, the site of seven near-surface gold discoveries, and the 284 km2 Obuasi Property, located 4 km on strike and adjacent to AngloGold Ashanti's prolific high-grade Obuasi Mine. Ghana is an English speaking, common law jurisdiction that is consistently ranked amongst the most favourable mining jurisdictions in Africa. For additional information, please visit our website at www.pelangio.com, or contact: Ingrid Hibbard, President and CEO Tel: 905-336-3828 / Toll-free: 1-877-746-1632 / Email: info@pelangio.com Forward Looking Statements Certain statements herein may contain forward-looking statements and forward-looking information within the meaning of applicable securities laws. Forward-looking statements or information appear in a number of places and can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects" or "does not expect", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "intends", "anticipates" or "does not anticipate" or "believes" or variations of such words and phrases or statements that certain actions, events or results "may", "could", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. Forward-looking statements and information include statements regarding the Company's ability to complete the planned work programs, the Company's strategy of acquiring large land packages in areas of sizeable gold mineralization, the Company's plans to follow-up on previous work, and the Company's exploration plans. With respect to forward-looking statements and information contained herein, we have made numerous assumptions, including assumptions about the state of the equity markets. Such forward-looking statements and information are subject to risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the Company's actual results, performance or achievements, or industry results, to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by such forward-looking statement or information. Such risks include the changes in equity markets, share price volatility, volatility of global and local economic climate, gold price volatility, political developments in Ghana, and Canada, increases in costs, exchange rate fluctuations, speculative nature of gold exploration, including the risk that favourable exploration results may not be obtained, and other risks involved in the gold exploration industry. See the Company's annual and quarterly financial statements and management's discussion and analysis for additional information on risks and uncertainties relating to the forward-looking statement and information. There can be no assurance that a forward-looking statement or information referenced herein will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements or information. Also, many of the factors are beyond the control of the Company. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward- looking statements or information. We undertake no obligation to reissue or update any forward-looking statements or information except as required by law. All forward-looking statements and information herein are qualified by this cautionary statement. Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. SOURCE: Tigri Communications Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598221/Pelangio-Exploration-Provides-Ghana-Projects-Update-And-Commencement-Of-Work-On-The-Manfo-Gold-Project MANISTEE -- It has been well over a year since William Travis last held his daughter Kylie. That changed on Monday, when the recently retired petty officer returned home following a three year stint in Hawaii, surprising his daughter at daycare at the Next Generation Learning Center. It was an emotional moment for William Travis, his wife Stephanie Travis and their daughter Kylie (3), who last saw her father in person in April 2019. "It's amazing to be able to see my daughter and my wife," William Travis said while fighting back tears. "I'm just taking a lot in." Kylie wasn't the only one surprised during Monday's reunion. Upon reaching the Little River Band of Ottawa Indians Government Center, William Travis' vehicle was escorted by a procession of police and other first responders. "I'm super happy and super surprised by all of this," William Travis said. "I didn't expect this. I just did a job. I did it because there were people before me who did it, that served and gave the ultimate sacrifice. This was my way of thanking them." While William Travis was stationed in Honolulu for the past three years, his family stayed behind in Manistee. Stephanie Travis said her family could only meet once each year during that time. "It's been hard for (Kylie) only being able to see him on video chats on weekends or phone calls, but now she will have her dad home all the time," Stephanie Travis said. Petty Officer First Class William Travis retired after 20 years of service in the United States Navy. A retirement ceremony was held July 16, though Travis' family could not attend due to coronavirus. William Travis said it would take some time acclimating to civilian life. "It's going to take a while before it really sets in," he said. "I've got to learn a whole new routine. It's going to be different." With their family together again, Stephanie Travis said she is looking forward to making up for lost time. "It will be a big adjustment for all of us since it has been just Kylie and I for the past three years, but we are excited to finally be a family again," she said. While William Travis isn't sure what he'll do next, he said the most important thing is "getting to know my family again and getting my daughter to know me." "She was only just a little over 2 the last time I saw her," he said. "She's almost 4 now, so I've got to get her to know me and learn what the routine is. It's their routine. I've got to pick up on that." Michael D. Cohen says it was no secret that he was writing a jailhouse tell-all book about his former boss, President Trump. He spent hours at a stretch working on his manuscript in a prison library before he was released on furlough in May because of the coronavirus. Then, earlier this month, federal officials abruptly sent Mr. Cohen back to prison because he balked at signing an agreement that would have let him stay at home with a key restriction: He would not have been allowed to publish his book before the November elections. Now Mr. Cohen has responded with a lawsuit claiming that the government has violated his First Amendment rights by returning him to custody and interrupting his writing. The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Manhattan on Monday night, asked a judge to once again release Mr. Cohen and let him to serve the remainder of his three-year sentence back in home confinement. Two Chinese nationals working with Chinas state security ministry have been charged with a decade-long global campaign targeting intellectual property and confidential business information at hundreds of entities, including COVID-19 vaccine and treatment research conducted by U.S. firms. Li Xiaoyu, 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 33, were charged in an 11-count indictment unsealed on Tuesday, marking the first time alleged Chinese hackers have been indicted for the blended threat of working for the Chinese government while also targeting victims for personal gain. It is the first time we're announcing charges that present what we call this blended threat of criminal hackers also doing state sponsored activities and being allowed to do their criminal activities and profit off those criminal activities by the state because they can be on call to state to do this work as well, said Assistant Attorney General John Demers. Li and Dong, who allegedly studied computer applications technologies at the same Chinese university, remain at large. No officials of Chinas Ministry of State Security involved in the campaign were charged. Officials say the hacking campaign began in 2009 and continued through early July when the two men were indicted. Targeted businesses included high-tech companies in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Germany, Japan, Lithuania, the Netherlands, Spain, South Korea, Sweden, and Britain, according to the indictment. In recent months, as U.S. biotech firms began developing COVID-19 vaccines and treatments, the hackers unsuccessfully sought to target their research. COVID-19 is the disease caused by the coronavirus. In addition to attacking businesses, the alleged hackers also infiltrated the online accounts of non-profits as well as dissidents, clergy and rights activists in the United States, China and other countries, underscoring their services to the Chinese government, according to Demers. These intrusions are yet another example of Chinas brazen willingness to engage in theft through computer intrusions contrary to their international commitments, Demers said. The indictment comes as U.S. officials raise the alarm about Chinese efforts to steal U.S. intellectual property as part of an effort to supplant the United States as the worlds only superpower. FBI Director Christopher Wray, on July 7, called Chinas economic espionage the greatest long-term threat to our nations information and intellectual property, and to our economic vitality. Almost half of the nearly 5,000 active FBI counterintelligence cases are related to China, Wray said, adding that the bureau is adding a new counterintelligence case related to China every 10 hours. Attorney General William Barr said on Thursday that China is engaged in an economic blitzkrieg against the United States, accusing U.S. businesses of bowing to Chinese pressure in pursuit of profit. There is a contradiction between an enduring desire of the Nigerian Left (the aggregate of Nigerian Marxists, socialists, and fragments of radical democrats), on the one hand, and the actual history of Nigerias Left politics on the other. That contradiction can be stated like this: Nigerian Leftists have always hoped to found a substantial and respectable pan-Nigerian organization that is capable of permanently and continuously coordinating their revolutionary strategies and popular-democratic struggles regardless of the electoral agenda, time-tables and timelines presented to the nation by Nigerias ruling class and its governments. But what we have had in practice is that the trajectory (rise and decline) of Left politics and organization in our country since the Second Republic seems to mirror the trajectory of our national politics (especially electoral contests) which, as we all know, has largely been determined and dominated by the ruling class. It is not necessary in this article to attempt to demonstrate the preceding proposition in any historical detail. This will derail the focus of the article. It is sufficient for our purpose to proceed from the fact that the proposition is true prima facie. All that the Nigerian Left needs to do now is to resolve, once again, to break with this heritage of tying the tempo of its politics and organization to the tempo of ruling class politics, and then rise to realize its historically-determined needs and possibilities. That is the central concern of this piece. Having said this, it has to be recognized, and we do recognize and proclaim that the Nigerian Left has grown not only in size but also in quality in the last five years. It has grown in diversity, in creativity, in perspective, and in audacity. The most significant elements of the qualitative change have been brought about by the creative employment of the rapidly developing modern communication technology in popular-democratic struggle, organization, campaign, and advocacy. More concretely, the elements of the Nigerian Lefts qualitative change include the establishment and engagement of popular-democratic, Left-populist and class-specific platforms of education, research, information, discussion and debate, sharp exchanges and, most significantly, mobilization for political interventionsqualitatively different from the NGO phenomenon, though partly originating in it. These platforms have continued to draw in Nigerian professionals of both sexes and other strata of the middle class. Counted among the platforms are Nigerian Socialists, Conference on Marxism, Friends of Revolution (FOR), Alliance on Surviving COVID-19 and Beyond (ASCAB) and several others that are either unknown or are inappropriate for mention in this medium. It is also heart-warming and inspiring to note that the socialist and popular-democratic advocacy of the Nigerian Left in the last five years has become clearer, bolder and more confident in its discussion of feminism, the national question, secularity of the state, the critical placement of the working class, the wide and elastic horizon of democracy and human rights and revolutionary internationalism. Nigerian Lefts anti-poverty and anti-corruption struggles have become more class-conscious. What remains to be done in this sphere of rising maturity is for the Nigerian Left to sharpen its perception of political power as a realizable strategic objective. The question now is: How can the Nigerian Left, having recorded the qualitative and quantitative advances described in the preceding paragraphs, establish a framework to coordinate this first set of advances, thus helping to realize their combined revolutionary potentials? In answer, we can say that there are, at least, three possible strategies. We shall quickly dispose of the first two strategies which are, in fact, reminders, and then proceed to the third which, though not new, has not been in active consideration for a long time. The first possible strategy is this: Let a number of Nigerian revolutionary socialists, hopefully with some Marxists, select themselves, draft a Peoples Manifesto for the Nigerian Left, establish an interim Coordinating Centre for the Nigerian Left, draft an agenda for the first meeting of this New Effort (to be attended by comrades carefully selected by them), draft an agenda for such a meeting, summon it and direct it. At the conclusion of the meeting, with the setting up of an interim leadership, the original group is dissolved, having concluded its mission. The second possible strategy is embodied in the following excerpt from my article, Preliminary notes on RevolutionNow (August 15, 2019): If Nigeria survives long enough from the current battering of the countrys ruling class, variants of what was attempted on August 5, 2019 may be attempted again and again until a spark leads to a national conflagration or a successful popular revolution resulting from a better conceived, planned and executed strategy. Such a successful popular revolution will present to every Left entityorganization or individualthe choice of joining the revolution as an active participant, thereby ending this long stalemate. Now, to the third possible strategy: About a month ago, a political formation, named the Nigerian Consultative Forum (NCF), announced its coming into being. The event was widely publicized in the print, online and social media. Going by its first public announcement, including its mission statement and the list of its initiators (actual and assumed) one can say, tentatively, that the formation is respectable, reformist and patriotic. But it is not Left, by any stretch. One of the names invoked, without notice or consultation, in the birth announcement of NCF was Comrade Femi Falana, a well-known Nigerian Leftist, frontline human rights lawyer and a Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN). After seeing the announcement, Comrade Falana politely and in a responsible manner, explained that he was neither consulted nor notified before the announcement. He acknowledged the efforts and sincerity of the initiators but politely declined membership. After this introductory comment, Comrade Falana went to the critical point: I wish to add that there are several efforts I have been involved lately and I believe that there is a growing perspective that all efforts should be harmonized for maximum impact. At the appropriate time, we shall come before Nigerians to present the new platform which would be predicated upon pro-masses-oriented and anti-poverty programme, and hopefully, the founders of the new initiative will be proud not to be left out. First, a clarification: Historically, politically, and ideologically, it is not wrong, in an absolute sense, to invoke the names of popular and respected personages in making important political interventions in national crises or revolutionary situations. The word important should be defined here as intended to save the nation or a political entity or even an idea. But whoever is making such an invocation (without consultation or notice) is assuming a grave responsibility which must be based at least on honesty and sufficient knowledge of the invoked. Once these conditions, deliberately loaded, are satisfied, a good name can be invoked as freely as we breathe the air. Now to the substantive and critical questions. They are also rhetorical; so, Comrade Falana is not obliged to start answering them: Will the new initiative envisaged by Comrade Falana in his statement be Left, Centrist, or Right? I rule out the Right because I have known and followed Falana for 40 years, since 1980. If Left or Centrist, will Marxists and revolutionary socialists go into it as individuals or as a disciplined group? If as a group what level of relative independence will such a group seek for itself in the formation? Presented above are three alternative strategies for the Nigerian Left to make a new qualitative leap in its national politics and organization. My modest objective here has been to simply present them as clearly as possible and not to infer whether I am anticipating a revolution or targeting electoral politics or 2023, for that matter. Beyond this, I may suggest that the three strategies are not mutually exclusive. By this I mean that the breakthrough that we seek may occur as a combination of two or all the three alternatives. Madunagu, mathematician and journalist, writes from Calabar, Cross River State. In a fiery cross-examination of the Bella Vista Homes director, Danny Cancian was asked where was the money following the failed subdivision. His answer: council took it away. Cancian took the stand in defence of his portion of the 28 collective charges laid under the Building Act against Bella Vista Homes Limited, The Engineer Limited, Bruce John Cameron and block layer Darrell Joseph. Tauranga City Council purchased the development for $14.2 million after some homes received code compliance only to be later classed as dangerous or affected buildings. The alleged defects were found after Bella Vista Homes had gone into liquidation at the end of 2017. While giving evidence, Cancian laid blame on his project managers, builders, employees, council staff and even homeowners for issues at the site. He spoke quickly on the stand and was reined in often by Judge Paul Mabey. During his evidence, Cancian said he was not the licenced building practitioner builder on the site and put blame on staff who let him down. When discussing records of work for the failed development showing his signature and LBP number he claimed the documents were forged. "Someone else put them in with my signature," he said. "They've used the back page from 297 Lakes Boulevard for record of works. "I wouldn't have signed off." Earlier in the trail, a former employee of Bella Vista Home admitted to filing some records of works using a pre-signed page to do so. Cancian distanced himself from the day-to-day building on the site and said his role as the company director was more like a "scout looking for developments" than dealing with the builds. He also said the large retaining walls separating the top developments on Aneta Way and the lower ones on Lakes Boulevard was the responsibility of the property owners. When asked how the walls were going to be built after the houses were completed, he said they could have got a bobcat or smaller digger into drill the holes. "I build a lot of retaining walls and built them in smaller sections than that. Cancian said the council put roadblocks up to prevent him from building the houses. Council prosecutor Richard Marchant said the council was holding Cancian to account and questioned the accounts of Bella Vista Homes. "In mid-2016 you were in massive financial strife," he asked. "No," Cancian replied. Marchant questioned why Bella Vista Homes paid its former director, and Cancian's cousin, Daniel De Martin $1.3 million when the company was only valued at $400,000 "I put it to you," Marchant said. "That you gave $1.3 million to your cousin as a way to get money out of the company." Cancian said this was not true and that he had to pay out his cousin, as he was receiving threats. Marchant asked if the margins in the properties were low but Cancian said there was a lot of money in the subdivision. He said because the sale of the front section paid for the back sections costs, any subsequent sale was free money. Marchant said Bella Vista homes was "caving in around him [Cancian] according to liquidators. "They're wrong," Cancian replied. "You made a lot of money selling sections but you don't know where it [the money] has gone," Marchant continued. "Council took it away," Cancian replied. "The delay of five to six months (meant) a lot of money coming out of the bottom line." Marchant said Cancian knew money was leaving the company and he attempted to "bulldoze" through the development and this was the reason he would become angry at council staff who failed inspections. Cancian continued to distance himself from the site wherever possible and said he was working from a desk away from the site. Marchant said Cancian was not sitting "at a desk in an ivory tower". "You bought and sold property, negotiated with owners, designed it, put your material bracing into the build," he said. Cancian continued to deny he was the LBP or even had negotiated with potential purchasers of the properties. Cancian labelled people who contradicted his evidence as liars during his cross-examination. He said some might be lying to avoid retaliation from the council. "They're frightened of the council as well," he said. "A lot of contractors are afraid of the council. They can do to them what they did to me." The trial continues. -Stuff/Matt Shand. LONDON/BEIJING (Reuters) - China threatened a "forceful counter-attack" on Tuesday in response to Britain's announcement that it would suspend its extradition treaty with Hong Kong following Beijing's introduction of a national security law for the former British colony. On Monday, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told parliament the extradition treaty would be suspended immediately and an arms embargo would be extended to Hong Kong. "We will not consider re-activating those arrangements, unless and until there are clear and robust safeguards, which are able to prevent extradition from the UK being misused under the new national security legislation," Raab said. The decision appeared to infuriate Beijing. "China will make a forceful counter-attack to the UK's wrong actions," said Chinese foreign ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin at a daily news conference on Tuesday. "China urges the UK to give up its fantasies of continuing colonial influence in Hong Kong and immediately correct its mistakes," he said. London has been dismayed by a crackdown in Hong Kong, which returned to Chinese rule in 1997, and the perception that China did not tell the whole truth over the coronavirus outbreak. Raab said he would extend a longstanding arms embargo on China to include Hong Kong, meaning no exports of weapons or ammunition and a ban on any equipment which might be used for internal repression, like shackles and smoke grenades. Australia and Canada suspended extradition treaties with Hong Kong earlier this month. U.S. President Donald Trump has ended preferential economic treatment for Hong Kong. Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson ordered equipment from China's Huawei Technologies [HWT.UL] to be purged completely from Britain's 5G network by the end of 2027. China - once courted as the prime source of investment in British infrastructure projects from nuclear to rail - has accused Britain of pandering to the United States. Story continues Britain says the new security law breaches the guarantees of freedoms, including an independent judiciary, that have helped keep Hong Kong one of the world's most important trade and financial centres since 1997. Officials in Hong Kong and Beijing have said the law is vital to plug gaps in national security exposed by recent pro-democracy and anti-China protests. China has repeatedly told Western powers to stop meddling in Hong Kong's affairs. (Reporting by Andy Bruce and William James in London and Aakriti Bhala in Bengaluru; Gabriel Crossley in Beijing; Editing by Raju Gopalakrishnan) Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 18:06:38|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A staff member of the customs marks on the nucleic acid test kit of newly arrived inbound passengers in Chongqing, southwest China, March 29, 2020. (Xinhua/Huang Wei) BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Passengers on flights to China are required to provide negative nucleic acid test results before boarding, the country's civil aviation regulator said Tuesday. Chinese and foreign passengers taking flights to China must complete the tests within five days before embarking, the Civil Aviation Administration of China said in a joint statement issued with the General Administration of Customs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The tests should be conducted in institutions designated or approved by Chinese embassies, the statement added. The move aims to ensure the health and safety of international travelers and reduce the risks of cross-border spread of the pandemic, the statement said. The family of a woman who was shot to death by Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office deputies last summer has erected billboards around town bearing her photo and the question: What if emergency responders came armed with compassion instead of guns? Almost exactly a year ago, on July 22, Elisha Lucero, 28, was suffering from a mental health crisis and hit her uncle in the face prompting her family to call 911 for help. Deputies responded to the misdemeanor battery call and Lucero initially refused to come out of her mobile home, which was parked on her uncles property. Then, BCSO officials said, she ran out screaming and armed with a kitchen knife. Lt. Alfonso Rodriguez and deputies Jonathan Aguilar and Ryan Schmidt shot Lucero. She was struck at least 21 times, according to an autopsy report and died at the scene. Luceros sister Elaine Maestas sued the sheriffs office in January, alleging Sheriff Manuel Gonzales fostered a culture of aggression in the department and too few deputies are trained to handle people with mental health issues. Lucero had asked BCSO to take her to the hospital for mental health issues just a month earlier. The case settled in less than two months and Maestas received $4 million. According to a news release from the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, Luceros family has pledged to use a portion of the settlement to advocate for transparency and accountability among law enforcement agencies in Bernalillo County and across the state. There are several common sense steps we can take to reduce police violence and increase accountability in our state, said Maestas, according to the release. The legislature has already taken an important first step in implementing a statewide body camera law, but we must go further. In the upcoming legislative session, we must urge our representatives to pass a statewide use of force law and a state civil rights act to help ensure that no other family has to endure heartbreak like we experienced in the loss of Elisha. Behind the congressional Democrats warning are the efforts of a Ukrainian lawmaker, Andriy Derkach, who was educated in a K.G.B.-backed school and was, until recently, closely aligned with a pro-Russian political faction in Ukraine. In May he released tapes of what he said were fragments of telephone conversations between Mr. Biden, then the vice president, and Ukraines president at the time, Petro O. Poroshenko. The purported tapes did little to change the understanding of the elder Mr. Bidens engagement with Ukraines leadership. Mr. Biden had publicly insisted that aid to Kyiv could be tied to the firing of a Ukrainian prosecutor, whom the United States and European nations had accused of corruption. So far, the accusations emanating from Mr. Derkach and others about Mr. Biden and his son, Hunter, have either been debunked or not been substantiated by any independent sources. But the accusations, fueled by release of the tapes, led to more online conspiracy theories, which American intelligence officials have warned may well have their origins in Russia. Mr. Johnson has at various moments said he would subpoena evidence surrounding the dealings with Ukraine in the last years of the Obama administration, and The Washington Post reported this month that there was an effort among Ukrainian officials to pass the tapes to Mr. Johnsons committee. Mr. Trump has cheered his work. Pressure Mr. Trump put on Ukraines leaders last year to investigate some of the same issues ultimately led to his impeachment, and in addition to raising questions about Mr. Biden and his son, Mr. Johnsons investigation has lent some senatorial legitimacy to Mr. Trumps claims about the matter. The investigation focuses on Hunter Bidens work for a Ukrainian energy firm, Burisma Holdings, and whether his presence and lucrative paycheck were meant to improperly curry favor with the Obama administration. Politico first reported that the Democrats concerns were connected to Mr. Johnsons work. A spokesman for Mr. Johnson, Austin Altenburg, said the chairman and his staff had already requested briefings from F.B.I. officials, and he accused Democrats of hypocrisy for ignoring recently declassified documents that suggested the F.B.I. may have relied on potentially tainted information in its investigation of ties between Mr. Trumps campaign and Russia. The letter from the Democrats asked for the F.B.I. to share what it knows with all lawmakers, given the seriousness and specificity of these threats. The Democrats requested a briefing on the matter by the end of the month, when lawmakers are scheduled to leave Washington for several weeks. Gatundu South MP Moses Kuria is crying foul after his scheduled interview at Spice FM was canceled at the last minute. The Standard group owned radio station was set to host the controversial lawmaker on Monday morning. Spice FM journalist Eric Latiff had invited Moses Kuria to discuss parliaments relationship with the Executive. Following the last-minute cancelation, Kuria went on a social media rant accusing Gideon Moi of blocking the interview. Today my friend Eric Latif of KTN/Spice FM invited me for an interview tomorrow. I warned him that his boss Gideon Moi and his new boss will not allow this. He insisted. I published this invite here on this page. Now Gideon Moi has cancelled the show. It wont happen, Kuria said. Seeing as it is the third time Kurias interview has been canceled, the MP claimed that it is the work of the government. The state has issued instructions to all media houses not to host me. I love and respect all media professionals. For your own good DO NOT INTERVIEW ME. Seek prior approval from Uhuru Kenyatta and Raila Odinga before you do so. Do not waste your or my time, Kuria said. Last week, the MP lamented the cancelation of an interview with Standard Reporter Viviane Wandera. I spent the entire Sunday afternoon doing an interview with Standard Groups Vivianne Wandera for the On the Carpet column that was to appear in the Standard this Friday. It has just been cancelled. Pole sana Vivianne. You are not a loser. By giving in to the dictates of the deep state, your bosses are the losers. Wait, soon they will be shouting media freedom. We shall remind them. You are a winner Vivianne, he said. No loose ends. From The Daily Beast, "Men's Rights Lawyer Eyed in Shooting of NJ Judge's Family": The gunman who shot the husband and son of a federal judge in New Jersey is believed to be a lawyer and mens rights activist who was found dead of an apparently self-inflicted gunshot wound hours later, two law-enforcement sources told The Daily Beast. Roy Den Hollander was discovered in the upstate New York town of Rockland, the sources said. He had a case--a challenge to the military's male-only draft--pending before U.S. District Court of New Jersey Judge Esther Salas, according to court documents. Hollander described himself on his website as an anti-feminist. "Now is the time for all good men to fight for their rights before they have no rights left," it said. It also contained a list of misogynistic comments under the heading "Jokes." An upcoming case on the draft is motive for murder? Or are we supposed to believe his being anti-feminist was motive enough? NBC New York ran this ridiculous headline: "Dead Attorney With Rage Against Women Eyed in Killing of NJ Federal Judge's Son: Sources." That Judge Salas could be exploring Jeffrey Epstein's finances -- all of which appears to have come from untouchable shady billionaire Les Wexner -- as part of the Deutsche Bank case and people around Wexner have been killed in "mob-style" hits before is apparently just a coincidence. An MRA activist just snapped and killed her family then killed himself because he had an upcoming case related to the draft! Perhaps most interesting about Hollander's background is his bio says he worked for similarly-shady billionaire Jules Kroll's Kroll Associates in Moscow, Russia during 1999-2000. Hollander's bio says he "managed and upgraded Kroll's delivery of intelligence and security in the former Soviet Union." Roy Den Hollander, the shooter of Judge Salas family was a DETECTIVE w KROLL ASSOC in RUSSIA cc @knowledgevendor pic.twitter.com/HBhL9xHPaC Venture Capital (@kelly2277) July 20, 2020 The Washington Post reported in 1996 that French authorities believed Kroll's Paris operation "was a CIA front." Kroll was also in charge of security for the World Trade Center on September 11th. A board member of Wexner's company reportedly hired Kroll in the past to investigate Jeffrey Epstein. In the mid-1990s, a board member of Les Wexner's L Brands was concerned enough about Jeffrey Epstein to hire Kroll Inc. to investigate. https://t.co/QO7Z1YXWod pic.twitter.com/rRqBp3T4q0 Richard Horgan (@hollywoodspin) September 14, 2019 This is a developing story... Follow InformationLiberation on Twitter, Facebook, Gab and Minds. Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal called upon Indian investors to play a greater role in providing funds to domestic start-ups with a view to promote the growth of budding entrepreneurs. He said the government has taken several initiatives to strengthen the start-up ecosystem in the country and more needs to be done to further promote ease of doing business for them. "In fact personally, I feel our Indian investors need to play a much more important role in providing funds to our start-ups. Most of our high quality successful good start-ups are getting sold to foreign companies and the risk taking ability in India needs to be promoted a lot more to support our start-up ecosystem," he said while addressing a webinar on start-ups. The minister expressed confidence that once investors recognise the "great role" of start-ups in strengthening women entrepreneurship, boosting self reliant India campaign, promoting innovation, they would participate. Goyal also said that start-ups are going to play an important role in the post-Covid world. The government has the responsibility of making things easier for start-ups, hand holding them with easier compliance and exit processes, he said, adding that these measures will help the start-up ecosystem "take wings". "I noted that there are still some more initiatives that need to be done for ease of doing business, for ensuring greater degree of participation of banks and lenders to the start-up ecosystem," he said. Participating in the webinar, IT industry veteran T V Mohandas Pai suggested a few points for consideration of the government to promote start-ups. He suggested a Rs 50,000 crore 'Aatmanirbhar' programme for start-ups and reduction of barriers for private investments into start-ups. "Even for gold. For example, why should India import gold, we got 30,000 tonnes of gold, gold price globally is very high, why can't India sell that gold and re-invest," he suggested. On this suggestion, Goyal said "we were all struggling to work out a gold monetisation scheme which works but we have not got anything viable" wherein people get a return on "dead" gold while protecting its value. On a suggestion to reinstate tax benefits for special economic zones, he said "I do not think I may be able to manage that, it's beyond my remit". The US has a complicated relationship with The Bahamas. As well as pristine white sand and shimmering blue waters, its also a place of offshore bank accounts. As such, theres more to this Caribbean island nation than Bahama Mama cocktails and scuba diving nirvana: its the playground of the rich and famous after all. A 10-hour plunge from LAX, The Bahamas is popular with regular US tourists too. Unfortunately, for the immediate future, with confirmed Virus cases continuing to skyrocket (the US recently broke its own daily record nine times in a month), unless you own a private jet, Americans hopes of escaping to The Bahamas has just been scuppered. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Wowplaces | Travel | Adventure (@wowplaces._) on Jul 16, 2020 at 4:12am PDT The Bahamian government has vetoed travelers from the US and other countries where coronavirus cases are exploding to prevent further spread of the virus. In a national TV broadcast on Sunday, Bahamas Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said all international commercial flights would be banned from entering The Bahamas, effective Wednesday, July 22 (tomorrow), with the only exemptions being visitors from the United Kingdom, European Union and Canada who have tested negative. Our current situation demands decisive action if we are to avoid being overrun and being defeated by this virus. Bahamas has recently confirmed 15 new cases for a total of 153 cases in the country, 49 of which have been identified since the country reopened its borders on July the 1st. As CNN Travel reports, the ban comes with another exemption: Sea vessels carrying commercial passengers will also not be permitted to enter. However, private international flights, charters and yachts from all countries will be allowed. In light of the new approach, Bahamas national airline Bahamasair will stop flying to the US and a number of beaches and parks have been closed until further notice, Prime Minister Minnis added. View this post on Instagram A post shared by home4myboat.com (@home4myboat) on Aug 20, 2019 at 9:34am PDT The US aspect of this tourist ban is particularly significant and proves how seriously The Bahamas is taking The Pandemic. Why? Some 50% of the nations GDP of $5.7 billion comes from tourism, with most of the 5.5 million tourists who visit The Bahamas each year (in normal times) coming from the US. But with cases across the pond surging, the decision reflects long term thinking that could prove vital in the long run. As Prime Minister Hubert Minnis said: The better we are at this, the more our economy could open up and people could make a living. Read Next Bharat Forge announced that Bharat Forge Hong Kong, Hong Kong, (BFHK) a Wholly]Owned Subsidiary of Bharat Forge Global Holding GmBH, Germany and a step]down subsidiary of the Company, has been de]registered and dissolved. BFHK was an inactive company and did not have any commercial, trading or business operations since the past several years. BFHK was principally engaged in investment holding. The closure of BFHK will not have any material impact on the operations / financials of the Company, either on a standalone or on a consolidated basis. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Pennsylvania State Police Liquor Control Enforcement Officers visited 1,524 licensed liquor establishments from July 17-19 as part of its regular work to ensure businesses are abiding by COVID-19 mitigation requirements. The officers issued 44 warnings for failing to follow COVID-19 requirements, according to a release sent Monday. Compliance checks are unannounced and can occur anywhere around the state. Among other requirements, all businesses and employees in the restaurant and retail food-service industry authorized to conduct in-person activities are mandated to: Require all customers to wear masks while entering, exiting or otherwise traveling throughout the restaurant or retail food-service business (face masks may be removed while seated). Further, employees are required to wear masks at all times. Provide at least 6 feet between parties at tables or physical barriers between customers where booths are arranged back to back. Ensure maximum occupancy limits for indoor and outdoor areas are posted and enforced. Here is a list of the weekend activity. No notices of violation were given out. Enforcement office / total checks / warnings S1-Philadelphia / 211 / 4 2-Wilkes-Barre / 281 / 2 3-Harrisburg / 115 / 10 4-Pittsburgh / 413 / 4 5-Altoona / 95 / 8 6-Williamsport / 15 / 0 7-Punxsutawney / 53 / 7 8-Erie / 66 / 7 9-Allentown / 275 / 2 Totals / / 1,524 / 44 Violators can face administrative citations by the Pennsylvania State Police Bureau of Liquor Control Enforcement. Continued violations put an establishments liquor license at risk, either through the citation process or upon application for renewal, the release said. You can find more information on the enforcement page of the state police COVID-19 portal , according to the release. For decades, Hong Kong served as a bridge between China and Taiwan. Now, that appears to be just one more thing that's changing in the former British colony. China's insistence that Taiwanese officials as a condition of stay in Hong Kong sign a statement agreeing that both sides belong to "one China" adds pressure on Taipei to close its de facto consulate in the city. The decision not only potentially impacts millions of people who travel between the two places each year, it also chips away at the city's role as a gateway from China to the democratic world. The move advances two goals of President Xi Jinping: punishing Taiwanese leader Tsai Ing-wen for her refusal to accept the "one-China" framework and curbing perceived sources of outside interference in Hong Kong. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Hong Kong and its predecessor agency have provided Taiwan a diplomatic toehold in the city for more than five decades, outlasting Hong Kong's return to Chinese rule in 1997. "This development is a reflection of the tighter change in mainland China's policy toward Taiwan," said Sonny Lo, an academic and political commentator in Hong Kong. "Hong Kong is now a battleground of geopolitical struggle between the U.S. and China on the one hand, and between the mainland and Taiwan on the other." While Taiwan and Hong Kong have both long been proxies for disputes between China and the West, tensions have flared as Beijing grows more confident about asserting its authority and the U.S. attempts to check a rising rival. Tsai, whose Democratic Progressive Party views Taiwan as a sovereign nation, has courted support from U.S. President Donald Trump while offering to help resettle Hong Kong democracy protesters fleeing across the Taiwan Strait in the wake a tough national security law approved by Xi last month. "In the past, Hong Kong was not only a buffer for cross-strait relations, it had been a window for global countries to engage and interact with China," Deputy DPP Secretary General Lin Fei-fan said in an interview July 7. "But now the city may be just another Chinese city." Efforts to increase pressure on the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office came to light last week after the agency's acting head, Kao Ming-tsun, refused to sign the "one China" statement and returned home. A number of more junior staffers are also encountering visa difficulties and Taiwan is withholding the renewal of work permits for staff in Hong Kong's representative office in Taipei, according to a senior Taiwanese official who asked not to be identified. As a result, the Taiwanese office, which was first established as the Chung Hwa Travel Service in 1966, may soon find it difficult to operate. It's closure will deal another blow to a series of agreements between Beijing and Taipei that helped expand trade and paved the way for the unprecedented meeting between Tsai's predecessor, Ma Ying-jeou, and Xi in 2015. "The DPP and Taiwan's separatist forces spare no effort to support the U.S. strategy of playing the 'Hong Kong card,'" the Communist Party's People's Daily newspaper said in a commentary Sunday. "They, on one hand, criticize the practice of 'one country, two systems' in the city to attack their own political rivals and win votes, while on the other hand support Hong Kong's opposition forces and provide them assistance and training." Requiring representatives to sign the "one China" pledge shows Beijing is taking a more direct role in Taiwan's relations with the city, the Taiwanese official said. Taiwan is not commenting publicly in an attempt to smooth relations, but China's new posture could eventually force Taipei to withdraw the more favorable treatment Hong Kong residents received compared to other non-Taiwanese, this person added. Although the move might not have any immediate ramifications on the almost 6.5 million annual number of passengers traveling between Taipei and Hong Kong -- one of the busiest flight routes in the world, according to Routesonline -- it could have a greater impact on Hong Kongers looking to study or emigrate there, because they will now need to apply to Taipei. It could also eventually lead to Hong Kong residents, who don't need a visa to visit Taiwan and can simply apply for entry permits upon arrival, being treated more similarly to mainland Chinese residents, who do require a visa and are subject to a quota, according to Chan Che Po, an associate professor of political science at Lingnan University in Hong Kong, who's studied Hong Kong-Taiwan relations. "In the future, Hong Kong won't enjoy these privileges," Chan said. It could also have "tremendous" implications as the security law freezes up contacts between Taiwan and Hong Kong political parties, student exchanges between the two territories and cooperation between non-governmental organizations, which interact frequently, said Lo, the Hong Kong academic. One key question was how broadly the Hong Kong officials would apply the new "one-China" requirement. The one-China framework is sometimes called the 1992 consensus, a reference to a landmark meeting between between Chinese and Taiwanese officials in Hong Kong. Under it, they agreed that both sides belonged to one China, even if they have different interpretations about what that meant. The DPP, which was in the opposition at the time, rejects the framework. Ties between Beijing and Taipei have worsened since Tsai's re-election in January, including disagreements over China's efforts to limit Taiwan's participation in world health bodies. Taiwan has also become an issue in the U.S. presidential election, with presumptive Democratic nominee Joseph Biden challenging Trump's record on support human rights in China. "None of this bodes well for cross-straight peace," said Mark Harrison, a senior lecturer in Chinese Studies at Australia's University of Tasmania. "But Beijing is no doubt waiting to see the outcome of the U.S. presidential election before taking any more significant actions." BEIJING, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Chinese President Xi Jinping said on Monday that the Palestine question has always been the core issue in the Middle East region, and China supports the "two-state solution" as the right direction. During his phone talk with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Xi, on behalf of the Chinese government and people, expressed sincere condolence and firm support to the Palestinian government and people in their fight against the COVID-19 epidemic. Xi said China and Palestine are good brothers, good friends and good partners, and the two sides have always firmly trusted and supported each other on issues concerning their respective core interests and major concerns. Since the start of the outbreak, China has provided multiple batches of supplies and sent medical experts to Palestine, organized video conferences between Chinese medical experts and their Palestinian counterparts, and offered anti-epidemic assistance to Palestinian refugees, Xi said. The Chinese side will continue sharing its experience with Palestine with no reservation, and doing what it can in providing material and technical support, said Xi, adding that his country will, according to Palestine's needs, keep on implementing the projects that are conducive to advancing Palestine's economy and improving people's livelihood so as to bring more and better benefits to the Palestinian people. China is ready to work with Palestine and other countries to strengthen cooperation, support multilateralism, and jointly promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind, he said. Xi emphasized that the Palestine question, which has always been the core issue in the Middle East, concerns regional peace and stability, international fairness and justice, as well as human conscience and credibility, saying that China's position on the Palestine question is consistent and clear. China firmly supports Palestine's just demands, as well as all efforts conducive to resolving the Palestine question, Xi said. China supports the "two-state solution" as the right direction, and sticks to dialogue and negotiations on an equal footing, Xi said, adding that the international community should take an objective and fair position and build up efforts for promoting peace. He also said that China is ready to continue making active contributions to a comprehensive, fair and lasting settlement of the Palestinian question at an early date. Abbas said that the Palestinian side speaks highly of China's important achievements in the fight against the COVID-19 outbreak, and sincerely thanks China for providing timely and invaluable support and assistance to Palestine in its epidemic battle. He also appreciated China's efforts to uphold justice on the Palestinian issue, and safeguard the legitimate rights and interests of the Palestinian people, saying that facts have proved time and again that China is the most reliable friend of the Palestinian people. The Palestinian side will continue to stand firmly with China, and support China's legitimate position on Hong Kong, Xinjiang and other matters concerning China's core interests, said Abbas, adding that his country expects China to play a more important role in promoting a just settlement of the Palestinian issue. In light of the recent story about Travis Scott and his unfortunate studio session with T-Pain, the Sicko Mode rapper released his first .wav radio episode in almost two years. TRAVIS SCOTT VS. T-PAIN: The T-Pain disrespect must come to a halt In the radio episode, Travis addressed the T-Pain story, letting fans know there is no bad blood between the two after the studio session where he seemingly fell asleep on the Rappa Ternt Sanga. "At the end of the day, I'm blasted [Laughs]. So I wasn't sleeping in the stu. I don't know if he thought I was asleep. Bro, I was blasted," he said. Travis and Chase B said that it was "all love" before going into a mix featuring T-Pain. In the latest episode, La Flame promises his fans that new music is on the way. "We back at it," Chase B revealed in an announcement on Instagram. "New music. Tune in Monday 2 p.m. PT/5 p.m. ET." The episode showcased several new songs, including features from Big Sean. Among those played were an unreleased Big Sean song called "Lithuania," a track with Young Thug called "White Tee" and a portion of a "What's Poppin" remix with Justin Bieber that had been previously teased. But the releases on .wav radio weren't just for Travis. He also debuted a few songs from members of his Cactus Jack camp. There was "Cafeteria" from Chase B and Don Toliver, Nav and Wheezy's "Pickney," "Scrooge" from Swae Lee, YBN Cordae's "The Parables," as well as music from Sheck Wes. Travis Scott has been busy in the studio, recording features and releases like "Wash Us in the Blood" with Kanye West and "The Scotts" with Kid Cudi. While the music premiered on .wav radio, there's no official date when the tracks will be released on streaming platforms. The songs can currently be found on Soundcloud. These people are scary as shit. I would never date someone super famous. Reply Thread Link JFC, poor woman. Also I'm surprised the stalker is 67 tbh. Thought it'd be a teen fan. Reply Thread Link Why? Teens generally thirst after teens/young men. The middle aged/geriatric are absolutely the insane demographic for most male celebs. Reply Parent Thread Link i think for me, its just weird that a 67 year old would be dedicated enough to run a youtube channel making hate videos against her. usually they stick to facebook and will just comment on the official pages or something. Reply Parent Thread Link I thought it'd be a woman in her thirties. Old enough to have the means but young enough to navigate the web. Reply Parent Thread Link https://theblast.com/c/Keanu-reeves-girlfriend-alexandra-grant-restraining-order-actor-stalker Im pretty sure the stalker in question is commenting on this very article on The Blast as Catharina Monica. Reply Thread Link yikes Reply Parent Thread Link Oh wow that looks like her. Her Facebook posts are crazy. Reply Parent Thread Link yikes on a bike Reply Parent Thread Link omg wow her FB profile is...something else i cant @ her saying alexandra grant used tarot cards to read keanu's mind Edited at 2020-07-21 10:04 pm (UTC) Reply Parent Thread Link The even scarier thing is she is not the only crazy, they're ALL over Twitter and Instagram. Reply Parent Thread Link yikes Reply Parent Thread Link omg those vids of hers that she linked to are legit psycho. y i k e s Reply Parent Thread Link https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL1tEiz68YVBWhBtFuMoceA Her Youtube page is deranged. Reply Parent Thread Expand Link what the actual fuck Reply Parent Thread Link Jesus this lady is unhinged! Reply Parent Thread Link the vogue conspiracy video actually having a electronic cover of vogue by madonna in it lol i cant Reply Parent Thread Link JFC Reply Parent Thread Link oh no.. Reply Parent Thread Link definitely looks like it was written by a 67 year old, the spaces before punctuation are a dead giveaway. Reply Parent Thread Link Oh my god @ her "It's Complicated" relationship status on her Facebook Reply Parent Thread Link I just read all of that and Holy Crap! Is it the stalker pretending to be 5 different people, or are some of his fans just that fucked in the head. Ms Grant seems like a lovely person, and Keanu's SANE fans want him to be happy.. Reply Parent Thread Link Hoooly shit this lady sounds completely unhinged and unwell. Scary. Reply Parent Thread Link Oh boy, I think she's actually posting in that LSA thread right now, about this case. Reply Parent Thread Link this is terrifying Reply Thread Link Poor Alexandra, thats terrifying. I swear Stan/fan culture has just gotten exponentially worse with social media. Reply Thread Link that is scary Reply Thread Link Poor Alexandra. Reply Thread Link Crazy ass stans. Edited at 2020-07-21 10:02 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link I read too fast and I gasped. Poor woman. I hope she & Keanu are safe. Reply Thread Link I held my breath at "restraining order", thought it would be against keanu Reply Parent Thread Link Some people only grow more unstoppable with age. My 81 year old aunt has more energy than me and is still on the lookout for husband number six. (She's not online, though, thank heavens.) Reply Parent Thread Link I could never date a super famous dude. Stans are genuinely fucked up and the gfs/wives always end up having to deal with the worst of it. Edited at 2020-07-21 10:06 pm (UTC) Reply Thread Link Yeah, even when stalking isn't involved it's just a constant stream of "you're too ugly/fat/stupid/slutty for ______ why does he even like you?" I don't think I'd be willing to deal with that for a relationship. Reply Parent Thread Link right? No man is worth the hassle. Plus, it's not like most of them ever stand up for their SO, they just ignore (or worse, enable) that type of fan behavior so they don't lose money. Reply Parent Thread Link New Delhi, July 21 : Continuing his attack on the Modi government, Congress leader Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday taunted the much-hyped 'Atmanirbhar' (self reliant) programme of the Centre and called out the "misplaced" priorities given to events since February when Covid cases were just starting off which amounted to 11-lakh by July third week. Gandhi tweeted: "Achievements of government during the Covid-19 period: In February, Namaste Trump (US President Donald Trump's visit to India); in March, Madhya Pradesh government toppled; in April, lighting candles; in May, sixth anniversary of the government; in June, virtual rally in Bihar and in July attempt to topple the Rajasthan government. "This is the reason why the nation is self reliant in the fight against Covid-19." In just five months, India was now the third-worst hit country by the pandemic. His remarks came amid the crisis in Rajasthan being faced by the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government with rebel from within by his deputy Sachin Pilot, who has refused to back down. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had given the call for 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' (self reliant India) during the lockdown to revive the sagging economy which was badly hit due to the pandemic. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Yesterday a group of Coloradans sponsored the Sixth Annual Law Enforcement Appreciation Day in Denver: I doubt that the first five were controversial, but this year the forces of Marxist anarchythat is, anarchy followed by socialismshowed up in force. Antifa Brownshirts charged the stage, assaulted the patriots assembled there, and prevented the event from going forward. Shockingly, Denvers Chief of Police made common cause with the criminals. America is in a truly dire situation. I have never seen anything like it. My friend Michelle Malkin was one of the participants in yesterdays pro-law enforcement rally. Her tweets tell the story: So @jaredpolis @DenverPolice Chief Pazen, are you ok with pro-police patriots being swarmed, targeted and assaulted in a clearly orchestrated attack??? I caught it all on video and recorded the faces of the brutal animals. Please @realDonaldTrump we need LAW & ORDER!!! S.O.S! https://t.co/sQYQyN8Rwz Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 19, 2020 Yes you can watch how it all unfolded here ==> @DenverPolice Chief Pazen, who marched with BLM last month, let pro-police patriots get beaten and silenced==> https://t.co/VDrJrhHPHF https://t.co/S9qzlM15c0 Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 19, 2020 This masked black bloc person did not touch me but was indeed part of the violent mob that took over our stage where I witnessed at least two patriots including a veteran brutally beaten. @jaredpolis @DenverPolice @randycorporon @PatrickForCO https://t.co/QYdNnro4Sy Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 19, 2020 Update: @PatrickForCO and I evacuated stage with help from DCF Guns security volunteers. Thanks also to @ZoomerReagan and his mom. @randycorporon and his wife Tana are also ok and they rescued my lost shoe! Waiting to hear if our patriot attendees are all safe and ok. pic.twitter.com/tadAyQkM6a Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 19, 2020 Outrageous violence. These tyrannical, left-wing anarchists hate free speech. If you do not agree with them, they believe you must be beaten down literally. @michellemalkin https://t.co/aiyJqQTtxm Acting Deputy Secretary Ken Cuccinelli (@HomelandKen) July 20, 2020 This is the moment the Antifa thugs bum-rushed the stage. I filmed the guy with the huge longboard that pro-police organizer Ron McLaughlin was beaten with just minutes after praying. @denverpolice @jaredpolis @mayorhancock #DenverAnarchoTyranny pic.twitter.com/0JzlNDCG24 Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 20, 2020 Here's where BLM bitches attacked several women on stage. We were sprayed in our faces w/aerosol string, which @kyleclark thinks is hilarious. BLM girl takes off mask & lays hand on woman in front of me as I shout at her to get back. #DenverAnarchoTyranny pic.twitter.com/GTjLF1e2RG Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 20, 2020 This is the moment one of our people was beaten on stage by invading BLM/Antifa. Then BlackBloc lady took out baton. That's why I screamed @kyleclark. The crap BLM bitch sprayed in my face was still all over me. #WhatsWrongWithYou #DenverAnarchoTyranny @jaredpolis @denverpolice pic.twitter.com/JGRLdkGsnt Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 20, 2020 This is the @denverpolice chief presiding over #DenverAnarchoTyranny. No protection for the law-abiding, but linked arms & allegiance to the mob:https://t.co/JsUMDZ3UkL@randycorporon @PatrickForCO Michelle Malkin (@michellemalkin) July 20, 2020 What a sickening display of weakness on the part of those who are sworn to uphold the law. Leftistswhich means liberals, progressives and Democrats, in todays parlanceare determined to steal our freedoms from us by force, voter fraud, and any means necessary. They must be fought and resisted at every turn by all sane Americans. One sometimes wonders, however: how many of us are left? All these years, many analysts wondered why China was so tentative about expanding business and strategic links with Iran in a bigger and more transparent way that would convey its clear disagreement with the US policy on Iran. The US re-imposed sanctions after it pulled out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018, but some short-term concessions were available to nations such as India and China that obtained much of their energy needs from Iran. India had its compulsions about adherence to US directives due to its emerging relationship with America. It needed that nations support for its technological development and other considerations, which have helped develop the emerging Indo-US strategic partnership and kept it on an even keel. It seems the Chinese too had some compulsions and did not get their energy requirements from Iran to the extent they needed. Chinas oil imports reduced almost six times over six months within 2019. As per the much-respected Singapore-based analyst James Dorsey, Numerous agreements signed by Presidents Xi Jinping and Hassan Rouhani during the Chinese leaders visit to the Middle East in 2016 would, if implemented, expand economic relations between the two countries by a factor of ten to $600 billion and significantly enhance military cooperation. A natural surmise is that China yet lacked strategic confidence to implement those agreements in the face of US sanctions; recall that the Trump administrations trade-related coercion was just about taking shape. Thus even though it is well known that Sino-Iran deliberations over these deals never ceased, something changed in Beijings approach in the emerging run-up to the post Covid-19 geopolitical order. Unconfirmed reports about a freshly leaked draft 18-page agreement between Iran and China appear to indicate a move towards transformation of the strategic scenario in the Middle East, an area that has not received much Chinese attention except for its energy needs. The Chinese now seem more confident of defying US sanctions to pursue their own interests, as is evident from the nature of the impending deal that could be worth $400 billion over 25 years, including guaranteed supply of discounted energy. While it is yet early to assume that the deal will go through, its deliberately leaked draft is being used to carry out strategic messaging, which appears to be Chinas new way of conducting geopolitics. This messaging is being done through actions on multiple frontsHong Kong, Taiwan, South China Sea, Australia, India and now Iran. The opinion of analysts about China opening too many fronts and not being able to manage these to its advantage are being disregarded by Beijing with a belief that opportunities need to be seized to muscle a strong cumulative message of its position in the emerging world order. The inputs of the impending deal may yet be uncertain and unconfirmed, but the deductions one can draw from it are many, especially in view of the voids that exist in the assessment of the geopolitics of the post Covid-19 world. Its a clear indicator that the US attempt to shift the strategic focus of the world to the Indo-Pacific will be countered by China through triggering tension in West Asia by giving Iran a boost. That should have the US-Israel-Saudi combine worried. It should also put the European powers in a quandary since they had wished to see the JCPOA in place as a means to bring Iran out of isolation, cap its nuclear program and thus curb its alleged rogue status. The feasibility of the axis China-Russia-Pakistan-Iran and perhaps Turkey emerging as an international grouping to counter a fully developed Quad of US-Japan-India-Australia becomes stronger. A push-pull between West Asia and the Indo-Pacific as theatres of tension could well be on the cards and would favour China. With Iran giving China a leg up on Chabahar, Chinas maritime hold over the Northwest Indian Ocean will strengthen since this would add to its presence in Djibouti and Gwadar, although Chabahar would yet be only an economic facility and not a naval one. The potential of constructing a 70 km road link between Gwadar and Chabahar would extend the CPEC artery into Iran, although more road linkages would be on the cards through Central Asia. A strong China-Iran link in the economic and strategic domains would definitely add substance to the Pak-Iran relationship, but Pakistan finds greatest benefit from its relationship with Saudi Arabia. It will straddle the two to draw maximum benefit for itself. The US effort at reduced focus towards West Asia in favour of the Indo-Pacific would once again need a rethink, something that has been a challenge in the last few years. The strategic orientation of the Sino-Iran equation with the proposed cooperation in the military domain to include joint training, weapon development and possibly intelligence sharing should force US reprioritisation. Is India the loser in this emerging new great game? Despite various attempts to explain to Iran its US-oriented compulsions, India perhaps may have pushed Tehrans patience over the hill. There is yet no clear indicator on India having lost its Chabahar opportunity, but the 600 km strategic Zahidan rail link project appears out of our hands, since Iran has decided to fund it itself. It could yet be Tehrans way of a last push and test of New Delhis will during the remaining tenure of the current US administration. A final decision, if at all, to keep New Delhi out would be advantage Islamabad, which viewed this project and the India-Iran-Afghanistan cooperation as an Indian attempt at manoeuvring access to Afghanistan and the Central Asian Republics. Denying India that overland access has been the core of Pakistans strategy, to prevent the formers influence in its western and northern flanks. While these developments are important for India to take stock of, with China opening another strategic front, it is the Ladakh frontier that needs all its focus for the moment to deny Beijing any moral advantage. Any display of weakness there will bring cascading Chinese efforts at more pressure points as part of their campaign of renewed strategic messaging. Lt Gen Syed Ata Hasnain (Retd) Former Commander, Srinagar-based 15 Corps. Now Chancellor, Central University of Kashmir (atahasnain@gmail.com) Ecuadors shrimp sellers look to US amid China issues by Tom Seaman July 21,2020 | Source: UCN The novel coronavirus COVID-19 continues to upend the global seafood trade, reducing foodservice demand and complicating supply chains. Following the COVID-19-related blocks to three big packers and mandatory inspection requirements by China, the South American country's shrimp industry has turned to its second-largest export destination, the US, in hopes that it might sell its product there at reduced prices. A pound of size 21/25 shell-on shrimp that was going for $3.60 just a month ago is now being sold for $3.15/lb, one large East Coast-based shrimp importer told Undercurrent News, adding that there could be even "more bleeding to come if China keeps the pressure on". Large buyers are reportedly renegotiating prices even as the shrimp is in transit and restaurants are trying to return unused product with concerns about significant write-downs on the value of what they earlier purchased, the source reported. Copyright Notice Copying our articles to share with others is a breach of our terms and conditions. To share articles, please use the sharing tools located at the top of our articles. Email us at subscribe@undercurrentnews.com if you need expanded access. Theme(s): Post Harvest Technology and Trade. UK thriller Liar returns to Seven on Sunday night with its second season. Featuring Joanne Froggatt, Ioan Gruffudd and Katherine Kelly, written by Harry Williams & Jack Williams, this screened in Britain in March. Three weeks after damning evidence was uncovered proving Andrew Earlham sexually assaulted nineteen women, his body is found in the Kent marshes. As one of Andrews more recent victims, Laura Nielson cant help feeling relieved by the news of his death. The last three weeks spent knowing Andrew was somewhere out there and missing have not been easy. Yet the seaside community is rocked when the case quickly becomes a murder investigation. Out of town officer DI Karen Renton is put in charge of the case, and together with DS Rory Maxwell, they begin to unpack the events of the three crucial weeks leading up to Andrews death. The news cast a shadow over those who knew Andrew, all of whom, like Laura, are trying to move on with their lives. As the search to find Andrews killer gains momentum, the community will be forced to face up to the secrets of their recent past, secrets many of them hope will stay buried. Soon, Laura finds herself thrown deep in the mire of Andrews destructive path, and once again must fight to be believed. 9:30pm Sunday on Seven. In 55 Reflections of a Searching Skeptic author Rich Melcher invites others to join him in spiritual reflection MILWAUKEE, July 20, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Making sense of a world that often makes no sense at all is one of lifes greatest challenges. In his book 55 Reflections of a Searching Skeptic: Explore the Faith Journey of a Poetic Bipolar Believer, Rich Melcher meditates on how he has grappled with this difficult task through contemplative, conversational prose and poetry, focusing particularly on how faith intersects with skepticism and mental illness. Melcher, who has adopted the penname Corsair as a tribute to the World War II fighter plane that symbolizes upliftment and freedom, writes earnestly about his spiritual walk and the many winding paths he traveled along the way. Having been diagnosed with bipolar I disorder at 17, he provides both sensitive and humorous insight into how the illness has shaped his life and perspective. Also raised Catholic, Melcher offers his unique take on faith peppered with his own spiritual dilemmas and biblical commentary. With mental health issues meeting memoir, this hodgepodge of insights, personal stories, and religious commentary inspires with its poetry and poignant optimism, wrote Jonah Meyer for The US Review of Books. Full of enriching wisdom and important life lessons on faith, family and mental health, 55 Reflections of a Searching Skeptic, offers readers of all walks an encouraging and supportive place to slow down and self-reflect. [55 Reflections of a Searching Skeptic] is meant to spark deeper thought and important conversations . . . it is meant to chronical my spiritual walk of thought, prayer and personal experiences, wrote Melcher in the books preface. 55 Reflections of a Searching Skeptic: Explore the Faith Journey of a Poetic Bipolar Believer By Rich Melcher Foreword by Rosemary Murphy, Ph.D. ISBN: 978-1-7283-1234-7 (softcover); 978-1-7283-1236-1 (hardcover); 978-1-7283-1235-4 (e-book) Story continues Available from the AuthorHouse Online Bookstore, Amazon and Barnes & Noble About the author Rich Melcher grew up in Minnesota in a large Catholic family. Having been diagnosed with bipolar disorder at age 17, Melcher has a unique perspective on spirituality and the loving grace of God. His experiences have lent him insight about the ways in which this illness can be both debilitating and illuminating. Melcher earned a mass communications degree with a speech communications minor from Minnesota State University in Mankato, MN. He is also the author of Just a Little Somethin, Discerning Bipolar Grace, Journey with the Expanded Rosary, A Work in Progress, Teachable Moments and Soul in Motion. Melcher currently resides in Milwaukee. To learn more about Melcher and his book, please visit his website: 55reflections.com. About AuthorHouse AuthorHouse, an Author Solutions, Inc. self-publishing imprint, is a leading provider of book publishing, marketing, and bookselling services for authors around the globe and offers the industrys only suite of Hollywood book-to-film services. Committed to providing the highest level of customer service, AuthorHouse assigns each author personal publishing and marketing consultants who provide guidance throughout the process. Headquartered in Bloomington, Indiana, AuthorHouse celebrates over 23 years of service to authors. For more information or to publish a book visit authorhouse.com or call 1-888-519-5121. Attachment Leslie Standridge LAVIDGE Publicity 480-998-2600 x 586 lstandridge@lavidge.com Mumbai, July 21 : Team India skipper Virat Kohli's apparel line Wrogn, in association with wildlife channel Animal Planet, is launching a new collection - Animal Planet X WROGN. "I've been associated with Wrogn since inception and we take some exciting initiatives season after season. I couldn't be happier that Wrogn is taking a step in the direction of creating awareness around animal endangerment," said Kohli. The apparel range aims to shine light on the cause of endangered species in a never-before-seen-or-done manner. Conceptualised by Black White Orange -- Animal Planet's licensing arm -- each style in the range portrays an endangered animal including the Tiger, Sea Turtle, Gorilla, Sumatran Elephant and Panda, amongst others. Speaking about the collaboration, Megha Tata Managing Director - South Asia, Discovery, said, "Animal Planet has been striving hard to drive attention towards the importance of saving the endangered species in impactful ways." "We are confident that this innovative collaboration with Wrogn for this inspirational apparel line will help in spreading the message of conservation of endangered species as well as the wildlife." Anjana Reddy - CEO, Universal Sportsbiz Pvt. Ltd said, "Animal endangerment is real. It's a pressing issue and I'm aware that it really bothers the youth all over the world. We like the essence of this collaboration with Animal Planet as it enables people to wear their cause that they feel so strongly about and spread the word at the same time." Adds Bhavik Vora, Founder & CEO, Black White Orange Brands Pvt. Ltd, said: "In the tough times the world is going through, it is important to build something relevant. What better way to spread awareness on endangered species among the youth of today, than collaborate with leading players in the segment - WROGN and Animal Planet." The Animal Planet X WROGN apparel will be available in over 250 counters across retail channels. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 12:22:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Austrian Chancellor Sebastian Kurz arrives for a special EU summit in Brussels, Belgium, July 20, 2020. Leaders of the European Union (EU) reached a landmark deal on Tuesday after four days of intensive negotiations over a budget for the next seven years and a massive recovery fund amid the COVID-19 pandemic. (European Union/Handout via Xinhua) BRUSSELS, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Leaders of the European Union (EU) reached a landmark deal on Tuesday after four days of intensive negotiations over a budget for the next seven years and a massive recovery fund amid the COVID-19 pandemic. An unprecedented 1.82 trillion euro (about 2.1 trillion U.S. dollars) deal was finally announced to confront the worst recession in the EU's history. President of the European Council Charles Michel said the agreement "shows our belief in our common future," while European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen hailed the deal as a signal that "Europe is able to act." You are here: China China's Ministry of Education (MOE) has issued a circular ordering national student contest organizers to check the veracity of award-winning projects. The circular was issued after certain contests reviewed entries with laxity that led to awards for several projects completed with the help of participants' parents. National contests for primary and secondary school students should improve review standards and procedures as well as supervision mechanisms to prevent cheating, it said. The circular also prohibited the charging of fees from participants. The MOE vowed to improve the management of such contests and punish those who violate rules. To help connect and motivate writers in the Covid-19 era, Laura Backes and Jon Bard, the Colorado-based husband and wife team that co-founded Childrens Book Insider, the Newsletter for Childrens Writers in 1990, have launched Kidlit Distancing Socials, a series of free weekly webcasts featuring editors, agents, authors, and writing educators in conversation with Backes. Held on Thursday evenings, the episodes examine various aspects of writing, the publishing process, and the book industry and include interactive activities and q&a segments. Backes explained that the idea for the program was born in late March, as the pandemic escalated and the stay-at-home orders were issued. We sensed that writers were feeling especially isolated and were bummed out that writing conferences were canceled, and Jon and I decided to do something to connect with not only our CBI subscribers but with the kidlit world at large. So we came up with the notion of holding informal, weekly online gatherings with some meaty content as well as some fun stuff to help writers keep the energy going on their projectsand to help Jon and me to stay connected to the childrens writing community. The webcasts debuted on April 2 with an episode starring author and writing educator Katie Davis, which celebrated The Legacy of Tomie dePaola, the author-illustrator had died three days earlier. Subsequent weekly installments have included picture book and YA author Alice Kuipers discussing Connecting with Your Creativity in Difficult Times; Move Books publisher Eileen Robinson addressing Middle Grade Fiction for Boys; Gabriela Pereira, a writer, teacher, and podcaster, exploring The Power of a Writing Community; and Helen Wu, associate publisher of Yeehoo Press, on Publishing for the International Kidlit Market. Upcoming Kidlit Distancing Socials guests and the topics they will tackle are Sean McCollum, author and self-proclaimed digital nomad, on Turning Your Passions into Books (July 23); PJ McIlvaine, author and co-host of #PBPitch, on Tips for Participating in Kidlit Twitter Pitch Parties (July 30); and Bad Kitty creator Nick Bruel on Writing Subversive Kidlit Characters (Aug. 6). Viewers can put their names on the notification list for Kidlit Distancing Socials here and can view replays of each episode here. Backes, who noted that each live episode currently attracts between 125 and 150 live viewers, hopes to continue the weekly series post-pandemic, shortening its title to Kidlit Socials. Im a publishing geek and love talking with others about how the industry works, so I would like the webcasts to go on, even after we dont have to social distance, she said. We have had very positive feedback from viewers and were having a lot of fun doing the episodes, because they are so informal and combine an educational component with lighthearted segments, including book-themed polls, celebrations of our viewers writing accomplishments, and quizzes about literary landmarks. I love that the programs do not have to be all polished and perfect. If we have a technical glitch, we laugh about itand then we move on. The ancient Greeks had Plato. The French had Joan of Arc. To every generation, its own saviour. And for thousands of stunned and delighted people over the weekend, that person was American author Susan Orlean. Tweeting while drunk, the award-winning author unleashed a thread of off-the-cuff declarations that became viral for their unabashed honesty about how the last few months had left her SICK AND TIRED OF EVERYTHING and, possibly, a little unhinged. Im falling down drunk, she tweeted, early on in the piece. First time in ages. Where is my kitty? He is my drunk comfort animal. Orlean, who was portrayed by Meryl Streep in the movie Adaptation (the movie version of Orleans book The Orchid Thief) then proceeded to take readers on a journey, which included not only her search for lollies in her house "We do ha e so@e weird candy coated fennel seeds. Is that f---ing candy?" but also her concern that her neighbours know she's drunk ("You guys. Do you tho k my neighbours I'm a. never mind I'm going f to bed"), to her philosophical assessment of the moment she met a newborn foal, at the home of her neighbours, earlier in the evening: "He thought my hand was his mom. It was not. He has tasted life's infinite tragedy." The Indian Institute of Technology-Bombay (IIT-B) is planning to bring a section of students back to campus to resume research work. This is the first such instance in the city. The first batch of researchers are likely to be called in by the first week August. The institute launched a slow reboot plan to restart research work in laboratories in a phased manner. As a first step, it has asked around 128 PhD scholars and part-time researchers based in Mumbai if they are willing to resume their research or project work inside the campus. Nearly 40% to 50% students are in research programmes, and they ought to have access to the laboratory. Teaching is just one part of IIT system, said Subhasis Chaudhuri, director of the institute. The institute sent consent and declaration forms to a select few students, asking if they are willing to return to the campus and if their health permits them to do so. In the first phase, we asked Mumbai-based fourth and fifth-year PhD and Masters students, as well as those pursuing dual degrees based in Mumbai to express their interest in coming to campus to resume their project work, said Prita Pant, head of the reboot committee and professor in the department of metallurgical engineering and materials science. Chaudhuri said the committee was put in place to plan for the slow rebooting of research work, and to determine which students should be called in first and how. Apart from Pant, the committee comprises student representatives and a doctor from the institutes hospital. The institute closed completely on March 28, owing to the Covid-19 pandemic, followed by an early summer vacation announced on April 1. However, on June 25, the institute declared that the entire autumn semester will be conducted online in the interest of students safety. While undergraduate students, incoming masters and PhD students can complete their semester from their respective locations, research scholars and senior masters students ought to mandatorily complete their research projects in order to complete their course work. First the students have to evaluate their own situations. Only if they are willing to come to campus, will we take it to the next step, said Pant. A list of such consenting students will be shared with lab operators and heads of departments, who will then analyse if the labs are equipped to handle students. A checklist is shared with lab and department heads. The heads and the guides will take a final call on whether it is essential for the student to come to campus, Pant added. Meanwhile, the institute has put in place a standard operating procedure for labs and hostels to ensure they are not crowded. It will also install foot-operated door openers and hand sanitising stations on campus. The in-house hospital is equipped with isolation centres and is approved by the civic body to treat mild and moderate Covid-19 patients. Researchers, however, are on the fence over the matter. By asking us to sign a consent and declaration form, the institute seems to be shifting the responsibility of safety on to students. Moreover, there is no clarity on the health insurance of students on campus. The institute should give us clear guidelines on what it is doing to ensure our safety, said a PhD scholar on the condition of anonymity. All the students of IIT-B are covered for medical insurance. However, the committee is mulling increasing the benefits for students, who may require hospitalisation outside campus, in case they get infected with Covid-19. The Secretary has said many times, this pandemic affected all students, and the CARES Act requires that funding should be used to help all students, Department of Education press secretary Angela Morabito said in a statement provided to the Tribune. There is no reasonable explanation for debating the use of federal funding to serve both public and private K-12 students when federal funding, including CARES Act funding, flows to both public and private higher education institutions. The way in which British life sciences have risen to the challenge of Covid-19 is hugely exciting and an enormous contrast to the stuttering early response to the pandemic from Public Health England. The decision by Astrazeneca (AZ) chief executive Pascal Soriot to place the pharma group's resources behind the Oxford Jenner Institute's vaccine is paying off brilliantly. The first Lancet-published results on the efficacy of the vaccine AZD1222 show a strong immune response in healthy adults to an antibody-based therapy. Masterstroke: The decision by Astrazeneca chief exec Pascal Soriot (pictured) to place the pharma group's resources behind the Oxford Jenner Institute's vaccine is paying off brilliantly Larger scale testing continues in Brazil and South Africa, and optimism is rising that there could be a working vaccine later this year. Earlier pessimism that it could take years to develop a safe vaccine has been turned on its head. Investors who backed Astrazeneca in April have seen healthy gains with the shares advancing more than 20 per cent, making it the most valuable company in the FTSE 100 with a market capitalisation of 133billion. When Soriot spoke to this paper last month and suggested there could be a vaccine ready for use in the UK as soon as September there was scepticism. However, Downing Street and AZ's early backing for the trials means that Britain's most vulnerable populations to Covid-19 will be first in line for protection. Another huge stock market winner is the biotech firm Synairgen, producer of a medicine which shows great efficacy in reducing severe illness among Covid-19 patients. That the firm was founded by professors at the University of Southampton is another demonstration of the dynamism of the UK's research based economy. But savers who put their faith in Neil Woodford's biotech investment prowess will look on with consternation. Just a month ago, authorised corporate director Link Fund Solutions, which is liquidating Woodford's empire, sold a stake in Synairgen when it was worth just 8.1million. After a dramatic rise in the stock those shares would now be worth about 40.5million. Link has new, very serious questions to answer about its terrible timing. Retail therapy Covid-19 has turbo-charged change in commerce and the economy. In retail, the most obvious development has been the way in which the exit from the High Street to online has speeded up. There is a hidden revolution taking place too in terms of shortened and less complex supply chains and in the case of Marks & Spencer more autonomy to store managers. The latest 950 job cuts at M&S in store support functions and central office reflect that. The pandemic has forced the pace of change across the whole economy. Zoom's and Microsoft's 'meeting room' technology has demonstrated that more flexible working is not a pipedream. The switch from use of notes and coins to plastic and electronic currency and payments has become the natural order. In unveiling the latest job cuts, M&S is making the same kind of painful adjustments already seen at Boots and John Lewis. Much of the blame used to be heaped on business rates. The pandemic has shown there are more fundamental reasons why there have been so many insolvencies in retail. Shops are often in the wrong places, the way rents are set dates back to Victorian times, digital connections are transforming supply chains and online shopping is becoming the new norm. What people buy also has changed. At M&S demand for men's suits has tumbled and sales of shorts soared. Kidswear is booming with displays moved to front of store. M&S shares selling at less than one pound, one third of the value of a year ago, have proved a terrible investment. With a market value of less than 2billion, M&S is worth a fraction of 15.3billion Ocado and much less than upstarts Boohoo and Asos. Can the M&S tanker be turned? Transformation is being speeded up with grocery joint venture with Ocado, a streamlined supply chain and store portfolio and the embrace of online. One would hope that M&S's ethical supply chain will have more long-term appeal to consumers than Leicester sweat shops. Sand castles Fancy renting a beach hut for your staycation? It will be pricey. Data firms Howsy and GetAgent report that renting a hut in Mudeford in Dorset would cost 3,860 a month. In contrast a similar hut in fashionable Southwold in Suffolk would cost 832. Families wanting to buy might need a mortgage. One Dorset hut is advertised at 300,000. Jaw dropping. missouri's attorney general last night criticised the 'political prosecution' of the St Louis couple who are facing charges for brandishing guns at Black Lives Matter protesters outside their home. Republican Eric Schmitt said Mark and Patricia McCloskey were the victims of a 'rogue prosecutor' who was targeting them for 'exercising their fundamental rights under the Second Amendment'. The McCloskeys claim they were defending themselves against a trespassing 'mob', but Democratic county prosecutor Kimberly Gardner says the June 28 protests were 'nonviolent' and that 'waving weapons in a threatening manner' at them was illegal. Schmitt has filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that the couple's behavior is 'explicitly protected' by the Constitution and Missouri law. The McCloskeys claim they were defending themselves against a 'mob' during Black Lives Matter protests on June 28, but have been charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon Missouri's attorney general Eric Schmitt (pictured) last night raged at the 'political prosecution' of Mark and Patricia McCloskey Speaking to Fox News host Shannon Bream last night, Schmitt said: 'The truth of the matter is this is nothing more than a political prosecution brought by St Louis prosecutor Kim Gardner. 'The right to self-defense is deeply rooted in our Constitution, it's a fundamental right, it actually predates our Constitution. 'At a time when there are calls to defund the police, at a time with skyrocketing violent crime rates including here in Missouri and in St Louis, we've got a prosecutor now targeting individuals now for exercising their fundamental rights under the Second Amendment. 'Enough is enough. The law is very clear, it's time as the state's chief law enforcement officer to step in. We're entering the case and we're seeking to have this case dismissed. 'Not just for the McCloskeys but for every Missourian whose rights are threatened by a rogue prosecutor who seeks to punish people for exercising their fundamental rights for self-defense.' Asked why the incident had become so 'divisive', Schmitt said that 'my focus is on the law, and the law in Missouri is very clear'. He cited allegations that protesters were yelling that they were going to kill them, kill their dog, burn their house down' during the confrontation with the McCloskeys, who are both personal injury lawyers. 'Under Missouri law, you have a right to defend your castle, your home and the lives of your family. It's really not a close call here,' Schmitt said. 'This is a politically motivated prosecution by a prosecutor who's not interested in prosecuting violent crime [and] has an abysmal record. 'The situation is out of control and this prosecutor is spending valuable resources to prosecute people who were exercising a fundamental right.' Mark McCloskey (pictured on Fox News Monday night) accused St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner of siding with 'criminals,' after he and his wife were charged with felony unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a racial injustice protest June 28 Footage of the white couple's row with protesters was widely shared around the world last month amid the global protests after the death of George Floyd. Mr McCloskey, 63, carried an assault rifle, and his wife, 61, was waving a handgun as protesters marched down a private street towards the mayor's residence. No shots were fired. An attorney for the McCloskeys later said that they support the message of Black Lives Matter and did not want to become heroes to those who oppose the cause. Charges of felony unlawful use of a weapon were announced last night, which could theoretically lead to a four-year prison term although Gardner said she was willing to recommend a 'diversion program' instead. 'It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, and while we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force, this type of conduct is unacceptable in St Louis,' she said. 'The decision to issue charges was made after a thorough investigation with the St Louis Metropolitan Police Department. 'I am open to recommending the McCloskeys participate in one of my offices diversion programs that are designed to reduce unnecessary involvement with the courts. I believe this would serve as a fair resolution to this matter. 'We must protect the right to peacefully protest, and any attempt to chill it through intimidation will not be tolerated.' Mark and Patricia McCloskey, who live in the Forest Park area of St. Louis, brandished their firearms at protesters marching past their mansion in their gated community Mark and Patricia McCloskey (pictured) have claimed the protesters, who were marching in response to the Black Lives Matter movement, were trespassing on private property The prosecutor's move was called 'outrageous' by Missouri Governor Mike Parson in a tweet he wrote Monday Appearing on Tucker Carlson Tonight after the announcement, Mr McCloskey said protesters had been 'trespassing' but that none of them had been charged. 'The circuit attorney has apparently decided that her job as a prosecutor isn't to keep us safe from criminals but to help keep criminals safe from us,' he said. A lawyer for the couple, Joel Schwartz, said the decision to charge the couple was 'disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed'. Missouri governor Mike Parson, a Republican, told a radio show last week he would likely pardon the McCloskeys if they were charged. Donald Trump has also defended the couple and Parson says he spoke to the president about the case last week. Senator Josh Hawley, also a Republican, has urged Attorney General William Barr to undertake a civil rights investigation of Ms Gardner. However, prosecutor Gardner says Trump, Parson and others were attacking her to distract from 'their failed approach to the Covid-19 pandemic' and other issues. The McCloskeys' home was initially incidental to the demonstration on June 28. Several hundred people were marching to the home of Democratic Mayor Lyda Krewson, who had angered activists by reading on Facebook Live the names and addresses of some who had called for defunding police. A police report said the couple heard a loud commotion and saw a large group of people break an iron gate marked with 'No Trespassing' and 'Private Street' signs. However, one protest leader said the gate was open and that the protesters did not damage it. Mr McCloskey confronted protesters with a semi-automatic and pointed the weapon at them, according to a statement from police officer Curtis Burgdorf. The statement said Mrs McCloskey then emerged with a semi-automatic handgun, yelling at protesters to 'go' and pointing the gun at them. Protesters feared 'being injured due to Patricia McCloskey's finger being on the trigger, coupled with her excited demeanour', the statement said. A teenager was arrested following an attempted hijacking of a car in Cork city centre. The incident occurred at 7pm on Monday evening on the Grand Parade which was busy with both shoppers and commuters. A man in his late teens approached a parked car and threatened the two startled occupants. He produced what gardai believed was a knife and, on discovering the rear door was unlocked, got into the vehicle and demanded that he be driven to a named location in Cork. The shocked occupants of the car did not comply and the man panicked when he realised there were a number of pedestrians in the area, several looking at the parked car. He jumped out of the vehicle and ran off in the direction of Bishop Lucey Park. Gardai confirmed that no injuries were sustained during the brief incident. The shocked motorists immediately reported the matter to Anglesea Street Garda Station. They were able to offer gardai a good description of the man which has now been circulated to all officers in Cork city. Gardai confirmed that CCTV security camera footage is expected to play a key role in their investigation. A short time later, a 19 year old male was arrested in Cork city centre. He was detained under Section 4 of the Criminal Justice Act, 1984 and brought to the Bridewell Garda Station for questioning. A file on the matter will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). By Azernews By Aisha Jabbarova The Air Defense units of the Azerbaijani Air Force have destroyed two tactical unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) belonging to Armenia, the Defence Ministrys press service reported on July 21. The ministry said that Armenian armed forces, using UAVs, attempted to carry out a reconnaissance flight over the positions of the units of Azerbaijan Army in the direction of the Agdam district of the front at 00.30 am, and over the positions in the direction of the Tovuz region of the Armenia-Azerbaijan state border at 08.45 am in the morning. Another tactical unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) "X-55" belonging to Armenia was downed on July 16. The cross-border clashes between Azerbaijan and Armenia started on July 12 noon after Armenian troops fired artillery at Azerbaijani military post in Tovuz region. Azerbaijan lost 12 servicemen, including an army general, during cross-border clashes from July 12 till July 16. Armenian forces have also been shelling civilians in villages in Tovuz. An Azerbaijani civilian in Tovuzs Aghdam village was killed as a result of artillery shelling by the Armenian armed forces on July 14. Azerbaijan and Armenia are locked in a conflict over Azerbaijans Nagorno-Karabakh breakaway region, which along with seven adjacent regions was occupied by Armenian forces in a war in the early 1990s. More than 20,000 Azerbaijanis were killed and around one million were displaced as a result of the large-scale hostilities. Since 1994, hostilities between the two countries have persisted despite the temporary cease-fire agreement. Usually, Armenian forces violate cease-fire regime on the line of contact. But recently Armenia has increased military aggression on the border. Thousands of microplastic particles flow down the Thames every second and have been found in the stomachs of 95 per cent of crabs, researchers have discovered. Experts from the Royal Holloway University studied how high levels of microplastics are affecting the River Thames, including its water column and shoreline. Three separate studies by students at the university investigated different aspects of microplastics including how many there were and their impact on wildlife. Researchers found that 94,000 microplastic particles - many from larger pieces of plastic broken down - were flowing through parts of the Thames every second. These also included fibres from washing machine outflows and sewage outfalls - with much of it being swallowed by local wildlife including various crab species. The density of microplastics in the Thames was higher than some other major rivers including the Rhine in Germany, the Danube in Romania and the Chicago in the US. Researchers said that while this study highlights the problem of microplastics on a local scale and how it impacts London, plastic pollution is 'a global problem'. Experts from the Royal Holloway University studied how high levels of microplastics are impacting the River Thames, including its water column and shoreline Researchers examined the impact of microplastics on crab species and found they were 'full' of plastic fibres, particularly in the gut Fragments from the breakup of larger plastic items, such as packaging are most abundant in the water along with 'flushable' wet wipes clumping along the shore. Anna Cucknell, ZSL's Thames Project Manager, said plastic pollution is a devastating problem for aquatic ecosystems and the Thames is no different. 'Our study showed the majority of microplastics in the Thames are created by larger plastic items breaking down,' she explained. She said the aim should be to reduce the use of single use plastic water bottles in London to avoid these being broken up and entering the water system. Lead author on one of the papers, Alex McGoran, examined 135 crabs and found 874 pieces and tangles of plastic - particularly fibres - in their bodies. The two most common species found with plastic were the resident estuarine species of crab, namely the native shore crab and the invasive Chinese mitten crab. As well as producing 'fatbergs' in sewage pipes, flushable wipes are also creating disgusting 'wet wipe reefs' on the shoreline of the Thames, researchers found Frequently these fibres form tangles comprising up to 100 pieces of plastic and fill the stomach of many crabs which could reduce the urge to feed and leave the animals, with less energy for growth and reproduction. About 95 per cent of mitten crabs were found to have tangled plastic in the stomach including microplastics from sanitary pads, balloons, elastic bands and carrier bags. 'Typically, microplastic ingestion is low in many species, with the exception of some groups, such as seabirds,' said McGoran. 'Upon bringing these crabs back to the labs at Natural History Museum, it was shocking to find that they were full of plastic.' They found tangles of plastic in the invasive Chinese mitten crab and they still don't fully understand the reason for this but suspect it happens when they shed their exoskeleton - the plastic is trapped in the discarded gut lining. Responding to the Royal Holloway study, Paula Chin, Sustainable Materials Specialist at WWF, said plastics were an ever-present feature of modern life that were 'choking the natural world'. 'Plastic pollution is the most visible example of the environmental crisis were facing, though what we can see is just part of the problem, as microplastics continue to infect our waterways. 'Governments and business must lead the way in driving down the use of plastics and supporting a shift towards reusable systems, if we are to truly turn the tide on plastics.' Katharine Rowley, a masters degree student at Royal Holloway, examined the volume of microplastics in the River Thames water column. This involved recording the different types of plastic and how many were forming and flowing through the river over a period of time. Microplastics ranged from glitter and microbeads on to larger plastic fragments. Her study found that 93.5 per cent of microplastics in the water column were most likely formed from the fragmentation of larger plastic items, with food packaging thought to be a significant source for these plastics. At peak ebb tides 94 thousand microplastic pieces are thought to flow down the River Thames per second in some areas of the city, Rowley explained. This study highlights the severity of microplastic contamination in the River Thames and the grave need for the reduction of plastic input. 'Our study provides baseline data for microplastic contamination in the River Thames water column,' said Rowley. 'Globally, in comparison to published estimates of microplastic contamination in marine and freshwater environments, the River Thames contains very high levels of this pollutant, potentially a major input to the North Sea. These tiny strands of microplastic fibres were found in the guts of various crab species 'With the potential threats of plastic pollution to both human and ecosystem health, it is of great importance that the input of plastic into marine and freshwater environments is reduced.' The three studies paint a severe picture of the impact of plastic pollution on the Thames aquatic eco-system and Katherine McCoy said it also impact the shoreline. In collaboration with river clean-up charity, Thames21, McCoy looked at 'flushable' and 'non-flushable' wet wipes as a source of plastic pollution in the Thames. She wanted to find out what environmental impacts they have on the invasive Asian clam and the wider river shoreline. Wet wipes found in sewage effluent are deposited in large numbers on the foreshore on the south bank, just upstream from Hammersmith Bridge, creating massive wet wipe reefs, the team found. Researchers found that much of the plastic in the guts of crabs, on the shoreline of the Thames and even flowing as microplastics originated from larger pieces of plastic such as bottles High densities of wet wipes are associated with low population numbers of clams, and vice versa - suggesting that flushing the wipes can lead to clams dying out. It was found that clams adjacent to the wet wipe reefs contained synthetic polymers, some of which may have originated from the wet wipe reefs and other pollutants found on the site such as sanitary items. McCoy, said said improper waste disposal has a negative impact on the environment, especially from things like wet wipes. 'These products are often described as flushable, but they have been known to block sewage pipes by contributing to fatbergs and have now been seen to cause environmental disruption on the foreshores of the river Thames. 'Our study shows that stricter regulations are needed for the labelling and disposal of these products. There is great scope to further research the impacts of microplastics and indeed microfibres on Thames organisms.' Professor Dave Morritt from the Department of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, said the studies show the wide ranging impact of plastic pollution. 'The increased use of single-use plastic items, and the inappropriate disposal of such items, including masks and gloves, along with plastic-containing cleaning products, during the current Covid-19 pandemic, may well exacerbate this problem,' he said. 'Thames Water has recently reported an increase in wet wipe-related blockages of sewer systems and when the Covid-19 restrictions on fieldwork are lifted, it would be interesting to find out the prevalence of these products in the River Thames. 'We must not forget that, although these studies illustrate the problem on a local scale, plastic pollution is very much a global issue.' The paper on microplastics in crabs was published in the journal Environmental Pollution, research into wet wipes was also published in Environmental Pollution and the study quantifying the number of microplastics can be found in the journal Science of the Total Environment. [July 21, 2020] Vyopta Launches Support for Microsoft Teams AUSTIN, Texas, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Vyopta, the leading provider of Unified Communications (UC) monitoring and analytics, today announced comprehensive support for Microsoft's cloud-based UC products including Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Teams Rooms, Surface Hub, and Skype for Business Online. Vyopta is among the first to market in providing monitoring and analytics for Microsoft Teams, having participated in Microsoft's exclusive Call Data API Technology Adoption Program (TAP). This capability accelerates Microsoft Teams rollouts, simplifies troubleshooting and reporting, and improves quality of service across the Microsoft-based voice and video calling experience. "Microsoft Teams usage has surged exponentially as many organizations embraced remote work and many video-based services such as telehealth, distance learning and remote financial services," said Alfredo Ramirez, CEO of Vyopta. "Vyopta is uniquely positioned to help large enterprises with mixed-vendor UC environments esure a positive end user experience while optimizing collaboration, communication and business outcomes." The Microsoft support within Vyopta's Collaboration Performance Management (CPM) platform now includes: Single-pane-of-glass approach for troubleshooting end-to-end call experience for Microsoft Teams along with endpoints devices, interop platforms, session border controllers (SBCs), and more Seamless visibility across technologies from vendors including Zoom, Cisco, Poly, Pexip, BlueJeans by Verizon, and Microsoft Skype for Business, in order to successfully manage migrations to Microsoft Teams as well as mixed deployments Advanced quality, network and device metrics, insights on participant join methods, home networks and peripherals used, and Call Detail Records (CDRs) to troubleshoot and diagnose systemic and user-specific issues Sophisticated usage and adoption analytics for stakeholder reporting, capacity planning, ROI optimization, and improving user experience In the coming months, Vyopta will continue investing in additional monitoring capabilities including more sophisticated proactive alerting for Microsoft Teams as well as extended coverage for more session border controllers (SBC) and cloud video interop (CVI) platforms commonly used with Microsoft Teams. Learn more at www.vyopta.com/product/what-we-cover/microsoft . About Vyopta Incorporated Vyopta is a leading provider of collaboration performance management and meeting room insights solutions. With coverage that spans video, voice, and messaging from Cisco, Microsoft, Poly, Pexip, Zoom, BlueJeans by Verizon, and more, Vyopta helps companies improve quality of experience, accelerate workplace transformation and optimize investments across UC and conference rooms. Vyopta monitors and analyzes over 10 billion meeting minutes annually across the largest enterprises in the world, including Workday, AstraZeneca, Stanford University, Shared Services Canada and the US Department of Veterans Affairs. View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/vyopta-launches-support-for-microsoft-teams-301095817.html SOURCE Vyopta Inc [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ] Mandatory Credit: Photo by Michael Brochstein/SOPA Images/Shutterstock (10699087h) U.S. Senator Tom Cotton (R-AR) speaks at a press conference against the District of Columbia becoming a state. Republican Senators Against DC Statehood in Washington, US 01 Jul 2020 Its been almost a week since federal agents began detaining protestors in Portland, Oregon using reportedly unmarked vans, tear gas, and flash bangs. But what appears to be a dystopian horror show to most is apparently just necessary, according to Republican Senator Tom Cotton. In fact, it seems that Sen. Cottons every wish is finally coming true. After penning a highly-rebuked New York Times op-ed where Cotton suggested that the only answer to ongoing Black Lives Matter demonstrations would be to send in the troops, the Arkansas senator went on Fox and Friends this week to defend the governments right to take protestors off the street to stop them from causing damage to federal property. The Fox segment, which included four white people discussing anti-racism protests in Portland, allowed Cotton to make a case for the armed law enforcement agents deployed by President Trump. Cotton went on to justify the Presidents tactics despite local leadership demanding agents retreat comparing demonstrators to the Confederacy. The federal government cannot allow anarchists and insurrectionists to destroy federal courthouses, federal buildings or other federal property. These insurrectionists in the streets of Portland are little different from the insurrectionists who seceded from the Union in 1861 in South Carolina, and tried to take over Fort Sumter, Cotton said. Fox aired footage of protestors using graffiti beside Cotton while he spoke, failing to show any actual violence (or the literal Wall of Mom surrounding the protestors). Instead, Cotton was given yet another platform to stoke fear and ignite violence in a city where protestors are being abducted and brutalized on camera. But perhaps the most jarring part of Cottons position is that these protests are comparable to the Confederacy. For context, Cotton is specifically referencing the first military engagement in the American Civil War. Cotton is comparing protestors, who are reportedly unarmed and exercising a legal right to demonstrate, to the Confederate Army, which incited a war in the South largely to defend in the United States. Story continues Cottons comparison to the battle at Fort Sumter is not only confusing and inaccurate, but highly volatile considering the subject of the Portland protests. At Fort Sumter, Confederate soldiers fired the first shots when federal troops refused to surrender, making it one of the bloodiest battles in American history. Not only is Cotton equating Black Lives Matter protestors to the Confederate state the promoted and preserved slavery, but he is suggesting that the insurrectionists came out of nowhere, effectively ignoring the fact that these protests started as a direct result of ongoing police brutality against Black people in America. Both the governor of Oregon and the mayor of Portland have called for the Trump administration to withdraw federal agents from the U.S. Marshals Service and a U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit. The Trump administration needs to stop playing politics with peoples lives. We dont have a secret police in this country. This is not a dictatorship. And Trump needs to get his officers off the streets, Governor Kate Brown told NPR. But President Donald Trump has stated he doesnt regret sending them in and has plans to do the same in places like New York City, where protests have also been ongoing for nearly two months. Senator Tom Cottons segment and perhaps his entire position when it comes to demonstrations clearly promotes the idea that protestors need to be punished by any means necessary. It should come as little surprise for the Arkansas politician who has continued to peddle conservative values like banning abortion. But, its also ironic that a person who has spent a good part of his career advocating as a pro-lifer is still willing to defend federal properties over human lives. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? Why Is Trump Targeting Portland? "Wall Of Moms" Aims To Protect Portland Protestors Portland Protestors Abducted In Unmarked Vans In this still image from bodycam video, Fairfax police officer Tyler Timberlake, right, fires a stun gun at La Monta Gladney on June 5, 2020. (Fairfax County Police Department) Police Officer Who Used Stun Gun on Suspect Indicted on Assault Charges A Virginia police officer who used a stun gun on an unarmed man last month was indicted on charges that could land him up to three years in prison. The grand jury found that Fairfax police officer Tyler Timberlake unlawfully assaulted La Monta Gladney on June 5. Timberlake faces three counts of misdemeanor assault. He could be sentenced to up to 36 months in prison if convicted. Body camera footage showed the officer firing a stun gun at Gladney, who had been walking around in circles on a neighborhood street as officers tried convincing him to go to a detox center. Timberlake then knelt on Gladneys back while the man said I cant breathe. He also fired the stun gun a second time as he pressed it against the back of Gladneys neck. Fairfax County Police Chief Edwin C. Roessler Jr. told reporters on June 6 that the video showed a police officer deploying force in violation of our use of force policies. And they are criminal acts, which violate our oath of office, and they ignore the sanctity of human life, he added. An internal investigation was launched along with the criminal probe. Timberlake was relieved of duty while the internal investigation was taking place. In this still image from bodycam video, Fairfax police officer Tyler Timberlake kneels on La Monta Gladney on June 5, 2020. (Fairfax County Police Department) According to WTOP radio, both a prosecutor and a lawyer for Timberlake said at a court hearing last month that the officer thought he was shooting a different man, who had a lengthy criminal record. Brandon Shapiro, the attorney, said the mistake is relevant because they show his client was acting rationally. Prosecutor Bob Frank disagreed, saying, A mistake on his part does not justify what he did. Fairfax County Commonwealths Attorney Steve Descanos office dropped misdemeanor assault and battery charges against Timberlake about a week ago, citing procedural issues. Descano said he supported a grand jury bringing charges. We can all agree that the footage in this incident is unsettling, Descano said at a press conference last month. Prosecutors charged Gladney, the man who was hit with the stun gun, with being drunk in public and resisting arrest. Descano announced on June 11 that his office was dropping those charges. There wasnt enough evidence to support them, he said in a statement. Gladney was treated at a local hospital after being stunned. He was later released. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 20:01:06|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close -- Taking advantage of Chinese e-commerce platforms, Thailand exported 567 million U.S. dollars worth of durians to China from January to April this year despite the COVID-19, up 78 percent. -- Durian sales on e-commerce platforms are one of the successful stories under the booming digital economy cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). -- In many ASEAN countries in the past months, the digital economy became a strong growth engine during the pandemic and the trend is expected to continue in post-pandemic recovery. by Xinhua writer Dan Ran HONG KONG, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Sixty-two-year-old Papai Mongkonkeaw, a durian farm owner in Thailand's Rayong province, had been worrying about his business since COVID-19 broke out early this year, but to his surprise, sales turned out to be even better than usual. He attributed the unexpected boom in business to the high demand from China, as Chinese e-commerce giants Alibaba and JD.com, among the biggest overseas buyers for Thai durians, made large purchases during the pandemic period. "The price of durians rose from 60 to 80 bahts (1.9 to 2.5 U.S. dollars) per kilogram a few years ago to 100 to 130 bahts (3.2 to 4.1 U.S. dollars) per kilogram now, thanks to cross-border e-commerce platforms that helped Thai durians forge their way into the Chinese market," Papai told Xinhua. Lu Yee Thing, a durian farm owner, shows frozen durians in Raub, Pahang, Malaysia, July 4, 2020. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua) Taking full advantage of the Chinese e-commerce platforms, Thailand's Deputy Prime Minister and Commerce Minister Jurin Laksanawisit went on a livestream on Alibaba's Tmall on June 9 and helped sell nearly 5,000 durians and 20,000 young coconuts to Chinese consumers. According to data from Thailand's Office of Agricultural Economics, the country exported 567 million U.S. dollars worth of durians to China from January to April this year amid the COVID-19 outbreak, up 78 percent from the same period of last year. The joy of Papai was shared by Lu Yee Thing, a durian farm owner in Malaysia's central Pahang state, who told Xinhua that exports to China have increased during the pandemic period. "Many Chinese consumers ordered our durians directly online," he said, adding "I'm very confident in future business, and I will expand planting areas to meet the demand of the Chinese market." Photo provided by Telekom Malaysia (TM) shows the Memorandum of Agreement signing ceremony between TM and Huawei in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 3, 2020. (Telekom Malaysia/Handout via Xinhua) FRESH MOMENTUM FOR COOPERATION The durian sales on e-commerce platforms are among many success stories under the booming digital economy cooperation between China and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). This year was designated as the China-ASEAN Year of Digital Economy Cooperation, and the COVID-19 pandemic has further highlighted the importance of digital economy in economic and social recovery, job creation and improving people's well-being. China and ASEAN will expand cooperation in 5G, the internet of things, artificial intelligence, industrial internet, as well as digital epidemic prevention, said Chinese Minister of Industry and Information Technology Miao Wei at the virtual opening ceremony of the cooperation year on June 12. The added value of China's digital economy registered 35.8 trillion yuan (about 5.13 trillion U.S. dollars) in 2019, accounting for 36.2 percent of the country's GDP, up by 1.4 percent from the previous year, and China's digital economy grew by 15.6 percent last year, according to China Academy of Information and Communications Technology (CAICT). Medical supplies donated by the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation are pictured at a warehouse of the Kuala Lumpur International Airport in Sepang, Selangor, Malaysia, March 26, 2020. (Photo by Chong Voon Chung/Xinhua) For ASEAN, the digital economy is expected to increase from 1.3 percent of GDP in 2015 to 8.5 percent by 2025, according to ASEAN Secretary-General Lim Jock Hoi. ASEAN groups Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, with a combined population of around 650 million. China is at the forefront of the development of digital infrastructure and is a valuable partner of ASEAN in promoting the development of the digital economy in the region, said Lim. DIGITAL TECHNOLOGY VITAL IN ANTI-PANDEMIC FIGHT In April, medical experts from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University in China held two video conferences with their Cambodian counterparts using the Huawei Cloudlink system, sharing specific COVID-19 prevention and control measures during Cambodia's traditional Khmer New Year travel rush. The cloudlink system, featuring the latest 5G technology, was donated by Chinese tech giant Huawei to the Cambodian government to help improve the country's efficiency in response to the epidemic. "Although the Chinese medical team had gone back to China, they are still standing with us to fight the coronavirus epidemic via the video conference system," said Ngy Meng, director of Cambodia's Khmer-Soviet Friendship Hospital. Experts from the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangxi Medical University attend a video conference with medical staff in Cambodia to share specific COVID-19 prevention and control measures, in Nanning, south China's Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, April 20, 2020. (Xinhua/Cui Bowen) Thanks to the system, Cambodian health ministry is now connected to dozens of hospitals and health centers across the country, realizing real-time video conferencing, information sharing and deployment of relevant tasks, and improving the efficiency in the fight against the epidemic, said Cambodian Health Minister Mam Bunheng. The role of digital technology has never been more critical in the fight against COVID-19 and the anti-pandemic "new normal." In March, the Jack Ma Foundation and the Alibaba Foundation made a donation of 560,000 essential medical items to Malaysia, including face masks, test kits and protective suits. Utilizing the cross-border logistic capabilities of the electronic World Trade Platform (eWTP) hub in Malaysia, the medical supplies were able to be delivered promptly despite the challenge in the movement of goods worldwide due to the pandemic. In the same month, the hub also transhipped a batch of medical supplies donated by the foundations to Indonesia. The Kuala Lumpur hub of the eWTP, an initiative first proposed by Alibaba Group founder Jack Ma in 2016, is now one of three international transhipment hubs for the distribution of COVID-19 relief aid, with the other two located in Belgium and Ethiopia. "The COVID-19 pandemic has massively disrupted trade activities throughout the world, including the flow of relief aid and essential supplies," said Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, adding he "welcomed Alibaba's initiative to expand its relief aid logistics operation here to benefit the region." Logistics has been a major challenge in the development of the digital economy in ASEAN countries, said Fung Vun Ket, deputy secretary-general of China-ASEAN Business Association. "The COVID-19 pandemic has forced many ASEAN countries to impose lockdown during the past several months, and the restriction of people's movement facilitated the development of digital economy," he told Xinhua. Photo taken on Jan. 23, 2019 shows a warehouse of JD CENTRAL, a joint venture between Thailand's retail conglomerate Central Group and China's JD.com, in Bangkok, Thailand. (Xinhua/Yang Zhou) EMBRACING DIGITAL BOOM Sawaros Tribo, a senior at Thailand's Chulalongkorn University, was surprised that the items from JD CENTRAL were delivered to her on the same day when she placed the order. With shopping malls and many other venues shut down in Bangkok due to the pandemic, Sawaros had been relying on JD CENTRAL, a joint venture between Thailand's retail conglomerate Central Group and China's JD.com, to buy daily supplies because the platform guaranteed speedy delivery for customers. The e-commerce sector was given a major boost amid lockdowns or movement restrictions in many ASEAN countries in the past months, as the digital economy became a strong growth engine during the pandemic and the trend is expected to continue in post-pandemic recovery. With its notable advantage in digital technology and infrastructure, China is working actively with countries in the region to accelerate digital transformation. Earlier this month, Chinese technology firm Huawei signed a Memorandum of Agreement on collaborative efforts with Malaysian communication service provider Telekom Malaysia (TM), paving the way for Malaysia's first end-to-end cloud artificial intelligence infrastructure. TM said in a statement that it would allow the company, public sector as well as small and medium-sized enterprises to enjoy the cloud services. Also in July, Alibaba Cloud, the cloud computing arm of Alibaba, announced its decision to build its third data center in Indonesia, after building the first and the second in the country in 2018 and 2019 respectively. The new data center is expected to enrich Alibaba Cloud's local offerings of cloud products and services, including database, security, network, machine learning and data analytics, as the Indonesian government is prioritizing digital infrastructure development amid the pandemic "new normal." Alibaba Cloud, one of the largest cloud service providers in regional markets including Malaysia and Indonesia, is also planning to form a cloud ecosystem alliance in the Philippines. "Since the road to recovery is uncertain, ASEAN and China should intensify information exchange on expertise, best practices, and innovative technologies to effectively address pandemic crisis issues while keeping the economy alive and markets functioning," said Lim. Enditem (Xinhua reporters Wang Jin in Bangkok, Lin Hao, Zhu Wei in Kuala Lumpur, Mao Pengfei in Phnom Penh and Zheng Shibo in Jakarta contributed to the story.) (Video reporters: Guo Xinhui, Wang Jin, Lin Hao, Zhu Wei, Yu Wei, Qin Guanghua, Huang Kaiying, Yang Chi, Mao Pengfei; Video editor: Wu Yao) By Express News Service CHENNAI: The buoy deployed by Thailand's National Disaster Warning Centre (NDWC) in the Bay of Bengal to monitor wave height and provide early tsunami warning was retrieved by the Indian Coast Guard after it was reported to have broken free from its moorings due to rough weather. According to an Indian Coast Guard spokesman, the buoy drifted into the North Andaman Sea making landfall on the shores of West Island. NDWC, Thailand, approached the Directorate of Disaster Management, Port Blair to seek assistance of the Indian Coast Guard for locating and recovering the buoy. On receipt of information from the State Emergency Operation Centre, Port Blair, the Indian Coast Guard immediately launched sea-air coordinated search operations to locate and recover the buoy. Coast Guard aircraft deployed for aerial search located the buoy on the shores of West Island and relayed the coordinates to a Coast Guard ship operating in the area. Despite rough weather and high swell of the seas, Indian Coast Guard Ship Rajveer successfully recovered the buoy on July 19 and towed the important ocean observing instrument to Diglipur. The buoy is cylindrical in shape with 2.6 meter diameter and weighs around 4000 kgs approximately. The buoy is being handed over to Indian National Centre for Ocean Information Services (INCOIS) for subsequent handing over to NDWC, Thailand. Interestingly, the Indian Coast Guard had recovered a Chinese data buoy three years ago on the shores of Kamrota island in the Nicobar district of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Indian National Centre for Oceanic Information (INCOIS), Hyderabad, had said that Chinese officials informed them about the drifting of the buoy towards Indian waters. The data buoy was deployed in international waters and drifted towards the Andaman and Nicobar Islands after breaking free from its moorings. Ma Manai, a cattle dealer from Linxia Hui Autonomous Prefecture, northwest Chinas Gansu province got up at 3:00 a.m. to go to the largest cattle and sheep market in the prefecture 20 kilometers away from where he lives. On half of the days in the past 8 years, he got up from bed in the wee hours. Business counts on credibility, Ma said, explaining that he was going for a rush order of 16 cattle this time. Ma lives in Maji village, Yanzhi township, Kangle county, Linxia. With an average altitude of 2,000 meters, Kangle enjoys a favorable ecology and a long history of cattle rearing. However, many people there lived below the poverty line due to high population density. Ma was born in the 1970s, and has followed his father to sell cattle on fairs since childhood. However, he barely got much profit from the business. He attributed the low return to his wrong selection of market, so he went to the neighboring Minxian county after marriage, where he met some business partners and headed for Qinghai province for purchasing yaks, which were more expensive. He thought the hundreds of yaks he purchased would make him some money when returning home, but they still found no buyers. He finally figured out that the demand for cattle in Yanzhi township and Kangle county was limited, and the livestock would be unsalable once the supply went high. Back then I didnt even have a place to place these yaks, so I had to borrow some money for feedstuffs," Ma told Peoples Daily. During that time, he understood that his business failure was not because of the wrong selection of market, but the small size of the market and the radius of his sales. To sell these yaks, Ma had planned to go to Lanzhou, capital of Gansu province, but was voted down by the high transportation cost and the long distance, as the beef might turn spoiled after long trips. Plus, employing a refrigerated truck would lower his profit to almost zero, so he gave up the plan and kept on selling the yaks on local fairs. As a result, he was always struggling on the poverty line. In 2004, an expressway was built from Lanzhou to Lintao, a county 20 minutes drive away from Kangle. Eight years later, a cold chain cattle and sheep market was put into operation in Kangle. Covering 8.67 hectares, the market has a 2,000-square meter slaughtering workshop and a 1,500 square meter refrigeration house, as well as sewage treatment and cyclic utilization facilities. The market offers convenient, quality and high-efficiency services for cattle and sheep dealers, said an employee of the market. Mas was once again mobilized. The market opens at 4:00 a.m. every day, he said, and it takes only around an hour to get the beef to Lanzhou. Thanks to the market and convenient transportation, Mas cattle business finally thrived. Now I sell a dozen of cattle each day, which is more than the total I sold in the past 2 decades, he said, adding that a total of nearly 2,700 cattle were sold last year. In 2015, Ma established a cooperative in his village and employed impoverished villagers. I offer both salary and skill training, and now the impoverished villagers have all shaken off poverty and led a great life, he told Peoples Daily. Beef industry is one of the five industries that we develop to enrich the people, said an official from the government of Kangle county, who disclosed that a special poverty alleviation fund of 116 million yuan has been used this year to introduce 6,288 breeding cows and 13,820 ewes. The next, we will take a dual-approach focusing on both reproduction and breeding, scale up the business while maintaining standard management, and build a brand to further expand our market, he official said. I just happen to live in a great era, Ma concluded, speaking of his cattle business. SACRAMENTO, Calif., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) President Catherine Reheis-Boyd announced three personnel moves today, the appointment of Tiffany Roberts as Vice President, Regulatory Affairs, the promotion of Margo Parks to Director, California and Southwest Policy and the hiring of Zach Leary as Manager, California Policy. "I am excited to announce the promotion of two talented and insightful women and the addition of an advocate experienced in our industry and the issues facing California. All three will help us deliver results for our members and generate a better understanding of our industry's challenges, innovations and leadership with regulators, government officials and communities across the state," Reheis-Boyd said. Roberts has spent the past 15 years helping shape and inform energy and climate policy in the Western US. In her new role, Roberts will lead the organization's engagement efforts with regulatory agencies that oversee oil and gas operations across Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon and Washington. "Cultivating a collaborative and science-driven dialogue with regulatory agencies in the states our members operate is critical to achieving our shared environmental and climate goals," Reheis-Boyd said. "Tiffany not only brings a notable background in energy policy, but also a passion and keen sense of understanding for how those policies impact real people and communities." Parks joined the WSPA team in November 2017 as Manager, California Policy Advocate. Drawing on her experience advocating for both a trade association and a contract lobby firm, Parks works with WSPA's members, navigating policy and politics to help achieve the organization's goals in the legislature. In her new position, she will also oversee legislative affairs in Nevada and Arizona in addition to her role in California. "Margo's experience and leadership in handling of some of the toughest issues we face in California will undoubtably benefit the industry in other areas of the West," Reheis-Boyd said. Leary joins WSPA from the California State Senate where he served as a Policy Consultant working on a wide range of policy issues including criminal justice reform, energy, natural resources, and taxes. "Zach brings a great understanding of the challenges facing California and how to develop and implement sound public policy," Reheis-Boyd said. About WSPA Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) is a non-profit trade association representing the companies that safely and reliably explore for, produce, refine, transport and market the petroleum and energy products that fuel the five western states of Arizona, California, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. We represent 150,000 women and men who have proudly been powering the western states since 1907. SOURCE Western States Petroleum Association A man has been charged in a cold case murder after investigators matched his DNA to cigarette butts found at an Oklahoma rest stop where a man was stabbed to death 35 years ago. Earl Wilson, 55, was charged with first degree murder on Monday over the 1985 stabbing death of Paul Aikman. The victim's body was found dumped at a rest stop on the Turner Turnpike - a toll road that connects the state's two largest cities, Tulsa and Oklahoma City - in the September of 1985. At the time, investigators from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation collected cigarette butts and latent fingerprints found at the crime scene. Earl Wilson, 55, was charged with first degree murder on Monday over the 1985 stabbing death of Paul Aikman in Oklahoma. Wilson, who has a lengthy criminal history, has been in an Oklahoma prison since 2016 on unrelated sexual battery charges They managed to develop a DNA profile from one of the cigarette butts but the case eventually went cold when investigators couldn't find a match. Criminalists at the bureau's forensic science center informed investigators last year that a potential DNA hit had been obtained and matched that of Wilson. Wilson, who has a lengthy criminal history, has been in an Oklahoma prison since 2016 on unrelated sexual battery charges. The criminalists had been searching the national DNA database, CODIS, when they discovered the match. They say they matched the latent fingerprint impression taken from the scrime scene to Wilson. 'Advances in DNA technology are allowing authorities to take another look at these difficult cases,' Attorney General Hunter said as he announced the murder charges. The victim's body was found dumped at a rest stop on the Turner Turnpike - a toll road that connects the state's two largest cities, Tulsa and Oklahoma City - in the September of 1985. Footage courtesy of KWTV At the time, investigators from the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation (above) collected cigarette butts and latent fingerprints found at the crime scene 'Just because cases go cold doesn't mean someone shouldn't be held responsible, even after three decades.' Ricky Adams, the director of the Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigation, said: 'For 35 years, Paul Aikman's family has ached not knowing who was responsible for his murder. 'Thirty-five years have passed, but we have not forgotten about Paul. Thanks to science and determined police work by OSBI agents and our cold case unit, we are pleased to announce that the suspect in Paul's murder has been identified. 'I would like to give thanks Attorney General Hunter and his staff for taking this case, filing a murder charge and giving a voice to Paul and his family.' Wilson is currently serving a five year sentence for sexual battery. He faces life in prison if convicted of Aikman's murder. Tommy Zhouwei, Managing Director, Huawei Ghana 21.07.2020 LISTEN The Outbreak of COVID-19 globally will remain one of the major events that shaped the 21st century and thus it is the hope and desire of everyone to see humanity triumph once again over a common adversary. Many countries around the globe are resorting to diverse ways to combat the virus and one common denominator that runs across is the use of digital technologies to not only control the spread but also fight infections. In Ghana, favorable ICT policies are being put in place to improve livelihoods as well as provide countries with much needed tools to combat the virus. The governments efforts to ensure uninterrupted connectivity due to the heavy dependence on internet during the lockdown, led to the offering of temporary spectrum to some Mobile Network Operators (MNOs), while waiving off some charges on mobile money transactions was also put in place. These instances though very commendable, also demonstrate the enormous role that ICT can play in preventing, controlling and treating disease like the COVID-19. Unearthing the Enormous Potentials of Technology in Saving Lives In terms of disease treatment, ICT technologies can improve the efficiency and accuracy of identification, diagnosis, and treatment. While the use of AI-assisted CT scans shortens the diagnosis time, In the area of controlling epidemics, intelligent Robotics and AI Robots are used to play an intermediary role, safeguarding the person from possible infection. Additionally, robotics and AI are being used to carry out patient screenings at the entrance of hospitals. AI-powered chatbots are being used to undertake basic assessment of patients through basic interactions while a thermal camera installed will detect their temperature, therefore carrying out an effective Covid-19 assessment. Robust cloud infrastructure capable of processing big data also remains a key tool in managing and combating pandemics. The timely collection and transmission of information is the basis for implementing adjustments resulting from case management and pattern, proper classification, recovery analysis and finally developing a prudent exit mechanism of the epidemic. This will also serve as the basis to derive the infection map for epidemics and enable authorities to better inform the general public on the real situation, design a better suited public education system on prevention, control in some cases provide evidence to curb stigmatization all based on the situation on the ground. Digital Technology Ensures Minimum Economic Impact The new COVID-19 epidemic has a profound impact on the world's economy. According to the April 14th IMF forecast, the global GDP growth rate will drop to -3.0% in 2020. The epidemic has brought different challenges and opportunities to various industries, and these changes may profoundly affect the industry's future development trends and competitive landscape. The Internet is the lifeline of the economy during epidemic. With the emergence of the new normal such as working from home, social distancing or self-isolation, public services such as education, medical care, and pension payment among others are offered remotely and ICT remain the core facilitator in ensuring that people can enjoy these services. Additionally basic everyday interactions, business communication and transactions with regards to business and lifestyle are done remotely. Most people resort to online shopping, mobile money transactions, video conferencing and meetings to enable them go about their daily life and economic activities. All around the world this trend is being experienced due to lockdowns and restrictions in movement. These changes require fast Network Deployment, Expansion and Optimization. The heavy dependence on online activities also necessitates a robust security system to prevent network breaches as well as prevent cyber criminals from taking advantage of users. A stable network remains crucial for economic activities during pandemic and a robust national infrastructure, favorable policies and investment by Carrier Networks continue to remain crucial for sustaining economies during an epidemic. Huawei Committed to help Combat Epidemic through Innovative Digital Technology All around the world, Huawei continue to leverage our core ICT capabilities to fight the epidemic. The company continue to focus on the changes in consumer behavior, business models and use of public services in order to better provide innovative ICT solutions suited to the new normal by working with local partners in R&D, strategy adjustment, and enterprise ICT architecture to accelerate the economic recovery of "post-epidemic", and use advanced ICT technologies such as 5G and cloud to help SMEs restore production and operations. In Ghana and all around the globe, Huawei continues to carry out daily maintenance for Carrier networks, the company's engineers setup multiple redundancies to ensure smooth network operation to address these during this pandemic. The Company also supports MNOs to deploy rapid expansion and network optimization using remote innovative digital tools to ensure safety of engineers. Huawei has installed video conferencing facilities at two institutions which are at the frontline of Ghanas fight against the epidemic, namely the Greater Accra Regional Hospital and the Ministry of Health. These video conferencing facilities which utilizes Huaweis innovative CloudLink Solution will facilitate remote meetings while promoting the practice of Physical Distancing. Huawei has also equipped the Ministry of Education and the Presidency with Huawei Smart Body Temperature Sensing Cameras to enhance automated monitoring of body temperature without close human intervention. Huawei is committed to developing Ghanas skilled ICT talent pool even during this pandemic by introduction of the S tudy at Home Program. Through this initiative, Huawei has opened free online courses in the areas of Routing and Switching (HCIA-R&S), Cloud Computing and AI (HCIA-Cloud & AI), Security and WLAN. Huawei trained over thirty (30) Ghanaian lecturers and IT professionals from 10 local Universities. As a result, over 800 students have benefitted from the Huawei ICT Academy Study At Home program. Strategic ICT Investment Ensures Adequate Preparations against Epidemics As the world continue to battle the COVID-19 epidemic, it is import to understand, appreciate and leverage on the great weapon we have in ICT to accelerate humanitys victory over the virus and better prepare us to effectively manage or even prevent any future outbreaks. The strategic upgrade of the Healthcare system through digitalization to achieve smart medical system will be key in tackling for major public health crisis. Likewise the establishment of a nationwide medical network and digital hospitals as well as adoption of technologies such as AI diagnosis, comprehensive utilization of medical resources, and improvement of medical standards are also relevant areas policymakers need to focus on. Investments in modern education methods such as distance education, interactive classrooms, and university campus networks, and make full use of digital technology to achieve comprehensive coverage of high-quality educational resources remains crucial to prepare any country for such outbreaks. The ITU has also said that the COVID-19 crisis we are going through right now shows how vital information and communication technology (ICT) networks and services are, both to respond to the current pandemic and to address disaster management. It is therefore important that we do not wait until a public health crisis or another outbreak before realizing how important and a powerful tool ICT is. The time to invest and develop a formidable ICT infrastructure is now. A task force has been constituted by the Ghana Private Road Transport Union (GPRTU) to monitor compliance of the recently approved transport fares. The task force was formed following reports of arbitrary increases in transport fares by some commercial transport operators. A statement signed by National Chairman of GPRTU, Kwame Kuma, and General Secretary of the Ghana Road Transport Coordinating Council, Emmanuel Ohene Yeboah. It said drivers have increased their fares against the approved fares which took effect from July 11, 2020, to the detriment of the general public. As such, the Union and the Council have asked union executives, company directors, station managers and masters to ensure compliance by drivers to the approved fares. It said the baseline for the calculation of the 15% increase was that of the first scheduled increase in Road Transport fares which took effect from September 16, 2019. 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 Dr Papa Kwesi Nduom is expected not to contest the Progressive People Partys (PPP) flagbearer race as nominations open. The leadership of the party announced the development in a statement signed by its General Secretary, Paa Kow Ackon. Though the party did not state the reasons, it has urged all interested persons who are eligible to pick up nomination forms. We urge all card-bearing members in good standing to take advantage of this opportunity to test the waters, determine their competitive standing, and check the general publics reactions to their potential candidature, part of the statement read. It added an expedited and virtual selection process has been adopted for the exercise ahead of the 2020 elections. The party further indicated its determination to improve upon past performances with the hope of being represented in Parliament. Read the full statement below: 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 Rajasthan High Court is likely to pronounce its order on Tuesday on a writ petition filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident Congress MLAs, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the state assembly speaker. The petition was taken up by a bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta on Friday and arguments were heard on Monday till evening. The hearing will resume at 10:30 am. The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) is also scheduled to meet at 11 am. The dissident MLAs had moved the court on Friday amid the infighting in the state unit of the Congress, as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his now sacked deputy Pilot tussled for power. Counsel for the speaker Abhishek Singhvi on Monday argued that the petition was premature as a decision was yet to be taken on disqualifying the MLAs from the House. There is no scope for interference by a court over the show-cause notices issued by the speaker, he had said. The speaker is supreme as far as the legislative assembly is concerned and the notices have been issued within the purview of the speaker's power, Singhvi had said. A lawyer appearing for the speaker had told reporters that the chief justice asked is the speaker bound to issue a notice on a petition seeking disqualification of such a nature without recording any reason. Singhvi had argued that there was no requirement to record reasons as it was merely a show-cause notice. The notices to the MLAs were served after the party complained to the speaker that the lawmakers had defied a whip to attend two CLP meetings last week on Monday and Tuesday. The Pilot camp, however, argues that a party whip applies only when the assembly is in session. In its complaint to the speaker, the Congress had sought action against Pilot and the other dissidents under paragraph 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. The provision disqualifies MLAs if they "voluntarily" give up the membership of the party that they represent in the House. Pilot was sacked as the Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the president of the state Congress unit after he rebelled against Gehlot. "The COVID-19 pandemic has caused so much change in our personal and professional lives and will result in us being a smaller airline. While I understand the business need to align the size of our organization with demand, I also understand and deeply regret the impact this action will have on our employees and their families," concluded Kate Gebo, United Airlines' head of human resources and labor relations, at the end of a letter to the California's Employment Development Department. Large employers are required to send "WARN" notices to employees and state authorities when mass layoffs loom. United's July 8 letter to California authorities stated that it anticipates reducing its workforce at San Francisco International by 6,573 employees that's half of its pre-pandemic payroll of 13,000. At Los Angeles International it will cut 1,634 employees, along with smaller numbers at airports in Orange County and San Diego. According to information provided by United, the bulk of the the airline's overall cuts, effective on or around Oct. 1, will be among flight attendants, followed by airport operations and technical operations personnel. On Tuesday, the airline reported a staggering $1.6 billion dollar loss for the second quarter, with revenue down 87 percent compared to the same time last year. It expects to fly 65 percent fewer seats in the third quarter compared to Q3 last year. This, of course, is devastating news for employees. But what does this mean for travelers? A smaller airline, as United is predicting, means significantly fewer options for nonstop flying from the SFO, United's third largest hub, and its gateway to the Pacific. Don't miss a shred of important travel news! Sign up for our FREE weekly email alerts. As demand has soared in recent years, Bay Area travelers have grown accustomed to being able to fly nonstop to just about anywhere in the world from SFO on United, which at its recent peak offered nearly 300 flights per day to 79 domestic and 29 international destinations. At its low point back in April, United offered just 50 flights per day at SFO-- it now offers about 115 flights per day, according to a spokesperson. When flying a smaller airline, more travelers may have to make a stop or two to get to their final destinations, and it could be years before United's schedules from SFO return to pre-pandemic levels. Business travelers, who have enjoyed expansive United Club or Polaris airport lounges, replete with showers, elaborate buffets and classy bars should expect a drawn down experience in the future. These spaces will be a nice place to cool your heels between flights, but that's about it. SFO has already pushed back a billion-dollar renovation of United's Terminal 3, which was to include a re-do of the dated United Club there. With business travel demand expected to shrink significantly as companies slash budgets and frequent travelers grow accustomed to getting their jobs done via online conferencing, airlines will likely reduce the number of cushy business and first class seats on planes, meaning fewer opportunities for upgrades. How long will this last? At this point, no one really knows, but it's going to be a while. As United states in its WARN letter: "The lack of a medical solution for the virus brought bookings and demand to a near standstill...we expect that travel demand will not go back to 'normal' until there is a vaccine for COVID-19." And in its second quarter earnings call on Wednesday, United CEO Scott Kirby said the airline does not expect a vaccine until at least "late next year [2021]." It's going to be a bumpy ride until then... 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. New Delhi: Leading auto maker Hyundai Motor India on Monday launched all new Tucson with an introductory price ranging between Rs 18.99 lakh and Rs 24.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi). Strengthening it's SUV portfolio, the company has launched the third generation Tucson with both petrol and diesel powertrains. The manual petrol variant is priced at Rs 18.99 lakh while the diesel versions are priced between Rs 21.59 lakh and Rs 23.48 lakh. The petrol automatic is priced at Rs 21.79 lakh while the one with diesel powertrain is priced at Rs 24.99 lakh. "With the launch of all new Tucson, we aim to strengthen presence in the premium segment with strong leadership positions," Hyundai Motor India Ltd MD & CEO YK Koo told reporters here. The launch of third generation all new Tucson will create a benchmark by giving Hyundai experience to the aspirationalIndian customers, he added. With over 45 lakh units sold globally, Tucson is one of the best selling SUVs in the world, Koo said. Tucson comes with 2 litre petrol and diesel engine options and new various features including a puddle lamp, downhillbrake control and front and rear parking sensors. The petrol version with manual transmission company comes with 155 PS of power and delivers a fuel efficiency of 13.03km/ litre. The petrol automatic delivers a fuel efficiency of 12.95 km/ litre. The diesel variant with manual transmission offers 185 PS of power and a claimed fuel efficiency of 18.42 km/litre. The diesel automatic delivers a fuel efficiency of 16.38 km/ litre. Hyundai Motor India, which crossed the 70 lakh sales milestone in domestic as well as export markets, aims to have four SUV models in its product portfolio in the next four years. The company also plans to launch a sub 4-metre compact SUV in order to fill the gap that lies below Creta. It had showcased concept compact SUV Carlino at the Auto Expo this year in February. The model is under development right now. With Tucson, the company now has three SUVs along with Creta and Santa Fe. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Press Release July 21, 2020 Dispatch from Crame No. 857: Sen. Leila M. de Lima on the deaths of high-profile Bilibid inmates 7/21/20 One would wonder why BuCor Director-General Bantag would refuse to divulge the identity of 10 high-profile Bilibid inmates who supposedly died of COVID-19 and immediately cremated. After all, the BuCor has already previously released a list of the non-high profile inmates who died of COVID-19. What is more ridiculous is Bantag's excuse for non-disclosure that the supposedly dead drug lords have their rights under the Data Privacy Act, which is idiotic because before they died, all these inmates were likewise under civil interdiction and shorn of capacity to exercise civil and political rights, other than their rights as PDLs. Besides, if they are truly dead, then they must have death certificates, a public document that is accessible to the public. In the first place, this is the very purpose of a death certificate. It is an official declaration to the public that so and so individual is dead for legal purposes. Simply put, no one has the right to keep the fact of his or her death from the public. No Data Privacy crap can change that. Thus, Bantag's absurd reason for non-disclosure of the identity of dead Bilibid inmates is as stupid as it is desperate. Which therefore brings us to the more important question. Why is Bantag so worried about disclosing to the public the identities of the drug lords who supposedly died of COVID-19? Is it because there is some foul business involved in the death and cremation of these high-profile convicts? First of all, these convicts are isolated from the rest of the prison population inside Building 14. Their population does not exceed 50, they have their own separate cells, and access to their quarters is much more restricted than those of ordinary maximum and medium security prisoners. Yet, an unusually high percentage of Bldg. 14 residents have been supposedly struck down by COVID-19 compared to the percentage of those in the maximum and medium security compounds where inmates live and sleep beside each other in crowded conditions because most do not have the luxury of having separate kubols. It is incredible that those in Bldg. 14 have an unusually higher infection and death rate than ordinary prisoners in maximum and medium security compunds. So why would Bantag refuse to tell the media and the public that Bldg. 14 inmates, among them top drug lords, died of COVID-19 and were immediately cremated? Because of their rights under the Data Privacy Act? Bantag must take all of us for idiots, including his boss DOJ Secretary Guevarra. SOJ Guevarra has ordered the NBI to investigate the Bldg. 14 deaths, which implies that he is not buying Bantag's overflowing concern for the rights of dead prisoners under the Data Privacy Act, especially since Bantag is famous for blowing up detention prisoners with grenades when he was still at BJMP and for tormenting Bilibid inmates with heat, congestion, and starvation when he cracked down on their kubols as Duterte's anointed Bilibid hitman. It is definitely strange that Bantag has concern for the rights of PDLs only when they are supposedly dead and cremated, specifically high-profile drug lords with millions, even billions, to spend in bribe money to pull off an elaborate prison caper and be turned into ashes, only to be born again and resurrected outside the four walls of Bilibid under new identities. Pambihira bang mag-suspetsa, habang nag-iimbestiga pa ang NBI, na may kumita dito sa BuCor? At kasama sa kasunduan ay ang hindi paglabas ng pangalan ng mga namatay at sinunog, para itago ang katotohanan na pinapuga lang ang mga ito imbes na ginawang abo? Wala nang pambihira pa sa gobyernong ito. Wala talagang hangganan ang panggagago at panlilinlang nila sa bayan. Kung si Bong Go ay nakaisip ng Balik Probinsiya-Kalat COVID-19 Program, mukhang ito namang si Bantag ay nakaimbento ng Balik Abo-Biglang Laya Program. O, tinumba na nang tuluyan ang mga high-profile inmates na ito o ilan sa kanila, to permanently silence them for some ugly truths they know or knew? Truth, nowadays, is such an elusive commodity! ### (Access the handwritten copy of Dispatch from Crame No. 857, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_857) JACKSON COUNTY, Mississippi -- A Louisiana man has been charged with manslaughter in the road rage shooting death of a Gulfport man on Memorial Day. The Mississippi Bureau of Investigations (MBI) announced late Monday afternoon that 24-year-old Janvique Entrael Franklin Jr. has been arrested in Hammond, La. and charged with the shooting death of 30-year-old Brandon Wayne Box of Gulfport. The incident took place around 4:30 p.m. Memorial Day on Interstate 10 west north of Ocean Springs near the mile 51 marker. The MBI responded to the call of a shooting. Upon arrival, they found the victim -- later identified as Box -- with a single gunshot wound. He was transported to Ocean Springs Hospital, where he was pronounced dead. Justin Elkins of the Mississippi Highway Patrol said interviews with witnesses indicated Box was driving a white 2019 Dodge Ram 1500, pulling an enclosed trailer, when the road rage incident began with the suspect vehicle -- a Ford Eco Sport -- bearing a Louisiana tag. Elkins said the incident lasted for nearly 20 miles in the westbound lanes of I-10 before an occupant of the suspect vehicle, now identified as Franklin, fired multiple rounds into the Boxs truck, with one of those rounds striking Box. Franklin was taken into custody last Friday by agents from MBI, with assistance from the D.E.A. Task Force and the Hammond Police Department. Franklin has been charged with manslaughter/killing without malice in the heat of passion. He is incarcerated at the Jackson County Adult Detention Center under a $500,000 bond. If convicted, he faces up to 20 years in state prison. Elkins credited several law enforcement agencies for assisting the MBI in the case, including the Jackson County Sheriffs Office, the Mobile County Sheriffs Office, Moss Point Police Department, Gautier Police Department, DIberville Police Department, Harrison County Sheriffs Department, Gulfport Police Department, the Mississippi Highway Patrol, as well as Mississippi Coast Crime Stoppers. Amber Heard has been giving her second day of evidence in Johnny Depps libel action against The Sun newspaper (Aaron Chown/PA) Amber Heard has claimed she heard a rumour that Johnny Depp pushed Kate Moss down the stairs, during another intense day in the Hollywood stars blockbuster libel action against The Sun newspaper. The Aquaman actress told the High Court she rushed to her sisters aid after she remembered the information during an alleged nasty row with her ex-husband, when she thought he was going to push her sibling down a flight of stairs. On her second day in the witness box, Ms Heard, 34, alleged her former co-star James Franco asked her what the f***? when he saw her face the day after a separate alleged incident in which she claims Mr Depp was violent towards her. She has also faced questioning over her relationships Mr Franco and Tesla founder Elon Musk, as well as the infamous defecation incident. Mr Depp, 57, is suing The Suns publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN) and its executive editor Dan Wootton over a 2018 article which labelled him a wife beater. Expand Close Actress Amber Heard at the High Court in London (Elizabeth Cook/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Actress Amber Heard at the High Court in London (Elizabeth Cook/PA) On Tuesday, Eleanor Laws QC, representing Mr Depp, asked about the stairs incident in Los Angeles in March 2015, when Ms Heard has said she believed Mr Depp was going to push her sister, Whitney Henriquez, down the stairs. The barrister said: This was a very nasty row between you and Mr Depp and it was you who was the violent one. Ms Heard claimed Mr Depp hit both myself and my sister, before denying that she spat at the Pirates Of The Caribbean star, or threw a can of Red Bull at him. Telling the court she did strike Johnny that day in defence of my sister, Ms Heard said: He was about to push her down the stairs and, the moment before that happened, I remembered information I had heard (that) he pushed a former girlfriend I believe it was Kate Moss down the stairs. Video of the Day I had heard this rumour from two people and it was fresh in my mind. She added: In a flash I reacted in defence of her. Ms Heard went on to allege that Mr Depp had punched her for years and for years I had never even hit him. She said: I never so much as landed a blow and I will never forget this incident it was the first time after all these years (I hit him). Ms Laws said Ms Heard had never mentioned the story about Ms Moss before and accused her of making this up as you go along. Expand Close Johnny Depps libel action is now in its second week at the Royal Courts of Justice in London (Aaron Chown/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Johnny Depps libel action is now in its second week at the Royal Courts of Justice in London (Aaron Chown/PA) Earlier, Ms Laws read out text messages between Ms Heard and Mr Musk from May 22 2016, in which Ms Heard tells Mr Musk that she is going to obtain a restraining order against her then husband. This was the day after an alleged incident at the Eastern Columbia Building in Los Angeles, where Mr Depp and Ms Heard lived, in which the actress claims Mr Depp threw her mobile phone at her, hitting her in the face which the actor denies. Questioning Ms Heard, Ms Laws said Mr Musk offers to arrange 24/7 security for you, adding: The offer would stand, even if you never wanted to see me again anyway, sorry for being an idiot. The radio silence hurts a lot. It only matters because I really like you. The barrister then referred to evidence given by Alejandro Romero, a concierge at the Eastern Columbia Building, who said he saw Mr Musk visiting Ms Heard when Mr Depp was in Australia. Ms Heard responded: Hes wrong. I wasnt even in communication with Elon until 2016. The court was shown CCTV footage of Ms Heard in a lift to her penthouse with Mr Franco, 42, at the Eastern Columbia Building on May 22 2016 at about 11pm. Asked about the footage, and if the pair, who starred together in The Adderall Diaries in 2015, were trying to avoid being seen by the camera, Ms Heard said: We were talking. He was saying to me oh my god, what happened to you? He saw my face when I let him in. He saw my face and he said what the f***? Ms Laws asked: Thats not secretive talking on that camera? Ms Heard said: Yes, its discreet. Ms Heard also told the court the suggestion she left faeces in the bed she shared with Mr Depp at the Los Angeles apartment is absolutely disgusting. She said it is unimaginable that one of her friends left the excrement, which the court has heard was found the day after her 30th birthday party in April 2016, and that she cant fathom what adult would ever do such a thing. The actress also insisted she had visible injuries in the days following the alleged incident on May 21. Expand Close Amber Heard and Johnny Depp married in Los Angeles in February 2015 (Jonathan Brady/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Amber Heard and Johnny Depp married in Los Angeles in February 2015 (Jonathan Brady/PA) Ms Heard is being questioned over 14 allegations of domestic violence, which NGN relies on in its defence of an April 2018 article that called Mr Depp a wife beater. She has accused Mr Depp of verbal and physical abuse throughout their relationship, including screaming, swearing, punching, slapping, kicking, headbutting and choking her, as well as extremely controlling and intimidating behaviour. Mr Depp, however, says he was not violent towards Ms Heard it was she who was violent to him, and claims his ex-wife was building a dossier of false allegations as an insurance policy for later. The actor is suing NGN and Mr Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27 2018 with the headline: Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be genuinely happy casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film? His lawyers say the article bore the meaning there was overwhelming evidence Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on a number of occasions and left her in fear for her life. NGN is defending the article as true, and says Mr Depp was controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Ms Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Traveller Craig Weather from Canada walks through a dormitory corridor as he arrives at a backpackers hostel October 14, 2005 in Darwin, Australia. (Ian Waldie/Getty Images) A Backpackers Hostel and Nearby Pub in Bundaberg QLD Go up in Flames More than 60 people escaped a fire that took hold of a backpackers hostel and nearby pub in Bundaberg in central Queensland. The Federal Backpackers and Spotted Dog Tavern were evacuated about 11pm on July 20 and several roads were closed around Bourbong St, Bundaberg Central. Thankfully, all residences have been accounted for and there are no injuries reported, Queensland police said in a statement. The fire has been contained, but because of the damage, several roads will remain closed. The public is being asked to avoid the Bundaberg Central area bound by the Burnett River, Maryborough Street, Woongarra Street and Burrum Street while residents within the zone are urged to follow the advice of emergency services on the ground. Queensland Fire and Rescue Service Area Commander John Battas told the Courier-Mail it appeared the fire started in the roof. The heat was so intense, firefighters were pushed as they brought it under control. Bundaberg mayor Jack Dempsey said the backpackers have been safely relocated into new accommodation. My thoughts are with the migrant workers and business owners who have been affected by this terrible event, Cr Dempsey said. I would like to thank all emergency services and council staff involved for their great work. Robyn Wuth in Brisbane President Donald Trump said Monday he may send more federal law enforcement to cities such as New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit as he lauded the use of force by local and federal officers during protests in Portland, Ore., that have followed the Minneapolis police killing of George Floyd. Federal officers in Portland have used tactics such as driving unmarked cars to detain demonstrators, according to accounts of protesters, videos circulated on social media and local media. In Portland theyve done a fantastic job, Trump said Monday during a meeting on the GOPs coronavirus relief bill. Jennifer Crandall, a spokeswoman for William McSwain, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, said her office had no comment. As demonstrators take to the streets to protest racism and police brutality, officers across the country have responded with force. In Philadelphia, officers have used tear gas and assaulted peaceful protesters, and deployed military-style vehicles in a residential neighborhood where tear gas wafted into the homes of families. After initial days of protests saw looting and police responding with excessive force, marches and demonstrations in Philadelphia have been largely peaceful. The city has since apologized for its tactics those first few days of protests. More than 140 Philadelphia protesters and residents sued the city this month, saying the June 1 teargassing of a crowd of demonstrators on I-676 and the police use of rubber bullets, pepper spray and tear gas along 52nd Street in West Philadelphia the day before violated their constitutional rights to free expression and freedom from excessive force. More than 750 people in Philadelphia were arrested for a slew of citations, like curfew violations, failure to disperse, and disorderly conduct. These protesters were handcuffed and detained in hot cars of buses for so long that they urinated on themselves and plead for water, the Philadelphia Inquirer previously reported. Whether they want to admit it or not, the civil citations were in violation of the constitutional rights of all of those that participated in peaceful, lawful protest protected by the First Amendment, said Paul Hetznecker, a civil rights attorney who works with the Up Against the Law legal collective to represent protesters. Earlier this month, Philadelphia Mayor Jim Kenney announced the city was waiving all of code-violation notices issued to protesters from May 30 to June 30. After weeks of defending the decision to use tear gas, pepper spray and rubber bullets on peaceful protesters on I-676, Kenney and Police Commissioner Danielle Outlaw apologized and called the use of force unjustifiable. Outlaw has said a departmental investigation and an outside review of the protest response are underway. Ellie Silverman and Mike Newall of The Philadelphia Inquirer wrote this story. 2020 The Philadelphia Inquirer Visit The Philadelphia Inquirer at www.inquirer.com Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC. Donald Trump's former lawyer Michael Cohen claims the president made racist remarks about Barack Obama and former South African president Nelson Mandela. The Washington Post reported that the details of the alleged comments are revealed in Mr Cohen's up-coming book. The contents of the book were partially detailed in a lawsuit seeking the lawyer's immediate release from prison. The lawsuit alleges that Cohen was sent back to prison earlier this month in retaliation for attempting to publish his book prior to the 2020 US election. According to the court filing, Cohen claims the book will include "my firsthand experiences and observations based on my decade-long employment and relationship with Mr Trump and his family, both before and after he was elected." "In particular, my book will provide graphic and unflattering details about the President's behaviour behind closed doors," Cohen wrote. The "unflattering details" include Mr Trump's alleged "pointedly anti-Semitic remarks and virulently racist remarks against such Black leaders as President Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela." Cohen claims Mr Trump did not view either as "real leaders or worthy of respect by virtue of their race." Cohen's defence team which includes American Civil Liberties Union lawyers claim that their client was forced to sign a gag order by probation officers. The order prevents Cohen from speaking with the mediator publishing a book for the remainder of his sentence. The attorneys claim the gag order was a violation of Cohen's First Amendment rights. Cohen was allowed to serve his prison sentence under house arrest due to coronavirus concerns, but was rearrested on 9 July. Law enforcement officials claim Cohen was taken back into custody because he refused to wear his ankle monitor, which Cohen's lawyers claim is a lie. Recommended Michael Cohen ordered back to prison after breaking house arrest Since being re-arrested, Cohen has been held in solitary confinement. The attorney was convicted of making false statements, campaign finance violations, tax evasion and lying to Congress. Cohen's book is reportedly titled "Disloyal: The True Story of Michael Cohen, Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump." In 2015, the city of Berkeley passed an ordinance requiring cell phone retailers to advise consumers, in a flyer at the point of sale, that keeping a cell phone in their pocket or near their body could expose them to wireless radiation above Federal Communications Commission safety levels. Councilmembers understood that manufacturers deceptively hide this federally mandated information deep within user manuals or in the phone that few ever see. The council also understood that cell phones are allowed to be tested for compliance away from the body not as used. A survey of Berkeley residents found overwhelming support for Berkeleys ordinance. Eight-five percent of residents never saw recommendations from manufacturers about how to best protect against overexposure to cell phone radiation and 82% want this information at the point of sale. Americas trade association representing the wireless communications industry (CTIA) challenged this ordinance all the way to the United States Supreme Court twice and lost every step of the way. Now this well-funded industry, along with support from the FCC, is again fighting to prevent the public from simple truthful information. Despite losing, the industry has now asked a federal court in California to rehear the case. Industry is repeating its failed argument that the FCC claims cell phones are safe no matter how used. A federal district court hearing is set in San Francisco for Thursday, July 23, on this motion. FCC regulations mandate consumers be given conspicuous information regarding safe use of cell phones. Hiding safe-distance information deep within the phone and their own manuals is hardly conspicuous. We must ask ourselves what other critical information industry and the FCC are hiding from the public. The FCCs General Counsel, Thomas Johnson, recently submitted documentation to the court in support of the wireless industry. Johnson, conveniently, formerly worked for Gibson Dunn, the firm representing the wireless industry against Berkeley. The FCC is claiming that the manner in which manufacturers currently disclose the cell phone safety information is adequate, thus Berkeleys ordinance is over-warning and therefore federally pre-empted. This is not so. Why is a federal agency aggressively defending the billion-dollar industry that it is mandated by Congress to regulate? Why are the FCC and CTIA so adamant about stopping this simple advisory at the point of sale? Berkeleys ordinance merely alerts consumers that wearing or using a phone in a pocket, or tucked into a bra, may expose them to radiofrequency radiation that could exceed the federal safety limit. Again, this is basic information provided by the industry itself, though in a hidden fashion. I, Mark Leno, championed a similar bill in the California Senate in 2011, the same year the World Health Organization put wireless radiation in the same category as lead and diesel fuel. They declared this radiation possibly carcinogenic to humans based on an increased risk of brain tumors associated with mobile phone use. My bill would have put minimal safety information at the point of sale. I experienced the intense lobbying and mistruths of this industry. This is corporate special interest at its worst. This intense legal battle is an abuse of our legal system and exhibits the flagrancy of the FCC and the wireless industry in covering up independent science in regard to public health. The $30 million U.S. National Toxicology Program released results in 2018 stating clear evidence, the highest certainly level, that cellphone radiation causes cancer. Why should we ignore the science? This industry and the FCC are putting public health at great risk concerning a device used daily by nearly every American including the most vulnerable our children and grandchildren. Consumers should have the right to know critical information at the point of sale so that they can make informed decisions as to safe use for themselves and their loved ones. Mark Leno is a former state senator from San Francisco; Ellie Marks is a co-founder of the California Brain Tumor Association. A FATHER of two who contracted a feared flesh-eating infection while on holiday hailed doctors for saving his life after revealing he was warned he only had a 25pc chance of survival. Robert 'Robbie' Walsh (36) somehow contracted the feared condition, Necrotising Fasciitis (NF), an aggressive infection that kills off soft tissue within the body. It is so virulent it is known as "the flesh-eating bug." Read More As he was wheeled into surgery at Mercy University Hospital (MUH) in Cork, he was warned by doctors that they were fighting to save his life rather than his leg which had already turned black with the infection. Robbie has now appealed to anyone who has similar symptoms to immediately seek expert medical help. Expand Close The effects of Necrotising Fasciitis on Robbie's foot / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The effects of Necrotising Fasciitis on Robbie's foot "It was in July of last year - I had a tiny cut on one of my toes. I didn't notice the cut at all. I came home from holidays on a Friday, on Friday evening the pain was unbearable," Robbie told RedFM's Neil Prendeville Show. "I never even noticed the cut - (one GP) told me it could be gout I had. I took their advice and I got steroids and an injection for the pain." "I came home but it was getting progressively worse. I was up all night with the pain and on Sunday morning I couldn't breathe and I was sick. I knew something was wrong." Robbie's lower right leg had by now started to swell. "I thought I was sick and the foot was just something extra." Robbie went to MUH and blood tests quickly revealed the seriousness of his condition. "It had started to go black by this stage. They opened the cut to relieve the pressure and I had to be put on heavy painkillers." Robbie's wife, Tracey, was alarmed at his deterioration. It took 48 hours to confirm that Robbie actually had NF - and by then doctors were fighting to save his life. "I had never heard of it - they call it the flesh-eating bug." "I was lying on the hospital bed, very sick and not really knowing what was going on. Then the doctor opens the curtains - he saved my life, there is no doubt about it." Expand Close The effects of Necrotising Fasciitis on Robbie's foot / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The effects of Necrotising Fasciitis on Robbie's foot "He said we have to go right now - I thought I was being discharged. He said: 'No, no - we have to go for emergency surgery right now.' I was told 'this is life-threatening, Mr Walsh'. "The doctors said my leg was probably gone, maybe from the hip down. It (NF) was eating its way up my leg from my foot. NF can be fatal in 25pc of cases. But in my case it was only a 25pc chance of pulling through. "I was told the consolation prize was that my leg was gone - that is the term they used with my wife - they were trying to save my life not my limb. "It was unbelievable. When I was rushed out of the ward there was a priest there. "We just didn't realise it was as serious as it was." "I didn't even have time to say goodbye to my wife and children - by the time I got to the lift (to the operating theatre) she was there and ran down to me. "I knew from her reaction that it was even worse. That woman is made of stone and to see her breaking down." Surgeons battled to remove all the dead and infected tissue from Robbie's leg. He ultimately had to undergo seven different procedures before surgeons were satisfied all the NF had been removed from the limb. They were able to save his leg - but Robbie then faced lengthy skin graft procedures to address the damage done to his limb. "If I had not gone to the Mercy hospital that Sunday morning there is no doubt about it but that I would be gone - 100pc. "I have been in touch with people about NF and a lot of them are far worse off that I am - they are amputees and stuff like that." Robbie said that while NF is an incredibly rare infection, there are a handful of people in Ireland recovering from it. He remains uncertain about precisely where he contracted the infection or whether it may have come from an insect bite. "I really don't know - I don't know for sure. I think it was a little cut on my foot (that got infected)." Robbie urged anyone who experiences similar pain or symptoms to immediately get expert medical advice. "It could save your life," he said. TOKYO and BOSTON, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- and July 22, 2020 - Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (TOKYO: 4519) and Biofourmis, a Boston-based digital therapeutics company, announced that they have partnered to develop a digital solution for the objective assessment of pain associated with endometriosis. Pain is one of the main symptoms of endometriosis and therapeutically important. The severity of pain may vary from day to day, and it can be a major issue that affects patients' quality of life. However, because pain can be a subjective symptom, patients often have difficulty quantifying their level of pain when communicating with healthcare professionals and family members. The partnership leverages Biofourmis' Biovitals platform to co-develop a novel digital technology for the objective assessment of pain using biosensors and artificial intelligence (AI)-based algorithms. The solution will be validated in a global, multi-center observational study enrolling more than 120 endometriosis patients. Biofourmis has demonstrated its ability to discover, develop and clinically validate multivariate digital biomarkers across multiple therapeutic areas. The digital solution for managing patients with endometriosis in an ambulatory setting will include a wearable, clinical-grade biosensor to capture physiology biomarkers and a patient-facing mobile app to monitor symptoms, with a gamification engine for patient engagement. The AI-based technology will provide a continuous quantification of pain by applying analytics to physiology biomarkers. The platform will also include a clinician-facing web dashboard for remote review and intervention. "Through the partnership with Biofourmis, a leading company in research, development and commercialization of digital therapeutics, Chugai will set out to objectively assess pain associated with endometriosis and better understand its pathology," said Satoko Shisai, Chugai's Vice President, Head of Digital & IT Supervisory Division. "Through this partnership, Chugai is demonstrating its commitment to applying the most advanced digital technologies to better understand the real-life needs of patients and to develop innovative solutions for society, as outlined in the CHUGAI DIGITAL VISION 2030." Kuldeep Singh Rajput, CEO and founder of Biofourmis, said: "Chugai aims to become a top innovator by utilizing digital technologies, and we are thrilled to partner with them." He added: "This unique collaboration with Chugai is another indicator of the growing consensus in the healthcare industry that combining digital solutions with therapeutic developmentsfrom discovery to patient careis a powerful way to augment efficiency. Digital solutions can deliver faster, more reliable insights to clinicians to aid interventions, while increasing engagement and improving outcomes for patients and lowering healthcare costs for all stakeholders." About Endometriosis1 Affecting one out of 10 women in their 20s to 40s, endometriosis is the repeated proliferation and shedding of endometrial tissue outside the uterus, accompanied by dysmenorrhea (pain with menstruation) and chronic lower abdominal pain. It is also a cause of infertility. The disease can interfere with daily life, including absences from work or school, as sufferers find it difficult to do more than lie still when symptoms are severe. The only existing medications are hormonal agents. Moreover, if the pain cannot be controlled by drugs, the only treatment is surgical removal of the endometriotic tissue. Unfortunately, many patients experience a recurrence several years after surgery, making this a disease that has a high level of unmet medical need. [Reference] 1. ESHRE guideline: management of women with endometriosis. Dunselman GA, et al. Hum Reprod. 2014. About Chugai Chugai Pharmaceutical is one of Japan's leading research-based pharmaceutical companies with strengths in biotechnology products. Chugai, based in Tokyo, specializes in prescription pharmaceuticals and is listed on the 1st section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. As an important member of the Roche Group, Chugai is actively involved in R&D activities in Japan and abroad. Specifically, Chugai is working to develop innovative products which may satisfy the unmet medical needs. Additional information is available at https://www.chugai-pharm.co.jp/english/. About Biofourmis Biofourmisa fast-growing global leader in digital therapeutics that powers personalized predictive carediscovers, develops and delivers clinically validated software-based therapeutics to provide better outcomes for patients, advanced tools for clinicians to deliver personalized care, technology to demonstrate the value of and complement pharmacotherapy, and cost-effective solutions for payers. Biofourmis has built Biovitals, a highly sophisticated personalized AI-powered health analytics platform that predicts clinical exacerbation in advance of a critical event, which is the backbone of their digital therapeutics product pipeline across multiple therapeutic areasincluding heart failure, oncology, infectious disease (i.e., COVID-19), chronic pain, acute coronary syndrome and COPD. For more information, visit: www.biofourmis.com. Trademarks used or mentioned in this release are protected by law. Media Contacts Chugai Contacts: Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. Corporate Communications Dept. Media Relations Group +81-3-3273-0881 [email protected] Investor Relations Group +81-3-3273-0554 [email protected] Biofourmis Contacts: Tara Stultz Amendola Communications for Biofourmis (U.S.) +1 440.225.9595 [email protected] Tavy Cussinel REDHILL for Biofourmis (Asia) +65 8511459 [email protected] SOURCE Biofourmis NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- TierPoint, a leading provider of secure, connected cloud and data center solutions at the edge of the internet, today announced it will host the third annual BraveIT conference as a virtual event, the morning of September 16 and afternoon of September 17, with title sponsor support from Dell Technologies, Nutanix, and VMware. The opening keynote will be delivered by Tom Gruber, who led the design team responsible for Siri, the intelligent assistant. The closing keynote will be delivered by Dan Doctoroff, formerly the Deputy Mayor of New York City and now CEO of Sidewalk Labs, a leader in the development of smart cities. And, back by popular demand from last year's conference, Major General Brett Williams, USAF (Ret.) will help enterprise teams assess their Cyber IQ. Tom Gruber was cofounder, CTO, and head of design for the team that created Siri in 2011, bringing AI to the mainstream user experience. At Apple for over 8 years, Gruber led the Advanced Development Group that designed and prototyped new capabilities for AI products. He promotes the philosophy of Humanistic AI, which he presented in a popular TED talk. He was a founding board member of the Partnership on AI to Benefit People and Society and advocates for the Center for Humane Technology. Dan Doctoroff is the current CEO of Sidewalk Labs, former president and CEO of Bloomberg LP and the former Deputy Mayor of New York City. Doctoroff developed Sidewalk Labs, a visionary new project funded by Google parent company Alphabet, which helps integrate technology into cities nationwide in the hopes of redeveloping decaying and struggling districts into booming city centers enhanced by 21st century technological capabilities. After a distinguished military career of over 30 years, Brett Williams co-founded IronNet Cybersecurity Inc. With both private sector and government experience, he has developed a knack for breaking down arcane cyber jargon and translating it into the language of business, so audiences can better understand and integrate cybersecurity solutions into their operations. BraveIT offers a dynamic community of technology leaders, their peers and partners a unique platform to stay current with industry best practices, pressure-test operating assumptions, and enrich plans to address a range of shared challenges, from cybersecurity to business continuity. The 2020 event will feature a packed slate of sessions and speakers on the challenges presented by COVID-19, IT security, digital transformation, and future technologies shaping IT infrastructure, as well as dedicated space for interactive virtual networking within the greater IT, technology and telecommunications sectors. For more details and complimentary registration, visit BraveIT.tierpoint.com. About TierPoint Meeting clients where they are on their journey to IT transformation, TierPoint (tierpoint.com) is a leading provider of secure, connected data center and cloud solutions at the edge of the internet. The company has one of the largest customer bases in the industry, with thousands of clients ranging from the public to private sectors, from small businesses to Fortune 500 enterprises. TierPoint also has one of the largest and most geographically diversified footprints in the nation, with over 40 world-class data centers in 20 U.S. markets and 8 multi-tenant cloud pods, connected by a coast-to-coast network. Led by a proven management team, TierPoint's highly experienced IT professionals offer a comprehensive solution portfolio of private, multitenant, managed hyperscale, and hybrid cloud, plus colocation, disaster recovery, security, and other managed IT services. About Dell Technologies Dell Technologies (NYSE:DELL) helps organizations and individuals build their digital future and transform how they work, live and play. The company provides customers with the industry's broadest and most innovative technology and services portfolio for the data era. About Nutanix Nutanix is a global leader in cloud software and hyperconverged infrastructure solutions, making infrastructure invisible so that IT can focus on the applications and services that power their business. Companies around the world use Nutanix Enterprise Cloud OS software to bring one-click application management and mobility across public, private and distributed edge clouds so they can run any application at any scale with a dramatically lower total cost of ownership. The result is organizations that can rapidly deliver a high-performance IT environment on demand, giving application owners a true cloud-like experience. About VMware VMware software powers the world's complex digital infrastructure. The company's cloud, app modernization, networking, security, and digital workspace offerings help customers deliver any application on any cloud across any device. Headquartered in Palo Alto, California, VMware is committed to being a force for good, from its breakthrough technology innovations to its global impact. For more information, please visit https://www.vmware.com/company.html. Contact: Pete Abel, 314-720-3129, [email protected] SOURCE TierPoint Related Links http://tierpoint.com The U.S. has no immediate plans for troop withdrawals from South Korea, but all commands have been directed to rely more on rotational forces, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday. "I've issued no orders to withdraw forces from Korea," he said, "but we will continue to look at adjustments at every command we have in every theater to make sure we are optimizing our forces." Read Next: Space Admiral? House Lawmakers Want Navy Ranks for Space Force Esper said the goal is to rely more on rotational rather than fixed deployments to give the U.S. "greater strategic flexibility" in responding to global challenges from China and Russia. He did not directly address recent reports, first from The Wall Street Journal, that the Pentagon has drawn up options for reducing the current total of 28,500 U.S. troops on the peninsula. The reports of possible withdrawals rattled the Seoul government, coming as they did after President Donald Trump's June announcement of his intention to withdraw 9,500 of the 34,500 U.S. troops now stationed in Germany. Esper spoke from the Pentagon in a webinar hosted by the International Institute of Strategic Studies in London on security issues in the Indo-Pacific region. In a Pentagon briefing later Tuesday, Jonathan Hoffman, the chief Defense Department spokesman, confirmed that the DoD is taking an overall look at "whether we are properly supporting the missions we've been given" by the White House and Congress in South Korea and elsewhere. "We'll have recommendations we may make in the future," he said on the positioning of forces. The U.S.-South Korea alliance has also come under strain in the dispute over how much Seoul should contribute to maintain the U.S. troop presence. South Korea now pays about $900 million annually, but the Trump administration has demanded a major increase. In an April 20 White House news conference, Trump said, "They've offered us a certain amount of money, and I've rejected it. We have to be treated equitably and fairly, and so that's where it is right now. And what's going to happen, I can't tell you." In his earlier remarks in the webinar, Esper focused mainly on what he called a "catalog of bad behavior" by China but added that he plans to visit that nation later this year. Esper said that the U.S. will continue to sell arms to Taiwan and send warships through the Taiwan Straits as a warning against increasing threats from Beijing to attack should Taiwan move to declare full independence from the mainland. In a May 29 speech in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, Li Zuocheng, a member of the Central Military Commission, said China's forces would "take all necessary steps to resolutely smash any separatist plots or actions." Esper also noted that China's People's Liberation Army has significantly increased missile forces on the mainland side of the Taiwan Straits. China has "hundreds, if not over a thousand, missiles aimed at Taiwan, and we've seen [President Xi Jinping] and his party really take this to a new level," he said. "So we remain committed to regional peace and security. We will live up to our commitments to Taiwan, which is all in the interest of a secure and stable region." In the South China Sea, China is "regularly disrespecting the rights of other nations" with its territorial claims and military buildup on reefs and artificial islands, actions that have put the intentions of the Chinese Communist Party "on full display for all to see," Esper said. The U.S. will continue to oppose China's "maritime empire" in the South China Sea with more Freedom of Navigation Operations and closer cooperation with allies, he added. -- Richard Sisk can be reached at Richard.Sisk@Military.com. Related: China Accuses US of Sowing Discord in South China Sea Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-20 22:09:27|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Chinese Ambassador to Britain Liu Xiaoming speaks at a news conference in London, Britain, Feb. 6, 2020. (Xinhua/Han Yan) "This is a very bad decision," said Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to Britain. "When this decision was announced, I said, this is a dark day for Huawei. It's a dark day for China-UK relations." LONDON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Britain has made "a very bad decision" on the Chinese technology company Huawei, representing "a dark day for China-UK relations," a senior Chinese diplomat has said. Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to Britain, made the statement in an interview with BBC in response to the British government's recent policy shift on Huawei, which has been in the country for 20 years. "This is a very bad decision," Liu said. "When this decision was announced, I said, this is a dark day for Huawei. It's a dark day for China-UK relations." "It's an even darker day for the United Kingdom, because you will miss the opportunity to be a leading country," he said. File photo shows a Huawei 5G mobile phone testing speed in Huawei 5G Innovation and Experience Center in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Han Yan) The British government announced last week that buying new Huawei 5G equipment will be banned after Dec. 31, 2020 and all Huawei equipment will be removed from 5G networks by the end of 2027. In January, London announced its new plans to safeguard the country's telecoms network, a move widely seen as approving a restricted role for Huawei in helping build the country's 5G network. "It's wrong for the United Kingdom to discriminate Chinese companies because of pressure from the United States," the Chinese ambassador said. "Some people are talking about 'national security risk'. There is no hard, solid evidence to say Huawei is a risk to the UK." "They've been here for 20 years. They have made a huge contribution not only to the telecom industry of this country," he said. "They have fulfilled their corporate responsibility. They have helped the UK to develop." "(British) Prime Minister Boris Johnson has an ambitious plan to have full coverage of 5G by 2025. I think Huawei can deliver that," he said. "Huawei can be a big help." "But now it seems to me the UK just kicks them out and, to use the media words, to purge them under the pressure from the United States," he said. "The U.S. leaders have claimed credit for this." President Donald Trump threatened on Tuesday to veto this year's National Defense Authorization Act, objecting to plans to strip Confederate names from military bases, limit spending on Afghanistan and other provisions he sees as curbing his authority. The sweeping $740 billion NDAA sets policy for the Department of Defense. It has passed for 59 straight years, one of the few major pieces of legislation seen as "must-pass" because it governs everything from pay raises for the troops to how many aircraft should be purchased or how best to compete with rivals like Russia and China. The Republican-led Senate and Democratic-led House of Representatives are debating amendments to the NDAA this week. The two chambers will each pass a version of the bill and then come up with a compromise version, which - if it passes - would be sent to Trump to sign or veto later this year. A spokesman for the Pentagon said he expected Congress and the White House would work out their differences. "They understand the importance of the NDAA, and we're confident... the NDAA will be signed and implemented on time so that we can have a budget for our forces," he said. Trump had already vowed to veto the NDAA over a provision requiring the military to rename bases named for Confederate military leaders, who fought against U.S. forces during the Civil War. The names of those bases, and statues honoring men who owned slaves or fought on the pro-slavery side, have been targeted in anti-racism protests across the United States - and the world - since George Floyd was killed by police in Minneapolis in May. The Senate on Tuesday defeated an NDAA amendment that would have blocked the Pentagon from transferring to local police military-grade equipment that has been used against demonstrators. Search Keywords: Short link: iStock/koto_fejaBy: ERIN SCHUMAKER, ABC News (NEW YORK) -- An East Coast heat wave that's triggered advisories and excessive heat warnings, combined with the U.S.'s ongoing COVID-19 outbreak, could force vulnerable people into making hard choices about their health, experts say. This week's heat index, which refers to how hot it feels outside, is expected to exceed 100 degrees in cities including New York, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C. In response to a heat index expected to reach 110 degrees this week, Washington, D.C., Mayor Muriel Bowser activated a heat emergency in effect through July 22 and closed outdoor public COVID-19 testing sites in the District. "We are in the middle of some very oppressive and hot days," Bowser said during a Monday news conference. "The temperatures would be too dangerous for our staff and volunteers at the public testing sites." Bowser encouraged D.C. residents to call their medical providers if they need a COVID-19 test or if they feel ill, since many private providers have inside testing facilities. Cooling centers are open in neighborhoods across the city, with modified rules due to the pandemic, including social distancing. Anyone entering a cooling center must wear a mask," Bowser said. "If you do not have a mask, one will be provided to you. Extreme weather during a pandemic exacerbates existing inequality As with other aspects of the pandemic, this month's overlapping pandemic and heat wave highlight rampant inequality in the United States. In extreme heat, vulnerable populations, such as older people living alone and homeless individuals who are exposed to the elements, may be especially susceptible to weather. Extremely hot weather increases the risk of health problems like heat exhaustion, heat stroke and dehydration. Where you live may dictate whether you survive a heat wave. As the Washington Post previously detailed, poor residents are less likely to have air conditioning and more likely to have medical conditions that are aggravated by hot weather. Cities are hotter than nearby rural areas and heat disparities also exist within cities themselves. In Washington, D.C., 40 percent of low-income residents live in areas with more empty space and fewer trees, which can contribute to higher heat in those neighborhoods, the Washington Post reported. High heat can have deadly consequences. During a heat wave in Europe in 2003, for example, 70,000 excess deaths were recorded, according to the World Health Organization. Heat waves have been the top cause of fatalities in the U.S. on average over the past three decades, the non-profit Natural Resources Defense Council reports. According to the WHO, extreme heat can also trigger higher levels of pollen, which can exacerbate conditions like asthma. For individuals with respiratory problems, heat waves are already dangerous, according to Dr. Leigh Vinocur, a Baltimore-based emergency medicine physician and national spokesperson for the American College of Emergency Physicians. Since COVID-19's symptoms can include respiratory problems and trouble breathing, high heat and humidity have the potential to interfere with recovery. Cooling centers can offer relief for people without air conditioning in their homes or who are homeless, but also present the potential for disease spread in an indoor space with unrelated people crowding together. The heat wave complicates the COVID-19 best practices that public health authorities have articulated to the public, including the notion that it's safer to be outside than inside, because the virus is harder to transmit outdoors, Vinocur noted. During a heat wave, you're not safer outside if you are going to die of heat stroke, she added. The mid-Atlantic's high humidity also makes it harder for humans to regulate their own body temperature, according to Vinocur. "You cant even sweat to cool yourself off. There's no evaporation of sweat." Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Disabled people work in a knitting base dedicated for them in Langzhong City of Nanchong, Sichuan Province, in June, 2020. [For China Daily/Liu Lanying] Seated at a round table, Li Ronghua was preoccupied with her work and did not raise her eyebrows despite a sudden influx of visitors. With a needle shuttling back and forth, she was quietly working on an infant's wool shoe in the knitting base for disabled people in the Wangjiazui Community in Langzhong, a city under the administration of Nanchong in Sichuan Province. A local villager, Li was diagnosed with a form of spina bifida in 2004 and her lower limbs were paralyzed. Thanks to the concern of her parents and the local disabled people's federation, Li mustered up the courage to face the odyssey, said Liao Xiaoying, chairwoman of the Langzhong city disabled people's federation. "She married a young fellow villager and gave birth to a child. To support her, the local government rated her family as poverty-stricken so that she could receive some financial support," Liao said. Together with the Nanchong disabled people's federation, Liao's federation set up a knitting base in Langzhong in May 2018 to train disabled people whose families had been rated as poverty-stricken. Employees from Liao's federation visited Li, inviting her to the base. But she was afraid of being a laughing stock because she is disabled. "They visited me several times and their sincerity moved me. After I studied at the base for about one month, I could knit something simple," Li said. She can now knit infants' wool shoes and hats and earns more than 1,000 yuan ($143) a month, Liao said. Like more than 100 other people with disabilities in the base, she can make between five and six pairs of shoes a day. The sales are handled by Liu Hong, a young woman who excels at selling the knitware online. Liu's left leg was amputated in 2013 due to bone cancer. With the support of the Langzhong federation, she began dabbling in e-commerce in 2015. Livestreaming with a cellphone in the base, she sells between 300 and 500 pairs of shoes in one month, Liao said. Infants' shoes from the base are popular and even attract online buyers from Hong Kong and Singapore. The base sold nearly 4,000 pairs of infants' wool shoes online and offline in May. (Source: China Daily) With a cumulative total of more than 136,000 cases, Gauteng is currently experiencing the surge of Covid-19 infections, and replacing the Western Cape as the epicentre of the country's pandemic. Gauteng Health MEC, Dr Bandile Masuku Beds Oxygen Human resources Command structure Treatment options All of us have been talking about the peak. We are not there yet in Gauteng. A number of things are defining Gauteng. We have a high number of confirmed cases and the highest number of active cases. Our recovery rate is lagging quite dramatically. Most of our active cases have mild or no symptoms and do not require active medical attention," said the province's MEC for Health, Dr Bandile Masuku in awebinar.We knew the storm was coming. This is an urban province. It spreads fast in high-density areas. Gauteng did expect to have the highest number of infections. One out of four people in South Africa lives in Gauteng and the province has a number of densely populated areas. As the countrys economic hub the population is highly mobile and this underlines the speed at which the virus is spreading. The only thing that didnt happen was that we thought we would be first to reach the peak," he said.According to the models used to predicting the spread of the virus through South Africa, Gauteng would make it through June without too many problems but that the number of infections would start to peak by the end of July until mid-August and September.Discussing the province's state of readiness, Masuku said: We chose to use the Covid-19 pandemic to make some fundamental changes to our health system.This includes a hospital bed management team. The team will look daily at how to direct the flow of patients to hospitals. It reduces the panic. This way the Emergency Medical Services know where to go. This is work we have been doing with the private sector. The more we master the bed management system, the easier it will be for us to deal with it."He added that wards at public hospitals were being refurbished and repurposed, which has added another 600 beds, while a further 1,400 beds had been added by using alternative building technology.Field hospitals and tents are what we need at the moment. We started off with Nasrec as an isolation facility but we knew we would have to upgrade to a field hospital.Masuku said their biggest challenge was to decongest health facilities and make sure queues are not too long. We are comfortable for now that we will ward off the storm.He said he was confident that the provinces hospitals had sufficient oxygen for patients who need it. We had a discussion with Afrox. Oxygen will be redirected from industry to the healthcare system. In some of our facilities there were problems with pressure and how the cylinders will be stored but we are working on it. The tanks are being installed also at the Nasrec field hospital.He added that they were also making sure that facilities have beds that are fitted to provide oxygen to patients.Masuku said that while critically ill patients will be admitted to tertiary hospitals and the field hospitals will be used for those who are less seriously ill, these patients should still be able to access oxygen should they need it.Even at the tent we have at the Steve Biko hospital, we can give oxygen there [so] that patients do not lose any time.He said 9,000 medical professionals had applied to be placed on the provinces database for work during the pandemic. We can pay them. People should volunteer, but at some point we should also look at unemployment. He said they had engaged with a group of volunteers helping out at the Nasrec hospital. We want to make sure that those who work there are fairly remunerated.He added that the province was privileged to have three medical schools and that this was helping a lot. We are getting ready to open a fourth one at the University of Johannesburg. Those are our long-term plans.Over the short term, Masuku said the department was looking at increasing the scope of practice of clinical associates and enrolled nurses. We must be dynamic and innovative. We want people to have freedom to think outside of the box on how we can do some of the things going forward.Masuku explained the structure for managing the pandemic in the province, saying the Gauteng Command Council was a fairly high level structure that involved the premier, MECs, the provincial police commissioner and the heads of department.While the command centre, which includes civil society, private healthcare, municipal managers, Home Affairs and also has a programme involving community-based organisations is more operational in nature.The command centre has six pillars: Public health, economic response and relief, social security, the capacity of state to deliver and social solidarity. Social solidarity has been underdeveloped in our response so far. We had to mitigate between lockdown and mobilising communitie," he said.He said they were establishing community-based structures to build social cohesion at that level.Masuku said they are listening to the clinicians when it comes to treatment options. A politician cant take a decision on whether a patient needs a bed or oxygen. We have an advisory committee. We are using the medical schools to our advantage. We dont want to put politics into anything. The hospitals are having mortality and morbidity meetings to discuss how to improve patient outcomes. We are very grateful of the work the clinicians are doing and their advice.Broken as it is, our healthcare system is very resilient. It can carry us through." Under the terms of the research collaboration agreement, CalciMedica will use EpiPharmas state of the art Pre-clinical Drug Testing and Diagnostics Laboratory Platform to accelerate its drug discovery pipeline LA JOLLA, Calif. and SZEGED, Hungary and BUDAPEST, Hungary, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- CalciMedica, a clinical-stage biotechnology company targeting calcium release-activated calcium (CRAC) channels for the treatment of acute and severe inflammatory diseases, and EpiPharma, a bio-pharmaceutical services and drug development company, today announced that they have entered into a collaboration agreement to use EpiPharmas state-of-the-art Pre-clinical Drug Testing and Diagnostics Laboratory Platform to accelerate the discovery and development of CalciMedicas CRAC channel inhibitor novel drug pipeline. The collaboration agreement provides that all rights, title and interest in all results shall be owned by CalciMedica. EpiPharmas diagnostics and research facilities provide complex services including gene and protein expression analysis, histology, immunohistochemistry, immunofluorescent staining, 2D cell culture models, 3D animal and patient-derived organoid culture models (established from a wide range of organs such as colon, oesophagus, stomach, liver and pancreas, lung, etc.), analysis of signal transduction pathways (such as Ca2+ and cAMP signalling) and in vitro and in vivo disease modelling. "We are delighted to be working with CalciMedica, a leader in the discovery and development of novel CRAC channel inhibitors for the treatment of inflammatory and autoimmune disorders and organ transplant rejection," said Jozsef Maleth, chief scientific officer of EpiPharma. We believe that the application of our state-of-the-art Pre-clinical Drug Testing and Diagnostics Laboratory Platform to CalciMedicas discovery and development portfolio will help unlock the potential of its breakthrough drug candidates for major unmet clinical needs. Story continues Ken Stauderman, Ph.D., chief scientific officer of CalciMedica added, We have been working with Jozsef to examine the role of CRAC channels in pancreatic ductal cell function. Findings from a test with one of our CRAC channel inhibitors (CM5480) in his models showed that it restores function of the ductal cells during experimental acute pancreatitis. These findings prompted us to collaborate, leveraging the latest technology and combining resources to speed up the development of our portfolio of highly selective CRAC channel inhibitor drugs that have potential to improve outcomes for patients with acute inflammatory indications. About EpiPharma LLC. EpiPharma is a privately held bio-pharmaceutical services and drug development company. The EpiPharma Group brings together breakthrough proteomimetic peptide chemistry and a state-of-the-art diagnostic laboratory from gene expression profiling to in vivo disease models. The EpiPharma Services support clients and partners in their drug development programs and provide an unparalleled laboratory research environment for characterizing, testing and evaluating new potential treatment approaches. The EpiPharma Drug unit develops Proteomimetic Peptide Drugs to treat major infectious diseases. About CalciMedica, Inc. CalciMedica is a privately held, clinical stage biotechnology company with a platform focused on CRAC channel drug discovery and development for the treatment of acute and severe inflammatory diseases. The Company was founded in 2007 by Ken Stauderman, CalciMedicas Chief Scientific Officer, and colleagues at Torrey Pines Therapeutics in San Diego and Harvards Center for Blood Research in Cambridge, MA. Dr. Staudermans work includes the discovery of the role of STIM1, which works in concert with Orai1 in the CRAC channels targeted by CalciMedicas drugs. The Company has a portfolio of highly selective CRAC channel inhibitor drugs that it is developing to improve outcomes for patients with acute inflammatory indications. It has also assembled a portfolio of patents and patent applications covering those compounds as well as different aspects of CRAC channel biology. CalciMedica is headquartered in San Diego, CA. For more information, please visit the company website at www.calcimedica.com . EpiPharma Contact: Gabor Heltovics President services@epipharma.life +36 30 3310535 www.epipharma.life CalciMedica Contact: Rachel Leheny, Ph.D. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer rachel@calcimedica.com +1 858-952-5500 Media Contact: Karen OShea, Ph.D. LifeSci Communications koshea@lifescicomms.com 929-469-3860 China denounces Britain for comments on Uighur Muslims Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 4:58 PM China has lambasted as "rumors and slanders" comments by the UK Foreign Office that accused Beijing of committing "gross" human rights abuses against ethnic and religious minorities in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. The mostly Muslim-Turkic ethnic group of Uighurs, which makes up about 45 percent of the population in Xinjiang, has long accused the government in Beijing of cultural, religious, and economic discrimination. China rejects the accusation and, in turn, accuses what it describes as exiled separatist groups of planning attacks in the resource-rich Xinjiang, which is strategically located on the borders of Central Asia. British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab on Monday alleged in an interview with the BBC that it was "clear that there are gross, egregious human rights abuses going on... it is deeply, deeply troubling." Chinese Foreign Ministry Spokesman Wang Wenbin hit back and denounced Raab's remarks as "nothing but rumors and slander." "The Xinjiang issue is not about human rights, religious or ethnic groups at all, but about combating violence, terrorism and separatism," he said at a regular press conference. Elsewhere in his allegations, Raab had said that reports of purportedly forced sterilizations and mass detentions in Xinjiang required international attention, and that London "cannot see behavior like that and not call it out." His allegations, however, drew rejection from Wang, who said the forced-sterilization reports were "complete nonsense," and that the Uighurs had more than doubled in the past forty years. Last year, a UN human rights panel cited estimates that two million Uighurs and Muslim minorities had been forced into "political camps for indoctrination" in the autonomous region, which is home to about 10 million Uighurs. Beijing has denied that accusation as well as other reports that Uighurs are unfairly marginalized, saying it is addressing underdevelopment and lack of jobs in heavily Uighur areas such as Xinjiang. Chinese officials have also characterized the camps as "vocational education and employment training centers" for "criminals involved in minor offenses." Tensions between Britain and China have recently intensified over a number of issues, ranging from the imposition of a new security law in Hong Kong to the phased removal of Chinese telecoms giant Huawei from Britain's 5G network. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address (CNN) LinkedIn is cutting about 960 jobs roughly 6% of its global workforce as the coronavirus pandemic takes a toll on the job market. The professional networking website "is not immune to the effects of the global pandemic," CEO Ryan Roslansky wrote in a note to staff posted publicly on the platform. He added that the company has been hurt "as fewer companies, including ours, need to hire at the same volume they did previously." "I want you to know these are the only layoffs we are planning," Roslansky wrote, adding that the cuts would affects LinkedIn's global sales and talent acquisition units. In the United States alone at least 3.7 million jobs have disappeared as a result of the pandemic. Many major tech companies have avoided the brunt of the fallout, as worldwide work-from-home requirements create more demand for their products. But LinkedIn's business model revolves around helping people search for jobs, connect with other professionals and build their resumes all features that have lost value as companies cut workers and freeze hiring. Roslansky, who was named CEO in June after previously holding a senior vice president role, said that laid off staff would be offered a minimum of 10 weeks of severance pay. US employees will receive health insurance for the next year. He also said the company could potentially place some employees in newly created roles. "This is painful to go through as an organization, but a company with a vision as bold as ours will have to make difficult decisions," Roslansky said. This story was first published on CNN.com, "LinkedIn will cut 6% of its workforce as the pandemic slams recruitment" Prince George turns seven today and to celebrate, the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge have released two new photos to mark his birthday. His mother, the Duchess of Cambridge, took the photographs. She often takes pictures of her children and has previously shared photos taken during lockdown at their Norfolk home. The Duchess is a noted photography enthusiast and it has become a Cambridge tradition for Kensington Palace to release the official portraits she takes to mark her children's birthdays every year. Many of her photo sets are taken outdoors at their homes. (PA) / The Duchess of Cambridge/PA In one picture, Prince George wears a polo shirt and in the other, he looks far more casual in a camouflage T-shirt. (PA) / HRH The Duchess of Cambridge Prince George Alexander Louis of Cambridge was born in the private Lindo Wing on July 22, 2013. He weighed eight pounds and six ounces. He has been seen clapping for carers alongside his younger siblings, Princess Charlotte, 5, and Prince Louis, 2, during lockdown. Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, has given Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger Delta affairs, 48 hours to... Femi Gbajabiamila, speaker of the house of representatives, has given Godswill Akpabio, minister of Niger Delta affairs, 48 hours to name the lawmakers who got contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). Speaking on the floor of the house on Tuesday, Gbajabiamila also commended Olubunmi Tunji-Ojo, chairman of the house committee on NDDC, from withdrawing from the probe of the commission. While appearing before the panel probing the NDDC on Monday, Akpabio said most of the contracts awarded by the agency were to members of the national assembly. The speaker said if the minister fails to name the lawmakers, the full wrath of the house will be brought against him. Gbajabiamila said Akpabio came to play games but we do not play games here. I am giving the minister 24 to 48 hours, to publish the names, the contracts, the companies, date, amount and the projects, he said. Failing which, this house will bring the full wrath of the house on him. It is important that we set this record straight. The minister owes it to himself, to the committee, to people of Niger Delta, and the country to publish it. I will reserve my judgement. The minister came there to play games, but we do not play games here. Coronation Street is set to air its first storyline surrounding the coronavirus pandemic next week. In the upcoming scenes, nurse Aggie Bailey - played by Lorna Laidlaw, will be separated from her family while she works on the NHS frontline. One of Aggie's colleagues at the hospital starts showing Covid-19 symptoms with the nurse, and her fellow co-workers, forced to self-isolate in a hotel. Covid-19! Coronation Street is set to air its first storyline surrounding the coronavirus pandemic next week (nurse Aggie Bailey, played by Lorna Laidlaw, pictured) And to make matters worse, the family's car stops working resulting in Aggie having to use public transport for work. Aggie's husband, Ed Bailey - played by Trevor Michael Georges, is left concerned for his wife, especially as they were set to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary. Yet everyone on the cobbles come together to show their support for Aggie and her dedication to the NHS frontline. Mechanic, Abi Franklin - played by Sally Carman, lets Aggie borrow Kevin Webster's car, which is being fixed in the garage, for her commute to the hospital. Heartbreaking: In the upcoming scenes, nurse Aggie Bailey - played by Lorna Laidlaw, will be separated from her family while she works on the NHS frontline (Aggie's husband, Ed Bailey, played by Trevor Michael Georges, pictured) While her husband Ed throws a sweet virtual party to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary complete with a romantic dinner. The spoiler comes after Coronation Street filmed what is likely the world's first socially distanced stunt after lockdown restrictions were lifted. The high-stakes scene saw Gary Windass (Mikey North) push Sarah Platt (Tina O'Brien) out of the way of a speeding car. To avoid contact between the actors and to adhere to the UK's social distancing guidelines, a mannequin was dressed in Sarah's clothes and used in place of Tina in certain shots. Sweet: Everyone on the cobbles come together to show their support for Aggie and her dedication to the NHS frontline The stunt was originally scheduled to be filmed on location, in the woods, but this was also amended in the interest of safety for the cast and crew. It comes after the soap had to delay a big stunt due to the coronavirus and it now will likely not take place until 2021. Showrunner John Whiston said the big event would involve almost everyone in Weatherfield but he was not sure it would be ready in time for the show's 60th anniversary. Speaking to The Sun Online, he said: 'What we've had to strip out of our planning for the 60th was some of the bigger Hollywood-style elements, because after lockdown we didn't have the time to build and install all of the things we originally planned to do. Lovely: Mechanic, Abi Franklin - played by Sally Carman, lets Aggie borrow Kevin Webster's car, which is being fixed in the garage, for her commute to the hospital 'So we've peeled that all away, and much to my immense relief, what we've discovered underneath those Hollywood layers is three or four really good stories. 'A strong community story there I think, I think there is that sense of street by street community.' Coronation Street will celebrate its 60th anniversary on December 9, with bosses preparing for the milestone long before the coronavirus emerged. Romantic: While her husband Ed throws a sweet virtual party to celebrate their 30th wedding anniversary complete with a romantic dinner It comes after the news that the soap's older stars are likely to return to the famous cobbles by autumn according to veteran star Bill Roache. The soap has resumed filming after lockdown was eased but only the younger and less vulnerable actors are involved in production at the moment. Yet Bill, who plays Ken Barlow, hopes he will be back on screen for the show's 60th anniversary later this year. Coming back: Coronation Street's older stars are likely to return to the famous cobbles by autumn according to veteran star Bill Roache (pictured in soap still) The 88-year-old told The Mirror: 'I'm looking forward to it I don't want to slow down. I want to speed up! 'They have started filming again, but not for us oldies. But probably by the autumn they have said we could be back. I had no idea until they contacted me and they asked me if I wanted to go back and I said yes. 'Then I had to get a doctor's report that he considers the protocols they have got are good, which he has done.' ITV bosses previously confirmed that older cast members will be kept at home during the first few weeks of filming. FLINT, MI -- A man in his 20s was shot and killed Monday afternoon in Flint. Flint police and Michigan State Police troopers responded around 3:15 p.m. Monday, July 20 to the 1800 Clement Street near Dupont Street for a report of shots fired into an occupied dwelling. Dispatch advised a short time later that a man, whose name has not been released, was unresponsive in the roadway. He was pronounced deceased at the scene after suffering multiple gunshot wounds. Troopers assisted on scene with traffic and crowd control. Dozens of people gathered in the area, some hugging and crying, behind yellow police tape that blocked off a portion of Clement Street. A few detectives combed over the area for clues, using orange cones to mark off evidence including shell casings and clothing. No information was available about suspects. Anyone with information may contact Flint Police Detective Chad Baldwin at 810-237-6912 or report a tip anonymously to Crime Stoppers of Flint & Genesee County at 1-800-422-JAIL (5245), on the P3 Tips mobile app, or online at crimestoppersofflint.com. Serum Insititute has applied for regulatory approvals to start human trials of the vaccine in India starting August 2020. After promising results from the early trials of an experimental COVID-19 vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and AstraZeneca, the Serum Institute of India has announced a manufacturing partnership with the company for the vaccine. The Institute has said in a recent statement that it will manufacture 1 billion doses of the vaccine, after getting the required regulatory approvals to do so. The Serum Institute of India will begin human trials for the AstraZeneca Oxford Vaccine from August, as per a report in the Times of India. "We will...start human trials in India [of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine] in August 2020. Based on the current situation and most recent updates on the clinical trials, we are hoping that [the vaccine] will be available towards the end of this year," Adar Poonawalla, CEO of Serum Institute of India, told Press Trust of India. AstraZeneca has already committed to making 2 billion doses of the vaccine, and has now partnered with SII to produce 1 billion more, as per the report. The promising Phase 1/2 vaccine trials have likely caused SII to shift from their earlier statement, that it will begin manufacturing prior to approval, so as to be ready with enough volumes once the vaccine is cleared in the vaccine's final leg of trials, and by Indian regulators. The experimental vaccine developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca, which is going by the placeholder name AZD1222, uses an inactivated (harmless) form of the COVID-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus, which the immune system uses as target practice to fight off a future coronavirus infection. Based on the data released by the phase one/phase two study in 1,077 healthy volunteers, the vaccine was found to trigger two unique, important immune responses to the virus. Scientists say this is a good sign for the experimental vaccine candidate, retaining its status as the front-runner in the global effort to find a working vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infection. Also read: Early results from Oxford vaccine trial show it triggers a dual immune response against the virus For the first time, a group of the worlds top oil companies have set goals to cut carbon gas emissions as a percentage of their total production. Among the businesses agreeing to the effort were Saudi Aramco, Chinas CNPC and the American company ExxonMobil. The targets are the idea of an industry-led group, called the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative, or OGCI. Its 12 member companies are responsible for over 30 percent of the worlds oil and gas production. The goals are based on what the OGCI members call upstream carbon intensity. The target represents a reduction in production of between 36 and 52 million metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalent by 2025, the OGCI said in a press release. The organization estimates the reduction would be equal to the carbon dioxide emissions resulting from energy use in 4 to 6 million homes. The intensity targets mean that total carbon emissions can still rise as production increases. OGCIs chairman is Bob Dudley, a former chief of the London-based oil and gas company BP. He told Reuters news agency that while the agreement represents an important milestone, it does not represent the end of efforts to reduce emission levels. Well keep calibrating as we go forward, Dudley added. The agreement came after the OGCIs European members individually announced plans for even deeper cuts. Among the companies setting those targets were BP, Royal Dutch Shell and Total. The OGCI members agreed on a common methodology to measure carbon intensity. Dudley said the targets could be extended in the future to other areas, such as liquefied natural gas and refining operations. London-based research group Carbon Tracker dismissed the OGCIs claims that the targets met those of the 2015 Paris agreement to limit global warming. Carbon Trackers Andrew Grant said in a statement that Having some targets to reduce carbon pollution is better than none. But he added that the oil and gas industry can never be aligned with the Paris goals when the industry plans include continuous investment in fossil fuel production. The announcement marks a major change for ExxonMobil, the largest oil company in the United States. Exxon has resisted pressure from investors to be more open about the environmental effects of its products. The company has yet to report its carbon emissions for 2019. A spokesman for Exxon said it supports the OGCI targets and is part of the industrys efforts to take practical, meaningful steps to reduce emissions. The goals set by individual companies can differ widely in definition and structure, making comparisons difficult. But the targets of some individual OGCI members are already higher than those set in the new agreement. OGCI said the groups collective carbon intensity would be reported once a year and the data would be examined by an independent group. Im Bryan Lynn. Reuters reported on this story. Bryan Lynn adapted the report for VOA Learning English. was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. _________________________________________________________________ Words in This Story emission n. the act of sending gas, heat or light out into the air equivalent adj. having the same amount, value, quality etc. per prep. used when expressing rates, prices or measurements calibrate v. to mark units of measurement on an instrument so that it can measure accurately refine v. make a substance pure by removing unwanted material global warming n. a gradual increase in world temperatures caused by gases such as carbon dioxide align v. support a particular group or cause fossil fuel n. a fuel, such as coal, oil, or natural gas, that is formed in the earth from dead plants or animals practical adj. relating to experience or real situations rather than ideas or imagination data n. information, especially facts or numbers, collected to be examined and considered in a decision-making process SAN DIEGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- ProciseDx Inc. has raised $10.5m through $8.5m of equity and $2m of debt, to fund ongoing development and commercialization of its point-of-care (POC) diagnostic platform. The investment round was led by Biosynex, S.A., a French diagnostics company, and included management and private investors. The ProciseDx instrument is about the size of a shoe box and can provide diagnostics results in as little as 2 minutes from a finger prick drop of blood. Biosynex will now own 37% and will join the board. Nestle Health Science, which previously owned 100% of ProciseDx, remains an active supporter and significant minority shareholder. CoView Capital, Inc. and, their life science consultants, The Channel Group, acted as advisors to ProciseDx. ProciseDx is an in vitro diagnostics (IVD) company developing a broad portfolio of rapid diagnostic tests for the physician's office. Founded by experienced IVD specialists that have successfully launched innovative POC platforms worldwide, ProciseDx is developing and commercializing POC tests with a turn-around time of only 2-5 minutes that are easy, immediate and accurate. These tests use finger prick blood or stool samples and ProciseDx's first menu is focused on GI physicians (gastroenterologists) and includes inflammatory and drug monitoring tests. The investment from Biosynex, a leader in European POC diagnostics in infectious disease and women's health, reinforces a relationship established in May 2020, when Biosynex became the distribution partner for ProciseDx gastrointestinal diagnostics in France. "We are delighted with this significant investment from our European partner, Biosynex. This is an important synergistic and strategic transaction that will help us generate immediate revenues, scale up instrument production, launch our products internationally and fund our US clinical trials," said Larry Mimms CEO and Chief Scientific Officer of ProciseDx. Larry Abensur, CEO, Biosynex, commented "We are pleased to make this investment in ProciseDx which adds capability of quantitative rapid instrument based immunoassays to our strong portfolio of lateral flow tests marketed in France and Europe. Our partnership with ProciseDx will also accelerate our commercial development in the US for some of our key products, thanks to the tremendous experience of the ProciseDx team and their track record of FDA approvals." In addition to the investment and European distribution relationship, ProciseDx will serve as the US FDA agent and US distributor for the Biosynex COVID-19 BSS Antibody test for which an Emergency use Authorization (EUA) file has been submitted. On behalf of Biosynex, ProciseDx has initiated clinical trials to obtain a finger prick blood claim. The Biosynex test is a highly sensitive and highly specific 10-minute blood test detecting anti-SARS Cov-2 antibodies to the viral spike protein. "These strategic investments are critical in our evolution from a technology company to a commercial operation. Our diagnostic technology platform has significant international potential and ProciseDx will be launching in France, Switzerland, Italy and Spain in Q3 2020. We look forward to realizing ProciseDx's potential, with support from Biosynex," said Peter Westlake, President and CFO of ProciseDx. ProciseDx's launch menu includes Therapeutic Drug Monitoring of Infliximab and Adalimumab as well as CRP, each test from fingerstick whole blood. ProciseDx will also offer a Fecal Calprotectin assay with simple and reliable sample collection. All ProciseDx assays run on the same instrument in less than 5 minutes with very easy workflow. ProciseDx believes that real-time measurement of Infliximab and Adalimumab will dramatically improve the monitoring of IBD patients under biotherapy and will generate significant drug cost savings. ProciseDx is also pleased to announce that Dr. Magda Marquet will serve as ProciseDx Board Chair. Dr Marquet has a distinguished career as co-founder of Althea Technologies in San Diego and is an investor, scientist, entrepreneur and board member of a number of biotech companies. She also serves on the California governor's select advisory committee to address the COVID crisis. "Dr. Marquet has been advising us for the last year and we're very happy that she has agreed to help guide ProciseDx through this exciting next phase of international commercialization," said Mimms. About ProciseDx Inc. ProciseDx is a diagnostics company committed to the development and commercialization of a broad portfolio of point-of-care diagnostic tests for use in physician offices, retail clinics and urgent care. ProciseDx currently has 25 employees, 30,000 sq. ft. of laboratory, manufacturing and office space and is ISO13485 certified. ProciseDx is headquartered in San Diego, California. For more information about ProciseDx, please visit us at www.procisediagnostics.com. About Biosynex Founded in 2005 and based in Illkirch-Graffenstaden in Alsace, a major player in public health with more than 180 employees, the French laboratory Biosynex designs, manufactures and distributes Rapid Diagnostic Tests (TDRs). In their professional version, they offer better medical care of patients thanks to the speed of their result and their simplicity of use. In their self-test version, they allow patients to self-monitoring various pathologies thus ensuring better prevention and accelerating the demand for care. Biosynex is the leader in the TDR market in France and is the only player to fully control its value chain thanks to its technology platform, which can be used in a variety of applications and is adapted to different types of users such as laboratories, hospitals, doctors and the general public. About Nestle Health Science Nestle Health Science (NHSc), a wholly owned subsidiary of Nestle, is a globally recognized leader in the field of nutritional science. At NHSc we are committed to empowering healthier lives through nutrition for consumers, patients and their healthcare partners. We offer an extensive consumer health portfolio of industry-leading medical nutrition, consumer and VMS brands that are science-based solutions covering all facets of health from prevention, to maintenance, all the way through to treatment. NHSc is redefining the way we approach the management of health in several key areas such as pediatric health, allergy, acute care, oncology, metabolic health, healthy aging, gastrointestinal health, and inborn errors of metabolism. Headquartered in Switzerland, NHSc employs over 5,000 people around the world, who are committed to making a difference in people's lives, for a healthier today and tomorrow. Contacts Peter Westlake 619-821-0660 [email protected] SOURCE ProciseDx Related Links https://www.procisediagnostics.com/ Minnesota lawmakers have banned the use of neck restraints like the one used on George Floyd before his death in passing a package of sweeping police accountability measures early Tuesday. The package is said to be one of the most substantial changes to the state's criminal justice system in years. The measure bans chokeholds, neck restraints and so-called warrior-style training, in which officers are instructed to view all encounters as inherently dangerous. The House approved the measure 102 to 29 just before midnight Monday. The Senate passed it 60 to 7 and sent the bill to Gov. Tim Walz a couple of hours later. Scroll down for video Minnesota lawmakers have banned the use of neck restraints like the one used on George Floyd before his death in passing a package of sweeping police accountability measures early Tuesday. Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, pictured leading the vote. He set a midnight deadline to finish the special session Monday House Speaker Melissa Hortman pictured gaveling in another special session on Monday to discuss the police accountability package Democratic State Reps, Rep. Jamie Becker-Finn, DFL-Roseville, Rep. Jamie Long, DFL-Minneapolis, and Rep. Liz Olson, DFL-Duluth talk at the start of the special session Monday, July 20, 2020 in St. Paul, Minnesota over the police accountability package The package was passed after two months of negotiations following the brutal killing of George Floyd (above) on May 25 in Minneapolis. He died after a white cop pressed his knee into his neck for over nine minutes even though he wasn't threatening police The passage of the measures comes after nearly two months of negotiations following Floyd's brutal death on May 25, which sparked national protests and a racial reckoning in the US. The black man was restrained face down in the street while handcuffed and with three officers holding him down, including a white officer who had a knee to Floyd's neck for more than nine minutes. The legislation also improves data collection around deadly force encounters and creates a new state unit to investigate those cases. It increases funding for crisis intervention training, creates an arbitration panel to handle police misconduct cases and establishes incentives for officers to live in the communities they police, the Star Tribune reported. The Democratic governor had to call the special session to give lawmakers a chance to rescind the emergency powers he's been using to respond to the coronavirus pandemic. House Democrats blocked a GOP effort to void those powers. 'Weve never stopped working on this, whether we were in session or out of session. Thats something we all felt was important,' Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka, R-East Gull Lake, said on the bill. The Democrats proposal for the bill went further including provisions to restore voting rights for felons and giving responsibility for prosecuting deadly force cases to the attorney generals office. House Minority Leader Kurt Daudt pictured speaking from the state Senate building Monday speaking on a tax bill the panel addressed after the police accountability bill Senate Majority Leader Paul Gazelka pictured during the special session on Monday with Assistant Minority Leader Rep. Anne Neu Republicans in the state Senate insisted that the final deal wouldnt include any language to dismantle police departments, but there were no provisions in the bill to do so. 'Some of us believe that you can always do more, but members this is a good bill. This is a beginning, this is not the end,' Rep. Rena Moran said. The session also gave legislators another chance to pass the policing measures and a bonding bill, which they were unable to agree on during last month's special session. The bonding bill fell to the wayside as legislators worked to pass police reform as time expired on the session. Floyd died after white cop Derek Chauvin pressed his knee into Floyd's neck for over nine minutes on May 25 in Minneapolis, Minnesota What will Minneapolis look like without a police department? There is no short-term plan to scrap the Minneapolis police department, the city council says. As of Friday, the council have started a year-long process to find recommendations for what will replace it. The replacement is set to be a community-led public safety system that will redirect funds from the department and channel them into community services aimed at preventing crime. Money could be redirected to mental health services, social services, jobs programs, and arts groups. Jobs such as traffic stops, overdose call-outs and mental health calls may be taken away from officers. One recommendation from activists involves a smaller, more-specialized force of 'public servants' who would deal with solving violent crimes. County sheriffs, whose jurisdiction includes Minneapolis, could be used as a stop-gap police force. Advertisement The move comes after the Minneapolis City Council voted in June to unanimously pass a resolution to replace the citys police department with a community-led public safety system. The veto-proof majority of the council was a move made in response to George Floyd's killing. Under the new safety system money would be directed to mental health services, social services, job programs and art groups and police jobs regarding traffic stops, overdose call-outs and mental health calls would be removed. 'The murder of George Floyd on May 25, 2020, by Minneapolis police officers is a tragedy that shows that no amount of reforms will prevent lethal violence and abuse by some members of the Police Department against members of our community, especially Black people and people of color,' five council members wrote in the resolution. It added that Floyd's death was one in a 'tragically long list' of people killed by the city's police that had led to 'wave of protests and uprisings across the United States and across the world and has led to thousands of voices asking for change'. According to the resolution, the city council will now begin a year-long process of engaging 'with every willing community member in Minneapolis' to come up with a new public safety model. The council also commissioned a new work group named the Future of Community Safety Work Group to deliver recommendations by July 24 on how to engage with community stakeholders to transform the public safety system. It will be made up of staff from the Office of Violence Prevention, the Department of Civil Rights, and the City Coordinator's Office, in coordination with the 911 Working Group, the Division of Race and Equity, Neighborhood and Community Relations and other relevant departments. New Delhi: A bank employee on Sunday died in hospital after his health worsened while working in a bank in Bhopal. It is not the first occasion when a person collapsed while struggling in bank after demonetisation came into effect on Tuesday. Earlier, there were reports of 3 people dying while trying to withdraw money from bank. Among them, two were from Kerala and one was from Mumbai. Two of them were elderly man. In another incident, a premature baby also died after a doctor attached to a nursing home allegedly refused to treat a premature baby as the parents could not pay the necessary deposit in the wake of demonetisation. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Soldiers help to conduct tests at a pop-up coronavirus drive-through testing centre in Dalston, east London. (PA) Matt Hancock has denied that the governments target of hitting 100,000 coronavirus tests per day was based on an arbitrary number. The health secretary told the Commons science and technology committee on Tuesday that he and Boris Johnson agreed to impose the numerical target. Hancock argued the number was based on the need to encourage a massive ramp-up in testing figures to help prevent coronavirus spreading faster. We had already had a target. The target was to get to 10,000 a day by the end of March, which we achieved, he told MPs. Matt Hancock, the health secretary, said the 100,000 testing figure was not arbitrary. (PA) I saw that there was a need for a massive ramp-up and Id been trying to drive this ramp-up and by setting an explicit external goal, and by calling on wider industry as well as the organisations that were currently involved, I wanted to galvanise the system to get up to a mass scale of testing and rapidly accelerate the ramp-up. Its funny because at the time, some people said you have set an arbitrary target. That is not true, the 100,000 target was chosen because that was close to our internal goal. Our internal projection for the end of April, when I set the 100,000 target at the start of April, was just over 100,000 tests a day. And I thought a round number target, a little bit lower than what was our projection, and setting it quite specifically in public, would help to galvanise the system to hit the target and I think thats what happened. Figures published on Tuesday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) show that 51,096 deaths involving COVID-19 had occurred in England and Wales up to 10 July, and had been registered by 18 July. Hancock also defended the government against criticism over its coronavirus policy on Tuesday, arguing that ministers "took the best decisions" it could with the information available at the time. Asked by chair Greg Clark if it was his view that all the right decisions had been taken at the right time, Hancock replied: "It's my view that we took the best decisions that we could, with the information that we had, at the time. Story continues "And that people worked in the best possible interests of trying to tackle the pandemic. "Now, hindsight in a wonderful thing, it's also a very important part of learning lessons from a crisis like this, so I'm absolutely sure that there's lessons that we can learn through this process. "And largely because that will build on lessons that we have been learning all the way through." Coronavirus: what happened today Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter For the record, yes, Faucis opinion about some viral precautions has changed, as new evidence has been uncovered. Thats a sign of good science, not bad. For his part, Fauci, who tries to avoid politics, said, Lets stop this nonsense, in an interview with The Atlantic. Lets. Then we learned that the Trump administration was diverting data related to the pandemic the numbers of the infected and deceased, as well as availability of equipment and hospital beds away from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and to a private technology firm, which will then give it to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. The administration says this change will speed up reporting, but theres no indication that it was slow to start with. The CDC already has well-established lines of data exchange with hospitals. (Bloomberg Opinion) -- The European Union has successfully circled the wagons with its landmark agreement for 750 billion euros ($859 billion) of grants and loans for those countries requiring pandemic support. Thats excellent news for Italy, which has the biggest sovereign debt in Europe and needed to guarantee its ability to raise finance. In turn, that reinforces the whole euro project by propping up the blocs most problematic member. Any worries that Italy might struggle to fund itself have been dispelled by the recovery funds mutually provided arsenal, from which Rome can access 82 billion euros of grants and 129 billion euros of super-cheap loans. The country also expects to secure 25 billion euros of loans from the EU's SURE (emergency unemployment support) program, according to analysts at NatWest Markets. Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said on Tuesday that drawing on further credit lines from the EUs separate bailout fund, the European Stability Mechanism, is not our objective. The availability of the new pandemic grants means Italy can pick and choose its most beneficial route for financial support a luxury it hasnt experienced in recent times. Investors in 10-year Italian government bonds have been anticipating this, with yields on this debt having more than halved since they hit a 2.42% peak in mid-March, during the dark early days of lockdown. They are fast approaching 1%. Given Europes unprecedented commitment to providing both fiscal and monetary support, there might be further improvement in store. No one wants to allow a sharp increase in the countrys borrowing costs. The record low yields of 80 basis points, last seen in September, are back in sight. Bond investors are still desperate for any kind of yield, which makes the debt of Italy and Greece attractive, especially if volatility remains modest over the summer. As well as the new EU fund, the European Central Bank has its own 1.35 trillion-euro pandemic program steadily hoovering up bonds. Story continues In relative terms, the difference between yields on Italian 10-year bonds and those of their German equivalents has narrowed to its tightest range since late February. This could tighten even further to the 100 basis-point difference last seen in late 2015. Rome is already nearly three-quarters of the way through its planned bond issuance of 320 billion euros this year. It will persist with this plan as the EU funds dont kick in until 2021 and theyre spread out over several years. But, as I pointed out in April, its debt load is less terrifying than it first appears, and the nation can certainly keep its cash flow going with all of the assistance available. Unless the pandemic makes a sudden and unwelcome return, this all bodes well for a relaxed summer. Its all very different from 2018, when investors sold off Italian debt after the far-right League and the populist Five Star formed a governing coalition. Italian politics are as febrile as ever, but the backing of the countrys European peers no longer looks in doubt. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Marcus Ashworth is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering European markets. He spent three decades in the banking industry, most recently as chief markets strategist at Haitong Securities in London. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Chandigarh, July 21 : Following intense criticism and protests, authorities have removed a picture of two semi-naked women akin to Ajanta and Ellora caves at an upcoming photo gallery of the Jallianwala Bagh that witnessed one of the bloodiest massacre of the pre-Independence era in Punjab's Amritsar city. The objectionable photo was amid portraits of national heroes and first Sikh master, Guru Nanak Dev. Sub-divisional Magistrate Vikas Hira said the photo has been removed. It is learnt that Hira inspected the ongoing construction work after the controversy arose and took a serious note with the company, which is undertaking the Jallianwala Bagh's Central government-funded renovation works, about displaying the photo in the national memorial to the Indian freedom struggle. "Accepting its mistake, the company decided to remove the photo," a government functionary told IANS on Tuesday. IANS had highlighted the issue of the objectionable picture in a story titled "Picture of semi-naked women in Jallianwala Bagh gallery riles many" on July 19. The Jallianwala Bagh complex is currently undergoing a massive makeover. Authorities say the renovation and restoration began on February 15 under the supervision of Archaeological Survey of India and will reopen to the public from July 31. The Centre has allocated Rs 20 crore in the first phase through the Ministry of Culture. The renovation work is supervised by BJP Rajya Sabha member Shwait Malik, who is also a trustee of the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust. He last visited the gallery on July 17. Local Member of Parliament Gurjit Singh Aujla and the International Sarv Kamboj Samaj had lodged a strong protest with Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- who is the Jallianwala Bagh National Memorial Trust President -- and demanded the removal of the offensive picture. "The Jallianwala Bagh is no less than a pilgrimage centre for every Indian. Hundreds of people, comprising schoolchildren and families, visit it every day to pay respect to those who sacrificed their lives for the country," International Sarv Kamboj Samaj President Bobby Kamboj had told IANS. He had said it was a "shame for us when we came to know on Saturday that authorities had put on display the picture of semi-nude women in the gallery, which houses a collection of portraits and paintings of national heroes and Sikh gurusa. Located in the vicinity of the Golden Temple complex, the Jallianwala Bagh witnessed one of the bloodiest massacre of the pre Independence era when at least 379 civilians were gunned down on April 13, 1919, by British India Army on the orders of Acting Brigadier-General Reginald Dyer. Over 1,000 others were injured. The incident catalysed the Indians' struggle for freedom. Under renovation is an old well -- the martyrs' well -- within the park, which is a silent witness to the brutal killings. It is going to be put under a dome-shaped see-through fibre-glass canopy. MONROE COUNTY, MI A Rockwood woman faces solicitation of murder charges after she was caught attempting to hire a hit man to kill her ex-husband through a fake hit man rental website, police said. Wendy Wein, 51, was arraigned Tuesday, July 21, on one felony count each of solicitation to commit murder and illegal use of a computer to facilitate a crime for allegedly trying to hire a hit man to kill her out-of-state ex-husband through the website rentahitman.com, according to Michigan State Police. Police were contacted by the owner of the website after Wein filled out a service request form and asked for a consultation with one of its professionals to help her with an issue regarding her ex-husband, police said. The website owner was concerned the woman was serious and could be attempting to kill the man, police said. With assistance from two state police undercover narcotic units, MANTIS and LAWNET, an undercover officer posed as a hit man on Friday, July 17, and met with Wein in a South Rockwood parking lot, police said. During the meeting, Wein offered the undercover officer $5,000 to kill her ex-husband and provided him with an upfront payment to cover travel expenses out of state, police said. Soon after handing over the payment, Wein was arrested and taken to the Monroe County Jail for booking, police said. The owner of rentahitman.com told police he has been contacted numerous times by people requesting murders, school shootings, and even a baby abduction since he started the website in 2005, claiming the website has been responsible for preventing more than 130 murders, police said. The site boasts itself as your point and click solution with 100 percent HIPPA compliant hit men fully trained in COVID-19 protocols and following social distancing guidelines. The investigation into this incident is ongoing. Anyone with additional information is asked to contact Det. Sgt. Michael Peterson at 734-242-3500. More from MLive: Detroit Youth Choirs Glory pays powerful tribute to John Lewis, Black Lives Matter Michigan business group gives $100K to help restart LGBT rights ballot campaign Bullmastiff puppy stolen from Monroe County tire shop, police say Former governor of the Central Bank of Nigeria (CBN), Mallam Sanusi Lamido Sanusi has said that nepotism is the worst form of corruption in Nigeria The former Emir of Kano made this statement at a webinar themed: The sustainability of society, averred that corruption has impacted negatively on the society and that incompetent leadership has contributed to the degree of corrupt practices in the country. Sanusi also called for a reduction in the cost of governance in Nigeria and promotion of efficiency. He said; Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Philippe Champagne rises in the House of Commons on July 8, 2020. Champagne has said he will review sensitive contracts awarded to Nuctech due to its close connection to the Chinese regime. (The Canadian Press/Adrian Wyld) Deal With Chinese State-Owned Firm to Supply Security Equipment to Canadas Embassies Should Be Cancelled: Expert Concerns are growing over contracts recently awarded by the Canadian government to a controversial Beijing-based company that is directly connected to the Chinese Communist Party. One expert says the deal should be cancelled in light of the risks to Canadas security. The five contracts awarded to Nuctech Company, reportedly worth $6.8 million, involve installing X-ray and other scanning equipment to provide security at Canadian embassies, consulates, and high commissions around the world170 in all. Nuctech was founded in 1997 by the son of former CCP leader Hu Jintao and also has links to the Chinese military. In 2014, the U.S. Transportation Security Administration banned Nuctech equipment from the countrys airports due to security concerns. Nuctech does not hide the fact that it is a Chinese government-owned company, and like any Chinese-owned company it is required to cooperate with the Chinese state intelligence apparatus, Marcus Kolga, a senior fellow at the Macdonald-Laurier Institute, told The Epoch Times. Officials in both the U.S. and EU have raised concerns about the security risks posed by Western airports, which give the Chinese government potential access to detailed information about them and those who travel through them. Those same security concerns are just as applicable to Canadas embassies and anywhere else these Chinese state-developed and -built scanning systems are installed. Kolga says any existent contract should be immediately cancelled and suggests the government launch a review of Canadas procurement policies to determine how to better safeguard the countrys security. Foreign Affairs Minister Francois-Phillipe Champagne has said he will review the contracts in light of Nuctechs connection to the Chinese regime. An emailed statement from Global Affairs says the standing offer is not a contract, and Global Affairs has not purchased any equipment from Nuctech at this time. Nuctech has been dubbed the Huawei of airport security in that it has provided security equipment such as X-ray machines, scanners, and explosive detection systems to airports and customs offices in over 150 countries, giving it access to the strategic infrastructure of those countries in areas as sensitive as aviation and border security. When it comes to the CCPs weaponization of supply chains that companies like Nuctech have been alleged to facilitate, one worry among European governments has been how the systems and databases Nuctech uses could transmit harmful software and cause disruption at airports. Jan-Peter Kleinhans, a researcher on supply chain security at the Stiftung Neue Verantwortung think tank in Berlin, Germany, told Politico that Europe slowly is realizing how big a problem this potentially could be. The Wall Street Journal reported on June 28 that the U.S. National Security Council is targeting Nuctech as a threat to security due to its presence at ports, border crossings, and airports across Europe. Part of the rationale for entering such ventures with Chinese-state backed companies, Huawei also being one of them, may be that these companies can bid much lower on contract tenders, allowing Western countries to save money. But Kolga says its not worth it given the security risks involved. The savings that Western officials think they may be gaining by purchasing bargain-basement-priced Chinese technologyand a great many other productsis in fact an illusion which we pay for in having our privacy and security potentially compromised, he says. Nuctech has also drawn criticism for alleged unfair business practices and corruption. In February, the Taipei Times reported that the former head of Taiwans Aviation Police Bureau Sun Yi-ming was found guilty of corruption based on charges related to illicit activities he was involved in. The activities included working with Nuctech to deceive Taiwans regulators by having parts shipped to Japan for assembly and repackaging, as well as accepting kickbacks, in relation to a contract with Nuctech to procure X-ray scanners. Experts in Taiwan said the case reeked of a Chinese intelligence operation, with an eye to penetrating Taiwans airport and border security, the Taipei Times reported. In 2008, Nuctech was involved in a bribery scandal in Namibia relating to a $55.3 million contract it had signed with the government. Namibias anti-corruption commission discovered that a $12.8 million down payment had been passed to the firm Teko Trading, which suggested an attempt to bribe Namibian authorities to secure Nuctechs access to the market and its influence in the country. In 2010, the EU imposed a five-year tariff on Nuctech products for alleged dumping on the European market. The companys pending Global Affairs deal raises important questions about how Canadas foreign policy should handle companies that have ties to autocratic regimes. Kolga believes Canada should impose a temporary moratorium on the purchasing of any technology products from China and Russia until a fundamental review and update of Canadas procurement policies is completed to ensure that our national security is not compromised by them. Global News reports that since 2017, Nuctech has been awarded four contracts valued at $6.5 million to provide scanners and lab equipment to the Canada Border Services Agency. With monikers as divergent as the "Professor" and the "Destroyer", the Islamic State group's new head has a reputation for brutality, but otherwise remains largely an enigma. Amir Mohammed Said Abd al-Rahman al-Mawla replaced Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi after his death in a raid by US special forces last October. Mawla was initially presented to the world by the Islamic State (IS) as Abu Ibrahim al-Hashimi al-Qurashi -- a man about whom America and Iraq had little intelligence. US officials later came to believe that al-Qurashi was Mawla's nom de guerre, recognising him in March as the new head of IS. The State Department immediately placed him on its "Specially Designated Global Terrorist" list, sparking a quest to learn more about a most-wanted man who now has a $10 million bounty on his head. One thing everyone seems to agree on is Mawla's brutal nature. He is probably best known for playing "a major role in the jihadist campaign of liquidation of the Yazidi minority (of Iraq) through massacres, expulsion and sexual slavery," according to Jean-Pierre Filiu, a jihadism analyst at the Sciences Po university in Paris. The new IS leader was born, likely in 1976, in the town of Tal Afar, some 70 kilometres (40 miles) from Mosul. He was born into a Turkmen family, making him a rare non-Arab to ascend the ranks of IS, which at its height ruled vast parts of Iraq and Syria and drew volunteers from the West. His ethnic origins prompted the United Nations to predict in a January report that he might be a "temporary choice until the group finds a more legitimate 'emir', a direct descendant from the Quraysh Hashemite tribe who could therefore command the full support of the remote provinces." - Sharia jurist - Mawla graduated from the Islamic Sciences College in Mosul. A former officer in the army of Saddam Hussein, he joined the ranks of Al-Qaeda after the US invasion of Iraq and Hussein's capture in 2003, according to the Counter Extremism Project (CEP) think-tank. He took on the role of religious commissary and a general Sharia jurist for al-Qaeda. In 2004, Mawla was detained by US forces at the Camp Bucca prison in southern Iraq, where he met Baghdadi. Both men were later freed, and Mawla remained at Baghdadi's side as he took the reins of the Iraqi branch of Al-Qaeda in 2010, then defected to create the Islamic State of Iraq (ISI), later the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), also known as the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL). In 2014, according to the CEP, Mawla welcomed Baghdadi to Mosul "before leaving al-Qaeda and pledged allegiance and full support to the radical's mission, providing ISIS the support to quickly take control of the city". A profile drawn up by the CEP said that Mawla "quickly established himself among the insurgency's senior ranks, and was nicknamed the 'Professor' and the 'Destroyer'". He was well respected among IS members as a "brutal policymaker" and was responsible for "eliminating those who opposed Baghdadi's leadership", it said. - Down but not out - Analysts believe Mawla will now seek to prove he is his own man by attempting to reboot an organisation weakened by years of US-led assaults and the loss of its self-proclaimed "caliphate" in Syria last year. And he may choose to act now that the US is withdrawing troops from Syria. In a portent of things to come, IS fighters have carried out an attack every three days on average in Syria in recent months, according to the Washington-based Centre for Global Policy (CGP). Hisham Al-Hashimi, a Baghdad-based specialist on the extremist movement who was assassinated in Baghdad this month, recently estimated the group's monthly revenues in Iraq from investments and taxes it collects at some $7 million. "Despite its serious losses in territory and manpower, it remains financially solvent, creative, lethal, and once again confident enough to threaten those who violate its principles," CGP analyst Abdullah Al-Ghadhawi wrote. This means Mawla has both the incentive and the means to assert himself. "There are complaints about him from the field, there are still questions about what kind of organisation he will be running, how competent of a leader he is going to be, how successful he'll be in reconstituting a caliphate, how inspiring he'll be," Seth Jones of the Center for Strategic and International Studies in Washington told AFP. "There is going to be a lot of challenges, in inspiring the field but also avoiding to be killed like Baghdadi," Jones said. "If he is successful and recreates a caliphate, if the US withdraws its forces, if they're able to capitalise in other countries, that could go a long way to reduce concerns about his background," he warned. While the group's weakened position renders unlikely a major strike such as the 2015 jihadist assault on Paris unlikely for now, officials should not rule out smaller, less devastating but symbolic attacks on the West, Jones added. IS fighters have carried out an attack every three days on average in Syria in recent months, according to the Centre for Global Policy Saudi Arabias King Salman is in stable condition, three Saudi sources said, after the 84-year-old monarch was admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh on Monday with what state media said was inflammation of the gall bladder. The king, who has ruled the worlds largest oil exporter and close U.S. ally since 2015, was undergoing medical checks, state media on Monday cited a Royal Court statement as saying without further details. Three well-connnected Saudi sources who declined to be identified, two of whom were speaking late on Monday and one on Tuesday, told Reuters the king was fine. An official in the region, who requested anonymity, said he spoke to one of King Salmans sons on Monday who seemed calm and that there was no sense of panic about the monarchs health. King Salman received phone calls from the leaders of Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan on Monday, state media reported. A diplomatic source said the kingdoms de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman flew back to Riyadh on Monday from his palace in the Red Sea city of NEOM, cancelling a planned meeting with a visiting Iraqi delegation. The diplomatic source and the third Saudi source said he was still in the capital. King Salman last spoke publicly on March 19 in a five-minute televised address about the coronavirus pandemic. State media have published pictures and videos of the king chairing online weekly cabinet meetings. Media have also carried images of the crown prince attending those meetings online. King Salman, the custodian of Islams holiest sites, spent more than 2-1/2 years as the Saudi crown prince and was deputy prime minister from June 2012 before becoming king. He also served as governor of the Riyadh region for more than 50 years. He named his young son Mohammed as crown prince to become next in line to the throne after a 2017 palace coup that ousted then-Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. (REUTERS) Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce has called for a 'cull of managers' at the BBC and demanded that they 'justify their existence'. The veteran DJ, 69, has criticised how licence fee money is spent and believes it should be used for programming rather than office bureaucrats and luxuries such as the director-general's car. Bruce's mid-morning show is the most popular programme on British radio and the broadcaster insisted he 'loved' the BBC. However, he believes the national broadcaster is 'over-managed' and bosses should be forced to 'justify' their roles. He admitted the corporation was a 'frustrating place to work' and that it sometimes felt there was a department devoted to keeping creative ideas off the air. Radio 2 presenter Ken Bruce criticised the way the BBC uses its licence fee money. He criticised how Lord Tony Hall the outgoing director general of the BBC entitled to a car and driver worth 30,000 a year Speaking on the Radio Moments Conversations podcast with host David Lloyd, he said: 'I do sometimes think a cull of managers would be no bad thing. 'Every so often they say 'we are doing that, we are going to cut the management layers'. And somehow, even if they do, they come back within a few years. 'Unfortunately, part of our slice of the licence fee has to pay for the director-general's car, things like that, and a policy unit. How much does Radio 2 need a policy unit dealing with government? 'The basic thing is the programmes and once you start forgetting about them, you're in trouble.' He added: 'It was always said there was a famous part of the BBC called the programme prevention department, which existed purely to stop you getting your ideas on air. I'm afraid sometimes it can seem like that at the BBC. 'I'm a huge admirer of the organisation. But you can scratch your head sometimes and see itself shooting itself in the foot. And you think 'please, please don't do that to an organisation we all love'.' Bruce is the longest serving DJ on Radio 2, having hosted the mid-morning slot since 1992. He earned 280,000 last year, though that is less than Radio 2 colleagues including Jeremy Vine (290,000), Zoe Ball (370,000) and Steve Wright (465,000). Bruce's mid-morning show became the most popular on British radio last year, with an average weekly audience of almost 8.5 million His show also became the most popular on British radio last year, beating Zoe Ball's Breakfast show with an average weekly audience of almost 8.5 million. Lord Hall of Birkenhead, the BBC's director-general, is entitled to a car and driver worth 30,000 a year, on top of his 450,000 annual salary. It comes as Naga Munchetty was savaged over her 190,000 salary after saying the BBC licence fee 'is worth it' to ensure viewers are 'educated'. Twitter users blasted the Breakfast host, 45, for backing the 157.50 charge for colour TV and 53 for black and white channels. The end of the licence fee has been mooted by the Government, with a threat to turn the BBC into a subscription service. Munchetty told Radio Times magazine: 'There's been noise about the licence fee for decades. 'But at Breakfast, we're not ratings-driven, we're not there to garner attention on social media. Naga Munchetty (pictured with co-host Charlie Stayt) has been savaged over her 190,000 salary after saying the BBC licence fee 'is worth it' 'We're there to provide a service and make sure people are informed, educated and entertained. I think a licence is worth that.' Earlier this month the government threatened to ban the BBC from taking viewers to court if they do not pay their TV licence. It came a day after the corporation announced the end of free TV licences for everyone over the age of 75 from August. It means more than three million households have to find a way to pay 157.50 for the service, or risk criminal prosecution. Only those who receive pension credit - estimated to be around 1.5million - will still be able to access live TV and BBC iPlayer for free. The PM's spokesman said it was 'the wrong decision' while Culture Secretary Oliver Dowden said he feels 'let down' and the decision will 'have an impact' on proposals to decriminalise the licence fee. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 18:33:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A soldier takes part in the U.S.-South Korea joint Exercise Operation Pacific Reach in Pohang, South Korea on April 11, 2017. (Xinhua/Lee Sang-ho) Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon held the same view. "I think Trump is serious about the idea." WASHINGTON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The White House is weighing the possibility of reducing U.S. troops on the Korean Peninsula. The move has drawn harsh criticism from inside U.S. President Donald Trump's own party, as well as from U.S. experts. U.S. media reported recently that the Pentagon had given the White House options for the possible reduction of the U.S. troop presence in South Korea, amid a battle with Seoul in which Washington is demanding significantly more cash to keep U.S. forces there.in A U.S. military official told the Wall Street Journal that the Pentagon reviewed the 28,500 U.S. troops stationed in South Korea, as part of a broader look at shifting deployments worldwide. "It looks like Trump is serious," Douglas Paal, vice president for studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, told Xinhua, adding that he believes the strategy is "disconnected and non-strategic." Brookings Institution Senior Fellow Michael O'Hanlon held the same view. "I think Trump is serious about the idea," he said. Soldiers attend a briefing during the annual joint military exercise Foal Eagle between South Korea and the United States in Pocheon, northeast of Seoul, March 25, 2015. (Xinhua/Seongbin Kang) Troy Stangarone, senior director at the Washington-based non-profit Korea Economic Institute, said that there are good reasons to consider a restructuring of U.S. forces in South Korea. But in the absence of a vision for the future role for U.S. troops there, "it is difficult to view this as little more than the latest effort to extract concessions from South Korea on burden sharing." "President Trump has been clear that he does not value U.S. alliances in the same way that prior U.S. presidents have," Stangarone told Xinhua. The possible move was lambasted by lawmakers in Trump's own party, including from Senator Ben Sasse, who labeled any such decision as "strategic incompetence." U.S. Army soldiers riding in a Multiple Launch Rocket System vehicle take part in a U.S. military exercise near the demilitarized zone (DMZ) in Cheorwon, Gangwon province of South Korea, Sept. 25, 2013. (Xinhua/Park Jin-hee) Trump has caused much anxiety in Washington by threatening allies that he would remove U.S. troops from various strategic areas. Last month the administration announced it would pull thousands of troops from Germany, claiming that allies are not paying their fair share of NATO costs. For his part, Trump has long said U.S. allies are taking advantage of the United States, arguing that Washington has footed the defense bill for years for several allies. This comes at a time when the White House has already canceled a number of large U.S.-South Korea military exercises in a bid to keep the nuclear talks on the Korean Peninsula going. Chris Wallace did two things right there that Trump absolutely hates: He proved him wrong, and he made him do homework. TREVOR NOAH Come on, Chris. Trump didnt come on Fox News to get fact-checked. Talk to your colleagues. STEPHEN COLBERT When asked yesterday about his statements that downplay the severity of the coronavirus, President Trump said, quote, I guess everybody makes mistakes. Yeah, but there are mistakes, and then there are mistakes. When I over-water one of my plants the economy stays open and Americans can still travel to Canada. SETH MEYERS Heres where the interview got really sad. Lately, Trump has been bragging nonstop about passing a cognitive test. Now remember, passing this test is not impressive. It checks for things like brain damage, asking real stumpers like Name these three animals, making it the most difficult test Trump has taken since the one where he had to get all the pee in the cup. STEPHEN COLBERT Its chilling to see the most powerful man in the world bragging that he passed a test that they give people to find out whether they should be allowed to take the bus by themselves. STEPHEN COLBERT Certificate Transparency (CT) is a still-evolving technology for detecting incorrectly issued certificates on the web. Its cool and interesting, but complicated. Ive given talks about CT, Ive worked on Chromes CT implementation, and Im actively involved in tackling ongoing deployment challenges even so, I still sometimes lose track of how the pieces fit together. I find it easy to forget how the system defends against particular attacks, or what the purpose of some particular mechanism is. The goal of this post is to build up a high-level description of CT from scratch, explaining why all the pieces are the way they are and how they fit together. A lot of this material is drawn from a guest lecture I gave with my colleague Chris Palmer as part of a Stanford web security course (CT portion starts at slide 52). Why CT? Certificate authorities (CAs) are the organizations that browsers trust to issue certificates for domain names after checking that the person receiving the certificate really does own their domain. CAs can be companies and governments or the occasional non-profit. Its fairly common for CAs to issue bad certificates. Like any organization, sometimes CAs make mistakes, and sometimes they are compromised or malicious. And sometimes certificates are issued improperly without the CA doing anything wrong at all: a rogue insider, BGP hijacker, or hapless vendor might request a certificate for a domain they do not own. The security community has invented various mechanisms to prevent browsers from accepting these misissued certificates. For example, server operators could once use public key pinning to limit the CAs that could issue certificates for their domains, so that not just any CA compromise would put them at risk. (Unfortunately, pinning turned out to be a giant footgun, never gained widespread adoption, and is currently dying a slow death.) Preventing browsers from accepting misissued certificates is only one part of the puzzle, though. Its also important to detect misissued certificates. For example, in 2011, an attacker hacked the DigiNotar CA and improperly issued a wildcard google.com certificate, which they used to target victims in Iran. While the Google Chrome browser didnt accept the certificate due to public key pinning, Google only found out about the attack by chance because a user posted about the error on a help forum. This was a close call: would anyone have ever learned about this attack if that one user hadnt happened to report it? Thus was born the desire for a technical means of detecting misissued certificates. If a domain owner can detect an unauthorized certificate for their domain, they can revoke the misissued certificate. If the misissuance happened because a CA misbehaved, the domain owner can report the incident to a browser or OS vendor, who might choose to no longer trust the CA to issue certificates. An unauthorized certificate for a domain isnt the only type of misissuance. CAs might create certificates that are bad because they use outdated cryptographic algorithms, violate rules like the maximum lifetime of a certificate or specific encodings that are supposed to be used, etc. If browser vendors could detect these types of misissuances (which are not necessarily malicious, but signs of bad hygiene), they could ask the CAs to fix these problems or even remove trust in them if appropriate. A strawperson and a slightly-less-strawperson The very simplest attempt to allow detection of bad certificates would be to require that CAs publish a list of every certificate they issue. They could either directly publish their certificates themselves, or forward them to some other service that publishes them. Domain owners could monitor every CAs published certificates for unauthorized certificates, and browser vendors/researchers/etc. could monitor each CA for bad hygiene. But the root problem we are trying to solve is that CAs might be compromised, malicious, or error-prone, so we cant just rely on CAs to publish their own issuances. An evil CA issuing an evil certificate would simply not publish that certificate. In a slightly more robust system, CAs could submit each issued certificate to a publisher. The publisher would return a signature on the certificate, and provide a publicly accessible feed of certificates that it has seen. Browsers would only accept certificates that come with a signature from a trusted publisher. This is a little closer to what CT looks like, but there are still a number of problems to solve. One minor wrinkle with this publisher signature system is that it takes time for the CA to submit each certificate to these publishers and verify that it got logged before issuing the certificate. (As will become clear later on, logging a certificate can require operations on a large data structure and global write consensus, which can take minutes or hours.) CAs dont want other services potentially slow operations in the critical path of certificate issuance, which is their core money-making business operation and their customers dont want this slowdown either, since some web servers rely on fast certificate issuance to meet business and uptime requirements. So in CT, a signature from one of these publishers (which is called a CT log) does not actually guarantee that the log has published the certificate. Instead, the log issues a Signed Certificate Timestamp (SCT), which is a signed statement that the log has seen the certificate and promises to publish it within 24 hours of the timestamp it provides. Trusted logs? So far, the system weve built up is as follows: CAs submit certificates to logs as they are issued, and the logs return SCTs promising to publish the certificate within 24 hours. Browsers dont accept certificates unless they come with SCTs from trusted logs. Interested parties, such as domain owners or researchers, can monitor the data that the logs publish for malicious certificates. Now the key question is: why should we trust logs? If a CA could be compromised, malicious, or error-prone, why couldnt a log be compromised, malicious, or error-prone too? One could even imagine a log and CA colluding to issue evil certificates. The designers of CT wanted logs to be untrusted, and this is how CT gets complicated. As a simple way to remove trust from the logs, browsers could require multiple SCTs from different logs per certificate. With this policy, an attacker would have to compromise multiple logs to prevent an evil certificate from being published by any of them. In practice, though, its difficult to say what constitutes distinct logs. If the same organization controls multiple logs and is colluding with the attacker, a multiple-log policy doesnt help. Chrome currently deploys CT with a One Google, One Non-Google policy: each certificate must come with at least one SCT from a Google-operated log and one from a non-Google-operated log, on the premise that it would be difficult for an attacker to compromise two such logs. This policy, however, was always meant as a temporary measure until something more technically sound and organizationally neutral could be put into place. To understand how to remove trust from the logs in a more technically sound way, we need to think about a deep question: what does it actually technically mean to publish a certificate? Each log has an API endpoint that produces a feed of certificates but, intuitively, providing the certificate on that endpoint to one client at one particular point in time is not sufficient to have published the certificate. To truly publish the certificate, that endpoint must provide the certificate to anyone querying it at any time after the log signed an SCT for the certificate. To verify that the log has truly published the certificate, we need everyone to efficiently check with everyone else that theyve seen the certificate in the feed theyve received from that endpoint. Everyone here includes end-user devices that are validating TLS certificates, as well as researchers, browser vendors, domain owners, and anyone else who is interested in monitoring a logs feed to look for misissued certificates. Of course, its not practical to ask everyone to maintain the list of all certificates that each log publishes and check with each other to compare that the entire sequence matches. That could be billions of devices each maintaining sets of millions or billions of certificates. Furthermore, some of these entities might be interested in only a very small subset of certificates; for example, a domain owner is only interested in monitoring for misissued certificates for their own domain, and has no interest in doing a lot of work to help other entities verify that unrelated certificates were properly published. Imagine that the log could produce a short summary of the sequence of certificates that it has published. The summary is like a cryptographic hash: if you can provide a sequence of certificates that produces a given summary, then its infeasible to find any other sequence that produces the same summary. Unlike a vanilla cryptographic hash, these summaries have two special properties: If the log produces a summary, it can then add more certificates and produce an updated summary, and efficiently prove that these two summaries are consistent with each other, i.e. the latter summarys underlying sequence of certificates is a supersequence of the formers. After adding a certificate, when asked for a current summary of the certificates it has published, the log can provide an efficient proof that the summary contains that certificate. This magical summary is all the state that anyone observing the log needs to keep to be able to verify with everyone else that the certificates they care about have been published. For example, a web browser validating a TLS certificate can request a summary and a proof that the current certificate is contained in that summary (property #2). As the browser encounters more certificates, it can request updated summaries with proofs for each of those certificates, and it can always verify that the latest summary is consistent with its previous summary (property #1). All the browser has to do is keep track of that single latest summary, and it is infeasible for anyone to produce a sequence of certificates mapping to that summary which does not include the certificates that the browser has verified. Two different browser users can then exchange summaries with each other and verify their consistency (property #1) to verify that the certificates that each browser user has seen have been published to the other. This is magical and mind-bending because browser user Alice is able to verify that all the certificates they saw were published to browser user Bob without browser user Bob ever seeing a single one of those certificates, and vice versa. That is, the log would be unable to ever produce a feed of certificates that is consistent with Alices summary unless it also contains all the certificates that Bob saw. In practice, a browser user is unlikely to ever go download the logs whole feed of certificates (why would it?). Instead, other entities keep watch on the entire feed: browser vendors, researchers, and services called monitors that help domain owners watch for unauthorized certificates for their domains. So once browser user Alice has verified that their summary is consistent with browser user Bobs summary, Alice can then go check consistency with, for example, a monitors summary to verify that all certificates seen by both Alice and Bob have been seen by the monitor (who is watching all certificates that the log publishes). I like to think of these summaries sort of as an accumulator that can eat up more and more certificates without growing in size. Once you verify that a certificate is included in a given summary, you can keep updating that summary to the latest version, and provided that you check consistency with your previous summary, you never lose the property that your current summary contains that certificate. When you compare your summary with someone elses, your summary absorbs all of the certificates that theyve seen, and now you never lose the property that your current summary contains all your certificates and all their certificates and all the certificates seen by whomever theyve checked their summary with. This is true even though youve never seen those certificates! Because of this accumulation property verifying your summary with someone elses accumulates all the verification that theyve done into yours it becomes possible for large numbers of participants to efficiently check that theyve each seen the certificates seen by the others. And that is what we truly mean by publishing a certificate. Magic isnt real Sadly, not all of what I just described is actually deployed in the real world right now. Currently, Chrome and some other browsers require a number of SCTs to trust any public certificate issued after particular dates. This was a big milestone, as all major CAs now log the vast majority of their newly issued certificates by default. However, theres still a lot of work to do. Verifying that a given certificate is included in a summary is called SCT verification, and no major web browsers actually do it yet. Andrew Ayer has a great post on how it might be deployed and why its challenging. What I called a summary is actually called a Signed Tree Head (STH). I talked about different parties in the ecosystem exchanging their summaries/STHs and checking consistency with one another. This prevents whats known as a split-view attack, where a log presents an STH that includes a malicious certificate to the client being attacked with the certificate, and a totally separate STH that doesnt include the malicious certificate to the client monitoring for misissusances. There has been an attempt to define gossip protocols for exchanging STHs, but they havent been widely deployed yet. Most likely, centralization will turn out to be key. Its not particularly likely that every browser user will gossip STHs with every other browser user, but it is more feasible for a handful of browser vendors to gossip with one another and then distribute these gossiped STHs to their users. The underlying magic of CT is a Merkle tree. This is an old, simple cryptographic construction: a tree of hashes. CT uses a simple procedure for updating the tree with new certificates, and this simple construction gives the two magical properties I described above. The part of CT that seems most magical is actually quite real, but deploying it at scale in the real world turns out to be the hard part. By Ayya Lmahamad Some 1,140 citizens were fined during the past 24 hours across the country for violating the strict quarantine regime, the main traffic police department under the Ministry of Interior reported on July 21. All 1,140 were fined according to Article 211.1 of the Code of Administrative Offences. Of them 1,039 were drivers who failed to follow the quarantine regime requirements and 101 were citizens not using facial masks in the public transport. In the meantime, 340 cars, which had sought to leave these territories were stopped, and returned back during the reporting period. Earlier, it was reported that 36,996 citizens were fined in the period of June 21 and July 15 for violating the quarantine regime, 635 drivers were fined during June 14-16 lockdown, while 2,524 drivers were fined during June 6-7 lockdown. Azerbaijan first introduced quarantine regime on March 24, and on June 18 decision was taken to extend special quarantine regime until August 1. On July 17, Cabinet of Ministers announced decision to prolong a strict quarantine regime till August 5. The new lockdown imposed on July 20 to August 5 include Baku, Jalilabad, Ganja, Masalli, Sumgayit, Yevlakh cities and Absheron district, and Goranboy, Goygol, Mingachevir, Barda, Khachmaz, Siyazan and Sheki. There is a change in the SMS permit system to control the citizens movement. According to the new rules, the duration of the permits have been extended from two to three hours. The work of beauty salons and barber shops have also been resumed under the new rules. The work of transportation, will remeain suspended over the weekends on July 25-27 and August 1-3. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Nearly 200 years ago, women around the country began campaigning and protesting for their right to vote in the United States. In honor of the 100th year anniversary of the 19th Amendment of the U.S. Constitutions ratification, Lone Star College-CyFair announced in a press release Monday, July 20, the start of its new virtual book club with a group effort of librarians and staff honoring the womens suffrage movement. Regina Vitolo, outreach and reference librarian, said the goal of the Suffrage Centennial Book Club series is to generate a conversation between students, faculty, and community members about voting rights, civic engagement, and human rights in general. To highlight the parallels between our current social and political climate with that of the civil rights and womens rights movements of the 60s and 70s and then, of course, with the Womens Suffrage Movement, Vitolo said. The Suffrage Centennial Book Club will commence with The Womans Hour: The Great Fight to Win the Vote by Elaine Weiss Tuesday, July 28 at 1 p.m. and continue from August to December for a total of six books. Q&A: Jenny McGown celebrates one-year anniversary as Klein ISD superintendent Julys remote discussion of women activists fighting for civil rights, ultimately getting passage of the amendment Aug. 18, 1920, will also feature facilitator and LSC-CyFair history professor Robert OBrien. The reading list also includes Mr. President, How Long Must We Wait?: Alice Paul, Woodrow Wilson, and the Fight for the Right to Vote by Tina Cassidy for Aug. 20; Why They Marched: Untold Stories of the Women Who Fought for the Right to Vote by Susan Ware for Sept. 29; One Person, No Vote: How Voter Suppression Is Destroying Our Democracy by Carol Anderson for Oct. 27; Suffrage: Womens Long Battle for the Vote by Ellen Carol DuBois for Nov. 17; and Gilded Suffragists: The New York Socialites who Fought for Womens Right to Vote by Johanna Neuman for Dec. 17. I wanted the reading list to reflect the diversity of the womens suffrage movement and its complex chronology and to contextualize the civic, labor, and human rights issues that are dominating the headlines today, Vitolo said. On HoustonChronicle.com: Houston-area school boards consider changes to reopening plans following new TEA guidance Originally, LSC-CyFair Library, a joint-public and academic library, planned to host an on-campus speaker, pop-up poster exhibits, a couple of film viewings, and a single book club to commemorate the centennial of womens right to vote. Vitolo coordinates the librarys social media, organizes and facilitates interdisciplinary programming and cultivates collaboration with campus faculty, students, and community partners. Vitolo is passionate about public history and her background is in American history and womens studies. When the campus closed indefinitely because of the pandemic, she immediately began to brainstorm new ways to celebrate the centennial virtually. Vitolo said that by April, she and fellow librarians had already successfully migrated programming and book clubs online. So, Vitolo created a reading list that spans the historical womens suffrage movement and contemporary voting rights issues. Which was influenced by books I have already read and the availability of the books in the librarys digital catalog and I reached out to campus faculty to facilitate the book discussions, Vitolo said. In lieu of physical exhibits and in-person programming, Vitolo has created a 19th amendment and womens suffrage LibGuide website, that will discuss the keystone moments of womens suffrage and the womens rights movements, feature digital exhibits, book and film recommendations and discussion guides. Those interested in participating can email Regina.E.Vitolo@LoneStar.edu to register for the virtual book club. To see the LibGuide visit the CyFair library site at http://cyflib.info/suffragecentennialbc, and programming and other updates are shared on social media @lsccyfairlibrary. We want book club participants to consider how the #MeToo and #BlackLivesMatter movements are outgrowths of these prior movements and to consider how todays social unrest is both unique to this moment as well as part of a rich history of social protest that addressed similar issues, Vitolo said. alvaro.montano@chron.com The call-and-response of No justice, no peace, and other chants that have become emblematic of the Black Lives Matter movement echoed across Cedell Brooks Jr. Park in King George County on Sunday. Nearly 75 people, some with umbrellas for shade, sat in the oppressive heat to attend the countys first Black Lives Matter rally, which was organized by college students and residents Sydney Biondi and Grayson Bullock. What began as a group chat for King George residents heading to Fredericksburg for protests there grew into Sundays rally over the course of a month, Biondi said. A contingent of demonstrators from several Fredericksburg-based protest groups showed up in support of the event, which featured former Democratic congressional candidate Vangie Williams. Williams told the crowd to be active in groups such as the NAACP or local churches and work on committees or run for office. I dont want somebody just here making a stand or a statement. I want you to do the job so we can have the equality and equity we deserve, she said. SAO PAULO, July 21 (Reuters) - Brazilian healthcare insurance firm Qualicorp SA said on Tuesday that the federal police carried out search and seizure warrants in the company's headquarters and other places, as part of an investigation involving its founder and former CEO Jose Seripieri Junior. In a securities filing, the company added it is taking all necessary measures to fully understand all facts and will cooperate with authorities. Seripieri Junior is being investigated for allegedly organizing illicit donations to the electoral campaign of Jose Serra when he was running for the Senate in 2014. (Reporting by Gabriela Mello Editing by Chizu Nomiyama) Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 18:25:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close An employee of the Palestinian Ministry of Health takes a swab sample from a man for COVID-19 test in the West Bank city of Hebron, July 19, 2020. (Photo by Mamoun Wazwaz/Xinhua) by Sanaa Kamal HEBRON, West Bank, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Shady Abu Ayyash, a Palestinian physician from the West Bank city of Hebron, has been doing all what he can to save the lives of COVID-19 patients in the government-owned Dora Hospital. Wearing his protective suit, gloves and mask, Abu Ayyash moves from a room to another to check his patients' conditions. "Wearing gowns for long hours during hot summer days is unbearable," said the 42-year-old father of three, adding doctors barely use the toilet or take a break "because of the difficulty of taking off the protective gowns." Despite his fear of being infected with the virus, the middle-aged doctor said he must face the battle against the disease. "I may get infected since we don't have all the capabilities to fight the disease and spread, but it is my duty," the doctor told Xinhua. With increasing COVID-19 patients at the Dora Hospital where dozens of doctors work around the clock, the government had to establish a new department at another hospital in the city for the treatment of coronavirus patients. Mohamed Reby, director of the Dora Hospital, said the hospital, equipped with 12 ventilators and 20 intensive care beds, houses about 40 COVID-19 patients, eight of whom are in intensive care units and three on ventilators. Hebron, the most populous city in the West Bank with an estimated population of 750,000, has recorded the highest rate of COVID-19 infections and deaths since its outbreak in the Palestinian territories on March 5. "The number of infections in the city has reached almost 5,500 with 50 deaths ... The health ministry conducts more than 1,000 tests every day in the city," Afif Atawneh, an official in charge of the coronavirus affairs in the city, told Xinhua. The disease has spread notably in Hebron because the city is a commercial hub and a point for transporting Palestinian workers to Israel, he explained. It is worth noting that the coronavirus outbreak in Hebron has caused the infection of some 100 doctors during their treatment of COVID-19 patients. "The increasing number of infections and the spread of the disease significantly increase the need for medical supplies and medical personnel," Wael Abu Snineh, head of Medical Syndicate in Hebron, told Xinhua. "Hospitals in the city need 500 intensive care units, but we only have 60 ... We also need 200 ventilators. We only have 40 now," Abu Snineh said. So far, Palestine has recorded 10,520 COVID-19 cases, including 66 deaths and 2,095 recoveries, according to the Palestinian health ministry. The glory of young men is their strength, gray hair the splendor of the old. Prov. 20:29 Within a span of 24 hours, we learned of the deaths of two titanic figurescivil rights leader and United States Congressman John Lewis, and evangelical theologian J.I. Packer. Both were oldLewis was 80 and Packer 93but upon reflection, I couldnt help but see each, in my own imagination, at radically different periods in life. With Lewis, I saw the smiling, young civil rights worker in the mug shot after his arrest in Mississippi. With Packer, I saw the frail, wizened theologian ambling through a library, a stack of books precariously cradled in his arms. Lewis and Packer were both young once. Any who paid attention likely recall images of each from their youthLewis at the 1963 March on Washington, or Packer as a young scholar at Oxford. What intrigued me, however, was how the first image in my mind was of Lewis as the strident and exuberant demonstrator and of Packer as the elderly sage. I could envision the old John Lewis to be sure, but I had to work my way there from the past. For Packer, it was the reverse. Some of this is due, no doubt, to the primary callings of each. Lewis was a thinker and a politician, but his primary mark was as an activist. Most of us came to know Packer by reading his books on the authority of the Bible, or knowing God, or on the Puritans, or by reading his columns in Christianity Today. But theres more to it. Our knowledge of these two stalwarts comes to us in the guise of what popular culture would call an origin story. In the narrative version of Lewiss lifeat least as we know ita signature moment was the awful beating he suffered on the Edmund Pettus Bridge in 1965. When we reflect on that horrific incidentwhether in history books or film or the graphic novel about his life, The Marchwe can see its consistency with the rest of his lifethe lawmaker fighting against repeal of voting rights laws or the elderly congressman walking across the House floor to embrace an ailing white U.S. senator of the opposing party grappling with disease. Many of us could still see in his aged face the expressions of the young man with a head injury, or the smiling mug shot after his Mississippi arrest. With Packer, its the reverse. Whatever pictures of the young scholar we may see, we project backwards the light of the revered elder evangelical statesman who carefully reasoned us through the importance of biblical inerrancy, or who modeled a calm and non-vindictive demeanor when assailed by separatists of a narrower Calvinism who rejected his work with Roman Catholics and higher-church Anglicans, or when lambasted by progressives in his Anglican Communion for his refusal to evolve on matters of sexual morality. A life well lived does not view youth as something to be hoarded nor age as something to be evaded. The reason for this difference, to me, has to do with the integrity of each. Lewiss youth comes first to our minds not because his early life was more accomplished than his later life (he was a skillful legislator and orator to the day of his death). Rather, what we see in the young John Lewis is the courage it took to sacrifice not just his life but also his youth. If Lewis had died on the Pettus Bridge or elsewhere in South during the violence of the 60sa very real possibilityhe would have been remembered as the young protege of Martin Luther King, Jr., and as a valiant hero. But we would have missed witnessing what it looks like for the courage of youth to encompass an entire life. Even in the throes of pancreas cancer, to see Lewis standing with protesters against racial injustice after the death of George Floyd is to see the courageous young Lewis of the Edmund Pettus Bridge standing there too. Packer, on the other hand, modeled what it looks like for an evangelical celebrity to age without scandal or bitterness or resentment toward those who harmed him or resentment of the generations coming after hima sight sadly in short supply. He wrote in his final years of what it means to be near to death, and did not seek to hide from view what many deem the indignities of age. Instead, he taught how weakness is the way. When we read Packers early and middle writings, we see a building wisdom toward the humble sage we knew at his lifes end. The narrative consistency between youth and age in the course of a lifebetween who one is in their prime and in the valley of the shadow of deathis essential to integrity. Youth is about more than self-indulgence or self-protection. And old age is about more than reflecting back on the good old days of the heights of ones powers. A life well lived does not view youth as something to be hoarded nor age as something to be evaded. A life well lived sacrifices ones future by standing in the face of danger for the sake of those one may never see, and similarly, such a life sacrifices ones legacy by teaching those younger how to wither into weakness embraced by the knowing God of ones youth. This is counter-intuitive in a day when the young are expected to project an image of cynicism and world-weariness and the old are expected to airbrush their profiles to maintain relevance and strength. What we admire in these giants we lost is their refusal to do either. Lewis seemed young even when he was old. Packer, by his own admission, seemed old even when he was young. The maturity of youth and the vibrancy of age, both are needed in times that seem too juvenile for gravity and too decrepit for joy. Russell Moore is president of the Ethics and Religious Liberty Commission and is the author of the forthcoming book The Courage to Stand: Facing Your Fear Without Losing Your Soul (B&H). As part of a new nationwide anti-corruption initiative, Mexico's land, air and seaports will be operated and monitored by the military, Mexican President Manuel Lopez Obrador announced Friday. Mexico's army will now be in charge of the country's 49 customs offices including the Mexican side of ports along the U.S.-Mexico border in an effort to combat corruption and the massive smuggling of drugs across ports of entry. "We have taken this decision about management of the port because of the mismanagement, the poor administration of the seaports, the corruption, the smuggling of drugs into the country through these ports," Obrador said during his daily press briefing on Friday. Obrador added that "ports, and especially customs, have long been enclaves of corruption. It is not just a matter of capacity, of professionalism, it is of honesty." Mexico has 49 customs offices or districts around the country. They include the border cities of Nuevo Laredo, Ciudad Juarez, Tijuana, Reynosa, Matamoros and Nogales, Arizona. Mexico's annual customs revenue was around $40 billion in 2018, according to Horacio Duarte, Mexico's head of customs. Trade industry professionals in Mexico said the initiative could slow the movement of goods across international borders. "It is a decision that is part of a national strategy of militarization of the country, but it is part of an ignorance of the role that customs have in the Mexican customs system," Manuel Diaz, CEO of Seko Logistics Mexico, said in news outlet T21. Some U.S. officials said it could be a step in the right direction. "Mexico's military given administrative control of customs, ports, this can help if it adds checks against them being paid off too," tweeted Earl Anthony Wayne, a former U.S. ambassador and Mexico public policy fellow and adviser at the Mexico Institute in Washington. Click for more FreightWaves articles by Noi Mahoney. Story continues More stories Canadian firm to build third manufacturing plant in Juarez, Mexico French aerospace firm to build new factory in northern Mexico New USMCA trade pact enters into force See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. An association, calling itself Volta Region Resource Group of the governing New Patriotic Party (NPP), has said contrary to the campaign of acrimony and intimidation by the military deployment, the situation in the Region represents peace and cordiality as the Region's registration exercise progresses. Mr. King David Akpabli, Volta Regional Secretary of the Group at a press conference in Ho, said the situation in the Region's 18 Constituencies differs from what elements of the National Democratic Congress (NDC) wanted Ghanaians to believe. He said the atmosphere at the various voter registration centres was peace and devoid of tension as the Group concluded a one-week tour of voter registration centres in the Region and were impressed with ECs preparedness and the observance of the COVID-19 protocols. He said dissimilar to claims by the NDC that the routine deployment of the military across the countrys borders was to prevent the people of the Region from registering, the team did not encounter any soldier at any registration centres. Mr. Akpabli said the team observed that agents of both NPP and NDC at the centres across the Region were working without hindrance, saying there was no acrimony between the agents. He said the NPP government and Party would not foment trouble or create confusion, but would rather work hard to prevent political intolerance and promote peace, which was recipe for development. Mr. Akpabli said the NPP was a development-oriented party and would ensure that the roads of Denu-Aflao and the Eastern Corridor among others, were completed for the betterment of the people of the Volta Region. He called on the NDC to take Voltarians seriously and stop using them as Election Winning Pawns. Voltarians are serious people, Voltarians are hardworking people and are discerning, 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 Liberian Drug Enforcement Agency officers recently attacked and detained journalist Max M. Richards Jr. (Photo: Richards Jr.) 21.07.2020 LISTEN Abuja, Nigeria, July 21, 2020 Liberian authorities should investigate the attack and arrest of journalist Max M. Richards Jr. and hold those responsible to account, the Committee to Protect Journalists said today. On July 9, in the northeastern city of Ganta, a group of about 15 officers with Liberias Drug Enforcement Agency attacked Richards Jr., a reporter with the privately owned Hott FM radio broadcaster, after he photographed them making an arrest, according to the journalist, who spoke to CPJ via messaging app, and news reports . Richards Jr. told CPJ that the officers slapped, punched, and kicked him, and then arrested him and seized his phone, and brought him to the local Drug Enforcement Agency office, where they made him take off his shirt and continued to slap and punch him. The officers released Richards Jr. without charge about 30 minutes later, after Hott FM news director Musa More Sherman called Gantas regional solicitor, Lawrence Suah, who arrived and ordered that the journalist be released. The brutal attack and unwarranted arrest of journalist Max M. Richards Jr. are entirely without justification, and the officers responsible must be held to account, said Angela Quintal, CPJs Africa program coordinator, in New York. Liberian authorities must ensure that the Drug Enforcement Agency officers involved in this abuse of the law face immediate consequences, to send a message that attacks on the press will not be tolerated. Richards Jr. said the attacks left him with lasting pain in his head, stomach, and ears, which has prevented him from working on multiple occasions, and required pain medication. The attack began when officers saw Richards Jr. photograph them while they were arresting a motorcyclist and seizing gasoline that he was selling; the journalist told CPJ he was reporting on Liberians compliance with government COVID-19 regulations when he saw the arrest and stopped to ask the officers about it. Richards Jr. said his arrest was made at the behest of Ganta Drug Enforcement Agency commander Jeremiah Nepay, who was at the scene. On July 10, the day after his arrest and release, Richards Jr. attended a meeting at Suahs office with Nepay, but said the meeting ended when Nepay walked out and threatened to sue the journalist for speaking about his arrest on radio that morning. The officers returned Richards Jr.s phone on July 11, he told CPJ. When CPJ called Nepay for comment, he denied ordering that Richards Jr. be attacked, describing the allegation as false and misleading. Nepay referred CPJ to Drug Enforcement Agency public relations officer Micheal Geeply, who did not respond to calls or text messages. A growing number of chemicals in pesticides, flame retardants, and certain plastics have been linked to widespread health problems including infertility, diabetes, and impaired brain development, a set of reviews of hundreds of studies concludes. Led by NYU Grossman School of Medicine, a team of environmental health experts analyzed research published in the past five years on endocrine disruptors, as well as American and European policies to regulate them. These chemicals are believed to interfere with the function of hormones, signaling compounds made in glands that circulate to influence processes throughout the body. Publishing online July 21 in the journal The Lancet Diabetes and Endocrinology, the new reports focused on "chemicals of concern," endocrine disruptors common in industrial and household goods., These include perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), toxins found in non-stick pans and waterproof clothing, and bisphenols, substances used in many plastics and can linings. Exposure to certain chemicals found in industrial and household goods has been linked in new studies to obesity; to endometriosis, a painful and abnormal growth of tissue on the outside of the womb; and to polycystic ovary syndrome, a significant cause of infertility. The recent reviews add 17 ties between certain medical conditions and endocrine disruptors to a list of 15 others already identified by a 2015 joint investigation led by the United Nations and the World Health Organization. For example, new findings suggest that PFAS, bisphenols, and certain pesticides may damage semen. In addition, the review identifies numerous new studies that link brain-related health concerns, such as IQ loss and attention deficit disorder (ADD), to flame retardants and chemicals found in certain pesticides. "These newer studies have strengthened the evidence linking endocrine disruptors to physical and especially neurological health issues," says one of the reviews' lead authors, Linda Kahn, MPH, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone Health. "Our review of American and European policies argues that current regulations meant to reduce exposure to this class of chemicals are falling short," adds Kahn. "While further research is needed to more firmly establish cause and effect, urgent action is needed now because the public is already paying the costs through serious and long-lasting health problems." The team's policy review found a lack of a consistent definition of endocrine disruptors across countries. The authors are concerned that current U.S. regulations are based only on exposure to large doses of chemicals, not small, everyday doses over many years, even though recent findings demonstrate that such chemicals are cumulatively dangerous at low levels. "Our understanding of endocrine disruptors has evolved, but the regulations in place to protect against them have not," says the senior author of the reports, Leonardo Trasande, MD, MPP, the Jim G. Hendrick, MD Professor at NYU Langone. "What's needed are more rigorous tests of commercial chemicals that account for these complexities." Trasande, who also serves as chief of environmental pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics at NYU Langone, calls for stricter controls akin to nationwide efforts to reduce exposure to cancer-causing substances. He suggests that a much-needed step is establishing an international program that identifies hazards so they can be effectively regulated before use, rather than after they may have already caused harm. Trasande says more research is needed to corroborate or disprove the health effects identified in these studies, as well as to evaluate the economic costs of exposure to these chemicals. He notes that the Environmental Protection Agency established a protocol in the late 1990s to better regulate these chemicals. However, the effort made little headway, Trasande explains, largely because of a perceived lack of conclusive studies and fierce lobbying by the chemical and manufacturing industries. ### Funding for the reports was provided by National Institutes of Health grants R01 ES022972, R01 ES029779, P30 ES000260, K99 ES030405, K22 ES025811, and U01 ES02614. In addition to Kahn and Trasande, other researchers involved in the reports include Christopher Kassotis, PhD, a postdoctoral fellow at Duke University in Durham, North Carolina, who was the lead author on one of the reports. Other research support was provided by Laura Vandenberg, PhD, at the University of Massachusetts Amherst; Barbara Demeneix, PhD, at the National Museum of Natural History in Paris; Miquel Porta, MD, MPH, PhD, at the Hospital del Mar Institute of Medical Research in Barcelona; Remy Slama, PhD, and Claire Philippat, PhD, at the Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale , in Grenoble, France; and Shoji Nakayama, MD, PhD, at the National Institute for Environmental Studies in Tsukuba, Japan. Media Inquiries Shira Polan 212-404-4279 shira.polan@nyulangone.org In just four days, Torontonians were supposed to join the rest of Ontario in moving to Stage 3 of the provinces economic reopening. Friday would have seen restaurants and bars with indoor seating, gyms and fitness studios, movie theatres and outdoor playgrounds reopen in the rest of Ontarios 34 public health districts, including Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor-Essex and the Niagara Region. The indoor gathering limit was to be raised to 50, and the outdoor gathering limit to 100, subject to physical distancing. But with COVID-19 cases on the uptick, those plans have been put on hold. Toronto, Peel Region and Windsor-Essex will remain in Stage 2, while Hamilton and the rest of the GTA will move to Stage 3 as planned on Friday. Premier Doug Ford said the numbers in these regions are not where they should be, and that the possibility of Stage 3 beginning July 31 for these areas will be revisited next week. Toronto business owners say the delay comes as no surprise. Jason Ching, co-owner of Omai Restaurant in Toronto, said he wasnt planning to allow indoor seating Friday even if he had the go-ahead. On Sunday, the whole team sat down to discuss the possibility, he said, but theyre just not there yet, and would prefer to stick to patio service. I think were more comfortable doing that than having people sit inside, he said. The restaurant is doing takeout and has a patio that seats 10, though Ching said it could go up to 12 or even 14. If they opened their indoor seating, what once sat 22 would now seat eight. Ginger Robertson, co-owner of the Edmund Burke and Off the Hook in Torontos Danforth area, said her businesses are prepared to open indoor seating, but she had already guessed Stage 3 would be delayed by at least another week in Toronto. Stage 3 would allow for another 25 patrons between the two establishments, Robertson said, but shes more concerned about her lack of patio space. The Edmund Burkes patio only holds three patrons, or up to eight after 6 p.m., when she uses her neighbours patio space. Robertson wants to be able to expand her patio onto the sidewalk, but said her business is too close to the intersection and the Edmund Burke has a backyard that would work for a patio, but its too close to a parking lot thats zoned as residential, so it cant be used. Were just being denied all over the place, she said. Ontario reported 135 new cases of COVID-19 on Monday, up from 111 on Friday. The latest public health numbers show 404 active cases in Toronto, compared to 49 in Durham and 111 in York. Restaurants and bars were permitted to reopen in Alberta in May, while Quebec began allowing restaurants to reopen in June. On Monday, Quebec reported 150 new cases, a rise from previous numbers. Albertas cases have been rising since they broke 100 per day last week, going as high as 165 in one day on July 17 with slightly lower numbers over the weekend. Toronto Mayor John Tory asked Ford to make masks mandatory inside Toronto bars and restaurants, in an open letter published Sunday. He noted the resurgence of cases not just in Ontario, but in Alberta and Quebec after bars and restaurants were allowed to reopen. I firmly believe that for the good of the province and our city, we must continue to move forward safely but we also must do everything we can to continue to stop the spread of COVID-19, he wrote. Tory has also recommended restaurants and bars offering indoor seating be made to close by midnight instead of 2 a.m. Robertson said this would be a death knell for the Edmund Burke, which is popular among people who work in the food industry and often arent done work until midnight. Between this, the limitations on patios and the fact that many landlords in the area, including hers, arent applying for the rent relief program, Robertson said shes faced with a difficult decision. Our lease is up in March, and if things dont change rather quickly, were done, she said. Ontarios state of emergency ends Friday, but the government is expected to pass legislation this week giving it more permanent emergency powers. Stage 3 still restricts certain places and activities, including amusement parks and water parks, buffets, overnight camps, nightclubs, dancing and singing in bars, and saunas. Ching said many restaurants, especially smaller establishments, are wary of reopening their indoor seating he estimates some could wait until the fall to do so. Theyll open when they feel comfortable, he said. Its very individual. He said hed rather take things slowly than be forced to regress stages or, worse, close down completely again. And with the wage subsidy extended until December, Ching said the business has a little more runway to take their time. With files from Nicholas Keung, David Rider and Robert Benzie Read more about: General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications; General Secretariat DETEC Bern, 21.07.2020 - On Tuesday, 21 July, during her visit to Ukraine, President Simonetta Sommaruga, held official talks with President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. This is the first bilateral presidential visit by Switzerland to Ukraine. Both sides commended the excellent existing cooperation and stressed that there was great potential for even closer ties, especially economic, between the two countries. Talks focused on the situation in Ukraine, particularly in the east of the country, and global issues such as the COVID-19 pandemic. Switzerland supports Ukraines social and economic transition and the strengthening of its institutions. In launching a cooperation programme for the period 20202023 this spring, Switzerland reiterated its willingness to support Ukraine in its reform process and to contribute to finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Eastern Ukraine. Switzerland is Ukraines fifth largest donor, and also ranks fifth in terms of private investment. During the official talks, both sides stressed the potential for even closer bilateral cooperation. Ms Sommaruga praised the reforms to strengthen the rule of law carried out so far. She reiterated Switzerlands support for Ukraine in fighting corruption. Four agreements were signed on Tuesday: a general memorandum on cooperation, an additional protocol to the agreement on the re-admission of nationals, a memorandum of understanding on holding the Ukraine Reform Conference in Switzerland in 2022, and an agreement on providing support in the fight against corruption. During discussions on the situation in Eastern Ukraine, Ms Sommaruga outlined Switzerlands support for a peaceful solution to the conflict and underlined that this was one of Switzerlands peace policy priorities. She welcomed the fact that there are frequent positive signals in the process, such as the exchange of detainees that took place in April. Negotiations by the Trilateral Contact Group (Ukraine, Russia and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe) have been led since January by Swiss ambassador Heidi Grau in her position as OSCE Special Representative. In addition to its support for the peace process, Switzerland encourages Ukraine in the respect of human rights, also in areas which are not under the control of the government. Furthermore, Ms Sommaruga reminded those present that Switzerland regards the annexation of Crimea to be in breach of international law. Global issues such as climate change were also discussed on Tuesday. Ms Sommaruga stressed that Swiss companies have expertise in the climate, transport and energy sectors, which could be of use to Ukraine. With regard to the COVID-19 pandemic, both Switzerland and Ukraine praised their cooperation at a technical level, which has, for example, allowed the production of inexpensive ventilators. Further programme with visit to Eastern Ukraine In the afternoon, meetings are planned with Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal and Parliamentary Chairman Dmytro Razumkov. Ms Sommaruga will also attend an event with Ukrainian businesspersons and will visit several green-tech companies. The official Swiss delegation with be accompanied in Kyiv by an small economic and scientific delegation with representatives from the energy, infrastructure and innovation sectors. On Wednesday, 22 July, discussions are due to be held with ministers and Ukrainian civil society representatives. On Thursday, 23 July, Ms Sommaruga will travel to Eastern Ukraine, where she will discuss the current situation with local officials and specialists in humanitarian aid and development policy. She will also visit a water treatment facility part-funded by Switzerland, which supplies people on both sides of the contact line, and will view a crossing for civilians on the contact line. Address for enquiries DETEC Information Service: Geraldine Eicher, 079 211 30 52 Publisher General Secretariat of the Federal Department of Environment, Transport, Energy and Communications; General Secretariat DETEC https://www.uvek.admin.ch/uvek/en/home.html Federal Department of Foreign Affairs https://www.eda.admin.ch/eda/en/home.html UK suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong in latest escalation against China Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 4:03 PM In yet another escalatory step the UK has suspended an extradition treaty with Hong Kong, citing human rights concerns following the adoption of a new national security law by Beijing. Announcing the latest move in the House of Commons, foreign secretary, Dominic Raab, described the measure as "necessary and proportionate". In addition to the suspension of the extradition treaty, the UK will also extend to Hong Kong the arms embargo it is has imposed on China since June 1989. The latest move by the government comes in the wake of a series of unfriendly actions against China which have deteriorated bilateral ties to a level not seen since 1989. Only last week Prime Minister, Boris Johnson, caved into US pressure by ordering the expulsion of the Chinese technology giant Huawei from the UK by 2027. Furthermore, in keeping with the US's increasingly aggressive posture on China, the UK decided to deploy one of the country's new aircraft carriers, the HMS Queen Elizabeth, close to Chinese waters. Prior to that, and in reaction to the passing of a new national security law by Beijing (which strengthens China's sovereignty over Hong Kong), the UK went to the extraordinary step of offering a "path to British citizenship" for up to three million Hong Kong residents. This hostile move prompted the Chinese ambassador to the UK, Liu Xiaoming, to accuse London of "gross interference" in China's internal affairs. The suspension of the extradition treaty is likely to pour fuel on the fire and elicit a strong reaction from Beijing. Hitherto, China has exercised patience by refusing to react to the UK's repeated provocations. Beijing will also be dismayed by the fact that the UK's anti-China push appears to appeal to all the key British political forces, including the leadership of the main opposition Labor party. Earlier, the Labor party's new leader, Keir Starmer, said he would support a change to extradition arrangements with Hong Kong, calling it a "step in the right direction". Starmer even called on the government to "go further" by imposing sanctions on "Chinese officials" involved in alleged human rights abuses. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address IRCC has released details on how the new two-step study permit process will work for international students. New two-step process to study in Canada in fall 2020 IRCC has released details on how the new two-step study permit process will work for international students. New two-step process to study in Canada in fall 2020 IRCC has released details on how the new two-step study permit process will work for international students. New two-step process to study in Canada in fall 2020 IRCC has released details on how the new two-step study permit process will work for international students. Shelby Thevenot Aa Accessibility Font Style Serif Sans Font Size A A Canada released new information this morning on how to obtain a study permit for the fall 2020 academic year. The coronavirus outbreak has made it difficult for international students to get the documents they usually need for Canadian study permits. The Canadian border is also closed to most international students. Students are only exempt from travel restrictions if their study permits were issued before noon on March 18. Even then, border officers may refuse entry to exempt international students if their program can be done online. International students still need to be in Canada for an essential reason. If their courses are offered online and they can study from home, that could make their reason for travelling to Canada optional or discretionary. See if you are eligible to study in Canada in fall 2020 However, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is introducing a new two-step approval process that will allow international students to start the semester online without a finalized study permit. Today, the immigration department unveiled new instructions for its officers on how to proceed with the temporary changes. IRCC stated last week it is aiming to process complete study permit applications that have already been submitted as quickly as possible. Students who want to take advantage of the temporary two-step process have until September 15 to apply for their study permit. How to obtain a study permit for fall 2020 The first stage is much like the regular study-permit process. International students have to submit: letter of acceptance; Certificat dacceptation du Quebec (for Quebec students only); proof of funds; proof that they can leave Canada when they no longer have legal temporary or permanent status; and any family ties to Canada. Immigration officers will assess these applications and issue pre-approval at their discretion. International students can begin studying at this stage. To get the full study permit, and eventually be able to travel to Canada, international students will need to submit: Immigration medical examination Security-Police certificates Biometrics Regular requirements for Student Direct Stream International students who are applying under the Student Direct Stream (SDS) are only eligible for the expedited study-permit program if they can submit a full application. Otherwise, they have to apply under the regular process or wait until they are able to supply all the necessary documents to be eligible for the SDS. IRCC also says that there may be delays. The SDS aims to process study permits in 20 days. Currently, international students are eligible if they are from the following seven countries: China, India, Morocco, Pakistan, Philippines, Senegal and Vietnam. Online study is now eligible for Post-Graduation Work Permit The full study permit is needed if students want to complete their program in Canada, and eventually apply for a Post-Graduation Work Permit (PGWP) to work in the country after they graduate. IRCC previously changed the eligibility requirements for the PGWP as designated learning institutions changed their in-class programs to online. International students will now be able to do to half of their program online and still be eligible for the work permit that could allow them to stay in Canada for at least three more years. The PGWP is important because it enables international students to get the Canadian work experience they often need to become eligible for Canadian permanent residence. Express Entry and the Provincial Nominee Program (PNP) are among numerous immigration pathways available to international students who complete their studies in Canada and get qualifying work experience. The pandemic has had a significant impact on international students and the Canadian institutions and communities that host them, immigration minister, Marco Mendicino, said in a news release. This is why we have implemented a series of measures to support them. We value the contribution of young people seeking a high-quality education in Canada, and were making every effort to minimize how current challenges affect their plans and dreams for the future. See if you are eligible to study in Canada in fall 2020 2020 CIC News All Rights Reserved The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia July 20, 2020 Nanu Dee (Anna Worwlee Tenbloh) 1937 2020 I see myself as a tough guy. That part of me I believed all these years. When you are in the business of opinion writing, advocacy, and politics in general as I have been for decades, you see, you hear and you feel it all everything the good and the bad that are thrown at you constantly. Because I am used to people badmouthing me when they feel that I am on the other side of the issue that they care so much about, and others applaud me for the same article because it certainly advocates their interests, makes me always want to do what I think is right. It hasnt been an easy week for me, either, and for a guy who sees himself as thick-skinned and private to reveal my vulnerable side says a lot about me and the life I live, or the life we human beings live, and how we are here today and gone tomorrow. I have been drenched in tears, sorrow, and unspeakable grief with the unexpected passing of my dear mother, Nanu Dee (Anna Worwlee Tenbloh) age 83, years who passed away on July 16, 2020, in Atlanta, Georgia. According to her doctors, she had COVID-19, but to us, she had underlining health issues that plagued her throughout her adult life. Mama suffered from pneumonia, high blood pressure, and asthma, and had knee surgeries on both legs and both hands, and also had cataract surgery in one eye. But when she was rushed to the hospital and admitted during the evening of July 6, 2020, the same hospital she has been visiting for years for her medical problems, we were told this time that she had COVID-19, which shocked all of us her family. I wrote on this webpage and I also wrote on Facebook that: Liberians are dying, no joke about it. I wrote that piece in the wake of the many deaths of Diaspora and local Liberians in Liberia in June and July 2020, and other Liberians who died there over the years as they visit Liberia, or went there to work. In that piece, I suggested that lawmakers fund the nations hospitals and prioritize healthcare. I also wrote: It is not that others are not dying, and I dont think I am naive to believe that Liberians are not dying in other countries, either. But the constancy, the immediacy, and the pace at which Diaspora Liberians are dying while they are either visiting Liberia or decided to live there to contribute to nation-building make you want to ask whats going on? It is a sad and scary reality. I got lots of pushbacks from Liberians who did not care to read and comprehend the paragraph in my piece that reads: It is not that others are not dying, and I dont think I am naive to believe that Liberians are not dying in other countries, either. A Liberian responded sarcastically. Liberians dont die in the United States? Of course, Liberians die in other countries including the United States. I just lost my mother in the United States, duh! In the United States, at least, you have a better chance of having access to a hospital and the emergency room with or without money, and you have a better chance of getting treated by a physician, a nurse or a healthcare professional, and you also have a change to having a prolonged life. I did not lose my mother because she had no access to doctors and hospitals. For the sake of argument, we can factor in many reasons; age, chronic illness, natural and unnatural deaths, etc. However, Nanu Dee (Anna Worwlee Tenbloh) was a loving and caring mother, a hardworking, intelligent purposeful mother, and a trooper who didnt take no for an answer. Mama never put a foot in a school to learn a b c, but she was street smart, compassionate, and bold as she can be. After I completed high school and wanted to be a pilot, Mama quietly looked for the money, saved it, and got me a plane ticket to America. And after I got on my feet in America and could afford to send for mama to join me in the United States, I sent for my mother in 1989. Mama supported my goals and aspirations from flight school to graduate school, and she also supported me and was by my side beaming proudly when I received my doctorate in 2017, which was a proud moment for mother and son. My mother worked in the United States at a major hospital in metro Atlanta from 1989 until 2005 as a housekeeper and retired after knee surgeries on both of her legs forced her to do so. Nanu Dee, my mother lived in metro Atlanta since 1989 until she was called home to be with her Lord. And yes, mama was a very religious woman who was always singing Kru gospel music, the ones she sang when she was a choir member at Peter Wleh Church in New Kru Town. For her motherly love and kindness, I say thank you, mama! You played your part, and you lived your life to the fullest. I am very sure you are proud of me the man you molded me to be, and I am equally proud of you for standing your ground and standing tall in this very difficult country. I love you. Rest in Peace, Mama! Rest in Peace. New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi will deliver the keynote address at the India Ideas Summit on Wednesday (22 July). The theme for this years India Ideas Summit is Building a Better Future. The virtual summit is being hosted by the US-India Business Council. This year marks the 45th anniversary of the formation of the Council. The Summit will witness discussions on areas including India-US cooperation and future of the relation between the two counties in a post pandemic world. The India Ideas Summit will feature high-level presence from Indian and US government policymakers, state-level officials, and thought leaders from business and society. Other key speakers at the Summit include Minister of External Affairs S Jaishankar, US Secretary of State Mr Mike Pompeo, Senator of Virginia and co-chair of Senate India Caucus Mark Warner, Former US Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley, among others. USIBC hosted over 400 attendees over two days for its first India Ideas Summit in Washington last year. Over 50 dynamic speakers, 10 panels focused on trade and connectivity between the United States and India, and across the Indo-Pacific. The Summit also featured the 2nd annual USIBC startup pitch competition, designed to connect under-represented entrepreneurs with investment and mentorship. Hamnet By Maggie O'Farrell Knopf. 305 pp. $26.95 --- On Aug. 11, 1596, William Shakespeare's only son, Hamnet, was buried. He was 11 years old. Almost nothing more is known about the boy's brief life. Four centuries later, his death is a crater on the dark side of the moon. How it impacted his twin sister and his parents is impossible to gauge. No letters or diaries - if there were any - survive. The world's greatest poet did not immortalize his lost child in verse. Instead, we have only a few tantalizing references in Shakespeare's plays: the laments of grieving fathers, the recurrence of twins and, of course, a tragedy called "Hamlet." But aside from the name - a variant of Hamnet - attempts to draw comparisons between that masterpiece and the author's son are odorous. We're stuck, as we usually are, projecting our own sympathetic sorrow on the calamities of others. To this unfathomable well of grief now comes the brilliant Irish writer Maggie O'Farrell with a novel titled "Hamnet"told with the urgency of a whispered prayer - or curse. Unintimidated by the presence of the Bard's canon or the paucity of the historical record, O'Farrell creates Shakespeare before the radiance of veneration obscured everyone around him. In this book, William is simply a clever young man - not even the central character - and O'Farrell makes no effort to lard her pages with intimations of his genius or cute allusions to his plays. Instead, through the alchemy of her own vision, she has created a moving story about the way loss viciously recalibrates a marriage. The novel opens in silence that foretells doom. "Where is everyone?" little Hamnet wonders. He wanders like a ghost through the empty house and the deserted yard, calling for his grandparents, his uncles, his aunt. "He has a tendency," O'Farrell writes, "to slip the bounds of the real, tangible world around him and enter another place." But he's no spectral presence yet. His twin sister, Judith, has suddenly fallen ill, and Hamnet needs to find their mother. She'll know what to do. She's an herbal healer, equally revered and feared in the village. "Every life has its kernel, its hub, its epicenter, from which everything flows out, to which everything returns. This moment is the absent mother's," O'Farrell writes. "It will lie at her very core, for the rest of her life." Between the hours of this fateful day, the story jumps back years. We see William's unhappy adolescence as the son of a cruel and disreputable glover. One day, while teaching Latin to bored children in a country schoolhouse, he spots a young woman gathering plants along the edge of the woods. History knows her as Anne Hathaway, but O'Farrell uses the name her father gave her in his will: Agnes. Neighbors whisper that she's "the daughter of a dead forest witch . . . too wild for any man." That's your cue, William! Soon, he and Agnes are acting out "hot blood, hot thoughts, and hot deeds" - including the hottest sex scene ever set in an apple storeroom. This is a richly drawn and intimate portrait of 16th-century English life set against the arrival of one devastating death. O'Farrell, always a master of timing and rhythm, uses these flashbacks of young love and early marriage to heighten the sense of dread that accumulates as Hamnet waits for his mother. None of the villagers know it yet, but bubonic plague has arrived in Warwickshire and is ravaging the Shakespeare twins, overwhelming their little bodies with bacteria. That lit fuse races through the novel toward a disaster that history has already recorded but O'Farrell renders unbearably suspenseful. Dead center in the novel, the author momentarily arrests the story of the Shakespeare family and transports us to the Mediterranean Sea. Here, in a chapter just a dozen pages long, we get a gripping lesson in 16th-century epidemiology. Then as now, commerce and travel are the engines of disease. A glassmaker in Venice, a monkey in Alexandria, a cabin boy from the Isle of Man - they all play small but consequential roles in the intricate chain of transmission as infected fleas jump from body to body, sowing illness across Europe. It's a fascinating and horrific demonstration of the same forces now driving a different pandemic more than 400 years later. We may have better medical technology, but our frantic missteps sound like echoes of the Renaissance. They had their physicians prescribing onion and dried toad; we have our president nattering on about light and bleach. But O'Farrell isn't merely delaying the inevitable tragedy at the heart of her story; she's creating the context to help us feel its full impact on Hamnet's parents. Agnes is a skillful woman married to a restless man whose talents are more imaginative than practical. Constrained by the demands of motherhood and the limited opportunities of the time, she must exercise her influence indirectly and stealthily. The moves she makes to keep her children healthy and her spouse happy represent the hidden sacrifices that countless women have made, without thanks or credit, to support their husbands' ambitions. That delicate negotiation grows far more perilous when the couple endures the death of a child. No two spouses respond to such a loss in harmony, and O'Farrell is at her most sensitive here, detailing the unspeakable anguish that strips Agnes of her confidence and propels William into the imaginary world of his comedies and tragedies. The dark months and years of mourning that fall over the Shakespeare family would seem a slough of despair after the frantic efforts to save Hamnet's life, but in O'Farrell's telling, grieving is a harrowing journey all its own. The novel's final scene offers a miraculous transformation - no, not a "Winter's Tale" resurrection - but the revelation that love can sometimes spark. --- Charles writes about books for The Washington Post and hosts TotallyHipVideoBookReview.com. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Azerbaijans army attacked positions of the Armenian army in the north- eastern region of Tavush, on July 21, at 10:30 pm. Adversarys special unit launched another attack in the direction of the "Fearless" position (Tavush region- Armenia), the spokesperson of the Armenian Ministry of Defense Shushan Stepanyan wrote on her "Facebook" account. As "Armenpress" was informed from the Defense Ministry, the Armenian side did not suffer any casualties. Stepanyan told that the unit of the Armenian Armed Forces repulsed the enemy's attack, causing significant losses: According to preliminary data, the enemy's special forces, in addition to losses, have trapped servicemen. The recent escalation on the border- line of Armenia and Azerbaijan broke out on July 12, when Azerbaijani armed forces launched an attack on an Armenian military base located in Tavush, using artillery, mortars and UAVs. In addition, the Azerbaijani side also shelled the town of Chinari and Aygepar in the province with mortars, damaging civilian homes. On July 14 the Azerbaijani armed forces continued targeting the civilian infrastructures of the Armenian town of Berd, using an attacking drone. 4 servicemen have died from the Armenian side. Azerbaijan has reported over a dozen deaths, including a Major-General and a Colonel, as well as 13 UAVs. The last UAV downed by Armenia is Israeli-made Elbit Hermes 900. Before the pandemic, in 2018, the city welcomed a record 65 million tourists from around the world. Those visitors spent $44 billion money that was crucial to keeping hotels, restaurants, bars, stores, theaters and museums afloat. Now, New York is mired in its worst economic crisis since the 1970s, and the return of swarms of visitors looks distant as the coronavirus surges in the United States. Heres how three tourist destinations are suffering. St. Patricks Cathedral is struggling to pay its bills. St. Patricks Cathedral is pleading for help. Tourists and nearby office workers typically fill the neo-Gothic structure in Midtown: Up to 15,000 people used to celebrate Mass at the Roman Catholic church on a typical Sunday, and each year it drew more than five million visitors from outside the city. Now, with travel discouraged and social-distancing rules in place, the pews are largely empty. The cathedral is facing a budget shortfall of $4 million, which is about a quarter of its annual income. Like many parishes, St. Patricks relies on donations collected at Mass to keep the lights on and staff members paid. Fund-raising events, which are often gatherings like dinners, arent a safe alternative. RTHK: Esper plans China visit before the year-end US Defense Secretary Mark Esper plans to visit China for talks on how to improve two-way communications in a crisis as geopolitical tensions between the superpowers rise and concerns mount over a potential South China Sea flashpoint. Esper said on Monday that he hopes to make the trip before year-end to "establish the systems necessary for crisis communications and reinforce our intentions to openly compete in the international system in which we all belong." Last week, the United States formally declared Beijing's pursuit of territory and resources in South China Sea as illegal, explicitly backing the territorial claims of Southeast Asian countries against China's. It has also downgraded relations with Hong Kong after China implemented a new security law in violation of its promises of autonomy to the territory. "We are not in search of conflict," Esper said in an address to the International Institute of Strategic Studies. However, he said, China "has no right to turn international waters into a zone of exclusion for its own maritime empire." Beijing has sought to make its claims to much of the South China Sea a de facto reality by building up small shoals and reefs into sizable military bases with long airstrips and deep port facilities. On July 2, the US Defense Department criticized Chinese military exercises around the Paracel Islands, saying they "further destabilize the situation" in an area also claimed by Taiwan and Vietnam. But two days later, the Pentagon said two of its own aircraft carriers had carried out drills in the South China Sea to "support a free and open Indo-Pacific," a spokesman said. On July 13, Secretary of State Mike Pompeo voiced a challenge to China's claims stronger than had previously come out of Washington. "The world will not allow Beijing to treat the South China Sea as its maritime empire," Pompeo declared in a statement. "We are making clear: Beijing's claims to offshore resources across most of the South China Sea are completely unlawful, as is its campaign of bullying to control them," Pompeo said. Esper outlined a number of examples of Chinese military behavior in East and Southeast Asia that the US objects to. He cited the militarization of contested South China Sea islands, the Chinese navy's sinking of a Vietnamese fishing boat and harassment of Malaysian oil and gas activities, and its protecting fishing fleets that Indonesia says are illegally fishing in its waters. He also pointed to the People's Liberation Army's recent exercises simulating an attack on Taiwan, increasing incursions into the waters around the Japanese administered Senkaku Islands, the new security law in Hong Kong, and its tolerance of North Korean trade in violation of a UN embargo. "Make no mistake, the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) has been engaged in this sort of behaviour for many years. But today it's true intentions are on full display for all to see," said Esper. "While we hope the CCP will change its ways, we must be prepared for the alternative." "We are committed to a constructive and results-oriented relationship with China and, within our defense relationship, to open lines of communication and risk reduction," he said. China accuses the United States of being the destabilizing influence in the region. "The US military deployment in the Asia-Pacific region is unprecedented," Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute of South China Sea Studies, a government think tank, said in late June. "The possibility of a military incident or an accidental shot fired is rising," Wu said. "If a crisis were to erupt, the repercussions on bilateral relations would be catastrophic." (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Donald Trump was reportedly planning on sending 150 federal law enforcement officers to Chicago, despite criticism over his threats to send agents nationwide to quell demonstrations after unidentified officials were seen detaining activists in Portland. The president celebrated how federal agents did a fantastic job responding to protests in Oregon when speaking to reporters at the White House on Monday, insisting he would order more agents to cities like Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, New York City, Baltimore and Oakland. The agents were comprised by US Marshals Services, Customs and Border Protection and Homeland Security Investigations (HSI). Mr Trump signed an executive order allowing his administration to send the federal agents to cities nationwide, as part of an effort to crackdown on the toppling of monuments and statues on federal grounds. Were sending law enforcement, he said. We cant let this happen to the cities. The Chicago Tribune later reported that 150 agents associated with HSI and other federal units would be sent to assist the Chicago police department amid a spike in citywide violence. Local officials have decried the orders, including Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who said in a statement: We don't need federal agents without any insignia taking people off the streets and holding them, I think, unlawfully. She instead called on the federal government to increase funding for prosecutors and provide more resources to the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives. The mayor later joined MSNBC's The ReidOut with host Joy Reid and pledged to prevent Mr Trumps tyranny from taking over her city. The Chicago Police Department also released a statement on Monday saying it does not maintain any authority over the federal governments deployment of federal law enforcement agents throughout the city. We regularly work alongside our local and federal law enforcement agency partners toward the common goal of keeping Chicago residents safe, the statement continued. If federal agents are deployed, it is critical that they coordinate with the Chicago Police Department and work alongside us to fight violent crime in Chicago. The Department of Homeland Security did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Mr Trump, attempting to establish himself as the law and order candidate against former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, slammed cities run by liberal Democrats this week. Im going to do something that I can tell you, because were not going to leave New York and Chicago and Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore, and all of these, he said. In Portland, theyve done a fantastic job. Theyve been there three days and they really have done a fantastic job in a very short period of time, no problem. TWO men who kicked and punched a bus driver during a violent incident at a fast food restaurant in the city centre have each been jailed for two and-a-half years. Customers and staff at McDonalds, Cruises Street were forced to retreat behind the counter after a brawl broke out at around 7pm on June 20, 2016. Tom Moloney, 66, had a metal plate inserted after he 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 after he was attacked. During a sentencing hearing, Garda Aled Harkin told Limerick Circuit Court a dispute over 20, involving Mr Moloneys daughter, sparked the brawl and ensuing violence. Three people 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 previously pleaded guilty to charges relating to the incident. During the altercation, which was captured on CCTV, Sabrina Moloney was knocked to the ground and chased up the stairs to an overflow seating area by Ms ODonnell who was weilding a mop handle. After Mr Moloney arrived to assist his daughter, he was 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. Mr Hughes also struck the bus driver on a number of occasions. In a victim impact statement, Mr Moloney 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. Imposing sentence, Judge Tom ODonnell said CCTV footage of the incident was graphic and frightening and he said the infliction of permanent injuries was an aggravating factor. He accepted the defendants were remorseful and that their guilty pleas had saved a lot of garda and court time. Mr Kelly and Mr Hughes were each sentenced to four years imprisonment with the final 18 months suspended. Ms ODonnell, who was not charged with assaulting Mr Moloney, received a three-year prison sentence which was suspended in full. Speaking afterwards, Mr Moloney said he was satisfied with the sentence imposed by he court. Security installed at request of Muslims against terrorism: Xinjiang official Global Times Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/17 23:03:40 As requested by local Muslims, Northwest China's Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region installed security facilities to protect believers, as a big number of violent terrorist attacks had been launched at religious sites around the world in recent years, a Xinjiang official said at a press conference on Friday. According to the 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom of the US State Department, religious venues in Xinjiang like Id Kah Mosque of Kashi were installed with walk-through metal detectors and surveillance cameras to "monitor" the Muslims' religious activities. Mehmut Wusman, director of the Xinjiang Regional Ethnic Affairs Commission, refuted the accusation and said that when the three evil forces - separatism, terrorism and extremism - hit Xinjiang, many religious figures were brutally killed. For instance, on July 30, 2014, 74-year-old Juma Tayir, vice president of the Xinjiang Islamic Association and senior mullah of the Id Kah Mosque in Kashi, was killed by three terrorists after presiding over morning prayers. To protect the lives of religion personnel and believers, we have installed necessary security facilities in religious places in accordance with a request from local clerics and believers, the official said. The move is widely welcomed, and is not for "monitoring the Muslims' religious activities" as the 2019 Report on International Religious Freedom called it, Mehmut said. The official also noted that in recent years, a number of violent terrorist attacks had been launched at religious sites around the world. As a result, many countries have installed security facilities in their religious sites, including surveillance cameras. "I believe that these measures are aimed at protecting Muslims, and will not affect normal religious activities. As far as I know, some religious venues in the US have also installed surveillance cameras. So are you doing this to monitor the people's religious activities?" the official asked. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Delhi: An emergency session of the Delhi Assembly has been convened on Tuesday to discuss the explosive situation arising out of demonetisation, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal said today even as he attacked Prime Minister Narendra Modi for his kadak chai remark saying the poor was being fed poison instead. Kejriwal said, considering the hardship being faced by people, the Delhi government has decided to deploy civil defence volunteers who will provide citizens queueing up outside banks and ATMs with water and refreshments, while also assisting them with paper work. ALSO READ: (Opposition unites to take on PM Narendra Modi in Parliament over demonetisation) Sticking to his demand that demonetisation be rolled back, the AAP chief lashed out at Modi, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley, saying the Centre has lost all sense of proportion due to lack of any concrete plan in executing the scheme. The situation is just the opposite of what the Prime Minister said. The poor are not sleeping. They are spending nights outside banks. Only Modijis friends are having good sleep. He has made the poor drink poison in the name of strong tea kadak chai, Kejriwal said. Earlier in the day, while addressing a rally in Ghazipur in Uttar Pradesh, Modi said My decision is a little harsh. When I was young, poor people used to ask for kadak (strong) tea but it spoils the mood of rich. ALSO READ: (Cash Crunch: Govt now banking on Micro-ATMs, know all about the device) The Delhi Chief Minister said he was pained to see people struggle for cash to buy basic necessities like food items and medicines, adding government was exploring options to arrange cooked food for those in need. We have also asked the Divisional Commissioner to explore in the next two to three days the possibility of arranging food through langars for those who are having to starve due to lack of hard cash, Kejriwal said. The Delhi Health secretary has also been directed to ensure that there is no shortage in city government-run hospitals, Kejriwal said. The Cabinet meet was attended by Ministers and top officials including the Chief Secretary. He is likely to meet his Bengal counterpart Mamata Banerjee, who has also been vociferously opposing the measure, when she arrives in New Delhi tomorrow, Kejriwal said. It is simply a mechanism to transfer 50 per cent of the countrys total black money to BJPs accounts. The intention is UP polls. They would have arrested swiss bank account holders and manufacturers of counterfeit currency had they wanted to act against black economy, he said. John Lewis, right, with fellow protesters at the Edmund Pettus Bridge during the 1965 march from Selma to Montgomery, Ala., in "John Lewis: Good Trouble." Read more How remarkable was the 80-year life of civil-rights-fighter-turned-congressman John Lewis, who lost his battle against cancer late Friday night? So great that virtually everything in this edition of The Will Bunch Newsletter will have some Lewis connection. Did the John Lewis fan in your life forward you this email? Sign up to receive this newsletter weekly at inquirer.com/bunch, and join the crusade. A civil rights icon left it to us to finish his lifes work. Heres how we make it happen. If you had asked me who I believed was the greatest living American, I would have blurted out my answer in less than a second ... right up until just before midnight on Friday. Thats when the world learned the inevitable yet still heartbreaking news that Rep. John Lewis had lost his brief battle against Stage 4 pancreatic cancer. I have been in some kind of fight for freedom, equality, basic human rights for nearly my entire life, Lewis said just six short months ago when he announced that hed wage war against his cancer with the same ferocity. The quote was pure Lewis, and it laid bare the two qualities courage and persistence that caused even a cynic like me to admire him without a nanosecond of hesitation. Lewis was a boxer who won because he could take a punch. He was dumped on in Nashville lunch counters, beaten bloody in a Montgomery bus terminal, arrested some 40 times and famously clubbed on the far side of Selmas Edmund Pettus Bridge, but he never gave up and never gave in to the pain or declared victory to walk away. By that I mean it would have been easy for Lewis to either cash in or slow down at age 25 when his bravery at Selma sparked the 1965 Voting Rights Act, but instead he clawed his way to Congress and spent the last 34 years of his life there pushing not just for enhanced civil rights but against war and poverty, and doing so with good humor and grace. No wonder, then, the flood of tributes and condolences not just from his Democratic allies and civil rights survivors but from Republicans who probably wouldnt even have voted with Lewis on renaming a post office. Even Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell who presumably heard Lewis famous speech when he attended the 1963 March on Washington said our great nations history has only bent towards justice because great men like John Lewis took it upon themselves to help bend it. Never mind that McConnell has made his lifes work trying to unbend everything that Lewis ever accomplished. Like you, Im sick of the hypocrisy. You cant do justice to man like Lewis with mere words, only deeds. Here are five ways to honor his legacy (in reverse order). 5. Rename the Edmund Pettus Bridge OK, this is the lowest hanging fruit, but please strip the name of Pettus who was a Grand Wizard in the Alabama KKK because of course he was off the damn bridge in Selma and rename it for the man who crossed the river to make America better. Some say naming a monument for Lewis gives the powers-that-be an excuse not to carry out his bigger visions but why not do all of the things? 4. End the Forever War With so much focus on Lewis signature issue of voting rights, people forget that he fought for a broader humanity. In Congress, he opposed the first and second Iraq Wars and came to regret his post 9/11 vote for the endless terror war (and in 2002 he sponsored a bill to allow conscientious objectors to avoid paying taxes for the military). As his mentor Martin Luther King Jr. said, Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere, and anywhere includes places like Afghanistan. 3. Enact gun control Everyone remembers the first sit-in of Lewis career in Nashville in 1960, but fewer recall the last one which came in 2016 and took place on the floor of the House, where he and several colleagues were so fed up at the GOPs refusal to advance a background-check bill even after the slaughter of 49 people at a gay nightclub in Orlando that they staged a 26-hour protest. Lets finish that work. 2. Keep marching Resist the natural low ebb of enthusiasm after weeks of 2020s electrifying coast-to-coast protests. Stay strong by remembering what Lewis said before voting last year for President Trumps impeachment: When you see something that is not right, not just, not fair, you have a moral obligation to say something. To do something. Our children and their children will ask us, What did you do? What did you say? 1. Pass a stronger Voting Rights Act (and name it for Lewis) The post-Selma law was his crowning achievement as a young reporter in the 1980s covering Birminghams first black mayor, I saw the changes first-hand and so its 21st Century unraveling by a right-wing Supreme Court and an obstructionist GOP Congress has been appalling. McConnell is bottling up the bill that would restore the gutted law ahead of the 2020 election. Its time for Republicans to help bend that arc of the moral universe, or get out of the way. Backstory The passing of the last living speaker from the 1963 March on Washington was described as the end of an era by many commentators, but in fact some legends from the peak years of the civil rights movement (1960-65) still walk among us. We should cherish this list that includes, remarkably, Lewis teacher, the brilliant non-violence strategist Rev. James Lawson (hes 91), his sit-in and Selma comrade Diane Nash (82), Mississippi Summers fearless Bob Moses (85), and MLKs close lieutenant Andrew Young (88). That list got me thinking and Id like your help. Who, now, is the greatest living American? Surely it cant be a politician (Barack Obama?) but then is it a modern-day explorer such as astronaut Buzz Aldrin or test pilot Chuck Yeager? An artist such as Bob Dylan or Joan Didion? An athlete like Hank Aaron, or an entrepreneur (God, no) such as Bill Gates? Is it another trailblazer like Ruth Bader Ginsburg, or someone completely outside the box? Send your answers to wbunch@inquirer.com, and Ill share some of the best responses next week. Malaysia stands firm on its position that the East Sea issue must be managed in a peaceful and rational manner through dialogue and consultation. Illustrative photo. (Source: VNA) The Ministry of Defence said in a statement that the matter had been emphasised by its Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob during a conversation with Japans Defence Minister Kono Taro through a telephone call on July 20. According to the statement, Minister Ismail Sabri underscored the importance for all parties to work together to ensure peace, security and stability in the East Sea. The two ministers also touched on the dynamic global security landscape of mutual interests and common concerns, including the East Sea, the statement said. It said both ministers also discussed and updated each other on the prevention and control measures undertaken by both countries, particularly the roles of the Malaysian Armed Forces and Japan Self-Defence Forces in containing the spread of COVID-19./. VNA Four persons who unlawfully discharged fire arms and caused damages at a Kasoa Registration Center have been granted a GH30,000.00 bail each with two sureties by a Cape Coast Circuit Court. One of the sureties must be a government worker earning not less than GH2,000.00, the Court presided over by Mrs. Dorinda Smith Arthur, ordered. The accused persons are 27 year old Sulley Razak, a Mechanic, Suleman Yusif, 25, a trader, 23 year-old Majeed Amadu and Razak Musah, 31, both Businessmen. They pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit crime, causing unlawful damage, and discharging fire arms at a public place. Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Daniel Gadzo, told the court that the complainant is Mr. Edmond Kojo Motty, a businessman who resides at Kasoa in the Central Region, while all the accused persons were from Accra Newton in the Greater Accra Region. ASP Daniel Gadzo said on Monday July 20, at about 0930 hours, while the voters registration was on-going at Peace Town, a suburb of Kasoa, the four accused persons who were armed, fired indiscriminately. The act, he said, resulted in a brawl between the accused persons and the youth at the center and in the process, the accused set on fire three motorbikes packed at the registration center. He indicated that a police patrol team proceeded to the scene and the accused persons on seeing them attempted to escape, but were arrested. ASP Gadzo said a search conducted on them revealed a Pietro Beratta P39031Z pistol plus 15 rounds of 9mm live ammunition and a Voters Identity card belonging to one Abdul Rashid Mohammed. 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 federal health department has moved in to help run a Melbourne aged care facility that experienced a quadrupling of coronavirus cases on Tuesday. There were 51 cases of COVID-19 recorded at St Basils Homes for the Aged in Fawkner, in Melbourne's north, up from 13 the previous day. St Basil's Home for the Aged in Fawkner. Credit:Google Maps A spokesperson for the Aged Care and Senior Australians minister, Senator Richard Colbeck, confirmed that the federal health department was assisting the centre's management. "The management of St Basil's Home for the Aged remains in control of the facility with the support of the Commonwealth Health Department," he said. The economic turmoil caused by COVID-19 pandemic may push India's gross debt to 87.6 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) in FY21 from 72.2 per cent in FY20, according to State Bank of India's research note 'Ecowrap' released on Monday. The report stated that the higher level of borrowings by the government and a collapsing GDP this fiscal may lead to an increase in the country's debt-to-GDP ratio to around Rs 170 lakh crore (in FY21) from Rs 146.9 lakh crore (in FY20). "India's debt-to-GDP ratio has increased gradually from Rs 58.8 lakh crore (67.4 per cent of GDP) in FY12 to Rs 146.9 lakh crore (72.2 per cent of GDP) in FY20," the SBI report said. The debt-to-GDP ratio shows how likely a country is to pay off its debt. The higher the ratio, the less likely the country will repay its debt and the higher its risk of default. Investors often look at this ratio to evaluate the government's ability to fund its debt. According to a World Bank report, if the debt-to-GDP ratio of a country exceeds 77% for a prolonged duration, it slows down economic growth. Also Read: Coronavirus impact: India's GDP growth in FY21 to contract 4.5%, says FICCI Rating downgrade fear looms large The research note further highlighted that the fear of a rating downgrade looms large in FY21. However, this will not be because of fiscal problems but because of the steps India has taken to revive growth. "We again reiterate that the current thinking of rating downgrade in policy circles is a false negative, as India's rating is likely to face a litmus test of downgrade in FY21 depending on what we have done to bring growth back on track," SBI Economic Research said. Bright side However, the research note indicated towards a silver lining of falling yields on both central and state government bonds which will help the Centre bring down its debt servicing costs. "The weighted average cut off yield for states has so far reduced significantly to 6.49% compared to 7.23% in FY20. For the Centre, the rate has come down to 4.53% in FY21 from 6.85% in FY20. This, in turn, might help in significantly reducing interest costs," the report mentioned. The research note added that the external debt, in the expected gross debt for FY21, is likely to rise to Rs 6.8 lakh crore, 3.5 per cent of GDP, while of the remaining domestic debt, "component of state's debt is expected at 27 per cent of GDP". Also Read: Coronavirus impact: India's GDP may contract 6% in FY21, says Citi Word of caution Meanwhile, the report cautioned that the higher debt amount will also result in shifting of the fiscal responsibility and Budget Management (FRBM) target of combined debt (of the Centre and states) to "60 per cent of GDP by FY23 by seven years." It added that the target "seems achievable in FY30 only". Fiscal estimates have gone askew across countries in the wake of pandemic-related outlays. Falling GDP growth coupled with a higher debt-to-GDP ratio has proved detrimental to economies around the world. Elaborating on the present situation in India, the report emphasised the bigger question which is the sustainability of debt. It underscored that given the present situation "our nominal GDP growth is likely to contract significantly" due to which "our interest-growth differential will turn positive in FY21, thus raising serious questions on debt sustainability." The note, however, cast no doubt on the government's ability to service its debt obligations as its current level of foreign exchange reserves are sufficient to meet any external debt commitments. That said, the report noted that the country's GDP collapse may push up "the debt-to-GDP ratio by at least 4 per cent" implying that "growth rather than continued fiscal conservatism is the only mantra" to get India back on track. Adopt a Cow, a year-long, interactive, education program of the dairy industry, will open August 1 for enrollment by Pennsylvania classrooms for the 2020-21 school year. Offering students with inside looks at dairy farms in their communities, the program pairs each enrolled classroom with a calf on a dairy farm. Teachers and students receive photos, video updates, and activity sheets throughout the school year that allow them to watch their calves grow. Through immersive, hands-on learning activities and free curriculum provided by Discover Dairy, students gain an understanding of the dairy industry and where their food comes from. Several of the lessons in the curriculum follow Common Core standards in math, reading, and science. Discover Dairy is an educational series managed by the Center for Dairy Excellence Foundation of Pennsylvania in partnership with American Dairy Association North East, Dairy Farmers of Wisconsin, Midwest Dairy and The Dairy Alliance. As we approach the upcoming school year, we realize the learning environment looks very different for teachers and students across the nation. Whether your classroom will be in-person or virtual, or a mix of both, the Adopt a Cow program includes activities and curriculum that can be incorporated into every mode of instruction, said Brittany Snyder, dairy education program manager at the Dairy Excellence Foundation. Through virtual chats, videos, photo updates, and more, the program is an exciting way for students to watch a calf grow throughout the year and learn how dairy farmers are impacting our communities. The Adopt a Cow program also offers live virtual chats and farm tours that allow students to talk directly with a dairy farmer, meet their calves, tour the farm, and ask questions about milk production. More than 25,000 elementary and middle school students from across North American participated in the program last year. Schools from both rural and urban areas can enroll, bringing dairy farming to life for students of all ages and demographics. Becky Kleinfelter, an elementary teacher in Eastern Lebanon County School District, and her students participated in the Adopt a Cow program during the 2019-20 school year. (Contributed photo) It has been really nice having the lesson plans laid out and focused on vocabulary, so I can be sure Im teaching students the correct terms to use when theyre speaking about farms and different animals, said Becky Kleinfelter, an elementary teacher in Eastern Lebanon County School District. During the live video chats, the kids actually came up with some really good questions that I couldnt always answer. It was nice to give them the chance to ask the farmer themselves. After registering for the Adopt a Cow program, teachers will receive an introductory kit in the fall with details about their calf. Classrooms will receive bi-monthly updates, including suggestions on components of the Discover Dairy curriculum that teachers can incorporate into their virtual or in-person lesson plans. 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. UC Berkeley officials, citing concern over the increase in coronavirus cases in the region, scrapped plans to allow some in-person classes and announced Tuesday that all instruction will be remote at the start of the semester next month. The decision marks a step back from an earlier plan released June 17 that allowed about 1,000 in-person classes. Officials admitted even then, however, that uncertainty lingered and the plans were subject to change. Although we have repeatedly noted that all fall plans are subject to public health conditions, we understand that this news will be disappointing, officials said in a statement to students and faculty. Many faculty and students continue to look forward to resumption of some element of in-person instruction. We will continue to work hard on our plans, and to learn from the setbacks as well as the advances. The university may still transition to a hybrid learning model with select in-person instruction as soon as public health conditions allow, the statement said. No students will be required to return to in-person classes even if the option opens up. If conditions permit a return to the classroom, the university will prioritize classes involving labs, studios, capstones or cohort-building seminars. COVID-19 is showing us that we have to be not only agile, moving quickly between degrees of openness and sometimes pulling back, but also prepared to move forward as soon as conditions allow, officials wrote in a letter to students. Even if some in-person classes are allowed later in the semester, officials said that the campus will stick with previous plans to go fully remote after Thanksgiving. Students who can live and learn at home can stay put where they are, but those with a reason or desire to live on campus or in Berkeley can choose to do so, officials said. On-campus housing will be single-occupancy. Officials will reserve isolation areas in on-campus housing for students who need to quarantine after testing positive, being exposed to a positive case or waiting for test results. Student gatherings will not be permitted on campus when the semester begins. Charlie Snell, a 20-year-old junior from Kansas City, was already expecting his large computer science classes to be online. He plans to move back to campus in the fall, but the new restrictions made him wonder whether he should reconsider and stay home with his parents. While he misses the freedom of college, Snell said he knows campus will likely be dead. There will be no throngs of students moving between classes or playing games on the green lawns. If I do go on campus, Im going to be stuck in my apartment, Snell said. I dont know how thats going to go. That doesnt sound ideal. Still, he understands the public health crisis at hand. I think it probably is worth it, Snell said. The number of cases has been going up, so it makes sense to put in this precaution. On Tuesday evening, people ran and biked on tree-covered paths on campus. Some sprawled in open grassy spaces with a book or a friend. First-year public health graduate student Anne Marie Tran, 22, came to campus to pose for a photo in front of the building where she would have taken classes in ordinary circumstances. Tran had hoped to meet her adviser and professors and learn alongside her cohort of fewer than 20 students. I was like, I really hope people stay home and wear masks because if numbers go up, Im definitely not going to campus and thats exactly what happened, she said. Im disappointed, but Im not surprised. 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. Instead of moving to Berkeley, she will take remote classes from her East Bay residence. It didnt make sense for me to pay rent here if I was just going to be taking classes online, Tran said. Another student, Aidan Nguyen, a rising sophomore, said hes considering taking a gap semester and some of his friends have already decided to skip enrollment in the fall semester. I talked to a lot of my friends, and it feels like the consensus is we paid for the connections, the experience of UC Berkeley and were really not getting that through remote learning, the political science major said. You dont get the same experience that you would otherwise. Cases of the coronavirus have soared in Alameda County, which has more cases than any Bay Area county, with 9,383 as of Tuesday. More than 160 people have died. Hospitalizations stand at an all-time high of 171 patients. In early July, UC Berkeley health officials linked an outbreak of 47 new cases to summer fraternity parties a worrisome indicator of potential outbreaks that could hit college campuses this fall. Meanwhile, other UC and Bay Area schools plan to go ahead with some in-person classes. UCLA officials announced June 15 a hybrid learning model that includes on-campus classes. UC Davis will begin its semester Sept. 30 with a mix of remote and in-person instruction if county and state health guidelines permit, the university said in mid-June. UCSF has not released its plan for the fall semester. At Stanford University, half of the undergraduate student population will return to campus each quarter in rotations and a mix of online and in-person classes will be offered, according to the latest plan. Anna Bauman is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: anna.bauman@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @abauman2 MANILA, Philippines The National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) on Tuesday recommended to the Department of Justice (DOJ) the filing of complaints against police officers involved in the killing of four soldiers in Jolo, Sulu in late June. In its report to the DOJ, the NBI recommended the filing of four counts of murder and planting of evidence against the following cops: PSMS Abdelzhimar Padjiri Police Master Sergeant Hanie Baddiri P/Staff Sergeant Iskandar Susulan PSSg Erniskar Sappal PCorporal Sulki Andaki Patrolman Mohammad Nur Pasani PSSg Almudzrin Hadjaruddin Patrolman Alkajal Mandangan Patrolman Rajiv Putalan The NBI also recommended the filing of neglect of duty charges against three police officials: Sulu Provincial Police director P/Colonel Michael Bayawan Jr. Jolo Municipal Police Station chief P/Major Water Annayo Sulu Provincial Drug Enforcement Unit chief P/Captain Ariel Corcino The shooting incident happened on June 29. Four soldiers were said to be tailing alleged suicide bombers when they were supposedly accosted by nine cops. Despite identifying themselves as members of the military, they were instructed by the policemen to proceed to the police station for the verification of their identities. Police spot report stated that the shooting incident transpired when the soldiers allegedly tried to escape and pointed their weapons at the police officers, which allegedly prompted the cops to open fire. The NBI was tasked to investigate the incident as both agreed by the Philippine National Police and the Armed Forces of the Philippines. The DOJ said the complaints will be elevated to the court once it has found a probable cause. RRD (with details from Correspondent Dante Amento) The post NBI recommends filing of raps vs Jolo cops involved in killing of soldiers appeared first on UNTV News. Electoral commission says campaigns to kick off on August 26 and end October 27. Tanzanias election commission has set October 28 as the date for the countrys highly anticipated presidential election. In a statement released on Tuesday, the body said the election campaign would run from August 26 to October 27. President John Magufuli will be seeking re-election after being chosen earlier this month as the candidate of the governing Chama Cha Mapinduzi (CCM) party. Chadema, the main opposition party, has several candidates vying for the nomination, including Deputy Chairman Tundu Lissu who lives in exile in Belgium after being shot outside his home in 2017. Party leader Freeman Mbowe, who was hospitalised last month with a broken leg after his party said he was beaten in a politically-motivated attack, has also announced his intention to run. Meanwhile, former Foreign Affairs Minister Bernard Membe last week switched allegiance from CCM to the opposition Alliance for Change and Transparency (ACT Wazalendo), and is seeking their nomination to run against Magufuli. Tanzanians will also vote on the same day to elect members of parliament and local councillors. The opposition has called for the formation of an independent electoral commission, expressing fears the elections will take place in a climate of violence and intimidation. Magufuli has pledged free and fair polls. The president, who took office in 2015 promising to crack down on corruption and expand the countrys road and railway network, has been accused of narrowing freedoms and increasing authoritarianism. During his first term, newspapers have been shut down, and the work of non-governmental organisations has been severely restricted, with rights groups and opposition parties accusing Magufulis government of curbing human rights. The government has denied seeking to stifle dissent. Meanwhile, opposition politicians and critics in recent month have accused authorities of covering up the true extent of the coronavirus pandemic. Tanzania has not updated its number of virus cases since late April, and Magufuli has declared COVID-19 defeated. The president has recommended prayer, exercise and herbal medicines as the best ways to combat the pandemic, but also reminds Tanzanians to wash their hands regularly. On Monday, Magufuli reiterated his claim that Tanzania has no COVID-19 patients, and urged international tourists to visit the East African country. Thats why we are all not wearing face masks here. You think we dont fear dying? Its because there is no COVID-19, he said. Mr. Daniel Agbesi Latsu, Kadjebi District Director of the National Commission for Civic Education (NCCE), has called on the citizenry to adjust to wearing face masks as the COVID-19 virus would be with the population for a long time. He said the masks serve as shield against person-to-person infection of a virus believed to be airborne and contaminates through coughs, sneeze or speaking. Mr. Latsu who made this known when he sensitised members of the Cocoa Market Assembly of God Church of Pentecost at Kadjebi in the Oti Region, called on members to always wear nose masks, practice social distancing and avoid stigmatisation to help curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. He traced the chain of infection saying droplets were relatively heavy to suspend in the air and would eventually fall to the ground and surfaces, which exposed people to the disease. This is why it is important to practice social distancing and avoid touching ones eyes, nose or mouth, which puts you at risk of getting infected with the virus, he added. Mr. Latsu advised the citizenry to regularly and thoroughly wash their hands with soap under running water, as a preventive measure in the containment of the pandemic. Regular hand washing with soap under running water and use of alcohol-based sanitizer is key in the prevention of COVID-19. Mr. Richard Kwashie Segbawu, a Principal Field Officer of NCCE, called on the citizenry to join in the fight against the pandemic, since the battle could only be won through concerted efforts. He admonished the populace to adhere to the World Health Organisation and the Ghana Health Service preventive and safety protocols in order not to contract the disease. Mr Daniel Akuamoah-Boateng, Presiding Elder of the Church, thanked the Commission for the programme and pledged the Congregations commitment to adhering to the safety protocols. The Commission also sensitised members of the Mempeasem community, Kadjebi Central Mosque, Deeper Life Church, Church of Christ, Ghana Baptist Convention Church in the District. The Oti Region as at Monday, July 13, 2020 recorded 138 confirmed cases with Kadjebi District registering eight cases. 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 Many Hollywood stars claim that 'method acting' is the only way to property portray a character on screen. But Russell Crowe has proven that this isn't the case. Speaking on the Today show on Tuesday, Russell revealed what was actually going through his head while he was playing a man blinded by road rage in his new movie, Unhinged. 'It could be, 'I forgot to pick up the limes for the mayonnaise'': Russell Crowe, 56, spoke to the Today show on Tuesday about what he was thinking about while playing a man blinded by road rage in his new movie Unhinged (pictured in Unhinged) 'It depends. It could be planning my bike road that I'm going to do the next morning,' the Oscar-winning actor admitted. 'It could be, "I forgot to pick up the limes for the mayonnaise for the coleslaw dressing." It could be many things,' he added. Lifting the curtain on the filming process, Russell explained: 'Quite often what you are doing is about where the camera is. Tricks of the trade: Lifting the curtain on the filming process, Russell explained: 'Quite often what you are doing is about where the camera is' 'And, you know, it appears to be you are a man alone in a car, but you might have 100 people surrounding you and lights and all that sort of stuff.' Of his acting method, Russell didn't give much away and simply said: 'You do learn over time to refine and distill how you get to things.' It comes after Russell revealed he found it 'amusing' to play a character with extreme rage issues in Unhinged, 15 years after his notorious phone-throwing incident. Practice makes perfect: Of his acting method, Russell didn't give much away and simply said: 'You do learn over time to refine and distill how you get to things' 'I actually saw that as kind of amusing': It comes after Russell revealed he found it 'amusing' to play a character with extreme rage issues in Unhinged, 15 years after his notorious phone-throwing incident 'I actually saw that as kind of amusing,' Russell told The Sydney Morning Herald on Sunday, when asked how it felt to finally embrace the 'angry man' trope, after being accused of having a temper for years. Clarifying that he didn't actually have anger issues in real life, Russell continued: 'But in reality, if you look at my work life, I go from one set to another set. I do the work that I want to do.' 'That cliched description that is applied to me isn't any level of my truth,' he added. Infamous incident: The Cinderella Man star allegedly threw a phone at a New York hotel worker in 2005 after being unable to place a call to Australia. Pictured in 2002 with his ex-wife, Danielle Spencer The Gladiator star went on to explain that, as a result of his fame, he has lost control over what is said about him in the media. As a result, the false idea that he has a bad temper has become an important 'asset' to the media's 'broader phenomenon', he argued. Russell has famously been accused of losing his temper on several occasions. Claims: He was accused of losing his cool again while filming The True History of the Kelly Gang in Victoria in August 2018, when he discovered that 'catering had run out of rice' In one of his more memorable incidents, the Cinderella Man star allegedly threw a phone at a New York hotel worker in 2005 after being unable to place a call to Australia. In 2014, Russell defended the alleged assault during an interview with Channel Seven's Sunday Night, claiming: 'I never touched him, mate. Never touched him, never laid a finger on him.' The Kiwi-born star was accused of losing his cool again while filming The True History of the Kelly Gang in Victoria in August 2018. Claims emerged from the set that a frustrated Russell lost it and 'stormed off' when he discovered that catering had run out of rice. The figure indicates how similar different GRBs are to each other. Points which are closer together are more similar, and points which are further away are more different. What we find is that there are two distinct groups, one orange and the other blue. The orange dots appear to correspond to "short" GRB, which have been hypothesized to be produced by mergers of neutron stars, and the blue dots appear to correspond to "long" GRB, which might instead be produced by the collapse of dying, massive stars. CREDIT Johann Bock Severin, Christian Kragh Jespersen and Jonas Vinther By applying a machine-learning algorithm, scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute, University of Copenhagen, have developed a method to classify all gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), rapid highly energetic explosions in distant galaxies, without needing to find an afterglow - by which GRBs are presently categorized. This breakthrough, initiated by first-year B.Sc. students, may prove key in finally discovering the origins of these mysterious bursts. The result is now published in Astrophysical Journal Letters. Ever since gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) were accidentally picked up by Cold War satellites in the 70s, the origin of these rapid bursts have been a significant puzzle. Although many astronomers agree that GRBs can be divided into shorter (typically less than 1 second) and longer (up to a few minutes) bursts, the two groups are overlapping. It has been thought that longer bursts might be associated with the collapse of massive stars, while shorter bursts might instead be caused by the merger of neutron stars. However, without the ability to separate the two groups and pinpoint their properties, it has been impossible to test these ideas. So far, it has only been possible to determine the type of a GRB about 1% of the time, when a telescope was able to point at the burst location quickly enough to pick up residual light, called an afterglow. This has been such a crucial step that astronomers have developed worldwide networks capable of interrupting other work and repointing large telescopes within minutes of the discovery of a new burst. One GRB was even detected by the LIGO Observatory using gravitational waves, for which the team was awarded the 2017 Nobel Prize. Breakthrough achieved using machine-learning algorithm Now, scientists at the Niels Bohr Institute have developed a method to classify all GRBs without needing to find an afterglow. The group, led by first-year B.Sc. Physics students Johann Bock Severin, Christian Kragh Jespersen and Jonas Vinther, applied a machine-learning algorithm to classify GRBs. They identified a clean separation between long and short GRB's. Their work, carried out under the supervision of Charles Steinhardt, will bring astronomers a step closer to understanding GRB's. This breakthrough may prove the key to finally discovering the origins of these mysterious bursts. As Charles Steinhardt, Associate Professor at the Cosmic Dawn Center of the Niels Bohr Institute explains, "Now that we have two complete sets available, we can start exploring the differences between them. So far, there had not been a tool to do that." From algorithm to visual map Instead of using a limited set of summary statistics, as was typically done until then, the students decided to encode all available information on GRB's using the machine learning algorithm t-SNE. The t-distributed Stochastic neighborhood embedding algorithm takes complex high-dimensional data and produces a simplified and visually accessible map. It does so without interfering with the structure of the dataset. "The unique thing about this approach," explains Christian Kragh Jespersen, "is that t-SNE doesn't force there to be two groups. You let the data speak for itself and tell you how it should be classified." Shining light on the data The preparation of the feature space - the input you give the algorithm - was the most challenging part of the project, says Johann Bock Severin. Essentially, the students had to prepare the dataset in such a way that its most important features would stand out. "I like to compare it to hanging your data points from the ceiling in a dark room," explains Christian Kragh Jespersen. "Our main problem was to figure out from what direction we should shine light on the data to make the separations visible." "Step 0 in understanding GRB's" The students explored the t-SNE machine-learning algorithm as part of their 1st Year project, a 1st year course in the Bachelor of Physics. "By the time we got to the end of the course, it was clear we had quite a significant result", their supervisor Charles Steinhardt says. The students' mapping of the t-SNE cleanly divides all GRB's from the Swift observatory into two groups. Importantly, it classifies GRB's that previously were difficult to classify. "This essentially is step 0 in understanding GRB's," explains Steinhardt. "For the first time, we can confirm that shorter and longer GRB's are indeed completely separate things." Without any prior theoretical background in astronomy, the students have discovered a key piece of the puzzle surrounding GRB's. From here, astronomers can start to develop models to identify the characteristics of these two separate classes. Please follow SpaceRef on Twitter and Like us on Facebook. LELAND, MI - The oldest shanty in Lelands historic waterfront Fishtown is slated to be lifted off its foundation this week so a higher, safer perch can be built for it this summer - part of a multi-million preservation project being undertaken at this picturesque spot thats long been a favorite of Up North visitors. The big lift is expected to happen sometime on Wednesday. To watch it happen with a birds-eye view, check out the web cam belonging to The Cove, a nearby restaurant. Pune, India, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- The Global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) Battery Market was valued at USD 696.1 Million in 2019 and is anticipated to reach USD 6,686.2 Million by 2028, with a CAGR of 29.6% during the forecast period. The first Li-S battery was invented in 1960 and was patented by Herbert and Ulam in 1962. They used Lithium or various Lithium alloys as an anodic material and Sulfur(S) as a cathodic medium. After the advancement of technologies and the invention of various organic solvents such as Propylene Carbonate (PC), Dimethyl Sulfoxide (DMSO) and Dimethylformamide (DMF) propelled the market dynamics of Lithium-Sulfur battery market. Ether was applied in Li-S battery in 1980 which was used as a solvent for the electrolytes. Request For a Sample Copy Of This Research Report @ https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/request-sample-60223 Li-S batteries are mainly used in aviation, automotive, electronic device, and power& energy sector due to the growing demand for green energy with high energy density as compared to other battery types. Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) batteries provide lightweight to end-use applications due to low and moderate atomic weight of Lithium (Li) and Sulfur (S) and due to this reason, Li-S battery is widely used in the aerospace industry. Besides this, superior performance along with lower manufacturing costs, abundant supply of material, ease of processing and reduced environmental footprint propelled the growth of the Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery market. Ultra-high capacity Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery has better performance and less environmental impact to that of current Lithium-ion batteries. High theoretical and practical energy density achieved by combining a lithium-metal anode with a sulfur cathode is the driving factor for Lithium-Sulfur battery technology. In the other side, the extremely low electrical conductivity of the Sulfur cathode requires an extra mass for the conductive agent to exploit the entire active mass contribution to the capacity. Large volume expansion of the Sulfur cathode from S to Li2S and the large quantity of electrolyte required also challenge to be addressed. Global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) Battery Market, by Power Capacity Based on power capacity, global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery market segmented into 0-500mAh, 501-1000 mAh, above 1000 mAh. Among these, 0-500mAh segment power capacity is anticipated to capture the largest market share in the global market in 2020 and is anticipated to remain largest till the forecast period. The growing adaptation of electric vehicles, hybrid cars and also the demand from the electronic industry further anticipated to boost the segments demand. Enquiry Before Buying This Report @ https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/enquiry-before-buying/enquiry-before-buying-60223 Global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) Battery Market, by End User Based on End User, global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery market is segmented into aerospace, automotive, electronic device, power & energy, and others. Out of which, automotive segment is accounted for the largest share of more than 55.0% of the global market in 2020. It also anticipated that, increasing adaptation from the aerospace end user segment further attribute the market. Global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) Battery Market, by Region: Based on region, global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery segmented into North America, Western Europe, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Middle East, and Rest of World. North America and Asia Pacific region capture near about two third of the global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery in 2020. In North America, U.S. is the leading market which is mainly attributed to the growing automotive and aerospace end user segment. In Asia Pacific, the growing demand from electric vehicles mainly in China and Japan are the major factors that will anticipate to drive the Li-S battery market in the region. Some major findings of the global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery report include: Major global market trend & forecasts analysis along with the country specific market analysis up to 27 countries In-depth global Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery market analysis by power capacity, end users, and regions with analysis of trend-based insights and factors Major key market players operating in Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery market that include are Oxis Energy, Poly Plus, and Sion Power Competitive benchmarking, product offering details, growth strategies adopted by the leading market players along with their major investments in last five years Micro, Macro analysis factor analysis across the regions along with the drivers, restrains, opportunities, challenges, guidelines and regulations that are prevailing in the Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) battery market In depth Porters, value chain and Porters analysis of the market Browse key industry insights spread across 111 pages with 57 market data tables and 28 figures & charts from the report, Lithium-Sulfur (Li-S) Battery Market, By Power Capacity (0-500mAh, 501-1000 mAh, above 1000 mAh), By End User(Aerospace, Automotive, Electronic Device, Power & Energy, Others), , By Region (North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Rest of the World) Market Size & Forecasting (2017-2028) in depth analysis along with the table of contents (ToC). Buy Now Complete Report @ https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/insight/buy-now/lithium-sulfur-li-s-battery-market/single_user_license Browse Related Reports: Global Lithium-Ion Battery Market, by Battery Type (Li-NMC, LTO, LCO, LFP, NCA, LMO), by Battery Component (Electrolytic Solution, Cathode, Anode and Others), by End-Use Industry (Automotive, Consumer Electronics, Industrial, Medical and Others), by Region (North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Rest of the World) Market Size & Forecasting (2016-2028) https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/industry-analysis/global-lithium-ion-battery-market/5007 Global UAV Battery Market, By UAV Type (MALE, HALE, Tactical, Small), By Battery Type (Fuel Cell, Lithium Ion, Lithium Polymer, Nickel Cadmium), By Region (North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Rest of the World) Market Size & Forecasting (2016-2025) https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/industry-analysis/uav-battery-market/58487 Global Automotive Battery Market, by Battery Type (Lead Acid, Nickel Metal Hydride, Lithium-Ion and Others), by Battery Technology (SLI, AGM, Deep Cycle, Wet Cell and Others), by Vehicle Type (Passenger, Commercial, Electric and Others), by Region (North America, Eastern Europe, Western Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, Rest of the World) Market Size & Forecasting (2016-2028) https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/industry-analysis/global-automotive-battery-market/4149 Global Battery Components Market, By Component Type (Anode, Cathode, Electrolyte, and Others), By Battery Type (Primary and Secondary), and By Region (North America, Western Europe, Eastern Europe, Asia Pacific, Middle East, and Rest of the World) Market Size & Forecasting (2016-2028) https://www.quincemarketinsights.com/industry-analysis/global-battery-components-market/32419 About US Quince Market Insights is a global market research and consulting company publishing syndicate studies as well as consulting assignments pertaining to markets that promise high growth opportunities in strategic future. We are dedicated team of analysts with strong base in technical expertise as well as thorough understanding of the market dynamics. Some of key areas expertise includes chemicals, advanced materials, construction, mining, food & agriculture, automotive, machines & equipment, and others. We analyze emerging trends in relatively nascent markets that promise high growth opportunities in future. We focus towards precision research practices that provide accurate market estimations and forecasts. This helps our clients to make proper estimations with regards to demand analysis, regional growth, major competitors, and dynamics of the market. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 04:13:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TIRANA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The Albanian government has decided to re-impose the closure of all night clubs, pubs, discos and lounge bars, as coronavirus cases in the country continue increasing, Minister of Health and Social Protection Ogerta Manastirliu told a press conference on Monday. According to Manastirliu, the decision comes after the observation that crowded clubs and lounge bars have turned into coronavirus hotspots, as young people gather there especially during the weekend. The minister said that young people are showing indifference by challenging the rules and health protocols set by the authorities. "The government has decided today to stop this challenge to the rules set to curb the pandemic, in order to reduce the number of infections, protect the citizens' health and the lives of the weakest among us," the minister said. According to the government's decision, as of Monday the Normative Act enters into force, which bans opening of night clubs, discos, lounge bars which have indoor or outdoor spaces, except restaurants. Businesses that fail to comply with this obligation will get a fine of 3 million Albanian lek (around 27,630 U.S. dollars) and suspension of activity for a period of one year. The government also decided to ban music in every business activity after 8 p.m. local time, adding that the failure to comply with this obligation will be punished with a fine of 1 million Albanian lek (around 9,200 U.S. dollars) and in case of repetition, with suspension of the activity for a period of six months. Albania continues to record increases in COVID-19 cases. Currently, according to health authorities, a total of 123 patients are being treated in two COVID hospitals in the capital city Tirana, and 113 citizens have lost the battle with the disease. On Monday, health authorities reported 81 new coronavirus cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases in the country to 4,171. The government allowed the reopening of bars, pubs and nightclubs only in open spaces in mid-May after a period of about two months of lockdown. Enditem New Delhi: Bhojpuri actress turned television beauty, Monalisa a social media butterfly. She loves Instagram and her account stays updated with regular pictures and videos. Her recent bunch of loved-up selfies with hubby Vikrant Singh are simply unmissable. The adorable couple is major relationship goals to their fans. Monalisa's photo caption reads: Though Its Not A Emoticon Day... #fun #love #partnerincrime #loveyou @vikrant8235 The actress has had the opportunity of working with almost all the Bhojpuri big shots in her movie career. In 'Nazar', she played an evil force named Mohana. And received immense adulation for her work on TV. Monalisa was seen this year in 'Nazar 2' as Madhulika Chaudhary. She sure knows how to keep her social media fam happy and smiling. The sensational star was seen as a popular contestant in the reality show 'Bigg Boss 10' and in fact, got married to her then-boyfriend Vikrant Singh inside the BB 10 house. Ms McEnany appeared on Fox News and was asked about St Louis circuit attorney Kim Gardners decision to file felony unlawful use of a weapon charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey. The white couple in their early 60s are both lawyers. The McCloskeys were not arrested but were issued summons to appear in court. Their first hearing is scheduled for August 31. Ms Gardner, St Louiss first black circuit attorney, said she will not seek jail time but will recommend a diversion programme such as community service. Protesters were marching to the home of mayor Lyda Krewson when they veered on to a private street where the McCloskeys 1.15 million dollar home sits. Mark McCloskey came out with a semi-automatic rifle and his wife emerged with a semi-automatic handgun, according to a probable cause statement filed in support of the charges. No shots were fired, but Ms Gardner said their actions risked creating a violent situation. Advertisement Mark McCloskey on Monday night questioned why he and his wife were charged but protesters were not. Its a bizarre, upside-down world, he said. McEnany agreed: Yes, hes exactly right, this is an egregious abuse of power, is how the president described it by the prosecutor, to make this decision, adding that the charges were politically motivated nonsense. Missouri Republican attorney general Eric Schmitt filed a brief asking that the charges be dismissed under the states castle doctrine, which allows homeowners to protect their property with deadly force if necessary. Republican governor Mike Parson has said he is likely to pardon the couple. The demonstration on June 28 was among many across the country in the nearly two months since George Floyds death in Minneapolis. A police report said the couple heard a commotion and saw people break an iron gate marked with No Trespassing and Private Street signs. A protest leader, the Rev Darryl Gray, says the gate was open and protesters did not damage it. The probable cause statement said that after Mark McCloskey came out with his rifle, his wife emerged, yelling at protesters to go and pointing her gun at them. Protesters feared being injured due to Patricia McCloskeys finger being on the trigger, coupled with her excited demeanour, the statement said. Mr Parson defended the McCloskeys, saying: If you had a mob coming toward us, whether they tore down a gate or not, when they come on your property, they dont have a right to do that in an aggressive manner. A Democratic legislator who was at the protest said in a statement that no one stepped on to the McCloskeys property or threatened them. Contrary to what Governor Parson said Monday evening on The Hannity Show, we were not some bloodthirsty, rampaging mob, Rasheen Aldridge said. We practised peaceful civil disobedience and had the threat of violence imposed upon us. His dishonest hypocrisy about the events of that night shows he has no interest in actual justice, only in exploiting this situation to mobilise his base. Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung at the meeting (Photo: VNA) Hanoi In Vietnams capacity as the ASEAN Chair, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung on July 20 chaired an online inter-sectoral meeting of ASEAN senior officials to discuss orientations to building post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision. Attending the event were ASEAN senior officials from specialised agencies on the pillars of Political-Security, Economic and Socio-Cultural Communities, and ASEAN Vice Secretary Generals. Speaking at the event, Dung shared Vietnams initiative on orientations to building ASEAN Community Vision following 2025, saying that it is a continuation of Thailands efforts during its tenure as the ASEAN Chair 2019, including working closely with the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to outline the ASEAN Vision 2040. On the back of discussions within the framework of the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) held in the central city of Da Nang in March, the meeting offered recommendations on orientations to building post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision to submit to the ASEAN Coordinating Council and the 37th ASEAN Summit later this year. Delegates shared the view that the post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision should be inclusive and closely links with cooperation contents in the three pillars, with a focus on digital transformation and economic development, inclusive development, rapid and effective response to emerging challenges, people-oriented and people-centred approaches, and improvement of ASEANs central role and international stature, among others. They suggested improving the efficiency of ASEAN apparatus, inter-sectoral and inter-pillar coordination, and enhancing the participation of all sectors in Community building. Representatives from specialised agencies on the three pillars welcomed Vietnams initiative to hold the meeting and offered various opinions on the process. In his speech, Dung proposed that ASEAN should pursue a progressive approach to gradually step up economic linkage, thus laying a foundation to determine the next linkage forms of the community. Amid the rapid and complicated developments in the region and the world, he called on the bloc to continue proving its central role as a driving force to accelerate dialogues, build trust for the sake of regional peace, security and stability, and more actively and effectively cope with challenges. ASEAN needs to ensure inclusive approach, even and sustainable development among regions, nations and different sectors of the society so that no one will be left behind, he said, adding that the grouping should pay full attention to closely linking sub-regional development with the common development of the ASEAN Community, building a people-oriented and people-centred Community. According to him, the mid-term review of ASEAN Community Vision 2025 should be taken into account when it comes to discussing post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision. As scheduled, Vietnam will hold more consultation conferences to collect feedback on the effort to submit to the 37th ASEAN Summit in November 2020. Italy is trialling a coronavirus swab test that costs 10 and can give results in as little as 15 minutes. Health chiefs in Rome hope the rapid diagnostic test, made by South Korean firm SD Biosensor, will be used at airports to screen tourists for the infection. It has already been used on 1,000 people in the northern region of Veneto giving an incorrect result twice, in comparison to the standard swab test. The testing kit comes with a substance containing Covid-19 antibodies. If the sample contains coronavirus particles, the antibodies will bind to them and a colour strip in the test will turn red to show someone is infected. It works differently to a typical coronavirus test called a PCR test which requires a lab technician to apply chemicals to swab samples. It can take at least 24 hours to turn around PCR test results, meaning they are of little use when trying to spot cases in travellers. The test formally called STANDARD Q COVID-19 produces results between 15 and 30 minutes, according to the manufacturers SD BioSensor The testing kit comes with a substance containing Covid-19 antibodies. If the swab contains viral particles, the antibodies will bind to them and a colour strip in the test will turn red A spokesman for the Lazio region, which includes Rome, said that it was considering using the swab to test every arriving passenger at Fiumicino airport (pictured) The test called STANDARD Q COVID-19 produces results between 15 and 30 minutes, according to the manufacturers. It was compared with a typical coronavirus test in the region of Veneto, which was once the epicentre of Italy's outbreak in March. 'It looks reliable and we hope to get it into use in Veneto by the autumn,' Francesca Russo, who runs the region's Covid-19 response team, told The Times. WHAT IS THE TYPICAL SWAB TEST FOR CORONAVIRUS? Nasopharyngeal swabs are used to detect respiratory viruses, such as the flu and the new coronavirus. It is the preferred choice for SARS-CoV-2 testing, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It involves inserting a long, flexible cotton bud into the nostril and along the nose 'floor'. This is supposed to be done slowly so that it is comfortable. The aim is to reach the posterior nasopharynx, a cavity made up of muscle and connective tissue, covered in cells and mucous that are similar to the nose. It continues down into the throat. The swab is rotated several times in order to get enough cells. The sample is then sent to a lab, where it will be tested to determine if the patients cells are infected with the virus. The coronavirus is a RNA virus, which means it uses ribonucleic acid as its genetic material. A process called reverse transcription is needed to transcribe the RNA into readable DNA. A swab sample doesn't collect much RNA in one go, therefore a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to rapidly make billions of copies so it can be analysed. The DNA is dyed a fluorescent colour, which glows if the coronavirus is present, confirming a diagnosis. Advertisement Roberto Rigoli, who managed the Veneto tests at Ca' Foncello hospital in Treviso, said: 'Some of these types of tests don't work well but this one does.' He said the team were talking to Rome's Spallanzani hospital, which advises the government, about doing their own trial of the tests. Italy's borders have been tightened so that until July 31, people from a list of countries are forbidden to enter. From June 3, anyone coming from the UK must self isolate for 14 days before travelling to Italy, but there is pressure on the government there to make sure those entering are confirmed coronavirus free. A spokesman for the Lazio region, which includes Rome, said that it was considering using the swab to test every arriving passenger at Fiumicino airport. 'This test would be perfect at the airport you could test 200 passengers getting off a plane at once,' he said. He added there was doubt about whether the test was so sensitive it picked up old fragments of the virus in people who may have had the disease previously but are no longer contagious. The coronavirus is usually tested for using nasopharyngeal swabs, which are long flexible cotton buds that can reach deep into the nasal cavity, or through DIY kits that people use to take a sample of inside their nostril. The samples are then sent to a lab, where they are tested to determine if the patient is infected with the virus. A swab sample doesn't collect much genetic material, therefore a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) is used to rapidly make billions of copies so it can be analysed. The DNA is dyed a fluorescent colour, which glows if the coronavirus is present, confirming a diagnosis. The swabs made by SD Biosensor don't require the costly machinery, technicians or chemicals that a PCR test does. The kit is called a 'chromatographic immunoassay' which means it uses antibodies specific to Covid-19 to diagnose infection. The role of antibodies during infection is to latch on to foreign substances like the coronavirus and mark it for other immune cells, such as T-cells, to kill. Once scientists identify antibodies specific to Covid-19, they can engineer clones called mAbs in the laboratory on a huge scale. These are what will be contained in a test like STANDARD Q COVID-19. When virus particles from the swab are mixed with the chemical containing antibodies, the antibodies will latch onto the virus. A colour strip on the kit turns red to indicate the person is carrying the virus. If there is no virus in the sample, the antibodies have nothing to bind to. SD Biosensor says it has conducted a trial of its test in Malaysia during the pandemic involving 202 samples. The test is 84.38 per cent sensitive, which means just over 84 people in 100 who test positive are truly infected with the coronavirus. The other 16 people, however, would get an inaccurate result. They will be told they do not have the coronavirus when they in fact do, called a 'false negative'. The test allegedly has 100 per cent specificity, which means it will never generate a 'false positive' result when people are incorrectly led to believe they have virus. Virgin Media is set to showcase Limerick across an entire day by broadcasting some of its biggest shows live from The Limerick Strand Hotel in the heart of Limerick on Wednesday July 22 to coincide with our Backing Business campaign. The campaign has already featured over 160 businesses from around Ireland including Limerick companies Wedding Avocado, ONExU Irish streetwear brand and EJS Plastics Manufacturing. The day will start with Irelands most popular morning programme, Ireland AM, with special guest Noel Hogan from The Cranberries joining Ciara Doherty to talk about the band and the city which created them along with Limerick-native Michelle Grimes singing some of their iconic hits. Theyll be joined by Irish rugby superstar Paul OConnell wholl be talking about his Team Limerick Clean Up initiative and Celia Holman Lee will also be showcasing fashion from local Limerick businesses before joining Elaine for a mid-morning chat. Ahane hurling duo Tom and Dan Morrissey will be joining Muireann on the 6 OClock Show sofa along with live music from Hermitage Green and Country Munchs Eoin Sheehan will be cooking up a storm in the kitchen. Therell also be interviews with Greg OShea in Thomond Park, Karl Spain in The Hunt Museum and Pat Shortt in the Milk Market. The day will be rounded off with a live broadcast of the Tonight Show, hosted by Matt Cooper. Guests will include T.D. for Limerick City Constituency, Kieran ODonnell, Fianna Fail TD Willie ODea, and Dr Catherine Motherway, Consultant in Intensive Care Medicine at University Hospital Limerick. Using news and government reports, Stacker has highlighted some of the biggest events to take place in the last 100 summers, from 1920 to 2019. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) A very limited number of Cabinet members and lawmakers will be joining President Rodrigo Duterte when he physically delivers his fifth State of the Nation Address on July 27. Even Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque is not sure if he will be part of the small group who will accompany Duterte to the Batasang Pambansa in Batasan Hills, Quezon City, where he will address the nation for the fifth time since assuming office in 2016. So far, Roque said Duterte's in-house guests will be composed of 15 Cabinet members, 25 members of the House of Representatives, and all sitting senators. The attendance of the first family composed of Duterte's children, Davao City Mayor Sara Duterte, Vice Mayor Sebastian "Baste" Duterte, and Congressman Paolo Duterte, with Duterte's partner Honeylet Avancena is also uncertain, Roque added. Duterte will also be flanked by members of the Presidential Security Group. Roque earlier said that Malacanang is avoiding a mass gathering, in line with quarantine restrictions due to COVID-19. The House has confirmed an 18th case of COVID-19 within the Batasang Pambansa on Tuesday, while the New Executive Building inside the Malacanang complex had to be shut down after a staff member was confirmed to have the virus. Roque's press conference on Tuesday was done remotely due to the shutdown of the press room. Still, the President is unfazed. "Siyempre po worried dahil senior citizen ang ating Presidente, he's particularly vulnerable to the disease... He may be vulnerable, pero patuloy pa rin po ang kanyang trabaho bilang isang Presidente," Roque said when asked if the latest infections will trigger a change of plans. [Translation: Of course we are worried because the President is a senior citizen, he's particularly vulnerable to the disease... He may be vulnerable, but he continues to do his job.] RELATED: Duterte: PH better off than US in enforcing COVID-19 rules because of unitary gov't "I think it's also to send a message that we continue to live our lives despite COVID-19," Roque added, noting that the pandemic crisis and the local response will definitely be discussed during the speech. Previous SONAs are jampacked with high-profile guests, which has made it a red carpet event featuring a fashion display of lavish outfits. Even media personnel are not allowed to enter the Batasan premises on Monday, with only the state-run Radio Television Malacanang allowed to set up a broadcast feed from which all other media outlets will tap into. Authorities previously considered keeping Duterte within Palace grounds for the SONA, which he will deliver via livestream from the Malago Clubhouse to Congress. The 1987 Constitution mandates the President to deliver an annual address to a joint session of Congress every fourth Monday of July. Married At First Sight star Hayley Vernon has been slammed by fans for saying she won't be wearing a mask during the coronavirus pandemic. On Monday, the Melbourne-based labourer, 33, criticised Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews for making masks mandatory, and told others to 'stand up for their rights'. 'Why are we wearing masks? Us people who are healthy,' she wrote on Instagram. 'This as you said "is about curbing behaviour". I'll be dammed if you are going to curb anything about me.' 'The definition of ignorance!' Fans have slammed Married At First Sight bride Hayley Vernon (pictured) after she ranted against Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews on Instagram on Monday She continued: 'You are a walking talking oxymoron. I am woke. I will not be wearing a mask. MELBOURNE AND AUSTRALIANS STAND UP FOR YOUR RIGHTS. This is not the time to comply.' Fans quickly hit back, describing Hayley as 'ignorant' and 'selfish' because face masks can be effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus. 'Wow, this is the definition of ignorance. Shame on you for using your platform to act like a spoilt brat and spread such absurdity,' one critic wrote. Conspiracy theorist: On Monday, the Melbourne-based labourer, 33, criticised Mr Andrews for making masks mandatory, and told others to 'stand up for their rights' 'It's not all about you. Stop trying to make something that isn't about you, about you. If it's mandatory then f**king do it, stop your complaining and suck it up. The masks are there to prevent it spreading,' another commented. 'Get over it. Shut up and just do what's needed in order for us to move on and not go into stage four. Grow up,' a third follower wrote. A fourth added: 'It's not about you. Why would you not wear a mask if it increases your chances of saving someone's life?' 'You're doing it to protect others!' Fans quickly hit back, describing Hayley as 'ignorant' and 'selfish' because face masks can be effective in preventing the spread of coronavirus A similar comment read: 'You're doing it to protect others. The thing is now, people can be asymptomatic with the virus, meaning you don't even know you have it. Which is why wearing a mask CAN help prevent passing the virus onto others.' Another fan replied: 'It doesn't matter how healthy and fit you are, you can get struck down by COVID-19. They are trying to keep us safe. Even if you think you'll be okay, what if you are asymptomatic and you give it to someone and they die?' One critic pointed out that the 'less we comply, the longer this will last', adding: 'Please use your social media to get people to follow the rules. I'm having a baby and at this stage my kids can't even come see us in hospital.' Shameful: One of Hayley's followers commented, 'Wow, this is the definition of ignorance. Shame on you for using your platform to act like a spoilt brat and spread such absurdity' On Sunday, Premier Daniel Andrews announced face masks will become mandatory across Melbourne and Mitchell Shire in a bid to stop the spread of COVID-19. Those who disobey the new government directive to wear masks outside the home - effective from 11.59pm on Wednesday - will face a $200 fine. The drastic new measures were announced as the state recorded another 363 cases and three more deaths from the infectious respiratory disease on Sunday. NSW Deputy Chief Health Officer Jeremy McAnulty has also followed the lead, and is advising all residents wear masks and avoid public transport. Wearing a face mask can help with preventing the spread of coronavirus as it limits infections spread by airborne transmission. Each time an individual coughs or sneezes, they release germs into the air and this can infect others around them. South Korean Kimsoosik, a former police officer, is arrested by police for drug trafficking in HCMC, July 20, 2020. Photo by VnExpress/Van Vo. The Ministry of Public Security detained two Koreans, one of them an ex-cop, two Chinese and a Vietnamese national Monday for trafficking methamphetamine. The kingpin of the trafficking operation is believed to be 60-year-old Kimsoosik, a former South Korean police officer. He was arrested with accomplices in connection with a drug-trafficking case busted at the Cat Lai port in HCMC. Drug squad officers from the military, cops under the Ministry of Public Security along with anti-smuggling investigation officials raided a 20-feet container Sunday and found 40 kilograms of meth hidden inside big granite blocks. According to the customs declaration form, the granite had been disinfected before they were about to be exported to Incheon Port in South Korea. While the trafficking operation was sophisticated, it was the first time investigators have found drugs hidden in construction rocks. Kimsoosik, with more than 20 years in the Korean police force, had knowledge about such "tricks," the investigators said. One of the investigators also said it was the first time theyd busted a drug trafficking operation involving both Korean and Chinese nationals. The case is being investigated further. Vietnam has some of the worlds toughest drug laws. Those convicted of possessing or smuggling more than 600 grams of heroin or cocaine or over 2.5 kg of methamphetamine could face capital punishment. The production or sale of 100 grams of heroin or 300 grams of any other illegal substance is also punishable by death. CALGARY, Alberta, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Cycle Energy Industries Inc. (OTC: XFLS) is pleased to report the following Shareholder update. Acquisitions On June 8th 2020, Xfuels purchased all the issued and outstanding shares of Cycle Energy Industries Ltd. The acquisition is now complete, and the company has been acquired by Xfuels and subsequent name and symbol change has been submitted to FINRA for approval. On June 16th 2020, Cycle Energy announced it has increased its well abandonment fleet by the purchase of 3 new heavy vehicles to add to the companies abilities to execute workflow simultaneously. Cycle's proprietary technology is currently being implemented on the new vehicles and will be ready for deployment in early August. On June 29th, 2020, Cycle Energy announced it has entered into a purchase agreement to buy 60% of Harvest Energy Northwest Lost Hills asset in California. Cycle purchased the majority working interest partner. To date, the shut in wells are being brought online and Cycle is working with US and Canadian government authorities to schedule when Cycle Energy Services can deploy its equipment to bring on the remaining workover projects as well as evaluate new drilling opportunities. Cycle is maximizing producing wells while implementing production increasing technologies. On July 14th, 2020, Cycle entered into a purchase agreement to buy all the issued and outstanding shares of Harvest Petroleum Inc. of Prosper Texas. Currently, we are working with Harvest integrating procedures are being accomplished to move production online as well as find further acquisitions candidates in our license areas. With the purchase of Harvest Cycle now becomes 100% owner of the North West Lost Hills field and will focus capital to develop that asset out as a priority. Technology Developments Cycle continues to develop its mobile GTL (Gas to Liquid) system and is presently in negotiations to deploy the first pilot plan here in Alberta. The pilot system will produce approximately 5 metric tons (approximately 1320 gallons) of C5+ hydrocarbons plus Fischer Tropsch wax. FT synthetic waxes are made using carbon monoxide and hydrogen as feedstock, producing hydrocarbons of consistently high purity and quality creating a very high value product on the average of $US2000/m3. The structure of the wax results in many desirable properties and is often used in hot melt adhesives, printing inks and coatings, polymer processing and polishes and textiles. The system will be used as a pilot to determine follow-on larger systems in both the US and Canada. Corporate Developments The company continues to work on its audited financials and registration statement and expect to be competed and filed by the end of August. Cycle Energy is a fully integrated energy company that products responsible products both traditional and renewable. Our continued focus on carbon footprint reduction and streamlined oil and gas production not only benefit the environment and local communities but also add value to Cycle bottom line. Through our 100% owned subsidiaries Harvest Petroleum and Hillsdale Drilling Cycle Energy Industries is now a licensed bonded operator in Alberta, Saskatchewan, California, Texas and Louisiana. Cycle expects over there next year to further expand our asset base in these areas. The company continues as well to work towards our green initiative to produce carbon neutral products as well as integrate solar and other renewable technologies into our daily oil and gas production operations. About Cycle Energy Industries Cycle Energy Industries is a Canadian corporation based in the province of Alberta, and a unique energy provider that operates three vertically integrated business units in the WCSB (Western Canadian Sedimentary Basin). We have created a vertically integrated company where each subsidiary creates value and adds support to the other. Cycle Oil and Gas focuses on acquiring & optimizing underdeveloped oil & gas assets and employs in-house developed & licensed technologies to increase production, optimize performance & reduce costs. The company currently produces approximately 100 barrels/day of oil as well as several non-operational properties and GORRS(Gross Overriding Royalties). Cycle Energy Services supports our Exploration and Production (E&P) team with well services and end of life reclamation which gives the E&P company an unprecedented advantage over its competitors. This business plan excels by providing services that would otherwise be too costly and not financially viable for specific workovers or turn around projects. Cycle Energy Services owns and operates combo wireline-service rigs and Hydrovac Units. The focus of Cycle Energy Services is primarily end of life abandonment and reclamation of non-producing assets. The company excels by supplying fixed cost services via our custom rigs and equipment that results in reduced time onsite, faster rig in and rig out times as well as reduced number of vehicles onsite. Cycle's efficiencies reduce the amount of fuel burned to complete the abandonment and reduces the carbon footprint to abandon wells. Cycle Energy Technologies provides both R&D capabilities as well as previously developed and licensed technologies that aid in increased production, reduced lifting and operation costs as well as gas and oil field intelligence. Cycle Energy Technologies flag ship technology is our mobile GTL (gas to liquid) system we have been developing and are currently implementing. This technology brings forth increased value to the group through Cycle's internal production of gas. The value is added by turning the gas into chemicals and C5+ hydrocarbons as a 3-4x multiple which is industry groundbreaking. Safe Harbor This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Cycle Energy Industries Inc., its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. The words "may," "would," "will," "expect," "estimate," "can," "believe," "potential" and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Cycle Energy Industries Inc.'s ability to control, and that actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. More information about the potential factors that could affect the business and financial results is and will be included in Cycle Energy Industries Inc.'s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. For further information please contact : Cycle Energy Industries Inc. . Public Relations and Shareholder Information Email: [email protected] www.cycleind.com Twitter @cycleindustries SOURCE Cycle Energy Industries Inc. Whether snowboarding, skateboarding, surfing or almost anything else that would repay his skill with thrilling moments in the great outdoors, Aaron Carr cant get enough. His love of life on a board of any kind runs so deep that it makes others appreciate their own lives that much more, family members said. So, word that Carr, 27, of Roselle Park, had been left largely paralyzed after a wave slammed him into the ocean floor on July 4 was a blow to those who know him that has reverberated even among many people who dont. I was gutted, Melinda Giffen Frater, Carrs cousin, said of the surfing accident in Asbury Park. Being that he was always so active, and it was always so important for him to be in the ocean, on the mountain, that just kind of hit home. Because we dont know what the final outcome is going to be. But at the same time, added Giffen Frater, who lives in Summit, anyone who knows him knows that if anyone is going to get through this, it will be him. If he can have any kind of normalcy, I can see him doing these things again, even if modified. To help pay for medical copayments and what are likely to be accessibility-related modifications to Carrs home, the family created a fundraising page on Facebook, which as of Saturday afternoon had raised more than $91,000 from some 1,500 donors, toward a total goal of $125,000. Carr, a 2011 Roselle Park High School grad who works as an HVAC technician for Buist Mechanical in Monmouth Junction, was in a session with friends in Asbury Park, the Monmouth County Shore resort popular with surfers as well foodies and rock n roll fans, when he was thrust down head-first by a breaking wave, Giffen Frater said. Giffen Frater said the impact damaged his spine and left him unable to move most of his body. She said his friends pulled him ashore and got him breathing again, before he was rushed to Jersey Shore Medical Center in neighboring Neptune. There, he underwent surgery, and was later placed on a ventilator in the intensive care unit, family members said. His brother, Matt Carr, told TAPintoRoselle/RosellePark, If his friends were not there to pull him out of the water he would not be with us today. On Saturday, Aarons aunt, Ruthanne Harrison, posted an update on the Facebook fundraising page letting supporters know that her nephew would soon be moved to a Kessler Institute location for rehabilitation. Please keep fingers crossed that he is able to be transferred, Harrison wrote, cautioning loved ones eager to see Carr that measures to combat the coronavirus remained in place at the medical center. We will know more on Monday and will keep you updated. We also want close friends and family to be aware that Jersey Shore has very strict visiting policies and will only allow one person at a time at his side. Giffen Frater said the outpouring of emotional and financial support for Carr was not only heartwarming but critical to her cousins life moving forward, including his mobility and independence beyond his initial recovery from the accident. Once it was started, and we all just started sharing it with friends and on Facebook, she said. Just watching it grow makes us feel really blessed. Were trying to be as positive as possible. But its going to be such a long road. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Steve Strunsky may be reached at sstrunsky@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @SteveStrunsky. Find NJ.com on Facebook. Have a tip? Tell us. nj.com/tips You are here: China China has completed the modification of two relay satellites to prepare them for new tasks relating to the country's scheduled Mars exploration mission Tianwen-1. The Tianlian I-02 and Tianlian II-01 geosynchronous orbit satellites mainly provide global tracking and data-relay support for the country's in-orbit spacecraft. The fourth Long March-5 rocket, which will be used to launch China's first Mars exploration mission, was transported to the launch site at the Wenchang Space Launch Center in south China's Hainan Province on July 17. The carrier rocket, coded as Long March-5 Y4, is planned to be launched in late July or early August. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 12:25:48|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Mayors of several U.S. cities including Portland and Chicago signed a letter on Monday, urging the federal government to immediately withdraw its forces and halt their "unilateral deployment" to cities. In the letter published on Twitter, Ted Wheeler, mayor of Portland, northwestern state of Oregon, along with his five counterparts in Chicago, Seattle, Atlanta, Washington, D.C. and Kansas City, said unilateral federal intervention is unacceptable and "violates fundamental constitutional protections and tenets of federalism." "In Portland, their actions have escalated events and increased the risk of violence against both civilians and local law enforcement officers," the mayor said, listing the troops' violent acts, including shootings, against peaceful protests in the city. The death of African American George Floyd in May has sparked nationwide protests, and Portland has witnessed nightly demonstrations against police brutality and systemic racism. In June, U.S. President Donald Trump signed an executive order to protect monuments and statues from protests as well as combat criminal activities. In response, the Department of Homeland Security sent federal law enforcement officers to Portland to help the city restore order. However, the role played by the federal troops stationed in the city was largely questioned and criticized. As the United States is facing unprecedented challenges such as the raging COVID-19 pandemic, economic devastation and civil rights movement, mayors "need help of our federal government" instead of irresponsible actions that threaten safety and progress in the society, the letter added. In a CNN broadcast on Sunday, Wheeler repeated his call for the federal troops to leave. "They're not wanted here. We haven't asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave," he said. Enditem Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Adrian Wail Akhlas (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 12:09 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406680fe29 1 Business 2020-state-budget,state-budget-deficit,Sri-Mulyani-Indrawati,finance-ministry,stimulus-package,APBN,COVID-19,tax-revenue Free Indonesia recorded a Rp 257.8 trillion (US$17.5 billion) budget deficit in the first half of the year as the government seeks to bolster stimulus spending to cushion the coronavirus-battered economy. The deficit amounts to 1.57 percent of the countrys gross domestic product (GDP), the highest half-yearly deficit recorded since the first half of 2016 but still below the governments expectation of 6.34 percent this year. Read also: World Bank warns of 2% contraction in Indonesias economy this year We are planning to accelerate state spending in this years second half to manage the COVID-19 pandemic and bolster economic recovery, Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati told reporters in a press briefing on Monday. We will use our fiscal tools to minimize the negative impact of the pandemic and reduce the peoples burden to help them recover. The government is working to accelerate the disbursement of a Rp 695.2 trillion stimulus package to boost the cooling economy and strengthen the healthcare system after criticism from President Joko Jokowi Widodo as well as from business and health communities for the slow action. While government spending accounts for less than 10 percent of Indonesias GDP, it has a multiplier effect on various components of the economy, such as household spending and investment, as social aid can boost purchasing power, while government spending on goods and services helps support demand for businesses, among other factors. According to the Finance Ministry, state spending totaled Rp 1.06 quadrillion in the first half, a 3.3 percent increase compared to the same period last year and equal to 39 percent of this years target. Central government spending rose 6 percent year-on-year (yoy) to Rp 668.5 trillion, equal to 33 percent of the years target, as social and capital expenditure rose significantly. Meanwhile, state income totaled just Rp 811.2 trillion in the first half of the year, a drop of 9.8 percent, due to falling tax revenue as the pandemic hit numerous sectors of the economy and slumping nontax income due to a drop in commodity prices. State income in the first half accounted for 47.7 percent of the years target. Read also: Indonesias economy could enter recession in Q3: Sri Mulyani Almost all sectors of the economy, including manufacturing, trade and construction, paid more in taxes in June than the previous month following the gradual reopening of the economy, the ministrys data showed, signalling improving economic activity after more than three months of partial lockdown to curb the virus spread. Indonesia surpassed China in its total number of COVID-19 cases on Saturday and logged the highest daily death toll on Sunday as the economy reopens. The government is now working on a plan to provide cash transfers to serve as working capital directly for micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) that have yet to receive financing access from banks in a bid to help them survive the pandemic, Sri Mulyani said, adding that Jokowi would announce the plan in the coming weeks. We are also expanding the social protection stimulus until December to stimulate the demand side, as well as expanding incentives for medical workers until the end of the year, Sri Mulyani said, stressing that the government aimed to provide assurance amid the pandemic. Read also: Dont misinterpret new normal: Govt expects new team to meet health, economic goals The government expects the economy to shrink 0.4 percent at worst or grow 1 percent at best, with second quarter growth expected to shrink 3.54 to 5.08 percent, the finance minister added. Bank Indonesia has forecast a U-shaped recovery, instead of the previous V-shaped recovery projection, for the countrys economy as the coronavirus pandemic took a greater toll than previously expected. The central bank expects GDP to deeply contract by between 4 and 4.8 percent in the second quarter. "The work now begins for the government to spend the stimulus to bolster the economy," Center of Reform on Economics (Core) Indonesia research director Piter Abdullah told The Jakarta Post on Tuesday. "The national economic recovery program will prevent a deeper economic contraction if the government moves fast enough." New Delhi: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday addressed the Parivartan Rally in Ghazipur. Earlier on Monday, he laid foundation of the railways project at the same venue. The Parivartan Rally is part of Bhartiya Janta Party's campaign for Uttar Pradesh assembly elections due in 2017. PM Modi has to lay foundation stone of Tadi Ghat-Mau-Ghazipur railway line and a major bridge on river Ganga apart from addressing the party's rally as a part of the Parivartan Yatra. Both the events are going to take place at RTI Ground in Ghazipur. Security arrangements have being made ahead of PM Modis visit to the place. This will be the only major event of Parivartan Yatra in eastern UP in which PM will participate. PM Modi will hold six rallies as part of BJPs Uttar Pradesh's assembly election campaign. After the PMs address in Ghazipur the Yatra rally will move towards Azamgarh and on November 15, this yatra will enter Gorakhpur Pranth unit. Here are the live updates: (Read highlights here) #Yes, those against me are strong people. But, I will not be scared of them. I will not leave the path of truth & integrity: PM Modi #My decision is like a 'Kadak Chai': PM Modi #Enemy is flooding our nation with these counterfeit notes. We need to put an end to this: PM Modi #Modi hits out at Congress, recalls 19month long Emergency #Sensitive to see common man's problem from demonetisation, trying to abate it as much as possible: PM Modi #PM Modi demands support during tough decisions #No draught of cash in India, but the problem is that it is in wrong hands: PM Modi #Scheme for crop insurance will hlp scores of farmers: PM Modi #Will work towards encouraging corruption free and prosperous vegetable trade from the region: PM Modi in Ghazipur #Will fulfill promises made my eight PMs from UP before me: PM Modi #'I will complete incomplete work of Pandit Nehru, even as his family blames me': PM Modi #Ghazipur's leader in 1952 raised the issue of region's poverty to Pandit Nehru, which led to set up of Patel committee: PM Modi #PM Modi pays tribute to India's first Priem Minsiter Jawaharlal Nehru on his birth anniversary #PM Modi speaks on black money during Ghazipur Parivartan Rally, hits out at black marketeers #I have always received blessings from the land of Ghazipur: PM Modi at parivartan rally #I salute this land(Ghazipur) which gave birth to Vir Abdul Hamid, who taught Pakistan a lesson in 1965 war: PM #PM's Parivaratan Rally in Ghazipur: Modi to address public shortly Uttar Pradesh: PM Modi arrives in Varanasi, will visit Ghazipur to lay foundations of a railway line and a bridge over river Ganges pic.twitter.com/69VEBDBMww ANI UP (@ANINewsUP) November 14, 2016 #PM Modi arrives in Varanasi, will go to Ghazipur from here (11:05 am) #7 SP, 30 DSP, 12 Company PMF,6 Company Pac, 1000 Police Constable, 200 sub.Inspector, ATS commando teams deployed #Security tightened as protests on demonetisation expected in PM's rally #PM Leaves for Ghazipur, UP (9:30am) (Read in Hindi) For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Russias regional judge jailed for 7 years in $11K bribery case RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 14:28 21/07/2020 MOSCOW, July 21 (RAPSI) A court in Russias Barnaul has sentenced a judge of the regional Commercial Court Vladislav Kolesnikov to 7 years in high-security prison for receiving a 800,000-ruble bribe (over $11,000), RAPSI has learnt in the Investigative Committees press service. The defendant has been also fined 8 million rubles. Moreover, the court deprived him of a right to take state and municipal authority posts for 3 years. According to the court papers, in 2017, Kolesnikov considered a case over additional stepped-up value taxation. The judge delivered an illegal ruling in the case for a bribe amounting to 800,000 rubles. GOTTINGEN, Germany, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sartorius, a leading international partner of life science research and the biopharmaceutical industry, raised its growth and earnings guidance for the current year based on its very dynamic business performance in the first six months of 2020, as well as on high demand expected to continue for the rest of the current fiscal year. "In the Bioprocess Solutions Division, growth was strong across all product categories and geographies, where additional demand particularly in connection with Covid-19 vaccines and therapeutics was higher than previously expected. The business of our Lab Products & Services Division that was noticeably impacted by the pandemic crisis in the first months of the year also showed a positive trend. Moreover, integration of the life science businesses acquired from Danaher into both of our divisions is progressing well despite the current restrictions. Therefore, we are entering the second half of the year with great confidence, even though the pandemic still poses considerable challenges and uncertainties," said CEO Joachim Kreuzburg. Business development of the Group Group sales rose in the first half by 17.9 percent to 1,056.8 million euros, which is a reported increase of 18.1 percent while order intake1 surged by 27.5 percent (reported: +27.8 percent) to 1,244.8 million euros. This strong development was primarily fueled by the very dynamic business of the Bioprocess Solutions Division. The Laboratory Products & Services Division progressed moderately in a partially challenging economic environment weakened by the coronavirus pandemic. The acquisition of Danaher's businesses consolidated as of May 2020 as well as the majority takeover of the cell culture media specialist Biological Industries in December 2019 together contributed close to four percentage points to sales growth in the first half, as planned. Earnings of the Sartorius Group grew at a significantly overproportionate rate with respect to sales. Underlying EBITDA1 was 293.5 million euros, up 23.5 percent from the year-earlier figure of 237.6 million euros. The respective margin rose from 26.6 percent to 27.8 percent. The most recent acquisitions did not have any significant effect on earnings, as expected, yet foreign currencies had a slightly negative impact of close to half of a percentage point. Relevant net profit1 for the Group also rose over proportionately relative to sales by 22.4 percent to 124.3 million euros. Earnings per ordinary share were 1.81 euros (previous year: 1.48 euros) and per preference share, 1.82 euros (previous year: 1.49 euros). Double-digit sales growth in all regions All business regions of the Group increased their revenues by double digits. In the EMEA2 region which contributes the highest share of total Group sales of around 40 percent, revenue stood at 419.5 million euros, up 16.0 percent. The Americas region accounting for some 35 percent of total sales recorded the highest momentum, with business rising 19.7 to 373.1 million euros. The Asia | Pacific region, which generates around 25 percent of Group sales, saw revenue rise by 18.4 percent to 264.2 million euros. Business development of the divisions Based on high demand across all its product categories, the Bioprocess Solutions Division which offers a broad range of innovative technologies and products for manufacturing biopharmaceuticals increased its sales revenue by 21.3 percent (reported: +21.6 percent) to 809.3 million euros. Acquisitions accounted for a good two percentage points of growth. Bioprocess Solutions order intake1 surged in the first half of 2020 at an even stronger rate than sales (in constant currencies: +33.5%; reported: +33.9%) to 984.9 million euros. The coronavirus pandemic had a positive effect on growth and resulted in additional demand for Sartorius products used to manufacture vaccines and antiviral medications. Strong project business, particularly in the Asia | Pacific region, also contributed to substantial order intake. Hence, the strong dynamics at the beginning of the year continued into the mid-year. The division's underlying EBITDA1 grew over proportionately by 29.1 percent to 247.2 million euros. Despite slight dilution by currency headwinds and the most recent acquisitions, the division's margin driven by economies of scale rose to 30.5 percent, up from 28.8 percent in the comparable year-earlier period. The Lab Products & Services Division, which specializes in products and technologies for laboratories primarily in the pharmaceutical sector and life science research, increased its first-half sales revenue by 8.1 percent (reported: +8.1 percent) and was thus within the range of expectations adjusted after the first quarter. While the impact of the pandemic had a dampening effect on demand, the most recent acquisitions contributed close to nine percentage points to sales growth. Order intake1 developed positively, rising by 8.9 percent (reported: +8.9 percent) to 259.9 million euros. Because of lower capacity utilization at the beginning of the year and a negative currency impact of a good 0.5 percentage points, the division's underlying EBITDA1 after the first six months was at the prior-year level of 46.4 million euros (+0.4 percent). The division's underlying EBITDA1 margin was 18.7 percent, with acquisitions in the reporting period having a slightly overall positive effect. (All figures on sales revenue and order intake in constant currencies. Sales revenues and margins of the divisions in the comparable period adjusted to reflect the reallocation of two small product segments.) Key financial indicators The equity ratio of the Group continued to remain at a very robust level of 30.1 percent, even after the acquisitions had closed (December 31, 2019; 38.1 percent). The ratio of net debt to underlying EBITDA1 for the past 12 months increased as expected, from 2.0 at year-end 2019 to 2.8 for the period ended June 30, 2020. The ratio of capital expenditures (CAPEX) to sales revenue was 8.5 percent in line with expectations (prior-year period: 12.8 percent). Number of employees increases As of June 30, 2020, the Sartorius Group employed a total of 9,729 people worldwide. Compared with December 31, 2019, head count thus rose by 693 or around 7.7 percent, with around 300 employees joining the company following the acquisition of the Danaher businesses. The remaining increase resulted in particular from hiring additional production staff due to the rising capacity utilization at a few manufacturing sites. At the end of the reporting period, around 6,500 people were employed in the EMEA2 region, more than 1,700 in the Americas and about 1,500 in the Asia | Pacific region. (Prior-year base slightly adjusted due to the change in the scope of consolidation.) Guidance for the full year of 2020 raised Management now expects consolidated sales revenue to increase by 22% to 26% (previously 15% to 19%) and the Group's underlying EBITDA margin1 to reach around 28.5% (previously about 27.5%). Compared with the previous forecast, a significant part of the additionally expected business is attributable to the current coronavirus pandemic as Sartorius products are used for development and manufacturing of both vaccines and antiviral medications. As projected so far, initial consolidation of Biological Industries is expected to contribute close to 1.5 percentage points and inclusion of the portfolio acquired from Danaher a good five percentage points to sales growth. The ratio of capital expenditures (CAPEX) to sales revenue continues to be forecasted at around 10 percent (previous year: 12.3 percent). Net debt to underlying EBITDA1 is expected to be slightly below 2.75 by year-end 2020 (previously around 2.75; 2019: 2.0). Outlook for the divisions For the Bioprocess Solutions Division, management now forecasts sales growth of 26 percent to 30 percent (previously 17 percent to 21 percent). As projected so far, consolidation of Biological Industries is expected to contribute around one percentage point and that of the Danaher portfolio around 3.5 percentage points. The division's underlying EBITDA margin is projected to be approximately 31 percent (previously around 30 percent), which includes slightly dilutive effects due to consolidation of the acquisitions. The outlook for Lab Products & Services remains unchanged as well, with sales revenue expected to grow by 10 percent to 14 percent at an underlying EBITDA1 margin of approximately 20 percent. Consolidation of Biological Industries continues to be forecasted to contribute 2.5 percentage points and that of the Danaher portfolio around 10 percentage points to growth. While consolidation of the Danaher portfolio is likely to increase the division's margin by 1.5 percentage points, consolidation of Biological Industries is anticipated to result in slight dilution of the division's margin. Due to the ongoing pandemic, this guidance is subject to greater uncertainty than usual. In particular, these updated projections are based on the assumptions that logistics chains will continue to be stable and production lines remain in operation. All forecasts are based on constant currencies, as in the past years. Medium-term forecast unchanged Despite the currently increased demand, Sartorius does not see any need to adjust its medium-term forecast up to 2025 at the moment. The company continues to expect to achieve sales revenue of around 4 billion euros at an underlying EBITDA1 margin of about 28 percent in 20253. This is based on the fact that the medium-term fundamentals of the biopharmaceutical industry have remained unchanged. Therefore, it is currently not foreseeable whether the current additional demand for vaccines and antiviral drugs will lead to a sustained increase in demand in these areas. In addition, signs are becoming apparent that the market approval of some biopharmaceuticals could be delayed due to postponed clinical test series as a result of the pandemic. It is currently not possible to quantify the impact of these various effects concerning monetary amounts or timing. 1 Sartorius publishes alternative performance measures that are not defined by international accounting standards. These are determined with the aim of improving the comparability of business performance over time and within the industry. Order intake: all customer orders contractually concluded during the respective reporting period Underlying EBITDA: earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization and adjusted for extraordinary items Relevant net profit: profit for the period after non-controlling interest, adjusted for extraordinary items and non-cash amortization, as well as based on the normalized financial result and corresponding tax effects 2 EMEA = Europe, Middle East, Africa 3 Further information is provided on page 28 of the Sartorius 2019 Annual Report This press release contains forward-looking statements about the future development of the Sartorius Group. Forward-looking statements are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such statements. Sartorius assumes no liability for updating such statements in light of new information or future events. This is a translation of the original German-language press release. Sartorius shall not assume any liability for the correctness of this translation. The original German press release is the legally binding version. Follow Sartorius on Twitter @Sartorius_Group and on LinkedIn. Conference call Dr. Joachim Kreuzburg, CEO and Executive Board Chairman of Sartorius, and Rainer Lehmann, CFO, will discuss the company's business results with analysts and investors on July 21, 2020, at 3:30 p.m. Central European Summer Time (CEST) in a teleconference. You may register by clicking on the following link: https://services.choruscall.de/DiamondPassRegistration/register?confirmationNumber=5546778&linkSecurityString=6e873ee42 The presentation will be available on the same day starting at 3:15 p.m. CEST for viewing on our website at: https://www.sartorius.com/en/company/investor-relations/sartorius-ag-investor-relations/presentations Current image files https://www.sartorius.com/en/company/newsroom/downloads-publications Financial calendar October 20, 2020 Publication of nine-month figures (January to September 2020) Key performance indicators for the first half of 2020 Sartorius Group Bioprocess Solutions1 Lab Products & Services1 In millions of euros (unless otherwise specified) 6-mo. 2020 6-mo 2019 in % report-ed in % cc2 6-mo. 2020 6-mo. 2019 in % report-ed in % cc2 6-mo. 2020 6-mo. 2019 in % report-ed in % cc2 Sales Revenue and Order Intake Order intake 1,224.8 974.3 27.8 27.5 984.9 735.6 33.9 33.5 259.9 238.8 8.9 8.9 Sales revenue 1,056.8 894.7 18.1 17.9 809.3 665.8 21.6 21.3 247.5 228.9 8.1 8.1 - EMEA3 419.5 362.0 15.9 16.0 310.9 263.9 17.8 17.9 108.6 98.0 10.8 11.0 - Americas3 373.1 308.2 21.1 19.7 304.8 246.2 23.8 22.2 68.3 62.0 10.2 9.7 - Asia | Pacific3 264.2 224.5 17.7 18.4 193.7 155.7 24.4 25.5 70.5 68.8 2.4 2.5 Earnings EBITDA4 293.5 237.6 23.5 247.2 191.5 29.1 46.4 46.2 0.4 EBITDA margin4 in % 27.8 26.6 30.5 28.8 18.7 20.2 Net profit for the period5 124.3 101.5 22.4 Financial Data per Share Earnings per ordinary share5 in euros 1.81 1.48 22.5 Earnings per preference share5 in euros 1.82 1.49 22.3 1 Sales revenues and margins of the divisions in the comparable period adjusted to reflect the reallocation of two small product segments 2 cc = in constant currencies 3 Acc. to the customers' location 4 Underlying 5 After non-controlling interest, adjusted for extraordinary items and non-cash amortization, as well as based on the normalized financial result and corresponding tax effects. A profile of Sartorius The Sartorius Group is a leading international partner of life science research and the biopharmaceutical industry. With innovative laboratory instruments and consumables, the Group's Lab Products & Services Division concentrates on serving the needs of laboratories performing research and quality control at pharma and biopharma companies and those of academic research institutes. The Bioprocess Solutions Division with its broad product portfolio focusing on single-use solutions helps customers to manufacture biotech medications and vaccines safely and efficiently. The Group has been annually growing by double digits on average and has been regularly expanding its portfolio by acquisitions complementary technologies. In fiscal 2019, the company earned sales revenue of some 1.83 billion euros. At the end of 2019, more than 9,000 people were employed at the Group's approximately 60 manufacturing and sales sites, serving customers around the globe. Contact Petra Kirchhoff Head of Corporate Communications +49 (0)551-308-1686 [email protected] SOURCE Sartorius AG Related Links https://www.sartorius.com I feel blessed to contribute to a profession that has given so much to me. Elaine Biech, author, mentor, trainer, and president of Ebb Associates. During a virtual awards recognition celebration, the Association for Talent Development (ATD) recognized several individuals for their excellence and contributions across the talent development field. This years winner of the Champion of Talent Development Award is Brene Brown. Elaine Biech was honored with the Distinguished Contribution to Talent Development Award, and Colorado State University student Zachary Mercurio won the Dissertation Award. The Champion of Talent Development Award is presented to an individual outside the profession whose commitment, advocacy, and actions in support of talent development within or outside an organization have influenced audiences, organizations, or society. As a researcher and bestselling author, Brown has spent the past two decades studying courage, vulnerability, shame, and empathy. She is the author of five #1 New York Times bestsellers: The Gifts of Imperfection; Daring Greatly; Rising Strong; Braving the Wilderness; and her latest book Dare to Lead, which is the culmination of a seven-year study on courage and leadership. During the Association for Talent Development 2016 International Conference & EXPO, where Brown was a keynote speaker, she characterized the talent development profession in this way: Were in the business of people. She added, And if were really going to reignite innovation and passion, we have to rehumanize the way we work and the way we learn. Brown is a professor at the University of Houston where she holds the Huffington FoundationBrene Brown Endowed Chair at the Graduate College of Social Work. She is also a visiting professor in management at University of Texas at Austin McCombs School of Business. She hosts the Unlocking Us podcast, and her TED Talk, The Power of Vulnerability, is one of the top five most viewed TED Talks in the world with more than 45 million views. She is also the first researcher to have a filmed lecture on Netflix. The Call to Courage special debuted on the streaming service on April 19, 2019. The Distinguished Contribution to Talent Development Award is presented in recognition of an exceptional contribution that has had sustained impact on one or more aspects of the talent development field. Biech is an author, mentor, and trainer with more than 30 years of experience in the talent development field. She has written or edited more than 85 books and is president of Ebb Associates, a strategic implementation, leadership development, and experiential learning consulting firm. Biech, the first CPTD (formerly CPLP) Fellow, notes the importance of the words contribution and distinguished in the awards name. I feel blessed to contribute to a profession that has given so much to me, she says. And the word distinguished represents all the people who have received the award before me. Its humbling and amazing. Biech has been key to the profession expanding beyond a learning and performance role to one of talent development, including writing the ATD Talent Development Body of Knowledge, the definitive resource for talent development professionals. She believes that todays talent development function needs to step up to serve as trusted advisors to leaders in their organizations. For ATD alone, Biech has presented at 33 consecutive International Conference & EXPOs, written a monthly Ask a Consulting Expert column, designed the first Train the Trainer Certificate, and authored or edited 18 ATD Press books. Further, she has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, Harvard Management Update, Investors Business Daily, and Fortune. The ATD Dissertation Award is given to foster and disseminate research in the practice of developing talent in organizations. Mercurio is an instructor in the Organizational Learning, Performance, and Change program in the Colorado State University School of Education in Fort Collins, Colorado. His dissertation, The Lived Experience of Meaningful Work in a Stigmatized Occupation: A Descriptive Phenomenological Inquiry, sought to expand on studies that show positive outcomes related to meaningful workbenefits such as engagement, job satisfaction, performance, and a sense of well-being. Drawing on previous research, he defines stigmatized occupations as jobs relegated by society as physically, socially, or morally undesirable due to the nature of the work. Through his research, Mercurio found that meaningful work comprised a learned, positive approach to work, taking pride in ones work, receiving outside validation of the self and work, helping others, and developing positive and personal relationships. A complete list of award winners can be found on ATDs website. About ATD The Association for Talent Development (ATD), formerly American Society for Training & Development (ASTD), is the worlds largest association dedicated to those who develop talent in organizations. These professionals help others achieve their full potential by improving their knowledge, skills, and abilities. ATDs members come from more than 120 countries and work in public and private organizations in every industry sector. ATD supports the work of professionals locally across 100 chapters, international strategic partners, and global member networks. For more information, visit td.org. Gareth Le Monnier, 37, broke lockdown rules in Guernsey. (PA) A man has been ordered to pay 6,000 for breaching the coronavirus lockdown by visiting a hair salon. Gareth Le Monnier, 37, was ordered to self-isolate upon arrival in Guernsey on Friday 3 July but visited a Toni & Guy hair salon. He had travelled from his home in Jersey to see his wife and was subject to a mandatory 14-day self- isolation. Customs officers told him on arrival he was bound under the Emergency Powers Law to self-isolate until one minute past midnight on July 17. Self Isolation Breach Prosecution A 6,000 fine was imposed by the court this morning to someone who breached self-isolation after arriving in Guernsey. This is not a drill. This is the fight against Coronavirus Please read the attached for more pic.twitter.com/eIHu08VfEP Guernsey Police (@GuernseyPolice) July 20, 2020 Two days before his self-isolation period ended, however, he visited the salon and also went to a Waitrose cafe. Guernsey Magistrates Court heard that his breaches were uncovered when he was not at home when a welfare check was made at his registered address on 16 July. Le Monnier admitted two breaches over two consecutive days and was fined 3,000 for each. Judge Graeme McKerrell said the defendant had knowingly and deliberately put his own needs before that of the wider public good. He also ordered the fine would have to be paid in full before he would be released from custody. He added: "The defendant has selfishly put his needs above those of the public. "Working out when a period of 14 days expires is not rocket science." The judge said it was the interest of the wider public good which had to prevail and there had to be significant penalties in order to deter others who might consider doing the same. He added the defendant might have been asymptomatic, but that did not mean that he could not be carrying the disease and passing it on to other people. Story continues Coronavirus: what happened today Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter Prominent Hong Kong Democracy Activist Files Candidacy for Legislature By VOA News July 20, 2020 Joshua Wong, one of the leaders of Hong Kong's 2014 pro-democracy "Umbrella Movement," is officially running for a seat in the city's legislature, despite the new national security law imposed by Beijing. Wong filed his candidacy papers Monday to run in the September legislative elections. He was one of several young activists and so-called "localist" candidates who won a majority of races in unofficial primaries staged more than a week ago by Hong Kong's pro-democracy parties, despite warnings from both Hong Kong and China that the vote might run afoul of the new national security law. Pro-democracy forces are aiming to win a parliamentary majority that could block passage of the budget and other key legislation, and thereby force the resignation of Chief Executive Carrie Lam. Holding up his application for candidacy, Wong said that even with the possibility of being extradited to China and imprisoned, "I still hope to run for office and receive people's mandate, and let the world know that we will continue our fight until our last breath." Under the new law, anyone in Hong Kong believed to be carrying out terrorism, separatism, subversion of state power or collusion with foreign forces could be tried and face life in prison if convicted. Chinese state media have repeatedly accused Wong and other prominent pro-democracy figures of "collusion with foreign powers" for their engagements with U.S. and other foreign governments. The 23-year-old Wong was one of the leaders of the massive demonstrations that shut down much of Hong Kong in an unsuccessful attempt to win full democracy for the self-autonomous city. The new national security law was a response to the massive and often violent pro-democracy demonstrations that engulfed the financial hub in the last half of 2019. Western governments and human rights advocates say the measure effectively ends the autonomy guaranteed under the pact that switched control of Hong Kong from Britain to China in 1997. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address By Helen Coster (Reuters) - Former Fox News employee Jennifer Eckhart filed a lawsuit on Monday in a New York federal court against Fox News and former network anchor Ed Henry, accusing him of raping her. The complaint says Henry groomed, psychologically manipulated and coerced [her] into having a sexual relationship with him, and that, when she would not comply voluntarily, he sexually assaulted her on office property, and raped her at a hotel." In a statement on Henry's behalf, his lawyer Catherine Foti said evidence would show that Eckhart "initiated and completely encouraged a consensual relationship." In a separate statement, a Fox News spokeswoman said Eckhart and co-plaintiff Cathy Areu, a network guest, can pursue their claims against Henry directly with him, as the network already took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckharts claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network. The cable news network, owned by Rupert Murdochs Fox Corp , said on July 1 it had dismissed Henry after receiving a complaint from the lawyer of a former employee and retained a law firm to investigate. Mondays complaint alleges the network knew Henry had engaged in sexual misconduct as far back as early 2017. The Fox News spokeswoman said in a later statement on Monday: There were not sexual harassment claims against Ed Henry at Fox News prior to Jennifer Eckharts claim on June 25, 2020. Areu alleges Henry sent her a slew of wildly inappropriate sexual images and videos and suggested he would assist her career if she had sex with him. Areu also alleges that Fox News anchors Sean Hannity and Tucker Carlson, host Howard Kurtz and political analyst Gianno Caldwell sexually harassed and retaliated against Areu. Asked to comment on the allegations in the lawsuit, Foti said: Ed Henry looks forward to presenting actual facts and evidence, which will contradict the fictional accounts contained in the complaint." Story continues In its statement the network said that based on an outside law firm's investigation that included interviews with numerous witnesses, it was determined that Areus claims against the network, its management, Carlson, Hannity, Kurtz and Caldwell are "false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit." Reuters was not immediately able to reach Carlson, Hannity, Kurtz or Caldwell but Fox News said its statement was a response on behalf of all four men. Eckhart was an associate producer at Fox Business Network. In 2016, Roger Ailes resigned as chairman and chief executive of Fox News after former Fox News anchor Gretchen Carlson sued him for sexual harassment, charges he denied. The network agreed to pay $20 million to settle Carlsons lawsuit. (Reporting by Helen Coster; Editing by Howard Goller and Neil Fullick) Journalist and film critic Rajeev Masand has been summoned by Mumbai Police in connection with Sushant Singh Rajputs death investigation. The development came days after Kangana Ranaut on her Nation Wants to Know interview with Republic TV's Editor-in-Chief Arnab Goswami named Masand as a person who she felt should be summoned in the investigation. Kangana in her interview with Republic TV had said, "I am not saying that anyone wanted Sushant to die, but definitely doomed. These people are emotional vultures. They want to see people lynch themselves. To date, Mahesh Bhatt is selling Parveen Babi's illness in so many versions through his films. Why is Mumbai Police not summoning Aditya Chopra, Mahesh Bhatt, Karan Johar, Rajeev Masand? These 4 people. Why, because they are powerful? With this interview, I only have things to lose." Calling the investigation by Mumbai Police a 'sham', Kangana had said, "Sushant's family shouldn't be harassed because these people are too powerful. These people aren't even summoned. Mumbai Police investigation is a complete sham. I have said no to Bhansali's Padmaavat but he hasn't done anything vengeful. He doesn't gang up on anyone but he's being summoned. Shekhar Kapur, a God-like figure in the industry is being summoned." READ: Full Interview: Kangana Ranaut Speaks To Arnab, Talks About Sushant Singh Rajput Case READ: 10 Statements Of Kangana Ranaut That Broke The Net: From Sushant's Death To 'Movie Mafia' Masand had been at the receiving end of criticism from netizens after several of his blind items allegedly targeting Sushant, calling him a skirt-chaser', apart from a story about #Metoo allegations, went viral after his death. READ: Tejaswi Yadav Demands CBI Probe Into Sushant Singh Rajput's Death Another person, who Kangana named in the interview as a person who should be summoned, Aditya Chopra recorded his statement with the Mumbai Police. Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Shekhar Kapur, Sanjana Sanghi, Rhea Chakraborty and Yash Raj Films employees Shanoo Sharma and Aashish Singh are among over 35 names questioned in the death, that took on June 14 in Mumbai. The Mumbai Police has ruled out foul in the death and stated the death cause as asphyxia due to hanging. READ: All About Sushant Singh Rajput's Lookalike From UP, Sachin Tiwari; His Details Here Update: Following summons issued to him, Rajeev Masand appeared at the Bandra Police station for questioning. Photos have been posted by ANI: Mumbai: Film critic Rajeev Masand arrives at Bandra police station to record his statement in connection with actor Sushant Singh Rajput's suicide case. pic.twitter.com/8XoQ3hwwzt ANI (@ANI) July 21, 2020 READ: Swastika Mukherjee Shares BTS Of Khulke Jeene Ka, Says "Sushant Did Teach Us Khulke Jeena" For a model of how progressives might work with Joe Biden, look to former California Gov. Jerry Brown's time in office, and how he was pushed to take more liberal stands than he might have otherwise. (Rich Pedroncelli / Associated Press) Many California Democrats have misgivings about Joe Biden. Bernie Sanders handily swept the states primary in March, and in late June, Democrats selected representatives from the partys progressive wing including one of Bernies most prominent supporters to lead the California delegation at the upcoming Democratic National Convention. But progressives wary of Biden should take heart. A model for how to proceed can be found in the legacy of a leader many California Democrats have fondly embraced: Jerry Brown. Biden and Brown have a lot in common, and those commonalities provide insight into what kind of leader Biden would be and the role progressives will need to play in a Biden administration. For starters, both men are lifelong politicians with decades of experience in policymaking and reputations for pragmatic dealmaking and a populist flair. They have also both remained grounded, rejecting many of the trappings of power. During his first term as governor in the 1970s, Brown lived in a modest apartment rather than the governors mansion, and he drove a Plymouth sedan rather than use the usual limo. In his second swing as governor, Brown was known to fly around the state solo on Southwest Airlines flights rather than on a private jet with an entourage of staff. Biden has shared Browns modest travel habits, regularly commuting on Amtrak between Washington and Delaware. And while Bidens gaffes and blunders may be a vulnerability Trump hopes to exploit, they, along with his stories of family tragedy and his rank as the least well-off member of the Senate, have also humanized him. And then there is the matter of timing. When Brown began his second stint as governor in 2011, the states economy was still stumbling out of the Great Recession. Deep cuts by the previous administration had left education, health and welfare systems in shambles. Brown oversaw the beginning of a California renaissance. But he was not solely responsible for the state's comeback. In that, he was both supported and pushed by Californias sophisticated social movements to do things that would raise the boat for all Californians, not just the wealthy. When he left office in 2019, the state was in a much stronger position: economically vibrant and boasting a budget surplus. And Brown had become an international leader in the fight to combat climate change even as the state became a pioneer in protecting immigrant communities from assertive federal enforcement mechanisms. Story continues But lets give credit where it is also due. The millionaire's tax that helped right the states budget was first proposed by progressives organizing voters of color. The hike in the states minimum wage was forced into being by labor, with Brown actually seeking to moderate the increase. The enhanced protection of immigrants was facilitated in part by a vibrant set of immigrant rights organizations that changed the narrative and the political calculus. And, while Brown certainly deserves credit for leading on climate, it was climate justice advocates who insured that environmental protections for poor communities were a key element of his efforts something that helped earn the support of communities of color that are actually the most loyal of environmental voters. From these examples, Biden can learn from Brown. If he becomes president, as seems increasingly likely, Biden will be, like Brown, inheriting a mess. To lead a deeply wounded nation to a better future, he will need to listen in the way Brown did. The California governor was never the type to join activists in the streets. But he did listen to the needs of everyday Californians and worked with a cadre of advocates from across the state to enact meaningful reforms, including driving education dollars to students most in need. If elected, Biden will need to act in a similar fashion, soliciting input and heeding the voices of Americans calling for economic and racial justice. He has a good head start with the Unity platform that has been crafted by Sanders and Biden supporters working together. But he will also need to have the humility to understand that his highest calling is not as a dominating leader but as a vessel for American hopes. California progressives frustrated that Biden won the partys nod will need to understand and embrace their role. Biden might not have been their candidate of choice, but he has the potential to oversee great change with their guidance and support. The role of grassroots forces, as during Browns tenure, will be to provide wind to Bidens sails when he is heading in the right direction and to hold him accountable when he is wrong just as they did with Jerry Brown. Sara Sadhwani is an assistant professor of politics at Pomona College. Manuel Pastor is director of the Equity Research Institute at USC. There will be new rules for visitors to Niagara Regions long-term care homes, starting Wednesday. Outdoor visit parameters are being loosened, and indoor visiting programs will be permitted, Adrienne Jugley, the commissioner of social services, wrote in a report to regional council. Outdoor visitors at Region-run homes will no longer be required to complete COVID-19 testing before visiting. Indoor visits, which were limited to essential workers and families of palliative patients, will resume with an array of protocols to keep residents safe. COVID-19 still presents a very real risk, and we are asking all visitors to ensure they follow all the health and safety protocols as we collaborate to protect residents who are highly vulnerable to the virus, Jugley said. For outdoor visits, two people can have scheduled visits with a resident if each passes an active screening (including taking temperature) before the visit begins. They will be required to bring and wear a mask and follow infection prevention and control measures, including using hand sanitizer and ensuring social distancing. For indoor visits, two visitors will be permitted at scheduled times with each to be screened before the visit begins. Indoor visitors must also have completed a COVID-19 test within 14 days of the visit and provide a record of a negative result. Visitors will be provided with a surgical mask. They must wear the mask throughout their time in a home and follow usual infection prevention and control procedures. The report said visitors should consider their health and susceptibility to the virus in determining whether visiting a long-term care home is appropriate. Homes will continue to offer virtual visiting options. If a home enters into an outbreak, all non-essential visitations will be suspended. Also, if there is a steady increase in community cases of COVID-19, the health department may require temporary cessation of visits, the report warned. In a landmark move to ameliorate the wounds of the poor during the Covid-19 pandemic and the migrant crisis, the Delhi government has approved the "Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana" to provide doorstep delivery of ration under the public distribution system and the 'One Nation, One Ration Card' scheme, to begin in the next six to seven months. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday announced that his government has approved Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana which will help the beneficiaries avail doorstep delivery of ration. Our Cabinet has approved Mukhya Mantri Ghar Ghar Ration Yojana, beneficiaries can avail doorstep delivery of ration, the Chief Minister said. He added that every government in the country, along with the Central government, distributes ration to the poor people of their state. But since ration distribution started in the country, the poor have to face a lot of difficulty in getting it. Sometimes the shops are closed, sometimes they get adulterated food or sometimes they are charged higher prices. In the last five years, we have made many improvements in the system of rationing. Today we have approved the scheme of doorstep delivery of ration in Delhi, he said. Also read: Rajasthan political crisis: Congress calls for CLP meeting at Jaipur hotel Also read: Ashok Gehlot is afraid of CBI probe in audiotape case: Satish Poonia Under this scheme, people will no longer have to visit the ration shop, but the ration will be transported to peoples homes with due respect, the Chief Minister informed. Wheat will be picked from FCI warehouse and flour will be crushed. Packing of rice and sugar will also be done and delivered at the doorstep. People will be given the option that those who want to go to the shop and get ration can go to the shop and if they want home delivery then they can use that option, he said. Home delivery of ration will start in the next six to seven months. In the doorstep delivery, the flour will be provided instead of wheat. The day home delivery of ration commences in Delhi, Centres, on the same day, the Central Governments One Nation One Ration Card scheme will be implemented in Delhi, Kejriwal added. The Chief Minister stated that the move comes as a great pleasure for him personally as before joining politics, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia and he himself used to run an organisation called Parivartan. We used to work with poor people inside the slums of Delhi, we used to work for the rights of the poor. We used the Right to Information Act to provide ration to the people. In those days ration used to be stolen and the full ration was also not available, he added. Also read: Government ensuring smooth technological shift: PM Modi to IBM CEO For all the latest National News, download NewsX App An out-of-work hospitality worker has opened up about his struggle to support his family of eight on JobSeeker payments. The man, known only as JP, was already caring for his oldest nephew and a friend's child when his sister-in-law had serious mental health episode and he now cares for her and her four children as well. The increase in his dependents came at an unfortunate time as the coronavirus pandemic escalated, forcing cafes and restaurants to close or offer takeaway only. JP was suddenly without a job as he cared for seven others. The generous caregiver became emotional as he explained how he had to rely on the JobSeeker benefit because he did not qualify for JobKeeper. Cafes and restaurants were forced to close or offer takeaway only when the coronavirus crisis escalated in March (Pictured: A closed cafe in Melbourne) On Tuesday Scott Morrison announced the JobSeeker payment, which currently helps 3.5million Australians, would be reduced in phases as the economy recovers from coronavirus lockdown (pictured: Dozens of people lining up outside Centrelink in Melbourne) 'I wasn't eligible for JobKeeper because of the fact that I, like most hospitality workers, have moved around and I moved back to a former employer,' he said in a video posted to Twitter. 'I'm currently still without a job.' A person on JobSeeker with dependent children is eligible for a $1,162 fortnightly payment, $550 of which is a coronavirus supplement. From September JP's COVID-19 benefit will be reduced from $550 to $250 a fortnight as the government cuts back on its coronavirus wage subsidy program. The announcement has left JP upset and stressed as he still has to support seven others. 'I'm now at the point where I'm trying to raise a family of eight on JobSeeker and as you can probably tell I'm just getting a little bit stressed and a little bit upset by it all,' he said. Australians have rallied to support him after Federal Opposition Leader Anthony Albanese shared the clip on Twitter. 'Hoping he gets more support and help as needed,' one person wrote. The man, known only as JP, became emotional as he explained how he had to rely on the JobSeeker benefit because he did not qualify for JobKeeper JobKeeper is being extended beyond the end of September because the government is worried about businesses potentially collapsing if it's withdrawn too soon (pictured is a barista in Sydney on July 1) 'What a good human. How can we help?' another asked. Unemployment during June amid COVID-19 Australia's unemployment rate climbed from a 19-year high of 7.1 per cent in May to 7.4 per cent in June - the highest since November 1998 Number without work climbed from 923,000 to a record-high 992,300 Close to a million people unemployed for the first time ever - surpassing 960,200 record set in December 1992 Unemployment increased even though 210,800 more people were employed as COVID-19 shutdowns eased That was because the participation rate increased from 62.7 per cent to 64 per cent as more people looked for work Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data for June Advertisement JP is just one of many Australians calling on the government not to cut JobKeeper payments. On Tuesday Scott Morrison announced the wage subsidy, which currently helps 3.5million Australians, would be reduced in phases as the economy recovers from lockdown. The payment was due to end on September 27, but instead it will be decreased from $1,500 to $1,200-a-fortnight. A lower rate of $750-a-fortnight will go to people who worked fewer than 20 hours a week in February, before coronavirus struck. The two-tiered system has been brought in because one in four casuals are earning more on JobKeeper than when they worked. From 4 January, the payments will be reduced to $1,000-a-fortnight for full time staff and to $650-a-fortnight for those who worked fewer than 20 hours. Fewer businesses will be eligible for JobKeeper as they must continue to prove a revenue decline of 30 per cent compared to the period before coronavirus. Many will not meet this threshold because business has picked up since lockdown ended. This means the number of people on JobKeeper is expected to decline from 3.5million now to 1.4million between October and December, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said. One million people are expected to receive the payment from January. As the United States breaks records on COVID-19 case counts and Congress weighs a new economic stimulus, Congress should look for approaches that also aid public health. Particularly, a new economic stimulus could pay every American $1,000 to download and use a digital contact tracing application. Contact tracing applications, such as Google and Apples joint solution, enable smartphones to track physical proximity to other smartphones via Bluetooth. When one smartphone stays in proximity to another, they exchange random tokens. If I am diagnosed with COVID-19, I input that into an application built on Google/Apples system. Everyone with the application and my token on their phone will receive notification that they were near someone with COVID-19. They can then get tested, quarantine, and take other preventative action hopefully before spreading the disease themselves. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In theory, digital contact tracing can create what is effectively digital herd immunity. New cases are identified and contained so quickly that the disease cannot survive. But such immunity requires an estimated 60 percent of the population to use the solution, and reality may show the estimates are lowwe may need more than 60 percent of people to use it. While lower adoption rates still improve public health, they are not enough to defeat the disease. Global experiences with similar tools show limited public adoption. In France, less than 3 percent of the population downloaded their contact tracing application, while in Germany only 14 percent have. Some of this is likely due to declining case rates in those countries (by contrast, cases are spiking in the United States), but some hesitation is due to privacy concerns. People understandably do not want to lose control over sensitive health information. Advertisement Advertisement So far, the United States contact tracing plans have gone poorly too. A particular challenge is that instead of a nationwide approach, each state has to make its own decisions. Politico reports most states do not currently have plans for contact tracing apps, and the apps that do exist cannot necessarily communicate with one another. Even states with a deployed solution have faced low adoption: Less than 5 percent of North Dakotas population had downloaded the state app as of June 11. (More recent data does not seem to be available.) Americans just do not seem interested in the technology. In a June survey, 71 percent of Americans were not planning to download a contact tracing application. Americans who did not wish to use a contact tracing application cited privacy as a primary concern. Others surveyed said that they did not believe contact tracing applications would be successful. Advertisement Advertisement Paying Americans to download and keep the application changes the equation. In a working paper, Johns Hopkins Universitys Jemima A. Frimpong and Stephane Helleringer found cash payments up to $100 were more than twice as important in the decision-making process about [digital contact tracing] app downloads than privacy and accuracy. No doubt much larger cash payments would be even more desirable. In exchange for downloading an application, your rent is paid. Advertisement Advertisement A high cash payment would also help folks who do not have smartphones. According to Pew Research, most people over 65 have cellphones, but only 53 percent have smartphones. Smartphone ownership is also much lower among lower income brackets, with 71 percent of people earning less than $30,000 per year owning smartphones. But numerous smartphones are available for only a few hundred dollars. A $1,000 payment would cover this cost and likely any increase in monthly fees, at least initially. Alternatively, people in those groups could receive tax write-offs or vouchers for smartphone purchase and monthly payments to avoid worsening income inequality, however marginally. Advertisement Advertisement The stimulus may also pay for itself. The Congressional Budget Office estimates COVID-19 is likely to shave $8 trillion off the economy through 2030. Preventing even a tenth of this cost would massively outweigh the $330 billion in paying every American $1,000 for the application. Plus, millions of new cases might be prevented and hundreds of thousands of lives saved. Advertisement Advertisement No doubt, there will be implementation challenges to work through. The system would need to ensure I did not download the application on five devices and claim five checks. It would also need to discourage me from downloading the application, accepting payment, then deleting it the next day. Likewise, the system would need to protect from nefarious actors seeking to steal my identity, violate my privacy, or just create mayhem. Advertisement Creating a separate website to check who you are could resolve these challenges. The platform could be linked to Internal Revenue Service databases to verify user identity and provide a single-use verification code. Once the code was used, the user would be paid $500. New verification codes could be required monthly to receive future payment. In practice, Congress likely needs to establish a single, nationwide application. Digital contact tracing applications need to talk to one another to be effective. If Deborahs great John Gates University COVID-19 Tracking application cannot talk to Normans also great Stop COVID-19 NOW! application, Deborah would still not know Norman contracted COVID-19, and the public health benefits would be lost. A nationwide solution would ensure the applications can communicate and be useful for states without applications. Congress would need to ensure any application is securenot a small feat. The new website would require rapid and extensive penetration testing, vulnerability assessment, bug bounty programs, and other security measures. Application-based authentication also would be needed to confirm any COVID-19 test results to prevent trolls from creating fake outbreaks. Advertisement Advertisement Google and Apples joint solution could work for a national standard. Google and Apple use a privacy-preserving decentralized approach: Data on a users COVID-19 testing status is shared only among users with the same random token. This means the data is not stored on a central server that could be compromised. Other contact tracing applications, by contrast, collect location data, posing greater risks to privacy. If the Google/Apple approach is adopted nationwide, public education about the privacy protections within the system may offset this concern. While Americans still may not believe the application is effective in combating COVID-19, I dont need to believe in the power of contact tracing applications to believe in a month of free rent. Advertisement There still may be too few Americans who download the application to develop true digital herd immunity, but the approach is self-correcting. If the stimulus is tied to download and adoption, low download rates mean less money spent. Fewer lives would be saved, but some still would be saved through earlier warning and delayed spread. A single community may adopt the application at high rates, creating pockets of digital herd immunity. But if enough Americans do download the application, the disease could be defeated. If Congress pays every American to download a digital contact tracing application, it could stimulate the economy, improve public health, and save thousands of lives. The views expressed are the authors and not those of any current or future employer, funder, or affiliate. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. We are proud that Mark has agreed to expand his position in the organization and look forward to his leadership to help us achieve our goals, said Al Hartman. Hartman, sponsor of Texas-centric commercial real estate investment programs with more than $750 million in assets under management, announced the promotion of Mark T. Torok to Chief Operating Officer, and he will retain his duties as General Counsel and Corporate Secretary. In his new position, he will lead the execution of strategies developed by the executive team and oversee the capital markets and capital raising efforts of Hartman and accounting department. He will continue to manage Hartmans in-house legal department and will continue to be responsible for all legal matters affecting the company and its affiliates, including the Advisor and the property manager. We are proud that Mark has agreed to expand his position in the organization and look forward to his leadership to help us achieve our goals, said Al Hartman. Mark added, I am very happy to be given the opportunity to expand my role and assist Hartman in reaching and surpassing its growth goals. Prior to joining Hartman more than 5 years ago, Mr. Torok founded The Torok Law Firm P.C., where his practice focused on real estate, securities, private placements and business law. Before starting his own law firm, he served as Assistant General Counsel and Assistant Secretary for the United Services Automobile Association (USAA), a property and casualty insurance company, and he has held similar positions with Argonaut Insurance Group and Erie Indemnity Company. Mark holds the insurance designations of Chartered Property Casualty Underwriter (CPCU) and Associate in Reinsurance (ARe) and is a member of the Texas Bar Association. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in economics from Gettysburg College and a Juris Doctor degree from Willamette University College of Law. Mr. Torok holds series 7, 24 and 63 FINRA licenses. About Hartman Hartman has extensive experience acquiring, owning, managing, and leasing commercial office, retail, light industrial and warehouse properties located in Texas. Since 1983, Hartman and its affiliated entities (including founder, Allen R. Hartman) have sponsored 23 programs and acquired interests in more than 90 real assets totaling approximately $750 million as of December 31, 2019. THIS IS NEITHER AN OFFER TO SELL NOR A SOLICITATION OF AN OFFER TO BUY ANY SECURITIES DESCRIBED HEREIN OR DESCRIBED ELSEWHERE. AN OFFERING IS MADE ONLY BY PROSPECTUS FILED WITH THE SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION (SEC) OR PURSUANT TO A VALID EXEMPTION. A COPY OF THE CURRENT PROSPECTUS OR OFFERING DOCUMENT MUST BE MADE AVAILABLE TO YOU IN CONNECTION WITH ANY OFFERING AND SHOULD BE READ IN ORDER TO MORE FULLY UNDERSTAND THE IMPLICATIONS AND RISKS OF THE OFFERING TO WHICH IT RELATES. NON-TRADED REIT INVESTMENTS ARE NOT SUITABLE FOR ALL INVESTORS. INFORMATION ABOUT INVESTING IN A SPECIFIC NON-TRADED REIT MUST BE ACCOMPANIED BY A PROSPECTUS, WHICH SHOULD BE READ PRIOR TO INVESTING. Neither the SEC nor any other U. S. state or federal regulator has passed on or endorsed the merits of any offering or securities described herein or confirmed the adequacy or accuracy of the prospectus. Any representation to the contrary is unlawful. All information contained in this material is qualified in its entirety by the terms of a current prospectus. Investors should consider a programs investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. The achievement of any goals is not guaranteed. For more complete information about investing in any program, including risks, charges, and expenses, refer to the programs prospectus. Securities offered through D.H. Hill Securities, LLLP, Member FINRA/SIPC, 1543 Green Oak Place, Suite 100, Kingwood, TX 77339. 800.880.2212. Zalo Shop has been selling goods without a license Zalo is an e-commerce application following Article 3.4 of Circular No.59/2015/TT-BCT outlining the management of e-commerce activities via applications and mobile equipment dated December 31, 2015. Therefore, Zalo is responsible for registering for a license from the Ministry of Industry and Trade (MoIT) under the circular. "However," Dang Thanh Hai, head of the Vietnam e-Commerce and Digital Economy Agency (iDEA) under the MoIT told Vietnam News Agency, "as of now, the application has yet to obey the regulation. In last July and August, iDEA three times required VNG JSC the operator of Zalo to send its legal representative to the authority to clarify the legal aspects of Zalos e-commerce activities, which the company failed to comply with. As a result, since September 5, 2019, iDEA sent Document No.32/TMDT-QL to the Department of Cyber Security and Hi-tech Crime Prevention under the Ministry of Public Security to tackle the issue. Moreover, the authority has disclosed that many vendors have been trading fake and unauthenticated goods on Zalo Shop as the issue has yet to be resolved comprehensively even on licensed platforms such as Lazada, Shopee, Tiki, and Sendo. Over the past time, the platforms are the Big Four dominating the market who are known among consumers for the abundance of fake and low-quality goods. During the social distancing period a few months ago, iDEA reported that more than 21,000 pieces of fake and unauthenticated goods from 5,200 vendors were uncovered and handled on Shopee and Lazada. A MAN suffered serious but non-life threatening injuries when he was beaten over the head with a crutch in Cork city centre. It was the second serious assault in Cork in the space of just 12 hours after a 55-year-old man suffered a suspected stab injury to the torso in a separate and unrelated incident on Monday. The latest incident occurred off Railway Lane, by Brian Boru Street, just 100 metres from St Patrick's Street, as a man in his mid 40s was walking through the area shortly after 10pm. Kent Railway Station is located just a short distance away. The man was beaten repeatedly over the head with a crutch. He was discovered by a passerby who raised the alarm. Gardai and paramedics were at the scene within minutes and the man was rushed to Cork University Hospital (CUH). His condition was described as stable and the injuries involved are not life-threatening. Gardai confirmed a man in his 20s was arrested a short time later and was being questioned in relation to the incident. It occurred after a 55-year-old man had to be rushed to CUH after being assaulted in Blackpool shortly after lunchtime on Monday. The incident occurred at Dublin Street. The man received medical treatment from paramedics at the scene before being taken by ambulance to CUH. His condition was described as serious but not life-threatening after emergency surgery. Gardai sealed off the street where the stabbing occurred for a full technical examination. A man in his seventies was later arrested by gardai for questioning. A file on the matter will be prepared for the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). Door to door inquiries have been carried out to determine if anyone living locally heard or saw anything suspicious. Gardai will also examine CCTV footage from the scene to track movements of individuals to and from the area at the time of the incident. Dr. Robert Rodriguezs anxiety rises and falls with the number of coronavirus cases and deaths. Fear that he could get infected at his San Francisco General Hospital job, or bring the virus home, affects his sleep. He doesnt hug his 16-year-old son as much. Other worried family members avoid interacting with him. The stress isnt sustainable, he said. If day after day, youre waking up and dealing with patients that are extremely ill, some of whom wind up in the ICU and dying, it just takes a cumulative toll on our anxiety and burnout, said Rodriguez, a UCSF professor of emergency medicine who works in the emergency department and intensive care unit at San Francisco General. Its exhausting every day trying to deal with this. The pandemic plagues everyone with fear, but for those on the front lines, stress is exponential. In a new study authored by Rodriguez and others, emergency room doctors across the country reported their anxiety increasing to moderate or severe levels during the first surge of the pandemic in late March and early April. The UCSF study, publishing Tuesday in the Academic Emergency Medicine medical journal, is one of the first of its kind in the U.S. Similar studies showed that anxiety, depression, and insomnia spiked among health care workers in China. In New York City, an emergency room doctor died by suicide after COVID-19 patients overwhelmed her hospital. UCSFs study surveyed 426 doctors in San Francisco, Fresno, Bakersfield, Los Angeles, San Diego, New Orleans, and Camden, N.J. Male doctors documented their stress levels at a median of five on a scale of one to seven, with seven being extremely stressed. Women reported a median level of six. The stress didnt stay at work. Most doctors 91% changed their behavior at home, many cutting back on hugging and kissing loved ones. Around 40% reported that family members were reluctant to be in close contact with them. The main triggers for anxiety were worry about the lack of personal protective equipment and the ability to accurately diagnose COVID-19 cases quickly. Doctors said making sure they had enough protective gear, rapid testing, and whether they could leave work to take care of themselves or their families would alleviate anxiety. Rodriguez said the supply of protective equipment and speed of testing improved in San Francisco since the time of the survey. But the fear of getting infected remains as the cases surge. Now Playing: Jessica Boykin, 32, had stuck plenty of people with needles by the time she graduated from the nursing school at Los Medanos College in 2018, but nothing prepared her for the coronavirus pandemic. Now she's an ER nurse on the front lines, where equipment and staff are short. Many nursing students who are just inches away from graduation are hoping to join her, and begging the state to bend its licensing rules so they can work. Video: SFGATE UCSFs study is ongoing, with findings from more recent months to be published in the future. The study surveyed only emergency room doctors, but Rodriguez pointed out all workers are stressed. Lulu Franco, a nurse who works at Good Samaritan Hospital in San Jose and Grant Cuesta Sub-Acute and Rehabilitation Center in Mountain View, is terrified she will test positive and have to leave her family. She already avoids hugging and kissing her 9-year-old daughter when she gets home from work. I just talked to myself and said stop feeling this afraid, dont let this fear take you, she said. Even though our life is at risk, we have to keep doing it. For herself and her daughter, Franco sought counseling, which is a growing need. 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. If you need help The National Suicide Prevention Helpline - 1-800-273-8255 - is available 24 hours every day. Calls are transferred to hotlines in the caller's area. Essential workers can get free therapy through the Frontline Workers Counseling Project. See More Collapse San Francisco psychiatrist Dr. Elizabeth Rawson and psychologist Michael Levin founded the Frontline Workers Counseling Project in March to provide free counseling to health workers, and since expanded to all essential workers. Around 450 therapists volunteered and an estimated 1,000 hours of counseling are offered through the website each week. Some workers said they otherwise wouldnt have gone to therapy because they were too busy or ashamed, Rawson said. She described how workers feel anxious and afraid. Theyre exhausted from long hours and the uncertainty of the outbreak. Theyre angry, grieving and guilty as they grapple with the losses of patients. But theyre also grateful for the support. For some, connecting with services through our website is saving their life, she said. Rodriguez said UCSF has been excellent in making therapy available, although he hasnt used it yet. Hes now taking on a new stress: On Tuesday, he will travel for two weeks to work in an overwhelmed hospital in Brownsville, Tex. His family is worried for him and he is, too. Its sort of going into the unknown, not quite sure how bad its going to be, he said. Mallory Moench is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: mallory.moench@sfchronicle.com Twitter:@mallorymoench There has been a three-fold increase in the recovery of heroin by the Border Security Force (BSF) along the Punjab border this year as compared to the corresponding period last year. According to the BSFs statistics, around 328kg of heroin, apparently smuggled from Pakistan, has been seized till July 19 this year. Last year, the figure was around 100kg for the same period. Punjab Police officials opine that the coronavirus-induced nationwide lockdown and restrictions imposed on the unnecessary movement of people have cut the supply chain of heroin, increasing the drugs demand and prompting the Pakistani smugglers to push in more consignments into the Indian territory through various means. In the last four months of lockdown (March 23 to July 19), the BSF has seized 229kg heroin on the state border, which is 9kg more than the total seizures in the last year. In 2019, the BSF had seized total 227kg heroin. On March 23 this year, the Centre had enforced the nationwide lockdown. This years seizures include a 64-kg heroin haul from the Ravi river that flows along the India-Pakistan border in Gurdaspur district. The contraband was found in 60 packets concealed in long fabric cloth tubes and tied to a bunch of water hyacinth floating in the river on Sunday. A senior BSF official in Amritsar said, We have noticed the increased activities of anti-national elements across the border this year. But our force is capable of thwarting their all attempts. Our personnel are keeping 24x7 vigil along the border. A senior special task force (STF) official said, The supply chain of heroin has been disrupted by the strict lockdown in Punjab and due to this out-patient opioid assisted treatment (OOAT) centres across Punjab have also witnessed a drastic increase in the admission of drug dependents for treatment. The BSFs recovery is apart from the drug haul by Punjab Police along the international border. On May 28 this year, the Tarn Taran police had seized around 8.50kg of heroin from across the barbed fence at Rattoke village on the India-Pakistan border. Tarn Taran senior superintendent of police Dhruv Dahiya had said the heroin was buried in an agriculture field across the barbed fence. After the recovery, the police had also arrested one Gurlal Singh of Rattoke village. Police had said Gurlal had been in contact with Pakistani smugglers for the supply of heroin. Similarly, on May 2, STF had recovered 9kg heroin with the arrest of three persons in two separate operations carried out near the India-Pakistan border. The STF had said the heroin, which was smuggled from across the border, was being cleared by the accused. r21 Holdings, Inc. (rue21), announced Tuesday that it will open three new brick-and-mortar locations this July, including a location in Hamilton Place Mall. The retailer, according to officials, has experienced a business uptick since emerging from the Covid-19 shutdown, outperforming every metric including sales, comparative year-over-year sales and EBITDA, plans to open three new stores in South Carolina, Tennessee and Texas, bringing its store count to 673 in 45 states. Officials said, "Like many retailers, rue21 responded to the global pandemic in March by shuttering its stores and furloughing most staff, pausing scheduled incentive bonuses, but continuing to provide employee healthcare benefits. When some states began to reopen in May, the retailer safely opened 180 stores, electively erecting behind-the-counter sneeze shields, installing touchless payment technology and training staff on stringent safety protocols." During this unprecedented time, belts were tightened -- but the executive team continued to strategize and collaborate in order to prepare for pent up customer demand, said interim CEO John Fleming, whose retail experience includes leadership roles at Walmart, Uniqlo, Bed Bath and Beyond, StitchFix and Untuckit, among others. We fully expected all areas of commerce to take a hit, but to our surprise, our customers were anxious to purchase affordable, fashion-forward pieces that fit into their new way of life. As a result, we beat out last years comparables with a record June in terms of gross margin, he said. Mr. Fleming, who became interim CEO at the beginning of 2020, turned down compensation throughout the furlough period. Under his leadership, he directed a more streamlined approach toward promotions, store operations and management structures, focusing on speed to market and inventory velocity. As the retailer prepares for an uncertain back-to-school season, it will prioritize the timely supply of trend-setting inventory, such as its fashion-print facemasks and plus-size rue+ offerings, which continue to be a market differentiator. Speed to market continues to be a laser focus. Trends are changing faster than ever before and were determined to consistently meet our loyal customers demands, said Mr. Fleming. In addition, the retailer doubled down on its customer loyalty strategy, launching rue rewards online in April and across all stores on July 9. The free reward program -- rue21s first -- gives customers 10 points for every $1 dollar spent -- or a $5 dollar reward for every $75 spent -- and includes exclusive member offers. Unlike many retailers, we are in a better position today then we were before the global pandemic. We are energized to build off of this incredible momentum and provide our customers with a seamless, personalized and safe shopping experience, said Mr. Fleming. The new store openings include: Hamilton Place Mall in Chattanooga, Westgate Mall in Spartanburg, SC and Bradley Square Mall in Tyler, Tx. It is perhaps the inherent show of power that statues signify which makes them contentious. Statues are commissioned by authorities, erected to celebrate those who enjoyed authority, and more importantly, they are markers in public spaces. The death of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement have made statues the centre of global attention, as several larger-than-life figures in the Western world have been brought down both literally and metaphorically speaking highlighting the relevance of statuary as artwork that represents our collective histories. In India, too, statues are important public symbols, as a way of commemorating civic leaders, local heroes, religious icons and philanthropists, and they have undergone various trials including vandalism, relocation and exile. However, many colonial and post-colonial statues largely remain curiously empty of adulation, due to public disinterest or their locations, which are usually crowded marketplaces or busy traffic junctions. Nonetheless, there lies a rich history of statuary in India that can be traced back to the colonial era, when statues were commissioned to British sculptors with the intention of fortifying the imperial rule in the local psyche. Speaking about the cultural politics behind statue-making in India, Tapati Guha-Thakurta, retired professor of History at the Centre for Studies in Social Sciences (CSSS), and indologist and historian Sandeep Dahisarkar, held forth on the cultural politics behind statue-making in India in an online discussion titled Statues in Colonial Bombay and Bengal Presidencies. Hosted by the National Gallery of Modern Art, Mumbai and the Ministry of Culture, Government of India along with AVID Learning, the session was moderated by historian Dr Simin Patel. It was conducted as part of a virtual week-long series dedicated to sculpture, and explored the landscape of Indian colonial and post-colonial statuary in the two prominent presidencies of British India, Bombay and Calcutta. Elaborating on why statues matter, Professor Guha-Thakurta explained the commemorative function of statuary such as John Henry Foleys sculpture of General Sir James Outram a bronze, equestrian work which was commissioned to mark Sir Outram's bravery during the Siege of Lucknow and erected in Kolkata in 1874. Such statues were erected after these officials returned home, and their purpose was to commemorate their rule. Thats why the statues were commissioned in England, but they always returned to India, said Guha-Thakurta in an interaction following the talk. This is in contrast to post-colonial statuary, in which a person was commemorated through statuary or a bust upon their death most times. Guha-Thakurta noted that the first commemorative statue erected in colonial Calcutta was of Marquess Cornwallis, who served as the Governor-General from 1786 to 1793. Made in the studio of the well-known artist John Bacon in London, it was transported to Kolkata in 1803 and was later moved to the East Quadrangle of the Victoria Memorial Hall. In her talk, she pointed out that in post-Independence India, nationalist sentiments prompted the relocation of several such structures from Kolkata's public spaces, including General Outram's statue, which was removed in 1958 from his spot in Park Street, Chowringhee Junction; Lord Napiers equestrian sculpture; Viceroy Curzon, as well as Queen Victoria. What took their place were other commemorative works such as Roychowdhurys bronze statue of Gandhi on his Dandi March, bronze works of Deshabandhu Chittaaranjan Das, Masterda Surya Sen and Matangini Hazra, the only slain female participant of the 1942 Quit India movement, among others. Guha-Thakurta also emphasised the broader question of how far a statue represents the person themselves. She said, The statue has a greater purpose of public visibility. It occupies a public space or is housed in an institution. However, while it may be lifelike, the measure of a statues effectiveness is in how far it carries the legacy of its subject forward. For the colonial regime, this was of marked relevance since sculptures were in such high demand in London that the term sculptural imperialism arose, to describe their powerful role in the making of the British empire, not just India, as statues are made to travel to all the British colonies. The rise of the Bombay School Commissioning sculptures was a costly affair, and also a time consuming one. It took 13 years for General Outrams statue to be commissioned, for the material to be transported to London, and for the statue to be brought back to Kolkata to be assembled. Gradually, the practice of commissioning statues to Western sculptors gave way to sculptures being produced by Indian artists. This led to the emergence of the Bombay School of statuary. Sandeep Dahisarkar, in his presentation, Memorial Statues of Colonial Bombay, explained the Bombay School's rise to prominence and talked about the works of three significant sculptors: Rao Bahadur GK Mhatre, BV Talim and VP Karmarkar. The practice of commissioning statues to sculptors in the West continued up until 1919, but the last decade of the 1800s also marked the rise of this new sculptor called Rao Bahadur Mhatre, who is the best-known sculptor of the Bombay School, remarked Dahisarkar in an interaction that followed the talk. He creates this statue called To The Temple [Mandirakade] which sort of marks the turning point for the Sculpture department of the JJ School of Art. Describing the trajectory of his career, Dahisarkar notes that Mhatre received numerous accolades for his sculptures and was supported by leaders like Lokmanya Tilak predominantly due to the Swadeshi movement, which helped him to procure commissions for busts and full-size statues. He also received patronage from states like Gwalior and Baroda, and by and by, Mhatre became an inspiration for other artists. On the subject of the shifting usage between marble and bronze, Dahisarkar noted that while Mhatres personal medium was marble, there is no way of knowing how he learnt the technique of casting figures in bronze. It was probably with the help of his professor TK Gajjar who fixed the Queen Victoria statue damaged by the Chaphekar brothers, he mused. Mhatre was like an emperor and Talim was like a king who ruled Bombay, said Dahisarkar. The two artists continued to create remarkable work and sculptors who came after them like Karmarkar and [Raghunath Krishna] Phadke had to leave the city. While the former left for Kolkata, the latter established his foundry in Dhar; others like MK Kolhatkar travelled to Baroda to set up their studios. Slowly, the network of the Bombay School becomes bigger. This makes the Bombay School tradition of statuary the strongest of all four schools in India: Bombay, Madras, Bengal and Lahore. Statuary today An illustrative example of the condition of statuary in recent times is the story of where the figures of George V and his son Albert were found: lying in a decrepit shed behind Elphinstone College in Mumbai's Fort. People knew the statue was in the shed, I identified it as being done by Mhatre, said Dahisarkar. The decision to replace George V's statue with the magnificent one of Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj was a revoking of the political legitimacy of what were termed colonial symbols, but incidentally, it also took away from the contribution of an Indian artist to statuary in the country. In the discussion and the QnA that followed, both Guha-Thakurta and Dahisarkar lamented the relative anonymity of sculptors, attributing it to the significance of statues as a representation of a larger idea. Guha-Thakurta rued, In post-Independent India, at least for some years the statue maker may have carried some stature, authority, prestige but its not a very lasting one. She explained that there could be two possible reasons for this anonymity. "The reason the statue has to struggle for place as a work of art is because it is commissioned, and commissioned work is done according to the demands of others. The second reason is that its primary function is mimetic. "Its function is to represent a person, so whose work it is becomes less important. Even in this mimetic function, she noted, likeness and resemblance garners attention only at crucial junctures of history, such as the Black Lives Matter movement. The argument, according to her, that statues need to be preserved as works of history and art emerges the moment you wish to remove them". The contradictory viewpoint stems from the issue of political legitimacy; the belief that colonial statues no longer have a place in public parts of the city. It is perhaps the inherent show of power that statues signify which makes them contentious. Statues are commissioned by authorities, erected to celebrate those who enjoyed authority, and more importantly, they are markers in public spaces. A question posed by Dr Simin Patel during the discussion also brought to the fore the dearth of busts or statues commemorating women. Guha-Thakurta pointed out that female statuary consists of more allegorical structures which symbolise concepts like justice, law, learning. The subject of the female nude is a vast topic in the pantheon of statuary, she added. But a statue represents a person of power and authority, and statuary will come into place as females take on powerful roles. An example of this is Queen Victorias sculpture, which lies at the entrance of the Kolkata memorial. She is viewed as a sort of ungendered subject, not a female statue, removed of sex or seduction. Statues in Colonial Bombay and Bengal Presidency was held on 9 July. Watch the talk on YouTube. "It is important that we introduce basic financial principles to children and teach them how to manage their money at an early age," Comerica Bank Chief Community Officer Irvin Ashford, Jr. said. "Research shows that there is a direct correlation between students who have access to financial education resources and their future success. At Comerica, we partner with organizations like YES because of our common goal to empower youth and adults from underserved communities. " YES has been teaching youth in 13 urban and LMI communities including the US Virgin Islands entrepreneurship and economic development since 2014. YES founder Ernest Ruffin, Jr is an award winning adjunct Professor at Rutgers University who decided to start YES because his students at Rutgers we're having great success in new business development. One of his students sold his company to Mark Cuban and that triggered Ruffin to start teaching Black and Brown kids business. YES has a 1M for $1M fundraiser campaign underway to raise money to fund their students businesses. Comerica Bank sponsors our Dallas program. They really stepped up their sponsorship efforts by helping YES attain 10% of our goal and provide key banking information to YES students. Our mission is to help students create 10,000 Black and Brown owned thriving businesses. About Comerica Bank Comerica Incorporated is a financial services company headquartered in Dallas, Texas, and strategically aligned by three business segments: The Commercial Bank, The Retail Bank, and Wealth Management. Comerica focuses on relationships, and helping people and businesses be successful. In addition to Texas, Comerica Bank locations can be found in Arizona, California, Florida and Michigan, with select businesses operating in several other states, as well as in Canada and Mexico. Comerica reported total assets of $76.3 billion at March 31, 2020 and celebrated its 170th anniversary last year. SOURCE Young Entrepreneurz Solutions Related Links http://www.yngentrepreneurz.org High demand for Ukrainian workers seen in Europe 12:00, 21.07.20 4813 Ukrainians are being offered most jobs in Poland, the Czech Republic, and Germany. COZAD A Florida woman was flown to a Kearney hospital after being struck by a semi on Interstate 80 Saturday evening. About 8 p.m. an eastbound Volkswagen pulled off on the side of I-80 after missing the Cozad area rest stop near mile marker 222, according to Nebraska State Patrol Public Relations Director Cody Thomas. Simone Dennis-Colin, 42, of Coral Springs, Florida, a passenger, got out of the vehicle and walked into the driving lane, Thomas said. An approaching semi moved into the passing lane to avoid Dennis-Colin, but she was struck by its right fender and seriously injured, Thomas said. The Nebraska State Patrol, Cozad Fire and Rescue and Dawson County Sheriffs Office responded to the scene. Dennis-Colin was taken to a hospital by ambulance and then flown by helicopter to CHI Good Samaritan in Kearney, where she remains under care, according to Thomas. The Nebraska State Patrol continues to investigate the incident. FILE PHOTO: FILE PHOTO: Argentina's economy minister, Martin Guzman, speaks at Congress on the country's economic situation and debt plan ahead of the meetings with the International Monetary Fund officials who are traveling to the country, in Buenos Aires By Adam Jourdan and Karin Strohecker BUENOS AIRES/LONDON (Reuters) - Argentina's government rejected a counterproposal from the country's three main creditor groups on Monday to revamp around $65 billion in foreign debt, doubling down on its own "final" offer as bondholders appeared to close ranks. Economy Minister Martin Guzman said the latest debt restructuring offer, the first from the three groups together, reflected a "lack of understanding" of the limitations faced by the crisis-stricken South American nation. "Accepting what some creditors ask for would mean subjecting Argentine society to more anguish," Guzman said in a statement. "It would imply, for example, adjusting pensions, and we will not do it." The two sides are racing to reach an agreement to restructure around $65 billion in foreign debt before a government-set deadline of Aug. 4, looking to avoid a messy and protracted legal standoff after recession-hit Argentina slipped into default in May. Argentina's government made a "final" offer in July after talks broke down. Center-left President Alberto Fernandez and Guzman have since repeatedly said it was the maximum the country could offer. The three groups -- the Ad Hoc group, Argentina Creditor Committee and Exchange Bondholder Group -- said their proposal, issued earlier on Monday, made "significant economic and legal concessions." They all agreed to oppose the government offer. "Our three groups have also signed a cooperation agreement reaffirming that Argentina's current offer falls short of a proposal that can be supported by the creditor groups," they said, adding they would not tender their bonds under the offer. The new creditor proposal puts the weighted average of the net present value (NPV) at 55.70 cents, according to a presentation seen by Reuters. Analysts had calculated the NPV of the government offer at 53-54 cents. Story continues The unified opposition from the groups, which together hold more than a third of both Argentina's "global" bonds and its "Exchange" bonds, will make it tough for the government to get a comprehensive deal on its current offer. The groups added, however, that a deal could still be struck. "We are confident that a consensual resolution is in sight and that such an agreement will provide a path towards a sustainable economic future for Argentina's people," they said. The three groups said their new proposal included an "amended version of the 2016 indenture" for eligible global bonds, a reference to the key legal clauses that have been a point of contention. Guzman reiterated the government's offer was its "maximum effort" and he believed that most creditors would accept it. Hans Humes, CEO of Greylock Capital, which was one of the prominent voices in the ACC committee before it exited the group and tendered its bonds, said there was a risk that some were misreading the reality of the Argentine situation. "We may have been able to get concessions on legal language and adviser fees," the distressed debt veteran said. "But not the net present value (NPV) that Argentina has said no to many times." The country's sovereign bonds, which have been buffeted since last year over concerns of a default, edged down 0.5% in on Monday. They have risen over recent months on hopes of a deal. (Reporting by Adam Jourdan and Karin Strohecker; additional reporting by Cassandra Garrison, Jorge Otaola and Rodrigo Campos in New York and Marc Jones in London; editing by Cynthia Ostermana, Jonathan Oatis, Larry King) A UK group which oversees the war graves of British soldiers has asked that sheep not be allowed to access a historic military cemetery in the Curragh which contains the graves of ex-servicemen and their families. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) said it has an interest in the cemetery as there are 104 Commonwealth war graves located there. The Commission generally liaise with the Office of Public Works which maintains cemeteries in Ireland where British servicemen are buried. The Leinster Leader reported last month that the Department of Defence admitted that sheep were allowed to graze in the Curragh military cemetery as a contractor wasnt available to cut the grass during the Covid-19 restrictions. However, the historic landmark close to Donnellys Hollow was later returned to pristine condition after the lockdown, when the grass was cut and the general area was cleaned of litter. The cemetery on a hillside in the Walshestown area was the official burial place for Army personnel and family members stationed in the Curragh from around 1870 to 1920. A CWGC spokesman told the Leader: Although we understand through our contacts that some sheep were grazing in the cemetery, the Military Cemetery is fully enclosed by a stone wall, the only point of entry is via the entrance gates and our contacts have confirmed there is no break in the surrounding perimeter wall and our war graves are not affected. He added: Although we are not clear on how the sheep gained access, we have briefed our OPW contact and requested that the cemetery is kept sheep free in the future. The Commission confirmed there are 104 Commonwealth war graves in the Curragh military cemetery. The Commission added that the OPW does a fantastic job by maintaining British war graves on its behalf. The Curragh cemetery is also a popular visitor attraction and is often photographed by passing tourists. A Department of Defence spokeswoman told the Leader last month: Sheep were recently put into the walled military cemetery on the Curragh for a short period to reduce the height of the grass prior to mechanical cutting. The grass had grown quite long during the lockdown period and the Department of Defence introduced the sheep as an organic method of control until such time as a contractor could be appointed once restrictions had eased. The sheep were removed from the cemetery last week and normal seasonal mechanical grass cutting is now taking place. Kildare County Council said that the cemetery is privately owned it has no role in its maintenance. Chariot Oil & Gas Ltd - Atlantic margins-focused oil and gas company - says Chief Executive Larry Bottomley has stepped down with immediate effect. Adonis Pouroulis, currently non-executive director and founder, will take over as acting CEO with immediate effect "to guarantee business continuity and ensure a smooth transition". Julian Maurice-Williams, currently chief financial officer, and Duncan Wallace, currently exploration manager, will join the board with immediate effect as executive directors as CFO and technical director respectively. "Chariot continues to benefit from a strong financial position, with a cash balance of USD9.6 million as at 31 December 2019 with no remaining work commitments, and the board believes that the company has the right team in place to further progress the Lixus licence, whilst also being able to maximise shareholder value through other commercial avenues," said Chariot. Current stock price: 2.09 pence Year-to-date change: down 35% By Lucy Heming;A lucyheming@alliancenews.com Copyright 2020 Alliance News Limited. All Rights Reserved. TDT | Manama The importance of developing programmes that focus on training administrative and diplomatic employees at the Foreign Affairs Ministry was stressed yesterday by Foreign Minister Dr Abdullatif bin Rashid Al Zayani. The Foreign Minister was speaking as he chaired an online meeting of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Council, with the participation of the assistant foreign minister, undersecretaries, assistant undersecretaries, the Mohammed bin Mubarak Al Khalifa Academy for Diplomatic Studies executive director, the ministers advisors and the councils secretary. The meeting was also attended by Bahrain Ambassador to France Dr Mohammed Abdulghaffar, Bahrain Ambassador to Saudi Arabia Shaikh Hmood bin Abdullah Al Khalifa, and a number of ministry directors. The Foreign Minister said that the the training programmes aim to strengthen performance and improve productivity to achieve the ministrys goals and contribute to the achievement of sustainable development in the Kingdom. The Foreign Minister expressed his appreciation of the support enjoyed by the ministry from His Majesty King Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, His Royal Highness the Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa, and His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, Crown Prince, Deputy Supreme Commander, and First Deputy Premier, in order to be able to achieve its goals. He also commended the efforts of the ministrys staff and missions abroad to implement the Kingdoms foreign policy, meet the needs of Bahraini citizens abroad, and promote the Kingdom at the international level. Meanwhile, the council discussed a number of topics on its agenda, and adopted a system for employing local employees in diplomatic missions abroad, plus a working system for the grievance committee for members of the diplomatic and consular corps and employees of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The council also approved the launch of the Mubadara programme, which encourages employees to present initiatives and proposals that contribute to developing performance and improving productivity. The Foreign Ministrys council further approved the formation of the Financial and Administrative Affairs Committee, headed by the Foreign Ministry undersecretary Dr Shaikha Rana bint Isa bin Duaij Al Khalifa; and the formation of the Quality and Excellence Committee headed by the operations director Ambassador Khalid Yusuf Al Jalahma. The council also reviewed the report of the Follow-up Committee on Government Action Plan, headed by the Regional and GCC Affairs undersecretary Ambassador Waheed Mubarak Sayyar. It also adopted the recommendations of the Diplomatic and Consular Corps members affairs committee. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Yunindita Prasidya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 16:03 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40668240fa 1 Business Women,SME,COVID-19,UN-Women,economic-impact Free Experts have highlighted the need to support industry sectors dominated by women, as the economic downturn from the pandemic was affecting a disproportionately high number of businesswomen. Women had been left in especially dire straits from the pandemic's economic impacts, such as reduced work hours and mass layoffs in women-dominated sectors such as textile, tourism and health, according to women entrepreneurship program officer Pertiwi Triwidiahening of United Nations (UN) Women Indonesia. A 2017 report from the International Labour Organization (ILO) shows that women make up 58 percent of employees in Indonesia's garment, textile and footware industry. If businesses do not support women during this time, then when the economy restarts, companies risk losing their women workers or workers becoming less productive as a result of dealing with [their own] difficulties during the crisis, Pertiwi said in a webinar on July 16. The government estimates that some 5.5 million people may lose their jobs this year due to the economic crisis spawned by the public health crisis. According to a report from the Indonesian Hotel and Restaurant Association (PHRI) on July 14, tourism had lost Rp 85 trillion (US$5.87 billion) in total revenue with more than 95 percent of the industry's workers furloughed without pay. Meanwhile, the latest Bank Indonesia (BI) survey shows that all manufacturing businesses tumbled in the second quarter of the year, with the deepest contraction recorded in the textile industry. In addition to mass layoffs, a UN Women study found that women has seen an increase in unpaid care work, whereas women were already carrying three times the domestic workload of men before the Indonesian outbreak emerged in early March. The coronavirus-induced economic crisis is also affecting women-owned enterprises. According to the April 2020 survey of UN Women's WeEmpowerAsia program, produced in collaboration with the European Union and UN Women, 86 percent of all women entrepreneurs surveyed said that they had been negatively affected by the health crisis, while 34 percent of respondents said that they might have to permanently close their businesses. The impact has been greater on small and medium enterprises (SMEs), as they had lower capacity to absorb the shock to the supply chain and customer revenue, said the UN Women Guidance Note for Action on supporting SMEs toward gender equality in COVID-19 recovery. Women entrepreneurs owned 60 percent of all SMEs in Indonesia, where SMEs accounted for more than half of gross domestic product (GDP), according to production and marketing undersecretary Victoria Simanungkalit of the Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises Ministry. The government has earmarked an SME stimulus fund of Rp 123.46 trillion as part of its economic recovery program, out of which Rp 114.06 trillion is allocated for loan repayment relaxation and loan restructuring. Another Rp 7 trillion is for working capital financing that aims to reach 23 million SMEs and cooperatives that do not have access to financial institutions. Victoria noted, however, that women-owned SMEs had contributed just 9.1 percent to GDP. She added that common issues included business planning and strategies, and that women owners of SMEs needed support through training. Training is an important aspect. Its not enough to hold webinars only, it is more important [that they have] mentorship, she said. Numerous organizations are making efforts to address the specific issues women are facing during the health crisis, like UN Women Indonesias WeLearn online training program for women entrepreneurs. Offered in collaboration with consumer goods giant Unilever, WeLearn had over 5,200 registered users as of May 31, according to Pertiwi of UN Women Indonesia. Some women business owners have taken advantage of the free training program, including Vidi Astuti Damayanti of MamaIbu Chicken Wings and Sauce. The 48-year-old homemaker told The Jakarta Post by text message on July 16 that she was able to expand her business by taking part in the WeLearn women entrepreneurs program. The interactive learning was robust and continuous, said Vidi, elaborating that she learned the how-tos of business plans and basic accounting, as well as digital marketing and the legal aspects of running her business. She now employs two other female homemakers in keeping with the spirit of women's empowerment and social entrepreneurship, which she says she learned during the program. Nita Yudi, who chairs the Indonesian Businesswomen Association (IWAPI), said during last Thursday's webinar that such initiatives were commendable and should be continued, but stressed that additional support programs were still needed. The provision of WiFi or free internet [access] is necessary because right now, everything is done [online], Nita suggested as a form of government support, pointing out that internet access was uneven between regions in the country, despite the facility's vital importance during the health crisis. New Delhi, July 21 : The North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NrDMC) informed the Delhi High Court on Tuesday that it has paid salaries to all 9,000 teachers employed by its schools for the month of March and that 5,406 teachers on Covid duty have been paid their dues for April. A division bench of the high court presided over by Justices Hima Kohli and Subromonium Prasad, after noting the submissions made by the NrDMC, observed that this would still leave the months of May and June. The Delhi High Court was informed by the NrDMC that it has paid salaries to all 9,000 teachers engaged by it till March, and 5,406 of them, who were put on Covid-19 duty, were given their dues for April. Following these submissions and observations, the high court sought fresh status report from the Delhi government and the NrDMC, while listing the matter for further hearing on August 5. During the course of hearing, advocate Mini Pushkarna, the standing counsel for NrDMC, appraised the court that the salaries of all the teachers employed by its schools have been paid for the month of March, while the April dues of 5,406 teachers on Covid duty were released on July 14. Pushkarna further told the bench that salaries of the remaining teachers for the month of April would be released by the end of July. In its affidavit filed before the court, the Delhi government has informed that the grant-in-aid payable by it to the NrDMC for release of salaries to its teachers was Rs 147 crore for the first quarter of this year (April to June), and the same has been released in three monthly tranches. "The said amount was released in three monthly tranches, for the months of April, May and June. As for the grant-in-aid required to be released by the Delhi government for the second quarter, including Rs 49.17 crore for the month of July, will be released by the end of July and the remaining two tranches of the like amount at the end of August and September," the Delhi government said. The court was hearing a petition initiated by it on its own motion regarding the disbursement of unpaid salaries of teachers employed in schools run by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. Previously, the court had pulled up the civic body over non-payment of salaries to teachers who are also deployed on Covid-19 duty, while stating that it is a "sorry state of affairs" where the teachers, who can be equated to corona warriors, have not been paid salaries since the lockdown was imposed. Taking strong note of non-payment of salaries to the safai karamcharis and the teachers, the bench had taken suo moto cognizance of the issue and converted it into a public interest litigation (PIL). "This is a sorry state of affairs. Teachers belong to one of the noble professions and as they are made to do Covid-19 duty also, they can be equated to Covid-19 warriors. Despite that, they have been deprived of their dues since March 2020," the court had remarked. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Now Open 21 July 2020 Focus Hospitality Management, a full-service hotel management company with a total of seven properties in the Tucson metropolitan statistical area (MSA), has opened The Tuxon, a modern boutique hotel and member of Marriott International's Design HotelsTM, a collection with over 300 independent hotels in more than 60 countries across the world. Managed by Focus Hospitality, The Tuxon, located in the heart of Tucson, the second most-populated city in Arizona behind Phoenix, the state's capital, and known for its adventurous outdoor activities and authentic culinary offerings, is owned by Tucson natives Vishal Patel and Sunny Patel, the property's co-creators and visionaries. "The Tuxon was born out of our desire to create an authentic, modern Southwestern experience in the community we know and love," said Vishal Patel. The 112-room property's guestrooms have custom furnishings inspired by the region's American, Mexican, and Native American roots, including rustic grey wood, saddled leather, patterned textiles, and potted local succulents. Rooms are decorated with a playful collection of cheeky and contemporary artworks inspired by Arizona's desert landscape and cowboy culture, and are stocked with a curated local minibar. Each guestroom has a walk-in shower, 1GB high-speed internet, and a 50-inch UHD TV with casting capabilities. The Tuxon's check-in process allows guests to choose the experience they desire, whether it's checking in through their mobile phones only, or through a socially distanced in-person interaction. Some of the property's distinctive amenities include a custom boomerang pool, where daybeds, lounge seating, and five private cabanas are available for guests; The Pool Bar, an indoor-outdoor venue housed in the butterfly-shaped Welcome Building with a distinctive food and beverage program curated by the award-winning Jess Keene and Drew Record; The Bike Shed, where guests can rent or store their own bicycles; The Market, a 24-hour market with locally sourced food and beverages as well as Tuxon logo swag; and The Fitness Center, which overlooks the pool, and has Peloton bikes, NordicTrack treadmills and more for gymgoers. "The Tuxon stays true to its surroundings by paying tribute to the retro vibe and road trip feel of the past while building upon Tucson's modern legacy," said Sunny Patel. Other amenities include mobile key, concierge services, on-site laundry facilities, a 24-hour front desk and concierge service, luggage storage, a 24-hour business center, and free parking. "The opening of this property and being designated as the management company is an honor for the Focus family," said Focus Hospitality Management SVP Bryan Tubaugh. "The Tuxon marks the first Design Hotels property in our portfolio, as well as in Arizona, and signifies a new chapter in our journey. This wouldn't have been possible without the overwhelming support of our owners, employees, and the entire Tucson community." The amended Labour Code (LC) of Vietnam includes a number of positive and important provisions, including a definition of sexual harassment. These changes were accepted by the National Assembly (NA) on 20 November 2019. The new Labour Code defines sexual harassment in the workplace for the very first time in Vietnamese labour legislation, hence it is clearly an important step forward. It also contains other progressive changes to empower women in the world of work allowing them access to work of any kind by eliminating a list of occupations from which women had been traditionally excluded. Other provisions should help ensure that having a family does not mean losing access to work given that the new Labour Code clearly mandates the creation of kindergartens and nursing accommodation. Kamal Malhotra, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam. Photo vietnam.un.org As with all legislation, the proof will be in its implementation and enforcement. Vietnam must now walk the talk. To ensure this, careful attention should be focused on the development of the implementing decrees, which will set out how the Labour Code will be applied and enforced in practice, once it enters into force on January 1, 2021. The Informal Ambassadors and Heads of Agencies Gender Policy Coordination Group advocated for the definition of sexual harassment in the Labour Code and is now closely following the development of the Decree to Guide Policies on Female Workers and to Ensure Gender Equality. The draft of that decree was published this month by the Ministry of Labour, War Invalids and Social Affairs (MoLISA). For it to be effective, however, five areas of concern must be addressed before the final draft decree is submitted to the Ministry of Justice. First, both surveys in HCM City, Da Nang, Thai Nguyen and Dong Nai and consultation workshops organised with the support of UN Women, CARE International, GIZ, and the Scaling Up Nutrition Civil Society Network (SUN CSA) indicate an illustrative, non-exhaustive list of behaviour that constitute sexual harassment should be included in the decree to ensure clarity for both employers and employees. International experience shows it should be made clear, at the very least, that sexual harassment can take three different forms: physical, verbal and non-verbal. This approach is also supported by the Code of Conduct on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace that was developed by MOLISA, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), and the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2015. Maria Jesus Figa Lopez-Palop, Ambassador of Spain to Vietnam. Photo baoquocte.vn Second, the approach to sexual harassment in the workplace must be victim-centred. This is fundamental and has to be a key tenet of both the implementing decree and its actual implementation and enforcement. A common defence is that the alleged perpetrator was just trying to be funny or friendly. This is unacceptable. Receptiveness to this defence would be indefensible. This risk can be significantly mitigated by inserting the phrase regardless of the intentions of the alleged perpetrator or by the insertion of a similar phrase that clearly signals the sentiment that the experience of the alleged victim must be central, not the intentions of the alleged perpetrator. Another common excuse used to defend inappropriate conduct is that certain behaviour is a part of societal and/or workplace culture in a specific country or enterprise. Such relativist excuses are inexcusable and leave victims powerless. For both those and other reasons, it would be a serious mistake to allow the employer to establish a code of conduct as they see fit, leaving its content to their discretion, and moulded according to the nature or character of their business. Whether one works in a textile factory, an office building or a bar, acts of sexual harassment should be defined and enforced in a consistent manner and always prohibited. Third, although it is commendable that the definition of the workplace in the draft decree now includes the digital workspace which will now be much more relevant in both the current COVID-19 and future post-COVID world, it should also include the daily commute, especially when transportation is provided by the employer. This international standard has been established in ILO Convention 190 which will enter into force on June 25, 2021 and Vietnam should take pride in being ahead of the curve in this area, now that it has the vehicle of a new implementation decree that goes into effect in January 2021. The fourth major concern with the draft decree is the employers' need for clarity and specificity to develop effective codes of conduct in their workplaces, in particular in relation to response and prevention mechanisms. While roles and responsibilities are set out in broad terms in the draft decree, significant questions remain unanswered. There is no good reason for this. These queries can and should be addressed by using the international standards in the 2019 ILO-UN Women Handbook on Sexual Harassment in the Workplace as well as the 2015 Code of Conduct on Sexual Harassment in Vietnam. Fifth and last, as was advocated regarding the definition of sexual harassment in the Labour Code itself, the decree should encompass both quid pro quo sexual harassment and harassment that creates a hostile work environment. The distinction between these two different types of sexual harassment acknowledges inappropriate behaviour does not merely concern the direct exchange of sexual favours for work or career benefits (quid pro quo harassment), but may also entail unwanted acts, comments or non-verbal behaviour of a sexual nature that results in a general atmosphere that makes for an uncomfortable or unsafe work environment (hostile work environment harassment). This distinction has been recognised and has been part of international standards for many years, and it would be unfortunate if Vietnam missed this opportunity to apply universally recognised international concepts and standards when it has a clear opportunity to adopt them. As Co-Chairs of the Informal Ambassadors and Heads of Agencies Gender Policy Coordination Group, we, on behalf of the Group, respectfully but strongly encourage MoLISA and the Government to include the above recommendations in the implementing decree, so as to truly guarantee that it fulfills the new Labour Codes vision, aspiration and objective of ensuring access to both a safe workplace for all genders and greater empowerment of women in the world of work. VNS Kamal Malhotra and Maria Jesus Figa Lopez-Palop* Kamal Malhotra, UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam and Maria Jesus Figa Lopez-Palop, Ambassador of Spain to Vietnam, are the Co-Chairs of the Informal Ambassadors and Heads of Agencies Gender Policy Coordination Group. For the third time since he became prime minister in 2015, the behaviour of Justin Trudeau is being investigated by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. The investigation involves a proposed non-tendered contract worth $19 million to the WE Charity, which was supposed to operate a new student-volunteer program. Trudeau had participated in the cabinet meeting that approved the contract. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion For the third time since he became prime minister in 2015, the behaviour of Justin Trudeau is being investigated by the Conflict of Interest and Ethics Commissioner. The investigation involves a proposed non-tendered contract worth $19 million to the WE Charity, which was supposed to operate a new student-volunteer program. Trudeau had participated in the cabinet meeting that approved the contract. Because both the prime minister and his wife had a close relationship with the charity, the opposition complained to the ethics commissioner that Trudeau was guilty of violating the conflict of interest law. Days later it was revealed that Trudeaus mother and brother had been paid nearly $300,000 for multiple speaking engagements at WE Charity events. This seems to be a classic case of confusing or intermingling private interests with the public interest, which is the essential nature of a conflict of interest. The case caused me to reflect on why politicians appear to have such difficulty reasoning and acting ethically. Here are some random thoughts: There is illegal and unethical behaviour in all occupations, but politics seems to involve greater temptations and risks that legal rules and ethical standards will be violated. Politics involves contention over competing ideas and interests, together with competition to gain power, and these fundamental facts can override respect for ethical norms. Politicians and their advisers take the pragmatic view that if they do not break or bend the rules, they will lose ground to their opponents. They tell themselves that after they win, they will behave in an exemplary ethical manner, but then re-election becomes a strong motivation. Most politicians enter public life for altruistic reasons of public service. A minority, however, become corrupted by the political process. They develop the view that politics is a game and to the winner go the spoils. Individuals from a famous political family, or long-serving politicians, may develop the view that they are, as a former Liberal cabinet minister declared, "entitled to their entitlements." Rewarding family and "political friends" is seen as a perk of the job. Politicians face three broad types of ethical problems: There are the ethics of their policy choices, which reflect their value systems and often have distributional impacts on who within society loses and wins as a result of those choices. These are matters for public debate and election contests. To promote honesty and to deter favouritism, the process for deciding policy and allocating resources has been the target of ever-expanding regulation and other accountability mechanisms. The result is that politics today is "cleaner" in terms of legality and ethics than in the past. The relatively new ethics regimes cover only actions connected to the performance of public duties. They do not cover the private behaviour of politicians. In the case of ethically problematic behaviour, such as having an affair, the penalties may come at the next election if enough voters are offended. 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. Often, politicians defend their transgressions by claiming their behaviour could be seen as unethical, but it was not illegal. The distinction is simplistic and false; fundamental ethical values provide the foundation for law. Over time, many behaviours deemed ethically questionable have become prohibited or regulated by laws. This contributes to the incorrect public impression that contemporary politicians are more corrupt than their predecessors of bygone generations. With the adoption of conflict of interest, access to information and whistleblowing laws, there are more disclosures of alleged wrongdoing by politicians. In the negative and theatrical cultures of legislatures, the opposition parties tend to exaggerate the seriousness of the misdeeds involved. Opposition accusations are then amplified and sensationalized in the traditional and the new social media. The result is the emergence of a political culture that is increasingly driven by scandals rather than by reasoned policy debates. The public believes all politicians should know the difference between right and wrong and act accordingly. In political life it is not that simple, because there are numerous competing values and ethical dilemmas. Not every individual who enters political life is capable of ethical understanding, reasoning and judgment. The pressures and demands of the job mean there will always be ethical lapses. We have probably reached the limits of using stricter laws, supported by tougher enforcement, to curb illegal and unethical political behaviour. Rather than focus mainly on preventing and punishing wrongdoing, more effort needs to be placed on promoting "right-doing." A code of ethical conduct for political parties, candidates, elected representatives, paid staff and volunteers would help, but only if it was backed up with meaningful educational and enforcement activities. The code would be particularly useful in encouraging ethical awareness in those "grey zones" where values clash and the difference between right and wrong is blurred. Paul G. Thomas is professor emeritus of political studies at the University of Manitoba. In 2014 he wrote a report for Elections Canada on a code of ethics for political parties. China has reportedly made fresh territorial claims in its boundary dispute with Bhutan, including the country's Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary Beijing: China on Tuesday sought to defend its recent claims over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan, saying the boundary between the two countries is yet to be demarcated and it has proposed a "package solution" to resolve the border dispute. In a surprise move, China recently staked claim over the Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary in Bhutan at the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Council and opposed funding to the project. Asked about China's claim over the sanctuary in Bhutan, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing here that the boundary between the two countries is yet to be demarcated. "China's position remains consistent and clear. The boundary between China and Bhutan has not been delimited and there are disputes in the middle, eastern and western sections," he said. "So, China advocates a package solution to resolve the dispute," he said. "China is opposed to making an issue of these disputes at multilateral forums and China remains in communication with the relevant parties on this issue," the spokesman said. Asked about reports that China is making fresh territorial claims in its boundary dispute with Bhutan, Wang said, "I (have) already made China's position clear". "The boundary between China and Bhutan has not been demarcated. There are disputes in the central, eastern and western sections of the boundary," he said. According to reports, Bhutan's embassy in New Delhi issued a demarche to the Chinese Embassy over Beijing's claim over the sanctuary. The GEF Council has reportedly cleared the funding for the Sakteng sanctuary after Aparna Subramani, the World Bank official representing Bhutan, as well as India, Bangladesh, Maldives and Sri Lanka, said that Bhutan totally rejected the claim made by China. China and Bhutan do not have diplomatic relations but maintain contacts through periodic visits by officials. The two countries have held 24 rounds of boundary talks in a bid to resolve the boundary dispute. China's claim over Bhutanese territory came in the midst of Beijing's aggressive moves in eastern Ladakh along the Line of Actual Control. China is also engaged in hotly contested territorial disputes in both the South China Sea and the East China Sea. China claims almost all of the South China Sea. Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei and Taiwan have counter claims over the area. (Natural News) Dogs are popular pets because they are adorable, loyal animals, not to mention friendly and incredibly smart with some incredible abilities. In fact, some dogs have been found to be able to sniff out cancer in their owners. Now, according to a recent report, dogs can even sense a house fire before a smoke detector can alert their owners. Lucky saves the day According to a report from CBS 12, a dog in Pace, Florida, alerted his owners before a fire broke out in their home on July 11. Lucky, the Troyers beloved dog, sensed something was wrong before the familys smoke detectors went off that Saturday. Unknown to the Troyer family, a linseed-oil covered rag that they used to oil some rocking chairs caught fire. Jennifer Troyer said that the oily rag combusted because their garage was so hot. As their garage went up in flames, Lucky alerted the family, allowing the Troyers to escape their home safely even before their smoke detectors went off. On July 13, CBS 12 shared an adorable photo of the furry, caped hero on their Twitter account. GOOD BOY! The dog, named Lucky, alerted the family of a fire before the smoke detectors. https://t.co/t923jtFfTQ WPEC CBS12 News (@CBS12) July 14, 2020 A dogs amazing sense of smell Researchers have been training dogs to detect different human diseases like cancer in various studies. More recently, health experts have been looking into the use of dogs sense of smell to detect the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19). The genetics and physiology of dogs make them great at finding things using their incredible noses. Dogs have more genes that code for olfactory ability than humans many more. These four-legged wonders also have more olfactory nerve cells compared to humans. Throughout the years, humans have counted on dogs sense of smell for hunting, searching and detecting for many things, such as drugs and explosives. Now, researchers are hoping mans best friend can help sniff out diseases before a patients condition worsens. Humans only have five million scent receptors, but dogs have 220 million. As such, it should come as no surprise that dogs smell things that most humans will never notice. A dogs smell receptors are 10,000 times more accurate than a humans and their nose is sensitive enough to find substances at concentrations of one part per trillion, like one drop of liquid in 20 Olympic-size swimming pools. Smelling left and right Dogs can also inhale about 300 times per minute in short breaths, allowing their olfactory cells to be constantly supplied with new odor particles. As a bonus, their noses can even differentiate between right and left. These abilities allow dogs to detect the slightest change in human scent caused by disease, like the smallest shifts in hormones or volatile organic compounds released by diseased cells. Taking advantage of this fact, researchers have trained dogs to detect the markers of disease that can go unnoticed with medical tests. Dogs and early disease diagnosis Dogs can be trained to detect different types of cancer such as bladder cancer, breast cancer and skin cancer using samples from known cancer patients and cancer-free volunteers. Continued research on dogs and training them may be key to early cancer detection, which can help save thousands of lives using non-invasive, inexpensive and accurate techniques. Dogs can also help detect other conditions like: Malaria In a study, dogs were able to correctly pick out the scent of children infected with malaria parasites 70 percent of the time by simply smelling socks the young volunteers wore all night. In a study, dogs were able to correctly pick out the scent of children infected with malaria parasites 70 percent of the time by simply smelling socks the young volunteers wore all night. Parkinsons disease Patients with Parkinsons disease smell different at least years before they develop the disease. Dogs can be used to detect the early onset of the disease, ensuring that patients are treated before its too late to prevent their symptoms. Dogs and coronavirus Scientists are also looking into the use of dogs to help detect coronavirus. For a pilot study at the University of Helsinki, researchers trained dogs to recognize the previously unknown odor signature of coronavirus. After several weeks, the first dogs trained accurately distinguished urine samples from COVID-19 patients from the urine samples of healthy individuals. The trained canines were almost as reliable as a standard PCR test. Now, the research team is preparing a randomized, double-blind study where the dogs will sniff a larger number of patient samples to determine if the scent tests will be just as effective in clinical practice. However, it remains to be seen which substances in human urine produce the telltale COVID-19 odor. As the virus attacks a patients lungs, blood vessels, kidneys and other organs, experts posit that the virus also changes a patients urine odor. Scientists hope that this theory is true because respiratory diseases like COVID-19 change a persons body odor, meaning dogs can detect it if this is the case. One final hurdle for super sniffer dogs and disease prevention Despite the many studies that prove how dogs can detect disease, it may take some time before they can be consistently used in laboratories in place of standard testing since scientists have yet to determine what chemical compounds dogs detect to alert to the presence of the disease. This final obstacle must first be addressed before dogs can be trained better and before scientists can create machines that will be used to more accurately detect cancer in its early stages. Visit NaturalNewsPets.com for more articles about the amazing abilities of dogs and other clever pets. Sources include: Breitbart.com CBS12.com UnderstandingAnimalResearch.org.uk A week after New York City had a Black Lives Matter mural painted on a Manhattan street on Fifth Avenue, groups associated with the pro-police movement Blue Lives Matter say they want one of their own. Police advocacy groups Blue Lives Matter NYC and Standing Up for NYC teamed up to call on Mayor Bill de Blasio to paint a street mural near the New York Police Department headquarters at One Police Plaza. The idea for a Blue Lives Matter mural was inspired by the one that was painted on Fifth Avenue in front of Trump Tower for the racial activist organization, and it would help bring attention to the dangers that police officers face every day on the street, founder of Blue Lives Matter NYC Joe Imperatrice told CNN. General view of One Police Plaza on March 27, 2020, in New York City. (Eduardo Munoz Alvarez/Getty Images) I think it was a positive form of action which will give people from all walks of life an option to express themselves and bring to light issues we as a nation need to come together to fix, Imperatrice said of the initiative. The Blue Lives Matter mural would raise awareness for both the physical and verbal abuse officers endure daily. It would also be a way to remember our fallen heroes who have lost their lives defending their cities, Imperatrice added. Just as Black Lives Matter wants to bring attention to a subject, which they should, as are we. The Blue Lives Matter organization, a loosely affiliated group of police officers and their supporters, emerged as a counter movement to Black Lives Matter after the 2014 killings of NYPD officers Rafael Ramos and Wenjian Liu. It has inspired some state-level legislation meant to make law enforcement a protected class under hate crime laws. New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio, his wife, Chirlane McCray, and Rev. Al Sharpton help paint a Black Lives Matter mural on Fifth Avenue directly in front of Trump Tower on July 9, 2020, in New York City. (David Dee Delgado/Getty Images) De Blasio approved the Black Lives Matter street mural, and he even participated in painting a small portion of it after President Trump tweeted that the mural would be denigrating Fifth Avenue. The presidents full tweet read: NYC is cutting Police $s by ONE BILLION DOLLARS, and yet the @NYCMayor is going to paint a big, expensive, yellow Black Lives Matter sign on Fifth Avenue, denigrating this luxury Avenue. This will further antagonize New Yorks Finest, who LOVE New York & vividly remember the horrible BLM chant, Pigs In A Blanket, Fry Em Like Bacon. Maybe our GREAT Police, who have been neutralized and scorned by a mayor who hates & disrespects them, wont let this symbol of hate be affixed to New Yorks greatest street. Spend this money fighting crime instead! In response to Trumps tweet, de Blasio stated, President Trump said we would be denigrating the luxury of Fifth Avenue. Let me tell you: were not denigrating anything, we are liberating Fifth Avenue, we are uplifting Fifth Avenue. The Black Lives Matter organization, the Mayors office, and the NYPD did not immediately respond to a request for comment from CNN. CNN Wire contributed to this report. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Tuesday that Turkish forces would stay in Syria, where they are backing the opposition fighting the countrys longtime dictator Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, until peace is restored. Until the Syrian people are free, peaceful and safe, we will remain in this country, Erdogan said during a speech Tuesday, according to Turkish news outlet Ahval. Turkey supports some of the armed rebel groups fighting Assad's government. Earlier this year, the Turkish government sent thousands of troops to Syria's northwest to stave off a Russian-backed regime offensive on rebel-held Idlib. The governments campaign sent hundreds of thousands fleeing toward the locked Turkish border, which has remained closed for years to most Syrian refugees. Turkey already hosts some 3.6 million Syrians and is keen to avoid another refugee crisis on its doorstep. The bloodshed ended with a fragile truce brokered by Ankara and Moscow, Assads main ally, in early March. Part of the cease-fire called for the two countries to establish a jointly patrolled buffer region along the strategic M4 highway connecting Aleppo and Latakia provinces. Last week, several Turkish and Russian troops were reportedly injured after a roadside bomb exploded near their patrol. Meanwhile, Syrians across government-held areas on Sunday went to the polls to cast their ballots in parliamentary elections that the opposition denounced as a sham. Assad's Baath Party and loyalist groups are expected to win most of the 250 seats in what marked the third such election since the civil war erupted in 2011. After nine years of war, the regime has cemented control over roughly 70% of the country. The remainder is under Kurdish authority in the northeast, and a pocket of northwest Syria is held by the opposition and terrorist groups. When a black helicopter hovered above the Loudoun County, Va., courthouse in Leesburg early Tuesday afternoon, many residents grew curious. Roy and Brenda Clark, who had been paying close attention to the county's recent decision to remove the Confederate statue that stood in front of the building, rushed to the courthouse just blocks from their house to see what was going on. The county had not yet announced when the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the group that owns the 112-year-old statue, would remove it. The Clarks thought the helicopter might be signaling that Tuesday was the day. The couple arrived to find an empty pedestal where the statue once stood, encircled by eight orange cones. "We knew it was going to be a big deal," Roy Clark, 69, said of why he and his wife, who are white, came to see the statue, which depicted a Confederate soldier holding a musket. "Every generation has its cross to bear." While the county voted in early July to remove the "Silent Sentinel" and return it to the United Daughters of the Confederacy after the group asked for the statue back, no date had been set - though the county had announced that the group needed to remove it by Sept. 7. Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis Randall, a Democrat who has worked to remove the statue for nearly 20 years, was not immediately available for comment Tuesday. Randall, the first African American chair of the board, said after the vote that removing the statue was "correcting history" and that the "statue should never have been put up." The removal, which contractors conducted with a crane, took many Loudoun residents and civil rights leaders by surprise, including Michelle Thomas, president of the Loudoun chapter of the NAACP, who learned of the removal Tuesday morning. "This statue that has been an example of years of oppression and terrorism to African Americans came down without a single fight. This is a huge win for the county and for the nation," she said. Ron Story, who saw the rubble of the statue after he emerged from the courthouse Tuesday afternoon, felt conflicted. "History is history. The past shouldn't be forgotten," said Story, who is black, adding that he's in favor of adding more statues that contextualize the history of the county. "But if it's a random soldier, take it down." The statue is one of a growing number of Confederate monuments removed by local governments or toppled by protesters - including in Richmond and Alexandria, Va. - amid renewed calls for racial justice sparked by the May death of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. Many residents wondered what, if anything, should go in place of the "Silent Sentinel." Thomas, who sits on the committee the county has convened for the matter, said the statue will be replaced with a monument on the history of slavery, including a "freedom path" and stories of community members who suffered. Sam Carlson, who lives a block from the courthouse, said it's important just that the Confederate statue is gone. Carlson, who is white and has lived in Leesburg for a decade, said he's been hoping it would be removed for years. On Tuesday, he brought his daughter and son to see the empty pedestal. "Given the history of the statue to intimidate African Americans, and then having to walk by it every day, it was long time coming for it to come down," Carlson said. "It's nice to have this eyesore gone." DOWNERS GROVE, Ill., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- CPC (Colder Products Company), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dover Corporation (NYSE: DOV) and a leading manufacturer of connection technologies used in biopharmaceutical processing, medical, thermal management and industrial applications, announces the opening of its new global headquarters in Roseville, Minnesota. The new facility accommodates significant growth in customer demand for CPC's innovative products, particularly for biopharmaceutical processing and thermal management applications. To support the company's growth, CPC's local employee base has increased 50% in the last two years. The new 132,000-square-foot headquarters includes expanded manufacturing and innovation space and a larger Class 7 cleanroom, which is expected to be operational by year's end following certification. This expanded capacity and capability will enable CPC to continue its growth as a trusted partner providing world-class innovative fluid management solutions for customers who are world leaders in their markets. "We've been very successful by focusing on connectors for fluid management in a wide range of industries," said Janel Wittmayer, President of CPC. "Our engineers address fluid-related requirements so customers can concentrate on their finished products or systems. This early side-by-side collaboration means we gain knowledge of their industry and become a go-to resource." The company's work in biopharma and thermal management (liquid cooling of electronics) began with custom designs and small product portfolios a decade ago. Today, CPC's solutions in each of these categories are now industry standards. Wittmayer notes that connectors are often critical to ensuring that equipment and systems work properly. "We facilitate secure fluid delivery and help avoid leaks that could result in equipment malfunction or damage, or exposure to contaminants during manufacturing or patient care," she said. "The stakes are high so companies rely on our expertise." While establishing the new facility, the company also has been navigating through the pandemic. Many CPC products are used in applications related to COVID-19 care such as ventilators, vaccine production, lab testing equipment and ambulance disinfection systems. CPC's production teams are operating at the new site with COVID-related safety precautions in place, while most office-based employees continue to work from home. "Customers are already benefitting from the enhanced manufacturing flexibility, versatility and capacity of the new facility," said Janel Wittmayer, President of CPC. "When the time is right we will welcome our other employees to the new space. We are excited about the future as we transition to this new facility and continue serving our growing customer base with world-class capabilities." About 480 of the company's 600 employees are based in the new facility. In June 2020, the company was named one of Minnesota's "Top Workplaces" for its employee satisfaction and engagement. CPC continues to operate an existing Class 7 cleanroom in Minneapolis and a manufacturing and customer service site in China. The company also maintains a customer service center in Germany, sales offices in 13 countries, and worldwide engineering resources. About CPC: CPC (Colder Products Company) is the leading provider of quick disconnect couplings, fittings and connectors for the life sciences, biopharma, industrial and chemical handling markets. Over its 40-year history, CPC has built a portfolio of 10,000-plus connector products. CPC is an operating company within Dover Corporation. For a free catalog or more information, contact CPC, 2820 Cleveland Ave. N., Roseville, MN 55113. Phone: 651-645-0091. Toll-free: 800-444-2474. Web: cpcworldwide.com. About Dover: Dover is a diversified global manufacturer and solutions provider with annual revenue of approximately $7 billion. We deliver innovative equipment and components, consumable supplies, aftermarket parts, software and digital solutions, and support services through five operating segments: Engineered Products, Fueling Solutions, Imaging & Identification, Pumps & Process Solutions and Refrigeration & Food Equipment. Dover combines global scale with operational agility to lead the markets we serve. Recognized for our entrepreneurial approach for over 60 years, our team of over 23,000 employees takes an ownership mindset, collaborating with customers to redefine what's possible. Headquartered in Downers Grove, Illinois, Dover trades on the New York Stock Exchange under "DOV." Additional information is available at dovercorporation.com. CPC Contact: Jana Stender, Sr. Marketing Communications Consultant (612) 564-2053 [email protected] Dover Media Contact: Adrian Sakowicz, VP, Communications (630) 743-5039 [email protected] Dover Investor Contact: Andrey Galiuk, VP, Corporate Development and Investor Relations (630) 743-5131 [email protected] SOURCE Dover Related Links http://www.dovercorporation.com Texas budget forecast plummeted to a projected $4.6 billion shortfall as the coronavirus pandemic and low oil prices take a heavy toll on one of Americas largest economies, the states Republican comptroller said Monday. The new assessment is a sharp reversal from Octobers forecast that had Texas in line for an estimated $3 billion surplus. State officials cautioned the bleak new budget projections were fraught with uncertainty given that the virus continues to spread in Texas, which for a month has been one of the hardest-hit parts of the U.S. Its important to note that this revised estimate carries unprecedented uncertainty. Were assuming the state will effectively manage the outbreak and that infection rates wont overwhelm our health care system, Comptroller Glenn Hegar said. The pandemic has wrecked state budgets across the country and forced governments to consider deep cuts. Republican Gov. Greg Abbott in May ordered many state agencies to begin looking to cut spending by 5% before the Legislature meets again in January. The state has so far not made any major budget cuts or layoffs. Any deficit will test lawmakers will to use Texas emergency savings fund that has an estimated $9 billion in reserves. Representative Image Kanchan Gupta There is an indisputable groundswell of anger among Indians against China. Simmering rage over the PLAs attempt to grab land through by now familiar stealth and deceit along the Line of Actual Control in east Ladakh, turned incandescent after the deadly clash on the night of June 15-16 that resulted in the death of 20 Indian soldiers and a large number of Chinese wolf warriors. It would not be an exaggeration to suggest that the intensity of the popular rage sweeping through India will influence domestic politics and Governments decision-making in the short to medium-term. The implications of those decisions will last longer, unless Government does a somersault and reverses policy choices like imposing a ban on Chinese apps, cancelling infrastructure tenders in which Chinese firms are bidders, shutting Indias doors on Chinas 5G tech firm Huawei, and prohibiting Chinese direct investment through the automatic route. For the moment, the Modi Government, slighted by what it perceives as Beijings treachery along the LAC and in instigating the neighbourhood, especially Nepal, against India at a time when all attention is focussed on fighting the Chinese-origin Covid19 pandemic and its devastating aftermath, seems determined to stay the course and be firm in dealing with a country which is unlikely to ever turn into a friend from an implacable foe. Meanwhile, pressure from BJP-allied organisations like the Swadeshi Jagran Manch, and its ideological mentor, the RSS, will mount to hit China where it hurts most Chinese exports to India. There are already raucous demands to cut back on India-China trade. This is in tune with Prime Minister Narendra Modis call for Atmanirbhar Bharat or self-reliant India. Early evidence indicates that freezing out China from bilateral trade and shifting to self-reliance as a core principle of Indias national economy are gaining traction among the masses, more so in the wake of what Mr Modi aptly described as Chinas unbridled expansionism. Quick to sense the popular mood, businesses with high-value brand equity have signalled their willingness to delink their production lines from Chinese supplies. Hero Cycles has called off a Rs 900-crore deal with China. It now plans to look at Europe. JSW Steel has declared it will stop importing all raw material from China over the next two years. TTK Prestige, possibly the most-known home appliances manufacturer, has decided to stop all imports from China by September this year. Then of course there is Jio Platforms which is not only free of all Made in China clutter but has demonstrated to the world that India Tech is more than body-shopping and cut-price coding. Its not only Indian big business that is willing to look at alternatives other than Chinese supplies. Traders too are robustly waving the flag of nationalism, ignoring profit margins and quick returns on investments. The Confederation of All-India Traders has called for a boycott of Chinese rakhis and material used for making them sourced from China. The confederation says this alone will dent Chinese earnings from Indian imports by Rs 4,000 crore. That India feels the necessity to import rakhis from China, that the simple thread which once symbolised the sacred bond between a brother and a sister is now replaced by garish tassel and tinsel from a Chinese sweatshop, is a fact that needs to sink in, and sink in deep. The confederation plans to reduce the import of cheap Chinese goods like toys, watches, corporate gifts and fabric by Rs 1 lakh crore over the next year. Online retailers will now make it mandatory for sellers to mention the country of origin of their merchandise. If the current level of revulsion against China and the urge to punish Beijing prevails, sellers would find it difficult to get rid of their inventory even at heavily discounted prices. All this and more sounds like distant spring thunder, a phrase the Communist Party of China is well acquainted with. If the thunder turns into a storm then China is bound to feel the backlash for its unwarranted hostility along the LAC as well as for upping the ante against India in the latters zone of influence. There is a second proviso: While diplomacy, whether it is cynical or coercive, is always preferable to a military response to Chinas insatiable greed for land, India must not waver in its resolve to stand up to the bully on the block. As past experience has shown, capitulation comes easy to New Delhi there are far too many China and strategic affairs experts within and outside the establishment who are steeped in the twin Nehruvian orthodoxy of nonalignment and Panchsheel bunkum than is good for Indias national interest. For India to stay firm and stay the course, Indians have to show far greater steadfastness in saying No to China and its low-cost products. That would force the reshaping of Indias political approach to China and all things Chinese while enabling the creation of capacity to produce similar products at matching prices. Yet, for all the sound and fury generated over Chinese aggression in east Ladakh, the heat could prove to be momentary and dissipate with the monsoon rains as PLA soldiers dismantle their tents and retreat to a distance from the LAC, and the story falls off the daily news cycle. Popular memory in India, a nation with an abysmal sense of history, is extremely short-lived and anger is at best a fickle emotion: here today, gone tomorrow. In the midst of intense and often shrill public outrage over the death of 20 Indian soldiers at the hands of the PLA, we have seen a Chinese mobile handset selling out on the day of its launch. Duplicity is no doubt a trait Indians share with others, but it is starker in this country. Some three years ago there was a stirring call to boycott Chinese plastic diyas and resin-cast murtis of Lakshmi-Ganesh, and buy Indian earthen diyas and murtis during the festival of Diwali. The boycott worked that year, but the Chinese products were back with a bang next Diwali. Over the years the traditional Indian potter has been put out of his humble business by the inexpensive substitutes imported in bulk from China. Indians did not need to be cajoled into buying the toxic imports; they have willingly opted for them because they cost less, have a garish appeal and feed the mindless, often un-aesthetic, excesses of Diwali. What this has done to the indigenous artisan and an Indian tradition dating back to Sri Rams triumphant return to Ayodhya is of no consideration, either for the consumer or the seller. Another example of official callousness and popular thrift revolves around the ubiquitous agarbatti, or incense stick, purchased by both rich and poor Indians. One of the main ingredients of agarbatti manufacturing is the thin bamboo stick on which the incense is pasted. In its wisdom, the Government of India listed bamboo as a tree and a protected species, thus restricting the supply of indigenous bamboo for the Indian agarbatti industry. China stepped into the breach and pumped the Indian market with millions of tons of bamboo sticks. Unmindful of the impact this had had on local jobs and income, in 2011 the Government reduced the import duty on bamboo products from 30 per cent to 10 per cent. This further depressed prices, resulted in the loss of thousands of jobs and closure of small-scale units. But the high-on-faith-low-on-spend Indian consumer was delighted that gods and goddesses could now be propitiated for a few paise less. When the Government reclassified bamboo as grass, making access to it easier, in 2018, it was expected that the Chinese presence in the Indian agarbatti would go up in smoke. Nothing like that happened. China further lowered the price of finished bamboo sticks and raw ingredients, thus pushing up their bulk export to India. It took two years for the Government to raise the import duty on bamboo sticks from 10 per cent to 25 per cent, still five percentage points lower than what it was in 2011. There is no plausible explanation as to why it must be 25 per cent, other than the possibility that a potential increase in the price of incense sticks would offend the believers and upset the traders. Atmanirbhar Bharat as the cornerstone of Indias national economy is a great concept. But like all concepts, it requires demonstrable verification. Heres a suggestion: Let Government and business, traders and consumers, test the concept of Atmanirbhar Bharat on something that is easily doable for instance, scaling up the production of agarbatti in India, which would require neither high technology nor massive capital infusion, to meet the countrys domestic demand of 1,490 tons of incense sticks per day. At present, Indias production capacity is 760 tons per day. The gap is filled by bulk Chinese imports. It need not be that way. For, no irony can be crueller than lighting a Chinese agarbatti to honour the memory of a fallen soldier. No prayer could be more insincere than the one accompanied by a Chinese agarbatti that saved you pennies but cost a potential Indian job. A groundswell of anger against China is pointless unless there is change on the ground. (This article was published in the ORF.) STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. A Staten Island man will spend some time in a federal prison for his role in a complex fraud scheme involving the processing of credit-card payments and transactions by consumers in western Pennsylvania. Azad Khizgilov has pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit mail, wire and bank fraud, online federal court records show. Khizgilov, 45, was among six New Yorkers who concocted the scam, authorities said. The other defendants resided in Brooklyn and Manhattan, said the U.S. attorneys office for the Western District of Pennsylvania. Officials said the defendants used credit card products and services to pay for certain "precluded activities," including the online sales of pharmaceutical drugs and of products violating trademark laws. Credit card companies don't permit such purchases, but the defendants subverted those organizations' internal controls to make it seem as though they were buying permitted goods, said authorities. They set up shell corporations and web sites falsely claiming they sold products other than the precluded ones and applied for merchant accounts from the credit card companies, said authorities. Once the merchant accounts were established, the defendants used them to process consumers' payments. To hide their tracks, they sent credit-card statements to customers with the names of the shell corporations and phone numbers, said officials. They also created a telephone bank to receive consumers' calls about billing questions, authorities said. Khizgilov was arrested in December 2017. The defendant, who is free on bond, is scheduled to be sentenced on Dec. 8. According to federal sentencing guidelines, Khizgilovs prison sentence would be in the range of 51 to 63 months, said defense lawyer Chad Seigel. However, the guidelines are advisory and not mandatory, and the judge is not bound by them. Were hopeful the judge will show leniency based on mitigating factors surrounding Mr. Khizgilovs otherwise exemplary life and the fact no one suffered any financial harm in this matter, said Seigel, a partner in the Manhattan law firm of Tacopina & Seigel. Black Lives Matter protests swelled in Portland, Ore., on Monday night, CBS News reports, as demonstrations against police violence have continued in the city for more than 50 days. The big picture: The ramp-up came hours after President Trump threatened to send federal law enforcement into other cities run by Democrats. Demonstrations against excessive use of police force sparked by the killing of George Floyd while in police custody have overall been peaceful in cities around the country. "Well, Im going to do something that, I can tell you. Because were not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these Oakland is a mess. Were not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats," Trump said. that, I can tell you. Because were not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these Oakland is a mess. Were not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats," Trump said. "And you know what? If Biden got in, that would be true for the country. The whole country would go to hell. And were not going to let it go to hell." Driving the news: Homeland Security is reportedly drafting plans to send roughly 150 federal agents into Chicago this week, the Chicago Tribune reports. Roughly 2,000 Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration officials are currently on standby for deployment to cities, the New York Times reports. Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Coast Guard and Transportation Security Administration officials are currently on standby for deployment to cities, the New York Times reports. More protesters joined the fray in Portland after Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) reported that DHS officers and federal agents have detained demonstrators in unmarked vehicles without explanation. DHS did not respond to a request for comment. Details: Mark Pettibone, a Portland demonstrator, told the Washington Post that he was detained by "men in green military fatigues and generic 'police' patches" in an unmarked minivan last Wednesday. He said he was let go after being held at the federal courthouse. What they're saying: Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler told NPR over the weekend that Trump ordering DHS' involvement "is an effort a last-gasp effort by a failed president with sagging polling data who's trying to look strong for his base." House Speaker Nancy Pelosi characterized the federal agents in Portland as "stormtroopers," calling their use an "egregious" abuse of power. House Democrats have called for an investigation. "People cannot ignore what is happening in Portland and what may be coming to their city," Rep. Earl Blumenauer (D-Ore.) told his colleagues in the House on Tuesday. "This rhetoric is unhelpful and gives the violence we have seen a pass. But President Trump will not give the violence a pass, White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany told reporters on Tuesday, in response to Pelosi. Meanwhile: Democratic mayors in Portland, Atlanta, Chicago, Seattle, Kansas City, Mo., and Washington, D.C., on Monday condemned federal agents for dispersing protesters in their cities over the past two months, in letters to congressional leadership and the Trump administration. A federal officer points to a protester in front of the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse on July 20 in Portland. Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images A federal officer pepper sprays a protester on July 20 in Portland. Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images Protest organizers lead a crowd of about 1,500 people on July 20, 2020 in Portland. Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images A protester kicks an entrance to the Mark O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse on July 20 in Portland. Photo: Nathan Howard/Getty Images Go deeper: Rand Paul denounces use of federal force in Portland COLUMBUS, Ohio Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder was arrested Tuesday morning ahead of an announcement about a $60 million federal racketeering case related to Ohios new nuclear bailout law, according to sources and media reports. FBI agents, who were assisted by the Perry County Sheriffs Department, were deployed to Householders property in Glenford, the Dayton Daily News reported. The investigation centers on House Bill 6, the $1 billion-plus ratepayer bailout of two Ohio nuclear power plants owned by FirstEnergy Solutions (now Energy Harbor) that Householder helped push through last year with the help of millions in dark money, according to the Toledo Blade. Besides Householder, four others have been arrested, according to sources and media reports: former Ohio Republican Party Chair-turned-consultant Matt Borges, prominent lobbyist Neil Clark, FirstEnergy Solutions lobbyist Juan Cespedes, and Householder aide Jeff Longstreth. All are currently in custody, according to a source. All five are set to appear via video conference before federal Magistrate Judge Stephanie Bowman in Cincinnati at 1 p.m., according to the judges clerk. The news comes as the FBI and U.S. Attorney David M. DeVillers called a news conference in Columbus at 2:30 p.m. Tuesday to announce charges related to $60 million bribe to a state official and associates. The campaign to pass HB6 as well as their brutally successful effort to stop opponents from hold a statewide referendum to overturn it included a wave of campaign donations from FirstEnergy Corp., as well as a multi-million-dollar ad campaign paid for with dark money. Its not the first time the FBI has looked into Householders activities. In 2004, during the Republicans first stint as speaker, the FBI opened an investigation into Householder after receiving an anonymous tip that the speaker and aides received kickbacks from vendors doing business with the Ohio House GOPs campaign arm. That investigation closed in 2006 without any charges being filed. A Householder spokeswoman did not immediately return a phone call seeking comment. Around 11 a.m., media members had gathered outside Householders Perry County farm. One said he passed a caravan of federal officials earlier in the morning, but the property was largely empty. Phone calls to spokespeople with FirstEnergy Corp. and Energy Harbor were not immediately returned. Its the second time in about two years that federal agents have shown up on the property of an Ohio House speaker. In May 2018, FBI agents raided the Clinton County home of Cliff Rosenberger shortly after he resigned amid an investigation into possible pay-to-play activities involving the payday loan industry. No charges have yet been filed against Rosenberger. Cleveland.com reporters Andrew J. Tobias, Eric Heisig, and Seth A. Richardson contributed to this story. More: Trump to send federal agents to Chicago, maybe other cities, official says First votes in 2020 presidential election can be cast in Pa., other states in less than 2 months Single, broke mom receives help after she donated lottery prize to police officer who was shot: report LOS ANGELESPineapple Support has added Colombia-based therapist and former cam model Yiset Mosquera Moreno to its staff in order to provide support to Spanish-speaking performers in Latin America. "I'm looking forward to using the experience I've gained from working with people from all genders and sexual orientation, treating situations like depression, stress, grieving process, self-esteem issues and relationship issues," Mosquera said. "As a former cam model, I fully understand the difficulties of sex work that can affect mental health and I believe that everyone has the right to ask for mental help when in need, without being judged for their skin color, their gender, their nationality or what they do for a living. Mosqueros arrival marks the organizations continuing effort to expand in South America. Since we began offering therapy in 2018, weve realized the incredible demand of adult performers seeking mental health services in Spanish-speaking countries in Latin America, said Pineapple Support founder Leya Tanit. Were excited to welcome Yiset to the team, where her knowledge and experience is going to help many more performers receive the support they need. Spanish-speaking adult workers in Latin America who are looking for mental health support and therapy should contact Pineapple Support directly by clicking here or visiting PineappleSupport.org. Bajaj Finance Ltd (BFL) reported fall in net profit to Rs 962 crore for the quarter ended June 30 from Rs 1,195 crore in Q1 FY20 over a contingency provision of Rs 1,450 crore for COVID-19. The Pune-based company's net interest income rose 12 per cent to Rs 4,152 crore in Q1 from Rs 3,694 crore in Q1FY20. During the quarter, the company made an additional contingency provision of Rs 1,450 crore, taking the overall contingency provision for COVID-19 to Rs 2,350 crore as of June 30. The contingency provision for COVID-19 is now at 10.8 per cent of the company's consolidated moratorium book, the company informed the stock exchanges. Bajaj Finance's consolidated moratorium book has reduced to Rs 21,705 crore (or 15.7 per cent of AUM) from Rs 38,599 crore (or 27 per cent of AUM) as of April 30, 2020, owing to a reduction in bounce rate coupled with better collection efficiency, the company informed. "The company continues to remain very well capitalised with CRAR of 26.40 per cent as of 30 June 2020. It remains one of the best capitalised large NBFCs in India. The company's liquidity position remains very strong with overall liquidity surplus of approximately Rs 17,700 crore as of 30 June 2020 on a consolidated basis," the company stated, adding that its liquidity surplus as of 20 July 2020 was Rs 20,590 crore. The gross NPA and net NPA as of 30 June 2020 stood at 1.40 per cent and 0.50 per cent respectively, as against 1.60 per cent and 0.64 per cent as of 30 June 2019. The provisioning coverage ratio in Q1 was 65 per cent. The company had earlier said it could provide additional provisions for COVID-19 to strengthen its balance sheet. The Bajaj Finance stock was trading 0.36 per cent or Rs 12.30 up at Rs 3,452.75 compared to its previous close of Rs 3,441.5 crore on National Stock Exchange on Tuesday. Also read: Bajaj Finance pips SBI in market cap, NBFC stock gains 51% in June The police in Ho are on high alert, following the sudden and phenomenal surge in break-in and stealing cases in the municipality in the past four weeks. About 30 suspects have, so far, been arrested in the regional capital for such offences during the period. Out of the figure, 12 had been convicted by the courts to various prison terms, while the other cases are being investigated vigorously. Mr Alex Yeboah, Assistant Superintendent of Police in-charge of the Ho Municipality disclosed these to the Ghanaian Times in Ho at the weekend. He said that it was more disturbing that the perpetrators were very young people whose ages ranged between 16 and 22. Furthermore, the criminals used offensive weapons such as guns and machetes during their raids and often targetted female university students in their hostels or rented rooms, Mr Yeboah said, adding that the suspects were all male. Mr Yeboah assured that the police in Ho had the capacity to deal with the criminals squarely. We will continue to be swift and very ruthless with them day and night and process them for court without delay. The municipal police commander expressed profound gratitude to the law courts in the municipality for their quick and resolute convictions, and the severe sentences they handed down to the culprits in recent time, saying that the trend of firm judgements from the courts was definitely helping to curb crime in Ho. Mr Yeboah revealed that one notorious gangster who was involved in multiple robbery cases in the past nine months in Ho was last week Friday caged for a total of 33 years by the Ho Circuit Court. He appealed to the public to volunteer information to the police on the presence and activities of criminals in their areas for immediate response, and assured that the identities of informants would always remain confidential. Ho is expanding rapidly and for that matter cases of crime will also go up, and so let us fight the menace collectively, Mr Yeboah stated. 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 NEW HAVEN Jamilah Prince-Stewart is familiar with the election-year routine. When politicians want to get elected, they go to churches, said the Bethel AME congregant. They state their platforms, and you dont see them again until the next election. In 2014, Prince-Stewart was the founding executive director of FaithActs for Education in Bridgeport with William McCullough, senior pastor of Russell Temple CME Church. Photo courtesy of Kristyn Miller. The nonprofit thus far has worked to organize Bridgeports faith community to organize and advocate for issues around education. Now, Prince-Stewart is planning an expansion of a voter education and empowerment initiative to New Haven and Hartford. Prince-Stewart, who was raised in New Haven and graduated from Hopkins School in the Westville neighborhood, said she felt upset by her anomaly story while attending Yale University, perceiving that New Haven residents were more expected to work for Yale than to attend it. I thought deeply about how I wanted to transform that, she said. After working a job in Hartford for one year after graduation, Prince-Stewart said she began learning about state-level policy from her job as director of community engagement for the Connecticut Coalition for Achievement Now, a school reform advocacy group. Photo courtesy of Kristyn Miller. Although FaithActs cannot endorse political candidates because of its nonprofit status, Prince-Stewart said the organization is able to connect with churchgoers about issues, make the case for why the issues are pertinent to them and their communities, and to build power so churches can be taken seriously as a political lobby in the same way as workers unions. Every politician might not care about kids, but every politician knows how to count, she said. Its clear politicians know places of worship have power in the election, so what if we try to quantify that power? The organization publishes voter information guides for local and state elections, including information gathered from questionnaires sent to candidates. Organizers in FaithActs also register voters and collect commitment cards from them to follow up with them on Election Day to remind them to vote. Its about giving them the full support they need to be an empowered voter, she said. Prince-Stewart said the expansion partially is motivated by a desire to see the states largest cities working together to demand more from state legislators. She said FaithActs organizers began building relationships within churches in New Haven and Hartford three years ago before making an official announcement to expand this year. FaithActs is focusing its efforts on 15 New Haven churches in particular, including Varick Memorial AME Zion Church on Dixwell Avenue. The Rev. Kelcy G.L. Steele, pastor of Varick Memorial, is on the board of directors of the local Booker T. Washington Academy charter school. FaithActs encourage us and help us as it pertains to the lobbying aspect of getting equitable funding, he said. I pray in the future we can be a vital part of leading FaithActs in their efforts to come to New Haven. Steele said political activism already is built into the history of Varick Memorial, so what FaithActs is bringing to his congregation is not new. It can, however, be mutually beneficial, he said. Peter Hvizdak / Hearst Connecticut Media I think both of our organizations can enhance each other, because we have similar interests and causes. Were fighting for voter registration, equitable funding for charter schools and social justice aspects, he said. Its still a new partnership, but its something were strongly considering. The Rev. Steven Cousin of Bethel AME, where Prince-Stewart attends church, said there will be no grand welcoming for FaithActs, because its about relationships. Bethel would like to partner with FaithActs to make sure they work is being done, he said. We tell them what the issues are and bring people to the table. Were really trying to nail down where the issues are. brian.zahn@hearstmediact.com SpringServe a New York-based ad serving platform for over-the-top (OTT) and connected TV (CTV), received a strategic investment from SpotX, a global video advertising platform. The investment will be used to bolster product and engineering efforts and for research and development, with a focus on building the next generation of CTV ad serving tools. Under the terms of the deal, both companies will work together to provide joint customers with the most advanced video advertising capabilities, while connecting platform customers to the advertiser ecosystem. Founded in 2015 by Joseph Hirsch, Hagan Major, Dave Buonasera, Matt Dearborn, and Richard Lin, SpringServe offers ad serving, optimization, and automation solutions across devices. Leveraged by publishers and content owners, the platform manages multiple aspects of video advertising and includes tools such as inventory routing, customized ad experiences, and advanced podding logic. The companies will collaborate on a roadmap of product features that bring substantial value to the market. Together, SpotX and SpringServe will offer joint customers ad serving, inventory management, and programmatic capabilities, helping media owners take more control over their video advertising businesses. FinSMEs 21/07/2020 PARAMARIBO, July 21 (Reuters) - Canadian gold miner Iamgold said on Tuesday it is restarting operations at its Rosebel gold mine in Suriname that it shut in June after union leaders issued a stop work order in response to employees testing positive for coronavirus. Iamgold in June said it had quarantined the seven infected employees and taken steps to disinfect working areas, but the union had said the measures were not sufficient. Some Rosebel employees had started working again as of June 20, Iamgold said in a statement, adding it hopes the mine will be fully operational on July 23, though with fewer staff than usual. The Rosebel Goldmines Employees Organization, which represents mine workers, agreed to allow a restart after meeting with management and the company's medical team on July 15, the company said. New sanitary protocols include screening, distancing measures and taking worker temperatures. Miners globally have temporarily suspended production at some of their mines due to the COVID-19 pandemic and government-mandated lockdowns to curb the spread of the virus. Suriname's government holds a 5% stake in the Rosebel mine. The country has 1,079 cases of coronavirus and 21 deaths, according to official figures. (Reporting by Ank Kuipers, writing by Brian Ellsworth Editing by Marguerita Choy) T he Duchess of York has spoken of her pride following the wedding of her daughter Princess Beatrice. Beatrice married property tycoon Edoardo Mapelli Mozziafter during an intimate private ceremony at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in Windsor on Friday. In photos unveiled by Buckingham Palace, the newlyweds were all smiles as they left the church through a door decked in flowers. Sarah Ferguson tweeted on Tuesday: Thank you to all the special&kind people that took the time to send amazingly caring&supportive messages. Never has a mother been more proud than the wedding of Eugenie and Jack&again with my Beatrices loving wedding to Dear Edo. I am so lucky with my girls & the best sons-in-law." She accompanied the tweet with a picture of a quote, which read: Happiness cannot be travelled to, earned, worn or consumed. Happiness is the spiritual experience of living every minute with love, grace, and gratitude. The 31-year-old was walked down the aisle by her father, the Duke of York, and the Queen and Prince Phillip posed proudly with their granddaughter on her low-key wedding day. Princess Beatrice wore a vintage Peau De Soie taffeta dress in shades of ivory by Norman Hartnell, which was on loan from her grandmother and trimmed with Duchess satin and encrusted with diamante The dress was remodelled and fitted by the Queens senior dresser Angela Kelly and designer Stewart Parvin, Buckingham Palace said. The couple married during an intimate private ceremony on Friday / Benjamin Wheeler It appears to be a modified version of the dress the Queen wore to the world premier of Lawrence Of Arabia at the Odeon Leicester Square in December 1962. Beatrice also donned the Queen Mary diamond fringe tiara, also on loan from the Queen, who wore it on her own wedding day. Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's wedding - In pictures 1 /14 Princess Beatrice and Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi's wedding - In pictures Princess Beatrice with Eduardo Mapelli Mozzi Benjamin Wheeler The Queen's granddaughter is captured leaving the church with her new husband in new photos released by Buckingham Palace. PA The pair shared an intimate post-ceremony moment Benjamin Wheeler The couple were married in a small family ceremony on Friday at the Royal Chapel of All Saints at Royal Lodge in Windsor. PA The pair shared an intimate post-ceremony moment Benjamin Wheeler Reverend Anthony Ball, Canon of Westminster in Westminster Abbey in London with Princess Beatrice's wedding bouquet PA Reverend Anthony Ball, Canon of Westminster in Westminster Abbey in London with Princess Beatrice's wedding bouquet PA Reverend Anthony Ball, Canon of Westminster in Westminster Abbey in London with Princess Beatrice's wedding bouquet PA Princess Beatrice's wedding bouquet laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior PA Princess Beatrice's wedding bouquet laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior PA Princess Beatrice's wedding bouquet laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior PA Beatrices ring was designed by Shaun Leane and Mr Mapelli Mozzis ring was a vintage gold band designed by Josh Collins. The Queen described the private family occasion, attended by the Duke of Edinburgh, the couples parents and their siblings, as very nice. In an unusual move, the wedding was not announced in advance, the ceremony was held in private and pictures of the event were not immediately released. In a statement, Buckingham Palace said: The couple decided to hold a small private ceremony with their parents and siblings following the postponement of their wedding in May. Working within Government guidelines, the service was in keeping with the unique circumstances while enabling them to celebrate their wedding with their closest family. A REDUCTION in course fees for the next academic year is not being considered by the University of Limerick. However, in response to the Covid-19 pandemic the university has announced a number of changes in relation to accommodation for the forthcoming semester. These include the removal of the twin room option as well as not charging international students who reserve a place in one of the student villages, for their two weeks of self-isolation. On campus accommodation is available for the autumn semester and the academic year, albeit at a later start date. UL subsidiary Plassey Campus Centre Ltd, which manages the student residencies on campus, is reviewing a flexible model as an alternative option, however this is still being considered and further detail will be given to students in the coming weeks if it is available, said a spokesperson for the university. While the twin room accommodation option will not be available for the coming academic year, rental fees as advertised for single rooms still apply. However, rental fee instalment amounts will be revised to reflect the new start date of the term. In correspondence sent to students, Professor Ann Ledwith, dean of Graduate and Professional Studies at the university said that under the present public health guidelines international students will be required to self-isolate for 14 days before the start of the semester. We understand that having to arrive two weeks before the start of the semester imposes an additional cost on our international students. To help ease this burden, for students who reserve a place in one of our student villages, the cost of accommodation (excluding meals) for the two weeks of self-isolation will be free, she stated. Former Fox News anchor Ed Henry is the latest of the network's male employees to be sued for his alleged mistreatment of women. (John Lamparski / Getty Images) I have read a lot of federal lawsuits in my time, but Ive never seen one that starts with a trigger warning. And yet there it is, in big red letters at the top of the lawsuit two women just filed against Fox News, veteran anchor Ed Henry and some of his illustrious Fox colleagues: Trigger warning: This document contains highly graphic information of a sexual nature, including sexual assault. What follows is a sordid set of allegations against Henry, who was fired July 1 after the network became aware of the claims. The lawsuit alleges that Henry coerced Jennifer Eckhart, a young Fox staffer, into a sexual relationship, culminating in a violent rape in a Manhattan hotel room in 2017 that left her bruised and bloody. The complaint is replete with images of graphic texts from Henry to the young woman. Good long session last time, said one. Left you bruised batter dazed sated begging for more. Henry's lawyer has promised to prove the relationship was consensual. The complaint also alleges that Henry harassed Cathy Areu, a regular guest on Fox News shows who sought full-time employment with the network, sending her sexually explicit text messages and vulgar photos. Areu also says that in 2018, on the night of a company Christmas party, Tucker Carlson told her he was staying overnight in a hotel by himself, which she interpreted as a sexual come-on. She alleges that, in July 2019, Howard Kurtz invited her to meet him in the lobby of his hotel to talk about her career and was rude to her after she declined. And, she claims, on March 8, 2018, when she was Sean Hannitys guest, he threw a hundred dollar bill on his desk and yelled, Who wants to take her on a date? The network said it investigated Areus claims and found them false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit. Out of context, those three incidents might seem to be thin grounds for a lawsuit. But given the networks extraordinary history of sexual harassment, they seem part of a pattern where powerful male hosts feel free to behave boorishly or to harass female colleagues, particularly those who are seeking career advancement. Story continues I mean, we have seen this movie before. Its called Bombshell. It came out in 2019 and was nominated for three Oscars. Its about how a culture of sexual harassment and misogyny at Fox News led to the downfall of Fox chief Roger Ailes, who was forced out of his job in 2016 after former anchor Gretchen Carlson filed a sexual harassment lawsuit against him. Two months before Ailes was fired, hed put Ed Henry on a four-month leave of absence after revelations that Henry, at the time a White House correspondent, had had an extramarital affair with a Las Vegas stripper. Normally, you might argue that consensual affairs are no ones business, but unfortunately for Henry, the woman in question told her story to In Touch magazine. At the time, Ailes said the episode raised serious questions about Eds lack of judgment. You really cant make this stuff up. :: Starting in 2017, when the New York Times and the New Yorker broke stories about Harvey Weinsteins decades-long history of sexual abuse, many of us watched in amazement as men who were titans in their professions were outed and toppled by women (and a handful of men) brave enough to risk their careers to come forward with stories of misconduct. Apparently, it was too much to hope that the #MeToo movement would result in immediate, wholesale changes in the workplace dynamic between powerful (mostly) men and their subordinates. Just last week, the Washington Post reported that 15 women who worked for the Washington Redskins claimed to have been relentlessly harassed and verbally abused by team executives between 2006 and 2019. Three of those executives, the Post reported, abruptly departed when team executives were presented with the Posts findings. On July 1, Los Angeles Times Food Editor Peter Meehan resigned after being publicly accused of abusive behavior, especially toward women. In his resignation tweet, Meehan said that while the accusations alleged a number of things I dont think are true," he also wished he "had seen myself how others did and changed my ways...." The Times is investigating. Its unfathomable to me, in this moment of accountability, that anyone thinks that abuse and misconduct will not eventually be found out and punished. How, after watching the career implosions of men like Harvey Weinstein, Bill O'Reilly, Matt Lauer, Charlie Rose, Les Moonves, can bosses think its acceptable to invite or demand sex from subordinates, to talk about how they look or dress, to treat them like objects? And yet, there seems to be an unwavering mindset that the rules governing workplace conduct are written for other people. As so many newly unemployed men have learned, they apply to everyone. @AbcarianLAT Green River has Virtual Power Purchase Agreements (VPPA) with Apple, Akamai Technologies, and Swiss Re, as well as a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Illinois Municipal Electric Agency (IMEA). Akamai, Etsy and Swiss Re previously had limited opportunity to access large renewable energy projects in the regions covered by the thirteen state PJM wholesale electric market. By collaborating with Apple, these companies were able to access wind and solar power from the new projects at competitive prices and agreement terms. Collaborations like this accelerate the pace at which new renewable energy generation is built and brought online. 3Degrees facilitated the renewable energy aggregation with the corporate power purchasers. The project was built by Mortenson and utilizes Siemens Gamesa wind turbines. It was developed and is operated by Geronimo Energy. The project employed approximately 200 construction workers at its peak and boosted local economies with increased local spending as a direct result of this influx of temporary workers. As an operating project, Green River has begun to provide positive long-term economic impacts to the local and state communities. The project has created 11 new full-time jobs at its Operations & Maintenance building located in Deer Grove, Illinois. Additionally, throughout the first 20 years of operations, Geronimo estimates the project will provide $35 million in new tax revenue and $20 million in landowner payments. "In this time of budget uncertainty, Ohio Community School Districts #17 and #505 are excited to begin planning how to best use the new tax revenue generated by Green River Wind Farm," stated Jennifer Hamilton, Superintendent for the Ohio School District's Elementary and High Schools. "The Green River Wind Farm brings an increase in combined revenue of at least $650,000 to the Ohio District boundaries - a more than 15% increase to the operating budgets for both of the Ohio School Districts - and provides the students of Ohio Community Schools and local residents significant benefits. This new tax revenue generated by Green River allows each District to further our focus on student achievement, continue with our building improvement plans, and reduce our local property tax rate." "Bureau Valley is fortunate to be in an area where our EAV has risen substantially over the past couple of years. Much of our increased assessed value is a result of new wind farms, including Green River Wind Farm, constructed inside our district boundaries," stated Jason Stabler, Superintendent for Bureau Valley School District. "The anticipated additional revenue, as a result of our increased EAV, comes at a critical time for our district and our country as we face many uncertainties in the near future. The additional resources will help us continue to provide support for our families and communities of Bureau Valley." The communities surrounding Green River will also benefit from the Green River Community Fund (the Fund). The Fund's board of directors has been elected and is comprised of local residents and landowners in and around the project footprint. The charitable donations, totaling $776,000 over a 20-year period, will be directed by this local board and are above and beyond all tax revenue generated by the project. The Fund's board anticipates calling for grant applications from local charities at the end of 2020. "The Green River Community Fund contributions of $38,800 per year are a wonderful benefit for our community," stated Rick Clary, newly elected President of the local Green River Community Fund. "These donations will help our community board give back to local non-profit organizations and further enrich and strengthen our community and our residents. We couldn't be more excited to begin the process of formalizing our board and look forward to being able to start accepting grant applications later this year." "We're very pleased to see the Green River Wind Farm achieve commercial operation," said Kevin Gaden, President & CEO for IMEA. "This resource fits our needs to cost effectively add another carbon-free source while we continue to diversify our portfolio. We are proud to be a part of an Illinois-based project that will bring power to the Member municipalities we serve across the state." "Swiss Re has been an avid supporter of sustainable business practices as an insurer as well as a global corporate citizen," said Brian Beebe, Head of Origination North America, Weather and Energy, Swiss Re Corporate Solutions. "To our employees we provide 100% impactful green power by entering a long-term contract with the Green River Wind Farm. To our customers we provide tailored insurance solutions that bring their renewables projects across the finish line." "We are very happy to see the Green River project come online and provide renewable energy for our data center operations in Illinois," said Mike Mattera, director of sustainability, Akamai Technologies Inc. "This marks an important milestone in our global strategy and contributes to reducing our environmental impact in the areas where we work, operate and live. In addition to this project providing renewable energy to our data center footprint, it is great to see the tax revenue support local education initiatives in the Bureau Valley School District." About Geronimo Energy Geronimo Energy, a National Grid (NYSE: NGG) company, is a leading North American renewable energy development company based in Minneapolis, Minnesota, with satellite offices located throughout multiple states in the regions where it develops, constructs, and operates. As a farmer-friendly and community driven company, Geronimo develops projects for corporations and utilities that seek to repower America's grid by reigniting local economies and reinvesting in a sustainable future. Geronimo has developed over 2,400 megawatts of wind and solar projects that are either operational or currently under construction, resulting in an investment of over $4 billion in critical energy infrastructure and the revitalization of rural economies. Geronimo has a vast development pipeline of wind and solar projects in various stages of development throughout the United States. Please visit www.geronimoenergy.com to learn more. Contact: Andrea Savage Geronimo Energy 8400 Normandale Lake Boulevard Suite 1200 Bloomington, MN 55437 952.988.9000 SOURCE Geronimo Energy Related Links http://www.geronimoenergy.com Whole Foods employees have been speaking out against the company's dress code. Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images A group of 14 Whole Foods workers have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming that the company discriminated and retaliated against employees who wore Black Lives Matter masks. Whole Foods' "selective enforcement" of its dress code "constitutes unlawful discrimination on the basis of race and on the basis of employees' affiliation with and advocacy for Black employees," the suit claims. Whole Foods said it can't comment on pending litigation, but denied that any employees have been terminated for wearing Black Lives Matter gear. The company also said it has zero tolerance for retaliation. "It is critical to clarify that no Team Members have been terminated for wearing Black Lives Matter face masks or apparel," a Whole Foods spokesperson said. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Whole Foods workers have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming the company discriminated and retaliated against employees who wore Black Lives Matter masks. The federal suit was filed Monday by 14 employees of stores in Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Washington. The lawsuit claims Whole Foods managers have prohibited workers from wearing the masks and in some cases disciplined them by sending them home without pay or threatening them with termination. "Although Whole Foods had not previously strictly enforced its dress code policy (and had not disciplined employees for wearing other messages, including political messages), the company began sending employees home without pay for wearing Black Lives Matters masks," the lawsuit states. "Whole Foods has threatened employees with termination if they continue wearing the masks." The suit also claims employees have "commonly worn Pride flags in support of their LGBTQ+ coworkers without being disciplined by Whole Foods." Whole Foods' "selective enforcement" of its dress code "constitutes unlawful discrimination on the basis of race and on the basis of employees' affiliation with and advocacy for Black employees," the suit claims. Story continues The lawsuit demands an immediate injunction against the alleged employee retaliation and termination, as well as compensatory damages and back pay. The plaintiffs have also filed a complaint with the National Labor Relations Board alleging that Whole Foods interfered with their right to engage in an effort to improve conditions in their workplace. Among the plaintiffs is Savannah Kinzer, who said she was fired from the Cambridge, Massachusetts, Whole Foods on Saturday for wearing a Black Lives Matter mask to work. "In addition to being discriminatory, Whole Foods' policy on Black Lives Matter facemasks is hypocritical," Kinzer said in a statement. "Whole Foods states prominently on its website and on signs in its stores that 'Racism has no place here,' but won't allow employees to express solidarity with Black lives." Whole Foods says no employees have been fired for wearing Black Lives Matter gear Whole Foods said it can't comment on pending litigation, but denied that any employees including Kinzer have been terminated for wearing Black Lives Matter gear. "It is critical to clarify that no Team Members have been terminated for wearing Black Lives Matter face masks or apparel," a Whole Foods spokesperson said. "Savannah Kinzer was separated from the company for repeatedly violating our time and attendance policy by not working her assigned shifts, reporting late for work multiple times in the past nine days, and choosing to leave during her scheduled shifts. "It is simply untrue that she was separated from the company for wearing a Black Lives Matter face mask. As an employer, we must uphold our policies in an equitable and consistent manner. Savannah had full understanding of our policies and was given a number of opportunities to comply." Whole Foods' dress code policy bars employees from wearing clothing with visible slogans, messages, logos, or advertising that are not company-related. The company's spokesperson said Whole Foods has zero tolerance for retaliation and takes steps to ensure it does not impinge on employees' legal rights. Any employee who violates company policy is subject to disciplinary action, the company said. Workers were asked to remove 'racism has no place here' shirts, employee said A Connecticut Whole Foods employee, Graham Johnson, recently told Business Insider that her store prohibited a group of its employees from wearing shirts printed with the phrase "racism has no place here." When employees showed up to work wearing the shirts, management at the Milford, Connecticut, Whole Foods told them they had violated the company's dress code and gave them three choices: They could turn their shirts inside out, change shirts entirely, or go home, said Johnson, who is not among the lawsuit's plaintiffs. "The actions of Whole Foods against its employees are not only illegal but shameful," said Shannon Liss-Riordan, the lead attorney for the plaintiffs who filed the class-action lawsuit. "These essential workers have been asked to put their health at risk during this pandemic, and they have done so. Whole Foods' decision to selectively and arbitrarily enforce it's 'dress code' to specifically suppress the message that Black Lives Matter paints a picture about what the company values and that picture is not pretty." Read the original article on Business Insider ZURICH : SoftBank has pulled a more than $500 million investment from Credit Suisse's supply chain finance funds after the Swiss bank reviewed the funds including the Japanese conglomerate's role, according to two sources. The Swiss bank launched the review after the Financial Times reported last month that SoftBank had put $500 million into some Credit Suisse funds, which in turn invested in assets selected by SoftBank-backed lender Greensill Capital. Some of the funds' investments were in notes backed by loans Greensill made to other companies backed by SoftBank's Vision Fund. In a memo to the funds' investors on Monday, the Swiss bank said it would change investment guidelines for its supply chain finance funds and said it had terminated an agreement with an investor in April for three of its four supply chain funds to exclusively source all of their notes through Greensill. "This separate agreement has recently been terminated and the investor has redeemed its investment in full," the bank said in the letter. A source with direct knowledge of the matter confirmed that the investor which had terminated the agreement was SoftBank, and that the Japanese group had pulled its full investment from the funds. A second source familiar with the case said more than $500 million was scheduled for redemption in July independently of the Credit Suisse investigation and had now been redeemed. SoftBank declined to comment. Greensill did not immediately respond to requests for comment made by phone and email. The funds invest in notes backed by trade receivables, or claims for payment from a business to its suppliers for goods or services that have been invoiced. As payment delays may cause cash-flow problems for their suppliers, supply chain finance such as that provided by Greensill allows suppliers to collect on invoices early in exchange for a fee. Greensill will then collect on the value of the invoice from the buyer. Credit Suisse said that while in practice all the funds' investments had previously been sourced via Greensill, they were not precluded from sourcing them elsewhere. Credit Suisse said that around 15% of the notes now held by its funds were backed by the obligations of companies in which the SoftBank Vision Fund has minority equity stakes. It said it was changing its guidelines to reduce the maximum amount of exposure its funds would have to any one company, including those backed by the Vision Fund. 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 Canadas government has been running largely in panic mode since mid-March, adopting heroic measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic and sustain the national economy through the emergency. But Canadians have now learned how to live with a COVID-19 pandemic and the economy is recovering reasonably well from the effects of lockdown. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Canadas government has been running largely in panic mode since mid-March, adopting heroic measures to curb the coronavirus pandemic and sustain the national economy through the emergency. But Canadians have now learned how to live with a COVID-19 pandemic and the economy is recovering reasonably well from the effects of lockdown. Its high time for the government to pull back from its panic attack, take a deep breath and impose better discipline on itself. The WE Charity episode, in which the government casually awarded a large contract to friends of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to administer a hastily improvised government program, was a symptom of a government losing a sense of discipline. The resulting drop in public confidence in Mr. Trudeaus party, seen in opinion polling this week, shows the public has taken note of the wobbly leadership in Ottawa. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau's popularity has slipped as a result of the WE Charity scandal. (Sean Kilpatrick / The Canadian Press files). The World Health Organization declared a pandemic on March 11. In the following days, Canada gradually shut down travel, repatriated Canadians stuck overseas and supported provinces as they ordered lockdowns and closed schools. Day after day, the government announced new programs to borrow funds from the banking system and hand money out to employers and families to keep the wheels of business turning so far as possible. The strategy worked. The daily tally of new cases, which peaked around 2,000 a day in late April, dropped below 500 new cases per day in early June and stayed there. Unemployment, which peaked at 13.7 per cent in May, recovered to 12.3 per cent in June. Plenty of Canadians are still hurting or unsure about their job prospects, but businesses in all provinces are starting to reopen and the worst or at least, the worst of the current pandemic wave is clearly behind us. 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. The contrast with the United States is striking. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention were reporting between 20,000 and 30,000 new cases per day all through April, May and early June. That tally has been rising rapidly for the last five weeks to reach, this week, a seven-day average of 66,000. Florida, Texas, Arizona, California and other states that had already re-opened bars and restaurants started closing them again. In those places, the worst is yet to come. Thats what an out-of-control epidemic looks like. In the conditions that prevail here, however, the need for heroic measures by the Canadian government is winding down. The measures already adopted are having the desired effect and must be continued. The next bright idea for shipping money out of Ottawa in carload lots should be received coolly and subjected to the cautious and skeptical study that would have been applied six months ago, before the panic button was pushed. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau (right) along with WE co-founders, Craig (middle) and Marc Kielburger at WE Day in Ottawa in 2016. (MarketWired / We Day files) Mr. Trudeaus manner of leading the national effort won widespread approval from provincial leaders and from the broad public. New poll results this week, however, showed a drop of five points in the percentage of people who have a positive impression of Mr. Trudeau and a corresponding five-point increase in those with a negative impression. On balance, the country still likes him, but the WE Charity episode has tested the publics patience. In the early days of the coronavirus response, Mr. Trudeau explained all snafus by saying the government had to act quickly. That excuse no longer applies. The pressure has abated. Now the government has to act carefully. For release 21 July 2020 Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust Limited ("SREIT"/ the "Company" / "Group") ANNOUNCEMENT UPDATE ON THE INVESTMENT MANAGER The board of Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust (''SREIT''), the actively managed UK-focused REIT, has been notified that Duncan Owen, SREIT's Fund Manager since IPO in 2004, has decided to step down from his role as Global Head of Real Estate at Schroders REIM (''SREIM''). Duncan Owen will remain at SREIM as Global Head of Real Estate until 31stDecember 2020. From 1stJanuary 2021 Duncan will become a special advisor to SREIM with a focus on SREIT. This will mean he will continue to work closely with the board and the existing team including Nick Montgomery, assisting Schroders in fulfilling its role as the appointed investment manager. SREIT's investment strategy and objectives remain unchanged. The board of Schroder Real Estate Investment Trust will continue to monitor the position closely. -ENDS- For further information: Schroder Real Estate Investment Management Limited: Duncan Owen / Nick Montgomery 020 7658 6000 J.P. Morgan Cazenove: William Simmonds 020 7742 4000 Northern Trust: Lisa Garnham 01481 745529 FTI Consulting: Dido Laurimore / Richard Gotla 020 3727 1000 This announcement contains inside information. Protest Video Black Live Matter protest videos throughout the country Update September 24, 2020: After a grand jury decided that only one of the three officers involved in Breonna Taylor's death would be indicted on first-degree wanton endangerment charges, protests continued across the nation, with demonstrators voicing their dissatisfaction with the decision, which took six months. Activists rallied together, criticizing the charges against former Detective Brett Hankison as insufficient and calling out the fact that Sergeant John Mattingly and Detective Myles Cosgrove will face no charges many protestors demanded felony charges and arrests. Following the decision, Mayor Greg Fischer instituted a curfew for Louisville. 127 people were arrested during the protests. ABC News reports that two protesters were injured in hit-and-run incidents at protests in Colorado and upstate New York on Wednesday. In Los Angeles, protestors came together at the Hall of Justice. In Dallas, a group gathered near the police department's headquarters. In Minnesota, protestors gathered at the state capitol. Additional rallies drew crowds in Chicago and Seattle, as well as Portland, Maine, and Memphis. Thousands gathered in New York City when a group congregated at outside the Barclays Center and marched across the Manhattan Bridge. Raoul Cunningham, president of the Louisville chapter of the NAACP, advised protestors to remain peaceful but added that political leaders needed to support the right to protest, not try to silence activists. "We have seen justice unevenly administered in this city before," he told CNN. "Those in leadership positions must discourage the violence, but not discourage the demonstration." Previously: Two months after the murder of George Floyd and initial Black Lives Matter protests, headlines are shifting away from demonstrations, but activists are still out on the streets pushing for change. Story continues According to data from the Crowd Counting Consortium, June 6 marked the peak of the protests, with an event happening in every single state in America, including spots known for being historically conservative. In the time since, many daily protests have gotten smaller, but they are not slowing down anytime soon. In Louisville, Kentucky, hundreds of protestors continue to fight for justice for Breonna Taylor, whose killers have not been arrested. Her hometown has played host to "blackout" marches and demonstrations at the states capitol building. This week marked more than 50 days of continuous protests, including a visit from Wanda Cooper-Jones, Ahmaud Arbery's mother. But the demonstrations haven't been without controversy. More than 100 people have been detained at the demonstration and charged with trespassing. RELATED: Pride Needs to Mobilize for Black Lives Matter New York City and Minneapolis also continue to have multiple demonstrations a day. While activists acknowledge the media's flagging coverage, protestors continue to persist. "We are in the biggest social movement this country has ever seen," Oluchi Omeoga, co-founder of Black Visions Collective, told Vox. "When we say this is what will be written in the history books, it's not an exaggeration. The folks calling for change in this moment are the folks who are going to be on the right side of history." Even as many feared an outbreak of coronavirus in the already impacted New York City, the protests continued with organizers encouraging safety with masks. In the months since data shows that protests in the city did not lead to an uptick in COVID-19 cases. Getty Images Getty Images The New York Times reports that in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, protests have been "avowedly apolitical, with little faith in either major party or electoral politics at all." In 2016, President Trump won Franklin County, where Chambersburg is located, by more than 45 points. Lexi Leydig, who participated in the first protests, said that she can feel momentum slowing down and fears that things will revert once protests settle down." Once everything slows down," Leydig said, "people will just go back to their ways." RELATED: Black Lives Matter Co-Founder Opal Tometi Finally Feels "Vindicated" Getty Images Omeoga is more optimistic, pointing to all the changes that have already happened. The Hill notes that "all four officers involved in the [murder of George Floyd] were fired by Minneapolis police chief Medaria Arradondo." In June, Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti announced that he will "seek to identify $100 million to $150 million in cuts from the LAPD." And in Minneapolis, the city council voted unanimously "to require police officers to intervene anytime they see unauthorized use of force by another officer and to ban police chokeholds altogether." Confederate monuments have also been taken down across the country, including statues in Birmingham, Alabama; Bentonville, Arkansas; and Jacksonville, Florida. Confederate statue toppled in Richmond amid protests https://t.co/n8EaMzjJRo pic.twitter.com/1JeuYzGZSq The Hill (@thehill) June 7, 2020 "The occupation of 'George Floyd Ave.,' the place where he was murdered, is an act of resilience or a protest. We have been occupying that space every day since George Floyd was lynched. Folks are protesting for change in the simplest terms," Omeoga said. "Folks are protesting for Breonna Taylor, Tony McDade, Riah Milton, and Dominique Fells. Folks are protesting against police brutality and state-sanctioned violence and for interpersonal violence against Black trans women. Folks are out protesting for Black lives." RELATED: How Brands Are Supporting Black Lives Matter Ashton P. Woods, an organizer with Black Lives Matter Houston, told Vox that there's still more work that needs to be done, noting that what the movement has accomplished is just the beginning and that many groups have been working for years to achieve change. Getty Images "We have a responsibility to protect what we have secured for ourselves and dismantle white supremacy," he said. He adds that while public demonstrations get a lot of attention, there's more behind the scenes, such as online seminars and gatherings, appearances at city council meetings, and various campaigns on social media that also impact policymakers. "There's been an erasure of what we are really protesting for, like the Black LGBTQ community or the Black immigrants all Black lives matter," Woods said. "We've been doing this anti-racism work since before Trump got into office. We've been planning, coordinating, and doing the type of work that doesnt get on the news for a long time." There are many accounts on social media tracking the progress of protests in major cities like New York and it's important to continue to spread the word. There are also several ways to support the movement outside of marches by donating to causes, amplifying Black voices, and more. Check out our explicit guide here. The United States has listed Reliance Jio among the companies that are becoming Clean Telcos, saying they are rejecting doing business with tools of the Chinese Communist Partys surveillance state, like Huawei. According to US State Department, Clean Network is a comprehensive effort by a coalition of like-minded countries and companies to secure their critical telecommunications, cloud, data analytics, mobile apps, Internet of Things, and 5G technologies from malign actors by relying on only trusted vendors who are not subject to unjust or extra-judicial control by authoritarian governments such as the Chinese Communist Party. Some of the largest telecom companies around the globe are also becoming Clean Telcos. Orange in France, Jio in India, Telstra in Australia, SK and KT in South Korea, NTT in Japan, and O2 in the United Kingdom are rejecting doing business with tools of the Chinese Communist Partys surveillance state, like Huawei, the State Department said in a statement. Last week, Reliance Industries Limited Chairman Mukesh Ambani announced that Reliance Jio has designed and developed a complete 5G solution from scratch and the same will be ready for trials as soon as 5G spectrum is available. He said the 5G solution can be ready for field development next year. On April 29, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo announced that the US Department of State will begin requiring a Clean Path for all 5G network traffic entering and exiting US diplomatic facilities. The 5G Clean Path is an end-to-end communication path that does not use any transmission, control, computing, or storage equipment from untrusted IT vendors, such as Huawei and ZTE, which are required to comply with directives of the Chinese Communist Party, the statement read. The 5G Clean Path embodies the highest standards of security against untrusted, high-risk vendors ability to disrupt, manipulate or deny services to private citizens, financial institutions, or critical infrastructure. The United States had designated Chinese telecom companies Huawei and ZTE Corp as national security threats, saying they have close ties with the Chinese Communist Party and Chinas military apparatus. By David R. Baker and Margaret Newkirk The mask may have reached a tipping point. President Donald Trumps administration on Monday pushed to encourage mask-wearing, explicitly endorsing a measure widely seen as crucial to stemming the coronavirus pandemic, and potentially quelling a bitter debate that experts say costs lives. The president, who for months resisted covering his face in public, tweeted that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you cant socially distance. And Vice President Mike Pence told governors in a teleconference that he supported their mask mandates, with the administration even sending a memorandum to New Jersey recommending that it continue its order. The reversal followed polls that showed Trumps refusal to champion masks was out of step with citizens terrified by rising case counts nationwide. We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you cant socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President! pic.twitter.com/iQOd1whktN Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2020 It also comes as Republican governors, facing outbreaks spiraling beyond control, begin to break with Trump on the issue. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott last week cast masks as key to ensuring the state wouldnt need to shut down its economy a second time, though he resisted ordering their use. Mississippi Gov. Tate Reeves on Monday required residents of 23 hard-hit counties to start wearing masks. We have to take COVID-19 seriously, Reeves said at a news conference. This virus is not going away. There are lives on the line. Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased Monday to 3.79 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The disease has killed almost 141,000 Americans so far. The administrations refusal to formulate a national plan to fight the virus has become a major hurdle to Trumps reelection, and the president said Monday he would resume regular COVID-19 briefings. Pence told governors in the teleconference that the administration would support the mask orders, according to a person who heard the call. He also suggested that bars be closed in states or regions with high virus spread, according to Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear. And in the afternoon, Trump sent the tweet showing himself in a mask with the presidential seal. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President! he wrote. Cloth masks dont guarantee protection from the virus. But they do help block droplets of water vapor, carried on breath, from spreading far beyond the face. If people are infected with the coronavirus but dont know it, a mask can help prevent them from infecting those around them. Trump has appeared in public in a mask only once, on a visit to a military hospital, and he gave no indication Monday that he would wear one regularly. The White House didnt respond to a request for comment. Trumps tweet muddled what had become a bitter partisan debate. He had shunned masks, and many supporters said mandating them infringed on their rights. Trump initially argued for a mask-free Republican convention, and there were anti-mask demonstrations and videos of ugly confrontations in stores. But Trumps new stance could put mask mandates in the same category as laws about seat belts, motorcycle helmets or secondhand smoke safety measures that, while unpopular at first, eventually won acceptance. Researchers who have studied such shifts in public opinion say the identity of the people urging change can make a difference. If you have the person in charge of the country saying, Its up to you Im not going to wear one, thats really problematic, said Catherine Sanderson, chair of the psychology department at Amherst College in Massachusetts and author of Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels. Major social changes can be triggered even if just 25% of the population adopts them at first, she said. But it has to be the right 25% people with genuine influence. Governors can qualify. So can presidents. If Trump had done this two months ago, more people would have lived, Sanderson said Monday, after Trumps tweet. But this is better late than never, especially if it gives GOP governors tacit permission to require masks in their red states. Some of Americas largest retailers Walmart Inc., Target Corp. and CVS Health Corp. are now requiring all shoppers nationwide to wear one, whether local officials mandate them or not. And the number of states, counties and cities ordering the use of masks in public is growing, albeit not without a fight. One example: the ongoing dispute between Louisianas attorney general, who says statewide mask orders are unconstitutional, and the same states governor, who insists they arent. With every new public health intervention, theres always some resistance, said Julia Marcus, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. During the AIDS crisis, efforts to shame people into wearing condoms or abstaining from sex didnt work. Messages that offered condoms as a way to keep having sex without hurting yourself or others did. If we just yell at people about not wearing masks, were not going to get anywhere, Marcus said. Polls show that large majorities of Americans support wearing masks in public, although there are deep divisions along partisan lines. Public health experts say immediate action is needed to fight the pandemic, but similar societal shifts evolved over decades. It took a long time to regulate smoking, to get to that point, said Jay Van Bavel, associate professor of psychology and director of the Social Perception and Evaluation Lab at New York University. And we dont have that kind of time. The campaign to convince Americans to wear masks, however, shares one successful element with anti-smoking efforts: It is as much about protecting other people as protecting oneself. Public understanding of the dangers of secondhand smoke, Van Bavel said, was key to the acceptance of smoking bans on planes and in restaurants. Last week, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo launched an ad campaign stressing the same point. Marcus also pointed to a video that features California Gov. Gavin Newsom and all four of his living predecessors, including two Democrats and two Republicans. The California ad dismisses partisanship, appeals to personal responsibility, makes a few quick jokes and includes Arnold Schwarzenegger made famous by his muscles saying a mask isnt a sign of weakness. It directly addressed those concerns around personal liberty and reframed masks as a ticket to freedom, Marcus said. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS Coronavirus in NY: Cases, maps, charts and resources 9 days for coronavirus test results? Systems failure threatens CNYs handle on virus NY schools reopening: We read 145 pages of rules on masks and woodwinds so you dont have to Complete coronavirus coverage on syracuse.com Walk down any street in Spain and you are likely to see most people wearing a face mask, albeit not always correctly. Groups of young people may be the exception to the rule, especially if they are drinking on the street, as well as patrons of outdoor bars and restaurants. Even so, similar scenes are hard to find in France or the United Kingdom, even though both countries have been hit equally hard by the Covid-19 pandemic. In France, for instance, wearing a face mask has only been mandatory in closed public spaces since Monday. Spaniards, like Italians, lead Europe in terms of the use of face masks, which experts now agree is a key measure to preventing contagion. Within a few months, the Spanish people have adopted a practice common to countries like Japan that aims to reduce infection in public spaces and during the flu season. Experts, however, are not clear on why this is the case. Some reasons suggested are that people are now more educated about the benefits of face masks, that they are scared of a virus that has killed more than 28,000 people, and even that survey respondents may be replying that they wear face masks even if they dont, because it is considered the right answer. More than 60% of Spaniards are willing to wear a face mask, compared to 35% in Finland Last week, the most critical Spain has seen since the end of the state of alarm on June 22, a trickle of regions joined Catalonia in making masks mandatory in all public spaces even when social distancing rules can be respected. Of Spains 17 regions, only the Canary Islands and Madrid have not followed suit. According to a survey of several countries (nine of them European) by Imperial College London and YouGov, Spaniards are more willing to wear face masks than any of their European counterparts. The poll showed that a wide majority (more than 60%) were favorable or very favorable to wearing one, a similar percentage to those reported in Asian countries. Finland ranked at the bottom of European countries, with only 35% of respondents saying they were willing to wear a mask, even though the measure has been recommended by international organizations. Spain, however, did not introduce the measure immediately. Face masks were made mandatory on public transportation on May 2, and elsewhere when social distancing rules cannot be respected on May 22. Two months earlier, the Czech Republic became the first European country to make face coverings compulsory in supermarkets, pharmacies and public transportation. Six other nations introduced similar measures before the Spanish government issued its order. A macrostudy on the prevalence of the coronavirus which looked at the use of face masks as Spain rolled back confinement measures as well as what percentage of Spaniards had developed antibodies to the virus found that the safety measure became widespread within one month, between mid-May and the end of June. At the beginning of the study, one in five (20%) Spaniards said they did not use the covering. By the end of it, that figure had fallen to 7.3%. The study also highlighted regional differences in Spain. While in the provinces of Badajoz and Jaen, practically all of the respondents wore masks (with the exception of 3.9%), in Gipuzkoa province in the Basque country, just over half the population took the precaution (55%). Should face masks be mandatory at all times? The sight of people without masks sitting at tightly packed outdoor tables in the Basque city of Hondarribia came as a shock to Santiago Moreno, the head of infectious diseases at Madrids Ramon y Cajal hospital, who went there on a recent trip. I thought, if someone is infected, they will infect 25 others. The only ones with masks were the people from Madrid, he remembers. Moreno believes that making face masks mandatory, even if social distancing can be respected, is a conceptual necessity. By being so strict, those who dont meet [the rules] will feel like they are breaking the law, he explains. Its better for us to do too much than too little. The spokesperson of the Spanish Association of Infectious Diseases and Clinical Microbiology, Maria del Mar Tomas, agrees: The only preventive measures we have at the moment are masks, distance and having outdoor meetings and contact. Two people wear face masks in Barcelona in May. Marta Perez (EFE) But other health experts disagree. Epidemiologist Andrea Buron, the vice-president of the Spanish Association of Public Health and Health Administration (SESPAS), believes the measure should only be required in exceptional situations when the risk to collective health really calls for it. She believes it is more reasonable and appropriate to wear a face mask when you enter a store or travel on public transportation, in an elevator or when there are sporadic gatherings of people, because that is when there is a greater risk. This way, she says, the discomfort is limited in time and space. Touching them [face masks] is inevitable (which we know we shouldnt do) and making them mandatory when safe distances can be perfectly maintained does not make a lot of sense. These measures have been justified by the fact that people have become complacent about wearing them when they are needed most, continues Buron. But I would prefer for authorities to have greater trust in the general public, to provide more information and education on the potential risks, so that they will be empowered to use [face masks] better, and in places and moments where there is risk. Jesus Molina, the spokesperson for the Spanish Association of Preventive Medicine, Public Health and Hygiene, agrees that face masks do not need to be mandatory when safe distances can be maintained. The key is not the frequency of the use of masks, but rather that they be used correctly, covering the nose and mouth, throwing out the surgical [masks] and washing the hygienic ones. So why are Spaniards so willing to wear face masks? Given that people respected a strict three-month lockdown to curb coronavirus contagion, it follows that they would equally respect safety measures like face masks, as the antibody study indicates. Experts have no further explanation other than that the education effort around face masks took hold in Spain more than in other European countries. And Im happy thats the case, says Moreno. Tomas says the adoption of the safety measure, as well as being mandatory, stems from the desire to lead a life as normal as possible under the circumstances. But Molina warns the data from the surveys may not be accurate. These are self-declared responses, there is no observer recording the use of masks. Whats more, it could be the result of a complacency bias, in other words, [the respondents] replied what they hoped sounded correct. English version by Melissa Kitson. Mr Ron Strikker, the Dutch Ambassador, has commended the governments response to COVID-19, saying, it is on top of the issues. We feel safe and also I feel healthy in this country. People always ask me in the Netherlands, are you safe there, can you stay; and I say yes, I feel safe, the government is on top of it, the people of Ghana, the nurses, the doctors, and other front line workers are all on top of it. The Ambassador said this at a ceremony in Accra, when the Embassy presented Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) to Solidaridad, an International Civil Society Organisation in Accra for onward distribution to some health facilities in the cocoa and oil palm growing areas in the country. We are now being confronted with COVID-19, but let me say in general, I am speaking on behalf of my government, and also on behalf of all the people of the international community here in Ghana, that we congratulate the government of Ghana for the approach and the measures it has taken to fight the COVID for the people of Ghana, the Ambassador stated. He said the Dutch government was very much happy to support the front line health workers who bore the brunt of the virus, adding that, the Embassy was also proud of the more than 2000 health workers in Ghana, reported to have been infected with the virus and were getting better, they are working for us and we are proud to help them. We will fight the COVID together, as we grow and work together with Ghana, Mr Strikker said. By mid-July 2020, the Netherlands had provided support to Ghanas efforts at combating COVID-19 with four million Ghana Cedis. Among some of the interventions and initiatives that had been provided is the COVID Connect Centre, a virtual monitoring app with a back-end Care Coordination Centre that gives subscribers access to needed clinical support from a team of medical experts and specialists, launched within the University of Ghana Medical Centre. Another initiative of the Dutch company, Universal Delft, was supporting hospitals and clinics in Ghana, which were earlier assisted in getting X-ray equipment installed in their facilities as part of a large Dutch-funded 30 million euro Infrastructure programme, to receive and install small computer boxes with Delft CAD4COVID-software. The software contains Artificial Intelligence, which helps to detect at a very early stage lung conditions caused by COVID. At the global level, The Netherlands have contributed over 100 million euros to the World Health Organisation for the fight against COVID-19 in most vulnerable countries. The support aims at preventing and combating COVID-19, as well as mitigating socio-economic consequences. Source: GNA Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video A Chinese woman who is a visiting medical researcher at Stanford University was charged Monday with lying about her affiliation with Chinas military on her U.S. visa application. Song Chen was accused of visa fraud, punishable by up to 10 years in prison. She appeared before a federal magistrate in San Francisco and is due back in court Tuesday to determine whether she will be held in jail while the charge is pending. Prosecutors said Song, now 38, entered the U.S. on a work-study visa in December 2018 and identified herself as a neurologist who was going to Stanford to conduct research on brain disease. She began work in a professors laboratory as a visiting scholar in early 2019. An FBI agent quoted the professor, who was not identified, as saying Songs study of the illness known as myasthenia gravis had benefited his work and contributed to ongoing research projects. In her visa application, prosecutors said, Song stated that she had served in Chinas armed forces from September 2000 through June 2011, and listed her current employer as a civilian hospital in China. But the FBI agents affidavit said research articles Song submitted with her visa application identified her employers as hospitals controlled by the Chinese military, including one with the same address as her purported civilian employer. An up-to-date online profile of Song on a Chinese website identifies her as a neurologist studying myasthenia gravis at a Chinese Air Force hospital and includes a photo of her in a military uniform, the affidavit said. Interrogated by the FBI last week, Song denied any affiliation with the Chinese armed forces but refused to answer questions about the photo or the research articles linked with the military, the affidavit said. She told agents she was planning to return to China with her daughter shortly. 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. If Song had disclosed her current military affiliation, she would have needed an official or diplomatic visa, which would have required U.S. consular approval, the FBI affidavit said. It did not say what harm, if any, she was accused of causing as a Stanford researcher. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko With the Senate's Labor Day recess fast approaching, time is short for Congress to provide the funding necessary for our nation's public schools to reopen sensibly and safely this fall. Local officials across the country are wrestling with how to do so, based on their on-the-ground assessments of risks, needs and capacities. What's not helping is the White House's wedge political strategy: threatening to withhold federal funds from school districts that don't reopen for in-person classes.The need for new funding is obvious. Most Americans want schools to reopen safely so that our kids can continue their educational and social development. Working parents need relief from months of 24/7 house-bound child care. The economy will benefit if it is done prudently to minimize COVID-19 contagion risks. But there is simply no way that pre-COVID business-as-usual regimens in elementary and secondary schools will achieve that objective. There are multiple layers of extraordinary costs for COVID-19 testing, temporary facilities expansion to accommodate social distancing, sanitization, hybrid on-site and distance-learning solutions, protective equipment for school personnel, and even proper ventilation in some schools.Although the HEROES Act , the Democrats' pandemic relief package passed by the House in May, would provide $90 billion to the education community to address tax-revenue shortfalls, that number looks unlikely to also cover public-health-related expense increases unless the states also receive sufficient tax revenue offsets to pass through to schools. Extraordinary federal funding is needed to reassure worried parents that their kids will not bring home a deadly virus to infect their families or cause lifelong medical impairment to the children themselves. Truth be told, we don't even know what we don't know about the coronavirus on the pediatric medical front, an important point to keep in mind before opening the floodgates to widespread schoolhouse social interaction and group activities across the age spectrum.President Trump's brash bluff that he would yank school funding from districts that don't play by his edicts is straight out of. But recently the Supreme Court ruled decisively that the occupant of the Oval Office is still subject to the rule of law , and the pertinent law in this case is the 1974 Budget and Impoundment Control Act . Under its provisions, Trump can play a stall game for 45 days, but that clock will run out before the November elections. And while stoking anti-elite resentments in his base, he and his down-ballot allies could alienate millions of voting school parents who consider such tactics dangerous to the kids, so this wedge strategy may backfire.Equally disconcerting is Education Secretary Betsy DeVos's "presto-chango" thesis that public schools, having been designed architecturally for closer spacing, can magically provide everyday social distancing on command. By the estimate of Fairfax County, Va., school Superintendent Scott Brabrand, his suburban Washington, D.C., system would have to build five Pentagons worth of additional space to achieve social distancing with a five-day school week.In the Senate, there are already proposals to provide funding to help reopen schools safely, but mostly from Democrats. The GOP's Senate leadership will wise up soon. They can follow the face-saving lead of Vice President Mike Pence and posture federal education aid to states as an "incentive" (wink-wink) for their schools to provide a feasible level of in-class instruction. Meanwhile, the White House continues to fan parental disdain for at-home schooling.Don't be surprised if the House returns with a freestanding bill to fund extraordinary pandemic-related educational expenses without GOP strings attached with a bonus carrot for on-site instruction costs and not a stick. It would make impressive political theater as long as the chamber's Democratic leaders are wise enough to size and structure their bill reasonably to avoid re-election branding as puppets of the teachers' unions.Some big-city school systems aren't waiting for guidance or money from Washington. Even before California Gov. Gavin Newsom's announcement on Friday that schools in 32 of the state's 58 counties would not be allowed to reopen classrooms in the fall , Los Angeles and San Diego had already decided to open online-only , joining to say that it's clear that "the pandemic is out of control." Adjoining Orange County is also on the state's no-open list, rendering moot the county school board's earlier push for in-classroom study without masks or social distancing Favoring our Constitution's 10th Amendment, I've always preferred that education policymaking and funding remain in the realm of the states and not the federal government, although I do appreciate the ongoing socioeconomic issues of nationwide equality of opportunity that necessitate federal involvement. But now is not the time for federalism purity tests: National leaders in both parties must step up to today's unique and unforeseen problem of funding revenue-starved local governments.There is not a single public school district in America whose voters ever approved an operating tax levy geared to fund pandemic education scenarios. Today, only Congress can fund the transient public health emergency costs of providing safe, free public education to more than 50 million American children for the benefit of future generations while protecting the health of their families and teachers. Even die-hard fiscal skinflints must think about preparing our future workforce to compete globally with other nations, some of which are solving this problem adroitly and quietly.Policy aficionados can expect this battle to conclude in a grand congressional compromise over components of the coming round of federal pandemic aid, probably in the ballpark of $2 trillion all told. Myriad issues will be ground like sausage links in that process, ranging from infrastructure to business immunity for COVID-19 litigation , as well as the size, timing and method of distributing federal aid to states and political subdivisions; income support for lower-income households and unemployed workers; and yet more handouts for small businesses . Unless House Democrats are drugged asleep in conference, however, it's far-fetched to think that such a package will include a congressional delegation of authority to the executive branch to selectively impound a specific school district's funding: Carrots, yes, but nix on sticks.As this legislation is signed, partisans on both sides will claim to have saved the country and our schoolkids from the opposition. So be it. It will be a messy mishmash, but the best that our federalist constitutional democracy can muster in these dysfunctional times.GoverningGoverning Representative Image live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Tata Sons-promoted Indian Hotels Company (IHCL) has announced the signing of a binding agreement for the acquisition of the balance stake in the holding company that owns Sea Rock Hotel asset in Mumbai. IHCL will acquire 14.28 percent equity interest in ELEL Hotels and Investments Limited (ELEL) from the Nanda family who have been shareholders since 2009. IHCL did not disclose the acquisition price. However, a disclosure in its recently released annual report said that the company would pay Rs 250 crore for the deal. This values the property at over Rs 1,666 crore, which is more than double the Rs 800-crore valuation it got in 2009. This will make IHCL the 100 percent leasehold owner of the Sea Rock Hotel site by December 31, 2021. With the signing of this agreement, IHCL has eliminated one of the multiple hurdles in the redevelopment of the Sea Rock hotel site. The Mumbai-headquartered company is also fighting a public interest litigation (PIL) over the use of floor space index (FSI) for this property. Environmental clearance is also awaited for the project. The visionary redevelopment of Sea Rock promises to be not only another defining landmark in Indias commercial capital of Mumbai but also an opportunity to build an iconic sea front hotel in South Asia. said, Puneet Chhatwal, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer in a press release. IHCL board of directors on November 11, 2019 approved the terms for the settlement to acquire 14.28 percent shareholding. The payment will be structured through multiple installments staggered over a period, with a full buyout by December 31, 2021. Ghosn said that his passport is held by the Attorney General in Lebanon since Japan issued an international arrest warrant on his behalf, reports Xinhua news agency. Beirut, July 20 (IANS) Ousted Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn said that he failed to appear before a court in France on July 13 due to a "technical obstacle", Lebanese media reported on Monday. "My lawyers have discussed the terms of my appearance before the court in France for several weeks," Ghosn was quoted as saying by Elnashra, an online independent newspaper in Lebanon. "There is a technical obstacle and I want to secure my safety and freedom of movement." Ghosn noted that he needs to cross other countries to reach France. "No one can assure me that the journey will go smoothly without any incidents. The judge can, for example, interrogate me in Beirut, and I am ready to answer all his questions," he said. Ghosn arrived in Lebanon's capital Beirut at the end of last year after fleeing from Japan on charges of financial misconduct. Nissan accused Ghosn of understating his salary while he was the chief executive, and transferring $5 million of company funds to an account in which he had an interest. Ghosn said in a statement that he had not fled justice, but had escaped "injustice and political persecution". --IANS ksk/ SAN DIEGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Shareholder rights law firm Johnson Fistel, LLP has launched an investigation into whether the board members of GlobalSCAPE, Inc. ("GlobalSCAPE" or the "Company")(NYSE: GSB) breached their fiduciary duties in connection with the proposed sale of the Company to HelpSystems, LLC ("HelpSystems"). On July 20, 2020, GlobalSCAPE announced that it had entered into a definitive merger agreement with HelpSystems. Under the terms of the deal, GlobeSCAPE shareholders will receive $9.50 for each share of GlobeSCAPE they own. The investigation concerns whether the GlobalSCAPE board failed to satisfy its duties to the Company shareholders, including whether the board adequately pursued alternatives to the acquisition and whether the board obtained the best price possible for GlobalSCAPE shares of common stock. The 52-week high for GlobalSCAPE was $14.25. If you are a shareholder of GlobalSCAPE and believe the proposed buyout price is too low or you're interested in learning more about the investigation, please contact lead analyst Jim Baker ([email protected]) at 619-814-4471. If emailing, please include a phone number. Additionally, you can [Click here to join this action]. There is no cost or obligation to you. About Johnson Fistel, LLP: Johnson Fistel, LLP is a nationally recognized shareholder rights law firm with offices in California, New York, and Georgia. The firm represents individual and institutional investors in shareholder derivative and securities class action lawsuits. For more information about the firm and its attorneys, please visit https://www.johnsonfistel.com. Attorney advertising. Past results do not guarantee future outcomes. Contact: Johnson Fistel, LLP Jim Baker, 619-814-4471 [email protected] [Click here to join this action] SOURCE Johnson Fistel, LLP Related Links http://www.johnsonfistel.com Reuters A former senior adviser to Britain's Boris Johnson said on Monday he was willing to "swear under oath" that the prime minister knew a party was being held at his residence during a COVID-19 lockdown, accusing him of lying to parliament. British media have reported that at least 11 gatherings took place at 10 Downing Street - the prime minister's official residence and office - or in other government departments between May 2020 and April 2021, when COVID-19 rules limited how many people could meet socially. Dominic Cummings, an architect of Britain's departure from the European Union and a former senior adviser to Johnson who left government under acrimonious terms in November 2020, said on Twitter that the prime minister had agreed that the drinks party should go ahead. The Korean unit of Amazon Web Services paid 150 billion won ($125.42 million) in back corporate taxes to a local tax office last year, sources said Tuesday. The National Tax Service (NTS) slapped the corporate tax on the company last year after carrying out an audit. Amazon made the payment in November without taking any legal steps against the decision, according to industry sources. Google Korea has filed a complaint with the Tax Tribunal over the 600 billion won the NTS levied in back corporate taxes in January. Should the tribunal rule against the tax office, Google could get the money back. At the heart of the dispute is whether multinational firms have a fixed place of business in Korea. Google Korea and several others have claimed that they are not subject to taxation here, as their servers are located overseas. But the NTS decided to impose back taxes, saying the servers operate virtually in "countries of business" despite their overseas locations. (Yonhap) Infinite Electronics, Inc. Presents $4,260 Check to Military Support Non-Profit, Newby-ginnings of North Idaho Even in these trying times, it is still important to our employees that they are able to give back to our local communities. We are extremely thankful to everyone who participated..., said Frank Shambarger, Vice President of HR at Infinite Electronics. Infinite Electronics, Inc., a leading global supplier of electronic components serving the urgent needs of engineers through a family of highly recognized and trusted brands, recently presented a $4,260 check, as well as new and gently used household goods to help military families. As part of an ongoing initiative to give back to the community, Infinite Electronics Hayden, Idaho employees worked to collect donations to benefit Newby-ginnings. This non-profit organization provides essential items, resources and referrals to area active military, veterans and Gold Star families. Infinite employees collected new and gently used household goods and $2,130 cash, which the company matched for a total monetary donation of $4,260, which was recently presented to Newby-ginnings. Even in these trying times, it is still important to our employees that they are able to give back to our local communities. We are extremely thankful to everyone who participated and donated to this worthy cause, and to all those who have served, or are currently serving our country, we thank you, said Frank Shambarger, Vice President of Human Resources at Infinite Electronics. On behalf of our Board of Directors, staff, volunteers and the thousands of military families we help, I would like to thank Infinite Electronics and its employees for this generous donation. This will make a positive difference in the lives of many veterans, active service members and Gold Star families in the area, said Theresa Hart, Founder & Executive Director of Newby-ginnings of North Idaho. This is the second year Infinite Electronics Hayden, Idaho facility has held a collection drive to benefit Newby-ginnings. This years monetary donation was nearly double that of the previous year. For additional information about Infinite Electronics, please visit http://www.infiniteelectronics.com. For more information about the Newby-ginnings of North Idaho, visit http://www.newbyginnings.org. About Infinite Electronics: Based in Irvine, Calif., Infinite Electronics International, Inc. offers a broad range of components, assemblies and wired/wireless connectivity solutions, serving the aerospace/defense, industrial, government, consumer electronics, instrumentation, medical and telecommunications markets. Infinites brands include Pasternack, Fairview Microwave, L-com, MilesTek, Aiconics, KP Performance Antennas, PolyPhaser, Transtector, RadioWaves, ShowMe Cables, Integra Optics and INC-Installs. Infinite Electronics serves a global engineering customer base with deep technical expertise and support, with one of the broadest inventories of products available for immediate shipment. About Newby-ginnings: Newby-ginnings of North Idaho was established in 2013 in honor and memory of SPC Nicholas Newby who was killed in action in Baghdad, Iraq on July 7, 2011. They provide basic necessities & essential household items to veterans, active military and their families at no cost. APS Members/Authors: Elliot Aronson and Carol Tavris Members of Heavens Gate, a religious cult, believed that as the Hale-Bopp comet passed by Earth in 1997, a spaceship would be traveling in its wakeready to take true believers aboard. Several members of the group bought an expensive, high-powered telescope so that they might get a clearer view of the comet. They quickly brought it back and asked for a refund. When the manager asked why, they complained that the telescope was defective, that it didnt show the spaceship following the comet. A short time later, believing that they would be rescued once they had shed their earthly containers (their bodies), all 39 members killed themselves. Heavens Gate followers had a tragically misguided conviction, but it is an example, albeit extreme, of cognitive dissonance, the motivational mechanism that underlies the reluctance to admit mistakes or accept scientific findingseven when those findings can save our lives. This dynamic is playing out during the pandemic among the many people who refuse to wear masks or practice social distancing. Human beings are deeply unwilling to change their minds. And when the facts clash with their preexisting convictions, some people would sooner jeopardize their health and everyone elses than accept new information or admit to being wrong. Cognitive dissonance, coined by Leon Festinger in the 1950s, describes the discomfort people feel when two cognitions, or a cognition and a behavior, contradict each other. I smoke is dissonant with the knowledge that Smoking can kill me. To reduce that dissonance, the smoker must either quitor justify smoking (It keeps me thin, and being overweight is a health risk too, you know). At its core, Festingers theory is about how people strive to make sense out of contradictory ideas and lead lives that are, at least in their own minds, consistent and meaningful. One of us (Aronson), who was a protege of Festinger in the mid-50s, advanced cognitive-dissonance theory by demonstrating the powerful, yet nonobvious, role it plays when the concept of self is involved. Dissonance is most painful when evidence strikes at the heart of how we see ourselveswhen it threatens our belief that we are kind, ethical, competent, or smart. The minute we make any decisionIll buy this car; I will vote for this candidate; I think COVID-19 is serious; no, Im sure it is a hoaxwe will begin to justify the wisdom of our choice and find reasons to dismiss the alternative. Before long, any ambivalence we might have felt at the time of the original decision will have morphed into certainty. As people justify each step taken after the original decision, they will find it harder to admit they were wrong at the outset. Especially when the end result proves self-defeating, wrongheaded, or harmful. The theory inspired more than 3,000 experiments that have transformed psychologists understanding of how the human mind works. One of Aronsons most famous experiments showed that people who had to go through an unpleasant, embarrassing process in order to be admitted to a discussion group (designed to consist of boring, pompous participants) later reported liking that group far better than those who were allowed to join after putting in little or no effort. Going through hell and high water to attain something that turns out to be boring, vexatious, or a waste of time creates dissonance: Im smart, so how did I end up in this stupid group? To reduce that dissonance, participants unconsciously focused on whatever might be good or interesting about the group and blinded themselves to its prominent negatives. The people who did not work hard to get into the group could more easily see the truthhow boring it was. Because they had very little investment in joining, they had very little dissonance to reduce. The term cognitive dissonance has since escaped the laboratory and is found everywherefrom op-eds and movie reviews to humor columns (as in The New Yorkers Cognitive Dissonances Im Comfortable With). But few people fully appreciate the mechanisms enormous motivational powerand the lengths people go to in order to reduce its discomfort. For example, when people feel a strong connection to a political party, leader, ideology, or belief, they are more likely to let that allegiance do their thinking for them and distort or ignore the evidence that challenges those loyalties. The social psychologist Lee Ross, in laboratory experiments designed to find ways to reduce the bitter conflict between Israelis and Palestinians, took peace proposals created by Israeli negotiators, labeled them as Palestinian proposals, and asked Israeli citizens to judge them. The Israelis liked the Palestinian proposal attributed to Israel more than they liked the Israeli proposal attributed to the Palestinians, he told us. If your own proposal isnt going to be attractive to you when it comes from the other side, what chance is there that the other sides proposal is going to be attractive when it actually comes from the other side? Because of the intense polarization in our country, a great many Americans now see the life-and-death decisions of the coronavirus as political choices rather than medical ones. In the absence of a unifying narrative and competent national leadership, Americans have to choose whom to believe as they make decisions about how to live: the scientists and the public-health experts, whose advice will necessarily change as they learn more about the virus, treatment, and risks? Or President Donald Trump and his acolytes, who suggest that masks and social distancing are unnecessary or optional? The cognition I want to go back to work or I want to go to my favorite bar to hang out with my friends is dissonant with any information that suggests these actions might be dangerousif not to individuals themselves, then to others with whom they interact. Read the whole story: The Atlantic A hack of Twitter last week shook the foundations of the internet, cybersecurity, and political worlds. A gang of young people purportedly obsessed with OGusers, early Twitter adopters with one or two characters in their handles, ostensibly targeted 130 high-profile accounts and reset passwords and sent messages from the accounts of 45 celebrities. The hacks appear financially motivated, with the attackers fleeing with $121,000 worth of bitcoin generated through the scam messages they sent from the accounts of Joe Biden, Barack Obama, Bill Gates, Elon Musk and other personages. Coming as they did during a period of high paranoia just a few months from the 2020 presidential election, the hacks seem somehow intermixed with the ongoing fear of the kinds of nation-state digital attacks that took place during the 2016 elections. The take-over of what has become a vital political platform attracted the attention of lawmakers, including James Comer (R-KY), the ranking member of the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, who sent a letter to Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey demanding a briefing no later than July 24. Comers letter followed by a day a similar message to Dorsey from US Senator Josh Hawley (R-MO). Hawley sent a letter amidst the chaos of the initial hacks asking the Twitter CEO to reach out immediately to the Department of Justice and the Federal Bureau of Investigation and take any necessary measures to secure the site before this breach expands. Hawley demanded that once Dorsey dealt with the immediate crisis, he should answer a series of questions, including how the hack occurred and whether it threatened the account security of the most high-profile of all Twitter users, Donald Trump. Other politicians joined the fray, including New Yorks governor Andrew Cuomo, who ordered a full investigation into the hack. The FBI, meanwhile, has launched its own investigation. A class break hack Twitter issued a statement on Saturday saying it believed certain employees had been socially engineered by attackers who used those employees' credentials to access Twitters internal systems, including systems affecting two-factor authentication. The attackers were then able to initiate a password reset, log into the accounts, and send Tweets that appeared to be from the hacked celebrities. The hackers took the additional step of downloading unspecified personal data from eight of the accounts. Twitter has promised more details as its investigation continues. Still, the company remained mum on a startling New York Times report that provided rich details and timelines on the supposed group of people allegedly responsible for the hacks. Given the concern over the unprecedented nature of the attack, and its timing so close to the election, many experts worry that the hacks were merely a trial run for widescale damaging disinformation campaigns or other digital malfeasance that could threaten Americas democracy. Some security experts even suggest that the vulnerability of such a critical platform could ultimately lead to nuclear war. Cryptography and security expert Bruce Schneier characterized the hacks as a class break that disrupted an entire class of systems and wasnt dependent on the level of Twitter users' protection, such as two-factor authentication. Technology is not the problem, Schneier argues. The problem is economic and fixing the problem requires regulation and reducing Twitters monopoly power. Twitter as critical infrastructure? If thats the case, then an argument could be made that Twitter is more akin to critical infrastructures, such as the power grid or transportation systems, which would warrant the regulation that Schneier mentions. The Department of Homeland Security defines critical infrastructure as the physical and cyber systems and assets that are so vital to the United States that their incapacity or destruction would have a debilitating impact on our physical or economic security or public health or safety. Given the reactions that the Twitter hacks spawned in both the political and security worlds, that definition seems more apt than not. I think Twitter has emerged as the [political] platform of choice because, frankly, the attention span of the American is so short, Chris Kennedy, CISO of security validation company AttackIQ tells CSO. It is now critical infrastructure in expressing information. It is the thing that informed Arab Spring and exposes national atrocities by government. Its used by governments to influence politics around the world. Whether Twitter bears closer government scrutiny is a more urgent question now because these most recent attacks represent a major shift in the responsibility of what these platforms provide, Kennedy says. It's still not known whether a nation-state actor was involved, although Kennedy, like many security experts, notes that it sure is interesting timing with the election coming up. However, because President Trump relies so heavily on Twitter to communicate his messages, Kennedy doesnt believe that Russia would be the culprit this go-around. If you think Trump and Russia are in cahoots, it would not be in the Russians best interest to make Twitter look like an untrusted source of information. The distinction between Twitter and other critical services is that Twitter doesnt maintain a unique infrastructure for which the marketplace cannot quickly and easily provide a substitute. It is, in essence, just a form of speech, which is backed by sophisticated infrastructure, to be sure. It is fundamentally a communications platform protected by the First Amendment right to free speech, some experts say. Regardless of the ubiquity of platforms like Twitter, they are not 'critical infrastructure' like the telephone system or the electric grid that are necessary to the operation of vital functions, Robert Corn-Revere, First Amendment law expert and partner at Davis, Wright, Tremaine LLP tells CSO. It is not as if news or political dialog would stop if Twitter were disrupted, he adds. This is not to downplay the seriousness of an attack on such platforms, but it is not a matter of 'critical infrastructure' as that concept describes essential services that underpin society. Digital services vulnerable Digital services such as Twitter are well-known to be hackable, giving them some leeway to experience these kinds of incidents without pressure for government involvement, Roger Grimes, data-driven defense evangelist at cybersecurity company KnowBe4, tells CSO. I think [Twitter is] critical at all levels, but I think the big difference is that it's like any online digital asset. It has a history of being hacked, and people know it can be hacked. I think a lot of the world has actually come to accept that we're going to have these blips. Social media platforms power comes with responsibility Another top security expert, Dave Kennedy, founder of security firm TrustedSec (no relation to Chris Kennedy), is opposed to government regulation of services such as Twitter but believes that it, along with Facebook and other online platforms, has amassed power that makes them increasingly responsible for societys well-being. You just have these conglomerate massive companies that have now become foundational for the safety and well-being of the United States and the world, he tells CSO. There need to be more protections put into place for these organizations and companies like Twitter, Dave Kennedy says. Its the presidents main communication method. Its the communication method of other world leaders. You have the NSA on there. You have all these different groups that are communicating with the ability to potentially start World War Three or with the potential to cause substantial damage through these types of attacks. There definitely needs to be a discussion around how do we ensure that these systems maintain their integrity. This years West African Secondary School Certificate Examinations (WASSCE) took off to a smooth start across the country albeit in an unusual fashion due to the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic. As part of the safety protocols outlined to ensure the wellbeing of the students who are also the first batch of the Free Senior High School (FSHS) policy, the student were made to abide strictly by the all the safety protocols even as they sat for their examination. Apart from wearing of nose masks, washing and sanitising of hand with alcohol-based sanitisers, there was strict adherence to the social distancing protocols. Whiles some were made to undertake their practical exams in well spaced out classrooms, others were to occupy their school assembly halls with others made to undertake theirs under erected canopies. Elsie Commodore & Gloria Nsiah Mintah report that some schools in Accra, including, Saint Thomas Aquinas SHS, Osu Salem SHS, Accra Girls SHS, Holy Trinity Cathedral SHS and the Labone SHS to monitor the ongoing examination revealed that examination took off to a smooth start. At the Saint Thomas Aquinas SHS 46 Visual Arts Students out of the 713 final year students were taking part in the sculpture paper while 88 students out of 707at the Osu Salem SHS took part in ceramics paper. The headmaster of Saint Thomas Aquinas, Mr Amoasi Paul Baidoo said aside using classrooms; canopies were being mounted to aid in observing social distancing. Because of the COVID-19, we are using three classes and the canopies for the exams, thereby, allowing 11 students in each hall and under the canopies he stated. On his part, the Assistant Headmaster for Osu Salem, Academics, Mr Moses Abotsi stated that some personnel had been stationed in the classrooms to make sure students were observing the protocols. We also insist that the temperature of each student is taken before exams is written and ensure they are well spaced out to prevent the spread of the COVID-19, he said. He also mentioned that, from the demeanour of students, they were psychologically prepared, as each student that came to the centre was calm and went about the process of being searched. From Koforidua, Ama Takyiwaa Ampadu Agyeman reports that, a total of 56,467 candidates made up of 27,117 males and 29,350 females were writing the WASSCE which began yesterday. A visit by the Ghanaian Times to New Juaben Senior High, Koforidua Secondary Technical, Oti Boateng and Oyoko Methodist Senior High School observed that, the temperature of students were checked at the entrance before they were allowed into the school. Also Veronica buckets were placed at vantage points to promote hand washing. Students were also seen in the nose masks while social distancing was observed. At Oti Boateng SHS, a WAEC examiner, Mr Cefas Amenu told the Times that 53 candidates were writing while Oyoko Methodist Senior High School had 50 candidates. Some SHS in the Ho Municipality began this years WASSCE, also observing the COVID-19 safety measures. Grace Senam Klay reports from the Volta Region. When the Ghanaian Times visited Mawuli SHS, it was observed that all students and invigilators at the exams center were in nose masks and the center had a hand washing station, with similar trend being observed at Mawuko Girls SHS. In an interview with the assistant headmaster in charge of Academics at Mawuli SHS, Mr Shadrack Abiwu mentioned that 32 Visual Art students were partaking in picture making, graphic design, and textile project work, while 99 candidates were also taking part in the project work at Mawuko Girls. Daniel Dzirasah reports from the Ahafo Region that, three schools; Ola Girls, Samuel Otoo Presbyterian SHS at Techimantia and Bechem had recorded cases of the COVID-19, the Regional Director of the Ghana Education Service (GES), Dr Peter Attafuah said. He expressed satisfaction over the level of preparation made by the various schools in the region ahead of the ongoing WASSCE in the region. A visit to some schools in the Sunyani Municipality where the exams had started showed that, the candidates were ready and poised for the exams as of 9:36am. Also, from Kumasi in the Ashati Region, Kingsley E. Hope reports that, there was strict adherence to the COVID-19 protocols in various schools visited by the Ghanaian Times yesterday. Assistant Headmaster at the Kumasi Anglican Senior High School, Samson Kofi Gyasi, told the paper that, out of a total of 942 candidates for examination, 112 of them were doing the practicals. At the Asanteman SHS, the Headmaster, Nathaniel Antwi Asamoah said that, 928 candidates were registered to write the WASSCE for 2020, with 60 of them registered to write the practical examination at the Visual Arts department. The Ghanaian Times visit to the Opoku Ware Senior High School revealed that, 1,001 registered candidates would be sitting for the WASSCE, out of which, 60 had registered to write the practical examination in graphics at the Visual Arts department. Similarly, at the Kumasi Secondary and Technical SHS, it was gathered that, 74 candidates were present for the practical examination in graphics out of a total of 872, although two were said to be absent at the time of our visit. Samuel Akapule also reports from Bolgatanga that, the WASSCE had started smoothly in the Upper East Region under strict supervision in the various examination centres in the region. Meanwhile, the Headmistress of the Bolgatanga Girls Senior High School (BOGISS), Mrs Patricia Anaba stated that, school did not receive some of the personal protective equipment (PPE), including, nose masks and hand sanitisers, but the school managed to procure some of the hand sanitisers to be used during the examinations. 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 Michael Cohen Sues AG Barr, Claims Retaliation for Plans to Publish Book Critical of Trump President Donald Trumps former personal attorney Michael Cohen has filed a lawsuit against Attorney General William Barr over claims that he was sent back to prison in retaliation for writing a book that criticized the president. The lawsuit (pdf) filed on Monday seeks to challenge the decision to place Cohen back into custody at Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, New York, and asks the court to release him back to home confinement. Cohenwho is serving a three-year sentence for campaign finance violations, tax evasion, and lying to Congresswas released to home confinement in May over concerns of the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic in prisons. But he was imprisoned again on July 9 because he refused the conditions of his home confinement, the Bureau of Prisons (BOP) told The Epoch Times in a statement at the time. Days before being taken back into custody, Cohen was seen eating at Le Bilboquet, a restaurant in the Manhattan borough of New York City. Photographs published by the New York Post showed the attorney at a table with two women, including his wife, and another man. Jeffrey Levine, Cohens lawyer, defended the evening at the time, telling the newspaper that Cohen did not violate any of the terms and conditions of his release and any assertion or suggestion to the contrary would be wholly inaccurate and untrue. Cohen, 53, who is represented by the American Civil Liberties Union and law firm Perry Guha LLP, filed the lawsuit on Monday claiming that he was locked up because he refused to stop writing a tell-all book that is critical of Trump with the intention of publishing the book prior to the 2020 presidential election. This case is about a brazen assault on the First Amendment and the rule of law. We trust that our Constitution will prevail and that free speech will continue to be protected, for our client and for all others by extension, Danya Perry, founding partner of Perry Guha, said in a statement. The Justice Department and the BOP both did not provide a comment in response to the lawsuit. While in furlough, Cohen made public statements on Twitter on July 2 that he was finalizing a book about his decade-long experience working as Trumps lawyer. They said a few days later on July 9, when Cohen visited the U.S. Probation Office in downtown Manhattan in order to transition from furlough to home confinement, federal officials asked him to sign an agreement that prevented him from engaging with the media or prohibited him from posting on social media. Cohen told the officials that signing the agreement would block him from working on his book and also asked for clarification on what the condition entailed, his lawyers said. He also asked whether the language of the condition could be adjusted in order to better reflect the stated purpose of the condition, which is to avoid glamorizing or bringing publicity to [Mr. Cohens] status as a sentenced inmate serving a custodial term in the community, his lawyers claimed. They stated that they would then send [the] inquiry regarding the language of the Prior Restraint Provision up the chain of command for a decision, the lawsuit stated. Instead, three United States Marshals arrived with handcuffs and shackles and placed them on Mr. Cohen in order to remand him back to prison. His lawyers claim Cohen did not at any time say he refused to sign the agreement. They also claim that Cohen also did not refuse electronic monitoring, or any other condition of home confinement. The suit also names the BOP Director Michael Carvajal and Warden of the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville James Petrucci as defendants. Zachary Stieber contributed to this report. The Wright designs are essential to that, she said. It is not just preserving a Frank Lloyd Wright building here, it is also a focus on preservation in general. There is a lot in older buildings and older architecture that is worth preserving, and allowing people to learn about the past of the community. That is not just the architecture, but all the history that goes with it, good and bad. MacGyver star Lucas Till said that he felt suicidal during the first season of the CBS reboot because of unacceptable verbal abuse from showrunner Peter Lenkov, who was recently fired by the network. Ive never worked this hard in my life, and I am fine with hard work, Till said in an interview published Monday by Vanity Fair Monday, two weeks after Lenkov who was also showrunner on Magnum PI and the recently ended Hawaii Five-0 was fired by CBS for creating a toxic work environment. But the way Peter treats people is just unacceptable. I was suicidal that first year on the show, because of the way he made me feel. But the way hes treated the people around me thats just my breaking point. Till told Vanity Fair that he had been verbally abused, bullied and body-shamed by Lenkov, adding that Lenkov fostered the shows hostile environment for cast and crew even though he rarely visited the set himself. Also Read: 'MacGyver,' 'Magnum PI' Showrunner Peter Lenkov Fired by CBS Over Toxic Work Environment Lenkovs attorney Dale Kinsella did not immediately respond to TheWraps request for comment, but told Vanity Fair that Tills accusations are 100 percent false and untrue and that the former MacGyver boss has championed (Till) from the very beginning and has been nothing but supportive of him. Till told Vanity Fair that he made his problems with Lenkov known to CBS executives both in 2017 not long after MacGyver premiered and again earlier this year, but he thought they just took it as some crazy actor trying to get more money and not as serious concerns. According to Vanity Fair, an individual with knowledge of the situation said that Tills most recent complaint to network execs prompted a more formal inquiry that led to Lenkovs termination earlier this month. Also Read: 'Magnum PI' Showrunner Says CBS Reboot Actually Does Have a Latinx Writer During that investigation, Vanity Fair says Till sent a five-page letter to the head of CBS TV Studios human resources department, which included these remarks about Lenkov: There was always something about my appearance that wouldnt please him like when I was in a hospital gown and our producerthought it was funny that (Lenkov) said my legs were fing hideous and we can never show them again. Honestly, I found some humor in that comment as well, but you can imagine if that was a more sensitive spot that he had hit, and often did. Just like the time he screamed a (a director) Oh, my fing God! Tuck his shirt in, he looks like a little fing boy. Just hire a 35 year old then. Story continues Till, a 29-year-old actor who first broke out as the teenage star of 2011s X-Men: First Class (and two of its sequels), continued about the struggles of playing an adult action hero. Ive struggled with maintaining man weight on the show because of the stress, no time to work out, and an unpredictable schedule for proper nourishment, he said. The MacGyver star also voiced concerns about Lenkovs treatment of co-star Meredith Eaton, who Till said was forced to stand for hours while filming after suffering an on-set injury that was not dealt with properly. In addition, Till said, Peter would frantically email and call her insisting on knowing when she would be able to walk at a fast pace again. Eaton declined Vanity Fairs request for comment and Lenkovs lawyer told the outlet that the former showrunner denied all allegations of mistreatment of Eaton of any kind, at any time. Also Read: Summer TV 2020: Premiere Dates for New and Returning Shows (Photos) Vanity Fair published this statement from Lenkov in response to its story: Now is the time to listen and I am listening. Its difficult to hear that the working environment I ran was not the working environment my colleagues deserved, and for that, I am deeply sorry. I accept responsibility for what I am hearing and am committed to doing the work that is required to do better and be better. CBS TV Studios fired Lenkov on July 7, ending their relationship with the showrunner one year before his overall deal was up. Our studio is committed to ensuring safe and respectful production environments, the studio said in a statment at the time. Over the past year, we have assigned human resource production partners to every show, expanded staff training and increased reporting options. We will continue to evolve our practices with continued focus on building trust with all who work on our sets. Every complaint is taken seriously, every claim is investigated, and when evidence is clear that policies were violated and values not upheld, we take decisive action. Representatives for Lenkov, Till, CBS and CBS TV Studios did not immediately respond to TheWraps request for comment on Tills comments about Lenkov. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline 1-800-273-TALK (8255) is a free, 24/7 confidential service that can provide people in suicidal crisis or emotional distress, or those around them, with support, information and local resources. Read original story MacGyver Star Lucas Till Says He Felt Suicidal Due to Ex-Showrunners Unacceptable Behavior At TheWrap The Ghana Union of Traders Association (GUTA) is demanding the government to immediately close all shops owned by foreign traders operating illegally at Circle in Accra. According to GUTA, most of the foreigners operating in Ghanas retail sector have blatantly refused to close their shops despite not meeting the requirement to operate in Ghana. In a statement signed by the President of GUTA, Dr. Joseph Obeng, the group warned that the authorities will have themselves to blame if tensions rise as a result of the non-closure of these foreign shops. It has come to our notice that the illegal foreign retail traders at Circle have blatantly refused to close their shops after the committee on Foreign Retail Trade in the country had opened for inspection of their documents and ordered them to close the shops. We hereby want the authorities and the general public to note that these recalcitrant foreigners have taken the laws of our country into their own hands with impunity while the authorities look on unconcerned, the statement read. There has been a trade war between Ghanaian traders and their foreign counterparts, especially Nigerian traders over the involvement of the latter in retail business in Ghanaian markets. This has led to the closure of some Nigerian shops in Accra and Kumasi. Clashes between Ghanaian and Nigerian traders have led to the destruction of some properties of Nigerian traders. The Ghana Union of Traders Association blamed the countrys weak institutions and lack of enforcement of laws against the illegal activities of foreigners. The government has given indications that it is trying to approach the situation with tact to ensure that the relationship between the two countries is not marred but GUTA believes that government is not serving their interest. GUTA has been urged to sue the government over the non-enforcement of laws that bar foreigners from operating in Ghanas retail space. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[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 Gunmen have killed 18 guests at a wedding in northern Nigeria's Kaduna state, local officials said Monday, in the latest violence in the region. The gunmen on motorcycles stormed Kukum-Daji village in Kaura district late Sunday and opened fire on the guests, they said. "The gunmen killed 18 people at the wedding party and injured 30 others, most of them young men," Bege Katuka Ayuba, the administrative head of the district told AFP. "Fifteen died on the spot while three more died at the hospital," he said. It was not immediately clear who was behind the attack but the area has been a hotbed of deadly violence between Muslim Fulani herders and ethnic Christian farmers. The state police spokesman confirmed the attack without giving a toll. "There have been reports of loss of lives in the attack but we don't have a definite casualty figure yet," Mohammed Jalinge told AFP. The mainly-Christian Southern Kaduna area has been wracked by a long-standing dispute between farmers and herders over grazing and water rights. There has been an upsurge in tit-for-tat killings between the two groups in recent times, prompting the state authorities to initiate an unsuccessful truce. LOS ANGELESAs countries across Europe and around the world move toward placing severe restrictions and even outright bans on otherwise legal pornography, the tiny country of Luxembourg appears to be the latest to jump on the bandwagon. According to a report by the Luxembourg-based news site RTL Today, the countrys Chamber of Deputies the 6-member Luxembourg parliament has posted a series of citizen petitions, with the first petition on the list calling for a ban on porn. The petitioner argues that the ban would protect minors and shield adults from pornographic perversion, according to the RTL report. Under Luxembourg law, citizen petitions, once green-lighted by a parliamentary committee, will be subject to public debate and could be voted into law, once they receive 4,500 signatures, in the compact country of approximately 625,000. The specifics of how the Luxembourg porn ban would work were not made clear. The United Kingdom last year abandoned a two-year effort to impose an age verification system, supposedly blocking all porn sites for anyone under age 18. But a judges ruling in a recent lawsuit appears to have put the law back on the table. At the same time, the French parliament has now approved a similar age-verification law a type of porn ban now under consideration on Australia and Poland as well. An effort to bring a porn-blocking bill to the New Zealand parliament hit a dead end last month, when the bill failed to gain enough support among the countrys governing, three-party coalition. Porn is widely banned in Asia, including in China, South Korea, and Nepal. The porn-banning trend has also shown signs of reaching the United States. Last December, four Republican senators sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr, urging him to direct resources of the Justice Department toward a new crackdown on porn. Photo By Denise Hastert / Wikimedia Commons Who knows how many unintended consequences have hit restaurants and bars since Gov. Andrew Cuomo issued a new order last week requiring all alcohol sales to be accompanied by a food purchase. But heres the one that Tom Ireardi, owner of Finger Lakes on Tap in Skaneateles, has noticed: Weve thrown out a lot more food in the past few days than we ever have, said Ireardi, whose place at 35 Fennell St. is a craft beer-centric bar and kitchen. People are ordering food, because they have to. But theyre not always eating it. Cuomo said his directive was intended to prevent the prolonged mingling that often happens at bars when people drink without dining. That mingling, Cuomo said, could help spread the coronavirus. But the order also caused a lot of prolonged head-scratching. Take the case of the $1 Cuomo Chips in Saratoga Springs. A bar there called Harveys Irish Pub got a lot of publicity last week when it announced it was featuring the small order of chips as its accompaniment to beer or other alcohol. Then, according to a report from WRGB (Channel 6) in Albany, the pub received a call from a State Liquor Authority investigator, who told owner Matthew Bagely that chips alone wouldnt satisfy the order. The chips would need to be served with salsa, dips or something similar to comply. Almost all restaurants and bars in New York, as a condition of their liquor licenses, must already make substantial food available. The guidance issued by the SLA on Cuomos new order says they must now require customers to buy some food if they want to drink. It appears that light snacks alone do not meet that requirement. On the other hand, tasting rooms at wineries, breweries and distilleries can get away with peanuts, crackers or other snacks to accompany sales and tastings. Thats because their existing licenses explicitly allow those items to be included among the regular offerings. So whats a bar owner to do? At the Home Team Pub, 7990 Oswego Road in Liverpool, owner Joey Kalil made a tongue-in-cheek gesture last week with a $1 menu featuring such items as a small boneless wing, a single pretzel bite, a selection of from one to seven tater tots or a spoonful of rice pilaf. Kalil said that was meant mostly as a joke, though some customers did come in over the weekend seeking those tiny morsels. In reality, hes mostly served order of fries with ketchup with the drinks. Most people are aware of what going on, so we havent had a lot of drama, Kalil said. Its hitting us on the late night, but people at other times come in to eat, so it works out. Were selling things across our menu. But Kalil has also seen another consequence of the food-with-drinks mandate. Its definitely adding to the sales tax on your check, he said. So I dont know if that was an intent or not. Other places are trying their best not to pass too much of burden on the customers. At The Evergreen pub in Syracuses Hanover Square, the staff has made a special discount on its popular soft pretzel. It now sells for $3.50. Its not an attempt to skirt the law, said owner Rob Podfigurny. Its complying, but in a way that tries to make it affordable and less complicated for the customer." At Finger Lakes on Tap, Tom Ireardi is also dealing with the issue of to-go alcohol (growlers or packs of beer for takeout.) In the early days of the coronavirus, before indoor and outdoor dining was allowed, that made up close to 90 percent of his business. But the new order requires bars and restaurants to sell food to go along with any to-go alcohol purchase. That has never been the case in the past with, for example, growler sales. (And, again, its different from breweries and other tasting rooms, which are not required to sell food with to-go alcohol.) I understand the governors intention and I understand the goal of ordering food on premises, he said. But I cant see why I cant sell a 4-pack for people to take out without food. They can go to any convenience store and gas station and do it. Why cant I do it? MORE ON FOOD AND DINING Cuomo threatens to reverse NY bar, restaurant reopenings if big crowds continue Cuomos new booze rules: What bars can and cant do (and do chips count as food?) Some Upstate NY bars offering snarky food items in response to Cuomo order No more alcohol without food at NY bars and restaurants, Cuomo says Winery, brewery, and distillery tasting rooms: Open, but different Don Cazentre writes for NYup.com, syracuse.com and The Post-Standard. Reach him at dcazentre@nyup.com, or follow him at NYup.com, on Twitter or Facebook. If youre taking that giant leap of faith to pull your children out of school and homeschool them this year, youre not alone. Between the eye-opening experience of distance learning, to the measures being considered to combat virus spread in schools next year, many parents are taking the leap to homeschool. As you plan and prepare for this significant lifestyle change, you may have a picture in your mind of what homeschool will look like for your family. Some aspects of homeschooling, however, may surprise you. You Have More Time Youd think that when you send your children elsewhere for schooling, youd feel like you have more time. Somehow, though, and I cant exactly put my finger on why, its homeschoolingeven the most ambitious sortthat seems to harmonize better with the other aspects of life. Perhaps its simply that youre spending more of your time in alignment with your highest priorities. Your days may be full of lessons, read-alouds, field trips, and extracurriculars, but they feel less like obligations imposed upon you and more like the good stuff of life. You Learn So Much You might refer to the kids as students, but youll be learning right alongside them. Approaching each subject and each endeavor with a curious mind and the heart of an explorer will allow you to appreciate the wonders of nature, science, the arts, and even math and grammar. Homeschooling is an educational adventure for all. You Find It Easy OK, easy may be overstating it, but youll likely be surprised at how natural and fun homeschooling is for you and your family. Its very common to feel overwhelmed by the responsibility of providing your children with their education. If were being honest, perhaps it was convenient to have something elselike schoolto blame for any challenges or perceived shortcomings. Youll soon find, however, that just as your children learned to walk and talk on your watch, theyll learn reading, writing, and rithmetic with you as their guide, and itll be great. Your Kids Love Learning While youll likely need a period of transition from a school mindset to a homeschool mindset, your children will eventually rekindle their natural curiosity and their innate desire to learn when given the space and freedom to explore new ideas. Youll know it when you see it, and itll be magical. You Realize You Never Needed School Youll know homeschool is working when you look back at the experience your children had in school and you wonder why you ever thought it was necessary to begin with. You Enjoy Newfound Freedom Theres something about taking responsibility and living life on your own terms that allows you to appreciate new levels of freedom with your family. You may have started along this journey because you didnt want your children stuck in a mask all day or you were disappointed with what you witnessed in their schools academics, but the real benefits of homeschool may just surprise you. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- This is getting ridiculous. The goal posts keep moving, said Councilman Steven Matteo (R-South Shore), referring to the decision by Mayor Bill de Blasio and Gov. Andrew Cuomo to prohibit malls from opening in New York City. Malls have been allowed to open in Phase 4 in all other parts of the state except New York City. While it is easy to get caught up in the hundreds of new launches and beauty innovations that debut every single day, there are some products that have stood the test of time. There are six beauty buys that shift countless units per second worldwide, including a $6 lip-plumping balm and a moisturiser beloved by celebrities. FEMAIL reveals the six products that are the best-selling beauty buys of all time, and just what makes them so special. There are six beauty buys that shift countless units per second worldwide, including a $6 lip-plumping balm and a moisturiser beloved by celebrities (Irina Shayk pictured wearing Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream) When it comes to giving your hair that just-washed look without the hassle of actually washing it, there is one product that consistently outsells others: Batiste's $10.49 Dry Shampoo (pictured in use) 1. Batiste Dry Shampoo, $10.49 Statistics reveal that the beauty product sells a staggering 2.7 cans per second worldwide (pictured) When it comes to giving your hair that just-washed look without the hassle of actually washing it, there is one product that consistently outsells others: Batiste's $10.49 Dry Shampoo. Statistics reveal that the beauty product sells a staggering 2.7 cans per second worldwide, as millions of women turn to the budget item to give them an instant refresh. The product boasts an impressive four and a half star rating online, where women have alternately described it as their 'go-to', a 'miracle' product and 'effective'. All you need to do is spray the can at an angle to your hair and add a few quick spritzes to instantly refresh greasy, day-old locks. LEADING STATISTIC: 2.7 cans sell per second One pot of Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream (pictured) sells every two minutes across the globe, and it has been described as a 'secret weapon' by countless models and celebrities 2. Charlotte Tilbury Magic Cream, $125 While this product is on the more pricey end of the spectrum, devotees claim that Charlotte Tilbury's $125 Magic Cream is worth its weight in gold. One pot sells every two minutes across the globe, and it has been described as a 'secret weapon' by countless models and celebrities. The moisturiser works because it instantly smoothes, hydrates and revives tired skin. After testing it on 103 women for four weeks, British founder Charlotte Tilbury noted that 100 per cent of testers agreed that their wrinkles were reduced, while 98 per cent agreed that their skin looked and felt firmer. The cream boasts a host of skin-loving ingredients including vitamins C and E, rosehip oil, camellia oil, shea butter and aloe vera. LEADING STATISTIC: One pot sells every minute Trilogy's Rosehip Oil, $42,95, has long been a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton (pictured) 3. Trilogy Rosehip Oil, $25.99 Online , the face oil (pictured) has five star ratings, and it has been described as 'holy grail' and 'amazing' When something is loved by royalty, you know you're onto a good beauty buy. And Trilogy's Rosehip Oil, $42,95, has long been a favourite of the Duchess of Cambridge, Kate Middleton. One bottle of the rosehip oil sells every 20 seconds around the world, making the New Zealand brand one of the country's hottest exports. Online, the product has five star ratings, and it has been described as 'holy grail' and 'amazing'. 'This facial oil leaves skin so soft and supple the next morning,' one commenter wrote. 'I usually apply a couple of drops during winter as part of my night time skincare routine. You only need a little as a little goes a long way.' LEADING STATISTIC: One jar sells every 20 seconds NARS Orgasm Blusher is top of many women's lists when asked what their favourite blusher is (pictured in use) 4. NARS Orgasm Blusher, $48 A pot of the $48 blusher sells every minute, and millions across the globe love it for the peachy-pink glow it gives users (pictured) NARS Orgasm Blusher is top of many women's lists when asked what their favourite blusher is. A pot of the $48 blusher sells every minute, and millions across the globe love it for the peachy-pink glow it gives users, along with a hint of instant illumination. 'Works really well as both blush, highlight and as eyeshadow. I prefer as an eyeshadow because of the duo-colour shift, but it's really pretty either way,' one reviewer posted on Mecca. Another added: 'The pigment is incredible and a little goes a long way. I will be buying this again in the future and I can't wait to try out a few other shades from that range. Amazing!' LEADING STATISTIC: One pot sells every minute If you're looking for good skin, look no further than Bioderma's Sensibio H20 Micellar Cleansing Water, $29.99, which sells a bottle every second globally (pictured) 5. Bioderma Sensibio H20 Micellar Water, $29.99 If you're looking for good skin, look no further than Bioderma's Sensibio H20 Micellar Cleansing Water, $29.99, which will remove every scrap of makeup, while simultaneously hydrating your skin. The gentle cleanser sells a bottle across the world every two seconds, and is a favourite of celebrities and dermatologists alike. While many have pointed out online that it has a higher price point than other micellar waters, they all agree that it is worth the extra cash. 'This is by the far the best micellar water on the market,' one reviewer wrote. 'Although, it is at a higher price point it did an amazing job at helping to remove smaller bumps that were previously challenging to get rid of on my face and leaves my skin feeling clean.' The woman added: 'My skin is the best it has ever been because of this amazing product'. LEADING STATISTIC: One bottle sells every two seconds The cheapest global bestseller on the list, Burt's Bees' Lip Balm costs just $6.99 and is a favourite of the Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively (pictured in use) 6. Burt's Bees Lip Balm, $6.99 Over 840,000 lip balms were sold in 2019, or more than one every minute (pictured) The cheapest global bestseller on the list, Burt's Bees' Lip Balm costs just $6.99 and is a favourite of the Gossip Girl actress Blake Lively. Over 840,000 lip balms were sold in 2019, or more than one every minute. The lip balm is effective because it is infused with beeswax for nourishing your cracked, winter pout. Many have described the lip balm as a 'handbag staple' and 'essential' in their day-to-day beauty regimes. LEADING STATISTIC: One lip balm sells every minute Click here to read the full article. Netflix has pulled the plug on its upcoming Turkish drama series If Only after the government there refused to permit filming because the show features a gay character. The streamer opted to cancel the entire production rather than heed the complaints of the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, which is increasingly cracking down on freedom of expression, IndieWire has confirmed. Ece Yorenc, a screenwriter who had penned a script for the upcoming series, said the show was canceled last week on the eve of filming because of the governments stance More from IndieWire Due to a gay character, permission to film the series was not granted and this is very frightening for the future, she told the Turkish film news website Altyazi Fasikul, as translated by the Financial Times. Reached for comment, a Netflix spokesperson offered the following statement: Netflix remains deeply committed to our Turkish members and the creative community in Turkey. We are proud of the incredible talent we work with. We currently have several Turkish originals in production with more to come and look forward to sharing these stories with our members all around the world. This is just the latest instance of Netflix facing pressure from world governments to censor its shows and movies. Easily the most notable instance happened last year when Saudi Arabia demanded the streamer remove an an episode of Patriot Act With Hasan Minhaj from its service in that country because the episode included a segment that was critical of the regime. Shortly after that, Netflix released a report that revealed the Saudi demand was the ninth such one, from any country, since it began streaming in 2007. Other titles include five in Singapore and one in Germany: Night of the Living Dead, which is banned in the European Unions largest country. Story continues While Netflix has in the past complied with the demands of these countries, the Turkish incident appears to have made good on a stance articulated by Netflix Co-CEO Reed Hastings late last year. Defending the Patriot Act episode removal, Hastings said this in November, according to Variety: Were not in the news business Were not trying to do truth to power. Were trying to entertain We dont feel bad about [pulling the Patriot Act episode in Saudi Arabia] at all. He continued: That said, if the Saudi government came to Netflix and said, you cant do gay content, we wouldnt do that, we would not comply with that, the CEO said. He noted that the Saudi regime allows Netflix to stream shows like Sex Education, which portrays a very liberal lifestyle and very provocative and important topics. It remains unclear just how far Netflix would be willing to take this stance what would the company do if Turkey refuses to permit any content with LGBTQ characters? Would it be willing to pull out of the country, where it has 1.5 million subscribers? Its worth nothing that Turkey has not censored any non-Turkish LGBTQ content on Netflix that is available in that country, such as Orange is the New Black, IndieWire has learned. Netflixs first Turkish original series, The Protector premiered in 2018. According to Amnesty International, freedom of expression has been under attack in Turkey since a failed coup in 2016. Under the leadership of Erdogan, academics, journalists and writers who criticise the government risk criminal investigation and prosecution, intimidation, harassment and censorship. This all intersects with the growing trend of American media giants being faced with the quandaries that arise when producing content for countries with illiberal or authoritarian governments where the draw of doing business there can conflict with values at home. For example, in the Top Gun: Maverick trailer, Tom Cruise appears in the same iconic leather jacket as the original film, but the patches on the back of the bomber are slightly tweaked: Japanese and Taiwanese flags have been replaced by two symbols with similar color schemes. It was a move that many speculated was meant to appease Chinese authorities, given the tense relationships the country has with Taiwan and Japan. Tencent Pictures, a division of the Chinese tech conglomerate, was a financial backer of the Paramount film. The company is co-marketing the new Top Gun in China a crucial market for US studios thats on track to become the top moviegoing country in the world. Attorney General William Barr last week characterized this type of creative decision as self-censorship to appease China meant to ensure entry into its marketplace. Hollywoods actors, producers, and directors pride themselves on celebrating freedom and the human spirit, and every year at the Academy Awards Americans are lectured about how this country falls short of Hollywoods ideals of social justice, Barr said, according to Deadline. But Hollywood now regularly censors its own movies to appease the Chinese Communist Party, the worlds most powerful violator of human rights. This censorship infects, not only the versions of movies that are released in China, but also many that are shown in the United States theaters to American audiences. While Barr makes points that many civil libertarians including those opposed to the Trump administrations own civil rights violations would agree with, his comments come as the White House is ramping up rhetoric against China amid the coronavirus crisis. Best of IndieWire Sign up for Indiewire's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. RIVERSIDE The mother who disappeared June 12 with her young children came to the United States from Jordan in 2014 seeking asylum, U.S. marshals say. A spokesman Monday said he did not know why Sawsan Hadidi, 39, sought asylum or her current citizenship status. Marshals do not believe she has fled the country with her children Danny and Dana, he said without elaborating. Danny was 4 and Dana three months when they disappeared. Marshals are assisting Riverside police in trying to find Hadidi, who was last seen June 12 at her former home in Shamokin. The children had been removed from her at that home on May 29 but a June 11 court order gave her physical custody if she resided at a specified location in the 600 block of 11th Street in Riverside. Later that day she told the woman with whom she was approved to live she was going to meet her caseworker but never returned. A warrant has been issued for Hadidis arrest charging her with interference with the custody of children, endangering the welfare of children and concealment of the whereabouts of children. When last seen she was driving a purple 2012 Toyota Scion with Virginia registration UUA4239. Attempts to track her through her cell phone failed because she turned it off except for a brief period on June 12 when it appeared she was traveling through southcentral Pennsylvania into Maryland. Little is known about Hadidi including information about the childrens father, Riverside police say. Anyone with information on her or the children is asked to call Riverside police at 570-275-4305. Callers who get the answering machine may either leave a message or call the communications center at 570-784-6300. 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. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Moch. Fiqih Prawira Adjie (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 15:51 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40668230d2 1 National Jokowi,Joko-Widodo,COVID-19,COVID-19-in-Indonesia,corruption,social-aid,response,ICW,graft,transparency Free A coalition of watchdog groups has urged the government to be more transparent in using the trillions of rupiah allotted for the virus response amid a lack of access to information on how the funds are spent, as activists raised concerns over the potential for corruption. The coalition, spearheaded by Indonesia Corruption Watch (ICW), Transparency International Indonesia (TII), the Indonesian Forum for Budget Transparency National Secretariat (Seknas Fitra) and the Indonesia Budget Center (IBC) said the government had not been accountable and open in utilizing the COVID-19 response funds. "In supervising the funds, the various obstacles we face are a lack of access to information related to the amount of budgetary funds that have been received by government institutions, the value of expenditure that has been issued, types of expenditure, [and] the budget value for each of those expenditures," the coalition wrote in a statement published Monday. Additionally, the groups said that detailed information regarding the distribution of goods and their location, as well as beneficiaries of social aid, health worker incentives and the national economic recovery programs, was also lacking. Read also: Activists warn of potential graft as govt sets aside billions for COVID-19 relief The coalition also said the supervision function performed by the press also faced a roadblock as the government had closed its information access. We urge the Indonesian President to order all government officials, both in central and regional administrations, to provide various information without having to be asked specifically by the public or the press, the groups said, adding that the information must be easily accessible to all elements in accordance with the 2008 Information Disclosure Law. The virus response funds include the Rp 695.2 trillion (US$46.98 billion) allocated by the central government, in addition to the Rp 71.57 trillion allocated by regional administrations on average. The coalition argued that as government institutions had been handling the COVID-19 pandemic for five months now, they should have been able to adapt to the new situation and not constantly use crisis and emergency as reasons to cover themselves. The groups acknowledged that the repercussions of the COVID-19 pandemic must be prioritized and handled swiftly. But if the process is carried out without accountability, it would instead trigger corruption and threaten the success of the pandemic response, the coalition said in the statement. Read also: Government pledges to cut red tape to accelerate healthcare spending The concern over transparency also came amid President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo noting the relatively low absorption of the COVID-19 response funds during the previous Cabinet meeting. Out of the Rp 87.55 trillion allocated for healthcare spending, the government had only used Rp 4.48 trillion, a measly 5.12 percent despite an increase from the reported 1.53 percent absorption rate reported in late June. Moreover, all provinces in the country had used less than 50 percent of their respective allocated response fund as of July 15, the highest being Jakarta with 45 percent and the lowest being Southeast Sulawesi and South Sumatra with 16 percent. Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) chief Comr. Gen. Firli Bahuri has said that those who embezzle COVID-19 funds would face the death penalty as stipulated in the 2001 Corruption Law. At the end of a three-hour meeting Monday night, the Franklin County School Board voted 5 to 3 to delay the start of school for all students until Sept. 8. The decision effectively overturns the boards July 13 decision to reopen schools on Aug. 10 with pre-K through second grade starting back full time, and students in third through 12th grade learning virtually from home for at least the start of the school year. Board members Jon Atchue, Penny Blue, Julie Nix, G.B. Washburn and Jeff Worley voted in favor of pushing the start date back, while Donna Cosmato, Arlet Greer and P.D. Hambrick voted against the delay. Worley said he had heard from many teachers and had questions surrounding cleaning protocols and other items of concern. These teachers are scared, Worley said. One of the things we talked about was that our teachers were safe. I would be inclined to send no one back, but if we wait until after Labor Day and push this out, it could answer a lot of our questions. Blue said, You have teachers that do not want to come into the classroom to teach these children, so how good is the teaching going to be if they are actually afraid? From what I am hearing, these teachers arent ready. Cosmato said she would prefer to receive more input before making any decisions. I am voting I dont want to change (the plan) because we have not yet heard from these teachers, Cosmato said. We need to find out what is driving them to not want to come back to the classroom and we havent heard from parents as Mr. Worley mentioned last meeting we have an auditorium we can use. The board agreed that a meeting to allow public feedback should have taken place before it voted last week to return to school Aug. 10. Atchue cited several questions from both teachers and parents surrounding the return to school. A survey was posted online for parents in June but only half the divisions families returned completed surveys. Teachers were not polled about their view on returning. While there was some discussion about it being too late to seek input from the public, the board ultimately decided to schedule a public meeting for teachers, parents and students who wish to weigh in on the return to school for July 27 from 5 to 7 p.m. in the high school auditorium. West Piedmont Population Health Manager Nancy Bell and Virginia Department of Health Local Health Emergency Planner Jeanette Losee were also present during the meeting to answer board members questions. Bell called the divisions original plan, to return pre-K through second graders to school while planning virtual learning for the remaining grades, a reasonable plan. She said that she and Losee were available, not to advise board members on what to do, but to answer questions they may have. Bells advice was to wear the mask. Masks are 95% effective from giving or getting COVID-19, she said. Bells other advice to the board was to be prepared to turn on a dime and close a school if there was an outbreak. VDH has defined an outbreak as two or more cases in one location. Several board members cited concerns and questions they received from both parents and teachers, as well as the unknowns surrounding the coronavirus, as reasoning to postpone sending children back to the classroom. Worley initially proposed delaying the start of school until after Labor Day and then starting students back on the A/B schedule as originally outlined by school officials. However, Washburn said he had concerns about the A/B schedule, as did Blue. Blue proposed the board push the date back but continue to weigh input from the public and information from health officials and to hold off on making a hard and fast decision on what the start of school will look like. Washburn said he felt strongly that all elementary school children needed to be in school, whether it was all in school all the time or at least on an A/B schedule, even if it meant waiting another month to start school. He said pushing the dates back would give families time to quarantine themselves before the start of school. Most people are pushing their dates back, if we are so afraid of this why dont we push back our start til after Labor Day? Washburn said. Then we know everybodys vacations are over, they have already quarantined themselves for almost a month and they come back to school after Labor Day, hopefully everyone is well and maybe wont have these issues floating around from Myrtle Beach or any other beach that we would have. Hambrick said he felt Labor Day was a dicey date to judge by given that the area experienced spikes following the previous two holidays Memorial Day and July 4. He said he felt the COVID-19 pandemic was a moving target and the plan board members voted on last week was a good plan. Another concern raised was teacher preparedness for the new online platform, Canvas. Board members discussed the feasibility of teachers returning in August to have more time to learn the system, but Superintendent Mark Church said returning teachers too soon could be problematic with the calendar. Teachers have only 200 contract days in the school year. Blue said she feels safety should be first and education second. If we open school, and one child gets sick and that child dies, then to me we have failed, Blue said. Penny, its likely that somebody is going to get sick, Greer said. There is just no way that we can make it (totally) safe. Greer also brought up the possibility of using the empty secondary school buildings to house some of the elementary students if third through 12th graders remain on the virtual learning platform with the reopening plan, allowing all elementary students to return to in-person learning. She explained that some of the elementary schools already have the capacity to return all students even with social distancing measures in place. Church said staff would evaluate processes for that. Worley said the division has to take every precaution it can, and added he understands the board cant change its decision every week, but is hoping with the input of the public next week and more data going forward, the board can make a more informed decision. The report reveals that no one in government knew if Russia interfered in or sought to influence the [Brexit] referendum, because they did not want to know, said Stewart Hosie, a member of the intelligence committee and a lawmaker from the Scottish National Party. The British government actively avoided looking for evidence that Russia interfered, he said. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The report further charged that Conservative governments have welcomed the [Russian] oligarchs and their money with open arms, providing them with a means of recycling illicit finance through the London laundromat, and connections at the highest levels with access to U.K. companies and political figures. Russian oligarchs, who enriched themselves with the breakup of the Soviet Union, are deeply embedded in the British establishment, using their fortunes to snap up Belgravian mansions and countryside estates, put their children through Eton College and Oxford University, and buy companies, high-rises and hedge funds. Some of the wealthy Russian immigrants insist they are anti-Putin. The report called Moscows influence in the U.K. the new normal. Story continues below advertisement Konstantin Kosachev, chairman of the Russian Federal Councils foreign affairs committee, called the reports findings groundless, hollow and unconvincing. Vladimir Dzhabarov, first deputy chairman of the committee, called the findings absolutely unfounded. Advertisement Ahead of its release, Britains Russia Report had drawn comparisons to the investigation and report from former special counsel Robert S. Mueller III of Russian interference in the 2016 U.S. presidential campaign. But the report landed Tuesday with somewhat of a dull thud, especially for those who predicted that it would draw clear lines between Russian influencers and Britains right wingers. Story continues below advertisement Bill Browder, an American financier, told The Washington Post that he gave the committee evidence showing that the new way Russia interferes in Britain is through this buffer network where they use corrupt oligarchs to pay members of the British establishment. Browder said this chummy state of affairs often centered on high finance in Londons investment, real estate and banking communities also included members of the House of Lords. He said he gave names to the committee, although it opted not to print them. Advertisement Much of the detail gathered by the committee was redacted in the published report. Brexit Party leader Nigel Farage said the report exonerated him and his movement to leave the European Union. Years of lies and smears from Remain politicians and much of our media. There is no evidence of Russian involvement with Leave EU or me in the referendum, he wrote on Facebook. It was all a hoax apologies are now required. Story continues below advertisement Guy Verhofstadt, the chief Brexit negotiator for the European Parliament, tweeted that Brexit had been a gift to Russian President Vladimir Putin. But he offered only the relatively toothless observation that the Russia Report shows just how many questions remain unanswered. U.S., Britain and Canada say Russian cyberspies are trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research Committee members said they could not determine whether Russian intelligence services and their troll farms and hackers had successfully interfered in the Brexit vote because the government made no effort to find out. Advertisement Even if the conclusion of any such assessment were that there was minimal interference, this would nonetheless represent a helpful reassurance to the public that the U.K.s democratic processes had remained relatively safe, the report stated. Story continues below advertisement Compared with Washington, the report said, London took its eye off the ball on Russia. This situation is in stark contrast to the U.S. handling of allegations of Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election, where an intelligence community assessment was produced within two months of the vote, with an unclassified summary being made public, the report said. The parliamentary report was finished in March 2019 and sent to 10 Downing Street for vetting but then held back from release. The government cited different explanations at different points, including not wanting to cloud the December 2019 general election. Advertisement The long delay gave rise to conspiracy theories and accusations of a coverup. Story continues below advertisement Hillary Clinton, the 2016 Democratic presidential nominee, told the BBC last year that the publication delay was shameful. She added that in Washington, there was no doubt of the role that Russia played in our 2016 election and is continuing to play. The British government has pointed a finger at Russian interference more recently. Last week, British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab told a parliamentary intelligence committee that Russian actors sought to interfere in the countrys 2019 general election by acquiring unpublished documents used in trade talks between the United States and Britain, and then leaking the material via social media. Story continues below advertisement Sensitive government documents relating to the U.K.-U.S. Free Trade Agreement were illicitly acquired before the 2019 General Election and disseminated online via the social media platform Reddit, Raab said in a written statement to Parliament. Advertisement The foreign secretary added, It is almost certain that Russian actors sought to interfere in the 2019 General Election through the online amplification of illicitly acquired and leaked Government documents. Moscow last week called Raabs charges of election interference unfounded. The British administration is making the same anti-Russian mistake again and thus not only further undermining bilateral relations with Moscow, but also its own authority, Leonid Slutsky, head of the Russian State Dumas foreign affairs committee, told reporters Thursday, according to the Interfax news agency. Story continues below advertisement Raab is using the phrase highly likely again, Slutsky said. That is, a criminal case is again being initiated on the basis of highly likely, in the absence of specific evidence, which the head of the Foreign Office admits. What happened to the presumption of innocence? Where is the evidence? Advertisement Also last week, Britain, the United States and Canada accused Russian cyberspies of trying to steal coronavirus vaccine-related research. James Nixey, director of the Russia and Eurasia program at Chatham House, a London-based think tank, questioned whether anything would change as a result of the report. He cited the poisoning of a former Russian double agent on British soil and its aftermath as typical of the dynamics between Britain and Russia. In 2018, former Russian spy Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia were poisoned in the English city of Salisbury. Britain accused Russia of attempting to assassinate Skripal and expelled Russian diplomats. Russia denied it. Nobody seems willing to break that cycle of transgression, accusation, denial. We just go around and around, Nixey said. Russia likes to keep itself in the news cycle and relevant; even if its sort of morally ambiguous, it doesnt want to be ignored. It produces some form of bad news story, and Russia becomes significant once more. Brits for their part dont have the political backbone to make a substantive response that imposes costs on Russia, he said. Advertisement He described the relations between the two countries, which have been frosty for decades, as abysmal. I would say that they are rock-bottom, but you never know what fresh hell comes our way next week, he said. Did Russia interfere in Brexit?: An unpublished report roils U.K. politics before election The Cybersecurity 202: Russias efforts to target U.K. elections a stark warning for 2020 Trump remains silent on Putin despite uproar over alleged Russian bounty payments live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More The Supreme Court on July 20 continued hearing the matter related to the repayment of adjusted gross revenues (AGR) dues by telecom companies. Vodafone Idea, Bharti Airtel and Tata Teleservices, that have the highest AGR dues as per the Department of Telecommunications (DoT) assessment had appealed to the SC to allow staggered repayments. The three-judge bench comprised of Justices Arun Mishra, S Abdul Nazeer, and MR Shah. Following are some of the key highlights from the case: -The bench told the companies that there is no room to reopen the case as all dues are mentioned in the AGR judgment. "There can be no going back on AGR dues," the bench said. -SC observed that they will not allow self-assessment by Bharti Airtel, adding that the definition of AGR was made clear and told them to not review the issue. -The court also observed that Vodafone Idea has conceded that no bank is prepared to lend it money. "You are showing such a black picture, how are we supposed to see any light?", it said, adding that Vodafone Idea needs to secure AGR dues payable. -Mukul Rohatgi, counsel representing Vodafone Idea said it all of the company's revenue has been spent on liabilities, tax, dues. The total revenue of over 10 years was Rs 6.27 lakh crore, of which Rs 4.95 lakh crore was spent on expenses. -Rohatgi also said no assets were left with the company, with only spectrum remaining, adding that the Goods and services tax (GST) refunds of Rs 8,000 crore accruing to the company can be retained by the government. -Abhishek Manu Singhvi, representing Bharti Airtel told the Supreme court that Airtel had paid Rs 18,000 crore after SC order, which is 60 percent of total dues paid by all telcos combined, so far. The company has Rs 21,000 crore of dues still payable towards license fee due. -Singhvi also said to the Supreme Court, that at during the last hearing on the AGR case, Vodafone Idea counsel and senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, had told the court that the company is "barely afloat" and that the telco would have to shut operations if dues are to be paid upfront. This will impact 11,000 employees, he said. -Solicitor General Tushar Mehta told the Supreme Court that there was no confusion regarding the court's order and there would be no room for reassessment allowed. There also has been no submission suggesting any re-calculation, and there was no confusion with the Department of Telecommunications (DoT). He also added the following: Bharti Airtel owes a sum of Rs 43,780 crore, of which the company has paid Rs 18,004 crore. The balance due is Rs 25,976 crore. Vodafone has paid Rs 7,854 crore so far and the balance due is Rs 50,399 crore. Tata Teleservices has paid about Rs 4,197 crore, and balance due is about Rs 12,601 crore. 21.07.2020 LISTEN The government has presented a number of Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) and a cheque of 40,640 Ghana Cedis to the Ahafo Regional Health Directorate to help fight the spread of COVID-19 pandemic in the region. The PPEs to be distributed under the auspices of the Regional Health Directorate to all health facilities in the six districts(Tano North, Tano South, Asutifi North, Asutifi South, Asunafo North, and Asunafo South) forming the region are 12,000 pieces of nose masks, 3,040 hand sanitizers, 20,000 hand gloves among others. Presenting the items and the cheque on behalf of the government to the Regional Health Directorate at the office of the Regional Coordinating Council(RCC) at Goaso, capital of the region, the Ahafo Regional Minister, Mr. Evans Opoku Bobie explained, 1,140 cedis is to used to feed person tested positive of the disease in the region who are under the safe care of health experts. Aside from this, 13,000cedis is to purchase drug to help boost the immune systems of all COVID-19 patients whiles the remaining of the stated amount must be used to buy important equipment to support and protect health workers. According to the Regional Minister who doubles as the Member of Parliament for Asunafo North Constituency, the government is in full control of helping citizens to have an effective fight against the virus and the supply of these items and cheque are a true reflection. He said all efforts are in place by the managers of the country to curb the spread of the virus so all must be rest assured. He mentioned that the government has vowed to provide all the essential materials to health experts to enable them to have sound minds in their line of duty in relation to COVID-19 fight. He urged residents to keep on adhering to all safety protocols of the disease because it is unpredictable to tell when it will completely depart from the system. He disclosed that the government will keep on supplying PPEs among others to health facilities in all regions to avert the deadly virus. On behalf of the Directorate, the Regional Health Director, Dr. Boakye Boateng thanked the government for the PPEs and the said amount of money which are of great importance to health facilities to assist combat the virus. In his statement, health experts are more prone to the virus because of frequent interaction with patients so once the items are available to them as expected they will always deliver in accordance. He assured the minister of fair distribution of the provided PPEs to all health facilities in the region to safeguard health workers and their clients. He further appealed to companies and individuals in the region to keep supporting health facilities with PPEs and other health items in this season where COVID-19 has taken the centre stage and making news globally. Dr. Boakye Boateng pleaded with the people to respect all the COVID-19 protocols as directed by both the World Health Organization (WHO) and Ghana Health Service(GHS) to him avert the spread in the region. The region which was the last to record COVID-19 case in Ghana is now with 116 positive cases meaning gradually the virus is infecting people. Beijing lawmakers are seeking to punish foreign teachers whose behaviours are considered to be 'harmful to China's national sovereignty'. A drafted law targeting overseas educators in the country has demanded institutions terminate their contracts with foreign employees if their actions or verbal statements are deemed 'damaging to the country's security, honour and public interests'. Those who 'engage in religious education or preach illegally' will also face being fired from their jobs, according to the document released by the Ministry of Education today. Beijing lawmakers have issued a draft regulation that seeks to punish foreign teachers whose behaviours are considered to be 'harmful to China's national sovereignty'. This file picture taken on October 25, 2009 shows an English citizen teaching kids at a school in China The regulation continues by ordering education institutions to provide their foreign staff with at least 20 hours of training on China's laws and current affairs. The document was published on Tuesday after the authorities called for public feedback on the draft law. After collecting all the responses on August 21, the officials will then review the regulations and decide whether to adopt them, said a notice. The proposed regulation says that foreign nationals can only be employed by Chinese educational institutions they meet the relevant requirements, including obtaining sufficient teaching qualifications. Non-Chinese teachers whose behaviours are deemed 'harmful to China national sovereignty, security, honour, or public interests' will be reported by their companies to officials and lose their jobs. China's demand for English-speaking foreign teachers is soaring in recent years as the country's opening-up to the world leads to more people looking to learn the universal language. This file picture shows students studying at a high school in Wuhan on July 10 Other violations of the law include 'disobeying public security management, such as by taking drugs' and 'engaging in religious education or preaching illegally.' A credit system for foreign teachers in China will be put in place, the draft says, and those who violate the regulation will be recorded on the government network. China's demand for English-speaking foreign teachers is soaring in recent years as the country's opening-up to the world leads to more people looking to learn the universal language. An estimated 300 million people in China are learning English and there are around 50,000 English-language training institutions across the country. This file picture taken in 2019 shows a webpage of EF Education First, a major English-language training provider in China An estimated 300 million people in China are learning English and there are around 50,000 English-language training institutions across the country, according to a 2018 report cited by China Daily. But the country has also seen a number of cases in which education institutions hired foreign teachers without teaching qualifications or work visas. In 2017, there were more than 400,000 foreign teachers working in the education industry in China, but only one-third of them were employed legally, reported state media Xinhua. Chinese security researchers have found a way to hack smartphone chargers to break or burn the device. The issue, which has been called BadPower, was discovered by the Xuanwu Lab, which is a research unit of Chinese technology giant Tencent. The attack makes chargers put out an excessively high voltage, resulting in the device breaking down. It focuses on fast-charging technology chargers, stands, and cables, that can fill up your smartphone faster than standard cables. Both iPhone and Android phones have fast-charging capabilities. The current fast charging technology can provide a maximum voltage of 20V and 100W of power, as well as actually transmitting data between the charger and the device via built-in firmware. This firmware is used to decide charging speeds, based on the capabilities of the device. However, the researchers say that this connection is not secure. Hackers could rewrite the code that controls the power supply, meaning devices only capable of receiving 5V charge could be forced to take four times as much, resulting in the device overloading. All products with BadPower problems can be attacked by special hardware, and a considerable number of them can also be attacked by ordinary terminals such as mobile phones, tablets, and laptops that support the fast charging protocol,the researchers say. This is done through a specific device, designed to look like a smartphone, being plugged in to the charger to insert the malicious code before the charger is used with another device. The researchers tested BadPower attacks on 35 fast chargers, from 234 models available. It was discovered that 18 models from eight different vendors were vulnerable to this flaw. While the BadPower vulnerability can be patched with an update to the chargers firmware, the researchers say that 18 of the chip vendors did not provide the option to update the firmware. As such, there is no way to fix the vulnerability in those chargers. The researchers did not say which models of charger could be affected by the BadPower vulnerability, but have contacted Chinas National Vulnerability Database about the flaw. The Independent has reached out to the Xuanwu Lab for more information. The most senior judges in Ireland have strongly advised anyone attending court to wear a facemask to contain Covid-19 unless the cannot wear a covering. A statement was issued on Tuesday by the Chief Justice and Presidents of All Courts concerning the wearing of face coverings It reiterated that all persons attending any court venue are expected to strictly comply with current public health guidance concerning Covid-19. "Physical distancing (currently 2m) must be maintained at all times and all attending should engage in frequent handwashing and comply with respiratory etiquette," they said. As for facemasks, the judges urged all attending court to wear coverings. "Whilst face coverings are not mandatory at present, it is strongly advised that all persons, save for those who for medical or other welfare considerations cannot wear a face covering, should do so unless giving evidence, questioning a witness or addressing the court. "Anyone wishing to use a face covering when addressing the court or giving evidence should be permitted to do so, unless the presiding judge considers the same prejudicial in all of the circumstances. "The wearing of a face-covering does not lessen in any way a persons obligation to comply with social distancing and other public health guidance. "Finally, for your own safety and that of others, please ensure you use your face covering correctly and safely. Do not place it on any surface and ensure that you dispose of it safely," they said. China is forcing Uighur labour to mass produce face masks as part of the country's Muslim 're-education' programme during the coronavirus pandemic, a report has revealed. Chinese companies are using Uighur workers through a controversial government-sponsored programme which experts say often involves forced labour, according to a New York Times investigation. It comes as Britain accused Beijing of 'gross, egregious human rights abuses' over its 'deeply troubling' treatment of ethnic and religious minorities in Xinjiang. China has refuted the allegations. China is forcing Uighur workers to mass produce face masks as part of the country's Muslim 're-education' programme during the coronavirus pandemic, report says. The file picture taken on June 18 shows workers at a garment factory in Aketao county of the Uighur region Xinjiang China has been heavily criticised by other countries and NGO groups over its policies against Muslims and other religious groups, including alleged sterilisation programmes, forced labour and 're-education' camps. UN experts and activists have claimed that at least one million ethnic Uighurs are held in the detention centres in Xinjiang, the western Chinese region with a large population of the Muslim ethnic minority. Former detainees claimed that Muslims were forced to eat pork and speak Mandarin in those internment camps. After initially denying their existence, China acknowledged that it had opened 'vocational education centres' in Xinjiang aimed at preventing extremism by teaching Mandarin and job skills. China has been heavily criticised by other countries over its policy against Muslims The file picture taken on June 21 shows a group of Uighur women working at a garment factory in a resettlement area in Yecheng county of China's Xinjiang Uighur Autonomous Region But the country is rushing to meet the global demand for PPE during the pandemic by using Uighur labour through the labour-transfer programme, the New York Times revealed. The investigation found that there were four companies in the Xinjiang region producing the health gear before the coronavirus pandemic took hold in March. The number had risen to 51 by the end of June. At least 17 Chinese companies are using Uighur forced labour to produce personal protective equipment (PPE), among which some is exported to other countries including the US, said the report. At least one shipment of face masks, traced by the New York Times, was sent to a medical supply company in the American state of Georgia from a factory in Hubei province, where over 100 Uighur people had been sent there to work. World Uyghur Congress, a Germany-based rights group for the ethnic minority, said that the use of forced labour in the production of PPE 'isn't at all shocking'. Zumretay Arkin, a spokesperson of the group, told MailOnline: 'It is extremely distressing because it suggests that the government has no consideration for the lives of Uyghurs. 'China likes to claim ''ethnic harmony'', but there can be no such thing in a hostile environment for the entire Uyghur population, where they are subjected to discriminatory and genocidal policies. Commenting on the investigation of China's labour programme for Uighur workers, Human Rights Watch told MailOnline: 'Chinese government restrictions on all aspects of Uyghurs and other Turkic Muslims lives leave little if any room for choice, including whether and where to work. 'Similar restrictions prevent companies from doing essential and robust human rights due diligence, leaving their supply chains at risk of the kinds of serious human rights violations this new report details.' It comes after Dominic Raab has said that the reports of forced sterilisations and mass detentions in China's Xinjiang required international attention. 'It is clear that there are gross, egregious human rights abuses going on... it is deeply, deeply troubling,' he told the BBC this week. Dominic Raab (pictured on July 14 at Downing Street) said the reports of forced sterilisations and mass detentions in the predominantly Muslim region required international attention 'The reports and the human aspects of it... are reminiscent of something we have not seen for a long, long time, and this is from a leading member of the international community that wants to be taken seriously. 'We want a positive relationship [with China], but we cannot see behaviour like that and not call it out,' Raab added. China's ambassador to the UK Sunday insisted Uighur Muslims live in 'peace and harmony' despite being confronted with video appearing to show shackled prisoners being herded onto trains. Appearing on the Andrew Marr Show, Liu Xiaoming denied reports that China is carrying out a programme of sterilisation of Uighur women in the western Xinjiang region. This photo taken on June 2, 201,9 shows a facility believed to be a re-education camp where mostly Muslim ethnic minorities are detained in Artux, north of Kashgar in China's Xinjiang An estimated one million mostly Muslim ethnic minorities have been held at what authorities call 'education centres' in Xinjiang. This photo taken on May 31, 2019, shows a watchtower on a high-security facility near what is believed to be a re-education camp on the outskirts of Hotan Mr Liu went on to insist the Uighur population, which has reportedly increased in numbers in the last 40 years, enjoy a 'peaceful, harmonious coexistence with other ethnic groups' in Xinjiang. It comes after top global brands such as Apple, BMW and Sony have been accused of getting supplies from factories using the Uighur forced labour. The Chinese government has transferred 80,000 or more Uighurs out of camps in Xinjiang and into factories across the country, according to The Australian Strategic Policy Institute in March. Queensland Police officers enter the site of a park ride accident that killed four at the Dreamworld theme park on Gold Coast on October 25, 2016. (TERTIUS PICKARD/AFP via Getty Images) Charges Laid Over Dreamworld Ride Deaths in QLD More than three-and-a-half years after four holidaymakers were killed on a poorly maintained Dreamworld ride, charges have been laid against the company behind the iconic Gold Coast theme park. Ardent Leisure has been charged with three counts of failing to comply with health and safety legislation and exposing individuals to a risk of serious injury or death. However, the Dreamworld executives responsible for the parks safety escaped individual prosecution after the tourists died on October 25, 2016 when they were thrown into the mechanism of the Thunder River Rapids ride. Queensland Work Health and Safety prosecutor on July 21 filed three charges against Ardent Leisure Limited under the Work Health and Safety Act 2011. Prosecutor Aaron Guilfoyle alleges Ardent Leisure failed to provide and maintain safe plant and structures and systems of work. The company also allegedly failed to provide information, training, instruction or supervision necessary to protect people from risk. In February, coroner James McDougall referred Ardent Leisure to the Office of Industrial Relations, saying there was a systemic failure at Dreamworld in all aspects of safety. The inquest also found there had been no thorough engineering risk assessment of the Thunder River Rapids in the 30 years it was open to the public. Dreamworld presented itself as a modern, world-class theme park, but its frighteningly unsophisticated safety procedures were rudimentary at best, he said while delivering the inquest findings. Cindy Low, Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi were killed when a water pump on the famous ride malfunctioned, causing water levels to fall dangerously low. Their raft collided with another after becoming stuck in the low water and partially flipping, flinging the group into the mechanised conveyor that moved the rafts. The malfunction was the third that day and the fifth in a week, and no automated shutdown function was installed despite recommendations. Goodchilds 12-year-old daughter and Lows 10-year-old son survived the incident. We again express our deepest sympathies to the families and friends of (Low, Goodchild, Dorsett and Araghi) for their loss and ongoing suffering and say sorry to all of the people impacted by this tragedy, Ardent Leisure said in a statement on July 21. The company said it had worked hard to improve the parks safety since the tragedy, in accordance with the Queensland Governments new major amusement park safety regulations. The new leadership team is committed to continuing to improve and enhance safety systems and practices with the aim of becoming a global industry leader in theme park safety and operations. Industrial Relations Minister Grace Grace said the charges were the maximum available to the Work Health and Safety Prosecutor under the legislation. Im very supportive of his swift action in relation to this. It was a recommendation from the coroner to the independent health and safety prosecutor we await the outcome for the courts, she told reporters. Each charge carries a maximum penalty of $1.5 million. The matter will be mentioned in the Southport Magistrates Court on July 29. Robyn Wuth and Aaron Bunch in Brisbane After lashing out at the likes of Taapsee Pannu, Swara Bhasker, and Richa Chadha by calling them "needy outsiders," Kangana Ranaut now says she understands why they don't want to support her. The 'Queen' actress said that they have "bills to pay for their house" and that she gets where they are coming from. In an interview with Pinkvilla, Kangana opened up about the digs taken at her by Taapsee, Swara, and Richa, following her explosive interview with Republic TV. It is so sad. I do not know what to say because I have been in their place. People who come from outside, I have said it in my earlier interviews as well, we (outsiders) do not have the comfort of our parents houses. I am not Anil Kapoor or Mahesh Bhatts daughter. Or when you talk about Swara Bhasker, Taapsee Pannu or Richa Chadha, I understand they have bills to pay for their house; everybody is not and doesnt want to live the kind of life I aspire. So, I do understand where theyre coming from and there are a lot of pressures, she said. Kangana said that by speaking out against the injustices in the film industry, she will only gain enemies and nothing else. While I understand that others may not have my inclination to gain enemies, what I expect from them is just to give respect to other peoples struggle, she said. Taapsee said I have had weird experiences in life. Im a weirdo? They say Im an extremist and jobless person. Swara said that my claims of nepotism are fake. Richa says that people are not giving positive vibrations to the universe. Yes, of course, right now the last thing I want to give out is positive vibrations to the universe when we have lost the life of a very significant person. He (Sushant Singh Rajput) wasnt just another life. We dont feel very positive about things around. Its true! But to completely disregard my struggles, is another thing, she said. Sushant passed away on June 14. He died by suicide, Mumbai police confirmed. His death has reignited the debate about nepotism and lobby culture in Bollywood. The amount of money being written into wills that will eventually go to charities when people die has surged during the coronavirus pandemic, according to Farewill (PA) The amount of money being written into wills that will eventually go to charities when people die has surged during the coronavirus pandemic, according to an online service. Will-writing service Farewill said that in April, over 35 million-worth of charity donations were written into wills, up from 3.5 million in February and an average of 4 million per month in 2019. It said this will be welcome news for charities which have struggled as fundraising streams have dwindled due to events having to be cancelled. In May and June, legacy donations at Farewill were on average still over 10 million. These organisations will receive much-needed funding for years to come Dan Garrett, Farewill During the coronavirus pandemic five most popular causes people have been specifying they want to leave money to are charities involved in cancer, animals, health, international aid, and religion, according to Farewills data. Dan Garrett, chief executive at Farewill, said: We write thousands of wills every month and legacy giving has always been popular with our customers. He said communities coming together and stories such as the fundraising efforts of Captain Sir Tom Moore have captured peoples imagination. Mr Garrett continued: It means these organisations will receive much-needed funding for years to come. We're hugely appreciative of the way people have continued to support charities Craig Fordham, Macmillan Cancer Support Craig Fordham, director of operational delivery and legacies at Macmillan Cancer Support said: At Macmillan, legacy giving is the biggest part of our fundraising mix and has become even more important right now, given other fundraising activities like events and public collections have had to be paused. The public have been incredibly generous, and weve seen a big increase in the number of people interested in leaving a gift to Macmillan in their will. Were hugely appreciative of the way people have continued to support charities, particularly when many find themselves in difficult circumstances right now. OTTAWA - The parliamentary committee that oversees the way the House of Commons works says the chamber should spend the summer getting ready for MPs to participate and vote from outside Ottawa. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs Chrystia Freeland rises during Question Period in the House of Commons in Ottawa, Monday July 20, 2020. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld OTTAWA - The parliamentary committee that oversees the way the House of Commons works says the chamber should spend the summer getting ready for MPs to participate and vote from outside Ottawa. The group said in a report released Tuesday that COVID-19 will likely make it too dangerous for MPs to gather in large numbers when the Commons is due to resume its regular business in September, especially for those who need to travel long distances. The committee wants to take the videoconferencing system MPs have been using for meetings for the last several months and add a secure voting system, so more normal business can go on, with some MPs physically in Parliament and some not. Since the House of Commons broke up as the COVID-19 pandemic hit Canada in March, it's used two main meeting formats. One is a special COVID-19 committee that meets in the Commons chamber, where any MP can participate including by videoconference; that committee can debate but it can't pass legislation. The other is occasional sittings of the House of Commons with very limited numbers of MPs. In those meetings, including two of them this week, MPs can pass legislation but only those in the chamber can participate. The committee's recommendation is essentially to fuse them, so MPs can participate virtually and hold meaningful votes. Creating that voting mechanism will mean "an iterative approach including multiple rounds of testing, demonstrations and adaptations," so that by the time September sittings come around, MPs are comfortable with the technology and everyone is confident it's safe to use. The committee also says every MP and anyone else participating must be equipped with high-quality audio gear so they can be heard properly. And the Commons will need to invest in its interpretation service because the people who do that work have been burning out trying to translate fast-talking MPs with poor internet connections. As for those poor internet connections, which are most likely to plague MPs representing more remote rural areas, the committee says the House of Commons should do what's necessary to fix them. The Conservatives dissented from the committee's recommendations, saying it's better for a limited number of MPs to gather in Ottawa in person and avoid travelling while COVID-19 remains a worry. "Of course, we recognize the COVID-19 pandemic requires us to change our routines," their contrary report reads. "However, the underlying currents, during this study, heading toward a remote voting app made us question, again, if 'a crisis was not being left to go to waste.'" They say the House of Commons would work better under an agreement to have a maximum of 86 MPs in the chamber at once, which is as many as could fit while keeping two-metre distances among them. If their fellow MPs do adopt the committee's recommendations, the Tories say they should expire automatically at the end of December unless there's a vote to renew them. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2020. INDIANAPOLIS, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Sanctuary Wealth, home to the next generation of elite financial advisors, has brought on board Josh Freeman and Robert Gillette, a veteran two-person fixed income and structured investments trading team with a combined more than 40 years of experience. Josh joins Sanctuary's Advisor Solutions Group and will sit on the Capital Markets desk and Robert will serve as Institutional Representative. Before joining Sanctuary, Josh and Robert worked together at International Assets Advisory trading fixed income products for large institutional clients that manage between $10 and $100 billion in assets. "Josh and Robert are well-known and respected in the industry as well as on the street, and we are thrilled to have them join Sanctuary Wealth, as we are confident it will help us greatly increase our growth on two fronts," said Jim Dickson, CEO and Founder of Sanctuary Wealth. "This highly regarded team will be a major asset in helping us develop and grow our institutional business, while simultaneously expanding our servicing offerings to our partner firms." Josh has been in the investment business since 1996. He began his career as a retail financial advisor with an additional focus on institutional equity and fixed income sales. In 2002, he transitioned 100% of his efforts toward building a career in the fixed income segment of the market. Most recently, as the Head of Fixed Income and Trading at IAA, he was responsible for the firm's proprietary trading account and also provided sales and trading support for the firm's approximately 200 financial advisors and their clients, while also servicing the needs of the firm's Institutional customers, i.e. private banks, hedge funds, insurance company portfolios, etc. Josh holds the series 7, 63, 24 and 53. "Bob and I have known each other for two decades; he is one of the biggest institutional producers in the business. We have worked together at two different firms, more recently we have been back together at IAA for the last six years," said Josh Freeman, Director, Fixed Income. "What attracted us to Sanctuary was the fact that it is a firm committed to not just supporting our talents, but also empowering us to shoot big to help the entire business grow. Having serviced independent advisors for a number of years, we always aim to provide advisors who are leaving the wirehouse with a better capital markets desk than what they are used to. We want to give them a significantly broader product spectrum and also a better level of service and handholding. As they grow their business, we grow ours too." Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Robert Gillette moved to Texas in 1993 after completing his undergraduate degree at the University of Georgia, then attending Atlanta Law School, where he graduated with honors. After a brief stint practicing law, Robert entered the financial realm and has had a successful 27-year career working on the sell-side of fixed income products. "We are reenergized to take on this new opportunity with Sanctuary Wealth", said Robert Gillette, Institutional Representative. "Part of the success of being a good service desk comes from the volume and the amount of institutional business that we do it gives the advisors that come over a much better platform and a much wider array of products to support them and help them grow their business. We specialize in learning exactly who a client is and then tailoring a portfolio that fits exactly what they need when it comes to fixed income or structured investments. We couldn't be more thrilled to be able to bring this operation and winning formula to Sanctuary." About Sanctuary Wealth Sanctuary Wealth (sanctuarywealth.com/) is the advanced platform for the next generation of elite, top-performing advisors, who have the entrepreneurial spirit to build and own their own practices, and desire the freedom to deliver the tailored service each client deserves. Creating an ecosystem of partnered independence, Sanctuary provides a complete technology and operations platform, as well as support from a community of like-minded advisors and the resources of invaluable affiliated businesses all designed to empower each partner firm to achieve their full potential. Currently, the Sanctuary Wealth network covers 14 states and includes more than 36 partner firms with approximately $9 billion in assets under advisement. The Sanctuary Wealth Group includes the fully owned subsidiaries Sanctuary Advisors, a registered investment adviser, and the broker-dealer Sanctuary Securities, as well as Sanctuary Asset Management, Sanctuary Insurance Solutions, Sanctuary Capital Markets, and Sanctuary Global Family Office. CONTACT: Michaela Morales JConnelly 973 224 7152 [email protected] SOURCE Sanctuary Wealth Distance Learning Google Reveals Plans for New Meet Functionality Google has gone public with some of its plans for updates to Meet, the web conferencing tool that's part of the company's G Suite for Education. The basic thrust is to give teachers more control over their real-time sessions and help them make the classes more engaging. Among the updates expected this year are these: Educators will have more control over who gets in and what they can do once they're in virtual classes. If a teacher ejects a student from a meeting, the student won't be able to ask to rejoin ("knock"). If the teacher rejects a knock twice, it won't show up anymore on his or her interface during the session. Once a class is over, teachers can end the session for everybody at once. A default setting will prevent anonymous attendees from joining an education session, though schools will be able to opt-in and allow anonymous participations for designated sessions. Both teachers and students will be able to blur out their backgrounds or replace them with presets or uploaded images, through the teacher will maintain control to disable that particular functionality. Teachers will also be able to mute all participants, disable in-meeting chat and restrict who can present. An additional setting will require that the moderator join in on the session before the class begins. Meet will include a hand-raising function that will prevent class disruptions until the teacher is ready to take questions or comments. A collaborative whiteboard will help participants share their ideas. A larger tiled view will allow the teacher to show up to 49 participants at one time. And closed captions will be available in languages besides just English. Mock-ups of expected functionality in Google Meet, planned for release sometime this year. Google has also announced premium features, such as the ability to track attendance based on who has joined the class; breakout room functionality; and question-and-answer and polling to encourage student participation at key moments. The company hasn't announced timing for the features, other than to state that they'll appear in the application this year. However, it did reveal one interesting metric. According to Google, some 140 million educators and students are now using the online suite of programs. A crucial meeting of Nepal's ruling communist party to iron out differences between Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and the rival faction led by former premier Pushpa Kamal Dahal "Prachanda" was on Tuesday deferred by two hours after the two leaders sought some time for informal discussion to settle key issues. The Standing Committee meeting has been postponed by another two hours, till 1 pm, said Ganeshi Shah, member of the Standing Committee and a senior leader of the Communist Party of Nepal (NCP). The party is supposed to discuss the power sharing issues during the powerful Standing Committee meeting, which has already been postponed for seven times since June 24. The meeting was postponed for two hours as the two top leaders of the party- Oli and Prachanda - required some time for informal discussion to settle key issues, party sources said. Top NCP leaders, including Prachanda, have been demanding Oli's resignation, saying his recent anti-India remarks were "neither politically correct nor diplomatically appropriate." They are also against Oli's autocratic style of functioning. The differences grew further after Oli said that some of the ruling party leaders are aligning with the southern neighbour to remove him from power after his government issued a new political map incorporating three Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. The Prachanda-Nepal faction rejected the allegations, saying it is them who have asked for resignation, not India. Prachanda has said that he will not allow the party to split and any attempt from anywhere to weaken its unity would hurt the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters. Prachanda on Monday said efforts were going on to resolve the intra-party differences and ruled out an early general convention of the party as proposed by embattled Prime Minister Oli. "Going for the general convention is not a bad idea but without proper preparations, it is not possible as various issues including the party ideology also need to be sorted out," Matrika Yadav, a Standing Committee member, quoted Prachanda as saying at the meeting. Prachanda's remarks came amid reports that he had reached an understanding with Oli on holding the general convention by November/December and that the prime minister would back him as the party chair. (image from AP) COLFAX TWP, MI Benzie County Sheriffs Office is investigating a report of a man who broke into a house in Colfax Township, then set the garage on fire on his way out. Up North Live reports that the damages to the residence and garage are estimated to be more than $270,000. Deputies said on July 4, a family member of the homeowner surprised the suspect inside of the house as they were walking out of the garage. The family member confronted the stranger, deputies said, then went inside to call the cops and found that much of the interior had been damaged. After that, deputies said the family member then found the unattached garage was fully engulfed in fire, Up North Live reports. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 03:12:25|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A man wearing a face mask is seen in Barcelona, Spain, July 9, 2020. (Barcelona City Hall/handout via Xinhua) -- Youth party leaves over 80 infected with coronavirus in southern Spain; -- 59 COVID-19 cases confirmed at Romanian chicken slaughterhouse; -- King Philippe calls on Belgians to mobilize to end crisis. BRUSSELS, July 20 (Xinhua) -- The following are the latest developments of the COVID-19 pandemic in European countries. MADRID -- An end of school year party held recently in the city of Cordoba in southern Spain has led to over 80 people being infected with the coronavirus, local health authorities confirmed on Monday. The party was held on the night of July 10, and the first participant tested positive a week later. By Monday, the number of infections traced back to this party and confirmed by PCR (polymerase chain reaction) tests has exceeded 80. The health authorities in Cordoba have located 670 close contacts of the infected and identified a further thousand people who spent at least some time at the party. All of them have been informed of the need to "carry out preventive measures and to self-isolate for the appropriate time, independent of whether they have tested positive or not," according to the Territorial Delegate for Health and Families in Cordoba, Maria Jesus Botella. Residents practice yoga at Herastrau Park in Bucharest, Romania, on June 21, 2020, the International Yoga Day. (Photo by Gabriel Petrescu/Xinhua) BUCHAREST -- An outbreak of COVID-19 was declared at a chicken slaughterhouse in Vaslui County, eastern Romania, with 59 of the employees tested positive, local health authorities confirmed on Monday. The cases were detected from about 100 who were sampled, after three employees were confirmed with the novel coronavirus last week and it was decided to test all those who came in contact with them, according to Mihaela Vlada, executive director of the Directorate of Public Health (DSP) in Vaslui County. The epidemiological investigation at this unit is currently underway, and a decision will be made on whether activities in the slaughterhouse should be halted, she added. An official dresser dresses the Manneken-Pis up in Brussels, Belgium, July 14, 2020. (Xinhua/Zheng Huansong) BRUSSELS -- King Philippe of Belgium on Monday called on Belgians to "mobilize all forces" to succeed in the "gigantic challenge" of economic and social recovery and to find a "clearly defined trajectory" leading out of the COVID-19 crisis. "We now have a unique opportunity to rethink our economy and our society, building on the human values we have lived so intensely, opting for more equitable and sustainable solutions with ambition and confidence in the future," the king said in a televised speech broadcast on the eve of the July 21 national day. The COVID-19 crisis has not spared Belgium. It has also aggravated the existing social injustices, hitting hard those who were already in a precarious situation, less well-housed or trained, the king said. Turkey will maintain its military presence in northern Syria "until the people are free," President Recep Tayyip Erdogan claimed Tuesday, blasting the "so-called" parliamentary vote in the war-torn country. Turkey has launched three military incursions into northern Syria since 2016 to battle the Islamic State group and Kurdish militia deemed by Ankara as "terrorists". "We will continue to stay in this country until our thousand-year neighbour and brother, the Syrian people, reach freedom, peace and security," Erdogan claimed in a televised speech in the capital Ankara. Since the 2011 uprising against President Bashar al-Assad, Turkey has militarily backed rebel groups seeking his ouster and facilitated access and movement of pro-Ankara militias into the Syrian soil. Erdogan also slammed Sunday's "so-called" legislative polls in Syria. "In these days, they are holding elections in Syria, so-called elections," he said. "Can there be such elections? Where are the countries that claim to be democratically advanced?" The election in Syria comes at a critical phase for the Damascus government, which has restored much of the territory lost at the beginning of the country's war. The millions of Syrians who fled the conflict were not eligible to vote. Erdogan also said Turkey "closely followed" the situation in another conflict-struck country Libya where Ankara backs the Government of National Accord (GNA) against rival Libyan National Army (LNA) commander Khalifa Haftar. Turkey sent between 3,500 and 3,800 paid Syrian fighters to Libya over the first three months of the year, the U.S. Defense Department's inspector general concluded in a new report. The quarterly report on counterterrorism operations in Africa by the Pentagon's internal watchdog, published Thursday, says Turkey paid and offered citizenship to thousands of mercenaries fighting alongside Tripoli-based militias against troops of east Libya-based LNA commander Khalifa Hifter. Egypt, the UAE and Russia are backing Haftar in eastern Libya, while Turkey and Qatar support the Tripoli-based GNA. Egypts parliament on Monday unanimously approved the deployment of armed forces abroad to defend Egypts national security, it said in a statement, amid the expansion of Libyas Turkey-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) which has moved fighters to capture the key coastal city of Sirte. In an official statement following a closed-door session, the parliament said it "unanimously approved sending elements of the Egyptian armed forces in combat missions outside the borders of the Egyptian state to defend the Egyptian national security in the western strategic front against the acts of criminal militias and foreign terrorist elements until the forces' mission ends." The decision came days after Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi said Egypt will not stand idle in the face of any attack on Sirte, which he earlier described as a red line for Egypts national security and warned it could prompt military intervention by Cairo. "The Egyptian nation, throughout history, has advocated for peace, but it does not accept trespasses nor does it renounce its rights. Egypt is extremely able to defend itself, its interests, its brothers and neighbours from any peril or threat," the statement said. *This story was edited by Ahram Online. Browse through Arabic-language social media pages and you could walk away thinking COVID-19 is an American hoax, isn't deadly and can be swiftly cured with a garlic clove. Arabic pages on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram are brimming with fake news stories on the novel coronavirus, from benign inaccuracies to full-throated conspiracy theories. As authorities work to stem the spread of the novel coronavirus, civic platforms across the Middle East are stepping up to combat the Arabic "infodemic" they say is as dangerous as the infection itself. "We correct the news and save lives," said Baher Jassem, an Iraqi activist from the Tech 4 Peace collective, which switched from its four-year campaign against fake political and economic news to setting the record straight on COVID-19. Every few hours, the collective's Facebook, Instagram and Twitter pages publish screenshots of fabricated news stories about the virus, from claims about new remedies to celebrity deaths from the illness or a reassuring wave of recoveries. The pictures are marked with a red stamp reading "fake post", accompanied by a correction and links to more accurate information. Their accounts reach more than one million followers. "We don't just want to expose lies. We want to spread awareness about the coronavirus, the right way to protect yourself, the wrong remedies that are circulating," Jassem told AFP. The corrections campaign could not have come sooner: the region appears to be experiencing a long-feared COVID-19 spike. Iraq's daily case rate increase exploded to more than 2,000 in late June, nearing 3,000 per day this month. Lebanon, Oman and Algeria saw peaks of daily new cases in mid-July, while Saudi Arabia and Jordan witnessed crests in late June but appear to be stabilising. Doctors in Iraq blame online misinformation: their patients have insisted coronavirus is an American conspiracy, or people are actually dying from a sarin gas attack, or that Iraq's blistering heat would halt the virus's spread. Medics say such false information could make people less likely to wear masks in public, abide by social distancing or wash their hands regularly. - 'This is personal' - Misinformation about COVID-19 has been spreading in various languages since the pandemic's early days, but the proliferation in Arabic is particularly dangerous because of the lack of quality reporting, activists told AFP. Indeed, Reporters Without Borders has noted authorities' tightening control over media in the Middle East in 2020, specifically over information relating to COVID-19. As a result, activists said, news consumers are suspicious of the information they find in traditional outlets and more likely to entertain conspiracy theories. "Media literacy is non-existent. Iraqis can go on Facebook and Twitter but are not really equipped to see 50 different sources and differentiate what's fact and what's fiction," said Faisal al-Mutar, a US-based Iraqi activist and founder of Ideas Beyond Borders. IBB has partnered with Wikipedia to translate more than 250 detail-rich pages on COVID-19's origins and spread into Arabic. It's no easy task given the Arabic language's diverse dialects, said volunteer translator Issam Fawwaz, based in the northern Lebanese city of Tripoli. "The scientific terms aren't standardised. A term used in Syria, Lebanon or Jordan is totally different from Egypt or Morocco," while some English terms have no Arabic equivalents, 33-year-old Fawwaz told AFP. But conviction in the impact of his work has kept him going. "This is personal for me. I was one of those people that used to believe fake news, but I was lucky to have people who pushed me to use my brain," he said. "One person persuaded by a fake news story can spark a calamity in his community." - Fighting fire with fire - AFP's own fact-checking service, which includes an Arabic platform, has busted dozens of online myths about the coronavirus -- like rumours that wearing masks causes a dangerous drop in oxygen intake or that the World Health Organization was wrapping up its work on the pandemic. Fatabayyano, a Jordan-based platform founded in 2014 whose name translates to "Verify", is fighting fire with fire. "Fake news spreads faster than real news -? and the amount of misinformation on WhatsApp is absolutely huge," said Motaz al-Thaher, Fatabayyano's media manager. WhatsApp boasts 75 percent penetration among internet users in the Middle East, according to a 2019 study by the Northwestern University in Qatar. People use it to stay in touch with friends and family, but also to share links, photos and audio messages on current affairs, often unverified. There are few regulations to fight misinformation on WhatsApp, Thaher said, as messages are encrypted and the platform can't flag suspicious messages the way Facebook and Twitter can. So Fatabayyano created its own channel, sending fact-based coronavirus reporting, videos and graphics to thousands of WhatsApp users simultaneously. "Rumours are viruses too!" reads the new caption under the campaign's logo. Activists are battling misinformation about coronavirus spread on social media platforms such as WhatsApp Items in high demand in various countries because of coronavirus - (top L to R) garlic in Tunisia, semolina in Algeria, black tea, (middle L to R) tuna, groceries, sugar, (bottom L to R) sunflower seeds in Iraq, beer in Mexico and paper in Libya Washington, D.C.--(Newsfile Corp. - July 20, 2020) - The Securities and Exchange Commission today charged a Mountain View, California-based technology start-up and its chief executive officer with defrauding investors by making false and misleading statements about the company's finances and sources of revenue. The SEC's complaint alleges that from 2018 to 2019, Shaukat Shamim, the founder and CEO of YouPlus, a private company that purported to have developed a machine-learning tool to analyze videos on the internet, raised funds from investors while repeatedly misrepresenting the company's financial condition. According to the complaint, Shamim falsely told investors that YouPlus earned millions of dollars in annual revenue and had more than 100 customers, including Fortune 500 companies. When one investor pressed Shamim for information substantiating those claims, Shamim allegedly provided the investor with falsified bank statements in an effort to conceal the fraud. The scheme allegedly unraveled in late 2019 when Shamim confessed to certain investors that YouPlus had in fact earned less than $500,000 and obtained only four paying customers from the company's inception in 2013. "As we allege in our complaint, Shamim and YouPlus drummed up interest in the company by providing false information about its financial performance and customer base," said Erin E. Schneider, Director of the SEC's San Francisco Regional Office. "Private companies engaged in early-stage fundraising must tell the truth when selling securities to investors." The SEC's complaint, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, charges YouPlus and Shamim with violating the antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and seeks permanent injunctions, civil money penalties, disgorgement with prejudgment interest, and an officer-and-director bar against Shamim. In a parallel action, the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California today announced criminal charges against Shamim. The SEC's investigation, which is continuing, is being conducted by Mike Foley and Rebecca Lubens, and supervised by Tracy L. Davis and Monique C. Winkler of the San Francisco Regional Office. The litigation against YouPlus and Shamim will be led by John Han and Brent Smyth. The SEC appreciates the assistance of the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California and the Federal Bureau of Investigation. Suing: Actor Johnny Depp acknowledges fans as he arrives at the High Court in London. Photo: John Sibley/Reuters Actress Amber Heard told a court yesterday that former husband Johnny Depp threatened to kill her many times during years of abuse. Heard (34) stood by her accusations of physical and verbal abuse, which Depp last week accused her of making up. Depp is suing News Group Newspapers, publishers of Britain's 'The Sun' newspaper, over a 2018 article that labelled him a wife-beater and questioned his casting in the 'Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them' franchise. The 57-year-old actor - who played Jack Sparrow in the 'Pirates of the Caribbean' series - told the High Court in London last week Heard's allegations were untrue. He also accused her of domestic violence against him. Heard yesterday told the court she loved Depp but was terrified of "the monster", a violent alter ego he became when under the influence of drink or drugs, which she described as the "third party in the relationship". In a written statement, she said some incidents were so severe that she was afraid he would kill her, deliberately or by losing control. Expand Close Denial: Amber Heard told the High Court in London she stood by her allegations. Photo: Henry Nicholls/Reuters / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Denial: Amber Heard told the High Court in London she stood by her allegations. Photo: Henry Nicholls/Reuters "He explicitly threatened to kill me many times, especially later in our relationship," her statement said. Heard said the actor would obsess about her appearance and would call her "a slut", "fame-hungry" and "an attention whore" if she wore certain outfits. Throughout her evidence, Depp's lawyer Eleanor Laws accused her of lying, saying her account did not tally with the version of events the court had heard from Depp's friends, staff and others, or with medical notes. "I don't want to call anybody a liar," Heard said when asked why the accounts were different. "I contradict them, they contradict me." Asked whether one argument was caused by a clash over whether Heard would sign a pre-nuptial agreement, the actress said she was "not interested in Johnny's money, never have been". She said Depp told her he would rip up any pre-nuptial agreement - none was ever signed - and told her "the only way out is death". In later evidence, the court focused on an incident in May 2016, when Depp is accused of throwing a phone which struck Heard on the face. "It looked like he was throwing it as hard as he could," she said, saying it felt like her eye had "popped out". She said Depp then began to smash up their Los Angeles penthouse, swinging a wine bottle like a club. Police officers called to the scene have told the court they did not see any damage, and that Heard did not have any visible injuries to her face. Lawyers accused the actress of cobbling together her story with two friends, and using make-up or lighting to fake injuries to her eye and cheek in photographs. "Absolutely not," Heard said. Questioned as to why the injury could not be seen in one picture in the days afterwards, she replied: "Why would I pick one day and not the other?" She said if she was out she would wear make-up but two- or three-day-old bruises were the hardest to conceal. Heard, who began dating Depp in 2011 and married him four years later, denied she had anger issues or was prone to violence, rejecting accusations from the actor's staff who have told the court that she had started their fights. The court was played an audio recording in which she was heard saying to Depp that she did not punch him but was "hitting" him. Asked why she had not simply said in the recording that she was defending herself, she replied: "I would have got another black eye." She said she would only have thrown things in her ex-husband's direction towards the end of their relationship when she needed to escape from him. "When I felt my life was threatened, I tried to defend myself," she said. Heard is due to give evidence over four days and the trial is set to conclude next week, although no ruling is expected immediately. Advertisement Teslas are proof enough that electric cars are quick - but even Elon Musk will be left jaw-scraping at the performance of the latest zero-emission vehicle revealed by Ford. The US car-making giant has teamed up with American tuning specialists RTR to create a one-off prototype version of its Mustang Mach-E - an all-electric SUV that will be sold in the UK from next year. But this one, built specifically for the track, takes electric vehicle performance to another stratosphere even Musk and his Space X project would find difficult to contemplate - giving it 1,400bhp of power to create seven times the power of a Nissan Leaf. Electric shock: This is Ford's one-off Mustang Mach-E 1400 - a 1,400bhp drift car that can also be used as a racer It's been called the Mustang Mach-E 1400 - for obvious reasons - and is designed to be a zero-emission racer by pro-drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr, who owns RTR. While the standard car - which will cost from 40,270 - has four electric motors, the 1400 has seven of them. Three motors power the front axle and four are dedicated to the rear - which also allows the drivers to flutter between all, front and rear-wheel-drive at their own desire, with the latter providing the best powersliding performance. 'Getting behind the wheel of this car has completely changed my perspective on what power and torque can be,' said Vaughn Gittin Jr. 'This experience is like nothing youve ever imagined, except for maybe a magnetic rollercoaster.' To deliver the energy to these seven motors is a 56.8kWh nickel-manganese-cobalt battery in place of the lithium-ion one in the production road car. To prevent the battery overheating, Ford has installed a heavy-duty cooling system. Ford says it has been built to 'demonstrate the performance possibilities of electric propulsion'. It certainly does that! While the standard Mustang Mach-E SUV - which is aimed at eco-conscious family-car buyers - has four electric motors. This one-off creation has has seven of them The enormous rear diffuser and wing combine to produce a claimed 1,000kg of downforce at a speed of 160mph - which we now assume the Mustang Mach-E 1400 is capable of To show its potency, Ford released footage of the Mach-E 1400 (centre) up against a selection of highly-strung Mustangs, including the current Nascar stock car (second right) and pro-drifter-turned-rally-driver Ken Block's Hoonicorn RTR V2 conversion (far left) Ford says it has been built to 'demonstrate the performance possibilities of electric propulsion' - though don't expect to park up alongside one in a Tesco car park anytime soon. Away from the zero-emission powertrain, there has also been an overhaul of the components with fully-adjustable suspension, more potent Brembo brakes and a hydraulic handbrake instead of an electronic version, specifically to make it skid on demand. There's also a new steering system with adjustable settings for either track of drift modes. Inside, there's a full roll cage and a dashboard-mounted tablet that allows for the driver to switch between modes. It's also worth pointing out that Ford has retained the two rear seats, just in case the kids want to come along for the tyre-shredding ride. The US car-making giant has teamed up with American tuning specialists RTR to create a one-off prototype version of its Mustang Mach-E (pictured right), which is an all-electric SUV that will be sold in the UK from next year Inside, there's a full roll cage and a dashboard-mounted tablet that allows for the driver to switch between modes An electronic handbrake has been replace with a manually operated one, to allow for bigger skids and powerslides (in the right hands, of course) Ford has retained the two rear seats, just in case the kids want to come along for the tyre-shredding ride It looks the part of the outside, too, with an aggressive body kit, exaggerated wheel arches and a massive rear diffuser and wing combination. The aerodynamic benefit is a claimed 1,000kg of downforce at a speed of 160mph - which we now assume the Mustang Mach-E 1400 is capable of. If so, it will be just 10mph slower than the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 dragster, which the car maker revealed in April of this year. 'Getting behind the wheel of this car has completely changed my perspective on what power and torque can be,' said Vaughn Gittin Jr, who has co-developed the vehicle Ford and American tuning specialists RTR have not only fitted an aggressive new body kit and front splitter but also fully-adjustable suspension and more potent Brembo brakes There's also an advanced steering system, which is also adjustable. This allows the driver to switch between settings for either track of drift modes Ford worked alongside pro-drifter Vaughn Gittin Jr, who owns RTR, to built the one-off car To show its potency, Ford released footage of the Mach-E 1400 up against a selection of highly-strung Mustangs, including the current Nascar stock car and pro-drifter-turned-rally-driver Ken Block's Hoonicorn RTR V2 conversion. Ron Heiser, chief programme engineer for Mustang Mach-E said the high-performance racer will help the brand to 'leverage electric technology, learn from it, and apply it to our portfolio', with Ford set to invest more than $11.5billion in zero-emission technology across global markets. 'Mustang Mach-E is going to be fun to drive, just like every other Mustang before it, but Mustang Mach-E 1400 is completely insane, thanks to the efforts of Ford Performance and RTR,,' Heiser added. We certainly agree that it will absolutely bonkers. Smoking: While the car might not produce any emissions, the burning rubber emits plenty of pollution Ford is set to invest more than $11.5billion in zero-emission technology across global markets in the coming years as it looks to move away from internal combustion engines The Mustang Mach-E 1400 is just 10mph slower than the Mustang Cobra Jet 1400 dragster, which the car maker revealed in April of this year Don't expect to see a Ford Mustang Mach-E 1400 parked alongside your car in a Tesco car park anytime soon - it is only a prototype built purely to show the capabilities of electric vehicle technology Its too early to know what three parliamentary committees will discover about the Trudeau governments decision to let WE Charity run a $912-million federal student volunteer program. But its not premature to conclude that the process that cooked up this bizarre plan was from the start deeply flawed and devoid of proper oversight. That all became clear when Youth Minister Bardish Chagger testified before the House of Commons finance committee last week. The Waterloo MP heads the department that is responsible for the program created to support young people who cant find summer employment during the COVID-19 pandemic. It was Chagger who in April passed on to cabinet the request to have WE Charity run the new program. And it was Chagger who, last week, passed the buck when it came to acknowledging her department had much more responsibility in the affair than to act like a well-paid official courier service. Whatever the programs merits, the tight relationship between Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and WE Charity has raised troubling questions as to why a private, international education and aid group was handed control of so much public money. Testifying before the Commons finance committee on Thursday, Chagger said: I was given a recommendation by the public service, I accepted the recommendation and I brought it forward to cabinet. In addition, although Chagger testified she had no conversations with anyone in the Prime Ministers Office about the program, she dodged questions about whether her aides discussed it with aides in the PMO. In hindsight, the problems with that public service recommendation are striking. It involved giving a sole-sourced contribution agreement worth nearly a billion dollars to an organization run by Trudeaus friends, Craig and Marc Kielburger, and which had paid Trudeaus mother and brother hundreds of thousands of dollars for speaking at its WE Day events. To top it off, Chagger said WE Charity could have received up to $43.2 million for administering the program. Trudeau has already apologized for not recusing himself from the cabinet decision to approve the agreement with WE Charity. As for the agreement with WE Charity, both the organization and the Liberal government decided to cancel it. The problem with Chaggers role in this melodrama is not so much what she did as what she apparently didnt do thoroughly vet the proposal. Why didnt she or one of her staff red-flag a proposal to hand control of so much money to a private organization? The federal civil service was already managing the disbursement of more than $160 billion for the Canada Emergency Relief Benefit and the Canada Emergency Wage Subsidy. The prime minister initially insisted only WE Charity had the know-how to manage the student volunteer program. The fact that the civil service now runs the program proves thats simply not so. Wasnt Chagger or one of her aides aware of the connections between Trudeau and WE Charity? Surely a cabinet ministers responsibility should go beyond simply passing on a civil servants recommendation. More rigorous intervention on the part of Chagger or her aides might well have helped Trudeau avoid making what he now admits was a big mistake and spared him from yet another embarrassing ethics investigation. That said, Chaggers behaviour seems consistent with a government where Trudeau, the Prime Ministers Office and a select group of inner-circle cabinet ministers rule the roost. They handle the tough calls and Trudeau likes it that way. Yet if thats so, perhaps instead of appointing so many cabinet ministers, Trudeau would be better advised to purchase a few more rubber stamps. A Pennsylvania legislator wants to bar out-of-state visitors from areas at Beltzville State Park, after large groups have converged on the Carbon County lake during the pandemic. With the current restrictions to businesses across the state, we need to ensure the lake and surrounding communities do not become a COVID hot spot, Rep. Doyle Heffley, R-Carbon, said in the letter Monday to Department of Conservation and Natural Resources Secretary Cindy Dunn. Heffley said social media posts and videos have shown large groups not following social distance guidelines, smoking marijuana and drinking, and swimming in restricted areas of the park. Members of the Facebook group called Beltzville State Park Concerned Citizens have posted photos of trash from the around the park, overrun parking areas and people swimming in the boat rental area, as well as vehicles with out-of-state license plates. On Saturday, a group handed out trash bags to visitors to help stem the trash and litter that has become a growing problem at the park, WFMZ reported. DCNR spokesman Terry Brady said the department received the letter on Tuesday and will review the recommendations. Brady noted the department is working on more dual-language parking signs and cracking down on parking enforcement. They are also looking at adding berm and fencing to limit parking in areas, and placing baffles in areas to deter swimming. With many municipal pools closed during the pandemic, and state park swimming beaches and pools limited to 75 percent capacity, Beltzville has had capacity-forced closures this summer, especially around the holiday weekends. Non-residents should be prohibited from the swimming area, day use recreation area and hiking trails, Heffley proposed. Out-of-state residents would still be allowed to boat and fish. It makes no sense to restrict businesses from safely operating across the Commonwealth only to allow this lawlessness on our state-owned properties, Heffley wrote. This letter is going to DCNR Secretary Cindy Dunn. We're calling on the department to address the COVID-19 safety... Posted by PA State Rep. Doyle Heffley on Monday, July 20, 2020 Please subscribe now and support the local journalism YOU rely on and trust. Sarah Cassi may be reached at scassi@lehighvalleylive.com. Tougher border restrictions are now in place for people wanting to enter NSW from Victoria, including a border zone set up along the Murray River as COVID-19 cases continue to rise across the state. The new restrictions began at midnight with cross-border travel only permitted for work, education, medical care, supplies or health services. Among the changed permit requirements, staff or students of boarding schools or universities must self-isolate for two weeks and obtain a negative swab before attending school. Seasonal workers from Victoria are banned from entering NSW. Tougher border restrictions are now in place for people wanting to enter NSW from Victoria, including a border zone set up along the Murray River. Pictured: Police in the southern NSW border city of Albury check cars crossing the state border The new restrictions began at midnight with cross-border travel only permitted for work, education, medical care, supplies or health services A sign displays COVID-19 restrictions in the NSW-Victoria border town of Albury Transport Workers Union of NSW secretary Richard Olsen said the cancellation of previous travel permits and the need to reapply had caused 'confusion, anxiety and angst' in the transport industry on Tuesday night. 'Drivers are already under pressure, with the squeeze on the transport industry as a critical service during this pandemic,' Mr Olsen said in a statement. 'The NSW government must do better and allow for drivers to plan ahead so they can continue the provision of an essential critical service.' The tough changes come amid fears an emerging second wave of COVID-19 in NSW could result in Queensland declaring more hotspots and denying entry to more people from the state. Queensland has declared the whole state of Victoria a hotspot, as well as the Liverpool and Campbelltown areas near a popular pub in southwestern Sydney which is linked to about 50 cases. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk says her government is looking at blacklisting even more areas in NSW. 'I had a preliminary discussion yesterday with the deputy premier and also the chief health officer,' she told reporters on Tuesday. Among the changed permit requirements, staff or students of boarding schools or universities must self-isolate for two weeks and obtain a negative swab before attending school. Pictured: the Albury checkpoint A NSW Police officer checks a driver's permit as he crosses from Victoria into New South Wales 'We're going to look at what happens in NSW today, but we are considering adding further hotspots at this stage,' she said. The placement of checkpoints along the Queensland-NSW border remains a sore point for both premiers, with neither prepared to concede ground. Ms Palaszczuk wants the border moved south to the Tweed River to resolve traffic congestion in Tweed Heads and Coolangatta where locals have been blocked in their driveways. 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 NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian says, if anything, checkpoints should move further into Queensland. NSW recorded 13 new COVID-19 cases from almost 16,000 tests in the 24 hours to 8pm on Monday, including 10 people associated with an outbreak at the Thai Rock Restaurant in Stockland Mall at Wetherill Park. Another two new cases were associated with the Crossroads Hotel cluster in Casula, which has risen to 50 cases. NSW Health is urging anyone who visited the Salamander Bay Shopping Centre on July 15 to watch for COVID-19 symptoms following a confirmed case in the Port Stephens area. The new case is a man in his 60s, who was infected by a visitor from Sydney. The Sydney contact also visited the Windsor Castle Hotel in East Maitland between 6pm and 8pm on July 13. Premier Gladys Berejiklian says she won't yet follow Victoria's lead in enforcing mask use in public but urges people to wear masks when social distancing isn't possible. Japan on Tuesday raised its travel advisory for Palestine and 16 countries, including Nepal, Kenya and Venezuela, warning against going to them amid concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus. Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi said the areas are now at Level 3, bringing the total number of countries and regions at the second-highest level on the Foreign Ministry's four-point scale for infectious diseases to 146. The other newly added areas are Botswana, the Comoros, Liberia, Libya, Madagascar, Namibia, Paraguay, the Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, Suriname and Uzbekistan. They are expected to be added to a list of countries and regions subject to an entry ban for foreign travelers after discussion by the National Security Council. "We are seeing a resurgence of infections in the United States, and it is continuing to spread in South America and Africa," Motegi told a press conference. International travel to and from Japan has slowed to a trickle due to border controls imposed to slow the spread of COVID-19, the respiratory disease caused by the coronavirus. The numbers of foreign visitors and outbound Japanese nationals have both plunged more than 99 percent in recent months compared to a year earlier. The United States, China and all of Europe are among the 129 countries and regions already covered by the entry ban, which applies to foreign nationals who have been to any of the areas within two weeks of arriving in Japan. Reaching fair and functional taxation - illustration photo By Ben Dickinson - Head of Global Relations and Development Division OECD Centre for Tax Policy and Administration In 2017, Vietnam became the 100th member of the Inclusive Framework on Base Erosion and Profit Shifting (BEPS), an international coalition of countries hosted by the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) working together to tackle international tax avoidance by multinational enterprises. By joining the framework, Vietnam has signalled not only its commitment to international co-operation and the implementation of international tax norms but also its ambition to improve domestic resource mobilisation to enable further investments in public infrastructure and the provision of public services to its citizens. Given Vietnams reliance on corporate income tax, this is an important opportunity. As part of this process, the General Department of Taxation has been working intensively to build capacity on international tax matters, with help from the OECD. Vietnam has been closely involved in the international discussions on addressing the tax challenges of the digitalisation of the global economy. The international tax rules, developed in a brick and mortar era, are being updated to keep up with the changes in information and communication technologies. For instance, the current tax rules are based on physical presence, yet today, a foreign company may have significant involvement in Vietnams economic life solely through virtual channels. New rules are being debated to ensure all jurisdictions retain appropriate rights to tax the profits of multinationals where value is created while ensuring a greater level of tax certainty for business. With its relatively open economy, such topics are particularly relevant for Vietnam. The discussions are now at a critical stage, and more time may be needed to secure full agreement on all aspects, but all 137 countries involved in the OECD-hosted Inclusive Framework on BEPS are committed to finding a multilateral solution. The alternative of a plethora of unilateral uncoordinated tax measures and retaliatory actions could lead to costly trade wars exactly what the global economy does not need as countries try to recover from the current pandemic. Acknowledging the importance of transparency to support effective taxation and a level playing field for all, Vietnam joined the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes (the Global Forum) in late 2019. The Global Forum is the worlds largest tax body, focused on the implementation of the exchange of information standards. As a Global Forum member, Vietnam sends the message to the world that it is aligned with the highest tax and transparency standards, leaving no space for tax evasion or avoidance. Tax authorities worldwide are already seeing the benefits of greater transparency with data exchanged on 84 million financial accounts held offshore amounting to 10 trillion ($11.27 trillion) in 2019, and a 24 per cent ($410 billion) reduction in foreign-owned bank deposits in international financial centres between 2008 and 2019. Fair and effective taxation of multinational enterprises will be critical as all governments strive to rebuild their fiscal positions following the COVID-19 crisis. While Vietnam has handled the crisis admirably, there will inevitably be a need to rebuild fiscal positions and fund investment in public infrastructure, including in healthcare, once the recovery is underway. Following the recent elections for the People's Assembly, Russia has refrained from heaping praise on the process, suggesting they were unhappy with Iranian influence writes Asharq Al-Awsat. Russian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Maria Zakharova said in a recent press conference that the Syrian parliamentary elections are important to ensure the normal functioning of all institutional authority and maintain stability in the country. However, Zakharova added that any other comment will be released after the elections, a statement wildly ignored by Syrian media coverage. This prompted the Russian newspaper Zavtra to comment on the matter in a lengthy article saying Zakharovas statement was misinterpreted to suggest Russia supported holding the elections at this time and in these difficult circumstances. Notably, Russian officials also avoided announcing a clear position on the preparations for the polls, knowing that since its direct military intervention at the end of September 2015, Moscow never ignored a major event taking place in Syria. However, Russian sources indicated that Moscow may have worked quietly to improve the elections by influencing a number of Iran-affiliates or figures who were mentioned on international sanctions lists to withdraw their nomination. Russias connection to the pre-election withdrawals cannot be confirmed, but if true, it is an indication that Moscow is dissatisfied with the mechanism for preparing these elections, as well as their expected results. Former diplomat Rami al-Shaer indicated that the majority of the Syrian people do not care at all about holding parliamentary elections in this way, especially amid the current situation. He indicated that most of them have lost trust in the regime rejected by Syrian people and the international community alike. Shaer saw that the regime was trying to ignore what Russia has accomplished with its two allies during the Astana talks, and to circumvent the implementation of Security Council Resolution No. 2254 through its parliamentary elections. He noted that the regime also aimed to hold the presidential elections in the same way and remain in power, which will not happen. It is worth mentioning that a number of media outlets believe that the elections were a political step to avoid international resolutions. Yet, some went further by saying the elections were not legitimate because of the low turnout, which did not exceed 10 percent of the total number of voters, indicating the disapproval of Syrians. They also warned that parliamentary or presidential elections would not be legitimate without the constitutional amendments to be discussed by the Constitutional Committee at the end of the next month. Meanwhile, a number of figures that were skeptical about the elections and the regimes intentions, have warned against the regimes intransigence and its policy of imposing the fait accompli and adhering to it. Some even say that in order to change the situation in Syria, the international community is discussing another mechanism aside from the current system and norms that are strongly adhered to in order to maintain sovereignty. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. mike pompeo boris johnson xi jinping china Getty China's UK ambassador has said Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government will "bear the consequences" if it does not stop interfering in China's affairs. The warning came after the UK said it would not extradite anyone to Hong Kong after China imposed a strict security law there. Tensions between Beijing and London have increased dramatically in recent weeks amid tussles over Huawei and Hong Kong. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in London on Tuesday with plans to press the UK to take further action against China. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. The UK will "bear the consequences" for scrapping its extradition treaty with Hong Kong, China's ambassador has said, adding that Prime Minister Boris Johnson's government had "contravened international law and the basic norms governing international relations." Dominic Raab, the UK's foreign secretary, on Monday said the UK would no longer extradite anyone to Hong Kong after China imposed a contested security law there which has already seen hundreds of pro-democracy protesters arrested. He also said the UK would stop selling arms to Hong Kong. Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming responded by saying the UK had "blatantly interfered in China's internal affairs" and threatened unspecified consequences. Chinese Communist Party officials indicated last week that Beijing could respond by placing economic sanctions on British firms which operate in China, including Jaguar Land Rover and GlaxoSmithKline. The escalation in tensions came as US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo arrived in London to discuss issues including how to counter China's growing economic and diplomatic power. Last week Johnson said he would ban Huawei equipment from the UK's 5G network amid concerns that the tech giant shares information with the Chinese state. Johnson has also angered China by offering visas to 3 million Hong Kong residents amid concerns over the new security law. Story continues "We welcome news that the UK will prohibit new purchases of 5G equipment from Huawei and phase out existing Huawei equipment from its 5G telecommunications networks," the US State Department said in a statement about Pompeo's visit to London. "The UK made this important decision to protect its national security interests, just as countries around the world are doing," it added. "Allowing untrusted, high-risk vendors, such as Huawei, into any part of 5G networks makes critical systems vulnerable to disruption, manipulation, and espionage, and puts sensitive government, commercial, and personal information at risk." Read the original article on Business Insider The United States has declared it is Australia's most important economic partner as it reinforces the benefits of the relationship between the two countries amid escalating tensions with China. The US embassy in Australia released a report by Deloitte Access Economics on Tuesday that found its direct trade and investment contributed more than $130 billion to the Australian economy last year, or 7 per cent of GDP. The US ambassador to Australia, Arthur Culvahouse jnr, said some trading relationships came with "hidden costs". Credit:Alex Ellinghausen While China remains Australia's biggest trading partner, the US was the biggest source of foreign investment in Australia. The US accounted for more than a quarter of all foreign investment and invested 40 per cent more in Australia than it did in China. The US was "proud to be Australia's most important economic partner", US ambassador to Australia Arthur Culvahouse jnr said in the forward to the report. WASHINGTON - Members of Congress joined advocates for women Tuesday to continue the call for changes in the way the military handles sexual abuse and harassment following the death of a soldier investigators believe was killed and dismembered by someone stationed at the same Texas base. Three congresswomen joined about a dozen other women on Capitol Hill to demand systemic shifts in military culture. Many held signs bearing the name Spc. Vanessa Guillen, whose remains were found earlier this month following her disappearance in April from Fort Hood, a U.S. Army base in Texas. Some signs held at a press conference calling for action included the Mexican flag and the hashtag #NiUnaMas, meaning not one more woman dead, a rallying cry in Mexico against the murder of women. Guillens family has said she was sexually harassed by the fellow solider suspected of killing her, but the Army has said there is no evidence of that. (Vanessa) felt so unsafe that going to them to make any kind of report that she shared with her family and her friends, any kind of report, she knew that she may receive harassment or retaliation, Rep. Sylvia Garcia, D-Texas, said during a news conference. Rep. Julia Brownley, D-Calif., said that at least one in four women veterans has been sexually harassed or assaulted, noting that the numbers could be higher. That is far, far too many, but I have to say that this statistic alone, it is staggering. It horrifies me, Brownley said. And it is a very deep scar in our militarys history that needs to change, and it needs to change now. Guillens body was found in Bell County, about 20 miles (32 kilometres) east of Fort Hood. Investigators say the 20-year-old was bludgeoned to death. A criminal complaint released by the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Texas identified the soldier suspected in Guillens slaying as Aaron David Robinson, of Calumet City, Illinois. Authorities said Robinson, 20, pulled a gun and shot himself as police were trying to make contact with him during the investigation on July 1. Cecily Aguilar, a 22-year-old civilian from Killeen, Texas, near Fort Hood, has been arrested in connection to Guillens death. She is facing three counts of conspiracy to tamper with evidence. She has pleaded not guilty to all charges. Robinson enlisted Aguilar to help him dispose of Guillens body, according to the complaint. The Army CID and the League of United Latin American Citizens offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to Guillens whereabouts. Army officials recently announced that it will begin a review of the command climate at Fort Hood following calls by members of Congress and community activists. A Florida sheriff on Monday said his department was offering a $30,000 reward for any vital information related to the massacre of three Polk County residents. The award would be paid in cash and would not have taxes. Polk County Sheriff Grady Judd said his department had received hundreds of tips. Some were promising, while others were ridiculous. He noted most of the tips came after the case generated public interest, as reported by Fox News. Polk County Murder Scene The move came after law enforcement officers found a brutal murder scene they said was one of the worst. The victims were identified as Damion Tillman, 23, Keven Springfield, 30, and Brandon Rollins, 27. The horrific killings shocked the city of Frostproof, Florida that housed 3,200 residents. According to Judd, the victims were found on a remote dirt road near cow pastures. They were allegedly on a catfishing trip when they were beaten and shot to death. A preliminary investigation found that Rollins called his father on his cellphone and said, "Help." The father, who knew his son and two friends were fishing, drove to Lake Streety Road. When he arrived at the scene, Rollins was barely alive. Judd said the victim was able to say a few words to his father before he died. However, the department has yet to release information on what those words could be. Investigations showed the 23-year-old Tillman arrived first in his red pickup truck. The victim was immediately attacked. Rollins and Springfield came moments later in a white pickup, while Tillman was being killed. Both victims were also shot, The Ledger reported. Calling for Help Rollins' father arrived at the scene shortly after the attack. Upon seeing his son's condition, he drove to the nearest convenience store, where he phoned 911. "In Brandon's father's excitement to run to help his son, he forgot his cellphone at home," the sheriff said. The 17-year-old daughter of the convenience store owner accompanied Rollins' father back to Lake Streety Road. By the time they arrived, Rollins was already dead. The police interviewed people, who lived near the murder scene. They said the area near the lake often served as a party location for locals on Friday and Saturday nights. The police ruled out robbery after they found valuable items inside the victims' vehicles. They also said there were no signs of a drug deal gone south or domestic violence, The New York Times reported. Judd only allowed a few details to be released to the public. He is urging anyone with information about the killings that could help their investigation to contact the Polk County Sheriff's Office at 863-298-6200. Any information that leads to the arrest of the suspects responsible for the crime would be rewarded with cash. The Heartland Crime Stoppers will also give a $5,000 cash reward for any information about the crime. Call them at 800-226-TIPS (8477). You can also submit a tip by visiting heartlandcrimestoppers.com. Want to read more? Promising results from trials of three potential coronavirus vaccines have raised hopes in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, which has killed more than 600,000 people and crushed economies globally. Early-stage clinical trials of AZD1222, a closely-watched experimental vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and scientists at Oxford University in the United Kingdom, induced robust immune responses in participants without any serious side-effects, according to results published in The Lancet medical journal on Monday. The Oxford vaccine is one of 150 in development globally, but is considered the most advanced. US drugmaker Pfizer and Chinas CanSino Biologics also reported positive responses for their candidates on Monday The World Health Organization (WHO) has said any viable vaccine must be made available to everyone. Below, we take a look at the latest developments in the global vaccine race. What is AZD1222? The AZD1222 vaccine has been adapted from a common cold virus found in chimpanzees, with spike glycoprotein, a genetic material from the new coronavirus, added to it. It uses the modified virus to deliver genetic instructions to cells to induce an immune response against the novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19. Between April and May, a total of 1,077 healthy male and female adults between the age of 18 and 55 in five UK centres took part in the randomised and controlled Phase I and II trials of the experimental vaccine. The participants were each given one dose and followed for about a month. Ten of them were given a second dose after 28 days. What did the results show? In its Phase I trial, the vaccine induced so-called neutralising antibodies the kind that stop the virus from infecting cells in 91 percent of individuals one month after they got one dose, and in all 10 subjects who got a second dose after 28 days, echoing a similar trial in pigs. These levels were on par with the antibodies produced by people who had survived a COVID-19 infection a key benchmark of potential success. Oxford lead researcher Sarah Gilbert said the trial could not determine whether one or two doses would be needed to provide immunity. The vaccine also induced the body to make T cells activating a second part of the immune system that experts increasingly believe will be important for a lasting immune response. What is the reaction? While welcoming the early results, the scientific community also urged caution, with some predicting it would take until the middle of next year to find out if the vaccine actually works. Andrew Pollard, chief investigator of the Oxford study, said they were at an important milestone in the anti-coronavirus efforts but added the researchers were now moving rapidly forwards to try to evaluate whether the vaccine actually protects the population by conducting large-scale trials. 200708074710108 Mene Pangalos, AstraZenecas research chief, said in a statement that Mondays data increases our confidence that the vaccine will work and allows us to continue our plans to manufacture the vaccine at scale for broad and equitable access around the world. Mike Ryan, head of emergencies at the WHO, praised the good news from the results, but warned: Theres a long way to go. UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government has helped to fund the project, hailed the announcement as very positive news. What next? Before a vaccine can be approved for mass production and global distribution, it has to go through three stages, sometimes four, of clinical trials in humans. Provoking an immune reaction is the first part of vaccine development. The Phase III trials, already under way in the UK, South Africa and Brazil, are looking at the optimal dosage and how much protection vaccinated people have when actually exposed to the coronavirus. The late-stage trials are also due to start in the United States, where prevalence is higher. Theres still a long way to go, Gilbert, the Oxford researcher, said. We still need to see how the vaccine performs in older people, who are more risk of severe disease than the people weve vaccinated in this study, she said. So thats the subject of future work, and therell be more publications to come. Wafaa el-Sadr, professor of epidemiology and medicine at Columbia University, told Al Jazeera a timeline of six months would likely determine if the vaccine is safe and effective for mass production. AstraZeneca has signed agreements with governments around the world to supply the vaccine, should it gain regulatory approval. It has signed deals to produce and supply more than two billion doses of the shot, with 300 million doses earmarked for the US. What other vaccines are being developed? More than 150 other vaccines against COVID-19 are being developed around the world. 200603060930044 New data released on Monday showed that a candidate developed by CanSino Biologics Inc and Chinas military research unit appeared to be safe and induced an immune response in most of the 508 healthy volunteers aged 18 to 83 who received one dose of the vaccine. Some 77 percent of study volunteers experienced fever, fatigue, headache or pain at the injection site, side-effects not considered to be serious. Results of another, smaller study in Germany of a different type of vaccine that uses ribonucleic acid (RNA) a chemical messenger that contains instructions for making proteins were also released by German biotech company BioNTech and Pfizer. In the study of 60 healthy adults, which was not peer-reviewed, the vaccine induced virus-neutralising antibodies in those given two doses, a result that was in line with a previous early-stage US trial. While the pace of the global vaccine race has been unprecedented, experts caution that producing enough doses of a successful candidate may be as difficult as developing the candidate in the first place. By David Morgan and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers in Congress laid out their priorities for new coronavirus legislation on Monday, while Democrats warned that any partisan Republican measure would be met by unified opposition. In a meeting at the White House, Republican legislators and administration officials said they were making progress toward a $1 trillion legislative package focusing on businesses, schools and healthcare. 'If you're looking for a theme here, it's livelihood protection for those who are trying to deal with the pandemic -- people already struggling to keep kids in school, jobs and healthcare,' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters in the Oval Office By David Morgan and Steve Holland WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Donald Trump and Republican lawmakers in Congress laid out their priorities for new coronavirus legislation on Monday, while Democrats warned that any partisan Republican measure would be met by unified opposition. In a meeting at the White House, Republican legislators and administration officials said they were making progress toward a $1 trillion legislative package focusing on businesses, schools and healthcare. "If you're looking for a theme here, it's livelihood protection for those who are trying to deal with the pandemic -- people already struggling to keep kids in school, jobs and healthcare," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell told reporters in the Oval Office. The Republican-controlled Senate and Democratic-led House of Representatives have less than two weeks to hammer out a new relief package before enhanced unemployment benefits run out for tens of millions of American workers made jobless by the COVID-19 pandemic. McConnell is expected to unveil legislation in coming days, and Trump told reporters there has been "a lot of progress" toward a bill. "We're working and negotiating with the Democrats and trying to get a plan that helps small business, helps people, helps this country," Trump said. But McConnell has yet to engage in bipartisan negotiations, a Senate Democratic aide said. Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer warned that his party was prepared to stymie any effort by Republicans to bring partisan legislation to the floor of the chamber. Similar partisan standoffs preceded the last coronavirus bills. "We will stand together again if we must," Schumer said in a letter to his Democratic colleagues. "A bipartisan, bicameral process will result in a much better bill for the American people." Congress has so far passed legislation committing $3 trillion to the crisis. In the more than 12 weeks since Trump signed the last response into law, the number of U.S. coronavirus cases has more than tripled to over 3.7 million. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who led previous coronavirus bill negotiations with Congress, said on Monday that he intended to "focus on starting with another trillion dollars. We think that will have a big impact." But Democrats have pledged to fight for legislation akin to the $3 trillion bill that the House approved in mid-May, which provides hundreds of billions of dollars in assistance for state and local governments, extends enhanced unemployment insurance and provides new direct payments to individuals and families. The prospect for new legislation was upstaged over the weekend by White House efforts to eliminate billion of dollars of money intended for testing and tracing, in a bid to gain control of the virus's spread. Word of the move has sparked anger among Democrats and Republicans alike. "That goes beyond ignorance. It's just beyond the pale. Hopefully, it was a mistake and they'll back off it, because it is so very wrong," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi told MSNBC. (Reporting by Doina Chiacu, Katanga Johnson, David Morgan, and Steve Holland; Editing by Scott Malone and Jonathan Oatis) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. A young offender stabbed another teenager to death at a community centre with a 10-inch Rambo knife while on a knife awareness course, a court has heard. The 17-year-old, who cannot be named for legal reasons, knifed Hakim Sillah, 18, twice in the chest in a 'rapid sequence of infliction' at the west London centre in November last year. Michelle Nelson QC, prosecuting, said: 'There is a cruel irony in this case that Hakim Sillah was stabbed while he was attending a weapons awareness training course. Hakim Sillah, 18, pictured, was stabbed twice with a ten-inch blade while attending a knife awareness course in West London 'The course was for young offenders, those aged under 18 with a previous offence related to weapons.' Ms Nelson said that all participants at the centre had been risk assessed before the session, which was run by the Youth Offending Teams (YOTS), and that 'those classified as high risk were precluded from attending'. 'Both the young men must have been risk assessed, but the sad reality is that both attended that course carrying knives,' she said. Isleworth Crown Court heard on Tuesday that Mr Sillah was stabbed twice in the chest and had defensive injuries on his hands from trying to take control of the blade. 'He was in a very bad way,' said Ms Nelson. 'So much so, that despite medical intervention by the emergency services at about 4.47pm...it was clear he was not going to survive without immediate surgery.' Mr Sillah was taken to the Hillingdon hospital, but died at 5.30pm on November 7. Ms Nelson said the pathologist found that the proximity of the two chest wounds was 'consistent with a rapid sequence of infliction' and indicated the use of 'substantial force'. Isleworth Crown Court heard Ms Sillah was suffered a four-inch stab wound which punctured his lung The court heard how the second stab punctured and collapsed Mr Sillah's lung. Members of Mr Sillah's family attended court in person and were visibly upset throughout the proceedings. Ms Nelson said that a 'sheathed Rambo knife' had been recovered three days after the incident in an area of woodland close to the defendant's home. She added that the defendant's blood and DNA was found on the weapon and that DNA from the victim was also present. 'There is no doubt that those injuries were inflicted by this defendant, who at the time and now is 17 years of age,' said Ms Nelson. 'That defendant does not dispute killing Hakim Sillah, nor could he. 'He says he did not intend to kill or to cause really serious harm and told the police in his caution interview that he had acted in lawful self-defence...[he] had intended to stab Hakim Sillah in the arm, but he moved. 'The prosecution say the defendant took a deliberate decision to stab the deceased to the chest twice, we say, lawful self-defence does not arise.' The teenager has denied murder as well as two counts of wounding with intent and one count of unlawful wounding. The trial continues. New Delhi, July 21 : Alluding to the emerging evidence, Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) chief Shekhar C. Mande has asserted that airborne transmission of COVID-19 is indeed a "distinct possibility" and advised people to wear masks even in enclosed spaces. His remarks came days after the World Health Organization acknowledged the emerging evidence of airborne spread of the novel coronavirus. In a blogpost on CSIR's website, Mande referred to findings of various studies and wrote, "All these emerging evidences and arguments suggest that indeed airborne transmission of SARS-CoV-2 is a distinct possibility." The CSIR chief advised people to avoid large crowded gatherings, keep enclosed places like workplaces well-ventilated and wear masks even in enclosed spaces. "In open spaces, the small-sized droplets get dissipated in the air very quickly. Moreover, emerging evidence also suggests that the encapsulated virus in such droplets also gets inactivated by sunlight. However, the concentration of virion-encapsulated droplets is likely to be higher in places that are not well ventilated," he said substantiating his claims. Earlier this month, the WHO had acknowledged the emerging evidence of airborne spread after an open letter by over 200 scientists outlined evidence that showed floating virus particles can infect people who breathe them in. For months, the WHO had insisted that Covid-19 is transmitted via droplets emitted when people cough or sneeze. Droplets that do not linger in the air, but fall onto surfaces - that's why handwashing has been identified as a key prevention measure. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Prince Andrew and his team were 'happy' after the disastrous Newsnight interview that led to his mother the Queen effectively sacking him from royal duties less than a week later, it was revealed today. BBC presenter Emily Maitlis, who interviewed the Duke of York at Buckingham Palace, has revealed that it was only after the public reacted with fury and incredulity to his performance that his aides began to worry. Ms Maitlis spoke to the Radio Times after the interview was nominated in the news category and said: 'We know that the Palace was happy with the interview. We had plenty of engagement with them after it went out. I think their shock was not at the interview itself, but the reaction it caused in the days and weeks afterwards'. Andrew, whose daughter Beatrice married secretly last Friday, claimed he could not have had sex with Jeffrey Epstein's alleged sex slave Virginia Roberts in 2001 because he was out with his daughter at Pizza Express in Woking. Emily Maitlis interviews Prince Andrew last November in a bombshell Newsnight that would end the Duke of York's royal career Ms Maitlis has said that Palace officials were 'happy' about the interview where Andrew denied regretting being friends with Epstein, a paedophile 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. He said in the BBC interview that this photo may have been fake He also said a medical condition after being shot at during the Falklands War left him unable to sweat because Miss Roberts, who was 17 at the time, claimed that they danced together and he had been 'sweating profusely'. The prince also said he doesn't even remember meeting her, despite the existence of a photograph showing him with his arm around the teenager's bare waist alongside Epstein's girlfriend and alleged 'madame' Ghislaine Maxwell, a friend of his. He suggested the picture could have been faked. Controversially he said he did not regret his friendship with Epstein because of 'the opportunities I was given to learn' from him about trade and business - and showed no sympathy for his victims. He also revealed he believed he been acting 'honourably' in flying to New York to tell Epstein personally that he could no longer have anything to do with him, although admitted that 'in hindsight' this had been a mistake. Ms Maitlis has said she only realised the significance of her interview with the Duke of York after watching the footage. The Andrew interview, in which he was grilled over his relationship with billionaire sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, won scoop of the year at the Royal Television Society Awards while the BBC's flagship current affairs show was also named daily news programme of the year. Prince Andrew (pictured during his BBC Newsnight interview last year) is under increasing pressure to give evidence to the FBI about Jeffrey Epstei 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 Maitlis told Radio Times magazine the 'penny dropped' about the importance of the interview in the editing suite with her programme's editor, Esme Wren. She said: 'We'd assumed that he'd want to show empathy to the victims or pin the blame on Jeffrey Epstein. We couldn't understand why he hadn't done that. We definitely thought he'd be spikier...' The interview had been a year in the planning and Maitlis said they could have opted for a shorter interview but held out for something more comprehensive. She said within a few minutes of the interview beginning, she knew they had something 'explosive', adding: 'First, he was tackling the subject matter head on. 'Secondly, the lack of apology or any real expression of regret told me that the prince still believed that his actions had broadly been the right ones. 'And thirdly, the level of detail was unlike anything I was expecting.' Maitlis's interview with Andrew has earned Newsnight a nomination in the news coverage category at this year's Bafta Television Awards. The fallout from the interview saw the duke withdraw from public duties after he was widely criticised for failing to show remorse for his friendship with Epstein, and little empathy with the sex offender's alleged victims. He has also been urged to come forward and be interviewed about his friendship with Epstein, calls that were renewed after his friend Ghislaine Maxwell appeared in court accused of facilitating Epstein's sexual exploitation of underage girls. The duke's legal team has stressed he has made three offers to help US prosecutors. As you might expect, hiring teachers in the time of COVID-19 looks a bit different than the pre-pandemic approach, with applicants creating online videos and attending virtual job fairs. The new approach includes some advantages for job applicants, say administrators at Pasadena Independent School District, which still needs to hire about 40 teachers before school starts Aug. 18. We discovered doing the virtual job fair isnt a bad system, said Toni Lopez, associate superintendent for human resources for the district, which has an enrollment of approximately 52,000. It increased access for potential teachers to reach principals as opposed to a regular job fair where you might only talk to someone for a few minutes. At the same time, the district has approved hiring more custodians for a focused effort to keep schools clean and virus-free. All teachers will be on-campus In a video message on the districts website, Superintendent DeeAnn Powell made it clear all teachers will be on-campus daily to either teach virtually or in-person with students. Lopez said, knowing this, she was a bit nervous about how hiring would go, but so far she said Pasadena is on track to bring on the personnel it needs to start the school year. Weve had a couple of teachers who have retired and one of their deciding factors was COVID, but were not seeing people leaving in droves because of it, she said. I thought we would lose more people, but a larger percentage are coming back. Lopez suspects instability in the economy and job market has kept many teachers from looking elsewhere. Teachers were asked to submit a two-minute video as part of their job application. Lopez said principals could take their time watching the videos, many of which feature teachers showing off their imaginative sides, some even showcasing PowerPoint presentations or creatively demonstrating how they might put together student lessons. Some of them really impressed the principals, Lopez said. The district is offering parents the choice to have their children learn virtually from a remote location or face-to-face on campus. Weve expressed to teachers they need to be prepared to go online at any point in time, Lopez said. Theyve got to set up their classroom and materials in a way to pivot at any moment because we dont know what might happen. We dont even have data yet about how many kids will come back to campus. Even students who choose to attend school on campus will work with the districts four virtual platforms Seesaw, Schoolology, Google Classroom and Summit Learning. Powell said this will prepare students to quickly transition to full-time virtual instruction if public health conditions make it necessary. In her address, Powell was candid about potential issues facing teachers, administrators, students and parents this coming school year. These are challenging times and were going to continue to face challenges as we navigate the COVID pandemic, she said. Keeping everyone safe Trustees recently approved hiring more custodians to ensure school facilities are as clean and virus-free as possible. Additionally, Lopez said she and other district leaders are listening to teachers and other employees health and safety concerns and will make adjustments as is feasible. Everything is a concern now and our top priority is keeping everyone safe; so we make decisions based on that, she said. Daily we are talking with employees, especially those who have certain medical conditions, and we try to work with them to find out what they need and provide that if we can. Were looking at accommodations on an individual basis and making determinations on what is reasonable and not reasonable for us to do. In speaking with employees, Lopez said she and others in leadership have heard a range of feelings when it comes to returning to campus and the classroom. Weve heard everything from Put me back in the classroom to those who have serious concerns about even being in the building. So, some teachers may strictly be teaching virtually. For more information about Pasadena ISDs two school options for the upcoming year, go to www1.pasadena.org and view the pop-up video and links provided on the homepage. You can access the districts learning format survey at https://bit.ly/2ZQCwnj. India had asked France to speed-up the deliveries of the Rafale fighters New Delhi: India will receive five Rafale fighter jets by the end of July 2020, said Indian Air Force on Monday. The aircraft will be inducted at Air Force Station Ambala on 29 July subject to weather. No media coverage is planned on arrival, said IAF in a statement. It said that the final induction ceremony will take place in the second half of August 20. IAF aircrew and ground crew have undergone comprehensive training on the aircraft, including its highly advanced weapons systems and are fully operational now. Post arrival, efforts will focus on operationalisation of the aircraft at the earliest, said IAF. India had asked France to speed-up the deliveries of the Rafale fighters. According to the original plan, 4 Rafale jets were to arrive in India by July end. Rafale jets will give India an edge over China and Pakistan as they will be armed with the most advanced beyond visual range Meteor air-to-air missiles which have a range of upto 150 kilometers. Meteor has the ability to chase down and destroy agile hostile fighters at even the furthest of ranges and has a no-escape zone many times greater than any other air-to-air missile. Both Pakistan and China Air Force dont have a missile to counter it. These Meteor air-to-air missiles will prove deadly during a dogfight. Rafale fighters will also be armed with Scalp cruise air to surface missiles, which have a range of over 300 kilometers. IAFs Rafale will also be equipped with MICA missile, which has two interoperable seekers (active radar and imaging infrared) to cover the spectrum from close-in dogfight to long beyond visual range. Its ability to fly out to BVR in passive mode before the seeker locks on in the final stages of the end game has earned it the nickname silent killer as the target has little time to react or to deploy effective countermeasures. In 2016, India had signed a Rs 59,000 crore deal for 36 Rafales which will be based in Ambala and Hasimara (West Bengal) air bases. Meanwhile, IAF said that Air Force Commanders Conference (AFCC) will be conducted from 22-24 July at Air Headquarters (Vayu Bhawan) New Delhi. The theme of the conference is "IAF in the Next Decade". Defence minister Rajnath Singh is likely inaugurate the AFCC on 22 July. The defence secretary and secretary defence production are also expected to be present during the inauguration. The conference will take stock of the current operational scenario and deployments. The plan of action for operational capability enhancement of the IAF in the next decade will also be discussed, said the statement. Advertisement A pilot has again shared photos of Area 51 and other top secret installations on the Nevada Test and Training Range after receiving permission to fly through highly restricted airspace -- and a large new hangar spotted during his April flyby now appears to be gone. Gabriel Zeifman took the images earlier this month while flying in his Cessna 150 right along the border of 'The Box', a term for the no-go zone surrounding Area 51 within the larger restricted airspace of Nellis Air Force Range in Nevada. Zeifman received permission from air traffic controllers to pass through Nellis Range airspace because it was 'cold', meaning no military flights were taking place. This is the third time since April that Zeifman, a trained air traffic controller, has released images of Groom Lake, the highly classified Air Force facility more commonly known as Area 51. Slide me A huge hangar that was seen under construction in April (left, left side of frame) appeared to be gone by July (right) In this picture from April, a large new hangar appeared to be under construction, with tarps or canvas covering part of the roof. Many speculated about its intended purpose, but the structure was gone by early July Area 51 is seen from the north in new photos of the facility taken by pilot Gabriel Zeifman in late May Few outsiders have ever gotten a glimpse of Area 51 with their own eyes, but Zeifman is the rare exception Another view of Area 51 from the east is seen from Zeifman's flyby past the facility in early July Video released by Zeifman shows Nellis ATC warning him not to enter The Box but allowing him to fly directly alongside the truly restricted border. Even from outside of Area 51 airspace, Zeifman was able to catch a glimpse of the secretive Air Force facility, which has long been the focus of unconfirmed rumors about testing on extraterrestrial technology. Zeifman's new images, shot in late May and early July, show that a massive new hangar that was under construction in April now appears to have been taken down. It's possible that the structure was only a temporary frame covered with canvas, intended for short-term use. The new photos also show what appears to be ongoing construction work moving earth at the southwest corner of the facility. The new photos also show what appears to be ongoing construction work (far left) moving earth at the southwest corner of the facility Zeifman received permission from air traffic controllers to pass through Nellis Range airspace because it was 'cold', meaning no military flights were taking place. Pictured: Area 51 is seen in early July Even from outside of Area 51 airspace, Zeifman was able to catch a glimpse of the secretive Air Force facility Another massive hangar sits isolated on the far southern edge of Area 51 in April. It has been there for several years 'Probably the most exciting part was the first time I saw Groom Lake, it's just such a rare place to see,' Zeifman told DailyMail.com in April. 'It's something everyone has heard of but few get to look at. So I'm glad to share a glimpse of it.' 'It's definitely interesting flying in the area, all the history out there and the current activities that take place (testing, and exercises such at Red Flag with all the US military branches and NATO allies),' Zeifman said. 'So it's very neat to get permission to fly in there. That being said, you also gotta be on your top game when you're flying close to pieces of airspace you are not allowed to enter. You never want to stray into someplace you're not allowed, so it's definitely something to be very careful with when you're closely tracking a line,' he continued. Area 51 is just one of the sensitive military facilities located within the Nevada Test and Training Range (NTTR), a vast military training area in Nevada's Mojave Desert. Details of everything that takes place at Area 51 are classified as top secret, and the intense secrecy around the facility has led to widespread conspiracy theories that it is used to store captured or crashed UFOs. What is officially acknowledged is that Area 51 was founded by the CIA in 1955 as a testing facility for the secretive U-2 spy plane, and that it has likely been used ever since to test highly classified and experimental aircraft. The locations of Area 51 as well as the Tonopah Test Range Airport are seen within the Nevada Test and Training Range Area 51 is seen in the distance next to partially flooded Groom Lake in a view from Zeifman's Cessna 150 in April Details of everything that takes place at Area 51 (seen in April) are classified as top secret, and the intense secrecy around the facility has led to widespread conspiracy theories that it is used to store captured or crashed UFOs Zeifman's photos show one huge hangar, built about five years ago according to The Drive, sitting alone on the south end of the facility. Its purpose has never been disclosed. In April, Zeifman was also able to capture stunning images of the Tonopah Test Range Airport, a major military airfield within the NTTR. Tonopah was most famously the test site used to evaluate the capabilities of secretly obtained Soviet MiG fighters during the Cold War. At the height of the Cold War, a secret squadron of Air Force pilots even flew the Soviet fighter jets in mock dogfights against U.S. aircraft to train American airmen. That program was declassified in 2006. Tonopah was also the main operating base for the Lockheed F-117A Nighthawk for many years, after tests on the stealth fighter were completed at Area 51. Today the surviving fleet of production F-117As remains stored at Tonopah. Today, the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron flies RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drones out of the Tonopah. Zeifman also captured images of the Tonopah Test Range Airport (above in April), a major military airfield within the NTTR To the left of the runways at Toponah sit hangars that have housed F-117A Nighthawks and stealth drones Toponah (above) was also once the home of a classified squadron of test pilots who flew captured Soviet MiG fighters Today, the 30th Reconnaissance Squadron flies RQ-170 Sentinel stealth drones out of the Tonopah (above) Zeifman explained that he had been careful to receive permission for his flights through the highly restricted airspace. The consequences otherwise could have been disastrous. 'Most of the restricted airspace out there is designated continuously. So what that means is, as a pilot, you have to presume it's always restricted,' he told DailyMail.com. 'In these blocks of airspace, you need to talk to Nellis Approach and be on radar service and get specific permission to enter. If you're flying a route that will go through and the airspace isn't actively being used by the military, it is possible to receive this permission for some of the blocks of airspace,' he explained. 'I found some times that I thought it may be clear and chose a destination that would take me through the airspace, and luckily a few of the times I was granted permission to transit the airspace,' he said. As for any national security implications of sharing the images, it is worth noting that Russia can and does fly directly over Area 51 with sophisticated reconnaissance planes under the Open Skies Treaty. Guwahat, Jul 21 (UNI) The overall flood situation in Assam continued to improve steadily, though the death toll increased further with more deaths reported in the state. Continuing his visit to flood-ravaged and erosion-affected parts of the state, Chief Minister Sarbananda Sonowal visited the erosion hit areas of Tulsijhara in Chirang district and flood affected areas of Jamdaha (Bekar Chowk Bazar) in Bongaigaon district and assessed the devastations caused by river Aie. Altogether two casualties were reported from different parts since last evening, taking the overall toll to 87, an Assam State Disaster Management Authority bulletin informed here. Another 26 people have been killed in landslides so far. As many as 24 districts continued to reel under floods, affected 69 revenue circles and 2323 villages and localities. Over 24.19 lakh people are still affected by floods in the state, with Barpeta, Dhubri, Soth Salmara, Goalpara and Kamrup (M) among the worst-hit till now. Nearly 45,000 displaced people are still taking shelter in 276 relief camps. Additionally, 121 relief distribution centres are also operational in the affected parts. The number of major rivers flowing above the danger level has increased to nine today from six last evening, with the Brahmaputra over the red mark in five places throughout the length of the state. As many as 869 stranded persons were evacuated from different parts by SDRF personnel, assisted by civil administration and local people. In Kaziranga National Park, the number of animals killed in floods, including hit by vehicles, has increased to 116, while another 143 animals have been rescued so far. Out of 223 forest camps in the Park, 73 are still affected by floods and six remain vacated. Vast tracts of Rajiv Gandhi Orang National Park and Pobitora Wildlife Sanctuary have also been affected. Meanwhile, Chief Minister Sonowal, interacting with media persons while reviewing the flood situation, said the flood waters of river Aie have destroyed huge tract of agricultural land and affected large numbers of people in both Chirang and Bongaigaon district. This has become a serious cause of concern for the local people, he said, adding that the State Government would take prompt steps for finding lasting solution to flood and erosion caused by river Aie. Referring to a question regarding water flowing down from Bhutan causing flood in Assam, the Chief Minister said the Central Government would take up the matter with the Bhutan Government for bringing out an early solution. While Water Resources Minister Keshav Mahanta and Tourism Minister Chandan Brahma accompanied the Chief Minister during his visit to the erosion hit Tulsijhara in Chirang, Food & Civil Supplies Minister Phani Bhushan Choudhury was present at the time of his visit to Jamdaha in Bongaigaon. UNI SG AKM JobKeeper will be extended until March but two million Australians will lose access from September as the payment and the JobSeeker supplement are reduced by $300. Scott Morrison today announced the wage subsidy, which currently helps 3.5million Australians, will be reduced in phases as the economy recovers from coronavirus lockdowns. The payment was due to end on 27 September but instead it will be decreased from $1,500 to $1,200-a-fortnight. A lower rate of $750-a-fortnight will go to people who worked fewer than 20 hours a week in February, before coronavirus struck. The two-tiered system has been brought in because one in four casuals are earning more on JobKeeper than when they worked. From 4 January, the payments will be reduced to $1,000-a-fortnight for full time staff and to $650-a-fortnight for those who worked fewer than 20 hours. The JobKeeper payment will be extended until March and an increased JobSeeker rate will last until December. Pictured: The Prime Minister meeting businessmen on Monday How are the support payments changing from September? JOBKEEPER * The $1500 fortnightly wage subsidy will continue until September 27 * From the end of September to January, JobKeeper will be reduced to $1200 for full-time workers and $750 for people working 20 hours or less * From January to March, the full-time rate will be $1000 and part-time will reduce to $650 * Businesses turning over less than $1 billion will have to requalify for the program at both stages through showing a 30 per cent drop in revenue. * Businesses with more than $1 billion in turnover have to demonstrate a 50 per cent fall JOBSEEKER * The elevated unemployment benefit will remain at $1100 a fortnight until September 27 * From that date until the end of the year the $550 coronavirus supplement will be cut by $300 to make the overall fortnightly payment $800 * People will be able to earn up to $300 without having their payment reduced * The mutual obligation rules requiring people to search for four jobs a month will restart on August 4 * Penalties for people refusing a job offer will be reintroduced * Job search requirements will increase in September when the assets test will also return * The permanent JobSeeker rate to take effect from January next year will be announced in the October 6 budget. Advertisement Fewer businesses will be eligible for JobKeeper as they must continue to prove a revenue decline of 30 per cent compared to before coronavirus. Many will not meet this threshold because business has picked up after lockdowns ended. This means that the number of people on Jobkeeper is expected to decline from 3.5million now to 1.4million between October and December, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said today. From January 1million people are expected to receive the payment. Australian Council of Trade Unions boss Sally McManus said she feared the lower rates would lead to mass sackings. 'Businesses will be getting less support from the government per worker so they may decide to cut numbers,' she said. But Qantas CEO Alan Joyce said the extension until March meant he could keep on 15,000 employees who have been temporarily stood down. 'The extension to JobKeeper until at least March is fantastic for our people and provides them with certainty. Importantly, it will help ensure most of them stay employed with us and come back to work when flights resume,' he said. From September 24 the JobSeeker supplement will be reduced from $550 to $250, meaning the total benefit will be worth $800-a-fortnight instead of $1,100 in total. That level will last until December 31 and the Prime Minister expects some level of supplement to remain beyond that. JobSeekers will be able to earn $300 while keeping their full benefits. They will have to apply for four jobs a month to qualify for the benefits and must not refuse a job if offered. As Melbourne approaches its third week of lockdown, residents are forced to wear masks What are the downsides of support payments? Hugely costly for taxpayers Less incentive for casuals to take on extra hours Less incentive for stood-down employees to find extra work Harder for re-opening businesses to hire staff Stop people moving from shrinking sectors into growing sectors Source: Treasury Advertisement The ongoing dole rate after March 2021 will be determined in the October federal budget. The Prime Minister said the aim of extending the support was to make sure Australian economy emerges strongly from the crisis. 'Australia is a country that just doesn't look to survive these things. We don't go through challenges with our heads looking down, overwhelmed by the circumstances. That is not who we are,' he said. 'Who we are is innovative adaptive people, supporting each other, reaching out to each other, drawing us all through, not for survival, but to be on the other side in the position where we can emerge strongly.' Mr Frydenberg said support will continue for those in need when eligibility across both payments are tightened. 'JobKeeper has been an economic lifeline to millions of Australians and that lifeline will be extended for those businesses that need it most,' he said. Labor leader Anthony Albanese said he was concerned that JobKeeper's flat rate led to 875,000 workers being paid more than before the crisis. 'It's good that the government has finally woken up to some of the waste in this scheme,' he told ABC radio. Greens leader Adam Bandt said Labor had taken the 'wrong approach' and 'should be pushing the Liberal Party to keep a living income, not attacking low income earners.' The federal opposition wants the dole set higher than the old rate but not above the age pension, which is $860 a fortnight. A review of the support payments by the Treasury suggested the enhanced JobSeeker payment may be affecting incentives to work. Mr Albanese rejected the idea the higher rate could encourage people to avoid employment, saying there were 13 people out of work for every job vacancy. 'I don't think this is the time for the government to essentially be running out the 'dole bludger' argument which is so dear to the heart of conservative governments,' he said. Victoria has recorded 375 new cases on Tuesday as New South Wales teeters on the brink of a major outbreak that may lead to tighter restrictions There is speculation that pubs and restaurants in NSW could be forced to shut their doors again if the state's coronavirus infections continue to rise Cutting back both support measures will ease pressure on the federal budget. The JobKeeper extension until March 28 will cost $16billion, taking the total expected cost to $86billion. The new arrangements for the Coronavirus Supplement are expected to cost an additional $3.8 billion. The government will update the state of the nation's books on Thursday, revealing a budget deficit in the order of $200 billion. As of July 15, JobKeeper payments totalled $29.8 billion. Under the existing scheme, companies turning over less than $1 billion with a 30 per cent fall in revenue are eligible. Firms turning over more than $1 billion must show a 50 per cent decline. Businesses that met the revenue test at any stage during the pandemic qualified for the payments for each employee. The JobKeeper scheme had disproportionately benefited teenagers, with their wages soaring by an average of 16.8 per cent in the seven weeks to early May. Every other age group saw their pay levels plunge by 5.4 per cent. Outgoing Finance Minister Mathias Cormann said a pared back JobKeeper would address those kind of flaws. 'What the review also found was that there were a number of features of JobKeeper that created adverse incentives which may become more pronounced over time as the economy recovers,' he said. 'This formed part of our considerations as we looked at the next phase of the JobKeeper program.' Treasury advisers were worried about JobKeeper propping up firms that would otherwise have closed. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg has also hinted the wage subsidy program will run until March 2021, with his home city of Melbourne in lockdown. Pictured is the Bourke Street Mall JobKeeper is being extended beyond the end of September because the government is worried about businesses potentially collapsing if it's withdrawn too soon. Pictured is a barista in Sydney on July 1 Unemployment during June amid COVID-19 Australia's unemployment rate climbed from a 19-year high of 7.1 per cent in May to 7.4 per cent in June - the highest since November 1998 Number without work climbed from 923,000 to a record-high 992,300 Close to a million people unemployed for the first time ever - surpassing 960,200 record set in December 1992 Unemployment increased even though 210,800 more people were employed as COVID-19 shutdowns eased That was because the participation rate increased from 62.7 per cent to 64 per cent as more people looked for work Source: Australian Bureau of Statistics labour force data for June Advertisement 'It distorts wage relativities between lower and higher paid jobs, it dampens incentives to work, it hampers labour mobility and the reallocation of workers to more productive roles, and it keeps businesses afloat that would not be viable without ongoing support,' the Treasury review said. The review, finalised at the end of June, found JobKeeper had helped businesses that had suffered an average turnover decline of 37 per cent in April 2020, compared with the same month in 2019, and staved off closures. As of May more than 1.6million Australians were receiving JobSeeker, which combines the old Newstart unemployment benefit along with sickness and bereavement payments. Last month close to one million people, or 992,300 Australians, were officially unemployed for the first time ever, as the jobless rate rose to 7.4 per cent, the highest level since November 1998. The JobKeeper package, costed at $70billion, was announced on March 30, a week after JobSeeker was effectively doubled with a temporary $550 a fortnight coronavirus supplement. The doubling of the dole ends on September 24, which could see JobSeeker either revert back to its original $565.70 figure, from $1,115.70, or be permanently raised from its base rate. Treasury said any dole increase would have to be balanced with encouraging the unemployed to get a job. 'In addition, the introduction of enhanced income support under JobSeeker may also be affecting incentives to work,' it said. Existing JobKeeper and JobSeeker payments are continuing until the end of September, as legislated, and both schemes are being extended. The Melbourne lockdowns, expected to last six weeks, are estimated to be costing the Victorian economy $1billion a week, in a city that makes up a quarter of Australia's economic activity. Treasury is releasing a full economic statement on Thursday as a prelude to the October budget, delayed because of coronavirus. The government is also making an announcement about the doubling of JobSeeker unemployment benefits, which end on September 24. Pictured is a Centrelink queue at Darlinghurst in Sydney's inner east Victoria on Tuesday recorded 374 new cases of coronavirus and three elderly women died as New South Wales teeters on the brink of a major outbreak that may lead to tighter restrictions. Victoria's total is far higher than Monday's figure of 275 and is the state's second-biggest after 428 on Friday. The women who died were in their 100s, 90s and 80s. NSW recorded 13 new cases, down from Monday's total of 20. The United States will purchase eight F-35 fighter jets originally produced for Turkey, the Defense Department announced yesterday, in a glimpse of what the Pentagon may intend to do with the undelivered fifth-generation fighter aircraft. The US Air Force will purchase the F-35s as part of a nearly $862 million contract modification with Lockheed Martin, which built the aircraft for Ankara. Turkey unveiled its first Joint Strike Fighter delivery in 2018, but the United States expelled Turkey from the F-35 program the following year after Ankara purchased Russias S-400 air defense system despite repeated warnings from Washington. The United States later said other completed aircraft would not be delivered but that Turkey could rejoin the F-35 program if it returns the S-400 to Russia. The dispute marked a low point in relations between the NATO allies. Washington has threatened to sanction Ankara if it activates the Russian-made air defense system. Turkeys President Recep Tayyip Erdogan threatened late last year to close US access to Turkish air bases at Incirlik and Kurecik in response to a US Senate resolution that recognized the 1915 Armenian Genocide. US lawmakers last year authorized the military to purchase some of Turkeys F-35s in the fiscal year 2020, urging that they be updated to match interoperability standards with other US Air Force F-35s. Eight of Turkeys F-35s were realigned to the US Air Force on Monday, Jessica Maxwell, a Pentagon spokesperson, told Al-Monitor via email. The contract modification also allocated funds for Lockheed Martin to upgrade the aircraft and paves the way for the Air Force to obtain six additional F-35s for a total of 14. Maxwell did not respond to a request for clarification as to whether the purchase would affect the more than $1 billion Turkey initially put toward joining the F-35 program. The Pentagon has said it will continue to purchase Turkish-manufactured parts for the F-35 through 2022, despite a rebuke from members of Congress. A US government watchdog agency reported in May that ending the production contracts with Turkey prematurely would exacerbate the F-35s already-deficient supply chain. Jaipur: In a big relief to Sachin Pilot and his supporting MLAs, Rajasthan High Court on Tuesday (July 21) told the Legislative Assembly Speaker to defer action on disqualification notices to the dissident former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister and 18 rebel Congress MLAs till July 24. The court also reserved its verdict on the matter on Friday. A writ petition was filed by Pilot and 18 other dissident Congress MLAs on July 17, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by state Assembly Speaker CP Joshi. The petition was taken up by a bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta on Friday and arguments were heard on Monday till evening. On Tuesday, the hearing resumed at 10:30 am. The Rajasthan HC had on July 17 given a four-day reprieve to Pilot and other Congress dissidents from any action by Rajasthan Speaker on the disqualification notices served on them by extending the hearing into their petition. Pilot was sacked as deputy Chief Minister of Rajasthan and the party state president after he rebelled against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. The notices to the MLAs were served after the party complained to the speaker that the lawmakers had defied a whip to attend two CLP meetings last week on July 13 and 14. The Pilot camp, however, argues that a party whip applies only when the assembly is in session. In its complaint to the speaker, the Congress had sought action against Pilot and the other dissidents under paragraph 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. The provision disqualifies MLAs if they "voluntarily" give up the membership of the party that they represent in the House. Disgraced former My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans has deleted his latest Facebook post after encouraging people in Victoria not to wear a mask. Residents of metropolitan Melbourne and the Mitchell Shire will be required to wear a mask from 11:59pm on Wednesday and will be fined $200 if they are caught in public spaces without one following a surge of COVID-19 cases. And on Monday evening, the anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist - who has falsely claimed the pandemic is a 'hoax' - urged Victorians to accept the fine for not wearing a mask in order to challenge it in court. In a now-deleted Facebook post, Evans, 47, said it was 'far too expensive' for the state government to defend the fines, making the rule effectively meaningless. The post emerged after Victoria recorded 374 new coronavirus cases overnight and pressure grows in NSW to enforce similar lockdown rules to prevent a second wave of the deadly virus. Pete's ridiculous advice prompted backlash from sensible Australians, who labelled him a 'danger to humanity'. Controversial: Disgraced former My Kitchen Rules judge Pete Evans (pictured) has deleted his latest Facebook post after encouraging people in Victoria not to wear a mask Misinformation: On Monday evening, the anti-vaxxer and conspiracy theorist - who has falsely claimed the pandemic is a 'hoax' - urged Victorians to accept the fine for not wearing a mask in order to challenge it in court In his original post, Pete wrote: 'Free legal advice to all Victorians. Don't wear a mask. Get a $200 fine then elect to have it determined in court. 'Every single one of you 6.359 million Victorians can challenge the fines in court. The Victorian Government won't fight you in court. It's far too expensive for them to do so.' Evans claimed the inaccurate legal information he was sharing with his followers had been sent to him by someone else, and encouraged people to 'explore it in their own way'. The shameful post sparked widespread condemnation, with people flocking to Twitter to protest his insensitive message. 'As a fellow Victorian I kindly ask that no one follow Pete Evans legal advice. It's stupid and dangerous,' one person wrote. False claims: In a now-deleted Facebook post, Evans, 47, wrote: 'The Victorian government won't fight you in court. It is far too expensive for them to do so' Liar: Evans claimed the inaccurate legal information he was sharing with his followers had been sent to him by someone else, and encouraged people to 'explore it in their own way' 'Pete Evans has a lot to answer for in inciting people to work against all efforts to keep the community safe. And thats before we even have a vaccine,' another added. A third wrote: 'Just when you thought Pete Evans couldnt do anything else stupid - this happens... he is a danger to humanity.' 'I swear, Pete Evans is the kind of person that'll hide a zombie bite. Please kindly f**k off with your Paleo, anti-vax... and anti-mask views, and propaganda. Sincerely, a Victorian,' read a similar comment. Pete has been embroiled in a string of controversies since being sacked by Channel Seven earlier this year for his extreme views. 'Dangerous': Pete's ridiculous advice prompted backlash from sensible Australians, who labelled him a 'danger to humanity' Misinformation: Earlier this month, Pete claimed that COVID-19 was a 'f**king hoax' and that the pandemic 'doesn't compare to what is happening in the world on a large scale' Earlier this month, he claimed that COVID-19 was a 'f**king hoax' and that the pandemic 'doesn't compare to what is happening in the world on a large scale'. Appearing on the Well and Good podcast, hosted by The Bachelor NZ stars Art and Matilda Green, the celebrity chef also vented about having to send his 'kids to school wearing a f**king mask'. Among his bizarre claims about the virus, Pete has previously declared he's immune to COVID-19, and has also blamed the pandemic on 5G technology. He recently endorsed fellow conspiracy theorist David Icke, a known Holocaust denier who was denied entry to Australia last year after protests from the Jewish community. Chennai: Chennai cannot afford to let its guards down now that fresh coronavirus cases have been brought under check because the curves of other metropolises that showed similar dips have started displaying an upward trend, say researchers studying mathematical models on the viral spread and administrators batting the disease on the frontline. Sitabhra Sinha, senior researcher and professor at the Indian Institute of Mathematical Sciences, says an example to support this word of caution is the city of Mumbai. The Maximum City had an R Value less than 1 during July1 and 8, but the metric has gone above 1 now. The R Value is the parameter determining the viral spread in a community. R refers to the effective reproduction number which changes with time as more and more of the population exits from the susceptible category as a result of infection, and subsequent recovery or death. Sinha says Kolkata, too, had an R Value less than 1 during June 19 and 29 but it has risen to 1.31, give or take 0.01, for the period of July 1-18. The highest in the group is Bengaluru at 1.41 for July 3-18, a city that had originally won praise for its containment of the disease. In the same breath, Sinha says there were a multitude of factors contributing to the change in R Values, making it a difficult metric to get to the bottom of. It is difficult to predict how R will change in the future. Given R one can estimate the active case numbers in the near future, but R itself depends on so many unknown factors that it is difficult to predict it. Chennai, among other major metros, has been bold in experimenting a lot with lockdowns. It brought back severe measures beginning June 19 and let them run until July 5, the effect of which is seen in the R Value recorded so far. However, with the metric rising again now: Note that R has slowly started rising again even though it is still less than 1 (an exact number cannot be estimated for the last few days). If the relaxation that started from July 6 leads to another round of amplification of cases that will again drive R to values greater than 1, then we are likely to see it this week (as we will complete 2 weeks following the lockdown relaxation). The apprehensions spelt out by Sinha are echoed by various health department officials of Tamil Nadu, although some of them could be a little early in claiming that relaxations have not fanned fresh cases. The state health secretary J Radhakrishnan had initially warned that physical distancing, masks and washing hands frequently are the only vanguards against the virus. In Chennai, the coronavirus had gripped the northern regions characterised by working class inhabitants but the scenario has changed now. North Chennai has largely brought it under control but areas such as Anna Nagar and Kodambakkam, which boast pockets of very posh localities, have proved to be inefficient in fighting the virus. Beijing: Chinese President Xi Jinping on Monday told US President-elect Donald Trump that cooperation was the only right choice to bolster ties between the two major powers, in the first contact with the US President-elect who in his campaign had accused China of snatching American jobs. In his first telephonic conversation since Trump won the US presidential election last week, Xi congratulated him on his election victory, state-run CCTV reported. Xi said tangible benefits have been brought to the people of the two nations in over 37 years of diplomatic relations. He said cooperation has proven to be the only right choice and reaffirmed that China attaches great importance to relations with the US, and is willing to cooperate with America, the channel reported. Trump said he agreed about US-China relations and hopes for mutual benefits and win-win results. He also expressed willingness to strengthen ties. The two agreed to maintain close contact and build a good working relationship, it added. Earlier, Xi had congratulated Trump on November 9 soon after his victory and called for cooperation between the two economies to maintain global peace and stability as well as improving bilateral ties shunning confrontation. In his earlier message to Trump, Xi hoped they could work together to boost China-US relations so as to better benefit peoples around the world. While China is the worlds largest developing country and the US, the largest developed power, both, as the worlds top economies, bear the special responsibility of maintaining world peace and stability and boosting global development and prosperity, and share extensive interests, Xi had said. Also Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi today said China stands ready to further promote its relations with the US on the new starting point following Trumps election. Beijing was ready to push forward China-US ties on new starting point, state-run Xinhua quoted Wang, who is currently touring Turkey, as saying. Asked whether China has made contact with Trumps team, Wang told the media in Ankara that China maintains close contact with the US side at various levels. China is willing to continue its cooperation with the administration of outgoing US President Barack Obama, so as to ensure a smooth transition of bilateral ties to the next US administration, Xinhua quoted Wang as saying. Meanwhile, Beijing also stands ready to communicate with Trumps team, so as to cement mutual understanding and expand consensus on bilateral cooperation, Wang said. He said Xis message to Trump has charted the course for the future development of China-US ties, and China is ready to make joint efforts with the US side to that end, said the minister. During the campaign, Trump had accused China of snatching the jobs of the Americans. He had earlier claimed that Americans are living through the greatest jobs theft in the history of the world, saying US companies were moving out jobs to countries like China, Mexico and Singapore. For all the Latest World News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. 21.07.2020 LISTEN Officials of Ecobank Ghana at its Head Office in Accra, on Tuesday, July 21, stopped an attempt to seize the banks assets by police officers and bailiffs who were there to enforce a High Court order over a debt the bank owes a private entity. In a court order sighted by Citi Business News dated June 2, 2020, the Police was to provide assistance to bailiffs which includes Mike Agbemashior, George Tykhonov and Yury Shelkov to execute a writ in which Ecobank Ghana is commanded to make a payment of GHS4 million with an accrued interest of GHS10 million dating back to the year 2015 to Yuri M Plastics, which is the fourth defendant in the case. According to the court, the order was as a result of a fraud committed against the plaintiffs. It therefore indicated that the GHS4 million should be paid to the fourth defendant. Per information gathered by Citi Business News, an official with the Yuri M Plastic products secured a loan from the Ecobank in the name of the plastic company. Without due diligence, Ecobank approved the loan. As attempts by Ecobank to retrieve the loan proved futile, it secured a court order which permitted it to take control of the plastic company. With time, the Plastic company also sued Ecobank and demanded damages. The court then ordered Ecobank to also make payment of GHC4 million Ghana Cedis to Yuri M plastic products in 2015, but the company says it is yet to receive the money, hence this action, following the court order for the seizure of the banks movable and immovable properties. The Deputy Head of Marketing and Corporate Communications of Ecobank Ghana, Dr. Daniel Kassertee, told the media that the action by the police was wrong. According to him, Ecobank has filed for a stay of execution at the Commercial Division of the High Court. Our attention was drawn to the fact that there was somebody here with the presence of the police and armed men to execute an order. We approached them and realized that was a wrongful attempt to levy an execution, so we legally stopped them and we spoke to the bailiff and they left. Dr. Daniel Kassertee however confirmed that the bank had been in court over the payments. Certainly, the bank has been in court with a certain individual who was not in court with the bank. He was in court with his own company and also the bank. At the end of the day, the bank was asked to pay some money to the company, not the individual. We have since done that, and the court has fixed a date in October to take a decision, Mr. Kassertee said. ---citinewsroom The Mayor's 10th Annual Back 2 School Fest is set to take place August 7 and 8. The Back 2 School Fest "will be staged to accommodate necessary CDC protocols in response to the COVID-19 pandemic." said the Mayor's Special Events Facebook page. NUTCRACKER CANCELLED: The curtain will not rise on performances of 'The Nutcracker' as Houston Ballet announced changes The annual event provides much-needed school supplies and backpacks to area school children as students return to campus. With this year being a little different and most schools starting classes virtually, it still is a priority to make sure the children have all the materials they need to kick off the new school year on a positive note. According to the website, this year's event will take place in drive-through format at the NRG Yellow Parking Lot on Friday and Saturday, August 7-8 from 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. "We have partnered with the Houston Food Bank and will distribute food, masks, backpacks, and school supplies for Houston-area elementary students and their families," said the website. If you are interested in volunteering for the backpack assembly or would like to volunteer on the day of the event, visit their website here. STAY INFORMED: Sign up to receive breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. Shimla, July 21 : The Himachal Pradesh government has set a target of planting about 1.20 crore saplings on 12,000 hectares of land in 41 forest divisions, Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur said on Tuesday. Presiding over the 71st state-level 'Van Mahotsav' here, Thakur also planted a Chinar sapling in the premises of The Peterhof. The Chief Minister said the government has started six new schemes for promoting afforestation in the state, which include Vidyarthi Van Mitra Yojna, Samudayik Van Samvardhan Yojna, Van Samridhi Jan Samridhi Yojna, policy for setting new industries based on pine needles and providing weapons to forest guards. Thakur said that in order to sensitise the people regarding the rights of the girl child and also to associate the community in the process of afforestation, the government has started the 'Ek Buta Beti Ke Naam' Scheme. He said that under this scheme, the family of a girl child at the time of her birth is provided five saplings, tree guard, a nameplate of the girl child, 20 kg vermi compost and technical knowhow. Education Minister Suresh Bhardwaj said that the Forest Department has been playing a key role in increasing the forest cover in the state. He urged the Chief Minister to transfer the forests around Shimla town to the Municipal Corporation for their better management and protection. He said the Education Department was also helping in the afforestation process by motivating the students and teachers to plant saplings. Forest Minister Govind Thakur said the Forest Department is ensuring that more and more areas of the state are brought under the forest cover. He said that several afforestation schemes have been initiated in the state and the department is also ensuring the survival of the saplings planted during that 'Van Mahotsav'. Public support for British farmers has reached a record high as a result of food producers' efforts in feeding the nation during the Covid-19 crisis. Three-quarters (75%) of the public now voice a positive view of British farming - the highest figure since OnePoll started carrying out the annual survey in 2012. The Farmer Favourability Survey marks a 6% point increase in public favourability since June 2019, which comes on top of a further 5% point increase between June 2018-2019. There are also fewer people claiming to have no opinion on farming, dropping from 25% to 21% over the past year. When the survey started in 2012, this figure was at 33%. The majority of respondents cited the importance of British farmings work throughout lockdown as a reason for their increased positive view. NFU president Minette Batters said farmers have had a 'challenging year' as a result of the Covid-19 crisis and the potential for a no-deal Brexit. "Its fantastic to see that the British public has recognised the efforts of producers across the country in keeping us fed," Mrs Batters said. "I, along with my fellow farmers, remain extremely thankful for this huge show of public support and the increasing value they place on quality British food." She added: "These figures demonstrate growing public thinking; understanding and supporting our food supply chain has never been more important." Other findings from the survey include that the vast majority (86%) agreed that British farms should grow as much food as they can to provide national food security. Most of the public (88%) feel it is important that Britain has a productive farming industry the highest figure for 3 years. Meanwhile, 89% of those who responded say farming is fairly or very important to the UK economy a 4% point increase since 2019 It comes as over one million people have signed a petition urging the government to ensure future trade deals do not lead to an increase in food imports that would be illegal to produce in the UK. Alongside this, nearly 80,000 people wrote to their MP asking them to support the introduction of a Trade and Agriculture Commission to oversee future trade deals. The families of more than 50 Ghanaians and other West African migrants killed in Gambia and Senegal 15 years ago have yet to learn the full truth and obtain justice concerning the massacre, 11 human rights organizations said Tuesday. Amid growing evidence that the murders were carried out by Gambian security force members acting on the orders of then President Yahya Jammeh, the groups called for an international investigation of the massacre. A credible international investigation is needed if were ever going to get to the bottom of the 2005 massacre of West African migrants and create the conditions to bring those responsible to justice, Emeline Escafit, legal adviser at TRIAL International, said Tuesday in a statement. Until now, information has come out in dribs and drabs, year after year, from different sources, the statement released by the Human Rights Watch and copied to the Ghana News Agency said. On July 22, 2005, Gambia security forces arrested the migrants, who were bound for Europe, after their boat landed in Gambia, on suspicion of involvement in a coup attempt. Over the next 10 days, almost all the migrants, including about 44 Ghanaians, nine Nigerians, two Togolese, and nationals of Cote dIvoire and Senegal, plus one Gambian, were killed in Gambia or taken across the border into Senegal and shot and their bodies dumped in wells, the statement said. I have been fighting for 15 years for truth and for justice for my companions who were killed, said Martin Kyere from Ghana, who jumped into the forest from a moving truck carrying other detained migrants who were killed shortly thereafter. When Kyere returned to Ghana he began rallying the victims families. African leaders say that migrants should be treated with dignity, but for us, honouring their memory means justice, not lies and cover-ups. While several Gambian soldiers have confessed to the murders and said they acted on Jammehs orders, the chain of events leading to the killings is unclear. There is still no information on exactly where migrants were buried in Senegal nor are all the victims identities known, including eight of the nine Nigerians. Gambia returned six bodies to Ghana in 2009, but the families question whether the bodies were those of the murdered migrants. The groups said that because the crimes took place across two countries, Gambia and Senegal, involve victims from six countries, and a primary suspect, Jammeh, now resides in Equatorial Guinea, an international investigation would be best placed to uncover all the facts. They said that if neither Gambia nor another country like Ghana would conduct a transnational investigation, they should support an independent inquiry that could investigate in all the countries concerned. Previous efforts to investigate the massacre have repeatedly been stymied or flawed, the groups said. Following initial campaigning by Kyere and Ghanaian families and rights groups, Ghana attempted to investigate the killings in 2005 and 2006, but was blocked by the then-Jammeh government. In 2008, the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formed a joint investigative team, which produced a report in April 2009. The UN wrote that the report concluded that the Gambian government was not directly or indirectly complicit in the deaths and disappearances, blaming it on rogue elements in Gambias security services acting on their own. The joint report has never been made public, however, despite repeated requests by the victims and by five UN human rights monitors, The Gambian and Ghanaian governments have said that they did not have copies. In July 2019, three former Junglers testified publicly before the Gambia Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) that they and 12 other Junglers had carried out the killings on Jammehs orders. One of the officers, Omar Jallow, recalled that the operations leader told the men that the order from Jammeh is that they are all to be executed. The groups said that even though the UN and ECOWAS had delayed the search for justice for 10 years by wrongly clearing Jammeh in 2009, the fall of Jammeh combined with the new revelations provide the opportunity to move forward. The UN and ECOWAS can make a real contribution now by releasing their report and working with Gambia, Ghana, and Senegal to uncover exactly how this crime was committed so that the victims can have justice at long last, said Reed Brody, senior counsel at Human Rights Watch and an author of the 2018 report. With Jammeh out of power, getting to the truth is just a matter of political will. In a 2009 Memorandum of Understanding between Ghana and Gambia following the UN/ECOWAS report, the two countries pledged to pursue through all available means the arrests and prosecution of all those involved in the deaths and disappearances of the Ghanaians and other ECOWAS nationals. Now that several people have testified as to their role and that of others, political will is needed for arrests and prosecutions, the groups said. Families of the Ghanaian victims have called for Ghana to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the killings under its laws against enforced disappearances. The Ghanaian government announced on May 27, 2018 that it had tasked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-Generals Department to study [the matter] and explore the full extent of its legal and diplomatic implications and also advise the government on the way forward. The Gambian government pledged to cooperate with any investigation by Ghana. However, no concrete actions have been taken by the affected countries. In 2005, about 44 Ghanaians were cruelly murdered in a foreign country, said William Nyarko, Executive Director of the Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), who coordinates the Jammeh2Justice campaign in Ghana. We now know who some of the direct perpetrators of these killings were and that the evidence points to Jammeh as having given the orders. The time has come for the government of Ghana to act. In December 2019, Ghanas president, Nana Akufo-Addo, responding to growing impatience from victims, members of the Ghanaian Parliament, and West African civil society, told the media that he knew in 2005 when he first sought to investigate the case as foreign minister that Jammehs government was complicit in the killings. He added that following the confessions by the Junglers, the Gambian government should instigate the trials of the people who had been named. He said that he had spoken to President Adama Barrow of Gambia, who he said answered things are still insecure, please give me time. The Gambian government has stated that it was awaiting the recommendations of the Truth Commission, expected in 2021, before deciding on which Jammeh-era crimes to prosecute. The Commission has announced that, in addition to the Junglers who testified in July 2019, it will hold hearings on the migrants case this year. The groups urged the Commission to hear the testimony of three Ghanaians who survived the massacre as well as former Gambian officials involved in the incident and the subsequent cover-up, and the UN and ECOWAS experts who worked on the report. 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 Press Release July 21, 2020 Drilon's SONA wish list: Duterte's overall comprehensive plan to mitigate COVID-19 impact Senate Minority Leader Franklin M. Drilon said he expects the President to discuss in his upcoming State of the Nation Address (SONA) the administration's overall comprehensive plan to alleviate the plight of Filipinos and mitigate the economic impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. "The upcoming SONA is an opportunity for the President to present an overall comprehensive plan on how the country will survive this pandemic," Drilon said in a radio interview on Tuesday. "At the top of our wish list is to hear the President's plan on how to revive our economy heavily hit by the pandemic and help millions of our countrymen, including hundreds of thousands of overseas Filipino workers, who lost their livelihood," he added. Drilon lamented the lack of an overall comprehensive plan in the fight against COVID-19. He earlier said that because the government did not have an overall plan, it resulted in a shotgun approach in dealing with the pandemic and in implementing the longest lockdowns in the world, which did little to prevent the spread of the virus but only damaged the economy. "We want to hear about the government's plans on how we can get out of this situation as a whole and I assure them that the members of the opposition will cooperate with the administration in crafting measures to help them address the pandemic," Drilon stressed. Drilon said it is clear that the Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) has failed to effectively prevent the spread of the virus, noting how the cases rapidly increase each day. ""Let's face it, the IATF has failed and even the Malacanang would admit it," he said. From around 300 cases per day in March, the cases have jumped to a daily average of 2,000 since June, he noted. "The IATF should take a second look at what they have done. They should review their performance and find out how they can be more effective. What did Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam do that we failed to do?" he said. "You know, these days just to survive is already an achievement by itself. What do we have to do to prevent the spread of the virus?" he added. The minority leader said he also wants to hear the President talk about how much the country would really need to beef up the economy, noting the conflicting figures between the Department of Finance and Congress. The House of Representatives is eyeing a P1.3 trillion stimulus package to revive the economy but the executive, through the finance department, said the amount is too high and the government can only allow up to P140 billion, Drilon recalled. "We are ready to support any measure towards economic recovery. But the first question is: how much do we need to jumpstart the economy?" He added: "If we agree on a certain amount, then the next question is, how are we going to fund it? Is it through a new tax measure or by borrowing?" Drilon said he would not object to the country borrowing more funds to address the pandemic, even if it exceeds its deficit target, as long as the people's needs are addressed. Meanwhile, the minority leader thumbed down the move of the lower house to begin its deliberation on Charter Change upon the resumption of session next week. "Regardless of the merit, the issue on Cha-cha is the timing. Should we debate on Cha-cha now, which is a very divisive issue, or should we concentrate all our efforts and resources on economic recovery?" Drilon said in a separate statement. Drilon said discussing Cha-cha in the SONA is "a waste of time" and stressed that the SONA should just focus on the President's plans for the country's recovery and healing from COVID-19 pandemic. Last week, the Department of the Interior and Local Government (DILG) said that the League of Municipalities of the Philippines (LMP) had passed a resolution seeking the Charter amendments purportedly to institutionalize the Mandanas ruling of the Supreme Court and lift the restrictions on foreign investment. Mekedatu padayatra: After Karnataka HC chides Cong, Siddaramaiah says permission not taken for protest Act on plaint against Congress demands Rajasthan BJP India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Jaipur, July 21: Leader of Opposition in the Rajasthan Assembly Gulab Chand Kataria on Monday sought action on a complaint lodged by the BJP against Congress leaders for damaging the party's reputation. In a letter to the state DGP, Kataria said BJP spokesperson Laxmikant Bhardwaj on July 17 had complained that Congress leaders Randeep Surjewala and Govind Singh Dotasara were damaging his party's reputation through baseless charges against their leaders and misinterpretation of facts. The complaint was lodged on July 17 at the Ashok Nagar police station in Jaipur but an FIR is yet to be registered, Kataria said in the letter. "Therefore, the Director General of Police should take action," Kataria demanded. General consent for CBI probe withdrawn by Rajasthan government Amid the political turmoil in the state caused by the tussle for power between dissident Congress leader Sachin Pilot and Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, the BJP has been accused of horse-trading by the ruling party. The Congress had also submitted two tapes, having a purported conversation on an alleged plot to topple the state government, to the Special Operations Group of the Rajasthan Police. The party had demanded the resignation of Union Minister and BJP leader Gajendra Shekhawat in this regard. Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News However, the FIR does not identify Gajendra Singh referred in the clip as Union minister Shekhawat, a senior BJP leader from Rajasthan. Congress MLA in Rajasthan alleges Sachin Pilot offered him money to join BJP The Congress had alleged that Shekhawat, along with a rebel MLA, was involved in the conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot government. However, Shekhawat has rejected the claim. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 9:21 [IST] A Florida mother has revealed that her son and daughter both died from COVID-19 over the span of 11 days. Monete Hicks, of Lauderdale Lakes, told NBC Miami that her 20-year-old son, Byron, was the first to start having trouble breathing on June 27. 'I came to check on him. He was in the living room on the floor sitting up. He was sleeping, but he was breathing very poorly,' Hicks recalled. Hicks said Byron was rushed to the hospital where he later died. While mourning the loss of her son, her daughter Mychaela, 22, fell ill with the virus seven days later. Monete Hicks (center), of Lauderdale Lakes, has revealed that she lost both her 20-year-old son, Byron, and 22-year-old daughter, Mychaela, to COVID-19 Hicks said Byron (left) was having trouble breathing on June 27. He was taken to the hospital where he later died. Just seven days later, Mychaela (right), was hospitalized According to Hicks, her daughter fought the disease until she had to be hospitalized due to consistent fevers and headaches. 'As the days went by, while she was [at the hospital], everything just went to breaking down in her body,' Hicks told NBC. Mychaela was put on oxygen and even lost a kidney while she was in the hospital before passing away on July 8. Both Byron and Mychaela had underlying health conditions. Hicks said morbid obesity and asthma are listed as contributing causes of Byron's death. And for Mychaela, obesity, asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were contributing causes to her death. Hicks said she's been holding up during the day, 'but at night, it really hits me'. 'I'm so used to them being in here,' the grieving mother, who is in the process of planning two funerals, told NBC. Coronavirus cases are climbing rapidly among young adults in a number of states who flocked to bars, stores and restaurants when they reopened. In Florida, young people ages 15 to 34 now make up 31 per cent of all cases, up from 25 per cent in early June. While grieving the loss of her son (pictured), Hicks' daughter spent four days in the hospital before she died Mychaela (pictured) died on July 8 after losing her battle against COVID-19. Hicks said both her children had underlying health conditions, but she didn't give details Since early July, Florida's coronavirus cases have continued to surge with at least 10,000 cases per day reported for six out of the last seven days. Florida's skyrocketing coronavirus death rate is now higher than any other state, edging out Texas, which has about 25 per cent more people. Florida recorded another 134 deaths Tuesday, bringing its daily average for the past week to 115, topping the 112 deaths a day Texas has reported during that time, Associated Press statistics show. A month ago, Florida was averaging 33 coronavirus deaths a day. Overall, 5,317 people have died in Florida from COVID-19 since March 1 and nearly 370,000 have tested positive for the disease. About 19 per cent of tests have returned positive in Florida over the last week, compared to 10 per cent a month ago and 2.3 per cent in late May. The state reported that an additional 517 people have been admitted to hospitals with the disease. The governors of Texas, Florida and Georgia, where COVID-19 is raging, pushed back hard on Tuesday against local leaders who want to impose tighter restrictions to control the runaway spread of the coronavirus in their areas. More than 3.8 million cases have been confirmed in the US with at least 140,937 deaths In Florida, a teachers union is suing Gov Ron DeSantis and other state officials to halt his ordered full reopening of classrooms in a few weeks. 'Obviously, if you look at the epidemic, it's more severe in some parts than others, and I think you should recognize that,' DeSantis said at a briefing, suggesting that some school districts were better positioned to open their buildings than others. In Texas, Governor Greg Abbott overruled a county that wants residents to stay home, saying existing measures on wearing masks and social distancing were enough to keep businesses open in the Rio Grande Valley on the border with Mexico. In Georgia, Governor Brian Kemp squared off against the mayor of his largest city to stop Atlanta from enforcing a mandate that people wear face coverings in public. A court hearing on a mask lawsuit filed by the governor against Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms personally was postponed on Tuesday after the judge recused herself at the last minute. Neither Florida nor Georgia have issued statewide mask mandates. Texas' Abbott initially resisted requiring masks but earlier this month agreed to mandate them in most counties. Darcy Denbow has kayaked down the Little Saskatchewan River more than 20 times this year, but he has never seen river conditions as bad as this Sunday. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Advertisement Advertise With Us Darcy Denbow has kayaked down the Little Saskatchewan River more than 20 times this year, but he has never seen river conditions as bad as this Sunday. He has been kayaking for 20 years. On Canada Day, the water was so shallow that Denbow and his friend were scraping ground while launching their kayaks at Kirkhams Bridge. But with the heavy winds and rain that rolled through the Westman region two weeks ago, Denbow says the rush of water coming down through the valleys of Little Saskatchewan River has altered the natural course of the waterway for good. "Its the nastiest rapids Ive been in, in southern Manitoba, in my life," Denbow said. Kayaker Darcy Denbow is concerned for the safety of others, after a rocky experience on the rapids of Little Saskatchewan River. (Submitted) "Ive gone down the Little Saskatchewan when theres still ice on the water in the spring, and its nothing like it is right now." Now, theres huge sandbanks and piles of gravel where water once flowed. In other areas, theres high water and rushing rapids. Record amounts of rain have resulted in a lot of overflow water, water from Minnedosa and Rivers Dam now being funnelled through the valleys of the Little Saskatchewan River. Manitoba Conservations water control department was contacted for comment, but couldnt be reached by the time of publication. Denbow and his friend were itching to get back out on the water soon after the storm. The Assiniboine River was free of debris and a lot of fallen trees were cleared away by the rushing waters of the storm. But once the duo hit Little Saskatchewan River, they couldnt believe their eyes. "(On Canada Day) I couldnt have reached up with my paddle and touched the old Glenorki Ski Hill bridge we call it Iron Bridge. When I went out there after the storm, the water was only a foot under the bridge so the water went up over 15 feet," he said. "I wouldnt even recommend anybody canoeing or kayaking right now. Im fairly advanced, and we were punching the front of our kayaks nose clean right through waves, getting water in." Little Saskatchewan River on a normal day, prior to the storms the Westman region had in early July. But as popular as Iron Bridge is for kayakers, Denbows main concern is the young people who use the spot as a local watering hole during the summer. Teens and young adults frequent the area to go tubing down the river and socialize. Most of the time, tubers are in waist-deep water. By mid-August, the water usually becomes too shallow to even consider plopping down in a tube. This year, that isnt the case. "Stay the hell off it," Denbow said. "Theres too much debris in the water, the rapids are going too fast and (the tubers) will have no control. Ive dealt with lots of tubers, many, many times, you run into them all the time. Right now you couldnt control it, youd probably puncture your tube, youd be in real trouble with a long ways to go and that water is moving too quick to be swimming in." The experienced kayaker is looking forward to hopping back in his kayak once its safe to do so. He estimates itll be about one more week until water conditions get better. "This is a once-in-a-lifetime change in the river, thats for sure." dshewchuk@brandonsun.com Twitter: @devonshewchuk The unusually sharp internal clash which took place at the first in-person meeting of the GOP conference in four months due to the coronavirus pandemic highlights the transformation of the House Republican Conference in the age of Trump: Few House Republicans are comfortable challenging a man popular with their base, and those who do are attacked by their colleagues. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda. House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair. Liz Cheney should step down or be removed, Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) wrote on Twitter Tuesday after the in-person tussle. The internal dispute, first reported by Politico, grew as the day went on. The presidents son, Donald Trump Jr., joined Gaetz in calling for Cheneys ouster, comparing her to Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah), who voted to convict Trump during the impeachment trial. However, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) defended Cheney the highest-ranking GOP woman during a news conference. Story continues below advertisement Were honored to have her as conference chair, McCarthy said of the third-ranking Republican in the House. She does an amazing job. Advertisement Speaking to reporters Tuesday afternoon, Cheney dismissed Trump Jr.s attack, arguing that he isnt a House Republican and thus his input doesnt matter. She said she was honored to serve as House Republican Conference chair, and takes her position in leadership very seriously while defending a healthy exchange of views. She also used her appearance to deliver a full-throated defense of Trump and GOP policies while warning about the Democrats if presumptive nominee Joe Biden wins in November and the party claims majority control of the Senate. Story continues below advertisement Theres absolutely no question whats at stake in this election and how much worse off this nation would be under a Biden-Schumer-Pelosi regime, Cheney said. Democrats set sights on expanding House majority amid GOP troubles The targeting of Cheney underscores the rising status of former vice president Richard B. Cheneys daughter, who many believe is carving out a lane for herself in a post-Trump world and plotting an ambitious ascent in the leadership ranks. Advertisement Having turned down a chance to run for an open Senate seat, Cheney has been viewed as a future speaker someday, a position her father once aspired to when he was in the House, until he became defense secretary in 1989. That would make her the first female Republican speaker in history. Story continues below advertisement Unlike other senior House Republicans, who wont let a cross word about Trump graze their lips, Cheney has not been afraid to push back on the president, albeit on specific issues. In recent weeks she has been openly critical of several Trump foreign policy decisions, including plans to reduce the number of active-duty U.S. troops in Germany, taking a traditional military hawk position that her father embodied as President George W. Bushs No.2. Trump is determined to bring home U.S. military forces from somewhere She also has defended Fauci, the nations leading infectious-disease expert, after some in Trumps inner circle launched broadsides against his prescriptions for how to handle the pandemic. Advertisement On other issues, she consistently backs Trumps policies and votes with Republicans. Cheney was a top defender of the president during his impeachment and remains critical of Democrats, including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.). Story continues below advertisement The rebellion against Cheney began Tuesday when Gaetz used the open-microphone portion of the GOP meeting to go after Cheney for supporting Rep. Thomas Massies (R-Ky.) primary challenger. Massie had long been considered a thorn in leaderships side, but Cheney went a step beyond her colleagues by backing his competitor. Cheney later recanted her endorsement of Massies opponent once his racist writings were discovered. Your problem is with the president, not me, Cheney shot back to Massie, according to a Republican who participated in the meeting but spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk about the sensitive discussion. Advertisement Then, several other of Trumps most loyal allies joined in the criticism and turned the subject to Cheneys support of the president or what they viewed as lack thereof. Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), a co-founder of the House Freedom Caucus, stood up and listed positions she had taken against the president. Rep. Andy Biggs (R-Ariz.) accused her of putting the GOPs chance of winning House control in jeopardy by showing disunity. Story continues below advertisement Jordan credited Cheney with a strong defense during Trumps impeachment but listed actions that he considered not being a team player. Weve got to be supportive of the president, Jordan said, according to several Republicans in the room. Cheney replied with a remark that, to those in the room, was a jab at how he had spent years undermining John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and Paul D. Ryan (R-Wis.) when they were House speakers and the GOP held the majority. Advertisement Jim, I look forward to hearing your comments about being a team player when were back in the majority, she said, according to a GOP participant in the meeting, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to talk frankly about the session. Story continues below advertisement The confrontation came months after Cheney had ended in-person GOP Conference meetings in early March after talking to medical experts as the virus began to spread across the nation. Instead of the weekly gatherings, usually held with more than 200 lawmakers and staff in a cramped room in the Capitol basement, Republicans held conference calls that began to frustrate some of the more conservative lawmakers. Those conservatives, who include many who question the covid-19 science and Faucis expertise on the matter, began to press for an in-person meeting, according to a lawmaker and GOP aide familiar with the matter who spoke on the condition of anonymity to freely describe private discussions. Advertisement After consulting with congressional safety experts, Republicans agreed to meet in the spacious auditorium of the Capitol Visitor Center, with only two-thirds of the more than 190 Republicans allowed to attend to create social distancing. Story continues below advertisement That set the stage for the Freedom Caucus ambush of Cheney during the open-mic session. At one point, McCarthy tried to cut in to help Cheney. While neither he nor any other Republican defended her in the room, McCarthy suggested the group should take their disagreement to a smaller, more private meeting. But by then, it was too late. Word of the clash had already leaked out to the media. Read more at PowerPost The activists of Kisan Mazdoor Sangharsh Committee gheroaed the residence of Union food processing industries minister Harsimrat Kaur Badal and and Ferozepur Lok Sabha MP Sukhbir Singh Badal at Badal village in Muktsar on Tuesday. A few protesters sustained minor injuries when the police resorted to cane-charging them for removing barricades at the Badal village. Led by state president of the committee, Satnam Singh Pannu, and vice-president Jasbir Singh, the protesters raised slogans against three farm-related ordinances introduced by the central government. They said that the ordinances are in the interests of the corporate and against those of the farmers and arthiyas. After meeting with a farmers delegation, Harsimrat and SAD president Sukhbir Singh Badal said objections raised by the committee will be discussed with the Union minister of agriculture. Sukhbir said the SAD will oppose any move to curb minimum support price (MSP) in India. Meanwhile, the protesters violated social distancing guidelines during the sit-in. Even during the meeting with Harsimrat, many farmer leaders were not wearing masks and did not adhere to social distancing norms. Muktsar deputy commissioner MK Aravind Kumar said that legal action will be taken against the protesters for violating covid guidelines. The Party Central Committees Inspection Commission issued an announcement on July 20 about the outcomes of its 46th session from July 15-17 under the chair of Secretary of the Party Central Committee and its head Tran Cam Tu. Head of the Party Central Committees Inspection Commission Tran Cam Tu at the session Considering the nature, level, and consequences of violations as concluded at the Inspection Commissions 44th session, as well as the Party regulations on conducting disciplinary actions against Party organisations and members, the commission decided to expel the Deputy General Director of the Vietnam Expressway Corporation (VEC) from the Party, give warnings to the Secretary of the Party Committee and the Chairman of the Board of Members of VEC and Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and General Director of VEC Tran Van Tam. It reprimanded former Secretary of VECs Party Committee and former Chairman of the Board of Members Tran Quoc Viet and Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and Deputy General Director Nguyen Van Nhi. After considering the proposed discipline by the standing board of the Central Military Commission, the Inspection Commission decided to give warnings to Major General Nguyen Hoang, former Vice Secretary of the Party Committee and former Commander of Corps 4; and reprimand Major General Pham Lam Hong, former Vice Chief of the Staff of Military Zone 2. The Commission also suggested the Party Central Committees Secretariat consider disciplining Lieutenant General Duong Duc Hoa, former member of the Party Central Committee and former Commander of Military Zone 2. These officials were found to have violated the principles of democratic centralism, working regulations, and laws on land use and management. The Commission proposed that the Party Central Committees Secretariat consider expelling several officials from the Party, including former member of the standing board of the Party Committee and former Vice Chairman of the HCM City Peoples Committee Nguyen Huu Tin. It also maintained the decision to expel Lt. Col. Bui Tien Loi from the Party as, in his capacity as Dean of the Socialism Faculty at the Military Engineering College, he wrote articles on social media against the Party and State guidelines, and showed serious degradation in political thought and behaviour of self-evolution, self-transformation, making it easier for hostile forces to sabotage the Party and State. At the session, the Commission also considered several complaints about Party discipline on several cases, and decided on other important issues./. VNA Photo credit: LauriPatterson - Getty Images From Men's Health In a new Instagram video, Dr. Pimple Popper pulls a turkey burger-like lipoma out of a patients back. The stubborn growth is quick to tear, giving Dr. Lee a lesson in patience and perseverance in order to remove it whole. A lipoma is a fatty noncancerous growth that grows between the skin and muscle. Fire up the grill. In a new Instagram video, Dr. Pimple Popperaka, dermatologist and TLC host Dr. Sandra Lee, MDpulls a turkey burger-like lipoma out of a patients back. And this stubborn mass teaches Dr. Lee a good lesson in patience and perseverance. In the clip, Dr. Lee makes an incision into the growth, then reaches in deep with her forceps to pull out the lipoma. As she wrestles with the mass, she says its tearable (not "terrible," though that would also be accurate), making it hard to wiggle out. The famed dermatologist decides to use her hands to grip the lipoma, taking her time to wiggle and finagle the growth free. Dr. Lee is so stuck on keeping the mass intact because a clean removal virtually guarantees the growth stays gone for good. Once the mass emerges, it looks like a burger, according to one fan. Specifically, the mass will probably remind you of a poultry-based turkey patty. A lipoma is a fatty noncancerous growth that grows between the skin and muscle, and is usually a yellowish-orange color. Watch the lipoma patty emerge in the clip below: You Might Also Like A group of Rohingya who survived a perilous sea voyage to Malaysia are set to be caned for entering the country illegally, activists said Tuesday, decrying the "barbaric" sentence. Hundreds of thousands of Muslim Rohingya have fled persecution and violence in mostly Buddhist Myanmar in recent years, with some heading to neighbouring Bangladesh and others by sea to Malaysia. But since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, Malaysia and other Southeast Asian countries which traditionally allowed Rohingya boats to land have been blocking them over fears the migrants could be infected. A boat carrying 202 Rohingya made it to shore in northwest Malaysia in April -- but at least 20 men from that group had now been sentenced to jail terms and caning, said Amnesty International. "These Rohingya have escaped Myanmar, but traded one nightmare for another," the group's Malaysia researcher Rachel Chhoa-Howard told AFP. "Caning is a barbaric practice that amounts to torture, inhuman and degrading treatment, and Malaysia must abolish the use of such a punishment." She said the caning will not deter Rohingya from fleeing to Malaysia, risking their lives at sea. Malay-language newspaper Sinar Harian reported last month that a magistrate's court on Langkawi island, where the migrants came ashore, sentenced a group of Rohingya men to seven months jail and three strokes of the cane. They were among a group of 54 Rohingya, including women and children, charged under immigration laws for illegally entering the country. Authorities did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Malaysia has strengthened maritime patrols and has repeatedly pushed back boats trying to enter the country since the start of the virus pandemic. But as well as the vessel in April, a boat carrying more than 260 Rohingya made it to shore last month after authorities discovered it floating off the coast, badly damaged. The DSPCA tweeted a picture of the rescued horse Gardai and the Dublin Society for the Protection of Animals (DSPCA) have rescued a horse that appears to have been set on fire in north Dublin. The horse was found in the early hours of Tuesday morning in Coolock, Co Dublin, with burn injuries on its face and neck. Its mane and eyelashes have also been burned. The horse, a young stallion, is being treated at the DSPCA Rescue Centre. A gardai investigation into the incident is now underway. No arrests have been made. Investigations are ongoing. Anyone with information is asked to contact Coolock Garda Station 01 6664200 or email inspectors@dspca.ie. Myth 5: Someone living with a mental illness is more likely to commit a crime or be violent | A mere 7.5 percent of violent acts are committed by people experiencing symptoms of mental illness, according to Bulthuis. More often than not, individuals with mental health issues are not violent. Someone with a mental illness is actually nearly 4 times more likely to be a victim of crime.(Representative Image) In yet another incident of crime in Uttar Pradesh, a Ghaziabad-based journalist was shot at in the head near his residence by a group of assailants. Nine people have so far been arrested in connection with the case, news agency PTI reported. Vikram Joshi, a journalist with a local daily, was rushed to a hospital where he is said to be in a critical condition. According to reports, the attack came after Joshi had filed a complaint against a few men for allegedly molesting his niece. Three of those whose names were mentioned in the complaint have also been arrested in connection with the attack. In his complaint lodged at the Vijay Nagar police post, Joshi had named Chhotu, Ravi and Akash, his family alleged. The journalist was given a life threat by the accused men, according to the allegations made in the FIR. The attack took place around 10.30 pm on July 20 when Joshi was on his way back home with his daughters. In a CCTV footage from the area where he was shot at, Joshi can be seen on a two-wheeler. He seems to have suddenly lost balance, which is when he was cornered by the assailants and later shot at. Following the attack on the journalist, Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra hit out at the Yogi Adityanath-led UP government over the law-and-order situation in the state. Four U.S. and European airlines are asking government leaders to begin a joint coronavirus testing program so that transatlantic travel can resume. Why it matters: Flights between the U.S. and Europe are a huge source of profit for the airline industry, which has collapsed since the pandemic hit. But government restrictions effectively prevent all non-essential travel between the regions. Driving the news: The CEOs of United Airlines, American Airlines, Deutsche Lufthansa and British Airways owner IAG Tuesday released a letter sent to Vice President Pence and Ylva Johansson, the European Union's commissioner for home affairs, pushing for the international testing effort. What they're saying: Given the unquestioned importance of transatlantic air travel to the global economy as well as to the economic recovery of our businesses, we believe it is critical to find a way to re-open air services between the U.S. and Europe, they wrote. Testing all passengers and crew would help boost public confidence without quarantine requirements or entry restrictions, the executives added in the letter. Context: The EU currently bars visits of U.S. residents after relaxing a ban on nonessential travel from 15 countries with lower coronavirus infection rates, Bloomberg writes. Britain requires that people arriving from the U.S. spend 14 days in self-imposed quarantine. U.S. rules, meanwhile, essentially prevent travel by most Europeans. Yes, but: It's not clear how routine rapid testing could be performed before boarding, or whether passengers would need to provide documentation of recent negative tests. In April, Emirates became the first airline to conduct rapid on-site COVID-19 testing of passengers before they boarded their flights. Go deeper: Air travel will never be the same after coronavirus M anchester City boss Pep Guardiola has launched a stinging attack at Arsenal, saying that while he has a lot of respect for them on the pitch, theres not much for off it. Guardiolas comments came after their defeat to the Gunners in Saturdays FA Cup semi-final at Wembley, but the reasons for the attack are believed to be far more deep-rooted. Citys hierarchy were angered by the manner in which Arsenal conducted themselves in the pursuit of Mikel Arteta the then Man City assistant manager whom they had earmarked as a potential successor to Guardiola. But more recently, it is understood that Arsenal were one of a group of eight Premier League clubs who approached the Court of Arbitration for Sport regarding Man Citys then impending Champions League ban. CAS would eventually overrule Uefas ban sparked by alleged FFP breaches but Arsenal, along with Manchester United, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal, Tottenham, Leicester, Wolves and Burnley are believed to have approached CAS urging them not to delay the suspension pending Citys appeal. Guardiola last week told clubs to stop whispering about City, and their latest outburst seems to have been sparked both by this and residual tensions from Artetas appointment as Arsenal manager in December 2019. In Pictures | Arsenal vs Man City, FA Cup semi-final | 18/07/20 1 /45 In Pictures | Arsenal vs Man City, FA Cup semi-final | 18/07/20 POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images AP Getty Images PA PA POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images PA AP PA PA PA POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images PA AP POOL/AFP via Getty Images POOL/AFP via Getty Images Arsenal FC via Getty Images AP PA POOL/AFP via Getty Images Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal FC via Getty Images Arsenal FC via Getty Images Getty Images PA Guardiola said: We didnt play the first half against Arsenal like the second, that was the only regret. We wanted to play 90 minutes like the second half.". TODO: define component type apester But, after we were beaten, we shake hands. The opponents always deserve my respect and credit. And Arsenal, I have all the respect for what they are on the pitch, not much off the pitch but on the pitch, a lot. Congratulations to them and good luck in the final. The ANASIS-II satellite makes South Korea the 10th country in the world to own a military-only communications satellite. Private operator Space X has launched South Koreas first military communications satellite into space as Seoul looks to build up its defence capabilities against its nuclear-armed neighbour, North Korea. South Koreas Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA), in a statement on Tuesday, said the ANASIS-II satellite lifted off from the Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in the US state of Florida at 5:30pm local time the previous day. SpaceX, the private rocket company belonging to billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk, confirmed the satellite deployed about 32 minutes after lift-off. DAPA said the launch made South Korea the 10th country in the world to own a military-only communications satellite, which will provide permanent and secured military communications. The satellite is expected to reach its orbit level in two weeks, it said, adding that South Koreas military will take over the system in October after testing. Seoul is looking to enhance its military capabilities as it pushes to end an arrangement under which, if war breaks out, US commanders would have authority over their combined forces. The satellite was expected to improve the South Korean militarys independent operational capabilities, an official at its defence ministry told Yonhap news agency. Strains in alliance Seoul and Washington are security allies and the US stations 28,500 troops in the country. But their relationship has been strained in recent years, triggered by differences in their approaches to Pyongyang and over cost-sharing responsibilities. Reuters news agency, citing South Korean officials, said the two allies were yet to agree on the scale, scope and timing of annual military exercises, which usually begin in early August, because the coronavirus pandemic had disrupted travel by US troops. South Korean Minister of Defense Jeong Kyeong-doo and US Secretary of Defense Mark Esper had a telephone call on Tuesday but could not decide on details of the exercises, the officials told Reuters. Jeong and Esper did not discuss any withdrawal of US soldiers, the South Korean official said, dismissing as groundless a recent Wall Street Journal report that the Pentagon had offered the White House options to reduce the US military presence in South Korea. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Ghina Ghaliya (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 08:15 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f9181 1 National djoko-tjandra,fugitive,bank-bali-case,South-Jakarta-District-Court Free For the third time, graft fugitive Djoko Soegiarto Tjandra has failed to attend a hearing of a case review he filed against his conviction in a high-profile corruption case and has requested for the hearing to be held virtually, as he is reportedly residing in Kuala Lumpur. His attorney Andi Putra Kusuma read out a letter signed by Djoko in Kuala Lumpur on July 17, which cited health issues as the reason for his absence. I, as the plaintiff, express my apology to the panel of judges of this case review hearing for my absence due to my declining health, Andi read during the hearing at the South Jakarta District Court on Monday. In the letter, Djoko also requested for the hearing to be held virtually. For the sake of justice and legal certainty, through this letter, I plead to the panel of judges in charge of my case review to allow for an online hearing or teleconference, Andi added. Djoko was also absent form hearings of his case review on June 29 and July 6. The fugitive, who was convicted in the high-profile Bank Bali corruption case, filed the case review in early June without being detected by the authorities. He has remained at large since 2009 after fleeing to Papua New Guinea. Presiding judge Nazar Effriandi refused the request, saying that a teleconference hearing was not permitted in the circular issued by the Supreme Court and that the letter read out in court indicated that Djoko did not intend to attend the hearing of his own case. Nazar adjourned the hearing to next Monday when prosecutors will deliver their response on the case review. Read also: National Police remove top brass from posts over alleged involvement in Djoko Tjandra case Djokos return has sparked outrage, as he was able to enter the country undetected, allowing him to file the case review after also being issued a new electronic identification card and passport and having his red notice status lifted. It was recently revealed that three high-ranking police officers have been removed from their posts over their alleged involvement in helping the infamous fugitive. Activists and experts have called on the court to dismiss Djokos case review. The Indonesian Anti-Corruption Community (MAKI) has filed an amicus curiae a brief offered by someone who is not a party to a case to encourage the court to reject the review. "The court should not accept Djokos case review because it doesnt comply with legal procedures and requirements, the groups coordinator Boyamin Saiman said in a written statement on Monday. He said that based on the Criminal Law Procedures Code (KUHAP), parties entitled to file case reviews are convicts or their heirs. Whereas Djoko, he argued, had not served any of his two-year sentence. Boyamin also explained that according to Immigration Office records, no one named Djoko Tjandra had entered Indonesia through any immigration posts, and urged the judges to consider that Djoko had never returned to Indonesia after his escape in 2009, making the case review petition invalid. Indonesian Corruption Watch (ICW) researcher Kurnia Ramadhana echoed Boyamins sentiment, saying that the court should reject Djoko's case review, noting the judges had postponed the hearing several times because the plaintiff was absent. Read also: Police probe general who allegedly issued travel letter for graft fugitive Djoko Tjandra Supreme Court Circular Letter No. 1/2012 and Article 265 of the KUHAP require the plaintiff to attend when registering and during the hearing of the review. Djoko, Kurnia said, had also broken the law by fleeing the country in 2009 to avoid his sentence. "The judges must be objective and help law enforcement by not accepting the review, he said. Both MAKI and ICW called on President Joko "Jokowi" Widodo to push for Djokos extradition from Malaysia, noting the process would involve high-level diplomacy. "President Jokowi and Malaysian Prime Minister Muhyidin Yassin have a good relationship. This should be used to extradite Djoko from Malaysia," Boyamin said. Foreign Ministry acting spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah stated that the ministry would assist law enforcement agencies in their efforts to extradite Djoko to Indonesia through the available legal mechanisms. "The Foreign Ministry will cooperate and coordinate with the relevant authorities in Indonesia," he said. Elon Musk is now the world's fifth richest man after his net worth hit $74 billion Monday afternoon thanks to Tesla's ongoing stock rally. Shares in the company, founded by Musk, 49, hit $1,643.00 - a 300 per cent increase since January 2020 and up 60 per cent since the end of June. Tesla is now worth more than General Motors, Ford, BMW and Ferrari combined and has surpassed every rival to become the world's highest-valued automaker. Asked by Forbes about his wealth, outspoken Musk, who is also the CEO of SpaceX, said: 'I really couldn't care less. These numbers rise and fall, but what really matters is making great products that people love.' The world's richest man, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos', also saw his net worth increase by $13 billion in one day on Monday. That is the largest one day jump in one person's wealth in the history of the Bloomberg Billionaire List. He now has a fortune of $189.3 billion. Elon Musk is now the fifth richest man in the world after his net worth hit $74 billion Monday Jeff Bezos saw his net worth increase by $13 billion in one day on Monday Amazon has seen its share price jump by 73 per cent since the beginning of the year, thanks to an increase in online shopping amid the coronavirus. That rise makes Bezos, who has an 11 per cent stake, worth more than companies like Nike and McDonald's. Musk was worth just under $25 billion as recently as March and stood at 31 on Forbes' rich list. Since then his wealth has tripled. He now falls behind only Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, who is fourth richest, Microsoft's Bill Gates in third, Bernard Arnault in second and Bezos, who is the world's richest man. Shares in the company founded by Musk, 49, hit $1,643.00 Monday - a 300 per cent increase since January 2020 and up 60 per cent since the end of June Amazon has also seen its share price jump by 73 per cent since the beginning of the year, thanks to an increase in online shopping amid the coronavirus Tesla's share price has increased more than six-fold since October, trading around $1,500 on Monday. Retail investors around the world, staunch believers in the company's mission to lead the auto industry into a battery-powered future, have invested their personal money, and at times their parents' retirement funds, in Tesla and reaped handsome rewards. Tesla reports second-quarter results on Wednesday after the close of trading. While analysts polled by Refinitiv on average expect the company to report a loss, a surprisingly strong vehicle delivery report boosted hopes among many retail investors for a profitable quarter. While the total number of Tesla retail investors is not known, around 75 per cent of the company's stock is owned by large institutional investors and Tesla executives, including Chief Executive Elon Musk, according to Refinitiv data. Bezos, pictured left with girlfriend Lauren Sanchez, now has a fortune of $189.3 billion. Musk, right with girlfriend Grimes, was worth just under $25 billion as recently as March and stood at 31 on Forbes' rich list. Since then his wealth has tripled Tesla shares are among the most popular on U.S. retail investor platforms, such as Robinhood Markets Inc and TD Ameritrade. The number of users holding Tesla stock on the Robinhood trading app increased more than 400 per cent from the first two weeks of July 2018 to the same point this year, according to data from Robintrack.net, which compiles data on the investing platform. In South Korea, where Tesla has become the latest craze among tech-savvy professionals, the company is the most-traded overseas stock, with Koreans buying $3.2 billion worth of Tesla shares so far this year, up nearly 13-fold from all of 2019. Can you help us ID this attempted burglary suspect? During the early morning hours of July 17, 2020, this suspect... Posted by Bethlehem Township Police Dept on Tuesday, July 21, 2020 Bethlehem Township police are trying to identify a person who tried to enter a home and several vehicles in the early morning hours of Friday. The attempted burglaries happened in the area of Farmersville Road and Hilltop Circle, police said. Two Ring videos were put together showing two views of the person. Watch the video to the end. (If you cant see the video above, find it here.) Anyone who recognizes the burglar is ask to call Investigator Ed Fox at 610-419-9646 or email him at efox@bethlehemtwp.com. If anyone in that neighborhood has additional video, police ask you share it with them. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a voluntary subscription. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. (Natural News) The media and much of the public is awfully eager to proclaim how much black lives matter to them these days, but when the conversation is steered toward preborn black lives, its a far different story. Somehow, we are not hearing a whole lot of outrage after a message outside a New York Planned Parenthood declaring that black preborn lives matter was vandalized. The message was reportedly painted by a group of pro-life students on the street outside the Rochester abortion center, and an unknown party changed the message by painting the word preborn black to obscure it. According to a post on the website for Students for Life, members of the group in the Rochester area were joined by Feminists Choosing Life of New York and the Frederick Douglass Foundation of New York in the early hours of Independence Day to ask the question, What is the 4th of July to the preborn? a take on Douglasss famous What to the Slave is the 4th of July? speech. Guest poster Ben Chernjavsky, the President of Monroe Community College Students for Life, said in the post that the 4th of July is an appropriate day to remember that all men are created equal, and this starts at the very moment of their creation. He called out the state of New York for failing to secure the right to life for all people, saying that children can be killed legally during the first nine months of their lives there. He rightfully direct much of his outrage at Planned Parenthood, writing: When a deeply racist organization establishes eugenic facilities with government funding, how can we not speak up? When an entire quarter (or more) of our generation is not with us because they were deemed unworthy of life, how can we not fight for the next generation? He also pointed out that while a statue of Douglass was torn down in Rochester, the buildings that house oppression and death still stand, referring to Planned Parenthood abortion clinics. Although he did not accuse PP outright of blacking out the word preborn in the message, he wrote that it was darkly appropriate and that the group, whose founding principles included exterminate the Negro population, agrees with the vandals designation of which black lives apparently dont matter. Why arent more people speaking out against Planned Parenthood? Those who try to spread the message that Planned Parenthood disproportionately kills black babies are often silenced. In 2018, Instagram censored a meme stating, We kill more black lives in 2 weeks than the KKK lynched in a century. Planned Parenthood. Eugenics. No Matter What. Although that claim is factually correct, Instagram told the creator of the meme, a black man who was conceived during the rape of his mother, that is was removed for threatening violence which it clearly does not. It is no secret that Planned Parenthood founder Margaret Sanger believed that black people are inferior to white people and was known for her pro-eugenics stance. PP was created with the purpose of eliminating people she considered inferior. Today, the abortion rate for black women is four times the rate of white women, with the black babies aborted in New York City outnumbering those who are born alive. All told, abortions have killed 19 million black babies in America since 1973. If all these BLM supporters truly believe that black lives matter, why are they focusing on the faces on maple syrup bottles and boxes of rice when they could be looking at why 100,000 black babies are killed each year by Planned Parenthood, who strategically place clinics in black neighborhoods throughout the country? Sources for this article include: LifeSiteNews.com StudentsForLife.org NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com South Africa: President Ramaphosa to chair virtual AU meeting President Cyril Ramaphosa, in his capacity as African Union Chairperson, will today chair a virtual meeting of the AU Bureau of the Assembly of Heads of State and Government. The meeting is a follow-up to the Bureaus meeting on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD), which was held on 26 June 2020. The meeting will consider progress made in the trilateral negotiations between the GERD parties, namely, Egypt, Ethiopia and Sudan. The meeting will take place within the context of the AUs efforts to strengthen the negotiations and to infuse new momentum towards the resolution of all the outstanding legal and technical matters, including (but not limited to) the issue of the future development on the Blue Nile upstream, as well as a future dispute resolution mechanism. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. Will establish new plan to safeguard benefits for associates BOISE, Idaho, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Albertsons Companies, Inc. (NYSE: ACI) announced today that it has entered into a tentative agreement with the trustees of the United Food and Commercial Workers International Union (UFCW) Union-Industry Pension Fund (National Fund), providing that ACI will permanently cease to have any obligation to contribute to the National Fund, a multiemployer pension plan, and will completely withdraw from the National Fund, effective as of June 30, 2020. ACI and the UFCW local unions have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) that will instead establish a Variable Annuity Pension Plan (the VAPP), effective as of July 1, 2020, providing for future security and service benefits for ACI associates. This agreement will need to be ratified by the membership of each of these unions before it can take effect. We are pleased with this agreement, said Vivek Sankaran, President & CEO. We believe this protects and provides the right benefits for our employees, while reducing financial risk going forward. Upon ratification of the agreement by nine local UFCW unions, ACI will pay an aggregate of approximately $286 million to the National Fund, which will be in full satisfaction of ACIs withdrawal liability amount or mass withdrawal liability amount, by June 30, 2023. ACI will pay this amount in three or four installments over the next three years, any portion of which may be prepaid, in whole or in part. Within thirty (30) days of the establishment of the VAPP, ACI will pre-fund a transition reserve to support certain grandfathered participants by making a payment of approximately $8 to $9 million. ACI and the local unions will establish the VAPP by October 31, 2020. ACI will make monthly employer contributions to the VAPP at the same monthly rate (or hourly equivalent rate) it had contributed to the National Fund. Accrued benefits will be subject to a variable annuity calculation and be adjusted to reflect net investment returns above or below a hurdle rate of return of 5.5%. This pension benefit formula fixes the terms of ACIs projected future pension costs through June 30, 2028 for these nine local UFCW unions, lowers ACIs future financial risk and helps to protect benefits for our valuable employees. Story continues ACI expects to incur a pre-tax charge of approximately $286 million (or $213 million on an after-tax basis) to record the withdrawal liability for these benefits earned for prior service. This charge is expected to be recorded upon ratification of the agreement, which ACI expects to be in the third quarter of fiscal 2020. This charge will not affect Adjusted EBITDA and Adjusted net income for fiscal 2020 as those measures exclude adjustment items such as this contribution. The Kroger Co. and The Stop and Shop Supermarket Company LLC have each entered into separate tentative agreements with the trustees of the National Fund to withdraw from the National Fund and a separate MOU with UFCW local unions to transition to their own new variable benefit plan. In addition to the MOU being subject to (and conditioned on) ratification by ACI associates from nine local UFCW unions, it is also subject to Kroger and Stop and Shop obtaining ratification of their respective MOUs providing for their withdrawals from the National Fund and satisfying all conditions necessary to permit either of them to participate in their applicable new variable benefit plan. ACI will only move forward with this transaction, withdrawing from the National Fund and transitioning its affected associates to the VAPP, if all of the above conditions are met. About Albertsons Companies Albertsons Companies is one of the largest food and drug retailers in the United States, with both a strong local presence and national scale. Albertsons Companies operates stores across 34 states and the District of Columbia under 20 well-known banners including Albertsons, Safeway, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Tom Thumb, Carrs, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaws, Star Market, United Supermarkets, Market Street and Haggen. Important Notice Regarding Forward-Looking Statements This press release contains certain forward-looking statements. Statements that are not historical facts, including statements regarding Albertsons Companies expectations, perspectives and projected financial performance, are forward-looking statements. The words expect, believe, estimate, intend, plan and similar expressions, when related to Albertsons Companies and its subsidiaries, indicate forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements are based on Albertsons Companies current expectations and involve risks and uncertainties, including, but not limited to, risks and uncertainties regarding our current expectations and beliefs, other pending transactions and other future events. Albertsons Companies cautions that actual results could differ materially from the expectations described in the forward-looking statements. Albertsons Companies also cautions that undue reliance should not be placed on any of the forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date of this release. Albertsons Companies undertakes no responsibility to update any of these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances after the date of this report or to reflect actual outcomes. Additional information concerning factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking statements is contained from time to time in Albertsons Companies filings with the SEC, including its most recently filed Forms 10-Q and 10-K. CONTACT: Melissa Plaisance Albertsons Companies 925-226-5115 melissa.plaisance@albertsons.com Australian iron ore exports to China surged in the first half of the year, as demand from steel mills rose to supply Beijing's infrastructure building push to boost the coronavirus-hit economy. Iron ore exports from Australia to the rest of the world, though, remained weak, reflecting the sharp differences in the pace of the recovery in major economies from the damage done by the coronavirus pandemic. Australian mining giant Rio Tinto reported a 3 per cent increase in total iron ore shipments in the first half of the year, including a rise in a new trend of port-side sales in China, amid the need for more flexible trading in the early days of China's economic recovery. But while Chinese demand for iron ore has improved progressively since it reopened its economy in May, Rio Tinto cautioned in its first half report that recovery in demand around the world, such as in Japan and Europe, has "yet to begin meaningfully and is likely to be subdued when it does". Alongside steady sales of seaborne iron ore to support longer-term contracts, Rio Tinto, the second-largest diversified miner in the world, gained 61 new customers for port-side trading. This new sales venture started in September last year, and allows buyers to acquire iron ore in smaller volumes with shorter lead times and smaller credit lines than seaborne trading, allowing steel producers to keep their inventories to a minimum but still restock on a just-in-time basis if demand rises. The increasing attractiveness of port-side trading underlines a need for more flexibility in the early days of recovery, when there is still volatility in Chinese demand as the Covid-19 pandemic continues, said Tim Harcourt, former chief economist at the Australian Trade Commission. "There's efficiency gains and less regulation. It's a clear sign of China's industrial production coming back," he said, adding that flexible port-side trading is helping steel producers reduce variable costs to make production viable in the short-term. Story continues Rio Tinto's strong iron ore sales in the first half of the year were tied to a 9.6 per cent increase in total Chinese imports compared to a year earlier, according to data from China's General Administration of Customs. Chinese gross domestic product also expanded by a stronger-than-expected 3.2 per cent in the second quarter from a year earlier, a sharp reversal from a first quarter contraction of 6.8 per cent. Iron ore prices have also performed well on the back of rising Chinese demand, soaring to nearly US$110 per tonne in July, a level not seen since August 2019. This was driven not only by a rise in demand from China, but also a fall in the supply of iron ore from mines in Brazil, where the number of coronavirus infections has soared and is now the second-highest in the world, after only the United States, economic research firm Trading Economics said. But the downside risk in rising iron ore prices is that profit margins for steel production will be squeezed, which may lead to a slowdown in production that could trigger a future decline in Chinese demand, ANZ Research said in a new report on Monday. Rising inventories at Chinese steel producers also signal a potential slowdown in demand for Australian iron ore. "Inventories are a good gauge for underlying demand strength. Iron ore inventories have started building up, signalling waning demand strength," according to the report by ANZ's Daniel Hynes and Soni Kumari. And with a likely decline in Chinese iron ore demand on the horizon, and a slow pickup in steel production among major customers outside China, the industry is not yet on a firm upwards trajectory, both Rio Tinto and analysts cautioned. But some are optimistic. Australia's department of industry expects the long-term performance of its iron ore exports to be positive, with China's demand set to remain strong in the future given a need for it to rely on its domestic economy to produce growth in 2020. That means prices will stay relatively high, according to the department's "Resources and Energy Quarterly" report released last month. "Chinese demand for iron ore has thus far proven to be relatively robust, despite the impact of Covid-19 and the shutdown of significant sectors of the Chinese manufacturing industry," the report said. "At this stage, it is not expected that Chinese demand will fall significantly, though the ongoing decline of consumer spending in [Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development] nations will increase the dependence of the Chinese steel industry on domestic stimulus measures." A significant global recovery in 2021 would offset any reduction in iron ore demand in China, it said. This article originally appeared in the South China Morning Post (SCMP), the most authoritative voice reporting on China and Asia for more than a century. For more SCMP stories, please explore the SCMP app or visit the SCMP's Facebook and Twitter pages. Copyright 2020 South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Copyright (c) 2020. South China Morning Post Publishers Ltd. All rights reserved. Riga City, Latvia -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/21/2020 -- ColossusXT, the community-orientated energy-efficient cryptocurrency is pleased to announce that they are now ready for business with the Federal Government. The computing industry is expected to witness a major change in the coming five years and ColossusXT is taking necessary steps in the industry to provide transparency through consumer privacy. Privacy protection will be of utmost importance to ColossusXT's model. ColossusXT LLC is approved to work with state and federal agencies through the SAM.gov system on July 14th, 2020. This means that they are allowed to bid on federal and state projects and funding; and will be competing against giants such as Microsoft, Oracle, IBM, Amazon, etc. The blockchain industry has witnessed a lot of changes in the past couple of years, however, there is still room for improvement especially with providing a simplified user experience for investors who aren't that tech-savvy. ColossusXT is a cryptocurrency created by the community for the community; it is energy efficient and designed with a special focus on privacy, real-world implementation, decentralization. The coin uses the Proof Of Stake (POS) / Masternode Network to encourage community-based governance and a self-funding treasury system. ColossusXT is continuously evolving to build the Colossus Grid utilizing an advanced digital currency. The Grid connects all the users for a greater purpose to reward each individual for their voluntary resource contributions. With this, ColossusXT aims at becoming a world-class privacy currency and to compete in the global market for computing power and decentralized storage. ColossusXT might be a small project when compared to the huge projects driven by ICOs/IEOs. However, the Colossus Grid will work for the greater good of the community wherein the users can opt-in to share their idle resources (RAM/ GPU/ CPU/ Storage) on their computers; thus contributing to energy efficiency. The other consumers can rent these unused resources to conduct simulations, climate research, cryptocurrency mining, molecular modeling, and so on. With another paradigm focus on cybersecurity firms, Colossus Grid will also make supercomputing power available for the cybersecurity analysts. It is a known fact that owning and maintaining a supercomputer is enormously expensive. The Grid will allow the analysts to access the supercomputer with 1/10th of the costs of traditional supercomputing. This puts an end to scheduling the access and the woes about exceeding the allotted time. With a special focus on cybersecurity, the Colossus Grid will also provide computing power for AI and machine learning applications for defense purposes. To know more visit https://colossusxt.io/ About Colossus XT ColossusXT (ticker: COLX) is a community-orientated, energy efficient coin with a strong focus on decentralization, privacy, and real-world implementation. It utilizes an energy efficient Proof of Stake 3.0 protocol and a second-tier Masternode network for inclusive community-based governance along with a blockchain based self-funding treasury system ensuring its sustainability. In order to reach this level of usability, COLX is continually evolving. The goal of COLX is to be an advanced digital currency that is fast, secure, decentralized, private, and connects all of its users for a greater purpose as part of the Colossus Grid. Colossus Grid is an ambitious project that aims to reward individuals for voluntary grid contributions. With this, ColossusXT seeks to compete in the global market for distributed computing power and decentralized storage all while riding on the backbone of a world class privacy blockchain. ColossusXT LLC is a registered business in Wyoming, USA. About Cryptoshib Criptoshib tries to keep crypto enthusiasts updated with the latest happenings and stories from the crypto world. We try to post stories about projects and people of the crypto and blockchain communities from around the world. Media Contact COLX ColossusXT Website: https://colossusxt.io/ Email: business@colossusxt.io Lao troops was shot dead on July 16, 2020 by an unidentified armed group as his unit patrolled the forested areas of central province of Xaysomboun during a crackdown on opium growers. An unidentified armed group shot and killed a member of a Lao government security force last week as his unit patrolled the forested areas of central Xaysomboun province during a crackdown on opium growers, RFA has learned. The incident occurred July 16 as the security force was engaged in missions on Xaysombouns borders with Luang Prabang and Xieng Khouang provinces. RFAs Lao Service obtained photos of the soldiers body from a reliable source who declined to be named, and reports of the incident appeared on Lao social media shortly thereafter. The soldiers remains were airlifted to his family in their village, where a funeral was held Sunday. The funeral was documented by the family on Facebook. Rural villagers are now frightened to enter the forests, which many in the rural parts of the mountainous province rely on for subsistence. I feel unsafe and afraid to go into the forest to gather wild fruits and vegetables, a villager, who requested anonymity to speak freely, told RFAs Lao Service. Another villager told RFA that while the well-traveled roads are still safe, people have become afraid of traveling into deeper areas of the forest. The police and army have set up small posts along the roads to check on people regularly, but there are some bad elements hiding in the forest, so we are too scared to go there, said the second villager, who requested anonymity for security reasons. An official at the Xaysomboun security office confirmed the death of the soldier, adding that such incidents have a history in Xaysomboun. RFA was unable to reach officials at Laos ministry of defense for comment. Bandits blamed in previous attacks Laos has a decades-long history of shooting violence perpetrated by unidentified armed groups, sometimes referred to as bandits. In Xaysomboun, several notable recent shootings have targeted Chinese developers and passenger buses. In June 2017, an unknown group shot and killed a Chinese investor visiting the area. In January 2016, bandits attacked a truck carrying minerals, killing two Chinese nationals and injuring one more. In August 2015, bandits attacked a bus on the main road through Xaysomboun, resulting in fighting between government forces and the unknown group. Three soldiers and four villagers died, with the government accusing bad elements of trying to create violence in the province. Xaysomboun was once a base for thousands of ethnic minority Hmong who fought under U.S. Central Intelligence Agency advisers during a so-called secret war backing the Lao Royal Army against the Pathet Lao communist forces. After the communist takeover in 1975, a ragtag band of ethnic Hmong resisters hid in the jungle, fearing government persecution for having fought for the pro-American side during the war. Reported by RFAs Lao service. Translated by Sidney Khotpanya. Written in English by Eugene Whong. Saudi Arabia's King Salman is in stable condition, three Saudi sources said, after the 84-year-old monarch was admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh on Monday with what state media said was inflammation of the gall bladder. The king, who has ruled the world's largest oil exporter and close US ally since 2015, was undergoing medical checks, state media on Monday cited a Royal Court statement as saying without further details. Three well-connnected Saudi sources who declined to be identified, two of whom were speaking late on Monday and one on Tuesday, told Reuters the king was "fine". An official in the region, who requested anonymity, said he spoke to one of King Salman's sons on Monday who seemed "calm" and that there was no sense of panic about the monarch's health. King Salman received phone calls from the leaders of Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan on Monday, state media reported. A diplomatic source said the kingdom's de facto ruler Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman flew back to Riyadh on Monday from his palace in the Red Sea city of NEOM, cancelling a planned meeting with a visiting Iraqi delegation. The diplomatic source and the third Saudi source said he was still in the capital. King Salman last spoke publicly on March 19 in a five-minute televised address about the coronavirus pandemic. State media have published pictures and videos of the king chairing online weekly cabinet meetings. Media have also carried images of the crown prince attending those meetings online. King Salman, the custodian of Islam's holiest sites, spent more than 2-1/2 years as the Saudi crown prince and was deputy prime minister from June 2012 before becoming king. He also served as governor of the Riyadh region for more than 50 years. He named his young son Mohammed as crown prince to become next in line to the throne after a 2017 palace coup that ousted then-Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef. With Beijing's new security law in Hong Kong and China's heightening tensions with the United States, Trump's administration has sanctioned 11 additional Chinese companies on Monday denying them the right to purchase American goods if they do not possess a special license in accordance with the establishments' alleged violations of human rights. Rising international tensions Included in the list of barred companies is the former and current supplier of major global brands such as Apple, Ralph Lauren, Google, and several others. The Australian government's Australian Strategic Policy Institute cited the websites of the affected companies which noted their relationships with the US brands. According to The New York Times, the officials' announcement could lead to more leading clothing and technology-based brands to opt-out of dealing with supply chains that involve Xinjiang which has been long-considered a valuable source of resources by Chinese factories. Several human rights groups and journalists have recorded mass detention campaigns being conducted in the Xinjiang province by the Chinese government. The move has caused at least one million Muslim Uighurs, an ethnic minority in China, to be locked up inside detention camps. Several of the detainees are forced into slave labor for factories in the camps or somewhere nearby to supplement the province's various outputs that would be used to fuel international supply chains. A video investigation showed Chinese companies using a labor program that enforced Muslim Uighurs to increase its workforce to produce masks and other personal protective equipment, some of which were shipped to the US and several other countries. The companies cited by Trump's administration on Monday were included in the list for their apparent use of forced labor as stated by the Commerce Department. Two other establishments, Xinjiang Silk Road BGI as well as Beijing Liuhe BGI, were incorporated into the list due to conducting genetic analysis in the suppression of the Uighur communities. Also Read: Hong Kong's New Security Law Threatens Political Freedom, Teacher Arrested Over Differing Views Wilbur Ross, the Commerce Secretary, stated that Beijing was actively employing and supporting illegal acts of forced labor and inhuman DNA gathering and analysis in an attempt to suppress its Uighur citizens, as reported by Channel News Asia. The Chinese embassy located in Washington has refused to give its comment regarding the matter. Unlawful interference The Chinese foreign ministry criticized the United States' decision over banning Chinese companies and saying the US government is overextending its reach and authority and interfering with its domestic affairs. The move by the US also comes after it has previously sanctioned several Chinese officials for their alleged involvement in violations of human rights. For most of 2018 and 2019, Trump has delayed the sanctions on China over Uighur mistreatment as he was attempting to close a trade deal with Beijing that was signed into an agreement early this year. Since January, Trump's administration has become more aggressive towards China, accusing it of purposely letting the coronavirus spread and criticizing Beijing's new security law in Hong Kong that undermined the city's autonomy and political freedom. Related Article: Trump Signs Executive Order Against China, Ending Special Treatment of Hong Kong @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Texas Democrats are kind of like fans of the pre-2016 Chicago Cubs: perpetually pumping themselves up to believe that, at long last, this could be their year. Its happening again in 2020, but this time around theres some cold, hard data to back up that optimism. Recent polls show presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden running basically even with President Donald Trump in Texas. With this solidly Republican state shaping up as a battleground for the first time in decades, Biden launched a four-state ad buy last week that included a 60-second spot targeted to the Texas market. On ExpressNews.com: Joe Biden launches Texas TV ad Assuming a reassuring tone reminiscent of Franklin Roosevelt in his early fireside chats, Biden insisted that unity of purpose can get this country through the COVID-19 pandemic. This virus is tough, Biden said. But Texas is tougher. Bidens play for Texas was a topic of conversation on this weeks episode of the Express-News Puro Politics podcast. What struck me about that ad was that Biden is simply acknowledging reality, reporter Brian Chasnoff said on the podcast. Its refreshing for me, and I would think its refreshing for a lot of Texans who are really suffering right now with this pandemic: the economic fallout, the public health implications. I dont think youre seeing a lot of acknowledgment of basic reality from the White House right now. So I do think that this could go a long way toward swaying folks, maybe even those who had supported the president initially, back in 2016. On ExpressNews.com: Trump-Biden race has big divide between Texas men and women, polling shows Greg Jefferson and Joshua Fechter said the sharp summer downtown in support for Gov. Greg Abbotts handling of the pandemic could extend to Trump and offer an opening for Biden. Were definitely in interesting times, and it does seem like the GOP hold on Texas is loosening a bit, Jefferson said. Hear this and other topics discussed on this weeks edition of Puro Politics. Gilbert Garcia is a columnist covering the San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Gilbert, become a subscriber. ggarcia@express-news.net | Twitter: @gilgamesh470 A senior police officer said that 435 inmates of the jail have so far tested positive for COVID-19, including activist and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi. Guwahati: Sharjeel Imam, an IIT-Bombay alumni, jailed in Assam over his alleged involvement in anti- CAA protests, has tested positive for COVID-19, a top official said on Tuesday. Swab samples of Imam and some other inmates were tested earlier and the results came today, Inspector General (Prisons) Dasarath Das said. Imam, charged with sedition, was earlier scheduled to be taken to Delhi but will now be shifted to a hospital in Guwahati for treatment, he said. He was actively involved in the Shaheen Bagh protest in the National Capital against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, and was booked under the sedition law for his speech where he allegedly threatened to cut off Assam from the rest of the country. He was brought here in January for interrogation and is lodged in Guwahati Central Jail. Das said that 435 inmates of the jail have so far tested positive for COVID-19, including activist and peasant leader Akhil Gogoi. Meanwhile, Muzammil Imam, his brother, tweeted that Sharjeel has been infected with COVID-19 and claimed only a few at the correctional facility were getting proper medical attention. He claimed over 600 inmates at the prison, where 1,100 people where lodged, were afflicted by the contagion. "Hundreds of positive patients are being forced to live in inhumane condition inside the jail premises itself. Pray for his health and safety," he wrote. . China warned yesterday that Britain was heading down the 'wrong path' ahead of Dominic Raab announcing the suspension of an extradition treaty with Hong Kong. The Foreign Secretary pulled the reciprocal arrangement and also extended an arms embargo with China to the formerly autonomous city following Beijing's imposition of a new national security law. Wang Wenbin, spokesman for China's foreign ministry, said Beijing would 'firmly counter' any interference in its internal affairs, also slamming suggestions it was mistreating Uighur Muslims as 'slander'. 'We urge the UK not to go further down this wrong path, in order to avoid further damage to China-UK relations,' Wang said. Wang Wenbin, spokesman for China's foreign ministry, told a regular press briefing that Beijing would 'firmly counter' any interference in its internal affairs, also slamming suggestions it was mistreating minorities in Xinjiang as 'slander' Mr Raab told MPs yesterday the extradition treaty with Hong Kong was being suspended 'immediately and indefinitely' because of concerns that the new national security law could allow cases to be transferred to mainland China 'Recent erroneous remarks and measures concerning Hong Kong have seriously violated international law and basic norms governing international relations... China strongly condemns this and firmly opposes it.' Why is the UK suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong? China imposed a new national security law on Hong Kong at the end of June this year. The controversial legislation criminalises secession, subversion and collusion with foreign forces but also curtails rights to protest and freedom of speech. Crucially, the rules apply outside the borders of China. This has stoked fears Beijing could try to use the extradition mechanism to drag any overseas residents involved in pro-democracy activism back to Hong Kong. The UK does currently have an extradition treaty with Hong Kong but it does not have one with China. There are fears that people could be extradited back to Hong Kong to be unfairly punished. Canada and Australia have both already suspended their extradition arrangements with Hong Kong with the US currently considering whether to also follow suit. Advertisement Mr Raab told MPs yesterday the extradition treaty with Hong Kong was being suspended 'immediately and indefinitely' because of concerns that the new national security law could allow cases to be transferred to mainland China. The extradition treaty means that, if someone in Hong Kong is suspected of a crime in the UK, the British authorities can ask Hong Kong to hand them over to face justice and vice versa. The UK fears the arrangement which has been in place for more than 30 years could see anyone it extradites to Hong Kong being sent on to China. An arms embargo with China that has been in place since 1989 will also be extended to Hong Kong, Mr Raab said. Amid the diplomatic firestorm, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo flew to Britain last night. He will meet Boris Johnson and Mr Raab today, with the subject of China expected to dominate the discussions. US sources said they will discuss ways to 'deal with' Beijing, including its 'aggression' in the South China Sea. They will also look at alternatives to Chinese telecoms giant Huawei after Britain banned the firm from its 5G networks, and the ways in which the UK and US 'can develop networks with trusted vendors'. The new security law imposed by China on Hong Kong last month has drawn widespread criticism in London and elsewhere. Britain's Supreme Court president, meanwhile, suggested last week that the two British judges serving in Hong Kong's Court of Final Appeal - under the terms of the territory's handover agreement with China in 1997 - could stand down unless the rule of law was guaranteed in the semi-autonomous city. Wang said Beijing would 'oppose interference in Hong Kong affairs by outside forces' and that judicial independence was 'not affected' by the new security law. He also hit back at comments by Mr Raab that accused Beijing of human rights abuses against ethnic and religious minorities in the northwest region of Xinjiang. Mr Raab told the BBC on Sunday that it was 'clear that there are gross, egregious human rights abuses going on... it is deeply, deeply troubling.' Wang called the comments 'nothing but rumours and slander'. 'The Xinjiang issue is not about human rights, religions or ethnic groups at all, but about combating violence, terrorism and separatism,' he said. Uighur men resing in front of a coffee bar in Kashgar, western Xinjiang. China denies abusing the Uighur population and says such accusations are slander Rights groups and experts estimate that more than one million ethnic Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been rounded up into a network of internment camps, which China says are facilities for job-training and to steer people away from extremism. Mr Raab said reports of forced sterilisations and mass detentions in Xinjiang required international attention, and that Britain 'cannot see behaviour like that and not call it out'. But Wang said the forced-sterilisation reports were 'complete nonsense', and that the Uighur population had more than doubled in the past four decades. Exiled Uighurs this month called for the International Criminal Court in the Hague to investigate China for genocide and crimes against humanity, filing a huge dossier accusing China of rights abuses including forcibly sterilising women. FORMER Information Communication Technology minister Supa Mandiwanzira, who is facing allegations of criminal abuse of office for allegedly seconding his personal assistant to the board of the Postal and Telecommunications Regulatory Authority of Zimbabwe (Potraz) without due process, yesterday demanded his freedom. Mandiwanzira has since filed for exception to the charge, arguing that the allegations do not disclose an offence. The State is yet to respond to his application. Three different prosecutors have appeared on the matter seeking postponements which has raised the discomfort of Mandiwanzira. Through his lawyer Fungai Chimwamurombe, Mandiwanzira, yesterday cornered the State demanding his freedom and the matter had to be taken to the chambers. He told the court that he has been religiously attending court, incurring expenses and having difficulties in travelling from Nyanga where he is staying and risking Covid-19 yet the State was not forthcoming in finalising the matter. Mandiwanzira filed an application on June 26 and the State was supposed to respond on July 6 with a ruling set for July 15, but the court could not proceed as there was no response from the State and the matter was postponed to yesterday. Yesterday, there was also no response from the State, with prosecutor Michael Reza applying for a postponement to Friday. On the last appearance, regional magistrate Bianca Makwande slammed the conduct of the State stalling the matter and ordered them to respond by the end of day July 16. The ex-ministers lawyer argued that the States conduct was a clear disregard of the courts order and urged the court to free him. He said his application was to quash the charges and with the conduct of the State, it was prudent that he be freed. The former minister was initially charged with two counts of the offence before the other count of engaging a South African firm, Megawatt Company, without due process was thrown out at the High Court. Hong Kong is facing its worst coronavirus outbreak, and the city is woefully unprepared for the surge. With local infections growing over 600 in about two weeks, the Asian financial hub has been taken off-guard by the sudden eruption of infections, close to half of which are untraceable. While other places in the region like Australia are also facing aggressive resurgences, their hospital bed vacancies and testing capabilities appear to outstrip those of Hong Kong's. The city reported 58 additional local cases on Tuesday, 24 of which were of unknown origins. Unlike in Japan and the U.S. where mostly young people are becoming infected, Hong Kong's outbreak is affecting an older group of patients than before, raising the likelihood of more cases turning critical. The median age this time is 55 years old, up from 40 in previous waves, and clusters are forming in nursing homes. Although the government is now scrambling to boost testing, quarantine and hospitalization facilities, the city's long stretch of seeming to have dodged the coronavirus bullet -- daily local infections never went above 28 before this month -- has left its defenses low. While Hong Kong reacted quickly to the emergence of the coronavirus late last year in China and immediately implemented mask-wearing and social distancing, complacency set in by spring and restaurants and bars filled up as restrictions were relaxed. Loopholes in the management of foreign arrivals, lax quarantine requirements and limited testing allowed the virus to seed unseen across the community. Once widely considered a successful example of containment, Hong Kong's turn for the worst is a cautionary tale that more severe outbreaks may lie ahead in the global pandemic and that governments must stay prepared. "Perversely, the more successful you are, you get the impression oh we don't have the virus, we don't have to worry about thinking of the basic precautions," said Peter Collignon, a professor of clinical medicine at the Australian National University Medical School in Canberra. "The more successful you are, the more you don't keep on doing the things you need to do and so it comes back." The virus's resurgence is yet another blow to the city's economy, which is mired in its deepest recession on record. Joblessness has surged to the highest level in more than 15 years, and Hong Kong is under pressure from the deteriorating relationship between the U.S. and China after Beijing imposed a national security law in the city. Its total outbreak of 2,019 cases is still far smaller than those experienced in countries like South Korea, Singapore and mainland China, but the city's medical system is already coming under strain. Officials said the situation is critical as isolation beds and wards in public hospitals have now reached 80% capacity. "Since there are more elderly patients during this wave of outbreak, isolation beds might be used up much sooner than in March," said Ian Cheung Tsz-fung, chief manager at the Hospital Authority, in a radio interview on Tuesday. "This week is crucial." The city also lacks the ability to conduct rapid, widespread testing -- a strategy used effectively to halt new outbreaks in China and South Korea. Only around 10,000 virus tests can be supported daily by public facilities at present, Chief Executive Carrie Lam said on Sunday. Australia's Victoria state, whose population size is a fifth smaller than Hong Kong's, is testing over 20,000 people a day now as it fights its own resurgence. The high share of untraceable infections in Hong Kong's outbreak -- known as "cases of unknown origins" -- has pushed the government to implement broad social distancing measures, closing down bars and gyms and limiting restaurant dine-in hours. Officials have warned that stricter measures are likely if growth does not ebb. The hidden chains of transmission in the community were likely seeded by overseas arrivals who were allowed to enter Hong Kong's borders without a 14-day quarantine or virus testing, said David Hui, a professor of respiratory medicine at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. Between February and May, around 200,000 people received this exemption, according to government data, including air and sea crew, as well as importers bringing food supply into the city. Some of the people who skipped quarantine could have infected local taxi drivers who then spread it to the community, Hui said. The exemption of air and sea crew from testing or quarantine is practiced only by a handful of countries like Cambodia, Indonesia and Kazakhstan, according to Universal Weather and Aviation, a company that collects data and provides services for the global aviation industry. Other major aviation hubs such as Singapore and Taiwan maintain strict rules over the travel and layover of crew members and prevent them from mingling with local populations. On Sunday, the government said that the exemption policy "is essential to maintain the necessary operation of the society and the economy, and to ensure an uninterrupted supply of all daily necessities to the public." Lax quarantine guidelines potentially spread the outbreak further. Travelers entering Hong Kong are given two hours to go from the airport to their residences for a 14-day quarantine. Local media outlets have reported on instances of people shopping at wet markets during that window. In contrast, travelers arriving in South Korea, where virus containment is widely lauded, are transported by special bus to their quarantine locations, with drivers clad in hazmat suits. Since this new outbreak started earlier this month, Hong Kong began mandating virus testing for incoming air and ship crew, although they are still exempted from 14-day quarantine. As lax measures presented opportunities for the coronavirus to re-emerge, a rapid easing of social distancing measures aided its spread. For six weeks in May and June, Hong Kong residents returned to pre-pandemic life, thronging bars and beaches. Restaurant customer limits were lifted in mid-June, and nursing homes started allowing visitation again in May. Nursing home clusters have emerged with both residents and staff becoming infected, in a parallel to devastating outbreaks in other countries like the U.S. In one facility in Hong Kong, more than 76% of the elderly residents have been infected as of July 9. Hong Kong has reported 14 deaths so far in its outbreak. With cases growing, officials warned that a complete lockdown may have to be implemented, something the city of 7.5 million people, where apartments are the smallest in the world, has not experienced before. A lockdown will add significant strain on the economy, which shrank by a record 8.9% in the first quarter. "The government did relatively well in handling the previous two waves of outbreak. But the relaxation of measures was too lenient and gave citizens a false sense of security, causing a huge outbreak this time," said CUHK's Hui. "This situation is grim." Election leaders from across the country have been reviewing the latest threats to your vote. Top election leaders from coast to coast are holding their last scheduled conference before Election Day. Tuesday, they focused on election security. This summer's annual conference of election leaders went virtual due to the pandemic but with the same urgency about election security. Matt Masterson, with the Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity & Infrastructure Security Agency, weighed in on how voters can help with the pressing issues at hand. "Any activity that your seeing that just seems out of the norm, please share it with us," Masterson said. "It leads to these alerts; it leads to these warnings." Masterson also warned election leaders of cyber security steps that still need to be improved. Colorado Secretary of State Jena Griswold pressed DHS to be more transparent with the public on specific examples of disinformation threats. "The push to declassify disinformation quickly. We know that Russia, China and other countries are trying to suppress voters," Griswold said. "I would like to roll out information on disinformation in a bipartisan state to federal way." An attack on the 2020 elections may already be underway. Senior Democratic leaders in Congress wrote in a letter to the FBI last week, "Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign influence campaign, which seeks to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity, public debate, and the presidential election." Gen. Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command, has issued a vow: "When we see our adversaries attempting to interfere with democratic processes, we will act." Meanwhile, the Senate is scheduled to hold a hearing Wednesday on preparations for the November elections and possible threats. Mark Albert is the chief national investigative correspondent for the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit, based in Washington D.C. April Chunko and Samone Blair contributed to this report. Know of election security problems or voter suppression? Have a confidential tip? Send information and documents to the National Investigative Unit at investigate@hearst.com. itelbpo's first recruits commenced training in the new facility on June 30th and the company will be hiring a total of 150 new team members by the end of the summer. Originally, the aim was to bring 200 jobs to Saint Lucia within one year. Over the course of the past few months, this has changed to 750 jobs by Q1 2021. "What this pandemic has done for us & this region is to show our clients that you cannot always rely on the bigger boys. You have to diversify locations & vendors. Therefore, our existing clients have asked us to put some of their business in Saint Lucia, in order to diversify," stated Epstein. "We have more clients looking to reap the benefits & opportunities in Saint Lucia, and we're confident that our Saint Lucian team can achieve this because I've seen it done before and I know that we have the support of the government & local private sector. itel is a business of the future and that future is today." While the region continues to grapple with the economic repercussions of the global pandemic, itelbpo's commitment to staying the course with its expansion into the South of the island comes at a pivotal moment for the economy. In his remarks at the launch event, Prime Minister Chastanet welcomed itelbpo "as family." He further emphasized that young people getting jobs at itelbpo's "world-class" facility will be very proud. "Vieux-Fort is going to be an engine of economic growth on the island. We want to make Vieux-Fort competitive on a global scale. It's not just about creating jobs. It's creating world-class jobs. We are going to make the new frontier a reality," stated Chastanet. The launch event took place at the new facility in Vieux-Fort (Hewanorra Freezone) and was preceded by a job fair. Throughout the day, itelbpo accepted resumes from enthusiastic applicants who received group tours of the first completed building at the site. All attendees were required to wear a mask and strict health & safety measures were followed. For more information about itelbpo, the Caribbean's largest homegrown global services provider, visit www.itelbpo.com. SOURCE itelbpo Related Links https://www.itelbpo.com Actor Amitabh Bachchan, who is recovering from the coronavirus in hospital, has tweeted a video of a Polish choir reciting his father Harivansh Rai Bachchans Madhushala. The actor wrote that he was moved to tears by the rendition. I am moved to tears ! Wroclaw, Poland was awarded UNESCO City of Literature, today they organised a recitation of Babujis Madhushala by University students on the roof of the University building. They pass the message Wroclaw is a City of Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan, he wrote in a tweet on Tuesday. T 3601 - I am moved to tears ! Wroclaw, Poland was awarded UNESCO City of Literature, today they organised a recitation of Babujis Madhushala by University students on the roof of the University building. They pass the message Wroclaw is a City of Dr Harivansh Rai Bachchan. pic.twitter.com/Rvl4q7Liof Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) July 21, 2020 Amitabh, his son Abhishek, daughter-in-law Aishwarya Rai and granddaughter Aaradhya are all admitted at the Nanavati hospital in Mumbai, after having tested positive for Covid-19. The actor has been thanking his fans for their good wishes. It is the silence and the uncertainty of the next it is a wonder of the nature of life .. of all that it brings to us each moment , each living breathing day. In the activity driven past days of normalcy, never was there inclination to assess or sit back and think of what thoughts invade us now .. but they do now with a regularity that fills those idle hours, sitting, thinking, looking out into no where ... he wrote on his blog recently. In these times of trial .. the entire day is filled with your love and care .. and I can only express what best I can from here .. my immense gratitude, he wrote in a tweet. Also read: Amitabh Bachchan reveals what is giving him strength in these times of trial as he gets treated for Covid-19 A hospital insider told PTI that the Bachchans were in the isolation ward and responding well to treatment. They all (referring to Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek, Aishwarya and Aaradhya) are ok. They are responding well to the treatment. They are in the isolation ward. Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan will be in the hospital maybe for a day or two, the source said. Follow @htshowbiz for more SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A former UK security chief today said she believed Russia was likely to have interfered in both the Scottish independence and Brexit votes as MPs prepare to publish a long-awaited report into Moscow's alleged meddling in British democracy. Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) will this morning release the results of an 18 month investigation into Russian interference. Overnight reports suggest the probe has found that while Russia attempted to influence the Scottish independence referendum, the Kremlin did not try to do the same on the 2016 Brexit vote. But Baroness Neville-Jones, a former chairman of the British Joint Intelligence Committee, rubbished the suggestion that Moscow may have intervened in one but not the other. She told Sky News: 'I am surprised by that. I am not sure I believe it. I think it is unlikely that somehow one was clean and the other was interfered with. 'I would have expected activity in both, frankly. It is an objective of Russian policy to weaken democratic institutions in countries and to weaken alliances between democracies. 'So anything that actually increases the chances of the Brexit referendum going the way it did, I am not saying it was a decisive entrance, but it would be surprising if they weren't interested in that.' However, she stressed there needed to be a distinction between discovering 'attempts of doing this kind of thing' and them being successful. Baroness Neville Jones, the former chairman of the British Joing Intelligence Committee, today said she believed it was likely that Russia interfered in both the Scottish independence referendum and the Brexit vote MPs will today publish a long awaited report into alleged Russian meddling in British democracy. Russian President Vladimir Putin is pictured on July 20 this year The Telegraph reported that the ISC probe found 'credible open-source commentary that Russia undertook to influence the campaign on Scottish independence' in 2014. The paper said the report by MPs and peers described the Kremlin's role in the vote that could have split the UK as 'the first post-Soviet interference in a Western democratic election'. But the ISC reportedly found nothing to suggest Russia played any part in the 2016 European Union poll. The full document is set to be published following months of delays, days after Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab claimed it was 'almost certain' that Russian 'actors' had tried to interfere in the 2019 general election. The publication of the ISC report, prepared by the committee's members in the previous Parliament, was postponed by Boris Johnson's decision to call a general election and the need to re-establish the committee's membership. Mr Raab said last week that 'Russian actors' had tried to influence the 2019 contest by 'amplifying' stolen Government papers online. The documents, relating to US-UK trade talks, were picked up by then Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn who said they were evidence the Conservatives were preparing to open up the NHS to US pharmaceutical companies. Relations between the UK and Russia have been under severe strain since the Salisbury Novichok poisoning in 2018, which left former double agent Sergei Skripal and his daughter Yulia in hospital and led to the death of Dawn Sturgess. The incident resulted in Russian diplomats being expelled from Britain by then prime minister Theresa May. Mr Raab also announced this month, in a move that irked President Vladimir Putin's administration, that he was imposing sanctions on 25 Russian nationals linked to the death in custody of lawyer Sergei Magnitsky, who died in 2009 after exposing massive corruption in the Interior Ministry. The ISC's alleged findings of interference in British democracy come after the UK, US and Canada claimed that Russian intelligence-linked hackers tried to steal details of research into coronavirus vaccines. The Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) claims Russia tried to influence the 2014 Scottish independence referendum Russia's ambassador to the UK Andrei Kelin dismissed the accusations in a BBC interview. He said his country had no interest in interfering in British domestic politics. 'We do not interfere at all,' he said. 'We do not see any point in interference because for us, whether it will be (the) Conservative Party or Labour's party at the head of this country, we will try to settle relations and to establish better relations than now.' Asked about the alleged attempts to steal details of coronavirus research, Mr Kelin said: 'I don't believe in this story at all, there is no sense in it.' OMJASVIN M D By Express News Service CHENNAI: 1269 people in Chennai were discharged on Monday taking the number of people who have recovered from the deadly coronavirus in the city to 70,651. With this, 81% of the total persons tested positive for Covid 19 have recovered With 1298 fresh cases, the citys total active cases now stand at 15,127 which is 17 percent of the total 87,235 positive cases in the city. The mortality rate is at 1.67 as 1456 people have died. Royapuram and Tondiarpet Corporation zones have a recovery of 89 percent as ten corporation zones overall have crossed the 80 percent recovery mark. Two more Corporation zones - Kodambakkam and Ambattur - which have a recovery of 79 and 78 percent respectively, will soon join the 80 percent recovery mark as the growth rate of cases in these zones are in minus. Five other zones - Thiruvottriyur, Madhavaram, Tondiarpet, Royapuram, Teynampet, and Valsaravakkam - also have a growth rate in minus. This means cases have slowed down in these zones and more people are recovering than the growth rate of active cases. However, raising concerns, South Chennai zones Perungudi and Alandur have a growth rate of 6.9 and 5 percent respectively. This indicates the cases are on the rise in these zones. The case is the same with Thiruvika Nagar too as the growth rate there is 8.4 percent. However, corporation officials have said that the cases are expected to decline further in the city in the next ten days. Meanwhile, the city tested 13,774 people on Monday as the positivity rate remains at 9 percent. By Marwa Rashad RIYADH (Reuters) - Saudi Arabia's 84-year-old ruler, King Salman bin Abdulaziz, has been admitted to hospital in the capital Riyadh, suffering from inflammation of the gall bladder, state news agency SPA said on Monday. The king, who has ruled the world's largest oil exporter and close U.S. ally since 2015, is undergoing medical checks, the agency added, without giving details. After the news, Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi postponed a visit scheduled to Saudi Arabia, said Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan Al Saud. King Salman received phone calls from the leaders of Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan, who were "reassured of his health", SPA reported later on Monday. Kuwait's 91-year-old ruler Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmad al-Sabah himself underwent surgery on Sunday. King Salman, the custodian of Islam's holiest sites, spent more than 2-1/2 years as the Saudi crown prince and deputy premier from June 2012 before becoming king. He also served as governor of the Riyadh region for more than 50 years. The de facto ruler and next in line to the throne is the crown prince, Mohammed bin Salman, widely referred to as MbS, who has launched reforms to transform the kingdom's economy and end its "addiction" to oil. The 34-year-old prince, who is popular among many young Saudis, has won praise at home for easing social restrictions in the conservative Muslim kingdom, giving more rights to women and pledging to diversify the economy. To the king's supporters, this boldness at home and abroad was a welcome change after decades of caution, stagnation and dithering. But state control of the media and a crackdown on dissent in the kingdom make it difficult to gauge the extent of domestic enthusiasm. The crown prince's reforms have been accompanied by a purge of top royals and businessmen on charges of corruption, and a costly war in Yemen, which have all unnerved some Western allies and investors. His prestige also suffered a blow after the murder of journalist Jamal Khashoggi in 2018 at the hands of Saudi security personnel seen as close to him. (Reporting by Alaa Swilam in Cairo and Marwa Rasahd in Riyadh; Writing by Marwa Rashad, Editing by Clarence Fernandez, Maha El Dahan and Jonathan Oatis) Damascus, July 21 : The Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli missile attack over the capital Damascus, state news agency SANA reported. The Israeli warplanes on Monday evening launched their attack from over the Israeli-occupied Golan Heights, Xinhua news agency reported. The air defence missiles were seen in the sky over Damascus chasing after the Israeli missile strike as people heard explosions around the capital. The Syrian state media report said several Israeli missiles were intercepted before reaching their targets. Meanwhile, the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights war monitor said the Israeli missile strike targeted military positions of the Syrian army and the pro-government Iranian militias in the vicinity of the capital. Throughout the Syrian crisis, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria, as well as convoys transporting weapons to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia allegedly backed by Iran. FRANKFORT The Elizabeth Lane Oliver Center for the Arts presented custom masks made by art center members as part of a contest designed to give back to frontline workers and healthcare professionals. About 23 masks were given to hospital staff at Paul Oliver Memorial Hospital on July 20 as part of the Make A Mask, Make A Difference contest held by the OAC. Not only did the masks feature colorful cloth designs, but some incorporated other elements, such as mini pom-poms. It was many years ago. I keep asking where did 51 years go? As I recently checked, "In the year 2525" by Zager & Evans was # 1 on Billboard USA that week. Talk about a "one hit wonder" and a song that no one will admit to buying today. Like most families, we sat around the TV and watched Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin walk on the moon. At one point, my father commented that Cubans in the island were probably not permitted to watch this historical event. My mother then added something colorful: Ese HP de Fidel no le quiere dar merito a los americanos que llegaron primero que los rusos. Let me give you a PG translation: something like that SOB Fidel is not going to admit that the Americans got there before the Russians. I can remember much of it, from Walter Cronkites countdown to the lunar landing to President Nixons speech to the astronauts. And the departure from the moon! We remember Neil Armstrong, Buzz Aldrin, and Michael Collins and congratulate the crew and everyone down here who made this amazing mission possible. It was an amazing week from launch to the successful return to Earth. Wonder whatever happened to that U.S. flag and landmark that we left up in the moon? I'm hoping that a future mission will answer that question. No matter what: I was very lucky to be alive and experience one of the greatest days in world history! Furthermore, I was very lucky to be living in the U.S. where I could watch the whole thing. I learned later that my family in Cuba did not get to see it. P.S. You can listen to my show (Canto Talk) and follow me on Twitter. An armed man has hijacked a bus and took at least 20 people hostage in northwestern Ukraine, the Ukrainian Police said on July 21. The law enforcement officials have sealed off the central area of Lutsk which is a city 400 kilometres west of Kyiv. The Facebook statement by the police said that the assailant is armed and is also carrying explosives and the man has revealed his frustration with the Ukraines system on his social media pages. While the police are trying to get in touch with the man, the operational plan hostage is introduced in the region. Prior to the hijacking of the bus, the unidentified man had posted a video carrying a machine gun on social network website. Read - Ukraine Rebels Hold MH17 Memorial At Crash Site Read - Merkel Holds Bilateral Talks With Russian President Putin On Ukraine Agreement Zelensky said the bus is 'damaged' Ukrainian President Voldomyr Zeklensky has said in his Facebook statement that the man took control of the bust at 9:25 AM (local time) and that "gunshots have been heard, and the bus is damaged". He also said that measures are being put in to control the unprecedented situation without any casualties. Ukrainian President said, "Alarming news from Lutsk. In the morning, at 9:25, a citizen who informed that he had seized a bus with hostages. Shots were heard, bus was damaged. Currently, the police operation hostage has been introduced, and the SBU has introduced the Boomerang plan. It is done to make the situation settled without victims. Holding the progress of events under personal control." Read - Ukraine Says Too Soon To Blame Human Error For Downing Of Passenger Plane In Iran Read - Flight Carrying 101 Students Stranded In Ukraine Arrives In MP Image: @censor_net/Twitter In immune-related disorders, therapy often involves identifying the molecules responsible for immune dysregulation and targeting them using drugs. This type of immune therapy is also used for cancer treatment, owing to the important role that immune cells play in cancer progression. One such type of a potential therapeutic target is an "immune checkpoint" protein called PD-L2, which is specifically expressed in immune cells called dendritic cells (DCs) and macrophages. PD-L2 plays various important functions in the regulation of different types of immune cells, including the suppression of T cells. Not surprisingly, this molecule has been extensively explored as a target protein in immunology and cancer immunology. But, despite years of research, exactly how this protein gets regulated has remained unclear until now. Recently, a group of researchers at Tokyo University of Science, led by Professor Chiharu Nishiyama, made a significant leap towards this direction. In a new study published in the Journal of Immunology, the scientists dug deeper into the genetic and molecular basis of PD-L2 regulation. Prof Nishiyama says, "In our study, we investigated the gene expression mechanism of PD-L2, a cell-surface molecule that is specifically expressed in DCs and macrophages.'' The scientists began by focusing on DCs, which train other immune cells such as T cells to initiate a defense response against foreign molecules and cancer cells. In DCs, PD-L2 acts as a "checkpoint" that ensures that the immune cells do not incorrectly destroy healthy cells. Because the gene "Pdcd1lg2" is responsible for coding the PD-L2 protein, the scientists wanted to understand how this gene is regulated. A gene expresses its encoded protein through a series of coordinated cellular events that includes structural changes in the DNA caused by proteins known as "transcription factors," which bind to specific "regulatory" positions on the DNA. As the scientists wanted to know the exact events in PD-L2 regulation, they designed their experiments focusing on factors that regulate Pdcd1lg2. Previous studies had indicated that a transcription factor called PU.1 was involved in the development of other similar immune cells. The scientists wondered: was PU.1 involved in PD-L2 expression, too? Prof Nishiyama explains, "Previous studies had shown that the artificial expression of PU.1 on non-dendritic immune cells transformed these cells into DCs. This made us think if PU.1 had any role in the expression of PD-L2, one of the prominent surface proteins of DCs." To begin with, the scientists studied the effect of "knocking down" PU.1 and a few other proteins in cell models. They found that in the absence of PU.1 and its associate molecule IRF4, the expression of PD-L2 was severely compromised. Once it was clear that PU.1 and IRF4 were involved in regulating the expression of PD-L2, the scientists carried out subsequent experiments using techniques such as "chromatin immunoprecipitation" to know exactly how this happens. They found out that PU.1 and IRF4 together bind to a region on the DNA called the "EICE sequence" and stimulate the expression of Pdcd1lg2 gene. It also became clear that PU.1 indirectly plays a role in altering the DNA molecule to a "relaxed" form by inducing chemical changes in the "histone" proteins, which are bound to the DNA in its "condensed" form. These chemical changes are also called "epigenetic modifications" and form an important regulatory mechanism for gene/protein expression in these cells. In sum, this study sheds light on the molecular events that take place in the regulation of the PD-L2 protein. This paves the way for further development of drugs that can regulate this protein in immune disorders. Prof Nishiyama concludes, "We believe that our findings have remarkable potential to improve the therapeutic approach against immune system-mediated diseases." ### About The Tokyo University of Science Tokyo University of Science (TUS) is a well-kn own and respected university, and the largest science-specialized private research university in Japan, with four campuses in central Tokyo and its suburbs and in Hokkaido. Established in 1881, the university has continually contributed to Japan's development in science through inculcating the love for science in researchers, technicians, and educators. With a mission of "Creating science and technology for the harmonious development of nature, human beings, and society", TUS has undertaken a wide range of research from basic to applied science. TUS has embraced a multidisciplinary approach to research and undertaken intensive study in some of today's most vital fields. TUS is a meritocracy where the best in science is recognized and nurtured. It is the only private university in Japan that has produced a Nobel Prize winner and the only private university in Asia to produce Nobel Prize winners within the natural sciences field. Website: https://www.tus.ac.jp/en/mediarelations/ About Professor Chiharu Nishiyama from Tokyo University of Science Professor Chiharu Nishiyama is a Professor at Tokyo University of Science. She is affiliated with Faculty of Industrial Science and Technology, Department of Biological Science and Technology. She received her Bachelor's, Master's, and PhD degree from The University of Tokyo in 1988, 1990, and 1997, respectively. Her main areas of research include applied biochemistry, immunology, allergy, molecular biology, transcription factor, and cell development. Prof Nishiyama was awarded the JSBBA Award for Young Scientists in 2005. Till date, she has around 115 research papers to her credit. Funding information This work was supported by a Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (B) (CN), Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C) (TY and KK), the MEXT-Supported Program for the Strategic Research Foundation at Private Universities (Translational Research Center, Tokyo University of Science), the Tokyo Biochemical Research Foundation (CN), the Tojuro Iijima Foundation for Food Science and Technology (CN and TY), and the Takeda Science Foundation (CN). A day after a head constable deputed at Ludhiana Central Jail was arrested for carrying narcotics into the premises, the staff has seized two mobile phones and 64 packets of tobacco from three inmates on Monday. The police have been establishing a link between the head constable and inmates, as they suspect that the cop supplied tobacco and mobiles to them. The accused have been identified as Harsimran Singh, Sunny and Suraj Kumar. Assistant jail superintendent Shiv Kumar said that during special checking on Monday, they seized two mobile phones and 64 packets of tobacco from their possession. They have written to the police for lodging an FIR in the matter. ASI Tajinder Singh, who is investigating the case, said that an FIR under Sections 42, 45, 52A (1) of the Prisons Act has been registered against the accused. The accused will be brought on production warrant for questioning to know how they managed to procure the confiscated items in the prison. On Sunday, during a special checking, the jail staff recovered eight packets of tobacco hidden in the cops shoes. A 27-page draft of legislation to expand mail-in voting for the November election was the focus of a public hearing Tuesday by state lawmakers who will begin debate on the bill later in the week. The bill would allow local election officials to begin counting paper ballots in city and town halls early on the morning of Election Day, to address the expected surge of absentee ballots during the coronavirus pandemic. This bill brings us in line with the rest of the county, said Secretary of the State Denise Merrill, at the online hearing. A key point of controversy: Merrill said she interprets state law as allowing voters who are afraid of the coronavirus to file mail-in, absentee ballots. State law allows for limited excuses for absentee balloting and the bill would expand the list to include fear of COVID-19 as Lamont did by executive order for the Aug. 11 Democratic and Republican primaries. At around the time Merrill was testifying, Gov. Ned Lamont and Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz held a news conference in Windsor in support of the legislation, which is scheduled for a Thursday vote in the House and the Senate next week. If youre over 65, youve got a pre-existing condition, vote by mail, Lamont said. Its much safer. Why not make it easier to vote? Nationally, some Republicans, led by President Donald Trump, are opposing expanded mail-in balloting even though many states already have it. On Monday the Connecticut Supreme Court rejected a challenge by four GOP congressional candidates to overturn Lamonts executive order. Lawyers for those candidates said Monday night they will refile their challenge in state Superior Court. Separately, Republican lawmakers including Sen. Eric Berthel, of Watertown, and Rep. Jason Perillo, of Shelton, have filed a similar challenge in state court. The state Constitution limits mail-in balloting to people who are ill; working at the polls; out-of-town on business; or in the military. In the pandemic, proponents led by Lamont, Bysiewicz and Merrill want to expand state law to include voters who fear the chance of being infected while at the polls as a reason to vote by absentee. As it is currently written, Connecticuts restrictive laws regarding absentee voting force residents to choose between risking the possibility of contracting COVID-19 by going to the polls or staying at home and not exercising their right to vote, said David Waren, president and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Hartford, in prepared testimony. The right to vote is fundamental to our system of government. State Sen. Mae Flexer, D-Killingly and Rep. Dan Fox, D-Stamford, co-wrote the draft. Republican ranking members of the committee include conservative state Sen. Rob Sampson, of Wolcott, and Rep. Mike France, of Ledyard. Wearing a face mask can protect you from the coronavirus as well as stopping you spreading it to others, according to scientists. Officials in Britain insist the main benefit of wearing face coverings is that they catch coughs and sneezes of the wearer, preventing them from spreading the virus to people around them. But researchers argue the wearer may also benefit because they could inhale smaller quantities of coronavirus if they are exposed to it. By reducing the amount of virus inhaled, it will make illness milder and could even prevent deaths, according to a team at the University of California. Rules on compulsory mask wearing differ across the world as governments weigh up the science on whether or not they are actually useful. Evidence that was not available at the start of the pandemic is starting to show they are effective at controlling the spread of the virus. Wearing a face mask can protect you from the coronavirus as well as stopping you spreading it to others around you, scientists claim. Pictured: Passengers on The Central Line on London underground wearing face coverings this morning Masks reduce the amount of virus a person will inhale, which will make illness milder, according to a team at the University of California. Pictured: Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, European Council President Charles Michel, French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen are seen wearing face masks, July 21 Recent evidence that was not available at the start of the pandemic has suggested they are effective at controlling the spread of the virus. Pictured: Passengers on The Central Line on London underground this morning Dr Monica Gandhi, an infectious disease specialist at San Francisco General Hospital, was a co-author of the research which is due to be published in the Journal of Internal Medicine. She told The Times: 'You will get in a lower dose of virus if you wear a mask and are exposed to Covid-19 and are very likely to have mild or no symptoms.' The latest work by the team based in San Francisco explains the 'theory of viral inoculum'. The inoculum is the amount or 'dose' of virus someone is exposed to. The higher it is, the more likely it will lead to infection in the recipient. A lower initial dose of the coronavirus gives the immune system a better chance of fighting the disease. It may cause only mild symptoms or none at all. THE TRUTH ABOUT FACE MASKS: WHAT STUDIES HAVE SHOWN Research on how well various types of masks and face coverings varies but, recently, and in light of the pandemic of COVID-19, experts are increasingly leaning toward the notion that something is better than nothing. A University of Oxford study published on March 30 concluded that surgical masks are just as effective at preventing respiratory infections as N95 masks for doctors, nurses and other health care workers. It's too early for there to be reliable data on how well they prevent infection with Covid-19, but the study found the thinner, cheaper masks do work in flu outbreaks. The difference between surgical or face masks and N95 masks lies in the size of particles that can - and more importantly, can't - get though the materials. N95 respirators are made of thick, tightly woven and molded material that fits tightly over the face and can stop 95 percent of all airborne particles, while surgical masks are thinner, fit more loosely, and more porous. This makes surgical masks much more comfortable to breathe and work in, but less effective at stopping small particles from entering your mouth and nose. Droplets of saliva and mucous from coughs and sneezes are very small, and viral particles themselves are particularly tiny - in fact, they're about 20-times smaller than bacteria. For this reason, a JAMA study published this month still contended that people without symptoms should not wear surgical masks, because there is not proof the gear will protect them from infection - although they may keep people who are coughing and sneezing from infecting others. But the Oxford analysis of past studies- which has not yet been peer reviewed - found that surgical masks were worth wearing and didn't provide statistically less protection than N95 for health care workers around flu patients. However, any face mask is only as good as other health and hygiene practices. Experts universally agree that there's simply no replacement for thorough, frequent hand-washing for preventing disease transmission. Some think the masks may also help to 'train' people not to touch their faces, while others argue that the unfamiliar garment will just make people do it more, actually raising infection risks. So what about cloth coverings? Although good quality evidence is lacking, some data suggest that cloth masks may be only marginally (15 per cent) less effective than surgical masks in blocking emission of particles, said Babak Javid, principal investigator at Cambridge University Hospitals wrote in the BMJ on April 9. He pointed to a study led by Public Health England in 2013 which found wearing some kind of material over the face was five-fold more effective than not wearing masks for preventing a flu pandemic. The study suggested that a homemade mask 'should only be considered as a last resort to prevent droplet transmission from infected individuals, but it would be better than no protection'. Advertisement The paper, seen by The Times, draws on various bits of research to base their argument that masks help to reduce the inoculum. A study on hamsters which showed those who were in a cage cloaked and protected by a mask material had mild disease compared to those who did not. The researchers in Hong Kong said although it's completely different to how humans interact, it showed 'very clearly' that covering the nose and mouth is hugely effective to mitigate spread. The study was released by the department of microbiology at the University of Hong Kong but has not been peer-reviewed or published in a journal yet. Outbreaks on cruise ships where passengers wore face coverings resulted in milder cases of the coronavirus, the University of California paper also said. It has previously been reported that crew members who wore masks while on a coronavirus ridden US warship were protected from the virus. Scientists closely monitored what happened on the USS Theodore Roosevelt when coronavirus broke out among military personnel on it in March. Only 55.8 per cent of people who regularly wore a face covering caught the disease, compared to 80.8 per cent of those who didn't. Masks actually appeared to be more effective at stopping the spread of the disease than social distancing. Weighing up the evidence, the team at University of California said: 'Exposing society to SARS-CoV-2 without the consequences of severe illness with public masking could lead to greater community-level immunity and slower spread as we await a vaccine.' In England, masks are currently only compulsory on public transport, but they are to become mandatory in shops from July 24. Official guidance now also states people are also encouraged to wear face coverings 'in enclosed public spaces where there are people they do not normally meet'. Therefore, face coverings are advised in a place of worship but not necessarily the pub, where people would meet family and friends. The complex guidelines, which have been further confused by ministers taking varying stances on the rules, do not apply to restaurants either. It comes after months of conflicting information from world health bodies concerning masks and if the public should wear them. The British government had previously feared that the advice would leave a shortage of surgical masks for healthcare workers. But it came round to the idea of a nationwide rule on the basis that face coverings can stop contagious people spreading the virus. Coverings catch droplets which are expelled from someone's nose and mouth when they breathe, talk, cough or sneeze, and which carry the coronavirus inside them. If these droplets cannot escape the mask and circulate in the air, they cannot be inhaled by other people or settle on surfaces where others might touch them. But Dr Gandhi believes governments should expand their recommendations for the wearing of face coverings based on studies that say they may also prevent someone from catching a huge dose of the virus. 'The research suggests that we should go towards universal population-level masking to control infections and to limit the severity of disease,' Dr Gandhi said. In a interview with radio NPR yesterday, Dr Gandhi said countries who had adopted stringent face covering rules had seen fewer Covid-19 deaths. She said: 'It really looks like any country that has adopted universal mask wearing - and many, many countries have - even as they open up and they're seeing each other more and there's more cases, it has led to much, much fewer deaths or severe illness.' Recent trading activity lies in stark contrast to the drama seen earlier in 2020. Even at the beginning of June, bonds still had an interesting (and scary, at first) story to tell as yields spiked in response to stronger econ data and coronavirus hopes. Both of those factors remain in play, yet bonds are now back near their best post-covid levels and trading in one of the narrowest ranges ever. What changed? Eight Texas Democratic lawmakers are asking for seven Confederate monuments to be removed from the state Capitol complex. The Democrats, in a letter to the chairs of the House and Senate Administration committees on Monday, also asked that the John H. Reagan State Office building be renamed because of Reagans support of slavery. The group requested the formation of a bipartisan working group to conduct a thorough review of the artistic, social, and historical intent and significance of all honorific memorials and symbols on the Capitol grounds and submit recommendations to the State Preservation Board. BLAST FROM THE PAST: State board votes to remove pro-Confederacy plaque from Texas Capitol Today, we find ourselves at a crossroads will we situate ourselves on the right side of history by removing these symbols of hostility or will we continue to side with tradition and ignore the ills of our past? the letter stated. We, the undersigned, unequivocally move to adopt the former. Confederate monuments honor those who fought for the enslavement and degradation of Black people, State Rep. Shawn Thierry, D-Houston, said on Twitter Monday. In 2020, how can Black Texans feel truly welcomed on our Capitol grounds with such disrespectful imagery? More Information CONFEDERATE MONUMENTS AT THE TEXAS CAPITOL Portrait of Kentucky-born Confederate General Albert Sidney Johnson in the Senate Chamber Cannons used by the Confederates during the Civil War at the South Entrance and South Grounds Confederate Soldiers' Monument, five bronze figures on the South Grounds Portrait of Dick Dowling, an Irish-born Confederate officer, in the House Chamber Hood's Texas Brigade Monument, including a carving of the Confederate flag and quotes from Confederate President Jefferson Davis and General Robert E. Lee, on the East Grounds Portrait of Jefferson Davis in the Senate Chamber Terry's Texas Rangers Monument, honoring Confederate Army volunteers led by plantation owner Benjamin Terry on the South Grounds See More Collapse Along with Thierry, state Reps. Rafael Anchia, Donna Howard, Nathan Johnson, Jose Menendez, Lina Ortega, Carl Sherman and Sen. Judith Zaffrini also signed the letter. The letter comes after the Black Chiefs of Staff of the Texas Legislature last week requested the removal of all confederate commemorations from the Texas Capitol Grounds. The issue has been fraught with hurdles in the past: After more than a year of debate, a Children of the Confederacy Creed plaque, which inaccurately claimed that the cause of the Civil War was not slavery, inside the Capitol to be taken down in 2019. School Board orders remote learning through September Students would go to school in person for one week and then have two weeks of remote learning at home under a Return to Learn plan school administrators presented to the Henderson County School Board Monday. But after hearing multiple concerns about how that would work, the School Board voted to go with Plan C, remote learning only, for at least the first six weeks of the school year. Our ultimate commitment is to the health and safety of our students, staff, and their families, said Board Chair Blair Craven. It is with this in mind, and with the understanding that plans will be evaluated and refined based on public health in our community, that our board voted to start the school year on a fully remote model. Remote learning beginning Aug. 17 will consist of live, virtual whole class sessions teaching new content with grades and assessments, instead of primarily reviewing previously learned material, as teachers did in the spring. Students will be assigned to teachers and classes with their peers at their schools, and will attend school remotely and simultaneously with their peers on a half-day online schedule with independent assignments for the afternoon. Daily attendance will be taken and student grading expectations will look similar to in-person expectations. For students in grades K-5, remote learning will occur from 8 a.m.-noon following individual teachers classroom schedules. Teachers will communicate their classroom schedules with families in early August. For students in grades 6-12, remote learning will occur from 8 a.m.-noon, following the schools in-person half day bell schedule. Afternoons will be reserved for virtual small group work or individual support. Recognizing that some families do not have reliable internet access, the district and the Henderson County Education Foundation are working with local organizations to identify resources to support accessibility including a map of locations offering free WiFi use for students. For those families that are still unable to access remote learning digitally, students will be provided with either hotspot access and/or paper and text-based alternative assignments. Families should contact their schools principal for more information about this option. The district is committed to providing reliable student meals during implementation of the fully remote learning model. Similar to the Spring 2020 school closure period, HCPS will provide grab-and-go pickup meals at no cost to children ages 2-18 at specific school sites and at scheduled Meals On the Bus stops. Schedules for grab-and-go sites and Meals On the Bus routes will be released in early August. Tech Support: The Learn from Home Help Desk has been expanded to offer a dedicated phone line for tech support for students and families in multiple languages. Call 828-435-3480 or email learnfromhome@hcpsnc.org. ESL Family Center: For assistance in Spanish, families may contact the ESL Family Liaison at 828-388-2632. For the most recent updates on HCPS Return to Learn, families may visit the HCPSNC.org/ReturnToLearn webpage, and check out R2L Weekly communications posted each Thursday at 5 p.m. Superintendent Bo Caldwell warned the School Board that enforcing face masks and social distancing throughout the day for all students of all ages is impossible to guarantee. He cautioned that he would need the authority "to cancel school at a minute's notice" because an outbreak has infected teachers. "If we decide we're on Plan B, (parents may receive) a call saying we do not have enough staff in our school facility to supervise, we don't have enough staff to run the school." At times, buses may not run. "Masks are not going to be on children at all times. Kids are not basically going to be able to keep those things on. Kindergarten kids are going to be kindergarten kids. I can't guarantee you social distancing in Plan B. I can't guarantee that all children are going to wear a mask." Under Plan B, school buses would have a capacity of only 24 students about a third of its total seating. Because every school is different, there will be 23 different plans, Caldwell said. "This is going to be more on the principal than they've ever had before." Under the Plan B school administrators presented Monday, pre-K-2 students would go to school five days a week. Children in grades 3-12 would be divided into thirds. Each group would go for one week and then learn from home for two weeks. Reducing capacity by two-thirds reduces the number on the buses, makes social distancing easier and builds in a quarantine period if needed because of covid-19 exposure. The School Board received 17 email comments and board members read them out loud. The commenters bombarded the School Board and administrators with questions about how teachers and children can remain safe, what will happen when teachers have to quarantine and whether quarantine time is covered by sick leave. Most commenters opposed a return to classroom teaching. A mom of a special education student urged the county to resume in-person teaching because virtual learning did not work with her child. "Please do not leave behind our special education students," she said. "I'm scared to death to retun to class this fall," a 20-year veteran teacher at Rugby Middle School said. "Plan B is a logistical nightmare and for what purpose? ... They will not be able to see a smile of encouragement under my mask." She urged the School Board to open the school year remotely instead of in-person learning. Who will check temperature of the school children when they enter? one writer asked. How can a single school nurse take on the job for a school with more than 1,000 students? A mom of two school children said, "Absolutely positively I will not send them to school in the fall. It is not safe for them nor is to safe for their teachers." A couple with five children said: "We can't risk our children's lives by sending them to school even part-time. One is severely disabled and will not wear a mask." A retired Henderson County teacher, Becky Ledbetter, said: "Remote learning cannot capture the rich experiene that are achieved in a classroom. However, a virtual option may be necessary to give time for case numbers to decrease and for our county to get a handle on this virus." She urged the board to delay a return to in-person learning until the county has logged two weeks of a decline in cases. "As a mother of five children in three different schools I cannot imagine sending my child to school under these circumstances." "Will masks be enforced?" another commenter asked. "If not, why not?" Public Health Director Steve Smith was on hand to brief the School Board on the coronavirus. "Mr. Smith has been there every step of the way," Caldwell said. No one has all the answers "but one thing I can be specific about is what our current status is," Smith said. Smith said: -- The county is seeing an average of around 20 new cases per day. -- The county is doing around 1,500 tests per week. As a county we're doing very well in testing capacity. -- The positive case rate is 14-15 percent of those tested. -- The county's current number of positive cases is 1,066 and the county has conducted 13,740 tests. -- Nearly all of the 52 deaths are associated with a long-term care facility. The county has had no deaths of young people or children. Board member Rick Wood questioned Smith about a study from South Korea saying that middle and high school students are as likely as adults to spread the virus. Smith responded that many of the surveys are short-term and present "a moving target of information." Smith said he had read the toolkit for reopening schools. "I don't think anything is perfect in our environment but it's a reasonable framework to consider." "If you can get mask wearing up to 80 percent, you not only can halt transmission you can start reducing it," he said. At 90 percent, "you can stop spread to almost zero." What's the most dangerous part of the Plan B reopening plan? If Smith had a 5-year-old daughter, would he send her to school? "If it was my child and they were perfectly healthy, I personally would not have reservations with some of the plan constructs that have been outlined," he said. "As you know, all families are not created equal" and each family has to make decisions based on their children's health conditions and other factors. "I don't know that we can have a 5- or 6-year-old with a mask on their face all day," Chairman Blair Craven said. "Can we really truly do this safely, especially thinking about our young ones." "I think you have to be realistic," Smith said. "You absolutely know young children are not going to be able to be compliant with this. It's just not going to happen. ... Do you wait until there's zero risk? That's a long time off." Smith said it concerns him that the School Board faces a difficult decision when the county is seeing "increasing rates in cases and that kind of climb." As for a vaccine, "I continue to hear spring at the earliest," and manufacturing more than 300 million doses takes time, too. "We're one of the higher in the region" in terms of the rate of infection, Smith said. Are children impacted less? "I agree that children do not experience severe symptoms the way some adults do," Smith said. His character Ross Geller famously uttered the line in the Friends episode titled The One Where Ross And Rachel Take A Break. And during a remote appearance on The Tonight Show on Monday, David Schwimmer revealed where he stands on the infamous 'we were on a break' debate. 'Yeah, it is not even a question. They were on a break,' said the 53-year-old actor to show host Jimmy Fallon. On a break: During a remote appearance on The Tonight Show on Monday, David Schwimmer revealed where he stands on the infamous 'We Were on a Break' debate No question: 'Yeah, it is not even a question. They were on a break,' said the 53-year-old actor to show host Jimmy Fallon 'People are so passionately divided on whether or not [Ross and Rachel] were "on a break,"' added Schwimmer, whose character endured an on-and-off again romance with character Rachel Green played by Jennifer Aniston, 51, for the duration of the sitcom. Fallon asked David to recall which of his lines from Friends 'people yell out the most,', when they spot him in public. 'Obviously, there's gonna be those people who feel compelled to yell "Pivot!"' He noted that people also often yell out 'We Were on a Break.' We Were On A Break: His character Ross Geller famously uttered the line in the Friends episode titled The One Where Ross And Rachel Take A Break Passionate divide: 'People are so passionately divided on whether or not [Ross and Rachel] were "on a break,"' added Schwimmer, whose character endured an on-and-off again romance with character Rachel Green played by Jennifer Aniston, 51 Schwimmer dished to Jimmy Fallon on the highly anticipated Friends reunion special that was set to film for HBO Max in May, but was thwarted by the coronavirus. '[The reunion special] is unscripted. It's basically a really fun interview and then some other surprise bits,' he explained. As for moving forward with shooting the special amid COVID-19, David revealed that, as of now, shooting 'is supposed to happen maybe in August, the middle of August.' Reunion: Schwimmer also dished to Jimmy Fallon on the highly anticipated Friends reunion special that was set to film for HBO Max in May, but was thwarted by the coronavirus August plans: As for moving forward with shooting the special amid COVID-19, David dished that, as of now, shooting 'is supposed to happen maybe in August, the middle of August' 'But, honestly, we're gonna wait and see another week or two if we all determine it's really safe enough to do.' He added: 'And if not, we will wait to do it when it's safe.' All of the series' stars, including Jennifer Aniston, Courteney Cox, Matthew Perry, Lisa Kudrow, and Matt LeBlanc, are set to appear on the reunion special, which was originally announced in February. Friends premiered on NBC in 1994 and ran for a total of 10 seasons on the network. A delegation of Libyan tribal chiefs paid a high-profile visit to Cairo Thursday, 16 July, where they conferred with Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi to discuss the present situation in Libya. Many of them took to the floor to speak about the historical bonds between the Libyan and the Egyptian people, and mandated Egypt to intervene in Libya to safeguard its independence, sovereignty and territorial integrity. They highlighted the dangers of a permanent Turkish presence in their country, and drew parallels between the present and the past when the Libyans suffered under the Ottomans. They vowed to fight the Turks. The Egyptian president reiterated that the Libyans themselves should be the masters of their own destiny without any interference from outside powers, and that the sole objective of Egypt is a united Libya and a strong national army. He left no doubt that Egypt will not tolerate the permanent presence of armed militias, nor would it accept their presence near its western borders with Libya. In such a case, he added, Cairo would not hesitate to intervene militarily. The meeting was an occasion for the Egyptian president to elaborate on his previous remarks, during a visit last month to a military base, not far from the joint borders with Libya, in which he drew a line in the sand in the Libyan desert, a red line from the strategic city of Sirte in the north to Al-Jafra Airbase, south of Sirte. At the time, he affirmed that an attack by the forces of Libyas Government of National Accord (GNA) would be deterred by Egypt. Last Thursday, he finetuned these remarks, stressing that the message has been a message of peace, essentially, and with the aim of bringing the Libyan conflict to an end. He added that the reference to a red line was never intended as a call to divide Libya into two parts one to the west and the other to the east. Moreover, he explained that this line is meant to be respected by the two warring parties in Libya; namely, the Libyan National Army (LNA) under the command of Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the Tripoli forces under the command of Fayez Al-Sarraj, president of the Presidential Council. In other words, it is meant to be a ceasefire line. Thus, Cairo discourages Haftar from crossing this line to the west, if he plans, by any chance, to counter attack. Earlier, the Tripoli government was afraid that Haftar might think of launching a counterattack to recapture the towns and positions he lost earlier this year in the western part of Libya. On the other hand, President Al-Sisi said that Egypt is not an enemy to the western region of Libya probably a reference to the GNA. These two messages should be reassuring for the Tripoli rulers. In the meantime, it aligns Egypt, to an extent, with the positions of Algeria and Tunisia regarding the Libyan conflict. This alignment is necessary as well as important if the three countries would weigh on future negotiations by the Libyans to carry out UN Security Council Resolution 2510, adopted on 12 February 2020, that supported the Berlin Process. It was obvious from the extensive remarks by the Egyptian leader that he wanted to make clear the limited objectives of Egypt in Libya, mainly the defence of our borders with Libya against infiltration by armed militias and terrorist groups in the future. It was the first time in a long while that Egypt has shown, at least publicly, such goodwill towards the Tripoli government, but it is a step in the right direction, albeit in a very indirect way and without naming it. However, the message should not be lost on the rulers in Tripoli. Some would argue, maybe, it is too little too late. But still, I find it relevant and important. I have no doubt that sane voices in Tripoli would find it both encouraging and promising. Needless to say, the present stalemate on the battlefield is fraught with dangers unless the international community, and mainly the United States and Russia, to step in and send a clear message to Turkey and the Tripoli government that time is up for resorting to military force in Libya. Lately, senior Turkish officials have insisted that recapturing Sirte and Al-Jafra is a precondition for a permanent ceasefire in Libya. And they have called on Haftars forces to retreat or else the order to launch an attack on the two strategic objectives will be given. The Tripoli government should think twice before jumping into the unknown by ordering its troops to advance in an attempt to control Sirte and Al-Jafra, thereby putting North Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean on the brink. The writer is former assistant foreign minister. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: She's been soaking up the sun in Marbella alongside her famous family as lockdown restrictions eased. And Natalya Wright made the most of her idyllic break as she shared another sizzling bikini snap via Instagram on Monday. The younger sister of former TOWIE stars Mark and Jessica Wright, 19, showcased her jaw-dropping figure in the black two-piece from Boohoo. Stunning: Natalya Wright looked sensational as she showed off her toned figure in a black bikini during her idyllic Marbella trip with her family on Monday Natalya's revealing ensemble paired a plunging black top with high-cut briefs to highlight her toned abs as she posed in front of a white wall. Her brunette locks were brushed into a loose waves, and she accessorised the look by wearing a pair of large shades. Natalya was sure to set pulses racing as she showed off her figure from several angles, and modelled with a large beige handbag. Giving her fans a positive message, she wrote in the caption: 'Living in the moment is my 2020 motto.' Sizzling display: Natalya's revealing ensemble paired a plunging black top with high-cut briefs to highlight her toned abs as she posed in front of a white wall Modelling skills: Natalya was sure to set pulses racing as she showed off her figure from several angles, and modelled with a large beige handbag On Sunday, Natlya looked stunning in a floral two-piece while striking a series of poses in front of a sea-themed whitewashed wall. Taking to Instagram with four separate images, Natalya highlighted her sensational model frame in the blue floral two-piece. Beaming in the shots, she left her brunette hair fall in a tousled style and added a summery touch by placing a large red flower over her ear in two of the images. Blooming lovely: On Sunday, Natlya looked stunning in a floral two-piece while striking a series of poses in front of a sea-themed whitewashed wall Sun-soaked: The younger sister of former TOWIE stars Mark and Jessica Wright looked stunning in a floral two-piece while striking a series of poses The Essex beauty kept her accessorises to a minimum by sporting a cross-chain necklace and watch while holding onto her circular shades. Captioning the sun-soaked beachy shots, she penned: 'Found a flower, put it in my hair & felt cute @houseofcb bikini'. The brunette was scouted by Select Model Management, who have Daisy Lowe, Sam Rollison and David Gandy on their books, at the age of just 16. Mane attraction: She left her brunette hair fall in a tousled style and added a summery touch by placing a large red flower over her ear in two of the images Sea-national: Taking to Instagram with four separate images, Natalya highlighted her sensational model frame in the blue floral two-piece But with work commitments on hold she has made the most of recently relaxed lockdown restrictions by jetting off to Majorca for a hastily booked holiday with sister Jess, who is expected to marry fiance William Lee-Kemp on the island in June 2021. Speaking to HELLO! magazine in June, Jess explained that Majorca has been like a second home to her as her family have a house on the island. She said: 'I've been dreaming of a fairytale wedding since I was little, when I used to dress up in my mum's net curtains. 'Now I can't wait for the moment I've been imagining for so long, walking up the aisle in a fabulous dress to marry Will.' Of the location, she added: 'We've enjoyed some amazing holidays here and I practically grew up on the island because it's where my family has a second home.' It's understood that sister-in-law Michelle Keegan will serve as a bridesmaid when the couple do finally exchange vows. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 21:49:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Mongolia has conducted more than 30,000 tests for COVID-19 so far this year, a senior official of the country's health ministry said Tuesday. "A total of 30,998 tests for COVID-19 has been conducted in our country since January," Yadamsuren Buyanjargal, head of the department of medical assistance at the ministry, said during a news conference. As of Tuesday, Mongolia has confirmed 287 COVID-19 cases, with no local transmissions or deaths. All confirmed cases are imported, mostly from Russia, according to the ministry. Enditem Local business owner and former Laredo Independent School District Board President George M. Beckelhymer formally announced Monday his candidacy for the City Council District 5 seat. Ive committed to run and now its official. Its exciting, Beckelhymer said. I bring a problem-solving background and look for ways to be more efficient. I am thoughtful and fair. I bring good experience. Im very proud of the work Ive done. Beckelhymer is running for the City Council seat currently held by Nelly Vielma. A Laredo native who attended LISD and Laredo Junior College before earning a degree at the University of Texas at Austin, Beckelhymer has been a fixture of the Laredo business community for the past 25 years as a founder and co-owner of El Bufalo Pawn Stores. While Beckelhymer was excited to announce his candidacy, he is less enthused about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic will have on his method of campaigning. Im not a fan of this. Im a real door knocking, hand shaking and share a conversation type of guy, he said. This isolated method is a little bit of a challenge. My credentials are pretty thorough. I look forward to giving it a try. It will be great. Beckelhymer sees some of those credentials as especially crucial for the upcoming challenges the COVID-19 pandemic will present. The pandemic has impacted the economy nationwide, and the impact will likely be felt for years to come. Admittedly thats a significant challenge. We have the business community that we need to support, and obviously health is of the most significant importance, Beckelhymer said. If you want to do it, and you want to do it right, you just need to engineer it. If you visit, discuss and analyze, you can engineer a good outcome of this. It cant be 100% shut down or 100% reopening. Im certain there is a way to engineer this with responsible action. I dont have that solution yet, but I look forward to digging into it. Beckelhymer gained experience handling budget issues in his time as the LISD Board President when $25 million was cut from the budget over two years. The district not only absorbed the loss but emerged with $40 million in excess undesignated fund balance according to Beckelhymer. It forced everybody to look at the waste, he said. We came out on the other side very lean without having to cut any services to the students. It was a very successful endeavor under the circumstances. He got involved with the LISD Board to help ensure his kids, and in turn all kids, received a quality education. Beckelhymer gradually worked his way up from trustee to president and takes pride in the accomplishments during his time serving. I enjoyed in a bittersweet way my three terms as an LISD trustee, he said. There were a lot of challenges and difficulty and some disappointment, but there was a lot of success, cultural change and benefits for the kids and really the community in general. I hope to bring that same level of success, fiscal responsibility and surplus budgets. Thats going to be a real challenge right now. Id like to partner with the school districts, the county and a few other entities to share responsibilities and become more efficient. Beckelhymer is serving as a board member on the Regional Mobility Authority and the Planning and Zoning Commission. He previously championed the Green Space ordinance while serving as Chair of the Citizens Environmental Advisory Committee, and he won the Governors Excellence award for collaborating with fellow CEAC members on the Environmental Education Partnership with the City of Laredo and Laredo public schools. Beckelhymer is hoping to put all that experience to use if he can win the seat for District 5. The filing deadline for other candidates is Aug. 17, and the general elections will be Nov. 3. You need to be interested, you need to be curious, you need to care, and hopefully you also have the ability, Beckelhymer said. If you have that combination, you can be successful. You have to want to do the right thing. There is a balance in there. It isnt all eco, it isnt all government, it isnt all business. There is a balance. You just need to find that. Part of that is efficiency by sharing responsibility. Korea's airline industry continues to suffer from the coronavirus epidemic and no end is in sight. Air passenger traffic, which averaged at around 10 million a month, has plummeted almost 80 percent, while international travel, which used to account for 90 percent of revenues, stands at just three percent of pre-pandemic levels. The peak holiday season this year has effectively been a write-off. Earnings have plummeted since the coronavirus epidemic began. Compared to Jan. 1-19, passenger numbers during the first 19 days of this month sank 75 percent, while the number of flights declined 60 percent. With international flight passenger volume down 97 percent, the average number of passengers on each international flight stands at only 26, meaning planes are flying almost empty. The only respite so far is a recovery in domestic flight demand, which has returned to around 90 percent of normal times . This raised the total number of monthly domestic and international passengers from an all-time low of 1.35 million in April to 2.34 million in June, but that is till only 20 percent of the level in the same month of last year. A man has been charged with murder in a case spanning more than three decades thanks to the DNA on a cigarette butt. Prosecutors on Monday submitted a first-degree murder charge against Oklahoma inmate Earl Wilson for the 1985 death of Paul Aikman. Oklahoma attorney general Mike Hunter said investigators matched the 55 year-olds DNA to prints on cigarette butts located at the crime scene. Advances in DNA technology are allowing authorities to take another look at these difficult cases, said Mr Hunter. Just because cases go cold doesnt mean someone shouldnt be held responsible, even after three decades. Aikman was stabbed to death on the Turner Turnpike in Lincoln County in September 1985, said authorities, but the case was not closed at the time. Cigarette butts collected by Oklahoma State Bureau of Investigations (OSBI) agents at the murder scene had been used to develop a DNA profile of the suspect, but no match was found until last year. Mr Hunter said Wilsons DNA was matched with those on the cigarette butts through the national DNA database. For 35 years, Paul Aikmans family has ached not knowing who was responsible for his murder, said OSBI Director Ricky Adams on Monday. 35 years have passed, but we have not forgotten about Paul. Thanks to science and determined police work by OSBI agents and our Cold Case Unit, we are pleased to announce that the suspect in Pauls murder has been identified, he added. Wilson is currently incarcerated in Oklahoma for unrelated crimes. Federal agents disperse demonstrators who used fencing to block entrances and exits to the Mark O. Hatfield United States Courthouse, in Portland, Ore., on July 20, 2020. (Noah Berger/AP Photo) Mayors Push for Removal of Federal Forces as Violence Spikes The mayors of some of the largest cities in the United States urged the Trump administration to remove federal officers, claiming that the officers enforcement of laws violates the U.S. Constitution. We write to express our deep concern and objection to the to the deployment of federal forces in our cities, as those forces are conducting law enforcement activities without coordination or authorization of local law enforcement officials, the mayors wrote in a letter this week. The unilateral deployment of these forces into American cities is unprecedented and violates fundamental constitutional protections and tenets of federalism, they added. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser, and Kansas City Mayor Quinton Lucas signed the letter. All are Democrats. President Donald Trump looks on before delivering remarks on Rolling Back Regulations to Help All Americans on the South Lawn at the White House on July 16, 2020. (Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images) Republican President Donald Trump promised earlier Monday to send more federal personnel to major cities that are both experiencing spikes in violence and struggling to quell it. He named New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, and potentially Oakland, Calif. Rioting has taken place in Portland nightly since late May. But Wheeler in recent days says federal forces, which surged in the area in the past few weeks, are to blame. Portlands city attorney was directed to explore legal options to respond to the federal actions, Wheeler said in a statement released with the letter. Lightfoot said in an appearance on MSNBC the situation in Portland was concerning because local officials werent given advance notice and because unmarked vehicles were used in at least one arrest. She falsely stated that federal forces had no insignia on their uniforms. Chicago police investigate the scene where multiple people were shot in the 8200 block of South Drexel, in the Chatham neighborhood of Chicago, on July 17, 2020. (Tyler LaRiviere/Chicago Sun-Times via AP) Our democracy is at stake. And Ill be darned if Im going to let anybodyeven if their name is Mr. Presidentbring those kind of troops to our city and try to take off our residents. Thats not going to happen in Chicago. And if they try it, Im going to try every tool at my disposal to stop them, she said. Lucas said he was proud to stand with the other mayors against federal intervention in local protests. In the letter, the mayors singled out how federal forces are under investigation for striking a man in the head with a munition. The man, who allegedly threw a smoke grenade at officers, is in the hospital with a fractured skull, his mother told news outlets. The mayors also allege that federal law enforcement is being deployed for political purposes. Trump and his administration continually attack local leadership and amplify false and divisive rhetoric purely for campaign fodder, they wrote. Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler poses for a photo in Portland, Ore., on Aug. 5, 2019. (Craig Mitchelldyer/AP Photo) The letter was sent to Attorney General William Barr and acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf. The Department of Justice didnt respond to a request for comment. Wolf said in an appearance on Fox News on Monday that some of the remarks from Wheeler and other officials havent been accurate. They dont understand the authorities and the responsibility the Department of Homeland Security has. We protect almost 9,000 federal facilities across the country. We did that 10 years ago, and we did it long before this civil unrest started, and well continue to do that, Wolf said. And so, I dont need invitations by the state, state mayors, or state governors to do our job. Were going to do that whether they like us there or not. Thats our responsibility. CORVALLIS, Ore. - The global population of the critically endangered Chinese crested tern has more than doubled thanks to a historic, decade-long collaboration among Oregon State University researchers and scientists and conservationists in China, Taiwan and Japan. The project included OSU's Dan Roby and Don Lyons and was led by Chen Shuihua of the Zhejiang Museum of Natural History. When it began, fewer than 50 of the seabirds remained. "The species is still far from being safe from extinction, but the population is now well over 100 adults and the future is much brighter than 10 years ago," said Roby, professor emeritus in the Department of Fisheries and Wildlife in the College of Agricultural Sciences. Findings were published in Biological Conservation. First described in 1863, the Chinese crested tern has been a largely mysterious species and is arguably the world's most threatened seabird. After 21 specimens were collected in 1937 along the coast of Shandong Province, China, it wasn't until 2000 that any other sightings were confirmed: four adults and four chicks within a large colony of greater crested terns in the Matsu Islands, Taiwan. The discovery was big news in the ornithology world, which had generally considered the Chinese crested tern to be extinct. In the years since, breeding has been confirmed in five locations: three along the Chinese coast, plus an uninhabited island off the southwestern coast of South Korea and the Penghu Islands of Taiwan. The Chinese crested tern is among the nearly one-third of seabird species threatened with extinction because of entanglement with fishing gear, reduction in food supplies, environmental contaminants, overharvest, and predation and other disturbances by invasive species. "Most seabirds select nesting habitat largely by social cues, whose absence may delay recovery even when there is suitable habitat," Roby said. "Since the 1970s, new techniques have been developed and implemented to enhance seabird restoration efforts. These techniques are social attraction and chick translocation and have been used in at least 171 different seabird restoration projects conducted in 16 locations in an attempt to restore 64 seabird species." Social attraction was the strategy for the Chinese crested tern project, the first major conservation effort for seabirds in the People's Republic of China. "Terns feed their young and provide other parental care for extended periods post-fledging, suggesting that chick translocations would likely not result in fledged young that would survive to recruit into the breeding population," Roby said. Social attraction involves decoys, recorded bird vocalizations, mirrors, scent and artificial burrows that work in concert to lure adult seabirds to restoration sites with the goal of establishing breeding colonies. "The most serious immediate threat to the survival of the species was the illegal harvest of eggs by fishermen," Roby said. "Beyond just taking the eggs, the disturbance associated with fishermen landing on breeding islands to collect eggs or shellfish apparently caused breeding terns to abandon their nesting sites." The scientists believed that if Chinese crested terns could be attracted to a site with suitable nesting habitat that was continuously monitored and secured against egg harvest and other human disturbances, the species could have a chance to recover from the brink of extinction. In 2013, a tern restoration project was launched on Tiedun Dao, an uninhabited, densely vegetated, 2.58-hectare island in the Jiushan Islands, home to a former breeding colony of Chinese crested terns that was abandoned in 2007 in the wake of illegal egg harvesting. "It's near the original breeding island of Jiangjunmao but was not known to have been previously occupied by breeding seabirds," Roby said. "To improve the chances for Chinese crested tern success, we used social attraction techniques to try to establish a new breeding colony of greater crested terns because since their rediscovery, Chinese crested terns had only been found nesting in large colonies of greater crested terns." In 2015, Yaqueshan, a 1-hectare island in the Wuzhishan Archipelago, was chosen as a second restoration site, where social attraction would be deployed in an attempt to stabilize the breeding colony there. Three years later, the researchers attracted a total of 77 breeding adult Chinese crested terns to the Tiedun Dao and Yaqueshan colonies - 88.5% of the known number of breeding adults in the global population for that year. Also in 2018, 25 Chinese crested tern chicks fledged from the Tiedun Dao and Yaqueshan colonies, or 96% of the known number of Chinese crested tern fledglings produced that year. "Consequently, we now know for the first time in history that the global population of Chinese crested terns exceeds 100," Roby said. "The population increase from under 50 to more than 100 is a cautiously hopeful sign that this species can be brought back from the very edge of extinction. The success of this international project is a testimony to what can be accomplished when scientists from China, the U.S. and Taiwan work together toward a common conservation goal." ### Supporting the project were the National Natural Science Foundation of China, the Zhejiang Technological Research Project for Public Welfare, the National Key R&D Program of China, the Biodiversity Investigation, Observation and Assessment Program of the Ministry of Ecology and Environment of China, the Zhejiang Rare and Endangered Wildlife Rescue and Conservation Project, the Endangered Species Monitoring Fund from the State Forestry Administration of China, the Ocean Park Conservation Foundation, the China Association for Science and Technology, the Japan Fund for Global Environment, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Pacific Seabird Group. The Armenian military accused Azerbaijani forces late on Tuesday of again attacking one of its positions at a section of Armenias border with Azerbaijan where deadly fighting raged last week. The Defense Ministry spokeswoman, Shushan Stepanian, said an Azerbaijani commando unit suffered heavy losses while being repelled by Armenian troops deployed in the Tavush province. Some of the units soldiers were left trapped as a result of the failed incursion, she said without elaborating. The Armenian side suffered no casualties, Stepanian wrote on Facebook. Azerbaijans Defense Ministry denied the claim. There were no new attacks, let alone casualties, from our side, said its spokesman, Vagif Dargahli. The Armenian report is yet another disinformation. Dargahli said earlier in the day that the situation on the border between Tavush and the Tovuz district in western Azerbaijan remains tense but stable. Fierce fighting at the volatile border section broke out on July 12, with each side accusing the other of trying to seize its frontline positions in the mountainous area. At least 12 Azerbaijani soldiers, including a general, and four Armenian servicemen died before the clashes involving artillery fire and drone attacks largely stopped on July 16. The international community has expressed serious concern over the worst escalation of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in years. According to Stepanian, Azerbaijani special forces targeted late in the evening the same hilltop post of the Armenian army which they unsuccessfully stormed early on July 16. Although there was no gunfire as of 00:47 a.m. [on Wednesday] I must nonetheless note that the leadership of the Azerbaijani armed forces is not in control of the situation, the Armenian official wrote in another Facebook post after midnight. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 22:29:50|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Political leaders from across the world have expressed their opposition to the U.S. signing of the so-called "Hong Kong Autonomy Act" into law while voicing their support for China's national security legislation for Hong Kong to safeguard the country's sovereignty, security and development interests. Mohamed Bazoum, president of Niger's Party for Democracy and Socialism, said that it is China's internal affair to implement the national security legislation. No other countries have the right to intervene. He mentioned that for a long time, some countries frequently interfered in others' internal affairs in the name of human rights, democracy and freedom, but have always turned a blind eye to their own problems. Niger supports China in carrying out the national security legislation for Hong Kong according to the country's constitution and the Basic Law of Hong Kong, he stressed. Moussa Timbine, president of the National Assembly of Mali, said Hong Kong affairs are purely China's internal affairs, adding that safeguarding security and stability of the region is a sacred duty of the Chinese government, and is reasonable and lawful. Any foreign force has no right to interfere in China's internal affairs, let alone attempt to use Hong Kong to undermine China's stability, he said. Mali firmly opposes foreign interference in China's internal affairs and staunchly supports China's efforts to safeguard its national sovereignty and security, Timbine added. Walter Sorrentino, vice president of the Communist Party of Brazil, said that the one-China principle is a consensus of the international community, and the practice of the principle of "one country, two systems" in Hong Kong and Macao has proved that the policy is successful. Some countries have run counter to the consensus of the international community, ignored the achievements Hong Kong has made since its return to the motherland, and attempted to make an issue of some problems existing in Hong Kong, simply because they want to use Hong Kong as a bargaining chip to deal with and suppress China so as to maintain their hegemony, Sorrentino said, expressing firm opposition to this. Yemeni Socialist Party General Secretary Abdulraham Al-Saqqaf said that after Hong Kong's return to the motherland, it has been given a high degree of autonomy in accordance with the "one country, two systems" principle, the Chinese Constitution and the Basic Law of Hong Kong. The Yemeni Socialist Party firmly supports China's actions taken to safeguard its sovereignty, security and territorial integrity, the general secretary said, adding that any act that undermines China's national security will surely fail. Averof Neofytou, president of the Democratic Rally party in Cyprus, said his party fully understands the importance and sensitivity of Hong Kong issue to China and will never interfere in China's internal affairs in any circumstance. Hong Kong affairs should be looked after by the Chinese government and its people, he said. Deputy chief of Union of Moderate Parties of Vanuatu Alatoi Ishmael Kalsakau said upholding one-China policy is an important part of Vanuatu's foreign policy. Kalsakau, also Vanuatu's deputy prime minister and minister of internal affairs, said his country supports the Chinese side in establishing and improving the legal system and operation mechanism of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region to safeguard national security, and supports the passing of the national security law by the Chinese National People's Congress Standing Committee. That will guarantee the effective implementation of "one country, two systems" principle in Hong Kong and maintain long-term prosperity and stability in the region, he said. Enditem A day after IndiGo announced it would lay off 10% of its employees, the Centre of Asia Pacific Aviation (CAPA India) a global aviation consultancy predicted the failure of one or two Indian airlines would be unavoidable in the near future. CAPA India said IndiGos decision to lay off workers due to the impact of the Covid-19 crisis is the beginning of a painful process for Indian aviation. CAPA tweeted on Tuesday: Industry conditions are such that one or more airline failures appear inevitable. Airlines have limited options to turn to for funding except their promoters, given that 3rd party investors will be reluctant to provide capital right now, and the government is unwilling to do so. On July 20, IndiGo, Indias largest airline by market share, announced the lay-offs due to the pandemic. CAPA said, The decision by IndiGo to lay off 10% of its staff is the beginning of a painful process for Indian aviation as things start to unravel from the impact of Covid-19 in India. It will be impossible to survive this crisis without a strong balance sheet. Airlines have been struggling since the Covid-19 lockdown was announced in late March. Even after domestic operations partially resumed from May 25, most aircraft are on the ground as airlines have been operating in a limited manner with only 60% of their capacity due to poor load factor. Even while the state government has allowed 50 take-offs and 50 arrivals from Mumbai, not all are operating their planned flights, as demand has been low, said a senior airline official who declined to be named. Dr. Brandon Ryans, Health Sciences Department Chair, Trident Dr. Ryanss outstanding interpersonal skills will help to continue the collaborative, team-oriented environment within the Health Sciences Department. - Dr. Patricia Rhynders, Associate Dean, Trident's College of Health and Human Services Trident at American InterContinental University (Trident) is excited to announce that Dr. Brandon Ryans has been appointed Department Chair, Health Sciences in the College of Health and Human Services. He joined Trident in 2017 as a Full-time Professor. As Department Chair, Dr. Ryans will be overseeing the Bachelor of Science in Health Sciences (BSHS) and Master of Science in Health Sciences (MSHS) programs. Additionally, he will be mentoring faculty members and facilitating their professional development, and overseeing curriculum development to ensure that material is consistent with current health sciences trends. He will continue working closely with students, both in the classroom and as a member of Ph.D. in Health Sciences dissertation committees. Dr. Ryanss outstanding interpersonal skills will help to continue the collaborative, team-oriented environment within the Health Sciences Department, states Dr. Patricia Rhynders, Associate Dean, College of Health and Human Services. During his time at Trident, Dr. Ryans has excelled as an educator, administrator, and researcher. He has served on several academic committees, including Committee on Academic Standards and Academic Leadership Committee. He currently sits on the User Experience Committee and Policy Committee. Dr. Ryans has been actively involved in course and program development, creating new and revised courses for the Bachelor of Science in Healthcare Administration (BSHA) and Master of Science in Healthcare Administration (MSHA) programs. His research interests include healthcare policy, elderly healthcare and preventative care, universal healthcare, and health informatics. Dr. Ryans currently serves as a peer reviewer for Globalization and Health, a journal that publishes original research on globalization and its effects on public health. Dr. Ryans holds a Doctor of Health Education (DHEd) and Master of Science in Health Care Administration from A.T. Still University. He is also a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). About Trident at American InterContinental University Founded in 1998, Trident at American InterContinental University (Trident at AIU) is part of an online postsecondary university serving adult learners. Trident at AIU uses the EdActive learning approach, which employs case-based learning in an online setting to teach real-world relevant critical thinking skills designed to enhance the lives and education of students. Trident offers quality associate, bachelors, masters, and doctoral degree programs and certificates, led by a qualified faculty team, over 80% of whom have doctoral degrees. Trident at AIU is regionally accredited by the Higher Learning Commission (hlcommission.org) and has more than 22,000 alumni with a military affiliation. Trident has received acknowledgements from Washington Monthly, Military Times, and Military Advanced Education & Transition for their dedication to student success. Visit http://www.trident.edu or call at (855) 290-0290 to learn more about Trident at AIU's wide range of educational options. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 17:27:41|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close People walk past the headquarters of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Washington D.C., the United States, July 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) "This double dip may not be the most likely outcome, right now. But it is a highly plausible worst-case scenario if the national spread of the virus is not brought under control soon," said Gavyn Davies, chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management and former head of the global economics department at Goldman Sachs. WASHINGTON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The resurgence of COVID-19 cases across the United States is raising the risk of a double-dip recession if the country is unable to reign in the pandemic, economists have warned. A total of 34 U.S. states have seen increasing rates of COVID-19 infection since the Memorial Day weekend in late May, with the majority of new infections occurring in the south and southwest, said Joseph Brusuelas, chief economist at accounting and consulting firm RSM US LLP. "Nationally, we registered more than 68,000 reported cases per day in the second week of July. That is twice the April peak of 32,000 cases per day recorded in the first wave of infections centered along major population centers in the Northeast, Chicago and the West Coast," Brusuelas wrote Monday in a blog post. "Given the current rate of infection, and unless states quickly respond to that spread by reinstating restrictions on social interaction, we expect the number of infections to approach and surpass 4 million cases in late July," Brusuelas said. As of Monday night, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States topped 3.8 million with more than 140,000 deaths, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Mark Zandi, chief economist of Moody's Analytics, believed that the "overly rapid" business reopenings, combined with the "chaotic management" of the healthcare crisis, has reignited the pandemic. "The economic damage is already becoming clear. Initial claims for unemployment insurance, which fell sharply from mid-April to early June, have been stuck at over 2 million per week," Zandi wrote Monday in an analysis, expecting more job losses later this summer as some businesses are required to close again or at least impose tighter social distancing measures. "This sounds like a double-dip recession or W-shape outlook. Indeed, the only reason we expect a better outcome, namely a more-or-less flat economy between now and when the pandemic ends with a vaccine that is widely distributed and adopted, is that we expect lawmakers to step up," Zandi noted. U.S. Congress, which returned to work on Monday, is under immense pressure to craft a new fiscal package, including further aid to households and businesses, before a looming deadline for enhanced unemployment benefits. Some 25 million Americans are set to lose 600 U.S. dollars a week each in federal unemployment benefits at the end of the month, according to local media. A woman wearing a face mask crosses a street in Washington, D.C., the United States, on July 17, 2020. (Xinhua/Liu Jie) "If they fail to agree to help out hard-pressed state and local governments; extend the enhanced unemployment insurance benefits, at least in part; and provide more income support such as another round of stimulus checks, then the economy will quickly descend back into recession," Zandi said. U.S. lawmakers need to approve a package of effective fiscal support totaling at least 1.4 trillion dollars to avoid a double-dip recession, the economist added. "This double dip may not be the most likely outcome, right now. But it is a highly plausible worst-case scenario if the national spread of the virus is not brought under control soon," said Gavyn Davies, chairman of Fulcrum Asset Management and former head of the global economics department at Goldman Sachs. Economists at IHS Markit also wrote in a recent report that the recent rise in COVID-19 infection rates in large countries, including the United States, India and Brazil, underlines the fragility of the rebound and the risk of a W-shaped economic cycle. People do shopping at the Macy's flagship store in New York, the United States, on June 22, 2020. (Xinhua/Wang Ying) "The new wave of infections has reduced the probability of a V-shaped cycle, something to which we did not subscribe, and increased the risk of a double-dip recession (W-shaped cycle)," the report said, noting a second economic downturn could arrive in late 2020 or early 2021. The U.S. economy officially entered a recession in February, ending a decade-long recovery from the 2008 global financial crisis, according to the National Bureau of Economic Research. While U.S. employment, retail sales and other economic data rebounded in May and June as states gradually eased lockdowns and reopened, high frequency data points to a stall in U.S. economic activity in recent weeks amid the COVID-19 resurgence. At least 22 U.S. states have either paused or partially reversed their efforts to reopen their economies to limit the spread of COVID-19, local media reported. Noting that the premature reopening of the U.S. economy has exacerbated the pandemic, Brusuelas said "it has become increasingly clear that there will not be a meaningful domestic or global economic recovery until an effective coronavirus vaccine regimen is in place." Defense Minister Jeong Kyung-doo and his U.S. counterpart Mark Esper / Korea Times file Top military chiefs do not discuss USFK reduction By Kang Seung-woo Korea and the United States have been struggling to decide when to start their joint military exercises out of concern that the mass participation of troops could further spread COVID-19. This hesitation is fueling speculation that the transition of wartime operational control (OPCON) of Korean troops from Washington to Seoul may be pushed back even further. The coronavirus pandemic caused the scrapping of annual drills that were to be held in the first half of the year due to a surge in infections here. While the allies had planned to hold a theater-level combined exercise in August, the virus situation in the U.S. is now getting serious, making it difficult for the two countries to decide on the number of participants and the scale of the training. According to the Ministry of National Defense, Minister Jeong Kyung-doo spoke by phone with his U.S. counterpart Mark Esper, Tuesday morning, during which they failed to reach a consensus on the exercise. "Negotiations over joint exercises have entered their final phase," a ministry official told reporters. "The two sides are closely working out how to hold the combined training while taking various circumstances into consideration, including the COVID-19 situation." The number of recorded COVID-19 cases in South Africa continues to rise, with major hotspots including Gauteng and the Western Cape. South African currently ranks fifth in the world in the total number of COVID-19 cases, above the UK, Spain, and Italy. As of 19 July, the total number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in the country is 373,628, with the total number of COVID-19-related deaths now sitting at 5,173. Gauteng and the Western Cape lead the provinces in total case numbers with 136,879 and 85,772, respectively. There have been concerns over the number of beds available to accommodate the rising number of COVID-19 patients, particularly in Gauteng, where the number of cases is increasing rapidly. Health Minister Zweli Mkhize has addressed the flouting of lockdown and social distancing rules by many South African citizens, imploring people to abide by the rules and wear a mask. He has also addressed reports that Gauteng hospital beds are full, which he believes is created by the delays in getting test results, causing patients to be kept under investigation for longer in hospital. Secondly, [we believe if] the availability of oxygen [is not an issue] if we can make sure we do not have that pressure then I think we could be fine. Mkhize said the department is working around the clock to create more bed capacity so no one is turned away at hospital gates. Provincial hotspots Mediahack runs a coronavirus dashboard which tracks the number of confirmed cases, deaths, and other data in South Africa. This dashboard includes data on provincial hotspots, as well as statistics on hotspots within major cities, providing a clearer idea of exactly where the virus is spreading in these high-risk areas. The graphs below detail the daily confirmed and active cases, and the recoveries measured in hotspot areas within Johannesburg, Tshwane, and Cape Town. Click on the graphs to view the full-size images. Gauteng Johannesburg Gauteng Tshwane Region 1 Ga-Rankuwa, Mabopane, Winterveldt, Soshanguve, Rosslyn, Karenpark, Wonderboom, Akasia, Nina Park, Orchards, Amandasig, Thereza Park Ga-Rankuwa, Mabopane, Winterveldt, Soshanguve, Rosslyn, Karenpark, Wonderboom, Akasia, Nina Park, Orchards, Amandasig, Thereza Park Region 2 Hamanskraal, Temba, Suurman, Dilopye, Stinkwater, Ramotse, New Eersterus, Kameeldrift, Pyramid/Rooiwal, Doornpoort, Kekana Gardens, Kekanastad, Marokolong, Randstown, Kanana Hamanskraal, Temba, Suurman, Dilopye, Stinkwater, Ramotse, New Eersterus, Kameeldrift, Pyramid/Rooiwal, Doornpoort, Kekana Gardens, Kekanastad, Marokolong, Randstown, Kanana Region 3 Atteridgeville, Laudium, Pretoria CBD, Hercules, Danville, Saulsville, Lotus, Pretoria West Atteridgeville, Laudium, Pretoria CBD, Hercules, Danville, Saulsville, Lotus, Pretoria West Region 4 Lyttleton, Eldoraigne, Waterkloof, Olievenhoutbosch, Rooihuiskraal, Silverton, Centurion, Brooklyn, Hatfield Lyttleton, Eldoraigne, Waterkloof, Olievenhoutbosch, Rooihuiskraal, Silverton, Centurion, Brooklyn, Hatfield Region 5 East Lynne, Rayton, Cullinan, Dewagensdrift, Refilwe, Silverton, Onverwacht East Lynne, Rayton, Cullinan, Dewagensdrift, Refilwe, Silverton, Onverwacht Region 6 Eesterus, Lethabong, Mamelodi, Silverlakes, Garsfontein, Lynnwood, Queenswood, Wilgers, Watloo, Equestria, Mooikloof, Brummeria Eesterus, Lethabong, Mamelodi, Silverlakes, Garsfontein, Lynnwood, Queenswood, Wilgers, Watloo, Equestria, Mooikloof, Brummeria Region 7 Ekangala, Sokhulumi, Dark City, Zithobeni, Bronkhorstspruit, Kanana, Rethabiseng Western Cape Cape Town A furious North Queensland MP is on the hunt to find the driver who rammed a stolen ute into his work car in broad daylight, causing extensive damage. Whitsunday MP Jason Costigan has shared CCTV footage of the disturbing incident which occurred near a busy intersection in Townsville on Monday afternoon. It's been a bad start to the week for the controversial MP as his daughter Brianna, 20, faces possible jail time after she admitted to drug running in Sydney while fighting for her case to be dismissed on mental health grounds. CCTV captured from a nearby tyre shop shows a dark-coloured LandCruiser ute reversing into the driver's side of Mr Costigan's North Queensland First-branded car parked near the corner of Hanran and Stanley streets before speeding off. Police are reviewing CCTV which shows an allegedly stolen LandCruiser ute reversing into MP Jason Costigan's distinctive vehicle (circled) in Townsville on Monday afternoon The North Queensland First party leader was in a meeting around 2.30pm when he was inundated with calls and messages from staff with reports his car parked nearby had been damaged. A 'p****d off' Mr Costigan is adamant the ramming was a targeted attack, which he believes was politically-motivated. 'It's something you'd see at the demolition derby,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'It's something I don't wish on anyone as my car was singled out. The driver stopped and clearly went out of their way to reverse into my car.' 'I'm glad I wasn't there as if I'd been in or near my car at the time, I would have been changing my underpants.' Despite extensive panel damage, Mr Costigan has been given the all clear to drive his car 260 kilometres back home to Prosperine later on Tuesday. 'It doesn't look pretty,' he said. It's been a tough week for embattled MP Jason Costigan (right). He's pictured with daughter Brianna, who awaiting sentencing after she pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying drugs Police confirmed they are investigating the incident. Mr Costigan had this message for the culprit responsible. 'We're coming after you,' he told Daily Mail Australia. 'Townsville police headquarters is three blocks away from where it happened so I believe they will be caught sooner rather than later.' 'What makes a person steal a car to cause damage to someone else's property?' Mr Costigan said he was aware of reports the stolen ute and another red car were driving dangerously through the city prior to the ramming incident. The ute attempted to ram the red car, which sped off before it was hit, the Townsville Bulletin reported. Jason Costigan believes the culprit will be caught sooner rather than later. Pictured is the dark coloured ute stopped at the busy intersection moments before it reversed back into his car Mr Costigan declined to comment on his daughter's Brianna's legal dramas in Sydney, citing the matter was before the courts. The university law student is awaiting sentencing after she pleaded guilty to two charges of supplying drugs. She was caught selling two bags for $500 in her pyjamas in a red Holden Astra outside a Sydney hotel last year. At the Downing Centre Local Court on Monday, her lawyer indicated he will be applying to have the case dismissed based on mental health grounds as he' just received a psychological report. The MP declined to comment on his daughter Brianna Costigan (pictured) who is facing possible jail time after she admitted to drug running in Sydney Mr Costigan has also had to deal with his own fair share of controversy this year. In January, the embattled independent MP and former journalist was expelled from the Liberal Party following accusations he harassed an 18-year-old woman. She claimed he 'stroked her on the back and hair'. Mr Costigan denied the allegations. Those claims were later withdrawn. The woman offered her 'unreserved apology' to Mr Costigan. Mr Costigan later announced that he would not resign despite being expelled by the Liberal Party. He has since started his own political party, North Queensland First. Copyright 2020 Albuquerque Journal A dish from an Albuquerque restaurant is one of five nationwide to be the inspiration behind a series of new Lays potato chip flavors that will hit the stores by the end of the month. Cocina Azuls chile relleno dish, along with four other flavors, will hit the market July 27 at all Walmart and 7-Eleven stores across the country. I was excited, Cocina Azul general manager Frank Barela Jr. said of learning the restaurant had been chosen. Lays gave us a pretty big opportunity for sure. The announcement was supposed to be kept under wraps until the release, but word got out last week about PepsiCo Inc.s Frito-Lay North Americas plans. We had a nondisclosure agreement, so I couldnt talk to anybody about it, Barela said. But it got leaked last week, and Lays let everybody talk about it before it came out. The other new flavors are Kettle Cooked New York Style Pizza, inspired by Grimaldis in New York City; Nashville Hot Chicken, inspired by Party Fowl in Nashville, Tennessee; Philly Cheesesteak, inspired by Genos Steaks in Philadelphia; and Carnitas Street Taco, inspired by El Torito in Los Angeles. It started with Pepsi, Barela said. We have Pepsi products in the restaurants. One of their salespeople talked to me about it and asked me if we were interested. I pursued it myself, and we went from there. In August, Barela and a cook flew to Dallas for a day in Lays testing kitchen. We cooked with them in their testing kitchen, he said. We got all ingredients measured out together, and they wanted us to keep cooking. There were numerous people in lab coats taking notes and measuring everything. Then they would ask questions. And then they would cook some more. We finally figured it out. After that, it was a matter of Zoom meetings and samples that were sent to Albuquerque for Barela to taste-test. Although there is no direct payment to Cocina Azul or the other restaurants involved, Lays has created the Lays Gratitude Fund providing each restaurant with a $25,000 donation to put toward the various relief efforts that will help them recover from the impact of the pandemic, according to a company release. Its also a way for chip enthusiasts to get a taste of other regions of the country without traveling in this COVID-19 atmosphere. The new restaurant-inspired Lays may just offer the best of both worlds in the current environment, Jen Crichton, brand communications director for Frito-Lay North America, told Food Business News. Lays was looking for a chile relleno-flavored chip and found Cocina Azuls the perfect fit. Its definitely one of our staples, Barela said of the deep-fried, battered green chile dish. Its great exposure, national exposure, and brand recognition. Bottom line is we hope it will bump sales. But thats unknown. Right now, its really cool. We hope people buy it and like it and then come give us a try. Our mission to help you navigate the new normal is fueled by subscribers. To enjoy unlimited access to our journalism, subscribe today. The Democratic National Convention is one month out and a few days later Republicans will follow with their own controversial version. But in the face of a highly contagious and deadly virus, both parties have struggled to reimagine and quickly execute their landmark events which typically involve arenas full of people, hundreds of crowded soirees, and political celebrities galore. Coronavirus-induced reckonings have put everything from office life to fashion week under a microscope, and now its the political conventions turn. The extreme pivots and sudden reduction in quadrennial glamour raise the obvious questions: Do we really need these political summits? Or at the very least, do we need them to be multi-day lavish media events? Conventions are planned years in advance, cost millions of dollars and employ full staffs to pull off a series of events that envelop and involve an entire city, culminating in a highly-publicized presidential nomination. This time around, Republicans were planning to take over Charlotte, North Carolina where they expected about 50,000 visitors, 15,000 members of the media, 2,500 delegates, and 3,200 events. The RNC had hoped to raise about $70 million in funding and to attract 8,000 volunteers to ensure that everything ran smoothly. Democrats had planned attractions of a similar size in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. But thats not happening anymore. This time around, the fat will be trimmed. Superfluous expo halls and open bars will likely be shuttered. The conventions will return to their original purpose: Setting the party platform for the years to come and nominating the next presidential candidate (at least for Democrats, they will). Democrats plan to make their event mostly virtual and are telling delegates to stay home and cancel any planned travel to the rust-belt swing state. Story continues Republicans, meanwhile, have hastily moved their convention to Jacksonville, Florida because of restrictions on large events put in place by North Carolinas Democratic Governor Roy Cooper. They still intend to have some big events, but not nearly as large as originally planned. Theyll also hold some parts of the convention in North Carolina because they signed a contract saying that they would. The multi-state hodgepodge wont be the well-oiled jamboree that was 2-plus years in the making. Many Republicans, worried about the potential spread of COVID-19, say theyll sit this one out. Iowa Senator Charles E. Grassley, 86, and Tennessee Senator Lamar Alexander, 80, are skipping. Im not going to go. And Im not going to go because of the virus situation, Grassley said in a call with reporters last week. This will be the first time in 40 years that Grassley has skipped a convention. Judi Bosworth, a 72-year-old Democratic delegate from North Hempstead, New York said that party officials conducted a video call with all potential attendees outlining how they would be able to vote online earlier this month. The call, she said, was very organized, and the tech was flawless, which ended any unease about potential problems at the convention itself. Bosworth, who serves as her town supervisor and has been a delegate at the past two conventions, told Fortune that she didnt feel like she would be missing out on in-person festivities and instead felt a sense of pride and community in knowing that her assumed presidential nominee Joe Biden valued her health. Ultimately, this is showing Biden to be the leader that he is. The compassionate, kind, caring person who understands the most important thing is that our country and its residents are safe, she said. But Biden currently leads in polling by an average of nearly nine points, and hes retained that lead while keeping his head relatively low through the election season. A smaller convention without as much press wont hurt him, its in line with the status quo of his campaign thus far. The Democratic convention, with the increased volume of progressive voices like Bernie Sanders and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez may actually work to highlight divisions in the party, and so less stage time and smaller events work in the favor of an image of a cohesive party, said Ford OConnell, a Republican operative and media analyst. Biden is walking a tightrope in his party between the Bernie Sanders wing and more moderate Democrats, he said. The virtual convention appeases both sides and decreases potential drama. Theres no serious need for a message to be amplified when the party is already leading so significantly, said OConnell. Republicans, however, view the convention as an essential piece of their strategy to get reelected in November. News about the spread of COVID-19 is clearly not working in President Donald Trumps favor, nearly 60% of the country disapproves of his response to the crisis. And while hosting what could easily become a superspreader event in a state that has seen its virus rate repeatedly hit record highs would seemingly be a bad decision, OConnell says that Trump sees it as his only chance to break through the news cycle. If Florida is going to open its schools in the Fall, Republicans can have a convention there, he said. Republicans are having trouble getting their political message across and breaking through the COVID-19 news cycle. They want to re-energize and present what they stand for to the country before Labor Day. The president thrives in large arenas where he can relay his message to his fans and collect heaps of earned media, it was the secret sauce to his 2016 win and its no longer possible, said OConnell. He needs the convention to find his mojo and the Republican party needs it to try to sell their platform to the American people. This upcoming election already shows signs of a lack of voter enthusiasm, said OConnell. Its an election where you dont have to get someone to vote for you, you have to get them to not vote for the other person. People know who President Trump is and what he stands for, hes well-defined in the Americans mind. And despite his years in the public eye, Joe Biden has recently become less of a known-persona. Republicans, said OConnell, need this convention to convince voters that Biden isnt someone they should vote for, to make his persona known as they see it. More politics coverage from Fortune : This story was originally featured on Fortune.com Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Stevie Emilia and Rita Widiadana (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta/Denpasar Tue, July 21, 2020 15:10 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406682162e 1 Health #health,#health-conference,#HealthCampaign,#population,#SexualViolence,#SexualViolenceAgainstWomen,#reproductive,#reproductive-health,#women,#UNFPA Free Just a few months before the COVID-19 pandemic began wreaking havoc, leaders from across the globe, including Indonesia, reaffirmed their commitment to advancing the sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR) of their people. The commitments were made during the 25th anniversary of the landmark Program of Action of the International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) in Nairobi in November 2019. I was present at the ICPD 1994 in Cairo to witness 179 member states agree upon the landmark ICPD Program of Action that, for the first time, put individual rights and choices with special emphasis on sexual reproductive health and rights and choices at the heart of sustainable development, said Bjorn Andersson, director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) for the Asia-Pacific region during a virtual conference on July 9. The virtual conference, organized by the steering committee of the 10th Asia Pacific Conference on Sexual Reproductive Health (APCRSRH10), UNFPA and Citizen News Service (CNS), was held to commemorate World Population Day, which fell on July 11. On July 11, World Population Day, UNFPA aims to raise awareness about the sexual and reproductive health needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls during the pandemic and how we can safeguard hard-fought gains and ensure that SRHR stays on the local agenda, said Andersson. In the early days following the coronavirus outbreak, Andersson said, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres expressed hope the crisis would bring countries together to face, what he called, the biggest global public health, economic and humanitarian challenges since World War II. But, after several months [of the pandemic], we are seeing grave challenges to achieve this vision, we are witnessing stigma, discrimination, racism and xenophobia manifested in various ways, often dividing society and countries, hindering effective responses to COVID-19, Andersson said. The pandemic also presented significant challenges related to maternal health, family planning and gender-based violence and ensuring the continuity of SRH services in Asia and the Pacific, he noted. The Asia-Pacific region is home to 4.3 billion people, or 60 percent of the worlds population, and includes three of the four most populous countries China, India and Indonesia. In the 25 years since ICPD 1994, the Asia-Pacific region has made significant progress toward ending maternal mortality, meeting needs for family planning and addressing gender-based violence and harmful practices against women and girls. Twenty years ago, more than 230,000 maternal deaths were estimated to occur in Asia-Pacific each year. Today, the number has dropped to 79,000. But, significant gaps still remain, Andersson added. In the region, more than 30 million women a year do not give birth in a health facility. More than 45 million women receive inadequate or no antenatal care. More than 2 million women want to avoid pregnancy but cannot access modern contraception. That was why, during the Nairobi Summit, around 26 countries from Asia and the Pacific penned a milestone statement comprising 152 commitments toward achieving the ICPD Program of Action. Fundamental to all commitments made in Nairobi was the pledge to leave no one behind. This requires addressing the specific needs of marginalized groups and those in vulnerable situations, regardless of gender, age, sexuality or disability. The Jakarta Post, however, reported from Nairobi that while Indonesia expressed a strong commitment to live up to its promise to accelerate the ICPD agenda, the country refused to endorse the new Nairobi statement. Making the point: Chairman of National Population and Family Planning Board Hasto Wardoyo reads out the countrys statement as head of Indonesias delegation to the ICPD25 summit in Nairobi in November last year. (JP/Stevie Emilia) While appreciating all efforts of the conveners, we are not in the position to endorse the Nairobi statement due to our national regulations and policies, explained the head Indonesias delegation to the summit, Hasto Wardoyo, chairman of the National Population and Family Planning Board, without offering details. Hasto insisted that 25 years after ICPD Cairo, Indonesia had achieved a number of targets in the context of the 2030 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) in terms of regulations, policies and strategies on reproductive health, family planning and prevention of gender-based violence. Read also: Indonesia commits to ICPD promises, but not endorse Nairobi Summit statement Hasto was also pleased to state that modern contraceptive use had reached 50 percent, the age specific fertility rate for girls had fallen to 36 per 1,000 women and the percentage of births attended by a skilled health professional had reached 90 percent. Regarding the countrys stance on the Nairobi statement, a number of population and development experts in Indonesia said that the non-binding statement included provisions on safe abortion as an essential package and that, therefore, the Indonesian government would not endorse it. Siswanto Agus Wilopo, professor and director of Gajah Mada Universitys Center for Reproductive Health, said abortion was only legal in Indonesia under certain circumstances, such as cases of rape, incest, or when a womans life was at risk. Worse, unsafe abortion accounted for an estimated 10 percent of maternal deaths in Indonesia, which has the highest maternal mortality rate [MMR] in the ASEAN region [at 350 deaths per 100,000 live births, as compared to Singapore with only 11 per 100,000 deliveries], the professor said. Program of action: The 25th anniversary of the landmarke International Conference of Population and Development (ICPD) was held in Nairobi in November 2019. (JP/Stevie Emilia) In the current pandemic, Andersson insisted, We need to hold governments accountable to their commitments to the ICPD Program of Action and the SDGs to build a better post-COVID Asia-Pacific. We need to work together for societal change so that the lives of women and girls are valued equally with the lives of men and boys. And, we must push back against the growing trends of conservatism that threaten our collective efforts, he said. (ste) Without discussing specifics, Esper said he favors more emphasis on rotational deployments, as opposed to permanent stationing, of American troops because it gives us, the United States, greater strategic flexibility in terms of responding to challenges around the globe. Espers chief spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said later the goal of shifting to more use of rotational forces in Asia and Europe would be to remove some of the footprint of having forces forward deployed and allow troops to train in additional locations, instead of being in one country all the time. He said it also would allow the U.S. to be a little bit more unpredictable. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The U.S. has about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a bulwark against North Korea, but the U.S.-South Korea treaty alliance is under great strain, mainly because of the Trump administrations demand that Seoul vastly increase the amount it pays for the U.S. presence. Negotiations led on the U.S. side by the State Department have been deadlocked for months. The Pentagon said Esper spoke by phone Monday with his South Korean counterpart to discuss the payment issue and other matters, including the stalemated U.S. effort to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons. It gave no details. President Donald Trump has questioned the value of stationing U.S. troops in South Korea and elsewhere in the world, saying Seoul and other host governments must pay more of the cost. Story continues below advertisement In his remarks in a webinar hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Esper said that since taking office a year ago he has sought to review the global U.S. military footprint with an eye to competing more effectively with China and Russia. That has included looking for ways to bring more U.S. troops home so that they can train more directly for missions related to potential conflict in the Asia-Pacific region. Advertisement Esper said he hopes to visit China this year to enhance cooperation on areas of common interest, improve crisis communications systems, and reinforce our intentions to openly compete in the international system in which we all belong. Hoffman, his spokesman, said the matter is under discussion and he was not sure whether Esper has talked to his Chinese counterpart about the timing. Earlier this month Esper approved the withdrawal of 9,500 troops from Germany, although he has yet to publicly disclose how many of those will be brought home and how many will be shifted to other parts of Europe or elsewhere. He also has reviewed the U.S. presence in Africa. Story continues below advertisement We will continue to look at adjustments in every command we have, in every theater, to make sure we are optimizing our forces, Esper said in Tuesdays webinar. The U.S. military presence in South Korea dates to the 1950-53 Korean War in which American forces fought in support of the South after North Korean troops invaded and were later supported by Chinese troops. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. A controversial trading app linked to the death of a US student has delayed its UK launch as it focuses its efforts on its domestic market. Robinhood had originally planned launch in Britain in early 2020 and was planning to have its trading app available to users there before the end of the year. However pressure has mounted on the company in the US after a 20-year-old student, Alex Kearns, killed himself last month. Kearns appears to have mistakenly believed that he had lost $730,000 using the app. US lawmakers have pressed Robinhood to improve its safeguards in the wake of the student's death. The California-based company informed the 250,000 people on its UK waiting list of the decision via email, Bloomberg reported. It said: Well be closing our waitlist and taking down our UK website shortly. Weve come to recognise that our efforts are currently best spent on strengthening our core business in the US and making further investments in our foundational systems. Robinhoods trading app - a popular online brokerage platform used by U.S. retail investors -- had several technical issues throughout the year. A system-wide outage in March lasted an entire trading day and its users missed out as stocks surged. The decision sparked a rally in the share prices of companies which would have been UK rivals - Hargreaves Lansdown and AJ Bell saw their stocks rise. As with Hong Kongs withdrawn extradition bill, the concern was the possibility that people could be handed over to mainland Chinese law enforcement and disappear into its opaque and frequently abusive legal system. Story continues below advertisement Extradition, at the bottom of it, is a political act. Its a political act whether or not you surrender a person, said Philip Dykes, chairman of the Hong Kong Bar Association. Extradition treaties with Hong Kong were always on the basis that whatever happens, a person will not be removed to the mainland. Advertisement The moves underscore a growing divide between authoritarian China and the U.S. and other like-minded democracies over human rights and other issues. Just three years ago, Australias conservative government was making a high-profile push for an extradition treaty with China, an effort that ran afoul of parliamentary opposition. Now, not only has Australia suspended extradition with Hong Kong, it is warning its citizens of the risk of arbitrary detention in China. China says the new security law is needed to combat terrorism and separatism and prevent Hong Kong from becoming a base for subverting Chinese state power. In general, cases would be tried in Hong Kong, but the law allows for mainland jurisdiction in some circumstances. Story continues below advertisement Chinas policies toward Hong Kong were on the agenda for meetings in London on Tuesday between U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. Advertisement It was a separate piece of legislation that launched last years protests, one that would have permitted the extradition of criminal suspects from Hong Kong to China. While the Hong Kong legal systems fairness and transparency has helped establish the city as a center for business and finance, Chinas Communist Party-dominated courts are accused of handing down convictions based on political considerations and using coerced confessions. What became the biggest political crisis in the semi-autonomous territory since its 1997 handover to Chinese sovereignty was triggered by a murder case. A young Hong Kong man, Chan Tong-kai, allegedly killed his girlfriend while on vacation in Taiwan and fled back home. Story continues below advertisement Hong Kong authorities could not send Chan to Taiwan for trial because of the lack of an extradition agreement. The government cited Chans case as an example of the loophole the proposed extradition legislation would close, allowing Hong Kong to transfer fugitives to any jurisdiction with which it did not have a treaty, including Taiwan and mainland China. Advertisement The proposal triggered a massive backlash from Hong Kong residents, who feared that suspects could be sent to the mainland for trial. Though the government withdrew the bill during the protests, the demonstrations took on a broader anti-government and anti-police agenda and grew increasingly violent. Chinas detention of several Hong Kong booksellers in late 2015 had already focused concern on the undermining of the legal autonomy the territory was promised when the former British colony was handed back to China in 1997. Story continues below advertisement The booksellers vanished before resurfacing in police custody in mainland China. Among them, Swedish citizen Gui Minhai was abducted from his vacation home in Thailand and later appeared twice in videotaped confessions, the second time after being taken off a train by police in eastern China in January 2018 while in the company of two Swedish diplomats. Advertisement Another of the booksellers, Lam Wing-kee, later fled to Taiwan. The prospect of falling afoul of the new law and disappearing into the Chinese legal system is prompting others to leave as well. Nathan Law, a leading member of Hong Kongs opposition movement, fled to Britain after the law was enacted. Story continues below advertisement Simon Cheng, a former employee of the British Consulate in Hong Kong who had left earlier, was granted political asylum in Britain earlier this month. China has pledged to retaliate for Britains decisions to cancel its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and ban the sale of military-grade equipment to the territory. China urges the British side to abandon the illusion of continuing colonial influence in Hong Kong ... so as to avoid further damage to China-Britain relations, foreign ministry spokesperson Wang Wenbin said Tuesday. Advertisement Chinas dissatisfaction is based on issues of national pride as well as more practical concerns. Under President Xi Jinping, China has pushed hard for the return of corrupt officials and others who have fled abroad with their ill-gotten gains. While that effort has scored some successes, it has been frustrated by the lack of extradition treaties with key countries. Story continues below advertisement Canceling extradition to Hong Kong represents a further vote of no-confidence in Chinas legal system, one already registered by the refusal of the U.S., Britain and other nations to sign extradition agreements with Beijing. Australia abandoned plans to do so in 2017. Parliaments endorsement of the treaty was to be a highlight of Chinese Premier Li Keqiangs visit to Australia in March of that year, a high point in a volatile diplomatic relationship. Since then, ties have deteriorated to a historical low. ___ McGuirk reported from Canberra, Australia. Associated Press writers Danica Kirka in London and Ken Moritsugu in Beijing contributed to this report. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Medical workers have learned a lot about treating Covid-19 patients since earlier in the pandemic, likely leading to lower mortality rates, Atlantic Health System CEO Brian Gragnolati told CNBC on Tuesday. "We've seen tremendous progress in clinical innovation ... and you've got to remember, it's only been about five months," Gragnolati said on "Squawk on the Street." Gragnolati, whose health system operates seven hospitals and serves 11 counties in New Jersey, said the use of ventilators is one area where care has changed. Early on, patients who were transferred to the intensive care unit with severe respiratory challenges from Covid-19 often were "immediately" put on ventilators, he said. "We realized that while that worked in many of the diseases and surgeries and things that we do, in this particular instance it wasn't working as well," he said. Doctors and nurses came to find that proning patients putting them on their stomachs was beneficial, Gragnolati said, as was using "high concentration of oxygen" through CPAP and BiPAP machines, which typically are used by patients with sleep apnea. As a result, complications related to long-term ventilator use have "really changed and that's driven down dramatically both the mortality but also the length of stay in our ICUs," said Gragnolati, who is also past chairman of the American Hospital Association's board of trustees. A second lesson deals with the use of drugs such as Gilead Sciences' antiviral remdesivir, according to Gragnolati. Although the company says more research on remdesivir needs to be done, an initial study showed it can reduce the risk of death for severely sick coronavirus patients. "Initially, we were using it once patients were on ventilators. Now we're using it a little earlier in the process and that has had some very positive results," Gragnolati said. "We continue to learn, and we continue to share those ideas and that really has made a big, big difference." Gragnolati's comments follow weeks of growing Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations in the U.S., after the initial surge of the virus hit Northeast states such as New York and New Jersey particularly hard. Deaths in certain parts of the country such as Texas and California also have seen upticks. But experts say the increased understanding of how to treat Covid-19 like those Gragnolati mentioned, combined with more younger people becoming infected, may help prevent death rates from returning to levels from March and April. There are nearly 3.9 million confirmed cases of Covid-19 in the U.S., according to Johns Hopkins University. More than 141,000 people have died. Egypt and Turkey edged closer to the possibility of armed conflict this week over Libya, with both sides preparing for an impending battle over a key city. Egypts obsequious parliament voted unanimously behind closed doors late on Monday to authorise president Abdel Fattah el-Sisis proposed military intervention in support of renegade Libyan warlord Khalifa Haftar. Mr Sisi on Monday reportedly spoke with US president Donald Trump in a likely attempt to get Washington to convince Ankara to stand down. Meanwhile, Turkey and its Libyan allies of the internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) positioned heavy weaponry and fighters along the battlefront near the city of Sirte, the central Libyan city that is the gateway to the countrys crucial eastern oil infrastructure. Libya was plunged into conflict following the toppling of longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 in a Nato-backed war. Mr Haftars Libyan Arab Armed Forces and the GNA and its antecedents have been battling for control of the country for more than six years. The battle over Sirte, the hometown of Gaddafi, is also shaping up as a confrontation between two axis in the Middle East. On the one side are the authoritarian regimes of Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, backed by Russia and France, who support Hafars Libyan Armed Armed Forces. On the other are populist Islamist-leaning governments in Turkey, Qatar and Libyas Tripoli. Mr Haftar was winning the war until Turkey forcefully intervened earlier this year, turning the tide of the conflict with its sophisticated domestically-made surveillance and combat drones, air defence systems, and Nato-calibre battle planning. On Monday, Qatars defence minister Khalid bin Mohammad al Attiyah, Turkish defence minister Hulusi Akar and Libyan interior minister Fathi Bashagha conferred in Ankara over the impending conflict. Turkey has been flooding Libya with weapons, flying transport planes to the recently captured al-Watiya airbase to avoid French attempts to intercept its ships at sea. Its not like anything I have ever seen in my lifetime, said Yoruk Isik, an open source intelligence analyst who closely monitors Turkish ship and plane movements. This is probably the limit that our planes can travel. Its not executed just well, its executed exceptionally well. Video footage posted on the internet showed convoys of trucks full of GNA fighters from nearby Misrata and other cities heading to Abugrein, which lies about 90 minutes from Sirte. Turkish media reported the deployment of T-122 Sakarya multiple rocket launchers and Korkut anti-aircraft systems outside Sirte. Egypt faces a more formidable logistical challenge. Its eastern border lies a long days drive from the city. Its longer range fighter jets would have limited utility without close air support for ground troops. Libyas eastern-based parliament, which is under Mr Haftars sway, welcomed the potential Egyptian intervention. But Mr Sisi has strongly hinted that the threat of Egyptian military intervention was meant to deter a Turkish-backed incursion into Sirte and the southern city of Jufra, another flashpoint in the confrontation. I dont think that Egypt will go for war, said Karim Salem, a Libya expert at the Cairo Centre for Human Rights Studies, a Geneva-based advocacy organisation. Even if they enter the east, they will not go for confrontation. For now, its a way to push from both sides that Sirte and Jufra be empty of military presence. The threat of military confrontation has prompted international players to refocus efforts on Libya. On Saturday, Germany, France and Italy issued a statement vowing to enforce a longstanding UN arms embargo on Libya that is now openly flouted by all sides. No one wants to see an escalation in Libya, Mirette Mabrouk, a scholar at the Middle East Institute in Washington, wrote in a note on Monday. The threat of spiralling violence, with the capacity to turn into another fully fledged proxy war, might be just the spur to political settlement that was needed. But forces loyal to the GNA have said repeatedly that they are poised to enter Sirte, with senior officials publicly stating that they are only awaiting the go-ahead from Turkey. Officials in Ankara have been negotiating with Moscow for a withdrawal of suspected Russian mercenaries deployed to both Sirte and Jufra, but the talks appear to have reached a stalemate. Mr Isik called the Sirte operation inevitable, driven as much by Turkeys domestic political calculations as whats happening on the ground in Libya. The city is the last major urban outpost before Libyas oil crescent, which includes refineries, storage facilities and export terminals in Ras Lanuf, Brega and al-Sidr. Theyre going to take the opportunity in Sirte, he said. Maybe they will figure out some bizarre arrangement with the Russians. But theyre going to take [Haftar] out. The process has already started and its too late to stop it. Harm reduction is a well-established approach to the problem of substance abuse, particularly opioid addiction. Among its core principles, harm reduction "accepts, for better and or worse, that licit and illicit drug use is part of our world and chooses to work to minimize its harmful effects rather than simply ignore or condemn them (Harm Reduction Coalition, 2020). The harm reduction model was first developed in the 1980s by individuals who saw the punitive approaches of the criminal justice system and abstinence-only recovery programs as factors that increased the stigma, risk and harm associated with addiction. Harm reduction advocates considering drug addiction as a public health issue that affects not just the drug user, but their friends, family and community. Harm reduction is a method to reduce the personal, social, health and economic costs of drug use with the ultimate goal of recovery from addiction. Early harm reduction approaches promoted the use of methadone maintenance for opioid use disorder, and continues with buprenorphine. The non-punitive, non-coercive harm reduction model created safe spaces where people who use drugs could access services and consider treatment options without having to immediately commit to stopping the use of drugs. A cornerstone of many harm reduction programs is syringe services programs. Also known as needle exchanges or syringe exchanges, SSPs are an opportunity for drug users to exchange used and contaminated syringes for new sterile ones. Because people who inject drugs (PWID) often do not have legitimate access to a supply of sterile syringes, they will reuse and share syringes, which has been shown to lead directly to the transmission of bloodborne diseases such as HIV and hepatitis B and C, as well as infection at the injection site. Some question whether SSPs encourage drug use by providing safe syringes to PWID. Others, who view drug use as a moral failing rather than a medical problem, may believe that the risk of disease and death that comes from the use and sharing of contaminated syringes is a just punishment for drug use. The risk of disease transmission is not limited to the PWID, but extends to their partners and family, putting spouses, partners and children at risk. Additionally, the health care costs resulting from the health outcomes associated with drug injection are borne by everyone. The harm reduction approach views drug use as a medical problem with consequences for society as well as for the individual. In New York, SSPs began with pilot programs in the '80s. Today, New York is one of 30 states in which SSPs are legal. An additional nine states have locally permitted programs. SSPs are still illegal in 12 states. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nearly 30 years of research has shown that comprehensive SSPs are safe, effective, and cost-saving, do not increase illegal drug use or crime, and play an important role in reducing the transmission of viral hepatitis, HIV, and other infections. Research shows that new users of SSPs are five times more likely to enter drug treatment and about three times more likely to stop using drugs than those who dont use the programs. SSPs that provide naloxone also help decrease opioid overdose deaths. SSPs protect the public and first responders by facilitating the safe disposal of used needles and syringes. The Department of Health and Human Services recognizes the importance of SSPs and recommends that SSPs should be part of a comprehensive service program that could include the following services: Provision of sterile needles, syringes and other drug preparation equipment (purchased with non-federal funds) and disposal services. Education and counseling to reduce sexual, injection and overdose risks. Provision of condoms to reduce risk of sexual transmission of viral hepatitis, HIV or other sexually transmitted diseases. Provision of HIV, viral hepatitis, STD and tuberculosis screening. Provision of naloxone to reverse opioid overdoses. Referral and linkage to HIV, viral hepatitis, STD and tuberculosis prevention, treatment and care services, including antiretroviral therapy for hepatitis C and HIV, pre-exposure prophylaxis, post-exposure prophylaxis, prevention of mother-to-child transmission and partner services. Referral and linkage to hepatitis A virus and hepatitis B virus vaccination. Referral and linkage to and provision of substance use disorder treatment, including medication-assisted treatment for opioid use disorder, which combines drug therapy (e.g. methadone, buprenorphine or naltrexone) with counseling and behavioral therapy. Referral to medical care, mental health services and other support services. Clustering services that mitigate the harms of drug injection, addressing the health care (and mental health) needs of PWID while providing multiple, non-judgmental pathways to treatment, is fundamental to the harm reduction approach, which represents an evidence-based, public health-oriented and compassionate approach to the crisis of opioid use. Dr. Kevin Ergil is a New York state licensed acupuncturist with extensive clinical experience in substance abuse services and non-pharmacological pain management. He trained in acupuncture detoxification methods at Lincoln Hospital, Bronx. He also served as a clinician at the Lower East Side Harm Reduction Center and has provided clinical support for patients in recovery for the Finger Lakes Area Counseling and Recovery Agency, the Fortune Society and other organizations. He is presently director of health sciences at Wells College in Aurora, and can be reached at kergil@wells.edu. Dr. Ergil is also a steering committee member of the HEALing Communities Study, a multi-year, multi-state research study to reduce opioid overdose deaths through the implementation of evidence-based practices. If you are interested in learning more or getting involved, call (315) 253-1522 or email msalvage@cayugacounty.us. Love 7 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 1 President Trump, in pushing a law-and-order message for his re-election campaign, has embraced a dark vision of Portland as a lawless place filled with anarchists who hate our country. His administrations crackdown has brought armed officers from a variety of federal agencies to the streets, including tactical units typically suited for handling drug smuggling. They have been firing tear gas and pulling protesters into unmarked vans. The presidents portrayal of Portland and the crackdown he has unleashed have infuriated protesters who believe that Mr. Trump is trying to use the citys unrest as political theater during an election year. He has forced a federal police presence on a city that does not want it a city with such a rich tradition of protest that an aide to another Republican president, George H.W. Bush, reportedly referred to it as Little Beirut. Chad F. Wolf, the acting secretary of homeland security, said at a news conference on Tuesday that he had tried to collaborate with Mayor Wheeler and Gov. Kate Brown, asking them this month whether they were overwhelmed and wanted resources, including personnel. He said that when he asked what they needed to bring the violence to a close and still allow the peaceful protesters to protest each and every night, they told him to stay out of the city. I asked the mayor and governor, How long do you plan on having this continue? Mr. Wolf said. Is it 82 nights or 92 nights? "Such activities set a negative example and have negative impact on other members of the force." After the outburst of Lt. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy on social media, the Bangladesh Army said in a press release on Sunday: "Such behaviour of Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy is embarrassing and intolerable for the members of Bangladesh Army. The Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR), a media and news agency of the Bangladesh Armed Forces, has clarified their position on retired Lt. Gen. Chowdhury Hasan Sarwardy, Bir Bikram, who "resorted to falsehood" on different social media platforms about the military and his access to the cantonment. In a media release, the ISPR said: "Hasan Sarwardy developed illicit relationships with many women after securing his promotion to the rank of Lieutenant General. "He took several women with him while making overseas visits as part of different NDC courses. His behaviour embarrassed the authorities, and he was advised to be careful. "When he was on LPR, he divorced his first wife on August 16, 2018 without any permission from authorities concerned." According to the statement, Sarwardy married for the second time wearing his uniform on November 21, 2018, in violation of the military law. It said that before his second marriage, he was living together with a renowned female media personality from November 3, 2018. "Besides, the woman he married is a controversial individual," the release added. "Taking all these into consideration, that officer was declared persona non grata in cantonment and areas under cantonment, making him unable to enjoy the facilities such as CMH for treatme't, entry to Officers' Club, CSD shop, etc," the release said. On July 17, a rumour had spread about Sarwardy that army personnel and former security chief staff of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina is 'arrested'. Sarwardy had been involved with a controversial adviser of the Prime Minister in the 2010 Bangladesh stock market scam and the Pakistan lobby headed by the business magnate had tried to promote him as army chief when Gen. I Karim Bhuiyan retired. But his Pakistan connections and links to this shady business magnate had alarmed India. Sarwardy had pitched his case hard with India during his visit to the country and in his meeting with then Indian Army chief Gen. Dalbir Singh, but Indian military generals don't take up cases of fellow generals from neighbouring countries with their government. Sarwardy's furious diatribe against not only the Hasina government but also India is therefore understandable. Now Bangladesh's arch conspirator conveniently placed inside the government and capable of using his growing influence in civil and military administration was keen to ensure Sarwardy was taken into 'protective custody' ,so that he could be shielded from hard interrogation over the question raised on the regime change plot which the government has tasked other agencies to probe. Raising real concerns over the freedom of press in Bangladesh and even efforts were made using consulate-based networks in India to stop Indian media from running the story. It however ran in top media outlets like and copiously in Easternlink and Lookeast. The idea was to keep Sarwardy underground after his controversial interview with social media host Kanak Sarwar had died down.Kanak a BNP Jamaat media adviser left Bangladesh illegally after broadcasting an interview of Tarek Zia, son of former Prime Minister Khaleda Zia, on Ekushey Television. "The pro-Pakistan adviser who is under huge pressure for the first time since his meteoric rise in the Awami League government now only ensured his own complicity is shielded because Sarwardy is not facing any hard questioning, but because he can be quietly let off because he has not formally arrested and even the fact of his detention has been reported," said a top Bangladesh intelligence officer on the condition of anonymity. This adviser and his intelligent cohorts have also unleashed their 'media assets' to defame Indian websites running the regime change plot story. The thrust of their attack has been Easternlink's editorial director Subir Bhaumik, a veteran BBC-Reuters journalist and an Oxford-Frankfurt fellow whose site first exposed the plot to unseat Sheikh Hasina. A DGFI media department funded website run by known blackmailer and hatchet guy Borhan Kabir first tried to potray Bhaumik as a BNP agent when he has been attacked all his career by BNP as an 'Awami League agent' and even his arrest during 2014 Bangladesh polls demanded by BNP leaders. Bhaumik has been attacked for being a RAW agent, though his Oxford thesis "Insurgent Crossfire", published by two leading Western and one leading Indian publisher, clearly details RAW's involvement in Chittagong Hill Tracts much more copiously than any Bangladeshi or Western authors. "Insurgent Crossfire" has been hailed as a landmark study on the proxy wars in South Asia with John Garver (author of "Protracted Contests") calling it the "most original contribution to the understanding of post-colonial South Asian hostile diplomacy". 'What Oxford dons and scholars on South Asia across the world have hailed as an original work on the reciprocal backing of insurgencies by rival South Asian states has now to pass the test of half-literate blackmailers on the payroll of a corporate mafia don backed by some rogue intelligence operatives. The university I went will not employ them as cleaners or watchmen," said Bhaumik. The 'Indian insider', graduating from the 'Bangla Insider' (whose India correspondent is a TV media fall guy now working for Pakistan intelligence and reporting to their operatives in Maldives) has levelled baseless allegations of Bhaumik being a Pakistani agent and a Raw agent at the same time and a double agent later. "Ask these idiots to remember what my BBC greats like Mark Tully always told me -- the story line is weak and does not deserve commissioning," said Bhaumik. True, but intelligence agencies in Bangladesh do commission the most stupid of projects like funding a book on Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi that only runs a few quotations from him on the premise that Modi, impressed when he sees this book, will promptly clear the Teesta river water sharing agreement. A joke of an 'influence operation', as it were. Bhaumik's long association with Kolkata Mahila Samannoy Samity and his support, along with many leading celebrities of Calcutta, when they supported the sexworker's demand for legalisation of sex trade to protect the hapless women from police harassment and exploitation by brothel-houses, has been interpreted as his love for the honeypot. "A few smart English words cannot hide the level of depravement that these guys suffer from but I have investigated a few big time crooks in my BBC and pre-BBC career and suffered these kind of slur and slander. The good thing is I am used to it and so is my family," said Bhaumik . "Dont waste my time asking me about this semi-literates, I only wish their handlers spend their money better and train these guys better. As for the Indian recruitment, well there are fall guys available on hire everywhere but they should know how far they can go." When Easternlink exposed part of this 'nefarious conspiracy' of trying to create gap between PM Office of Bangladesh and the Army Chief, the main conspirator sought to mobilise his media assets (all marginal and dubious websites) to attack Bhaumik, floating YouTube material slandering him as a 'RAW agent' and even as a 'BNP-Jamaat agent'. When asked to react , Bhaumik pointed to his book "Insurgent Crossfire", based on his Oxford thesis, where he had exposed in detail the RAW's involvement in building up the PCJSS-Shanti Bahini armed insurgency in Chittagong Hill Tracts. "I challenge you to show me any work by any Bangladeshi or Western scholar with so much depth of exposure on what was easily the greatest security concern of Bangladesh," he said. "My thesis is about state -sponsored tit-for-tat insurgencies in post colonial South Asia where most nations, except the smallest ones, have backed insurgencies against each other. Indira Gandhi decided to back the CHT insurgency because she could not accept the 1975 assassination of 'brother' Mujib and much of his family." Bhaumik also pointed to his article on Hasina's anti-Raw tirade which exposed how the RAW sought to back the Khaleda Zia regime and the secret nexus between the ruling "BJP' and BNP. Bhaumik said BNP politicians have demanded his arrest for his article in Times of India before 2014 elections which was interpreted by the party leaders as 'a call for Indian intervention' . "I had written about why India tends to back Awami League and the Mujib family but as usual, it was misinterpreted ." The slander against Bhaumik has been furious and full of what Marx called 'antagonistic contraditions', while others have attacked him as an 'Awami League stooge', few have now blamed him for being an agent of the Anti- liberation and Anti- India political party BNP-Jamaat. But the question is, is there any conspiracy against Bangladesh government led by Hasina? Which led by anyone, who is very close to Hasina? --IANS sumi/pgh/ksk/ By Ayya Lmahamad Revenues to the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan from the sale of profitable oil and gas from the Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli and Shah Deniz fields amounted to $2.4 billion in the first half of 2020, the funds press service reported on July 21. During the reporting period, SOFAZ revenues from the sale of oil from Azeri-Chirag-Guneshli block amounted to $2.2 billion. Moreover, total revenues of SOFAZ from sale of profitable gas and condensate from Shah Deniz field during the reporting period, amounted to $197 million. In addition, this includes revenues from the sale of condensate during this period amounted to $131 million, of gas to $66 million. Earlier it was reported that the revenues of the State Oil Fund of Azerbaijan from oil and gas agreements in January- June 2020 amounted to AZN 4.9 billion ($2.8bn). Revenues from oil and gas sales amounted to AZN 4.1 billion (2.4bn), while the weighted average price of net oil during the reporting period was $38.7. SOFAZ was established in December 1999 by the Presidential Decree and is a sovereign wealth fund of Azerbaijan, which accumulates and preserves the nation's oil and gas revenues for future generations. The fundamental mission of SOFAZ is to ensure intergenerational equality with regard to the country's oil wealth and to accumulate and safeguard the oil revenues for generations to come. The Fund accumulates income from the sale of oil contracts, and in 2003 it started to make transfers to the state budget of Azerbaijan. As for now, SOFAZ contribution to the countrys GDP is over 80 percent. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz National flight carrier Air India has announced that it will be conducting international flights to London starting July 26, 2020. These flights will take place till July 30 and will connect Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi and Amritsar. The information was shared by Air Indias official Twitter handle which read, We will operate additional flights between India and London from 26th to 30th July'20, to connect Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, & Amritsar with London. Air India also added that the sale of tickets will start at 1800 hours (IST) on the 20th of July and can be done through the companys official website, booking offices and authorised travel agents. #FlyAI : We will operate additional flights between India and London from 26th to 30th July'20, to connect Mumbai, Delhi, Kochi, & Amritsar with London. Sale of tickets will start at 1800hrs IST, 20th July, 2020 through our website, booking offices, & Authorised Travel Agents. pic.twitter.com/kaaDJ61hgn Air India (@airindiain) July 20, 2020 Recently, Air India opened bookings for International flights to the United States starting July 22. Under the fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission, the airline has announced 180 flights, bookings for which can be made on its official website, booking offices or authorised travel agents. In June the US Department of Transportation (DoT) had said that it would restrict charter flights from India, accusing New Delhi of engaging in "discriminatory and restrictive practices". Following the announcement, the Civil Aviation Ministry said that it has received requests from several countries, including the US, France and Germany for allowing their air carriers to participate in the transportation of passengers along the line being conducted by Air India under the Vande Bharat Mission and that the ministry was examining the requests. Air India and domestic private carriers are allowed to operate flights under the programme which has pre-fixed ticket charges. The fourth phase of Vande Bharat Mission began on July 3 to bring back Indian stranded abroad amid the pandemic. Also Watch: With a limited demand, Air India recently proposed a 60 per cent salary cut for pilots amid the coronavirus pandemic which has infected 55 of its cockpit crew members. While scheduled international flights have been suspended in the country since March 23, Air India has been operating international repatriation flights all around the world under Vande Bharat Mission. Moreover, since scheduled domestic passenger flight operations resumed on May 25, the airline has been operating services domestically too. The IT ministry has now written to all these companies, warning that continued availability and operation of these banned apps, directly or indirectly, is not only illegal but also an offence under the Information Technology Act and other applicable Acts, which would attract penal provisions. After banning 59 apps of Chinese origin, the government on Tuesday directed them to ensure strict compliance to its orders, and warned of serious action in case of any violation, according to an official source. The government on June 29 had banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including TikTok, CamScanner and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country. The government source told PTI that the IT ministry has now written to all these companies, warning that continued availability and operation of these banned apps, directly or indirectly, is not only illegal but also an offence under the Information Technology Act and other applicable Acts, which would attract penal provisions. If any app in the banned list is found to be made available by the company through any means for use within India, directly or indirectly, it would be construed as a violation of the government orders, the source added. All these companies have been directed to ensure strict compliance of the orders of the ministry, failing which serious action will be taken, the source said. The ministry in a communication sent to these companies has mentioned that the ban imposed was in exercise of the sovereign powers and section 69A of the Information Technology Act, and that the said companies should ensure strict compliance to the order issued in this regard. The IT ministry's statement of June 29 on banning of 59 mobile apps had cited numerous complaints received from various sources, including several reports about misuse of some mobile apps available on Android and iOS platforms for "stealing and surreptitiously transmitting users' data in an unauthorised manner to servers which have locations outside India". "The compilation of these data, its mining and profiling by elements hostile to national security and defence of India, which ultimately impinges upon the sovereignty and integrity of India, is a matter of very deep and immediate concern which requires emergency measures," the ministry statement had said. The ban is also applicable for WeChat and Bigo Live. The list of apps that have been banned include Helo, Likee, CamScanner, Vigo Video, Mi Video Call Xiaomi, Clash of Kings as well as e-commerce platforms Club Factory and Shein. The IT ministry had invoked its power under section 69A of the IT Act and rules to block the 59 apps in view of information available that they were "engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order". Photograph: Dado Ruvic/Reuters VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / As Noram Ventures Inc. ("Noram") (TSXV:NRM)(OTC PINK:NRVTF)(FRA:N7R) plans for a Q3-Q4 2020 drill campaign and a Preliminary Economic Assessment on its Zeus lithium claystone property, a review of recent developments in central Nevada is warranted. Noram's Zeus lithium claystone deposit has, at a base case 900 ppm lithium cut-off, has 124 million tonnes at 1136 ppm lithium as indicated resources, and 77 million tonnes lithium at 1045 ppm lithium as inferred resources (0.75 and 0.43 million tonnes lithium carbonate equivalent - "LCE" , respectively; Figure 1). There are over two square kilometers of fertile ground yet to be drill-tested on the Zeus property. Over the last 3 years, there has been increasing interest in lithium claystone deposits in Clayton Valley, Nevada, near Albemarle's Silver Peak lithium brine operations which remains North America's only lithium producer at present. Along with Noram's Zeus deposit, Cypress Development (CYP-X) has the Dean lithium claystone deposit adjacent and to the southwest, and American Lithium (LI-X) has the TLC deposit located ~40 km to the north-northeast from Zeus (Fig. 1). Cypress Development recently completed a full Prefeasibility Study (PFS) with favorable economics for its claystone deposit next door to Zeus (see Cypress press release May 19, 2020). Both Cypress' Dean deposit and Noram's Zeus deposit are within the same Esmeralda Formation lithium claystones that have been demonstrated to be non-refractory, meaning that lithium is liberated to solution from the clays within using a low pH solution. Note that mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties and operations is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's property. The other major lithium claystone deposit in the vicinity is American Lithium's TLC deposit. Also located in Esmeralda Formation (or equivalent) play lake sediments, the TLC deposit is at surface or under a thin veneer of alluvial sediments. On 2020-05-21, American Lithium announced the maiden resource estimate of 5.37 million tonnes of LCE in Measured and Indicated Resource categories, and 1.76 million tonnes LCE in the Inferred Resource category. American Lithium has initiated metallurgical studies on their claystone material, and as for Zeus and Dean, their clay minerals are non-refractory and treatable in low pH solutions. The company is currently exploring novel techniques for lithium processing and is aiming to produce an early economic study in 2020. Story continues Note that mineralization hosted on adjacent and/or nearby properties and operations is not necessarily indicative of mineralization hosted on the Company's property. C. Tucker Barrie, President and CEO of Noram Ventures Inc., comments: "continued exploration and development of large lithium claystone deposits reveals that lithium is recoverable in low pH solutions, as shown by Cypress Development's Pre-Feasibility Study; and by the successful pilot plant testing by Ioneer Ltd. and Lithium Americas for their respective Nevada claystone projects. The demand for lithium is growing significantly due to the rapid expansion of the electric vehicle market. Furthermore, the United States government is proactive in promoting and developing critical metals within the USA, including lithium. This means that there is strong support for developing projects like Zeus which is on Bureau of Land Management ground in Nevada, one of the most favorable jurisdictions for mining globally." Figure 1. Zeus lithium deposit, Clayton Valley, Nevada, outlined by 900 ppm cut-off boundary. Albemarle's Silver Peak lithium brine ponds are seen to the northwest, and neighbor Cypress Development's Dean Lithium claystone deposit, also within the playa lake sediments of the Esmeralda Formation, are located to the southwest. American Lithium's TLC lithium claystone deposit is located ~40 km to the NNE. The Zeus lithium claystone deposit is present at the surface or under a thin alluvium veneer, and has a strip ratio of 0.1:1. The deposit is thicker and has higher grades to the south and east, and is open in this direction. There is a probable fault on the southeast side that currently bounds these resources; however there is evidence from earlier drilling that the lithium rich claystones continue on the other side of this fault. To the south, similar faults that cut the Esmeralda Formation lithium claystones have displacements of meters only. There is >2 km2 of area to the south and east available for future drill testing. The technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed and approved by C. Tucker Barrie, Ph.D., P. Geo., who is a Qualified Person with respect to Noram's Clayton Valley Lithium Project as defined under National Instrument 43-101. About Noram Ventures Inc. Noram Ventures Inc. (TSX - Venture: NRM / Frankfurt: N7R / OTCPINK: NRVTF) is a Canadian based junior exploration company, with a goal of developing lithium deposits and becoming a low - cost supplier. The Company's primary business focus since formation has been the exploration of mineral projects. Noram's long term strategy is to build a multi-national lithium minerals company to produce and sell lithium into the markets of Europe, North America and Asia. Please visit our web site for further information: www.noramventures.com ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS C. Tucker Barrie, Ph.D., P. Geo. President and CEO Office: (604) 553-2279 Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release may contain forward-looking information which is not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking information involves risks, uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward-looking information in this news release includes statements regarding, among other things, the completion transactions completed in the Agreement. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, regulatory approval processes. Although Noram believes that the assumptions used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, including that all necessary regulatory approvals will be obtained in a timely manner, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Noram disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by applicable securities laws. SOURCE: Noram Ventures Inc. View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/598196/Noram-Provides-Update-on-Lithium-Claystone-Deposits-in-Central-Nevada Austin, TX, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- InBloom Autism Services announced today that they will be offering comprehensive diagnostic evaluations to identify Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) in children between the ages of 18-months and 5-years-old, at no cost, to qualified families in Texas between now and October 1, 2020. The complimentary evaluations are a part of the InBloom Cares community outreach program, which was designed to help provide financial relief to families who have been seeking a diagnostic evaluation for their child, and have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. InBloom has been providing Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy services to young children living with ASD throughout greater Austin, Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio since early 2019. According to a spokesperson for InBloom, the organization added comprehensive diagnostic evaluations performed by a clinical psychologist to their service offerings in early 2020, after many families in Texas expressed the inability to be seen for an affordable diagnostic evaluation in a timely manner elsewhere. InBloom Founder and CEO, Kiel Rager, said that despite the impact that COVID-19 has had on communities throughout Texas, the organization will continue to do everything they can to stand by their clients and their clinicians during this time. "We know the impact has been great, and a significant number of children living with ASD are now living with disruptions in their daily routines, or are going without the critical therapeutic support they need to progress toward their developmental goals, said Rager. As an essential healthcare provider, we immediately took the necessary actions to allow us to continue to provide diagnostic evaluations and ABA therapy during this time, while also keeping everyone as healthy and safe as possible. Anything less is just not an option for our team, because we know our families depend on us. Rager said that because his staff throughout Texas have been vigilant with enhanced disinfection requirements, daily health screenings, hand washing frequency, face coverings, and social distancing policies, InBloom now has an opportunity to help more families by offering complimentary diagnostic evaluations in each of their service areas through the InBloom Cares initiative. I could not be more proud of our staff and the way they have handled themselves over the past few months. At no time did the idea of stopping services ever enter the discussion. We are a team of dedicated healthcare professionals who are committed to ensuring the development and progress of the kiddos who rely on us. That commitment is what makes InBloom so special, and because of that commitment we are able to roll out the InBloom Cares outreach program, offering comprehensive evaluations to families in our communities who need our help. InBlooms Corporate Headquarters is located in Fort Lauderdale, FL, where the company was founded in 2015, but the organizations Director of Diagnostic Services, Dr. Scott Allen, Psy.D., operates out of InBlooms Austin Learning Center, where he provides support to the rest of InBlooms clinical psychologists throughout Texas. Diagnosis is a critical stage of any individuals life, and the way that it is done matters. A diagnosis gives an individual and their family a general idea of areas that require support and also helps to guide families toward critical interventions. Using the collection of data gained in a diagnostic evaluation, were able to use our experience working with individuals with ASD to help determine strengths and challenges for kiddos and make recommendations that are critical toward enhancing future development, said Dr. Allen. Im personally excited because I have the opportunity to intervene at a point in development that really counts, and were able to have a lasting impact on the kiddos and families that we get to meet. Texas, as a whole, does not have many clinicians who offer thorough, targeted evaluations at an attainable price for some families. Im very excited to help continue this program and be a part of the InBloom Cares initiative with these facts in mind. Families looking for a diagnostic evaluation as part of the InBloom Cares community oureach program, ABA therapy services for their child, or to learn more about any of the InBloom Learning Centers throughout Texas can call 888-754-0398 to speak with a Care Team representative, or visit inbloomautism.com. ### ABOUT INBLOOM AUTISM SERVICES Founded in 2015 in Fort Lauderdale, FL, InBloom Autism Services provides diagnostic evaluations for Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), and Applied Behavior Analysis (ABA) therapy to children living with Autism throughout Florida, Massachusetts, Wisconsin, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, New Hampshire, and Connecticut. InBlooms mission is to consistently achieve the best possible outcomes for their clients by focusing on clinical quality and innovation, hiring the best behavioral professionals, and investing in clinical support and professional development. To learn more visit: https://www.inbloomautism.com Attachments (Newser) The governor of Missouri does not appear interested in whining about the coronavirus. Mike Parson, a Republican up for election, made that clear in discussing reopening schools during a radio interview Friday. "These kids have got to get back to school," Parson said. "Theyre at the lowest risk possible. And if they do get COVID-19, which they willand they will when they go to schooltheyre not going to the hospitals. ... They're going to go home, and theyre going to get over it." Among those critical of Parson's comments, the Hill reports, was his probable opponent in November, state Auditor Nicole Galloway. "This is stunning ignorance on how COVID-19 affects children," the Democrat tweeted. "He admitted that hes okay with your kids (and your families) getting the deadly disease when he sends them back to school. Does he not realize multiple American kids have died after being infected?" story continues below In the same interview, per the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Parson said he'd take care of the couple that brandished guns at protesters passing by their house. Asked if he'd pardon Mark and Patricia McCloskey, Parson said, "By all means, I would, and I think thats exactly what would happen." The governor added that he'd have to consider all the facts, but said, "I don't think theyre going to spend any time in jail." Parson already had discussed helping the couple with President Trump. The McCloskeys were hit with one count each of unlawful use of a weapon on Monday, per KMOV. "While we are fortunate this situation did not escalate into deadly force," the local prosecutor said, "this type of conduct is unacceptable in St. Louis." (The McCloskeys often are battling someone, a report said.) Pennsylvania is assisting The Hershey Co. with a proposed warehouse in Lebanon County. Gov. Tom Wolf announced today the company will be given $105,000 in job creation tax credits and $28,000 in funding for workforce development training. The 810,000-square-foot center is expected to be operational by late 2021 and create 270 new, full-time jobs. Earlier this summer, South Annville Township supervisors approved land development and subdivision plans for the warehouse and packaging facility south of Route 422. The proposed warehouse is located off Killinger Road between Annville and Palmyra in the townships southwest corner. The Hershey Co. is building a warehouse in Lebanon County. Submitted land plan Hershey spokesman Jeff Beckman at the time didnt identify what type of work will be carried out in the warehouse. We will have more details to share about those plans in the next few weeks. This initiative reflects our continued commitment to operating in central Pennsylvania and supporting our local community, he said. The governors office said the warehouse will help expand Hersheys fulfillment and warehousing capabilities in the United States market, and also support the companys main plant and distribution center in Palmyra. READ MORE: How the ADA helped make the Hershey Company stronger | Opinion The Hershey Company has a rich history here in the commonwealth, which will continue to grow with the construction of this new fulfillment center, Gov. Wolf said in a statement. This project will continue the companys efforts to provides stable, competitive and gainful employment in Pennsylvania. The governors office said Hershey is investing more than $178 million into the project. In addition, employees will be hired over three years and hiring will begin in spring 2021. The Governors Action Team, a group of economic development professionals who work with businesses that are considering locating or expanding in Pennsylvania., coordinated the project. 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. MENLO PARK, Calif., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global consulting firm Protiviti has been named to the Fortune 2020 'Best Workplaces in New York' list. To compile the list, survey administrator Great Place to Work analyzed anonymous survey feedback from nearly 45,000 New York-based employees who were asked to rate their companies' culture on more than 60 elements of their experience on the job, including respect, fairness of workplace decisions, camaraderie among the team and the extent to which employees trust their leaders. List rankings reward those companies who best include all employees, no matter who they are or what they do for the organization. "Protiviti is committed to listening to its employees and where necessary initiating change, especially in these challenging times. It's both gratifying and heartening to know that our people believe in our leadership team and feel supported and included. I'm so proud to be part of this amazing team," said Kimberly Dickerson, a Protiviti managing director and market leader of the New York City office. In addition to helping its clients solve critical business problems, the New York office team is dedicated to helping people in need in the local community. Among their community service projects, the employees regularly volunteer in the fight against hunger as part of Protiviti's 'i on Hunger' initiative. Recently, they also raised money for New York City's Frontline Heroes to deliver meals to a hospital in Queens and for the Northwell Health System hospitals to support their nurses during the COVID-19 pandemic. "Best workplaces like Protiviti have built powerful foundations of trust and human connection to help carry their organizations through stressful and uncertain times, especially now," said Michael C. Bush, CEO of Great Place to Work. "This gives companies on this list a powerful opportunity not just to do well for their people, but to do well for their businesses and for New York during these challenging times." In February, Protiviti was named for the sixth consecutive year to the Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list. Data from the annual survey to determine the companies on that list, which is also administered by Great Place to Work, is used to compile the New York regional Best Workplaces list. The New York Best Workplaces stand out for exceling in one of the nation's most competitive marketplaces. About the Best Workplaces in New York Great Place to Work based its ranking on a data-driven methodology applied to anonymous Trust Index survey responses from nearly 45,000 employees at Great Place to Work-Certified organizations in the New York Metropolitan Statistical Area. This ranking was finalized prior to the COVID-19 pandemic and does not reflect companies' roles or responses to their people or communities in addressing the impact of the coronavirus. To learn more about Great Place to Work, visit Greatplacetowork.com. About Protiviti Protiviti (www.protiviti.com) is a global consulting firm that delivers deep expertise, objective insights, a tailored approach and unparalleled collaboration to help leaders confidently face the future. Protiviti and its independent and locally owned Member Firms provide clients with consulting and managed solutions in finance, technology, operations, data, analytics, governance, risk and internal audit through its network of more than 85 offices in over 25 countries. Named to the 2020 Fortune 100 Best Companies to Work For list, Protiviti has served more than 60 percent of Fortune 1000 and 35 percent of Fortune Global 500 companies. The firm also works with smaller, growing companies, including those looking to go public, as well as with government agencies. Protiviti is a wholly owned subsidiary of Robert Half (NYSE: RHI). Founded in 1948, Robert Half is a member of the S&P 500 index. Protiviti is not licensed or registered as a public accounting firm and does not issue opinions on financial statements or offer attestation services. Editor's note: Protiviti photo available upon request. SOURCE Protiviti Related Links http://www.protiviti.com RTHK: Hong Kong in focus as Pompeo arrives for UK talks Hong Kong is to figure prominently in talks of US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who has arrived in Britain for discussion with officials there while reports indicate he will also hold parleys with former governor Chris Patten as well as ex-lawmaker Nathan Law. Pompeo is to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Tuesday following London's diplomatically fraught severing of ties with China's Huawei and retaliation for Beijing's treatment of Hong Kong. The top US diplomat arrived in the British capital overnight but did not speak to reporters on the plane The State Department had said that Pompeo will hold talks with British officials about issues like Covid-19 economic recovery plans, issues related to the Peoples Republic of China and Hong Kong, and the US-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations. Pompeo's visit will include talks with British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab and a sideline meeting with former Demosisto leader Law who fled to London after Beijing imposed a new security law in Hong Kong. A separate get-together with Hong Kong's last governor Patten is aimed at further stressing the seeming new understanding about Beijing. Pompeos last visit to London in January came just days after Johnson ignored warnings from Washington and allowed the private Chinese tech giant to help roll out Britain's 5G network. But the months that followed have seen Britain edge ever closer to US President Donald Trump's administration in its geopolitical tug-of-war with China. Johnson's most dramatic policy reversal saw him order UK mobile providers to stop buying 5G equipment from Huawei starting next year and remove existing gear by 2027. "We were happy about it," Pompeo told reporters last week. "Prime Minister Johnson got the complete right end of the stick on this one." The Chinese foreign ministry responded by accusing Britain of becoming "America's dupe". (AFP) This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. State Duma MPs back mitigation of punishment for convicted mothers, pregnant women flickr.com/ Anna Maria Liljestrand 17:04 21/07/2020 MOSCOW, July 21 (RAPSI) A bill mitigating punishment for pregnant women and women with children under the age of three years convicted of non-serious crimes passed second and third readings in the State Duma, according to a statement of the lower house. Amendments are proposed to the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation. The draft law stipulates a possibility of release on parole for convicted pregnant women and mothers of kids under the age of three years living in the penitentiary facilities orphanages. Moreover, the initiative proposes to replace an unserved part of sentence with a lesser one after a female convict had served upwards of one-quarter of a term imposed on her for a minor crime instead of current one third. Earlier, in late 2019, Russian President Vladimir Putin signed a bill to improve custodial conditions for pregnant women and mothers with kids aged up to 3 years into law. BRIDGEWATER, N.S.Nova Scotia RCMP say they are evacuating part of Bridgewater, N.S., as they hunt for a suspect accused of domestic assault, the stabbing of a police officer in the neck and an alleged attack on a police dog. On Tuesday evening, the police force tweeted it was moving people out of the neighbourhood where Bridgewater police and the RCMP have been searching for Tobias Charles Doucette. Doucette, who is in his 30s, has been charged with attempted murder of a Bridgewater police sergeant and assault on Doucettes common-law partner. The RCMP warned that Doucette may be armed with a knife and said a police dog had been stabbed. As the manhunt continues, they warned citizens in the southern part of town to stay indoors, lock their doors and only answer if Bridgewater police or RCMP knocked to escort them from the area. Police said earlier they were continuing to actively track the suspect with dogs and a helicopter in a wooded area. Doucette is accused of striking an officer in the neck with an edged weapon after police responded to a domestic violence call about 11 p.m. Monday night at the Bridgewater Hotel. The suspect, who police say is in his early 30s, allegedly fled on foot. Police said Doucette was wearing black shorts, no shirt and no shoes when he was last seen. They did not recover a weapon at the scene. Bridgewater police said the officer underwent surgery in hospital while the female victim was treated for minor injuries. Read more about: BIG PRAIRIE TOWNSHIP, MI Six miles of a planned 47-mile trail named for its dragon-like shape are now open in West Michigan. Three sections of Michigans Dragon at Hardy Dam are open for hiking and biking in Newaygo and Mecosta counties. Two more of the 11 sections are under construction and expected to open soon. When all sections are complete, the trail will encircle the large Hardy Pond, which is a section of the Muskegon River that is pooled above the dam. The open trail segments include portions of sections four, nine and 10 in both counties, for a total of 6 miles. Visitors can now traverse fiberglass truss bridges, a boardwalk, and natural surface trails. Scenic overlooks with views of Hardy Pond punctuate the open segments. The single-track Dragon Trail, which some believe could become a national attraction, is a decade in the making and has a price tag of $3.7 million. The Consumers Energy Foundation recently awarded a $200,000 grant to the trail project. So far, about $1,117,000 of the needed $3.7 million has been raised, according to the trail website. It will take commitments from corporate entities, private foundations, and passionate individual donors to get us there, said fundraiser Jodi Overman. Were grateful that Consumers Energy has been a leader with this project from the beginning. Whats open: Segment 4 (partially open): This section starts at the Four Mile Road Trailhead in Newaygo County and continues about 5 miles to Polk Road in Stanwood, Mecosta County. The Brower Loop portion of the trail is open. Segment 9 (partially open): This section runs about 7.4 miles. It starts at 16th Street in White Cloud, and ends at 30th Street. Close to 3 miles have been completed. Park at Sandy Beach County Park and head northeast; turn around and head back to the start where the trail ends. Segment 10: This section is a 1.7-mile stretch. Park at Sandy Beach County Park and head southwest to Hardy Dam County Marina or northeast to the start of Segment 9. Coming Soon: Segment 2: This portion of the trail is about 2 miles long, running from Cottonwood Avenue to Newaygo State Park. A portion of Segment 2 has already been installed. Segment 8: This section runs from Big Bend Park to 16th Street in Big Prairie Township; about 1.8 miles. When complete, the 47-mile trail will include 20 footbridges and 13 scenic overlooks along with signage and kiosks. The route passes through untamed terrain; six campgrounds and day parks; and eight boat launches and marinas. Among the 20 bridges are three suspension bridges that will allow the trail to pass through tough landscapes that include ravines near the northeast corner of the pond. Section 11 of the trail, which is not yet under construction, will allow users to traverse the top of Hardy Dam, which is the third-largest earthen dam in the world, according to marketing materials. Hardy Dam is the newest one owned by Consumers Energy; it began operating in 1931. Construction on the now-open trail segments began in summer 2019 after the project received approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, which regulates Consumers Energy. The energy company owns some of the land the trail will occupy. We are confident the Dragon Trail will provide a boost to the local economy, and welcome all to enjoy the trail and surrounding natural beauty along the Muskegon River, our woods and reservoirs, said Brandon Hofmeister, president of Consumers Energy Foundation. This non-motorized, multi-use trail is managed by the Newaygo County Parks and Recreation Commission and the Mecosta County Park Commission in partnership with Consumers Energy. READ MORE: Marquette Mountain announces new biking, skiing upgrades to create Rocky Mountains feel Video claims asteroid impact coming in November, but experts weigh in Michigans retail liquor sales a bright spot amid coronavirus economy slump Severe storm survey: Up to 95 mph winds in Northern Michigan storms AUSTIN, Texas American Campus Communities Inc. (ACC) on Monday reported a key measure of profitability in its second quarter. The results matched Wall Street expectations. The real estate investment trust, based in Austin, Texas, said it had funds from operations of $50.9 million, or 37 cents per share, in the period. The average estimate of four analysts surveyed by Zacks Investment Research was for funds from operations of 37 cents per share. Funds from operations is a closely watched measure in the REIT industry. It takes net income and adds back items such as depreciation and amortization. The company said it had a loss of $13.3 million, or 10 cents per share. The real estate investment trust posted revenue of $185.5 million in the period. The companys shares have dropped 29% since the beginning of the year. In the final minutes of trading on Monday, shares hit $33.62, a drop of 31% in the last 12 months. _____ This story was generated by Automated Insights (http://automatedinsights.com/ap) using data from Zacks Investment Research. Access a Zacks stock report on ACC at https://www.zacks.com/ap/ACC View live politics updates ChevronRight Both victims were reported to be conscious when they were taken to a hospital, police said. Dustin Sternbeck, a police spokesman, said it appears the victims were caught in crossfire between two neighborhood groups shooting at each other. Sternbeck said police found a high number of shell casings, suggesting that multiple firearms were involved. Story continues below advertisement About 2 a.m., a man was shot and wounded in the 200 block of Newcomb Street SE, in Congress Heights. Later Tuesday morning, police said, a man was shot at 14th and Taylor streets NW, in Petworth. He died and was identified by police as Nurudeen Thomas, 30, of Greenbelt, Md. Advertisement Also early Tuesday, police said that at least one person fired 10 bullets at a residence in the Eckington neighborhood in Northeast Washington. No one was struck, but a police report says several bullets went inside. Two windows and a front door were damaged. Nine people shot outside shops and restaurants in Columbia Heights Tuesdays shootings came two days after police said three gunmen armed with rifles and a handgun fired into a crowd on a busy commercial street in Columbia Heights, striking nine people. One man died. Story continues below advertisement Police said that the shooting late Sunday afternoon in the 3600 block of 14th Street NW was the result of a dispute involving a street crew and that several of the victims were known to authorities. Eight businesses were struck by gunfire, and one restaurant owner described how patrons hid behind a counter. On Monday, Mayor Muriel E. Bowser (D) said police plan to unveil new crime-fighting strategies this week. There have been 106 homicides so far this year, up 20 percent from this time in 2019. Were too high, Bowser said of the number of homicides. We have an increase over last year, and the trajectory doesnt look good. BANTAM >> A Torrington man is already facing felony drug and insurance fraud charges and several have been indicted for allegedly taking part in the elaborate pill pilfering scheme. At the center of Torrington polices investigation is 39-year-old Stacey Bailey, who was arraigned Monday on an avalanche of charges including conspiracy and second-degree forgery. He was ordered held on a $25,000 bond. An indictment charges Bailey with 257 criminal counts 80 counts of second-degree forgery; 80 counts of possession of narcotics; 51 counts of conspiracy to obtain drugs illegally; 29 counts of obtaining drugs and 17 counts of insurance fraud. Police said in an arrest warrant, Bailey, believed at one time to have worked at Sharon Hospital, allegedly stole a doctors note pad and wrote out fake prescriptions, enlisting his brother and friends to help fill prescriptions at local pharmacies to sooth an opiate addiction. Stacey allegedly forged doctors names on as many as 80 prescriptions for Oxycodone, Percocet, Vicodin, Hydrocodone, Norco and Roxicet, according to an arrest warrant, using Medicaid insurance to pay for 17 of 29 prescriptions police say he filled himself. The investigation into the scheme, which allegedly began in June 2011 and ran through October 2013, was handled by Detective James Crean and at one point handed over to state police. But they decided not to pursue the case, according to an arrest warrant. An arrest warrant also implicates 49-year-old Valerie Aldrich; 36-year-old Jamie Bailey; 18-year-old Natasha Ducharme; now-deceased 45-year-old James Mitchell and 25-year-old Keyara Tenore as Baileys accomplices. Jamie Bailey, accused of using 26 fraudulent prescriptions to obtain 2,370 tablets, is expected back in court July 2 to face multiple counts of prescription drug fraud. Aldrich is facing a single felony count of insurance fraud, in addition to misdemeanor counts of conspiracy to commit/obtain prescription drug fraud and sixth-degree larceny. Tenore, facing multiple counts of prescription drug fraud, conspiracy and drug possession, is expected back in court June 24. Ducharme faces a misdemeanor charge of interfering with an officer in an unrelated case, online court records show. Bailey, Aldrich, Ducharme and Tenore lived with Stacey Bailey at a French Street apartment in Torrington. They allegedly filled forged prescriptions bearing the names of Dr. Irving Smith and Dr. Leonard Astrauskas at Walgreens, Petricone Pharmacy on 110 East Main St., a Stop and Shop on High Street, the CVS on Main Street and an Rite Aid on Willow Street, according to an arrest warrant. The doctors told police the individuals were never patients, nor did they write the prescriptions. Bailey drew suspicions in early November when a pharmacist at a Walgreens on East Elm Street questioned a prescription, purportedly written by Smith, of Sharon Surgical Associates, for 90 tablets of Oxycodone. The pharmacist said she confronted the man, later identified as Stacey Bailey, about the prescription and he fled. Later, she received an phone call from a person claiming to be from Smiths office. The pharmacist said she realized the prescription was forged when she called Smiths office and found out he had not written a prescription for a patient named Bailey. Police said Bailey submitted more than 19 prescriptions from May to November of last year and had obtained more than 1,170 pills of Oxycodone and 360 Percocets. Cliff Hedges, an ethics and compliance officer at Sharon Hospital, wrote an email to DEA agent Sean OBrien that indicated results from a query in the Connecticut Prescriptions Medication Program, a system used to track and confirm patients billing information, turned up several individuals who werent Smiths patients. They included Bailey, Jamie Bailey, Mitchell, who died last March of a drug overdose; Tenore, Ducharme and Aldrich. Stacey Baileys ex-girlfriend told police she broke up with him and moved out of his apartment after she found out he stole prescription pads from Sharon Hospital. According to the arrest warrant, when she asked him what he did wrong, he reportedly told her, The less you know, the better. She noted he struggled with and was in and out of rehab for alcoholism and addiction to pain medication. Under physical disabilities, Stacey Bailey listed opiate addiction. Bailey said he wanted to speak with an attorney and declined an interview with Crean before leaving the home. Tenore got nothing out of filling prescriptions for Bailey and just wanted to help him out, using a Medicaid card to pay for prescriptions, according to a warrant. Later, while in the presence of Crean, Aldrich got a call from Bailey, who implored her not to cooperate with police. Aldrich said she wasnt going to lie for Bailey and hung up the phone. Baileys brother, Jamie, also welshed on him. He said he only gave into his brothers demands after he repeatedly begged him. Jamie Bailey said he didnt remember how many times he filled prescriptions for his brother but said it took place over a number of years. Natasha, who was living in South Carolina, told Crean in a phone conversation she saw Stacey sign Smiths name on forged prescriptions she then took and filled at a Stop and Shop. She said she didnt think much of it because everyone else was doing it for him. Editors Note: A previous version of this story incorrectly stated that Stacey Bailey was the only one facing charges so far in this case. Reach Isaac Avilucea at 860-489-3121 ext. 324. New Delhi, July 21 : Former JNU scholar Sharjeel Imam, an accused in the conspiracy behind the Delhi riots, has tested positive for Covid-19, his legal team said on Tuesday. As per the conversation between Imam, who is in a jail in Guwahati, and his lawyers, he tested positive on Monday, a member of Imam's legal team told IANS over phone. "I am unwell, weak and also feeling shortness of breath and weakness; I would like to bring it to the attention of the authorities to shift me and other inmates to Gauhati Medical College and Hospital so that we would be provided with proper medical and health facilities," Imam told his legal team. Imam is currently lodged in a jail in Guwahati in connection with a case relating to an alleged inflammatory speech given by him during the protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA). A member of his legal team informed that during the interview, Imam has stated that the Guwahati Central Jail is overcrowded and social distancing norms are also not being complied with. Imam's legal team alleged that the authorities had earlier decided that inmates will be treated inside the jail premises and therefore, a makeshift hospital was set up. "But medical facilities are not being provided and there has been no medicine or oxygen," the lawyer said. Earlier this month, the Delhi High Court dismissed his petition challenging a trial court's order granting more time to complete the probe against him and also seeking default bail in a case pertaining to giving an inflammatory speech during the anti-CAA protests. Imam came into the eye of a storm for his speech in Delhi's Jamia over Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and National Register of Citizens (NRC) on December 13 and subsequently on January 16 at Aligarh Muslim University, where he allegedly threatened to "cut off" Assam and the rest of the northeast from the country. A case of sedition was filed against him. He also figures in the Delhi riots charge sheet. A team of Delhi Police's Special Cell had reached Guwahati on Friday to take him back to the capital where he was scheduled to be produced before a court on July 25. Sharjeel and the Delhi Police team were tested for Covid-19 before their departure from Guwahati but while the police team tested negative, he tested positive. This has delayed his transfer, an official source said. The United States needs to lower the COVID-19 transmission rate in order to reopen schools, the Surgeon General said Tuesday. Speaking with CBS Jerome Adams said: 'What I want people to know is the biggest determinant of whether or not we can go back to school actually has little to nothing to do with the actual schools it's your background transmission rate.' His warning comes as President Donald Trump pushes for schools to reopen. Statistics show that as of Monday just 12 US states had a transmission rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects - below 1.0. The remaining states show values over 1.0 which means we should expect more cases there. And Adams warned: 'It's why we've told people constantly that if we want to get back to school, to worship, to regular life folks need to wear face coverings, folks need to practice social distancing. Those public health measures are actually what's going to lower the transmission rate.' Jerome Adams said 'background transmission rate' is the 'biggest determinant' as to when schools should reopen Statistics show that as of Monday just 12 US states had a transmission rate - the average number of people each Covid-19 patient infects - below 1.0. The remaining states show values over 1.0 which means we should expect more cases there Republicans, Democrats and the White House are debating the latest #coronavirus relief bill proposals as cases continue to increase nationwide. U.S. @Surgeon_General @JeromeAdamsMD discusses more on the relief bill, testing, and the push to reopen schools this fall. pic.twitter.com/hZHU16iUrA CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) July 21, 2020 HOW IS THE RATE OF CORONAVIRUS TRANSMISSION CALCULATED? The R0 (R-naught value) is a mathematical term that indicates how contagious an infectious disease is. The numbers that follows 'R' tells you the average number of people who will contract the disease from an infected person. If you reduce transmission rates to below R1, it means infected people spread the disease to less than one other person. Advertisement Adams added: 'We know the risk is low to the actual students. But we know they can transmit to others. We need to take measures to make sure we protect those who are vulnerable either because they are older or they have chronic medical conditions.' Nearly every metric for most of the US is currently growing worse, including a rising number of cases, deaths, hospitalizations and rates of positive test results. The 12 US states with a transmission rate under 1.0 of Monday are; Utah, South Dakota, Maine, Connecticut, New Jersey, Arizona, New Hampshire, Delaware, South Carolina, Ohio, Washington and Oregon. The rest show values over 1.0. Kentucky, Alaska and Idaho are currently showing the highest transmission rates across the US. Idaho, which has a population of 1.8million, is seeing a resurgence of Covid-19 as it sweeps through the South and West. Hard hit states Florida and California are both registering a transmission rate of 1.01. Texas sits at 1.0 as of Monday afternoon. New York, once the epicenter of the virus, has a current transmission rate of 1.02. The virus has killed 140,000 Americans and infected some 3.7 million, both figures leading the world. Health experts have strongly condemned the idea of allowing schools to reopen as the coronavirus pandemic rages on. Opponents of reopening schools say that even though children have statistically been less affected by the virus, they could still be exposed on campus and then bring it home to their families, leading to rampant spread within communities. They've also pointed to an apparent increase in the number of children testing positive for COVID-19 amid surges across the county, as well as the growing prevalence of a mysterious pediatric inflammatory disease linked to the virus. And teachers unions have begun pushing back on what they see as unnecessarily aggressive timetables for reopening. The transmission rate across in state across the US as of Sunday But with the pandemic showing no signs of easing, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said Washington must develop a strategy to safely reopen schools and businesses until a vaccine can be found. Coronavirus takes off in rural Idaho with 500 cases recorded every day in one of America's most sparsely populated states The rural US state of Idaho is experiencing an exponential spread of coronavirus after reporting 500 new cases every day. Idaho, which has a population of 1.8million, is seeing a resurgence of Covid-19 as it sweeps through the South and West. It comes as New York and other northeastern states, where the epidemic first hit hardest, have succeeded in tamping down infection rates. Before June 15, Idaho was reporting fewer than 50 new cases a day. But on Sunday, it reported 550, as well as more than 700 cases last Thursday. Measured by size of population, Idaho's infection rate over the past seven days has put it in eighth place nationally, behind larger states such as Florida, Louisiana and Texas, according to data from The New York Times. In April, the maximum number of hospitalizations as a result of coronavirus was 71 but on June 15, there were 224 patients occupying hospital beds with Covid-19. The number of deaths from the disease remains low, at one to four a day, but is still up from June, when it was only one per day. 'Very concerning rises in rural America which has far less hospital capacity, less ability to surge,' tweeted Ashish Jha, director of the Global Health Institute at Harvard University. Idaho's governor, Republican Brad Little, has on several occasions postponed a complete reopening of the economy, originally scheduled for the end of June. But all shops and services, including nightclubs, are open - with social distancing requirements in place. Idaho's largest city Boise, the epicenter of the state's infections, made wearing a mask in outdoor and enclosed public spaces obligatory on July 4. But in other parts of the state, the idea of enforcing face mask usage has run into stiff resistance from locals, prompting health officials in the north of the state to back down, according to The Spokesman-Review newspaper. Advertisement 'We need to carve out a new normal,' Republican McConnell said. A stimulus package from McConnell, being crafted behind closed doors, is expected to include at least $70 billion to help schools reopen. Schools in New York may resume in September with both in-class and remote learning, but state guidance only allows schools to reopen in areas where the daily infection rate is below 5 per cent of all tests for the novel coronavirus. The largest unions across the US say the timing should be guided by whether districts have the ability - and funding - to implement protocols and precautions to protect students and teachers, even if that means balking at calls from President Donald Trump to resume in-person instruction. On Monday, a teachers union filed a lawsuit to block the reopening of schools in Florida, where state officials have ordered school districts to reopen campuses as an option unless local health officials deem that to be unsafe. Educators in several cities have called for the school year to start with remote instruction. Some have joined demonstrations in Arizona, where three teachers sharing a classroom during summer school tested positive for the virus and one died. 'The conversation is being driven by what they want to do for the economy,' said Regina Fuentes, a high school English instructor in Columbus, Ohio, who is entering her 22nd year of teaching. 'Teachers and students shouldnt have to go back to school just to save the economy.' A recent analysis from the nonprofit Kaiser Family Foundation estimated nearly one-quarter of the nations teachers - nearly 1.5 million - are considered higher-risk for serious illness from the coronavirus because of other health conditions or age. On Monday Missouri Governor Mike Parson has said schools in the state must reopen this fall even though he believes all children will contract coronavirus as a result. Parson caused a stir with cavalier remarks he made in defense of his decision to reopen schools on a St Louis radio show on Friday. 'These kids have got to get back to school. They're at the lowest risk possible,' the Republican governor told FM NewsTalk host Marc Cox. 'And if they do get COVID-19, which they will - and they will when they go to school - they're not going to the hospitals. 'They're not going to have to sit in doctor's offices. They're going to go home and they're going to get over it.' Missouri has seen an alarming uptick in infections in recent weeks, with a record 958 new cases confirmed on Saturday. The state has reported more than 35,200 cases and 1,167 deaths to date. President Trump has been one of the most outspoken proponents of reopening schools, and has even threatened to cut off federal funding if they don't. 'Young people have to go to school, and there's problems when you dont go to school, too,' Trump said in an interview aired Sunday on Fox News. 'And there's going to be a funding problem because we're not going to fund when they don't open their schools.' Most states are leaving it up to individual districts to determine whether they should reopen. 'I fear that there has been this sense that kids just won't get infected or don't get infected in the same way as adults and that, therefore, they're almost like a bubbled population,' Dr Michael Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, told The New York Times. 'There will be transmission. What we have to do is accept that now and include that in our plans.' LEHI, Utah, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Young Living, the world's leading provider of essential oils, today announced the latest efforts in its multipronged approach to addressing the diverse needs throughout the COVID-19 crisis. At the beginning of the pandemic, Young Living took immediate action to lead in the community response. Now, as many nonprofits and businesses are looking to reopen or continue services, there is a dire need for resources that follow the CDC guidelines and provide a safe environment for members of our community. "We recognize that there is much more work to be done and I am proud of the action Young Living has taken as we support our community during this crisis," said Jared Turner, president and COO at Young Living. "No matter how much you can give, it is always time to serve. Young Living shares in Utah's culture in that we are stronger united in serving." Recent highlights from Young Living's support include the following initiatives. Baby2Baby Working closely with Baby2Baby, Young Living has donated products in retail value of over $800,000, including the company's Seedlings Baby Wipes, bars of soap, Thieves Toothpaste and more. This partnership has fulfilled the critical needs for baby essentials and personal care items in family resource centers, homeless shelters, health clinics and other centers across the nation. Encircle Encircle, a local non-profit looking to provide LGBTQ+ family and youth resources, had a lack of supplies to reopen many of their houses across Utah. Upon hearing of their challenges, Young Living donated 150 N95 masks, 250 Thieves Waterless Hand Sanitizer, diffusers and essential oils to Encircle to support their reopening. Utah Community Action Utah Community Action has been working hard to provide comprehensive services for income-eligible families throughout the crisis and has relied heavily on donations to help support their efforts. One key initiative is providing essential nutrition for local families. To assist in this effort, Young Living donated over 4,000 pounds of food that will help children, adults and seniors at local Utah Community Action food pantries. YMCA of Utah Currently, the YMCA of Utah serves over 225 residents each night an essential community service during COVID-19. Young Living donated socks, personal hygiene items and 500 bottles of Thieves Waterless Hand Sanitizer to the YMCA to assist in their relief efforts. UServeUtah Young Living has partnered with UServeUtah to supply 20,000 empty bottles for hand sanitizer purposes, 8,900 disposable gowns and 4,500 N95 masks. These essential items have been distributed statewide to hospitals, local health departments, county emergency managers and state agencies. Salt Lake Education Foundation School closures have affected several families in more ways than one. Young Living has donated 3,500 backpacks along with hand sanitizer to the Salt Lake Education Foundation to help package their food deliveries in an initiative to keep kids and their families fed throughout school closures and the summer. About Young Living Essential Oils Young Living Essential Oils, LC, based in Lehi, Utah, is the world leader in essential oils, offering the highest quality oil-infused products available. Young Living takes its industry leadership seriously, setting the standard with its proprietary Seed to Seal quality commitment, which involves three critical pillars: Sourcing, Science, and Standards. These guiding principles help Young Living protect the planet and provide pure, authentic products that its members can feel confident about using and sharing with friends and family. Young Living's productswhich all come from corporate-owned farms, partner farms, and Seed to Seal-certified suppliersnot only support a healthy lifestyle but also provide opportunities for over 6 million global members to find a sense of purpose and whole-life wellness by aligning their work with their values and passions. For more information, visit YoungLiving.com, follow @youngliving on Instagram, or like us on Facebook. SOURCE Young Living Essential Oils Related Links http://YoungLiving.com View live politics updates ChevronRight The county hadnt yet announced when the United Daughters of the Confederacy, the group that owns the 112-year-old statue, would remove it. The Clarks thought the helicopter might be signaling that Tuesday was the day. The couple arrived to find an empty pedestal where the statue once stood, encircled by eight orange cones. Story continues below advertisement We knew it was going to be a big deal, Roy Clark, 69, said of why he and his wife, who are white, came to see the statue, which depicted a Confederate soldier holding a musket. Every generation has its cross to bear. Advertisement While the county voted in early July to remove the Silent Sentinel and return it to the United Daughters of the Confederacy after the group asked for the statue back, no date had been set although the county had announced that the group needed to remove it by Sept. 7. Loudoun County Board of Supervisors Chair Phyllis J. Randall (D-At Large), who has worked to remove the statue for nearly 20 years, was not immediately available for comment Tuesday. Randall, the first African American chair of the Loudoun board, said after the vote that removing the statue was correcting history and that the statue should never have been put up. Story continues below advertisement The removal, which contractors conducted with a crane, took many Loudoun residents and civil rights leaders by surprise, including Michelle Thomas, president of the Loudoun chapter of the NAACP, who learned of the removal Tuesday morning. Advertisement This statue that has been an example of years of oppression and terrorism to African Americans came down without a single fight. This is a huge win for the county and for the nation, she said. Ron Story, who saw the rubble of the statue after he emerged from the courthouse Tuesday afternoon, felt conflicted. History is history. The past shouldnt be forgotten, said Story, who is black, adding that hes in favor of adding more statues that contextualize the history of the county. But if its a random soldier, take it down. Story continues below advertisement The statue is one of a growing number of Confederate monuments removed by local governments or toppled by protesters including in Richmond and Alexandria amid renewed calls for racial justice sparked by the killing in May of George Floyd in Minneapolis police custody. Advertisement Many residents wondered what, if anything, should go in place of the Silent Sentinel. Thomas, who sits on the committee the county has convened on the matter, said the statue will be replaced with a monument on the history of slavery, including a freedom path and stories of community members who suffered. Sam Carlson, who lives a block from the courthouse, said its important just that the Confederate statue is gone. Story continues below advertisement Carlson, who is white and has lived in Leesburg for a decade, said hes been hoping it would be removed for years. On Tuesday, he brought his daughter and son to see the empty pedestal. Given the history of the statue to intimidate African Americans, and then having to walk by it every day, it was long time coming for it to come down, Carlson said. Its nice to have this eyesore gone. A terrifying Huntsman spider was found in a shipment of chairs that arrived in the UK from China. The RSPCA was called to a warehouse in Southwold in Suffolk where the exotic arachnid was found in a container on Thursday. The species, which can grow up to 12 inches in leg span, is venomous but it is not harmful to humans. The RSPCA was called to a warehouse in Southwold in Suffolk where the exotic arachnid was found in a container on Thursday RSPCA inspector Jason Finch said: 'Huntsman spiders can grow up to 30cm (12in) in leg span so are a large variety. 'This spider was on the smaller side and was only around 6cm (2.5in) from leg to leg. 'He'd obviously been in the container for some time, without access to food and water, but he was still active and seemed to be OK.' The creature was then taken to a specialist facility where it will be taken care of. 'Finding an exotic spider, insect or reptile in a shipping or removal container actually happens quite often,' said Mr Finch. 'These creatures are often picked up by mistake and end up being shut inside containers or boxes. 'Huntsman spiders are venomous but are not dangerous to people although they can give a nasty bite so we would always advise caution around them. 'We always advise treating any unidentified animal with caution until identified accurately and not to try to handle an accidentally imported animal that has been discovered.' The species can grow up to 12 inches in leg span but the one found was around 2.5 inches Huntsman spiders do not build webs to catch their prey, they hunt them down. They originate in parts of Australasia, Africa, Asia, the Mediterranean Basin, and the Americas, and the giant variety, Heteropoda maxima, can grow to up to 12in in leg span. As these spiders are not native to the UK it would be an offence under the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 to release them, or to allow them to escape into the wild. When evaluating dividend-paying stocks, it's important to consider the company's overall business prospects and the dividend growth record. It's a lot more fun watching share price increases while accumulating growing dividend payouts than falling for unsustainably high dividend yields and watching your investment drop. That's why I like rock-solid companies like AbbVie (NYSE:ABBV) and Johnson & Johnson (NYSE:JNJ) for investors looking for dividends. Both companies have great businesses well positioned for the future, and it is highly unlikely either will have problems paying its dividends. Let's look at each business more closely. Reasons to be in AbbVie: valuation and dividend yield There's a lot to like about pharmaceutical firm AbbVie's 4.8% dividend. The company has had 48 consecutive years of dividend increases and a three-year dividend growth rate of 22.6%. AbbVie's stock price has been held back due to future uncertainty about losing exclusivity on its blockbuster immunology drug Humira in 2023. But that eventuality is being outweighed by good news on several fronts, as the company is filling its pipeline with promising new treatments. On June 10, AbbVie announced a collaboration deal with Danish company Genmab. The companies will collaborate on three anticancer antibodies that will ultimately allow the delivery of a therapeutic toxin directly to cancer cells while sparing normal, healthy cells. AbbVie is paying $750 million up front and up to $3.15 billion later, if the development programs succeed. AbbVie acquired fellow drugmaker Allergan in a deal that closed in May, which bolstered AbbVie's offerings with lucrative treatments such as Botox. While Botox is well known as a cosmetic procedure drug, it is also useful in treating a variety of medical conditions. On July 9, Allergan announced that the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) had approved a supplemental Biologics License Application (sBLA) that supports expanded use of Botox for the treatment of spasticity in pediatric patients, including those with lower limb spasticity caused by cerebral palsy. Other, newer drugs in AbbVie's arsenal that Wall Street is optimistic about include Skyrizi and Rinvoq. Analysts expect Skyrizi, which treats psoriasis and other autoimmune disorders, to grow annual sales from about $1 billion to $4.4 billion by 2025. Rinvoq, which treats arthritis and eczema, is expected to grow from a few hundred million a year now to $3.7 billion in 2025. AbbVie has built a substantial oncology franchise with Imbruvica and Venclexta, which generated combined revenues of nearly $5.5 billion in 2019. Strong double-digit growth is expected in 2020. AbbVie's price-to-earnings ratio is 17, well below the industry average P/E of 34, and its price/earnings-to-growth ratio is 0.66, indicating that AbbVie shares are undervalued. Besides the company's growing dividend, strong demand trends for Humira in the United States, an impressive portfolio of new drugs, and continued strong sales performance of Imbruvica and Venclexta are some solid reasons to own the stock. Johnson & Johnson: Great dividend growth rolls into the future In April, Johnson & Johnson increased its dividend for the 58th consecutive year, this time by 6.3%. Its dividend now stands at 2.7% and will probably continue to increase yearly based on the company's business outlook. On July 17, Johnson & Johnson posted second-quarter results, widely expected to be the most brutal of 2020. The company ended up beating estimates for both earnings and sales and raised its adjusted earnings and sales outlook for 2020. The COVID-19 health crisis affected Johnson & Johnson's business segments in varied ways. The pharmaceutical unit saw sales increases in oncology drugs and psoriasis treatments, but the slowdown in patient visits to doctors hurt sales of some physician-administered drugs. In the consumer health segment, skin care and beauty sales suffered due to social distancing, while over-the-counter medicines and oral care increased. The medical devices unit was hit the hardest due to the stoppage of elective surgical procedures, but the decline wasn't as severe as expected, and the company now expects a lower-than-previously forecast decline for the second half of the year. Johnson & Johnson sees the financial outlook improving for the rest of 2020 due to better-than-expected performance in medical devices as global economies recover. Management revised their forecast for the negative sales effects of delayed procedures in the medical devices unit, lowering it to $3.8 billion-$5.3 billion from the $4 billion-$7 billion expected earlier. Management also sees continued strength in the pharma segment and higher growth in the consumer health unit. Finally, the company is a player in developing a coronavirus vaccine. In fact, the U.S. government has given $456 million to Johnson & Johnson for that purpose, while the company has invested another $500 million in the project. If successful, a vaccine would be a significant growth driver for the company. Johnson & Johnson is the kind of dividend-paying investment likely destined to reward investors royally over the coming years. The stock price is up only 2.4% this year, and I think it has plenty of room to run. New Delhi, July 21 : The Supreme Court has asked the Ministry of Finance to look into a plea which claimed a loss of hundreds of crore every day, as the public sector banks are not invoking personal guarantees of big corporates who have defaulted on loans. A bench comprising Justice R. F. Nariman and Navin Sinha asked the petitioners, Saurabh Jain and Rahul Sharma, who filed the PIL, to move the Finance Ministry with a representation within two weeks. The top court observed that the issue is important and the ministry should respond after the petitioner has made the representation before it. The matter had come up for hearing on Monday. "We are of the view that at page 115 of the Writ Petition it has been made clear that the Ministry of Finance itself has, by a Circular, directed personal guarantees issued by promoters/managerial personnel to be invoked. According to the petitioners, despite this Circular, Public Sector Undertakings continue not to invoke such guarantees resulting in huge loss not only to the public exchequer but also to the common man", said the bench in its order. Senior advocate Manan Mishra and advocate Durga Dutt, represented the petitioners. Mishra contended before the bench that the statistics establish the public sector banks incurred a loss of approximately Rs 1.85 lakh crore in a financial year, and the banks did not take action to invoke personal guarantees of the biggest corporate defaulters. The bench observed that since the petitioners claim the public sector undertakings are not complying with this circular, "We think you should first go to the ministry," said the bench. Mishra argued before the bench that the loans from a common man are recovered through a mechanism where officials go through even the minutest detail, but promoters, chairpersons and other senior level functionaries of the big corporates find it convenient to get away by defaulting on loans. The bench told the petitioner's counsel that the Finance Ministry has already issued a notification on this matter, and the petitioners should seek response from the ministry, and then move the top court. Mishra submitted before the bench to issue a direction to the Finance Ministry to give a response on their representation. The bench said, "We allow the petitioners, at this stage, to withdraw this Writ Petition and approach the Ministry of Finance with a representation in this behalf. The representation will be made within a period of two weeks from today. The Ministry of Finance is directed to reply to the said representation within a period of four weeks after receiving such representation. With these observations, the petition is allowed to be withdrawn to do the needful." Mishra contended before the bench seeking liberty to come back after a reply from the Finance Ministry. Justice Nariman said this option is open for petitioners after a decision has been taken by the ministry. "We will hear you", added Justice Nariman. CAIRO (Reuters) - Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi and U.S. President Donald Trump agreed at a phone call on Monday to maintain a ceasefire in Libya and avoid an escalation there, the Egyptian presidency said. (Reporting by Mohamed Hendawy; Writing by Ulf Laessing; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Indian navy warships have held a joint exercise with the United States navy in the Indian Ocean, according to the two countries. The maritime drill signals growing strategic cooperation between New Delhi and Washington at a time of heightened tensions with China. The exercises were carried out Monday near Indias Andaman and Nicobar islands, which are located away from the Indian mainland near one of the worlds busiest shipping routes close to the Malacca Strait. The Indian navy called the Monday drills with the aircraft carrier, the USS Nimitz, a passage exercise, a reference to maneuvers held by two countries when a transiting warship joins other. The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is transiting through IOR [Indian Ocean Region]. During the passage, Indian navy units undertook Passage Exercise (Passex) with US Navy, the Indian navy spokesman said in a tweet. The Nimitz Carrier Strike Group is transiting through IOR. During the passage, #IndianNavy units undertook Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with #USNavy. Indian Navy had also conducted similar PASSEXs with #JMSDF and #FrenchNavy in recent past.@USNavy@SpokespersonMoD @MEAIndia pic.twitter.com/ntj5gFFNqC SpokespersonNavy (@indiannavy) July 20, 2020 Rear Admiral Jim Kirk, commander of the Nimitz Carrier Strike Group, said in a statement that the series of exercises improved our interoperability and is a testimony to the flexibility of both our Navies." Washington had deployed two warships, the USS Nimitz and the USS Ronald Reagan, in the South China Sea where territorial disputes have flared between China and its smaller neighbors. The United States has rejected Chinas claims as unlawful. Although New Delhi has steered clear of making any statement on the competing claims in the contested waters, the Indian foreign ministry said last week the South China Sea was part of global commons and India has an abiding interest in peace and stability in the region." Tensions between India and China are at their worst in decades following a clash over their disputed border in the Himalayas that killed 20 Indian soldiers. Analysts say deteriorating ties between the Asian neighbors will push New Delhi to build closer strategic ties and deepen naval cooperation with Washington. India is widely expected to clear the way for including Australia in the annual Malabar exercise that it holds with the United States and Japan in a sign that the four navies intend closer collaboration with an eye on China. H ome Secretary Priti Patel has promised an independent review into the hostile environment policy in the wake of the Windrush scandal. Speaking in the Commons on Tuesday, Priti Patel committed to the review as she updated MPs on progress being made to address concerns raised about Home Office practices. The pledge comes after Wendy Williams, in her critical independent review of the departments handling of the Windrush scandal, recommended a full review of the policy now branded compliant environment. Ms Patel said that what happened to the Windrush generation was "unspeakable". Priti Patel (centre) spoke with French police during a visit to Calais on July 12 / AFP via Getty Images What happened to the Windrush generation is unspeakable and no-one with a legal right to be here should ever have been penalised", she said. Ive tasked my officials to undertake a full evaluation of the compliant environment policy and measures individually (and cumulatively) to make sure the crucial balance is right. I have asked them to evaluate the changes that were made to immigration and nationality laws over successive governments to ensure that they are fit for purpose for todays world. The "hostile environment" has been renamed the "compliant environment" / PA She said Ms Williams will return to the Home Office in September 2021 to review progress, adding: I am confident she will find the start of a genuine cultural shift within the department a Home Office that is working hard to be more diverse, more compassionate and worthy of the trust of the communities it serves. Priti Patel added that everyone in the Home Office making decisions must see a face behind the case. She told MPs: The injustices of Windrush did not happen because Home Office staff were bad people, but because staff themselves were caught up in a system where they did not feel they had the permission to bring personal judgement to bear. I myself have heard from victims directly when they have spoken of decision-making as a process, a process that ground people down, a process that lacked compassion towards the very people who should have been supported. I have heard people speaking of being dismissed as if they just did not matter and as if their voices were irrelevant. Putting people first will be built into the reforms that we make. Everyone making decisions must see a face behind the case. State Attorney General Letitia James announces a lawsuit against e-cigarette giant Juul on 19 November, 2019 in New York City: (Getty Images) The Trump administration is being sued by a coalition of Democratic state attorneys in response to its announcement that healthcare discrimination protections for transgender people will be overturned next month. The discrimination protections that were included in the Affordable Care Act (ACA), implemented during the Obama administration, stated that people could not be discriminated against because of race, colour, national origin, sex, age or disability. However, the changes announced by the Trump administration will enforce sex discrimination protections, according to the plain meaning of the word sex as male or female and as determined by biology, according to the Associated Press. In the lawsuit, the coalition of 23 state attorneys argued that modifying the sex discrimination protections will allow insurance companies to discriminate based on gender identity. According to the lawsuit, overturning the protections arbitrarily and unlawfully strips health care rights statutorily guaranteed by Section 1557 from transgender people, women and other individuals seeking reproductive health care or with pregnancy-related conditions. New York attorney general Letitia James, who is leading the coalition, added that this is just the latest attempt by president Trump and his administration to unlawfully chip away at health care for Americans after failing to repeal the ACA time after time. The lawsuit was filed in Manhattan, New York City, on Monday against the Department of Health and Human Services, its secretary Alex Azar and its civil rights chief Roger Severino. The coalition is seeking an injunction to block the rule from becoming law, and have argued in the lawsuit that it breaches the Fifth Amendments clause for equal protection. Last month, the Supreme Court barred workplace sex discrimination against those in the LGBT+ community, and ruled that discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation or transgender status is unlawful discrimination because of sex. Story continues The state attorneys argued that the administrations plans are in breach of the courts ruling and that the protections should extend to healthcare. California attorney general Xavier Becerra is one of the 23 officials who helped craft the lawsuit, and he told the AP that the policy is cruel, but even more so during the coronavirus pandemic. This is a mean and unconstitutional rule in any context, Mr Becerra said. But authorising discrimination in our health care system at this time, when our nation is suffering through a pandemic, is unbelievably immoral. He added: The moment when our nation is working to fight against and confront systemic discrimination is not the time to open up more discrimination. Read more Who was Marsha P Johnson and how did she pioneer the LGBT US movement? By Paul D. Vesely I am in the unfortunate position of having to change and update registrations for two of our vehicles. After visiting the Motor Vehicle Commission in Hazlet at Airport Plaza Shopping Center, I found out that in spite of the information I obtained on the internet about that office opening for business on June 29th, it was still closed. It wouldnt reopen until July 7, 2020. I thought given the backlog it would be advisable to get there early on July 7th. I arrived a 6 a.m. and there was a line completely around the shopping plaza. Many people had been camping at this location overnight. I am 77 years old and standing in line for 10 to 12 hours is not a good option for me. Camping out overnight is out of the question. I returned each successive day that week: July 8th, July 9th and July 10th. I arrived early each day; on July 10th, I arrived at 5 a.m. and still the line was not appreciably shorter. I tried again on Monday, July 13th and the situation remained largely unchanged. On Tuesday, July 14th I had a doctors appointment so I didnt return again until Wednesday, July 15th and I noticed a modest improvement. The line, however, still stretched from the front of the shopping plaza to the end but did not fully circle the mall as it had previously. I decided to wait another day, and on July 16th I returned to see a sign in front of the door saying the facility was closed and there was no indication of when it would open again. How difficult, in this day and age, would it be to provide badly needed updates and information. Just another indicator of how dismissive the management is toward the Great Unwashed of New Jersey. I took one more stab at it on July 21, 6 a.m., Hazlet office. The line stretched completely around the shopping center. I asked some of the people at the front of the line when they had arrived. Approximately 20 of them had been camped there since 9 p.m. the previous day. Recently, my wife asked me to pick up a few items at Shoprite on the way home. It suddenly occurred to me that Shoprite had never closed. Their customers were serviced every day and their employees worked faithfully making sure we all were able to get food and other necessities. Everyone wore masks and the shopping was orderly and convenient. What am I missing here? Is there something magical about Shoprite? Something unique that is not possible for the MVC? We as residents of New Jersey are required by law to maintain registration, drivers licenses and other requirements. These obligations are mandated by law. Something is terribly wrong here. With all the issues facing New Jersey residents, why hasnt the state done anything to ameliorate this horrible situation at the MVC? Extending hours, opening on weekends, anything to address this backlog? Why are the good citizens of New Jersey so unimportant? Why is this agency so inept from top to bottom. Where is the governor in this equation? The silence has been deafening. Aside from sentiments such as, This cannot ever happen again. We have to learn from this, From state Sen. Patrick Diegnan, which ring hollow, we are left with a failure that has had enormous consequences for all those who were required to go to the MVC. We have to learn? Really? I thought the people who were appointed to management positions at this agency had the requisite ability to run them efficiently. Apparently nothing could be further from the truth. It really isnt enough to wring our hands and hope that we have to learn from this. No, there is something very wrong here. A private enterprise such as Shoprite can stay open and provide for its customers without incident or difficulty but a state agency with all the resources at their disposal is an abject failure. MVC these past 15 days look more like Venezuela than Hazlet. Accountability is there such a thing in New Jersey state government? It is certainly warranted in this instance. Paul D. Vesely is a retired businessman who lives in Holmdel. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Heres how to submit an op-ed or Letter to the Editor. 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. Sudans former President Omar al-Bashir appeared in court on Tuesday for the start of his trial over the coup through which he seized power in 1989. The hearing was adjourned until 11 August so the trial can be moved to a larger venue. Bashir arrived at court in Khartoum wearing a white shirt, face mask and plastic gloves, surrounded by security officials. He stands trial alongside more than 20 former officials including Vice President Ali Osman Taha and Ali al-Haj, secretary general of the Islamist Popular Congress Party (PCP), Reuters news agency reported, citing judicial officials. The ousted Sudanese leader already received a two-year sentence in December over corruption charges, and had his money confiscated, according to the Suna state news agency. He faces further charges over the killing of demonstrators, and is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity allegedly committed in Darfur. The government has not ruled out sending Bashir to The Hague, or having him tried by the ICC in Sudan. Hundreds of people turned up at the court hearing on Tuesday, according to Reuters. Lawyers, supporters, family members and journalists all complained that they could not get access to the hearing. We decided to postpone the trial session to 11 August as we need a bigger hall in order to guarantee social distancing, put different arrangements in place and ensure that the entire defendants have lawyers and other rights, the judge said, reported Anadolu news agency. 1989 coup Bashir seized power in 1989 when he led fellow officers in overthrowing Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi and his democratically elected government, saying the coup was to save the country from rotten political parties. He made himself chairman of the Revolutionary Command Council and then dissolved government, and other institutions, as well as political parties and trade unions. Demonstrations were banned and a state of emergency was imposed. Story continues Later in April 1990, 31 members of the security forces were executed following an alleged coup plot, however, some believed claims of a coup were a cover for removing suspect officers. Lawyers for Bashir said in December that the trial was a political charade since it was more than 30 years after the event. It will be hard for most of the defendants to deny their role in the 1989 coup, according to Wasil Ali, former deputy editor of Sudan Tribune. It is not clear whether a statute of limitations applies and if they can be tried using a penal code that was subsequently scrapped. Bashir was overthrown following mass protests and the intervention of the military. A civilian authority took over from Bashir through a three-year power sharing agreement with the army. Check out the companies making headlines after the bell: Snap The social media company's stock fell 5% in extended trading after itreleased its second-quarter financial results. The company reported a loss of 9 cents per share, in line with Refinitiv analysts' estimate, and revenues of $454 million, compared to analysts' estimate of $439.1 million. Snap's net loss also grew nearly 28% to $326 million from $255 million last year. Capital One Shares of Capital One fell 4% in after hours upon releasing second quarter financial results. Capitol One reported a net loss of $1.61 per share excluding some items. The company's total net revenue decreased 10% to $6.6 billion. United Airlines Shares of United Airlines rose 1.5% in extended trading after the company released its second-quarter financial results. United posted a loss of $9.31 per share on revenues of $1.48 billion, compared to Refinitiv analysts' estimate of a $9.02 loss per share on revenues of $1.32 billion. The airline also said it expects its daily cash burn to decrease to $25 million next quarter from an average of $40 million per day in the second quarter. Inovio Shares of Inovio dropped 1% in extended trading after rising 6.6% in regular hours. Drug company executives from AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Merck, Moderna and Pfizer told Congress earlier Tuesday they are not lowering their standards in the race to develop a coronavirus vaccine, which they said they should be able to produce by early 2021. FirstEnergy FirstEnergy's stock fell 2% after the closing bell after plummeting 16.99% earlier in the day. The company received subpoenas in connection with the investigation surround Ohio House Bill 6. Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder has been arrested regarding a $60 million federal racketeering case over the state's new nuclear bailout law, according to SeekingAlpha. Texas Instruments Texas Instruments' stock climbed 1% in extended trading after the company's second quarter financial results beat Refinitiv analysts' revenue estimates. Texas Instruments reported a revenue of $3.24 billion while analysts predicted $2.94 billion. Texas Instruments' revenue has decreased 12% from the same quarter a year ago, which the company said is driven primarily by weakness in the automotive market. The semiconductor company reported earnings per share of $1.48. A special Prevention of Money Laundering (PMLA) court on Tuesday rejected the bail plea filed by Rana Kapoor, Yes bank founder, former chairman and managing director, who has been booked for alleged money laundering by the Enforcement Directorate (ED). ED arrested Kapoor on March 8 and produced him before the special PMLA court. He was remanded in ED custody till March 11 and later sent to judicial custody. Kapoors advocates had pleaded that investigation in the case has been completed as a charge sheet was filed against him. They further pleaded that the case was based on documentary evidence which has already been collected by the agency, and hence there was no harm in granting him bail. ED, however, argued that the probe had not concluded and that Kapoor could tamper with the evidence and influence witnesses. The special court, after hearing both the sides, rejected the bail plea. ED had initiated a probe into allegations of money laundering after the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) registered two cases of corruption against Kapoor in March. In one first information report (FIR), the bureau alleged that Yes Bank had invested 3,700 crore in short-term debentures of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation (DHFL) between April and June 2018. In return, Kapoor was allegedly paid kickbacks amounting to 600 crore by DHFL promoter Kapil Wadhawan. DHFL sanctioned a loan to DoIT Urban Ventures (India) Pvt Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of RAB Enterprises in which Kapoors wife Bindu is a director and 100% shareholder, alleged CBI. Kapoors daughters, Rakhee Kapoor Tandon, Roshni Kapoor, and Radha Kapoor, are also 100% shareholders in DoIT Urban Ventures. Based on the case registered by CBI, ED began its probe into allegations of money laundering by Kapoor. In the second case, CBI alleged that Kapoor and his wife bought a bungalow from Avantha Group promoter Gautam Thapar at a much lower price than its valuation. In the past, Thapar had mortgaged the bungalow for a corporate loan of 600 crore, but he sold it for 380 crore to Bliss Abode Pvt Ltd in which Kapoors wife was a director at the time. After the probe, ED filed a charge sheet against Kapoor, his wife, and their three daughters for money laundering. After the charge sheet was filed, Kapoors lawyers moved a bail plea on the merits of the case. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON A dead body has been found in the burned-out remains of a Minneapolis pawn shop which was set ablaze during the George Floyd protests two months ago. The dead man's charred remains were discovered on Monday morning as authorities combed through the wreckage at Max It Pawn, which was wrecked by the fire on May 28. A 25-year-old Minnesota man was charged with arson last month after he allegedly poured liquid over the shop and declared that 'we're going to burn this [expletive] down'. Homicide detectives have now taken over the case while the body has been passed to the medical examiner for an autopsy. A dead body has been found in the burned-out remains of a Minneapolis pawn shop which was set ablaze during the George Floyd protests in May (pictured) The dead man's remains were discovered on Monday morning as authorities combed through the wreckage at Max It Pawn (pictured before the May 28 blaze) The pawn shop is located close to the Third Police Precinct which was overrun by protesters at the height of the unrest in late May. Fires were lit across the city after Floyd's death on May 25, following his arrest by white cop Derek Chauvin who knelt on his neck for nearly eight minutes. Thousands of people ignored a city-wide curfew to take part in the protests which eventually spread across the United States and the world. Montez Terrill Lee was ordered temporarily detained after he was charged with lighting the Max It Pawn fire on May 28. Investigators at the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said they had received an anonymous tip-off with video of the suspect. The masked man, identified as Lee, was seen pouring liquid from a metal container throughout the shop, before standing in front of the burning store saying 'we're going to burn this [expletive] down'. Police have released few details about the discovery of the body on Monday, beyond a statement that he is 'believed to be an adult male'. 'The identity, along with the nature and cause of death, will be released by the Medical Examiner's Office in the days to come,' the statement said. The Star Tribune quoted police spokesman John Elder as saying that 'the body appears to have suffered thermal injury and we do have somebody charged with setting fire to that place'. Protesters gather around a liquor store near the Third Police Precinct on May 28, close to the pawn shop which was set ablaze during the George Floyd protests In early June, the paper reported that firefighters had searched a nearby liquor store after witnesses said a man had failed to make it out. A fire chief said crews had inspected the wreckage at the Lake Street liquor store, but that the condition of the building had forced them to call off the search. Authorities did not find any trace of the body and the missing person was never identified. It is not clear whether there is any link between that search and the discovery at the pawn shop yesterday morning. The federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives and the US Attorney's Office are assisting Minneapolis cops, a statement said. The man's death is thought to be the second killing linked to the protests in Minneapolis after Calvin L. Horton, a 43-year-old black man, was fatally shot outside a different pawn shop in May. The owner of the store, who is white, was arrested in Horton's death but was later released without charge. The shop, Cadillac Pawn & Jewelry, was described as having been significantly damaged during the unrest. Wisconsin's Democratic leaders are denouncing "online bullying" perpetrated by Sen. Tim Carpenter, D-Milwaukee, after he targeted Madison Senate candidate Nada Elmikashfi in a flurry of Twitter posts over the last few days that eventually led to the brief suspension of his account for harassment. Both the state Democratic Party and Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley decried Carpenter's actions in statements Monday morning, noting the Milwaukee senator's behavior "crossed the line." "Nobody should be subjected to online bullying, which disproportionately harms women and people of color not during this moment of long-overdue reckoning with racial justice, and not ever," party officials wrote in their statement. At the center of the issue is Carpenter's response to pushback from Elmikashfi over his decision to co-author a bill with Rep. Rob Hutton, R-Brookfield, that would make it a Class I felony, punishable by up to three-and-a-half years in prison and a $10,000 fine, to damage or vandalize a "monument of commemorative or historical significance that is on public property." The bill was drafted after protesters pulled down two statues on the Wisconsin Capitol grounds at the end of last month. On the same night, Carpenter was punched, kicked and forced to the ground by demonstrators after he took a picture of the gathering. While Elmikashfi noted Carpenter shouldn't have been assaulted, she wrote Thursday on Twitter that it doesn't give him reason "to block our civil rights movement." The 26th Senate District contender also urged Carpenter to reconsider the proposal and discuss the topic with activists rather than working with Republicans "to further criminalize [black and indigenous people of color]." But Carpenter repeatedly pointed to his nearly 40-year record in the state Legislature, writing in a tweet reply to Elmikashfi early Friday afternoon: "IM ALREADY AN ALLY &dont have to prove it to you." It only escalated over the following day, with Carpenter repeatedly insinuating Elmikashfi was acting hypocritically after she posted screenshots of a direct message with the Milwaukee senator, in which she called him a "tremendous legislator with an outstanding record" while stressing the potential harm of his bill and again urging him to reconsider it. Carpenter, in multiple Twitter replies to Elmikashfi Saturday, questioned why she would "praise me privately & publicly pummel me." "Yes, behind the scenes you praise & recognize my long battle for civil rights & my constant battle against the GOP," he said in a separate tweet. "Then on Twitter you attack & slander my character, record & honor to try to elevate yourself in the middle of your campaign. How duplicitous and disingenuous." He then repeatedly posted a screenshot of the private message in replies to Elmikashfi and others defending her, leading users reporting him and Twitter temporarily restricting his account. Elmikashfi, though, shared screenshots of all her public Twitter responses and noted that none contradicted her direct message to Carpenter, as she implored him to "just move on." In a statement Monday following Democratic leaders' responses, Elmikashfi noted the party "has immense groundwork to cover when it comes to making sure that our allyship to BIPOC is continuous and constructive." "The harassment from Senator Carpenter I received must turn our attention to the work we still have yet to accomplish in intersectionality," she said. "We must treat each other with respect and the understanding that in order to better each other, we must first seek to better ourselves." Carpenter apologized Monday afternoon for "the way that I chose to engage in a debate over Twitter," as he pledged "to confront rashness within myself and to avoid being reactionary." His response did not address the substance of the bill. "I will dwell on the lessons of the great leaders who I have had the fortune to learn from, and work not to betray their memories and teachings, but to bring their wisdom back to the State Capitol through my actions from now on," he added. Elmikashfi, 24, is one of seven Democrats looking to succeed veteran Sen. Fred Risser in the 26th District. She's been outspoken on Twitter over the course of her campaign, defending the removal of the "Forward" and Hans Christian Heg statues and calling for changes within the state Democratic Party to make it more inclusive. The bill from Carpenter and Hutton gained support from around two dozen lawmakers, including just one other Democrat: Milwaukee Rep. Christine Sinicki, according to a list of backers from Hutton's office. It's unclear whether the legislation would be acted on this session, as it's unknown when or if lawmakers would convene given the current election cycle. Still, it's possible, for example, that the state Senate could return to finish up any regular session bills members want to sign off on, or that both chambers may convene during the lame-duck period after the November general election to act on police overhaul efforts. To the Times: In a world where climate change ravages my community every year, it pains me to know that Pennsylvania gives the fracking industry hundreds of millions of dollars every single year in the form of tax breaks or subsidies. To make this worse, the state legislature just passed another bill, HB 732, that grants the fracking and petrochemical industry an additional $670 million dollars in tax breaks over a 26 year period. I cannot stress enough the importance of stopping all handouts to fossil fuels developments and investing in clean energy. Our future depends on it, yet the legislature ignores this fact. The process of fracking gas threatens our health by polluting our air and water and heightening the worst impacts of climate change. Even our Attorney General, Josh Shapiro, recently published a report detailing the legacy of pollution created by fracking-related activities, all threatening our health, yet our legislators still passed this bill. The last thing Pennsylvanians need during a pandemic is to open the door to more air and water pollution, and to leave the fossil fuel industry unaccounted for. Thank you to my senator and representative, Senator Kearney and Rep. Quinn, for voting against HB 732. I appreciate your dedication to our environment and health. Hopefully, more elected officials, will follow your example of prioritizing our planet. Lucie Lebourgeois, Media Potential: The GSF Arctic III rig which was used in drilling at Barryroe. Photo: Providence Resources/PA Wire THE CEO of Providence Resources, Alan Linn, says he believes the company is "significantly undervalued". Shares in the group are currently trading at six cent on Euronext Dublin, a far cry from their peak of 7 in 2012. At its AGM yesterday, Mr Linn said Providence's flagship asset, Barryroe, has "a significant volume of gas that can replace some of Ireland's gas, if brought on-land". "When fully developed, the Barryroe field can provide Ireland with locally produced long-term energy security," Mr Linn said. This is in addition to the 300 million barrels of oil potentially recoverable from the field. However, he acknowledged that the Green Party's decision to enter Government means the timeline for work on Barryroe "gets longer". His comments come as the company continues to progress its farm-out discussions with SpotOn Energy on exploration licence SEL1/11, which includes the Barryroe oil and gas field off the coast of Cork. Norwegian company SpotOn has confirmed to Providence that binding term sheets are now in place with six consortium members participating in the Barryroe field appraisal and development project. The names of those involved in the consortium will be announced separately. Providence is now working with SpotOn and the members of the consortium to finalise the farm-out work programme. Once this has been completed, SpotOn will manage the Barryroe development. "Barryroe is one of the largest undeveloped oil and gas fields in Europe and, having worked with many of the consortium companies over the years, I am confident that we are introducing a high-quality core project development team with both the capability and capacity to deliver a world class project," Mr Linn said. The company hopes that if it gets all the necessary approvals, drilling at the site will take place late next year or early 2022, but Mr Linn said there was "a long way to go" between now and then. Late last year Providence paid Tony O'Reilly Jnr 493,500 to terminate his contract, as losses at the company shot up and shareholders were forced to raise cash to bailout the company. At year-end December 31 Providence had losses of 26m, while net assets were 59m. In October last year Providence said it would no longer extend the deadline to receive a $9m (7.8m) loan from Chinese backer Apec, in what was the latest in a series of delays with the money being transferred. A Conservative MP investigated over claims he asked a female intern to 'fool around with no strings' before begging 'pweeease' has been referred to Parliament's standards body. Delyn MP Rob Roberts, 40, who came out in May, allegedly praised the 21-year-old for her 'lovely legs' then WhatsApped her 'might be gay but I enjoy fun times'. He also confessed to asking out a male House of Commons employee, which led them to move position. Mr Roberts' own party is investigating him over the messages but scrutiny of the politician has deepened after a Labour leader referred him to the MP watchdog. Charlotte Nichols, MP for Warrington North, tweeted: 'I reported @RobDelyn via the third party reporting line over a month ago. 'I called on @Conservatives to remove the Whip and refer him over a month ago. 'This is totally unacceptable conduct for an MP. The @Conservatives should immediately remove the Whip from Bob Roberts, and refer him to the Parliamentary Commissioner for Standards. No excuses.' The watchdog will look at if he broke the House of Commons Code of Conduct and if finds against him can escalate matters via a formal report to the Select Committee on Standards. That committee's ultimate punishments can ask MPs to be suspended without pay or even expelled from Parliament - although has never exercised this final sanction. It emerged after calls this morning for the Tories to remove the whip from him while the 'incredibly serious allegations' were investigated. The texts at the centre of the investigation are dated April 12 and show Mr Roberts urging the young woman to have 'happy thoughts' when she was upset. MP Rob Roberts was today at the centre of a probe into texts propositioning an intern He appears to then add 'I was just thinking about fun times. 'Maybe if you thought of them too it might help you'. At the end of May Mr Roberts announced he had split from his wife Alexandra 'six weeks ago' - placing the split in the middle of April. His constituency page makes no reference to his new situation and still says he 'currently lives in Mold with my wife and daughter'. The new messages were revealed to BBC Wales by the intern, who said they had made her feel 'incredibly sick'. She said: 'I had had one of the worst days ever, and then I messaged him saying I'm crying, I'm not okay - and his solution to that was to proposition me.' The female intern, 21, said the messages which the MP has not yet commented on had made her feel 'incredibly sick' and worried about returning to Parliament 'I felt really vulnerable and I felt like I was being used to make him feel better about everything.' 'I kind of felt backed into a corner about everything. I was worried about my job first of all, and I was worried about being involved in politics and I felt like I had to respond, but I wasn't really comfortable responding.' Afterwards she said she no longer felt comfortable about returning to Parliament and had made her mental health problems worse. A spokeswoman for the Conservative Party said the behaviour of Mr Roberts was "completely unacceptable". She said: "An investigation into Rob Roberts MP's conduct is ongoing. "While Mr Roberts has apologised for his behaviour and has been undertaking safeguarding and social media protection training, we are clear such conduct is completely unacceptable." The married MP, who came out as gay in May, recently apologised for his behaviour and was rebuked by the Tory Party chairman and asked to undertake safeguarding and social media protection training. Mr Roberts was elected as the Conservative MP for Delyn in north Wales in December 2019. Prime Minister Boris Johnson with Mr Roberts in a selfie captured at an event last year His seat was a gain from Labour in the so-called Red Wall and had been previously held by Labour MP David Hanson since 1992. On May 17 this year he posted a number of messages where he came out. Then 11 days later his family home was at the centre of a lockdown row after neighbours spoke of their anger today after a 40th birthday party was held there. Police broke up the celebration and two people were thrown out after officers arrived in their car just after 5pm. Mr Roberts pleaded ignorance when quizzed by reporters at his home, despite a silvery '40' banner being visible behind him. Answering the door to the family's modern detached home, he said: 'What party?' when questioned by MailOnline. Mr Roberts' family's home, where he was quizzed about a 40th birthday party earlier this year In a separate series of messages to a male Parliament member of staff, Mr Roberts admitted asking him out. He said he told him 'that I liked him and asked him to dinner'. Mr Roberts added: 'Really poor judgement on my part, hands up. He didn't react very well because it created a problem for him that I felt that way 'My invitation was not accepted and the staff member did not feel comfortable about it. 'I do now recognise that it was inappropriate to have extended the invitation to a member of staff in the first place. 'However, I have found the last few months and the 'coming out' process to have been particularly challenging and the cause of a great deal of mental stress to me. 'Creating a story from this interaction which has been dealt with amicably seems calculated to add to that stress, which is distressing.' Commenting on the latest allegations against Conservative MP Rob Roberts, Acting Leader of the Liberal Democrats Ed Davey MP said: 'These are incredibly serious allegations that cannot just be brushed under the carpet. Women must be able to work in politics and know that it is a safe place for them. 'The Conservative Party must immediately remove the party whip while they urgently investigate, or they risk sending the message that they view this behaviour as acceptable conduct for a sitting Conservative MP.' OTTAWAAlmost two-third of parents in a new poll say they believe that children returning to school in the fall should wear masks at least part of the time. The latest poll on the COVID-19 pandemic by Leger and the Association for Canadian Studies found that 41 per cent of respondents believe school children should be required to wear a mask while theyre on the bus or in the school. A further 21 per cent said yes to masks, but only when a student is outside of class during recess, lunch or if on the bus suggesting they were OK with students taking off their masks once in class and not in common areas. There was also a group of respondents, accounting for 28 per cent, who believed masks should be optional. The current public health advice is that non-medical masks can contain infectious particles on their wearers breath, reducing the risk of contagion from people with COVID-19 who might not know theyre carrying the illness. The Leger online poll of 1,524 Canadians over age 18 took place July 17 to 19. The poll cannot be given a margin of error because it is not a random sample. Leger vice-president Christian Bourque said support for masks at school may increase as more jurisdictions adopt mandatory mask measures. He said social norms are already changing, noting the similarity in numbers between poll respondents who said they support masks at schools and those who said they wear masks when they go to grocery stores. The more we consider this potential for making the mask mandatory, the more parents will probably find that the mask should be mandatory as well, Bourque says. The social norm that we should be wearing the mask will only go up the closer we get to the actual start of the school year. The poll suggests many parents are concerned from a health perspective about sending their children to school or daycare, even while economic concerns abound about parents unable to work if they dont have safe places for their children to be during the workday. Sixty-two per cent of respondents also expressed concern about sending their children back to school. Concerns were highest in Ontario, where schools have been closed for months, and lowest in Quebec, which had some of the earliest school and daycare reopenings in the country. Even those who say theyre not worried are likely to have concerns in other ways, such that an asymptomatic child might pass the novel coronavirus on to a grandparent, said Bourque. The situation is a lot more complex than just having your son or daughter at school, he said. Many school boards are working on plans for reopening schools in many parts of the country that have been closed since March when public health lockdowns were ordered to slow the spread of COVID-19. Some, such as Ontario, are considering hybrid weeks, in which groups of students are physically in school part of the time and work at home or connect by video conference for the rest. The results show that 59 per cent supported a hybrid school week. Meanwhile, 31 per cent of respondents opposed such a plan. About half of respondents in the poll said class sizes should be halved from their usual numbers when school reopens. A further 20 per cent believed classes should be smaller one-third of their usual size. Just over one-fifth of respondents, or 23 per cent, told Leger that class sizes should be at 100 per cent of what they were before the lockdowns. The majority of people expect that we will go back to school, but not in a normal class size, nor with a normal schedule, Bourque says. CAIRO - Sudans ousted autocrat Omar al-Bashir was back in court Tuesday, this time facing charges of plotting the 1989 Islamist-backed coup that removed an elected government and brought him to power. Dozens of people, mostly al-Bashir supporters, gathered outside the courthouse in the capital, Khartoum, amid tight security as the former president was brought from jail and the proceedings got underway. Al-Bashir appeared in court wearing a traditional white robe and turban. Shortly after the proceedings opened, the trial was adjourned till Aug. 11 so that the defence lawyers could prepare their arguments, said attorney Mohammed al-Hassan who is on al-Bashirs defence team. The military overthrew al-Bashir in April 2019 amid massive public protests against his rule. Months after the overthrow, the army generals and a pro-democracy movement behind the protests set up a transitional government. The 76-year-old al-Bashir has been jailed in Khartoum since his ouster, facing several separate trials related to his rule and the uprising that helped oust him. He is also wanted by the International Criminal Court on charges of war crimes and genocide linked to the Darfur conflict in the 2000s. Sudans transitional authorities announced in February that they have agreed to hand over al-Bashir to the ICC to face justice, as part of a deal with rebels to surrender all those wanted in connection with the Darfur conflict. But since that announcement, there has been no follow-up action on his extradition. In one of he cases he faces in Khartoum, al-Bashir was convicted last December of money laundering and corruption and sentenced to two years in a minimum security lockup. In Tuesdays case, prosecutors accuse al-Bashir of plotting the 1989 coup that ousted the elected government of Prime Minister al-Sadiq al-Mahdi, according to the state-run SUNA news agency. Al-Bashir is on trial along with over two dozen top officials in his government, including former vice-president, Ali Ossman Taha, and former defence minister, Abdel-Rahim Muhammad Hussein, who is also wanted by the ICC over the Darfur conflict. Al-Hassan, the lawyer, said coups happen historically, from time to time, referencing the many upheavals since Sudan gained independence in 1956. We think that there is no case for something that is part of Sudans history, he said. During his three-decade rule, al-Bashir kept an iron grip on power and brutally suppressed any opposition, while monopolizing the economy through allied businessmen. After years of war, he was forced to allow the secession of South Sudan, a huge blow to the norths economy. He became an international pariah over the bloodletting in Darfur and the United States targeted his government repeatedly with sanctions and airstrikes for his support of Islamic militants. SOUTH SAN FRANCISCO (dpa-AFX) - Biotechnology company Jnana Therapeutics announced Tuesday that it has signed a strategic, multi-target collaboration and license agreement with Swiss drug maker Roche Group (RHHBY). The deal is to discover novel medicines that target key regulators of cellular metabolism to treat immune-mediated and neurological diseases. Jnana would receive an upfront payment of $40 million in cash, and may receive research funding, preclinical, development and commercialization milestone payments, as well as royalties. The aggregate value of potential future payments to Jnana may exceed $1 billion. Under the deal, Jnana will partner with Roche on discovery and preclinical development for a broad set of targets across immunology and neuroscience. Roche will further develop these and commercialize exclusively. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Soldiers in the army, who are believed to have ties to Rami Makhlouf, have been arrested and detained by the Military Intelligence reports Annas News. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights announced that the Military Intelligence Directorate of the Bashar al-Assad regime has arrested about 38 soldiers and officers, for having ties to businessman Rami Makhlouf. The Observatory pointed out that all the officers who were arrested were working as part of army units in several regions and military sectors across Syria and are not linked to security branches or the security services, noting that they are currently detained by the Military Intelligence Directorate. The Observatory clarified that among the arrested, there were 16 officers of varying ranks who were arrested in the Damascus countryside and the provinces of Lattakia and Tartous, in addition to Homs, stressing that the arrest of regime forces members are still going on with the aim of detaining all of those suspected of dealing with or being close to Makhlouf. The Observatory also linked the security campaign to Russias desire to govern the regime-controlled areas without Iranian interference, indicating that there is a relationship between the recent spat between Assad and his cousin Makhlouf, on the one hand, and the Russian-Iranian conflict over influence in Syria, on the other. This article was translated and edited by The Syrian Observer. The Syrian Observer has not verified the content of this story. Responsibility for the information and views set out in this article lies entirely with the author. TULSA, Okla. - John Jolley never thought he'd be sleeping in his car awaiting unemployment benefits. But there he was, the owner of a once-successful advertising agency, taking a sweaty nap in a Subaru wagon in a convention center parking lot at 1:45 a.m. on a Wednesday. The pandemic sent his business into a free fall, and now Jolley wanted to be first in line for an unemployment claims event beginning in five hours. He barely dozed, afraid that if he fell into a deep sleep, he would miss the early-morning handout of tickets for appointments with state agents. There would be just 400 tickets handed out for that day's event. When those ran out, there would be 400 more for appointments the following day. "I just didn't want to be number 803," Jolley said. In the four months since the pandemic began, nearly 50 million workers have filed unemployment claims nationwide, a flood that's overwhelmed some states, freezing antiquated computer systems and jamming websites and phone lines for days. State benefit agencies in some parts of the country have evoked memories of Great Depression bread lines. Many have been struggling to get their regular unemployment benefits as well as the $600-a-week federal pandemic unemployment assistance passed in March that begins running out for millions of Americans later this week. Congress returned Monday to begin hammering out the details of another massive coronavirus package, with Republicans assembling a $1 trillion package that probably will extend but reduce the size of that benefit. Democrats are backing a more wide-ranging $3 trillion relief bill passed by the House in May. In Oklahoma, one of the poorest states, unemployment - which reached a record 14.7% in April - has pushed many to the point of desperation, with savings depleted, cars repossessed and homes being sold for cash. Even though the unemployment rate dropped to 6.6% in June, the backlog has created unprecedented delays. Oklahoma had approved 235,000 of about 590,000 filed claims by June 21 - a total $2.4 billion payout, far more than in previous years. About 6,000 state claims are pending. The Oklahoma Employment Security Commission staff has tried to combat the delays by holding mega-processing events at large arenas in Oklahoma City and Tulsa this month, with masks and social distancing required. So far, they've managed to help 6,200 people. Jolley's unemployment claim was approved in March but has been stalled, a problem that hasn't been fixed after nine phone calls and hours on hold with the OESC. The 58-year-old single father arrived in the parking lot of the River Spirit Expo center in Tulsa around 9 p.m. on a sultry night with a heat index approaching 100 degrees. The landmark 75-foot statue of the Golden Driller - a nod to Tulsa's oil and gas hub - towered over one side of the dark parking lot, his face painted over with a surgical mask. Dozens more sat in the parking lot overnight with Jolley, unable to get their questions answered through the unemployment agency's overloaded phone system. Some said they had been notified their claim was denied as fraudulent. Jolley quickly bonded with the woman in the next car over, a manicurist named Cindy La, 60, the two swapping tips on how they thought the event would unfold. That afternoon, as Jolley gathered up the paperwork he'd need for his claim, he felt a sense of sadness as profound as anything he'd felt since the pandemic began. "It's a very dark feeling," he said. "You just kind of feel like you're in a boat without a rudder and you're riding the waves. After all these years you worked hard at your company, tried to be a good guy and be fair to your clients, you just feel like you're losing control of your future." - - - At 4:30 a.m., several OESC staffers emerged from the convention center to hand out the appointment numbers. The process quickly degenerated into a free-for-all, the crowd growing restive, pushing and shoving to get the limited supply of appointment tickets. Jolley moved to the front of the line, trying to protect his new friend, La, by reaching down and plucking two tickets - number 69 for her and number 64 for him. Others were not so lucky. The numbers quickly ran out, and people were told they had to return the following day. Eventually, staffers referred people to the three new events added for the coming week because of the demand. Ashley Love, 31, a former customer advocate for Enterprise Rent-A-Car, had risen at 4 a.m. to take her 2-year-old daughter to her mother's home before heading to the convention center, only to be told she had to come back the next day. She was laid off in March, when the pandemic nearly obliterated the travel industry. Her benefits inexplicably stopped four weeks ago, the agency website saying only she was on a "verification hold." "It's appalling, I don't understand how they can do this to people," Love said. "One day, I called 15 times in two hours, and they either don't answer or take your calls and hang up on you." Love was getting down to the last she has, having run through $4,000 in savings. Even before her benefits froze, she was getting only about $137 a week, plus $600 a week from the federal government's pandemic emergency assistance program, due to expire around the end of the month. Her regular monthly bills - rent, car payment, insurance - are $2,091 a month. She has continued her search for a job, even contemplating whether she should "Find Something New" - as the White House's new ad campaign had suggested - researching how she could get certification to start a career in teaching. Shelley Zumwalt, the interim director of Oklahoma's unemployment agency, said the state's system uses a mainframe computer from 1978 that was quickly overwhelmed by the volume of claims. "My first day, I sat down with one of the claims agents and said, 'Show me what you do,' and a green screen popped up and she pushed F9," Zumwalt said. "That was the clearest thing to me that I was dealing with a technology that was older than I am." She launched the series of more than a dozen mega-events July 1 after several days in June when desperate people began showing up to the OESC office in Oklahoma City and waiting in line with coolers, camp chairs and tents. "I'm not OK with people having to camp out to get their claims processed," she said. Some who showed up at the event had received notes from the OESC that they had been approved for unemployment benefits when they hadn't yet applied, convinced they had been victims of fraud. Zumwalt said that about 90,000 claims have been flagged as fraudulent. Last month, the U.S. Labor Department's Office of Inspector General, working with the OESC, said it had stopped payment on 3,800 unemployment insurance claims, including 1,300 filed from IP addresses in London, saving the state nearly $16 million. Many real Oklahomans in need of assistance are suffering through the complicated unemployment process, too. The state has rejected more than half of the unemployment claims filed through June 21, some for gig or self-employed workers who must be denied regular unemployment insurance before they can qualify for the federal government's Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, Zumwalt said. Many who showed up at the Tulsa convention center were navigating government assistance for the first time, such as Sarah Miller, 29, a single mother of three who was told not to come back to her job as a nursing home aide after she experienced symptoms consistent with covid-19 in March. Her unemployment claim has been pending since April 12. "I need this. I need it," she said. "I've never been one to do unemployment, but with all that's going on, I don't really have any other option. I have to be home with my kids; I can't afford to pay a babysitter or do day care. Got to do what I got to do." - - - Jolley had time to go home before his 6:30 a.m. appointment, shower and change into cargo shorts and a shirt printed with tiny steaks and barbecues. He was among the first into the cavernous Expo center, where claims seekers sat down in folding chairs six feet apart. Staffers handed out bottles of water, Kind granola bars and a flier that advertised drive-up distribution at the local food pantry, "Soup's On at the Community Kitchen." Jolley tucked the flier along with other documents in a blue folder he labeled "Unemployment." As he waited for his name and number to be called, Jolley looked around at the others sitting in their socially distanced chairs and was reminded of the animated Disney movie "Wreck-It Ralph," which he watches with his 7-year-old, Pearl. In it, Ralph is a lumbering video game villain who hopes to restart his life by helping a video game princess stuck in a computer glitch. In a way, everyone in this room is a glitch, he said, just like Princess Vanellope in the movie. "People that are here, we're all glitches," he said. "We fell through the cracks. The computer system didn't work for us." Jolley has a degree in petroleum engineering but started Big Guys Inc. advertising in 1995 as a hedge against the ups and downs of the oil market. For a long time, the company provided a good living, even during the 2008 recession. He sells ad space for mom-and-pop businesses - tree trimmers, DUI lawyers - posted in bathrooms in airports, restaurants and concert venues. "It's a captive audience with disposable income," he quipped, that old joke. "Or it was before this." He had always thought he would do this until he retired, especially after life dealt him the surprise of Pearl and he became a single dad at 50. Now, he was just hoping his misfortune would be temporary, that business would revive as things normalized, with concerts and other events supposed to restart in Oklahoma in August. When his name was called, he went behind black curtains where claims agents were working on their ancient computer program. He gave a written summary of his many contacts with the agency to Ashley Testerman, an agent in a black cotton mask. "I brought a cheat sheet," he said. "You have no payments; let's see if you are in the system," she said. In the end, after all that - the numerous phone calls, the hours wasted on hold, the evening spent sleeping in his car - all that was needed was a working PIN number, and Jolley was able file claims for all the weeks he had missed since April. "I feel so relieved," he said afterward, joking he might do a Jed Clampett-like jig in the parking lot on his way out the door. But the joy would be temporary. His last sobering exchange with the claims agent stuck in his mind. "We don't know what the future holds," he had said. "What happens if everything shuts down again?" What then? - - - The Washington Post's Julie Tate contributed to this report. And if youre still skeptical, read the words of LeGends mother when protests over help from the Trump administration fanned across her city: Operation LeGend is to investigate murders that have been unsolved and one of those is for my 4-year-old son that did not make it to 5, Charron Powell said, and if youre against that, maybe you have to reevaluate your stance and your mentality to see what direction youre headed in. New Delhi, July 21 : The Supreme Court on Tuesday sought details from the Centre on the funding of childrens homes across the country and also on their audit status. Hearing a suo moto case on the condition of children protection homes in the country in the backdrop of the Covid-19 pandemic, a bench comprising Justices L. Nageswara Rao, Hemant Gupta and S. Ravindra Bhat directed the amicus curiae, advocate Gaurav Agarwal, to file an affidavit detailing the good practices adopted by all the states, which would help in passing a uniform order on the issue. The top court also directed the Centre to bring on record a note on the utilisation of funds and the subsequent audits on the same. The bench asked Agarwal to prepare a note and circulate it among all the state governments. The top court took note of the matter after 35 children tested positive for Covid-19 at a government-run shelter home in Chennai. The court had sought a status report from the state government, and asked it to explain the reasons behind the spread of the viral infection, and also the measures taken to control it. During the hearing on the matter on Tuesday, the bench noted that it was the responsibility of the state governments to take care of the children, and instead of focusing individually on health, education etc., it will pass a common order. Agarwal contended before the bench that the funding pattern was 60:40, where a major chunk of funds came from the state governments. The bench has listed the matter for further hearing on August 13. In April, the top court had issued directions to state governments and authorities concerned to take urgent measures to prevent Covid-19 outbreak in child care institutions (CCIs). The bench had directed the states to give directives to the concerned secretary and the health ministry of the state governments to submit status reports regarding the issue of spread of coronavirus in the shelter homes, and also detail the steps taken to provide adequate healthcare to the infected children. Prisoners and undertrials are being released on emergency parole and bail only because the Supreme Court felt the need to decongest prisons amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the same is not a matter of right for prisoners, the Bombay High Court said on Tuesday. A division bench of Chief Justice Dipankar Datta and Justice Madhav Jamdar was hearing two petitions filed by one Preeti Kartick Prasad and a city-based NGO National Alliance for People's Movement. The petitions challenge a decision taken by a state-appointed high-powered committee by which inmates convicted or booked under special statutes or under serious offences are not entitled to be released on emergency parole or bail. The committee has said such prisoners will have to approach concerned courts seeking bail. The committee was set up following an order passed by the Supreme Court calling for decongestion of prisons across the country at the beginning of the COVID-19 outbreak. The committee had said all prisoners and undertrials convicted or facing trial in offences that are punishable by jail of up to seven years are entitled to be released on emergency or temporary parole and bail. The petitioners' in their plea argued the committee's decision was discriminatory, and that such classification of prisoners amounts to infringement of their fundamental rights. The bench on Tuesday, however, said if the committee has decided that prisoners, convicted or facing trial under a particular offence, cannot be released on emergency bail or parole, then the court ought not to interfere as there is no glaring infringement of fundamental rights. Chief Justice Datta cited the example of slain gangster Vikas Dubey from Uttar Pradesh and said he (Dubey) was released on parole. "The Chief Justice of India on Monday pointed out the failure of the institution in granting parole to such a prisoner," he said. "Just because Supreme Court has ordered decongestion does not mean a prisoner is entitled to be released on bail or parole as a matter of right. There is no right. The entire issue has been left to the discretion of the high-powered committee," the court said. "If the committee had said prisoners of a particular caste, community or even complexion can be released, then yes there has been a violation of fundamental rights. But right now, there is no such infringement," the court added. Advocate SB Talekar, appearing for the NGO, said the case of Vikas Dubey cannot be taken as an example here and the high court also needs to consider the fact that the jails in Maharashtra are above over-crowding. To this, the court said there has to be a balanced approach and hence the committee decided that courts shall decide bail pleas of those convicted or booked under special statutes or for serious crimes. The court will continue hearing the pleas on Friday. Four persons are in the grips of the police for allegedly disrupting the voter registration exercise at the Steps to Christ Registration Centre in the Awutu Senya East Constituency of the Central Region. The cause of the incident is still unknown but police say the men just stormed the centre and one of them pulled a pistol and fired warning shots. This scared queued applicants, who run helter-skelter for their lives. Three burnt motorbikes were later found at the scene. The Kasoa Divisional Police Command rushed to the scene upon receiving reports of the activities of the men and arrested the four suspects. A statement issued by the Electoral Commission of Ghana said the gunmen attacked their officials. The elections-management body has, therefore, appealed to the security agencies to get to the bottom of the matter and bring the perpetrators to book. Source: 3news Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video NEW YORK CITY (dpa-AFX) - Insurer American International Group, Inc. (AIG) announced Tuesday that it will relocate its global headquarters in New York City to 1271 Avenue of the Americas located in Rockefeller Center, where it will occupy 8 floors and 325,000 square feet. The Company will also consolidate its remaining New York City area footprint into approximately 450,000 square feet divided between two new locations at 28 Liberty Street building in Lower Manhattan and 30 Hudson Street located on the waterfront of Jersey City, New Jersey. The Company plans to move into the three new offices in 2021. By optimizing and modernizing our New York City area real estate footprint, AIG will align its workplaces with the objectives of AIG 200, its global, multi-year effort to position AIG for the future. The offices will be designed in three Class A buildings that will allow its teams to work more effectively and collaboratively with high-quality infrastructure. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. PLA conducts maritime attack drills, deploys warplanes in South China Sea amid US aggression Global Times By Liu Xuanzun Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/20 18:38:40 The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) recently conducted maritime target attack drills in the South China Sea and deployed warplanes in an island in the region at a time when the US aggressively sent warplanes for close-up reconnaissance and warships including aircraft carriers for exercises and operations in the name of "freedom of navigation." Facing continuous military provocations by the US, which is the real pusher of militarization in the South China Sea, the PLA could be forced to increase its presence with routine deployments and exercises to safeguard national sovereignty and territorial integrity, analysts said on Monday. A brigade under the PLA Southern Theater Command Navy aviation forces based in South China's Hainan Province held live-fire maritime target attack drills with JH-7 fighter bombers from Wednesday to Thursday, China National Radio (CNR) reported on Sunday. Citing a commercial satellite image, Forbes reported on Friday that the PLA had deployed at least four J-11B fighter jets to Yongxing Island of the Xisha Islands in the South China Sea by Wednesday. Since July, the US military has been making frequent provocations in the South China Sea. On two occasions in two weeks, it sent two aircraft carriers to the region for drills. A US warship trespassed into waters off the Nansha Islands on July 14, and multiple US reconnaissance aircraft also conducted frequent close-up reconnaissance operations on China's southern coast, according to reports. These incidents, taking place thousands of miles away from the US and on China's doorstep, have again proven that the US is the real pusher of militarization in the South China Sea, and China is forced to take countermeasures to safeguard its national sovereignty and territorial integrity, a Chinese military expert who asked not to be identified told the Global Times on Monday. PLA drills in the South China Sea take place frequently, and it is also not the first time the PLA has deployed warplanes in South China Sea islands, observers noted. According to foreign satellite images cited by media, the PLA deployed KJ-500 airborne early warning and control system and Y-8 anti-submarine aircraft on the Yongshu Reef in May. In June 2019, J-10 fighter jets were also deployed to Yongxing Island. Confirming the J-10 deployment in June 2019, Defense Ministry spokesperson Ren Guoqiang said at a routine press conference that month that it is a legitimate right of sovereign countries to deploy facilities and conduct training on their own territories. The Chinese side's actions are lawful, reasonable and fair. If US military provocations in the South China Sea persist, China could be left with no choice but to conduct more drills and deploy more warships and warplanes in the South China Sea, to the extent of setting up a possible air defense identification zone (ADIZ), the anonymous military expert said, noting that the J-11 has superior operational range, endurance and payload capacity to the J-10. China should also not rush into announcing an ADIZ in the South China Sea, because it could hurt ASEAN members more than the US, consequently damaging ties between China and ASEAN members, and the US won't have many more practical new moves, Wu Shicun, president of the National Institute for the South China Sea Studies, told the Global Times in an interview earlier in July. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address These be dark time, fellow pilgrims. In every commune are the frightened whispers of mutuals who speak o'er what ought to be left unspoken: witches. Some claim that foolish young waifs have banded together in the grove of copyright-free song and dance to perform dark Satanic rituals, cursing the moon and bringing damnation upon all our heads! Hark! Ye can near hear their mad cackling carried in the winds. Sksksks. Sksksk. With witches ditching their spellbooks for smartphones, a lot of witchcraft now happens online. And what better place for these covens to congregate than on TikTok, the one social media app specifically designed for chanting and dancing under the pale light of the moon -- or some dorm room LEDs. The platform is particularly popular with "baby witches," the first generation of puka-shelled neophytes to be learning the craft who are actually younger than the movie The Craft. But with youth comes recklessness and rebelliousness. Recently, online witches started flying about social media cursing (but not actually cursing) a small coven of rogue WitchTok witches. These baby witches had posted videos of them casting foul hexes not only on the Fae, the ancient and fickle fairies of folklore, but the moon itself. And this was no accidental and I oop. These VSCO witches sought out to challenge their elders as if to call them out for being a bunch of dusty old c-words (crones) too scared to clap back at Mother Moon and her Fae boomers. TikTok's Chinese controversial clone Zynn app comes back after getting banned from Android and iOS because of plagiarism. According to The Verge's latest report, the clone app received complaints about a pay-to-watch system described as a "pyramid scheme" by one media watchdog. pic.twitter.com/yTnPNtbBoS EXCITING NEWS : Zynn is back on the App Store! We want to thank you for your patience & support as we continue to improve & become a better platform for the Zynn community, which includes working on our ZynnCheers program. See y'all on Zynn! https://t.co/aKq7nu3Qq5 Zynn (@ZynnApp) July 16, 2020 Also Read: TikTok Denies Being Controlled by China, Claiming It Is Committed to Grow in the UK Zynn's reward system helped it to be at the top of app download charts earlier this year, but, many users were disappointed with the updates it has made after returning to Apple's App Store on July 16, and Google's Play Store on July 2. The app became popular because users can earn gift cards and even cash cards by signing up, referring friends, and watching videos. Also Read: [VIRAL] This Guy Downloaded 1000+ Minecraft Mods; What Could Possibly Go Wrong? The system that previously rewarded many users with cash has now been replaced with a system of "Zynncheers" points. What are Zyncheers points? Nobody knows yet, as well as its purpose, including the Zynn app. The company introduced the new system in June. The report claimed that the update of Zynn seems to have swapped the amount that cash users have accumulated but not yet redeemed for points. "These points are a "type of credit representing community activity level," said Zynn. The app also explained that the points will provide the users "benefits". However, the information about the benefits that users can receive, and how they can redeem it is not yet disclosed. What the social media has to say with Zynn's return To vent out their disappointment, Zynn users have been responding to the company's posts on social media. Some of them claimed that Zyncheers system would not allow them to cash out the money they had accumulated before the app was banned. "What are Zynn cheers for? Just wondering lol," asked one of the Zynn users. "Can zynncheers be useful already, I need money," another one asked. can zynncheers be useful already, i need money missing jongho hrs (@jongwrld) July 17, 2020 The reviews provided by the app's users on the Google Play Store are more specific in their concern. One of the users said that the app was only downloaded by 90% of people because of the money offered. The user also added that because of the new update, Zynn is now completely useless, saying that the company claimed that they are finding uses for Zynncheers but was not able to do so until now. Zynn has not provided any solid update on the scheme yet. However, the company confirmed that it is working on developing Zynncheers points. Also Read: TikTok Copycat Removed in App Store For Plagiarism; App Also Confused as 'Pyramid Scheme'? 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Somrita Ghosh By Express News Service NEW DELHI: Going by recent numbers, the Delhi government is more inclined towards conducting Rapid Antigen Tests (RAT) than RT-PCR tests in the city. Only 1,365 cases out of over 2.62 lakh residents who undertook RATs were made to go for an RT-PCR test again, of which 243 tested positive, according to the state health departments response to a high court hearing. Responding to a petition filed by advocate Rakesh Malhotra, the Delhi government said that from June 18 till July 15, the state had conducted 2,81,555 RATs of which 19,480 came positive. Amongst those who undertook RAT, only 1,365 were followed up with an RT-PCR test of which 243 again tested positive. Following the meeting with the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Delhi government ramped up its testing from June 18 onwards by introducing RAT. So far, the South-West district conducted the highest number of RAT tests which is 39,804 followed by the North district where 32,332 residents were taken for the same test. The lowest is from the South district which is 16,421 RAT tests. ALSO READ | Centre should accept community spread of COVID-19, ramp-up testing: AAP MP Sanjay Singh RT PCR tests are conducted among individuals with symptoms consistent with influenza-like illness (ILI), that have otherwise been reported negative by RAT. This is done as RATs have moderate sensitivity and may give false-negative results in some cases. The Delhi government has adopted a test, track and treat strategy and has also introduced RAT facility at polyclinics and dispensaries for the first half of the day. In an affidavit, ICMR stated that the research body under the central government had received a request from 450 applicants from private hospitals and laboratories in Delhi for seeking authorization to conduct the RAT test, out of which 150 applications have been allowed and 300 applications are pending on account of certain procedural formalities required to be completed by the applicants. According to the state government, the authorities on July 11 had also mailed the NCDC seeking a sero surveillance report but that has not been provided yet. Why RT-PCR is necessary RT-PCR tests are conducted among individuals with symptoms consistent with influenza-like illness (ILI), that have otherwise been reported negative by RAT. This is done as RATs have moderate sensitivity and may give false-negative results in some cases. Twitter/@NikemaWilliams(ATLANTA) -- BY: BRIANA STEWART Nikema Williams, chairwoman of the Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG), was nominated to replace the late Congressman John Lewis on the November ballot. As the U.S. mourns the loss of the civil rights icon who died on Friday after battling pancreatic cancer, Democrats acted swiftly to select a candidate for his seat representing the state's 5th Congressional District. The state party's Executive Committee voted overwhelmingly for Williams after hearing five candidates recommended from the party's Nominating Committee. Stacey Abrams and Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms were among the top Democrats who selected the finalists out of a pool of 131 candidates. Applicants had until Sunday evening to apply. The five candidates who were recommended to the DPG Executive Committee for consideration were former President of Morehouse College Robert Franklin, state Rep. Park Cannon, Atlanta City Council member Andre Dickens, Georgia NAACP State President James "Major" Woodall and Williams. Williams, who is also a member of the DPG Executive Committee, stepped down from her role as chairwoman and abstained from the voting process during the nomination hearing to avoid a conflict of interest. Justin Holsomback, DPG secretary, stepped in as the acting chairman while Williams was considered. Williams touted her record during the Executive Committee meeting, pointing to her advocating for reproductive rights and equitable public schools. She also called Lewis a "personal hero, friend, and mentor," and described herself as a "student of the John Lewis School of Politics. " "I learned from Congressman Lewis -- how to speak up and speak out for my constituents. He showed me the value of putting myself, sometimes physically, in between the dangerous policies that the most vulnerable communities are hurt by," Williams said. "Nobody could possibly fill the shoes of Congressman Lewis," she continued. "His leadership and fighting spirit is needed now more than ever in this country. I believe it is imperative that we choose someone with a long track record of fearlessly standing up for what is right and someone who will take on the endless attacks on our rights that we've grown accustomed to seeing from the Republican Party." Nobody will ever fill the shoes of Congressman John Lewis. I will do everything in my power to honor his legacy and lift up his spirit. Im honored to accept this nomination. pic.twitter.com/ZOFJkSUN9v Senator Nikema Williams (@NikemaWilliams) July 20, 2020 Georgia state law required the Democratic Executive Committee to select a replacement nominee no later than Monday at 4:30 p.m.The congressional seat will remain empty until Gov. Brian Kemp calls a special election to fill the remainder of Lewis' term, which ends in January.In November, Williams will face Republican candidate Angela Stanton-King, an author and television personality, in the November election. Stanton-King, an ally of President Donald Trump received a pardon earlier this year after serving six months of home confinement for her role in a stolen-vehicle ring.Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Eurocann International Plc - Final Results for the Year Ended 30 November 2019 21 July 2020 EUROCANN INTERNATIONAL PLC (the "Company" or "Eurocann") Final Results for the Year Ended 30 November 2019 Eurocann International plc, the AQSE Growth Market Company is pleased to announce its audited results for the year ended 30 November 2019. Director Statement The 2019 financial year proved to be a transformative period for the Company, culminating at the General Meeting of 21 June where shareholders voted to approve a restructuring and refinancing of the business. Concurrently the name of the Company was changed to Eurocann International plc, and two new directors, Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi and Jeremy Ross, both joined the board, whilst 262,742 was raised before expenses. At the General Meeting, shareholders also approved a change in the Company's strategy, from being a generic investment company to having a more specific focus on the burgeoning medicinal cannabis sector. Since the General Meeting we have conducted due diligence on certain businesses that we have had the opportunity to either acquire outright or to invest in. However, we have not felt that any opportunity met our criteria to move forward with, and as such we have refrained from making any new investments in the medicinal cannabis sector to date. One of the challenges faced by would-be investors in hot sectors such as medicinal cannabis has been, is determining what might be fair value for such investments. So frequently throughout history hot new assets and industries have overshot fair value, a result of a range of factors such as the greater fool theory, a misunderstanding as to the likely demand and thereby growth of such investments and industries, and the emotional state of greed. As Mark Twain reputedly said, "history doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes", and we have seen time and again, throughout history, instances where irrational exuberance has occurred, such as tulipomania, the South Sea bubble, the dot-com bubble, and, more recently, the cryptocurrency bubble. To a degree, the medicinal cannabis industry has experienced its fair share of irrational exuberance, which has taken the prices of assets and companies to trade at levels well in excess of their fair value. This is supported when looking at the EQM Global Cannabis Index, which had an index value of 113 at the start of 2018, and which bottomed most recently, in March 2020, at 17.25. A further, but imperative, consideration when assessing investments in the medicinal cannabis sector is that of dosage. Revisiting the statement I made in the August 2019 interim results for the Company, I wrote: "It was only in the 1990's when scientists recognised that the human body has its own endocannabinoid system, which genetically dates back over 600 million years. Currently there are understood to be two primary types of endocannabinoid receptor, namely CB1 and CB2, of which both are found throughout the body. The human body produces two cannabinoids, anandamide and 2-arachidonoylglycero (2-AG), which share a similar structure to the phytocannabinoids found in marijuana and hemp. These cannabinoids produced by the body correspond and help regulate our organs and nervous systems, and if our bodies produce insufficient amounts of these cannabinoids then a number of health-related issues can arise, such as inflammation and inflammatory conditions, insomnia, stress and anxiety, bone health, ocular health, and neurological conditions. There are currently understood to be at least 113 different phytocannabinoids isolated from cannabis, of which tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) is the most widely recognised, due primarily to its psychoactive properties. However, for medicinal purposes, cannabidiol (CBD) has garnered wide attention and is being increasingly used for pain relief and for its anti-inflammatory benefits to human health. However, CBD itself does not attach to either of the body's two endocannabinoid receptors, but it does support the CB1 receptor by prohibiting the breakdown of the body's anandamide, thereby increasing the bioavailability to attach to the CB1 receptor. This is one example of where looking at the full spectrum of phytocannabinoids could be sensible so as to give greater benefits to human health through also targeting the CB2 receptor, rather than focussing on just one phytocannabinoid to aid the CB1 receptor like CBD." Whilst we have a growing understanding of the body's endocannabinoid system, there are two issues that as investors we must consider when looking at how this industry might evolve. Firstly, is the consumption of phytocannabinoid infused consumables and other nutraceuticals here to stay, or is it just the latest fad amongst the health conscious, and secondly, what is the optimal dosage of phytocannabinoids, such as CBD, that is required in order to have a beneficial impact to the individual? Currently, best practice suggests starting with a microdose and gradually increasing consumption until a dosage is found that improves an individual's symptoms, whilst not intensifying any unwanted side-effects. However, if science emerges that supports the notion that the consumption of phytocannabinoid infused consumables and related nutraceuticals serve no discernible benefit to healthy individuals with a perfectly functioning endocannabinoid system under the age of 50, for example, how might this impact the evolution of the sector? In the passage of time, might medicinal cannabis be recognised as only being necessary for those individuals whose endocannabinoid systems would benefit from supplementation, such as older people and those with a pre-existing morbidity? In time, healthy individuals might shun the consumption of medicinal cannabis in favour of products that might offer, for example, a potential extension to their lifespan, of which such consumables are on the horizon. Such unknowns and the relative infancy and understanding of the market naturally make us proceed with caution when assessing opportunities. Ultimately our objective as a board is to maximise shareholder returns as optimally as we can. Therefore, to this end, I am pleased to report that we have not sat idle on the funds secured from investors following the General Meeting in June 2019, and we have deployed an element of the capital in opportunities that we feel offer meaningful near-term returns, which we look forward to providing material details and updates on in the near future. FINANCIALS The financial results for the 12-month period to 30 November 2019 show a loss after taxation of 448,183 (2018: 127,380). The basic loss per share was 0.02p (2018: 0.02p). The directors do not recommend the payment of a dividend for the period. MATERIAL UNCERTAINTY RELATING TO GOING CONCERN The auditor drew attention to note 1 in the financial statements, which indicates that the Company will need to raise additional funds to continue to meet ongoing operational costs for the next 12 months. Whilst the directors expect to meet funding requirements based upon the current economic environment there exists a material uncertainty which may cast significant doubt as to whether the Company will be able to raise sufficient funds and therefore continue as a going concern. Our opinion is not modified in respect of this matter. Given the uncertainties noted above the auditor considered going concern to be a Key Audit Matter. The auditor have assessed the managements forecasts and underlying assumptions. In doing so they have considered factors such as historical operating expenditure and the Company's ability to raise funding in the near future. OUTLOOK In spite of not having concluded a transaction in the medicinal cannabis sector to date, and adopting a prudent approach in what we believe has become a cluttered market, reminiscent of various gold rushes over the course of history, we believe that our approach is in the best interests of our shareholders and the Company. We are optimistic as to the future of the Company, and look forward to outlining details of our plans for the business going forward in the near future. Conrad Windham Executive Director, Eurocann International plc 21 July 2020 The Directors of the Company accept responsibility for the contents of this announcement. ENQUIRIES: Company Eurocann International plc Burns Singh Tennent-Bhohi / Conrad Windham Telephone: 020 3778 1106 Corporate Adviser Peterhouse Capital Limited Guy Miller and Mark Anwyl Telephone: 020 7220 9796 STATEMENT OF COMPREHENSIVE INCOME FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 NOVEMBER 2019 2019 2018 Administrative expenses (237,279) (134,055) Interest receivable and similar income 4,092 5,822 Amounts written off investments (214,996) 853 Loss before taxation (448,183) (127,380) Taxation - - Loss for the financial year (448,183) (127,380) The profit and loss account has been prepared on the basis that all operations are continuing operations. Basic and diluted earnings per share (0.02) (0.02) BALANCE SHEET AS AT 30 NOVEMBER 2019 AS AT 30 NOVEMBER 2019 2019 2018 Fixed assets Investments 48,778 141,354 Current assets Debtors 13,930 164,050 Cash at bank and in hand 101,448 40 115,378 164,090 Creditors: amounts falling due within one year (55,604) (73,702) Net current assets 59,774 90,388 Total assets less current liabilities 108,552 231,742 Capital and reserves Called up share capital 1,210,810 1,208,059 Share premium account 1,150,383 1,067,510 Other reserves 239,369 - Profit and loss reserves (2,492,010) (2,043,827) Total equity 108,552 231,742 The financial statements were approved by the board of directors and authorised for issue on ......................... and are signed on its behalf by: .............................. Mr C Windham Director STATEMENT OF CHANGES IN EQUITY FOR THE YEAR ENDED 30 NOVEMBER 2019 Share capital Share premium account Other reserves Profit and loss reserves Total Balance at 1 December 2017 1,158,059 1,042,510 - (1,916,447) 284,122 Year ended 30 November 2018: Loss and total comprehensive income for the year - - - (127,380) (127,380) Issue of share capital 50,000 25,000 - - 75,000 Balance at 30 November 2018 1,208,059 1,067,510 - (2,043,827) 231,742 Year ended 30 November 2019: Loss and total comprehensive income for the year - - - (448,183) (448,183) Issue of share capital 2,751 409,792 - - 412,543 Expenses of share issue - (326,919) - - (326,919) Issue of share options / warrants - - 239,369 - 239,369 Balance at 30 November 2019 1,210,810 1,150,383 239,369 (2,492,010) 108,552 Other reserves arises on the issue of share options / warrants. New Delhi, July 21 : The Union Health Ministry on Tuesday cautioned against the use of N-95 masks with valved respirators, claiming that there are higher chances of the infection spreading from asymptomatic people to uninfected persons through them. "N-95 masks come with or without respirators. Evidence shows that even though the mask with valve protects a person from contracting the infection, it can put others at risk. When an asymptomatic person exhales through the N95 mask with a valve, they can spread the infection to others," said ministry's Officer on Special Duty, Rajesh Bhushan, during a press conference. "This is an evolving situation and as more evidence comes before us, we will decide whether to conduct a study on it," he added. On Monday, the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) had also alluded to the inappropriate use of N-95 masks with valved respirators by the public. "It has been observed that there is inappropriate use of the N-95 mask (particularly with valved respirator) by the public other than designated health workers," the letter addressed to the principal secretaries of health and medical education department of the states stated. "It is to bring to your knowledge that the use of valved respirator N-95 masks is detrimental to the measures adopted for preventing the spread of coronavirus as they don't prevent the virus from escaping out of the mask," DGHS Rajiv Garg said in the letter. "In view of the above, I request you to instruct all concerned to follow the guidelines on the use of face mouth cover and prevent inappropriate use of N-95 masks," the letter read. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text By Deborah Coker Mr Peter Esele, a former staunch APC ally of Gov. Godwin Obaseki, has dumped the governor, as he said he has no intention of joining him in the PDP. As for me and my house, were going nowhere. I will not be leaving the APC, Esele told the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) on Tuesday in Benin. According to him, the decision is in spite of his having openly supported Obaseki in the crisis that later resulted to the governor jumping ship and pitching his tent with the PDP, a party previously in the opposition in Edo. Esele argued that his decision to remain in the APC was borne out of collective interest, rather than fostering the interest of any individual. I have openly supported Mr Obaseki on the ground that the crises he was engaged in affected the party as a whole. My stand is for the collective and not for the individual. While he has chosen to move on, I will remain and carry on working with the collective. Esele noted that being a card-carrying member of the APC was not a walk in the park, pointing out that most of the partys challenges were self-inflicted. But we must never forget the importance of institutions in nation building, he stated. The unionist, who contested for the governorship ticket of the APC with Obaseki in 2016, described the democratic process as an aspiration, rather than a ready-made state of affairs. He argued that in the pursuit of a better Edo State, the states democratic processes must continually make room for ideas to be contested but without violence. Sept. 19 is almost here. It is up to us to make it count collectively. Politics in Edo State has been in a state of heightened animation and I have been reflecting on some particular emerging trends. I feel the need to share some of my musings, considering that I have been very vociferous about disputes in my party, the APC. I have made my views known about how the party was being run. This led to a disagreement with the former National Chairman, Mr Adams Oshiomhole. My misgivings about power relations and party administrative processes have caused me disagreements in the past but I still insist that my comments are not based on personal bias but on my integrity. It is based on the principle that an injury to one is an injury to all the central ethic of the labour movement, which I believe encompasses all ethnic and religious divides. Esele noted that irreconcilable differences, prompted Obaseki to decamp to the PDP, saying: I respect his decision and those who joined him. Edo State, one of the seven off-circle election states, is scheduled to hold a high-stakes governorship election in two months time with analysts expressing fears over what the future holds for the state. The countdown to the election has been characterised by high-drama, stoking fears that the election may be marred by betrayals, intrigues, violence and bloodshed. Related Shanghai dispatched its first rescue team of 300 people to assist Wuhu, Anhui province with flood control on Sunday, one day after the province activated a Level I emergency response - the highest in a four-tier emergency response system. Due to heavy rainfall, the water level has been constantly rising in Chaohu Lake, China's fifth-largest freshwater lake, in Auhui. The level at the Tangxi hydrological station of Chaohu Lake reached 12.77 meters on Sunday, higher than the warning levels, according to the provincial flood control authorities. The situation is expected to worsen as local weather authorities have predicted more rainfalls on Tuesday. Since the beginning of July, the floods in China have affected over 23.85 million residents in 24 provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities including Jiangxi province, Hubei province and Chongqing, resulting in 31 people dead or missing, and economic losses of 64.39 billion yuan. Firefighters were forced to launch a rescue operation to save a small dog that had been stuck in a sewer for three days. The two-year-old pooch, called Sophie, was discovered on the UC Santa Barbara campus in California on Thursday. It had been missing from its home, which was just five minutes away, for nearly a month. Firefighters were forced to launch a rescue operation to save a small dog that had been stuck in a sewer for three days (pictured) The two-year-old pooch, called Sophie, (pictured in the pipe) was discovered on the UC Santa Barbara campus in California on Thursday The 10- to 15-pound dog had been spotted in the area earlier in the week but it is not yet clear how it ended up in the 18-inch pipe. It is thought the emergency services were called following reports of hearing the dog barking underground. Firefighters were able to coax the dog to the surface using a hose before reaching down into the pipe to retrieve it. Firefighters were able to coax the dog to the surface using a hose (pictured) before reaching down into the pipe to retrieve it The crossbreed dog (pictured) is said to be in good health and has since been returned to its owners The rescue operation took around 20 minutes to successfully complete. The Santa Barbara County Fire Department have since shared photos of their rescue efforts on social media. The crossbreed dog is said to be in good health and has been returned to its owners. He is best known for co-creating the acclaimed sitcom The Office alongside funny man and longtime friend Ricky Gervais. But on Monday, Stephen Merchant, 45, took a savage swipe at his former co-worker, 59, with a not-so-subtle sly joke about After Life on Twitter. The writer retweeted a question posed by ITV movie critic James King, adding his answer, which was clearly aimed at the dark comedy series written by Ricky. Ouch! on Monday, Stephen Merchant, 45, took a savage swipe at his former co-worker Ricky Gervais, 59, with a not-so-subtle sly joke about After Life on Twitter Asked the question: 'What's your least favourite bit of movie shorthand?' Stephen answered: 'Watching old home movies of dead child/wife = inability to move on.' After Life follows Tony - played by Ricky Gervais - whose life is turned upside down after his wife dies from breast cancer. Stephen's followers were quick to call out his thinly-veiled dig at Ricky Gervais' creation After Life, responding with a mix of shock, delight and confusion over the implications of his tweet. 'Blimey Steve. Banter with Rick or a sly dig?' asked one follower, while another also asked: 'Is that a not so sly dig at your mate @RickyGervais??' Fuming! The writer retweeted a question posed by ITV movie critic James King, adding his answer, which was clearly aimed at the dark comedy series written by Ricky Savage! Asked the question: 'What's your least favourite bit of movie shorthand?' Stephen answered by throwing shade at Ricky Gervais 'Ohhh Ricky, he's done you!' asserted one fan, with someone else adding: 'Ooosh... the shade #Afterlife.' One Twitter user wrote: 'This is DELICIOUS trolling of Ricky Gervais,' with another reviling in the online action, commenting: 'Ooh he's done you again @rickygervais stab at afterlife.' Others were concerned the tweet signalled the end of the comedy duo's relationship. 'Thats it then is it? The old team, on the scrap heap!? @rickygervais,' asked one follower, with another adding: 'Geez.... the rift with @rickygervais continues.' Ricky and Stephen are thought to have gone their separate ways in 2013, over creative differences. Shade! The comedian's followers were quick to point out the thinly-veiled dig at Ricky Gervais' creation After Life At the end of last year, Stephen attributed the success of The Office to the duo's 'arrogance' and unique chemistry while speaking openly about the conception of the BBC comedy. Speaking on BBC Radio 4's Desert Island Discs, he recalled: 'There was an arrogance about us. For me I think it was just, I didn't know better, I had the arrogance of youth. 'I think with Ricky he had quite happily got into a groove in life. He felt he didn't have anything to lose.' The writer, director and comedian, recalled being 'dynamic and proactive', and admitted the older and more experienced Ricky was 'willing to walk out of a room if he didn't get his way'. What's going on? Other followers were left confused over the implications of his tweet Banter or a bust up? Ricky and Stephen are thought to have gone their separate ways in 2013, over creative differences (Pictured in 2010) Stephen continued: 'I would go after him, 'What are you doing?', and he would go, 'It's all a plan, don't worry''. Reflecting on their 13-year age gap, he added: 'I think maybe because he was in his 30s they trusted him a bit more. He seemed like an adult.' The pair first met in 1997 when they worked together at a London radio station. After quitting his job, Stephen later got in touch with Ricky when he had the opportunity to create a film, which lead to the creation of The Office. The mockumentary sitcom, which starred Ricky as David Brent, depicts the everyday lives of a group of office workers at a paper company, and first aired on BBC Two in 2001. Former colleagues: Stephen is best known for co-creating the acclaimed sitcom The Office alongside funny man and longtime friend Ricky Gervais (Pictured in 2002 in The Office) Set in Slough paper company Wernham Hogg, the show ran for two series, followed by a two-part special in 2003 which recently topped a Radio Times poll to find the best Christmas sitcom. Stephen also made an appearance in front of the camera as the character Nathan Oggy aka The Oggmonster. After its success, the pair followed up with another sitcom, Extras, before relishing in major Hollywood success, and partnering up again in various projects. Merchant, whom Gervais has described as resembling 'an upright lizard being given an electric shock', made only one appearance in the show as Oggy the Ogg Monster, before going on to star as agent Darren Lamb in Extras, which he also co-wrote with Gervais. SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Restoration Builders, Inc. ("Restoration Builders" or "The Company") announced today that it has officially acquired Sky Restoration, LLC ("Sky Restoration"), headquartered in Smyrna, TN. The insurance restoration industry has experienced explosive growth, topping out at over $210B. In response to this growth, Restoration Builders was founded in 2017 with a focus on building a nation-wide network of licensed contractors and other industry-related organizations. The US-based Company is developing a strategic infrastructure of teams, offices, equipment, trucks and other resources. Revenue for 2020 is projected to exceed $100 Million. Tony Noel and Scott Willard met in 2012 when Tony stepped down from his position as National Sales Manager of a construction company and Scott took over the position. The two became fast friends and collaborated together to build a dynamic sales management team. Among the many things they had in common, they shared a passion for helping homeowners particularly with successfully navigating the insurance claims process. In 2015, the duo found themselves once again working together this time at Sky Roofing. Drawing from their combined 40 years of industry experience, the two officially formed a partnership in 2017, taking over the company and transforming it into its current entity, Sky Restoration, LLC. Since that time, the partners have expanded have built a dedicated team of well-trained technicians, who possess a wealth of knowledge of roofing and insurance, and serve their customers with the utmost professionalism. They hope to continue to build an even better team and serve more customers through their alliance with Restoration Builders. "I am thrilled to welcome Sky Restoration to our growing team," stated John Lorenz, Chairman and CEO of Restoration Builders, Inc. "Tony and Scott have done a tremendous job building a reputation for impeccable workmanship and, more importantly, always putting their customers first. It's clear that Sky Restoration shares the same core values as us and, as such, I'm confident they will make a wonderful addition to our network." Of the $49 Billion roofing contractors' industry, roof repair remains one of the fastest growing sectors. Up until recently, the highly fragmented industry segment has been primarily of local, privately held companies, with the majority of customers being insurance policy holders. About Restoration Builders, Inc. Restoration Builders is a residential and commercial contractor operating within the United States. Their mission is to protect, restore and build properties, strengthen families and support the community. They are committed locally and ready to serve wide scale for disaster response. To learn more, please visit their website at www.restorbuilders.com About Sky Restoration, LLC. Sky Restoration's mission is to provide homeowners and commercial or institutional facility managers with expert roofing and renovation services. They provide high quality products and solutions at the greatest value. Their vision is to create long-lasting relationships with their clients in an environment of candor and mutual respect. Their goal is to achieve 100% customer satisfaction and to be the best roofing and renovation contractor in the community. For more information, click here: www.skyrestoration-us.com For further information please contact: Janet Carnell Lorenz [email protected] (425) 999-6508 SOURCE Restoration Builders Related Links http://www.restorbuilders.com Three Republicans will face-off during the Aug. 4 primary election in hopes of becoming Gratiot County treasurer. All are current county employees, including incumbent Michelle Thomas, who is seeking a second four-year term. She is being challenged by Terri Ball, the countys human resource specialist, and Kelly King, the countys chief deputy treasurer. Before being elected in 2016, Thomas had worked in the treasurers office for 14 years starting as an office assistant before becoming deputy treasurer then chief deputy treasurer. In 2014, the 42-year-old Lafayette Township resident was appointed treasurer when Mary Sullivan retired in mid-term. Since I have climbed the ladder and worked in every position in the office I have the experience and knowledge of every single task performed in the treasurers office, Thomas said. Some of those tasks, just to mention a few, are governmental accounting, investing, tax settlements, tax foreclosures and audits. She is a member of the Michigan Association of County Treasurers, Michigan Municipal Treasurers Association, Michigan Township Association and United County Officers Association. Last year Thomas completed a three-year program to earn her Michigan Certified Public Treasurers certificate through Michigan State University. I thoroughly enjoy serving and helping the residents of Gratiot County, she said. My greatest satisfaction is keeping taxpayers in their home by assisting them avoid tax foreclosure. I am seeking reelection so I can continue to help the taxpayers of Gratiot County. Ball, 57, of Ithaca, has worked for the county for 20 years, the first 16 in the permits department. I am running for Gratiot County treasurer because it is time for a clean slate and a fresh start in the treasurers office, she said. During my time in the permits department I was responsible for many things including balancing the department budget. The last two years I was also responsible for accountants payable for all county departments. My time in the permits department exposed me to the importance of responsible development in the community and excellence in service to community members. Balls current duties include performing payroll functions, oversight of employee benefits, and assisting in employee recruitment, retention and training. Because of my experience and length of service I know how to run a productive office, she said. If elected, Ball wants to establish better internal and external relationships within the department and community, expand the use of technology and place an emphasis on staff training. In addition to improving work processes, accuracy and customer service the changes will also improve the morale of the staff in the treasurers office and foster a true team environment, Ball said. King, 54, from Sumner Township, has worked in the treasurers office for eight years starting as deputy treasurer before being promoted to chief deputy treasurer in 2014. Prior to that she was the deputy treasurer in the city of Lansings treasurers office for 21 years. I have over 29 years of experience in property tax and banking knowledge, King said. I have a strong work ethic, I have a good understanding of this office, and I have the background and skills needed for this position. For the past two years I have performed many of the treasurers duties in her absence. Shes running for treasurer because she believes our office needs new leadership. When elected Gratiot County treasurer I promise to foster a positive, inclusive work environment with all of our office staff, King said. I will be available to the citizens of Gratiot County and will see that our staff is cross-trained to facilitate better customer service. I promise to provide leadership and to be there for the employees in the office. The primary winner will face no Democratic opposition in the November general election. The NIA custody of Swapna Suresh and Sandeep Nair, accused in the Kerala gold smuggling case, has been extended till July 24. Following which, Suresh filed a bail application in the special NIA court, Ernakulam. In her bail application, Swapna Suresh has claimed that offences under UAPA are not made out in this case. The application also stated that, "This case is the offshoot of the political rivalry between the state and the Central governments, triggered by the colourful and fictitious stories aired by the media." Advocate Geo Paul, counsel for Swapna Suresh said that the bail plea will be considered on July 24. The bail application stated, "To attract an offence under Section.15, 16 and 17 of UAPA there should be some prima facie evidence that the accused intentionally did any act which will fall under any one of the slots narrated in Sec.15 of the Act. " The application further stated that the FIR, remand report or the custody application does not say anything about the complicity of this petitioner. "Other than a wild guess, there is nothing to suggest that the proceeds derived out of smuggling were used or intended or likely to be used for the purpose of intending to strike terror or likely to strike terror in the people or any section of people in India or any foreign country by causing damage to the monetary stability of India by way of production or smuggling or circulation of high quality counterfeit Indian paper currency, coin or any other materials," the application stated. They also claimed that Section 15 (a), (iiia) does not deal with smuggling of gold, but speaks about the damage to the monetary stability of India by way of production, smuggling, and circulation of high quality counterfeit Indian paper currency, coin or any other material. Any other material cannot be given an extended meaning other than materials which are used for counterfeiting. The bail application claims that in the absence of facts which will constitute the ingredients of Sec 15 of UAPA detention of the petitioner is unjustifiable and is against the rights guaranteed under the Constitution. The application stated, "There is no nexus or Sharing mind between the petitioner and anyone else in the alleged smuggling of gold. It is important to note that nothing was seized from the petitioner. The baggage was not addressed to her, not send by her. She has not funded for the alleged gold smuggling." Another accused Sarith PS was brought to Trivandrum by an NIA team as part of evidence collection. So far, 15 people have been arrested in connection with the gold smuggling case. WASHINGTON The U.S. House of Representatives passed a comprehensive annual defense bill Tuesday, fighting back a challenge from progressive Democrats to cut the spending by 10 percent and plowing past a veto threat from President Donald Trump. The $741 billion spending package, which received more than 700 amendments, includes dozens of policy changes impacting the military and Department of Defense. The House voted 295 to 125 in favor of passage. Hours before the final vote, the White House warned lawmakers that if Trump were asked to sign the bill in its current form, his senior advisors would recommend he veto it. The administration "strongly objects" to provisions of the bill that would rename military bases named in honor of Confederate leaders. In June, Trump tweeted he would veto the bill if the renaming provision was left in. The letter also said the bill micro-manages the administration's national security strategy, including in Afghanistan. Lawmakers of both parties have supported the provision which would rename the 10 Army bases bearing Confederate names. Senate Minority Leader Charles E. Schumer, D-N.Y., suggested on Twitter Monday night that one of the bases could be christened "Fort Henry Johnson" to honor a Black sergeant from Albany who repelled a group of German soldiers in World War I and was awarded a Medal of Honor in 2015. The National Defense Authorization Act provides a roadmap for billions in defense spending, sets a 3 percent pay raise for troops and approves new programs. The bill is set to increase minority and female representation in the military and improve health care. It would also name Fort Drum as the preferred site for a land-based missile defense site, if one is needed. Defense officials have previously said the two existing missile sites are sufficient to defend the entirety of the United States. "Our nations men and women in uniform deserve the maximum amount of resources that we can provide in order to help them protect our nation and our national interests," said U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-Schuylerville, who voted for the bill. "I will continue to be a strong advocate of those whom I represent at Fort Drum and across the country who work to protect our freedoms each day. This year, House members also approved more than a dozen reforms to reduce and remediate toxic fluorinated chemicals known as PFAS on military bases. The House provisions would require the Pentagon to phase out use of PFAS in products including cookware, sunscreen and food packaging, cease incineration of the chemicals and adhere to state laws governing their clean up if they are more strict than federal law. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. PFAS, which are known to cause negative health effects, have been confirmed on 15 military bases in New York, including Fort Drum, and is suspected at eight others, according to the nonprofit Environmental Working Group. PFAS have also polluted groundwater in Hoosick Falls. In 2019, New York's congressional Democrats pushed to include strict PFAS clean-up requirements in the last defense bill, but the provisions were not included in the final version, prompting finger-pointing within the delegation and causing U.S. Rep. Paul Tonko and 41 other Democrats to vote against the bill, along with several Republicans and one independent member. The House subsequently passed PFAS regulation legislation in January, but the bill has not gained traction in the Senate. It also included funds to help the country prepare for future pandemics. On the other side of Capitol Hill, the Republican-led Senate simultaneously debated their own version of the defense bill, voting to pass amendments including one that would ban the transfer of some military-grade equipment to local police departments and support de-escalation training for the police. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., is pushing the Senate to use the defense act to examine the military's missing-person procedures after the murder of Specialist Vanessa Guillen. The two chambers are expected to hammer out the differences between their defense bills and pass a final version later this year. California soared past 400,000 total coronavirus cases on Tuesday, as public health officials once again pleaded with residents to take shelter-in-place measures seriously. The case count in California jumped to 409,049 cases and 7,891 deaths, with the average number of daily cases in July more than double the average from June. I dont overread into the significance of that number, said Mark Ghaly, Californias health and human services secretary, during a media briefing Tuesday. I look at every day as an opportunity to do better and do more with our response to COVID-19. After working aggressively and effectively to contain the virus in the early days of the pandemic, the state has seen a significant surge since the easing of restrictions started in May, which health officials attribute to residents letting their guard down. Unfortunately, some viewed reopening as a green light to resume normal life, Ghaly said. He urged people in the state to embrace the familiar guidelines: wear face coverings as much as possible, maintain physical distance and minimize exposure to people outside of their households. We succeeded in the beginning because we all came together, Ghaly said. The state saw another record-breaking day of new cases, exceeding 11,000 for the first time on Monday, according to data collected by The Chronicle from all 58 counties. Counties reported a total of 11,405 cases on Monday, smashing a previous record set July 14 for 10,921. On Tuesday, the number of new cases surpassed 10,100. Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle During a virtual Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Santa Clara County Health Officer Dr. Sara Cody praised residents for flattening the curve at the outset of the pandemic but said they needed to redouble their efforts. We all need to work together and dedicate ourselves to crushing it once again, she said. The state is now on the verge of passing New York, which reported 412,889 total cases as of Tuesday, as the state with the most coronavirus infections. Californias rate of infections of 1,030 per 100,000 residents remains well below New Yorks 2,122. In the state and the Bay Area, the average daily increase in coronavirus cases is more than twice what it was last month. Specifically, California has averaged 8,129 new coronavirus cases a day in July so far more than double the 4,007 daily average of June. Bay Area counties have averaged 837 new cases a day this month, compared with 393 in June. Ghaly cautioned there was potential for shuttering certain businesses or entire sectors of the economy. From the outset, we envisioned reopening the economy as a dimmer switch, he said, using an analogy frequently employed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. Local counties are stepping up their enforcement and education efforts. Santiago Mejia / The Chronicle Cody, the health officer who led the Bay Areas pace-setting shelter-in-place order and criticized Newsoms reopening as rushed, said with case numbers in Santa Clara County rising rapidly, its increasingly difficult to pinpoint the exact source of transmission. She said the surge in rates of infection is being driven by residents in the 18- to 34-year-old age range, who are outpacing other demographics according to the most recent data. 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. Young adults are breaking away from the pack, she said. She also said the virus is disproportionately affecting Latino residents, who in the past three weeks accounted for 44% of the cases in Santa Clara County but make up only 22% of the population. Santa Clara will dispatch support teams to high-risk communities to help residents better follow the countys protocols. The Marin County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, meanwhile, passed an ordinance allowing administrative fines for people who violate health orders. The fines for individuals will range from $25 to $500. The fines for businesses will range from $250 to $10,000. Eight out of nine Bay Area counties remain on the state monitoring list, with San Mateo the exception. At this time, we are still not on the monitoring list, said Diana Rohini LaVigne, public information officer for San Mateo County Health. And while we expect to be on the monitoring list at some point, this is based on the current state measurement. It is possible for us to not be on the list, especially if the state changes the measurements. Newsom signaled a major retreat in the states effort to reopen the economy on July 13, ordering the closure of bars, indoor restaurants, movie theaters and many other recently reopened businesses across California. Ghaly said it could take four to five weeks to see the results of the new restrictions, in terms of declining case numbers. Trying to strike that delicate balance is what were going to continue to do while the governors finger is on that dimmer switch, Ghaly said. Aidin Vaziri is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: avaziri@sfchronicle.com Talk about a strong cup of Joe! Italian authorities intercepted 130 grams of cocaine smuggled inside hundreds of hollowed-out coffee beans. The beans arrived from Colombia at Malpensa Airport where customs officers recognized the name of the recipient: Santino D'Antonio. That is the name of the mob boss in the movie John Wick: Chapter 2. From CNN: Once they opened the parcel they found more than 500 coffee beans that had been hollowed out, filled with cocaine and resealed using dark brown tape, the statement said. Police tracked the package to Florence, and arrested a 50-year-old Italian man when he came to try and collect it from a tobacconist's shop in the city. The man was registered as living in the Colombian city of Medellin, according to the statement. He was already known to police and had previously been arrested on drugs charges. While there are many great money managers, few are as well-known and successful as Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRK.A)(NYSE:BRK.B) CEO Warren Buffett. Though Buffett has underperformed the benchmark S&P 500 over the past decade, he's absolutely run circles around the broad-based index over the last 55 years. According to Berkshire Hathaway's 2019 annual shareholder letter, since 1965 the S&P 500 has returned a cool 19,784%, with Berkshire Hathaway's per-share gain coming in at 2,744,062%. Essentially, a $100 investment over those 55 years would now be worth more than $2.7 million. Buffett's buy-and-hold ethos has worked wonders for building up his net worth, as well as creating nearly $400 billion in value for Berkshire Hathaway's shareholders. However, not every decision the Oracle of Omaha has made has worked out for him. One of the few times Buffett hasn't thought long-term has come back to bite him, big time. Buffett's more than $19 billion goof More than 50 years ago, in 1966, Warren Buffett went out to Anaheim, California, to meet with Walt Disney, the CEO of Disney (NYSE:DIS). At the time, the Disneyland theme park had been open for about 11 years, and its CEO was overseeing the construction of a new attraction, Pirates of the Caribbean. Buffett, who then had a handful of investment partners, was out looking for attractive investment opportunities. Disney certainly fit the bill, albeit the company didn't have the incredible content library then that it has today. Buffett and his partners invested $4 million into Disney in 1966, taking a cool 5% stake for a company that was then valued at $80 million. However, Buffett and his team cashed out just one year later, pocketing a roughly $2 million profit (50% capital gain) in the process. Although no one's ever gone broke taking a profit, Buffett has given up quite a bit of capital gains by cutting and running after only one year. You see, Disney stock ended last week with a market cap of $214.3 billion. A 5% stake still held today would be worth $10.7 billion, and would have returned more than $1 billion in added dividend income since 1966. Believe it or not, Buffett actually got a chance at redemption with Disney, and once again blew it. In 1995, Disney announced that it was acquiring Capital Cities/ABC in a cash-and-stock deal valued at $19 billion. Since Capital Cities/ABC was a holding in Berkshire Hathaway's portfolio, it meant Berkshire would, again, own shares of Disney. In Berkshire Hathaway's 1996 shareholder letter, the company is shown as owning 24,614,214 shares of Walt Disney. But between 1999 and 2000 Buffett and his team sold this stake. Taking into account a 3-for-1 split in 1998, this position would be worth $8.76 billion today, if not one share were sold. In other words, had Buffett thought really long-term on Disney and held his initial stake in 1966 and Berkshire's stake in 1995, it would be a $19.5 billion position today, which would unseat Coca-Cola as Buffett's third-largest investment by market value. Four valuable lessons from Buffett's massive miscue What can we learn from the Oracle of Omaha's biggest miscue? To begin with, you should realize that nobody's perfect. No matter how much you'd like to have every stock you purchase head higher, that's just not going to be the case. Even Buffett, who's led Berkshire Hathaway to a 2,744,062% return in the past 55 years, is wrong from time to time. Accepting our humanity and the fact that we will be wrong on occasion is just as much a part of becoming a better investor as choosing great businesses. Secondly, I think it's important to recognize that Buffett's views on investing have evolved over time, and yours should, too. There was once a time where consumer staples dominated Buffett's investment portfolio and bank stocks played a distant second fiddle. Today, banks are Buffett's favorite place to park his money. They're cyclical money machines tied to the health of the U.S. economy -- and Buffett won't bet against America. Third, we've really witnessed Buffett take a longer-term approach to holding equities in recent decades. Though no investor goes broke taking a profit, short-term traders will end up leaving a lot of money on the table by trying to time the stock market. Buffett has come to understand the value of compounding and the luxury of a great night's sleep by thinking long term. Fourth and finally, never sell a great business with clearly identifiable competitive advantages or moats. Buffett was never big on moats in his younger days, but he demands his investments these days hold easy-to-understand and sustainable competitive advantages that will lead to ongoing growth and profitability. We're all probably going to have our own "Disney" moment, like Buffett, in our investing lifetime. The goal is not to make a habit of it. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Elnur Baghishov - Trend: As many as 2,625 people have been infected with the coronavirus (COVID-19) 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, 229 more people have died from the coronavirus over the past day. Sadat Lari added that the condition of 3,589 people is critical. The official said that Iran's Fars, East Azerbaijan, West Azerbaijan, Razavi Khorasan, Alborz, Khuzestan, Lorestan, Golestan, Kerman, Zanjan, and Ilam provinces are red zones. So far, more than 2.2 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 278,800 people have been infected and 14,634 people have already died. Meanwhile, over 242,300 have reportedly recovered from the disease. The country continues to apply strict measures to contain the further spread. Reportedly, the disease was brought to Iran by a businessman from Iran's Qom city, who went on a business trip to China, despite official warnings. The man died later from the disease. The Islamic Republic only announced its first infections and deaths from the coronavirus on Feb. 19. The outbreak in the Chinese city of Wuhan - which is an international transport hub - began at a fish market in late December 2019. The World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11 declared COVID-19 a pandemic. Some sources claim the coronavirus outbreak started as early as November 2019. The daughter of a Queensland MP who was caught selling cocaine in her pyjamas outside a pub is attempting to have her case thrown out on mental health grounds. Brianna Costigan, daughter of Whitsundays MP Jason Costigan, is facing jail time after admitting to drug running in Sydney. On one occasion, the 20-year-old was caught selling two bags for $500 in her pyjamas in a red Holden Astra outside the Palisade Hotel in Millers Point, the Bendigo Advertiser reported. Brianna Costigan (pictured), daughter of embattled Whitsundays MP Jason Costigan, is facing jail time after admitting to drug running in Sydney Brianna Costigan arriving at the Downing Centre Local Court in Sydney on Monday (pictured) where her lawyer indicated he would attempt to have the case thrown out The law student introduced herself as either Rhianna or Brianna, court documents stated. She had been wearing a white polka dot dressing gown. Costigan was caught after police launched an operation targeting her boyfriend, Ahmed Taha, who has admitted to several cocaine supply offences. Taha remains on bail ahead of his sentence in the District Court later this year. Strike Force Trebuchet was set up after police intercepted phone calls believed to be for a drug dealer with an 'extensive customer base' across the city. Undercover agents were then deployed to purchase cocaine from the pair. Her lawyer previously told the court his client (pictured) was relying on income made from dealing drugs while studying her full time law degree at university Costigan's (pictured) lawyer previously argued in court that she was 'not the brains of the operation' In conversations tapped by police, Costigan was heard saying: 'It's the good stuff it has the rock, better than last time'. Costigan's lawyer previously argued in court that she was 'not the brains of the operation', and that she was relying on income made from dealing drugs while studying her full time law degree at university. Costigan is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to two charges of supplying drugs. At the time of the June 2019 she was on bail for unrelated charges. At the Downing Centre Local Court on Monday her lawyer indicated he will be applying to have the case dismissed based on mental health grounds. Costigan was caught after police launched an operation targeting her boyfriend, Ahmed Taha, (both pictured) who is accused of dealing drugs Costigan (pictured) is awaiting sentencing after pleading guilty to two charges of supplying drugs He said he had only just received a psychological report. Before she moved to Sydney, Ms Costigan expressed an interest in local politics like her father and was a youth member for the Whitsundays. In January, Mr Costigan was expelled from the Liberal Party following accusations he harassed an 18-year-old woman. She claimed he 'stroked her on the back and hair'. Mr Costigan denied the allegations. Those claims were later withdrawn. The woman offered her 'unreserved apology' to Mr Costigan. Queensland's LNP booted out the embattled MP in January. However, MP Costigan later announced that he would not resign despite being expelled from the LNP. Mr Costigan had since started his own political party, North Queensland First. COVID-19 has tested the worlds healthcare systems. Movement restrictions and second wave infections have forced healthcare providers to innovate to deliver medical services to patients. Telehealth is one innovation that healthcare providers globally have expanded to provide timely services to patients during the pandemic. At the start of the pandemic the Australian government acted swiftly to broaden the Medicare Benefits Schedule, or MBS, to support expanded telehealth services. This included broadening the criteria for access to the MBS item numbers for telehealth consultations by GPs and other health professionals to new patients. This has meant that patients have had more choice in the doctors they can consult via telehealth for services that are not provided by their regular GP. This includes the medical termination of pregnancy, STI testing and treatment including HIV prevention services. Medicare benefits for telehealth have been wound back. On Monday, the criteria for MBS support of telehealth during this pandemic was wound back so that patients can only access telehealth services under the scheme if they are a regular patient of a GP or practice and have been an active patient within the last 12 months. The premise of this rollback is that the MBS changes under COVID-19 have led to a proliferation of what the college of general practitioners classifies as "low-value" pop-up telehealth services, mostly aligned to pharmacies. Unfortunately, the change will significantly impact the provision of established, reputable telehealth services to patients who are unable to access specialised healthcare through their regular GPs, ultimately disadvantaging patients, limiting the provision of timely services and placing additional strain on health providers. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 00:05:26|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close A woman mourns for a relative during a memorial service for soldiers who lost their lives in the military operation by Turkey in 1974 at the Tymvos Makedonitissa military cemetery in Nicosia, Cyprus, July 20, 2020. Cypriots on Monday marked the 46th anniversary of the military operation by Turkey that led to the partition of the eastern Mediterranean island. Meanwhile, the prospects of the island's reunification remain dim. (Photo by George Christophorou/Xinhua) NICOSIA, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Cypriots on Monday marked the 46th anniversary of the military operation by Turkey that led to the partition of the eastern Mediterranean island. Meanwhile, the prospects of the island's reunification remain dim. People were awakened by the shrill of air-raid sirens at 5:30 a.m. in the morning that marked the exact time when Turkish troops started firing in a military operation on July 20, 1974. Turkey sent its troops to Cyprus five days after the Greek military junta had staged a coup aimed at overthrowing the government of Archbishop Makarios, invoking its right to intervene as one of the guarantor powers under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee. The other two guarantor countries, Greece and Britain, disputed this move. The Turkish troops established a beachhead on the northern shores of Cyprus, from where they fanned out in mid-August to expand their control over 37 percent of Cyprus' territory, resulting in one of the most intractable international problems on the United Nations (UN) agenda. Since 1964, a UN peacekeeping force has been deployed in Cyprus to prevent conflicts between the Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Following the 1974 coup and the ensuing Turkish operation, the UN Security Council extended and expanded this mission. Today, UN peacekeepers control the 185-kilometer buffer zone that divides the two parts of the island. In the Greek Cypriot part of Cyprus, which is controlled by the internationally recognized government of the Republic of Cyprus, commemorative events were held on Monday to pay tribute to the thousands of soldiers and non-combatants who died in the fighting 46 years ago. Today, almost 100,000 Greek Cypriots live displaced from their homes and properties, and over 800 people are still listed as missing, local media reported. In a message sent from Brussels, Cypriot President Nicos Anastasiades said his government remains committed to finding a solution in line with international law, the relevant UN resolutions on Cyprus and the EU's principles. On the other side of the so-called "Green Line" that divides the island, Turkish Cypriots held a military parade to mark the anniversary. Several rounds of negotiations held since 1976 between the south and the north have failed to provide a solution to the "Cyprus problem." At an international conference held in Switzerland in 2017, the UN declared the talks deadlocked. Meghan Markle and Prince Harry have been plagued by criticisms since the beginning of their relationship. After dropping their bombshell decion to step down as senior members of the Firm earlier this year, the runaway couple has relocated to the U.S alongside their 1-year-old son Archie Harrison. However, while the so-called "Megxit" surprised a lot of people and the royal family, there have actually been hints that Meghan wanted out. With that said, we take a look at the three signs Meghan Markle showed she wanted to leave the royal family. Chasing Convictiond The 35-year-old prince and the former actress, who have been barred from discussing any political views as part of the royal family's protocol, are now giving left and right speeches and expressing their opinions freely and without hesitation. In the latest Meghan Markle news, a royal commentator pointed out that during her recent speech at the Girl Up 2020 Leadership Summit, the 38-year-old duchess may have hinted that she wanted to cut her ties with the royal family all along. The mother-of-one, who has been able to give an inspirational message, encouraged young women to be brave and use their voices when they "have never been more urgently needed." On the other hand, royal commentator Chris Ship claimed that Meghan was trying to suggest a secret message in her speech, as she talked about "the hardest part" of "chasing your convictions with action." "So is that suggesting that Meghan might not have been able to chase your convictions with actions while in the Royal Family?" he questioned. "Or it could be suggesting that she did chase her convictions with action in leaving the Royal Family." ITV Documentary Aside from this, the runaway duchess subtly revealed the tension in the monarchy during her infamous interview with Tom Bradby for ITV documentary's "Harry & Meghan: An African Journey." Intohe documentary, Meghan confessed that she struggled privately to adapt with her pregnancy alongside the pressures of becoming a royal. When asked about whether the intense media attention had affected her both physically and mentally, the former "Suits" actress admitted that she was "vulnerable" and the situation was "really challenging." Later on, she thanked Bradby "for asking" and explained that "not many people have asked if she is OK." Increased Security In Their Canada Home The family of three reportedly spent their holidays in their $14 million Vancouver mansion before making their bombshell announcement. As cited by Express.co.uk, the couple have increased their security at their Canadian home in preparation of leaving their life in the U.K. in search of "more peaceful life." In addition, the mansion added a security camera along the beach, as well as a large tarpaulin covering the metal gates with "No Trespassing" signs. While it's not wrong for the couple to seek for privacy, their intense desire to protect themselves from the media was a clear indication that they didn't like what royal life has brought to their family. READ MORE: Scarlett Johansson Shock: Fiance Colin Jost Drops Bombshell Admission Several Putin-linked Russian elites are involved in charitable and political organisations in the UK. Photo: Alexei Druzhinin, Sputnik, Kremlin Pool Photo via AP The British government must take action to counter the threat posed by Putin-linked members of the countrys Russian business community, several of whom are involved in UK charitable and political organisations, the Intelligence and Security Committee has warned. In its long-awaited report on the threat posed to the UK by the Kremlin, the parliamentary committee notes that many Russians with very close links to the Russian president are well integrated in the UK business and social scenes. The links of the Russian elite to the UK especially where this involves business and investment provide access to UK companies and political figures, and thereby a means for broad Russian influence in the UK, the report says. Warning that Russian intelligence and business are completely intertwined, the report urges the government to take the necessary measures to counter the threat and challenge the impunity of Putin-linked elites. READ MORE: EU agrees on 'historic' 750bn recovery package The report, produced by the cross-party committee over the course of 18 months, considered material from the UKs intelligence services, as well as evidence from independent experts. Though the report was completed in October 2019, prime minister Boris Johnson refused to approve its publication before Decembers general election. The committee said it had to question whether the UK government took its eye off the ball, arguing that it had badly underestimated the response required to the Russian threat. In particular, the report lambasts the government for failing to conduct an assessment of Russian attempts to interfere with the 2016 Brexit referendum. Russia poses a tough intelligence challenge and our intelligence agencies must have the tools they need to tackle it, the report says, calling for new legislation to tackle foreign spies in the UK. The UK has been viewed as a particularly favourable destination for Russian oligarchs and their money, the report warns. Story continues READ MORE: UK Supreme Court to decide whether Uber drivers are workers People who manage and lobby for the Russian elite in the UK lawyers, accountants, estate agents, and PR professionals have played a role, wittingly or unwittingly, in the extension of Russian influence which is often linked to promoting the nefarious interests of the Russian state, it adds. The extent of the Russian influence in the UK means that any government countermeasures would constitute damage limitation, according to the committee. The report advises that several members of the Russian elite who are closely linked to Putin are involved in UK-based charitable and political organisations, have donated to political parties, and have a public profile which positions them to assist Russian influence operations. The committee also points to Russias cyber capability and its willingness to deploy it in a malicious capacity, calling it a grave concern and warning that it poses an immediate and urgent threat to the UKs national security. Taking a guess, a global pandemic isnt part of anyones dream wedding. But for Alyssa and Evelin Lopez, changing their wedding plans to adapt during coronavirus was what gave them the wedding they felt they were always meant to have: Small, intimate, and with the people that had supported them the most. Some things were different, of course. The ceremony was streamed over Facebook and Zoom for those that couldnt be there, including Evelins family in Honduras. Masks, sanitizer and waivers were on hand. There was no sit-down dinner, or dance floor, or elaborate floral arrangements. But after only three weeks of planning, Alyssa and Evelin made it to the altar in front of 15 of their closest family and friends. A lot of people that know us afterwards were like, This is what was meant for yall. It was perfect. It was more beautiful than we couldve ever imagined, Evelin said. We were really happy with that since it was something so fast. 'It was beautiful': Austin couple goes viral for their pop up drive-in pandemic wedding During the coronavirus pandemic, weddings have had to take a new form as couples make hard decisions on whether to postpone large weddings or drastically edit plans. In a survey from the Knot, 96% of couples said they were rescheduling their weddings. For Alyssa and Evelin, it meant cancelling their Oct. 31 wedding with 250 guests, marking the day they had met four years ago. It was disappointing, but they knew it was the right decision. Evelin then found venue Mia Bella and Pop-up Weddings Houston, which had teamed up to offer a solution for couples ready to get married but unsure how to navigate the tricky waters created by COVID-19. After that, the decision was simple. I told her, I dont need a big wedding or everyone there to marry you, I just want to marry you, Alyssa said. No matter what, I know at the end Im going to marry you. I just want it to happen already. At the end of the day, what mattered to us was our love and us finally being married, Evelin said. Alyssa, 30, and Evelin, 24, met when Evelin came in for an interview at the portrait studio Alyssa managed. Alyssa had to ask someone else to conduct the interview she was too nervous. I didnt know how to talk to her. I just stared at her the whole time, I didnt know how to interview her, Alyssa said. Soon enough, they started dating after a night out at Whiskey River, where they danced and had their first kiss. After working on a cruise line in its portrait studio, Alyssa took a job on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. While Evelin was there on a visit, Hurricane Harvey hit Houston. Evelin wasnt able to return home, and they spent the evenings watching the news back home and calling both of their families as the city flooded. Knowing everything her family was going through and my family was going through, we were each others rock, Evelin said. We were inseparable after that. Alyssa proposed on their first anniversary on March 24, 2018 with a Harry Potter-themed proposal by Lake Travis on a weekend trip to Austin. They enjoyed their engagement and planning their wedding, but after two venues fell through and the uncertainty with the continuing pandemic, they were ready to make it happen no matter what. They'd already weathered one disaster together. Coronavirus wasn't going to stop them from getting married. Mihai Ticarau Mia Bella and Pop Up Weddings Houston handled most of the ceremony. Alyssa and Evelin got their dresses from Davids Bridal in under a week, picked their cake flavor, chose their songs and put their personal touches on their untraditional wedding. On HoustonChronicle.com: 'Dead summer' for Houston's wedding industry has local businesses looking toward fall rebound But keeping some traditions, Alyssa and Evelin didnt see each other the day of the wedding. There were some minor mishaps Alyssa forgot one of the bouquets she had made that morning, Evelins makeup artist was running behind, the wedding before theirs went a little long but everything, including the pandemic, was forgotten when Evelin met Alyssa at the altar. It felt like a real wedding. We always kind of wanted that, something very intimate and very small, Alyssa said. It was a very beautiful day. There was some sadness that everyone couldnt be there, including Evelins family in Honduras. But family and friends left comments on the live stream to congratulate the couple as they exchanged personal vows and danced to Nick Lacheys This I Swear. Alyssa and Evelin will eventually plan a honeymoon to Honduras and another celebration, but theyre not in any rush, waiting until its safe for them, their friends and family to come together again. But until then, theyre enjoying being finally married and hoping other couples get their perfect wedding too, despite the difficulties. Weve been through so much, Evelin said. I think our journey was so difficult at first, trying to get married, but this was far beyond what we could have imagined. (Natural News) Its been obvious for some time now there is no way Americans can trust the mainstream media to provide accurate, bankable information regarding the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The wearing of masks, the actual number of coronavirus cases, and failure to report virus recoveries are all part of an effort to over-politicize key health issues and data to confuse, frustrate and anger the American people because the Lefts planned cultural revolution cannot happen when were stable, prosperous and generally happy with the way the country is going. That said, a conservative writer has managed to cut through all of the media garbage to report some real data that is vital to understanding the migratory pattern of COVID-19. Writing at Conservative Review, Daniel Horowitz pointed out this week that hospitalization rates for coronavirus patients along the U.S.-Mexico border in Texas are five times the national average. The three Rio Grande Valley counties Starr, Hidalgo, and Cameron have 1,139 hospitalizations currently listed as COVID-19 patients. In total [as of last week], they had 4,070 active cases when combining the county dashboard data of the three counties. That is a 29% hospitalization-to-case ratio. As of June 27, that rate for the country was 5.8% (14.7K hospitalizations out of roughly 253,000 active cases), he writes. RGV area of Texas currently has a hospitalization rate of 29% for active COVID cases. As of June 27th the rate for the country was 5.8%. @RMConservative wyatt (@wyattsheepie) July 9, 2020 He noted further that between March 1 and June 23, there were only 23 coronavirus-related deaths in Hidalgo County. But, there were 80 deaths in the subsequent two-week period. The three border counties are 4.4 percent of Texas population but account for 12 percent of the hospitalizations. We dont know at this point how many more from the border were transferred to the larger cities up north, as we saw with the border-crossers in California who were sent to the larger city hospitals, Horowitz wrote July 9. Where are these additional cases coming from? You guessed it: Mexico, most likely. Horowitz notes further: Its not natural that counties sitting at the border would mysteriously get hit with a strain of the virus causing so much more hospitalization than anywhere else. What this clearly demonstrates is a case drain flowing from across the border, where the most seriously ill patients are crossing over for care. In an earlier column, Horowitz noted that the United States peaked in coronavirus cases about a month before Mexico did. As such, as U.S. cases were falling, they were rising in Mexico. And when you factor in illegal immigration or the desire for sickened coronavirus patients to be treated in America rather than a Mexican hospital, you can begin to appreciate the uptick in hospitalization rates along the Tex-Mex border. (Related: 18 States classified as coronavirus RED ZONES by White House Coronavirus Task Force.) Mexico is under reporting by three to five times and when you look at that and the infrastructure among the Rio Grande Valley, meaning doctors nurses, hospitals and ICU beds and if we have to take care of our population here and then uncontrolled infections coming across, because theyre going to seek help, youre going to totally overwhelm the system and that could be devastating, Mayor Ambrosio Hernandez, the mayor of Mission, Texas, said last month. Phil Kerpen, president of the Committee to Unleash Prosperity, noted in a July 6 tweet: Mexico adds 4,902 cases on 11,089 tests. 44.2% positivity rate. 7-day average goes up to 51.2%. Deaths inch up again ever so slightly to 480, bringing 7-day average to 571. Essentially a three-day plateau. Mexico adds 4,902 cases on 11,089 tests. 44.2% positivity rate. 7-day average goes up to 51.2%. Deaths inch up again ever so slightly to 480, bringing 7-day average to 571. Essentially a three-day plateau.https://t.co/UCHVLoyaWl pic.twitter.com/vrTfmTMNFi Phil Kerpen (@kerpen) July 7, 2020 Even before President Trump took office, there were many good reasons the U.S. should have been implementing much improved border security. We can now add the danger of global pandemic spread to the list. If only the Democrats, who claim they care so much about flattening the curve of COVID-19, would help the president in this regard. Sources include: ConservativeReview.com NaturalNews.com Georgia Democrats on Monday chose Nikema Williams, a state senator and chairwoman of the state party, to replace the late Democratic congressman John Lewis on the November ballot. Lewis, who died Friday at the age of 80 after a battle with pancreatic cancer, had won the June primary for the 5th Congressional District seat in his bid for an 18th term. Under state law, the Georgia Democratic Party was required to choose a replacement nominee on Monday, the first business day since Lewis's death. The state Democratic Party's executive committee, which consists of 44 members, selected Williams after a high-profile panel of Georgia Democrats had narrowed the list of applicants to five. In a statement, Sachin Varghese, the state party's general counsel, said that members of the executive committee agreed Williams's "years of service to the Fifth District and commitment to justice make her the best possible candidate for this role, with a very important legacy to uphold." He added that "this was a very difficult decision to make so soon after Congressman Lewis's passing." Williams, 41, was first elected to the Georgia state Senate in 2017, and two years later, she became the first black woman to chair the Georgia Democratic Party. Williams was among 15 demonstrators who were arrested at the Georgia Capitol in November 2018 amid a protest organized by a local Black Lives Matter group demanding that state officials tally all absentee and provisional ballots in that year's gubernatorial election. The charges were later dropped. In remarks to the executive committee, Williams said she was grieving for Lewis, whom she called "a personal hero, friend and mentor." "Nobody could possibly fill the shoes of Congressman Lewis," she said, adding, however, that she has a long record of standing up for what's right, as Lewis did. "It would be the honor of my life to serve as the voice of the 5th Congressional District," she said. Williams will be the strong favorite in November to win in the heavily Democratic district, which includes Atlanta. The Democrat will face Republican Angela Stanton-King, an author and television personality. In February, President Donald Trump pardoned Stanton-King for her role in a stolen vehicle ring, for which she was sentenced in 2007 to six months in home confinement. In 2016, Democrat Hillary Clinton carried the district with 85% of the vote over Trump. Lewis's seat will remain vacant until January unless Georgia's Republican Gov. Brian Kemp calls a special election for the remainder of the late congressman's term. Kemp has so far not indicated whether he plans to do so. Before Monday's vote, a nominating committee that included Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams pared down a list of 131 applicants to succeed the civil rights icon in Congress. The four others who made the cut included: Park Cannon, a state lawmaker; Andre Dickens, an Atlanta City Council member; Robert Franklin, an Emory University professor and former president of Morehouse College; and James "Major" Woodall, head of the Georgia NAACP. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the state party's executive committee held its meeting Monday via videoconference. Members held several hours of discussion over procedural concerns, heard from the five nominees and eventually voted overwhelmingly for Williams. Varghese noted that Williams recused herself from her role as state party chair after deciding to seek the nomination and did not participate in Monday's vote. Early Monday afternoon, the U.S. House honored Lewis with a moment of silence and a bereavement resolution. A visibly emotional Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., presided over the chamber. Rep. Sanford Bishop Jr., D-Ga., dean of the Georgia delegation, called Lewis "our hero, our colleague, our brother, our friend." "The world is a better place because John Lewis pursued freedom," he said. Earlier Monday, several members paid tribute to Lewis on the House floor, including Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md. "Even at 80, John Robert Lewis had the heart and fiery soul of a young protester for a righteous cause, an organizer for the community and country he served," Hoyer said. "Every day of his life, John marched for justice, civil rights, peace and equality. On every step on his journey, he brought all of us and this country he loved with him." Lewis also received bipartisan tributes from members of the Senate. "Whether the day's issues found you on his side of a policy debate or on the opposite side, his warmth, friendliness, and dedication to his neighbors in Georgia's Fifth District made an impact on everyone," Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said as he opened Monday's session. He added: "Our society has only marched toward justice because great figures like Congressman John Lewis took it upon themselves to lead the way." Pelosi said Monday that "the appropriate way to honor John Lewis is for the Senate to take up the Voting Rights Act and name it for John Lewis." The House passed legislation last December restoring protections of the landmark 1965 Voting Rights Act that were undone when the Supreme Court struck down federal oversight of elections in states with a history of discriminating against minority communities. McConnell has failed to act on the legislation and Trump has threatened a veto. National Conference (NC) leader Omar Abdullah on Monday (July 20) threatened to take legal action Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel for linking his release from detention under the Public Safety Act (PSA) to rebel Congress leader Sachin Pilot and the ongoing political drama in Rajasthan. It is to be noted that Sachin Pilot is married to Omar Abdullah's sister Sara Abdullah. On Monday, Chhattisgarh CM Baghel had said, "I have been tracking the Rajasthan events closely, but it does make anyone curious why Omar Abdullah was released? He and Mehbooba Muftiji were booked under the same sections of the law. While she is still languishing, he is out. Is it because Mr Abdullah is the brother-in-law of Sachin Pilot?" Responding to Baghel's allegation, Omar Abdullah tweeted "I am fed up of the downright malicious and false allegation that what Sachin Pilot is doing is somehow linked to my or my fathers release from detention earlier this year. Enough is enough. Mr Bhupesh Baghel will be hearing from my lawyers." I am fed up of the downright malicious and false allegation that what Sachin Pilot is doing is somehow linked to my or my fathers release from detention earlier this year. Enough is enough. Mr @bhupeshbaghel will be hearing from my lawyers. Cc @RahulGandhi @INCIndia @rssurjewala https://t.co/Gojb7vN1V3 Omar Abdullah (@OmarAbdullah) July 20, 2020 The NC leader also tagged Congress leader Rahul Gandhi and the Congress media in-charge Randeep Surjewala in his tweet. The National Conference in a detailed statement said, "Mr Baghel has maliciously suggested that the release of our vice-president Mr Omar Abdullah from preventive detention was somehow related to Mr Sachin Pilot or the present political situation unravelling in Rajasthan." "The Party [NC] unequivocally rejects such malicious, false and politically motivated statements that are used for convenient political posturing," the statement added. This statement further said "Apart from being false and scurrilous, the statement is defamatory to the reputation of Mr Omar Abdullah as well. It is within the province of public knowledge that the release of Mr Omar Abdullah happened after the judicial intervention was sought from the Supreme Court and the illegal order of detention of Mr Abdullah was challenged. Given the indefensible nature of the illegal detention order, the same was revoked by the government during the course of the proceedings before the Supreme Court." It may be recalled that Omar Abdullah was taken into preventive detention on August 5, hours before the Centre announced the abrogation of Article 370, which granted special status to the erstwhile state of Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcated the state into union territories - Ladakh and Jammu and Kashmir. Abdullah was later booked under the stringent Public Safety Act in February 2020. Notably, Omar Abdullah has preferred not to comment on the abrogation of Article 370 citing Covid situation. Tucker Carlson attacked the New York Times on his Monday night show, claiming they are to run a story about the host and his family. Carlson, 51, ended his program saying that he very rarely made the story about himself but that he was going to make an exception after hearing that the newspaper was planning to expose where he and his family live in Washington D.C. 'As a matter of journalism, there is no conceivable justification for a story like that,' Carlson said of the proposed story, which he said is due to run later this week. Tucker Carlson devoted the closing segment of Monday's show preemptively attacking The New York Times for an upcoming article on his family Tucker responds to intrusive reporting by The New York Times. pic.twitter.com/xj4z69G9cA Tucker Carlson (@TuckerCarlson) July 21, 2020 Tucker Carlson, 51, is pictured along side his wife of 29 years, Susan Andrews. The couple have four children The conservative host went on to allege that the planned report was based on a personal animosity and a dislike for his politics. He said: 'The paper is not alleging we've done anything wrong and we haven't. We pay our taxes. We like our neighbors. We've never had a dispute with anyone. 'So why is the New York Times doing a story on the location of my family's house? Well, you know why. To hurt us, to injure my wife and kids so that I will shut up and stop disagreeing with them. They believe in force. We've learned that.' Carlson noted how the last time his address became public, his house was descended upon by antifa protesters who gathered outside his property after a 'left-wing journalist' published his address. 'They vandalized our home. They threatened my wife. She called 911 while hiding in the closet,' he told viewers. Carlson said the harassment eventually forced the family to sell their home and move. Carlson noted the last time his address was published, he and his family moved house after the home was vandalized including with graffiti, pictured above Carlson showed images of antifa protestors outside his home pictured in 2018 During the segment, Carlson then identified both the Times journalist and accompanying photographer assigned to working on the report. Carlson said that the editors at the Times 'know exactly what will happen to my family when it does run' but don't care because 'they want my show off the air.' 'If one of my children gets hurt because of a story they wrote, they won't consider it collateral damage - they know it's the whole point of the exercise,' he said. 'To inflict pain on our family, to terrorize us, to control what we say. That's the kind of people they are.' 'How they would feel if we told you where they live, if we put pictures of their homes on the air?' Carlson asked in a veiled threat to the Times. During the segment, Carlson then identified both the Times journalist and accompanying photographer assigned to working on the report. The Times has said it will not reveal his address 'What if we publicize the home address of every one of the soulless robot editors of The New York Times who assigned and manage this incitement to violence against my family?' he questioned. 'What about the media editor, Jim Windolf? We could do that. We know who they are. Will that qualify as journalism?' The Times has issued a statement after Carlson's remarks were aired. 'While we do not confirm what may or may not publish in future editions, The Times has not and does not plan to expose any residence of Tucker Carlson's, which Carlson was aware of before tonight's broadcast.' On Monday night, a lawsuit accused Carlson of sexually harassing a frequent female guest, Cathy Areu. Areu is seen on Tucker Carlson's show in 2018. She accused the anchor of propositioning her for sex on the set of his show in 2018 During his show, the first one after taking a fishing trip vacation last week, Carlson did not address any of the controversy the news network finds itself in. On Monday night, a lawsuit accused him of sexually harassing a frequent female guest. Cathy Areu, a frequent guest on the network. Areu claims she was sexually harassed several men at the network including Sean Hannity, Ed Henry and Carlson. Carlson allegedly propositioned her on the set of his show by telling her that he was staying alone in a hotel room. Areu claims that her appearances on his show were drastically cut when she declined the invitation. Blake Neff, who served as the top writer for Tucker Carlson's Fox News show, resigned earlier this month after a number of racist and sexist posts written by him came to light A spokesperson for the network issued a statement about the lawsuit to DailyMail.com which denies the Areu's claims and vows to fight them 'vigorously'. It's not the only scandal to hit Carlson. Earlier this month, his show's former top writer resigned after CNN found he had written a series of racist and repugnant tweets under a pseudonym. Carlson said that the online comments by former writer Blake Neff were wrong, but had nothing to do with his show. The White House cast aside protests from local government officials Tuesday about the deployment of armed federal officers to quell protests inside cities that say they don't want assistance as President Trump demands 'law and order.' The administration is planning to send 150 federal agents to combat violence in Chicago, but for now is not saying which agency they will come from or what their mission will be. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany provided a legal justification for sending Homeland Security officials to Portland, pointing to a statute that allows the feds to deputize officials to protect federal property, following a clash at a federal courthouse in Portland. But she did not state what legal authority Trump would exercise to dispatch 150 federal agents to Chicago among a handful of cities experiencing violent crime where Trump said he would insert federal forces, despite angry pushback from Mayor Lori Lightfoot. 'It's egregious what's happening,' McEnany said, rattling off a number of incidents where people who joined protests have thrown objects at officers. 'President Trump is taking action in Portland, even though you have a Democrat mayor and Democrat governor unwilling to work with us in the situation. We are surging resources along with secretary [Chad] Wolf at DHS and augmenting the federal protective service to safeguard federal property,' she said. 'It's egregious what's happening,' White House press secretary McEnany said, rattling off a number of incidents where people who joined protests have thrown objects at officers. BY THE BOOK: McEnany pointed to a section of the U.S. code allowing agents to be deputized to protect a federal building Chicago mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted 'militarized assistance' she did not request 'The bottom line is that this president stands with law in order which leads to peace and we will not allow Portland to become the new CHOP like what we saw in Seattle,' she said, pointing to the self-declared autonomous zone that police broke up after Trump threatened to use federal force. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot blasted the decision after Trump said at the White House Monday he would be sending federal agents to her city. 'What we do not need, and what will certainly make our community less safe is secret, federal agents deployed to Chicago,' she wrote. 'Any other form of militarized assistance within our borders that would not be within our control or within the direct command of the Chicago Police Department would spell disaster.' Lightfoot added: 'As any law enforcement official will tell you, what is needed more than anything in an operation to protect lives is a clear mission, a detailed operations plan, and a chain of command Secret, federal agents who do not know Chicago, are unfamiliar with the unique circumstances of our neighborhoods and who would operate outside the established infrastructure of local law enforcement would not be effective, regardless of the number, and worse will foment a massive wave of opposition.' New York City's Police Commissioner, Dermot Shea, also rejected the offer. 'I think we have the resources, I do. We have a lot of obstacles right now. If people want to get the courts open in New York City, that would help. That would help me immeasurably,' Shea told CNN. 'But in terms of resources, we have the resources.' The NYPD has more than 30,000 officers and its own intelligence unit. McEnany began her briefing Tuesday by describing mayhem on the streets in Portland, as Trump campaigns on restoring 'law and order.' 'Individuals have thrown bricks chunks of concrete glass bottles feces, balloons filled with paint picks the slingshots to hurl ball bearings and batteries at federal agents and the courthouse,' she said. 'Multiple attempts to barricade officers in the Hatfield courthouse have occurred attempts to start the structure on fire as well. Eyesight damaging laser devices have been used in strobe lights against federal agents as well,' she said. McEnany faced immediate questioning from reporters about the case of Navy vet Christopher David, who was captured on video getting pepper sprayed in the face and beaten by federal agents at a protest outside the Mark O. Hatfield courthouse in Portland. 'I'm aware of the details of that situation ... I'd refer you to DHS about the extenuating details,' she said, calling for the 'appropriate use of force.' Asked where Trump got the authority to send feds to U.S. cities that don't want them, she pointed to 40 U.S. Code 1315, which has the deputization authority. When a federal courthouse is being lit on fire, commercial fireworks being shot at it,' it falls 'pretty well' within the limits, she said. She also was grilled on why federal officers have been seen by protests without identification that would inform the public of who they represent. 'There is insignia indicated that they're law enforcement,' she said. 'They don't identify themselves to crowds because it would put them at great risks,' she said. President Trump has vowed to send troops into a number of cities run by Democrats, saying the 'radical left' will 'destroy' the country Hundreds of mothers and fathers sang 'please don't shoot me' at cops in Portland as they formed a 'Wall of Moms' in a bid to 'protect' as many as 2,000 demonstrators from police Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland on Monday Activists protest around a statue of Christopher Columbus near Roosevelt Rd. and Columbus Dr. while police stand by,, Monday, July 20, 2020 in Chicago Trump had defended the actions online, and linked it to attacks on his political rival Joe Biden. 'The Radical Left Democrats, who totally control Biden, will destroy our Country as we know it. Unimaginably bad things would happen to America,' Trump tweeted. 'Look at Portland, where the pols are just fine with 50 days of anarchy. We sent in help. Look at New York, Chicago, Philadelphia. NO!' McEnany wouldn't say what agents would be inserted into Chicago, where there was no immediate threat to a federal building, but where gun violence has raged for decades. 'I think you are getting ahead of the president here,' she told a reporter. 'He's made no announcements as to who's going where.' The Chicago Tribune reported that 150 Homeland Security Investigations officers would carry out the mission, whose purpose has not been publicly revealed. According to an HSI website, its agents tackle a variety of crime, including 'narcotics and weapons smuggling/trafficking' as well as 'transnational gang activity.' The officers have been seen in Portland grabbing and arresting protesters, using unmarked vehicles, and using force against peaceful protesters. On Monday night, hundreds of mothers and fathers sang 'please don't shoot me' at cops in Portland as they formed a 'Wall of Moms' in a bid to 'protect' as many as 2,000 demonstrators from police. The crowd gathered outside the Portland Justice Center Monday night initially started out with about 1,000 protesters before quickly doubling in size by 9.45pm. Demonstrators were shown singing 'Hands up! Please don't shoot me' to the tune of 'Ring around the Rosie,' in footage taken of the peaceful protest. According to Bellingcat reporter, Robert Evans, at some point the protesters 'tore open the doors of a federal courthouse and then beat back the agents inside'. Throughout the night, Evans shared a series of tweets and videos about the incidents that occurred during the protest, including how people reportedly 'forced the federal agents back inside their courthouse'. Evans tweeted that 'the crowd is now throwing bottles at their hands as they try to shoot through murder slits' in a wooden structure built around the courthouse to protect it. The crowd gathered outside the Portland Justice Center Monday night initially started out with about 1,000 protesters before quickly doubling in size by 9.45pm A masked woman is pictured in a black protest shirt among other demonstrators outside the justice center Federal officers use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters outside the courthouse early Tuesday morning Video from Evans appears to show federal agents shooting non-lethal projectiles at protesters. Monday also marked the third night that the 'Wall of Moms' had taken to the streets. The parents were similarly moved to protect protesters Saturday, until federal agents moved in and tear gassed the crowd. Fathers in orange shirts also came out to protest alongside the mothers who wore yellow. Marchers representing the Wall of Moms group and another known as PDXDadPod, said they were marching from the Portland Riverfront to the site of the justice center on Southwest Third Avenue. Speakers at the protest encouraged participants to register and vote. One also gave instructions on how to respond if tear gas and other force was used against the demonstration. 'Stay together. Stay tight. We do this every night,' the speaker said. Speaking on CNN 's State of the Union, Democratic Mayor Ted Wheeler on Sunday said federal officers 'are not wanted here. We haven't asked them here. In fact, we want them to leave'. President Donald Trump has decried the demonstrations in Portland, and Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf blasted the protesters as 'lawless anarchists'. 'We are trying to help Portland, not hurt it,' Trump tweeted Sunday. 'Their leadership has, for months, lost control of the anarchists and agitators. They are missing in action. We must protect Federal property, AND OUR PEOPLE. These were not merely protesters, these are the real deal!' Trump said the agents, with the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Justice Department, are on hand to help Portland and restore order at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse. Wolf also said on Fox News: 'I don't need invitations by the state, state mayors or state governors to do our job. We're going to do that, whether they like us there or not.' The protests now gaining nationwide attention have roiled Portland for 54 nights, ever since George Floyd died after being pinned by the neck for nearly nine minutes by a white Minneapolis police officer on May 25. A Catholic cathedral in Syria, repeatedly struck and gravely damaged during the countrys almost nine-year war, reopened this week, following its restoration. By Vatican News The Maronite Cathedral of St. Elijah in the northern city of Aleppo was bombarded with missiles on at least three occasions between 2012 and 2016 and suffered extensive damage when jihadists entered the citys Christian quarter in 2013. The restoration was financed largely by the pontifical foundation Aid to the Church in Need (ACN). Maronite Archbishop, Joseph Tobij of Aleppo told Vatican News the restoration and re-opening of the cathedral have both a symbolic and practical meaning. Its a sign of hope and rebirth, not only in a material sense but for the entire community, despite the fact that the numbers of Christians continue to dwindle, due to extreme poverty linked to the sanctions imposed on the defenseless population, he said. The reopening on 20 July of the 19th-century Cathedral celebrates a new lease on life for the Christians of Aleppo as the building had been devastated in 2013 by a group of jihadists whose aim was to destroy all signs of Christianity in the country. Archbishop Tobij said the main difficulties encountered in the restoration were the raising of funds and the reconstruction of the original wooden roof. Local artisans, he explained, lacked expertise in this area so a group of Italian architects stepped in to redesign the roof project. Collaboration and Solidarity Archbishop Tobij continued, "Without the help of ACN and the generosity of our benefactors we would not have been able to pray again and spread hope in the hearts of the faithful through the reconstruction of the cathedral. Archbishop Tobij said there have been no liturgies or other celebrations in the cathedral for eight years. Now, he said, we resume life and it is a way to tell the people in Aleppo, in Syria and the world, that we still exist. We still exist, despite the great decline in the number of our Christians. ACN estimates that only 30,000 Christians remain in the city, compared to a pre-war population of 180,000. Aleppo was Syrias most populous city before the war. It is now the second largest after the capital, Damascus. The Maronite Archbishop noted that just like the territory and the population, the cathedral suffered great violence. Its rebirth is thanks to collaboration and solidarity. He explained that this inauguration falls at a particular time for Syria under President Bashar al-Assad's twenty-year stretch in power. Its been a long period, Archbishop Tobij said, marked by war and division, but perhaps we are at a turning point with the renewal of Parliament. Impact of sanctions From the security point of view, except for certain areas in north-northwest Syria, Archbishop Tobij said the situation has improved. However, he said, the people are now subject to violence that is worse than the bombs: the economic sanctions and their direct consequence on poverty. He is referring to the recent Ceasar Act economic sanctions imposed by the US that aim to deter foreign business activity with President al-Assads government. He said people today find themselves not being able to afford even the basics, including medicines. This gives people a sense of sadness and darkness for the future. We do not know what will happen to our future, and so many are aiming for the Western dream to escape from here and hunger. Archbishop Tobij concluded with an appeal for prayers for the people of Syria because prayer does a lot, it goes beyond the human and there is the Lord who acts. HAMMOND A Chicago woman has pleaded guilty to stealing $2.1 million from the IRS through fraudulent federal income tax returns. Tanisha L. Bledsoe, 45, appeared through a video teleconferencing network late last week before U.S. District Court Magistrate Judge John E. Martin to admit her role in a tax cheating scheme. The magistrate is recommending U.S. District Court Judge Theresa L. Springmann accept Bledsoes guilty plea when Bledsoe is sentenced at a later date. A federal grand jury indicted Bledsoe; Yvonna A. Lee, 33, of Merrillville; and LaTonya R. Foxx, 32, of Indianapolis; two years ago with forming a tax preparation business and recruiting hundreds in Indiana, Illinois and elsewhere to file for illegally inflated tax refunds. The three women then demanded each client pay them fees ranging from $400 to $3,000. Bledsoe admitted in court paperwork she took part in filing tax forms that contained false and fabricated information to generate illegal tax returns, including some in her own name. Bledsoe had faced a maximum penalty of 20 years in prison if she had gone to trial and been convicted of nine felony counts she faced. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 15:49:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CANBERRA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A landmark review of Australia's environment laws has called for a major overhaul, warning of an "unsustainable" decline in biodiversity. The Independent Review of the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999 (EPBC Act), published recently, found that Australia's environment has declined since the laws were introduced. It urged the federal government to adopt "national standards" to prevent the decline and establish an "independent cop" to oversee the standards. "The foundation of the report was that there is too much focus on process and not enough focus on outcomes and that should be changed entirely," Graeme Samuel, the author of the report and former chairman of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC), told the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC). "Australia's natural environment and iconic places are in an overall state of decline and are under increasing threat. "The current environmental trajectory is unsustainable." Sussan Ley, minister for the environment, accepted the recommendation for national environmental standards but rejected calls for an independent regulator to enforce them. "Not surprisingly, the statutory review is finding that 20-year-old legislation is struggling to meet the changing needs of the environment, agriculture, community planners and business," she said in a statement on Monday. "It is time to find a way past an adversarial approach and work together to create genuine reform that will protect our environment, while keeping our economy strong." Enditem View live politics updates ChevronRight The lawsuit seeks Cohens immediate release from federal custody. He was rearrested July 9, less than two months after he was approved to serve the remainder of his sentence on home confinement because of the coronavirus pandemic. His attorneys allege that Cohens First Amendment rights were violated when he was detained at the federal courthouse in Manhattan during a meeting with probation officers, who had asked him to sign a gag order prohibiting him from speaking to the media or publishing a book while serving the rest of his sentence. Cohens suit names Attorney General William P. Barr and Federal Bureau of Prisons officials, in their official capacities. The case was assigned to U.S. District Judge Alvin Hellerstein in the Southern District of New York, and an initial hearing was scheduled for Thursday. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Court documents revealed July 18, 2019, showed Michael Cohen repeatedly spoke with former president Donald Trump amid the effort to pay Stormy Daniels. (The Washington Post) Neither the Justice Department nor the White House responded to requests for comment. Michael Cohen asked to sign stay-out-of-jail agreement that may violate his First Amendment rights, lawyers say In the court filings, Cohen said his book will contain my firsthand experiences and observations based on my decade-long employment and relationship with Mr. Trump and his family, both before and after he was elected. Its working title is Disloyal: The True Story of Michael Cohen, Former Personal Attorney to President Donald J. Trump, the documents say. In particular, my book will provide graphic and unflattering details about the Presidents behavior behind closed doors, Cohen wrote as part of the court filings. The memoir describes the Presidents pointedly anti-Semitic remarks and virulently racist remarks against such Black leaders as President Barack Obama and Nelson Mandela, neither of whom he viewed as real leaders or as worthy of respect by virtue of their race, Cohen wrote. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The documents offer no further details about the manuscripts content. Michael Cohen released from federal prison over coronavirus concerns Authorities have said Cohen was taken back into custody because he refused to wear an ankle monitor, a claim his legal team disputes. Cohens lawyers also contend he did not refuse to acknowledge the media policy presented to him before his arrest, but rather that he expressed concerns about it and asked for an amendment. Cohens legal team, including lawyers from the American Civil Liberties Union and former federal prosecutor Danya Perry, allege that his home confinement was revoked because of his book plans. He is being held in retaliation for his protected speech, including drafting a book manuscript that is critical of the President and recently making public his intention to publish that book soon, shortly before the upcoming election, the filing says. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Cohen, 53, said in the filing that he had been writing daily, in the open, from the prison law library before his release in May. The order he was asked to sign required no engagement of any kind with the media, including print, TV, film, books, or any other form of media/news. It also prohibited all social media platforms and barred family or friends from posting on his behalf. The provision was crafted specifically for Cohen and was not part of any standard procedure, his lawyers argue. New York judge affirms Trumps niece can publish her book about the president and his family Cohens lawsuit references recent efforts to block the publication of books by Trumps former national security adviser John Bolton and the presidents niece Mary L. Trump. Both accounts are intensely critical of Trump and disclose biting allegations of improper behavior. Cohens lawyers allege the effort to silence him is part of a pattern. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement In Boltons case, the Justice Department had sued on behalf of the administration, claiming The Room Where it Happened contained privileged material. A judge sided with Bolton and the book was released in late June. Mary Trump was sued by the presidents brother, Robert Trump, who insisted she was bound by a confidentiality clause in an estate settlement agreement signed decades ago. A judge sided with her and the book was released last week. Cohen recently received a cease-and-desist letter from Charles Harder, the attorney who challenged Mary Trump. Harder said Cohen was bound by a nondisclosure agreement, which Cohen disputes. One of Cohens lawyers asked for a copy of the agreement but it was never sent, the lawsuit says. Story continues below advertisement Harder could not immediately be reached for comment. Cohen has been held in solitary confinement at a federal prison in Otisville, N.Y., since he was taken back into custody earlier this month, the court documents say. Cohen was convicted of tax evasion, making false statements, campaign finance violations and lying to Congress in 2018. He admitted to making hush-money payments during the 2016 presidential campaign to two women who alleged having affairs with Trump several years ago. The president has denied their claims. Myanmar's govt. disregards obligation to account for military atrocities: HRW Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 4:27 PM Myanmar's government has so far failed to abide by its international obligations to account for the army's atrocities against minorities, particularly the Rohingya Muslims living in the state of Rakhine, Human Rights Watch says. "Despite making commitments during the last UPR cycle, in 2015, to establish democratic institutions, adopt justice sector reforms, and promote and protect women's rights, Myanmar has achieved little progress. Human rights violations by Myanmar's security forces against ethnic minority groups, including Rohingya, Rakhine, Kachin, Shan, Karen, and others, have significantly worsened since 2015." That is a section of a submission by the rights organization to the United Nations Human Rights Council for Myanmar's Universal Periodic Review (UPR), due in January. Under the UPR, all UN member states undergo a review of their rights records under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva every five years. The Myanmar government, the submission read, has "refused to cooperate with the Human Rights Council-established Fact-Finding Mission to investigate atrocity crimes, and barred the previous UN special rapporteur on human rights in Myanmar from entering the country." "Despite Myanmar's commitments in the 2015 review cycle to adopt democratic reforms and respect civil and political rights, the government has made little progress. The government has disregarded its international legal obligations to provide accountability for Myanmar military atrocities," it said. Myanmar's authorities have repeatedly failed to adequately probe crimes against humanity and prosecute grave abuses against the Rohingya in Rakhine, according to Human Rights Watch. Myanmar's court-martial conviction of three military personnel for crimes against the ethnic Rohingya apparently reflects a trend of accountability evasion. On June 30, the military announced that two officers and a soldier had been convicted for "weakness in following the instructions" during the Gu Dar Pyin incident. Rakhine's Gu Dar Pyin village was the site of a massacre by the military on August 27-28, 2017, as part of a campaign of mass atrocities that forced more than 740,000 Rohingya to flee to Bangladesh in the subsequent months. The armed forces, however, did not provide any other information, such as the names and ranks of those convicted, their role in the massacre, or their sentences. "Myanmar's unwillingness to provide accountability for rampant rights abuses seems to know no bounds," said Phil Robertson, the deputy Asia director with Human Rights Watch, adding, "UN member countries should use Myanmar's UN review to demand the government make progress through deeds, not more flowery talk, to achieve genuine human rights improvements." In Rakhine and the state of Chin, the government has for the second year enforced internet shutdowns amid escalating fighting between the ethnic Arakan Army, a Buddhist rebel group calling for greater autonomy for Rakhine, and Myanmar's military. In addition to that, the government has failed to revoke or amend rights-abusing laws that undermine the rights to freedom of expression, association, and peaceful assembly. As a result, hundreds of human rights defenders, community leaders, trade union members and leaders, and other civil society activists have faced prosecution and imprisonment for exercising their basic rights. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A father allegedly inundated his ex-girlfriend with more than 1,000 calls and 500 abusive texts over two weeks while a police order was in place to stop him from contacting her. Perth father Michael Lee Cornelius Arkeveld, 20, breached bail conditions by contacting the victim, who is the mother of his one-year-old child. He was issued a 72-hour police order on June 16 but chose to tear it up in front of police and breach it by calling the victim 11 times that day, Bunbury Magistrate's Court heard on Friday. Perth father Michael Lee Cornelius Arkeveld, 20, breached bail conditions by contacting the victim, who is the mother of his one-year-old child He was issued a 72-hour police order on June 16 but chose to tear it up in front of police and breach it by calling the victim 11 times that day, Bunbury Magistrate's Court heard (pictured) Arkeveld allegedly sent 500 messages and called his ex-girlfriend 1,050 times in the early hours of the morning and late at night, The West Australian reported. In some instances he called from a blocked number so she could not screen the calls. Prosecuting sergeant Darren Grigson said Arkeveld send an 'extreme number of calls and messages' and described it as being 'over the top'. Arveheld claimed he was trying to make contact in relation to his daughter. But police claim the text messages were 'vile and derogatory' and called the victim demeaning terms and allegedly threatened to kill her ex-partners. A restraining order was issued on June 30 leading the 20-year-old to cut off all contact with the victim. Mr Arkeveld's defence lawyer Fiona Walsh pushed for him to be released on bail. 'He failed to take the police order seriously because he didn't understand it at first,' she said. Arkeveld allegedly sent 500 messages and called his ex-girlfriend 1,050 times in the early hours of the morning and late at night 'It is clear that when there is a blanket exception he stops all communication and recognises the severity of the issue now.' Magistrate Robert Young was not satisfied and refused the request for bail, leaving Arkeveld remanded in custody. 'These are not voice messages in an unguarded moment, he is sitting down and taking the time to type these out and a lot of them are largely unrelated to child contact,' Magistrate Young said. The young father did not enter a plea but will reappear in court this month to face four charges of breach of police order and eight charges of breach of protective bail conditions. Thanks to technology, many companies are still operating, and people are working from home. While remote work offers numerous benefits to both employees and companies, it also presents challenges to everyone, but specifically leaders. If youre not used to managing a team remotely, you may be tempted to micro-manage your team. You may want to check in more frequently, ask for status updates and hold regular meetings to foster a team environment. The three meetings you should hold with remote workers: All of this new administration and communication activities may interfere with employees productivity and lead to frustration all around. To make remote work more efficient and less aggravating, consider holding only three meetings: An initial meeting where you go over the processes and procedures your remote teams will use to communicate and work together. A regular meeting with a published agenda, whatever regular means to you. It could be weekly for customer-facing teams or bi-weekly for back-office ones. Create optional one-on-one meeting slots for employees. Some may want to touch base with their managers, so having it scheduled like this gives them the chance. Those who dont need to check in will know youre open to a meeting should they decide they want it. Lets take a closer look at why you only need these three meetings. These meetings set proper expectations. Employees who are not used to remote work may struggle with managing their schedules, and leaders may feel they have no visibility into whats going on. Many remote work problems can usually be traced back to miscommunication and bad assumptions. Assuming people will answer any message immediately or assuming that working from home is the same as working in the office. (Its not.) Companies can avoid these assumptions and their related problems by creating working agreements, so everyone knows what to expect from remote work. These agreements should apply to both employees and leaders, so everyone understands the situation for all, including: Guidelines on what messages should be sent via specific mediums : Brainstorm a list of the info you need to share, then agree with your team on how and when its shared. That means defining what should be an email, what can be handled in instant messaging (IM), and what requires a phone call. : Brainstorm a list of the info you need to share, then agree with your team on how and when its shared. That means defining what should be an email, what can be handled in instant messaging (IM), and what requires a phone call. Working hours for teams : By definition, remote work encourages flex working hours, and in these times of needing to schedule household supply runs and parenting duty trade-offs, its even more vital. Customer-facing teams may need to agree on a particular schedule, so ensure people feel supported if they need to swap shifts or change things around based on a dynamic home life. : By definition, remote work encourages flex working hours, and in these times of needing to schedule household supply runs and parenting duty trade-offs, its even more vital. Customer-facing teams may need to agree on a particular schedule, so ensure people feel supported if they need to swap shifts or change things around based on a dynamic home life. Response times and communication tools: Online chat tools like Slack and Workplace by Facebook make it easy to stay connected but can lead to frequent interruptions and hours long chat-fests if people arent careful. Encourage employees to block out time for focused work and publish instructions on how to turn off notifications in the tools your teams use. These meetings keep work moving forward. One frustration for remote workers is the constant interruptions of meetings, calls, emails and other communications. People may already find it challenging to work from home without considering the distractions of family and personal life obligations. Scaling back the number of meetings frees up those who dont need to be there and helps people plan their work schedules better. They know which meetings are important for them and the team, and which are better served by others. It gives people better control of their calendars and lets them schedule work blocks and personal blocks of time more efficiently. People can manage their personal lives more easily and without stress, because they know whats critical and whats not. These meetings maintain links between employees and management. These are extraordinary times, and were all dealing with the added stress differently. People want to feel supported by their companies, but not when meetings feel forced or overly scheduled. In particular, one-on-one meetings might lead to additional stress and anxiety for employees. Some people find them particularly stressful, so while its important to maintain the link between employees and managers, it might be wise to consider different ways to do them. Consider scheduling them less often to give time back to employees who dont need to check in with you. Change the format to a text-based status update or even an integrated app into your chat software. For example, Standuply integrates with Slack, allowing companies to hold virtual daily standup meetings with employees without scheduling a meeting. Schedule optional check-in blocks that employees can book with you if they want. By giving them control over when they can book the time it reduces stress for them and leaves managers free to get back valuable time on their calendars too. You may be tempted to hold more meetings and check in more frequently with remote workers, but you may be doing more harm than good. Resist the temptation to schedule more meetings with employees and give them more flexibility in their schedules. Try to hold the minimum number of meetings you need to support your employees and make them feel comfortable with remote work. Related: The 3 Meetings You Should Have for Remote Workers 4 Ways to Continue to Get Paid from Home During Quarantine Older Entrepreneurs Should Embrace Working From Home Copyright 2020 Entrepreneur.com Inc., All rights reserved Representative Image The Retailers Association of India (RAI) has submitted representations to state & local authorities in Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and Karnataka requesting for removal of timing restrictions that have been imposed in some regions derailing smooth operations, Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive, RAI said. The need of the hour is concerted efforts by all stakeholders while retailers are doing their bit by following stringent hygiene practices, the policymakers too need to support to ensure economic revival across the country. Consumption is important for the country and supports the business environment, said Rajagopalan. Voicing the concerns of the retailers, RAI, has submitted representations to various state & local authorities that puts forth recommendations to get businesses and life of consumers on the track to recovery. RAI has four demands: - To mandatorily allow essential shops including kiranas, general trade shops, supermarkets, hypermarkets & wholesalers to operate every day of the week until 9 PM to cater to the daily needs of the customers. - Ensuring uniform and regular opening of all categories of retail for full working hours while following stringent hygiene practices and adhering to social distancing norms. This will help avoid overcrowding outside stores as demand will get distributed over all days of the week. - Allow movement of staff and vehicles of commodities without taking coercive action against the staff. - Open malls in all states. Malls can ensure a safe shopping experience wherein safety measures are taken by boththe mall authorities and the retailers. Retailers' point Retailers feel, ad-hoc local lockdowns is detrimental to recovery of Indian economy. The total lockdowns in some places and limited operational hours and days in several others are creating setbacks for retailers as the already stressed retail businesses are getting further interrupted and in turn dampening consumer sentiment. Although the intentions are that of citizen safety and social distancing, the recent instances of local lockdowns and ad-hoc restrictions being imposed in UP, Maharashtra, AP and Karnataka are making a distressing impact on retail businesses, retailers said. The recent Retail Business Survey conducted by RAI indicated that retailers witnessed 67 percent degrowth from June 15 to June 30, 2020 compared to the corresponding period last year. During the same time frame, malls witnessed 77 percent degrowth (y-o-y) on account of not being allowed to open uniformly across the country, high street retail showed degrowth of 62 percent (y-o-y) in business despite being allowed to open across India. Region-wise findings indicated that West (-74% y-o-y) and North (-71% y-o-y) continue to suffer the most. East and South both signalled a 62% (y-o-y) fall in sales. These numbers depict a grim situation for not just retailers but the entire economy as retail is the backbone of consumption. Retailers are already facing huge setbacks in terms of payment of wages and rentals due to very low sales of about 40 percent as compared to last year. The restrictions imposed by States Governments are further compounding the situation and posing significant operational issues. Retailers complained that the restricted hours of operations, stoppage of staff and goods vehicle has resulted in hindered supply chains and skewed buying patterns. Shops being allowed to open for shorter number of hours leads to crowding because demand is inelastic. This is detrimental to social distancing. It is also creating a havoc on the supply side affecting availability of goods. Sandeep Kataria, CEO, Bata India said, Restricted shopping time can lead to unnecessary overcrowding of stores, which is unfavourable towards the personal safety of both store staff and customers. Longer operational hours will support recovery for retailers as well as help adhering to social distancing norms. The ad-hoc restrictions that keep changing create confusion about what is allowed and what is not. This is resulting in law enforcement stopping goods vehicles and employees from reaching stores creating supply chain and staffing issues. Disrupted by the local lockdowns and restrictions Arvind Mediratta, MD and CEO, METRO Cash & Carry India, said, that the decision to close all stores on weekends in Uttar Pradesh and to reinforce a stringent lockdown in Bengaluru is going to severely impact business. These lockdowns will create severe inconvenience for all citizens as they also bar operations of food and grocery retail and wholesale stores. We have been at the forefront of implementing rigorous safety measures in all our stores and have been very successful in making them 100 percent safe for both for employees and customers. Therefore, we would request the governments of both Karnataka and UP to allow unhindered operations of food and grocery retail and wholesale stores, he added. All of this is causing gross inconvenience to customers who have to deal with erratic access to essentials. Himanshu Chakrawarti, CEO, Arvind Lifestyle Brands said, Customer convenience and preventing of crowding are both served best by having regular retail timings. Odd even dates or few hours trading time inconveniences customers and also results in crowding. Request the local authorities to take a larger contextual view and issue notifications with more stable working days and timings to ensure customer safety and convenience. Mining giant BHP has reported its biggest-ever quarterly output of iron ore from its Western Australian mines, while its oil and gas division fell short of expectations due to the impact of coronavirus crisis wiping out demand. The nation's top miner on Tuesday revealed it had shipped 76 million tonnes of the steelmaking commodity from its operations in the Pilbara region during the three months to June 30, up from 71 million tonnes a year earlier. Australia's top miners have benefited as prices for iron ore, the nation's top export, have passed $US100 a tonne. Credit:Tony McDonough BHP said overall iron ore output for the year rose 4 per cent to 281 million tonnes, adding that it expected to produce between 276 million tonnes and 286 million of iron ore in the 2021 financial year. It comes as the price of iron ore has repeatedly defied predictions that it is overdue for a fall and this year has passed $US100 a tonne on the back of stronger-than-expected demand from Chinese steelmakers as well as weakening output from rival exporters such as Brazil's Vale. Robust iron ore prices have provided bumper profits for Australia's three biggest miners. The production and sales of iron ore, Australia's most valuable export commodity, are considered pivotal to the strength of the federal budget and the national economy. WASHINGTON Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday said he "wouldn't hesitate" to send his own children back to the classroom if they were still school-aged, despite the rise in coronavirus cases in many parts of the country, including in South Carolina where he was speaking. "We know to open up America again we need to open up Americas schools, but its also right on the facts," Pence said during a discussion with state leaders about reopening. Pence said the risk to children of getting COVID-19 is low while there are "real costs" to students not being in the classroom. The Pences have three adult children. Second lady Karen Pence, a part-time art teacher who participated in Tuesday's event, indicated that she is returning to in-person teaching. Vice President Mike Pence speaks during a round-table discussion on re-opening schools amid the coronavirus outbreak on Tuesday, July 21, 2020, in Columbia, S.C. Rather than teaching in her own classroom at a Christian elementary school in Virginia, however, Karen Pence said she will be moving "with a cart, from room to room, because it's going to keep the kids safer. " "They have their own supplies. I don't set out supplies this year," she said. "So there are ways that we can make it safe for our kids." The Trump administration has been pushing hard for schools to reopen and President Donald Trump has complained that guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is "very tough and expensive." After Trump's criticism earlier this month, Pence said the CDC would be putting out additional guidance. The update was expected last week. On Tuesday, Pence said it "will be forthcoming in the days ahead." He was asked at the news conference if the White House task force has discussed what schools should do if a student or teacher dies from COVID-19. "We're supporting efforts at the state level, and with local schools, to do everything in our power to see that that never happens," Pence said. We think we can safely reopen schools." Story continues Pence praised South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster, saying he was "100% right in making the decision to get our kids back in the classroom here in South Carolina." McMaster has called on state Education Superintendent Molly Spearman to reject any local plans that do not include in-person learning, bucking the state Department of Education's earlier guidance. The recommendation faced immediate backlash from school leaders and teacher organizations across the state, including the Greenville County Schools, the largest district in South Carolina. A protester was shouting about public schools as the vice president's entourage left the University of South Carolina Tuesday. House Democrats last week complained that the administration would not allow CDC officials to testify at a public hearing to "provide greater clarity" on how schools can be safely reopened. Instead, at the hearing being held Thursday by the House Education and Labor Committee, lawmakers will hear from a superintendent from Dallas, the president of the National Parent Teacher Association (PTA), and a pediatrician who specializes in infectious diseases. Fall without football: Billions lost by colleges, NFL, TV networks, local economies Congress still working on next aid: $600 unemployment bonus is set to run out in days Contributing: Carol Motsinger and Ariel Gilreath, Greenville News. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Vice President Mike Pence `wouldn't hesitate' to send his kids to school Click here to read the full article. PARIS IWC Schaffhausen has issued a new set of sustainability targets over the next two years that includes increasing the proportion of women in management positions, using only renewable energy sources and obtaining external certification that it follows strict environmental and ethical standards when sourcing watch components. The client has the right to know that the product he or she buys is carefully sourced, said Franziska Gsell, the brands chief marketing officer who chairs the sustainability committee, speaking with WWD on a Zoom call. Once you publish your goals and you talk about what you want to do, you get feedback, you get a response and thats what we want, we want this dialogue, we want to have a conversation with our customers, she added. The Swiss luxury watch brand, which belongs to Compagnie Financiere Richemont, is issuing its third sustainability report. The company said it was the first in its sector to publish a sustainability report, which it did in 2015, and was also the first to meet the 2019 code of practices set out by the Responsible Jewellery Council, a U.K.-based nonprofit organization that sets environmental and social guidelines. The report comes at a time when consumers are paying closer attention to social and environmental issues as upheaval from the coronavirus crisis causes people to rethink their consumption habits. Parent company Richemont recently embarked on a more proactive approach, talking openly about its goals whereas in the past it had been more focused on mitigating risk in the supply chain and work environment, and on preserving the longevity of its products, businesses and skills, as WWD reported last week. This is the second report, we set eight goals and we have set them for the next cycle, thats quite important that it is a journey its never achieved its a journey, and thats why we have these two-year business cycles, you set goals and youre transparent, you talk about it, explained Gsell. Story continues You would be amazed at how many customers come back to us and ask questions, she continued. In its second sustainability report, the house said it had reached its two-year environmental and social targets, including lowering greenhouse gas emissions by 10 percent, reaching gender parity for training and recertification of the Responsible Jewellery Council Code of Practices. Over the next two years, it will seek to double the proportion of women in management compared to 2017, obtain equal pay certification, set up a green technology strategy and establish a blueprint for holding sustainable events. The company handles sustainability matters through a sustainability committee that was established five years ago, and includes all departments of the company, she explained. If you dont do that, its difficult to have sustainability on the agenda for whatever position you take, that has been our recipe, said Gsell, who noted that chief executive officer Christoph Grainger-Herr is also involved in the topic. The company also has a sustainability manager, Sarah Vowles, who is also the secretary for the committee. One of the tougher tasks on the last round of goals was changing packaging to reduce waste, Gsell explained. The company reduced weight and volume of packaging by coming up with a small, travel pouch for clients that she described as a product in itself, rather than just the shell of the product as before. Some resistance came from markets that had different gifting expectations, when it comes to hard luxury presents, which are meant as a statement, she explained. We said no, lets try it, she said. We are super proud we achieved that; all our colleagues are supporting it it even has a price tag, she added. Its still possible to have a bigger gifting box, but it has to be paid for, she explained. That has been quite a shift it was not an easy goal and we are especially proud, she said. The executive noted that setting up a system of reporting helps get the ball rolling on such issues and open dialogue and transparency and said she hoped other luxury watchmakers would follow suit. As soon as you have these conversations and you get feedback, you get pushed to think about maybe new territories and new topics, she noted. You might not be perfect from the beginning, but you start that journey and you challenge what you do and its uncomfortable, because its easier to just go on as you did, she said. Sustainability is about being interested in what happens around you. Sign up for WWD's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. Shoplifters: At War with the Law viewers were left on the edge of their seats last night after a thief threatened to kill security officers. In the second episode of the Channel 5 show, a 'down of his luck' shopper was caught redhanded stealing women's jewellery in a department store at the West Orchards shopping centre in Coventry. And viewers were left reeling when the shoplifter threatened to 'do guards in' and kill them, after he was stopped with pockets full of stolen goods in a shop. One viewer said on Twitter she was 'on the edge of her seat' watching the show, adding a stock image of a woman eating popcorn with a shocked expression. Another added: 'This shoplifters show on Channel 5 is comedy gold.' A third was shocked at the shopper's rant writing: 'You know he's sweating s*** loads.' In the episode, the man, who is not named, let out a string of expletives at security staff who held him until police officers arrived. When the guards frogmarched the perpetrator from a department store to a holding room, he shouted and screamed at them to 'get your f****** hands off me'. Team leader Rob explained that the team only use force when a suspect is aggressive to them. Viewers were left on the edge of their seats last night after a shoplifter threatened to kill the security officers in Shoplifters: At War with the Law 'If I catch someone and they're physically able to harm me or others, then we've got the power to respond with the same force. My job is to protect my staff,' he explained. When the suspect was taken back to the shopping centre's control room he embarked on a expletive-ridden rant. 'You just f****** mugged me off man, you f****** took me, just f****** kill me then,' he said. 'Go get the police, you've just f****** p***** me off here. As the guards frogmarched the perpetrator from a department store to a holding room, he shouted and screamed at them to 'get your f****** hands off me' 'If you want to get me, get me. You've f****** got me here. Just get the f*** away from me man. 'F*** off, don't start chatting s***,' he continued, as he shouted over the voices of guards who were trying to reason with him. 'Get the f*** out of here. When I see you out and about you're gonna get done in. F*** off,' he added. The man told the guards he was 'down on his luck' and that he stole because it was 'all the he was good at'. Despite continually asking for the police, the perpetrator was unhappy when they arrived, and protested being handcuffed and put in the a police van. The man was charged with theft and made to appear in court, where he was made to pay fine of 20 and victim surcharge of 32 'I've lost my job, I've f***** up, my family is f*****, my missus and my kids are f****** gone. 'I'm obviously down on my luck I've just lost my job, I'm f***** man, it sounds dodgy but I've always been good at robbing,' he continued. Security guard Lewis explained the man also threatened to kill other officers. 'Just like the police, who restrain with handcuffs, we'll use the force that's needed to restrain them,' he explained. Elsewhere in the episode, officers stopped a woman at her car who had a bag full of stolen goods 'In this case we needed a lot of force because he was a big chap.' 'He was threatening us saying he was going to do us in, I heard him say to one of the guys he was going to kill them and he wanted to take us all down. 'We just take it on the chin, we just don't take them personally, we never really believe it,' he added. 'I don't listen to the sob stories anymore, it doesn't cut it. 'Quite a lot of them think we're inexperienced and will listen to sob story and feel sorry for them and let them out,' Lewis continued. Despite persistently asking for the police, the perpetrator was unhappy when they arrived, and protested being handcuffed and put in the a police van. The man was charged with theft and appeared in court, where he was made to pay a fine of 20 and victim surcharge of 32. The series follows a team of 12 security guards who battle the persistent problem of theft at the busy centre. They reveal that 70 per cent of shoplifting is done by the same small group of people. It's not stated how much he stole, but earlier in the programme guards say police are only called when the theft is more than 200. As COVID-19 cases surge in Madagascar, public hospitals said they have reached their full capacity and may not be able to accept more patients. According to a report on Bloomberg, these hospitals will only accept patients with the most severe forms of COVID-19. Following the sudden rise in COVID-19 cases, President Andry Rajoelina re-imposed lockdown on the countrys central region until July 26 as the five public hospitals in the capital, Antananarivo, announced they could no longer cope with the influx of patients. Only one person per household is allowed to go out to buy food or medicine. An initial lockdown in March was lifted after four weeks. The government also opened a 400-bed treatment center for people with mild symptoms and is importing about 1,000 oxygen machines. The number of confirmed cases in Madagascar reached 7,153 on Monday, including 62 deaths. Controversy Mr Rajoelina has been in the news since April when his country launched an indigenous herbal remedy named Covid-Organics, which he said could cure COVID-19. The herbal remedy, developed by the Malagasy Institute of Applied Research, was produced from artemisia, a plant with proven antidote against malaria. All trials and tests have been conducted, President Rajoelina said in April, and its effectiveness in reducing the elimination of symptoms have been proven for the treatment of patients with COVID-19 in Madagascar. The World Health Organisation cautioned the use of the remedy as its efficacy and side effects have not been specifically proven. Countries like Tanzania, Liberia, Equatorial Guinea and Guinea-Bissau, received consignments of the herbal remedy. Nigeria also received its share of what state authorities described as brotherly love from the Malagasy government to all African countries. Nigerias Health minister, Osagie Ehanire, at a Presidential Task Force on COVID-19 briefing said findings from the analysis of herbal medicine shows that it largely contains anti-malaria components. He, however, said relevant government agencies will continue the process of evaluation to determine its effectiveness in treating COVID-19. M ichael Cohen, Donald Trump's former lawyer, has filed a lawsuit claiming he was imprisoned to stop the publication of a "tell-all" book about his experiences with the US president. Mr Cohen was released from a federal prison in May due to concerns over exposure to coronavirus. He had completed one 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. But the 53-year-old was returned to prison on July 9, which his attorneys say violated his First Amendment rights. His attorneys filed a lawsuit in Manhattan federal court on Monday night against US Attorney General William Barr, the director of the Bureau of Prisons and the warden at the federal prison in Otisville, New York. The suit accuses Mr Barr and federal prison officials of trying to stop the publication of Mr Cohen's book. "He is being held in retaliation for his protected speech, including drafting a book manuscript that is critical of the president and recently making public his intention to publish that book soon, shortly before the upcoming election," the attorneys said. Mr Cohen's book, which he started writing after his conviction, describes his experiences with Mr Trump, and addresses subject matter of "national concern and intense public interest" due to 2020 being an election year, the attorneys said. While he was out of prison, Mr Cohen had said on Twitter he planned to publish the book before the November election. The lawsuit said he had written the book in the prison library and it was tentatively titled "Disloyal: The True Story of Michael Cohen, Former Person Attorney to President Donald J. Trump". Mr Cohen's lawyers claim he was sent back to prison to stop the publication of a book about Trump / REUTERS The book sets out Mr Cohen's "firsthand experiences with Mr Trump" and offers "graphic details about the president's behaviour behind closed doors", according to the lawsuit. But Mr Cohen was returned to prison after refusing to agree to a gag order as a condition for serving his criminal sentence under home confinement, his lawyer said. The American Civil Liberties Union and law firm Perry Guha LLP have joined the petition for Mr Cohen to be freed from prison. The government cannot imprison Michael Cohen for writing a book about President Trump, Ben Wizner, director of the ACLU's speech, privacy and technology project, told the New York Times. The wild spider monkeys living in a protected area near Punta Laguna, Mexico, collectively figure out good ways to divide up and conquer the forest. These monkeys live in a special type of society called a "fission-fusion" society. The group breaks up into little teams to find food -- called, "foraging" in the world of ecology -- but there is no "gym teacher" or "popular kid" picking teams. Rather, the monkeys each make decisions about how long to stay on foraging teams and when to switch to another. It turns out the collective effect of these individual decisions is to produce a range of foraging team sizes. And this range works well given how many trees in the forest have tasty fruit ready to eat. The monkeys are collectively computing good team sizes given the availability of food in the forest. The findings are published this week in the journal Frontiers in Robotics and AI. The researchers -- from the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM) and the Santa Fe Institute, in Santa Fe, NM -- report that monkeys make use of the smarts of their group mates to inform their own decisions. "By forming these subgroups -- constantly coming together and splitting -- the spider monkeys develop a more thorough knowledge of their environment," says the study's lead author, Gabriel Ramos-Fernandez at UNAM, who studies animal communication, social complexity and networks. "They seem to be pooling information about resources, so that as a group they know their environment better than any individual does on its own." Ramos-Fernandez and his group recorded the interactions of 47 monkeys for five hours per day over two years. He says the monkeys, which are accustomed to being observed by people, typically formed subgroups of 2 to 17 animals, but those subgroups typically stayed together only for 1-2 hours. "We noted who was where, and with whom, at any given time," he says. To understand how the monkeys to collectively compute team sizes, Ramos-Fernandez's team collaborated with SFI Professor Jessica Flack and SFI President David Krakauer. Flack leads SFI's Collective Computation Group, and Krakauer is co-developer of the collective computation ideas with Flack. The researchers used an approach called inductive game theory, developed by Flack and Krakauer in collaboration with another SFI researcher, Simon DeDeo, to figure out what decision rules the spider monkeys use in deciding to stay on or leave a foraging team. In traditional game theory, researchers make assumptions about the strategies in play. Inductive game theory, in contrast, asks what strategies are the animals (or cells or neurons) actually using -- what do we see in the data? Inductive Game Theory starts by specifying in advance a space of decision rules the study subjects -- here spider monkeys -- could be using given their cognitive and behavioral sophistication and, ideally, for which there is already some empirical support. The researchers search the data for evidence of these strategies and then ask how the strategies the individuals are found to use, combine to produce social structure. "This kind of methodology is useful for studying optimal foraging because it requires no a priori assumptions about benefits and costs," says Ramos-Fernandez. The researchers found individual monkeys' decisions to stay or leave a foraging team were influenced by the stay and leave decisions of other individuals on the team. This result suggests spider monkeys take into account the opinions of their group mates about what a good team size is and use those opinions to inform their own decision-making. The collective effects of these decisions produced a range of team sizes that worked well given the availability of fruiting trees in the monkeys' forest. But the researchers also found that the spider monkeys' "collective intelligence" had room for improvement! The team sizes the monkeys collectively computed were not a perfect match to the availability of fruiting trees. A similar approach might help researchers understand other collective systems, including flocks of birds, groups of fish, or financial markets. Insights from this study also reinforce an idea in the collective intelligence literature that in decentralized systems when individual parts or agents have imperfect knowledge or only partial windows on the world, collective pooling of knowledge can be beneficial. Questions for future work include studying how individuals optimally combine the knowledge of group mates, depending on how diverse the group is, and how costly it is to make mistakes. New Delhi: Hyundai Motor India aspires to launch an entry level SUV in 2019s first half as it looks to strengthen its presence in the fast growing segment. The company, which today launched all new Tucson with an introductory price ranging between Rs 18.99 lakh and Rs 24.99 lakh (ex-showroom Delhi), has already three SUV models in its portfolio, including Creta and Santa Fe. "We aim to launch an entry level SUV in the first half of 2019. It will be below Creta. So, we will have four SUVs in our product range," Hyundai Motor India Ltd MD & CEO YK Koo told reporters here. SUV sales have been growing all over the globe, including China and Europe, and is also going to be a very popular segment in India as well, he added. Hyundai is currently developing a sub 4-metre compact SUV in order to fill the gap that lies below Creta. It had showcased concept compact SUV Carlino at the Auto Expo this year in February. Also Read: Hyundai Motor India strengthens SUV portfolio, launches all-new Tucson When asked about vehicles with alternate fuels, Koo said the company has asked its global R&D centre to look into possible models for the country. "Hyundai has strong portfolio of electric and hybrid vehicles. We are planning to unveil a hybrid product during the 2018 Auto Expo," he added. Commenting on the Tuscon launch, he said with the introduction of the SUV the company is aiming to strengthen its presence in the premium segment. The company has set a target of selling 500-700 units of the model per month.Hyundai has launched the third generation Tucson with both petrol and diesel powertrains. Also Read: Hyundai Motors to roll out four SUVs in Indian markets over next two years The manual petrol variant is priced at Rs 18.99 lakh while the diesel versions are priced between Rs 21.59 lakh and Rs 23.48 lakh. The petrol automatic is priced at Rs 21.79 lakh while the one with diesel powertrain is priced at Rs 24.99 lakh. "The launch of third generation all new Tucson will create a benchmark by giving Hyundai experience to the aspirational Indian customers," Koo said. With over 45 lakh units sold globally, Tucson is one of the best-selling SUVs in the world, he added. Tucson comes with 2 litre petrol and diesel engine options and new various features including a puddle lamp, downhill brake control and front and rear parking sensors. The petrol version with manual transmission company comes with 155 PS of power and delivers a fuel efficiency of 13.03 km/ litre. The petrol automatic delivers a fuel efficiency of 12.95 km/ litre. The diesel variant with manual transmission offers 185 PS of power and a claimed fuel efficiency of 18.42 km/litre. The diesel automatic delivers a fuel efficiency of 16.38 km/ litre. For all the Latest Business News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. The Calabasas home of actor-producer Allen Covert hit the market in May and sold in about two months, records show. (Realtor.com) Actor-producer Allen Covert of Grandmas Boy fame has sold his home in Calabasas for $2.415 million, records show. The two-story spread hit the market in May and was listed as pending the following month, according to the Multiple Listing Service. It had been listed for $2.475 million. Built in 1997 and since updated, the more than 6,600-square-foot house features a two-story foyer, a custom library and a family room with a wet bar. There are six bedrooms and 7.5 bathrooms including a primary suite with two walk-in closets and a separate sitting room. Outside, the landscaped grounds contain a custom swimming pool with a spa, a barbecue island and a covered patio. Lawn and mature trees fill out the roughly half-acre site. The house was previously owned by Filipino entertainer Charon Cuneta, who sold it to Covert in 2016 for $2.17 million. An executive producer for Adam Sandlers Happy Madison Productions, Covert this year appeared and produced the Netflix film The Wrong Missy. His decades of credits also include the film comedies Big Daddy, Little Nicky and 50 First Dates. Doug Puetz of Keller Williams Realty was the listing agent. Jennifer Camp of Coldwell Banker Realty represented the buyer. Capital markets have voted. Technology companies are in, and Texas oil and gas companies are out. Thats not necessarily all bad news for Texas, which has been courting companies like Tesla and Amazon to set up shop here, but with mixed results. News that electric automaker Teslas market capitalization has surpassed that of ExxonMobil reflects more than questionable premises about the growth potential of electric cars and the sunsetting of the gasoline engine. It reflects investors hopes and fears for the future. In a world where longstanding lifestyles were abandoned overnight in the shadow of a global pandemic, financial bets on companies proficient in self-transformation and technological innovation seem prudent. ExxonMobils pitch that it has staying power when incumbent oil and gas infrastructure takes years to revamp is simply not resonating with investors. The sudden love affair with Tesla stock is partly linked to new potential for growth. Since it opened its Shanghai, China giga factory, analysts forecast increasing cash flow for the firm, which in March captured 30 percent of the crowded Chinese electric vehicle market amid depressed demand due to COVID-19. Teslas market capitalization has now surpassed $300 billion, up 175,000 percent since 2010. By contrast, ExxonMobils market capitalization has now fallen to around $185 billion, down from $350 billion a decade ago. But Teslas attractions go beyond its improving financial outlook. Investors are betting on its expansive innovation potential. Not only has Tesla Energy installed the worlds largest lithium-ion battery to mitigate wind generation intermittency in South Australia, it has provided small-scale, household solutions to reduce the regions frequent brownouts. The company offers a load-balancing system in which solar panels are matched with in-home battery storage and smart inverters to bolster the grid when electricity demand peaks, creating a virtual power plant. Tesla CEO Elon Musk has alluded to the possibility of deploying a similar model with vehicle batteries, allowing Tesla owners to use their cars as backup power sources or even sell their battery storage back to the grid. Tesla has weighed in on a policy debate in Texas over whether the state should loosen restrictions so electricity distribution companies can own storage to buttress operations, but regulatory disputes over who can own and operate Tesla battery systems in the state are ongoing. Texas, with its weather and other load challenges, would do well to follow Teslas advice to loosen who can own battery systemswhile protecting consumers and competitive markets for local energy generatorsso benefits are shared from the kind of forward-looking innovation the state is well known for. For investors, Teslas innovation goes beyond cars and energy. It has also developed a giant HEPA filter, installed in Model S and Model X vehicles, which Tesla claims stops 99.97 percent of particles 0.3 micrometers or larger from entering the vehicle. Amid endemic pollution in major cities and growing questions about airborne COVID-19 transmission, its no wonder that Teslas Bioweapon Defense Mode is a hit. Then there is Californias new Advanced Clean Trucks rule, which requires truck manufacturers to sell an annually increasing percentage of zero-emission trucks in the state over the next two decades. With its light-duty Cybertruck and heavy-duty Semi model due for release in 2021, Tesla is well positioned to supply the new market. The Cybertruck already has over 650,000 pre-orders, and Austin is knee-deep in competition with Tulsa, Okla., to house a new giga-factory for its production. Meanwhile, Teslas vehicle software is growing ever closer to facilitating full, self-driving autonomy. The point is that Tesla is no longer just a car company. It is a technology company creating products with cross-industrial applications fit to solve some of the societys most pressing challenges. Ditto Amazon, which is an increasingly important bridge between many Americans and essential household supplies. At $1.65 trillion, Amazons capitalization is now 160 times higher than ExxonMobils as the marketplace and logistics company looks to new vertical integration opportunities including autonomous delivery vehicles. Research and development spending made up 32.5 and 35.8 percent respectively of Teslas and Amazons total operating expenses in 2019, according to Bloomberg News. By contrast, ExxonMobils R&D budget was a paltry 8.7 percent of its operating expenses based on our calculations from Bloomberg data. Unlike its European peers who are actively pivoting to new energy businesses, ExxonMobils admirable R&D in algae biofuel and carbon sequestration has brought neither technology to scale. Rather, ExxonMobils notable technology and process improvement gains focus on the companys here and now oil opportunities in places like West Texas and Guyana, and thereby lack the visionary pizazz and breadth of wider applicability that draw investors to Tesla. ExxonMobil continues to try to mobilize its base of investors around the idea that the company is well positioned with a strong balance sheet, promising legacy assets and topnotch engineering knowhow to both weather the current oil downturn and meet rebounding oil demand when the economy recovers. But sell-side analysts say current oil prices are too low for ExxonMobil to generate sufficient cash flow to cover its dividends without cutting spending, discouraging bargain hunters from bottom-picking the companys stock. ExxonMobils plight is a cautionary tale for Texas industry and Houston as the energy capital. Though other companies like Hess, ConocoPhillips and Chevron are garnering some positive investor attention based on cash outlooks, the heady days when Texas shale was lauded as a growth business are fading, at least for now. The solution to investor apathy might not just be cutting costs, but a reemphasis on transformative technological innovations. Myers Jaffe is author of the forthcoming book Energys Digital Future: Harnessing Innovation for American Resilience and National Security. Schreiber is a summer intern at the Council on Foreign Relations and an undergraduate student at Rice University. - Over 500 health workers in Kenya had contracted COVID-19 as of July 21 - In Nairobi, over 50 nurses at Pumwani Hospital have tested positive for the disease showing the battle frontline workers are facing in the fight against the virus - Governor Kahiga said his government would fully support community health volunteers until the war against the pandemic is won Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga has confirmed 19 new COVID-19 cases in the county, 12 of which are doctors. The county chief's announcement came even as the Kenya Medical Practitioners, Pharmacists and Dentists Union (KMPDU) decried the rising number of frontline workers being infected with the disease due to lack of enough protective personal equipment (PPEs). READ ALSO: Kenyans console actor Njoro after he appeared teary, heartbroken at Papa Shirandula's graveside Nyeri Governor Mutahi Kahiga gestures at his office. Photo: Mutahi Kahiga. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Nyeri couple share cassava harvest with William Ruto's family: "I look forward to a tasty meal" Kahiga was speaking at his office in Nyeri on Tuesday, July 21, when he hosted a team from the Ministry of Health led by Kenyatta National Hospital CEO Evanson Kamuri. "This morning, I have launched the Nyeri community health volunteers (CHVs) COVID-19 prevention programme. This comes after a ten day intensive training on COVID-19. A total of 2,510 CHVs have been enlisted in this programme and will be spread out across the 251 units in Nyeri county," he said. The Ministry of Health officials were in the county to assess it's level of preparedness in handling the COVID-19 pandemic. In Nairobi, over 50 nurses at Pumwani Hospital had tested positive for the disease as of July 14 showing the battle frontline workers were facing in the fight against the virus. This forced the facility to close its doors to new patients after a surge in the number of infections. The Kenya National Union of Nurses (KNUN) chairman Boaz Onchari expressed his concerns on the vulnerability of health workers to the virus. Doreen Lugaliki was the first Kenyan doctor to succumb to COVID-19. Photo: Dennis Omollo. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Seneta Johnson Sakaja apigwa faini ya KSh 15,000 ama atupwe jela miezi 3 On Friday, July 10, Doreen Lugaliki became the first Kenyan doctor to lose her life to the highly contagious disease. She was one of the more than 500 health workers who had contracted the respiratory illness in the line of duty. The brave medical practitioner who worked as a gynecologist was buried on Monday, July 13, at her parents' home in Bungoma county. 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. Kamotho, Virginia and Tabitha meet in Court, media barred from covering the custody case | Tuko TV Source: TUKO.co.ke A group of diaspora Iranians and two advocacy groups released an open letter to the Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden Monday appealing to him to take steps against Irans human rights violation and global terrorism networks. The Constitutional Party of Iran and Iranian Americans for Liberty (IAL) are two advocacy groups leading the initiative calling on Biden to open dialogue with the Iranian American community over the behavior of the Islamic Republic and its suppression of basic civil rights of the Iranian people. Many Iranians who are opposed to the Islamic Republic and seek a regime change have been content with President Donald Trumps tough stance against Tehran. But with presidential elections approaching in November, some fear a Biden victory could change U.S. policy to a more conciliatory approach toward Iran. The world has long viewed the United States as a beacon of freedom and an advocate of the oppressed and the marginalized. The United States government has a moral obligation to protect and promote human rights in the face of violators anywhere and anytime. We strongly urge the U.S. to hold the Islamic Republic accountable and send a clear message that violations of basic human rights will not be tolerated., an official of the Constitutionalist Party of Iran said in a statement. The letter appeals to Biden for Engagement and dialogue with the Iranian-American community to form a multi-faceted comprehensive approach in dealing with the Islamic Republic regime. The signatories also ask for bipartisan support in confronting cyber threats from Iran against the United States. The letter also urges Robust financial counterterrorism measures against the Islamic Republics funding of Hezbollah, the Houthi Rebels in Yemen, Dictator Nicolas Maduro in Venezuela. During tough times, every small business should consider how its brand the characteristics that are the company's identity and lead customers to choose it over its competitors can adapt successfully. The following are parts of a business's brand that companies need to address both during and after the pandemic. Focus on safety Virtually every business is going to have to address health and safety protocols to keep their customers and employees safe. An employee or customer getting sick at your place of business can have huge ramifications for your company, Brinkman says. So review how you will enhance cleaning and disinfection, provide personal protective equipment (PPE), and establish social distancing measures your business will use. That may mean rearranging furniture or installing barriers. You may need to choose single-use or disposable items when possible. "Your commitment to health and safety needs to be very visible and right at the forefront, Brinkman says. You should be thinking about the people who are nervous about coming to your place of business and do what you can to make them comfortable, she adds. As social distancing requirements became the norm, many customers sought to limit contact with those outside their own home. An April 2020 MasterCard survey found that 79 percent of customers were using contactless payments for necessary purchases, driven by a desire for safety and cleanliness. While some customers want to head back into stores and restaurants, others want to protect themselves and their families. As a business owner, you need to think about your customers needs and provide products and services accordingly, Brinkman says. Improve your digital presence Gibbons was able to keep her small Monroe, Washington, retail shop open initially, but when stay-at-home orders came from the governor's office, Heavenly Soaps closed from March 24 through May 5. But her customers still wanted their products. So she immediately got to work, communicating with customers that she could still ship to them. She studied Instagram and Facebook marketing methods and began using them to target new customers. Gibbons had upgraded her website earlier in the year and, serendipitously, her checkout options now included store pickup. She also gained a new awareness of how to present products. It gets down to things like learning how to take better pictures or make your pictures look more inviting. I've purchased some new soap dishes that look like a clawfoot bathtub and put my soaps in there so it's more appealing to the eye, she says. China, Iran Approach Major Accord Amid Deteriorating US-China Relations By Si Yang July 20, 2020 Beijing is reported to be in the final stages of approving a $400 billion economic and security deal with Tehran, which some analysts say could give China a vast and secure source of energy and a strategic foothold in the Gulf. Iran's foreign ministry has confirmed that the potential agreement includes significant infrastructure investments and closer cooperation on defense and intelligence sharing. It's also rumored to include discounts for Iranian oil. The deal is the latest step in Beijing's attempt to expand from a regional hegemony to a world power via its Belt and Road Initiative. China-Iran deal There are no concrete details of the deal available yet, but reports about what is under discussion indicate massive investment. China is reportedly considering investing $280 billion in developing Iran's oil, gas, and petrochemical sectors; and another $120 billion in upgrading Tehran's manufacturing infrastructure. The deal's scope was further illustrated when Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told parliament on July 5 that the country has been negotiating a 25-year accord with China "with confidence and conviction." A report by the Petroleum Economist suggests that the deal represents a potential shift to the global balance of oil and gas sector, as Iran has promised China guaranteed discounts on its oil and gas, and the right to delay payment for Iranian production up to two years. China is Iran's top trading partner and a key market for Iranian crude oil exports, severely impacted by U.S. sanctions. How the United States fits in Iran announced progress on the deal at a time when U.S. and China relations are fast sliding, raising the question if Tehran is joining forces with Beijing as part of a broader effort to counter Washington's foothold in the Middle East. The agreement appears to have been in development since 2016, when China and Iran announced a 25-year-long "comprehensive strategic partnership" during Chinese President Xi Jinping's visit to Tehran. Alex Vatanka, director of the Iran program at the D.C.-based think tank Middle East Institute, told VOA that the deal was not initially meant to be an anti-American initiative. "Remember this was agreed in 2016. I think it was part of a broad Chinese ambition for Eurasia." He said, "If you look at the Belt and Road initiative of China, Iran appears prominently in that." Yet Vatanka said the timing of the Iranian announcement is tricky, adding there is a possibility that Iran wants to take advantage of deteriorating U.S.-China relations and go ahead and finalize the deal. But he says the Iranian government likely is also doing this for domestic purposes. "There is another driver. They want to show the Iranian people that they are not alone on the international stage," said Vatanka. "The Americans are alone. Much of this is a game of psychology. Iranians leaders do not want to be seen in the eyes of the Iranian people that they brought the country to total isolation." In 2018, the Trump administration withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and imposed new rounds of sanctions on Iran's energy, finance, and military sectors. Benjamin Friedman, policy director of military think tank Defense Priorities, argued that policy partly encouraged Iran to seek cooperation with China. "It's a good opportunity for China because [of] the United States' sanctions on Iran. It is desperate now, probably is willing to sell its oil at more of a discount," he said. U.S. response When asked about whether U.S. sanctions could have further strengthened the alliance between China and Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the U.S. would continue to impose costs on Chinese companies that aid Iran. "We have a set of sanctions related to any company or country that engages in an activity with Iran. The sanctions are clear. We have been unambiguous about enforcing them against our companies from allies, countries from all across the world. We would certainly do that with respect to activity between Iran and China as well," he said at a press briefing on July 15. Timothy Heath, a defense researcher at the RAND Corporation, said the China-Iran deal is just the latest example of escalating tensions between the U.S. and China. "It follows the trend of the U.S. government policy that describes China as a competitor and a threat. The other trend is the growing deterioration in the U.S. China relations," he told VOA. "Issues keep piling up, and the relations keep getting worse," he said, "China's recent agreement with Iran is the country's move to build up a partnership that would weaken U.S. presence in the Middle East. Both sides seem to be taking escalatory behavior to assert authority and to punish the other side, and this should be seen as another step in that broad trend." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Australians can continue claiming the JobKeeper and JobSeeker coronavirus supplements past their scheduled end date in September - but will need to meet a series of new conditions to do so. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Tuesday JobKeeper for full-time workers would be reduced from $1,500 to $1,200 a fortnight from September 27, before that figure drops to $1,000 during the first three months of 2021. The JobSeeker supplement will meanwhile be reduced from $550 to $250 a fortnight - making the total fortnightly payment for dole recipients $800. To receive that benefit applicants will have to prove not only that they are actively looking for a job, but also that they don't have the means to survive on their own. Australians will need to meet a series of new criteria to keep access to the dole and the government's COVID-19 wage subsidy. Prime Minister Scott Morrison is pictured meeting an employee of a display company on Monday ahead of Tuesday's announcement revealing changes to JobKeeper and JobSeeker Mutual obligation rules requiring those claiming the payment to search for four jobs a month will restart on August 4, with penalties in places for those who refuse an offer of work. Job search requirements will then increase in September, at which point an assets test will kick in - requiring single non-homeowners to prove they have less than $482,500 in assets. That asset limit drops to $268,000 for those who are single and own their own home, and increases to $616,000 for couples who don't own a home. Businesses claiming JobKeeper will also face being cut off from the wage subsidy if they cannot prove their earnings have dropped 30 per cent since the beginning of the pandemic. They will have to prove they satisfy that condition once more when the JobKeeper rates change again in January. How are the support payments changing from September? JOBKEEPER * The $1500 fortnightly wage subsidy will continue until September 27 * From the end of September to January, JobKeeper will be reduced to $1200 for full-time workers and $750 for people working 20 hours or less * From January to March, the full-time rate will be $1000 and part-time will reduce to $650 * Businesses turning over less than $1 billion will have to requalify for the program at both stages through showing a 30 per cent drop in revenue. * Businesses with more than $1 billion in turnover have to demonstrate a 50 per cent fall JOBSEEKER * The elevated unemployment benefit will remain at $1100 a fortnight until September 27 * From that date until the end of the year the $550 coronavirus supplement will be cut by $300 to make the overall fortnightly payment $800 * People will be able to earn up to $300 without having their payment reduced * The mutual obligation rules requiring people to search for four jobs a month will restart on August 4 * Penalties for people refusing a job offer will be reintroduced * Job search requirements will increase in September when the assets test will also return * The permanent JobSeeker rate to take effect from January next year will be announced in the October 6 budget. Advertisement A two-tiered system - meaning those who worked only 20 hours a week before February will get only $750 per fortnight - has been brought in because one in four casuals are earning more on JobKeeper than when they worked. Businesses with more than $1billion in turnover have to demonstrate a 50 per cent fall. Applicants will also have to continue to notify the government about any changes to their personal or work circumstances. People queue for a Centrelink Service Centre in Sydney at the onset of the pandemic in March. The JobSeeker supplement is being reduced from $550 to $250 a fortnight Penalties apply if situations like your study, care, or relationship change and you don't notify Services Australia. Other changes in personal circumstances that need to be notified to the government include changes to assets, lump sum payments or a change in contact details. The Prime Minister said on Tuesday the aim of extending the support was to make sure Australian economy emerges strongly from the crisis. 'Australia is a country that just doesn't look to survive these things. We don't go through challenges with our heads looking down, overwhelmed by the circumstances. That is not who we are,' he said. 'Who we are is innovative adaptive people, supporting each other, reaching out to each other, drawing us all through, not for survival, but to be on the other side in the position where we can emerge strongly.' JobKeeper is being extended beyond the end of September but businesses will need to continue proving they have suffered a 30 per cent drop in earnings MUTUAL OBLIGATIONS REQUIREMENTS BACK FOR YOUNG PEOPLE As the Morrison government extends the JobSeeker coronavirus supplement to the end of the year, it is also reinstating mutual obligations. FROM AUGUST 4 People looking for work are expected to: * Participate in at least one phone or online appointment with their job services provider * Agree to a job plan which lays out what a job hunter will do while on the payment to move back into employment * Undertake four job searches a month * Take part in training or other activities online or in person if safe PENALTIES * Payments will not be suspended and financial penalties won't apply if job hunters can't meet the above requirements * If you're offered a job and reject it without a valid reason payments might be cancelled, and it would be a four-week wait before you're allowed to apply for welfare again * JobSeekers struggling to meet mutual obligations are encouraged to speak with their job service providers. Source: Department of Education, Skills and Employment Advertisement Mr Frydenberg said support will continue for those in need when eligibility across both payments are tightened. 'JobKeeper has been an economic lifeline to millions of Australians and that lifeline will be extended for those businesses that need it most,' he said. Labor leader Anthony Albanese said he was concerned that JobKeeper's flat rate led to 875,000 workers being paid more than before the crisis. 'It's good that the government has finally woken up to some of the waste in this scheme,' he told ABC radio. NAKASONGOLA The Chief of Defence Forces (CDF) of the Uganda Peoples Defence Forces (UPDF, Gen David Muhoozi, has flagged off a UPDF Aviation Unit due to deploy under the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM). The unit under the command of Col Moses Amanya was flagged off at Nakasongola UPDF Air Force (UPDF AF) Wing. The CDF said that the operations against the Al-Shabaab insurgents will be much easier with the presence of air support. The presence of airpower will offer us extensive asymmetric advantages over the unconventional and `dispersed enemy in Somalia. With air assets, we will be able respond quickly with precision fires or inject a quick reaction force once the enemy assembles, he said. He added that the presence of air assets will also not only guarantee dominance of firepower for the UPDF over the enemy but also provide marked advantage on technical intelligence, among other benefits. Once eventually fully injected on the operation theatre with all the assets, we are confident that you will provide the ground forces with the necessary firepower that was missing to subdue the enemy. Airpower is also an important intelligence capability, enhancing surveillance and reconnaissance that we have been operating without for over a decade, he said, urging the Air Force team to fully cultivate the advantages they can offer to the ground forces so as to bring a quick end to the Al-Shabaab menace. The Commander Air Forces, Lt Gen Charles Lwanga Lutaaya said the deployment is based on a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding between the African Union, United Nations and Government of Uganda. The MOU authorized the aviation services to include, but not limited to, timely evacuation from hostile environment, transportation of dangerous goods, quick insertion and extraction of troops, aerial surveillance and reconnaissance, armed escorts, armed air reconnaissance, main supply routes support, combat search and rescue, support for airmobile operations, close air support, deterrence operations, air cover, armed patrols, interdiction and troop resupply in hostile environment missions and transportation of personnel and cargo. Lt Gen Lutaaya noted that the UPDF Aviation Unit should have deployed earlier but it was affected by a setback of the 2012 aircraft crash on Mt Kenya during deployment phase. Despite the air crash set-back, UPDF-AF vision was not exterminated. We learnt from that tragedy and have put energies together over time with the support from our partners to form an Aviation Unit that is ready to deploy for AMISOM operations, said Lt Gen Lutaaya. The occasion was attended by among others, the Joint Chief of Staff Lt Gen Joseph Musanyufu, Chief of Staff Land Forces Maj Gen Leopold Kyanda, who also represented the Commander Land Forces, Chief of Staff Air Forces Maj Gen Charles Okidi and Chief of Personnel and Administration Maj Gen George Igumba. Related Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 20:25:31|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close TEHRAN, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Tuesday announced Iran's readiness to extend a 20-year cooperation agreement with Russia, official IRNA news agency reported. The extension of a 20-year agreement between Iran and Russia is on the agenda of talks between the Iranian delegation and the Russian officials, Zarif told IRNA upon arriving in Moscow on Tuesday for talks on mutual ties as well as the latest regional and international developments. Iran and Russia have sealed a 20-year comprehensive cooperation agreement which will expire in March 2021. The Iranian foreign minister described Iran's relations with Russia as "strategic", saying the need for regular consultations between Tehran and Moscow is necessary given the speed of regional and international developments. During his one-day visit to Moscow, Zarif is scheduled to meet his Russian counterpart Sergei Lavrov as well as other senior officials of the northern neighbor to exchange views on the issues of mutual interest. Iranian Ambassador to Russia Kazem Jalali said his country is interested in buying new weapons from Russia to enhance its defense capabilities, Tasnim news agency reported Tuesday. "We will hold consultations with Russia on what we need to enhance our defense capabilities ... Russia is our priority partner in this sense," Jalali was quoted as saying. Enditem PORTLAND, Ore. Federal law enforcement officers actions at protests in Oregons largest city, done without local authorities consent, are raising the prospect of a constitutional crisis one that could escalate as weeks of demonstrations find renewed focus in clashes with camouflaged, unidentified agents outside Portlands U.S. courthouse. State and local authorities, who did not ask for federal help, are awaiting a ruling in a federal lawsuit filed late last week by state Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum. She said in court papers that masked federal officers have arrested people off the street, far from the courthouse, with no probable cause and whisked them away in unmarked cars. Constitutional law experts said Monday the federal officers' actions are a "red flag" in what could become a test case of states' rights as the Trump administration expands its federal policing into other cities. "The idea that there's a threat to a federal courthouse and the federal authorities are going to swoop in and do whatever they want to do without any cooperation and coordination with state and local authorities is extraordinary outside the context of a civil war," said Michael Dorf, a professor of constitutional law at Cornell University. "It is a standard move of authoritarians to use the pretext of quelling violence to bring in force, thereby prompting a violent response and then bootstrapping the initial use of force in the first place," Dorf said. President Donald Trump says he plans to send federal agents to other cities as well. The Chicago Tribune, citing anonymous sources, reported Monday that Trump planned to deploy 150 federal agents to Chicago. The ACLU of Oregon has sued in federal court over the agents' presence in Portland, and the organization's Chicago branch said it would similarly oppose a federal presence. "We're going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you," Trump said Monday. "In Portland, they've done a fantastic job. They've been there three days and they really have done a fantastic job in a very short period of time." Later Monday, DHS said in a tweet that federal agents were barricaded in the courthouse at one point and had lasers pointed at their eyes in an attempt to blind them. "Portland is rife with violent anarchists assaulting federal officers and federal buildings," a DHS tweet said. "This isn't a peaceful crowd. These are federal crimes." Top leaders in the U.S. House said Sunday they were "alarmed" by the Trump administration's tactics in Portland and other cities. They've called on federal inspectors general to investigate. Trump, who called the protesters "anarchists and agitators" in a Sunday tweet, said the agents, with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the Justice Department, are on hand to help Portland and restore order at the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse. The actions run counter to the usual philosophies of American conservatives, who typically treat state and local rights with great sanctity and have long been deeply wary of the federal government particularly its armed agents interceding in most situations. But Trump, a Republican, has shown during his time in office that his actions do not always reflect traditional conservatism particularly when politics, and in this case an impending election, are in play. One prominent Republican, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky, who is from the libertarian-leaning flank of the party, came out publicly against the federal agents. "We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will," Paul said in a tweet Monday. The protests now gaining nationwide attention have roiled Portland for 52 nights, ever since George Floyd died after being pinned by the neck for nearly eight minutes by a white Minneapolis police officer. Many rallies have attracted thousands and been largely peaceful. But smaller groups of up to several hundred people have focused on federal property and local law enforcement buildings, at times setting fires to police precincts, smashing windows and clashing violently with local police. The Portland Police Bureau used tear gas on multiple occasions until a federal court order banned its officers from doing so without declaring a riot. Now, concern is growing that the tear gas is being used against demonstrators by federal officers instead. Anger at the federal presence escalated on July 11, when a protester who was hospitalized with critical injuries after a U.S. Marshals Service officer struck him in the head with a non-lethal round. Video of the incident shows the man, identified as Donavan LaBella, standing across the street from the officers holding a speaker over his head with both hands when he was struck. Affidavits filed in federal court in cases against recently arrested protesters also show that federal officers have posted lookouts on the upper stories of the courthouse and have plainclothes officers circulating in the crowd. Court papers in one case against a man arrested on federal charges for shining a green laser in the eyes of Federal Protective Service agents show that Portland police turned him over to federal authorities after federal officers identified him, in part with the testimony of their undercover officers. Mayor Ted Wheeler, who himself has been under fire locally for his handling of the protests, said Sunday on national TV talk shows that the demonstrations that dominated Portland headlines for more than seven weeks were dwindling before federal officers engaged. "They are sharply escalating the situation. Their presence here is actually leading to more violence and more vandalism. And it's not helping the situation at all," Wheeler said Sunday on CNN's "State of the Union." "They're not wanted here. We haven't asked them here," Wheeler said. "In fact, we want them to leave." Indeed, crowds of demonstrators had begun to dwindle a week ago, and some people in notoriously liberal Portland including Black community leaders had begun to call for the nightly demonstrations to end. But by the weekend, the presence of federal troops and Trump's repeated references to Portland as a hotbed of "anarchists" seemed to give a new life and renewed focus to the nightly demonstrations and to attract a broader base. On Sunday night, a crowd estimated at more than 500 people gathered outside the courthouse and included dozens of self-described "moms" who linked arms in a line in front of a chain link fence in front of the courthouse. The demonstration continued into Monday morning. "It seems clear that there were at least some federal crimes committed here," said Steve Vladeck, a constitutional law professor at the University of Texas. "But the notion that a handful of federal crimes justifies a substantial deployment of federal law enforcement officers to show force on the streets is, to my mind, unprecedented." "Federal law enforcement," Vladeck said, "is not a political prop." ____ Gillian Flaccus of The Associated Press wrote this story. Follow her on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus New Delhi: Vehicle registration for June tumbled by 42 percent as the Indian economy continues to battle with Covid-19, the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) releasing the monthly vehicle registration data for the month of June 2020 said on Tuesday. On a Year on Year basis, 2-Wheeler segment showed degrowth by 40.92 percent, 3-Wheeler by 75.43 percent, CV by 83.83 percent, and PV by 38.34 percent. However, tractors registrations continue to march ahead with June numbers showing a growth of 10.86 percent, FADA said. Ease in nationwide lockdown (Unlock 1.0) has boosted the number of vehicles registered compared to May last month. Robust Demand recovery has been observed in rural market leading to rise in sales volume of tractors, followed by 2W, small commercial vehicles. However, M&HCV and PV sales particularly in urban pockets play laggards as Lockdown persists in many cities. Demand boosters from the government can ensure speedier Auto demand revival. Attractive vehicle scrappage policy is one of the dire needs for revival of CV market, FADA added. June registrations, although better than May is still not Indicative of the actual demand situation as Lockdown woes continue in some parts and supply side is far from its complete potential. Overall weak economic sentiments coupled with rising number of Covid-19 patients has led to weak consumer confidence especially in Tier 1 cities, as customers stopover from concluding their purchase as fear of community spread and therefore a return of complete lockdown persists, FADA President, Ashish Harsharaj Kale said. FADA expects that the coming month may show some promise for vehicle registrations. Paris Hilton is set to discuss a period of trauma from her childhood for the very first time in a new documentary on her YouTube channel. In a clip that was released Tuesday, Paris, 39, is heard saying: 'Something happened in my childhood that I've never talked about with anyone. I still have nightmares about it.' The YouTube Originals documentary This Is Paris will see the hotel heiress talk frankly about the mental abuse she endured as a teenager while at boarding school in Utah, PEOPLE reports. Confessions: Paris Hilton - pictured above in February this year - is set to reveal traumatic childhood incident in new YouTube documentary, saying: 'I still have nightmares about it' It is not yet clear what The Simple Life star will be revealing in the documentary, but she previously described the experience of making it as 'therapeutic' while appearing on The Talk. The dramatic new clip shows Paris preparing to tell her story, while admitting that the situation is making her so nervous she is unable to eat. "'No one really knows who I am,' she adds in the teaser. 'No one knows who I really am': Paris Hilton - pictured above at her 21st birthday in 2002, is known for being an international party girl Per the report, the documentary has been described as uncovering 'the hidden past of the international icon' meaning Paris. The description reads: 'As Paris confronts the heartbreaking trauma that forged who she is today, this deeply compelling portrait tells the real story of a teenage girl desperate to escape into a fantasy and sheds new light on the insta-fame culture that Paris helped to create.' Her sister Nicky Rothschild Hilton, 36, and their mother Kathy Hilton, 61, are also to appear in the film, which has been directed by Emmy-winning talent Alexandra Dean. Speaking on The Talk earlier this year, Paris said about making the feature: 'I started thinking about my past and what I've been through and realized just how much it's affected my life and how I was holding on to so much trauma for so long.' President Donald Trump holds a face mask as he speaks during a news conference at the White House in Washington on July 21, 2020. (Evan Vucci/AP Photo) Trump Holds First CCP Virus Briefing in Weeks, Calls on Americans to Wear a Mask President Donald Trump on Tuesday evening resumed giving regular COVID-19 briefings, coming weeks after they were discontinued. Americans should wear a mask whether you like the mask or not, he said. They have an impact, he added. My administration will stop at nothing to save lives weve learned so much about this disease, Trump said, adding that the vaccines are coming sooner than anyone thought possible. Some areas of our country are doing very well, Trump said, adding that it will get worse before it gets better. He noted that the U.S. medical supply chain is now well-stocked and suggested there are no shortfalls. The president reiterated that half of COVID-19 deaths are among people who are in nursing homes, while many more have underlying health problems. He cited data showing that among young people and children, the virus has little impact. The average age of those who are tested is significantly lower than those who were tested in April, Trump added. The fatality rate, meanwhile, is lower than most other countries, Trump remarked. He said that ventilators from the United States are in high demand across the world. In previous comments to media outlets, the president said the briefings would be heavily focused on the vaccine and development of drugs to treat the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus, a novel coronavirus that emerged in China last year. President Donald Trump wears a mask as he visits Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Bethesda, Md., on July 11, 2020. (Alex Edelman/AFP via Getty Images) Trump held daily briefings with the White House virus task force headed by Vice President Mike Pence, top infectious diseases expert Dr. Anthony Fauci, task force coordinator Dr. Deborah Birx, and other officials from March until April. I think its a great way to get information out to the public as to where we are with the vaccine, with the therapeutics, and generally speaking where we are, Trump said earlier this week about the potential of holding daily briefings. So I think well start that, probably starting tomorrow. The United States has confirmed 3.7 million CCP virus cases and about 140,000 Americans have died from the virus. Arizona, Texas, California, Florida, and other states have seen significant increases in infections in recent days. Both Trump and White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany suggested that ratings could be a factor. Hes the right person to give the information to the American people, McEnany said during a news conference on Tuesday. And, boy, does he get the information to a lot of the American people during his briefings, as noted by the ratings. Fauci, the nations top infectious disease expert, said he not been informed about his role on Tuesday, telling NPR that he wasnt told about being in attendance. During the news conference, only Trump was in attendance and spoke. Iran executes US, Israeli agent who spied on General Soleimani Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 7:29 AM Iran says it has executed a CIA and Mossad agent, who had been convicted of espionage for US and Israeli spying agencies, including the exposing of top anti-terror commander Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani's whereabouts to them. Mahmoud Mousavi Majd was executed early Monday, Mizan Online, the Judiciary's news agency, reported. Judiciary spokesman Gholam-Hossein Esmaeili had announced the death sentence during a press conference on June 9. The convict had contacted the spy agencies, providing them with information he had gathered in various security-related areas, especially data concerning the Iranian Armed Forces, including the Quds Force of Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), Esmaeili said at the time. According to the spokesman, Majd handed over the information to the US and Israeli spy agencies in exchange for remuneration in dollar. Mizan Online said on one count, Majd had been convicted of spying on General Soleimani, the Quds Force's former commander, plus other military commanders' movements and locations, and reporting them to the CIA and Mossad. The death sentence was upheld by Branch 19 of the Islamic Republic's Supreme Court. General Soleimani was assassinated in a US airstrike at Baghdad airport on January 3, along with Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq's Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), and a number of their companions. Both commanders were extremely popular because of playing a key role in eliminating the US-sponsored Daesh terrorist group in the region, particularly in Iraq and Syria. Earlier in July, Agnes Callamard, United Nations special rapporteur on extrajudicial, summary or arbitrary executions, in a report to the UN Human Rights Council underlined the "unlawful" nature of the operation because the US had failed to provide evidence of an ongoing or imminent attack against its interests to justify the strike. Also speaking to Lebanon's al-Mayadeen television network on July 12, she called the assassination "violation of every single principle not only governing international law, but governing international relations." Had an official "from a so-called 'democratic' Western country" been targeted in such a manner, that country would have considered the attack "as an act of aggression and as declaration of war," Callamard said. The UN rapporteur has issued a warning to the US and other countries, urging them not to repeat such acts of aggression. In response to the assassination, the IRGC fired volleys of ballistic missiles at two US bases in Iraq on January 8. Iran has also issued an arrest warrant and asked Interpol for help in detaining President Donald Trump, who ordered the assassination, and several other US military and political leaders behind the strike. Mizan Online, meanwhile, offered a brief background on the spy who had moved to Syria alongside his family due to his father's business activities decades ago. After his studies, Majd, who had become proficient in Arabic and English, enrolled as a translator with a company that was in contact with Iran. He remained in Syria until a foreign-backed war broke out in 2011. He then tried establishing close contact with Iranian military advisors there, before contacting a West Asia-based CIA officer. Majd's contacts with the officer were detected by the Islamic Republic's intelligence. The spy's "suspicious behavior" then led to more rigorous investigation about him that unveiled his communications with "a network of CIA intelligence officers." NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address The Bono East Regional Chairman of the New Patriotic Party, Mr Thomas Adu-Appiah and Professor Tina Abrefa-Gyan, a parliamentary candidate of the Wenchi constituency who also doubles as the first vice chairperson of the NPP-USA branch have toured some registration centres in the region. In a brief statement, they called on all Ghanaians who are of 18 years and above with a sound mind to see this as a national duty and go out in their numbers to register for the voter's ID. "We would like to remind the good people of Nkoranza South constituency not to forget to take along their proofs of identity, i.e., the passport, national identification card or to go with a guarantor who has already registered under this recent registration exercise and can confirm their citizenship as Ghanaians," they said during their tour. They reminded all Ghanaians especially the people of Nkoranza South constituency not to forget to vote for the Nana-Bawumia ticket for a resounding victory. Proceeds to be used to fund drill program to significantly expand the Mont Sorcier Resource TORONTO, CANADA / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Vanadium One Iron Corp. (the "Company") (TSXV:VONE), announces a proposed non-brokered private placement financing for aggregate gross proceeds to the Company of approximately $1,300,000 (the "Offering"), through a combination of common share units ("Units") and Quebec Charity Flow-Through common share units ('CFT Units'). The Units are priced at $0.10 per unit and the CFT Units shares are priced at $0.18 per share. Each unit will consist of one common share in the capital of the Company plus one common share purchase warrant. Each full warrant will entitle its holder to purchase one additional common share at an exercise price of $0.15 for a period of 2 years from the closing date of the private placement. There can be no assurance that the Offering will be completed, whether in whole or in part. The Company proposes to close the Offering in multiple tranches at the discretion of the Company. Directors and officers of the Company may participate in the Offering. Accordingly, any such participation would be considered a "related party transaction" under Multilateral Instrument 61-101 - Protection of Minority Security Holders in Special Transactions ("MI 61-101"). However, such participation would be exempt from the formal valuation and majority of the minority shareholder approval set out in MI 61-101 since at the time the transaction was agreed to: (i) the securities of the Company were not listed or quoted on one of the exchanges or markets specifically identified in MI 61-101; (ii) neither the fair market value of the securities to be distributed in the Offering nor the consideration to be received for those securities, insofar as the transactions involves interested parties, would exceed $2,500,000; and (iii) the Company has one or more independent directors and, at least two thirds of said independent directors approved the transaction, as required pursuant to sections 5.5 and 5.7 of MI 61-101. The Company will use the proceeds of the Offering to finance the Company's continuing expansion at its Mont Sorcier Vanadium Magnetite project near Chibougamau, Quebec, and for general working capital requirements. Completion of the Offering is subject to certain conditions including, but not limited to, the receipt of all necessary approvals, including the approval of the Exchange and the securities regulatory authorities. All securities issued by the Company in connection with the Offering will be subject to a statutory four month hold period. About Vanadium One Iron Corp.: Vanadium One Iron Corp. is a mineral exploration company headquartered in Toronto, Canada. The Company is focused on advancing its Mont Sorcier, Vanadium-rich, Magnetite Iron Ore Project, in Chibougamau, Quebec. The goal is to continue defining the extent of this resource and demonstrate its economic viability. ON BEHALF OF THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF VANADIUM ONE IRON CORP. Cliff Hale-Sanders, President & CEO Tel: 416-819-8558 info@vanadiumone.com www.vanadiumone.com Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements: Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. This news release contains "forward-looking information" including statements with respect to the future exploration performance of the Company. This forward-looking information involves known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors which may cause the actual results, performance or achievements of the Company to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements of the Company, expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. These risks, as well as others, are disclosed within the Company's filing on SEDAR, which investors are encouraged to review prior to any transaction involving the securities of the Company. Forward-looking information contained herein is provided as of the date of this news release and the Company disclaims any obligation, other than as required by law, to update any forward-looking information for any reason. There can be no assurance that forward-looking information will prove to be accurate and the reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on such forward-looking information. SOURCE: Vanadium One Iron Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598229/Vanadium-One-Iron-Announces-Private-Placement Researchers at Vanderbilt University Medical Center (Nashville, TN, USA) have identified potently neutralizing antibodies that are showing promise as a potential therapy for preventing and treating COVID-19 in preclinical studies.The monoclonal antibodies were isolated from the blood of a couple from Wuhan, China, who were diagnosed with COVID-19 after traveling to Canada, in late January, and were two of the earliest confirmed cases of COVID-19 in North America. During the past two years, VUMC researchers have developed ultra-fast methods for discovering highly potent antiviral human monoclonal antibodies and validating their ability to protect small animals and non-human primates, all in less than three months. The researchers have used this rapid antibody discovery platform to isolate hundreds of human monoclonal antibodies against the surface spike (S) protein that enables SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, to infect lung cells.The researchers have found that the antibodies, COV2-2196 and COV2-2130, bind to distinct sites on the S protein and either alone or in combination reduce the viral burden in infected mice and protect them from weight loss and lung inflammation. They also found that COV2-2196 and another potent antibody, COV2-2381, given alone protected rhesus macaques from SARS-CoV-2 infection. Collectively these results suggest that these monoclonal antibodies, either alone or in combination, are promising candidates for prevention or treatment of COVID-19, according to the researchers. Here's why the pricing of OnePlus Nord will be a deciding factor. OnePlus Nord AR launch event to begin at 7:30 PM in India. OnePlus Nord to be priced under $500 OnePlus Nord will launch in a couple of hours later in an AR launch event thats scheduled to begin at 7:30 PM IST. The launch marks the companys re-entry into the affordable mid-range segment with much of the features and specifications already out in the open basis of leaks and official teasers. The price of OnePlus Nord remains the last piece of the puzzle that will determine the phones value in the overcrowded smartphone space in India. Will it be a phone that offers the true OnePlus experience at a really affordable price point? Or does it fail the expectations it has set in the minds of the consumers ahead of the launch? OnePlus, once a champion of offering flagship killers isnt new to the affordable segment as it is the genesis of this smartphone marker. Starting from OnePlus One that launched in India for Rs 21,999 to the latest OnePlus 8 series that starts from Rs 41,999, the company has breached price segments with every iteration. In fact, it tested the waters in its younger days with the OnePlus X that was priced at Rs 16,999 in India but had a short shelf life due to several issues plaguing the phone and hence failed to grab more eyeballs. OnePlus Nord to be priced under $500 OnePlus Nord: leaked design render OnePlus has only hinted once about the price of the Nord and stated that it will be priced below $500-mark which is around Rs 37,000 by direct conversion. Remember that the phone has been confirmed to feature a Snapdragon 765G chipset, six cameras, 90Hz high-refresh-rate display and fast charging. The only other phone with Snapdragon 765G is the recently launched Vivo X50 series that starts at Rs 34,990 in India and heres where OnePlus could undercut the competition and aim for a more affordable price point for the Nord. Apple iPhone SE 2020 starts at Rs 42,500 in India and at that price it becomes unaffordable for budget-minded customers, which is something OnePlus should not do. With the Nord, it wants to target the segment it once left behind, opening a space for an aggressively priced mid-range smartphone between the price range of Rs 25,000 to Rs 35,000. The current offerings in this space include the Redmi K20 series, Vivo X50, Realme X3 SuperZoom, Oppo Reno3 Pro and more but none of them have been able to capture the market, barring the Redmi K20 series which has been out since July 2019. OnePlus Nord expected pricing The closest competitor of the OnePlus Nord just in terms of on-paper specifications is the Vivo X50 which runs on the same chip as the Nord. There are subtle design and cosmetic differences between both the phones but the idea behind OnePlus undercutting the X50 has to do with the fact that the company still sells the OnePlus 7T that starts at Rs 34,999. With that segment already covered, the company could go aggressive with its affordable smartphone and price it even lower than Rs 30,000 for the base variant. A price of around Rs 25,000 while seemingly unreal, could, in fact, propel the company to expand its offerings across different budget ranges and is sure to please a lot of interested people looking to purchase a smartphone at under Rs 30,000. Then again there is a lot that the OnePlus Nord is expected to bring to the table such as 5G support and the OxygenOS experience along with two selfie cameras. As such, we believe the pricing of the OnePlus Nord could be closer to the Rs 30,000-mark and could even start at Rs 29,999 for the base variant. Theres also the case of a difference of Rs 6,000 to Rs 7,000 between the various phones offered by OnePlus as spotted by the good folks over at TechPP, which could mean that OnePlus could also go aggressive by pricing it at Rs 27,999 or Rs 28,999. Its also likely that the company prices the base variant at under Rs 30,000 and the rest of the variants are priced over that price point. Then again, the current economic crisis, the GST rate hike and supply chain disruptions could play a role in a price tag that exceeds expectations. Nevertheless, this is just speculation as we await the launch and price reveal of the OnePlus Nord in India. It will be interesting to see how OnePlus positions the Nord in India as it continues to sell the OnePlus 7T, OnePlus 7T Pro, OnePlus 7T Pro McLaren Edition and the OnePlus 8 series. THE ISSUE: The Trump administration unleashes federal forces to crack down on protests in Oregon. THE STAKES: Congress must put a stop to the erosion of freedom that Americans can plainly see on their TV and computer screens. --- Unidentified armed men in camouflage grab protesters off the street, force them into unmarked vans, drive them off without even telling them the charges against them. It sounds like the state-sponsored thuggery of Vladimir Putin's Russia or horror stories from the "disappeared" under Argentina's military dictatorship decades ago. But it's happening, right now, in Portland, Ore., where President Donald Trump's administration is attacking Americans' constitutional rights under the supposed cover of law. Whether its legal interpretation is correct or not, something is clearly wrong when a president can run roughshod over people's rights anywhere his political agenda suits him. One way or another, Congress must put Mr. Trump's un-American authoritarianism to an end. Let's be clear: What Mr. Trump is doing in Portland is wholly unnecessary. That's not our opinion. It's the assessment of state and local leaders who are there, including the governor, mayor, and police chief, who say the federal crackdown has only exacerbated tensions that were finally abating before Mr. Trump got involved. They've told him to stop. He won't. The administration claims broad authority in defending federal properties, which have been damaged during the nationwide protests that have gone on since shortly after the Memorial Day police killing of George Floyd, a Black Minneapolis man. The administration has supplemented the Federal Protective Service, which is responsible for protecting federal property, with agents from other entities like the Transportation Security Administration, the Coast Guard and Immigration and Customs Enforcement. The broadly worded law allows them to make warrantless arrests and to "carry out such other activities for the promotion of homeland security as the Secretary may prescribe." Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler rightly calls this "an attack on our democracy" by a president looking to use his city as "a staging ground to further his political agenda." Sign up for The Knick Get the latest news and some area history with our afternoon newsletter. It wouldn't be the first time. Back on June 1, the administration had federal agents force protesters out of Lafayette Park in Washington, D.C., just so Mr. Trump could be photographed standing outside a church and holding a Bible. Fortunately, these actions have drawn the attention of three House committees, which have asked the Justice and Homeland Security departments' inspectors general to look into their legality. Whether Mr. Trump will just fire them, as he has done with other such watchdogs, is anyone's guess. If all this is legal, then an overly broad law needs to be narrowed to prevent such abuses. If it isn't legal, Congress, and quite likely the courts, need to restrain this president. And we the people need an answer quickly. It is six months until Inauguration Day, far too long for a tyrannical regime to be allowed to run out of control. Experiences of racism are associated with lower subjective cognitive function (SCF) among African-American women, suggests the findings of a recent study. Rates of incident dementia and Alzheimers Disease (AD) are higher in African Americans than in white Americans. In many studies, older African Americans perform more poorly on neuropsychological cognition tests compared to white Americans. Experiences of racism are common among African Americans, with 50 percent or more respondents to a 2017 national survey reporting such experiences. These institutional and daily forms of racism have been associated with increased risks of various conditions that can impair cognition, including depression, poor sleep, type 2 diabetes and hypertension. Using data from the Black Womens Health Study (a prospective cohort study established in 1995, when 59,000 black women aged 21 through 69 years enrolled by completing health questionnaires) researchers from Boston Universitys Slone Epidemiology Center quantified the association between experiences of racism and SCF, based on six questions about memory and cognition. They found that experiences of both daily and institutional racism were associated with decreased SCF. Women reporting the highest level of daily racism had 2.75 times the risk of poor SCF as women reporting the lowest level of daily racism. Women in the highest category of institutional racism had 2.66 times the risk of poor SCF as those who reported no such experiences. Our findings of a positive association of experiences of racism with poorer subjective cognitive function are consistent with previous work demonstrating that higher perceived psychological stress is associated with greater subjective memory decline, explains senior author Lynn Rosenberg, ScD, an epidemiologist at the Slone Epidemiology Center at Boston University and a principal investigator of the Black Womens Health Study. Our work suggests that the chronic stress associated with racial discrimination may contribute to racial disparities in cognition and AD, added Rosenberg, who is also a professor of epidemiology at Boston University School of Public Health. Future work is needed to examine whether exposure to institutional and daily racism accelerates conversion to Alzheimers dementia and/or increases levels of AD biomarkers, such as cerebrospinal fluid or PET markers of amyloid and tau pathology, according to the researchers. (This story has been published from a wire agency feed without modifications to the text. Only the headline has been changed.) Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter Click here to read the full article. The dealmakers are starting to come back. Like everyone else, most of the investors who buy and sell companies went home in March and in the words of one major dealmaker, went into life-raft mode, shoring up the businesses already in their portfolios and helping them plot a course forward. More from WWD But once that work was done, they started to venture back out into the market, if only via Zoom, to reconnect with potential partners, to commiserate about the pandemic and business with both sides reassessing what makes sense. There has been some pandemic dealmaking during the last few months, most notably KKRs deal to buy 60 percent of Wella from Coty Inc. at a valuation of $4.3 billion, and, elsewhere in the consumer space, L Cattertons purchase of $400 million in exchangeable senior notes tied to Norwegian Cruise Line Holdings. So far, most of the action in fashion has seen jockeying by brand specialists like Authentic Brands Group for bankrupt names, including Brooks Brothers and Lucky Brand. There are also strategic players like PVH Corp. and VF Corp. looking to consolidate their holds on various sectors in the industry, while numerous players circle around bankrupt retailers Neiman Marcus Group and J.C. Penney Co. Inc. But thats just the tip of the iceberg, which includes a lot of private equity and venture types looking to wheel and deal. Many buyers have money and access to more, while business owners are resetting value expectations at a time when an economic recovery looks to come at a snails pace at best and not until late next year or 2022 at worst. Its a situation ripe with potential and yet still tentative. Some possible transactions could fall away if the coronavirus situation improves and companies start feeling better going it alone. Likewise, some deals could get sidelined if the pandemic continues to worsen. Either way, the market is reawakening and buyers are out and on the hunt with new takes on a new world. Story continues Weve reflected on COVID-19 and what consumer behavior will be post-COVID-19 and based on that weve refined our thinking, said Jill Granoff, chief executive officer of Eurazeo Brands, which has stakes in Pat McGrath Labs, Bandier, Herschel and more. We are very focused now on consumer staples versus consumer discretionary. That includes a special focus on categories such as skin care, hair care, food and beverage, health and wellness and pet care. Those are areas that we think will be strong regardless of the situation, Granoff said. But even companies that were well-positioned when COVID-19 hit are needing help. We are getting a lot of phone calls for what I will call rescue capital strong brands that find themselves in a bit of a liquidity crunch because of the store closures and they are looking for partners that can come in and help shore up their balance sheet, said Granoff, who is also hearing from companies that may not need money, but want an operating partner to help them through this crisis. Someone that can help them define the strategy and think through priorities. Many people just dont want to go it alone anymore. And even in the midst of crisis, there are as many different investment angles as there are investors. One approach is to look at what retailers and brands need to spend on today and invest upstream. Levi Strauss & Co., for instance, laid off 15 percent of its corporate workforce, or 700 people, to cut costs and ensure that it could continue to invest, both in its own store network, but also its burgeoning e-commerce business. That type of move is an opportunity for companies that play, for instance, in artificial intelligence or data analytics. Companies need to invest in technology to continue to improve the customers experience, said William Detwiler, general partner at Fernbrook Capital Management. Detwiler pointed to Lilly.ai, a Fernbrook investment, as a company that fits neatly into the future. Lilly.ai uses data on consumer shopping patterns to serve up recommendations and helps reduce returns. Instead of just being a consumer fund thats focused on brands, we have the background to focus on both brands and technology companies, he said. Still, the mergers and acquisitions dance in fashion often requires a delicate balance. Entrepreneurs with growing businesses and plenty of buzz tend to see big checks with lots of zeros when they envision selling their companies. Meanwhile, the practiced hands in the private equality space have seen lots of hot names come and go and are very careful when spending on businesses that arent backed up by profits or proven by scale. COVID-19 seems to have brought at least some price expectations down. We think theres a better opportunity today to invest more quickly to help companies that lack liquidity, but were very profitable pre-COVID-19, said Rick Perkal, managing partner and ceo of Firelight Capital Partners, which invested in Hobo Bags in November. Companies with e-commerce sites have done well, while brands dependent on wholesale are looking to transition away from department stores, he said. Our deal flow is on fire, Perkal said, noting Firelight is on the hunt in outerwear, footwear, fashion, accessories, beauty and more. Valuations are tricky because you cant really value them off of 2020 projected earnings you have to think about the future and what the company could be, Perkal said. Typically, companies are bought at a multiple of earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization a measure of how much money is flowing through a business. Thats harder today, when businesses have been shut down, are off dramatically this year and when next year is still anybodys guess. Investors looking at deals seem to be each coming up with their own answers to the valuation question, often using a mix of past performance, brand heat, an evaluation of management and gut instinct. In many cases, buyers and sellers might still be far apart in terms of valuation, but theyre inching closer. There is a big spread, said one private equity bigwig. No one knows how to think about the duration of COVID-19 and the lingering impact. [But] the spread, in general, is shrinking and many companies have greater needs. In many cases weve got a receptive ear at management that may or may not have been there six months ago. As the established players survey the landscape, there are also some relatively new ones across the spectrum that are coming to the market with fresh eyes. Brookfield Asset Management Inc., which is a big player in the retail real estate market, launched its $5 billion Retail Revitalization Program in May to bring much needed capital and assist with the recapitalization of retail businesses. The program is targeting retailers with normalized revenues of $250 million or more that have been operation for at least two years with non-control investments. In the venture space, Jesse Cole, founding partner at Seed Lab, said having a relatively recent start is an advantage. Were a 2020-legacy venture fund, he said. We dont have all those prior profile companies whose valuations have gotten clocked. People are now asking questions they havent asked for a while, about risk tolerance and risk sharing, Cole said. I think people are becoming a bit more conservative. For us, its always about finding the best founder. And its maybe never been a better time to be a founder and looking to staff up. Access to talent is a lot more robust than its ever been, Cole said. A lot of companies have gone under, furloughed people, laid people off. Theres going to be a lot of really good talent for these earlier-stage businesses. And if there is additional fallout, there are people who have really significant experience from these bigger companies, theyre going to be out there starting new businesses. There are also companies with a strong digital base that have managed to keep growing through the pandemic and now might be open to talking to investors, but are thinking of even richer valuations given how much their strength stands out. One executive at a big private equity firm said companies with brands that have been performing well recently have been happy to pop their heads back up and say were even stronger than we were before, seeking to underscore just how attractive they are as investments. That continues a theme that has been shaping fashion in recent years, with struggling companies becoming weaker and the stronger firms growing stronger. Investors who were already wary of mall-based retailers that rely on foot traffic for revenues have now moved on completely and are focused all the more on brands that have direct relationships with consumers. Were not going to try to look like heroes, said the private equity investor, who is focused on growth companies. Were going to stick to our playbooks. Everyones talking about setting the groundwork. That groundwork could help shape the future of fashion since it will determine just which companies find themselves with deep-pocketed backers in the midst of all the COVID-19 chaos and beyond. 8 Investors Looking for Consumer Deals The deal market is starting to wake back up after the initial COVID-19 shutdown. So far, buyers and sellers are still mostly just reconnecting and seeing whats possible today. But there are investors of all shapes and sizes out in the market and more companies than ever needing some extra capital and a helping hand. Its only a matter of time before the two sides start to wheel and deal in earnest. Company: Bain Capital Key Executives: Ryan Cotton, managing director Kim McCaslin, managing director Portfolio: Blue Nile Canada Goose Varsity Brands Virgin Voyages Investment Thesis Today: Building and growing high-quality companies. Check Size: $200 million to $2 billion Company: The Carlyle Group Key Executives: Jay Sammons, managing director, global head of consumer, media and retail Marco De Benedetti, managing director, co-head of Carlyles European buyout group Portfolio: Supreme Golden Goose (former) Moncler (former) Investment Thesis Today: Founder-led growth companies, a focus on technology and digital capabilities Check Size: $75 million to billions Company: Eurazeo Brands Key Executives: Jill Granoff, ceo Adrianne Shapira, managing director, North America Laurent Droin, managing director, Europe Portfolio: NEST New York Pat McGrath Labs Bandier Herschel Q Mixers Investment Thesis Today: Investing in differentiated, high-growth consumer brands globally. Check Size: $20 million to $100 million-plus Company: Fernbrook Capital Management Key Executives: Marigay McKee, general partner William Detwiler, general partner Portfolio: La Ligne Needle & Thread Swivel Beauty Violet Grey Westman Atelier Investment Thesis Today: Investing at the intersection of consumer brands and technology. Check Size: $1 million to $3 million Company: Firelight Capital Partners Key Executives: Rick Perkal, managing partner and ceo Pat Collins, managing partner Portfolio: Hobo Three Dog Bakery Investment Thesis Today: Looking for strong brands in fashion, apparel, accessories and footwear. Check Size: $10 million to $30 million-plus Company: General Atlantic Key Executives: Andrew Crawford, managing director, global head of consumer Andrew Ferrer, managing director Melis Kahya Akar, principal, head of consumer for EMEA Portfolio: Authentic Brands Group European Wax Center Grupo Axo Morphe Sezane Tory Burch Zimmermann Investment Thesis Today: Focusing on digitally led brands with accessible price points and, through Authentic Brands, distressed brands able to support licensing revenue. Check Size: $40 million to $600 million Company: L Catterton Key Executives: Scott Dahnke, global co-ceo Michael Chu, global co-ceo Portfolio: Gentle Monster The Honest Company Intercos Group Marubi Rhone Sweaty Betty Tula Investment Thesis Today: Research and follow key consumer and technology trends to make investments that leverage deep operating expertise and international network. Check Size: $10 million to $1 billion-plus Company: Sandbridge Capital Key Executives: Joseph Lamastra, founding managing partner Ken Suslow, founding managing partner Portfolio: Ilia Peach & Lily The RealReal Rossignol Youth to the People Investment Thesis Today: Strategic partner for global brands in luxury, clean beauty, health and wellness and disruptive consumer-based technology. Check Size: $15 million to $75 million Company: The Seed Lab Key Executives: Jesse Cole, founding partner Stephen Ippolito, founding partner George Hornig, founding partner, chairman Portfolio: Something Navy Stojo Terra Kaffe Vantage Point Investment Thesis Today: Looking for the best founder. Check Size: $350,000 to $1.5 million By Barani Krishnan Investing.com - Oil prices fell more than 1% but settled the day above the $40-per-barrel mark, as players awaited the next move on production by a global alliance of exporters amid data showing an uptick in stockpiles at a key storage hub for U.S crude. Key members of the Saudi-led and Russia-assisted OPEC+ alliance are set to meet via a web conference Wednesday to debate the groups current and future production. And this would be no ordinary meeting of the group, as reports suggest. Saudi Arabia, the OPEC kingpin that had for months harried others in the group to keep production down in order to support the markets flight from Aprils sub-zero prices to around $40 a barrel now, could opt for higher oil production from August, the reports said. Data, meanwhile, showed a surge in stockpiles at the Cushing, Oklahoma, hub that stored oil delivered on expiring contracts of the West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for U.S. crude. Genscape, the leading indicator on Cushing followed by the market, reported a 1.2 million-barrel addition at the hub during the week ended July 10. Seevol.com, an emerging reporting source on Cushing, reported a rise of as much as 1.75 million barrels at the hub. I expect July Cushing builds to continue but am not sure about August and hoping for some clarity this week, said Scott Shelton, energy futures broker at ICAP (LON:NXGN) in Durham, North Carolina. He said there was talk that floating storage of crude on the seas was drawing, but I see a mixed bag that gives no clear signal of a draw coming in the U.S. The market remains rudderless in my view with CTA buying not likely to be seen until we see the mid 44s in WTI, which looks (like) its very far away, Shelton added, referring to buying from commodity trading advisors, which are basically made up of fund managers. The market hasn't a clue on what is going to happen other than it looks balanced for now. New York-traded West Texas Intermediate, the benchmark for U.S. crude futures, settled down 45 cents, or 1.31, at $40.10 per barrel. Story continues London-traded Brent, the global benchmark for oil, slid 52 cents, or 1.1%, to settle at $42.72. OPEC officials, speaking on conditions of anonymity, said the Saudis appeared ready to raise production as demand for oil was returning to what they perceived to be normal following months of depressed sales due to coronavirus-related lockdowns. In April, Saudi Arabia, the worlds largest oil exporter, led a push that saw the 23-producer group cut its collective output by 9.7 million barrels a day, as the pandemic led to a collapse of oil demand. Now, Riyadh and most participants in the coalition support a loosening of the curbs, the delegates said. Under Riyadhs proposal, OPEC+ would relax its current curbs by 2 million barrels a day to 7.7 million barrels a day, the delegates told reporters. A surge in new coronavirus cases in the United States has tempered expectations for a fast recovery in fuel consumption, even as vaccine developments make progress. Record high U.S. infection numbers in a day have cast doubts over the pace of economic reopenings from lockdowns, as well as the resumption of school in the fall season. Covid-19 deaths in the United States have started to slowly rise, too, following the surge in new caseloads from the middle of June. New spikes in fatalities are the largest in the two most populous states, California and Texas. And while infectious disease specialists are hopeful that the number of deaths wont grow to match the carnage seen in New York state back in April, where the death toll peaked at around 1,000 per day, its unclear how quickly deaths may rise in the worst affected states in the coming weeks. Related Articles U.S. shale oil output to drop to two-year low of 7.5 million bpd in August: EIA The World Drinks Less Coffee While Office Workers Stay Home Brazil's offshore oil workers chilled by coronavirus outbreaks A facility believed to be an internment camp located north of Kashgar, in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, June 2, 2019. Residents of a county bordering the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Regions (XUAR) Kashgar (in Chinese, Kashi) city said Tuesday that they are under a strict lockdown as authorities struggle to control the spread of a new coronavirus outbreak. The XUAR Health Commission announced 17 new cases of COVID-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus, in the XUAR on Monday, bringing the total number to at least 47 since infections were first reported in the region on July 15months since the last positive test. The new cases have sent regional capital Urumqi into a full shutdown, with authorities canceling nearly all flights in and out of the city of 3.5 million, shutting down public transportation, and ordering residents to remain in their homes. The commission also confirmed the first patient in Kashgar, who it said was from Urumqi, according to the state media reports. While there has been little information made public on the measures authorities have taken in Kashgar and the surrounding area to prevent additional cases, a resident of Kashgar prefectures Peyziwat (Jiashi) county, which abuts the city to the east, told RFAs Uyghur Service on Tuesday that movement has become severely restricted. Barricades have been erected on every corner and they are saying that whoever leaps over them will be taken for re-education, said the source, using a euphemism for the XUARs vast network of internment camps, where authorities are believed to have held up to 1.8 million people since April 2017. Of course, people are not only staying off of the streets, but they dont dare to even go out to their own courtyards after hearing this warning. According to the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity for fear of reprisal, many county residents have prepared weeks worth of food supplies in anticipation of a prolonged shutdown and difficulties obtaining necessary supplies. Village officials are saying that we shouldnt come out and whatever we need they will bring to us, but they also said the same thing last time, the source said, referring to the original outbreak of the coronavirus, which spread to the region after it was first discovered in Chinas Wuhan city late last year. However, they simply helped their relatives and left others to starve. We dont know how it will play out this time. When contacted to confirm the situation in Kashgar prefecture and the wider region, an official from the XUAR Health Commission told RFA that he was restricted from discussing the outbreak with the media. If we have information to provide the media, it would only come after consulting with the relevant party organs, he said. Flag raising ceremony Meanwhile, in neighboring Aksu (Akesu) prefecture, which has yet to officially report a new COVID-19, residents told RFA that while they continue to face restrictions on movement from the first coronavirus outbreak, other aspects of life have been less restrictive. One source from Kuchar (Kuche) county said that it had been six to seven months since residents were permitted to visit other villages and more than three months since they were allowed to interact with their neighbors. The woman, who also declined to be named, said that most of the men in the area are in re-education and that volunteers had been handling the farm work, so even if we went out, there wouldnt be much to do. Since the [first] outbreak, the only changes we had in our lives was that we werent made to attend the [daily] flag raising ceremony, she said, referring to an obligatory gathering at the village level where residents are required to sing the national anthem and listen to political lectures from party cadres. This made almost everyone happy [although] for me, flag raising was not a burden, because using that pretext, I managed to see my neighbors and learn about what was happening around the world. An 80-year-old resident of Aksus Shayar (Shaya) county told RFA that it had been nearly seven months since she was made to go to a flag raising ceremony. I have a hearing issue, so even when I went, I couldnt understand a thing, but the village officials made me go to fill up the ranks and encourage others, she said. We were told that flag raising would be restarted from next week, but it seems like we will be spared again. Other than that, there have not been any other changes. The woman said that her four adult children have all gone missing over the past four years and she has a 75-year-old brother who was recently released from an internment camp but is not allowed to see anyone. Even if I was given permission, I have nowhere to go, so Im not afraid of the virusIm ready for whats written in my fate, she said. Detainees at risk Chinese authorities have instituted strict measures throughout the country as part of a bid to eradicate the virus after initially drawing criticism for a lack of transparency in handling the original outbreak in Wuhan. China has an official total of slightly more than 85,000 cases of COVID-19, but the coronavirus has gone on to infect nearly 14.8 million people worldwide. Rights groups and experts have expressed particular concern about the potential impact of an outbreak in the XUAR, where they say limited access to health care and cramped conditions in the internment camps could allow the virus to spread virtually unchecked. Beijing describes its three-year-old network of camps as voluntary vocational centers, but reporting by RFAs Uyghur Service and other media outlets shows that detainees are mostly held against their will in poor conditions, where they are forced to endure inhumane treatment and political indoctrination. As evidence of abuses in the XUAR continues to mount, Western governments have increasingly called out China for its policies in the region. Earlier this month, U.S. President Donald Trumps administration leveled sanctions against several top Chinese officials deemed responsible for rights violations in Xinjiang, including regional party secretary Chen Quanguo, under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The move, which marked the first time Washington had sanctioned a member of Chinas powerful Politburo, followed Trumps enactment last month of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (UHRPA), which passed nearly unanimously through both houses of Congress at the end of May. The legislation highlights arbitrary incarceration, forced labor, and other abuses in the XUAR and provides for sanctions against the Chinese officials who enforce them. Last week, Chinas Foreign Ministry announced retaliatory sanctions targeting several republican lawmakers, Ambassador-at-Large for International Religious Freedom Sam Brownback, and the bipartisan Congressional-Executive Commission on China advisory panel. Reported by Shohret Hoshur for RFAs Uyghur Service. Translated by Mamatjan Juma. Written in English by Joshua Lipes. "Convr stood out as the superior partner to power our proactive approach to workers compensation insurance," said Emilio Figueroa, Chief Insurance Officer at Foresight. "By partnering with Convr, we are empowered to run a well-informed, AI-driven underwriting process that is optimized with the latest technology from Day One." "Foresight has a tremendous advantage in being a new MGA with a market niche already defined, they are now able to start their business using underwriting best practices built into the Convr platform from across the industry," said Bruce Simpson, CEO at Convr. Convr's platform supports all core commercial lines of business and classes. All parts of the platform are available via white-labeled portal and/or API. The platform is segmented into four products: d3 Intake reads and digitizes submission paperwork, such as ACORD applications and loss runs, to reduce manual data entry d3 Risk 360 provides additional insights on risks from thousands of third party data sources d3 Answers uses AI to respond to underwriting questions, saving significant underwriter time while improving consistency and accuracy d3 Risk Score enables risk selection and prioritization to better focus downstream underwriting resources About Convr Headquartered in Schaumburg, Illinois, Convr is a leading underwriting decisioning platform for commercial P&C insurers. The company has revolutionized the commercial underwriting process with cutting-edge AI and decision science. Commercial carriers of all sizes use Convr to make real-time underwriting decisions based on rich data and intelligence gathered by external sources to improve productivity, profitability, efficiency and accuracy. To learn more, visit www.convr.com . Follow Convr on Twitter and LinkedIn . About Foresight Foresight insures hard-to-place clients with the first technology-based workers' compensation program. Foresight commercial insurance plans contribute to improved safety and lowered rates through increased safety engagement. Using instant pricing indications, a digital submission process, and easy claims management and reporting, Foresight provides unrivaled value for brokers and their hard to place clients. Learn more at getforesight.com and follow Foresight on LinkedIn. Media Contact: Alana Anselmi (412) 913-5004 [email protected] SOURCE Convr Related Links http://www.convr.com CASEVILLE, MI - Casevilles Thumb Brewery has reopened for outdoor service under new ownership but with many familiar faces on staff and customer favorites on the menu, plus new additions coming soon. Sister-and-brother business partners Lauren and Mark Formicola took ownership this month and reopened the brew pub on July 10 in Caseville. They first took an interest in the brewpub in October when Mark Formicola was enjoying a beer there while on a road trip to Michigans Thumb region and noticed a for-sale sign. He has a great love of craft beer and so do I, said Lauren Formicola. Her brother, who is an investor in the business, also has a podcast about politics, culture and beer called Podems UP! Caseville, a beach town Lauren Formicola likened to the Key West of the North, is located in Michigans Huron County, about 65 miles northeast of Saginaw. Thumb Brewery is located at 6758 Pine St. The brewery and restaurant is now open for outdoor service and dining seven days a week with its former brewmaster, Nick Bowlby, and former staff on board. The brewpub has 28 taps, including 10 Thumb Brewery beers brewed on site inside the historic Quinn farmhouse, plus some favorite menu items, such as flatbreads and buffalo chicken dip. Popular Thumb Brewery beers include Quinns Irish Red, Oatmeal Stout and Lady Lavender. Theyre just so happy to see the Thumb Brewery open because they feel like its their place in the community, its kind of like a gathering place, Lauren Formicola said of the response she has received from the Caseville community and returning customers. The new owners have made some improvements to the outdoor dining space, including staining the deck and installing new umbrellas, and they plan to remodel the kitchen. In August, theyre introducing a new, expanded menu featuring those familiar favorites plus charbroiled burgers made with locally-sourced Michigan beef, chicken wings, fresh-cut fries, broiled chicken, salads and more. Thumb Brewery has 25 outdoor tables, spaced six feet apart, and staff are wearing masks and gloves and following other COVID-19 safety procedures, she said. When the restaurant eventually reopens for indoor dining, customers will find an aesthetic inspired by the beach, sunsets and the colors of Caseville. Lauren Formicola, who previously owned a public relations firm in Seattle and has experience marketing restaurants, wineries and breweries, said she loves the restaurant business and she and her brother are always up for an adventure. I think its the place where people come together during difficult times, during great times, during family celebrations, she said. We want people to know that we really care. ...Were here to stay. Read more on MLive: Introducing Michigans Best Beer of the Week, because its what we all need now This hazy Beer of the Week will make you go Berserk Cheeseburger in Caseville Festival canceled for 2020, smaller event planned The team at Harper's BAZAAR Australia had only just started working on plans to relaunch the iconic fashion magazine with a bumper October issue featuring its annual list of Visionary Women. There had even been discussions about Nicole Kidman who returned to Australia on the weekend and is currently in quarantine posing for the magazine's cover. Cover girl no more: Nicole Kidman had been in talks about posing for the cover of Harper's BAZAAR Australia's October issue. Credit:Getty Images Trickling back to their Park Street offices, editor-in-chief Eugenie Kelly and her team had good reason to think the magazine, which sits alongside Vogue Australia at the top of the fashion publishing tree, had a rosy future in Australia. So, when the Harper's team was told to log-in to a Tuesday morning Zoom meeting, many looked forward to it, thinking it was to discuss their plans for the October issue. Distribution of about $3 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds, including a little over $1 million in small business loans, was approved Monday by Tulsa County commissioners. The allocation is from $113.7 million in CARES Act money being administered by Tulsa County. Among Mondays other largest allocations were $950,000 to the Tulsa Regional Chamber; $462,000 for the Tulsa Office of Film, Music, Art and Culture; and $355,000 for Expo Square. Officials said the allocation to the Tulsa Regional Chamber was for technical support of businesses and a tourism advertising campaign once the epidemic has subsided. The smallest allocation was $1,829.20 to Court Services for personal protection equipment and supplies. The $1 million in small loans to 19 businesses were the first under the RESET program established by the county and the Tulsa Economic Development Corp. The loans ranged in size from $5,000 to $125,000. A Toronto resident faces a jail term of up to 10 years and a $250,000 fine after he pleaded guilty to smuggling people across the Niagara River into the United States. Renan Portela Bandeira De Souza, a Brazilian citizen living in Toronto, pleaded guilty Monday in a Buffalo, N.Y., court to bringing aliens to the United States for commercial advantage or private financial gain. Assistant U.S. Attorney Charles Kruly said the 32-year-old defendant had agreed to smuggle individuals into the U.S. in exchange for $6,000. On April 28, 2019, court was told, De Souza and a co-conspirator took four people by boat across the Niagara River to Grand Island, N.Y. The passengers disembarked and De Souza and his co-conspirator returned to Canada. The defendant is scheduled to return to court in October for sentencing. The charge carries a mandatory minimum penalty of three years in prison, a maximum of 10 years, and a US$250,000 fine. In an unrelated smuggling case, a 28-year-old Canadian man was arrested July 15 after border agents at the Queenstown-Lewiston Bridge inspected a tractor-trailer and discovered a large quantity of cash. The driver told officials he was transporting a shipment of copper wire from Massachusetts to Mississauga. An inspection by U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers revealed a plastic shopping bag filled with multiple bundles of U.S. bills, totalling $207,500. Our CBP officers remain focused on enforcement amid the continued border restrictions, said port director Jennifer De La O. They identified an individual and conveyance that needed further inspection, they co-ordinated with our partners at Homeland Security Investigations and they ensured that this criminal activity was disrupted. The driver faces a charge of bulk cash smuggling. BTS is now a global phenomenon. The group started out with humble beginnings in South Korea but has since attracted fans all over the world. With immense popularity comes the ability to sell various products. BTS has been an ambassador for many brands like Hyundai, Samsung, and Fila. Additionally, fans can fill their lives with BTS by purchasing products like BTS dolls, BTS contact lenses, BTS vitamin products, and BTS beverages. Recently, one new product has been added to the list: a BTS cake from Baskin-Robbins. BTS | J. Merritt/Getty Images BTS is a brand ambassador for Baskin-Robbins In June 2020, it was announced that BTS would be collaborating with ice cream brand Baskin-Robbins in South Korea. BTS would act as a brand ambassador and promote Baskin-Robbins products in August. We believe August will be more special for Baskin-Robbins with BTS, an official from SPC Group, which manages the South Korean branch of Baskin-Robbins, said, as reported by IBTimes. We have captured the charms of BTS in the advertisement to make you forget the summer heat, so do look forward to it. Baskin-Robbins will sell a limited edition BTS 7 Cake in South Korea ! BTS ! 24 *`*)# # # # pic.twitter.com/3uWtpeHGwu BaskinRobbins Korea (@BaskinrobbinsKR) July 21, 2020 RELATED: Who Is the Richest Member of BTS? In order to make this partnership more special, Baskin-Robbins will release a limited edition BTS 7 Cake in South Korea. The number 7 is meaningful to BTS because the group consists of seven members. Additionally, 2020 represents their seventh year together. The cake itself consists of seven ice cream flavors pieced together to look like the number 7. Each flavor represents each member, with the flavors being Mom is an Alien, mint chocolate chip, blueberry cheesecake, Shooting Star, almond bonbon, cookies and cream, and BerryBerry Strawberry. Some of these are also unique to South Korea. As reported by Allkpop, Baskin-Robbins also shared that only a limited amount of the cake will be available, saying, The BTS 7 Cake is a new handmade product with 7 different types of ice cream blocks. Because manufacturing costs are higher than ordinary products, were only producing and selling a limited amount of 30,000. The cake is currently not on the market yet, but fans in South Korea can put in pre-orders for it. Some fans think the BTS 7 Cake is overpriced 7 -- pic.twitter.com/zaguQC06Ec (@BTS_twt) June 12, 2020 RELATED: The Amazing Charity Work BTS Fans Have Done Around the World Each cake will cost 26,000 Won or $21.75 USD each, and some fans are not happy at the price. According to Allkpop, South Korean fans have been complaining online about the cake being charged at that price when it is simply made up of flavors that can already be found at most stores. I thought an ice cream cake that was a collaboration with BTS would be special, one person reportedly said. Meanwhile, other people call it too expensive. However, some fans also pointed out that Baskin-Robbins ice cream is already more costly compared what can be found at other places, especially since the brand uses high-quality ingredients. One international fan wrote, I think that [because] its Baskin-Robbins and custom, its more expensive. My mom got a Baskin-Robbins mint chocolate chip cake and asked them to make the BTS logo in the middle for my birthday a few years ago and it was about 24 USD, so Im not surprised. Regardless of the various complaints some people have about the BTS 7 Cake, it seems most fans are not deterred from buying it. Allkpop reported the cake is surging in popularity with numerous pre-orders being placed already. Burma Myanmar Military Arrests Soldiers for Killing Unarmed Karen Woman Two Myanmar military privates, Hein Min Htet (left) and Than Soe Lwin (right), who killed a Karen woman on July 16. / Tatmadaw Information Team The Myanmar military has arrested two of its soldiers and says it will take harsh action against them after ethnic Karen civil society groups condemned the soldiers killing of a Karen woman in Papun District, Karen State last Thursday. Naw Mu Naw, 40, was the mother of three teenagers and was killed by two soldiers from the militarys Light Infantry Battalion 409 on July 16 in her home in Po Lo Hta Village, Dweh Lo Township. The soldiers also took her gold jewelry. On Monday, the Karen National Union (KNU) Concerned Group, Karen Peace Support Network and Karen Human Rights Group condemned the soldiers actions, saying Naw Mu Naw was killed without reason. Her family called for the soldiers responsible to be punished. Naw Zipporah Sein, spokesperson of the KNU Concerned Group, told The Irrawaddy We dont accept such arbitrary killings against our people. Such crimes, including looting and rape cases, happen often in areas in Rakhine, Kachin, Chin and Shan states. These need to stop. The militarys Tatmadaw Information Team said in a statement online Monday night that privates Than Soe Lwin and Hein Min Htet murdered the woman and looted her property in Po Lo Hta Village on the morning of July 16. It said the soldiers were drunk and that they shot her in her head and back when Than Soe Lwin was stealing her gold necklace. The pair is now in military custody at the Bilin cantonment area in Mon State and they have confessed to the crime. Actions will be taken effectively and transparently, the military said on its website. The statement added that a court martial will also take action against those in charge at the battalion level for failing to report the two soldiers crimes. The civil society groups said local residents are opposed to the militarys presence. The Burma army post in the area makes the lives of local people very difficult, said Naw Mu Naws husband, Saw Pu Aye, according to Karen Peace Support Network. People live in fear of the soldiers and cant move around freely to work and farm. Local people want the Burma army to withdraw from their areas and [want] their military bases removed. Military tensions have become common in Papun, which is under the control of KNU Brigade 5, due to the Myanmar militarys reconstruction of a road in the area since 2018. The KNU, an ethnic armed group, signed the Nationwide Ceasefire Agreement in 2015 but the military and KNU troops still come into conflict in disputes over the control of the territory. The family of Naw Mu Naw and Karen human rights groups also called for the Myanmar military to stop the killings of any more civilians and called for her killers trials to be transparent. They also urged the international community to take action against the Myanmar military to stop them from killing civilians. Karen Peace Support Network added that military killings of ethnic civilians with impunity are a common pattern across the country. Living in a ceasefire area is no guarantee of safety, the human rights group said in its statement. Even where there are high profile cases which pressure the military to take action, trials are held in secrecy, any punishment is often secret and it is not known if soldiers convicted of these types of crimes even serve their sentences. An approach like this from the top of the military encourages soldiers to feel that they can get away with such crimes. You may also like these stories: Myanmar Military Claims its Investigators Attacked in Shan State Shan Groups Demand Myanmar Military Punish Troops Over Civilian Killing Rakhine Woman Files Complaint Accusing Myanmar Military Troops of Gang Rape President Donald Trump said he's considering sending federal law enforcement officers to Philadelphia and other cities run by Democratic mayors. Read more President Donald Trump said Monday that he may send federal law enforcement officers to Philadelphia and other cities with Democratic mayors. That followed his administrations controversial deployment of federal agents to respond to protests in Portland, Ore., which has included reports of authorities using unmarked vehicles to grab protesters off the street without explanation. But in trying to justify the expansion of such deployments, Trump has conflated regular crime, such as the high number of shootings in Chicago last weekend, with peaceful protests over the police killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Democrats as well as conservative Trump critics have decried the actions as election-year stunts and an abuse of power. Im going to do something that I can tell you, Trump said Monday. Because were not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these Oakland is a mess. Were not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats. Heres what you need to know: What is Trump threatening to do? Trump was not specific about which federal agents he might send to Philadelphia, and for what purpose. In Portland, Border Patrol agents were deployed on the ground of protecting federal property and employees from protesters. A viral video of camouflaged officers seizing a protester and taking him away in an unmarked minivan led to outcry over tactics criticized as reminiscent of authoritarian regimes. Protests in Portland have remained heated, and the administration has selectively highlighted incidents there. But the protests in Philadelphia and other cities have been almost entirely peaceful for weeks. In Chicago, the administration is sending about 150 Homeland Security Investigations agents, in part to assist with enforcing regular criminal law unrelated to the protests, such as shootings. It remains to be seen what, if anything, the administration will actually do in Philadelphia. How is whats happening in Philadelphia different from Portland? In Philadelphia, the protests against police brutality have remained peaceful for more than a month, following a tumultuous first week that also saw significant looting and arson. Thats different than in Portland, where protesters have massed downtown for more than 50 days. Even in Portland, the protests have been largely peaceful. Much of the evidence of violent behavior that federal authorities have cited regards property damage, including graffiti on a federal courthouse and a fire at a police union office. Local officials have said the demonstrations were growing smaller and less tense until federal law enforcement arrived, escalating tensions. Trump has used recent spikes in crime in Chicago to justify sending agents there. Homicides have also increased sharply this year in Philadelphia. Three people were fatally shot between Monday night and early Tuesday morning, police said, bringing the citys year-to-date homicide total to 230 close to the 248 who were killed in all of 2014. Other violent crimes, including rapes, robberies, and aggravated assaults not involving guns, have fallen. Is Trump allowed to send federal agents to Philadelphia? The administration has cited 40 U.S. Code 1315 under the Homeland Security Act of 2002, which gives the departments secretary the power to deploy agents to protect federal property, as justification for sending officers to Portland. Now Trump is using that same rationale to threaten to send agents to other cities something local legal experts say would be unprecedented and possibly unconstitutional. Its a stretch to begin with, said Anil Kalhan, a Drexel University law professor. The rhetoric is basically labeling people who are fellow citizens as domestic enemies and then deploying these paramilitary forces to aggressively engage in a show of force against them, Kalhan said. There are serious, substantive legal concerns with these activities. Alexis Karteron, a Rutgers University associate professor of law and director of the schools Constitutional Rights Clinic, called the administrations reasoning very dubious. I cant think of any legitimate reason to be sending federal law enforcement to Philadelphia right now, Karteron said. Federal troops descending on American cities, that is very troubling, outside of historic practices, and almost certainly illegal. What are federal agents allowed to do if Trump sends them? When federal agents are deployed to protect federal property, they have limited authority, experts said. They may only make an arrest without a warrant for a crime committed in their presence and if they have reasonable grounds to believe it is a felony, Kalhan said. They dont have generalized authority to engage in domestic law enforcement, Kalhan said. The actions of federal law enforcement in Portland have already led to lawsuits alleging civil rights violations. How have local officials responded to Trumps threat? Mayor Jim Kenney on Tuesday dismissed Trumps stated concerns about public safety as disingenuous given the administrations inaction in the early stages of the coronavirus pandemic, which hit urban centers hardest. If the Trump administration wanted to help cities, they would have gotten off their rear ends back in March and April, Kenney said. This is a game hes playing to divert attention away from the many crises that are facing this nation, and well oppose it with everything we have. Philadelphia District Attorney Larry Krasner compared Trumps threat to fascism. My dad volunteered and served in World War II to fight fascism, like most of my uncles, so we would not have an American president brutalizing and kidnapping Americans for exercising their constitutional rights and trying to make America a better place, which is what patriots do, he said in a statement. Anyone, including federal law enforcement, who unlawfully assaults and kidnaps people will face criminal charges from my office. U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey (R., Pa.) dodged the question of whether Trump should send federal officers to Philadelphia and instead joined in attacking the citys Democratic leaders. The rioting, violence, and lawlessness in Portland is a disgrace, and I hope it does not happen in Philadelphia, Toomey said. One way to ensure that it does not is for Philadelphias mayor and district attorney to actually support the police, enforce the law, and hold criminals accountable. U.S. Sen. Bob Casey (D., Pa.) said Trumps secret police are kidnapping and holding citizens without charges for exercising their constitutionally-guaranteed rights. This is totalitarianism, Casey said. Law enforcement should protect the people not the presidents self-interested political motives. ... This unconstitutional paramilitary force has no place anywhere in a healthy democracy and, considering Philadelphias historical significance as the birthplace of our Constitution, it would be especially disrespectful and insulting here. What happens next? The Trump administration is reportedly deploying the HSI agents to Chicago this week. Its unclear if Trump will follow through on his threats regarding the other cities, which he made while speaking off the cuff with reporters. He also mentioned Detroit, Baltimore, and Oakland, Calif., casting the issue in explicitly political terms. Look at whats going on all run by Democrats, all run by very liberal Democrats, he said. All run, really, by radical left. If Biden got in, that would be true for the country, Trump added. The whole country would go to hell. And were not going to let it go to hell. Staff writer Jonathan Tamari contributed to this article. PARIS (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday that France would not ban China's Huawei from investing in the country, in contrast to Britain which has decided to purge the firm's equipment from its 5G network by 2027. Le Maire told France Info radio there was 'no blanket ban' on Huawei in France, but that sensitive locations would be protected. 'We won't ban Huawei from investing in 5G, we will protect our national security interests,' Le Maire said, adding that he had reaffirmed France's position to Chinese authorities on Monday PARIS (Reuters) - French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said on Tuesday that France would not ban China's Huawei from investing in the country, in contrast to Britain which has decided to purge the firm's equipment from its 5G network by 2027. Le Maire told France Info radio there was "no blanket ban" on Huawei in France, but that sensitive locations would be protected. "We won't ban Huawei from investing in 5G, we will protect our national security interests," Le Maire said, adding that he had reaffirmed France's position to Chinese authorities on Monday. Le Maire nevertheless condemned China's alleged abuses against the country's minority Muslim population, saying they were "revolting and unacceptable". U.N. experts and activists say at least a million ethnic Uighurs and other Muslims are being held in detention centres in Xinjiang. China describes them as training centres helping stamp out terrorism and extremism and giving people new skills. U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo took fresh aim at China last week, saying the United States would impose visa restrictions on Chinese firms such as Huawei that he accused of facilitating human-rights violations. (Reporting by Sudip Kar-Gupta and Leigh Thomas; Editing by Alex Richardson and Jan Harvey) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Mike Pompeo privately urged the UK to be tougher on China today as he publicly praised Britain for standing up to Beijing. The US secretary of state used a visit to London to outline a vision for a global coalition to counter the communist regime as he accused its leadership of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further its own interests. Yesterday Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced the suspension of an extradition treaty with Hong Kong, amid anger at China's anti-democracy actions in the region and claims of genocide against its Uighur Muslim population. In reply China has threatened to target UK firms including HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover which operate in the country. Speaking alongside Mr Raab, Pompeo said Boris Johnson's administration was right to cool off its relationship over a string of human rights abuses. But he used a prior meeting with China hawks from the Tory and Labour backbenches to say the UK needed a 'grand strategy' rather than a piecemeal approach, Huff Post reported. Speaking at a later press conference he cast China as an aggressor, saying it had made illegal maritime claims, bullied Himalayan countries, covered up the coronavirus outbreak and exploited it to further its own interests in a 'disgraceful' way. 'We hope we can build out a coalition that understands the threat and will work collectively to convince the Chinese Communist Party that it is not in their best interest to engage in this kind of behaviour,' he added. Speaking alongside Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab he attacked the communist regime and said Boris Johnson's administration was right to cool off its relationship over a string of human rights abuses Mr Pompeo, who earlier held talks with the Prime Minister and Mr Raab, told a press conference: 'Yesterday you suspended your extradition treaty and extended your arms embargo on China to Hong Kong itself. We support those sovereign choices, we think well done' Harry Dunn's mother blasts 'lost child' Dominic Raab The mother of the teenage motorcyclist killed in a collision with a US diplomat's wife accused Dominic Raab of being a 'lost child in an adult's world' today. Charlotte Charles appeared in person at the gates of Downing Street to watch the arrival of Mike Pompeo to meet the Foreign Secretary and said that 'words are not enough anymore'. A Downing Street spokeswoman said the Prime Minister emphasised the need for justice to be done for Mr Dunn in a meeting with Mr Pompeo, adding: 'He said there was a strong feeling among the people of the UK that justice must be delivered.' Ms Charles, who was accompanied by her partner Bruce and lawyer Radd Seiger, said: 'It's really important that we come here and let them know that Harry was important and they need to realise that. So I'm not going to stay at home. 'I intend to make sure that they are aware that we've made the effort to be here to try to communicate with them.' A previous request for the extradition of Anne Sacoolas was rejected by the US in January. Advertisement Mr Pompeo, who earlier held talks with the Prime Minister and Mr Raab, added: 'We talked about how we have seen Hong Kong's freedom crushed, we have seen the CCP (Chinese communist party) bully its neighbours, militarise reaches of the South China Sea and begin a deadly confrontation with India. 'I want to take this opportunity to congratulate the British government for its principled responses to these challenges; you have made a sovereign decision to ban Huawei from future 5G networks, you have joined other free nations to condemn China's broken promises on the Sino-British treaty, you generously opened your doors to Hong Kongers who ... are fleeing for freedom. 'And yesterday you suspended your extradition treaty and extended your arms embargo on China to Hong Kong itself. We support those sovereign choices, we think well done.' He added that he would be meeting Hong Kong pro-democracy campaigners later today, along with Chris Patten, the last governor of Hong Kong before it was handed back to China in 1997. The comments came after The Global Times, a Chinese state-controlled news organisation, cited Communist officials as threatening retaliatory action against UK firms. The UK was accused of 'dance to the tune of Americans' who are urging a hardline approach to the growing super-power. Citing Chinese 'observers', the Global Times noted: 'In the face of escalating tensions not only with the UK but also with the US, retaliation is always the last choice for the Chinese government... 'However, if the UK, as part of the Five Eyes, upholds such a hostile attitude toward China, Beijing may have no other choice but to strike at British companies like HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover in response to the sanctions imposed by 10 Downing Street.' Downing Street insisted it had taken a 'reasonable' approach to Beijing after China's embassy in the UK warned Britain would 'bear the consequences' of its decision to extend an arms embargo and suspend an extradition treaty with Hong Kong. The Prime Minister's official spokesman said it was a 'reasonable and proportionate response to China's failure to live up to its international obligations with respect to Hong Kong'. Mr Pompeo, himself a noted critic of China, arrived in a Stars and Stripes mask to meet backbenchers at a London members club before heading to 10 Downing Street. He was meeting Mr Johnson in a bid to pull Britain ever closer in Washington's own diplomatic tug-of-war with China. 'Social distance does not imply diplomatic or political distance,' Mr Johnson joked as he walked Mr Pompeo into his office in Downing Street earlier. Afterwards Mr Pompeo tweeted that talks had been 'constructive', adding: 'Our two countries' long-standing, strong bilateral relationship has laid the foundation for today's candid discussion on issues ranging from 5G telecommunication to our negotiations for a US-UK free trade agreement.' A Downing Street spokeswoman said: 'Joined by the Foreign Secretary, the Prime Minister and Secretary of State discussed the importance of Five Eyes countries taking an ambitious approach to working together on the technologies of the future. 'They spoke about shared global security and foreign policy issues, including China's actions in Hong Kong and Xinjiang, the situation in Iran and the Middle East Peace Process. US secretary of state Mike Pompeo flew into London and the middle of a huge row with China today as he held talks with Boris Johnson Donald Trump 's top diplomat also met Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab amid growing tensions over Hong Kong Mr Pompeo, himself a noted critic of China, arrived in a Stars and Stripes mask to meet backbenchers at a London members club before heading to 10 Downing Street 'The Prime Minister and Secretary of State also underlined their commitment to negotiate a strong UK-US Free Trade Agreement that benefits the economies of both countries. 'The Prime Minister reiterated the need for justice to be done for Harry Dunn and his family. He said there was a strong feeling among the people of the UK that justice must be delivered.' The range of steps taken by Johnson in the past month threaten to bring an early end to a 'golden decade' in cooperation that former British finance minister George Osborne promised on a visit to Beijing in 2015. London has also outraged Beijing by offering nearly three million residents of Hong Kong a pathway to UK citizenship in response to a highly controversial security law that China imposed on the former British colony last month. Britain followed that up on Monday by suspending its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and extending an arms embargo of 'potentially lethal weapons' that had previously applied only to mainland China. Arriving in London last night Mr Pompeo wrote on Twitter: 'Great to be back in London to reaffirm the special relationship we share with our closest ally. 'Looking forward to meeting with Boris Johnson and Dominic Raab as we tackle our most pressing global issues in combating Covid-19 and addressing our shared security challenges.' Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. PM Modi, defence minister Rajnath Singh condole Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandons death Prime Minister Narendra Modi and several other leaders condoled the death of Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon, who passed away on Tuesday morning following complications in his liver and kidney. The death of 85-year-old Lal Ji Tandon, who was in a hospital in Uttar Pradeshs Lucknow, was announced by his son Ashutosh Tandon Gopalji. Read more Oxford Covid-19 vaccines first human trial shows promise, more phases underway The next phase of the clinical trials of the experimental vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca against the coronavirus disease will see if the immune response seen in the early stages protects against Covid-19. Read more Covid-19 recovery rate in Manipurs 3 districts reaches 100% Even though Manipurs tally of the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) inched towards the 2,000-mark, the recovery rate of the infected people in three of its districts reached 100% on Monday, officials said. Read more UK seeks Japans help to develop its 5G wireless networks The United Kingdom (UK) has asked Japan to help build its 5G wireless networks, a week after the British government had banned Chinese tech giant Huawei Technologies from supplying equipment to the networks, the local media reported. Read more Google Meet integration starts rolling out on Gmail for Android Google has started rolling out Meet integration on Gmail for Android. iPhone users received this feature last week. Gmail users on Android will now see a dedicated Google Meet tab on the app. Google announced it would be bringing Meet on Gmail last month. Read more Fruity bites: Savour the goodness of seasonal delights How boring would life be if there werent colourful fruits! A crucial ingredient in our daily diet, nutrients are found in these fruits. Besides, some fruits are also rich in certain vitamins that help us cure our ailments. Read more Watch: Amid China tension, India & US Navy conduct joint exercise in Indian Ocean Four solutions to the problem of low-paid workers being deprived of pension cash paid to better off colleagues are being offered by the Government, which says it is also open to other suggestions. Critics have long demanded action over a tax flaw which means some poorly paid staff lose government payments into their pension pots, depending on the type of scheme operated by their employer - most recently MPs in a report published yesterday. Options outlined by the Treasury include paying an annual bonus into the pension pots of those losing out, clawing back money from low earners who do get the cash at present, and forcing employers to change how they administer pensions. Missing out: A tax flaw means some poorly paid staff lose government payments into their pension pots The Government previously calculated low earners affected by this anomaly would miss out on 65 in the 2019-2020 tax year. But this would eventually build into a valuable pot due to the compound effect of investing over long periods. Some workers earning 12,499 a year could retire with a pot worth 51,000, while others whose employer operates pensions differently would end up with 59,000, according to figures from financial services firm Quilter. That assumes 4 per cent net investment growth after charges in both cases, and a retirement age of 68, it says. The Conservatives promised a 'comprehensive review' of the loophole which sees workers, mostly women, earning between 10,000 and 12,500 lose pension tax relief top-ups. This was a victory for the party's former Pensions Minister Ros Altmann, who has campaigned vigorously on the issue. John Glen, Economic Secretary to the Treasury, has previously said fixing the tax flaw is not 'cost effective'. In today's report accompanying the Government's consultation exercise, which will run until 13 October, Glen says: 'The majority of saving into a pension is unaffected by which method of pensions tax relief administration their scheme uses. 'However, low earners saving in a pension may end up in differing financial positions depending on how their scheme is administered.' He goes on: 'Any change could create challenges elsewhere, either for pension schemes, their members or the wider personal tax regime. To date, a straightforward and proportionate solution has not been identified. 'This call for evidence, therefore, presents the options we have considered and seeks views on our assessment of them and their impacts. I would also welcome suggestions for other possible solutions to address this issue.' Why are some low earners losing pension top-ups? Low paid workers can miss out on government pension cash due to an obscure quirk of the tax system. This is because the Government has frozen the earnings threshold at which people are automatically enrolled into pensions at 10,000. Meanwhile, the personal allowance, the level at which people start to pay tax, is currently 12,500. Some people who earn between those two sums lose pension tax top-ups - but whether or not you miss out depends on the tax mechanism used by your work pension scheme. Employers and their pension providers have two options when handling pension tax relief for staff - known in financial jargon as net pay and relief at source. Most master trusts, which manage centralised funds for lots of employers at once, use net pay which is convenient for top-paid staff but penalises lower earners. Net pay means workers contribute directly into their pension before their tax bill is calculated, so their pension tax relief is already included and there is no need to claim it from HMRC. Under relief at source the pension provider claims the income tax relief directly from HMRC and adds it to each worker's pension. This is Money's pension columnist Steve Webb explains in more detail here. The Government's consultation, which stresses any solution must be simple, deliverable and proportionate, offers the following four options: 1. Pay a bonus to lower earning pension contributors whose employers use the net pay method of tax relief 'The purpose of the bonus would be to put them in the same position as lower earners who are members of relief at source pension schemes,' it says. 'HMRC would use the current end of year process to identify those who contribute to a net pay pension scheme and have total income below the personal allowance. Give dukes and dustmen the same pension boost Ex-shadow minister Gregg McClymont warns the Government to play fair on pension top-ups here. 'Low-paid workers are being failed by a pensions lottery,' TUC boss Paul Nowak told This is Money here. 'HMRC would provide those individuals with a payment equal to the basic rate of tax on their contributions.' The Government adds that this proposal does not meet its principles for change, but it would welcome views on how it could be made to work. 2. Apply a standalone charge to recover the top-up given under the relief at source method of tax relief where tax is not paid 'This reflects that the anomaly only arises for taxpayers who are members of relief at source scheme[s] and whose highest marginal income tax rate is below the UK basic rate,' according to the report. But the Government says it is 'not minded to proceed with this approach'. Explaining the drawbacks, it says: 'This approach would mean taking money from some of those on lower incomes who are saving for their retirement. 'It would increase administrative burdens on employers and relief at source scheme administrators. Further, it would not, by itself, equalise outcomes as a relief at source saver would still have a lower personal allowance than a member of a net pay scheme.' 3. Require employers to operate both net pay and relief at source schemes for staff 'Employers would switch employee contributions between schemes depending on whether their earnings would take them over the (pro-rata) personal allowance for that pay period,' says the report. 'This method is intended to enable low-earning employees to benefit from the top-up that relief at source provides for those periods where their pay would take them below the personal allowance, but ensure that higher earners automatically receive the full tax relief on contributions into their net pay pension.' But it adds: 'This solution also appears to introduce a significant additional level of complexity for employees and potentially employers. 'It is not clear that this would support the Government's ambition of driving engagement with pension saving. 'The Government is not currently convinced of the case to mandate this approach for all employers but employers could voluntarily adopt a similar approach.' 4. Make all defined contribution pension schemes use the relief at source system to avoid penalising low paid staff 'This would ensure all low earners receive the top-up on their pension savings,' the Government says. But it notes the impact on better off workers paying higher rates of tax, saying: 'This approach would introduce additional burdens on those with a marginal rate of tax above the basic rate, as those contributing to defined contribution schemes would be required to claim any additional tax relief to which they are entitled. 'The Government recognises that there would be many changes required to scheme and payroll processes. There may also be a need for employers to review employment contracts to fully understand the impacts for their employees.' What do pension experts say? 'After much posturing the Government have finally started to make headway on how to fix the discriminatory issue of net pay schemes versus relief at source,' says Jon Greer, head of retirement policy at Quilter. 'The four suggestions outlined in the consultation are intended to spark debate to find an appropriate solution. Part of the issue is who will bear the majority of the challenge to find a solution: the Government or the employer. 'The administrative burden has always been an excuse to not fix the antiquated system. 'At first glance it appears the Government is leaning towards mandating use of relief at source for all defined contribution schemes. This certainly has appeal as there isn't an extra lag between the pension contribution being made and receiving a bonus. 'However, to require all employers to operate the relief at source scheme means they will need to make changes and there needs to be a clear understanding of the cost of that, particularly given the current environment where purse strings are tight.' Greer adds that the Government should consider the historic impact of the tax discrepancy and 'what, if anything, they can do for people who have been disadvantaged for years'. Tom Selby, senior analyst at AJ Bell, says: 'The suggestion a charge could be imposed on members in relief at source schemes who earn below the personal allowance would be a retrograde way of solving the inequality that exists in the system, and should be ruled out immediately. 'It is also not clear what such an approach might mean for the pension saving of those with no income, for example children or those taking a career break, where basic rate tax relief is provided automatically up to 3,600. 'All the other options on the table either add extra complexity to the system or create additional cost for employers (or both).' Andrew Tully, technical director at Canada Life, says: 'Many low-paid workers, mostly women, are missing out on the pension tax relief they are due because of the way net pay works. 'Sorting this will boost confidence in the auto-enrolment system as well as helping everyone benefit from pension tax relief. However, it's crucial that any changes are made with simplicity in mind. 'The current situation is fiendishly complex and any poorly considered changes may only make this worse. The vast majority of tax relief is given to defined benefit [final salary] schemes so any changes will need to cover defined benefit as well as defined contribution.' Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, says: 'We're delighted that the Government is finally looking to address one of the greatest injustices in the pensions tax relief system. 'This is a growing problem as more non-taxpayers are being auto enrolled into a workplace pensions scheme and not always benefiting from the top-up. It's important that this group is treated equally and fairly, regardless of how tax relief is administered. 'Although the consultation has been a long time coming any solutions needs to be simple for savers to understand and easy and inexpensive for employers, providers and the Government to administer. It may take a while to square this circle.' Mike Ambery, head of defined contribution provider relations, at Hymans Robertson, says of today's consultation: 'This will help the 1.5 million individuals who currently lose around 150million a year because of the way in which their pension is taxed. 'However, while we are supportive of this issue being addressed any solution needs to be put in context of the overall 40billion tax relief bill. 'It's a fiendishly complex issue to address and the Government needs to take care that it doesn't adversely impact the wider tax-relief processes. 'What's really needed is a full and fundamental review of the whole tax relief system, similar to what was abandoned by George Osborne in 2016.' Trader Joe's products labeled Trader Jose's and Trader Ming's far left and far right will get a name change, the company said. (Don Leach / Daily Pilot) Trader Joe's has responded to criticisms about its packaging by announcing that it is in the process of eliminating labels that use ethnic-sounding names intended to be humorous. The offending products bear such labels as Trader Mings for foods and condiments related to Chinese cuisine, Trader Jose's for Mexican-style products and Trader Giottos for Italian-themed items. The company has come under fire in part from a petition, posted for about two weeks, on the Change.org website. It had collected more than 2,000 signatures by Sunday night. The labels, which offer variations of the Trader Joe's name, exploit "a narrative of exoticism that perpetuates harmful stereotypes," according to the petition. The attention on Trader Joe's comes amid a nationwide reconsideration of branding that has accompanied the Black Lives Matter movement. Land OLakes has removed a Native -American woman from its products. Meanwhile, the images of Black men and women on product lines such as Aunt Jemima, Uncle Ben's and Mrs. Butterworth are in for a makeover, if they survive at all. The Eskimo Pie name also is becoming history. "The Trader Joes branding is racist because it exoticizes other cultures it presents 'Joe' as the default 'normal' and the other characters falling outside of it they are 'Arabian Joe,' 'Trader Jose,' and 'Trader Joe San,'" the petition says. The company said in a statement that it decided several years ago to use only the Trader Joe's name on its products and has been in the process of updating the ethnic-sounding labels. While this approach to product naming may have been rooted in a lighthearted attempt at inclusiveness, we recognize that it may now have the opposite effect one that is contrary to the welcoming, rewarding customer experience we strive to create every day, company spokeswoman Kenya Friend-Daniel said. Packaging for a number of the products has already been changed, and the company expects to complete the process very soon, she said. Story continues The petition was posted by Briones Bedell, 17, who is about to start her senior year at a San Francisco Bay Area high school. Her family has shopped occasionally at the local Trader Joe's, and she said Sunday night that offending labels remain throughout the store. Her family isn't patronizing Trader Joe's for the time being. She said she was encouraged by the company's response but wants Trader Joe's to commit to a timetable for removing the products with the ethnic-themed labels. She added that she is far from the first person to call public attention to this matter. While she understands that there are financial costs to relabeling or removing products, "the petition remains important because Trader Joe's lacks the urgency to deal with this issue in the current climate, she said. In her petition, Briones also calls into question the company's story about the origin of the market's mildly nautical theme. At the time, founder Joe Coulombe "had been reading a book called 'White Shadows in the South Seas,' and hed been to the Disneyland Jungle Trip ride, and it all justcoalesced," the company's web site says. Although the 1919 book by Frederick OBrien portrays white capitalists as destroyers of native culture, critics, including Briones, have accused the narrative of "perpetuating the myth of the noble savage and the white god." The book was made into a 1928 silent movie that was considered a technical and artistic landmark at the time. The petition also criticizes the use of stereotypes in Disneyland's Jungle Cruise. The first Trader Joe's opened in 1967 in Pasadena, and offbeat humor has long been the rhetorical soundtrack for good deals on an eclectic and sometimes unpredictable line of products. The privately held chain has expanded to more than 500 stores nationwide, pledging a mantra of no artificial flavors, preservatives or genetically modified ingredients in its store brands. Local stores have been no less popular during the coronavirus pandemic, offering to spray hand sanitizer on customers and disinfecting all carts and baskets between uses. A testament to the chain's popularity and its appeal to the conscious consumer is that two other Trader Joe's petitions also have gained traction on the Change.org site. One calls for the company to reduce plastic packaging it has 124,000 signatures. And another begs the company to open a branch in Beaumont, Texas it has more than 2,800 signatures. But just as Trader Joe's transformed when it began focusing as much on selling granola as liquor, standards for acceptable mainstream humor also have evolved. Referring to the book, the Disneyland ride and the Trader Joe's labels, the petition says, "The common thread between all of these transgressions is the perpetuation of exoticism, the goal of which is not to appreciate other cultures, but to further other and distance them from the perceived 'normal.' The current branding, given this essential context, then becomes even more trivializing and demeaning than before. What at first seems, at worst, insensitive, further is called into question." Briones said that her issue pales next to police brutality, which literally takes lives, but that the current climate of activism is a ripe moment to question "microaggressions" that build up to greater harms. Arizona News Phoenix, Arizona - The Arizona Attorney Generals Office (AGO) released its findings in the SB 1487 investigation of whether the City of Tucsons ordinance, which calls for elections for city council and city ballot measures to be held off-cycle in 2021 rather than on the statewide election dates in 2022, violates state law. The AGO has determined that the ordinance (11731), enacted on February 19, 2020, may violate state law. Arizona law establishes that when charter cities, such as Tucson, demonstrate low voter turnout in the elections that are not held on the consolidated election datesthe low voter turnout constitutes sufficient factual support for requiring candidate and other elections to be held on certain specific consolidated dates. The statute defines significant decrease in voter turnout as at least a 25% decline in voter turnout for an at-large candidate election. During the 2018 statewide general election, turnout within Tucson city limits was 67%. However, turnout for Tucsons off-cycle 2019 election was a meager 39.26%. By law, this significant decrease in turnout would require Tucson to hold its next city election on the statewide election dates in 2022. Despite the decrease in voter turnout, Tucson City Council voted in February 2020 to hold the next city primary election on August 3, 2021 and the next city general election on November 2, 2021. As a charter city, Tucson may enact ordinances that conflict with state law when those ordinances relate to matters of purely local concern. However, the decision of when to hold an election is likely not a matter of purely local concern. The statute expressly states that it is a matter of statewide concern to increase voter participation in elections when there is evidence of low voter turnout in a charter city election. Election dates also implicate the States interests in protecting Arizonans constitutional right to vote and safeguarding election integrity. Additionally, the Arizona Supreme Court has previously stated that some aspects of local elections are matters of statewide concern, including election dates. The AGOs may violate determination will allow for the AGO to expeditiously seek relief in the nature of declaratory judgment against the City of Tucson in the Arizona Supreme Court. The AGO will promptly file a special action petition with the Arizona Supreme Court to strike down the Tucsons ordinance to hold elections in odd-numbered years. If the high court agrees with the AGOs determination, Tucsons ordinance will be void. Senator J.D. Mesnard requested the AGO investigation of whether the City of Tucsons ordinance violates state law. The case of Apostle Kwabena Owusu Adjei of the Hezekiah Prayer Ministry who allegedly threatened to cause the death of Jean Mensah, the Chairman of the Electoral Commission has been adjourned to August 18. The adjournment was after Prosecuting Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Sylvester Asare had told the Court that, "We are putting our house in order." The Circuit court presided over by Mr Emmanuel Essandoh, therefore adjourned the matter. Adjei who came to court without his lawyers is already on a GH100,000 bail and as part of his bail conditions was to provide three sureties, two of whom are to be public servants earning not less than GH2,000 a month. The accused was ordered to report to the Police twice a week. The court further directed Adjei to deposit his passport at the Courts Registry. Adjei charged with threat of death, unlawful possession of narcotic plants, assault on public officer, pleaded not guilty. Prosecution's case was that the complainant was Madam Jean Mensah and that On June 5, this year, the complainant reported to the police that whilst acting in the execution of her statutory duties as Electoral Commissioner, Adjei threatened to cause her death. The Prosecution said based on that the complainant was interviewed by the police and statement taken. ASP Asare said on June, 9 this year, intelligence led to the arrest of Adjei at Greda Estate in Teshie, whiles granting an interview to a team of journalists in relation to a video made by him on social media. He said the accused in the said video threatened to cause the death of Mrs Mensah. Subsequently, Prosecution said a search conducted on Adjei revealed one infinix five mobile phone, a black wallet containing GH29.00 and a Voter ID Card. He said, also found on the accused was a brown waist pack which contained inter alia; one mobile charger, two suspected aphrodisiac labelled Mr Q, one brown smoking XL paper and two brown wrapped substance of dried leaves suspected to be a narcotic plant. Prosecution said after the inventory was taken, Adjei admitted ownership. Meanwhile investigations revealed that within the past four years, Adjei accompanied a group, which occasionally visited an orphanage by name Jehovah Rapha Foundation located at Suhum to make donations. The prosecution said in order to facilitate the commission of this crime and also put complainant in fear of death, on June 4, 2020, accused and five others, which included a presenter from Otumfuo TV Station, in a guise of donation, visited the orphanage to donate few items, which included cooked rice and face masks. The prosecution said further investigations disclosed that Adjei while at the orphanage with the group made a video of himself and in the video he threatened to cause the death of Jean Mensah. According to the prosecution a careful analysis of the video disclosed the usage of abusive, threatening and insulting language against the complainant. The Prosecution said Adjeis video was circulated on social media and on June 9, this year, he was located at Greda Estate at Teshie. It said on June 17, this year the dried leaves was sent to the Police Forensic Laboratory and on June 22, results from the laboratory tested positive for Delta9 tetra hydro cannabinol and cannabinol. Prosecution said the Police was waiting for the report of transcription of the video tape of the accused. 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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 18:57:01|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DHAKA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Bangladesh confirmed 41 more fatalities from the COVID-19 on Tuesday, bringing the country's death toll to more than 2,700. Nasima Sultana, a senior Health Ministry official, said in a briefing in Dhaka that "3,057 new COVID-19 positive cases and 41 deaths were reported in the last 24 hours across Bangladesh." The number of confirmed infections in the country totaled 210,510 while fatalities stood at 2,709. She said the COVID-19 fatality rate in Bangladesh is now 1.29 percent and the recovery rate is 54.82 percent. According to the official, 12,898 samples were tested in the last 24 hours in labs across the country. The total number of recovered patients in the country stands at 115,399 including 1,841 on Tuesday, showed the health ministry data. Bangladesh recorded highest 4,019 cases in a 24-hour period on July 2, and the highest 64 deaths in a day on June 30. Enditem A Togolese national on Monday wept uncontrollably after an Accra Circuit Court sentenced him to 10 years imprisonment for defiling an 11-year old girl in a hotel room at Kisseman in Accra. Kelvin Agbenorvi, charged with defilement, pleaded not guilty however, the Court presided over by Christina Cann found him guilty at the end of the trial. Soon after the court had delivered its verdict, Agbenorvi broke down in tears. Prosecuting, Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP) Agnes Boafo said that the complainant is a teacher residing at Kisseman with victim. DSP Boafo said the complainants house is located in a hotel name withheld at Kisseman and the convict worked in same hotel as an attendant. He said on March 24, this year the convict lured the victim into one of the hotel rooms, undressed her and defiled her. The Prosecution said whiles in the act the complainants son who was a witness in case entered the room but the convict walked him out. DSP Boafo said the complainant's son on March 30, this year informed the complainant who then questioned the victim who confirmed the incident. She said a report was then lodged with the Tesano Domestic Violence and Victims Support Unit of the Ghana Police Service and accused was nabbed. ---GNA July 20 (Reuters) - The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Monday accepted Acadia Pharmaceuticals Inc's application for an antipsychotic drug to treat dementia patients with hallucinations and delusions. The regulator said it had set April 3, 2021, as the action date to decide on the drug's approval. The drug, Nuplazid, was approved in the United States in 2016 for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with Parkinson's disease psychosis. In June, Acadia submitted a supplemental new drug application (sNDA) for Nuplazid for the treatment of hallucinations and delusions associated with dementia-related psychosis, which affects about 30% of all patients with dementia in the United States, the company said. The application was based on positive results from a late-stage study that showed the drug to be safe and well-tolerated, with few adverse reactions in patients treated with it, the company said. Separately, Acadia said top-line results from a late-stage study of the same drug as an adjunctive treatment for major depressive disorder (MDD) did not achieve statistical significance on its main goal, adding that it would not pursue additional studies. (Reporting by Vishwadha Chander in Bengaluru; Editing by Anil D'Silva) One of America's top spy chiefs vowed that the U.S. will hit back at foreign nations attempting to interfere in the 2020 presidential election, a warning delivered days after fresh charges of Russian hacking against the West. "We're going to act when we see adversaries attempting to interfere in our elections," General Paul Nakasone, director of the National Security Agency and head of U.S. Cyber Command, said Monday during an event hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army. Nakasone's comments come after reports of Russian hacking once again surfaced last week, with the U.K., U.S. and Canada accusing Russia of attempting to steal international research to develop a coronavirus vaccine. Britain also accused Russia of attempting to interfere in the country's general election last year, by disseminating documents relating to trade talks with the U.S. Russia rejected the charges. In a sign of the rising concern about election-year threats, top congressional Democrats said Monday that they want FBI Director Christopher Wray to provide all House and Senate members a classified and "defensive counter-intelligence briefing" before August regarding foreign efforts to interfere in the 2020 U.S. presidential election. In a letter to Wray, lawmakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., and the top Democrats on the House and Senate intelligence committees said that "we are gravely concerned, in particular, that Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign interference campaign, which seeks to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity, public debate, and the presidential election in November." Aides to the lawmakers declined Monday to provide specifics on the threats mentioned in the letter. Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden on Monday condemned President Donald Trump's "failure to act" and said in a statement that he was putting "the Kremlin and other foreign governments on notice." "This is a violation of our sovereignty," Biden said on MSNBC. "And if in fact it occurs there will be response in kind." NSA efforts to secure the November election include broadening its interagency partnerships and studying the techniques of U.S. adversaries, Nakasone said in his speech. "We're going to know our adversaries better than they know themselves," he said. The 2018 U.S. midterm elections demonstrated the country's enhanced "agility" across government agencies, Nakasone said, adding that the NSA's capabilities were now "battle-tested." The cyber chief also addressed the ongoing debate over 5G technology as countries across the world assess the role of Chinese telecommunications giant Huawei. "Part of the 5G conversation has been, do nations want to entrust the security of what will likely be the most important platform for their communications to nations that do not share their values?" he asked. "We're in an era of great-power competition. We see it every day in cyberspace." Just as the number of people hospitalized for COVID-19 approaches new highs in some parts of the country, hospital data in Kansas and Missouri is suddenly incomplete or missing. The Missouri Hospital Association reports that it no longer has access to the data it uses to guide state coronavirus mitigation efforts, and Kansas officials say their hospital data may be delayed. The Trump administration this week directed hospitals to change how they report data to the federal government and how that data will be made available. In an email, Missouri Hospital Association spokesperson Dave Dillon called the move a major disruption. All evidence suggests that Missouris numbers are headed in the wrong direction, Dillon said. And, for now, we will have very limited situational awareness. Thats all very bad news. The absence of the data will make it harder for health and public officials, as well as the general public, to understand how the virus is spreading. Its hugely problematic, said Dr. Karen Maddox, a public health researcher at Washington University in St. Louis. The only way that we know where things are going up and where things are going down and where we need to be putting resources and where we need to be planning is because of those data. The White House instructed hospitals to report data to the Department of Health and Human Services through a new system created by a Pennsylvania-based company, TeleTracking, instead of to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The directive came as a surprise to hospitals, according to Kansas Hospital Association spokesperson Cindy Samuelson. From our perspective, these changes are big, Samuelson said. We only found out Tuesday, and we had to update the data by Wednesday night so, less than 48 hours. The Missouri Hospital Association currently does not have access to the new HHS system, according to Dillon. He said the new system is also significantly different from the CDC system. The new datasets for reporting are not identical and in several cases are ill-defined, Dillon said. That has complicated hospitals efforts. In the wake of the announcement, the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services posted a notice on its website this week that the daily and weekly updates on hospitals, including the numbers of people hospitalized and the availability of standard hospital beds, ICU beds and ventilators, would be temporarily halted. Missouri Hospital Association (MHA) and the State of Missouri will be unable to access critical hospitalization data during the transition. While we are working to collect interim data, situational awareness will be limited, the notice on the departments website says. Dillon said the hospital association hopes to have within a few days or weeks hospital and coronavirus data that had been available through the CDC. However, in the short term, well be very much in the dark, Dillon said. The hospital association will create an alternative reporting system for hospitals, according to Dillon, and plans to continue producing weekly reports, despite the uncertainty about data. The Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services did not respond to inquiries regarding the data. Kansas health officials are still able to access hospital and coronavirus data through the CDC and TeleTracking, according to Kansas Department of Health and Environment spokesperson Kristi Zears. However, Kansas Hospital Association spokesperson Samuelson said the Kansas hospital data may be delayed if it is incomplete. If were not able to get a bulk of our members converted and uploading, Im not sure we want to show it because then it will look like things have gotten a lot better, Samuelson said. The most recent data shows that as of July 12, 875 Missourians were hospitalized with COVID-19, among the highest reported numbers since an early May peak of 984. Kansas most recent data shows 1,393 people have been hospitalized with the disease. The Trump administration said the reporting change was needed due to reporting delays and other problems with the CDC. But the move has been widely criticized for being disruptive, especially as COVID-19 infection numbers reach new highs and hospitals in some areas of the country are reaching capacity. By now, we should have a foolproof, streamlined reporting system for COVID, Maddox said. And this change midstream is not going to do anything to help our ability to fight the disease. This story is part of a partnership that includes KCUR, NPR and Kaiser Health News. KHN is a nonprofit news service covering health issues. It is an editorially independent program of KFF (Kaiser Family Foundation), which is not affiliated with Kaiser Permanente. The yield on the benchmark 10-year Treasury note was flat at 0.611% and the yield on the 30-year Treasury bond edged down slightly to 1.310%. Yields move inversely to prices. Treasury yields held steady on Tuesday despite the unveiling of new stimulus measures in Europe and a spree of promising coronavirus vaccine and treatment trials, as fears over the coronavirus surge in the U.S. lingered. Earlier on Tuesday, the European Commission agreed to a 750 billion euro stimulus package. The stimulus is designed to help countries and sectors in the region most affected by the coronavirus pandemic. In the U.S., investors are monitoring the talks in Washington on the next coronavirus relief bill. Risk sentiment was buoyed on Monday after an experimental vaccine developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University produced an immune response in an early-stage clinical trial. A vaccine from U.S. drugmaker Pfizer and German biotech BioNTech also showed promise in a second early trial, the companies said Monday. Meanwhile, British pharmaceutical firm Synairgen said its inhaled treatment reduced the risk of hospitalized patients deteriorating to the point of requiring a ventilator. Despite all this, the bond market is "is just not confident in a robust economic recovery," said Peter Boockvar, chief investment officer at Bleakley Advisory Group. Boockvar pointed to this reason when explaining why he thinks Treasury yields haven't moved higher Tuesday. New coronavirus cases in Florida continued to soar on Monday with more than 10,000 infections recorded for the sixth consecutive day. However, California saw hospitalizations and new infections begin to stabilize following its recent surge. Ismaila Isa Funtua, an associate of President Muhammadu Buhari, is dead. A family source disclosed that he died on Monday after su... Ismaila Isa Funtua, an associate of President Muhammadu Buhari, is dead. A family source disclosed that he died on Monday after suffering cardiac arrest. A presidential aide, who did not want to be named, also confirmed the death of Funtua, saying a statement would be issued soon. In a tweet, Bashir Ahmad, another aide of the president, expressed regrets over the incident. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun! Just heard about Mallam Ismaila Isa Funtuas sudden death. This life! May Allah accept his soul, forgive his shortcomings and grant him Jannah al-Firdaus, he tweeted. Inna lillahi wa inna ilaihi rajiun! Just heard about Mallam Ismaila Isa Funtuas sudden death. This life! May Allah accept his soul, forgive his shortcomings and grant him Jannah al-Firdaus. Bashir Ahmad (@BashirAhmaad) July 20, 2020 He was the founding managing director of Democrat Newspaper and former president of the Newspaper Proprietors Association of Nigeria (NPAN). The deceased was life patron of NPAN and chairman of Bulet Construction Company. His death comes three months after that of Abba Kyari, former chief of staff to the president. Funtua and Kyari were very close to the president. Senior Senate Republicans are rejecting Joe Biden's amped-up public warnings about Russian interference in this year's presidential election, saying foreign adversaries' efforts to meddle in U.S. democracy are nothing new after the Kremlin's hacking operation four years ago. "I think to sound an alarm is to be ignorant of everything that weve done since 2016," said Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.), who until two months ago chaired the Senate Intelligence Committee and steered the panel's yearslong bipartisan probe into Russia's digital assault on the race between Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), who has temporarily assumed the reins from Burr, warned that "multiple countries are now engaged in informational warfare, trying to divide our country, trying to pit us against each other." Its not new. Its something were going to face for a long time, unfortunately, said Rubio, adding that he didnt know what, if any, specific incidents Biden was reacting to. Rubio is the favorite to get the Intelligence committee gavel permanently if Republicans keep control of the Senate in November. Senate Homeland Security Chair Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) suggested that Russia has been interfering in Western elections for decades. Does it surprise me if China's probably doing the same thing? Not at all, he told POLITICO. The GOP comments came a day after Biden offered his starkest warnings to date against any interference by Russia or other foreign governments like China. I am putting the Kremlin and other foreign governments on notice, the former vice president said Monday, three days after disclosing that he had begun to receive briefings from U.S. intelligence officials as the presumptive Democratic nominee. If elected president, I will treat foreign interference in our election as an adversarial act that significantly affects the relationship between the United States and the interfering nations government. Story continues Joe Biden at a campaign event. He echoed that statement later during a campaign event where he promised economic sanctions, cyber reprisals and any other necessary actions to counter such clear assault on our national sovereignty." The remarks did receive a warm welcome from one group: congressional Democrats dismayed by the Obama administrations muted public response to the Kremlins efforts in 2016. Bidens statement was the kind of statement, frankly, that a president would make, House Intelligence Chair Adam Schiff (D-Calif.) said Tuesday. I think it will have a deterrent impact. Schiff noted that it has been almost exactly four years since he and California Sen. Dianne Feinstein, then the top Democrat on the Senate Intelligence Committee, issued their own joint statement on the Kremlins election interference because we could not get the administration at that time to issue a statement of their own. Ironically it was because they were concerned that they would be perceived as rigging the election by calling out foreign interference, Schiff noted. Now that never made sense to me. More harshly, Johnson argued that the Obama administration didnt do anything to stop the Kremlins attack in 2016. The Obama administration eventually called out Moscow publicly in October 2016 for Russia's hacking of computers at the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. But those charges were drowned out within hours by major news bursts the revelation of the Access Hollywood tape in which Trump boasted of sexually assaulting women, and WikiLeaks mass dumping of emails from Clintons campaign chair. Months after Trump's victory, U.S. intelligence agencies issued a joint statement that the Russians had "developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump," a conclusion that Burr's committee endorsed just three months ago. "Weve all learned that we need to call out foreign interference early and often if it continues, there needs to be repercussions for it, the American people need to be kept informed of it," Schiff said. Biden himself has said that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell stopped the Obama administration from speaking out more bluntly about Russian interference in 2016 by refusing to sign onto a bipartisan statement of condemnation a charge the Kentucky Republican has denied. Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-Minn.), herself once a 2020 presidential contender, said Bidens latest remarks show he has learned from 2016, especially considering how Russian hackers have stepped up their online operations since then. She cited last weeks joint announcement by the U.S. and the United Kingdom that hackers backed by Moscow were attempting to steal Covid-19 vaccine research. If you think they have a limit, they have no limit, she said. While he welcomed the former vice president's more assertive approach, Schiff suggested that Biden be more specific when talking about the kinds of interference he is warning about. "We have to be careful to distinguish operations like hacking and dumping and covert social media campaigns, paid intelligence operations and those types of malign activities from much more overt influence operations that include writing of editorials and giving public speeches and engaging in diplomatic efforts," Schiff said. "We need to be careful not to equate all foreign efforts to influence the American people." Sen. Chris Coons (D-Del.), a top Biden ally, said that "every elected official in America is on notice that Russia interfered in our 2016 election" and "its important that national leaders of both parties send clear signals: We will not tolerate election interference." Isnt it funny how political myths and mantras can do so much damage. Even the relatively harmless ones can generate bad relationships and political instability. Sometimes, of course, thats exactly what theyre designed to do. The creation of a political myth requires ingenuity. The myth, although false, has to have a grain of truth. It has to be rooted in something that is eminently believable. The mantra is different. A political mantra is a message repeated over and over again to the point where the audience knows whats coming, and assumes it to be fact. Its usually a simple message, always stark, and always delivered with total conviction, as if it was something everyone knew all the time. The difference between the myth and the mantra is in the degree of ingenuity applied. Its like the difference between brain and brawn. The myth is usually subtle, delivered in a whisper and allowed to grow where its planted. The mantra is shouted from the rooftops. You cant avoid hearing it. Used effectively, especially in tandem, the myth and the mantra can be powerful medicine. Concepts wed never heard before can become simple truths all as a result of the application of what you might call the m&m treatment. Take the first couple of weeks of the life of our present Government, for example. There was devastation, it seems, when the West of Ireland wasnt represented at the Cabinet table. This was going to result in untold hardship and deprivation. The Taoiseach was even compared to Oliver Cromwell at one point. But its yet another example of the m&m approach to politics apparently this time the myths and mantras were believed by senior politicians and eminent commentators alike. Heres a sad truth. While senior politicians can occasionally shift a few goodies, they have rarely made a fundamental difference to the everyday lives of their constituents thats discernibly different from the lives of citizens in other constituencies. Just take one example the constituency of Dublin Central. It has had changing geographical boundaries over the years, but at its heart are some of the highest rates of poverty and inequality in Ireland. George Colley was its TD for years. So was one of the most influential back-benchers we ever had, Tony Gregory. Read More Daniel McConnell: Education Minister waffles on as Leaving Cert students suffer again For twenty years Bertie Ahern drew votes from every street corner in the constituency. And for the last number of years it has been represented by Paschal Donohoe, the man in charge of the purse strings in good financial times. Dublin Central had some of the highest rates of poverty and inequality in Ireland even when Paschal Donohoe was finance minister. Picture:Gareth Chaney/Collins The blighted physical appearance of many parts of the constituency, sitting incongruously adjacent to the shiny offices of international capital in the IFSC, and the scale of disadvantage in the lives of too many constituents, could still form a good backdrop to a modern OCasey play. That whole thing about the West of Ireland being utterly neglected because of the absence of a minister at the cabinet table is such a silly myth that it promptly disappeared the minute Dara Calleary was appointed to the Cabinet to replace Barry Cowen. Mind you the sub-head on The Irish Times coverage of the appointment was The appointment means the West of Ireland now has a senior Cabinet Minister. Good luck with that one Minister. The West of Ireland has for generations been represented by Fianna Failers with names like de Valera, Lenihan, ORourke and Blaney, and by Fine Gaelers with names like Higgins, Kenny and Flanagan. If the myth was true, its hard to understand why the Shannon isnt being panned for gold. Mind you, if you ever do want to see the impact of a powerful politician on the lasting development of the West, drive up to Carrigart in Donegal and take a trip across the Harry Blaney bridge. It cost around 40m, its about 30 yards long, and youll have it entirely to yourself. Its a wonderful example of politicians shifting goodies, but youll never be able to figure out how it has contributed to the ending of disadvantage in the West of Ireland. Because it hasnt. For all that, the link between local representation and neglect is one of the more benign myths, despite all the damage it occasionally does. To really understand the corrosive impact of m&m politics, you have to look at the other side of the Atlantic. I was listening to Donald Trump being torn apart on Fox news the other night. (Now theres a sentence I never thought Id write.) But he was being interviewed by Chris Wallace, whos a real journalist and the son of one of Americas most famous reporters Mike Wallace. And Trumpy became more and more agitated as the interview went on and Wallace challenged each of his lies in turn. US president Donald Trump has told the same lie so often that he has lost the ability to distinguish between the truth and a lie. But the second thing that fascinated me was my own dawning realisation that Donald Trump has told the same lie so often that he has lost the ability (if he ever had it, that is) to distinguish between the truth and a lie. As just one example, he announced to Wallace that the US had one of the lowest mortality rates in the world. Looking him in the eye, Wallace said calmly, thats not true, sir. At which point the president demanded that Wallace produce the figures, because, he said I heard we had the best mortality rate. The fact that this is a lie is bad enough. The fact that the president of the US now either believes his own lies or doesnt know the difference is even more troubling. Trump got to the White House by using myths and mantras to devastating effect, by telling simple lies so often that people believed they had to be true. The lies eventually transmogrified into simple attack phrases and it is almost impossible to trace them back to their roots. The most powerful example of the m&m treatment in recent times comes from Trumps first campaign and was created by Trump. Its in the simple phrase Lock her up a phrase that summed up an entire movements hatred of Hillary Clinton in one short, memorable, and devastating lie. But nobody in the US could tell you now why Hillary should be locked up. What crime has she been charged with, or accused of, or convicted of? That doesnt matter. Lock her up has all the truth we need. The power of political myths and mantras lies in the fact that we, the poor old decent ordinary citizens, come to regard them as nothing but the gospel truth. But this is the first time that I can remember that the perpetrator of vicious political myths believed them too. It says a lot about the health and wellbeing of the president of the US that he unhesitatingly believes the lies he has told others. But it ought to frighten the lives out of the rest of us. When President Donald Trump spoke with Pentagon leaders early last month about U.S. troop levels in Afghanistan, he was anxious for a hefty reduction by Election Day in November, according to U.S. officials familiar with the discussion. Reminded that withdrawals below the current level of approximately 8,600 - about the same as when Trump first took office - were contingent upon still-unmet conditions outlined in the U.S.-Taliban deal signed early this year, he questioned whether U.S. forces in Syria could be decreased. Not advisable, Trump was told of the approximately 800 troops there, most still engaged in fighting the Islamic State and keeping Russia, Iran and Turkey from expanding their reach. "I am sure they're going to stay in [Syria] until the end of the year, beyond the election, regardless of who wins," a senior U.S. official said in the wake of the meeting. U.S. and foreign officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive troop withdrawal issue. Just weeks later, Trump announced that he was reducing U.S. deployments in Germany by 9,500, from the current total of 34,500. Since taking office, Trump has been struggling to fulfill his 2016 campaign pledge to significantly reduce the nearly 200,000 American military personnel then overseas, already the smallest number in many decades. In countries such as Afghanistan, U.S. troops are merely serving as "police," he has argued, while Germany, South Korea and others that could afford to defend themselves are getting U.S. protection on the cheap at taxpayer expense. But Trump has been stymied at virtually every turn. While there have been some relatively minor shifts in distribution - and since 2017 the Defense Department no longer includes troops in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq in its unclassified, published tallies - the overall total of those serving abroad is believed to have slightly increased since Barack Obama left office. In the past, members of his own administration, including military leaders, have talked Trump out of specific withdrawals or employed delaying tactics. When the president ordered him in 2018 to tell Persian Gulf partners to send their own troops to Syria so the United States could get out, former national security adviser John Bolton wrote in his recent book,Bolton slow-walked the idea until it went away. Trump eventually cut the numbers by more than half, without any Arab replacements or financial contribution. Trump has often said that he is treated unfairly. "I am the only person who can fight for the safety of our troops and bring them home from the ridiculous & costly Endless Wars, and be scorned," he tweeted in October. "Democrats always liked that position, until I took it." The idea of bringing home the troops resonates with many across the political spectrum. But numerous lawmakers of both parties have objected to Trump's efforts. Most recently, senior Republicans have warned that a major reduction in Germany would limit U.S. military flexibility in Europe and beyond, decrease U.S. influence in NATO and be a gift to Russia. Late last month, Senate Republicans Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, Marco Rubio of Florida and Mitt Romney of Utah joined Democratic Sens. Chris Coons of Delaware, Tim Kaine of Virginia and Jeanne Shaheen of New Hampshire in sponsoring an amendment to the fiscal 2021 Defense Authorization Act that would limit the use of funds to reduce active-duty troops in Germany unless the Defense Department could certify that a long list of restrictive conditions had been met. At NATO, few diplomats believe that a significant troop pullback from Germany - a massive personnel and logistical undertaking - can be accomplished before the end of the year, or that the infrastructure exists to house them elsewhere in Europe. U.S. opinion polls detailing Trump's plummeting popularity are being closely watched in alliance capitals and at the Brussels headquarters. NATO policymakers say that if Democrat Joe Biden is elected, they expect the troop reductions to be off the table. German officials were furious at having learned of the planned cuts from U.S. media reports. Defense Secretary Mark Esper, attempting to allay concerns and smooth ruffled feathers, told NATO on a trip to Brussels in June that the plans were still far from completion, four diplomats familiar with his visit said. One senior NATO diplomat said that Esper offered few details but promised to "continue to consult with allies. Like they have," the diplomat added with a clear touch of sarcasm. In the meantime, the official alliance position is that "the U.S. remains firmly committed to European security," a NATO official said. "What we have seen over the last years is actually not a decrease but an increase in the U.S. presence in Europe," said the official, including a strong U.S. commitment to bolstering NATO's eastern flank with rotating deployments and pre-positioned equipment. Army Secretary Ryan McCarthy told reporters Thursday as he returned from a multi-stop visit to Europe that he had not had any "direct discussions about the repositioning of forces on the continent at this time." "That information will be released in the coming weeks," he said. "That's all I've got to say about that topic." McCarthy acknowledged that Poland and Lithuania have both expressed interest in having more U.S. troops in their countries if the United States is reshuffling its European profile. Polish President Andrzej Duda, a Trump favorite, last year offered to build a base there and name it Fort Trump. When Duda visited the White House on June 24, four days before the first round of voting in his reelection bid, Trump granted his wish, saying vaguely that "some" of the forces to be withdrawn from Germany would go to Poland. Duda was narrowly reelected in a runoff vote last week. Trump has long been harshly critical of Germany, charging that it is insufficiently grateful for U.S. "defense" and has failed to pay its fair share of NATO expenses. Explaining his plans for the 9,500 troops, he told columnist Marc Thiessen this month that "I'm bringing about half home and half are going to different places that deserve it," including Poland. Pentagon officials have said that the "repositioning" of forces around the world - in large part to confront China - is part of a comprehensive and long-overdue review of all U.S. overseas deployments expected to be completed in September. Indications earlier this year that downsizing was likely in Africa, where U.S. forces are fighting militant groups, brought howls of congressional disapproval and warnings of Islamic State and al-Qaida expansion there. Military officials have long been expecting the U.S. troop footprint in the Middle East and Afghanistan to shrink at least modestly because of a trio of factors, including a reduced Islamic State, a hoped-for political settlement in Afghanistan and, perhaps most important, Trump's desire to reduce U.S. involvement in insurgent conflicts. But critics have warned that a reduced U.S. presence would conflict with the administration's pledge to continue "maximum pressure" against Iran. The first phase of the February U.S.-Taliban agreement - a downsizing of the American force in Afghanistan to 8,600 - has now been completed, eliminating the force expansion Trump authorized in 2017. The agreement envisions a full U.S. departure by the end of April, providing that the militants meet their commitments to reduce violence and embrace negotiations with the Afghan government. The Pentagon has drawn up plans to reach a "waypoint" in its own compliance with the deal, perhaps by late fall, by withdrawing another 4,000 troops. But the required Taliban and Afghan government progress in implementing the political aspects of the agreement has slowed, and violence is on the rise. In Iraq, administration officials have said the ongoing presence of U.S. forces, now numbering more than 5,000, is vital to continue training and assisting Iraq's security forces against Islamic State outbreaks, and to help Iraq resist Iranian dominance. Many Iraqi lawmakers demanded the full departure of American troops following the U.S. killing of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani in a Baghdad drone strike in January. Talks with the new government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who is due to visit Washington this month, are ongoing. Administration officials say they are optimistic and expect only a modest reduction in the force. Since early in his presidency, Trump has demanded that South Korea, where 28,500 U.S. troops are based, and Japan, which hosts more than 55,000, pay more for a robust American military presence. Washington and Seoul struggled to reach a cost-sharing deal in 2018. They ended up with only a one-year extension, to the end of 2019, with South Korea agreeing to pay $926 million, an 8 percent increase. Last year, Trump asked for a fivefold increase in what South Korea pays and threatened to "get out of there if we don't get the five-billion-dollar deal," according to Bolton. No agreement has been reached, and in April more than 4,000 South Korean civilians employed at U.S. bases there were placed on unpaid furlough. They went back to work in June, after Seoul agreed to pay them in a $200 million stopgap measure. The commander of U.S. Forces Korea, Gen. Robert B. Abrams, said late last month that there are no plans for the United States to withdraw troops from South Korea. The Wall Street Journal reported Friday that the Pentagon has presented the White House with a list of options to reduce forces there. Japan faces the same demand to pay more when its current cost-sharing deal runs out at the end of March. Formal negotiations have not yet begun, and Tokyo, which is closely watching the South Korea situation, is hoping to hold off at least until the U.S. elections. - - - The Washington Post's Michael Birnbaum in Brussels, Simon Denyer in Tokyo and Dan Lamothe in Washington contributed to this report. COLUMBIA South Carolina Gov. Henry McMaster announced Monday he is allocating $32 million of federal relief money related to the coronavirus outbreak in tuition grants for students attending private schools across the state. Accompanied by state officials and parents at Hampton Park Christian School in Greenville, McMaster said he expects the funds to cover about 5,000 grants of up to $6,500 for students to attend parochial, private and independent schools in the upcoming academic year. Students from households with an adjusted gross income of up to 300% of the federal poverty level are eligible for the grant. The one-time program aims to help families whose finances have taken a hit from the pandemic's economic fallout. The governor said enrollment in the state's private and independent schools is estimated to decline by up to 20% this year because parents cannot afford tuition. Some 50,000 South Carolina students currently attend such schools. If we don't have a strong education system for all of our children, then we will never achieve the great prosperity that we have possible, McMaster said. The funds are so far the largest sum McMaster has publicly portioned out from the Governors Emergency Education Relief Fund, a $48 million discretionary fund awarded through the federal CARES Act. Earlier this month, the governor announced $2.4 million in technology upgrades for the states eight historically Black colleges and universities. Schools eligible for the new funds could also receive federal CARES money through a rule announced by U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos last month, requiring public school districts to set aside a portion of their federal aid for private K-12 schools. That rule is being challenged in federal court by five states including California. The South Carolina funds are seen as a boon for the state's school choice movement. Ellen Weaver of Palmetto Promise Institute, a conservative think-tank in the state, lauded the governor for implementing the largest new education choice program in the country this year. Dr. Spencer A. Jordan, executive director of the South Carolina Independent School Association, said "Governor McMaster has placed all students of South Carolina in an outstanding position for future academic success by the development and implementation of the SAFE Grant. This scholarship will enable students and families that have suffered because of the COVID-19 pandemic an opportunity to enroll or continue their enrollment in one our outstanding independent schools throughout South Carolina." Public education groups and some state Democrats criticized McMaster's program, saying that the funds should be directed to the state's most disadvantaged students. The Palmetto State Teachers Association argued that federal public dollars will flow to independent schools not subject to public accountability standards that are also allowed to deny admission to students based on criteria such as religion or disability status. At a time where South Carolinas public schools are faced with unprecedented operational challenges due to the coronavirus pandemic, these funds could be better used by ensuring our public schools have as many resources as possible to ensure a safe return to in-person instruction when public health conditions make it possible to do so, the teachers' group said in a statement Monday. McMaster's announcement comes days after the governor drew ire from educators across the state when he called for schools to open five days a week for face-to-face instruction, even as the spread of the virus showed little sign of slowing. COVID-19 cases have spiked in the state since Memorial Day, with health officials reporting 1,445 new confirmed cases Monday. The state now has reported a total of 71,213 confirmed cases and 1,147 deaths. AlgaEnergy microalgae technology in these Ecocert Certified products is available to organic growers in Asia, Europe and U.S. MADRID, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AgMA Energy Pvt. Ltd., has received Ecocert certifications qualifying an array of its products for use in organic agriculture production. AgMA Energy is a 50-50 joint venture formed in 2019 between MicroAlgae Solutions India Pvt. Ltd., the India subsidiary of Madrid-based AlgaEnergy S.A., a global leader in microalgae biotechnology, and Agrolife Sciences Corp., a subsidiary of Krishi Rasayan Export Pvt. Ltd. (KREPL), one of India's largest agricultural product companies. Ecocert, founded in France in 1991, is one of the world's largest and most respected organic certification organizations, with 26 offices certifying environmentally friendly practices and products in 130 nations worldwide. Among the newly Ecocert-certified AgMA Energy products are sustainable biological inputs derived from AlgaEnergy's proprietary microalgae and comprising two classes of biological fertilizers, soil conditioners and biostimulants. They can now be sold to organic growers through distribution partnerships Asia, Europe and the U.S. "We have worked closely with our partner KREPL to create a portfolio of products, based on AlgaEnergy's unique microalgae extracts, that meet the exacting needs of organic farmers not only in India but around the world," said D. Ry Wagner, president of international agribusiness for AlgaEnergy. "We are proud to partner with AlgaEnergy to introduce their proprietary microalgae and biological products in India," said Rajesh Agarwal, managing director of KREPL Group. "Farmer response to the products has been highly encouraging, and the products have shown wonderful results in all horticulture, vegetable and field crops. This Ecocert certification will further strengthen confidence in our products among farmers across the globe." "India's farmers face unique challenges, most important among them is low productivity due to extreme climatic events and worsening soil conditions," said Debabrata Sarkar, chairman and managing director of MicroAlgae Solutions India. "Organic crop inputs such as the microalgae-based products just certified help revitalize soil and improve farm productivity." Graphics and photos can be downloaded at the following link. About AlgaEnergy AlgaEnergy S.A. is a biotechnology company headquartered in Spain that uses advanced technology and production processes to produce high-quality microalgae-based products for the agriculture, aquaculture, nutrition and cosmetics industries. By harnessing multiple, diverse microalgae strains in one product, AlgaEnergy products can benefit a wide range of crops in diverse environments facing unique stresses. Visit www.algaenergy.com. About Krishi Rasayan Export Pvt. Ltd. (KREPL) Agrolife Science Corporation is a subsidiary of the KREPL Group. KREPL Group was established in 1972 and is now one of the leading agrochemical companies in India. The company has eight manufacturing plants located in different parts of the country. KREPL Group strives continuously for the prosperity of mankind and fulfilling farmer needs. With vast experience, we have products geared not only for India's needs but also to meet global challenges. Contact: Carmela Perez Calleja, Global Marketing Manager Telephone: +34 681 285 872 e-mail: [email protected] Related Links https://www.algaenergy.com SOURCE AlgaEnergy International Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall today praised an executive order by President Trump that seeks to exclude people in the country illegally from being counted in the 2020 Census for purposes of congressional representation. Marshall and U.S. Rep. Mo Brooks filed a lawsuit against the Census Bureau in 2018 to block counting people in the country illegally. They contended that counting those people would favor states with a higher proportion of residents without legal status and cost Alabama a seat in the U.S. House. The 10-year census is used to apportion congressional seats, which also determines the number of Electoral College votes. I applaud President Trump for taking decisive action today to protect the integrity of the Census by ensuring that only legal residents of the United States be counted, Marshall said in a press release. When the states Congressional seats and Electoral College votes are divided up, representation should be based on those people who reside in their states and this country lawfully. A contrary result would rob the State of Alabama and its legal residents of their rightful share of representation and undermine the rule of law. If people are in our country in violation of federal law, why should the states in which they reside benefit from such violations of federal law? Marshalls lawsuit has opposition from Democratic officials in 15 states and the District of Columbia who say the Constitution holds that all residents, regardless of immigration status, should be counted. The Trump administration tried to add a citizenship question to the 2020 Census, but was blocked by the U.S. Supreme Court last year. According to the Associated Press, Trump said in todays memorandum that respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base, to the extent feasible and to the maximum extent of the Presidents discretion under the law. The American Civil Liberties Union said it would challenge Trumps order in court. Dale Ho, Director of the ACLUs Voting Rights Project, who argued in the Supreme Court case over the citizenship question, issued a statement. The Constitution requires that everyone in the U.S. be counted in the census, Ho said. President Trump cant pick and choose. He tried to add a citizenship question to the census and lost in the Supreme Court. His latest attempt to weaponize the census for an attack on immigrant communities will be found unconstitutional. Well see him in court, and win, again. Brooks also issued a statement today supporting Trumps order. I stand for fair and equal representation of American citizens, Brooks said. Thats why in May of 2018, I joined Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall (on behalf of the State of Alabama) in suing in Federal court to prevent illegal aliens from being included in the census apportionment count. President Trumps Executive Order highlights the importance of this case. Updated at 2:25 p.m. to add statement from Mo Brooks. Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder (R) and four others were arrested on Tuesday on charges stemming from a $60 million bribery case brought by U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio David DeVillers. Why it matters: It's likely the "largest bribery, money-laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio," DeVillers said at a press conference. Details: According to an 80-page criminal complaint unsealed Tuesday, a dark-money "enterprise" received millions of dollars from March 2017 to March 2020 "in exchange for Householders and the enterprises help in passing House Bill 6, a billion-dollar bailout that saved two failed, Ohio nuclear power plants from closing." That money was used to line Householder's pockets and help him secure support for his Ohio House speaker bid, according to DeVillers. The four additional men arrested include Householder adviser Jeffrey Longstreth, lobbyist Neil Clark, former Ohio Republican Party chair Matthew Borges and co-founder of The Oxley Group Juan Cespedes. Householder and his associates made incriminating statements about their illegal activities in meetings with undercover agents. More arrests are expected, according to DeVillers. What they're saying: "All forms of public corruption are unacceptable," said FBI Cincinnati Special Agent in Charge Chris Hoffman. "When the corruption is alleged to reach some of the highest levels of our state government, the citizens of Ohio should be shocked and appalled." What to watch: Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine (R) called on Householder to resign, saying it would be impossible for him to serve effectively as leader of the Ohio legislature. Read the FBI complaint. This story is developing. Please check back for updates. The suspect involved in a triple shooting in the Canta Ranas neighborhood on Sunday remained behind bars as of Monday evening, according to custody records. Webb County Jail records show that Rodrigo Huerta, 19, is facing charges of aggravated assault of a date, family, household member with a weapon and aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. Panaji, July 21 : The BJP is the only political party in the country which continued with its organisational chores, inspite of the hardships caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, BJP national president JP Nadda told Goa BJP officials in a virtual conference on Tuesday. Nadda said that more than half the country's population had benefited from free rations distributed by government agencies during the nationwide lockdown which was first imposed in March this year. "Our national president said that BJP is only party in the country which has kept its organisational as well as service work going on during the period of Covid-19 pandemic," Goa BJP spokesperson Premanand Mahambre said in a statement issued on Tuesday, after Nadda's virtual interaction with members of the Bharatiya Janata Party state executive. The video interaction comes on the heels of a stand-off between Chief Minister Pramod Sawant and Governor Satya Pal Malik, with the latter openly criticising the decisions taken by the BJP-led coalition government to contain the pandemic and the treatment of Covid-19 positive persons. "He also highlighted the various measures taken by the central government under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to contain and manage the Covid-19 pandemic as well as social initiatives like financial aid to Jan Dhan account holders, farmers, senior citizens and the disabled in the country and distribution of free ration to people below the poverty line," the BJP spokesperson said. "He said that almost 80 crore people of the country got free rations during the period from March till date and will continue further," Mahambre added. The spokesperson said that the Chief Minister briefed Nadda about the various steps taken by the Goa Government for managing the Covid-19 pandemic which includes setting up of a dedicated hospital to treat symptomatic Covid-19 patients, numerous Covid care centres, testing labs and other health infrastructure. That kind of information, Ms. Linde said, can then be used to inform future policy. Even though Sweden as a member of the European Union cant, in most cases, sign its own trade agreements with other countries, it consistently pushes the E.U. to analyze data and consider these kinds of gender blind spots during negotiations. Some other examples of its feminist foreign policy at work: In 2017, when Sweden held the presidency of the United Nations Security Council, the most powerful arm of the global member organization, it insisted on including more women in high-level debates and negotiations. In 2018, when hosting the U.N.-backed Yemen peace talks, Margot Wallstrom, Swedens then foreign minister who spearheaded its feminist approach, insisted that both sides include female delegates. When just one woman was put forward, Sweden worked to bring over a group of female Yemeni activists and policy experts anyway, hoping their presence would lead to more informal interactions at the sidelines of the negotiations, an important channel for diplomacy. As of 2018, Sweden was the only country in the world that allocated almost 90 percent of its aid money for organizations focused on gender equality, compared with the United States 28 percent, according to an O.E.C.D. report. Among the aid recipients are organizations that arent overtly focused on women and girls but in some way contribute to gender equality by building clean water supplies or transportation systems that were designed using carefully analyzed data, or disaggregated data, to ultimately improve the lives of women and men. And, as soon as the World Health Organization pronounced the spread of the coronavirus a pandemic in March, Sweden though widely criticized for its handling of the virus at home boosted its funding for organizations focused on keeping sexual and reproductive health services around the world up and running, like DKT. A growing trend A handful of other countries France, Canada and, most recently, Mexico have since adopted or announced intentions to adopt a feminist foreign policy, though with varying levels of ambition, Ms. Thompson said. Although it announced its intention in 2019, France has yet to publish a formal policy framework. Canada, which also hasnt published its full policy yet, pledged in 2017 that by 2021 it would earmark 95 percent of its foreign aid spending on promoting gender equality. And Mexico, which formally adopted a feminist foreign policy in January under the leadership of Foreign Secretary Mercelo Ebrard, has expanded its purview of feminism to include not only womens rights but L.G.B.T.Q. peoples rights, climate change, immigration and trade, Ms. Thompson said. When announcing its new policy in January, Mexicos foreign ministry held a workshop for all its ambassadors and diplomats to train them on the feminist approach and, in its published policy guidelines, pledged to reach gender parity within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs by 2024. Ukraines Ministry of Internal Affairs has revealed the real name of 'Maksym Plohoi', who took 10 people hostage in Lutsk, 112 International reported referring to Deputy Interior Minister Anton Herashchenko. "The suspects name is Kryvosh Maksym Stepanovich, born in 1975. A native of the village of Gai, Orenburg region of the Russian Federation," Gerashchenko noted. According to him, Kryvosh had been convicted and served a sentence of imprisonment for some serious crimes in correctional facilities for a total of nearly 10 years. Ukrainian president Volodymyr Zelenskyy said he had taken the situation with bus hijack in Lutsk under personal control. "A disturbing news coming from Lutsk. In the morning, at 9:25, a citizen called the local police and reported that he had hijacked a bus with hostages on it. Shots were heard, the bus is damaged. The police operation Hostage has been introduced, and the State Security Service has imposed a plan Boomerang ... I keep the course of events under personal control," Zelenskyy wrote. By Raven McClendon This letter is a response to President Anne Harriss S&B interview, which you can read here. President Anne Harris: We are not living in two pandemics. We live in one pandemic: COVID-19. Slavery and its long-lasting consequences have only ever ravaged the Black American existence, whereas a true pandemic would attack anyone in its path. Anti-Blackness is not a pandemic, because it only kills Black people. President Harris, I do not know how anti-Blackness has weakened the collective health of white people, but I do know how white supremacy has benefited you and every other white/white-adjacent person who has inhaled oxygen. Referring to slavery (the legalized trafficking, murder, torture, rape, sterilization and mutilation of Black people) and its long-lasting consequences (the prison industrial complex, redlining, voter suppression, standards of professionalism, neoliberalism, generational trauma, cultural appropriation, gentrification and microaggressions in addition to legal and illegal trafficking, murder, torture, rape, sterilization and mutilation of Black people) as a pandemic absolves all white people of their inherent racism. You, the president of my college, so blatantly soothing your own white guilt and subsequently that of my white peers, enrage me. If white supremacy were a pandemic, why does a cure require 400-plus years of research and conversation to find? Poetry is Not a Luxury by Audre Lorde: Sometimes we drug ourselves with dreams of new ideas. But there are no new ideas still waiting in the wings to save us as [Black] women, as human. There are only old and forgotten ones, new combinations, extrapolations and recognitions from within ourselves, along with the renewed courage to try them out to attempt the heretical actions our dreams imply and some of our old ideas disparage. President Harris, you are just now arriving at a conversation that Black people are born into. By proposing nothing other than more conversation, you insult my labors, the labors of the Black people speaking with me and the labors of the Black people who have spoken before us. We dont need to research our own experiences because we have lived them. Below, I have responded to quotes from President Harris interview with The S&B. So, if youre having a conversation about Campus Safety, youre talking also about relationships with the local police department. Grinnell College should avoid contact with the local police department. Grinnell College should also adopt a set of steps in place of alerting the local authorities. It seems that the only purpose the police department serves is busting students of color who have drugs in their possession. Students of color face harsher punishments for drug related offenses than white students. Calling campus safety is usually a step before involving local authorities, so I assumed the purpose of campus safety was to avoid the police when possible. If Campus Safety and the local police department work so closely together, then there is no purpose for the current Campus Safetys existence. Campus Safety needs to be reimagined. What does a Campus Safety not modeled after the local police department look like? It looks like a Campus Safety centered around the safety of students rather than the protection of college property. What I can tell you now is that we have very good structures to have the kind of conversations that were talking about [allowing police officers to eat in the Dining Hall]. So, were starting to do that work. Its cute that youre just now starting to do the work, but Black students, faculty and staff have already begun to do the work. What do you have to offer beyond structures to have conversations, anyway? The structure to have conversation is called the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. That is the structure that allows us to converse. You are late to the party. We dont need more structures for more conversation: we need action. The program that allows armed police officers to enter the Dining Hall should not exist. Students have already expressed their contempt for this program, so the administration should simply listen. All police officers uphold the institution of policing, which is inherently racist and anti-Black. Police officers do not make Black students feel safe and, furthermore, guns should not be allowed in a cafeteria. Cops should not bring guns, civilians should not bring guns, no one should bring guns. We dont need more conversation; we need action. In regard to Grinnell Colleges relationship with Iowa Prison Industries, why do you think theres always goodwill here? In your own words, President Harris, what are the perceived benefit[s] of slave labor? Thats what prison labor is: either slavery or indentured servitude. Both are immoral, dehumanizing and unacceptable. How do you condemn the pandemic that is 400-plus years of slavery but see the perceived benefit(s) of it? That is quite a paradox, President Harris! I see that a lot of our conversations happen on social media, and I am very eager to move that into conversations and research that were doing together. The editors in chief of The S&B asked you, What is the best way to move either into these conversations or beyond these conversations into action? Instead of moving conversation to a place that is no longer accessible to the students, you should consider getting active on social media, too. Students are allowed to choose their mode of discourse, and this generation likes social media. Meet us there. Listen to us there. Engage with us there. We have been having this conversation. Again, you are late to it. How quickly task forces by the administration are formed reminds me of a time when I sat in Student Senate and listened to three cisgendered men tell me about the Diversity and Inclusion Task Force they implemented without the proper consultation of students. Students follow the examples that administration set; administration should know to include more students, not just SGA cabinet members or white students, on these task forces. Lana is our SGA president, but she doesnt speak for all of us students. She definitely doesnt speak for all Black students or Black women. We want to take the time to make an informed decision that really hears all arguments and all parties. President Harris, I do not care to listen to the arguments of all students. Racism doesnt require an argument, nor will I listen to opinions that belong to non-Black people. Since you claim to care about harm caused, then listen to those who have been harmed. We know what we want, and your I-just-learned-that-racism-exists attitude is not what we need. We are not moving from a language of diversity and inclusion to a language of anti-racism. If that were true, you would have used anti-racist rhetoric during your interview. Instead you spewed euphemisms and fluff. If you and Grinnell College dont plan on holding yourselves to anti-racist standards, then say that. Say, Black womxn, all Black students, we do not care about your wellbeing. With all deliberate speed we want to continue to have more conversations because thats easier than actually giving up privilege. Giving up privilege looks like holding yourself, your co-workers and your students accountable. Stop letting professors use academic freedom as an excuse to harm Black students. Stop letting non-Black students use their own ignorance or indifference as an excuse to harm Black students. President Harris, do better, or we will find better. No one is safe because we are tired. -Raven Chanel McClendon 22 LAS VEGAS, July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Channel Key, LLC announced today that Ryan Rollo has been named Chief Operating Officer. The newly created position will help scale the channel management agency's rapid growth and will report directly to President, CEO, and Co-Founder Dan Brownsher. "Ryan has an impressive background of successfully leading and growing businesses in technology and e-commerce markets," said Brownsher. "His experience, business acumen and foresight are exactly what we need to drive forward and take Channel Key to the next level." Effective immediately, Rollo will be responsible for operational excellence, developing and executing business strategy, building, and inspiring Channel Key departments, and ensuring client success. Rollo will work cross-functionally to integrate service, sales, finance, HR, business development, and strategic partnerships to position the organization for sustainable growth. "Amazon and its advertising business are growing rapidly," said Rollo. "As brick and mortar continues to be disrupted, brands are leaning into Amazon for both distribution and advertising. Channel Key is uniquely positioned as a full-service boutique agency to help brands and retailers achieve success on major online marketplaces. I'm excited to join such an experienced team of Amazon professionals at this pivotal time in digital commerce." Before joining Channel Key, Rollo led catalog growth and was part of the marketplace launch strategy team for Loblaw Digital, the technology division of Canada's largest retailer. His role at Loblaw developed from an acquisition of Rollo's previous company, Pricefalls.com, and PF Tech, a retail marketplace and technology SaaS company. There, Ryan served as VP of Operations, among numerous other roles over the course of ten years. At Pricefalls.com, he worked with 1000s of online retailers and D2C brands and helped the company raise multimillion-dollar capital rounds, culminating in a successful transition of the business into a larger organization. About Channel Key Channel Key is one of the fastest-growing full-service channel management marketplace consulting agencies. The company works with leading retail brands from around the world. Complete 360-degree services include guidance on marketplace strategies and turnkey marketplace support comprising of content development, custom ad campaigns and marketing programs, inventory, and operations management and stress-free marketplace set up, maintenance, and ongoing consulting. All services are tailored to each customer. For more information, visit www.ChannelKey.com. SOURCE Channel Key Related Links https://channelkey.com The mother of a teenager who was shot dead in Seattle's CHOP zone has filed a lawsuit against the city after paramedics said it was too dangerous to help him. Donnitta Sinclair Martin is taking the city to court after her 19-year-old son Lorenzo Anderson died following the shooting in the 'autonomous zone' on June 20. Officers had abandoned several blocks around the Seattle Police Department's East Precinct on June 8 following clashes with protesters calling for an end to police brutality. Paramedics said 'the risk was too high to commit our crews to respond without a police escort', while cops said they had been obstructed by a 'violent crowd' and were later told that CHOP's own 'medics' had taken Anderson to hospital. Speaking to Q13 Fox in Seattle, Sinclair Martin said her son 'doesn't deserve to be dead... and then he doesn't deserve for the city to not do nothing.' Her lawyer accuses local officials of 'putting politics ahead of public safety' and says the teen was left to bleed out on the street for 20 minutes when medics refused to come into the occupied zone. Lorenzo Anderson was the first person killed in the CHOP zone back on June 20 Donnitta Sinclair Martin (pictured) is taking Seattle city authorities to court after her 19-year-old son Lorenzo Anderson died in hospital following the shooting on June 20 Sinclair Martin told the local TV network she felt disgusted that paramedics had waited on a nearby corner before coming to Anderson's aid. 'I just don't know why they would say no, I don't know, my mind is not wrapping around that part,' she said. 'I'm just confused but I most definitely feel like they are accountable for his death. I think if they would have tried to work on him, he could have been here.' There have been no arrests in the case, but Sinclair Martin's lawsuit alleges that city authorities were partly to blame for Anderson's death. Video from the scene is said to show onlookers begging for help from the Seattle Fire Department. Footage reportedly shows as one man yells: 'You guys could be saving this man's life right now.' Attorneys for Anderson's mother say the violence around the protest zone was foreseeable and that the city had seemingly failed to prepare for it. Lawyer Mark Lindquist said: 'It was foreseeable when the city abandoned the East Precinct that trouble would likely follow and they had no plan to deliver emergency services if there was trouble. 'We do know Lorenzo was bleeding in the street for a considerable amount of time and with a gunshot wound, every minute can mean life or death. 'Politics got ahead of public safety here. City leaders seemed to be more focused on their own agenda than on the safety of the community. 'Lorenzo bled out on the street while medics were less than a football field away. Im confident those medics wanted to help but the city had no plan in place so that they could help.' A spokeswoman for the Herrmann Law Group added: 'One day theyre saying this is a summer of love block party and then later on saying its so dangerous they couldnt send in help: It doesnt make any sense.' City authorities told local media that they have yet to receive the the paperwork and could not comment. Another man was also shot and was treated for 'life-threatening injuries' at the same hospital where Anderson died. Seattle's fire department says its paramedics 'do not have training to go into a volatile situation to extract patients'. 'Our mission is to save lives and protect property, but we must keep our firefighters and paramedics safe so we can continue to help people,' the department said. 'This was a scene where the risk was too high to commit our crews to respond in without a police escort.' Budding rapper Anderson was the first person killed in the CHOP zone back on June 20. Video from the scene is said to show onlookers begging for help from the Seattle Fire Department Police entered the zone after the shooting and said they were trying to get help to the victims but they were met with angry crowds The autonomous zone on June 20, the day Lorenzo was shot and killed and one other was injured Seattle's police department said its officers had 'attempted to locate a shooting victim but were met by a violent crowd that prevented [their] safe access'. Body-cam footage released by Seattle police showed police pleading for access to the victim but being berated by bystanders who told them the man was already in hospital. Cops said they were informed that both shooting victims had been transported to Harborview Medical Center by CHOP 'medics'. Hospital spokeswoman Susan Gregg said at the time that two men had arrived at about 3am before Anderson was pronounced dead. 'Homicide detectives responded and are conducting a thorough investigation, despite the challenges presented by the circumstances,' police said. The shots were fired in Cal Anderson Park, inside the Capitol Hill Occupied Protest or CHOP which was finally cleared out in early July. Nine days after Anderson's death a second teen - 16-year-old Antonio Mays Jr. was shot and killed. A second boy, 14, was left seriously injured in that incident. There have been no arrests of any shooting suspects in either incident. But the two fatal shootings led to Seattle police finally reclaiming their precinct on July 1 after the mayor issued an early morning executive order to vacate the area. Police chief Carmen Best said robberies, assaults, violence and property crimes had also occurred in the area in the last few weeks. Family members, including Donnitta Sinclair-Martin (center), mother of Horace Lorenzo Anderson, gather for a group photo during a memorial and rally for peace on July 2 Friends of Lorenzo Anderson gather at a tribute to him on June 20 A man takes a photo over a blockade at the Capitol Hill protests in downtown Seattle. The zone had been blocked off to police for weeks amid the George Floyd protests Protesters cordoned off several blocks near a police precinct during the demonstrations which erupted around the US after George Floyd's death in May. The zone drew the ire of Donald Trump, who threatened to send in federal forces to take back control from those he called 'thugs, looters and anarchists'. Seattle police finally cleared out CHOP at the start of July, moving in with heavily equipped forces to push protesters out of the zone. Police also cleared out the protesters' tents from the park and made sure no one was left in the park's bathrooms. After police evicted the protesters, heavy equipment was used to remove concrete barriers and cart away debris from the encampments. Washington governor Jay Inslee, a Democrat, said he supporting the dismantling of CHOP but added that it 'should not diminish the cause of racial justice'. Mayor Jenny Durkan last month proposed about $20million in police department cuts after demands to 'defund the police. The proposals are part of a broader plan to close a $378million hole that the coronavirus crisis has ripped in the city's 2020 budget. Durkan has also proposed transferring a list of functions like the 911 call center and parking enforcement out of the agency's budget. Some emergencies should instead be handled by a social worker, nurse, firefighter or family counselor, she said. City councillors have drawn up a more drastic plan to cut about 50 per cent of the police department's budget, or about $85million. Police chief Best said eliminating half the department would risk public safety, saying her budget was almost entirely personnel. The Office of Police Accountability received more than 17,000 complaints against officers related to the George Floyd protests. Most focus on 17 incidents that range from excessive force, injuries and aggressive crowd-handling tactics. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Alistair Smout (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Tue, July 21, 2020 09:00 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a4066801528 2 World Oxford-University,Oxford,AstraZeneca,coronavirus,COVID-19,COVID-19-vaccines,human-trial,pandemic,SARS-CoV-2,virus-corona,novel-coronavirus Free An experimental vaccine being developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University against the new coronavirus produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, preserving hopes it could be in use by the end of the year. The vaccine, called AZD1222, has been described by the World Health Organization's chief scientist as the leading candidate in a global race to halt a pandemic that has killed more than 600,000 people. More than 150 possible vaccines are in various stages of development, and US drugmaker Pfizer and China's CanSino Biologics also reported positive responses for their candidates on Monday. The vaccine from AstraZeneca and Britain's University of Oxford prompted no serious side effects and elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses, according to trial results published in The Lancet medical journal, with the strongest response seen in people who received two doses. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, whose government has helped fund the project, hailed the results as "very positive news" though the researchers cautioned the project was still at an early stage. "There is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the COVID-19 pandemic," vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert said. "We still do not know how strong an immune response we need to provoke to effectively protect against SARS-CoV-2 infection." AstraZeneca shares surged 10%, but then gave up most of those gains, to close up 1.45% on the day. AstraZeneca has signed agreements with governments around the world to supply the vaccine should it prove effective and gain regulatory approval. It has said it will not seek to profit from the vaccine during the pandemic. AZD1222 was developed by Oxford and licensed to AstraZeneca, which has put it into large-scale, late-stage trials to test its efficacy. It has signed deals to produce and supply over 2 billion doses of the shot, with 300 million doses earmarked for the United States. Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive of AstraZeneca, said the company was on track to be producing doses by September, but that hopes that it will be available this year hinged on how quickly late-stage trials could be completed, given the dwindling prevalence of the virus in Britain. Late-stage trials are under way in Brazil and South Africa and are due to start in the United States, where prevalence is higher. Targeting two doses The trial results showed a stronger immune response in 10 people given an extra dose of the vaccine after 28 days, echoing a trial in pigs. Oxford's Gilbert said the early-stage trial could not determine whether one or two doses would be needed to provide immunity. "It may be that we don't need two doses, but we want to know what we can achieve," she told reporters. AstraZeneca's biopharma chief, Mene Pangalos, said the firm was leaning towards a two-dose strategy for later-stage trials, and did not want to risk a single or lower dose that might not work. The antibody levels generated were "in the region" of those seen in convalescent patients, he said. The trial included 1,077 healthy adults aged 18-55 years with no history of COVID-19. Researchers said the vaccine caused minor side effects more frequently than a control group, but some of these could be reduced by taking the painkiller paracetamol, which is also known as acetaminophen. View live politics updates ChevronRight 1. Why was the threat so great this time? Because the scale of the crisis meant the often-bickering, fractious states in the bloc had to come up with a huge common economic rescue plan. Without one, the stability of the region was in doubt, according to the European Commission, the EUs executive arm. French President Emmanuel Macron warned that a failure to direct funds where they are most needed would boost anti-EU populists. Italy and Spain which have some of the highest coranvirus death tolls came into the crisis with weaker economies and higher debt and unemployment. That means they are unable to match the spending power of the likes of Germany, which announced massive stimulus programs and showered its firms with bailout funds. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement 2. Why doesnt the EU simply divert existing funds? The EU is not a single country. It doesnt have a common treasury thats expected to support regions in need, the way the U.S. Treasury pours funds into states hit by disasters such as hurricanes. Nor does it have anywhere near sufficient funds in its relatively meager common budget to deal with this crisis. Even in the euro-using core, monetary union is not backed by real economic or banking unions. As the EUs devastating debt crisis of 2010 showed, in tough times money tends to fly to the continents safe harbors, exacerbating liquidity crunches in the economically weaker countries as their borrowing costs surge. The pandemic triggered loud calls for immediate burden-sharing, with the idea floated (and quickly squashed) that the EU should consider pooling the debt obligations of its member governments into what was dubbed coronabonds. 3. What did leaders agree on instead? Advertisement Story continues below advertisement A 750 billion-euro ($850 billion) emergency fund that will give out 390 billion euros of grants and 360 billion euros of low-interest loans. The money will come from bonds sold on behalf of the EU as a whole, with repayments out of the EU budget, to which Germany contributes the lions share. The plan marked a dramatic shift for the Germans, who traditionally have opposed any form of so-called mutualized borrowing. It faced objections from Austria, Denmark, the Netherlands and Sweden, the so-called Frugal Four, which were skeptical of a major borrowing spree that could leave their taxpayers on the hook for decades. Those countries managed to whittle down the level of grants from the original proposal of 500 billion euros made by Merkel and Macron. Almost a third of the recovery fund is earmarked for fighting climate change. 4. Is this a Hamilton moment? Not exactly. A so-called Hamilton moment -- as happened in the U.S. in 1790 -- whereby obligations across all 27 member countries are mutualized would require treaty changes adopted by national parliaments and in some cases referendums. So far, theres no sign of majority backing for reform that would cede national sovereignty by giving a central authority the power to raise taxes and decide how money is spent throughout the EU or even the 19 countries that use the euro. Even so, a unanimous decision to let the EUs executive arm issue more debt on behalf of the entire bloc was seen as a decisive step forward in the European integration process. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement 5. Is the EU edging closer to debt mutualization? Germany says the recovery fund does not represent debt mutualization but is a one-off concession for the duration of the crisis. Even so, the blocs members have progressively shared increasing levels of risk and have bailed each other out in times of need. The European Stability Mechanism -- the euro areas crisis fund -- has raised hundreds of billions on debt markets, allowing Greece -- the EUs most indebted state -- to save billions on interest payments. The same arrangement is also available now for countries wishing to draw up to 240 billion euros from the fund to finance costs related to the pandemic. Also, the European Central Bank has been buying massive amounts of debt under its bond-buying programs, making its shareholders -- euro-area members -- in theory liable for any losses. According to Berenberg Chief Economist Holger Schmieding, the EU and the countries that use the euro are not en route toward fiscal union, but they are taking a significant step towards stronger fiscal coordination when it matters. 6. What does it mean for the bond market? Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Joint issuance will rise to 14% of sovereign bonds in the euro area, up from 8% before the plan, according to Berenberg. Such debt, buoyed by the EUs AAA rating and strong demand for safe assets, may develop into a more suitable regional benchmark than German bunds. The 10-year bund yields about -0.45%, while Italys pays around 1.1%. EU-issued debt would yield something in between, about -0.25%, said Peter de Coensel, chief investment officer for fixed income at Degroof Petercam Asset Management in Brussels. To become the European equivalent of U.S. Treasuries, the EU would need to offer tenors as long as 30 years and ensure ample liquidity. 7. So might the virus bring more unity? The emergency funds serve as validation that the bloc can offer meaningful solidarity to members in need. Charles Michel, president of the EU leaders council, described the agreement as as a pivotal moment in Europes journey. To be sure, other forces could still shake the EUs foundations. A German court ruling has challenged the authority of the European Court of Justice as the ultimate arbiter in the bloc. That may encourage similar steps by the illiberal governments in Poland and Hungary, which have been accused of seeking to upend two core EU principles: the rule of law and checks and balances. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement 8. Isnt the EU always in crisis? It seems that way. There was the failure to pass a European constitution followed by the sovereign debt crisis. The arrival of hundreds of thousands of refugees in 2015 found the EU unprepared and sparked a populist backlash. A year later, the U.K. voted to leave the bloc, raising the specter that other countries might follow. One theory is that the crises are interconnected, with each feeding into the next what former European Commission President Jean-Claude Juncker called a polycrisis. Whats more, national governments answer to their own voters and need to abide by constitutions and parliaments, which can undermine efforts to make strategic decisions about the bloc as a whole. Critics warn that the EU will face a long struggle if leaders persist on defending national interests above the common good. Yet doomsayers have consistently underestimated the will of Europes establishment to keep together what is one of the worlds biggest free-trade areas, created from the ashes of World War II with a vow to never let such a calamity happen again. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2020 Bloomberg L.P. PHOENIX, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Planet Water Foundation, a leading non-profit organization that addresses global water poverty by providing clean water access and hygiene education programs, and Electrolux, a global leader in household appliances, are launching a partnership to assist schools with COVID-19 recovery in communities located in Indonesia and the Philippines beginning July 8. Under the new partnership, a target of 10,000 people will benefit from Planet Water's integrated solution for safe, healthy schools that will be located in six communities across Indonesia and the Philippines, with funding provided by Electrolux in 2020. As a result, access to clean, safe drinking water, hand washing facilities, and hygiene education will be provided to community schools to enable their COVID-19 recovery process. Additionally, 10 families in Cambodia will receive Planet Water's AquaHome systems that include water filtration and solar electricity with LED lighting. Electrolux's involvement will give their employees the opportunity to volunteer in AquaTower system installations and participate with students and teachers during Planet Water's Water-Health and Hygiene Education Program. This will ultimately improve the health and wellbeing of children through interactive teaching modules that include how to prevent the spread of germs by properly washing hands. According to the UN, nearly one billion people worldwide do not have access to potable water, and 40-percent of people worldwide do not have a basic handwashing facility with soap and water at home. Planet Water Foundation addresses these issues with its community-based AquaTower water filtration system that removes viruses, bacteria, protozoa and other contaminants, and meets the daily drinking water requirement of up to 1,800 people. Systems include six water access points and three liquid soap dispensers to make handwashing convenient and more frequently practiced. "Electrolux has made a significant commitment to aiding us in global water poverty mitigation and in the COVID-19 recovery process for community schools," said Mark Steele, Founder and CEO of Planet Water Foundation. "Our goal is to alleviate water poverty in the world's most impoverished communities through sustainable, clean water solutions and education programs on water-health and hygiene. Partnering with Electrolux helps us take steps toward this goal with maximum impact." "We are thankful for the opportunity that Planet Water Foundation has offered us to demonstrate our purpose to Shape Living for the Better. It is in these critical times that companies need to act more on their purpose and core values. Our partnership has allowed us to access under-privileged communities that don't have the basic needs of clean & safe water. Knowing the impact of our mutual support and seeing the overwhelming emotions on children and parents' faces, as we conclude each installation, is just priceless. And that's a motive for us to continue in our journey to support more communities within our region," said Adam Cich, Executive Vice President and Head of Electrolux APAC & MEA. About Electrolux Electrolux is a leading global appliance company that has shaped living for the better for more than 100 years. We reinvent taste, care, and wellbeing experiences for millions of people, always striving to be at the forefront of sustainability in society through our solutions and operations. Under our brands, including Electrolux, AEG, and Frigidaire, we sell approximately 60 million household products in approximately 120 markets every year. In 2019 we had sales of SEK 119 billion and employed 49,000 people around the world. For more information go to: www.electroluxgroup.com Related Images planet-water-foundation-and.jpg Planet Water Foundation and Electrolux partnership brings clean water to schools SOURCE Planet Water Foundation Related Links http://planet-water.org By Trend Armenia first began to fire at the positions of the Azerbaijani army and settlements on July 12 using large-caliber machine guns, and then shelled them from heavy artillery, Head of the press office of Azerbaijans Defense Ministry, Colonel Vagif Dargahli told Trend on July 21. Dargahli noted that thanks to the measures taken by the Azerbaijani army, the attack of Armenian armed forces was suppressed, hundreds of Armenian servicemen killed, the Armenian military vehicles and strongholds destroyed. "Armenia is still hiding its losses just like in 2016 April battles," he said. "Apparently, after a while, the Armenian side will begin to report about its losses under various pretexts." He emphasized that the Azerbaijani side has suffered no territorial losses as a result of the fighting. "The Defense Ministry firmly denies information about any territorial losses spread by unknown sources and declares that there were no such losses," Dargahli stressed. 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. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz As part of the deep reckoning over policing in America, the Connecticut legislature is debating a bipartisan reform bill, including provisions that assure collective-bargaining negotiations are not used to put a shroud of secrecy over the conduct and misconduct of public employees. These reforms are long overdue, and lawmakers should embrace this renewed commitment to transparency. The legislation promotes government sunshine by declaring that the publics right of access to records under the Freedom of Information Act cannot be stripped away in closed-door negotiations. It is a meaningful response to the unmistakable call for greater police accountability, and gives full force to the democratic ideal that the people have a right to know how their civil servants are performing their jobs. Overtime or holidays or bumping rights those are all in the realm of the workplace relationship between employer and employee and are appropriate topics for collective bargaining. But the Freedom of Information Act is a covenant between the citizenry and the government our government. And citizens right to know how their government and their civil servants are operating should never be used as a bargaining chip. Connecticut is the only state in New England and quite possibly the only state in the country that allows union contracts to override state open-records laws. And that secrecy has come at a grave cost to the integrity of our institutions. Connecticut has extremely well-established rules guiding agencies on the release of personnel files to members of the public. But the current state police contract supersedes those rules, hiding internal-affairs documents in cases where the department exonerates one of its own. That provision never publicly debated, never subject to a fair hearing blotted out nearly a quarter-century of sunshine. Decades ago, our Supreme Court recognized that the public had an interest in assessing not only the performance of its employees, but also the performance of agencies in overseeing those employees, writing: The public has a legitimate interest in the integrity of . . . police departments and in disclosure of how such departments investigate and evaluate citizen complaints of police misconduct. Even in cases where an officer was exonerated, the high court wrote, transparency served the publics legitimate concern for the fairness of the investigation leading to that exoneration. Minneapolis Police Officer Derek Chauvin had already faced 18 civilian complaints before the day he knelt on the neck of George Floyd and ignored his pleas that he couldnt breathe. If Chauvin were a state trooper in Connecticut, 16 of those complaints would be kept completely hidden from the public under the current union contract. That model is unacceptable in 2020. Connecticut is better than that. Nothing in this legislation limits the ability of policymakers to restrict access to personnel files. If it is the collective wisdom of the legislature that further restrictions on the publics right to know are warranted, they will continue to have the absolute authority to pursue those changes but to pursue them in the light of day, with all interested parties given the chance to have their say. That is how democracy works. Without transparency, there is no accountability. Connecticut lawmakers must not miss this opportunity to show they understand that. Matthew Kauffman is vice president of the Connecticut Council on Freedom of Information. Japan has decided to set up a nonpartisan group following China's implementation of National Security Law in Hong Kong. The enactment of the law in Hong Kong has shed light on China's human rights violations once again. Japan is one among several countries that have come forward to assist citizens fleeing the red dragon's alleged oppressive regime in the hopes of giving them a safe haven. Japan's state-owned broadcasting media NHK World-Japan reported that the country's lawmakers were formulating plans in full steam to set up committees to protect Hong Kongers fleeing Chinese pressure. Read | Japan protests Chinese maritime survey off southern islets The report further stated that visa extensions for people of Hong Kong currently in Japan will also be reviewed to enable longer stay, as well as ease up on requirements for obtaining work visas in the country, especially for people of Hong Kong. Reportedly, Japan is also considering pursuing a legislative act to probe cases of Chinese human rights violations. The new bill is also expected to freeze assets of individuals and groups involved in the alleged abuse. Several prominent members in the Democratic Party for the People, including former Defence Minister Yamao Shiori and House member Nakatani Gen will launch the nonpartisan group on July 29, tentatively. Read | Surveys suggest majority of Japanese reject govt's tourism campaign What is the National Security Law? Beijing passed the NSL in June 2020, targeting acts of "secession, subversion, terrorism and collusion with foreign forces", with strict punishments in some cases life sentence, for whatever cases China may consider as "serious offences". China's National Security Law is negatively viewed in most countries, owing to its pro-government slogans, propaganda and ban on pro-democracy marches. Several literary articles have also been banned in the country that could potentially "threaten" the government's way of leadership Japan's move comes in retrospect of the events and follows a pattern followed by other countries that have recently boycotted Chinese products and have publicly called out their differences with the country. This is a particularly sensitive time for Beijing as Japanese PM Shinzo Abe and China's long-time friend Russia have agreed to host a joint summit to declare and sort out their territorial row after the pandemic, giving more reasons for China to be alarmed at the new-found friendship. Read | 'US should respect that Communist party is endorsed by all China's people:' Xi govt's fib Read | UK suspends extradition treaty with Hong Kong "immediately and indefinitely" (with agency inputs) "We can confirm that Ngarivhume has been arrested and is being held at the law and order section. At the moment, they are still profiling him together with Chin'ono, but charges are yet to be preferred against them. The lawyers, who are with them, are saying the police are talking about inciting the public against the government as the possible charge," ZLHR said. By ANI OTTAWA: During a hearing before the House of Commons human-rights subcommittee, several experts called out China for human rights violation in Xinjiang where Beijing has locked up millions of Uyghurs. Multiple experts called the Chinese out on systematic destruction of Uyghur identity, history, religion, culture, language; use of concentration camps, termed as re-education camps; use of prisoners to harvest organs and use of prisoners to make beauty products. They also pointed out the forced nationalism training and indoctrination, teaching Mandarin Chinese and Han agents living with Uyghur families to indoctrinate them. READ| China forcing Uyghur labourers to produce COVID-19 PPE kits for export: Report There have been allegations of Chinese Communist Party keeping its members in families whose men have been sent to prisoner camps. China has also faced allegations of children being sent to state-run orphanages. With high-tech 24/7 surveillance, China has virtually converted the entire province into a prison. Several Islamic countries including Pakistan and Iran have not criticised China for its actions in Xinjiang. Pakistan, in particular, has refused to do that. Speakers, which included - Dr Adrian Zenz, Olsi Jazexhi, David Kilgour, Dr Raziya Mahmoud, Jacob Kavalio, Garnett Genius and David Sweet pointed out about the blatant abuse of human rights being carried out in Xinjiang. They pointed out the massive drop in population growth rate in the province. The speakers noted how people are deprived of communicating from their families. They also mentioned about the systematic oppression against Uyghurs in the CCP regime and unprecedented scales of oppression with up to 3 million people locked up where they undergo torture and brainwashing. The CCP has turned the region into a "brutal totalitarian police state" and everything unique about Uyghurs is "systematically targeted". There have been growing calls for action against the Chinese officials involved in human rights violations in Xinjiang. The US had recently imposed sanctions and visa restrictions against senior officials over human rights violations in Xinjiang. What was Lebensraum for Nazi, is now China's aggressive foreign policy, said some of the speakers. Other noted how the prisoners are forced to work as labour for the companies. The Perspective Atlanta, Georgia July 20, 2020 Why are the elites of Liberia not addressing the high number of deaths cause by our healthcare system, bad roads, etc., but they are criticizing Americas Police brutality? For instance, the latest photo of the late Mr. Jay Nagbe Sloh, the Liberian Representative of District # 2 Sinoe County, Republic of Liberia, depicts our hospital (JFK) as a death center, but not a center to safe life. Another story, which is in the Report from the 2018 World Health Organization (WHO), shows that Liberias health-related death was 32,000, or 20% of Liberias 4.6M population. In fact, the diseases are preventable and/or curable, and the leading killing diseases are; (1) coronary heart disease, (2) tuberculosis, (3) influenza and Pneumonia, (4) diarrheal, and (5) stroke. Also, Liberian elites are tight lip about the high death rate due Road Traffic Accident in Liberia, even though Liberia ranks number 2 in the world, according to WHO 2018 Report. WHO stated that Liberias Road Traffic Accident death total reached 1,655 of Liberias total deaths. Is it an indication that policy such as health, road, etc., kills, as stated by Mr. Dennis Raphael, Professor of Health Policy and Management at York University, Canada on May 21, 2018? Adding his voice to other experts who stated that the governments policy kills, he said that bad living conditions or bad working conditions are primarily responsible for many of the diseases, and premature deaths. He stated that since at least the mid-1850s, Canadians have known that governments policy kills, and politicians are unwilling to allocate resources to finance programs. Moreover, trying to avoid the wrath of the elites and big businesses, that are considered largely responsible, they (politicians) have and continue to blame individuals and families. What if Liberia had instituted a peoples policy on real estate and reduce the cost of an acre of land? Currently, a Monrovia-landlord is asking a buyer to pay $175,000 for 1.4 lots of land located in Mamba Point, Monrovia, and by extension, one acre is going for $500,000. By reducing the price for an acre of land in Monrovia, residents could save cash to fight malnutrition, and live within crime-free housing units, etc. Yes, Liberia, forcibly and effectively regulates the price of rice, etc., so, it can monitor real estate owned by landlords such as the Methodist Church, Baptist Church, etc. In addition to increasing cash by reducing the cost of housing, it could generate additional cash if it participated in the ownership and management of the countrys natural resources. Germany, France, Canada, Japan, Algeria, Angola, Nigeria, Botswana, Ghana, etc. are doing that. Botswana receives about 50% of government revenue from its diamonds, Nigeria generates about 60% of government revenue from oil, and Ghana is receiving a percentage of government revenue from oil. Besides, the government could increase its cash if it could simply add gold deposits to its excess cash reserves (i.e., Liberias Net International Foreign Exchange Reserves) and remove the Special Drawing Rights (SDR), which is considered loans borrowed from the International Monetary Fund (IMF). Remember, outside creditors will usually demand higher interest payments from local businesses if the governments excess cash reserve is low or it includes loans or credit privileges such as the SDRs. Currently, Liberia has SDRs and zero gold deposits. Furthermore, the government could reduce malnutrition, and by extension, reduce the number of deaths, if it produces food or breeds cattle, etc. Predictably, many malnourished children could benefit, even if the government cannot sell the food. Food investment would create jobs in rural towns and villages, even though bureaucrats are corrupt. Assumingly, after experiments and training of employees and managers, the government would increase production. The million-dollar question is why has Liberia not implemented some of these policies? Well, profiteers will not allow the government to institute any policy that would reduce their profits. And that is part of the reason why 57% of chief executives of corporations are Republican, the US political Party that promotes profits over society, according to Alma Cohen and Roberta Tallarita of Harvard Law school and Moshe Hazen of Tel Aviv University. Obviously, since profit-making is the ultimate goal, as Mr. Raphael stated, elites and bureaucrats care less about society and will use any means necessary (i.e., including slavery) to make profits. Profits, not race, religion, etc., were the reasons why elites exploited slaves as far back as 3500 BC, according to history. This shows that exploiters are colorblind if they want to make profits, according to Ta-Nehisi Coates. He stated racism is the child of economic profiteering, and not the father, implying that profiteers do not focus on race if their main focus is money. The article by Mr. Matthew Wills of the JSTOR Daily supports this view. Mr. Wills stated, before Russia abolished slavery in 1861, Russian slaves and Russian elites were of the same national and religious origin, yet, the class difference was so great that Russian noblemen had come to regard themselves as inherently different from their peasants. So, if a race is a primary factor and not policy that generate profits, then the Black political power of South Africa should be improving the living conditions of their poor. Public reports however show that Black leaders, after ascending to power in 1991, have instituted policies that are helping profiteers to exploit South Africas 24 natural resources, an indication that race is not the issue but rather policies put in place to generate profits. Interestingly, while profiteers (i.e., the father of racism) do not focus on color, creed, religion, etc., they can use ethnicity, tribe, race, religion, etc. to increase profits by creating policies that affect everything. So, American slaves master (i.e., profiteers) used the difference in skin colors, black color, and white color, and increased their wealth. From the onset, they, deliberately and deceptively, misled their kinsmen (i.e., the Whites) that the black race was inferior and that the Almighty God had ordained the White race to save the black race from self-destruction. Again, as profiteers falsely stated that Blacks were inferior to Whites in order to exploit slavery, they are now falsely stating that chief executives are less corrupt than government bureaucrats. However, chief executives have and continue to be involved in rampant corruption, including, but not limited to the 1600 Dutch Tulip Bulb Market bubble, Banking Panics of 1991-33, 1997, Asian financial crisis, or the 2008 American financial debacle. Elites say that the few corrupt activities are nothing, but a few rotten apples and that bureaucrats or poor people are gullible to corruption. Well, if poor people want to be a voice of change and reduce the number of deaths, then Liberia should institute effective policies in education, healthcare, infrastructure, etc., which can create an environment conducive for residents to benefit from. This way, commercial banks, for instance, could not have closed two branches in Lofa County and one branch in Grand Geddeh. Also, commercial banks do not have branches in Gbarpolu County and Rivercess County. Branches closed in two Counties and none in two Counties, all because residents were not money-borrowing clients for banks to make profits. Indian Americans have mostly voted for Democrats in the presidential elections. On November 3, they can do more, Democrats believe, and put former Vice-President Joe Biden in the White House. The Indian American vote the AAPI more broadly can be an absolute difference maker, Tom Perez, chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said at a power-packed pitch to them at a virtual ton-hall recently, pointing to their demographics in the three Rust Belt swing states of Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania that put Donald Trump in the White House in a stunning upset in 2016. The broader group AAPI in Perezs remarks, Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, include people of Indian, Chinese, Filipino, Korean, Japanese and Indonesian descent. President Donald Trump won these three states narrowly by 0.2, 0.7 and 0.8 percentage points, respectively 10,704, 46,765 and 22,177 votes. Together, they gave him their cumulative 46 electoral votes, a 304-227 victory over Hillary Clinton and the White House. (There are in all 538 electoral votes that decide a presidential elections in the US, not the popular vote, which Clinton won, in this instance by more than 3 million; 7 electors voted against their pledges). Indian Americans of voting age are in sufficient numbers in these states to obliterate Trumps lead and put Biden across the finishing line, Democrats have argued. There are 125,000 Indian American voters in Michigan, 156,000 in Pennsylvania and 37,000 in Wisconsin, according to an analysis by AAPI Victory Fund, a Democratic group dedicated to ensuring the victory of AAPI candidates that had hosted the town-hall. The number of Indian Americans who voted in these three states in 2016, or did not, could not be immediately ascertained. But the countrywide turnout for the community was 62%, according to AAPI Data, the study cited by AAPI Victory Fund. It was the highest among AAPI communities with Japanese Americans, and was 6 points above the national turnout of 56%. There are an estimated 4 million people of Indian origin in the United States, but only about a third are eligible to vote 1.3 million, according to AAPI Data. The rest are not, because they are either still on Green Card or are awaiting the completion of their naturalization process. Notwithstanding Nikki Haley and Bobby Jindal, both Republican governors; and Ami Bera, Raja Krishnamurthi, Ro Khanna, Pramila Jayapal and Kamala Harris, members of US congress, and many state and city officials, Indian Americans are not a major factor in US elections yet. But they can play an outsize role in closely contested battleground states, also called swing states, that are neither deeply committed Democratic (such as New York and California) nor Republican (Texas and South Carolina) and who determine presidential elections. Apart from Michigan, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania, the Biden campaign is eyeing five other states that they believe are in play Arizona, Florida, Georgia, North Carolina and Texas where Indian Americans can help the effort with their votes of 66,000, 193,000, 150,000, 111,000 and 475,000 respectively. We know that there are important sectors of the Indian American community through out our country, throughout our battleground states, said Julie Chavez Rodriguez, a senior adviser to the Biden campaign, and added, And we want to make sure we were engaging and connecting directly with them, their key leaders in these battleground states. And the key radio stations, newspapers, whatever else outlet it is that are speaking to them. Vinay Reddy, a new addition to Bidens team of campaign speech writers, chipped in at the virtual town hall with an appeal to uncles and aunties, deploying a playful inside-joke among second generation Indian Americans about their parents, their distant relatives and their friends. The most poignant moment of the town-hall was Dr Murthys recollection of his swearing in as Surgeon General, after a brutal confirmation process. He choked up. I will always remember what he did at that swearing in before it started when the cameras were off, in the back room behind the stage, Murthy started, in a controlled and steady monotone that has become so familiar from his appearances on the Covid-19 epidemic on national television news networks. I was gathered there with my mother, my father, my sister, my wife Alice, and my grandmother, who I was fortunate to still have with me and is still here about 15 feet away from me here in my house today. She was in a wheelchair. When the Vice President walked in, he immediately saw her and went straight up to her. He got down on the floor on one knee and he took her hand in his hand and he looked into her eyes and said, Grandma, look at what youve done. And he pointed to all the people who had assembled there. He knew our story. He knew that our story and the story of the Indian American community is the story of the sacrifices our parents and the generations before us made in order for us to build a life in America. OTTAWA COUNTY, MI A 59-year-old Otsego man was killed Tuesday, July 21, when his van left Chicago Drive near Port Sheldon Street and struck several trees, police said. The name of the victim was not released pending notification of family. The crash was reported at 10:08 a.m. on eastbound Chicago Drive in Ottawa Countys Georgetown Township. The man was driving a Chevrolet Express van east on Chicago Drive before the crash occurred. A witness said the driver was in the passing lane before he started to merge into the right lane. His vehicle continued off the right shoulder and struck several trees. He was pinned in his vehicle and pronounced dead at the scene, Ottawa County sheriffs deputies said. Eastbound traffic was reduced to one lane while police investigated. Georgetown Township firefighters also responded. Read more: Police identify missing teen after finding his body in Lake Michigan Grand Rapids police release photos to identify alleged riot suspects Walmart ends Black Friday tradition by closing stores on Thanksgiving The 'face of Houston' Instagram actually lives in...California? Anastasia Hansen, one half of the popular local site Its Not Hou Its Me, left Bayou City for... Olympic athletes urged by activists not to criticize China The IOC has not yet publicly committed to how athletes who speak out would be protected. The letter said the audit could find no benefit received by the State Fair, in goods or services, for the $149,415.60 paid, through the two checks at issue, to RKBB. The audit also found other irregularities related to payments and compensation to Kopke. For example, he received a performance bonus of 20% of his salary for 2019. No other employee received a bonus of more than 10%. The audit also noted that both Kopke and former fair Executive Director Lori Cox made questionable credit card purchases related to meals, travel, fuel and other items. The letter recommended that the State Fair take immediate action to recover any funds that are found to have been disbursed improperly. It said that because the audits findings point to the possible violation of state laws, they are being forwarded to the Nebraska attorney general, the Nebraska State Patrol and the Hall County attorney. The audit also recommended that the fair institute a number of changes, including better separation of duties among staff, better adherence to its own administrative procedures and making sure all approved expenditures are supported by documentation. Accusing China of not being transparent about COVID-19, US President Donald Trump has said that Beijing could have stopped the deadly virus from spreading across the world but they "chose" not to. Trump has in the past expressed disappointment over China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, he claimed that it was the "incompetence" of Beijing that led to the mass killing across the globe. More than 600,000 people globally, including 143,000 Americans have died due to coronavirus that emerged from China's Wuhan city. Over 14 million people across the world, including over 4 million in the US, have tested positive with this deadly virus that has brought the global economy to standstill. China has denied US' 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. "It came from China. It should have never been allowed to get out. They could have stopped it. They could have stopped it easily. They chose not to," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. "We'll have further reports on that. But it came from China. They could have stopped it, but they didn't. They stopped it from going into China, but they didn't stop it from going to the rest of the world. It didn't stop it from going to Europe, to us," he said. "They should have stopped it. They could have stopped it. They weren't transparent at all; they were the opposite. It's not good," Trump said. Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Monday over the pandemic. "And all of us, and all of us together -- I've had many conversations with leaders all over the world over the weekend, and over the last couple of weeks in particular. And this is a pandemic that is flaring up all over the place. Countries thought they were in good shape and then, all of a sudden, they have a big flare-up," he said. Coronavirus, he said, is a worldwide problem and the US is helping other countries with ventilators. "We're helping a lot of countries. They don't have ventilators, and we're sending thousands of ventilators to different countries. But I do want people to understand this is a worldwide problem caused by China, but it's a worldwide problem," Trump said. "Countries are going through hell. We're going to give you a lot of briefings in the next week and over the next few weeks as to -- I think it's very important to do it, the vaccines and the therapeutics. I think I'm going to bring some of the great companies that are working, and very successfully in the past have worked on these things, and they're going to tell you very specifically what they're doing and how they're doing. But we think we're doing very well in that regard," said the president. Meanwhile, the State Department on Monday announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his July 20-22 visit to the UK will meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to discuss global priorities, including coordination on COVID-19 recovery and? issues related to the People's Republic of China (PRC). He will also discuss the ongoing negotiations for the US-UK Free Trade Agreement, an official statement said. In another development, Congressman Michael Burges said that China and the Chinese Communist Party continues to threaten American national security with cyber-attacks. The US should get more specific with sanctions and use our economic power to punish hackers, he demanded. Deputy Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Pham Binh Minh, who is also head of the Inter-sectoral Steering Committee for International Economic Integration, made the statement while chairing a meeting of the committee to review Vietnams international economic integration in recent years. The meeting reported that despite unprecedented developments in the region and the world, particularly the COVID-19 pandemic, Vietnam has continued to effectively implement international economic integration with significant results. The highlight of the achievements includes the signing and implementation of CPTPP, the ratification of EVFTA, the effective implementation of ASEAN Chairmanship 2020, and the active participation in multilateral mechanisms such as United Nations, the World Trade Organisation (WTO), the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC) and others. With 16 FTAs under implementation or negotiation, Vietnam has become a focal point of a vast free trade area network, contributing to increasing Vietnams interests with most of leading partners in the region and the world. According to the Deputy PM, international economic integration in the coming time should pursue the highest goal of serving economic recovery and promoting growth and sustainable development. MORE than 600,000 tourists are currently staying in Croatia. According to the Minister of Tourism Gari Cappelli, some counties achieved 60 percent of the occupancy from the same period last year, and by the end of the year, the result could amount to 40 percent of last year's occupancy. "There are about 600,000 tourists in Croatia, mostly foreigners, and about 90,000 local tourists. Croatia is still a safe destination even with everything that is happening," Cappelli stated after a meeting of the Croatian National Tourist Board's Tourist Council. He compared the results to the Greek ones, stating that Greece has as little as seven percent of the turnover it had last year. On the other hand, Croatia has had over 50 percent of last year's turnover in July, and more than 30 percent of last year's turnover in the period from the beginning of the year until now. He pointed out that in some counties, such as Istria and the Primorje-Gorski County, more than 60 percent of the last year's arrivals was achieved. He also believes that tourism workers are well-prepared for the epidemiological conditions in which they are working. He stated that 75 percent of the available nautical charters are currently in business, but in August, he expects the number to go up to 100 percent. Cappelli is in favor of stricter epidemiological measures in order to reduce the number of infected people and to prove to tourists that Croatia is a safe destination. He pointed out that the decline in the number of domestic tourists amounts to only 13 percent, as well as that most continental destinations have a turnover of more than 60 percent of that from last year, while family farms in the continent are achieving even better results than they did last year. Advertisement Cappelli: Service prices have been reduced He stated that the prices of tourist services have been reduced in a number of destinations, on average by 10 to 30 percent. "I claimed that the tourism industry would be the first in our economy to react positively, and that is exactly what's happening now," stated the Minister, adding that the majority of seasonal workers this year are Croats. At the Tourist Council meeting, additional funds were approved for crisis communication needs. The funds will be used for continuous monitoring of the market situation in order to quickly and timely inform the target audience about every change in the travel segment, with an emphasis on Croatia as a safe and accessible tourist destination. "Today, we have secured additional financial resources for crisis communication activities in foreign markets. Quality promotion and placement of targeted messages are extremely important in these times when many countries are fighting very hard for each guest. These financial resources, amounting to about 132,780, will be used for intensified monitoring of the entire epidemiological situation, with an emphasis on communicating accurate information on the epidemiological situation in the country ", stated the director of the CNTB Head Office Kristjan Stanicic. Stanicic also stated that from Friday to Sunday, there had been almost 300,000 arrivals and 1.8 million tourist overnight stays in Croatia. The members of the Tourist Council also discussed the situation in the markets and the tourist season, and it was stated that from 1 to 19 July, about 1.4 million arrivals were achieved in Croatia, which amounts to 53 percent of last year's result, as well as 9.6 million overnight stays, which amounts to 56 percent of last year's result from the same period. The largest tourist turnover came from Germany, Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Poland, and Austria. Stanicic also stated that additional funds will be used for PR activities in the domestic and foreign markets, as well as that additional funds were secured through an internal redistribution within the CNTB budget. Poland narrowly reelected right-wing incumbent Andrzej Duda on July 13. In a presidential election with unusually high stakes, the margin was extremely slight: Duda brought in just over 51% of the vote. Poland has a mixed presidential and parliamentary system, giving it both a president and a prime minister, and the president holds important veto powers. Over the last five years, Duda has been criticized within and outside Poland for his loyalty to the Law and Justice (PiS) party-led parliament, signing into law bills many see as breaching the Polish constitution and European liberal democratic norms. For example, as political scientists Laurent Pech and R. Daniel Keleman explained here at TMC in January, PiS has been working to undermine the independence of the Supreme Court. Much as President Donald Trump has campaigned in the United States by encouraging racial division, Duda ran in no small part on opposing LGBT life, saying "LGBT are not people - they are an ideology" that is "even more destructive than communism." His challenger, Warsaw Mayor Rafa Trzaskowski of the center-right Civic Platform (PO) party, offered a starkly different vision for the country, pledging to rehabilitate Poland's strained relationship with the European Union and pushing back against Duda's populist and inflammatory rhetoric. Trzaskowski's defeat brought grieved commentary from Poles of the center and left, much as, in the United States, Hillary Clinton supporters reacted to Trump's electoral college victory. Younger Poles were particularly grieved, having voted for Trzaskowski by large majorities. Where does the demonization of LGBTQ life come from? How are Polish activists responding? Here's you need to know. - Demonizing LGBTQ identity as "foreign" One of Duda's early acts in office was to veto a gender recognition bill passed by parliament, which could have allowed the legal recognition of transgender identities. During the campaign, in declaring LGBT-identifying individuals are "not people," Duda legitimized the more than 90 Polish townships in the nation's southeast that declared themselves LGBT-free zones in 2019. Like communism, Duda proclaimed, LGBT people and their rights were a foreign import; he promised to protect the Polish nation and family from their incursions. While the idea of an LGBT "ideology" may be somewhat new, the narrative portraying LGBT rights as a foreign threat is not. In the mid-2000s, a loose conglomeration of religious, political and nationalist actors mobilized fervent opposition to LGBT rights, including violent attacks on activists who ventured out for demonstrations. The LGBT movement had great hopes for Poland's entry into the E.U. in May 2004 but the Polish right viewed it skeptically - seeing it both as a potential threat to Polish sovereignty and as an opportunity for Poland to reintroduce "Christian values" to the E.U., an East-to-West evangelism that Pope John Paul II advocated. The right then targeted the Polish LGBT movement as the central symbol of "Europe" that needed to be rejected and fixed. Such groups as PiS, the League of Polish Families Party, and the All-Polish Youth then organized to restrict the LGBT movement, arguing the nation was "under attack" by external forces. This effort manifested in various ways, including banning LGBT demonstrations and calling for LGBT teachers to be removed from public schools. During that period, radical right politician Krzysztof Bosak, who received 6.8% of the vote in the 2020 election's first round, headed the All Polish Youth, helping organize many counterdemonstrations targeting LGBT movements. In 2015 the Polish right shifted to targeting migrants using xenophobic racialized and Islamophobic language. But in spring 2020, as Duda's poll numbers dipped, he returned to the tested strategy of anti-LGBT rhetoric. - How activists have responded Sociologist Agnes Chetaille and I have researched how activists shifted tactics in response. To challenge the accusations of foreignness, activists began emphasizing their Polishness using national symbols like displaying the Polish flag in marches and arguing for equality using phrases steeped in Catholic beliefs, like "love thy neighbor." Further, they've worked to uncover indigenous queer histories, finding historical national figures and local terms for queer identities. The movement added these new themes to their earlier universal slogans and arguments, like positive references to human rights models and E.U. democratic values. - Poland is deeply divided While the opposition lost this presidential election, 49% of the population voted against Duda. Polish mobilizations around LGBT and feminist causes have mobilized thousands to push back against right-wing xenophobia during the last Duda presidency. The Polish LGBT movement's tactical innovations have been presented as models for other European organizations at international activist summits on how to respond to global advocacy for "traditional values" by Russia, the World Congress of Families, and others. Poland reveals applying the same rights model everywhere has costs, much as has been true in such countries as Uganda and India. Any activism must be rooted locally. Poland ranks low on the LGBTQ rights index maintained by ILGA Europe, a European advocacy organization. At the same time, the LGBT movement is far more engaged and active than it was two decades ago. Openly gay and trans parliamentarians have served in the federal government. A majority of Poles support same-sex partnership recognition. Indeed, Poles under 50 voted overwhelmingly for a candidate who included some pro-LGBT planks in his platform, which might not have happened a decade ago. In response to Duda's election, LGBTQ activist Magdalena Swider of the Polish group Campaign Against Homophobia (Kampania Przeciw Homofobii, or KPH) said, "Unfortunately we have to stay strong for the next 5 years. . . . But we need to remember that almost half of Polish voters said firmly NO to the hatred campaign waged by Duda, and in favor of a democratic, modern and open Poland." --- Ayoub (@Phillip_Ayoub) is associate professor of diplomacy and world affairs at Occidental College and author of "When States Come Out: Europe's Sexual Minorities and the Politics of Visibility" (Cambridge University Press, 2016). --- For other analysis and commentary from The Monkey Cage, an independent blog anchored by political scientists from universities around the country, see www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/monkey-cage The Chinese owner of the popular TikTok video app spent a company record on federal lobbying in the second quarter as it fought allegations that its funneling Americans data to Beijing, according to lobbying disclosures filed with U.S. Congress. Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. spent $500,000 (U.S.) in the three months ended June 30, up from its previous record of $300,000 in the first quarter, according to the companys lobbying disclosure Monday. TikTok is responding to an onslaught of pressure from U.S. politicians over its Chinese roots tension that has escalated in third quarter, including calls by President Donald Trump to consider banning the app entirely and proposed legislation to disallow downloads on government-issued mobile devices. TikTok also faces a national security investigation into the 2017 purchase of Musical.ly, a lip-synching app it later merged with TikTok, as well as a parallel probe by the administration, which could culminate within weeks, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters last week. The company has also attracted inquiries by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department over its data-collection practices, according to a consumer advocate who said he spoke to the enforcers about the company. ByteDance, which was founded in China and is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, has repeatedly denied accusations that TikTok harvests data for the Chinese government and says it stores Americans data in the U.S. and Singapore, not in China. More popular than ever with hundreds of millions of people stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, teens have used the app to organize efforts to disrupt Trumps re-election campaign. TikTok also has become a political pawn in the fight between Washington and Beijing: Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo have said a ban on TikTok could be one form of retaliation over Chinas handling of the coronavirus. The TikTok app has been downloaded two billion times globally, including 165 million times in the U.S., according to data provider Sensor Tower. That makes TikTok even more politically important as users weigh in on issues like race and the upcoming presidential election. ByteDance, which only began lobbying last year, said in the filing that it worked on issues related to internet technology and learning-enabled content platforms and lobbied Congress and the executive office of the president, which includes key White House offices focused on economics and security. It also lobbied on privacy and content moderation, according to a disclosure from Monument Advocacy, one of the companys outside firms. TikTok has been building up its lobbying muscle as it attempts to distance itself from its Chinese ties and convince American politicians that its just a fun-loving consumer app. Former Walt Disney Co. executive Kevin Mayer became TikToks first American chief executive officer in June and the company earlier this month discussed plans to create a new global TikTok headquarters outside of China, in addition to potential changes to its management structure. TikToks Washington lobbying blitz started last year with efforts to broker meetings between company executives and high-profile senators. Since then, its amassed a 35-person Washington operation and hired longtime policy hands to make its case to American politicians. It named Michael Beckerman, the former president of the internet Association trade group, to run its policy shop, and hired David Urban, a senior adviser to Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, as an outside lobbyist. Both are registered as working for ByteDance. ByteDance has also hired former top staff to Republican and Democratic House leaders and has brought on four outside lobbying firms in the last year. In one meeting last year with staffers for Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, TikTok staff provided conflicting information, including about where data was stored and how TikTok creates its algorithms, a Rubio spokesman said. Given established connections to China and the inability of the company to answer basic questions from staff about TikToks ties to China and how it treats Americans user data, our office declined to have the Senator personally meet with them, the spokesman said. There is a huge amount of misinformation on TikTok out there, the company said in a statement last week, pointing to its American executives and board seats. TikTok U.S. user data is stored in the U.S. and Singapore, with strict controls on employee access, TikTok said in that statement. These are the facts. Since April, TikTok reached out to the offices of more than 50 key lawmakers to emphasize its independent American leadership, a person familiar with the companys Washington operation told Bloomberg. Read more about: Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Norman Harsono (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 14:09 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406681ddd5 1 Business Medco-Energi-Internasional,East-Java,Oil-and-gas-lifting,gas-field,SKKMigas Free PT Medco Energi Internasional, Indonesias second-biggest homegrown oil and gas company, has begun piping natural gas from the Offshore Madura Block in East Java. The publicly listed company piped 20 million metric standard cubic feet per day (mmscfd) of gas from the Meliwis Field in the Madura Block on July 13, Medco said in a statement on Monday. The gas will be channeled through an 11 kilometer underwater pipe to industries in East Java. Medco CEO Roberto Lorato said the company was able to safely complete the project in four years' time despite operational and logistical challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The company's stocks, traded at the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) with the code MEDC, has increased by 2.17 percent as of 12:52 p.m. Western Indonesia Time (WIB), as the main gauge, the Jakarta Composite Index (JCI), strengthened 1.01 percent. Medco initially planned to begin piping the gas in June, a month earlier than realized, according to Upstream Oil and Gas Special Regulatory Taskforce (SKK Migas) records. The Meliwis Field is one of 12 upstream oil and gas projects slated to begin operations this year, most of which are gas projects, similar records show. Raising domestic gas production is one of the governments many efforts to boost Indonesian exports and subsequently curb the countrys widening trade deficit, which continues to put pressure on the rupiah exchange rate. Representative Image An MLA from Sachin Pilot's camp said the legislators supporting the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister will not join the BJP and their fight was to "save the party" by effecting a leadership change in the Rajasthan government. Mukesh Bhakar, MLA from Ladnun, Nagaur, who was dropped as the state youth Congress chief last week, also appealed to the party high command that in order to save the Congress, they must act now and change the state leadership. Asked about the Congress' allegation that they were under BJP protection in Haryana, a state ruled by the saffron party, Bhakar said, "No one is in a BJP state, we are in Delhi." He, however, did not elaborate. Countering Congress MLA Giriraj Singh Malinga's charge that Pilot had offered him money to join the BJP, Bhakar claimed that it was the Pilot supporters who were being lured for the last one and a half years with money, ministerial berths and contracts to cross over to the Gehlot camp. Bhakar claimed that he as well as other Pilot supporters were still getting offers from the Gehlot camp. "But, we have stood by our leader," Bhakar said. Asked if they could join hands with the BJP, he categorically denied any such plans and said, "We have not met any person from the BJP and neither anyone has contacted us." "We have said this earlier and our leader Sachin Pilot had also made it clear that we will not join the BJP and our fight is for a leadership change in our state," he said. These things are being said to tarnish the image of Pilot and his supporters, he said. Bhakar said he and many other MLAs have made all efforts to convey to the leadership in Delhi over the last year and a half that Pilot was being ignored, but their pleas went unheard. "We met Avinash Pande (AICC in-charge of the state), K C Venugopal (general secretary, organisation) Mukul Wasnik (general secretary) to convey our concerns repeatedly that Pilot was being ignored, but they did not listen," he told PTI. "Gehlot wants Pilot to go from this party and that is why he is making such abusive statements and allegations," the MLA said. Bhakar also alleged that the very people on whose hard work the government was formed are being now hounded. Last week, in an open revolt, Pilot and 18 other loyalist MLAs defied a party whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings. He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and PCC chief. The showdown came after the Rajasthan police's Special Operations Group launched a probe into alleged attempts at horse trading to topple the Gehlot government and issued a notice to Pilot to appear during the investigation. SOG had also given a notice to Gehlot. Later, the Rajasthan chief minister had alleged that Pilot was part of the conspiracy by the BJP, which denied these allegations and blamed the Gehlot-Pilot power tussle for the Congress' troubles in the state. Meanwhile, the Rajasthan High Court is hearing a plea by Pilot and other rebel MLAs against the disqualification notices issued to them by the Assembly Speaker. In the 200-member state assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs, including former deputy chief minister Pilot and 18 MLAs loyal to him. Pilot has been upset since the Congress picked Gehlot over him for the chief minister's post, following the December 2018 assembly elections. SINGAPORE - Media OutReach - July 21, 2020 - Senoko Energy, one of Singapore's largest and most established energy companies, today launched a pilot project to introduce peer-to-peer (P2P) trading of renewable energy in collaboration with Singapore's foremost energy innovation company, ELECTRIFY, and ENGIE Factory, the venture arm of French multinational electric utility company, ENGIE. Sponsored by ENGIE Factory, the initiative will enable Singapore households and businesses to register for ELECTRIFY's P2P trading platform through Senoko Energy's new service offering, SolarShare. Upon registration, producers and consumers will be able to trade locally-produced solar energy with a like-minded community. Registered users will also benefit from the dynamic pricing of their green electricity rates due to the ability to determine the buying and selling price through the trading platform. The option to participate in the pilot project will be made available to new and existing Senoko Energy customers, limited initially to a closed community of 100 participants. The aim is to test the potential for commercialisation of this new energy offering, with the ultimate goal of rolling it out to all households and businesses in Singapore. James Chong, Head of Commercial Division of Senoko Energy, said: "The concept of P2P energy trading is highly innovative and smart, and its adoption around the globe is still in its early stages. We are very excited to collaborate with ELECTRIFY and ENGIE Factory, because we believe this will be the future of our energy industry, driven by a community of like-minded individuals and companies." He added: "Our decision to invest in SolarShare is driven by two key factors -- our commitment to meet Singapore's renewable energy demand and to empower Singaporeans with greater choice in their electricity consumption. A 'prosumer' culture will strengthen the energy security of Singapore as producers can contribute excess energy to the energy grid, while consumers can choose where their electricity comes from at their preferred price." Story continues How it works ELECTRIFY's platform will use real-time data at 30-minute intervals to enable comparisons between the amount of energy supplied, the market demand and the prices offered. Both residential and commercial users will be able to log onto the energy trading platform to view the available solar producers and choose whom to buy from based on their energy usage. The energy demand during non-daylight hours will continue to be met by Senoko Energy to ensure there is no disruption in the physical supply of electricity. Customers who choose to purchase green energy from the P2P platform will receive a consolidated bill from Senoko Energy at the end of the month, making it a seamless experience. Martin Lim, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of ELECTRIFY, said: "Our P2P energy trading platform is one of the very few in the world that will allow for trading across a national electricity grid. With this technology, Singaporeans will get access to a reliable, secure and transparent platform to buy and sell renewable energy." "Our collaboration with Senoko Energy and ENGIE Factory is ground-breaking in the way it transforms the dynamics between energy suppliers and consumers. We're thrilled by this shared commitment to strengthen Singapore's position as an energy leader with new and sustainable innovations. I expect this demonstration to pave the way for other power grids to develop more inclusive business models to benefit the world." Quentin Vaquette, Managing Director of ENGIE Factory, said: "At ENGIE Factory, we are committed to accelerating the transition to zero-carbon. Currently, there are just over 1,200 private residential properties in Singapore that have solar rooftop installations, with the potential for as many as 65,000 installations.[1] Through this pilot P2P project, we hope to encourage more Singaporeans to adopt renewables and help lower our nation's carbon footprint." Interested parties can register their interest via www.solarshare.sg starting from 21 July 2020. [1] https://www.ema.gov.sg/cmsmedia/Publications_and_Statistics/Statistics/48RSU.pdf About Senoko Energy Pte Ltd Senoko Energy Pte Ltd provides energy for life to generations of Singaporeans, delivering safe, innovative, and efficient energy supply to customers since 1977. Integral to Singapore's development, it is a pioneer in power generation and energy solutions, serving Singapore's energy needs with proven reliable performance. As one of the largest power generation companies by installed capacity in Singapore, Senoko Energy has a licensed capacity of 2,807 megawatts (MW), providing about one-fifth of the nation's electricity needs. The company launched its retail brand in 2018, offering retail products and services for Singapore households and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in the Open Electricity Market. Senoko Energy aims to be an energy provider with a positive impact on the environment by advancing sustainability in its operations as well as in its various CSR programmes. It was the first power generation company in Singapore to import clean natural gas for power generation in 1992, and first to launch a combined cycle plant in 1996. Senoko Energy has achieved a 42 per cent reduction in its carbon footprint since 2000. Senoko Energy is the winner of the inaugural Singapore Energy Award in 2013 and is ISO certified in business continuity, business processes, environmental and work safety, and quality, amongst others. In 2019, the company was also awarded the SkillsFuture Employer award. Senoko Energy has subsidiaries providing retail of electricity and related services, fuel storage tank leasing and terminal services, and gas operations services. It is owned by a consortium comprising Marubeni Corporation, ENGIE, The Kansai Electric Power Co. Inc., Kyushu Electric Power Co. Inc. and Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Visit www.senokoenergy.com for more information. About ELECTRIFY ELECTRIFY is a Singapore-based energy innovation company established in March 2017 to address the need for transparency and security against the backdrop of increasingly liberalised electricity markets around the world. ELECTRIFY has developed a utility-grid wide peer-to-peer (P2P) energy trading platform that will potentially drive the adoption of renewable energy. ELECTRIFY launched Electrify.SG in July 2017, Singapore's first retail electricity marketplace. This marketplace was built to help electricity consumers select the most suitable energy plan for their needs. The cloud-based platform has transacted over 60GWh of electricity since its launch and helped over 500 commercial and industrial companies in Singapore save a combined S$1.5 million. ELECTRIFY's longer-term vision is to drive a sustainable energy future built around energy-innovation technologies, such as IoT, AI and blockchain. Using real-time data, it has developed a contracting platform which facilitates P2P energy trading across an existing city-wide grid. Individual producers of energy, such as owners of solar panels, will be empowered to sell excess power to other consumers across the power grid. In February 2019, ELECTRIFY completed a successful alpha test with 12 consumers and three producers. Following a strategic investment from TEPCO Frontier Partners, a subsidiary of the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO), ELECTRIFY entered a Memorandum of Understanding with TEPCO to explore the deployment of its technology for the Japanese market. ELECTRIFY is poised to play a significant role in the Asia-Pacific energy landscape for years to come with upcoming projects in the region. For more information, visit www.electrify.asia/ About ENGIE Factory Asia-Pacific ENGIE Group is a global energy and services group that focuses on three core activities: low-carbon power generation (mainly based on natural gas and renewable energy), global networks of energy infrastructure and customer solutions (focused on smart cities). ENGIE Factory Asia-Pacific is the venture arm of the ENGIE Group in Asia. ENGIE Factory's mission is to accelerate the transition to a zero-carbon society by partnering with startups and aspiring founders who share the same drive to deliver real impact. We build, scale and invest in startups and individual founders who believe they can solve these global challenges. How we do this is in three different approaches. In the first approach, we commit to innovative ventures right from the beginning. We identify great founders and entrepreneurial teams to co-create new business models and start impactful companies. In the second approach, we partner with high growth startups to expand solutions to global customers. We are always on the lookout for startup solutions that can open new business opportunities or solve pain points that we have identified in our ENGIE businesses. Last but not least, our third approach is to invest in startups from the sectors of sustainability and smart cities. We invest through our Engie New Ventures 180 million fund and take minority stakes in technology startups that complement existing activities and resources to spur internal innovation within Engie Group. Visit www.apac.engiefactory.com for more information. The Member of Parliament (MP) for Assin Central and business magnate, Mr Kennedy Ohene Agyapong has donated $100,000 to help repatriate over 100 Ghanaian young women who are stranded in Lebanon. The young women traveled to Lebanon in the Middle East to seek greener pastures but their plight have been worsened as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. Mr Kennedy Agyapong responded to their appeal for support after one Matison shot a video displaying the plight of the young women and posted it on social media. Speaking on Net2 Tv's The Seat programme on Monday night [July 20, 2020], Mr Agyapong said MP Kennedy Agyapong donates $100,000 to help repatriate over 100 Ghanaian young women who are stranded in Lebanon. He... Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video You are here: Arts The National Center for the Performing Arts (NCPA) will reopen for public visits from Tuesday as the epidemic situation eases in Beijing. The center will be open with limited tourist capacity between Tuesday and Sunday, according to a notice made public on Monday. Visitors can make real-name reservations in advance via NCPA's official website or WeChat account. Registered doctors and nurses can visit NCPA without paying. Madhya Pradesh police have formed a three-member panel to determine who deserves the ~5 lakh reward, their counterparts in Uttar Pradesh offered for the capture of gangster Vikas Dubey, who was killed in an encounter with the latter on July 10, a day after his arrest from the Mahakal temple premises in Ujjain. The panel was formed after some initial claimants to the reward said they played no role in the arrest of Dubey, the prime accused in the killing of eight policemen in Kanpurs Bikru village on July 3. The committee comprises superintendent of police (SP), Ujjain City, Rupesh Dwivedi; SP, Ujjain rural, Amrendra Singh; and an additional SP rank officer. The top contender for the reward is Suresh Mali, who sells puja material and flowers at the Mahakal temple, according to people familiar with the matter , who requested anonymity. Mali recognised the gangster entering the temple and alerted the temples security staff, they said. Security guard Rahul Sharma is also in the reckoning for the reward, they added. Mali spoke to him about Dubey being present on the temple premises and he, in turn, informed the police. Initially, there were several claimants to the reward. But may changed their statements and admitted that they played no role in the capture of the gangster. Temple security guard Lakhan Yadav and priest Gopal Singh, for instance, initially spoke about the key role they played in the arrest, but could not corroborate their stories. Inspector general of police, Ujjain range, Rakesh Gupta, said the three-member committee was determining the role that various people played in the arrest of Dubey. The committees report would be submitted soon, following which Ujjain police would share it with UP police, he said. There will be at least one civilian, a guard and our jawans who made the arrest. The committee has started working on this, he said. Suresh Kahar (Mali), the flower seller in Ujjain who first spotted Dubey at the Mahakal temple and informed a guard, said, I have heard through media that the security guards and my name have been selected for the reward. Its all Mahakals blessings. After Dubeys arrest, Uttar Pradesh director general of police HC Awasthy said the reward money would be sent to the Madhya Pradesh state police chief to be awarded to those who merited it. MP officials said Kanpur police wrote a letter to Ujjain police, asking for the names of people who deserved the reward. Ujjains superintendent of police Manoj Singh was not available for comment on the issue. Inspector general of police, Kanpur range, Mohit Agarwal said he was not aware of any letter going out to the MP police from his office. Stanford Researcher Charged With Visa Fraud After Allegedly Concealing Her Background as Chinese Military Officer A visiting Chinese researcher at Stanford University has been charged with visa fraud for failing to disclose her relationship with the Chinese military, according to the Department of Justice. Song Chen, 38, entered the United States in December 2018 using a J-1 nonimmigrant visa, which is issued to individuals participating in work-and-study-based exchange visitor programs. In her visa application submitted in November 2018, she described herself as a neurologist who was coming to Stanford University to conduct research related to brain disease. She disclosed that she served in the Chinese military from September 2000 to June 2011, and that her current employer was a Beijing hospital named Xi Diaoyutai. Open source research showed Songs continued affiliation with the PLA Air Force [Peoples Liberation Army] in a variety of capacities well past her stated termination date of June 2011, stated FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation) agent Joyce Blalock in her July 17 affidavit filed in support of the federal investigation. The open-source research included five scientific papers published between 2012 and 2018 that she co-authored. In two of the papers, Song was affiliated with the Fourth Military Medical University (FMMU) in Xian, the capital of northwestern Chinas Shaanxi Province. According to FMMUs website, the university changed its name to the Air Force Military Medical University in 2017 and the school is subordinate to the Air Force branch of the PLA. The three other papers showed her affiliation to the Air Force General Hospital in Beijing, which has the same address as the Beijing hospital that she stated in her visa application. The research also found a photo of Song dressed in a Chinese military uniform with insignia, on her profile page that appears on the Chinese health site cnkang.com. The link to her page, which was included on the affidavit, is no longer accessible. According to the affidavit, the insignia on her uniform represented civilian cadres of the PLA, who are active military personnel who have been appointed to junior professional technical positions or clerical ranks and above, citing Chinas Ministry of National Defense. The same photo also appeared on her profile page on another Chinese medical information website youlai.cn, according to the affidavit. Additionally, a 2015 academic conference held by the PLA Medical Science and Technology Commission listed Songs name as one of the conferences points of contact, with the same phone number that was also listed on her visa application. Blalock and another unnamed FBI agent interviewed Song at her U.S. residence on July 13, after a search warrant was issued by the U.S. District Court of the Northern District of California. During the interview, Song repeatedly denied any current affiliation with the Chinese military. When confronted with the photo showing her in Chinese military uniform, she stated: I think its better I keep silent, according to the affidavit. I believe that Song was intentionally misleading when she claimed no association with the PLA Air Force and could not provide articulable reasons to explain her continued affiliation with elements of the Chinese military, Blalock stated. The FBI also recovered several deleted documents from her external hard drive seized by the agents, including a letter from Song to the Chinese consulate in New York where she wrote that her employer Xi Diaoyutai Hospital was a false front, according to the affidavit. Additionally, she explained in the letter that she had obtained approval from the PLA Air Force and FMMU to extend her stay in the United States for a year in January 2020. Finally, she said in the letter that she couldnt send the military approval documents via the internet to the consulate because they were classified. Song made her initial appearance before U.S. Magistrate Judge Sallie Kim on Monday morning to face the charge of obtaining a visa by material false statements. She is scheduled for another appearance before Kim regarding detention on July 21, according to the Department of Justice. If convicted, she faces up to 10 years in prison and a maximum fine of $250,000. According to the affidavit, Song lives in the United States with her daughter. The charge against Song comes after a similar case in Los Angeles in early June, when Wang Xin, an officer with the PLA, was arrested at the Los Angeles International Airport before he could fly back to China. Wang, who was issued a J1 non-immigration visa in 2018, was charged with visa fraud for concealing his military background on his visa application. In October 2018, the Australian Strategic Policy Institute, an independent think tank partially funded by Australias Department of Defense, issued a report detailing Beijings scheme to send scientists with PLA ties to study at university programs, mostly in the Five Eyes alliance countriesAustralia, Canada, New Zealand, United Kingdom, and the United Statesin an attempt to procure technology that would advance the Chinese military. The report estimated that since 2007, more than 2,500 Chinese military scientists and engineers have studied abroad, often by masking their military ties. Bollywood actor Sonu Sood has turned into a superhero figure for many people during the COVID-19 pandemic. His latest effort is to bring back home to Bihar and Jharkhand, 20 of the 3000 medical students stuck in Kyrgyzstan, near Russia. One of them, Saddam Khan, revealed that the evacuation process has already begun. Sonu Sood arranges charter flights for Indian students stranded in Kyrgyzstan | FilmiBeat Saddam took to his Twitter handle to express gratitude for Sonu Sood's rescue efforts. He wrote, "We thank Sonu Sood, Kunal Sarangi and Rekha Mishra for their collective effort to help 3000 Indian students pursuing medical degree at Asian Medical Institute (AMI) in Kyrgyzstan, one of the many nations worst hit by global pandemic Covid-19. The process to rescue us and evacuate us has started and Sonu Sood has assured us that we need not pay any flight charge for our journey back to India." Former Baharagora MLA, Kunal Sarangi had tweeted the plight of the students, tagging the Ministry of External Affairs and Jharkhand Chief Minister Hemant Soren. "One of the 20 students from Jharkhand and Bihar is from Jamshedpur. It would not have been possible without the active efforts by Sonu Sood. He had contacted Yadav, one of the students, on the mobile number shared by them in the video message," he was quoted as saying. Sonu retweeted his message and got in touch with the students. Dear students of kyrgysztan, for any info related to your rescue pls mail us on sonu4kyrgyzstan@gmail.com, only EMAIL ID used for the rescue of Indian students. Beware that Team Sonu Sood is NOT CHARGING or COLLECTING ANY MONEY from you in any manner for managing this. sonu sood (@SonuSood) July 15, 2020 In a video that Sarangi had tweeted, one of the students said, "The last evacuation flight by India from Kyrgyzstan was on July 15. We are about 3000 students stuck in Kyrgyzstan who study at Asian Medical Institute here. The number of Covid-19 cases are surging here and there is not adequate medical facility to save their own citizens. We request for evacuating us urgently to save our lives. We request Jharkhand and Bihar governments to arrange a flight to Gaya which will be convenient for students from both the states." ALSO READ: Sonu Sood Helps Airlift 177 Girls Stuck In Kerala, To Their Home State Odisha Use of these innovative products will help the users in overcoming the existing problems with masks and sanitisers available in the market New Delhi based National Research Development Corporation (NRDC), an enterprise of Ministry of Science and Technology, Government of India, has entered into an agreement with Paulmech Infrastructure Pvt Ltd Kolkata, to transfer two COVID-19 control technologies developed by S.N. Bose National Centre For Basic Sciences (SNBNCBS), Kolkata, an Autonomous Research Institute under the Department of Science and Technology, Government of India. The two technologies developed by SNBNCBS and transferred by NRDC are: An Active Respirator with Attached Exhalation Valve and Suspended Particulate Matter Filter for Comfortable and Hygienic Breathing Long-Lasting Nano-sanitiser with a Dispensing Antimicrobial Layer. The Active Respirator mask is an innovative solution to the rebreathing of carbon dioxide, exhaled moisture, and sweaty and hot environment inside the mask. It also improved theclarity ofspeech of a person with a face mask and assurescomfortable, hygienic breathing to protect the wearer from exposure to airborne contaminants. The Long-Lasting Nano-sanitiser innovation is a solution to the problems caused by the use of the general sanitisers like dehydration of skin due to frequent use, and nature of instantaneous antimicrobial action of common sanitisers without protective role. This innovative sanitiser technology assures comfortable and hygienic hand sanitisation for a longer duration. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) Security guards and sales clerks will be included in the government's COVID-19 testing protocols, as they will also be considered as frontliners amid the pandemic. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque said changes to the country's expanded testing protocols will include these retail industry workers who face hundreds of customers daily. They may be tested for the disease even if they are not showing any symptoms. "What was approved in principle by the IATF is that we will certainly... mas marami tayong ite-test, hindi lang 'yung mga symptomatic, hindi lang 'yung mga nagkaroon ng contact sa mga COVID-positive, lahat po ng frontliners ay ite-test na natin [we will test more people, not just those showing symptoms or those who came in contact with a COVID patient, but also all frontliners]," Roque said in his Tuesday briefing, adding that even asymptomatic individuals can be covered. Roque added media workers will be included too in COVID-19 testing. He said official guidelines will be released soon. The government has started allowing more businesses to reopen in a bid to revive the economy from a pandemic-induced slump. In June, Roque revealed a proposal for the Inter-Agency Task Force for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases to include more Filipinos under free coronavirus testing, such as construction workers, retail staff, and other employees returning to the workplace. READ: Proposed IATF rules seek quarterly COVID-19 tests for returning workers He said the government is now considering pooled testing, where swab samples from up to 10 people will be combined in one test kit to broaden the scope of testing. If the test comes out negative, it means all 10 people do not have the virus. "The reality is hindi natin maa-afford ang testing sa lahat ng 110 million Filipinos, pero gagawa ng hakbang ang ating gobyerno para mas maparami pa ang testing natin [The reality is we can't afford testing all 110 million Filipinos, but government is taking steps to expand our testing capacity," Roque said. RELATED: Efficient mass testing, contact tracing New Zealands secret in containing COVID-19, says Filipino-Kiwi parliamentarian The Philippines has so far tested over a million people for COVID-19, against its goal of testing 10 million by 2021. Meanwhile, the Cabinet official added that President Rodrigo Duterte is looking into buying masks for free distribution, saying the poor will be prioritized. Roque added that the police cannot arrest people for not wearing masks outdoors, but can tell them to go home to put on their masks and "encourage" wearing them prior to the passage of a unified ordinance among cities and provinces about this. Given the Coronavirus outbreak in India, Amarnath Yatra has been canceled for this year. The decision was taken on Tuesday by the Jammu and Kashmir administration and the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. Given the Coronavirus outbreak in India, Amarnath Yatra has been canceled for this year. The decision was taken on Tuesday by the Jammu and Kashmir administration and the Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board. Earlier the yatra was reduced and was going to be held from the Batal route for 15 days. Also read: Coronavirus punishment by God, will disappear if Muslims offer namaz: MP Shafiqur Rahman Also read: AP signs MoU with Amul to benefit farmers and women Amarnath Yatra is a 42-day-long yatra to the 3,880-meter-high holy cave temple of Amarnath in south Kashmir Himalayas. This is the second year in a row that the yatra has been canceled. Last year it was canceled mid-way, days before the Centre announced its twin decisions to remove Article-370 and bifurcate the state into two Union Territories. Raj Bhawan said that they regret to announce the cancellation of Yatra 2020 but it is not advisable to hold and conduct this years Shri Amarnathji Yatra due to the current situations, so they took this decision with a heavy heart. The final decision was taken in a meeting held on Tuesday by Shri Amarnath Shrine Board, the decision-making body regarding the pilgrimage. Morning and evening aarti will continue to be Live telecasted by the Board as they are aware of and respect the sentiments of millions of devotees. The government of Jammu and Kashmir also said that the traditional rituals shall be carried out as per past practice. Taking into account the ground realities, Jammu and Kashmir government was asked by the SC, in an order this month, to decide on organizing the pilgrimage. Many speculations were surrounding the annual pilgrimage and this decision has finally put an end to them. As of Tuesday, the total number of coronavirus cases is 11.5 lakh with the death toll standing at 28,084. Also read: Black clouds over Gurugram: Netizens term it an apocalypse scene, see photos For all the latest National News, download NewsX App The Indian Navy's Poseidon 8I anti-submarine warfare aircraft have been deployed in eastern Ladakh to carry out surveillance along the Line of Actual Control (LAC) and some of its MiG-29K jets are likely to be stationed in key IAF bases in the northern sector amid the border row with China, sources said on Tuesday. The sources said the military brass is considering deploying Indian Navy's MiG-29K fighter jets in a couple of air bases in the northern sector as part of efforts to bring in tri-services synergy in dealing with national security challenges. The maritime fighter jets will complement the Indian Air Force's(IAF) efforts to significantly boost deep strikes and air dominance capabilities, they said At present, the Navy has a fleet of around 40 MiG-29K jets and at least 18 of them are deployed on board the country's aircraft carrier INS Vikramaditya. The IAF has already positioned almost all its frontline fighter jets like Sukhoi 30 MKI, Jaguar and Mirage 2000 aircraft in the key frontier air bases in eastern Ladakh and elsewhere along the LAC, a move that came against the backdrop of the border row with China. Diplomatic and military talks between China and India are continuing for complete disengagement of troops from a number of friction points in eastern Ladakh. The IAF has been carrying out night time combat air patrols over the eastern Ladakh region in the last few weeks as part of its preparedness to deal with any eventualities in the mountainous region. By the second half of August, the IAF is planning to deploy five Rafale fighter jets in the Ladakh sector which are expected to significantly enhance its combat capabilities. India is scheduled to receive the first batch of five Rafale jets on July 27. As part of its high-level of alertness, the IAF has also deployed Apache attack choppers as well as Chinook heavy-lift helicopters to transport troops to various forward locations in eastern Ladakh. The sources said Poseidon 8I aircraft of the Navy has been deployed for monitoring the movement of Chinese troops in eastern Ladakh. The long-range anti-submarine and reconnaissance aircraft was deployed in Doklam along the Sikkim border too during the 73-day standoff between Indian and Chinese troops in 2017. The P-8Is were also deployed to keep an eye on movement of Pakistani troops after the Pulwama terror attack last year. In the midst of the border row with China, the Indian Navy on Monday and Tuesday carried out a military drill with a US Navy carrier strike group led by nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. Four frontline warships of the Indian Navy participated in the "PASSEX" exercise when the US carrier strike group was transiting through the Indian Ocean Region(IOR) on its way from the South China Sea, officials said. The USS Nimitz is the world's largest warship and the exercise between the two navies assumed significance as it took place in the midst of China's renewed military assertiveness in eastern Ladakh as well as in South China Sea. The US Navy carrier strike Group comprises USS Nimitz, Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton and Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS Ralph Johnson, the officials said. India carried out similar exercises with the Japanese navy last month. The Indian Navy has increased its surveillance missions and beefed up operational deployment in the IOR in the wake of the bitter border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. The Indian Navy is also ramping up its operational cooperation with various friendly naval forces like the US Navy and Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in view of the fast evolving regional security landscape, the officials said. Navies from the US, India, Australia, Japan and France have been deepening their mutual cooperation in the IOR in view of China's growing attempt to expand military influence in the resource rich region. Following escalation in tension between India and China in eastern Ladakh, the government put all the three forces on high alert. The Indian Navy was asked to raise its alert-level in the IOR where Chinese Navy has been making regular forays. Subscriber content preview PHILADELPHIA (AP) The owner of an award-winning organic dairy who pleaded guilty to defrauding investors of nearly $60 million was sentenced Monday to 10 years in federal prison. Philip Riehl, an accountant and the majority owner of Trickling Springs Creamery, ran a long-running Ponzi scheme that preyed on hundreds of Amish and Mennonite investors, according to federal prosecutors. He pleaded guilty in February to securities and wire fraud and conspiracy. . . . View live politics updates ChevronRight Both Kelley and Denton could face up to five years in prison for conspiracy to make interstate threats. Both have agreed to pay restitution to the police departments involved. Both admitted that they had used racial slurs, and Kelley acknowledged that he was aware of his co-conspirators involvement in neo-Nazism. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Kelley will be sentenced Nov. 24. In late 2018, Kelley suggested that the group take aim at Old Dominion University, where he was a student. I dont want to goto class on Wed, he said in a group chat. The call came from a blocked number, claiming an armed man had placed multiple pipe bombs on campus, according to court records. An apparently accidental call then came to campus police from the number listed under Kelleys name in the school directory, a move that led police to focus on him after the report was determined to be false. The same Google Voice number used to target ODU was used in swatting calls that brought police to a historically black church in Alexandria; the home of then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen in the same city; and the New York office of ProPublica, which had reported on Denton and Atomwaffen. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Kelley was interviewed by campus police. According to court records, Denton was concerned at the time that Kelley would be arrested. A couple of months later, Kelley was arrested on drug charges and kicked off campus, just as the Secret Service began investigating the threat called in at Nielsens home. Kelley was not arrested and charged in the swatting conspiracy until January. Denton was arrested in February, along with four others linked to Atomwaffen and accused of targeting journalists and people of color. Two other co-conspirators who were the most prolific members of the conspiracy are abroad, according to prosecutors, in Britain and Canada. Kelley admitted helping maintain a website called Doxbin, a repository of information for potential swatting targets government officials, journalists, executives, and celebrities, in the words of U.S. District Judge Liam OGrady. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Members of Atomwaffen have been linked by law enforcement to five slayings; the group holds hate camps where they practice for combat, according to court records and their own propaganda. The group has affiliates abroad, including in Germany, where members have threatened left-wing and nonwhite politicians. Facebook removes hundreds of boogaloo accounts for promoting violence' Trader Joes removing racist packaging after online petition Tucker Carlson fans harass New York Times reporter PHILADELPHIA, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Genome Profiling and Fox Chase Cancer Center will collaborate to identify a novel immune system epigenetic biomarker, dubbed EpiMarker, which if successful, will be used to help predict which lung cancer patients are likely to respond to a checkpoint inhibitor therapy known as anti-PD1 antibody. These agents are a potentially valuable tool for lung cancer treatment, but it remains very difficult for doctors to predict which patients are most likely to benefit from them. Genome Profiling will use its proprietary machine-learning platform and method to identify an interactive network of genomic DNA methylation sites in the circulating immune cells of patients that is predictive of response. Current tests to guide clinical decision making for checkpoint inhibitors require an invasive tumor biopsy from the chest cavity. The testing method, however, has limited accuracy and predictive power and it is expensive. It is also difficult and painful for the patient and can lead to adverse events, including collapsed lungs. The potential for having a blood based test like the proposed use of EpiMarker that discriminates based on the biology of immune cells would be a valuable advance. Presuming success in the discovery phase of the collaboration, a second step will be to translate the response prediction of the EpiMarker into a simple blood test that can be ordered by the diagnosing physician to guide treatment decisions. Genome Profiling is funding the collaboration and Fox Chase is providing patient blood samples and clinical expertise. "Despite the tremendous advances in lung cancer care driven by the availability of anti-PD1 antibodies, only a minority of patients experience significant and long-lasting benefit," said Hossein Borghaei, DO, MS, chief of Thoracic Oncology at Fox Chase. "With current approaches it's difficult to know exactly which patients will benefit, and improving that diagnostic ability is a key focus in the lung cancer immuno-oncology field," Borghaei added. "We are privileged to be able to work closely with Dr. Borghaei and Fox Chase's renowned team of researchers and clinicians," said Adam Marsh, PhD, Genome Profiling's chief science officer and cofounder. "Their clinical knowledge and insights are a tremendous complement to Genome Profiling's expertise. The collaboration has great potential to result in better patient care practices and to avoid unnecessary treatment side effects and costs." About Fox Chase Cancer Center The Hospital of Fox Chase Cancer Center and its affiliates (collectively "Fox Chase Cancer Center"), a member of the Temple University Health System, is one of the leading cancer research and treatment centers in the United States. Founded in 1904 in Philadelphia as one of the nation's first cancer hospitals, Fox Chase was also among the first institutions to be designated a National Cancer Institute Comprehensive Cancer Center in 1974. Fox Chase researchers have won the highest awards in their fields, including two Nobel Prizes. Fox Chase physicians are also routinely recognized in national rankings, and the Center's nursing program has received the Magnet recognition for excellence five consecutive times. Today, Fox Chase conducts a broad array of nationally competitive basic, translational, and clinical research, with special programs in cancer prevention, detection, survivorship and community outreach. It is the policy of Fox Chase Cancer Center that there shall be no exclusion from, or participation in, and no one denied the benefits of, the delivery of quality medical care on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sexual orientation, gender, gender identity/expression, disability, age, ancestry, color, national origin, physical ability, level of education, or source of payment. For more information, call 1-888-FOX CHASE or (1-888-369-2427). About Genome Profiling, LLC Genome Profiling (GenPro) is a digital health functional genomics company enabled by its proprietary, cloud-based, machine learning bioinformatics platform. What is special is the platform's ability to rapidly decode the sentinel power of our immune system's response to the stressors of disease into a new category of clinically actionable biomarkers blood-based immune system epigenetic biomarkers called EpiMarkers. Once discovered and validated (< 10 weeks), GenPro translates novel EpiMarkers into non-invasive blood tests that address big underserved drug response prediction and diagnostic opportunities that tumor and mutation based techniques cannot easily address in immuno-oncology and non-tumor diseases such as neurologic, infectious, auto-immune, and others. Genome Profiling, LLC Contact: Jeb Connor, Chairman CEO and Co-Founder Email: [email protected] Phone: 484-730-1938 Fox Chase Cancer Center Contact: Amy Merves Media Relations Manager Email: [email protected] Phone: 215-280-0810 Advanta Advertising, LLC Contact: Stephanie N. Kuhla CEO Email: [email protected] Phone: 856-616-8300 SOURCE Genome Profiling, LLC Joseph Paglia, who retired from the Niles Police Department in 2018, and Michael White, a CSO who had been employed for slightly more than five years, died from injuries they sustained in a crash while riding with the Thin Blue Line Law Enforcement Motorcycle Club in southern Texas, Niles police said in a statement. A third man, identified in media reports as Jerry Wayne Harbour, a Thin Blue Line ambassador and retired airline pilot from Houston, also was killed. Re: Although aspirin has been proven to eliminate moderate fever associate [ #permalink Although aspirin has been proven to eliminate moderate fever associated with some illnesses, many doctors no longer routinely recommend its use for this purpose. A moderate fever stimulates the activity of the bodys disease-fighting white blood cells and also inhibits the growth of many strains of disease-causing bacteria. If the statements above are true, which of the following conclusions is most strongly supported by them ? Got confused among options A, B and C, and posting my lessons from this question. This is an inference question and what follows from the statements above MUST BE true (A) Aspirin, an effective painkiller, alleviates the pain and discomfort of many illnesses The statements say that aspirin has been proven to eliminate ' fever associated with some illnesses ' , does that mean it has anything to do with 'pain and discomfort of many illnesses'? Even if we don't know the exact meaning of alleviate, we can't say that this MUST BE true. (B) Aspirin can prolong a patients illness by eliminating moderate fever helpful in fighting some diseases. Notice the usage of moderate words - can, helpful and some. Aspirin can do something, not must do something. Fever is helpful, not necessary. Some diseases, not all . This seems to be as good as any statement that you might ignore it just like I did! However, it doesn't say anything that you cannot derive from the given statements. Does Aspirin eliminate moderate fever? Yes Does moderate fever stimulate production of 'disease fighting' white blood cells, thus helping body to fight 'some diseases'? Yes Hence, can aspirin inhibit production of 'disease fighting' white blood cells? Yes Can aspirin prolong an illness by eliminating moderate fever (leading to WBC production), helpful in fighting some diseases? Yes (C) Aspirin inhibit the growth of white blood cells, which are necessary for fighting some illnesses. Are white blood cells necessary? We don't know! Bamm, wrong, just like that! By Express News Service THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: After two students who attended the Kerala Engineering Architecture Medical entrance exams (KEAM-2020) tested positive for COVID-19, now a parent who accompanied his son to the exam centre has also contracted the virus. All the three cases were reported from the capital district, Thiruvananthapuram, which is witnessing a spike including via community transmission. The 47-year-old parent, a resident of Manacaud in Muttathara, tested positive on Tuesday. According to the district administration, he was tested as he had symptoms. He accompanied his son to Cotton Hill school for the KEAM exam and stayed in the school premises until the exam got over. Earlier, a 19-year-old female student and an 18-year-old male student had tested positive on Monday night. The female student -- a resident of Karimpanavilakom, Pozhiyoor, Kulathoor -- was a secondary contact of a COVID-19 patient. She had attended the exam in Thycaud Government Teachers Training College. According to the district administration, all 20 students who wrote the exam in the same hall with her were identified and directed to be in home quarantine. Also, invigilators and volunteers have been directed to be in home quarantine. The male student wrote the exam in Government Girls Higher Secondary School, Karamana, in a separate room. There were no other students in the room. The health department also said all parents who stayed back during exam hours on the premises have been directed to be alert and self-monitor for symptoms. If anyone develops symptoms, they should immediately inform the local PHC or call 1077. T-town bigwigs such as Suresh Babu and Allu Aravind, who are already competitors in film production, distribution and exhibition in the two Telugu states, are now going to fight it out for a share of the digital pie too. Though Aravind has a head-start with his digital platform Aha, which launched in March 2020, Suresh Productions has enough resources and manpower to come up with an exclusive digital platform too. Admitting that he is keenly observing the happenings in the digital arena and studying various modules in place Suresh Babu tells us that they are definitely going to explore the digital space. However, we havent set any timelines as we have a great legacy to follow. I know a few people are making some money in varied modules. We have the resources and a good team to churn out content for films or the Web on any given day. I am discussing with the Next Gen members in my family, which I think would be crucial to take a final call, he shares. We remind him that his arch rival Allu Aravind has also taken the plunge into digital space. Firstly, we are not rivals. In fact, we are really good friends, he says, attempting to correct perceptions. And he is free to take his own decisions. Actually, we are two different people doing our own set of businesses in our own space and time. Room for all Web series in Telugu are relatively young, with just over 15 originals having been aired so far, including Pelligola, Loser, Locked, G.O.D, and Mastihave. A few others on the space are dubbed versions from other languages. Nonetheless, Telugu ZEE 5 has gained prominence in the last two years. We are glad to be torch-bearers in the Telugu digital space. Having started two years ago, we made it easier for others by showing what kind of content goes into the digital space and connects with discerning Telugu viewers, says Aparna Achrekar, Programming Head, ZEE 5, India. Aparna, however, feels undeterred by competition from Tollywood biggies such as Allu Aravind. We would always welcome healthy competition because it is inevitable in any business. In fact, we need more players to expand the Telugu digital space to provide more opportunities to actors, directors and technicians. However, our team will work even harder to retain our NumeroUno slot with more refreshing shows. Validating Aparnas claim that ZEE 5 occupies the top spot in the digital arena, Sushmita Konidela, daughter of Chiranjeevi, launched a crime-based Web series on it a week ago. This is despite her uncle, Aravind, running a digital platform. We are very happy to be associated with Sushmita and she naturally brings in a brand value. We are also thankful to other talented makers such as Anish Kuruvilla and Bangarraju, along with newcomers. Our strength lies in out-of-the-box content and we will stay ahead. We are also airing the most popular family show Amrutham to get closer to Telugu hearts, Aparna adds. Quality over cash However, a person from another digital platform, on condition of anonymity, tells us that while Telugu producers with deep pockets can make `100 crore movies they cannot deliver successful Web content with similar ease. Web content is a different ball game, so Telugu filmmakers have to change their mind-set first. They should realise that catering to niche urban and educated viewers who abhor cliched fare is a new challenge; just having tonnes of money is not enough. Filmmakers caught up in masala potboilers and action adventures will face difficulties in the digital arena, he warns. However, Viren Thambidorai, Creative Head, South India, Viu digital platform, is a little more hopeful, saying there is space for everyone in the emerging Telugu digital world. Actually, there is a demand for 1,000 hours of Telugu content in a year, but we are churning out only 300 hours, so more players can join in, he explains. Noting that thanks to the lockdown, viewers, who are used to watching free content on YouTube, have begun slowly understanding the subscription module, Viren shares his optimism about the future. With viewers realising that the digital platform is the new theatre, things are only going to look better in the days to come, he concludes. U.S. Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, New York's junior senator and a former Democratic presidential candidate, is supporting Dana Balter in the 24th Congressional District race. Gillibrand, who received the most votes in the 24th district as a U.S. Senate candidate in 2010, 2012 and 2018, called Balter, D-Syracuse, "a tireless advocate for working New York families" in a statement announcing her endorsement. "Dana knows what it's like to work through tough challenges; she worked her way through college as a waitress, has advocated for her brother with disabilities, and almost went bankrupt due to medical costs," Gillibrand, D-N.Y., said. "That's why voters in Dana's district know that they can trust her because she's fought the tough fights. It's going to take hard work to clean up the damage done by Donald Trump and Dana is the partner we need in Congress to help move our state and country forward." Balter is challenging Republican U.S. Rep. John Katko, who is seeking a fourth term representing the 24th Congressional District. The district includes all of Cayuga, Onondaga and Wayne counties, plus the western part of Oswego County. Two polls released by Democratic groups show that Balter is either ahead of or tied with Katko, R-Camillus, in the 24th district race. A poll conducted by the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee found Balter leading by three points, 48 to 45%, over Katko. Another poll released by House Majority PAC showed that Balter and Katko are in a dead heat. Political forecasters have moved the race rating from likely to lean Republican. But Katko does have a financial advantage in the campaign. He has $1.3 million more in the bank than Balter. Gillibrand's support will likely come with a financial contribution to Balter's campaign. When Gillibrand endorsed Balter in 2018, the senator's political action committee, Off the Sidelines, made donations to support Balter's bid. "Senator Gillibrand is a champion for our state and I'm honored to have her support in this race," Balter said. "Our region deserves to have a congresswoman who will work alongside Senator Gillibrand to ensure that everyone has affordable health care and real economic opportunity. "John Katko and Republicans in Washington have stood in the way of important legislation that Senator Gillibrand has put forward that would strengthen working families and it's time that she has a partner that will fight with her to make sure that everyone has a fair shot at success." The race between Balter and Katko is a rematch of the 2018 election. Katko won reelection by five percentage points. Before getting a second chance to unseat Katko, Balter had to win the Democratic primary. She defeated Francis Conole by 26 percentage points to win the Democratic nomination in June. Politics reporter Robert Harding can be reached at (315) 282-2220 or robert.harding@lee.net. Follow him on Twitter @robertharding. Love 2 Funny 1 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 2 Get Government & Politics updates in your inbox! Stay up-to-date on the latest in local and national government and political topics with our newsletter. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. Campaigners have welcomed news that abattoirs will be eligible for support under the agriculture bill following a House of Lords debate. Government whip Baroness Bloomfield said during the committee stages of the agriculture bill in the House of Lords that "the government are committed to addressing the issues raised by [the All-Party Group on Animal Welfares] recent report on small abattoirs." The report, released earlier this month, highlighted the negative impact of small abattoir closures on the rural economy and the need for greater government support. A third of small abattoirs have closed in the last ten years alone - with only 62 now left in the United Kingdom. Baroness Bloomfield confirmed that slaughtering will be recognised as one of the ancillary services eligible for funding under the bill. This is the first sign that the government, which has long said animals should be slaughtered as close to the point of production as possible, is willing to help small abattoirs financially and stem the ongoing level of closures. A dozen peers supported an amendment on small abattoirs tabled by Lord Trees and spoke about the importance of local food systems and the important role small abattoirs play within these. Groups such as the Sustainable Food Trust (SFT) and Campaign for Local Abattoirs have been campaigning to save small abattoirs for over two years. During this time they have had meetings with three government ministers and regular meetings with civil servants in Defra. Patrick Holden, SFT chief executive, said the announcement by Baroness Bloomfield was a 'very important victory for common sense'. He said it should "help to ensure that producers of high welfare, locally-produced meat from environmentally sustainable farms can continue marketing this direct to consumers." However, he added: "Much more needs to be done to ensure support actually materialises and that it is used in the most effective way." The Campaign for Local Abattoirs was started by the SFT in 2018 along with National Craft Butchers, Fir Farm and a number of other organisations. RNC chair Ronna McDaniel said in a letter to RNC members that only the roughly 2,500 regular delegates to the convention would be permitted to attend the opening three nights of the convention. Delegates, their guests and alternate delegates would be permitted to attend the final night, Aug. 27, when President Donald Trump is set to deliver his acceptance speech. A worker repairing the facade of a Manhattan building was killed and three others were injured on Thursday in an equipment collapse that left a metal platform dangling on its side and scaffolding buckling under, officials said. Emergency personnel responded at about 4:30 p.m. to the 11-story building at 136 E. 36th St. The Fire Department said the injured people were taken to the hospital. It was unclear what led to the collapse. The apartment building dates to the 1920s, city records show. The city Department of Buildings was investigating, and said the permit holder for the facade repair work was Edras Group Corp. An email was sent to the company seeking comment. Building manager Halstead Real Estate said it was saddened by the collapse, and that it was under investigation. Police urged people to avoid the scene, between Lexington and Third avenues. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Numbers Lucknow, July 21 : The Yogi Adityanath government has announced a reward of Rs 20,000 on Deep Prakash Dubey, the brother of slain gangster Vikas Dubey. Deep Prakash Dubey has been absconding since July 3 when the massacre took place in Bikru village of Kanpur district in which eight policemen were shot dead by Dubey and his gang. Deep Prakash Dubey, according to police sources, was aware of his brother's activities and is an accomplice in his unlawful deeds. Deep Prakash, who lives with his family in Krishna Nagar in Lucknow, has been absconding since the day of the shootout. "If we catch Deep Prakash, we can get a lot of information form him about the activities, links of Vikas Dubey and also the shootout," said a senior STF official. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Tri Indah Oktavianti (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 07:25 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f4915 1 Politics Sentra-Gakkumdu,Integrated-Law-Enforcement-Center,Bawaslu,AGO,National-Police,Polri,kejaksaan-agung,Pilkada-2020,RegionalElections Free The National Police chief, the attorney general and the head of the Elections Supervisory Agency (Bawaslu) signed on Monday a new joint regulation on the Integrated Law Enforcement Center (Sentra Gakkumdu) to supervise the 2020 regional elections in December. The joint regulation consists of several adjustments, including on the implementation of health protocols during the regional elections. However, no further details regarding the changes have been provided yet. We face new challenges for the upcoming 2020 regional elections due to the pandemic, especially in collecting evidence on election violation cases, which is due in five days, the head of Bawaslu, Abhan, said during a meeting on Monday. He said the pandemic might hinder direct investigations of suspects due to the physical distancing policy. For example, when we receive a report [on a possible violation] and we need to summon someone [for an in-person investigation] but we cant guarantee that the Bawaslu office is COVID-19-free, that person might be worried and refuse to come, said Abhan. Read also: KPU regulates campaign methods amid COVID-19 pandemic According to Abhan, 309 regions are set to supervise the regional elections. However, only 270 of them nine provinces, 224 regencies and 37 cities are registered to participate in the 2020 regional elections. Therefore, we need to pay attention to possible election violations in the 309 regions, and not just in the 270 regions, he said. The 2020 regional elections were postponed for three months due to COVID-19. They were initially slated for Sept. 23, but President Joko Jokowi Widodo issued Regulation in Lieu of Law (Perppu) No. 2/2020 in May to reschedule the voting day to Dec. 9. The three parties involved in the signing applauded the initiative, saying it was a tangible effort by authorities to run fair and honest elections. We need to be prepared in dealing with any kind of situation, National Police chief Gen. Idham Azis said. Read also: Regional elections in December may escalate COVID-19 transmission: Public health experts I order the National Polices operational assistant to select committed staff to be involved in the Gakkumdu team. If they do a good job on the joint team, give them rewards. It will motivate them to do better. In addition, Attorney General ST Burhanuddin said, some challenges might come up in the elections, such as a smear campaign and money politics. We need to be aware of that. Sentra Gakkumdu consists of members of Bawaslu and the National Police, as well as prosecutors. It is responsible for supervising, investigating and enforcing the law against crimes related to election violations. The joint team was first established during the 2015 regional elections. A Detroit police corporal is facing felony assault charges amid accusations that he shot rubber pellets at three photojournalists who covered a protest in May against police brutality in the city. Corporal Daniel Debono was charged on Monday with three counts of felonious assault, which carries a maximum penalty of four years, in the unprovoked shooting, the Wayne County Prosecutors Office said. The evidence shows that these three journalists were leaving the protest area and that there was almost no one else on the street where they were, Kym Worthy, the county prosecutor, said in a statement. They were a threat to no one, she said. There are simply no explicable reasons why the alleged actions of this officer were taken. Efforts to reach Debono on Monday night were unsuccessful. It was unclear whether he had a lawyer. Messages left with the Detroit Police Officers Association, the police union, were not returned on Monday night. The shooting occurred in the early hours of 31 May, prosecutors said, after the majority of demonstrators, who were protesting the death of George Floyd while in police custody just days earlier, had dispersed. Nicole Hester, who works for the local news website MLive, and two independent photojournalists, Seth Herald and Matthew Hatcher, were walking when they met Debono, who was dressed in riot gear and armed with his department-issued firearm and a weapon that fired rubber pellets, according to prosecutors. Debono was with two other police officers at Woodward Avenue and State Street. All three journalists had been covering the protest earlier and were wearing press credentials. The three journalists identified themselves as members of the press and had their hands up, asking to cross the street, prosecutors said. But as they began to cross Debono fired his weapon at them, striking them all with rubber pellets, prosecutors said. Recommended Halsey says she was hit by by pellets and shrapnel at protest Ms Hester sustained the most injuries to her face, neck, arms and legs, prosecutors said, while Mr Hatcher had bruising on his face and ribs and a mark on his nose. Mr Heralds wrist was injured. The Detroit Police Department said that it had begun an investigation as soon as it learned about the encounter and that police chief James E Craig had suspended Debono. Once the investigation was complete, it was turned over to the prosecutors office for review and charging recommendations, sergeant Nicole Kirkwood, a spokeswoman for the department, said in an email on Monday. She said that it was important to note that Debonos actions did not reflect the vast majority of the men and women who have been working the protest for the last eight weeks and doing what is right. New York Times Inflated electricity bills in the last couple of weeks across many states have left people fuming for the longest time. After Mumbai residents including Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu complained of exorbitant bill amounts, similar incidents were reported and shared on social media from residents of Tamil Nadu, Delhi, Maharashtra, Kolkata. Consumers complained of bills as high as Rs 30,000 and bill amounts which are also 15 times higher than their usual bills. Amidst such a situation, it seems netizens have found some respite in memes trying to highlight the financial crisis faced by them due to such enormous amount (not to forget) at a time when there's a massive pay cut in the job sector. Me planning to pay my past and next successive electricity bills#electricitybill pic.twitter.com/i0K3PVC6hW RightToRecall (@rtr2025) July 21, 2020 After getting #electricitybillPublic to Electricity board pic.twitter.com/dSGuVPm0yo Swati Sahu (@Swatisahu08) July 21, 2020 @myBESTElectricMy bill for May was Rs 1000/-And June is Rs 5730/-Why this kolaveri D?Meter reading to lelo, tuka kyu maar rhe ho#electricitybill pic.twitter.com/KaX6bxxa8M Johnny Sins (@Kv3_Singh) July 21, 2020 However, power companies have claimed that due to the coronavirus lockdown they couldn't send employees to take the meter readings and bills were calculated on an estimated basis of the average consumption in the months preceding the lockdown. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 18:56:09|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close NEW DELHI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The federal government has written to all states warning against the use of N-95 masks with valved respirators by people, saying these do not prevent the spread of the virus and were "detrimental" to the measures adopted for its containment, officials said Tuesday. A letter issued on Monday from the Director-General of Health Services (DGHS) in the federal health ministry said it has been observed that there was "inappropriate use" of N-95 masks. "It has been observed that there is inappropriate use of the N-95 mask (particularly with valved respirator) by the public other than designated health workers," read a letter from the DGHS. The DGHS referred to the advisory on the use of homemade protective cover for face and mouth available on the website of the ministry of health. "It is to bring to your knowledge that the use of valved respirator N-95 masks is detrimental to the measures adopted for preventing the spread of coronavirus as it does not prevent the virus from escaping out of the mask," the letter further read. Health officials in line with the recommendations from WHO are urging people to use a homemade protective cover for face and mouth, especially when they step out of their residences. India on Tuesday witnessed a jump of 37,148 COVID-19 cases, pushing its tally to 1,155,191 including 28,084 deaths. Globally India is the third worst-hit country due to COVID-19 pandemic. Enditem City council members in Aurora, Colorado, unanimously passed a resolution Monday evening allowing for an "independent, unbiased" investigation into the death of Elijah McClain, a 23-year-old unarmed Black man who died after he was apprehended by Aurora, Colorado, police in August 2019. The resolution stated that a neutral-third investigation is needed "to discern the facts about what transpired that night of August 24, 2019." City council noted that a previous outside investigator hired "did not meet the standard of neutrality that the City and community seeks," according to a copy of the resolution. McClain was walking after buying iced tea at a corner store on Aug. 24, 2019, when he was stopped by police, McClain's family attorney, Mari Newman, previously told ABC news. Police received a call about him being "sketchy" because he was wearing a ski mask, though the caller noted that no weapons were involved and no one was in danger, according to a transcript of the call. PHOTO: The Aurora Police Department released this body cam footage with the description 'This is the Body Worn Camera footage from the August 24, 2019 contact with Elijah McClain.' (Aurora Police Department/Youtube) When police stopped McClain, a struggle ensued and officers placed him in a carotid control hold -- which involves an officer placing his arm around a person's neck, restricting the flow of blood to the brain from the carotid arteries. Paramedics with the Aurora Fire Department also gave McClain ketamine, as per their department protocol used for "rapid tranquilization in order to minimize time struggling," according to officials. McClain, who had been throwing up, was put in an ambulance where he suffered cardiac arrest, according to police. MORE: Special prosecutor will investigate 2019 death of 23-year-old Elijah McClain while in custody Though police said McClain regained consciousness and was being treated at a local hospital, he died several days later. The resolution from Aurora City Council members called for a three-member team of people who have expertise in a multitude of areas, including law enforcement and police safety accountability, civil rights, EMT procedures and use of force. Story continues PHOTO: The Aurora Police Department released this body cam footage with the description 'This is the Body Worn Camera footage from the August 24, 2019 contact with Elijah McClain.' (Aurora Police Department/Youtube) The team should begin "its work immediately and shall complete its investigation as expeditiously as possible," the resolution stated, though no timeline was given. Kim Stuart, the communications director for the City of Aurora, told ABC News it would commence "relatively quickly." Stuart also said the investigation would be "complimentary" of Attorney General Phil Weiser's investigation, but will focus more on policies and procedures rather than criminality. Stuart said it's important "the investigation gives the city a clear path of actions we can take when it's all done." The team will be led by Jonathan Smith of the Washington Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights and Urban Affairs, Washington D.C., a nonprofit law firm that addresses racial and economic justice in the criminal justice system, as well as other sectors. MORE: Colorado police officers fired for recreating chokehold in photos at Elijah McClain memorial Smith was not available to comment, however a spokesman with the law firm confirmed he was chosen by the city to be part of the investigation. Smith, who has served as executive director for the law firm since July 2016, previously held positions as the executive director of the Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia and as the chief of the special litigations section at the civil rights division of the U.S. Department of Justice. The other members of the team have not yet been decided on, though Stuart said a handful are currently being vetted. PHOTO: Elijah McClain, an unarmed Black man who died days after he was subdued by three policemen and injected with a powerful sedative in August 2019, poses in an undated photograph in Aurora, Colo. (Family Photo/Handout via Reuters) McClain's death received renewed attention in June, as protests against police brutality erupted across the U.S. and world in the aftermath of the death of George Floyd, another unarmed Black man who was killed by Minneapolis police. MORE: What happened to Elijah McClain? Protests help bring new attention to his death Back in June, Aurora city leaders said that a Connecticut attorney was leading a third-party investigation into McClain's death, however, city council members noted that the attorney was a former police officer who worked closely with police departments, according to ABC Denver affiliate KMGH. The city council members deemed the attorney ill fit to conduct an independent investigation. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis also announced back in June that he was appointing a special prosecutor to investigate the case and file charges if "the facts support prosecution," saying "at a bare minimum [the family] deserve a thorough review of the case." Phil Weiser, the state's attorney general, will fill the role, the governor said. City council passes resolution calling for independent investigation into Elijah McClain death originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Quetta Chamber of Commerce and Industries (QCCI) President Ghulam Farooq Khan Khilji and senior vice president Badaruddin Kakar said that the continuous closure of the border caused massive unemployment as thousands of daily wagers working at both sides of the border lost their jobs, Dawn news reported on Monday. Quetta, July 20 (IANS) Closure of the Chaman border between Pakistan and Afghanistan was badly affecting Balochistans economy as the trade between the two countries has come to a complete halt, top officials said here, urging for it to reopen. They said the closure of the border had created a difficult situation for the people in the bordering districts of the province. They urged the government to immediately open the Chaman border so that trade activities between the two countries could be resumed. "Even financially stable people in import, export and service businesses are facing a serious economic crisis," Khliji was quoted as saying in the Dawn news report. He said that already employment opportunities were very limited in Balochistan which had no industrial and other jobs in its border areas, and the closure of Chaman had further deteriorated the economic situation in these areas. The Chaman border was closed in March due to the COVID-19 pandemic, reports Dawn news. Afghan traders currently use Torkham, which has been opened, and Chaman border points for transit trade and both countries are exploring ways to use other crossings for transit trade. --IANS ksk/ Haiti - Security : Major donation of evacuation and rescue equipment The United Nations Development Program (UNDP - Haiti) officially handed over a donation of evacuation and rescue materials to the Directorate of Civil Protection (DPC) intended to improve and strengthen Haiti's capacities for emergency rescue operations and of evacuation as well as the reduction of vulnerability linked to natural hazards. Funded to the tune of approximately US$270,000 by the Governments of Canada, Japan and Norway, this equipment will help optimize the operational and technical capacities of civil protection emergency operation centers (COUN, COUD, COUC...) Among the materials and equipment provided include, in particular, clearing kits, multi-size cervical collars, manual resuscitators for children and adults, protective equipment for the patrollers (helmets, life jackets, boots, raincoat, protective glasses, flashlights, awareness materials for early warning (megaphones, portable sirens), evacuation and rescue materials (wheelchairs, stretchers, first aid kits, flashlights, headlamps, stretchers , "Walkie-talkies", cardiac defibrillators, jackhammers, protective equipment, etc... "Our presence here further testifies to the solidarity and sincere friendship of the Japanese people towards the Haitian people who must face and overcome major challenges in disaster risk preparation, prevention and management. We intend to continue to support the efforts of the Directorate General of Civil Protection, to whom we wish good work despite the enormous challenges," declared the Ambassador of Japan in Haiti Mitsuaki Mizuno, In his intervention Fernando Hiraldo, the Resident Representative of the UNDP in Haiti after having thanked Japan, Norway and Canada for the confidence placed in the UN organization declared "[...] I am delighted with the collaboration between the UNDP and the United Nations and the DPC for almost 20 years, and I hope that this wonderful collaboration will continue for many years, especially since the new legal framework for civil protection offers new avenues of collaboration." HL/ HaitiLibre 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 Rumble Flossey is living a wonderful life on a beautiful farm in Millbrook, Ontario. It's what is knows an "ethical farm" where cows have space to roam and graze instead of being kept indoors for most of their lives. Flossey's farm has vast expanses of lush, green grass, rolling hills, ponds full of fresh water, and forested areas for shade. This is life as it should be for these gentle creatures. Dave is a farm hand who often helps out with some of the chores and animal care. He decided to take a break on this warm, summer day and he took a seat on the hill overlooking the pasture. AKRON, Ohio As federal prosecutors announced charges Tuesday against Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others, accusing them of accepting more than $60 million in bribe money from FirstEnergy Corp., one name was noticeably absent from the indictment FirstEnergy. The federal criminal complaint doesnt even mention Akron-based FirstEnergy by name, instead referring to Company A as the corporation that funded the conspiracy to secure a $1.3 billion public bailout for two Ohio nuclear power plants owned by FirstEnergy Solutions, now Energy Harbor. Everyone in this room knows who Company A is, David DeVillers, U.S. Attorney for the Southern District of Ohio, said Tuesday during a news conference. I will not be mentioning the name of Company A because of our regulations and rules. They have not, and no one from that company has of yet been charged, so I will be referring to this as Company A. The defendants include Householder, former Ohio Republican Party chairman turned lobbyist Matt Borges, prominent Columbus lobbyist Neil Clark, Householder aide Jeff Longstrenth, Columbus lobbyist Juan Cespedes and the group Generation Now. But could FirstEnergy, or someone in its corporate leadership, ultimately be indicted? Are charges coming? When asked that question Tuesday, DeVillers replied, Were going to continue to investigate this, and were going to investigate wherever it leads. DeVillers said theres a strong inference in the complaint that Householder and his allies approached FirstEnergy, rather than the other way around. This enterprise went looking for someone to bribe them, DeVillers said. In a statement, FirstEnergy said, This afternoon, FirstEnergy Corp. (NYSE: FE) received subpoenas in connection with the investigation surrounding Ohio House Bill 6. We are reviewing the details of the investigation and we intend to fully cooperate. A company spokeswoman decline to comment beyond the statement. House Bill 6 is the $1.3 billion ratepayer bailout of two Ohio nuclear power plants owned by FirstEnergy Solutions, now Energy Harbor. Householder helped push HB6 through the state legislature last year. Michael Benza, a professor at Case Western Reserve Universitys School of Law, has no special knowledge of this case, but offered a few reasons why prosecutors might have not charged Company A at this time. He expects prosecutors to announce more charges. In the federal system, once formal charges are filed, the prosecution is very limited in its ability to negotiate plea agreements and dismiss charges, Benza told cleveland.com. They may be holding back charges against what appear to be obvious possible defendants because they may want to work out a process by which they go by information, rather than indictment. ... Thats basically the plea bargain system in federal prosecution. Its possible, Benza said, that the U.S. Attorneys Office is working on a plea negotiation with Company A rather than charging them at the beginning. They do this a lot, in these types of investigations, Benza said. They go to the person and say, Heres all the information we have, and heres all the charges well bring, and youll spend a million years in prison unless you agree to cooperate and plead guilty to this. Another explanation for why Company A has not been charged could have to do with the investigation. During his news conference, DeVillers said his office was unable to subpoena some people because it would have revealed the existence of the investigation before the government was ready to make it public. Those people now can be subpoenaed, he said. Getting to the financial records of Company A or of Generation Now would have tipped people off that the investigation was going, Benza said. They may not have wanted people to know about that until they had a significant amount of their investigation done. Now that it is public, issuing the subpoenas doesnt reveal anything about the investigation. People with minor involvement in the operation might be inclined to assist investigators to avoid public prosecution, he said. One of the things that will happen because of the high-profile nature of the people being charged in this circumstance is that people lower down in the conspiracy might be willing to cooperate and go by way of information or other process to avoid being indicted and tried with the other defendants. Thousands of homes in South Kildare are affected by a Boil Water Notice, which is still in place as of this evening, Tuesday, July 21, Irish Water has confirmed. There are an estimated 6,500 residents impacted in parts of Monasterevin, Kildare town, Rathangan, Tullylost and Ellistown, since the Boil Water Notice was imposed by Irish Water last Thursday, July 16. According to Irish Water, issues arose with the disinfection process at the Water Treatment Plant, leading to inadequate chlorination of the public water supply. The Boil Water Notice was imposed as a precautionary measure, leaving residents unable to use tap water for drinking unless it had been boiled. The issue at the treatment plant has now been fixed, according to Irish Water, but as of Monday evening it could not confirm how long the Boil Water Notice would last. The test results of a number of water samples will be required to confirm adequate chlorination of the public water supply in order to lift the Boil Water Notice, it said in a statement. Cllr Noel Connolly, a resident of Lackagh, Monasterevin, is, along with his fellow neighbours, relying on the kindness of his neighbour, farmer Eamon Dempsey, whose water supply is not affected by the Boil Water Notice. Cllr Connolly said: We are here 10 years and it never happened.It is the first that we have heard of it. Thankfully one of our neighbours has a well, you cant brush your teeth with water. Cllr Connolly said: They say to do a rolling boil for a minute. When building a house, I had to give a 15,000 levy and 5,000 for water connection. We are lucky to have the neighbours. There are people in parts of Monasterevin who are not even sure if they are affected it is not clear. Irish Water is being criticised for the lack of information that has been given to residents. Rathangan-based, Cllr Anne Connolly says an explanation on what exactly happened will be needed from Irish Water. She said: I am a resident and I have not had anything from Irish Water and the residents should be notified. Expressing relief that no-one has reported being sick, Cllr Connolly says it will be very difficult for young families and the elderly. She said: I have not heard of anyone getting sick, nobody has contacted me.We have no idea at all when it will be back up and running. The water is very hard in Rathangan, we had a lot of lime and were told that we had very good quality water. There was no different colour to it, and it definitely didnt smell. We will have to find out what happened so that it wont happen again and get a full report from Irish Water on it. We have had areas in the country that have had it (a Boil Water Notice) for months on, we wont want it going on for too long. I was very surprised, we never had anything like this, and you think the worst. We are still waiting. We definitely need to know what happened and how it happened. Marc Levoy, the man behind the Pixel camera has now joined Adobe. He was appointed Vice President of the company after he left Google in March. He will now lead a team that works on Photoshop Camera and more After leaving Google in March, Marc Levoy, the man behind the Pixels powerhouse camera, had made Adobe his new home. The company announced that Levoy will be helming the Vice Presidents seat. Marc will now lead a team that works on Photoshop Camera as well as Abode Research, and Digital Imaging divisions. For those that do not know who Marc Levoy is and why this is such a big deal, Levoy was the man behind the tech that was used in the much lauded Pixel range of smartphones. His work on features such as Portrait Mode, HRD+ and Night Sight has pushed the field of AI to not depend on hardware for certain effects but to rely on the software of the device. Mark Levoy joins Adobe as Vice President Marc Levoy was also responsible for the development of the camera for the first generation of Google Glass. As the announcement was made, Levoy looks to be working on better cameras for all phones, as the company has talked about his work being centered on the concept of a universal camera as reported by The Verge. Maybe we could see companies like Facebook have their own camera app that uses technology that Levoy could be working on. Marc Levoy was not the only loss for Google though, as Android Authority has reported, the company also lost Pixel general manager Mario Queiroz who left the company two months before the Pixel 4 was to be launched. In other Google news, the company has recently announced a Rs 75,000 crore fund to boost Indias digital growth. You can read more about that story here. Reliance Jio has also partnered with the search engine giant to launch entry level 4G and 5G phones in India. You can read more about that here. And finally, just a few weeks ago Google removed 25 apps from the Play Store for phishing Facebook log-in details. You can find out what the names of the those apps are, right here. On July 17, J. I. Packer passed away at the age of 93. He was one of the most famous and influential evangelical leaders of our time, according to Leland Ryken, professor emeritus of English at Wheaton College and author of J. I. Packer: An Evangelical Life. To mark the moment, we asked 20 Christian thought leaders to answer this question: How did J. I. Packer shape your faith and work? Some of the respondents were his close friends and colleagues, others studied under him, and still others knew him only through his writing. Heres what they had to say. N. T. Wright, senior research fellow, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University: In the 1960s, three men set an example of robustly intelligent evangelicalism: John Stott, Michael Green, and Jim Packer. Widely discounted by the liberal establishment, they carved out space for my generation to develop in new ways. Jim, the intellectual giant of the three, encouraged me from our first meeting in 1969 to my final one 50 years later. I thank God for his friendship, his courage, his intellectual rigor, his prayerfulness, his gentle humor, and above all, his love of the Lord and of Scripture. Joel Scandrett, assistant professor of historical theology, Trinity School for Ministry: Chicken vindaloo, as hot as you can make it! That was one of the more unanticipated sentences I heard from J. I. Packers lips during the years we worked together on the catechism of the Anglican Church in North America. He loved Indian food, and we would go to his favorite restaurant whenever we were in Vancouver. He always ordered chicken vindaloo with white wine. I'm saddened by his passing but indescribably grateful for the chance to have worked with him and known him as a person, if only a little bit. What a mind! And what a heart for Christ and his church. Packers capacity to capture complex propositions with utter clarity and succinctness was astonishing, and his joy in the task of theology was undimmed and infectious. I love the man. So heres to Jim Packer, lover of God, teacher of the church, now gathered to the saints with Jesus in paradise. May we all be as faithful as he in our vocations, whatever they may be. And may we eat chicken vindaloo and drink white wine at the wedding supper of the Lamb. RIP, James Innell Packer. J. D. Greear, PhD, president of the Southern Baptist Convention: God used J. I. Packer, along with a few of his contemporaries, to establish the theological core for our generation. Knowing God remains one of the most important books Ive ever read, one I have returned to many times and one that I have taken many others through. Packer showed me that loving God with all my heart necessitated loving him correctly with my mind. His warningabout how offensive it was to God to worship him wrongly or according to the dictates of our imaginationswas a thunderbolt to my soul. May God raise up another J. I. Packer for the rising generation. Suzanne McDonald, professor of systematic and historical theology, Western Theological Seminary: J. I. Packers Knowing God was one of the very first books I read soon after I came to faith in my late teens. It has crossed continents with me several times since then. So has his book A Quest for Godliness, which fed the fire of a love for the Puritans that became formative for my faith and my work. I never had the privilege of meeting or hearing him, and he would not have approved of the direction of my calling as an ordained woman. But like countless thousands of others around the world, I give thanks to God for his faith, life, work, and witness, and for the ways that, by grace, he has helped to shape mine. Article continues below Walter Kim, president of the National Association of Evangelicals: J. I. Packer was a theological luminary, not simply for his intellectual brilliance but more for the way that he illuminated a path to knowing and loving God. In my college days, his writings introduced me to the majesty of God in a way that was also intimate and inviting. Then, when my wife and I studied at Regent College, we discovered that the man up close was even better than the man from afar. He exuded a love for God and a humble and confident curiosity about the things of God. His lectures were unfailingly well-prepared, but his devotion to the triune God is what I remember most. Derek Rishmawy, campus minister for Reformed University Fellowship at UC Irvine: Like thousands of other pastors, I can say that Packers work and witness are of inestimable value to me. He was a master of making the divide between doctrine and piety disappear, and for that reason, Knowing God is still one of the first books I tell my college students to read. Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God helped me grab hold of two biblical truths in seeming tension and, like Jacob, not let them go until I received the blessing. His classic essay, The Logic of Penal Substitution, taught me that, in speaking of the mystery of the crossof Christ and him crucifiedwe cannot be content in treating half-truth as the whole truth. We must proclaim the fullness of Christs work in all of its multi-dimensional splendor. Alister E. McGrath, Andreas Idreos Professor of Science and Religion, University of Oxford: I shall miss Jim Packer. One of the many things I learned from him was the importance of learning from others who have made the journey of faith before us and passed on their wisdom. Jims love of the Puritans was not some form of whimsical nostalgia for the past but a firm belief in the ability of their theology to enrich and nourish Christians today. It is by being rooted in the past that we are best equipped to engage the present. Yet Jim did more than point to these theological riches; he manifested them in his own teaching and life. Theology was never an optional extra or an intellectual luxury or a hobby for Jim. It safeguarded the heartbeat of our faith. Elisabeth Rain Kincaid, assistant professor of ethics and moral theology, Nashotah House Theological Seminary: I first read J. I. Packers Knowing God and Concise Theology in high school. Along with Dallas Willard, Packer illuminated for me the connection between theological doctrine and the daily life of the disciple. In contrast to a focus on affective experience alonewhich was the main emphasis of the evangelical camps and youth groups that I attendedPacker showed me the importance of theological knowledge and theologically informed prayer. Today, its a joy to teach theological ethics at a seminary within Packers Anglican tradition. My students are exposed to the same idea that I encountered in Packers writings so many years ago: There is a deep connection between theology and an intimate, personal, knowledge of God. W. David O. Taylor, associate professor of theology and culture, Fuller Theological Seminary: I had the privilege of serving as J. I. Packers teaching assistant for three years at Regent College. Among other things, I learned what it means to do theology in service of the church, how all good theology arises from doxology (which is why he began every class with a rousing version of the Doxology itself), and how important humility, wit, and clarity are to the work of a theologian. While he was never fully respected in the academy for choosing chiefly to serve what he called the thoughtful Christian, Packer was precisely the kind of evangelical theologian that the church has needed in these times: capable of crossing denominational and theological lines in service of creedal orthodoxy for the sake of a gracious, generous-spirited witness of Christ. Article continues below Emily McGowin, assistant professor of theology, Wheaton College: Like many others, I cut my theological teeth on J. I. Packers Knowing God. I was 16 years old and taking a theology course at a local Bible college. Of course, Knowing God was biblically rich and intellectually rigorous. But more than anything else, it was awe-inspiring. It moved me to worship. God was so much more holy and beautiful than I had imagined! I knew then that I wanted to study theology for the rest of my life. And I wanted to write theology that would stir others to know and love God, too. Anthony Carter, lead pastor, East Point Church: I can say without reservation that J. I. Packer had an enormous impact on my early theological development and understanding. Like so many others, I became a student and admirer through his writing and lectures. Three books, in particular, Knowing God, A Quest for Godliness, and Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God shaped my thoughts and practice for many years. This is the gift that I believe Packer gave to me and, by Gods grace, continues to give to the church: namely, a reminder of the mission of the Christian life, which is to know God and make him known. So thank you, J. I. Packer. You challenged me to know God. I am still on that mission, and due to your influence and legacy, so are multitudes of Christians around the world. Soli Deo gloria. Mika Edmondson, PhD, lead congregational pastor, Christ Presbyterian Church: J. I. Packer had a warmth, humility, and generosity born out of the joy of knowing and being known by God. As brilliant as Packer was, his humility was what left an indelible impression on me. Rather than casting himself as an expert on grace, he cast himself as a debtor to grace. The best theologians are debtors to grace. Ben Witherington III, Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary: Jim Packer provided us with an example of a fully committed but irenic Christian who was always open to the new things God was doing by means of the Holy Spirit. For me, his impact was twofold: the way he lived out his faith, believing that Gods Word and work were new every morning, and also his strong emphasis on how knowing and loving God was the very highest calling of all human beings. Krish Kandiah, founding director of Home for Good, author of The Greatest Secret : I first met J. I. Packer through his writings. As a student, I devoured Knowing God, Keep in Step with the Spirit, and Passion for Holiness. Just this week, I preached on healthy spirituality and found myself citing him from memory. I will never forget the first time I met Packer in person. He was incredibly energetic and encouraging as we talked about our mutual passions: our adopted children, and what he called the mind-boggling theology of adoption. Packer claimed that adoption is the highest privilege that the gospel offers. These words encouraged me often in my work of inspiring Christians to consider adopting children from foster care. They were also the prompt for my own book. This intellectual giant with an infectious, persistent wonder at Gods grace was a gift to our generation. Long may he be remembered. Cynthia Bunch, associate publisher, director of editorial, InterVarsity Press: In July 1988, while finishing up at Northern seminary, I started working at InterVarsity Press. That summer, I registered as a guest student at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in order to take J. I. Packers three-week course on Puritanism. Little did I know that some years later I would acquire two books from him: Never Beyond Hope and Praying. I was also able to collaborate with him on a number of Knowing God-related books and Bible studies. When we launched Never Beyond Hope, a group of us from IVP went to hear jazz with him at Preservation Hall in New Orleans . He was passionate about the music and immersed in the experience. Article continues below A little-known fact is that we did have one more book contract awaiting completion. That was Knowing Christ. He never finished that work. Now his experience of knowing God in the three persons of the Trinity is fully realized. Julie Canlis, author of A Theology of the Ordinary and Calvins Ladder : J. I.s practice of starting every theology class with singing the Doxology (arise, friends! he would say) felt at the time quaint. It wasnt until much later that I realized what he was doing: he was taking preemptive measures to strengthen our hearts. Many of us students were hard-pressed, as our faith was undergoing the unique detox of seminary. We sometimes found ourselves critical, disoriented, and judgmental of the church. But Packers desire for us was not a critical spirit but the Holy Spirit. He didnt want our theology classes to train us in being right but in being loved. And so the simple doxology. Inch by inch, refrain by refrain, we were moved unknowingly to the place all seminary students long to return to: a place of childlike faith and gratitude. Rennis Ponniah, Bishop of Singapore, The Anglican Church: Not deity reduced but divine capacities restrained. This description of Jesus humanity by J. I. Packer has remained with me since my undergraduate days when I read Knowing God as a 20-year-old. Many decades on, when I met Packer for lunch during my clergy sabbatical in 2016, he had one over-riding concern: namely, that pastors pursue the teaching of all age-groups in our churches, so that we do not lose ground in evangelism and discipleship in the postmodern world. Packer was a pastor at heart. His warmth, care, and humilitycombined with his clarity of thought, confidence in Gods word, and tenacity for truthmade him a model for me and many other pastors. Anglicans have very few outstanding pastor-theologians on the contemporary world stage. Packer was one of them. He will be sorely missed on this side of eternity! Mark Galli, former editor in chief of Christianity Today : Precision in languagethat is what impressed me most about J. I. Packer. As an executive editor for CT, he would visit the offices between two and four times a year. We'd hand him a pile of manuscripts to review, many of which were in the final stage of editing. He would make not just theological comments but very often also note how an author used a word in one sense in an early paragraph and in another sense by the end of the piece. It was frankly embarrassing when I had been the point editor of the piece! Im grateful that this man was an exemplary theologian who also modeled excellence for us journalists. Sharon Galgay Ketcham, professor of theology and Christian ministries, Gordon College: At a time when my friends and I naively enjoyed framing our theological debates into either-or positions, my college professor assigned J. I. Packers Evangelism and the Sovereignty of God. I was stopped in my tracks by Packers caution: Our tendency to overvalue logical consistency through rationalistic speculations resists making room for God. With that idea, Packer invited me to set aside my focus on apparent contradictions and instead embrace paradox as a pathway for faithfully speaking about Gods movement among us. Article continues below Timothy George, Distinguished Professor of Divinity, Beeson Divinity School: For some 35 years, I was privileged to work closely with Jim Packer at Christianity Today, with the organization Evangelicals and Catholics Together, and at Billy Grahams Amsterdam 2000 conference, among other contexts. What T.H.L. Parker once wrote about Karl Barth I can say of Jim: He taught me the meaning of what I believed. I was grounded in the fundamentals of the faith as a young Christian, but Jim showed me how doctrine connected to life and how theology and spirituality were co-inherent. Jim walked in step with the Spirit (the title of one of his many books) and lived in the presence of Christ in a way befitting a saint. I loved to hear him pray. He knew that we all live our livesincluding the pulls and tearscoram deo, or in light of eternity. He taught us that theology is for doxology and devotion and at its best when it is consciously done under the eye of God of whom it speaks, and when it is singing to his glory. A new poll shows that a majority of voters believe that American society is racist and that black and Hispanic Americans face discrimination -- but a separate poll finds that most oppose defunding the police. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of 900 registered voters, conducted from July 9 to 12, found that 56 percent said that they think American society is racist. This is essentially unchanged from 1988, when an Associated Press poll found that 56 percent believed the U.S. is a racist society. Meanwhile, a separate Washington Post/ABC News poll found that although 63 percent of adults polled support the Black Lives Matter movement, a 55 percent majority oppose defunding police departments to fund social services. The Wall Street Journal/NBC News poll of 900 registered voters, conducted from July 9 to 12, found that 56 percent said that they think American society is racist A separate Washington Post/ABC News poll found that 63 percent of adults polled support the Black Lives Matter movement The Post/ABC poll found that a majority of Americans oppose defunding police departments The Post/ABC poll of 1,006 adults was conducted from July 12 to July 15. The Journal/NBC poll found that there has been a sharp increase in the number of people who believe that race relations in the country are either very or fairly bad. Just 26 percent now say that race relations are good, down from more than seven in 10 who said the same in several surveys throughout then-President Barack Obama's first term. Seven in 10 now say that race relations are bad, including majorities of Democrats (86 percent) and Republicans (58 percent). It comes following weeks of protests over racial inequality after the in-custody death of George Floyd in Minneapolis. The poll finds that increasing numbers of voters support the Black Lives Mater movement, as well as the practice of kneeling during the national anthem to protest racial injustice. Fifty-seven percent of voters said they support the nationwide protests sparked by Floyd's killing while 32 percent oppose them, and 58 percent said they are more concerned with racial inequality as a result of the demonstrations. A slim majority of voters, 52 percent, now say it is appropriate for athletes to kneel during the anthem to protest racial inequality, up from 43 percent in 2018. In the new survey, 45 percent said kneeling during the anthem was inappropriate. People hold signs as they listen to a speaker in front of city hall in Kansas City last month 'Americans are concerned about issues of inequality, and George Floyd's death helped contribute to that,' pollster Brenda Lee told the Journal. 'We've moved the needle a great deal in terms of just clearly identifying that we, as Americans, have an issue with racism in this society.' In 2008, just 28 percent of voters said that black Americans are discriminated against, while 51 percent said they are treated fairly and 16 percent said they receive too many special advantages. However, in this latest poll, the share who say black people experience discrimination has jumped to 59 percent, with just 27 percent saying they are treated fairly and 10 percent saying they receive special advantages. The new poll also indicates that support for the removal of Confederate statues is growing, although most do not support the extreme step of destroying the monuments. The new poll also indicates that support for the removal of Confederate statues is growing Two years ago, voters supported allowing Confederate statues to stay by nearly a wide margin, 63 percent to 35 percent. Now, 51 percent say the statues should be removed, while 47 percent disagree. However, only 10 percent believe the statues should be destroyed outright, with 41 percent supporting removing them to be placed in museums or on private property. Thirty-one percent believe the statues should remain where they are, but with a plaque added to explain their historical context. Only 16 percent support leaving the statues where they are with no changes. 'We do not have lots of people in the extremes on this question,' Micah Roberts, a Republican pollster who also collaborated on the survey, told the Journal. Three-quarters of voters told the poll that they were encouraged that the country is addressing longstanding issues of racism in society. However, half said they were concerned that the protests over racial issues are creating social unrest and bringing too much change to the country. She has been working hard during lockdown. Yet Maya Jama ensured it was not all work and no play as she jetted away on holiday to Ibiza with pals on Monday in a swanky private jet. The TV host, 25, kept her fans up to date on the ins and outs of her stay, as she stripped down to a tiny white bikini to showcase her cleavage. Cheeky! Maya Jama ensured it was not all work and no play as she jetted away on holiday to Ibiza with pals on Monday in a swanky private jet Maya looked phenomenal as she larked around and danced in the white bikini which was unpadded but underwired to best showcase her assets. She went make-up free for the trip as she strutted her stuff in style shortly after sharing a slew of snaps from inside the private jet. The holiday comes after the host and DJ revealed how she felt excited about life after her breakup from Stormzy, after she confirmed her split from the rapper in August. She said: 'I was in a relationship for five years and I've had a new lease of excitement. I don't allow myself to be down in the dumps about things that are out of my control like my break up. I've been through worse.' All white? The TV host, 25, kept her fans up to date on the ins and outs of her stay, as she stripped down to a tiny white bikini to showcase her cleavage Hot stuff: Maya looked phenomenal as she larked around and danced in the white bikini which was unpadded but underwired to best showcase her assets The star also revealed she wants to forge a career in acting and was due to perform in her first film before plans were derailed by lockdown. The Bristol-born presenter revealed the secret project was due to take place in the Caribbean. She said she has always wanted to act but had to push back her plans when she became a presenter. Maya, who recently had to defend her low-cut outfits for showing too much cleavage, also revealed that wasn't always the case. She admitted: 'I used to pray, "Can I grow t**s?" and I grew them. So I thought, "Oh my gosh he's listening".' On the podcast, Maya also revealed that she had serious money troubles when she was a student in London before she made it. Lucky thing! She headed off on a swanky trip in the most luxurious sense Cheers! She was also digging into some delicious looking cocktails The star, who has recently bought a new house, said she used to jump on trains without a ticket and wear outfits before returning them to the shops. Last month, the TV and radio star hit back at fans who 'hyper sexualised' her body after she wore a plunging dress on the show. The broadcaster took to her social media platform after one viewer admitted to feeling 'awkward' at seeing her cleavage on display. Maya wrote: 'I appreciate your concern. I am able and allowed to dress how I please. We're all fighting for equality and similar treatment to our male counterparts. 'Don't let the side down by hyper sexualising my bod. If you're uncomfortable with my boobs that's on you.' Woop Woop! She was partying the day away with pals Fun in the sun: Maya later shared another stunning shot as she got ready to hit the town in a tiny neon mini dress and heels Peter Tsai, the man credited for inventing the N95 mask, had retired for over two years when coronavirus outbreak triggered. Tsai has since come out of his retirement to help healthcare workers and has been working, in his own way, to curb the virus. "I felt I need to - I need to help the health workers," Tsai said to CNN in an interview. "You know, they put their lives at risk. What I know can help them," he added Tsai, a Taiwanese American scientist, invented the N95 masks back in 1995. The N95 masks are made using synthetic fibre and are considered by many health professionals to be the most effective barrier against the spread of COVID-19. Tsai said that the N95 mask blocks 95% of the particles that it comes in contact with. Tsai made the filters of the mask using the corona electrostatic charging method. Using this method, the filters gain both positive and negative charge. The mask then attracts neutral particles, like bacteria from viruses. It polarises those particles, trapping them before they can pass through the mask. Tsai said that he made the decision to get back to work after he heard that the doctors and nurses at American hospitals were facing supply shortages for masks and other PPE. Now, back from retirement, Tsai has been working at the University of Tenessee, Knoxville's Research Foundation. He is currently testing new methods to sterilise masks. According to him, the best one yet is to keep the mask in 160-degree dry heat for 30 minutes before next use. However, Tsai recommends that people should buy seven N95 masks and use one for each day of the week, After using they should place the mask in an isolated spot for seven days. Tsai said that even if citizens are not able to procure N95 masks they should wear masks in public none the less. "Some people said, 'I don't care. I do not need to wear a mask,'" he said. "That is very selfish because you expose your germs to other people. So any mask is good," he added. Also Read: Rahul Bajaj to step down as Chairman of Bajaj Finance; stock plunges over 6% Also Read: FabiFlu 'cheapest' COVID-19 drug; Glenmark calls overpricing charge baseless YEREVAN, 21 JULY, ARMENPRESS. The Central Bank of Armenia informs Armenpress that today, 21 July, USD exchange rate up by 0.89 drams to 483.70 drams. EUR exchange rate up by 0.53 drams to 553.59 drams. Russian Ruble exchange rate up by 0.10 drams to 6.83 drams. GBP exchange rate up by 5.86 drams to 613.72 drams. The Central Bank has set the following prices for precious metals. Gold price up by 180.79 drams to 28235.74 drams. Silver price up by 4.91 drams to 302.32 drams. Platinum price up by 350.15 drams to 13140.86 drams. COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- SSPR LLC, an innovative, full-service PR agency, announced today it was selected as a winner in PRNEWS' 2020 Top Places to Work in PR award program for the second year in a row. According to PRNEWS, the winners of the Top Places to Work Awards have exemplified efforts pertaining to diversity and inclusion, gender equality, career development, giving back to the community, work/life balance and more. In addition to securing national media placements and creating social media content that resonates, SSPR has made a strong effort to stay connected during the global pandemic as the entire company works remotely. The organization schedules time for weekly all-company video happy hours, morning mediations, a version of MTV's "Cribs" to show off work-from-home spaces and regular lunch chats. This summer, SSPR employees attended Social Media Week webinars and participated in an all-company diversity and inclusion training on the LGBTQ+ community and implicit bias. The agency also hosts all-company trainings every other week through a program called Friday Afternoon Club, with topics like, "Client Communications Bootcamp" and "Reporting and Metrics." Additionally, SSPR employees focus on continued education through certification programs like Google Analytics Academy. "From encouraging employees to use flexible work hours and take time off for volunteering, to hosting multiple trainings to encourage racial and cultural diversity, we're doing all we can to support our employees during a turbulent 2020," said Heather Kelly, CEO of SSPR. "I'm incredibly proud of our team and honored to receive this accolade from PRNEWS again this year." The full list of this year's honorees can be found here. About SSPR: SSPR LLC is an agile, innovative public relations agency that specializes in executing media and social media strategy for businesses ranging from early-stage startups to Fortune 500 companies. The company has offices across the U.S., emphasizing strong workplace culture and inclusion. SSPR's business goal is to, "work with clients we love, organizations we believe in and projects where making something great together can happen." SSPR has been listed as a Top Place to Work by PR News and has been recognized by the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption, with many stellar employees selected as PR Rising Stars, Agency Elite Finalists and Communicators of the Year. Learn more about how SSPR pushes PR boundaries to help clients launch brands, disrupt industries and engage with the audiences that matter most at sspr.com. To inquire about job opportunities at SSPR, check out the open positions across all five of its office locations. Media Contact: Abigail Kneal (352) 359-4546 [email protected] SOURCE SS Public Relations, Inc. Related Links https://sspr.com MUSKEGON, MI These days, its safest to eat outside - and in a lakeside town like Muskegon, waterfront dining just might offer the best case scenario during a pandemic. Located at the Harbour Towne Marina, off the channel between Muskegon Lake and Lake Michigan, Dockers Fish House, 3505 Marina View Point, has been highlighted by MLives Michigans Best in the past as a top restaurant to visit in 2020. And while 2020 has not exactly been the year anyone was hoping for, Dockers has readjusted for the summer, and is back to operating during its usual hours, seven days a week, and offering much of its standard menu. If you visit, manager James Curtis recommends the New England-style lobster roll or the famed lobster mac and cheese. If youre feeling adventurous - or extra hungry - try the feast: a platter full of crab legs, crawfish, shrimp, mussels, baked potatoes, and veggies. Cold drinks are special, too, including a Michigan Cherry Mule, composed of True North Cherry Vodka, distilled at the Grand Traverse Distillery in Traverse City with cherry bitters and ginger beer, and a slushy, frozen sangria. And the adventurous should try the boozy blackberries, soaked in vodka in house, and up to the customer to customize, by mixing with tonic, soda pop, or juice. Lobster rolls and boozy blackberries are among the menu items available at Dockers Fish House, 3505 Marina View Point. The seafood restaurant and bar is still short on some menu items, thanks to disruptions in the global supply chain caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Food prices are really high, Curtis told MLive. At the grocery store theyre high, and for restaurants theyre high. That means prime rib is off the menu, as is that favored Friday night staple: fried perch. People love (it) but its very hard to get its overfished, so the price is high and quality is low, Curtis said. But theres also been room for creativity, including weekly features whipped up by chef Alex Tripp, like a Thai green curry with lobster that made its debut this weekend. Theres also been live music out on the deck, but with smaller acts. So, theres still a fun atmosphere, but nothing crazy, said Curtis. There is curbside pickup for people spending the day at Pere Marquette, and even boatside pickup for visitors to the marina. Were trying to get people back to as normal as possible, Curtis said. Dockers is open Monday through Thursday, 12 to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 12 to 10 p.m. and Sunday from 12 to 7 p.m. Contact the restaurant at 231-755-0400. Read more on MLive: Protesters, counter-protesters descend on Pronto Pup after owners rant against Black Live Matters, masks Three great places for waterfront dining in Muskegon Charges issued against Detroit police officer accused of shooting rubber pellets at 3 photographers covering protests PORTLAND, OR / ACCESSWIRE / July 20, 2020 / Hemptown Organics Corp ("Hemptown" or the "Company"), is pleased to announce that it has entered into a letter of intent ("LOI") with Hempacco Company Inc. ("Hempacco") and Pacifica Premiums Inc. ("Pacifica Premiums"). The LOI contemplates that Hemptown will acquire all of the outstanding shares of both Hempacco and Pacifica Premiums, to further diversify the Company's product offering and expand its distribution and sales channels. This acquisition aligns with Hemptown's strategy of vertical integration, whereby Hemptown's farming operations will supply 100% of the hemp required by Hempacco and Pacifica for their own brands and private label services, including Hemptown branded hemp smokables. Hempacco is a Southern California based manufacturing company producing innovative, filtered hemp smokable products. Its products resemble a traditional cigarette but contain only industrial hemp, rich in CBD and CBG, and less than 0.3% THC. There is no nicotine or tobacco in Hempacco's products. Hemp smokables are a rapidly growing segment of the cannabinoid consumer packaged goods market, positioned to capitalize on the established tobacco market, with a current addressable market of over $849 billion globally, and over $100 billion in the US alone.[1] Hempacco owns The Real Stuff Hemp Cigarettes CBD/CBG Smokables, offers hemp smokables as a private label supplier, and owns its own CBD/CBG consumer packaged goods vending machines to distribute products across the USA. Hempacco was recently featured in a special on hemp in America premiering on Netflix later this year. The LOI also contemplates Hemptown investing in Hempacco's hemp smokable operations in Mexico ("UST Mexico"). With established operations, distribution and revenue in the tobacco industry in Mexico and internationally, UST Mexcio is strategically positioned to capitalize on impending legislation in Mexico legalizing industrial hemp and hemp smokable products. With over 125m people, Mexico is blue-sky opportunity for the sale of cannabinoid-based consumer packaged goods. Through its distribution partners, UST Mexico currently sells its products in over 10,000 locations throughout Mexico. Furthermore, the Mexican tobacco represents a total addressable market of over USD$4 billion[2], positioning Hemptown to capitalize on a large and growing market with hemp smokables. Story continues Pacifica Premiums, who recently formed a partnership with Hempacco, is a lifestyle brand that is built upon a trendy coastal California beach vibe. The team behind Pacifica blends California recreational cannabis experience with consumer-packaged goods industry veterans. The team has had success in beverages, electronic cigarettes, cannabis, and hemp. They have long term relationships with Walmart, 7-Eleven, Circle K and Costco worldwide. Unlike most of the current hemp smokable products on the market, Pacifica Premiums will be offering only super high-quality hemp for a much more enjoyable experience. As the tagline states, "It's Pacifica Time Somewhere" "We are very excited for the opportunity to acquire this unique group of innovative companies representing a rapidly growing sector of the overall hemp and cannabinoid industry. Industrial hemp smokable products present as massive opportunity both as a smoking cessation product, and for recreational use. We believe that, with their established, revenue generating, operations in the US and Mexico, Hempacco can be accretive to Hemptown's overall bottom line while presenting attractive blue-sky for growth. These acquisitions align with Hemptown's overall M&A growth strategy to expand our brand portfolio, broaden our channel diversification while extending our geographic reach, and increasing our revenue across B2B and B2C segments" said Eric Gripentrog, Hemptown's CEO. "We are pleased to have the opportunity to join Hemptown, ensuring a steady and quality supply of raw hemp for our brands. Hemp smokables offer an alternative to tobacco, a market worth nearly $814 billion dollars annually. Together with Hemptown, we will continue to strive to be the premier manufacturer of hemp smokables in North America, and globally." said Sandro Piancone, President of Hempacco. Equity Private Placement Financing The Company is also pleased to announce the non-brokered offering (the "Offering") of units of the Company (the "Units") at a price of USD$1.75 per Unit. Each Unit will consist of one common share (a "Unit Share") and one common share purchase warrant (a "Warrant") of the Company. Each Warrant shall be exercisable to acquire one common share of the Company (a "Warrant Share") at an exercise price of CDN$4.00 per Warrant Share for a period of 36 months from the closing date, subject to adjustment in certain events. For more information on the Offering click here or contact John Martin at 1-(833)-436-7896 or jmartin@hemptownusa.com. About Hemptown Organics Corp. Hemptown is diversified, industry leading cannabinoid company delivering a diverse product offering across the value chain, in multiple sales channels, to meet the growing global demand for cannabinoid-based products. State of the art cultivation in Oregon's Rogue Valley, FDA-licensed and cGMP certified product manufacturing, and a strong leadership team with Fortune 500 experience, including Kellogg's, Nike and Intel, are the pillars for Hemptown's growth model as the Company pushes into the consumer-packaged goods sectors with top quality white label and branded product lines for the consumer market. For more information, visit www.hemptownusa.com. Hemptown Investor Relations John Martin jmartin@hemptownusa.com 1-833-436-7896 Hemptown Sales and General Inquires info@hemptownusa.com 1-888-CBG-NOW1 (1-888-224-6691) Disclaimer for Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains forward-looking statements that involve various risks and uncertainties regarding future events. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations of management, involve a number of risks and uncertainties, and are not guarantees of future performance. These statements generally can be identified by the use of forward-looking words such as "may", "should", "will", "could", "intend", "estimate", "plan", "anticipate", "expect", "believe" or "continue", or the negative thereof or similar variations. Forward-looking statements in this news release include statements regarding the proposed acquisition of Hempacco and Pacifica Premiums, and the proposed Offering. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based on a number of estimates and assumptions that, while considered reasonable, are subject to known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors that may cause actual results and future events to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results or events to differ materially from current expectations include general market conditions, significant business, competitive, political and social risks and other factors beyond the control of the Company. The Company expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by applicable law. Because Hemptown is not a reporting issuer in any jurisdiction in Canada, all of the securities issued in the proposed Offering will be subject to an indefinite hold period under applicable securities laws. In addition, none of these securities will be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "1933 Act"), and none may be offered or sold in the United States absent registration or an applicable exemption from the 1933 Act. This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy, nor shall there be any sale of the securities, in any state where such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful. [1] Grandview Research [2] Satista SOURCE: Hemptown Organics Corp View source version on accesswire.com: https://www.accesswire.com/598190/Hemptown-Signs-LOI-to-Acquire-Hemp-Smokable-Group-and-Announces-Equity-Private-Placement-Financing The Board of School Education Haryana (BSEH) is expected to announce BSEH Haryana Board class 12th results 2020 on Tuesday (July 21). According to media reports, the results was to be declared at 5 pm today. Once officially declared, the results will be available on BSEH's official website- bseh.org.in. According to reports, the BSEH board would hold a press conference at 5:30 today in which it will announce the class 12 results. Students, who appeared in class 12 board exam this year, are advised to keep their admit cards ready as the results will be made available on the website soon after. The results will be available on BSEH's official website- bseh.org.in. In the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, the Board would not be releasing HBSE 12 Result 2020 on noticeboards this year, to prevent the gathering of students on campus. Hence, students have been advised against visiting their school campus to check the marksheet. Haryana Board Secretary Rajiv Prasad had earlier announced that BSEH has already completed its preparations to announce BSEH class 12 results on July 21. The BSEH class 12 results 2020 will be declared on the basis of average marks of already appeared exams. A student must score a minimum of 33 per cent to pass the exam. In the year 2019, 74.48 per cent students had passed the exam. Around 2.15 lakh candidates had appeared in the Haryana Board Class 12 exams in 2019 and 74.48 per cent of students had passed. Here's how to check HBSE Class 12th results 2020 online: Step 1. Students should first visit the official website-bseh.org.in Step 2. Click on the link on the homepage Class 12 exam results Step 3. Students can see a new page appearing on the screen Step 4. Now, you should key in your credentials and login Step 5. You can see your result on the display screen Step 6. Students are advised to download their results and take its print out for future use Haryana Board class 12th examinations had started on March 3 and ended on March 31, 2020. However, due to the coronavirus outbreak and nationwide lockdown, several exams of the Haryana Board were called off. According to the HBSE, marks of subjects whose exams were cancelled, will be assessed on the basis of an alternative assessment scheme. Students will be marked on the basis of their average score in the already appeared exams. A student must score a minimum of 33 per cent to pass the exam. In the year 2019, 74.48 per cent of students had passed the exam. The adage "all things in moderation" applies not to just to food and drink, but also to the legions of bacteria inside our guts helping us digest that food and drink. It turns out the rule may also extend to the lesser understood bacteriophages, which are viruses that infect the bacteria living inside us. Like Russian nesting dolls, our bodies host close to 100 trillion bacterial cells that make up our microbiomes--and those bacterial cells have their own inhabitants. "We're appreciating more and more that the most abundant microbial entities in the human gut are actually viruses," says Eric Martens, Ph.D., associate professor of microbiology and immunology at the University of Michigan's Medical School. His team has been exploring the puzzling way bacteria and their viruses appear to coexist inside the human gut. The secret may lie in a hairy-looking sugar coating bacteria used to defend not only against attacks from the human immune system, but also from various viruses seeking a way in. Using a common gut bacteria Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron, or BT for short, Martens' team began to look at the complex interaction between BT and viruses, by pitting them against each other in the lab. When challenged with viruses, or phages, collected from waste water, some of the bacteria were able to resist infection while some were not. "When a particular phage comes along that can kill certain members of the population, it does so and the resistant bacteria quickly grow out," says Martens. However, instead of permanently altering the receptor that allowed the viral penetration, and potentially harming itself, some of the bacteria temporarily turn on a resistant state through a reversible process called a phase variation. But some of members of the bacterial population, unaware of the phage's continued presence, turn off this resistance switch, leaving them susceptible to infection...and on and on. The team genetically engineered the BT strain to express just one of eight chemically-distinct capsules and a version with no coating at all. In all cases, infection could be blocked by some, but not all, of the capsules. Surprisingly, the researchers noted that the bald bacteria were also able to evade infection. "We were intrigued to see we could take away all of the capsules and still infect it with these phages and the bacteria could still survive, which necessitates that they have a backup mechanism in place," Martens says. The interplay between the gut microbiome and their phages could have implications for human disease. "One of our hypotheses is that individuals carry different types of viral loads in their guts. Some could be more or less immunogenic, interacting with our immune system to cause inflammation. But they also might modify the physiology of the bacteria that are there by forcing them to express certain functions/capsules that we also know interact with the immune system," says Martens. He says the study helps explain this age old observation that these bacteria coexist with their viruses. Notes Martens, "Neither side necessarily wins out over the other." As such, bacterial viruses could offer a way of beneficially altering the gut microbiome for the treatment of disease. ### The paper's first authors are Nathan Porter and Andrew Hryckowian and is published in the journal Nature Microbiology. Paper cited: "Phase-variable capsular polysaccharides and lipoproteins modify bacteriophage susceptibility in Bacteroides thetaiotaomicron," Nature Microbiology. DOI: 10.1038/s41564-020-0746-5 A Boston police officer fired shots at several alleged suspects early Tuesday morning after a 31-year-old man was shot in Roxbury, Boston Police Commissioner William Gross said. The officer fired at three alleged suspects, who appeared to be fleeing from 107 Waumbeck St, where a shooting left a 31-year-old man suffering from life threatening injuries at 1:30 a.m., police said. Neither the officer nor the three suspects were injured. The three people were taken into custody by police, Gross said. Police didnt identify those arrested or the officer. The officer was on patrol in the area of Waumbeck and Crawford Streets and heard several gunshots at around 1:26 a.m., Gross said. The officer, Gross said, saw several people get in a car and flee the scene. The officer followed the car until three people got out at 82 Codman Park. The officer, Gross said, then fired at the suspects who were running away. The three suspects were taken into custody without any injuries, Gross said, and firearms were recovered at the scene. Gross said the Suffolk District Attorney and the departments firearm discharge investigative team will examine the officer firing his gun. The 31-year-old left with life-threatening injuries comes days after two youths were shot and killed Sunday afternoon in Dorchester in the area of 46 Wildwood St. Hours after the fatal shootings, police said another shooting in Roxbury and a double stabbing in Dorchester also occurred. We definitely have to pull together and stop this endless violence, Gross said. Gross criticized the release of individuals from jail as the reason for the recent rash of violent crime. What kind of message do you think were sending to the rest of the folks with criminal enterprise on their minds? We can do what we want, the courts are closed, Gross said. Boston Police continue to investigate Tuesday mornings incident. Anyone with information is asked to contact Boston police. Tips can be called in anonymously to the CrimeStoppers Tip Line at 1-800-494-TIPS. Information can be texted to the police by texting the word TIP to CRIME (27463). WASHINGTON - Because it's 2020, anyone anxious about this year's presidential election has a new problem to worry about: the possibility that a defeated Donald Trump won't be willing to leave the West Wing. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, July 20, 2020, in Washington. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci) WASHINGTON - Because it's 2020, anyone anxious about this year's presidential election has a new problem to worry about: the possibility that a defeated Donald Trump won't be willing to leave the West Wing. Almost since his inauguration in 2017, the U.S. president's detractors have speculated that Trump might simply refuse to emerge from behind the Resolute Desk should he lose the support of American voters, who head to the polls in November after a head-spinning 45 months. On Sunday, Trump himself joined their ranks. "I have to see. Look, I have to see," he said when "Fox News Sunday" host Chris Wallace asked point-blank if he would accept the election results. "I'm not going to just say yes, I'm not going to say no." The spectacle of a commander-in-chief refusing to publicly promise to abide by the will of the American people "fundamentally threatens the peaceful transfer of power," said Joe Goldman, president of the public-policy-oriented Democracy Fund, a non-partisan centre-left foundation in Washington, D.C., created by eBay founder Pierre Omidyar. "For it to take place at a time when we are rushing to implement pretty substantial changes to how our election system is going to work, and the president's out there undermining faith in that process, these things come together in a way that's pretty alarming." As U.S. states, many confronting dramatic increases in COVID-19 cases and deaths, prepare to stage a federal election in the midst of a pandemic, Trump has repeatedly claimed that mail-in ballots are a vector for electoral fraud, without citing any evidence. Because a strong ballot-box turnout is seen as favouring liberals, conservatives have been known to make it harder to vote including in Canada, where the previous Conservative government's 2014 Fair Elections Act, which banished voter identification cards as acceptable ID and banned vouching for another voter, was largely undone in 2016. Experts say Trump's campaign against mail-in ballots appears aimed not only at limiting turnout, but also at establishing a plausible narrative with which to proclaim the results are fraudulent, which he did again Tuesday on Twitter by claiming they would lead to a "rigged election." Fold in a deeply divided and motivated U.S. electorate, seized with the significance of the 2020 vote, and chaos could ensue, Goldman said. "Both sides believe this election represents an existential threat to the country, that if the other side wins, it threatens the republic at its core." Democracy Group's latest focus-group research, conducted late in 2019 and released last month, found overwhelming support for America's democratic values. But it also found deep dissatisfaction with how democracy is working in the U.S. nearly half the survey's 5,900 respondents expressed dissatisfaction, eight percentage points more than the same survey found in 2018. The research also found that one in 10 participants, Democrat and Republican alike, said there would be "a lot" or "a great deal" of justification for violence if their party loses in November. "We are living through the worst health crisis in recent memory, the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression and some of the worst social conflict since the '60s and '70s," Goldman said. "Put all of that in combination with a very close election in which neither side trusts the other or the institutions, informational environments in which misinformation spreads very, very quickly, and at least some political leaders who are willing to play fast and loose with the truth that, to me, represents kindling." The actual chance of Trump refusing to vacate the White House likely only becomes a danger if the election produces a close result and legitimate doubt can be cast on the result, said Peverill Squire, a political-science professor at the University of Missouri. To remain in office, he would need support from his Republican backers in Congress support that polls suggest is now steadily bleeding away as the president's response to the pandemic continues to drive down his support, both outside his party and within, causing some measure of panic in the Republican-controlled Senate. "If the result seems clear, both in the popular vote and in the electoral college, I doubt many people will rally to the president's cause, no matter how much he might complain," Squire said. "President Trump may be shocked to find how few friends he has if he loses." That said, U.S. history provides little guidance for what happens when a president refuses to leave office. Contested elections in 1800, 1824, 1876 and 2000 were all resolved when "the losing candidate conceded without calling his supporters to the streets," he said. Lara Brown, a politics professor at George Washington University in D.C., said if a disagreement were to persist into January, when a joint session of Congress gathers to formally count electoral college votes, a central character could well emerge: Vice-President Mike Pence. As president of the Senate, it falls to the vice-president to oversee the count and decide on the validity of the votes. 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. "It could well come down to Pence," Brown said. "And it's hard to imagine any sort of more traditional politician like Pence would adhere to something that he would understand would break the American system." Former vice-president Al Gore had the chance to do just that in 2001, after a protracted court battle that went all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court, when he presided over the count that sent his rival George W. Bush to the White House. But he knew it would be pointless and destructive to do so, Brown said. "It would be seen as essentially upsetting the tradition of a peaceful transfer of power, and it would also show him to be wildly ambitious and willing to kind of burn the field in order to try to claim it," she said. "President Trump has not shown that level of statesmanship in any of his actions as president." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2020. Follow James McCarten on Twitter @CdnPressStyle Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Editorial Board (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 08:17 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667f93fc 1 Editorial National-Police,Polri,police,justice Free The National Police have made the headlines again, unfortunately not for upholding the law but for allegedly letting fugitive Djoko S. Tjandra evade justice. Although only three generals have been implicated, with the police spokesperson saying that at least one acted on their own initiative, it has dealt a major blow to the image of the entire force. Despite internal reforms, the National Police continue to be perceived as one of the most corrupt institutions in the country. From low-ranking officers who demand small bribes from traffic rule offenders to generals who have reportedly amassed huge fortunes beyond their stations, there have been numerous instances that have tarnished the image of the police in the eyes of the public. Read also: Show trial offers no justice for Novel Baswedan Last month, they interrogated a man in North Maluku for posting a popular joke on Facebook from late former president Abdurrahman Gus Dur Wahid, who said people could only trust polisi tidur (speed bumps), patung polisi (police statues) and Hoegeng, a police chief in the late 1960s known for his integrity. The latest scandal plaguing the National Police could further exacerbate the publics lack of trust, unless the police launch a thorough investigation and let the public know the whole truth. It was a lack of transparency that deprived the police of an opportunity to restore public confidence in the probe into the acid attack on Corruption Eradication Commission (KPK) investigator Novel Baswedan. To contain the damage, National Police chief Gen. Idham Azis has removed the three police generals from their posts for their alleged roles in allowing graft convict and fugitive Djoko to travel freely within the country. One of the generals, Brig. Gen. Prasetyo Utomo, was dismissed as the head of the Civil Servant Investigator Supervisory and Coordination Bureau at the Criminal Investigation Department (Bareskrim). He is now facing an internal investigation for allegedly signing a travel letter on June 18, which businessman Djoko used to fly from Jakarta to the West Kalimantan capital of Pontianak. Former National Central Bureau (NCB)-Interpol Indonesia secretary Brig. Gen. Nugroho Wibowo, meanwhile, is said to have removed the red notice status for Djoko, allowing the fugitive to return to and leave Indonesia. Nugrohos boss, Insp. Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte, lost his job as the National Polices international relations division head for failing to supervise his staff. Read also: National Police remove top brass from posts over alleged involvement in Djoko Tjandra case Djoko appeared at the South Grogol subdistrict administration office to secure an e-ID card he needed to file a request for a case review with the South Jakarta District Court on June 8. Djoko is challenging his sentence of two years imprisonment and Rp 546 billion (US$37 million) in restitution handed down by the Supreme Court in 2009 for his role in the Bank Bali corruption case in 1998. On Monday, the Supreme Court delayed hearing Djokos motion for the third time in as many weeks, because of his absence. A criminal investigation into whoever was involved in helping the fugitive, and his arrest, will at least restore the polices sense of pride. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. In early July the department of combating the drug trafficking of the Criminal Police of Armenia received information according to which an illegal border crossing attempt is being planned from Iran to Armenia aimed at bringing large amount of drugs, the Police told Armenpress. The Police launched large-scale investigative operations. The police officers departed for Armenias Syunik province where they were joined by the officers of the Kapan police department. The police officers noticed a suspected person with a military uniform holding a backpack. The person was armed and was moving to an Armenian village. Thanks to the operative actions of the police officers, the man has been neutralized. The man has been detained on suspicion of illegally crossing the border and transporting drugs. He is a citizen of Iran with an Azerbaijani origin and is aged 24. 4 kg 865 grams of heroin was found in his backpack. Criminal case has been launched. Investigation continues. Editing and Translating by Aneta Harutyunyan A sperm whale trapped in an illegal fishing net along the coast of the Aeolian Islands in Sicily has caused great concern among rescuers and biologists. A boater spotted the whale with its 10-tail entangled in the netting on Saturday. Local coast guards and biologists responded to the scene promptly. The monitoring of the whale was done overnight to make sure it does not escape prematurely. The removal of the net on the whale started on Sunday. Rescuers and divers admitted that the operation has become more challenging because of the enormous size of the whale, and it is in its agitated state. They have been trying to free the whale for more than 48 hours. Carmelo Isgro, a biologist, and diver said the "whale seemed to have gone crazy." They thought that the whale would get tired after 24 hours, but she does not stop wriggling due to injuries. The movement worsens the whale's wounds as it continues to tear at its skin. According to Monica Blasi, a biologist at Filicudi Wildlife Conservation, "I haven't slept in 36 hours ... divers managed to take off some of the nets, but then it started to move, and it became too dangerous." She added that she has so much bitterness and anger towards the drift nets, which gets the better of one of the most beautiful and majestic sea creatures in the world. Another sperm whale was also caught up in illegal driftnet a few weeks ago, and the rescue efforts to free whale from the net were a success. On June 26, a group of biologists said they spotted a whale in distress and reported the matter to the Coast Guard. The tail of the 30-foot-long was wrapped entirely in a fishing net. A patrol boat was then dispatched to the area by the Lipari Coast Guard with a team of local divers. After an hour of cutting the ropes, the efforts of the rescuers paid off as the whale swam to rejoin a group of three others waiting from a distance, free of nets. Diftnets are destructive fishing gears which are banned in the EU since 2002. The ban was due to its high by-catch rates, and it also catches migratory species, cetaceans, and sea turtles. It also threatens sustainable fisheries. For larger animals, getting caught inline or discarded nets is known as entanglement. According to the findings of the UK Cetaceans Strandings Investigation program, a program that keeps data on marine animals that wash up along the coastline, entanglement is a "major welfare issue causing horrible death." Entangled smaller marine animals often get starved, or drown. Big whales may be able to break free of the ropes or nets, but they can also end up towing nets behind them for long periods. In a paper published in Conservation Biology in 2012, 1,762 dead or injured whales were analyzed from 1970 to 2009 in the northwest Atlantic Ocean. The study revealed that the primary cause of death of the eight species examined was entanglement. Six of the eight species are classified as endangered or of particular concern. Since January, the agency conducted 30 patrols and seized more than 100 km of illegal fishing nets in southern Tyrrhenian. Abandoned ghost nets were also recovered. The agency focused intently on illegal fishing, especially in areas where the practice is more active and pronounced. ISTANBUL Five days after Pinar Gultekin was reported missing, her body was found Tuesday in a forested area in Turkeys southwestern province of Mugla. According to news reports, the 27-year-old student was battered and strangled to death by her former partner, Cemal Metin Avci, who has been detained on homicide charges in an ongoing investigation. The murder is one of nearly 120 femicides recorded in Turkey so far this year, according to the civic group We Will Stop Femicide Platform, and womens rights advocates organized nationwide protests Tuesday claiming the state was not doing enough to deter gender-based violence. The events come at a time when violence against women is a frequent topic in national headlines as the Turkish government debates making amendments to the Istanbul Convention, a set of laws designed to combat gender-based violence. Conservative groups have been lobbying lawmakers to alter the convention, saying it negatively impacts families, but civil society groups are condemning such motives, claiming current laws must be better implemented to stem a rising number of femicides in recent years. The one who is responsible for the murder of Pinar Gultekin is not the only perpetrator, [it's] also those who open the Istanbul Convention for debate, Gulsum Kav, a spokesperson for the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, told Al-Monitor. She added, What was done to her should be considered as done to all women, and with this painful lesson, the debate over the convention should come to an end. We will do our best to draw the lesson from this pain and to assure that all the articles of the convention are implemented. Gultekins murder comes after ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) Deputy Chair Numan Kurtulmus said the Istanbul Convention was really wrong in a July 2 television interview, claiming its impacts on gender and sexual orientation had played into the hands of LGBT and marginal elements in Turkish society. Introduced in 2011, the Istanbul Convention was first ratified by Turkey in 2012 and has since been signed by 45 countries along with the European Union in an effort to address violence against women and provide resources to protect abuse victims. The convention led to the passing of Law 6284 in Turkey, which established legal mechanisms to combat gender-based violence and discrimination. Now, a growing chorus of conservative groups is seeking to repeal some of the protections established by the convention, arguing it has led to increased family separation and infringements on traditional cultural norms. Its not a large group, but its influential with the government, Melis Alphan, a Turkish journalist, told Al-Monitor. The government is also concerned with the divorce rate. She added, When you put family first, you push violence into the home and push the safety of women and children into a secondary position. Though Ankaras adoption of the convention was seen as a step toward preventing violence against women, civil society groups have maintained that measures put forward in the law were not fully implemented. The result is that gender-based violence remains a constant fixture in news headlines in Turkey, where 416 femicides were recorded in 2019, up from 143 in 2012 when the convention was ratified. In March 2018, Turkeys Interior Ministry and Ministry of Family, Labor and Social Services created a mobile application to report male violence called KADES. Since its establishment, 30,601 reports of violence have been filed through the app, about 38 per day, according to a July 20 statement by opposition Republican Peoples Party Vice Chair Gamze Akkus-Ilgezdi. Meanwhile, other high-profile cases of gender-based violence remain in headlines, such as the whereabouts of Gulistan Doku, a 21-year-old student who went missing Jan. 5, 2020, and whose search has prompted authorities to drain a lake in Turkeys eastern province of Tunceli. While debates continue over the Istanbul Convention, Turkish officials said the state will continue to prosecute perpetrators of gender-based violence to the fullest extent, including the latest case involving Pinar Gultekin. "The sorrow of our daughter Pinar Gultekin, who was massacred in Mugla, has pierced through our hearts," Zehra Zumrut Selcuk, Minister of Family, Labor and Social Services, said in a tweet, adding the ministry would "intervene in the case and closely follow the ensuing judicial process so that the murderer will get the heaviest sentence possible." The evaluation showed 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity US based company DiaCarta, a precision molecular diagnostics company with a unique, patented XNA technology platform for the development of novel liquid biopsy tests, has announced that its QuantiVirus SARS-CoV-2 RT-PCR test kit has been successfully evaluated by the Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR). The evaluation showed 100% sensitivity and 100% specificity without any interference with other respiratory viruses and has been cleared for sale in the Indian market. With an urgent global need for the availability of highly sensitive and specific tests to minimize the risk of false-negative results and mitigate the ongoing transmission of the deadly virus, we are pleased that our test has met the stringent requirements of the regulatory agencies in Mexico and India and has received regulatory approvals, said Dr. Ramanathan Vairavan, Senior Vice President at DiaCarta. He further said that with increasing incidence of COVID-19 around the globe, there is a need for cost efficient tests that are easy to perform on commonly available qPCR platforms. At DiaCarta, we are committed to work with governmental and private institutions to increase test availability and arrest the spread of the coronavirus. In addition, the DiaCarta CLIA certified laboratory in the San Francisco Bay Area has been actively engaged to provide COVID-19 testing to support Americas Back to Work and Back to School initiatives. Today, we pull the veil back on the secret sex lives of leeches and how researchers at McMaster University and Fisheries and Oceans Canada are using that information to learn about endocrine disrupting chemicals. Leeches, who gained worldwide popularity when making their film debut in the blockbuster "Stand by Me" in 1986, have actually been around much, much longer. They are found on every continent in freshwater habitats where there is little flow. They are popular bait for fishing, and doctors continue to use them in medical treatments. We know a lot about leech reproduction. For example, leeches are hermaphroditic, which means they have both male and female sex organs, but that is not all that uncommon for invertebrates. Some families of leeches demonstrate protrandry (they start life as a male and then change into a female), while others self-fertilize, brood eggs and show parental care. Still others cross-fertilize with other leeches, sometimes implanting sperm in one or both of the partners' body walls and sometimes directly introducing sperm into a genital pore with a penis. Their reproductive cycle also varies across families, with some only reproducing one time in their life, and others reproducing multiple times in their lifespan. We also know a little about the impact of environmental contaminants on leeches. As a matter of fact, leeches have been shown to be highly sensitive to metals in aquatic systems. Leeches can be useful as an environmental quality indicator, as the aquatic ecosystems where leeches are found are often a sink for contaminants. However, even though studies have looked at how some environmental contaminants affect leech populations, very little is known about how they influence leech community composition, species abundance, egg production, growth rates and gonad size. For example, plenty of studies have been conducted at the Experimental Lakes Area in Ontario, Canada, to study the effects of synthetic estrogen (17-estradiol [EE2]) on fish, other types of invertebrates, and amphibians. Synthetic estrogens are used in oral contraceptives and enter aquatic system when they are not completely broken down in wastewater treatment plants. The compound EE2 was shown to have profound effects on fathead minnows, collapsing their population, and occasionally affected amphibian hatching success and gonad development. However, little attention was given to the effect of EE2 on leech communities until now. In their article, published in Environmental Toxicology and Chemistry, Karen Kidd, professor at McMaster University and lead author, documents that the EE2 appeared to have little impact on the abundance of leeches, but notes that there was "increased condition in one species and some changes in relative gonad sizes of reproductive organs." This may be because there was an increase in their food supply of other invertebrates, an indirect effect of EE2 linked to reduced fish numbers. For the leech species H. marmorata, the weight of the epididymis (a duct behind the testes) and the sperm sac size decreased, but the length of the testes, prostrate and penis sheath increased in exposed individuals. Likewise, EE2-exposed leeches were associated with growth in ovisac and albumen and vaginal bulb lengths. However, these leeches showed few individual-level and no population- or community-level responses, suggesting that they are much less sensitive to this endocrine disruptor than fish. There had been some thought that leeches may be an ideal study species for assessing contaminant effects - as noted above, they are sensitive to metals and ubiquitous - but, this study suggests that they may be less responsive to endocrine disrupting compounds, such as EE2. ### K ate Garraway has revealed nurses told her that her stricken husband Derek Draper looked focused and engaged when they put Good Morning Britain on for him. The 52-year-old was admitted to hospital in March after being diagnosed with coronavirus, and remains seriously ill. Garraway returned to Good Morning Britain last week after taking time off while her husband was in intensive care and had told viewers that nurses planned to put the show on for him to try to stimulate a response. Speaking during Tuesdays programme, Garraway said: He is stable and actually yesterday I spoke to the nurses and they said they had put Good Morning Britain on and they felt he looked, because his eyes are open, he looked focused. Happily married: Draper and Garraway had been set to renew their wedding vows this year / Rex Features "He looked focused and engaged on it. The 53-year-old presenter joked with co-host Ben Shephard They didnt say whether it was me or you, and admitted she found the news very emotional. She said: We dont know whether its the movement of the light, or whether its the familiar voice. So, good morning, Derek, if you are watching. Were all sending you lots of love, everyone here is sending you lots of love. Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers 1 /9 Celebrities make a show of thanks for frontline NHS key workers Daniel Craig and Phoebe Waller-Bridge were among stars featuring in celebrity show of thanks to the NHS NHS/Twitter PA PA PA PA PA Fleabag's Phoebe Waller-Bridge was among stars who join in a show of thanks for NHS workers on the frontline of the Covid-19 crisis NHS/Twitter She added: So there you go, your own personal Good Morning Britain. Garraway said Draper, the father of her two children, had endured a tough week following big falls in his blood pressure and swelling in his legs. The star returned to GMB earlier this month, after announcing her comeback during an interview with Piers Morgan and Susanna Reid. "I've been trying to keep everything going and I'm not especially different," she said. "Everyone is having to get on with sadness grief and loss, so if I come back we're all in the same boat." When asked what Draper would think of her decision to return to work, Garraway said he would urge her to do so, to help provide a future for their two children, Darcey and Billy. She said: Derek would not just be saying, Go back. He would be saying: Why havent you done it before? As he got in the ambulance he said, Go inside and make them [the kids] feel safe.' My job now is to make them feel safe, and like they have a future and a world." Additional reporting by Press Association Den Networks jumped 8.03% to Rs 107.65 after the company's consolidated net profit surged 307.5% to Rs 58.32 crore on 3.8% decline in net sales to Rs 301.31 crore in Q1 June 2020 over Q1 June 2019. Consolidated profit before tax (PBT) soared 226% to Rs 58.62 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against Rs 17.98 crore in Q1 June 2019. Current tax expense for the quarter dropped 57.3% at Rs 1.51 crore as against Rs 3.54 crore in Q1 June 2019. The result was announced post trading hours yesterday, 21 July 2020. EBITDA grew 54% to Rs 64 crore in Q1 FY21 over Q1 FY20. Revenue from cable business fell 4% to Rs 284 crore in Q1 FY21 as against Rs 295 crore in Q1 FY20. Revenue from broadband business declined 6% to Rs 16.8 crore in Q1 FY21 compared with Rs 18 crore in Q1 FY20. The outbreak of Coronavirus (COVID -19) has impacted businesses globally. The group being service provider of one of the essential services - television broadcasting & distribution was able to operate under normal course of business during the period of nationwide lockdown with minimal impact on operations. Den Networks is a cable TV distribution company incorporated in 2007 and headquartered in New Delhi. It provides a wide gamut of services including Cable TV and Broadband. DEN's Cable & Broadband operations cover over 500 cities and towns across 13 key states, i.e. Uttar Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Kerala, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Bihar, Madhya Pradesh and Uttarakhand. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Three charged in Pike County raid PITTSFIELD Three people were arrested on drug charges Sunday after a search at a Pittsfield house. Pike County Sheriffs Department and Pittsfield Police Department officers served a search warrant at 6:08 p.m. Sunday at a residence in the 600 block of North Illinois Street. They reported finding methamphetamine, cannabis and firearms. Those arrested on charges of possession of methamphetamine were Jan K. Gaylord, 57, of Pittsfield; Teena L. Harrison, 35, of Owensboro, Kentucky; and Edith M. Schubert, 39, of Jacksonville, according to a sheriffs department report. All three have been released pending court appearances. Jacksonville Police A man walked into Walgreens at 134 W. Morton Ave. at 5:15 p.m. Sunday, grabbed from the shelves six bottles of alcohol altogether worth $290 and left without paying. Pike County Sheriff ARRESTS, CITATIONS Charles D. Ostrander, 43, of New Salem was arrested at 10:22 a.m. Sunday on a domestic battery charge. Travis C. Gerard, 27, of Hannibal, Missouri, was arrested at 3:56 p.m. Friday on a charge of cannabis use by a driver. Devin D. Fair, 35, of Beardstown was arrested at 2:32 p.m. Friday on a retail theft charge. Austin W. Mooney, 36, of Pleasant Hill was arrested at 5:46 a.m. Friday on charges of theft and 13 counts of burglary. He also was arrested on a Pike County warrant accusing him of failing to appear in court and on a petition to revoke probation. Justin L. Lockhart, 31, of Pittsfield was arrested at 10:20 p.m. July 14 on a charge of possession of adult-use cannabis by a passenger. Jeremy E. Johnson, 35, of Pittsfield was arrested at 10:20 p.m. July 14 on a charge of possession of methamphetamine. John R. Orr, 26, of Pittsfield was arrested at 2:51 p.m. July 13 on a charge of aggravated driving under the influence. Compiled by David C.L. Bauer The Actors Guild of Nigeria (AGN) on Tuesday launched a health insurance scheme for its members. The guild broke the news on Tuesday in a statement on its official Instagram page. The AGN also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Medicard Health Management, a health services provider, to address the practice of soliciting funds for medical emergencies among its members. It said that Medicard will from August 17 be the guilds approved official Health Maintenance Organisation (HMO) and Health Management Services Provider. Additionally, they noted that it has also developed a group life insurance cover, an automatic car insurance renewal at zero cost, among other packages for its members. The guild said the move had come as part of efforts to prioritise the welfare of its members. Perks It also charged actors to reach out to the AGN secretariat of their states to pick any hospital of their choice. With your support and the support of AGN excos, we signed an MOU with Medicard Health Management as the official HMO and Health Management Services Provider of the AGN, it wrote. Our members will no longer resort to public begging for their health or medical needs. Each and every actor or actress in Nigeria henceforth will enjoy a comprehensive HMO cover. With the partnership we created, members and independent actors in Nigeria will have access to over 600 hospitals nationwide for their health and medical needs, drugs, and treatment Inclusive. In addition to this, we now have a group life insurance cover for all our members. With the partnership, we have established with Medicard Nigeria, our members can now access medical tourism overseas for kidney transplants and surgery. Our members can also use their cards to enjoy discount purchases on meat and chicken stores nationwide, automatic car insurance renewal at zero cost and so much more. We are able to achieve this today because we believe that members of the AGN deserve the best. Actors and actresses deserve the best and we will leave no stone unturned to make this a reality. Background Over time, some Nigerian actors have had to resort to soliciting for financial assistance online, in order to get medical treatment locally and internationally. In a recent interview with PREMIUM TIMES, veteran Nollywood actress, Ngozi Nwosu, lamented the situation of Nigerian actors who have worked for years but cannot afford their medical bills when they fall ill. The actress also battled a kidney-related illness in 2012 and had to crowdfund before she could get treatment in the UK. She said, I would say the guild has failed us and the government has failed too. Because truth be told, we have gotten to a stage whereby, if you are an actor from a particular year, you are entitled to what is called royalties from the production that has been done. But as the case may be, its not like that. They just want to use you and dump you. The government cannot tell us they are not making money from us. What are the things they have laid down that this actor, from this age to this age, this is what you are entitled to? Another popular actor that got sick and had to crowdfund is Babatunde Omidina popularly known as Baba Suwe. He was diagnosed with chronic diabetes in 2018, he had to cry out with the help of actor and producer Yomi Fabiyi. Most recently, another actress, Ifey Onwuemene, cried out for financial help to treat endometrial cancer that she is currently down with. The Bay Area would need to more than double its housing production over the next decade to meet preliminary state goals aimed at easing the housing shortage that has driven out thousands of families over the past decade and made the region the nations most expensive. The state Department of Housing and Community Development is calling for 441,176 new housing units to be built in the Bay Area between 2022 and 2030, nearly 2 times the regions target from the last eight-year cycle, which runs through 2021. The current target of 187,990 homes was set in 2012 and extends through 2022. While the exact amount of housing each of the regions cities would be responsible for producing has yet to be determined the Association of Bay Area Governments will release that plan by the end of the year the preliminary proposal is already sparking debate about whether the state goals are ambitious enough and how the influx of new housing can best reverse the displacement of poor and working class families. The state estimates the region needs 114,442 new units for very-low-income residents; 65,892 for low-income residents; 72,712 for moderate-income residents; and 188,130 market rate homes. State Sen. Scott Wiener called the proposed numbers way too low, especially compared with the 1.3 million units that Southern California is being asked to produce. He said the Bay Areas Required Housing Needs Allocation should be well over 600,000 units. For reasons I dont understand, they proposed numbers that are low and inconsistent with the law, the San Francisco Democrat said. These numbers have to change. It needs to be corrected. Over the past few years, Wiener has authored a series of bills to transform the RHNA from an unenforceable planning exercise into a process with real teeth and consequences for cities that dont meet their goals. Constanza Hevia H. / Special to The Chronicle In 2017 Wiener passed Senate Bill 35, which takes planning control away from jurisdictions that dont approve enough housing. In cities that dont produce enough of any kind of housing market rate or affordable a developer may avoid the local approval process by making 10% of the units below market rate. In cities that meet their market rate goals but not their affordable benchmark, developers can avoid the local planning approval process by making at least 50% of units affordable. In San Francisco that has cut down the approval process for affordable housing from three or four years to less than six months. For developers, the stakes are big: The higher the goal, the less likely cities are to meet their RHNA objectives. And as long as the RHNA goals are not met, the approval process goes from an often highly political, multiyear local battle into a right to build process that bypasses city councils and planning commissions. Wiener called the RHNA numbers the bedrock foundation of California housing law and argues that if the numbers are too low, all we are doing is perpetuating a profound housing shortage. But while SB35 has helped streamline the approval process for more than 1,600 affordable units in San Francisco, some community activists worry that the law, coupled with the more ambitious RHNA numbers, would simply fuel the construction of thousands of new luxury units that serve well-paid professionals but are unaffordable to the average Bay Area worker. Under the current allocation, the Bay Area has completed 126% of the market-rate development goals, but only 21% of the below-market housing goals, as high-end builders have flocked to the region to capitalize on the influx of a growing high-octane workforce. Constanza Hevia H. / Special to The Chronicle Debra Ballinger, director of Monument Impact, a nonprofit organization in Concord that advocates for low-income workers, said ABAGs goal should be to allocate significant shares of affordable homes in all Bay Area suburban and urban cities, and minimize market rate housing in cities where residents are at risk of displacement. Peter Cohen, co-director of the Council for Community Housing Organizations, said the RHNA goal should be to promote more housing of all kinds in suburban and smaller cities while focusing on affordable development in cities like San Francisco, Berkeley and Oakland, where many low-income families have been replaced by wealthier professionals. At best RHNA could take pressure off San Francisco and spread the burden of producing housing throughout the region, Cohen said. At worst it could further gentrify San Francisco. If you are standing in San Francisco or central Oakland or parts of San Jose, the market rate is already exceeding the RHNA goal and now its going to double, said Cohen. That adds pressure, which takes the form of people being pushed out of their homes. Todd David, director of the San Francisco Housing Action Coalition, called the numbers woefully low. Constanza Hevia H. / Special to The Chronicle If we got a RHNA number in line with the Southern California number, we would increase another 50%, which would mean more counties would not be hitting their number, which would mean that housing would be streamlined in those communities, said David. This is a significant missed opportunity to address the Bay Areas housing shortage. Its really disappointing. 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. Matt Regan, who heads up policy at the Bay Area Council, a pro-business trade group, said he supports the highest possible number so that developers will be able to get quick approvals by doing 10% affordable. He called the allocation a mixed basket. We were hoping to get north of 600,000 and we got 441,000, he said. Its still a significant increase over previous allocations but nowhere near what SoCal got. Even if the Bay Areas numbers dont change, the new San Francisco allocation will be challenging to meet, according to Planning Director Rich Hillis. He said the citys allocation would likely be upward of 9,000 units a year, a big increase over the 4,850 units the city produced in 2019, which was the second-highest production total in the past 20 years. It is going to be a heavy lift to get there. Based on our past numbers, it would be extremely aggressive. Now Playing: Lloyd Canamores Oakland house is a shrine to the Warriors. He has lived there for more than 50 years, and now he fights to keep it. Video: McArdle Hankin / San Francisco Chronicle The debate comes at a time when much development is on hold as builders wait to see how the coronavirus pandemic will impact rents and home prices. Cohen said the pandemic could provide a cooling off period that gives us a little more time to figure out how to plan for and build for the next wave rather than reacting to it, he said. Wiener said the current pandemic-driven pause in development is irrelevant to the RHNA debate. Our state housing laws are about the long term, he said. COVID-19 will pass and the economy will rebound. In terms of RHNA, the pandemic and the recession are not relevant. J.K. Dineen is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: jdineen@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @sfjkdineen ORANGE, Ohio -- Renee Higer, executive director of Temple Emanu El, said a recently received Ohio Emergency Management Nonprofit Security Grant for $99,998 will help the temple achieve a safer environment for students, congregants, staff, faculty and guests. The grant is dedicated to target hardening of the physical site and will provide a number of different ways to make the property safer, Higer said. It will cover costs to update existing security systems and install new security elements throughout the facility and 11-acre property. The ability to receive the grant for target hardening is so valuable, Higer said. As we continue to increase our advocacy work, we hope to host even more events on the issues that are important to us, (such as) gun violence, immigration and getting out the vote, she said. Bringing in the public provides us with large obstacles, especially as incidents of anti-Semitism continue to be on the rise. The temple was notified on July 9 by the office of U.S. Sen. Rob Portman that its grant application, submitted in March, had been approved. The Nonprofit Security Grant Program is offered by the Ohio Emergency Management Agency through the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. A key security enhancement that the grant money will provide is an Alertus Alert Beacon -- which serves as an in-building emergency notification system -- in two locations, Higer said. This system will enable the temple to have immediate communication if a threat were to occur to any of the local Jewish institutions. Its like a texting system, Higer said. If something were to happen at another Jewish agency, like on the Green Road campus, then we could go into a soft lockdown, which would allow us time to get into a lockdown. Other new security features will include an exterior video/camera system, which will cover all 11 acres and connect with the local police dispatch and Jewish Federation of Cleveland for 24/7 monitoring; and a license plate reader, which will be networked with Cuyahoga County and Ohio Homeland Security Region 2. With the current public health crisis, our main safety focus has, of course, been related to coronavirus, Temple Emanu El President David Sperling said in a press release. I am so grateful to our executive director, Renee Higer, for being proactive and considering the safety of our congregants post-COVID-19. Her efforts in securing this grant will help make Temple Emanu El even safer in the future, Sperling said. In January 2019, the temple received a $29,000 School Safety and Security Grant from the Ohio Bureau of Workers Compensation. The funds were used to make security improvements to the building. Work on the new security upgrades will begin after multiple quotes are received and reviewed for each project, per state guidelines, Higer said. Its my understanding that we will get more information over the next month or so, so our hope is we can start getting competitive bids in September, she said. Then we would actually be able to start work in the fall and finish in the winter. Temple Emanu El, a Reform congregation, has a membership of about 400 households. Read more from the Chagrin Solon Sun. US President Donald Trump US President Donald Trump called wearing masks "patriotic," seemingly endorsing the practice after an interview aired just the previous day in which he denied the effectiveness of doing so in curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Trump in his tweet on Monday didn't explicitly say he would don masks from now on, but said "many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!" Xinhua news agency reported. We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you cant socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President! pic.twitter.com/iQOd1whktN Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) July 20, 2020 Along with the words, the president posted a picture of himself wearing a mask while visiting Walter Reed National Military Medical Center in Maryland on July 11, the first time he wore a mask in full view of the press since the pandemic reached the United States. He was spotted wearing one behind the scene at a Ford plant in Michigan in May. Having resisted wearing a mask in the past, Trump has until recently denied the effectiveness of masks in curtailing the spread of the virus. "I don't agree with the statement that if everyone wore a mask, everything disappears," he said in an interview with Fox News anchor Chris Wallace aired Sunday, confirming that he won't issue a national mask mandate. The Monday tweet came as the confirmed cases in the United States surpassed 3.8 million and death toll topped 140,800, according to an update by Johns Hopkins University on Monday afternoon. Both of the figures are the world's largest, leading those of other nations by wide margins. Earlier in the day, Trump told reporters that he would resume the daily coronavirus briefings at the White House, possibly as soon as 5 p.m. ET on Tuesday. "I think it's a great way to get information out to the public as to where we are with the vaccine, with the therapeutics, and generally speaking where we are," Trump said. "So I think we'll start that, probably starting tomorrow." Trump appeared at the briefings featuring the White House Coronavirus Task Force almost daily between March and April, before the gatherings at the White House West Wing came to a sudden halt. Vice President Mike Pence and other task force members held the media sessions a few times during the past month when cases spiked sharply in the country. Peter Manfredonia, 23, pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a second murder charge and other crimes A college student who led police on a tri-state hunt for six days to avoid being captured after he allegedly killed two men pleaded not guilty Tuesday to a second murder charge and other crimes. Peter Manfredonia, 23, a former University of Connecticut student, took part in the arraignment at Milford Superior Court via a video feed from the courthouse detention area. A judge set bail at $5million on the new charges, adding to the $7million in bail imposed previously on another murder charge and other alleged crimes. The new charges are connected to the fatal shooting of Nicholas Eisele and the kidnapping of his girlfriend in Derby on May 24. Eisele's girlfriend, who has not been named by authorities, was found unharmed at a rest stop near Columbia, New Jersey, later the same day. Eisele was killed two days after police allege Manfredonia killed 62-year-old Ted DeMers and seriously wounded another man in a Samurai sword attack in Willington, about 70 miles from Derby. After the sword attack, Manfredonia is accused of breaking into another man's house in Willington and holding him hostage for about 24 hours before taking off with his truck and firearms, police said. Relatives of Manfredonia and Eisele were in court Tuesday, as well as a lawyer for Eisele's girlfriend. The lawyer, Eugene Riccio, read a statement by her. 'Nicholas Eisele will forever be remembered as a loving, protective boyfriend but also a hero following his own selfless actions on that day,' the statement said. The new charges are connected to the fatal shooting of Nicholas Eisele (left and right) and the kidnapping of his girlfriend in Derby on May 24 Eisele was killed two days after police allege Manfredonia killed 62-year-old Ted DeMers (pictured with his wife) and seriously wounded another man in a Samurai sword attack in Willington, about 70 miles from Derby 'The healing process can not begin until we can be assured that justice has been served and Peter Manfredonia is held accountable for his actions that altered and destroyed the lives of both Nick, myself, and countless others.' Manfredonia's lawyer, Michael Dolan, declined to comment on the charges. Manfredonia wore an orange prison jumpsuit and a mask because of coronavirus precautions, appearing via the video feed. His parents were in court, but left before the proceeding began, Dolan said. 'To see their son in custody was very difficult,' Dolan said. 'It's just a very sad day. The entire Manfredonia family is just ... heartbroken. Their hearts go out ... for all the families.' The new arrest warrant affidavit in Eisele's killing provides the first public account by his girlfriend of the harrowing events in Derby. The woman told police that Manfredonia burst into her and Eisele's apartment shortly before 6am. She said the two men knew each other from growing up in Newtown, and Manfredonia had come to the apartment a few months earlier to buy marijuana from Eisele. She said the men got into a fight and Manfredonia shot Eisele. Then, she said, Manfredonia forced her to drive him in her car out of state. Manfredonia (left and right) previously pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, home invasion and other charges connected to the events in Willington Manfredonia managed to evade police across multiple states. At one point, he was tracked to Pennsylvania, where police said he took an Uber to a Walmart in East Stroudsburg. He was seen walking along the railroad tracks in the area During the drive through Newtown and to New Jersey, Manfredonia told her he killed Eisele and DeMers because they said things that made him snap, but he did not elaborate. Dolan has said that Manfredonia had a history of depression and anxiety, but had never shown signs of violence. After Manfredonia let the woman go in New Jersey, investigators tracked him to Pennsylvania, where police said he took an Uber to a Walmart in East Stroudsburg. Authorities searched the area but didn't find him. A man fitting his description was later spotted near Scranton, Pennsylvania, prompting another search there. Police believe Manfredonia stole a car and abandoned it in Chambersburg, Pennsylvania, before taking another Uber to Hagerstown, Maryland, where he was captured without incident when police spotted him near a truck stop. Manfredonia previously pleaded not guilty to murder, attempted murder, home invasion and other charges connected to the events in Willington. WASHINGTON, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The Future Forum Caucus, in conjunction with the Early Care & Education Consortium (ECEC), hosted a roundtable discussion on "Child Care in the Era of COVID-19." Led by Future Forum Chair Rep. Stephanie Murphy (D-FL), participants discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on child care, assistance provided through previously passed coronavirus relief packages, and the urgent need for a robust child care stabilization fund. Participants also discussed three key child care proposals under consideration for inclusion in the next relief packagethe Child Care Is Essential Act, the Child Care for Economic Recovery Act, and the Back to Work Child Care Grants Act. Later this month, the House is expected to vote on H.R. 7027, the Child Care Is Essential Act and H.R. 7327, the Child Care for Economic Recovery Acta major step towards ensuring the inclusion of robust relief for the child care industry in any future COVID-19 relief legislation. Roundtable panelists included: Jo Kirchner , CEO, Primrose Schools, and Board Co-Chair, Early Care & Education Consortium , CEO, Primrose Schools, and Board Co-Chair, Early Care & Education Consortium Tom Wyatt , CEO, KinderCare Education, and member, Early Care & Education Consortium , CEO, KinderCare Education, and member, Early Care & Education Consortium Cheryl Oldham , Senior Vice President of Education and Workforce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation , Senior Vice President of Education and Workforce, U.S. Chamber of Commerce Foundation Sarah Rittling , Executive Director, First Five Years Fund , Executive Director, First Five Years Fund Mark Shriver , President, Save the Children Action Network, and Senior Vice President of U.S. Programs & Advocacy, Save the Children Future Forum participants included Reps. Stephanie Murphy (FL-7), Sharice Davids (KS-3), Andy Kim (NJ-3), Mikie Sherrill (NJ-11), Abigail Spanberger (VA-7), Haley Stevens (MI-11), Eric Swalwell (CA-15), Lauren Underwood (IL-14) and Derek Kilmer (WA-6). Rep. Kilmer is also Chair of the New Democrat Coalition. Child care remains the backbone of our nation's economy, serving over 11 million families across a broad socioeconomic spectrum. Yet due to this national emergency, the industry is on the brink of collapse. Without assistance, it is estimated that 50% of the country's child care centers will close permanently, leading to a loss of 4.5 million child care slots and further exacerbating the existing child care crisis. "The COVID-19 pandemic has presented unique challenges for American families who depend on quality and affordable child care in order to work," said Rep. Murphy. "As parents prepare to rejoin the workforce in the coming months, child care options must remain accessible to every family in need. As Future Forum members who are strong advocates for the millennial workforce, we were glad to hear from ECEC and other early education experts on the need for legislation that will help child care providers keep their doors open and provide much-needed assistance to working parents." The child care industry operates on razor thin margins, and the pandemic led to temporary closures of over of 50% of child care centers. Of programs that remained open, 85% reported they were operating at less than 50% of their enrollment capacity and 65% of those were operating at less than 25% of capacity. Many programs also had to furlough teachers, with the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reporting that a third of child care workers, more than 300,000 individuals, lost their jobs in March. Even in states that are reopening, enrollment numbers remain anywhere from 25%-40% lower than pre-pandemic levels. As revenues decline, child care providers face higher operational costs due to enhanced cleaning procedures, health and safety requirements, changes to curriculum, and various other COVID-19 related expenses. As a result, there is a real and urgent need to provide transitional assistance to support a supply of child care to meet the needs of America's workforce. Even before the pandemic hit, 51% of Americans lived in neighborhoods classified as child care deserts. In places where child care was available, the annual cost of infant care was more than college tuition in 30 states, putting safe, high-quality, licensed care out of reach for millions of working families. If Congress does not provide financial assistance for child care providers, a majority of American families will no longer have access to safe, affordable care, hindering their ability to return to work. Thirteen percent of U.S. parents had to quit a job or reduce their working hours due to a lack of child care, according to a survey of 2,557 working parents conducted by Northeastern University from May 10 to June 22. The survey found parents were losing an average of eight hours of work a weekthe equivalent of a full daybecause they had to address their kids' needs. According to a 2019 ReadyNation study, the child care crisis had an annual economic cost of $57 billion in lost earnings, productivity, and revenue, even before factoring in the substantial COVID-19-related impacts. Further demonstrating the industry's impact on American businesses, in 2016, over one million part-time workers cited child care problems as the reason for not working more hours. Child care access is also strongly associated with maternal labor force participation, and facility closures will likely lead to more costly career sacrifices for women. Most families rely on the income that mothers earn, with 64% of all mothers serving as the primary or co-breadwinner. Research shows that in child-care deserts there is a 12% drop in mothers' labor force participation. Furthermore, child care programs, frequently women-owned small businesses, are staffed by a racially diverse workforce that is 93% female. If child care centers close, these workers will be without employment. As the nation continues to fight the pandemic, high-quality licensed child care providers are in the best position to implement health and safety protocols to mitigate the risks of COVID-19 in child care centers. If these child care centers close, parents will be left with low-quality and potentially unlicensed and unregulated alternatives. This is detrimental to the health and safety of children. ABOUT THE EARLY CARE & EDUCATION CONSORTIUM The Early Care & Education Consortium (ECEC) is a non-profit alliance of the leading multi-state/multi-site child care providers, key state child care associations, and premier educational service providers, representing over 6,500 programs in 48 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and select international locations. Our members serve as the unified collective voice for providers of high-quality programs and services that support families and children from diverse cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. We are advocates for strong federal and state policies that bring quality to scale. Learn more at https://www.ececonsortium.org/. ABOUT FUTURE FORUM Future Forum is a generational caucus comprised of 50 young Members of Congress who focus on issues important to millennial and Gen Z Americans such as access to child care, health care affordability, and student loan debt. Learn more at https://futureforumpac.com/. SOURCE Early Care & Education Consortium (ECEC) Related Links https://www.ececonsortium.org Naver is the latest technology company that has decided to leave Hong Kong in the wake of Chinas tightening grip on the region. The Financial Times reports that the South Korean company behind (messaging app) Line is pulling its data centers from Hong Kong. The facilities will be relocated to Singapore, with Naver saying that the new Hong Kong National Security Law was a contributing factor in the decision. For technology companies, Hong Kong has become a useful base of operations in Asia, with proximity to China without its onerous governance. A new law, however, will potentially empower China with the ability to access, seize, control and censor data held on servers in the region. Consequently, a number of big tech companies are reconsidering how best to handle the change in circumstances. That includes TikTok, which is pulling out of Hong Kong in response to the law, while Facebook (and WhatsApp) said it will pause responses to data requests. Google, Telegram and Twitter, too, have said that they will temporarily stop working with local law enforcement. And a Bloomberg report says that a number of technology companies are currently reconsidering their facilities based in the area. Hong Kong became a British colony in 1842, which was handed back to China in 1997 under a treaty known as the Joint Declaration. The document said that, until 2047, China would respect the regions laws and economic systems -- better known as the fifty-year rule. Since then, China has serially attempted to undermine Hong Kongs semi-autonomous rule, leading to a number of independence movements. In 2020, the country erupted again with protests -- stemming from an earlier conflict around an extradition law. Officials opted to pass a new national security bill, which criminalized numerous forms of protected speech, including advocating for independence and criticizing Chinas government. It also enables China to extradite people to the mainland for trial, raising concerns about human rights violations much like those metered out to the countrys Uighur population. Companies that fail to co-operate with Chinese officials, for instance by handing over individuals private data, could be met with serious fines or prison sentences. Its likely that a number of companies will have to withdraw their facilities from the territory or risk financial or personal ruin. Hong Kongs tech scene more generally may also suffer from a brain drain as technology workers leave the region to escape the law. The UK, which has condemned Chinas actions, has offered around 2.6 million residents the right to live and work there with a path to citizenship within six years. Kashmir's COVID-19 response is literally on a ventilator going by the red flag raised by the Srinagar administration about hospitals running out of beds for virus-hit patients. The first hundred COVID-19 patients died in 103 days and next 100 in only 15 days. There is a spike in cases and we don't have enough beds to admit all positive patients, a short video by Dr Naveed Nazir Shah, a leading doctor at the Chest Diseases Hospital, was tweeted by the Srinagar administration on Sunday. Shah is head of department at Chest Diseases Hospital, a premier institute that has been on the forefront of fighting the pandemic. Four other hospitals in Srinagar are coping with the pandemic that is proliferating into clusters and wider areas. Hospitals are full and now people have no option but to take care of themselves and exhibit great caution. People should wear mask, maintain physical, Shah spoke with a deadpan expression reflective of Kashmir's crumbling healthcare structure. In the last two days, there have been more than 1,400 fresh cases and an uptick in fatalities with some days of the week registering more than 10 deaths. The Valley alone has recorded 240 of 260-odd deaths, most of them in the last three weeks. The number of infection is nearing 15,000, including 3000 in Srinagar, although more than 8,000 have recovered. However, it is the facilities or lack of it that has come to expose the lapses in healthcare in the Valley. Policy makers of the health department, administration on the ground and caregivers at hospitals have come under huge criticism for not being able to prepare for the looming threat in earnest. Kashmir was probably the first region in the country which enforced a strict lockdown a week before Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced country-wide restrictions on March 23. However, many believe facilities were not ramped up or adequate trained faculty added in the last four months. There are only 900 to 1,000 dedicated beds available in the five main hospitals of Srinagar of which 70 per cent have oxygen supply lines and 20 per cent have ventilators. "Each day, the number of cases are rising exponentially. As if the spike in cases of local residents is not enough, we have to deal with migrant labour influx now. This adds to the burden on our system,'' said a doctor who is monitoring the COVID-19 operation in Kashmir. On Monday, 72 labours tested positive and results of thousands who reached the Valley over the last two weeks is awaited. The government brought 15,000 migrant labourers from outside to Kashmir to restart activities at brick kilns and construction sites despite medical groups advocating a strict lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. The administration is also facing flak for opening parks to tourists, besides preparing for a restricted annual Amarnath pilgrimage. Strict restrictions, curfew and stopping the inflow of these workers are the need of the hour, said another doctor unwilling to come on record. A Srinagar district officer said, Parks, tourism, Amarnath yatra and labour. I really don't know what is the logic. But one thing is sure it is adding up to our miseries and challenges. He agreed the situation is only worsening and becoming unmanageable at times while referring to incidents of clashes between attendants of patients and doctors. Cases of doctors been thrashed for alleged negligence have added to the overall crisis. On Sunday, doctors at SMHS hospital stopped work for a few hours after some of their colleagues landed up in bone hospitals with fracture. The doctors' and paramedics protested against lack of security at the hospitals. Videos of family members of patients lamenting lack of beds, quick testing, facilities, drugs and alleged negligence of the health functionaries have filled social media spaces in the last few weeks. Many of them have alleged doctors and paramedics are scared to come close to patients leading to neglect in treatment. Ajaz Beig, an attendant, said he lost his uncle due to doctors' negligence at the Jhelum Valley hospital barely hours after being referred to the facility. He said first the doctors refused to admit him and when they finally did, the doctors shunned and snubbed him. My uncle was a COVID-19 patient with co-morbidity. He wanted to go to the washroom and the doctors just took his oxygen supply off for 10 minutes despite him being hypertensive. He died within minutes, he said. We will register a murder case, he said, adding that he hoped the doctors treat patients well. The hospital management has, however, rubbished allegations of negligence or improper treatment. In fact, some doctors are swearing by their commitment. Some of us have not gone home for months now. We have not seen our children and parents and yet we are being accused of running away from patients. This is atrocious, a doctor told News 18. She said doctors should not be blamed for lack of facilities in hospitals. "Our job is to treat patients and we have no say in arranging facilities." Patients families have also complained of non-availability of drugs like Remdesivir, oxygen concentrators, nebulisers and other medicines. It would be good if more stockists kept commonly used drugs like Remdesivir, Ivermectin, Tocilizumab, Enoxaparin, Doxycycline," said a senior hospital administrator. "I agree Remdesivir is in short supply. We will have adequate stock in next two days in the Valley, Atal Dullo, Principle Secretary (Health and Medical Education) Jammu and Kashmir, told News18. Dullo said more than 100 ventilators have been set up at Valley hospitals, while another 500 will be added in the next few weeks. He said 2,000 oxygen cylinders are being added to the existing infrastructure. Beds for COVID-19 patients in hospitals are being decongested for critical patients and asymptomatic ones will be shifted to COVID-19 care centres. Critically ill patients will be treated at dedicated hospitals where we have oxygen supply and ventilator support, he said, adding, But let me tell you only six to seven patients are on ventilators, while over 300 are receiving oxygen therapy. We will boost the oxygen capacity in the coming days," he added. A senior doctor at the Government Medical College said the administration should be ready with 20,000 beds with full oxygen supply given the spread of the infection. "We must have a Bakhshi stadium-like facility ready to cope with the increasing number of patients. It will be good if we plan early than be sorry later," he said. Germanys foreign Minister slammed Turkeys gas exploration plans in the eastern Mediterranean Sea today, reiterating what other European states have said as the dispute continues. Speaking in Athens, Heiko Maas said that relations between Europe and Turkey can only improve if Turkey ceases the drilling. Regarding Turkeys drilling in the eastern Mediterranean, we have a very clear position international law must be respected so progress in EU-Turkey relations is only possible if Ankara stops provocations in the eastern Mediterranean, said Maas, according to Reuters. Turkey plans to drill for gas in the eastern Mediterranean, per an agreement with Libyas UN-backed Government of National Accord. Greece and Cyprus consider the area their territorial waters. Maas Greek counterpart unsurprisingly struck a similar tone in his comments on Tuesday, saying the drilling threatens the NATO alliance that Turkey, much of Europe and the United States are a part of. Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias met Maas in Athens and the two discussed the drilling among other issues. The illegal and provocative behavior of Turkey has a serious backlash not only to peace and stabiity in the Eastern Mediterranean but to the cohesion of NATO and to its relations with the European Union, said Dendias, as reported by Reuters. Many European countries share Germanys concerns with Turkeys gas exploration. The European Union also considers the area in question to be Greek and Cypriot waters. France in particular has been vocal in its opposition to the drilling. The Franco-Turkish tensions also relate to Libya and France left a NATO mission in the Mediterranean last month over a spat with Turkey. The Mediterranean Sea is not the only site of Turkeys recent energy projects. A Turkish ship began drilling in the Black Sea this month. The countrys Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Fatih Donmez called the project a bid for Turkeys energy independence, the state-run Anadolu Agency reported. U.S. officials accused China on Tuesday of sponsoring criminal hackers who are targeting biotech firms around the world working on coronavirus vaccines and treatments, as the FBI said the Chinese government was acting like "an organized criminal syndicate." In an indictment unsealed in Spokane, Wash., the Justice Department charged two former engineering students with hacking companies engaged in high-tech manufacturing, pharmaceuticals and gaming software development, and with targeting dissidents, clergy and human rights activists in the United States, China and Hong Kong. "China steals intellectual property and research which bolsters its economy, and then they use that illicit gain as a weapon to silence any country that would dare challenge their illegal actions," said FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich. "This type of economic coercion is not what we expect from a trusted world leader. It is what we expect from an organized criminal syndicate." The defendants hacked for their own profit but also for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), a civilian spy agency responsible for counterintelligence, foreign intelligence and domestic political security, the indictment says. They were aided in that effort by an MSS officer, authorities charge. It marks the first time the United States has charged suspected Chinese hackers with working not only to enrich themselves but also on behalf of the government - what prosecutors characterized as a "blended threat." The 11-count indictment charges Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi with a wide-ranging conspiracy to hack computers and steal terabytes of trade secrets and other data beginning more than a decade ago and continuing to the present. The indictment says the two men recently "researched vulnerabilities in the networks of biotech and other firms publicly known for work on covid-19 vaccines, treatments, and testing technology." The indictment does not indicate whether the alleged hacks were successful in obtaining vaccine research. The indictment does not name the companies allegedly hacked by the duo, but the list includes firms in California, Maryland, Washington state, Texas, Virginia and Massachusetts. This year the alleged hackers also compromised a British artificial intelligence firm, a Spanish defense contractor and an Australian solar energy engineering company, the indictment says. The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned in May that hackers linked to the Chinese government were targeting coronavirus vaccine research. And China is not the only government eyeing such information. Last week the United States, Britain and Canada issued an unusual joint statement advising that Russian hackers also were targeting firms and university labs developing vaccines to stave off the novel coronavirus. "China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cybercriminals in exchange for those criminals being 'on call' to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist Party's insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies' hard-earned intellectual property, including covid-19 research," said John C. Demers, head of the Justice Department's National Security Division. He called the accused hackers "a prolific threat to U.S. and foreign networks." The Chinese government has routinely denied it conducts or sponsors hacks of foreign networks for purposes of economic espionage. The indictment is the latest salvo by the Trump administration, which has taken an increasingly aggressive stance against Chinese economic espionage and Beijing's push to replace the United States as the global leader in the high tech economy. News of the indictment comes as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is in London meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss the two allies' rising tensions with China. Just last week Britain delivered a significant win to Washington by announcing it was barring the Chinese technology giant Huawei from its nascent 5G wireless networks. The indictment is part of the Justice Department's China initiative, launched in 2018, prioritizing countering Chinese national security threats in line with the administration's national security strategy. About 80 percent of all federal economic espionage prosecutions allege conduct that would benefit the Chinese state, and there is at least some nexus to China in around 60 percent of all federal cases of trade secret theft. The intrusions targeted industries outlined in "Made in China 2025" - China's 10-year plan to become a leader in specific advanced-technology sectors, Demers noted. The thefts in this case covered eight of the 10 sectors, he said, including next-generation information technology, robotics and automated machine tools, aircraft components, clean-energy vehicles, biotechnology and advanced rail. The indictment outlined how stealing intellectual property from companies in these industries could help Chinese companies replicate the technology and beat their Western competitors. In one case, Demers noted, Li and Dong allegedly stole testing mechanisms, manufacturing processes and supply-chain data from a Maryland technology firm that would reveal what products the firm was intending to bring to market, and would save a competitor time and money on research and development. In another, he noted, Li and Dong allegedly stole source code from a Massachusetts medical device engineering company as it was seeking to protect such data from a Chinese firm with which it had partnered to produce device components. The defendants had studied at the University of Electronic Science and Technology in Chengdu, authorities charged. They stole hundreds of millions of dollars' worth of trade secrets and other valuable business information, and at least once threatened to post a victim's intellectual property on the Internet unless a ransom was paid, according to the indictment. Their work benefited the MSS, authorities charged in the indictment. In one case, they allegedly gave the spy agency the email and password of a Hong Kong activist. In another, an MSS officer allegedly gave the hackers malware to help them penetrate the computer of a Myanmar human rights group. To gain access to victim networks, the two men primarily exploited publicly known software vulnerabilities in popular Web server software, the indictment stated. In some cases, those vulnerabilities were newly announced, meaning that many users would not have installed patches to correct the vulnerability. The defendants used their initial access to place malicious programs, such as the "China Chopper," and credential-stealing software on networks, which allowed them to remotely control victims' computers, the indictment stated. The first sign of the defendants' efforts was detected on computers of the Energy Department's Hanford Site in eastern Washington, officials said. Analysts said the indictment underlines that the issue is not cybertechnology, which is a means to an end, but the government or actor approving the hacking campaign. "We don't have a cyber problem - we have a China, Russia, Iran and North Korea problem," said Dmitri Alperovitch, chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a public policy think tank and co-founder of the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. "That's because even when we are not dealing with nation state activity, we are dealing with these four states that are protecting or even paying cybercriminals operating within their borders." Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 23:50:22|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BANGKOK, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Thai Prime Minister Prayut Chan-o-cha on Tuesday afternoon has told the press that he has a new list of names for his cabinet reshuffle after several ministers resigned earlier. Prayut initially said that the cabinet reshuffle could be done after the budget debate, but decided to quickly line up his cabinet team to help reboot the Thai economy hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis. "I have these new names in mind but will not officially reveal who they are until their qualifications are checked and verified," said Prayut. "When that is over the new cabinet line-up would go to His Majesty the King for endorsement and the swearing-in ceremony would follow," he said. Prayut had however, earlier confirmed that he had approached top banker Preedee Daochai to join his new cabinet lineup team. Preedee is a co-president of Kasikornbank, a Thai commercial bank, as well as the chairman of the Thai Bankers' Association. Just on Monday, Labour Minister Chatumongol Sonakul announced his resignation to quit the Cabinet. Five other cabinet members have already left the government, including Deputy Prime Minister Somkid Jatusripitak. Enditem Funny, isnt it, the way things turn out. The wedding of Meghan Markle and Prince Harry could not have been more anticipated, more filled with promise and yet, just two years on, the memories of that glorious day are bittersweet. The couple are now living in exile in Los Angeles, Harry away from his family, baby Archie separated from his cousins. So much promise squandered. So much goodwill lost. Even the occasion itself feels tainted, diminished by the assertion, made earlier this month by the Duchess of Sussexs legal team, that the occasion generated 1billion in tourist revenue. Whoever said you cant put a price on love was clearly not a lawyer. But then, quite unexpectedly, came the wedding of Princess Beatrice to her Italian beau, Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi. Princess Beatrice's wedding to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi 'captured the essence of what these moments are all about,' writes Sarah Vine An occasion that, by contrast to Harry and Meghans wedding, could not have seemed more unglamorous and yet in the event seems to have captured the essence of what these moments are all about. Oh, how we used to pity poor Beatrice. Pipped to the altar by her younger sister, it seemed she had finally found The One only to have her happiness overshadowed by two seismic events. First, the whole business with Jeffrey Epstein, her father, Prince Andrew, and Virginia Roberts, who alleges he had sex with her when she was 17 years old. Then, of course, came corona, which put paid to plans for the couples wedding on May 29. It must have seemed to Beatrice as though the universe were conspiring to deny her moment of joy. And yet, there she was, last Friday, beaming as she peered out from beneath a huge canopy of beautiful, blousy flowers as the new Signora Mozzi. A glorious day for her but also a royal wedding like no other. Of course it would be absurd to suggest the obstacles Beatrice has faced are much by comparison to what so many have suffered during this difficult time. But in the context of her own situation, and that of the Royal Family as a whole, this simple, understated ceremony conducted with the minimum of fuss and fanfare represents a ray of sunshine. Not just for the couple, but for a family torn apart by strife. And for a nation that, for all the ups and downs, still holds the royals in great affection. Everything about it was the antithesis to the glitz, fuss and fantasia we have come to expect of modern royal unions. And while I do wonder if there was a need for quite such secrecy, it just felt like it belonged to simpler, more sincere times. There was something so touching about the dress, not commissioned at vast expense by a fashionable designer but first worn by her Majesty almost 60 years ago and customised for the occasion. Sarah Vine writes that memories of Prince Harry's wedding to Meghan Markle in 2018 are 'bittersweet' And the headdress, the very same the Queen wore at her own wedding. The overall effect was somewhat Disney Princess (especially with the addition of those puff sleeves), but it didnt matter: no ensemble could have carried more meaning or shown more genuine love and respect for the Queen than this one. Whatever else Prince Andrew may have got wrong in his life, he did the right thing on Friday by staying out of the limelight, allowing the Queen and Prince Philip to take centre stage alongside their granddaughter. At the end of the day, marriage is not about fancy frocks and horsedrawn carriages, glamorous photoshoots and lavish celebrations. Its about facing lifes challenges, together, and making the most of it. I think perhaps Mr and Mrs Mozzi have learned that. Look at the bigger picture on obesity For some people, the Governments latest proposals to dramatically increase access to weight-loss surgery on the NHS may seems like an expensive cop-out. Bariatric surgery costs 5,000 to 10,000 per patient money, some argue, that could be better spent on other treatments. I disagree. Obesity is a public health crisis and requires a public health response. Yes, you can argue that obese people are responsible for their own condition, but its not as simple as that. There are complex reasons people put on weight and fail to lose it, and not all are to do with simple gluttony or laziness. As for the money, according to Public Health England the annual spend on the wider treatment of obesity is greater than the amount spent on the police, fire service and judicial system combined. In that context, surgery has the potential to actually save the NHS money and free up resources. Its not a silver bullet; but combined with other measures it could provide a real solution to a problem that, despite the best efforts of policy makers and physicians, only seems to be getting bigger. I cant get that wound up about the prospect of having to wear a mask in shops. Id happily dress as a penguin if it meant avoiding another lockdown. But one thing does worry me: given the levels of criminality on our streets at the moment, is it really wise to offer potential miscreants a legitimate excuse to hide their identities in public? Time was when walking into a bank wearing a face mask was liable to arouse suspicion; now youre more likely to get arrested if you dont. I confess I was rather looking forward to Kanye West running for U.S. President. Kanye West caused concern for his wellbeing at his first campaign rally in South Carolina on Sunday But what started out as a mildly amusing spectacle of one mans intergalactic ego has become something much more troubling. In no particular order, West has revealed he wanted to abort his seven-year-old daughter, compared himself to Nelson Mandela and accused his wife of trying to lock me up with a doctor. All of a sudden, this no longer feels like a joke. The last thing the world needs right now is another maniac in the White House. Wheel of fortune This week, Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon, increased his personal fortune by 10billion in just one day. That is the largest daily rise of wealth on record, and puts him just a few billion short of matching the GDP of New Zealand. Meanwhile, in the real world, Marks & Spencer is laying off 950 people, and many more household names are set to follow, crippled by the lockdown. High Street shops such as M&S are subject to rents and business rates while Amazon has relatively few such costs, not least because its European operations are based in Luxembourg. Last year, it paid 220million in direct taxes from 10.9billion of UK business. Its high time the Government acted to force e-tailers to pay their fair share. Otherwise, we can kiss goodbye to our high streets forever. Sarah Vine asks in her column: 'Why has Heard modelled her hair on Elsa from the Frozen films?' If nothing else, Johnny Depp and Amber Heard airing their dirty linen in public has offered a bonkers window into the twisted world of A-list Hollywood celebrity. I have no idea which of them is telling the truth. But one thing I am certain of: these narcissists thoroughly deserve each other. One question: why has Heard modelled her hair on Elsa from the Frozen films a beautiful princess with hidden talents, cruelly misunderstood, cast into the wilderness and accused of sorcery, yet who ultimately emerged triumphant ? I cant imagine... Bureaucracy at its best You can now get a pint or a manicure, but God help you if you need a new passport or driving licence. The reason is simple: pubs and nail parlours (and the like) are run by highly motivated small business owners who cant afford the luxury of closing their doors for a second longer than necessary. By contrast, the passport office and the DVLA belong to the public sector. Such jobs are protected both by furlough and unions skilled in the art of procrastination. Is it any wonder theyre in no hurry to lift a finger until they have to? TORRINGTON While municipal landfill properties usually cost a community money to maintain, this week the city agreed to lease theirs for about $30,000 a year. Following a public hearing before the City Councils regular meeting, members approved a proposal to enter into an agreement to lease the 15-acre former landfill to US Solar, a Minnesota-based company that is expanding its reach into the northeast. The vote allows Mayor Elinor Carbone to sign a letter of intent for the lease agreement, and allows US Solar to move forward with its application to the Connecticut Siting Council. US Solar presented its plans to the council two weeks ago. The companys new markets manager, Peter Schmitt, gave a short presentation on the project this week during the council public hearing . No one from the public spoke or wrote any comments during the public hearing. With oversight by the CT Siting Council, US Solar is required to hold public hearings and get an agreement from the City Council and Carbone and provide all the local approvals before applying to the council. Another company, Verogy, approached the council earlier this summer, proposing to use property on East Pearl Road for a solar panel array. During a meeting in June, council members asked Verogy to consider other sites. Some members were concerned about the location of Verogys project, which would be across the street from a farm and in a residential area. My understanding is that solar providers were asking the city to sign an energy contract, but were not asking for that, Schmitt said during Mondays meeting. We are simply asking to lease the land for 20 years. Well provide a maintenance team to oversee it. Were the long-term operator and owner of the project. A developer will often bring a project to a property, and it will change hands over time. We own and operate our projects for the long-term. Thats our business model. Once US Solar is finished with the leased property, Schmitt said, it is obligated to restore the site. US Solar uses a pollinator-friendly approach to its sites, planting wildflowers that attract insects and birds. We build a long-term, quality project, Schmitt said. When were done, we restore the land underneath. The soil will be improved. We have to work with the state Department of Energy and Environmental Protection and we have a lot of strong, national allies to bring in more pollinator-friendly projects like this one. Thats a little bit about why you should be signing with us. Along with the environmental benefits, Torrington will be paid $2,000 per acre for leasing the 15-acre landfill, or about $30,000 annually, plus about $8,000 in property taxes each year. The company also offers, without obligation, Schmitt said, a shared clean energy program, which allows anyone living in the area of the project to benefit with a reduced energy bill. Its a pretty cool program, he said. People are solicited once a year in April or May, and they can sign up then. Because the siting council can take between six and 12 months to decide on a solar energy application, Schmitt indicated that time was a factor in their application. I know theres a lot of information, but we wanted to get the lease signed by Tuesday. We have most of our application elements ready to submit to Eversource and the DEEP, and this last step is the option to lease, he said. Well handle all the permits. The city will just need to sign and occasional form. During the council meeting, Carbone asked for comments. Public Works Director Raymond Drew said he thought US Solars plan was a good one. If we could turn the landfill into a revenue driver instead of a cost, we want to do that, he said. The council voted unanimously to approve the letter of intent to enter into the agreement with US Solar. SPRINGFIELD Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Monday gave support to a pair of Illinois mayors who recently enacted policies aimed at limiting the spread of COVID-19 in bar and tavern settings. Pritzker specifically referred to actions by Springfield Mayor Jim Langfelder, who signed an order creating fines for bars and restaurants that fail to comply with social distancing and capacity rules, and Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot, who announced Monday morning that the city would stop bars that dont serve food from serving alcohol indoors starting Friday. I want to commend local leaders taking action to keep their communities safe, and the state stands behind these municipalities in their efforts, Pritzker said at an event Monday in Urbana. Our city and county leaders, with case numbers and hospitalizations rising and localized information about outbreaks readily available, can and should do what they know is right to protect their residents. His words of support came as the state announced another 1,173 confirmed cases of the coronavirus over the previous 24 hours, as well as six more virus-related deaths. That brought the total since the pandemic first reached Illinois to 162,748 cases, including 7,301 virus-related deaths. In Central Illinois, Macon County saw its number of positive coronavirus cases increase by 16 over the weekend. Macon County Health Department officials on Monday said the latest findings bring the total number of positive cases to 283. Of those, 220 have been released from home isolation and 33 are recovering at home. Seven patients are in the hospital and 23 residents have died. The Moultrie County Health Department on Monday confirmed four new cases of coronavirus. The individuals range in age from their 40s to 60s and are recovering at home. To date, 1,537 Moultrie County residents have been tested for COVID-19. Of those tests, 33 have been confirmed positive for COVID-19 and 27 are no longer in isolation. In their respective releases, health department officials reiterated the effectiveness of wearing a mask to help prevent the spread of coronavirus, as well as social distancing. Laboratories reported 34,598 test results the previous 24 hours, making for a one-day positivity rate of 3.4 percent, which brought the rolling seven-day rate back to 3 percent after two days at 2.9 percent. Hospitalizations remained stable near their pandemic lows at the end of Sunday as well, with 1,410 people in Illinois in the hospital with COVID-19, including 308 in intensive care unit beds and 133 on ventilators. In a pair of public appearances, Pritzker touted Illinois as the best of all of our neighbors in suppressing the positivity rate. Aside from Michigans 2.7 percent rolling positivity rate, Illinois is the lowest in the Midwest. But he said theres still room for improvement as the positivity rate and hospitalizations for the virus have leveled, instead of seeing continued decreases. I worry about that because our numbers should be going down when actually they're about steady, he said when asked about a rise in cases potentially moving the state backward in its reopening plan. And that's not a good development steady is better than up, I mean, let's face it. But what should be happening is, we should continue the downward slide. He once again touted the importance of wearing face coverings, saying above almost everything else it is what will keep you healthy and safe. You don't have to belittle people who aren't wearing a mask, but they should get the idea when everybody else is wearing a mask, he said. If I told you that you could take a pill that would reduce your likelihood of getting COVID-19 by 80 percent, wouldn't you do it? Well that's what masks do. He said there was a crisis of leadership in the national response to COVID-19, once again calling out President Donald Trump. Having a president who does not wear a mask and does not encourage everybody to wear a mask is a problem. Not to mention denying science, he said. At the two public events one in Urbana and one in Peoria he also took questions about House Speaker Michael Madigan and a recent court document that implicated but did not charge the longtime legislative leader in a bribery scheme. The governor reiterated there will be many questions for Madigan to answer, but did not specifically call for Madigans resignation or address if he would call for a special legislative session to focus on ethics reforms. He did call for lobbying reforms, such as prohibitions to lawmakers becoming lobbyists immediately upon retirement. I talked quite a lot about this in my annual state of the state speech this year. I called for major ethics reform in that speech. Then what happened that was February, I believe, or late January -- what happened? COVID-19 hit and there was now a four-day session of the Legislature as a result of the pandemic. So I'm hoping that in November, that will be able to take up again, the work by the way of the Ethics Commission, that was put together in the General Assembly. 10 ways Illinois schools could look different this fall Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 Courtesy of Steve HunterSteve "The Deacon" Hunter, a respected rock guitarist who's played on classic recordings by Alice Cooper, Lou Reed and Peter Gabriel, has launched a new jazz-flavored project called Cafe la Rouge that's just released a six-song EP titled Covered with Love. The collection features reworked versions of tunes Hunter handpicked to record while in lockdown at his home in Spain during the COVID-19 pandemic. They include The Beatles' "And I Love Her," the Classics IV hit "Spooky," Phoebe Snow's "Majesty of Life," and the jazz standards "S'Wonderful," "Beginning to See the Light" and "Centerpeice." Accompanying Steve on the tunes are his wife, Karen, on vocals, and his friend and longtime King Crimson bass player Tony Levin, who's also known for his long association with Gabriel. In addition to playing guitar throughout Covered with Love, Hunter arranged and produced the EP. Hunter's long resume includes playing guitar on Gabriel's classic song "Solsbury Hill," Reed's Berlin and Rock 'n' Roll Animal albums, and Cooper's Welcome to My Nightmare and Goes to Hell albums. Here's the track list for Covered with Love: "Centerpiece" "Spooky" "Beginning to See the Light" "And I Love Her" "Majesty of Life" "S'Wonderful" By Matt Friedlander Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Representative image For months, Kerala, like the rest of the world, was fixated on COVID-19. On July 5, around 3.30 pm, an event occurred that would give the nearly 3.5 crore Malayalees in the southern state another topic, albeit a familiar one, to be fixated on gold. That was when the Customs department seized a 30 kg gold consignment from a piece of diplomatic baggage at the Thiruvananthapuram airport. It belonged to a racket involving a powerful political lobbyist who allegedly enjoyed the backing of the states principal secretary and the political leadership. Since then the states political scene has been abuzz with allegations and counter-allegations. Local media is occupied 24x7 to sniff out even the minutest details of the case. That the chief ministers office is under the scanner for its alleged involvement has added an extra political zing to the case. The case put the focus back on Keralas absurd obsession with gold, tethered this time to an international gold smuggling racket operating from the Middle East, where millions of Malayalees are employed. As details of smuggling emerged, people were shocked and riveted in equal measure. The case At the heart of the matter is a Customs seizure of 30 kg gold valued around Rs 15 crore at the Thiruvanathapuram International airport on July 5. What made this confiscation special was the method used for smuggling. The smuggled gold was seized from the diplomatic baggage, allegedly perpetrated by a group involving former consulate employee, P Sarith Kumar, and political lobbyist, Swapana Suresh, and aided by powerful bureaucrats. Instantly, the case commanded high-profile nature. The alleged personal relations of M Sivasankar, principal secretary and head of IT department with Swpana Suresh opened up a pandoras box for the Pinarayi Vijayan-led LDF government. A controversy erupted soon surrounding the involvement of Chief Ministers office in aiding Swapna Suresh in executing the smuggling. The National Investigative Agency (NIA) registered a case and a probe is on. The opposition parties have demanded the resignation of Vijayan for his close aides alleged connections with Swapna Suresh, a former employee of the UAE consulate who was later hired by a private company to work for a project under the states IT department. Gold smuggling on the rise The involvement of NIA, the use of diplomatic channels and the links to Vijayans office makes this case special. But if one keeps these elements aside, swarnakkadath (gold smuggling in Malayalam) cases hardly makes news in Kerala. Every year, there are numerous cases of gold smuggling reported in the state in different airports. Gold is easy to stock, transport and convert into cash. And there is a huge demand for the smuggled gold among smaller jewellers who hate the idea of paying duty sourcing the yellow metal through legit channels. According to reports citing investigative agencies, a least 230 kgs of gold was smuggled to the country using diplomatic channels in 13 consignments in the last one year. Even after the recent gold smuggling case, there have been three separate gold seizures in Kerala in three different airports. On July 13, Commissionerate of Customs, Cochin, tweeted saying AIU (air intelligence unit) Trivandrum seized 1.455 kg gold in compound form from three passengers travelling from Dubai. The gold was concealed by the passenger inside the waistband and undergarments. Similarly, 2.637 kgs of gold and 2.965 kgs of gold were seized from passengers in Kannur and Kozhikode airports, respectively, in the following days. The Commissionerate of Customs (Preventive), Kochi, seized 540.37 kg of gold worth Rs 187 crore during 2019-20 fiscal, compared to 251 kg in 2018-2019. As many as 802 cases were registered in the state. If one looks at cases beyond the state, the number is even higher. In November 2019, 30 kg gold worth Rs 11 crore was seized at Tiruchy airport, In July, customs department seized 32 kgs of gold worth Rs 15 crore at the Jaipur airport. These are only a few instances. Where does smuggled gold go? A commodity is smuggled only if there is a huge demand for it. Why put your life at risk if it is not worth it? Every time gold is smuggled to the country, the carrier gets Rs 1 lakh to Rs 5 lakh depending on the size of the operation, according to people familiar with the matter. A walk around Thrissur Swaraj round (the ring road surrounding Vadakkunnatha Temple) will leave one wonderstruck. There are more than a dozen big and small jewellers in just a few kilometres. Thrissur is the undeclared Gold capital of Kerala. On a normal day, purchases worth crores happen in each of these gold hubs. Big jewellers such as Kalyan, Alukkas and Josco have branches across the states and outside Kerala. Move beyond the city, you will see thousands of jewellery shops that have mushroomed in recent decades across the state. These are largely concentrated in the central region of the state and particularly in Thrissur district. The number of smaller gold jewellers in Thrissur district itself will be a few hundred, said a local jeweller. It could be for these jewellers, these small fortune hunters, that the racket, is operating relentlessly, even risking a jail term if caught. The smuggled gold can also be targeting rich individual clients, or to transport to other states on demand. Gold is the most manipulated asset. Gold can hide from the eyes of the law, change shape and even remain unseen for centuries beneath your floor. All that is happening now (gold smuggling case) will be short-lived until the next headline lands, said a small jewellery shop owner. According to a leading industrialist based in Kerala, a good chunk of the illegal gold that reaches the state escaping scrutiny is consumed by small and medium-sized jewellery units. These smaller ones would want to make quick money using smuggled gold so that they can avoid paying taxes, said the person quoted above. Most of the smuggled gold comes from middle-east countries. The smuggled gold is transported hidden in multiple ways, the most prominent being the use of benamis in small quantities, he said. All the individuals spoke to Moneycontrol on the condition of anonymity. As in the case of any smuggling activity, the idea of gold smuggling is also to avoid duties in regular channels. Gold has an import duty of 12.5 percent, which was raised from 10 per cent earlier. India imports around 800-900 tonnes of gold annually and most of it is consumed by households for marriage purposes. Malayalees love for Goldpower, pride and tradition Compared to other Indian states, Kerala has a special love for gold jewellery. Much of it is to do with tradition and religious beliefs. In the state, gold is not just an investment avenue but a status symbol for households. Malayalees want to touch and feel the gold ornament and pass it on from generations to generations. Pledging gold ornaments or selling it for financial necessities is considered as a social stigma. Gold constitutes a lions share of the practice of dowry that is rampant in the state. This situation has changed and now more people are finding it as a useful asset to generate cash. We have seen business picking up in the recent months, said George Muthoot, MD of Muthoot Finance, a leading gold loan NBFC. There is even one special dayAkshaya Tritiyawhich is considered auspicious to buy gold. Gold is also considered sacred and is used to adorn temples and religious idols. It is this affinity to the yellow metal that the gold jewellers (and the smugglers) target. Gold is unavoidable in births, weddings and any other special family occasions. No matter how big or expensive is your gift is to someone, the glitter of even gram of gold jewellery changes the whole perception, said Nixon Davis, an employee with one of the biggest gold jewellers in Thrissur. I see that every day, even during the COVID times, Davis said. The Malayalis love for gold is not vanished even with price skyrocketing but with the COVID-19 scare, sales have taken a hit, say, local jewellers. Gold prices have zoomed this year (MCX Gold prices have surged 23 per cent this year so far). According to Bloomberg data, Indias total gold consumption stood at 73.85 metric tonnes in the March quarter compared with 125.42 metric tonnes in the year-ago period. Total import value of gold to India since January till June stood at $5.86 billion compared with $31.24 billion in 2019. Even Gods love Gold here Not just mortals, even Gods in southern India, especially Kerala, love gold. A Sanskrit shloka puts it thus: Lord Vishnu likes ornaments, dresses and other finer things/ Lord Shiva likes the sacred bath/ The Yogasana prayer pleases the Sun God/ While a Brahmin is happy with sumptuous food." Gods love for gold is not confined to scriptures. The Padmanabhaswamy temple, one of the famous temples in Thiruvanthapuram, is believed to be home to an estimated $22 billion worth gold treasure that is long hidden in the mysterious vaults beneath the sanctum sanctorum of the ancient temple. Numbered with alphabets A to F, the six vaults in the temple are subjects of religious beliefs and endless controversies. Of the six, five have been accessed already. Vault A alone contains treasures worth Rs 1.5 lakh crore. This vault was accessed following a court order in the year 2015. Vault B is yet to be opened. No one knows whats inside. The temple is controlled by a local royal family that has so far refused to let anyone open the vault arguing that doing this will be against the beliefs and faith of the local Hindu community. Early this month, the royal family received a favourable order from the Supreme Court on its rights to manage the temple. Many believe the busting of the alleged racket involving Swpana Suresh, M Sivasankar and Pinarayi Vijayans office is only the tip of an icebergan underworld racket too huge and in existence for too long, run by powerful lobbies comprising bureaucrats, corrupt investigators and politicians. What nurtured the gold smuggling racket so far and will probably keep it alive in future is the undying penchant of Malayalees for the mesmeric glow of the yellow metal. The Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, has given the minister of the Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, 48 hours to publish the full details of lawmakers in the 9th Assembly who got contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commision (NDDC). The Speaker made the call while reacting to a point of order brought under matters of breach of his privileges by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu. Mr Elumelu urged the house to invite Mr Akpabio to mention those who got contracts from the NDDC. Mr Akpabio, on Monday, during the continuation of the investigative hearing held to probe the allegations of corruption in the NDDC alleged that contracts of the NDDC are given out to members of the National Assembly. The revelation unsettled the hall briefly as the acting chairman of the committee, Thomas Ereyitomi, calmed some members who charged at the minister Reacting to Mr Elumelus point of order, the speaker said it was unfortunate that journalists help him in amplifying what we all know is untrue. READ ALSO: Ive never once collected contracts from the NDDC and I know I can speak for many other members, Mr Gbajabiamila said. I hereby call on the minister to within 24-48 hours to publish the names, contracts, date and unveil the companies of the 60 per cent projects that were given to the National Assembly. He said failure to do so would leave the house with no other option than to bring the full wrath of the law. The minister owes it to himself, commitee, Niger delta and the people of Nigeria to publish details of those who have been given contracts, the speaker said. Buildings are crucial to the well-being of people, and designers and architects have the responsibility to ensure that sustainable solutions are placed at the forefront of any potential new project. This is the view of SAIA president Dr Luyanda Mpahlwa who was a keynote speaker in the inaugural AfriSam SAIA Sustainable Design Awards webinar titled 'Towards liveable sustainability - Rethinking architecture in a post Covid-19 world'. SAIA president Dr Luyanda Mpahlwa Adapting to needs of society The webinar, co-hosted by IZUBA INafrica Architects' Dr Philippa Tumubweinee, aimed to drive the message of sustainable architecture and design as a means of solving a number of critical issues in South Africa. It highlighted challenges that architects and designers will be faced with in the future, given the new norm of remote working brought about by Covid-19, with Mpahlwa sharing insights on how challenges can be addressed while maintaining the vision of sustainability.The reality is that buildings and construction are undoubtedly contributors to carbon emissions, and we have a responsibility to reduce these emissions by using innovative methods that often mean reverting back to basics, he says. Buildings are made to serve people, and we must ensure that they are at the centre of all that we do. We should not forget about the most basic design principles.These include the orientation of a building to maximise thermal performance, the use of non-toxic materials and paint, and taking advantage of as much natural light and ventilation as possible. Once we have these in place, we can explore additional elements to make the building, in its totality, a green building.The industry, he says, needs to adapt to the needs of society, pointing to the need to consider repurposing vacant buildings, especially given from the shift to working from home. While he does not see Covid-19 as the death of the office, he does see it as an opportunity to talk about how this space can be best utilised going forward.While many financial districts - as the major drivers in the formation of a CBD - have relocated to form secondary CBDs, such as Sandton, a number of potential buildings have been vacated in the countrys CBDs. Mpahlwa suggests that in a bid to alleviate South Africas challenge in providing affordable housing, many of these buildings can be converted into economical residential apartments. This, he says, will not only move some citizens closer to their places of work, but will create a culture of city living similar to numerous cities in Europe and even in Africas northern countries. Further, it will reduce the need to construct new residences on the outskirts of the cities, and decrease the amount of air pollution as citizens would not need to commute as far.The AfriSam-SAIA Sustainable Design Award is not only about recognising sustainable architectural feats or sustainable practises relating to a single solution, but address a number of urgent societal issues relating to economic, environmental and social impact. Ultimately, they promote the need for a new way of thinking, he concludes.The next AfriSam-SAIA Sustainable Design Award webinar will take place in August. To enter the 2020 AfriSam-SAIA Sustainable Design Awards, click here Southern Grocers, parent company to Winn-Dixie, received heat over the weekend for not implementing a mask mandate in their stores. Less than 48 hours later, the company flipped their position and announced a mask mandate in stores beginning on Monday, July 27, according to Joe Caldwell, director of the companys corporate communications and government affairs. We believe that the enforcement should be placed upon our state and federally elected officials, and we will continue to work with our peers in the retail industry to advocate for this sensible mandate to be passed into law to remove the burden from employers and their heroic frontline associates, the statement said. The decision comes after fervent backlash on all sides of social media. Southern Grocers have now joined a hoard of other businesses and stores requiring masks like Target, Publix, Kroger, Walgreens and Trader Joes. Read about the backlash here: Winn-Dixie not requiring masks, sparking online outrage Indian naval ships conduct a Passage Exercise (PASSEX) with the United States Navy's USS Nimitz carrier strike group near the Andaman and Nicobar (A&N) islands as it transits the Indian Ocean. Photo: PTI. NEW DELHI (PTI): In the midst of India's border row with China, a US Navy carrier strike group led by nuclear-powered aircraft carrier USS Nimitz carried out a military drill with a fleet of Indian warships off the coast of Andaman and Nicobar Islands on Monday, officials said. Four frontline warships of the Indian Navy participated in the "PASSEX" exercise when the US carrier strike group was transiting through the Indian Ocean Region on its way from the South China Sea, they said. The USS Nimitz is the world's largest warship and the exercise between the two navies assumed significance as it took place in the midst of China's renewed military assertiveness in eastern Ladakh as well as in South China Sea. The US Navy carrier strike group comprises USS Nimitz, Ticonderoga-class guided missile cruiser USS Princeton and Arleigh Burke-class guided missile destroyers USS Sterett and USS Ralph Johnson, the officials said. While operating together, the US and Indian naval forces conducted high-end exercises designed to maximise training and interoperability, including air defence, the US 7th Fleet said in a statement. It said Nimitz carrier strike group's operations are designed to provide security throughout the region while building partnerships with friends and allies. "It was a privilege to operate with the Indian Navy," Rear Adm. Jim Kirk, commander, Nimitz carrier strike group, was quoted as saying by the 7th Fleet. It said such Naval engagements improve the cooperation of the US and Indian maritime forces and contribute to ability of both sides to counter threats at sea, from piracy to violent extremism. "These engagements also present opportunities to build upon the pre-existing strong relationship between the United States and India and allow both countries to learn from each other," it added. The 7th Fleet is the largest of the forward-deployed US fleets. India carried out similar exercises with the Japanese navy last month. The Indian Navy has increased its surveillance missions and beefed up operational deployment in the Indian Ocean region in the wake of the country's bitter border standoff with China in eastern Ladakh. The Indian Navy is also ramping up its operational cooperation with various friendly naval forces like the US Navy and the Japan Maritime Self Defense Force in view of the fast evolving regional security landscape, the officials said. Navies from the US, India, Australia, Japan and France have been deepening their mutual cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region in view of China's growing attempt to expand military influence in the resource rich region. Following escalation in tension between India and China in eastern Ladakh, the government put all the three forces on high alert. The Indian Navy was asked to raise its alert-level in the Indian Ocean Region where Chinese Navy has been making regular forays. (*) This interview was conducted one week after the IVD report was published in the Official Journal and before the resignation of Prime Minister Elyes Fakhfakh on 16 July due to a conflict of interest. This government will leave in 45 days. We are not being asked to initiate reforms immediately, but rather to prepare a strategy for their implementation. JusticeInfo.net: Now that you have published the IVD report, do you have a plan for implementing its recommendations? Ayachi Hammami: According to the transitional justice law, the government must prepare a strategy and a work plan to implement the IVD recommendations within one year of the final reports publication. We published the report on June 24, so the clock is now ticking. The methodology weve chosen is to set up a commission which will work with representatives of all the ministries and state institutions and members of civil society with human rights expertise and who are pro-transitional justice, such as the Tunisian Human Rights League, the Association of Tunisian Magistrates, victims coalitions and associations and so on. Together they will decide how to design the government plan, with reference to the reports recommendations. This commission may divide its members into several sub-committees and call upon consultants and experts who can help it to better understand a specific problem, issue or case in relation to the IVDs final report. It must also take into account the financial possibilities of the State, bearing in mind that we are not being asked to initiate reforms immediately, but rather to prepare a strategy for their implementation. Will the former commissioners of the IVD be part of this commission? That is not ruled out. But their participation is not essential either, as they can be called on within the framework of the sub-committees to bring expertise in certain areas and knowledge of the report. Some, I believe, may be associated as members involved in civil society. You have appointed the members of the Dignity Fund. When will they start providing reparations to victims? The fund has already started operating. It is managed by a commission of eight members representing the Prime Ministers Office and the Ministries of Finance, Health, Social Affairs, Human Rights, Justice, Development and International Cooperation, as well as the State Litigation Officer. The nomination process started some time ago, so we have now finally completed it. The committees first meeting took place last week. Its first task will be preparing an agreement to be co-signed by the Prime Minister and the Finance Minister on management procedures. 33,000 victims have been granted reparation decisions, of which 18,000 concern financial compensation and 15,000 rehabilitation. Lists will be drawn up by the commission to classify victims according to region, gender, age and the degree of damage suffered. Financial compensation varies from one person to another and is based on objective criteria established by the Truth Commission and cited in its report. It is true that victims whose reparations decisions date back more than a year have felt frustrated, particularly after the closure of the Truth Commission. Now they have someone to turn to. We shouldnt expect to see the start of victim compensation in the short term. I think it will take quite a long time to start that work. The State has allocated 10 million dinars to the Dignity Fund. This is insufficient given the number of victims, so how will you find the rest of the money? The 10 million dinars will be used to set up the administration that will be in charge of the Dignity Fund, with its logistics and employees. The most biggest resources will come, as the decree recommends, from donations, gifts and unconditional legacies, whether national or foreign. According to the information and contacts we have, countries such as Germany and Switzerland, which have supported the process in Tunisia, are ready to donate funds. Moreover, we shouldnt expect to see the start of victim compensation in the short term. I think it will take quite a long time to start that work. We should not forget that Tunisia is currently going through an acute financial crisis, its coffers are practically empty. But the victims have no intention of robbing the state, many are rather looking for rehabilitation or even recognition. The rehabilitation of victims can also take the form of an economic project in their favour that aims to develop an entire region, their region. This will give us the opportunity to rehabilitate both the victim and the victim region. In this case, the beneficiary will be supported by state structures during the various phases of the project, to guarantee its success. This type of investment goes beyond the individual who has suffered human rights violations, reaching out to the entire region. The victims are in all regions. Do you plan to decentralize the administration of the funds to facilitate access to the beneficiaries? Its not out of the question. When the Funds management commission starts its work, it will probably identify the likely problems and decide on solutions. My role as minister is to respond to the needs of this commission, to facilitate its work and not to supervise or control it. On the other hand, it should be noted that there is a government structure called the Department for Veterans, Martyrs and Wounded of the Revolution and Victims of Terrorism. This body has regional offices. This is where the victims who have not received their reparation decisions from the IVD, i.e. almost 5,000 people, will be able to retrieve these documents. They will no longer have to travel to Tunis to claim them. Ten years after the revolution, Tunisia has still not published the official list of martyrs and wounded from the events of January 2011 in the Official Gazette. There is still a dispute over this list, which is contested by many victims. How can it be resolved? I myself am personally concerned that, ten years on, Tunisia still does not have an official list of its martyrs and wounded as if the revolution had not taken place! This issue is complex and ambiguous and requires a lot of caution. Very soon after the revolution, the commission of investigation into the violations and abuses committed by the forces of law and order, chaired by Taoufik Bouderbala, was set up and published a report. In this document, which was the reference in the first years after January 2011 to obtain reparations and free care and transport cards, the number of dead was estimated at 337 and the number of injured at 3,000. The IVD, for its part, has drawn up its own list of 111 martyrs [people who died]. The first list of the inquiry commission on violations and abuses was contested, so the Constituent Assembly promulgated a law in 2012 setting up a commission to draw up a list of the wounded and martyrs of the revolution, chaired once again by Taoufik Bouderbala. The commission posted the names of the identified victims on its website in October 2019. It mentions 120 martyrs and 600 wounded. This provoked an outcry, all the more so as some of the wounded with judgments in their favour published by the Military Tribunal since 2013 did not find their names on that list. The installation of this government of which Im a member at the end of February coincided with the outbreak of the coronavirus crisis, hence the postponement of this issue. Today, we are encountering differences of opinion among NGOs representing the wounded and the families of the martyrs: some are asking us to publish the latest list of the Bouderbala Commission quickly in the Official Gazette, and others are saying that if we do, the wounded forgotten by this recent report are threatening to commit suicide. We therefore thought about allocating a little more time to this very divisive issue and broadening consultations on it before making a final decision. I am listening to the various proposals. Some feel that the revolution must be generous with its children and those who provoked it, that it should avoid bureaucratic accounting and compensate everyone, including those hit by stray bullets in front of their homes. Others dispute this point of view. They distinguish between the 80 prisoners who died during the revolution as they tried to escape after provoking a mutiny, and the peaceful demonstrators killed during the angry days of winter 2010-2011. Are the police and military who fell at that time victims or executioners? Finding convincing answers to all these questions is no easy task. Among the recommendations in the IVD report there are several ideas and proposals for national remembrance. Have you worked on that issue? We believe a nation that does not learn from its past will make the same mistakes, including a return to tyranny, because it will simply forget what happened on its own soil. Hence the importance of preserving memory. This will probably be one of the tasks of the commission designing the governments action plan. The old system hasnt completely disappeared. Its networks and lobbies, especially in the media and the administration, are a great blocking force. As for the new system, it is stumbling and sometimes falling short. How do you explain that revealing the truth and rehabilitating the victims in particular are encountering so much resistance? I would like to refer to the famous quote by the Italian writer and philosopher Antonio Gramsci while the old world is dying, the new world is slow to appear. We are in this complex in-between. The old system hasnt completely disappeared. Its networks and lobbies, especially in the media and administration, are a great blocking force. As for the new system, it is stumbling and sometimes falls short as a force of resistance to obstacles. Diversity also characterizes the new world in Tunisia, an effect of democracy whose essence is multiple political sensibilities. However, this climate does not favour rapid decision-making. Post-revolutionary governments have also been slow in establishing transitional justice. Instead of inaugurating a process, the government that emerged from the first free elections on 23 October 2011 set up a Ministry of Human Rights and Transitional Justice, which gave impetus to the project of drafting a law on transitional justice. This was a way to buy time. It was only after a long series of regional consultations in 2012 and 2013 on the new legislation that the Truth and Dignity Commission was established in June 2014. This slowness in setting up an accountability mechanism made it possible for the old guard to return in force. Theres been mismanagement of time and the historical opportunity offered in the aftermath of the revolution. The other reason that made the process difficult was the boycott of the Commission by several categories of victims, especially people on the political left. They rejected it, criticized it, even defamed it. It took the IVD warning of its impending closure for victims in that mould to submit their files to the Commission. The trials of the specialized chambers are also slow. What can your ministry do to speed up the judicial process, which still suffers from the absence of the accused? I am informed that the last three trials that took place after the publication of the final IVD report have seen the arrival of the accused. This demonstrates the impact of political will on transitional justice. What can I and my colleagues in the government do other than facilitate the work of the justice system and encourage it to issue warrants to bring the accused? There are hundreds of victims who have not managed to convince the administration of their right to get their careers back. In Tunisia, judges and lawyers have been trained in transitional justice. Shouldnt the same be done with the administration? This depends once again on the political will of those who lead the administration. That will exists today, unlike in the past! Recommended reading Justice is eminently political, says Tunisian expert The Presidents apologies to the victims are much awaited. When do you think they will be forthcoming? Im waiting for them too. But I have no idea when they will come. What I am certain of is that he will make a formal apology on behalf of the state, as provided for in the transitional justice law. I think this will be an honour for him and an achievement in terms of the international image of our country. Interviewed by Olfa Belhassine When Toni Fulton and her sister jumped in the car Sunday for a roughly two-hour road trip through South Carolina to attend Kanye West's first campaign event since the rapper declared he was running for president earlier this month, neither could predict what would await them at the venue in North Charleston. But the last thing the Fultons expected was to find themselves angrily marching out of the event after being there for only 20 minutes. The cause of their sudden exit? West declaring onstage that famed abolitionist Harriet Tubman, who has been called "the Moses of her people," "never actually freed the slaves." "She just had the slaves go work for other white people," West said. Loud groans and unintelligible murmuring immediately erupted from the large crowd of several hundred people who had gathered at the Exquis Event Center. "Come on, man," a voice shouted out. Meanwhile, the Fulton sisters, who are black, decided they had seen enough. In a now-viral video capturing West's comment, Toni Fulton made her exasperation with the Grammy Award-winning artist clear in a single statement. "Yo, we leavin' right now," she could be heard saying in the background of the short clip as it abruptly cut off. "We're young, black women and there weren't a lot of us in the room," Fulton, 30, told The Washington Post. "We know better than to be in a space that we're not uplifted in. While he was saying a lot of crazy things that didn't directly offend us, that was offensive and it wasn't appropriate for us to be there anymore." West, who is trying to get on the ballot in South Carolina, spoke for about an hour during Sunday's freewheeling campaign rally, bouncing between a variety of subjects ranging from abortion and religion to international trade. But his claim about Tubman swiftly became the most-talked about moment from the event. Video clips circulated widely online, prompting critics and historians to share facts about Tubman's storied legacy and urge West, who faced intense backlash in 2018 for saying 400 years of African American enslavement sounded "like a choice," to educate himself. By early Monday, "Kanye" and Tubman's name were still top trending terms on Twitter as social media exploded with reactions to his remarks, which one prominent Tubman scholar decried as "completely irrational" in an interview with The Washington Post. "There's something about that little, petite, black woman, who did so much, that seems to bother him," said Kate Clifford Larson, author of the 2003 biography "Bound for the Promised Land: Harriet Tubman, Portrait of an American Hero." Larson noted that West has referenced the abolitionist critically in past years. "She put up with a lot of abuse her whole life," Larson said of Tubman. "She's getting the attention and accolades that she deserves. Why tear her down now? It's just ridiculous." Representatives for West did not respond to requests for comment late Sunday. The renewed backlash over West's interpretation of history comes as he is attempting to collect the 10,000 signatures needed by noon Monday to appear on the South Carolina ballot, the Associated Press reported. West, 43, announced July 4 on Twitter that he was mounting a long-shot bid for the presidency, even though the deadline to get his name on ballots in several states had already passed. Still, West recently managed to qualify for the general election ballot in Oklahoma - and political experts have warned that it would be a mistake to ignore the hitmaker, citing the influence third-party candidates have had on past elections, The Post's Helena Andrews-Dyer reported. "People want to dismiss the irrational," pollster Terrance Woodbury told Andrews-Dyer. "It sounded irrational five years [ago] that Donald Trump would be president. It's only crazy until someone pulls it off." For Fulton, West's fledgling presidential run bears marked similarities to President Trump's 2016 campaign, and the Columbia, S.C., native told The Post on Sunday that she and her sister, both Democrats, felt the North Charleston rally "just seemed like a moment that we shouldn't miss." "She sent a text that said, 'Hey, do you want to see the circus?'" Fulton said. It didn't take Fulton long to determine that West's rally wouldn't be like any other standard campaign event. First, she said she noticed that the crowd was mostly young people and "sneakerheads," sporting their distinctive pricey footwear, while other attendees arrived wearing concert T-shirts. Perhaps, she thought, West would perform a few of his songs during his first official introduction as a presidential candidate. She anticipated that the event, albeit not a typical rally, would "introduce the world to the professional, presidential side of Kanye West." Instead, the rapper strode onstage a few minutes after 5 p.m. wearing a protective vest that had "SECURITY" emblazoned across the front. "2020" was shaved into his head. "In this Black Lives Matter spirit, to have a militarized outfit was, I don't know, read the room," said Fulton, noting the protests over racism and police brutality that have consumed the nation for weeks. "It was weird." And things only proceeded to get weirder, according to live-streamed footage of the event. Speaking without a microphone, West brought members of the crowd onstage, appearing to use their thoughts on current events to drive the conversation. He addressed his past support of Trump and his MAGA hat-wearing days, acknowledging that it was "a very, very hurtful moment" for fans. West went on to argue that "Democrats ain't did s--- for blacks" and disputed criticism that his candidacy would split black votes, calling the idea "the most racist thing that's ever been said out loud." Then, he appeared to abruptly shift gears to Tubman. Ignoring the crowd's audible reaction to his comments about Tubman's efforts to free enslaved people, West segued into criticizing economic equality. "National Basketball Association is not owned by any blacks. Universal music is not owned by any blacks," he said. "Any celebrity that you see talking is not the real power because the real power . . . you don't see them." But at that point, Fulton and her sister were already headed for the door. "We just left," she said. "We didn't want to be there any longer because it's a joke. That's what it felt like." She described West's comments as an attempt to "totally take away everything that Harriet Tubman did" for African Americans, adding, "I don't even think I've heard white people say that." On social media, the brief remark was met with similar criticism led by prominent black voices and historians. "You, Mr. West are a jerk and not worthy of uttering Tubman's name," Larson, the Tubman scholar, tweeted. "You have not freed anyone." Civil rights attorney Benjamin Crump wrote in a tweet addressed to West that "a Black history textbook is in the mail." "Read it, then learn to respect Harriet Tubman's legacy," Crump added. In a statement to The Post, Erica Armstrong Dunbar, a Rutgers University professor who specializes in African American women's history, echoed calls for West to become better educated. "Kanye West is in desperate need of a crash course in American History. His comments were erroneous and serve as a pathetic attempt to stimulate public attention," Dunbar said, calling Tubman a "hero." Regarded as "the most well-known of all the Underground Railroad's 'conductors,'" Tubman made more than a dozen trips to the South over the course of a decade, escorting hundreds of enslaved people to freedom, according to PBS. During the Civil War, Tubman worked as a nurse and a scout for the Union, and became the first woman to lead an armed and successful military attack at the time, Dunbar told The Post. Later in her life, Tubman was also advocate for women's suffrage. There is now an ongoing effort to get Tubman on the $20 bill, in place of former president Andrew Jackson, who was an enslaver. "Tubman was one of the most important social justice activists in our nation's history and West's words will never erase this fact," Dunbar said. "He's a distraction and I suggest we move along and pay him no mind." But though Brenda E. Stevenson, a professor of history and African American studies at the University of California at Los Angeles, agreed that West's comments were "woefully uninformed," she stressed that his influence should not be entirely discounted. "He's a celebrity and he has a great following of young people in particular," Stevenson told The Post. "Some may be as uninformed as he is and believe that what he says is true, so that's what's disturbing to me. "This country has a real problem with knowing African American history," she continued. "So when you have someone who has a great following say something that really is not based in fact, then it really distorts the history even more." Instead, she urged people to do their own research. "Question what you read on social media. Question it deeply," she said, "All the information is available to us, literally at our fingertips. All you have to do is Google Harriet Tubman, you will see." Homeland Security Commerce-Justice-Science Financial Services-General Government Agriculture-Rural Development-FDA Energy-Water Development Labor-HHS-Education Transportation-HUD (TNS) In recent weeks, House appropriators have approved hundreds of billions of dollars in government funding for fiscal 2021, culminating in the Appropriations Committees July 15 approval of legislation that would provide nearly $51 billion for the Homeland Security Department.With all 12 of the annual appropriations bills now approved by the committee, Congress is primed to spend heavily on a wide range of technologies. Appropriators set aside funds for cybersecurity on the eve of this Novembers elections, rural broadband for unconnected and hard-to-reach Americans, STEM education for the countrys youth, and research into quantum computing and artificial intelligence.Here are some highlights:Most of the technology funding set aside for the Homeland Security Department would go to border security and cybersecurity operations. The draft legislation, which does not yet have a bill number, invests in U.S. Customs and Border Protections surveillance technology and the resources available to the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, known as CISA, which is the federal governments prime coordinating agency for cybersecurity.The bill would provide $531 million for CBP to purchase non-intrusive imaging technology for use at customs points, border security technology and tools for use at ports of entry. Of that, $45 million is set aside for innovative technology, according to the Appropriations Committee.CISA would receive $2.25 billion in total, nearly $500 million more than the Trump administration requested for fiscal 2021. Much of the funding would go toward sustaining investments made in prior years, appropriators said. But it also includes $33 million for cybersecurity education and training initiatives, $52 million for cybersecurity mission systems and $28 million to address cyber vulnerabilities in management systems and supply chains.The bill would also provide CISA with $19 million for the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center, which the agency uses to help coordinate with cybersecurity and election security officials in various states and levels of government.Legislation providing more than $71 billion for the departments of Commerce and Justice along with the governments scientific agencies would invest in a future science workforce and scientific research designed to give the United States a competitive edge.The bill would provide just over $1 billion for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, which is tasked with testing new technologies and setting standards for their use. Of the total, around $800 million is set aside for research, about $35 million more than the agency was awarded in fiscal 2020. The Appropriations Committee said the funds should be used to help advance U.S. competitiveness, economic growth, cybersecurity and other important efforts.Appropriators said the bills $23 billion allocation for NASA is aimed primarily at furthering investments into human space exploration, which also means investing in future astronauts. The bill sets aside $126 million of NASAs total for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics education funds the White House had proposed cutting.The National Science Foundation would receive nearly $9 billion in funding, up $270 million from the enacted level in fiscal 2020.These funds will foster innovation and U.S. economic competitiveness, the committee said, including funding for research on artificial intelligence, quantum information science, advanced manufacturing, physics, mathematics, cybersecurity, neuroscience, and STEM education.Appropriators are seeking to use the nearly $25 billion legislation funding the Federal Trade Commission and the Federal Communications Commission to assist in antitrust investigations of Silicon Valley and to understand where rural Americans lack Internet access.The bill boosts the FTCs budget by $10 million, for a total of $341 million, to aid its antitrust enforcement work amid ongoing investigations by federal and state regulators into major technology firms such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple. A committee press release singles out antitrust enforcement and consumer protection work as justification for the increase.Democrats and Republicans alike have called for greater antitrust enforcement of companies such as Facebook, Google, Amazon and Apple. The chief executives of all four companies are slated to testify before the House Judiciary Antitrust, Commercial, and Administrative Law Subcommittee on July 27.The draft funding bill would also increase spending levels for the Federal Communications Commission by $37 million above the fiscal 2020 enacted level, bringing the total to $376 million. The agency is funded entirely through fees, but Congress still oversees its budget. Appropriators directed the FCC to use the additional funding to improve broadband mapping, which would give federal regulators a better understanding of where Americans lack Internet access.The $24 billion legislation that funds the Department of Agriculture and the Food and Drug Administration might not be the obvious home for technology funding. But the fiscal 2021 version of the bill includes more than a billion dollars to increase high-speed Internet service in rural, underserved areas where staying connected is crucial for farmers livelihoods.The $1 billion in the legislation marks an increase of $435 million over fiscal 2020, according to the committee, and reflects appropriators goals of providing economic development opportunities and improved education and healthcare services for rural Americans.With lawmakers, cybersecurity experts and government officials all in agreement that the countrys energy infrastructure is at increasing risk from cyberattacks, the nearly $50 billion legislation funding the Energy Department boosts funds for cybersecurity.The bill provides $160 million, a slight increase over fiscal 2020, for efforts to secure the nations energy infrastructure against all hazards, reduce the risks of and impacts from cybersecurity events, and assist with restoration activities, the committee said.The $197 billion legislation funding the departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, and Education would provide $85 million in STEM grants, a $20 million boost over the fiscal 2020 enacted level.Amid the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the bill also provides $50 million for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to modernize public health data surveillance and analytics at CDC, State and local health departments, and the National Center for Health Statistics, according to the committee.In order to keep pace with the rise of automated vehicles, appropriators included $3 million in legislation for the Highly Automated Systems Safety Center of Excellence, an office within the Transportation agency tasked with making sure self-driving cars are safe.The Transportation Department would also receive $100 million for the Magnetic Levitation Technology Deployment Program, an ongoing nationwide competition designed to test the large-scale feasibility of MagLev technology, which uses magnets to power high-speed trains. 1 Market Buzz Nifty @ 11k, what lies ahead It took the Nifty50 34 sessions to complete its journey from 10,000 to 11,000, as Indian markets climbed all wall of worries to head north after hitting a swing low of 7,500 on March 24. The Nifty reclaimed 10,000 levels on June 3 and went past the 11,000-mark on July 20. Experts are of the view that if the index manages to hold above 11,000, it can gain 500 more points. The index has risen about 10 percent since June 3 while about 11 BSE 500 stocks rallied 50-100 percent during the same period. Are they still a good buy? Read here. 2 Big Story Oxford vaccine shows promise AstraZeneca's experimental COVID-19 vaccine was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials in healthy volunteers, data has shown. The vaccine, called AZD1222 and under development by AstraZeneca and scientists at Britain's Oxford University, did not prompt any serious side effects and elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses, according to trial results published in The Lancet medical journal. "We hope this means the immune system will remember the virus, so that our vaccine will protect people for an extended period," study lead author Andrew Pollard of the University of Oxford said. Read here 3 Your Money Think before buying a house The decision to buy a house cant be made just on the basis of emotions and desire. There are numerous other factors to consider before deciding on renting or owning a house. A house is one of the biggest investments you ever make. And it is likely that even after putting a large chunk of your savings towards down payment, you still need to take a home loan. So, before taking a decision to buy, evaluate whether you have sufficient funds to make the down payment. The higher your down payment, the lower would be your home loan burden and, therefore, equated monthly installments. There are more factors to consider as well, read here 4 Global Watch Banks scrutinise Hong Kong clients for pro-democracy ties Global wealth managers are examining whether their clients in Hong Kong have ties to the city's pro-democracy movement, in an attempt to avoid getting caught in the crosshairs of China's new national security law. Bankers at Credit Suisse Group AG, HSBC Holdings Plc, Julius Baer Gruppe AG and UBS Group AG, among others, are broadening scrutiny under their programmes that screen clients for political and government ties and subjecting them to additional diligence requirements. The designation, called politically exposed persons, can make it more difficult or altogether prevent people from accessing banking services, depending on what the bank finds about their source of wealth or financial transactions. Read here 5 Tech Tattle Compact luxury cars in death lane Size does matter, at least when it comes to luxury cars. Indias growing appetite for large SUVs has left compact luxury cars gasping for breath, even forcing companies to pull them out of showrooms. Once hailed as volume generators, small luxury cars today are non-existent, with India mirroring global trend. Mercedes-Benz, Indias largest luxury carmaker, has phased out three of its four models in the compact segment in less than a year. Indias second-largest luxury carmaker BMW has pulled the plug on the 1 Series hatchback, which was brought in to challenge the Mercedes-Benz A-Class. Why small is not beautiful anymore? Read here 6 Startup Tales Digital payments up but data points to jagged recovery The coronavirus outbreak has ravaged the Indian economy, bringing almost every business activity to a standstill. As businesses resume in a staggered manner, the big question is how will the country recover from this blow? Will it be a V- shaped quick recovery? If early data of consumption patterns is any indication, the answer is no. Data sourced from digital payment companies, banks and the Reserve Bank of India suggests that at best, it may be a jagged recovery followed by stagnation, maybe a fall again and then finally some gains. This trend will likely continue till the end of the current financial year. Read here. 7 Tailpiece Instagrams India roll of followers Cricket again scores over Bollywood. Among the Top 10 most followed Indian celebrities on Instagram, eight are from Hindi cinema industry. In a list dominated by womenthere are only three men there-- Akshay Kumar is the only male actor to figure on the list. He is ranked number 8, with 42.7 million. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, with 45.4 million followers, is two places ahead of him, making him the only politician on the list. Shraddha Kapoor has hit 50 million followers to have the third-highest fan following on the Facebook-owned app. Almost four million followers separate her from the second most popular actor. The top of the class is a cricketer. To find out more, click here LONDON, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Quench Sea, a handheld device that instantly turns seawater into fresh drinking water using manual power, has surpassed its funding goal on crowdfunding site Indiegogo by over 700 percent. The portable desalination device - currently available from as little $60 - will now go into full production and the first units are set to ship in February 2021. Portable, affordable handheld desalination device is perfect for emergency water use, boaters, hikers, survivalists, adventurers To accommodate demand, the company has extended its Indiegogo campaign until July 29 - meaning there's still a chance for sailors, campers, hikers, survivalists, preppers and travelers to back the project at the reduced campaign price. An extra water filter worth around $10 is included with each purchase. There is also still opportunity to make a significant dent in the global water crisis. Quench Sea is donating one device to humanitarian projects such as Project Maji for every device bought during its crowdfunding campaign. It hopes to donate over 100 million units by 2027. Quench Sea is capable of making up to three litres of drinkable water per hour. The handle-powered unit fits into a small bag; simply pump it for as long as is needed to provide the volume of clean water desired. You can watch how it works here and an independent verification video is here. "As well as being an ideal survival tool for adventurers, Quench Sea can be delivered at scale in a humanitarian crisis," said Lee King, founder and CEO of Hydro Wind Energy. "Every unit sold will help to get one of these devices into the hands of charities focused on water scarcity and distributed to where they're needed most." Two-thirds of the world's population live in areas plagued by water scarcity and more than two billion people live without access to clean water. Water scarcity is also a growing problem for many developed nations. Quench Sea can be stored as an emergency device for homeowners living in coastal regions, where natural disasters such as hurricanes, earthquakes and droughts can have a short term impact on access to clean water. About Hydro Wind Energy Based in London and Dubai, Hydro Wind Energy is a tech startup developing a disruptive technology to help solve three of the biggest challenges of the 21st century: low-cost clean electricity, grid-scale energy storage and water desalination at scale. For more information visit https://hw.energy. Additional Resources: Photography Media Contact: Karen Blondell, PR Network for Quench Sea (US), 424-263-7371, [email protected] Related Images quench-sea.jpg Quench Sea Portable, affordable handheld desalination device is perfect for emergency water use, boaters, hikers, survivalists, adventurers Related Links Indiegogo campaign Video -How it Works SOURCE Hydro Wind Energy BALTIMORE, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, & Offutt, LLC (WVF&O) announced it has filed a lawsuit in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City against Johns Hopkins Hospital and a number of their employees on behalf of Emma Webster, a two-year-old girl who died after she received delayed treatment for neuroblastoma as a result of negligence by Hospital providers. On August 7, 2016, Francesca Webster gave birth to twins Emma and Zoe at Johns Hopkins Hospital via cesarean section. During the newborn admission, an abdominal ultrasound examination showed a cyst on Emma's right adrenal gland. Healthcare professionals noted that neuroblastoma, a cancer commonly found in the adrenal glands, could not be ruled out and required follow-up testing. Despite the discovery, Francesca and her husband, Dave Webster, were never notified by Johns Hopkins of the presence of the potentially cancerous cyst on their newborn daughter's adrenal gland. In 2018, Emma became ill and was diagnosed with neuroblastoma which started in her right adrenal gland, but by that time the cancer had spread to her spine, skull, upper chest and neck, left femur, and more. Emma passed away on June 3, 2019, after multiple treatments failed to slow down the progression of the disease. Had her parents been notified at the time of the newborn ultrasound, Emma's cancer could have been treated before it became incurable. "At discharge, we were instructed to follow up with several specialists on Emma's behalf, which we followed through with immediately. If a cyst had been mentioned [to us] when Emma was born, we never would have let it go. We would have made the necessary appointments to protect our daughter," said Dave Webster, Emma's father. "All Johns Hopkins needed to do was inform us of the results from the ultrasound, which they never did. We want healthcare providers to be held accountable and prioritize communicating with each other and with parents." Francesca, with a warning to other parents, said, "What happened to our family could happen to anyone. We want to stress to parents to ask questions about what tests were done and their results. Also to order and review all medical records to make sure you have a full understanding of your child's care." Since Emma's passing, the Webster family has launched the Emma Claire Foundation, a nonprofit with a mission to assist in relieving financial burdens for families of children fighting cancer. Francesca and Dave are long-time residents of the Baltimore area. Growing up and until just a few years ago, Francesca's parents owned and operated the famed Caesar's Den restaurant in the heart of Baltimore's Little Italy. Dave met Francesca while attending Salisbury University and he is a physical education teacher for nearby Harford County Public Schools. Johns Hopkins has refused to admit their negligence, which is why WVF&O has filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Webster family in the Circuit Court for Baltimore City. "Johns Hopkins needs to be held accountable for the tragic and preventable death of Emma," said Chris Norman, partner at WVF&O, and lead counsel for the Webster family. "The negligence that took place resulted in the unnecessary suffering and death of an innocent little girl, leaving a permanent hole in the heart of her parents and twin sister. With this lawsuit, we aim to not only provide some small measure of relief to this grieving family, but also to hold those responsible accountable, and hopefully shed light on this case in a way that prevents similar tragedies from occurring in the future." Wais, Vogelstein, Forman & Offutt, LLC is a Baltimore-based medical malpractice and birth injury law firm serving victims and families throughout Maryland, Washington, D.C., and the nation. Over the years, the firm has capitalized on more than a century of collective experience to recover over $500 million in verdicts and settlements, as well as record results and the largest medical malpractice verdict in United States history. More information about the firm and services can be found at www.malpracticeteam.com. SOURCE Wais, Vogelstein, Forman & Offutt, LLC Related Links http://www.malpracticeteam.com/ If the Trump family had never existed, someone would have invented them. Indeed, theyd have been right at home in some over-the-top TV soap produced by Aaron Spelling. As depicted in Too Much and Never Enough, Mary L. Trumps lacerating new portrait of her uncle Donald and the loveless clan that produced him, they are nearly operatic in their villainy. Many stories from the book might suffice to paint the picture. There is, for instance, the Thanksgiving meal where grandma was choking and the Trumps glanced up, then kept eating. Theres the part where they canceled health insurance on a great-grandson who suffered from seizures and required 24-hour nursing care. Theres the time grandma justified Marys exclusion from her grandfathers will by telling her that her late father was worth a whole lot of nothing. And then theres the day her father died. Frederick Freddy Trump Jr. was the oldest son, the heir apparent to the Trump real-estate empire until his failure to prove himself a killer in business, his love for deep-sea fishing, his work as an airline pilot a bus driver in the sky, sneered his old man and his descent into alcohol and despair caused the father to move on to his second son, Donald. Freddys downward spiral ended on Sept. 26, 1981, when an ambulance took him to the hospital. The doctors think Freddy probably wont make it, Donald is said to have told Freddys ex-wife. She rushed to the family home to wait by the phone. Mary says Donald and his sister Elizabeth werent there. They had gone to the movies. Who does that? Who goes to the movies when their brother is on his deathbed? Marys book arrives as controversy swirls over reports that Russia paid a bounty for American deaths while the White House did nothing, Ivanka Trump is under fire for posing with a can of beans and ICE is training civilians to arrest undocumented immigrants. In other words, a typical week in the chaos that is the Trump presidency. Meantime, the death toll from the coronavirus pandemic Trump once assured us would magically disappear is approaching 140,000. In response, the White House launches an attack on Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, the nations top infectious-disease expert and its most credible pandemic spokesperson, while Trump retweets a theory that everyone is lying about the virus to hurt him politically. Its from Chuck Woolery, whose claim to fame is that he used to host Love Connection. And again, seriously: Who does that? The answer, of course, is no mystery to anyone whos been paying attention. Still, Mary Trump performs a service by bringing to that answer both the authority of a psychologist she holds a Ph.D. and the insight of an insider. Donald Trump is what you get when childhood is a zero-sum competition for the approval of a high-functioning sociopath whose values are expressible in dollars and cents. He is what happens when a boy is allowed to bluff, brag and bully his way through life, no one ever tells him No and everyone acts as if his waste products are without odor. He is whats left when you subtract compassion, accountability, humility and the ability to laugh at yourself. Donald is not simply weak, writes his niece, his ego is a fragile thing that must be bolstered every moment because he knows deep down that he is nothing of what he claims to be. He knows he has never been loved. That ruined young Donald Trump. It may yet ruin us all. Leonard Pitts is a columnist for The Miami Herald, 3511 NW 91st Ave., Miami, Fla., 33172. Readers may contact him via e-mail at lpitts@miamiherald.com. Your browser does not support the audio element. In the past 25 years, Vietnam and the United States have gone a long way from archenemies to partners in various domains. In a new era with emerging contemporary challenges, this relationship is constantly faced with adversities that call for prompt maneuvers to strengthen the rapport. Tuoi Tre News reached out to U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink to reflect on the history and weigh in on the contingencies for these peculiar bilateral relations. Is 25 years too long or too short for the kind of partnership and friendship that Vietnam and the U.S. have built? Twenty-five years is a long period of time when you look at a persons life. I actually think its extraordinary how quickly we have made progress and how quickly and successfully we have built partnership and friendship between the U.S. and Vietnam. I told you my story about Pete Peterson the first American ambassador [to Vietnam] in a press conference. I really think about that a lot because I really believe in what he said: what we achieved is remarkable and extraordinary, but it came about because of the really hard work, courage, dedication, and goodwill by leaders on both sides. I think as long as we continue to have that mindset, [as] long as we remain committed to this partnership together, I think there is nothing we cannot do. If you look at some statistics, its pretty extraordinary: to go from virtually no trade to US$77 billion in trade, and from virtually no security relationship and no relationship between two militaries to today. I will argue that Vietnam is one of our most important security partners in the region and we are cooperating in so many areas. Look at the people ties that we have built: the fact that there are 30,000 Vietnamese students in the U.S. is really extraordinary. Im very proud of what we have achieved in the last 25 years and it makes me exceptionally optimistic about what we can achieve over the next 25 years. If you want proof for how far the U.S.-Vietnam relationship has come, just look at February 2019 when of all the places in the world we could have gone for help with hosting a summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, we came to Vietnam because we have trust and faith in Vietnam and we believe in your skill to carry out such a summit. Vietnam did a great job and we are very pleased and grateful to Vietnam for that. Vietnam set such a powerful example to all the countries in the world. Vietnamese Party General Secretary and State President Nguyen Phu Trong (right) receives U.S. President Donald Trump in Hanoi, Vietnam, February 2019. Photo: U.S. Embassy in Hanoi You just compared 25 years of diplomatic ties between Vietnam and the U.S. with the life of a person. We think that 25 years is a remarkable period of time in the life of a person, as they have gone through so many challenges. In a time of uncertainties at the moment, what do you think are the most difficult challenges and opportunities that the countries face? I tend to see the opportunities and the challenges as coming hand in hand. For every challenge that we face, it is an opportunity for us together to work to overcome it. I am more of an optimistic, positive person so I would just focus on the opportunities and it will be directly related to the challenges. I think the first opportunity that we have is to continue to promote our mutual prosperity, and that means continuing to grow our economic and trade relations, ensure that trade relations remain beneficial for both countries, and resolve some market access issues in Vietnam and issues related to the treatment of American companies. I think that is one area that we will need to continue to work on. And when we talk about economic opportunities in Vietnam, we see tremendous opportunities in the energy sector, healthcare, IT, infrastructure especially transportation infrastructure digital services, smart cities, and several more. On the security side, I think that our view and our interest in the [East Vietnam Sea] are almost completely identical. We both want to see a stable, peaceful region, we want to see a region that is based on rules in which all countries, large and small, play by the same rules, follow international law, and resolve peacefully disputes between them. If you want to talk about challenges and opportunities, I think COVID-19 [novel coronavirus disease] is probably the most relevant and prominent challenge and opportunity we face today. The challenge is clear. I think Vietnams response has been probably the best in the world. The U.S. has been really proud to be Vietnams partner in assisting Vietnam in responding to COVID-19. We have been Vietnams health partner now for more than 20 years and have provided more than $700 million in health assistance to Vietnam. But we are so grateful to Vietnam for your assistance to the United States during our time of need, and I know that that assistance in providing masks and other protective equipment has helped save lives. You started your diplomatic career in 1994, one year before Vietnam and the U.S. began the ice-breaking process and established diplomatic ties. What did you hear about Vietnam at the time? When you came to Vietnam as an ambassador, what was your first impression of the country? How has it changed over 25 years? I remember just at the start of my diplomatic career, all of the excitement between the United States and Vietnam as we normalized our relations and the year before that how we lifted the trade embargo. I remember as an American and an American diplomat, again, the excitement and the hope surrounding the start of our new beginning and I was very pleased to see that. It is one of the reasons why I am so honored to be here now as an ambassador. It has often been said that for many Americans, when they hear the word Vietnam, the first thing they would think of is the war. I am proud to say that I am one of the millions of Americans now who know that Vietnam is a beautiful country with beautiful, warm, gracious, hardworking, talented people. That is probably the biggest change, personally, that I have gone through. My time here as an ambassador over the last three years further reinforces the view that I have had since 2015, when I first started working on Vietnam from Washington, which is Vietnam is one of the most important and most capable partners in the region and, I would argue, in the world. We have a lot of respect for Vietnam. What Vietnam has achieved itself is extraordinary, and what we achieve together is really remarkable. U.S. President Barack Obama receives Vietnamese Party General Secretary Nguyen Phu Trong at the White House in July 2015. Photo: Reuters You were the first U.S. ambassador to visit two cemeteries of fallen Vietnamese soldiers in Quang Tri and Ho Chi Minh City. What are some memorable events with the people that you met there? One wonders what an American ambassador said in his prayers offered at the Vietnamese martyrs' resting place. I was really honored to be able to visit both the Truong Son Martyrs Cemetery in Quang Tri Province and the Martyrs Cemetery in Ho Chi Minh City. It was very moving for me to be able to go and I was very gratified that I was allowed to go. I am proud to be the first American ambassador to visit and somewhat surprised that that is a fact. What I hoped to achieve is that by being the first ambassador to go, such visits can become routine and expected and maybe not newsworthy between our two countries. More importantly, we want to make a small gesture to demonstrate our goodwill toward Vietnam, our tremendous respect for the sacrifice made by people on all sides during the conflict in the name of patriotism. And hopefully, by demonstrating that respect and honoring all of those who made the ultimate sacrifice we can make a small contribution to building the friendship and partnership between the U.S. and Vietnam and a small contribution to further promoting reconciliation between us. While I was there, at both cemeteries, what I thought of and prayed for was continued peace between our two great countries and peoples, and I also prayed for the continued peace for all of the souls of those who sacrificed on all sides during that conflict. Those visits have been some of the most meaningful things that I have done during my time in Vietnam and during my career as a U.S. diplomat. Vietnams economy is regaining its momentum after the COVID-19 pandemic. After we joined some new-generation free trade agreements, we are trying to raise the bar for the working condition of laborers. How do you think these will impact Vietnams ability to attract investment from U.S. companies. How do we improve to increase our competitiveness and truly become an important trade partner of the U.S.? Overall, if you look at the history of Vietnams economic development, Vietnam has done a tremendous job. The World Bank would say that Vietnam has been probably the worlds second-fastest growing economy in the last 20 years and very well may be the single-fastest growing economy for the next 20. As Vietnams leaders have stated that it is their desire to attract more foreign direct investment, my advice to the Vietnamese leadership and Vietnamese people is to continue to take those steps to create the right regulatory, legal and policy environment inside Vietnam so that American and other investors want to come here. Vietnam needs to make sure that its tax policies treat foreign companies and investors fairly. Vietnam should continue to make sure that its regulatory policies are issued in a transparent and predictable way. It is important as well for Vietnam to take steps to reduce trade barriers in certain sectors. U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink offers incense at the Martyrs' Cemetery in Ho Chi Minh City, June 2020. Photo: U.S. Embassy in Hanoi One very critical aspect in the relations between the two countries is the East Vietnam Sea. How will the cooperation between the U.S. and Vietnam change to uphold the responsibilities over the sea and also ensure the rights and interests of participating stakeholders? It is not just the United States and Vietnam but all countries in the region and the world support international law, international rule of law, peaceful resolution of disputes, freedom of navigation, freedom of overflight, unimpeded commerce, and the right of states to develop natural resources to which they rightfully lay claim. All of us have an interest in ensuring that the [East Vietnam Sea] remains stable, secure and peaceful, and all of us are going to have to work really hard toward that goal. We think it is quite concerning, disturbing and deeply disappointing that not only has China continued to aggressively advance its claims, many of which are unlawful, but it is also particularly disappointing that they have chosen to take advantage of the COVID-19 pandemic to do so. Therefore, we think it is in the interest of all countries who shared the principle that I have just outlined to continue to engage in diplomacy to advance our shared principle. ASEAN [Association of Southeast Asian Nations] has a critical role to play there. Secondly, its important for the United States and other like-minded countries to continue to develop the maritime capacity of partners in the region, whether its Vietnam, the Philippines, Malaysia and Indonesia, or whoever else. That is important because the more countries have the means to understand what is happening in their territory and the means to defend their interests, the more it contributes to the stability and makes conflicts less likely. Thirdly, I think you will continue to see the United States develop our own military capacity and we will carry out our own activities including freedom of navigation operations and present operations to support those principles rooted in international law that I have just described. In discussions on the two countries diplomatic ties, we usually remember John McCain and John Kerry, two iconic U.S. senators who built a strong foundation for this rapport. Who do you think will be the next generation of diplomats and politicians to advance the two countries relations in the future? It is an important question and a question that we talk about a lot inside of the United States as well. First of all, there is virtually unanimous consensus in the United States on the importance of Americas relationship with Vietnam. There is no doubt in my mind that the American public and American leadership, whoever that may be going forward, will continue to emphasize the relationship with Vietnam. I think Americas interests in this part of the world, including in developing our ties with Vietnam, are going to be enduring. Look at who visited here in the last several years, including just in the last two and a half years since I have been ambassador. I do not have the numbers in front of me but we have had at least 11 U.S. senators come here since I have been here. There was a nine-member U.S. Senate delegation led by Sen. Patrick Leahy. He came with eight other senators. What I was impressed by every single one of them was [the fact that] they said they wanted to be a strong supporter of the U.S.-Vietnam partnership. They are Sen. Kaine, Sen. Baldwin, Sen. Udall, Sen. Lahey, Sen Portman, and Sen. Murkowski. Give me a little more time and I will come up with the other three. But I think it shows that from an older generation of leadership, like Sen. Patrick Leahy, who was talking the leadership role from the very beginning for decades, plus all the younger senators that came on that trip, there are tremendous opportunities there. You can think about Sen. Tammy Duckworth who visited here last year and then also Sen. Cory Gardner who has been here, so there are at least 11 senators that I can think of off the top of my head who have just been here. And if you think about members of the House [of Representatives] who have visited here as well: I know Rep. Seth Moulton got here last year. There is tremendous interest in Congress, in both Houses, in our partnership. Look at the commitment of the current administration: President Trump has been here twice. I think you will continue to see American academics here on a regular basis. Theres virtually unanimous consensus in the United States among the public and the leadership about the importance of our relationship with Vietnam. I think you are going to find that support to be pretty broad-based among both parties, and again among the public and leadership. I hope youve seen from my answer that there is a long list of candidates including on Capitol Hill who, I think, value the importance of this relationship. U.S. Ambassador to Vietnam Daniel Kritenbrink hosts former and incumbent Vietnamese ambassadors to the U.S. at the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi, July 7, 2020. Photo: U.S. Embassy in Hanoi Discussing the future Last week, I joined three former Vietnamese ambassadors to the United States: Le Bang, Le Cong Phung, and Pham Quang Vinh for an intimate dinner with Daniel Kritenbrink, the incumbent U.S. ambassador to Vietnam. The discussion revolved around our experience in the two countries as diplomats. We also discussed our consideration of the future of the two countries relationship. Interestingly enough, we shared the same feeling that the relations between Vietnam and America have taken giant steps forward in the last 25 years. From ex-enemies, both sides have contributed reconciliation efforts to foster a comprehensive partnership, one that just two decades ago was still beyond the wildest imagination. The impressive economic, trade and investment statistics; the cooperation on politics, diplomacy, public defense as well as regional security issues stand as bright examples for the proud achievements that the two countries have promoted. I paid special attention to the story of the U.S. ambassador where he mentioned his visit to Truong Son Martyrs Cemetery with the Vietnamese press, saying it was the most emotional trip of his tenure in Vietnam most notably when he met the Vietnamese veterans and walked with them on the former war trouble spot of Ham Rong Bridge. The image is not merely symbolic but also reflective of the faith cultivated between the two countries over the last 25 years. We have every right to take that as a source of hope, using it to look forward for the fruit of our cooperation in the years to come. Recently, the United States has affirmed their support for Vietnam in the search for soldiers missing in action as well as in correcting war legacies. I personally welcome this gesture, for it is the stepping stone for the two countries toward a brighter future. The intimate conversation was also the time for us to reflect on the milestones of the Vietnam-U.S. rapport that we have witnessed. During my term as ambassador (2011-14), the official visit of then-Vietnamese State President Truong Tan Sang in 2013 marked a new era of the Vietnam-U.S. relations. From that point onward, the two countries have been able to call each other comprehensive partners. In the joint statement between the U.S. and Vietnam during the visit of President Sang, the principle of respect for each others political systems was highlighted besides the other principles of respect for the United Nations Charter, international law, independence, sovereignty, and territorial integrity, the assemblage of which has been upheld as the tenets of these bilateral relations. In the past seven years, intensive commitments from the leadership of the two countries on the basis of respect for shared interests have strengthened trust in Vietnam-U.S. relations, predicating further pertinent cooperation. I completely agree with the U.S. ambassador that whether the relations are called comprehensive partnership or strategic partnership is of no great importance. What we should be more concerned about is the way to make these relations bloom into new achievements with improved pertinence and efficacy in the future. Looking back on the past 25 years, us mediators for these special relations are even more convinced that the achievements we got are just the beginning. The future is embedded with challenges, but as long as we keep our trust and persistence with the concurred values, the two countries would be up to see even bigger leaps forward in the future. Nguyen Quoc Cuong former Vietnam ambassador to the United States Like us on Facebook or follow us on Twitter to get the latest news about Vietnam! A veteran investigator is taking over the top spot of the Major Case Squad. The Major Case Squad of Greater St. Louis announced Monday that Major Jeff Connor would be the new commander. Connor has been a law enforcement officer for 34 years and is the chief deputy sheriff in Madison County. He's been part of the Major Case Squad since 1999, where he has served as an investigator, reporter officer, deputy commander and most recently chief deputy commander of the Illinois branch. He is a graduate of the FBI National Academy and obtained a master's degree in criminal justice management. The Major Case Squad is made up of officers from more than 119 agencies throughout the St. Louis Metropolitan area. Chief Ray Johnson, chairman of the board, said Connor's role as commander will be assigning a deputy commander, report officers and 15 to 20 investigators for a case. The squad has a clearance rate of more than 80% of the cases it tackles. Last year, the squad helped the Bethalto Police Department in Illinois to investigate the deaths of Shari Yates, John McMillian and Andrew Brooks. The investigation concluded with the arrests of Brady Witcher and Brittany McMillan, who were on the run after kidnapping and killing a woman in Alabama, as well as several armed robberies and a car theft in Alabama and Tennessee. Connor was appointed to the position after former Commander Dan DeCarli of the Ferguson Police Department retired. Connor "will provide the continued executive leadership that has made the squad so successful having an 80+% clearance rate during its 55 years of service to the Greater St. Louis Metropolitan Area," Johnson said in a news release. Shake off your afternoon slump with the oft-shared and offbeat news of the day, hand-brewed by our online news editors. Sign up! * I understand and agree that registration on or use of this site constitutes agreement to its user agreement and privacy policy. The soldiers who die while on Covid-19 duty will be declared martyrs, according to Hindustan Times sister publication Hindustan. A proposal in this regard was sent by the security forces to the government and the Union home ministry has given its in-principle approval, Hindustan reported. The family of these soldiers who die while being at the forefront of fighting the war against the coronavirus disease will be given a support of Rs 15 lakh, the report further said. The government is in the process of uploading the details of those soldiers who died on Covid-19 duty. It will also list the bank account numbers and other necessary details of the family members of these soldiers so that the donation can be given directly. The financial support that the government has announced will be given from Bharat Ke Veer corpus. It was started by the home ministry in 2017. The government has created a Web portal for people who want to donate to the fund. It also has the information about soldiers who have been martyred. The donation can be made straight to the family of the soldier. Hindustan spoke to an official who said that the martyr status for soldiers who die due to Covid-19 infection will help the family. The Bharat Ke Veer fund had Rs 6.40 crore when it was set up in 2017. The amount increased to Rs 19.43 crore in 2018. After the Pulwama attack in 2019, the entire country came forward to help the family members of the soldiers and the amount in the fund surged to Rs 250 crore. So far, 8,113 soldiers of the security forces have contracted the coronavirus disease. While 4,512 have recovered, the active cases in the forces stand at 3,562. There have been 39 coronavirus deaths in these forces with the maximum 15 fatalities in the CRPF, 10 in the BSF and nine in CISF, three in the ITBP and two personnel have succumbed to the disease in the SSB. Penny brings 29 years of industry experience in commercial real estate lending, loan servicing and portfolio management. Prior to joining the Avanta business, Penny held various positions in banking and the commercial mortgage finance sector. Penny was previously employed by Hunt Real Estate Capital in their commercial real estate lending division in Denver. She has a Bachelor's of Business Administration specializing in Banking and Finance from the University of Mississippi. "We are pleased to have Penny re-join the Hunt family," said Jim Dobbie, President of Avanta Residential. "She brings a wealth of knowledge in the real estate lending sector, and she adds an experienced perspective to this relatively new business unit at Hunt." Avanta was formed in 2020 to create purpose-built single-family rental neighborhoods in targeted regions of the U.S. Avanta Residential works with investors, major homebuilders, and land developers to deliver quality affordable single-family rental homes. Hunt has a 30+ year history developing, building, and operating single-family rentals having delivered over 70,000 units representing development costs of over $9 billion. The SFR sector has been flourishing, despite a slowing in rental rates and velocity in typical multifamily rental developments. Single-family rentals are distinguished by amenity-rich neighborhoods that provide people with privacy, community, convenience of parking, and personal outdoor space that many crave. Front porches, backyards, community greens, and beautiful streets make the neighborhoods desirable rental communities. About Avanta Avanta Residential is the single-family rental division of Hunt Companies, Inc. (Hunt). Drawing on Hunt's extensive real estate background and more than $9 billion in completed developments, Avanta is positioned to set the standard for the industry by creating purpose-built neighborhoods comprised of single-family rental homes. For more information, www.avantaresidential.com. SOURCE Avanta Residential Related Links http://www.avantaresidential.com At the moment, the border remains relatively calm, Armenian defense ministry spokesperson Shushan Stepanyan wrote on her Facebook. According to her, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces fired from sniper rifles, trying to target the Armenian servicemen. "The Azerbaijani Armed Forces were warned of the consequences through the appropriate means of communication," Stepanyan noted. BRASILIA, Brazil, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- On July 20, 2020, the Board of Directors of the New Development Bank (NDB) approved a COVID-19 Emergency Program Loan of USD 1 billion to the Government of the Federative Republic of Brazil. The resources provided by the NDB will help Brazil safeguard the income of about 5 million people in vulnerable situations, including informal, self-employed and unemployed workers. The basic income guaranteed by the program allows the most economically vulnerable families to gain increased access to food and health-related goods, such as medicines and personal hygiene products, which are vital for the prevention and containment of COVID-19. The loan will also help the Government of Brazil to ensure that strong fiscal support is in place to combat the outbreak and that priority investment projects will be implemented, thereby contributing to the economic recovery of the country. NDB's project in Brazil supplements emergency loans provided by five other multilateral development banks and development agencies - the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD), the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF), the German Development Bank (KfW), and the French Development Agency (AFD) - who joined efforts to provide USD 4 billion of financing, to mitigate the social and economic impacts of the pandemic. "The COVID-19 Emergency Program Loan to Brazil will contribute to the country's ongoing efforts to strengthen social safety nets and address immediate socio-economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak, particularly on the most vulnerable population in Brazil," said Mr. Marcos Troyjo, President of the NDB. "It also represents an important milestone for the Government of Brazil and NDB in the fight against COVID-19, in coordination with other multilateral development banks and development agencies." The loan marks the Bank's fourth emergency assistance program to combat COVID-19, following similar loans to China, India, and South Africa, and thus raises NDB's financial support against COVID-19 to the level of USD 4 billion. It is also NDB's biggest loan approval to Brazil so far, thus contributing to expanding the share of loan approvals in the country from 8.4% of the NDB's total portfolio, to 13%. Background information In its Statement on Response to COVID-19 Outbreak , the NDB Board of Governors welcomed the NDB contribution to the ongoing efforts of BRICS countries to address the health and economic consequences of the outbreak and stressed that BRICS would unite to combat the COVID-19 outbreak. On June 16, 2020, the New Development Bank priced its inaugural benchmark USD 1.5 billion 3-year COVID Response Bond in the international capital markets. The net proceeds from the Bond issue will be used to finance sustainable development activities in the NDB's member countries, including emergency assistance loans to the Bank's member countries. The NDB was established by Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa to mobilize resources for infrastructure and sustainable development projects in BRICS and other emerging economies and developing countries, complementing the existing efforts of multilateral and regional financial institutions for global growth and development. The NDB received AA+ long-term issuer credit ratings from S&P and Fitch and AAA foreign currency long-term issuer rating from Japan Credit Rating Agency (JCR). BAD AXE The Rotary Club of Bad Axe held the first Match Day, a donation event where the Rotary Club matched donations dollar-for-dollar up to $1,250 for three local non-profits, on Thursday July 16. There was also an additional $1,250 that was donated in the form of prizes throughout the day, including an extra $150 added onto the donation for the Early Bird, for the first donation of the day, and the Next Generation Giver, for the first donation from someone under the age of 18. The number of digital buyers is expected to surpass 2.14 billion by 2021, growing by over half a billion since 2016. ECommerceCompanies.com, a B2B marketplace connecting brands with eCommerce designers and developers, identified the best eCommerce companies that help businesses tap into the burgeoning market of online shoppers and grow digital sales. The top eCommerce companies are: 1. Ecosmob Technologies ecosmob.com Expertise: eCommerce Website Development, Mobile App Development, Digital Marketing and more 2. Geoxis iHub Pvt Ltd geoxis.co Expertise: Website Development, Software Development, Graphic Design and more 3. 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About eCommerceCompanies.com: eCommerceCompanies.com analyzes the best eCommerce developers from around the world to determine the leading design and development firms in this industry across all specialties and locations. The platform's comprehensive ranking process performed by industry experts helps brands find and select the best eCommerce development agency that suits their needs. Matt Hancock today confirmed Number 10's scientific advisory panel SAGE has been downgraded and the secretive Joint Biosecurity Centre is going to take over the UK's coronavirus response. The independent body has taken a backseat now that Covid-19 is a 'semi-permanent' problem and not an emergency like it was during the darkest days of the crisis back in April, the Health Secretary said. And he revealed there are now Covid-19 committees set up inside Whitehall to make decisions without COBRA meetings, which are usually hosted by the Prime Minister in response to pressing issues. The Health Secretary said that the new Joint Biosecurity Centre (BC) is now taking charge of decisions on Covid-19 after ministers were accused of acting too late in implementing the lockdown. Speaking to a committee of MPs, Mr Hancock refused to say when COBRA last met and said it has been replaced with a 'bespoke system' composed of two main groups named Covid-S and Covid-O. Covid-S is chaired by Boris Johnson. Little is known about the JBC, which is run out of the Cabinet Office, where Dominic Cummings' ally and former boss Michael Gove is the responsible minister. It is unclear how much engagement the JBC has with independent scientists. SAGE, which never had any power to make decisions, was first set up so the country's top researchers could advise the Government without bias. The confirmation comes amid a growing rift between Number 10 and top advisers, who last week said another national lockdown could be needed in the winter just hours after the PM said he wanted to return to normality. Mr Hancock today acknowledged that another national lockdown couldn't be ruled out. Today's meeting also saw the Health Secretary admit that reform of Public Health England is on the cards and that he didn't realise what the agency's limits were until the crisis hit. It didn't become clear until March that PHE wouldn't be able to arrange the mass coronavirus swab testing the country needed, he said. Although he said his focus was now on 'preparing for winter', the reform of PHE was 'a question whose time will come'. PHE has repeatedly been criticised throughout the pandemic for a string of failures, including controversially deciding to abandon widespread testing early on in the outbreak. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the new Government committees have been set up to control decisions about Covid-19 without the need for a COBRA meeting WHAT IS SAGE AND HOW IS IT DIFFERENT TO THE JOINT BIOSECURITY CENTRE? SAGE SAGE is the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE). It is a panel of scientific experts in a variety of fields who are convened to provide advice to ministers and Government officials in the event of an emergency. The members of the panel - except for those representing the Government, including Professor Chris Whitty and Sir Patrick Vallance - are not paid for their involvement. The job of SAGE is to present the latest scientific evidence on a particular subject and to discuss it in round-table meetings to consider how it might influence the Government's policy and decisions. The members of SAGE are not set in stone and change regularly, depending on the nature of the crisis it is responding to. The group is chaired and organised by the Government Office for Science, of which Sir Patrick Vallance is the head. Joint Biosecurity Centre The Joint Biosecurity Centre is a new organisation set up by the Government in May this year. The JBC has been tasked with monitoring disease outbreaks and has been assisting the nation's chief medical officers in setting the coronavirus threat level. The threat level is measured on a scale of one to five and is currently at three, meaning Covid-19 is 'in general circulation'. Its staff consists of epidemiologists and data analysts but its structure, and whether experts will be paid by the government, have not yet been announced. The JBC is headed by Dr Clare Gardiner, a qualified epidemiologist, medical researcher, and cybersecurity director at GCHQ. She reports to Baroness Dido Harding, the chief of NHS Test and Trace and the entire JBC organisation falls under the control of the Department of Health, which answers to the Health Secretary, Matt Hancock. It is currently unclear exactly how the JBC will operate with other bodies like Public Health England. Advertisement Greg Clark, chair of the Science and Technology Committee of MPs, asked Mr Hancock in today's meeting when COBRA last met. COBRA is the emergency committee usually chaired by the Prime Minister when there is a national emergency. Mr Hancock said: 'I haven't got that date to hand,' and refused to be pressed for any more detail, before revealing that the committee is no longer the chief decision-maker. The Health Secretary said: 'The decision-making for coronavirus that's in place is that there's a Covid-O, which takes the operational decisions and meets two or three times a week, and then that reports into Covid-S, which takes the strategic decisions and is chaired by the Prime Minister, and that works effectively.' Mr Hancock described Covid-S and Covid-O as a 'coronavirus sub-committee system'. Mr Clark noted that COBRA is the 'established means of operating in an emergency,' adding 'this seems to be an emergency'. Mr Hancock confirmed that COBRA had been used at the start of the crisis but it has been replaced by a 'semi-permanent' system dedicated entirely to Covid-19. And explaining why the Government has drifted away from SAGE, which is led by Sir Patrick Vallance and includes the chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, Mr Hancock said it was not set up in a way that allowed it to keep going indefinitely. He said: 'SAGE, remember, is the Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies - it's not a body that is just there for coronavirus or, indeed, for communicable diseases and epidemics and pandemics. 'And as we build our capability to deal with epidemics on a grand scale we are building the capability together in one place under the JBC [Joint Biosecurity Centre]'. It is not clear whether members of the JBC are independent or on the Government payroll. The organisation itself is part of NHS Test and Trace which means it is run by Baroness Dido Harding, who answers directly to Mr Hancock. SAGE, by comparison, is composed of scientists from across the country who volunteer their time to take part in round-table discussions to talk about scientific evidence and help explain it to members of the Government. The move sparked controversy earlier this month among scientists who say nothing is known about who works for the JBC and fear it will become a secretive organisation. Dr Richard Horton, editor of the medical journal The Lancet, said on Twitter on July 8: 'The replacement of SAGE by the Joint Biosecurity Centre as the principal mechanism for advising government on the intersection of Covid-19 science with policy is a setback for indpendent scientific advice to government, a setback for transparency, and a setback for public trust.' England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty claimed there were 'operational difficulties' that made it difficult to shut the country down in a week. He contradicted his fellow adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar (right), who told the health select committee moments earlier he 'believed lockdown was enforced too late' SAGE EXPERTS CLASH OVER LOCKDOWN: PROFESSOR CHRIS WHITTY DENIES UK WAS TOO SLOW - BUT SIR JEREMY FARRAR SAYS RESTRICTIONS CAME TOO LATE The Government's scientific advisers today butted heads about whether the UK was too slow to enforce lockdown. In an uncharacteristically bad-tempered interview, England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty claimed there were 'operational difficulties' that made it difficult to shut the country down in a week. During a virtual grilling with MPs, Professor Whitty denied there was no 'huge delay' between ministers being advised to implement the draconian measures and actually following through on the actions. He appeared to contradict his fellow adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar, who told the health select committee moments earlier he 'believed lockdown was enforced too late' and 'should have come earlier', in a sign of a rift between the UK's top experts. It emerged last week that the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had advised the Government to implement lockdown on March 16. But Boris Johnson did not announce the measures until March 23. Professor Whitty was quizzed about whether enforcing the draconian measures a week earlier would have saved tens of thousands of lives, as has been suggested by numerous scientists including Neil Ferguson, nicknamed 'Professor Lockdown' for his grim modelling that swayed ministers into shutting down the UK. The CMO blamed poor pandemic preparations, testing capacity and a lack of PPE for the UK having had the worst outbreak in Europe with almost 300,000 confirmed cases and over 45,000 deaths. And he launched a staunch defence of the government's actions over the Covid-19 pandemic, saying mass testing had to be abandoned early on in the crisis because health chiefs didn't have enough to capacity to cope with the size of the outbreak. But he accepted ministers and experts failed to recognise 'obvious' risks, such as care home residents being at risk from workers moving between homes and spreading Covid-19. In a thinly-veiled dig during a heated exchange with committee chair Jeremy Hunt, who was health secretary for six years until 2018, Professor Whitty said: 'If we wished to build this capacity up, we could have done it in previous years.' Advertisement Professor Susan Michie, a health psychologist at University College London, added: 'It would be very strange and worrying to reduce the role, cohesiveness and frequency of SAGE and to transfer responsibilities to a new body, the Joint Biosecurity Centre, that is shrouded in secrecy, with no information about its members, how they were selected, and methods for governance, oversight and accountability. 'Transparency of science and the relationship between science and policy is going to be key to public trust, which the Government needs to rebuild urgently.' Mr Hancock's confirmation comes as a rift appears to be emerging between those in charge of the Government and their top scientific advisers. The UK's chief scientist Sir Patrick Vallance last Friday warned that Britain could need another national lockdown this winter, just hours after Boris Johnson announced plans to try and get the country back to normal by Christmas. In signs of growing tensions between the PM and his top advisers, both Sir Patrick and chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said the coronavirus challenges in the UK will be 'very much greater' in the winter because the season 'benefits' the virus. The Prime Minister revealed he is aiming for life in the UK to return to something close to normal by this Christmas but warned the country must 'plan for the worst but hope for the best'. Sir Patrick told members of the House of Lords: 'As you release measures it is inevitable as you get more contacts that you will see more cases... Come winter, the challenges will be very much greater and of course there is a risk that this could need national measures'. His counterpart, Professor Whitty, also hinted lockdown rules might return as colder weather sets in, explaining people may have 'a group of things you could do for three seasons of the year but it may be that in winter this is more difficult'. Speaking about the future of Public Health England in today's meeting, Mr Hancock praised the agency and said criticism appeared to stem from a misunderstanding of what it could do. But he admitted that the agency could be facing reform because its focus is too narrow and it doesn't have enough power to take action. 'I think some people have been too unfair on PHE over this,' the Health Secretary said. 'PHE are a brilliant scientific organisation and they were set up to be a scientific organisation and we needed to move from science to scale... PHE was never set up to be a scale organisation.' Asked whether he knew this advance, Mr Hancock said: 'No I learnt it and so the [testing] policy shifted over to us on the 17th of March and once I then I had full direct control of it I could then put my foot on the accelerator and we expanded the scale.' 'The challenge we found was it was not an organisation set up to be ready to go to mass national scale... we built the scale outside of PHE.' When pressed on whether he was reforming PHE Mr Hancock said: 'There will be a time for that. My priority now is on controlling the virus and preparing for winter... we need a public health agency that isn't only brilliant at science but also able to go to scale quickly.' VALLANCE WARNS UK MAY NEED ANOTHER LOCKDOWN - JUST HOURS AFTER BORIS ANNOUNCED PLANS TO GET THE COUNTRY BACK TO NORMAL BY CHRISTMAS The UK's chief scientist Sir Patrick Vallance last week warned that Britain could need another national lockdown this winter just hours after Boris Johnson announced plans to try and get the country back to normal by Christmas. In signs of a growing rift between the PM and his top advisers, Sir Patrick and chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said the challenges in the UK will be 'very much greater' in the winter because the season 'benefits' the virus. The PM's plans also came under fire from scientists and medics who fear it is too soon for Number 10 to ease more restrictions because the virus is still 'rife' and people becoming complacent could risk a second wave. The Prime Minister revealed he was aiming for life in the UK to return to something close to normal by this Christmas - but warned the country must 'plan for the worst but hope for the best' as he announced 3billion of extra NHS funding and unveiled new 'lightning lockdown' powers to enable councils to pounce on local outbreaks. It came after Sir Patrick the day before dealt dealt a hammer blow to the PM's hopes of persuading workers to return to their offices as he said there was 'absolutely no reason' to change the current work from home guidance. Advertisement It comes after the Government's scientific advisers today butted heads about whether the UK was too slow to enforce lockdown. In an uncharacteristically bad-tempered interview, England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty claimed there were 'operational difficulties' that made it difficult to shut the country down in a week. During a virtual grilling with MPs, Professor Whitty denied there was no 'huge delay' between ministers being advised to implement the draconian measures and actually following through on the actions. He appeared to contradict his fellow adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar, who told the health select committee moments earlier he 'believed lockdown was enforced too late' and 'should have come earlier', in a sign of a rift between the UK's top experts. It emerged last week that the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had advised the Government to implement lockdown on March 16. But Boris Johnson did not announce the measures until March 23. Professor Whitty was quizzed about whether enforcing the draconian measures a week earlier would have saved tens of thousands of lives, as has been suggested by numerous scientists including Neil Ferguson, nicknamed 'Professor Lockdown' for his grim modelling that swayed ministers into shutting down the UK. The CMO blamed poor pandemic preparations, testing capacity and a lack of PPE for the UK having had the worst outbreak in Europe with almost 300,000 confirmed cases and over 45,000 deaths. And he launched a staunch defence of the government's actions over the Covid-19 pandemic, saying mass testing had to be abandoned early on in the crisis because health chiefs didn't have enough to capacity to cope with the size of the outbreak. But he accepted ministers and experts failed to recognise 'obvious' risks, such as care home residents being at risk from workers moving between homes and spreading Covid-19. In a thinly-veiled dig during a heated exchange with committee chair Jeremy Hunt, who was health secretary for six years until 2018, Professor Whitty said: 'If we wished to build this capacity up, we could have done it in previous years.' Thousands of Jobs Could Be Created in Large-Scale Renewable Energy and Processing of Organic Waste. A plan to rebuild the economy and get Australians back to work suggests up to 76,000 jobs can be created through investments in renewable energy and other industries that tackle climate change. The Climate Council report relies on modelling by economic advisory firm AlphaBeta which has found up to 15,000 jobs can be created across Australia in large-scale renewable energy farms and 12,000 jobs in ecosystem restoration. The report, published on July 21, suggests thousands of other jobs could be created in the collection and processing of organic waste, making more energy-efficient homes and buildings and expanding electric vehicle infrastructure. The plan outlines 12 policy options all levels of government can implement to deliver the jobs over the next three years and rebuild Australias economy, after its battering from the COVID-19 pandemic. Australia is going through a dual crisis after the bushfires fuelled by climate change and now experiencing the pandemic, Climate Council chief executive Amanda McKenzie told AAP. We now have an opportunity in our economic recovery to say how are we going to make ourselves as resilient as possible for future shocks and climate change is one of them. The plan targets areas hardest hit by bushfires and the COVID-19 pandemic with 42 percent of job opportunities identified in regional Australia. McKenzie said renewable energy projects are a no brainer in these parts of the country and could have huge investment potential. The report suggests one-third of the opportunities require minimal training, to allow people who lost their jobs because of coronavirus to find employment fast. Were targeting people who have lost their jobs and industries who will find it hard to recover, McKenzie said. Were also trying to find areas where there can be opportunities for people who dont have much training. The plan calls for local, state, and federal government funding as well as business investment to make the jobs a reality. It suggests the NSW government could accelerate the development of several projects in its renewable energy zone in the central west to create hundreds of jobs in Dubbo and Orange. AlphaBeta Director Andrew Charlton said with the right policy measures, thousands of jobs could be created in large-scale renewable energy, ecosystem restoration and the collection and processing of organic waste. Dominica Sanda in Sydney Bangalore-based digital &creative tech studio, AliveNow has been featured on Facebooks global Augmented Reality platform, Spark AR. The feature gives an in-depth overview of how AliveNow embarked on the augmented reality journey and highlights the work they have been doing with brands in India and abroad. Facebooks Spark AR team shared in their feature, As more brands invest in AR experiences to help boost their marketing efforts, theyre increasingly turning to agencies to help with concepting, design and development. Todays story is about one such agency, AliveNow, a creative technology shop based in Bangalore, India thats using Spark AR to help a global portfolio of brands engage with one of the worlds largest consumer markets. AliveNow have been official Facebook & Instagram Spark AR partners since February 2019 and were one of the few companies invited by Facebook to attend the global F8 conference last year. Thanks to the huge interest in augmented reality, AliveNows AR division has grown from 2 to 12 members in just a year. In the last 2 years they have designed and deployed over 200 augmented reality campaigns globally. Adhvith Dhuddu, CEO of AliveNow shared on this occasion, Its one thing to get kudos from clients and win awards, but its something truly remarkable to be featured by Facebook itself on their global platform. It is a testament of our teams hard work,were always trying to push the boundaries and build new and interesting creative tech experiences. Were thankful and hope to continue building many more immersive AR experiences for brands in India and abroad. Watch the feature video and read about how AliveNow is helping brands navigate the AR space on Facebooks Spark AR website here: https://bit.ly/2WjFP49 Deepak Chopra advises that quality of life is now more important than lifespan. (Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images) Some pessimism has been circulating about lifespan recently. In the modern era, lifespan has increased every decade, and dying before you turn seventy would now be considered a premature death. Three score and ten is no longer a destination for a normal life, and average lifespans among people who are not underprivileged could easily top ninety in the near future. The difference in quality of life is now more important than lifespan on its own because the health status of two seventy-year-olds can vary wildly. The concept to keep in mind is healthspan, defined as the years you spend without infirmity, chronic disease, and dementia. Right now healthspan is a hit and miss proposition. While we are told that our genes determine how we age, this needs to be clarified. Research on identical twins reveals that its not your genes that determine your healthspan but your lifestyle, nutrition and gut microbiome that plays a much more important role. Identical twins are born with the same genes, a fact that will not change over the decades, but by age seventy, many identical twins are as unalike in their health status as two people chosen at random. What makes the difference is known as gene expression. DNA is an inactive molecule, but its expression into active molecules (proteins), is influenced by all the factors that determine the difference between aging well or badly. The active side of genetics belongs to the field of epigenetics, which controls whether a gene is turned on or off. You carry around at the epigenetic level all the major experiences of your lifetime. As these accumulate, they automatically divide into experiences that promote a long healthspan and those that do the opposite. Here is where a breakthrough is possible that could make an enormous difference. We said that you cannot change the genes you were born with, which has been gospel in genetics for decades. Even though you can not change the genes you are born with, you can change their expression, which is what matters. Also, 90 percent of your genes are not in your cells but in your gut microbiome. Trillions of bacteria in your digestive tract do more than digest food. They constitute an immense chemical factory sending messages to every part of the body. Humans have evolved in cooperation with these bacteria. They are not alien or separate from you; they are part of your evolution, affecting you every moment. Story continues Chemical messages can be harmful, such as those that create inflammation or promote stress, or beneficial. Your microbiome is unique to you and constantly shifting. In essence, you are changing the vast majority of your genes through your lifestyle, for the gut microbiome amounts to 90 percent of your genes. The genes you were born with amount to only 10 percent of your total genome. The good news here is that you can change their expression. Healthspan, therefore, depends on living in such a way that the entire genetic complement functions properly. The enemies of beneficial gene expression are now pretty well known: Impure water, air, and food Lack of hygiene and sanitation Stress Chronic inflammation Depression and anxiety Toxins like alcohol and tobacco Sedentary lifestyle Inherited predisposition (normally a minor factor if you are healthy) These negative factors take years to develop before symptoms appear and a doctor must be visited. In the meantime, people shorten their healthspan simply through everyday choices. Its the small things accumulating over a long time that determine who is healthy at seventy and who isnt. Similarly, the choices that support the best functioning at the cellular level are well known. Pure food, water, and air Absence of additives and toxins Moderate physical activity Meditation Lowered stress Good level of mood Close fulfilling relationships Having a good support system Overall happiness and well-being These influences go far beyond preventive medicine and depending on a doctor to keep you healthy. You can lower your biological age by the choices you make, and your entire complement of genes will benefit. They express the benefit by exchanging chemical messages that promote their own lives at the cellular level. Those messages are chemical and therefore do not speak in the language humans share. But every aspect of consciousness, going beyond the physical, lies at the heart of healthspan. Thats why a direct connection can be made between meditating, even for a short period, and the level of telomerase in your cells. Telomerase is a chemical that is vital to keeping DNA intact without fraying from age. It took years of intense research to uncover the role of telomerase, yet the bottom line is that your consciousness, not just your positive lifestyle choices, is key to what your cells are doing, including the one-celled microbes in your intestinal tract. More importantly, however, is the message that healthspan should be everyones top priority when thinking about present and future health. What makes you young and keeps you young is the healthy functioning, right this minute, of your cells and microbiome. How do you actually know that your lifestyle is contributing towards healthy aging or in other words are you biologically becoming younger or older than your chronological age? Viome is a company that recently launched a health intelligence service that gives you insight into your microbial health, cellular health, immune system health, mitochondrial health, stress response health and your biological age. (Editors note: For disclosure, the authors are founders and adviser, respectively, to Viome.) Your microbiome is living solely for your benefit, and by giving them some attention in return, you are caring for your future far beyond what a doctor can do after symptoms appear. Naveen Jain also contributed to this story. DEEPAK CHOPRA MD, FACP, founder of The Chopra Foundation, a non-profit entity for research on well-being and humanitarianism, and Chopra Global, a modern-day health company at the intersection of science and spirituality, is a world-renowned pioneer in integrative medicine and personal transformation. Chopra is a Clinical Professor of Family Medicine and Public Health at the University of California, San Diego and serves as a senior scientist with Gallup Organization. He is the author of over 89 books translated into over forty-three languages, including numerous New York Times bestsellers. His 90th book, Metahuman: Unleashing Your Infinite Potential, unlocks the secrets to moving beyond our present limitations to access a field of infinite possibilities. Time magazine has described Dr. Chopra as one of the top 100 heroes and icons of the century. Naveen Jain is the founder of Viome and many other successful companies. Viome's Health Intelligence service assesses your gut microbiome health, cellular health, mitochondrial health, immune system health, and your stress response health. Viome can even reveal your biological age. Naveen is the author of the award-winning book Moonshots Creating the World of Abundance, has been awarded E&Y "Entrepreneur of the Year", and "Most Creative Person" by Fast Company. Read more from Yahoo Life Want daily lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Lifes newsletter. By Express News Service HYDERABAD: Days after Banjara Hills police arrested an MBA student in connection with a kidney racket, they are trying to identify city doctors involved in the racket. D Pavan Srinivas (25), from Vanasthalipuram, duped a woman by collecting Rs 34 lakh from her on the pretext of providing a kidney donor for her ailing husband. Police said Srinivas was in touch with some city-based doctors for information on kidney transplantation in Sri Lanka and Turkey. In return for giving out donor details, Srinivas would offer a commission to city-based doctors. Police are likely to take him into custody to get details of donors and doctors. Local conservative Patrick Hampton revealed his opinions about the Black Lives Matter movement to the Pachyderm Club during their weekly Monday meeting. He started the presentation by clearly stating what he thought about the movement as a whole. Im going to talk about the real agenda and let the cat out of the bag, said Mr. Hampton. They want to create and perpetuate racism without identifying actual racists. Think about that statement. What does that do? It creates a grievance industry. He said Black Lives Matter means different things depending on what kind of person interacts with it. For instance, he said police, Black children, and politicians will all have a unique perspective when talking about and perceiving Black Lives Matter. My parents, they dont agree with everything Black Lives Matter does, but when they see them protesting, it reminds them of themselves in the 1960s, said Mr. Hampton. So its hard for them to speak out about something that reminds them of themselves. Mr. Hampton claimed that the Democratic Party and George Soros were behind the Black Lives Matter movement. He also used pictures from a BLM website as evidence that the movement wishes to demean Black men and to promote Black women into positions of power or superiority. Right here, its a young lady from Chattanooga, a Black woman (named Marie Mott) leading the Black Lives Matter movement, said Mr. Hampton. They never allow a Black man to be over or lead the movement, it always has to be Black women. He also had a very strong opinion of the term White Privilege, calling it a racist phrase. Earlier in the presentation, he bemoaned the prevalence of W.E.B DuBois and Malcolm Xs and the lack of Martin Luther King Jr.s and Booker T. Washingtons. White privilege is nothing more than Black racism. Martin Luther King said we should not judge others by the color of their skin but by the content of their character. But what Black Lives Matter does is it judges every White person by the color of their skin, and says If you are white, you have privilege. To close out his presentation, Mr. Hampton proposed his plan to lift up the Black Community. He said he wanted to find solutions to the low literacy rate within the county, the absence of father figures in the community, and workforce training for young adults. What if conservatives led the way on work ethic and workforce development in urban communities, asked Mr. Hampton. What if we didnt go into the Black community looking for their vote? What if conservatives led the way in teaching urban communities about how a civil society works? What if we were leading the way on that, because the Democrat party is not teaching this. They are simply using the Black community. What if we did the opposite. I dont want your vote, I just want to teach you how America works, because to be honest, a lot of Black America is simply disengaged from the American system. H ollywood star Amber Heard fought back tears as she described a brutal assault by Johnny Depp. The 34-year-old alleges Depp stripped her naked and subjected her to verbal and physical abuse during a "three day hostage situation", claiming she was pinned down and choked by the star in a kitchen strewn with broken glass. Heard says Depp had been on a drugs and drink binge as they stayed in an isolated house in Australia when he was filming Pirates of the Caribbean 5 in March 2015. Describing an alleged incident on the second day, Heard said she was trying to cook a meal when Depp who had black eyes started throwing bottles at her and screaming abuse. Ms Heard fought back tears (Elizabeth Cook/PA ) / Elizabeth Cook/PA She says she was pinned to the fridge, thrown to the ground, and then Depp tore off her nightgown while brandishing a broken bottle. He was putting so much pressure on my neck, I couldnt get any words out, she said. I couldnt reason with him. He was pushing so hard I couldnt get purchase on the countertop. Heard said she feared Depp had lost control after taking drugs and drinking heavily, and she was struggling to breathe, she claimed. She described trying desperately to use her bare feet and arms to break free, but was hampered by broken glass and spilled liquid on the floor and countertop. Ms Heard said 'Johnny the monster nearly killed me but I loved him' / Getty Images I kept feeling my feet pushing against something, I couldnt get them to get purchase on anything, she said, fighting back tears. I was trying to get one of my hands out to push him off of me. I remember trying to get free, saying Johnny, Johnny, its me, its me, you are really hurting me, please stop. Its like he couldnt hear me. Eleanor Laws QC, for Depp, asked Heard about scars on her arm which she says came from this incident. I suggest these are scars far more akin to self-harm scars, inflicted by you and certainly not by a struggle with Mr Depp, said Ms Laws. Heard replied: Ive had these scars on my arms since that evening, and Ive never self-harmed. Johnny is a self-harmer, Im not a self-harmer. In her statement, Heard says that Depp grabbed her during the incident, and as she was being questioned about a recording made on her phone later, she told the court: I had been strangled, assaulted, punched, strangled, among other thingsthe last thing I was doing was being concerned about where my cell phone was. Ms Heard denied having an affair with Elon Musk / Getty Images Ms Laws pointed out that Heard had returned to the same property in Australia after the March 2015 incident, challenging her claim to have felt isolated and scared there. But Heard replied: Johnny the monster nearly killed me but I loved him. I loved the Johnny that was clean and sober. He made a promise to get clean and sober for good, because he needed to for his surgery. She continued: I really believed it was bad enough, he would actually get clean and sober for once. This was the last time I hoped he would get better. I had so much hope this this time it was gone for good the monster, as he would put it, that it had been put away forever, and our lives would be better for it. Heard, who insists the abuse was real, has been called on repeatedly today to insist she has not made up the claims. She denied "shifting" her evidence when changing the date of one alleged assault, and also denied having an affair with businessman Elon Musk during her marriage. She is due to continue her evidence tomorrow. A police officer stands watch as a looted pawn shop burns behind them, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 28, 2020. (Stephen Maturen/Getty Images) Body Found in Pawn Shop That Was Torched During Minneapolis Riots A body was discovered in the rubble of a pawn shop that rioters burned down in the wake of George Floyds death in police custody. Investigators going through the burned wreckage at Max It Pawn on Lake Street in Minneapolis found a dead body of what is believed to be an adult male. A Minnesota resident, 25-year-old Montez Terriel Lee, was charged last month with arson of the pawn shop. Being that the body found in the rubble appeared to have suffered thermal injuries, investigators believe there is a connection between the arson and the death, John Elder, a Minneapolis police spokesman, told The Epoch Times in an email. Minneapolis Police homicide detectives have taken over the case. The identity, along with the nature and cause of death, will be released by the Medical Examiners Office in the coming days. The pawn shop was torched on May 28 amid riots in the wake of Floyds death. The black man died in police custody on Memorial Day after being accused of forgery. People walk past the charred remains of a pawn shop destroyed during last weeks rioting, in Minneapolis, Minn., on June 3, 2020. (Scott Olson/Getty Images) Montez Terriel Lee in booking photographs. (FBI) A destroyed building still smolders near the Minneapolis Police 3rd Precinct the day after it was attacked and burned by rioters following the death of George Floyd, in Minneapolis, Minn., on May 29, 2020. (Charlotte Cuthbertson/The Epoch Times) Rioters burned down or damaged hundreds of stores in the Twin Cities. EZCorp, the company that owns Max It Pawn, didnt respond to a request for comment. The shop is located several blocks from the Third Precinct, a police station that was torched after city officials ordered officers to abandon it. Lee was captured on video pouring liquid from a metal container throughout the shop, according to charging documents (pdf). Another video showed Lee standing in front of the burning store. After one man asks him, What you do, Tez? he says: [expletive] this place. Were gonna burn this [expletive] down. A third video showed a group of men, including Lee, joking about restaurants they planned to hit next. Another portion of that video showed looting of the pawn shop. An ex-beauty queen is currently facing charges after she was caught sending illicit photos to a teenage boy, who's also her student. The boy's parents immediately found out after checking their son's phone. The defendant, a former Miss Kentucky beauty pageant was sentenced to two years when she admitted sending those 'inappropriate pictures' to her 14-year old male student. All the court happenings were covered by the Charleston Gazette-Mail. Suspect sent four illicit photos Ex-beauty queen winner Ramsey Bearse, age 29, worked as a teacher in Andrew Jackson Middle School in Cross Lanes, West Virginia, before getting apprehended by authorities on December 7, 2018, according to CrimeOnline. Her ex-student had one of her inappropriate selfies stored on his mobile phone, which was discovered by the parents who then complained to the police. Soon after, an investigation was underway that led to more evidence and Bearse's arrest. Miss Bearse won the Miss Kentucky title during the 2014 'Miss America Beauty Pageant'. When she competed in 2014, she was known as Ramsey Carpenter at that time. According to Assistant Kanawha County Prosecutor Meshell Jarrett, after the conviction of the ex-beauty title winner, there is a mandated ten years of supervision when she's done serving her time. She will be considered a sex offender for life as well, according to Fox 23. The charges that she pleads guilty to is one count of sending lewd content to a minor. There were four instances of Bearse sending lewd selfies to her student. Investigators said that the accused did admit to sending photos that displayed her uncovered chest. This was documented to have happened in the fall of August 2018, as mentioned in New York Times. Also read: Couple Who Starved Foster Kids, Left Dead Body of a Girl in Basement, Also Hid Skeletal Remains of Their Own Son First selfie was sent 'accidentally' According to Bearse before she pleaded guilty to the charge of sending lewd selfies, the initial picture was supposed to be sent to her husband. Instead, she made the mistake of sending it to her student. The ex-beauty queen told the judge that it was a mistake that she regretted. She did not want to send more revealing pictures to her student, but he asked for more. After fearing that the boy might spread her selfies, she sent several more at the request of the boy. She later mentioned that the boy took lewd selfies of his privates and sent it to her as well. Bearse added that she's taking responsibility for the mistake and acknowledged that she screwed things up a lot. The case began when the parents of her teen student found the pictures on his phone. Police were informed that Bearse is a teacher at the Andrew Jackson Middle School as well. An attempt by the media to ask for comments by the Kanawha County school district had no response Related article: Former Adult Film Star Mistakenly Hires Undercover Cop as Hitman to Kill Her Ex-Lover @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Under the deal struck Tuesday, Italy will receive the largest share of the stimulus money, with Spain receiving the second-largest. Nearly as important as the result were the political dynamics: Though some northern nations wanted a smaller rescue package with tighter conditions, German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron pushed back, smoothing over a north-south divide that has plagued previous crises. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Its a historic day for Italy, Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said. We have a chance to relaunch Italy with strength, to change the face of our country. He said Italy, which will get $240 billion of the $859 billion recovery fund, would receive even more than had been earmarked in earlier proposals. That money will come in the form of loans and grants the grants being more important for southern European countries, which are already saddled with high levels of debt. In Greece, whose economy last decade required a bailout with onerous E.U.-dictated terms, Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis called the stimulus deal a national success. Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez, whose country is set to receive $160 billion, said, One of the most brilliant pages in E.U. history has been written. In April, the blocs finance ministers approved a smaller stimulus package, but Italy and other countries walked away, saying a broader effort involving the joint issuing of debt was still needed. In the deal reached Tuesday, Europe plans to raise money by selling bonds, the first time it has used such a mechanism. Europes southern countries, as well as France, are forecast to see their economies contract in the range of 10 percent this year. Spain and Italy emerged as coronavirus epicenters in the spring, and both imposed lengthy, rigid lockdowns that brought business activity to a near-halt. Even though the viruss spread has since slowed dramatically, southern European economies are being battered by a collapse in tourism. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement When debate about the pandemic response kicked off, many southern Europeans were fearful that any ambitious plan might unravel amid rancor in a replay of the divisions among E.U. nations over sharing the duties of accepting asylum seekers during the height of the migration crisis. In Italy, in March and April, even reliably pro-European politicians warned that the future of the bloc was at risk. France and Germany were initially reluctant to share medical equipment, and Italys proposal for corona bonds was shot down. Nathalie Tocci, director of the Italian International Affairs Institute, said Tuesday that the tune in Rome toward Europe has changed fairly dramatically since then. She said this European deal would prove to be the enduring memory. Story continues below advertisement The E.U. had been doing the bare minimum to survive, and this time it didnt, she said. All of the divisions that were so used to talking about, notwithstanding all of that, we did it. Advertisement The Euroskeptic, far-right League party remains Italys most popular, and its leader, Matteo Salvini, criticized the rescue package as a big rip-off in which Rome would be subservient to Brussels. But both the League and Salvini personally have bled support during the pandemic, while the centrist Conte has risen in popularity. Matteo Renzi, a former Italian prime minister and a member of Contes governing coalition, said the deal was an excellent result for Italy and a masterpiece for Europe. Story continues below advertisement The sovereigntists lose, Renzi wrote on Twitter. The agreement shows that a pro-European government is good for Italy. Stefano Pitrelli contributed to this report. Angela Merkel is riding high as she steers Europes coronavirus recovery effort A fight over nude swimming marks return of pre-coronavirus banalities in Europe Reopened schools in Europe and Asia have largely avoided coronavirus outbreaks. They have lessons for the U.S. US Sanctions 11 Chinese Firms for Human Rights Abuses in Xinjiang 2020-07-20 -- The U.S. Commerce Department on Monday added to its Entities List 11 Chinese companies involved in alleged human rights abuses in northwestern China's Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR), barring them from access to U.S.-sourced commodities, technology, and other items, a Department announcement said. The companies added to the list maintained by the Department's Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) had been identified as complicit in what Secretary of Commerce Wilbur Ross in a Monday statement called Beijing's "reprehensible practice of forced labor and abusive DNA collection and analysis schemes to repress its citizens." "This action will ensure that our goods and technologies are not used in the Chinese Communist Party's despicable offensive against defenseless Muslim minority populations," Ross said. Companies named on Monday include the Changji Esquel Textile Co. Ltd., Hefei Bitland Information Technology Co. Ltd., Hefei Meiling Co. Ltd., Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories Co. Ltd., Hetian Taida Apparel Co. Ltd., KTK Group, Nanjing Synergy Textiles Co. Ltd., Nanchang O-Film Tech, Tanyuan Technology Co. Ltd, Xinjiang Silk Road BG1, and Beijing Liuhe BG1. Welcoming the Commerce Department announcement, Nury Turkel, a member of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom, said Monday's decision "will help ensure that the fruits of American innovation and industry are not inadvertently fueling outrageous religious freedom and labor violations." Two of the named firms, Hetian Haolin Hair Accessories and Hetian Taida Apparel, exploit Uyghur and other minority Muslim workers "who have been given no choice in where they work," Turkel added. "The U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency has already stopped several shipments of clothes and hair weaves made by these companies because of concerns about forced labor." Additional legal authority is needed to prevent products made with forced labor from entering U.S. market, however, Turkel said. "We urge Congress to pass the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, which would bar imports of all goods mined, produced, or manufactured in Xinjiang, unless proven by clear and convincing evidence that the goods were not produced using forced labor." Also on Monday, the Germany-based exile World Uyghur Congress welcomed what it called "this positive step taken by the U.S. Administration at a time when China is committing crimes against humanity in East Turkestan," using the name preferred by many Uyghurs for their historic homeland. "At the same time, we urge the European countries along with other democracies to follow the footsteps of the U.S. government and take immediate punitive measures against China," WUC president Dolkun Isa said. "There must be a concerted international effort to end China's atrocities," Isa said, adding, "We call on all nations to stand behind America and take joint actions against China to stop this 21st Century Holocaust." Chinese officials sanctioned This month, U.S. President Donald Trump's administration leveled sanctions against several top Chinese officials deemed responsible for rights violations in Xinjiang, including regional party secretary Chen Quanguo, under the Global Magnitsky Human Rights Accountability Act. The move, which marked the first time Washington had sanctioned a member of China's powerful Politburo, followed Trump's enactment last month of the Uyghur Human Rights Policy Act of 2020 (UHRPA), which passed nearly unanimously through both houses of Congress at the end of May. The legislation highlights arbitrary incarceration, forced labor, and other abuses in the XUAR and provides for sanctions against the Chinese officials who enforce them. China imposes heavy restrictions on Muslim minorities in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region (XUAR) in the name of stamping out terrorismincluding on the use of native languages, expression of traditional culture, and family planningwhile discrimination abounds in favor of majority Han Chinese. Those who do not adhere to the policies routinely end up jailed or detained in the XUAR's vast network of internment camps, where authorities are believed to have held up to 1.8 million people since April 2017. Beijing describes the three-year-old network of camps as voluntary "vocational centers," but reporting by RFA's Uyghur Service and other media outlets shows that detainees are mostly held against their will in cramped and unsanitary conditions, where they are forced to endure inhumane treatment and political indoctrination. Reported and translated by RFA's Uyghur Service. Translated by Alim Seytoff. Written in English by Richard Finney. 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 Photo: The Canadian Press Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., left, wears a mask for protection against the coronavirus, next to members of security, as he rides the Senate Subway between meetings, Tuesday, July 21, 2020, on Capitol Hill in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin) The price tag for the next COVID-19 aid package could quickly swell above $1 trillion as White House officials negotiate with Congress over money to reopen schools, prop up small businesses, boost virus testing and keep cash flowing to Americans while the virus crisis deepens in the U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell on Tuesday promised a new round of direct payments to earners below a certain income level, similar to the $1,200 checks sent in the spring. President Donald Trump insists on a payroll tax holiday for workers. And Democrats want billions to outfit schools and shore up local governments. Regretfully, this is not over, McConnell said after a raucous private GOP lunch, urging Americans to learn to live with the new virus by wearing masks and practicing social distancing until a vaccine can be found. Treasury Secretary Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows spent the day on Capitol Hill, meeting separately with McConnell, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and others trying to broker a compromise between the GOP's emerging $1 trillion proposal with the House's more sweeping $3 trillion bill. The lunch session grew heated as key Republican senators complained about big spending, vowing to stall the relief bills passage. Supporters of the package should be ashamed of themselves" Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky said as he emerged. Paul compared GOP backers of the spending to Bernie bros referring to the young supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont. This is insane. ... There's no difference now between the two parties. As a long line of senators rose to speak about aspects of the bill, Texas Sen. Ted Cruz asked his colleagues, What in the hell are we doing? Cruz warned if the economy is still shut down come November, Joe Biden will win the White House, Democrats will control the Senate and "well be meeting in a much smaller lunch room, according to a person granted anonymity to discuss the closed-door session. Sen. Rick Scott, of Florida left saying its wrong to bail out cash-strapped states. Florida taxpayers are not going to pay for New Yorks expenses," he said. With the pandemic showing no signs of easing, officials acknowledge the daunting challenge of trying to contain the coronavirus and prevent further economic distress. The U.S. has rising infections and a death toll of 140,800, more than anywhere else in the world. The health crisis is worsening just as emergency aid is about to expire. Meadows told reporters the president wants to ensure the funding package meets the legitimate needs that are before the American people. The Republicans are poised to roll out a $1 trillion package, what McConnell called a starting point in talks. It's a counter-offer to Pelosi's $3 trillion House-passed plan as they race to strike a deal by the end of the month. That's when a $600 weekly unemployment benefits boost and other aid, including a federal rental moratorium on millions of apartment units, expires. McConnell's package wold send a fresh round of direct cash payments to Americans below a certain income level, likely $75,000 for singles, extend small business loans under the Paycheck Protection Program and create a five-year liability shield against what he warns is a potential epidemic of coronavirus lawsuits. It's also expected to include at least $105 billion for education, with $70 billion to help K-12 schools reopen, $30 billion for colleges and $5 billion for governors to allocate. The Trump administration wanted school money linked to reopenings, but in McConnell's package the money for K-12 would be split 50-50 between those that have in-person learning and those that do not. Republicans want to replace the $600 weekly federal jobless benefit with a lower amount, to prevent the unemployed from receiving more aid than they would through a normal paycheque, Republicans said. Over lunch, Mnuchin explained the unemployment boost could be phased down to a percentage of a worker's previous income, according to a Republican granted anonymity to discuss the private meeting. Some Republicans prefer simply eliminating the $600 benefit. But the presidents priorities are splitting his GOP allies and giving momentum to Democrats. Trump wants a full repeal of the 15.3% payroll tax, which is shared among employers and employees, and funds Social Security and Medicare. Experts say that alone would cost $600 billion. At a White House meeting on Monday, GOP leaders told Trump they preferred to include only a partial payroll tax cut. Easing the payroll tax is dividing Trumps party because it does little to help out-of-work Americans and adds to the debt load. The tax is already being deferred for employers under the previous virus relief package. Supporters say cutting it now for employees would put money in peoples pockets and stimulate the economy. The administration also panned McConnell's proposed $25 billion for more virus testing, saying earlier allotments remain unspent. White House press secretary Kayleigh McEnany said Tuesday the administration wants targeted funds for the next round of aid, rather than adding more to the existing pot. She said no one is holding it up. Senate Democrats began investigating why the Trump administration has left almost half the testing money unspent. After meeting with Mnuchin, Pelosi and Senate Democratic leader Chuck Schumer said the Republicans must quit stalling. They broadly dismissed the emerging GOP effort as inadequate. The president has been a disaster in the whole health care area, Schumer said. He's holding them back. The political stakes are high for both parties before the November election, and even more so for the nation, as the virus crisis and economic fallout hits cities large and small. Biden, the Democrats presumed presidential nominee, stated his own priorities, urging a lifeline to those who need it most: working families and small businesses. Trump's renewed focus on therapeutics and a vaccine is falling flat among lawmakers who understand that any COVID-19 cures remain months, if not a year, from widespread distribution in the U.S. The federal government is still struggling to provide basic medical supplies and personal protective equipment to health care providers. Mnuchin vowed to stay on Capitol Hill for the next two weeks, determined to reach a deal by month's end. The proposed virus aid package would be the fifth, following the $2.2 trillion bill passed in March, the largest U.S. intervention of its kind. The jobless rate has remained in double digits, higher than in the last decades Great Recession, and a federal eviction moratorium on millions of rental units approved in the last bill is about to expire. Donald Trump says he wishes Ghislaine Maxwell well as the British socialite faces charges of facilitating the abuse of minors by her boyfriend and former associate Jeffrey Epstein. The president also said he doesn't "know the situation" regarding Prince Andrew, who federal prosecutors accuse of not responding to their attempts to discuss the case. Asked during his first White House coronavirus press briefing since April about the Ms Maxwell's alleged role in the sex trafficking conspiracy, the president said he knew her from their time in Palm Beach, Florida, and that they've met "numerous times." A reporter asked the president whether he believed Maxwell was going to "turn in powerful men" as she faces trial. "I don't know, I haven't really been following it too much," he said. "I just wish her well, frankly. I've met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach and I guess they lived in Palm Beach. But I wish her well, whatever it is. I don't know the situation with Prince Andrew, I just don't know. Not aware of it." Maxwell helped billionaire Epstein "recruit, groom and ultimately abuse" victims they knew were under the age of 18, according to charges filed in a six-count indictment on 2 July, which followed years of accusations from their alleged victims. She has pleaded not guilty to the charges against her and will remain in prison ahead of a trial, which is not likely to begin until next year. A tentative trial date has been set for 12 July 2021. During a 14 July hearing, US District Judge Alison Nathan denied Maxwell's bond, citing "extraordinary financial resources which could provide her the means to flee the country" despite Covid-19-related restrictions in place. "No combination of conditions could reasonably ensure her presence at court," Judge Nathan added. "The risks are simply too great." The court also heard from two alleged victims speaking in support of prosecutors' argument to deny Maxwell's bail. Recommended Ghislaine Maxwell denied bail in Epstein abuse case The alleged victims described Maxwell as a predator who groomed and abused "countless" young women me and "has never shown any remorse for her heinous crimes". A statement from another victim, who gave the alias Jane Doe, called her a "predator and a monster". Maxwell was arrested nearly a year after Epstein allegedly killed himself in jail while awaiting trial on federal sex trafficking charges. The Duke of York has previously been targetted by former US attorney Geoffrey Berman who was recently and controversially removed from his post by US attorney general William Barr over allegations that Andrew has refused to cooperate in the case. Acting US attorney Audrey Strauss has sought his cooperation in Maxwell's case. "We would like to have the benefit of his statement," he said. While the president's allies and right-wing conspiracy theorists have pointed to Epstein's ties to former president Bill Clinton and other Democrats, they also have downplayed Trump's long-standing relationships with Epstein and Maxwell. Prince Andrew has said he is willing to cooperate with US authorities, but the US attorney's office has said he has "shut the door" in cooperating with law enforcement. Prince Andrew's legal team previously told The Independent that "the Duke's team remains bewildered given that we have twice communicated with the [Department of Justice] in the last month, and to date, we have had no response". Iran will strike a reciprocal blow against the US for the killing of top Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, Iran`s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday in a meeting with Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, according to Khamenei`s official website. On January 3, a US drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force. Washington had accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region. Bengaluru lockdown ends, restrictions only in containment zones: CM Yediyurappa confirms India oi-Madhuri Adnal Bengaluru, July 21: Amid rumours of extension of lockdown in Bengaluru for 15 more days, Karnataka Chief Minister B S Yediyurappa on Monday put these speculations to rest and said that there will be no lockdown from tomorrow, people need to get back to work as economy is also very important. The state government has imposed complete lockdown in Bengaluru Urban and Bengaluru Rural districts among a few others from 8 pm of July 14 till 5 am on July 22. No extension of lockdown in Bengaluru urban, rural districts, confirms K'taka CM's office Addressing media, Yediyurappa said, ''Initially, we had the situation under control. As you can see the numbers are rising in Bengaluru. To contain the spread of COVID-19 lockdown is not a solution. I request everyone to wear mask and maintain social distancing wherever you go.'' ''Lockdown is not the solution, now restrictions will be placed only in containment zones. There will be no lockdown from tomorrow, people need to get back to work, economy is also very important. We have to fight COVID19 while maintaining stable economy,'' Karnataka CM B S Yediyurappa said. BSY said,'' I again request the people of Karnataka to wear mask without fail and maintain social distancing. The COVID19 warriors are combating the pandemic risking their lives.'' ''People who came from Maharastra and Tamil Nadu added to the COVID19 cases in Karnataka...The experts have advised to use 5 'T' formula-Tracing, Tracking, Testing, Treating and using Technology. Citizens in Bengaluru need not be panicked about availability of beds. We have set up dashboard for sharing information on bed availability,''Yediyurappa said. West Bengal announces total lockdown for 2 days every week amid spike in coronavirus cases ''I appeal to infected people not to lose heart and resort to desperate measures of ending life. 98 per cent of infected people have recovered. Lab result is available in Bengaluru in just 24 hours. Private hospitals have agreed to give 50 per cent beds for COVID19 patients,'' Chief Minister said. As the number of fresh Covid-19 cases and fatalities linked to the pandemic surge in Bengaluru, the capital city alone reported 1452 new cases while the same was 3,648 in Karnataka on Monday. Amarnath Yatra cancelled amid Covid-19 pandemic & surge in cases | Oneindia News At the same time, at least 32 wards in the city recorded over 10 cases each on Monday, BBMP statistics revealed. According to BBMP's Covid-19 War Room data, Thanisandra topped the list with 55 cases, followed by Shantala Nagar (54), Pattabhiram Nagar (30), Kumaraswamy Layout (22), Jakkur (21) among others. Airline companies in India were not among the most profitable ones and COVID-19 and travel restrictions that followed made the situation even worse. Though air travel has resumed in the country, the industry does not expect it to go back to normal for at least a couple of more years. And that has put the airlines in a tough spot. BCCL IndiGo, the largest private career by fleet and passenger volume has announced that it is letting go around 10 per cent of its current workforce. According to IndiGo CEO Ronojoy Dutta, the company after carefully assessing and reviewing all possible scenarios, will require to bid "a painful adieu" to 10 per cent of its around 27,000-strong workforce. Agency "It is for the first time in the history of IndiGo that we have undertaken such a painful measure. This is indeed a very unfortunate turn of events from the optimistic growth trajectory we had carved out for ourselves just six months ago; but this pandemic has forced us to re-evaluate our best laid plans. "To help the impacted employees' tide over the uncertainties emanating from this decision, IndiGo has created a '6E Care package'," Dutta said in a note. Dutta said the current pandemic has impacted many industries around the world, among which aviation has been one of the sectors that has been hit the hardest. "Even now, IndiGo is flying only a small percentage of its full fleet of 250 airplanes. This has been one of the toughest decisions that we have had to take and we are ensuring that the transition process for the impacted employees is carried out seamlessly, professionally and with the utmost respect and compassion," he said. BCCL "Right at the start of this crisis, IndiGo understood the gravity of the situation. For us, it was critical to minimise the impact of the pandemic on our employees, and in fact IndiGo was one of the few airlines globally which paid full salaries for the month of March and April, despite the disruption in business," Dutta added. There is a growing fear that this is a sign of things to come in the industry. "The decision by @IndiGo6E to lay off 10 per cent of its staff is the beginning of a painful process for Indian aviation as things start to unravel from the impact of #COVID19India. It will be impossible to survive this crisis without a strong balance sheet (for the domestic airlines)," CAPA India said in a tweet on Tuesday. AFP In another tweet, it said industry conditions are such that one or more airline failures appear inevitable. Airlines have limited options to turn to for funding except their promoters, given that third-party investors will be reluctant to provide capital right now, and the government is unwilling to do so, it further said in the tweet. Projecting losses to the tune of Rs 1-1.3 lakh crore over the financial years 2020-22 for the domestic airlines, CRISIL Research last week said curtailed mobility of people due to the pandemic and related restrictions will squeeze domestic air passenger traffic by 40-45 per cent in 2020-21. BAKU, Azerbaijan, Jul. 21 By Nargiz Sadikhova - Trend: The value of trade turnover between Kazakhstan and Belarus amounted to $235.6 million over first five months of 2020, compared to $274.4 million during the same period of 2019, Trend reports with reference to Kazakhstans Statistics Committee. The share of Belarus in total value of Kazakhstans trade turnover was 0.7 percent during the reporting period of 2020 which is flat year-on-year compared to 0.7 percent during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export to Belarus amounted to $28.2 million over the period from January through May 2020 compared to $43.05 million during the same period of 2019. Belaruss share in total volume of Kazakhstans export amounted to 0.1 percent during the reporting period of 2020 compared to 0.2 percent during the same period of 2019. In turn, Kazakhstans import from Belarus amounted to $207.4 million over the reporting period compared to $231.7 million during the same period of 2019. Belaruss total share in Kazakhstans import was 1.6 percent during the reporting period of 2020 which also is flat year-on-year compared to 1.7 percent during the same period of 2019. The total volume of Kazakhstans trade turnover amounted to $34.9 billion over the period from Jan. through May 2020 which indicates a decrease from $37.5 billion during the same period of 2019. Kazakhstans export amounted to $22.3 billion during the reporting period of 2020 ($23.6 billion in the same period of 2019), whereas import amounted to $12.6 billion ($13.9 billion). --- Follow the author on twitter: @nargiz_sadikh Garrett, IN (46738) Today Partly cloudy skies this morning will become overcast during the afternoon. Morning high of 36F with temps falling to near 25. Winds NW at 10 to 20 mph.. Tonight Cloudy skies early, then partly cloudy after midnight. Low 13F. Winds N at 10 to 20 mph. Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 21, 2020) - MAX RESOURCE CORP. (TSXV: MXR) (OTC PINK: MXROF) (FSE: M1D2) ("Max" or the "Company") reports it has entered into a non-exclusive confidentiality agreement with a Global Miner, with respect to the Company's wholly-owned CESAR sediment-hosted copper-silver project, located 420-kilometres north of Bogota, Colombia. Max is also pleased to provide an update of its extensive CESAR exploration activity, currently operating on a number of fronts, with plans to continue throughout the year: Assay results from the March / April field program at AM North are due very soon; results were delayed at the ALS Laboratory Peru due to COVID 19; to avoid future delays sample split from the original pulp stored at ALS Medellin Colombia, was sent to ALS Vancouver for analysis; The in-country exploration team has now re-commenced field activities; The Fathom Geophysics initial results from the technical study are expected soon; the study was funded by the Company and one of the world's leading copper producers. These studies are focusing on mapping stratigraphic features and identifying distinct rock types and alteration-zones, which will assist in highlighting stratabound copper-silver mineral horizons over the CESAR 40-km long target zone (refer to Figure 1); Geochemical and metallurgical research programs initiated with the University of Science and Technology ("AGH") of Krakow, Poland are well underway. AGH will leverage their extensive knowledge of KGHM's world renowned Kupferschiefer sediment-hosted copper-silver deposits in Poland to the CESAR project; Ongoing structural analysis of the CESAR 40-km long target zone is being conducted by Ingenieria Geologica Universidad Nacional de Colombia ("IGUN") in Medellin, with the assistance of the Max field team. IGUN has recently acquired historic seismic data of the CESAR region, which will greatly assist this on-going study. Story continues The Max technical team continues to build its geological model based on KGHM's Kupferschiefer, Europe's largest copper mine, with production in 2018 of 30 million tonnes grading 1.49% copper and 48.6 g/t silver from a mineralized zone of 0.5 to 5.5-metre thickness. The Kupferschier deposit is also the world's leading silver producer, yielding 40 million ounces in 2019, almost twice the production of the world's second largest silver mine (World Silver Survey 2020). Max cautions investors, use of the Kupferschiefer as a geological model is not necessary indicative of mineralization at CESAR. "Exploration activities on multiple fronts continue to meet with success as we move closer to demonstrating the significant potential of the CESAR project," said Max CEO, Brett Matich. "Our exploration strategy from the outset was to attract a major partner with the financial and technical capabilities to fully explore and develop CESAR on a district scale. To have major interest at this early stage reflects the technical merit of the CESAR copper-silver project," he continued. Figure 1. CESAR - AM North, AM South and the CESAR 40km Target Zone. To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/3834/60177_fc7f6a0cf4e42921_001full.jpg CESAR Copper-Silver Project Overview The wholly-owned CESAR project in north east Colombia lies along a 120-kilometre sediment-hosted copper-silver belt, that resembles the Kupferschiefer in Poland. The CESAR region enjoys major infrastructure. Mining operations include Cerrejon, the largest coal mine in Latin America, jointly owned by global miners BHP Billiton, XStrata and Anglo American (refer to Figure 1). Important highlights for the CESAR Project: AM North consists of a broad 11-kilometre continuous zone of copper-silver mineralization. At the northern end, the open-ended "Herradura Zone" returned values of 24.8% copper + 230 g/t silver from a continuous 4-metre by 1-metre outcrop and 10.4% copper + 88 g/t silver from a continuous 1-metre outcrop. Bulk samples 1.8-kilometres apart returned 10.4% copper + 88g/t silver and 3.5% copper + 29 g/t silver. The newly discovered "Ventana Zone",11-kilometres to the south, returned highlight outcrop values of 2.70% copper + 4 g/t silver over 2-metres; The AM South zone occurs 40-km SSW of the AM North zone, within the same Kupferschiefer style mineralized trend. The AM South zone extends over an area of 4-kilometres by 3-kilometres, and remains opens laterally. The cumulative strike length of the open-ended AM South horizons exceeds 5.8-kilometres, returning highlight values of 5.8% copper and 80 g/t silver from 0.1 to 25-metre intervals, suggesting these horizons could be of significant size. Our in-country field team is now mapping, sampling and confirming the continuity of the mineralized horizons and expanding the zones of AM North and AM South. About Max Resource Corp. With its successful exploration and management team, Max Resource Corp. is advancing its stratabound Kupferschiefer type copper-silver project in Colombia, that has potential for the discovery of large-scale mineral deposits attractive to major partners. Tim Henneberry, P Geo (British Columbia), a member of the Max Resource Advisory Board, is the Qualified Person who has reviewed and approved the technical content of this news release on behalf of the Company. Please review the updated Max Resource Corp power point presentation: https://www.maxresource.com/MAX_Investor_Presentation.pdf For more information visit: https://www.maxresource.com/ For additional information contact: Max Resource Corp. Tim McNulty E: info@maxresource.com T: (604) 290-8100 Neither TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release Except for statements of historic fact, this news release contains certain "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities law. Forward-looking information is frequently characterized by words such as "plan", "expect", "project", "intend", "believe", "anticipate", "estimate" and other similar words, or statements that certain events or conditions "may" or "will" occur. Forward-looking statements are based on the opinions and estimates at the date the statements are made and are subject to a variety of risks and uncertainties and other factors that could cause actual events or results to differ materially from those anticipated in the forward-looking statements including, but not limited to delays or uncertainties with regulatory approvals, including that of the TSXV. There are uncertainties inherent in forward-looking information, including factors beyond the Company's control. There are no assurances that the commercialization plans for Max Resources Corp. described in this news release will come into effect on the terms or time frame described herein. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking information if circumstances or management's estimates or opinions should change except as required by law. The reader is cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Additional information identifying risks and uncertainties that could affect financial results is contained in the Company's filings with Canadian securities regulators, which filings are available at www.sedar.com To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60177 To the Editor: Back in 1995, the NRAs Wayne LaPierre complained, The government is full of jack-booted thugs in bucket helmets trampling on our constitutional rights. Now we see presumably federal government agents, this time in military camouflage, wearing no badges, forcing peaceable protesters into unmarked vehicles in Portland, Oregon. Where is the NRA and all those who complained then? Our President Donald Trump has threatened to do the same in other cities, in spite of the objections by the mayor and governor of the place it has already happened. Our president, his agency heads and the agents themselves swore an oath to uphold the Constitution. I took an oath to defend the Constitution, too. Ive been retired from the Army almost a half century but two things upset me about this use of anonymous federal agents: First, it is wrong. Second, camouflage is intended for fighting in the field; so, who dispatched agents into a city clad in that costume? Stanley H. Roe Hamilton One of Oregons most beloved retreat centers will be making a few big changes as it plans to reopen to the public amid the coronavirus pandemic. Breitenbush Hot Springs announced Monday that it will reopen for day use and overnight stays starting Aug. 3, with several public health precautions in place including an encouragement to dine outdoors, limits on soaking, strict sanitation protocols and one-way paths in busy areas. The retreat center closed March 17, along with businesses around Oregon that shut down as the pandemic began to take hold around the country. While Breitenbush typically remains open year-round, the closure came just before the start of its peak season, which runs through spring and summer. Nestled in the central Cascade Mountains, Breitenbush will also construct additional tubs and showers to avoid crowding, and will open to adults only through the end of the year. The exuberance of children, while a joy to experience, can make it difficult to maintain social distancing and would require extra attention from our staff, marketing director Brinton Reed said in the announcement. With new safety requirements come new responsibilities and we want to ensure our staff and guests are acclimated to the new protocols before reintroducing children. The noise of children may be replaced by the noise of construction for those who choose to visit Breitenbush this year. New tubs and showers will be constructed through the fall, and should be available by the end of the year, the retreat center said. Soakers this summer will already have access to three new clawfoot tubs, designed for a more private experience. Breitenbush will also implement new protocols in its existing public pools. All pools and tubs will have a one-party limit, and guests will be asked to follow posted time limits while soaking. As in other public spaces in Oregon, social distancing will be required between different parties, and face masks will be mandated in all indoor spaces, as well as in outdoor spaces where six feet of distance cannot be maintained. Hand sanitizer and hand washing stations will be found at high-traffic areas, while a new cleaning protocol will be used on all surfaces and in cabins. Breitenbush will follow a conservative interpretation of CDC recommendations, local regulations and best practices gleaned from other hot springs centers that have opted to open sooner than we have, Reed said. The retreat center is located in Marion County, which as of Monday had reported 2,170 coronavirus cases and 62 deaths among the highest in Oregon. Marion County is currently under Phase 2 of the states reopening plan. Under that phase, state officials say spa pools must be limited to one household at time, and recommend operators schedule reservations in 15 minute increments. Lodging is allowed statewide, though officials have asked establishments to abide by public health guidelines and to take proper precautions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The retreat center said it was also motivated to reopen by the financial hardship of remaining closed through the spring and summer, calling the financial outlook bleak. In response, Breitenbush will increase its rates for the non-peak season starting Oct. 18. Breitenbush is now taking reservations through March 31, 2021. All existing reservations through Aug. 2 were canceled, with guests receiving a voucher for a future visit. We believe that in these uncertain times, it is imperative that we share the springs with all of those who respect them, Reed said. We are committed to doing so but only while ensuring human health and safety. --Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. The growth of the terrorist organization known as the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Afghanistan poses a formidable challenge to India and Pakistans security interests in the region. Recently, an ISIS-claimed attack on a Sikh Gurudwara in Afghanistan involved a suicide bomber from India. On April 4, Afghan security forces arrested a Pakistani national and a high-ranking ISIS commander in Afghanistan, who authorized the Gurudwara attack. Reports indicate that ISIS is rapidly gaining recruits from India and Pakistan for its Afghanistan and Central Asia operations. The emerging threat in this regard would require close counterterrorism cooperation between Islamabad and New Delhi if the group is to be successfully defeated in Afghanistan. However, given Pakistan and Indias competition and record of undermining each others interests in Afghanistan, ISIS is set to gain exponentially in the coming months. BACKGROUND: On March 25, a militant associated with the Islamic State Khorasan Province (ISKP) attacked Afghanistans Sikh communitys place of worship in Kabul, killing at least 25 worshippers. The militant behind the attack was recognized as Abu Khalid al-Hindi from the Indian state of Kerala. On April 4, the Afghan Intelligence agencies arrested a top ISKP commander in Afghanistan, known as Aslam Farooqi, who ordered the attack on the Sikh religious complex in Kabul. Farooqi, a Pakistani national, has been the head of ISKPs regional chapter since July 2019. Under Farooqis leadership, the groups affiliates have claimed responsibility for several attacks in Pakistan, Indian-administrated Kashmir and Afghanistan. The ISKP has emerged as one of ISISs deadliest affiliates globally. Since the groups formation in 2015, the Afghan Taliban and a broad counterterrorism campaign by the international troops in Afghanistan has kept it on the run. However, the organization continues to survive, carry out attacks and attract recruits locally as well as from Pakistan and India. According to a report published by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), ISKP is led by a core of former Tehrik-e-Taliban Pakistan [TTP] commanders from Orakzai and Khyber Agencies of Pakistan; the majority of mid-level commanders are former Taliban from Nangarhar, with the rank and file a mixture of local Afghans, Pakistanis, and foreign jihadists mostly from Central Asia. The group in Afghanistan has been working on reorienting its recruitment strategy especially after it announced an Indian and Pakistan chapter last year. Over the last year, India has become the key recruiting ground for the militant group. About 100 people from the Indian state of Kerala alone have joined ISKP in Afghanistan. Moreover, a large number of Indian citizens were among the 1,400 ISKP who surrendered to Afghan security forces earlier this year. Over the last year, the Islamic States Hind chapter has actively carried out attacks in Indian-administered Kashmir. In the past, Pakistan and India have supported different insurgent groups in Afghanistan to suit their regional security policies. This policy has had a direct impact on Afghanistans security and the mistrust between India and Pakistan. IMPLICATIONS: ISKPs growth in Afghanistan poses a clear threat to both Pakistans and Indias national security interests in the region. Arguably, ISKP is the first group in Afghanistan that both countries broadly view as a threat. In the past, while Pakistan has supported extremist groups in Afghanistan willing to protect Islamabads interests, India has allied with actors that detest Pakistans interventions in Afghanistans internal affairs. Over the years, Indias leadership appears to have realized that New Delhi will have to build a relationship with groups such as the Afghan Taliban in order to balance Pakistans role in Afghanistan. New Delhi not only attended the recent signing of a landmark peace deal between the U.S. and the Taliban; it also supports the idea of all-inclusive Afghan peace talks. There is a growing realization in India that the country needs to play a role in the Afghan peace talks. Given that the Afghan Taliban is one of the main actors in the peace process, India will have to normalize its relationship with the group. For the Afghan Taliban, building ties with India could further solidify their legitimacy and political credentials in Afghanistan. This development contravenes Pakistans Afghan policy, which aims to end Indias influence in the country. Pakistan claims to have a good working relationship with the Taliban. In Pakistans military circles, this relationship is considered both necessary and beneficial. In this regard, Indias intent to accept the Talibans role in Afghanistan can be considered a tactical win for Pakistans Afghan policy. However, the Talibans relationship with Pakistan is weakening. According to Hassan Abbas, a Senior Fellow at the Center for Global Policy (CGP), the group has become increasingly critical of Pakistans way of handling the Taliban. He further notes that the group may not be dependent on Pakistan anymore as it has more funding options and better sanctuaries elsewhere, particularly in Qatar. This demonstrates that Islamabads policy of keeping India out of Afghanistan is neither practical, nor sustainable, if the Taliban decides to develop ties with India. The group has already made it clear that it is ready to reset their relationship with all international stakeholders. Thus, in the coming months and years, Pakistan may come to view the Afghan Talibans growing political control in Afghanistan as a threat rather than a strategic win. Notably, even the old guard of the Taliban, which had better ties with Pakistans security agencies, refused to accept Islamabads view on the Durand Line border with Afghanistan. Against this backdrop, Pakistan may actually view the challenge that ISKP poses to India and the Taliban in Afghanistan in a positive light. Arguably, ISKP has been highly beneficial to Pakistan in many important respects. The rise of ISKP correlates with defections from TTP and Al-Qaida in the Indian Subcontinent (AQIS) to ISKP in Afghanistan. This has put pressure on the Afghan Taliban at a time when the group started to drift away from Islamabad. Moreover, the development has weakened TTP and AQIS, which developed sanctuaries in Afghanistan after Pakistans military operations in its tribal areas along the Durand Line. Additionally, this has shifted the intra-Jihadist competition from Pakistan to Afghanistan. Moreover, ISKPs use of Indian suicide bombers in Afghanistan and its growing focus on the Kashmir theater should please Pakistans military strategists. Arguably, the ISKP is proving more potent than the Afghan Taliban in frustrating the Indian security forces in Kashmir and putting an Indian face to attacks in Afghanistan. As Saurav Sarkar noted in a recent article in The Diplomat, ISKPs attempt to use an Indian Muslim to attack Sikhs [in Afghanistan] could be an attempt at driving a wedge in Indias social fabric. Already, Pakistan has reportedly asked the Afghan Sikh community to migrate to Pakistan, as it is safe neither in India, nor in Afghanistan. This essentially means that Pakistan is unlikely to cooperate with India to root out ISKP from Afghanistan or beyond. New Delhi already believes that Pakistans security agencies are helping the groups development in Afghanistan. Indeed, Pakistan will continually seek to keep India at bay in Afghanistan and would benefit from increased pressure on the Afghan Taliban from ISKP. CONCLUSIONS: In the last few months, ISKP activities have grown significantly in Afghanistan. They appear aimed at undermining the U.S.-Taliban peace deal and attracting more recruits from militants that do not agree with the Afghan Talibans negotiations with Washington. By increasing violence, the group hopes to inspire its local affiliates in Pakistan and India and take advantage of the two countries competing interests in Afghanistan. Given the deep-seated distrust and hostility between India and Pakistan, cooperation to counter the ISKP threat in Afghanistan is highly unlikely. ISKPs growth and activities in Afghanistan will worsen the countrys instability and complicate the intra-Afghan peace process. In this context, the gains ISKP is making from the India-Pakistan rivalry in Afghanistan will develop into a serious threat in the medium to long term. AUTHOR'S BIO: Umair Jamal is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Otago, New Zealand and the Diplomat Magazines correspondent in Pakistan. His areas of research include counterterrorism and security issues in Pak-Afghan region. Umair has consulted with various think tanks in Pakistan and globally and has published for a number of media outlets including Al-Jazeera, Foreign Policy, SCMP, Huffington Post and others. Image Source: Public Domain, Photo By: Cpl. Alex Flynn accessed on 7/20/20 On July 12, the Azerbaijani Armed Forces launched aggression and made a sabotage attempt in the direction of the Armenian military positions, particularly in the northeastern sector of the Armenia-Azerbaijan border. The Armenian Armed Forces resolutely thwarted them, after which the Azerbaijani Armed Forces started shelling Armenian military positions, as well as civilian structures and the population. This is what Minister of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said in an interview with France24. Armenia was resolute during the defense. We worked very closely with our partners, particularly the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairing countries (France, US and Russia) to stop the military operations and restore the ceasefire. In essence, what happened was a manifestation of the belligerent and hate rhetoric that had become highly intensive in Azerbaijan over the past weeks and months. In essence, they were testing Armenias resoluteness and capacities beyond the borders of Nagorno-Karabakh, and this was truly a very dangerous development. Until now, Armenia has managed to keep the situation calm. However, the situation is still fragile. Our goal is to ensure sustainable ceasefire and to take special measures to strengthen the ceasefire regime and rule out the challenges posing a threat to tranquility along the length of the Armenian-Azerbajiani border, as well as on the line of contact with Artsakh (Nagorno-Karabakh), he said. When told that Azerbaijan says the Armenian side was the one that launched the military operations, the foreign minister said the following: We were rather persistent with the introduction of measures to reduce the risks of tension and investigative the ceasefire violations. However, Azerbaijan is not too willing to accept the proposals and introduce measures that will rule out possible violations in the future. Thus, once again, I call on Azerbaijan to return to the negotiations and accept those proposals and work on strengthening the ceasefire regime. They say the way to a man's heart is through his stomach! And if that's the case, there's no doubt that Lauren Mand has won over her retired AFL beau Jimmy Bartel with her mouth-watering vodka pasta. On Monday, the Melbourne socialite shared a series of videos featuring her cooking the delectable dish to Instagram. Scroll down for video The way to a man's heart: On Monday Lauren Mand (left) shared a series of videos to Instagram that feature her cooking vodka pasta for her beau Jimmy Bartel (right) 'Making the vodka pasta tonight, his fav!' Lauren captioned the video. The 31-year-old went on to share a series of videos detailing the cooking process. She began by sharing a video of a red sauce cooking in the pan, then added lots of cheese. Chef's delight: The 31-year-old went on to share a series of videos detailing the cooking process. 'Making the vodka pasta tonight, his fav!' Lauren shared Next she let the sauce simmer before stirring it into a pot with the pasta and serving. She captioned a picture of the final product: 'You!!! Yummy!!' Lauren revealed that the recipe for her 'Pene Alla Vodka' is available on the website Delish, but she recommends using rigatoni instead of penne pasta. Delicious: Lauren revealed that the recipe for her 'Pene Alla Vodka' is available on the website Delish, but she recommends using rigatoni instead of penne pasta Lauren and Jimmy went public with their romance last year following his split from his ex-wife Nadia Bartel. The Bartels announced their separation on August 15, but it is believed they actually split two months prior. Jimmy shares his two sons with his ex-wife, Aston, four, and Henley, one. The risk of major flooding looms increasingly large along the Huaihe River, part of the dividing line between China's northern and southern regions. The rain-swollen river has risen above alert-triggering levels, with more torrential rain forecast for the river's basin. Due to incessant downpours, the water level at the Wangjiaba hydrological station reached 27.5 meters, its warning level, late Friday, marking the river's first flood of the year. However, the water level further increased to 29.66 meters at 6:36 am Monday morning, 0.36 meters above the maximum design level for dikes in the section, according to the Huaihe River Commission. "The water is expected to keep swelling," the commission said in a news release on Monday. One of the country's seven major waterways, the Huaihe drops 178 meters over 360 kilometers in its upper reaches. In its middle reach of 490 km, mostly in Anhui province, however, the drop is just 16 meters, making it difficult for floods to recede in the province. It also passes through Henan, Jiangsu and Shandong provinces. On Monday morning, the commission issued a red alert for flooding, the highest in a four-tier color-coded warning system, while upgrading the emergency response to Level I, its highest, amid a "grim flood control situation". At 8:30 am Monday, the Wangjiaba Dam opened all of its 13 sluice gates to discharge floodwaters to the Mengwa Flood Diversion Area in an effort to relieve the pressure downstream. The diversion area, a 180-square-kilometer basin, can hold nearly 750 million cubic meters of water. The area, located in Fuyang, Anhui, is home to over 190,000 people. Most of them, however, are migrant workers in other regions. "Over 2,000 people in the area were evacuated to safe places Sunday night," said Lu Haitao, an official on Huaihe River management at the Anhui Department of Water Resources. Some of those who live in places high enough to avoid being affected have gone elsewhere to stay with friends or relatives. The government will take measures to ensure the supply of daily necessities to people who stay at home, he added. The flood control situation in the river may become even more acute with the coming downpours. From Monday to Wednesday, heavy rainfall is forecast for the drainage basin of the river, raising the risk of flooding at its trunk stream. "Some medium-sized and small rivers may suffer major floods," the Ministry of Emergency Management said. But it added that rainfall in southern parts of the country, which has continued for over 40 days, will tend to abate as the rain band moves northward. The Huaihe River and the Qinling Mountains to the west form the dividing line between southern and northern China. Meanwhile, flooding in the Yangtze River has yet to abate. As of Monday, Jiangsu province has raised its flood alert level to red for Taihu Lake, Shijiu Lake and the Nanjing and Zhenjiang sections of the Yangtze. The water level at the Nanjing hydrological station reached a historic high of 10.32 meters as of 2 pm Monday, according to the Jiangsu Water Resources Bureau. The previous record was 10.22 meters in August 1954. The water level will remain high for about a week, according to the bureau. Nanjing's Qixia district had evacuated 306 elderly or disabled people from Baguazhou Island, the Yangtze's third-largest island, to eight nursing homes by Sunday. Medical workers from 11 hospitals and medical centers accompanied the evacuees to ensure their health during the evacuation and at the homes. Zhang Guilan, a villager in her 80s, said she was satisfied with the food and living conditions at her nursing home. "I had a chicken drumstick, cabbage and a bowl of seaweed soup for dinner," Zhang said. "The room I'm living in has a TV, clean bedclothes and bathtub safety rails. The food here is even better than what I had at home." Zhang said she had witnessed how Nanjing's flood defenses were built and that she had confidence that they would protect the city. Since 2016, Nanjing has invested more than 8 billion yuan ($1.14 billion) to reinforce its flood defenses, including the 200-km levee along the Yangtze's main stream. tech2 News Staff One of the experimental coronavirus vaccines being developed and tested by Oxford University and AstraZeneca has shown an immune response against COVID-19 in trial volunteers, as per new data published in the Lancet. The AZD1222 experimental vaccine uses an inactivated (harmless) form of the COVID-causing SARS-CoV-2 virus for the immune system to use as target practice to fight off a future coronavirus infection. Based on the data released by the phase one/phase two study, which included 1,077 healthy volunteers, the vaccine was found to trigger two unique, important immune responses. The first response was an increase in the production of antibodies, which helps the immune system track and target the virus in the body. The second was an increase in a class of immune cells called T-cells, which destroy both viral particles and human cells infected by the virus, with the help of antibodies. Scientists say this is a good sign for the experimental vaccine candidate, retaining its status as the front-runner in the global effort to find a working vaccine to prevent COVID-19 infection. The two-pronged immune response is ideal, according to Professor Adrian Hill, one of the study authors from Oxford. "Having both of these after vaccination sometimes after a single dose, but much better after a second dose is pretty encouraging," Hill told NPR. "Nobody can say for certain what you need to get protection in this disease because it's never been done before." Some of the side-effects researchers noted in participants who were given the vaccine were muscle aches, chills, and a fever. But different doses of acetaminophen (Paracetamol) gave all the participants relief, the study authors noted. The study doesn't reveal any serious adverse reactions, which is an encouraging result. However, an understanding of the uncommon reactions to the vaccine will only become apparent in Phase 3 trials, when it is tested in tens of thousands of people. The AZD1222 experimental vaccine works by targeting the "spike proteins" that cover the outer surface of the SARS-CoV-2 virus. It is being developed by the University of Oxford in a collaboration with pharma giant AstraZeneca. In May this year, the Trump administration awarded the Oxford-AstraZeneca partnership $1.2 billion as part of 'Operation Warp Speed', to have a widely-available COVID-19 vaccine in the US by January 2021. The US remains the worst affected nation by the coronavirus pandemic, with over 3.8 confirmed cases as of 21 July, and around 65,000 new cases being reported every day in recent weeks. Currently, there are 24 COVID-19 vaccine candidates in different stages of clinical trials, as per the World Health Organization. So far, only three of them the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine, a similar inactivated vaccine from SinoVac, and the Moderna mRNA vaccine have begun phase three human trials, which are the largest and usually the final stage of trials before a vaccine comes to market. Another 142 candidates from many different countries are now in preclinical studies. The lawyer who murdered New Jersey Judge Esther Salas' son made racist remarks about her and other Latinas in thousands of online ramblings after devoting his life to tearing down women's rights in the wake of an embarrassing break-up with his Russian bride. Roy Den Hollander is believed to be the gunman who shot dead 20-year-old Daniel Ardel, Judge Esther Salas' son, on Sunday and injured her husband Mark. He then killed himself in the Catskills and his body was found on Monday. In a 1,700-page self-published book online, which he dedicated to 'mother - may she burn in hell' - he described his failed love life, troubled law career and 2018 melanoma diagnosis. Hollander also discussed Salas at length. He complained that she was taking too long to rule on a case he was involved in that was over the military's male-only draft. 'Just unbelievable, by now we should have been knocking on the U.S. Supreme Courts door, but lady unluck stuck us with an Obama appointee. Roy Den Hollander's hatred of women seems to stem back to his marriage to a Russian woman called Angelina who left him in the late 1990s after using him for a visa He was angry that the case was taking so long in Salas' court. Female judges didnt bother me as long as they were middle age or older black ladies. 'They seemed to have an understanding of how life worked and were not about to be conned by any foot dragging lawyer. Latinas, however, were usually a problemdriven by an inferiority complex,' he wrote. Hollander graduated from Columbia law school in the 1990s. He then moved to Moscow to work for a security firm. That is where he met Angelina, the Russian bride who broke his heart by allegedly deceiving him. In his rambling book, he went from describing her as 'Angel' to describing her as a 'h*'. He claimed, without evidence, that she was a sex worker and that she used him for a green card. In a 2008 Jezebel article, it's claimed that she left him after getting her visa to the US. He claimed in the book it was him he broke off the romance. After being dumped, Hollander devoted his career to filing lawsuits to chip away at women's rights and argue that men were unfairly treated This is a screengrab from the misogynistic lawyer's website In his rambling, 1,700-page book he refers to Salas in racist, derogatory terms repeatedly Thereafter, the bulk of his work was dedicated to what he called defending men's rights. Hollander made a name for himself as a litigious misogynist who hated women. Judge Esther Salas. Hollander said she was 'hot' and contemplated 'asking her out' but also said she had an 'inferiority complex' He sued a Manhattan bar for offering women free entry and free drinks in 2008, claiming it was discriminatory against men. He also sued Columbia for offering a women's studies course. The case against the bar won him the nickname 'Ladies Night Lawyer' and he was ridiculed by Stephen Colbert on his show. Hollander was undeterred. In recent years, he filed a lawsuit against the hospital that treated him for cancer, alleging malpractice. He appeared frequently on cable news networks to share his controversial views. Hollander's work appears to have dried up in recent years. On social media, his post recent posts - in April - were about the COVID-19 pandemic. He claimed New York Governor Andrew Cuomo was partially to blame for the state's large death toll. He hated Obama, who he said had 'an obsession to turn America into a banana republic', Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, who described as 'angry that nobody had invited her to her high school senior prom' and Clinton supporters who he called ' Clinton 'teary-eyed, sad-sack, PC loonies'. Hollander killed Salas' 20-year-old son Daniel and injured her husband Mark, 63, on Sunday The unhinged murderer recently turned his attention to the COVID-19 pandemic and blamed Democrat Gov. Andrew Cuomo for the surge in cases in New York He called himself a Trump campaign 'volunteer', and said he'd worked the phones during the president's first campaign. 'Once in a while some hot young model chick would show up to make calls. They never sat next to me,' he claimed. 'I did volunteer work for Trumps campaign because I hate PC-Feminism more than I hate America. If I had hated America more, I would have worked for Hillarys campaign,' he wrote. He does not make any direct threat to women specifically but said in one portion of the book: 'The Feminists should be careful in their meddling with nature. There are 300 million firearms in this country, and most of them are owned by guys. 'It makes no sense for men to disarm in the face of an evil that wants to exercise totalitarian power over them. They have a right to revolt against that tyranny, to take it down. 'It doesnt matter whether its the tyranny of George III or the Feminists.' The final sentence of his bizarre book asks 'what's the point?'. It's unclear when it was written. Edge Impulse is accelerating and expanding the use of embedded intelligence, a catalyst for Digital Industry" Momenta Ventures is pleased to announce an investment in Edge Impulse, the leading platform for developing intelligent devices using embedded machine learning (TinyML). Founded by Zach Shelby and Jan Jongboom, Edge Impulse has become the standard for edge-intelligence using machine learning with already 2,700 projects created on its easy-to-use and extensible platform since January. Edge Impulse is well-positioned to become a leader in edge intelligence, leveraging the convergence of low-cost, high-performance microprocessors and low-power, wide area networks such as LoRaWAN, to create intelligent, extremely low-power and wireless devices. Today, almost 99% of sensor data goes unused given the cost to transmit this back to applications. Edge Impulse solutions leverage all sensor data by reading and processing these at the edge, making intelligent decisions and transmitting back outcomes and actions. To read more see Zachs blog on Embedded ML for All Developers. Zach Shelby writes Machine learning for edge devices is already beginning to enable huge value for companies working with sensor data. Together with Momenta Ventures we aim to make this part of digital transformation across all industrial and commercial applications." Soon after their platform launch in January, Edge Impulse announced partnerships with hardware providers Eta Compute, Arduino and ST Microelectronics, making it even easier to develop applications using the most popular hardware on the market. Ken Forster, Executive Director of Momenta Ventures notes: Edge Impulse is accelerating and expanding the use of embedded intelligence, a catalyst for Digital Industry, creating highly-distributed, edge solutions in our core industries of Energy, Manufacturing, Smart Spaces and Supply Chain. This investment is the fifth out of Momenta Ventures second fund, the Edge Ecosystem Fund, intended to accelerate innovative industry solutions powered by Low Power Wide Area Networks with a focus on open standards and ecosystems such as LoRaWAN. Investors of this fund are strategic stakeholders in the LPWAN ecosystem. About Edge Impulse Edge Impulse is on a mission to enable developers to create the next generation of intelligent devices using embedded machine learning in industrial, enterprise, and human-centric applications. Machine learning at the very edge will enable valuable use of the 99% of sensor data that is discarded today due to cost, bandwidth or power constraints. The founders believe that machine learning can enable positive change in society and are dedicated to support applications for good. Sign up for free at edgeimpulse.com. About Momenta Ventures Momenta Ventures is the investment arm of Momenta Partners, the leading Digital Industry Growth Partner firm. Led by deep industry practitioners with strong entrepreneurial and corporate pedigree, Momenta Ventures has made over 40 investments, with notable exits to SAP, PTC, and Husqvarna Group. Momenta Ventures operates two Digital Industry funds, focused on Seed and Series A investments in Digital Energy, Manufacturing, Smart Spaces, and Supply Chain. For more information, please visit https://momenta.vc. Gandhinagar, July 21 : Assuming charge as the new Gujarat BJP President, CR Patil on Tuesday said that the country voted his party to power at the Centre twice on the basis of Gujarat model. "The BJP has been handed power at the Centre twice in 2014 and 2019 on the basis of the Gujarat model. The whole country is also looking forward to Gujarat. Similarly, the BJP organisational structure too is looking towards our state as a role model," said Patil, who assumed charge of the post at the Gujarat BJP headquarters 'Shree Kamalam' in Gandhinagar. The BJP MP from Navsari assured party leadership and workers to work honestly to strengthen the BJP organisational structure as per their expectations. "I used to sit somewhere in a corner during BJP meetings and suddenly I was outrightly elevated to this position, which is not only amazing but it can happen only in the BJP," Patil said. "I may be an inexperienced person, but I assure you that my efforts will be very honest. I may have likes or dislikes but I won't let them be misused and will only work for party interests. I won't hesitate to take strict measures in party's interest," the Lok Sabha member added. On taking the party to new heights and gaining public confidence, the new Gujarat BJP chief said that could be done by adopting around 50-60 of around 400 schemes launched by Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He also stressed on the use of information technology and setting up a data bank on people's expectations. "I thank the Prime Minister, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP President JP Nadda, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani, his deputy Nitin Patel and all party leaders and seniors for entrusting me with this new responsibility," Patil said. All three districts are among the largest and most highly regarded public school systems in the Washington area. They are all defying intense pressure from the Trump administration, which has urged schools nationwide to reopen their doors five days a week come fall. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement As states decide whether to open schools in the fall, teachers across the country worry their lives are being put at risk. (The Washington Post) In explaining his decision, Fairfax County Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand said the United States has failed to contain the novel coronavirus. The covid-19 pandemic looks much different than it did even three weeks ago, Brabrand told board members during the meeting. Now we are experiencing a surge of covid-19 across the country, and it will impact us here in Fairfax County. The numbers do not lie. Arlington Public Schools switches to remote learning for fall, reversing course The Fairfax County School Board debated the superintendents recommendation late into the night Tuesday, in a heated meeting that lasted more than seven hours and at times devolved into a shouting match. Close to 9 p.m., the board took an informal poll at the superintendents request, and a majority nine of 12 members said they supported the all-virtual option. This consensus agreement, although not a formal vote, allows Brabrand to move forward with planning. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement In Loudoun, Schools Superintendent Eric Williams advocated online-only schooling late Tuesday evening in part by citing a national increase in coronavirus cases. Near 1 a.m., after hours of discussion, the school board voted 7-2 to endorse the switch to online education. In Montgomery County, Schools Superintendent Jack Smith will bring a detailed plan for all-virtual learning before the Board of Education for a vote on Aug. 6. In his email Tuesday, he cited recommendations from county Health Officer Travis Gayles, who recently said school should not reopen for in-person classes. Given this updated guidance, the safest choice for our district is to remain in a virtual-only instructional model through the first semester, Smith wrote. We all want whats best for students. This decision is incredibly difficult. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The three announcements, which tumbled out rapid-fire one after the other, left thousands reeling throughout both states. Many residents of Virginia and Maryland including some members of the Fairfax County School Board said they felt blindsided by the last-minute recommendations, which came weeks before school is slated to start. The switches also came days after Fairfax, which enrolls 189,000, and Loudoun, which enrolls 83,000, had formally asked parents to choose between two enrollment options for the fall, an all-virtual plan or a hybrid one. That choice revealed a split: A clear majority of Fairfax parents, 60 percent, chose in-person learning, while a slight majority of Loudoun parents, roughly 51 percent, did. Those who did not respond were counted as selecting in-person learning. Now, these mothers and fathers must swiftly craft new plans. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement This is NOT the way to lead, Fairfax parent Amina Basic wrote in an email. You dont LET them think they have a choice then you take that choice away. In Montgomery County, which enrolls more than 166,000, the plan for hybrid learning had looked slightly different. Until Tuesday, the school system was considering opening the school year with distance learning but, in a matter of weeks, offering families the choice of a hybrid model that would blend on-campus learning with remote instruction. In recent days, though, dissent had intensified. Teachers and parents by the thousands had called, messaged, emailed and posted on social media about the proposal. Some had supported a return to school buildings, but a majority did not, citing safety, officials with the school system said. Story continues below advertisement Teachers in particular responded with frustration last week as union leaders presented details of what the hybrid approach could involve. In recent days, Montgomery teachers had sent hundreds of emails calling for remote learning for the fall semester and similar scenes had played out in Fairfax and Loudoun. Surveys in both districts showed teacher support for the online-only option: 52 percent of Fairfax educators indicated a preference for such teaching, and 46 percent of Loudoun teachers. Advertisement In part citing these surveys, the superintendents in both Fairfax and Loudoun said in-person schooling would be impractical this fall because too few teachers indicated they would be willing to step back in the classroom. In Fairfax, roughly 10 percent of teachers requested health exemptions under the Americans With Disabilities Act, Brabrand said, and requests for leaves of absence doubled from last year. In Loudoun, Williams said, so many teachers asked for child-care-related leave, requested leaves or resigned from their posts saying they do not feel confident in the planned safety precautions that it would be impossible to offer in-person instruction for every student whose family requested it. Fairfaxs Brabrand asked a handful of principals, whom he had invited to the videoconference, to explain their personnel predicaments. Story continues below advertisement The bottom line is, without additional staffing actually having significantly more teachers we cannot make this work, said Amy Goodloe, principal of Rocky Run Middle School. Advertisement Educator reactions such as these, coupled with concerns about rising coronavirus infection rates, have already persuaded large school systems throughout the country to opt for an online-only start to next school year. Although the science around reopening is inconclusive and it remains unclear how easily children spread the virus to adults, school systems in Los Angeles, San Diego and Atlanta have already picked the all-virtual path. Until Tuesday, Fairfax, Loudoun and Montgomery were three of the final holdouts in the Washington area. Over the past two weeks, almost every major district in the region had announced plans to begin fall classes online, ignoring speeches and tweets from President Trump, who has insisted schools must reopen. Story continues below advertisement Fairfax has come under special heat from the Trump administration, twice drawing censure from Education Secretary Betsy DeVos over not reopening. DeVos had insisted the Virginia school system was failing students and criticism continued from conservative quarters after news broke of Fairfaxs about-face Tuesday. Fox News host Laura Ingraham wrote on Twitter that it marked horrific news for families. Advertisement During Fairfaxs virtual board meeting Tuesday, some lamented what they saw as the politicization of a decision that should have focused solely on the health of students and staff members. The pandemic experience, said Fairfax County Health Director Gloria Addo-Ayensu, has been very political. Story continues below advertisement But most of the meeting was devoted to a heated debate over the risks and merits of reopening. School Board members grilled the superintendent and health officials present on the call over whether virus infection rates in Fairfax County justified a decision to delay reopening. Benjamin Schwartz, the Fairfax County Health Departments director of epidemiology and population health, noted that cases are surging in the United States and in Virginia as a whole. But he acknowledged that case rates in Fairfax County have not risen in over a month although he predicted that infection rates in Fairfax are likely to spike four to six weeks from now, given that the county is just embarking on some reopening measures. Advertisement The metrics as they exist today do not suggest an increasing problem in Fairfax County, Schwartz said. But [the decision] has to be based on what can be extrapolated in the modeling. That four- to six-week delayed spike would come just as schools are supposed to reopen, Brabrand said. In defending against criticism from some board members, the superintendent also repeatedly referenced Montgomery County: That county has a smaller number of cases than Fairfax, he said, and health officials still advised against reopening. School officials spent hours quibbling over whether case rates should be the most important metric or whether other data should prevail when calculating the risks and rewards of reopening. Late in the evening, the board formally voted to ask the superintendent to develop clear public health metrics for reopening, stipulating that he must present them to board members by mid-August. Some also mentioned the cost to families who will now struggle to find child care, to balance working from home with managing small children or to keep jobs that cannot be completed from home. But even as health officials cited slideshow presentations stuffed with numbers and explanations, the conversation almost always returned to one thing how much we dont know. The challenge were faced with is the unknown, Addo-Ayensu said. There are answers that we dont have, because weve never seen this before. School Board student representative Nathan Onibudo said he wondered whether Fairfax will really be able to reopen only once a coronavirus vaccine appears. He said no one knows when or whether that will happen. Board member Melanie K. Melen (Hunter Mill) asked how long families can last with online-only education. Virtual learning is essentially telling everyone to stay home, she said. Is that the plan for years? Whats the breaking point? Michael Ibrahim's glamorous wife and bankrupt construction identity George Alex are among a group of people arrested over their alleged involvement in a criminal syndicate. Makeup artist Caitlin Hall, 30, was arrested at her Greystanes home in Greater Western Sydney on Tuesday morning. She has been charged with recklessly dealing with proceeds of crime in excess of $1million, according to the Sydney Morning Herald. She was granted bail after two associates posted a $100,000 surety and must report to Wentworth Police Station daily until her next appearance at the Downing Centre Local Court on September 16. In March of this year, Ms Hall's husband Ibrahim was jailed for unrelated offences for 30 years for conspiring to import more than 1.7 tonnes of MDMA, 136 kilograms of cocaine and 15 kilograms of meth. Mr Alex, 49, and his son Arthur, 22, were also arrested at a leased waterfront home in Surfers Paradise in Queensland on Tuesday morning. Makeup artist Caitlin Hall and her husband Michael Ibrahim, who was jailed for 30 years in May for conspiring to import multiple illegal substances. Ms Hall was arrested at her Greystanes home in Greater Western Sydney on Tuesday morning The duo were each charged with conspiracy to defraud and dealing with proceeds of crime worth more than $100,000 between July 2018 and July 2020, the publication reported. Five other men were charged following the synchronised arrests. Police allege the group were all involved in a tax fraud and money laundering syndicate, which has formed part of a major federal police investigation. Solicitor Johnathan Nyst, who is representing five of the accused, on Tuesday told a court 'George Alex... is alleged to be at the head of this criminal syndicate.' Mr Alex and his son were arrested in a spacious waterfront home complete with an indoor spa, a pool and a 10-seat home theatre. They have paid $1,600 a week for the rental property since December 2018, according to a real estate listing from the time. Police also seized a 2011 Porsche Cayenne while raiding the Alex family home on Larkhall Avenue in Earlwood in Sydney's inner west. Bankrupt construction identity George Alex (pictured) 49, and his son Arthur, 22, were also arrested at a leased waterfront home in Surfers Paradise in Queensland on Tuesday morning Officers raided another Earlwood home that was purchased for $2.35 million by Arthur Alex in 2018. The Australian Federal Police, the ATO and the Securities and Investments Commission have been jointly investigating the alleged syndicate, which prompted Tuesday's arrests. 'I can confirm that we are executing a number of search warrants,' an AFP spokeswoman told Daily Mail Australia. 'There is no threat to public and we will have more information at a later date.' The investigation is also examining alleged illegal phoenix activity, according to the Daily Telegraph. Illegal phoenix activity is when a new company is created to continue the business of a company that has been deliberately liquidated to avoid paying its debts, including taxes, creditors and employee entitlements. Mr Alex has been an undischarged bankrupt since 2011 and was a significant part of the trade union royal commission in 2015. Evidence was given to show that Mr Alex ran multiple labour hire companies that were paying the Construction, Forestry, Maritime, Mining and Energy Union (CFMEU) for favourable construction deals. The final reported concluded there was a 'substantial body of documentary evidence' to prove Mr Alex and his associate Joseph Antoun made regular $2,500 payments to CFMEU organiser Darren Greenfield. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest the 2015 royal commission case has any connection to Mr Alex's recent arrest. Meanwhile, Ms Hall is the wife of jailed drug kingpin Michael Ibrahim, who is the younger brother of Kings Cross identity John Ibrahim. Daily Mail Australia does not suggest John Ibrahim is connected to his brother's jailing or Ms Hall's arrest. Press Release July 20, 2020 Pangilinan: Why did imported test kits not go through rigid evaluation as local kits? AFTER Minority Senators questioned the delay in the use and mass production of Filipino-made test kits, Sen. Francis "Kiko" Pangilinan on Monday welcomed the announcement of the Department of Health (DoH) on the commercial use of the GenAmplify RT-PCR test kits. "After almost 6 months, magagamit na sa wakas ang mga test kit na gawang Pinoy na mahigit kalahati ang presyo kumpara sa imported. Kung hindi pa natin kinalampag nung isang araw baka umabot pa ng taon bago gamitin," he said. At the same time, Pangilinan still wonders why imported test kits from China and Korea, which costs between 4,000 and 8,000, or more than double than the locally made ones, appeared to be favored than the Filipino test kits. "Ang sabi sa atin ng mga insiders sa DoH, walang kahirap-hirap ang mga imported test kits, samantalang pinahirapan talaga itong gawa ng Pinoy. Dapat sagutin ng pamunuan ng DoH kung bakit natagalan bago natin nagamit itong mas abot-kaya at de kalidad na test kits. May kumikita ba at nakikinabang sa mas mahal na imported test kits?" he asked. In a joint statement on Saturday, Senate Minority Floor Leader Franklin Drilon and Senators Risa Hontiveros and Pangilinan himself urged the DoH to allow the use of the 1,320 RT-PCR test kits developed by the UP-National Institute for Health (UP-NIH) and funded by the Department of Science and Technology (DoST). "Malaki ang matitipid ng gobyerno sa paggamit sa test kits na gawa ng UP. Kaya dapat mas paigtingin na ngayon ng DoH ang testing, tracing, at treatment lalo na't nangunguna tayo sa pinakamaraming active cases sa ASEAN," Pangilinan said. The Reverse Transcription Polymerase Chain Reaction or RT-PCR test of UP-NIH is said to be the gold standard in testing for COVID-19. It detects the actual presence of the SARS-COV-2, which causes COVID-19, unlike in rapid antibody test kits which can only detect the presence of antibodies in an individual and not the actual virus. An interim report showed that the GenAmplify RT-PCR tests kits have up to 93.96% sensitivity and up to 98.04% specificity, at a confidence interval of 95%, ranking among the world's best and performing better than some of the imported kits. In the interest of transparency, Pangilinan said the public needs to know actual and projected DoH expenses for the rapid and PCR test kits as part of its response to the pandemic. "How much more fund is allocated for procurement of more kits? In the budget for 2021, how much is the DoH proposing for such expense?" he asked. "As concerned as we are for the health of the Filipinos, we are also keenly looking after the well-being of our state coffers. Every peso of meaningful, honest, and transparent spending and saving will go a long way, especially amid an economic crisis," he added. On Sunday, the total number of COVID-19 cases in the Philippines reached 67,456, with 43,160 active cases, the highest number of active cases in the Southeast Asian region. I hope that out of this we come up with a hashtag that we can use on Twitter, that we can communicate with each other, that we can stay connected because its going to take a lot of support of each other to get through things that challenge us because when we look at this extremely important effort, if we do not have support from each other it is going to be easy to sit back on the sidelines and say I cant do anything about it. KCS has been trying to do things about racial equity for the last several years as they have recently focused heavily on text equity, but at the same time, almost all employees of the district have gone through racial equity training given by Racial Equity Cabarrus. Kannapolis formed a strong bond with UNC Charlottes Dr. Glass as a result of this training and she has helped greatly in address text equity. Many in the area have been exposed to this type of work through UNCC. There has been a movement going on in Charlotte and the surrounding areas in recent years and that has been hard to miss for educators who are trying to take what they are learning and applying it to their campuses. Forty-two cases of COVID-19 infections have been detected among Russian sailors docked in Busan over the past month alone. According to Busan Medical Center, 22 Russian sailors were treated for coronavirus until last week. Their medical bills ran to W10 million per person (US$1=W1,204). The Korean government paid for all of it, though its generosity is getting little support from the public here. The WHO's International Health Regulations are not legally binding, so many countries started adopting their own rules as the epidemic drags on. For example, China, Singapore and Vietnam no longer cover medical bills for coronavirus patients from overseas while Japan and Taiwan only cover those with medical insurance. The cumulative number of infections among arrivals from abroad reached 2,067 as of Monday, accounting for about 15 percent of all new cases in Korea, and continues to rise. According to health authorities, an average of 27.4 foreign arrivals tested positive every day over the last two weeks, up from 15.8 in the previous two weeks. They include Koreans arriving from overseas, but around 30 percent are foreign sailors or migrant workers. The government covers the treatment costs of COVID-19 patients regardless of nationality. According to the National Health Insurance Service, the medical treatment cost per patient ranges from W3.31 million to W70 million depending on the severity. The NHIS covers 80 percent of the cost and the central and provincial governments the rest. At least W130 billion was spent on coronavirus testing and hospitalization until June 26. But health authorities say the costs are not a waste of taxpayers' money since treatment helps prevent secondary and tertiary infections. PHOENIXAdult products distributor Entrenue is now shipping Forto, a new brand of products made for men, created by the sex toy brand FemmeFun. Forto offers adult retailers an array of anal plugs, anal beads and cock rings made with body-safe materials at affordable prices. Since 2015, FemmeFun has offered a selection of popular items designed to reflect the companys core values of power, innovation and fun. Forto is the manufacturers first foray into toys for penises, designed to provide their own unique kind of stimulation. Forto features five anal plugs: Rattler Spade, Cone Plug, Lungo, Pointer and Teardrop, all of which are available in black and red and in small, medium and large sizes. It also offers two sets of solid anal beads: Spiral Beads and Cone Beads, both available in black and red, as well as the F-33 Liquid Silicone cock ring, available in blue, black and glow-in-the-dark. Forto also offers the Vibrating Butt Plug and Vibrating Anal Beads, made with smooth black silicone and featuring a user-friendly single-button interface, 20 powerful vibration modes, a memory function and a flexible, lightweight body. We are always looking to expand our offerings for male consumers and Fortos variety and price point make it a fantastic addition to our catalog, said Entrenue CEO and owner Joe Casella. FemmeFunn is known for its popular shapes in fun colors and made pricing accessible, and Forto brings all of those qualities to a solid line of penis toys. This brand serves a purpose for our customers and we are excited to ship them nationwide. With clean, modern shapes with matching packaging, Forto products also make eye-catching slatwall displays. To view all of Entrenues newest items, visit www.entrenue.com. To place an order, call (800) 368-7268, email [email protected] or visit Entrenue.com. Park manager Alexa Rose on the Springlawn Trail in the Big Elk Creek section of the White Clay Creek Preserve near Landenberg, Pa. Read more Nearly 1,000 acres of rolling farmland, meadows, and forests spill around a meandering creek in southern Chester County near the Maryland line. The land was part of a complex real estate transaction that took more than 10 years to acquire the 978-acre parcel from George Strawbridge Jr., an octogenarian scion of the Dorrance family of Campbells Soup fame and a top horse breeder. It is situated in Elk and Franklin Townships off Strickersville Road. The Conservation Fund finalized the sale of the property for $32.25 million through a series of grants from the Mount Cuba Center, Chester County, and Pennsylvania. Then it deeded the property to the state Department of Conservation and Natural Resources as a preserve. The transaction was completed in March. Now, state officials have to decide what to do with it all a task they say they are happy to have in a rare chance to preserve such a large tract in a rapidly growing area. To get 1,000 acres donated to a state park is pretty amazing, Lexi Rose, a park manager for the DCNR, said on a recent tour of the property. She said theyre starting with a blank slate. Were assessing what we want to do with the property. Do we want to keep some of the history? What do we want to change? Rose said. It has a trail on it, but does it make sense to keep that open, or create others? Were just in the very beginning stages of getting a master plan started. The DCNR will manage the land as part of the Big Elk Creek section of White Clay Creek Preserve. The property is contiguous with about 8,000 acres of preserved open space in Pennsylvania and Maryland, and provides a corridor for an array of wildlife species, some threatened. Rose said that since the property is part of a preserve, its use will be more restricted than a typical state park. People can still fish and hike, she said, but youre not going to see too many overcrowded picnic areas or a swimming pool. A preserve is much more low-impact. Rose said a master plan would include input from the National Park Service, local governments, and groups such as Friends of White Clay Creek Preserve, a volunteer organization. The plan could take three to five years. The existing 2.1-mile Springlawn trail runs through the property along Big Elk Creek, a tributary of the Chesapeake Bay. It borders a forest of oak, maple, birch, and beech trees, and flora such as ferns, wineberry, yellow archangel, and lions foot. We have to ask, whats going to be good for the land? How can we preserve it while keeping in mind recreation? Thats the balance we have to strike, Rose said. White Clay Creek Preserve is split in two. The titular main preserve is to the east, adjacent to Delaware. The Big Elk Creek section lies to the west on the Maryland line. The new addition to the Big Elk Creek section is the second large property purchased from Strawbridge. In 2009, the Conservation Fund acquired 735 acres from Strawbridge and transferred ownership to the DCNR. The property became known as the Big Elk Creek section of White Clay Creek Preserve. It contains 2.1 miles of the Mason-Dixon line along the Pennsylvania-Maryland border and adjoins the 5,300-acre Fair Hill Natural Resource Management Area in Maryland. More than 690 plant species have been identified on the Strawbridge properties, 15 of which are considered endangered or rare in Pennsylvania. The land provides habitat for deer, rabbits, birds, and other wildlife, such as the regal fritillary butterfly and the short-eared owl. This part of Chester County is like the land that time forgot rolling farmland, quiet country roads, forest, said Blaine Phillips, who led the recent acquisition for the Conservation Fund. From the beginning, we realized how important this project was, Phillips said. We realized the huge upside of doing this, and consequently the downside of not doing it. We had a knee-jerk reaction that this land needed to be protected. Phillips said it was a once-in-a-lifetime shot to be able to purchase land connected to so many other thousands of acres of already protected land. Jeff Downing, executive director of the Mount Cuba Center, a private foundation based in Hockessin, Del., said the organization offered a grant toward the purchase price because the land checked off so many important boxes: size, connections with surrounding open space, and large biodiversity. READ MORE: Mt. Cuba Center is top botanical garden in the country, USA Today poll finds Though the foundation is based in Delaware, Downing said it was important that the land be preserved forever by Pennsylvania. Its just in a special place, Downing said. It fills a piece in a much larger puzzle. (Bloomberg) -- Emily Kramer helped Carta Inc. build a brand that emphasized fair compensation for women in the startup world. On Tuesday, she sued her former employer saying it did just the oppositepaying her less than her male peers and subjecting her to other forms of gender discrimination. Carta makes software used by more than 14,000 companies, including Axios Media Inc. and Robinhood Markets Inc., to manage data for their stockholders. Venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz valued the company at more than $1 billion last year and recently discussed a possible investment that would push the valuation to $3 billion. Since 2018, Carta has published widely cited research showing men hold a disproportionate amount of paper wealth in Silicon Valley, and the company has advocated to close the gender-equity gap. The 2018 study found women make up 35% of stockholding employees and account for an even smaller share of ownership. The San Francisco company held a conference in its hometown last year called Table Stakes, where the chief executive officer, Henry Ward, declared: Fair equity should be table stakes. Carta bought billboard space on Highway 101 in support of the campaign. Kramer, the former vice president of marketing at Carta, played a key role in spreading this message. She oversaw publication of the gender-pay research and related projects. Behind the scenes, though, Carta did little to resolve its own inequities, Kramer alleged in the lawsuit. A spokeswoman for Carta declined to comment. In her complaint filed in San Francisco, Kramer accused Carta of repeatedly failing to live up to its promises of gender parity. Ward pledged in a post on Medium in 2018 to add a woman to its all-male board by the end of that year and still hasnt done so, according to a stamped copy of the complaint reviewed by Bloomberg. The lawsuit couldnt immediately be verified in court records. A few months after Kramer joined Carta in 2018, the company audited compensation to ensure men and women were being paid fairly, according to the complaint. As a result, Carta raised Kramers salary by $50,000 and tripled her stock grants, which she said suggested she had been underpaid. The company acknowledged issues when it published the results of a companywide audit the following year, saying it found some problems and addressed them. Story continues Kramer claimed Ward held back her career and overlooked her advice because she was a woman. She alleged Ward elevated a male vice president with less experience and then declined her request for a promotion. In late 2019, a couple of weeks after the Table Stakes event, Kramer said a meeting with Ward spiraled out of control. Ward told her she was in violation of the companys no a--hole policy and that she had gotten passes for being a woman, according to the complaint. She said she resigned two days later. Equity has this massive impact on private wealth, Kramer said in an interview. Companies have an obligation to issue equity more fairly. Thats what Carta stood for, and I was really excited for the opportunity to tell that story. (Updates with response from Carta in the fifth paragraph.) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com Subscribe now to stay ahead with the most trusted business news source. 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Mr Avenatti is representing porn actress Stormy Daniels in her legal battle against Donald Trump and Julie Swetnick in her claims against judge Brett Kavanaugh: AP Photo/Amanda Lee Myers Michael Avenatti, the attorney who formerly represented porn star Stormy Daniels in her case against Donald Trump, is reportedly broke after facing legal issues of his own. According to the New York Post, Dean Steward, an attorney representing Mr Avenatti, said the lawyer's financial problems have left him without the means to defend himself in upcoming court battles. "The bottom line is that Mr Avenatti has run out of funds and faces a complex trial lasting as long as six weeks," Mr Steward wrote to a judge overseeing one of Mr Avenatti's upcoming court cases. Mr Avenatti who ran a short-lived presidential campaign in 2018 is facing charges related to tax evasion, approximately three dozen counts of fraud, was convicted of attempting to extort the Nike shoe company and was accused of trying to skim money from Stormy Daniels while she was his client. Mr Steward wrote that Mr Avenatti has run out of money and has offered to stay on as his lawyer if he can receive payment under the rules regarding poor clients. "The retainer has long since run out and the defendant does not have funds to pay counsel," Mr Steward wrote. Mr Steward who has been representing Mr Avenatti for more than a year argued that allowing him to stay on would save taxpayer dollars, as assigning Mr Avenatti a public defender would prolong the upcoming cases. Mr Avenatti has maintained that he has done nothing wrong and that all of the accusations against him are false. The lawyer is currently under house arrest. He is staying with a friend in Venice Beach, California, where he is being monitored by federal officials. During his house arrest, Mr Avenatti has been barred from possessing or using any digital devices that give him access to the internet. He was released from federal incarceration due to the coronavirus. His $1m bond was posted by his friend, Hubert Bromma. Read more Disgraced former Stormy Daniels lawyer out of jail over virus fears Iowa Western Community Colleges search for a new president is on track, a college official said Monday. Iowa Western President Dan Kinney plans to retire effective Dec. 31 after what will then be 26 years of service. The colleges search firm will accept applications until Sept. 9, according to Brent Siegrist, president of the Iowa Western Board of Trustees. He said he did not know how many have been submitted so far. On Jan. 6, the college announced Kinneys intention to retire effective Aug. 31. On Jan. 13, the board of trustees voted to engage the Association of Community College Trusteess ACCT Searches group to handle the search for Kinneys successor. After talking to ACCT officials, the board asked Kinney if he would stay until the end of the calendar year to give the college more time to search for a new president, and he agreed. A survey was posted online to collect public responses on what people thought the next president should be like. On June 10, ACCT search consultant Julie Golder facilitated public forums in Council Bluffs, Harlan and Clarinda on June 10 to gather more input. A 20-member Presidential Search Committee was formed that includes representatives from the board of trustees, faculty, staff, administration, the college foundation, community and student body. The committee developed a presidential profile during its first meeting on June 11. The Iowa Western Board of Trustees edited the profile and approved it later that day. It was posted on the colleges website soon after that and is available for review by members of the public and prospective candidates for the position. ACCT Searches will screen applications for the board. The committee will review confidential application packages, interview semifinalists and recommend finalists to the board for further consideration. The board will interview the final candidates, and all finalists will participate in open forums at Iowa Western, probably in early November. The presidential profile and progress reports on the search can be viewed below the main picture on the homepage of the colleges website at iwcc.edu. Want to see more like this? Get our local education coverage delivered directly 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. Work on U.S. 127 will close a section of westbound M-20 from Summerton to Isabella roads east of Mt. Pleasant. Its expected to remain closed through early September. Eastbound M-20 will still have access to the southbound ramp. The work, which started Tuesday, was announced in a press release sent out by the Michigan Department of Transportation on Tuesday afternoon. Traffic heading west will get detoured to Mission Street. The closure, according to a project map, is expected to last all day Monday through Thursday and 6 a.m. until 3 p.m. on Friday. Its part of a $15.6 million project to resurface six miles of U.S. 127 from the business route off-ramp to M-20, and along the business route heading into Mt. Pleasant from the U.S. 127 off-ramp to Bluegrass Road. The off-ramp remains closed for a complete replacement. Its scheduled for reopening in the middle of August. Work continues on High Street from Mission Street to Lincoln Road, where it becomes Remus Road. It is designated at the westbound route for M-20. That could change, based on Mt. Pleasants new master plan, which calls for rerouting M-20 up Lincoln to Pickard, using that path as a ring road to reduce traffic congestion inside the city. The section of Pickard Road that would serve as the ring road was resurfaced earlier this summer. READ MORE: NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- With nearly 2,000 reported incidences of discrimination and hate speech against the Asian and Pacific Islander (API) community in the U.S. amidst COVID-191, the Ad Council's Emmy-Award winning Love Has No Labels campaign today premiered "Fight the Virus. Fight the Bias." a new PSA to dispel the racism increasingly endured by the API community throughout the pandemic. Produced and directed by Emmy and Peabody Award winning writer and producer Alan Yang ("Master of None," "Parks and Recreation"), the film encapsulates the fear and trauma associated with anti-API discrimination, highlighting the personal stories and resilience of API individuals who have experienced bias, discrimination, harassment, and racism amid the COVID-19 crisis. The film and an accompanying AR filter challenge viewers to join the fight in stopping the spread of racism and discrimination against the API community. The current pandemic has triggered an increase in racism, scapegoating and bigotry, particularly towards API populations, perpetuating the harmful stereotypes that the community has fought for so long to dismantle. According to a new survey conducted by Pew Research Center, Asian Americans are among one of the marginalized groups who are more likely to face racial bias and discrimination during the pandemic. Close to one-in-three Asian adults (31%) report being victim to slurs or jokes because of their race or ethnicity since the outbreak began and a majority of Asian Americans (58%) admit it is happening more frequently now than before the pandemic.2 "At a time when hateful rhetoric and racially-fueled discrimination are plaguing the API community, it's critical that we all play a role in dispelling the racist misconceptions and actions pervading our country," said Ad Council President and CEO Lisa Sherman. "Amid this pandemic and the stresses associated, nobody should have to also endure the added layer of fear that comes from this surge in racial violence and harassment. We hope this film will inspire Americans to rethink their biases and help put an end to the wave of racism facing the API community." Created by Love Has No Labels and Alan Yang, the "Fight the Virus. Fight the Bias." PSA shares stories from a diverse group of API individuals who have experienced racism and hate during the COVID-19 crisis. Including Chef, Entrepreneur & TV Personality Melissa King, the individuals speak out about how they are part of the solution, not the problem, aiming to build a sense of humanity and break the silence around the hate and racism impacting the API community. Accompanying the PSA is a new AR filter, available on the Love Has No Labels Instagram page in the Effects Tab, empowering users to show solidarity and how they are stopping the spread of anti-API racism. Video on YouTube: https://youtu.be/5ocfEGYD_Xw "I'm honored to be part of this campaign and to help tell real stories of API experiences in America, especially during a time that's difficult for so many people across the country," said director Alan Yang. "I hope to do my best to represent our community and show that we're stronger when we support each other and share our experiences honestly and compassionately with others." The integrated campaign will also receive donated media, digital and social support from partners including: 3AF (Asian American Advertising Federation), AAAZA, Admerasia, AIMM (Alliance for Inclusive and Multicultural Marketing), Barbarian, Constellation Agency, Edelman, Facebook, interTREND, IW Group, Porter Novelli, Publicis Media, Ready State, Ruder Finn, and VaynerMedia. Love Has No Labels' brand partners Bank of America, Google, Johnson & Johnson, State Farm and Walmart are supporting the campaign by promoting content across their channels. In addition to funding the campaign, brand partners show their support during the year through online and offline activations including social messaging, custom content creation, employee engagement, events and more. The campaign directs audiences to lovehasnolabels.com/fightvirusbias, which features new resources for users to get a deeper understanding of the discrimination facing the API community in our country and how they can be part of the solution to end it. Developed in partnership with a number of resources from non-profit partners, the site includes questions to reflect on bias, ways to respond to biased or racist language, resources to learn more about your local community's policies on public safety, links to organizations fighting for justice on-the-ground, and more. Marking the launch of the PSA, Love Has No Labels will participate in the Asian American Marketing + Advertising Townhall on July 21, hosted by the 3AF (Asian American Advertising Federation) and the Association of National Advertisers (ANA) Educational Foundation to help drive awareness and tackle the anti-API bias impacting the community. Non-profit partners who continue to be instrumental in lending their expertise and support include: AARP, American Immigration Council (AIC), Anti-Defamation League (ADL), Human Rights Campaign (HRC), Disability: IN, National Women's Law Center (NWLC) and Unidos US. In addition, a number of industry partners are working in various capacities to address bias and discrimination against the API community. These include: Act to Change, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Wash the Hate, The All of Us Movement, Stop AAPI Hate, Make Noise Today, Racism Is Contagious, Respond2Racism, Send Chinatown Love, Call it COVID19. We will feature these partners on lovehasnolabels.com/fightvirusbias and they will also be supporting the PSA through social sharing. The Love Has No Labels campaign first launched nationally in 2015 with a video of skeletons dancing and embracing before coming out from behind an x-ray screen to reveal themselves as diverse couples, friends and families. The original "Love Has No Labels" video became the first PSA to win an Emmy for Outstanding Commercial and received more than 169 million views making it the second most viewed social activism video of all time. In 2016, it was followed by "We Are America" featuring WWE Superstar John Cena celebrating the diversity of America on Independence Day. In 2017, Love Has No Labels put a twist on the kiss cam by turning it into a symbol for unbiased love with "Fans of Love." The campaign launched its first short film in 2018 with "Rising," written by Lena Waithe (The Chi, Master of None) and directed by David Nutter (Game of Thrones), asking the question, "why does it take a disaster to bring us together?" Most recently, in June 2020 Love Has No Labels took a clear stance against racial injustice with "Fight For Freedom," revealing the stark contrast of the simple freedoms that many take for granted and the systemic racism Black people face every day in America. In total, the campaign's five videos have exceeded 387 million online views. Since the campaign's initial video launched in March 2015 there have been over 10.5 million U.S. sessions on lovehasnolabels.com. Since the launch of the campaign, significantly more adults agree that they can create a more accepting and inclusive environment (61% in March 2015 to 75% in June 2020), according to a survey commissioned by the Ad Council and conducted by Ipsos, Public Affairs. To date, the campaign has received more than $114 million in donated media. To learn more, visit the Love Has No Labels website, view the PSAs on YouTube, join the campaign's social communities on Facebook , Twitter and Instagram with #FightVirusBias and visit the campaign shop . The Ad Council The Ad Council is where creativity and causes converge. The non-profit organization brings together the most creative minds in advertising, media, technology and marketing to address many of the nation's most important causes. The Ad Council has created many of the most iconic campaigns in advertising history. Friends Don't Let Friends Drive Drunk. Smokey Bear. Love Has No Labels. The Ad Council's innovative social good campaigns raise awareness, inspire action and save lives. To learn more, visit AdCouncil.org, follow the Ad Council's communities on Facebook and Twitter, and view the creative on YouTube. 1Stop AAPI Hate reporting center, "Anti-Asian Incidents Across U.S. Near 1,900 over 8-Week Period," June 9, 2020 2Pew Research Center, "Many Black and Asian Americans Say They Have Experienced Discrimination Amid the COVID-19 Outbreak," July 1, 2020 SOURCE The Ad Council Related Links http://www.adcouncil.org They welcomed their first child together in June. And new parents Dermot O'Leary and wife Dee Koppang enjoyed a family stroll with their baby son Kasper in London on Tuesday. The presenter, 47, looked dapper as he walked side-by-side with his director spouse, 41, who pushed their newborn in a pram. Sweet: New parents Dermot O'Leary and wife Dee Koppang enjoyed a family stroll with their baby son Kasper in London on Tuesday Dermot opted for a light blue striped shirt teamed with a pair of navy chinos for the outing. He finished his look with some stylish accessories which included brown suede shoes and a pair of black sunglasses. Dermot's wife Dee looked effortlessly chic in a black midi smock dress with ruffled sleeves, she teamed the item of clothing with a silk neck scarf. The TV and film director styled her brunette locks into a sweptback bun, adding just a slick of make-up and a pair of black sunglasses. Sweet: The presenter, 47, looked dapper as he walked side-by-side with his director spouse, 41, who pushed their newborn in a pram The couple appeared to be joined by a close friend or family member, who were no doubt excited to meet their newborn son Kasper. Dermot's outing comes after he spoke about parenthood for the first time since welcoming his first child. Earlier this month, the presenter revealed that he and wife Dee 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. Memories: The couple appeared to be joined by a close friend or family member, who were no doubt excited to meet their newborn son Kasper 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': Earlier this month, the presenter revealed that he and wife Dee were 'having a great time' after welcoming son Kasper in June The light-hearted exchange comes after Dermot announced the newborn's name live on his BBC radio show 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. '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. Baby news! The star took to Instagram in June to announce the baby news as he gushed he was 'enjoying the cuddles in a newborn bubble' 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'. 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. 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 'Enjoying the cuddles in the newborn bubble... cats yet to be 100% convinced. Lots of love, Dermot & Dee x.' 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. 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. Speculation over a possible Egyptian military intervention in Libya is growing, though those who are fanning the flames of such speculation appear to be divided over whether the intervention will take the form of air strikes against military targets in the Sirte-Jufra zone or include sending ground troops on combat missions. There is no difference, however, over the objective of any military move: should it happen it will be to halt the eastward advance of militias fighting on the side of the Turkish-supported Government of National Accord (GNA). While privy to UN recognition, the GNA has never exercised control over the east of Libya where it has long been challenged by the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), led by Khalifa Haftar, Libyas best-known military figure who enjoys the support of Egypt, the UAE, France and Russia. Lately, Haftar has sustained military losses that allowed the GNA militias, with military assistance from Turkey, to push the LNA back and move closer to Sirte and Jufra, two cities in Libyas oil crescent, about 1000km from the Libya-Egypt border. Last month, in a rare open warning, President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi said that for Egypt Sirte and Jufra were a red line whose fall to the militias would constitute a serious national security threat. President Al-Sisi spoke while inspecting military units on the border with Libya, and his words were welcomed by many tribal leaders in east Libya. Earlier this week Al-Sisi met with a large number of tribal leaders in Cairo. They openly called on him to send Egyptian troops into Libya to push back the militias and end the expansion of forces that act upon the command of Turkey, to serve the interests of Ankara. The visit and appeals of the tribal delegation followed repeated calls from Aguila Saleh, the speaker of the Libyan House of Representatives, for Al-Sisi to intervene and halt what Saleh characterised as the Turkish invasion of Libya. LNA leader Khalifa Haftar also joined the appeals for Egypt to help end the illegal Turkish presence in the country. In Autumn Turkey signed a military cooperation agreement with the GNA, and Ankara has been open about supporting the GNAs attempts to take control not just of Sirte and Jufra but the entire east of the country. It has criticised Egyptian support of political forces in the east of Libya as illegitimate. As tensions have risen in the last few days, so too has military mobilisation. On a parallel, though less visible track, political talks have been conducted among all players in Libya regional and international. In addition to Egypt and Turkey, the US, Russia, Germany, France and Italy have been involved in trying to create a political status quo that could serve the interests of all parties without anybody having to resort to military confrontation. Though it may look as if military escalation is inevitable, according to informed diplomatic sources in Cairo there are also chances for a de-escalation, even if it is temporary. I think we would come on board if there is a settlement that observes our strategic interests, in the sense of keeping the militias, mostly a group of Jihadists that Turkey shipped from Syria to expand the influence of the GNA, in check, said an Egyptian government official who asked for his name to be withheld. Egypt is not picking a fight but it will intervene if it has to. The official spoke on Saturday, a few hours after Al-Sisi met with tribal leaders in Cairo. A day later, on Sunday, the Egyptian National Security Council issued a statement restating Egypts wish for a political settlement in Libya. We support a political settlement we offered a political settlement proposal last month and we supported the Berlin Conference on Libya that convened earlier this year. But if we find that the GNA is pushing east we will not be able to sit and watch, said the official. We will push back to make sure that the Jihadist militias dont end up on our borders, and that is perfectly legitimate. Combating lawlessness in Libya is not a new concern for Cairo. It is a long-standing worry, dating from before the fall of Muammar Gaddafi who ruled Libya for four decades. High-ranking Egyptian diplomats say Gaddafi posed a major headache for Anwar Al-Sadat in the 1970s, and later for Hosni Mubarak. A former aide to Mubarak says the former president would sigh at length whenever his foreign minister referred to Gaddafi. Despite recognised borders and an established capital Libya was never a state in the modern sense. A retired Egyptian diplomat who served as ambassador to Libya under Mubarak says Libya functioned in a very peculiar way. It was not like Iraq under Saddam Hussein, Syria under Hafez Al-Assad or Sudan under Omar Al-Bashir. It was just Gaddafi, and some of his aides who tried to execute his orders, and a few military units that were somehow seen as an army. Diplomats concur that Libya never functioned as a centralised state but as a tribal system headed by a brutal dictator. Lawlessness was endemic, and drugs and arms trafficking proliferated. With the fall of Gaddafi, Libya descended into complete chaos. In the words of a former UN envoy to Libya, it was total disarray. In Cairo, Tunis and Algiers voiced their worries about security. Countries sharing borders with Libya were profoundly concerned about the impact of lawlessness spreading. And in southern Europe politicians became alarmed about the potential immigration crisis. Further east and north, capitals contemplated how best to promote their economic interests in a country that it was hoped would emerge from 40 years of savage dictatorship. The same dynamic of concerns and vested interests is still at play. Key players in Libya include the US, Russia, the UAE, Turkey, a major investor in Libya since the last decade of Gaddafis rule, and France and Italy which, through the petroleum giants Total and Eni, have massive interests in the collapsed country. Egyptian officials argue that todays Libya is more fragmented and lawless than ever. Unlike the Gaddafi years Libya is no longer a tribal system headed by an eccentric dictator but a country with no centre, with battling tribes and cities, confused foreign alliances, overrun with arms and mercenaries. Consensual political leaders are conspicuously lacking. GNA leader Fayez Al-Sarraj has tribal backing in Tripoli but his leadership of the GNA is contested. His own Minister of Interior Fatehi Bashagha is his foremost rival. Haftar, a former general in Gaddafis army who defected to the US, is losing his grip over the LNA that was put together with strenuous efforts from Cairo. He is at odds with the seemingly more down-to-earth Saleh, and with several of his own generals who resent the influence and power of Haftars sons. A former member of the UN mission to Libya argues that it is one thing to work for a political solution in Libya and another to think such a solution is just around the corner. The divisions within Libya are many, and unlike the case of Iraq there are no obvious political leaders and no remnants of state institutions to fall back on, says the international diplomat. Earlier this year Ghassan Salame, a pleading Lebanese diplomat, resigned from his job as the UN secretary generals special envoy to Libya. Following his resignation Salame blamed direct intervention in Libya by regional and international players for the failure to get a political process off the ground. Privately, Salame said regional and international players were only sending arms and mercenaries to Libya but insisted on their allies dominating the political scene regardless of what was good for the country. In Cairo there are no illusions about long-term instability in Libya. Which is why, officials say, Cairo is eying all possible allies, including tribal leaders. Egypt is not bothered by criticism of its relationship with tribal leaders, or warnings that the arming and military training of east Libyas tribes threatens Syrianisation, or even Somalisation, of its western neighbour. As far as Cairo is concerned Libya is already a war zone, one that happens to be next door. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland Bern, 21.07.2020 - Bern. Swiss and Italian authorities have carried out coordinated actions against a criminal organisation associated with the Calabrian Mafia, the Ndrangheta. Following joint investigations, on the morning of 21 July 2020 there were persons arrested and house searches conducted in both countries. In Switzerland, in the cantons of Aargau, Solothurn, Zug and Ticino, the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG) in cooperation with fedpol conducted several house searches and arrested one person. In addition to representatives from the OAG and fedpol, there were numerous police officers from the cantonal police forces involved in the action. The action is the result of criminal proceedings being conducted by the OAG particularly on suspicion of supporting and/or participating in a criminal organisation (Art. 260ter Swiss Criminal Code [SCC]), money laundering (Art. 305bis SCC), handling stolen goods (Art. 160 SCC), passing on or tendering counterfeit money (Art. 242 SCC), importing acquiring and storing counterfeit money (Art. 244 SCC) and on suspicion of offences under Article 19 paragraph 2 of the Narcotics Act (NarcA). The criminal proceedings are currently being conducted against six persons with Italian citizenship, most of whom are resident in Switzerland. The accused persons are suspected of participating in and supporting an Italian Ndrangheta organisation. The extensive investigations, in the course of which the OAG has also been able to question two principal witnesses in Italy, have revealed that the accused were carrying out different illegal activities. For instance it is suspected that counterfeit money has been smuggled from Italy to Switzerland. Also there are presumed activities connected to weapon and drug-trafficking, as well as to money laundering. The accused have been living for many years in Switzerland and, presumably, carried out the illegal activities along with legal activities, such as investments, grant of loans or even the management of a restaurant. All of these activities are believed to have reinforced the strength of the criminal organization. Several house searches and one arrest One of the accused has been arrested in the Canton of Argovia, the detention on a preventive measure has already been requested for. One of the accused has been arrested in Italy and will remain there in detention on a preventive measure for now. Two of the accused have been interrogated in Switzerland and subsequently released. A further accused person was already being detained in Italy; the results of the investigation relating to this person will be transmitted to the Italian criminal prosecution authorities. Further interrogations will be held. In four cantons, that is Argovia, Solothurn, Zug, and Ticino, various private residences and business premises have been searched thus putting in security numerous elements of evidence, among them weapons, ammunition and cash. The suspects are accused of supporting and participating in a criminal organisation, of which the creation, the existence and the criminal energy have been proven by legally binding judgements in Italy. In the spring of 2016, the Office of the Public Prosecutor of the Calabrian Province of Catanzaro addressed to the OAG a spontaneous communication of information relating to criminal facts, thus requesting for the constitution of a joint investigation team. The Office of the Public Prosecutor in Catanzaro has furthermore pointed out some individuals residing in Switzerland whom, presumably, were involved in the illicit action carried out by the criminal organisation. The OAG and the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Catanzaro then agreed to set up a common investigation team a so-called Joint Investigation Team" (JIT) to coordinate the transnational criminal investigations. In September 2016 the OAG opened criminal proceedings in this context. The OAG would like to thank the Italian partner authorities, in particular the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Catanzaro, fedpol and he Police forces of the various cantons that were involved for the sake of a good cooperation. For information about the action of the partner Italian authorities, the OAG is referring to the Office of the Public Prosecutor in Catanzaro: http://www.procura.catanzaro.it/ The presumption of innocence applies to all parties in the proceedings. The OAG will not comment any further on the criminal proceedings and/or on specific procedural steps at present. Prosecution and fight against the organised crime The Prosecution and the fight against the organised crime constitute a strategic priority for the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland (OAG). The OAG is conducting various criminal proceedings that have as an object criminal organisations, the majority of these being Italian. These criminal proceedings involve investigations into various crimes, however, the suspicion of supporting and/or participating in a criminal organisation (Art. 260ter SCC) is a central aspect of the majority of these criminal proceedings. Organised crime is a cross-border and dynamic phenomenon. The cooperation with the partner authorities in Switzerland and in other countries as well is decisive for the criminal prosecution and the fight against it. In Switzerland, this is a joint task for the criminal prosecution and security services at both the federal and the cantonal levels, each of which dispose of different competences and instruments. As Switzerland cannot fight on its own such serious forms of criminality, tight cooperation with the other countries and the direct exchange of information amongst the relevant authorities are fundamental. It is also essential to use common instruments in the framework of common investigation teams (JIT, Joint Investigation Teams), in order to establish direct and efficient coordination of the international investigations. Such forms of cooperation on an international level, being already put in place, in particular with Italy, have proven to be an efficient instrument for the exchange of information relating to the criminal instructions. The harmonisation of national legislations is another theme of some fundamental importance. Address for enquiries Communication Service of the Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland, T +41 58 464 32 40, info@ba.admin.ch Publisher Office of the Attorney General of Switzerland http://www.ba.admin.ch/ The man, holding hostages in Lutsk, does not allow to hand food and water over to them, and people also do not have the opportunity to relieve natural functions, said deputy head of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Ukraine Anton Gerashchenko. "The psychological state of this violator is like that of any the person who endangers the lives of other people. He still has not given the opportunity to transfer water and food for the hostages," he said on the air of the Ukraine24 TV channel on Tuesday. At the same time, Gerashchenko added: "He has probably seen all sorts of films about taking hostages and declares that if someone comes close to the bus, he will blow it up." Gerashchenko said that there is no information about the mental problems of this person. Answering the question whether there are really two pregnant women among the hostages, he said that there is information that there are women among the detainees. "They are in a difficult state. And he does not allow anyone to leave, even for natural needs." If presumptive Democratic candidate Joe Biden wins the presidential election in November, Iran could suddenly turn from a bullish driver for oil prices into a bearish factor if it resumes up to 2 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil exports. Currently, there is a consensus among analysts and international agencies that the oil market is tightening and will continue to tighten, lifting oil prices through next year. Oil demand is expected to rise next year by between 5 million bpd and 7 million bpd compared to this years lows, according to OPEC and the International Energy Agency (IEA)in the absence of a mass return to lockdowns. The OPEC+ group is set to further ease its collective production cuts. In theory, the current expectations of supply and demand in 2021 are bullish for oil prices. Yet, the market shouldnt discount one political and geopolitical factor that could upend current oil price forecasts for next year. The U.S. presidential election in November could install a new administration in the White House of a President Biden that would be inclined to renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal and potentially ease the current sanctions on Tehrans oil exports. The return of 1-2 million bpd of Iranian oil on the global market would cap oil price gains next year, a leading oil analyst said last week. If you have Joe Biden as president he could basically take the US back into the [Iranian] Nuclear deal and you could see a million plus Iranian barrels hit the market. These are the kind of things I think will be very important into the trajectory of oil into 2021, Helima Croft, head of commodity strategy at RBC Capital Markets, told Business Insider in an interview last week. If Biden wins the November election, he could be inclined to revisit and renegotiate the Iran nuclear deal, potentially easing some sanctions in exchange for Tehran returning to compliance under some revised form of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The recent killing of Qasem Soleimani, the commander of Irans Quds Force, removed a dangerous actor but also raised the prospect of an ever-escalating cycle of violence in the region, and it has prompted Tehran to jettison the nuclear limits established under the nuclear deal, Biden wrote in an essay in Foreign Affairs earlier this year. Related: Chevron Acquires Noble Energy In First Major COVID Oil Deal Tehran must return to strict compliance with the deal. If it does so, I would rejoin the agreement and use our renewed commitment to diplomacy to work with our allies to strengthen and extend it, while more effectively pushing back against Irans other destabilizing activities, he said. Irans oil will not return overnight to the market if Biden becomes president. But the prospect of renegotiation of the nuclear deal will likely keep oil prices depressed, making Iran a bearish factor for the market. This would be in contrast with the bullish factor that Iran has been for oil prices during the Trump Administration so far, with the renewed sanctions on its oil and the occasional flare-up of Iran-U.S. and Iran-Saudi tensions in the most important oil shipping lane in the world, the Strait of Hormuz. But if we are talking about a recovery into the $50-60 a barrel next year, a million or even two million barrels of Iranian exports hitting the market is going to put a temporary lid on how high prices can go, RBCs Croft told Business Insider. Irans current crude oil exports are estimated at between 100,000 bpd and just over 200,000 bpd, compared to 2.5 million bpd in April 2018, just before President Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal and re-imposed sanctions on its oil. Due to the sanctions and to the coronavirus crisis, Irans oil production has plummeted to below 2 million bpd in the second quarter, compared to an average of 3.553 million bpd in 2018, according to OPECs latest Monthly Oil Market Report (MOMR). Its not clear how fast Iran could boost its oil production in case sanctions are eased and exports become no longer punishable. But the Islamic Republic has a lot of oil in storage, due to the sanctions and the pandemic. In early July, Iran probably had more than 50 million barrels of oil stored in tankers at sea and more than 60 million barrels in onshore storage, analysts and industry sources told Reuters earlier this month. Nothing is certain in the oil markets, especially in todays global economic and health crisis, but a Biden presidency could turn Iran from a bullish into a bearish factor for oil prices. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: WASHINGTON (AP) President Donald Trump on Tuesday offered sympathetic words to Ghislaine Maxwell, the longtime companion of Jeffrey Epstein who stands accused of facilitating the abuse of girls by the now-deceased sex offender. I just wish her well, frankly," Trump said when asked about Maxwell during a news conference. Maxwell, 58, was denied bail last week and is to remain behind bars as she awaits trial on charges she recruited girls for the financier to sexually abuse more than two decades ago. The British socialite was a romantic partner of Epstein, who killed himself in prison several weeks after being charged with sex trafficking. An indictment alleged that Maxwell groomed the victims to endure sexual abuse and was sometimes there when Epstein abused them. It also alleged she lied during a 2016 deposition in a civil case. Epstein associated over the years with many high-profile figures in politics and business, including Trump, former President Bill Clinton, Prince Andrew of Britain and the retail mogul Leslie Wexner. Ive met her numerous times over the years, especially since I lived in Palm Beach, and I guess they lived in Palm Beach, Trump said of Maxwell. Epstein pleaded guilty in 2008 to state charges in Florida of procuring a person under 18 for prostitution and felony solicitation of prostitution. He served 13 months, most of it on work release program at a county jail. Defense Secretary Mark Esper has raised concerns within the administration about federal agents patrolling the streets of U.S. cities in camouflage uniforms similar to those worn by troops in war zones, his spokesperson said Tuesday. After nationwide protests over racial injustice and police violence erupted in June, Esper expressed concern that in some cases, federal law enforcement officers were being confused with troops because of their similar uniforms, said Jonathan Hoffman, chief Pentagon spokesperson. Esper urged efforts to more clearly distinguish between the two, Hoffman said. "We saw this take place back in June when there were some law enforcement that wear uniforms that make them appear military in appearance," Hoffman said. Esper has told administration officials that "we want a system where people can tell the difference." Secretary of Defense Mark Esper delivers a statement on Iraq and Syria, at President Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago property, Sunday, Dec. 29, 2019, in Palm Beach, Fla. (AP Photo/ Evan Vucci) Esper may be looking to have a conversation with Attorney General William Barr, acting Secretary of Homeland Security Chad Wolf and their teams about the issue in the near future, Hoffman said, but did not specify a timeline. Hoffman's comments come amid rising alarm over federal agents dressed as troops sweeping into Portland, Ore., this week on President Donald Trump's orders. Trump threatened to send additional agents into other major cities, including New York City and Philadelphia, if the "liberal Democrats" in charge don't tamp down on civil unrest. Hoffman stressed that there are no plans to send active-duty troops to Portland. Federal law enforcement and active-duty military operate under different authorities with regard to their interactions with the U.S. public. Under the Posse Comitatus Act, active-duty troops cannot interact with civilians unless expressly granted an exception by the president under the Insurrection Act. Images of federal agents in Portland this week echoed the initial days of the June protests, when law enforcement used violence against mostly peaceful protesters. In a speech at the White House amid the protests, Trump threatened to use the Insurrection Act to deploy active-duty military forces on the streets of American cities. Minnesota lawmakers have passed new police measures banning chokeholds and neck holds such as the one Minneapolis Police used on George Floyd. The package, which also bans combative training practices, was said to be the biggest change to policing in the state for some time. Lawmakers spent almost two months negotiating the measures following Floyds death in Minneapolis police custody on Memorial Day, which sparked nationwide demonstrations against systemic racism and police violence. Governor Tim Walz signed the bill into existence on Tuesday morning, shortly after the measures were approved in both houses of the Minnesota Legislature. The Democratic governor had to call the special session on Monday night to allow lawmakers to repeal his emergency powers used throughout the coronavirus pandemic. Minnesota House of Representatives speaker Melissa Hortman said on Twitter that lawmakers have heard the cries for justice following Floyds death. Im pleased we have an agreement to begin ensuring police are more accountable to communities they serve, added Ms Hortman. The legislation also created a new state unit to investigate deadly police encounters, increased funding for crisis intervention training, and established a new arbitration panel to handle police misconduct cases. Officers will also be incentivised to live in the communities they police, according to reports. Minnesotas new policing measures come alongside similar bans on combative techniques in California, New York, Washington DC and elsewhere. Revenue officers today seized 550g of herbal cannabis, 110g of cocaine (subject to analysis) and 105 valium tablets with a combined estimated value of 20,000 as part of the intelligence-led 'Operation Tara'. The seizures were made following a search, under warrant, of a premises in Co Wicklow as part of a joint operation conducted by Revenues Custom Service, the Garda National Drugs and Organised Crime Bureau, the Wicklow Divisional Drugs Unit, and the Baltinglass Detective Unit. US politicians divided over a new coronavirus aid bill, as the number of cases in the country edges towards 4 million. New cases of coronavirus in the US state of Florida have soared past 10,000. California and Texas are also experiencing surges. And with expanded employment benefits set to expire next week, President Donald Trump has met with Republican leaders to discuss another large relief bill. Al Jazeeras Alan Fisher reports from Washington, DC. (Newser) President Trumps former personal lawyer sued Attorney General William Barr and the Bureau of Prisons director Monday, saying hes being unjustly held behind bars to stop him from finishing a book that criticizes Trump, the AP reports. The lawsuit on behalf of Michael Cohen was filed late Monday in Manhattan federal court, alleging his First Amendment rights were violated when he was returned to the Federal Correctional Institution in Otisville, NY, on July 9. Cohen, 53, had been furloughed in May as part of an attempt to slow the spread of the coronavirus in federal prisons. He had served only a year of his three-year prison sentence after pleading guilty to campaign finance charges and lying to Congress, among other crimes. The campaign finance charges have to do with "hush money" payments to Stormy Daniels and Karen McDougal. story continues below In the run-up to the 2020 presidential election, [Cohen] intends to tell the American people about Mr. Trumps personality and proclivities, his private and professional affairs, and his personal and business ethics, according to the lawsuit brought on Cohen's behalf by the American Civil Liberties Union and two attorneys. The lawsuit says Cohen's crimes related to lying to Congress on behalf of Mr. Trump and committing campaign finance violations on behalf of Mr. Trump. According to the lawsuit, federal authorities moved to re-incarcerate Cohen after he tweeted on June 26 #WillSpeakSoon and on July 2 that he was finishing his Trump book. The lawsuit says US Probation officers, working on behalf of the Bureau of Prisons and its director, Michael Carvajal, unconstitutionally demanded of Cohen that he agree not to speak to or through any media, including by publishing a book. The lawsuit also says Cohen's health has suffered; he has been in solitary confinement since July 9. (Read more Michael Cohen stories.) ARA Asset Management is accusing Cromwell Property Groups board of erratic and undisciplined behaviour in the latest salvo in its bitter battle to take over the property fund. ARA on Tuesday lodged a bidders statement with the ASX detailing its offer to acquire a further 29 per cent of Cromwell at a cash per security price of $0.88125. Cromwell's board has previously rejected ARA's unsolicited $520 million takeover bid. The offer is part of the latest round of hostilities in a protracted fight between Cromwells management and ARA for control of the company, with famed corporate raider Gary Weiss leading the charge for ARA. Gary Weiss has twice been denied a seat on Cromwell's board. Credit:Attila Csaszar The Singapore-based fund manager is already Cromwells largest shareholder with a 24.07 per cent stake in the property company. If the offer is accepted by security holders, it would boost its stake to about 46 per cent. Creep laws will allow it to accumulate an additional 3 per cent every six months, meaning ARA, if successful, could soon hold a near-49 per cent stake. The Justice Department on Tuesday indicted two Chinese nationals who are suspected of hacking numerous U.S. firms to steal trade secrets and coronavirus research. The Trump administration warned in May that China was attempting to steal or set back American research on a coronavirus vaccine. The new indictment alleges that one of the two suspects began searching for vulnerabilities at a Maryland-based healthcare company on January 27 of this year, days before the company announced it had begun research on a vaccine. The suspects, Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi, are believed to reside in China. Li and Dong, former classmates at an electrical engineering college in Chengdu, China, used their technical training to hack the computer networks of a wide variety of victims since at least 2009, the indictment states. The victims include firms focused on high tech manufacturing; civil, industrial, and medical device engineering; business, educational, and gaming software development; solar energy; and pharmaceuticals. The hackers purportedly worked in some cases for their own profit, stealing hundreds of millions of dollars in trade secrets, while in others they were employed by Chinas Ministry of State Security. China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cyber criminals in exchange for those criminals being on call to work for the benefit of the state, DOJ National Security Division head John Demers said in a statement. Following Tuesdays indictment, House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R., Calif.) introduced a bill that would allow the president to impose sanctions on foreign entities involved in hacking of American companies. We refuse to allow our innovation to be exploited by China, Russia, or any other hackers, McCarthy said in a statement. We are going to protect the cure from falling into the wrong hands so that no one can use it as leverage for their own malicious ends. More from National Review How much should it cost the average American to get a COVID-19 vaccine shot in the arm? Although a vaccine is months away, if not longer, billions of tax dollars are spent to rapidly research, develop, manufacture and distribute several candidates. The federal government promised to make a vaccine free for people of low income. How many taxpayer dollars would enable everyone to get it without paying? That's not clear, in part because the government hasn't released the details of its contracts with vaccine developers, five of which will update members of Congress this morning on their efforts. Drug companies should make some profit, because they've redirected thousands of employees to developing a COVID-19 vaccine in recent months, economists argue. If they don't make any money on the vaccine effort, they might be less likely to step up the next time the world is in dire need. How much profit, if any, has been baked into the contracts hasn't been made public. Written testimony in advance of today's committee hearing indicates some companies may initially give up or minimize profits. A company that forgoes or minimizes profits this year might be able to more than recoup that investment in future years if people need boosters or even annual shots to keep the virus at bay while reaping good publicity for keeping the costs down now. In this March 16, 2020, file photo, a subject receives a shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine by Moderna for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. According to results released on Tuesday, July 14, 2020, early-stage testing showed the first COVID-19 vaccine tested in the U.S. revved up peoples immune systems the way scientists had hoped. The vaccine is made by the National Institutes of Health and Moderna Inc. Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., said she wants the next COVID-19 relief package of $25 billion to include money ensuring a vaccine is free and available to every American. She doesn't know how much it will cost to do that, because the vaccines are still being developed and the administration hasn't released the contracts with drug companies. "That is really disconcerting to me," she said in a phone interview. "We need transparency. We need to know this is above board. We need to have confidence that no one is making billions in a back room somewhere." Story continues Several patient advocacy groups raised similar issues about the government's vaccine development program, called Operation Warp Speed. "We have serious concerns regarding Operation Warp Speed's leadership, lack of transparency and coziness with the drug companies," Eli Zupnick, a spokesperson with the nonpartisan think-tank Accountable.US, said in an email. "If American taxpayers are shouldering the financial risk of vaccine development, then American patients should be guaranteed that any resulting vaccines be affordable and accessible and that drug companies aren't allowed to profiteer from them." Cost of development Many drug companies shy away from vaccine development because it's not a big moneymaker. Vaccines usually sell for about $100 per shot in the USA and just $5-$10 in many other countries, said Andrew Lo, a finance professor at the MIT Sloan School of Management in Cambridge, Massachusetts. "When you use figures like that, the economics just don't work. It's just not profitable, which is one of the reasons more and more pharma companies have gotten out of the vaccine business." In general, pharmaceutical companies argue they have to charge a lot for their products because drugs are so costly and time-consuming to develop. Drug candidates are made in test tubes, then tried on animals. It's an arduous process that can take a decade or more. Then human testing begins, first with a few people to ensure basic safety, then hundreds and thousands more to prove continued safety and effectiveness. Even drug candidates that make it into early human testing fail more often than they succeed. Those years of cost without guaranteed profit make drug development risky and medications expensive. In the case of COVID-19 vaccines, the federal government is taking away that risk, signing billion-dollar contracts with a handful of companies to design and manufacture candidate vaccines, agreeing to pay even if their product fails along the way. That's why Dr. Steven Pearson, president of the Institute for Clinical and Economic Review (ICER), an independent nonprofit group, said Americans should not have to pay again to get vaccinated. "It should cost less to nothing at cost to produce it if the federal government is doing the lion's share of the investment and development," he said. Free or 'affordable'? The federal government pledged to provide a successful vaccine to low-income Americans for no charge. A spokesperson for the Department of Health and Human Services said, "Those doses the U.S. government purchases will be free." It remains unclear how many doses the government will purchase or whether it considers federal support for vaccine development to be "purchasing." The price of a vaccine has not been determined, the spokesperson said, and declined to answer questions about any profit that might have been built into the contracts with drug companies. UK vaccine:Oxford University coronavirus vaccine candidate is safe and effective with few side effects, early trial results show Volunteers: At least 120,000 Americans are needed to test COVID-19 vaccines; a 'very encouraging' 107,000 have signed up 'No one is safe until everyone is safe': Vaccine nationalism threatens global coronavirus effort Novavax, one of the companies developing a vaccine, committed to "affordable pricing" here and abroad. The 33-year-old vaccine developer, which has not won approval for any of its products, received a federal contract worth $1.6 billion for development, manufacturing and distribution of its candidate vaccine, should it prove safe and effective. As part of that deal, Health and Human Services will own 100 million doses of the vaccine, called NVX-CoV2373, and the Department of Defense will own 10 million. "Novavax is in the process of developing a thoughtful pricing strategy for our COVID-19 vaccine," a company spokesperson said via email. "To date we have focused on advancing the vaccine as quickly as possible and working with all of our government, non-profit and commercial partners to ensure equitable access throughout the globe, and any future pricing strategies will be consistent with that goal." Another company in the race to develop a vaccine, pharmaceutical giant Astra Zeneca, said it hasn't made decisions about future pricing. "We have made a commitment to make the potential vaccine available at no profit during the period of the pandemic to support broad and equitable access around the world," a company spokesman said via email. "As we continue to better understand our vaccine candidate, we will balance the intention to provide affordable pricing with the need for Novavax to make an appropriate return on investment that makes ongoing supply of our COVID-19 vaccine sustainable." Insurance perspective Insurance companies are essentially in the same position as average Americans when it comes to the price of a vaccine, said Dr. Katherine Dallow, vice president of clinical programs and strategy for Blue Cross Blue Shield of Massachusetts. "We don't have negotiating power," she said. "The price is what the price is." Many insurers, though not all, promised to pick up the cost of vaccination, so people will be able to get protection for free. In Massachusetts, Blue Cross committed to paying for a vaccine, just as it does for a flu vaccine, with no co-pay, Dallow said. "We have maintained from the beginning of this pandemic that if and when a vaccine is developed that for our members, we will pay for it at no cost-share," she said. "So there is no barrier about deciding whether someone puts food on the table or gets a COVID immunization." The cost of widespread vaccination is likely to be lower than the cost of hospitalizations for people who get seriously ill, she said. Dallow said she hopes Congress and the administration ensure any vaccine is priced affordably "and also reflects taxpayer investment already put into place. For profits and margins to take over, for me, would be pretty unpalatable." Changing vaccine development To address COVID-19 and many other diseases, governments around the world need to have systemic policies for funding vaccine development, said Lo, the finance professor. "Vaccines are not like other commodities." There is so little profit to be made in vaccines, that usually just one company develops each vaccine, with no competition or motivation to improve on shots, he said. "It's ironic because a vaccine, if it's effective, protects you for, in many cases, the rest of your life, and yet we balk at paying $1,000 for that protection," Lo said. He noted that someone who has leukemia, for example, is charged $150,000 a year for life for the drug Gleevec, "and we think nothing of that." Lo said the U.S. government should support vaccine development beyond COVID-19, providing a "reasonable" profit, which is usually assumed to be 8% to 12%. "If a government can commit in advance to a fixed number of doses at a fixed price if and when an outbreak occurs, that takes a lot of uncertainty off the table for vaccine manufacturers," Lo said. "That by itself could be enough to reinvigorate and bring more money and more investors into this field." Pearson, of the nonprofit group that analyzes drug prices, said that if companies make a good return on their involvement, it will encourage the industry to keep improving COVID-19 vaccines, assuming the first one to win approval won't be perfect. "We're in uncharted territory," he said about pricing a vaccine in a pandemic. "It's really good to be raising these questions, because I don't think the public has really been thinking about it that much." Contact Weintraub at kweintraub@usatoday. Health and patient safety coverage at USA TODAY is made possible in part by a grant from the Masimo Foundation for Ethics, Innovation and Competition in Healthcare. The Masimo Foundation does not provide editorial input. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: COVID-19 vaccine: Should it be free for all Americans? Bengaluru: The Karnataka government on Tuesday (July 21) issued an order reimplementing unlock 2.0 guidelines issued on June 30, under which there will be night curfew and Sunday lockdown. The unlock 2.0 guidelines will be effective from 5 am on July 22 to July 31. The order, signed by Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar, said night curfew would be from 9 pm-5 am state-wide and that the lockdown on Sundays currently in place would continue. The order also restricts the use of gym equipment and sitting on benches in parks. The order further said that vegetable markets, not only in Bengaluru, but also in district and taluk level, would be relocated to large open spaces or Agricultural Produce Market Committees, with the aim of restricting crowds. Bengaluru urban and rural areas were under "complete lockdown" since 8 pm on July 14 and it will be effective till 5 am on Wednesday. The lockdown was implemented amid a spike in COVID cases in the city. Earlier in the day, Chief Minister BS Yediyurappa said that Bengaluru and other parts of Karnataka will not have any more COVID-19 lockdowns and that the government is going to take strict measures in the COVID-19 containment zones. "There won't be any future lockdown in Bengaluru or any other part of Karnataka, we will take strict measures in all the coronavirus containment zones," said CM, while addressing a press conference. Talking about the 9-day lockdown in Bengaluru that is going to end on Wednesday, Yediyurappa said, "We had succeeded earlier in keeping COVID-19 under check but now the cases are rising. Lockdown is not the solution and everyone should always wear masks and should mandatorily follow physical distancing." He said the state is going to follow 5Ts - trace, track, test, treat, and technology to check the rising number of coronavirus cases. CM stated that more than 80 % of COVID patients are asymptomatic and there is no need for hospitalisation of asymptomatic patients as they can undergo home isolation or there are COVID Care Centres for such patients. On the reports of people killing themselves over COVID-19 fear, Yediyurapp requested everyone to not take such extreme steps 'as many people are recovering from the virus'. Notably, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation and Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation (BMTC) today announced they will operate the buses but in limited numbers with caution and restrictions. The KSRTC runs inter-district and inter-state buses, whereas the BMTC operates its buses in Bengaluru municipal area, Bengaluru urban district and Bengaluru rural district. After the lockdown was imposed from July 14 to July 22 morning to check the spread of the coronavirus, the two transport corporations had stopped their operations in Bengaluru. Gambling has once again been legalized in Ukraine after the Verkhovna Rada passed the relevant bill. Al those casinos and slot machines had always been there though, albeit in the shadows or online. So what changes will be coming? In the very heart of Kyiv stands Dnipro Hotel. State-owned until recently, it has been auctioned off to a private investor. This is a clear example of the first results toward legalization of the gambling market. When the hotel was initially put up for sale, experts predicted it would sell for about $14 million. But as soon as the law on the legalization of gambling was passed, the price of the asset skyrocketed. The winning bid stood at over a billion hryvnias that's $40 million. "If we talk simply about the asset named Hotel Dnipro, it is not worth that much. Due to the fact, however, that the said law had passed Parliament and given the investors' tentative plans to put a casino there, it is one of the best venues in the city," Oleksiy Yevchenko, Vice-President of the Ukrainian Gambling Industry Association, tells the Hroshi investigative project. The register says that the auction winner is Smartland LLC. One of its founders until recently was Petteri Vanhapelto, an acclaimed poker player. Could this be a coincidence? "The auction was in fact tied by date to the legalization of the gambling business. For such a major investment, they had to secure themselves by having the law on legalization passed," Yuriy Nikolov, editor at the Nashi Hroshi website, tells of the deal's nuances. Let's dig deeper into other possible investments that could be covered by the new law. What will be the new face of the official gambling business now? In fact, the shadow market is not going anywhere. On the contrary, the new bill legitimizes it. How come? It's simple: there will be a special online system set to control the entire business, turnover, rates, and taxes ... It just does not exist yet. Government intends to create it in two years. "That is, the law was adopted before conditions were created so that it could actually be enforced," said Halyna Vertsimakha, head of the advocacy department at the Antitrust League communication platform. So, until that moment, it will be a mess as no clear rules will be set. Of course, market players will have to create a certain safety cushion for themselves and agree with certain officials on safe operations. "Everything that we now have in the streets will be able to operate for another two years. As long as you're not connected to that system, the government doesn't see you. Meanwhile, corrupt police have long found common ground with the gambling business," says Yuriy Nikolov. But nothing happens without reason. This implies that amendments to legislation are beneficial to someone "It is a known fact that the name of Baum revolved around the issue. He had been lobbying for the bill to be passed, also being directly involved in drafting certain provisions," recalls Halyna Vertsimakha. The name of Boris Baum is little known to most Ukrainians. In gambling circles, however, he is an infamous hot shot with a keen interest in this business. "He has ties to Russia's the not-too-fair influence groups. I've been to many meetings of working groups, and many times I saw Boris Baum, who actually attended and advised, says Olena Mochalova, head of a non-profit supporting legalization of gambling in Ukraine. A holder of a Latvian passport, Boris Baum is referred to as a shadow mediator between the President's Office, the gambling market, and MPs. He modestly calls himself a freelance adviser to a deputy head of the president's office. President Zelensky granted Baum citizenship. Now he seems to be enjoying patronage of Kyrylo Tymoshenko, deputy head of the president's office, according to Nikolov. It is Kyrylo Tymoshenko who supervises the "gambling issue". He doesn't conceal his sympathy for and trust in Boris Baum. So it is not surprising that Baum is predicted to head a special commission a new body to control gambling business in Ukraine. The commission will decide the fate of all casinos and gambling halls across country almost independently. "Its powers are very broad. In fact, it could shut down any gambling establishment. Or choose not to" warns MP Yaroslav Zhelezniak, first deputy of financial committee. The commission could potentially become the 'cover' for the entire industry, so whoever gets onto its helm will control the market. Nikolov says Baum was previously affiliated with a Moscow-based gambling firm. Does this mean that the Russian gambling business could return to Ukraine? The bill clearly states that there's no place for businesses from the aggressor state in Ukraine. It's law enforcers who must trace market players' investors and ultimate beneficiaries. Incidentally, the new law provides for severe punishment for law enforcers offering illegal protection to gambling businesses. "They could be sentenced to six to 10 years," said Oleksiy Yevchenko, Vice President of the Ukrainian Gambling Industry Association. Casinos can only be opened in five-star hotels. Slot machines in 3, 4 and 5-star hotels, or special gambling zones. "If we talk about a casino in the city of Kyiv, a 12-month license will cost about $2 million, and if we talk about other regions about a million dollars," says Yevchenko. And here, it seems, there's another miscalculation. The cost of the license has been designated unlike taxes. That is, a multimillion-dollar-worth shady business will for the time being be absolved of taxes. "The government has taken other steps, too: okay, we're reducing the cost of the license, but before tax it will be three times higher, while taxation will be imposed someday in the future. Well, that's not right. Because, in fact, even if you bought a license for a million, you will get this money back very quickly in the gambling business if you pay no taxes," says Yaroslav Zheleznyak. And all this, again, will be in place until the online control system is introduced. And as there is no taxation and control, this opens wide horizons for more manipulation, including money laundering. "If you want to drown your money somewhere, or launder it, legalize it, why go to the offshore zone, if you may just skip taxes in Ukraine? You say you won the money in the casino and that's it. Any official could claim they've won their $1.5 million in a casino," says Olena Mochalova. That's the way Radical Party chief Oleh Liashko once explained his assets. No one has seen the final text of the bill yet. There were about 3,500 amendments to it, too. Therefore, it is quite possible that people's deputies themselves will be surprised what they've voted for in the end, and who will actually benefit. The long-sought legal gambling is possible only if all market players and those who control them follow the rules. And we're very well aware that the gambling business has always had criminal undertones to it. And that there is only one rule: "casino always wins". No matter how many aces you have in your deck. Anna Chaika Deloitte has named Mutasem Dajani as the next Chief Executive Officer of Deloitte Middle East (DME). Dajani has been with the firm since 2002 and in recent years, has held the role of DME Audit & Assurance leader and regional Managing Partner of the UAE practice. Dajani has previously assumed a wide range of firm leadership roles, such as member of the Middle East Board of Directors and Executive Committee. Dajani succeeds Omar Fahoum who led DME during the past 20 years. Dajani said: I am honoured to be leading an organisation of more than 5,000 people across 14 countries. As the world adapts to the new normal and addresses the challenges imposed by Covid-19, our focus continues to be the well-being of our people and making an impact that matters with our clients and wider society. With close to 100 years experience in the Middle East, our understanding of this unique market is unparalleled. With the strength of our Middle East capabilities, multidisciplinary teams and extensive global network, we are uniquely positioned to support our clients in the face of these unprecedented challenges and to help them thrive. DME combines a breadth and depth of capabilities in audit and assurance, consulting, financial advisory, risk advisory, and tax across the region. In addition, a Deloitte Digital Center launched last September in Riyadh will provide employment and skills building opportunities for the leading talent in Saudi Arabia and across the GCC. -- Tradearabia News Service VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / PPX Mining Corp. (TSXV:PPX) (the "Company" or "PPX") is pleased to provide the following corporate update: Cease Trading Order: The Company is in the process of completing all required filings needed to be released from the Cease Trade Order issued by the British Columbia Securities Commission, including its 2019 Audited Annual Financial Statements and associated Management Discussion and Analysis. We expect to resume trading shortly when these filings are completed. Ore Purchase Agreement with Inca One: As detailed in a press release distributed by Inca One Gold Corp on July 9, 2020, PPX will deliver 40,000 tonnes of gold-bearing material from the Igor Project, with a minimum grade of 8 grams of gold per tonne, to Inca One's Kori One processing facility. As part of the agreement, an advance payment, based on certain milestones, for up to US$400,000 will be made to PPX, with the payment of the first tranche of US$200,000 having already been completed. Because several thousand tonnes of ore are stockpiled at Igor, shipments can commence rapidly. Resumption of Mining Activities: Our mining partners, Proyectos La Patagonia S.A.C. ("PLP"), have reported that they have resumed mining operations at Mina Callanquitas on the Igor Project. PLP will focus on ramping up mining operations over the next month, seeking to achieve a mining rate of 125 tonnes per day as soon as possible. Given the new agreement with Inca One, PLP and the Company now have the ability to grow the production rate above 125 tonnes per day in the short term, thereby increasing gold production at Igor. Resumption of Field Exploration: PPX has received permission from the Peruvian government to resume exploration activities at the Igor Project under a strict Coronavirus/COVID-19 safety and preventative protocols. The initial work will include geologic support for the mining operation at Mina Callanquitas and geologic mapping to prepare for future exploration drilling campaigns at Callanquitas and the Portachuelos target area. Brian J. Maher, President and CEO of PPX Mining Corp commented: "The resumption of mining activities at Igor coupled with the ore purchase agreement with Inca One set the stage for a successful second half of 2020 for PPX. The Inca One contract provides access to additional processing capacity for the Company, which had been a bottleneck for increasing production at Mina Callanquitas. The additional liquidity for the Company increases our operational flexibility as well. We will work closely with all stakeholders to ensure that the restart of operations, both exploration and mining, are done in a safe and responsible manner, that reflects our commitment to our local communities, our employees, business partners, and shareholders." Coronavirus/COVID-19 Information: Currently, all PPX and Sienna Minerals S.A.C. employees continue to work from home, except as noted above, in accordance with their individual government recommendations and mandates. This status will continue for the foreseeable future, again under the guidance of respective local authorities. About PPX Mining Corp: PPX Mining Corp. (TSX.V: PPX.V, SSE: PPX, BVL: PPX) is a Canadian-based mining company with assets in northern Peru. Igor, the Company's 100%-owned flagship gold and silver project, is located in the prolific Northern Peru gold belt in eastern La Libertad Department. PPX is developing the Callanquitas Mine and heap leach facility to exploit high grade, underground-minable oxidized gold and silver ore. Based on the Company's Pre-Feasibility Study ("PFS"), PPX expects the Callanquitas Mine to produce up to 26,000 AuEq* ounces per year over a seven-year mine life at cash cost of less than US$610/AuEq* ounce (the Igor PFS is available on the Company's website and SEDAR). Simultaneously, PPX is accelerating its exploration program at Igor in order to fully evaluate the resource potential of the entire Igor project area. The Callanquitas structure is open along strike and at depth, parallel structures are unexplored. New discoveries at Portachuelos, coupled with the Domo and Tesoros exploration targets, emphasize that the Igor Project is evolving into a district-scale project with multiple deposits and mineralized zones. *AuEq is calculated as follows: AuEq ounces = Au ounces + Ag ounces/75. Per PFS, inclusive of metallurgical recovery. All scientific and technical information in this press release has been reviewed and approved by Quentin J. Browne, P.Geo., Independent Consulting Geologist to PPX Mining Corp., who is a qualified person under the definitions established by National Instrument 43-101. On behalf of the Board of Directors Brian J. Maher President and Chief Executive Officer FOR FURTHER INFORMATION, PLEASE CONTACT: PPX Mining Corp. Brian J. Maher, President and Chief Executive Officer Phone: 1-530-913-4728 Email: brian.maher@ppxmining.com Website: www.ppxmining.com Cautionary Statement: Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Certain disclosure in this release, June constitute "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Canadian securities legislation. In making the forward-looking statements in this release, the Company has applied certain factors and assumptions that the Company believes are reasonable. However, the forward-looking statements in this release are subject to numerous risks, uncertainties and other factors that June cause future results to differ materially from those expressed or implied in such forward-looking statements. Such uncertainties and risks are detailed from time to time in the Company's filings with the appropriate securities commissions, and June include, among others, market conditions, and delays in obtaining or failure to obtain required regulatory approvals or financing. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, and actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Readers are cautioned not to place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. The Company does not intend, and expressly disclaims any intention or obligation to, update or revise any forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, except as required by law. SOURCE: PPX Mining Corp. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/597908/PPX-Provides-Corporate-Update-Restart-of-Mining-at-Igor Although Queen Elizabeth II is the most-loved monarch in the world, she is not perfect -- far from it. In fact, Her Majesty has faced a major controversy that she considers her "greatest mistake." As the current longest-reigning monarch, Queen Elizabeth II has experiences all kinds of ups and downs that strengthened her through the years. However, a major disaster years ago ignited several controversies that truly tested her. The Queen's Greatest Regret In 1966, Aberfan, South Wales village experienced a catastrophic mining disaster that claimed the lives of over 100 children. As the head of the state, people expected the Queen to visit the village. However, she refused to come since her presence would distract the search and rescue operation. But years later, Queen Elizabeth II confessed that it became one of her greatest regrets. Her Majesty said that she wished she had visited the village sooner to offer her support and sympathy. Meanwhile, royal commentators sat down and tackled the topic in Channel 5's latest royal documentary titled "The Queen: In Her Own Words." "The Queen did say this to her private secretary, Martin Charteris," royal expert Ingrid Seward said. "She said, 'I feel one of the biggest mistakes of my reign was not getting to Aberfan sooner'." Meanwhile, other royal experts discussed how the event left an impact on the Queen, as it marked the moment when Her Majesty realized that she could have comforted the public even through her words. "The Queen realised that people did want to see her. The Queen could do something that was very important and rather special," Royal biographer Hugo Vickers uttered. "This was something that other people couldn't do. It is really the ultimate kind of respect that can be made to that community." Eight days after the incident took place, the Queen finally paid a visit to the village and spoke with the locals. One of the rescuers, Sir Mansel Aylward, recalled how Queen Elizabeth II's face changed as if she was going to cry. He claimed that after a few seconds, the monarch let her guard down and wiped "one or two tears" that came down. Another Mistake Made By Queen Elizabeth II It is worth noting that the Queen pledged to serve the monarchy until she dies. As she continuously serves the monarchy, she has had a fair share of regrets that somehow causes her anxiety until now. In July 2017, Her Royal Highness allowed Prince Charles and Prince Andrew to remove her most trusted aide, Sir Christopher Geidt -- or Lord Geidt as what the royals called him before. Lord Geidt, before leaving the palace, worked as Queen Elizabeth II's private secretary for 10 years and a deputy private secretary before that. Most royal watchers thought that he deserved the position since he was known to be that staff who made the royal family members listen to him. "While we never comment on the confidential employment details of individuals, it was previously announced in July that Sir Christopher Geidt is stepping down after 10 years as private secretary," the Royal Household said in a statement back then. What the media called a "power struggle" came when Lord Geidt raised his concerns about Prince Charles' plans to gain a greater role before he becomes King. Since his exit, The Queen reportedly appeared weaker that she can no longer be firm enough to control her family. READ MORE: Prince William, Kate Middleton Slammed For 'Outrageous' Reason! After the cross was raised on Calvary- while the soldiers were still gambling for the clothes of Jesus, He prayed to God for FORGIVENESS on their behalf saying Father forgive them, for they know not what they do. The supposed killers knew what they were doing yet Jesus assertion to the father was Lord! Forgive them for they know not what they do. The Sanhedrin was fully aware that no legitimate claim could be brought against Jesus. The soldiers and the crowd could easily see the injustice that was been done and yet they all gleefully participated. Even Pilate testified of Jesus innocence. If He was a mere prophet like many religions claim, He would have desired only to curse or revile His killers under this circumstance. People were expecting Him to call down fire and brimstone but CHRIST was on MERCY mission with the intension to purchase forgiveness for sin rather than a revenge mission. Those who try explaining the work of the CROSS only end up nullifying the power of the crucifixion. Jesus wasnt providing a martyrdom example for us to follow. He wasnt martyred just to prove His love for God. Jesus wasnt just making a public display so people will see the disgusting nature of sin. Jesus wasnt offering a ransom price for Satan. This is what was happening to Jesus on that CROSS: GOD WAS PUNISHING HIS OWN SON AS IF HE COMMITTED EVERY WICKED DEED DONE BY EVERY SINNER ON EARTH WHO WILL EVER BELIEVE, you say God is wicked but I tell you God is sovereign. Consider Isaiah 53:4-5: Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, SMITTEN BY GOD and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgression, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was laid upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth. Yet IT PLEASE THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM TO GRIEF. In order to make HIS soul an offering for sin (vv. 9-10). Apostle Daniel prophesied in Daniel 9:26 that The Messiah shall be cut off, but not for Himself. This is a sign that the death of Jesus Christ was void of selfishness or personal aggrandizement, this is a rescue mission. You are not going to Hell because you sinned, you are going to hell because you have rejected the one and only true way of salvation, you have rejected God's utmost and respected sacrifice for the propitiation and redemption of all mankind, the man JESUS CHRIST. And you are not going to Heaven because you fed an orphanage for your entire life or you lived a chaste life, no. If you ever see yourself in Heaven then it is because you accepted JESUS CHRIST as your Lord and Personal Savior. This is the summary in John chapter 14:6 I am THE WAY, THE TRUTH, and THE LIFE, No MAN (Buddhist, Pastor, Mallam, herbalist, Traditionalist, etc.) can come to the FATHER except THROUGH ME. These are not outrageous claims as some perceived. This is a word spoken on the authority of His Sovereignty. No religious leader, dead or alive made such claims. R. Duafah [email protected] Six Victorian prisons have been locked down after a prison officer at one of the correctional facilities tested positive to coronavirus. Corrections Victoria announced on Tuesday evening that a GEO prison officer at Ravenhall Correctional Centre had returned a positive test, forcing five other prisons into lockdown. Six prisons in Victoria are under lockdown, after a worker at Ravenhall Correctional Centre tested positive for coronavirus. Source: AAP Hopkins Correctional Centre, Langi Kal Kal, Barwon Prison, Fulham and Loddon prisons will be subject to the tough restrictions until the officers contact with other staff and prisoners is determined. The Department of Health and Human Services have been notified and contact tracing is currently underway, with impacted staff and prisoners being notified, Corrections Victoria said. The process of thorough cleaning, contact tracing and the separation of potential prisoner contacts has already begun, the department said. Impacted staff and prisoners were notified after the staff member tested positive, and contact tracing is underway. Source: Google Maps Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com. You can also follow us on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter and download the Yahoo News app from the App Store or Google Play. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) The Philippines is better off than the United States in enforcing measures against COVID-19 because of its unitary form of government, President Rodrigo Duterte said in what sounds like a criticism of federalism which he advocates. He said the Philippines has an advantage in enforcing stricter COVID-related policies under a central government, in contrast to the United States' federal system that is now being tested by the pandemic. "There is a raging fight between the federal government and local states in America simply because there are mayors who refuse to abide by these rules," Duterte said in his address to the nation aired on Tuesday morning. "The only thing that's going our way, in our favor, is that we are a unitary type of government. The hold of the central government is different from the United States. They have more freedom there," the President added. Duterte noted that delegating the tasks to different government agencies makes it easier to enforce national policies, so local executives can be easily made accountable when they disobey them. "Dito sa Pilipinas pag sinabing whatever department, pag sinabi niyang ganoon, ganoon talaga (Here in the Philippines, when whatever department says one thing, that's really how it goes). And you can enforce....Otherwise, [local officials] will be guilty of simple gross negligence..then you can be suspended and as a matter of fact, you can be terminated," he said. "Iba kasi, ayaw (Other local officials tend to disagree). That doesn't take place in the Philippines because everybody is [bound] by the national policy. Itong atin naman (What we have is), for the good of the people, for all. We do not have any qualms in arresting people," Duterte added. The President went on to remind mayors and other local officials to take more effort in punishing residents for disregarding simple health protocols such as wearing masks and observing physical distancing, to better address rising cases in local communities. READ: Duterte wants quarantine violators detained 'to learn their lesson' Duterte, the first president from Mindanao, campaigned on a promise to push for a shift to a federal form of government, believing it would spur development in the countryside. But in a speech last year, he indicated acceptance that the change is not likely to happen during his term. Surveys have shown majority of Filipinos are against a shift to federalism, and are not even aware of what a federal system of government is. Duterte also left out the issues of Charter change and federalism in his State of the Nation Address last year, saying it was not the proper time to discuss the constitutional change he had earlier pushed for. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque noted Monday that Duterte has not floated the idea of pushing through with Charter reforms anytime soon, and this can be seen with the way the President has been addressing his priorities to the public in the past months. Fresh talks of Charter change have recently resurfaced among local officials, paving way for another discussion within the House Committee on Constitutional Amendments once Congress opens its second regular session on July 27. Closing the Iraqi borders due to preemptive measures against the coronavirus has helped revive Iraq's agriculture sector and expand the work of Iraqi farmers who have increased their production to supply the Iraqi market, which had been relying on imports for 17 years. Production has been so great that Agriculture Minister Mohammad al-Khafaji announced July 13, a demand to export tomatoes, eggplants and potatoes at a quantity of 500 tons per crop. Several countries want Iraqi agricultural products, including meat. On July 11, the Iraqi Ministry of Trade announced self-sufficiency from the wheat that Iraqi farms produce; Iraq had been a main importer of grains in the Middle East. Wide stretches of Iraqi agricultural lands have faced desertification in the past few years, after the borders were opened to imported products. Most markets lacked any Iraqi agricultural products. The border closing coincided with the control of military forces over border outlets and their quest to close unofficial outlets that allow the entry of agricultural products from Iran. Therefore, controlling the borders was a positive step, according to the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture. Ministry of Agriculture spokesman Hamid Nayef told Al-Monitor, The ministry supported farmers by paying their dues and offering them plans promoting Iraqi agriculture. Iraq might opt for exporting abroad in the next stage. He added, Controlling border outlets and limiting smuggling will give Iraqi agriculture a bigger chance to prove its power and quality in the markets. Iraq has 32 border outlets, the most active of which is the one with Iran and Turkey. Iranian markets export around $3 billion of agricultural products to Iraq each year. Meanwhile, Iraq has 32 million dunams (7.9 million acres) of arable lands. Farmers said in press statements that closing the borders this season gave a golden opportunity to Iraqi farmers to market their local produce. We do not ask much of the state, but we ask for simple things to support the agricultural process. The local product is considered better and cheaper than the imported one because of lack of competition. Three months after the borders were closed, the Iraqi Ministry of Agriculture announced self-sufficiency with 28 agricultural products. This is the first time in 17 years that Iraq achieves this number. Iraq can save billions of dollars if it reaches self-sufficiency in staple crops, and it can support the state budget that mainly relies on oil a reliance that Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said was a failure. Sources at the Ministry of Agriculture told Al-Monitor on condition of anonymity, The unofficial outlets through which crops are smuggled constitute another issue that would harm Iraqi agriculture. According to information obtained by Al-Monitor, the mechanism of action of these unofficial outlets that are mostly in the Iraqi Kurdistan Region consists of allowing the entry of agricultural crops to Iraq, changing the date and place of production, and turning them from imported to local. Their prices are mostly less than those of the local Iraqi product. The head of the Agricultural Cooperative Associations in Iraq, Jabbar al-Assad, told Al-Monitor, There are 15 outlets in Iraqi Kurdistan through which Iranian and Turkish crops enter the Iraqi markets in all provinces and ruin the Iraqi farmers production. In light of this, the Ministry of Agriculture at the federal government banned the entry of 27 crops from Iraq's Kurdistan Region June 23. However, press statements discussed until May the entry of trucks to Iraq through unofficial outlets from Iraqi Kurdistan, passing through the federal government and bribing security officers to cross, despite the authorities ban. The parliamentary Agriculture Committee supports the efforts of farmers in developing their work by asking the government to ban importing crops and to refrain from including any section about animal and agricultural crops in any agreement between the government and another state in order to ensure the continuity of local agricultural produce, self-sufficiency and exportation of the surplus. The Food and Agriculture Organization commented on the situation of Iraqi agriculture saying, The successive wars and civil unrest and the years of economic sanctions have suffocated agricultural produce in Iraq. Farmers had a shortage of good seeds and fertilizers, and cattle breeders had to sell their cattle or leave it behind. Iraqi farmers complained about Iraqs government policies that relied on importing for 17 years, and they called on it to keep the borders shut to imports and to support Iraqi farmers who have suffered for many years. The Iraqi government now has the chance to support its national produce and prove its quality against the imported products that have taken over Iraqi markets for more than a decade and a half, thus burdening the economy with huge losses. The Iraqi economy is still considered consumerist. No matter how much governmental support there is for the agricultural sector, it can be easily targeted and inappropriately marketed. Even with self-sufficiency, unofficial imports will remain a huge barrier threatening Iraqi agriculture that has begun to breathe again after years of suffocation. Tripoli, Libya (PANA) - The chairman of the presidential council of the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), Fayez Al-Sarraj, Tuesday called on the new board of directors of the General Electricity Company to resolve the countrys power crisis We must support our students through the uncertainty of todays environment. Their ability to learn well depends not only on instruction, but also on a sense of belonging, positive relationships, and the feedback they receive." Today, Governor John Bel Edwards announced that Louisiana will provide every student statewide in grades six through twelve access to online social and emotional learning (SEL) courses, recognizing the critical role that SEL plays in promoting student success and well-being. We must support our students through the uncertainty of todays environment. Their ability to learn well depends not only on instruction, but also on a sense of belonging, positive relationships and the feedback they receive, said Governor Edwards. As students have been disrupted from their school routine and disconnected from their teachers, social and emotional support and skills are more essential than ever. SEL courses will be provided online through Edgenuitys Purpose Prep. Taught by over 80+ content experts, mental health professionals, educators and global leaders coming from all walks of life, these courses help educate the whole learner, creating a safe place for students to reduce feelings of stress and anxiety, and improve their communication and academic performance. The curriculum includes a new learning module in response to COVID-19 that addresses the trauma and loss caused by the pandemic. Students learn about healthy emotional responses and strategies, building and maintaining relationships through chaos, and defining purpose through uncertain times. During these challenging times and feelings of isolation, it is our hope that we can provide students with the tools they need to develop, address and nourish their social and emotional needs, said Daniel Budzinski, founder of Purpose Prep. Schools have long been sources of support, community, socialization, and security for their students, and have provided resources that go far beyond academics. It is a critical time to provide access to social and emotional learning programs. # # # About Edgenuity Edgenuity, a leading provider of online curriculum and instructional services for the K-12 market, is in use by more than 20,000 schools nationwide, including 20 of the 25 largest school districts, to meet academic goals and improve student outcomes. Edgenuitys full suite of solutions is aimed at helping students, educators and districts achieve success in their online and blended learning programs. For students, Edgenuity offers learning solutions including initial credit courses, honors and Advanced Placement courses, credit recovery, intervention and test readiness. Edgenuity additionally supports educators through high-quality digital-first core curriculum provided by LearnZillion, as well as professional development solutions to help educators plan and deliver powerful, lasting learning experiences. Afresh Technologies, a San Francisco, CA-based artificial intelligence-powered fresh food optimization platform for grocers, raised $12m in Series A follow-on round of funding. The round, which brings the total amount raised to $20m, was led by returning investor Innovation Endeavors with participation from Food Retail Ventures, Maersk Growth, Impact Engine, and existing investor Baseline Ventures. The company intends to use the funds to accelerate bringing its technology to more grocery partners. Founded by Matt Schwartz, Nathan Fenner, and Volodymyr Kuleshov, Afresh provides AI solutions that give grocers an accurate way to manage fresh food orders, inventory, and merchandising. The fresh food (produce, meat, seafood, bakery, food service) optimization company that has developed AI-powered merchandising, ordering, and store operations solutions that reduce food waste, increase food freshness, accelerate stock turns, and improve grocers top and bottom lines. Front-line staff on the grocery store floor access applications through an AI-powered app that runs on mobile devices. In partnership with its multiple U.S. grocery customers, Afresh is already used to order billions of dollars of fresh food annually. FinSMEs 20/07/2020 WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - FirstEnergy Corp. (FE) Tuesday announced that it received subpoenas in connection with the investigation surrounding Ohio House Bill 6. The company said it is reviewing the details of the investigation and intend to fully cooperate. According to a federal complaint filed last week, Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder accepted about $60 million in bribes from FirstEnergy to secure the company a $1.3 billion bailout. The complaint claims that Householder, chief political aide Jeff Longstreth, and lobbyists Matt Borges, Neil Clark, and Juan Cespedes used the bribe money to expand the speaker's political power and enrich themselves by millions of dollars through a 'web' of dark-money groups and bank accounts. Householder and the four others were charged with conspiracy to commit racketeering. Each could face up to 20 years in prison and a maximum $250,000 fine. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. The head doctor of an intensive care unit in Yemen spent 10 days in a coronavirus-induced coma after being misdiagnosed with dengue fever because experts didn't think Covid-19 had reached the country. Dr Madhi Mahdi Abdel Kawi, head of ICU at Aden German International Hospital, was initially diagnosed with the tropical disease spread by mosquitoes in April. He stayed at home battling a fever for 10 days and tried ease his symptoms by taking paracetamol. But drugs failed to work and he decided to go to hospital. When he arrived he began to suffer from respiratory problems such as coughing and shortness of breath two other tell-tale signs of Covid-19. After he was correctly diagnosed with Covid-19, he spent five days there on oxygen before being put on a ventilator and intubated, a procedure where a tube put is put in the trachea to help patients breathe. During this time he was heavily sedated with drugs in a bid to encourage his body to heal itself, effectively putting him in a coma for 10 days. Dr Kawi has now spoken out about the dangerous 'state of denial' people in Yemen were in at the start of the outbreak. He described how if people had applied social distancing measures early on, the number of cases wouldn't have 'skyrocketed'. And he outlined that because there were no confirmed cases due to a lack of testing kits, experts didn't think the virus had reached Yemen yet. Dr Madhi Mahdi Abdel Kawi spent 10 days in a coronavirus-induced coma in Yemen after being misdiagnosed with dengue fever because experts didn't think Covid-19 had reached the country He was initially diagnosed with the tropical disease spread by mosquitoes in April. Pictured: a community health volunteer teaches children in Yemen how to practice good hygiene Now he has recovered, Dr Kawi volunteers in his own time at a treatment centre for coronavirus patients because most doctors in Yemen are no longer being paid due to a breakdown in their healthcare system. Dr Kawi is also warning the world about Covid-19 in the war-torn Middle Eastern country, which confirmed its first case on April 10. When the virus broke out, Yemen only had 500 ventilators a crucial piece of equipment in the treatment of severe Covid-19 cases and only half of the country's health facilities are in use. When the virus broke out, Yemen only had 500 ventilators a crucial piece of equipment in the treatment of severe Covid-19 cases. Pictured is a food distribution centre in Yemen practising social distancing Dr Kawi first became ill in April with a high temperature and was told he had dengue, which is common in Yemen There are currently 1,585 confirmed cases of coronavirus and 444 deaths but the World Health Organization says there could be a million cases in the country. Dr Kawi first became ill in April with a high temperature and was told he had dengue, which is common in Yemen. He stayed at home for 10 days with his fever one of the tell-tale signs of Covid-19 but grew so unwell he was forced to go into hospital. Before April there were no official confirmed cases of Covid-19 so doctors were not using personal protective equipment (PPE) to treat patients. Dr Kawi, a specialist in emergency medicine and intensive care, said: 'There were no confirmed cases in Aden, only suspected ones. 'We used to try to get in touch with the disease surveillance but they repeatedly told us those symptoms were not Covid-19 symptoms. 'Therefore, we did not use PPE because we thought Yemen was virus-free back then. We had three or four suspected cases at the hospital, but there were no testing kits.' Dr Kawi is desperate to draw attention to Yemen, which was last year classed as the most fragile state in the world. Dr Kawi is desperate to draw attention to Yemen, which was last year classed as the most fragile state in the world. Pictured is a CARE charity employer giving a man in Yemen some hand sanitiser Dr Kawi said: 'They didn't believe coronavirus existed at all in Yemen, even though the virus was spreading exponentially, and deaths cases were surging.' Pictured are people in Yemen lining up for charity handouts while practising social distacing He said: 'People were in a state of denial at the beginning of the outbreak. 'They didn't believe coronavirus existed at all in Yemen, even though the virus was spreading exponentially, and deaths cases were surging. COVID-19 HAS AT LEAST 19 SYMPTOMS, EXPERT BEHIND UK SYMPTOM TRACKER APP SAYS Professor Spector and researchers from King's College London have developed a symptom-tracking app which has seen millions of Britons sign up and report their symptoms. The full list of symptoms, in order of how predictive they are of the disease, include: 1. Loss of smell/taste 2. Persistent cough 3. Fatigue 4. Loss of appetite 5. Skin rash 6. Hives 7. Fever 8. Severe muscle pain 9. Shortness of breath 10. Diarrhoea 11. Delirium 12. Abdominal pain 13. Chest pain 14. Hoarse voice 15. Eye soreness 16. Sore or painful throat 17. Nausea or vomiting 18. Headache 19. Dizziness or light headedness Advertisement 'Had they applied social distancing, avoided handshakes and hugs, and stayed away from crowded places, the number of cases wouldn't have skyrocketed. 'People are taking necessary preventive measures and following social distancing guidelines. 'However, some of them are still refusing to accept that this virus is real, not only in Yemen but in the world. But the virus is real.' Dr Kawi said that once he was admitted to hospital he had 'no idea' what happened to him. After 10 days his condition began to stabilise and he slowly regained consciousness. He said: 'My condition began to stabilise. Two days later, I regained consciousness. I started to recognise the place and my friends, and thank God, my condition was improving.' He left hospital and went back to work, despite not being paid, which is common given the breakdown of the healthcare system. Dr Kawi said: 'I went back to work because people needed us. I resumed work as soon as I started to feel better. 'I am a volunteer. I take absolutely no remuneration from any organisation or hospital.' 'Some physicians are afraid to visit quarantine facilities to treat Covid-19 patients. But this is wrong. 'If you have PPE, you can see the patients and treat them, because the current circumstances in our country make it necessary for you to go back to work.' He added: 'However, starting May and June, hospitals started providing PPE such as protective masks and suits, and they started dealing with Covid-19 patients with ease. 'Thank God, it has become way easier for us to deal with Covid-19 patients and we are starting to defeat the disease.' But Yemen has a long way to go. The country, which has a population of 28.5million, had only 500 ventilators when the virus broke out. Some 24.1million people (80 per cent of the population) are already in need of humanitarian assistance. Yemen, which has a population of 28.5million, had only 500 ventilators when the virus broke out. Pictured is a man walking through a makeshift refugee camp on the site on an unfinished school near Aden, Yemen Before April there were no official confirmed cases of Covid-19 in Yemen so doctors were not using personal protective equipment (PPE) to treat patients. Pictured are people queueing for food handouts The Disasters Emergency Committee launched its Coronavirus Appeal last week for Yemen and six other fragile places in the world and has already raised 13.5million. Pictured is a community health volunteer teaching children how to wash their hands The Disasters Emergency Committee launched its Coronavirus Appeal last week for Yemen and six other fragile places in the world with high refugee counts and displaced populations who find it difficult to protect themselves from Covid-19 because of a lack of clean running water and soap. So far it has raised more than 13.5million in one week. Its chief executive Saleh Saeed thanked the British public for the donations. He said: 'Here in the UK, we've witnessed great suffering and made unprecedented sacrifices to protect each other and save lives. 'We have seen too the tireless dedication of staff in our amazing NHS. 'But, imagine living in one of the world's most fragile states where there is no NHS and no other safety nets for the very poorest and most vulnerable. 'Families who have been forced to flee conflict, drought and floods living in crowded refugee and displacement camps with little access to clean water, medical care or enough food now face a new, deadly and silent threat.' To donate to the DEC, click here. LOS ANGELESWhile a straight-up Porn Netflix would be great, its largely implausible, says Paige Jennings, the porn star-turned-impresario of Vuli.com, an artfully-designed landing site for both original and licensed adult content that was developed in 2019 and is now in beta. Business model-wise, maybe think of (Vulis) ultimate vision as Amazon Prime for Porn (where consumers buy whole shows or scenes). Jennings, who shot to fame in early 2015 as Veronica Vain, the subject of an adult industry bidding war that found the former Wall Street intern leveraging her finance degree, the real-world business acumen gained from stripping and sugar-dating in Florida and New York, and a lifetime of leering looks, has worked with designers to build an elegant site that she hopes will not only make money but also raise both the aesthetic and ethical standards of the adult industry. For example, Jennings writes in one of two manifestoes on the site, "We wont sell any content that caters to pedophiles or those with otherwise obscene, abusive and potentially harmful tastes. We wont sell content that clearly depicts a minor, even if the actress or actor is of age. Over time wed like to incentivize producers to pay performers higher rates as well as to keep shooting women under the age of 21 to a minimum. To visit Vuli.com and its blog, penned by Jennings herself, is to read between the lines of recent adult industry history. Of course, there have been a few services claiming to be some version of a Netflix of Porn, with one of the earliest being WantedList, a company that, since its founding in 1999, would mail porn DVDs as part of a subscription model. At its height in the early 2000s (and before Netflix and the rest of the world turned to a streaming model), WantedList had as many as 25,000 subscribers, according to AVN, won numerous industry awards, and even acquired several of its competitors. Part of the reason that the adult industry does not have its own Netflix is because, as Jennings points out, many studios already have their own streaming services. In effect, why Netflix is losing market share to upstart competitors like Disney+ and CBSAllAccess is something adult entrepreneurs have already figured out by running their own channels. Not only that but, at its current size, Vuli cannot be a Netflix of Porn, Jennings says, owing to the sheer volume of licensing required and the perceived conflict of interest studios would fight in renting their material to the platform. So Vuli has its own original content as well as full-length scenes, presented in a more elegant clip store format that Jennings hopes will be appealing to both discerning women and men. Jennings, too, is discerning, and acknowledges that part of her drive to succeedto make the transition from performer to mogulstems from a chip on her shoulder. That chip may come from the fact that I had to even do any (sex work to pay the bills) in the first place, she says, telling XOJane at the beginning of her career that she was aware, due to her sexuality, that people didnt take her seriously. Like many porn stars who both love the adult industry and also are frustrated by its ample room for improvement, Jennings hopes to use Vuli to redress wrongs in the porn biz. As such the site, with some but not an overwhelming amount of Paige/Vain branding, cant help but be an extension of her personal vision. Still in its larval stage, Vuli already boasts several dozen tastefully-presented clips and featured porn stars (including scenes from Jennings/Vain herself, like PornPros Veronica Vain: Fuck Wall Street) and Vulis original series The Golden Key, starring Charlotte Stokely and Gianna Dior. Vuli currently offers early adopter packages for $25 that reward startup pioneers with six months of extended access. Even casual visitors are treated to Jennings raw thought process, which blurs the line between Vain, the calculating sex worker, and Jennings, the idealistic entrepreneur. And isnt this hybrid personality completely at home in the adult industry? There were times in my life when I wondered if sex was all anyone would ever want from me, Jennings writes. As her now infamous pre-porn story goes, she had transferred from the University of Florida to New Yorks Fordham University and had been offered a job at the same Wall Street firm at which shed been interning. Like many professionals whose adult industry moonlighting was discovered by mainstream colleagues, she was asked to leave her job. Then, as part of a flurry of work with the reality show Sex Factor, an association with Kayden Kross, and a promotional tie-in with the Sugar Dating site Arrangement Finders, Jennings, as Vain, entered the adult industry at near-peak visibility. She worked steadily, took breaks, and frankly detailed her ambitions on her YouTube channel, Redhead Redemption, and on her Instagram account. In addition to Vulis licensing and financial hurdles, Jennings decided to remove her breast implants in late 2018 (so excited to not be in pain) and, in the midst of the pandemic work stoppage, released the milestone The Golden Key (directed by Hank Hoffman) in May 2020. So now Vuli stands as both an intensely personal site that also isnt, and a Netflix of Porn that also isnt. What it is, or is yet to be, is dependent on Jennings herself: a dynamo with the brains and the fanbase to be a mogul on her own. Companies arent paying attention, Bruce Freed, the president of the Center for Public Accountability, told Andrew. They give to these groups and thats essentially where their due diligence stops. But, but, but Companies push back with two common refrains: We donate to both parties and have no say over how the money is spent. Getting access to and currying favor with politicians gives companies influence over taxes, regulations, contracts and other issues. But it also means giving some money to figures that the donors wouldnt choose to support in isolation. The donations are small. Indeed, theyre usually under seven figures a rounding error for blue-chip companies like Walmart or Microsoft but when pooled together the money can have an outsize influence on state-level politics. And if the result is the election of politicians who change the rules for everyone in a state, it could undermine all the time, effort and money that companies devote to certain causes. ____________________________ Join us on Thursday, July 23 at 11 a.m. Eastern for a DealBook Debrief conversation with David Sanger, The Timess national security correspondent, who will discuss how the U.S. and its allies are pushing back against Chinas tech giants like Huawei and TikTok. Sign up here. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Tuesday the United States wants to build a global coalition to counter China as he accused Beijing of exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to further its own interests. US President Donald Trump identifies China as the United States' main rival, and has accused President Xi Jinping of taking advantage over trade and not telling the truth over the novel coronavirus outbreak, which Trump calls the "China plague". Pompeo, on a visit to London, lauded Prime Minister Boris Johnson for ordering a purge of Huawei gear from its 5G mobile phone network, saying it was the right decision as data could have ended up in the hands of the Chinese Communist Party. The secretary of state cast China as an aggressor, saying it had made illegal maritime claims, bullied Himalayan countries, covered up the coronavirus outbreak and exploited it to further its own interests in a "disgraceful" way. "We hope we can build out a coalition that understands the threat and will work collectively to convince the Chinese Communist Party that it is not in their best interest to engage in this kind of behaviour," Pompeo told reporters alongside British Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab. "We want to see every nation who understands freedom and democracy...to understand this threat that the Chinese Communist Party is posing to them." Pompeo offered no evidence of how China had exploited the coronavirus. As Britain toughens its stance on China due to its handling of the coronavirus epidemic and a crackdown in the former British colony of Hong Kong, Pompeo's visit is an attempt to stiffen Johnson's resolve and dangle the potential reward of a post-Brexit free trade deal, diplomats say. Pompeo said a deal could be finalised before too long. "A third round (of negotiations) scheduled for later this month, a primary focus for the United States is to see that we can make progress on this and bring this to a closure just as quickly as possible," Pompeo said, adding that he had discussed this with Johnson. Beijing says the West - and Washington in particular - is gripped by anti-Chinese hysteria and colonial thinking about the communist state. China, whose $15 trillion economy is five times the size of the United Kingdom's, says the decision to exclude Huawei, the world's biggest telecoms equipment manufacturer, will hurt Britain's economy, set back trade and discourage investment. Pompeo is also due to meet Hong Kong democracy activist Nathan Law and the last British governor of Hong Kong, Chris Patten. BRASILIA (Reuters) - A commission linked to the Organization of American States (OAS) on Monday asked Brazil's government to take steps to protect the indigenous Yanomami and Yekuana peoples from the spreading coronavirus pandemic. In a statement, the entity's Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) gave the government 15 days to outline what measures it has taken, such as the provision of adequate healthcare, to protect the indigenous peoples' livelihoods. The OAS commission had already been asked to take a stand, with one issue the potential exposure of the Yanomami to illegal gold miners operating on their indigenous land. "The commission considers that ... the rights to life, personal integrity, and health of members of the Yanomami and Yekuana indigenous peoples are under serious threat," the OAS commission statement said. The government's press office declined to comment, and the Health Ministry could not be reached for immediate comment. (Reporting by Lisandra Paraguassu and Ricardo Brito; Additional reporting, writing by Jamie McGeever; Editing by Leslie Adler) As a federal investigation into an alleged bribery scheme by mega-utility ComEd dances closer to powerful House Speaker Mike Madigan, calls are growing louder among west-central Illinois lawmakers for Madigan to step down. Although not charged or mentioned by name, documents made public as part of a $200 million settlement by ComEd refer to the involvement in the alleged scheme by a Public Official A who secured jobs for friends and politic acquaintances in exchange for favorable votes to benefit ComEd. Other documents in the case point to Madigan as that unnamed official. Federal prosecutors have issued several grand jury subpoenas in the wake of the report, including one to the speakers office as well as officials for AT&T, Walgreens, Rush University Medical Center and others. Madigan a Democrat who has been speaker of the Illinois House of Representatives since 1983 except for two years has denied any wrongdoing. Republican state Rep. Avery Bourne, whose district includes Macoupin County, on Tuesday called for a special legislative session on ethics reform and joined the list of those mostly Republicans calling for Madigan to resign. The news of a federal criminal investigation implicating Madigan makes it very clear Madigan must resign. If he will not step down as speaker, it is time that Democratic lawmakers who put him in power vote him out, Bourne said. If Gov. [J.B.} Pritzker is serious about passing ethics reform, he should use his authority to call the Legislature back for a special session. It is time for real ethics reform and for a vote on a new speaker of the House. Republican Rep. C.D. Davidsmeyer of Jacksonville said it is past time for Madigan to step down. I think the speaker has been smart enough to stay an arms length away, Davidsmeyer said. In our society, you are innocent until proven guilty, but as a public servant, you have to be held to a higher standard act in a manner that is above reproach. Davidsmeyer said it was time for Madigan to step down even if the allegations are unfounded. Hes been in charge of the state for too long, Davidsmeyer said. The state has been on a steady downward spiral and we need new leadership in the House and a new direction in Illinois. Illinois Republican Party Chairman Tim Schneider echoed the feeling. Based on the evidence presented by the U.S. Attorneys Office, and in the context of months of revelations about the federal investigation into Speaker Michael Madigan and his closest associates, we believe its time for Speaker Madigan to do the right thing for Illinois and resign his office, he said. The people of Illinois cannot afford this scandal to drag on for months and years. Speaker Madigan should spare the citizens of Illinois by resigning immediately. Democrats have been largely silent, although Pritzker has indicated that if the allegations are true, Madigan would have no choice but to resign. All the facilities have resumed work. Kyiv police say bomb threats concerning the building of the Kyiv Court of Appeals, the Ocean Plaza shopping mall, the Central Railway Station, and Kyiv Sikorsky Airport (Zhuliany) were fake reports. Bomb disposal teams did not find any explosive device in the said facilities, the police's media liaison office told UNIAN. Read alsoUkraine's Interior Ministry: No links between Lutsk incident and explosives found in Kyiv All the facilities resumed work after the search operation was over. Kyiv Mayor Vitaliy Klitschko said on July 21 that two improvised explosive devices had been found during an inspection of the area near the Minska subway station in the capital city. They were later disposed of in an explosion. Police also received anonymous calls about bombs planted in the court, the shopping mall, and the railway station. Therefore, security measures were stepped up on the streets and in places of mass gatherings of citizens, transport interchanges, subway stations, etc. British experts to review the UK's travel corridor list on July 23. Font size: A - | A + Comments disabled After Slovakia listed the UK as a safe country, requiring no self-isolation upon arrival to the country as of July 20, Slovak public officials are hoping Britain will revoke its earlier decision and put the central European country on its travel corridor list, requiring no self-isolation, later this week. Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Skryt Remove ad Article continues after video advertisement Read also Read also Diplomacy is more virtual for the moment, but personal contact is everything Read more We have excellent, long-term epidemiological results, which should be reason enough for the UK to reconsider its approach, Martin Klus, the state secretary of the Foreign Affairs Ministry, posted on Facebook. Because of Britains incomprehensible approach, as Klus put it in his post, Slovakia has been prompted to pass all its coronavirus data on to British experts. They are slated to review the travel corridor list on July 23 for the second time since it was published at the start of this month. Britain used official sources Terrorist Attack near Azaz, Syria Press Statement Morgan Ortagus, Department Spokesperson July 20, 2020 The United States strongly condemns the terrorist attack near a marketplace in Sudju, near Azaz and the Bab al Salam crossing. Initial reports indicate the attack killed eight and injured over 80, some of whom are in critical condition. We extend our deepest sympathies to all those harmed in this senseless tragedy. As we have stated in the past, such acts are unacceptable by any side in this conflict, and attacks against civilians are never justified. We again remind all parties that violence impedes the hope for a lasting political resolution to the conflict in Syria in line with UN Security Council resolution 2254. We also reiterate our support for a nationwide ceasefire in Syria, as called for by UN Special Representative Geir Pedersen. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Just over half of parents felt confident that their children were learning enough, while one in five parents felt they did not have a strong enough internet connection to support online learning. On average, each household had three members relying on different devices for work or study, affecting the childs access to online resources. Some parents noted that materials being sent by the school needed to be printed out and their household had no access to a printer. The Covid-19 Parent Survey found that parents of a child with a disability, or with a child towards the end of Primary school were most likely to feel their childs learning was being negatively impacted by the lockdown. Lack of time for parents to support learning and poor communication from schools were two factors which were said to be affecting childrens learning. Advertisement The survey also found that over 75% of parents were highly confident in supporting their childs learning at home, with only 14% of respondents saying they were not able to help their child. The level of communication from schools was viewed well overall, with 79% of parents rating their schools communication as Good or Excellent. Director of Research at the School of Education in TCD, Dr Ann Devitt said: We would advise parents to continue to extend all the family learning and family literacy practices they are already doing. The key message from this report is that family learning is effective. CLEVELAND, Ohio - When Perry County Republican Larry Householder returned to politics, the energy industry stepped up to help bankroll his campaign committee. The Friends of Larry Householder committee has reported at least $120,000 in donations from the industry since 2015, according to filings with the Ohio Secretary of States office. In comparison, state and county Republican parties contributed $178,000 to Householders committee during this time, when he won two terms to the Ohio House and was elected by his colleagues as Speaker of the House. The largest of the energy-related contributions came from the FirstEnergy Political Action Committee ($38,708), the Ohio Coal PAC ($18,700), American Electric Power Committee for Responsible Government ($17,500), Murray Energy Political Action Committee ($12,700) and Duke Energy Corp. PAC ($10,000). In total, Householders committee has reported $2 million in contributions from non-individuals. The committee also reported $2.5 million in contributions from individuals. At least 43 individuals employed by American Electric Power (AEP) contributed at total of $29,350. The employer for the individuals is not always listed in the filings with the Secretary of State. Murray Energy CEO Robert Murray contributed $12,700 in 2017. The lone donor listed as being employed by FirstEnergy, Anthony Alexander, contributed $5,000 in 2019. Former FirstEnergy CEO Anthony Alexander stepped down in 2015. Investments by the industry went beyond Householders campaign. Last year, cleveland.com detailed the big money, including so-called dark money, spent to influence the nuclear bailout bill that reportedly is at the heart of the arrest of Householder and the others. FirstEnergy long has been one of the most politically active companies in Ohio. For example, state and federal elections records combined show FirstEnergy, its political action committees and its employees have given more than $1 million to Ohio candidates and political parties since January 2017, according to the ealier cleveland.com analysis. Of that, about $806,800 went to Republicans and $362,600 went to Democrats. In 2019, after weeks of legislative negotiations, intense lobbying, and a deluge of ads, Ohio lawmakers approved legislation to subsidize nuclear and coal power plants with millions of dollars from the public and effectively gut the states green-energy mandates for utilities, as reported by cleveland.coms Jeremy Pelzer at the time. Under the bill signed into law by Gov. Mike DeWine, every Ohio electricity customer would have to pay a new monthly surcharge through 2027 that ranges from 85 cents for residential customers to $2,400 for large industrial plants. Of the $170 million per year brought in from the new surcharge, $150 million is to go to FirstEnergy Solutions, now known as Energy Harbor, to bail out its two northern Ohio nuclear power plants Davis-Besse and Perry - with the remaining $20 million a year to support six solar power projects around the state. Read related coverage Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder arrested in $60M bribery case related to HB6 nuclear bailout Ohio House Speaker Larry Householder and others arrested in public corruption case: Whos who? Nuclear bailout bill shows how big money can be put to work in the Ohio Statehouse FirstEnergy PAC writes big checks to House speaker hopeful Larry Householder, campaign allies Nuclear bailout bill passes Ohio legislature, signed by Gov. Mike DeWine 3 | NHS England in talks on rollout of potential COVID vaccine from December, says report: The National Health Service (NHS) is in talks with the British Medical Association (BMA) and others around mobilising the rollout of a potential COVID-19 vaccine from December, Pulse website for health professionals reported. >There is optimism around the first cohorts being given a vaccine in December but there is a 50/50 chance of the vaccine being available by that time, Pulse reported, citing a person close to the discussions. The University of Oxford's possible COVID-19 vaccine could be rolled out by the end of the year but there is no certainty, the lead developer of the vaccine said on July 21. The experimental vaccine, which has been licensed to AstraZeneca , produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, preserving hopes it could be in use by the end of 2020. "The end of the year target for getting vaccine roll-out, it's a possibility but there's absolutely no certainty about that because we need three things to happen," Sarah Gilbert told BBC Radio. She said it needed to be shown to work in late-stage trials, there needed to be large quantities manufactured, and regulators had to agree quickly to license it for emergency use before large numbers of people could be vaccinated. England's Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty and his deputy Jonathan Van-Tam took differing views on the potential timeline. 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 chance of us getting a vaccine before Christmas that actually is highly effective are, in my view, very low," Whitty told lawmakers. Van-Tam, however, said he was "cautiously optimistic that we will have some vaccine this side of Christmas." The Oxford scientists had eyed a million doses of the potential vaccine to be produced by September. Although the deal with AstraZeneca has provided manufacturing capacity to do that, the lower prevalence of the novel coronavirus in Britain has complicated the process of proving its efficacy. Late-stage trials crucial for providing data are under way in Brazil and South Africa and are due to start in the United States also. There are no approved vaccines yet for COVID-19, but the World Health Organization has said AstraZeneca's shot is one of the leading candidates. I totally underestimated the impact that losing the race for governor had on my life, said Mr. Gillum, who for months had been unavailable for comment, in an 11-minute video on Instagram. I didnt want to talk emotionally or really deeply about what happened in the race for governor because it was a constant reminder of failure and my own personal failures. How exactly Mr. Gillum lost his way in the 16 months between his high-profile loss and that night in the hotel room might be known only to him. What was evident to those around him and he said as much in his video was that his life was packed with commitments that pulled him away from his family and left him little time to rest. All that, his friends believe, may have clouded his judgment. Whats being portrayed I dont know that Andrew, State Representative Shevrin D. Jones, a friend since college who texted Mr. Gillum the day after the Miami Beach incident to offer support, said before Mr. Gillum left rehab. Ive known Andrew for almost 20 years, and Ive never known Andrew to have a drinking or a drug problem. With few satisfying answers while their old boss was in treatment, Mr. Gillums former campaign operatives deployed a line he used to give about felons fighting for their voting rights: Nobody should be judged forever on their worst day. Mr. Gillums 2018 campaign never really ended. After he conceded the race twice first on election night, then after a recount confirmed he had lost to Mr. DeSantis by about 32,000 votes Mr. Gillum threw himself into growing a voter-registration organization, fund-raising for the Democratic Party and commentating for CNN. Had he become Floridas first African-American governor, a young Democrat leading a Southern state and the nations biggest presidential battleground, speculation about Mr. Gillums future would have included the White House. Instead, he was left to inhabit the purgatory of ambitious politicians who lose and have no obvious public role to keep them relevant until the next election. Losing hurts, said State Senator Oscar Braynon II, a friend. And he lost on a big scale. That can do a number on people. -- By banning Huawei, Britain risks delaying 5G rollout and losing billions of pounds. -- 5G is widely recognized as a driving force behind a new wave of digital economy. -- Other major European countries, including Germany and France, are taking a more practical approach in regulating 5G infrastructures. -- Huawei has invested heavily in R&D endeavours in European countries including Britain, helping advance technological development and create jobs. LONDON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Despite the risk of delaying 5G rollout and costing billions of pounds, the British government has decided to ban Huawei's involvement in the country's 5G networks. This has been seen by experts as harming the fairness and diversification of market access, which is key to building a digital economy driven by 5G. 5G is the next-generation telecommunications technology that has the potential to create a better connected world and become a driving force behind a new wave of digital economy. Photo taken on Jan. 28, 2020 shows a Huawei 5G mobile phone testing speed at the Huawei 5G Innovation and Experience Center in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Han Yan) In Britain and other major European countries like Germany and France, the telecommunications industry is keen to work with governments, institutions and the wider community to realize the full potential of 5G, which could lead to a digital upgrade in many industrial areas. To build the infrastructure of 5G, the telecommunications industry needs the best technology and a diversified supply chain, which can only happen with consistent regulating policy by the government. But in the case of Britain, the government firstly announced in January its plans to safeguard the country's telecommunications security, which is widely seen as approving a restricted role for Huawei in helping build the country's 5G network. Then in July, the government drastically reversed its policy on Huawei by announcing that buying new Huawei 5G equipment will be banned after Dec. 31, 2020 and all Huawei equipment will be removed from 5G networks by the end of 2027. This is a costly decision. Britain's Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden admitted that the decision will lead to "a cumulative delay to 5G rollout of two to three years and costs of up to 2 billion pounds (2.5 billion U.S. dollars)" in the country. Photo taken on July 20, 2020 shows an advertisement for 5G at a Three store in London, Britain. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) "In a fast moving digital and data-driven economy, this is a very considerable amount of time. While delays can be the result of many reasons, one is that there will be a smaller pool of suppliers, who may not have sufficient capacity to provide the necessary equipment," David Nguyen, senior economist at the National Institute of Economic and Social Research (NIESR), told Xinhua. NIESR is Britain's longest-established independent research institute. Reducing the number of potential suppliers in the process of building the next-generation telecommunications network in Britain "leads to less competition and potentially higher prices or delays in rollout," said Nguyen. STATUS QUO IN FRANCE, GERMANY Major countries in Europe are taking a more practical approach in regulating their 5G infrastructures. Germany's three major telecommunications operators Deutsche Telekom, Vodafone and Telefonica have been actively promoting 5G in recent years. They implement the "supplier diversification" strategy and use Huawei equipment in their networks among other vendors. Peter Altmaier, German minister of economy, told the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung on July 11 that Germany would not exclude Huawei from the country's 5G network rollout. Photo taken on Jan. 28, 2020 shows the Huawei 5G Innovation and Experience Center in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Han Yan) "There can only be an exclusion if national security is demonstrably at risk. However, we will strengthen our security measures, regardless of which country the products come from," said Altmaier. "There is no change in Germany's position," a spokesperson of the country's Interior Ministry told local broadcaster ARD on July 16. Earlier in July, Guillaume Poupard, head of France's national cybersecurity agency ANSSI, told newspaper Les Echos that there will not be a total ban on using Huawei equipment in the country's 5G rollout. French telecommunications operators, such as SFR and Bouygues, have used Huawei's equipment in their networks. A previous article published by Les Echos pointed out that banning Huawei's equipment will cost the operators dearly. HUAWEI: NOT JUST AN EQUIPMENT VENDOR According to Huawei, it has been operating in the British market for some two decades. The company employs 1,600 people in Britain and supplies telecommunications network equipment to all the major mobile and broadband service providers in the country. Some experts have pointed out that the company's investment has boosted development in more technological areas than just 5G in the country. A concept image provided by Huawei shows the first phase of a state-of-the-art center to be built in Cambridge, Britain. (Xinhua) Rick Chandler, chairman of the Communications Management Association (CMA), used to work at telecommunications operator BT, and had experience working with Huawei. He told Xinhua that Huawei has made significant investments in research and development (R&D) in Britain and worked with businesses and universities, which has yielded good results. Meanwhile, the company has established various labs and research programs in Britain and other European countries. Last year, Xinhua reporters gained an exclusive insight into Huawei London Research Center, which focuses on the research of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and related technologies. Haitham Ammar is the team leader of reinforcement learning at the center. He told Xinhua that Huawei maintains an open attitude toward collaboration. For example, researchers at the center have different types of collaborations with other companies or universities in Britain and some European countries. "And we believe this is also very, very crucial for success. Because you know, we get the best minds in the world to help us crack the hardest problems," said Ammar. In addition to the AI center, Huawei also announced in June that it will build a state-of-the-art center in Cambridge, Britain, which will focus on the research, development and manufacturing of optical devices and modules. The company said it will invest 1 billion pounds (1.25 billion dollars) in the first phase of the project, which includes the construction of 50,000 square meters of facilities and will directly create around 400 local jobs. Photo taken on July 20, 2020 shows an advertisement for 5G at a Three store in London, Britain. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) To an expert like Rick Chandler, this kind of research dynamic is what Britain needs in developing next-generation telecommunications, IoT (Internet of Things) and more. "I will be really upset if we lost that collaboration and investment that has gone on for so many years just because of the incident (the recent policy U-turn by the British government concerning Huawei)," he said. Besides Britain, Huawei has similar research facilities and programs in European countries such as France. The company said it has opened R&D centers in Paris, the southeastern city of Grenoble, Sophia Antipolis technology park, as well as Boulogne-Billancourt, a commune in the western suburb of Paris, and shared the intellectual property of the results of R&D programs carried out in collaboration with its academic partners. WIDER ECONOMIC IMPACT Last year, Huawei commissioned Oxford Economics to assess the economic cost of restricting competition in eight markets, which includes Britain, France, Germany, and the United States. Photo taken on May 30, 2019 shows a 5G network logo on the screen of a mobile phone in London, Britain. (Xinhua/Alberto Pezzali) The report showed that restricting a key supplier of 5G infrastructure from helping to build a country's network would increase that country's 5G investment costs by between eight percent and 29 percent over the next decade. In Britain, this translates to 1.8 billion to 11.8 billion dollars in estimated permanent loss in gross domestic product due to delay in 5G rollout, according to the report. Over the decades, Huawei has played an integral part in building Britain's 3G and 4G networks, with a proven track record. The Chinese company is also a leader in the field of next-generation telecommunications, with the most 5G patents globally as of 2019 and the largest share of 5G standard contributions, according to a study by market intelligence company IPlytics. "Widely available 5G services are a pillar of a strong digital and data-driven economy and any delays in rollout can threaten long-term economic competitiveness," said Nguyen. Photo taken on July 20, 2020 shows an advertisement for 5G at an EE store in London, Britain. (Photo by Tim Ireland/Xinhua) "Faced with economic shocks from Brexit as well as COVID-19, the UK's economic recovery is intrinsically linked to using the latest digital technologies to save costs and raise productivity," Nguyen said. "However, if the delays in rollout are significant, the potential loss of high-speed, low-latency and energy efficient 5G services can be very detrimental to UK businesses and consumers in the medium- to long-run," he said. "On the Huawei question ... I think that Britain is retreating from the notion of itself as a major global player," said British scholar and political commentator Martin Jacques in a recent interview with Xinhua. She has been keeping her 605K Instagram followers updated during lockdown. And Ireland Baldwin enjoyed an idyllic beach day with boyfriend Corey Harper in Malibu, California, on Monday. The model, 24, looked incredible as she put on an eye-popping display in a tiny pink swimsuit which showcased her toned figure. Wow: Ireland Baldwin enjoyed an idyllic beach day with boyfriend Corey Harper in Malibu, California, on Monday The 24-year-old put on a busty display in the classic number, which buttoned up at the top like a Henley design. The French cut of the suit showed off her toned legs and pert derriere, as she walked into the crashing waves of water. She also displayed her tattoos, which ran down her arm and peaked out from her waist, including a recent snake ink on her wrist. Bikini babe: The model, 24, looked incredible as she put on an eye-popping display in a tiny pink swimsuit which showcased her toned figure Cheeky display: The French cut of the suit showed off her toned legs and pert derriere Inked up: She also displayed her tattoos, which ran down her arm and peaked out from her waist, including a recent snake ink on her wrist New art: Ireland showed off the body art earlier this month on Instagram, writing: 'Tattoo is a work in progress, nails are a work in progress, attitude in this photo is at 100% completion, b****' Ireland showed off the body art earlier this month on Instagram, writing: 'Tattoo is a work in progress, nails are a work in progress, attitude in this photo is at 100% completion, b****.' The Grudge Match actress kept her blonde hair out of her face, wearing it in a loose top knot with a red scrunchy. She later wore the scrunchy on her wrist, after letting her hair down and slicking it back after a swim. Updo: The Grudge Match actress kept her blonde hair out of her face, wearing it in a loose top knot with a red scrunchy Barefoot vibes: She took some photos of her toes in the sand, before stepping into the water for a refreshing dip Wet hair: She later wore the scrunchy on her wrist, after letting her hair down and slicking it back after a swim Getting some sun: After her dip in the water, the model decided to relax on the sand as she soaked up the sun Ireland went makeup-free as she showcased her radiant and sun-kissed complexion. After her dip in the water, the model decided to relax on the sand as she soaked up the sun. Her beau Corey, 25, stayed out in the water, as he took out his shortboard to catch some waves. He showed off his biceps in a sleeveless black wetsuit, wearing his shaggy wet blond hair slicked back. Corey shredded one wave after another, while Ireland watched from her spot in the sand. Surfer dude: her beau Corey, 25, stayed out in the water, as he took out his shortboard to catch some waves Shaggy boy: He showed off his biceps in a sleeveless black wetsuit, wearing his shaggy wet blonde hair slicked back Hang ten: The Missouri-born shredded one wave after another, while Ireland watched from her spot in the sand Hubba hubba: He later showed off his shirtless torso, as he pulled the top of his wetsuit down, while drying off and loading the car Later in the day, he showed off his shirtless torso, as he pulled the top of his wetsuit down, while drying off and loading the car. While Ireland pulled on her denim cutoff shorts, putting her hair back in the scrunchy. She put on a printed face mask, carrying her black Vans in her hand, with her towels and bag draped over her shoulders. Ireland and Corey have been romantically linked since 2018. The model is based in Los Angeles where her Oscar-winning mother Kim Basinger lives. Her father Alec Baldwin, however, is based on the east coast where he shares an apartment in New York and a home in The Hamptons with second wife Hilaria and their four children. Short shorts: Ireland pulled on her denim cutoff shorts at the end of the day, putting her hair back in the scrunchy BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Rufiz Hafizoglu - Trend: Turkey's export of steel to Italy dropped by 37.3 percent from January through June 2020 compared to the same period of last year and amounted to $382.3 million, Turkeys Ministry of Trade told Trend. In June 2020, the steel export from Turkey to Italy surged by 87.6 percent compared to June 2019, having stood at $114.1 million. The export of steel from Turkey to the world markets declined by 16.6 percent in the first half of this year compared to the same period of 2019 and made up $5.9 billion. According to the ministry, the export of steel from Turkey made up 8 percent of the country's total export volume over the reporting period. "Turkey exported steel worth $1.1 billion abroad in June 2020, which is 28.6 percent more compared to the same month of 2019," the ministry noted. Turkeys steel export in June 2020 amounted to 8.4 percent of the country's total export volume. During the last 12 months (from June 2019 through June 2020), Turkey exported steel worth $12.6 billion. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @rhafizoglu Fanad Head lighthouse in Co Donegal has been voted one of the world's most beautiful lighthouses Lighthouse Technicians Malcom Gillies and Gay Mulvey at the Baily Lighthouse in Howth, Co Dublin. Photo by Mark Condren 'I can think of no other edifice constructed by man as altruistic as a lighthouse," George Bernard Shaw once said. "They were built only to serve." Even after the leap in navigational technology represented by GPS, they maintain that historical function: shining a light for miles around, warning sailors and ships of dangers lurking beneath the surface. The way they are powered is changing, though, and with it the work of the people who tend them. The tradition of constantly manned lighthouses ended on March 24, 1997, but the lightkeepers' cottages are still inhabited for weeks at a time by maintenance staff who service the lights' diesel-powered motors. Today, Irish Lights workers travel to sites including Fastnet Rock off Co Cork, Tuskar Rock off Co Wexford, Inishtrahull Island off Co Donegal, Slyne Head off Clifden in Co Galway and Kish Tower in Dublin Bay. By 2025, however, all lighthouses, beacons and buoys dotted around the coast and in Irish waters will be powered by renewables. The amount of work for technicians who stay at remote lighthouses will fall. Irish Lights, led by chief executive Yvonne Shields O'Connor, is withdrawing from lighthouses' accommodation quarters. Anything that could cause harm will be removed and the fuel systems will be drained. After 41 years of service, Brian Kelly (65) retired on May 29. When he began working as a lighthouse technical mechanical worker in 1979, there were 600 lighthouse keepers in the country. The move to automation spelled the end of this unique career. Kelly describes his profession as one of constant evolution. For the first 25 years of his career, he left his family home in Cabinteely, south Dublin, to travel to the other end of the country to maintain lights. Sometimes that meant not telling his children exactly when he would be home; bad weather had a habit of causing disappointment. He could be hundreds of miles away on Ireland's most remote island - Tory, 14km off the coast of Donegal - when high winds and swelling seas made the journey back to the mainland impossible. "It was a job I loved - I would've done it for nothing. If you like peace and quiet, you'd be in the right job," says Kelly, who is originally from Ballinasloe, Co Galway. "What I miss more than anything else is being out on the coast. I miss the freedom and the peace. The job meant you got to see lots of tiny little beaches people can't get to. Ireland is beautiful - we don't appreciate how beautiful it is. We were privileged to see if from a different angle," he says. "There's nothing like sleeping in a lighthouse on a bad night with driving rain and big waves breaking - it's very comforting. "But if you're a light sleeper, you won't sleep well," he says. A bird's-eye view Of all the lighthouses, Kelly's favourite is Kish Tower, a landmark well-known to sailors and ferry passengers passing through Dublin Bay. For Malcolm Gillies (44), from Drumconrath, Co Meath, who trained as an electrician before joining Irish Lights, maintaining lighthouses has given him a bird's-eye view of some of the island's most beautiful places. In his 17 years' service, the job meant 150 days a year away from home. It often meant being sent on a rock off the coast with all his provisions for three weeks at a time. Read More "You do feel privileged when you're in these places - only a small minority of people will ever see them in their lifetime. I've spent a lot of time on Fastnet and it is a unique experience," says Gillies. He describes having dinner there as being a bit like eating in the most exclusive coastal restaurant, with a 360-degree view from the top and the most beautiful sunsets imaginable. There were negatives, though. "There are days when you're on a rock for two weeks and you have down days," he says. "The helicopter may not be able to land because of wind or fog. You have to dig into the reserve of food and keep the humour up. As people retire, they aren't being replaced. There's enough of us to cover things at the moment, but technology has a grip on things now," he says. Gay Mulvey's family has held various roles with Irish Lights since 1934, and the Dun Laoghaire man's retirement this year marks the end of an era. Mulvey says the change has been so gradual it barely registered. While he admits there is a certain romance to lighthouses, he won't miss the smell of diesel or the noise or the dirt of working with engines. Despite the long periods away from home and family, he says he loved the job. He recalls one evening on Skellig Michael off Co Kerry when the puffins came out and walked around him as he sat stock-still watching them. Another fond memory is of swimming in a "natural swimming pool" in the rocks at Slyne Head off Clifden, Co Galway. "When the tide went out on a sunny day, the water would heat up and we'd be able to swim there," he says. "People would pay thousands for it." He remembers being stranded for days at Bull Rock off Dursey sound in Co Cork, which looks like something from a pirate movie, with a passage through the rock. After 44 years of spending time on lighthouses, he says what he will miss most is the camaraderie. "Whether you like someone or you don't, you have to find a way. There's a circle of us who are buddies as well as colleagues. You can't be on a rock for three weeks at a time without some friction. There's a lot of psychology and of biting your lip," he says. Mulvey explains that each lighthouse has a different 'character', by which he means the flashing sequence of the light. "It could be four flashes every half minute or three flashes every 40 seconds. That character is unique to that light within that zone," he says. "The ships have to know where they are. It sounds primitive with all the technology we have in this day and age, but internationally, they still want the lighthouses. It's absolute certainty. There's no wondering about [the lighthouses' signal]. Ships can tell exactly." Robert McCabe, the director of coastal operations with Irish Lights, says that lighthouses are far from a relic of a not-so-distant past. Despite all the developments in GPS navigation, he says, mariners and ships are resolute that they want the lighthouses and buoys maintained. McCabe says huge advances have been made in navigation since he first went to sea as a cadet in the 1970s. He calls GPS a 'godsend', but points out it is not infallible. A report entitled 2030: Navigating the Future commissioned by the lighthouse authorities of Ireland and the UK identified an overwhelming reliance on GPS, with its inherent vulnerability to man-made interference and space weather. "The big fear nowadays is deliberate jamming of [GPS]," McCabe says. "If you were in a busy shipping lane, that could cause havoc. The mariner still wants to be able to say, 'I still have my old skillset' and they want to be connected with the world outside the window. We have spent about two years talking to people. "The big ships value the lighthouses much more than people might think," he adds. "There's no sense that their value will disappear." Getting up close with maritime history Expand Close Fanad Head lighthouse in Co Donegal has been voted one of the world's most beautiful lighthouses / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Fanad Head lighthouse in Co Donegal has been voted one of the world's most beautiful lighthouses Lighthouses have been symbols of both romance and tragedy for generations. They have often been remote and untouchable, but in recent years many have opened to the public, with some available for self-catering accommodation. The Irish Landmark Trust, in partnership with Irish Lights, has 14 lighthouses in the Great Lighthouses of Ireland portfolio dotted around the coast. Having reopened for business at the end of last month, the idea is to give people and up-close experience of these structures' role in the island's maritime story. At Fanad Head lighthouse (inset) in Co Donegal, which has been voted one of the world's most beautiful lighthouses, you can stay at one of three lightkeepers' cottages, which were restored in 2015. At Wicklow Head, the Irish Landmark Trust transformed the 239-year-old octagonal stone tower into self-catering accommodation, including 109 steps up into the kitchen. Fastnet Rock, near Cape Clear in Co Cork, is not available to visit but there are boat tours around it. For more information, go to greatlighthouses.com The mask may have reached a tipping point. President Donald Trump's administration on Monday pushed to encourage mask-wearing, explicitly endorsing a measure widely seen as crucial to stemming the coronavirus pandemic, and potentially quelling a bitter debate that experts say costs lives. The president, who for months resisted covering his face in public, tweeted that "it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance." And Vice President Mike Pence told governors in a teleconference that he supported their mask mandates, with the administration even sending a memorandum to New Jersey recommending that it continue its order. The reversal followed polls that showed Trump's refusal to champion masks was out of step with citizens terrified by rising case counts nationwide. It also comes as Republican governors, facing outbreaks spiraling beyond control, begin to break with Trump on the issue. Texas Governor Greg Abbott last week cast masks as key to ensuring the state wouldn't need to shut down its economy a second time, though he resisted ordering their use. Mississippi Governor Tate Reeves on Monday required residents of 23 hard-hit counties to start wearing masks. "We have to take Covid-19 seriously," Reeves said at a news conference. "This virus is not going away. There are lives on the line." Coronavirus cases in the U.S. increased Monday to 3.79 million, according to data collected by Johns Hopkins University and Bloomberg. The disease has killed almost 141,000 Americans so far. - - - The administration's refusal to formulate a national plan to fight the virus has become a major hurdle to Trump's re-election, and the president said Monday he would resume regular Covid-19 briefings. Pence told governors in the teleconference that the administration would support the mask orders, according to a person who heard the call. He also suggested that bars be closed in states or regions with high virus spread, according to Kentucky Governor Andy Beshear. And in the afternoon, Trump sent the tweet showing himself in a mask with the presidential seal. "There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!" he wrote. CNN, citing anonymous sources, reported that the tweet was prompted by internal polling that showed disapproval of Trump's handling of the pandemic. Cloth masks don't guarantee protection from the virus. But they do help block droplets of water vapor, carried on breath, from spreading far beyond the face. If people are infected with the coronavirus but don't know it, a mask can help prevent them from infecting those around them. Trump has appeared in public in a mask only once, on a visit to a military hospital, and he gave no indication Monday that he would wear one regularly. The White House didn't respond to a request for comment. Trump's tweet muddled what had become a bitter partisan debate. He had shunned masks, and many supporters said mandating them infringed on their rights. Trump initially argued for a mask-free Republican convention, and there were anti-mask demonstrations and videos of ugly confrontations in stores. But Trump's new stance could put mask mandates in the same category as laws about seat belts, motorcycle helmets or secondhand smoke -- safety measures that, while unpopular at first, eventually won acceptance. Researchers who have studied such shifts in public opinion say the identity of the people urging change can make a difference. "If you have the person in charge of the country saying, 'It's up to you -- I'm not going to wear one,' that's really problematic,"' said Catherine Sanderson, chair of the psychology department at Amherst College in Massachusetts and author of "Why We Act: Turning Bystanders into Moral Rebels." Major social changes can be triggered even if just 25% of the population adopts them at first, she said. But it has to be the right 25% -- people with genuine influence. Governors can qualify. So can presidents. "If Trump had done this two months ago, more people would have lived," Sanderson said Monday, after Trump's tweet. "But this is better late than never, especially if it gives GOP governors tacit permission to require masks in their red states." Some of America's largest retailers -- Walmart, Target and CVS -- are now requiring all shoppers nationwide to wear one, whether local officials mandate them or not. And the number of states, counties and cities ordering the use of masks in public is growing, albeit not without a fight. One example: the ongoing dispute between Louisiana's attorney general, who says statewide mask orders are unconstitutional, and the same state's governor, who insists they aren't. "With every new public-health intervention, there's always some resistance," said Julia Marcus, an epidemiologist and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School. During the AIDS crisis, efforts to shame people into wearing condoms or abstaining from sex didn't work. Messages that offered condoms as a way to keep having sex without hurting yourself or others did. "If we just yell at people about not wearing masks, we're not going to get anywhere," Marcus said. Polls show that large majorities of Americans support wearing masks in public, although there are deep divisions along partisan lines. Public-health experts say immediate action is needed to fight the pandemic, but similar societal shifts evolved over decades. "It took a long time to regulate smoking, to get to that point," said Jay Van Bavel, associate professor of psychology and director of the Social Perception and Evaluation Lab at New York University. "And we don't have that kind of time." The campaign to convince Americans to wear masks, however, shares one successful element with anti-smoking efforts: It is as much about protecting other people as protecting oneself. Public understanding of the dangers of secondhand smoke, Van Bavel said, was key to the acceptance of smoking bans on planes and in restaurants. Last week, New York Governor Andrew Cuomo launched an ad campaign stressing the same point. Marcus also pointed to a video that features California Governor Gavin Newsom and all four of his living predecessors, including two Democrats and two Republicans. The California ad dismisses partisanship, appeals to personal responsibility, makes a few quick jokes and includes Arnold Schwarzenegger -- made famous by his muscles -- saying a mask isn't a sign of weakness. "It directly addressed those concerns around personal liberty and reframed masks as a ticket to freedom," Marcus said. MEDINA, Ohio -- For the past eight months, the citizens group Save Your Courthouse Committee has conducted an initiative petition opposing the planned demolition and rebuilding of a portion of the Medina County Courthouse. According to its Facebook page, the groups goal is to put the joint courthouse project of the City of Medina and Medina County on the Nov. 3 ballot, with the belief that residents have the right to vote on such major community projects. The effort to collect the required 983 signatures from registered voters living within the Medina city limits concludes Wednesday (June 22). Committee member Pat Walker said the group has enough signatures for the issue to be placed on the ballot, but that every signature is important. All we are about is allowing people the ability to vote on the project, Walker said. And the more (signatures) the better. Walker said the committee began collecting signatures last year, but at that time had only six days before the next filing deadline. The effort began again in earnest this past November. The Save Your Courthouse petition states: Without a majority vote of the qualified electors who are residents of the City of Medina, Ohio, the city shall not: authorize, appropriate or spend any funds for, or use any city resources to carry out, or facilitate carrying out, any demolition or construction activity (whether internal or external) at the Medina County Courthouse or any structure located on the east side of the Medina Public Square including, but not limited to, 72 through 99 Public Square, Medina, Ohio. This restriction shall have the effect of law and shall be effective for a period of five years. With or without the city County officials have indicated that the estimated $40 million project is needed to both streamline the courthouse and make it safer. The plan currently includes moving the Medina Municipal Court into the new county courthouse building, which will replace the 1969 Common Pleas Courthouse. The older, historic courthouse building on the northeast corner of Public Square and East Liberty Street would not be torn down. The new building, as proposed, will include shared hallways, restrooms, elevators, security entrance, parking and meeting rooms between the Common Pleas and Medina Municipal courts. During a March Medina City Council meeting, Medina Mayor Dennis Hanwell said that the petition initiative, even if successful, is unlikely to stop the courthouse renovations. The mayor said that county officials plan to move ahead with the removal of the Common Pleas Courthouse with or without the citys involvement. Preventing the city from participating in the project, Hanwell said, could cost Medina residents in both the short and long term, with two new courthouses being built within blocks of one another and the opportunity for shared resources gone. Walker, meanwhile, maintains that the goal of the signature petition is merely to put that issue before voters. You can always make things better, but you have to balance the need against the cost and peoples feelings of how you are getting that money, she said. The Save Your Courthouse Committee has estimated the project to cost taxpayers upward of $60 million -- including $20 million in interest over 30 years, should the county seek funding through $30 million in bonds, as has been proposed. Walker said it is imperative to seek voter approval for such a capital project. And we have gotten signatures from Republicans, Democrats, Independents; this is a very bipartisan effort, she said. Read more news from the Medina Sun. Tubulis Raises 10.7 M Series A to Advance Development of a New Generation of Antibody-Drug Conjugates Details Category: More News Published on Tuesday, 21 July 2020 11:08 Hits: 1441 MUNICH, Germany I July 21, 2020 I Tubulis today announced the close of a 10.7 million Series A financing round to accelerate the development of a new class of highly stable and efficient antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) and to support the further growth of the company. The financing round was co-led by BioMedPartners and High-Tech Grunderfonds (HTGF) with support from Seventure Partners, coparion, Bayern Kapital, and OCCIDENT alongside significant contributions by high net worth individuals and the founders. Tubulis was spun out in 2019 from the Leibniz Research Institute in Berlin (FMP) and the Ludwig Maximilians University (LMU) in Munich with the aim of expanding the therapeutic potential of ADCs for cancer and other disease indications. Tubulis objective is to use our dual platform approach to generate uniquely matched and disease-specific ADCs that combine selective antibodies with effective payloads, said Dominik Schumacher, CEO and co-founder of Tubulis. The funding committed by this experienced syndicate represents a validation of our technology and reflects the recent renaissance in ADC development in our industry. These proceeds will enable us to continue validating our platforms and to move our first two selected ADC candidates towards the clinic. Michael Wacker, Partner at BioMed Partners commented: Tubulis is tackling the limitations of current ADCs head-on and is helping to shape the future of ADCs for the treatment of a broad range of diseases. We look forward to supporting the team at Tubulis as they continue to build the company in a growing field with a high need for innovative solutions. Tubulis uniquely versatile and customizable ADC technology portfolio consists of two proprietary technologies which are based on scientific discoveries made in the research groups of Prof. Christian Hackenberger (FMP), Prof. Heinrich Leonhardt (LMU) and Dr. Jonas Helma-Smets, who are all co-founders of the company. Jonas Helma-Smets also joined the company as CSO. The platforms accommodate the complexities of modern ADC design with regard to protein format, payload potency and payload hydrophobicity. P5 conjugation is a novel chemistry for cysteine-selective conjugation. It allows for ultra-stable ADC generation with unprecedented linker stability and chemical flexibility, enabling rapid lead identification. The Tub-tag platform was inspired by microtubule biology and adds a significant amount of stability to the ADC product candidates by modulating the antibody to provide a highly beneficial microenvironment for the payload. Moreover, the human-derived nature of the Tub-tag reduces the risk of unwanted immune responses. Combining these platforms addresses the main bottlenecks in the field, ADC stability and payload-driven toxicity. Tubulis will prioritize the use of these technologies for internal drug discovery and development activities to generate uniquely matched antibody-drug conjugates, tailored to the respective indication. During the spin-out phase the company has already been recognized by several early-stage start-up awards including the Outstanding Start-up Award at Venture.Med 2019, the Leibniz Entrepreneurship Award as well as being an official EIT Health success story. Tubulis is an EIT Health Investor Network supported company. About Tubulis Tubulis generates uniquely matched protein-drug conjugates by combining proprietary novel technologies with disease-specific biology. Our goal is to expand the therapeutic potential of antibody-drug conjugates (ADCs) ushering in a new era and delivering better outcomes for patients. Employing the companys proprietary ADC development approach, Tubulis will advance a variety of conjugates, unlimited by indication. For more information visit www.tubulis.com or follow us on LinkedIn and Twitter. About BioMedPartners Based in Basel, Switzerland, BioMedPartners is an independent European venture capital firm that acts as lead-or co-lead investor providing private equity to early- to mid-stage life sciences companies. Since 2002, BioMedPartners has invested in several highly innovative companies of which twenty-two have already either successfully been acquired by leading biopharma companies or have completed an IPO. With more than CHF 350 million in capital under management and a strong team of experienced industry experts as well as an extensive scientific and pharma network, BioMedPartners has established itself as one of the leading early-stage human healthcare investors in Europe. In February 2018 the company announced the closing of BioMedInvest III, their third equity venture capital fund of CHF 100 million. In this third fund BioMedPartners is focusing on the build-up of companies with highly innovative early stage assets and technology platforms. One of the first investments of BioMedInvest III was in the Swiss immuno-oncology company Amal SA (Geneva) which has been acquired by Boehringer Ingelheim in June 2019. For more information, please visit www.biomedvc.com. About High-Tech Grunderfonds High-Tech Grunderfonds (HTGF) is a seed investor that finances high-potential, techdriven start-ups. With around EUR 900 million in total investment volume across three funds and an international network of partners, HTGF has already helped forge almost 600 start-ups since 2005. Driven by their expertise, entrepreneurial spirit and passion, its team of experienced investment managers and startup experts help guide the development of young companies. HTGFs focus is on high-tech start-ups in the fields of digital business models, industrial technology, life sciences, chemistry and related business areas. To date, external investors have injected over EUR 2.5 billion into the HTGF portfolio via more than 1,600 follow-on financing rounds. HTGF has also successfully sold interests in more than 100 companies. Investors in the public-private partnership include the Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy, KfW Capital, the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft and 32 companies. Our fund investors. About Seventure Partners With 750m net commitments under management as of the end of 2018, Seventure Partners is a leading venture capital firm in Europe. Since 1997, Seventure Partners has been investing in innovative businesses with high growth potential in two fields: Life sciences across Europe, Israel, Asia and North America and Digital technologies in France and Germany. In Life sciences, the main areas of focus include classic approaches such as biotechnology and pharmaceuticals, diagnostic and medtech, industrial biotechnology, as well as beyond the pill approaches such as MICROBIOME-linked innovations, nutrition, foodtech, digital/connected health and personalized medicine. For more details: http://www.seventure.fr/en Twitter: @seventurep About coparion coparion provides venture capital to accelerate momentum and growth. With a current active fund of EUR 275m coparion has the means to do so. coparion supports entrepreneurial vision with know-how, but without intervening in daily business operations. Thanks to in-depth experience in venture capital and in building companies, the coparion team discerns potentials and opens up new perspectives. coparion only invests with co-investors. The fund invests up to EUR 10m per company, usually in several financing rounds of EUR 1-5m each. Investment focus is on German companies in the start-up and early growth phase. coparion is based in Cologne and Berlin. www.coparion.vc About Bayern Kapital Bayern Kapital GmbH, based in Landshut, was founded on the initiative of the Bavarian government in 1995. It is a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Bavarian LfA Forderbank. As the venture capital organisation of the Land of Bavaria, Bayern Kapital provides equity capital financing for the founders of young innovative technology companies in Bavaria. Presently Bayern Kapital manages thirteen investment funds with a total volume of around 500m. So far, it has invested roughly 330m in about 280 innovative companies in the fields of technology in various sectors including life science, software & IT, medical technology, materials and new materials, nanotechnology and environmental technology. In this way, more than 7500 long-term jobs in sustainable companies have been created in Bavaria. www.bayernkapital.de About OCCIDENT OCCIDENT is an international venture capital investor with offices in Zug and Munich, is owner-managed and invests own wealth. Its aim is to make a positive contribution to society through sustainable and meaningful investments. OCCIDENT invests in innovative deep tech start-ups with excellent technologies in the fields of life sciences, digital and high-tech with broad application possibilities and the potential for further value-generating developments. The geographic focus is Germany and Switzerland. The preferred stage for initial financing is from seed rounds or later and from 0.5 million euros. OCCIDENT distinguishes itself in particular by its in-depth knowledge of the technology and the versatile support offered to its portfolio companies by its competent team of experts. For more information, please visit www.occident.group. SOURCE: Tubulis We are honored to confirm our new strategic partnership with SEED Group and The Private Office of Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed Al Maktoum to bring our AI-powered digital solutions to the UAE for the first time. SEED Group, a subsidiary company of The Private Office of Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed Al Maktoum, today announced a strategic partnership with ABAKA, the global leader in digital saving and retirement enterprise SaaS solutions, that will allow United Arab Emirates (UAE) financial institutions to integrate ABAKAs Artificial Financial Intelligence technology platform into their core business processes to digitize customer experience, and improve financial education, saving and retirement planning for its residents and citizens. Considering the huge challenge that the saving and retirement sector faces to produce better outcomes for workers who constantly have to keep up with their savings when there are still limited financial options, ABAKA is the worlds first AI-driven platform that has been developed. ABAKA streamlines its digital services through AI technology. ABAKA has built the economy applications and seamless data exchange platform enabling FIs to access customer data, build insights and intelligence through conversational AI and hyper-personalised behavioural nudges. It provides digital solutions covering retirement (accumulation, at-retirement and decumulation), banking (PFM, digital savings), wealth and advisory (goal-based investing, data aggregation, advisor lead generation tools and business process automation). We are honored to confirm our new strategic partnership with SEED Group and The Private Office of Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed Al Maktoum to bring our AI-powered digital solutions to the UAE for the first time," said Fahd Rachidy, founder and CEO of ABAKA. The UAE is facing the same saving and retirement challenge as many countries around the world: consumers are not saving enough, most do not have a clear financial plan for later life and many cannot access financial advice. SEED Group shares our vision to help engage more people in financial planning and enable everyone to have a financially secure future. Were delighted to be working with them towards achieving this goal. The National Bonds Corporation's 2018 Savings Index reveals that more than eight out of 10 people in the UAE claim that they are not saving enough for themselves. With support from the UAE government for the development of initiatives for the "responsible and efficient" adoption of AI in the private sector, as evidenced by the UAE AI strategy, and the launch of the Think AI program in 2019, ABAKA is the leading answer to help everyone make more informed decisions with their finances. The utilization of artificial intelligence in the UAE is one thing, financial planning is another, said Hisham Al Gurg, CEO of SEED Group and The Private Office of Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed Al Maktoum. More than 200 nationalities live in the UAE, but the majority still are almost clueless about planning their retirement. We are confident that through ABAKAs lead in this regard, the numbers will improve over the next few years, and we are very excited about being part of this mission and helping everyone, citizens and residents, achieve their long-term financial objectives. Not so long ago, in December 2019, ABAKA raised $6.5M in Series A funding round from Thames Trust, Ace&Co, and Downing Ventures. To date, the London-based company has raised a total of $10 million in investments, one of the biggest and notable investments in the space of saving and retirement technology. **End** About ABAKA ABAKA is the global leader in digital saving and retirement enterprise SaaS solutions. Its mission is to make financial security a reality for everyone, starting with saving and retirement planning. ABAKA has created an AI-driven platform that gives the financial services industry the means to engage with their customers Artificial Financial Intelligence through conversational chatbots and intelligent personalized nudges. For more information, visit http://www.abaka.me. About SEED Group Over the past 16 years, SEED Group has formed strategic alliances with leading global companies representing diverse regions and industries. These companies have propelled their business interests and goals in the Middle East & North Africa (MENA) region through the support and strong base of regional connections of the SEED Group. The Groups goal is to create mutually beneficial partnerships with multinational organizations and to accelerate their sustainable market entry and presence within the MENA region. SEED Group has been a key point in the success of all its partners in the region helping them reach their target customers and accelerate their businesses. The Private Office was established by Sheikh Saeed bin Ahmed Al Maktoum to directly invest in or assist potential business opportunities in the region, which meet The Private Offices criteria. For more information, visit http://www.seedgroup.com. ABAKA Media Contact: Nick Seymour Senior Account Manager Rostrum London e: n.seymour@rostrum.agency m: +44 (0)7551 129 500 Janine Savarese New York e: jsavlowe@savcopr.com m: +908 461 5767 SEED Group Media Contact: Nomarie Jean Lacsamana e: jean@seedgroup.com p: +971 4 373 5068 The Federal Backpackers Hostel that was engulfed in flames on Monday night had recently published a tribute to the survivors of the 2000 Childers Palace Backpackers Hostel fire. The fire started about 11pm on Monday in the adjoining Spotted Dog Tavern, forcing the evacuation of the hostel and nearby Matilda Motel in the central Queensland city of Bundaberg. The hostel's Facebook post published almost one month ago featured an image honouring the 15 people who lost their lives 20 years ago in the Childers fire, with the caption, "our thoughts are with the survivors and families". Sixty-two people escaped the fire on Monday. European IT services provider Atos has partnered with Google Cloud to create secure enterprise business solutions in Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML) Hybrid Cloud, data analytics and the digital workplace. (Photo: Twitter/@Atos) Image Source: IANS News New Delhi, July 21 : Researchers at cybersecurity firm Check Point on Tuesday cited an instance when hackers used advanced features on Google Cloud Platform to host phishing pages and hide them. Some of the warning signs that users generally look out for in a phishing attack include suspicious-looking domains, or websites without a HTTPS certificate. However, by using well-known public cloud services such as Google Cloud or Microsoft Azure to host their phishing pages, the attackers can overcome this obstacle and disguise their malicious intent, improving their chances of ensnaring even security-savvy victims, Check Point said in a blog post. "Hackers are swarming around the cloud storage services that we rely on and trust, making it much tougher to identify a phishing attack. Traditional red flags of a phishing attack, such as look-alike domains or websites without certificates, won't help us much as we enter a potential cyber pandemic," Lotem Finkelsteen, Check Point's Manager of Threat Intelligence, said in a statement. "Users of Google Cloud Platform, even Amazon Web Services (AWS) and Azure users, should all beware of this fast-growing trend, and learn how to protect themselves. It starts by thinking twice about the files you receive from senders." The Check Point researchers cited an example of a hacker using Google Cloud Platform advanced features, Google Functions, to orchestrate a sophisticated phishing attack, just like any other business. The researchers said that in January this year they came across an attack that started with a PDF document uploaded to Google Drive, which included a link to a phishing page. The phishing page asked the user to login with their Office 365 or organisation e-mail. When a user chooses one of the options, a pop-up window with the Outlook login page appears. After the credentials were entered, the user is led to a real PDF report published by a renowned global consulting firm. During all of these stages, the user never gets suspicious since the phishing page is hosted on Google Cloud. However, viewing the phishing page's source code revealed that most of the resources are loaded from a website that belongs to the attackers, prvtsmtp[.]com. The attackers started using Google Cloud Functions, a service that allows the running of code in the cloud. In this case, the resources in the phishing page were loaded from a Google Cloud Functions instance without exposing the attackers' own malicious domains. The probe revealed that it resolved to a Ukrainian IP address. Many other domains related to this phishing attack resolved to the same IP address, or to different ones on the same netblock, Check Point said. Google suspended this particular hacker project in January for phishing abuse, which subsequently suspended the URL as well as all URLs associated with that project since that time. The researchers said that people need to be cautious with files received via email from unknown senders, especially if they prompt for a certain action you would not usually do. Ghana's former High Commissioner to India, Sam Pee Yalley has called on President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo to hasten his decision regarding the shooting incident that occurred at a voters' registration center in the Awutu Senya East constituency in the Central Region on Monday, July 20, 2020 "I don't expect President Akufo-Addo to be silent on this matter or waste time in handling the issue at all. Because as Commander in Chief of the Armed Forces, he should expect more of such radical incidents in the upcoming elections should he not openly condemn the incident and also make sure the perpetrators are brought to book," he stated. To him, the kind of language the president uses in addressing the matter will indicate the level of tolerance or intolerance that will erupt in the forthcoming December polls. Speaking on UTV's 'Adekye Nsroma' newspaper discussion show, Sam Pee Yalley disclosed that his investigations and studies concerning the voters registration exercise shows "there are lots of challenges and loopholes in the ongoing system". The former diplomat stressed that the minister was wrong to carry a weapon to a polling station just to go and investigate a tip-off. "... How can a minister of state carry a loaded weapon to a polling station claiming she simply went over there to investigate an unfolding incident? If she felt there was simmering tension in the area, then she should have alerted the appropriate authorities in charge and not take the laws of the country into her hands; firing warning shots anyhow. Someone who is a lawmaker!" he charged. Madam Hawa Koomson, MP for the Awutu Senya East and Minister for Special Development Initiatives admitted she fired a gun at a voters' registration centre in her constituency.She explained that none of the men in her company at the time of the incident was armed when they got to the centre.I fired the shots myself, she said.According to the Special Development Initiatives Minister, she took the firearm which she refused to identify to the registration centre to protect herself.The MP said she had gone to the registration centre because she heard her opponent had gone against the law to bus people from other places to register. Source: Elizabeth Semiheva Bedi, 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 Spokeswoman of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia Shushan Stepanyan posted the following on her Facebook page: Today at 10:30 p.m. Azerbaijans special unit launched another offensive in the direction of the Fearless military position. The unit of the Armenian Armed Forces thwarted the adversarys attack, causing significant casualties. According to preliminary data, the soldiers of the adversarys special units not only suffered casualties, but also have servicemen who are trapped. The Armenian side doesnt have casualties. Acting on an anonymous tip, the authorities in Minneapolis this week discovered the body of a man inside a building that was burned down amid protests over the death of George Floyd, the police said. The body was found Monday as the authorities searched through debris at the site of a pawnshop at 2726 East Lake Street in Minneapolis about three miles from the site where a police officer knelt on Mr. Floyds neck for more than eight minutes. On May 28, three days after Mr. Floyds death, the building was set on fire, according to federal officials. In June, officials charged Montez Terriel Lee with arson after video footage surfaced of Mr. Lee pouring liquid from a metal container throughout the pawnshop, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office in Minnesota. The death of the man whose body was found and whose name the authorities did not release is being investigated as a homicide. The Hennepin County Medical Examiners Office said Tuesday that it had no information to release on the cause of death. In Vietnams capacity as the ASEAN Chair, Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung on July 20 chaired an online inter-sectoral meeting of ASEAN senior officials to discuss orientations to building post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision. Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung at the meeting Attending the event were ASEAN senior officials from specialised agencies on the pillars of Political-Security, Economic and Socio-Cultural Communities, and ASEAN Vice Secretary Generals. Speaking at the event, Dung shared Vietnams initiative on orientations to building ASEAN Community Vision following 2025, saying that it is a continuation of Thailands efforts during its tenure as the ASEAN Chair 2019, including working closely with the Economic Research Institute for ASEAN and East Asia (ERIA) to outline the ASEAN Vision 2040. On the back of discussions within the framework of the ASEAN Senior Officials' Meeting (SOM) held in the central city of Da Nang in March, the meeting offered recommendations on orientations to building post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision to submit to the ASEAN Coordinating Council and the 37th ASEAN Summit later this year. Delegates shared the view that the post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision should be inclusive and closely links with cooperation contents in the three pillars, with a focus on digital transformation and economic development, inclusive development, rapid and effective response to emerging challenges, people-oriented and people-centred approaches, and improvement of ASEANs central role and international stature, among others. They suggested improving the efficiency of ASEAN apparatus, inter-sectoral and inter-pillar coordination, and enhancing the participation of all sectors in Community building. Representatives from specialised agencies on the three pillars welcomed Vietnams initiative to hold the meeting and offered various opinions on the process. In his speech, Dung proposed that ASEAN should pursue a progressive approach to gradually step up economic linkage, thus laying a foundation to determine the next linkage forms of the community. Amid the rapid and complicated developments in the region and the world, he called on the bloc to continue proving its central role as a driving force to accelerate dialogues, build trust for the sake of regional peace, security and stability, and more actively and effectively cope with challenges. ASEAN needs to ensure inclusive approach, even and sustainable development among regions, nations and different sectors of the society so that no one will be left behind, he said, adding that the grouping should pay full attention to closely linking sub-regional development with the common development of the ASEAN Community, building a people-oriented and people-centred Community. According to him, the mid-term review of ASEAN Community Vision 2025 should be taken into account when it comes to discussing post-2025 ASEAN Community Vision. As scheduled, Vietnam will hold more consultation conferences to collect feedback on the effort to submit to the 37th ASEAN Summit in November 2020./. VNA Mumbai: Israel President Reuven Rivlin arrived this morning on a six-day visit to India to further strengthen bilateral ties. Rivlin, who landed at the Mumbai airport with a large delegation of businessmen and academicians, will leave for Delhi on Monday. He will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj and visit several sites of co-operation and joint projects between the two nations. The Israeli leader will join President Pranab Mukherjee in opening an agro-tech conference in Chandigarh. He will also pay his respects at the sites of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks in Mumbai and lay wreaths at memorials for Mahatma Gandhi and for Indian soldiers, who fell in the World War-I. Six Jews were killed at the Mumbai Chabad house during the Mumbai terror attacks on November 26, 2008. Rivlin will also hold meetings with senior Indian officials and with leaders of the Jewish community. I am departing now on an important visit to India, an important ally and close friend of Israel, a state with whom we have much in common, Rivlin said before he boarded the flight to Mumbai. Israel and India are both countries of innovation and of inspiration. Countries that have ancient traditions, but have built strong and thriving hi-tech economies, and now celebrate 25 years of diplomatic relations. This visit is a sign of the strong relations and friendship between our peoples, and I hope will plant the seeds for that friendship to grow closer and closer, he said. The academic delegation accompanying Rivlin includes presidents and senior representatives of Israeli academic institutions, who are expected to sign separate agreements with Indian institutions. For all the Latest India News, Download News Nation Android and iOS Mobile Apps. Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd Mahmoud Mousavi-Majd, a translator accused of spying on the late Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, has been executed by the Iranian government. Majd who worked as an English and Arabic language translator in Syria, was accused of spying for US and the Israeli Mossad. The judiciarys Mizan Online website reported on Monday July 20; Mahmoud Mousavi Majds sentence was carried out on Monday morning over the charge of espionage so that the case of his betrayal to his country will be closed forever. His knowledge of Arabic and familiarity with Syrias geography made him close to Iranian military advisers and he took responsibilities in groups stationed from Idlib to Latakia. Last month, the judiciary said the translator who was arrested in 2018 had spied on former Revolutionary Guards commander Qasem Soleimani. The case was however not connected to Soleimanis killing in a U.S. drone strike near Baghdad airport in January. Judiciarys spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said he was found guilty of receiving large sums of money from both the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency and Israels Mossad to reveal information on adviser convoys, military equipment, and communication systems, commanders and their movements, important geographical areas, codes, and passwords. Iranian state television showed footage of what it said was one of Majds CIA handlers, saying the alarm was raised after the interception of communications between the two. It also showed Majd in an apparent confession video saying he had received coded messages and reportedly met his handlers with documents, including photos and identification documents of forces and commanders. The translator had migrated to Syria in the 1970s with his family and worked as an English and Arabic language translator at a company, Mizan said. When war broke out, he chose to stay in the country while his family left. An animal rights charity has shared shocking pictures of caged puppies destined for dog soup in South Korea as they urge people not take part in the tradition of eating the broth. The charity NoToDogMeat says that some in the country still maintain their tradition of eating boshintang, a soup that includes dog meat as its primary ingredient. The dogs used in the soup are typically found from dog farms, stray dogs or are people's own pets who are brutally tortured. NoToDogMeat is calling for a boycott on the practice and urge anyone taking part to think again. Days of Bok/Boknals, which mark the beginning, peak and the end of the dog-eating season according to the Chinese calendar, are traditionally in the summer when temperatures are at their hottest. Pictured: Three dogs in a cage, ready to be slaughtered for their meat in South Korea. Dog meat is sometimes eaten in a soup during the hotter months in the country Pictured: Two dogs trapped in a tiny cage before they were slaughtered for their meat in South Korea Pictured: Two large hounds stuffed into a narrow cage before being slaughtered for their meat in South Korea The dog-eating season is measured in days, called Boknals, which mark the beginning, middle and end of the practice The First Boknal fell on Sunday (19 July), the middle Boknal will fall on the 29 July and the Last Boknal will be on 8 August, this year. NoToDogMeat CEO Julia de Cadenet said: 'In previous years, our activists witnessed the horrors of Koreans feasting on dogs at the notorious Moran market.' 'Dogs often with collars on staring out with pleading eyes and revellers selected them for slaughter. 'In 2012 we launched a UK Government petition to close this vile market, and in 2017 the mayor of Seoul ordered the dismantling of cages in this market and several others followed suit.' Pictured: Puppies sit in a row of cages before being slaughtered for their meat in South Korea. The dog-meat eating season began on Sunday and will end on the 8 August It's unclear where the most-recent photographs of the caged dogs were taken. 'For us, it signalled a true beginning of change as soon other markets started to close. Of course, dogs are still sold, and gruesome farms and abuse continue, but we saw progress,' she added. Not every Korean still eats the soup and many see the practice as abhorrent and local activists regularly speak out, supported by NoToDogMeat. The charity works closely with grassroots activists CCGAON who braved the cold and protested the Pyeonchang Winter Olympics. The charity also supports CCGAON in investigating and closing illegally run dog farms, and their action to protect street cats from being boiled alive and turned into traditional medicines. Pictured: A dog stands chained to its cage in a South Korean market during the country's dog-eating season, which started on Sunday Pictured: A group of dogs lay in a cage in a Korean market during the country's dog-eating season, which began on Sunday Pictured: Dogs stand in cages in a South Korean dog market. Campaign group NoToDogMeat are demonstrating outside the South Korean Embassy in London this week to condemn the barbaric practice Protests containing their distinctive NoToDogMeat banners were also featured in Australian filmmakers movie 'The Dog Meat Professionals: South Korea'. Julia added: 'Although Korea has not followed China's recent move to tentatively declare dogs and cats as companion animals (so no longer livestock), there are many bye-laws in place that activists on the ground and internationally push to be enforced.' 'So why aren't these laws enforced? This is a question activists continue to raise to embassies and government officials, and right now in South Korea, there is a mass e-petition campaign.' NoToDogMeat are currently supporting, among others, Korean Charity Kara, which organised a drive through protest four days ago with an overwhelmingly positive response. Julia said her charity will be showing their support by taking to the streets on July 23 from two until five o'clock at the South Korean Embassy London followed by a walk to the House of Parliament before politicians break for summer recess. Former state Sen. Mike Folmer was sentenced to 1 to 2 years in prison Tuesday morning, less than a year after state investigators found child pornography on his personal cell phone. Lebanon County Senior Judge Joseph Madenspacher imposed that penalty after Folmer, 64, pleaded for leniency and said his religious faith is seeing him through his battle with addiction to pornography. Madenspacher also ordered the Lebanon County Republican, who pleaded guilty in the case, to serve 8 years on probation. Folmer also must register as a sex offender for 15 years. For more on this story check back with PennLive. BANGALORE, India, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The skincare industry has seen a shift from the demand of older consumers to an increasingly younger customer base. People are continuing to use skincare in a bid to postpone the signs of aging at an increasingly young age. The Global Skin Care Products Market generated revenue of USD 136,304 Million in 2016, and is expected to grow at a CAGR of 4.5% to reach USD 194,961 Million by 2024. Growing awareness about the benefits of using personal care items has resulted in increased demand over the past couple of years. This has also boosted the demand for natural and organic skincare products and has made it a major sector in the cosmetics and wellness industry. Get Free Sample: https://reports.valuates.com/request/sample/ALLI-Auto-1K123/Skin_care_products TRENDS INFLUENCING THE SKIN CARE PRODUCTS MARKET SIZE The major factors that are expected to drive the Global Skin Care Products Market size include shifts in lifestyle habits in developing countries due to rapid urbanization, increased awareness of advanced skincare products, and new product innovation The expanding e-commerce sector is expected to fuel the growth of Skin Care Products Market size. It is also expected that a change in consumer preference for natural and organic goods coupled with the growing use of environmentally friendly products would drive the growth of the Skin Care Products Market size. Organic product manufacturers spend more time, energy, and resources researching and developing natural products, which has led to green chemistry and green sector development. Another critical factor increasing the Skin Care Products Market size is the increased use of sunblock, anti-tan, and anti-aging creams. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/ALLI-Auto-1K123/skin-care-products SKIN CARE PRODUCTS MARKET SHARE Skin brightening creams segment possesses high market attractiveness, as this range contains products for men too. Anti-aging creams and sun care creams have high potential in Asia-Pacific due to an aging population growth relative to developed countries. Based on the region, Asia-Pacific generated the highest revenue in 2016. This dominance of Asia Pacific is due to the growing awareness about various skincare products and the increase in disposable income of the urban population. LAMEA is expected to witness the fastest growth during the forecast period. The increased awareness of advanced skincare products and increased spending on wellness is expected to drive the Skin Care Products Market size in this region. By Region North America Europe Asia Pacific LAMEA Inquire for Regional Report: https://reports.valuates.com/request/regional/ALLI-Auto-1K123/Skin_care_products TOP COMPANIES IN THE SKINCARE PRODUCTS MARKET The Skin Care Products Market is highly competitive, and large multinational companies dominate it. Nonetheless, numerous smaller companies have gained a share in this market over the past few years due to the growing consumer interest in natural beauty products, particularly in Europe and North America. Companies are continuing to sell customer-oriented products, focusing on producing environmentally sustainable goods made either locally or using ingredients obtained locally. The major international players-L'Oreal, Procter & Gamble, and Unilever-have developed expansion strategies to capture the skincare market in the continent. The key companies operating in the global skincare products market are Johnson & Johnson Private Limited The Estee Lauder Companies Inc. Unilever PLC Avon Products Inc. L'Oreal S.A. Kao Corporation Colgate-Palmolive Company Shiseido Company Beiersdorf AG Procter & Gamble Co. SKIN CARE PRODUCTS MARKET SEGMENTATION By Type Face Cream Skin Brightening Cream Anti-Aging Cream Sun Protection Body Lotion Mass Market Body Care Lotion Premium Body Care Lotion. Buy Now for Single User: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=ALLI-Auto-1K123&lic=single-user Buy Now for Enterprise User: https://reports.valuates.com/api/directpaytoken?rcode=ALLI-Auto-1K123&lic=enterprise-user SIMILAR REPORTS Skin Care Market Report The face skincare product segment accounted for the largest share of the skincare products market during 2017. These products include skin-brightening creams, anti-aging creams, face moisturizers, toners, cleansers, face masks, face scrubs, and sun protection creams. Additionally, the demand for natural and organic skincare products is high owning to an increased number of health-conscious customers across the globe. The Skin Care Market Report provides an in-depth analysis of the skincare products market with current and future trends to elucidate the imminent investment pockets. This report also analyzes the impact of COVID-19 on the Skin Care industry. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-0E273/skin-care Organic Skin Care Market Report The report offers an exhaustive geographical analysis of the global Organic Skin Care market, covering important regions, viz, North America, Europe, China, and Japan. The Global Organic Skin Care Market report includes a country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also provides market size and forecast by each application segment in terms of sales for the period 2015-2026. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-2Q315/organic-skin-care Cosmetic Skin Care Market Report The global Cosmetic Skin Care market size was valued at USD 128380 Million in 2020 is expected to reach USD 174790 Million by the end of 2026. Technological development in the manufacture of cosmetic products is expected to be a major driver for the growth of Cosmetic Skin Care Market size. In developing countries, economic growth has further increased the consumption of cosmetic goods, as customers have more disposable income. This factor is further expected to fuel the market growth during the forecast period. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-5P2178/global-cosmetic-skin-care Natural Skin Care Market Report This report studies the Natural Skin Care market size (value and volume) by players, regions, product types and end industries, history data 2014-2018, and forecast data 2019-2025. The Natural Skin Care Market report also studies the global market competition landscape, market drivers and trends, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, distributors, and Porter's Five Forces Analysis. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Othe-2C314/natural-skin-care Face Cream Market Report The Face Cream Market report includes a country-wise and region-wise market size for the period 2015-2026. It also includes market size and forecast by Type and application segment in terms of production capacity, price, and revenue for the period 2015-2026. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-38O1229/global-face-cream Body Lotion Market Report In 2019, the global Body Lotion market size was USD 13700 Million and it is expected to reach USD 17840 Million by the end of 2026. The Body Lotion Market report offers a comprehensive analysis and accurate statistics on revenue by the player for 2015-2020. It also offers detailed analysis supported by reliable statistics on sale and revenue by players for the period 2015-2020. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-36Q2413/global-body-lotion Anti-Aging Cosmetics Market Report The Anti-Aging Cosmetics Market size is driven mainly by the increasing aging population, growing demand for medical tourism for cosmetic procedures, and the customer demand for anti-aging products. View Full Report: https://reports.valuates.com/market-reports/QYRE-Auto-34A1912/global-anti-aging-cosmetics ABOUT US: Valuates offers in-depth market insights into various industries. Our extensive report repository is constantly updated to meet your changing industry analysis needs. Our team of market analysts can help you select the best report covering your industry. We understand your niche region-specific requirements and that's why we offer customization of reports. With our customization in place, you can request for any particular information from a report that meets your market analysis needs. To achieve a consistent view of the market, data is gathered from various primary and secondary sources, at each step, data triangulation methodologies are applied to reduce deviance and find a consistent view of the market. Each sample we share contains a detailed research methodology employed to generate the report. Please also reach out to our sales team to get the complete list of our data source. CONTACT US: Valuates Reports [email protected] For U.S. Toll-Free Call +1-(315)-215-3225 For IST Call +91-8040957137 WhatsApp : +91 9945648335 Website: https://reports.valuates.com Twitter - https://twitter.com/valuatesreports Linkedin - https://in.linkedin.com/company/valuatesreports Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/valuatesreports SOURCE Valuates Reports Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 16:16:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close Photo taken on July 21, 2020 shows a flooded road in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Heavy monsoon rains have wreaked havoc in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Tuesday with vehicles stranded on water-logged roads and people trapped at homes as many low-lying areas were inundated. (Xinhua) DHAKA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Heavy monsoon rains have wreaked havoc in Bangladesh capital Dhaka on Tuesday with vehicles stranded on water-logged roads and people trapped at homes as many low-lying areas were inundated. Roads, lanes and bylanes in parts of Dhaka went under ankle to knee-deep water, causing immense hardship to the commuters and millions of dwellers. The country's meteorological office said the heavy rainfall started Monday as "monsoon became extremely active" over the North Bay of Bengal. Aftab Uddin, a senior meteorologist of the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD), told Xinhua Tuesday they had recorded 87 mm rainfall in Dhaka in the last 24 hours till 6:00 a.m. local time Tuesday. "We've recorded another 22.6 mm rainfall in Dhaka merely in the last 6 hours until 12:00 p.m. in the afternoon (Tuesday)." Because of the serious water-logging problem, activities in the country's business district of Motijheel have been severely affected, with many office-goers, traders and workers falling behind their daily schedules. As always rickshaws emerged as a means of relief in many water-logged Dhaka areas. The main city areas appeared less crowded as people also preferred to stay indoors due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Bangladesh Water Development Board (BWDB)'s Flood Forecasting and Warning Center (FFWC) has said the rivers around Dhaka are rising which may likely continue in the next 72 hours. According to the daily disaster situation report by the country's National Disaster Response Coordination Center (NDRCC) under the Ministry of Disaster Management and Relief, floods in parts of Bangladesh have left 21 people dead, affected over 2.6 million people and displaced hundreds of thousands of families. Enditem Click here to read the full article. YouTube and Instagram star ZaZa isnt just known for her dancing on Ellen or the Disney Channel shes also a bona fide music artist with eight singles to her name and a new EP, Da Boss Baby, which she released in May (with the help of her father, songwriter and producer Nemo Achida). Her various music videos for songs like Thats A No No, Girls Run Everything, and What I Do? featured the five-year-old star rapping and dancing, often while wearing pink. For her FN cover shoot, ZaZa filmed a new video for her single Man Stop and its just as full of personality (and cuteness) as her other videos. More from Footwear News Maaaan, stop calling my phone, the five-year-old sings into a pink-hued, old-school telephone while on location for the photo shoot, near her Lexington, Kentucky home. Wearing a pink jumpsuit by kids clothing brand Hey Gang that is customized with splashes of paint plus a pair of lime-green sandals by Native, its clear that ZaZa is very comfortable as both music performer and fashion star. Im busy. Im BUSY! Im with Simmy, Im with Simmy. We go hard, we go silly! We some GOATs, we go billy, she continues, a lyric that is sure to go viral in its own wya. ZaZas two-year-old sister Simmy makes a guest appearance wearing a pair of yellow Dr. Martens Other scenes in the video show ZaZa posing for the camera wearing Versace sneakers while walking along a graffiti wall, and jumping on a trampoline in a pair of Nike Air Force 1s that her mother, stylist and designer Bamm, customized for her. At the end of the video, ZaZa offers some sage advice for everyone this summer: Im doing pretty good. Im working hard. Working it out, dancing But guys, todays really hot. Dont come outside today because you need a fan, you need water, thats the only thing. More proof that this kid really is wise beyond her years. Sign up for FN's Newsletter. For the latest news, follow us on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. Los Angeles, July 21 : The Christopher-directed Tenet has been yet delayed again, this time indefinitely amid the growing Covid-19 crisis. Warner Bros. have removed "Tenet" from their release calendar, indicating an indefinite delay, reports variety.com. "Tenet" was originally scheduled to release on July 17, but it was pushed back to July 31 and then August 12. It is unclear when the film will open now, but the studio expects to announce a new release date "imminently". "We will share a new 2020 release date imminently for 'Tenet', Christopher Nolan's wholly original and mind-blowing feature," said the chairman of the studio, Toby Emmerich. "Our goals throughout this process have been to ensure the highest odds of success for our films while also being ready to support our theatre partners with new content as soon as they could safely reopen," Emmerich added. It is being believed that the film might release overseas before it opens in the US. Several sources at the studio share that they will have to be flexible with plans to unveil "Tenet", suggesting the film won't have a traditional day-and-date release everywhere. "We are not treating 'Tenet' like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that," Emmerich said. TENET - TRAILER "Tenet", which stars Robert Pattinson and John David Washington, has been described as "an action epic evolving from the world of international espionage", and the second trailer came with hints of 'inversion' versus time travel as a part of survival. The latest trailer of the action thriller gives a glimpse into the mission that the protagonist secret agents, essayed by Pattinson and Washington, embark on, in a time-bending mission to prevent World War III. The support cast includes Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Kenneth Branagh, Michael Caine, Dimple Kapadia, Aaron Taylor-Johnson and Clemence Poesy. The film has been shot across seven countries -- India, the US, the UK, Denmark, Estonia, Italy, and Norway. Warner Bros. have also announced that "The Conjuring 3" has been postponed to June 4, 2021. -- Syndicated from IANS BEIJING (AP) Chinas latest coronavirus outbreak has spread to a second city in the northwestern region of Xinjiang. One of the 17 new cases reported on Monday was in the ancient Silk Road city of Kashgar, the regional government said on its official microblog. The remainder were in the regional capital of Urumqi, where all other cases have been reported since the outbreak that has now infected at least 47 people emerged earlier this month. Authorities in Urumqi have tried to prevent the spread by closing off communities and imposing travel restrictions. Xinjiang is a vast, thinly populated region of mountains and deserts and had seen little impact from the pandemic that emerged from the central Chinese city of Wuhan late last year and was largely contained within China in March. Another five new cases reported Monday by the National Health Commission were imported. China also said 5,370 people had been arrested for pandemic-related crimes between January and June. More than 40% were charged with fraud, the state prosecutors office announced on its official microblog. Another 15% were charged with obstruction of law enforcement, with others accused of producing and selling fake and shoddy goods, creating public disturbances, and transporting and selling endangered species. China has strengthened protection for wild animals following the emergence of the virus, which may have originated in bats before jumping to humans via an intermediary species such as the anteater-like pangolin. No specific figures were given for those accused of violating quarantine rules and travel restrictions, although there have been relatively few such cases reported in official media. Although faulted for allowing the virus to spread from Wuhan, Chinas government has been credited with imposing rigid and sometimes draconian measures to contain the outbreak, and people have overwhelmingly complied with orders to wear masks, display certificates of good health and maintain social distancing. Story continues In other developments in the Asia-Pacific region: A record surge of 40,425 reported cases of coronavirus in the past 24 hours took India's total to 1,118,043. The Health Ministry on Monday also reported another 681 deaths, taking total fatalities to 27,497. India has the third most cases and eighth most deaths in the world. A country of 1.4 billion people, India has been conducting nearly 10,000 tests per million population. More than 300,000 samples are being tested daily, according to the Indian Council of Medical Research, Indias top medical research body. With India's national lockdown largely lifted, local governments have been ordering focused lockdowns on high-risk areas where new outbreaks are surging. India has started human trials of an indigenously developed coronavirus vaccine at the countrys top hospital. The human trials of COVAXIN started Monday at All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi, hospital director Dr. Randeep Guleria said. He said it would take at least three months for researchers to gather the first set of data. The hospital is among 12 sites selected by the Indian Council for Medical Research to conduct phase 1 and phase 2 human trials of the vaccine. COVAXIN has been developed by Bharat Biotech, a pharmaceutical company based in the southern city of Hyderabad. At least half a dozen Indian companies are developing vaccines for the virus. Australias hard-hit Victoria state reported 275 more COVID-19 cases on Monday, a third daily figure that was below last Friday's peak. Victoria Premier Daniel Andrews said the impact of the lockdown on Australias second-largest city Melbourne should become apparent Wednesday, which is two weeks after the six-week shutdown began. It is a wicked enemy, it is unstable and until we bring some stability to this, I dont think well be able to talk about a trend, Andrews said. Victoria had conducted more than 1.3 million coronavirus tests among a population of 6.5 million, which represented one of the highest testing rates in the world, he said. South Korea has reported its smallest daily jump in local COVID-19 transmissions in two months as health authorities express cautious optimism that the outbreak is being brought under control. South Koreas Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on Monday still reported 26 newly confirmed cases of the coronavirus, including 22 that were tied to international arrivals. Vice Health Minister Kim Gang-lip said the four local cases were the first below 10 since May 19. He continued to plead for vigilance, encouraging people to avoid crowded places or even stay at home during the summer holiday period. Hong Kong reported 73 new coronavirus infections on Monday, 66 of which were locally transmitted, as the city grapples with a new outbreak. Of the locally transmitted infections, 27 were from unknown sources while the remaining 39 were linked to previously known clusters. Among the new patients was a doctor who visited an elderly care home. Hong Kongs health officials said tighter anti-virus measures may be required if the trend does not come down over the next few days. Hong Kong has reported a total of 1,958 coronavirus infections, with 12 deaths. Like many celebrities, Khloe Kardashian has urged her social media followers to practice social distancing and stay home amid the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Though shes continued to share messages of caution on her Instagram and Twitter accounts, the reality star recently called out people for not taking this crisis seriously, which prompted fans to clap right back. Khloe Kardashian | David Crotty/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images Khloe Kardashian slammed people for not taking the pandemic seriously On July 13, Kardashian took to Twitter to share her thoughts on California Governor, Gavin Newsom, shutting down the state again following a spike in coronavirus cases. In her tweet, the reality star slammed people for not taking social distancing guidelines seriously and urged everyone to work together to stop the spread of the virus. People are not taking #COVID19 seriously! Everyone please stay safe and together we can stop the spread. Thank you @GavinNewsom for trying to protect our state, sending you all my love and prayers! We will get through this, she wrote. People are not taking #COVID19 seriously! Everyone please stay safe and together we can stop the spread. Thank you @GavinNewsom for trying to protect our state sending you all my love and prayers! we will get through this Khloe (@khloekardashian) July 14, 2020 RELATED: Fans Slam Khloe Kardashian for Dressing True in Designer Swimsuit Despite her message of urgency, fans were quick to call out Kardashian for her post. In the comments section, Twitter users accused the reality star of contradicting herself, pointing out that shes been attending parties with friends and family amid the pandemic. How are you telling people to take it serious when you and your family are still going out on trips and throwing parties, one person tweeted. First of all, you think bc you live in Calabasas the rules do not apply to you but they do.. so next time before you tweet something, make sure your listening to what youre typing.. hope you had fun at your birthday party, another user penned. Some even brought up that none of the Kardashian siblings have been following social distancing guidelines as theyve all been hanging out with friends without taking the proper precautions. Miss maam go call your Sister directly and tell her that. [Have you] seen any of us in a pool with people running up on live? Or any of us keeping surprise events with pink themes?? Chile, someone else commented on Instagram. Khloe Kardashian previously clapped back at accusations her familys not social distancing Though Kardashian has yet to respond to the criticism surrounding her recent Twitter post, she previously slammed claims that shes not social distancing properly. In May, the Good American founder was met with backlash after she posted photos and videos of the KarJenner family attending a celebration for Scott Disicks 37th birthday on her Instagram story. RELATED: Khloe Kardashians Beliefs Prove She Shouldnt Be on KUWTK Anymore Stay safe! Stay smart, she captioned a photo of her daughter, True Thompson. Reminder, to keep gatherings small. 10 people maximum. Keep your distance. It didnt take long for fans to see the irony in Kardashians message as she was surrounded by several people in one spot that day. Soon, fans started to accuse the KUWTK star of flouting social distancing rules and not following her own advice. According to Us Weekly, one fan pointed out that Kardashian posted about social distancing but they are all attending the same party. This prompted the reality star to clap back at claims she and her family were not conducting themselves accordingly amid quarantine. They are all cousins, she wrote back. So we know how they have been quarantined and theres less than 10 people with us. Its literally what the governor states is perfectly OK to do in the state of CA. In response to another critical comment, Kardashian wrote, Not even trying to be rude. Drives me wild when people act as if they know. Of course we want to protect ourselves. Simply for the sake of our angels, not to mention our own health. But its human nature I guess. TDs and senators will be required to wear face coverings in Leinster House and the Convention Centre Dublin (CCD) where parliamentary sittings are being held. The new rule will also apply to Oireachtas staff, political employees and the media. In an email to TDs and senators, Ceann Comhairle Sean O Fearghail said wearing face coverings can play an important part in addressing the spread of the virus in indoor settings where it was not always possible to adhere to two-metre social distancing. "Therefore, I am strongly encouraging members to wear a face covering in shared spaces and circulation areas, where at all possible, with effect from Monday, July 20," he said. "I would also encourage members to wear face coverings in the chamber and in committee rooms, when not speaking or making a contribution. Members are requested to use their own face coverings but the facilities unit will have reusable and disposable masks available if required, he added. Mr O Fearghail said Leinster House was a shared workspace and it was in everyone's interest that those working there "adopt a consistent and safe approach" to returning to work during the Covid-19 pandemic. A miniature Australian shepherd got very excited on July 20 when one of his owners returned from a seven-month military deployment to the familys home in Uncasville, Connecticut. The video shows Brody the dog barking protectively when he sees his owner Cameron Andrade, who had been away for months while serving in the United States Navy. But after realizing the man was his owner, Brody began to run around in excitement, squirm around on his back, and wag his tail uncontrollably. April Andrade captured the video and shared it on Facebook with a caption that read: Brody tried to protect Mom and realized he wasnt a stranger at all but was his daddy! Credit: April Andrade via Storyful Bella Hadid is getting crafty during lockdown. On Tuesday, the supermodel revealed to her 31.8 million Instagram followers that she was building herself a swing, though it appears she's taking baby steps when it comes to mastering her DIY skills. 'Built a swing,' she captioned the post, before adding: 'She's not done but one day you'll get the final I promise.' DIY: Bella Hadid shows off her taut tummy as she gets crafty during lockdown by building herself a swing on Tuesday Bella, 23, showed off her taut tummy as she filmed herself grappling with a screwdriver while putting together the apparatus. The model then showed off the swing seat which she appears to have painted herself. Bella has been quarantining at her mother Yolanda Hadid's Pennsylvania farm, and it seems by the her post that she is loving having some downtime in her plush surroundings. Getting to drips with it: Bella, 23, showed off her DIY skills though admitted that the swing wasn't ready yet Filming herself: The model treated her fans to a DIY swing-making show How-to: Bella showed off her taut tummy as she filmed herself grappling with a screwdriver while putting together the apparatus Feeling crafty: Bella shows off her swing before she starts painting it Not done yet: Bella told fans in her post that they'll be able to see the finished product 'one day' Recently, the half-Palestinian, half-Dutch socialite documented her time at her mom's $4M 32-acre farmhouse, which included making cupcakes and spending quality time with her older sister Gigi Hadid, who is expecting her first child with Zayn Malik. Last week, Bella celebrated her pal Leah McCarthy's birthday's there, while staying careful to keep Gigi's baby bump 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. Gigi beamed with joy as she celebrated Leah's birthday alongside Bella, her brother Anwar Hadid and his girlfriend Dua Lipa. Creative: The model showed herself having fun picking colors for the swing End result: It appeared the model had gone for two vibrant options for the swing seat Getting back to nature: Bella is relaxing at her mother's farmhome in Pennsylvania The Ghana Immigration Service (GIS) has arrested five suspected Togolese in possession of Ghanaian voter identification cards and attempting to exit the country through an unapproved route. The five were arrested at the Aflao Sector Command, and have been identified as Dayo Yao, 33; Gatago Kudjo, 32; Quist Mawutor, 26; Desouza Theodor, 29; and Gatogo Kudjovi Lenene. A statement issued and signed by the Head of Public Affairs, Supt Michael Amoako-Atta, said the suspected foreigners were arrested by officers deployed to patrol the beach at Aflao, and were handed over to the Sector Commands headquarters for interrogation. Screening The statement said an initial screening of the five showed that they had indelible ink on their pinky fingers. They also admitted during interrogation that they were Togolese nationals who had registered for the new Ghana voters ID card at one of the registration centres in Aflao. However, with the exception of one of them who had in his possession the new Ghana voters ID card with number 2321010939 as well as Togolese voter ID card, the rest had no new voters ID card on them, the statement said. It said they had been referred to the port health officials for medical screening and would be handed over to the police after the screening for further action. Caution Meanwhile, the GIS said it was once again reminding all non-Ghanaians to desist from entering and leaving the country through unapproved routes. It said the act was an offence under the laws of Ghana to use any illegitimate means to enter or exit the country. The GIS also wishes to caution all foreign nationals not to get involved in the ongoing voters registration exercise in the country, it said. Highlights On Wednesday, July 1, 2020, officers of the GIS at the Pulimakom Border Post in the Upper East Region said they arrested a Togolese for attempting to acquire a Ghana voter identification card. On July 3, 2020, a Togolese national was reported to have been arrested at Woriyanga in the Upper East Region for attempting to acquire a voter ID card. On July 4, 2020, the Customs Division of the Ghana Revenue Authority (GRA) arrested 24 Nigerians for allegedly entering the country through unapproved routes. On July 9, 2020, a special operation team of the Ghana Armed Forces in the North East Region was reported to have arrested a Togolese national, one Duut Laabik, for attempting to register for the new voter ID card at Najong 1 in the Bunkpurugu Constituency. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video If there was any doubt left, US Secretary of Defence Mark Esper has put it to rest: the United States is paying attention once more in the Indo-Pacific, and it doesn't like what China is up to. In an address to the International Institute for Strategic Studies on Tuesday evening, Australian time, Esper delivered an Indo-Pacific-focused speech short on subtlety and replete with warnings to China to step back from its increasingly assertive stance with regard to India, Taiwan, Hong Kong and in the South China Sea. Mark Esper, US Secretary of Defence. Credit:Bloomberg He began with a laundry list of cooperation from maritime security partnerships with Indonesia, aircraft carrier visits to Vietnam, counter-terrorism cooperation with the Philippines, joint naval exercises with India, co-procuring vehicles with Thailand through to the old faithful partnerships with countries like Japan, South Korea and Australia. Pretty much every nation in the region with any sort of military, from Pakistan to Tonga to Mongolia, got a favourable mention. Hella Mewis runs arts programmes at the Bait Tarkib collective in the Iraqi capital. A German national has been kidnapped in central Baghdad, according to the Iraqi interior ministry. Hella Mewis has lived in the Iraqi capital for several years, where she worked on establishing the Bait Tarkib collective, which aims to promote the work of young local artists. She was abducted by unidentified attackers on Abu Nawas Street near the art collective at about 8pm on Monday, Ali al-Bayati, a member of the semi-official Iraqi High Commission for Human Rights, wrote on Twitter. Interior Minister Othman al-Ghanmi had directed security forces to intensify their efforts to find her, ministry spokesman Saad Maan told dpa news agency. A security source quoted by AFP news agency on the condition of anonymity said Mewis was riding her bicycle when two cars, one of them a white pick-up truck used by some security forces, were seen kidnapping her. Police officers at the local station witnessed the kidnapping but did not intervene, the source added. The German Foreign Office has not yet confirmed the kidnapping of Berlin-born Mewis, while the German embassy in Baghdad has not commented. A friend of Mewis told AFP she had been worried following the killing earlier this month of Husham al-Hashimi, a prominent Iraqi security analyst who had been supportive of anti-government protests that erupted last year when frustrated Iraqis took to the streets to decry rampant government corruption, unemployment and poor services. I spoke to her (Mewis) last week, and she was really involved in the protests too, so she was nervous after the assassination, said the friend Dhikra Sarsam. In May, a United Nations report said dozens of Iraqi protesters had disappeared during five months of anti-establishment demonstrations. The report did not name who might be behind the abductions, but pointed to the involvement of armed actors with substantial levels of organisation and access to resources. The past year has also seen a spike in abductions of foreigners. On New Years Eve, two French freelance journalists were taken hostage for 36 hours and three French NGO workers were held for two months. In both cases, neither the kidnappers nor the conditions of their releases were revealed. Kanpur: Uttar Pradesh Police arrested gangster Vikas Dubey's close aide and alleged financier Jay Vajpayee and brother-in-law Prashant Shukla aka Dablu. Vajpayee is accused of providing ammunition to Dubey gang members that was used in Bikru ambush on July 3, in which eight police personnel were killed. Both Vajpayee and Dablu have been booked under the Arms Act and criminal conspiracy under Section 120 B. Vajpayee, the Kanpur-based businessman, had amassed huge wealth over the years. He was known to be a key financier of Dubey and his gang members. The SSP said that during his house search more than 20 cartridges were found missing and Jai Bajpai could not explain the missing ammunition. In the investigation, it was found that Dubey and Vajpayee used to speak to each other at least 8-10 times daily. According to their call details, he was in constant touch with the gangster. He used to meet Dubey mostly at his Bikru village or at another flat in Kanpur. As per police sources, Vajpayee had celebrated the release of Dubey from a jail by carrying out air-firing, something which was opposed by the gangster's mother. Vajpayee used to deal in cash with Dubey. He used to arrange cash on 3-4 hours notice, used to arrange cash of up to Rs 5 lakh for Dubey. Apart from cash money, he also used to arrange cars for the gangster and his gang members. Jai Vajpayee is also believed to have invested money with Dubey in betting games too. Sources added that he worked as a conduit between Vikas Dubey and several IAS, IPS officers, ministers and legislators. Tanaiste Leo Varadkar has said the Green List of countries deemed safe for international travel should be ditched if people living in Ireland are advised against flying to destinations exempt from quarantine. Ahead of a Cabinet meeting this evening, Mr Varadkar issued a statement criticising mixed messages around the Governments plans to ease travel restrictions for countries with similar levels of Covid-19. The Tanaistes spokesperson said Mr Varadkar believes strongly that its wrong to send out mixed messages about international travel. Read More The Tanaiste believes there should be a Green List as was previously agreed by Government. But if the travel advice for countries on the Green List isnt different to advice for other countries, then we would be better off not having a green list at all, he added. Mr Varadkars intervention prompted Labour leader Alan Kelly to tell Micheal Martin in the Dail: Im beginning to wonder whos the Taoiseach." Taoiseach Micheal Martins spokesperson said he would not be commenting as the matter was up for discussion at Cabinet. The Cabinet is expected to agree on a list of around a dozen countries where passengers arriving in Ireland will be exempt from rules requiring them to quarantine for two weeks on arrival. However, the Government has said people living in Ireland will still be advised not to travel to these destinations. Under Mr Varadkars government it was proposed that so called air bridges be created between Ireland and countries designated safe for travel on the Green List. This would mean people living in Ireland could travel to and from these destinations without the need to quarantine for two weeks in either country. People travelling to countrys on the Green List will still be able to avoid self-isolating on their return. However, Mr Martin and Health Minister Stephen Donnelly are still eager to discourage people from making any nonessential journeys due a spike in the number of new cases in Ireland. In the Dail, Mr Kelly challenged the Taoiseach on why Covid-19 tests arent being carried out at airports when people arrive. Referring to Mr Varadkars statement he also said: "I'm beginning to wonder who's the Taoiseach. He said Mr Martin and other ministers have suggested a green list would be published this evening. Mr Kelly added that Mr Varadkar said that due to mixed messages he didnt see the point of a green list being published. So which is it? Is it what you say in here or is it what he says outside?, Mr Kelly said. Mr Martin responded saying the government will decide on the matter this evening. He said that the green list has previously been postponed. Mr Martin said the challenge is living with Covid-19 and getting the balance right and added: the government will decide on that. He said that the National Public Health Emergency Team (NPHET) is not in favour of systematic testing at airports as they feel it could do more damage than good. Mr Martin said from a lay-persons perspective it looks like an obvious measure but there are all sorts of implications and complications. He said there could be false positives or negatives and it could have a huge impact on the current testing and tracing operation which is deployed elsewhere at the moment. After more than 30 years without hearing the name, attorney Nick Gravante received an out-of-the-blue call in May 2019 from Roy Den Hollander - the lawyer now named by the FBI as a suspect in the shooting a New Jersey federal judges home that left her 20-year-old son dead and husband wounded. Den Hollander had an offer for Gravante, a partner at a New York law firm, to take over what he considered a landmark legal case from him. Hospital emergency rooms, hallways and even children's hospitals around the world flooded with coronavirus patients as the pandemic engulfed much of the world this year. But doctors at several hospitals scattered across the globe noticed that one ward of their facilities was conspicuously quiet: the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Usually busy with medical staff attending to tiny premature babies, doctors in Ireland, Denmark, the Netherlands, the US and Australia all noticed an unusual dip in the number of infants being born early. Now, two studies have quantified the lull in preemies born in the last several months. One Irish study found that about 75 percent fewer premature babies were born in 2020 than the previous year. During a month-long lockdown in Denmark, the number of premature babies born declined by nearly 90 percent, researchers there found. Both papers have yet to be reviewed for publication, but it's a trend noted by American doctors, too. Why some babies are born premature remains largely a medical mystery, and scientists hope that studying the unusual patterns seen during coronavirus lockdowns may shed light on whether being at home or other factors might have led to fewer early births. Doctors in both Ireland and Denmark noticed that their NICUs were unusually empty of very premature babies during lockdowns. Pre-peer-reviewed studies revealed the number of babies weighing 3.3lbs or less and born early fell by 75 to 90% in their countries The most striking difference between this year and previous ones, in the Irish study, for which a pre-print was posted to MedRxiv.org, was for very low birth-weight babies. These are infants born weighing 3.3lbs or less. For more than the past decade - from January 2001 to April 2019 - about 8.8 out of every 1,000 live babies born in Ireland were very premature. Between January and April of 2020, only 2.17 out of every 1,000 babies born were delivered early, according to the pre-review research, conducted by University Maternity Hospital Limerick. That rate was nearly four times lower than the typical number of premature infants born in the country. Researchers called it an 'unprecedented reduction' in the rate of premature or very premature births. Meanwhile, Danish doctors at Statens Serum Institut had noticed a similarly quiet NICU, and begun doing their own research to quantify the pattern. The rate of very premature birth in Denmark during the March and April lockdowns was a stunning 90 percent lower than the rate of 2.19 very premature births for every 1,000 babies born there for the past five years, a rate that's held stable, until now. Like the Irish study, the researchers noted that much of this decline was in babies born extremely early. Each research team offered a handful of possible explanations. Both suggested that with more people staying home, air quality has improve. Studies suggest that air pollution may be to blame for as much as 18 percent of premature births. Stress is also an often cited but difficult to pin down potential risk factor for premature birth. Although the pandemic itself has certainly been stressful, for pregnant women who were forced to stay home during lockdowns, the net effect of cutting out their commutes and workplace anxieties may have actually amounted to less stress. The prohibition of non-essential medical procedures and overall hesitancy to go to hospitals may also have cut down the number of women who were induced to deliver early because of high blood pressure or other complications that could wind up being mild or dangerous, depending on the pregnancy. It's not yet clear by any stretch of the imagination why these higher risk births have declined amid lockdowns, but the authors of both studies feel certain it's worth exploring. 'Our observations, if reflected in other countries that adopted COVID-19-prompted lockdown measures, would redefine the antecedents that trigger the yet poorly understood pathways leading to preterm births,' the Irish authors wrote. Stockholm, July 21 : Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg has said she will donate 100,000 euros ($114,000) to help tackle the spread of the coronavirus in the Amazon rainforest. Thunberg announced on Twitter on Monday that the funds will be given to SOS Amazonia, a campaign led by climate protest group Fridays For Future Brazil, the BBC reported. It will be the first donation to come from a $1.14 million windfall Thunberg received for being awarded the Gulbenkian Prize for Humanity. The Swedish teenager said she was "extremely honoured" to receive the award. All of the prize money would be "donated, through my foundation, to different organisations and projects who are working to help people on the front line, affected by the climate crisis and ecological crisis", Thunberg said. The activist's announcement comes after one of the best-known indigenous defenders of the Amazon rainforest died last month due to the coronavirus in Brazil, where the disease continues its rapid spread. Paulinho Paiakan, chief of the Kayapo people, as one of the most important indigenous voices during Brazil's return to democracy in the 1980s, and helped lead the campaign for the creation of large indigenous reserves in the Amazon, the BBC reported. Across Brazil's Amazon region, more than 280 indigenous people have died with coronavirus, according to the the Brazilian Indigenous Peoples' Association (Apib). There are special concerns about the outbreak in the area, where hospitals are underfunded and access to remote areas is difficult. Para, home to tens of thousands of indigenous people, has become one of the hardest-hit states in the country. Brazil currently accounts for the world's second highest number of COVID-19 cases and deaths at 2,118,646 and 80,120, respectively. Coronavirus-sceptic President Jair Bolsonaro tested positive for the virus for a second time last week. Part of the problem, and something prospective buyers need to realize, is that most of the reviews an agents ratings are based on were solicited by the agents themselves from clients they assume will give them high ratings. Agents with a handful of favorable reviews can also find their overall rating much higher than those belonging to busier agents who may have received dozens of 4.8s or 4.9s over the course of their career. On Facebook, 39 percent of 5.0 agent ratings were based on three reviews or less. For Yelp, it was 46 percent; for Realtor.com, 36 percent. Only 11 percent of Zillow agents with a 5.0 rating had three or fewer customer reviews. Consumers looking at reviews of an agent should particularly note whether the reviews mention the agent by name, the report explains. For some agents, the listing of reviews includes those for all agents in the firm. When the agent is the senior and managing broker, these reviews can be informative. Yet, when the agent is only a sales representative, the reviews reveal more about the firm than the agent. Because it removes agents from the review collecting process, Zillows reviews are considered by the report to be the most trustworthy. Reviewers must register with Zillow prior to leaving reviews and are asked to provide information about the sale of their properties that will then be confirmed. Zillow is also vigilant about removing reviews that appear suspicious or involve conflicts of interest, like reviews from family members or work colleagues. The report shares an illuminating example in which it compares the reviews received by a Seattle agent on the agents own site and on Zillow. On Zillow, the almost 100 reviews displayed differences in length, content and level of criticism. The agents website, on the other hand, included only 39 customer reviews. These were shorter, contained no criticism, and were loaded with suspiciously similar phrasing: The first words in these reviews, often their own sentence, included excellent (8 times), exemplary (2 times), top notch (2 times), exceptional, incredible, superb, outstanding, and fabulous, says the report. Consumers should be aware that almost all online reviews are generated by the agents themselves, who encourage former clients to write them, Brobeck said in an email to Mortgage Professional America. Despite this bias, a large number of detailed reviews provide much insight into how an agent works with their customers. GLENDALE, Calif., July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Through the SBA Paycheck Protection Program (PPP), California Credit Union (CCU) has provided 546 small businesses with loans totaling more than $53.4 million. These PPP loans are estimated to have helped save or restore approximately 5,500 jobs across Southern California. CCU has a 100% approval rate for its eligible SBA loan applications, which largely supported businesses averaging between 10 12 employees. "Small local businesses are the backbone of our economy, and the SBA program has been an absolute lifeline to help these businesses survive the pandemic. When the program launched, our team immediately jumped into action, working seven days a week to help them access these funds, which in many cases were the only option to keep their doors open, the lights on, and staff on payroll," said CCU President/CEO Steve O'Connell. "To meet demand, we redeployed and trained staff from other credit union areas, who have worked around the clock to assist members and submit applications. We continue to receive letters and emails from local businesses thanking us for our help, which show us the real impact this program is having in supporting the financial health of our communities." Since the program became available, the credit union has reached out to its business members to offer support and ensure they were aware of the loans. O'Connell said, "As a preferred SBA lender, we've been committed to serving businesses in our communities since 2008 with our business banking services. We are fortunate to have the business banking expertise and infrastructure in place to rally our resources, move quickly to make the application live as soon as it was launched, and help our business members access the program in both rounds." In talking about the PPP loan process, The Los Angeles Trust for Children's Health, Los Angeles, Executive Director Maryjane Puffer said, "California Credit Union has been an incredible partner. Not only did they guide us through a successful PPP application, they sponsored the purchase of IT equipment so our staff could operate virtually. Because of this incredible partnership, The L.A. Trust was able to maintain operations through June and keep our student programs running. Throughout this time, The L.A. Trust has maintained connections and health campaigns through 60 student advisory board members, hosted an online Wellness Center Learning Collaborative, distributed more than 50,0000 toothbrushes at LAUSD Grab & Go Food Centers, and conducted our online Oral Health Advisory Board convene." Fresh Corn Grill Restaurant President Josh Kleinberg said, "With unpredictable health concerns for our employees and customers, and sales falling to 25%, we closed our restaurant for almost two months. Even with uncertain sales, this loan meant that we could re-open the restaurant and keep our team employed. California Credit Union made it amazingly easy for us to get the PPP loan and receive funds within two weeks. That's magic!" O'Connell noted, "We know this was the first step in a long process. With these funds, businesses and jobs have been saved, which is absolutely critical to helping our local communities successfully come out of this pandemic. We are now working closely with businesses to help them take the right steps so the loans are forgiven." In addition to the SBA program, CCU continues to provide a variety of programs to help consumer members facing financial difficulties related to the pandemic. Relief and assistance options include consumer loan and credit card payment deferrals, home loan assistance, penalty-free certificate withdrawals, and special COVID-Relief low rate emergency loans. More information about these programs can be found on the credit union's website. About California Credit Union California Credit Union is a federally insured, state chartered credit union founded in 1933 that serves public or private school employees, community members and businesses across California. With more than 165,000 members and assets of $3 billion, California Credit Union has 25 branches throughout Los Angeles, Orange and San Diego counties. The credit union operates in San Diego County as North Island Credit Union, a division of California Credit Union. California Credit Union offers a full suite of consumer, business and investment products and services, including comprehensive consumer checking and loan options, personalized financial planning, business banking, and leading-edge online and mobile banking. Visit ccu.com for more information, or follow the credit union on Instagram or Facebook @CaliforniaCreditUnion. SOURCE California Credit Union Related Links http://www.ccu.com Over 2,300 employees will lose their jobs even as IndiGo continues to fly a small percentage of its full fleet of 250 airplanes in view of the coronavirus pandemic New Delhi: IndiGo has decided to lay off 10 percent of its workforce due to the economic crisis caused by the coronavirus pandemic, its CEO Ronojoy Dutta said on Monday. "From where things stand currently, it is impossible for our company to fly through this economic storm without making some sacrifices in order to sustain our business operations," Dutta said in a statement. "Therefore, after carefully assessing and reviewing all possible scenarios, it is clear that we will need to bid a painful adieu to 10 percent of our workforce. It is for the first time in the history of IndiGo that we have undertaken such a painful measure," he added. As on 31 March, 2019, the airline had 23,531 employees on its payroll. Dutta said on Monday the "impacted employees" will be given "notice pay", calculated on the basis of gross salary, in lieu of serving notice applicable to them. In addition to the notice pay, they will be paid a severance pay which will be calculated as one month of CTC (cost to company) for every completed year of service, subject to a maximum of 12 months, he said in the statement. This means that if an employee has been working with IndiGo for six years, he or she will be getting an amount equivalent to six months'' gross salary (CTC) as a severance payment. However, those who have worked for 12 years or more with the company will get a fixed amount equivalent to one year's gross salary (CTC) as severance payment. "At a minimum, an impacted employee will receive at least 3 months' gross salary, including both the above payments. Those with higher tenure with the company will receive more as per the above calculation method," he explained. The aviation sector has been significantly impacted due to the travel restrictions imposed in India and other countries in view of the coronavirus pandemic. All airlines in India have taken cost-cutting measures such as pay cuts, leave-without-pay and lay-offs in order to conserve cash. Dutta said annual bonus and performance-linked incentive will be paid to the impacted employees whenever the airline decides to make this payment to the rest of the employees during this financial year. "Medical insurance coverage for impacted employees will be extended until December 2020. There shall also be a provision to continue with the policy post December 2020 as per applicable market rates," he added. Moreover, if the impacted employees need to travel back to their hometown, IndiGo will assist them with a one-way confirmed air ticket, he said. India resumed domestic passenger flights from 25 May after a gap of two months due to the coronavirus pandemic. However, the airlines have been allowed to operate only a maximum of 45 percent of their pre-COVID domestic flights. Occupancy rate in Indian domestic flights has been around just 50-60 percent since 25 May. Scheduled international passenger flights continue to remain suspended in India since 23 March. IndiGo is flying only a small percentage of its full fleet of 250 airplanes, Dutta said in the Monday statement. "Right at the start of this crisis, IndiGo understood the gravity of the situation. For us, it was critical to minimise the impact of the pandemic on our employees and in fact IndiGo was one of the few airlines globally which paid full salaries for the month of March and April 2020, despite the disruption in business," he said. Subsequently, IndiGo did undertake a number of measures such as pay cuts, leave-without-pay and various other costs but these cost savings are clearly not enough to offset the decline in revenues, he said. The National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has introduced in the Class 12 Political Science textbook, the abrogation of Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir and has replaced the topic 'Separatism and beyond' with '2002 and Beyond'. The changes are reflected in the chapter 'Regional Aspirations'covered in the textbook 'Politics in India since Independence.' Chapters on separatism replaced with those on J&K coalitions On August 5, 2019, the Parliament approved the abrogation of special status to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 of the Constitution. The state was bifurcated into two Union territories Ladakh with no Legislative Assembly and Jammu and Kashmir with one. The new section titled '2002 and Beyond' says, During the tenure of Mehbooba Mufti, major acts of terrorism, mounting external and internal tensions were witnessed. The Presidents rule was imposed in June 2018 after BJP withdrew its support to the Mufti government. On 5 August 2019, Article 370 was abolished by the Jammu & Kashmir Reorganisation Act 2019 and the state was constituted into two Union Territories, viz., Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh." The new chapter '2002 and Beyond' replaces 'Separatism and Beyond, and talks about the coalition agreement, and abrogation of Article 370. As per the coalition agreement, Mufti Mohammed headed the government for the first three years succeeded by Ghulam Nabi Azad. of the Indian National Congress who however could not complete the term as president rule was imposed in the state in July 2008, the chapter read. The next election was held in November-December 2008, it said and added, Another coalition government (composed of NC and INC) came into power headed by Omar Abdullah in 2009. However, the state continued to witness disturbances led by the Hurriyat Conference. In 2014, the state went into another election, which recorded the highest voters turnout in 25 years. Consequently, a coalition government led by Mufti Mohammed Sayeed of the PDP came into power with the BJP as its partner, the chapter says and adds: After Mufti Mohammed Sayeed died, his daughter Mahbooba Mufti became the first woman Chief Minister of the state in April 2016. The section, further, defined her tenure as violent. 'In Spite of its Violence': Opening lines stress on Article 370 The chapter on Jammu and Kashmir, discussing the problem of violence in the region starts with, As you have studied in the previous year, Jammu and Kashmir had a special status under Article 370 of the Indian Constitution. However, in spite of it, Jammu and Kashmir experienced violence, cross border terrorism and political instability with internal and external ramifications." It adds: "It also resulted in the loss of many lives including that of innocent civilians, security personnel and militants. Besides, there was also a large scale displacement of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir valley." Previously, the chapter's text detailed the region's history without attributing the violence to Article 370. You may have heard about the violence in Jammu and Kashmir (J&K). This has resulted in the loss of many lives and the displacement of many families. The Kashmir issue is always seen as a major issue between India and Pakistan. But the political situation in the State has many dimensions, it had said. 'UNO recommended plebiscite in 1948' Another change talks about the Kashmir issue being taken to the United Nations Organization (UNO). It reads, The issue was taken to the Union Nations Organization, which in its resolution dated 21 April 1948 recommended a three-step process to resolve the issue. Firstly, Pakistan had to withdraw its entire nationalities, who entered into Kashmir. Secondly, India needed to progressively reduce its forces so as to maintain law and order. Thirdly, a plebiscite was to be conducted in a free and impartial manner. However, no progress could be achieved under this resolution. New Version Removes the Term 'Kashmiri Identity' Further study and comparison of old and new versions of the textbook showed that while defining Jammu and Kashmirs three social and political regions Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, the new chapter drops the line The heart of the Kashmir region is the Kashmir Valley. The changes reflected are: The Jammu region is a mix of foothills and plains. It is predominantly inhabited by the Hindus. Muslims, Sikhs and people of other denominations also reside in this region. The new version said, The Kashmir region mainly comprises the Kashmir valley. It is inhabited mostly by Kashmiri Muslims with the remaining being Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists and others. The Ladakh region is mainly mountainous. It has very little population which is almost equally divided between Buddhists and Muslims. Both versions of the political science textbook define Kashmiriyat, however, while doing so the new version has removed the term Kashmiri identity, which was used in the older version. The Kashmir issue is not just a dispute between India and Pakistan. This issue has external and internal dimensions. It involves the issue of Kashmiri identity known as Kashmiriyat and the aspirations of the people of J&K for political autonomy, the previous version had read. As per the changes, Kashmiriyat is discussed in the section Roots of the Problem as The Pakistani leaders thought that Kashmir region belonged to Pakistan since the majority population of the State was Muslim. But this is not how the people of the state themselves saw it they thought of themselves as Kashmiris above all. This issue of regional aspiration is known as Kashmiriyat. The new version of the textbook talks about pluralism: Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh are living examples of plural society in India. Not only are there diversities of all kinds (religious, cultural, linguistic, ethnic and tribal) but there are also divergent political and developmental aspirations, which have been sought to be achieved by the latest Act. FILE PHOTO: A handout satellite image shows a view of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam and the Blue Nile River in Ethiopia ADDIS ABABA (Reuters) - Ethiopia, Egypt and Sudan have agreed to resume talks to break a deadlock on the Grand Renaissance Dam reservoir on the Blue Nile, the leaders of the three countries said on Tuesday. The announcements made separately by Ethiopian leader Abiy Ahmed, Sudan's Abdalla Hamdok and Egypt's presidency, followed a virtual mini-African Union summit that was called after they failed to reach an agreement earlier this month. "The extraordinary meeting... concluded with all parties reaching a major common understanding which paves the way for a breakthrough agreement," Abiy's office said in a statement which was posted on Twitter. South Africa's President Cyril Ramaphosa, who chaired Tuesday's online meeting of the AU, confirmed there would be further negotiations. "The trilateral negotiations remain on track," Ramaphosa wrote on Twitter. Sudan and Egypt both fear the $4 billion hydroelectric dam could lead to water shortages in their own countries. The project has raised concerns in Egypt that already limited Nile waters will be further restricted. The Blue Nile is a tributary of the Nile from which Egypt gets 90% of its fresh water. "It was agreed, at the conclusion of the summit, to continue negotiations and focus for the time being on giving priority to developing a binding legal agreement on the rules for filling and operating the Renaissance Dam," a statement issued by the Egyptian presidency said. Ethiopia, which says it needs the dam to generate electricity for its people, has already achieved the first year of filling its dam due to the rainfall season in the area, the statement from Abiy's office said. "The dam under construction is already overtopping," it said, adding that Ethiopia was committed to a "balanced and win-win" negotiation that ascertains that the river will benefit all the three countries involved. (Reporting by Dawit Endeshaw, Khalid Abdelaziz, Nadine Awadalla, Ahmed Tolba and Mahmoud Mourad; Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Emelia Sithole-Matarise) Matthew and Jessica Checketts had reason to think all was well as they welcomed their sixth child into the world. The births of their five other kids had gone smoothly. Several were delivered at home. But an undiagnosed breach birth caused their newborn, Elaine, to suffer a severe loss of oxygen. EMS resuscitated her at the Checketts home in northwest San Antonio, but two days later the baby died. She passed away in my wifes arms, which was one of the most bittersweet moments of our lives, but we truly feel that we were blessed and we thank God for the short time we had her here on this earth, Matthew Checketts said. We trust that shes serving a greater purpose elsewhere, and we believe and we look forward to someday being with her again. This might have been the conclusion of one familys tragedy, but an oddity in military leave policy threatened to complicate an already distressing situation: Checketts, an Air Force officer, could not use his parental leave to deal with its aftermath. Defense Department policy allowed him to be present at the childs birth and deal with the medical emergency. But such leaves end with a childs death. After that, service members are required to return to work. Maj. Matthew Checketts would have been forced to return to his job as a dentist at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland if not for his commander, who gave him the time off he needed. A bill co-sponsored by U.S. Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Tammy Duckworth, D-Illinois, would rewrite that rule, ensuring military parents can take leave when a child dies. The Elaine M. Checketts Military Families Act is named for the daughter the San Antonio family lost last year. We ask our military to do so much for this nation, but returning to work the day after their child passes should have never been on that list, Cornyn said in a prepared statement. A similar bipartisan measure in the House, HR 7101, is co-sponsored by Rep. Will Hurd, a San Antonio Republican, and Rep. Susan Davis, a Democrat from San Diego, Calif.. The tragic loss of a child creates an immeasurable amount of pain for families, and, just like any other American family, our men and women in uniform should have the time to grieve, Hurd said. Elaine Checketts was born Nov. 3. Her death two days later, and the realization that the Pentagon policy wouldnt allow leave for her father, brought a rallying of friends, coworkers and commanders at Lackland who rushed to help the family. An Air Force mortuary affairs officer, Jeri Martin, was involved even before the baby died. The family wanted to take Elaine to Arizona, where Matthew Checketts grew up, for burial. That required dealing with funeral homes in San Antonio and Arizona, and travel plans for the family of seven. Most of their contact, over the phone, revealed how deeply the Checketts were grieving. The loss of a child is very difficult, said Martin, who at 59 has spent more than 22 years in mortuary affairs. I can just say as a parent, the thought of losing a child I cant even fathom what theyre going through. A nine-year Air Force veteran, the Utah-born Checketts is a devout Mormon and strong in his faith, but its unusual for career military service members to talk with news media about such a loss or become high-profile supporters of bills drafted in Congress. He has carefully navigated this path, asking that the coverage not identify his kids. I remember reading the policy. The policy says that eligibility for the leave itself terminates upon the death of the child. I never thought that that clause within the policy would apply to me or my family, but two days after my daughter was born, when she passed away, I began not immediately but shortly after, I began to worry, Checketts said. Part of his willingness to go public with his experience stems from the backing of his leadership. Checketts said he was fortunate to have the kindness and understanding of my commander, who didnt run quite by the book. It might have been handled differently by someone else. On ExpressNews.com: San Antonio said to likely avoid looming cuts to military medicine Theres also the way that he and his wife have dealt with their loss. Rather than walling themselves off from their grief, they embrace it. As painful as it can be, they find comfort in it, Checketts said. My wife will sob in my arms to sleep at night sometime. I will sob sometimes, he said. We recognize our grief as an indicator of our love for our daughter that we have. A leader in my church once said, To take the grief out of death would be to take the love out of life. So we dont hesitate to share our daughters story with anyone. The three weeks Checketts had away from the office following Elaines death gave them time to mourn. Working with Martin, they arranged services and the viewing, chose a casket and planned the flight to Arizona. He and Jessica, who was only beginning to heal from the birth, could spend time with their boys, who had looked forward to having a baby sister. Emotionally, I needed to gather my thoughts, Checketts said. Checketts thinks it is a bad analogy, and hesitated to use it, but ultimately likened the grief he felt to an infection that needs an escape for the patient to get better. I think its healthy to be able to get those things out, he said. And so during those three weeks, I was able to get it out, I was able to talk to family, to talk to friends, to talk to supervisors, talk to the first sergeant and anyone who would listen to me and work through some of my grief without the added stress of being at work and being expected to carry on with my normal duties each day. Who wants me to be there at that time? I would be likely very distracted. 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 Fans arent convinced Kim Kardashian West loves Kanye West. Since the beginning of his career in the early 2000s, the rapper has been known for his outspoken personality. In the beginning, he advocated for Black Americans and spoke up often about the injustices that he faced as a Black man living in America. In recent years, Wests focus has shifted. Hes narrowed in on his personal success, amassing a billion-dollar net worth while aligning himself with President Donald Trump and often attacking historical Black figures. Recently, West also announced that he would be running for president. West, who has been open about his mental health, including his bipolar disorder diagnosis, recently had his first presidential rally in South Carolina. It was a disastrous affair that left West in tears and with many fans concerned for his mental and emotional well-being. Fans are incredibly horrified that his wife, Kim Kardashian West, and her family are enabling West and not guiding him to seek the help that he may need. In fact, some fans are convinced the KKW Beauty mogul doesnt love her husband at all. RELATED: Kim Kardashian Taking a Selfie While Kanye West Eats KFC Is the Best Thing on the Internet Kanye Wests emotional outburst at his recent Presidential rally Fans are furious and concerned with the College Dropout rapper for his outburst about Harriet Tubman at his rally in South Carolina. West exclaimed, Harriet Tubman never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people. Later, he got increasingly emotional speaking about abortion before bursting out in tears. The crowd has to console the Yezzy creator because he could barely speak. Wests appearance in South Carolina was in an attempt that he would get enough signatures to appear on the state ballot. Just a couple of weeks ago, the rapper announced that he would be running, but since the election is just four months away, it seemed like an absurd idea. @KimKardashian hes screaming for help!!! Why is not one in your family or his family seen it!!! Omg! Mental health is real!! Julia Gomez (@Julia_gomez101) July 19, 2020 RELATED: Kanye West Addresses Double Standard in Monetizing His Sunday Service Concerts Fans are concerned about Kanye Wests mental health West appeared at his presidential rally wearing a bulletproof vest with the word security written on it. Hw also had the number 2020 shaved into his head. Aside from his abortion outburst, West only spoke about is partnerships with Adidas and Gap. Nothing about policy was discussed. Harriet Tubman did not live through hell to become the first woman to lead a U.S military expedition just to be disrespected by a man who thinks khaki beige is an acceptable fashion decision, one person tweeted. In early July 2020, TMZ reported that the KarJenner family is very concerned about Wests mental health. They are reporting that West is the middle of a bipolar episode. His family and those close to him are worried, but they believe things will stabilize as they have in the past, the source said. The problem here, were told Kanyes proclamations are causing problems. RELATED: Kim Kardashian West Has an Insane Plan to Save Her Marriage to Kanye West, Source Says Fans dont believe Kim Kardashian West loves Kanye West Fans do not believe that the Skims founder truly loves her husband since shes continued to enable him. @KimKardashian hes screaming for help!!! Why is not one in your family or his family seen it!! Omg! Mental health is real! one person wrote on Twitter. This is truly disturbing. @KimKardashian help your man. Something is WRONG, someone else sais. @KrisJenner @KimKardashian @kanyewest SOMEONE COME GET KANYE AND TAKE HIM HOME, a third person wrote. Kim please get your hubby @kanyewest some meds and get him all the way together. Forget the skims and whatever else you have going, go help him with his mental state. This aint no joke. His South Carolina rally was clear than night & day that he needs his meds. People walked out, yet another fan said. Real Housewives of Potomac star Candiace Dillard added her two cents questioning Kardashian Wests feelings for her husband. She hopped on Instagram and said, Washington: Hackers working with the Chinese government targeted firms developing vaccines for the coronavirus and stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property and trade secrets from companies across the world, the Justice Department has announced. An indictment, coming as US officials have escalated their warnings about foreign government efforts to steal American innovation, says the hackers in recent months had researched vulnerabilities in the computer networks of companies publicly known for their work in developing vaccines and treatments. An American flag flies outside the Department of Justice in Washington DC. Credit:AP It is the latest in a series of aggressive Trump administration actions targeting China, and comes as President Donald Trump, his re-election prospects damaged by the coronavirus outbreak, has blamed China for the pandemic. The indictment includes charges of trade secret theft and wire fraud conspiracy against the hackers, who federal prosecutors say stole information not only for their personal profit but also that they knew would be of interest and value to the Chinese government. TDT | Manama The Ministry of Health has launched a competition to design the logo of the Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa Award for Bahraini Doctor, which will be presented during the celebration of Bahrain Doctors Day. His Royal Highness the Prime Minister Prince Khalifa bin Salman Al Khalifa had called for adopting Bahrain Doctors Day in November and for presenting an award to a distinguished Bahraini physician. The competition is open to individuals, institutions, companies and specialised offices, the ministry said. The logo, to be designed by the participant, must reflect the significance and noble purpose of the event, express the Bahraini identity, and be genuine, not similar to or adapted from, other logos. The design should be easy and not complex, feature the name of the event in clear letters in both Arabic and English, and be easy to print and use for paintings, prints, awards and souvenirs. The colours should be clear, harmonious and of high quality. Participants have to provide a brief explanation of the design symbols and significance, the ministry said. Participants may submit more than one entry and the winner is obliged to implement any changes or additions required thereafter. The entries will be evaluated by a committee of experts and specialists who will choose the winning design, which will be formally approved for use in all events, activities and publications related to Bahrain Doctors Day. The winner will be awarded a BD1,000 prize. View live politics updates ChevronRight 1. What are the proposals? They can be divided into six categories. Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee to challenge Trump in November, subscribes to four of them: Story continues below advertisement RAISE TAX RATES ON INCOME for the biggest earners. Biden would restore the top rate to 39.6%, its level before the 2017 Republican tax cuts became law. At the extreme, New York Representative Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has floated taxing income above $10 million at 70%, up from the current top 37% tax rate that kicks in above $500,000. Advertisement TAX MORE INHERITANCES. Biden would end a provision that allows people to pass capital gains to heirs without tax after death. Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, in his unsuccessful campaign against Biden for the Democratic nomination, proposed expanding the estate tax so it covers holdings left at death by the wealthiest 0.2% of Americans, applying a rate of as much as 77% on the value of estates above $1 billion. TAX CAPITAL GAINS like ordinary income. Investors are taxed on the difference between what they paid for a stock or property and what they sold it for. The federal rate in the U.S. currently tops out at 20%, well below the top marginal rate of 37% on wages and salaries. Biden would tax capital gains the same as regular income for taxpayers earning more than $1 million annually. Story continues below advertisement KILL TAX BREAKS. Biden has called for ending so-called like-kind exchanges, a tax maneuver popular among real-estate investors, to finance his plan to expand care for children and the elderly. Advertisement 2. What do Democrats other than Biden propose? Taxing wealth in addition to income, for one. Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren, whose unsuccessful campaign for the presidential nomination drove much of the discussion about taxing the rich, proposed a 2% annual tax on household wealth in excess of $50 million, rising to 6% on every dollar above $1 billion. Sanders proposed a 1% tax on households worth at least $32 million that graduates to an 8% levy on wealth above $10 billion. Also unlike Biden, Warren and Sanders proposed taxing financial trades. Sanders proposed a tax of 0.5% on stock trades, 0.1% on bond trades and 0.005% on derivatives transactions. Warren was among the other candidates who called for a 0.1% tax on all financial trades. Story continues below advertisement 3. Who would be hit? Primarily the richest of the rich -- only a fraction of the top 1% of households, in the case of some of these proposals. The wealth tax proposed by Warren, for instance, would hit the wealthiest 75,000 households, while a 70% top rate as proposed by Ocasio-Cortez would hit the top 0.01% of earners, according to IRS data. Bidens increases to income taxes affect those earning above $400,000. His higher capital gains rates kick in after $1 million in income. Financial transactions taxes would fall most heavily on high-frequency traders, while annual taxes on derivatives, a proposal known as mark to market, would hit investors, including hedge funds, but some plans limit the tax hit for pension funds, insurance contracts and college endowments. Advertisement 4. How much would such taxes raise? Story continues below advertisement Bidens campaign says his tax package would raise about $4 trillion over 10 years. 5. What would wealth taxes do for inequality? Thats hotly debated. Targeting what people have, rather than what they earn, is generally seen as a more potent way to redistribute wealth, because wealth inequality is greater than income inequality. Some new research also suggests that raising tax rates wouldnt reduce inequality much, because much of the wealth among the richest Americans stems from private business profit taxed at lower rates and from assets that have grown in value but go un-taxed until they are sold. 6. Whats the argument for raising taxes on the rich? Story continues below advertisement Democrats argue -- and polling suggests an increasing number of voters agree -- that the government should use the tax code to redistribute wealth downward. Since the Republican tax cuts passed in 2017 gave the highest income taxpayers a larger proportion of reductions, they say the first order of business is to reverse that trend. They also favor increasing overall tax revenues to pay for an ambitious agenda on health care, higher education and action to limit climate change. Advertisement 7. What do opponents say? Bidens plan would decrease gross domestic product over the long term, raising only $3.2 trillion after accounting for macroeconmic effects. More broadly, they say, high taxes on income and on accumulated wealth would discourage innovation and investment. They also argue wealth tax would be an administrative nightmare, requiring taxpayers or the IRS to calculate annually the value of assets, including real estate and investments in private businesses that are notoriously hard to assess. Other critics say that taxes on financial trades would make capital more expensive for companies, meaning theyd raise less of it. Such a tax could also reduce liquidity in markets, opponents say. Story continues below advertisement 8. Is this a U.S.-only thing? Many European nations have experimented with a wealth tax of some form, with support ebbing and flowing throughout the decades. Thomas Pikettys 2014 book Capital in the Twenty-First Century re-invigorated the debate particularly in European countries with high debt loads, which have eyed wealth taxes as ways to replenish their treasuries. Spain effectively abolished its wealth tax in 2008 but brought it back in 2011. French President Emmanuel Macrons 2017 decision to exempt financial holdings from a longstanding wealth tax contributed to the anger that set off the so-called Yellow Vest protests a year later. Neither Germany nor the U.K. has a wealth tax, but theres been debate within both countries about creating one. In Asia, where inequality has been rising especially rapidly, some countries that arent strapped for cash have considered increases in taxes on large property holdings as a way of putting a lid on inequality. Chinas push to cut taxes for its middle class has led to expectations that the government will squeeze more from its growing ranks of affluent households. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2020 Bloomberg L.P. 21.07.2020 LISTEN The Coronavirus Pandemic continues to evolve around the globe. It keeps on claiming thousands of lives and infecting tens of thousands Worldwide. The commander in chief of Ghana Armed Forces and the first gentleman of the Republic of Ghana,His Excellency Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo, through the Ahafo Regional Minister, Hon. Evans Opoku Bobie (MP) and the entire Regional Coordinating Council have donated millions of Ghana cedis and personal protective equipment to the Ahafo Regional Health Directorate. It is an undeniable fact that doctors, nurses and other health professionals are key players who are working tirelessly in the fight against the Covid 19 pandemic. Hon. Evans Opoku Bobie (MP) disclosed to the media that, on behalf of the President Akufo-Addo and the Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council, hereby, donate twelve thousand (12,000) pieces of nose masks, three thousand and forty (3,040) hand sanitisers, twenty thousand (20,000) hand gloves etc to the Ahafo Regional health directorate,. He said the items will be distributed among all the health workers within the six districts in the region, namely, Tano North, Tano South, Asutifi North, Asutifi South, Asunafo North, Asunafo South and their respective conurbations. The faith of humanity in this era of Coronavirus pandemic depends on our health workers as they remain front line workers of the virus. The Ahafo Regional Minister presented a cheque on behalf of the Coordinating Council, a total sum of forty thousand, six hundred and forty (Gh40,640.) Ghana cedis to the health directorate to support their work. Ten thousand, one hundred and forty Ghana cedis will be used to feed persons who have contracted Covid-19 in the Ahafo Region, thirteen thousand Ghana cedis will also be used for drugs and other immune boosters to help the patients while the remaining amount will be used to purchase other important equipment to support and protect all the health workers in the region. The Ahafo Regional Health Director, Dr Boakye Boateng expressed his appreciation to President Akufo-Addo and the Ahafo Regional Coordinating Council for such great support to the entire health workers in the region. He assured the minister that, he will ensure a fair distribution of the PPE's to all the health facilities in the Ahafo region. "It is very imperative to know that, African countries have not been spared of this deadly virus. South Africa has become an epicentre of the Covid 19. It is now the eighth most affected Country globally, with its cumulative number of cases 298,292 exceeding that of the United Kingdom which is 290,137." The Ahafo Regional Health Director, Dr. Boakye Boateng used the opportunity to advise the general public to obey all the Covid-19 protocols by staying at home if they don't have something much important to do outside, Avoid handshaking, sneezing with a tissue paper or coughing within the elbow is very vital, wearing of nose mask particularly, when leaving home, avoid touching of mouth, nose and eyes with unclean hands. He reiterated on the cleaning and disinfecting frequently touched objects or surfaces such as keys, mobile phones, remote controls and doorknobs are one of the ways of defeating the carcinogenic Coronavirus Pandemic globally. ---Thepressradio.com Thousands of Israelis marched back to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's official residence on Tuesday after protesting outside the Knesset, the country's parliament. The march through the streets of Jerusalem was the latest of several mass demonstrations in recent weeks as public discontentment with the prime minister has bubbled over. Netanyahu has come under growing criticism for holding office while on trial for corruption, and mismanaging the country's deepening economic crisis. In the past week, thousands of Israelis have participated in some of the largest demonstrations against the long-time prime minister in nearly a decade. Protests outside Netanyahu's residence have become a weekly occurrence. Netanyahu is on trial for a series of cases in which he allegedly received lavish gifts from billionaire friends and traded regulatory favours with media moguls for more favourable coverage of himself and his family. The prime minister has denied any wrongdoing and has refused to step down. Intersected 43 feet of 4.0% Cu and 204.4 g/t Ag Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 20, 2020) - Bam Bam Resources Corp. (CSE: BBR) (OTC: NPEZF) (FSE: 4NPA) ("Bam Bam" or the "Company") is pleased to report that core hole MHB-2 at the Majuba Hill Nevada flagship property has returned significant copper and silver values. Starting from the surface MHB-2 intersected an outstanding interval of copper and silver. Using a length weighted average, MHB-2 returned extraordinary results: 146 feet from 0 to 146 feet @ 1.41% Cu and 97.6 ppm Ag including 28 feet from 12 to 40 feet @ 0.74% Cu and 120.8 ppm Ag and 43 feet from 91 to 134 feet @ 4.0% Cu and 204.4 ppm Ag The interval is the drill length, true width of mineralization is not yet known. It is comprised of 34 samples with 33 of the 34 samples greater than 0.05% copper. [1]The copper equivalent ("CuEq") value for the drill interval with MHB-2 is: 146 feet from 0 to 146 feet @ 2.38% CuEq Copper CuEq% was calculated by converting length weighted silver values to copper using USD$17/ounce silver and USD$2.50/lb. copper. The hole also had 10 feet of good gold values with: 10 feet from 122 to 132 feet @ 1.283 ppm Au including 3.5 feet from 127 to 130.5 feet @ 2.33 ppm Au David Greenway, President & CEO, commented: "I couldn't be more excited about today's release! A clear and present confirmation on what I feel Majuba will continue to deliver. These MIDWAY point results in our planned drill program are really just a taste of what this property is evolving into. We have drilled 2 core holes which have absolutely demonstrated that the key elements are present for a significant copper, silver, and gold porphyry property at Majuba. We fully expect our in-progress RC drilling at the Majuba Ridge Extension Zone will expand the known oxide zone. This dollars in the ground approach is bringing Majuba forward as another major copper, silver, and gold porphyry project in Nevada. We remain open on all sides and at depth with grade continuing to improve at depth." Story continues Significant Porphyry-Style Setting The copper, silver, and gold mineralization occur in intrusive rocks with porphyry-style alteration. Three of the five intrusive assemblages at Majuba contain copper. Copper oxide mineralization at the surface is within the quartz-sericite-pyrite (QSP) zone. Surface geologic mapping and relogging of historic core holes has outlined alteration zonation, with a QSP zone that grades into a potassic zone. Oxidation at Majuba extends as deep as 800 feet. Significant sulfide copper mineralization has been drilled in historic drill hole MMX-24 at the QSP/Potassic boundary. Figure 1 To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6332/60081_e0fd7c9be4b09b76_002full.jpg Hole MHB-2 - Copper and Silver: 101 to 130.5 ft Interval Cu Ag (ppm) From-To (feet) 5 ft 1.97% 93.6 101 to 106 1 ft 3.94% 70 106 to 107 3 ft 4.32% 419 107 to 110 2 ft 8.1% 316 110 to 112 5 ft 4.83% 280 112 to 117 4 ft 11.5% 487 117 to 121 1 ft 0.63% 25.6 121 to 122 3 ft 5.31% 213 122 to 125 2 ft 5.31% 42.6 125 to 127 3.5 ft 0.75% 301 127 to 130.5 Hi-grade mineralization in MHB-2 occurs with chalcocite, azurite, and malachite. Cuprite has been identified in the historic drill core. This is similar to the high-grade mineralization mined in the historic underground workings in the Middle Adit. The hole was drilled northeasterly to test for extensions of the mineralization outward from the historic workings. MHB-2 also tested the contact between the late rhyolite porphyry and the early rhyolite intrusive assemblage rocks. Mineralization in hole MHB-1 was within the late rhyolite porphyry. The 146-foot interval of 2.38% CuEq mineralization is in the early rhyolite porphyry. Silica stockwork veins with and without sericite are commonly associated with the copper and silver mineralization. Reverse-circulation drilling will test the Majuba Oxide Extension Target Zone. The Zone extends over 1,000 feet eastward from the Known Oxide Copper Mineralization Zone to historic drill hole MG1703. Historic hole MG1703 intersected good grades of oxide copper. Copper, silver, and gold mineralization is strongest in the early rhyolite, felsite, and late rhyolite intrusive assemblages. Figure 2 To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/6332/60081_e0fd7c9be4b09b76_003full.jpg Quality Assurance/Quality Control ("QA/QC") Measures, Chain of Custody The Company has implemented a QA/QC program using best industry practices at the Majuba Hill Project. Drill core is delivered by the company consulting geologist to the secure warehouse facility in Elko, Nevada. Drill core samples are sawn in half lengthwise and one half is placed in labeled cloth sample bags. The samples are then transported directly to the ALS Sample Prep Facility in Elko, Nevada. ALS then transports the prepared pulps to their analytical lab in Reno, Nevada or Vancouver, B.C. All samples are analyzed for copper, gold, silver, and 31 other elements. Gold is determined by ALS method Au-AA23 which is a fire assay with an AAS finish on a 30-gram split. Copper, silver and the remaining 31 elements are determined by ALS method ME-ICP61 which is a four-acid digestion and ICP-AES assay. Approximately 5% of the submitted samples are copper-gold-porphyry commercial standard reference material pulps, which are inserted in the analytical sample sequence. The sample rejects and remaining pulps will be retrieved from ALS. About Majuba Hill Property The Majuba Hill Property encompasses 4,822 acres of surface and mineral rights that includes 3 patented lode mining claims and 632 acres of privately owned surface and minerals. The property is easily accessed via 23 miles of well-maintained dirt roads leading from U.S. Interstate 80. Qualified Persons The scientific and technical information contained in this news release has been reviewed by E.L. "Buster" Hunsaker III, CPG 8137, a non-independent consulting geologist who is a "Qualified Person" as such term is defined under National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects ("NI 43- 101"). About Bam Bam Resources Corp. Bam Bam Resources Corp. (CSE: BBR) (OTC: NPEZF) (FSE: 4NPA) is engaged in the identification, review and acquisition of latter stage copper and copper/gold assets. The flagship project is the Majuba Hill copper gold project located 156 miles outside Reno, Nevada, USA. Management has been mandated to focus on safe, mining friendly jurisdictions and government regulations supportive of mining operations. Neither the Canadian Securities Exchange nor its Market Regulator (as that term is defined in the policies of the Canadian Securities Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. On Behalf of the Board of Bam Bam Resources Corp. "David Greenway" David C. Greenway President & CEO For further information, please contact: E:dg@bambamresources.com P: (604) 318-0114 Forward-Looking Statements This news release contains certain statements that may be deemed "forward-looking" statements. Forward looking statements are statements that are not historical facts and are generally, but not always, identified by the words "expects", "plans", "anticipates", "believes", "intends", "estimates", "projects", "potential" and similar expressions, or that events or conditions "will", "would", "may", "could" or "should" occur. Although Bam Bam Resources Corp. believes the expectations expressed in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results may differ materially from those in forward looking statements. Forward looking statements are based on the beliefs, estimates and opinions of Bam Bam Resources Corp. management on the date the statements are made. Except as required by law, Bam Bam Resources Corp. undertakes no obligation to update these forward-looking statements in the event that management's beliefs, estimates or opinions, or other factors, should change. [1] Copper equivalent grade including gold and silver values and based on 100% metal recoveries. Copper grade equivalent calculation. Cu Eq% = (Cu % + ((Au grade x Au price) + (Ag grade x Ag price)) / (22.0462 x Cu price x 31.0135 g/t) To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60081 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 19:49:32|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close JERUSALEM, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Israeli security forces said on Tuesday that they have uncovered an Iran-backed terror cell that operated under the guise of a Palestinian aid group. The Shin Bet security agency said in a statement that the cell planned to carry out attacks against Israelis in the West Bank under the guise of a non-governmental organization called Al-Shabab al-Alumi al-Arabi. The investigation started in April after the Israeli military arrested Yazan Abu Salah, a 23-year-old member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine which is part of the Palestinian Liberation Organization. Abu Salah told his interrogators that he and others planned to kidnap an Israeli soldier in order to negotiate the release of Palestinian prisoners. Eight other Palestinian suspects were arrested. The Israeli investigation revealed that Iran and Hezbollah, an Iran-backed Lebanese group, funded the cell and planned to provide the members with weapons training in Lebanon. "The investigation once again emphasized the close ties that exist between Iran, Hezbollah and the Popular Front," the Shin Bet said in the statement. Executives from four companies in the race to produce a coronavirus vaccine AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson, Moderna Therapeutics and Pfizer told lawmakers on Tuesday that they are optimistic their products could be ready by the end of 2020 or the beginning of 2021. All four companies are testing vaccines in human clinical trials. Three of the firms AstraZeneca, Johnson & Johnson and Moderna are getting federal funds for their vaccine development efforts. AstraZeneca and Johnson & Johnson pledged to the lawmakers that they would produce hundreds of millions of doses of their vaccines at no profit to themselves. Moderna, however, which has been granted $483 million from the government to develop its product, made no such promise. We will not sell it at cost, said Dr. Stephen Hoge, the president of Moderna. Many Democratic lawmakers have argued that federal funding for vaccine development should include provisions to guarantee affordability and guard against profiteering. At the Congressional hearing on Tuesday, some House members raised concerns about Pfizers decision to reject federal funds, suggesting it could lead to price-gouging and a lack of transparency. State security agents in Zimbabwe have raided the homes of arrested July 31st protest organizer, Jacob Ngarivhume, and investigative journalist, Hopewell Chinono, who are facing charges of inciting public violence. Lawyers representing the two say police and other state security agents started looking for mobile phones, laptops and other gadgets at Ngarivhume and Chinonos houses in Harare without obtaining search warrants from the courts. Police spokesperson, Assistant Commissioner Paul Nyathi, said he was not aware of the raids. However, the lawyers said they pressed the police to seek search warrants as they wanted to seize various gadgets without court orders. Ngarivhume and Chinono were arrested yesterday and are expected to appear in court Wednesday. In a series of tweets, the Zimbabwe Lawyers for Human Rights said the police were breaking the law by attempting to seize some documents without any court approval. Our lawyers Beatrice Mtetwa Gift Mtisi & @DougColtart are holding "fort" at Chin'Ono's residence where uniformed police officers were deployed last night & have maintained a presence since then. Other plain clothes police officers have stepped out @PoliceZimbabwe want to seize Chin'ono's camera which is not covered in the search warrant & which in any event was not used in posting the tweets allegedly posted by Chin'ono. Indications are that the police later obtained two warrants to search and seize documents and other items at the two mens homes. According to a police search warrant "granted" by Magistrate Judith Taruvinga @PoliceZimbabwe has been authorised to conduct a search at Chin'ono's residence for "any documents & other articles used to commit the offence Magistrate Judith Taruvinga also "granted" a search warrant authorising @PoliceZimbabwe to search for "any documents" at @jngarivhume residence in Waterfalls suburb in Harare. An update from the lawyers group indicated that Ngarivhume is expected to appear in court Wednesday. Transform Zimbabwe party leader @jngarivhume has been taken back to Harare Central Police Station & his lawyers have been advised that he will appear in court Wednesday. In a statement yesterday, police said the two are facing charges of inciting public violence. The Zimbabwe Republic Police confirms that Jacob Ngarivhume of Transform Zimbabwe and Hopewell Chinono have been arrested in connection with allegations of contravening Section 187 (1) (a) as read with section 37 (1) (a) (i) of the Criminal Law (Codification and Reform) Act, Chapter 9:23, incitement to participate in public violence. Section 187 (1)(a) stipulates that any person who, in any manner, communicates with another person intending by the communication to persuade or induce the other person to commit a crime, whether in terms of this Code or any other enactment; or realising that there is a real risk or possibility that the other person may be persuaded or induced by the communication to commit a crime, whether in terms of this Code or any other enactment; shall be guilty of incitement to commit the crime concerned. Section 37 subsection (1)(a)(1) also stipulates that any person who acts together with one or more other persons present with him or her in any place or at any meeting with the intention or realising that there is a real risk or possibility of forcibly disturbing the peace, security or order of the public or any section of the public shall be guilty of participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, a breach of the peace or bigotry, as the case may be, and be liable to a fine not exceeding level ten or imprisonment for a period not exceeding five years or both. The crime of participating in a gathering with intent to promote public violence, a breach of the peace or bigotry is committed whether the action constituting it is spontaneous or planned in advance, and whether the place or meeting where it occurred is public or private. At a time when China is engaging in systematic rule-breaking and coercion, the US sees its growing security cooperation with India as one of the all important defence relationships of the 21st century, US defence secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday. The exercise in the Indian Ocean between Indian Navy warships and a US Navy carrier strike group led by the USS Nimitz reflects the shared commitment of the two countries to boost naval cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific, he said. Delivering a speech on the US strategy and vision for security in the Indo-Pacific during a virtual event organised by the International Institute for Strategic Studies, Esper didnt directly refer to the India-China border standoff but made numerous references to what he described as rule-breaking and coercive behaviour by Beijing, especially in South China Sea and against members of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean). Also read: Indian Navy to move MiG-29K fighter jets to north amid border row with China He made a special mention of burgeoning India-US security ties, which in recent years have expanded to the 2+2 dialogue between the foreign and defence ministers and big ticket deals for defence hardware, including aircraft and missile systems. I want to highlight our increased defence cooperation with India, one of the all important defence relationships of the 21st century, he said. Also read: US agrees to discuss social security tax burden of Indians working in America We conducted the first ever joint military exercise last November and as we speak today, the USS Nimitz is conducting combined exercises with the Indian Navy in the Indian Ocean, demonstrating our shared commitment to stronger naval cooperation in support of a free and open Indo-Pacific. Esper added: We also continue to grow our defence sales and look forward to a robust 2+2 ministerial dialogue later this year to build on this progress. On the other hand, China has continued to engage in systematic rule-breaking, coercion and other malign activities amid the Covid-19 crisis, while the Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) has engaged in aggressive behaviour in the East and South China Seas, including sinking a Vietnamese fishing boat, harassing Malaysian oil and gas development, and escorting Chinese fishing vessels into Malaysias exclusive economic zone, he said. Asked about the India-China standoff during the question-and-answer session after his speech, Esper said the US is monitoring it very closely and whats happening along the Line of Actual Control (LAC). He said the US was very pleased to see that both sides are trying to de-escalate the situation. In response to a separate question, Esper said the exercise between the Indian Navy and the carrier strike group led by USS Nimitz shows the growing cooperation between our countries and our ability to project power into the region and to sustain it with our allies and partners. The US, he noted, is encouraging Indo-Pacific nations to expand intra-regional security relationships and networks of like-minded partners. In this regard, he pointed to the logistical support agreement finalised by India and Australia in June. Esper also referred to what he said was Chinas catalogue of bad behaviour that accompanies a pattern of disregard for international commitments, failure to uphold commitments under the World Trade Organisation (WTO) and disregard for the rights of other countries under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS). China, he added, had bullied Asean nations out of an estimated $2.6 trillion in potential offshore oil and gas revenues and cut off access to important fishing grounds even as it made incursions into waters around Japans Senkaku Islands and looked the other way as North Korea violated UN Security Council resolutions related to its nuclear programme. We call on Chinas leaders to abide by the international laws and norms that China and the Chinese people have benefited greatly from over the years. While we hope the [China] will change its ways, we must be prepared for the alternative, he said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Florida's largest teachers union sued top state officials Monday over an order mandating a return of in-person schooling, drawing the courts into an increasingly politicized nationwide debate over when and how kids can return to class amid the coronavirus pandemic. The suit from the Florida Education Association asked a judge to stop Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis and Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran from requiring the return of in-person schooling without first reducing class sizes and ensuring that educators have adequate protective supples. The move came as confirmed cases of the coronavirus are increasing in many states, including Florida, raising fears in some quarters that a return to brick-and-mortar schools in the fall could put students and teachers at risk and exacerbate the spread of the virus. Others argue that reopening schools is a critical step in a return to normalcy. The Florida teachers are asking the court to strike down an emergency order by Corcoran, saying it violates a requirement in the state constitution for safe and secure schools. On Monday, the United States added more than 55,000 new cases and more than 380 new deaths - both below seven-day averages, though Monday typically sees lower figures than other days. Seven states and Puerto Rico reported new highs for currently hospitalized covid-19 patients, with Florida reporting close to 9,500 inpatients. At the same time, hospitalizations appear to be leveling off in Texas and Arizona. The two states combined still account for more than 18,000 of the estimated 56,000 currently hospitalized covid-19 patients. Officials say some of the recent increase in cases is probably attributable to increased testing, which was not widely available in the early days of the pandemic. But much also is probably caused by the rollback of government-imposed restrictions on business and social life, leading more people to have contact with one another and spread the virus. The spikes have put pressure on state and federal leaders to take steps such as mandating the wearing of masks or slowing plans to reopen their economies. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot announced Monday that she was tightening restrictions on bars, gyms and personal service businesses. President Donald Trump said he would resume leading regular late-afternoon public briefings by the White House coronavirus task force, and he more vigorously endorsed mask-wearing than he has previously, tweeting a photo of himself in a mask and suggesting that doing so was patriotic. The Senate, meanwhile, returned to work for a three-week session before its August break. Lawmakers are under pressure to pass new coronavirus relief legislation before the November elections. What to do about schooling has long been one of the thorniest dilemmas posed by the coronavirus - in part because the science about how the disease spreads among children, and from children to adults, is not yet developed enough to draw firm conclusions. After Trump tweeted two weeks ago that schools "must" open in the fall, the issue has often been consumed by partisan bickering. "We have managed to take what I think is one of the most important nonpartisan issues in America, which is getting our kids taught this fall, and turned it into a partisan battle," said Ashish Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute. "Here's a crazy idea: Let's just do what's good for kids and parents." Public health experts agree that children are generally less likely to get infected than adults, and they tend to develop milder symptoms. But children are not immune and a small number have died. "They get the disease, and they do transmit," said Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota. "The question is how much, and does that enhance transmission in the community?" The data on that is mixed. One study, from Australia, found that nine students and nine adults who contracted the coronavirus had close contact with more than 730 other students and 128 staff, but they could only be possibly linked to two infections. Another large study from South Korea found that children under 10 years old appeared to transmit to others in their household far less often than adults did, though those between 10 and 19 years old appeared to transmit as much or more than adults. "I'm going to await further data before I can stand in judgment whether we can assume that children are considerably less infectious than adults," said Sten Vermund, dean of the Yale School of Public Health. William Raszka Jr., a pediatric infectious-disease specialist at the University of Vermont Medical Center, said some countries have reopened their schools without new outbreaks, while others have had problems. Of great importance, he said, is the level of spread in the community outside the school. Places such as Vermont, which have relatively few cases, might be able to open up more easily than places such as Arizona or Florida, which are seeing cases spike, Raszka said. He said high school and colleges might also have more trouble than elementary schools, as older children seem to be more acutely affected. "Is that risk zero? No. We can't develop a strategy that has zero risk," Raszka said. "But we can develop strategies that minimize that risk." Politicians and school leaders have taken varying tacks on how to address the crisis - with some advocating for partial or complete distance learning while others seek a return to in-person instruction. California Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom, for example, issued rules last week that mean most schools will not reopen physical classrooms, while Texas reversed a previous order and allowed schools to delay in-person instruction. Texas' attorney general has told religious schools that any local efforts to restrict their reopening might violate the constitution. In an interview on "Fox News Sunday," Trump made clear that he favors face-to-face instruction and threatened to withhold federal funding from districts that do not offer that. "I do say this - schools have to open," he told host Chris Wallace. "Young people have to go to school, and there's problems when you don't go to school, too. And there's going to be a funding problem because we're not going to fund - when they don't open their schools." Vermund said it was "disingenuous of the president to demand schools be reopened and then threaten to cut funding," as schools with more resources would probably have a better shot of safely reopening. Missouri Republican Gov. Mike Parson on Friday told talk radio host Marc Cox that kids "have to get back to school," though he conceded that some were likely to contract the virus. "They're at the lowest risk possible," Parson said. "And if they do get covid-19 - which they will, and they will when they go to school - they're not going to the hospitals. They're not going to have to sit in doctor's offices. They're going to go home, and they're going to get over it." In Florida, the teachers union said in the lawsuit that the education commissioner's order that districts must open brick-and-mortar schools, subject to the advice of state and local health departments, would "create an unsafe and unsecure environment for students, employees, and the community at large." "When students and employees return to the school site, they will be indoors with each other for 7 hours a day in derogation of CDC guidelines and executive orders issued across the state," the lawsuit said. "They will be sharing common areas including buses, hallways, classrooms, clinics, locker rooms, and bathrooms. They will be touching door handles and sharing equipment along with potentially hundreds of other people. These millions of individuals will return to their families and to the community to continue to accelerate the spread of Covid-19." The suit alleged that some teachers had rushed their retirements over the state's plan and others were "preparing wills and living wills ahead of possible in person learning that can expose their health and lives to serious threats." Corcoran, the Florida education commissioner, shot back that the union did not seem to have read or understand his emergency order, and that even before it, state law required schools to operate for 180 days a year, which amounts to five days a week. "This E.O. did not order any new directives regarding the requirements of schools to be open, it simply created new innovative options for families to have the CHOICE to decide what works best for the health and safety of their student and family," he said in a statement. Jha, director of the Harvard Global Health Institute, said it would probably be impossible for a place like Florida - where one model suggests 1 in 24 people is infected - to return to in-person schooling safely. Even if transmission from children to adults is low, he said, it is not nothing, and adults in the school could transmit to one another. But Jha said in other states, where fewer people are infected, schools could open with appropriate precautions. And there is good reason to do so, he said, as a lost school year brings with it serious consequences, particularly for those with lesser means. "It's not just the fall," Jha said. "Things aren't going to be better in January. Things aren't going to be better in February. They might not be better until April or May." - - - The Washington Post's Moriah Balingit, Lateshia Beachum, Jacqueline Dupree and Hannah Knowles contributed to this report. The Delhi High Court was informed by the North Delhi Municipal Corporation (NrDMC) on Tuesday that it has paid salaries to all 9,000 teachers engaged by till March and 5,406 of them, who are put on COVID-19 duty, have been given their dues for April. Noting the submission of NrDMC that salaries of the remaining teachers for April would be released by the end of July, the court said this would still leave the months of May and June. A bench of Justices Hima Kohli and Subramonium Prasad directed the Delhi government and the NrDMC to file fresh status reports by July 31, giving the updated status of release of funds or salaries in respect of the teachers employed by the civic body in its schools. The court, which was conducting the hearing through video conferencing, listed the matter for further hearing on August 5. The NrDMC blamed the Delhi government for not releasing Grant-In-Aid to the civic body due to which it is unable to pay the salaries of its employees. The Delhi government, in its status report, said that the Grant-In-Aid payable by the Delhi Government to the NrDMC for release of salaries to its teachers was Rs 147 crore for the first quarter of this year, that is, from April to June and it has been released in three monthly tranches. As for the Grant-In-Aid required to be released by the Delhi government for the second quarter (July to September), Delhi government standing counsel (Services) Avnish Ahlawat said that the payment of Rs 49.17 crores for July will be released by the end of this month, and similarly, the remaining two tranches of the like amount will be given at the end of August and September. The NrDMC, in its affidavit filed through advocate Mini Pushkarna, submitted that the remaining amount payable to the teachers is generated internally but due to the orders passed by the Supreme Court, the civic body is required to release the salaries of sanitation workers, health workers and doctors, who are on COVID-19 duty. on top priority. The affidavit said the Delhi government has not released its share of the salaries payable to the sanitation workers, health workers and doctors and only in the first week of July, it has released its share of salaries payable to the doctors for April, May and June. It claimed that the Delhi government is yet to release its share of the salaries payable to the sanitation workers. On this, the court queried the NrDMC counsel as to what steps it has take to approach the court for seeking necessary directions to the Delhi government particularly when the money payable to the teachers towards the arrears of their salaries is apparently being diverted by the civic body from its internal funds to be paid to the sanitation workers, health workers and Doctors in terms of the apex court's order. To this, Pushkarna submitted that an application would be filed by the civic agency within two days before the bench headed by Chief Justice of the high court in another suo motu PIL concerning salaries to be paid to the doctors of NrDMC, for appropriate orders. She also informed the court that the salaries of 5,406 teachers, who are on COVID-19 duty, for April have been released on July 14. Advocate Ashok Agarwal, who has filed an application on behalf of intervenors, said that for a permanent solution to this problem of lack of funds, either the central government should take over the MCDs or the civic bodies be merged with the Delhi government or all the three MCDs be merged together like it was earlier. The bench was hearing a suo motu PIL initiated by the high court with regard to the disbursement of unpaid salaries of teachers employed in schools run by the NrDMC. The high court had initiated the PIL after hearing the petition filed on behalf of North Delhi Municipal Corporation teachers by Akhil Dilli Prathmik Shikshak Sangh, seeking direction to the authorities to pay their salaries which were due since March, when the nationwide lockdown was imposed. While initiating the PIL on June 26, the bench had remarked that teachers deployed on COVID-19 duty can be equated to corona warriors and was displeased that their salaries have not been paid since March. "This is a very sorry state of affairs," the high court had said. The bench, on June 18, had directed the NrDMC to pay arrears of salaries within a week, saying the teachers cannot be made to run from pillar to post for their lawful dues. Mr. Ofori Larbi, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Asabea Construction Limited, has profusely denied vowing to lead a campaign against President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo in the coming general election, as being circulated on social media. He said he had never made any such pronouncement and labeled the online publication as scurrilous and a political mischief. For the avoidance of doubt, I have not granted any interview or made those comments anywhere and have no intention of making same. The denial was contained in a statement he sent to the Ghana News Agency (GNA) in Accra. He said throughout my career, I have always endeavoured to remain independent and professional irrespective of the government in power and have at no point in time made any effort to meddle in party politics. He added that he had been doing his work as contractor without any impediments and had no issues with the government. I, therefore, find it extremely difficult to understand why anyone would want to destroy the reputation I have built overtime. He called for the people to ignore the publication with the contempt that it deserved as he made every effort to identify those behind the false publication. 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 New Delhi, July 21 : The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MeitY) has directed the 59 banned Chinese apps to strictly adhere to the orders or face serious action in case of violation, sources said. People in the know of developments said that the Ministry has written to all the companies concerned and said that making the apps available, directly or indirectly, would violate IT Act and other laws. The government had last month banned 59 Chinese apps including TikTok, WeChat and UC Browser and Xiaomi's Mi Community over national security concerns amid the border tussle at Ladakh which also led to the death of 20 Indian soldiers in the Galwan Valley clash with Chinese PLA troops. "These measures have been undertaken since there is credible information that theseapps are engaged in activities which are prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defence of India, security of state and public order," MeitY's June 29 statement had said. According to the ministry, the move would safeguard the interests of crores of Indian mobile users. Other Chinese apps in the banned list are Club Factory, SHAREit, Likee, Mi Video Call (Xiaomi), Weibo, Baidu, BIGO LIVE and more. A screenshot taken from j20strikeforblacklives.org on July 20, 2020 shows the graphics, phrases and sentences specially designed for the movement. (Xinhua) The movement is joined by a coalition of over 20 labor unions and racial and social justice groups in more than 25 cities to confront what protesters in the recent "Black Lives Matter" movement and some senior politicians in Washington, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, called "systemic racism" in American society, a claim the Trump administration, however, denied. WASHINGTON, July 20 (Xinhua) -- Tens of thousands of workers across the United States, including those working at airports, fast food restaurants, nursing homes and on farms, staged a strike Monday to protest racial injustice against African Americans, according to the organizers. Dubbed "Strike for Black Lives," the nationwide general strike called on workers to take a knee for eight minutes and 46 seconds in every U.S. time zone at noon, hold a moment of silence for eight minutes and 46 seconds at the time, or walk off their jobs for the same duration of time, the time span Black man George Floyd was suppressed by a white police officer in Minneapolis who knelt on his neck until he lost consciousness and later died in late May. A screenshot taken from j20strikeforblacklives.org on July 20, 2020 shows the graphics and phrases specially designed for the movement. (Xinhua) According to the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) that organized the strike, the movement was joined by a coalition of over 20 labor unions and racial and social justice groups in more than 25 cities to confront what protesters in the recent "Black Lives Matter" movement and some senior politicians in Washington, such as House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, called "systemic racism" in American society, a claim the Trump administration, however, denied. In addition to seeking justice for the Black community "with an unequivocal declaration that Black Lives Matter," the strike also demanded that officials and candidates use their executive, legislative and regulatory authority to rewrite rules ensuring that Black people can thrive, that "corporations take immediate action to dismantle racism, white supremacy, and economic exploitation wherever it exists, including in our workplaces," and that every worker has the opportunity to form a union, the SEIU said in a description of the strike on its website. In a press release issued on July 8 announcing the strike, the SEIU said workers and activists will join force "to demand corporations, government take action to confront triple threat of white supremacy, public health emergency, broken economy." A screenshot taken from j20strikeforblacklives.org on July 20, 2020 shows the graphics, phrases and sentences specially designed for the movement. (Xinhua) "We cannot achieve economic justice without racial justice," said Mary Kay Henry, president of SEIU. "Today, in this national moment of reckoning, working people are demanding fundamental changes to America's broken system." The strike came at a time when the coronavirus pandemic is still raging in the country, infecting over 3.7 million people and claiming more than 140,000 lives. A continuation of the anti-racism demonstrations that swept the nation after the death of Floyd, the strike was planned amid a surge in violent incidents across the nation that tragically resulted in the deaths of a number of young children. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is convinced that Switzerland's experience in developing tourism and infrastructure can be useful to Ukraine, and Swiss investors can join the development of the Ukrainian tourism industry. Zelensky said this during the Ukrainian-Swiss negotiations on Tuesday, July 21, the press service of the head of state reported. "Our country is not very open to the world as a tourism country. Switzerland has a brand - in addition to the country of high-quality infrastructure, we all know its big ski resorts," he said. The President of Ukraine is convinced that our country also has good prospects for the development of the tourism industry. He invited Swiss investors to participate in this process. "Ukraine also has potential, a long tourist season, a big country, close neighbors who are happy to come. I would like your investors and your business to look closely at investing in infrastructure, including tourism," he said. Zelensky also spoke about the large-scale privatization and concession in Ukraine. "Three ports have been put up for sale and three others for concession," Minister of Infrastructure Vladyslav Kryklii added. He also reported on the development of the country's infrastructure, in particular, the development of three areas - passenger, freight and infrastructure, large-scale construction, road repairs and more. ish Subscriber content preview UNALASKA, Alaska (AP) A factory fishing vessel that docked in the Alaska fishing port of Dutch Harbor in the Aleutian Islands has 85 crew members infected on board with the coronavirus, officials said. The American Triumph was scheduled to depart the Dutch Harbor community of Unalaska late Sunday or early Monday with a planned arrival in Seward Wednesday, Alaska's Energy Deck reported Sunday. . . . On 18 July, the Pentagon confirmed that Turkey sent 4,000 mercenaries to Libya during the first three months of this year. In a report on combating terrorism in Africa, it added that Turkey provided funds and citizenship to thousands of combatants in return for participating in the Libyan conflict alongside the forces of the Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA). This clear statement from the Pentagon does not show any change in the USs position regarding the crisis that threatens war between Egypt and Turkey in Libya at any moment. Washingtons response has alternated between taking a neutral position towards the parties in the conflict, as expressed by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo who rejected foreign intervention in Libya, and indirect support of Turkey as noted by Assistant Secretary of State David Schenker who refused to hold Turkey alone responsible for igniting the crisis. This shows that the US position, as stated by Pompeo and Schenker, equates between Egypts moves based on legitimacy and the globally recognised right to defend its national security and prevent the existence of terrorists on its borders, and Turkeys position that contradicts basic principles of US foreign policy and international law that reject explicit or implicit state sponsorship of terrorism. The USs position on the Libyan crisis is not only problematic because it contradicts one of the basic principles of US foreign policy since 9/11, which is to contain and combat terrorism and hold any state that sponsors terrorism accountable, but more importantly this position does not serve US interests in the long run. US interests in the Middle East are best served by restoring stability in countries torn apart by civil war, such Yemen, Iraq, Syria and Libya. There is practical evidence that keeping Russia and China away from competing with the US in the region is only possible through strong governments that enforce security and stability in their territories, unlike the chaos that allowed these two countries to gain a military and economic foothold. This chaos also led to expansion of Irans military influence in a way that clearly threatens US interests. Meanwhile, US reliance on Turkey to block Russian incursion in the region was a mistake, since Turkey sought to reach understandings with Russia in Syria, and moved towards strategic closeness with Moscow by buying the S-400 missile defence system, which represent a serious threat to NATOs policies and plans to confront Russia. Although Iran and Turkey differ on how to address the Syrian issue, the possibility that Tehran and Ankara will draw closer is not impossible, especially due to their joint interest in preventing the creation of a Kurdish state in the region, as well as growing economic ties between them. Washington should not forget Turkeys role in violating sanctions against Iran triggered by its nuclear portfolio and support of terrorism. Washington must also understand that Erdogans long years in power have promoted anti-Western sentiments because the Turkish president invokes religious reasons to explain his failure to join the EU. US decision makers are mistaken to think they should tolerate Turkey exacerbating the conflict in Libya by resorting to terrorist groups, because then Ankara is less likely to draw closer to Moscow. On the contrary, the opposite is more likely, especially since Erdogan is facing domestic pressures due to economic conditions, and the growing ability of opposition parties to defeat him in the coming elections. Despotic leaders, such as Erdogan, will resort to transferring pressure at home overseas, even if this means turning against traditional allies in order to rally support for themselves in confronting their opponents at home. Washingtons biggest mistake would be to hand over the Libyan issue to Schenker who is in charge of Near Eastern and North Africa affairs, because he lacks understanding of the social conflicts in the Middle East, even though he specialises in Arab affairs. An article published by Washington Institute for Near East Policy in April 2011 (three months after the so-called Arab Spring), titled Egypts Enduring Challenges, reveals Schenkers ignorance of political and social forces in Egypt. In the article, he predicted that a coalition of Egyptian liberals will win power after Mubaraks overthrow, and claimed that liberals will be keen on establishing good governance in Egypt to prevent political Islam from becoming an alternative to them in upcoming elections. Schenker also projected that the Muslim Brotherhood could agree to adopting the Western model of democracy, which means they can be assimilated into the political system. This article shows that Schenker does not understand that liberals in Egypt are not a political current that has a popular base, but rather a handful of intellectuals and academics who are mostly not directly involved in politics and prefer to write research papers and articles about liberalism and democratic transformation. Neither does he understand that due to the Muslim Brotherhoods social and ideological composition they would never adopt democracy as an ideology or practice. The events in Egypt that followed proved that Schenker is incapable of understanding what happened in Egypt and the Arab world at the time. Therefore, it makes no sense for Washington to hand over the Libya portfolio to him after he previously failed to predict what would happen in the region, after the so-called Arab Spring uprisings. The statement by the Pentagon warning about the dangers of Turkeys moves, and that it is sending terrorists and preachers to Libya, could aim to counter what State Department staff such as Schenker are doing by encouraging Erdogan to continue towards a clash with Egypt. Pompeo himself must be the one in charge of this issue, and use all US resources to push towards a return to negotiations among parties in the Libyan conflict. War between GNA militias supported by Turkey and the Libyan National Army (LNA) could lead to more complications that prevent reaching a comprehensive settlement to the crisis anytime soon. Egypts position that asserts its right to defend its security remains the most politically, militarily and legally sound. It is in Washingtons interest not to lose credibility on punishing countries that sponsor terrorism, otherwise it will lose the trust of the Egyptian people who support their leadership in defending Egypts legitimate right to defend the countrys security. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: A proposed law change to clarify ministerial decision-making powers has passed its latest Assembly stage. The Executive Committee (Functions) Bill is proceeding through the devolved legislature with accelerating passage in a bid to establish certainty around future planning decisions. It passed the consideration stage without debate on Tuesday or the need for a formal division vote. The proposed law changed has been the source of some controversy, with one of First Minister Arlene Fosters former senior advisers among its critics. The Bill seeks to clarify what constitutes a cross-cutting issue that requires the consideration of the whole Stormont Executive. The Northern Ireland Assembly is about to make the most far reaching change to the safeguards in NIs decision making processes in over a decade narrowing the role of the Executive and its all based on a misreading of the case law ... a short thread 1/5 pic.twitter.com/lDecyigPH8 Richard Bullick (@RichardBullick1) July 15, 2020 It is a response to a 2018 court judgment, when judges ruled that the granting of planning permission for a contentious waste incinerator plant in north Belfast was unlawful. The decision was taken by a senior civil servant in the Department of Infrastructure in the absence of a minister due to the powersharing impasse. The landmark Buick judgment found that making such a decision in the absence of a minister ran contrary to the letter and spirit of the Good Friday Agreement. It highlighted that the issue was a cross-cutting decision that should have required the input of the wider executive. The proposed legislation seeks to clarify what constitutes a cross-cutting decision amid concerns that the judgment sets a precedent that any issue involving more than one minister should be referred to the executive. Mrs Foster and Deputy First Minister Michelle ONeill have argued that just because another minister has an interest in an issue being handled by another department does not automatically make it a decision that should be taken by the executive as a whole. They claim the Buick judgment could undermine decision-making across all executive departments, leaving ministers open to legal challenge on issues that are not referred to the wider executive. Mrs Fosters former adviser in the Executive Office, Richard Bullick, has raised concerns about the Bill. He claims it would undermine provisions in the 2006 St Andrews Agreement designed to prevent ministers acting alone on significant matters. When asked about those concerns on Monday, Mrs Foster insisted she was comfortable with the contents of the Bill. Well, my very clear view, not just my view but the legal advice that we have been given on this, is this puts us in a post-St Andrews position, but a pre-Buick position, she said. You will remember Buick was the case that was taken when there was no executive in place and there was a judgment given in relation to cross-cutting issues and so we needed to deal with that issue. And Im very comfortable that thats where we are. Asked if the Bill is paving the way for more ministerial solo runs, Mrs Foster replied: No, it most certainly is not. Members have until 0930 on Wednesday morning to propose any amendments to the bill before it proceeds to its next Assembly stage. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 00:28:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ACCRA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A Ghanaian international trade expert has described the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) agreement as a catalyst for economic development on the continent. Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the African and Investment Policies Ghana Francis Kofi Korankye-Sakyi said the time was ripe for Africa to establish a well-coordinated regional market, by developing the regional value chains, based on its large population. By this, he said, the continent would have overcome the impact of the unfavorable conditions in the global market place. "We expect that this is going to be the biggest market for Africa with about one billion consumers on the continent," Korankye-Sakyi said. He added that the agreement had been long overdue, lauding the African Union (AU) for coming out with it now, stressing that with the expected structures in place, the continent would make great strides, not notwithstanding the current challenges. Through the implementation of AfCFTA, Africa expects to increase the value of its internal trade from 50 billion U.S. dollars to 70 billion dollars by 2040. Korankye-Sakyi said the continent did not expect to have all the logistics, the financing, and the infrastructure in place, before starting implementation. Initially scheduled for July, the implementation of the AfCFTA agreement was postponed due to COVID-19. He said the goodwill from the countries that had already signed and ratified the agreement was the needed impetus to start the program. The expert, therefore, urged the AU to put in motion the process of achieving the critical facilitation mechanism. Enditem The criticism came hours after Britain suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and blocked arms sales to it. United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered unsparing criticism of the Chinese Communist Party while visiting London on Tuesday, describing the leaderships behaviour regarding the coronavirus pandemic as unforgivable and slamming the crushing of freedoms in Hong Kong. Pompeo said he held candid discussions with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab amid growing tensions between the West and China. In a sweeping broadside, he challenged every nation which understands freedom and democracy and values that to understand the threat being posed by Chinas dominant party. We hope we can build out a coalition that understands this, he said. The session came just hours after Britain suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and blocked arms sales to the former British territory angering Beijing after China imposed a tough new national security law. Britain followed the US, Australia and Canada in suspending extradition agreements with Hong Kong, which became a special administrative region of China after the UK returned control of the territory to Beijing in 1997. Chinas ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, warned on Twitter that the UK should bear the consequences of damaging bilateral relations. He described the new measure as gross interference on the part of the UK in Chinese internal affairs. Pompeo described his talks in London as being constructive and ranging from 5G telecommunication to our negotiations for a US-UK free trade agreement. Pompeo also met with senior members of Johnsons Conservative Party, who blocked plans to give Chinese telecommunications company Huawei a role in the UKs new high-speed mobile phone network. The US has lobbied its allies to shun Huawei because it says the Chinese government could use the companys technology to spy on Western nations. Huawei denies the allegations and argues that US protectionism is behind the move. Events in Hong Kong are particularly sensitive for Britain because China agreed to a one country, two systems policy intended to protect the economic and social traditions of the territory for 50 years after the handover. Britain and its allies believe the security law imposed by Beijing threatens that agreement because it restricts free speech and erodes the judicial independence of Hong Kong. The law makes crimes such as promoting secession punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison. It also allows some cases to be tried on the Chinese mainland which means people extradited to Hong Kong could end up being tried in mainland courts. The UK has already accused the Beijing government of violating the Sino-British Joint Declaration under which Hong Kong was returned to China, and announced it would open a special route to citizenship for up to three million eligible residents of the territory. Australian universities have experienced a major surge in interest from Hongkongers looking to migrate since China imposed a sweeping national security law on the city and the Morrison government announced a safe haven visa package in response. Migration agents and international education sector figures have confirmed the political turmoil in Hong Kong has driven an unusually high level of enquiries and applications, with many citizens of the former British colony worried about Beijing's escalating crackdown. The political upheaval in Hong Kong has fuelled a surge in interest for Australian student visas. Credit:Lam Yik Fei/The New York Times Ursula Ng, managing director of the Advisory Centre for Australian Education, said a "quite significant" spike in interest had followed Prime Minister Scott Morrison's announcement earlier this month of a new visa scheme for Hongkongers, including a five-year graduate visa for students and a pathway to permanent residency. "I think it is after our government has given the safe pathway to Australia for Hong Kong people because of the Chinese security law being imposed. It is really after that," Ms Ng said, estimating that enquiries had increased by more than 50 per cent. An informal group of former senior federal and state government officials, educators and advocates for the environment, health care and consumers joined together Tuesday to endorse Sen. Ed Markey, who faces a primary challenge from U.S. Rep. Joe Kennedy III. In a letter and accompanying document highlighting 49 legislative victories during Markeys four decades in Congress, the group touted Markeys experience, bipartisanship and leadership on progressive issues. The group thanked Markey for his lifetime of instrumental work in Massachusetts and in the U.S. Congress, writing laws and forcing issuance of regulations for social justice, public health, safe and affordable transportation, environmental sustainability, a fair marketplace, investor protection, public access to electronic communications, public access to the courts and personal privacy. In a statement, longtime Massachusetts resident Gina McCarthy, president and CEO of the Natural Resources Defense Council and former Environmental Protection Agency Administrator during the Obama Administration, said she knows of no one who has worked harder or more successfully to protect the countrys natural resources and health than Markey. It just doesnt get any more strategic and dogged than Ed, McCarthy added. In a zoom conference Tuesday, former U.S. Rep. Henry Waxman cited the Broadway musical Hamilton, noting Ed Markey was always in the room where it happens because he was the one making it happen, whether it was environmental legislation, or communications or things important for ordinary people. The group also applauded Markeys push for Medicare for all and health care as an American right, and for working with U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez of New York on the Green New Deal. Joan Claybrook, a former administrator of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration, said Markey would continue to stand up to ravenous special interests at a time when the country faced a pandemic. He knows how to create bipartisan support and to resist the pressures of private economic interest, Claybrook said. He doesnt wait for an issue to become popular. He doesnt discuss the need for change, he creates change. Markey and Kennedy will square off in debates on July 26 on NBC10 Boston and Aug. 11 on WBZ-TV. Related Content: Protests in Portland have been punctuated by horror stories of unidentified federal agents in military garb snatching protesters off the streets in Oregon. The goal of the agents presence and the authority under which they are operating has been unclear, other than it serves the presidents authoritarian taste for strongman bullying and his need to do something, anything, to revive his reelection hopes. Having conceded defeat to the coronavirus pandemic, President Donald Trump needs a straw man enemy to prop up and spar with over the next several months in hopes of scaring Americans into thinking there is a greater threat to their safety and prosperity than the actual president himself. Stirring up a hornets nest is what Trumps after, and in the Portland protests he clearly senses an opportunity to cause disorder, which he can use to contrive a national response. As such, Trump said he is planning to send similar federal agents into multiple American cities, all under Democratic leadership. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement #BREAKING: President Trump says he may send "more federal law enforcement" to New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore, Oakland, and other cities to deal with unrest: "In Portland theyve done a fantastic job." pic.twitter.com/Pe6aDv6AVt The Hill (@thehill) July 20, 2020 Im going to do somethingthat, I can tell you, Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Because were not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of theseOakland is a mess. Were not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats. The rhetoric harkens back to Trumps 2016 run, where he spun tales of American carnagereal and imaginedand claimed that amid the disorder, he alone could fix it. This is worse than anything anyones ever seen, Trump continued Monday. And you know what? If Biden got in, that would be true for the country. The whole country would go to hell. An expected 150 agents from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations division are reportedly being sent to Chicago, where, the New York Times reports, they are expected to be in the city for at least 60 days to help combat violence and would be under the direction of the Justice Department. Advertisement Advertisement Subscribe to the Slatest newsletter A daily email update of the stories you need to read right now. We encountered an issue signing you up. Please try again. Please enable javascript to use form. Email address: Send me updates about Slate special offers. By signing up, you agree to our Privacy Policy and Terms Sign Up Thanks for signing up! You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. The generalized increase of blunt force in response to nothing in particular is part of a wider ratcheting up of the governments response to sporadic protests lingering after weeks of powerful nationwide demonstrations. In addition, the Department of Homeland Security has authorized its personnel to collect information on protesters who threaten to damage or destroy public memorials and statues, regardless of whether they are on federal property, a significant expansion of authorities that have historically been used to protect landmarks from terrorist attacks, the Washington Post reports. The new guidance was issued as department personnel have been dispatched to police and detain people protesting police violence, itself an untraditional role for a department set up to secure borders and transportation systems. For more of Slates news coverage, subscribe to What Next on Apple Podcasts or listen below. 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! Maldives: The choices we make will determine the future of the Maldives by Kanni Wignaraja and Akiko Fujii July 21,2020 | Source: UNDP With 70 percent of its GDP linked to tourism, the COVID-19 wrecking ball has crashed hard into the Maldives economy. UNDPs latest Assessment on Livelihoods published this month revealed a precipitous fall in the number of tourists. As a result hotels are closing, service industries are shedding jobs, and the national budget is haemorrhaging money. The border closure and travel ban during the tourist season will have a dramatic impact on the industry, as well as a ripple effect on the countrys economy. Yet, if this health and economic crisis is addressed responsibly, tourism will recover. But there is an even greater threat that could shatter the tourist industry and the economy, from which it may not recover; global warming. While attention is focused on the coronavirus COVID-19, we must not forget the damage being wrought by climate change. Sea level records for the past 20 years show an increase of nearly four millimetres per year in the capital Male. According to the Ministry of Environment, sea level rise is projected to increase some 40-50 centimetres by 2100. This means beach erosion, flooding, increased groundwater salination of groundwater, and unpredictable weather that is already causing both floods and droughts. Because 80 percent of Maldivians living within 100 metres of the sea, the physical impact of these changes represents an existential threat. That threat is not visible, if you walk down to the harbour, on the island of Villingili, as families take to the beach, on weekends. The cool easterly breeze carries with it the laughter of children playing in the waves and sand. What is visible underwater is the damage caused by rising sea temperatures: the destruction of coral which supports marine life, seagrass beds, lagoons, and mangroves that form the coastal ecosystem of the Maldives. The reef, the seventh largest in the world, is rich in biodiversity and is home to rare and spectacular species. This coastal and marine environment supports the tourism and fishing industry, which are critical to the Maldives economy. Without much greater conservation efforts and funding to help protect it, it could well be lost. Small as it is, the Maldives contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. The energy demands of an urban economy in the middle of the ocean keep growing to meet tourist desires and middle-class needs. Energy imports, especially in the electricity and transport sectors, make it more vulnerable to the fluctuations of international energy prices, which has led the government to consider sustainable sources, such as solar power. As consumer demands increase, so do the number of cargo ships and planes that bring in the goods to meet those demands. This has led to a rise in waste generated by residents, as well as the 1.7 million tourists that usually arrive every year. Alarmed by the bleak future, the Maldives parliament is planning to establish its first-ever Climate Act, which will set limits on pollution, and adopt measures to protect and help regenerate the environment. The country must make the switch to renewable energy, but government action alone will not be enough. The countrys private sector, especially tourism and its related sectors, must adhere to new standards. This will necessitate changes in consumption, and a transformation in the current business models from tourism to more emphasis on small businesses. As development hums in villages and town and the new urban centre of Hulumale, on the beach in Villingili, another group is trying to reverse the effects of global warming. Save the Beach, a civil society partner of UNDP, is trying to restore broken and bleached coral reefs. When we visited them a few months ago, they invited us to jump right in. As we snorkelled against the currents, we passed over a depressing expanse of broken and bleached reef. It ran grey, with nary a movement. Then as we got further, bursts of orange and purple appeared ahead. These new outcrops of emerging coral hung onto to metal nursery frames, laid down by the volunteers. Fish were darting in and out of the coral nurseries. The juxtaposition of mega-construction of an urban centre, and the volunteer-led regeneration of coral reefs, are symbolic of a range of necessary measures that will be needed to ensure a sustainable future, for the Maldives. Both are needed, and both must incorporate sustainability measures into the design and development that complement each other, accompanied by political commitment and funding, to renew the natural environment. The pandemic has illustrated that we can act collectively to combat a major crisis. So, whether we create a greener future will depend on our ability to act fast and make the necessary behavioural changes. Our underwater excursion revealed how vital oceans are to island economies, and to the planet. COVID-19 will come and go; it will have its impact and teach us some vital lessons; but it wont define the Maldives future. That future, of beaches lost, and bleached and broken reefs, versus a sea with an explosion of colours and marine life, will depend on the choices we make. New Delhi: Former Congress president Rahul Gandhi on Tuesday took a swipe at the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led central government, listing the alleged attempt to topple the government in Rajasthan and the Namaste Trump event among its achievements in the Covid-19 times. He said due to such achievements of the government, the country is now Aatmanirbhar (self-reliant) in the fight against the pandemic. The BJP hit back at Gandhi over his regular tweets against the central government, saying the Congress will become a party of tweets as it is doing no work among people and losing one leader after another. Achievements of the government in the Covid-era: February - Namaste Trump, March - toppling the government in Madhya Pradesh, April - making people light candles, May - governments sixth anniversary, June - Bihar virtual rally, July - attempt to topple the government in Rajasthan, Gandhi said in a sarcastic tweet in Hindi. Gandhi has been repeatedly attacking the government over its handling of the Covid-19 situation and also questioning its planning to combat the pandemic. Union minister Prakash Javadekar responded to Gandhi, calling protests against the amended citizenship law, the Delhi riots in February the Congresss achievements followed by loss of Jyotiraditya Scindia and power in Madhya Pradesh in March, and incitement of migrant workers in April. He said May marked the sixth anniversary of the Congress loss of power at the Centre while the party advocated for China in June and then it was finished in Rajasthan in July. Rahul Gandhi is tweeting on a daily basis. It seems the Congress will become a party of tweets as they are doing no work among the people and losing one leader after another. A frustrated and depressed party is trying to launch all sorts of attacks on the government, Javadekar told reporters. He said Gandhis mocking reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modis call to the people to light candles is a reference to the masses and also to corona warriors as this was aimed at motivating these emergency workers. People are standing with Modi. The Congress has become helpless, he said. Javadekar also said India has done much better than countries such as the US and Brazil in tackling the coronavirus pandemic. Rahul baba, note Indias achievements in war against Corona. India has the least average cases, active cases and death rate than the US, Europe and Brazil. By making fun of candle lights, Rahul Gandhi ji you have insulted the people of India and brave corona warriors, he later tweeted. Locate Bio raises 2.25m for new spinal treatments NOTTINGHAM, UK / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Locate Bio, who are developing new treatments for patients with serious spinal conditions, has completed a 2.25m funding round led by Mercia Asset Management to help to continue its ground-breaking research and bring its first products to market. Locate Bio has secured the investment from Mercia's own balance sheet, its EIS fund and the MEIF Proof of Concept & Early Stage Fund, which is managed by Mercia and part of the Midlands Engine Investment Fund, and the Future Fund. Together with earlier funding rounds from Mercia and MEIF, it brings the total raised by the company to over 8m. Locate Bio's first product, which is at the pre-clinical development stage, will help patients who require spinal fusion surgery, where bones are permanently joined together to overcome low back pain. It uses a type of bone protein to remove the need for a bone graft. Its second therapy will be for the biological renewal of the intervertebral discs and will help those suffering from degenerative disc disease, a painful condition affecting 33 million people in the US and EU. Locate Bio is a spin-out from the University of Nottingham and based on the research of Professor Kevin Shakesheff, a world-leading expert in regenerative medicine. The company, which initially started out as a contract research organisation, first received investment from Mercia in 2018. John von Benecke, CEO of Locate, said: "I am delighted by the continued support of our lead investor. This investment will allow us to maintain the excellent progress with our lead product and further the development of a pipeline of synergistic products." Dr Ian Wilding, Chairman of Locate said: "This investment comes at an important time for the Company as it enters an exciting phase. Despite the uncertainty and disruption that COVID-19 has brought to so many industries, the Locate team have relentlessly executed against its aggressive timelines and the additional funding announced today is a welcome validation of the progress that has been made." Peter Dines, Chief Operating Officer of Mercia, said: "We are very pleased to continue to support John and the team at Locate. Their lead product has the potential to disrupt a $3bn market, and we remain excited by the prospect of helping to build a world-leading business." Ken Cooper Managing Director, British Business Bank, added: "We are pleased that the MEIF Proof of Concept fund has been able to support further investment into Locate Bio. Along with the bank's other programmes the MEIF funds are investing to support SMEs in the region and are still very much open for business. This second round of funding recognises a business which has continued to make good progress despite the difficulties caused by Covid 19." The Midlands Engine Investment Fund project is supported financially by the European Union using funding from the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF) as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020 and the European Investment Bank. ENDS Locate Bio Limited +44 (0)115 784 0041 John von Benecke, CEO jvonbenecke@locatebio.com Media: Richard Hayhurst richard@rhapr.eu Press contacts Alison Dwyer Head of Marketing & Communications Mercia Asset Management PLC +44 (0) 7464 480 137 alison.dwyer@mercia.co.uk Pauline Rawsterne PR Agent Turquoise PR +44 (0) 161 860 6063 +44 (0) 780 163 9816 pauline@turquoisepr.co.uk About Mercia Asset Management PLC Mercia is a proactive, specialist asset manager focused on supporting regional SMEs to achieve their growth aspirations. Mercia provides capital across its four asset classes of balance sheet, venture, private equity and debt capital: the Group's 'Complete Capital Solution'. The Group initially nurtures businesses via its third-party funds under management, then over time Mercia can provide further funding to the most promising companies, by deploying direct investment follow-on capital from its own balance sheet. Mercia has a strong UK regional footprint through its eight offices, 19 university partnerships and extensive personal networks, providing it with access to high-quality deal flow. Mercia has almost 0.8billion of assets under management and, since its IPO in December 2014, has invested over 90.0million across its direct investment portfolio. The Group raises its own Venture Capital Trusts (VCTs) and Enterprise Investment Scheme (EIS) Funds and details about open offers can be found through Mercia's website. Mercia Asset Management PLC is quoted on AIM with the epic "MERC" and includes the following wholly owned subsidiaries - Mercia Fund Management Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 524856 Enterprise Ventures Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 183363 EV Business Loans Limited is authorised and regulated by the FCA under firm reference number 443560 www.mercia.co.uk About the Midlands Engine Investment Fund (MEIF) The Midlands Engine Investment Fund will invest in Debt Finance, Small Business Loans, Proof of Concept and Equity Finance funds, ranging from 25,000 to 2m, specifically to help small and medium sized businesses secure the funding they need for growth and development. The Midlands Engine Investment Fund is operated by British Business Financial Services Limited, wholly owned by British Business Bank, the UK's national economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity. The Midlands Engine Investment Fund is supported by the European Regional Development Fund, the European Investment Bank, the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy and British Business Finance Limited, a British Business Bank group company. The MEIF covers the following LEP areas: Black Country, Coventry & Warwickshire, Greater Birmingham & Solihull, Stoke-on-Trent and Staffordshire, The Marches, and Worcestershire in the West Midlands; and Derby, Derbyshire, Nottingham & Nottinghamshire (D2N2) Greater Lincolnshire, Leicester and Leicestershire, and South East Midlands in the East Midlands. The project is receiving up to 78,550,000 of funding from the England European Regional Development Fund as part of the European Structural and Investment Funds Growth Programme 2014-2020. The Ministry for Housing, Communities and Local Government is the Managing Authority for European Regional Development Fund. Established by the European Union, the European Regional Development Fund helps local areas stimulate their economic development by investing in projects which will support innovation, businesses, create jobs and local community regenerations. For more information visit www.gov.uk/european-growth-funding. The funds in which Midlands Engine Investment Fund invests are open to businesses with material operations, or planning to open material operations, in, the West Midlands and East & South East Midlands. The British Business Bank has published the Business Finance Guide (in partnership with the ICAEW, and a further 21 business and finance organisations). The guide, which impartially sets out the range finance options available to businesses and provides links to support available at a regional level, is available at www.thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/bbb About the British Business Bank The British Business Bank is the UK government's economic development bank. Established in November 2014, its mission is to make finance markets for smaller businesses work more effectively, enabling those businesses to prosper, grow and build UK economic activity. Its remit is to design, deliver and efficiently manage UK-wide smaller business access to finance programmes for the UK government. The British Business Bank programmes are supporting more than 7.2bn of finance to over 93,000 smaller businesses (as at end of September 2019). As well as increasing both supply and diversity of finance for UK smaller businesses through its programmes, the Bank works to raise awareness of the finance options available to smaller businesses: The Business Finance Guide (published in partnership with the ICAEW and a further 21 business and finance organisations) impartially sets out the range of finance options available to businesses at all stages - from start-ups to SMEs and growing mid-sized companies. Businesses can take the interactive journey at www.thebusinessfinanceguide.co.uk/bbb. The new British Business Bank Finance Hub provides independent and impartial information to high-growth businesses about their finance options, featuring short films, expert guides, checklists and articles from finance providers to help make their application a success. The new site also features case studies and learnings from real businesses to guide businesses through the process of applying for growth finance. As the holding company of the group operating under the trading name of British Business Bank, British Business Bank plc is wholly owned by HM Government and is not authorised or regulated by the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA) or the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). The British Business Bank operates under its own brand name through a number of subsidiaries, none of which are authorised and regulated by the FCA. British Business Bank plc and its principal operating subsidiaries are not banking institutions and do not operate as such. A complete legal structure chart for British Business Bank plc and its subsidiaries can be found on theBritish Business Bank plc website . This information is provided by RNS, the news service of the London Stock Exchange. RNS is approved by the Financial Conduct Authority to act as a Primary Information Provider in the United Kingdom. Terms and conditions relating to the use and distribution of this information may apply. For further information, please contact rns@lseg.com or visit www.rns.com. SOURCE: Locate Bio Limited View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598267/Locate-Bio-raises-225m Advertisment Get up to 5% more currency for your international money transfers. Use a specialist FX provider to beat your bank's exchange rate: find out how today. Oxford/Astrazeneca have progressed to Phase III trials with 100% of participants producing antibodies after a second dose of their vaccine. This has lifted risk markets such as stocks and AUD/USD is outperforming again. The US dollar has fallen through the June lows and is heading towards the march lows. Some super-sized moves in risk markets on Monday have followed over into Tuesdays session. Tech is once more leading the way after a sharp correction and pulling up other sectors and markets. European trading is mixed, however, with Dax +2% after a deal was struck on the European Recovery Fund and the FTSE lagging with a gain of only 0.7%. Currencies are also a mixed bag with EURUSD flattish, GBPUSD gaining by around 0.2% and AUDUSD the clear winner with gains of 0.75%. This is unrelated to data as this weeks releases are light and the moves seem more connected to the markets perception of risk on and off. Risk is definitely back on as some positive headlines on vaccines means the coronavirus seems less of a threat for later in the year when a further surge in cases is feared. This is illustrated by AUDUSD which is breaking above its June high nearly at the same time as the bellwether S&P500. Positive Vaccine News Although no market move is a guarantee, the reaction to positive vaccine news has been fairly consistent in stocks and currencies: stocks rally, AUD and NZD tend to outperform, and the US dollar tend to show weakness. This has been the case again on Tuesday as the DXY dollar basket has finally fallen through its June lows at 95.74 and could be heading to the March lows 100 cents lower. Vaccine news does tend to only spur a short-lived move as there have been numerous reports of progress, but none of an actual usable vaccine. This weeks news has, however, reported real progress from Oxford/AstraZeneca and a vaccine seems closer than ever. Goldman Sachs reported, 1077 healthy adults recruited in the UK all saw T-cell responses being induced. Neutralising antibodies were generated in more than 90% of participants across different assays. A second dose ensured all participants produced the antibodies. Phase III has begun." Of course, this is only one of the many promising studies and there have been positive updates from Moderna, CanSino and Pfizer/BionTech. Goldman Sachs does, however, offer some words of caution, ...while these results are positive in the short term, COVID-19 risks are not eradicated this year, given the timeline. Current results focus on immune response measured in the laboratory. Further testing is needed to confirm if vaccine effectively protects against infection, dosage, safety. Phase III trials are now underway and could take several more months to complete. The big risk is that they may not give the all-clear and alterations have to be made. Yet with so companies in the race for a vaccine there is well-placed optimism one of the will find a workable vaccine; the big question is when. Looking Forward Risk appetite is likely to remain healthy and this will help AUDUSD and NZDUSD continue higher with the likes of EURUSD and GBPUSD lagging but also making headway. This is likely despite rising cases. As Danske Bank explain, Developments in the number of new COVID-19 cases remains a mixed picture with the US still seeing a high number of new infections... Equity markets, however, do not seem to care much. An explanation for the latter may be that investors no longer expect a sharp rise in new cases to be followed by nationwide lockdowns and that a few companies have put forward positive initial vaccine test results increasing the probability that a final product can be ready in the beginning of next year. The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization, Michael Ryan, hailed what he called good news Monday in the search for a vaccine to combat COVID-19. He was responding to results from two COVID-19 vaccine candidates in early trials, but warned there was still "a long way to go". We now need to move into larger-scale real-world trials, Ryan told reporters at a news conference in Geneva. But it is good to see more data and more products moving into this very important phase of vaccine discovery. Ryans comments came as scientists at Oxford University, in a paper published in The Lancet, said their experimental vaccine had been shown to trigger a protective immune response in hundreds of people who got the shot. Also in the medical journal, Chinese researchers published a study on their experimental vaccine, using a similar technique as the Oxford team, that reported an immune response. Ryan noted there are 23 COVID-19 candidate vaccines in clinical development, but until Monday only one had produced Phase 1 clinical data. Also Monday, WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus expressed concern about the impact of the virus on indigenous peoples, particularly in the Americas. Tedros said more than 70,000 cases have been reported among indigenous peoples in the Americas, and over 2,000 deaths. (Representative Image) The next phase of the clinical trials of the experimental vaccine being developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca against the coronavirus disease will see if the immune response seen in the early stages protects against Covid-19. The vaccine called AZD1222 was developed by Oxford Universitys Jenner Institute and licensed to the multinational pharmaceutical company, AstraZeneca. Also Read: August target for trial of Oxford vaccine: Adar Poonawalla According to trial results published in The Lancet medical journal, the Covid-19 vaccine prompted no serious side effects and elicited antibody and T-cell immune responses with the strongest response seen in people who received two doses. The global programme is made up of a Phase III trial in the US enrolling 30,000 patients, a paediatric study, as well as Phase III trials in low-to-middle income countries including Brazil and South Africa which are already underway, the university has said in a release. Also Read: AstraZenecas Covid-19 vaccine data fails to impress some experts Late-stage trials are underway in Brazil and South Africa and are due to start in the United States, where prevalence is higher. Sarah Gilbert, professor of vaccinology at the university, had said earlier 8,000 volunteers had been enrolled for the Phase III of its trial into the vaccine. The project has started Phase III of the human trials to assess how the vaccine works in a large number of people over the age of 18, and how well the vaccine works to prevent people from becoming infected and unwell with Covid-19. Researchers will also confirm their findings in different groups of people, those with other health conditions and in ethnically and geographically diverse populations. Also Read: CanSinos Covid-19 vaccine candidate shows promise It will take at least a year to determine conclusively if the vaccine offers long-term protection according to the Phase 1 trial report. Scientific ethics dictate that people cannot be deliberately exposed to a virus and researchers will instead monitor volunteers to see if they picked up an infection and how their body reacts. Researchers, however, have cautioned the project was still at an early stage. There is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the COVID-19 pandemic, vaccine developer Gilbert said. Also Read: Covid-19 vaccine: Health minister Dr Harsh Vardhan says too soon for procurement in India We still do not know how strong an immune response we need to provoke to effectively protect against Sars-Cov-2 infection, she said. AstraZeneca has signed agreements with governments around the world to supply the vaccine should it prove effective and gain regulatory approval. The company has put it into large-scale, late-stage trials to test its efficacy. It has signed deals to produce and supply over 2 billion doses of the shot, with 300 million doses earmarked for the US. Pascal Soriot, chief executive of AstraZeneca, said the company was on track to be producing doses by September, but that hopes that it will be available this year hinged on how quickly late-stage trials could be completed, given the dwindling prevalence of the virus in Britain. Also Read: AIIMS starts recruiting volunteers for Covaxin trial Since the Covid-19 vaccine has been developed by a United Kingdom-funded university, UK will have intellectual property rights. Other countries such as India will need to enter into commercial deals or understanding via foundations such as Coalition for Epidemic Preparedness Innovations (CEPI) and Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). AstraZeneca also entered a deal with Pune-based Serum Institute of India to supply one billion doses for low-and-middle-Income countries, with first 400 million nicely before the end of 2020. It is not yet clear how many doses India will be able to land at first since the rollout of the vaccine will be subject to considerations that are commercial as well as that of equity. The World Health Organizations chief scientist has described the Oxford vaccine as the leading candidate in a global race to halt the coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 600,000 people. More than 100 vaccines are being developed and tested around the world to try to stop the coronavirus pandemic, which has killed more than 600,000 people and ravaged the global economy. (With agency inputs) Investing in a vehicle is a decision that should not be taken lightly as there a number of factors you have to consider such as the price, its horsepower, the brand, the interior features you're looking for and many others. It's the same case with an electric vehicle as you don't only consider the price, but also its mileage as well. There are a number of affordable electric vehicles out in the market today from a Tesla to a Toyota. But if you're looking for something that goes beyond the expectation of an electric vehicle, then perhaps the 2021 Mercedes-Benz EQS is for you. Expected to launch next year, it will have a very impressive range of over 435 miles (700 km) on a single battery charge measured in the Worldwide Harmonised Light Vehicles Test Procedure (WLTP) cycle, according to Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius that was noted by CarScoops. "Next year, we will enter a new era for Mercedes in terms of electrification: the EQS will set standards. With the EQS, the way we think about cars is changing. It is the first fully electric luxury sedan from Mercedes-Benz based on an all-electric architecture," added Kalenius. Based on Mercedes-Benz' Modular Electric Architecture (MEA), the luxurious electric vehicle will be manufactured in Factory 56 in Sindelfingen, Germany, with the batteries coming from the Suttgart-Unterturkheim plant promising S-Class levels of luxury, comfort and safety, as well as all-wheel steering and electric all-wheel drive. No details have been announced as of this writing, but if previous reports are to be trusted, this will have a dual-motor setup that can generate up to 350 kW and 760Nm, 400 horsepower (for the entry-level, while the lucrative model will have 600 HP), serviced by a circa-100kWh battery pack and can accelerate up to 100km/h in 4.5 seconds and a top speed of 200km/h as noted by Motoring.com.au. According to Inside EVs, the EQS will be the first non-Tesla EV to challenge--and possibly even surpass--the Model S Long Range Plus whose claimed EPA range is 402 miles / 647 km which has a 100 kWh battery pack. Read Also: 2020 GLT Mercedes-Benz: What To Expect Mercedes-Benz Will No Longer Manufacture Sedans in the U.S. Due to the competition the automaker faces, Mercedes-Benz will no longer build sedans in North America as sales of the body style continue to lose out to SUVs, parent company Daimler as noted by Motor Authority. The Tuscaloosa plant will continue to build the GLE, GLE Coupe and GLS SUVs instead of C-Class sedans, while the plant in Aguascalientes, Mexico will focus on the GLB SUV instead of A-Class sedans, according to Reuters. Mercedes will fill the void with the production of an electric SUV, which the automaker announced in 2018 when it started construction of a battery plant in Tuscaloosa. Future C-Class sedans for sale in North America will likely be imported from Mercedes' plant in Bremen, Germany. The sedan will also be built in plants in South Africa and Beijing. Read Also: Mercedes Benz Gives Us A Peek At 1000Hp Project One Hypercar The head of the Maryland State Board of Elections says it will take about $20 million to implement Gov. Larry Hogan's plan for the November election and has asked the state's budget secretary to approve the expense. Linda Lamone, the state administrator of the elections board, sent a letter to Budget Secretary David Brinkley and the chairs of the legislative budget committees on Tuesday outlining the costs, which include $5.6 million for printing and mailing requests for absentee ballots, $1.8 million for prepaid postage for ballot requests and ballots, and $1.5 million for cleaning supplies and protective gear for poll workers. Lamone said early voting will be available at 78 locations from Oct. 22 to Oct. 29 and Election Day voting will be held at 1,600 polling places across the state. Given the coronavirus pandemic, she expects that the number of voters who will request and receive absentee ballots this year will be "significantly" greater than those in prior elections. Hogan has come under fire from Democratic officials for refusing to limit the number of polling places open on Election Day, and requiring voters to request absentee ballots instead of mailing them to all registered voters. A spokesman for Brinkley said the secretary's team is reviewing the letter. Sen. Guy Guzzone, D-Howard, chairman of the Senate Budget & Taxation Committee, described Hogan's Election Day plan for the election as both confusing and costly. Guzzone said there are expenses that would be needed regardless of how the election was structured, but there are "big chunks" for ballot requests that otherwise would not need to be spent. "He's going a more costly route," he said. Hogan said he wants to provide voters with options,especially after hours-long waits at the few polling places that were open during the June 2 primary. The state board mailed ballots to every registered voter for that election, but in large number of cases sent the wrong ballots or mailed them late. More voters than expected turned out at the polls, which - combined with extra cleaning and social distancing requirements that were in place - led to long lines and delayed returns. Also on Tuesday, Democratic House leaders sent a letter to Hogan urging him to provide voters with prepaid postage for ballot requests and ballots. "This is the bare minimum we can do for Maryland voters," the letter reads. "Having a stamp should not determine your ability to exercise your constitutional right." Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Sebastian Partogi (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21 2020 Many companies and institutions have been migrating their database management systems from conventional paid ones, such as Oracle, to cloud-based open source systems, most notably PostgreSQL, attracted by the cost efficiency the open source systems offer. Recently, I Made Wiryana, an information technology (IT) lecturer of Gunadarma University in Depok, West Java, who also worked as an IT advisor for various institutions, such as the National Police, the Finance Ministrys Directorate General of Customs and Excise, the Health Ministry and the Indonesia National Single Window, told The Jakarta Post that various national institutions had already migrated to open source database management software. Oracle is very expensive, because you have to pay the license for the various microservices it comprises. Also, you cannot just install your database management system on a single computer to avoid operational disruption; you have to install it across many computers. Imagine buying 35 different licenses for 35 computers, he said. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login The initial public offering of Mindspace Business Parks REIT will open for subscription on July 27 and the price band has been fixed at Rs 274-275 per share. The company is looking to raise up to Rs 4,500 crore from this issue, which consists of a fresh issue of units aggregating up to Rs 1,000 crore and offer for sale of units of Rs 3,500 crore. The bidding for public issue by anchor investors will open for a day on July 24, i.e. a day before issue opening. Bids can be made for minimum 200 units and in multiples of 200 units thereafter. Also Read: Mindspace REIT IPO affirms appetite for Indian commercial real estate among global investors This is the second public issue in the REIT segment. Embassy Office Parks REIT was the first one to launch Rs 4,750 crore IPO in March 2019. K Raheja Corp's Mindspace Business Parks REIT IPO has already received commitment worth Rs 1,125 crore from institutional investors including Singapore government's sovereign fund GIC, affiliates of Fidelity Group, Capital Group, Fullerton Group. With this, the proposed REIT IPO has already received response for 25 percent of the issue size by strategic investors. Total REIT units proposed to be subscribed by strategic investors will be 4.09 crore units and will be allotted to them at Rs 275 per piece, according to the offer document filed with the Securities & Board of India (SEBI). Therefore, the net offer after excluding strategic investors' portion would be around 12.27 crore units or Rs 3,375 crore. As per the document, 75 percent of the net offer (around 9.20 crore units or worth Rs 2,531 crore) is reserved for institutional investors and the rest 25 percent (around 3.07 crore units or worth Rs 844 crore) for non-institutional investors. Morgan Stanley India Company, Axis Capital, DSP Merrill Lynch, Citigroup Capital Markets India, JM Financial, Kotak Mahindra Capital Company, CLSA India, Nomura Financial Advisory and Securities India, UBS Securities India, HDFC Bank, Ambit Capital, IDFC Securities and ICICI Securities are book running lead managers to the issue. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 22:35:00|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HELSINKI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The profit of Stora Enso, a Helsinki-based forest industry giant, declined to 178 million euros (203.6 million U.S. dollars) in the second quarter (Q2) from 299 million euros in the same period of 2019, according to the company's financial report published on Tuesday. The turnover of Stora Enso, a manufacturer of pulp, paper and other forest products, was 2,114 million euros in Q2, down from 2,608 million euros year on year, the report showed. The company suffered from the drop in the demand for paper. Annica Bresky, president and CEO of the company, told Finnish business daily Kauppalehti on Tuesday that the measures to curb COVID-19 have accelerated the drop in the demand for paper. Bresky said that paper comprises today only 20 percent of the turnover of Stora Enso. She noted that without the paper division the profit would be 216 million euros, while in Q1 it was 159 million euros. Bresky said it is too early to say what the new level of demand for paper will be in the future. Bresky said the result in cardboard and wood products was better than expected, adding that Stora Enso can give renewable solutions to support the European Union (EU) in the global transition to environment-friendly production. (1 euro = 1.15 U.S. dollars) Enditem Paedophile hunters accuse a father-of-two of texting a 14-year-old girl as his disgusted wife asks: 'Is this true?' The man was filmed being confronted by Broken Dreams, a self-proclaimed 'group of volunteers who actively seek online predators', outside his house in Buckinghamshire. Thames Valley Police confirmed a man has been arrested for causing or inciting a girl, aged 13 to 15, to engage in sexual activity. Paedophile hunters accused a man of texting a 14-year-old girl as his disgusted wife asks: 'Is this true?' The man was filmed being confronted by Broken Dreams, a self-proclaimed 'group of volunteers who actively seek online predators', outside his house in Buckinghamshire He has been released on bail pending further inquiries. In the footage, which the volunteers live-streamed to their Facebook page, a group surrounds the accused man and explain that they know he was communicating with a 14-year-old girl in online chats. The man insists that he 'has no recollection of it'. He explains that he is taking antidepressant Setraline and says: 'When I have had a drink and have taken anti-depressants I have no recollection of what I've done.' The man's wife can be heard shouting 'who are they?' in the background as the accusers try to speak to the man. Later in the video, she approaches the group and states: 'Why are you doing this to our family? What's going on here? Are you ok? Is this not true?' Thames Valley Police confirmed a man has been arrested for causing or inciting a girl, aged 13 to 15, to engage in sexual activity. Pictured: Police speaking to the man at the scene The man replies: 'I don't recall this.' Towards the end of the clip, police arrive to speak to the man. He talks to the two officers before walking over to a police car. One police officer explains to the paedophile hunters that his colleagues will be their to take their details. Towards the end of the clip, police arrive to speak to the man. He talks to the two officers before walking over to a police car (pictured) As the clip comes to an end, the man is driven away in the back of the car. A spokesman for Thames Valley Police said: 'Following a call from a member of the public on Sunday, July 12, Thames Valley Police officers arrested a 43-year-old man on suspicion of causing/inciting a girl 13 to 15 to engage in sexual activity. 'He has been released on bail pending further inquiries.' North Korean Leader Lashes Out Over Hospital Construction Delays By VOA News July 20, 2020 North Korean leader Kim Jong Un lashed out at officials over delays in the construction of a new hospital in Pyongyang and ordered them to be sacked. The North's official Korean Central News Agency reported Monday that Kim berated the construction managers during a recent visit to the site of the new Pyongyang General Hospital and "pointed out serious problems arising in economic organization related to the construction." KCNA says Kim specifically called out the building commission for "haphazardly" going through with the project without a proper construction budget, and that it was burdening the people of North Korea with demands for "assistance projects." Kim is quoted as saying that if "left on its own devices" the commission "could end up tarnishing the image of the [ruling] party." The troubled hospital project comes amid speculation that North Korea may be having difficulties securing construction materials due to U.S.-led sanctions over its nuclear weapons and missile programs, as well as tightened border controls over the coronavirus pandemic. North Korea claims it has not had a single COVID-19 case since the virus was first detected in neighboring China late last year. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Deal follows days of rancour over the proportion of grants compared to loans repayable by the funds beneficiaries. European Union leaders reached a deal on a massive stimulus plan for their coronavirus-blighted economies at a pre-dawn meeting on Tuesday after a fractious summit that went through the night and into its fifth day. The deal will see the EU issue 750 billion euros ($860bn) of joint debt to help member states mitigate the economic downturn. The agreement required the unanimous approval of all 27 member states and represents a victory for German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who drafted an early outline for the proposal in May. The emergency fund will give out 390 billion euros ($446bn) of grants and 360 billion euros ($412bn) of low-interest loans. Summit chairman Charles Michel tweeted Deal shortly after the blocs leaders reached agreement at a 5:15am (03:15 GMT) plenary session. Another official present at the summit said: Conclusions adopted!. Italy, the original European epicentre of the pandemic, will likely be the biggest beneficiary from the plan. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said his country expects to receive 28 percent of the 750 billion euro emergency fund ($860bn), comprising 81 billion euros ($93bn) in grants and 127 billion euros ($146bn) in loans. French Finance Minister Bruno Le Maire said France would get 40 billion euros ($46bn) in subsidies as part of the EU package Officials said the deal, which came after Michel presented compromises on the recovery fund, is critical to dispel doubts about the blocs very future. The EU was slow to coordinate its initial response to the COVID-19 pandemic and, already weakened by the United Kingdoms departure from the bloc, a united front on economic aid was important in demonstrating that it can jointly step up to a crisis. It has been a long summit and a challenging summit, but the prize is worth negotiating for, Irish Prime Minister Micheal Martin said as the Brussels summit approached the record length set at a 2000 meeting in the French city of Nice of almost five full days. European nations have done a better job of containing the coronavirus than the United States after a devastating early few months that hit Italy and Spain particularly hard, collaborating on medical, travel and economic fronts. The European Central Bank has pumped unparalleled amounts of money into economies to keep them going, while capitals hammer out their recovery funds. Diplomats said the leaders appeared to put aside the rancour that stood in the way of a compromise after hours of haggling through the weekend. Stingy and egotistical Emotions ran high at a dinner on Sunday as a group of fiscally frugal northern nations led by the Netherlands stood their ground on the proportion of grants as opposed to repayable loans within the proposed 750 billion euros ($860bn) special recovery fund. Macron lost patience in the early hours of Monday, banging his fist on the table in frustration at sterile blockages by the frugals, two diplomats told the Reuters news agency. Polish Prime Minister Mateusz Morawiecki also railed against the frugals, branding them a group of stingy, egotistic states that looked at things through the prism of their own interests. Poland would be another top beneficiary of the recovery package, receiving tens of billions of euros in grants and cheap loans, along with high-debt Mediterranean-rim countries like Italy that have taken the brunt of the pandemic in Europe. But the rhetorical skirmishing faded on Monday, and the leaders homed in on an agreement on the stimulus package and, linked to it, the EUs 2021-2027 common budget of approximately 1.1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion). While the funds will help to shore up some of the regions battered economies, some analysts said it may not be enough. Is this the most effective recovery fund and budget possible? No, it isnt. In terms of size, the fund is still relatively small given the severity of the economic crisis, Bert Colijn and Carsten Brzeski, eurozone economists at Dutch bank ING, said in a research note sent to Al Jazeera. Still, given that more than a year ago a meagre eurozone budget was almost impossible and given how far apart member states had been at the start of the discussion, this mornings outcome is still remarkable, they added. Hopes for a deal to help address Europes deepest recession since World War II sent Asian shares to a five-month high, while the main stock indices in Paris, Frankfurt, Madrid and Rome were between one percent and 1.5 percent higher in early European trade. Italys borrowing costs fell to their lowest since early March and pushed the euro to a 19-week high against the US dollar. The agreement to disburse 390 billion euros ($446bn) in grants was a far lower figure than the 500 billion ($572bn) euros originally proposed by Michel. The Netherlands had pushed for a veto on aid for countries that backslide on economic reform, but diplomats said it was now willing to back a stop-the-clock mechanism by which member states could put a brake on disbursements for three months and have them reviewed. Disbursements will also be linked to governments observing the rule of law. Hungary, backed by eurosceptic ally Poland, had threatened to veto the package if funds were made conditional on upholding democracy, but diplomats said a way forward on that was found. (Newser) Joe Biden wouldn't commit to choosing a Black woman as his running mate, but while speaking to MSNBC's Joy Reid on Monday night, he did say four Black women are on the list of potential VP picks, with more possibly to come as his vetting team continues to brief him on candidates, Axios reports. "It's important that my administration, I promise you, will look like Americafrom vice president to Supreme Court to Cabinet positions to every major position in the White House," Biden said. story continues below Among the rumored possibilities for the VP slot are Sen. Kamala Harris, Rep. Val Demings, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, Rep. Karen Bass, former Georgia gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams, and former national security adviser Susan Rice. Biden's team is wrapping up six weeks of "detailed analysis" of each candidate, and Biden said he'll then narrow the list and have "personal discussions" with everyone who is left. He's expected to make a decision around Aug. 1. Deadline notes the show was the inaugural episode of The ReidOut, Reid's new nightly primetime show. Bottoms was among her other guests, along with Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot and Hillary Clinton. (Read more Election 2020 stories.) Clubs Local photographers exhibit at Nic The Casper Photography Association is currently displaying in the Nicolaysen Art Museums Rosenthal Gallery a curated selection of photography. The exhibit runs through August 9, 2020. A reception will be announced in the immediate future. This years collection shows a fusion of technical excellence, exquisite composition, and true feeling for the rugged landscapes of the West and the people who call it home. The CPA is central Wyomings premier organization for professional, amateur, hobbyists, and beginning photographers. It is dedicated to providing opportunities for area photographers to learn, network and enjoy a variety of events and field trips designed to maximize both the enjoyment and craft of photography. Presenters this year include Pete Ashbaugh, Marlene Ashbaugh, Jess Burgardt, Harry Buhler, Lyn Clark, Robert Corbin, Rose Fry, Rusty Halsey, Deede McKendree, Jason Naylor, Frank Neville, Pete Schmotzer, Sam Sherman, Alan VanDeventer, Betty Adams, Susie Reed, Laura Terriere, and Nancy Patrick. Information about the CPA can be found at http://www.casperphotographers.com/ and on Facebook at Casper Photography Association. Candidates in the park Natrona County Republican Women and the Natrona County Republican Party would like to invite any registered voter to join an evening of Politics in the Park to help inform the voters as they prepare to vote in the upcoming primary. Events will open at 4:30 p.m. each Monday. Candidates will speak and answer a variety of questions. There will be a table to submit questions at each event. Candidates will have an area to set up tables to meet voters, hand out signs, literature or whatever they would like. Monday, July 27, 5:30 p.m. monthly meeting, Senate races and coroner start at 4:30 p.m. with food and candidate tables; Monday, August 3, 5:30 p.m. monthly meeting, State Senate race start at 4:30 p.m. with food and candidate tables; Monday, August 10, 5:30 p.m. monthly meeting, City Council races start at 4:30 p.m. with food and candidate tables. OCAC cruises The Oil Capitol Auto Club is a group of car hobbyists. There are members in all age groups with cars from the early 1900s to current models. Members are car enthusiasts who restore, rebuild, repair, modify and drive their vehicles. Club members do not condone racing, burn outs, reckless or offensive driving habits on any public roadway. Club cruises, which are not on Saturdays, consist of anywhere from 10 to 30 cars on a usual night. The group takes historical cruises, scenic cruises, neighborhood cruises and just plain cruises driving around. If you see a bunch of cars coming down the street on an off-cruise night, wave and smile knowing that members are having fun. Most of them will probably smile back and wave. Toastmaster clubs meeting online The Casper Toastmasters Clubs have transitioned to ZOOM meetings, and alll are invited. Virtual meetings have proved to be both productive and fun. Let Toastmasters help you give voice to your potential. Toastmasters can give you the skills you need to effectively communicate whether you are a professional, a student, a parent, a retiree or other situation. You can develop your communication and leadership skills and open a world of possibilities. Toastmasters International has helped millions of men and women with their learn-by-doing self-paced program. Go online to learn more at Toastmasters.org. Local contacts to check out or join a ZOOM Meeting are: Morning Tour Toastmasters, Mondays, 6:30 to 7:40 a.m. Jennifer, 258-0572 Pioneer Toastmasters, 1st and 3rd Wednesdays, 12:15 to 1 p.m. Angela, 277-2793 Pathfinder Toastmasters, 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, 6:15 to 7:15 p.m. Tom, 262-3655. Chamber banquet to October The Casper Area Chamber of Commerce has announced its decision to reschedule its 117th Annual Awards Banquet presented by Black Hills Energy and the Excellence in the Workplace Workshop. The dinner is rescheduled for October 14, 2020 and the workshop is scheduled for October 15, 2020. If you have ordered tickets for the original date, those tickets will be honored for October 14 and October 15. If you are unable to make the new date, a full refund will be given. For the latest information on the Annual Dinner, Excellence in the Workplace Workshop or any other information, please visit www.casperwyoming.org. German family history ideas For now, the Casper German Stammtisch is not meeting due to the current need for social distancing. Until we can gather together again, there are resources that provide some connection to German culture, history and heritage. Among these are DeutscheWelle (https://www.de.com/en), the Goethe Institut (https://goethe.de/en), Indiana German Heritage Society (https;//ighs.org) and German American Heritage Center & Museum (https://www.gahc.org), to name just a few. Working on your family history? German is still the largest heritage group in the USA. Many families with German ancestors in Wyoming are Germans from Russia. Between 1762 and 1796, Catherine the Great, Tsarina of Russia, invited farmers to immigrate to Russia where they were offered farm land and the assurance that they could pray, educate their children and conduct village business in German. Their sons would not be drafted into the army. Another group are Volga Germans who migrated along the Volga River to find better opportunities for farming. There are many related resources online and groups on Facebook. Did you know that Pennsylvania Dutch is actually Pennsylvania German? The German word for German is Deutsch, which created the confusion. The language they still speak in Pennsylvania today is a very old version of a dialect that was spoken long ago in the Rhineland Palatinate when these ancestors emigrated. What interesting information can you find to share when the group can meet again? In the meantime, Alles Gute! Retired teachers cancel breakfast The Natrona County High School retired faculty and staff will not be meeting for breakfast at Perkins Restaurant until further notice due to the coronavirus. For more information call 237-1608. Join Historical Society If you are one who wants to know more about Wyoming, how the West was settled, why it was settled and all that has happened since, come join the Natrona County Historical Society on the fourth Thursday of the month. Members share a multitude of stories, films, power point presentations and hands-on exhibits about this 150 year history, much of it related to immediate ancestors only three generations past. The Natrona County chapter is but one of 20 chapters in the state that comprise the Wyoming State Historical Society. Partnering with them, the American Heritage Center, the University of Wyoming and the Wyoming Department of State Parks and Cultural Resources helps to share the fascinating story of Wyoming's past and preserve her rich historical resources. For more information about membership and events, please call Larry Steensland at 333-3745 or Kem Nicolaysen at 262-3972. Love 0 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 0 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. The market barometers traded near the day's high in mid-morning trade. At 11:20 IST, the barometer index, the S&P BSE Sensex, was up 405.53 points or 1.08% at 37,824.52. The Nifty 50 index added 111.85 points or 1.01% at 11,134.05. Asian shares advanced as EU leaders agreed on a 750 billion euros package aimed at funding post-pandemic relief efforts in the region. Hopes for a coronavirus vaccine also lifted risk appetite. The first set of results from early-stage clinical trials of the Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine candidate show the vaccine is safe and induces an immune reaction. In the broader market, the S&P BSE Mid-Cap index rose 0.39% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index gained 0.48%. Both these indices underperformed the Sensex. The market breadth was strong. On the BSE, 1342 shares rose and 947 shares fell. A total of 135 shares were unchanged. Buzzing Segment: Bharti Airtel (down 0.82%) and Vodafone Idea (down 7.41%) declined. At the adjusted gross revenue (AGR) dues hearing yesterday, the Supreme Court reportedly indicated it may consider a longer time frame for repayment of AGR dues. The apex court reportedly confirmed the government assessment of AGR dues that telecom companies such as Bharti Airtel and Vodafone Idea need to pay and reserved its order on how much time they'll get to do so. The two companies offered to pay the money in 15 years while the government stood by its proposal to give them 20 years. The three-judge bench, led by Justice Arun Mishra upheld the amount to be paid by Bharti Airtel at Rs 25,976 crore and by Vodafone Idea at Rs 50,399 crore, media reports said. The dues include licence fees, spectrum usage charges (SUC), interest and penalties. Media reports further suggested that the SC bench refused to countenance any representation from the telcos on a reassessment of dues or excluding SUC of nearly Rs 71,000 crore from the over Rs 1.6 lakh crore liabilities. Meanwhlile, Vodafone Idea has reportedly missed the July 15 deadline to pay over Rs 1,200 crore to the Department of Telecommunications as licence fee and spectrum usage charges for April-June period. Global Markets: Most Asian markets advanced on Tuesday after investor sentiment was supported by a slew of positive news on the coronavirus vaccine and fiscal stimulus fronts. Meanwhile, European Union (EU) leaders have reportedly reached a deal on a 750 billion euro ($857 billion) recovery fund to help the region recover from the coronavirus crisis. EU heads of state had been locked in talks since Friday morning to discuss the proposed recovery fund and the EU's next budget, but there had been deep divisions over the size and composition of the fund. Early Tuesday morning, however, the leaders reached a breakthrough agreement. US stocks climbed on Monday after erasing early losses as tech giants rallied and investors focused on positive COVID-19 vaccine news. A UK biotech firm, Synairgen, reportedly soared as much as 552% on Monday after announcing that its drug was associated with a significantly lower chance of a patient requiring a ventilator or dying. AstraZeneca shares slumped after results of an early-stage trial indicated that participants who received the experimental vaccine had increased levels of antibodies and T cells targeting the virus. The company's shares traded as much as 10% higher in London as traders waited for the results. Yet the shares erased gains and turned lower in New York after researchers reiterated that the data was only preliminary and analysts reportedly said the results came in were below par. Investors are also keeping an eye on Washington, where lawmakers are starting to hammer out a rescue package to replace some of the expiring benefits earlier versions contained. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Technavio has been monitoring the automotive OEM premium audio market and it is poised to grow by USD 9.04 billion during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of over 5% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005120/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Automotive OEM Premium Audio Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 on COVID-19 Impact The market is moderately fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Bang Olufsen, Bose, Bowers Wilkins, Burmester Audiosysteme, HARMAN International, and MERIDIAN AUDIO are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. Demand for automotive electronics has been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Automotive OEM Premium Audio Market 2019-2023: Segmentation Automotive OEM Premium Audio Market is segmented as below: Application Luxury Segment Vehicles Mid-segment Vehicles Geographic Landscape APAC Europe North America MEA South America To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download latest free sample report of 2020-2024: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30775 Automotive OEM Premium Audio Market 2019-2023: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our automotive OEM premium audio market report covers the following areas: Automotive OEM Premium Audio Market size Automotive OEM Premium Audio Market trends Automotive OEM Premium Audio Market analysis This study identifies the developments in the field of advanced automotive sound systems as one of the prime reasons driving the automotive OEM premium audio market growth during the next few years. Automotive OEM Premium Audio Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the automotive OEM premium audio market, including some of the vendors such as Bang Olufsen, Bose, Bowers Wilkins, Burmester Audiosysteme, HARMAN International, and MERIDIAN AUDIO. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the automotive OEM premium audio market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. 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Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Automotive OEM Premium Audio Market 2019-2023: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023 Detailed information on factors that will assist automotive OEM premium audio market growth during the next five years Estimation of the automotive OEM premium audio market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the automotive OEM premium audio market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of automotive OEM premium audio market vendors Table Of Contents: PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT 2.1 Preface 2.2 Preface 2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis PART 04: MARKET SIZING Market definition Market sizing 2018 Market size and forecast 2018-2023 PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY APPLICATION Market segmentation by application Comparison by application Luxury segment vehicles Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Mid-segment vehicles Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Market opportunity by application PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison APAC Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Europe Market size and forecast 2018-2023 North America Market size and forecast 2018-2023 South America Market size and forecast 2018-2023 MEA Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Key leading countries Market opportunity PART 09: DECISION FRAMEWORK PART 10: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challenges PART 11: MARKET TRENDS Developments in the field of advanced automotive sound systems Over-the-air (OTA) updates for advanced in-car infotainment systems Development of headrest integrated speakers and noise canceling headphones for in-car applications PART 12: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview Landscape disruption Competitive scenario PART 13: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Bang Olufsen Bose Bowers Wilkins Burmester Audiosysteme HARMAN International MERIDIAN AUDIO PART 14: APPENDIX Research methodology List of abbreviations PART 15: EXPLORE TECHNAVIO About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005120/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ For first time, researchers may be able to provide a non-invasive alternative to skin biopsy to correctly distinguish between two highly inflammatory diseases Mount Sinai researchers have pinpointed a single gene biomarker, nitride oxide synthase 2 (NOS2) that can distinguish atopic dermatitis (AD) and psoriasis with 100 percent accuracy using adhesive tape strips, a non-invasive alternative to skin biopsy. The research will be published online today in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology. The study was led by Emma Guttman-Yassky, MD, PhD, Sol and Clara Kest Professor and Vice Chair of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. It evaluated tape strips obtained from 20 adults with moderate to severe AD, 20 with moderate to severe psoriasis, and 20 healthy individuals. From each subject, 20 tape strips were collected, some from lesions and the rest from clinically unaffected skin. The skin cells collected from the tape strips were subjected to global molecular profiling for identification of disease-related biomarkers. Atopic dermatitis, also known as eczema, is an inflammatory, extremely itchy skin disorder that affects more than 31 million adults in the United States, including 10 to 20 percent of children. Psoriasis is a skin disorder that causes red, itchy scaly patches; it has no cure and affects more than 8 million people in the United States. "In the past, skin tissue biopsies have always been considered the gold standard for distinguishing between inflammatory skin diseases, but they can cause pain, scarring, and increased risk of infection," said Dr. Guttman-Yassky, whose past revolutionary research on AD focused on the mechanism underlying the disease and promoted development of targeted therapeutics for it. "This study shows that using adhesive tape strips may provide a minimally invasive alternative to skin biopsies for monitoring biomarkers of patients with these particular skin diseases and beyond." The researchers also captured other genes related to immune and epidermal barrier function that were dysregulated in AD and/or psoriasis, and that distinguished each disease from the other. For example, tape strips from AD patients strongly expressed cell markers related to T-helper 2 (Th2) immune response, which is characteristic to AD, while psoriasis patients displayed much higher levels of Th1 and Th17 cytokines, which are characteristic to psoriasis. Dr. Guttman-Yassky added that the molecular phenotypes described in the study were notably in accord with previous reports from skin biopsy studies and with the current mechanistic understanding of both diseases. "This revolutionary study emphasizes the great need for better understanding immune and barrier alterations in both adults and children living with inflammatory skin disease," said Mark Lebwohl, MD, Waldman Professor and Chair of Dermatology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. "The results of this study may help provide a useful alternative to the invasive method of skin biopsies to track cutaneous disease activity in future clinical trials." ### About the Mount Sinai Health System The Mount Sinai Health System is New York City's largest academic medical system, encompassing eight hospitals, a leading medical school, and a vast network of ambulatory practices throughout the greater New York region. Mount Sinai is a national and international source of unrivaled education, translational research and discovery, and collaborative clinical leadership ensuring that we deliver the highest quality care--from prevention to treatment of the most serious and complex human diseases. The Health System includes more than 7,200 physicians and features a robust and continually expanding network of multispecialty services, including more than 400 ambulatory practice locations throughout the five boroughs of New York City, Westchester, and Long Island. The Mount Sinai Hospital is ranked No. 14 on U.S. News & World Report's "Honor Roll" of the Top 20 Best Hospitals in the country and the Icahn School of Medicine as one of the Top 20 Best Medical Schools in country. Mount Sinai Health System hospitals are consistently ranked regionally by specialty and our physicians in the top 1% of all physicians nationally by U.S. News & World Report. For more information, visit https://www.mountsinai.org or find Mount Sinai on Facebook, Twitter and YouTube. Florida governor Ron DeSantis was interrupted by protesters during a press conference on Monday, where he asked residents with Covid-19 to donate blood, amid a spike in coronavirus cases in the state. The event that was hosted at the Orlando office of blood-donation agency OneBlood was intended to highlight the importance of donating plasma to help tackle the coronavirus pandemic in Florida. One of the treatments that many physicians around the state believe is very effective is the use of convalescent plasma, the governor said on Monday, after the state had recorded more than 10,000 coronavirus cases for five days in a row. This is blood thats donated from somebody who has cleared the Covid-19 disease, Mr DeSantis added. It has the antibodies, and that is then used on a patient who is sick in the hospital. However, his press conference was interrupted when a group of protesters shouted at the governor: Shame on you, and youre lying to the public. The group shouted criticism at Mr DeSantis for around 30 seconds and told him: You have blood on your hands. Recommended What Florida and Illinois can tell us about this coronavirus spike Mr DeSantis attempted to ignore the protesters and tried to continue with his speech, but eventually paused and appeared to smile as the heckling went on. The protesters were then escorted out of the building by police officers, and the governor responded by saying: We will not be defunding the police so dont worry about that. Were going to be supporting our men and women in law enforcement. Mr DeSantis comments were in reference to calls for police reform across the US, following the death of unarmed black man George Floyd, while in the custody of a then Minneapolis police officer. Sounds of the protesters banging on the windows and shouting could still be heard throughout the rest of the 30-minute press conference, according to Click Orlando. Recommended Florida governor Ron DeSantis heckled over coronavirus surge The Orange County Sheriffs Office said that no arrests were made at the event and added that they are not sure how many protesters were at the press conference. Florida is currently suffering badly with the coronavirus pandemic, and saw its cases rise for the fifth day in a row on Sunday, with more than 12,000 positive tests recorded. Last week, Mr DeSantis was interrupted by an activist at a hospital in Florida, who told the governor that he has done nothing to tackle the level of coronavirus cases in the state. Thomas Kennedy, an immigration reform activist, shouted at Mr DeSantis last week: Shame on you! You are an embarrassment! You are an embarrassment! We are getting record breaking cases and you are doing nothing. The governor was speaking at the hospital a day after Florida recorded 15,299 cases a new daily record for the state. Over 4,000 people have died and you are blaming the protesters, you guys have no plans and are doing nothing, the activist added, but Mr DeSantis did not respond or acknowledge the comments. The state reopened large parts of its economy last month, following a period in lockdown, but was forced to close bars again alongside other measures after daily cases saw a dramatic rise. According to a tracking project hosted by Johns Hopkins University, Florida has upwards of 360,394 confirmed coronavirus cases and at least 5,183 deaths. In the US as a whole, some 3.8 million people have tested positive for coronavirus. The death toll has reached at least 140,937. Traders work during the opening bell at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) on March 16, 2020 at Wall Street in New York City. Johannes Eisele | AFP | Getty Images As stocks surged back from the late March bottom, one piece of market information normally used by traders to assess opportunity in public companies has been nonexistent: short-term financial guidance. The whisper numbers on Wall Street that investors trade around quarter to quarter, and which depend on company executives setting the bar, were a casualty of the coronavirus economic uncertainty. Some think guidance is gone for good. As the second-quarter earnings season kicks into high gear, about half of the S&P 500 companies have so far declined to provide any guidance. IBM CEO Arvind Krishna said after its earnings on Monday, "In April when we said that we will reevaluate in 90 days, maybe we were a little bit optimistic. ... Uncertainty in the economy makes us unwilling to provide guidance." Part of the reluctance to renew quarterly guidance is rooted in the unprecedented nature of the Covid-19 public health crisis and economic fallout. But the Wall Street short-term numbers game favored by the sell side of big banks and brokerage houses, and hedge fund clients, was the subject of criticism for years before the crisis. Some chief executives already have said guidance is never coming back, such as IAC's Barry Diller. Investing in a post-earnings guidance world The number of companies suspending guidance is "way beyond anything seen in the worst moments of the global financial crisis," according to a blog post from two of Alliance Bernstein's top U.S. stock portfolio managers. In all, over 850 companies suspended annual guidance during the pandemic. Now advocates for a more long-term approach to investing, including the AllianceBernstein team, say it is time to think about investing in a post-guidance world. "We believe that it's more appropriate to ground evaluation scenarios by assessing a company's profit potential over the next 10 years," the AllianceBernstein team wrote. "The fact that all those companies pulled those numbers, and market still recovered, is telling. Maybe we don't need this information," said Ariel Fromer Babcock, managing director and head of research at investing advocacy group FCLTGlobal, which is among the most vocal critics of short-term guidance. "We hear about companies apologizing when they pull guidance, but many investors say, 'Don't apologize. Don't bring it back." With no numbers to trade, some suspect the strength of the market rally has been led not by the day traders associated with free trading apps like Robinhood but institutional investors having more control over price-setting in the market as the short-term game played by high-frequency quant firms, hedge funds and day traders is crippled. Extreme volatility can take out the short-term players, not only in cases where the firms are in financial distress due to margin calls but simply because there are no numbers to trade. "What we are seeing right now is a long-term investor perspective on value, and what we see in more regular times is fluctuations driven by shorter-term investors," Babcock said. Of the more than 850 companies to pull guidance during Covid-19, she added, "We would expect a significant portion of the companies pulling guidance to never look back." Never let a crisis go to waste Earnings guidance does not have a very long history relative to the history of the markets by law it did not exist prior to changes made by the Securities and Exchange Commission in 1973. And its heyday may have long since passed already. The National Investors Relations Institute found in a study that as far back as 2007, the number of companies giving quarterly guidance was plateauing. Following the 2008 financial crisis, an increasing number of companies started communicating on longer-term strategic plans and earnings per share guidance was trending down: an NIRI study found that 60% of companies in 2009 gave quarterly EPS guidance, versus 77% pre-crisis in 2007. "We've seen companies steadily move away from periods less than one year," Babcock said. "We've thought a lot about this idea 'Never let crisis go to waste,' and in survey after survey, investors tell us they want a three-year minimum horizon for forward targets. Some conceded annual guidance was nice, but the three-year mark was most important ... 70% to 90% percent of value is related to cash flow three years or more into the future, so if you're not given perspective on what that looks like, it causes a huge disconnect." More than half of corporate executives (55%) would rather delay a net-positive-value project than miss quarterly earnings targets by a penny, according to a 2016 survey from FCLTGlobal. Yet just 9% of global buy-side investors believe that earnings guidance on a less-than-annual basis is important. "Quarterly guidance was going out of favor even before Covid-19, and we certainly hope the pandemic will accelerate that trend," said Amy Borrus, the executive director of the Council of Institutional Investors. "Even annual earnings guidance can lead executives to do too much in the short term to make sure it is fulfilled, and for many it's a waste of time." J.P. Morgan CEO Jamie Dimon and Berkshire Hathaway CEO Warren Buffett are among CEOs who called for the elimination of quarterly guidance well before the pandemic (Berkshire has never issued guidance). Coronavirus and a long-term view A recent CNBC survey of CFOs on its Global CFO Council suggests that a significant percentage of companies may permanently move away from guidance issuance. A little less than half of companies (43%) said they expect a resumption of full-year guidance. Ten percent of companies think guidance is not coming back, while another 10% said they weren't sure if full-year guidance will resume. About one-third (36%) of CFOs said "some companies will bring back guidance and some won't." "The longer you get used to not doing something, the easier it becomes to not do it," Borrus said. She said guidance on management thinking about how to rebuild after Covid-19, what needs to be addressed most urgently, is much more important than guidance on earnings. "Executives need to provide insight now on how they are thinking about the crisis and capacity planning and adjusting to it," Borrus said. "Institutional investors want management to provide clarity and insight on how they get back and move on and rebuild the company." A spokesman for the Washington State Investment Board, which manages over $100 billion, said in an email, "We certainly agree in general and ideologically on the importance of emphasizing long-term strategic growth versus the fleeting signals of short-term guidance." Many of the largest public companies already offer three-year targets for at least some financial metrics, according to a database maintained by FCLTGlobal, and the list of 206 corporations includes some of the biggest in the U.S., including Walmart, McDonalds, Starbucks, Salesforce.com, Ford, Home Depot and Nike. There are significant forces in the market that disagree, and the battle has been waged in public testimony and comment letters to policymakers for years. Hedge fund advocacy group Managed Funds Association wrote in a late 2019 comment letter to the SEC about proposed elimination of quarterly reporting, not just guidance, "Private fund managers believe that the existing quarterly reporting framework under the Exchange Act has worked well. Managers rely on quarterly information to evaluate companies in which they have invested or are considering investing, and use the information to determine the progress that companies have made to achieve their objectives. A reduction in the frequency of reporting from quarterly to semi-annually would reduce the timeliness and usefulness of the information, which would make it more difficult for managers to analyze the performance of, and invest capital in, public companies." The MFA did not respond to requests for additional comment. The argument assuming the importance of quarterly numbers, however, does not look as convincing in the current, guidanceless, bull market recovery. "Stocks of companies that you thought would have been creamed had nice recovery and have longer-term shareholders," Babcock said. "A number of companies are waking up to the reality of strategic communication being of utmost importance in times of crisis, the investments they are making to make the companies more resilient in the face of disruption and laying the foundation for growth. All those conversations are much better informed by a longer-term perspective and outlook." You want companies to always manage to the long term, but if they can't call the next three months, how can you have confidence in the next three years? Dan Ives Wedbush Securities managing director On Monday evening, President Donald Trump threatened to send federal agents to several cities including New York City, Chicago, Philadelphia and Detroit, following the deployment of federal agents in Portland, Oregon. "I know New York very well. I know the police very well. New Yorks finest. The fact is theyre restricted from doing anything, they cant do anything. Im going to do something, that I can tell you," Trump said during a press conference. The president did not specify what problem he was attempting to solve, or how, only that Were going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you. Federal agents were sent to Portland at the presidents behest in early July, to protect federal buildings that had allegedly been vandalized by protestors against police brutality since the death of George Flloyd in May. The agents have been heavily criticized for pulling protestors into unmarked vehicles, without informing them why they have been detained or arrested and amplifying tensions at peaceful protests with the use of tear gas and projectiles. Federal police strike protester with baton, use pepper spray and tear gas outside courthouse in Portland pic.twitter.com/VX2xTVaaYq Zane Sparling (@PDXzane) July 19, 2020 Someone here is still holding out hope on that recount. pic.twitter.com/0gj7VscBMi Mike Baker (@ByMikeBaker) July 21, 2020 New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio has already stated that hes opposed to the agents being sent to the city and that the city would take legal action if they were. It would backfire, it wouldn't make us safer, and we would immediately take action in court to stop it, de Blasio said during a press conference on Tuesday. From my point of view, this would be yet another example of illegal and unconstitutional actions by the President. And we have often had to confront him in court and we usually win. So, hopefully, it doesn't come to that, but, if needed, we will do that. Attorney General Letitia James office has also stated that it will take immediate legal action should Trump deploy agents to the state. While the state might have a good chance of prevailing in court, especially if Trump lacks the excuse of federal property to assert federal jurisdiction, the feds could harass, attack or detain New Yorkers in the time it takes for the case to make its way through the courts. The New York City Police Department has not yet commented on whether or not it supports the use of agents. Sergeant Benevolent Association President Ed Mullins, however, has said he would be supportive of agents coming to the city and claimed that the states new bail reform laws and legislation against chokeholds has kept the police from sufficiently doing their jobs. Trump echoed some of those claims, and similar ones made by NYPD Commissioner Dermot Shea. Oregons elected officials have argued that the use of U.S. Customs and Border Protection officers to round up pedestrians suspected of participating in protests but not necessarily of breaking any laws is illegal and unconstitutional. On Friday, the American Civil Liberties Union Foundation of Oregon sued the Department of Homeland Security and the U.S. Marshals Service over the agents use of tear gas, rubber bullets and acoustic weapons on protestors. Its of course the prerogative of the federal government to enforce federal law and protect federal property, Stephen I. Vladeck, a professor of law at the University of Texas at Austin, told The New York Times. It is not the job of the federal government to be a general police force for all crimes. Oregons congressional delegation sent a letter to the U.S. attorney general, on July 17, that the arrests of protestors in Portland are more reflective of tactics of a government led by a dictator, not from the government of our constitutional democratic republic. Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley has also introducednew legislation as an amendment of the National Defense Authorization Act that the Senate is currently considering, which would require all federal agents identities to be clearly visible while making arrests. He also stipulated that the use of unmarked vehicles will be prohibited during arrests. However, with a Republican majority in the Senate its doubtful that the amendment will get the support it would need to pass. "In Portland, theyve done a fantastic job," Trump said on Monday, regarding the federal agents. "These people are anarchists. These are people who hate our country and were not going to let it go forward." On Monday, the Chicago Tribune reported that the Department of Homeland Security is planning on sending 150 federal agents to Chicago this week, to assist the citys police with fighting crime. Chicago has seen a steep uptick in homicides and shootings over the past few weeks. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot has been fiercely opposed to the involvement of the agents in any of the citys crime fighting efforts.During an appearance on MSNBCs The ReidOut, Lightfoot said that she would use any tool at her disposal to keep the troops out of the city, including filing a lawsuit. Our democracy is at stake and Ill be darned if Im going to let anybody, even if their name is Mr. President, bring those kind of troops to our city and try to take off our residents, Lightfoot said. Philadelphias District Attorney Larry Krasner has also threatened to criminally charge any federal agents should they "assault" or "kidnap" the citys residents. We've been told many times over the decades: the ever-growing population of the earth will end in a shattering overpopulation crisis of food shortages, environmental collapse and resource wars. Will COVID-19 change the picture? The pandemic has killed 600,000 people globally and is still likely in an early phase. The number of worldwide infections is accelerating. The pandemic "will have some impact" on the planet's future population, says Peter McDonald, professor of demography at Melbourne University. "But it's not the deaths, it's the births that will make the difference." How so? The number of deaths so far is equivalent to 1 per cent of the 60 million that would have been expected to die of all causes in the normal course of events. Illustration: Dionne Gain Credit: The bigger impact will come through economic uncertainty, says McDonald. "People will delay their first birth and, if a lot of people delay their first birth around the same time, you do get a bit of a jolt." Overall, in the scheme of planetary futures, though, McDonald still describes the likely effect of the pandemic as a "blip". In this handout photo released by Ukrainian General Prosecutors Office, a police officer blocks an area near the bus containing hostages after an armed man seized a bus and took some 20 people hostage in the city centre of Lutsk, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Kyiv, Ukraine on Tuesday July 21, 2020. An armed man seized a long-distance bus and took people in it hostage in northwestern Ukraine on Tuesday launching an hours-long standoff with police, Ukrainian authorities said. About 10 people are currently being held hostage, Ukraines Security Service said in a Facebook statement. (Ukrainian General Prosecutors Office via AP) An armed man has seized a long-distance bus and taken people in it hostage in north-western Ukraine, launching an hours-long standoff with police, authorities said. About 10 people were being held, Ukraines Security Service said in a Facebook statement. Police had earlier put the number at 20. It was unclear how many people had been on board to start with, and whether any escaped. Officers sealed off the centre of Lutsk, a city 250 miles west of the capital Kyiv. The assailant is armed and carrying explosives, police said. He has refused the authorities offer to deliver water and food to the hostages. Expand Close The scene in Lutsk (AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp The scene in Lutsk (AP) At one point, he threw explosives out of a bus window, but no one was hurt. He also fired several shots at a police drone. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said negotiations with the man are under way, adding: Were doing everything to free the hostages. The man called police after taking control of the bus and introduced himself as Maksim Plokhoy, deputy interior minister Anton Gerashchenko said. In a Telegram account reportedly belonging to him, Plokhoy apparently admitted taking people on the bus hostage, said the state has always been and always is the first terrorist, and demanded that senior Ukrainian officials release statements on their social media pages calling themselves terrorists. According to Mr Gerashchenko, police have identified the man as Maksim Krivosh, a 44-year-old Ukrainian born in Russia. He had allegedly been convicted twice on a wide range of charges robbery, fraud, illegal arms handling and spent a total of 10 years behind bars. Interior minister Arsen Avakov travelled to Lutsk to supervise operations. Ukrainian media reported that gunshots were heard at the scene. It was not clear whether anyone has been injured. According to reports, Krivosh tried to reach out to journalists through hostages and their phones, demanding they spread the word about his demands and get more reporters at the scene. Mr Zelenskiy said earlier on Tuesday that he was personally monitoring the situation. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin News Desk (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Tue, July 21, 2020 09:37 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406680627e 1 National Sinovac,China,COVID-19,vaksin,vaccine,clinical-trial,Indonesia,Bio-Farma,Foreign-Ministry Free A potential COVID-19 vaccine developed by China-based biopharmaceutical company Sinovac Biotech arrived in Indonesia on Sunday. Foreign Ministry acting spokesperson Teuku Faizasyah said that the potential vaccine had been delivered to state-owned pharmaceutical holding company PT Bio Farma for a clinical trial. "The vaccine material arrived on Sunday. It has been delivered to Bio Farma," Faizasyah said on Monday as quoted from kompas.com. He said the Foreign Ministry only facilitated the distribution from China to Indonesia and Bio Farma had collaborated with Sinovac Biotech to allow a transfer of technology and vaccine material between the two companies. "Our short-term strategy is to ensure access to a [COVID-19] vaccine as soon as it is ready for mass production through international cooperation," he said. Read also: Bangladesh allows late-stage trial of China's Sinovac COVID-19 vaccine "Indonesia has also set up a national consortium as a long-term strategy to ensure we can produce a vaccine independently," he added. During a press briefing on Thursday, Bio Farma president director Honesti Basyir said the company was ready to launch a Phase 3 clinical trial for the vaccine in Indonesia before authorities authorize its widespread usage. The trial is set to commence soon in cooperation with Padjadjaran University in Bandung, West Java, as well as the Health Ministry's research and development agency. It is anticipated that the preliminary result of this Phase 3 clinical trial can be submitted for emergency use authorization by the BPOM [Indonesian Food and Drug Monitoring Agency] by the first quarter of 2021, Honesti said. He added that the vaccine materials sent from China would be formulated in Bio Farmas facilities. The Phase 3 trial in Indonesia will involve nearly 1,600 volunteers and be funded by Bio Farma. "It is evidence that Sinovac has implemented a robust quality-management system," he said, praising the company for being among the first companies to conduct Phase 3 clinical trials for a potential vaccine in more than 30 countries outside China such as Brazil and Bangladesh. (nal) More than 23% of Delhis 1.9 crore population showed evidence of past exposure to Sars-Cov-2, which causes the coronavirus disease, in almost six months and that a large number of infected people remain asymptomatic, the result of the sero-prevalence study conducted in the national capital shows. The Union health ministry said in a statement that 21,387 samples were collected in accordance with laboratory standards and were tested between June 27 and July 10 to determine the extent of the spread of the coronavirus disease in Delhi. Nearly six months into the epidemic, only 23.48% of the people are affected in Delhi, which has several pockets of dense population, the Union health ministry, which commissioned the study, said in a statement. Also Read: Delhi records less than 1,000 cases for first time in 7 weeks, Bihar a concern The seroprevalence study was conducted jointly by the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the Delhi government following a rigorous multi-stage sampling study design. Blood samples were taken from randomly selected people as part of the survey, which involves rapid tests for antibodies, to study the scale of undetected infections. The samples were tested to ascertain the population-level presence of the IgG antibody, which indicates past infection. This can be attributed to the proactive efforts taken by the Government to prevent the spread of infection including prompt lockdown, effective containment and surveillance measures, including contact tracing and tracking, as well as citizens compliance to COVID Appropriate Behaviours, the health ministry said in the statement. Also Read: As cases drop in Delhi, CM Kejriwal says dont be complacent The ministry, however, warned that a significant proportion of the population is still vulnerable. Therefore, the containment measures need to continue with the same rigour. Non-pharmacological interventions such as physical distancing, use of face mask/cover, hand hygiene, cough etiquette and avoidance of crowded places etc, must be followed strictly, it added. A diagnostic method, serological tests are used to identify antibodies, which are created by the immune system when someone is infected with the virus, and antigens in a persons blood. Serology (antibody) tests are largely used for surveillance among communities and can be used on people who have already been tested positive for the virus or even those who are asymptomatic. Epidemiologists often use serological surveys to determine who has antibodies and find out who has been infected with the virus, even if someone never reported a positive test or experienced symptoms. Also Read: Oxford Covid-19 vaccines first human trial shows promise, more phases underway A serological survey includes IgG Enzyme Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA) test. It estimates the proportion of the population exposed to Sars-Cov-2 infection. The IgG test is not useful for detecting acute infections but it indicates episodes of infections that has happened in the past. The test is approved by ICMR for its high sensitivity and specificity. The Indian Council of Medical Research (ICMR) had conducted a pilot sero survey across 83 districts in 21 states in May. Also Read: Ray of light enters dark Covid tunnel The results showed that the percentage of the general population to have been infected in the past was 0.73%, with urban areas having shown higher Covid-19 prevalence of about 1.09%. Delhi, which has overtaken Mumbai as the worst-affected city in the country, has 123,747 infections so far and 3,663 people have succumbed to the viral disease. AstraZeneca Korea CEO Kim Sang-pyo, left, Health Minister Park Neung-hoo, center, and SK Bioscience CEO Ahn Jae-yong hold a memorandum of understanding at a signing ceremony at the SK Bioscience laboratory Pangyo, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday. / Courtesy of SK Bioscience SK Bioscience signed a deal with global pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca to supply a candidate material for a coronavirus vaccine, the local biotech company said Tuesday. The letter of intent (LOI) inked between the two companies and the Ministry of Health and Welfare calls for close cooperation on supplying AZD1222 for both the domestic and global markets, SK Bioscience said. The agreement, moreover, outlines the need for swift and stable production, and the building up of manufacturing capabilities to cope with a possible spike in demand and use of the material in Korea. AZD1222, which is being developed in cooperation with Oxford University, has generated keen interest across the world, as it is the first potential vaccine for COVID-19 to be given permission to conduct Phase III clinical trials. The British university and the multinational bio research firm said earlier Phase I and II trials showed the material to be safe to use, with people given the vaccine developing neutralizing antibodies and T cells to the coronavirus. SK Bioscience said it has also signed a contract manufacturing organization deal with AstraZeneca that opens the door for it to play a role in the extended vaccine production program going forward. The company said it will be tasked with making AZD1222 at its vaccine manufacturing facility in Andong, 270 kilometers southeast of Seoul, with its partner responsible for international distribution. It said the pact goes into effect this month and runs through early 2021, with SK Bioscience to be given more work if the candidate material is successful as a COVID-19 vaccine. The health ministry said it has played a part in facilitating two-way talks and stressed it will support production and export of the vaccine going forward. The Ministry of Food and Drug Safety, in charge of regulating all treatment drugs, plans to hold talks with AstraZeneca so the vaccine can be brought into the country. The pact was signed in Pangyo, south of Seoul, with SK Bioscience chief Ahn Jae-yong present, along with Health Minister Park Neung-hoo. AstraZeneca's global CEO Pascal Soriot took part via videoconference. "SK Bioscience has extensive know-how in the production and research of vaccines, along with good production capability," Ahn said after the LOI was signed. He added that every effort will be made to develop the COVID-19 vaccine and it will work closely with the health ministry and government. (Yonhap) Photo: Dinendra Haria/SOPA Images/Sipa USA Britains manufacturers are calling on the government to extend furlough for strategic industry sectors by six months. They say this is necessary to avoid job losses in the sector which could hit on a scale not seen since the 1980s. These sectors are of critical importance to the long term health of the economy and their protection is an investment in our industrial future, manufacturing organisation Make UK said. This comes after its latest manufacturing monitor survey of 170 companies, which shows the number of companies planning to make redundancies in the next six month has risen to 53%. This has continued the sharp rise seen in the last three surveys over an eight week period, rising from 25% to 42% previously, and comes despite a gradual improvement in sales and orders. READ MORE: Coronavirus What do the new rules on flexible furlough mean? Almost a third of companies (32%) are planning to make between 11% and 25% of employees redundant with just under 8% of companies planning to make between a quarter and half their workforce redundant, the survey found. In addition, the proportion of companies expecting a return to normal trading to take a year or longer has risen from just under a third in the last survey to 42%, while just 15% of companies are now operating at full capacity. Almost a fifth of companies (19%) are operating between a quarter and half capacity, while less than a third (32%) are operating between a half and three quarters. Make UK wants the government to extend the furlough scheme by six months, specifically for the automotive and aerospace sectors. It argued that in addition to being major employers directly, these high-value sectors have long supply chains employing significant numbers of people, with many companies based in regions highly dependent on their success. READ MORE: Coronavirus UK furlough scheme caps out 9.4 million people According to Make UK forecasts, the motor vehicles sector is forecast to lose 34% of its gross value added this year, while other transport mainly aerospace is forecast to be 15% lower. Story continues Make UK also stressed that the call for specific measures for these sectors would only be equivalent to measures taken by major European competitors in Germany, France and Italy. For example, to date, the French government has provided support, including loans, worth 15bn (13.6bn, $17.1bn) and 8bn to the aerospace and automotive sectors respectively, while speculation suggests Italy will shortly announce a car scrappage scheme worth 1bn and a further 10bn to support ongoing furlough schemes across the economy. Germany also has a 3,000 subsidy scheme to buy a new electric car while a 50bn package has been announced for research and innovation in new technologies such as fuel cells and hydrogen. READ MORE: COVID-19 Employers who laid off workers afer furlough may have to return cash Make UK also re-iterated its call for a national skills taskforce to be set up involving the trade unions and other key stakeholders to ensure key skills are retained and redeployed within manufacturing. Stephen Phipson, chief executive of Make UK, said: As well as the distressing personal impact on livelihoods across the UK, Industry cannot afford to lose these high value skills, which will be essential to rebuilding our economy and investing in the industries of the future. At present, the prospect of a V-shaped recovery for Industry seems remote. Therefore, if we are to mitigate the worst impact of potential job losses government must extend the furlough scheme for key strategic sectors to provide them with vital breathing space. In addition, government should consider measures similar to those introduced by competitors to boost demand in the aerospace and automotive industries in particular. "The new campaign captures four core competencies that are engrained in Thailand's strategic positioning as ASEAN's investment hub and gateway to Asia -- Diversity, Ecosystem, Location and Supply Chain," said BOI Secretary General Ms. Duangjai Asawachintachit. The country's economic development over the past 40 years, its position as the second largest economy in Southeast Asia and a leading manufacturer of food, electronics and cars, testify to its strong fundamentals and diverse industries. Now the country is taking a step further by implementing the Thailand 4.0 development model which focuses on developing high-tech, sustainable industries of the future and making Thailand the digital innovation hub of Asia. Thailand's investment ecosystem offers advanced infrastructure, supportive investment policies, and comprehensive tax and non-tax incentives. Moreover, investors with facilities in Thailand enjoy cost effective operations and ease of doing business. In 2019, Thailand ranked 21st for ease of doing business, out of 190 countries surveyed by the World Bank. The country's strategic location at the heart of ASEAN enables investors to conveniently access a combined market of more than 630 million people, the world's third largest after China and India. Thailand's diverse manufacturing and service industries has also placed Thailand into a significant position in global supply chains. Moreover, the past experiences in dealing with various forms of disruptions ranging from financial crises to natural disasters have helped Thailand build resilience and efficiency to prepare for new norms of global and regional supply chains. "While COVID-19 brings the world to unprecedented social and economic challenges, it could also open the way for opportunities awaiting to emerge," Ms Duangjai said. "Our message is meant to show investors that Thailand's resilient environment is the perfect place to seize those opportunities." SOURCE Thailand Board of Investment (BOI) New York Workers from the service industry, fast-food chains and the gig economy rallied with organized labor Monday to protest systemic racism and economic inequality, staging demonstrations across the U.S. and around the world seeking better treatment of Black Americans in the workplace. Organizers said tens of thousands of workers in 160 cities walked off the job for strikes inspired by the racial reckoning that followed the deaths of several Black men and women who died recently at the hands of police. Visible support came largely in the form of protests that drew people whose jobs in health care, transportation and construction do not allow them to work from home during the coronavirus pandemic. "What the protesters are saying, that if we want to be concerned and we should be about police violence and people getting killed by the police ... we have to also be concerned about the people who are dying and being put into lethal situations through economic exploitation all over the country," said the Rev. William Barber II, co-chair of the Poor People's Campaign. T ech giant Microsoft is cutting nearly a thousand jobs at LinkedIn as the impact of the Covid-19 outbreak on the global jobs market was laid bare. The professional networking site making a significant portion of its revenues from recruitment products, but with millions suddenly out of work across the globe, prospects in this market look bleak. Microsoft, which bought Linkedin for $26.2 billlion in June, plans to cut 960 jobs or 6% of the global workforce at California based LinkedIn, which has a London office in Farringdon. The company helps employers assess a candidates suitability for a role and employees use the platform to find new job. Jobs will be cut across sales and hiring divisions of the group globally. Chief Executive Ryan Roslansky said the company would provide at least 10 weeks of severance pay as well as health insurance for a year for US employees, and will hire for newly-created roles from laid-off staff. I want you to know these are the only layoffs we are planning, Roslansky said in a message on LinkedIn. LinkedIn said employees affected by its job cuts will be informed this week and they will start receiving invitations today to receive more information. If you dont receive a meeting invite, you are not directly impacted by this change, Roslansky said. Timothy J. Coffey I am extremely proud of our firms accomplishments in securing these settlements for our clients. We are committed to providing the attention and dedication that every victim of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation deserves., Coffey commented. Attorney Timothy J. Coffey opened his own practice in 1996 under the name of the Law Office of Timothy J. Coffey, which is now known as Timothy J. Coffey or The Coffey Law Office, P.C. Timothy is a sole practitioner, licensed to practice before the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois, the Eastern District of Wisconsin, and the United States Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit. His practice focuses on labor and employment litigation on behalf of employees or former employees who have been victimized by discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation in the workplace. Timothy has tried numerous cases to administrative hearing officers as well as state and federal judges and juries. This case involved an employee who was fired after his employer refused to return him to work following a work injury. In October 2019, a Rockford, IL jury found that the employer discriminated and retaliated against the employee in violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Illinois common law. In Richard Jankowski v. Dean Foods Company and Dean Dairy Holdings, LLC, N.D. Ill. (Western Division) Case No.16-cv-50103 (ADA failure to accommodate, discriminatory failure to RTW and termination, and common law workers compensation retaliatory failure to RTW and discharge): After approximately two hours of deliberation following nine days of trial, the jury found both Defendants liable on all claims and awarded the Plaintiff $316,000 in lost wages/benefits and compensatory damages as well as $3 million in punitive damages. I am extremely proud of our firms accomplishments in securing these settlements for our clients. We are committed to providing the attention and dedication that every victim of discrimination, harassment, or retaliation deserves. With a personalized touch given in every case, we tirelessly advocate for our clients best interests so they can move forward, Coffey commented. Prior to graduating Cum Laude with his Juris Doctorate degree from John Marshall Law School, Timothy worked as an Illinois Certified Public Accountant (CPA) employed by Arthur Andersen & Co., Chase Manhattan Bank, and Shand Morahan & Company. About Attorney Timothy J. Coffey and The Coffey Law Office, P.C. Since 1996, The Coffey Law Office, P.C. has focused on representing workers illegally fired from their jobs in violation of federal, state and local statutes and regulations including the ADA, National Labor Relations Act, Fair Labor Standards Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, Age Discrimination in Employment, Illinois Human Rights Acts, Illinois Nursing Home Care Act, Illinois Whistleblower Act, Illinois common law, and other anti-retaliation and discrimination laws. Attorney Timothy J. Coffey has successfully protected and enhanced the rights of workers throughout the state of Illinois. To learn more about Attorney Timothy J. Coffey or The Coffey Law Office, P.C., visit https://www.employmentlawcounsel.com/ or call 630-326-6600. India on Tuesday recorded a marginal dip in the number of daily Covid-19 cases, which took its tally to close to 1.2 million, according to Union health ministry data. The number of Covid-19 cases recorded in the last 24 hours are 37,148. The nationwide death toll has crossed the 28,000-mark. Apart from Maharashtra, which has the highest caseload, Bihar is emerging as the new area of concern for the government. A three-member team visited the state on Monday and expressed apprehension that Bihar could see a further rise in coronavirus cases in days to come. It recommended ramping up of the states medicare facilities. Delhi, meanwhile, seems to have hit the Covid-19 peak with the number of daily cases declining significantly, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said on Monday. He, however, cautioned against any lowering of guard. The number of cases has also gone up in West Bengal, Rajasthan, Haryana, Assam and Madhya Pradesh. Heres a look at the Covid-19 situation in various states across the country: Maharashtra recorded 8,240 new Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the tally to 3,18,695 while 176 more people succumbed to the disease, according to Union health ministry data. Monday was the fifth day the state recorded over 8,000 cases in a day, including its highest single-day spike of 9,518 on Sunday. With over 9,000 cases in a day, questions are being raised if community transmission has started in the state. However, Maharashtras health minister Rajesh Tope denied this. Tamil Nadu reported another high of 4,985 fresh Covid-19 cases, taking the states tally past 1.75 lakh (1,75,678 to be exact). The death toll mounted to 2,551 with 70 fatalities. Delhi reported less than 1,000 new Covid-19 cases for the first time in seven weeks. The 954 cases recorded in the last 24 hours took the total number of cases to 1,23,747. Thirty five fresh fatalities were reported in this period, and the death toll reached 3,663. Karnataka saw another spike of 3,648 Covid-19 cases and 72 related fatalities, according to Union health ministry data. This took the total number of infections in the state to 67,420 and the death toll to 1,401. Bengaluru recorded the highest number of cases and deaths at 1,452 and 31, respectively. Andhra Pradeshs Covid-19 tally crossed the 50,000 mark on Tuesday as another 4,074 fresh cases were added to the states tally in the last 24 hours. The coronavirus death toll increased to 696 after 54 new casualties were reported in a day, according to health ministry. Gujarat reported the highest single-day spike of 998 Covid-19 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total count to 49,439 while fatalities rose by 20, including 11 in Surat, to 2,167. At 284, Surat reported the highest number of cases in the state, taking its tally to 10,542. The situation in Bihar is of particular concern for the Centre, which sent a three-member team to take stock of the situation. The team inspected some containment zones and dedicated Covid-19 hospitals in Patna and Gaya. It asked the states health department to focus on contact-tracing and testing to combat the deadly virus more effectively. Based on its survey, the team warned that Bihar could see a further rise in coronavirus cases, and recommended ramping up of the states medicare facilities. As on Tuesday, the state has recorded 27,646 cses of Covid-19 and 217 related deaths. Federal officers respond after rioters tried breaking into the Mark. O. Hatfield U.S. Courthouse in Portland, Ore., on July 20, 2020. (Nathan Howard/Getty Images) Rioters Set Fires, Try to Break Into Federal Courthouse in Portland Rioters tried breaking into a U.S. courthouse in Portland overnight as they and federal forces clashed again. Video footage from Oregons largest city showed a large gathering of hundreds on the steps of the courthouse, as demonstrators goaded federal officers to emerge from the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse. The group used cars, motorcycles, and bicycles to block the streets around them, according to the Portland Police Bureau. At one point, rioters started to assault the building. They began breaking plywood covering one side using tools like hammers and crowbars. Many of the rioters were armed with bats and shields and wore helmets and gas masks. At about 12:45 a.m. on Tuesday, the mob broke through the plywood and started pounding windows with metal objects, breaking at least one window. People assist a woman affected by tear gas during riots in Portland, Ore., on July 21, 2020. (Caitlin Ochs/Reuters) Around the same time, federal forces utilized tear gas and other crowd-control munitions to push the rioters away. As they did so, many people hurled rocks, bottles, and other projectiles at them, according to police officials. Video showed dozens of people with shields in a tight formation facing off with officers. People reassembled at the courthouse less than two hours later and lit a fire near a door on the side of the courthouse before pouring accelerant on it. Federal officers again dispersed the crowd. Other fires were set, including a fire on the awning and side of a building at SW 4th Avenue and SW Yamhill Street, which required Portland Fire & Rescue to respond. Another fire was started in the middle of a sidewalk next to the county courthouse. Before firefighters arrived, people continually added flammable material to it causing it to grow and burn against the building, the Portland Police Bureau said. Police officers responded to provide security for firefighters. During the mayhem downtown, some of the rioters broke into a jewelry store and stole valuables from inside. Demonstrators projected words onto the front of the Multnomah County Justice Center in Portland, Ore., on July 20, 2020. (Gillian Flaccus/AP Photo) For the most part, police officers refrained from engaging with the demonstrators. At Mayor Ted Wheelers insistence, they have cut lines of communication with federal forces. Videos showed a federal officer trying to arrest one man. A group rushed in and broke the man free. The PNW Youth Liberation Front, a group linked to the far-left Antifa, said on social media that fed just got physically beat back by protestors to de-arrest someone in Portland. The group added: Dont let them kidnap your friends. And footage showed demonstrators hurling some of the munitions back at the officers, an action that ended earlier this month with a demonstrator being hit in the head with a round. That incident is under investigation. The violent demonstrations caused $23 million in damage and lost business, a police official told reporters on July 8. Were always hopeful that were winding down, but were six weeks into this, Portland Deputy Police Chief Chris Davis said. Weve never seen this intensity of violent, focused criminal activity over this long of a period of time, at least in the time I have been here. The Australian government on Monday announced an expansion of the Coronavirus SME Guarantee Scheme to help small and medium sized businesses (SMEs) survive the pandemic. Treasurer Josh Frydenberg on Monday announced that the 40 billion Australian dollars (27.9 billion U.S. dollar) loan scheme will continue to run until June 2021, nine months after the planned end in September 2020. Under the revised scheme businesses with a turnover of up to 50 million Australian dollars will be eligible to receive loans of up to 1 million Australian dollars (699,859 U.S. dollars), four times more than the previous cap of 250,000 Australian dollars (174,965 U.S. dollars). The maximum loan term will be extended from three to five years. "The expanded scheme will shift from providing access to working capital to helping businesses stay afloat during the crisis to now also enabling them to access more affordable and longer term credit so that they can invest for their future," Frydenberg said in a statement on Monday. He said that more than 15,000 businesses have already secured 1.5 billion Australian dollars (1.05 billion U.S. dollars) in loans since the scheme was launched in April. The announcement came ahead of Frydenberg delivering an update on Australia's economic and fiscal outlook on Thursday. Mathias Cormann, the finance minister, on Sunday confirmed that there would be also some adjustments for the "JobKeeper" wage subsidy scheme. "The ultimate objective still has to be that we get back into a situation where all businesses are in a position to pay for the wages of their employees out of their income," Cormann told Sky News. "We will need to get ourselves into a new normal situation with businesses right sizing for the economic context that we are in." By AFP GHAZNI: An Afghan girl shot dead two Taliban fighters and wounded several more after they dragged her parents from their home and killed them for supporting the government, officials said. The incident happened last week when insurgents stormed the home of Qamar Gul, a teenager from a village in the central province of Ghor. The fighters were looking for her father, the village chief, local police head Habiburahman Malekzada told AFP. Her father was a government supporter, which is why the Taliban fighters went to his house and dragged him out, Malekzada said. READ| Eight soldiers killed in suicide bombing in Afghanistan, Taliban claims responsibility When his wife resisted, the Taliban fighters killed the couple outside their home, Malekzada said. "Qamar Gul, who was inside the house, took an AK-47 gun the family had and first shot dead the two Taliban fighters who killed her parents, and then injured a few others," he said. Gul is aged between 14 and 16, according to different officials. It is common for many Afghans to not know their precise age. Several other Taliban fighters later came to attack her house, but some villagers and pro-government militiamen expelled them after a gunfight. Afghan security forces have now taken Gul and her younger brother to a safer place, said Mohamed Aref Aber, spokesman to the provincial governor. Since the incident, social media networks have been flooded with praise for Gul's "heroic" act. A photograph of Gul, wearing a headscarf and holding a machinegun across her lap has gone viral in the past few days. "Hats off to her courage! Well done," wrote Najiba Rahmi on Facebook. "Power of an Afghan girl," wrote another Facebook user Fazila Alizada. "We know parents are irreplaceable, but your revenge will give you relative peace," said Mohamed Saleh in his post on Facebook. The Taliban regularly kill villagers who they suspect of being informers for the government or security forces. In recent months, the militants have also stepped up their attacks against security forces despite agreeing to peace talks with Kabul. The Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, agents are set to assist other federal law enforcement and Chicago police in crime-fighting efforts, according to sources familiar with the matter, though a specific plan on what the agents will be doing and what their limits would be had not been made public. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an amendment that would impose new sanctions on companies helping Russia complete a controversial natural-gas pipeline to Germany. The Democratic-controlled House passed the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on July 20. The NDAA must be approved by the Senate and signed by the president before the new sanctions would become law. Russia is seeking to complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2 project, which would transport gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea. European vessels laying the pipeline halted work in December following the first round of U.S. sanctions that specifically targeted their activity. Russia is hoping to complete it using its own ships, prompting the United States to include the amendment in the NDAA to widen the sanctions beyond vessels to any company. The project is more than 90 percent built. It consists of two parallel lines running under the Baltic Sea, each 1,230 kilometers in length. The nearly $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would have an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters a year, would largely reroute gas to Europe around Ukraine, depriving Kyiv of billions of dollars in annual fees. The United States opposes the project on the grounds that it strengthens the Kremlin's grip on the European energy market and punishes Ukraine, which is battling Russian-backed separatists in its eastern provinces. "Russia is trying to develop the Nord Stream 2 pipeline to exert undue control on our European allies and their energy supplies. We must stop [President Vladimir] Putin's hostile influence strategy," Representative Steve Womack (Republican-Arkansas) said in a tweet after the vote. Russia has accused the United States of using sanctions as a weapon to boost its energy exports. The United States is seeking to increase liquefied-natural-gas exports to Europe. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who warned companies last week against helping Russia finish the pipeline, is scheduled to travel to Denmark this week. The portion of the pipeline that remains to be build lies in Denmark's economic waters. Web Toolbar by Wibiya Get the book on John Summers HERE. The title of this article sounds pretty funny, doesn't it? Indeed, I wish this article was some kind of satire. But it isn't. According to the official story, the search for sentient alien life forms in the universe continues. But for many people who have either researched or experienced alien abductions, sentient alien life forms have already been in contact with humanscontact which has ranged from the apparently benign to the profoundly invasive. In the case of one Ottawa man, whose name is Horace Carby-Samuels, the alien contact has been profound invasive. And we have Horace's own words to rely on for the apparent alien abduction scenario he fell victim to thanks to Bell Baker's John Summers. It was in winter 2013 that Horace Carby-Samuels began to experience hostile forms of alien contact, which I document in my book Justin Trudeau, Judicial Corruption and the Supreme Court of Canada: Aliens and Archons in Our Midst. Horace first began to report having been contacted by aliens in what he described to be "multi-dimensional space" during his dreams after he had a near-death experience (NDE) back in the late 1960s in a Vancouver-area hospital. For years Horace told Raymond, his son, that these aliens "had a mission for him" and that was why they "saved" him. Raymond assumed these contacts to be benign. However, starting in January 2013, his opinion changed as these aliens apparently began to take over his father's body to perpetrate violent behaviour. That was when Horace began to have hysterical episodes of complaining to Raymond and others at each and every social function about what he described to be an "extraterrestrial threat." When Raymond began to try to get help for his father, a "mysterious" lawyer and a dirty cop, Ottawa police detective Robert Griffin Jr, conspired to block a review of Horace's health. As the alien that Horace had complained about continued to take over his body against his human free will, it became increasingly apparent that John Summers, Ottawa police detective Robert Griffin, and four judges at the Ontario Superior Court at 161 Elgin Street in Ottawa didn't want anyone to interrupt the apparent takeover of Horace's body by non-human entities. If you want proof of non-human life forms walking among us, you don't need to go any further than the current imposter that is occupying Horace's body under the apparent protection of operatives, who include John Summers and his apparent confederates at the Ottawa courthouse and the Ottawa police; I refer to these individuals in my book as members of a "fifth column." The apparent takeover of Horaces body was a complete violation of human free will and John Summers, who enabled that process, has committed a crime against humanity. John Summers was parachuted by apparent non-human life forms to see to it that the alien imposter could be left to pursue its violent activities without challenge. John Summers is a collaborator with the devil, and its house-of-torture experiment and human survival may depend on demanding that the non-human occupants of Horaces body leave it, because it is likely that Horace is not the only human that has been the subject of such experiments. To learn more, check out my book, available in Chapters/Indigo in Canada, Barnes and Nobles in the States, and Amazon internationally. Labour leader Alan Kelly said his party will bring forward legislation that will allow dependants of women affected by CervicalCheck to claim for losses instead of going through the courts. Mr Kelly said he will seek to make changes to the Civil Liability Act which will make it easier for terminally ill women and their families to access support. He told the Dail that he will do it in honour of prominent CervicalCheck campaigner Ruth Morrissey, who died earlier this week. Expand Close Ruth Morrissey and her husband Paul at the High Court in Dublin (Michelle Devane/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Ruth Morrissey and her husband Paul at the High Court in Dublin (Michelle Devane/PA) Mrs Morrissey, who died on Sunday at the age of 39, was among hundreds of women affected by the controversy around incorrect smear test results. Mr Kelly described the mother-of-one as a national hero who fought the state twice. He added that as part of her legacy, the Government should also ensure that the CervicalCheck tribunal is not adversarial. I know what she wanted is the Civil Liabilities Act to be amended to do as I just said, and as the chief justice outlined himself, Mr Kelly added. So were going to bring forward that legislation, the Labour Party is going to bring forward that legislation in her honour and I expect you to support it, I expect the House to support it. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said that Minister for Health Stephen Donnelly is appointing a judge and two other independent members to the tribunal. Mary Lou McDonald pays tribute to Ruth Morrissey and says Irish inspections must take place of CervicalCheck screening being conducted in US labs @MaryLouMcDOnald pic.twitter.com/VwyMtqBkGf Sinn Fein (@sinnfeinireland) July 21, 2020 It was scheduled to begin in March this year, however was postponed because of Covid-19 restrictions. Mr Martin apologised to Mrs Morrissey and her family on behalf of the state, and acknowledged the litany of failures in the cervical screening system. This government, like the previous government, acknowledges the failures that took place with CervicalCheck programme and are profoundly sorry for what was allowed to happen, Mr Martin told the Dail. Too many women who should be here and enjoying life with their families are gone because of those failings. Those of us who were here and have the responsibility of elected office, have a solemn duty to learn the lessons from these errors, to reform the system and to make sure they never happen again. This Government will fully implement the recommendations of the Scally and McGrath reports. This government, like the previous government, acknowledges the failures that took place with CervicalCheck programme and are profoundly sorry for what was allowed to happen Micheal Martin We will do so to honour the memory of those who were failed by the programme in the past and to ensure that the CervicalCheck is improved and can save more lives. Last July the Oireachtas passed legislation to set up to the CervicalCheck tribunal and the statutory tribunal that will deal with the issue of liability in a non-adversarial way. It will give a voice to the women who suffered in silence. It is important that our legacy is remembered by allowing the women affected by the CervicalCheck scandal to have access to the supports they need and the compensation they deserve in a non-adversarial way. After his statement to the Dail, TDs held a minutes silence for Mrs Morrissey. Ruth Morrissey is a national hero. The best way to honour Ruths legacy is to: 1. Amend the Civil Liabilities Act so loved ones dont have to go to court again after a dying person passes away 2. Bring screening home 3. Ensure that the CervicalCheck tribunal is not adversarial pic.twitter.com/CC9JbET2kg The Labour Party (@labour) July 21, 2020 Sinn Fein president Mary Lou McDonald said that Mrs Morrissey paid the ultimate price of the failures in the cervical check screening system. Instead of holding its hands up and admitting liability, the state joined with US laboratories at fault in dragging a terminally ill woman through the courts, and they fought her tooth and nail every step of the way, Ms McDonald added. Even when Ruth won her case at the High Court, she was hauled before the Supreme Court to suffer one final indignity before she was vindicated. She called for the Government to stop dragging very sick women through the courts. Mr Martin said the tribunal was the most effective mechanism to enable women involved to resolve these issues without having to go before the courts. A father has told of the traumatising moment he discovered a man had repeatedly posted videos of them having sex online, saying: 'My dignity was sold for $12.99.' Fabricio Da Silva Claudino, 32, has pleaded guilty to 'revenge porn' charges after he repeatedly shared their intimate moments together on the OnlyFans website. OnlyFans is a popular platform used by amateur porn stars and Instagram models to sell subscription access to raunchy images and videos. Former Emirates flight attendant turned deviant Da Silva Claudino watched via video link as his victim read a moving statement to a Sydney court on Tuesday afternoon. Fabricio Da Silva Claudino, 32, is a former Emirates flight attendant who turned to a life of pornography to support himself while in Sydney Da Silva Claudino's victim told the court: 'The guy I thought I knew (who is on left and right) turned out to be a complete stranger' Reading a four page statement, the victim told Central Local Corut: 'The guy I thought I knew turned out to be a complete stranger.' 'My dignity was sold for 12 dollars and 99 cents'. The victim said the clips had been online for months when he discovered the videos, while getting ready for work one morning. He thought he had simply discovered the Instagram influencer's 'secret double life' as a porn star -but soon came to terms with the enormity of what had happened. 'I started blaming myself immediately, wondering why I didn't know,' he said. 'I was fighting back tears and suppressing the urge to scream by clenching my fists.' The victim said he felt horrified, humiliated and sickened as he watched the full length for the first time while at the police station. Da Silva had even placed pictures of the victim's face next to the recordings to make sure he was 'properly identifiable', he said. The victim said he became a 'grown man afraid of the outside world' and a 'shell' of a person as a result of his humiliating ordeal. He feared strangers would recognise him on the street. Tattoos etched on his body now feel 'like branding', and he is seeking to have them lasered off. The ink was 'now like a filthy stain on my body', he said. Da Silva in an image from his now-deleted social media accounts where a banana peel is placed in his underwear Da Silva Claudino hopes to return home to Brazil after he is released from prison The victim, who cannot be identified for legal reasons, said the ordeal had hurt his career, his self-image, his psychology and his relationships with others. To make matters worse, Da Silva Claudino also pleaded guilty to public indecency charges over repeated public masturbation while he was on bail. He was seen exposing himself in areas around the inner city, including near a school. 'I will never again feel like the person I was before,' said the victim, who was composed and repeatedly looked the offender in the eye. Prosecutors have asked for a sentencing assessment report to be completed, with Da Silva Claudino's solicitor Brett Galloway telling the court his client wanted to return home to Brazil. Da Silva Claudino had originally pleaded not guilty to image-based abuse charges but changed his plea on Tuesday. He also pleaded guilty to one charge of possessing anabolic steroids. Da Silva Claudino will return to court for sentencing on September 18. The OnlyFans website has become popular with Instagram models who seek to make money sharing images and videos of their bodies. After reading about local black lives matter protests and showing up at one to see it for myself and to photograph the event, I went to the papers website to see what articles there were on these protests and to read up on what it is the protesters are protesting, what do they want, what are the concerns of the counter protesters, etc. only to find that I couldnt find any articles. I get that covering these issues may be a bit disconcerting, but it is news. Here is what I have observed first hand and through hours of streamed videos of the protests. There have been protests in Farmington, Fredericktown (two now), Ste. Genevieve and Park Hills. The local protests have taken place without any hint of rioting, looting or mass violence. In fact, with the exception of a couple of isolated incidents they have been remarkably peaceful. Passions have been high, though and if words could kill, wed have a lot of casualties. There have been counter protests which have run concurrent to the Black Lives Matter protests most notably in Fredericktown and in Park Hills where local citizens showed up en masse (vastly outnumbering protesters) to voice their opposition the movement and to protect their communities from expected violent looters and rioters who never came. I blame the people making up these rumors for creating a highly charged and potentially lethal situation. Among these counter-protesters have been some overtly racist individuals calling people the N word while sporting Confederate flag. We do have real racists among the mostly good people in our communities. The protesters want to bring attention to the militarization of law enforcement and to the prevalence of police brutality in America, particularly against people of color and to the systems built to deprive freed slaves and their descendants of the rights to which they are entitled under our constitution. Their aim as I understand it is the dismantling these racist systems and reforming the way policing is done in America. Police are expected to be social workers, drug rehabilitation counselors, marriage counselors, mediation experts and much more, all while working under intense public scrutiny. They simply do not have adequate training in all the fields in which they are expected to function as professionals. Many police officers suffer from PTSD or other issues but seeking help could jeopardize their career. Reporting behavior of individuals wholly unsuited for police work can also end a career. The reforms which would address these and other issues are not only good for communities but also good for the good people who do serve and for those who would wish to serve the community as police officers. They protest even in small rural communities because they want and need our help to bring these changes to fruition. People without power can do little on their own to bring about substantial change besides making a big noise to try and get the attention of the people with the power. Thats you and me, we are the people with the power. You may not feel very powerful but the truth is that if enough white people speak out about these issues then we will be heard. I understand these protests as a plea for help and so the question we must answer is this; will we listen with a compassionate heart to the cries against injustice and generational oppression or will we turn a blind eye and harden our hearts to the suffering of others? Chris Stapleton Farmington Love 25 Funny 2 Wow 3 Sad 0 Angry 37 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 15:23:13|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close PHNOM PENH, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Cambodian Prime Minister Samdech Techo Hun Sen said Tuesday that the kingdom has identified another 50,000 new poor households, raising the total number of poor families affected by the COVID-19 to over 610,000 so far. "We spent 24 million U.S. dollars to support more than 560,000 poor families (in June), and the spending rose to 28 million dollars (in July) after we had found another 50,000 new poor families," he said in a speech during a visit to farmers in southern Takeo province. He said local authorities still continue to identify more poor households for cash subsidies during the COVID-19 crisis. The Cambodian government launched last month a cash handout program for the poor and vulnerable families during the COVID-19 crisis. Through the program, poor families in capital Phnom Penh and provincial towns receive a cash handout of 30 U.S. dollars a month, while poor families in the countryside get 20 dollars in assistance. Each poor family member also receives between four dollars and 13 dollars depending on their areas. Children under five, disabled people, citizens with HIV or citizens 60-years-of-age or older receive between four dollars and 10 dollars, also depending on their areas. Hun Sen said the program is a social assistance during the COVID-19 crisis and it is expected to last for five months. The Southeast Asian nation has so far detected a total of 197 confirmed COVID-19 cases, mostly imported, and no death has been reported, he said, adding that 140 patients have recovered and 57 remain in hospital. Enditem 28 Shares Share An African American female had been to the hospital three times in the last week for severe abdominal pain. Yelling for pain medication, she returned with the same complaint. The abdominal imaging two weeks ago was normal, and doctors had labeled her a drug seeker. Now, after a few hours, the physician reluctantly ordered another abdominal scan that showed ischemic colitis, a serious illness. She was taken for emergency surgery and died in the operating room. If she were white, would the scan have been done earlier? If she hadnt been labeled a drug seeker, would she be alive today? Discrimination kills. This incident occurred during my residency, and it lit a fire within me to get further training on minority populations and implicit bias. Several years later, I started teaching implicit bias to my medical residents because I realized too many patients suffer the health consequences of discrimination. In talking with colleagues around the nation, the story was consistent pain medication had been denied, treatment delayed, and misdiagnoses had occurred. Patients have been labeled as frequent flyers and drug seekers. We all have unconscious or implicit bias, social stereotypes about certain groups of people that individuals form outside their own conscious awareness. As a result, certain people benefit, and others are harmed, and medicine is not exempt from it. For example, African Americans with severe depression are more likely to be misdiagnosed with schizophrenia compared to white Americans showing the same symptoms. As a result, they are put on the wrong medications. Clinicians may not be aware of their own lack of objectivity in decision-making. When a person has an addiction, a serious heart condition can be missed because of the bias associated with addicts. The systemic consequences of racism and discrimination are a public health issue because, like COVID-19, they are worldwide, contagious, and taking lives. Michigans governor recognizes this. Gretchen Whitmer put forth an executive order last week mandating implicit bias training for all health care workers to address the glaring racial disparities with COVID-19. According to state officials, despite being only 14 percent of Michigans population, Black people make up 30 percent of all coronavirus cases and 40 percent of COVID-19 related deaths. But, does implicit bias training work? There is no evidence it does. If it doesnt, then why do I teach it? The governors task force said people of color suffer in medical settings from the unconscious bias by medical professionals. This is only part of the problem , its also the social determinants of health (SDOH), the circumstances of where we live, work, play, and pray. Addressing these systemic issues goes beyond health care worker training and into government reform. Efforts to improve health in the U.S. have traditionally looked to health care as the key driver of outcomes. However, evidence shows improving health and achieving health equity requires broader approaches that address social, economic, and environmental factors that influence health. This requires a focus on health in non-health factors. For example, the accessibility of public transportation affects access to employment, affordable healthy foods, and other important drivers of health. Unconscious bias training in medicine helps health care providers recognize bias. Too often, medical personnel believe they treat all patients equally. Evidence shows otherwise. Of transgender patients, 42 percent reported having been mistreated by health care providers; 23 percent say they did not see a doctor when they needed to because of fear of discrimination. In my experience, medical professionals express gratitude after attending unconscious bias sessions. Thoughtful discussions follow, but it stops there. There is no follow up or further education. Often this education is limited to two hours. Its a checkbox to fulfill a requirement. If leaders really want to address racial disparities, attention must be placed on addressing SDOH and systemic racism. This is because most unconscious bias training was created not as a solution for systemic bias, prejudice, and discrimination, but as a risk-mitigation and compliance tool to protect organizations from litigation. This is the case in most organizations or corporations. Also, implicit bias training targets the individual and not the biased system. If health care industries want employees and leaders to learn more about discrimination, biases, and stereotyping, having unconscious bias training may be the first step to bring about awareness. But if an organization strives to become more equitable, inclusive, and diverse and be positioned to leverage that diversity it has to dig deeper. A commitment to take a hard look at services, processes, systems, employees, communications, and to redesign the system for greater equity and inclusion. It is impossible to change long-term behaviors and perceptions via a few hours of training. It must be ongoing. So, would I continue to teach unconscious bias? Yes. Because its the first step in the right direction. But we have to do more. There should also be measures to assess incremental changes and progress. Data should be collected at several stages of the training intervention and be used to ensure its effectiveness. Understand that everyone has bias, whether black or white, and that discrimination is something we all need to work on together as a society. I applaud the governors executive order as an initial step, but it cant stop there or be viewed as a checkbox action item. Perhaps years from now, I wont be wondering if a patient wouldve been treated differently based on the color of her skin or if she wouldve lived if she hadnt been labeled a drug seeker. Asha Shajahan is a family physician. Image credit: Shutterstock.com Greek prime minister describes deal on coronavirus rescue package as great, unique opportunity for Greece and Europe. Athens, Greece Many Greeks awoke pleasantly surprised to the news that Europes leaders had agreed on a 750-billion-euro ($860bn) stimulus package for the continents coronavirus-battered economies. With newspapers having gone to bed hours before the Tuesday dawn deal in Brussels, most people heard about it on their radio and television sets. Will I be able to finance the new shop windows? asked Jenny, a butchers wife in central Athens who wants to remodel her husbands shop so that customers can sit down and sample the cold cuts. Greeces economy is forecast to shrink by as much as 9 percent this year, as the coronavirus pandemic hits the key industries of tourism and merchant shipping. Entrepreneurs like Jennys husband are feeling the pinch. Its a good thing on the whole, she said of the emergency fund, dubbed NextGenerationEU. An unheard-of-sum The European Commission will raise the money through borrowing on the capital markets a historic step for Europes executive. France and Germany, who pushed for the fund against the objections of a frugal lobby comprising Sweden, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands, declared victory. The so-called Frugal Four did achieve a compromise in the balance of loans to grants 360 billion euros ($412bn) of the fund will have to be repaid by governments, more than the one-third originally proposed by the Commission. But the overall size of the fund remained intact, and the European Council of heads of government also approved the next seven-year EU budget of about 1.1 trillion euros ($1.3 trillion). Were returning to Athens with an overall package that surpasses 70 billion euros ($80bn), an unheard-of sum for our country, declared Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis in the early hours of Tuesday. Almost half of this, 32 billion euros ($36bn), comes from NextGenerationEU, with some 19 billion euros ($21bn) in the form of grants and more than 12 billion euros ($13bn) in the form of loans. Over a five-year period, the grants alone amount to a boost of about 2 percent of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per year. We shall soon present a detailed plan for the reorganisation of our productivity that will transform our country, the elated Mitsotakis said. This is a great, unique opportunity for Greece and for Europe. The pandemic is set to claim 8.3 percent of the EU economy, but other countries in the European south stand to lose even more than Greece. Spain, Italy and France are expected to see recessions to the tune of 11 percent. Yet, it is in Greece where Europe first developed its financial reflexes and where such leaps forward resonate most. When the post-2008 global financial crisis bankrupted Greece a decade ago, the eurozone area created a fund to bail it out eventually bailing out Ireland, Spain, Portugal and Cyprus, too. But distressed sovereigns had to accept emergency loans at their own risk, and Europes frugals, who then included Germany, staunchly refused to issue so-called Eurobonds together with the heavily indebted south. NextGenerationEU marks the first time all 27 EU members are selling debt together, and it is the first time the Commission is to be given powers to levy taxes and raise resources of its own to service that debt. The single greatest thing about this fund is that it advances fiscal union and paves the way to Eurobonds, said Panayotis Ioakeimidis, a political scientist at Athens University. A great relief The International Monetary Fund estimates that the post-2008 financial crisis cost the world roughly one-tenth of its GDP. The pandemic, it believes, will cause a recession almost twice as deep. The combination of recession and higher borrowing means countries debt levels will rise in the case of the EU from an average of 75 percent of GDP to 95 percent just because of COVID-19. The European south, already heavily indebted by the last crisis, lacks the ability to borrow its way out of the current one without building up unsustainable levels of debt. The emergence of the Commission as a new debt-issuing entity is a great relief to these countries because the Commissions debt does not appear on their balance sheets. Italian Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte said Rome expects to receive 28 percent of the fund, comprising 81 billion euros ($93bn) in grants and 127 billion euros ($146bn) in loans. The political importance of Tuesdays deal is even greater than the economic, said political economist George Pagoulatos, who heads the Hellenic Foundation for European and Foreign Policy. Italy has growing Eurosceptic momentum. Weve seen that with [former Interior Minister Matteo] Salvini, Pagoulatos said. Conte is probably the last thing separating Italy from sliding to a new wave of anti-Europeanism that could be fatal, not just for Italys participation in the euro, but for the entire European integration project and the single market, he said. So its extremely important for Europe to signal to Italian public opinion that its there to show solidarity. Speaking in Athens on Tuesday, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas hailed the deal as a restart of Europe on the basis of solidarity. The battle for European solidarity has not been definitively won, however. [The Frugals] do not want to be sidelined by the Franco-German alliance, said Pagoulatos, who sees a new cleavage within the EU. What this group of countries is trying to prevent is [NextGenerationEU] becoming a structural feature of the EU cross-border transfers in the form of grants resulting from EU borrowing. They dont want this to happen again. They want this to be a one-off thing. These have to be inducted on the COVID-19 bio-hazard before they even get to the wards. The hospitals have become like a lions den so to speak. We do have sufficient personal protective equipment, but need to replenish these frequently. The hospital is now going to discharge all the stable patients and attend to emergencies only,he said. [Email notice of this letter was sent on July 20, 2020 to the PASE and CDEfisc email distribution lists.] Dear County Superintendents of Schools: 202021 Advance Principal Apportionment The California Department of Education (CDE) certified the 202021 Advance Principal Apportionment (Advance) on July 20, 2020, pursuant to California Education Code (EC) Section 41330 in the amount of $37,896,443,203. At the end of each month from July 2020 through January 2021, county treasurers will receive warrants that reflect state aid for Advance programs for local educational agencies (LEA). County superintendents of schools should advise school districts and charter schools immediately of this apportionment. The 202021 Advance is apportioned on the basis of an LEAs Second Principal Apportionment (P-2) funding from the preceding fiscal year pursuant to EC Section 41330, Senate Bill (SB) 98, Chapter 24, Statutes of 2020, and funding appropriations provided in the 202021 Budget Act. 202021 Advance Calculations by Program A summary of the Advance calculations is described below. This letter, as well as Excel files that provide funding and monthly payment amounts, are available on the CDE website at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/pa2021.asp The following provides specific details regarding the calculation of funding for each program, including the Local Control Funding Formula (LCFF). Because this apportionment is merely a means to begin allocating funds in accordance with EC Section 41330, it should not be used by LEAs for budgeting. At the close of this letter, an overview of the impacts to an LEAs 202021 LCFF funding as a result of Section 34 of SB 98 is provided. Local Control Funding Formula State Aid County Offices of Education The estimated 202021 LCFF State Aid for each county office of education (COE) is based on funding from the 201920 P-2 certification and reflects the following: The Advance carries forward the COEs 201920 P-2 LCFF Entitlement because the 202021 cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) is set to zero pursuant to Section 29 of SB 98. Funding for Local Control and Accountability Plan (LCAP) support for COEs funded on the Target formula as of 201617 P-2, pursuant to EC Section 2575.1, is included in the Advance state aid amount with zero COLA per SB 98 provisions. Additional state aid for Differentiated Assistance pursuant to EC Section 2575.2 is equal to the 201920 P-2 amount because statute does not provide COLA for this funding. The 201920 P-2 local revenue amount was used to determine the COEs Advance state aid and excludes any one-time Redevelopment Agency (RDA) Asset Liquidation funds reported as part of the COEs 201920 P-2 property taxes. The Education Protection Account (EPA) Entitlement, which is an offset to state aid, has been recalculated to reflect the 202021 funding estimate of $8.8 billion. See the EPA section below for additional detail. Local Control Funding Formula State Aid School Districts and Charter Schools The estimated 202021 LCFF State Aid for each school district and charter school is based on funding from the 201920 P-2 certification and reflects the following: The Advance carries forward the school districts or charter schools 201920 P-2 LCFF Entitlement because the 202021 COLA is set to zero pursuant to Section 29 of SB 98. 201920 class size penalties (reflected in the miscellaneous adjustments and minimum state aid adjustments lines of the School District LCFF funding exhibit) have been excluded from the Advance. The 201920 P-2 local revenue amount was used to determine the school districts Advance state aid and excludes any one-time RDA Asset Liquidation funds reported as part of the districts 201920 P-2 property taxes. The EPA Entitlement, which is an offset to state aid, has been recalculated to reflect the 202021 funding estimate of $8.8 billion. See the EPA section below for additional detail. Education Protection Account EPA revenues, as authorized by Section 36 of Article XIII of the California Constitution, are generated by an increase in the personal income tax rates for upper-income taxpayers. All LEAs will receive quarterly EPA payments through the 203031 fiscal year, which will be paid outside of the Principal Apportionment. For most LEAs, EPA funding offsets state aid allocated through the Principal Apportionment. Using a revised 202021 EPA revenue estimate of approximately $8.8 billion, the CDE calculated estimated EPA entitlements using a factor of 36.4728093 percent based on the 201920 P-2 statewide total of revenue limits and charter school block grant funding and 201920 P-2 local revenue data, adjusted to exclude one-time RDA Asset Liquidation funds. If an LEAs 201920 P-2 EPA entitlement was based on $200 per ADA (the minimum), the 202021 estimated EPA entitlement was not recalculated for the Advance. While the funding is not allocated through the Principal Apportionment, estimated 202021 EPA amounts are provided on the Advance Apportionment Summary available on the CDEs website at http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/iassf20adv.asp for your convenience. For additional information on EPA calculations, letters of apportionment, payment schedules, spending restrictions, frequently asked questions, SACS financial reporting and more, please refer to CDEs EPA web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/epa.asp. Basic Aid Choice, Court-Ordered Voluntary Pupil Transfer, and Charter Supplement Funding for Basic Aid Choice, Court-Ordered Voluntary Pupil Transfer, and Charter Supplement are equal to their 201920 P-2 amounts. Adults in Correctional Facilities LEAs that participate in the Adults in Correctional Facilities (AICF) program receive funding on a reimbursement basis. The 202021 Budget Act provides $15,746,000, which will be used to fund the 201920 program. Advance funding for the AICF program is equal to the 201920 P-2 state aid amounts for each LEA adjusted for the 201920 3.26 percent COLA. Special Education Assembly Bill 602 Program The 202021 Budget Act provides $3,428,323,000 for the Assembly Bill (AB) 602 program. The estimated 202021 state aid for each Special Education Local Plan Area (SELPA) is based on funding from the 201920 P-2 certification and reflects the following: The 201920 Special Education Property Tax amount was used to determine the SELPAs Advance state aid and excludes any one-time RDA Asset Liquidation funds reported as part of the countys 201920 P-2 property taxes. A factor of 1.1552687096 was applied to each SELPAs adjusted 201920 state aid amount. The 202021 Budget provides for an additional $545.3 million to increase the base funding rates to $625 per ADA and is included in the factor calculation. In addition, SB 98 (Chapter 24, Statutes of 2020) implemented a new base funding formula to calculate each SELPAs entitlement. The CDE will implement the new base funding formula at the 202021 First Principal Apportionment (P-1) Certification, to be calculated pursuant to EC Section 56836.148. Special Education Infant (Ages Two Years and Younger) Program The 202021 Budget Act provides $79,477,000 for the Infant program. The Advance is equal to the 201920 P-2 amounts for each LEA because the 202021 COLA is set to zero pursuant to Section 29 of SB 98. Transfer of Funds for County Served District Funded Average Daily Attendance EC Section 2576, as modified by AB 2235 (Chapter 99, Statutes of 2018), requires the CDE to transfer funds from the district of residence to the COE for all District Funded County Program ADA. The CDE implemented this change with the 201920 P-1 certification. Funding for the Transfer of Funds for County Served District Funded ADA is equal to the 201920 P-2 amounts. Other State Aid Other State Aid captures pass-through payments made to LEAs for legislative priorities. Currently, this appropriation can be found in AB 104 (Chapter 13, Statutes of 2015). Payment Schedule Monthly payments for the Advance (July 2020 January 2021) are available on the CDEs website at the county summary level and by LEA. For cash planning, LEAs should refer to the Principal Apportionment Payment Schedule web page at https://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/pa/papayschedule.asp. The State Controllers website provides monthly payment information, including offset amounts at https://www.sco.ca.gov/ard_payments_k12.html and estimated payment dates at https://www.sco.ca.gov/Files-ARD-Payments/sched_2020.pdf. In addition, for 202021 cash flow planning, Section 10 and 11 of SB 98 provides for the deferral of Principal Apportionment payments for the First Principal (P-1) and Second Principal (P-2) Apportionments. The deferral of Principal Apportionment payments does not impact quarterly payments provided through EPA. The table below identifies the Principal Apportionment deferrals for the 202021 fiscal year. Deferral Month Deferral Amount Month of Deferral Payment February 2021 (P-1) $1,540,303,000 November 2021 March 2021 (P-1) $2,375,308,000 October 2021 April 2021 (P-1) $2,375,308,000 September 2021 May 2021 (P-1) $2,375,308,000 August 2021 June 2021 (P-2) 100% of the P-2 payment July 2021 Section 12 of SB 98 establishes a process for a school district or charter school to request an exemption from the deferrals and additional guidance about this process will be released in the coming months. Overview of Impacts to LCFF Pursuant to SB 98 An LEAs 202021 LCFF entitlement will be based on: Average Daily Attendance (ADA): for all LEAs with the exception of newly operational charter schools, ADA for the 202021 school year will equal the LEAs ADA reported for the 201920 school year. ADA for newly operational charter schools will be determined using the charter schools 202021 enrollment as of October 7, 2020 as reported in the California Longitudinal Pupil Data System adjusted by the 201920 statewide absence rate of 4.49% for elementary (K8) or 6.01% for high school (912). Unduplicated Pupil Percentage (UPP): there will be no change to the UPP calculations or underlying data. An LEAs 202021 UPP will still be based on three years of enrollment and unduplicated pupil data and reflect actual data from the 202021 school year through 201819 school year. LCFF state aid will reflect property taxes collected in the 202021 fiscal year and 202021 EPA revenue. If you need assistance, or have any further questions, please contact the Principal Apportionment Section by email at PASE@cde.ca.gov or by phone at 916-324-4541. Sincerely, Wendi McCaskill, Associate Director Principal Apportionment Section WM:ss Ohio House of Representatives Ohios top state lawmaker conspired to funnel tens of millions of dollars from the states electric utility to his political allies in order to consolidate power over the state legislature and shepherd through a $1.5 billion bailout for the utilitys nuclear power plants, federal prosecutors alleged on Tuesday. The FBI arrested Ohio speaker Larry Householder, a Republican, and four alleged co-conspirators and leveled charges of racketeering and bribery related to the scheme. At a press conference on Tuesday afternoon, U.S. Attorney David DeVillers called it likely the largest bribery [and] money laundering scheme ever perpetrated against the people of the state of Ohio. At the center of the scheme was Householder, who prosecutors say used a nonprofit dark money group called Generation Now to funnel money from the utility, First Energy, into state-level political contests. Householders goals, DeVillers said, were to pass and preserve a contentious bill to bail out two FirstEnergy nuclear plants, and to build a power base for Larry Householder. After his arrest, Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine called on the speaker to resign immediately. I am deeply concerned about the allegations of wrongdoing issued today by the U.S. Attorneys Office. Every American has the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, DeWine tweeted Tuesday. Because of the nature of these charges, it will be impossible for Speaker Householder to effectively lead the Ohio House of Representatives; therefore, I am calling on Speaker Householder to resign immediately. This is a sad day for Ohio. Where Does a Pro-Nuke Group Begin and a GOP Politician End? Four political consultants with ties to Householder were also arrested and charged with complicity in the scheme. Prosecutors said the co-conspirators routed money provided by FirstEnergy to Generation Now through a network of dark money groups and political consulting firms in order to hide that the money was coming from Generation Now. Story continues The money was used to help elect Householder allies to the statehouse, and to promote legislation propping up FirstEnergy assets. According to prosecutors, the money provided by the utility was used to help elect 21 state legislators. All of them subsequently voted to make Householder the statehouse speaker in 2019. All but one voted for the FirstEnergy bailout. The Daily Beast detailed a host of connections between Householder, Generation Now, and political forces in Columbus pushing the FirstEnergy bailout in a series of stories in 2018 and 2019. Householder consistently denied involvement with the dark money group, and insisted he had no financial interest in the bailout. Both claims, prosecutors said, were flatly untrue. Prosecutors did not name FirstEnergy at the press conference on Tuesday, only referring to it as Company A, but left no doubt that it was the company at issue. Everybody in this room knows who Company A is, DeVillers said. FBI agents and local authorities stormed Householders Glenford farm on Tuesday morning. Others who were arrested included Neil Clark, a lobbyist and founder of Grant Street Consultants; former Ohio Republican Party chair Matthew Borges; Juan Cespedes, co-founder of The Oxley Group in Columbus; and one of Householders advisers, Jeffrey Longstreth. The investigation into the Republican lawmaker centers on House Bill 6, a $1 billion bailout plan for two Ohio nuclear power plantswhich Householder notably helped push through last year, according to Cleveland.com. The bill was signed by DeWine in June and was immediately met with efforts to overturn the bailout. Those efforts have since failed after receiving fierce resistance from several well-funded groups, including Generation Now. The company is a 501(c)(4) nonprofitmeaning it can engage in political advocacy without disclosing its donorsbut The Daily Beast has previously reported on its deep ties to Householder. Generation Now was the primary node of a Householder-linked Columbus political machine, which funneled money to statehouse allies using millions of dollars in untraceable political donations. The group pressed for state assistance for two nuclear power plants run by FirstEnergy. It also ran polling for Householder and his allies during the 2018 election cycle, according to memos quietly posted to an otherwise-blank website affiliated with Generation Now. Some of those memos contained metadata indicating they were created by Longstreth, the longtime Householder adviser who was arrested on Tuesday, and another employee of his consulting firm. Ohio Governor Mandates Masks In COVID 'Red Alert' Counties Generation Now provided more than $1 million during the 2018 cycle to a political group, Growth & Opportunity PAC, that spent the funds in support of a number of Householder allies. The PAC has received another $1.1 million since last year from a similarly named dark money group, the Coalition for Growth and Opportunity. The PAC has once again spent that money on ads backing Householder allies in Ohio. When Growth & Opportunity PAC began running ads on a Cincinnati NBC affiliate this year, the station tried, unsuccessfully, to suss out information on the people running the group. Asked buyer for additional names, the station wrote in a filing with the Federal Communications Commission. None were provided. It takes courage for citizens to assist law enforcement in the ways detailed in the affidavit, DeVillers said Tuesday. We are grateful to those who felt a moral duty to work together with agents in bringing to light this alleged, significant public corruption. Householder is the first Ohio lawmaker in 60 years to win back the speakership after leaving due to term limitations, which he did in 2019 after serving from 2001 to 2004. He is considered one of the three most powerful politicians in Ohio and a politician whose current influence dictates how the state spends more than $140 billion annually. Tuesdays investigation is not the first time Householder has been the subject of an FBI investigation. In 2004, the FBI launched an investigation into allegations that he and his aides took kickbacks from various vendors and traded political favors for campaign contributions. The investigation ended two years later and no charges were filed against the Republican. About 13 years later, in January 2017, Householder mounted a successful campaign to become the first lawmaker to recapture the speakershipa post dictated by term limitsin nearly six decades. Read more at The Daily Beast. Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast here Get our top stories in your inbox every day. Sign up now! Daily Beast Membership: Beast Inside goes deeper on the stories that matter to you. Learn more. Kanye West has claimed wife Kim Kardashian West tried to get a doctor to lock me up after he said the couple considered an abortion while expecting their first child (Lauren Petracca Ipetracca/The Post And Courier via AP) Kanye West has claimed wife Kim Kardashian West tried to get a doctor to lock me up after he said the couple considered an abortion while expecting their first child. West, who says he is running to be president of the US, told a crowd in South Carolina on Sunday that a message from God convinced him to keep the baby. Kardashian West gave birth to their first child, daughter North, in 2013. The rapper, who has been open about his bipolar disorder diagnosis, has now claimed his wife tried to bring a doctor to his ranch in Wyoming, comparing the situation to 2017 horror film Get Out. He tweeted: Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday. The claim was made in a series of distressing tweets, some of which have now been deleted, in which he demanded Kardashian West and his mother-in-law Kris Jenner call me now. DONDA coming this Friday pic.twitter.com/HGibF3PHYf ye (@kanyewest) July 21, 2020 About two hours after tweeting the claims against his wife, West said ima focus on the music now and revealed he plans to release an album on Friday. He shared a picture of the 12-song tracklist for Donda, which is named after his late mother. Video of the Day Song titles include Off The Grid, Gods Country and Praise God. Notations next to the titles appear to show the songs are still being worked on. This would not be out of character for West, who is known to tweak his albums right up to release and in the case of his 2016 effort The Life Of Pablo, post-release. Before the album announcement, West said Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour looked at me like I was crazy when he told her about the deal to sell his Yeezy fashion line through Gap stores. West also shared a picture of his four children with Kardashian West. West children will never do playboy west pic.twitter.com/HkhaDSFGxD ye (@kanyewest) July 21, 2020 Reality TV star Kardashian West is yet to publicly respond. Wests tweets came a day after his headline-making event in North Charleston, South Carolina, where he discussed his presidential bid. The 43-year-old wore a protective vest during the event and had 2020 shaved into his head. He floated the idea of giving struggling mothers one million dollars to discourage abortions. However, it has since emerged West has missed the deadline to appear on the presidential ballot in South Carolina. He did not submit a petition of 10,000 signatures by noon local time on Monday and would therefore not appear on the ballot, a state official said. South Carolina State Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said: The deadline has passed for any candidate to submit a petition for the November 3, 2020, General Election. Kanye West did not submit a petition. While he missed the South Carolina cut off, Fox News reported he made the Illinois deadline to file as an independent candidate. Expand Close Kanye West during his memorable appearance on Sunday (Lauren Petracca Ipetracca/The Post And Courier via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Kanye West during his memorable appearance on Sunday (Lauren Petracca Ipetracca/The Post And Courier via AP) West is from Chicago and Illinois is his home state. Fox said an Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman confirmed representatives for West filed 412 petition sheets and officials would count the signatures to check if they amounted to the 2,500 needed for a place on the ballot. West, a rap superstar, billionaire and fashion designer, announced his White House bid in a tweet on July 5, though doubts persist over how seriously to take his tilt at the top job. Last week, he qualified to appear on Oklahomas presidential ballot, the first state where he met the requirements before the filing deadline. However, that deadline has passed in several states. West drew sharp criticism for his comments during Sundays event about Harriet Tubman, one of the most revered figures in US history. Tubman was a 19th century abolitionist who led slaves to freedom. West said the Underground Railroad conductor never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people. Coronavirus LIVE Updates: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said a complete lockdown could be imposed in the state again as over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported for the first time on Wednesday. Auto refresh feeds So far more than 140,000 Americans have died due to coronavirus and 3.8 million have tested positive. While the US economy is slowly coming back to normal, the pandemic is now spreading in the Sun Belt of the country. The United States is leading the world in terms of COVID-19 testing and India is at second position, President Donald Trump said while giving an update on his administration's response to the coronavirus pandemic. Singh, who was BJP MLC from local self area constituency from Darbhanga, was undergoing treatment at the hospital since July 13 after he tested positive for COVID-19, reports PTI. Bihar BJP MLC Sunil Kumar Singh died of the coronavirus at AIIMS on Tuesday, an official said. Singh was 66. He is survived by two sons, a daughter, and wife. He is the first lawmaker in the state to die of COVID-19. The total number of coronavirus cases in the state reached 26,772, while the death toll increased to 64. Assam recorded the highest single-day spike of 1,680 COVID-19 cases on Tuesday as the state crossed the 26,000 mark, Minister for Health and Family Welfare Himanta Biswa Sarma said. The state also saw six more deaths due to the infection, he said. Dimas Covas, president of the Butantan Institute coordinating the study, said at a press conference that if the vaccine proves safe and effective, Brazil would receive 120 million doses from China at the beginning of next year, which will allow 30 million Brazilians to be vaccinated. Brazilian health authorities on Tuesday were starting a three-month test of a coronavirus vaccine produced by Chinese pharmaceutical company Sinovac one of a handful around the world that are entering late-stage testing to prove effectiveness, reports AP. With over 38.5 lakh reported cases till date, the United States is the worst-affected country in the world. The US is followed by Brazil, India, Russia and South Africa. The total confirmed cases of COVID-19 across the world stand at 1.48 crore, according to the Reuters tracker. This figure includes COVID-19 patients who have recovered and the overall global death toll which stands at 6.1 lakh. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan accuses Opposition parties of trying to sabotage the governments mitigation methods, reports PTI. They called for protest violating COVID-19 protocol, he said. The damage it causes will not only affect them but the whole state. They have always taken a negative approach and said there was no need for following the instructions given by the state and the health workers. As per the latest guidelines issued by the airport authority, all international passengers will have to sign an undertaking that they accept this obligation (of seven days paid institutional quarantine), which will be retained by the overseas mission/embassy before the booking is confirmed. In view of the ongoing COVID-19 scenario, all passengers arriving by international flights at the Delhi Airport will have to undergo seven days of institutional quarantine at their own cost, followed by one-week of home quarantine, reports ANI. India registers 37,724 new cases, taking its total count to 11,92,915. The toll increases by 648 to 28,732. The total COVID19 positive cases stand at 11,92,915 including 4,11,133 active cases, 7,53,050 cured/discharged/migrated and 28,732 deaths, according to the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. The state education department was earlier hoping to start the 2020-21 academic year by 15 August. The Goa education department is expecting to start the new academic session from September this year, state education director Santosh Amonkar has said. The annual academic session in Goa begins in the first week of June, but it has been delayed this year due to the outbreak of COVID-19. Everyday, 6,000 to 7,000 tests are being done and most of the citizens are following the safety protocols, additional municipal commissioner Suresh Kakani told PTI. The city has been daily reporting less than 1,500 COVID-19 cases since the last many days. The COVID-19 situation "is in control" in Mumbai with the number of positive cases daily being reported below 1,500, a senior official of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said. With 3,27,031 confirmed cases of COVID-19 so far, Maharashtra remains the worst-affected state in the country, followed by Tamil Nadu (1,80,643) and Delhi (1,25,096). Indias COVID-19 recovery rate now stands at 63.1 percent. The reported active COVID-19 cases in India now stand at 4,11,133 with as many as 7,53,049 COVID-19 patients have been cured and discharged so far. India tested 3,43,243 samples on Tuesday, says the Indian Council of Medical Research. The total number of samples tested up to 21 July is 1,47,24, 546. She tested positive after her sons performed the last rites following all customs and traditions. Soon, all the five brothers (falling in the age group of 60-70 years), who had taken part in her last rites, too succumbed to the deadly virus one after another. The 88-year old lady, had come to Dhanbad to attend the marriage of her grand-son on June 27. She was admitted to a private hospital in Bokaro after she fell ill and died after her condition deteriorated further on 4 July, reports New Indian Express. According to media reports, six members of a family have died due to COVID-19 in Katras in Jharkhand's Dhanbad district. The deceased include an 88-year-old woman and her five sons who died between 4 to 20 July. Now, the lady is survived by her only son who stays in Delhi. The former Uttar Pradesh chief minister did not mention any specific incident in her post. However, the Bahujan Samaj Party chief's tweet came hours after a Ghaziabad-based journalist, who was shot in the head by some assailants, succumbed to injuries early Wednesday. "The way heinous crimes like murder and those against women are continuing unabated, it is clear that instead of law and order, jungle raj is prevailing in UP. The crime virus of criminals is more active than coronavirus in UP. People are fed up and the government must address this issue," Mayawati said in a tweet in Hindi. BSP chief Mayawati on Wednesday said "crime virus" spread by criminals is more active than coronavirus in Uttar Pradesh. Now the States positivity rate is second to Maharashtra. The highest of 21.98 percent cumulative positivity rate total positives out of the samples tested was reached on 9 July. Nearly two weeks after the tests to detect coronavirus were ramped up using rapid antigen tests (RAT), it gradually dropped to 16.75 percent on 20 July. The COVID-19 test positivity rate (TPR) in Telangana, which was much higher than other other states until earlier this month, is now seeing a drop, reported The Hindu. Pune reported 56,621 COVID-19 infections on Wednesday after 205 more people tested positive for the novel coronavirus in the district in single day. The COVID-19 toll has climbed to 1,442, said Dr Bhagawan Pawar, District Health Officer, Pune. Global coronavirus infections crossed 15 million on Wednesday, reported Reuters, with the pandemic gathering pace even as countries remain divided in their response to the crisis. "Preparations on to start the exercise from next month. The survey conducted by NCDC and Delhi government revealed 23.48 percent COVID-19 infection," said Jain. The Delhi government has decided to conduct sero-surveillance every month, said Satyendar Jain on Wednesday, adding it will be done from first day of the month till 5th of every month. More than 7.5 lakh COVID-19 patients have recovered so far with recovery rate over 63 percent. Nineteen states/UTs register higher than 63.13 percent recovery rate, said the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare. India registered highest number of recoveries on Wednesday after 28,472 patients were discharged in single day, according to the latest data released by the health ministry. Complete lockdown has been declared in all red zone districts of Kashmir division, except Bandipora from Wednesday at 6 pm till 27 July. " Agriculture/horticulture and construction activities to continue," said Information and Public Relations, Govt of Jammu and Kashmir. Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra urges government to provide assistance to family of doctor, who died after contracting coronavirus, while working with Delhis National Health Mission. On Wednesday, 1,078 new COVID-19 cases were reported in Odisha in the last 24 hours, taking the total confirmed cases in the state to 19,835. This includes 6,387 active cases and 13,309 recoveries. A group of junior nurses of the Sagar Dutt Medical College Hospital held a protest outside the hospital superintendent's residence in North 24 Parganas yesterday, reports ANI. The nurses alleged shortage of staff and beds in the COVID19 dedicated hospital. According to CNBCTV-18, the Chief Justice of India has observed that a panel of seven Supreme Court judges will decide in 4 weeks, if physical hearings can resume in Supreme Court. The total confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Pakistan have risen to 2,67,400, according to Dawn. This figure includes patients who have recovered (2,10,468) and the death toll in the country which stands at 5,675. While Punjab province has reported 90,816 cases so far, Sindh has reported 1,14,104 cases. According to The Hindu, a 25-year-old man died of severe head injuries after allegedly being beaten up by a sub inspector at Chirala district. The man, identified as Atcherla Kiran Kumar, is from Guntur. On Sunday, he was driving on his motorcycle when he was stopped by Chirala Two Town Sub Inspector, Vijaya Kumar, and then was allegedly beaten up for not wearing a mask. "The lockdown, which comes into effect on Wednesday evening, will be reviewed after six days, they said. There were 502 fresh cases in the Valley on Wednesday. The number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir has risen to 15,258, according to Union Health Ministry figures," the report said. The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday imposed a six-day lockdown across the Kashmir Valley, "except for Bandipore district, to stem the spread of COVID-19", The Indian Express reported. In the last 24 hours, 6,045 new COVID-19 cases and 65 deaths have been reported in Andhra Pradesh. Total number of cases rise to 64,713, including 31,763 active cases, 32,127 discharges and 823 deaths, the state COVID-19 nodal officer said. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday said he was going into self-quarantine after a deputy secretary in his office tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, PTI reported. Over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported for the first time in Kerala on Wednesday, with 1,038 new patients recorded. Of these, 785 cases are from local transmission, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. I am not Donald Trump. I can't see my people suffering, Thackeray said in a teaser of his interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday was quoted as saying that "he is aware of the problems arising because of the lockdown, but added that he cannot let his people suffer due to the deadly coronavirus," India Today reported . The US could buy another 500 million doses under the agreement, Azar said. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced on Wednesday that the US has signed a contract with Pfizer for delivery in December of the first 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine the pharmaceutical company is working to develop. The Manipur government will impose a "complete" lockdown in the state for 14 days, starting from 2 pm on Thursday, ANI reported. "We had previously implemented a complete lockdown in the state. We are aware of such viewpoints (complete lockdown).Although it has not been decided yet, I think we will have to consider it," he said. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said a complete lockdown could be imposed in the state again as over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported for the first time on Wednesday. In the last 24 hours, 6,045 new COVID-19 cases and 65 deaths have been reported in Andhra Pradesh. Total number of cases rise to 64,713, including 31,763 active cases, 32,127 discharges and 823 deaths, the state COVID-19 nodal officer said. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday said he was going into self-quarantine after a deputy secretary in his office tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, PTI reported. Over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported for the first time in Kerala on Wednesday, with 1,038 new patients recorded. Of these, 785 cases are from local transmission, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. I am not Donald Trump. I can't see my people suffering, Thackeray said in a teaser of his interview with Shiv Sena mouthpiece Saamana. Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray on Wednesday was quoted as saying that "he is aware of the problems arising because of the lockdown, but added that he cannot let his people suffer due to the deadly coronavirus," India Today reported . The US could buy another 500 million doses under the agreement, Azar said. Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar announced on Wednesday that the US has signed a contract with Pfizer for delivery in December of the first 100 million doses of a COVID-19 vaccine the pharmaceutical company is working to develop. The Manipur government will impose a "complete" lockdown in the state for 14 days, starting from 2 pm on Thursday, ANI reported. "We had previously implemented a complete lockdown in the state. We are aware of such viewpoints (complete lockdown).Although it has not been decided yet, I think we will have to consider it," he said. Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said a complete lockdown could be imposed in the state again as over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported for the first time on Wednesday. ICMR on Wednesday validated and approved two more antigen test kits. While one of them is Indian manufacturer - LabCare Diagnostic Ltd, other is Belgium based company- Coris BioConcept. Previously, ICMR had approved SD Biosensor, a Korean company for antigen test kits, said ICMR. Earlier, Drinking and Sanitation Minister Mithilesh Thakur and JMM MLA Mathura Mahato tested positive for coronavirus. They are now under treatment. Singh is the third legislator in the state to have been detected with the highly infectious disease. The senior BJP leader, who is in home isolation, also said that he would send a list of people whom he had met to the administration. Jharkhand BJP MLA CP Singh on Wednesday said he has been infected by coronavirus. In a tweet, the former state minister said he tested positive for COVID-19 and asked those who had been in touch with him recently to test their swab samples. To this, senior advocate P Wilson representing DMK said that travel agents are booking the whole flight and later selling the tickets at high rates. Wilson further submitted that only because of court intervention more Vande Bharat Mission flights were provided which helped all the stranded passengers to reach their destinations till today. "Of them, 41 will land in Chennai, 11 in Trichy, 4 in Coimbatore, and 2 in Madurai," additional solicitor general of India R Sankaranarayanan said. Recording it, a division bench of Justice M M Sundresh and Justice R Hemalatha cited a report published in an English daily. According to the article, three flights from Dubai and Abu Dhabi were reported to have landed in Chennai empty as there were no passengers to take the flights. The Centre on Wednesday informed the Madras high court that 58 more Vande Bharat Mission flights are scheduled to land in Tamil Nadu returning stranded residents of the state from across the globe due to the COVID-19 induced lockdown. Coronavirus LATEST Updates: Kerala chief minister Pinarayi Vijayan on Wednesday said a complete lockdown could be imposed in the state again as over 1,000 new cases of coronavirus were reported for the first time on Wednesday. "We had previously implemented a complete lockdown in the state. We are aware of such viewpoints (complete lockdown).Although it has not been decided yet, I think we will have to consider it," he said. The Manipur government will impose a "complete" lockdown in the state for 14 days, starting from 2 pm on Thursday, ANI reported. Himachal Pradesh chief minister Jai Ram Thakur on Wednesday said he was going into self-quarantine after a deputy secretary in his office tested positive for coronavirus on Wednesday, PTI reported. The Jammu and Kashmir administration on Wednesday imposed a six-day lockdown across the Kashmir Valley, "except for Bandipore district, to stem the spread of COVID-19", The Indian Express reported. "The lockdown, which comes into effect on Wednesday evening, will be reviewed after six days, they said. There were 502 fresh cases in the Valley on Wednesday. The number of cases in Jammu and Kashmir has risen to 15,258, according to Union Health Ministry figures," the report said. The Delhi government has decided to conduct sero-surveillance every month, said Satyendar Jain on Wednesday, adding it will be done from first day of the month till 5th of every month. "Preparations on to start the exercise from next month. The survey conducted by NCDC and Delhi government revealed 23.48 percent COVID-19 infection," said Jain. At least 205 people have tested positive for the novel coronavirus in Pune district in single day. The COVID-19 toll has climbed to 1,442. India registers 37,724 new cases, taking its total count to 11,92,915. The toll increases by 648 to 28,732. Bihar BJP MLC Sunil Kumar Singh died of the coronavirus at AIIMS on Tuesday, an official said. Singh was 66. He is survived by two sons, a daughter, and wife. He is the first lawmaker in the state to die of COVID-19. India recorded 37,148 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, pushing its tally to 11,55,191 , while the total number of recoveries increased to 7,24,577, according to the Union health ministry's data issued at 8 am on Tuesday. The toll due to the disease rose to 28,084 with 587 fatalities reported in a day, the data showed. Of the total cases, based on the health ministry's figures, Maharashtra, the worst-affected state by the pandemic, alone accounts for nearly 27.5 percent, followed by Tamil Nadu (15 percent) and Delhi (10.7 percent) cases. These three states together account for more than half of India's total case load. On Tuesday, Maharashtra's COVID-19 tally rose to 3,27,031 with the addition of 8,369 new cases, while 246 more patients succumbed, taking the fatality count in the state to 12,276, health department said. Whereas in Tamil Nadu, 4,965 people tested positive on Friday, taking the infection count past the 1.80 lakh. Tamil Nadu on crossed 20 lakh in samples screened so far. The state recorded 75 fresh COVID-19 deaths, including that of a 56-day old boy, during the day, taking the toll to 2,626, a health department bulletin said. The state has 51,344 active cases out of the total 1,80,643. Delhi recorded 1,349 fresh COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, taking the caseload in the city to over 1.25 lakh, while the death toll mounted to 3,690 after 27 fatalities were recorded, authorities said. The number of active cases stood at 15,288, marginally up from 15,166 on Monday. Amid the rising cases, the Shri Amarnath Shrine Board (SASB) on Tuesday decided to cancel this year's pilgrimage to the 3,880-metre-high cave shrine in south Kashmir Himalayas. India's COVID-19 fatality rate, however, has dropped significantly to 2.43 percent from 3.36 percent on 17 June, the Centre said on Tuesday, asserting the country has handled the pandemic "relatively well". There are 4,02,529 active cases of the coronavirus infection currently in the country, while 7,24,577 people have recovered till now. Thus, 62.72 per cent people have recovered so far, the ministry said. In the meantime, the National Green Tribunal Tuesday said that segregation of COVID-19 waste from others is a must to avoid further contamination adversely affecting public health. Nearly a quarter Delhiites affected with COVID-19, finds sero survey Amid the rising cases, the results of a sero-prevalence survey in Delhi showed that 23.48 percent people in the National Capital had developed antibodies for COVID-19 with experts stating that the National Capital is still far from herd immunity against the coronavirus. The survey results also show that remaining 77 percent are still vulnerable and the containment measures need to continue with the same rigour, National Centre for Disease Control director Dr Sujeet Kumar Singh, told a press briefing. Delhi has a population of nearly 2 crore. Eight out of Delhi's 11 districts have more than 20 percent of sero prevalence, Singh said. A senior Delhi government official said the government will consult with public health experts and epidemiologists to determine if the future course of Delhi's strategy against COVID-19 should change in light of these survey results or not. The sero survey was conducted from 27 June to 10 July, during which a total of 21,387 samples were tested by the NCDC in collaboration with the Delhi government. Cases from states Meanwhile, coronavirus cases in Gujarat crossed the 50,000 on Tuesday with a highest one-day spike of 1,026, around 300 of them from Surat district, the health department said. The coronavirus death toll rose to 1,229 in Uttar Pradesh after the state reported 37 fatalities, a statement issued by the state government said on Tuesday. With as many as 2,128 fresh COVID-19 cases, the state's infection tally reached 53,288. Kerala on Tuesday reported 720 fresh cases of COVID-19, taking the number of infected people in the state to 13,994, while 1,62,444 people are under observation in the state. Of the new cases, 528 were infected from their contacts, Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan said. The state of Madhya Pradesh recorded 785 new COVID-19 caseson Tuesday, taking the state-wide infection count to 24,095, while 18 more patients succumbed to the disease, health department officials said. With 18 more people succumbing to the viral infection on Tuesday, the death toll went up to 756, they said. Of them, four fatalities each were reported from Bhopal and Indore, while one each patient died in Morena, Jabalpur, Sagar, Ratlam, Dhar, Barwani, Datia, Hoshangabad, Jhabua and Guna, the officials said. Among the new cases, the highest 149 cases were reported from Bhopal, followed by 72 in Raisen, 70 in Indore, 62 in Morena and 49 in Gwalior, they said. Jammu and Kashmir saw 608 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, raising the tally in the Union Territory to 15,258 as nine fresh fatalities pushed the death toll to 263, officials said. "Nine persons, who were COVID-19 positive, have died over the past 24 hours in Jammu and Kashmir," they said, adding all the nine deaths took place in the Kashmir Valley. In Goa, COVID-19 cases crossed the 4,000 with the state now having 4,027 positive cases as on Tuesday with 174 new detections, the state Health department said. The COVID-19 tally in Manipur crossed the 2,000-mark, with the detection of 90 new cases on Tuesday, a Health department bulletin said. The coronavirus death toll in Himachal Pradesh increased to 11 after a 75-year-old woman died in Mandi on Tuesday as 33 fresh cases surfaced, taking the state's infection tally to 1,665. Chhattisgarh's COVID-19 count rose to 5,731 on Tuesday with the addition of 133 COVID-19 cases in the last 24 hours, while the death toll climbed to 29, as the sample of an elderly woman who died earlier tested positive, a health official said. Mumbai, neighbouring districts report 2,627 new cases; 107 die Mumbai's COVID-19 tally rose to 1,03,262 on Tuesday with the addition of 995 new cases, while the toll increased to 5,814 after 62 more patients succumbed to the infection, the city civic body said. In enighbouring Thane district, an addition of 1,323 cases took COVID-19 count to 70,513, while the toll swelled by 40 during the day to touch 1,967, an official said. Kalyan led the list of new cases with 268 people testing positive, followed by 254 in Navi Mumbai, he said. "Thane and Kalyan now have over 16,000 cases each while Navi Mumbai is fast approaching the 12,000 mark. Of the 70,513 cases, 33.28 percent is active," he added. Among those who died was a 52-year-old constable from Hill Line police station under Thane commissionerate, he said. Neighbouring Palghar added 309 cases during the day to take its count to 12,382 while five deaths increased the toll to 223. India doing relatively well, says Centre Amid the rising cases, Rajesh Bhushan, officer on special duty in the Union health ministry, told a press conference in Delhi, that 30 states and Union Territories have COVID-19 positivity rate lower than that of the national average which stands at 8.07 percent. According to PTI, stating that some states are doing more than 140 tests per million, Bhushan, said that the number of tests per million have to be brought down to a level of 140 tests per day per million, so that the "rate of positivity reduces and comes down to 10 percent first and then continue the testing process so that the rate of positivity further reduces to 5 percent or lower". The health ministry official also said that the COVID-19 deaths per million population in India stand at 20.4 per million which is amongst lowest in the world, Bhushan said. "There are several countries where the deaths per million is 21 times or 33 times higher than in India. The global average stands at 77 deaths per million population," he said. "So far, the nation has managed COVID-19 relatively well," Bhushan said. He also shared a chart showing that the COVID-19 case fatality rate has declined from 3.36 percent on 17 June to 2.43 percent now. Punjab's first plasma bank opens at Patiala Punjab on Tuesday got its first plasma bank at Patiala's Rajindra Hospital where those who have recovered from the novel coronavirus can donate their blood plasma to help treat COVID-19 patients. State's Medical Education and Research Minister OP Soni inaugurated the facility through video conference and said it will play a vital role in the fight against the pandemic. Multiple trials of plasma therapy have been successfully conducted in the state that paved the way for the establishment of the plasma bank, he said. Karnataka won't extend lockdown, to regulate supply of Remdesivir Karnataka chief minister BS Yediyurappa also said that it will not be extending lockdown in Benglauru and other areas of the state, saying that "lockdown" is not the solution to control COVID-19 and stressed on social distancing and wearing of masks. "We had been successful at the beginning in controlling the COVID, but in recent days especially in Bengaluru the COVID cases have increased.....I want to tell the people of the state that for the control of the virus, lockdown was not the solution. The solution is wearing masks and maintaining social distancing," Yediyurappa said. In the meanwhile, amid reports of black marketing and haording of Remdesivir, a drug used in the treatment of coronavirus infected patients, Karnataka's COVID-19 task force on Tuesday decided that the state government will regulate its supply to private hospitals. "Remdesivir which is currently available in the government hospitals will be supplied to private hospitals through the government. This will help curb black marketing of this drug," Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar's office said in a release. The government has also fixed the rate for COVID-19 tests in private labs at Rs 2,000 for government referred cases and 3,000 for self-reporting cases. Meanwhile, the West Bengal govt said Tuesday that there will be a complete lockdown in the state on 23, 25 and 29 July to fight the spread of COVID-19. US accuses Chinese hackers in targeting of COVID-19 research Days after authorities in the US, Canada and the United Kingdom accused a hacking group with links to Russian intelligence with trying to target research on the disease, the US Justice Department on Tuesday accused two Chinese hackers of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of trade secrets from companies across the world and more recently targeting firms developing a vaccine for the coronavirus. The indictment, says the hackers in recent months had researched vulnerabilities in the computer networks of companies publicly known for their work in developing vaccines and treatments, AP reported. However, there was no immediate indication that the hackers had successfully obtained any COVID-19 research, despite efforts to snoop on the companies. With inputs from agencies We compare the OnePlus Nord to the Realme X3 and Vivo X50 based on specifications, features and pricing OnePlus Nord has officially launched in India after many leaks, rumours and speculations and is the companys affordable mid-range smartphone. Starting at Rs 24,999, the OnePlus Nord goes up against the likes of the Realme X3 and Vivo X50 which is the only other smartphone in India to be powered by Snapdragon 765G chip. The OnePlus Nord (first impressions) brings the premium OnePlus experience to the mid-range with a powerful chipset, quad cameras on the rear, dual selfie cameras, fast charging and OxygenOS to boot. The OnePlus Nord directly competes with the only other Snapdragon 765G-powered smartphone, the Vivo X50 which launched some days prior and the Realme X3 which is priced the same as the Nord but packs in a flagship-grade Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset. Lets take a look at how the Nord compares in front of the Realme X3 and Vivo X50 based on specifications, features and pricing. OnePlus Nord vs Vivo X50 vs Realme X3: Pricing OnePlus Nord starts at Rs 24,999 for the base variant with 6GB RAM and 64GB storage while the Vivo X50 starts at Rs 34,990 for the base variant with 8GB RAM and 128GB storage. The Realme X3 is priced starting at Rs 24,999 for the variant with 6GB RAM and 128GB storage. OnePlus Nord vs Vivo X50 vs Realme X3: Design and Display OnePlus Nord has a metal-glass sandwich design that measures 8.2 millimetres and weighs 184 grams. The back panel is topped with a layer of Gorilla Glass 5 for added protection and curves towards the edges to offer a better in-hand feel. The Realme X3 too comes with a Gorilla Glass 5 back panel but is a little hefty at 202 grams and 8.9 millimetres. The Vivo X50, on the other hand, is the lightest of the lot weighing in at 173 grams and measuring 7.5 millimetres in thickness. Neither of the three phones comes with any kind of ingress protection certification, however, OnePlus Nord does come with little gaskets for protection against usual splashes of water. The phones also dont come with a 3.5mm audio jack to connect earphones. OnePlus Nord features a 6.44-inch Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution display that uses an AMOLED panel with a 90Hz high-refresh-rate and dual punch-hole cutouts for the two selfie cameras. The display is protected by a layer of Gorilla Glass 5 against drops and daily wear and tear. The Realme X3 features a slightly bigger 6.6-inches LCD screen with a Full HD+ (2400 x 1080 pixels) resolution display and dual punch-hole cutouts like the Nord. The screen on the X3, however, has a faster 120Hz refresh rate. It is also topped with a layer of Gorilla Glass 5. The Vivo X50 features a 6.56-inch Full HD+ (2376 x 1080 pixels) resolution AMOLED screen with a 90Hz high-refresh-rate and is HDR10+ certified. It doesnt come with a layer of Gorilla Glass protection as the other two phones. Overall, the OnePlus Nord has the most compact display out of the three phones while the Vivo X50 is the most lightweight phone among the Nord and Realme X3. OnePlus Nord vs Vivo X50 vs Realme X3: Under the hood OnePlus Nord and the Vivo X50 are powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 765G chipset with an octa-core CPU that runs at upto 2.4GHz with Adreno 620 GPU. This is paired with upto 12GB RAM and 256GB storage for the Nord and upto 8GB RAM and 256GB storage for the X50. The Snapdragon 765G chipset sits right below Qualcomms Snapdragon 865 and 865 Plus chipsets and is the most powerful mid-range chipset in the market currently. The Realme X3, on the other hand, is powered by Qualcomm Snapdragon 855+ chipset which is Qualcomms 2019 flagship chip that is paired with an octa-core CPU running at 2.96GHz speeds and the Adreno 640 GPU which is upto 15 percent faster than the regular Snapdragon 855 chip. This is paired with upto 8GB RAM and 128GB storage options to choose from. OnePlus Nord runs on the companys popular OxygenOS which ensures a smooth and long-lasting performance of the phone no matter which app you run or any game you play. With the high-refresh-rate screen, OnePlus Nord offers one of the best Android experience to have on a phone. It will also receive two years of software updates as other OnePlus flagship phones and is 5G-ready. Vivo X50 runs on FunTouch 10.5 which is based on Android 10 while the Realme X3 runs on the companys own Realme UI. Both of these software experiences arent up to OnePluss standards and come packed with bloatware and unnecessary ads. OnePlus has, over the years perfected its OxygenOS experience which is one of the slickest Android interfaces on a smartphone. The company optimises its software experience in a granular way and is able to deliver a smooth performance for the long-term. OnePlus Nord vs Vivo X50 vs Realme X3: Cameras OnePlus Nord comes with a quad-camera setup that consists of a primary 48MP camera with an f/1.75 aperture, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 119-degree field-of-view, a 2MP macro camera and a 5MP depth sensor. This is backed by dual-LED flash and OIS support. Thre rear cameras can record in 4K UHD at upto 30FPS and super slow-motion videos at 240FPS. On the front, theres a 32MP primary selfie camera assisted by an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 105-degree field-of-view. The Realme X3 also features a quad-camera setup on the back that consists of a primary 64MP camera with f/1.8 aperture, a 12MP telephoto camera with 2X optical zoom, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 119-degree field-of-view and a 2MP macro camera. The cameras can record in 4K at 60FPS and are supported by electronic image stabilization. Theres a dual-selfie camera on the front like the Nord that consists of a primary 16MP camera and an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 105-degree field-of-view. Vivo X50, on the other hand, comes with a 48MP primary camera with an f/1.6 aperture, a 13MP portrait camera with 2X optical zoom, an 8MP ultra-wide-angle camera with 120-degree field-of-view and a 5MP macro camera. The rear cameras can record in 4K UHD at upto 30FPS and supports EIS. Theres a 32MP selfie camera housed within the punch-hole cutout on the top-left corner. We will be testing out the cameras on the OnePlus Nord in detail for our review and will make sure to pit it against the cameras of the Realme X3 and Vivo X50 for a detailed overview on how the three cameras fare in real life. On paper though, the Realme X3 has got a more versatile camera setup than the other two phones. OnePlus Nord vs Vivo X50 vs Realme X3: Battery OnePlus Nord features a 4,115mAh battery with support for 30W fast charging out-of-the-box thanks to WarpCharge 30T adapter. The Realme X3 comes with 4,200mAh battery and also supports 30W fast charging while the Vivo X50 is equipped with a 4,200mAh battery with support for 33W fast charging. A 30W fast charging should essentially be capable of power a phone from 0 to 100 percent in around an hour or so. About 1,100 fewer would-be students will compete for placements at Hong Kongs eight publicly funded universities this year, as the number meeting the Diploma of Secondary Education (DSE) exams minimum requirements dropped nearly 6 per cent from 2019. The Hong Kong Examinations and Assessment Authority on Tuesday also announced that only seven students who sat for this years exam achieved a perfect score across its seven subjects, down from 12 in 2019. Of the 50,000 full- and part-time candidates who sat the exam, about 45,000 were day school candidates, those who recently completed their secondary education. Get the latest insights and analysis from our Global Impact newsletter on the big stories originating in China. Hong Kongs exam authority on Tuesday unveiled the results of this years college entrance exams. Photo: Winson Wong Among that group, 18,572 achieved the minimum requirement for local undergraduate programmes, a 5.6 per cent drop from last years 19,676. They will compete for just 15,000 subsidised local first-year degree places. With the decrease of eligible students, obviously, I think it will be easier [to enter local universities] to some extent, said Dr So Kwok-sang, the exam authoritys secretary general. But it [still] really depends what programme choice the candidates take the choice of the programme, the various criteria in terms of admission, would impact on actual or final outcomes of the admission figures. All candidates will receive their individual exam results on Wednesday morning, mostly through online platforms, amid the third wave of Covid-19 infections. The authority also revealed that four male and three female students had attained a level 5** the highest score possible across all seven DSE subjects. Two of that group also earned a level 5** in an extended mathematics elective module. Two students with special educational needs attained 5** in six subjects. Last year, twelve students from nine schools scored the highest grade of 5** in seven subjects. Story continues So said it was difficult to pinpoint why there was a drop in top scorers this year, as similar fluctuations had also happened over the past years. The number varies each year [and] we cannot say what were the actual reasons [behind the drop], whether it was the [Covid-19] pandemic or the papers were difficult, or because of the actual performances or ability of the cohort, I really cannot say, he said. This years exams, originally scheduled to take place in March, were delayed by a month because of the pandemic. When they finally did take place, about 310 candidates were absent because of illnesses or other issues, and applied for assessed results. The exam authority said there was no significant change in the overall performance in the English and Chinese-language exams, despite the cancellation of oral tests in those subjects due to the pandemic. In the history elective exam, sat by about 5,000 candidates, one compulsory question asking candidates whether they agreed Japan did more good than harm to China in the first half of the 20th century was scrapped after it sparked outrage from Beijings foreign affairs arm in the city and pro-establishment camp. The Education Bureau ultimately took an unprecedented step of asking the exam authority to disqualify the question, which they did following lengthy meetings about a week later. The authority on Tuesday said the 4,958 candidates history grades were largely unaffected following adjustments to the grading scheme. Still, grades for those attaining level 3 or above in the history portion dropped by about three percentage points this year, to 74.6 per cent. James Lam Yat-fung, the principal of Lions College and former chairman of the Subsidised Secondary Schools Council, said as DSE results would be released online this year, his school had planned virtual meeting sessions between teachers and students to offer emotional support to pupils and help them with their plans for further studies. He added that if any students were really eager to return to the campus to meet the teachers, they might be allowed to do so after following proper infection-control arrangements and social distancing. The 50,000 candidates marked a record low in the DSE exams since they were introduced in 2012, a reflection of the citys shrinking number of high school students in recent years. This article Competition for Hong Kong university spots dips as 1,100 fewer entrance exam takers meet minimum requirements first appeared on South China Morning Post For the latest news from the South China Morning Post download our mobile app. Copyright 2020. Stanton Public Policy Center and #PurpleSashRevolution Congratulate New York Planned Parenthood for Removing Margaret Sanger's Name from Clinic Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Public Policy Center, protests the inclusion of a bust of Margaret Sanger at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. NEWS PROVIDED BY Stanton Public Policy Center July 21, 2020 WASHINGTON, July 21, 2020 /Standard Newswire/ -- As America currently wrestles with racial injustice and inequity, it is deeply troubling to honor and celebrate Margaret Sanger, an avowed racist and eugenicist, who diminished communities of color and the marginalized. Stanton Public Policy Center sees this as a first step in defunding Planned Parenthood as it is clear Americans do not want public money going to an organization founded by a racist. Stanton Public Policy Center is a women's advocacy and educational group that works on issues of human rights and justice that empower and inspire women. It is affiliated with Stanton Healthcare which has life-affirming women's health clinics in America and internationally. Planned Parenthood removing Margaret Sanger's name from their New York clinic fits into Stanton's national campaign to have Margaret Sanger removed from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. This national campaign includes: public protests, educational initiatives, petition drives, networking with African-American organizations and members of Congress. Congressman Russ Fulcher, recently sent a letter to the Honorable Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, who is the head of the Smithsonian Institution. In his letter, Congressman Fulcher asked for the removal of Margaret Sanger's bust from the National Portrait Gallery. Here is a link which contains Congressman Fulcher's full letter: http://christiannewswire.com/images/Bunch-Letter.pdf Stanton Founder and CEO, Brandi Swindell, states; "Stanton congratulates New York Planned Parenthood for removing Margaret Sanger's name from their abortion center. As America is currently dealing with racial injustice and inequity, it is deeply troubling to honor and celebrate Margaret Sanger, an avowed racist and eugenicist, who diminished communities of color and the marginalized. However, removing the name of Margaret Sanger from a Planned Parenthood clinic is only a first step. The final goal should be removing public funding from an organization founded by a racist and eugenicist. "We also continue to call for the removal of a display honoring Margaret Sanger from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C." Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Chief Strategy Officer for Stanton Public Policy Center, comments; "The national campaign to remove the bust of a racist like Margaret Sanger from the National Portrait Gallery is not an attempt to rewrite or change history. Rather, it is a way to ensure we celebrate individuals whose lives reflect and embody the very best of who we are as a nation and honor the values we cherish. "As America confronts racial injustice, it is critical our national institutions honor those who have inspired us to be our 'better selves' instead of honoring those who malign and diminish entire communities." For more information or interviews contact: Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741 or stantoninternational.org. SOURCE Stanton Public Policy Center CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741 Related Links stantoninternational.org Dame Vivienne Westwood has locked herself in a giant birdcage in protest against Julian Assange's extradition to the US. The 79-year-old fashion designer dressed herself in a bright yellow trouser suit to sit on a perch inside the 10-foot high white cage outside the Old Bailey criminal court in London. Westwood told Good Morning Britain: I am Julian Assange. I am the canary in the cage. If I die down the coal mine from poisonous gas, thats the signal. Read more: Rapper MIA supports Julian Assange at court a day before collecting MBE Vivienne Westwood says she has dressed as canary in a cage to represent Julian Assange's situation as she protests against his extradition to the US. (AP) The WikiLeaks founder is fighting extradition to the US where he faces trial for 18 offences including conspiring to hack government computers and espionage. If found guilty, Assange could face up to 175 years in prison. Westwood is one of many celebrity supporters of the 48-year-old Australian who have continued to campaign in his defence during the seven years he spent living in Londons Ecuadorian embassy. Assange was removed from the embassy and has been held on remand in Belmarsh prison since last September, after serving a 50-week jail sentence for breaching his bail conditions. Wikileaks founder Julian Assange faces extradition to the US. (Barcroft Media via Getty Images) Westwood challenged GMB hosts Ben Shephard and Kate Garraway: Well first of all I just want to say your introduction is the total misrepresentation of Julian Assange which has been going on for some time. None of this is actually true." She added: "He has been trapped and it has been a collusion of all the governments involved - the USA, Great Britain and Sweden. Read more: Pamela Anderson speaks out after 'hero' Julian Assange's arrest "And from the very beginning, starting with a honey trap, he's been completely trapped. It's a set-up organised by the CIA." Assanges other celebrity backers include rapper M.I.A. and Baywatch star Pamela Anderson. KAUNAS, Lithuania, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- iDenfy, the Fintech Startup of the Year and the Central Bank of Lithuania, announce a partnership to offer digital coin buyers a convenient ID verification process based on artificial intelligence. iDenfy Team members holding LBcoin Bank of Lithuania project LBcoin launch The LBCOIN is the first digital collector coin in the world, created using blockchain technology. This digital coin has a set of 6 randomly chosen digital tokens, and upon collecting a token from each of the six categories, they can convert it into a physical collector coin. The silver coin size and form will resemble a credit card, depicting the Act of Independence. The Bank of Lithuania will be issuing 4,000 LBCOINsthat means 24,000 digital tokens. They are available to purchase on the Bank of Lithuania e-shop from 23rd of July 2020. iDenfy's biometric verification solution will help verify customers' identities to buy LBCOIN complying with know your customer and other directives from the state law. iDenfy automates the identity verification process; their ID document detection solution can recognize documents by type and country. At present, they're supporting more than 1300 ID documents from more than 200 countries, making it easier for the Bank of Lithuania to accept investors from different regions. The national bank using ID check with facial recognition solution can quickly verify whether the identification information is forged or tampered. Domantas Ciulde, the CEO of iDenfy, says, "We're honored that Lithuania's central bank gives us the opportunity to form the partnership. We are sure that our identity verification service will help to minimize fraudulent activity and in the coins' purchase process." The partnership between the two entities is relevant to the broader industry. It will bring a positive effect on the overall blockchain industry. The partnership will inspire other financial institutions to implement digital identity verification solutions to fight against money laundering and other wrongdoings in the online financial world. Moreover, digital identity is a quick and affordable way to verify individuals in order to comply with the know your customer process and other financial regulations. Media contact: Viktorija Bielskaite [email protected] +37066673822 SOURCE iDenfy Related Links http://www.idenfy.com As poet and activist Varavara Rao, arrested for involvement in the Bhima Koregaon riots, has tested positive for Covid-19 and admitted in Nanavati Hospital, the Bombay High Court directs the NIA and the state government to produce his medical report in response to family's plea for bail. The Bombay High Court has asked NIA and Maharashtra Government to submit the medical status report of Varavara Rao, arrested in connection with the Bhima Koregaon case and admitted in Nanavati Hospital for COVID-19 treatment. The court was hearing a petition filed by Varvara Raos family. Varavara Raos lawyer Sudeep Pasbola told the court that Rao is seriously ill and needs to be with someone of his family in better care. NIA informed the court that Rao is suffering from COVID-19 and is getting treatment at Nanavati hospital which is one of the best COVID-19 facilities in Mumbai. Also read: MP Governor Lalji Tandon passes away Also read: Rajasthan HC to resume hearing on Sachin Pilots plea tomorrow The court has asked NIA and state government to inform it along with a medical status report of Rao if his family can be allowed to see him in the hospital from a reasonable distance. Rao was arrested in November 2018 along with five others for their alleged links with Naxals and inciting violence. On January 1, 2018, violence at Bhima Koregaon village in Pune district left one dead and several others injured including 10 policemen. Violence erupted after some people, reportedly with saffron flags, pelted stones at cars heading towards the village for the commemoration of 200 years of Bhima-Koregaon war on New Years Day. Police had filed 58 cases against 162 people. Also read: Congress demands to restart RTC buses, metro rail in Hyderabad For all the latest National News, download NewsX App The current election system in Harris County is a relic of Jim Crow and is as much of an insult to voters as having to walk into a polling center named after Robert E. Lee. That is why the Harris County Commissioners Court has voted to create the Office of Elections Administration, bringing together the election duties currently split between the county clerk and tax asessor-collector into a single office. This new system will erase the legacy of a historically inequitable and discriminatory system and transition us to one focused solely on improving the security, transparency, and efficiency of county elections and voter registration. The good will and good intentions of current officeholders does not erase a poisonous past, and failure to change now could allow future, less well-intended, office holders to do great damage. On HoustonChronicle.com: Harris County creates independent elections office despite bipartisan opposition From 1902 to 1966, Texas engaged in suppressing the votes of minorities by requiring citizens to pay a fixed sum in order to cast a ballot. The tax assessor-collector office was given control of voter registration during this time because it could determine whether or not you had paid your poll tax. Currently, there are still Harris County voters who submit their registration to the same office that for so many years collected those discriminatory poll taxes. We have not yet ended the spirit or strategies that came from those laws designed to oppress people of color. Elected officials have in our recent past used the office of tax assessor-collector to purge minority voters from registration rolls compromising the personal data of thousands of individuals. Others have used the office to target specific political groups often those who are working to lift up underrepresented communities all part of an effort to intimidate them from participating at all. Moving the election administration functions out of the tax assessor-collector office sends a strong signal that Texas is moving away from a contemptible past. A neutral and non-partisan administrator will increase election integrity and increase voters trust in the process. It would also make our elections more responsive to the needs of a growing county. Currently, the election process in Harris County is bifurcated with functions placed in separate offices under the control of different elected officials. In the very recent past, Harris County has had well-documented improper actions taken during elections. Voters have been wrongly suspended from the rolls, they have had their registration assigned to the incorrect election precinct, and they have endured egregious delays at the polls. During elections this year, some stood in line over six hours at a Texas Southern University polling location awaiting to exercise their right to participate in our democracy. Election administration has evolved, and the amount of technology involved in the process has changed the landscape. The administration of elections should be done by technicians and professionals. Because of the monumental role that elections play in the maintenance of our democracy and the importance of getting every aspect right, we can no longer continue to rely on offices to run them that must serve multiple roles and responsibilities in government. Moving elections and voter registration under one department will increase efficiency, allow for employees to focus solely on elections, and allow for more coordination in all aspects of voting. The Harris County Commissioners Court is making a sound transition. The change being proposed will not take effect until after the 2020 general election. An elections administrator could be hired and involved in the process this year as they prepare to transition the duties and functions into one office. We have high expectations for the incoming elections administrator. They will be held to a high standard of performance and accountable to voters through the Commissioners Court and bipartisan Election Commission, which will have the power to remove and replace them. The tax assessor-collector office was once used as a tool in the oppression of Americans. As long as that office is engaged in our election process the vestiges of the Jim Crow era will remain. Our need for progress on social justice and election reform require us to rework and remake our institutions to best serve all of us. Let us look forward toward a more equitable and efficient voting system with the creation of the Office of Elections Administration and not retain a legacy that excluded and suppressed our right to participate fully and fairly in elections. Green represents the 9th Congressional District and Ellis is the Precinct One Harris County Commissioner. By Adam Townsend on 07/21/2020 2:00 PM Source: MedicineNet Health News Conjoined twins have been making the news this summer: surgeons executed groundbreaking procedures to separate two sets, one in Vatican City and one in Vietnam. Meanwhile, the oldest living set of conjoined twins died at 68 men who might have been able to live separate lives if born today. Conjoined at the back of the head, twin girls from the Central African Republic are making a full recovery after their June 5 separation surgery in Vatican Citys Bamino Gesu hospital. The surgery to separate the girls -- Ervina and Prefina Bangalo, age two lasted 18 hours and involved 30 doctors and nurses, according to a press release from the hospital. The surgery itself was more complex even than most twin separation procedures because the twins shared brain blood vessels and skull bones. Nothing similar appears in any medical literature, according to the hospital. Ervina and Prefinas separation was a series of surgeries starting in May of 2019. Neurosurgeons needed to craft new blood vessels for the girls brains and allow time for them to grow and heal. The final separation surgery happened on June 5, the release states. In July, a team of 100 medics in Vietnams Ho Chi Mihn City Childrens Hospital separated the 13-month-old Truc Nhi and Dieu Nhi. The girls were joined at the hip, but their struggle isnt over. Surgeons will have to help each grow her own digestive system and reconstruct each girls pelvis with follow-up procedures, according to the Daily Mail. As these four conjoined twins started their lives in newly separate bodies, the oldest living set of conjoined twins passed away at 68 in Dayton, Ohio. Ronnie and Donnie Gaylon were a fixture of the community the Dayton Daily News kept up with their lives periodically as they moved in with a brother and retired from the carnival circuit in 1991, and later after they received global recognition. The Gaylon brothers viewed their designation at 63 as the longest-living conjoined twins by The Guinness Book of World Records as a source of pride, the Daily News reported in the Gaylons July 6 obituary. How Do Conjoined Twins Happen? Conjoined twins develop when an embryo does not fully separate to form two individual bodies, but the reason for this is not clear, writes MedicineNet author and editor Melissa Conrad Stoppler, MD. There are no known risk factors or prevention measures for women wishing to avoid conceiving conjoined twins, and women who have one set are not at higher risk for birthing another, she said. Luckily, the risk of having conjoined twins is small. They occur in around 1.5 per 100,000 births worldwide, Dr. Stoppler said. Females are affected more often than males; about 75% of conjoined twins are female. The term "Siamese twins" was used in the past to refer to conjoined twins based on a famous pair of twins from the 19th century, but this term is no longer used in the medical literature, Dr. Stoppler said. The medical terms used to describe the types of conjoined twins are based on the specific location of the fusions, Dr. Stoppler said. Craniopagus twins are joined at some area of the skull, typically the back, top, or side of the head. They share a portion of the skull but usually have separate brains. The girls separated in the Vatican City in June were craniopagus, according to the hospital press release. Ischiopagus twins are joined at the pelvis, and may be joined facing each other or side to side. They may share parts of the gastrointestinal system, genital tract, or urinary tract, Dr. Stoppler said. This is the classification of the little girls separated in Vietnam in July. The Gaylon brothers were also ischiopagus. What Is the Outlook for Conjoined Twins? Conjoined twins are delivered by Cesarean section (C-section), typically at a somewhat earlier gestational age than full-term pregnancies, Dr. Stoppler said. After birth, the decision whether to attempt surgical separation depends on many factors, such as the: Extent to which the twins share vital organs Types of reconstructive surgery that will be needed Likelihood that separation will be successful The outlook for conjoined twins depends upon the extent and location of the fusion of body parts. In many pregnancies, conjoined twins die in utero or do not survive long after birth. Stillbirth affects about 40% of sets of conjoined twins. In other situations, the conjoined twins survive, and surgical separation may be successful in some females. The birth defects may be severe and life threatening, particularly after surgical separation, for some conjoined twins. Pregnancy risks for women carrying conjoined twins include polyhydramnios (excessive amniotic fluid), preterm birth, and fetal death (stillbirth). SLIDESHOW See Slideshow 2021 Mazda CX-30 2.5 S With More Standard Features SEE ALSO: 2021 Mazda CX-30 Press KIt Apple CarPlay TM and Android Auto TM now standard on all CX-30 models and Android Auto now standard on all CX-30 models 2021 Mazda CX-30 2.5 S will arrive in dealerships later this summer with a starting MSRP of $21,900 IRVINE, Calif. (July 21, 2020) Following a successful U.S. debut less than a year ago, CX-30 has quickly become recognized by fans as the ideal package of sleek styling, driving dynamics and superior craftsmanship. Designed to inspire creativity and with the proportions to offer the freedom to go anywhere makes it a well-appointed crossover capable of keeping up with an active lifestyle. Mazda North American Operations today announces the 2021 Mazda CX-30 2.5 S will go on sale starting next month. Always ready for the next journey, the 2021 CX-30 2.5 S is equipped with a four-cylinder Skyactiv-G 2.5-liter engine paired with a quick-shifting Skyactiv-Drive six-speed automatic transmission. This engine is rated to deliver 186 horsepower and 186 lb-ft of torque. While G-Vectoring Control Plus and front-wheel drive are standard, the CX-30 2.5 S is available with Mazdas predictive i-Activ all-wheel drive and off-road traction assist feature, which can help the driver when venturing on uneven terrain. New for 2021, the CX-30 2.5 S comes standard with Apple CarPlayTM and Android AutoTM, joining Mazda Connected Services with three-year trial and in-car Wi-Fi hot spot with six-months, or 2GB, trial to help keep the most tech-minded individuals in touch with the digital world as they explore the physical one. An 8.8-inch large center display with Mazda ConnectTM provides an intuitive interface that can be safely controlled by the multi-function command knob. Other standard features include a seven-inch TFT reconfigurable digital gauge display, eight-speaker sound system, Bluetooth hands-free phone and audio, two front USB inputs and electronic parking brake. CX-30 2.5 S is equipped with power windows featuring one-touch up/down functionality, rain-sensing windshield wipers, push button start, rearview camera and remote keyless illuminated entry system. The stunning design features 16-inch aluminum alloy wheels, automatic on/off LED headlights, LED taillights and daytime running lights, cloth seats and a matte finish front grille. For peace of mind, standard i-Activsense safety technologies includes Mazda Radar Cruise Control with stop and go function, Smart Brake Support, Driver Attention Alert, Lane Departure Warning with Lane-Keep Assist and High Beam Control. The CX-30 2.5 S with Select Package adds Blind Spot Monitoring with Rear Cross-Traffic Alert, side mirror turn signal indicators and Mazda Advanced Keyless Entry. The driver can appreciate the leather wrapped steering wheel and shift knob, while all occupants are welcomed by the leatherette seating surfaces, dual-zone automatic climate control, rear air conditioning vents and rear armrest with cupholders. This package also upgrades to 18-inch aluminum alloy wheels and rear privacy glass. Take a step up to the CX-30 2.5 S with Preferred Package that now includes a power moonroof to go along with other features such as heated front seats, eight-way power and memory drivers seat with lumbar support, memory position door mirrors and black gloss finish front grille. CX-30 2.5 S with Premium Package offers an elevated experience that includes Bose 12-speaker premium audio, SiriusXM with three-month trial subscription, windshield-projected Active Driving Display, navigation, leather seats, power liftgate, Adaptive Front Lighting system, shark fin antenna, roof rails, paddle shifters, gloss finish speaker grille and LED signature illumination headlights and taillights. The success and praise for the CX-30 since its debut has been well appreciated by all the people behind Mazda. It is the brands ambition to continue to develop vehicles that can become an enriching part of its fans lifestyles. MSRP FOR THE 2021 MAZDA CX-30 2.5 S IS AS FOLLOWS: Front-Wheel Drive i-Activ All-Wheel Drive CX-30 2.5 S $21,900 $23,300 CX-30 2.5 S w/ Select Package $23,900 $25,300 CX-30 2.5 S w/ Preferred Package $26,300 $27,700 CX-30 2.5 S w/ Premium Package $28,550 $29,950 Mazda North American Operations is headquartered in Irvine, California, and oversees the sales, marketing, parts and customer service support of Mazda vehicles in the United States and Mexico through approximately 620 dealers. Operations in Mexico are managed by Mazda Motor de Mexico in Mexico City. NORRISTOWN Sadly, some inconsiderate people are still under the impression that Norristown is a dumping ground. Police and the Municipality are seeking the help of the community in identifying one of the latest, most brazen culprits, who dumped a load of construction debris in the parking lot of an apartment complex on Schuylkill Avenue on Monday. Basically, this guy just drove his dump truck full of construction debris down to the apartment complex from somewhere off of West Lafayette Street we dont know where he came from. He sat there for a few minutes looking around, dumped it and left, Bishop said. Video caught most of the action, which took place around 1 p.m. Bishop posted the incident and a few photos on the Norristown Police Departments Facebook page. A caller specifically said it was a Ford F550 truck. But we never got a tag, thats the problem. This is complete disregard for other peoples property and we want to try to send a message to this guy to knock it off, thats why were trying to find out who this guy is. Our best guess is he was probably doing work somewhere in Norristown and just figured that instead of paying the disposal fee hed just dump it and leave, Bishop said. It happens more often than many people might think, but this incident was somewhat unusual. It was a dump truck full. It wasnt like somebody was taking a few bags and throwing them out on the curb. This guy took a truck and actually dumped the contents on the ground and left, Bishop noted. Were hoping somebody recognizes the truck from one of these house cleanouts or somebody doing construction in town and gives us a call. That leads to us being able to go after him or the company that owns the truck. Bishop pointed out that the truck was one of a kind, which could help in identifying it. Usually a stake body dump truck has metal of the side and this looks like its white or wood on the side. So Im hoping somebody will recognize it and help us out, he said. If anyone can identify the truck or the operator, contact Norristown Police at 610-270-0977 or you can remain anonymous by calling 610-278-TIPS. Please reference incident 20-2732. Press Release 21 July 2020 According to the latest results of MMGY Global's Travel Safety Barometer (Wave VI), which measures the impact of COVID-19 on traveler perceptions of safety, the current surge in cases of the virus across the U.S. has not made Americans more fearful of becoming ill. It has also not impacted the number of respondents who plan to take a leisure trip within the next six months, which has held steady at 40% since early June. Advertisements While the travel industry still has a long road to recovery ahead, there are two areas where perceptions of safety are in fact rising. Americans' confidence in the safety of domestic flights increased, as did positive perceptions of hotels, which may be due to the extensive measures hotels and airlines have taken to reduce the risk of COVID-19 transmission. In mid-April, domestic flights had a Travel Safety Barometer score of just 22 on a 100-point scale. That score nearly doubled in July to 39. Hotels also had a small but significant increase in Wave 6 to 46 points, scoring the same as vacation rentals. Photo: MMGY Global "It's encouraging to see the current headlines are not rattling American travelers, but we know these gains are fragile and could disappear if current COVID-19 hot spots can't quickly flatten the curve or there are future outbreaks linked to leisure travel," said Chris Davidson, EVP of Insights and Strategy at MMGY Global. Scenes of crowded beaches, parks and restaurants from the Independence Day holiday may have put a dent in the perceptions of how safe these activities are. Wave 6 respondents felt these activities were less safe than respondents found in Wave 5 conducted in early June. The latest data also shows that business travel continues to suffer from poor perceptions of safety. Since June, travelers have rated the safety of an off-site business meeting at 38 on the 100-point scale, and the safety of attending a business conference or convention has hovered at or around 30. Both of these scores are quite low relative to other travel categories, with the conference and convention rating finishing on par with the perceived safety of attending an indoor sporting event. The Travel Safety Barometer survey is conducted monthly among 1,200 U.S. residents who have taken an overnight trip for either business or leisure in the past 12 months. Wave 5 of the survey was conducted from May 29 - June 3, 2020 and Wave 6 was conducted June 29 - July 8, 2020. The full report is available here on www.mmgyintel.com. For additional COVID-19 related research and insights, visit MMGY Global's COVID-19 resource page: www.mmgyglobal.com/covid-19/. About MMGY Travel Intelligence MMGY Travel Intelligence is MMGY Global's industry research and insights brand, offering proprietary data and research including DK Shifflet, MMGY Global's Portrait of American Travelers and travelhorizonsTM, all of which are designed to power travel industry decision-makers through consumer insights, travel performance data, and audience modeling and segmentation. To learn more about the extensive collection of research, analytics and strategy services, visit mmgyintel.com or email us at [email protected]. U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos announced a new grant competition designed to promote tribally-directed education choice for Native American students. DeVos unveiled the $15 million Accessing Choices in Education (ACE) grants on July 17, and she linked the new competition to the idea that the coronavirus pandemic has made very clear that education needs to be more adaptable and student-centered. The ACE grants, which were included in the July 17 edition of the Federal Register, represent another avenue that DeVos has used to pursue K-12 choice policies, including during the pandemic. On Tuesday, she visited South Carolina to praise GOP Gov. Henry McMasters decision to direct a portion of federal coronavirus relief to back scholarships to private schools. Two other governors have directed COVID-19 relief in similar fashion . DeVos has also lobbied for families to get a portion of federal K-12 aid if their local schools dont resume in-person classes in the upcoming school year, in order for them to educate their children elsewhere. (Theres no clear authority for the Trump administration to do this, however, although some form of support for private school choice might be included in a new virus aid bill.) The new ACE grants are open to Native American tribes or grantees that partner with a tribe. Proposals must show how parents and students will be able to directly select services, which can include tuition for private schools, advanced or remedial classes, Native language, history, or cultural courses, dual-enrollment programs, and more. First, it respects tribal sovereignty by empowering tribes to select the range of resources to offer students including things like tutoring, educational or technology supplies, and Native language, history, or culture courses, DeVos said in a statement about the ACES grants. In turn, parents and students are then empowered to select the resources that are the right fit for them. Expanded choice for Native American students were a priority of the late Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz . Heres what we wrote when McCain died in 2018: McCains backing for choice extended to children attending Bureau of Indian Education schools, which he said represented a broken promise to Native American children. He worked with Sen. James Lankford, R-Okla., on legislation that would create education savings accounts for parents to pay for tutoring and other education services for children at those schools. We have no greater responsibility to our next generation than to help them prepare to compete in an increasingly competitive workforce, and this bill would provide Native American students the best opportunity to succeed in the classroom and beyond, McCain said in a statement last year when he re-introduced the Native American Education Opportunity Act last year. Native American education has been the focus of criticism in Washington for years. For example, as our colleague Corey Mitchell wrote last month , a Government Accountability Office report found that the Bureau of Indian Education did not provide or could not account for almost 40 percent of the special education service time its required to provide for Native American students with disabilities. Follow us on Twitter @PoliticsK12 . And follow the Politics K-12 reporters @EvieBlad @Daarel and @AndrewUjifusa . A woman has been ordered to pay more than $2,000 in damages after her ex-partner poured petrol through her rental property. Tara Reeve had gone away for the weekend when Shannon Reeve damaged her home in Rotorua, on New Zealand's North Island. Despite Ms Reeve not being present during the incident, she was found to be liable for the damages as she had allowed her former partner to be there. A woman has been ordered to pay more than $2,000 in damages after her ex-partner poured petrol through her rental property (stock image) Ms Reeve has a protection order against her former partner but had allowed him to visit earlier in the day, the New Zealand Herald reported. He had left at about 2.30pm when she went to pick up her children. Ms Reeve believed he would not return to the property as his keys to the home were stuck in a vehicle which had been impounded the previous week. However, he returned and filmed himself pouring petrol over himself and on the carpet and sent it to property manager Monique Ruthe. Ruthe rushed to check on the property and was allegedly threatened by Mr Reeve. She immediately called the police and he was arrested. He filmed himself pouring petrol (stock image pictured) over himself and on the carpet and sent it to the property manager Monique Ruthe Mr Reeve was due to be sentenced last week on charges of intentional damage, threatening to kill and breaching a protection order. According to the Tenancy Tribunal Ms Reeve was liable for damages as she had permitted him to be at the home. The tribunal looked to case law which showed inaction or 'turning a blind eye' or not taking to steps to prevent actions from a visitor was 'permit'. There was also no evidence supporting the claim that he had lost his key in his van. Ms Reeve has been ordered to pay Rotorua Investments Limited $2,089 - $175 for carpet cleaning and $1,914.75 repairs to the front door and hall door . NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Jewish Communal Fund (JCF), the largest and most active Jewish donor advised fund in the country, approved the election of six new members to its Board of Trustees. The new Trustees are Elisia Abrams, Jon Harris, Holly Newman Kroft, Michael Lax, Geula Solomon and Spencer Waxman. "We are delighted to welcome such accomplished individuals to the JCF boardpeople who are respected in their fields and passionate about helping others and giving back to those in need," said Zoya Raynes, President of Jewish Communal Fund. "Elisia, Jon, Holly, Michael, Geula and Spencer come from a variety of disciplines and bring to JCF tremendous experience in areas including technology, finance, investments and law." Elisia Abrams is the General Counsel of Willoughby Capital Holdings, LLC, a single family office. Prior to joining Willoughby, Elisia worked as a trusts and estates associate at Skadden, Arps, Slate Meagher & Flom, after starting her career at Cravath, Swaine & Moore, LLP. Elisia received a bachelor's degree from the University of Pennsylvania and a J.D. from Columbia Law School. She serves on the Board of the Marlene Meyerson Jewish Community Center of Manhattan, chairs the Board of the Harlem JCC and serves on UJA's "In the Neighborhood" Committee. Jon Harris is the Chief Executive Officer of Alternative Investment Management, LLC. Prior to joining the firm, Jon managed private investments for J.I. Harris & Associates. Previously, he worked for Goldman Sachs in the firm's Investment Management Services Group and spent time in its Investment Banking Division in London. Jon is a member of the University of Michigan Endowment's Investment Advisory Committee and serves on the board of the Child Mind Institute. Jon's involvement with UJA Federation of New York has included roles as Co-Chair of the Annual Campaign, member of the Board, member of the Strategic Council of the Wall Street Division, and Co-Chair of the Investment Management Division. Jon earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Michigan and an M.B.A. from Northwestern University's Kellogg School of Management. Holly Newman Kroft is a Managing Director at Neuberger Berman where she works closely with ultra-high net worth individuals and their families to develop customized investment solutions and address estate planning needs. Previously, Holly held investment banking positions at several institutions including Oppenheimer & Company. Holly received a BA from the University of Michigan. In 2019, Holly ranked #29 on Barron's Top 100 Independent Wealth Advisors. She was named one of the 50 Most Influential Women in Private Wealth by Private Asset Management Magazine in 2015. She is a UJA-Federation of New York Lion of Judah. She is also a founding member of the Artists Council at the Whitney Museum. Michael Lax is the Chairman of Autronic Plastics, Inc., a plastic manufacturing company in Hauppauge, Long Island, that specializes in plastic product design, mold construction and manufacturing of industrial and precision components. He graduated from the University of Rochester with a degree in Chemical and Mechanical Engineering. Michael served on the UJA-Federation Board in New York City and has been on the executive committee for UJA-LI. He also serves on the Long Island Council for Birthright Israel Foundation and involved with AIPAC, Israeli Airforce Foundation, and Atidim. Geula Solomon is a Managing Director at a global investment bank. Geula is Treasurer and a Trustee of the Abraham Joshua Heschel School and also serves as a Trustee for 70Faces Media and the Lucius N. Littauer Foundation. She recently completed her term on the Board of UJA Federation of NY. Geula has a BA from the University of Michigan and an MBA from the University of Chicago. Spencer Waxman is Founder and Managing Partner of Shannon River Capital Management. Shannon River invests primarily through the public markets in technology driven change. Spencer received a B.A. in Political Science from Duke University. He serves as President of the Samuel Waxman Cancer Research Foundation, and is a board member of Jewish Life at Duke University and SAR Academy in Riverdale, NY. About Jewish Communal Fund Jewish Communal Fund is one of the largest donor advised funds in the country, managing $2 billion in charitable assets for 4,100 funds. JCF's donor advised funds make giving easy, flexible and efficient. Learn more about JCF by visiting jcfny.org or calling (212) 752-8277. Visit JCF on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter. MEDIA CONTACT: Tamar Snyder Jewish Communal Fund 646-843-6894 [email protected] SOURCE Jewish Communal Fund Riyadh & Tokyo, July 21, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - Saudi Payments, Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority (SAMA) subsidiary, and the operator of national payment network (mada), has partnered with JCB International Co., Ltd. (JCBI), the international operations subsidiary of JCB Co. Ltd., to enable the acceptance of JCB cards in the Kingdom as part of its policy in opening the way for global payment companies and systems to enter the local market in order to support its strategy to enrich the payments environment in the Kingdom and provide modern payment methods in a way that reduces cash and raising the level of competition in this sector, in addition to its consistency with the goals of Vision 2030 in serving religious visitors and tourists and providing them with various payment methods.This partnership will enable mada network to accept JCB payments through the platform. This will facilitate local acquiring banks to accept JCB cards through their network of Point of Sale Terminals and ATM terminals deployed throughout Saudi Arabia and also provide greater convenience for JCB's growing cardholders in Islamic markets such as Indonesia.As part of its commitment and confidence in the Kingdom's ever-expanding payments ecosystem, JCB will also be opening an office in Riyadh to develop and enhance its presence in the Saudi Arabian market."Saudi Arabia is the most significant market for JCB to expand the issuance of JCB cards in the Islamic region. Saudi Arabia is one of the most important travel destination for our cardholders. With the Kingdom's enhanced Vision 2030 strategy and the ever-increasing close ties between Saudi Arabia and Japan, I am delighted that we have entered into this partnership with Saudi Payments for the acceptance of JCB cards," said Mr. Yoshiki Kaneko, President and COO of JCBI. "Over the coming months we will be announcing partnerships with local banks to expand our acceptance infrastructure in Saudi Arabia, to cater for both the business and touristic needs of our cardholders."Ziad Al Yousef, Managing Director of Saudi Payments said: "This partnership is vital step to enhance the digital payment infrastructure in the Kingdom, by providing more options for customers. At the same time, our partnership with JCB aims to enable mada network to accept JCB cards, which will be used through sale points. Based on this step, we seek to transform our society into a less cash dependent."About Saudi PaymentsSaudi Payments, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Saudi Arabian Monetary Authority, was founded to operate and develop all major national payment systems.Since its establishment in 1991 under the name of the "General Department of Payment Systems" at the Monetary Authority, the real launch of Saudi Payments as a Company came in 2018 has played a vital role in enabling the public and private sectors to connect with domestic and international payment services, helping to develop the Kingdom's payment infrastructure.Saudi Payments provides fast, flexible, and safe electronic payment services at low cost, through mada, Sadad, Esal and Sarie systems, enhancing the national electronic payment infrastructure and reducing cash transactions.Saudi Payments supports the government's Financial Sector Development Program, a part of the Kingdom's Vision 2030 Program. Saudi Payments operates to international standards, connecting local and international service providers with payment networks, reducing the need for cash payments.About JCBJCB is a global payment brand and a leading credit card issuer and acquirer in Japan. JCB launched its card business in Japan in 1961 and began expanding worldwide in 1981. Its acceptance network includes about 34 million merchants as well as cash advance locations around the world. JCB cards are now issued in 24 countries and territories, with more than 140 million cardmembers. As a comprehensive payment solution provider, JCB commits to providing responsive and high-quality service and products to all customers worldwide. www.global.jcb/en/For more information for media:JCBKumiko Kida, Ayaka NakajimaCorporate CommunicationsTel: +81-3-5778-8353Email: jcb-pr@jcb.co.jpSAUDI PAYMENTSShowmer AlshowmerExternal Communication ManagerSaalshowmer@saudipayments.comT +966-11-8292000-2045Source: JCBCopyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu of Akokwa Nigerians are mourning the death of renowned scientist and inventor, Dr. Ezekiel Izuogu of Akokwa clan in Ideato North Local Government Area of Imo State. The African foremost car inventor and manufacturer died on Saturday after a brief illness. Before his death, Izuogu once contested for Imo Governorship Election. He was a BoT member of the All Progressives Party (APC). In 1997, the brilliant lecturer at the Federal polytechnic Nekede designed and developed the Izuogu Z-600, the first African indigenous manufactured car. The car was described by the BBC as the African dream machine as 90% of its parts were sourced locally. At a projected sales cost of $2000, it would have taken the world by storm and become the cheapest and most affordable car on earth. With mass production planned under Izogu Motors plant in Naze Owerri, the prospects of an industrial revolution in Igbo land and Nigeria, was in the making. The car was equipped with a self-made 1.8L four cylinder engine that got 18mpg and allowed the car to achieve a top speed of 140 km/h. Front Wheel Drive (FWD) was chosen over Rear Wheel Drive (RWD) because a transmission tunnel, which RWD would require, would be more expensive to fabricate. The late General Sani Abacha set up a 12 -man panel of inquiry made up of professionals to ascertain the road worthiness and authenticity of the car. After several days of probing, the committee gave Izuogus car a clean bill of health, recommending some of the bumps on the body of the car be smoothened. It is worthy to note this was five years before India built its first car known as the Indi. At a well- organised unveiling ceremony, which had General Abacha represented by Oladipo Diya, over 20 foreign ambassadors and thousands in attendance, the Federal Government promised a grant of N235 million to Dr. Izuogu. An excited Izuogu waited for the grant till he died. In 2006, South Africa invited Dr. Izuogu for a presentation on the car in the presence of several world class engineers. The nation invited the inventor to set up a plant in South Africa and begin the production of the car. Izuogu reluctantly agreed, though he wasnt happy benefits of employment generation will be lost on the locals of Naze and human resources environment. On March 11, 2006, at about 2.00 am, twelve heavily armed men broke into Izuogus factory in Naze, Owerri North LGA and carted away various machines and tools including the design history notebook of Z-600, the design file Z-MASS, containing the design history for mass production of Z-600 car and mould for various parts of the car. He said: It seems that the target of this robbery is to stop the efforts we are making to mass-produce the first ever locally made car in Africa. Other items stolen included locally produced timing wheel, locally produced camshaft, locally produced crankshaft, locally produced engine tappets, all 20 pieces each. Also stolen were ten pieces of locally produced Z-600 engine blocks, ten pieces of locally produced pistons, four pieces of engine block mounds, four pieces of top engine block moulds, ten pieces of engine fly wheel and two pieces each of rear car and front mudguard moulds. The inventor regretted not only did he lose over one N1 billion but also about a decade of time and energy it took to design and produce the moulds. He regarded the incident as a national economic disaster, stating Nigeria had lost a technological and intellectual property. The setback and governmental attitude frustrated Izuogu and his dream died. President Muhammed Buhari through Femi Adesina, his media and publicity aide, also mourned the great icon as a trail-blazing innovator, a well-respected academic and gifted engineer as he asked God to grants his son an eternal rest. The president also said that the man was also a very important political figure apart from the great innovation with a recognisable leadership in the countrys political landscape. Al Jazeera journalist Kimberly Halkett denied Tuesday that she called Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany a 'lying b***h' at a White House press briefing. Social media users flocked to Twitter claiming to have heard Halkett utter the remark from behind her face mask during a tense exchange with McEnany on Tuesday. But Halkett, who works as Al Jazeera's White House correspondent, quickly denied using the profanity when questioned by one of her online followers. 'There's a lot of misreporting out there about that briefing,' Halkett wrote. 'The answer to your question is, I DID NOT. What I said was, 'OKAY, YOU DON'T WANT TO ENGAGE.'' The White House's official transcript of the event confirmed her version, recording her words as: 'Okay, you don't want to engage.' Al Jazeera journalist Kimberly Halkett (pictured) said she didn't call Trump Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany a 'lying b***h' at a White House press briefing on Tuesday Halkett, who works as Al Jazeera's White House correspondent, quickly denied using the profanity when questioned by one of her online followers It came after Halkett asked McEnany two questions about possible Russian interference in the upcoming Presidential election, which resulted in a back and forth between the Press Secretary and the reporter. 'Kayleigh, I have a couple of questions. The first one is: The President, in the last few hours, tweeted about the concerns about mail-in voting. So he's obviously concerned about the integrity of the U.S. election and certainly internal sabotage. But why are we not hearing from the President about fears about external sabotage?' Halkett asked. The broadcaster went on to cite new reports that Russia may have interfered in the Scottish referendum, before stating: 'We've really not heard the President put the Kremlin on notice with respect to the U.S. election. Will we hear from him today on that?' McEnany responded: 'The President today has put the world on notice that our election systems must be secure', before detailing actions the president plans to take ahead of November. She then circled back to talking about potential problems with mail-in ballots, citing a recent Wall Street Journal article titled: 'New York's Mail-Vote Disaster'. 'I think this is getting off track,' Halkett subsequently stated, before McEnany snapped back: 'You asked me about this, so I'm going to answer.' McEnany is seen during Tuesday's press briefing at The White House. The Harvard Law grad is known for her fiery confrontations with reporters Halkett again tried to pivot to questions about Russia and external threats, while McEnany continued to speak about problems with mass mail-in voting. 'I know you don't want to hear them, which is why you talk over me,' the Press Secretary stated. Halkett then tried to ask another question about Russia, prompting McEnany to cut her off by responding: 'You've gotten two questions, which is more than some of your colleagues.' The recorded exchange between Halkett and McEnany sparked polarized reactions on Twitter After McEnany moved on to another reporter's question, Halkett was caught mumbling on a microphone. The official White House transcript has her saying: 'Okay, you don't want to engage.' However, it didn't take long for dozens of people to speculate that she had actually stated: 'Okay, you're a lying b***h'. Halkett, who hails from Canada and has worked with Al Jazeera for more than two decades, is pictured Some conservatives came to Halkett's defense, saying they did not believe she used the curse word. However, others labelled Halkett a left-wing activist as opposed to an impartial journalist, and accused the press pool of being disrespectful toward McEnany. Another reporter yelled out to McEnany that she should wear a mask as she left the podium. McEnany has not responded to the drama. The Harvard Law graduate became Trump's Press Secretary back in April and has already become a household name thanks to her fiery exchanges with members of the White House press pool. Last month, McEnany clashed with CNN's Jim Acosta after he accused President Trump of creating 'fake news' by sharing an edited video of two toddlers. 'That's an absurd attempt to justify misleading headlines that are regularly on your network,' she blasted back, before Acosta started to talk over her. 'You've got to let me finish Jim, this isn't a cable news segment, I'm answering your question right now from the White House podium,' she stated. The pair have also been involved in several other high-profile tussles. Last week, Acosta was accused of taking McEnany out of context by tweeting out that 'science should not stand in the way' of school reopenings. McEnany later told Fox News Acosta is 'actually quite nice' off camera. President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelensky and President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga will make a joint working visit to Donbas on Thursday. President Zelensky stated this at a joint press conference following the bilateral talks in Kyiv, an Ukrinform correspondent reported. The day after tomorrow, together with Mrs. President [of the Swiss Confederation], we will visit Donbas and our citizens living along the frontline. It is very important and valuable for me when world leaders, who come to Ukraine, travel to the East with me and see with their own eyes how much disaster the war has brought to Ukraine," Zelensky said. According to him, Simonetta Sommaruga stressed during the meeting that the Swiss government is ready to actively assist Ukrainians in Donbas, in particular by providing them with drinking water through the modernization of infrastructure. As reported, on July 20-23, President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga will be on an official visit to Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelensky. iy Hypertension is a significant risk factor for potentially fatal diseases, and controlling it can reduce the risk of death and other long-term complications. Now, a team of researchers has found that regular physical activity or exercise can combat hypertension even in areas where there are high levels of air pollution. Published in the journal Circulation, the study shows that regular physical activity is recommended to prevent hypertension, and it also highlights the importance of reducing air pollution for hypertension prevention. Hypertension and physical activity Hypertension is a condition wherein the blood pressure is too high. Blood pressure is the force that the blood exerts against the walls of the blood vessels. The pressure depends on the resistance of the blood vessels and how hard the heart needs to work. High blood pressure is a primary risk factor for cardiovascular disease, which includes heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and aneurysm, which are potentially fatal. Hypertension or high blood pressure is a common condition that affects more than one billion adults across the globe. It is the leading risk factor for cardiovascular disease and death. Elevated systolic blood pressure (SBP) contributed to roughly 10.5 million deaths in 2016. To address the skyrocketing cases of hypertension, the World Health Organization (WHO) proposed a global target to reduce hypertension prevalence by 25% by 2025. One of the measures includes a physical activity to reduce the risk of hypertension and, consequently, cardiovascular disease and mortality. Air pollution Air pollution levels remain dangerously high in several parts of the world. The WHO reports that 9 in 10 people breathe air containing high levels of pollutants. Each year, 7 million people die due to ambient or outdoor and household pollution. Previous studies have shown that air pollution increases the risk of hypertension. These studies have also shown that when a person exercises, the ventilation rate increases, which would mean there is an increased intake of air pollutants that may worsen the adverse health effects caused by air pollution. Further, some studies pointed out that exercising in areas that are polluted may override its benefits. Health guidelines are needed in regions where there are high levels of air pollution, whether they can benefit from regular exercise. The study To arrive at their findings, the team investigated the links among habitual physical activity, long-term exposure to ambient fine particulate matter (PM2.5) with hypertension, or high blood pressure in adults in Taiwan. The country's annual PM2.5 concentrations are higher than the limit recommended by the WHO guideline. They recruited more than 140,000 people who are more than 18 years old and had no history of hypertension. The team measured the PM2.5 exposure in each of the participant's address using a satellite data-based spatiotemporal model. The team then collected data using a self-administered questionnaire. Findings show that people who regularly exercise or who are highly active and exposed to low levels of pollution had a reduced risk of developing high blood pressure. On the other hand, people who were inactive and exposed to highly polluted air had an increased risk of hypertension. Also, each PM2.5 level increase was tied to a 38-percent increase in the risk of hypertension, and every increase in physical activity causes a 6-percent lower risk of hypertension. The findings show that reducing air pollution is more effective in preventing high blood pressure. However, the study also highlights that regular physical activity lowers the risk of high blood pressure, regardless of the pollution level. This means that people who exercise more in polluted areas still benefit from the lower risk of hypertension. Those who are active or exercised moderately had a 4-percent lower risk of hypertension compared with those who did not exercise. Further, people who had to do high-level exercise had a 13-percent lower risk of hypertension than those who do not exercise. "Extended outdoor activity in urban areas increases the intake of air pollutants, which can worsen the harmful health effects of air pollution," Dr. Xiang Qian Lao, Ph.D., an associate professor at the Jockey Club School of Public Health and Primary Care at The Chinese University of Hong Kong in Shatin, Hong Kong, said. "While we found that high physical activity combined with lower air pollution exposure was linked to lower risk of high blood pressure, physical activity continued to have a protective effect even when people were exposed to high pollution levels. The message is that physical activity, even in polluted air, is an important high blood pressure prevention strategy," they added. The team emphasizes that the findings cannot be generalized for other populations since the study was conducted in Taiwan. It is important to conduct studies in areas with higher air pollution exposure. Also, the team did not distinguish between outdoor and indoor physical activity. WASHINGTON - In a confrontation overheard by a reporter Monday outside the Capitol, Rep. Ted Yoho, R-Fla., called Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., "disgusting" and told her "you are out of your freaking mind" for describing poverty as a root cause of crime, prompting the congresswoman to later condemn what she described as Yoho's "virulent harassment" of her. Yoho also used a sexist slur to describe Ocasio-Cortez once she was out of earshot, according to the Hill newspaper, which first reported on the exchange. According to the Hill, Yoho uttered the words, "f---ing b---h." A spokesman for Yoho denied that the congressman used the epithet and said he instead uttered the word "bull----" to himself, describing his view of Ocasio-Cortez's policies. Asked about Yoho's reported comments, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer, D-Md., called them "despicable" and "unacceptable" and told reporters Tuesday that the lawmaker should be sanctioned by the House, although he did not provide any details on what form such a sanction might take. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., said he was going to meet with Yoho on Tuesday afternoon to discuss the incident. On Twitter on Tuesday morning, Ocasio-Cortez denounced Yoho's behavior and criticized another GOP lawmaker, Rep. Roger Williams of Texas, who was present for at least part of the exchange. "I never spoke to Rep. Yoho before he decided to accost me on the steps of the nation's Capitol yesterday," Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. "Believe it or not, I usually get along fine w/ my GOP colleagues. We know how to check our legislative sparring at the committee door. But hey, 'b*tches' get stuff done." She accused Williams of joining Yoho in "yelling" at her and blasted the Texas Republican for later telling a reporter he had not been paying attention to the confrontation between the other two lawmakers. A spokesman for Ocasio-Cortez did not immediately respond to requests for comment Tuesday. According to the report by the Hill's Mike Lillis, the confrontation took place Monday when Ocasio-Cortez was ascending the steps outside the east side of the Capitol and Yoho, who was descending after a vote, approached her. Yoho told Ocasio-Cortez she was "disgusting" for recently suggesting that a crime spike in New York City amid the coronavirus pandemic may have been driven by unemployment and poverty. "You are out of your freaking mind," Yoho said, and Ocasio-Cortez told Yoho he was being "rude," according to the Hill. After the exchange, Yoho continued descending the steps while joined by Williams. A few moments later, when Ocasio-Cortez was out of earshot, Yoho used the sexist epithet, the Hill reported. Yoho declined to comment to the Hill on Monday when asked about the exchange. In an email to The Washington Post on Tuesday morning, Yoho spokesman Brian Kaveney confirmed that Yoho "had a brief member to member conversation on the steps of the Capitol." But he said the congressman "did not call Rep. Ocasio-Cortez what has been reported in the Hill or any name for that matter." "Instead, he made a brief comment to himself as he walked away summarizing what he believes her polices to be: bullshit," Kaveney said. He accused Ocasio-Cortez of "using this exchange to gain personal attention," even though the confrontation was reported by the Hill before the congresswoman mentioned it publicly. Kaveney did not respond when asked to confirm Yoho's other reported comments. Williams, meanwhile, told the Hill that while he was walking down the steps with Yoho on Monday, he had been "thinking about some issues I've got in my district that need to get done" and had not paid much attention to what Yoho and Ocasio-Cortez were saying. "I don't know what their topic was," Williams told the Hill. "There's always a topic, isn't there?" In tweets Tuesday morning, Ocasio-Cortez accused Williams of lying and said he had "joined in" with Yoho. "Gotta love Republican courage from Rep @RogerWilliamsTX: when he undeniably sees another man engaged in virulent harassment of a young woman, just pretend you never saw it in the most cartoonish manner possible and keep pushing," she said. Ocasio-Cortez added: "What's wild to me @RogerWilliamsTX is why would you blatantly lie to a reporter who saw this exchange? You were yelling at me too, about 'throwing urine.'" Several Democratic lawmakers defended Ocasio-Cortez on Tuesday. At a briefing with reporters at the Capitol, Hoyer called Yoho's comments "despicable" and "unacceptable" and said he "owes not only the congresswoman an apology" but should also deliver a full apology in a speech on the House floor. "It was the act of a bully," Hoyer said, adding, "It needs to be sanctioned." Several male Democratic lawmakers noted on Twitter that they shared Ocasio-Cortez's views on the link between unemployment, poverty and crime but had not been similarly confronted by Yoho, suggesting that the lawmaker chose to target the New York Democrat because of her gender. "Like @aoc, I believe poverty to be a root cause of crime," Rep. Dean Phillips, D-Minn., tweeted. "Wonder why Rep. Yoho hasn't accosted me on the Capitol steps with the same sentiment?" Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Fla., also defended Ocasio-Cortez. "I can confirm that AOC gets along w many of her Republican colleagues on a range of things that don't have anything to do w legislation or politics," Gaetz said in a tweet. "She is not a [b---h]." - - - The Washington Post's Paul Kane contributed to this report. Press Release 21 July 2020 HENDERSONVILLE, Tennessee - The U.S. hotel industry showed slightly higher performance from the month prior, but at overall low levels during June 2020, according to data from STR. Advertisements In a year-over-year comparison with June 2019, the industry recorded the following: Occupancy: -42.5% to 42.2% Average daily rate (ADR): -31.5% to US$92.15 Revenue per available room (RevPAR): -60.6% to US$38.88 The absolute occupancy and RevPAR levels were the lowest for any June on record in the U.S., but all three key performance metrics were up from May levels. July weekly data shows occupancy above 45% due to a slow and steady rise in demand that has flattened in recent weeks. Among the Top 25 Markets, Oahu Island, Hawaii, experienced the steepest drop in occupancy (-82.4% to 15.4%), which resulted in the largest decrease in RevPAR (-88.2% to US$25.30). Boston, Massachusetts, posted the steepest decline in ADR (-55.3% to US$102.58). All of STR's COVID-19 analysis can be found here. Yoos argument, in National Review, goes like this: President Barack Obama lacked the legal authority to implement, by executive fiat, the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program to protect from deportation dreamers brought to the United States as children. The Supreme Court, in a 5-to-4 decision by Chief Justice John G. Roberts Jr., joined by the liberal justices, found that while Trump had the authority to revoke DACA, he hadnt gone through the proper administrative procedures to do so lawfully. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement As President Trump threatens to unleash the military on American cities roiled in civil unrest, it's clear that he's embracing his inner Nixon. (The Washington Post) Thus, Yoo argues, Suppose President Donald Trump decided to create a nationwide right to carry guns openly. He could declare that he would not enforce federal firearms laws, and that a new Trump permit would free any holder of state and local gun-control restrictions. Under Robertss approach, Even if Trump knew that his scheme lacked legal authority, he could get away with it for the length of his presidency. And, moreover, even if courts declared the permit illegal, his successor would have to keep enforcing the program for another year or two. Expanding on this fantasy in Newsweek, Yoo adds that under the ruling, Trump could unilaterally cut income taxes by 50 percent, accelerate infrastructure projects and cut red tape for starting new businesses. He could create a recovery permit that would give businesses the right to sidestep agency red tape, burdensome environmental regulations and onerous obstacles to opening new enterprises. All, says Yoo, because according to the Supreme Courts DACA opinion, presidents now can use their prosecutorial discretion to set the enforcement level for any federal law at zero. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement This is ridiculous. Yoo dismisses DACA as illegal presidential action, which is mighty rich coming from someone who concluded that the president, as chief executive, could not be bound by a criminal statute outlawing torture indeed, could order the massacre of a village of civilians. Yes, before Obama formulated DACA, he acknowledged limits on his power to act. Im president, Im not king, he said at one point. But in crafting the program, Obama relied on a careful opinion by the Office of Legal Counsel detailing how he could and couldnt use prosecutorial discretion to defer immigration enforcement. The opinion emphasizes what the Supreme Court has described as the broad discretion exercised by immigration officials; it is confined to that context. In any event, a president has the sworn constitutional duty to faithfully execute the law, not to, as in Yoos fanciful hypotheticals, knowingly violate it. Follow Ruth Marcus s opinions Follow Add Advertisement Story continues below advertisement And so there was Trump, on Fox News Sunday, law-splaining to Chris Wallace: Were signing a health-care plan within two weeks, a full and complete health-care plan that the Supreme Court decision on DACA gave me the right to do. So were going to solve were going to sign an immigration plan, a health-care plan, and various other plans . . . The Supreme Court gave the president of the United States powers that nobody thought the president had, by approving, by doing what they did their decision on DACA. Powers that nobody thought the president had, indeed. For good reason the president doesnt have them. Obama acknowledged he wasnt king. Trump, of course, would like to be. But no Supreme Court ruling, no matter what Yoo might have to say about it, no matter what Trump may argue, has handed him the crown. Read more from Ruth Marcuss archive, follow her on Twitter or subscribe to her updates on Facebook. Read more: Dana Milbank: America is flunking its cognitive assessment Max Boot: Eight ways that Trumps nonsense is killing us The Tesla founder is said to have made the offer in May 2016, during a text message exchange in which Ms Heard, 34, told him she was going to obtain a restraining order against Johnny Depp. In her second day of evidence in her ex-husbands blockbuster libel action against The Sun newspaper, the Aquaman actress also dismissed suggestions Mr Musk visited her in 2015 while Mr Depp was away, saying she was not in touch with the entrepreneur until the following year. Mr Depp, 57, is suing the tabloids publisher, News Group Newspapers (NGN) and its executive editor, Dan Wootton, over a 2018 article which labelled him a wife beater. On Tuesday, Eleanor Laws QC, representing Mr Depp, read out text messages between Ms Heard and Mr Musk from May 22 2016, in which Ms Heard tells Mr Musk that she is going to obtain a restraining order against her then husband. Advertisement This is the day after an alleged incident at the Eastern Columbia Building in Los Angeles, where Mr Depp and Ms Heard lived, in which the actress claims Mr Depp threw her mobile phone at her, hitting her in the face which the actor denies. Questioning Ms Heard, Ms Laws said Mr Musk offers to arrange 24/7 security for you, adding: The offer would stand, even if you never wanted to see me again anyway, sorry for being an idiot. The radio silence hurts a lot. It only matters because I really like you. The barrister then referred to evidence given by Alejandro Romero, a concierge at the Eastern Columbia Building, who said he saw Mr Musk visiting Ms Heard when Mr Depp was in Australia. Ms Heard responded: Hes wrong. I wasnt even in communication with Elon until 2016. In his written witness statement, Mr Romero said: From March 2015 onwards, Ms Heard was visited regularly late at night, at around 11pm to midnight, by Mr Elon Musk. The concierge said Ms Heard gave Mr Musk his own fob to access the building. Ms Laws also asked Ms Heard about actor James Franco, saying: On the topic of what you say about his (Johnny Depps) jealousy, you mentioned in your statement that James Franco was someone that Mr Depp was accusing you of having an affair with and he was quite wrong about it. Advertisement Ms Heard said: Thats right. Ms Laws then played CCTV footage to the court of Ms Heard travelling downstairs in the lift at the Eastern Columbia Building on May 22 2016 at around 11pm, before travelling back upstairs shortly after with Mr Franco. Ms Heard confirmed that the man in the footage was Mr Franco. Ms Laws asked: Are you trying to avoid being seen by the camera there? Ms Heard replied: We were talking. He was saying to me oh my god, what happened to you? He saw my face when I let him in. He saw my face and he said what the f***?' Ms Laws asked: Thats not secretive talking on that camera? Ms Heard said: Yes, its discreet. Asked about what time Ms Heard collected Mr Franco from downstairs, Ms Heard confirmed it was after 11pm and said: In those days, I didnt sleep much at night. Ms Heard is continuing to be questioned over 14 allegations of domestic violence, which the tabloids publisher News Group Newspapers (NGN) relies on in its defence against Mr Depps claim. She has accused Mr Depp of verbal and physical abuse throughout their relationship, including screaming, swearing, punching, slapping, kicking, headbutting and choking her, as well as extremely controlling and intimidating behaviour. Mr Depp, however, says he was not violent towards Ms Heard it was she who was violent to him, and claims his ex-wife was building a dossier of false allegations as an insurance policy for later. Ms Heards evidence was initially due to conclude on Wednesday but will now continue until Thursday morning, with her friends Melanie Inglessis and Joshua Drew expected to appear by videolink on Wednesday afternoon. Mr Depp is suing NGN and The Suns executive editor Dan Wootton over the publication of an article on April 27, 2018, with the headline: Gone Potty: How can JK Rowling be genuinely happy casting wife beater Johnny Depp in the new Fantastic Beasts film? His lawyers say the article bore the meaning there was overwhelming evidence Mr Depp assaulted Ms Heard on a number of occasions and left her in fear for her life. NGN is defending the article as true, and says Mr Depp was controlling and verbally and physically abusive towards Ms Heard, particularly when he was under the influence of alcohol and/or drugs. Pro-Democracy Activist Joshua Wong Runs for Hong Kong Legislature Prominent democracy activist Joshua Wong applied on Monday (July 20) to run for a seat in Hong Kongs legislature. It raises the prospect of a battle with the Chinese-run citys authorities he was barred from running in previous polls. Joshua Wong: Under the chilling effect generated by Beijing, someone might doubt that will Hongkongers give up. But I believe when I choose to run for office, its time to put the global spotlight (on) Hong Kongs election. We aim and wish to take (the) majority in Hong Kongs Legislative Council election to prove we are the majority, and the voice of the pro-democracy camp, especially the progressive wing, our voice must not be silenced. There are several discussions going around in the e-health sector for consolidation with key players being PharmEasy, 1mg, Medlife and Netmeds. According to reports, Reliance Jio is in talks with Netmeds to acquire the latter. E-health companies Medlife and PharmEasy are in talks for a merger deal valued at $200-$250 million, according to sources. The aim is to create one of the world's largest healthcare companies. The modalities are being worked out. Medlife will retain 20-30 per cent stake in the combined entity, said a person with direct knowledge about the development. While PharmEasy co-founder and CEO Dharmil Sheth declined to comment on the development, Medlife co=founder and CEO Ananth Narayanan could not be reached for comment. Co-founded by Tushar Kumar, Prashanth Singh and former Myntra-Jabong CEO Ananth Narayanan in 2014, Medlife provides services such as e-consultation, lab tests and health supplements and generics. The Bengaluru-based company has crossed Rs 100-crore in gross merchandise value (GMV) per month. It is delivering medicines to 29 states, 4,000 cities and 20,000 pin codes in India. It fulfils over 30,000 deliveries daily. Medlife has raised a total funding of $32.7 million. It is backed by Wilson Global Opportunities Fund and Prasid Uno Family Trust, according to data platform Crunchbase. The other company PharmEasy was founded a year later in 2015 and has its network in over 700 cities. The Mumbai-based online medicine and healthcare ordering app, has raised total funding of $328.5 million. It is backed by investors such as Temasek Holdings and Bessemer Venture Partners and Infosys co-founder Nandan Nilekani. As a marketplace, PharmEasy works with 35,000 retail partners in Tier-1 and Tier-2 cities across the country. There are several discussions going around in the e-health sector for consolidation with key players being PharmEasy, 1mg, Medlife and Netmeds. According to reports, Reliance Jio is in talks with Netmeds to acquire the latter. There are talks of consolidation happening in multiple sectors where large amounts of funding typically in excess of $150 million have been raised by leading players. "But nothing is concluded at this point of time, said Anup Jain, managing partner at Orios Venture Partners, which is one of the early-stage investors in PharmEasy. Last month, Bessemer Venture Partners-backed doctor consultation platform DocsApp had merged its services with cashless digital healthcare platform MediBuddys digital consumer health business to create an entity for end-to-end services in digital healthcare. The combined entity will have over 90,000 doctors, 7,000 hospitals, 3,000 diagnostic centres and 2,500 pharmacies covering over 95 per cent of all pin codes in India. The Indian e-health sector is expected to become a $16 billion opportunity by FY 2025, growing from $1.2 billion, at a compound annual growth rate of 68 per cent, according to a report by research firm RedSeer Consulting. It is expected to touch 57 million households, driven by positive reception from both consumers and providers along with supportive government regulations and investments. As per RedSeer, the overall Indian healthcare industry is set to grow at 17 per cent CAGR until FY 2025 to reach $353 billion (7 per cent of the expected nominal gross domestic product). File pic The Ashok Gehlot government has withdrawn its "general consent" to the CBI to conduct investigations in Rajasthan, and the central agency will now need its prior permission on a case-by-case basis, prompting the BJP to question the intention behind the move. The opposition party, which had demanded a CBI inquiry into the phone tapping row that has erupted during the ongoing political crisis in the state, said Chief Minister Gehlot's action shows he is trying to hide something. The state government issued a notification which states that prior approval from the Government of Rajasthan will have to be taken on a case-by-case basis to investigate any crime falling under Section 3 of the Delhi Special Police Establishment (DSPE) Act. Section 3 of the DSPE Act states that the "Central government may, by notification in the Official Gazette, specify the offences or classes of offences which are to be investigated by the Delhi Special Police Establishment." According to the Rajasthan's Home Department officials, the ''general consent'' of the state government will no longer be valid in the offences under DSPE Act. Additional Chief Secretary Home Rohit Kumar Singh said, "Its administrative provisions were already there, it was notified yesterday." Officials said that in June 1990 too the then Rajasthan government had refused to give such ''general consent'' to the Centre. The BJP has slammed the Rajasthan government's move, saying there is "indirect emergency" in the state. "The way the state government misused the SOG and the ACB, now it was afraid of CBI action... It clearly shows that there is something fishy," BJP state president Satish Poonia told reporters. He alleged Gehlot is using SOG and ACB to threaten independent candidates and smaller parties. "It is clear that the chief minister has taken the decision to hide something," he said. The ruling Congress is facing a rebellion by party leader Sachin Pilot and 18 other MLAs against Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot. A probe by the state police into horse trading charges based on purported tapped conversation of some leaders has turned the situation murkier. The Congress had demanded the arrest of BJP leader and Union minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat and rebel Congress MLA Bhanwarlal Sharma after two purported audio clips surfaced relating to the alleged conspiracy to topple the Ashok Gehlot led Congress government. The SOG had registered an FIR on the basis of complaint lodged by Congress Chief Whip Mahesh Joshi who had submitted audio clips as evidence. However, the FIR does not identify Gajendra Singh referred in the clip as Union minister Shekhawat, a senior BJP leader from Rajasthan. Shekhawat has denied that he figures in the clip and said he is open to a probe. The BJP has demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into the alleged tapping of phones and what it called "saga of illegalities and concocted lies". "These are serious questions that we want to ask the Congress high command and Gehlot. Was phone tapping done? Assuming that you've tapped phones, was the standard operating procedure followed? Did the Congress government in Rajasthan use unconstitutional ways to save themselves when they found themselves cornered?" BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra had said. A similar action related to CBI had been taken by West Bengal and Andhra Pradesh governments in 2018, alleging that the Centre was misusing the agency to harass opponents. Accusing China of not being transparent about the COVID-19, US President Donald Trump has said that Beijing could have stopped the deadly virus from spreading across the world but they "chose" not to. Trump has in the past expressed disappointment over China's handling of the COVID-19 pandemic. In May, he claimed that it was the 'incompetence' of Beijing that led to the mass killing across the globe. More than 6,00,000 people globally, including 1,43,000 Americans have died due to coronavirus that emerged from China's Wuhan city. Over 14 million people across the world, including over 4 million in the US, have tested positive with this deadly virus that has brought the global economy to standstill. China has denied US' 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. "It came from China. It should have never been allowed to get out. They could have stopped it. They could have stopped it easily. They chose not to," Trump told reporters in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. "We'll have further reports on that. But it came from China. They could have stopped it, but they didn't. They stopped it from going into China, but they didn't stop it from going to the rest of the world. It didn't stop it from going to Europe, to us," he said. "They should have stopped it. They could have stopped it. They weren't transparent at all; they were the opposite. It's not good," Trump said. Trump spoke with French President Emmanuel Macron and Egypt President Abdel Fattah Al-Sisi on Monday over the pandemic. "And all of us, and all of us together -- I've had many conversations with leaders all over the world over the weekend, and over the last couple of weeks in particular. And this is a pandemic that is flaring up all over the place. Countries thought they were in good shape and then, all of a sudden, they have a big flare-up," he said. Coronavirus, he said, is a worldwide problem and the US is helping other countries with ventilators. "We're helping a lot of countries. They don't have ventilators, and we're sending thousands of ventilators to different countries. But I do want people to understand this is a worldwide problem caused by China, but it's a worldwide problem," Trump said. "Countries are going through hell. We're going to give you a lot of briefings in the next week and over the next few weeks as to -- I think it's very important to do it, the vaccines and the therapeutics. I think I'm going to bring some of the great companies that are working, and very successfully in the past have worked on these things, and they're going to tell you very specifically what they're doing and how they're doing. But we think we're doing very well in that regard," said the US president. Meanwhile, the State Department on Monday announced that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo during his July 20-22 visit to the UK will meet with Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab to discuss global priorities, including coordination on COVID-19 recovery and issues related to the People's Republic of China. He will also discuss the ongoing negotiations for the US-UK Free Trade Agreement, an official statement said. In another development, Congressman Michael Burges said that China and the Chinese Communist Party continues to threaten American national security with cyber-attacks. "The US should get more specific with sanctions and use our economic power to punish hackers," he demanded. The Media Foundation for West Africa (MFWA) has petitioned the National Media Commission (NMC) to stop government from reducing the channels of the Ghana Broadcasting Corporation (GBC) on the Digital Terrestrial Television (DTT) platform. In the petition copied to Peacefmonline.com, the Media Foundation indicated that the government does not have any legitimacy in making the demand, as its directive goes agaianst the constitutional provisions of the independence of the state broadcaster. It, therefore, urged the NMC which is the body mandated by the constitution to be responsible for GBC, to fight of any means by the government to control the contents of the state broadcaster. These legal provisions are meant to stave off interferences in the management and editorial discretion of the state media. The provisions are also designed to enable the state media offer fair voice and visibility to all segments of the national population including minority groups and interests. Therefore, not only is this attempt by the Minister of Communication to sequester three of the TV channels of the state broadcaster an expression of ministerial overreach; it also unfairly reduces the public service broadcasters footprint within the current 40-channels platform. This comes after the Communications Minister, Ursula Owusu-Ekuful in a letter dated June 26 informed GBC to reduce the number of channels it has on the DTT from six to three. She explained that it is it is to ensure there is redundancy on the National DTT platform which is currently at full capacity. Source: Daniel Adu Darko/Peacefmonline.com/[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 UCL Business (UCLB) and Apollo Therapeutics (Apollo), a pioneering collaboration between three global pharmaceutical companies and three UK university technology transfer offices, along with Deerfield Management Company, have completed the licensing of the first Apollo-supported project, a novel gene therapy programme developed at University College London (UCL). Through this deal, the technology will be further developed in partnership with Deerfield, building upon the state-of-the-art work already completed. Deerfield, a U.S. healthcare investment firm, will leverage its cutting-edge drug development and operational capabilities to advance the translation of biomedical discoveries into transformative treatments for patients. The firm's newly launched Cure building in the heart of New York City will accelerate this important work, bringing together leading companies in the life science, digital health, medical technology, and health services industries from around the world to uncover innovative solutions to address high-need therapeutic areas. This is a significant licensing deal for Apollo and UCLB and reflects the quality of research and innovation emerging from leading UK universities and the translational drug discovery expertise of Apollo. The project originated at UCL, which is a world leader in the rare disease gene therapy field, with over 100 clinical academic research groups currently investigating more than 350 rare diseases. This is among one of the key priority areas for Apollo, with a number of collaborative projects ongoing in this area. Apollo was formed in 2016 as a collaborative venture between three world-leading UK universities and three world leading heath care industry partner companies (AstraZeneca UK Limited, Glaxo Group Limited and Johnson Johnson Innovation-JJDC, Inc.) Its aim is to identify and advance academic preclinical research that might benefit from a translational approach to discover potential new medicines for areas of high medical need. Dr Richard Butt, CEO of Apollo, said: "This first licensing deal with Deerfield demonstrates how Apollo can bridge the translational gap from academic research to a product that's commercially-ready and validates our novel model." "At Apollo, we have a pipeline of other exciting therapeutic programmes which have been shaped solely by the emerging science developed at our partner universities and which target the continuing unmet medical and patients' need for new therapeutics. We expect to be able to report further licensing and portfolio progress during 2020." Dr Richard Fagan, Director of BioPharm, UCLB and member of Apollo's Investment Committee, said: "Deerfield is one of the leading investors in life sciences and its backing is testament to the great work by UCL in rare diseases. The university has significant breadth and depth of the academic research in this area and we are proud of its position as a centre of excellence. We look forward to working closely with the Deerfield team to progress the programme into clinical studies. "Deerfield's investment is great validation of the Apollo joint venture business model, and demonstrates how U.K. institutions and its research can attract financing and support from global firms. This deal also demonstrates how universities and industries can work together to mutual commercial benefit, which will be especially important as efforts are made to reboot the global economy." James E. Flynn, Deerfield Managing Partner, said: "To best identify and nurture the incredible potential of gene therapy developments to come, more than any time before, we need to work together and make advancing the critical work of the world's brilliant scientists, while eliminating any unnecessary constraints, a priority. If gene therapy is to become a staple of 21st century medicine, it is key to have an infrastructure in place that utilizes the most progressive tools and scientific know-how, and which is adaptable to the changing landscape. The Cure is well-positioned to take on this charge all under one roof, and we are excited to partner with the research enterprise and extraordinary talent that comprises UCL, UCLB and Apollo." -ENDS- About Apollo Therapeutics Apollo Therapeutics is a unique collaboration between three global pharmaceutical companies (AstraZeneca UK Limited, Glaxo Group Limited and Johnson Johnson Innovation-JJDC, Inc.) and the technology transfer offices (TTOs) responsible for commercialising the research from Imperial College London, IP Group, UCL (University College London) and the University of Cambridge. Apollo offers drug discovery expertise and translational research funding for early-stage therapeutics projects arising from the three universities. This is the first time that three global pharmaceutical companies and the TTOs of three world-leading universities have come together to form a joint enterprise of this nature, making Apollo Therapeutics a truly innovative venture. Apollo not only provides an additional source of early-stage funding that will allow more projects to be progressed, but also involves the active participation of the industry partners, bringing commercial drug development expertise. About Deerfield Management Company Deerfield is a healthcare investment management firm committed to advancing healthcare through investment, information and philanthropy. About UCL Business Ltd (UCLB) UCL Business Ltd (UCLB), part of UCL Innovation Enterprise, is the commercialisation company for UCL. Working with UCL's globally renowned faculties and associated hospitals; University College London Hospitals, Moorfields Eye Hospital, Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children and the Royal Free London Hospital, it brings together exceptional ideas, innovations and industry to benefit society and the economy. UCLB's track record of success includes over 1.5 billion raised in investment for UCL spinouts, and its Portico Ventures Programme is enabling the next wave of technology-based businesses to thrive in a fast-moving ecosystem. Its fund offerings Apollo Therapeutics (in partnership with leading UK universities and pharmaceutical companies), UCL Technology Fund, and Social Ventures fund help to bring pioneering technologies from the laboratory to market, enabling academic entrepreneurs to tackle global challenges, from energy and engineering to healthcare and the environment. About UCL Innovation Enterprise UCL is one of the world's top 10 universities, a powerhouse of academic excellence. A story less frequently told is its track record in working with industry, government, and other innovators. Partnerships that have generated many of the ground-breaking solutions and critical thought leadership required to address some of the most challenging problems facing society. Specialist teams at UCL Innovation Enterprise, help make these partnerships happen. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200720005668/en/ Contacts: Media enquiries for Apollo Therapeutics Melanie Toyne-Sewell Agnes Stephens Tel: 07890 022814 Email: Apollotx@instinctif.com Media enquiries for UCLB Kelvin Morgan uclb@madano.com +44 7710 858023 Democratic mayors in Seattle, Atlanta, Chicago, Portland, Kansas City, Mo. and Washington, D.C., condemned federal agents dispersing protesters in their cities, in letters to congressional leadership and the Trump administration on Monday. What they're saying: "Deployment of federal forces in the streets of our communities has not been requested nor is it acceptable," the mayors write to Attorney General Bill Barr and Chad Wolf, acting Homeland Security secretary. "In Portland, their actions have escalated events and increased the risk of violence against both civilians and local law enforcement officers," they write. their actions have escalated events and increased the risk of violence against both civilians and local law enforcement officers," they write. "None of these agents are trained in modern urban community policing, such as de-escalation. They are operating without coordination with local law enforcement," the mayors say, urging House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and other top congressional leaders to investigate what they describe as the administration's "abuse of power." The other side: "DHS is not gonna back down from our responsibilities. We are not escalating, we are protecting, again, federal facilities. It's our job, it's what Congress has told us to do, time and time again," Wolf told Fox News on Monday. "The local leaders there in Portland have fostered this environment that allows these individuals to, again, attack the courthouse and do these very violent acts, destructive acts ... we're gonna investigate, and we're gonna arrest them, and we have the authority to do that," Wolf said, when a Fox anchor raised a report from Oregon Public Broadcasting that DHS officers were taking protesters into unmarked vehicles without explanation. The DHS and DOJ did not immediately respond to requests for comment. Between the lines: Cities across the U.S. last month began to bend to pressure from Black Lives Matter demonstrators and scaled back the force that officers can use on civilians. That new surge of police reform efforts, including bans on tear gas and rules on body cameras, has no affect on federal forces and are rendered moot for protests overseen by federal agents. including bans on tear gas and rules on body cameras, has no affect on federal forces and are rendered moot for protests overseen by federal agents. "In many of our cities, our communities have expectations for law enforcement, including identification of officers, training, and recorded body camera footage, among many other expectations and policies," the mayors write. The bottom line: The president has the authority to activate federal troops as domestic law enforcement under the Insurrection Act when those forces are used to protect federal property, enforce federal law, or put down insurrections that threaten federal laws or rights, "whether or not a state has requested the help," per the Washington Post. Go deeper: Rand Paul denounces use of federal force in Portland China on Tuesday reiterated its stand that it has a border dispute with Bhutan in the eastern sector, adding that Beijing and Thimphu were in communication on the issue. Beijings claim is significant as the area in question borders Arunachal Pradesh, which China claims as part of south Tibet. Beijing had made the claim regarding Bhutan in June while stalling a request from Bhutan to develop the Sakteng wildlife sanctuary in the eastern sectors Trashigang district during a virtual meeting of the US-based Global Environment Facility (GEF). Bhutan and China have held 24 rounds of talks between 1984 and 2016 to settle their border issue and, according to discussions in the Bhutanese parliament and other public records of these meetings, the discussions have only centred on disputes in the western and central sections of the boundary. Answering a query on a media report on the GEF meeting and Chinas objection to funding the Sakteng wildlife sanctuary, Chinese foreign minister spokesperson, Wang Wenbin, said China and Bhutan have border disputes in the middle, western and eastern sectors. Chinas position has been consistent and clear. The boundary between China and Bhutan is yet to be demarcated, and the middle, eastern and western sections of the border are disputed, Wang said at the regular ministry briefing on Tuesday. China has proposed a package solution to these disputes. China is opposed to making an issue of such disputes at multilateral forums and China remains in communication with the relevant parties regarding this issue, he added. I already made Chinas position clear. The China-Bhutan border has not been demarcated. The middle, eastern and western sections of the boundary are disputed between China and Bhutan, he said. Earlier in July, in an exclusive statement to the Hindustan Times, the Chinese foreign ministry had put on record its claims in the eastern sector. The Chinese foreign ministry had then said the China-Bhutan boundary has never been delimited and there have been disputes over the eastern, central and western sections for a long time. The statement in Mandarin added a third party should not point fingers in the China-Bhutan border issue an apparent reference to India. Without elaborating on the actual areas of dispute, the Chinese foreign ministrys statement said: The boundary between China and Bhutan has never been delimited. There have been disputes over the eastern, central and western sectors for a long time, and there are no new disputed areas. At the GEF meeting in June, the Chinese representatives attempts to formally record his countrys objections through an amendment of GEFs documents did not receive consensus. Bhutans views were also made part of the record: Bhutan totally rejects the claim made by the Council Member of China. Sakteng Wildlife Sanctuary is an integral and sovereign territory of Bhutan and at no point during the boundary discussions between Bhutan and China has it featured as a disputed area. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON MediBuddy-DocsApp, Indias largest digital healthcare platform, has recently released a video as part of an audio-visual campaign to create awareness among people, around mental health. As we know, mental health is a vital part of ones well-being and the ongoing pandemic has exposed a large number of people to fear, stress and anxiety. It has significantly affected a persons day-to-day productivity. Moreover, the challenges of working from home while handling additional responsibilities, the inability to socialize and the overall uncertainty of the future has added to peoples distress. The platform has witnessed a rise in the number of consultations for issues concerning psychology especially amongst individuals across the age group of 21-30 (working professionals). The digital healthcare platform is aiming to address the issue at hand by providing a robust online counselling service, spreading awareness around this critical area through audio-visual and other mediums. Since the pandemic, the digital healthcare platform has also conducted multiple webinars on #BaatTohKaro-Importance of Communication, Sleep & Stress Management, etc. To throw light on the importance of mental health for employees, MediBuddy-DocsApp has come up with a new campaign. We have seen a significant increase in the number of individuals seeking consultations on our platform for issues like anxiety, panic, stress etc. With MediBuddy-DocsApp, we are trying our best to address all kinds of health problems, including issues related to mental health. With our new campaign, we primarily want to focus on working professionals and impart knowledge about mental wellness to employees as well as their employers. said Mr. Satish Kannan, Co-Founder and CEO, MediBuddy-DocsApp. As mental health at work is a real concern, MediBuddy-DocsApp requests corporates to recognize and rise to the challenge of creating a stress-free workplace and encourage its employees to talk about their mental health and implement a Stress-Day Off. At MediBuddy-DocsApp, employees are encouraged to take a stress day off to enable them to take better care of their cognitive health. This small initiative by the platform can surely gain a large momentum, with the support and contribution of corporate organizations in educating as well as assisting their employees to nurture their mental health. Collective action in this direction will help address and de-stigmatize issues pertaining to ones mental well-being. Perez Chapel International has debunked social media rumours that its founder, Bishop Charles Agyinasare, ever took loans from now-defunct financial institutions FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company, as well as GN Bank. According to a statement signed by Apostle Raymond Acquah, Administrative Bishop, Perez Chapel International, on Monday, 20th July 2020, described the rumours as false, ridiculous and mischievous. I am to state on authority that Bishop Charles Agyinasare has never applied for, nor secured any loan from the collapsed FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company and the GN Bank, the Administrative Bishop insisted in the statement, clarifying that although the Presiding Bishop of the church was once a Board Chairman of FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company, the allegation is a complete fabrication. Bishop Charles Agyinasare never applied for, nor ever received a loan from FirsTrust Savings & Loans, either before, during or after his Chairmanship of the Board of FirsTrust Savings & Loans, the statement emphasised, stressing: Bishop Charles Agyinasare or the church he presides over has never applied for nor ever received a loan from GN Bank or FirsTrust Savings & Loans. Read the full statement below: FALSE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST BISHOP DR CHARLES AGYINASARE It has come to our attention that some ridiculous and mischievous information is circulating on social media and on some unsuspecting news portals. It is a known fact that if one dares to speak about the ills of society, attack dogs are readily unleashed to sustain the crippling culture of silence in our dear country. I am to state on authority that Bishop Charles Agyinasare has never applied for nor secured any loan from the collapsed FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company and the GN Bank. The allegation is a complete fabrication and is, therefore, false. For the records, I am to clarify and confirm the following; 1. Bishop Charles Agyinasare was one time Board Chairman of FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company. 2. Bishop Charles Agyinasare NEVER applied for nor ever received a loan from FirsTrust Savings & Loans, either before, during or after his Chairmanship of the Board of FirsTrust Savings & Loans. 3. Bishop Charles Agyinasare or the church he presides over has NEVER applied for nor ever received a loan from GN Bank or FirsTrust Savings & Loans. We are by this press release urging the media and the general public to disregard the lies and falsehood and ask that those persons circulating such lies and unfounded allegations put an end to it. We ask the general public to disregard this failed attempt to malign Bishop Charles Agyinasare. Thank you and God bless us all. Apostle Raymond Acquah (Administrative Bishop, Perez Chapel International) 050 479 9780 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 FORECOURT giant Applegreen has said temporary cuts to the salaries of its executive directors are still in place and "remain under review". Earlier this year the Dublin-listed group reduced the base salaries of the three directors - Robert Etchingham, Joseph Barrett, and Niall Dolan - by around 20pc from the start of April for a period of three months. Last year Applegreen CEO Robert Etchingham and Joseph Barrett, the company's chief operating officer, were paid a basic salary of 380,000 and 364,000 respectively. This excludes bonuses and, in the case of Mr Barrett, a pension contribution of 32,000. Mr Dolan was paid a salary of 307,000, excluding his bonus and pension contribution. When the global pandemic hit, the company temporarily reduced its headcount by more than 4,800 employees in Ireland and the UK and those workers moved from the company payroll to the income support schemes run by governments. Applegreen, which operates over 550 sites across Ireland, the UK, and United States, said that approximately 2,500 of its employees are still temporarily laid off. This comes as the company says it has remained profitable the three months to June 30. During the period Applegreen traded ahead of its Covid expectations, according to an update from the group. On the back of this the company's cash position is "more positive" than expected. The Welcome Break business in the UK, which is dependent on motorway volumes, traded in line with management's expectations for the second quarter, with the company adding that trading "continues to improve" as restrictions are lifted. The remainder of the Applegreen estate traded ahead of expectations, on the back of strong store sales, good fuel margins and "extensive" cost saving measures. As at June 30 Applegreen had net external debt of approximately 550m and that includes Welcome Break facilities that are non-recourse to the wider Applegreen group. The company said its forecasts indicate it will not need to draw down its existing overdraft facilities or the additional revolving credit facilities during the period. The Welcome Break subsidiary specifically has sufficient liquidity and covenant headroom for the next 12 months, the company said. However, if there is a second prolonged national lockdown across the UK caused by another wave of Covid-19, this would likely result in a breach of the revised banking covenants. Should this occur, "the board would need to take further mitigating actions and/or re-negotiate with lenders to avoid potentially triggering a repayment of outstanding debt," Applegreen said. Nonetheless, given the non-recourse nature of the Welcome Break debt, such circumstances would not have an impact on the operations of the wider Applegreen group, it added. Jason Molins, analyst at Goodbody, yesterday said it was an "encouraging update, with the group delivering a solid operating performance in extremely challenging trading conditions". Last year Applegreen reported revenues of 3.1bn, group earnings before interest, taxation, depreciation and amortisation (ebitda) was 140.4m. Shares in Applegreen were down just over 1pc in trading yesterday. A news editor at a major Australian network has dressed-up as Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler and performed 'Sieg Heil' salutes at colleagues in a bizarre protest against coronavirus restrictions. Daily Mail Australia can reveal Channel 10 staff in Melbourne were horrified when the young news editor appeared in their South Yarra office dressed in full military uniform. The man, who Daily Mail Australia has chosen not to name, had his hair parted to one side and sported a the distinctive moustache worn by the Nazi monster. A news editor at Channel 10 in Melbourne spent the day dressed up as Adolf Hitler while protesting COVID-19 lockdowns in April Nazi dictator Adolf Hitler performs his 'Sieg Heil' salute. A Channel 10 editor believed it would be a laugh to dress up like him and go to work Terrified staffers were forced to spend the day with a colleague dressed-up as Adolf Hitler Sources have told Daily Mail Australia that at least one high-profile presenter was so terrified upon seeing the news editor that she fled the building. Others could hardly believe their eyes as the freelance news editor proudly performed the Nazi salute. On Tuesday, Channel 10, which is American owned by CBS, continued to back the news editor, who it continues to employ on a casual basis. A Channel 10 spokeswoman said the staffer 'intended no offence'. 'On one occasion in April, the appearance of a casual staff member raised concerns among some staff,' she said in a statement. 'While no offence was intended, coming to work dressed in a way that upset other staff members is not acceptable. 'The matter was formally addressed with the individual on the day. He has not since presented or conducted himself at work in a manner that has led to any further complaints. Network 10 reserves all rights.' Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission - Australia's leading civil rights organisation - Dr Dvir Abramovich said the act could not be defended. 'The face of pure evil has invaded the workplace of modern day Australia, and although some may try dismiss or minimise this indefensible and indecent act, there is nothing that can be said to justify this repugnant display of antisemtism,' he said. Daily Mail Australia has been told the editor came to work dressed as Hitler in a bizarre protest against Victorian Premier Daniel Andrews' COVID-19 lockdowns. The incident happened on April 2 - nearly two months before the death of African American George Floyd sparked the Black Lives Matter movement - amid Victoria's first wave of coronavirus restrictions. It was a day after one of Melbourne's biggest hospitals revealed a COVID-19 cluster in its cancer ward had claimed the life of a third patient, bringing the then national toll to 24. A 10 insider told Daily Mail Australia the editor worked his entire shift dressed as the German dictator. Channel 10 news presenter Jennifer Keyte (left) and Michael Felgate during the Network 10 Melbourne Upfronts 2020. Keyte is based in the Melbourne office Hitler Dress-up Disasters 2005: Prince Harry was forced to apologise after his appearance at a fancy dress party dressed in a Nazi costume complete with swastika armband 2011: A British MP who went to a bucks party where guests dressed as Nazis was sacked 2013: A boy was sent home from a Staffordshire school after his Hitler costume was deemed inappropriate for a Second World War fancy-dress day 2019: Furore erupted when a group of young people dressed up as Nazis and went shopping at a Coles supermarket in Melbourne The headteacher of a school in the United States was suspended after one of their pupils was allowed to march in the school's Halloween parade while dressed up as Adolf Hitler 2020: A man dressed as Adolf Hitler caused anger as he rode around in the sidecar of a Nazi-era motorcycle during a weekend festival in Germany A BP refinery worker in Australia was sacked for parodying the company in a well-known Hitler meme. He later won his job back in court Brazil's Culture Secretary Roberto Alvim was sacked by President Jair Bolsonaro after posting a video in which he appeared to copy a speech by Nazi propaganda chief Joseph Goebbels Advertisement He returned the next day as though nothing had happened. 'He was protesting us becoming a communist state or some kind of s**t,' a source said. Shocked staffers within the Melbourne office made complaints to management. 'How a freelancer can turn up at a place of employment dressed as a Nazi and be allowed to waltz back in the next day like nothing has happened is beyond me,' an insider said. The editor has worked practically full-time within the Melbourne office over the past two years and has earned praise from managers due to his quick turnaround of breaking news reports. 'He's a f**kwit,' an insider said. Daily Mail Australia has been told Channel 10's Melbourne operation manager Nick McKenna was made fully aware of staff concerns about the editor. 'He should have made sure he never came back,' an insider said. The editor appears to have weathered the initial storm and continues to carry out regular work at the network. Dr Abramovich said the Jewish community was owed an apology by Channel 10. 'This not Nazi Germany, and I am sickened to the stomach by this beyond obscene incident which will shock the conscience of every person,' he said. 'Make no mistake: there is nothing funny or amusing about dressing up as brutal monster responsible for the extermination of six million Jews and millions of others, including 1.5million children. 'This individual crossed so many red lines that I stopped counting, and they should pay a heavy price for this immoral act which is spit on the grave of every digger that died to defeat Hitler, as well as a kick in the guts of Holocaust survivors living amongst us.' Dr Abramovich said it 'beggared belief' how anyone could show up for work dressed as 'history's most evil monster'. Chairman of the Anti-Defamation Commission - Australia's leading civil rights organisation - Dr Dvir Abramovich has condemned Channel 10 for defending its editor 'At a time of escalating antisemitism in our nation, this vile worship and celebration of Hitler will be rightly viewed by many as an endorsement of violence and murder, and a call for a world without Jews,' he said. 'In dealing with this chilling incident and with this employee, I call on Channel 10 to do some serious soul searching, to reflect on the values that guide them and to do the right thing. We are all owed an apology.' Jewish Community Council of Victoria president Jennifer Huppert told Daily Mail Australia the editor's behaviour showed a lack of understanding of what Hitler represents. 'It's very offensive to many Australians to spend the day dressed as Hitler. Obviously it's offensive to members of the Jewish community, but it's also offensive to the broader Australian community,' she said. The Project's Waleed Aly was defended by 10 when he was linked to a false racist news article later deemed 'fake news' Ms Huppert described the network's response as 'unusual and unexpected'. 'I'd be very disappointed that an employer wouldn't see that this would be offensive to other people and the workplace,' she said. Ms Huppert said wearing the uniform glorified a monster. 'It's glorifying Hitler, it's glorifying Nazism and that really has no place in society,' she said. 'It trivialises history and what Nazis did,' Ms Huppert said of the supposed political protest. Just last month, Channel 10 was quick to call out a 'disturbing and inaccurate' article that made a racist and false attack on Waleed Aly. 'There is not one ounce of truth to this report. It's a complete fabrication under the guise of 'satire' and it's abhorrent,' The Project tweeted at the time. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 13:39:23|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close ULAN BATOR, July 21 (Xinhua) -- More than 20 Mongolian people tested positive again for COVID-19 after they had recovered and been discharged from hospital, the country's National Center for Communicable Diseases (NCCD) said Tuesday. "At least 23 out of 213 COVID-19 patients who had recovered and been discharged from the NCCD have tested positive again for the virus," Amarjargal Ambaselmaa, head of the NCCD's surveillance department, said at a daily press conference. "However, our citizens have nothing to fear," said Ambaselmaa, because the 23 people retested positive when they were in 14 days of further observation at special facilities. Meanwhile, Mongolia conducted 520 tests for COVID-19 in the last 24 hours and the results were all negative, with the national tally remaining at 287, the NCCD said in a statement. All the 287 confirmed cases are imported ones, mostly from Russia, according to the center. The country has reported no local transmissions or deaths so far. Enditem The MIR range of the electromagnetic spectrum, which roughly covers light in the wavelength regime between 3 to 10 micrometers, coincides with the energies of fundamental molecular vibrations. Utilizing this light for the purpose of imaging can produce stills with chemical specificity, i.e. images with contrast derived from the chemical composition of the sample. Unfortunately, detecting MIR light is not as simple as detecting light in the visible regime. Current MIR cameras exhibit excellent sensitivity but are very sensitive to thermal noise. In addition, the fastest MIR cameras suitable for chemical mapping have sensors with low pixel numbers, thus limiting imaging at high definition. To overcome this problem, several strategies have been developed for shifting the information carried by MIR light into the visible range, followed by efficient detection with a modern Si-based camera. Unlike MIR cameras, Si-based cameras exhibit low noise characteristics and have high pixel densities, making them more attractive candidates for high performance imaging applications. The required MIR-to-visible conversion scheme, however, can be rather complicated. Presently, the most direct way for achieving the desired color conversion is through the use of a nonlinear optical crystal. When the MIR light and an additional near-infrared (NIR) light beam are coincident in the crystal, a visible light beam is generated through the process of sum-frequency generation, or SFG for short. Although the SFG up-conversion trick works well, it is sensitive to alignment and it requires numerous orientations of the crystal to produce a single MIR-derived image on the Si camera. In a new paper published in Light Science & Applications, a team of scientists from the University of California, Irvine, describes a simple method for detecting MIR images with a Si camera. Instead of using the optical nonlinearity of a crystal, they used the nonlinear optical properties of the Si chip itself to enable a MIR specific response in the camera. In particular, they used the process of non-degenerate two-photon absorption (NTA), which, with the help of an additional NIR 'pump' beam, triggers the generation of photo-induced charge carriers in Si when the MIR light illuminates the sensor. Compared to SFG up-conversion, the NTA method avoids the use of nonlinear up-conversion crystals altogether and it is virtually free of alignment artifacts, making MIR imaging with Si-based cameras significantly simpler. The team, led by Dr. Dmitry Fishman and Dr. Eric Potma, first established that Si is a material suitable for MIR detection through NTA. Using MIR light with pulse energies in the femtojoule (fJ, 10-12 J) range, they found that NTA in silicon is sufficiently efficient for detecting MIR. This principle enabled them to perform vibrational spectroscopy measurements of organic liquids employing just a simple Si photodiode as the detector. The team then moved to replace the photodiode with a charge-coupled device (CDD) camera, which also uses silicon as the photosensitive material. Through NTA, they were able to capture MIR-derived images on a 1392x1040 pixel sensor at 100 ms exposure times, yielding chemically selective images of several polymer and biological materials as well as living nematodes. Despite using technology not specifically optimized for NTA, the team observed the ability to detect small (10-2) changes in optical density (OD) in the image. "We are excited to offer this new detection strategy to those who use MIR light for imaging," says David Knez, one of the team members. "We have high hopes that the simplicity and versatility of this approach allows for the broad adoption and development of the technology." Adding that NTA may speed up analysis in a wide variety of fields, such as pharmaceutical quality assurance, geologic mineral sampling, or microscopic inspection of biological samples. ### Newly-elected opposition leader Judith 'Crusher' Collins has gone head-to-head with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern during the pair's first face-off. The highly-anticipated exchange ended in laughter as Ms Ardern took a cheeky swipe at the National Party Leader during Tuesday's Question Time. Ms Collins, who has waited 18 years to take her seat as leader of the National Party, questioned the prime minister on the delivery of major transport projects - a weak spot for the Labour Party. The question highlighted the Government's inability to deliver on a light rail initiative and probed the cost of the project, Stuff reported. 'I know the member is probably going to reference light rail to the airport, I would say to the member as she would know, sometimes it takes a little longer than you'd like to get what you want,' Ms Ardern said. Newly-elected opposition leader Judith 'Crusher' Collins (left) went head-to-head with New Zealand Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern (right) during the pair's first face-off since Collins was promoted The entire house erupted with laughter at Ms Ardern's jab at Ms Collins' long pursuit of the leadership. Ms Collins was not fazed by the response and continued to question the prime minister about the cost of the light rail. The pair are just two months out from a general election. The opposition party elected Ms Collins during an emergency caucus on the evening of July 14 following the resignation of Todd Muller. This is the second time in the country's history that two women are vying for New Zealand's top job. Ms Collins earned her nickname 'Crusher Collins' as police minister in 2009 when she proposed legislation to confiscate and destroy the cars of illegal street racers. 'I am hoping that the National Party can crush the other lot when it comes to September 19,' Ms Collins said. The opposition party elected Ms Collins during an emergency caucus following the resignation of Todd Muller Judith 'Crusher' Collins (right) was elected National Party leader on the evening of July 14 Ms Collins is the fourth Nationals leader since the 2017 election and the party's second female leader. The 61-year-old was first elected to Parliament in 2002, and served in governments under prime ministers John Key and Bill English. She held the police and corrections portfolios and is seen to represent the right-wing of the National Party, having previously promoted strong law and order policies. Ms Collins now faces the task of trying to rally support just two months from the September 19 election. Recent polls show Labour with sufficient support to form a majority government, a first since New Zealand adopted a system of proportional representation in 1996. All previous governments since that time have been coalitions and Labour currently governs with the support of the Green Party and right-of-centre New Zealand First led by Winston Peters. Ms Collins will go head-to-head with Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern on September 19 Ms Collins admits she is facing a difficult task against Ms Ardern. 'I love causes that are looking pretty tough, that's when I tend to get really interested,' she told radio station Newstalk ZB. 'I obviously thought about whether or not I should put my hands up in the circumstances but I thought... I can make a difference.' Ms Ardern became leader of Labour less than two months before the election in 2017. The 39-year-old mum-of-one has been praised for her handling of the coronavirus pandemic. New Zealand has recorded just 22 deaths. This is the second time in the country's history that two women are vying for the Top Job in the country's general election Mr Muller, who was the opposition leader for just over 50 days, resigned after citing health reasons. 'It has become clear to me that I am not the best person to be leader of the Opposition and Leader of the New Zealand National Party at this critical time for New Zealand,' he said. 'It is more important than ever that the New Zealand National Party has a leader who is comfortable in the role. 'The role has taken a heavy toll on me personally, and on my family, and this has become untenable from a health perspective.' New Zealanders will head to the polls on September 19. 166 Shares Share The United States government has resumed capital punishment after a 17-year hiatus. Even setting aside questions of whether the death penalty is legal, ethical, or humane, the renewal of the practice of lethal injection poses some grave concerns, particularly in the context of the global pandemic. According to Department of Justice documents, the government is using the drug pentobarbital to carry out the executions. The governments use of medication to cause involuntary death violates essential principles of medical ethics, and inevitably erodes public trust in the institution of medicine itself. Furthermore, it is at best ironic, and at worst inhumane, for the government to affirmatively seek death for some individuals while neglecting to aid thousands of others who are suffering as a result of the ongoing pandemic. It is well recognized that the tools of medicine can be used to heal but also to hurt. As such, Hippocrates himself bound physicians by oath to use their faculties for the benefit of patients, and to avoid doing anything that is harmful or unjust. For the government to use the power of medicine to bring about involuntary death violates the very oath that the art and science of medicine be directed toward the benefit of humanity, and not humanitys harm. This duty extends to all who utilize the science of medicine, whether by advising government officials as to the most effective agent, or by placing the intravenous catheter through which the medication is administered. The government itself is also bound by the same obligation as physicians when it comes to how it administers the tools of medicine. It must always be for benefit and never for harm. Medications are essential elements of the sacred physician-patient relationship. Physicians are identified by their association with medications that are directed to the good of their patients. For the government to use tools of good in order to bring about the involuntary death of its citizens stands in stark contrast to the usual therapeutic expectations. As such, the public may no longer trust that the physicians tools are solely for the benefit of the patient. If the government can legally kill one patient with medication, what is to keep it from laying claim to medications for harm in other ways, such as extrajudicial enhanced interrogation? It is easy to imagine how the sacred trust that protects the tools of the physician-patient relationship would be easily eroded. A similar loss of trust occurs when patients see medication used for intentional harm. Medications, and by proxy those who develop and manufacture medications, should have as their purpose to benefit, and not to harm, patients. This accounts for the refusal of drug companies throughout the world to supply the United States with medications to be used for lethal injection. No pharmaceutical company wants the stigma of cooperating with the government by supplying a drug that will be used to kill its citizens involuntarily. Although most physicians believe it is unethical to participate in capital punishment, some hold that doing so is a form of compassion. Citing previous botched executions where the inmate suffered unnecessarily, these physicians believe that their participation will make the inmates inevitable death less painful. This was the rationale of the surgeon Antoine Louis and physician Joseph Guillotin in creating a more humane method of execution in the 18th century. Even today, the device bears Dr. Guillotins name. Despite protests from physicians that the government not use their tools to kill involuntarily, and the refusal of most physicians and drug manufacturers to participate in executions, the United States has decided to push forward. Since the U.S. Supreme Courts decision Baze v. Rees allowed lethal injection to proceed without physician supervision, physicians refusal to participate neither halts executions nor hastens the end of the practice of capital punishment in this country. Drug secrecy laws allow the source of medication for lethal injection to be withheld from the public. The means of medicine, entrusted to physicians who have sworn by oath to use them for benefit, have been usurped by the government and are being used for harm. Not even a global pandemic, nor the pleas of families of victims and members of clergy, has slowed the march toward execution, despite concerns of contagion by those who must attend. It seems particularly perverse for government-sanctioned executions to occur while so many Americans are dying from COVID-19. The governments actions are also forcing religious leaders to decide whether to risk contagion and attend the executions, or have these inmates die alone and without spiritual solace. We recoil when we hear similar stories about the manner in which COVID-19 patients are dying. Just as physiciansthe people our society has entrusted to wield medicineswear an oath to benefit and avoid harm, so should our governmentwhich now also wields medicinebe held to the same standard. Charles E. Binkley is a bioethicist and general surgeon. Image credit: Shutterstock.com New hope in the fight against the virus More than four months into the pandemic, there are promising developments in the two areas that the world is betting on to halt the spread of the coronavirus: vaccines and treatments. Two studies published today offer the most encouraging news yet on the vaccine front: A candidate from Oxford University and another from the Chinese company CanSino have produced immune responses in hundreds of people without causing dangerous side effects. (A third potential vaccine, from Moderna, has also elicited immune responses.) Several Phase III trials, including one in the U.S. with 30,000 participants, are slated to begin soon, but the timeline for the vaccines results is uncertain. The British biotech company Synairgen also made waves today with trial results for an inhaled version of a commonly available drug interferon beta that it said reduced the odds of Covid-19 patients becoming severely ill by 79 percent. But the study, which only involved 101 people and has not yet been peer reviewed or published, prompted calls for more details from scientists. Locals have slammed Queensland's proposal to move its chaotic border 7km further south into New South Wales. Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Monday pushed for the Tweed-Coolangatta coronavirus border checkpoints to be relocated to the other side of the Tweed River in northern NSW. NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian agreed there was a need to ease traffic congestion and the separation of the border community but resisted the move. 'If anything, the border should be moved north. There is zero infection in northern NSW at this stage,' she said. Locals have slammed a proposal to move Queensland's Tweed-Coolangatta coronavirus border checkpoint (pictured) 7km south to Tweed River in northern New South Wales Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk (pictured) on Monday pushed for the boundary to be moved after drivers repeatedly got stuck in queues for several hours at checkpoints NSW Premier Gladys Berejiklian (pictured) called for the border to move north into Queensland 'We'll do the right thing by residents on both sides of the border but I have no intention of changing things as yet,' she explained. Thousands of locals in border towns such as Tweed Heads and Coolangatta have been grappling with the restrictions for more than four months. The proposed move would see two of Tweed Shire's most populated suburbs - Banora Point and Tweed Heads - join with the Gold Coast. Tweed Shire Mayor Katie Milne said she was 'strongly opposed' to pushing the border further south. 'This would just move the problem further into our shire and create even more chaos for our community,' she told Daily Mail Australia. 'While we understand and support the Queensland Government's border controls, this has had a devastating effect on our community and businesses. 'They need to take responsibility to fix the delays or bear the burden in their own state not ours. 'More needs to be done right now to alleviate the massive delays as people are suffering badly and businesses are going to the wall,' she explained. Drivers have been forced to sit in traffic jams (pictured above) that stretch for kilometres while Queensland border police conduct careful checks on each car Those who have visited Victoria or a NSW coronavirus hotspots are banned from entering Queensland and risk a $4,003 fine (Queensland border checkpoint pictured on July 10) No Tweed councillors have publicly backed the border move and Tweed MP Geoff Provest described the border issue as a 'festering sore' that had 'killed tourism'. 'It has had a massive effect on businesses just south of the border, where a lot of people from Queensland holiday,' he said. Drivers have been forced to sit in two-hour-long queues that stretch for kilometres while border police conduct careful checks on each car. Anyone who has visited Victoria or a NSW coronavirus hotspot is banned from entering Queensland and risks a $4,003 fine if they cross into the state. A 700m long wall was set up along Dixon Street in Coolangatta (pictured) at the NSW/Queensland border after reports drivers had been avoiding checkpoints by using backstreets Tweed locals said the separation of the border community (pictured) has had a devastating impact A 700m long wall was also set up at the border along Dixon Street in Coolangatta after reports that drivers and locals had been avoiding checkpoints. Gold Coast chief superintendent Mark Wheeler said the idea arose after people were caught using alternative routes to sneak into Queensland. 'We were finding people were encroaching across the fencing that was there and coming into Queensland technically unlawfully,' he said. It comes as the number of COVID-19 cases in Queensland remain low while Victoria and NSW are grappling to contain outbreaks. Queensland recorded one new case of coronavirus on Monday, taking the total number of active cases in the state to two. The Bishop of Pemba has condemned the world's ''indifference'' about Islamic extremist attacks carried out in Mozambique. The attacks have been targeting the northern region of the African country since 2017 and have increased in the past months. The village of Macomia was one of the main targets. About 1,100 people have been killed since the extremists launched their violent campaign, according to the non-governmental organization ACLED (The Armed Conflict Location & Event Data Project). Tens of thousands have been internally displaced, many of them fleeing to Pemba, the capital of Cabo Delgado province. The bishop of Pemba, Luis Fernando Lisboa, has become a common voice denouncing the situation, alerting on the consequences of the trauma of the war. "We cannot treat people like numbers. They are people and behind every person there's a story, there's trauma from this war,'' he told Portuguese news agency Lusa. Last May, Mozambique's armed forces killed 50 Islamic extremist fighters in two battles in the country's north where the insurgents had launched 11 attacks. ''We got used to wars, there's a war in Iraq, a war in Syria, and now there's also a war in Mozambique, so we don't have yet that solidarity that we should have,'' Lisboa said. Most of the attacks, claimed by the Islamic State group, marked an increase in violence in gas-rich Cabo Delgado province, causing considerable trouble for the government and foreign companies investing billions of dollars in projects to produce liquefied natural gas from gas fields off the Indian Ocean coast. Mozambique's most northeastern province, Cabo Delgado, is where international oil and gas companies ExxonMobil and Total are developing their gas projects. (Natural News) The wife of a British aristocrat and frequent flyer on Jeffrey Epsteins Lolita Express has stepped down from her role volunteering for the UKs National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC). (Article by Tyler Durden republished from ZeroHedge.com) Clare Hazell an interior designer who became the Countess of Iveagh after her 2001 marriage to the 4th Earl of Guinnes (of the brewing dynasty) took 32 flights on Epsteins infamous airplane between 1998 and 2000, which included trips to his homes in New York, Florida, the Caribbean and New Mexico, according to the Daily Mail. Epstein accompanied Hazell on all but one of the trips aboard the plane, per flight logs. Ms Hazell was studying at Ohio State University in the 1990s and reportedly had a modelling agency and an apartment in Columbus, Ohio. The friend described her as being at Epsteins beck and call, saying how mutual plans would be cancelled immediately if she was needed by Epstein and Maxwell. Daily Mail Hazell, now known as Lady Iveagh, worked for Epstein Madam Ghislaine Maxwell according to accuser Maria Farmer, who says she also interacted with Iveagh at the Ohio estate of Victorias Secret boss Leslie Wexner. Farmer said that Hazell liked having nice drinks, piles of cash and nice outfits. She was listed in Jeffrey Epsteins famous Black Book as Clare Hazell-Iveagh. Another Epstein accuser, Virginia Giuffre, accused Hazel of sexually abusing her: Hazell, formerly the President of the NSPCCs West Suffolk branch hosted events for the charity at Elveden Hall a lavish estate in Suffolk, England owned by the Guinness family since 1894 in which several scenes from Eyes Wide Shut were filmed. The estate now operates as a farm, growing root vegetables and cereals on the 22,000 acre property. The NSPCC immediately sought to distance themselves from Hazell, who a spokeswoman told the Mail had a local volunteer fundraising role within a small branch based in the West Suffolk area, adding She no longer volunteers with us. Maxwell and Hazell reportedly met in a bar, where Maxwell introduced her to Epstein. And according to another Mail article from July 3, US prosecutors want to have a chat with Hazell. According to the Sunday Mirror, describing Hazell anonymously: The woman now married to a multi-millionaire jetted between his homes in New York, the Caribbean, Florida and New Mexico. She was among guests at his ranch Zorro where pictures of young girls adorned the walls and pinhole cameras were everywhere. Lawyers for Epsteins victims have asked to interview the woman, who featured in his little black book of social contacts. Attorney Josh Schiller told the Sunday Mirror he has contacted the unnamed woman at her UK home. I can confirm that we have already asked to interview her, he told us. Mirror Much like Epstein pal Prince Andrew, Hazell has not been charged with any of the crimes shes been accused of, however we somehow doubt shell be speaking with US prosecutors anytime soon. Read more at: ZeroHedge.com Author and activist Guthrie Graves-Fitzsimmons says hes fed up with conservative believers dominating media attention and setting the national vocabulary for who is authentically Christian. In his first book, Just Faith: Reclaiming Progressive Christianity (Broadleaf, Sept. 15), he turns the tables. Graves-Fitzsimmons, a fellow in the Faith and Progressive Policy Initiative with the Center for American Progress and founder of The Resistance Prays, fairly shouts for progressives to elbow past conservatives and step up boldly to the public square. We exist! he exclaims in a conversation with PW, adding that in doing research he discovered there are more of us than there are of them. (The conversation has been edited for length and clarity.) Whos who here and how did you calculate those numbers? I asked the Public Religion Research Institute to break out data from their 2018 U.S. religion surveys that I analyzed. I devised a three-part test to measure support or opposition among Christians for abortion to be legal in all or most cases; for same-sex marriage; and for a path to legal residency for immigrants brought illegally to the U.S. when they were children. This was my imperfect attempt to roughly measure the number of Christian adults in the United States who are consistently progressive or consistently conservative. I was surprised to find 18 million who opposed all three positions and 35 million who favored them all. If your analysis is correct, how is it that so many progressives became essentially invisible? Conservative Christians were brilliant at rebranding the image of Christian. They rebranded fundamentalist as evangelical or traditional or historic and then they narrowed the definition of evangelical to exclude everyone else and claimed they are the only authentic Christians. They are more organized than progressives, especially when it comes to engaging the media and politics. They are better at fighting for attention by being provocative in their messaging, calling people cultural Christians as if they werent real. Well, Im real. Why did you write Just Faith? I was inspired to write this book when I kept hearing people say, Im a Christian but not that kind of Christian. My dream is that we could just ignore conservatives. Exposing or outing them or winning over a few conflicted people just reinforces that conservative Christians are the only ones who exist. Catching their high profile leaders in gotcha! moments is not going to advance the just world that progressive Christians want to build. We are compelled to take action now because conservatives have tarnished the name of Christ. I want my book to bolster progressives confidence, hand them resources and send them forth. What are you calling on progressives to do? The first half of my book looks at all the important historic efforts of progressives in social reform, civil rights, feminism, the anti-war movement, immigration reform and more. And then we put our heads down when the Religious Right rose up. Instead, Christians should be the boldest people out there. Look at Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and the Green New Deal. She talks about her Catholic faith very openly and her policies reflect it as well. Look at Rev. William Barber with Repairers of the Breach. He's one of the most inspiring voices of our time. They have hopeful visions, offered with moral clarity. We need to get out of the defensive posture. Stop defining ourselves in reaction. Go back to declaring the social gospel, expressing our faith with a pro-active agenda that proclaims everyone is deserving of shelter, peace, health and human rights. Show the world we exist! Press Release July 20, 2020 Bong Go says Department of Overseas Filipinos needed now more than ever; urges executive agencies to help legislators fine tune the bill for its swift passage Amid the adverse impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the welfare of Filipino workers, particularly those overseas, Senator Christopher Lawrence "Bong" Go stressed that the passage of his proposed measure establishing a Department of Overseas Filipinos is needed now, more than ever. Go said in an interview on Friday, July 17, that in order to hasten the discussions on Senate Bill No. 202 or the Department of Overseas Filipinos Act of 2019, various agencies in the Executive department should agree on certain provisions and help legislators fine-tune the bill. "Nagkausap na kami ni Sen. Joel Villanueva na tumatayong Chair ng Senate Committee on Labor. Gusto nating magkasundo ang Executive sa mga probisyon dito sa bill para mas mapabilis ang diskusyon," Go said. The Senator added that several agencies have already given their comments on the said bill which he filed last year. The House of Representatives has already passed its version of the measure last March 11 of this year. "Nagbibigay na ng comment ang (Department of Labor and Employment, Department of Foreign Affairs), at iba pang ahensya sa Senate Bill 202 na nai-file ko po," Go said. Go emphasized that he has already discussed the importance of the measure and the possibility of hastening the passage of the bill with his fellow senators. "Napag-usapan din sa mga kapwa ko Senador kung pwede mapabilis dahil napakahirap po ng sitwasyon nung nakaraan. Di natin alam na biglaan po ito, pinauwi ang mga OFWs natin kahit saan na lang sila nananawagan, sa lahat, parati halos araw araw," Go aired as he emphasized that the pandemic has highlighted the need for a department that can better respond to the needs of OFWs. The Senator also stressed that a clear mandate for the envisioned department must be established to avoid overlapping functions among other agencies. "Importante klaro po ang mandato nito at 'di mag-overlap sa ibang ahensya tulad ng DOLE at DFA," Go said. Go noted that the agencies handling OFW matters being scattered in several departments poses a challenge in the delivery of public services to the sector. Although agencies work together in assisting OFWs, Go said that a sole department that would streamline the services would greatly improve service delivery. "Hirap na hirap po ang (Overseas Workers Welfare Administration) kasi may opisina na under ng DFA na in charge po sa OFW. Meron din (Commission on Filipinos Overseas), meron din OWWA, (Philippine Overseas Employment Administration), DFA, meron din under sa DOLE. So nagtutulungan sila kaya gusto ko sana isulong na meron sanang isang departamento na nakatutok po sa mga taong tinatawag nating mga bagong bayani," Go said. "Alam ninyo bang mahigit 10 million ang populasyon ng ating OFW? Ibig sabihin, 10% po yan ng buong populasyon. Napakalaki po nyan. Bigyan natin sila ng opisina at secretary-level para pag may problemang ganito, 'yun na po ang makikipag-coordinate sa lahat," the Senator added. Last month in a public hearing of the Senate Committee on Labor, Employment, and Human Resources Development, Go urged the government to improve its response to the concerns of OFWs amid the COVID-19 crisis. In the interview, Go also stressed that the government's way of dealing with OFW issues during crises must be improved. He said that the government should not wait for another pandemic to happen again before implementing a more proactive approach of effectively responding to the needs of overseas Filipinos. "Ako naman, 'wag na natin hintayin na mabigla uli tayo. Bigyan natin ng importansya na magkaroon ng opisina para sa kanila, para may magtitimon sa kanila, magga-guide sa mga OFWs. Bigyan natin sila ng importansya, tawag natin sa kanila bagong bayani. Totohanin natin," Go said. Bret Stephens: Hi Gail. Have I ever mentioned the fact that Im a big fan of the film Gladiator? It has so much thats relevant to the Trump era: a mad emperor; his terrified female companion; a cowed Senate; bread and circuses and blood sport; and an eerie resemblance between the Proximo character (the great Oliver Reed) and Steve Bannon. Lately, Ive been reminded of another terrific line in the movie, this one uttered by the hero, Maximus, as hes about to fight in the Colosseum: Marcus Aurelius had a dream that was Rome, Proximo. This is not it. This is not it! That pretty much sums up my feelings about unidentified federal agents in military camo seizing protesters in Portland and throwing them into unmarked vans. Gail Collins: Bret, thats a damned good conversation-starting analogy. Did you know Oliver Reed died after a heavy bout of drinking while he was making the movie? I suspect more and more Americans are feeling like theyre ready to go the same way. Bret: Makes a certain amount of sense. Gail: Seriously, the idea of a president sending federal forces into a city that told him not to intervene is scary. Itd be scary under any president, but this is the one whos about to go into an election that he seems likely to lose. So many people are envisioning him going out on the balcony the next morning, summoning his troops and announcing the vote didnt count. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 22:50:18|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HANOI, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Vietnam reported 12 new cases of COVID-19 infection on Tuesday, bringing its total confirmed cases to 396 with zero deaths so far, according to its Ministry of Health. The latest cases were Vietnamese citizens recently returning to the country from Russia, said the ministry, noting that they were quarantined upon arrival. Meanwhile, five more patients were given all-clear on Tuesday, raising the total cured cases in Vietnam to 365, said the ministry. Vietnam has recorded no local transmission for 96 straight days while there are nearly 11,100 people being quarantined and monitored in the country, Vietnam News Agency reported. Enditem Chief minister Uddhav Thackeray assured that the reservation for the Maratha community will not impact the people of the Other Backward Classes (OBCs). In a meeting with OBC leaders on Tuesday, Thackeray said that he has spoken to the advocate general over the issue and that he would not let injustice happen with the community. The hearing in the Supreme Court over a batch of pleas challenging Maharashtra law granting reservation to Marathas in education and jobs will commence from July 27. Thackeray, in the meeting, said that the community should remove any doubts in their minds that if the Supreme Court upholds the High Court decision on the Maratha reservations, their rights would be impinged upon. The Maratha reservation case is on in the Supreme Court. There is a fear among the OBC community that if the SC upholds the verdict of High Court then the reservation for OBCs will be impacted. I have spoken to the Advocate General and the reservation for the community will not be affected due to reservation for the Maratha community, Thackeray told the leaders of the OBC community, including his cabinet colleagues. Cabinet minister and members of the community Chhagan Bhujbal and Vijay Wadettiwar, along with Prakash Shendge and Haribhau Rathod of the OBC-VJNT Sangharsh Samiti were present in the meeting. Thackeray also assured the leaders that the issues of the community are not being ignored and that the government stands with the community on their rights. Do you believe in ghost stories? Mirvish Productions has one for you, Ghosts of the Royal Alex, set in the 113-year-old King Street West venue that is said to be Canadas most famous haunted theatre. But dont worry, the ghosts are all gentle souls, mostly performers who loved the theatre so much that they decided to make it their spiritual home, Mirvish says. The tale is set in 1959, when the Royal Alexandra Theatre was 52 years old and under threat from the burgeoning popularity of television and the building of a giant new theatre downtown, the OKeefe Centre. General manager Herbie McGill also has to contend with a stage door man who claims to have heard unearthly noises on the overnight shift. John Karastamatis, Mirvishs director of sales and marketing, wrote the first instalment of Ghosts, which can be read at mirvish.com or listened to in podcast form. But where the story goes next is up to the readers and listeners, wholl act as ghost writers, if you will. Any patron whose idea is used will receive a credit and a $100 Mirvish gift card. The podcast is read by actor David Mucci, who holds the record for the most performances on the Royal Alex stage. Each of the six instalments also comes with a song about a different Royal Alex ghost, written by composer Ron Jacobson, the theatres current general manager. The first is performed by Steffi DiDomenicantonio from Come From Away and the second by Broadway star Jim Walton, with more performers to be announced soon. New instalments of Ghosts of the Royal Alex will be released every second Tuesday as part of Mirvishs new e-magazine Meanwhile and wherever podcasts are available. PORTLAND, Ore. In one video, a man clad in black at a protest raises his arms and shakes his head as two men in green military fatigues walk toward him. Without a word, they grab his arm and take him to an unmarked van parked across the street. In another video, a woman lies face down on the ground before a group of men in street clothes yank her to her feet and take her to an unmarked car. "Who is it? Who are you?" a bystander screams. Before the car speeds away, one of the men says, "If you follow us, you will get shot. Do you understand me?" The widely circulated videos, at the heart of a lawsuit filed by Oregon's attorney general against the Trump administration, raise questions about the legality of the federal government's aggressive response to the unrest in Portland, where protests over police brutality and racial injustice have stretched into several weeks. The events could present a legal test on how far the federal government can go in asserting its authority in cities where federal assistance is neither requested nor, local political leaders say, desired. "What they cant do without an invitation from Portland and/or Oregon is attempt to enforce Oregon laws or Portland ordinances. Those are state and local responsibilities," said Michael Dorf, a constitutional law professor at Cornell University. "If the situation were such that you thought that the city of Portland was conspiring with people who are rioting and violating federal rights, then there might be authority for some federal action." Officials from the Trump administration said federal officers and agents were deployed to Portland to protect federal properties and monuments. Some of the videos and at least one protester's personal account of his brief detention suggest federal authorities have gone beyond that mandate, legal experts said. Officers have grabbed people off streets, arrested them without explaining or saying which agency they're from or which authority they work under requirements that law enforcement officers, federal, state and local, are all supposed to follow, experts said. Story continues "I find very plausible the protesters claims that the federal officers are not simply protecting federal property, and part of the reason for that is the president himself and the high-ranking officials in DHS have not made that the primary rationale," Dorf said, referring to the federal Department of Homeland Security. The primary rationale, based on President Donald Trump's comments, is that cities besieged by "anarchists" failed to contain the chaos, so the federal government stepped in. "They grab them, a lot of people in jail," Trump said Monday, praising the actions of federal officers in Portland. Protesters projected words on the front of the Multnomah County Justice Center July 20 in Portland, Ore. In an interview with Fox News, White House chief of staff Mark Meadows acknowledged that the federal presence in Portland is no longer just about protecting statues. "The statues are one thing, but it's really about keeping our communities," Meadows said. Acting DHS Secretary Chad Wolf on Tuesday rejected allegations that authorities arrested people without cause as "offensive, hyperbolic and dishonest." Calling the "smear attacks against our officers disgusting," Wolf maintained that officers have been properly identified and that the camouflage uniforms worn by tactical units are "completely appropriate" because they are the uniforms worn in their normal assignments. 'A bad fit' The wide array of federal agencies involved has also raised questions. The Trump administration deployed 114 federal officers from the Customs and Border Protection, Immigration and Customs Enforcement, Federal Protective Service and U.S. Marshals Service, according to federal court records filed Tuesday. Gil Kerlikowske, a CBP commissioner in the Obama administration and a longtime police chief, said deployments may not violate the law because many states authorized federal agents to enforce local statutes. But he said the use of agents from the Border Patrol Tactical Unit, known as BORTAC, to assist urban police was "a totally bad fit" and appears to be nothing more than political theater for an audience of one: the president. "Its just not their role or expertise," Kerlikowske said. "These are people who are used to operating in a rural environment, not in a large city. I was shocked that BORTAC would be used." "Policing in an urban area and policing civil disturbance is not anything they have experience or training for. What a disaster." Police stand guard as protesters gather July 16 in Portland, Ore. Houston Police Chief Art Acevedo, president of the Major Cities Chiefs Association, said the deployment of federal officers to cities, without an invitation from leaders, may run afoul of local laws. "That may be something for the courts to decide," he said Traditionally, mutual aid agreements between federal and local governments are meant to address specific law enforcement issues, such as drug trafficking, gun violence and terrorism, Acevedo said. "When it comes to crowd control, that's not something that's in the federal government's wheelhouse. Using federal officers that way may put them at risk, as well as escalate the unrest," he said. Federal officers do have the authority to arrest people outside federal properties or boundaries when there's probable cause that they've violated federal or state law. In Oregon, state law requires federal officers to have state certification and proper training, said Steve Vladeck, a constitutional law expert from the University of Texas-Austin. It's unclear whether any of the federal officers in Portland have received such training, Vladeck wrote on Lawfareblog.com. 'We will not retreat' Wolf contended that the units are there to protect federal property because of "a lack of action" by local leaders and law enforcement. "We will not retreat," Wolf said. "We will take appropriate action to protect our facilities. If we left tomorrow, they would burn that (federal courthouse) down. What we have in Portland is different than we have in any other city." Wolf rejected allegations that federal officers, many of them drawn from immigration enforcement duties along the border, patrolled the city without appropriate identification and rounded up protesters who did not present a threat. "These police officers are not storm troopers," Wolf said. Mark Morgan, acting commissioner of CBP, acknowledged that names have been removed from some officers' uniforms because their personal information was published on social media, putting them at risk. He said all uniforms carry markings identifying officers as police or law enforcement. He described the use of unmarked vehicles as "standard procedure" and appropriate "especially under the circumstances." He said the officers represent some of the "most highly trained" in the CBP. Morgan defended the use of BORTAC, saying the unit is trained to subdue rioting at DHS detention centers. Chad Wolf of the Department of Homeland Security says that if federal authorities left Portland, Ore., protesters would burn the courthouse down. 'Unprecedented' response As state and local leaders mount a full resistance against the federal presence in Portland, the Trump administration is weighing a broad deployment of officers to Chicago and other cities nationwide. The mayors of major cities, including Portland and Chicago, wrote a joint letter saying the federal presence fuels tensions instead of quelling them. The mayors said federal officers have blatantly disregarded local rules and expectations about how to interact with citizens. A statement from the U.S. Conference of Mayors condemned the federal government's unrequested presence in Portland. "There are many things the federal government can do to help cities and support local efforts, but sending in federal agents without any coordination with mayors and governors is not among them," the organization said. The Trump administration's aggressive and militaristic response is "unprecedented," Dorf said, and goes against the federal government's long-standing role of assisting state and local efforts. "The president is proposing the use of federal law enforcement officials all around the country not to protect federal interests that are distinctly under attack but simply to displace state and local enforcement," he said, adding that federal assistance usually comes in the form of money appropriated by Congress and dispensed to state and local authorities. "And it's all cooperative. This is not cooperative." State officials have made clear their intent to challenge the federal government's actions. The Oregon attorney general asked a judge to bar federal authorities from using tactics state officials called a violation of protesters' rights. "This is a democracy, not a dictatorship," Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said in a statement. "We cannot have secret police abducting people in unmarked vehicles. I cant believe I have to say that to the president of the United States." 'Feds go home!' Temporary detente between protesters and federal officers outside the Portland federal courthouse. (Umbrellas to deflect tear gas and pepper balls.) pic.twitter.com/JNiNLwuoU0 Trevor Hughes (@TrevorHughes) July 21, 2020 In downtown Portland Monday night, activists repeatedly clashed with DHS officers protecting the federal courthouse. "Feds go home! Feds go home!" activists chanted at the officers in body armor and gas masks outside the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse. "Whose streets? Our streets!" Protesters threw plastic water bottles toward the armored officers, who pushed them back with volleys of tear gas, flash-bang grenades and pepper balls fired from paintball guns. "The feds assaulted Americans here" was scrawled on a street near the courthouse. Federal officers responded only when protesters tried to rip down or break plywood boards blocking the courthouse entrance. Officers ignored shouted questions and taunts from protesters. Police had no visible presence in the area all evening and into the early hours of Tuesday. Since the surge of federal officers this month, Wolf said there have been 43 federal arrests. "I'm ready to pull my officers out of there when the violence stops," Wolf said. A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office in Portland said federal officers arrested, then released two people over the weekend. Five were arrested Monday night on charges such as assault on a federal officer, creating a disturbance, failure to comply and trespassing. "Ever since the feds showed up," said protester Ted Park, 31, "its been like war." Protester Conner OShea, 30, said its hard for protesters to know exactly how many federal officers are on the street, but he and friends see "snatcher-style vehicles, unmarked vans, leaving the back of the federal building every night, and thats been worrisome." He said he worries that the events in Portland will happen in other cities. "This is a testing ground, thats what were telling people," he said. Contributing: David Jackson in Washington, Lindsay Schnell in Portland This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Portland protests: Trump administration response raises legal questions Over the last decades, relations between the United States and African have been that of cordiality and reciprocity. This is a significant improvement since the colonial era where the relationship between the US and Africa was one of a master-servant relationship. Many US presidents have gone the extra length to solidify relations between the US and Africa by visiting various nations in Africa. Franklin D. Roosevelt, Jimmy Carter, George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, George W. Bush, Barack Obama during their respective tenures made state visits to various nations on the continent and used their visits to deepen bilateral relations between the US and African states. Apart from state visits by these presidents during their tenure, the US government has over the years extended financial and technical assistance to African states with the intent of promoting the socio-economic wellbeing of the people of Africa. One of the most historical trade opportunities for African states under the auspices of US-Africa relations is the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which was signed into law by President Bill Clinton in 2000. The Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, which was signed into law by President Clinton gave trade preferences to eligible African countries to export certain goods to the United States without any quota or tariff impositions. These singular trade privileges consolidated the strong ties that existed between the United States and Africa. In addition to the African Growth and Opportunity Act, there is also the story of President Barack Obama, who historically ascended to the presidency of the United States. It is a fact that he has strong ties to Africa through his father who was a Kenyan. It was therefore symbolic when Obama was elected to occupy the office of the President of the United State of America. US-AFRICA relations could be termed as solid until President Donald Trump took over the leadership mantle of the US. Trump campaigned primarily on the Make America Great Again slogan. What many of us did not expect was the fact that Make America Great Again agenda would be political rhetoric, setting the center stage for xenophobic and protectionist policies that trump sort to push forward. Trump's grand agenda of derailing US-Africa relations came to limelight when he placed a travel ban on some African States in the name of national security. Nigeria, Tanzania, Sudan, Eritrea, Libya and Somalia were all victims of Trump's decision. One would have expected the president of the United State to be on top of diplomatic issues. It was, therefore, mind-boggling when trump mispronounced Namibia at a meeting between him and some African heads of state in 2017. That was not the only thing Trump did to derail US-African relations. At a closed-door meeting in 2018, some senators who were at the meeting reported that Trump called Haiti and African countries shitholes. Trumps attitude towards Africa and its people is highly reprehensible and does not augur well for US-Africa relations. Over the last couple of decades, Trump is the only US president who has not visited or probably refused to visit Africa to extend a hand of friendship to the people of Africa. His wife and daughter, who do not represent the American people have visited the continent to promote their private initiatives. With COVID-19 putting the world on the relative blackout in addition to impending the 2020 US presidential election, it is unlikely that Trump will visit the continent in the foreseeable future. African countries depend heavily on the World Health Organization for financial and technical assistance for the development of their healthcare sector. It was therefore historical when an African Tedros Adhanom was elected in 2017 as Director-General of the World Health Organization. Under the competent leadership of Tedros Adhanom, the world has mustered enough courage to fight COVID-19 with all its might. It is therefore surprising that Trump in the name of so-called ineptitude of the World Health Organization decided to pull the U.S. out of the organization. Considering that through the World Health Organization, the US has over the last couple of decades been able to help improve the health care sector of many African states. Trumps decision to revoke US membership of the world health organization is sending unpleasant signals to African states that the US does not value US-Africa relations. With the impending presidential election, Trump must reconsider his stance on US-Africa relations under the remaining period of his tenure. The world does not revolve around his egotistical tendencies. His actions must be guided by the wellbeing and future of the people of the US and Africa. Authored by King David Dzirasah. King David Dzirasah is a Population Health Analyst and Teaching Assistant at the University of Cape Coast, Ghana. Aswang, an award-winning documentary that takes an unflinching look at how the Duterte administrations war on illegal drugs has upended the lives of ordinary people here and killed thousands, gets its name from a mythical monster in Philippine cultural lore. The film by Filipina director Alyx Ayn Arumpac tells the story largely through the eyes of a small boy whose teenage friend died in the crackdown. The documentary was streamed and viewed by nearly half a million Filipinos when it made its debut in the Philippines earlier this month. Myths and old tales seem to have come to life, says a trailer on YouTube to Arumpacs 85-minute film. Night after night, the darkness unravels bodies face down on the streets. On Sunday, the director took part in an online discussion with Philippine human rights activists and journalists about the making of the documentary, which won Arumpac the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) Prize at the 2019 International Documentary Film Festival in Amsterdam. The film offered nothing new. It was not an expose, its not an investigative work. We were surprised, nevertheless. Everyone was talking about it, she said during the discussion hosted by organizers of Daang Dokyu, a Filipino film festival that showcases documentaries, and Dakila, a local NGO that brings together artists and activists. Arumpac started working on Aswang in 2016, the year the Duterte administration launched the crackdown on narcotics after Rodrigo Duterte was elected as president that June on a campaign pledge to rid the country of the scourge of drug addiction and trafficking. International human rights groups and the United Nations have criticized the now four-year-old crackdown for its brutality, but government officials have defended it as necessary for law and order in the country. President Duterte once said that the crackdown was his way of saving the future of the Filipino youth. Since the campaign began in mid-2016, Philippine police have claimed more than 6,000 deaths of suspected drug dealers and addicts during anti-narcotics operations and raids. Rights groups, however, have said that the number could be four times higher, with many extrajudicial killings carried out by pro-government vigilantes. Government officials did not immediately respond to requests from BenarNews for comments on this report. Shoestring project For the first two years while making her film, Arumpac joined a group of photojournalists who documented the war on drugs night after night on the streets of Metro Manila. Back then Arumpac did not have a day job, which turned out to be a blessing in disguise because it gave her more time to focus on filming scenes from the drug war and its aftermath, she said. Unlike foreign filmmakers who came to the Philippines with crews in tow, Arumpac mostly filmed her project on her own, quietly shooting footage with camera in hand. Funding was an initial problem, but the director said this did not deter her from carrying on with her work in tracking and documenting killings from the drug war. Arumpac said she used her own money and borrowed cameras from friends. It would take four years before Filipinos would glimpse the rawness of the images that the filmmaker painstakingly captured through her lens. I had to stop five minutes into the film. I was so struck by the power. I couldnt describe how I felt. I had to stop watching it because it was too powerful. I had to stop to digest it before I proceeded, said Che-che Lazaro, a multi-awarded journalist and veteran documentarian who helped moderate Sundays discussion. Arumpac said she also wanted viewers to share the feelings she experienced while filming scenes. It was made by trying to show you how I felt while doing this coverage for two years. Using the audio-visual powers of cinema, we attempted to show the viewers how I felt while I was there observing and witnessing everything, the director said. One of the major problems was access and the idea that youre a Filipino and you live here. You have to consider everyones safety, she said. The films title comes from the Aswang, a monster from Filipino lore that hunts and kills people at night. The idea of naming her work after the mythological predator came to the director when Arumpac saw her first images of people slain in the drug war. Precisely because I thought the killers were sending a message. Sometimes the killings were too blatant. Youd think its staged because it was too brutal and violent. Youd see pictures of heads with tape wrapped around them. Youd see things stuffed inside their mouths. The manner by which they died was too brutal, it was stripped of dignity, Arumpac said. An unconventional film Aswang veers from traditional documentary storytelling. There are no talking heads and experts appearing on camera or in voiceovers to make sense of what the viewer is seeing. The characters and sequence of events are not fully explained. Instead, the film uses a very creative narrative by tapping into Philippine mythology to explain current events, said Nerissa Balce, a professor at Stony Brook University in New York, who participated in Sundays online forum. Rather than the traditional form of documentary films that used experts or what film makers might call talking heads, Arumpac doesnt use that but explains the horror of Filipino life under Dutertes drug war though a Philippine myth, Balce said. In the documentary, the myth of the Aswang is an allegory, a symbolic language or metaphor to the violence committed by that Duterte government against the poor, Balce added. A real-life character who features prominently in the film is Jomari, 10, a Filipino boy who was left to fend for himself after both his parents were detained on drug charges. In 2017, Jomaris teenage friend, student Kian Lloyd delos Santos, fell victim to rogue policemen who were enforcing the crackdown on illegal drugs. Kians death sparked widespread protested here, and was a clear case of mistaken identity. Three policemen were later convicted of murder in connection with his killing. We often say in the media that issues last only nine days or two weeks. But Aswang showed us that these events, this tragedy, have a human dimension. The [victims] were not just mere statistics, Lourd de Veyra, a Philippine journalist and musician who helped lead the online discussion about Arumpacs film. A statue of Cecil Rhodes an Oxford college said they wanted to remove say it will stay there until at least 2021. The governing body of Oriel College "expressed their wish" to take down the statue of the British imperialist last month following a reignited campaign for it to be taken down. But an Independent Commission of Inquiry, set up by the college, say it will take at least five months to finish it's findings. Oxford University's Independent Commission of Inquiry says the statue will stay until 2021 It says until then no further action will be taken. Carole Souter, Master of St Cross College and chairwoman of the Commission, said: "I would like to express my personal gratitude, and that of the governing body of Oriel College, to all of the new commissioners for agreeing to undertake this timely and important work. "Each of them has already made a significant contribution to the advancement of knowledge, access and diversity within their relevant sphere of expertise, and I look forward to chairing their discussions on how the Rhodes legacy can best inform the future of Oriel College." Broadcaster Zeinab Badawi, former Conservative shadow culture secretary Peter Ainsworth and Oriel College's alumni advisory committee chairman Geoffrey Austin will sit on the inquiry group into the statue and associated issues. The board had wanted to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes and King Edward Street Plaque A statue of Cecil Rhodes, top centre stands mounted on the facade of Oriel College in Oxford Rhodes Must Fall: A timeline of events March 2015: Students at University of Cape Town begin protest to remove statue. April 2015: After a vote by the university's council, the statue is removed May 2015: A vote is held at Rhodes University, South Africa, to change the name of the university. The vote is defeated. January 2016: Vote held by Oxford students in Oxford Union, not affiliate to Oxford University, vote to remove the statue. January 2016: Leaked report reveals the university faces huge funding loss if it removes the statue. June 2020: The Rhodes Must Fall campaign is thrown into the spotlight among growing anti-racism protests by the Black Lives Matter movement following the death of American George Floyd. It gains particular attention following the toppling of a statue to slave trader Edward Colston in Bristol. Advertisement The Independent Commission, while noting the governing body's wish to see the Rhodes statue removed, has licence to consider a full range of options. A public notice will be posted near the statue with details of the Commission and how people can contribute their views. Written and oral submissions will be requested, and it is intended that some oral evidence sessions will be held in public. It comes after a long-running campaign demanding the removal of the Rhodes statue gained renewed attention amid the Black Lives Matter movement. In 2016, Oriel College decided to keep the controversial statue in place following a consultation despite protests from campaigners. Critics argue Rhodes paved the way for the apartheid in southern Africa, and raise issue with his time as leader of the Cape Colony, from 1890 to 1896, when government restricted black Africans' rights by increasing the financial criteria people required in order to vote. Demonstrators marched through the streets of Oxford last month as senior administrators met to discuss the future of the Rhodes sculpture. The board decided they want to remove the statue, along with the King Edward Street Plaque, but said the independent commission into the statue had to be set up before any action is taken. The college said in a statement in June: 'The Governing Body of Oriel College has today voted to launch an independent Commission of Inquiry into the key issues surrounding the Rhodes statue. Protesters in Oxford for the removal of the statue of Cecil Rhodes yesterday. Oriel College opened its Rhodes Building in 1911 after receiving a 100,000 from the former student, who died in 1902 'They also expressed their wish to remove the statue of Cecil Rhodes and the King Edward Street Plaque. This is what they intend to convey to the Independent Commission of Inquiry. 'Both of these decisions were reached after a thoughtful period of debate and reflection and with the full awareness of the impact these decisions are likely to have in Britain and around the world. 'The Commission will deal with the issue of the Rhodes legacy and how to improve access and attendance of BAME undergraduate, graduate students and faculty, together with a review of how the college's 21st Century commitment to diversity can sit more easily with its past.' Oriel College opened its Rhodes Building in 1911 after receiving a 100,000 from the former student, who died in 1902. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows started the day saying their goal was to get a stimulus bill out of Congress by the end of next week. But after getting pushback from Senate Republicans on several issues, including the payroll tax cut, they were dialing back expectations. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement I dont want to put any deadlines on it, Meadows said before heading to a meeting with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer. Mnuchin and Meadows met earlier over lunch with Republican senators, but no outline for legislation emerged. Louisiana Republican Senator John Kennedy said the two Trump advisers discussed a lot of ideas, but we havent reached a conclusion on anything. Schumer and Pelosi said the lack of consensus among Republicans means real negotiations cannot start yet to bridge the differences between the GOP plan for $1 trillion stimulus and the Democrats proposal for a $3.5 trillion package. They are not close to getting ready to negotiate, Schumer said after the meeting with Mnuchin and Meadows, laying the blame on Trump. Story continues below advertisement Pelosi said, their delay is their disarray. Advertisement Trump expressed confidence that a deal would emerge. Were working very hard on it, were making a lot of progress, he said at a White House briefing. I also know that both sides want to get it done. The White House and Congress have only a few weeks to come up with another stimulus before lawmakers take a scheduled August break and the $2.9 trillion flood of federal money passed by Congress earlier in the year begins to dry up. A linchpin for Republicans is Trumps insistence on cutting or suspending the payroll tax paid by employers and employees, which funds Social Security and Medicare. Mnuchin said it would be included in the Republican proposal, but some GOP senators, such as South Dakotas John Thune, said they remain skeptical. Story continues below advertisement Im not a fan of that, said Thune, his partys second-ranking senator. If its a choice between doing checks and payroll tax cut, I think its pretty clear the checks actually have a more direct benefit to the economy.Although Trump has suggested he might not sign a bill without the payroll tax cut, Mnuchin and Meadows indicated some flexibility in talks.I dont know that in any negotiation that there are red lines but there are certainly high priorities and it will remain a very high priority for the president, Meadows said. Mnuchin said they were still in discussions about the payroll tax. Advertisement There were signs of possible compromise on extending the supplemental unemployment insurance that was part of the stimulus measure passed in March and is set to expire at the end of this week. It gave laid-off workers $600 a week in additional benefits, but Republicans argued it created a disincentive for returning to work in some areas -- because unemployed individuals could get more than they earned at their jobs. Some GOP lawmakers have floated lowering the supplement to $200 or $400. Story continues below advertisement House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said there would be some discussion about how big that amount should be in the next legislation. I dont have a red line, the Maryland Democrat said. I have an expectation of what I think is decent policy. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the administration favors some type of additional unemployment aid, along with direct checks to individuals and a payroll-tax holiday for middle and low-income Americans. Advertisement Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said the GOP plan will include a second round of the Paycheck Protection Program for small businesses, but it would be targeted to businesses most affected by the pandemic. He said there will be funding to reimburse businesses for the costs of safe workplaces, including personal protective equipment, testing, cleaning and remodeling to protect workers and entice customers. Story continues below advertisement There also will be money for some child-care assistance and funding for a vaccine, McConnell said. The Republican plan also will have $105 billion to aid schools in safely reopening. McEnany said the White House would support funding for targeted testing, an apparent shift from the weekend, when the administration had balked at providing additional money for testing and contact tracking. McEnany said there is $10 billion left over from the previous stimulus law for testing and the White House simply wants to ensure any new money is spent wisely. (Updates with Trumps remarks in 10th paragraph) For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com 2020 Bloomberg L.P. Turkey's ruling party on Tuesday presented a bill to parliament which would give the government greater control of social media but critics are concerned over the proposal's impact on freedom of speech. Human rights groups and the opposition already point to the erosion of freedom of expression in Turkey, with thousands of people subject to criminal proceedings for "insulting" President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on social media. They argue that increased control of social media could also limit Turkish access to independent or critical information in a country where the news media is in the hands of government-friendly businessmen or controlled by the state. Under the new regulations, if passed,, social media giants such as Facebook and Twitter would have to ensure they have local representatives in Turkey or face having their internet traffic restricted by up to 90 percent, according to the text seen by AFP. Social media companies must also remove content within 24 hours of court requests, and risk heavy financial penalties if they do not comply with the orders. The law would affect social networks with more than a million unique visits every day, and proposes servers with Turkish users' data must be stored in Turkey. The bill aims to "put an end to insults and harassment" online, Ozlem Zengin of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) said during a press conference on Tuesday. It was submitted by the AKP and its nationalist partner, the MHP, which have a majority in the parliament. Erdogan vowed to tighten government control over social media earlier this month after he said "dark-hearted" users insulted Finance Minister Berat Albayrak and his wife Esra, who is the president's daughter, following the birth of their fourth child. The president is not a fan of social media despite a large following on different platforms, including Twitter. He once compared the media platforms to a "murderer's knife". A Turkish court in January lifted a ban on the online encyclopedia Wikipedia after almost three years. According to Twitter's latest "transparency report" for the first half of 2019, Turkey ranked number one for seeking content removal with more than 6,000 requests. Search Keywords: Short link: The former comptroller for a community college in Louisiana has pleaded guilty to stealing more than $250,00 from her employer. Carol Bates, the former comptroller for Bossier Parish Community College (BPCC), pled guilty on July 20 before Chief U.S. District Judge S. Maurice Hicks Jr., to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud, according to the U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Louisiana. Bates admitted at the plea hearing that from 2013 to 2016, she used her position as comptroller of BPCC to access an internal BPCC computer database and make false entries falsely showing individuals were due refunds by the school. These individuals were not qualified to receive the funds, and, in most cases, they were not even attending BPCC during the semesters they received the money. As a part of the scheme, Bates and her sister, Audrey Williams, recruited Faith Alexander and Marquise Perry, along with seven other individuals to receive fraudulent refunds from BPCC. Once the individual received the funds, they were instructed to deliver between one-half and two-thirds of the money to Carol Bates or her sister, Audrey Williams. In total, Bates caused 45 fraudulent refunds totaling $259,591.87 to be issued. Alexander received eight refunds totaling $45,482.65 from 2014 through 2016. Perry received seven refunds totaling $49,524.65 from 2015 through 2016. The remaining 30 refunds were issued to seven other individuals who, after receiving the money, transferred two-thirds or half of it to Bates. On Sept. 25, 2019, Bates, 49, along with her co-defendants, Faith Alexander, 28, Marquise Perry, 35, and Audrey Williams, 56, all of Shreveport, was charged with one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud. In addition to the conspiracy to commit wire fraud, Bates was charged with 12 counts of wire fraud and Perry was charged with three counts of wire fraud. Faith Alexander pled guilty on Feb. 19, 2020, to one count of conspiracy to commit wire fraud; Perry pled guilty on Dec. 9, 2019, to one count of wire fraud; and Williams entered a not guilty plea on Oct. 23, 2019. Bates faces up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to one year of supervised release. Sentencing will be set at a later date.Alexander and Perry also face up to 20 years in prison, a $250,000 fine, and up to one year of supervised release when they are sentenced on Sept. 2, 2020. The U.S. Department of Education, Office of Inspector General, and the Louisiana Office of State Inspector General conducted the investigation. Assistant U.S. Attorney Seth D. Reeg is prosecuting the case. Source: U.S. Attorneys Office for the Western District of Louisiana Topics Fraud Louisiana USA Education Universities On July 21, Ukrainian Red Cross Society delivered the first batch of additional humanitarian aid to flood victims in western regions. Ukrainian Red Cross Society quickly responded to the government's appeal for additional humanitarian aid to the western regions affected by the floods. It will complement the assistance that the government previously allocated from the state budgets reserve fund in the amount of more than UAH 700 million. We are grateful to international partners who promptly carried out the appropriate procedures and purchases in order to provide assistance to citizens in dire need as soon as possible," Vice Prime Minister of Ukraine for European and Euro-Atlantic Integration Olha Stefanishyna said. The aid delivery took place within the framework of cooperation of the Ukrainian government with Ukrainian Red Cross Society in coordination and with the support of the International Federation of the Red Cross and Red Crescent, the Danish Red Cross and the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). During the week, Red Cross volunteers will deliver 3,750 hygiene kits to residents of the Ivano-Frankivsk, Zakarpattia and Chernivtsi regions. As reported, heavy rains between June 22-24 caused floods in the Ivano-Frankivsk, Chernivtsi, Lviv, and Ternopil regions. Three people were killed in floods and one more went missing. Hundreds of kilometers of roads, dozens of bridges were destroyed, and hundreds of people were resettled. ish Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 16:28:15|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIJING, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A total of 28,387 people were prosecuted for duty-related crimes in 2018 and 2019, the Supreme People's Procuratorate (SPP) announced Tuesday. During this period, China's supervisory commissions at all levels transferred 40,326 people suspected of committing duty-related crimes to the procuratorial organs, said Wang Shouan, an official with the SPP. Among these suspects, 16,092 were transferred in 2018 and 24,234 in 2019, up 50.6 percent, Wang said, adding that 954 were not prosecuted after investigation. Enditem Temperatures are rising in downtown St. Catharines, and its not the weather. While businesses proceed to work with the city and the downtown association through COVID-19 pandemic concerns closure of St. Paul Street as one example some merchants say the association isnt upholding its role to its membership as establishments continue to struggle. An email sent from merchants to the association obtained by Niagara This Week said that the association has failed to provide leadership, communication and strategies throughout the COVID-19 pandemic while ignoring feedback from members. The email said the association has failed businesses with adequate representation and service and, for years, there has been complacency, questionable spending, no communication, lack of skill, absence, bullying and unbalanced representation on the board of actual downtown stakeholders. Mike McKenna, owner of Little Chief Co., and Sarah Jarvis, owner of Craft Arts Market, have been speaking up for businesses, and they said a petition they circulated about the lack of support from the DTA has received more than 50 signatures from area business owners. A request for an emergency annual general meeting with the association and its board has been made. The biggest thing is we want to see accountability, we want to see leadership, and this is the time, if anything, we need leadership, McKenna said. We dont want our city to slide back where it was five years ago. They said the board hadnt met for two and a half months during the pandemic, emails and questions from merchants are going unanswered, the association monthly newsletter is a copy and paste of city information and not original content, theres been a lack of marketing to the public and poor engagement with its members. It said COVID-19 has only brought the issues to centre stage, but they have existed for many years. Jarvis was a member of the board in 2017 and 2018 and said she noticed problems firsthand. A lot of complacency, a lot of regurgitation, a lot of people sitting on that board that have no relevance to downtown, Jarvis said. There was no accountability to anybody, there was not a lot of openness to new members to the board or their ideas for change. She said that it seemed there was a lot of tiredness on the board as some members had been sitting on it for many years without any accountability. The downtown association is absolutely not present or connected to this downtown, she said. Jarvis said she felt any time she pushed back or presented ideas there was a little bit of bullying. Ultimately, she decided to step down, but said one member who questioned the board equally as much as she did decided to stay on. He continues to stay on the board because his objective was, Im going to try and change this board from within, and when I quit, I said, We cant change that board from within, Jarvis said. We have to go around that board. In speaking with other business improvement areas in Ontario similar to the St. Catharines association McKenna said theyre more active, stepping out to speak with merchants, knocking on doors, asking questions and creating original content. McKenna said the association has begun to share more on social media since the email was sent. In response, Tisha Polocko, the associations executive director, said the board is concerned and wants to talk to everybody. Of course were concerned about some of these claims, and were going to be addressing them, but our board needed some time to review everything and weve asked for some more information from them, Polocko said. She said there is a misconception about what a business improvement area is and how it functions. We are mandated through the (Ontario) Municipal Act, so we have specific guidelines that dictate what a business improvement area does, Polocko said. I dont think some people are aware of that. In Ontario, a levy is added to the city property tax of each business owner in the downtown that goes toward their respective association, and there is no opting out. With relation to COVID-19 and the issues presented, Polocko emphasized the importance of working as a community. Not be divided but work together on finding creative ways to help support everybody, she said. McKenna and Jarvis said those creative ideas are not being heard by the association. Polocko said people fail to realize the diversity of the St. Catharines Downtown Association and that a majority of its membership are professional services rather than retailers and restaurants. Jarvis said the claims being made arent personally directed against any one within the association and its board. Asked about the claims being made by merchants, Polocko said it definitely is an attack. Its actually almost bordering harassment. Polocko said there have been numerous emails from association members but wouldnt go into details. I cant really get into it in any great length because people have concerns and we understand, Polocko said. Our board needs to address this, no doubt about it, so we are working toward that. McKenna and Jarvis want to receive a simple yes or no from the association and board about an emergency meeting. Polocko said the board will meet in the next few weeks to discuss the issues brought forward before a meeting is held. The merchants say there doesnt seem to be any urgency from the board as businesses continue to struggle. The email response from the association to the business owners initial email also obtained by Niagara This Week said, Im sure you understand that its summer and many people are away on holiday. Our board meeting is scheduled for the end of July. They dont see this as being important, Jarvis said. Said Polocko, We really hope that everybody realizes that were all in this together and we have to work together on this. If you like this article, read more about Milwaukee-area history and architecture in the hundreds of other similar articles in the Urban Spelunking series here . With all due respect to the striking Museum of Wisconsin Art and the many residential and commercial treasures that make West Bend a great place to geek out on architecture, it is the 1889 Washington County Courthouse, perched atop its hill at 320 S. 5th Ave., that is the true gem of the county seat. Standing regally on its high ground, all cream city brick and red roof, its tower soaring nearly 150 feet above the town below, this building, reportedly designed by Milwaukee architect Henry C. Koch, is a stunner. It ceased operation as a courthouse in 1962 and after a number of other civil uses, the three-story building has, for the past nearly 30 years, been home to the Washington County Historical Society and the Old Courthouse Museum, which recently reopened after a pandemic shutdown, with a new branding as the Tower Heritage Center which also includes the interesting and beautiful jailhouse next door and a new executive director, who arrives from no less than George Washingtons Mount Vernon. But more on that later. First, thanks to the photo of Henry hanging in the lobby (above), I always assumed the building to be by the same architect that designed Milwaukees City Hall and similarly styled Richardsonian Romanesque courthouses around the upper Midwest. But then I did some digging, which, as is sometimes the case, just made things murkier. The smaller and slightly older jail and sheriffs residence next door was clearly designed by Milwaukees Edward V. Koch (no relation). On this everyone seems to agree and the Tower Heritage Center has some of the jailhouse blueprints signed by Edward, who had also designed a poorhouse at the same time as the jail. That building, at a different site in West Bend, has been razed. But some sources seem to suggest Edward also designed the courthouse, though I could find no solid evidence of that in the newspapers of the day. However, neither could I find proof that Henry designed it, either, although reputable sources like Russell Zimmermanns "Heritage Guidebook," give the nod to Henry. And so does Janean Mollet-Van Beckum, The Tower Heritage Centers Curator of Collections and Exhibits, who showed me around one day, along with new Executive Director Steve Stuckey. Though theres still a little uncertainty. "I was unable to find our former Curator of Educations notes on the topic," Beckum tells me. "She left three years ago and many of her files went with her. I know she found it and was excited to find definitive proof because there had been confusion around it for years. She spent several months researching the buildings in preparation for our architecture tours." That former employee, Jessica Sawinski Couch led the tours and shared such interesting data as the top of the tower is only about 50 lower than nearby Holy Hill and there are 131 steps between the basement and the towers sixth floor (some of them are pictured above). She would also tell folks that the dazzling maroon, gray, black and off-white terra cotta in the lobby (pictured above) were made in northern France, that the weather vane atop the tower is 11 and a half feet tall and a bit about the Lady Justice panel on the buildings north facade. It was the work of Belgian-born terra cotta artist Henri Plasschaert, who taught at the University of Pennsylvania and helmed the Decorative Sculpture Department at the Philadelphia Museum of Arts school. Beyond the architect, the building shares other connections with Milwaukee. The square was donated to Washington County in 1853 for its perpetual use by Byron Kilbourn, James Kneeland, William Wightman and Erastus B. Wolcott some important names in Cream City history. Two views of the main staircase. A previous courthouse that had stood on the site was moved to Main Street when the current structure was built and used for a time as a hardware store, though it has now long since been razed. Inside, we walk through the building, starting of course in the lobby, which is so rich in decoration and beautiful finishes that one could spend hours gazing at it all. The fact that some historical photos of the building hang on the walls helps, too. An interior shot from the 1920s. (PHOTO: Courtesy of Tower Heritage Center) We check out the various former offices with their tall slender windows and their surviving painted signs on the door glass and then head upstairs to the large courtroom, which has a soaring ceiling that creates a truly impressive space. Remarkably, for decades, that was invisible to most as a dropped ceiling had been added at some point. It is now, thankfully, gone. The judges chambers and other offices boast fireplaces, and the whole place is dotted with display cases with objects and information that tell the story of Washington County. In one room there is also the jaw-dropping Zinn dollhouse (which I mention in this story), that you must visit someday. For now Ill just say that it was such a labor of love that its builder, malt maven Walter Zinn, not only made a tiny loom for a sewing room in the dollhouse, it was a functioning loom and he most improbably used it to create the fabrics in the dollhouse. Up in the tower, there are numerous levels and many of them contain the scrawled signatures, often dating to the 19th and early 20th century. The view gets better and better as we climb and when we get to the level that has a balcony, we step outside for a breathtaking view in all directions, over the town and out into the countryside. We climb a ladder to another dark level and then consider another much taller ladder that ascends nearly straight up into the darkness and leading ultimately to the three wee windows you can see almost at the tip top of the tower. We decide to wait for another time. But up here on the balcony, Stuckey who is from St. Louis tells me hes excited to be in Wisconsin with his family. His wifes a Wisconsin native, so they know all about what to expect when winter arrives. Peering down, we get an ace view of the jail and we decide to go check it out. As stunning as Henrys courthouse, though on a much smaller scale, Edwards jail has gorgeous masonry on the outside and some really interesting features inside. The front of the building, which dates to 1886, was a residence for the elected sheriff and his family during each two-year term and there are parlors on the first floor, a kitchen in the basement and bedrooms upstairs. But in back was the jail, where the prisoners were fed by the sheriffs wife and where they often played games with the sheriffs family. Most, of course, were not violent offenders and wouldve been townspeople they likely knew. The cells and the whole space are caged and there are some interesting touches, like an opening from the residence that served as a megaphone and spy hole into the cells, and a mechanism for locking and unlocking all the cell doors at once. Up in the attic, we see two chimneys that merge into one, which is not a common site around here, and a freshwater cistern, which would collect water from the gutters for use in the house, survives up there. Nearby, on a cream city brick, in pencil, workers noted the date the cistern was installed. It is signed Ott & Boden, the name of the hardware store that occupied the former courthouse after it had been moved to Main Street, according to Beckum. According to the Milwaukee Journal in 1886, the High Victorian Italianate jail cost about $19,000 and, "although small, will be the model one of the state when completed." It, too, is now part of the Tower Heritage Center, filled with period furniture and objects to show visitors how it wouldve looked in its early days. And now, as I mentioned earlier, the center has reopened to the public with its new name and new director, but with the same interesting exhibits in the same absolutely stunning buildings ... but with safety measures like social distancing, masks and hand sanitizer. "We know our guests are looking for opportunities to get out and spend time with their families this summer, and were confident we can deliver that," says Stuckey. "We take the safety of our staff and patrons very seriously, and we will continue to monitor our operations to make sure were providing the best and safest experience for everyone." For more information on admission, opening hours, events and more, visit historyisfun.com or call (262) 335-4678. The Trump administration plans to deploy 150 federal agents from the Department of Homeland Security to Chicago this week to crack down on violence and crime that the president says is escalating there and in other Democratic-led cities. The move is seen widely as part of Trumps strategy to position himself as the law-and-order candidate in his re-election campaign and to distract from his failure to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. Chicago Mayor Lori Lightfoot opposes the plan. She fears Chicago will host a replay of the abuses taken against Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland, Oregon. There, demonstrations against the police killing of George Floyd, are in their 54th day. Camouflage-wearing federal agents in unmarked minivans are snatching perceived protesters off the streets and taking them to jails for interrogation. Some of the protesters have been held in custody without probable cause. Others have been injured by the indiscriminate use of less lethal equipment, including tear gas, rubber bullets, and acoustic weapons all of which can cause serious injury and death. A rubber bullet fired at Donavan LaBella, 26, fractured his face and skull. He was shot while leaving a demonstration, while other victims have been kidnapped or injured while peacefully and lawfully protesting. The incidents sound eerily reminiscent of the CIAs post-9/11 rendition program under George W Bush, according to an account in The Guardian. Intelligence agents would roll up in unmarked vans in foreign countries, blindfold terrorism suspects (many of whom turned out to be innocent) and kidnap them without explanation. Local and state officials in Oregon say the federal presence in Portland is worsening the situation, and theyve asked the administration to withdraw forces. But, the Washington Post's Greg Sargent and Paul Waldman wrote last week that the escalation of protests in reaction to the governments brutal attempts at suppression "is exactly what the Trump administration wants." They wrote: We know Trump wants these scenes to be playing out on people's televisions in faraway states, such as to select a few at random Wisconsin, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Florida. And given that his homeland security chief is actively ignoring local officials' demands that he pull out federal law enforcement it's reasonable to surmise that escalation is the whole point of these exercises in the first place. An unnamed official told CNN that Homeland Security agents will remain in Chicago for 60 days. They will not, the official said, take the same actions they did in Portland, where they were ostensibly supposed to be protecting federal buildings from protesters. In Chicago, the source said, agents would focus on illegal gun sales, gun violence and outstanding warrants. But Lightfoot is alarmed. "I have great concerns particularly given the track record in the city of Portland. I spent a lot of time yesterday talking with the mayor of Portland to get a sense of what has happened there. That's not what we need, she told CNN. Under Trump, Homeland Security has been used to carry out his political objectives. The department is led by temporary, acting officials who havent been confirmed by the Senate. "The President has fired or forced out nearly every Senate-confirmed leader in DHS. Those remaining are neither accountable to Congress nor empowered to push back against unreasonable political pressure," said Carrie Cordero, a senior fellow at Center for a New American Security and CNN legal analyst. ACLU lawsuit Pull Quote A rubber bullet fired at Donavan LaBella, 26, fractured his face and skull. He was shot while leaving a demonstration, while other victims have been kidnapped or injured while peacefully and lawfully protesting. The ACLU of Oregon added the Department of Homeland Security and U.S. Marshals Service to an existing lawsuit filed last month against local law enforcement. In that lawsuit, a federal judge issued an order blocking local law enforcement from dispersing, arresting, threatening to arrest, or using physical force against journalists or legal observers at protests until Oct. 30. But violence against protesters continued over the weekend as the their ranks, joined by many of their parents, swelled to more than 2,000. The lawsuit is one of many the ACLU plans to file against federal law enforcement working in Portland. This is a fight to save our democracy, said Kelly Simon, interim legal director with the ACLU of Oregon. Under the direction of the Trump administration, federal agents are terrorizing the community, risking lives, and brutally attacking protesters demonstrating against police brutality. This is police escalation on top of police escalation. These federal agents must be stopped and removed from our city. Pull Quote Under Trump, Homeland Security has been used to carry out his political objectives. The department is led by temporary, acting officials who havent been confirmed by the Senate. Named plaintiffs in the lawsuit include The Portland Mercury; Matthew Lewis-Rolland, a freelance photographer who federal agents shot 10 times in the back on Sunday; Justin Yau, a freelance journalist who federal agents attacked with tear gas; and Doug Brown, a legal observer who federal agents threatened to shoot. The individuals were wearing high-visibility shirts that said PRESS or legal observer. What is happening in Portland is an unconstitutional nightmare, said Vera Eidelman, staff attorney with the ACLUs Speech, Privacy, and Technology Project. This is not law and order. This is lawlessness. The ACLU will not let the government respond to protests against police brutality with still more brutality. We will continue to hold law enforcement at all levels of government accountable, just as we have nationwide. Research partners across three institutions are opening the nation's first and only resource center dedicated to promoting clinical trials research in the rapidly expanding field of pediatric rehabilitation. Sharon Landesman Ramey, research professor and distinguished research scholar at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute, will direct the new center -- a partnership between Virginia Tech, Ohio State University and Nationwide Children's Hospital -- to help clinical scientists in pediatric rehabilitation research by funding pilot studies and offering courses and mentored experiences. The award builds on the groundbreaking research and discoveries at the institute's Neuromotor Research Clinic, which Stephanie DeLuca, an associate professor at the institute, directs with Landesman Ramey. Virginia Tech will expand its role as an infrastructure base to encourage other researchers to broaden their focus. The National Pediatric Rehabilitation Resource Center is known informally among its scientists as C-PROGRESS, an acronym for Center for Pediatric Rehabilitation: Growing Research, Educating, and Sharing Science. The nickname reflects the team's primary objective of "seeing progress" in the relatively new and emerging field of pediatric rehabilitation science, and the group will broadly support pediatric rehabilitation research, providing up to $150,000 a year for pilot studies. C-PROGRESS is a partnership among six researchers at three institutions, including Landesman Ramey, DeLuca, and also Virginia Tech's Craig Ramey, a research professor and distinguished research scholar at the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. From Ohio State University, Jill Heathcock, an associate professor and director of the Infant Lab, and Amy Darragh, director of the Occupational Therapy Division in the College of Medicine, complete the partnership with Warren Lo, attending pediatric neurologist at Nationwide Children's and Clinical Professor of Pediatrics and Neurology at the OSU College of Medicine. The scientists have worked together for nearly a decade, innovating treatments and measures for children's rehabilitation progress and leading clinical trials. Currently, the team is also leading a Phase III clinical trial funded as part of StrokeNet, testing two doses of an intervention to treat infants with Perinatal Stroke that occurs within the first month of life. The new center is a response to growing demand for effective rehabilitation methods. Hundreds of thousands of children in the U.S. are impacted annually by prenatal and infant stroke, cerebral palsy, traumatic and acquired brain injury, and neuromuscular disorders - conditions once deemed in many cases to be "static," "degenerative," and "incurable." That view is no longer held. Investigators, including those at Virginia Tech, Ohio State, and Nationwide Children's, are developing, implementing and evaluating new approaches to change the trajectory of these disorders and childrens' lives. "We simply have not had a full-court attack scientifically to find out how far these children can progress with the right level of investments at the right time," Landesman Ramey said. The field of pediatric rehabilitation has grown tremendously in the past 15 years, but the C-PROGRESS team predicts the next five years can become a period of swift, strong consolidation of research goals, recruitment of new investigators, and the development of new protocols to expand interdisciplinary research and conduct much-needed, rigorous Phase II and Phase III clinical trials. It will be one of a network six centers under the umbrella of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, part of the National Institutes of Health, with direct oversight from the National Center for Medical Rehabilitation Research. Co-funding for the $5 million is provided by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke and the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. The C-PROGRESS team believes pediatric rehabilitation confronts unique issues, challenges, and opportunities that distinguish it from the larger field of adult rehabilitation. Very young children's brains and behavior possess substantial capacity for plasticity with the ability to develop in dynamic ways that benefit the child's entire nervous system and behavioral range. The team at the Neuromotor Research Clinic often sees "spillover effects" from motor treatments - changes in children's speech and language, social understanding and interactions, curiosity, emotional self-regulation, and advances in learning and cognition. "The right types and amounts of rehabilitation can be transformative for a young child and for the family as well," Landesman Ramey said. "We have vastly underestimated human potential to grow and change." DeLuca will lead the educational component of the center, much of which will be presented online at the C-PROGRESS website in the form of a library of courses, workshops, webinars and demonstrations to train researchers in the design, conduct, analysis, and reporting of clinical trials. She hopes the center will attract investigators from diverse fields to pioneer new forms of treatment. "I've gotten to know the children participating in our many clinical studies and watched their development into successful adulthood," DeLuca said. "I've also seen how parents are filled with amazing ideas worthy of research as well as grounded advice for how clinicians can be responsive to their child's total needs." Heathcock will lead the center's technology component, including studying how to better assess children's behavior in real world settings like home, school, and sports, complemented by lab measures. Darragh, also at Ohio State University, will lead the center's pilot studies program, which disperse up to $750,000 for small projects, or about $150,000 a year. "We will promote ideas for rehabilitation that are a combination of bold, feasible, and far-reaching," Darragh said. "We want to maximize the success of each pilot study so that the team can acquire large-scale funding for their ideas that demonstrate the greatest promise." Lo will organize opportunities for clinicians and scientists to have mentored collaborations with the C-PROGRESS senior scientists at both Ohio State and the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute. Traditionally, many clinicians in pediatric neurology, physiatry - or physical medicine and rehabilitation - and developmental pediatrics have not had in-depth training or sufficient time to dedicate to conducting clinical trials. "Clinical insights can be corralled into improving measurements in clinical trials to become more attuned to the full range of physical and mental needs of patients," Lo said. Craig Ramey will share the center's expertise with national professional and advocacy organizations and private foundations. Ramey has previously led large interdisciplinary teams to address complex and pressing current health and social problems. "There is nothing more important than bringing forth the full human potential of each and every child by applying all of our scientific knowledge," Ramey said. "Pediatric medical rehabilitation is ready to move into the big leagues with team science." ### London: The British Parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee has blasted the government for failing to conduct any rigorous analysis of whether Russia tried to influence the EU referendum campaign. And it has urged the UK to establish a Foreign Agents Register to help counter Russian influence, similar to the way Australia's foreign influence register was introduced by the Turnbull government to counter Chinese influence campaigns. The committee oversees the work of Britain's spy agencies and said Russia viewed the UK as its third-highest target after the United States and NATO. It said Russian influence campaigns were the "new normal" for Britain, because Russian President Vladimir Putin saw any weakening of the West as a win for his country. Superintendent Haruna Alhassan, the Commander of the Sunyani Municipal COVID-19 Prevention Taskforce has appealed to the clergy to use the pulpit to upscale public education on the Corona Virus Disease. He emphasised that religious leaders and pastors were the embodiment of the people, thereby, their collective roles in helping to contain the viral disease remained paramount. Superintendent Alhassan made the appeal when the taskforce joined worshippers at church services in the Sunyani Municipality to sensitize them on the need for them to adhere to the COVID-19 preventive measures. He emphasized that attitudinal or behavioural change of the populace was essential if the nation could contain the spread of the disease, saying, the clergy had a responsive role to play in changing the mindset of the people. Supt. Alhassan said he was impressed with the way the worshippers had worn their nose masks and observed social distancing, but regretted that many of them removed the masks and put them in their pocket after service. He reminded that it was an offense for anybody to fail to wear nose masks in public places saying, offenders were liable to GH12,000 to 60,000 fine or four years imprisonment or both. Supt. Alhassan said the taskforce had intensified enforcement of the COVID-19 protocols and advised the general public to comply or face prosecution. 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 21 July 2020 Type Media Article The number of lambs reared per ewe joined is a key determinant of the overall financial performance of a lowland sheep enterprise. Sheep Specialist Damian Costello outlines the factors to be considered in a flock breeding programme including: culling, ram selection and purchase of breeding stock. When it comes to profitability of a lowland sheep enterprise its a numbers game number of lambs reared per ewe joined is a key determinant of the overall financial performance of the system. Teagasc research has shown that female progeny from rams known for prolificacy, such as the Belclare breed, have the capacity to wean 1.7 to 1.8 lambs per ewe to the ram. In analysis of data from the Teagasc Research Demonstration Farm, Bohan et al 2017 concluded that increasing weaning rate from 1.5 to 1.8 lambs weaned per ewe to the ram increased net profit by 336/ha on average across all stocking rate groups carried on the farm. Increasing flock prolificacy has the greatest impact on profitability and should be the first priority to change at farm level. Assuming the current level of management and labour availability on a farm allows for increasing prolificacy of the ewe flock, implementing a good breeding policy will result in a higher output flock in 4 to 5 years. Cull to improve flock performance The main reasons for culling ewes from the breeding flock include udder problems, teeth, body condition and persistent lameness. Along with these issues, strict culling to remove poorly performing and problem ewes will speed up the improvement of a flocks breeding potential. It is especially important at lambing time to identify problem cases with a tag or ear notch. If you can identify the dams of the lightest lambs at weaning, insert a cull tag, they are not up to the job. In assessing if a ewe is fit for breeding for another season it is useful to ask the question: Would I buy this ewe for breeding? The answer is based on the usual physical checks as well as any information you have on the previous performance of the ewe. If the answer is no then she has to go. Closed flock option The preferred option is to produce replacements from within your own flock. There are many advantages to having a closed flock, not least reducing the risk of buying in disease. It will also put you firmly in control of the ewe breed that will make up your flock into the future. The system allows you to breed your best performing ewes from the flock with a high genetic merit maternal sire. Potential ewe lamb replacements should first identified at birth using criteria such as lambs born without assistance, vigorous and up sucking quickly, dam has lots of milk and good mothering ability. Permanent identification is needed using EID tag, management tag or ear notch. At weaning, this group of potential replacements can be selected from based on lambs that are structurally sound, healthy, have good conformation and well grown for their age. Purchase breeding stock - Biosecurity Where the system is to purchase ewe replacements a comprehensive biosecurity protocol should be drawn to minimise the risk of introducing new disease or resistant parasites to the farm. Veterinary advice should be sought in developing this plan. These measures apply to all new sheep coming onto the farm. Ram selection to breed own replacements To produce prolific replacements you will need to select an appropriate ram. Typically breeds such as Belclare, Blue-faced Leicester, Llyen or some other prolific breed are chosen. As well as checking the physical soundness of the animal before purchase, pay close attention to the uro value on the Sheep Ireland index system. As the primary function of this ram is to breed replacements, focus on the replacement index values in particular. Also take note of the accuracy associated with the index values. The higher the accuracy the greater the confidence you can have that the values reflect the animals true performance potential. Number of ewes to maternal rams to breed adequate replacements In practice this system means that you will be running at least two groups of ewes during the mating season. One group with a maternal sire breed to produce replacements, the remainder of the ewes will generally be mated with terminal sire breeds with the focus on carcase production. The current weaning rate of your flock will determine what proportion of the ewe flock that needs to be mated to a maternal ram in order to produce enough replacements. Table 1 below outlines this based on a 23% replacement rate. These calculations are based on the assumption that about 50% of lambs reared will be female and are minimum figures which allows for very little further selection. It is advisable to increase the proportion of ewes mated to maternal rams in order to give you more ewe lambs to choose from and also to allow for stricter culling of underperforming ewes. Table 1 Lowland Flocks Minimum % ewes bred to a maternal sire based on current weaning rate to achieve 23% replacement rate YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Prime Minister of Armenia Nikol Pashinyan sent a congratulatory message to Prime Minister of Belgium Sophie Wilmes on National Day. As ARMENPRESS was informed from the Office of the Prime Minister, the message runs as follows, ''I cordially congratulate you and the friendly people of Belgium on the occasion of the National Day of Belgium. I highly value the high level of interstate relations between Armenia and Belgium and the achievements recorded in various spheres. I am confident that due to our joint efforts the mutually beneficial cooperation between Armenia and Belgium will continue to develop and expand on bilateral and multilateral formats, including in the sidelines of the Comprehensive and Enhanced Partnership Agreement between Armenia and the EU. I wish you health and success, and lasting welfare and peace to the friendly people of Belgium''. Edited and translated by Tigran Sirekanyan VANCOUVER, BC / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Weekend Unlimited Industries Inc. ("Weekend" or the "Company") (CSE:POT)(FSE:0OS2)(OTCQB:WKULF) is pleased to announce leadership updates with the addition of Mr. Charlie Lamb as Chief Operating Officer and his appointment to the Board of Directors. "We are excited to welcome Charlie to the senior management team as COO and as a Director. Charlie is highly tuned in to the business and his focus and leadership on the management team, and on the Board, will help us greatly to achieve our objectives," said Mr. Chris Backus, President and CEO. "Charlie has intimate knowledge of the company's operations and forward direction as laid out in the recently announced letter of intent with Ruby Maes" Charlie Lamb has over 10 years of experience working as a corporate and securities lawyer at a large international law firm in New York. Charlie's practice has primarily focused on complex business transactions, including mergers and acquisitions, including advising clients on public and private offerings of securities for investment funds, private equity funds and other alternative investment vehicles. Charlie's experience includes advising broker dealers, advisers and investment fund managers on compliance and corporate governance issues. About Weekend Unlimited Industries Inc. Weekend Unlimited is a lifestyle-based recreational cannabis and CBD wellness company. We are developing and launching premium cannabis and CBD brands to deliver life's highs - any- time, anywhere. Our CBD products are available online and at a retailer near you. Weekend Unlimited is well-positioned to launch and scale the brands that will define cannabis and CBD. Learn more at www.weekendunlimited.com For further information, please contact: Mr. Chris Backus, President & CEO, Director Telephone: 1(236) 317-2812 E-mail: IR@weekendunlimited.com 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 Certain information set forth in this news release may contain forward-looking statements that involve substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties. All statements other than statements of historical fact are forward-looking statements, including, without limitation, statements regarding future financial position, business strategy, use of proceeds, corporate vision, proposed acquisitions, partnerships, joint-ventures and strategic alliances and co-operations, budgets, cost and plans and objectives of or involving the Company. Such forward-looking information reflects management's current beliefs and is based on information currently available to management. Often, but not always, forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as "plans", "expects", "is expected", "budget", "scheduled", "estimates", "forecasts", "predicts", "intends", "targets", "aims", "anticipates" or "believes" or variations (including negative variations) of such words and phrases or may be identified by statements to the effect that certain actions "may", "could", "should", "would", "might" or "will" be taken, occur or be achieved. A number of known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other factors may cause the actual results or performance to materially differ from any future results or performance expressed or implied by the forward-looking information. These forward-looking statements are subject to numerous risks and uncertainties, certain of which are beyond the control of the Company including, but not limited to, the impact of general economic conditions, industry conditions and dependence upon regulatory approvals. Readers are cautioned that the assumptions used in the preparation of such information, although considered reasonable at the time of preparation, may prove to be imprecise and, as such, undue reliance should not be placed on forward-looking statements. The Company does not assume any obligation to update or revise its forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise, except as required by securities laws SOURCE: Weekend Unlimited Industries Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598316/Weekend-Unlimited-Announces-Addition-to-Management-and-Change-in-Board-of-Directors By Clara Ferreira Marques Moscow researchers say one of the country's potential coronavirus vaccines has been proven safe in small-scale human trials, and is ready for wider tests. It should be a modest win for a country that has sought for years to restore its Soviet-era reputation for cutting-edge science, and for President Vladimir Putin. Yet on Thursday, Britain, the U.S. and Canada accused Russia of hacking international research centers that are trying to develop a vaccine. The Kremlin denies any involvement, while the head of the country's sovereign wealth fund called the allegations an attempt to tarnish the Russian research effort. It's still an accusation that jeopardizes a hoped-for inoculation boost for prestige. Old-school vaccine diplomacy might help. Even in the depths of the Cold War, Soviet and U.S. doctors collaborated to battle polio, and later smallpox. Russia is also not the only nation desperate to arrive at a solution fast and, preferably, first. Yet the pressure there is acute. Putin needs to lift his flagging popularity, despite a plebiscite that this month overwhelmingly approved constitutional changes that could keep him in power until 2036. The necessity has only increased with mass protests in the city of Khabarovsk in southeast Russia, after the arrest of the local governor two weeks ago. The COVID-19 outbreak has been intense in Russia, which has the fourth-highest number of cases globally. Mortality rates have been remarkably low, but new cases are still coming in at a rate of well over 6,000 a day. The economy has taken a hit. Yet the vaccine push is just as much about winning back a status tarnished by years of underinvestment, a dramatic brain drain, and allegations last year of plagiarism and other unethical practices that prompted hundreds of academic articles to be retracted. Even before coronavirus, innovation and science were pillars of the $400 billion development plan Putin hopes will form his legacy. Unfortunately, time pressure and flag-waving don't always produce the best results. For now, what we know of Russia's vaccine effort is encouraging. Sechenov University is testing a vaccine developed by the Gamaleya Institute of Epidemiology and Microbiology in Moscow, and preparing to discharge its last volunteers after the initial phase of the trial. It tracked an immune response and found the prototype to be safe. The military, which conducted a parallel trial, has made similar comments, and released its own volunteers. Russia is not as far along as AstraZeneca Plc and the University of Oxford or Chinese researchers, but it has over a dozen promising vaccine candidates, and Gamaleya's is among the front-runners, along with prototypes developed by the Vector Institute in Siberia, formerly the center of the Soviet biological weapons research. There is still plenty we won't know, though. Data from the first phase of the Gamaleya trial is not yet public and more testing will be required. The third and final phase, which tests the vaccine's actual effectiveness with a larger cohort, would normally take six months to a year. It isn't even clear whether Russia, no longer a major vaccine exporter, can manufacture enough. Yet this hasn't tempered enthusiasm in state-run media or acts of bravura such as researchers at Gamaleya who voluntarily injected themselves with the untested prototype. Practices such as state-owned Sberbank PJSC recruiting volunteers for the Gamaleya trial among its own employees by appealing to their patriotism, are no less worrying. Or shortcuts elsewhere, as with a vague Moscow study that encouraged doctors to test the anti-malaria drug hydroxychloroquine. The hacking allegations make it all worse. If Russia is to reap the diplomatic and political benefits of a home-grown vaccine, it needs such a victory to be credible, at home and abroad. Following international norms and collaborating would be a start. Indeed, Putin may have no choice _ large-scale trials may have to be carried out in countries where the infection rate is higher. It still won't come naturally to a nationalist Putin administration that has long struggled to reconcile aspirations for scientific glory with a determination to tighten control. The Kremlin has sought to oversee contacts with foreign researchers and a number of academics with overseas links have been accused of treason. Other governments will now be extra wary too. Yet history suggests it can be done successfully, with the United States and others. Peter Hotez of the Baylor College of Medicine, who served as science envoy under U.S. President Barack Obama and has written extensively on the issue, points particularly to the cooperation between U.S. doctor Albert Sabin and Soviet virologist Mikhail Chumakov on the oral polio vaccine in the late 1950s. Relations then had thawed a little after the death of Josef Stalin, but they were still tense and competitive: Sputnik was launched in 1957. Both sides wanted to steal technological secrets. Even so a few years later, there was collaboration again when Soviet scientists pioneered a freeze-drying technique for the smallpox vaccine. Unfortunately today the environment may be too toxic. . It was distributed by Tribune Content Agency. Clara Ferreira Marques is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering commodities and environmental, social and governance issues. Previously, she was an associate editor for Reuters Breakingviews, and editor and correspondent for Reuters in Singapore, India, the U.K., Italy and Russia. The article appeared at the Bloomberg News at www.bloomberg.com We need a cure, and I am passionate about being a part of finding it in any way I can. Meredith Huml The FSHD Society, the worlds largest research-focused patient advocacy organization for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), announced that it will hold a slew of virtual Walk & Roll to Cure FSHD events this September 12. The online events will take the place of dozens of in-person gatherings that had been planned for this summer and fall. When our signature Walk & Roll to Cure FSHD was launched in 2018, a $105,000 fundraising goal felt ambitious, recalled the Societys marketing director, Leigh Reynolds. One year later, we welcomed thousands of participants and raised nearly half a million dollars. These past events took place in public parks, but with the COVID-19 pandemic, social distancing and public safety guidelines threatened to derail our progress, said Reynolds. Undeterred, the Societys volunteer Walk & Roll leaders from across the country decided to transition the in-person event into a virtual event that will be celebrated nationwide on September 12. Supporters across the U.S. (and beyond) can join any of the 24 local Walk & Rolls advocating for public awareness and funding to support the Societys work. People who arent close to a local event can sign up for the National Virtual Walk & Roll. Collectively, the 2020 Walk & Roll to Cure FSHD has set a goal of raising a half million dollars for programs in research and patient support. To create the feel of a live event and foster a sense of community during the virtual Walk & Roll, the FSHD Society will stream its live radio show on September 12 over Facebook. Celebrity guests, researchers, doctors, Walk & Roll leaders, and participants will call in to voice their support and share their exploits with radio show host Tim Hollenback. Max Adler, actor and former Glee star, has agreed to serve as national ambassador for the event. The funds raised by the virtual Walk & Roll will be invested in accelerating the development of therapies while empowering individuals affected by FSHD. Our goal is to deliver a treatment or cure to our families by the year 2025, announced the Societys President and CEO, Mark Stone. We need a cure, and I am passionate about being a part of finding it in any way I can, said Meredith Huml, FSHD Society North Carolina Chapter Director and Walk Leader. She was diagnosed with FSHD as a young teen. Her younger brother was diagnosed more recently but his symptoms have progressed more rapidly, and he is now in a wheelchair. The Walk & Roll is first and foremost a fundraiser, generating critical funds to support the search for treatments and a cure, but it is also about so much more, said Reynolds. On event day, for a few hours, we all join together as one. Living with FSHD can be a lonely road. At the Walk & Roll, we realize no one makes the journey alone. FSHD is among the most prevalent of the nine primary types of muscular dystrophy affecting adults and children. The genetic disorder is estimated to affect nearly one million individuals worldwide. It causes progressive weakness, typically in the face, shoulder blade, arms, legs, and torso, but may affect almost any skeletal muscle in the body. There is currently no treatment or cure and approximately one-quarter of patients become dependent on wheelchairs. To learn more, visit fshdsociety.org/walkroll. The FSHD Society is the worlds largest research-focused patient organization for facioscapulohumeral muscular dystrophy (FSHD), one of the most prevalent forms of muscular dystrophy. We have catalyzed major advancements and are accelerating the development of treatments and a cure to end the pain, disability, and suffering endured by one million people worldwide who live with FSHD. The FSHD Society has transformed the landscape for FSHD research, and is committed to making sure that no one faces this disease alone. The Society offers a community of support, news, and information through its website at https://www.fshdsociety.org. COLUMBUS, Ohio - Despite the political tensions between the United States and China, scientists in the two countries are working together more than ever to study the COVID-19 virus, a new study suggests. Researchers analyzed the scientific papers that researchers around the world produced on coronaviruses before and after the arrival of COVID-19. They found that the United States and China were world leaders in the topic area before COVID-19 and they remain so now. "The collaborations between U.S. and Chinese scientists have intensified to the exclusion of most other countries, except the U.K." said Caroline Wagner, co-author of the study and associate professor in the John Glenn College of Public Affairs at The Ohio State University. "There may be friction between the U.S. and China on the political level, but at the scientific level we see something different - a lot of collaboration." The study was published today (July 21, 2020) in PLOS ONE. Wagner and her colleagues analyzed a database of scientific articles on coronavirus-related research between Jan. 1, 2018, and Jan. 1, 2020. They compared that with a similar database of research from Jan. 1 to April 23, 2020. They examined the country where the authors of each study were based to see if there were differences in the pre- and post-COVID-19 periods. One key finding was how quickly China ramped up its coronavirus research after COVID-19 was first identified in Wuhan, China, late in 2019, Wagner said. "Chinese researchers produced more scientific articles on coronavirus in the first four months of 2020 - more than 1,600 articles - than in the previous 24 months combined," she said. Chinese papers on coronavirus tended to be published in higher-impact journals after the crisis than before - one indication of better-quality research. The study also found that China has become the world leader in funding coronavirus research since COVID-19 was discovered. Before COVID-19, the U.S. National Institutes of Health was the leading funder of coronavirus-related research. But since then, Chinese governmental agencies are more likely than the NIH to be acknowledged as the funding source in published studies. Even before COVID-19, China and the United States were at the center of the global network of coronavirus research, although scientists from many countries also participated, findings showed. But research on coronaviruses today is driven by smaller teams with researchers from fewer countries. Scientists from China, the United States and the U.K. dominate international teams. "The network has shifted. With the urgency of the crisis, it makes sense that researchers are looking for smaller teams that can speed up the research process," Wagner said. In separate research published in December, Wagner and colleagues found that a growing number of Chinese scientists working in the United States were returning to their homeland. That has probably influenced coronavirus research, according to Wagner. "Now, many of those Chinese scientists who went back home may be working with their former colleagues in the United States on coronavirus studies, among many other topics," she said. While the close connections between U.S. and Chinese scientists may be good for speeding up research, it comes with a cost. "There is a vulnerability for scientists in other countries who are no longer part of these research networks," she said. "It is good to have researchers from all over the world working on a crisis like this." ### Co-authors on the study were Caroline Fry of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Yi Zhang of the University of Technology Sydney in Australia; and Xiaojing Cai, a visiting fellow at Ohio State from Zhejiang University in China. Contact: Caroline Wagner, Wagner.911@osu.edu Written by Jeff Grabmeier, 614-292-8457; Grabmeier.1@osu.edu President Donald Trump (right), shown speaking during a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., in the Oval Office of the White House on Monday. Read more WASHINGTON President Donald Trump signed a memorandum Tuesday that seeks to bar people in the U.S. illegally from being counted in congressional reapportionment, a move that drew immediate criticism and promises of court challenges on constitutional grounds. Trump said that including people who are in the country illegally in the apportionment process "would create perverse incentives and undermine our system of government." Reapportionment is the process for redistributing seats in the U.S. House of Representatives based on changes in population found in each decennial census. The Supreme Court blocked the administration's effort to add a citizenship question to the 2020 census form, with a majority saying the administration's rationale for the citizenship question to help enforce voting rights appeared to be contrived. New York Attorney General Letitia James, who, along with civil rights groups, fought the citizenship question in court, vowed to challenge the order. "No one ceases to be a person because they lack documentation," James said. "Under the law, every person residing in the U.S. during the census, regardless of status, must be counted." Dale Ho, director of the ACLU's Voting Rights Project, predicted Trump's latest effort also would be found unconstitutional. "The Constitution requires that everyone in the U.S. be counted in the census," Ho said. "President Trump can't pick and choose. He tried to add a citizenship question to the census and lost in the Supreme Court ... We will see him in court, and win, again." Trump's latest move comes in the lead-up to the November election as he is trying to motivate his base supporters with fresh action against illegal immigration, which was a mainstay of his 2016 campaign "There used to be a time when you could proudly declare, 'I am a citizen of the United States.' But now, the radical left is trying to erase the existence of this concept and conceal the number of illegal aliens in our country," Trump said in a statement. "This is all part of a broader left-wing effort to erode the rights of Americans citizens, and I will not stand for it." More than 92 million households have already responded to the 2020 Census, with the majority doing it online. People can still respond on their own online, over the phone or by mail all without having to meet a census taker. Only last week, door-knockers started heading out to households whose residents haven't yet answered the questionnaire. Trump's efforts to add the citizenship question drew fury and backlash from critics who alleged that it was intended to discourage participation in the nation's head count, not only by people living in the country illegally but also by citizens who fear that participating would expose noncitizen family members to repercussions. The financial and political stakes in the 2020 Census are huge, with Democratic-leaning metropolitan areas with large immigrant populations worried about losing dollars and political representation through Trump's efforts. After the Supreme Court blocked the citizenship question from being asked, Trump ordered the Census Bureau to gather citizenship data from the administrative records of federal and state agencies. The administration hopes that will help it determine how many people are in the U.S. illegally. That order is being challenged in the courts and the overwhelming majority of states have refused to share information about driver's licenses and ID cards. However, four states with Republican governors are cooperating. Iowa, South Carolina and South Dakota recently joined Nebraska in agreeing to share state driver's license information with the Census Bureau. Democratic members of Congress called the president's memo an effort to depress participation in the 2020 census, especially in minority communities. "Trump's unlawful effort is designed to again inject fear and distrust into vulnerable and traditionally undercounted communities, while sowing chaos with the Census," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. "The House of Representatives will vigorously contest the President's unconstitutional and unlawful attempt to impair the Census." It's not the first time that an attempt had been made to keep out immigrants living here illegally from the once-a-decade census and the subsequent allocation of congressional seats. In 1979, the Federation for American Immigration Reform and several members of Congress sued, demanding that the 1980 census exclude undocumented immigrants from apportionment. The case was dismissed, said Margo Anderson, a history professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. When a congressman unsuccessfully introduced legislation in 1980 that would have kept undocumented immigrants out of the apportionment count, U.S. Census Bureau director Vincent Barabba expressed concerns about entangling the bureau with immigration policy. He testified that doing so might entail procedures done in other countries, such as maintaining registration lists, that Americans would find disagreeable, Anderson said. In Alabama, state officials and Republican U.S. Congressman Mo Brooks are suing the Census Bureau to exclude people in the country illegally from being counted when determining congressional seats for each state. Trump's memo Tuesday is an blatant attempt to suppress the growing political power of Latinos in the U.S., said Thomas Saenz, president and general counsel of the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund. The fund, also known as MALDEF, and other civil rights groups are challenging Alabama's effort to exclude people in the country illegally from being counted during apportionment, and they pre-emptively challenged the very issues raised by Trump's memo on Tuesday in a cross-claim, Saenz said in an interview. "It's lawless but that's characteristic of this administration. We are already challenging it. We anticipated this ridiculousness," Saenz said. "It's clearly unconstitutional and not workable in any sense." Associated Press writer Jill Colvin contributed to this report. Schneider reported from Orlando, Fla. GIS 21 July 2020: The wearing of face masks has not per se impacted on the effectiveness of policing operations as the Safe City cameras are being used for the prevention and detection of crimes based on live information on the ground, management of traffic and prompt response to public requests and emergencies. The Prime Minister, Mr Pravind Kumar Jugnauth, was replying, this morning, to a parliamentary question at the National Assembly, in Port Louis. However, he acknowledged that it may partially impact on the identification of suspects regarding facial recognition. Nevertheless, the footages are still useful during police investigation as besides facial identification, there are other features and details which can be retrieved that can assist the Police in identifying the suspects though they are wearing protective face masks, he indicated. The Prime Minister further pointed out that identification evidence is not obtained exclusively by facial recognition. If such evidence is of a poor quality, the Police has recourse to other modes of identification through: Victims/witnesses; Samples (for example: urine, blood, saliva, vaginal fluid, hair or hairs, semen); Fingerprints and footprints identification; Use of Tracker dog; Photo electronically fit; and, Deoxyribonucleic Acid (DNA). Speaking about the Safe City cameras, Mr Jugnauth recalled that these are equipped with necessary attributes which can provide adequate information for the identification of suspects even if they are wearing protective masks. These attributes include the high definition footages, infrared and Pan, Tilt, Zoom (PTZ) cameras. Information Minister Kojo Oppong Nkrumah says more than 95 percent of Ghanaians have heard about the COVID-19 messages, but 20 percent of them do not believe the existence of the virus. He said even with the 95 percent who have heard the message, not all of them were complying with the safety and preventive protocols. Mr Oppong Nkrumah, who made this known in Accra on Tuesday, at a media briefing on the COVID-19 update, urged the non-state actors including the media, civil society organizations, and religious leaders to join the campaign to ensure that everybody complied with the preventive etiquettes. "Citizens should help in calling out those who are not complying to do so, this should be a collective effort...And as the President said, we should be Citizens and not Spectators, and so if you see your colleagues not wearing the nose masks, you should tell him or her to wear it," the Minister emphasised. Mr Oppong Nkrumah urged the local authorities and the security agencies across the country, to intensify the enforcement of the COVID-19 safety protocols to prevent further spread of the virus. Meanwhile, Ghana has recorded 25,331 recoveries and discharges of COVID-19, representing 87. 4 percent of the cumulative cases recorded in the country since March 12. There are, however, 3,505 active cases with a cumulative figure of 28,988. The age range of the majority of the infected persons is between 20 and 49 years. There are 25 severe cases, eight are critically ill and four on ventilators whilst the death toll remains at 153. 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 ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. In this illustration provided by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) in January 2020 shows the 2019 Novel Coronavirus (2019-nCoV). This virus was identified as the cause of an outbreak of respiratory illness first detected in Wuhan, China. THE CANADIAN PRESS/CDC via AP, File ST. JOHN'S, N.L. - Newfoundland and Labrador is reporting one new case of COVID-19 today. Authorities say the case involves a man in the Central Health region in his 20s who had recently returned from Ontario. They say the man is a Newfoundland and Labrador resident and is self-isolating. Health officials say the risk to the public remains low because the man was not symptomatic or considered infectious during his travel back to the province. The province has reported a total of 263 cases of COVID-19, 259 of which are considered recovered. Health officials say 22,461 people have been tested for the virus. This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2020. South Africa: President Ramaphosa pays tribute to John Lew President Cyril Ramaphosa has paid tribute to the late United States Congressman, John Lewis, for uniting two continents in the struggle to end racist inequality and affirm universal human rights. The President extended his condolences to Lewiss family, friends, fellow Congressmen and Congresswomen, and his many partners and supporters globally. Lewis, who served as the Representative for the 5th congressional district of the State of Georgia, passed away last week at the age of 80, following an extended illness. The Congressman was a close supporter of South Africas liberation struggle and undertook several visits to South Africa. He met former President Nelson Mandela shortly after Madibas release from prison and was a guest at President Mandelas inauguration. Lewis also had several engagements with President Mandela during his visits to the United States. Congressman John Lewis was a global icon of the fight for human rights and equality. He was a civil rights leader, who dedicated his life to the attainment of equality for all people and to the ending of the legacy of colonialism, slavery and the crime against humanity that was apartheid. While he fought a long and brave struggle in the country of his birth, he maintained a global perspective on the fight against racism and lent his support to our own struggle at critical moments, such as the Sharpeville Massacre. He was an inspiration to the civil rights movement in the United States and mobilised this movement to place pressure on the apartheid regime across the international community. "Through his work in the Black Caucus of Congress, he put in place a powerful and influential centre of support for our liberation struggle. He was a close and trusted advisor and ally to Martin Luther King Jr, Nelson Mandela and Barack Obama and many other leaders who drew on his formidable intellect, resilience and immovable insistence on justice, said President Ramaphosa. SAnews.gov.za This story has been published on: 2020-07-21. To contact the author, please use the contact details within the article. A man has become the 11th London murder victim in 17 days after dying from a serious head injury. The Metropolitan Police today arrested a 36-year-old man on suspicion of murder after the killing in Ealing at 6pm yesterday. It follows a string of fatal stabbings in the capital as blood continues to be split on the capital's streets. The force said in a statement: 'A murder investigation has been launched following the death of a man in Ealing. 'Police were called shortly after 18:00hrs on Monday, 20 July to reports of a disturbance outside a residential address on Elfwine Road, W7. 'Officers attended and found a man with a serious head injury. The London Ambulance Service attended and the man was pronounced dead at the scene. 'Next of kin have been notified. A 36-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday, 21 July on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody at a west London police station.' A police car today blocks off the cordoned road in Ealing after London's 11th murder this year The Metropolitan Police today arrested a 36-year-old man on suspicion of murder after the killing in Ealing (pictured today) at 6pm yesterday LONDON MURDERS 2020 Where the 68 murders across the capital this year have happened William Algar, 53, Jan-03, Barnes Takieddine Boudhane, 30, Jan-03, Finsbury Park Krasimir Kartikov, 60, Jan-13, Croydon Harinder Kumar, 22, Jan-19, Seven Kings Narinder Singh, 26, Jan-19, Seven Kings Baljit Singh, 34, Jan-19, Seven Kings Tahereh Pirali-Dashti, 40, Jan-20, Barnet Beverley Denahy, 61, Jan-22, Chingford Unnamed man, 60s, Jan-24, Clapton Louis Johnson, 16, Jan-27, Croydon Eraj Seifi, 46, Jan-29, Queens Park Unnamed man, 33, Feb-12, North Finchley James Dowdell, 54, Feb-17, Chelsea Sundeep Ghuman, 36, Feb-18, Thamesmead Lennox Nigel Alcendor, 42, Feb-21, Cricklewood Li-Qing Wang, 35, Feb-25, Waltham Forest Tyler Roye, 24, Feb-26, Croydon Archie Beston, 19, Feb-29, Kingston Asante Campbell, 24, Feb-29, Hendon David Siirak, 27, Mar-01, Hillingdon Shanur Ahmed, 16, Mar-03, Newham Ricardo Fuller, 24, Mar-07, Ilford Vanita Nowell, 68, Mar-08, Southwark Damani Mauge, 17, Mar-08, Croydon Cameron Murfitt, 18, Mar-15, Greenwich Tracey Kidd, 57, Mar-17, Hackney Shadika Mohsin Patel, 40, Mar-19, Newham Abdullahi Mahmoud, 29, Mar-19, Enfield Stefan Melnyk, 54, Mar-22, Acton Kelly Stewart, 41, Mar-26, Barking Tomas Macionis, 35, Mar-31, Walthamstow Sonia Teresa Burton Calvi, 56, Apr-01, Stockwell Edgar Aguilera Daza, 59, Apr-01, Stockwell Maryan Ismail, 57, Apr-06, Edmonton Ralph Gibson, 42, Apr-15, Putney Denise Michelle Keane-Barnett-Simmons, 26, Apr-16, Brent Mark Baker, 62, Apr-19, Walthamstow Jay John, 27, Apr-25, Hackney Baljit Singh, 37, Apr-25, Hayes Pavinya Nithiyakumar, 1, Apr-26, Ilford Nigish Nithiyakumar, 3, Apr-26, Ilford David Gomoh, 24, Apr-26, Newham Anthony Rooks, 79, May-04, Holloway Yonas Haile, 32, May-05, Hammersmith Francois Kablan, 19, May-13, Southwark Jemal Ebrahim, 23, May-13, Haringey Chad Gordon, 27, May-18, Haringey Oluwamayowa Adeymi, 21, Jun-05, Hackney Nicole Smallman, 27, Jun-07, Wembley Bibaa Henry, 46, Jun-07, Wembley Alexander Kareem, 20, Jun-08, Shepherd's Bush Unnamed woman, 50s, Jun-10, Lewisham Mihai Gae, 48, Jun-13, Hornsey Kyle Kelson, 25, Jun-19, North Cheam Wayne Hoskyns, 41, Jun-19, Bexley Steve Morrison, 30, Jun-23, Epping Sayagi Sivanantham, 5, Jun-30, Mitcham Imani Allaway-Muir, 22, Jul-04, Islington Khloemae Loy, 23, Jul-05, Greenwich Donnell Rhule, 18, Jul-08, Dulwich Muhammed Samir Uddin, 19, Jul-10, Poplar Jahreau Shepherd, 30, Jul-11, Kennington Dean Edwards, 43, Jul-12, Penge Ahmed Yasin-Ali, 18, Jul-15, Maida Vale Billy McCullagh, 27, Jul-16, Harlesden Peter Petrou, 37, Jul-16, Kilburn Skender Ismaili, 30, Jul-17, Enfield Unnamed man, TBC, Jul-20, Ealing Police on Friday launched two separate murder investigations after two men in their 30s were knifed to death. Officers were called on Thursday to a McDonald's in Kilburn following reports a man had been stabbed at 10.24pm. The victim, believed to be in his mid-30s, was taken to a central London hospital but was pronounced dead shortly after. Just hours later, a second murder probe was launched after a man in his 30s was stabbed in Enfield and rushed to North Middlesex Hospital where he died. The death comes after statistics released from the Office of National Statistics last week showed knife crimes in England and Wales had risen six per cent to a new record high and homicides by ten per cent in the last year. Police have launched a murder investigation after a man in his 30s was stabbed on Victoria Road in Kilburn last week A forensic team carry out investigations after a man in his 30s was stabbed in Lytton Avenue in Enfield Rising knife crime needs fresh approach, says Peer who survived sword attack A record spike in knife crime highlights the need for a fresh approach to tackle the problem, according to a former MP who survived a samurai sword attack that killed his assistant. The plea was made by Liberal Democrat peer Lord Jones of Cheltenham as he recalled the horrific assault at his Gloucestershire constituency office back in January 2000 that left his aide Andrew Pennington dead. His comments followed the release of official figures that revealed the number of knife crimes in England and Wales had risen 6 per cent to a new record high. Police-recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument rose to 46,265 for the year to March, up from 43,706 in the previous 12 months, according to information released by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released last week. This was 51 per cent higher than when data of this kind was first collected in 2010/11 (30,620) and is the highest number on record, the report said. Pressing the Government during an urgent question on the statistics at Westminster, Lord Jones said: 'I know the impact such crimes have. On January 28 2000 I was one of the victims of a sword attack in my MP's constituency office, in which my colleague died. 'These latest figures show the Government needs a new policy. So will they get those who've turned their lives around after wasting time in prison for knife crime, who kids can relate to, into schools to convince them to bin their knives?' Responding, Home Office minister Baroness Williams said she 'very well' remembered the incident to which the peer referred, and said it 'must have left lasting scars for all those involved'. She highlighted steps being taken to get weapons off the streets, including so-called zombie knives, which are now illegal to possess. Lady Williams added: 'Children need to feel supported in binning the knife, feel supported in not carrying knives, as opposed to feeling penalised.' Earlier, the Bishop of St Albans, the Rt Rev Alan Smith, has also urged a 'much more ambitious approach' in tackling knife crime, which was blighting the lives of youngsters. He said: 'Will the Government commit to a public health approach to this problem, encompassing poverty reduction, increasing youth services and strengthening community policing?' Lady Williams argued 'it is the only way to go', with no one cause of the knife scourge. She said: 'It has to be a multi-agency approach, a public health approach.' Tory former Lord Chancellor Lord Mackay of Clashfern said while police used stop and search powers to try and combat the problem, he pointed out its operation 'appears to be strongly biased against black people', and questioned what could be done to address this. Advertisement Hours after the first Enfield murder, officers were called back to the borough following reports four men were fighting and a man had been put into a vehicle at 4.45am. A man in his 30s was taken to North Middlesex Hospital suffering a single stab wound, which he died from. Ali Coulibaly 20, Mason Harris-Williams, 24, and Daniel Fletcher, 19, are all due to appear at Highbury Magistrates' Court on Tuesday charged with murder and conspiracy to burgle. Figures from the ONS revealed last week police-recorded offences involving a knife or sharp instrument rose to 46,265 for the year to March. This was 51 per cent higher than when data of this kind was first collected in 2011 and is the highest number on record, the report said. The number of such offences rose seven per cent in London, but dropped 10 per cent in West Yorkshire and remained the same in the West Midlands - the three areas of the country with the highest rate per 100,000 population. The report said: 'Knife or sharp instrument offences continue to be concentrated in metropolitan areas across England and Wales, with around a third (34%) of all offences recorded by the police in London.' The highest rate was also seen in London, with 179 offences per 100,000 population This compared with an England and Wales average of 82 offences per 100,000. According to the latest statistics, assault with injury and assault with intent to cause serious harm offences, and robbery, each accounted for 44 per cent of all offences involving a knife or sharp instrument (20,333 and 20,159 respectively). The ONS report added: 'Offences involving knives or sharp instruments have been experiencing a rising trend since the year ending March 2014, although in recent years the rate of increase has slowed.' Tributes were also paid to a 'caring' 18-year-old after he was fatally stabbed in last week. Ahmed Yasin-Ali was found injured in a separate attack in Elmfield Way, Maida Vale, west London at around 12.30am, the Metropolitan Police said. Police officers gave him first aid and land and air ambulance crews were called, but he died in hospital shortly after 1am. Tributes were paid to the 'caring' and 'beloved' 18-year-old who was fatally stabbed in west London. His family said in a statement: 'Our beloved son, brother and friend peacefully passed away on Wednesday morning. He was loved by all and will forever be missed. 'Caring, loving, and by far the most clean-hearted of us all. He wanted nothing but good for everyone and himself, striving hard in his school work and job to make it to university in order to provide our family with a better life.' The family added: 'Our family wants to prevent such devastating acts from happening ever again, this means that we are fully cooperating with the police and respect the law. The last thing we need is any retaliation or revenge. 'We as Muslims forgive those who so painfully took away our precious and beautiful son. Forever in our hearts, our neighbourhood hero.' Detective Chief Inspector Vicky Tunstall said: 'Ahmed's family are devastated by the loss of their son and brother and we are working tirelessly to investigate the circumstances surrounding his murder. 'Ahmed was only 18 years old, had his whole life ahead of him and had aspirations to attend university, so this is a particularly tragic and wasted loss of life.' Ahmed Yasin-Ali was found injured in Elmfield Way, Maida Vale, west London at 12.30am in a separate attack on the same day. He died in hospital shortly after Police officers stand at the scene after Mr Yasin-Ali was found injured in a separate stabbing in London The conditions necessary for holding a Normandy Four summit have not been created thus far, Russian presidential press secretary Dmitry Peskov said. "There is no necessary groundwork for this for now," Peskov told Interfax on Tuesday, when commenting on Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky's statement that a date for the next Normandy Four summit may be set in the near future. Zelensky said earlier in the day that Ukraine expects a date for a Normandy Four summit in Berlin to be set sometime soon. "Now, we understand that we have tentative confirmation from the German side, confirmation from the French side, and an understanding that the Russian Federation doesn't mind meeting either, because everyone understands how important it is for all of us to meet in the Normandy format. Therefore, we expect a date for a meeting in the Normandy format to be set in the near future," Zelensky said at a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday. Imperial Valley News Center President Trump on Phase Four Negotiations Washington, DC - Remarks by President Trump on Phase Four Negotiations: THE PRESIDENT: Okay, well, thank you very much. Youve asked to see whats going on at our meetings, so I figured let you come in. Youll look and youll see we have a lot of a lot of good things happening. We have tremendous progress on vaccines and therapeutics. Were getting reports. Were studying the reports very closely. I think people are going to be very pleasantly surprised with whats going on on the vaccine front and the therapeutic front. And that, to us, is always the first topic. Secondarily, but very importantly, were working and negotiating with the Democrats on trying to get a plan that helps small businesses, helps people, helps this country. And I think weve made a lot of progress on that. And the discussions are going on. Steve, do you want to say a few words as to where we are? SECRETARY MNUCHIN: Yes, Mr. President. Mark and I have been working very hard over the last two weeks, with Mitch and Kevin, on really what we see as the focus is kids and jobs, the Recovery Act, CARES 4.0. Weve spent an unprecedented amount of money. The good news is a lot of the $3 trillion, we still have left to put in the economy and put back to work. Were focused on starting with another trillion dollars. We think that will make a big impact. And the focus is, as I said, is really about kids and jobs and vaccines. Were going to make sure that we have a vaccine by the end of the year for emergency use. And the plan is we just updated the President and the Vice President; they signed off on this. Mark and I will be meeting tomorrow with the Republicans at the lunch to give them a full briefing, and then we will also be reaching out to the Democrats to begin our discussions. But we are committed that, by the end of this month, make sure that before the enhanced unemployment insurance expires, that we pass legislation so that we can protect Americans that are unemployed. Now, weve said the number one issue is we have to finish the technical fix on enhanced unemployment. Were going to make sure that we dont pay people more money to stay home than go to work. We want to make sure that people who can go to work safely can do so. Well have tax credits that incentivize businesses to bring people back to work. Well have tax credits for PPE, for safe work environment. And were going to have big incentives, money to the states for education, for schools that can open safely and do education. So these are the priorities, as well as liability protection. We want to make sure that frivolous lawsuits dont prevent schools, universities, and businesses from reopening. THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Mike? THE VICE PRESIDENT: Well, Mr. President, I just want to I want to say how much we appreciate the leadership in the House and Senate. Todays conversation is a continuation of your commitment to do whatever it takes to get the American people, American businesses, and communities through this very challenging time. The outbreaks across the Sun Belt are serious, but because of the support that weve had from, frankly, leaders in both political parties in the Congress of the United States, were meeting this moment with expanded testing, personal protective equipment, and, as you said, Mr. President, with the development and distribution of therapeutics and a rapid development of vaccines. That will all continue. But its important that the Congress come together and provide additional resources for families that have been impacted, businesses that have been impacted. Well make sure our healthcare workers and our states have the resources that they need. But also, Mr. President, were going to continue to advance policies thatll make it possible for us to open up America again and open up Americas schools. And I look forward, I know as you do, in working with the leaders that are gathered here and members of Congress in both political parties, to deliver another important elements of a recovery package that will keep on working until we bring our country all the way back and reach that day that we someday put this coronavirus in the past. THE PRESIDENT: Okay. Mitch, please. LEADER MCCONNELL: Yeah, tomorrow begins the process of socializing what weve been discussing with the administration over the last two weeks with our members. And if youre looking for a theme here, think liability protection for those who have been trying to deal with the pandemic. We dont need an epidemic of lawsuits on the heels of the pandemic were already struggling with. Kids in school, jobs, and healthcare will be the theme of the proposal that we hope to come together and present to our Republicans. And then, as the Secretary of the Treasury indicated, obviously you cant pass the bill in the Senate without the Democrats, and well begin to talk with them as well. THE PRESIDENT: Kevin? LEADER MCCARTHY: Yes. I mean, just to sum up what were looking at: If youre sitting at home and youre concerned that you dont have a job, we want to make sure youre able to come back. We dont think any federal money should be spent that gives you a disincentive to work. We want to make sure we have incentives to keep going. For those small businesses, we want to make sure you can stay open. We want to make sure your kids can go back to school, but go back safely not just for the children, but for the teachers as well. We continue to make strides to make sure we get to a vaccine that we find a cure for this virus that we did not invite, that came from a foreign land. And I think thats the focus that we have to be a part of. Mitch talks about and I think its fundamental not just for schools, but for any businesses striving whether they can open back up or not. They should not have an attack from any lawsuits. We need to give the protection that we rebuild, restore, and renew this country to where we were before, and I know we can do it together. Thats why were working here. Well be reaching out to the Democrats. And I hope, for that moment in time, they put politics aside; that we look at one nation, that we dont sit back inside of a rule within a Senate that a minority denies the ability to have this debate, that denies the ability to help America unite and solve this problem once and for all. We are making great strides when it comes to therapies, what this Warp Speed. History will write about this. When we get to the moment in time that we have this vaccine, theyll write about how fast it would and no other country could do what we did because of the ingenuity of this nation. And thats the focus of what were trying to do for the safety of this country, for our students, for our teachers, and for our businesses that were back to work again, stronger and safer and more united. THE PRESIDENT: It came from China. It should have never been allowed to get out. They could have stopped it. They could have stopped it easily. They chose not to. And well have further reports on that. But it came from China. They could have stopped it, but they didnt. They stopped it from going into China, but they didnt stop it from going to the rest of the world. It didnt stop it from going to Europe, to us. They should have stopped it. They could have stopped it. They werent transparent at all; they were the opposite. Its not good. I spoke with the President of France this morning, and I spoke with I spoke with the President of Egypt, and we had a very, very good conversation, both of us. And all of us, and all of us together Ive had many conversations with leaders all over the world over the weekend, and over the last couple of weeks in particular. And this is a pandemic that is flaring up all over the place. Countries thought they were in good shape and then, all of a sudden, they have a big flare-up. I see that over the weekend I guess on Friday there was a worldwide number of death worldwide. Because when you watch the news the local news and you see it, and its its, like, all about the United States. They never like to talk about whats going on in the world. But you look at Mexico, Brazil, many countries in Europe, many countries all over Russia. Russia has a got a tremendous problem. Its whats going on is terrible. Its terrible. But this is a worldwide problem. And were helping the world with ventilators. Were helping a lot of countries. They dont have ventilators, and were sending thousands of ventilators to different countries. But I do want people to understand this is a worldwide problem caused by China, but its a worldwide problem. Countries are going through hell, and its going to were going to give you a lot briefings in the next week and over the next few weeks as to I think its very important to do it, the vaccines and the therapeutics. I think Im going to bring some of the great companies that are working, and very successfully in the past have worked on these things, and theyre going to tell you very specifically what theyre doing and how theyre doing. But we think were doing very well in that regard. Those two items I think, frankly, therapeutic, I like almost better at this point. You go in and you make people better. Now, we have had some very good luck with remdesivir, and thats been successful. And others have been successful. The plasma has been successful. But we are were really coming up with some very good answers, meaning, they are. All over the world, theyre working. And were working very closely all over the world on the vaccines and the therapeutics. So were going to have some of the heads of these great companies coming in. Johnson & Johnson is doing very well, in particular. They seem to be doing very well. But numerous are doing very well. Its something that I really feel certain I guess you can never use totally certain but pretty damn certain that theyre going to have the vaccine, theyre going to have therapeutics, and its going to start taking place very shortly, and that will be a great thing. For the world, that will be a great thing. But this is happening all over the world, not just the United States. And its a tough one. Its very tough. Its very sad when you see the death. Its all death that could have couldve been stopped by China. If they wanted to stop it, they couldve stopped it. Okay, thank you very much, everybody. Please. Thank you. Thank you. Q How important, President how important is the payroll tax cut? THE PRESIDENT: The what? Q How important is the payroll tax cut in phase four? THE PRESIDENT: I think its very important. I think its a very important thing. Its very good. Its been proven to be successful. Its a big saving for the people. Its a tremendous saving, and I think its an incentive for companies to hire their workers back and to keep their workers. So the payroll tax cut, to me, is very important. Were working on it. And I dont think that theres too much dispute as to the level of importance, John. Its a very important thing. Okay? Its one of thats one of many elements were discussing. Were discussing probably a total of 10 different elements. But payroll tax cut is a very important one. Q Are they signing on it? THE PRESIDENT: Oh, absolutely. No, I think I think, hopefully, well get there, but were talking about a lot of things, not just the payroll tax cut. Q So youre bringing back the coronavirus briefings? Is that do I understand you correctly? THE PRESIDENT: Well, we had very successful briefings. I was doing them, and we had a lot of people watching record numbers watching. In the history of cable television television, theres never been anything like it. And we were doing very well, and I thought it would be, sort of, automatic. And a lot of a lot of positive things were happening. And, frankly, a lot of the country is doing well. A lot of the people dont say it, as you understand. But weve have had this big flare-up in Florida, Texas, a couple of other places. And so I think what were going to do is Ill get involved and well start doing briefings, whether its this afternoon or tomorrow probably tomorrow and Ill do briefings. And part of the briefing, I think much more so than last time because last time, we were nowhere with vaccines or therapeutics. And lets say that ended six weeks ago, and well start them again. And I think its a great way to get information out to the public as to where we are with the vaccines, with the therapeutics, and, generally speaking, where we are. And so I think well start that probably starting tomorrow. Ill do it at 5 oclock, like we were doing. We had a good slot. And a lot of people were watching, and thats a good thing. I think that Kayleigh will continue hers at 11 oclock, just like they were. And Ill be discussing the as I call it, the China virus, the China plague. Ill be discussing it, and Ill also be discussing perhaps some other things. But, you know, were doing very well in so many different ways, but unfortunately, this is something thats very tough, but were going to get it solved, and I think were going to get it solved in numerous ways, but the two best would be vaccines and therapeutics. So well well be having that. Q Mr. President, on Portland and other cities that are experiencing violence THE PRESIDENT: Yeah. Q there was a report out this morning that youre considering sending 175 federal troops to these cities to help local law enforcement. Can you fill us in on that? THE PRESIDENT: Well, it depends on what your definition of troops is. I mean, were sending law enforcement. Portland was totally out of control. The Democrats the liberal Democrats running the place had no idea what they were doing. They were ripping down for 51 days, ripping down that city, destroying the city, looting it. The level of corruption and what was going on there is incredible. And then the governor comes out: We dont need any help. How about Chicago? I read the numbers were many people killed over the weekend. Were looking at Chicago too. Were looking at New York. Look at whats going on. All run by Democrats, all run by very liberal Democrats. All run, really, by radical left. But we cant let this happen to the cities. New York was up 348 percent the crime rate. So the governor has to do something about it. And if the governor is not going to do something about, well do something about it. But whats happening in New York, a place I love I love New York. And look at whats going on over there. The woman who was shot because she said, Could you please not light off fire crackers? And they turned around and shot her eight times, and she died. Thats not our civilization. Thats not about us. And then the police are afraid to do anything. I know New York very well. I know the police very well New Yorks Finest. And the fact is theyre restricted from doing anything. They cant do anything. Q So what are you planning on doing? THE PRESIDENT: Well, Im going to do something that, I can tell you. Because were not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia and Detroit and Baltimore and all of these Oakland is a mess. Were not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats. Q Send more federal law enforcement to some of these cities? THE PRESIDENT: Were going to have more federal law enforcement that, I can tell you. In Portland, theyve done a fantastic job. Theyve been there three days, and they really have done a fantastic job in very short period of time. No problem. They grab them; a lot of people in jail. Theyre leaders. These are anarchists. These are not protestors. People say protestors; these people are anarchists. These are people that hate our country. And were not going to let it go forward. And Ill tell you what: The governor and the mayor and the senators out there, theyre afraid of these people. Thats the reason they dont want us to help them. Theyre afraid. I really believe theyre actually maybe even physically afraid of these people because what theyre doing is incredible. We didnt just go there. This wasnt like it started right away. We went there after 51 days. We said, We cant let that happen anymore. But these are anarchists. And the politicians out there, yes, theyre weak, but theyre afraid of these people. Theyre actually afraid of these people. And thats why they say, We dont want the federal government helping. How about Chicago? Would you say they need help after this weekend? Do you know the numbers? Did you hear the numbers? Many, many shot. Many, many killed. Im not talking about one, two. Was it 18 people killed? I think more than that. And you add it up over the summer this is worse than Afghanistan, by far. This is worse than anything anyone has ever seen. All run by the same liberal Democrats. And you know what? If Biden got in, that would be true for the country. The whole country would go to hell. And were not going to let it go to hell. Thank you very much, everybody. Falun Gong Community Protests Outside ABC Headquarters Ahead of Scheduled Reports Practitioner who suffered torture in China 'never dreamed' persecution would follow him to Australia SYDNEYFalun Gong practitioners gathered outside the Sydney headquarters of Australias national public broadcaster, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), in the inner-Sydney suburb of Ultimo on Tuesday to protest against an episode of Foreign Correspondent and a podcast series that misrepresented the group. Multiple protesters expressed they were concerned that the scheduled program may be used by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) to further justify its decades-long persecution of Falun Gong and effectively exacerbate the persecution in mainland China. Indeed it was on July 17, when a CCP website lauded the program, saying the ABCs report justified its persecution of Falun Gong 21 years ago, which led to two decades of arbitrary detention, torture, forced re-education, killing, and forced organ harvesting. Dozens of banners lined both sides of the street, including in front of the entrance to the ABC building, as the Falun Gong community gathered for a press conference at the buildings entrance expressing concerns over the ABCs Foreign Correspondent program. Protesters held banners that read ABC: investigate the facts; stop misleading Australian[s], and ABC Stop Being the CCPs Accomplices. Other banners read Be responsible to Australian people, and expressed concerns that the upcoming ABC reports gravely misrepresents the Falun Gong community. Other signs held by protesters called for the end of the persecution of Falun Gong in China, and reiterated that Falun Gong teaches truthfulness, compassion, forbearance. The program and podcast is an inter-department collaboration between ABCs Foreign Correspondent and Background Briefing programs. It presents, almost exclusively, the experiences of some disaffected people who interacted with or knew Falun Gong practitioners. Shocked and Heartbroken Dr. Lucy Zhao, president of the Falun Dafa Association of Australia, said in a statement that she fears the series of reports will cause misunderstanding about a culturally foreign faith practice, and potentially exacerbate the trauma of Falun Gong practitioners in Australia who fled religious persecution as refugees. Sydney resident Tony Liu wrote in a media release for the event that he felt shocked and heartbroken upon seeing the trailer for the ABC program. Liu was detained in a forced labour camp in China and suffered horrific torture at the hands of prison guards and other inmates for practicing Falun Gong. I came to Australia to escape persecution. I never dreamed it would follow me here, Tony said, adding that the ABC promotions for its upcoming reports reminded him of being back in China, where the CCP media spread propaganda about Falun Gong to turn people against us. A character formation event involving 5,000 Falun Gong practitioners, forming the Chinese characters for truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance, the core principles of Falun Gong, in Wuhan, China, in 1998. (Minghui.org) Falun Gong, also known as Falun Dafa, is a spiritual practice that involves meditation exercises and living according to truthfulness, compassion, and tolerance. The practice became very popular after its public introduction in 1992, with official state estimates at 70-100 million people practicing Falun Dafa in China in 1999. It is now practised in more than 100 countries by millions around the world. The trailer promoting the program has been heavily criticised by the Falun Dafa Association of Australia for basic factual errors and inflammatory representations of Falun Gongs beliefs. David Matas (R) speaks at a rally after receiving the Friends of Falun Gong Human Rights award jointly with David Kilgour (L) on June 20, 2018 in Washington. (Samira Bouaou/The Epoch Times) David Matas, a Canadian human rights lawyer and expert on the topic of forced organ harvesting of Falun Gong practitioners in China, said in a statement that the promotional material for the program on Falun Gong is an exercise in bigotry or prejudice. [It] is defamatory, degrading and demeaning to innocent practitioners of Falun Gong, Matas said of the trailer. The Association earlier sent a letter to the ABC expressing its concerns and also provided a detailed explanation of aspects of the Falun Gong teachings and practices that it says were misrepresented in the ABC promotion, and raised concerns that ABC was being used to promote CCP narratives and vilify an already marginalised faith practice. ABC has not responded to those concerns, the Association said. The Association said in a statement that the ABC report appears to violate the ABCs own Code of Practice regarding accuracy, balance, impartiality, fair treatment, open-mindedness, the avoidance of misleading information, sensitivity to foreign cultural practices, and harm mitigation. The logo for Australias public broadcaster ABC is seen on its head office building in Sydney on September 27, 2018. (Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images) The Epoch Times reached out to the ABC for a comment but the broadcaster did not respond. Read More ABC Allegedly Breaches Own Code of Practice in Reports: Falun Gong Spokesperson Nalini Sriharan, who is serving a life sentence in connection with the assassination of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi, allegedly threatened to kill herself following a spat with a co-prisoner on Monday, reports said. According to reports, Nalini and another life convict housed in the cell of the Special Prison for Women in Vellore fought with each other. The other life convict complained to the jailer about the incident and wanted to be shifted from the block, reports said. Nalini, who has been in prison for more than two decades, allegedly threatened to end her life after the jailer went to the cell to conduct an inquiry. Besides Nalini, others convicted for life in the case are her husband Murugan, Suthenthira Raja alias Santhan, AG Perarivalan, Robert Payas, Jayakumar and Ravichandran. Four of the convicts - Sriharan, Santhan, Robert Payas and Jayakumar - are Sri Lankan nationals. All the seven were convicted by a special TADA court for their role in Gandhis assassination on May 21, 1991, by a woman LTTE suicide bomber during an election rally at nearby Sriperumbudur near Chennai and sentenced to death. The death sentence was later commuted to life imprisonment. The Tamil Nadu government had in February this year informed Madras High Court that the state has recommended the release of all the seven life convicts of Rajiv Gandhi assassination case to the governor as it lacks the power to order such remission. The state cabinet has only made a recommendation to the governor. Only the governor has to make a decision. The governor cannot be questioned by the state for not acting on its recommendation, public prosecutor A Natarajan had said then. Natarajan had made the submission on a plea by Nalini Sriharan, seeking to declare her detention as illegal since the governor had failed to order her release based on the September 9, 2018, recommendation of the state cabinet. (Please reach out to your nearest mental health specialist if you need support or know someone who does. Helplines: Aasra: 022 2754 6669; Sneha India Foundation: +914424640050 and Sanjivini: 011-24311918) (Newser) A lawyer who described himself as an "anti-feminist attorney" has been identified as the suspect in the murder of the son of a New Jersey federal judge. Sources tell the AP that Roy Den Hollander, 72, was found dead from a self-inflicted gunshot wound in his vehicle in upstate New York on Monday. Den Hollander brought a lawsuit before US District Judge Esther Salas in 2015 that challenged the male-only draft, reports the New York Times. Hollander has also sued Columbia University for offering classes in women's studies and has filed numerous failed lawsuits since 2007 challenging "ladies' night" promotions in bars. story continues below Police say Salas' son Daniel Anderl, who turned 20 last week, was killed and her husband, 63-year-old Mark Anderl, was seriously injured by a gunman who arrived at their home disguised as a FedEx deliveryman. Den Hollander wrote online about posing as a FedEx employee to speak to a young girl, the AP notes. In other posts, he disparaged Salas. Police say a package addressed to the judge was found with his body. The New York Daily News reports that Den Hollander had terminal cancer and announced in January that he was suing a New York hospital that treated him. "Ill fight them to my last dollar, my last breath and if there is anything after deathfor eternity. They should have shown a little more respect for a dying man." (Read more New Jersey stories.) Gotham Bar and Grill, in business for 36 years and one of New Yorks best-known restaurants, closed in March at the start of the pandemic lockdown. At the time, management said the situation was untenable, and that the closing was permanent. Now it seems there is a possibility that Gotham could reopen after all, if a plan by a former managing partner falls into place. Bret Csencsitz, who had been with the restaurant for 13 years, is trying to raise money and working out the details of an agreement with a new partner who, he said, also recognizes the legacy the restaurant represents. Mr. Csencsitz said hes negotiating with the original partners, Jerome Kretchmer, Jeff Bliss, Rick Rathe and Robert Rathe, to acquire the use of the Gotham name, which is trademarked. Mr. Kretchmer said he and his partners are comfortable with transferring the name, but the details have to be worked out. They no longer have any involvement whatsoever with the restaurant space. Mr. Csencsitz is negotiating a new lease with the landlord. With over 14.7 million confirmed novel coronavirus cases and nearly 610,000 fatalities, researchers are reporting progress in the race to develop a safe and effective vaccine against the disease. Two different experimental vaccines -- one developed in a joint venture between Britains Oxford University and British-Swedish drug maker AstraZeneca, the other by Chinese biotech firm CanSino Biologics -- have produced strong immune responses in late-stage human trials, according to two peer-reviewed studies published Monday in the British medical journal The Lancet. Meanwhile, U.S. drug maker Pfizer and its German partner BioNTech also reported positive progress Monday on their vaccine candidate. The vaccine developed by the joint Oxford-AstraZeneca partnership is receiving the most attention, with the company having signed agreements with many governments to supply its vaccine if it is proved to be effective and granted regulatory approval. The company has already committed to making 2 billion doses. According to The New York Times, the doses have been administered to more than 10,000 volunteers in Britain, Brazil and South Africa, with 30,000 participants in the United States set to receive the experimental vaccine next week. A subject receives a shot in the first-stage safety study clinical trial of a potential vaccine by Moderna for COVID-19, the disease caused by the new coronavirus, at the Kaiser Permanente Washington Health Research Institute in Seattle. Mondays news comes a week after U.S.-based biotech firm Moderna announced a vaccine developed by researchers at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease had also produced strong immune responses in its late-stage human trials, although it came with mild or moderate side effects such as fatigue, headaches, chills and muscle aches. But Dr. Peter Hotez, the dean of tropical medicine at Baylor College of Medicine, told CNN Monday that the first vaccines may not be our best vaccines. Dr. Hotez said it will probably take a year to accumulate all the data showing the vaccines actually work, as well as that theyre safe. Meanwhile, European Union leaders reached an agreement early Tuesday on a $2.1 trillion budget and coronavirus relief package. The agreement includes $857 billion in coronavirus funding that will be issued as loans and grants to the hardest-hit countries. It came after negotiations stretched on for four days and nights, well beyond what was expected. A main sticking point was a divide between a group of five richer countries in the north, including the Netherlands and Austria, that advocated a cut in the original proposal of $572 billion in grants along with stricter spending controls, while others such as Spain and Italy sought to keep such restrictions to a minimum. The final agreement included a compromise of $446 billion in grants. During an Oval Office meeting with Republican lawmakers on Monday about a new coronavirus financial rescue package, President Donald Trump announced that he will resume the daily press briefings of his coronavirus task force, beginning Tuesday. The president led the briefings over the course of several weeks in the early days of pandemic, but ended them in April after he was widely criticized for an offhand suggestion that doctors could inject bleach into COVID-19 patients to counteract the disease. Trump also used the briefings to tout the use of hydroxychloroquine as a treatment, despite medical experts warnings that the drug ineffective and has possibly deadly side effects. The return of the daily briefings comes as the U.S. has topped 3.8 million confirmed COVID-19 infections and nearly 141,000 deaths, according to the Johns Hopkins University Coronavirus Research Center. After weeks of downplaying the need for Americans to wear masks as an effective means to prevent spreading the virus, Trump also tweeted a photo of himself wearing a mask. He wrote that many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you cant socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President! For nearly a month, 33-year-old Jikmet Wangdus and his brother-in-law have been going to the Delhi international airport daily to collect a box flown all the way from Leh. Except, the package is not an ordinary one. The box has seven small containers inside, each carrying the precious breast milk of Wangdus' wife for their newborn, who underwent a complex life-saving surgery recently at a private hospital New Delhi. The boy was born through a C-section on June 16 at Sonam Nurboo Memorial Hospital in Leh and 30-year-old Dorjey Palmo found out that her baby was unable to suckle when she tried to feed him. "I was in Mysore when my family in Leh contacted me and my Guruji's family members, who are doctors, suggested sending the baby immediately to Delhi or Chandigarh at a bigger hospital. "So, my wife's brother, Jigmat Gyalpo, took a flight from Leh and brought my child to Delhi on June 18 morning," Wangdus said. Wangdus, who works as a manager in a educational institution in Mysore, took a flight too and reached early morning on the same day. Leh and Delhi are 1,000-km apart by road and a direct flight takes one hour and 15 minutes. "I only once took my child in my hands when he was two days old. I didn't touch him much because I had travelled from Karnataka and there was so much COVID scare. My brother-in-law carried him," he told PTI. Upon landing at the Delhi airport, the baby was rushed by his father and uncle to the Max hospital, Shalimar Bagh in an ambulance and was admitted to its NICU (neonatal intensive care unit), hospital authorities said. At Max hospital, Dr Harshwardhan, principal consultant, Paediatric Department, diagnosed the baby with tracheoesophageal fistula with esophageal atresia, which he said, is not very uncommon, but affects about 'three in every thousand children'. Basically, in this condition, the child's food pipe and trachea were connected, and it was unable to feed. When the child was brought to our nursery, the baby also had a respiratory infection 'so we had to stabilise him first', he said. "We conducted the surgery, lasting about three hours, the next day and it was a complex surgery, considering the baby was just four-days-old. But, the surgery was successful," he said. The doctor said the baby was kept in NICU for three days and fed through nose via a tube, when he suggested the father about the need of mother's milk. Wangdus said his friends at Leh airport, a very generous private airline which ferried the box free of cost every day, and 'good-hearted passengers' helped the family in getting a daily supply of the mother's milk from Leh to Delhi to fortify the baby who was recovering from the surgery. "My wife was unable to travel to Delhi due to the coronavirus scare and therefore we had to manage in this manner," he said. "From end of June, this has been our routine, and on alternate days, I and my brother-in-law, go to Delhi's T3 terminal and wait eagerly for the box, which have our contact numbers on it," he said. "Today, my brother-in-law collected it, and my wife will keep sending the milk till our last day in Delhi," the father said. Each box has seven containers, of 60 ml capacity each, and every day the boxes are also returned to Leh for refill the next day, Wangdus added. An emotionally overwhelmed father, said, his gurus in Bengaluru were sending blessings every day for his well-being and 'so many good souls have helped us through this journey in this difficult time'. "Two days ago, my Guruji named my child Rigzin Wangchuk. Our flight tickets are booked for Friday, and we all will be going home finally," he said. Wangdus said the baby's mother, who works in the revenue department in Leh, is on maternity leave and eagerly waiting to hold her child back in her arms. "Every day, she was sending not just her milk for the newborn, which is needed for his healthy growth, but also her love for her child, from 1,000 km away. I am happy, my baby is alright now," he said. Max hospital, Shalimar Bagh is a dedicated COVID-19 facility and Dr Harshwardhan said, the baby was brought to the nursery section of the hospital which has no coronavirus cases. "Post-surgery, we also ran a COVID test on the baby just to be sure, and it came negative. We are very happy that the healthy baby will now be reunited with her mother on Friday," he said. Ukrainian police are in a tense standoff with a heavily armed man who has taken approximately 20 people hostage aboard a passenger bus in the town of Lutsk in western Ukraine. Special forces police have cordoned off the bus in a central square of the city and authorities said they are holding negotiations with the gunman, who has claimed he has a large quantity of explosives with him. Ukraine's Interior ministry said the hostage-taker has warned them he has rigged the bus to explode and that another bomb was planted in Lutsk that he claims he could detonate remotely. Shots were fired early on in the standoff and police said a grenade was thrown from bus, though it didn't explode. So far there have been no casualties reported. The stand-off began mid-morning after the gunman called police saying he was hijacking the bus and taking the passengers hostage, Ukraine President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said in a statement. It is unclear when the shots were fired or by whom. Video from the scene showed the bus with two broken windows and heavily armed police lying on the ground a few meters away with rifles pointed at the bus. The exact number of people aboard the bus is not known but police have said it is between 10 and 20. Authorities have named the hostage-taker as Maksym S. Kriyvosh, 44, originally born in Russia. A deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko said in a Facebook post that the gunman had introduced himself to police under the pseudonym "Maksim Plokhoy". MORE: What to know about the Russia-linked hackers accused of stealing COVID vaccine data Several social media accounts under that name have posted texts that include demands that top Ukrainian government and judicial officials, religious figures and several well-known oligarchs publish videos on YouTube where they would call themselves "terrorists." In the posts, there is a warning that if the video statements are not made then bombs will go off. Several of the posts are titled "Happy Anti-System Day." Story continues A Twitter account with the gunman's name continued tweeting after the bus was seized, listing the demands. Twitter deleted the account a short time after. Local media have reported that Kryvosh's parents had lived in Lutsk. According to Ukraine's Interior Ministry, Kriyvosh has previously been convicted twice by a court in the city in 1994 and 2005 of serious crimes, including fraud and illegal possession of arms and explosives. He has spent a total of 10 years in prison, Gerashchenko said. PHOTO: A police car blocks the road where a bus with hostages stays in Lutsk, Ukraine, July 21, 2020. (Nikolay Martynyuk/EPA via Shutterstock) MORE: Anti-Kremlin protests hit Far Eastern Russia amid crackdown President Zelenskiy wrote on his Telegram channel that authorities are doing everything they can to resolve the situation without casualties. Ukraine Interior Minister Arsen Avakov, who traveled to Lutsk to oversee the police operation, told reporters that the situation remained difficult and urged journalists to be careful what they published. A few hours after the stand-off began, authorities in Ukraine's capital Kyiv said police had disarmed two explosive devices at a market in the city. Local media reported that several more bomb threats were also called into public buildings in Kyiv and the eastern city Kharkiv. Avakov, however, told reporters that the explosives found in Kyiv were not connected to the hostage-taking in Lutsk. "Everyday we find explosives, some kind of weapons," he said. "It's doesn't have any relation to this." Gunman takes 20 hostages on bus in Ukraine originally appeared on abcnews.go.com Much of the world is preoccupied these days with the huge human toll from the deadly novel coronavirus. The figures for deaths in the United States are slowly approaching 150,000, while the count for tiny Cuba barely cracks 100. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Opinion Much of the world is preoccupied these days with the huge human toll from the deadly novel coronavirus. The figures for deaths in the United States are slowly approaching 150,000, while the count for tiny Cuba barely cracks 100. Ive been reading lately about another frightening pathogen involving the U.S. and Cuba almost 50 years ago. And it cries out for explanation and understanding of an extraordinarily sick U.S.-Cuba relationship even today. Working closely with anti-Cuba exile operatives, the CIA was once involved in introducing African swine virus (of which there is typically no transmission between animal to human) into Cuba in 1971. It was just one of many bizarre attempts to galvanize the Cuban people against the government, to tighten the noose on Cubas economy and to assassinate Fidel Castro himself. On the front page of the Jan. 10, 1977 San Francisco Chronicle, reprinting a story from New Yorks Newsday newspaper, blared the headline: 1971 Mystery CIA Link to Cuban Pig Virus Reported. It went on to state bluntly: "With at least the tacit backing of U.S. Central Intelligence Agency officials, operatives linked to anti-Castro terrorists introduced African swine fever virus into Cuba in 1971." While the virus infects only pigs (and thus does not kill humans), it is not something to be taken lightly. In fact, the 1971 outbreak was the first time that the highly contagious virus had actually been detected in the Western Hemisphere. Based on several interviews of key participants, Newsday was able to piece together the thrust of what happened. A vial of the virus was apparently taken from a U.S. Army base (Fort Gulick) in the Panama Canal Zone and given to anti-Castro terrorists who brought it to waters near Cuba in a fishing trawler. After that, it was given to opponents of the Cuban government near the U.S. Navy facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. It was then subsequently introduced to numerous small farms in the Cuban countryside. Six weeks after the virus was seeded, the Cuban government evidently slaughtered 500,000 pigs to prevent a costly country-wide spread of the disease. This, in turn, led to a serious shortage of pork for several months, a staple food and an important source of meat on the island. The idea was to create havoc in the country, to undermine the countrys economy and to encourage Cubans to overthrow the government of Fidel Castro. Not surprisingly, a CIA spokesperson in Washington denied any involvement in such an operation. As far as he was concerned, the outbreak came from the importation of uncured meat from Europe (though one virologist at the time questioned whether the virus could be transmitted through dried meat). Of course, this is precisely the type of covert action that the CIA would not want to leave any fingerprints on. When you think about it, though, its just hard to comprehend. So, how do we explain the amoral and reprehensible lengths to which the U.S. will go to punish Cuba and the Cuban people? 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. Fidel Castro got it right when he once said that Cuba in the eyes of the U.S. had committed the unforgivable sin of opting for a socialist path and a centrally-planned economy. Add to that Cubas unwillingness to bow to incessant U.S. pressure, its predilection to openly criticize the U.S. at every opportunity and its penchant for challenging U.S. hegemony or dominance in the Americas. This is all closely linked to the argument that Cuba represents another alternative way or model that Washington has always feared other countries in the hemisphere might emulate. Simply put, the U.S craves stability, order and control in its so-called "backyard" mostly for economic and security purposes and thus will do whatever it takes to prevent revolution, socialist reforms and non-market systems from taking root in the region. Yes, its true that more instrumental factors are also at play, such as crude domestic electoral politics and the 29 electoral-college votes of Florida, the bureaucratic inertia of a decidedly anti-Cuba officialdom in Washington and the vested interests of a declining Cuban-American presence and its hard-line Cuba policy preferences. There is something more ingrained, though, in the U.S. psyche namely, the belief that Cuba is and always will be the "enemy" (see the U.S. Trading with the Enemy Act). Many Americans just cant get past the idea that Cuba has defied the U.S. repeatedly and has survived to tell the tale proudly. Perhaps theres hope in the fact the U.S. has grudgingly been able to make peace with Vietnam and fashion an economic entente with communist China. But it will need to begin with the U.S. government forgetting altogether the notion of "saving face" when it comes to revolutionary Cuba. It really is time to turn the page. Peter McKenna is a professor of political science at the University of Prince Edward Island in Charlottetown. TerraPurezza TerraPurezza will build upon the Luck Ranch legacy by instituting regenerative methods on the property and turning it into a comprehensive, replicable example of regenerative agriculture. TerraPurezza, the first model for industrial regenerative agriculture, today announced a partnership with Willie Nelsons Luck Ranch in Spicewood, Texas. Through the partnership, TerraPurezza will implement its regenerative practices to restore native prairie, recharge aquifers, and improve soil quality using heritage breed livestock. The goal is to transform the 500-acre ranch into a comprehensive regenerative farm. Luck Ranch will also serve as an institute for teaching and training of TerraPurezzas integrated approach, and a distributor of TerraPurezza products including pork, poultry, and eggs. As a co-founder of Farm Aid, Willie Nelson has supported Americas farms and ranches for over 30 years. He has an established track record as an environmentalist and champion of family farms. Today, Luck Ranch is the venue for the annual Luck Reunion music festival and is also home to more than 70 rescued horses. We founded TerraPurezza to prove that regenerative agriculture can be done at scale as a viable alternative to our current unsustainable food system, said Tina Weldon, owner of TerraPurezza. The Nelson family are true advocates for our vision, and we cant imagine a better partner to work with us on implementing a system of integrated regenerative agriculture practices that can become a model for others across the country. TerraPurezzas regenerative agriculture methods offer a scalable and profitable approach to food production that leverages data, innovative technology, and new business models. Their methods regenerate soil and create sustainable foundations for nutritionally-dense food through rotational grazing of high-density livestock, effective water management via land augmentation, restoration of native grasses, and the highest quality of animal welfare. TerraPurezza will build upon the Luck Ranch legacy by instituting these methods on the property and turning it into a comprehensive, replicable example of regenerative agriculture. The data collected will be used to create scalable standards for the industry that are better for the land, the air, and anyone who eats food. Luck Ranch will also serve as a teaching and training facility for other ranchers and farmers interested in transitioning to regenerative practices. We have been following TerraPurezza for a few years now and I think their ideas about land restoration are great. We can grow our own vegetables and fruit; thats good to have, said Willie Nelson, owner of Luck Ranch, musician, and co-founder of Farm Aid. Our family wants to be a part of showing that regenerative agriculture is possible for both small family farmers and big corporate farmers. TerraPurezza and Luck Ranch began implementing regenerative agricultural practices on the property in June 2020, with the goal of having a fully functional operation by Fall, 2021. Interested visitors will be able to purchase TerraPurezza products or sign up for training through the Institute at that time. To follow the process, and to learn more about TerraPurezza, please visit http://www.terrapurezza.com. To become a Patron, please visit https://www.patreon.com/join/terrapurezza. About TerraPurezza TerraPurezza is the first model for industrial regenerative agriculture. We prove that its possible to build nutritionally-dense and scalable food systems. With all that we ask of our natural resources, it is the greatest challenge of our society to meet increasing human needs while living in harmony with the environment. By combining traditional Regenerative Agriculture techniques with modern technology systems, we regenerate soils to build a more vibrant foundation for nutritionally-dense food. We empower others to do the same. Our practices include rotational grazing of high-density livestock, effective water management via land augmentation, restoration of native grasses, and the highest quality of animal welfare. We leverage leading edge technology to automate routine tasks and increase efficiency. With multiple campuses, our working farm is a real-world example for how different regenerative agriculture techniques can succeed at local and global scales. Located in the Texas Hill Country, TerraPurezza was founded by Tina and Orion Weldon in 2015 in Spicewood, TX and has grown to over 150 acres of native Texas prairie. With backgrounds in nutrition, agriculture, and conservation ecology, the TerraPurezza team applies a multidisciplinary approach to rejuvenate the land for a more resilient food system. TerraPurezza. A better way to better food. Luck Ranch Built in 1985 as the backdrop for the film Red Headed Stranger, Luck, TX is an old west town located in Willie Nelsons backyard on the outskirts of Austin. The journey to Luck started in 1979 when Willie and dear friend Bill Wittliff set out to make a film version of Willies concept album of the same name. While the original screenplay ended with the town burning down, Nelson had grown attached to the set and called for a change in order to preserve the property. The star built his own home on the sprawling land, just a short drive up the road from the set, and Luck, Texas was born. Beyond its fading facades, Luck became a longtime gathering place for Willie and his contemporaries to come together to shoot the shit and inspire one another through song; a sort of scaled-down extension of anti-scene Austin landmarks like Armadillo World Headquarters and Austin Opry House. Over the years as the bootprints from the past began to fade, Luck primarily served as Willies private hang: for games of poker in the World Headquarters building and Easter celebrations in the chapel. In 2012 a group of barstool dreamers with ties to the location set out to revive the towns spirit with experiences inspired by its unique history. With Nelsons blessing, the seeds for Luck Reunion were planted. Luck Reunion a misfit group of young believers, Nelson family members, and Willies personal team hopes to honor the creative origins of the magical space, and contribute to the all-inclusive and fascinating culture of the illustrious town. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) A death certificate, bag of ashes, and the Bureau of Corrections pronouncement are not enough proof that Jaybee Sebastian and other high-profile inmates died of the coronavirus disease, Senator Richard Gordon said Tuesday. Gordon, chairman of the Senate Blue Ribbon Committee, said he wants to investigate the suspicious COVID-19 deaths at the New Bilibid Prison. Not only Jaybee Sebastian, but all the Chinese (drug lords) I have to know that they really died. I dont believe it just on the say-so of the bureau of prisons, Gordon told CNN Philippines. Senate President Vicente Tito Sotto III filed a resolution calling for a legislative inquiry on the deaths, which included Filipino and Chinese drug lords, according to BuCor. Sebastians death was reported during the weekend, with BuCor saying his remains were immediately cremated in line with the health protocols for infected patients. Gordon reiterated speculations that the deaths could have been faked so inmates could escape, noting the proliferation of money-making schemes in Bilibid. He recalled an expose during a Senate hearing last year that drug lords buy their way to be admitted in Bilibid hospital and carry out their transactions there. The bureau of prisons has not earned public trust. And they cannot on their own, hindi sila dapat ang magsasabi na 'O eto kailangan, namatay na ito. Tapos na,' you take our word for it. Hindi pwede yun, Gordon said. [Translation: They should not be the one to say, 'here, this one died, and that's it. You take our word for it.' It cannot be that way] So its important na may protocols 'yan dapat ang BuCor, Department of Justice, pati Supreme Court [there should be a protocol for BuCor, Department of Justice, including the Supreme Court] and if necessary, well file a bill to that effect, he said. Gordon said the Department of Justice which has supervision over BuCor, should be informed immediately about the death of an inmate, and that this should all be properly documented. Gordon said an independent authority from the Department of Health should monitor those infected. If he could have it his way, Gordon wants the remains of an inmate to be tested for COVID-19 to make sure it is the cause of death. However, health authorities do not recommend the post-mortem testing of suspected COVID-19 patients, saying there's not enough evidence the results would be accurate. Justice Secretary Menardo Guevarra in a statement said he has ordered the BuCor to ensure the presence of a DOH representative during the swabbing of inmates and exert greater efforts to immediately notify the members of deceased inmates families prior to cremation. READ: Guevarra orders NBI probe on deaths of Bilibid drug convicts A total of 21 inmates died out of the 339 confirmed COVID-19 cases at BuCor facilities. In an earlier interview with CNN Philippines, BuCor Director General Gerald Bantag said drug lords were among those who died, but noted he could not release names due to the Data Privacy Act. The National Privacy Commission, as well as the Integrated Bar of the Philippines, argued that the law should not be used in this case since public interest calls for transparency. Meanwhile, the Supreme Court has temporarily suspended the issuance of commitment orders at jail facilities run by the Bureau of Jail Management and Penology to prevent further spread of COVID-19 among inmates. Those who were recently arrested should stay at police cells instead, the high court ordered on Tuesday. Spokesperson of the Ministry of Defense of Armenia Shushan Stepanyan today told Armenpress that one of the servicemen wounded as a result of Azerbaijans military operations on the Armenia-Azerbaijan border is still in extremely critical condition, the others are getting better, and four servicemen already feel fine. During all the operations, a total of 36 people were wounded. Twenty of them received medical assistance, the other sixteen immediately returned to service since they werent in bad condition and had only received injuries that were similar to scratches. Out of the 20 servicemen, 10 are undergoing treatment, Stepanyan said. On July 12 at around 12:30 p.m. servicemen of the Armed Forces of Azerbajian made an attempt to trespass the state border of Armenia in the direction of Tavush Province in a UAZ car. After the Armenian sides warning, the Azerbaijani servicemen left the UAZ car and returned to their positions. At 1:45 p.m. the servicemen of the Azerbaijani Armed Forces made another attempt to seize the Armenian Armed Forces border position through the use of artillery fire, but were repressed by the Armenian side and were thwarted, suffering casualties. Later, the Azerbaijani side resumed shelling, targeting civilian infrastructures. On the night of July 19, and on the night of July 20, relative calm was maintained on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border. New York Former New York Assembly Speaker Sheldon Silver was sentenced Monday to 6 1/2 years in prison in the corruption case that drove him from power as a judge said she hoped to "send a message to Albany." U.S. District Judge Valerie E. Caproni sentenced Silver, 76, for the third time, acknowledging that a man who was once one of the three most powerful state officials came closer than ever before to properly expressing remorse. But she said it remained unclear as to whether "he really gets it" and she shaved only six months off the seven-year prison sentence she announced in 2018, ignoring claims by Silver's defense lawyer that he could die if he contracts COVID-19 in prison. She also fined him $1 million. "This was corruption, pure and simple," Caproni said. She said she hoped the sentence was "long enough to send a message to Albany," though she added that the 17 to 22 years in prison called for by federal sentencing guidelines was "draconian." Caproni said Silver must report to prison Aug. 26. She described how Silver had changed his statements to her at each sentencing, going from an insistence that he did no harm at his first to a "self-pitying" approach at the second and finally to acknowledging his wrongful conduct this year. Before Caproni announced the sentence, Silver stood and repeated parts of a handwritten letter he had written to the judge, though not the part in which he told her to spare him a sentence that might cause him to die in prison. He said he had done a lot of good things over the decades as his power grew in state government, where he spent 21 years as Assembly speaker. "I destroyed that legacy that I built over 35 years," he said, blaming his downfall on "improper, selfish and ethically indefensible" behavior that grew from a sense of entitlement. "I'm very sorry," he said. Last week, Caproni denied Silver's request to be sentenced remotely because of the coronavirus. Masked spectators were kept apart in a large courtroom, which they entered only after undergoing a temperature check and answering COVID-related questions at the courthouse entrance. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. Assistant U.S. Attorney Daniel Richenthal urged Caproni to impose the same seven-year sentence she levied for bribery and extortion crimes before a federal appeals court ordered a new sentencing after tossing out three counts. Silver was ousted as speaker in 2015 and convicted later that year, but appeals have so far kept him out of jail. His original conviction was overturned on appeal but Silver was convicted again in 2018. In court papers, Silver's lawyers had asked for leniency, saying Silver was an obese man in his 70s with a history of cancer, chronic kidney disease and other health problems that make him among those most at risk of dying from COVID-19. Caproni, though, said the death rate of the population outside prison was approaching the death rate inside and it seemed that prisons were improving at adjusting to the threat of the illness. "I do not want Mr. Silver to die in prison either," she said. In the part of the case that survived the appeal process, Silver was convicted in a scheme that involved favors and business traded between two real estate developers and a law firm. Silver supported legislation that benefited the developers. The developers then referred certain tax business to a law firm that paid Silver fees. Dear President Ndayishimiye, We at the Committee to Protect Journalists, an independent non-governmental organization that champions press freedom around the world, note your inauguration pledges to promote human rights, respect freedom of opinion , and guarantee justice for all citizens . We believe that your administration could make quick and significant gains in these commitments by breaking with Burundis history of media repression and nurturing an environment where journalists can operate freely and safely. To this end, we urge you to release the four imprisoned Iwacu media group journalists, lift bans on broadcasting outlets , carry out credible investigations into attacks on journalists, and end the use of internet disruptions to control the flow of information. The four Iwacu journalists, Christine Kamikazi, Agnes Ndirubusa, Egide Harerimana, and Terence Mpozenzi, were arrested in October 2019 while covering clashes in Bubanza. In January they were sentenced to 2.5 years in prison and in June their appeal was rejected . These journalists were simply trying to fulfill their duty to keep Burundians informed. The injustice they have endured is compounded by the increased health risk they face behind bars amid the COVID-19 pandemic , a concern shared by the World Health Organization. We ask that they be freed immediately and unconditionally. Another Iwacu journalist, Jean Bigirimana , went missing in Bujumbura on July 22, 2016. Shortly before his disappearance, Bigirimana received a call from an intelligence source, according to CPJ research . Bigirimanas colleagues and family have waited nearly four years for answers. We urge your government to take a strong stand against impunity in attacks on the press and to launch a credible and impartial investigation into Bigirimanas disappearance. In recent years the plurality of news sources available to Burundians has eroded. Amid unrest in May 2015, CPJ documented attacks on five broadcasting outlets. Three of these Bonesha FM, Radio Publique Africaine, and Renaissance Radio and Television have been unable to resume operations in Burundi. Since 2018 the British Broadcasting Corporation and the Voice of America have been banned from operating. The government should immediately lift bans on media outlets and guarantee that they can operate freely, without fearing reprisal. In your inauguration speech you welcomed back all Burundian refugees. Over 100 Burundian journalists are in exile, most of them having fled in the wake of the 2015 attacks on the media , according to CPJ research and the Burundian Union of Journalists. The Union itself has been suspended from operating in Burundi since 2016, and seven exiled journalists are among a group for whom the Burundian government has issued arrest warrants , according to reports and court documents seen by CPJ. A Burundian court last year ordered the properties of these journalists seized , according to media reports and a 2019 application to the East African Court of Justice. To ensure journalists feel safe to return, we call on the government to lift the suspension of the union and to discontinue ongoing criminal cases against exiled journalists. The previous administration used internet disruptions to control the flow of information during times of political tension, as CPJ documented during the May 2020 elections and in 2015. Several news outlets remained blocked in Burundi as of May 2020, as CPJ and 30 other organizations noted in a letter to then-President Pierre Nkurunziza. Internet shutdowns not only infringe on the rights of citizens to access information, but also make it difficult and unsafe for journalists to operate. Your administration must unblock news sites, and ensure uninterrupted internet access to Burundians. The good governance and human rights goals outlined in your inauguration speech are both noble and necessary and we urge you and your administration to take immediate action towards their realization. We share your commitment to dialogue and are open to engagement with your government about strengthening Burundis environment for the press. Sincerely, Joel Simon Executive Director Committee to Protect Journalists A homegrown Kiwi company that bills itself as the Netflix of education content and a NZ foundation, have joined forces to release a new youth, wellbeing game today. Create a Shield is the latest in AFED Educations classroom resources that give youngsters a chance to learn key skills through online play they can relate to. The game encourages learners to work through sessions focused on building qualities like confidence and resilience, while accumulating rewards. The development of the game was funded by Te Puni Kokiri as part of its support for initiatives that improve rangatahi wellbeing and resilience, through the Rangatahi Suicide Prevention Fund. The Jean Swainson Foundation did the digital development work to create the resource for AFED Education to distribute. The aim is to create an easy-to-use and relevant resource for teachers, parents and iwi groups to help support rangatahi, says the games inventor Cam Swainson-Whaanga. We are walking towards the kids, helping them move through the steps to long-lasting resilience in ways that they like to absorb information. Its in their language, at their fingertips, fun and engaging and it takes them to the heart of the skills and knowledge they need to look after themselves well. Modules in the game include hauora (wellbeing), hinengaro (good mental health), building confidence and resilience, and dealing with sadness and depression. It includes a view of life lessons and values, the importance of being connected, and teamwork and mentors. Create a Shield has 18 levels, and 180 video lessons and questions, quizzes and rewards, all built in partnership with providers who run rangatahi and tamariki health and wellbeing initiatives across Aotearoa, including Te Tai Timu Trust, Te Rau Ora and Tu Kaha Foundation. The AFED Education online platform, built in Wairoa using top end Maori tech talent, was launched to a keen reception by teachers and students earlier this year. Launch videos for an earlier financial literacy module, also supported by Te Puni Kokiri, show educators thrilled to have learners so enthusiastically engaged with chewing through the levels of financial knowledge and skills, and with the confident use of te reo Maori throughout, that supports their transfer of the language to students. Comments from teachers included The kids connect, because its pretty cool, and I had fun, I learnt, the kids learnt, while students comment that they love seeing themselves progress within their squad: I like being able to level up! For more information visit: https://afedsquad.co.nz/createashieldinfo/ The resource is free and available on all devices via internet browsers: Play the Game now: www.createashield.co.nz Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said on a visit to Tehran on Tuesday that Iraq would not allow any threat to Iran coming from its territory. Speaking at a news conference alongside Iranian President Hassan Rouhani ahead of a meeting with Iran's Supreme Leader, Kadhimi alluded to Iraq's concern not to become a battlefield between arch-enemies Iran and the United States. The Iraqi premier faces a tough balancing act between Tehran and Washington which have come close to open conflict in the region, particularly on Iraqi soil, over the past year. At home, Kadhimi faces increasing pressure from Iran-aligned parties and paramilitary groups who perceive him as siding with the United States because he has indicated he wants to curb the power of Iranian-backed militias and political groups. "The people of Iraq want good relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of both countries," he told the news conference, carried live by Iranian state television. "Iraq is a country that wont allow any aggression or challenge to Iran from its territory, said Kadhimi. In his first two months in office, Iraqi security forces carried out two arrest raids against militias but most of those detained were quickly released. The United States praised those moves and supporters welcome several appointments Kadhimi has made in the security forces, including reinstating Iraq's Counter Terrorism Service chief Abdul Wahhab al-Saidi, whose dismissal under the previous government fuelled mass anti-government unrest last year. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Baghdad on Sunday, making a stop at the site where a U.S. drone strike killed Iranian military mastermind Qassem Soleimani and Iraq's paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in January. That action brought the region to the brink of a full-blown U.S.-Iran conflict, before both sides stepped back. Rouhani said Iran and Iraq hoped to boost bilateral trade to $20 billion yearly. Kadhimi's visit, his first foreign trip since taking office in May, was meant to come after a trip to Saudi Arabia but that was cancelled after the Saudi king was admitted to hospital suffering from inflammation of the gall bladder. Search Keywords: Short link: A recent landmark U.S. Supreme Court ruling could empower New Yorks Indigenous nations. On July 9, the court ruled that most of eastern Oklahoma falls within the Muscogee (Creek) Nations land as previous congressionally ratified treaties between the Muscogee and the U.S. government have stated. That precedent could mean land rights claims made by New Yorks several Indigenous nations, based on treaties with the federal government, could hold more weight in future disputes between the tribes and the state. The case originated after Jimcy McGirt, a member of the Seminole Nation in Oklahoma, was convicted of sex crimes, which occurred within the Muscogee Nations reservation. McGirt argued in a lawsuit that he could not be prosecuted by the state or local law enforcement and that he could only be prosecuted by the federal government because Congress had never eradicated the Muscogee Nations sovereignty. The case then went to the Supreme Court, which was put to the task of determining whether Congress treaty with the Indigenous nation still remained valid. Justice Neil M. Gorsuch, who is known for siding with Indigenous tribes in past cases despite being a conservative appointed by President Donald Trump, was a part of the majority who ruled in favor of making the federal government stand by its original treaty between Congress and Oklahomas Native American tribes. Today we are asked whether the land these treaties promised remains an Indian reservation for purposes of federal criminal law, Gorsuch wrote in the Supreme Courts majority opinion. Because Congress has not said otherwise, we hold the government to its word. McGirts conviction was vacated at the state-level but he can still be tried in tribal or federal court. The case is very similar to that of the Indigenous nations in New York, in which land granted by the federal government was slowly chipped away over time by the state, local governments and non-Indigenous private citizens, through sales that were often allegedly coerced. The courts ruling also affirms that state treaties made with Indigenous populations cannot be dismissed just because a state deems them to be too old. This decision in many ways, simply follows the laws that the U.S. Supreme Court had already established, Joel Williams, an attorney for the Native American Rights Fund and a citizen of the Cherokee Nation, told City & State. This has the potential to change the balance of power in land rights disputes between New York state and the Indigenous Six Nation Confederacy in New York, which includes the Mohawk, Oneida, Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, and Tuscarora tribes. (Gorsuchs) general construct throughout the case was that once the federal government has made promises and treaties, it must keep them, Joe Heath, general counsel for the Onondaga Nation, told NY1. I can tell you that, in the almost four decades since I have worked for the Onondaga, that has not been the law. In 1794, the Treaty of Canandaigua, which was signed by then-President George Washington, gave the Oneidas 300,000 acres of land in Central New York and their free use and enjoyment of it. However, the state continually purchased the Oneidas land, until the tribe only had 32 acres left in 1920. In 1997 and 1998, the Oneida purchased land in the town of Sherrill, which was within the original land allocated to the nation, and refused to pay taxes for that reason. The town of Sherrill and the Oneida entered into a dispute over whether or not the treaty still holds up, which would have kept the Oneida from paying the towns local taxes. In 2005, the Supreme Court sided with Sherrill, denying the nation any sovereignty. In 2013, a similar argument was also rejected by the Supreme Court after the Onondaga Nation claimed that 11 counties within the state, including Syracuse, were illegally stolen from the tribe after it had been given the land in the late 1700s. As recently as last year, the Seneca Nation has been battling with the state over land rights issues regarding the states I-90 thruway. The tribe has maintained since 1993 that the state never received proper approval to build the thruway in 1954. In an effort to protest the states refusal to pay millions of dollars in what the tribe considers unpaid tolls, the Senecas prevented New York from repairing the thruway but eventually allowed it to mend the broken roadway. Heath told City and State that the Onondaga arent interested in returning to the courts to argue over land but are hoping this latest decision creates the opportunity for a fruitful discussion between the state and the nation over issues, such as the restoration of the polluted Onondaga Lake. The Onondaga are much more in favor of diplomacy, Heath said. Can we now sit down with the state of New York and work together to resolve these ancient problems? That's what I am asking the (Onondagas) Council to authorize me to do and I've already had some preliminary discussions with the attorney general's office. The nation would also be interested in speaking with Gov. Andrew Cuomo as well, according to Heath, but has found him to be particularly dismissive of Indigenous issues, noting he has failed to meet with any of the six nations traditional chiefs since hes been in office. Every other governor would have met with a chief at least once a year, to maintain an open line of communication ... we would be glad to have a conversation with anybody in the state government that wants to work together to end this problem, Heath said. The governors office did not respond to a request for comment. Harry's organisation Travalyst aims to promote sustainable tourism. (Getty Images) Prince Harry has called in his lawyers over an allegation from a campaign group that grants awarded to his charitable foundation from Prince Williams breached charity law. On Monday, anti-monarchy group Republic wrote to the Charity Commission to ask them to investigate whether the Royal Foundation, which conducts the charity work of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge, breached several rules when it awarded grants to Sussex Royal and Travalyst. Sussex Royal was the charitable foundation for Harry and Meghan, and Travalyst is Harrys sustainable travel non-profit organisation. Both Prince William and Prince Harry denied anything was wrong with the way the grants were awarded, but Harry has taken further action and is preparing to send a legal letter to Republic. Watch video below A spokesperson for the Duke of Sussexs legal team, Schillings said: The Duke of Sussex has always and continues to remain deeply committed to his charitable work. This is his lifes focus, and his devotion to charity is at the very core of the principles he lives by, and is obvious through the impact and success of his many charitable projects throughout the UK and beyond. To this point, it is deeply offensive to see false claims made about the Duke of Sussex and his charitable work. It is both defamatory and insulting to all the outstanding organisations and people he has partnered with. Travalyst (which was founded within Sussex Royal) is a non-profit organisation for which the duke receives no commercial or financial gain, as is the case with all of his charitable commitments. The duke has not, nor has he ever, had any personal financial interest in his charitable work. The interest has always been clear: to support others and to make a positive difference. Had the appropriate course of action been followed for these false allegations, it would have clearly demonstrated that anything related to Sussex Royal, Travalyst, or any of the dukes charitable endeavours is transparent and above board. To suggest otherwise is unequivocally wrong and will be acted upon accordingly with the weight of the law. Story continues The avenue through which this was publicly and salaciously created only suggests a hunger for media attention as well as a shared and attacking agenda, which is neither right nor just. Both the Charity Commissions own statement today, as well as that of The Royal Foundation, state there is no determination of wrongdoing here. All of the dukes charitable activities are fully transparent as well as compliant with Charity Commission guidelines, and moreover with his own moral compass. Read more: Harry and Meghan close Sussex Royal charity ahead of big 2021 launch The Royal Foundation previously represented the Dukes and Duchesses of Sussex and Cambridge. (PA Images) Republics CEO Graham Smith had written to the Charity Commission to say: The Royal Foundation gave a grant of 145,000 to Sussex Royal and 144,901 to a non-charitable organisation (Travalyst). In both instances it appears the only rationale for the decision was the personal relationship between two patrons, the Duke of Sussex and the Duke of Cambridge. He wants both The Royal Foundation, which continues the work of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge after splitting from the Duke and Duchess of Sussex, and the now dissolved Sussex Royal, which was the latters charity, investigated over conflicts of interest, inappropriate use of funds and a lack of independence. William's Royal Foundation denies anything was wrong with the grants given to Harry's projects. (Getty Images) Read more: Prince William says UK can 'crack homelessness' by being 'a bit brave' On Monday, a Charity Commission spokesman said: We have received a complaint on this issue. As with all concerns raised with us we will assess the information provided to determine whether or not there is a role for the commission. We have not made any determination of wrongdoing. A spokesman for the Royal Foundation said: The grants made to Sussex Royal were to support the charitable work of the Duke and Duchess of Sussex. They were fully in line with governance requirements and were reported transparently. Sussex Royal is being wound up as Harry and Meghan agreed not to use the word royal in any jurisdiction, after stepping back from their senior royal duties. The couple is preparing to launch Archewell in 2021, and they are meeting with various community leaders as they carve out its role. NOT FOR RELEASE, PUBLICATION OR DISTRIBUTION IN WHOLE OR IN PART IN OR INTO THE UNITED STATES, CANADA, AUSTRALIA OR JAPAN Basel, Schweiz, 21. Juli 2020 Basilea Pharmaceutica AG ("Basilea" oder die "Gesellschaft") gibt bekannt, dass die Joint Global Coordinators die Platzierung (die "Delta-Platzierung") von Basilea-Aktien ("Aktien") im Namen der Investoren ihrer vorrangigen ungesicherten Wandelanleihe von rund CHF 97 Millionen mit Falligkeit 2027 (die "Neue Anleihe") zur Absicherung des Marktrisikos ihrer Position erfolgreich abgeschlossen haben. Die Delta-Platzierung folgte auf das Ende der Angebotsfrist am 16. Juli 2020 des partiellen Ruckkaufangebots der ausstehenden Wandelanleihe der Gesellschaft mit Falligkeit 2022 (ISIN: CH0305398148; SSN: 30'539'814) (das "Ruckkaufangebot"). Die erste Ergebnispublikation bezuglich des Ruckkaufangebots wurde am 17. Juli 2020 veroffentlicht. Die Delta-Platzierung fuhrte zu einem Referenzpreis fur die Neue Anleihe von CHF 50 und damit zu einem Wandelpreis fur die Neue Anleihe von CHF 62.50. Damit sind die Bedingungen erfullt, dass (i) der Wandelpreis der Neuen Anleihe mindestens dem im Ruckkaufsinserat festgelegten Mindestwandelpreis entspricht (Mindestwandelpreis) und dass (ii) die Delta-Platzierung zu einem Referenzpreis fuhrt, d.h. zu dem Preis, zu dem die Wandelpramie hinzugerechnet wird, um den Wandelpreis zu erhalten, wie im Ruckkaufsinserat festgelegt (Delta-Platzierung ergibt Referenzpreis). Daher sind die Ergebnisse des Ruckkaufangebots wie folgt (Zweite Ergebnispublikation): Anzahl angedienter und akzeptierter Wandelobligationen mit einem Nennwert von je CHF 5'000 9'417 Gesamtnennwert angedienter und akzeptierter Wandelobligationen CHF 47'085'000 Infolgedessen wurden alle Bedingungen des Ruckkaufangebots gemass Ruckkaufsinserat vom 25. Juni 2020 entweder erfullt oder es wurde auf sie verzichtet. Ebenso wurden alle Bedingungen der Emission der Neuen Anleihe erfullt oder es wurde auf sie verzichtet. Dementsprechend belauft sich das Emissionsvolumen der Neuen Anleihe auf CHF 97'085'000. Die Gesellschaft geht davon aus, dass die Abwicklung des Ruckkaufangebots und die Ausgabe der Neuen Anleihe am 28. Juli 2020 abgeschlossen sein wird. Uber Basilea Basilea Pharmaceutica AG ist ein biopharmazeutisches Unternehmen mit vermarkteten Produkten, das sich auf die Entwicklung von Medikamenten zur Losung der medizinischen Herausforderungen in den Therapiebereichen Onkologie und Infektionskrankheiten fokussiert. Basilea hat zwei vermarktete Produkte im Portfolio und erforscht, entwickelt und vermarktet innovative Medikamente fur Patienten, die an schweren und lebensbedrohlichen Krankheiten leiden. Basilea Pharmaceutica AG hat ihren Hauptsitz in Basel, Schweiz, und ist an der Schweizer Borse SIX Swiss Exchange kotiert (SIX: BSLN). Fur weitere Informationen besuchen Sie bitte die Unternehmens-Website www.basilea.com . Disclaimer This announcement regarding the Repurchase Offer does not constitute an offer or an invitation to participate in the Repurchase Offer or the Offering in any jurisdiction in which, or to any person to or from which, it is unlawful to make such invitation or for there to be such participation under applicable securities laws. The distribution of this press release in certain jurisdictions may be restricted by law. Persons into whose possession this press release comes are required to inform themselves about, and to observe, any such restrictions. No action has been or will be taken in any jurisdiction in relation to the Repurchase Offer that would permit a public offering of securities in any such jurisdiction. United States The Repurchase Offer is not being made, and will not be made, directly or indirectly, in or into, or by use of the mail of, or by any means or instrumentality of interstate commerce of or of any facilities of a national securities exchange of, the United States or to or for the account or benefit of, U.S. persons as defined in Regulation S of the Securities Act (each a "U.S. person"). This includes, but is not limited to, facsimile transmission, electronic mail, telex, telephone and the internet and other forms of electronic communication. The Bonds may not be tendered for purchase pursuant to the Repurchase Offer by any such use, means, instrumentality or facility from or within the United States or by any persons located or resident in the United States as defined in Regulation S of the U.S. Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") or to U.S. persons. Accordingly, copies of the Repurchase Offer Notice and any other documents or materials relating to the Repurchase Offer are not being, and must not be, directly or indirectly, mailed or otherwise transmitted, distributed or forwarded (including, without limitation, by custodians, nominees or trustees) in or into the United States or to persons located or resident in the United States or to U.S. persons. Any purported offers to tender Bonds pursuant to the Repurchase Offer resulting, directly or indirectly, from a violation of these restrictions will be invalid, and any purported tender of Bonds made by a U.S. person, a person located or resident in the United States or from within the United States or from any agent, fiduciary or other intermediary acting on a non-discretionary basis for a principal giving instructions from within the United States or any U.S. person will not be accepted. Each Bondholder participating in the Repurchase Offer will represent to the Offeror, the Joint Dealer Managers and the Tender Agent that it is not located or resident in the United States and is not a U.S. person and is not giving an order to participate in the Repurchase Offer from within the United States or on behalf of a U.S. person. United Kingdom The communication of the Repurchase Offer Notice and any other documents or materials relating to the Repurchase Offer is not being made and such documents and/or materials have not been approved by an authorised person for the purposes of section 21 of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000, as amended. Accordingly, such documents and/or materials are not being distributed to, are not directed at and must not be passed on to, the general public in the United Kingdom. The communication of such documents and/or materials as a financial promotion is only being made to persons within the United Kingdom falling within the definition of investment professionals (as defined in Article 19(5) of the Financial Services and Markets Act 2000 (Financial Promotion) Order 2005 (the "Order")) or falling within Article 43(2) of the Order, or to other persons to whom it may lawfully be communicated (together "relevant persons"). The investment activity to which this document relates will only be engaged in with relevant persons and persons who are not relevant persons should not rely on it. European Economic Area In any Member State of the European Economic Area (the "EEA") or in the United Kingdom (each, a "Relevant State"), the Repurchase Offer is only addressed to, and is only directed at, qualified investors in that Relevant State within the meaning of Regulation (EU) 2017/1129 (the "Prospectus Regulation"). Each person in a Relevant State who receives any communication in respect of the Repurchase Offer contemplated in the Repurchase Offer Notice will be deemed to have represented, warranted and agreed to and with the Joint Dealer Managers, the Tender Agent and the Company that it is a qualified investor within the meaning of the Prospectus Regulation. The Bonds have not been admitted to trading on a regulated market in the European Economic Area or in the United Kingdom. Switzerland and General This document and the Repurchase Offer Notice neither constitute a prospectus within the meaning of Articles 652a and 1156 of the Swiss Code of Obligations (as in effect immediately prior to the entry into force of the FinSA) nor a prospectus within the meaning of the listing rules of the SIX Swiss Exchange, a prospectus within the meaning of the FinSA or under any other applicable laws. Fur weitere Informationen kontaktieren Sie bitte: Peer Nils Schroder, PhD Head of Corporate Communications & Investor Relations Telefon +41 61 606 1102 E-Mail media_relations@basilea.com investor_relations@basilea.com Diese Pressemitteilung ist unter www.basilea.com abrufbar. Anhang As ABC News channel marks 10 years, news boss Gaven Morris is frank about those early days. ABC News 24, as it was originally branded, copped criticism from all sides, but Morris now concedes they were with good reason. Im perfectly upfront in saying it was a fairly diabolical News channel at the beginning, he tells TV Tonight. We we had the disadvantage of launching three months earlier than planned because of Rudd / Gillard and the early election. Not only had we not done anything like this at the ABC before, we ended up putting a whole bunch of new technology in, hiring a bunch of new staff and then going to air three months too early. The first six months of the channel being on air was a fairly humiliating experience because we were pretty rough. A lot happened you had Japanese earthquake and the Fukushima meltdown, the Rudd Gillard stuff going on, the election. It wasnt until a massive event everybody thought Ok, now we see what this is for.' We didnt get in our stride until the Brisbane floods in January 2011. That was really the moment where both the audience worked out what News 24 was for, and so did everyone inside the ABC. It wasnt until a massive event like that, where everybody thought Ok, now we see what this is for.' The channel was backed by then-managing director Mark Scott from funds resourced from elsewhere within ABC. Mark Scott said, Look, you want to pitch this idea for a News channel? How much do you think it will cost? And I gave him a number and he said, Well, we could probably do half of that. So it started on a shoestring. It literally started on half of what we probably really needed to do, as well as any sort of international comparison. Since then weve learned how to be very frugal and manage a rolling news channel, probably cheaper and more effectively than anyone else in the world. The ABC has tried this many times before, and its always failed. But there were plenty of sceptics waiting in the wings. Many of the old hands inside the ABC said, The ABC has tried this many times before, and its always failed. This one will fail too,' he recalls. News Corp. was unhappy that we were doing a news channel at all. They had a monopoly in Sky News, and though very few people watch Sky News, they like having it for themselves. So when we launched a news channel, we were already in their target. But also we werent very good. I remember many days where I would just go in there and try to cheer everybody up and try to keep going. Tim Ayliffe, ABC News Managing Editor, ABC News Director Gaven Morris Presenter Joe OBrien has been with the channel since its inception with Ros Childs, Michael Rowland and Paul Kennedy amongst other long-serving faces. The channel has also given life to The Drum, One Plus One, The Mix, Planet America and a television edition of Grandstand -several of which have graduated to the primary channel. There are remarkably few resources sitting behind them in the control room, Morris says of presenters. So usually you are reliant on the presenter in the chair at the time being thoroughly across everything, because they never know whats going to come along. Theyre not being fed scripts or information and quite often theyre having to resource all of that themselves from the set. So its an incredibly demanding job and obviously they do it for hours at a time Unlike a very set piece of television news bulletin where theres a much bigger team behind you, and its much more scripted. The mornings and the late evenings are really successful periods The mornings and the late evenings are really successful periods for the News channel, and then obviously, whenever anything (big) happens. The spikes we get on the News channel when there is breaking news or a big live event are chalk and cheese compared to a normal day. The World at 10 oclock has an amazingly resilient audience. But even that 10-11pm period when people have got through the day, got the kids to bed, and are probably thinking about turning in themselves, we find that a lot of people switch on to update themselves on whats going on. Joe OBrien, Gaven Morris, Karina Carvalho, Tim Ayliffe, Jeremy Fernandez But while Morris plans to launch a new regional bulletin, and offer more on-demand content, the heart of ABC News is for fact-based information in a world of breaking news. ABC is consistently rated the most trusted media in the country. Just imagine any of the events of the last six months without the News channel, he suggests. Its just become such a necessary part of the news landscape in Australia. I suppose when I look back on the whole experience, I certainly wouldnt have given birth to it if I was given the choice, but Im very proud with where it is a decade on. Canada based photo artist Genevieve Blais work is all about historical and theoretical narratives. And in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the artist took to Instagram and started the page, Plague History, to recreate iconic classic artworks in the age of the coronavirus pandemic. According to Design You Trust, the artist said, We could all use a smile in lieu of recent events, so I decided to update art history for 2020. Since starting the page around three months ago, the Canada-based artist has reimagined iconic artworks including the Mona Lisa, her omnious smile hidden behind a mask, a self potrait of Dutch impressionist artist, Vincent Van Gogh, both ears intact securing the mask in place, The Lovers by Gustav Klimt, seen masked and embracing, which she cleverly corrected wasnt social distancing, the Statue of Liberty, Johannes Vermeers Girl With A Pearl Earring, The Scream by Edvard Munch, muffled by a mask, Michelangelos Creation of Adam, cleverly captioned that God too is practising social distancing, to name a few. Marie Antoinettes artwork was cleverly captioned, Let them drink bleach! Carlo Dolcis St Rose of Lima was the first artwork that the artist posted, she captioned it, Saint Rose of Lima in 2020. On her website, Genevieves work is described as, a twisted representation of familiar subject matter, which characterizes her fantasy world. The description goes on to add that her work draws on themes of sexuality, mortality and symbolism. The artworks are for sale on the artists website. Follow more stories on Facebook and Twitter SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Alfea Jamal 'Ask no questions, hear no lies.' Alfea Jamal is a fashion, culture, travel and food writer. She also dabbles in video journalism, multimedia production, the culinary arts, design and is modestly decent with canvas. ...view detail Such was Heath Ledgers commitment to playing the Joker, the actor told his co-star Christian Bale to really hit him in the famous interrogation scene from The Dark Knight. Bale, who played Batman in the comic book blockbuster, said in an interview that Ledger wanted the scene to feel real and kept egging him on. The interview was originally published in the book 100 Things Batman Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die, by author Joseph McCabe. It was later reproduced by The Hollywood Reporter. Our first scene was in an interrogation room together, and I saw that hes a helluva actor whos completely committed to it and totally gets the tone that Chris [Nolan] is trying to create with this, Bale said. Were not going for actors revealing their enjoyment of playing a wacky caricature. Were treating this as serious drama. You go into character and you stay in the character. I love that. I find that so ridiculous that I love it, and I take that very seriously. Also read: Before Joker, Heath Ledger rejected Christopher Nolans offer to play Batman: I would never take a part in a superhero film Bale continued, Heath was definitely embracing that. When he was in the makeup and the garb he was in character the whole time; and when he took it off he was absolutely fantastic company to be around. Describing Ledgers process while they filmed the interrogation scene, Bale said, As you see in the movie, Batman starts beating the Joker and realizes that this is not your ordinary foe. Because the more I beat him the more he enjoys it. The more Im giving him satisfaction. Heath was behaving in a very similar fashion. He was kinda egging me on. I was saying, You know what, I really dont need to actually hit you. Its going to look just as good if I dont. And hes going, Go on. Go on. Go on. He was slamming himself around, and there were tiled walls inside of that set which were cracked and dented from him hurling himself into them. His commitment was total. Ledger died of an accidental overdoes months before The Dark Knight was released to critical and commercial success. The actor won a posthumous Oscar for his performance. Follow @htshowbiz for more Imperial Valley News Center Ukrainian Men Plead Guilty to Conspiracy and Trafficking of Counterfeit Cancer and Hepatitis Drugs Houston, Texas - Two citizens of Ukraine have admitted they conspired to smuggle and distribute counterfeit cancer and hepatitis drugs into the United States, announced Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt and U.S. Attorney Ryan K. Patrick of the Southern District of Texas. Maksym Nienadov, 36, is the owner of the Ukrainian-based company Healthy Nation. He and his co-conspirator and employee Volodymyr Nikolaienko, 33 pleaded guilty today to conspiracy, trafficking in counterfeit drugs and smuggling goods into the United States. Nienadov also admitted to introducing misbranded drugs into the United States. In June 2018, undercover U.S. authorities began communicating with Nienadov about the illegal sale of Keytruda. This prompted a months-long exchange which also involved Nikolaienko and resulted in the unlawful sale of counterfeit or unapproved Keytruda, Abraxane and Epclusa. Neither Nienadov nor Nikolaienko are medical doctors, pharmacists or licensed pharmaceutical wholesalers in the United States and did not have authorization to sell the drugs. Merck & Co. manufactures Keytruda, a medicine to treat cancer, while Gilead Sciences Inc. manufactures Epclusa, a prescription drug for the treatment of hepatitis-C. Celgene Corporation is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bristol Myers Squibb and manufactures the oncology product Abraxane. In their legitimate form, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved all three drugs for distribution in the United States. During the undercover investigation, law enforcement received Nienadovs banking information, which included the name Maksim Nenadov and his Ukrainian bank account number. Authorities transferred $2,400 to his bank account for the purchase of the purported Keytruda. Soon after, they received a shipment from Maxim Nenadov which contained two boxes represented to contain Keytruda. However, the items were sent to Merck for testing and determined to be counterfeit. Authorities then negotiated the purchase of more Keytruda as well as another medication, Abraxane. The online messaging and email conversations resulted in a $3,400 undercover payment to Nienadov for the purchase of both drugs. On July 30, 2018, Maxim Nenadov sent two boxes of 50 mg purported Keytruda and two boxes of supposed Abraxane 5 mg/ml to undercover agents. Merck and Celgene performed analyses and confirmed the packaging and medication to be counterfeit. In late 2018, law enforcement also negotiated the undercover purchase of two boxes of purported Epclusa tablets from Nienadov and Nikolaienko for $6,000. Gilead identified the packaging and contents as counterfeit. Nienadov and Nikolaienko were taken into custody April 18, 2019, after they arrived in the United States from Ukraine to discuss future unlawful shipments of pharmaceuticals. U.S. Magistrate Judge Christina A. Bryan took the pleas today. Sentencing has been set for Nov. 4, 2020 before Chief Judge Rosenthal. Both men will remain in custody pending that hearing. Immigration and Customs Enforcements Homeland Security Investigations and FDAs Office of Criminal Investigations conducted the investigation. Senior Trial Attorney Jeffrey Pearlman of the Criminal Divisions Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section (CCIPS) and Assistant U.S. Attorney Sebastian Edwards of the Southern District of Texas are prosecuting the case. Former CCIPS Senior Trial Attorney Kebharu Smith assisted in the prosecution. In addition, the Criminal Divisions Office of International Affairs and the Office of the Prosecutor General of Ukraine provided substantial assistance. Helena Bonham Carter stepped out for a stroll with her boyfriend Rye Dag Holmboe, 32, and daughter Nell, 12, in London on Sunday. The Fight Club star, 54, was also joined by the family's Tibetan terrier, Pablo, and a new puppy which she protectively cradled in her arms. Helena wore a floor-length navy blue ruffled skirt which she teamed with a black embroidered lace top. Family: Helena Bonham Carter stepped out for a stroll with her boyfriend Rye Dag Holmboe, 32, and daughter Nell, 12, in London on Sunday Adding some finishing touches, the star teamed the items of clothing with a padded jacket tied around her waist and brown brogue shoes. Helena wore two pairs of sunglasses, which she balanced on her head, and a set of green pendant earrings. The star styled her signature curly brunette locks into a sweptback bun and appeared to go makeup-free for the outing. So sweet: The Fight Club star, 54, was also joined by the family's Tibetan terrier, Pablo, and a new puppy which she protectively cradled in her arms Helena's beau Rye, 32, looked dapper as he walked their dog, Pablo, while wearing a blue shirt, beige shorts and brown leather sandals. The star's daughter, Nell, gave a nod to Dr. Seuss' The Cat In The Hat as she wore a Thing 1 hoodie. Helena shares daughter Nell, 12, and son Billy, 16, with director ex Tim Burton, 61. Casual: Helena wore a floor-length navy blue ruffled skirt which she teamed with a black embroidered lace top Earlier this month, it was revealed that Lesley Manville, 64, will replace her in the new series of Netflix drama The Crown. The star will join Imelda Staunton in the line-up, who has been cast as Queen Elizabeth II in the hit. Lesley is believed to have been producers first choice for the role, and is set to play the Queen's younger sister during one of the 'darkest periods of her life'. Couldn't be happier: Earlier this month, it was revealed that Lesley Manville, 64, will replace her in the new series of Netflix drama The Crown Confirming the news in a statement, she said: 'I could not be happier to be playing Princess Margaret. The baton is being passed on from two formidable actresses and I really don't want to let the side down. 'Furthermore, to play siblings with my dear friend Imelda Staunton will be nothing short of a complete joy.' The role has been played by Helena for season three and upcoming season four, and was taken on by Vanessa Kirby in season one and two. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 18:54:57|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close MANILA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Philippine security forces have shot dead a suspected bomb expert with alleged links to the Islamic State in a shootout in South Cotabato province in the southern Philippines, a military spokesperson said on Tuesday. Army Lieutenant Colonel Dingdong Atilano said the suspect, identified as Ben Usman, is an alleged member of Ansar Al-Khilafah Philippines (AKP). He was killed when he fought it out with soldiers and policemen who went to his house in Polomolok town around 2:00 a.m. local time on Sunday to serve an arrest warrant. He said the slain suspect is wanted for frustrated murder. The suspect is the brother of notorious bomb expert and member of the Bangsamoro Islamic Freedom Fighter (BIFF) Basit Usman who was killed in 2015, he added. Atilano said Usman, who died at the hospital later, resisted the arrest. "He fought it out with the arresting authorities. He was hit and wounded during the encounter," he added. Atilano said the troops recovered a cal. 38 revolver, a grenade, an IS flag and a shirt with IS image. According to Atilano, AKP is allegedly behind the bombing near a park in General Santos City, also in the southern Philippines, in September 2018 that injured seven people. AKP is one of the IS-Philippines affiliates that are active in the southern Philippines. Other terrorist groups include elements of the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), BIFF and the Maute Group. Groups affiliated with IS-Philippines continued efforts to recover from battlefield losses, recruiting and training new members, and staging suicide bombings and attacks with improvised explosive devices and small arms that targeted security forces and civilians. The military said the Philippines remained a destination for foreign terrorist fighters from neighboring countries, and countries in the Middle East and Europe. Enditem CBS showrunner Peter Lenkov was fired on July 7 after staffers claimed he was verbally abusive and demeaning Fired CBS showrunner Peter Lenkov, who was behind the network's popular reboots of MacGyver, Magnum PI, and Hawaii Five-o, has been accused by a number of staffers of frequent abusive tirades and workplace bullying -- with one star saying he even considered suicide due to the alleged abuse. Lenkov was fired from his prominent role on July 7, after MacGyver star Lucas Till says he filed a second complaint with top CBS execs over his concerns about Lenkov and the atmosphere on the show, according to Vanity Fair. Till was among the many employees who spoke out in interviews with the magazine about what they say was a demeaning workplace environment, with the actor saying that Lenkov's verbal abuse, bullying, and body-shaming took a serious toll. In an HR complaint, Till said that Lenkov exploded on set that he looked like a 'little f**king boy' and once flew into a rage over a scene where he appeared in a hospital gown, allegedly saying Till's legs were 'f**king hideous' and demanding that they never be shown on screen again. 'I've never worked this hard in my life, and I am fine with hard work,' Till told Vanity Fair. 'But the way Peter treats people is just unacceptable. I was suicidal that first year on the show, because of the way he made me feel. But the way he's treated the people around methat's just my breaking point.' One of Lenkov's lawyers, Dale Kinsella, told Vanity Fair that Till's allegations regarding the abuse and body-shaming are '100 percent false and untrue,' adding that Lenkov 'has championed him from the very beginning and has been nothing but supportive of him.' MacGyver star Lucas Till (center) says he was 'suicidal' during the first season due to Lenkov's alleged body-shaming and verbal abuse on set Lenkov shot to prominence in 2010 with the reboot of Hawaii Five-o (above) Lenkov, a native of Montreal, previously worked on La Femme Nikita and 24 before shooting to prominence in 2010 with the reboot of Hawaii Five-o, which ended its run in April after 10 seasons. He later launched the popular CBS reboots of MacGyver and Magnum PI. As showrunner, Lenkov was responsible for delivering the weekly episodes on time and on budget, as well as overall creative control of the shows, a high-pressure job that many staffers say he responded to with abusive behavior. Writer Sarah Goldfinger told Vanity Fair that Lenkov recruited her from CSI to work on the first season of Hawaii Five-o. Goldfinger claims Lenkov threatened her job on her second day working for him, pulling her aside after she asked a question in the writer's room and telling that if she didn't like her job or the stories that the team would be telling, she could leave. She claimed that things only got worse from there, and that Lenkov would regulary scream at her on the phone during her 50-minute commute home, and that she'd sit her her driveway after arriving home as she waited for the tirades to cease Goldfinger told the magazine that the tirades were no 'creative freak-outs or just displays of normal, occasional stress.' Till, who plays Angus MacGyver (above) says that Lenkov berated him as looking like a 'little f**king boy' and called his legs 'hideous' George Eads, Lucas Till, and Executive Producer Peter Lenkov, of the CBS series MacGyver, are seen during a panel discussion at COMIC-CON 2016 in San Diego, California 'This was inappropriate hostility and unacceptable workplace behavior. I'm pretty tough. I had been on some muscular shows. But this was abuse,' she said. Lenkov's attorney told Vanity Fair that he denies threatening Goldfinger's job or engaging in any verbal tirades at any time. Other unnamed staffers told the magazine that Lenkov was frequently verbally abusive and dismissive, particularly toward women or people of color working on his shows. Hawaii Five-o stars Daniel Dae Kim and Grace Park, who are Asian American, both left after the show's seventh season, amid trade publication reports that they were frustrated at not being paid the same as the show's white leads. However, not all employees agreed that Lenkov was abusive towards staffers, and some spoke out in his defense. 'I was very surprised when I heard what happened, because I never felt that he created a toxic environment,' Linda Sutton, a set decorator for Hawaii Five-0 for four seasons, told Vanity Fair. 'He was the boss, and we were all working together as a team to create a look that he envisioned in his mind. And it was always very cordial. I found it to be a pleasure to work with him,' she said. Lenkov is also behind the CBS reboot of Magnum PE staring Jay Hernandez (above) CBS said in a statement: 'Our Studio is committed to ensuring safe and respectful production environments.' 'Over the past year, we have assigned human resource production partners to every show, expanded staff training, and increased reporting options,' the network said. 'We will continue to evolve our practices with continued focus on building trust with all who work on our sets. Every complaint is taken seriously, every claim is investigated, and when evidence is clear that policies were violated and values not upheld, we take decisive action.' Through his lawyer, Lenkov denied the allegations of abuse and mistreatment but expressed contrition in a statement: 'Now is the time to listen and I am listening.' 'It's difficult to hear that the working environment I ran was not the working environment my colleagues deserved, and for that, I am deeply sorry,' Lenkov said. 'I accept responsibility for what I am hearing and am committed to doing the work that is required to do better and be better.' Coronavirus may be more severe in colder months than warmer ones, and dry indoor air may encourage its spread, new research suggests. Severe Covid-19 outcomes decreased as the pandemic progressed from winter to the warmer months, analysis indicates. Experts warn that their findings paint a grim picture for the colder weather, when it is thought the disease may re-emerge. Researchers analysed data from 6,914 patients admitted to hospital with Covid-19 in Croatia, Spain, Italy, Finland, Poland, Germany, the UK and China. They mapped this against local temperature and estimated indoor humidity and found that severe outcomes being taken to hospital, admittance to ICU or the need for ventilation dropped in most European countries over the course of the pandemic, covering the transition from winter to early summer. The study, which has not been peer-reviewed, suggests there was a corresponding decrease in the rate of deaths from the disease. There was roughly a 15% drop in mortality for every one degree Celsius rise in temperature, the Kings College London researchers say. By contrast, the severity of symptoms and mortality rate remained constant in China during the first wave of the pandemic, which occurred solely throughout the winter. The study also looked at data from more than 37,000 UK users of the Covid Symptom Study app reporting symptoms consistent with Covid-19. It showed a similar decrease in the severity of reported symptoms from March through May as UK temperatures rose. According to the researchers, the changes were too large to be explained by improvements in treatment of the disease, patient age or hospitals becoming overwhelmed during this time. This suggests there is a seasonal influence on the virus. Although the virus can clearly spread in hot, humid countries in East Asia, it is notable that the severity and mortality from the disease have been lower than in Europe and other more temperate climates, the paper suggests. Story continues The researchers suggest indoor heating during the winter months may also contribute to the spread of the disease by drying out the protective mucus barrier within the nose and airways, making viral infection easier. Dr Gordan Lauc, professor of biochemistry and molecular biology at the University of Zagreb and honorary visiting professor at Kings College London, is senior author of the study. He said: Our findings point to a role for seasonality in the transmission and severity of Covid-19, and also argue for increased humidity and hydration as a way to combat the virus. This paints a grim picture for the next winter in Europe when more severe winter Covid-19 is expected to return something we are currently observing in the southern hemisphere. Professor Tim Spector from Kings College London, added: This study highlights the importance of gathering long-term data about the incidence, symptoms and progression of Covid-19 from as many people as possible. By understanding the many factors that contribute to the severity and spread of the disease, we can implement effective measures to control it over the coming months. Dr Simon Clarke, associate professor of cellular microbiology at the University of Reading, said: This study shows an association between temperature and severity of symptoms, but it does not demonstrate why that happens. It may be because low temperatures slow down the normal mucus clearing of infecting viruses in our nasal passages. If there is indeed a wave of infections in the UK this winter, it could coincide with the annual flu season, which itself puts significant stress on the NHS. We could experience a double-whammy of serious respiratory diseases, which could cause the NHS to grind to a halt. Its essential that the government mount an extensive publicity campaign to ensure that uptake of this years flu vaccination is as extensive as possible. The now-deceased lawyer suspected of fatally shooting the son and seriously wounding the husband of U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas in New Jersey on Sunday may have been targeting at least one other judge in New York. Roy Den Hollander had a photo of that states Chief Judge Janet DiFiore in his car, her spokesman told NJ Advance Media on Tuesday. Thats what I understand to be true. At this point, thats all I have, said Lucian Chalfen, director of communications for New York State Courts. The information, which was relayed to Chalfen from the FBI, was first reported in the New York Times. In addition to finding her photo in the car, authorities also found her name and address, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said in a conference call with reporters Tuesday. New York State Police are providing security for DiFiore, he added. Den Hollander, a self-described anti-feminist lawyer, was found dead in his car of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound in Rockland, New York, about a two-hour drive from the North Brunswick home of Salas, officials have said. From left, U.S. District Court Judge Esther Salas, Roy Den Hollander and New York State Chief Judge Janet DiFiore.File Investigators say Den Hollander, whose age in public documents is reported as 69 and 72, fatally shot the 20-year-old son of Salas, Daniel Anderl, and wounded her husband, criminal defense attorney Mark Anderl, 63, at their home about 5 p.m. on Sunday. The son died of multiple gunshot wounds and Mark Anderl was in critical but stable condition at a local hospital, according to North Brunswick Mayor Francis Womack. The family was attacked by a man wearing a face covering and a FedEx delivery driver uniform, officials said. Salas was in the basement at the time of the shooting as was not hurt. Daniel Anderl, 20. (Photo courtesy of Catholic University) The New York Times, citing two law enforcement officials, reported the FBI is investigating whether Den Hollander was involved in the July 11 killing of mens rights lawyer Marc Angelucci in San Bernardino, California. Angelucci was shot at his front door by a gunman wearing a FedEx uniform, according to published reports. Marc AngelucciFacebook Based in Newark, Salas was the first Hispanic woman to be appointed to the U.S. District Court in New Jersey. She was nominated by President Obama as a U.S. District Court judge in December 2010 and confirmed by the Senate in June 2011. Salas was the judge in a 2015 lawsuit Den Hollander filed in federal court claiming the Selective Service System, which requires men to register for military draft, discriminates against both sexes in violation of Equal Protection as incorporated into the Fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Den Hollander wrote in an online essay in 2019 about having cancer and about a planned hearing apparently before Salas. Media across the street from the home of Judge Esther Salas where her husband Mark Andrel was shot and their son Daniel was killed, in North Brunswick, N.J. July, 20, 2020 Ed Murray | NJ Advance Media for 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. D onald Trump has vowed to send federal police officers into several more Democrat-run American cities amid ongoing Black Lives Matter protests. The US president is under fire for defying constitutional norms and attempting to play the law and order card to boost his re-election campaign this autumn. It follows violent scuffles between federal officers and protesters in Portland, Oregon, involving agents in camouflage, tear gas fired and activists being bundled into unmarked cars. Critics have accused the White House of stoking - rather than quelling - racial tensions that remain simmering across much of the US following the death of George Floyd, an unarmed African American, in Minneapolis police custody in May. Protesters in Portland, Oregon / Associated Press "We're going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you," Mr Trump said on Monday. "In Portland, they've done a fantastic job. They've been there three days, and they really have done a fantastic job in a very short period of time." The Chicago Tribune, citing anonymous sources, reported Monday that Trump planned to deploy 150 federal agents to Chicago. But constitutional law experts and politicians said federal officers' actions in the progressive city of Portland are a "red flag" in what could become a test case of states' rights as the Trump administration expands federal policing. "It is a standard move of authoritarians to use the pretext of quelling violence to bring in force, thereby prompting a violent response and then bootstrapping the initial use of force in the first place," said Michael Dorf, a professor of constitutional law at Cornell University. REUTERS Oregon Governor Kate Brown, a Democrat, said on Twitter: "This is a democracy, not a dictatorship. We cannot have secret police abducting people in unmarked vehicles. I can't believe I have to say that to the President of the United States." Republican Senator Rand Paul of Kentucky added: "We cannot give up liberty for security. Local law enforcement can and should be handling these situations in our cities but there is no place for federal troops or unidentified federal agents rounding people up at will. The protests have rocked Portland for 52 nights, with around 500 gathering outside the federal courthouse overnight on Sunday. Many rallies have attracted thousands and been largely peaceful but have boiled over into violence at times setting fire to police precincts, smashing windows and clashing violently with local police. For a restaurant to make a big move right now takes a leap of faith considering the hardships the pandemic has brought the industry. The move Duana Lawrence just made is a leap, too, though this comes with some extra bounce thanks to her way with beignets, the following theyve earned and the optimism thats brought her. Her cafe StuphD Beignets & Burgers made its name in Gentilly with beignets stuffed like po-boys, beignets stuffed like decadent desserts and beignets done in the classic style under powdered sugar. Now, StuphD Beignets & Burgers has a new home at 3325 St. Claude Ave. in the 9th Ward. It officially opened July 17. Of course Im nervous, but everything Ive been able to do came from having that strong urge to jump in and do it, said Lawrence. Im always nervous until I get my feet in the water, but then I just start going, The storefront was previously home to Pollys Bywater Cafe, which closed in June. Its much larger than the previous location for StuphD, with a diner counter and room for a mix of tables and booths, now set up for social distancing. One wall is adorned with a mural by local artist Journey Allen, showing a cityscape inhabited by brass-playing burgers and (you guessed it) beignets. Beignets have proven a good bet for Lawrence. She had no experience in the restaurant business when she first opened StuphD across town. But she rolled her own food obsessions together with some creativity and anchored them on the enduring appeal of the beignet to build her business. Beignets are everywhere these days. Sometimes the modern renditions stretch the definition of the word to cover any kind of fried dough. The one that sold me on StuphD was a different story. This was a true beignet square, tawny, crisp and pillowy within crammed full of crawfish and bursting with juice. It was rambunctiously delicious. I first tried one at the Seafood Trap Fest, a small food and music fest organized last year by (the now late) local rapper 5th Ward Weebie. I had to have more. So I started visiting the restaurant back at its Gentilly location. I worked through sweet and savory options and inevitably kept coming back to that crawfish beignet and its kick-up cousin, the Creole queen, which adds crabmeat and shrimp. 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 StuphD can satisfy the craving for a classic beignet. It can also set new cravings. Sliced apples cooked down with cinnamon and sugar are stacked top to bottom inside a sweet beignet. The sweet potato version is like a handheld holiday pie. The savory beignets fold in standards from the po-boy shop and sandwich board. Tear open the cheesesteak beignet and the cheese-cloaked onions and peppers and beef stretch from end to end. The hot sausage beignet is filled with crumbled spicy patties, stuck together with the same American cheese youd get on a hot sausage po-boy two New Orleans standards reimagined and merged together. Served two to an order, these make a hearty meal. StuphD serves burgers with cheese and other toppings stuffed into the patties, straight-up wings, and, on Fridays, seafood po-boys and platters. Lawrence opened StuphD in 2016, initially in the back of a barroom in Mid-City. She moved it to Gentilly a year later. StuphD grew as a family endeavor. Like other small restaurants run on a shoestring, the personality of StuphD is an intangible, invaluable asset. Its made new visitors into regulars. Lawrence, who is Black, has seen the lift that many Black-owned restaurants have gotten lately, as attention to race and social justice issues has spurred more people to seek out these businesses in support and solidarity. Thats encouraging for her too, as her new chapter begins. From the start, Ive gotten support from everyone, and Im proud of that, Lawrence said. I just think we naturally try to make people feel at home. Thats what we hear back from them. Im excited to get started here and see what we can build. StuphD Beignets & Burgers 3325 St. Claude Ave., (504) 459-4571 Wed.-Sat. 10 a.m.-6 p.m., Sun. 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Note: takeout only to begin +5 Beignet Fest bounces back by bringing the fest to the restaurants The airy, sugar-dusted classic beignet is always up for reinterpretation at Beignet Fest, which annually presents examples that are sweet, sav +9 The story of Cafe Porche and a question many businesses ask: 'How long can I hold on?' Cafe Porche & Snowbar is normally low key, a small Central City spot with good Creole flavors, a modern feel and a character all its own. +9 Heres how New Orleans bars carry on with service restricted to go drinks, takeout With indoor service now off the table for bars across Louisiana, all the drinks at the tiny French Quarter spot Erin Rose go out the window. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) As the government continues to grapple with rising COVID-19 cases, President Rodrigo Duterte wants quarantine violators detained to "give them a lesson for all time." During his address to the nation aired on Tuesday morning, Duterte reminded the police to impose stricter enforcement of quarantine rules to address surge in infections in localities. "We'll have to ask our police to be more strict. Hulihin talaga (Arrest the person). A little shame or put them on notice forever," he said. "Sino ba naman ang gustong mahuli ka? But if you are brought to the police station and detained there, that will give you a lesson for all time," the President added. Duterte also appealed to local government officials to take more effort in punishing residents for disregarding simple health protocols such as wearing masks and observing physical distancing, which can count as a serious crime. "Under ordinary times, a simple violation of not wearing masks seem to be trivial, social distancing, all of these things. But during times of health issues, you can [make arrests] because it can be a serious crime," he said. "The mayors have to do more. They have to do more," Duterte added. The President, who once advocated for federalism in his campaign, noted that having a unitary form of government makes it easier to impose rules that can be followed by mayors and local executives. He also reiterated that local officials who would go against the national government's standard of implementation may either be suspended or terminated from their posts. COVID-19 chief implementer Carlito Galvez said on Monday that people are more likely to follow quarantine protocols with police and military around in local communities. However, he clarified that there will not be any show of force to intimidate residents. This comes amid recent criticisms on police and military presence in the controversial house-to-house search for COVID-19 patients which closely resembles the government's Oplan Tokhang to locate drug users. As of Monday, the Philippines has logged 68,898 COVID-19 cases. A total of 23,072 individuals have already recovered, while 1,835 succumbed to the disease. If you needed further proof that 2020 will go down as one of the strangest years in human history, look no further than the record charts. The cassette tape the antediluvian format that gave PTSD to an entire generation is enjoying a comeback. And not just a comeback. Sales of cassettes more than doubled in the first six months to the end of June with 65,000 shifted in the UK alone. This is quite distinct from the vinyl boom of the past decade. Vinyl is an all-ages trend, with fogeys as likely to splash out on a Guns n Roses or Radiohead LP as a Gen Zer is on the new Billie Eilish. Cassette tapes, by contrast, are largely a hit with the kids. In Britain, the top-selling cassette of 2020 so far is Calm by 5 Seconds of Summer, followed by Lady Gaga, The 1975, Selena Gomez and Dua Lipa. So whoever else is fuelling this revival it isnt indie dads in a tizzy at the prospect of Paul Weller going prog. The phenomenon has caught everyone by surprise, including the companies which manufacture magnetic tape and have seen the market shrink to practically nothing in recent years. We never stopped producing them, but demand had tailed off to tapes for police interviews, Karen Emanuel, the chief executive of the Key Production Group, which manufactures vinyl, cassettes and CDs, told the Guardian last year. Whats behind the revival? The simple answer is that cassettes are quirky and brimming with personality. In a world where too much is digital and ephemeral, they are reassuringly analogue and tactile. The packaging on new cassettes also tends to be Instagram-friendly. Billie Eilishs 2019 debut LP, When We All Fall Asleep Where Do We Go?, for instance was available in lurid green and orange cassettes. They were crying out to be shared all over your social media. Young people also posses the enormous advantage of not being battled-scarred by cassettes first time around. Some of us still vividly remember the sense of onrushing horror when a tape became jammed and had to be picked out from the tape-head by hand and torturously wound back in. Scratched CDs were a minor irritation by comparison. With so much music sloshing around online, artists and record-buyers alike have rediscovered the hands-on thrill of a physical format. Video of the Day But vinyl is notoriously expensive to produce. Thats fine if youre a major label planning a Fleetwood Mac or Nirvana anniversary reissue. For smaller labels a vinyl run is often prohibitively costly. But tapes are cheap and it is within the means of even a shoe-string operation to put out 100 or 1,000 copies of an album. The low price matters for kids too. A picture disc vinyl of Dua Lipas Future Nostalgia costs around euro 27.99. The equally tactile gold cassette edition, by contrast, retails at less than a tenner. Or at least it did before it sold out. Its not just major artists either. In Ireland small labels such as Dublins Wow and Flutter and Fort Evil Fruit in Cork specialise in cassette releases. Wow and Flutter limits its runs to just 100 cassettes. Its satisfying to have a nicely packaged physical manifestation of the release, and this seems to give it an impact that digital-only releases lack, but the choice of format isnt particularly significant in itself its more important that people have access to the music, says Paul Condon of Fort Evil Fruit. For me theres no element of elitism, purism or nostalgia in the format. Its more an affordable and pragmatic way of releasing music that by its nature has a limited or niche appeal. While cassette releases have been popular in DIY/underground and indie circles for a while, major labels have begun to jump on the bandwagon and release cassettes by big mainstream acts. I think this is more of a gimmick, but is essentially harmless; theyre sold in relatively tiny quantities, are not replacing any other format, and if you dont like the format you dont have to bother with it. Also I think tapes have an unfair reputation as being poor quality both in terms of sound and durability if you keep them stored properly and keep your tape heads clean they can sound great and wont get chewed up. The very disposability of cassettes back in the day was, of course, part of their charm. They were cheap, cheerful and indestructible. You could wedge them into your glove box by the dozen or spill drinks over them. And they would still play (unless they decided to spontaneously unravel). Some have theorised, as pointed out above, that the cassette revival is really all about aesthetics. That tapes are bought so that they can be Instagrammed rather than played. But it also surely speaks to a curiosity among the young for a past that even their parents may at best dimly recall. As Karen Emanuel, of Key Production Group, told the I newspaper, Cassettes have been the younger demographic, who have nostalgia for something theyve never had. A Russian businessman linked to a US Democratic Party hacking incident in a former British spys 2016 dossier about alleged links between Donald Trump and Russia has told a judge that he suffers from on-going anxiety. Aleksej Gubarev, who runs an IT infrastructure solutions business, told Mr Justice Warby that he was stunned to learn that he featured in Christopher Steeles dossier. Mr Gubarev said he had never been involved with Russian Federal Security Services or any cyber-attacks on the US Democratic Party. He was giving evidence at a High Court trial in London on Tuesday after suing Mr Steele for defamation. Mr Gubarev, and a company he runs called Webzilla, took legal action after BuzzFeed published the Steele Dossier in January 2017, the month Mr Trump was inaugurated as President of the United States. Russian businessman Aleksej Gubarev leaving the High Court in London following a hearing in his libel case against Christopher Steele, a former British spy who wrote a 2016 dossier about alleged links between Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin (Aaron Chown/PA) He says he has been defamed by Mr Steele and Orbis Business Intelligence, a London-based corporate intelligence consultancy co-founded by Mr Steele. Orbis and Mr Steele are fighting the claim and deny defamation allegations. Mr Gubarev, who lives in Cyprus, said he was receiving multiple messages and phone calls within minutes of the BuzzFeed article being published. When I read and saw that my name and companies were being accused, I was stunned, he said, in a written witness statement. I have never been involved with the Russian Federal Security Services or any cyber-attacks on the US Democratic Party. He said it was difficult to convince people that the allegations were false. The situation was, and remains, very humiliating and embarrassing which has caused me to suffer from on-going anxiety about how my reputation is now in tatters, he said. It has been exhausting trying to constantly convince people that I was not involved in the Democratic Party hacking incident He added: I dont want to have to keep explaining that I am not a criminal and did not do what I am alleged to have done. Story continues Mr Gubarev said Mr Steele had not apologised and that refusal prolonged the damage. The dossier had been commissioned by a Washington DC consultancy acting for a law firm, the judge has heard. He has been told that the ultimate client was the Democratic National Committee and/or Hillary Clintons Presidential election campaign. US President Donald Trump (Alex Brandon/PA)) Andrew Caldecott QC, who leads Mr Gubarevs legal team, has told the judge that there is a practical ceiling of about 325,000 on defamation damages awards. He said he would not argue that an award at the very top of the bracket was appropriate. But he said very substantial damages were required to vindicate and compensate Mr Gubarev. Mr Caldecott said there was no suggestion that the allegations against Mr Gubarev and Webzilla were true. He said BuzzFeed had apologised and redacted the names of Mr Gubarev and Webzilla from their website. And, he said, Mr Gubarev was not suggesting that Orbis and Mr Steele had been malicious. Mr Caldecott said the central question was whether Orbis and Mr Steele were responsible in law for the publication of the Steele dossier by BuzzFeed. He said Mr Gubarevs case was that they were. Mr Steele disagrees and says the claim should be dismissed. The hearing is due to end later this week EU leaders emerged from a marathon four-day and four-night summit on Tuesday to celebrate what they boasted was a historic rescue plan for economies left shattered by the coronavirus epidemic. The 750-billion-euro ($858-billion) deal was sealed after intense negotiations that saw threats of walkouts, vetoes and fierce opposition from the Netherlands and Austria. "These were of course, difficult negotiations in very difficult times for all Europeans," said EU Council chief Charles Michel, whose job was to guide the tortuous talks over more than 90 hours. Germany and France strongly backed the package, which enables joint borrowing by the 27 members of the bloc to help virus-hit countries, particularly Spain and Italy. The deal is a special victory for French President Emmanuel Macron, who came to office in 2017 committed to strengthening the European Union but has struggled to deliver. "This is the most important moment in the life of our Europe since the creation of the euro," in 2002, Macron said, adding that France itself would receive 40 billion euros. While German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Europe had shown itself equal to "the greatest crisis" in EU history, Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez hailed "a Marshall Plan for Europe" that would boost his country's economy by 140 billion euros over the next six years. - 'Frugals' fight - However, there was criticism from MEPs, who broadly welcomed the deal but questioned the detail. "The EU is now allowed to borrow funds but there is no certainty on how the debt will be repaid," said a group of six MEPs who took part in the negotiations. And teenage climate campaigner Greta Thunberg questioned whether the compromises were too great. "As expected the #EUCO resulted in some nice words, some vague distant incomplete climate targets nearly impossible to track and a complete denial of the climate emergency," she tweeted. The initial call for solidarity was met with the fierce opposition from the "Frugals", a group of northern nations led by the Netherlands that argued the package was unnecessary. Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte had warned before the talks against the EU becoming a "transfer union" with a permanent north-south movement of wealth. Afterwards, he defended himself from accusations that he had accepted precisely what he had sought to avoid. "This is a one off, there is a clear necessity for this given the excessive situation," he told reporters. The frugals were also apprehensive about sending money to southern countries that they see as too lax with public spending. To meet their concerns, payouts from the package will come with important strings attached -- a hard pill to swallow for Rome and Madrid who resisted anything resembling the harsh bailouts imposed on Greece, Portugal or Ireland during the debt crisis. The frugals were also enticed with heavy rebates on their EU contributions. - 'Rule of Law' - The recovery package will complement the unprecedented monetary stimulus at the European Central Bank, which has largely succeeded in reassuring the financial markets despite a catastrophic recession in Europe. ECB chief Christine Lagarde welcomed the accord, saying it "shows that when most needed, the EU steps up and comes together to help the people of Europe". Overall, the deal will dole out 390 billion euros in the form of grants to pandemic-hit countries. That was lower than an original 500 billion euro proposal made by France and Germany. Another 360 billion euros will be disbursed in loans. Spending must be devoted to policies seen as compatible with European priorities, including politically difficult economic reforms as well as the environment. The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, will be in charge of distributing the funds, with the 27 member states able to turn down a spending plan if a weighted majority of them decide to intervene. The rescue package was agreed along with the EU's long-term budget, bringing the agreed spending to 1.8 trillion euros through 2027. The package now requires more technical negotiations among member states as well as ratification by the European Parliament, which will begin its scrutiny of the deal on Thursday. burs-pdw/jxb/pvh The package will send tens of billions of euros to countries hardest hit by the pandemic French President Emmanuel Macron hailed 'a historic day' for Europe The European Commission, the EU's executive arm, will be in charge of distributing the funds BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Tamilla Mammadova Trend: The Asian Infrastructure Investment Banks (AIIB) Board of Directors has approved a loan of 45 million euros to Georgia to mitigate the negative economic and social impacts of COVID-19 and sustain the momentum of pre-pandemic reforms that support economic growth and resilience, Trend reports citing the bank. Funded under AIIBs COVID-19 Crisis Recovery Facility (CRF) and cofinanced by the World Bank, the loan will fill the unanticipated financing gap that has arisen due to the impact of the COVID-19 outbreak, which could jeopardize Georgias ongoing reforms under the Economic Management and Competitiveness Program (EMCP). The loan provides emergency budgetary support to enable the Government of Georgia to respond to the pandemic more effectively. By providing financing to support mitigation measures and safeguard macroeconomic stability, AIIBs response will help minimize losses and put the country back on the recovery path said AIIB Vice President for Investment Operations Konstantin Limitovskiy. This is a second loan for Georgia under the CRF, following an earlier emergency assistance of 91.34 million euros approved in May 2020, under which Georgias health infrastructure and social protection measures for COVID-19 preparedness were financed. As of July 2020, AIIBs Board of Directors has approved a total of 16 projects amounting to over $5.9 billion to help 12 members navigate the challenges of these highly uncertain times, said the report. --- Follow the author on Twitter: @Mila61979356 By Ayya Lmahamad The volume of trade turnover between Azerbaijan and Moldova exceeded $5.2 million in January-June this year , local media reported with the reference to State Statistics Committee of Moldova on July 21. Thus, Azerbaijan exported to Moldova products worth over $3.3 million. Moreover, the value of products imported by Azerbaijan from Moldova for six months exceeded $1.9 million. Earlier it was reported that in January- May 2020, legal entities and individuals in Azerbaijan carried out trade operations with partners across 166 countries. Products were exported to 98 countries and imported from 155 countries. Additionally, Azerbaijan's foreign trade turnover resulted in a surplus of $1.5 billion in January-May 2020, although, foreign trade turnover decreased by 30.1 percent in actual prices and by 19 percent in real terms, including imports by 42.7 percent and exports by 2.2 percent compared to the same period last year. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz The news agency ANI reported last week that PM Modi (is) taking inputs from 50 top officials to revive (the) economy. The 90-minute meeting would have presentations by finance and commerce ministry officials. What would such a meeting have looked like? If all 50 got a chance to give an input, and nobody else spoke or asked questions, they would get less than two minutes each. But its likely someone would do some sort of introduction and set up the agenda, so its unlikely the per person time was two minutes. Perhaps many of them did not get the opportunity to speak at all. The headline says the PM was looking for inputs from them. What can be communicated in a couple of minutes? Modi likes this sort of meeting. The first time I met him, with Dileep Padgaonkar (then Times of India editor) and B.G. Varghese (then editor of Hindustan Times), both now dead, was for an Editors Guild report on the 2002 violence. At that meeting, Modi called in all his secretaries, about two dozen, and perhaps more men sitting in rows to respond to us. There were no ministers. That was and apparently still is Modis style. The question is what happens at such large meetings, for input and what is taken away from them. You would have a series of men saying extremely concise things. And they have to be prescriptive. The problem is already known: the ANI story says the meeting would find means of a speedy recovery of the economy, which has witnessed a slowdown in recent quarters. What would a two-minute prescription be? It would be something like: The black money problem can be permanently solved by eliminating high value currency notes. We can force everyone to exchange their notes for smaller denominations and identify the black money sources. This will also end counterfeiting and reduce terrorism. Such a presentation would lack nuance and not contain detail. It may or may not get into the problems that could come about because of such an action and it may or may not list the things that could go wrong. There wouldnt be enough time. It would merely present some sort of solution, and if the solution looked like a permanent fix and if it sounded original and innovative, it would meet approval. This is the problem of decision-making done on the basis of short and rapid inputs. But when one asks 50 people to give a series of short and sharp inputs, its clear this is the preferred style of functioning. I have written before about this manner of Modis governance. He said in a very fine interview with Madhu Kishwar that he doesnt read files as he cant govern through academic studies. He wants people to reduce issues to a two-minute synopsis, which he will digest and then decide. The problem is that some things cant be reduced to a short presentation as they are very complex. Many things arent clear. They are grey. Many details arent precise because there is not enough information or data. What the possible consequences of decisions will be cant be understood without very thorough analysis. Black money was such a matter, China relations another, as is Covid. The effect of a two-month lockdown is also complex. What it could do to the economy should be examined with great care and caution must be used before using a blunt weapon like demonetisation or a total lockdown. My intent is not to be needlessly critical or contemptuous. What Modi decides affects all of us, and we must see what can be done in the best interest of our nation and its people. However, the decision-making style must be examined and theres no running away from that. Let me quote another report, this time from Saturdays Indian Express: Manufacturers fret as sudden lockdown hits logistics of production. The story tells of the problems. At 8 pm on July 13, Karnataka ordered a lockdown from the next day and told industries to shut. Automobile manufacturers like Toyota told workers to go home, informed vendors and issued a statement. But next day the government sent another circular, saying manufacturers were exempt from the lockdown. But the workers had already gone. One weeks production was lost. Another problem was supply chains. Auto manufacturing doesnt happen in one place. Its only assembled at the main factory, but components come from around the country. There was a lockdown in some states, so even if the main assembly plant was exempt from lockdown or in a state with no lockdown, production would slow or stop. There are lockdowns in Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Bihar, West Bengal, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha, Assam and elsewhere. There was no coordination to ensure that supply chains are kept going. Similarly, firms couldnt access warehouses, with some under lockdown. Another problem was workers who were reluctant to return given the problems they faced during the first lockdown. These are issues of detail and complexity. They dont require decision-making. They require governance, meaning the hard work of making the State function efficiently. It is true India has always been a hard place to govern because it is chaotic and anarchic. The government doesnt often follow its own rules. It wont be easy for us to undo the damage done to the economy by the lockdown and the solution wont come from two-minute presentations. The writer is a senior journalist and columnist By PTI AHMEDABAD: BJP Lok Sabha member Chandrakant Raghunath Paatil on Tuesday took charge as Gujarat party unit president and urged BJP workers to facilitate the reach of central schemes to people across the state. Paatil, 65, the Lok Sabha member from Navsari seat in Gujarat, also stressed on the use of technology to strengthen the party. Incidentally, he shares his name with Maharashtra BJP chief Chandrakant Patil. The Lok Sabha member assumed the charge at the BJP headquarters in Gandhinagar in the presence of outgoing state party president Jitu Vaghani, Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani and other dignitaries. On the occasion, Rupani exuded confidence that the BJP will form government for a record seventh time in 2022, when the party will fight the state Assembly polls under Paatil. Addressing the BJP leaders, Paatil stressed on the use of technology and social media to strengthen the party. "It is Prime Minister Narendra Modi who made all of us tech savvy. He used to remind us if we had opened Facebook accounts or not. He started this 10 years back. Now, we will take it further. We will use technology and go beyond posting something on Twitter or Facebook," he said. He also urged BJP workers to facilitate the reach of central schemes to people in the state and create a long-lasting "positive impression" in their minds about the party. "Out of around 400 schemes that Modiji has launched so far, we can directly help people through 60 such central schemes. We can create a long-lasting positive impression into their minds. We will work in that direction," said the three-time MP from Navsari seat. He said "unlike Congress workers", the BJP workers are on the ground to help people affected by coronavirus. Modi's "timely decision to impose a lockdown" helped in containing the virus, he claimed. Referring to protest against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) at Shaheen Bagh in Delhi earlier this year, Paatil said though the protest had the "backing of Congress", it created a negative impression about the BJP. "The Congress was behind Shaheen Bagh (anti-CAA protest). Rahul Gandhi also gave statements," he alleged. "But, just think for a moment. Such statements created a negative impression about us among the masses," he said. "Those who were forced to take another route and travel three to four km more due to the protest at Shaheen Bagh would blame the government, not Congress, for that trouble. People will have a feeling that the government was not doing anything or did not used force to clear the area," he said. Prince Harry is becoming more and more irrelevant as he spends his life as a non-working royal. Before Megxit happened, Prince Harry enjoyed a lot of privileges as a royal prince. However, he and his wife Meghan Markle chose to take a different path and decided to step down from their senior royal positions. The family-of-three is now living their lives in Los Angeles to achieve their goal of becoming financially independent. However, as time passes by, Prince Harry's worth continues to plunge, and it will inevitably affect his life outside the monarchy. The Unpopular Harry In a new poll conducted by YouGov, it showed how the Duke of Sussex's popularity among royal fans has plummeted and reached its lowest throughout his life. According to the results, only 35 percent of the participants still see Prince Harry as a positive asset for the royal family. Meanwhile, the remaining percentage believes that he is now a liability for the monarchy. His popularity surely crashed big time. Eight years ago, YouGov conducted the same poll and the royal prince received a shocking 75 percent approval rating. But everything has changed ever since he left the firm. The least popular royal is Prince Andrew, with 80 percent of those who took part in the poll referring to the Duke of York as a liability. Meanwhile, Meghan Markle was also hailed as a liability by over 51 percent of the participants. She only got a 38 percent approval rating. Queen Elizabeth II has remained strong and firm, as she stood as the people's favorite with an 81 percent approval rate. Prince William, Kate Middleton, and Prince Charles came after Her Majesty on the list. Such percentages are indeed high, but YouGov carried out the poll this week without mentioning how many people took part in the poll. Royal Expert Predicted Prince Harry's Downfall When Prince Harry and Meghan Markle took a six-week break last year before they announced their bombshell decision, a royal expert already predicted that the duke would lose everything because of his decisions. Valentine Low, the Times of London's royal correspondent, compared the two with the Duke and Duchess of Windsor at that time. According to Low, the royal couple of Windsor became irrelevant after the Duke abdicated his throne. She feared that it would also happen to Prince Harry and Meghan. "[It] requires a platform and if they were to give up their HRH status and retreat to a farm in the countryside, that platform would be much less prominent. Look what happened to the Duke and Duchess of Windsor after he abdicated: They became no-longer-important people," the royal correspondent said. Edward VIII, the former Duke of Windsor, gave up his royal life and abdicated. He then moved to France and spent the rest of his life with Wallis Simpson. In 2013, Express journalist Simon Edge explained that the former king quit because he wanted to protect his mother Queen Mary and Queen Elizabeth from any public damages once they ignored his American wife. His abdication led the monarchy to make Queen Elizabeth II's father, George VI, to be the official monarch then. However, it set a bad example for The Firm. READ MORE: Royal Heartbreak: Meghan Markle Delivers Sad News To Queen Elizabeth II, Monarchy Amid Crisis A Brielle police officer has been charged with stealing more than $700 from his police union, the Monmouth County Prosecutors Office said Tuesday. Michael W. Palmer, Jr., 33, of Wall Township, is accused of making several ATM cash withdrawals from the expense account of the Brielle PBA Local 395 while serving as their treasurer between January and June of this year, the prosecutors office said in a statement. Palmer used the money for personal reasons unrelated to union business, the office alleged. He is charged with third-degree theft by unlawful taking. Palmer, who has been on the force for a year-and-a-half, is the son of retired Brielle Police Chief Michael W. Palmer, who retired at the end of 2018. Palmer Jr. earned a salary of $105,383 and has been suspended without pay, the prosecutors office said. In a statement, current Brielle Police Chief Gary J. Olsen called the accusation disappointing and said it violated the publics trust. This is of a very sad situation, but it is as equally disappointing. When any officer engages in this type of conduct, he/she violates the trust and integrity of the community in which they have sworn to protect and serve, and also violates the trust and integrity of their co-workers. Police Officers are always held to higher standard, and here in the Brielle Police Department, that standard is even higher, Olsen said. We will continue to hold law enforcement officers accountable for their actions. Bad cops will be weeded out as their unlawful or improper actions are discovered, Monmouth County Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said in a statement. Mr. Palmer betrayed the trust of his fellow officers and the public at-large this is inexcusable. Mr. Palmer is not a typical example of our law enforcement community. Our law enforcement is made up of genuinely good people whose only interest is serving the community. Palmer Jr.s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Avalon Zoppo may be reached at azoppo2@njadvancemedia.com. Follow her on Twitter @AvalonZoppo. Jeffrey Sachs, director of the Sustainable Development Solutions Network (SDSN) of Columbia University's Earth Institute, speaks during a press conference on the Deep Decarbonization Pathway Project (DDPP) interim report , at the UN headquarters in New York, on July 8, 2014. (Xinhua/Niu Xiaolei) The recovery of sales of autos and homes in China last month reflects that "middle-class and wealthy consumers have both sufficient money and enough confidence in the future to spend it." WASHINGTON, July 19 (Xinhua) -- Several U.S. economists have been encouraged by the rebound of the Chinese economy, as recent data indicated that the Asian country is the first major economy to get out of the COVID-19-induced recession. "This is very encouraging news. The control of the epidemic made possible the recovery in the second quarter," Jeffrey Sachs, a renowned economics professor at Columbia University, told Xinhua via email. "In our world today, good public health is the key to good economic outcomes." China's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 3.2 percent year on year in the second quarter, following a 6.8 percent contraction in the first quarter, according to newly released data from the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS). Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE), told Xinhua in a recent phone interview that China's industrial sector has been recovering "most rapidly," while the service sector has also seen expansion, with the country "doing stunningly well" on the trade side. Retail sales, which are only slightly down in June compared with the same month last year, have done "extremely well" compared with other economies and "improved dramatically," the veteran China watcher noted. "I think we'll see further recovery in retail sales, which will contribute to the growth of the service sector," Lardy said. File photo of Nicholas Lardy, a senior fellow at Washington, D.C.-based think tank the Peterson Institute for International Economics (PIIE). (Photo credit: PIIE) Andy Rothman, an investment strategist at San Francisco-based investment firm Matthews Asia, wrote in a recent analysis that China's V-shaped economic recovery continued for a fourth consecutive month in June, led by strong domestic demand. The recovery of sales of autos and homes in China last month reflects that "middle-class and wealthy consumers have both sufficient money and enough confidence in the future to spend it," Rothman said. Noting that restaurant and bar sales in China were still down last month, Rothman said these businesses that require customers to gather in confined spaces are likely to take a long time to fully recover. Lardy told Xinhua that he thinks China's economic recovery will continue in the second half of the year, since the country has the COVID-19 under control. He highlighted that China has managed to "put the brakes" on small outbreaks in Wuhan and more recently in Beijing with massive testing, quarantining and contact tracing measures. "I think they have the resources and the commitment to avoid a negative effect of the coronavirus in the second half," Lardy said. "My view is that the virus is not likely to be a significant factor going forward." The economist said he thinks China is going to grow by 2 to 3 percent this year, a more optimistic projection than that of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the World Bank, which both forecast a growth rate of roughly 1.0 percent for China. File photo of Yukon Huang, a senior fellow with the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. (Xinhua) Yukon Huang, a senior fellow with the Asia Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, however, took a more cautious tone. "Recent data is encouraging and suggest that China is the first major economy to get out of the virus-induced recession but it is too soon to tell if the rebound has leveled off already or will accelerate," Huang told Xinhua via email. "The caution comes from modest growth in consumption since households are cautious and concerns about export prospects given possible virus setbacks in the U.S. and Europe," said Huang, who served as the World Bank's country director for China from 1997 to 2004. Lardy, meanwhile, highlighted China's resilience on the export side. "Several months ago, a lot of people were saying that the external sector was going to be a big drag on China's growth," he said. "But that clearly has not happened yet." Global trade is down 16 percent year-to-date, while China's exports in June rose 0.5 percent from a year earlier, Lardy said, noting that "it's an extremely strong performance" compared with the rest of the world. "This year, when global growth shrinks and China's expands, on a conventional calculation, China's contribution to global growth is infinite because it's positive and global growth is negative," Lardy said. "So I think it's going to play a very positive role." Sachs, also a senior United Nations advisor, said China's economic recovery will help to lead a global recovery. China should join together with Japan, South Korea, and other countries that have suppressed the virus to support other countries, especially in Africa and Asia, to do the same, Sachs said. "That will speed the return to global sustainable development." NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- QBE North America announced today a strategic partnership with Flyreel, Inc., a leading Artificial Intelligence (AI) platform for property insurance, to help customers manage risk and prevent loss through an AI-assisted tool. Allowing customers to conduct their home inspections at their convenience and on their terms, is the best and safest way for QBE to ensure customers get the right coverage tailored to their needs. This new service offers QBE customers access to effortless self-service property inspections. Utilizing the AI-assistant tool, customers can document interior and exterior data including property features, materials and moreall while identifying hazards and risks using advanced computer vision technology. This provides a streamlined inspection process without the need of a third-party inspector entering the customer's home. "As an early adopter to digital transformation, QBE is helping customers to easily conduct home inspections and gain insights into managing risks," said Fred Dabney, Vice President, Affiliated. "QBE believes strongly in empowering customers with the most advanced tools available to help them obtain the right coverage for their homes. This progressive approach will help our customers even more given our new virtual world." "The best thing is that we are able to do this on our own, at home by ourselves and on our own time." QBE Customer The identification of risks and hazards through Flyreel's self-guided inspections helps QBE quickly and efficiently support customers by improving the safety within their homes. "QBE is committed to helping customers understand and reduce their risk exposure while leveraging our global community of experts. Flyreel's innovative platform delivers that," said Paul Isaac, Senior Vice President, QBE Global Risk Solutions. "Flyreel is honored to be in a position to support QBE North America as they progress their mission of serving their customers to the best of their ability, using the best of today's technology," said Cole Winans, CEO of Flyreel. "Our industry-leading technology is a gateway to operational efficiency and better customer experiences; We're excited to be partnering with QBE to deliver both at scale." About Flyreel Flyreel provides total property understanding for underwriting, loss control and claims. Flyreel's advanced AI assistant guides users through fully configurable workflows. As users scan their property with their smartphone camera, Flyreel's proprietary computer vision technology automatically documents critical property data like hazards, risks, features, materials and more. Flyreel's AI Assistant can "react and respond" to data collected by the policyholder, adapting and customizing conversational workflows based on the unique attributes that it "sees" in near real-time. To learn more about Flyreel, visit https://www.flyreel.co/ . About QBE QBE North America is part of QBE Insurance Group Limited, one of the largest insurers and reinsurers worldwide. QBE NA reported Gross Written Premiums in 2019 of $4.7 billion. QBE Insurance Group's 2019 results can be found at www.qbe.com . Headquartered in Sydney, Australia, QBE operates out of 31 countries around the globe, with a presence in every key insurance market. The North America division, headquartered in New York, conducts business through its property and casualty insurance subsidiaries. The actual terms and coverage for all lines of business are subject to the language of the policies as issued. QBE insurance companies are rated "A" (Excellent) by A.M. Best and "A+" by Standard & Poor's. Additional information can be found at www.qbe.com/us , or follow QBE North America on Twitter . SOURCE QBE North America Related Links http://www.qbe.com West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on July 21 accused the BJP-led NDA government of "hatching a conspiracy" to try and topple duly elected governments of opposition-ruled states by using central agencies and money power". She was addressing a virtual rally the first by her party in view of the COVID-19 outbreak on the occasion of 'Shahid Dibas' or Martyr's Day. It is commemorated every year to mark the killing of 13 people in police firing in 1993 during a protest led by Mamata Banerjee, then a Youth Congress leader, demanding that voters' card be made the only document to allow people to exercise their franchise. The rally was expected to set the tone of the party's policies and politics, 10 months ahead of the crucial assembly elections in the state. Addressing the rally, Mamata declared that West Bengal will continue to be run by its own people and not "outsiders", an apparent reference to the BJP. She alleged that the Centre has deprived Bengal of resources, and asserted people will give a befitting reply to it for the injustice done to the state. "A conspiracy is being hatched by the Union government to destabilise the elected government of Bengal by using central agencies and money power. The BJP is the most destructive party the country has ever seen. "When the country is busy fighting the COVID pandemic, the BJP is busy destabilising the elected governments in Rajasthan and West Bengal after Madhya Pradesh," she said. "Why should Gujarat rule all states? What's the need for a federal structure? Create 'one nation-one party system' then," the TMC (Trinamool Congress) supremo said, as she mounted a scathing attack on the Centre over the political turmoil in Rajasthan while referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Gujarati origin. She also alleged that a "reign of fear" was prevailing across the nation. The TMC leader asked people to vote her party to power in the assembly elections due next year. "People of Bengal will rule the state and not outsiders and people from Gujarat. We should strive to ensure that security deposits of all the BJP candidates are forfeited," she stated further. The Bengal BJP had sounded the poll bugle on June 9, with Union Home Minister Amit Shah kickstarting a virtual rally.The saffron camp had emerged as the primary challenger of TMC in the state after winning 18 out of the 42 seats in the state in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. With agency inputs STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- Police are warning the public of a Publishers Clearing House scam that has left several senior citizens out of thousands of dollars. Four seniors, at least one as old as 88, were ripped off in New York City within the first 20 days of July, the NYPDs Crime Prevention Division announced on Twitter. They lost a combined $53,000. NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Holborn Corporation (Holborn), a U.S.-based independent reinsurance broker, announced today that Timothy R. Amman has joined the company as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Amman will be based in New York City and will report to Frank Harrison, Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer. As CFO, Mr. Amman will be responsible for all financial matters of the firm, including strategic financial planning, corporate accounting, financial reporting and account services. With nearly 30 years of experience in the financial services industry, Mr. Amman joins Holborn from Goldman Sachs, where he was a Managing Director and held a number of roles within the firm's Controllers team since 2008. Most recently, Mr. Amman was the North America Legal Entity Controller and Controller of Goldman Sachs Bank USA. During his time at the firm, he also led the competitor financial analysis function as well as firmwide SEC and public earnings reporting. Previously, Mr. Amman worked at JPMorgan Chase in several financial and operational roles within Investment Bank Finance and Risk. Prior to joining JPMorgan Chase, he was a manager in the broker-dealer audit practice of PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP in New York. "Tim's versatility and acumen make him an ideal fit for our executive management team. His extensive financial background and, above all, his integrity are valuable resources for our clients and will further enhance our ability to support them as we continuously improve our service offering," said Mr. Harrison. "The timing of his arrival is ideal as we set our course for Holborn's next 100 years." Mr. Amman said, "I am impressed by Holborn's dedication to its clients and by the high caliber of its employees, which distinguishes the firm in the market and has contributed to its success for 100 years. I'm excited to work with Frank and the management team to advance Holborn's strategic vision, protect the firm and help ensure Holborn's continued success." Mr. Amman holds a B.S. from Bucknell University and an MBA from Columbia University. He is a Certified Public Accountant in NY. About Holborn Holborn Corporation (Holborn) is a privately held independent reinsurance brokerage firm established in 1920. With a commitment to integrity and focus on long-term relationships, Holborn's offerings include advanced analytic tools, global market access and responsive services. Through the adoption of an Employee Stock Ownership Plan (ESOP) in 1998, Holborn became exclusively owned by its employees. For additional information, please visit www.holborn.com . SOURCE Holborn Corporation Related Links http://www.holborn.com India Extends 'Reach Into Enemy Territory' With Purchase of Hundreds of Mine Ploughs for T-90 Tanks Sputnik News 19:10 GMT 20.07.2020 New Delhi (Sputnik): The elevated tensions on the border have compelled the Indian Army to enhance its war-fighting capabilities in the Himalayan region. Besides the urgent purchase of ammunition and smart bombs, the Indian Army has also begun modernising its combat vehicles that are capable of cross-country defence across the border. India will arm its T-90 S/SK main battle tanks with mine ploughs that will "extend [the] reach of armoured formations deep into enemy territory without becoming mine causality", said the Defence Ministry as it announced a $75 million supply contract with state-owned Bharat Earth Movers Limited (BEML) on Monday. The mine plough brings buried or concealed mines to the surface and moves them to the side to clear a path for armoured formations. The mine plough will be supplied by BEML while the ministry has made it clear that the product must include 50 percent indigenous content. "With the induction of these 1,512 mine ploughs, planned to be completed by 2027, the combat capability of the Army will be further enhanced", the Defence Ministry said in a statement. The Indian Army has around 3,500 tanks made up of T-72 as well as T-90 tanks and it has been increasing its armoured formation capabilities in recent years. The move started with the approval of the production of 464 T-90 tanks and an extension of the licensed manufacturing of Russian-origin T-90S tanks until 2028 in April of this year. "Besides, India has been invited to receive or participate in joint production of advanced equipment BTR-82A, BMP-3, Sprut-SDM1 self-propelled tank destroyer", Denis Manturov, the Russian minister of industry and trade, said in February of this year. Earlier, in January, the Indian Army also started the process of purchasing primary ammunition for its tanks from local vendors despite importing 125mm ammunition from Russia. A Sputnik NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A VIA employee died Sunday after being hospitalized with COVID-19 complications. Pete M. Castillo worked as a materials handling clerk in the transit agency's storeroom for nearly 28 years, according to a letter VIA President Jeffrey Arndt sent to employees. Castillo had recently been hospitalized after testing positive for the virus on June 24. His last day at work was June 17. READ ALSO: Old Navy, McDonald's and Fred Loya among COVID-19 complaints "In his nearly three decades of service to the community, Mr. Castillo was recognized as a careful, dedicated and truly caring employee whose safety record included zero preventable accidents an extraordinary accomplishment," Arndt wrote. Castillo earned the agency's Excellence Award which recognizes employees who have excelled at professionalism, safety, attendance, and customer service 11 times, most recently last year. He is survived by his wife, Imelda, and children, Michael and Crystal. "Lets please continue to protect ourselves and each other by observing safety protocols and precautions, while at work, at home and in public," Arndt wrote. OTTAWA, ON, July 21, 2020 /CNW/ - The Government of Canada remains committed to building a clean energy future to strengthen the economy, create good jobs and support the natural resource sectors. This commitment will be more important than ever as we prepare to reopen the economy and plan our recovery in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. The Honourable Seamus O'Regan, Canada's Minister of Natural Resources, today announced the five finalists of the $4.5-million Impact Canada Charging the Future Challenge aimed at accelerating battery innovations that have the potential to substantially reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Each of the finalists could receive up to $700,000 to develop their battery prototype. The winner with the most promising battery breakthrough will be awarded a grand prize of $1 million. The finalists are: Agora Energy Technologies Ltd., from Vancouver, BC to develop a long-duration, non-metal battery technology that repurposes CO 2 to store and generate clean electricity. to develop a long-duration, non-metal battery technology that repurposes CO to store and generate clean electricity. Calogy Solutions, from Sherbrooke, QC to develop a high-performance thermal management technology that will improve the performance of electric vehicle batteries in cold-weather conditions. to develop a high-performance thermal management technology that will improve the performance of electric vehicle batteries in cold-weather conditions. e-Zinc, from Toronto, ON to develop a low-cost, long-lasting, zinc-based energy storage solution that is fire-resistant and easily recyclable. to develop a low-cost, long-lasting, zinc-based energy storage solution that is fire-resistant and easily recyclable. G-Batteries, from Ottawa, ON to revolutionize a key manufacturing step that will significantly reduce costs and improve the performance of electric vehicle batteries and other lithium-ion batteries. to revolutionize a key manufacturing step that will significantly reduce costs and improve the performance of electric vehicle batteries and other lithium-ion batteries. Salient Energy, from Dartmouth, NS to develop a manufacturing-ready zinc-ion battery that is cheaper, safer and longer-lasting than lithium-ion batteries for energy storage applications. Today's $23-billion global battery industry is expected to grow to more than $90 billion over the next decade, providing a major economic opportunity for Canada across the battery value chain. Central to this growth is the increase in the number of electric vehicles, which are expected to exceed 130 million by 2030, as well as the growing use of storage technology to integrate renewable energy sources into the grid. The Charging the Future Challenge is one of six cleantech challenges that are part of the Impact Canada initiative. The challenges were designed to attract a diverse range of problem solvers to generate breakthrough cleantech outcomes. Natural Resources Canada is investing $75 million over four years in several challenges, including Women in Cleantech, The Sky's the Limit, Power Forward, Crush It!, Indigenous Off-diesel Initiative and Charging the Future. Quotes "These finalists exemplify Canadian technological ingenuity. As the Government of Canada's champion for Impact Canada, I am proud of the inventive work that we are doing here in Canada that will have a real impact on our economy and the environment." The Honourable Dominic LeBlanc President of the Queen's Privy Council for Canada "Developing new battery technology leads to well-paying jobs and fewer emissions. These finalists will help us integrate more renewable power onto our grids and help make electric vehicles more practical at getting people where they need to go." The Honourable Seamus O'Regan Canada's Minister of Natural Resources "As one of the Charging the Future Challenge collaborators, Propulsion Quebec is proud to see innovative and promising companies working on new technologies that will benefit the whole battery value chain across Canada. Such innovations will allow us to speed up the electrification of our economy and will certainly help us fight climate change." Sarah Houde CEO, Propulsion Quebec "InnovEE was a partner from the start and has enthusiastically supported the Charging the Future challenge launched by Natural Resources Canada, since we consider the battery technology sector to be a highly strategic industry for Quebec and Canada as a whole. This challenge is therefore perfectly in line with our mission, which is to support and finance collaborative projects related to the electrical industry, smart grids, transportation electrification, smart vehicles and transportation systems by sharing the expertise and resources of industrial partners and research facilities. We are currently financing several other projects related to this promising sector." Andre St-Pierre, Director General InnovEE Innovation in electrical energy Associated links Impact Canada Follow us on Twitter: @NRCan (http://twitter.com/nrcan) SOURCE Natural Resources Canada For further information: Natural Resources Canada, Media Relations, 343-292-6100, [email protected]; Ian Cameron, Press Secretary, Office of the Minister of Natural Resources, 343-292-6837, [email protected] Related Links www.nrcan.gc.ca TORONTO, ON / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Galway Metals Inc. (TSXV:GWM) ("Galway Metals" or the "Company") is pleased to announce that it has entered into an agreement (the "Agreement") with an arm's length third party royalty holder to buy back a two percent (2.0%) net smelter returns royalty (the "Royalty") covering certain mineral claims at the Company's Clarence Stream property in southwest New Brunswick (the "Property"). The mineral claims fully cover the South, North and George Murphy Zones, the gap area between the George Murphy and Richard Zones, and potential extensions to these zones and other prospective targets. The purchase of the Royalty was closed effective today pursuant to an agreement dated July 15, 2020. The original agreement allowed only for buyback of one percent (1.0%) of the royalty for $500,000 for each 0.5%. Galway was able to negotiate with the royalty holder to purchase the royalty in its entirety. Under terms of the Agreement, Galway Metals will pay a total purchase price of $3,000,000 in six equal annual installments of $500,000, with each partial payment representing the purchase of one-sixth (1/6) of the Royalty (each a "Partial Payment"). Pursuant to the Agreement, on closing Galway will issue 434,783 common shares in the capital of the Company ("Shares") to the royalty holder, which shall represent the first Partial Payment of $500,000 at a deemed price equal to $1.15 per Share. Each subsequent $500,000 Partial Payment shall be paid as follows: (i) $125,000 in cash; and, (ii) the remaining $375,000, at the sole election of the Company, shall be paid either in cash, through the issuance of Shares or a combination thereof as shall equal $375,000 with the Shares valued at a deemed price equal to the higher of: (A) the closing price of the Shares on the TSX Venture Exchange ("TSXV") on the day that is two (2) business days prior to the date of the respective share issuance, and (B) the lowest price of Shares that shall be acceptable to the TSXV. The Shares will be subject to the statutory hold periods of four months and one day. Robert Hinchcliffe, President, Chief Executive Officer & Director, commented, "We are extremely pleased to have come to an agreement with the royalty holder to buy back this significant NSR, which covers the entirety of all gold resources at Clarence Stream, plus the entirety of at least one additional zone discovered by Galway after the resource was released. We see the removal of this royalty as a significant transaction for Galway Metals shareholders as it will contribute meaningfully to further unlocking value of the Clarence Stream land package beyond what we have already accomplished. The royalty holder prospected and staked the claims on the Property, and his willingness to receive the majority of payment as shares in Galway demonstrates his continued belief in the Property and in our Company's future." About Galway Metals Inc. Galway Metals is focused on two gold projects in Canada, Clarence Stream, an emerging gold district in New Brunswick, and Estrades, the former producing, high-grade VMS mine in Quebec. The Company began trading on January 4, 2013, after the successful spinout to existing shareholders from Galway Resources Ltd. following the completion of the US$340 million sale of that company. With substantially the same management team and Board of Directors, Galway Metals is keenly intent on creating similar value as it had with Galway Resources Ltd. For further information, please visit www.galwaymetalsinc.com or contact: Robert Hinchcliffe President, Chief Executive Officer & Director Telephone: 1 (800) 771-0680 Cautionary Statement Neither the Toronto Stock Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the Toronto Stock Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this news release. This News Release includes certain "forward-looking statements" which are not comprised of historical facts. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe the Company's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that the Company or management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to the Company, the Company provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, completion of the Royalty buy back, objectives, goals or future plans. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to the risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in the Company's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although the Company believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. SOURCE: Galway Metals Inc. View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598231/Galway-Metals-Announces-Royalty-Buy-Back-at-its-Clarence-Stream-Property Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) Police arrested Kapa-Community Ministry International founder Joel Apolinario after two of his companions were killed in a firefight with authorities in Surigao del Sur on Tuesday. The provincial police office in a report said Apolinario and 23 others were arrested in an isolated resort in Sitio Dahican, Barangay Handamayan in Lingig town at around 7:30 a.m. A shootout ensued as authorities tried to serve the arrest and search warrants, leaving two unidentified suspects dead. One of Apolinarios men, identified as Melecio Siano, was rushed to the Bislig City District Hospital after sustaining a gunshot wound on his left leg, police said. Apolinario and other incorporators and officers of KAPA were ordered arrested for syndicated estafa, a non-bailable offense. The Bislig City Regional Trial Court Branch 29 issued warrants of arrest against them earlier this year. Short for Kabus Padatoon [translation: making the poor rich], KAPA claims to be a religious group which has been recruiting members and asking them to donate funds to the organization. In exchange, donors are promised a 30 percent monthly return called "love gifts" or "monthly blessings" in perpetuity. The Department of Justice filed criminal charges against the group for violations of the Securities Regulation Code. State prosecutors said KAPA willfully, unlawfully and criminally engaged in the selling or distribution of securities to the public without securing a registration statement from the SEC. In June 2019, the SEC filed a complaint against KAPA for employing a Ponzi scheme, an investment plan that offers high returns and pays investors using money contributed by other investors. The Court of Appeals has since frozen all bank accounts and properties linked to KAPA upon the request of the SEC. President Rodrigo Duterte also ordered the shutdown of KAPA and similar investment scams. KAPA has repeatedly denied allegations of an investment scam, and has insisted it remains a religious group. "Samguk sagi" (History of the Three Kingdoms), left, and "Samguk yusa" (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms) are on display at "The New National Treasures of Korea 2017-2019" exhibition at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap Gigantic exhibition puts an end to 55-day COVID-19 hiatus By Kwon Mee-yoo Those who are interested in Korean history would have heard of "Samguk sagi" (History of the Three Kingdoms) and "Samguk yusa" (Memorabilia of the Three Kingdoms), the two most important books about Korea's ancient history. "Samguk sagi," compiled by Kim Bu-sik in 1145 during Goryeo Kingdom (918-1392), is the oldest surviving official historical document of Korea, and "Samguk yusa," compiled by Buddhist monk Iryeon during the 13th century, is another collection of historical accounts of the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C. to 668 AD) and it focuses mainly on legends and folktales. Despite the public knowledge of the books, few people have actually seen the authentic editions. These books are on view at the National Museum of Korea (NMK), which reopens from a 55-day hiatus due to COVID-19 Wednesday with its "The New National Treasures of Korea 2017-2019" exhibition. The exhibition showcases some of the nation's most celebrated cultural properties such as the smiling "Roof-end Tile with Human Face Design" from the Silla era and Joseon painter Shin Yun-bok's "Shin Yun-bok's Portrait of a Beauty," which inspired the 2008 drama "Painter of the Wind." Co-organized by the museum and the Cultural Heritage Administration, which manages designation of national treasures, the exhibit is one of the largest among those introducing new treasures. "The museum finally opens up after 55 days of closure Wednesday. This exhibition, which was delayed twice due to the COVID-19 closure, is the largest-ever public display of National Treasures From Korea and abroad. We hope this would provide cultural delight for people who feel depressed by the prolonged COVID-19 pandemic," Cultural Heritage Administrator Chung Jae-suk said. Currently, Korea has 2,188 Treasures and 342 National Treasures. The Cultural Heritage Committee reviews the value of Treasures and the Cultural Heritage Administrator grants the designation. A National Treasure is selected among the rare objects that pass the criteria of Treasure having extraordinary historical, academic and artistic value. The number of a National Treasure or Treasure is based on the order of designation, not in the order of its value. The exhibit features 83 entries among the 157 newly designated National Treasures and Treasures from 2017 to 2019, excluding architectural and other immovable properties. Organized in three parts "Preserving History," "Artistic Expression" and "Opening the Heart" the exhibit sheds light on newly recognized cultural properties in various fields. Copies of "Samguk sagi," National Treasure No. 322-1, and "Samguk yusa," National Treasure No. 306-3, open up the "Preserving History" section, introducing the importance of documenting history. The two books were promoted from Treasure to National Treasure status in 2018. "Joseon wangjosillok" (The Annals of the Joseon Kingdom) is the thousands-of-volumes collection of books detailing the history of the Joseon Kingdom. The annals were designated as National Treasure No. 151 in 1973, but some editions omitted in 1973 were added last year, thus making their way into this exhibit. In the early years of Joseon, the king was not allowed to read the annals as it was only available to historians. Later, a special supplement edition summarizing the lives of previous kings was added for the king's reading and the blue silk-covered edition is on public view for the first time. The annals are displayed with a media table to help understand the artifact's creation process, in which the first draft was scrubbed to erase sensitive materials. "Gisa gyecheop" (Album of Paintings of the Gathering of the Elderly) is the National Treasure No. 324 and illustrates a royal event and banquet. "This painting portrays Cheoyongmu, a type of traditional court dance inspired by the legend of Cheoyong, who wards off the spirit of plague. We picked this scene to reflect our hope of overcoming COVID-19," curator Kang Kyung-nam said. "Another notable aspect in this painting is that the court record paintings do not include the figures of the king and prince." Visitors look at Joseon-era portraits on view at "The New National Treasures of Korea 2017-2019" exhibition at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul. Yonhap "Artistic Expression" showcases various aspects of Korean aesthetics. The celadon jar with the inscription of "fourth Sunhwa year" National Treasure No. 326, is attributed to the early Goryeo era and is a great example presenting the development of the famed Goryeo pottery. The inscription on the bottom indicates exactly when and where the pottery was fired, heightening its value. The Kansong Art Culture and Culture Foundation, founded in 1938 by collector Chun Hyung-pil, loaned a handful of rare paintings that had been designated as Treasures in recent years. Sim Sa-jeong's 1768 landscape painting "Chokjandogwon" (The Rough Road to Shu) from the foundation's collection is displayed by the side of Sim's student Yi In-mun's "Gangsan mujindo" (Endless Mountains and Rivers) owned by the NMK. "Yi's 8.5-meter painting depicts the ideal world of which Joseon-era people dreamed. It would be interesting to compare Sim's and Yi's works," curator Kang explained. Jeong Seon's 18th century painting "Pungak Naesan Chongnamdo" (General View of Inner Geumgang Mountain) features a panoramic view of the autumnal landscape, containing various sites that cannot actually be seen together from a single perspective. Kim Deuk-sin and Kim Hong-do's genre paintings give a glimpse of people's lives during Joseon Kingdom. Shin's famous "Portrait of a Beauty" will be on view from Aug. 12 to Sept. 3. Bae Ki-dong, first from right, director general of the National Museum of Korea, and Chung Jae-suk, second from right, Cultural Heritage Administrator, look at "Joseon wangjosillok" (The Annals of the Joseon Kingdom) on display for "The New National Treasures of Korea 2017-2019" exhibition at the National Museum of Korea in Seoul, Monday. Yonhap The Electoral Commission (EC) has condemned the disturbances at the voter registration centre in the Awutu Senya East Constituency in the Central Region which occurred on Monday, July 20. The Commission in a statement said some of its officials were attacked by men who disrupted the registration process by firing shots. It thus urged the police to ensure justice prevails. The Commission condemns such acts during a civil exercise like the Registration of Voters and calls on security agencies to investigate the issue as a matter of urgency to bring the perpetrators to book. These acts constitute a breach of the Vigilante and Related Offenses Act, 2019 Act 999. The Act seeks to disband violent activities of Political Parties and makes political vigilantism an offence punishable by a prison term. The commission further called on the public to condemn the violence and urges all eligible voters to turn out in their numbers to register to vote in the 2020 General Election. Four persons arrested in connection with the shooting incident are assisting with investigations. The National Democratic Congress in the Awutu Senya East constituency accused the MP of the area, Mavis Hawa Koomson, of being behind the shooting. Find below the full EC statement EC CONDEMNS VIOLENCE AT ITS REGISTRATION CENTRES The Electoral Commission has noted with concern some acts of violence at some Registration Centres across the country in the form of physical and verbal attacks on its Officials. The violence is perpetuated by Political Party supporters and sympathizers. One of such incidents occurred today at the Step to Christ Voters Registration Centre in the Awutu Senya East Constituency in the Central Region where unidentifiable gunmen attacked Officials at the Centre and disrupted the process by firing gunshots. The Commission condemns such acts during a civil exercise like the Registration of Voters and calls on security agencies to investigate the issue as a matter of urgency to bring the perpetrators to book. These acts constitute a breach of the Vigilante and Related Offenses Act, 2019 Act 999. The Act seeks to disband violent activities of Political Parties and makes political vigilantism an offence punishable by a prison term. The Commission reminds the public, particularly Political Party agents, that any person who wishes to challenge an Applicant on the basis of ineligibility must fill a Challenge Form, which will then be presented to the District Registration Review Committee for a ruling on the matter. Political Party agents are therefore cautioned against the use of violence to challenge a person's eligibility. The Commission calls on the public to condemn the violence and urges all eligible voters to turn out in their numbers to register to vote in the 2020 General Election. ---citinewsroom One things for certain about Amazons Scout robot: Its as much of a brand ambassador as it is an experiment in the future of last-mile delivery. After debuting early last year, the company has limited Scout to select markets namely Irvine, California and Snohomish County, which neighbors King County, home of Amazons corporate HQ. Among other things, the robot is a kind of six-wheeled rolling billboard for Amazons services. It also, according to Amazon, has been a useful tool as the companys essential worker status has allowed it to maintain operations during the COVID-19 shutdown. Accompanied by human Scout Ambassadors, the cooler-sized robots have also continued to work throughout the pandemic. And starting this week, Scout will expand operations to two cities in the American Southeast: Atlanta, Georgia and Franklin, Tennessee. The first you no doubt know. The second is significantly smaller, with a population of around 80,000, situated directly south of Nashville. In both cases, Scouts deliveries will continue to be fairly modest, targeting select customers in those cities. Image Credits: www.erinleeallender.com Amazon like all companies in the robotic delivery game need to be deliberate in their expansion plans. Some larger cities, including New York and San Francisco, have been less than welcoming to the concept, owing to already crowded urban sidewalks. Amazons expansion has largely targeted more residential communities, though Atlanta is certainly an exception, as the company determines how Scout manages different terrain. The company is also quick to allay safety concerns in the announcement, noting, Amazon Scout delivery devices are built to be inherently safe. Theyre the size of a small cooler and move at a walking pace. Each delivery device can navigate around pets, pedestrians, and other objects (including surfboards!) in its path. Likely many councils in cities with higher populations will continue to approach the topic with caution. Amazon is also using Scout to help push additional community outreach, including plans to support robotics and STEM activities in the new cities. Here are todays top news, analysis and opinion. Know all about the latest news and other news updates from Hindustan Times. Assam flood situation continues to remain grim, over 24 lakh people still affected Assams flood situation continued to remain grim on Tuesday, as over 24 lakh people are still hit hard across the north-eastern state, which keeps a date with monsoon fury every year. Read More Amarnath Yatra cancelled due to Covid-19, aarti to be broadcast live The annual Amarnnath yatra has been cancelled due to the continuous rise in Covid 19 cases across Jammu and Kashmir. Shri Amarnathji Shrine Board on Tuesday said the virtual darshan of one of the holiest Hindu pilgrimages devoted to lord Shiva will continue to be telecast live during the morning and evening prayers, which will continue at the shrine. Read More Govt asks 59 Chinese apps to ensure strict compliance to ban order After banning 59 apps of Chinese origin, the government on Tuesday directed them to ensure strict compliance to its orders, and warned of serious action in case of any violation, according to an official source. Read More Kangana Ranauts team says dont misguide after Swara Bhasker shares old video Kangana Ranauts team accused Swara Bhasker of misguiding people, when she shared an old video of the Queen actor dismissing the insider-outsider divide. Read More It will be a full-fledged IPL most likely in the UAE: Brijesh Patel Brijesh Patel, chairman of the IPL Governing Council, has confirmed that the BCCI has picked the United Arab Emirates as the venue for the 13th edition of the Indian Premier League and that plans are in motion to ensure a full-fledged tournament is hosted and not just a truncated one. Read More OnePlus Nord with six cameras launched: Price, specs and availability OnePlus has finally lifted the lid off from its much-anticipated and affordable smartphone, the OnePlus Nord. The smartphone has launched in India and will be made available soon. Read More Masked Mona Lisa, Frida Kahlo: Artist recreates famous paintings with coronavirus era twist Canada-based photo artist Genevieve Blais work is all about historical and theoretical narratives. And in light of the coronavirus pandemic, the artist took to Instagram and started the page, Plague History, to recreate iconic classic artworks in the age of the coronavirus pandemic. Read More LED mask takes the spotlight after gold and silver versions After it was announced that masks are among the essential ways to prevent the spread of the virus, people around the country have taken some rather unique and quirky steps. Another addition in that list is this mask laced with LED lights. Read More VIDEO: Athlete forced to sell fruits on cart, another struggles for job One of the biggest casualties of the Covid-19 pandemic and the consequent lockdown seem to be Indias sportspersons. Ali Ansari, a Delhi resident and a decathlete, has been forced to sell fruits from a cart due to financial woes. Watch the video for full story. Only he, with his tremendous political capital and personal stature, can pull it off, observes B S Raghavan, the veteran civil servant. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi interacts with Indian soldiers during his visit to Nimu in Ladakh, July 3, 2020. Photograph: Press Information Bureau There are no takers for China these days around the world. Its stock has never been lower. Everything it says and does is suspect. Its goal is widely assumed to be nothing short of no-holds-barred domination of a world order of its making, by fair means or foul, exploiting its economic, technological and military prowess. As for India, China has been a thorn on its flesh almost since Independence. Tragically and ironically, it was from India, more particularly, it was from Jawaharlal Nehru, with his high moral stature as the foremost disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, that it got its respectability and acceptance. Nehru took Zhou Enlai by the arm at Bandung Conference and introduced him to the leaders assembled there. Nehru and Zhou Enlai were the original authors of the highly evocative Panchsheel as the memorable mantra for India-China relations. In Nehru's time, India's goodwill for China knew no bounds. India, adopting an ostrich-like policy, acquiesced in, and helped sanctify, China's occupation of Tibet. Year after year, even after suffering in 1962 the betrayal of years of trust, India fought for the People's Republic of China's installation as a member of the United Nations and as a permanent member of the UN security council, replacing Chiang Kai-shek's Republic of China. Nehru, in the true Gandhian mould, put his trust in Zhou's repeated explanations of the depiction in Chinese maps of territories in India's possession that they were mere matters of misunderstanding which will be corrected in due course, until, to his shock, he was confronted with the ugly reality of Zhou's aggressive impudence, asserting the correctness of Chinese maps. IMAGE: Then prime minister Jawaharlal Nehru greets Zhou Enlai on the then Chinese premier's arrival in New Delhi, April 21, 1960. Photograph: Hulton Archive/Getty Images China has kept the wound it inflicted on India in 1962 festering by border incursions ever since. In resorting to these incursions and in dealing with the situation created by them, China has been brazenly violating the terms of solemn Agreements entered into with India. For instance, the Agreement of 1993 on the Maintenance of Peace and Tranquillity along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas specifically lays down that 'No activities of either side shall overstep the line of actual control.' 'In case personnel of one side cross the Line of Actual Control, upon being cautioned by the other side, they shall immediately pull back to their own side of the Line of Actual Control./' 'When necessary, the two sides shall jointly check and determine the segments of the Line of Actual Control where they have different views as to its alignment.' This has been further elaborated in the 1996 Agreement between the two countries on Confidence-Building Measures in the Military Field Along the Line of Actual Control in the India-China Border Areas to the effect that 'If the border personnel of the two sides come in a face-to-face situation due to differences on the alignment of the Line of Actual Control or any other reason, they shall exercise self-restraint and take all necessary steps to avoid an escalation of the situation.' 'Both sides shall also enter into immediate consultations through diplomatic and/or other available channels to review the situation and prevent any escalation of tension.' In the 2013 Agreement on Border Defence Cooperation the two sides agreed that 'they shall not follow or tail patrols of the other side in areas where there is no common understanding of the Line of Actual Control in the India-China border areas.' A close and clinical analysis of China's incursions will bear out that they have been in utter disregard of these crucial binding provisions. In the latest ones in the Galwan Valley and Pangong Tso Lake areas in eastern Ladakh, Chinese troops created a new barbaric normal by attacking Indian security forces with sticks, clubs with barbed wires and stones and killing 20 of them. The natural result of all this is that any talk of any kind of understanding with China on any matter has become taboo, indeed traitorous, in the eyes of the mass of Indians. Unfortunately, though, closing one's eyes to the existence of China cannot make it go away. This huge landmass, however off-putting its behaviour, is looming large as India's northern neighbour and, as Atal Bihari Vajpayee said, one cannot choose what kind of neighbour one should have, nor can one wish it away. Therefore, ineluctably, India, drawing on all its glorious civilisational and cultural heritage, has to summon all its inner reserves of maturity and discernment, to find ways of coming to terms with it. Any other alternative whether it is one of grappling with incursions till eternity like mice perpetually on a treadmill or a totally devastating war is only to be mentioned to be dismissed. In an article published on Rediff.com on June 22, 2020, Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar wrote:'Only Modi is capable of taking the bull by the horns. 'It is unlikely that Indian politics will witness the emergence of such a towering figure in the foreseeable future who can take difficult decisions and, more importantly, get them accepted by the nation. 'To my mind, Modi's finest political legacy ought to be a border settlement with Beijing, which will go a long way to facilitate India's transformation as a middle-income country in a generation or two -- the point where China has reached today.' I agree with him in toto. Narendra Modi alone can boldly grasp the nettle Here is a suggested three-step process. IMAGE: Prime Minister Narendra Damodardas Modi with Xi Jinping, general secretary of the Communist party of China during their first informal summit in Wuhan, April 27, 2018. The first is to decide on a specific basis for settlement, without getting bogged down by all the acrimonious exchanges of the past and the conditioned reflexes of the present, and keeping clear of the discourses and diatribes of both Sinophiles and Sinophobes. From a deep and intense study of all aspects of the issue, a viable basis, in a nutshell, would seem to be the McMahon Line in the eastern sector, and the Macartney-Macdonald Line in the Middle and Western Sectors. A point in favour of this latter Line dating back to 1899 is that it follows the alignment suggested by the Chinese themselves. Also, this Line is in tune with the natural watershed principle governing such alignment. The Macartney-MacDonald Line in Eastern Ladakh runs along the Laktsang Range which is an acceptable natural boundary as it roughly divides that region into almost equal halves. Acceptance of this Line would mean the Northern part going to China and the Southern part (Linzi Thang Plains) coming to India. Actually, even after Independence, Indian forces have been patrolling only these southern portions. The Tibetan caravans had used the northern portion for centuries to reach Kashgar and other places beyond. The Chinese-built G219 also goes through that part. A Joint Boundary Commission could be set up to go into slight adjustments needed here and there based on geographical features, ground-surveys etc. The second step is to build up a political consensus for the initiative by open-minded, in-depth discussions in all-party meetings convened by the prime minister, keeping the nation's interests paramount and rising above party considerations. If Xi responds favourably, the next step is the preparation of public opinion for the proposed move. It may be necessary for the prime minister to explain through his Mann Ki Baat or even a couple of addresses to the nation the desirability of solving a long-existing problem once and for all, instead of repeatedly getting into skirmishes and tensions. It is Modi's historic, now-or-never opportunity. It is, indeed, his once-in-a-lifetime chance. Only he, with his tremendous political capital and personal stature, can pull it off. Thereby, India will be rid of a constant source of friction and conflict and able to concentrate on realising A P J Abdul Kalam's dream of India becoming number one in the world. B S Raghavan is a retired member of the Indian Administrative Service. He was formerly a US Congressional Fellow, Policy Adviser to UN (FAO) and chancellor, Jharkhand ICFAI University. Feature Production: Aslam Hunani/Rediff.com Whether its kids and pets running around the house or an uncomfortable makeshift office, it's easy to get distracted when working from home. But with many companies not ready to send employees back to work full-time, you still need to find a productive place to work and considering the risk that many public buildings and indoor spaces pose due to COVID-19, it can feel like youre trapped in your home. Thankfully, with many local cafes and restaurants providing outdoor seating, a solution to your work-from-home productivity nightmares might be at hand. To help sort out where to go for outdoor seating, OnMilwaukee has listed ten cafes from popular national brands to local up-and-comers offering patio or sidewalk seating as a new office space. As always, though, remember to follow the Center for Disease Control and Preventions guidelines of social distancing and mask-wearing. Colectivo Coffee 2211 N. Prospect Ave., (414) 273-3753 colectivocoffee.com Colectivo Coffee is a cafe that needs no introduction, as the brand has firmly rooted itself in Milwaukees caffeine-loving community. These common meeting places in local neighborhoods have reopened (excluding the Bayshore and the US Bank locations) which includes their expansive patios for outdoor seating, particularly at the Lakefront location. For the full list of locations, click here. Fairgrounds Coffee + Tea 1001 N. Astor St., (414) 395-3003 fairgrounds.cafe This fairly new addition to the Milwaukee cafe scene weathered the lockdown and has emerged offering its usual variety of intriguing coffee and tea options all available with outdoor seating at your pleasure. Full of Beans Cafe 184 S. 2nd St., (414) 539-6448 fullofbeanscafe.com If youre looking to stop by this small coffee shop, you'll have to get there early to snag a spot as they currently have two seats outside, but they are looking to expand. And even with the current limited seating arrangement, Full of Beans Cafe more than makes up for it with its large menu filled with housemade baked goods and drink options. Hawthorne Coffee Roasters 4177 S. Howell Ave., (414) 331-1382 hawthornecoffeeroasters.com This family-owned coffee shop is offering coffee-to-go with the option to take a seat outside and enjoy a cup of coffee. Currently, they are not offering indoor seating. Roast Coffee Company 2132 E. Locust St., (414) 963-6363 facebook.com/roastcoffeecompany Close to the UW-Milwaukee campus in the heart of the upper East Side, Roast Coffee Company is currently selling out of its outdoor coffee kiosk. Order and take a seat under an umbrella weather permitting. Rochambo Coffee & Tea House 1317 E. Brady St., (414) 291-0095 rochambo.com Soak in the storied atmosphere of Rochambo Coffee & Tea House from its outside sidewalk seating. They currently have four tables available for working or just enjoying a cup and some conversation and might add an extra table soon. Starbucks 920 N. Water St., (414) 272-0232 starbucks.com Though not a local company, if other options are filled up, go back to the basics and head to Starbucks for their outdoor patios. For the full list of locations, click here. Stone Creek Coffee 2650 N. Downer Ave., (414) 270-1008 stonecreekcoffee.com With 11 locations across southeastern Wisconsin, Stone Creek Coffee is a local institution. They reopened in June for walk-in orders with the option of socially distanced outdoor seating. For the full list of locations, click here. Valentine Coffee Roasters 5918 W. Vliet St., Milwaukee, (414) 988-8018 7981 S. 6th St., Oak Creek, (414) 405-2280 valentinecoffeeco.com This community-based coffee shop offers a carefully sourced menu of coffee grounds from around the world. It has opened its patios at both locations, so if youre in the area, order a coffee, grab a seat and get productive. Venture Brewing Co 5519 W. North Ave., (414) 856-4321 vennturebrewco.com Offering several different coffee bean varieties as well as a selection of creatively-named beers on tap, Venture Brewing Co. has opened with new hours and rules as Milwaukee County is entering phase four of reopening. In addition to outdoor seating, the cafe is allowing limited indoor seating. China has overtaken the United States as Australia's leading research partner, with more Australian-led scientific publications involving researchers from China than any other country. The new analysis comes as Australian universities face a research funding crisis sparked by the loss of overseas student revenue. China invests half a trillion dollars a year in research, leaving experts concerned local scientists will become increasingly reliant on Chinese resources, or be left behind. Australian universities are facing a research funding crisis sparked by the loss of overseas student revenue. Credit:Gabrielle Charotte The paper from the Australia-China Relations Institute found the proportion of Australian scientific publications involving a researcher affiliated with a Chinese institution grew from 3.1 per cent in 2005 to 16.2 per cent last year, overtaking the US for the first time. The United Kingdom was third, followed by Germany and Canada. The strongest ties with China were in the fields of materials science (developing materials to create products), chemical engineering and energy. In all three areas, about a third of Australian-led publications involve Chinese scientists. At a meeting on the implementation of the public investment plan in 2020 and breaking through difficulties at delayed key foreign investment projects held on the afternoon July 20 in Ho Chi Minh City, chairman Nguyen Thanh Phong proposed the prime minister to expand the lifespan for Saigon Centre IV and V to 50 years from the day of land delivery. This proposal from the investors suits the regulation on the lifespan of projects under Article 43 of the Law on Investment, Phong said. Article 43 of the Law on Investment stipulates that for projects where land is granted and leased by the government but land delivery is slow, the time of delay must be excluded from o the lifespan of those projects. In reality, Keppel Land Watco and Real Estate Saigon Corporation the investors of these projects so far have not received cleared land while these projects will have to be returned to the government at the end of their 50-year lifespan. The slow land delivery since 1993 has had great impacts on the investors' business, Phong said. The Saigon Centre retail mall was opened on August 2016 with Takashimaya Department Store as its anchor tenant The Saigon Centre project was given an investment license in 1993 with the investment capital of $270 million by Keppel Land Watco Co., Ltd., a joint venture between Keppel Land (Singapore) and domestic partners. It has been transferred many times since then, with the latest investor being Real Estate Saigon Corporation. In 1996, the Ministry of Planning and Investment issued a decision to divide this project into five sub-projects (Saigon Centre I to V). Respective investors were also established accordingly, from Keppel Land Watco-I to V. In 2017, Keppel Land acquired an additional 16 per cent stake in Keppel Land Watco I to V from the Vietnamese partner Southern Waterborne Transport Corporation for VND845.9 billion ($37 million). So far, Saigon Centre I, II, and III have finished construction and have been put into operation. However, Saigon Centre IV and V have not received land yet. These two projects are located on a total area of more than 8,500 square metres next to Saigon Centre I, II, and III, on an area which is currently occupied by the Ministry of Transports agencies. Saigon Centre is located on a two-hectare prime site in the heart of the central business district in District 1, a short distance from two planned underground subway stations at Ben Thanh Market and the Opera House. The first phase of the project was completed in 1996 and comprises of a 25-storey mixed-use development, including a three-storey retail podium, Grade A office space, and 89 luxury serviced apartments. The Saigon Centre retail mall was opened on August 2016 with Takashimaya Department Store as its anchor tenant. After that, another development comprising of 44,000sq.m of premium Grade A office space, 55,000sq.m retail area, and 195 luxury serviced apartments have been completed and put into operation at the end of 2017. WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - Seelos Therapeutics Inc. (SEEL) said that it has received a positive opinion on European Orphan Drug Designation for SLS-005 in Sanfilippo syndrome from the European Medicines Agency (EMA) Committee for Orphan Medicinal Products (COMP). The positive opinion issued by COMP will be sent to the European Commission, which is expected to grant the orphan designation within 30 days. Under orphan designation in the European Union, Seelos stands to benefit from several incentives such as protocol assistance, reduced regulatory fees and market exclusivity. European guidelines for Orphan Drug Designation are for diseases affecting not more than five in 10,000 people in the EU. In April, SLS-005 was granted Orphan Drug Designation from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for Sanfilippo syndrome. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. The coronavirus pandemic has been hard on musicians all over the globe. Gigs canceled. Tours canceled. Technology and the different ways people can access music have diminished the importance of record sales as a major source of income. Live performances are more substantial to a musician's wallet, so that is a hardship. For two world-class musicians in Saratoga Springs, the situation is no different. Pianist and bandleader Jorge Gomez lost gigs with his three-time Grammy-nominated band Tiempo Libre, including a tour of China last spring. Chuck Lamb, a first-rate jazz pianist and composer, would have been in the midst of the Dave Brubeck Centennial Celebration Tour as part of the Brubeck Brothers Quartet that he has been a part of for about 16 years. Both bands were set to play at the Freihofer's Saratoga Jazz Festival had it not been canceled. Musicians now have to be resourceful. Teaching gigs have moved online, as have some small live concerts. They're taking lemons and making lemonade. In the case of Gomez and Lamb, they had talked for a long time about doing something together, aside from the occasional gig in Saratoga. The seed was planted. The unforeseen calamity caused by the pandemic actually gave it water and sunlight. Lamb, a dyed-in-the-wool American jazz pianist whose chops and musical knowledge enable him to maneuver seamlessly in other genres, and Cuban-born Gomez, who has thrived on the Latin scene, played important jazz gigs and is classically trained, having been working for months on a new CD. While not completed yet, they are excited about the project and its fresh, new music. With a full Brubeck tour and his other activities, I had no days off, said Lamb. We'd both be touring our asses off right now. When that came to an abrupt halt, he wasted no time. I started writing stuff the day after we started isolation. And I sent it to (Gomez) a few days after, he said. If it wasn't for this opportunity of time, this probably wouldn't happen. But now we've got this focus. It's a weird silver lining We had some tunes before it, but a huge chunk of this stuff is because of this COVID thing. That, to me, is also cool. It's super fresh. We were working on the project before, but when this thing hit, we just went nuts. It's his idea, not mine. We didn't think we were going to make an album together. Not at the beginning. First, it was just get together and play. Then, It was his music and me doing the arrangements. Making his album. Then it changed to doing it together. I feel some pressure, said Gomez with the infectious laugh that is part of his agreeable demeanor. The album in the works will be called Take 2. It's a fusion album, covering different styles. There will be jazz, naturally, as Lamb is one of the great piano soloists in that genre. There will be some with Latin percussion. Funk and blues will be heard. It's weird, said Gomez. There is some Latin, but it's not Latin. There is a blues. The blues is the blues. There's nothing Latin there. The chicha, it doesn't sound Latin, but there is some Latin because of percussion and congas. Does Earth, Wind and Fire sound Latin? There are some like that. Lamb has written most of the music and Gomez added some. The latter has the title of producer and is the key arranger for the project, providing the orchestrations. But the two are working closely together, exchanging opinions, giving suggestions. There is always in the spirit of cooperation to bring about the best product that represents their vision. Said Gomez, This is an experimental thing that is doing so well. You don't imagine an American pianist and a Cuban pianist getting together and making a beautiful thing. It's different between him and me, but we are doing music with the same base. The percussion, the bass, everything. This is going to be a mix of things. A fusion. As an analogy, he mentioned the phenomenon where the Pacific Ocean meets the Atlantic Ocean. (at Cape Horn and Tierra del Fuego, at the southern-most tip of South America). Both oceans have a different color, but it's the same thing. They get together, but one is darker and the other is a little lighter. You can see the line. But it's the same water, salt water. Like many recording projects, sequencer software is being used that creates a variety of sounds and instruments to provide backgrounds and help shape the music. The pianists play solos in certain sections and other musicians are being called upon to play on certain tunes, overdubbing their parts to the recorded files. Gomez's brother, renowned saxophonist Sergio Luis Chaple, now of Columbia, is one of them. On an early sample he can be heard blazing over the soundscape created by his brother. Ultimately, when we finish this, it's going to be a mix, said Lamb, a calm presence with a quiet confidence. We're going to have some guests. So you combine the digital sequence stuff with real stuff. When you start doing that, then it's pretty seamless. Gomez spoke about the variety of styles and moods giving the recording an emotional weight. CD Baby will handle the production of the CD and the digital downloads that will be available. Gomez and Lamb were on the docket for the Friehofer's Stay at Home Jazz Festival at the end of June, an online event on what would have been the 43rd annual jazz festival at Saratoga Performing Arts Center. The duet, with some background sequencing done by Gomez, was stellar. It was well received, including by Lamb's friends on the west coast who are involved just about daily with TV and movie music that were amazed by the arrangements. The comments were like, 'Oh great. Two piano players. Am I really going to be able to deal with that?' But they recognized right away our stylistic differences. They weren't bored at all. It was like, 'This is really cool.' Two different approaches. That's why it works, which is the cool thing about it. The friendship and musical respect is important. Lamb described being in a two-keyboard fusion setting at one time that turned out feeling like a gunfight in the Old West. The other player had that competition mentality. That's not usually how great music is created. I didn't even think about that with Jorge. I don't even think about having another piano player, he said. We enjoy each other. He always does incredible solos. So when I stop doing my solos, I start listening and learning. I look at him and go, 'Oh my god' Gomez said, chuckling. They have strong feelings about what is being developed and are unabashed speaking about Grammy consideration. In fact, they will finish the recording in time for a release prior to Aug. 31, the deadline for the Grammy ceremony in 2021. Lamb said his friend's producing skills are invaluable in so many ways. I'm writing (music) and emailing him, 'What do I need to do here.' I'm spacing out. He'll say, 'Do this tune with keyboards only on the head. And redo your solo section.' He's got all that cataloged. That's a huge thing. But also, he has an opinion, Gomez is quick to point out. After I do all that work, I give it to him. He might say, 'This part we can change. Can this solo be longer? Can we change the volume here?' When I start mixing, he's going to have to be with me. Four ears are better than two. Even if the world seems upside down, both men are grateful for this opportunity. There is no ego, said Gomez. There's nothing. He knows he's one of the best pianists in the world. For me. It's not only an honor. It's a challenge. Because I'm going to be playing with him. Normally, a guy that plays like he plays is going to say, 'What are you doing on my album? Adds Lamb, He's too humble, man. I feel the same about him. It's sincere. We both feel the same way. You can't beat it. For sure it's going to be unique. Different. Organ, said Gomez. First thing, in Saratoga. Latino thing? That's a new thing for this town. Second thing, Chuck Lamb, one of the greatest pianists in the world. That name, playing Cubano style? People say, 'I wanna see that. I have to hear that. Playing Cuban music? Show me.' Third thing. In this moment, we are working from houses, not a real studio. I want to listen to that kind of production. Because it's going to be a great album, and will sound that good without going to a real studio. Vincent "Bubba" Mandola, part of a Houston family restaurant dynasty, died Sunday of heart failure after fighting COVID-19, his family announced on social media. Mandola, whose restaurants include Nino's, Vincent's, Grappino di Nino and Pronto Cucino, was a pioneer in the local restaurant industry. His nephew, Johnny Carrabba, who is also a restaurateur (Carrabas, Mias Table, Graces) said his uncle was an inspiration. I am fortunate to have worked with him but was more fortunate to be his nephew, said Carrabba. I learned the restaurant business from him but learned a lot more about how to be a gentleman and a hard worker. Carrabba said that although Vincent Mandola had a strong work ethic, he always made time for his family. He never missed a family function, said Carrabba. He had six grandchildren. He never missed their school events. I think that is more of a tribute to him than anything else. Johnny Mandola, Vincent Mandolas cousin and the general manager at Midtown's Damian's Cucina Italiana, echoed Carrabbas sentiments. Our family has been texting memories and stories about what a great guy he was. He loved his daughters, Vinceanne and Dana Mandola, said Johnny Mandola. Johnny Mandola said even at age 77, his cousin was still involved in operating his restaurants. I respected him. I could always call him to ask questions, said Johnny Mandola. He always had a mind about what to do next in the industry. He paved the way to how to run a restaurant: customer service, great food and hard work. In their social media post, the Mandola's said Vincent Mandola dedicated his life to his family and was a devoted husband and an amazing father, and papa. His restaurants were an extension of his home and he welcomed each guest with warmth and attentiveness, like famiglia (family). The family also asked for privacy during this time, along with continued prayers. He had the best sense of humor of anyone I have ever met. Its a huge loss for our family, said Carrabba. I dont think youll hear anyone say a negative word about my uncle. He was a man of his word. Some of the places where germs are most likely to hide in schools might surprise you. A childs desk, for example, generally has more germs than you would find in a school bathroom. Karnataka government clarified that there wouldn't be any extension of lockdown in Bengaluru, the city registered 1,452 fresh Corona positive cases, while the state registered 3,648. Karnataka is now inching towards the 70,000 mark and the total Corona positive cases in the state stands at 67,420. Covid fatalities continue to mount in the state with 72 deaths since Sunday evening taking the total tally to 1,403. Bengaluru alone witnessed 31 deaths. On an average the city is witnessing more than 2,000 cases every day and Shanthalanagar has become the latest Corona hotspot. There are 42,216 active cases over all Karnataka. In more than 1,700 fresh cases the source of infection could not be traced, which has become a real challenge to health officials. Karntaka has clearly ruled out lockdown as a solution to bring things under control. As per sources the state is aiming to guard the containment zones very strictly, increase the testing capacity and bring down the positive cases in the city and state. The state crossed 10 lakh testing and till Monday, there were 10,57,303 samples tested. Also, to end the repeated complaints against private hospitals refusing treatment, not reserving 50 percent beds etc, the government said such acts will not be tolerated anymore and the license of those who violate the guidelines will be cancelled without mercy. This way, they are aiming to reduce the delay in treatment and save time of patients who are being made to run from hospital to hospital for treatment. Recently the health department roped in cine actor Mr Ramesh Aravind to create awareness and instill hope among citizens. Bellari, Bengaluru rural and Dharwad recorded more than 200 fresh cases while all the remaining districts in the state had less than 200 fresh cases. The then-president Richard Nixon is seen in the video telling the nation that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. Theres a video doing the rounds online that shows US president Richard Nixon making an announcement to explain that the Apollo 11 mission ended in a tragedy. Well, it didnt. And the video in question is one that has been created with deepfake technology and published just in time for the anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission. The then-president Richard Nixon is seen in the video telling the nation that the men who went to the moon to explore in peace will stay on the moon to rest in peace. This video is a part of a digital storytelling project called In The Event of Moon Disaster created by the MIT Center for Advanced Virtuality and uses deepfake tech to show the president talking about a national tragedy that actually never happened. In this world and this timeline at least. The Apollo 11 mission was a success and both Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin returned safely. Richard Nixon in the deepfake video delivering a speech he's never had. (YouTube) Media artists Francesca Panetta and Halsey Bergund from MIT worked with AI companies Canny AI and Respeecher to create this Nixon deepfake. The speech that has been used in the video though is a real one that was penned as a contingency plan in case the mission did not go as planned. Written by Nixons speechwriter William Safire, the speech was titled In The Event of Moon Disaster. Obviously, Nixon never had to use that speech. The In The Event of Moon Disaster video premiered in November 2019 and was circulated again during the moon landings 51st anniversary after MITs digital storytelling projects website launched. Launched on the 51st anniversary of the #MoonLanding, @MITVirtuality's @deepfakemoon project rewrites history to illustrate the dangers of #deepfake technology and raise public awareness of misinformation in media. Read more: https://t.co/0FOs0Vnuq9 MIT Open Learning (@mitopenlearning) July 20, 2020 The website brings together a number of resources surrounding the film including a documentary from Scientific Americans Jeffrey DelViscio where hes seen presenting the film to AI, digital privacy, law and human rights experts to give a context of the technology thats been used to create it. The video has primarily been made to show the danger of deepfakes. In case you did not know, Deepfakes are AI-manipulated videos that can make subjects in the video say or do things that have never happened. Deepfakes gained notoriety when people started using the tech to paste faces of celebrities into sex videos. However, lately, it has been used to manipulate political and historical events. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Victor Mambor (The Jakarta Post) Jayapura Tue, July 21, 2020 16:57 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406682a1fc 1 National Nduga,Papua,Nduga-refugees,military-assertiveness,military Free Two men, Elias Karungu and Selu Karungu, from conflict-prone Nduga regency, Papua, were fatally shot by Indonesian Military (TNI) personnel on Saturday. Locals claimed the two were displaced civilians, while the Indonesian Military claimed the two were members of an armed group. The father and son were killed when returning to Keneyam district, the capital of the regency, after hiding in forests for more than a year to avoid conflicts between the TNI and an armed group linked to the Free Papua Movement (OPM), a witness who requested anonymity for security reasons claimed. The witness said that Elias and Selu made the trip with dozens of other displaced locals from Paro and Yengelo districts who were also seeking refuge in the forests. "The son, Selu, walked ahead of the group and was stopped and interrogated by TNI personnel at a post near Keneyam river. He was also beaten during the interrogation," the witness told The Jakarta Post on Monday. He said at the time of the interrogation, Selu was carrying an axe. "He used the axe to cut firewood or to make emergency bridges to cross rivers during the journey." Upon hearing Selu's arrest, Elias went to the military post to pick up his son. "Not long after I and other displaced people resumed our journey to Keneyam, we heard gunshots," the witness said. "We knew that Elias and Selu had been shot to death after arriving at the district." Read also: OPM says TNI, police shot medical workers in Papua The Indonesian Military have maintained a strong presence in Nduga regency since December 2018, following the killing of more than 30 workers of state-owned company Istaka Karya in the regency by an armed group linked to the Free Papua Movement (OPM) lead by Egianus Kogoya. The construction workers were assigned to build a 275-kilometer section of road to connect Wamena and Mamugu as part of President Jokowi's flagship trans-Papua road project. The killings led to a protracted security crisis in Nduga, forcing civilians to seek refuge in the neighboring regency of Wamena. Residents from Paro, Yengalo and Yal districts who had difficult access to neighboring regencies opted to hide in forests in the wake of the conflicts. However, after illness and starvation plagued their hideout they decided to return to Keneyam. As many as 139 refugees had died from starvation and illness caused by poor living conditions in the shelters, as reported by the Nduga Solidarity Civil Society Coalition in July last year. The government vehemently rejected the figure and claimed that only 53 displaced people had died. The death of Elias and Selu sparked outrage among locals who staged a rally on Sunday near Keneyam airport. "We did not go to the church on Sunday. We took to the street demanding the military hand over Elias and Selu's bodies," a local, who also requested anonymity for security reasons, said. After the military handed over the bodies, Elias and Selu were buried in a cemetery where Hendrik Lokbere was laid to rest. Hendrik was a close aide of Nduga deputy regent Wentius Nimiangge who was shot dead by an unidentified perpetrator on a road in Kenyam district in December 2019. Col. GN Sunastawa of the Joint Defense Area Command III (Kogabwilhan III) covering Papua and Maluku claimed that both Elias and Selu were actually members of the Egianus Kogoya armed group. "Military personnel have marked them as targets. They were members of an armed group led by Egianus Kogoya. We have the evidence, guns and ammunition," Sunastawa told the Post on Monday. (nal) Editor's note: This article has been updated to clarify the sources' requests for anonymity and to better clarify the TNI's claim that the victims were not civilians Captain Amarinder Singh Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh on Tuesday paved the way for closer cooperation between his government and the states premier IIT Ropar and IIM Amritsar institutions, particularly in the area of Skill Development, among others. The Chief Minister held two separate video conferences with the heads of the two institutions. Advertisement Capt Amarinder SinghDuring the VC with IIT Ropar, the state government signed three MoUs with the institute in the areas of skill development. The MoUs provide for IITs Technical Education Department to become Academic Mentor for the states Engineering Colleges at Gurdaspur & Ferozepur, as well as for Sri Guru Gobind Singh Skill Institute at Shri Chamkaur Sahib, five Government Polytechnics and 10 Government ITIs. Technical Education Minister Charanjit Singh Channi said IIT will also help the state in developing one model ITI and one model polytechnic and the others would be modelled on similar lines subsequently. Advertisement Charanjit Singh ChanniIIT Director Prof SK Dass suggested that the state should take the initiative for setting up a Defence manufacturing corridor, with IITs support in AI and strategic designing of defence equipment. The Chief Minister said he will take up the issue with the Centre. The Chief Minister urged IIT to help the state in the manufacture of small devices for controlling water wastage in irrigation, in response to which Prof Das extended the institutions full support. Captain Amarinder directed Chief Secretary Vini Mahajan to resolve the IITs land acquisition related issues, while urging the IIT to develop its campus as a green campus, with extensive landscaping and afforestation. Advertisement He also directed the Chief Secretary to constitute a committee to look into the IIT Directors submission that Private Universities/Colleges in the state are increasing seats for Engineering courses without any checks and balances. In a brief presentation earlier, Prof Das pointed out that in a span of 12 years, IIT, at 47, has come almost at par with IIS Bangalore in rankings (36, as per Times Higher Education ranking of Asian universities). Punjab government Advertisement IIM Amritsar also extended support to the state government in promoting skill development and its director, Prof. Ramamoorthy Nagarajan, said the institution would be organising various short-term courses for officers, including Excise, Business Management, Taxation etc. The IIM has adopted five villages in Amritsar area as part of its CSR outreach, the Chief Minister was informed. Responding to concerns expressed by IIM Director Prof. Ramamoorthy Nagarajan over some unresolved land issues of the institution, Captain Amarinder directed DC Amritsar to look into the matter and resolve the same at the earliest. Regulatory News: Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) ("PSH") today announced that it has purchased, through PSH's agent, Jefferies International Limited ("Jefferies"), the following number of PSH's Public Shares of no par value (ISIN Code: GG00BPFJTF46) (the "Shares"): Trading Venue: London Stock Exchange Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 21 July 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 26,940 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 1,994 pence 25.40 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 1,956 pence 24.91 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 1,973 pence 25.12 USD Ticker: PSHD Date of Purchase: 21 July 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 7,938 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 25.10 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 25.10 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 25.10 USD Trading Venue: Euronext Amsterdam Ticker: PSH Date of Purchase: 21 July 2020 Number of Public Shares purchased: 28,220 Shares Highest Price Paid Per Share: 25.30 USD Lowest Price Paid Per Share: 24.90 USD Average Price Paid Per Share: 25.08 USD PSH will hold these Public Shares in Treasury. The net asset value per Public Share related to this buyback is 35.14 USD 28.00 GBP which was calculated as of 14 July 2020 (the "Relevant NAV"). After giving effect to the above buyback, PSH has 194,799,251 Public Shares outstanding, or 200,748,792 Public Shares calculated on a fully diluted basis (assuming that all Management Shares had been converted into Public Shares at the Relevant NAV). Excluded from the shares outstanding are 16,157,499 Public Shares held in Treasury. The prices per Public Share were calculated by Jefferies. The number of PSH Management Shares and the one special voting share (held by PS Holdings Independent Voting Company Limited) have not been affected. About Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. Pershing Square Holdings, Ltd. (LN:PSH) (LN:PSHD) (NA:PSH) is an investment holding company structured as a closed-ended fund that makes concentrated investments principally in North American companies. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005847/en/ Contacts: Media Camarco Ed Gascoigne-Pees Hazel Stevenson +44 020 3757 4989, media-pershingsquareholdings@camarco.co.uk live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Microsoft Corp, Nike Inc, Starbucks Corp, Unilever NV and five other industry titans from various sectors are teaming up to help businesses globally achieve zero carbon emissions. Called "Transform to Net Zero", the group plans to recruit other members and will work with the Environmental Defense Fund and focus on delivering guidance, research and blueprints for businesses to achieve zero carbon emissions no later than 2050. The announcement gave no details of any investment the companies would make, outlining only initial research and other work to be completed over the next five years. Some aims for net zero carbon emissions include reductions across the entire value chain, including impact of products and services, and the substantial commitment and willingness to invest in and speed innovation. The current alliance also includes French food group Danone SA, German automaker Mercedes-Benz AG, top shipping container firm A.P. Moller - Maersk A/S, Indian tech firm Wipro Ltd, and Brazilian cosmetics maker Natura & Co. While many companies have made commitments to improve, critics say action by the corporate world still falls far short of the sort of far-reaching change needed to meet UN targets on emissions and capping the global rise at 1.5 degrees Celsius. Microsoft in January had announced plans to be carbon negative, pledging to remove as much carbon as it has emitted in its 45-year history and allocated $1 billion to create a "Climate Innovation Fund" to invest in developing carbon removal technology. Carbery Campbell taught in Spain this spring and unfortunately contracted the coronavirus while traveling back to Florida. She did the right thing and got tested at her local hospital. Thankfully, Carbery beat the coronavirus but was punished with a bill of $6,545 for simple tests and a few hours spent in a waiting room. The lack of price transparency in our health-care system leads to unexpected bills like the one Carbery received. Steve Forbes, Art Laffer, and Larry Van Horn argue that This complete lack of health care price transparency has allowed hospitals to get away with charging whatever they want. Health care price opacity and the resulting surprise bills are why 64% of Americans surveyed said they avoid or delay needed medical care. And why medical bills play a role in most bankruptcies. As Congress begins negotiating the next round of COVID-19 relief legislation, it must pass the Healthcare PRICE Transparency Act, introduced by Sens. Mike Braun and Chuck Grassley. This legislation requires hospitals and insurers to give patients accurate cost estimates and publicly reveal standard charging information. These changes would lower the costs of care for patients and restore trust in our medical system. For years, surprise medical charges and ridiculously high medical bills have been an issue, as 16% of Americans have medical debt, and one-third are scared to get treatment because of unexpected costs. This unprecedented pandemic is exposing already existing flaws in our medical system. For example, two friends in Texas took a COVID-19 test at the same time and place, and one was charged $199 while the other received a bill for $6,408 because of hidden costs. The increasing need for medical care is shining a spotlight on the issues in our system. If you went to Applebees and your food ended up costing thirty-two times what you expected, youd be upset. Healthcare is both more important and costly, but patients dont know what they are paying in advance because hospitals and insurers work to hide this information. Unanticipated bills hit black communities particularly hard. Research in the American Journal of Public Health shows that, African Americans incur substantial medical debt compared with Whites, and more than 40% of this is mediated by health status, income, and insurance disparities. This debt will likely grow since the coronavirus disproportionately impacts communities of color. Black Americans are hospitalized at 4.5 times the rate of white Americans, according to the CDC. Policies increasing transparency and lowering the price of care help these vulnerable Americans in a time of crisis. Hospitals shouldnt push black Americans into massive debt because of unclear billing practices. Forcing hospitals and insurers to be transparent about the cost of care increases competition and guarantees hospitals couldnt hide behind surprise medical bills. Prices would go down for patients, as hospitals and insurers could no longer charge thousands for services worth hundreds. Studies support claims of lower costs, as patients who pay in cash instead of using insurance pay 39% less than those trapped in our broken system. A 39% decrease in health spending translates into $11,000 in annual savings for an average family. The Trump administration stimulus checks of $1,200 helped keep the economy afloat during the worst of the COVID-19 pandemic, but their impact pales in comparison to enacting price transparency. With price transparency, Americans would be able to shop for the cheapest care fitting their needs, especially as the price of health care continues to skyrocket. Our country relies on a free-market system encouraging innovation and efficiency. For too long hospitals and insurers have avoided this American cornerstone. Voters agree 90% of the country wants increased price transparency and about 70% say supporting transparency might sway their vote. Most of the opposition to these reforms come from hospitals and insurers who would no longer be able to overcharge for services and leave patients with the bill. Hopefully, this legislation doesnt become partisan, as it decreases the cost of medical care and increases transparency. Even progressives like Sen. Bernie Sanders should embrace this bill and prove they are more interested in helping the American people than in scoring political points. Passing the Health PRICE Transparency Act would lower the cost of health care and take a massive weight off many desperate Americans' shoulders. Instead of spending thousands on treatments that cost hundreds, patients would be free to save and spend their wealth on what they want. Ken Blackwell is the Former State Treasurer of Ohio and former Mayor of Cincinnati H1 2020 revenue up 16.5 for Theranostics Theranostics performed well in all regions Cash position at June 30, 2020 in line with the budget: 1.7 million Regulatory News: THERADIAG (Paris:ALTER) (ISIN: FR0004197747, Ticker: ALTER), a company specializing in in vitro diagnostics and Theranostics, today announces its consolidated half-year revenue and cash position at June 30, 2020, data that is currently being audited. Consolidated H1 2020 revenue of 4.9 million In thousands of euros June 30, 2020 June 30, 2019 Change Revenue* 4,871 4,976 -2.1% of which Theranostics 2,410 2,070 +16.5% of which LISA TRACKER kits in routine use 2,410 2,041 +18.1% of which IVD 2,367 2,906 -18.6% *Data currently being audited Over the six months to June 30, 2020, Theradiag generated revenue of 4.9 million, versus 5.0 million in the first half of 2019 highlighting the robustness and quality of the products marketed despite a delicate economic and health situation. The Theranostics business posted another half of solid growth, with revenue up +16.5%, primarily driven by sales of LISA TRACKER kits in routine use whose sales exceeded 2.4 million in the first half of 2020 (vs. 2.0 million at June 30, 2019). As has been the case for a number of semesters now, the Theranostics represents the Company's recurring business, thus providing it with enhanced visibility. The highly degraded context since mid-March 2020, notably with the implementation of the plan blanc emergency plan in French hospitals, disrupted activity in all regions. Nevertheless, Theradiag posted a decent performance in France with particularly satisfactory Theranostics sales of 1.0 million, up 13% compared with the first half of 2019. Activity in the United States generated revenue of 0.4 million, up 42%. In its export business, the Company maintained a highly acceptable level of activity (+10%). The IVD (In Vitro Diagnostics) activity recorded an 18.6% fall in revenue to 2.4 million at June 30, 2020, compared with 2.9 million in the first half of 2019. This decrease was a result of the impact of the exceptional sales to former partner HOB Biotech recorded in the first half of 2019. Excluding this negative base effect, Theradiag has maintained a level of activity that is in line with its strategy despite the global economic situation. Cash position At June 30, 2020, Theradiag had net available cash of 1.7 million, versus 2.9 million at December 31, 2019. This cash position is in line with the Company's roadmap despite weak second-quarter activity and late payments. Moreover, Theradiag has prepared the necessary paperwork to apply for a State-guaranteed loan. Bertrand de Castelnau, Theradiag's CEO, commented: "I'm particularly pleased with the work undertaken by Theradiag's teams and their unwavering commitment during this turbulent semester. This commitment has enabled us to generate remarkable results in our Theranostics business, which is our strategic priority and is generating increasingly patent recurring performances each semester. As well as these successes in our flagship activity, we have been able to activate the necessary levers to address the diagnostics market within the framework of the battle against the Covid-19 pandemic. Our actions have led to the certification of four CE-marked tests, two of them manufactured by Theradiag. Despite this success, which allows these tests to be marketed in France and abroad, it is important to remain cautious regarding the economic impact of this milestone on our 2020 financial year. We are very closely monitoring the ongoing public health crisis we are facing, we will intensify our efforts to protect our employees and partners, and we will continue to focus on developing our sales, our partnerships and our R&D investments in order to maintain a positive momentum throughout 2020 Pierre Morgon, Chairman of Theradiag's Board of Directors, added: "The Theradiag team is continuing to deploy its strategy centering on Theranostics and has already generated a remarkable performance over the last semester despite the tumultuous economic situation. Beyond the half-year growth of our Theranostics activity, the teams have been able to capitalize on the Company's DNA, innovation, to bolster its technological lead to help patients. Theradiag is still on a positive trajectory and is on course to balance its books Update regarding the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on Theradiag's annual activity Theradiag is continuing to assess the potential consequences of the Covid-19 pandemic on its business and is continuing to put required measures in place for its employees, clients and partners. As of the date of this press release, Theradiag is expecting 2020 revenue to probably be negatively impacted by around 10%, not including the potential effects of new business associated with the Covid-19 tests whose deployment has begun. Reminder of the main H1 2020 highlights February 2020: Theradiag presents excellent results generated by its new i-Tracker kits in its TRACKER range at the ECCO Congress. - February 2020: THERADIAG helps establish a new WHO international standard for biotherapy monitoring. - March 2020: THERADIAG announces the CE Marking of the first four i-Tracker test kits in its TRACKER range. - April 2020: Theradiag commits to fighting Covid-19 and assesses the likely impact on FYR 2020. - May 2020: Theradiag announces the approval of a first Covid-19 test, 'RT-PCR'. - June 2020: Theradiag issues an update on its Covid-19 test activity, and the first Theradiag-labeled tests receive the CE mark. - July 2020: The University of Tours and Theradiag sign two agreements simultaneously: an exclusive licensing agreement for the production of Covid-19 viral proteins and a global collaboration agreement that could lead to further partnerships in the future. Next financial press release: H1 2020 results, on Monday September 21, 2020 About Theradiag Theradiag is the market leader in biotherapy monitoring. Capitalizing on its expertise in the diagnostics market, the Company has been developing, manufacturing and marketing innovative in vitro diagnostic (IVD) tests for over 30 years. Theradiag pioneered "Theranostics" testing (combining therapy with diagnosis), which measures the efficacy of biotherapy in the treatment of chronic inflammatory diseases. Going beyond mere diagnosis, theranostics aims to help clinicians set up "customized treatment" for each patient. This method favors the individualization of treatment, evaluation of its efficacy and the prevention of drug resistance. In response to this challenge, Theradiag develops and markets the CE-marked TRACKER range, a comprehensive solution of inestimable medical value. The Company is based in Marne-la-Vallee, near Paris, has operations in over 70 countries and employs over 60 people. In 2019, the Company posted revenue of 9.6 million. The Theradiag share is listed on Euronext Growth Paris (ISIN: FR0004197747) and is eligible for the French PEA-PME personal equity plan. For more information about Theradiag, please visit our website: www.theradiag.com View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005595/en/ Contacts: Theradiag Bertrand de Castelnau CEO/Managing Director Tel.: +33 (0)1 64 62 10 12 contact@theradiag.com NewCap Relations Investisseurs Sandrine Boussard-Gallien Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 94 theradiag@newcap.eu NewCap Relations medias Nicolas Merigeau Tel.: +33 (0)1 44 71 94 98 nmerigeau@newcap.fr The Uttarakhand government is planning to give land ownership rights to women who work in their husbands fields by amending the Uttarakhand Zameendari Abolition and Land Reforms Act, chief minister Trivendra Singh Rawat said on Tuesday. Rawat said the move was aimed to facilitate the women who are working in fields owned by their husbands especially in the hilly areas of the state. So far in Uttarakhand, land ownership rights are transferred to men in the family which are then passed on to their sons. The government has been planning to introduce it for the daughters and now it is also mulling the same for wives. Traditionally in the hilly areas, men and their wives are involved in the farming on their land. However, men are largely involved in just heavy labour intensive work like ploughing of field and remaining about 90% farming related works are done by their wives only. Despite that they dont have any ownership of that piece of land but their husbands, said Rawat. Due to this, if any woman wants to take some loan for any farming related work on the field, they are denied because they dont have the ownership of the land. Once this amendment is introduced in the aforementioned Act, they will also have the ownership rights of the land along with their husbands and take loan, he said. The chief minister said: Till now it is somewhat unfair, that despite doing the maximum work in fields, they dont have any ownership of the land. Once they are also given the ownership, it will also make them more self-dependent and help in women empowerment in the state. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON ABOUT THE AUTHOR Kalyan Das Kalyan Das covers crime, transport, human rights and central government offices from Bhopal and Indore. ...view detail The foreign ministry called in Iran's top envoy in South Korea on Tuesday to lodge a protest over Tehran's reported threat to take a legal step against Seoul over the freeze last year of the country's assets in line with U.S. sanctions. Koh Kyung-sok, director-general in charge of African and Middle Eastern affairs, voiced regrets to Iranian Ambassador Saeed Badamchi Shabestari, as Tehran's foreign ministry spokesperson has told Iranian media that the case could be referred to the International Court of Justice unless the assets are released. "The official in charge called in the ambassador and expressed regrets over the inappropriate remarks," Kim In-chul, the ministry's spokesperson, told a regular press briefing. "The Iranian side called for understanding and stressed that it was not the official position of the Iranian government," he added. Iran's assets at two Korean bank accounts known to be worth up to US$7 billion in total have been frozen since September last year when Washington's sanctions waiver for South Korea's imports of Iranian oil expired. The two countries had used the accounts based on the Korean currency of the won to continue Korea's imports of oil and its exports of goods to Iran despite U.S. sanctions banning dollar-based transactions with the Islamic republic. Due to the economic challenges caused by crippling sanctions and the fallout of the new coronavirus, Iran has been stepping up calls for South Korea to unlock the frozen assets at the bank accounts. In recent months, Seoul has been pushing to resume the trade of humanitarian goods, such as medicine and medical equipment to help Iran fight the COVID-19 pandemic and maintain the trade partnership. In late May, South Korea shipped to Iran $500,000 worth of medicine used to treat a hereditary disease, in the first such humanitarian exports to the country since last year. (Yonhap) Kabul, July 21 : An Afghan girl shot dead two Taliban militants and injured several others after they dragged out her parents from their home and killed them for supporting the government, officials said on Tuesday. The incident happened last week when insurgents stormed the home of Qamar Gul, a teenager from a village in the central province of Ghor, Gulf news reported. The terrorists were looking for her father, the village chief, local police head Habiburahman Malekzada told the media. Her father was a government supporter, which is why the terrorists went to his house and dragged him out, Malekzada said. When his wife resisted, the Taliban militants killed the couple outside their home, Malekzada said. "Qamar Gul, who was inside the house, took an AK-47 gun the family had and first shot dead the two Taliban terrorists who killed her parents, and then injured a few others," he said. Gul is aged between 14 and 16, according to different officials. It is common for many Afghans not to know their precise age. Several other Taliban militants later came to attack her house, but some villagers and pro-government militiamen drove them away after a gunfight. In recent months, the militants have stepped up attacks on security forces despite agreeing to peace talks with Kabul. With the lure of online gambling high during COVID-19 lockdowns - and some gambling venues now reopening - partners and families of problem gamblers may be the first to see a problem emerging. Many problem gamblers do not acknowledge their addiction and do not seek help - and that's when people close to them need support to cope, and potentially even help turn the situation around by motivating a partner to seek help. "Most people with gambling problems don't seek formal help, so problems often remain hidden within families," says Flinders University expert Ben Riley, an expert therapist with the Statewide Gambling Therapy Service in South Australia. "As well as evidence-based strategies to help motivate non-help-seeking problem gamblers to acknowledge their problem and seek help, it's clear we also need effective programs to help partners protect their own wellbeing and perhaps help their partner to seek treatment or targeted interventions." Gambling and addiction experts at the Flinders University and Deakin University warn partners and families of such problem gamblers can suffer from chronic worry, exhaustion, relationship conflict, and an overwhelming sense of isolation. "They may become hypervigilant as a response to a non-disclosing problem gamblers' activities," adds co-author Professor Sharon Lawn. "In our in-depth interviews with 15 such partners, they said they found it exceedingly difficult to reliably detect their partners' gambling behaviour, resulting in chronic hypervigilance, and many were reluctant to seek help due to stigma," she says. "Families are often the first to know something is going on, and they really share the adverse consequences in many ways. Involving families sooner to help identify gambling problems earlier is a missed opportunity." Mr Riley says new programs could focus on helping family members or partners to motivate their loved one to seek help. "It's a real gap in knowledge because only a very small proportion of problem gamblers seek help - and that may be only when significant harm has been done to finances, relationships, reputation and employment," he says. ### Vietnam may not reach its pepper export goal for this year due to many difficulties, according to the Viet Nam Pepper Association (VPA). Harvesting pepper in Quang Tri Province. Viet Nams pepper exports in the first six months of this year reached 166,812 tonnes, earning $356 million. The domestic pepper output is expected to fall, creating more difficulties for the country in reaching the export target of 280,000 tonnes with a total value of US$800 million this year. VPA Chairman Nguyen Nam Hai said the COVID-19 pandemic is seriously affecting global trade and the global pepper supply chain is also interrupted in many markets. In the first quarter, Viet Nams pepper exports remained stable but in the second quarter, the COVID-19 outbreak around the world forced countries and territories to implement lockdowns, leading to restrictions on travel and trade activities. In addition, consumers also cut spending on non-essential products to focus on essential food and health products, causing significant reductions in pepper import demand. In the first six months, Viet Nams pepper exports to China decreased by 21.4 per cent and to India 37.8 per cent. Especially, Vietnamese pepper exports to Nepal increased sharply in the first quarter but from the end of March, the Nepalese government temporarily suspended imports of some commodities, including pepper, meaning local export enterprises faced difficulties in exporting to this market. The General Department of Customs reported that Viet Nams pepper exports in the first six months of this year reached 166,812 tonnes, earning $356 million, down 5.7 per cent in volume and 21.1 per cent in value over the same period last year. Of which, the exports in June reached only 21,000 tonnes, a sharp decline of 32 per cent year on year. Hai said with the developments of COVID-19, the import demand for Vietnamese pepper in some large markets such as India, the US and the EU is expected to continuously decrease. In addition, climate change and low pepper prices have led to a reduction in pepper output. Viet Nam's total pepper output in 2020 is expected to reach only 240,000 tonnes, down 15 per cent compared to 2019. This factor will also make it difficult for Viet Nam to reach its export target this year, Hai said. Tran Phuoc Hau, deputy general director of the Tran Chau Import and Export Company, said that the company's two largest export markets are Europe and the US, in addition to some Asian and Middle Eastern countries. However, due to COVID-19, its pepper exports have decreased significantly since the beginning of March. In addition to the continuous fluctuation of raw pepper prices, most businesses can only export pepper under old export contracts and do not have new export orders. Therefore, the association has recommended that the local export enterprises should focus on restoring pepper exports to markets which have lifted lockdowns in Asia, such as China, South Korea and Japan. At the same time, they need to boost domestic consumption with processed pepper products. Viet Nams pepper farmers need to link with export enterprises in expanding areas for organic pepper trees. That would ensure Vietnamese pepper has stable output and higher quality to compete with pepper from Brazil and Indonesia. These two countries producing pepper are expected to have high output of pepper in the next crop, putting more pressure on the price of Vietnamese pepper. VNS VN Trade Ministry rescues 58 containers of pepper stuck in Nepal Upon receiving information regarding 58 containers stuck in Nepal and India, Minister of Industry and Trade Tran Tuan Anh signed a letter to the Minister of Industry, Commerce and Supplies of Nepal to request support for Vietnamese businesses. Its dry outside. Thats what the metrics show, including the one county emergency personnel look at to help make important decisions. Midland County Fire Chief Justin Bunch said Monday that the Keetch-Byram Drought Index which was designed specifically for fire potential assessment shows conditions are severe enough to warrant a burn ban. Bunch told the Reporter-Telegram that the average KBDI index score in Midland County was 609. A score between 600 and 800 is often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence, according to the Texas A&M Forest Service, which posts conditions statewide. Intense, deep-burning fires with significant downwind spotting can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels. Bunch said a score of 575 typically is the rating that would create the need for a burn ban, which a county judge or county commissioners court can put into place prohibiting or restricting outdoor burning for public safety. Bunch said he will recommend at the Commissioners Court meeting on Monday that Midland join the numerous counties across the Permian Basin that have bans in place. As of Monday, that list includes Ector, Martin, Howard, Glasscock, Upton, Crane, Reagan, Winkler, Ward, Reeves, Jeff Davis and Brewster. A burn ban, once enacted, can last up to 90 days, Bunch said. For that to change, you have to have continuous rain, he said. Continuous rain isnt something that has happened at Midland International Airport. The National Weather Service reported the year started with plenty of moisture. By March 18, there was a 5.25 inches of rain, which was 3.69 inches above average at the time. Since that day, there has been 0.55 inch of an inch measured. The normal rainfall from mid-March through mid-July is 5.37 inches. With the lack of rain, the hot temperatures and the low humidity, it has made the (KBDI) number go up, Bunch said. The U.S. Drought Monitor shows this area of West Texas is experiencing some type of dry or drought conditions from abnormally dry to moderate drought to severe drought. The monthly outlook for July calls for drought conditions to continue or to develop. He said it has been within the last two weeks that more counties have experienced the drier conditions. This time of year, we reach our peak fire danger, said Bunch, a former officer with the Midland Police Department. Keetch-Byram Drought Index John L. Keetch and George Bryam designed a drought index specifically for fire potential assessment. It is a number representing the net effect of evapotranspiration and precipitation in producing cumulative moisture deficiency in deep duff and upper soil layers. It is a continuous index, relating to the flammability of organic material in the ground. The KBDI attempts to measure the amount of precipitation necessary to return the soil to full field capacity. It is a closed system ranging from 0 to 800 units and represents a moisture regime from 0 to 8 inches of water through the soil layer. At 8 inches of water, the KBDI assumes saturation. Zero is the point of no moisture deficiency and 800 is the maximum drought that is possible. At any point along the scale, the index number indicates the amount of net rainfall that is - KBDI = 400 600: Typical of late summer, early fall. Lower litter and duff layers contribute to fire intensity and will burn actively. - KBDI = 600 800: Often associated with more severe drought with increased wildfire occurrence. Intense, deep-burning fires with significant downwind spotting can be expected. Live fuels can also be expected to burn actively at these levels. Index ratings Winkler 623 Ward 618 Upton 614 Reeves 611 Midland 609 Brewster 602 Crane 601 Andrews 593 Loving 581 Ector 562 Glasscock 542 Howard 508 Scurry 505 Source: Texas Interagency Coordination Center The NPP Member of Parliament for the Awutu Senya East Constituency, Mavis Hawa Koomson has admitted firing gunshots at a voter registration centre in the area. There was a confrontation at a registration centre in the constituency on Monday, July 20, 2020, which led to gunshots being fired and motorbikes being burnt. There were reports that the Electoral Commission (EC) officials fled from the scene following the altercation. The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) subsequently accused Hawa Koomson of being behind the violence in the area. Hawa Koomson subsequently confessed on Accra-based Adom FM that she fired the warning shot in self-defence. When I got the information that people were being bused from some places into my constituency, I couldnt sit down for people to come and register in my constituency and elect an MP for the people of KasoaI work with men because I cant work with women alone in this political enterprise. None of my men had guns on them when we got to the centre, I fired the shots myself. Yes, I gave those warning shots to protect myself, she said. Four arrested after shooting, burning of motorbikes at registration centre Meanwhile, four persons have been arrested after the shooting incident. The Kasoa Divisional Police Commander, COP Charles Koosono indicated that the suspects will be transferred to the Regional Police Headquarters in Cape Coast for further action. This morning, around 9 am, we had information that there was a confrontation between some people at a registration centre. When we got there, we realised that three motorbikes had been burnt. We arrested four people in connection with the happening at the registration centre. We have seized one gun. We are now investigating the issue. The Police Commander said they are still investigating to understand what triggered the confrontation. ---citinewsroom Lasheen Ibrahim, head of the National Elections Authority (NEA), announced Sunday that the papers of 762 candidates for the 9 August Senate elections had been accepted. Ibrahim also revealed that the NEA had rejected 150 candidates for failing to submit the required documents. Rejected candidates can appeal the decision between 22 and 24 July, and a final list of the candidates will be announced on 26 July. Ibrahim said campaigning will kick off on 27 July and continue until 7 August. There will be a silent day on 8 August, after which the polls will open on 9 August. Final candidate lists will be published in two state-owned newspapers so that voters can identify the candidates, said Ibrahim. Two lists will be published one with party list candidates, the second with the names of candidates standing individually. Candidates are prohibited from raising religious slogans or using mosques or churches for campaigning. Ibrahim stressed the media must refrain from spreading rumours, or showing bias to particular parties. In a meeting with the National Press Organisation and the National Media Organisation on Saturday, Ibrahim said media outlets would also be banned from conducting opinion polls. The media should provide fair coverage and deal with candidates on an equal footing, he said. Initial tallies suggest the Mostaqbal Watan Party will field the largest number of candidates, with reports suggesting 93 members will be contesting the 100 individual seats. Mostaqbal Watan also dominates among the11 political parties running under the umbrella National Unified List, fielding 59 candidates. The other parties include the Peoples Republican (10 candidates), the Guardians of the Nation (10 candidates), the Wafd (six candidates), the National Movement (two candidates), the Reform and Development (three candidates), the Tagammu (one candidate), the Conference (one candidate), the Egyptian Freedom (one candidate), the Egyptian Democratic Socialist (three candidates), and Modern Egypt (one candidate). The Conservatives Party, led by business tycoon and MP Akram Qortam, announced that it would boycott the Senate election as a result of problems and obstacles candidates faced when submitting their registration papers even though they followed all the instructions imposed by the National Elections Authority. The party opposed the constitutional amendments passed in April 2019 and has taken a strong opposition line over the last 12 months. The Ghad, led by former presidential candidate Moussa Mustafa Moussa, refused to join the National Unified List, opting to run on its own. The Mostaqbal Watan-led unified list will include the partys leader, former chairman of the Supreme Constitutional Court Abdel-Wahab Abdel-Razek, deputy chairman of the party Hossam El-Khouli, Wafd Party deputy chairman Yasser Al-Hodeibi, Wafd assistant secretary-general Tarek Al-Tohami, editor of the Tagammu Partys mouthpiece Al-Ahali Amina Al-Naqash, deputy editor of the independent weekly Al-Osbou Mahmoud Bakri, Chairman of the Egyptian Socialist Democratic party Farid Zahran, economics professor Rasha Al-Mahdi, former chairman of the Social Fund for Development Hani Seif Al-Nasr, Al-Ahram journalist Abu Siri Imam, and Chairman of the Syndicate of Engineers Reda Al-Shafie. It also includes media mogul and steel tycoon Ahmed Abu Hashima. Yasser Al-Hodeibi, deputy leader of the Wafd Party, said the party will field candidates in 10 governorates. There are two other party lists, the Ittihad and Long Live Egypt coalitions, which include candidates from low-profile political parties. In Alexandria, the initial list of candidates competing for seven individual seats has reached 72. These include candidates from Mostaqbal Watan (six candidates), the Guardians of the Nation (five candidates), the Salafist Nour (four candidates), the Reform and Development (two candidates), and Al-Nahda (two candidates). Mohamed Anwar Al-Sadat, head of the Reform and Development Party, told Al-Ahram Weekly there is an agreement among parties joining the Mostaqbal Watan-led National Unified List that individual candidates also coordinate ahead of the poll. I think all parties should view the Senate election as an opportunity to reactivate political life and so I am against any form of boycott, said Sadat. Political parties should see the Senate election as a warm up for the House of Representatives poll due in November, an opportunity to gauge their popularity on the street and ascertain whether voters are still suffering from election fatigue. There are fears that turnout will be low, not least because of the coronavirus, but Sadat says this should not be taken as a reason to delay the poll because the country needs to move forward on all fronts. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: Congress on Monday approved legislation that raises the amount of money awarded to severely injured veterans to make their homes disability-friendly and increases the number of times they can apply for the benefit. The Ryan Kules and Paul Benne Specially Adaptive Housing Improvement Act will increase the cap on grants awarded to some veterans to purchase or adapt their homes and will let them apply for the funding up to six times. Read Next: New DoD Directive Bans Displays of Ball Team Pennants, Pride Flags The bill also quadruples the number of grants available each year from the Department of Veterans Affairs, from 30 to 120, and adds legally blind veterans to the list of former service members eligible to apply. Under the legislation, the total amount an eligible veteran could access would be $98,492, an increase of nearly $13,000, to go to the purchase of a house with special features. The amount of assistance for adaptations to veterans' residences also has been increased, from $12,756 to $19,733. The bill, which is expected to be signed by President Donald Trump, is named for retired Army Capt. Ryan Kules, now the director of combat stress recovery at Wounded Warrior Project, and retired Army Col. Paul Benne. Kules, who lost his right arm and left leg to a roadside bomb in Taji, Iraq, in 2005, lobbied for the legislation to expand access to the funding for roughly 2,000 veterans, not including those who are blind. Benne, who died Dec. 7 at age 54, was forced to retire from the Army after he was diagnosed with a rare degenerative disease, multi-symptom atrophy, cerebellar Type-C, that left him unable to walk. "This bill has what we set out to accomplish and even more, being able to ensure that blinded veterans were extended the opportunity to be able to benefit from the program," Kules said. "Knowing it also provides benefits across generations -- that's something that cannot be said enough." The VA's Specially Adapted Housing program is for veterans who have lost at least two limbs to amputation to help cover the cost of housing renovations. After Kules was medically retired from the service, he and his wife bought a home with the intention of making it wheelchair friendly, to include widening hallways, changing doorknobs and countertops, altering bathrooms and renovating the kitchen. The renovations cost roughly $100,000 -- $36,000 more than was covered by the VA SAH grants at the time. Kules realized that as his life changed, with a growing family and then, eventually, with age, he would need different living accommodations, which may all require alterations. The Ryan Kules Act gives veterans flexibility, he said. "This gives my family the peace of mind, knowing that it reinstates in 10 years, and my disabilities may have become worse or I may be more impacted by them. It's peace of mind knowing we can make any changes to adapt the house to additional needs," Kules said. Also, he added, he thinks more veterans will apply for the program who may not have previously considered it. "Veterans out there that wouldn't have used the benefit knowing it's a one-time use now can go ahead and do so," Kules said. "They'll be set up down the road." The House bill was sponsored by Reps. Gus Bilirakis, R-Florida, and Mike Levin, D-California. The Senate version was introduced by Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kansas, and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Arizona. "When I heard of the challenges Ryan faced when he wanted to buy a new home to accommodate his growing family, because he could not use the SAH benefit a second time due to program limitations, I knew something needed to be done," Bilirakis said in a release. "Our bipartisan bill breaks down barriers to help veterans access the specially adaptive housing benefits they've earned -- and its passage shows what we can accomplish when we put aside politics and focus on getting results for America's veterans," said Sinema, a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee. More information on the VA's Specially Adapted Housing Grant Program can be found on the department's web site. -- Patricia Kime can be reached at Patricia.Kime@Military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @patriciakime.com. Related: VA Opposes Efforts to Reinstate 48-Hour Review Process for Claims The raging coronavirus disease (Covid-19) outbreak in Assams tally is on an upswing, as politicians, cutting across party lines, are contracting SARS-CoV-2, which causes the disease, and adding to the north-easts most populous states viral load. On Monday, Atul Bora, the BJP member of the Assam legislative assembly (MLA), who represents the Dispur constituency, tested Covid-19 positive in Guwahati and is undergoing treatment at a local hospital. Click here for full Covid-19 coverage Bora (69) got infected a day after the BJP lawmaker from Sonari, Nabanita Handique, too, tested Covid-19 positive. So far, five lawmakers all from the ruling BJP have tested Covid-19. Barring BJP MLAs Bora and Handique, their colleagues Krishnendu Paul of Patharkandi constituency, Narayan Deka (Barkhetry), and Bolin Chetia (Sadiya) were found to be infected. Paul and Deka have recovered, while Chetia, Handique, and Bora are still undergoing treatment. Opposition Congress has criticised the state government for playing petty politics over the pandemic. The state government is trying to extract political mileage from the Cobid-19 situation. Opposition leaders are being prevented from reaching out to the public on the pretext of the pandemic. However, similar restrictions dont hold good for the BJP leaders, who are mingling with the public while throwing social distancing norms to the wind, alleged Debabrata Saikia, a Congress MLA and the leader of opposition in the state assembly. Numerous people in certain areas have either been infected by the viral disease or have had to undergo quarantine after coming into contact with BJP MLAs and other leaders, he further alleged. Earlier in July, Sushmita Dev, former Congress Member of Parliament (MP) from Silchar in Assam and the president All India Mahila Congress, had also tested Covid-19 positive. She underwent treatment at Silchar Medical College Hospital between July 8 and 19, when she was discharged after recovering from her viral infection. Covid-19 positive cases have been spiralling in most parts of the state, as around 1,000 fresh cases are being reported daily. Frontline workers, who are battling the pandemic, including doctors, paramedical staff, police, and bureaucrats, are getting infected. In that light, its nothing unusual for public representatives such as lawmakers, too, who are adding to Assams Covid-19 positive tally, said a state BJP leader, requesting anonymity. Assam has recorded 25,092 Covid-19 positive cases until Monday, including 17,095 recoveries and 58 deaths. Around 1, 000 police personnel, including senior officers; dozens of healthcare workers, including doctors; bureaucrats, hundreds of inmates in jails and correctional homes and over 70 people posted at Raj Bhawan are among the states Covid-19 patients, many of whom have since recovered from their viral infection. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON LUMEVOQ on track for September 2020 submission in Europe Regulatory News: This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005606/en/ Figure 1. Evolution of Best-Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA): REALITY Subjects (=15 Years Old) with Mutated ND4 Gene vs. RESCUE and REVERSE Subjects. Note: BCVA best-corrected visual acuity. The LOWESS line for REALITY (n=23 subjects aged 15 or older at time of vision loss) is based on a series of polynomial regressions around each data point. The regressions use a limited look back and look forward and give distant points less weight. The time course of BCVA for REVERSE and RESCUE uses the least-squares mean based on a mixed model ANCOVA analysis. The starting points of the curves are set to the average time from onset to time of treatment (16 weeks for RESCUE, 39 weeks for REVERSE). GenSight Biologics (Paris:SIGHT) (Euronext: SIGHT, ISIN: FR0013183985, PEA-PME eligible), a biopharma company focused on discovering and developing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders, today reported results from the final analysis of the REALITY natural history study, which reaffirm the poor prognosis for the vast majority of Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) patients with vision loss due to a mutated ND4 mitochondrial gene. "The REALITY findings bolster the case that the improvements we saw in REVERSE, RESCUE and the first analysis of CLIN06 could not have arisen simply from spontaneous recovery among LHON patients," commented Bernard Gilly, Co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of GenSight. "We intend to bring this and other scientific evidence to the authorities to make a robust and convincing argument about the outstanding therapeutic benefit delivered by LUMEVOQ LUMEVOQ (GS010), the gene therapy developed by GenSight Biologics for the treatment of vision loss in patients with LHON caused by a mutated ND4 mitochondrial gene, is on track to be submitted for European marketing authorization in September 2020. Statistical analysis of the visual acuity in 23 REALITY subjects aged 15 or older with a mutated ND4 gene shows that on average, vision failed to recover from an initial sudden decline, even several years after vision loss. The sharp deterioration followed by an extended period of low visual acuity stands in sharp contrast with the improvements observed in the LUMEVOQ RESCUE and REVERSE trials. "The REALITY results are entirely in keeping with a recent meta-analysis currently in press in the Journal of Neuro-Ophthalmology*, which showed that only about 11% of ND4 LHON patients have some degree of meaningful spontaneous improvement in vision," noted Dr. Nancy Newman, LeoDelle Jolley Professor of Ophthalmology and Neurology at the Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta, GA, USA, and one of the leading authorities on LHON. REALITY was a retrospective and cross-sectional observational study of subjects with LHON, conducted in centers across Spain, Italy, France, United Kingdom, and the United States. The objective was to generate insights about the natural history of the disease based on an approach that would facilitate comparisons with REVERSE and RESCUE. The study aimed to enroll 50 subjects, but enrollment was curtailed due to measures taken to protect patients in the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the 44 subjects who were enrolled before the COVID-19 measures took effect, 23 were 15 years old or older at the time of vision loss due to their mutated ND4 gene. Of these 23 ND4 subjects, 15 had been treated with idebenone, the majority within 12 months of their vision loss. The RESCUE and REVERSE pivotal trials evaluated the efficacy and safety of a single intravitreal injection of LUMEVOQin LHON subjects who were at 0-6 months and 6-12 months, respectively, from onset of vision loss due to carrying a mutated ND4 mitochondrial gene. 61 of the RESCUE and REVERSE subjects accepted the invitation for long-term follow-up in the CLIN06 trial, which recently reported initial results. *N.J. Newman, V. Carelli, M. Taiel, P. Yu-Wai-Man. Visual outcomes in Leber hereditary optic neuropathy patients with the m. 11778>A (MTND4) mitochondrial DNA mutation. J Neuroophthalmol. In press (2020) About GenSight Biologics GenSight Biologics S.A. is a clinical-stage biopharma company focused on discovering and developing innovative gene therapies for retinal neurodegenerative diseases and central nervous system disorders. GenSight Biologics' pipeline leverages two core technology platforms, the Mitochondrial Targeting Sequence (MTS) and optogenetics, to help preserve or restore vision in patients suffering from blinding retinal diseases. GenSight Biologics' lead product candidate, GS010, is in Phase III trials in Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), a rare mitochondrial disease that leads to irreversible blindness in teens and young adults. Using its gene therapy-based approach, GenSight Biologics' product candidates are designed to be administered in a single treatment to each eye by intravitreal injection to offer patients a sustainable functional visual recovery. About LUMEVOQ (GS010) LUMEVOQ (GS010) targets Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) by leveraging a mitochondrial targeting sequence (MTS) proprietary technology platform, arising from research conducted at the Institut de la Vision in Paris, which, when associated with the gene of interest, allows the platform to specifically address defects inside the mitochondria using an AAV vector (Adeno-Associated Virus). The gene of interest is transferred into the cell to be expressed and produces the functional protein, which will then be shuttled to the mitochondria through specific nucleotidic sequences in order to restore the missing or deficient mitochondrial function. "LUMEVOQ" was accepted as the invented name for GS010 (lenadogene nolparvovec) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in October 2018. About Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON) is a rare maternally inherited mitochondrial genetic disease, characterized by the degeneration of retinal ganglion cells that results in brutal and irreversible vision loss that can lead to legal blindness, and mainly affects adolescents and young adults. LHON is associated with painless, sudden loss of central vision in the 1st eye, with the 2nd eye sequentially impaired. It is a symmetric disease with poor functional visual recovery. 97% of patients have bilateral involvement at less than one year of onset of vision loss, and in 25% of cases, vision loss occurs in both eyes simultaneously. The estimated incidence of LHON is approximately 1,400 to 1,500 new patients who lose their sight every year in the United States and Europe. About RESCUE and REVERSE RESCUE and REVERSE are two separate randomized, double-masked, sham-controlled Phase III trials designed to evaluate the efficacy of a single intravitreal injection of GS010 (rAAV2/2-ND4) in subjects affected by LHON due to the G11778A mutation in the mitochondrial ND4 gene. The primary endpoint will measure the difference in efficacy of GS010 in treated eyes compared to sham-treated eyes based on Best-Corrected Visual Acuity (BCVA), as measured with the ETDRS at 48 weeks post-injection. The patients' LogMAR (Logarithm of the Minimal Angle of Resolution) scores, which are derived from the number of letters patients read on the ETDRS chart, will be used for statistical purposes. Both trials have been adequately powered to evaluate a clinically relevant difference of at least 15 ETDRS letters between treated and untreated eyes adjusted to baseline. The secondary endpoints will involve the application of the primary analysis to best-seeing eyes that received GS010 compared to those receiving sham, and to worse-seeing eyes that received GS010 compared to those that received sham. Additionally, a categorical evaluation with a responder analysis will be evaluated, including the proportion of patients who maintain vision (< ETDRS 15L loss), the proportion of patients who gain 15 ETDRS letters from baseline and the proportion of patients with Snellen acuity of >20/200. Complementary vision metrics will include automated visual fields, optical coherence tomography, and color and contrast sensitivity, in addition to quality of life scales, bio-dissemination and the time course of immune response. Readouts for these endpoints are at 48, 72 and 96 weeks after injection. The trials are conducted in parallel, in 37 subjects for REVERSE and 39 subjects for RESCUE, in 7 centers across the United States, the UK, France, Germany and Italy. Week 96 results were reported in 2019 for both trials, after which patients were transferred to a long-term follow-up study that will last for three years. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: REVERSE: NCT02652780 RESCUE: NCT02652767 About CLIN06 (RESCUE and REVERSE Long-term Follow-up) CLIN06 is the long-term follow-up study of ND4 LHON subjects treated with LUMEVOQ (GS010) gene therapy in the RESCUE or REVERSE Phase III Clinical Trials. The total study period for an individual subject is 3 years, i.e., 5 years post-gene therapy administration. No study treatment is administered during CLIN06. The primary objective isto assess the long-term safety of intravitreal LUMEVOQ administration up to 5 years post-treatment. The secondary objective isto assess the long-term treatment efficacy of the therapy and the quality of life (QoL) in subjects up to 5 years post-treatment. The first subject was enrolled on January 9, 2018. 61 subjects have enrolled. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: CLIN06: NCT03406104 About REALITY REALITY is a multi-country retrospective and cross-sectional observational study of affected LHON subjects, based on subjects' medical charts and the administration of surveys on Health-Related Quality of Life (HRQoL) and direct and indirect costs associated with the disease. The study will recruit at least 50 subjects (both adult and pediatric) chiefly in the following countries: Spain, Italy, France, United Kingdom, and the United States. The primary objectives for the REALITY study are: to describe the evolution of visual functional and structural changes and other associated symptoms in patients with LHON; understand the impact of LHON-related vision loss on the HRQoL; and understand the economic burden for patients and their families arising from direct and indirect costs associated with the disease. The secondary objective is to describe the relationship between genetic, lifestyle and/or environmental factors and the expression of the LHON phenotype. The first subject was enrolled on 3 January 2018, and enrollment was completed in early Q2 2020. ClinicalTrials.gov Identifiers: REALITY LHON Registry: NCT03295071 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005606/en/ Contacts: GenSight Biologics Thomas Gidoin Chief Financial Officer tgidoin@gensight-biologics.com +33 (0)1 76 21 72 20 RooneyPartners Media Relations Marion Janic mjanic@rooneyco.com +1-212-223-4017 LifeSci Advisors Investor Relations Guillaume van Renterghem gvanrenterghem@lifesciadvisors.com +33 (0)6 69 99 37 83 James Palmer Europe Investor Relations j.palmer@orpheonfinance.com +33 7 60 92 77 74 Sushmitha Ramakrishnan By Express News Service CHENNAI: Anna University is conducting an online inspection of institutions before granting approval for affiliation this year. However, the complete list of affiliated colleges is yet to be uploaded on their website, causing worry among engineering aspirants and their parents. The registrations for the Tamil Nadu Engineering Admissions (TNEA) 2020 started on July 15 and over 75,000 candidates have already applied. Students verify if a college is affiliated to Anna University on its website. But there are only eight institutions listed under Chennai district as on Tuesday evening. "My son will be a first generation graduate. He scored 493 out of 600 in the public exams. I told him he should study only in a college affiliated to Anna University," said Mutharasu, father of an engineering aspirant from Thiruvallur district. "My son however does not know which college to apply to. He says he is not sure if the colleges in our area are affiliated to Anna University," he said. Many other students and parents have shared the complaint. Affiliation granted to over 400 colleges for 2020-21: A top official from Anna University told The New Indian Express that the varsity has already granted affiliation to over 400 institutions. "We have completed the inspection for over 90 per cent of the institutions that applied. But about 10 per cent are yet to submit some documents," the official said. The official added that the varsity has not published the list of affiliated colleges on the website yet, fearing that it may lead to legal complications. "Last year, the institutions that were still in the process of submitting documents moved the court when we released the real time update of affiliated institutions. So we are waiting for the process to be completed," the official added. Online inspection: The varsity is completing the process completely online this year. "We are not able to travel to colleges and people are not ready to go. AICTE did it online and we did the same. If there are any concerns, then we may visit the college physically later," said MK Surappa, the Vice Chancellor (VC) of the institutions. T Purushothaman, the Secretary of TNEA, told The New Indian Express that colleges have been given time until August 15 to receive affiliation. "Students will start filling in their choice of colleges in August. Colleges should receive their approval by then. Right now only registration for counselling is happening," he said. Charges Filed Against McCloskeys, St. Louis Couple Who Pointed Guns Toward Protesters Updated at 6:55 p.m. July 20, with the Missouri attorney general filing a request for the court to dismiss the charges and comments from state Rep. Rasheen Aldridge, D-St. Louis St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kim Gardner has filed charges against a St. Louis couple who confronted protesters with guns in June. A bold debate decision that has already resonated across the nation and now threatens to intensify the Missouri culture war . . . Read more: Employment opportunities fell by 62pc across Britain in the three months to June compared to the same quarter last year. Photo: Philip Toscano/PA Wire Job vacancies have dried up in the UK during the Covid-19 crisis, with as many as 80pc fewer positions available in some cities, research suggests. Employment opportunities fell by 62pc across Britain in the three months to June - compared to the same quarter last year - as firms slashed roles and paused hiring plans, according to analysis by jobs site CV-Library. The shortage of vacancies was most acute in Aberdeen, where advertised jobs were down 80pc, Bristol (70pc), Leeds (69pc), Birmingham (68pc) and Glasgow (67pc). Sectors which saw the biggest fall in job adverts included administration, design, sales, recruitment, catering, media, and marketing. Average pay also dropped in sectors hardest hit by the pandemic, down by almost a fifth in leisure and tourism, 9pc in charities and 8pc in catering, the research found. "It's no secret that lockdown measures stunted the UK economy and labour market during this period," said Lee Biggins, chief executive of CV-Library. "As a result, businesses had no choice but to put a pause on their hiring plans and make difficult decisions about their workforce. These figures are pretty bleak and naturally, some industries and locations have been more affected than others, although the market is already showing signs of recovery this month, albeit very slowly." Separately, an engineering firm said it had been "overwhelmed" by an unprecedented 15,000 applications for only 10 jobs. Lontra had advertised for staff to assemble industrial machines in Tyseley, Birmingham, later this year. Steve Smith-Howes, of recruitment agency Glue Resourcing, said he had "never known anything like it in 30 years of recruitment". "This is an unprecedented volume of applications for a job posting even accounting for the recession triggered by Covid-19," he added. The number of paid employees in the UK fell by 649,000 between March and June, official figures showed last week. The Office for National Statistics said vacancies fell to 333,000 between April and June - almost two-thirds lower than in the same period last year and the lowest level since comparable data began in 2001. Senior Congress leader in Uttar Pradesh, Naseemuddin Siddiqui, lost his membership of the state legislative council following his disqualification by the chairman of the council on Tuesday. His removal will be effective from the day he joined the Congress party almost two and a half years ago. The decision comes days after justice PK Jaiswal and justice DK Singh of the Lucknow bench of Allahabad High Court asked the chairman of the UP legislative council to take a decision on the Bahujan Samajwadi Partys (BSP) petition seeking Congress leaders disqualification within 15 days. Former minister in the Mayawati government, Siddiqui was expelled from the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) on charges of anti-party activities on May 10, 2017. After expulsion, Siddiqui floated a new outfit, Rashtriya Bahujan Morcha. Soon after, the BSP moved an application for his disqualification but the petition was rejected and Siddiqui was allowed to stay on as an unattached member in the legislative council. Also Read: Vikas Dubeys alleged financier arrested Later, when Siddiqui joined the Congress in 2018, the leader of BSP in UP legislative council Sunil Kumar Chittor moved another petition for his disqualification on February 22, 2018. After over two years of hearing on Tuesday, Ramesh Yadav, chairman, Uttar Pradesh legislative council, ruled against Siddiqui and disqualified him. In the order, Yadav said, Siddiqui had been disqualified from the membership of council with effect from February 22, 2018, the day he joined the Congress. Also Read: Uttarakhand Congress president and 150 others booked for holding rally violating Covid 19 norms The disqualification has been done in accordance with the paragraph 2 of the tenth schedule of the Constitution, which allows disqualification of a member if he voluntarily gives up membership of the party on whose ticket he was elected to the council, said Yadav. National general secretary of BSP, SC Mishra said Siddiqui was elected to the legislative council on BSP ticket on January 23, 2015. BSP had sent an application to the chairman citing the tenth schedule of the Constitution and UP legislative council members (disqualification on the basis of anti- defection) rules, 1987 for disqualification of Siddiqui from the council, Mishra said. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Slavery and genocide are ancient bedfellows. I first became aware of this fact as a child while watching the opening number of DreamWorkss 1998 film, The Prince of Egypt. In the first five minutes of the movie, enslaved Hebrew men construct monuments to the Pharaoh as their wives beg for their infant sons lives. All, save Moses, are ripped from their mothers arms and tossed into the Nile. Of course, with 21st-century technology, crocodile-infested rivers are no longer needed to get rid of minority children. We have medicine for that. Last week, drone footage, verified by Western intelligence agencies, emerged from Northern China. It showed Uighur Muslims bound and blindfolded, with shaven heads, being loaded onto trains that were likely headed for detention camps. In a BBC interview, British journalist Andrew Marr demanded answers from Liu Xiaoming, the Chinese ambassador to the United Kingdom. Xiaoming accused so-called Western intelligence agencies of making false accusations against China. The population of Xinjiang had doubled in 40 years, he said, which clearly proved that ethnic cleansing and so-called forced abortions had not occurred. Marr, unconvinced, retorted, According to your own local government statistics, the population growth in Uighur jurisdictions in that area has fallen by 84 percent between 2015 and 2018. 84 percent. How can that be so? A recent report by the Associated Press, compiling government statistics, state documents and interviews with 30 ex-detainees, family members and a former detention camp instructor gives an idea. Over the past four years, the Chinese government has spent tens of millions of dollars to violently hijack the functioning reproductive systems of minority women. In 2017, according to official directives uncovered by the Victims of Communism Memorial Foundation, government officials backed by armed law-enforcement officers were instructed to leave no blind spots, contain illegal births and lower fertility rates, test all who need to be tested, and detect and deal with those who violate policies early. Story continues The AP report found that having too many children is a major reason people are sent to detention camps, that parents of three or more [children] are ripped away from their families unless they can pay huge fines, and that police raid homes, terrifying parents as they search for hidden children. The report also contains shocking witness testimony: Tursunay Ziyawudun said she was injected until she stopped having her period, and kicked repeatedly in the lower stomach during interrogations. She now cant have children and often doubles over in pain, bleeding from her womb. Gulbahar Jelilova confirmed that detainees in her camp were forced to abort their children. She also saw a new mother, still leaking breast milk, who did not know what had happened to her infant. And she met doctors and medical students who were detained for helping Uighurs dodge the system and give birth at home. Gulzia Mogdia was also forced to have an abortion when she became pregnant with her third child. Medics inserted an electric vacuum into her womb and sucked her fetus out of her body, after which she was taken home and told to rest, as [officials] planned to take her to a camp. Some survivors recalled being suddenly force-fed birth control pills and injected with fluids. One had to recite her crimes (I gave birth to too many children) whenever officials came near her cell. Another remembered that a pregnant woman in her camps class had suddenly disappeared. In The Prince of Egypt, when Moses demands an explanation, Pharaoh retorts that the victims were only slaves. Since slavery doesnt go down so well any more in the West, the Chinese government justifies its actions as a means of preventing terrorism, which is likewise blatant nonsense. These are victims of the state: innocent women and children, the most vulnerable members of an already vulnerable minority. As for the men, one Uighur, Abdushukur Umar, was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for the crime of having seven children. Umars cousin, who fled China, said that Umar spent all his time taking care of his family, he never took part in any political movements. In the past, Westerners have been too squeamish to issue a full-throated condemnation of Chinas inhumane population policies. During the era of the so-called one-child policy, sex-screening technology meant widespread gendercide, since baby girls were seen as less valuable. The Nobel economist Amartya Sen estimated that the policy resulted in 100 million aborted girls. Where was the feminist outcry then? For that matter, where is the outcry now? Chinas treatment of the Uighurs is reminiscent of the kind of abuse fictionalized in The Handmaids Tale, yet even the AP report is replete with Western euphemisms, such as involuntary birth control and population control. Get into the details and what the Egyptians did to the Israelites almost seems tame by comparison. Men and women of conscience in the West have a duty to call this out for what it is evil. More from National Review This Ford Expedition SUV struck a pregnant woman, who was sitting on a low concrete wall on the sidewalk, after it collided into the back of a car it was racing on North Broad Street, near Diamond, on Monday, police said. The SUV was then stopped by a tree before it could enter a parking lot of a Rite Aid near Broad and Susquehanna Avenue. Read more The driver of a sport utility vehicle, who was racing with another driver on North Broad Street when his SUV struck a pregnant woman, has been charged with third-degree murder of an unborn child and related offenses, police said Tuesday. Yaaseen Bivines, 19, of the 2600 block of North Bambrey Street in North Philadelphia, also was charged with aggravated assault by vehicle while DUI, racing on highways, driving without a valid license and causing an accident involving death, and simple assault, police said. The crash occurred about 4:55 a.m. Monday after Bivines, driving a Ford Expedition and racing with a car driven by a juvenile, hit the back of the car on Broad near Diamond Street, police said. The SUV continued north, spun out of control, jumped a curb, and hit 27-year-old Gina Campbell, who was seven months pregnant, police said. She was sitting on a low concrete wall. Two men who were sitting with her were able to get out of the way, police said. Campbell, who was seriously injured, was taken to Temple University Hospital, where doctors performed a C-section but the child was pronounced dead, police said. In addition to the drivers, police said, there were six passengers in the vehicles. Sgt. Joseph Rossa of the Police Accident Investigation District said Tuesday that the passengers suffered varying degrees of injury. Bivines was being held on $1 million bail. It was not immediately clear if he had an attorney. Patterson Legal Group hosts St. Joseph backpack giveaway. We want to assist our community neighbors offset back-to-school costs and give students tools to make the school year a success." Gary Patterson, Esq. Patterson Legal Group is pleased to announce that their law firm will host a backpack giveaway on Saturday, August 8 at their law office located at 210 N. Belt Highway, Suite A, St. Joseph, MO. 100 backpacks stuffed with school supplies will be handed out from 10:00 a.m. through 12:00 p.m., while supplies last. The law firm decided to host the backpack giveaway as a means to help offset costs associated with preparing for the 2020-2021 school year. The law firm is also hosting two other backpack giveaways. One will be held on Thursday, August 27 in Wichita, KS and the other on Saturday, August 29 in Topeka, KS. Parents with school-age children may find this upcoming school year extra challenging because of financial difficulties related to COVID-19 closures. That is why our team decided to host a backpack giveaway. We wanted to assist our community neighbors to offset back-to-school costs and give students tools to make the school year a success," remarked Managing Partner, Gary Patterson. Social distancing and other precautionary measures will take place to ensure the health and safety of all participants. Those interested in attending are advised to arrive early as supplies are limited and will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis while they last. For more information about the Patterson Legal Group backpack giveaways, please contact Ella Reusser with Patterson Legal Group at (888) 687-2400, or via email at ella@pattersonlegalgroup.com. You can also contact the law firm by sending a direct message through their Facebook page. More About Patterson Legal Group, L.C. Patterson Legal Group is a personal injury law firm with offices located throughout Kansas and Missouri. Founded on the principle of helping injury victims pursue their legal rights, they are not afraid to take on large insurance companies or to hold negligent persons accountable for injuring a client. Their lawyers are champions of consumer rights with a strong track record for helping people suffering from personal injury or disability. Learn more about the specific legal services and community outreach activities of Patterson Legal Group at pattersonlegalgroup.com. You can also connect and socialize with their legal team through the law firms Facebook page (/PattersonLegalGroup/). ### Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez leaving the Capitol on March 27. Win McNamee/Getty Images GOP Rep. Ted Yoho verbally attacked Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez outside the Capitol on Monday after she said crime had risen in New York City because of poverty and unemployment. "You are out of your freaking mind," Yoho said, according to The Hill. He also reportedly called her a "f---ing b----." Ocasio-Cortez called Yoho's attacks "disgusting" and described them as "virulent harassment." She also accused GOP Rep. Roger Williams, who saw the encounter and said he ignored it, of lying about his involvement. "What's wild to me @RogerWilliamsTX is why would you blatantly lie to a reporter who saw this exchange? You were yelling at me too, about 'throwing urine,'" Ocasio-Cortez tweeted. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Republican Rep. Ted Yoho verbally attacked Democratic Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez on the steps of the Capitol on Monday after she said crime had risen in New York City during the pandemic because of poverty and unemployment, The Hill first reported on Tuesday. "You are out of your freaking mind," Yoho, who's retiring from his Florida seat this year after four terms, reportedly told his colleague. The Bronx native called Yoho "rude" before walking into the building to cast a vote, The Hill reported. As Yoho walked away from Ocasio-Cortez and down the Capitol steps with GOP Rep. Roger Williams, he reportedly said, "F---ing b----." Ocasio-Cortez told The Hill she'd never been treated that way by a colleague before. "That kind of confrontation hasn't ever happened to me ever," she said. "I've never had that kind of abrupt, disgusting kind of disrespect levied at me." Williams told The Hill that he'd ignored the conversation and didn't even know what it was about. "I was actually thinking, as I was walking down the stairs, I was thinking about some issues I've got in my district that need to get done," Williams said. "I don't know what their topic was. There's always a topic, isn't there?" Story continues Responding to The Hill's report in a series of tweets on Tuesday morning, Ocasio-Cortez accused Williams of lying about his involvement in the interaction and said she'd never talked with Yoho before Monday. "I never spoke to Rep. Yoho before he decided to accost me on the steps of the nation's Capitol yesterday," she tweeted. "Believe it or not, I usually get along fine w/ my GOP colleagues. We know how to check our legislative sparring at the committee door. But hey, 'b*tches' get stuff done. "Gotta love Republican courage from Rep @RogerWilliamsTX: when he undeniably sees another man engaged in virulent harassment of a young woman, just pretend you never saw it in the most cartoonish manner possible and keep pushing. (He's lying, by the way. He joined in w/ Yoho)," she wrote, adding, "What's wild to me @RogerWilliamsTX is why would you blatantly lie to a reporter who saw this exchange? You were yelling at me too, about 'throwing urine.'" Later Tuesday, Ocasio-Cortez told Yahoo News that Yoho approached and berated her without warning. "Out of nowhere, Yoho comes up to me and puts his finger in my face and flies off in a rage," she said. "He started going off about shootings and bread and nonsense, calling me crazy, shameful, out of my mind, etc." She added that Williams began yelling at her and said something about "throwing urine," but she said she didn't know what he meant by it. She said she told Yoho that "he was being rude and that this was unbelievable" and started walking away. "He said, 'I'M RUDE? You're calling ME rude?!' And I just kept walking to my vote," she said. Ocasio-Cortez said that she heard Yoho "muttering insults" at her as she walked away but that she didn't hear him curse at her. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy told NBC News that he would meet with Yoho on Tuesday to discuss the incident. Read the original article on Business Insider Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - July 21, 2020) - Nicola Mining Inc. (TSX.V: NIM) (FSE: HLI), (the "Company" or "Nicola") is pleased to announce that it has commenced exploration at Treasure Mountain Mine Property (the "Property"), a fully-permitted high-grade silver project located approximately 90 minutes from its Craigmont Mill. The primary objective of the 2020 Program is to complete the 2019 Program[1], which was cut short due to poor weather. The Company plans to collect 530 soil samples over the northeast-southwest magnetic trend which was identified in the aeromagnetic survey flown by Scott Hogg and Associates[2] and subsequently interpreted by SJ Geophysics[3] in 2012. The trend is sub-parallel to the mineralization found within Treasure Mountain Underground Mine workings and is coincident with the Vigo and Cal veins. The 2020 Program aims to extend the MB Zone grid, potentially delineating the full strike length of the soil anomaly coincident with the magnetic trend to develop targets for future exploration by trenching and drilling upon receiving a multi-year exploration permit ("MYAB") on the Property (see Map 1). Map 1: 2020 Treasure Mountain Exploration Program (targets highlighted in green). To view an enhanced version of Map 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/4873/60122_5a88b2a6e4aae84f_001full.jpg In addition to soil sampling, the Company hopes to conduct channel sampling of recently identified silver bearing veins, as well as revisit historically reported exposure of silver bearing veins. About Nicola Mining Nicola Mining Inc. is a junior mining company listed on the TSX Venture Exchange and is in the process of recommencing mill feed processing operations at its 100% owned state-of-the-art mill and tailings facility, located near Merritt, British Columbia. It has already signed four mill profit share agreements with high grade gold producers. It is a fully permitted mill which can process both gold and silver mill feed via gravity and flotation processes. The Company also owns 100% of the New Craigmont Project, a high-grade copper property, and an active gravel pit that is located adjacent to its milling operations. Qualified Person Kevin Wells, P.Geo, a consulting geologist to the Company is the independent qualified person as defined by National Instrument 43-101 - Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects for the technical disclosure contained in this news release. About Treasure Mountain Property Nicola Mining Inc. owns 100% of the Treasure Mountain Property, an approximately 2830 ha silver exploration property consisting of: 51 mineral tenures, comprising 21 legacy claims: 100 cell units, and five crown grants. The Company continues to maintain the option of reopening Level 1 to extract silver-bearing mill feed from Stope 2 and continues to monitor silver prices prior to reconsidering reopening the mine. The Property also has 3 highly prospective targets: MB Zone located approximately 1.5 km north of the historic underground mine workings. JK Vein/Eastern Zone located approximately 1.0 km east of the underground mine workings. Jensen Portal located approximately 100 m west of the Level 3 Portal. Reportedly mined in the 1920's. On behalf of the Board of Directors "Peter Espig" Peter Espig CEO & Director For additional information Contact: Peter Espig Phone: (778) 385-1213 Email: info@nicolamining.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. ____________________ [1] Results of the 2019 were released on January 23 and February 21, 2020. [2] Scott Hogg and Associates is a licensed mining engineering firm headquartered in Toronto, Canada. Website: http://www.shageophysics.com/ [3] SJ Geophysics is a British Columbia based firm that provides multiple services to mining companies, globally. Website: https://www.sjgeophysics.com/consulting/ To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60122 Beverly Hills, CA and Brisbane, AU, July 22, 2020 - (ACN Newswire) - The Scheer Foundation announced today the appointment of Ms. Madeline "Maddy" Cross-Parkin as Director of Music Grants, effective July 14, 2020.Maddy, who was chosen after an international search, is a brilliant pianist currently following a cursus at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia. Maddy will lead the Music Grants allocation of the Foundation, and will develop a strategic plan for the Foundation music initiatives. Maddy will have the ultimate decision in granting assistance to young artists.The Scheer Foundation historically has been operated in the fight against malnutrition but has recently expanded its reach to Arts & Music. The Scheer Foundation is committed to serving the fields of classical music in supporting promising young artists."The world of music is international and does not know borders. Music bring peace and joy around the world and therefore we have decided to dedicate some of our efforts to Music," said Frederic Scheer, Chairman of the Foundation."Maddy is young, a brilliant artist and her energy and dedication will bring joy to a lot of people. I salute her willingness to participate in this new adventure. It is rare to see young people volunteering for helping others, we are privileged and happy to welcome her."About the Scheer FoundationThe Frederic & Jocelyne Scheer Foundation is a US Private Foundation (501-c 3) dedicated to fighting malnutrition and children mortality in Africa and promoting local agricultural and industrial project to build up local and regional employment. The Foundation recently expanded its reach to Arts & Music.Learn more at www.scheerfoundation.info.Contact: info@scheerfoundation.orgor: Maddy@scheerfoundation.orgTel: +1 310 525 9037Source: The Scheer FoundationCopyright 2020 ACN Newswire . All rights reserved. CLP holds meeting as Rajasthan high court's order on rebel Congress MLAs awaits India oi-Ajay Joseph Raj P New Delhi, July 21: The Rajasthan High Court is likely to pronounce its order on Tuesday on a writ petition filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident Congress MLAs, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the state assembly speaker. The petition was taken up by a bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta on Friday and arguments were heard on Monday till evening, but no conclusion was reached. The hearing began at 10:30 am on Tuesday and later, the court directed all parties to submit their written submissions by 2 pm. Rajasthan crisis: HC to continue hearing petitions by Pilot and Co Senior advocate Mukul Rohatgi, appearing for Pilot and the other Congress legislators, concluded arguments for the petitioners. The dissident MLAs had moved the court on Friday amid the infighting in the state unit of the Congress, as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his now sacked deputy Pilot tussled for power. The bench also allowed the application of intervener Public Against Corruption (PAC), an NGO, during the hearing. The NGO had filed the application on Monday. A Congress Legislature Party (CLP) meeting also began on Tuesday at a hotel on the outskirts of Jaipur. Act on plaint against Congress demands Rajasthan BJP Counsel for the speaker Abhishek Singhvi on Monday argued that the petition was premature as a decision was yet to be taken on disqualifying the MLAs from the House. "There is no scope for interference by a court over the show-cause notices issued by the speaker," he had said. "The speaker is supreme as far as the legislative assembly is concerned and the notices have been issued within the purview of the speaker's power," Singhvi had said. He had argued that there was no requirement to record reasons as it was merely a show-cause notice. The notices to the MLAs were served after the party complained to the speaker that the lawmakers had defied a whip to attend two CLP meetings last week on Monday and Tuesday. Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News The provision disqualifies MLAs if they "voluntarily" give up the membership of the party that they represent in the House. Pilot was sacked as the Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the president of the state Congress unit after he rebelled against Gehlot. Gold trading in Manh Hai Gold Firm in Ha Noi. - VNA/VNS Photo Tran Viet On Tuesday, Saigon Gold and Jewelry Company listed each tael of SJC gold at VND50.82 million for buying and VND51.20 million for selling, both up VND300,000 sides from a day before. On the same day, Phu Quy Group and Doji Group rated its buying price at VND50.80 million with a sales price of VND51.05 million. Those prices were up VND200,000 from July 20. Bao Tin Minh Chau Gold Firm in Ha Noi increased rates by VND150,000 per tael to VND50.92million to buy and VND51.12 million to sell compared to Mondays rates. After soaring to its highest since September 2011, global gold prices fell a bit to close at $1,818 per ounce ($2,190 per tael) on the gold exchange Kitco. Bake Off star Candice Brown's heartbroken husband today revealed that their two-year marriage collapsed under the pressures of fame. Speaking for the first time since the couple announced their separation, Liam Macaulay said: 'There is nobody else involved. We have just sadly decided it wasn't working. Liam told MailOnline he struggled to adjust from life as a tree surgeon and being thrust into TV personality Candice's showbiz world after they tied the knot and ran a pub together. Candice Brown wed Liam in a romantic ceremony in France in 2018, before they started to run a pub together in Milton Keynes Liam admitted their relationship came under strain just days after they got engaged when Candice, 35, was seen getting close to Paul Hollywood during the 2017 Pride of Britain awards Liam admitted their relationship came under strain just days after they got engaged when Candice, 35, was seen getting close to Paul Hollywood on a night out. He said he struggled to cope under the intense pressure as he faced claims his new fiancee kissed the 54-year-old divorced Bake Off judge on the lips, despite her insistence that it was a friendly goodbye peck on the cheek. Revealing the trouble it caused their relationship, Liam told MailOnline today: 'I'd not long asked Candice to marry me and I had to read reports that my new fiancee was seen kissing Hollywood and getting close to him. 'That was just a kiss on her cheek and there was nothing else to it. But we had only been engaged a few days. It was a lot to have to deal with.' Yesterday Bake Off star Candice indicated she feels 'hopeless' and 'no good' following reports her marriage had ended. Taking to Twitter on Monday, the TV personality, 35, liked a post by artist and author Charles Mackesy, which encouraged 'holding on' when 'your mind plays tricks on you.' Great British Bake Off winner Candice Brown, pictured leaving her home in Milton Keynes earlier today, announced she had split from husband Liam Macaulay after two years of marriage It read: 'Sometimes your mind plays tricks on you. It can tell you you're no good, that it's all hopeless. 'But remember this; you are loved, and important and you bring to this world things no one else can. So hold on.' Liam confirmed that the pair had called time on their marriage after a series of long talks. He said he has moved out of the flat they shared above the pub they own in Milton Keynes, Bedfordshire, and jetted off on a two-week holiday to Greece. 'There is nobody else involved, he insisted. We have just sadly decided it wasn't working. 'My wife is a lovely woman and a wonderful human being and I could never find anything detrimental to say about her. He continued: 'I am not the famous one, no one is interested in me. I am a tree surgeon from Scotland and I make my own living.' Liam, who proposed to Candice in a supermarket car park where they had spent some of their first date, admitted he was totally unprepared for the sudden media interest in him Liam, who proposed to Candice in a supermarket car park where they had spent some of their first date, admitted he was totally unprepared for the sudden interest in him when the couple tied the knot during a romantic ceremony at Chateau de Varennes in Burgundy, France, in September 2018. He was angered when it was reported that he had served a 16-month jail term for dealing, a year before he met Candice in a bar while he was studying for a degree in April 2012. Police arrested Liam and an accomplice back in 2009 after they were caught with six packs of the class B drug, which was worth around 6,970, while driving his car from Edinburgh to Inverness. But the tree surgeon said the conviction had expired under the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act and should not have been reported on. He said it had only re-surfaced because he married a showbiz star. Candice Brown recently opened up about her mental health issues, revealing she suffers with clinical depression, chronic phobia and PTSD Meanwhile Candice, who won Bake Off in 2016 and appeared on Dancing on Ice two years ago, recently revealed she has depression and has considered self-harm. She said that baking helped her deal with mental health issues, adding 'I suffer with clinical depression, chronic phobia and PTSD. 'It's hard and it's a real battle. People have got no idea what I've had going on in my brain for the past five or six years. 'It's been s*** and it's probably going to be with me forever. When it got really bad baking was what I would do.' Candice opened up to ex-Saturdays star Frankie Bridge on her podcast Open Mind. She said: 'I had not very nice thoughts of how I could get out of it.' The TV star said she takes drugs, goes to group therapy and was supported by husband Liam. Liam says he is worried about Candice's health and the tough times she faces while living in the public spotlight. 'I will always be there for her,' he added. Candice declined to comment today at her pub, which was closed. But her latest Twitter message, perhaps, gave a clue to her mood, as she tweeted: 'Think I'm going to eat a lot of biscuits today.' The Bake Off star first met Liam in the bar where he worked while studying for a degree, back in 2012. After five years of dating, the couple announced their engagement in October 2017, just over a year after she first appeared on Bake Off. SAN FRANCISCO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA), a leading medical genetics company, today announced that it will report its second quarter 2020 financial results on Tuesday, August 4, 2020 and will host a conference call and webcast that day at 4:30 p.m. Eastern / 1:30 p.m. Pacific to discuss its financial results and recent highlights. To register for the conference call and webcast, please use one of the methods below. Upon registering, each participant will be provided with call details and a registrant ID. Reminders will also be sent to registered participants via email. Online registration: http://www.directeventreg.com/registration/event/5882896 Phone registration: (888) 869-1189 or (706) 643-5902 The live webcast of the call and slide deck may be accessed here or by visiting the investors section of the company's website at ir.invitae.com . A replay of the webcast and conference call will be available shortly after the conclusion of the call and will be archived on the company's website. Following prepared remarks, management will respond to questions from analysts, subject to time limitations. We encourage our shareholders and those representing them to send in questions to ir.invitae.com. About Invitae Invitae Corporation (NYSE: NVTA) is a leading medical genetics company, whose mission is to bring comprehensive genetic information into mainstream medicine to improve healthcare for billions of people. Invitae's goal is to aggregate the world's genetic tests into a single service with higher quality, faster turnaround time, and lower prices. For more information, visit the company's website at invitae.com. Contact: Laura D'Angelo [email protected] (628) 213-3369 SOURCE Invitae Corporation Related Links www.invitae.com Words like pioneer, visionary, and empire have all been used by the press to describe Jessica Koslow, the owner of Sqirl in Los Angeless Virgil Village. Koslow opened the restaurant in 2012, serving breakfast and lunch, and the spot quickly became famous for things like rice tossed in sorrel pesto, but especially for its toast, which was thickly spread with ricotta and topped with the jewel-toned house jam. Koslow would be nominated for James Beard Awards, as Best Chef California and for her first cookbook, Everything I Want to Eat: Sqirl and the New California Cooking. At the end of 2019, she opened Onda, a more dinner-oriented restaurant, with Mexican chef Gabriel Camara of Contramar in Mexico City. This summer, her second cookbook, The Sqirl Jam Book, will be released. But the coverage wont be as predictably laudatory. In fact, it will probably stink. One might even say it will have the stench of mold. Thanks to an anonymously run Instagram account called sqirltruth, the world at large has become privy to Sqirls once-hidden practice of not just scraping up to two inches of mold off buckets of house jam that had been prepared in a way eschewing food-safety regulations, but also that staff were forced to work in a prep kitchen kept hidden from the health department where said mold was spread by a fan. However, the mold, while a tantalizing story in and of itself, was only an entry point for workers to let the world know that being an employee of Koslows wasnt as bright and rosy as it had been depicted in the press. One major point that workers have brought up is that there was not enough credit or compensation given to chefs of color who were responsible for some of the creations that made the restaurant famous. Ria Barbosa helped to open Sqirl in 2012 as chef de cuisine, and she stayed on at the restaurant until 2014. She had no job description shed answered a Craigslist ad and hadnt signed an NDA or any documents saying any creations were the property of Sqirl, she says. Yet its many of her house recipes, which she willingly handed over when she left the job, that are present in Koslows first cookbook without attribution. In a statement to Refinery29, Koslow takes issue with the claim that she never gave proper credit to her staff. The hype around Sqirl eventually touched everything about Sqirl. But I never wanted that spotlight all to myself. Every opportunity I got, I shared credit with the Sqirl team: in press, on social media, and by nominating cooks for awards, she says. Javier Ramos, once chef de cuisine, for example, won a Rising Star Chef honor from Starchefs in 2017, and numerous pastry chefs had their work featured in the press. Story continues Koslow also notes that the hype surrounding the restaurant buoyed all of its workers careers. At the same time, she says, that hype, with its drawbacks, served everyone at Sqirl: I had access to serious cooking talent, and those cooks got lots of eyes on their work. And they deserved it all. But, Koslow continues, the truth is that this conversation is a trap when you start talking about who exactly decided on a pesto over a sauce or how exactly did Sqirls way of cooking bacon evolve over time? Anyone who has ever worked in a collaborative kitchen knows that splitting those hairs is a bad faith exercise. And yet, the problems go beyond credit grievances: It was also her management style that some took issue with. Balo Orozco, who worked in catering at Sqirl starting in 2016 and took the chef de cuisine position at Onda last year, says the mold was only the tip of the iceberg there were roaches not taken care of, and the ice machine was placed near the flour storage and would constantly grow mold itself. While these issues were repeatedly brought up to Koslow, nothing was done about them, indicating an attitude of hostile neglect which extended to how she treated staff requests for meetings. Every time someone would ask for a raise, she would just stop talking to you, like being kind of passive aggressive, says Orozco. You didnt have the chance to say, Hey, can we actually keep talking about this? There was no way to have a constructive conversation with her. When he agreed to work at Onda, he asked Koslow whether she would agree to manage the operation differently than she had Sqirl, by not undermining his recipes or his authority over the kitchen. She agreed, but he says he would come back from days off to find the menu radically altered. When Onda opens again after the pandemic, he wont be working there. For Elise Fields, who worked at Sqirl from January 2018 to June 2019 as a baker, there was a lot of disillusionment with ideas shed had about how it would be to work at a woman-run restaurant. She was put in the secret prep kitchen where there was no ventilation, but says that she didnt suffer anything in comparison to the chefs of color whose recipes were not properly credited beyond social media tagging. Personally, in my time there, I never once saw her cook a single thing, says Fields. Im not kidding. Outside of working the [expediting] station on the busy brunch days so all the tourists and influencers could get their photo of her for, you know, quote-unquote working on the line, that was the only time she was ever in the kitchen, and it was just to touch the final plates before they went out. She didnt cook in the kitchen with her chefs. When problems are as pervasive as those at Sqirl, its worth asking: Was any of this known by the people describing Koslow as a pioneer and visionary, with an empire? Whats important to realize, especially in light of the experiences of her former staffers, is that those words arent inherently positive. They connote gentrification, single-mindedness, and control. Restaurants dont run on the perspective and work of one person alone, yet that is often how the media presents them: the brain-children of their chefs, so creative and unique. As chef Kate Telfeyan wrote in The New Republic, this approach creates the toxic celebrity chef, whose workers become servants of not just the chef but of the hype the coverage has created. From Koslow on the West Coast, to Abe Conlon at Chicagos Fat Rice, to Trigg Brown at Brooklyns Win Son, reports of abusive, dismissive, and thieving behavior by chefs and owners make it clear that treating staff poorly is not the exception but the rule in the food service industry. And the media, historically, has only made an already unbalanced and inequitable situation worse. Hype is an added pressure for staff, says Lillian DeVane, a service industry worker and co-host of FOH Pod, a podcast about working in restaurants. Our pride in your work is further diminished by the required worship of the brand, of the message. Its not hospitality; its advertising. You probably make decent money (from a front-of-house perspective, of course); the people you deal with are noticeably worse the better the restaurant you work in; your bosses are probably richer and own multiple places; and you eventually ask yourself why you worked so hard if this is the alleged top. It gets worse the higher you go. If you value your career in hospitality, youll put up with a lot to stay at a good restaurant. Daniela Galarza, a former restaurant pastry chef and staff writer at the Washington Post, tells me that this moment has taught her that when it comes to covering chefs, she should antagonize them before I celebrate them. In a statement, Jessica Koslow responds to the idea that hype and attribution were an issue at the restaurant: Nearly everything at Sqirl evolves in the talented hands of the people who work, and have worked, in our kitchens. And I have always tried to foster that sense of freedom and play and change. But cooks move on, and they take their ideas with them, as they should. I am the constant; I am the only person who has been in the Sqirl kitchen since day one. I dont have a single investor, so I incur 100% of Sqirls risk. Hype or no hype, whoever else may come or go, I am the chef of Sqirl. If any good comes from the visibility of the bucket of moldy jam and the monarchical environment that spurred it, it will be the recognition of the responsibility writers have not to play king- or queen-maker with people who, at the end of the day, are just bosses. Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here? Theres No Money In Working Anymore From The Grateful To Be Here Generation: Sorry Why Keeping Politics Outside Of Work Is Outdated Soundcloud founders launch Berlin-based e-bike subscription startup Founders of the E-bike subscription service Dance pose in this handout photo in Berlin By Douglas Busvine BERLIN (Reuters) - The founders of Berlin music-streaming app Soundcloud are launching an e-bike subscription startup, betting their experience in building a community of enthusiasts will ensure the venture is more sustainable than bike sharing. The idea for the venture, called DANCE, predates the coronavirus but the spread of the pandemic around the world has hastened a shift to getting around cities on two wheels instead of by car or public transport. "We were all excited about transforming cities, the climate impact and the health impact of having more people go to work by bike," said Eric Quidenus-Wahlforss, co-founder and CEO of DANCE, who stepped down from running Soundcloud last year. "Now, the silver lining of the pandemic is that a lot of cities have said: Let's just accelerate our micromobility infrastructure." His partners are fellow Soundcloud founder Alexander Ljung and Christian Springub, co-founder of Jimdo, a website building and hosting company. E-bike sales are booming, especially in Europe, while more than 30% of bikes sold last year in Germany were electric. Cities across Europe have built 930 km of bicycle lanes since March, according to the European Cyclists' Federation. In contrast to bike sharing, which has faced problems with vandalism, theft and abandoned bikes strewn around many cities, the subscription model means riders get an e-bike of their own. "When you dont want your bike any more after several weeks or months, you can just stop the subscription service and someone will come and pick the bike up," said Quidenus-Wahlforss. An invite-only service for Berlin starts this week, with subscriptions priced at 59 euros ($67) a month. That compares to an average e-bike sale price of around 2,300 euros. DANCE plans to go international once it has refined its bike design, smartphone app and operating model. Berlin venture capital fund BlueYard backed its 4.4 million euro seed round, along with a group of entrepreneurs and individual investors, DANCE said. ($1 = 0.8747 euros) (Reporting by Douglas Busvine; Editing by Edwina Gibbs) Thirty-eight years ago, American diplomat James Lilley undertook a sensitive mission in Taipei on behalf of U.S. President Ronald Reagan. On July 14, 1982, the head of the de-facto American embassy conveyed to Taiwanese President Chiang Ching-Kuo what became known as the six assurances that help guide U.S.-Taiwan relations on issues of sovereignty and defense. The assurances, and Lilley's visit to the Taiwanese president's home to deliver them, signaled Washington's commitment to Taiwans security. Reagans message for Taiwan as he negotiated with China was clear: America would not abandon Taiwan even as Washington pursued diplomatic relations with Beijing. The gesture also underscored that the 1979 Taiwan Relations Act, a feat of Congressional leadership on foreign affairs, would remain the cornerstone for robust cooperation between the U.S. and Taiwan. The United States is now navigating a new strategic shift to confront the Chinese Communist Partys growing threat to Americas vital interests, which include the geopolitical makeup of the Indo-Pacific region. Changes are in order, but so too is a measure of continuity in the ongoing project to deepen the bonds between the United States and Taiwan. Specifically, the U.S. Congress should work with the Trump administration in the coming weeks and months to solidify bilateral ties with Taiwan, strengthen Taiwans defense posture, and shore up Taipeis role in shaping an international system conducive to shared American and Taiwanese values and interests. Taiwan today is a democratic success story. It is a valuable American partner, as evidenced in trade and investment ties. Taiwans skillful response to a pandemic that originated in neighboring China, which included donating masks to the United States, has only solidified its position as a model. Taiwans governance, prosperity, and commitment to being a responsible steward of the global order all set it apart as a model. Still, a shadow looms over the island. Chinas unification ambitions, growing aggression in the region, and military provocations have increased pressure. Taiwanese leaders have proven resilient amid this coercive campaign. Yet the CCPs swift assault on Hong Kongs autonomy raises questions about the risks of further escalation targeting Taiwan. It is a critical moment for Congress to stand with Taiwan. Congressional leaders should work together with Secretary of State Mike Pompeo to organize a bipartisan delegation to meet with Taiwanese President Tsai Ing-wen in Taipei. The delegation, consisting of senior civilian and military officials, could extend an invitation for President Tsai to address a joint session of Congress, a step that has already built up momentum in Congress and advances the vision of the 2018 Taiwan Travel Act. Congress should pass the bipartisan, bicameral Taiwan Assurance Act. The legislation would encourage the State Department to approach Taipei much as it would any other diplomatic partner. It would also direct the Defense Department to find ways to cooperate with Taiwanese forces in bilateral and multilateral military training exercises. Congress should continue to advocate that Washington promote Taiwans role in international organizations, as envisioned in the Taiwan Allies International Protection and Enhancement Initiative (TAIPEI) Act, co-authored by Senators Cory Gardner and Chris Coons and led in the House by Representatives Vicente Gonzalez and John Curtis. Congress should also help elevate Taiwans role within Americas partner and alliance network, for example by bringing Taiwan into successful U.S. ventures with key allies and partners beyond the Indo-Pacific region. An existing U.S.-Israel initiative focused on industrial R&D and technology could be a good prototype tailored for Taiwans strengths, especially given promising cooperation between Israel and Taiwan. Congress can also facilitate closer economic and military cooperation with Taiwan. It should reiterate previous calls to start bilateral trade negotiations toward a free trade agreement. On defense issues, the focus should be on action to redress the worsening military balance of power in the Taiwan Straitin order to make an invasion of Taiwan too costly to even consider for the CCP, as the Foundation for Defense of Democracies Bradley Bowman has assessed. Support for arms sales in line with Taipeis defense strategy should remain a priority. As President Reagan rightly asserted in a 1982 memo, [I]t is essential that the quantity and quality of the arms provided [to] Taiwan be conditioned entirely on the threat posed by the [Peoples Republic of China]. Current legislative language by Senator Josh Hawley and Representative Mike Gallagher being considered as part of the defense authorization bill debate would also help ensure that the U.S. military is prepared to prevent China from executing a fait accompli strike to seize Taiwan. Shortly after James Lilley delivered the six assurances to President Chiang in July 1982, President Reagan described the U.S. commitment to Taiwan as a moral obligation that well keep. Nearly four decades later, Americas moral and security-based commitment to Taiwan remains an imperative, and the role of Congress is more important than ever. Maseh Zarif is a director of congressional relations at FDD Action, a Washington, DC-based non-profit and non-partisan organization advocating for effective policies to promote U.S. national security and defend free nations. Follow him on Twitter @masehz. The views expressed are the author's own. Mystery surrounds the death of a California paratrooper who disappeared during a camping trip in North Carolina a week before part of his dismembered body washed up on a beach. Specialist Enrique Roman-Martinez, 21, was camping with fellow paratroopers on an island at Cape Lookout National Seashore over Memorial Day weekend when his companions reported him missing. The case was ruled a homicide the following week after his partial remains were found on the shore. Nearly two months later Roman-Martinez's family are still searching for answers as to what happened to the 21-year-old as several inconsistencies have emerged in the accounts offered by the paratroopers he was with. 'Someone has to know something,' the victim's sister, Griselda Martinez, told the Fayetteville Observer. Scroll down for video Army Specialist Enrique Roman-Martinez, 21, disappeared during a camping trip with fellow soldiers on an island off the coast of North Carolina on May 22. The case was ruled a homicide a week later after part of his body washed up on the beach The soldiers Roman-Martinez was camping with said they last saw him at their campsite at Cape Lookout National Seashore (pictured) on the night of May 22. The soldiers said when they woke up the following morning they found that Roman-Martinez was gone but had left his cellphone, wallet, t-shirt and his glasses behind The map above shows the area where Roman-Martinez was camping when he went missing Roman-Martinez was a native of Chino, California, and served as a human resource specialist in the 82nd Airborne Division's Headquarters Company, 37th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team. His sister Martinez said she immediately knew something was wrong when she learned that her brother was missing and didn't have his glasses with him - which he desperately needed to see. The seven or so other soldiers Roman-Martinez was camping with told investigators that they last saw him just before midnight on May 22, and the next morning they realized that he had vanished without his cellphone, wallet, t-shirt or his glasses. 'For them to say he left his glasses was a huge red flag,' Martinez said. 'My mother and I knew something was wrong.' Roman-Martinez's sister Griselda Martinez (pictured together) said her family is still seeking answers to what happened to her brother nearly two months ago This week a 911 call emerged in which one of the soldiers informed a dispatcher that Roman-Martinez was missing at about 7.30pm on May 23. 'When we woke up, he was not here and we've been looking for him all day,' the unidentified caller said. 'We were trying to find a Park Ranger or their offices, or anything, and so we went all the way to the ferry and found that we needed to dial 911.' But the caller's claims were brought into question after a Cape Lookout National Seashore spokesman, B.G. Horvat, revealed that Park Rangers had actually spoken with the campers earlier that afternoon - but they didn't say anything about Roman-Martinez being missing. Horvat said the Rangers approached the group and asked them to move their vehicles because they were parked too close to the sand dunes. 'The Rangers moved on after hearing the group would comply ... [and] did not make mention to the Rangers at this point that anyone was missing from their group,' Horvat told Army Times. 'You would have to ask members of the group why they didn't report a missing person then.' Roman-Martinez, a native of Chino, California, is pictured with his mother Maria and his niece and nephew last year The 911 caller also told a dispatcher that their group was worried their friend 'might've hurt himself' because he had previously displayed 'suicidal tendencies'. That theory was dismissed as soon as Roman-Martinez's partial remains were recovered and his death was ruled a homicide. Roman-Martinez joined the Army at age 17 and served as a human resource specialist in the 82nd Airborne Division's Headquarters Company, 37th Brigade Engineer Battalion, 2nd Brigade Combat Team Martinez also rejected the suggestion that her brother was suicidal and questioned why his friends didn't act faster if they truly believed he was. 'If you believe your friend has suicidal tendencies, why would you let them walk off in the middle of the night with no belongings?' she questioned in an interview with Army Times. 'Why wouldn't you, first thing in the morning, wake up and freak out ... On top of that, why would you wait all day, until 7.30pm to report him missing?' Army officials confirmed that they are still actively investigating Roman-Martinez's murder but declined to comment on speculation about conflicts in the narrative put forth by his fellow soldiers. Martinez said the officials have not offered the family much information, and that they've been told not to speak publicly about the case. 'They've asked us not to say anything that might impede the investigation or keep them from arresting someone,' she said. Martinez said she believes there are people of interest in the case, but investigators haven't found enough evidence to bring any charges. 'That's the whole problem,' she said. The Army put up a $25,000 reward for 'credible information leading to the apprehension and conviction of' whoever killed Roman-Martinez, but it's unclear if it's produced any useful leads. In the days after Roman-Martinez was reported missing, Martinez and her mother, Maria, flew to North Carolina to visit the campsite where he was last seen. Martinez said she was taken aback when she saw the landscape of the island, which is small and has few trees, making it difficult for someone to get lost Michael Coleman, an Army veteran who served as chaplain for Roman-Martinez, said his 'heart dropped' when learned the soldier was missing. 'My first inclination was, this is not good, this is not something he would do,' Coleman told the Fayetteville Observer. 'I felt like I knew early on that something bad had happened to him.' Coleman said Roman-Martinez was 'like a son to me'. He described how the soldier used to come over to his home for dinner and even went on a camping trip with his family. Now Coleman is getting to know Roman-Martinez's family under tragic circumstances as he tries to help them through the 21-year-old's death. He agreed that someone who was with Roman-Martinez on the island likely knows more than they're saying. 'I think something happened, something went wrong and it went downhill quickly,' Coleman said. 'Something happened to that kid. I don't know what it is, but the truth has to come out. As a nation, we need to do right by this soldier.' Roman-Martinez excelled as a soldier, earning many awards and decorations including the Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the Army Parachutist Badge Martinez said her brother joined the Army when he was 17 as a way to pay for college, and because he thought it would teach him discipline and responsibility. 'We didn't want him to go,' she said. 'He was set on it. He thought it would be good for him.' Roman-Martinez excelled as a soldier, earning many awards and decorations including the Army Good Conduct Medal, National Defense Service Medal, the Global War on Terrorism Service Medal, the Army Service Ribbon and the Army Parachutist Badge. Martinez said her brother's attitude toward the Army appeared to darken in the year before his death. 'He started saying that he didn't want to be there he just wanted to come home,' she said. But she said that he did not sound at all suicidal as they frequently talked about their plans for the future. In the days after Roman-Martinez was reported missing, Martinez and her mother, Maria, flew to North Carolina to visit the campsite where he was last seen. Martinez said she was taken aback when she saw the landscape of the island, which is small and has few trees, making it difficult for someone to get lost. Now Martinez said her family lives in constant pain while they await an explanation on what happened to her brother. 'My mom doesn't sleep,' she said. 'She stays up all night thinking about what might have happened.' Anunt de selectare a participantilor si participantelor la cel de-al doilea curs de instruire din cadrul Programului educational pentru dezvoltarea competentelor lucratorilor de tineret IRGC self-sufficient in production of helicopter parts: Chief commander Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 2:52 PM Iran's Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) has become self-sufficient in the production of helicopter parts and overhauling various types of the aircraft, says the commander-in-chief of the IRGC. Major General Hossein Salami made the remarks while visiting a helicopter maintenance complex of the IRGC's aviation unit on Monday. Explaining about the achievements of the IRGC in the field of helicopter overhaul and maintenance, Salami said, "During recent years, this force has added an aviation unit to its combat chart ... as a result of which the IRGC's Ground Force has taken a long stride with regard to attack helicopters and has boosted its power in this area." Stressing that the IRGC's aviation unit has become self-sufficient in many areas, Salami said, "The modernization of military bases used by this force and its overhaul centers, especially the efforts made to produce various [helicopter] parts by the IRGC aviation unit ... has made us needless of procuring [helicopter] parts from other countries." "Our brothers in the aviation unit [of the IRGC] are self-reliant with regard to training ... as well as with respect to manufacturing of parts and overhauling helicopters. With regard to some helicopters, they are capable of full overhaul of those aircraft," General Salami said. Noting that maintaining security across the country requires a variety of support services, the IRGC's chief commander noted that the IRGC's Ground Force needs helicopter support, because of its offensive defense doctrine. Iran has taken great strides seeking to attain self-sufficiency in producing essential military equipment and defense systems in the face of decades-long sanctions and arms embargoes on the country. The country consequently produces a wide variety of advanced weapons systems and equipment based on its own technological capabilities. Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has called for a further strengthening of the country's defense power to confront threats and avoid any possible outbreak of war. Iran has managed to "paralyze" its enemies, and has developed its own "sophisticated" means of defense in response to the enemy's use of increasingly advanced measures against Iran, the Leader told a group of Iranian Air Force commanders and personnel in Tehran in February. Iran has made major breakthroughs in its defense sector and attained self-sufficiency in producing military equipment and hardware despite facing US sanctions and Western economic pressure. The Islamic Republic says its military power is solely for defensive purposes against enemy threats. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New York State Police block off a road near where the body of Roy Den Hollander was found Monday near Livingston Manor, N.Y. Hollander is suspected of shooting a federal judge's family in New Jersey. (Jim Sabastian / Times Herald-Record) The FBI is investigating whether the slaying of a well-known men's rights attorney in the mountains of San Bernardino County earlier this month is connected to the shooting of a federal judge's son and husband in New Jersey, according to law enforcement sources familiar with the inquiry. Self-described anti-feminist attorney Roy Den Hollander was the prime suspect in the killing of the judge's 20-year-old son and the wounding of the judge's husband Sunday. Den Hollander, who was found dead following the attack, is now the focus of a federal investigation into the July 11 fatal shooting of lawyer Marc Angelucci at his Crestline, Calif., home, according to those sources, who requested anonymity because they are not authorized to discuss the ongoing investigation. In both deadly attacks, the killer posed as a delivery driver, according to a law enforcement source. San Bernardino County sheriff's detectives investigating the killing said Tuesday that the FBI's Newark, N.J., office is now taking the lead on the investigation. A spokesman for the Sheriff's Department on Tuesday referred a reporter to the team handling the attack Sunday at the home of U.S. District Judge Esther Salas in North Brunswick, N.J., where 20-year-old Daniel Anderl was killed and his father, Mark Anderl, was wounded. Salas survived the attack because she was in another part of the house at the time the gunman, dressed in a FedEx-like outfit, came to the door. FBI investigators are examining Den Hollander's travel records and finances in the weeks before the deadly incident Sunday. His body was found in Sullivan County, N.Y., late Sunday. A package addressed to Salas was recovered with Den Hollander, along with another for a New York judge. Den Hollander was known for handling lawsuits challenging what he saw as unfair treatment of men, with some of his work garnering attention that saw him featured on "The Colbert Report" and MSNBC. Story continues It was one of those lawsuits that in 2015 landed Den Hollander in Salas' courtroom. A woman filed suit because she wanted to register with the U.S. Selective Service System for the military draft, which is for men only. Den Hollander, upset at Salas delaying of the case, derided the judge's Latino heritage and complained that she allowed the Department of Justice to file its fourth motion to dismiss the case, suggesting she was trying to keep this case in her court until a weatherman showed her which way the legal winds were blowing. In more than 2,000 pages of his online postings, investigators are examining a reference to Den Hollander previously posing as a FedEx delivery driver, a move that seemingly mirrored Sunday's attack and the one in the mountains of San Bernardino. Den Hollander claimed to have suffered from cancer, but in an ominous declaration warned: The only problem with a life lived too long under Feminazi rule is that a man ends up with so many enemies he cant even the score with all of them. But law school and the media taught me how to prioritize, he wrote. Others had already felt Den Hollander's wrath, including the National Coalition for Men, where Angelucci had been a star legal player for two decades. Harry Crouch, president of the group, told the Associated Press that Angelucci had previously received death threats but didnt discuss them in detail. He said Den Hollander had been furious that he had not been involved in a federal Selective Service System case that he filed with Angelucci. Angelucci, a UC Berkeley- and UCLA-educated lawyer who won landmark cases and was honored by the Southern Poverty Law Center, was found shortly after 4 p.m. on July 12 at his home in Cedar Pines Park in Crestline. Someone nearby reported hearing shots fired. Deputies found the attorney "unresponsive and suffering from apparent gunshot wounds." Angelucci was pronounced deceased at the scene. Angelucci was the vice president and board member of the National Coalition for Men and the founder of the group's Los Angeles chapter, where he served as president for several years. Marc Angelucci compiled a truly legendary set of legal achievements, including recently winning an equal protection case against the Selective Service Administration overturning male-only draft registration, said a statement from the National Coalition for Men. Michael Conzachi, a private investigator who worked with Angelucci on cases and is a retired homicide detective, said he was interviewed July 14 by San Bernardino County investigators. "Marc was an exceptionally qualified, dedicated attorney with an outstanding reputation. ... Most of what he did was pro bono as a civil rights lawyer," Conzachi said. At the time of his killing, Angelucci was co-counsel on a high-profile case in Mariposa County. The case involved a rape allegation against a man, which was subsequently dropped. But authorities had seized a large ranch of the accused. Angelucci's co-counsel Ronda Kennedy tweeted about his killing: "My co-counsel on two cases Marc Angelucci was murdered last night. Just did an interview with detectives. If you have any information please contact the San Bernardino detectives." While authorities investigate connections among Angelucci, Den Hollander and Salas, they share a legal battle over the military use of selective service and a requirement that only men be required to register once they turn 18. Salas heard a case beginning in 2015 in which Den Hollander challenged that requirement but was replaced as the lawyer in 2018 after becoming ill. Angelucci represented a Texas man, with the support of the National Coalition for Men, fighting the constitutionality of the men-only requirement. In February 2019, Angelucci garnered the national legal spotlight when a judge declared that exempting women from that registration requirement violates the Constitution's equal protection principles. The judge, however, did not order the government to include women in the registration requirement. San Francisco Mayor London Breed unveiled a plan on Tuesday that attempts to chart the citys course for addressing homelessness over the next two years, a proposal shaped in large part by the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Breeds Homelessness Recovery Plan seeks to find shelter or housing accommodations for 6,000 homeless people, a figure that includes 4,500 placements in permanent supportive housing. An estimated 1,500 of those will be new units a figure the mayors office said represents the biggest increase in permanent supportive housing in the last two decades. The city will lease 1,000 of those units in the 2020-2021 fiscal year. San Francisco currently oversees a stock of around 8,000 units of permanent supportive housing. Starting this year, officials will begin moving homeless people now sheltering in city-leased hotels into permanent supportive housing units. The costs of Breeds program will be included as part of the balanced budget she must submit to the Board of Supervisors by August 1, one that is being crafted to close a nearly $2 billion shortfall brought on by the pandemic. Breed will be relying on a combination of general fund dollars, money from the federal and state governments, and philanthropic contributions to see her plan through. Even in the midst of this historic budget crisis, we can still do our part to move forward solutions, while still advocating for more support from the federal and state government, Breed said in a statement. We know housing is the solution to homelessness, and by expanding access to housing, we can help people get more stable and also create more opportunities to help people off our streets and into our system of care. City officials were forced to severely restrict the number of people that could stay in San Francisco shelters during the pandemic, since the virus can spread easily in tight quarters with people living close together. The city plans to gradually reopen about 1,000 shelter beds that are closed, assuming the pandemic begins to recede. Breeds plan assumes the citys sanctioned tent encampments one accommodation San Francisco has created in light of the shortage of shelter beds will wind down starting next year and fully close by 2022. A long-planned, 200-bed Navigation Center in the Bayview at 1925 Evans St. is slated to open in January 2021. And this fall, the city plans to open a Navigation Center for young people ages 18 to 24 at 888 Post Street. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The plan relies in part on voters passing a sweeping business-tax reform effort on the November ballot, which would unlock unspent revenues intended to be spent on homelessness that are tied up by ongoing litigation. Voters passed Proposition C in 2018 to tax the biggest businesses in San Francisco and use the revenues to pay for permanent supportive housing and other homelessness services. But the measure has been tied up in the courts following a legal challenge over the voter threshold the city used to pass it. Breed opposed Prop. C in 2018, but is now relying on the proceeds of the measure to fund about $172 million of her homelessness plan over the next two fiscal years. The Board of Supervisors will deliberate over and adjust the citys two-year budget starting in August. Breed must sign a final version no later than October 1. Dominic Fracassa is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: dfracassa@sfchronicle.com Twitter The Delhi governments education department on Tuesday extended its counselling services to all residents of Delhi. The department has been providing educational and psychological counselling services to students through its YUVA Helpline since 2006. In a bid to help citizens with mental health amid the Covid-19 pandemic which has limited peoples physical movement and caused several damages in the employment sector, the Delhi government has taken this decision. All residents of Delhi, especially students who seek support on educational/emotional/psychological/personal issuescan call these toll-free numbers 1800116888 or 10580 to get assistance, the government said in a statement. The numbers will be operational on all working days between 7.30am and 8.30pm. Residents of Delhi can avail the service and their identities will be kept confidential. All residents of Delhi, especially studentswho seek support on educational/emotional/psychological/personal issues like guidance in the selection of stream (arts/science/commerce/vocational etc), career information, busting myths related to body image, relationship issues, coping up with parental and peer pressure, sexual harassment, substance abuse, undue stress, fear anxiety etcmay call any of these toll-free numbers, the government said. Two 17-year-old Italian teenagers allegedly paid Bitcoin to watch children be tortured, sexually abused and murdered on live stream. The teenagers, a boy, and a girl are the latest ones to be arrested as part of "Operation Delirio" in Italy. Operation Delirio The operation was launched in October 2019, and according to authorities, 19 out of the 25 people arrested are under 18 years of age. Il Messaggero reported that the searches on computer equipment that belonged to the two teens from Piedmont showed evidence that the two were using Bitcoin to watch live torture of almost any kind, and the said torture always ends with the death of the child. However, cryptocurrency can legally be purchased or exchanged from italian robot bitcoin system. Investigators believe that the gruesome videos were shot in South East Asia, although they did not specify which country. The services offered by the "Red Room" sites have different costs. To watch pre-recorded videos, the users will pay less, but if the user wants to witness live torture and murder of a child, it would cost much more. Viewers of the live stream can also interact with the torturers, and they can make requests for free. Also Read: Mother Kneels on Son's Neck to Kill Him 'George Floyd' Style According to the publication, live requests are expensive and it ensures high profits for foreign organizations that carry out the gruesome acts to children. The authorities confiscated personal computers, cell phones, USB sticks, tablets, and external memories that belonged to the two teenagers. The police searched through the communication between the two, and they discovered a detailed and disturbing description of their time on the deep web. In the texts, cops said that the boy told his friend about the Red Rooms. He also talked about the videos of murders, executions, sexual acts on animals, dismemberments, castrations, organ removals, and child pornography, and bragged about how he can view all of them. The two teenagers shared images as well. The said images were seized by the police and it included pornographic videos made by children themselves, videos of adults sexually assaulting children as young as 2-years-old and gory videos that involved Nazi symbology. Operation Delirio has made arrests across 13 regions in Italy since its launch last year. But unfortunately, it has not been able to shut down the dark websites. The two teenagers are now facing charges relating to the distribution of child pornography. The Dark Web The dark web is a part of the internet that can't be searched by using the usual search engines. It is known as the side of the internet where criminal activities happen. Researchers Thomas Rid and Daniel Moore of King's College in London were able to classify the contents of the live dark websites, which are 2,723 all in all. The classification of the dark websites was done in five weeks back in 2015, and Rid and Moore found out that 57% of the websites host illicit material. In 2019, a study named Into the Web of Profit, done by Dr. Michael McGuires at the University of Surrey, showed that the dark web has become worse. Since 2016, the number of dark web listings has increased by 20%. The dark web offers different illegal activities. You can purchase credit card numbers, guns, drugs, stolen subscription credentials, counterfeit money, hacked Netflix accounts, and software that can help you break into the computers of other people. What really worried the authorities is the human trafficking that happens in the dark web and other inhuman acts. People can hire assassins, watch child pornography, watch people getting tortured, murdered, and other gruesome acts. Related Article: Dark Web Investigation Finds 15 Billion Credentials Being Put On Sale @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. WASHINGTON - Judy Shelton, an economist known for her criticism of the Federal Reserve, is poised to take a big step toward joining the central bank's board, adding a new layer of political tension as policymakers deal with the biggest economic crisis in decades. The Senate Banking Committee is set to vote Tuesday on Shelton's nomination, which appeared in jeopardy after several Republicans on the panel suggested Shelton's views made her too much of an outlier for a seat on the Fed's board of governors. Lawmakers and economists have raised concerns about Shelton's push to return the country to the gold standard, along with her views that the Fed should pull back its powers and keep closer ties to the White House. Opposition from just one Republican on the committee would have been enough to derail Shelton's nomination. After Shelton's confirmation hearing in February, her nomination looked like it was in trouble. Sen. Pat Toomey, R-Pa., said he was unsure whether Shelton could uphold the central bank's independence. Sen. Richard Shelby, R-Ala., said Shelton "could be an outlier" for the role. Both lawmakers have since said that they will vote to confirm her. "I will not be the one to kill her nomination," Shelby said in March. "I try to help the administration. I have some misgivings about her, I raised them in the Banking Committee. But if the other Republicans want her, I'd vote to confirm her." On Monday evening, a spokesperson for Sen. John Neely Kennedy, R-La., another senator who had concerns about Shelton, said the lawmaker would also support Shelton's nomination, essentially guaranteeing full support among the 13 Republicans on the committee. All 12 Democrats on the Senate Banking Committee staunchly opposed Shelton's nomination from the start. Earlier this month, Democratic committee members called for another hearing so Shelton could be pressed on the current economic crisis and how she would respond. "We are now in an economic crisis worse than the one Dr. Shelton was asked about at her confirmation hearing," the senators wrote to Committee Chairman Mike Crapo, R-Idaho, after a vote date was announced. "Based on her answers at the hearing, we are deeply concerned that the situation we are in today would have been worse if Dr. Shelton were already sitting on the Board of Governors." In addition to criticizing the Fed for having too much power, Shelton has maintained that the country should link the U.S. dollar to gold, silver or some other benchmark so its value fluctuates less. The gold standard was abandoned by American economists and policymakers decades ago. Shelton has also advocated closer connections between the central bank and the White House, despite the fact that the Fed stakes much of its reputation on being politically independent. Shelton was an adviser to Trump's 2016 presidential bid and has advocated that the Fed's power over the economy needs to be reined in. Shelton's views have raised particular concerns among lawmakers and economists who say Trump has exerted extreme public pressure on the Fed in a way that undermines the central bank's authority. Before the current crisis, Trump routinely criticized Fed Chair Jerome Powell for not doing what the president thought was enough to stimulate the economy. More recently, Trump dubbed Powell his "most improved player." The Fed's ability to steer clear of the political fray has proved especially tricky during the current crisis. From mask wearing to state reopenings, the country's public health and economic response to the pandemic have become intertwined with partisan fanfare. Shelton's nomination would add another layer of political tension to the Fed's efforts to steer the economy toward recovery. The Fed board has been operating with two empty seats since several of President Trump's previous picks, including businessman Herman Cain and conservative economist Stephen Moore, failed to rally enough support and withdrew over a series of personal incidents. On Tuesday, the Senate Banking Committee also will vote on the nomination of Christopher Waller, a St. Louis Fed economist. Waller's nomination has been far less controversial. If approved by the Senate, Shelton would fill one slot on the Fed's seven-seat board. But there is wide speculation that if Trump were reelected in November, he would decide against renominating Powell as chair when his term expires in 2022. If Shelton were to replace Powell, her critics say she could harness much more power over the country's economy. David Wilcox, former director of the Fed's Division of Research and Statistics, said he worried that Shelton's skepticism of the importance of the Fed as an independent body would cause her to view a board seat as "an integrated part of the president's economic apparatus." "With a more senior position would come a much wider capacity for inflicting damage on the institution, and more importantly, on the functioning of the American economy and financial system," Wilcox said. Still, some describe Shelton's views as healthy dose of balance at the Fed. Moore, an economic adviser to the White House whose nomination was criticized over his past writings and comments against women and gender equity, said Shelton's nomination should never have become so politicized. "Judy is certainly well qualified," Moore told The Washington Post. "It's healthy to have someone with Judy's philosophical orientation on the Fed. Whether you agree with her or not, the important thing is to have a variety of opinions. You need people to question what the chairman is doing." - - - The Washington Post's Heather Long contributed to this report. The attorney general has denied that she offered a legal view by tweeting her support for Dominic Cummings while he was under police investigation. Suella Braverman faced calls to resign after the prime ministers chief adviser was found to have broken coronavirus laws with his trip to Barnard Castle. While the investigation was ongoing on 23 May, she responded to a Downing Street statement saying Mr Cummings believes he behaved reasonably and legally. Protecting ones family is what any good parent does, the attorney general wrote. The @10DowningStreet statement clarifies the situation and it is wholly inappropriate to politicise it. Ms Braverman said she did not regret the tweet while being questioned during her first appearance before the Justice Committee on Tuesday. I think its clear for anyone to see that I didnt offer any legal view, she told MPs. I dont think a tweet of some 10 words can really be described as a legal opinion. The attorney general refused to confirm or deny reports that she told cabinet that Mr Cummings had not broken the law and objected to claims that she had undermined the integrity of her office. Ms Braverman, who was appointed by Boris Johnson in February, is the governments chief legal adviser and oversees the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS). Labour MP Maria Eagle said she had voiced support for someone accused of being a law breaker, in the middle of a police investigation, seemingly for political reasons at the behest it seems of Tory whips as other MPs and ministers sent supportive tweets. Ms Braverman denied that the post amounted to political interference in the criminal justice process, saying she took the independence of the police and CPS extremely seriously. Theres no question of my having interfered with or influenced any decision made by the CPS or the police on that matter, she told MPs. The most puzzling moments from the Dominic Cummings press conference I dont regret tweeting in the way I did and it was a welcoming of the clarification in what was a needless politicisation of an issue. Durham Constabulary said that Mr Cummings would have been ordered home and potentially fined under the Health Protection Regulations if he was stopped on his Easter Sunday excursion to Barnard Castle, although his initial journey from London to County Durham was not considered a violation. Officers said they would not be taking retrospective action against Mr Cummings. He drove from London to County Durham with his wife and son on 27 March, when lockdown restrictions made it illegal to be outside without reasonable excuse. After the journey was revealed by the press, Mr Cummings said they had stayed at a cottage on his parents farm and that relatives had offered to look after his four-year-old son after the couple developed coronavirus symptoms. At the time, the Health Protection Regulations made it legal to leave home in order to access critical public services, including childcare but in June, the law was reworded to exclude relatives. The law has been updated several times, with rules diverging in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland as restrictions eased. Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings Show all 11 1 /11 Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings The TImes Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings Daily Mirror Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings Daily Express Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings The Independent Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings Daily Mail Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings The Guardian Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings The Daily Telegraph Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings Financial Times Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings i Newspapers react after Johnson stands by Cummings The Sun Police were caught unawares by the governments announcement that it would be illegal not to wear a mask in shops from 24 July, and have warned that the expanding range of laws are becoming difficult to enforce. Ms Eagle questioned why the government continued to change the Health Protection Regulations using statutory instruments, saying it left parliament scrutinising laws that had already been replaced. Ms Braverman said the law was changed in response to changing scientific advice and decisions at a political level, adding: Its not necessarily the most convenient way of doing things but it is the reality of the situation. Gaps between government guidance, which is not enforceable by the police, and the law has been blamed for a string of scandals and miscarriages of justice. Recommended More than 100 people wrongly prosecuted for breaking coronavirus laws More than 100 people have so far been wrongly prosecuted under coronavirus laws, and an unknown number incorrectly fined, but Ms Braverman insisted mistakes were relatively few in number. All 89 charges brought under the Coronavirus Act 2020 have been overturned but the government has refused to scrap the law. Another 26 charges under the separate Health Protection Regulations, which enforce lockdown restrictions, were found to be unlawful by the CPS and it warned that more cases are going through the system. Ms Braverman said police had been given sufficient guidance and refuted suggestions of widespread confusion over rapidly-changing rules. I think the public information campaign in various media has been very effective at informing people, she told MPs. Yes of course, there will be (those) who have questions, there will obviously be some concerns, but on the whole the guidance has been pretty clear. Since the start of the UKs lockdown in March, a pre-existing backlog of court cases has rocketed to more than half a million. Ms Braverman said the government was not currently planning to limit the right to jury trial in order to speed up proceedings a measure supported by the Lord Chief Justice. There are a lot of options on the table but I think it is clear that the right to trial by jury is not going to be compromised, she added. The government is to open 10 temporary Nightingale courts in non-judicial buildings to increase capacity amid social distancing requirements, but MPs said 300 courts had been closed in the past decade. Ms Braverman said the government was enabling digital hearings and investing in updates to court buildings, adding: I think (Nightingale courts) are a big step forward in terms of increasing court capacity as we deal with the backlog going forward, and theres been a lot of progress that has been made to ensure cases can flow through the system despite the Covid prevention measures. Rating Action: Moody's downgrades Nippon Yusen's corporate family rating to Ba2; outlook stable Global Credit Research - 21 Jul 2020 Tokyo, July 21, 2020 -- Moody's Japan K.K. has downgraded the corporate family rating of Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) to Ba2 from Ba1 and changed the outlook to stable from negative. RATINGS RATIONALE "The downgrade of Nippon Yusen's corporate family rating reflects our expectations that its leverage will remain very high," says Mariko Semetko, a Moody's Vice President and Senior Credit Officer. Moody's expects that NYK's debt / EBITDA will approach 9x this year on very weak earnings, a significant increase from 7.3x for the fiscal year ended March 2020. Retained cash flow to net debt will also likely decline this year to about 10% from 12% last year. NYK's credit quality was weakly positioned prior to the coronavirus pandemic to absorb the expected decline in profits from the negative impact on global trade from the outbreak. The company's profit mix, which has a sizable low-margin logistics business, keeps its profitability much weaker than those of similarly rated peers, and Moody's expects material deleveraging will take several years. Although medium-to-long term contracts for dry bulk shipping, liquid tankers, LNG and offshore businesses generate relatively stable profit, the remaining profit from short term contracts swings widely from volatile shipping volumes and freight rates. The shipping sector is showing some signs of recovery from capacity reductions to be in line with lower demand for container shipping and a return of Chinese economic activity which will lead to demand for dry bulk shipping. However, these drivers of recovery may be disrupted or delayed, if the pandemic continues to delay reopening of economic activity and a second wave of the outbreak spreads. NYK's Ba2 rating reflects (1) the company's weak financial profile, including its very high leverage, (2) the uncertainty in its earnings and cash flow because of the impact of coronavirus outbreak, and (3) the continued industrywide overcapacity and volatile freight rates. At the same time, these factors are somewhat offset by the company's (1) strong banking relationships that mitigate refinancing risk, (2) large scale and diversified shipping portfolio, and (3) financing flexibility afforded by its unencumbered balance sheet. Story continues Environmental, social and governance considerations incorporated into today's action are primarily related to the social risks caused by the coronavirus outbreak and the ensuing deterioration in the global economic outlook and trade activity. FACTORS THAT COULD LEAD TO AN UPGRADE OR DOWNGRADE OF THE RATING The stable outlook reflects Moody's expectations that the company's earnings will recover gradually as the pandemic dissipates and economic activities return, although the recovery could take several years. An upgrade is unlikely in the foreseeable future. Longer term, Moody's could upgrade the rating if the company materially reduces its debt, improves earnings, and reduces its market exposure, which would be enough to ensure that (1) its debt/EBITDA is sustained below 7.0x and (2) its retained cash flow/net debt remains above 13%. Moody's could downgrade the rating if NYK does not show a clear path toward improving its credit metrics, for example, if its (1) debt/EBITDA stays above 8.0x or (2) retained cash flow/net debt is sustained in the high single digits in percentage terms for a prolonged period . The principal methodology used in this rating was Shipping Industry (Japanese) published in January 2018 and available at http://www.moodys.com/viewresearchdoc.aspx?docid=PBC_1101129. Alternatively, please see the Rating Methodologies page on www.moodys.com for a copy of this methodology. Headquartered in Tokyo, Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha is one of the world's largest shipping companies by fleet size. REGULATORY DISCLOSURES For further specification of Moody's key rating assumptions and sensitivity analysis, see the sections Methodology Assumptions and Sensitivity to Assumptions in the disclosure form. Moody's Rating Symbols and Definitions can be found at: https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_79004. For ratings issued on a program, series, category/class of debt or security this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to each rating of a subsequently issued bond or note of the same series, category/class of debt, security or pursuant to a program for which the ratings are derived exclusively from existing ratings in accordance with Moody's rating practices. For ratings issued on a support provider, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the credit rating action on the support provider and in relation to each particular credit rating action for securities that derive their credit ratings from the support provider's credit rating. For provisional ratings, this announcement provides certain regulatory disclosures in relation to the provisional rating assigned, and in relation to a definitive rating that may be assigned subsequent to the final issuance of the debt, in each case where the transaction structure and terms have not changed prior to the assignment of the definitive rating in a manner that would have affected the rating. For further information please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page for the respective issuer on www.moodys.com. For any affected securities or rated entities receiving direct credit support from the primary entity(ies) of this credit rating action, and whose ratings may change as a result of this credit rating action, the associated regulatory disclosures will be those of the guarantor entity. Exceptions to this approach exist for the following disclosures, if applicable to jurisdiction: Ancillary Services, Disclosure to rated entity, Disclosure from rated entity. The rating has been disclosed to the rated entity or its designated agent (s) and issued with no amendment resulting from that disclosure. This rating is solicited. Please refer to Moody's Policy for Designating and Assigning Unsolicited Credit Ratings available on its website www.moodys.com. Regulatory disclosures contained in this press release apply to the credit rating and, if applicable, the related rating outlook or rating review. Moody's general principles for assessing environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks in our credit analysis can be found at https://www.moodys.com/researchdocumentcontentpage.aspx?docid=PBC_1133569. At least one ESG consideration was material to the credit rating action(s) announced and described above. The Global Scale Credit Rating on this Credit Rating Announcement was issued by one of Moody's affiliates outside the EU and is endorsed by Moody's Deutschland GmbH, An der Welle 5, Frankfurt am Main 60322, Germany, in accordance with Art.4 paragraph 3 of the Regulation (EC) No 1060/2009 on Credit Rating Agencies. Further information on the EU endorsement status and on the Moody's office that issued the credit rating is available on www.moodys.com. Please see www.moodys.com for any updates on changes to the lead rating analyst and to the Moody's legal entity that has issued the rating. Please see the ratings tab on the issuer/entity page on www.moodys.com for additional regulatory disclosures for each credit rating. Mariko Semetko VP - Senior Credit Officer Corporate Finance Group Moody's Japan K.K. Atago Green Hills Mori Tower 20fl 2-5-1 Atago, Minato-ku Tokyo 105-6220 Japan JOURNALISTS: 81 3 5408 4110 Client Service: 81 3 5408 4100 Mihoko Manabe Associate Managing Director Corporate Finance Group JOURNALISTS: 81 3 5408 4110 Client Service: 81 3 5408 4100 Releasing Office: Moody's Japan K.K. Atago Green Hills Mori Tower 20fl 2-5-1 Atago, Minato-ku Tokyo 105-6220 Japan JOURNALISTS: 81 3 5408 4110 Client Service: 81 3 5408 4100 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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Photo Credit: Getty/Rawpixel One of the best men Ive ever knownmy beloved former student, pastor John Powell was killed last night, hit by an eighteen-wheeler while rescuing some stranded motorists on the highway. Would you help me right now? His young wife, Katherine, and their small children need us. Would you give to this GoFundMe page, anything you can? Link: https://www.gofundme.com/f/john-powell-memorial-fund?fbclid=IwAR2hZnFWX5XRnoPkJORKX84ggmgvk5DfamRwHQ0VU4ciu27RnHORdRXVVfQ Here are some thoughts I posted about John on Facebook earlier today: I am just shocked and shaken and grieving this morning, beyond what I can say. My former student John Powell was killed last night, hit by an eighteen-wheeler while helping stranded motorists off of a highway. John leaves behind his precious wife Katherine and their small children, as well as the church he pastored. I just dont know what to say. John was one of the best men I ever knewsweet-tempered, humble, absolutely devoted to Jesus, and to Katherine and their kids. He was everything I would want any of my sons to be when they grow up. John was in my Sunday School class, our mens Bible study, and in my theology, ethics, and preaching classes at Southern. At every Sunday School fellowship, he was the first one setting everything up. When anyone was in need, he was the first one there. He was at our house Thanksgiving, his first semester at Southern, telling us about Katherine, how much he loved her, how he wanted nothing more than to marry her. It was obvious that this was the love of his life. I said, Well, why dont you? He smiled, got up from the table, drove to Missouri right then, and proposed. Everything was wrapped up in that smile. In the years since, Ive watched John excel in the pastorate, and, more importantly, continue to be the man, the husband, the father that he was. I was incredibly proud of him. I cant wait to see him again. And right now Im just crushed. Please pray for the Powells. We love you John. Were proud of you. Russell Moore is president of the Ethics & Religious Liberty Commission of the Southern Baptist Convention. The ERLC is the moral and public policy entity of the nations largest Protestant denomination. When asked during Monday afternoons Rules Committee hearing about the lack of prior notification to the council, Cherokee Nation Attorney General Sara Hill said the people involved in drafting the framework were bound by a nondisclosure agreement while both McGirt v. Oklahoma and a related case, Sharp v. Murphy, were pending before the U.S. Supreme Court. The only way these conversations could have happened was under a strict nondisclosure agreement, she said. There was no way to have these conversations before the McGirt ruling. They (the other parties) would not have engaged in those discussions if I was regularly reporting out to a public body. Leaders with the Muscogee (Creek) and Seminole nations announced Friday that their respective tribes were not on board with the proposed agreement due to their concern that it had ceded tribal sovereignty to the state, a concern also shared by some of the protesters Monday. If you ask Cherokees at large and across the counties, we wouldnt have agreed with it (the agreement), Cherokee Nation citizen Ashley Dawn Anderson said. Its like youre giving away your political bargaining chip to work with the state when they never work with us. Fascist people like to use the word to describe any politician they dont like on both sides of the aisle. Now it might seem like an exaggeration to call Trump a fascist. I mean, hes not calling for a genocide or imprisoning his own people without due process. But I want you to reflect for a moment on his words, on his political tactics on his rhetoric, if you will. Ive devoted the last decade of my life to studying fascist propaganda. And if you use history and philosophy as a guide, its easy to see parallels between Trumps words and those of the most reviled fascists in history. That scares me. And it should scare you, too. [music] Weve flirted with fascism before. They wore Hitlers uniforms, but they wrapped themselves in the American flag. But how are we seeing these images echoed in 21st-century America? Build that wall! Well, the formula for fascism is surprisingly simple. And it gets repeated a lot. Italy and Germany, of course, but fascist movements are on the rise today in India, Myanmar, Hungary, Turkey, and right here in the United States. No matter where they come from, fascist politicians everywhere are cut from the same cloth. Fascism first takes root when politicians conjure up a faith in a mythic past a past supposedly destroyed by liberals, feminists and immigrants. For Mussolini, it was the Roman Empire. For Erdogan in Turkey, its the Ottomans. Hungarys Viktor Orban rewrote the Constitution with the goal of making Hungary great again a line that sounded great to someone. Did you ever hear this before? Make America great again. [cheering and applause] Fascists create an overwhelming sense of nostalgia for a past that is racially pure, traditional and patriarchal. From Mussolini to Hitler to Erdogan, fascist leaders position themselves as father figures and strongmen. I want to thank you for getting this country moving. I cant thank you enough for the privilege that youve given me. Greatest privilege of my life. As long as he and yes, its always a he remains in power, everything is possible. Without him the whole system collapses. Ill tell you what. If I ever got impeached, I think the market would crash. I think everybody would be very poor. Once youve got your mythic past, you need the next ingredient. Division, whether its between Germans and Jews, Hindus and Muslims, citizens and foreigners, whites and blacks, fascists succeed by turning groups against each other. The Nazis said Jews had no value because they supposedly did no mental or physical work. In Myanmar, the Rohingya have been denounced as rapists and criminals, a line which will sound familiar to many Mexicans. Theyre bringing drugs. Theyre bringing crime. Theyre rapists. And some, I assume, are good people. When you divide, its easier to control. Once fascism has taken root, it spreads through propaganda and, in particular, a kind of anti-intellectualism. They can make anything bad, because they are the fake, fake, disgusting news. Fascists attack the truth because truth is central to a free democracy. Its somebodys version of the truth, not the truth. Truth is truth. I dont mean to go No, it isnt truth! Truth isnt truth! This environment creates a Petri dish for conspiracy theories. Have you seen this symbol at a Trump rally recently? Its a sign for a popular online conspiracy theory that the deep state is working to bring down Trump. Its not a million miles away from Viktor Orbans wild campaigns against a global Jewish conspiracy. With the truth under attack and lies running wild, no one can agree on whats true anymore. And fascists love it when that happens. You might think Im trying to frighten you by making these parallels. And do you know what? I am. My parents survived the Holocaust. And my grandmother, in her memoir, wrote about how Jews in Germany didnt see the Nazi threat until it was too late. In 1937, we were still able to leave the country, she wrote. We could still live in our homes. We could still worship in our temples. We were in a ghetto. But the majority of our people were still alive. I want you to be scared, because if youre not worried about encroaching fascism in America, before long, it will start to feel normal. And when that happens, were all in trouble. The U.S. House of Representatives has passed an amendment that would impose new sanctions on companies helping Russia complete the Nord Stream 2 natural-gas pipeline to Germany. The Democratic-controlled House passed the amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) on July 20. "An amendment, offered by Mr. Gallego, numbered 13 printed in to clarify and extend sanctions related to the construction of the Nord Stream II pipeline was approved," the report reads. The NDAA must be approved by the Senate and signed by the president before the new sanctions would become law. Russia is seeking to complete the construction of the Nord Stream 2 project, which would transport gas to Europe under the Baltic Sea. European vessels laying the pipeline halted work in December following the first round of U.S. sanctions that specifically targeted their activity. Russia is hoping to complete it using its own ships, prompting the United States to include the amendment in the NDAA to widen the sanctions beyond vessels to any company. The project is more than 90% built. It consists of two parallel lines running under the Baltic Sea, each 1,230 kilometers in length. The nearly $11 billion Nord Stream 2 pipeline, which would have an annual capacity of 55 billion cubic meters a year, would largely reroute gas to Europe around Ukraine, depriving Kyiv of billions of dollars in annual fees. The United States opposes the project on the grounds that it strengthens the Kremlin's grip on the European energy market and punishes Ukraine, which is battling Russian-backed separatists in its eastern provinces. Russia has accused the United States of using sanctions as a weapon to boost its energy exports. The United States is seeking to increase liquefied-natural-gas exports to Europe. US cosmetics giant backs sustainable aquaculture by Rob Fletcher July 21,2020 | Source: The Fish Site Mary Kaye, the Texas-based cosmetics company, has partnered with The Nature Conservancy over a range of projects, including two aquaculture-related ones. Last year Mary Kay Inc partnered with The Nature Conservancy to protect Texas fisheries and the Gulf of Mexico. Last week the company announced that theyve expanded that partnership with The Nature Conservancy to impact waterways and native species on an international basis. All life on Earth began in and depends on our oceans, said Deborah Gibbins, chief operating officer at Mary Kay. Water is the most valuable resource on our planet, and its essential that we do our part to protect it. When we began scaling our partnership with The Nature Conservancy last year, we focused on the waterways surrounding our home state of Texas. But were a global company, and we knew the need for support stretched far beyond the Gulf of Mexico. Were thrilled to advance ecosystems and biodiversity conservation globally. In New Zealand, Mary Kay and The Nature Conservancy will engage with indigenous people in sustainable aquaculture, including supporting the implementation of restorative activities in Aucklands Hauraki Gulf to restore wild shellfish populations and launching a challenge fund to encourage greater philanthropic support for restoration of wildlife. In the UK and Germany, the partnership will work to protect biodiversity and marine resources as they introduce the native European oyster (Ostrea edulis). We need healthy, diverse oceans for fishing, working and playing, said Lily Verdone, Director of Freshwater and Marine at The Nature Conservancy. But protecting oceans is about more than just protecting our planet: oceans add $1.5 trillion to the global economy each year. Mary Kay has long worked to impact change that will sustain the earth for generations to come, so they are a naturaland welcomepartner for The Nature Conservancy. Wed already seen such impactful change in Texas, and were thrilled to see what their contributions will help us accomplish in communities across the world. 2020 ? Hatch Accelerator Holding Limited Theme(s): Fisheries Development and Aquaculture. UPDATE: UGI Utilities Inc. completed its necessary repairs by mid-afternoon following the leak, spokesman Joe Swope said. The Bethlehem Housing Authority was then able to restore service to individual homes affected by the leak, according to Swope. ORIGINAL ARTICLE: Streets near the 1300 block of Pembroke Road in Bethlehem were shut after a natural gas incident just after 9 a.m. Tuesday, authorities say. A company that set up a tent last week at 1129 Garfield St. was taking it down Tuesday and the workers pulled out a spike that likely had entered the main last week but plugged any release of gas at the time, city fire Chief Warren Achey said. Two workers who subsequently inhaled gas were taken to a hospital for treatment, Achey said. Nine buildings were evacuated and about 150 people were sheltered in a Bethlehem Housing Authority building until it was safe to go home, Achey said. Roads were closed initially at a wide radius by city police officers and firefighters as a precaution, Achey said. The closure was later narrowed to Garfield Street. UGI arrived at 9:20 a.m. to the scene a short distance from Pembroke Road, utility spokesman Joe Swope said. UGI shut off two values to make the housing authoritys residences safe, Swope said in an email. All gas readings were outside, he said. Approximately 56 UGI customers lost service, he added. Just before 11 a.m., UGI crews were still making repairs, Swope said. Service should be restored during the afternoon, he said. All city police and firefighters had left by late morning, Achey said. Thank you for relying on us to provide the journalism you can trust. Please consider supporting lehighvalleylive.com with a voluntary subscription. Tony Rhodin may be reached at arhodin@lehighvalleylive.com. ATLANTA The head of Georgias Democratic Party has been chosen to face a Republican reality TV personality in the November contest for the seat of the late Rep. John Lewis, a towering figure who served in Congress for more than 30 years. The selection of state Sen. Nikema Williams caps a quick and extraordinary process driven by state law where the party had roughly 72 hours to select someone to take Lewis spot on the ballot. Williams received 37 of 41 votes from the executive committee of the Democratic Party of Georgia on Monday after it heard from five finalists in rapid-fire interviews during a meeting held by video conference because of the coronavirus pandemic. I have a long career in activism, advocacy, and policy to serve as a strong fighter for our communities and values nationally, Williams said, with a picture of Lewis on the wall behind her. She is nearly assured of winning in November in the heavily Democratic 5th Congressional District, which includes parts of Atlanta. After Lewis death on Friday, the state party quickly opened an online application process for people interested, receiving over 130 applications by Sunday night. That group was then narrowed down to a list of five finalists by Monday morning for the executive committee to consider. Like Lewis, the 41-year-old Williams was raised in Alabama. She attended Talladega College, a historically Black school, and talks often of her familys deep ties to the civil rights struggle and the politics of race. She long has been active in state party politics. Before being elected as a state senator in 2017, she was a lobbyist for Planned Parenthood across several Deep South states. Shes also climbed national party ranks, currently serving as one of the vice chairs of the Democratic National Convention Platform Committee that will shape the partys 2020 platform. Williams husband, Leslie Small, worked previously for Lewis as a top aide in the district. Williams elevation to congressional nominee, and her election as state party chairwoman before that, are part of a sea change in Georgia Democratic politics. The party for decades has been dependent on Black voters at the ballot box but still had most often put forward white men as its top leaders and statewide nominees. Now, Williams stands to join two other Black women, Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and 2018 gubernatorial nominee Stacey Abrams, as perhaps the states most recognizable, influential Democrats. Williams was arrested at the state Capitol in 2018 during a protest calling for uncounted ballots from the Nov. 6 election, in which Abrams lost to Republican Gov. Brian Kemp, to be tallied. My entire political life, I have considered myself a student of the John Lewis school of politics, Williams said Monday. I studied Congressman Lewis work closely and practiced the art of getting into good trouble. Williams will face Republican Angela Stanton-King in November. Stanton-King is a reality TV personality and was pardoned earlier this year by President Donald Trump for her role in a stolen car ring, after serving six months of home confinement in 2007. Lewis won more than 84% of the vote when he last faced a Republican opponent in the district in 2016. The seat will remain empty until a special election, called by Kemp, is held for the remainder of Lewis current term. The Republican governor has not yet indicated when he will hold an election, with only months left in the term. Lewis, 80, died Friday, several months after he was diagnosed with advanced pancreatic cancer. Funeral plans have not been announced. Kemp declared flags in Georgia will be at half-staff until sunset of the day of Lewis funeral. Hundreds of people came to a giant mural of Lewis near his downtown Atlanta home Sunday to pay their respects. Flowers, balloons, photos, candles and cards piled up at the base of the building where HERO is written above the painting of Lewis speaking. ___ Associated Press writer Bill Barrow contributed to this report. President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos want schools to fully reopen in the fall, despite the continuing coronavirus pandemic, and have threatened the loss of federal funds if districts do not comply. Pennsylvania Attorney General Josh Shapiro has said if they go that route, he will take legal action. Read more If President Donald Trump and Education Secretary Betsy DeVos attempt to withhold federal funds for Pennsylvania schools that do not fully reopen in September, state Attorney General Josh Shapiro will take legal action to stop them, he told school superintendents Tuesday. Frankly, Im sick and tired of this president trying to use teachers and our children as pawns, and Im going to look out for them, unlike the president, who only seems to be looking out for himself and his political fortunes, Shapiro said in an interview. His comments followed a letter he sent to school administrators across the state. Educators now crafting reopening plans have reached out to Shapiro with concerns about how they weigh fears of the coronavirus spreading in schools against Trump and DeVos recent funding threats, Shapiro said. While local and state tax revenues account for the bulk of school budgets, federal money particularly funds for needy students also account for significant line items. In Philadelphia, with its high concentration of students living in poverty, about 10% of the districts $3.4 billion budget comes from the federal government. But because federal funds for schools are appropriated by Congress and not the president or the Education Department, Trump and DeVos have no legal standing to make threats, said Shapiro, who blasted the president for trying to use teachers and our children as pawns. I thought it was important to provide some legal guidance to the school districts all across Pennsylvania so that they can make the best decisions possible based on health data and science for the students under their care, Shapiro said. READ MORE: Every teacher I know is flipping out: As pandemic back-to-school plans form, educators are wary School leaders, Shapiro said in his letter, must balance childrens educational and emotional needs, parents ability to return to work, the health and safety of your teachers and staff, and overall public health. ... While we have learned much about COVID-19, there is still much we do not know about how physical reopening will affect students and their families along with faculty and staff despite Secretary DeVos statements to the contrary. Shapiro did not specify what kind of legal action he might take if the Trump administration moves to withhold funding. School districts across the region are in the process of introducing back-to-school plans. Most local superintendents who have done so are planning for a hybrid of remote and in-person instruction. Trump has made a full reopening of schools in the fall a central part of his attempt to move the country beyond the public health crisis and prioritize the economy as he seeks reelection, even as infections are surging across wide swaths of the country. DeVos has echoed Trumps insistence and his threat to withhold funding, saying on CNN earlier this month that if schools dont reopen, they shouldnt get the funds. I think the go-to needs to be kids in school, in person, in the classroom, she said. Because we know for most kids, thats the best environment for them. READ MORE: A lose-lose situation: Schools try to plan their reopening amid conflicting coronavirus guidelines Minister for Law K Shanmugam. (PHOTO: Parliament screencap) SINGAPORE The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) will be reviewing several areas of the penalty framework for certain criminal cases including the relevance of an offenders background in sentencing, said Law and Home Affairs Minister K Shanmugam on Tuesday (21 July). The announcement comes after a public outcry over the sentencing of a dental student from the National University of Singapore (NUS) who choked and thumbed the eye of an ex-girlfriend when she wanted to break up with him. Yin Zi Qin was sentenced by a court last Friday to a short detention order of 12 days, community service of 80 hours and a day reporting order for five months. In a Facebook post, Shanmugam said the ruling of the court should be respected, adding that what is needed is a review of the legal framework. When the review is completed, Shanmugam said he will present it in Parliament. The MHA will conduct a review in three areas: the penalties applicable to such cases, the background of an offender and other factors and the extent of their relevance in sentencing, and the relative punishments for different offences. Case background Yin had pleaded guilty to one count of voluntarily causing hurt to the 21-year-old victim with one count of unlawfully remaining in her house to annoy her taken into consideration for sentencing. A short detention order means that Yin will not have a criminal record upon his release. Then in his second year of the dental course, Yin had accessed the victims house with a card and later climbed through a window to her bedroom. Yin pleaded with the victim not to end the relationship. When the victim refused, Yin banged his head against the wall and remained silent for a while. As they resumed talking, Yin began choking the womans neck. She screamed and struggled, causing Yin to release her. Yin then pressed his thumb against her left eye, causing it to bleed. Following the sentencing, the NUS said on Monday that Yin has been barred from campus. He is also currently suspended from his course, pending ongoing disciplinary proceedings. Story continues During a confrontation, the victims stepfather had punched and slapped Yin on his face and burned it with a cigarette butt, a Straits Times report said. The stepfather was issued a warning by the police, it added. Public outcry The case has also triggered heated public debate, particularly over the sentence imposed against Yin. Shanmugam said many have written to him to express disappointment over the case. I can understand their unhappiness. Yin could have faced up to two years jail for his offence, he added. Referring to the case, the Peoples Action Party (PAP) Womens Wing and PAP Women Members of Parliament on Tuesday issued a statement to strongly denounce violence against women. The statement said, Like many members of the public, we are dismayed that the sentence in this case appears disproportionate to the offence. We respect our institutions and judicial system...We have shared our concerns about the sentencing in this case with the Minister of Home Affairs who has committed to look further into the matter. AWARE Singapore has also commented on the case, saying the sentence has a detrimental impact on how the public perceives violence against women. The women advocacy group said, We suggest a review of each stage of the law enforcement process (the police, the AGC and the Courts), to put into place measures that ensure the appropriateness and fairness of outcomes. Stay in the know on-the-go: Join Yahoo Singapore's Telegram channel at http://t.me/YahooSingapore More Singapore stories: COVID-19: 28 to be charged for attending gatherings at Compassvale Crescent, Beo Crescent OCBC Cycle 2020 cancelled, with virtual event as replacement Sports Hub to celebrate 5th anniversary online with National Day Fiesta 3 die as dengue outbreak in Singapore shows no sign of abating: report gettyimagesbank Paddy McGuinness attends charity fundraiser for Beechwood cancer care at PRINCIPAL on November 23, 2018 in Manchester, England. (Photo by Carla Speight/Getty Images) Paddy McGuinness has landed himself a brand new show on BBC One. The presenter will front I Can See Your Voice, a musical competition which sees contestants battling it out for a cash prize by determining who can and cannot sing from a line-up of strangers. The contestants won't hear the guests sing before giving their answer but will be assisted by a panel of celebrities, lip synching challenges and clues hinting at who can sing. Read more: Paddy McGuinness shares sweet clip of youngest daughter The 46-year-old said: A show like this doesnt come along very often so I am thrilled to have been asked to host I Can See Your Voice. Paddy McGuinness attends the "Top Gear" World TV Premiere at Odeon Luxe Leicester Square on January 20, 2020 in London, England. (Photo by Mike Marsland/WireImage) Its bonkers, silly and the ultimate family night in. Everyone can play along at home and Im looking forward to welcoming the good and the bad to our stage. The show has been a huge success around the world so heres to making it one to watch in the UK in 2021. The programme takes it format from a South Korean game show. The new role comes five months after Take Me Out, the dating show father-of-three hosted for a decade, was given the chop by ITV. Back in February, McGuinness tweeted: Hello friends. Well after 11 series, its time to say goodbye to Take Me Out. Eight weddings, six babies and a generation of youngsters whove grown up watching us on Saturday night TV. Over 10 years ago, ITV took a punt on myself and the show and for that Ill be eternally grateful. Read more: Paddy McGuinness returns to Top Gear filming after crash The programme lasted for 11 series with the final episode airing in December 2019. McGuinness also currently presents Top Gear alongside Andrew "Freddie" Flintoff and Chris Harris for the BBC. Rodgers called the petition drive an effort by people from outside District 3 to overturn the will of the people as expressed by primary voters. We had an election in May and the people clearly spoke, said Rodgers, 51, who was first elected in 2004. Im proud to have had their support for 16 years. These efforts by people from outside the district dont make sense. We have bigger issues to deal with, beginning with the COVID-19 pandemic and moving on with programming to support juvenile justice reform. Chambers, 83, said people had recruited him before the primary to run against Rodgers. He told them that he would not run as a Democrat or Republican in the partisan primary but agreed to be considered as a nonpartisan candidate. He would have to file for the general election by Sept. 1. Chambers would not say who had recruited him but said he had given his consent to an Omaha attorney named Michael OHara to circulate petition forms. Records from the Douglas County Election Commissioners Office indicate that OHara checked out petition forms. He confirmed that he had done so to help the effort to place Chambers on the ballot. In poker they call it a tell when someone inadvertently signals their hand. So what do you call it when all the usual Democratic suspects pile on when Trumps G-men take on the Antifa regime thugs in Portland? And why Nancy Pelosi? Why is she so concerned? And now even moms are peacefully protesting for the right of their children to riot. Hey Midge Decter! That you would have lived to see a rerun of your Sixties reportage, Liberal Parents, Radical Children! The question is, do Democratic leaders believe that the riots help them win in November? Or are they afraid of losing control of the party if they dont go along with the crazies? Ive decided that its the latter. The Democratic party is being taken over by the woke left and the old generation of leaders is desperately trying to stay in control for one last cycle. Probably they will fail and be thrown out after the 2020 election, especially if Trump wins. Remember back in 2018 when Genius Pelosi got a whole class of moderate Democrats elected to the House? Wasnt she smart? All those suburban women electing moderates to Congress, and Nancy got to be Speaker again. Only, it is now clear, Nancy Pelosi isnt really in charge. She is running desperately after the woke mob trying not to lose control of the Democratic caucus completely. Oh sure, shes good at the Women in White thingy for the State of the Union speech. But the wokeys are in the saddle, and they are canceling all and sundry, whether its Bari Weiss at the New York Times or Andrew Sullivan at New York / Vox. The Left has always been a lie, a cunning plan for the educated to get power in an over/under coalition. At least in the old days the bourgeoisie was a minority of the population so the over/under coalition plundered the minority bourgeoisie to deal out free stuff to the majority workers. Not anymore. Today the educated Gentry, aided by corporate America and the Tech Lords, is plundering the majority, the middle-class Commoners, so it can lord it over Creation and toss a few bennies to its underclass clients and Victims. It is a monstrous injustice. Well-born street thugs in Antifa and BLM are beating on ordinary middle-class Commoner policemen who are the poor suckers that have to deal every day with drugged-out miscreants, the detritus of a century of lefty politics who, if they are the right race, are automatically victims of police brutality. Privilege? Systemic Systemism? If you are a white Commoner working for a big organization you can be canceled in a minute: fired, prosecuted, demolished. You have no rights, no defense, no respect, no recourse. All the privilege in America adheres to the upper-class educated Gentry that occupies the commanding heights of everything and makes the rules, and their helpless-victim clients that are exempt from the rules. The rules only apply to ordinary Commoners. And yet they are telling us that we, the Commoners of America, are the ones with unearned privilege. As Curtis Yarvin writes in his new Gray Mirror under race laws, our legal code since 1965 is all about race. It first distinguished between humans of European and West African descent. But then women became a race, and then gays. What do you get if youre an official race? It means you cant be bullied. People arent allowed to be mean to you, individually or collectively The purpose of the race laws is to grant extra legal protection to races, such as humans of West African descent, whom the other, raceless people are bullying, or were bullying, or would bully if they could get away with it. What should we call our race laws? Not Nuremberg, obviously. Maybe literally Hitler? Even as recently as five years ago a guy like Yuval Hoah Harari could write Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind to the delight of the globalist elite and talk about the three modern religions being liberal humanism, socialist humanism, and evolutionary humanism. And yet here we are in an all-out religious war between normals getting canceled all over, because racism, and frenzied cultists in the media and the academy that believe in Critical Race Theory and all the other detritus of cultural Marxism (that the New York Times in 2018 called a crude slander, referring to something that does not exist). You know what? I feel sorry for Our Nance. No one, no one at the meeting of everyone-who-is-anyone to plan the defenestration of Donald Trump could have imagined the facts on the ground today, with regime thugs torching cities because Black Lives Matter and government teachers refusing to show up for work in September because WuFlu. Got any good ideas, Nance? Or is it time to ride your palfrey back to your glorious San Francisco castle? Christopher Chantrill @chrischantrill runs the go-to site on US government finances, usgovernmentspending.com. Also get his American Manifesto and his Road to the Middle Class. Democrat candidates for Wayne County Commission will square off in three district races to be decided in the Aug. 4 primary. Winners will advance to the Nov. 3 general election. Candidates seek two-year terms that carry annual salaries of $61,000. There are no Republican contests in the August primary. The News-Herald asked each candidate to respond in writing to two questions: Here are responses provided by candidates in area districts where Democrats are facing off: 4th District N-H: What, specifically, makes you the best choice for this position? Lisa Carter (Detroit): Did not respond to multiple requests for comment. Gabriela Santiago-Romero (Detroit): I have a background in social work, policy and evaluation. Im a small business consultant. With a current lack of transparency and accountability, I plan to bring social work values and ethics to the county government. Ive worked for many nonprofits such as Alternatives for Girls, Urban Neighborhood Initiative and more. Ive successfully led initiatives that meet the needs of our communities such as Livernois Corridor SOUP, Girls Making Change and Southwest Cares Mutual Aid group. As a community organizer, I center my community and work together with them to craft innovative solutions to our problems. I believe in us. Ilona Varga (Lincoln Park, Incumbent): I am well experienced and on the job. I have worked tirelessly over the years to be appointed chair of the Ways and Means (budget committee). I have been very good at looking under all the rocks to find money and services for all three of my cities equally, no matter the size. I work well with everyone and I am conservative when it comes to tax dollars yet I am open minded to new ideas as far as policy issues. I have never been influenced by organizations who have agendas like the Progressive movement but welcome ideas that they are willing to share to see how it fits into our budget and if those ideas can be implemented at the County level, which most cant. I know the Charter and State law that we operate and I will uphold the Constitution that I was sworn to do, even if it is not popular. I have a resolution opposing transportation of highly flammable and hazardous material over the Ambassador Bridge that some State Reps have signed onto. N-H: What is the most pressing issue facing your district and what, specifically, will you do to address it? Santiago-Romero: There are many issues facing my district from pollution to lack of transportation. Id like to address our allocation of funds and the need for us to begin to invest in our communities. The majority of our county budget goes to roads and jails. We could be supporting our residents with housing, Head Start and more. There is a lack of resources to keep people in their homes. Oakland County is using CARES money to support residents in paying their rent, mortgage or utilities. Wayne County can begin to use their power and resources to support its residents as well. Varga: Currently, the budget is the most stressful issue because it dictates the amount of services the County can provide. Roads are very urgent to fund properly as well as health issues. Everything is high on priority and being looked at. Along with the budget we are making policy changes that will allow us to streamline services. We have found that many people can work from home and we need to look at what kind of impact that could or not have on our overall services. I believe that we need to continue funding the technology to be more innovative and secure to give faster services such as death records, marriage licenses and court related services. We must wrap our arms around our youth and upgrade the mental health tailored to them instead of giving them a record and put them in jail. We have to look at every department and make sure that they are giving the optimal services and, quite frankly, to see where technology is failing us currently that could be improved in a short amount of time. We are currently looking at how to fund the $58 million shortfall this year and our next years budget will be due on Oct. 1 that will also have to a realistic and balanced budget per our Charter. 11th District N-H: What, specifically, makes you the best choice for this position? Al Haidous (Wayne, Incumbent): My experience and dedication make me the best choice. Public service is my passion; giving back and investing in the wellbeing of my community have been a priority throughout my life. Through my experience as a council member, mayor, and current County Commissioner for the 11th district, I have firsthand knowledge of how to meet the needs and navigate challenges cities and townships face. As a County Commissioner this knowledge and experience enables me to strategically help the citizens of the 11th district. I am an active listener, seeking input from constituents, effectively communicating, and taking action on their behalf. David Hotz (Romulus): My campaign brings a modern vision, ethics, fresh common-sense solutions, empathy, and foresight to the County Commission. Priorities matter, like fixing drains that flood backyards or concerns of layoffs to vital roles such as environmental inspectors. As our Commissioner, Ill be much more directly involved and accessible to our communities. I believe in strength from the bottom and will work for equity to help those who struggle. To represent district 11 isnt a side job, its a service to everyone who resides within. Im running to improve the quality of life for everyone and future generations to come. N-H: What is the most pressing issue facing your district and what, specifically, will you do to address it? Haidous: There are multiple pressing issues; bridges, roads, drainage, and economic development. I have and continue to actively work on roads, obtaining funds and judiciously budgeting projects based on need. I have been working on systematically assessing bridges and implementing repairs. For example, Waltz bridge, previously closed, was demolished and completely reconstructed. Making roadways safe for travelers in the district is a top priority. Increasing the efficiency of the drainage system including adding more drainage routes or altering routes for better flow. Economic development is a constant focus and currently the Pinnacle project is at the top of the list. Hotz: Since the pandemic, we went from having money for real investments in our people to large budget shortfalls. We will first focus on disease control and infrastructure. The community needs leaders who are answering questions and providing information on Covid 19. We also need long term solutions on infrastructure that includes not just roads, but drains, ditches, and our fragile energy grid. Another important issue is bringing traffic and revenue into our communities. I will bring in new industries, give people a reason to spend money within our district, and make it easier to start a business. 15th District N-H: What, specifically, makes you the best choice for this position? Joseph Palamara (Grosse Ile, Incumbent): I humbly believe I have the common sense, background, working relationships, experience, and record of being an effective voice of reason in representing the concerns of Downriver people. Whether its sponsoring and enacting a 10 percent pay cut for all Commissioners, or voting to keep a tax hike proposal from going on the ballot, effective leadership means leading by example. I have always strived to be a good listener, and I believe my record of representation bears that out. As such, I believe my credentials, qualifications and proven record makes me the best choice to represent Downriver people. Ryan Stewart (Trenton): Im focused on three key performance indicators for our region Economy, Environment, and Ethics. As a lifelong Downriver resident thats worked in our community with The Senior Alliance, to working for Thomson Reuters in corporate sales, my broad range of experience can help bring us up to speed in a 21stcentury economy. My role as a Zoning Board of Appeals commissioner and McLouth Steel Community Advisory Group representative show Im committed to residents, and the future of our region not special interests or lobbyists. N-H: What is the most pressing issue facing your district and what, specifically, will you do to address it? Palamara: The most pressing issue facing the Downriver area is finding ways to provide necessary services with less revenue coming in due to the economic fallout from the Covid-19 pandemic. I am addressing this issue by leading by example; not only by taking a 10% pay cut, but also by implementing a 10 percent office operating budget cut. These common sense belt tightening measures must go hand in hand with prioritizing our most important county services. I have shown that Im willing to make the tough decisions to balance the County budget by cutting expenses and not raising taxes. Stewart: The economic and environmental future of Downriver hinges on the former McLouth Steel site development. With the property currently zoned for Mixed Use, we only need to look further north to see how intermodal shipping has destroyed communities like Delray. Im telling the Trenton Planning Commission to vote no on writing a blank check for heavy industrial development (at the July 22 Zoom meeting) and then Im telling the City Council no when they vote whether to finalize Industrial Waterfront zoning without a site plan. I encourage you to do the same. By PTI NEW DELHI: The Central Pollution Control Board (CPCB) told the National Green Tribunal Tuesday that over 1.60 lakh healthcare facilities across the country have not obtained requisite permission under Bio-medical Waste Management (BMWM) Rules and running without authorisation. The apex pollution monitoring body told the green panel that as per the annual report submitted by state pollution control boards, out of 2,70,416 healthcare facilities, only 1,11,122 units have applied for authorisation and 1,10,356 HCFs have obtained authorization under BMWM Rules, 2016. Out of these 2,70,416 nos of HCFs, only 1,10,356 HFCs are authorized till the year 2019, it said. "Apart from those who have applied and those who have obtained authorisation, there are about 50,000 healthcare facilities who have neither applied nor taken the authorisation," CPCB said in its report. A bench headed by NGT Chairperson Justice Adarsh Kumar Goel directed the states to expedite the process and complete it by December 31 and file a compliance report with the CPCB. According to the report, 25 state and union territories have completed their inventories of all healthcare facilities and 10 namely; Assam, Kerala, Mizoram, West Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Goa, Gujarat, Meghalaya and Uttarakhand have yet to do it. The tribunal asked these States to expedite the process and complete the same positively by December 31, 2020 and file a compliance report with the CPCB. The report said there is no Common Biomedical Waste Treatment Facilities (CBWTFs) in seven States and UTs namely -- Andaman & Nicobar, Arunachal Pradesh, Goa, Lakshadweep, Mizoram, Nagaland and Sikkim to cater service of treatment and disposal of biomedical waste. It said that these States are managing disposal of biomedical waste with existing captive treatment facilities installed by health care facilities or by deep burial of waste. These States have reported that they are under the process of setting up of new CBWTFs, the report said. With respect to Monitoring of Healthcare Facilities like Veterinary Hospitals, Animal Houses, AYUSH Hospitals, etc', it is stated that Andaman & Nicobar, Assam, Jammu & Kashmir, Manipur, Andhra Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Meghalaya, Nagaland, Rajasthan and Tripura have not provided any information. CPCB conducted random inspections of veterinary hospitals and animal houses and observed that majority of them have not obtained authorisation from prescribed authority. Hospitals have not registered with the CBWTFs for treatment and disposal of BMW generated in their veterinary hospitals. No segregation of waste at source is practiced through separate color-coded collection bins and records are not maintained, the report said. The tribunal also noted that 150 out of 200 CBWTFs have connected with Central server of CPCB for transmission of online continuous Emission Monitoring Systems. CBWTFs in Gujarat, Tamil Nadu, MP and West Bengal have installed CBWTFs in all facilities, however some of the CBWTFs are yet to connect with CPCB server, the tribunal noted and said that gaps need to be bridged. The NGT reiterated its earlier direction for constitution of District Planning Committees to monitor District Environment plans covering important environmental issues. We also find it necessary to require state pollution control boards to ascertain status of compliance of norms by the CBWTFs, specially that no biomedical waste is disposed by CBWTFs at any place in an illegal manner and report the same to the CPCB, it said. The green panel directed all the states and union territories which are lacking in compliance to take further steps and give their reports to the CPCB online. A further consolidated report be compiled by the CPCB based on information collected from all the pollution control boards as on November 30, 2020, the NGT said. The direction came on a plea filed by a UP-based journalist Shailesh Singh seeking directions for closure of all hospitals, medical facilities and waste disposal plants which were not complying with the waste management rules. It had alleged that rag-pickers were allowed unauthorised transportation of waste and they disposed it in an unscientific manner. PTI PKS RKS RKS 07211615 NNNN Toronto, Ontario--(Newsfile Corp. - July 21, 2020) - Aurania Resources Ltd. (TSXV: ARU) (OTCQB: AUIAF) (FSE: 20Q) ("Aurania" or the "Company") is pleased to report that grades of up to 10% copper with 131 grams per tonne ("g/t") silver have been found in a breccia in the Tsenken A target area in its Lost Cities - Cutucu Project ("Project") in southeastern Ecuador. Tsenken A is located approximately 2 kilometres from the Tsenken N1 target reported on last week (Figure 1 and see press release dated July 16, 2020). These latest results provide key information about sedimentary-hosted copper-silver at the Tsenken A target. Dr. Keith Barron, Chairman and CEO of Aurania commented, "As has been previously discussed by sedimentary copper expert Professor Gregor Borg, sedimentary hosted copper-silver has not previously been found in close proximity to porphyries in any of the recognized copper camps internationally. Our Project is clearly something different and potentially important, but the relationship to porphyry and the geometry will ultimately be determined by drilling, which we intend to initiate in the 3rd quarter of this year. Sedimentary-hosted copper-silver has been found regionally within the Aurania concessions over an extent of 23 kilometres and is almost always associated with carbon-bearing shales and sandstones full of plant fossils. It is conceivable that steeply-dipping faults were conduits for metal-bearing fluids coming from depth. In many geological scenarios the thickest and highest-grade portions of systems are areas of greatest focussed fluid flow, and these are potentially attractive targets in a broader regional context." To view the previously released video with Professor Gregor Borg, click on the following link: http://aurania.com/the-opportunity-a-copper-experts-opinion-2/ Fault-related Mineralization at Tsenken A A rock-chip sample from a fault breccia outcrop assayed 10% copper with 131g/t silver. High-grade copper-silver has been found in blocks in streams and in outcrop over a large area in the Tsenken A target area. Results have been reported in press releases dated January 10, 2019 and April 2, 2019, with additional assays shown in Figure 1. Mineralization occurs in bleached layers in the red sandstone host rock, and invariably is with carbonized, fossilized plant fragments. Copper minerals include malachite, chrysocolla and tenorite with minor chalcocite. Story continues Figure 1. Location of fault breccia and sedimentary-hosted mineralization of high-grade copper-silver from the Tsenken A target area shown on a background of magnetic data (negative reduction to the equator, which is roughly equivalent to reduction to the pole ("RTP")). To view an enhanced version of Figure 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2477/60135_307d5781f48a698c_001full.jpg Figure 2. An idealized vertical slice through southern Ecuador and northern Peru showing the red-bed sandstones that accumulated against faults that were forming approximately 160 million years ago (constituting the Chapiza - Saraquillo Formations). The exploration model includes copper-silver - bearing fluid rising up the faults (which are mineralized) and seeping into permeable sedimentary layers, preferably where they are sealed by an overlying impermeable layer such as shale. Carbon within the permeable layers causes copper and silver to precipitate. To view an enhanced version of Figure 2, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/2477/60135_307d5781f48a698c_002full.jpg Sample Analysis & Quality Assurance / Quality Control ("QAQC") Laboratories: The soil samples were prepared for analysis at MS Analytical ("MSA") in Cuenca, Ecuador, and the analyses were done in Vancouver, Canada. Sample preparation: The rock samples were jaw-crushed to 10 mesh (crushed material passes through a mesh with apertures of 2 millimetres ("mm")), from which a one-kilogram sub-sample was taken. The sub-sample was crushed to a grain size of 0.075mm and a 200 gram ("g") split was set aside for analysis. Analytical procedure: Approximately 0.25g of rock pulp underwent four-acid digestion and analysis for 48 elements by ICP-MS. For the over-limit samples, those that had a grade of greater than 1% copper and 100g/t silver, 0.4 grams of pulp underwent digestion in four acids and the resulting liquid was diluted and analyzed by ICP-MS. QAQC: Aurania personnel inserted a certified standard pulp sample, alternating with a field blank, at approximate 20 sample intervals in all sample batches. Aurania's analysis of results from its independent QAQC samples showed the batches reported on above, lie within acceptable limits. In addition, the labs reported that the analyses had passed their internal QAQC tests. Qualified Person The technical information contained in this news release has been verified and approved by Jean-Paul Pallier, MSc. Mr. Pallier is a designated EurGeol by the European Federation of Geologists and is a Qualified Person as defined by National Instrument 43-101, Standards of Disclosure for Mineral Projects of the Canadian Securities Administrators. About Aurania Aurania is a mineral exploration company engaged in the identification, evaluation, acquisition and exploration of mineral property interests, with a focus on precious metals and copper in South America. Its flagship asset, The Lost Cities - Cutucu Project, is located in the Jurassic Metallogenic Belt in the eastern foothills of the Andes mountain range of southeastern Ecuador. Information on Aurania and technical reports are available at www.aurania.com and www.sedar.com, as well as on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/auranialtd/, Twitter at https://twitter.com/auranialtd, and LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/company/aurania-resources-ltd-. For further information, please contact: Carolyn Muir VP Investor Relations Aurania Resources Ltd. (416) 367-3200 carolyn.muir@aurania.com Dr. Richard Spencer President Aurania Resources Ltd. (416) 367-3200 richard.spencer@aurania.com Neither the TSX Venture Exchange nor its Regulation Services Provider (as that term is defined in the policies of the TSX Venture Exchange) accepts responsibility for the adequacy or accuracy of this release. Forward-Looking Statements This news release may contain forward-looking information that involves substantial known and unknown risks and uncertainties, most of which are beyond the control of Aurania. Forward-looking statements include estimates and statements that describe Aurania's future plans, objectives or goals, including words to the effect that Aurania or its management expects a stated condition or result to occur. Forward-looking statements may be identified by such terms as "believes", "anticipates", "expects", "estimates", "may", "could", "would", "will", or "plan". Since forward-looking statements are based on assumptions and address future events and conditions, by their very nature they involve inherent risks and uncertainties. Although these statements are based on information currently available to Aurania, Aurania provides no assurance that actual results will meet management's expectations. Risks, uncertainties and other factors involved with forward-looking information could cause actual events, results, performance, prospects and opportunities to differ materially from those expressed or implied by such forward-looking information. Forward looking information in this news release includes, but is not limited to, Aurania's objectives, goals or future plans, statements, exploration results, potential mineralization, the corporation's portfolio, treasury, management team and enhanced capital markets profile, the estimation of mineral resources, exploration and mine development plans, timing of the commencement of operations and estimates of market conditions. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from such forward-looking information include, but are not limited to, failure to identify mineral resources, failure to convert estimated mineral resources to reserves, the inability to complete a feasibility study which recommends a production decision, the preliminary nature of metallurgical test results, delays in obtaining or failures to obtain required governmental, regulatory, environmental or other project approvals, political risks, inability to fulfill the duty to accommodate indigenous peoples, uncertainties relating to the availability and costs of financing needed in the future, changes in equity markets, inflation, changes in exchange rates, fluctuations in commodity prices, delays in the development of projects, capital and operating costs varying significantly from estimates and the other risks involved in the mineral exploration and development industry, and those risks set out in Aurania's public documents filed on SEDAR. Although Aurania believes that the assumptions and factors used in preparing the forward-looking information in this news release are reasonable, undue reliance should not be placed on such information, which only applies as of the date of this news release, and no assurance can be given that such events will occur in the disclosed time frames or at all. Aurania disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60135 Stacker mined 15 estimated costs comprising the estimated $1.8 million per school district it will require to reopen schools safely this fall. Data comes from a June 2020 report from the Association of School Business Officials (ASBO) International and the School Superintendents Association. This article was first published on Stacker New Delhi: Axis Bank on Tuesday reported 19 per cent decline in standalone net profit at Rs 1,112 crore for June quarter of the current financial year. The third largest private sector bank posted a net profit of Rs 1,370 crore for April-June, 2019-20. Total income was almost flat at Rs 19,125.57 crore during the quarter under review, Axis Bank said in a regulatory filing. There was an uptick in provisions for bad loans and contingencies at Rs 4,416.42 crore for April-June, 2020-21 as against Rs 3,814.58 crore in the year-ago period. However, the asset quality showed improvement with gross non-performing assets (NPAs) declining at 4.72 per cent of gross advances as on June 30, 2020, from 5.25 per cent as at June-end last year. Net NPAs also fell to 1.23 per cent from 2.04 per cent a year ago. "During the quarter, the bank introduced incremental provisioning on such exposures based on a time scale and on occurrence of predefined events. As a result, provisions and contingencies for the quarter ended June 30 are higher by about Rs 144 crore with a consequent reduction to the profit before tax," it said. On consolidated basis, the net profit of the bank declined by 12 per cent to Rs 1,108.10 crore in the first quarter as against Rs 1,262.98 crore in the same period a year ago. Total income stood at Rs 19,461.77 crore as against Rs 19,409.09 crore. During the quarter, the bank's Net Interest Income (NII) grew 20 per cent to Rs 6,985 crore from Rs 5,844 crore in the same period a year ago. Net interest margin of the bank stood at 3.40 per cent. The bank has recognized slippages of Rs 2,218 crore as compared to Rs 4,798 crore in the first quarter of the previous fiscal.? "Slippages from the loan book were at Rs 2,011 crore and that from investment exposures stood at Rs 207 crore. Corporate slippages stood at Rs 1,355 crore. Recoveries and upgrades from NPAs during the quarter were Rs 608 crore while write-offs were Rs 2,284 crore," it said. Axis Bank Managing Director Amitabh Chaudhry said, ?the disruption caused by the pandemic has led to immense economic and social impediments, however, it has also brought about innovations across the industry." The extent to which the COVID-19 pandemic will impact the bank's operations and asset quality will depend on the future developments, which are highly uncertain, including among other things any new information concerning the severity of COVID-19 and any action to contain its spread or mitigate its impact whether government mandated or elected by the bank, the filing said. On the proposed joint venture between Max Financial Services and Axis Bank, it said, the definitive agreement to become joint venture partners in Max Life Insurance Company Ltd was signed during the quarter on April 28. Since then, the parties have approached the regulators for approval of the transaction and believe that the deal continues to be on track, it said. A huge blaze has torn through an iconic Queensland hostel overnight, leaving 60 terrified backpackers forced to run for their lives. The Federal Backpackers and Spotted Dog Tavern on Bourbong Street in Bundaberg went up in flames at about 11pm on Monday, before emergency services crews descended upon the scene. Dramatic vision shows firefighters blasting the out-of-control three-storey inferno with fire hoses, as they try desperately to save the beloved venue. Two decades earlier, Bundaberg was rocked by another hostel fire which killed 15 backpackers. Scroll down for video. The Federal Backpackers and Spotted Dog Tavern (pictured) on Bourbong St in Bundaberg went up in flames at about 11pm on Monday 'Upon arrival, police assisted with the evacuation of over 60 people from the hostel and a number from another nearby motel,' Queensland police said in a statement. 'Thankfully, all residences have been accounted for and there are no injuries reported. The fire has now been contained.' Queensland Fire and Rescue Service told Daily Mail Australia the blaze appears to have started in the roof of the building but it is not yet known what started the fire. They said specialist fire investigators will examine the gutted venue later on Tuesday to determine the cause. On social media, locals said they were not surprised by the horrifying blaze. 'I knew it would happen one day! Bloody death trap!' one Facebook user wrote on the Bundaberg community noticeboard page. Emergency services crews descended upon the scene and tried desperately to save the iconic venue (pictured on Monday night as firefighters fought the blaze) Emergency services say it was extremely lucky nobody was hurt or killed in the devastating fire (pictured, from a nearby street) Another said: 'I was thinking just the other day what a dodgy building'. Queensland Ambulance Service Acting Chief Superintendent Rick Tenthy said it was lucky nobody was hurt. 'A fire of that scale had the potential to cause a number of injuries,' he told news.com. 'We really were posturing ourselves to deal with a significant event. 'It was lucky (no one was injured) it's a testament to the evacuation plans. It was a very large fire that moved very quickly and aggressively. 'It's fortunate no one was injured.' More than 60 terrified backpackers and pub patrons were forced to run for their lives after the blaze (pictured) broke out on Monday night The Spotted Dog pub appears gutted the morning after the blaze (pictured) with all customers escaping without injury Witnesses said fire could be seen 'shooting from the roof'. The incident conjured up troubling memories for those in the Bundaberg community. In 2000, the central Queensland town was left in shock after another hostel fire killed 15 backpackers who were asleep in their beds Robert Paul Long deliberately lit the Childers Palace Hostel fire and was sentenced to life in prison over the horrific murders. The Spotted Dog Tavern was established in 2013 after respected Queensland publican Stephen 'Pato' Paterson purchased the venue formerly known as Banjo's Tavern. He upgraded the pub following the 2013 floods and named it after his family's spotted dog because the community needed 'cheering up' after the natural disaster. Robert Paul Long (pictured) at 37 when he was wanted by police for killing 15 backpackers in the Childers Palace Hostel fire in 2000 A lone fireman is pictured at the scene of the Palace Hostel fire in Childers were 15 people were killed (pictured after the fire in 2000) Families of missing people are being asked to provide DNA samples to try to solve hundreds of cold cases dating back almost 70 years. According to gardai, there are still 813 people who have been reported missing in Ireland whose cases have not yet been closed. The outstanding cases date to 1951. Read More A national DNA database, set up five years ago, has been credited with bringing a number of long-term missing persons cases to a close. The database, which is used to solve a wide range of crimes, relies on a voluntary DNA sample from a person's family to solve a missing person's case. "The majority of persons reported missing return soon after their disappearance without suffering any harm," a spokeswoman for An Garda's Missing Persons Bureau said. "A small percentage may come to harm or may be the victim of crime. A missing persons investigation will remain open until the missing person has been located irrespective of the time passed." Expand Close Joseph Brendan Dowley, last seen in 1985, was identified 33 years later. Photo: North Wales Police/PA Wire / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Joseph Brendan Dowley, last seen in 1985, was identified 33 years later. Photo: North Wales Police/PA Wire The unit has called on families of missing people to provide DNA samples. "It is beneficial that family members of missing persons provide a DNA profile in long-term missing persons investigations. "Parents, siblings and children of missing persons can provide a DNA sample to An Garda Siochana which will be uploaded on to the Missing Persons Database." The Missing Persons Database, managed by Forensic Science Ireland (FSI), was set up in 2015 and has been described by the DNA lab as "one of the most important crime-fighting tools introduced within the State in recent times". In 2018, it started using the "pedigree tree approach", which means using family tree DNA to help identify the remains of missing people. Operation Runabay, which was launched in 2017 by the Missing Persons Bureau, aimed to collect DNA samples to identify remains found along the west coast of Great Britain that may belong to people who went missing in Ireland. Last year, it helped solve the case of Conor Whooley, a 24-year-old man who vanished from Dublin in August 1983. His remains were identified in a graveyard in Wales. In 2018, the DNA database helped to identify five missing people, which FSI said brought "much-needed closure to their families and friends". The FSI had developed new technology that helped it identify DNA from bones, including ones which had been recovered from water. This meant bodies that had been recovered years before but could not have DNA samples taken could finally be identified. The body of Aengus (Gussie) Shannon, who went missing from Limerick in 2000, was identified 18 years later. Bones had been found in the River Shannon in October 2001, but until 2018 it was impossible to take a DNA sample from them. In November 2018, it was announced the technology had successfully identified the remains of two more long term missing persons. Margaret Glennon, a 49-year-old mother of four, went missing from her home in Baldoyle, north Dublin, in 1995. Remains discovered by a JCB driver in Malahide in 2014 were confirmed as hers using the new technology in 2018. The disappearance of James Gallagher, an 18-year-old from Cabra who went missing in February 1999, was also solved. It was confirmed that remains discovered in Dublin in 2002 were his. In the same year, FSI also worked with two international police forces to identify the remains of two other missing people. A body found on a north Wales beach 33 years previously was finally identified as that of Joseph Brendan Dowley, a 63-year-old man from Kilkenny who was last seen boarding a ferry from Ireland in October 1985. The following month, unidentified remains were discovered washed up on Rhosneigr beach in Anglesey. The Garda Missing Persons Bureau worked with North Wales Police to exhume the remains before confirming they were those of Mr Dowley. Paul Shine-Dixon (28), from Finglas, went missing while on his way to meet his partner in Barcelona in 2009. He was travelling through Europe by train when he got off in the French city of Perpignan on May 2. His remains were found buried near a canal in Perpignan in 2018. Garda used the national DNA database to work with French authorities to identify his remains. In December 2018, the national forensic science lab used a National Missing Persons Day event to collect DNA from families of missing people. It was part of a plan to continue using DNA to solve cold cases. Dear Editor: To the person who stole my American flag: You did not only steal a flag from a veteran, you destroyed a symbol of what America means to me. I displayed this flag every Memorial Day to honor the memory of my friend, John Salvini, who was killed in France in 1944. I displayed this flag every Veterans Day to celebrate my brothers who wore and wear the uniform. I displayed this flag every Sept. 11 to remind us of our unity as Americans. And I had been displaying this flag since March 2020 to reinforce our resolve as Americans to beat COVID-19 into submission. I am not angry with you as much as I am hurt that anyone could disrespect the one symbol that should unite us all. John Miraglia West Hurley, N.Y. Journalist and film critic Rajeev Masand will be recording his statement in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case on Tuesday. He reached Bandra Police station on Tuesday afternoon. Earlier, the police recorded statements of mental health professionals who were being consulted by the late actor. Their statements were recorded over the last three- four days by the Bandra police who are probing the case, Deputy Commissioner of Police (Zone IX) Abhishek Trimukhe told PTI. Rajput, 34, was found dead in his suburban Bandra apartment on June 14 in what the police said was a case of suicide. In the initial investigation, the Mumbai police had found that the actor was under medication for depression. Watch l Sushant Singh Rajput death: Journalist Rajeev Masand records his statement So far, the police have recorded statements of over 36 people, including director Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Bollywood casting director Mukesh Chhabra, actress Sanjana Sanghi, filmmaker Aditya Chopra and Rajputs friend Sandip Singh, among others. Rajputs friend, actor Rhea Chakraborty, has also given her statement to the police. Last week, Rhea had demanded a probe by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) into his suicide. Respected @AmitShah sir, Im Sushant Singh Rajputs girlfriend Rhea Chakraborty. It is now over a month since his sudden demise. I have complete faith in the government, however, in the interest of justice, I request you with folded hands to initiate a CBI enquiry, she tweeted. Maharashtra home minister Anil Deshmukh on Friday said there was no need for a probe by any central agency as the Mumbai Polices investigation is going in the right direction and no foul play was found. Mumbai Police are capable of conducting the probe and are doing it in the right way. They are probing every possible angle related to the case and have not come across any foul play. All details will be shared once the probe is completed, he had said. After Rajputs death, Deshmukh had tweeted that the police were investigating the alleged cause of clinical depression owing to the professional rivalry behind the death. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON MUMBAI, MAHARASHTRA -- (SBWIRE) -- 07/20/2020 -- Prismane Consulting has published a new strategy report on Global Linear Alpha Olefins (LAOs) Market.This report forms a part of the Refinery & Olefins Strategy studies recently published by Prismane Consulting and covers the impact of COVID 19 and the fluctuations in the crude oil prices. All the exisiting capacities, plant wise operating rates and production has been included as a part of the study. Linear Alpha Olefins (LAOs) are straight-chain hydrocarbons characterized by a double bond in the terminal or alpha positions. The production of LAOs yields an entire range of even-numbered carbon chain-length LAOs rather than a single product. Chain lengths vary from four carbons (butene-1) to more than thirty carbons (expressed as C30+). LAOs include a range of industrially important alpha-olefins, including butene-1, hexene-1, Octene-1, Decene-1, Dodecene-1, Tetradecene-1, 1-hexadecene, Octadecene-1. There are also many other higher blends of C20-C24, C24-C30, and C20-C30 range LAO fractions. At a global level, most of the LAO plants are based on ethylene oligomerization process. The biggest outlet for LAOs are their use as co-monomers for polyethylene (HDPE and LLDPE) production while other important applications include synthetic lubricants, detergent intermediates, plasticizers, oil-field, paper sizing chemicals and other applications. The production of LAOs can be divided into either full range LAOs or on-purpose LAOs like butene-1, hexene-1 and octene-1. The Asia-Pacific current demand for butene-1 has grown by 1.6 times from 342 kilo tons in 2010 to reach 550 kilo tons in 2017. Historically, the overall demand witnessed an aggregate growth rate of around 7.0% in the last 7 years till 2018, mainly supported by the strong demand from polyethylene. Polyethylene applications still accounts for 86% market demand for butene-1 and in the long-term forecast, it is expected to remain the single largest driver followed by other small applications. There is a shift in preference for hexene-1 and octene-1 as a polyethylene comonomer over Butene-1 and this may bring some decline in the overall market share of butene-1 in complete LAOs scenario if considered. The Linear Alpha Olefins (LAOs) market study 2020 Market study covers: Market Data, Country Summaries & Product Review - Global Demand-Supply Balance& Market Analysis - LAOsMarket data in terms of volume and value for each end-use at regional and country level - LAOsMarket analysis for Production, Capacity, Demand, at Regional and Country level - Demand Composition, by Type and Applications - Pricing Analysis - Latest Trends and market developments - Key Players - Process technology - Strategic Issues and Recommendations - Market / Product Outlook (Historical, Short, Mid and Long-term forecast) - Business Opportunities & Challenges - Strategic Analysis and High-level information on Market Entry, Best Strategies adopted For more information about this report visit https://prismaneconsulting.com/report_details/5/Global-Linear-Alpha-Olefins-(LAO)-Market-Study-Report-2014-2030 About Prismane Consulting Prismane Consulting is a unique consulting and market research firm providing management, economic and technical expertise across the global Chemicals, Petrochemicals, Polymers, Materials and Energy value chain. The company has been advising clients on their key strategic issues solving their toughest and most critical business problems. We have helped some of the fortune 500 companies develop their strategic plans by tracking and interpreting market dynamics. Prismane consulting has completed a number of multi-client studies and projects. It offers Market Studies, World Analysis and Strategy Reports related to Refining, Chemicals, Petrochemicals, Plastic & Polymers and Materials. Contact Us: Mr. Rakesh Panigrahi Chemicals & Energy, Prismane Consulting Tel: +91-20-67277711/12, +33 6 64397294 Email: sales@prismaneconsulting.com The Conservatives are running an under-the-radar online advertising campaign targeting Labour MPs in marginal seats over immigration. The adverts, shown to Facebook users in 19 marginal constituencies, highlight Labour's decision to vote against the government's immigration bill at the start of the month which it opposed over visa restrictions on care workers. Voters in seats including Bedford, which Labour held by just 145 votes at the last election, and Coventry North West, which was held by 208, are told: "Your MP just voted against ending free movement". The adverts, which began running on 1 July also appear to be a data collection exercise, with voters asked to fill in a spurious "survey" with vague questions like "do you support strengthening our immigration system?". Voters who respond must provide their email address and are asked to consent to be "updated via email about the partys campaigns" effectively building the party a contact database of anti-immigration voters in marginal seats. Voters' contact information and their political preferences are highly valuable to parties, who can use campaigning tools to help them turn out at elections or target them with messages. Other seats targeted include Coventry South, Weaver Vale, Wansbeck, Newport West, Warwick and Leamington all of which have sitting Labour MPs with majorities of under 1,000 votes. One Liberal Democrat MP, Tim Farron, whose Cumbria seat is relatively marginal, was also targeted. The adverts have a potential reach of between one and two million people and cost the party between two and four thousand pounds, according to transparency data made public by Facebook. The constituencies selected for this latest wave of adverts could give a clue as to the seats the Conservatives will be targeting at the next election, which is scheduled for 2024. Higher-profile figures in the targeted seats include former shadow home secretary Yvette Cooper and left-winger Zarah Sultana. The adverts mention constituencies by name (Facebook) The Conservatives, Labour, and the Lib Dems made significant use of targeted Facebook ads at the last general election in a bid to reach voters. Tory messages focused on "getting Brexit done" while Labour mostly used the adverts to highlight its manifesto policies. Lib Dem campaigns largely focused on Brexit. A study by the organisation First Draft which fact-checked Conservative targeted Facebook ads at the general election found that 88 per cent of them were misleading or dishonest, compared to none for opposition parties. 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 This month Keir Starmer announced a "complete boycott" of advertising spending on Facebook in solidarity with the Black Lives Matter movement after the social media form was accused of failing to do enough to remove hate speech and racist conspiracy theories. The party spent 1.2 million on advertisements with the social media giant at last year's general election. The Immigration and Social Security Co-ordination (EU Withdrawal) Bill was approved by MPs on 1 July by 342 votes to 248, with Labour MPs whipped to oppose it. The legislation repeats EU free movement rules and also paves the way for a points-based immigration system, without giving details. Labour says it voted against the bill because the government has said carers will not be eligible for a special new healthcare worker visa under the new immigration system despite a labour shortage in the sector. The wail of bagpipes and beating of drums signaled the start of a memorial service for San Antonios first law enforcement officer to die as a result of the novel coronavirus. A somber procession for Bexar County Sheriffs Deputy Timothy De La Fuente made its way Tuesday morning from Mission Park Funeral Chapels South to Community Bible Church on the North Side for a ceremony with full honors. When the escort arrived at the church, the San Antonio Police Pipes & Drums and Austin Police Pipe & Drum Corps led the honor walk, which started near a large unfurled American flag secured to the ends of two extended fire truck ladders. A formation of deputies rendered sharp salutes under cloudy skies as De La Fuentes family walked behind a horse-drawn carriage with glass sides bearing the deputys ashes to the church entrance doors. More than 100 people gathered inside the sanctuary to celebrate the life of the 27-year veteran who was remembered as a fun-loving, devoted husband and dedicated law enforcement officer. He worked at the Bexar County Jail where the virus swept through the facility in April, infecting several hundred inmates and staff members. De La Fuente was 53 when he died at home April 30. On ExpressNews.com: Hundreds test positive for COVID-19 at Bexar County Jail Family, friends and colleagues, all wearing protective masks, sat in clusters apart from each other for the service. A black-framed portrait of De La Fuente rested in a rustic, wooden rocking chair placed beside the pulpit where relatives, clergy and Sheriff Javier Salazar offered words of remembrance. The Rev. Ed Newton, pastor of Community Bible Church, welcomed the assembly and introduced the speakers who each recalled how the deputy made an impact on their lives. Jerry Lara, Staff / San Antonio Express-News Pastor Kenneth Brown from First Baptist Church in Converse, who also worked at the jail, remembered working with De La Fuente, and how they would have gentle rivalries, comparing their units. He recalled that De La Fuente and his wife, Pauline, were avid world travelers, making their way to locations such as Dubai, Paris and Rome. Brown said during a particularly rough challenge in his life, it was De La Fuente who was by his side. The one who stood closest to me was not all of my preachers, friends, and pastors I know, he said, it happened to be Timothy. On ExpressNews.com: De La Fuente loved being a peace officer De La Fuentes sister-in-law Gloria Pezina wept as she addressed the crowd, saying family holidays would be empty without him. One of the deputys sisters Melinda De La Fuente spoke about growing up with her middle sister and younger brother in a military family. She said her brothers career in law enforcement followed in their fathers footsteps. Their dad worked in the Air Force Office of Special Investigations. I always had a satisfying feeling knowing he was performing above and beyond what was required, she said, willing and able to do his civic duty. De La Fuentes widow, Pauline Pezina De La Fuente, and her daughter, Terry, followed. But the widow was overcome and couldnt speak, so Terry read for her, a missive entitled, Love Letter to My Husband. Bob Owen, Staff-photographer / San Antonio Express-News The letter recalled jokes that made Pauline laugh, crying together over sad stories and his appreciation of the meals she cooked for their family. I am so proud to have spent the last 14 years together, she wrote, in good times and sad times and exploring the world together. Where I am, you will always be and I will carry you close to my heart and in my spirit. Salazar said De La Fuentes career was not without obstacles, but he loved his job, where he was well respected. Three years ago, he was injured when an inmate attacked him with a wooden mop. At the hospital, another deputy told De La Fuentes wife how two other inmates came to his rescue. Bob Owen, Staff-photographer / San Antonio Express-News The sheriff said De La Fuente always went out of his way to shake his hand and say good morning, a friendly gesture that cheered him up on difficult days. He said what turned out to be the deputys last words were the morning of the day he died, when he called in sick. He said he had to call his chain of command, let them know he couldnt come in and gave an ample explanation of the reason. He was not a no call, no show kind of guy, Salazar said. Until the end, Tim fought with a heros heart. Related: Sheriffs deputy who died at home had tested positive for the coronavirus As a photo tribute on two video screens closed the ceremony, officers and family filed outside for the committal service officiated by Sheriffs Department Chaplain Josue Tapia. The service observed law enforcement traditions to the end. A lone deputy led a riderless horse by the reins past ram-rod straight rows of officers standing at attention. A bugler sounded taps before three volleys from seven rifles boomed in the air. Bob Owen, Staff-photographer / San Antonio Express-News Strains of the hymn Amazing Grace echoed from bagpipes, accompanied by the roll of drums. The people in the crowd raised their heads seemingly as one to watch the San Antonio Police Departments Eagle helicopter soar overhead and disappear beyond the church. Salazar knelt and presented a folded Texas flag to the widow. There was a moment of silence followed by a radio dispatchers last call for De La Fuente. She called his name once, twice. When no answer came, his badge was retired. Your assignment, the dispatchers voice said, is complete. Vincent T. Davis is a reporter in the Greater San Antonio and Bexar County area. To read more from Vincent, become a subscriber. vtdavis@express-news.net | Twitter: @vincentdavis View live politics updates ChevronRight Now, Kemps instrument is not a chain saw. Instead, he is wielding a lawsuit and request for an injunction barring the citys Democratic mayor and contender for the vice presidential nomination, Keisha Lance Bottoms, from enforcing her ordinance or speaking to the media about her authority to do so. Story continues below advertisement The complaint was filed in Fulton County Superior Court, where a hearing scheduled for Tuesday morning was delayed after the judge assigned to the case was recused. The case marks the latest flash point over face coverings, which help block the airborne particles and tiny droplets that spread the deadly virus but are seen by some conservatives and anti-government activists as medical tyranny. Advertisement The legal contest also exposes in newly stark terms the standoff between Republican governors and the Democratic mayors of the biggest cities in their states, which could be some of the hardest-fought battlegrounds in the November election. Kemp, dogged by claims of voter suppression in the 2018 election that he refereed as Georgias secretary of state, has embraced his role as an avatar for these conflicts, which are flaring during the health emergency. He has eschewed expert consensus, frequently casting his response to the pandemic in ideological terms reminiscent of his incendiary campaign ads. Story continues below advertisement He is of the mind-set that people dont require government to tell them what to do, said Doc Eldridge, who developed a rapport with Kemp in the 1990s when Eldridge was a district commissioner and then mayor of Athens-Clarke County and Kemp was working as a local developer, before he ran for a state Senate seat in 2002. When states first began lifting coronavirus lockdown measures in the summer, tensions around face masks had been mounting since the CDC first recommended them. (The Washington Post) Advertisement Kemp, who reported a net worth of $5.2 million in 2018, does not believe, Eldridge said, that government is the answer to all of our problems. He does, however, believe in President Trump, whom he welcomed, unmasked, to Georgia last week. With his move to void Atlantas July 10 ordinance, which also returns the city to Phase 1 of its reopening, Kemp has turned his state into ground zero for a hasty return to normal hewing to Trumps vision for an abrupt economic restart. Story continues below advertisement The governors litigious response to Bottoms has baffled public health experts and even some business leaders in the state. They say his heavy-handed approach with local leaders even as he encourages Georgians to wear masks limits the effectiveness of one of the best tools for keeping the virus at bay, which is necessary for consumer confidence. Major retailers, such as Walmart, have acknowledged as much in requiring customers to wear face coverings. Advertisement Every relevant scientific body is saying that masks are essential, said K.M. Monirul Islam, an epidemiologist who runs the public health program at Augusta University. Kemp has set himself apart even from fellow Republicans. More than half of all states have statewide mask mandates, after Alabama and Arkansas both conservative states led by conservative Republican governors adopted them last week. Republican governors and Trump acolytes in Arizona and Florida have authorized county and municipal leaders to make their own rules about face coverings. Story continues below advertisement Kemp, meanwhile, is unmoved, vowing to stand in the way of disastrous policies as he labeled the orders in Atlanta that threaten the lives and livelihood of our citizens. That position upends local control, long a principle claimed by conservatives. And the target placed on Atlanta intensifies the political overtones of the litigation, say mayors of other Georgia cities, from Augusta to Athens to Savannah, whose mask ordinances remain in effect. Advertisement Its hard to fully figure out what is in somebody elses mind, but its no secret that the governor is a strong ally of the president, and its also no secret that Mayor Bottoms is a strong ally of Vice President Biden, said Kelly Girtz, the mayor of Athens, Kemps hometown. That suggests there may be some political intent. Story continues below advertisement Atlanta is in the governors crosshairs because the mayors actions extend beyond requiring masks and include a reversion to a previous phase of reopening, said Candice Broce, a spokeswoman for the governor. But the complaint, which also names members of the city council as defendants, lists as the mayors first offense making masks mandatory. Kemps allies maintain he favors masks even completing a wear a mask tour of the state while seeking to strike a balance with economic interests that depend on uniform rules across the state. The lawsuit aims to prevent mixed messages that are being sent out to businesses and restaurants, said state Rep. Terry Rogers, among the governors legislative floor leaders. Advertisement The Georgia Chamber of Commerce echoed that concern, backing the governors move and, in a statement, saying businesses should not be forced to enact an ever-changing patchwork of regulations. Municipal chambers have taken different views. David Bradley, who heads the local business association in Athens, said he supports the citys mask mandate. Story continues below advertisement It would seem that science is on the side of wearing masks, and that long-term economic sustainability is on the side of wearing masks, he said. The Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce did not respond to a request for comment. The governors office has evolved in its position on face coverings growing less stringent as the pandemic has worsened. An executive order in April beginning the states reopening required all restaurant employees to wear face coverings at all times. Kemps executive counsel, David Dove, stressed that point in an email to the states restaurant association, part of correspondence released through a public records request. Advertisement Face covering is a requirement for all restaurants, he wrote on April 27, as daily new cases hovered around 500. Does not have to be a specific type of mask but has to be a face covering. Story continues below advertisement A new executive order on June 11, as daily new cases neared 1,000, eased that restriction, specifying that restaurant employees are only required to wear face coverings when they are interacting with patrons. The governors latest move to ease up on mask requirements, in this case seeking to invalidate the Atlanta ordinance, came as average daily cases soared above 3,000. The rapidly increasing caseload, however, is not reflected in some of the health departments data visualizations, which display cases per 100,000 residents across different regions of the state. The color scheme has not shifted even as the total number of cases has increased nearly 50 percent in the past two weeks. A spokeswoman for the health department, Nancy Nydam, said the maps are not designed to show increases over time, but rather to show density by location and differences between counties. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Concern about how the state is presenting data to the public is long-standing. In May, the governors office apologized after a graph was posted showing a downward trajectory of cases but only because the x-axis was not in chronological order. Case counts and the health precautions they recommend are particularly vexed in Georgia because of Kemps unorthodox approach to managing the outbreak. He was one of the last governors to shut down his economy, explaining when he did act, in early April, that he had only recently learned that asymptomatic carriers can spread the virus a warning long articulated by scientists and broadly shared with the public. Three weeks later, Kemp declared he was reopening Georgias economy, making him among the first governors to do so. The decision came after Trump had urged governors to roll back restrictions, also calling on protesters to liberate their states. But the speed with which Kemp acted to reignite commercial activity drew rebuke even from the president. Advertisement I told him, I totally disagree, Trump said. Kemp, said University of Georgia political scientist Trey Hood, was thrown under the bus. Whatever ill will may have resulted, however, has not lasted. When Trump with no mask, in violation of the citys rules visited Atlanta last week, a masked Kemp was at the airport to welcome him. His relationship with Bottoms, by contrast, has been badly strained. In addition to the mask issue, the governor and the mayor of the states largest city have tangled over whether the National Guard was needed to quell unrest following the fatal shooting of a black man, Rayshard Brooks, by a white police officer. The lawsuit caused tensions to boil over. The governor has done many things as of late and said many things as of late that, quite frankly, are simply bizarre, Bottoms said Sunday on CBSs Face the Nation. He filed a 124-plus-page lawsuit against me this week calling for an emergency injunction to stop me from speaking about his orders. If the governor of this state had his way, I would not be allowed to speak with you today. Bottoms who has tested positive for the coronavirus, along with her husband and one of their sons has said that the mask ordinance could bring down infection rates and save lives. Atlanta sits in two counties in this state, two of the highest counties for infection rates from covid-19. So this is not about politics. This is about people, she said. Her argument has been bolstered by the Trump administrations scientific advisers, who have been calling on the public to wear masks since early April, and health experts at the Atlanta-based Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last week, CDC Director Robert Redfield cited studies showing the beneficial impact of masks in saying that widespread use could bring this epidemic under control within one or two months. Georgias experience with the virus has not been as bad as in states such as Florida, Texas and Arizona. But cases are rising fast. In the past week, the state has averaged more than 3,000 new infections a day. A little over a month ago, the average was fewer than 1,000. More than 3,100 people in Georgia have died of the coronavirus. The Harvard Global Health Institute rates Georgia as among the 11 states where the coronavirus is spreading so rapidly that governors should institute stay-at-home orders. Kemp, however, has shown no interest in considering the idea. His hard line could help solidify his standing among Republicans, observers said. It probably helps him with his base. Atlanta is not a place where Georgia Republicans are going to get a lot of votes, Hood said. The effect on the states broader political proclivities is less clear, especially with Bottoms a possible running mate for Joe Biden and Kemps own by-a-whisker victory serving as a reminder of just how divided modern Georgia has become. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg has expressed concern over the TikTok ban in India. The social media honcho had told its employees that he found the Indian government's move of banning TikTok in India "worrisome". TikTok was amongst the 59 Chinese apps that were banned in India but why it hogs the maximum limelight because TikTok had the second-largest user base in India with over 200 million users. As per The Verge writer Casey Newton, Zuckerberg was worried about TikTok's India ban. Although it soon cashed into the opportunity and released a TikTok clone "Reels", the government's reason behind banning the app in India wasn't received well by Mark Zuckerberg. He had said that if India can ban a platform with over 200 million users in India without citing concrete reasons, it can also ban Facebook if something goes amiss in the security and privacy front. Why Mark finds it particularly worrisome because Facebook is already involved in a lot tussle with the governments across the world involving national security concerns. "Facebook already faces fights around the world from governments on both the left and the right related to issues that fit under the broad umbrella of national security: election interference, influence campaigns, hate speech, and even just plain-old democratic speech. Zuckerberg knows that the leap from banning TikTok on national security grounds to banning Facebook on national security grounds is more of a short hop," the report by Casey read. Facebook till now has not faced any kind of issue in India but considering the debacle with the other governments, it is not entirely wrong to worry about its future in India if any national security issue arises. Back in 2016, Facebook's Free Basics service, which means a free but restricted internet service, was banned in India by the telecom regulators. The TRAI had said that the Free Basic services were banned in India because it violated the principles of net neutrality. With Free Basics services, Facebook had planned to bring more unconnected users online. But since 2016, there has been no major tussle between the Indian government and Zuckerberg due to national security issues. Coming back to TikTok, the app with over 200 million users in India was banned by the Indian government. The government had alleged that the apps were engaged in activities that were "prejudicial to sovereignty and integrity of India, defense of India, the security of the state and public order." South Korean tech giant Samsung revealed its plans for the next generation communication network, 6G. The company released a white paper entitled The Next Hyper-Connected Experience for All. outlining the companys vision for 6G. In the white paper, the company covers various aspects related to 6G, including technical and societal megatrends, new services, requirements, candidate technologies, and an expected timeline of standardization. According to the white paper, Samsung believes 6G will become a standard communication network as early as 2028, while mass commercialization may occur around 2030. In order to accelerate research for 6G, Samsung Research, the advanced R&D hub within Samsung Electronics SET Business, founded its Advanced Communications Research Center in May of last year. While 5G commercialization is still in its initial stage, its never too early to start preparing for 6G because it typically takes around 10 years from the start of research to commercialization of a new generation of communications technology, explained Sunghyun Choi, Head of the Advanced Communications Research Center. Weve already launched the research and development of 6G technologies by building upon the experience and ability we have accumulated from working on multiple generations of communications technology, including 5G. Going forward, we are committed to leading the standardization of 6G in collaboration with various stakeholders across industry, academia and government fields. Samsung claims that both humans and machines will be the main users of 6G, and 6G will be characterized by the provision of advanced services such as truly immersive extended reality (XR), high-fidelity mobile hologram, and digital replica. Whereas 5G requirements mainly focused on performance aspects, Samsung outlines three categories of requirements that have to be met to realize 6G services performance, architectural, and trustworthiness requirements. Examples of 6G performance requirements are a peak data rate of 1,000 Gbps (gigabits per second) and air latency less than 100 microseconds, 50 times the peak data rate, and one-tenth the latency of 5G. Samsung says speed, latency, and reliability are all set to see progress by transitioning from 5G to 6G. While 5G was designed to achieve 20 Gbps peak data rate, in 6G, we aim to provide the peak data rate of 1,000 Gbps and a user experienced data rate of 1 Gbps, the firm notes. The diagram below shows a comparison of key performance requirements between 6G and 5G: The architectural requirements of 6G include resolving the issues arising from the limited computation capability of mobile devices as well as implementing AI (artificial intelligence) right from the initial phase of technology development and enabling the flexible integration of new network entities. The trustworthiness requirement addresses the security and privacy issues arising from the widespread use of user data and AI technologies. The white paper also introduces candidate technologies that could be essential to satisfy the requirements for 6G. These include the use of the terahertz (THz) frequency band, novel antenna technologies to enhance the coverage of high-frequency band signals, advanced duplex technologies, the evolution of network topology, spectrum sharing to increase the efficiency of frequency utilization and the use of AI in wireless communications. Samsungs 6G white paper also covers a lot of other information, including technical details. Click here to download Samsungs 6G white paper to learn more. Statewide All information from the Iowa Department of Public Health, except where noted. (In parentheses: Change from the day before.) Cases of coronavirus: 39,419 (+512) The total number of people who have ever tested positive for active novel coronavirus infection since testing began in March 2020. Average cases per day: 408 (+17) Percent change in cases over 14 days: 13.5% (no change). National average: 37.2% (no change). (Info: KFF.org) Rate of spread: 1.13 (no change) The average number of people who currently become infected by an infectious person. Over 1.0 means the virus will spread, and below 1.0 means it has stopped spreading. (Info: Rt.live) Deaths: 793 (+5) The total number of people whose deaths were attributable to the novel coronavirus since IDPH began tracking such deaths in March 2020. Average deaths per day: 3.2 (-0.4) Fatality rate: 2.0% (no change). National average: 3.8% (no change). The percentage of deaths out of the total number of infected. (Info: KFF.org) Recoveries: 28,319 (+369) As of June 30, IDPH now classifies anyone not hospitalized or deceased after 28 days to be recovered. Recovery rate: 71.8% (no change) Positive serology tests: 2,627 (+20) The number of people with no current infection who tested positive for antibodies of the novel coronavirus. Hospitalized patients with COVID-19: 223 (+2) Hospitalized in NE Iowa (RMCC Region 6): 39 (-1) Patients admitted in last 24 hours: 23 (+2) Last 24 hours in NE Iowa: 6 (+4) Hospitalized in intensive care units: 74 (-2) In ICU in NE Iowa: 12 (-3) Hospitalized on a ventilator: 32 (+2) On ventilator in NE Iowa: 4 (+1) Long-term care facility outbreaks: 17 facilities (+1) An outbreak is added when a facility has three or more residents test positive, and removed when no new cases appear. Deaths attributable to long-term care facility outbreaks: 426 (+5). Percentage of total deaths: 53.7% (no change) National ranking in cases per capita: 17th (no change) (Info: KFF.org) National ranking in deaths per capita: 23rd (no change) (Info: KFF.org) Positive testing rate: 6.4% (-0.1%) As of May 12, the World Health Organization recommends a positive testing rate of less than 5% or lower for at least 14 days to understand virus spread. Northeast Iowa Allamakee County: Cases: 142 (+3) Recoveries: 120 (+4) Deaths: 4 (no change) Fatality rate: 2.8% (-0.1%) Serology positive: 116 Percent currently infected of total infections: 7.0% Benton County: Cases: 94 (+1) Recoveries: 70 (no change) Deaths: 1 (no change) Fatality rate: 1.0% (-0.1%) Serology positive: 9 Percent currently infected of total infections: 22.3% Black Hawk County: Cases: 2,707 (+13) Recoveries: 1,932 (+19) Deaths: 61 (+1) Fatality rate: 2.3% (no change) Serology positive: 690 Percent currently infected of total infections: 20.5% Bremer County: Cases: 140 (+5) Recoveries: 79 (no change) Deaths: 7 (no change) Fatality rate: 5.0% (-0.2%) Serology positive: 6 Percent currently infected of total infections: 37.0% Buchanan County: Cases: 76 (+3) Recoveries: 44 (+2) Deaths: 1 (no change) Fatality rate: 1.3% (-0.1%) Serology positive: 4 Percent currently infected of total infections: 38.8% Butler County: Cases: 84 (+3) Recoveries: 65 (+1) Deaths: 2 (no change) Fatality rate: 2.4% (-0.1%) Serology positive: 4 Percent currently infected of total infections: 19.3% Cerro Gordo County: Cases: 452 (+17) Recoveries: 108 (+44) Deaths: 13 Fatality rate: 2.9% Serology positive: 12 Percent currently infected of total infections: 71.3% LTC facility outbreak: Good Shepherd Health Center (105 cases [-1 adjusted], 23 recovered [+2]) Chickasaw County: Cases: 41 (+1) Recoveries: 33 (no change) Deaths: 0 Fatality rate: 0% Serology positive: 6 Percent currently infected of total infections: 17.0% Clayton County: Cases: 61 (+3) Recoveries: 45 (+3) Deaths: 3 (no change) Fatality rate: 4.9% (-0.3%) Serology positive: 26 Percent currently infected of total infections: 14.9% Delaware County: Cases: 66 (no change) Recoveries: 58 (+2) Deaths: 1 (no change) Fatality rate: 1.5% (no change) Serology positive: 1 Percent currently infected of total infections: 10.5% Dubuque County: Cases: 1,217 (+25) Recoveries: 481 (+11) Deaths: 23 (no change) Fatality rate: 1.9% (no change) Serology positive: 105 Percent currently infected of total infections: 53.9% Fayette County: Cases: 65 (no change) Recoveries: 31 (no change) Deaths: 0 Fatality rate: 0% Serology positive: 9 Percent currently infected of total infections: 45.9% Floyd County: Cases: 94 (no change) Recoveries: 66 (no change) Deaths: 2 (no change) Fatality rate: 2.1% (no change) Serology positive: 6 Percent currently infected of total infections: 26.0% Franklin County: Cases: 145 (+10) Recoveries: 71 (+1) Deaths: 0 Fatality rate: 0% Serology positive: 2 Percent currently infected of total infections: 50.3% LTC facility outbreak: Sheffield Care Center added July 20 (9 cases [+2], 1 recovered [+1]) Grundy County: Cases: 58 (+1) Recoveries: 31 (no change) Deaths: 0 Fatality rate: 0% Serology positive: 5 Percent currently infected of total infections: 42.9% Hardin County: Cases: 109 (+4) Recoveries: 55 (no change) Deaths: 0 Fatality rate: 0% Serology positive: 2 Percent currently infected of total infections: 48.7% Howard County: Cases: 42 (no change) Recoveries: 24 (+1) Deaths: 0 Fatality rate: 0% Serology positive: 14 Percent currently infected of total infections: 32.1% Marshall County: Cases: 1,198 (+11 Recoveries: 980 (+6) Deaths: 21 (+1) Fatality rate: 1.8% (+0.1%) Serology positive: 15 Percent currently infected of total infections: 16.2% Long-term care facility outbreak: Grandview Heights added July 7 (33 cases [no change], 3 recovered [no change]) Mitchell County: Cases: 68 (+1) Recoveries: 44 (+3 Deaths: 0 Fatality rate: 0% Serology positive: 20 Percent currently infected of total infections: 27.3% Tama County: Cases: 510 (+1) Recoveries: 417 (no change) Deaths: 29 (no change) Fatality rate: 5.7% (no change) Serology positive: 61 Percent currently infected of total infections: 11.2% Winneshiek County: Cases: 58 (+1) Recoveries: 44 (+5) Deaths: 1 (no change) Fatality rate: 1.7% (-0.1%) Serology positive: 18 Percent currently infected of total infections: 17.1% 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. Four persons suspected to have disrupted the Voters' Registration process in Kasoa are in the grips of the Central Regional Police Command. Sulley Razak, Majeed Amadu, Suleman Yusuf and Razak Musa were arrested for discharging unauthorized firearms, causing damage to properties and disrupting the Registration exercise. Deputy Superintendent of Police (DSP), Irene Serwaah Oppong, Central Regional Police Public Relations Officer (PRO), confirmed this to the Ghana News Agency. She indicated that on Monday, July 20, at 1000 hours, a complainant from Peace Town, a suburb of Kasoa reported that at about 0930 hours, whilst voter registration was on process, some thugs raided the registration center. One of the thugs from the group pulled out a pistol and fired to scare people who had queued to register, she added. The DSP noted that, the police swiftly proceeded to the scene and arrested the suspects and retrieved one pistol from the scene, together with three burnt motorbikes. DSP Oppong said all the four suspects have been brought to the Regional Criminal Investigative Department in Cape Coast for further investigations. ---GNA Key equity benchmarks ended with strong gains on Tuesday, rising for the fifth straight session. Global shares advanced as European Union (EU) leaders agreed on a 750 billion euros package aimed at funding post-pandemic relief efforts in the region. Hopes for a coronavirus vaccine also lifted risk appetite. The first set of results from early-stage clinical trials of the Oxford University Covid-19 vaccine candidate show the vaccine is safe and induces an immune reaction. As per provisional closing, the barometer S&P BSE Sensex jumped 511.34 points or 1.37% at 37,930.33. The Nifty 50 index rose 140.05 points or 1.27% at 11,162.25. The broader market underperformed the benchmarks. The S&P BSE Mid-Cap index shed 0.22% while the S&P BSE Small-Cap index rose 0.24%. The market breadth was positive. On the BSE, 1448 shares rose and 1239 shares fell. A total of 162 shares were unchanged. Buzzing Index: The Nifty Auto index rose 1.69% to 7,290.80, extending gains for fifth day. The index has added 5.42% in five sessions. Eicher Motors (up 5.28%), Maruti Suzuki (up 4.25%) and Tata Motors (up 3%) were the top index gainers. Mahindra & Mahindra (down 0.87%), Bajaj Auto (up 0.05%), Hero MotoCorp (up 0.26%) and Bharat Forge (up 0.27%) were the top index laggards. According to the data released by the Federation of Automobile Dealers Association (FADA), passenger vehicle (PV) registrations declined 38.34% YoY to 1,26,417 units in June 2020. Total vehicle registration for June 2020 tumbled 42% to 9,84,395 in June 2020 over June 2019 as the Indian Economy continues to battle with COVID-19, the apex automobile retailer's body said. The commercial vehicles June retail sales witnessed the biggest contraction as it stood at 10,509 units, down by 83.83% as compared to 64,976 units reported in the same period last year. While the two wheeler category's registrations declined by 40.92%, the three wheeler segment's registrations slumped 75.43% in June 2020 over June 2019. However, tractors registrations continue to march ahead with June numbers showing a YoY growth of 10.86%. Robust crop situation of previous harvest and timely arrival of monsoons resulted in a demand recovery that was observed in rural market leading to rise in sales volume of tractors. "June registrations, although better than May, is still not indicative of the actual demand situation as lockdown woes continue in some parts and supply side is far from its complete potential", FADA said. Stocks in Spotlight: Bajaj Finance fell 3.96% to Rs 3305 after the company said Rahul Bajaj has decided to step down from his position as chairman at the end of this month. Consequently, the company's board, at its meeting held today, has approved the appointment of Sanjiv Bajaj, currently the vice chairman of the company, as non-executive chairman of the company with effect from 1 august 2020, in place of Rahul Bajaj. The non-banking financial company's (NBFC's) consolidated net profit declined 20% to Rs 962.32 crore in Q1 June 2020 from Rs 1195.25 crore in Q1 June 2019. Total income jumped 14.5% to Rs 6649.74 crore in Q1FY21 as against Rs 5807.76 crore in the same period last year. Loan losses and provisions for Q1FY21 was Rs 1,686 crore as against Rs 551 crore in Q1FY20. During the quarter, Bajaj Finance made an additional contingency provision of Rs 1,450 crore for COVID-19 taking the overall contingency provision for COVID-19 to Rs 2,350 crore as of 30 June 2020. SBI Life Insurance Company rose 4.39% to Rs 892 after the life insurer posted a 5.1% rise in net profit to Rs 390.89 crore in Q1 June 2020 from Rs 371.9 crore in Q1 June 2019. Net premium income rose 14% to Rs 7,588 crore in Q1 June 2020 from Rs 6,655 crore in Q1 June 2019. The annualized premium equivalent (APE), a measure of new business written by a life insurance company, fell 32% to Rs 1270 crore in Q1 June 2020 as against Rs 1860 crore in the same period last year. The company's net worth increased by 17% to Rs 9310 crore in Q1 June 2020 from Rs 7940 crore in Q1 June 2019. SBI Cards and Payment Services gained 3.15% to Rs 775.50 after the company's net profit rose 14% to Rs 393.29 crore in Q1 June 2020 compared with Rs 345.59 crore in Q1 June 2019. The rise in the net profit was aided by reduction in operating costs (down 15.4% YoY) and finance costs (down 9% YoY). Total income stood at Rs 2,195.60 crore in Q1 June 2020, sliding 4.72% from Rs 2,304.27 crore in Q1 June 2019. Meanwhile, accounts in moratorium went down by 88% to 1.5 lakh in June 2020 from 12.5 lakh in May 2020. ACC added 3.96% to Rs 1382.75 after the cement major's operating EBITDA margin improved to 20.8% in Q2 June 2020 from 19.3% in Q2 June 2019 bouyed by strong cost management and efficiency actions. The company's consolidated net profit tumbled 40.5% to Rs 270.95 crore in Q2 June 2020 as against Rs 455.68 in Q2 June 2019. Revenue from operations stood at Rs 2602.24 crore in Q2 June 2020, declining 37% from Rs 4149.82 crore reported in the same period last year. The cement sales volume declined 34% to 4.76 million tonnes in Q2 June 2020 from 7.23 million tonnes in Q2 June 2019. The ready-mix concrete sales volume tumbled 82% to 0.15 cubic million metres in Q2 June 2020 from 0.85 cubic million metres in Q2 June 2019. Global Markets: Markets in Europe and Asia rose across the board on Tuesday buoyed by a slew of positive news on the coronavirus vaccine and fiscal stimulus fronts. European Union (EU) leaders reached a deal on a 750 billion euro ($857 billion) recovery fund to help the region recover from the coronavirus crisis. EU heads of state had been locked in talks since Friday morning. Early Tuesday morning, however, the leaders reached a breakthrough agreement. Investor sentiment was also supported by a slew of positive news on the coronavirus vaccine front. US stocks climbed on Monday after erasing early losses as tech giants rallied and investors focused on positive COVID-19 vaccine news. A UK biotech firm, Synairgen, reportedly soared as much as 552% on Monday after announcing that its drug was associated with a significantly lower chance of a patient requiring a ventilator or dying. Pfizer and BioNTech reported early positive data on a joint coronavirus vaccine Monday and another candidate from Oxford University and AstraZeneca also showed a positive immune response in an early trial. Investors are also keeping an eye on Washington, where lawmakers are starting to hammer out a rescue package to replace some of the expiring benefits earlier versions contained. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Leading public health experts asked why the C.D.C. itself had not been requiring such data from states. Dr. Irwin E. Redlener, founding director of Columbia Universitys National Center for Disaster Preparedness, said it was pathetic that a private organization had to propose data standards and recruit states to voluntarily agree. The feds should have been demanding exactly this kind of standardized information from every state and territory since March, he said. This is another illustration of the failures of the federal government Trump was explicit in telling governors that they were on their own. Michael T. Osterholm, director of the Center for Infectious Disease Research and Policy at the University of Minnesota, who helped design the data dashboard used by New York State and cited by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo during his news conferences, said Dr. Friedens proposal was something we need in our tool kit thats been absent. Dr. Osterholm worried that both spread of the virus and progress against it were not being adequately measured. Without standards, how do you know whether youre failing or succeeding? Dr. Osterholm said. Without them, you cant hold anyones feet to the fire. This is something the C.D.C. should have done. Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and the senior scientist on the White House Coronavirus Task Force, agreed that Dr. Friedens initiative was an important effort. Asked for comment, a spokesman for the C.D.C., Tom Skinner, said the agency was always looking at best practices and had made plans with the states to track 14 of the 15 indicators cited in Dr. Friedens report. The exception was the percentage of people correctly wearing masks in public, since it was unclear how that could be done, Mr. Skinner said. (Dr. Friedens report suggested doing street counts or viewing security camera footage.) Regulatory News: THERACLION (Paris:ALTHE) (ISIN: FR0010120402; Mnemo: ALTHE, PEA-PME eligible), an innovative company specializing in the development of medical equipment for echotherapy treatment, notably for varicose veins, today announces its sales revenues for the first half of 2020. David Caumartin, CEO of Theraclion, commented: "Our high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) technology is a breakthrough innovation because it is non-invasive and is not performed in an operating room. We are the first players in the market with SONOVEIN. Theraclion deploys its strategy and pursues its development plan to be the market leader in varicose veins. Over the past few months, the teams have been able to develop an optimized version of the SONOVEIN solution and are moving towards a new CE marking. Since mid-May, two new treatment centers have been equipped with our SONOVEIN system, bringing to six out of a target of twelve, the number of centers where Key Opinion Leaders (experts) have access to our solution. These centers of excellence are the relay of our technology to the rest of the market. We anticipate a gradual resumption of treatment and sales of systems from September." Semester activity impacted by the global health crisis Theraclion SA achieved a turnover of 169K in the first half of 2020, a decrease of 15% if we consider the recurring revenue consisting of the sale of consumables and services ( 199K at the end of June 2019). The sale of systems could not take place because the health crisis halted the activities of our experts who had to suspend any non-urgent medical treatment. The lockdown did not allow patients to access our technology. Travel limitations with the interruption of air connections and the closing of borders, as well as restrictions on gatherings have made any commercial visits impossible and difficult the transport of products, even though the vast majority of Theraclion's turnover is carried out internationally. However, the growing interest of vascular physicians in Theraclion's echotherapy solution continues. Ten systems were sold in 2019. As of May 11, the company is regaining its commercial dynamics and accelerating its efforts with potential buyers of the technology. We are currently witnessing a gradual resumption of treatments and an increase in orders for consumables. Half year revenue/K S1 2020 S1 2019 Variation Sales of systems 764 -100% Sales of consumables 93 113 -17% Sales of services 76 86 -11% Total sales Theraclion SA 169 963 -82% Out of which Thyroid and Breast 136 963 -86% Out of which varicose veins 33 na Continued development of SONOVEIN and gradual recovery of activities Theraclion continued to deploy its strategic priorities on SONOVEIN because the solution meets an unmet medical need. This system is the only non-invasive option for varicose vein surgery, without scars and incisions, thereby greatly reducing the risk of nosocomial disease. It minimizes the time spent in the treatment center and does not use sedation allowing almost normal activity immediately after the intervention. Theraclion teams continued the technical and clinical development of SONOVEIN in order to offer a new version which optimizes the use by practitioners and meets the requests from early expert users. In addition to these technical developments, Theraclion was able to install two new SONOVEIN treatment centers in France and Spain, as soon as the containment was lifted, illustrating the expectations of medical specialists for the non-invasive varicose vein treatment solution. Of the six sites currently equipped with SONOVEIN, three have resumed or started treatment, the other centers anticipate a resumption of treatment in September. In connection with the gradual recovery of treatments, Theraclion recorded an increase in orders for EPACK consumables at the start of the second semester. This dynamic of orders makes it possible to anticipate a gradual resumption of treatment from September. Given the interest of Key Opinion Leaders for Theraclion's disruptive technology, the company is confident that it will achieve its goal of opening SONOVEIN treatment sites in the coming months. Theraclion thus pursues its objectives for the development of SONOVEIN Open new treatment sites in 2020 in Europe and Asia for the treatment of veins while working with Key Opinion Leaders to accelerate the adoption by the medical community of SONOVEIN technology; - Develop trials in the United States to progress towards the approval of SONOVEIN by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA); - Continue the technical development of SONOVEIN technology. Reinforced cash flow to support the deployment strategy of SONOVEIN Despite the health crisis, Theraclion's cash flow situation is now strengthened. The company obtained 1.4 million in loans under a State Guaranteed Loan (PGE) and an innovation loan from Bpi France. Theraclion also received the research tax credit in the first half of the year. These financing contributions, together with the net cost savings implemented by the company, strengthen the financial structure of the company. Given these elements, a cautious estimate of system sales in 2020 with an expected second half of the year that is significantly more dynamic than the first, the issuance of all or part of tranche 2 of the financing at the start of 2019, Theraclion believes that 'it will be able to meet its cash flow needs over the next 12 months. In the first half of 2020, Theraclion also obtained a 3.6 million line of credit, which could be activated, if necessary. About Theraclion Theraclion is developing an innovative high-tech echotherapy solution using therapeutic ultrasound for the treatment of varicose veins, SONOVEIN. The solution, which obtained CE marking in April 2019, is based on the strong expertise developed by Theraclion in echotherapy for the treatment of non-invasive ablation of breast fibroadenomas and thyroid nodules with its Echopulse solution. Echopulse technology is adapted to SONOVEIN to provide the only non-invasive ablation therapy for varicose veins, now allowing treatment without a catheter, chemical injection or incision. An operating room is not necessary. Venous pathology is widespread worldwide and generates around 5 million treatment procedures per year, according to Millenium research Varicose Vein Device Market Study 2015. Theraclion's technological solutions are based on a high-tech ultrasound medical imaging tool precise, easy to use and handle for practitioners. Located in Malakoff, near Paris, Theraclion brings together a team of 25 people, more than half of whom are dedicated to R&D and clinical trials. For more information, please visit the Theraclion website: www.theraclion.com and the patient site: https://echotherapie.com/echotherapy/ Theraclion is listed on Euronext Growth Paris Eligible for the PEA-PME scheme Mnemonic: ALTHE ISIN code: FR0010120402 LEI: 9695007X7HA7A1GCYD29 View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005778/en/ Contacts: Theraclion David Auregan Chief Finance Officer david.auregan@theraclion.com Anja Kleber VP Marketing, Market Access Sales Francophonia anja.kleber@theraclion.com A remarkable rescue video shows the moment a quick-witted farmer solicited the help of his co-workers to aid in saving a herd of horses that fell into an icy pond in Russia. The team of rescuers hauled the animals to safety by using their own strength and a tractor with a lifting jib. On Feb. 16, a farmer named Sagitzian Idilyatullin, 29, uploaded a video on Instagram showing the risky rescue of seven trapped Bashkir horses in the Iglinsky region of Bashkiria, Russia. According to Idilyatullin, the horses entered the lake out of habit thinking that the ice was about half a meter deep. However, once in, these panicking horses struggled to stay afloat. The average weight of a horse is close to an estimate of 9002,000 pounds (408907 kg). Thus, Idilyatullin and his team of rescuers decided to use a tractor with a lifting jib to pull the horses out. Luckily, the first two horses were brought to safety pretty quickly. Meanwhile, the third horse struggled as four rescuers tried their best with the utmost strength of their bodies to pull it out of the freezing water; however, no matter how much they toiled, they failed. Then a few more men joined in the effort, and together, they pulled the horse successfully out of the water. Unfortunately, after the horse was rescued, it stayed still and was unable to move due to the freezing temperature and exhaustion. However, after a few minutes of lying at the same spot, it garnered its strength and was able to stand on its own feet. Meanwhile, the other three out of four horses that were stuck in the water clambered to safety with the help of a harness around their necks and a rope attached to the lifting jib of the tractor. The group of farmers worked as quickly as possible so that the horses wouldnt drown or freeze to death. However, as the men rescued the last horse, they struggled as it started to move away from the rescuers every time they came forward. Finally, with the help of a harness, they were successfully able to bring the distressed animal to safety. According to Idilyatullins Instagram post, the cause of the incident was due to unstable weather conditions. He concluded his post by writing, Thank God everything worked out, everyone was pulled out, they acted promptly. As the footage was shared online, many viewers from different parts of the world left comments for the brave farmers who were able to rescue these mighty horses and give them another chance at life. Thank you for saving them, so glad they all made it, expressed one Instagram user from the United States. Meanwhile, another user from Canada wrote, Awesome job..u can tell u love ur horses very much.. A third one chimed in, writing, You are all angels! Thank you for saving these horses. May God bless you all! The Bashkir horses are small in structure; however, they are known to survive extreme weather conditions and remain out in snow and blizzard most winters. Watch the dramatic rescue: We would love to hear your stories! You can share them with us at emg.inspired@epochtimes.nyc OKLAHOMA CITY, Okla., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Southern Nazarene University (SNU) a private, Christian, liberal arts university that offers flexible degree-completion and graduate programs for working adults through its College of Professional and Graduate Studiestoday announced the expansion of its online course offerings by adding four new online degree programs to enhance its overall portfolio. By providing additional online educational choices to working adults, SNU opens up opportunities for more adult students outside the state of Oklahoma to earn degrees at all levels from a Christian university without disrupting their lives. As the system of higher learning struggles to adapt to uncertainty and safety concerns during a global pandemic, the need for universities to shift to an online focus has never been greater. SNU's College of Professional and Graduate Studies, however, has been serving adult learners with online course offerings for nearly a decade and was uniquely prepared to quickly add new online programs at the bachelor's, master's, and doctoral levels in order to serve more students. "Adult learners have much different life trajectories than traditional college students," said SNU's President Dr. Keith Newman. "They require much more flexible options as they seek supplemental education while juggling careers, families, and the many competing challenges of adulthood. Our aim is to accommodate varying needs and busy schedules, making it possible and more convenient for adults from a variety of backgrounds to achieve their educational goals." SNU's online programs offer the ultimate flexibility, allowing students to access their classes at any time during the week, instead of requiring them to be online at specific times. In addition, students can benefit from taking only one class at a time and receiving books delivered to their door. The programs are designed to cater to adults working full-time jobs, parents, veterans, and professionals seeking promotions and career changes. "Our online classes use the same curriculum as courses taught in a classroom," said SNU's Provost, Dr. Tim Eades. "In addition, we offer a unique cohort model, where students go through the program with the same group. This enhances their educational experience, allowing them to feel a sense of community and belonging, which is important in establishing a supportive learning atmosphere." Designed to meet the needs of students where they are, SNU offers the following online degree programs: Bachelor Degree Programs Master Degree Programs Doctoral Degree Program SNU's degree programs feature multiple start times throughout the year, as well as small class sizes and affordable prices. Undergraduate students can earn up to a year's worth of free credits for life experiences. SNU's online programs are taught through Canvas, a popular learning management software. Information about SNU's online education tools can be found in the blog post, Everything you Need to Know about SNU's Online Tools . To learn more about online programs available at SNU, visit pgs.snu.edu/online . ABOUT SNU Founded in 1899, Southern Nazarene University (SNU) seeks to make Christlike disciples through higher education in Christ-centered community. Its College of Professional and Graduate Studies is designed for working adults, offering degree-completion and graduate programs to prepare them to succeed in their individual career paths. All classes take place completely online or one evening a week so students can reach their goals while working full-time and caring for a family. With campuses in Bethany and Tulsa, as well as classrooms in Del City, various satellite classrooms, and online options, there are opportunities to learn from any location. For more information, visit https://degrees.snu.edu/online-degree-programs-designed-for-adult-students . SOURCE Southern Nazarene University Related Links https://pgs.snu.edu The White House threatening to veto a massive defense policy bill over a provision that would rename military bases such as Fort Bragg that are named after Confederate officers. The veto threat came hours before the House voted Tuesday on the $741 billion annual defense authorization, a sprawling, bipartisan bill that includes a 3% pay raise for U.S. troops. The House approved the bill, 295-125, sending it to the Senate, where lawmakers are considering a similar measure. The White House issued a 13-page statement expressing 'serious concerns' about multiple provisions of the bill, including the renaming of some military institutions and limitations on the use of funds for Afghanistan that the White House said would constrain the president's authority. If the bill were presented to President Donald Trump in its current form, 'his senior advisors would recommend that he veto it,' the White House said. Trump threatened a veto earlier this month, tweeting that the measure would lead to the renaming 'Fort Bragg, Fort Robert E. Lee, and many other Military Bases from which we won Two World Wars.'' Veto threat: Trump's Office of Management and Budget said he would refuse to sign a Defense Spending Bill which orders bases named for Confederates renamed Example: Fort Lee in Virginia is one of the 10 bases - nine forts and a camp - which both Republicans and Democrats want renamed Trump's threat comes as he is increasingly appealing to his core supporters as his troubled reelection campaign has fallen behind former Vice President Joe Biden in opinion polls. Trump has previously expressed opposition to the renaming of bases named after Confederate leaders - a position that put him at odds with Pentagon leaders and many fellow Republicans - and has defended flying the Confederate flag as 'freedom of speech.' Trump has described the bases named for Confederate leaders as a part of American history. The statement released Tuesday describes the language in the bill as 'part of a sustained effort to erase from the history of the Nation those who do not meet an ever-shifting standard of conduct,' pointing to ongoing efforts to rename or topple federal monuments and memorials. 'President Trump has been clear in his opposition to politically motivated attempts like this to rewrite history and to displace the enduring legacy of the American Revolution with a new left-wing cultural revolution,' the statement by the White House Office of Management and Budget reads. Ten Army bases are named for Confederate military officers, including Fort Hood in Texas, Fort Benning in Georgia, Fort Bragg in North Carolina and Fort A.P. Hill in Virginia. The Senate's top Democrat, Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, dared Trump to veto the defense bill over Confederate base naming. 'It's in the bill. It has bipartisan support. It will stay in the bill,' Schumer said earlier this month, referring to a Senate version that also includes the renaming provision. Congress has approved the annual defense measure every year for almost six decades. It typically enjoys veto-proof support, though various controversies often mean that it does not pass until late in the year. Rep. Adam Smith, D-Wash., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, said the bill focuses on maintaining a strong defense as the nation grapples with a once-in-a-generation health crisis caused by the novel coronavirus and a reckoning over racism sparked by the police killing of George Floyd. The bill creates a Pandemic Preparedness and Resilience National Security Fund, directing $1 billion to efforts to prepare for and respond to future pandemics. It also requires designation of an assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy, charged with supervising Pentagon policies to develop and maintain the nation's defense industrial base. The bill also prevents the use of Pentagon funds to reduce U.S. forces stationed in Germany and elsewhere in Europe below levels present in June, unless the Defense secretary and Joint Chiefs of staff certify six months in advance that the reduction would not negatively affect U.S. and allied security. The bill fully funds the European Deterrence Initiative and provides billions of dollars for submarine and anti-submarine warfare capabilities that enhance deterrence against Russia. It also provides $250 million to support Ukraine and extends a ban on funding for any activity that would recognize Russian sovereignty over Crimea. The bill includes a host of non-defense items, including environmental measures pushed by Democrats in the West to protect the Grand Canyon and wilderness areas in three states. The bill also provides up to $10,000 in debt relief to millions of private student loan borrowers, including thousands of service members and veterans. The amendment's sponsor, Rep. Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., said the COVID-19 pandemic has exacerbated a student debt crisis that has left at least one in seven student loan borrowers more than 90 days delinquent in their payments. Southern Yemenis took to the streets of the Hadhramaut province this week in protest against moves to court the Muslim Brotherhood in South Yemen Thousands of southern Yemenis took to the streets of Al-Mukalla, the capital of the Hadhramaut province of South Yemen, earlier this week in support of the Southern Transitional Council (STC) and calling for the autonomy of the southern regions of Yemen. With the lull in the fighting in Yemen, the countrys political factions are trying to maximise their bargaining chips in any anticipated settlement of the conflict in the war-torn country. Over the past few months, the situation in South Yemen has been getting worse as the legitimate government of Yemeni President Abd Rabbu Mansour Hadi has focused on its southern allies rather than facing up to the rebel Iran-backed Houthi militia. However, since the internationally recognised government of Hadi began to court the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood, the southerners have become wary of the future. When the Hadi government called in the Saudi-led Arab Coalition forces in 2015, it was mainly to fight the Houthi rebels who then dominated the country. Most of the military achievements of the coalition in liberating provinces from Houthi control saw the active participation of southern fighters more than that of the army loyal to the Hadi government. In successive cabinet reshuffles, Hadi brought the Al-Islah Party, representing the Muslim Brotherhood in Yemen, into his government, letting party members control the military and incorporate their own militias into it. The southerners felt betrayed and formed the STC in 2017 in a bid to take control of the liberated areas of South Yemen. Late last year, the Saudis brought the two sides together to sign a power-sharing agreement in a bid to direct all efforts towards the Houthi rebels. But Al-Islah elements in the government saw this as allowing them to take control of areas where terrorists used to cluster in the southern and middle parts of the country. Some of these areas came under Houthi control some years ago when Al-Islah conspired to let them in. Even during the heat of the conflict in recent years, elements of the Al-Islah Party in government forces were allegedly responsible for deadly attacks by Houthi rebels on coalition forces, especially Emiratis. Last summer, the UAE withdrew its forces from Yemen and kept only a small contingent there to facilitate humanitarian assistance to Yemenis in areas liberated from the Houthis. Signed in November by the Hadi government and the STC, the Riyadh Agreement was supposed to lead to the formation of a new government, but Al-Islah elements have been putting up obstacles since then. In April, the STC announced the self-rule of the South and itself started standing up to the Al-Islah militias, including those contributing to the army. When the Houthis recaptured parts of Maarib, the STC denounced this as the result of treachery on the part of Al-Islah and the Yemeni government. Al-Islah figures based in Turkey started a campaign to call for Turkish intervention in Yemen, raising the ire of both the Saudis and the STC as many Turkish activities in Yemen have already been hidden under the cover of charitable organisations. The city of Shabwa governor met Turkish officials two months ago, and the Socotra Provincial Governor Ramzi Mahrous is said to have secretly met Turkish and Qatari intelligence officials in Istanbul. The STC then moved into Socotra and drove the Al-Islah elements in the local government out, angering Al-Islah elements in Hadis government and Brotherhood elements in Turkey. Last month, Saudi Arabia called the parties to Riyadh to negotiate the implementation of the November Agreement. The southerners feared pressure to form a government with elements of Al-Islah in it would dilute their quest for self-rule. For this reason, protesters in Al-Mukalla this week carried the flags of the former Republic of South Yemen that united with the north in 1990. They shouted slogans calling on STC leader Ahmed Saeed bin Buraik, to implement self-rule in the province, while negotiating power-sharing with Hadis government. The Hadhramaut province is rich in oil, and it used to be a base for terrorists from many groups that were offshoots of the Yemeni Muslim Brotherhood. Many southerners now consider that Al-Islah militias are disguised as the national army. Yemeni journalist Nassim Al-Deeni told Al-Ahram Weekly that Al-Islah is again dealing with the Houthis and asking tribes close to them to give aid. She also stressed the fear of the South that Turkish involvement called in by Al-Islah was a real threat to the achievements against the Houthi militia and terrorist groups in the South. Though Turkey has denied any involvement in Yemen, Al-Deeni said that the Turkish defence minister, who visited Doha last week after a visit to Libya, had discussed involvement in Yemen with Qatari officials. Despite its military campaigns in Syria, Iraq and Libya that might stretch the cost of another foreign adventure, Turkish President Recep Tayyep Erdogan might find supporting the Brotherhood in Yemen another means of moving against Saudi Arabia and other Gulf countries opposed to his aggressive policies in the region. According to New York-based lawyer Irina Tsukerman in a paper written for the Israeli think tank the Begin-Sadat Centre for Strategic Studies, while Ankara has been asking for financial support from various countries, it is too early to rule out the possibility that it will invest financing it does not have in another conflict. Turkey can likely rely on its funder Qatars willingness to fuel the fires wherever possible and embroil its regional adversaries in endless asymmetrical and media wars. Al-Deeni said that the Yemenis know from experience that the Brotherhood will never honour any agreement with the Saudis, especially when it comes to South Yemen. Though some have argued against the possibility of Turkish military involvement in Yemen, Al-Deeni referred to an announcement by Ankara that it was sending naval vessels to the Bab Al-Mandab Strait off Yemen in September. The announcement came as part of Turkeys assuming the lead of the Combined Task Force 151 (CTF-151) to combat piracy in the Gulf of Aden and off the coast of Somalia in the Indian Ocean, with Al-Deeni pointing out that Turkey has the support of the terrorist group Al-Shabab in Somalia, allies of terrorists in South Yemen. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: MANILA, Philippines Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray on Tuesday appeared at the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) to press charges against those who uploaded a digitally-altered and malicious photo of her online. Gray met with NBI Deputy Director Vicente de Guzman to discuss her complaint. Grays lawyer earlier said a fake topless photo of the beauty queen is circulating online and denounced the vicious attempt to tarnish the good name of Ms. Gray. NBIs Cybercrime division was tasked to handle the investigation. RRD (with details from Correspondent Joan Nano) The post Catriona Gray asks NBI to track down those behind fake online photos appeared first on UNTV News. The corporate earnings for the March quarter were largely muted, as was largely expected. Profits of Nifty constituents declined by over 20 percent on a year-on-year (YoY) basis following the coronavirus outbreak and lockdown in the last few days of the March. The Nifty sales declined 5.1 percent YoY for the March quarter. Most sectors reported double-digit declines in profits, with defensives like healthcare, technology and consumer sectors being the only exceptions. Analysts expect Nifty50 EPS growth to be extremely volatile over FY21 and FY22 due to the dip and recovery resulting in CAGR of 13.8 percent over FY22-20. The key message from the March quarter was that the earning recovery was pushed back by at least a year but there were some stock-specific outperformance, Motilal Oswal has said. "...markets are looking beyond FY21, aided by global recovery and a gradual return to normalcy," Motilal Oswal said in a report There 28 stocks that reported doubling of profit in the March quarter compared to the year-ago period. Can we saw they all are free from the impact of COVID? Experts are cautious even when picking the stocks that have more than doubled the profit. Companies that have recorded 100 percent or more growth in their net profit numbers from a YoY perspective include MRF, Gujarat Gas, Laurus Lab, Granules India, Navin Fluorine and Alkyl Amines. For the majority of these companies, the profit growth is looking strong due to low base. The slowing economy and sector-specific challenges had already impacted their financials last year, Ajit Mishra, VP Research, Religare Broking, told Moneycontrol. For long-term wealth creation, we like a few of them that include SBI, GAIL, UltraTech Cement, Coromandel International, and Gujarat Gas, given their strong presence in their respective sectors, he said. Even after profits doubling on a YoY basis in the quarter ending March 2020 for stocks like SBI, NHPC, Ultratech Cement, etc, they all have given negative returns ranging from -9% to -60%. In my personal view, this is not surprising, and I feel that this is the tip of the iceberg, Arjun Yash Mahajan, HeadInstitutional Business at Reliance Securities told Moneycontrol. Even before coronavirus struck, there were signs of a slowing economy. The effect of the outbreak will be seen in April-June 2020 quarter. "It looks like the worst is yet to come and in my personal view, it will last for more than a few quarters, to say the least, he said. June Quarter earnings The June quarter earnings, too, are expected to be subdued due to the extension of lockdown in April and May, say experts, but there could be a few exceptions in terms of sectors such as FMCG, pharma and even IT. There are few exceptional sectors such as FMCG and pharma which had seen healthy buying interest and would post better numbers for the quarter, said Mishra of Religare Broking. In the June quarter earnings, demand revival, the outcome of better monsoon, raw material prices and management outlook would be key things to watch out, he said. Mahajan of Reliance Securities is of the view that March quarter was disappointing but the June quarter will be disastrous. Between the two, the March quarter would look much better. It is almost a given that in April to June 2020 quarter we will see companies reporting disastrous numbers and it may not come as a surprise that we see certain companies reporting losses for the first time in many decades, he said. : The views and investment tips expressed by experts on Moneycontrol.com are their own and not those of the website or its management. Moneycontrol.com advises users to check with certified experts before taking any investment decisions. Oregon public health officials have launched a new website designed to help residents find the nearest locations where they can get tested for the novel coronavirus. The website allows users to type in their home addresses, cities or zip codes, then browse through a list of clinics offering tests that detect active infections or the presence of antibodies from past infections. The website displays the requirements for getting a test at each location. Many require that a doctor order the test or an appointment to be made ahead of time. Some locations -- such as Oregon Health & Science Universitys drive-through testing sites in North Portland and Hillsboro -- require only that a person has symptoms, is preparing for surgery or is pregnant -- and no doctors approval or appointment is necessary. Other locations -- including Kaiser Permanentes network of hospitals -- are more restrictive, requiring a physicians order and that people who are tested be enrolled members in the particular health system. The website was launched by the Oregon Health Authority in collaboration with Google, Castlight Health and local public health officials. The website allows users to search not only in Oregon, but throughout the U.S. It provides results in Spanish and many other languages. The site comes at a time when demand for testing is soaring, as cases in Oregon and across the country repeatedly break records. A shortage in testing kits and supplies has led in some cases to waits of up to two weeks for testing results. Whether someone gets tested is up to the doctors who order the tests or the testing sites that screen members of the public. The Oregon Health Authority is primarily recommending testing only for people with COVID-19 symptoms who get a physicians approval. But public health officials say they also are giving the greenlight to some other groups, including minorities and essential workers such as health care employees. Visit healthoregon.org/covid19testing or healthoregon.org/pruebasdecovid19 to use the testing site locator. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter -- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Inherent flaws in the rapid antigen test now being used across India may have contributed to the dwindling Covid-19 figures reported by erstwhile hotspots Delhi and Ahmedabad, suspect public health specialists. The national capital that reported 31 per cent positivity rate (out of 100 tests, 31 was Covid-19 positive) in the second week of June, now has a positivity rate of less than 10 per cent. The same has dipped in Ahmedabad too in the recent weeks though the Gujarat capital was considered one of the hotspots in June. Experts suspect widespread use of the rapid antigen test may have contributed behind such happy numbers, notwithstanding the policy measures taken by the local governments to get a grip on the Covid-19 scenario. RT-PCR is a nucleic acid test that looks for replication of the viral RNA in samples collected from nose or throat swabs. The antigen test detects viral proteins in similar samples. But there is a vast difference in efficacy between the two. Follow live updates on the coronavirus here RT-PCR, the gold standard test to detect Covid-19 has a sensitivity of 60-65 per cent. If rapid antigen test is applied on the RT-PCR positive results, only about 70 per cent of them are picked up by the quick diagnostics, which has a sensitivity of 50-85 per cent. So only about half of the positive cases would be diagnosed with rapid antigen tests, K Srinath Reddy, president of Public Health Foundation of India and a member of the ICMR task force on Covid-19 told DH. The consequence would be a drop in the positivity rate. To avoid such erroneous conclusions the Indian Council of Medical Research guideline suggests that those who tested negative in rapid antigen test must again be checked with RT-PCR. But no one knows whether such guidelines are being followed scrupulously as neither ICMR nor the state authorities have publicly released the disaggregated data. By ICMR protocol, people who have symptoms but test negative on the antigen test should be retested using the PCR, but there could be slips in the way this protocol has been followed. Bringing in the antigen tests may have partly contributed to this decline in the numbers and percentage of positive cases, said Meenakshi Gautham, a research fellow with the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. But this is not to say that the containment and strengthened contact tracing have not had an effect. They must have but it's difficult to say how much of the decline is true and how much is superficial. In Ahmedabad, the rapid antigen test data is not regularly shared by the administration, said Dileep Mavalankar, director of Public Health Foundation of India, Gandhimagar. Ideally ICMR should have come out with guidelines on identification of the suspect cases and anyone with influenza like illness or severe acute respiratory illness should be checked with RT-PCR. The public health specialists said clinical judgment of a doctor should always precede the tests and all the suspected cases should be recorded separately. Doctors should act on clinical judgment and testing, which alone can not be the single window to initiate Covid-19 treatment noted T Sundaraman, former executive director at the National Health Systems Resources Centre, Delhi. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 00:33:55|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LUSAKA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Zambian parliament on Tuesday adjourned following a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country. The adjourn was unanimously supported by all lawmakers after the parliament reported 19 positive cases. Vice-President Inonge Wina said the emergency of the pandemic requires the parliament to adjourn in order to protect the lawmakers and staff from contracting the virus. She noted that it was unfortunate that despite measures put in place to contain the pandemic, the pandemic has continued unabated. She further urged all lawmakers to undergo testing following revelations by the health minister that only six out of 156 lawmakers have so far voluntarily tested for COVID-19. Jack Mwiimbu, leader of the opposition in parliament, said the statistics being revealed showing an increase in both cases and deaths, painting a gloomy picture for the country. He said unless the country acts swiftly to contain the pandemic, more people will die. Enditem Our hope is that counterprotesters possibly have a change of heart, said Janet Martin of Beyond the Borders. We love all lives, but in this moment it seems like Black lives dont matter. It needs to be specified. We need to say that. Hopefully they get the message. A man has been arrested on suspicion of murder after the fatal stabbing of a "much loved" construction worker in north west London. Peter Petrou, 37, was knifed to death outside a McDonald's branch in Kilburn on Thursday night. Officers were called to Victoria Road just before 10.25pm and Mr Petrou was rushed to hospital. He was pronounced dead half an hour later. A 23-year-old man was arrested on Tuesday afternoon on suspicion of murder. He remains in custody at an east London police station. Mr Petrou's sister has spoken of her heartbreak after the death of her brother - the second tragedy to rock the family in three decades. Police were called to Victoria Road, near Kilburn High Road, on Thursday night In a statement released through Scotland Yard, Ms Meade said: "This is the second murder we as a family have had to suffer. Our sister, Tracy Meade, was also murdered in 1992 and still no one has been convicted. "As a family we are deeply devastated and cannot begin to imagine how we are going to cope with this type of tragedy again especially if the perpetrator is not caught. "Peter was much loved by his large family and many friends. He was the life and soul of everything and the void he has left will be hard to fill. Detective Inspector Darren Jones, leading Scotland Yard's investigation, said: This senseless killing has left Peters family facing unthinkable grief. "They are going through hell and my team and I are conducting extensive enquiries into what happened. We are determined to bring those responsible before a court to face justice." Anyone with information is asked to call police via 101 quoting reference Cad 8685/16Jul. To remain anonymous, contact the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111. Tropical Depression 8E developed on July 20 and quickly organized into a tropical storm. Infrared NASA satellite imagery revealed that Tropical Storm Douglas contained strong storms and showed banding of thunderstorms around its center. Tropical Depression 8E formed about 905 miles (1,460 km) southwest of the southern tip of Baja California, Mexico by 11 a.m. EDT on July 20. Within 12 hours, 8E had strengthened into a tropical storm and was renamed Douglas. On July 21 at 6 a.m. a.m. EDT (1000 UTC), the Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer or MODIS instrument aboard NASA's Aqua satellite analyzed Douglas' cloud tops in infrared light. Infrared data provides temperature information, and the strongest thunderstorms that reach high into the atmosphere have the coldest cloud top temperatures. The National Hurricane Center (NHC) noted that Douglas' center is also now embedded beneath a central dense overcast (a large central area of thunderstorms surrounding its circulation center) in infrared imagery, near an area of cold overshooting cloud tops. Aqua found several areas of strong storms around the center of Douglas' circulation and in broken bands of thunderstorms wrapping into that low-level center. In those areas, temperatures were as cold as or colder than minus 70 degrees Fahrenheit (minus 56.6 Celsius). Cloud top temperatures that cold indicate strong storms with the potential to generate heavy rainfall. At 10 a.m. EDT (1500 UTC), the center of Tropical Storm Douglas was located near latitude 12.4 degrees north and longitude 124.2 degrees west. About 2,110 miles (3,390 km) east of Hilo, Hawaii. Maximum sustained winds have increased to near 65 mph (100 kph) with higher gusts. The estimated minimum central pressure is 998 millibars. Douglas is moving toward the west-southwest near 15 mph (24 kph). A turn toward the west at a similar forward speed is expected later today, followed by a turn toward the west-northwest Wednesday night (July 22). NHC forecaster Robbie Berg said, "The low-[wind]shear, warm sea surface temperature environment within which Douglas is moving is a recipe for continued strengthening, potentially at a rapid rate, for the next 48 hours." Additional strengthening is forecast during the next several days, and Douglas could become a hurricane later today. Tropical cyclones/hurricanes are the most powerful weather events on Earth. NASA's expertise in space and scientific exploration contributes to essential services provided to the American people by other federal agencies, such as hurricane weather forecasting. For updated forecasts, visit: http://www.nhc.noaa.gov ### A curious situation prevails in the temple town of Tirupati in Andhra Pradeshs Chittoor with the district authorities announcing a complete lockdown in the town starting Tuesday, even as the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams continues to allow the pilgrims to have the darshan of Lord Venkateshwara on Tirumala hills. District collector Bharat Gupta told reporters that the entire temple town of Tirupati had been declared as a containment zone for Covid-19 and a complete lockdown would be in force from Tuesday till August 5. We are going to strictly enforce the lockdown for 14 days in the wake of the intensity of Covid-19 in Tirupati. All the 50 wards under Tirupati municipal corporation had been affected with some wards reporting more than 40 positive cases for Covid-19, he said. Except those catering to essential services like medical shops and milk vendors, all the other business establishments, including wine shops and banks, would remain closed. The grocery shops and vegetable markets would be allowed only from 6 to 11 am. No private vehicles, autorickshaws and public transport would be available in the town, except for those who have medical emergencies and go to the hospitals, the collector said. We shall review the situation on July 31 and take a call as to whether to continue the lockdown or end it on August 5, Gupta said and reminded that the recent 45-day lockdown in Srikalahasti, another pilgrim centre about 35 kilometres from Tirupati, had yielded excellent results. Strangely, the TTD authorities are yet to take a decision on the closure of the Lord Venkateshwara temple atop the Tirumala hills for darshan of the pilgrims, who cannot reach the pilgrim centre without entering Tirupati town. Tirupati municipal commissioner PS Girisha clarified that the Road Transport Corporation had arranged buses from the RTC bus stand directly to Tirumala for the sake of pilgrims, who should not move anywhere in the town. No restaurants or shops would be available for them in Tirupati. Those coming by their own vehicles or hired vehicles should go to the hills via Tirumala bypass road and should not enter the town. They could buy food parcels in the restaurants located on the bypass road, he said. Meanwhile, the TTD announced curtailment of darshans for pilgrims in the wake of restrictions imposed by the district authorities. Starting Tuesday, the TTD stopped offline sale of 3,000 darshan tickets which was offered to pilgrims at Bhudevi Complex located at Alipiri. Since the entire area has now come under lockdown, the facility for direct purchase of darshan tickets has been closed till further notice, a TTD official said. Co Antrim firm Marcon has won a contract for the 1m fit-out of a new distillery. Marcon will work on the two-storey gin and whiskey Hinch Distillery near Ballynahinch, Co Down, due to open this year. The building will have a visitor centre, as well as a coffee shop, courtyard and events spaces. Marcon will work on the project with design company Drinksology. Hinch Distillery is being developed by Dr Terry Cross, the founder of west Belfast packaging firm Delta Print and Packaging - now part of Huhtamaki. Dr Cross said: "We are launching the Hinch Distillery to provide visitors with a highly differentiated product and experience that couples the production of our quality spirits with a story and heritage. "We hope it will become an attraction in its own right and offer guests a real understanding of the skills and methods needed to produce our spirits." Marcon's work will include fitting feature bars, wall panelling, fixed furniture and floor and ceiling finishes. Director Mark O'Connor said: "Given the ambition of the facility to be a leading visitor attraction, the fit-out will be of the highest standard. All of the specialist joinery items will be produced in our manufacturing facility, giving us the opportunity to showcase Marcon's quality finish." Woodbine Mohawk Park hosted a nine-race qualifying session Tuesday morning (July 21) and four of the dashes were devoted to two-year-olds. The most impressive rookie during the morning session proved to be Lillysilk, who uncorked a sharp move on the turn and paced home to a tidy victory. Jody Jamieson was at the lines of Lillysilk -- who is an Anthony Beaton trainee -- and the duo lined up in Post 5 for Race 4. Jamieson and the daughter of Captaintreacherous--Silky fired well from the gate and lead the field into the opening turn. The pair geared down prior to the :30.2 quarter pole and opted for a forwardly-placed position through the :59.4 opening half. (Lillysilk's race starts at the 53-minute mark.) Jamieson called on Lillysilk on the final turn, and the duo tipped out first over as they rounded the bend. Lillysilk was right up at the leader at the 1:29.1 three quarters marker and continued to spar for the top spot into the stretch. Lillysilk continued her mission through the lane, as she finished up her mile with a :27 final quarter. When all was said and done, Lillysilk was first under the wire in 1:56.1 and her margin of victory was one and three-quarter lengths. Lillysilk was an $80,000 yearling purchase at last fall's Lexington Selected sale and is owned by Steve Heimbecker, Michael Guerriero, and Larry Menary. The other two-year-olds to notch victories during the session were Fashion Frenzie (2:00), P L Oliver (1:59.1), and YS Patricia (2:00.3). To view the harness racing results from the Tuesday qualifying session at Mohawk, click the following link: Tuesday Results - Woodbine Mohawk Park (Qualifiers). - In May 2020, the Law Society of Kenya revoked the list of the 24 advocates who had been selected for the highly coveted legal title - The LSK President Nelson Havi said members had expressed dissatisfaction in the manner in which the selection committee was composed - Havi further argued that the committee of senior counsel which was undertaking the recruitment exercise was not impartial - Twenty-two lawyers who were directly affected by the revocation went to court to counter the move, resulting in a stalemate - High Court Judge Pauline Nyamweya issued temporary orders barring LSK from withdrawing the names until the matter was heard and determined - According to LSK, by the time Uhuru elevated the 24 lawyers, the dispute was yet to resolved hence the president acted with "impunity" The Law Society of Kenya has dismissed a list of 24 lawyers who were elevated to the rank of senior counsel by President Uhuru Kenyatta. The 24 advocates included Wiper leader Kalonzo Musyoka and his Narc Kenya counterpart Martha Karua whose nomination had been revoked by LSK. READ ALSO: Kenyan newspapers review for July 21: Parliament put on lockdown after 50 staff tested positive for COVID-19 LSK President Nelson Havi speaking in a past press briefing. Photo: Nelson Havi. Source: Facebook READ ALSO: Juventus vs Lazio: Ronaldo's brace powers Old Lady to 2-1 victor In a statement issued on Monday, July 20, the lawyers' umbrella said the president acted with impunity when he conferred the status to the 24 lawyers whose selection had been highly disputed by members. "President Uhuru Kenyatta acted with impunity in conferring rank of senior counsel on the 24 advocates. The dispute on their recommendation for conferment is still pending in court. We will abide by the outcome of the mediation that ensured therefrom whose report is expected soon," said the society through its Twitter handle. READ ALSO: Rais Magufuli asema Tanzania imekandamiza COVID-19 na sasa watalii wanamiminika In May 2020, LSK president Nelson Havi revoked the names of the 24 advocates on grounds that majority of members had expressed dissatisfaction in the manner in which the selection committee was composed. Havi further argued that the committee of senior counsel which was undertaking the recruitment exercise was not impartial. The counsel deliberated on this matter in a meeting held on May 11, 2020. It was resolved that the decision of the committee made on August 26, 2019, be set aside. The recommendation for the conferment of the 24 advocates was therefore revoked, he said. President Uhuru Kenyatta conferred 24 lawyers with the status of senior counsel. The move has been opposed by LSK. Photo: PSCU. Source: Facebook City Lawyer Donald Kipkorir was among LSK members who challenged the recruitment process via a petition in court in September 2019. Kipkorir argued that the list ignored gender rule, regional balance and allegedly favoured criminal lawyers over commercial litigators. The advocate further questioned the committee's decision to depart from the tradition of conferring the status to a sitting attorney-general, director of public prosecution and LSK president. When LSK revoked the list, Kipkorir made an application to withdraw his petition but his request was effected on June 20. However, the society's decision opened another legal tussle as the 22 lawyers who were directly affected by the revocation went to court to counter the move, resulting in a stalemate. High Court Judge Pauline Nyamweya issued temporary orders barring LSK from withdrawing the names until the matter was heard and determined. According to LSK, by the time Uhuru elevated the 24 lawyers, the dispute was yet to resolved hence the president acted with "impunity." The committee selects lawyers to be conferred with senior counsel status comprises of a judge of the Supreme Court, one from the Court of Appeal, High Court and a magistrate, the attorney-general, the President of LSK, three senior counsels and two advocates with at least 10 years of experience. 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. Kamotho, Virginia and Tabitha meet in court over custody battle I TUKO TV Source: TUKO.co.ke Since marketing professionals rarely get the credit they deserve, we want to collect the most inspiring, heartwarming stories and spread a positive message about the ingenuity that drives them when their backs are against the wall. Ignite Visibility, a top-rated digital marketing and advertising agency, is pleased to announce submissions for the Courageous Marketing Leader Award are now open. Applicants are encouraged to send in stories of creative marketers who have spearheaded game-changing campaigns, challenged the status quo, and set themselves apart as leaders in the industry. During the review period, the Ignite team will select the top stories to feature on a variety of high-volume platforms, including Medium.com, Business 2 Community, and Ignite Visibility in addition to a press release. The top five Courageous Marketing Leaders will also be promoted on the popular Ignite Visibility media network, which gets more than 300,000 visits a month. What you need to know to apply: Submissions are open now through Monday, August 17, 2020 Voting and review period will last from August 18 August 23, 2020 Award announcement will take place on August 24, 2020 Winners will be selected based on votes and judge discretion "Times have been tough for everyone and marketers are no exception. Many of them have been forced to kick things into the highest gear possible overnight. They have had to launch new products or services, completely revamp old ones, keep their teams engaged, and find ways to do more with less, says John Lincoln, CEO. Since marketing professionals rarely get the credit they deserve, we want to collect the most inspiring, heartwarming stories and spread a positive message about the ingenuity that drives them when their backs are against the wall. Do you know someone who launched a fresh, cutting-edge marketing campaign that youre super proud of? Then we want to see it, here. About Ignite Visibility: Launched in 2013 by co-founders John Lincoln and Krish Coughran, Ignite Visibility is a premier full service digital marketing agency based in San Diego, CA. They are not only one of the highest recommended agencies on Clutch.co, they are also recognized as one of the top digital marketing companies in the industry. Consistently named one of the top SEO, paid media, social media, email marketing and CRO companies in the USA, Ignite Visibility has used the same strategies they use for clients to become a three-time Inc. 5000 company (2017, 2018 and 2019). Their single-focused mission is to provide the most comprehensive offering coupled with the highest level of customer service in the industry. To learn more, visit https://ignitevisibility.com/. Lets start todays look at Connecticuts COVID-19 data since the start of Phase 1 reopening, most of it excellent, with some breaking news: Stamford Hospital discharged its last coronavirus patient Monday. Wow Stamford Health, once the states epicenter with 150 in-patients at the peak in mid-April, is down to zero as of this writing. Dr. Michael Parry, chief of infectious diseases there, isnt dancing in celebration. We cant be too overconfident, he said. Were seeing a small number of patients in the emergency room, in outpatient clinics, who are testing positive but are not sick enough to be admitted. Keep that in mind as we look at the states numbers since the week of May 20, when life inched toward normal in Connecticut. We know the declines in deaths, hospitalizations, rates of positive tests and total new infections have made this state the nations No. 1 performer. One troubling measure: The Rt rate, aka the transmission rate or the R-naught, an indirect number designed to estimate how many new infections each sick person causes. If its over 1, the illness is growing, or so the theory goes. Under 1, its abating. Connecticut went from a nation-leading 0.73 on May 18 to 0.99, eighth best in the United States, on Sunday. Still in the green zone, but only barely. Arizona, which peaked at a high 1.25 two months ago and ended up with a vast spread is now at 0.98, a tick better than Connecticut. Even Florida, which recorded more than 10,000 new cases in each of the last several days, was down to 1.01 Sunday. Small changes might matter in this Rt measure, which is frightfully complex and was developed by the founders of Instagram. Then again, maybe not. Deaths, hospitalizations, new cases, percent of positives, those we can relate to more easily. Those are numbers that are tangible and can be measured, Parry said Monday. I dont know what to do with this R-naught value. Others take the same view. But this Rt thing I credit my colleague Jordan Fenster for watching it closely seems to have decent qualities of prediction for a few weeks down the road, through its highly uneven. Is the rising Rt in Connecticut and other top-performing states related to young people being out and around? My friends 20-year-old son had ten of his friends over at their house, partying in close quarters, no masks. The host then spiked a fever and now everyone is worried as the test takes days to come back. The point: Gen-Z people may contract COVID-19 less easily but theyre out and around a lot more than the early-bird special dinner crowd. That may explain the rising Rt numbers even as Connecticut sees less illness overall. And sure enough, in the week ending July 11, my colleague Amanda Cuda reported, people aged 20 to 29 led all age groups for new cases in Connecticut following a national trend. We dont have enough data to draw conclusions, Dr. Albert Ko, the Yale epidemiologist, said Monday. We suspect thats the case, Ko, professor of epidemiology and department chair at the Yale School of Public Health, said as part of the governors coronavirus briefing. This may be what we call a reservoir, that transmission is occurring in this age group. Yeah, thats not the kind of reservoir we want to see among our kids and their friends. What weve seen is that the whole Rt curve has moved toward the middle. Two months ago there were nine states at or over 1.20. Now there are just four, all barely over that threshold. And there were seven states at or under 0.80. Now? Zero. Fall is coming. Gov. Ned Lamont, for his part, is urging caution but focusing with optimism on the hallmark statistic in Connecticut, the percent of tests showing positive for COVID-19. Even as the number of tests rises an average of 71,000 a week in July, up from 46,000 in June Connecticut has seen its positive test rate plummet to 0.8 percent in each of the first three weeks of July. That compares with 9.6 percent in Connecticut the week the state reopened, May 20. And it compares with a current national average of about 9 percent, well over 20 in some states, including Florida. And it comes despite Connecticuts marketing efforts to test only the highest risk groups, such as people who have been in contact with a known carrier, people with symptoms and urban Black and Hispanic residents, who have been hardest hit by coronavirus. Lamont said late Monday he was just off a call with Vice President Mike Pences task force. I was very happy to see Dr. [Anthony] Fauci was back, by the way, Lamont said. What is working in these highly infected states is that bars are closedand theyre trying to keep occupancy rates lower in the restaurants. In other words, what Connecticut is doing has worked here and elsewhere, Lamont said. Deaths in the last week were at 35, down from 441 the week of the reopening. Hospitalizations stood at 54 Monday, down from 920 that Monday in mid-May. And at Stamford Hospital, zero for now. Well just have to wait to see whether the uptick in this mystical stat known as Rt portends danger, but make no mistake, were in a long slog. No way this virus is going away, Parry said to me on Monday. This is going to smolder and circulate around the country for the next year until we have a vaccine. dhaar@hearstmediact.com Detroit police officers advance on protesters in downtown Detroit on May 31 after they marched against police brutality in a third day of demonstrations. DETROIT A Detroit police officer who the county prosecutor said fired rubber bullets at three journalists during a police brutality protest in downtown Detroit in May was charged Monday with multiple counts of felony assault. Daniel Debono, a 32-year-old corporal, had been suspended with pay while police investigated the accusation, Detroit Police Chief James Craig confirmed Monday during a news conference about an unrelated fatal shooting. "The evidence shows that these three journalists were leaving the protest area and that there was almost no one else on the street where they were," Prosecutor Kym Worthy said. "They were a threat to no one. There are simply no explicable reasons why the alleged actions of this officer were taken." Debono faces three counts per victim. If convicted, Debono could be sentenced to up to four years in prison. The chief said Monday that he was aware that the charges could be coming since last week but not when they would be announced. He emphasized that the force investigated the case but that the prosecutor is the one who decided to bring charges. Typically, when charges are filed, Craig added, the suspension is changed to no pay. Rubber bullets can kill, blind or maim people for life: But authorities continue to use them More than 20 allegations of misconduct under investigation The one incident, he said, should not reflect on the whole department and how it has managed weeks of daily protests. Still, he acknowledged, the case is one of more than 20 allegations of misconduct against the department that are under investigation, adding that many of them are complaints that are difficult to look into because witnesses now have legal representation and are unwilling to be interviewed. Detectives also are still investigating protesters who are accused of property destruction and assaulting police officers. In Debono's case, sometime after midnight on May 31, after a protest against police brutality sparked by the high-profile death of George Floyd, Debono fired upon the three journalists after most protesters had dispersed, Worthy said. Story continues Debono was in riot gear, and in addition to his weapon that fired rubber pellets, he had his department-issued firearm. 'Unacceptable': St. Louis couple who waved guns at protesters face felony weapons charges Shooting was unprovoked, prosecutor says The journalists Nicole Hester, 30; Seth Herald, 28; and Matthew Hatcher, 29 were covering the protest, Worthy said. They wore press credentials. They identified themselves as members of the press, had their hands up and asked to cross the street. As the three began to cross, Debono is accused of firing his weapon at them, striking all of three with rubber pellets. The shooting, Worthy said, was unprovoked. In addition, Worthy said, Herald's wrist was injured. Hatcher's face was bruised, with a mark on his nose, and more injuries to his ribs and Hester was hit in the face, neck, arms, and legs. Craig said that since the incident, the force has had conversations and training is ongoing with constant debriefings. "You've got to remember, we have a youthful workforce, and I don't know of a time in the recent past that we've had to deal with violent protesters," he said. "So, by and large, this department performed in a spectacular manner." Craig added that Detroit, unlike other major cities, has avoided looting and burning, and while some officers have been injured and police cars have been damaged, most officers have acted "very appropriately." Reach reporter Frank Witsil at fwitsil@freepress.com. Larry Householder: Ohio House Speaker arrested in $60 million bribery case 'The timing is right for reparations': Cities propose reparations amid nationwide unrest This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Detroit officer charged in firing of rubber bullets at journalists President Donald Trump meets with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, center, at the White House Oval Office to discuss coronavirus relief (Evan Vucci/AP) Donald Trump has acknowledged a big flare up of Covid-19 cases as the US crisis worsens and with emergency relief about to expire. But divisions between the White House and Senate Republicans, and differences with Democrats, are posing fresh challenges for a new federal aid package. Mr Trump convened GOP leaders at the White House as Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell prepared to roll out his $1 trillion (790 billion) package in a matter of days. But the administration criticised the legislations allowance for more money for more virus testing and insisted on a payroll tax cut that could complicate quick passage. The timeline appeared to quickly shift. Weve made a lot of progress, Mr Trump said as the meeting began. But the president added: Unfortunately, this is something thats very tough. Expand Close Vice President Mike Pence, left, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, centre, and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows listen as President Trump speaks at the start of the meeting (Evan Vucci/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Vice President Mike Pence, left, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, centre, and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows listen as President Trump speaks at the start of the meeting (Evan Vucci/AP) Politicians returned to a Capitol still off-limits to tourists, another sign of the nations difficulty containing the coronavirus. Rather than easing, the pandemics devastating cycle is churning again, leaving Congress little choice but to engineer another costly rescue. Businesses are shutting down again, many schools will not fully reopen and jobs are disappearing, all as current federal aid is days from expiring. Without a successful federal strategy, politicians are trying to draft one. We have to end this virus, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said on Monday on MSNBC. She said any attempt by the White House to block money for testing goes beyond ignorance. The political stakes are high for both parties before the November election, and even more so for the nation, which now has registered more coronavirus infections and a higher death count 140,800 than any other country. Mr McConnell and House GOP leader Kevin McCarthy met with Mr Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin and acting chief of staff Mark Meadows. Mr Mnuchin vowed passage by months end, as earlier benefits expire, and said he expected a fresh $1 trillion jolt of business tax breaks and other aid would have a big impact on the struggling economy. Expand Close Nancy Pelosi at the Capitol building on Monday (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Nancy Pelosi at the Capitol building on Monday (Manuel Balce Ceneta/AP) Back at the Capitol, Mr McConnell downplayed his proposal as simply a starting point for eventual discussions. Not only does he face pressure from the White House, but splits within his ranks have chiselled away at his majority power and left him relying on Democrats for votes. The package from Mr McConnell, being crafted behind closed doors, is expected to include $75 billion (59 billion) to help schools reopen. It will likely replace an expiring $600 (473) weekly unemployment benefits boost with a smaller amount, send a fresh round of direct $1,200 (947) cash payments to Americans below a certain income level, and create a sweeping five-year liability shield against coronavirus lawsuits. But the administration was panning the proposals $25 billion (19.74 billion) in new funds for virus testing and tracing, said two Republicans familiar with discussions who spoke on condition of anonymity. GOP senators swiftly pushed back as the Republicans and the White House battle over priorities. Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee, the chairman of the Health committee, said: All roads to opening school, going back to work, opening child care lead through testing. GOP senator John Cornyn of Texas echoed several Republicans by saying he was not a fan of a payroll tax holiday. Easing the payroll tax is dividing Mr Trumps party because that tax is used to finance Social Security and Medicare. Cutting it adds to the nations rising debt load at a time when conservatives are wary of any new spending, and the break does little for out-of-work Americans. Mr McConnell is straining to keep the bills total price tag at $1 trillion. Mr Trump insisted again on Sunday that the virus would disappear, but the presidents view was far removed from projections by the leading health professionals straining to halt the alarming US caseload and death toll. On a conference call with the nations governors on Monday, vice-president Mike Pence called the rising numbers in Sunbelt states serious. A sombre Mr McConnell said in his home state of Kentucky last week the virus was not going to magically disappear. A Virgin Atlantic flight with 455 passengers came within 300ft of hitting a drone just seconds after taking off from Gatwick, a near-miss report reveals. The incident, which happened just days before the UK went into lockdown, came 15 months after the airport was closed for 30 hours and 1,000 flights were cancelled due to repeated drone sightings. The Boeing 747 from London to Orlando was flying at 180mph at a height of 400ft when a flight attendant spotted the drone through a cabin window at 1.23pm on March 14 this year. The steward, a former drone operator, estimated that the drone was around 300ft below the aircraft and around 330ft to 500ft away horizontally. A Virgin Atlantic flight with 455 passengers came within 300ft of hitting a drone just seconds after taking off from Gatwick, a near-miss report reveals Investigators from the UK Airprox Board suggested that it might have been far nearer as the crew member was able to identify the make of the drone. The report rated it as a Category B incident where safety had not been assured. The drone flying at around 250ft was being flown illegally as it was in a restricted area close to the runway at Gatwick. The operator of the drone could have been jailed for up to five years for endangering an aircraft, but it is believed they were never traced. The report said: 'In the Board's opinion the reported altitude and/or description of the object were sufficient to indicate that it could have been a drone. 'However, in order to positively identify the make some members felt that the assessment of separation from the aircraft may have been overestimated. 'Ultimately, the Board agreed that the drone had likely been closer to the aircraft than the distance estimated by the reporter. 'The Board considered that the crew member's overall account of the incident portrayed a situation where safety had been much reduced below the norm to the extent that safety had not been assured.' The Boeing 747 from London to Orlando was flying at 180mph at a height of 400ft, pictured on the Flight Radar tracking system, when a flight attendant spotted the drone through a cabin window at 1.23pm on March 14 this year The incident took place just seconds after take off from the runway at Gatwick Airport, pictured A Virgin Atlantic spokeswoman confirmed a drone had been seen by crew operating flight VS15 from Gatwick to Orlando after take-off on March 14. She added: 'The safety and security of our customers and crew is always our priority, the incident was immediately reported to Air Traffic Control, the CAA, the UK Airprox Board as well as the police in line with our procedures.' More than 140,000 passengers had their flights cancelled when drone sightings forced the closure of Gatwick in December 2018. Sussex Police said there were 129 separate sightings of drones including 109 from credible witnesses on a dozen separate occasions over three days. A police investigation costing 790,000 found that at least two different drones were involved, but the culprits were never identified. An innocent couple from Crawley were arrested and released without charge, and later sued Sussex police for wrongful arrest and false imprisonment Last month it was revealed that they had been awarded 200,000 in compensation and legal costs in an out of court settlement. Iran signs deal to develop South Azadegan oilfield Iran Press TV Monday, 20 July 2020 2:44 PM Iran has awarded a contract to a local company for development of one of its largest oilfields, a sign its oil industry would continue to expand despite US sanctions. Local media reports showed videos and images related to the signing of the contract for development of South Azadegan oilfield between representatives of the National Iranian Oil Company and Petropars, an local firm which has become increasingly involved in development of the Iranian oil and gas sector in recent years. South Azadegan, one of Iran's largest oilfields located in the southwestern Khuzestan province and shared with neighboring Iraq, is believed to have nearly 27 billion barrels of oil in place. Reports said Petropars has committed to reach a production of 320,000 barrels per day from South Azadegan in 30 months. Oil Ministry's news service Shana said the development project would cost $961 million in addition to an investment of 11.83 trillion rials that would be earmarked in local currency. Wearing a mask to avoid catching the new coronavirus disease, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh oversaw the signing of the contract. Zanganeh said the deal was a clear sign that Iran would not halt efforts to develop its massive energy sector despite American sanctions imposed on the sale of crude. Azadegan, comprised of two southern and northern fields, is considered one of the world's biggest oil discoveries of the past 30 years with an estimate of about 33.2 billion barrels of oil in place. It is one of several oilfields Iran shares with Iraq where development schemes have stalled for the past years both because of US sanctions and the technological complexities surrounding the projects. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Here's one top spot Houstonians are sure to question whether their city deserved: travel website Alot Travel recently ranked Houston as the rudest city in Texas. An article from the site highlighting the rudest city in every state gave Houston top honors in Texas. TEXAS TOPS LIST OF BEST STATE PARKS: Two Texas state parks top the list of 20 best state parks in U.S., new ranking says The math has to be wrong, or they must have their facts mixed up because Houston is definitely not the rudest town in the state, which I'm pretty sure many Houstonians will back me up on. "Whats there not to love about Houston? Theres millions of people crammed into one hot, humid place. The traffic is so bad that its recommended you dont drive," wrote the site as its reasoning for choosing Houston. Going strictly off those factors, yes, I have to agree our traffic is one of the worst, making for some irritable drivers at times, and we can go through all four seasons in one day with hot and humid on speed dial most days. But when you look at the grand scheme of things, we offer up some of the best southern hospitality around and have a proven track record as being #HoustonStrong, especially during a crisis like the current pandemic or Hurricane Harvey. Some of the cities listed as being the rudest in other states include some familiar names, and others you would be just as shocked to find on a list like this. MEDICAL HEROES NEEDED: Houstonians can receive up to $2,000 to assist in COVID-19 vaccine trial For instance, Los Angeles was listed as California's rudest city. "Maybe they're rude because they are focused on making their big break," wrote Alot Travel. New York City made the list, but they're no strangers to being considered rude. The Big Apple is famous for it, you might say. "Cut em some slack, though. Theyre probably just stressed about making rent for their way-too-expensive closet-sized apartment," Alot Travel quipped. Here's one that might also be a shock to see: the city of Waianae in Hawaii. How can anyone be rude in Hawaii? Noted as having one of the worst crime rates, according to Alot Travel, "petty theft is pretty rude," making this a prime reason for its being on the list. For the complete list of cities given the honor of rudest in their state visit the website here. So what do you think, is Houston the rudest city in Texas? What city do you think should be on this list? STAY INFORMED: Sign up to receive breaking news alerts delivered to your email here. Scottish band the Proclaimers famously sang about walking 1,000 miles which sounds like a lot, but one Vietnamese man has them beat for distance. Bui Ngoc Quy works in a restaurant kitchen in Phan Rang City in the coastal central province of Ninh Thuan. Photo courtesy of Bui Ngoc Quy Bui Ngoc Quy, of Hoang Tien Village, Chu Prong District, the Central Highlands province of Gia Lai, recently finished the 1,700km (about 1,056 miles) walk from HCM City to Hanoi and raised nearly VND135 million (US$5,830) to build classrooms for poor children in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau. Quy started his 45-day journey at 4am on May 25 from his rented room in District 7, HCM City and finished it at 8pm at the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum in Hanoi on July 9. I started thinking of the journey when I stayed at home during the social distancing," Quy said. The 23-year-old said he really wanted to do something significant after social distancing ended. Something meaningful for me, for my life, he said. After social distancing ended, Quy decided to quit his job at a florist in District 7, HCM City, with a monthly salary of VND8 million (US$345) per month, to take the journey. I wanted to challenge myself, take advantage of youth to experience more and meet a lot of people, he added. A journey without money Quy didn't bring money on his journey and his backpack only had five pairs of socks, three sets of clothes, two pairs of shoes, a smartphone, its charger and one power bank. Quy said to prepare for the journey, he exercised very hard every day and jogged about 40km daily. However, things did not always go as planned. The first two days of the journey went smoothly. But his feet started blistering and his feets muscles were sore on the third day so he had to take a day off for every three days of walking. Quy said the longest he walked in a day was nearly 80km through the Ca Pass in the coastal central province of Phu Yen. He would often start from about 3-4am and would stop at a cheap restaurant or a local residents house to share his story and ask for free food at 7-8am. He then continued to walk until noon then stopped for a break and tried to get some free food. He would walk until 7-8pm and find a local gas station or someone's house to ask for free lodging. Taking the journey without money was really a hard challenge, he said. At first, he felt very embarrassed when he had to ask for free food and accommodation, Quy said. But when I was very hungry, too tired and sleepy, I ignored the embarrassment to beg for food and a place to sleep, he said. Quy said he often asked to wash dishes or work in the kitchen at restaurants or people's houses so they would give him some food in return. Begging for food is easier than begging for a place to sleep. I often slept on benches in parks during my journey, he added. Quy eats with a local family in the northern province of Thanh Hoa. Photo courtesy of Bui Ngoc Quy Walking for charity On the first day of his journey, Quy considered it one of the most precious experiences of his life. But after walking for seven days, he thought his journey would be memorable if he did something meaningful for the community. He decided to raise funds for poor children in the northern mountainous province of Lai Chau. He contacted Vu Thi Tam, an employee of Muong Te Districts Education and Training Department to talk about his idea of raising money for the local poor children in Mu Ca Commune. Tam was on board. Quy then posted the idea on Facebook to call for donations. The first donation he received was VND200,000 ($8.6). Quy felt very happy because there was someone who believed in his journey and charity efforts. Ten days later, he had raised VND120 million (US$5,174) from people across the country. As well as supporting comments and donations, some people questioned Quy's motives and accused him of running a scam, which made his sad and even consider quitting the journey, he said. But when he thought about all the work he had put in to get so far and the encouragement of the donors, he decided to continue, he added. After the journey finished, he had raised a total of nearly VND135 million ($5,830) as of July 13. Quy said he only received the donation by bank transfer as he didn't want to carry cash on the journey. I might have found myself in unnecessary trouble if I held cash along the journey, he said. Companions on the way Le Hue, 29, of Gio Linh District, the central province of Quang Tri, heard about Quys journey on Facebook. Hue met Quy when Quy reached the province and participated in a 35km section of Quys journey, from the provinces Hai Lang District to Dong Ha District. Walking with Quy on an extremely hot day in the province, I suddenly understood the hardship that Quy experienced in his journey to conquer himself," Hue said. Hue woke up at 3am, felt full of energy and started walking, however, so Hue could not lift up his feet due to tiredness, he said. I admire Quy, Hue said. Nguyen Anh Tai, the owner of a hair salon in Vinh City, the central province of Nghe An, walked with Quy for 50km from Vinh City to Dien Chau District. Tai said he had planned to walk from the city (where Tai lives and works) to the district (Tais hometown) many times but had yet to do. After Tai heard about Quys journey via Facebook, he contacted to Quy and asked Quy to let him walk together. Quy, who was covered in sweat when he reached Hanois Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, said he had finally finished his long journey. By the journey, I want to inspire young people to live a meaningful life by starting doing little but kind things, he said. He went to Lai Chau Province on Thursday to begin the initial steps to transfer the donation for the local poor children. VNS Nguyen Hang Trans-Vietnam walker raises VND127 million for poor children A 23-year-old man has completed a 45-day long walk across the country, raising a total of VND127 million to assist deprived children from the northern province of Lai Chau. Lets take a closer look at his exciting journey. PaintExpo, the worlds leading trade fair for industrial coating technologies, which was scheduled to be held at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre in Karlsruhe, Germany, from October 12 to 15, 2020, has been cancelled. Due to the still fragile corona situation, stricter hygiene and distancing regulations for trade fairs in Baden-Wurttemberg and sustained restrictions on international travel, PaintExpo 2020 will be cancelled after all, FairFair GmbH, the trade fair organiser said in a statement. The event will now take place in 2022 from April 26 to 29. Together with our exhibitors and partners, we had hoped to hold PaintExpo 2020 in October with corresponding health and safety measures for all participants. However, the circumstances have changed in the meantime, amongst other things due to new regulations for holding trade fairs in Baden-Wurttemberg, so that we now have to cancel the event after all, Jurgen Haumann, managing director of event promoters FairFair GmbH, said. This decision was taken on the basis of a survey of all PaintExpo 2020 exhibitors, a large number of whom were also against postponing the trade fair once again. Many companies are currently struggling with the economic impact of the corona pandemic and trade fair participation is thus not at the top of their priority list. Beyond this, health protection and preventing the spread of infection continue to play a central role as well. As a result, face-to-face contact and travel are being restricted to absolutely necessary interaction. Whats more, companies prohibit trade fair visits in some cases and international travel is still subject to strict limits. The requirements stipulated in the planned Corona Regulation for Trade Fairs issued by Baden-Wurttembergs state government are a further significant reason for deciding against holding PaintExpo 2020. We now intend to devote all of our energy to preparing the next regularly scheduled PaintExpo in order to provide the industry sector with the best possible conditions for successful trade fair participation, the statement added. The next worlds leading trade fair for industrial coating technology will take place at the Karlsruhe Exhibition Centre from April 26 through 29, 2022.--TradeArabia News Service Saints accept Hjbjerg bid, but player wants Spurs | Tuesday, 21 July 2020 Everton have reportedly had an offer of 25m for Pierre-Emile Hjbjerg accepted by Southampton. MailSport claim that the Blues have so far outbid Tottenham for the Danish international midfielder who has signalled his intention to leave St Mary's this summer. This follows a suggestion earlier in the day that Southampton had rejected a bid from Everton of 20m rising to 25m based on appearances and a subsequent report by Metro that claims that Spurs will now match the bid from Merseyside. Update 22 July The Liverpool Echo maintains that Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg has made it clear to Everton he wants to join Tottenham Hotspur this summer. The Echo maintains that Everton have not lodged a 25m, although they have made it clear to Hjbjerg they want him. They say Carlo Ancelotti is an admirer of the 24-year-old and asked the club to make a move for the Denmark international but Hjbjerg has told the Blues, on at least two occasions, that he wishes to move to Spurs and play under Jose Mourinho. Everton had not initially been deterred by Hjbjerg's stance and had been in dialogue with Southampton over a potential deal, with player exchanges discussed as part of the negotiations. But the club insists that, contrary to reports, they have not lodged a 25m bid for the player. Everton's valuation, for a player who is into the final 12 months of his contract, was closer to 14m. That appears to have drawn a line under any further speculation. Note: the following content is not moderated or vetted by the site owners at the time of submission. Comments are the responsibility of the poster. Disclaimer About these ads ToffeeWeb A South Carolina man was jailed in Key West after police said he spied on two young women inside their hotel room with a camera he slid under the door. Robert Mann Privette, 49, of Summerville, South Carolina, was arrested on charges of burglary and video voyeurism. Robert Mann Privette He was booked into the Stock Island Detention Center on July 16 and released the same day after posting a $30,000 bond. This wasnt his first time spying with the camera, police said. Privette admitted to using his camera multiple times during his trips for work all over the country, wrote Officer Timothy Malak. Asked how many time he had done it, Privette said he couldnt exactly say, police reported. He could only say ten-plus times over the past year, all over the county, Malak wrote. Police collected two cameras, a laptop and two hard drives and placed them into evidence. In this case, the two women, who are 27 and 24, discovered the camera inside their room at the DoubleTree Resort by Hilton, 3990 S. Roosevelt Blvd., on the night of July 15, police said. The two had just returned from the beach. One woman was standing in front of a mirror naked while going through her suitcase, police reported. The other woman had just gotten out of the shower and was wrapped in a towel when she spotted a long black cord that was affixed to a camera. The cord was coming from the room next door. After the woman in the towel yelled, Thats a [expletive] camera! the cord was retracted by someone in the adjoining room and then she heard someone inside the room running around before a door slammed, police said. The women called 911. Key West police arrived at the hotel at 9:06 p.m. to speak with the women. Then they knocked on the door to Room 368 to speak with the man inside. At first, Privette denied having anything to do with the camera. But after an officer explained he could obtain a warrant to search the room, Privette, who police said was sitting anxiously and was beginning to sweat, admitted to placing a camera into the womens room, according to the arrest report. Story continues Privette said that earlier he had heard the women inside the adjoining room and ran the camera under the door, police said. He said he saw two women in bikinis talking about going to the beach and he retracted the camera and did not save the video, reports state. A few hours later, Privette told police he heard them return and again slid the camera beneath the door. Privette was handcuffed and taken to jail. Drug dealers are always looking for ingenious ways to get their products past checkpoints, and sometimes they exhibit some truly outside-the-box thinking. The attention of Italian customs officers at Malpensa Airport was recently drawn by a small package from Colombia to a man named Santino DAntonio. If youre not an action flick buff, that name most likely means nothing to you, but if youre a fan of John Wick movies starring Keanu Reeves, you probably recognize it as the name of the mafia boss and main antagonist in John Wick 2. Luckily, the officers recognized the name, and decided to inspect the package more thoroughly Inside the packaging was a 2-kilogram bag of fine Colombian coffee beans, one of the South-American countrys main exports. There was nothing suspicious about the contents at first glance, but a closer look revealed that some of the beans had slightly darker spots. After opening the bags for closer inspection, the officers of the Fiamme Gialle di Malpensa realized that those darker spots were discrete bits of adhesive tape. After removing the making take, airport police officers discovered that the coffee beans had been meticulously hollowed out and filled with white powder which turned out to be pure cocaine. Out of the roughly 500 beans in the package, 130 of them turned out to contain the expensive drug. After making the discovery, officers proceeded to apprehend Santino DAntonio, who turned out to be a criminal in real life as well as in the movie. The address on the package turned out to be that of a tobacco and coffee shop in the province of Florence, the owner of which didnt seem to know anything about any coffee from Colombia. However, after keeping an eye on the place for a few days, Santino turned up to pick up the package. Unlike the elegantly-dressed mafia boss depicted in John Wick 2, the real-life Santino DAntonio turned out to be a 50-year-old casually-dressed man who arrived at the tobacco shop on his bike. He was picked up by police the moment he asked for his package and taken into custody. It turned out he was a resident of Medellin and had a past riddled with drug charges. via Guardia di Finanza An armed man carrying explosives has taken around 20 passengers hostage on a bus in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk, police said Tuesday. The head of the local police service said shots were heard at the scene but no injuries have been reported so far. Law enforcement has cordoned off the centre of Lutsk, a city in western Ukraine some 400 kilometres (250 miles) from the capital Kiev, and advised residents not to leave their homes or places of work. Police said the SBU security services had surrounded the minibus after two shots were fired from it towards law enforcement. "The attacker threw a grenade from the bus, which, fortunately, did not detonate," a statement said, adding that the attacker was believed to have undergone psychiatric treatment. Video footage and pictures published by local media showed heavily armed police in Lutsk surrounding a blue and white minivan with several windows shattered and its curtains drawn. The hostage-taker made contact with the police and identified himself as Maksym Plokhoy, deputy interior minister Anton Gerashchenko said. The authorities were working to confirm the identity of the attacker, he told AFP. Gerashchenko said law enforcement was talking with the assailant in the hopes of resolving the crisis "through negotiations". - 'Anti-system' suspect - Posts on social media accounts using Plokhoy's name claimed he was armed, including with bombs. They described him as "anti-system" and made demands of the authorities. The interior ministry told AFP it believed the accounts were genuine. President Volodymyr Zelensky said news of the hostage taking was "disturbing". "Every effort is being made to resolve the situation without casualties," he said on Facebook. Interior Minister Arsen Avakov was travelling to the region to coordinate a resolution to the crisis, the ministry said. Ukraine, which has been fighting Russian-backed separatists since 2014, has been struggling with a proliferation of illegal weapons. The fighting broke out between Kiev forces and Russian-backed separatists in the eastern Donetsk and Lugansk regions after Russia annexed the Crimean peninsula from Ukraine in 2014. More than 13,000 people have been killed in the fighting so far. Police in late 2017 stormed a post office in the eastern city of Kharkiv, where an armed man claiming to be strapped with explosives had captured 11 people. Map locating Lutsk, in Ukraine, where an armed man has taken passengers hostage on a bus. Posts on social media accounts using Plokhoy's name described him as 'anti-system' Alabama Alabama's mask mandate expired April 9. The state Department of Public Health recommends face-covering in public as part of its COVID-19 safety guidance. Municipal mask mandates in Birmingham and Montgomery expired in May. Learn more: Read the Alabama health department's COVID-19 prevention guidelines. Alaska Alaska's Department of Health Social Services strongly encourages the wearing of masks in public, but the state has not required it. Anchorage, Alaska's largest city, lifted a municipal indoor mask mandate Dec. 8; a similar order remains in place in Juneau, the state capital. Learn more: Read the Alaska health department's mask guidance. Arizona Gov. Doug Ducey issued an executive order March 25 lifting all state COVID-19 restrictions on businesses and barring cities and counties from enforcing mask mandates except in government buildings and on public transit. Previously, Arizona required face-covering for employees and customers of barbers and cosmetologists, and several jurisdictions, including the state's largest counties, had full mask orders in place. Learn more: Read Ducey's order ending COVID-19 restrictions. Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson lifted his 8-month-old mask mandate March 31. Health officials continue to recommend that Arkansans wear masks in public when unable to maintain 6 feet of distance from people outside their households. A state law barring local governments from imposing mask orders, enacted in April, was struck down by an Arkansas judge Dec. 29. Learn more: Read the Arkansas health department's mask guidance. California Masks are required in indoor public settings for all individuals age 2 and over, regardless of vaccination status. The universal mandate, instituted in mid-December, replaced a prior order covering only unvaccinated people and will be in place until at Feb. 15. Masking is also required for all people in schools, health care and long-term care facilities, correctional facilities, homeless and emergency shelters, and on public transit. Los Angeles County requires face-covering at large outdoor events. Learn more: Read California's updated face-covering guidance. Colorado Gov. Jared Polis ended Colorados mandate May 14, saying the state is shifting from mask-wearing requirements to mask-wearing suggestions in most settings. Face-covering is required in residential care facilities and on public transportation, regardless of vaccination status. Denver and surrounding Adams, Arapahoe and Jefferson counties require most people to mask up in indoor public places unless the owner or operator of a business or facility can verify that 95 percent of those inside are fully vaccinated. Boulder and Larimer counties also have indoor mask mandates in effect. Learn more: Read the Colorado health department's mask guidance. Connecticut Masks are required for unvaccinated people age 2 and over in indoor public places and for all people in school buildings, health care facilities, group residential settings such as nursing homes and prisons, and on public transit. Bridgeport and New Haven have citywide indoor mask mandates covering both vaccinated and unvaccinated people. Stamford and Hartford lifted similar local orders in late October and early November, respectively. Learn more: Read Connecticuts current mask guidance. Delaware Effective Jan. 11, masks are required for people kindergarten age and older in indoor public settings, except while eating or drinking in restaurants and bars, and on public transportation. Gov. John Carney's face-covering order includes an exemption for houses of worship. Prior to the new mandate, masks had not been broadly required in Delaware since May 2021. Learn more: Read Delaware's updated COVID-19 emergency order. District of Columbia Mayor Muriel Bowser reimposed the District's indoor mask mandate, effective Dec. 21, as part of a new COVID-19 emergency declaration prompted by the rapid spread of the omicron variant. Through at least Jan. 31, face-covering is required for people over age 2 in indoor public places whether or not they are fully vaccinated. The order came a month after Bowser had largely lifted a mask mandate instituted amid the delta surge in July. Learn more: Read the District's new COVID-19 action plan. Florida Florida recommends but has not required face coverings for the general public. Several cities and large counties, including Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Hillsborough (which includes Tampa), had mask requirements, but Gov. Ron DeSantis issued an executive order May 3 that barred local governments and school systems from imposing COVID-19 restrictions, including mask rules. Learn more: Read Floridas order barring local mask mandates. Georgia The governor's office and the state Department of Public Health recommend masking in public to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Gov. Brian Kemp sought last summer to bar local mask mandates but eased his order in August 2020 to allow cities and counties to impose limited face-covering rules. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms reinstituted a citywide mandate Dec. 21, requiring people age 10 and older to mask up in all public settings indoors. Savannah, Macon and Athens also have mask orders in effect. Learn more: Read the Georgia Department of Public Health's COVID-19 guidance. Hawaii Gov. David Ige lifted the state's outdoor mask mandate May 25. Hawaii's amended mask directive still requires residents ages 5 and up to wear a face-covering in most indoor public settings and requires businesses to refuse admission or service to maskless patrons in most circumstances. Learn more: Read Hawaii's mask guidance. Idaho Idaho's latest "Stay Healthy Guidelines," dated May 11, recommend that employers determine how masks and other protective gear may be reqiured" in their places of business. Boise, Idaho's capital and largest city, dropped its mask mandate in May, as did several other juristictions. Gov. Brad Little signed an executive order May 28 restoring local governments' authority to make their own mask rules, reversing a move by Lt. Gov. Janice McGeachin to strip such local control in an order she issued while Little was at a conference out of state. Learn more: Read Idaho's current COVID-19 health guidelines. Illinois Masks are required in indoor public settings for people over age 2, regardless of vaccination status, except when they are actively eating or drinking in bars and restaurants or at workplaces where they can consistently maintain 6 feet of distance from others. Previously, the state's mask mandate only applied to people who have not been inoculated against COVID-19. Learn more: Read Illinois' expanded face-covering order. Indiana The state's 8-month-old mask mandate became a "mask advisory" April 6. Hoosiers age 8 and up are encouraged to wear masks in all indoor public settings and outdoors when they cannot maintain 6 feet of distance from others. Face-covering remains mandatory in state buildings, K-12 schools and at COVID-19 vaccination and testing sites. Local mask orders in Indianapolis and surrounding Marion County expired June 7. Learn more: Read Gov. Eric Holcomb's executive order relaxing mask rules. Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds lifted the states mask order in February 2021. The following May, she signed legislation barring local governments from compelling businesses to require masks. Iowa City mandates masks for people over age 2 in indoor public places and outdoors when they cannot maintain social distancing. City officials say the order is legal because it is binding on individuals, not businesses. Learn more: Read Iowa's COVID-19 prevention guidance. Kansas Kansas lawmakers revoked the state's mask requirement April 1, hours after Gov. Laura Kelly issued an executive order intended to extend it, under a state law passed the previous month that gave a panel of top legislators authority to overturn the governor's emergency orders. Kansas City, Kansas, and Wyandotte County, which have a unified government, repealed their indoor mask mandate Dec. 16. Learn more: Read the Kansas health department's mask guidance. Kentucky Kentucky's general mask mandate ended June 11 along with the state's remaining COVID-19 health restrictions. Masks are still required for people over age 5 in certain settings, including schools and child-care centers, medical and long-term care facilities, prisons, homeless shelters, and on public transit. Learn more: Read a statement from Gov. Andy Beshear's office on lifting COVID-19 restrictions. Back to the top TD Fergus ODowd speaking at the British-Irish Parliamentary Assembly 58th Plenary Session, at Druids Glen Hotel in Co Wicklow, as land at Dublin Airport has been allocated to cater for the potential spillover of freight traffic in the event of a no-deal Brexit, it has been claimed. The Gardai may need to call to peoples doors if they refuse to come for a Covid-19 test, a TD has said. Fine Gael TD Fergus ODowd told the Dail Covid-19 committee 1,314 people who are a direct contact of a person who has a confirmed case of Covid-19, have not turned up for a test. That seems like a very high figure to me, he told the committee. Mr ODowd said Gardai could call to their homes and ask them to take a test as it is a serious public health issue. He said: I think it is a huge figure and you need to do more work on it. If it means that the Gardai (may need to) call to them.. You know who these people are it is not a question that they are unknown. They are known people and you have their home addresses. I think they (the Gardai) should call and tell them that in the public health interest they should turn up for a test. Mr ODowd said, if people do not turn up for Covid-19 tests, then it creates a serious risk. Thats very serious because you could theoretically have it and give it to many, many more people. Fine Gael TD @Fergusodowd told the committee 1,314 people who are a direct contact of a person who has a confirmed case of Covid-19, have not turned up for a test and suggests the Gardai may have to call to their homes to compel them to attend. Aine McMahon (@AineMcMahon) July 21, 2020 Dr Lorraine Doherty, HSE National clinical director for Health Protection said they are concerned about people not turning up for tests. She said: It shows that the public are becoming disengaged with the idea of having a Covid-19 test if they are symptomatic or if they are a contact because they understand the implications of having a test and that they would need to restrict their movements. Expand Close A stock picture of the Garda badge logo. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday January 16, 2019 (Niall Carson/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp A stock picture of the Garda badge logo. PRESS ASSOCIATION Photo. Picture date: Wednesday January 16, 2019 (Niall Carson/PA) For people in workplaces, they might be reluctant to be tested. However our public health messaging is very clear, you should have test if you are symptomatic or in contact with someone who is symptomatic. She said contact-tracing staff make every effort to reach people who need to come for a Covid-19 test. I want to reassure the committee that we dont take this lightly at all, every effort is made to find people who are not answering their phones to come for testing. In Covid-19 tracing hubs, at least four or five attempts are made to contact people. Where there is an inability to find them, their details are sent to the public health department as they might have local knowledge about how to find the contacts. A Garda spokesman said it does not comment on remarks by third parties and that the public health regulations are a matter for the Department of the Health. Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, blasted President Donald Trumps coronavirus response on Tuesday as he announced a $775 billion plan to boost jobs and wages for caregivers while helping working parents pay for child care steps Biden believes are crucial to overcoming the pandemic and competing globally. We have to mobilize a 21st century care and early childhood education workforce to deal with the caregiving crisis in our nation. Today, I'm delivering remarks about how we're going to get it done. Tune in: https://t.co/KyRgLogUaw Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2020 In a Delaware speech framed by a public health and economic crisis thats shuttered businesses, schools and daycare centers and forced essential workers to put themselves and their families at risk, Biden tried to highlight what he believed divided him from Trump, arguing that he understood Americans problems and he cared. The president, Biden said, has a duty to care for you, for all of us. He cited recent reporting that just as states report record cases and deaths continue to rise, the White House had pushed to zero out funding proposed by Republican lawmakers to boost coronavirus testing and contact tracing across the country. This man simply doesnt understand, Biden claimed. For all his bluster about his expertise on the economy, hes unable to explain how hell actually help working families hit the hardest. Hes quit on you. Hes quit on this country. But this election is not just about him. Its about us. Its about you. Its about what well do, what a presidents supposed to do. A presidents supposed to care, to lead, to take responsibility, to never give up. The Biden campaign estimated that the long-term investment proposed Tuesday would create 3 million new jobs over the next 10 years, according to The New York Times. That figure could be even higher after including people able to enter the workforce through the proposals new career pathway programs instead of serving in unpaid caregiving jobs, The Times reported. Bidens team says advancing paid family leave and universal child care and preschool, as other nations have done, would help pull the U.S. out of the pandemics economic impacts and compete globally, according to a conference call on Monday night, The Times reported. His plan calls for covering 12 weeks of paid family leave, free universal preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, and tax credits or subsidies to help parents of children from infancy to 5 years old offset the costs of child care. The tax credit would cover half of child care costs for families earning less than $125,000, CNBC reported; those earning up to $400,000 could still receive a partial credit. CNBC reported that many parents pay between $9,000 and $11,000 annually to send their young children, from infancy to 4 years old, to school, according to Child Care Aware of America. Even before the pandemic, millions of working families were faced with enormous personal and financial strains, trying to raise their kids, Biden said. We can make high-quality child care affordable and accessible. Child care centers are not getting the protective equipment they need, Biden said. In hotspots all over the nation, they cant reopen at all. Were in a child care emergency. It didnt have to be that way. We need to make high-quality child care affordable and accessible. As president, I'll give every 3- and 4-year-old access to free, high-quality preschool. And low- to middle-income families wont spend more than 7% of their income on quality care for children under age 5. Joe Biden (@JoeBiden) July 21, 2020 The former Delaware senator also called for greater assistance to older Americans and those with disabilities. He called for ending the current waitlist for home and community services under Medicaid, where about 800,000 people are still waiting for services. Biden also called for long-term investments to expand home- and community-based alternatives to institutional care, and is pushing for an additional 150,000 community health workers. Bidens plan includes investments in recruiting and retaining nursing professionals; increasing jobs in veterans care; training 35,000 new workers to help address the opioid epidemic; new health care jobs in Indian Health Service; and the creation of a Public Health Jobs Corps. For more on his plan, read here. Biden did not take questions after his speech. Repeating a frequent attack since the outbreak began, the Trump campaign was quick to jump on Bidens unwillingness to face reporters questions. 5.8 MILLION people watched President Trump interview with Chris Wallace, the campaign tweeted. Joe Biden doesnt have the strength to answer tough questions like @RealDonaldTrump. He isnt up to it! 5.8 MILLION people watched President Trump interview with Chris Wallace. Joe Biden doesnt have the strength to answer tough questions like @RealDonaldTrump. He isnt up to it! https://t.co/s4FphNfjBM Trump War Room - Text TRUMP to 88022 (@TrumpWarRoom) July 21, 2020 The Trump re-election team didnt limit their critiques to Bidens alleged lack of stamina, claiming Biden had proposed more than $3 trillion in new spending in recent weeks. Related Content: Health chiefs fully prepared for any virus reemergence THAILAND: The Public Health Ministrys Department of Medical Sciences (DMS) yesterday (July 20) assured members of the public of its COVID-19 testing capability as the country prepares for fresh infections now that most businesses have reopened. CoronavirusCOVID-19healthSafety By Bangkok Post Tuesday 21 July 2020, 08:59AM People, tracked down by the Thai Chana app, are tested by officials from the Disease Control Department in Rayong province last week. Photo: Arnun Chonmahatrakool. The director-general of the DMS, Opas Kankawinphong, outlined what the public health community was doing to prepare for the reemergence of the novel coronavirus even though the country has witnessed no local cases for more than 50 days. He said the number of laboratories, public and private, has been boosted to 209 across the country, from an initial two when the outbreak started in January, and all of them can return results within 24 hours. He also talked up Thailands vaccine research efforts, increased local production of COVID-19 test kits, the development of new testing methods and investigation into mutations of the virus. To expand testing capacity, the department has also collaborated with the Department of Communicable Diseases Control to roll out saliva tests which have proved to be easier, effective and less costly elsewhere. Currently, the RT-PCR swab test is used which is 95% accurate. Dr Opas said the country was also moving closer to finding a COVID-19 vaccine after a second round of testing an mRNA vaccine on monkeys proved to be successful. Tests on humans are likely to take place in October. He said the Department of Thai Traditional and Alternative Medicine was testing the effectiveness of the traditional medicinal herb fa talai jone, or andrographis, in fighting the virus and initial results were very promising. In terms of testing, Mr Opas said that a total of 652,089 samples have been checked since January, with four in a 1,000 having come back positive. He said this indicated that public health authorities have been actively searching for COVID-19 cases. So we are ready and we have the resources to tackle any outbreak, he said. Dr Opas added that the department is also monitoring virus strains. It is necessary to look for mutations to understand the threat it poses and so we can find drugs or develop vaccines, he said. I May Destroy You, produced by HBO and BBC, is about the act of figuring out survival from trauma, and an effort to nudge our language out of its limitations. Warning: This article contains spoilers. I May Destroy You, Michaela Coels latest television series explores the aftermath of a sexual assault. In the same breath, its a comical whodunit, and also sensitive, careful unlayering of sexual traumas, relationships, and in the middle of all this: surviving. Coel plays Arabella, a young-ish Londoner who has been commissioned to write a book. She is out at a pub one night with her friends when someone spikes her drink, and she is raped. As viewers, we are made to piece together all of this through 12 episodes that introduce us to her friends, relationships and most importantly, her life in the aftermath of a sexual assault. In one of the episodes, Arabella (Coel) visits a therapist who asks her how she is doing. She replies quickly that she is trying not to think about it too much, and that she just tries not to be alone, and if it ever gets too much, that she thinks about the bigger picture: the Syrian war, the hungry children. To this, her therapist says: Sometimes when we try to our best to see the big picture, we lose sight of the little one altogether. The little detail here is you. This statement doesnt bear particular heft in the series, at least in terms of screenplay, there is no silence that follows, yet I am inclined to think that Coels series is an exploration of that little detail and the everyday violence that exists around it. How we have become used to minimising our experiences because it would be inconvenient to address them. Were grasping at straws of normalcy because it would be too much otherwise. Our violations would be too much, and too inconvenient. Consent is used as a vehicle to talk about our messed up social mores. Consent is addressed in the series, as a way to turn the viewers gaze inwards, about their own understanding of social mores, especially in terms of sexual relations. To confront viewers with situations that feel wrong. As I watched some of the episodes, my mind quickly wandered to the worst-case scenario. For example, when Arabella and Terry (Weruche Opia) are high on drugs in Italy and are out partying, and their paths separate, I was filled with anxiety. My eyes kept darting at the background, is there going to be an assault? Will they be in danger? What followed instead was a threesome between Terry and two men at a bar, which seemed like a pick-up game. Another worst case scenario is the beginning of a relationship with Biagio (a man she scored drugs from earlier) who helped Arabella get home. While watching this part, I remember texting my friend that I was relieved that nothing bad happened, yet the outcomes of the episode felt slightly off, but I couldnt pinpoint the reason for my discomfort. Its exactly this feeling that Coel wants to draw out of you. I May Destroy You pointedly asks as to why risk has become a primary component of sexual experiences, and why it is an accepted part of our culture. The series is searing in its treatment of rape, assault, and sexual trauma. It goes to uncomfortable places, and thats what makes it so compelling. For example, a consensual encounter between two men turns hostile in seconds, a woman feels betrayed and misused after she finds out that the man she slept with is gay. That threesome is discussed again, where it becomes clearer that it wasnt too strangers, but a ruse played out by the two men. Its these boundaries and these grey areas that Coel excellently traverses, and as you watch one boundary pushed after another, it becomes clear that there is no grey. The transformation of a creepy vibe into a rapey vibe into a predatory vibe; is there a route-map for this? In one of the scenes at a survivors group, Arabella shares a compelling monologue: Well, Bob probably does think youre crazy...He thinks this is all a little uncalled for, and this personal space thing is going a bit too far. And he is very confident in his view because he has gone exploring to see for himself what boundaries and violations these women might be banging on about because Bobs thorough. And on his explorations, Bob found the line that separated him from everything else. Rather than crossing it, he tiptoed on it and he experienced this feeling of being on the boundary...on the border...right on the line of being neither in one place or another and saw how, in this grey area, where nothing was quite clear, no one could be clear. He cant articulate, follow our words, he couldnt pinpoint what exactly what it was that he did that we felt was wrong. So yeah, Bob thinks youre crazy. Many of the places that Coel takes us through Arabella, Kwame (Paapa Essiedu), and Terry feel wrong. Its probably because we know they are wrong. We just dont have the words to accurately put down what is it that is wrong. In a way, Coel rebukes our language and points to the limitations. People experience varying degrees of violences, their boundaries are transgressed, yet all the frameworks around us force us into corners where we have to internalise them because feeling is too much. We will perish if we feel things. And when we articulate them, who owns that trauma and what becomes of it? Where does it go from there? One of the tools that Coel employs in her storytelling is how she makes you question what you heard. Because what is said, is said with great speed and quickly corrected, almost mirroring the ways in which women are asked to minimise their trauma, made to question their own memories, and led to undermining their own experiences. For example, in one of the scenes at her publishers office, she mentions that she just got back from the police station because she was raped and that the rapist is Zain (Karan Gill), her co-worker and whom she was also seeing, and that he took off the condom during an encounter without telling her. Like those around her in the scene, were not given a chance to react, as she minimises it, and then the others minimise it, and we, as the viewers are also inclined to minimise it. In another instance, she calls him her rapist during a one on one conversation and immediately says something else. He heard it, but he isnt keen to dig deeper. He wants to minimise it. She has already minimised it. Coel adeptly exposes the internalisation of trauma and the minimisation of it in moments that say a lot by saying almost nothing. Whether its through directing anger about the stealthing through making him pay for emergency contraception, or whether its the display of self-blame when she lands up in a different country to apologise to an ex-boyfriend who blamed her for the first rape because she was too drunk and on too many drugs. Its a thin line between control and care. In all of this, the question harks back to the little detail. In one of the most compelling finales on television, she dives deep into the little detail, all the fantasies or revenge, all of the ways in which you can imagine reclaiming your sense of autonomy lead to one question: What do I do with my trauma? What does healing look like, and why is there no single answer or a solid tried and tested way of achieving closure from trauma. The detail here is you. Coels 12-part series, produced by HBO and BBC, is about the act of figuring out survival from trauma, and an effort to nudge our language out of its limitations. On June 21, Hetero and Cipla and on July 2 Mylan were given permission to manufacture and market the drug on the same conditions New Delhi: After Hetero, Cipla and Mylan, another pharmaceutical major Jubilant Generics Ltd, Uttar Pradesh was given permission by India's drug regulator on Monday to manufacture and market anti-viral drug Remdesivir for "restricted emergency use" on hospitalised COVID-19 patients, official sources told PTI. Written informed consent of each patient is required before the use of the drug while active post-marketing surveillance data and reporting of serious adverse events have to be submitted. On June 21, Hetero and Cipla and on July 2 Mylan were given permission to manufacture and market the drug on the same conditions. The Union Health Ministry in its 'Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19' had recommended the use of the drug in COVID-19 patients with moderate stages of the illness (those on oxygen support). The drug, administered in the form of an injection, has been included as an investigational therapy only for restricted emergency use purposes. It is not recommended for those with severe renal impairment and high level of liver enzymes, pregnant and lactating women, and those below 12 years of age, the document stated. "The approval was given by the CDSCO (Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation) on Monday. This will further increase capacity of production of Remdesivir in India," an official source in the know of the developments told PTI. States recently were also told that the available evidence for Remdesivir suggests that it may decrease the time for clinical improvement when used in moderate to severe cases. However, there have been no benefits in terms of reduced mortality, the health ministry said in a statement recently. "It has to be used with extreme caution due to its potential for serious adverse effects including liver and kidney injury," it said. Remdesivir has been included as an investigational therapy in the 'Clinical Management Protocols for COVID-19' based on limited available evidence at present. Mylan on Monday said it has commercially launched the generic version of Remdesivir drug under the brand name ''Desrem'' in India for treatment of coronavirus patients. Hetero and Cipla have already launched their generic versions of Remdesivir in India. In May, Mylan and domestic pharma firms Hetero, Cipla and Jubilant Life Sciences had entered into non-exclusive licensing agreements with drug major Gilead Sciences Inc, which is the patent holder of Remdesivir, for manufacturing and distribution of Remdesivir. US pharma giant, Gilead Sciences, had applied to the Indian drug regulatory agency, Central Drugs Standard Control Organisation (CDSCO), for import and marketing of Remdesivir on May 29. After due deliberations, permission under emergency use authorisation was granted by the Drug Controller General of India (DCGI) on June 1 in the interest of patient safety and obtaining further data. STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- If youve entered a retail store lately, you may have noticed signs asking for exact change. Some notifications may even indicate there is a coin shortage brought on by the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. But is there really a coin shortage in the United States? The Federal Reserve said it is trying to take temporary measures to ensure a fair and equitable distribution of existing coin inventory to all depository institutions." Effective June 15, the Federal Reserve Banks and their coin distribution locations began to allocate available supplies of pennies, nickels dimes, and quarters to depository institutions as a temporary measure, said the Federal Reserve on its website. The temporary coin allocation methodology is based on historical order volume by coin denomination and depository institution endpoint, and current U.S. Mint production levels. Order limits are unique by coin denomination and are the same across all Federal Reserve coin distribution locations. Limits will be reviewed and potentially revised based on national receipt levels, inventories, and Mint production. However, experts say this doesnt mean there necessarily is a coin shortage. Yiming Ma, assistant professor in the finance division of the Columbia Business School, told Forbes that its more of a circulation disruption. A disruption is a better way to describe it, Ma told Forbes. Its reflecting the fact that, once circulation is resumed, these disruptions will ease out. Stephen Miller, director of the Center for Business and Economic Research at the University of Nevada, told Forbes that there are literally too many coins sitting at home -- and not in circulation -- which is causing the disruption. The coins just arent circulating fast enough to meet the demand, Miller told Forbes. During the shutdown, people just stayed home. And the purchases on retail changed a lot, and less coins were being used. *** CLICK HERE FOR COMPLETE COVERAGE OF CORONAVIRUS IN NEW YORK *** FOLLOW TRACEY PORPORA ON FACEBOOK and TWITTER In a historic meeting on Monday, Egyptian MPs voted in favour of granting President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi a mandate to send elements of the Armed Forces on combat missions outside Egypts borders in order to defend Egypts national security. At the beginning of a two-hour closed-door meeting, Parliamentary Speaker Ali Abdel-Aal said only MPs were allowed to attend the meeting. Even parliaments staff, with the exception of Secretary-general Mahmoud Fawzi, are not Allowed to attend this meeting, he commented. Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Alaa Fouad and Deputy Minister of Defence Mamdouh Shahin participated in the meeting. Abdel-Aal ordered photographers, guards, and staff to leave the meeting hall. He also asked MPs to close their mobile phones and not to divulge the contents of the discussion. In an official statement following the meeting, parliament said that MPs had unanimously approved sending elements of the Egyptian Armed Forces on combat missions outside the borders of the Egyptian state to defend Egyptian national security on the western strategic front against the acts of criminal militias and foreign terrorist elements until the mission ends. The statement said the meeting was in line with Article 152 of the constitution, which states that the president of the republic is the supreme leader of the Armed Forces. He shall not declare war or send the Armed Forces outside the states borders to undertake fighting missions unless he first seeks the opinion of the National Defence Council and gains the approval of a two-thirds majority of MPs. As a result, Abdel-Aal invited MPs to hold the meeting on the afternoon of 20 July. The statement indicated that the meeting had discussed the outcome of the National Defence Council (NDC) meting held and headed by the president on 19 July to review the threats posed by the western front (the border with Libya) to Egyptian national security. The NDC said in a statement following the meeting that Egypt sought to stabilise the current situation and ensure that the declared red lines of the Libyan cities of Sirte and Jufra were not crossed in order to achieve peace between all the Libyan parties. Parliaments statement said that MPs and the speaker voiced their high appreciation of the efforts being exerted by the Armed Forces, the nations shield and sword, to protect the national, Arab, and regional order. The people have never let the army down, and the army have never let the people down, the statement said. The statement concluded that the Egyptian nation, throughout history, had always advocated peace, but at the same time it had never accepted aggression or the violation of its rights. The Egyptian nation is strongly capable of defending itself, its interests, its brothers and its neighbours against any dangers or threats, the statement said, adding that the Armed Forces and the leadership now have the constitutional and legal licence to decide when and where to respond to these dangers and threats. Deputy Parliamentary Speaker Mahmoud Al-Sherif told Al-Ahram Weekly that the decision to hold a secret or closed-door meeting was in line with articles 152 of the constitution and 130 of parliaments by-laws. Both articles stipulate that the meeting should be secret or closed-door because the issues discussed are mainly related to national security and shouldnt be open to the public or the media, Al-Sherif said. Article 281 of parliaments by-laws states that the House shall hold a closed-door meeting upon the request of the president of the republic, the prime minister, the House speaker, or at least 20 MPs, and that the Houses majority shall decide whether the matter subject for discussion is conducted in an open or closed-door meeting. According to Al-Sherif, the closed-door meeting on Monday was not a precedent. In February 1965, parliament held a secret meeting to listen to a statement on the progress of the war in Yemen and the participation of the Egyptian Armed Forces in the war, he said, also indicating that in March 1970, a secret parliamentary meeting was held to listen to a statement by Egypts ambassador in Moscow on the policy of the then Soviet Union in the Middle East, and in May 1948 a plenary parliamentary meeting was held in secret to discuss the war in Palestine and whether Egypt should join the Arab states in this war. Al-Sherif said the closed-door meeting was a necessity. Not only did it come one day after the meeting of the National Defence Council, but it also followed a 16 July meeting between President Al-Sisi and the leaders of the Libyan tribes, who asked him to authorise the Egyptian Armed Forces to intervene to protect the national security of Libya and Egypt if they saw an imminent danger to both countries. President Al-Sisi said he would do so only after obtaining the approval of the Egyptian parliament, Al-Sherif said. He recalled that on 13 July, the Libyan parliament had passed a resolution also asking the Egyptian and Libyan armed forces to work together to preserve their shared national security in the face of the dangers posed by the Turkish occupation. He said that the fact that Al-Sisi had obtained a green light from parliament to protect Egyptian national security from dangers coming from the western border did not mean that war is imminent. President Al-Sisi said there is a red line in the key Mediterranean coastal city of Sirte, which the Turkey-supported government in Tripoli should not cross as this would pose a direct threat to Egypts national security, Al-Sherif said, adding that MPs approved that elements of the Egyptian Armed Forces could go on combat missions outside the borders of the country. In his meeting with the Libyan tribes on 16 July, Al-Sisi also said that Egypt had the strongest army in the region and in Africa. But the Egyptian army is a very wise one, and it is not interested in mounting occupation operations. If we need to undertake any operations outside our borders, we will be required to first obtain the approval of the Egyptian parliament, Al-Sisi said. MPs told the Weekly that they were keen during the closed-door meeting to ensure the mandate was in line with Article 152 of the constitution. Mohamed Hani Al-Hennawi, an independent MP representing the Nile Delta governorate of Beheira, said that the MPs had closely followed all the issues discussed during the meeting between Al-Sisi and leaders of the Libyan tribes on 16 July. I think that the outcome of the 16 July meeting was the main reason that led the majority of my colleagues in the House to vote in favour of granting President Al-Sisi a mandate to take all the measures necessary to preserve the national security of both Egypt and Libya, Al-Hennawi said. MP Hussein Abu Gad, a member of the parliamentary majority Mostaqbal Watan Party, also said that the issues raised during President Al-Sisis meeting with the leaders of the Libyan tribes on 16 July were directly related to the national security of both Egypt and Libya. All Egyptian MPs were keen to closely follow this meeting, particularly Al-Sisis indication that he should seek approval from the Egyptian parliament before he undertook any military operations outside our borders, Abu Gad said, agreeing that what President Al-Sisi said is in line with the constitution. However, he indicated that Egypts military intervention did not necessarily mean that Egypt would send large numbers of troops to Libya or that Egyptian military forces would participate in any combat missions in Libya. I think that President Al-Sisi was quite clear during the 16 July meeting when he said that Egypts Armed Forces would work side by side with the Libyan National Army in terms of military support, training Libyan army officers in Egypts military academy, and helping the Libyan tribes to fight the Turkish aggression and mercenaries, Abu Gad said. Said Hassassin, an MP from the Democratic Peace Party and a media commentator, said that by giving support and assistance to the Libyan army, Egypt will be able to help the Libyan people free the country from the Turkish occupation. Hassassin said the Turkish occupation of Western Libya would be a direct threat to Egypts national security if Turkey occupied Sirte and Jufra. This is why President Al-Sisi said these were a red line for Egypt, he added. Tarek Metwali, an independent MP representing Suez City, said MPs had approved Al-Sisis Libya mandate after they had agreed that Egypt should take preventive measures. If we had showed reluctance or hesitation, this would have sent a negative message, but if we were decisive and said we would not let the aggressors cross a certain line, this would be a deterrent message. I think this is the message that has so far dissuaded the Tripoli government from mounting any military adventures, Metwali said. Most of the terrorist operations that have killed army and police officers and Christian Copts in Egypt in 2016 and 2017 came through the borders with Libya, and it is the Egyptian Armed Forces confrontation of these and cooperation with the Libyan National Army that put an end to these operations. *A version of this article appears in print in the 23 July, 2020 edition of Al-Ahram Weekly Search Keywords: Short link: LATEST July 21, 11:07 p.m. The Marin County Board of Supervisor passed an ordinance on Tuesday allowing businesses to be fined as much as $10,000 for violating public health rules designed to help stop the spread of the coronavirus, according to multiple reports. Individuals who are found to violate public health rules will be subject to fines ranging from $25 to $500, according to The Chronicle. July 21, 3:45 p.m. The state of California has now surpassed the 400,000-case mark after reporting 9,231 new cases in the state. Of those 400,769 COVID-19 cases, nearly 70% are in individuals under the age of 49. The seven-day average of new cases per day is now at 9,132, which is up from the week before. Last week, the seven-day average was 8,382. Of those current cases, 7,091 people are hospitalized. A total of 2,006 are in the ICU. July 21, 3:30 p.m. President Donald Trump sought to paint a rosier picture of the coronavirus for the nation Tuesday but conceded the pandemic is likely to get worse before it gets better. The early evening show at the White House came as the next stage of the federal government's response to the pandemic was being crafted on Capitol Hill. Lawmakers and White House officials were opening negotiations on a trillion-dollar-or-more phase four rescue package. It will probably unfortunately get worse before it gets better," Trump said from the White House, but he also touted a reduction in deaths and progress on vaccines and treatments for COVID-19, which Trump referred to repeatedly as a the China virus. He also continued his belated encouragement of Americans to wear masks when social distancing is not possible, Whether you like the mask or not, they have an impact." Im getting used to the mask, he said, pulling one out from his pocket, after months of suggesting that mask-wearing was a political statement against him. Read more from the Associated Press. July 21, 1:10 p.m. Californias top health official Dr. Mark Ghaly said at a Tuesday press briefing California is just in the beginning of the pandemic and the situation has worsened as some viewed reopening as a "green light to resume a normal life." Ghaly expressed the need for people to wear face masks, wash their hands and socially distance. I know they seem simple, but theyre hard to do consistently, said the secretary of the California Health and Human Services agency. Using a metaphor often used by Gov. Gavin Newsom, Ghaly referred to reopening as a dimmer switch and said the state may toggle back more reopenings if the health data doesnt improve. The state recently used the dimmer switch on July 13 when it ordered a sweeping statewide shutdown of indoor dining, movie theaters, family entertainment centers, and other indoor operations. Ghaly said it was originally thought the state would see impacts from the rollback in two weeks, but it may take three, four or even five weeks to feel the impact of those changes. Watch the full press conference here. July 21, 12:40 p.m. Marin County will now institute fines for those individuals and business that violate health orders, as the county's Board of Supervisors decided in a meeting Tuesday morning. Individuals could be forced to pay fines of between $25 to $500 and businesses, between $250 to $10,000. Further details are forthcoming. July 21, 12:30 p.m. UC Berkeley will begin the 2020-2021 school year with "fully remote instruction," the school announced Tuesday. Cal cited the increase of cases in Alameda County as a primary reason for the decision. The statement, however, allows for the possibility of resuming in-person lessons in some capacity later on in the semester for those who prefer it. "COVID-19 is showing us that we have to be not only agile, moving quickly between degrees of openness and sometimes pulling back, but also prepared to move forward as soon as conditions allow," reads the statement. "This means we will keep a fully remote option open for all students but also be prepared to implement our plans for select in-person instruction activities for those students who can take advantage of them, as conditions allow, even if it is part way through a term. We understand that this is more complex and difficult for students, staff, and instructors, and we commit to providing guidance and support." July 21, 11 a.m. California had 391,538 confirmed cases of COVID-19, and 7,694 deaths as of Monday, according to data from the state. The total number of cases is expected to exceed 400,000 this week and may also surpass New York's total case count. As of Monday, New York had 408,181 cases. California is currently seeing more dramatic increases in cases than New York with the states reporting 62,376 and 4,679 respectively in the last week. APU GOMES/AFP via Getty Images July 21, 8:45 a.m. As cases in Los Angeles County continue to surge, Mayor Eric Garcetti has said over the past two weeks that the county may be forced to roll back openings and return to its original stay-at-home order. Appearing on CNN Sunday, Garcetti was asked about a Los Angeles Times editorial that criticized the rapid reopening of California, which was followed by a spike in new COVID-19 cases and hospitalizations. I do agree those things happened too quickly, Garcetti said, adding that the decisions were made at the state and county levels, not by city officials. The mayor said Los Angeles is on the brink of new widespread stay-at-home orders as L.A. County, with a quarter of California's population, continues to see the state's largest increase in confirmed coronavirus cases. The decision is likely to come in the next week or two. The L.A. Times pointed out if this happens, Los Angeles will "have the dubious distinction of being the biggest U.S. city to receive a second stay-at-home order." On Monday, for the second straight day, Los Angeles County reported "the highest number of new hospitalizations reported in a day with 2,232 people currently hospitalized," surpassing Sunday's count of 2,216 hospitalizations. Each day, we are thinking of the many families in L.A. County who have lost loved ones to COVID-19. We are deeply sorry for your loss and send our deepest condolences. Were also thinking of the many people who are hospitalized and fighting to get well. Our thoughts and prayers are with you, said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the director of public health in a statement. The county announced Monday $10 million to community-based organizations, especially in the hardest hit communities, to encourage participation with case investigation and contact-tracing efforts. Public Health is also testing a $20 gift card incentive program to thank individuals for participating in the hour-long contact-tracing interview, according to a statement. The mayor has attributed the increase in spread not just to the reopenings, but also to people becoming less vigilant about following public health guidance and gathering with others outside their households. Its not just whats open and closed, he said. Its also about what we do individually. The Associated Press contributed to this story. July 21, 8 a.m. UC Berkeley continues to see a trickle of coronavirus cases among staff and students after the university experienced a small outbreak at the start of the month. Officials said the situation is under control through testing and contact tracing. "Contact tracing has been going very well thanks to the effort of university health services in coordination with Berkeley public health and the numbers are going in the right direction (slower rate of increase from that first week when we announced)," University Health Services spokesperson Janet Gilmore wrote in an email. "And individuals asked to come in and test are doing so." Between July 1 and 8, the university detected 47 new cases and found the notable increase was likely tied to fraternity parties. A week later, between July 9 and 14, UC Berkeley's student health services discovered 25 more cases. Since then four new cases have been reported. July 21, 7:45 a.m. California hair and nail salons may provide services outdoors under new rules announced Monday. The rules aim to provide a lifeline for personal care services decimated by the state's shutdown orders, but an industry organization says the changes give little help to many owners. The announcement came as Gov. Gavin Newsom reported that infections, hospitalizations and intensive care cases continued increasing but at a slower rate after the state scaled back reopening earlier this month. We saw a big increase, now were seeing some stabilization, Newsom said. He noted the rate of positive coronavirus tests fell slightly in the last week to 7.2%. Virus cases have surged in many parts of California in the last month. In the last two weeks alone, the number of new confirmed cases was nearly 120,000 and there were 1,357 deaths. The California Business, Consumer Services and Housing Agency released rules allowing hair stylists, barbers, manicurists, massage therapists and estheticians to offer some personal care services outdoors. They can operate under tents, canopies or other shelters so long as no more than one side is enclosed, the agency said, allowing for enough outdoor air movement to deter the buildup or spread of the virus. The rules still bar chemical hair services including shampooing, permanent waving, bleaching, tinting, coloring, dyeing and straightening. Electrolysis, tattooing and piercing also are banned. Im open to innovation, I truly am, but how many small businesses are going to be able to afford all of these modifications? asked Jessie Santiago, the owner of Salon Benders in Long Beach. She planned to buy a shade structure and was considering other equipment she will need. The Associated Press contributed to this story. Justin Sullivan/Getty Images July 21, 7:15 a.m. A San Quentin State Prison death row inmate died Monday apparently from complications related to the coronavirus, officials with the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation said. Troy Ashmus, 58, died at an outside hospital and is the latest death at San Quentin linked to COVID-19. Thirteen deaths at San Quentin have been linked to the virus, according to the CDCR website tracking illnesses and deaths from the pandemic. Statewide the deaths of 40 CDCR inmates have been linked to the virus, CDCR records show. Ashmus was sentenced to death in July 1986 for the murder of 7-year-old Marcella Davis in Sacramento County. Ashmus had been on death row since September 1986. July 21, 7 a.m. San Jose nonprofit Parents Helping Parents hosted Santa Clara County Superintendent of Schools Mary Ann Dewan on Monday to discuss back-to-school plans amid the COVID-19 pandemic and resources available for parents. Since Santa Clara County is on the state's watch list, all schools private, charter and public are required to start the academic year with a distance-learning model to limit the spread of the novel coronavirus. This may put children with disabilities at a disadvantage, but Dewan said the county has been preparing resources throughout the summer to accommodate all needs. "We recognize that this is not the ideal way for some services to be provided and that may mean additional support is provided to adults, so training to teachers, professionals and support for parents," she said. Inclusion Collaborative is a resource hub for parents started by the County's Office of Education to assist with distance learning. The office has also started a hotline for parents called Warmline that is available eight hours a day to provide parents with alternate resources for children and answer questions. Bay City News contributed to this story. Coronavirus in the greater Bay Area: Links you need COUNTY HEALTH DEPARTMENTS Alameda County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. Contra Costa County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. Lake County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. Marin County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. Monterey County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. Napa County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. San Benito County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. San Francisco County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. San Mateo County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. Santa Clara County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. Santa Cruz County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. Solano County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. Sonoma County: Find the latest COVID-19 numbers and health order. WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW Here are answers to your most frequently asked questions about coronavirus Coronavirus cases in California are surging: When will the spike end? SF's health director: Avoid 'hard-to-resist' gatherings WHEN WILL THE BAY AREA REOPEN? Gavin Newsom and state officials vs. Bay Area counties: 7 days of confusion Gov. Newsom orders California schools on watch list stay closed San Francisco releases guidelines for schools PORTLAND, Ore., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Allied Market Research, a market research and consulting firm based in Portland, announces the promotion of Vinod Gadekar to the Chief Operating Officer (COO). Mr. Gadekar has been with the company for more than seven years. As the COO, Mr. Vinod Gadekar will be charged with driving the global development of the company, as well as overseeing web development, oversee business strategy and operation, and public affairs and day-to-day operations of the company. Moreover, he will be associated with executing various processes and operations, develop and launch the software and innovative products, and formulate new strategies for business development. "I am thrilled to serve as Allied Market Research' Chief Operating Officer in the future," said Mr. Vinod Gadekar. "We have enthusiastic and cooperative teams at Allied Market Research, and I am excited to contribute to the next phase of Allied's journey as we try to expand our resources and operations. Since my first day at this company, it's been a joyful experience and it makes me proud to see how Allied Market Research has grown in the last few years. I appreciate the opportunity to help the company grow even further." Prior to his responsibilities of COO at Allied Market Research, he has played an instrumental role in the development of the company's new product Avenue, the online subscription-based database of market research reports. He has been pivotal as a strategist, and introduced business development strategies, formulated expansion strategies, and oversaw branding activities. His role has been vital in gaining recognition for Allied Market Research as one of the 10 Best Market Research Consultants in 2019 from Silicon India magazine. "For us, Vinod has been a vital part of our company, and was responsible for our exponential financial growth and business decisions during his tenure as Director of Sales, Strategy, And Innovations," said Mr. Pawan Kumar, the Chief Executive Officer of Allied Market Research. "As COO, Vinod will continue his involvement in the business operations of the company, ensuring our teams get strong support and helping the company to grow." Mr. Vinod Gadekar completed his Bachelor's degree in Business Administration and Master's degree in Business Administration, Management, and Operations from the University of Pune, India. He started his professional career with accounting in Pune. He is one of the early investors and co-founders of Allied Analytics, LLP. He possesses experience in real estate, and was the Head of the company, Budgeted Flats. Moreover, he is involved in the fast-food chain business in Pune. He joined Allied Market Research as Director in 2016 before being promoted to the Chief Operating Officer. About Allied Market Research: Allied Market Research (AMR) is a full-service market research and business-consulting wing of Allied Analytics LLP based in Portland, Oregon. Allied Market Research provides global enterprises as well as medium and small businesses with unmatched quality of "Market Research Reports" and "Business Intelligence Solutions." AMR has a targeted view to provide business insights and consulting services to assist its clients to make strategic business decisions and achieve sustainable growth in their respective market domains. AMR offers its services across 11 industry verticals including Life Sciences, Consumer Goods, Materials & Chemicals, Construction & Manufacturing, Food & Beverages, Energy & Power, Semiconductor & Electronics, Automotive & Transportation,ICT & Media, Aerospace & Defense, and BFSI. We are in professional corporate relations with various companies and this helps us in digging out market data that helps us generate accurate research data tables and confirms utmost accuracy in our market forecasting. Each and every data presented in the reports published by us is extracted through primary interviews with top officials from leading companies of domain concerned. Our secondary data procurement methodology includes deep online and offline research and discussion with knowledgeable professionals and analysts in the industry. Contact: David Correa 5933 NE Win Sivers Drive #205, Portland, OR 97220 United States Toll Free: 1-800-792-5285 UK: +44-845-528-1300 Hong Kong: +852-301-84916 India (Pune): +91-20-66346060 Fax: +1-855-550-5975 help@alliedmarketresearch.com Web: https://www.alliedmarketresearch.com Follow Us on: LinkedIn Twitter Logo: https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/636519/Allied_Market_Research_Logo.jpg Champaign, IL (61820) Today Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 27F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible.. Tonight Partly cloudy this evening, then becoming cloudy after midnight. Low 27F. Winds W at 15 to 25 mph. Higher wind gusts possible. The court of duty magistrate Ekta Uppal here on Tuesday issued an arrest warrant against then deputy superintendent of police (DSP) Baljit Singh in the Kotkapura firing incident in 2015. The special investigation team (SIT) probing the 2015 police firing incidents on Monday moved an application in the court seeking Baljits arrest in the case. The SIT had summoned Baljit to join investigation on a couple of occasions, but he had failed to appear. Fearing arrest, he had moved an anticipatory bail petition in the district and sessions court last week, but it was dismissed. Also, Baljit was named as an accused in another FIR (number 129) registered in 2018 in connection with the Kotkapura firing episode, but was granted bail in the case. EX-KOTKAPURA SHO IN COP CUSTODY The court of duty magistrate Chetan Sharma on Tuesday sent former Kotkapura SHO Gurdeep Singh Pandher to two-day police custody in Behbal Kalan police firing case. He was presented before the court on production warrant. Last week, the SIT had named Pandher for criminal conspiracy in the Behbal Kalan incident. Pandher was arrested on June 25 for his alleged role in tampering with the evidence in the Kotkapura firing case. Presently, he is in judicial custody. As per information, the SIT wants to cross interrogate Pandher and Baljit, which they believe will help in revealing the names of more people involved in these incidents. SIT officials said as they have secured police custody of Pandher, they are conducting raids to nab Baljit too. Union Human Resource Development Minister Ramesh Pokhriyal will on Tuesday launch Manodarpan, an initiative under Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, to provide psychosocial support to students for their mental health and well-being. Minister of State for HRD, Secretaries of the Department of Higher Education and the School Education and Literacy, and senior officials of the ministry will also be present on the occasion. Read More: Through a video tweet, Pokhriyal informed that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the HRD ministry felt the need to focus on continuing education on the academic front and the mental well-being of the students. He further informed that the ministry has, therefore, taken up an initiative, named, Manodarpan covering a wide range of activities to provide psychosocial support to students for their mental health and well-being during the COVID outbreak and beyond, the ministry said in a statement. The Manodarpan initiative has been included in the Atmanirbhar Bharat Abhiyan, as a part of strengthening human capital and increasing productivity and efficient reform and initiatives for the education sector, the ministry stated. Indias COVID-19 case tally crossed the 11-lakh mark with the highest single-day spike of 40,425 new cases and 681 deaths reported in the last 24 hours, said the Union Health and Family Welfare Ministry on Monday. The total cases in the country now stands at 1,118,043 while the death toll is 27,497. The ministry said the total number of cases includes 390,459 active cases and 700,087 cured/discharged/migrated. SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON Voters cast ballots in the presidential primary at Cornerstone Christian Church in Summit Township on Tuesday, March 10, 2020. Voters across Michigan are getting their first say in the 2020 presidential election.J. Scott Park | MLive.com SUMMIT TWP., MI Seven Republican candidates are vying for seats as Summit Township trustees in next weeks primary election, but only four will be chosen. Incumbents Robert DuBois and Mike Trudell, as well as newcomers Scott Elliott, Tina Farkas, John Griffin, David Heins and Andy Trudell are running for the four-year terms in the Aug. 4 election. As there are no Democratic challengers, the four candidates chosen likely will be unopposed in the Nov. 3 general election. MLive Media Group has partnered with the League of Women Voters of Michigan to provide candidate information and other voting resources to readers ahead of 2020 elections. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties. Each candidate was given a list of questions relevant to the office they are campaigning for, which has been assembled into the leagues voter guide that can be accessed by visiting vote411.org. All responses in the voter guide were submitted directly by the candidate and have not been edited by the League of Women Voters, except for a necessary cut if a reply exceeded character limitations. Spelling and grammar were not corrected. Publication of candidate statements and opinions is solely in the interest of public service and should NOT be considered as an endorsement. The League never supports or opposes any candidates or political parties. Here is how each candidate responded some of the questions, with the exception of Andy Trudell and Griffin who have not responded to requests to complete the voter guide. Due to our current circumstances, what are the most important challenges facing our community, and how do you propose to address them? DuBois: Encourage all residents in our community (Summit Township, Jackson County, State of Michigan and the United States) to take an active role in contributing to our FUTURE! Continue to get involved in making improvements for all areas of LIFE!! It is not just important, but a contribution to providing a better future to our society! It is important for all residence to give back to and continue improvements in OUR Summit Township, Jackson, Michigan, the United States and around the world!! We are ALL "challenged" to improve our society for both NOW and the FUTURE! We are very fortunate to be able to participate and give back to our country! Please get involved TODAY and VOTE in our JACKSON COUNTY ELECTIONS in Summit Township! Call the Summit Township Office at 1-517-788-4113, request the voting location for your home address, for the primary election (AUGUST 4, 2020) & general election on (November 3, 2020). THANK YOU! Mike Trudell: Plan on working with the department heads for the best results for the security and safety of our residents. Elliott: Public safety is the most essential aspect of services that Summit township provides its citizens. These are essential services and must be maintained. Summit township is very fortunate to have the voters cooperation and is successfully utilizing the one mil that was levied for public safety. Other challenges included the roads. These are being repaired and replaced as needed with the help of a road millage in Summit township. I am also very proud of Summit township sewer and water system that has been carefully and strategically planned. Currently, Summit township water is available to 98% of the township, and the sewer is available to 60% of the township. Careful monitoring of these assets is required to make sure they are solvent going in the future. Farkas: Analyzing community problems is a way of thinking carefully about a problem or issue before acting on a solution. It first involves identifying reasons a problem exists, and then identifying possible solutions and a plan for improvement. Assessing our communities problems require simple logic, and sometimes the collection of evidence. Keep in mind that what is seen as a problem can vary from place to place, and from group to group in the same place. Heins: As with most communities in the state, I believe one of the major issues confronting the township is the budget. We must continue to be fiscally conservative ensuring decisions are in the best interest of the taxpayers. We need to identify opportunities that capitalize on resources while maintaining a high level of services for the residence. What do you see as the most pressing issues with the police and fire departments? DuBois: These are issues that will will always be demanding and more demanding and costly to communities. IT will take more training and time to develop with professionals (with training, skills, knowledge and human understanding on all that these high pressure responsibilities and abilities to effectively handle confrontation. Most have leadership skills and knowledge in being capable to interact with individuals who are able to maintain a stable and low-key approach to confrontation. Mike Trudell: Training is the most important issue. Staying up-to-date on policies and procedures. Elliott: The most pressing issue with the police and fire department is funding. Funding always remains a challenge. Even with a millage, we always need to be careful and act as a steward of the funds. We must make sure that the police and fire departments are well funded and are accurate representations of our community. We currently contract our police services for the Jackson County Sheriffs department at significant savings to Summit township. Farkas: I support public safety for our community. I support continuing education and training for our police officers and firefighters to better serve our community. I am proud of our firefighters here at Summit Township. They are an amazing group of individuals that work hard keeping our community safe. Heins: Limited resources. I believe it is vital that police and fire services are provided to the residents. It will be my job to ensure they provide the most professional service possible at a reasonable cost. We need to continue strategic long-term planning to guarantee we are prioritizing and meeting the needs of the citizens in Summit Township. More Jackson-area election news: Two Jackson County Democrats vying for spot on November ballot in 65th District House race Four vying to be judge in Jacksons 12th District Court Two Democrats compete for spot on ballot for Leoni Township supervisor The release date of Christopher Nolans blockbuster Tenet has been delayed again amid the coronavirus crisis (Warner Bros/PA) Christopher Nolans highly anticipated blockbuster Tenet has suffered another release date delay amid the coronavirus pandemic, Warner Bros said. The film had originally been scheduled for a July launch before the global health crisis caused theatres around the world to close. Warner Bros then set a date of August 12, which would have made Tenet the first major Hollywood release since cinemas shut in March. Expand Close Christopher Nolans highly anticipated blockbuster Tenet has suffered another release date delay (Andrew Matthews/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Christopher Nolans highly anticipated blockbuster Tenet has suffered another release date delay (Andrew Matthews/PA) However, the studio has now announced Tenet has been removed from its upcoming release schedule, with no new date revealed. Warner Bros said it planned to announce a new date imminently. The news is a significant blow to the ailing cinema industry, which had been counting on blockbuster releases such as Tenet to entice fans back. Disneys Mulan remake is another film theatres had been hoping would draw audiences, but that too could now miss its scheduled August 21 release date. It is unclear when cinemas in major US markets such as New York City and Los Angeles will reopen, or at what capacity they will be operating. Cinemas in England were allowed to reopen from July 4, with social distancing rules in place. Toby Emmerich, Warner Bros chairman, said Tenet might launch internationally before opening in the US. Video of the Day We are not treating Tenet like a traditional global day-and-date release, and our upcoming marketing and distribution plans will reflect that, Emmerich said. Elsewhere, Sony Pictures delayed its film The Broken Hearts Gallery from August 7 to an as-yet-undecided date. Plot details for Tenet remain tightly under wraps. The film is set in the world of international espionage and stars John David Washington and Robert Pattinson. British director Nolan is also known for films including Inception and the Dark Knight trilogy. By AFP ISLAMABAD: A well-known Pakistani journalist who has long criticised the military and judicial establishment was seized in broad daylight by uniformed men in Islamabad on Tuesday and taken to an unknown location, his wife said. Matiullah Jan, a freelancer who has worked for numerous local and foreign media outlets, was bundled into the back of a car outside a school in the capital, where he had come to see his wife. "There were more than five people -- some in civilian clothes, others in black uniforms -- who forcibly picked up my husband," Kaneez Sughra, told AFP in a phone interview. Security footage captured by the school where Sughra teaches shows several men force Jan into a sedan outside the main gate. The footage shows Jan toss a mobile phone over the school fence, only for a school security guard hand it back to a man in uniform. An Islamabad police spokesman said officers had begun gathering information in the case. The military's media department did not immediately respond to a request for comment. Sughra said her husband had been followed by unknown men in recent weeks. In 2017, an unidentified assailant threw a brick at his car. Jan's disappearance came a day before he was set to appear before Pakistan's top court, where he was facing contempt proceedings over a tweet many saw as critical of Pakistan's judges and military. Pakistan routinely ranks among the world's most dangerous countries for media workers, and reporters have frequently been detained, beaten and even killed for being critical of the government or powerful military. In a statement, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan called for Jan's safe release. "We are deeply concerned at increasing attempts to control the media, suppress independent voices, and curb political dissent, thereby creating an environment of constant fear," the commission said. A year ago, Luke Sage auditioned for a role in David Alfords first film. The actor didnt quite work for any of the five characters in the movie. Alford went on to screen test 45 other actors. Lukes performance stuck with him, though. Alford had a tough decision to make. Ultimately, he rewrote the script for Cross Purposes, creating a character designed just for Luke. An Abingdon resident and longtime entertainer, Alford said he never regretted the move. He proved to be great. He brought a lot to the movie. The writer-director wasnt just being nice. Luke is now cast in the full-length film Alford is set to begin shooting July 29. And, Luke and his brother, Blane, who make up the Smyth County-based band Crowe Hollerers, have recorded a song for the movies soundtrack. Whether its acting or performing in concert, Luke said he and Blane would love to travel across the country and world with their show. Just to entertain people. That is the dream, he said earlier this year. Self-described as born buskers, Luke and Blane have played on Marions street as well as streets in three other states. Saturday night, they performed again in Marion from the bed of a 1963 F350 at Collins Studio, celebrating the release of their first album. We love impromptu concerts that people may not be expecting but are wanting, said Luke. Their music style? Thats a little challenging to answer. Lukes description, offered with a smile: Folk. Country. Jug. Punk. Fast, very acoustic country. Now, marry all those together. Luke has been performing since his days as a student at Atkins Elementary School. He didnt really want to take part in the childrens theatre magic show. His mom pushed. The experience changed him forever. At that young age, he realized, This is what I can offer the world. Luke caught Alfords eye at the still tender age of 13. Luke was taking part in a Barter Youth Academy production that Alford was coordinating. At that age, Alford said, most adolescents roll their eyes, but Luke threw himself into it. He had the audience in stitches. Alford hoped that wouldnt be the last he saw of Luke. Lukes desire to follow his calling only grew in high school when he came under the guidance of N. Todd Necessary, Marion Senior Highs director of theatre & forensics. Luke credited Necessary with providing a strong influence on his development. He allowed me to open myself up and come out of my shell. Necessary recognized Lukes gifts early on. During Lukes first year at MSHS in 2015, he was enrolled in Theatre I. Necessary recalled, He spied a copy of Samuel Beckett's Waiting for Godot and asked to borrow it. After that first class, I looked at his schedule and realized -- to my surprise -- that he was not enrolled in English 9 Honors. I asked him why the next day and he said, I guess they don't think I'm the Honors type. Yes, that is what the long-haired kid wearing jeans, boots, a Red Hot Chili Peppers T-shirt, and more rings than I could count said in response. Necessary went to the guidance office and won approval for Luke to join the honors class. From that first week of his high school career until his graduation, Luke Sage became a multi-award winning actor, playwright, and Forensics competitor. He was and is a Renaissance man. Thats not to say Luke didnt face challenges. Necessary remembered his first audition for Christopher Durang's For Whom the Southern Belle Tolls. His cold reading was not impressive. I have to be honest about that. However, his stage presence and instincts contradicted his youth. During an improvisational component of the audition, he took flight and began riffing with veterans Daisy Sturgill, Jon Davies, and Lauren Rentz. Between that first play and his final year at MSHS, he became so passionate about acting, dramatic literature, the craft of the playwright, directing, and all things theatrical. It wasn't all easy for him -- even if he made it appear that way. He labored, he endeavored, he explored, he experimented, and he failed. That is an important part. To paraphrase Bob Dylan, there's no success like failure and failure is no success at all. He was always willing to profit from pragmatism. Noting that Luke is now pursuing a college education at UVA Wise, Necessary said, I know I will continue to hear of his successful undertakings and am happy to count him as a friend and Brother in Art. At UVA-Wise, Luke is studying theatre and entrepreneurship. Explaining the not-so-obvious focus on entrepreneurship, Luke said, I want to use my training to learn how to make it happen. During his first year at UVA-Wise, Luke not only participated in school plays, but also worked with the Appalachian Center for the Arts, eastern Kentucky's only professional theatre. He considers himself fortunate to have the array of experiences. I love the small intimate theatre, he said. However, last summer, he discovered that film can be appealing too. The role in Cross Purposes opened my eyes, Luke said. The film itself has been seen by quite a few eyes. Last week, Alford said, It has been screened by more than 1,000 people and been accepted into seven national film festivals. (Please see accompanying article.) Alford believes Luke contributed to its success. Im behind that artist 100% of the way. Hes one to watch. Luke hopes Cross Purposes and his other work help people. Art, he said, helps us come together. No matter our background, art can bring a community together. It brings life. 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. Hundreds of Catalan independence supporters have protested over a visit by King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia to the region, during a royal tour across Spain meant to boost morale during the coronavirus pandemic. The visit came amid mounting media reports accusing the kings father, former monarch Juan Carlos I, of allegedly hiding millions of untaxed euros in offshore funds. Prosecutors in the countrys Supreme Court are determining whether Juan Carlos can be investigated for allegedly receiving the funds from Saudi Arabia, possibly as kickbacks for a high-speed railway project. Expand Close Spains King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visit the Royal Monastery of Poblet (David Zorrakino/Europa Press via AP) AP/PA Images / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Spains King Felipe VI and Queen Letizia visit the Royal Monastery of Poblet (David Zorrakino/Europa Press via AP) The former king has not publicly addressed the allegations against him. The scandal is the latest to rock the Spanish royal family. In mid-March, it prompted Felipe to renounce any inheritance he could receive from his father and stripped him of the annual stipend he received. Juan Carlos abdicated on behalf of his son in 2014. With that backdrop, the royal couple launched a visit to all of Spains 17 regions that was designed as a show of support for the citizens and the economy as it recovers from the first wave of the pandemic. The Catalan leg of the tour was initially planned for last week, covering several towns and Barcelona, but the palace said it had postponed it and scaled it back to a short visit to a monastery because of the spike in virus cases in and around the regional capital. Protesters on Monday carried photos of Felipe upside down and letters completing the sentence Catalonia doesnt have a king during a march organised by ANC, the regions largest pro-independence civil society group. Are the king and the queen here to promote tourism? What they promote is repulsiveness, said protester Marta Marti. They know we dont want them. But they come here to test our patience. Tensions between separatists in Catalonia, which has a population of 7.5 million, and those in support of Spanish unity came to a head in late 2017. A banned referendum was met with police violence, and prompted the prosecution of top elected officials and activists. We want democracy, simply democracy, said school teacher Marcel Barbosa, adding that the king had shown disrespect for Catalans demands for independence. They know they are going to lose and that they will need to leave, thats why we are not allowed to vote. The march was heading to the Royal Monastery of Poblet, which the king and the queen were visiting, but police blocked access at the main road. Some of the activists tried to reach the monastery by venturing into nearby vineyards. Separated by a line of riot police, a dozen people expressed support for the Spanish royals. All protesters left after the end of the visit. China firmly opposes unilateral sanctions imposed by the United States on other countries in accordance with its domestic laws, a Foreign Ministry spokesperson said Monday. Wang Wenbin made the remarks after High Representative of the European Union (EU) for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy Josep Borrell on Friday expressed his concerns over the increasing use of sanctions, or the threat of sanctions, by the United States against European companies and interests. "We have witnessed this developing trend in the cases of Iran, Cuba, the International Criminal Court and most recently the Nord Stream 2 and TurkStream projects," Borrell said in a statement, adding the EU "considers the extraterritorial application of sanctions to be contrary to international law." China has taken note of the EU's relevant statement, Wang told a press briefing, stressing that the U.S. side imposes unilateral sanctions and "long-arm jurisdiction" on other countries in accordance with domestic laws. "This has violated international laws and basic norms of international relations, damaged legitimate and lawful rights and interests of other countries, and gone against people's will," said the spokesperson. China supports all countries in the world to carry out normal international cooperation in accordance with prevailing international rules, Wang said. Since early March, fatigue has become a constant, unwelcome companion for many people. The pandemic has been exhausting, especially lockdown with its maelstrom of stress and upheaval with sleep disruption, as well as wild Covid-19 dreams, being widely reported. In some cases, this has been exacerbated by overindulgence in activities that are known to have a detrimental effect on sleep - namely poor food choices, daily wine o'clock, far too much screen time and erratic bedtime routines. The easing of restrictions has opened up our world a bit and theoretically this should reenergise us, but we are not necessarily feeling any less shattered even though there might not be a daily commute to face and social calendars remain less than full. Grainne Lawlor says that she has suffered from fatigue over the last few months, more so than normal. The operations manager for Adventure Trails, which offers food and drink tours and experiences in Dublin and Galway, was heading into the busy season when the pandemic brought everything to a halt. While some members of staff were let go, she has remained working from her home in Celbridge in a largely administrative role and the changed nature of her job has been a contributory factor to her tiredness. "Although I was operations manager, I was very much dealing with people," she explains. "I was running and organising tours and developing new tours and travelling over and back to Galway. I work with people a lot and they tend to give me energy. You'd come home tired but the quality of the tiredness is very different to now. It's the thing of not fully switching off. I'm not very used to working from home and so it's trying to set times and keep an eye on emails, when there's not a lot coming in but you're constantly looking at it. I'm working for eight hours, there's not a huge amount to do but I don't feel I can make plans because I want to stay on top of what does come in and that's tiring." The end of lockdown and being able to see friends and family, has been a welcome development but Lawlor, who has been living alone since her housemate moved out at the beginning of lockdown, admits that her energy levels have still not returned to anywhere near what they were pre-pandemic. "I'm not much of a morning person anyway but I find it really hard to get up in the morning and I find it really difficult to motivate myself and I definitely see that that is still there," she says. "I can go out on a walk and for the first 45 minutes I'm flying and then on the way back I can feel myself absolutely exhausted whereas before I was a good walker - I can walk all day and night and a do a lot walking tours, my body moves that way a lot - so definitely, physically there is a tiredness." In terms of her sleep, Lawlor reports that some weeks are fine, other weeks not so much. "I will have blocks of time where I find it really hard to get to sleep even though I'm exhausted and I've been looking forward to going to bed all day and then finding it really difficult to actually get to sleep and being awake quite late," she says. Her experience of working from home chimes with the experts' view that remote working, which looks set to continue for many employees, can be draining. "We miss the social interaction. Working from home is not the same as going into the office and having face-to-face meetings with colleagues," says Motty Varghese, senior sleep physiologist at Sleep Therapy Clinic in St James's Private Clinic, Dublin. "Also, our sensory experiences are limited. Even if we just consider half an hour trip to the office and back on the bus or Luas, the half an hour sensory experience we have would be much higher than what we would have in the four walls of our own home office." He also points to Zoom fatigue as well as the merging of the personal and the professional as potentially depleting energy levels. "You step out of your office and you're straight into your personal space whereas the commute back and forth from home and office with your book or your headphones on may have acted as a buffer for a lot of people and that separation is gone, which may be leading to exhaustion." Being in a state of anxiety is naturally tiring and the pandemic has provided lots of reasons to feel worried ranging from concerns about your own and your family's health to financial stress. "Anxiety is exhausting," says Dr Joe FitzGibbon, the author of Feeling Tired all the Time, whose specialist interests include fatigue and allergies. "Anxieties require energy. They require thinking about and our bodies react physically to the anxiety: heart rate goes up, breathing rate goes up." Very few people can claim to be immune to the heightened sense of tension that the pandemic has created but this is even more acute for someone with specific concerns about loved ones. "If you're living with a very elderly grandparent who has diabetes then you are going to be much more concerned and much more cautious and you are going to be more vigilant, so anything that requires more vigilance is exhausting as you have to be constantly aware and constantly on your guard and that requires a certain amount of energy," says FitzGibbon. There's also the fatigue that comes with readjusting to a new normal, which brings an increase in planning and organising. According to neuroscientist and psychologist Dr Sabina Brennan, the body and brain thrive on regularity, and in our current lives, many of our daily actions can no longer be done on autopilot. Remembering to bring your face mask with you to the supermarket, for example, requires effort. "Adapting to a new way of living means that the brain has to invest resources in behaviours that are not habitual, which will make you feel tired," she notes. But while we can't change our situation or eradicate the pandemic, we can take measures to fight fatigue by following the central tenets of good sleep hygiene. Brennan, the author of 100 Days to a Younger Brain, suggests going to bed and getting up at the same time each day, including weekends and getting seven to nine hours' sleep; switching off devices that emit blue light an hour before bed and making sure the room is completely dark. She also recommends being physically active during the day but not close to bedtime and creating a sleep haven. "Avoid dual use - if you have to use the bedroom as an office find ways to screen off the workstation so that you can't see it while you try to sleep," she says. Sleep physiologist Varghese advises to take our chronotypes - your preferred time of the day to conduct activities - into account. "Some of us are morning individuals and some of us are evening time, and especially when we are working from home, we do have that flexibility to pay attention to our chronotype and adjust our bedtime accordingly and plan your work accordingly." The pandemic gave rise to poor sleep habits for lots of people, but that's not to say that these habits can't be turned around, especially if we try to not become anxious about not getting enough sleep, thus compounding the problem. Instead, the key is to view it as a natural physical process that will happen provided we do the right things to set the scene. "It's not just your behaviour but your beliefs and attitudes that are important for us to get a good night's sleep," says Varghese. "It's important to be mindful of sleep and for us to see every night as a new night. No matter how long you've slept poorly for, since lockdown or for years, you have all the potential to get a good night's sleep." Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) A Philippine-based international school owner highlighted that online classes remain the safest learning mode for students amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Thames International School co-founder Joel Santos stressed the need for a COVID-19 vaccine to assure the safe return of face-to-face classes for students in the country. Realistically, there is no vaccine by January. So, the lowest risk really is a virtual class. While theres no vaccine, the risk of our students going back to school is higher, Santos told CNN Philippines Rico Hizon on Tuesday. Santos emphasized the countrys COVID-19 cases are not on a downtrend and the infections must be lowered to gradually conduct physical classes. There should be also indicators that it wont happen because even if it goes down now, that could just be temporary and we can have a resurgence, he explained. The Thames International School co-founder added the holding of limited physical classes may incur additional costs to the private schools because they have to maintain both the virtual classes and face-to-face classes for those who are experiencing Internet connectivity problems. Santos also pointed out the need to prioritize the students well-being as they transition into online classes. In their school, he shared they designed a blended learning system that balances the conduct of virtual classes and self-pace learning according to the students studying styles. The design of the delivery of online learning plus how we support our students in terms of mental well-being during this pandemic is actually critical, Santos said. President Rodrigo Duterte allowed on Tuesday the conduct of limited face-to-face classes in areas with low risk of COVID-19 starting January 2021. The President previously opposed the holding of physical classes until a vaccine for the virus becomes available. Two women sued Fox News, accusing former anchor Ed Henry of rape and claiming several of the networks biggest stars participated in a culture of sexual harassment and misconduct. Jennifer Eckhart, a former Fox News associate producer, and Cathy Areu, a former on-air analyst, filed a 39-page complaint in federal court in Manhattan in Monday. The suit alleges that Henry sexually harassed Eckhart on several occasions and raped her in a midtown Manhattan hotel room in 2017. Fox News fired Henry, the co-anchor of its Americas Newsroom program, on July 1, saying it had received a complaint of sexual misconduct against him from a former employees lawyer. Areu, perhaps best-known for serving as a liberal foil to conservative host Tucker Carlson on his show, said she was eager to graduate from occasional appearances to a full-time position at Fox. She accuses Carlson, Sean Hannity, Media Buzz host Howard Kurtz and a Fox contributor, Gianno Caldwell, of all holding out the possibility of advancement in exchange for sex and then retaliating by withholding opportunities after she refused. Based on the findings of a comprehensive independent investigation conducted by an outside law firm, including interviews with numerous eyewitnesses, we have determined that all of Cathy Areus claims against Fox News, including its management as well as its hosts Tucker Carlson, Sean Hannity & Howard Kurtz and its contributor Gianno Caldwell, are false, patently frivolous and utterly devoid of any merit, the network said in a statement. We take all claims of harassment, misconduct and retaliation seriously, promptly investigating them and taking immediate action as needed in this case, the appropriate action based on our investigation is to defend vigorously against these baseless allegations. Ms. Areu and Jennifer Eckhart can pursue their claims against Ed Henry directly with him, as Fox News already took swift action as soon as it learned of Ms. Eckharts claims on June 25 and Mr. Henry is no longer employed by the network. Catherine Foti, a lawyer for Henry, called the accusations fictional and said her client would present evidence showing Eckhart initiated and completely encouraged a consensual relationship. Foti said that evidence would include photos and communications Eckhart sent to Henry. The Me Too movement has helped to bring to light a number of injustices in our society, and everyone that has suffered deserves to be heard, Foti said. This is not one of those cases. The lawsuit is the latest legal headache for Fox News following a bevy of sexual harassment allegations that led to the ouster of former chief Roger Ailes in 2016. Former host Bill OReilly was also forced out of the network in 2017 amid similar allegations. Eckhart and Areu made explicit reference in their lawsuit to the networks previous issues. Fox News would have the public believe that it is a different place from the Fox News that was run by former disgraced Chairman and CEO Roger Ailes, they said. Unfortunately, it is actually worse. Areu identifies herself in the suit as a former Fox News employee. But a spokeswoman for the network disputed that characterization, saying Areu was never an employee, only a guest. Eckhart claims she was fired in June, a few months after complaining to human resources about a toxic work environment at Fox News. She says she made the allegations about Henry on June 25, a day before her termination became effective. Eckhart says the married Henry preyed upon, manipulated and groomed her from the age of 24 by imposing power over her career and forced her into having a sexual relationship with him before raping her. Areu says Henry also sexually harassed her by sending her wildly inappropriate sexual images and messages throughout the first half of 2020. The women say Fox News received complaints about Henry during the 2016 internal investigation it began after the allegations against Ailes but continued to promote him anyway. (Updates with statement from Henrys lawyer and further detail from the complaint) With assistance from Christopher Palmeri. Copy of complaint seeking damages: Eckhart v Fox News. Copyright 2022 Bloomberg. Topics Lawsuits Claims Leadership 21.07.2020 LISTEN There is a saying that it takes wisemen years to build a city, and takes one foolish man a minute to destroy it This is the case of Ghana Health Service and our reputable Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research. The manner in which government is handling the coronavirus pandemic is making many people especially those in research to lose trust in institutions that have spent years to build their envious reputation. Last Sunday press briefing on coronavirus organized by the ministry of information was seized by seasoned scientist and technocrats to exhibit dishonesty to the highest level. Why do we say this? It is because the falsehood churned out by the presenters on that very day can lead to mass infection of people of COVID 19, give government false hope about the state of COVID 19 in the country which will lead to change in attention on same, increase mortality from COVID 19 and lastly, cause people to call for return to normalcy of our usual activities. In that press briefing, the minister for information officially informed us of government new strategy in managing the pandemic by enumerating the five key strategies (stop the importation of the virus, contain the spread of the virus, provide adequate care for the sick, limit the impact on the socio-economic wellbeing of Ghanaians and lastly produce some of the items needed to fight the pandemic). If these are the new strategies from government, I can confidently say the government does not really know what they have been doing. These cannot be new strategies, they have been doing this for God knows how long, just that they have not been doing it well, shambolic to be charitable. Substantively, the issue regarding the COVID 19 figures must be of serious concern to all and Sundry. You would recall that, at the beginning of the pandemic in Ghana, Prof William Ampofo, the coordinator of Ghana's COVID-19 testing programme told us they were using a method call polling to speed up testing and save reagents. This technique was criticized by several scientists but they insisted it was effective and continued to use it. However, this is no longer the case as all pooled samples are positive; meaning the positivity rate has gone up and that method has become less effective. Five to eight out of ten in each pooled sample result to be positive of coronavirus. In other words, for every thousand samples, five hundred at least would test positive. If that is not true, how come they havent deployed that technique to clear the backlog of 26,000 samples and government is struggling to buy more reagents and PCR machines? Again, if really our case numbers are in a decline why buy more machine to open more centres for testing? In the mouth of Prof William Ampofo, he made us to understand coronavirus testing capacity was back on track. Meaning there was a decline in number of sample testing. What he failed to do was to tell us the implication of the challenges they faced in the past six weeks regarding testing, when they employed selective methods in testing sample resulting in a backlog of about 26,000 samples. As a scientist of repute, Prof William Ampofo, should have told us how this has affected the numbers of positive/active cases in the country. But he failed to do the honourable thing. His scientific dishonesty was followed by frightening revelations from the Director General of the GHS who equally misled the service by reporting that, 488 new cases recorded on July 19 2020 was from samples taken between the period of June 13 to July 13, 2020 but reported from the laboratory on July 14. Can the Director General of the GHS tell us why he had a teleconference with his regional directors on Thursday July 16? What was the total figure of backlog of COVID 19 samples reported to him? Did he instruct that all samples taken beyond 14 days should not be tested? So why is the DG telling Ghanaians that only 488 out of the several thousands were positive of COVIV 19? So where did he get his figures to tell Ghanaians Ghanas coronavirus cases witnessing steep decline if he knows of the huge backlog that can give him more positive cases? It is obvious history is repeating itself and from the same service. If you cast your minds back some three months ago, the director of Public Health of this same GHS told us in one of their press briefings 'Ghana had reached its peak for COVID 19'. This turned out to be a big fallacy. There is no doubt this latest announcement from the DG himself, will not live to see the light of day. It would not be wrong for one to conclude that the apparent decline we see in the COVID 19 active cases is deliberately engineered by the state to cover up for its own mismanagement of the pandemic and avoid being blamed for allowing the voters registration and reopening of school to add more injuries to the pandemic. Inasmuch we are unable to calculate the exact positivity rate of COVID 19 in Ghana, we can still use the reason assigned to the abandoning of the pooling method for testing samples to calculate the possible number of samples that would have turned positive out of the 26,000 backlogged samples. Going by the minimum number, if for every 10 samples pooled together, 5 test positive to COVID 19, it means 50% of the 26,000, that is a hooping 13,000 positive new case have been missed by our laboratories. If you add this figure to the existing 28,989 positive cases, Ghana should be talking of 41,989 positive cases. This figure of 41,989 means a lot to public health workers and Ghanaians at large, in the sense that a lot of asymptomatic cases are walking about and infesting more people and a lot may be dying undiagnosed. At this point, we will urge government to take off its evil hands used to control laboratory testing. The issue is very simple and one does not need to go to the moon to know whether there is underhand dealing in the covid 19 figures or not. This is how our government is massaging the figures? It does that by deploying any of the following methods; denying the laboratories reagents and PPEs, refusing to release allowances to frontliners in the laboratories to reign in apathy, allowing only government trusted scientists to be engaged in testing samples, creating a serious backlog that renders some of the samples impotent, controlling what figure to release and at what time, last but not least, badly influencing some of the staff for political expediency to the detriment of the masses wellbeing. All these antics are deployed to manipulate figures seeking to paint a good picture of government as though it's doing well regarding the fight against COVID 19. Fellow countrymen, it is high time we took extra care of ourselves against covid 19 because government has completely lost control of the steer. Politics have now invaded all public institutions including the brains of our scientists and technocrats. ACH-PRA is keenly monitoring and actively researching and wishes to admonish government to desist from spewing deceptions regarding our health issues which is CRITICAL. BY Dr Thomas Winsum Anabah Executive Director ACH-PRA An Indigenous town councillor from Central Australia has slammed foreign aid charity World Vision for suggesting coronavirus had reminded Aboriginal children about diseases brought to Australia by white colonialists. Jacinta Price, from Alice Springs Town Council, said the charity's 30-second video did more to 'drive the racial divide and ingrain fear of our government and police in our children's hearts'. The World Vision video features a woman suggesting COVID-19 had made children recall how Europeans had brought diseases into Australia. Indigenous Alice Springs town councillor Jacinta Price (pictured) has slammed foreign aid charity World Vision for suggesting coronavirus had reminded Aboriginal children about white colonialism 'One of the issues is this disease is bringing back family trauma, re-traumatising families thinking about the disease which were imported into Australia in settler times,' she said. World Vision also argued lockdowns, still in force in Melbourne, had reminded Aboriginal people about 'being told what to do constantly by the government and having a real fear of government and of police'. Ms Price, who has Indigenous Warlpiri and Celtic heritage, said this kind of campaign only encouraged children to hate police and did nothing to reduce the high rates of Aboriginal incarceration. 'Let's not teach our kids to calmly behave in a considerate manner during a pandemic let's blame colonisation, government and police instead,' she said. 'COVID-19 came from China not from anywhere else, but that's right, we're not about talking facts here.' Ms Price, who ran as a Country Liberal Party candidate at the last federal election, described the World Vision video as 'propaganda'. 'I mean seriously where do you get these people from and the soundtrack for extra dramatic effect?,' she said. The World Vision video features a woman suggesting COVID-19 had made children recall how Europeans had brought diseases into Australia. Ms Price said the 30-second video did more to 'drive the racial divide and ingrain fear of our government and police in our children's hearts' The campaigner against domestic violence in Aboriginal communities also criticised how Indigenous children were described as 'First Nations Youth' instead of being seen as Australian citizens with responsibilities to society. 'Please don't refer to my kids as "First Nations Youth" they are Australian kids and they're more concerned about their school being shut down due to selfish protesters spreading this disease,' Ms Price said. Ms Price has experienced domestic violence and recently visited an Aboriginal relative bashed into a comatose state. The outspoken conservative has been a vocal critic of Black Lives Matter demonstrators and celebrities politically identifying with the death of African-American George Floyd in Minneapolis. In April, Victoria's deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Annaliese van Diemen drew a link between the pandemic and the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's arrival on the east coast of Australia She said left-wing activists, including the likes of Megan Markle, had overlooked how Aboriginal men had often assaulted other Indigenous people, and instead focused on the actions of white people to perpetuate a political narrative about racism. World Vision isn't the only group to make a connection with coronavirus and colonialism. In April, Victoria's deputy Chief Health Officer Dr Annaliese van Diemen drew a link between the pandemic and the 250th anniversary of Captain James Cook's arrival on the east coast of Australia. 'Sudden arrival of an invader from another land, decimating populations, creating terror,' she tweeted on Wednesday, anniversary of Captain Cook's arrival in 1770,' she tweeted. If convicted, the 76-year-old, who is already in prison for corruption, could face the death penalty. Sudans former President Omar al-Bashir, who was overthrown last year by the military in the face of mass protests against his rule, has gone on trial in the capital over his role in a coup that brought him to power more than 30 years ago. Al-Bashir, who has been jailed in Khartoum since his removal, faces charges of undermining the constitution, violating the Armed Forces Act and fomenting a coup in 1989 against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. Before any statements or evidence could be given on Tuesday, the trial was adjourned until August 11 to reconvene in a bigger court to allow more lawyers and family members of defendants to attend. Some lawyers had complained their colleagues had not been able to get into Tuesdays session. Other defendants include 10 military personnel and six civilians, including his former vice presidents, Ali Osman Taha and Bakri Hassan Saleh, as well as former ministers and governors. They are all accused of having plotted the June 30, 1989, coup during which the army arrested Sudans political leaders, suspended Parliament and other state bodies, closed the airport and announced the putsch on the radio. The man dubbed the true brain behind the military coup, Hassan al-Turabi of the National Islamic Front, died in 2016. Al-Bashir stayed in power for almost 30 years before being overthrown on April 11 last year after several months of unprecedented, pro-democracy demonstrations that eventually forced the creation of a joint civilian-military ruling sovereign council. The 76-year-old is also wanted by the International Criminal Court (ICC), facing charges of genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity for atrocities committed by pro-government forces in Darfur. Sudans new governing authorities, which are tasked with leading the country to elections under a 39-month power-sharing agreement, have yet to hand him over to the ICC for prosecution. Al-Bashir is also being investigated over the killing of protesters while, in December, a Sudanese court handed him a first, two-year sentence on corruption charges. First coup trial Ahead of Tuesdays trial, Moaz Hadra, one of the lawyers who led the push to bring the case to court, said al-Bashir and Saleh have totally refused to cooperate with the commission of enquiry, but they will be present at the court. Hadra told AFP news agency the accused are charged under crimes including Chapter 96 of the 1983 Penal Code, which had been abolished by al-Bashir, and which carries the death penalty for attempting to destroy the constitutional order. The lawyer said this is the first time someone who launches a coup will be brought to justice in Sudan, which has seen three coups detat since its 1956 independence from Britain. This trial will be a warning to anyone who tries to destroy the constitutional system, he added. This will safeguard Sudanese democracy. In this way, we hope to bring an end to the era of putsches in Sudan. One of the 150 defence lawyers, Hashem al-Gali, charged that Bashir and the others would face a political trial being held in a hostile environment on the part of the judicial system against the defendants. In fact, this trial is aimed at the Islamic movement, and its sole purpose is to present it as a terrorist movement, but we have prepared our defence, and we will prove the contrary, Gali said. He argued that al-Bashirs overthrow of Mahdi took place so long ago that it was beyond the statute of limitations and should therefore no longer be dealt with by a court. The trial takes place at a time when Sudans joint civilian-military transitional government is introducing a host of reforms and has relaunched peace talks with rebel groups. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdoks administration has recently abolished rules restricting womens freedom of movement, outlawed the practice of female genital mutilation, scrapped a law against apostasy and relaxed a ban on alcohol. Sudan hopes to soon be taken off the US State Departments list of state sponsors of terrorism, a major hurdle to receiving foreign aid and investment. Air New Zealand staff face fear and discrimination because people worry they could have been exposed to COVID-19, the airlines chief executive says. Chief executive Greg Foran says one pilot had even found builders were no longer willing to work on his home because they worried about being infected. I was talking to a pilot the other day who cant get the builders to work on his house because they know hes flying for Air New Zealand, says Greg. So theyve said, we are not going to deal with you. We dont know where youve been. Other Air New Zealand uniformed staff had been challenged in shops by members of the public, Greg says. If they go into a store and are still wearing their Air New Zealand uniform, they can get some feedback about whether or not they should be in the store. He says staff had been through a traumatic six months. More than 4000 of our Air New Zealanders have departed our business, over a third of our workforce. It is tough for our staff, as it is for our customers, he says. Since February 3, weve seen a business whose revenue was circa $6 billion lose 99 per cent of its revenue, he says. Even for someone like myself, who has done a few different jobs over the years, I can honestly say I have never seen that in my life. Greg says he had been in businesses that experienced temporary revenue drops of as much as 25 per cent. Ive dealt with my share of natural disasters from hurricanes, and floods, and fires, and unfortunately in the US, shootings in stores, but Ive never been part of an organisation where effectively your total revenue disappears in a matter of weeks, he says. COVID-19s impact on Air New Zealand has been like a rehearsal for the end of the world, he says. Air New Zealand had five groups of stakeholders, Foran says, customers, staff, shareholders, suppliers, and the community in which it operated The interesting thing about this particular crisis is that its the first time in my career I have successfully disenfranchised all five stakeholders simultaneously. China is the second largest international market for Air New Zealand after Australia, Greg told the China Business Summit in Auckland. When Chinese people came on holiday to New Zealand they spent well, he says. China is the worlds largest tourism market, with about 150 million Chinese people holidaying abroad each year, he says. By the way 450,000 of those come and visit New Zealand every year. Delegates to the summit heard there was hope for international students to return to New Zealand next year. International students would been keen to come to a COVID-19-free country, delegates were told. Other big hopes for Air New Zealand were getting airways open to Australia and the Cook Islands again, Greg says. After the early months of the pandemic delivering such a big hit to Air New Zealands business, Greg says it was nice to experience growth as a result of domestic tourism. Relative to our scale, Air New Zealand is doing more flying than any other airline domestically in the world, probably. Thats thanks to all the hard work everyones put in. -Stuff Technavio has been monitoring the liquid hand soap market and it is poised to grow by USD 2.39 bn during 2020-2024. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200720005551/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Liquid Hand Soap Market 2020-2024 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please request Latest Free Sample Report on COVID-19 Impact The market is fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will decelerate during the forecast period. Colgate-Palmolive Co., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., GOJO Industries Inc., ITC Ltd., Medline Industries Inc., New Avon Co., Premier English Manufacturing Ltd., Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, and Unilever Group are some of the major market participants. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. Increasing cases of pandemic diseases have been instrumental in driving the growth of the market. Liquid Hand Soap Market 2020-2024: Segmentation Liquid Hand Soap Market is segmented as below: Distribution Channel Offline Online Geography APAC North America Europe South America MEA To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download a free sample: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR43389 Liquid Hand Soap Market 2020-2024: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our liquid hand soap market report covers the following areas: Liquid Hand Soap Market size Liquid Hand Soap Market trends Liquid Hand Soap Market industry analysis This study identifies innovative and new product launches as one of the prime reasons driving the liquid hand soap market growth during the next few years. Liquid Hand Soap Market 2020-2024: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of around 25 vendors operating in the liquid hand soap market, including some of the vendors such as Colgate-Palmolive Co., GlaxoSmithKline Plc, Godrej Consumer Products Ltd., GOJO Industries Inc., ITC Ltd., Medline Industries Inc., New Avon Co., Premier English Manufacturing Ltd., Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc, and Unilever Group. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the Liquid Hand Soap Market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Liquid Hand Soap Market 2020-2024: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2020-2024 Detailed information on factors that will assist liquid hand soap market growth during the next five years Estimation of the liquid hand soap market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the liquid hand soap market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of liquid hand soap market vendors Table Of Contents : Executive Summary Market Landscape Market ecosystem Value chain analysis Market Sizing Market definition Market segment analysis Market size 2019 Market outlook: Forecast for 2019 2024 Five Forces Analysis Five forces summary Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition Market Segmentation by Distribution channel Market segments Comparison by Distribution channel Offline Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Online Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Market opportunity by Distribution channel Customer landscape Geographic Landscape Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison APAC Market size and forecast 2019-2024 North America Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Europe Market size and forecast 2019-2024 South America Market size and forecast 2019-2024 MEA Market size and forecast 2019-2024 Key leading countries Market opportunity by geography Market Drivers Market Challenges Market Trends Vendor Landscape Overview Vendor landscape Landscape disruption Vendor Analysis Vendors covered Market positioning of vendors Colgate-Palmolive Co. GlaxoSmithKline Plc Godrej Consumer Products Ltd. GOJO Industries Inc. ITC Ltd. Medline Industries Inc. New Avon Co. Premier English Manufacturing Ltd. Reckitt Benckiser Group Plc Unilever Group Appendix Scope of the report Currency conversion rates for US$ Research methodology List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200720005551/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Michelle Dewberry at the premier of Darkest Hour in 2017. (Invision/AP) Former Apprentice winner Michelle Dewberry has announced the arrival of her son, who has been born nine weeks early. The businesswoman shared her baby news on Twitter, adding that she would be taking things "day by day" as the premature tot is monitored in a neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Sharing photos of her son, the 40-year-old wrote: "So happy to share that Im now a mummy! Read more: Nicki Minaj announces pregnancy with photoshoot "After a month in hospital & lots of complications, my little man came into this world way too early (31 weeks) but takes after his mamma & is a fighter. So happy to share that Im now a mummy! After a month in hospital & lots of complications, my little man came into this world way too early (31 weeks) but takes after his mamma & is a fighter Im in love Our next chapter, that of #NICU is now upon us. We take it day by day pic.twitter.com/xO8TCxNz1s Michelle Dewberry (@MichelleDewbs) July 21, 2020 "Im in love. Our next chapter, that of NICU is now upon us. We take it day by day." Dewberry first disclosed that she and partner Simon Jordan, former owner of Crystal Palace, were expecting a baby back in April. In June, she divulged that her waters had broken at 28 weeks which saw her brought into hospital for an extended stay where she was subsequently diagnosed with preterm premature rupture of the membranes. Apprentice winner Michelle Dewberry and Crystal Palace owner Simon Jordan. (PA Images via Getty Images) At the time, Dewberry described her experience after being admitted to hospital as "pretty horrendous" as well as "traumatic". Dewberry won the second series of The Apprentice back in 2006. She's also ventured into politics after standing as an independent candidate in the 2017 general election for Hull West and Hessle, with just 5.5% of the vote. Story continues She also stood for the constituency again in 2019 for the Brexit Party, coming third with 18% of the vote. Watch the latest videos from Yahoo UKs The Baby Bump With Lauren Pope Butter chicken Melbourne: A man in Melbourne, Australia, breached the chief health officers stage three novel coronavirus restrictions and travelled almost 32 km to have butter chicken at his favourite restaurant. Butter ChickenLater on, the Melbourne man was slapped with a fine of 1,652 dollars. Advertisement Reportedly, the man was caught by the police as he drove from Werribee in the citys west all the way to the CBD so that he could buy his favourite butter chicken. FinedThe man was among the 74 other people who were fined for breaking the rules, set because of the novel coronavirus crisis in the country. People have been breaking the rules to gather in private or public places to catch up with their friends or doing parties. President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga has arrived in Ukraine for a state visit. President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga has just landed in Kyiv! Warm welcome from Ukraine! the Embassy of Switzerland in Ukraine posted on Facebook. On July 20-23, President of the Swiss Confederation Simonetta Sommaruga makes a state visit to Ukraine at the invitation of President Volodymyr Zelensky. The program of the visit includes face-to-face talks and negotiations as part of delegations. It is planned to discuss a wide range of issues of bilateral Ukraine-Switzerland relations, as well as cooperation at the international level. During the visit, Zelensky and Sommaruga are expected to make a joint working visit to Donbas to get acquainted with the security and socio-economic situation in the region and the progress of implementation of Swiss humanitarian aid projects. ol Flag carrier Royal Jordanian (RJ) has announced that it will restart its regular flights on the Amman-Aqaba route on July 23. RJ's three weekly flights to Aqaba, on Thursdays, Saturdays and Sundays, will be operated from Queen Alia International Airport; the plane leaves at 11:30 am and arrives at Aqabas King Hussein International Airport at 12:25 pm. It will leave Aqaba at 2:00 pm and reach Amman at 2:55 pm. RJ President/CEO Stefan Pichler said RJ is pleased to resume flights to Aqaba; the airline is cooperating to that end with the Ministry of Tourism and Jordan Tourism Board to promote domestic tourism. - TradeArabia News Service Hutterite colonies in Manitoba are bracing for the spread of the novel coronavirus after 10 infections were identified at three communities over the weekend. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Hutterite colonies in Manitoba are bracing for the spread of the novel coronavirus after 10 infections were identified at three communities over the weekend. Chief provincial public health officer Dr. Brent Roussin said 20 people have been diagnosed with COVID-19 at Hutterite colonies in the province and more cases are expected, including at other communities. "Were going to see more cases from our clusters. Theres a lot of contacts out there and a lot of people have been tested, a lot of people are self-isolating," Roussin said Monday. "Were going to do what we can to ensure that these are isolated, and with these various contacts we want to limit any further transmission," he said. In total, the province announced 18 new cases of COVID-19 as of 9:30 a.m. on Monday; this includes seven cases reported over the weekend. One person is in hospital in intensive care, Roussin said. The total number of deaths in Manitoba remains at seven while the active case count has climbed to 29 from the single digit case load reported one week ago. Of the new cases, 10 are from Hutterite colonies; two are related to travel; one is a trucker; three are close contacts to a confirmed case; and two have not yet been determined. The new cases were announced in all health regions except the Northern Regional Health Authority. The outbreak on the Hutterite colonies has been tied to travel to Alberta, Roussin said. However, its not yet known where one individual picked up the virus, as it cant be linked to travel or close contact with a confirmed case. Roussin said its too early to tell how many more people may become ill with the virus in the affected communities; however, in Manitoba about 14 per cent of people identified as close contacts to a confirmed case develops symptoms. "We do recognize that our communities do have a certain vulnerability because of our lifestyle. It has everybody on alert." Mark Waldner, Hutterian Safety Council "When you have that stretch of zeros that we did, its certainly human nature to lose some focus on what got us here, but these cases that were seeing now is a reminder that this virus is still around, if we let our guard down it could take off again," Roussin said. Mark Waldner of the Hutterian Safety Council said colonies with active cases are working closely with public health officials to support self-isolation efforts for those who are ill, and community leaders are in daily contact with Health Links. The three colonies that are affected have gone into a self-imposed isolation, Waldner said, and have limited travel to essential trips only. Hygiene and sanitizing measures have been stepped up in all communities that he is in contact with, communal activities have been suspended and protocols have been put in place to limit potential exposure during deliveries or pick-ups. "We do recognize that our communities do have a certain vulnerability because of our lifestyle," Waldner said. "It has everybody on alert." RUTH BONNEVILLE / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS "We need to realize that this virus is not done with us yet, Dr. Brent Roussin said Monday. Overall, Waldner said the community members are concerned about the potential for the spread of the virus and are doing their best to cope. The increased public attention has added more stress, he said, and there are fears of stigmatization. "COVID doesnt have boundaries. It really doesnt care if it hits a Hutterite community, or if it hits some other community," he said. "Its something that impacts us all. You cant keep from catching a cold or getting the flu this is something that nobody chooses to have in their own lives." Waldner said at least 20 other colonies have restricted travel and are on alert for signs of the respiratory infection. "Although theres no cases, there might be a tenuous connection, or even no known linkage to the confirmed cases, theyve decided in order to mitigate risk, to reduce risk theyre going to restrict travel for the next few weeks and try to protect our elderly and anybody with underlying conditions," Waldner said. Roussin also alerted the public to a potential exposure on three recent flights: Asiana OZ 0704 from Manila, Philippines to Seoul, South Korea on July 7; Air Canada AC 0064 from Seoul to Vancouver on July 8 (rows 26 to 32); and Air Canada AC 0296 from Vancouver to Winnipeg on July 8 (rows 21 to 27). The risk to public is low, public health officials said, but people on those flights should self-isolate for 14 days from arrival and monitor for symptoms. Passengers not in the affected seats should self-monitor for symptoms and self-isolate if they develop. 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. JOHN WOODS / WINNIPEG FREE PRESS The three colonies that are affected have gone into a self-imposed isolation and have limited travel to essential trips only. On Monday the five day test positivity rate was 0.83 per cent. Any future increase in cases related to the clusters wouldnt necessarily trigger the reintroduction of restrictions so long as public health officials are confident cases are contained and significant community spread is not occurring, Roussin said. The fundamentals of physical distancing and hand washing should continue to be top of mind, he noted. "This is a big change in our behaviour," Roussin said. "We need to be staying home when were ill, we need to maintain that physical distancing, and we need to realize that this virus is not done with us yet." danielle.dasilva@freepress.mb.ca Law professor and academician Prof Makau Mutua has rejected a reported job offer from Deputy President William Ruto. On his weekly column in the Sunday Nation, Prof Mutua claimed he recently received an offer to work in Rutos campaign team from one of the DPs emissaries. Several weeks ago, I was bamboozled when a top commander in Deputy President William Rutos campaign locomotive begged me to work with them to get the man from Sugoi to State House in 2022, penned Prof Mutua. The chair of the Kenya Human Rights Commission went on to categorically rebuff the offer. Today, I give the answer. Mr Ruto and his campaign should read my lips or rather the words from the tip of my pen. The answer is nyet(No). I cant and wont work with Mr Ruto. Never. Ever. Case closed, he wrote in the op-ed article titled, Somebody thinks I can work for Ruto (excuse me while I laugh). Adding: Mr Ruto and his brigand can take this to the nearest bank no bona fide civil society organisation, or any of their self-respecting members, will touch Mr Ruto with a 10-foot pole. None. Whenever I hear the mention of Mr Ruto, or sense his proximity, I head in the opposite direction. Its been so since his emergence in Youth for Kanu 92. Explaining his decision, Prof Mutua cited Rutos brand of politics and anti-democratic legacy which go against his(Mutua) own ethos. Other reasons include corruption links to the DP and allegations of crimes against humanity at the International Criminal Court (ICC). Given Rutos anti-democratic legacy and the allegations of corruption, it stretches credulity that any legitimate civil society organisation let alone the Kenya Human Rights Commission (KHRC), which I co-founded three decades ago, with rights champion Maina Kiai, former Chief Justice Willy Mutunga, Governor Kiraitu Murungi, and journalist Peter Kareithi would ever have anything to do with Mr Ruto, he declared. It is an open secret Mr Ruto and his brain-trust have targeted civil society groups like the KHRC to penetrate, convert, and instrumentalise them into witting, or unwitting, allies. It is in this context that theyve approached me and others. This can only happen over my dead body. Mr Ruto can forget civil society. Ukrainian law enforcement officers lie on the ground behind a car near a passenger bus, which was seized by an unidentified person in the city of Lutsk, on July 21, 2020. (Tetiana Hrishyna/Reuters) Shots Heard as Bus Passengers Taken Hostage in Western Ukraine KYIVA man who said he was armed with weapons and explosives seized control of a bus in the western Ukrainian city of Lutsk on Tuesday and took about 20 people on board hostage, police said. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said on Facebook that shots were heard, the bus was damaged. The mans demands were unknown, police said in a statement. TV footage showed empty streets cordoned off by people in military uniform, police cars and an armoured personnel carrier. Ukrainian law enforcement officers take part in a hostage rescue operation, after an unidentified person seized a passenger bus in the city of Lutsk, Ukraine, on July 21, 2020. (Tetiana Hrishyna/Reuters) Every effort is being made to resolve the situation without casualties. I keep the course of events under personal control, Zelenskiy said. Photos published on social media showed a small bus parked in the middle of an empty street. Two windows of the bus were smashed and other windows were covered with curtains. Police said they had blocked off the city centre. Technavio has been monitoring the hospital furniture market and it is poised to grow by USD 4.02 billion during 2019-2023, progressing at a CAGR of over 6% during the forecast period. The report offers an up-to-date analysis regarding the current market scenario, latest trends and drivers, and the overall market environment. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200720005555/en/ Technavio has announced its latest market research report titled Global Hospital Furniture Market 2019-2023 (Graphic: Business Wire) Technavio suggests three forecast scenarios (optimistic, probable, and pessimistic) considering the impact of COVID-19. Please Request Latest Free Sample Report of 2020-2024 on COVID-19 Impact The market is moderately fragmented, and the degree of fragmentation will accelerate during the forecast period. Frequently Asked Questions- 1. At what rate is the market projected to grow during the forecast period 2020-2024? A.The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of over 6% during the forecast period. 2. Based on segmentation by product, which is the leading segment in the market? A. The hospital beds segment is expected to be the leading segment during the forecast period due to the increased investments in medical infrastructure. 3. What is the key factor driving the market? A. Growing demand for improved medical infrastructure is one of the key factors driving the market growth. 4. Who are the top players in the market? A. Arjo, Hill-Rom Services Inc., Invacare Corporation, Medical Depot, Inc., and Stryker are some of the major market participants. 5. Which region is expected to hold the highest market share in the market? A. Europe 6. What is the major trend for the hospital furniture market? A. Increasing promotional activities by vendors on internet platforms is a major trend for the market. The growing demand for improved medical infrastructure will offer immense growth opportunities. To make the most of the opportunities, market vendors should focus more on the growth prospects in the fast-growing segments, while maintaining their positions in the slow-growing segments. Hospital Furniture Market 2019-2023: Segmentation Hospital Furniture Market is segmented as below: Product Hospital Beds Specialty Medical Chairs and Tables Others Geographic Landscape Asia Europe North America ROW To learn more about the global trends impacting the future of market research, download latest free sample report of 2020-2024: https://www.technavio.com/talk-to-us?report=IRTNTR30789 Hospital Furniture Market 2019-2023: Scope Technavio presents a detailed picture of the market by the way of study, synthesis, and summation of data from multiple sources. Our hospital furniture market report covers the following areas: Hospital Furniture Market size Hospital Furniture Market trends Hospital Furniture Market analysis This study identifies the increase in promotional activities by vendors on internet platforms to raise awareness about hospital infrastructure as one of the prime reasons driving the hospital furniture market growth during the next few years. Hospital Furniture Market 2019-2023: Vendor Analysis We provide a detailed analysis of vendors operating in the hospital furniture market, including some of the vendors such as Arjo, Hill-Rom Services Inc., Invacare Corporation, Medical Depot, Inc., and Stryker. Backed with competitive intelligence and benchmarking, our research reports on the hospital furniture market are designed to provide entry support, customer profile and M&As as well as go-to-market strategy support. Register for a free trial today and gain instant access to 17,000+ market research reports. Technavio's SUBSCRIPTION platform Hospital Furniture Market 2019-2023: Key Highlights CAGR of the market during the forecast period 2019-2023 Detailed information on factors that will assist hospital furniture market growth during the next five years Estimation of the hospital furniture market size and its contribution to the parent market Predictions on upcoming trends and changes in consumer behavior The growth of the hospital furniture market Analysis of the market's competitive landscape and detailed information on vendors Comprehensive details of factors that will challenge the growth of hospital furniture market vendors Table Of Contents: PART 01: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY PART 02: SCOPE OF THE REPORT 2.1 Preface 2.2 Preface 2.3 Currency conversion rates for US$ PART 03: MARKET LANDSCAPE Market ecosystem Market characteristics Market segmentation analysis PART 04: MARKET SIZING Market definition Market sizing 2018 Market size and forecast 2018-2023 PART 05: FIVE FORCES ANALYSIS Bargaining power of buyers Bargaining power of suppliers Threat of new entrants Threat of substitutes Threat of rivalry Market condition PART 06: MARKET SEGMENTATION BY PRODUCT Market segmentation by product Comparison by product Hospital beds Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Specialty medical chairs and tables Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Others Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Market opportunity by product PART 07: CUSTOMER LANDSCAPE PART 08: GEOGRAPHIC LANDSCAPE Geographic segmentation Geographic comparison North America Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Europe Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Asia Market size and forecast 2018-2023 ROW Market size and forecast 2018-2023 Key leading countries Market opportunity PART 09: DRIVERS AND CHALLENGES Market drivers Market challenges PART 10: MARKET TRENDS PART 11: VENDOR LANDSCAPE Overview Landscape disruption PART 12: VENDOR ANALYSIS Vendors covered Vendor classification Market positioning of vendors Arjo Hill-Rom Services Inc. Invacare Corporation Medical Depot, Inc. Stryker PART 13: APPENDIX Research methodology List of abbreviations About Us Technavio is a leading global technology research and advisory company. Their research and analysis focus on emerging market trends and provides actionable insights to help businesses identify market opportunities and develop effective strategies to optimize their market positions. With over 500 specialized analysts, Technavio's report library consists of more than 17,000 reports and counting, covering 800 technologies, spanning across 50 countries. Their client base consists of enterprises of all sizes, including more than 100 Fortune 500 companies. This growing client base relies on Technavio's comprehensive coverage, extensive research, and actionable market insights to identify opportunities in existing and potential markets and assess their competitive positions within changing market scenarios. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200720005555/en/ Contacts: Technavio Research Jesse Maida Media Marketing Executive US: +1 844 364 1100 UK: +44 203 893 3200 Email: media@technavio.com Website: www.technavio.com/ Anna Danibekyan, judge for the case of second President of Armenia Robert Kocharyan, denied the motion for the recusal of prosecutors Petros Petrosyan and Gevorg Baghdasaryan. As reported earlier, the motion was filed by victim Sergey Yeghiazaryans representative Eduard Aslanyan and was due to the subjectivity of the prosecutors. Aslanyan thoroughly stated the violations against his client, the absence of documents certifying the damage caused to him and the fact that his rights to submit a civil claim within the scope of the case have been restricted. Moreover, investigators and overseeing prosecutor Petros Petrosyan havent taken measures to eliminate the violations. Based on this, Aslanyan filed a motion for recusal of Petros Petrosyan and Gevorg Baghdasaryan. The judge deemed the motion to be groundless and denied it. The next trial will take place on July 28 at 1 p.m. 21.07.2020 LISTEN Prof. Adei, in my First Epistle to you, I touched on how you do not think Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang can be a good Vice President of Ghana, how media cum legal practitioner Egbert Faibille Jr. ridiculed you in Ghana and who qualifies to be President or Vice President of Ghana. I will continue therefrom with Epistle 2. Here we go. A Former Vice Chancellor is rather well prepared to be President or Vice President of Ghana Prof. Stephen Adei, you opined that being a former Vice Chancellor of a public university is not sufficient for occupying the position of Vice President of Ghana. I disagree. A public university is a complex organization. It is full of intellectuals of various kinds. It is a community of learned and learning personalities. It might be smaller than a country but managing it is no joke. You managed GIMPA so you are very much aware of this. Naana Opoku Agyemang was an astute Vice Chancellor. A Vice Chancellor even deals with the international community. In order to avoid partisan politics in my disagreement with you, I do not want to touch on her Education Minister role. Lets leave that to the partisan guys. Hon. Okudzeto Ablakwa had already started that debate. I do not intend to be part. Prof. Adei, most people who become Vice Chancellors and excel tend to be popular in Ghana. One such person is your good self. I think you became more popular in Ghana because of your transformational achievements at GIMPA. The media always refer to you as a former or the former Rector of GIMPA. I therefore think that but for your Rector job at GIMPA, you wouldnt have been this popular. As such, let us not underrate the Vice Chancellor position at all. For me, Prof. Adei who transformed GIMPA is capable of becoming a Vice President of Ghana and so is Prof. Jane Naana Opoku Agyemang was a Vice Chancellor and intended to do so, there should be no qualms. Prof, it was also your submission that being a Vice Chancellor is not anything difficult because government provides all the resources needed to run the university. Again, I find this argument strange. It is mendacious. Which President or Head of State in the world runs national affairs from his pocket? Not even the rich Donald Trump does so. So even the heads of States use resources provided by the taxpayer. No one uses his or her personal coffers to run public office. You are an Economist and a leadership expert so I know you know that even the Internally Generated Funds of a public organization in Ghana are considered as part of the Consolidated Fund. That is why the Auditor-General still audits GIMPA that you took off the national budgetary allocations per its new law. Again, that is why most public institutions must seek approval from the governments Chief Accountant (the Controller and Accountant General) before they open and operate institutional accounts. Evidence of PhD Holders in the offices of President and Vice President If you cast your mind back to Ghana's democratically elected leaders either as Presidents or as Vice Presidents or Prime Ministers, some were PhD holders like Naana Opoku Agyemang. Our famous first President, Kwame Nkrumah of the CPP was a PhD holder like Naana Opoku Agyemang. He was not previously a Vice Chancellor yet he had become the most forward thinking leader Africa ever had. Even the legend Nelson Mandela of South Africa doffed his hats to Nkrumah. People even say his dead brain in the grave is thinking more than the living brains of most contemporary leaders of the world. What do you think? To me therefore, being a former Vice Chancellor is rather an added advantage for one to become the Vice President of Ghana. Prof. Kofi Abrefa Busia (K. A. Busia) of the PP, now the NPP, which you currently serve as the Chairman of the NDPC and Board Chairman of the GRA was a PhD holder par excellence. Would you dare say that he performed poorly as the Prime Minister of Ghana from 1969 to 1972? You cannot do so, Prof. Adei, because you fear that the current Administration in which you hold positions wont be happy with you. Again, under the 1979 Constitution, which represents the Third Republic of Ghana, two PhD holders led us. Dr. Hilla Limann was the President and Dr. Joseph William Swain de-Graft Johnson was his Vice President. Perhaps it would be unfair to assess them fully because the AFRC and the PNDC disrupted and eventually ended their regime even before its full tenure. In the Fourth Republic, we have had two PhD holder Vice Presidents. They are: Prof. Atta Mills who later became the 3rd President of the Fourth Republic. Dr. Mahamudu Bawumia (the current Vice President). One may submit that it would have been an added advantage for these two people if they were Vice Chancellors of any of the public universities before becoming Vice Presidents. If this assertion is anything to go by, then the candidature and the capabilities of Naana Opoku Agyemang should not be doubted at all. Again, with all these recounted facts in our political history, if not for your masculine disdain for the aspirations of the female gender to that high office of the land, you would have supported the candidature of Naana Opoku Agyemang. We have capable women in Ghana Do you know that the first Vice Presidential candidate from any of the two big political parties in Ghana nearly came from your party, the NPP? Or were you part of the people who shot her candidature down? Currently, we have the first female Deputy Majority leader in Parliament and she belongs to the NPP. Some of us admire her debates on the floor of Parliament. I sat at the public gallery of Parliament several times and watched her debate even in the absence of Kyei Mensah Bonsu, the substantive Majority leader of Parliament. So what are you telling us? Does it mean with your GIMPA experience as a Rector you still do not qualify to be Vice President or President? Prof. Naana Opoku Agyemang was not the only woman you underrated before It appears that you take incessant delight in attacking women in high positions because you want to see them as women of straw. I remember when Dr. Christiana Amoako-Nuamah was the Chairman of the Governing Council of GIMPA after you left office. You chastised her publicly and cast doubts on her competence and integrity. Now it is the turn of Jane Opoku Agyemang to face your castigating weapon. In criticizing Madam Amoako-Nuamah, you were reported to have said, For the seven years that the current chair of Council, Dr. Christina Amoako-Nuama has been in charge of the Council, she persistently placed personal interest ahead of the Institutes interest, interfered in day-to-day administrative duties, and engaged in gross dissipation of the Institutes financial resources Paradoxically, some GRA staff have accused you Prof. Adei similarly, only about three (3) years after you accused Dr. Amoako-Nuama. Given the opportunity to asses your practical leadership style, I would say you are more skewed towards the autocratic style. During your tenure as the GIMPA Rector, you were accused of virtually dividing the lecturers so even when I read for my Masters Degree much later in that school, I noticed the divisions. There were Adei adherent lecturers and opponents. It is good to assess others and very much so, you did it to Naana Opoku Agyemang. We will soon assess you at the NDPC and the GRA. As noted earlier, some of the GRA workers have already started criticizing your Board chairmanship of that revenue collecting organization. Thank God you were the very person who famously said, Leadership is Cause, Everything else is Effect. This your famous assertion resonates well with that of John Maxwell that Everything rises and falls on leadership. Leadership will indeed be cause at the GRA and the NDPC and everything else will be effect that will rise and fall on your leadership style. May be you are right. Running affairs at GIMPA might not be sufficient for doing well at the GRA and the NDPC. Ahaa, I heard you are developing or you have developed a 100-year development plan for Ghana at the NDPC. Any lessons from vision 2020 and the Akosombo accord which Mr Kwadwo Pianim was part of? Let Naana Opoku Agyemang be. Let the woman become the Veep or attempt to be. Let us assess her as a person and not as a woman. We will surely assess you too. ~Asante Sana ~ Author: Philip Afeti Korto Email: [email protected] Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 14:50:39|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KABUL, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Police in Afghanistan have arrested 41 drug traffickers, authorities said on Tuesday. "Counter-Narcotics Police of Afghanistan (CNPA) in coordination with detective security organizations arrested 41 suspects, including a woman, linked to 26 cases of transportation or keeping of narcotics from 12 provinces of 34 Afghan provinces within the past seven days," Counter Narcotics Justice Centre of Afghanistan (CNJC) said in a statement. The CNPA seized some amount of narcotics from the suspects. After initial investigations, the CNPA handed over the cases to the Central Narcotics Tribunal or CNT, a special Afghan court for jurisdiction of major drug cases, the statement added. Further investigation is underway. Enditem Its been a while since we heard from the Happy Endings gang, but dont worry, the cast got together in character for a Zoom chat on Monday to catch us up on how theyve been coping during the pandemmy, as Penny (Casey Wilson) calls it. Everybody fared differently on the sooks to ahmazing scale, and a few even had huge surprises to reveal. Penny appeared to have a super cyuht life with her doctor boyfriend (Wilson's real-life husband, Happy Endings creator David Caspe, made a cameo in Penny's picture frames). Max (Adam Pally) was outhouse sitting and eating only weed-based foods, including a steak he been dubbed the Kobe beef of Jamaica. Jane (Eliza Coupe), to no ones surprise, was thriving during COVID-19. The eldest Kerkovich sister has been running the simulations since grade school and grams all of her coronavirus hacks (a.k.a. cuacks). Brad (Damon Wayans Jr.) claimed he was stuck in a hotel in Florida following his business trip, but we soon learn he was hiding something. But still, fans will be happy to know he and Jane haven't stopped calling each other byeb. In other unsurprising news, Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) is a COVID-19 denier, a terrible DJ, and oh yeah, she has a baby now. Watch the full reunion to see who the father could be draaaaama. The gang had a tough time connecting with Dave (Zachary Knighton), but he eventually showed up having just left a tech-free retreat in Joshua Tree. Since he removed himself from social media, Dave had no idea about the pandemic meaning the name of his upcoming restaurant, Covid 19, was an unfortunate coincidence. Penny gathered the group to announce she was marrying her beau, but just when we thought her cursed love life would come to an end, things went south and yes, Penny Aziz Hartz did bust out a wedding dress under her jacket. Did you expect it any other way? Watch the full reunion to see just how much Penny has lost her marbles. And in classic Happy Endings fashion, the characters were slinging zingers throughout their chat. Here are some of our favorite lines from the reunion: Story continues PENNY (about Maxs eating habits): You better slow down buddy, because you look like youve already gained the COVID-25, and I wouldve said COVID-19 but that joke was played and youre much fatter than that. MAX (about Penny getting a Twin Towers-inspired wax): What better way to honor our fallen heroes than the oft-overlooked 19th anniversary, by giving yourself double landing strips? PENNY: The douby-lando, thats what I said. BRAD: Penny, I get all this from Alex. I mean, she even looks like Tomi Lahren. Am I saying her name white? PENNY: I did a ton of research on [coronavirus] when I was writing my one-woman show, Pandemic of the Heart. You remember, Time Out Chicago called it long. DAVE (about his retreat): I became fast friends with Jared Leto, Kony 2012, and the Toms (shoes, toothpaste, MySpace). We were a quintet of energy that can only be described as aromatic. At night, we sipped kombucha from the finest stuff on Earth. ALEX: Snapple? DAVE (finding out about COVID-19): Well, have they found a vaccine, or at the very least, has there been a group of celebrities that have gotten together to sing Imagine? PENNY (about her wedding date): June 28 was the earliest date that made sense with my astrological chart, the terms of my moms parole, and the advice of a Zoltar fortune teller machine that I consulted. ALEX: For the bachelorette party, Im thinking like 25 gals in a tiny escape room. And no big deal, but I do hold the record for the most escape room hosts asking me if I understood the concept. MAX (after Alex supports Daves new restaurant): Your choice is to die at a restaurant Jonathan Gold called the best part of being dead? JANE: Its not just a plain cup. Its a Busy Philipps cup, from the Busy Philipps collection, Fill Ups by Busy Philipps. BRAD: Or maybe, the Tampa Bay Ritz is also a fan of Cougar Town and that whole ABC comedy lineup that got moved around to death. MAX: Help, I am so high. Ive seen Jane as a monster, exactly like when Charlize played that monster in that movie, Bombshell. PENNY: Guys, is it too crazy if I break my leg to Trojan horse my way into the ER so I can break up sex with my dr with a 15-year-old Trojan from when I did their PR? Just one broken femur plus one broken condom is the perfect recipe to cure any fiance waffling because who would leggo my preggo? PENNY (to Max): Youre a hunky gay-slash-chunky gay depending on your salt intake. DAVE: You do yoyo between both Mark Ruffalos in that HBO show that nobodys watching. DAVE: You know, we could do this wedding right now. I am an ordained minister of the Church of Latter-day Boondock Saints. Related content: Patna, July 21 : The unabated increase in coronavirus cases coupled with the overflowing rivers in the state has wreaked havoc upon the people of Bihar. Floods are not a new phenomenon in Bihar. Though people are reeling under the floods they are determined in their fight against both corona and the deluge. Of the 38 districts in Bihar, Patna, Bhagalpur, Begusarai, Muzaffarpur, Nalanda and Siwan have seen the havoc of coronavirus while in Madhepura, Gopalganj, West Champaran, Darbhanga, Khagaria, Sitamarhi and Muzaffarpur districts the rivers in spate have destroyed people's homes and livelihood. The people of Benipur village in Muzaffarpur have taken shelter near the embankment, deserting their homes owing to the floods in the Bagmati river. They are not worried about getting food nor do they fear getting infected by corona. An elderly man Awadhesh Singh, who lives in a hut near the embankment, stares helplessly in the overcast sky expecting the worst. Asked why he did not cover his mouth with a mask, he said, "What will corona do to us? We die every year. Corona is only for this year, it will be gone in a few days, but what about the floods? The rain above, the river down, everything has been submerged." Katgharwa village in Sadar block of Gopalangaj is submerged, and people are being evacuated and housed in a relief camp at the government school in Mungraha. Though the government has promised relief to the people, anxiety is writ large on their faces. Neeraj, who lives in a relief camp, says, "Covid may afford us some time but floods destroy instantly so we are all geared up to protect ourselves from the floods." In Gopalganj, many villages of Sadar and Manjagarh blocks are submerged. Temporary houses and huts have been damaged and people are taking shelter on the roofs of pucca houses. Disaster Management Department additional secretary Ramchandra Doo said the department is on alert in view of the increased water level in various rivers of Bihar. Five blocks in Sitamarhi, Darbhanga and Supaul districts, three blocks in Shivhar district, four blocks in Kishanganj and Gopalganj, three blocks in Muzaffarpur and East Champaran have been affected by the floods. The increased water level of the rivers has affected 156 panchayats across 32 blocks in 8 districts of Bihar, where relief camps have been set up. Two relief camps are being run in Supaul and three in Gopalganj. He said 29 community kitchens have been set up in the flood-affected areas of the state, feeding nearly 28,000 people every day. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text A St Louis couple who brandished guns outside their home as non-violent protesters marched against racial injustice nearby have been charged by prosecutors. Mark and Patricia McCloskey were charged on Monday with unlawful use of a weapon for displaying guns during a protest outside their mansion last month. Footage of the white couple, who are both personal injury lawyers in their 60s, went viral amid worldwide Black Lives Matter protests. St Louis's top prosecutor, Kim Gardner, said the McCloskey's actions risked creating a violent situation during an otherwise peaceful protest. "It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner - that is unlawful in the city of St Louis," Ms Gardner said. Mark and Patricia McCloskey standing in front their house as they confront protesters / AP A lawyer for the couple, Joel Schwartz, released a statement calling the decision to charge the couple "disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed". Supporters of the McCloskeys said the couple were legally defending their home. Ms Gardner is recommending a diversion program such as community service rather than jail time if the McCloskeys are convicted, although the charge can bring sentences of up to four years in prison. Several Republican leaders have condemned Ms Gardner's investigation, including President Donald Trump, Missouri governor Mike Parson and senator Josh Hawley, who has urged Attorney General William Barr to undertake a civil rights investigation of Ms Gardner. Mr Parson said in a radio interview on Friday that he would likely pardon the couple if they were charged and convicted. Ms Gardner said Mr Trump, Mr Parson and others were attacking her to distract from "their failed approach to the Covid-19 pandemic" and other issues. The McCloskeys' home was initially incidental to the demonstration on June 28. Several hundred people were marching to the home of Democratic Mayor Lyda Krewson, a few blocks from the McCloskeys' home. Ms Krewson had angered activists by reading on Facebook Live the names and addresses of some who had called for defunding police. The McCloskeys live on a private street called Portland Place. A police report said the couple heard a loud commotion and saw a large group of people break an iron gate marked with "No Trespassing" and "Private Street" signs. One protest leader said the gate was open and protesters did not damage it. Mr McCloskey confronted protesters with a semi-automatic rifle, screamed at them and pointed the weapon at them, according to a probable statement from police officer Curtis Burgdorf. The statement said Mrs McCloskey then emerged with a semi-automatic handgun, yelling at protesters to "go" and pointing the gun at them. Loading.... Protesters feared "being injured due to Patricia McCloskey's finger being on the trigger, coupled with her excited demeanour", the statement said. No shots were fired. Agencies contributed to this report THE DOUBLE X ECONOMY The Epic Potential of Womens Empowerment By Linda Scott If there ever were a moment in the history of capitalism for the work of women to be fairly valued around the globe, that moment is now, as the coronavirus pandemic rages. In The Double X Economy: The Epic Potential of Womens Empowerment, Linda Scott tells powerful stories about how equal economic treatment for women would put a stop to some of the worlds costliest evils, while building prosperity for everyone. By costly evils, Scott, a professor emeritus at Oxford and the founder of the Global Business Coalition for Womens Economic Empowerment, has in mind the cycle of poverty evident in countries that fail to keep girls in school, since girls who complete high school are not only better able to compete in the work force but tend to have their first child later and have fewer children over all, thus slowing population growth. They also are more likely to keep their children in school longer, feed them better and provide them with adequate health care. (Moreover, girls who stay in school are less likely to be victims of human trafficking.) But the pandemic and subsequent recession are crises made worse by existing impediments to womens economic participation, obstacles that have resulted in a shadow or unacknowledged system of female labor what Scott calls the double X economy. Scott has been writing about womens issues for many years, publishing some of the earliest studies on the role multinational corporations can play in improving womens economic autonomy, such as her examination of Avons initiatives in developing countries. Her research has taken her to some of the worlds poorest regions, where, often in collaboration with local nonprofits and global companies, she has studied how to help women become entrepreneurs and be recognized and compensated for their work. Top Democrats in the U.S. Congress have demanded an urgent intelligence briefing over what they say is a concerted foreign campaign to spread disinformation to interfere in the November 3 election. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (Democrat-California), Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (Democrat-New York), and two other Democrats made the demand in a letter to the FBI released on July 20. "We are gravely concerned...that Congress appears to be the target of a concerted foreign-interference campaign, which seeks to launder and amplify disinformation in order to influence congressional activity, public debate, and the presidential election," they said. The letter cited serious and specific threats to the upcoming presidential and congressional elections and said due to the nature of the threats, the FBI should conduct a classified briefing to all members of Congress by the end of July. The FBI acknowledged that it had received the letter but had no other comment. The nature of the disinformation campaign was not made clear and the letter did not attribute the alleged interference campaign to a country. Intelligence officials already have warned about disinformation campaigns over social media operated by Iran, China, and Russia. Following the 2016 election U.S. intelligence and law enforcement officials determined that Russia interfered by mounting a computer-hacking and social-media-manipulation campaign with the goal of boosting Republican Donald Trump over Democrat Hillary Clinton. U.S. officials have also said there were multiple foreign hacker efforts to penetrate voting systems in the 2018 congressional elections in what appeared to be a test run for 2020. In February, an FBI official said Russia was again interfering, seeking to exacerbate divisions and sow distrust in the U.S. election system. Earlier this month, FBI Director Christopher Wray said that China was pushing its preferences in the 2020 race in a constant effort to influence the American public. "It's not an election-specific threat; it's really more of an all-year, all-the-time threat," Wray said. "But certainly that has implications for elections and they certainly have preferences that go along with that." Former Vice President Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee, vowed in a statement that if any foreign power interfered in the election, he would as president "not hesitate to respond as president to impose substantial and lasting costs." With reporting by AP and AFP Swapna Suresh, Sandeep Nair and others had conspired together and separately to damage the countrys monetary stability by destabilising the economy by smuggling large quantity of gold from abroad, the National Investigation Agency (NIA) said on Tuesday, even as a special court on Tuesday extended their custody till July 24. In a report submitted in the Special NIA court, the central investigation agency probing the Kerala gold smuggling case, which came to light on July 5, said that it is suspected that the accused used the proceeds to finance terrorism through various means. The report further stated that the accused deliberately used the diplomatic baggage of United Arab Emirates (UAE) as a cover to transact illegal business, which may have serious repercussions in Indias diplomatic relations with the UAE government. Suresh worked at the UAE consulate generals office before she joined as an operational manager of the Kerala State Information Technology Infrastructure Limited under the state IT Ministry in 2017. Nair was a former employee of the Consulate as well. Meanwhile, Sureshs bail plea stated that she was being implicated in the crime on a wild imagination without any basis and the case was the offshoot of the political rivalry between the state and central governments, triggered by the colourful and fictitious stories aired by the media. The NIA charged five persons under Sections 15, 16, and 17 of the Unlawful Activities Prevention Act (UAPA) soon after 30 kilos of 24-carat gold, estimated to be worth at least 15 crore, was uncovered from a carton addressed to an attache of the UAE Consulate, who has since left the country. In a related development, Kerala higher education minister K T Jaleel will be questioned in connection with the case, a senior official aware of the investigation said. Last week, Jaleel had said that he had accepted a sponsorship for food worth 5 lakh from the UAE Consulate to distribute as zakat (alms, one of the five pillars of Islam). A list purported to show Sureshs phone records were leaked to media which indicated that she had spoken to the minister. The purported list showed nine calls in June, with the duration ranging from 64 seconds to 195 seconds. Suresh also got in touch with the ministers office. Jaleel clarified that he had spoken to Suresh in her capacity as a consular employee in connection with Ramadan kits being offered by the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. However, state ministers are not supposed to directly interact with the representative of a foreign country and it is against diplomatic protocol and norms. All such contributions will have to come through the MEA only, said former diplomat T P Sreenivasan. The conduct of the minister is punishable under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. We have requested the PM to include this also in the ongoing probe into smuggling, said Congress parliamentarian and United Democratic Front convener Benny Behnan. The Bharatiya Janata Party has sought his immediate resignation. I did not accept direct money or fund. I accepted zakat to distribute it to poor people in my constituency. I did it through a government agency. It is sad such a humanitarian move is mired in a controversy, Jaleel said adding that during Diwali and Christmas, foreign missions often perform similar acts of goodwill. The smuggling case,monitored by National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, is being probed by the Customs (Preventive) Division, the Directorate of Revenue Intelligence, the Intelligence Bureau, and Enforcement Directorate. The agencies have arrested 15 people in connection with the case till now. Two senior officials, including chief minister Pinarayi Vijayans principal secretary M Sivasankar, were removed after their name cropped up in the investigation. We hope the probe will not take a political colour, said senior CPI(M) leader K N Balagopal. Hats Off and Happy Trails to NREL Wind and Water Pioneer Bob Thresher July 21, 2020 From his trademark black hat to his legendary one-liners and singing contributions to the Wind Weenie Wailers, Research Fellow Bob Thresher undoubtedly cuts a memorable, larger-than-life figure. When asked to describe him, Threshers colleagues label him as everything from pioneer and mentor to friend, hero, and even rock star. From Budget Rent-a-Prof to Man in the Black Hat. Meet Bob Thresher. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL They are not all misty-eyed tributes, however. National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) Water Power Laboratory Program Manager Al LiVecchi described Threshers famous look of willful abandon when he cranks up his Subaru and metal music starts blaring from the stereo as he hurls the group to the lunch spot. Which, as LiVecchi pointed out, is always entertaining when new interns and job candidates are in the car! Everyone loves a good storyand several have been written about Thresher over the yearswhich begs the question: What has not yet been said about him and his time at NREL? As he looks toward retirement and shifting to an emeritus position at the lab, we sat down with the wind and water pioneer to find out. A Fateful Phone Call Believe it or not, it was a single phone call that launched Threshers storied career at NREL. Thresher found himself at one of those existential forks in the road during the 1973 oil embargo, when the goal of achieving U.S. energy independence loomed large. What motivated me was sitting in a gas line, waiting to get gas, and I got pretty angry about that and decided that the first chance I got, I would try to do something to get us off foreign oil, he said. There were not many people working on wind in the 1970s, Thresher said. He was involved in the early planning of the federal wind program under President Richard Nixon and eventually went to work at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE), called ERDA in the early days, or the Energy Research and Development Administration. I was the kid. I was referred to as the Budget Rent-a-Prof, Thresher said. He was burning the candle at both ends, doing consulting work on wind and carrying out research for DOE, all while working as a professor at Oregon State Universityand something had to give. Bob Noun, then the group manager for the wind program at the Solar Energy Research Institute (SERI), the laboratory that would later become NREL, had been trying to lure Thresher to SERI for some time. Bob had already developed a national reputation in wind research, and because of that reputation, he was simultaneously being pursued by the DOEs small wind turbine test center at Rocky Flats, managed then by Rockwell International, Noun said. Nouns numerous attempts to bring Thresher into the fold were seemingly in vain, each bid met with Thresher replying that he was content teaching in Corvallis, Oregon. Noun, however, had a plan afoot. Thresher was grading final exams when he received that fateful call from Noun that forever altered his course. It occurred to me: When is the best time to entice a professor to leave academia? Its when theyre grading finals, the worst week of the semester for every college professor, Noun said. I waited until I knew it was a dark, rainy day in Corvallis and got him on the phone, just as he was 'wondering whether any of my students had learned anything this semester! he said. Noun offered Thresher an interview and the opportunity to come visit SERI. Thresher accepted Nouns invitation to tour the campus, meeting SERI Director Harold Hubbard during that auspicious first visit. He signed on to the lab a few days later, Noun said. The Thresher era had begun. A Tiny Budget and a Big Dream It was 1984, the heart of the Reagan years, when Bob joined SERI. Thresher joined the five-person wind team at SERI in 1984 and the rest, as they say, is history. Photo by Warren Gretz, NREL The budget for the wind program had taken a major hit, shrinking from roughly $50 million to $5 million. The program infrastructure had to be condensed from a venture that once spanned five national laboratories down to SERI carrying out the primary research on horizontal axis turbines and subcontracting experimental work with the embryonic California wind industry. At that time, Sandia National Laboratories focused on small vertical axis wind turbines, and the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory had a team taking on wind resource assessment. Thresher recalls that when Bob Noun brought him to SERI, there were but five employees in the wind program; but the subsequent unification with what had been the Small Wind Energy Center at Rocky Flats brought the number of researchers up to about 40. Thresher, as he described it, essentially joined a salvage mission, the overarching goal of which was to save what they could from the once-extensive wind program and sustain it through those lean years. Dr. Hubbard, or Hub as he was usually called, had a relaxed management style. His ability to build relationships during that difficult time left a lasting impression on Thresher. Hubbard was an approachable director. He managed by walking around and talking to people, Thresher said. He would walk into peoples offices and sit down and put his boots up on your desk and ask, Ok, what are you doing? Whats going on? Thresher took these informal management lessons to heart, as he became the kind of universally respected manager and mentor he is known to be today. One does not have colleagues lining up to say the kinds of things they have said about Thresher otherwise. NRELs Wind Laboratory Program Manager Brian Smith said, Bob Thresher is my hero. He taught me to trust science, be passionate about what I believe in, and enjoy people and life. Former NREL Wind Laboratory Program Manager Susan Hock described her years working alongside Bob as, the most wonderful part of my career. Much like Hubbard, Bobs door is always open; the overflowing candy bowl on his desk giving passersby an excuse to stop in and talk about whatever happens to be on their mind. Sometimes when looking for guidance, I have gone into his office eight-plus times during the day and every time a different person is there discussing their work, LiVecchi said. Things just seem to be clearer and make more sense after you have a little session with Bob, who is ever the professor. From Wind to Waves Although he started his career in wind, Thresher is considered a pioneer in both the wind and marine energy industries. How he made that jump from wind to waves has a lot to do with his love of the unknown. I love the early stages of sorting out ideaswhats going to work and whats not going to workand trying new things, Thresher said. SERI wind energy pioneers at work: (from left to right) Palmer Carlin, Bob Thresher, Susan Hock, Darrel Dodge, and Peter Tu. Photo by Warren Gretz, NREL Marine energy is very rich in terms of concepts, which is what ultimately lured Thresher to the new area of study and allowed him to get his feet wet in an enticing, new field once again. Hes had an imprint on the entire marine energy portfolio, LiVecchi said. While it enjoyed a strong start in European countries, U.S. marine energy in 1973 largely consisted of ocean thermal and energy gradient technologies, according to Thresher. And though wave and tidal research remained popular across the pond, it was mainly phased out in the United States around 1994. It was not until 2008 that Congress allocated funding for the DOE to launch a water power program. Thresher and colleague Walt Musial were instrumental in getting the NREL water power program off the ground. In 2008, we worked side by side to win the DOE lab call for the first round of funding, which started the marine hydrokinetics and water power program, said Musial, NRELs offshore wind lead. Though it holds significant promise, marine energy in the United States is still in the early stages of research and testing devices, where wind was back in 1985, Thresher said. For example, while the cost of land-based wind energy in the Midwest is now as low as 1.8 cents/kilowatt hour (kWh), offshore wave energy is estimated to be between 75 cents and $1, while tidal energy is nearer to about 25 cents, he said. Thresher is all smiles standing in front of the Ocean Energy Wave Energy Converter at the Vigor Shipyards in Portland, Oregon, in spring 2019. Following its construction, the device was later shipped to Hawaii for validation at the U.S. Navys Wave Energy Test Site on Oahu. Photos courtesy of Bob Thresher Enthusiastic and energetic innovators are working on technologies such as tidal turbines and wave energy converters to turn the tide, so to speak, and NREL counts many such innovators among its ranks. Water Power Program Mechanical Engineer Nathan Tom is one of them. One of his favorite moments at the laboratory was listening to Threshers presentation on the history of wind turbines. Hearing about the early wind days from Bob helped me to understand that we dont know how the technologies being developed at NREL will take form in implementation, but if we dont try, well never know what could be, he said. Inspiring tomorrows energy innovators through the power of what could be: Thresher's list of appreciative mentees is extensive, including Nathan Tom (shown here). Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL Breaking Through Limitations On Threshers watch, wind energy experienced a remarkable growth trajectory, and his experiences in the industry hold valuable lessons for marine energy. Hock described how she and Bob worked so closely together in the early days of the wind program that colleagues often referred to the inseparable pair as Bobby-Sue. She looks back on the early work of the 80s and 90s fondly. We partnered with DOE to foster tremendous breakthroughs, both in the performance and the cost of wind turbines. I will always treasure the great adventure we had, she said. It was during this same period that Bob hired Brian Smith. When Bob hired me into SERI in 1988, the U.S. wind industry was in transition, U.S. wind companies were struggling, and the technology was not reliable, Smith said. Bob initiated the Advanced Wind Turbine Research Program focused on science and technology innovations that shaped the wind industry of tomorrow. This pivotal program laid the foundation for wind energys meteoric rise. Decades later, elements of this program are embedded in wind energy research worldwide and helped drive the United States to achieve over 100 gigawatts of installed capacity and launch into the new offshore wind frontier, Smith said. Thresher and Former Secretary of Energy Hazel O'Leary (far left), her aide, and prominent early wind consultant and turbine developer Bob Lynette (far right) visit with Thresher at the NREL wind site during its designation as the National Wind Technology Center in 1994. Photo courtesy of Bob Thresher Thresher has seen it allfrom the 1980s, when the installed turbines in California had very low energy production and high costs; to the advanced wind turbine work in the 1990s, when new concepts for wind turbine configurations were developed; to 2000, when the industry shifted to the three-bladed upwind turbines that you see today; to 2020, when researchers are tackling challenges of scaling up to larger turbine sizesbreaking through engineering limits in building large-diameter rotors and transporting the massive blades. The sky, if that, is the limit for wind and renewables, according to Thresher. From those humble, early years, when most research turbines were paid for by DOE as experimental devices, according to Thresher, it is hard to believe that the U.S. wind industry is now on track to achieveand likely exceedthe goal of 20% wind-generated energy by 2030. Around the year 2000, it became obvious that wind would make it, somehow, as part of the generation mix, Thresher said. Wind energy currently claims the largest installed renewable energy capacity in the United States. In Threshers estimation, part of wind energys success is owed to the practice of what he describes as creating vulture bait. The phrase refers to smaller operations capturing the attention of the major players in the industry. When the time was right and the costs were right, the big companies would jump in and grab the bait and go with it, he said. Major industry players such as General Electric and Siemens saw this type of potential in wind and decided to invest around the turn of the centuryand innovation flourished. We [wind researchers] were very successful in creating vulture bait. This needs to happen again for the wave and tidal industry, Thresher said. Were not close enough yet. Unparalleled Opportunities at NREL For a man who likes to be lost because thats the fun part, Thresher sure has managed to find his way in the world of wind and marine energy during his nearly 40 years at NREL. He was truly the driving force that lifted the NREL wind program to the worldwide stature the program enjoys today, Noun said. Looking back on his tenure at the lab, Thresher counts the development of the National Wind Technology Center at the Flatirons Campus among his proudest achievements. Thresher championed the establishment of the world-renowned National Wind Technology Center at the Flatirons Campus, which sprouted from humble beginnings as the small wind turbine test center on the former Rocky Flats site. Photo by Josh Bauer, NREL It is hard to believe that the now-sprawling, 305-acre Flatirons Campus grew from little more than a small wind turbine test center in 1978 into the nations premier wind energy, water power, and grid integration research campus today. It was really important in the early 90s to be a national center. It set NREL up as a leader in wind energy, said Thresher, who served as director of the National Wind Technology Center from 1994 to 2008. It was the establishment of Flatirons Campus and the expansion of that campus into a multitechnology center that will allow NREL to expand its mission, too. When did Thresher realize he would stay at NREL for the long haul? Gee, I never did! he said with a laugh. In all seriousness, he thought he might stick around for maybe 5 years and then move on. Thresher, as director of the National Wind Technology Center, welcomes then-Secretary of Energy Federico Pena to the campus in 1997. Photo by Warren Gretz, NREL He came to realize that NREL offered unparalleled opportunities by way of the technology and the ability to work with both industry and government. Thresher sees the national laboratories, such as NREL, as uniquely positioned to hatch the new ideas and concepts that drive the industry forward. I think labs are at their very best when theyre sorting out new concepts and new ideas, trying to get things focused on a path or several paths that lead to successful technology that could be commercialized, Thresher said. As time went on, I just didnt see a place where I could have a bigger impact or change the way we produce energy any more effectively than at NREL; were looking to do good and make things happen, so its kind of an altruistic opportunity that, to me, just is not available any place else. Bob's Parting Wisdom to Newcomers and Old Friends "We are in a period of dynamic evolution, socially and technically, regarding energy production and use. Over the next several decades, we will likely see a total transformation of how we generate the energy we use in all aspects of our life, from providing for our human comfort, to growing our food, to powering our transport systems and manufacturing processes. The energy we generate, and the processes used to produce our material goods, needs to be accomplished without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. "This total energy transformation will require innovative, cross-disciplinary solutions employing all aspects of science, including social and environmental science, together with sound engineering and implementation know-how. "My parting advice to my NREL colleagues, both young newcomers to the lab and longstanding friends, is to take every opportunity to engage with each other across the diverse disciplines at the laboratory to learn the new skills needed to evolve this total energy transformation. "NREL is perfectly positioned with the right scientific, engineering, and implementation expertise to make a sustainable energy future happen. We just need to work together and learn from each other to be able to create the new technologies and processes needed to make our way of life totally sustainable." Robert Thresher, June 2020 Once a Teacher, Always a Teacher Throughout his time at the laboratory, Thresher always strove to be a good teacher, a good manager, and a good partner. From providing heartfelt guidance to plucky one-liners, a long line of appreciative mentees and colleagues can attest to his achievements in this realm. LiVecchi recounted Bobs attempts to make sense of sometimes-arcane required tasks, likening them to awkwardly putting something into somewhere it probably shouldnt be, sometimes while standing in a hammock. NREL researchers Jason Jonkman, Robert Thresher, and Robynne Murray stand next to a water blade at the Flatirons campus. Photo by Dennis Schroeder, NREL Bob has been one of my most important mentors over my nearly four-decade-[long] wind energy career, Musial said. He is full of random off-color wisdom. But perhaps his most memorable caution to me was when I complained one day about how boring a particular job was and he told me, Be careful what you get good at because thats what you will end up doing [for] the rest of your life. I have always used this to keep me on a path to doing what I enjoy. Threshers decades of experience have afforded him a unique perspective, allowing him to soar above the treetops and not get lost in the brush belowand he does not keep that hard-earned wisdom to himself. Often, as a young researcher, the one-to-two-year time frame seems like a long time, and not having past knowledge makes it difficult to see the larger trends at work, Tom said. Ive really appreciated Bobs recommendations to not get too worked up on program changes or challenges. We just need to focus on producing the best work we can do at the moment, and that will keep the lab successful and make the greatest impact. Among the many lessons Bob has imparted is the importance of having a good laugh. Bob was not only the smartest guy in the room at meetingsbut also the funniest, Noun said. Noun recalled a time in the late 1980s when he and Thresher were attending a program review at DOE headquarters in Washington, D.C. The DOE manager was sternly lecturing us on how bad we were performing on some project, Noun said. Bob [Thresher] drew a cartoon of an airplane crashing and burning with the two of us sitting in the cockpit. He handed it to me right as I was about to respond to the critical comments, and I really had to bite my lip from laughing in this otherwise tense exchange, he said. And Threshers sense of humor has carried many colleagues through choppy waters over the years. The thing I love most about working with Bob is his sense of humor and his laugh. Even when we have a hard task in front of us, with technical challenges, he has a way of brilliantly coming up with technical solutions while keeping you smiling and laughing, said NREL Water Power Researcher Robynne Murray. He puts things into perspective to help me not let bumps in the road stress me out. He taught me to be patient but persistent. In a sense, one might say Bob has come full circle. I really enjoy being a mentor and a teacher, Thresher said. I started out at Oregon State as a teacher, and I feel like Im still a teacher. And NREL researchers, and those in the wind and marine renewable energy fields, are all the better for their time spent learning alongside Bob Thresher. The Thresher Era 1970: Bob completes his Ph.D. in mechanical engineering from Colorado State University and accepts a position as assistant professor of mechanical engineering at Oregon State University 1973: Bob begins his first wind energy research project for local Oregon Peoples Utility Districts 1976: Bob begins a two-year assignment with the Energy Research and Development Agency (predecessor to DOE, which was created in 1977) as a Budget Rent-a-Prof in Washington, D.C. 19781984: Bob returns to Oregon State University and begins research on wind turbine dynamic response to wind turbulence and serves as a consultant to early wind companies, including Boeing, Hamilton Standard, U.S. Windpower, Atlantic Orient Corporation, Northern Power Systems, and others 1984: Bob leaves the university to join the Solar Energy Research Institute as principle scientist 1990: Bob receives the first H.M. Hubbard Award 1992: Bob receives the American Wind Energy Society Federal Programs Award for effective management and leadership 1994: NRELs National Wind Technology Center is created by Hazel OLeary, secretary of energy, at the current Flatirons Campus location south of Boulder, Colorado 19942008: Bob serves as director of the National Wind Technology Center 1997: Bob is named the American Wind Energy Associations Person of the Year 2001: Bob receives a Lifetime Achievement Award from the American Wind Energy Association 2004: World Renewable Energy Network presents Bob with the Pioneer Award 2008: Bob is appointed NREL research fellow; he and Walt Musial secure DOE funding for NRELs Water Power program 2010: Bob is named an Innovator in Wind Power by Windpower Engineering magazine 2014: Bob works with the wind energy research community to form and serve as the launch director of the North American Wind Energy Academy (NAWEA), which brings together researchers, educators, and industry members to advance collaborative wind energy research 2020: Bob retires after 36 years at NREL and becomes an NREL researcher emeritus. Learn more about NREL's water research and wind research. Rebecca Harris Sullivan In the late winter and spring of 2019, a group of Indigenous scholars met in Hawaii to think through concepts around artificial intelligence (AI) and how they related to the Indigenous experience. Co-organized by Jason Edward Lewis, professor in the Department Design and Computation Arts, the multidisciplinary group included participants from Canada, the United States, Australia, New Zealand and the United Kingdom. Concordia graduate students Scott Benesiinaabandan (MFA Studio Arts) and Suzanne Kite (PhD INDI) as well as Concordia research associate Skawennati also participated. The first session in March largely consisted of brainstorm workshops about how and where Indigeneity intersects with AI. The second, in May, focused more on writing and laying the foundations of what would become the now-completed Indigenous Protocol and Artificial Intelligence Position Paper. The 205-page document is a collection of scholarly articles, essays, short stories, poems and tech prototypes, each offering a unique perspective on what AI means and offers to Indigenous peoples. Topics are as diverse as the workshops participants: one essay asks us to imagine ways to design AI that align with Indigenous values and ethics. Another questions data sovereignty and appropriation. Others ask how AI can be incorporated into and become a part of creation stories or how blockchain technology combined with AI can be used to manage Indigenous communities business affairs. Diverse nations, diverse thought With workshop participants including representatives from Australian Aboriginal, Hawaiian, Maori, Oglala Lakota, Euskaldun (Basque), Anishinaabe, Coquille, Cree, Crow, Cheyenne and Mohawk, among other communities, Lewis says they really wanted to reinforce the diversity of Indigenous thought. We decided that there would be no one format for the position paper; authors should write in the mode that was most effective for them. As a result of that, people felt comfortable and we were able to create a document that still fit together, he explains. Lewis, who is also Research Chair in Computational Media and the Indigenous Future Imaginary, adds that the decision to base the workshops in Hawaii was both practical as well as personal. The island chain sits neatly in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, reasonably accessible by air from Australia and New Zealand as well as from North America and Europe. Additionally, as a scholar of Hawaiian, Cherokee and Samoan descent himself, it gave him the opportunity to better understand and study his own heritage. Finally, Hawaii offered a rich example of what a vibrant, Indigenous-led tech scene can achieve. In a way that I dont think exists elsewhere other than New Zealand, there is a full ecology of Indigenous cultural practitioners, language keepers, critical cultural researchers, scientists, engineers, entrepreneurs and venture capitalists everything you need to work at the cutting edge of digital technology centred on Indigenous Hawaiian bodies, he says. A future alternative As a document, the position paper acts as a starting point upon which to build an Indigenous voice that can add to the global discussions around the future and implications of AI. Lewis, however, insists it is only a beginning. This is about practicing what I call the future imaginary, he notes. How do you create the outlines of a future that you want to go toward? How do you build capacity to help get there? We want to ensure that Indigenous voices are a central part of this technologys development, and that it develops in ways that are beneficial to us. As AI progresses and integrates into our daily spaces, Lewis hopes that the position paper inspires young Indigenous programmers to embark on their own projects that do not necessarily start with a traditionally Western, utilitarian, profit-driven perspective. He imagines a programming language based in Hawaiian, for instance, and how that could build capacity to develop AI differently. The workshops received funding from CIFARs AI & Society Program, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council (SSHRC) and the Concordia Office of Research. Learn more about the Indigenous Protocol and Artificial Intelligence Working Group. Groene, the head of the Legislatures Education Committee, recently said the $250 million would be better spent, and would benefit more people, if it was used to reduce local property taxes by increasing state funding of K-12 schools. Open Sky, while agreeing on decoupling, doesnt favor the property tax bill that Groene helped draft. The group wants the money to be available to cover what it predicts will be rocky times ahead for the state budget, according to a spokesman. The Nebraska Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Omaha-based Platte Institute, have both issued statements against decoupling. The latest federal tax provisions were intended to help stimulate the very businesses that are in most need right now and to keep Nebraskans employed to the greatest extent possible, Nebraska Chamber President Bryan Slone said last month. The issue of decoupling promises to be a hot one when the Legislature resumes its 2020 session on July 20. LANSING -- A ballot measure to ban doctors from performing the dilation and evacuation, or D&E, procedure will not be on the November ballot. In June, the Michigan Bureau of Elections found that the citizen-led initiative did not have the required amount of valid signatures to be on the November ballot. Right to Life of Michigan, the group behind Michigan Values Lifes petition, announced Tuesday that it will not challenge that finding. Instead of focusing on court challenges regarding the counting process, we will be focusing on the critical 2020 elections moving forward, Barbara Listing, president of Right to Life of Michigan said in a statement. The measure would have made it a felony for a physician to perform a D&E. In 2018, about 7 percent of abortions in Michigan involved dilation and evacuation, which is typically used in abortions after the 14th week of pregnancy. It involves a combination of suction and manual removal of the fetus, and is typically performed in the second trimester of pregnancy. The group submitted 380,000 signatures, but the bureau said that it was short 7,276 valid signatures, based on a review of a 500-signature sample. Michigans Planned Parenthood chapter pointed to the major 2018 voting turnout as a reason Michigan Values Life couldnt get enough signatures. The increased voter turnout meant the group had to gather more signatures than in years past. Today is a victory for every doctor and every patient in Michigan, and for every person whos been forced to endure traumatic procedures because bad laws enacted by Right to Life-backed politicians demanded it, said Lori Carpentier, Planned Parenthood Advocates of Michigan President and CEO in a press release. No more. The days of Right to Life dictating medical care in Michigan are over, and we couldnt be happier to be the ones to say it, she said. Listing acknowledged the increased signature requirement, calling it their biggest hurdle. But there were other factors as well. She pointed to a competing prolife petition that she said confused people and retraining volunteers for the new petition drive law that was recently enacted. In the end, the group came up short of the number of signatures they wanted to send in. Our volunteers did an excellent job, but the bulk of the errors were things beyond our control, specifically people not knowing their voter registration status or forgetting they already signed the petition, Listing said. Because we were about 20,000 signatures short of our goal of 400,000, we left room for Planned Parenthood to pick us apart. MORE FROM MLIVE: Mask mandate debate echoes seat belt battles of the 1980s Were devastated, Bone Island Grille co-owner says of employees positive COVID-19 test, temporary closure Severe storm survey: Up to 95 mph winds in Northern Michigan storms The search for Ireland's most talented family is back! TG4 and Adare Productions are looking for families who can sing, dance or play music to take part in the TV talent show Realta & Gaolta. The TV producers are looking for the countrys best to come and battle it out on TV for the title of Irelands Most Talented Family. Can you and your siblings sing? Do you and your relatives like to rock out? Are you and your cousins the most musical family in Ireland? Did you and your parents perfect the family bands party piece during lockdown? Are you Leitrim's most talented family? Are you the next Clancy Brothers, The Corrs or Jedward even? If so Adare Productions wants to hear from you. This unique TG4 television show wants to showcase Ireland undiscovered talented families. The competition has previously been won by the sean-nos singing sisters Etain and Maire Ni Churraoin and by the Operatic couple Gavan and Nicola Ring. The series will be filmed in the RTE studios at the end of September 2020. For more information and to apply please contact Adare Productions by phoning Brid at (086) 0542486 or emailing us at realta@adareproductions.ie Montreal, CA (H4T1V6) Today Cloudy skies with afternoon snow showers. Some sleet may mix in. High -5C. Winds NNW at 5 to 10 mph. Chance of snow 70%.. Tonight Snow showers this evening. Breaks in the overcast later. Low -16C. Winds W at 10 to 20 mph. Chance of snow 60%. For as long as I can remember, late night bust-ups have been par for the course at European Union meetings. Even so, this weeks Brussels summit to rescue the EUs pandemic-blighted economy was in a class of its own. For more than four days, the leaders of the 27 member states were locked in sweatsodden battle, while reports of table-thumping and shouting matches filtered through to the waiting media. At last, just after dawn yesterday, a visibly exhausted Charles Michel, President of the European Council , appeared before the cameras. We did it! he declared. Europe is strong! Europe is united! Strong? United? Well, lets see. To cut a long story short, on top of signing off on a new 1 trillion sevenyear budget, the EU eventually agreed to hand out an astonishing 390 billion in grants to recession-haunted countries such as Italy and Spain, as well as a further 360 billion in low-interest loans. Just after dawn yesterday, a visibly exhausted Charles Michel (pictured with Ursula Von Der Leyen) appeared before the cameras. We did it! he declared. Europe is strong! Europe is united! Added together, that amounts to a 1.75 trillion (1.6 trillion) splurge. Right on cue, pro-European commentators stepped forward to hail it as a landmark event, representing a gigantic step towards an integrated United States of Europe. One pro-European economist, Anatole Kaletsky, even compared it to the moment in 1790 when the United States of America became a true political federation. Nice idea. But not, I think, remotely convincing. The real story of the EU summit was not the outcome: a classic fudge in which nobody got what they wanted. Nor was it even the agonising sluggishness of the process such a contrast with Rishi Sunaks decisive measures to prop up Britains economy. No, the most striking aspect was the astonishing bitterness with which the EU leaders argued into the small hours, exposing all too clearly the deep chasms beneath the facade of fraternal unity. The most obvious schism is between the rich countries of the North, who believe themselves champions of sound money and low debt, and the poorer nations of Mediterranean and Eastern Europe, who have long chafed at what they see as their economic subordination. Having suffered grievously during the coronavirus pandemic, Italy, Spain and Portugal asked for grants worth some 500 billion. Spain's Prime Minister Pedro Sanchez (L), French President Emmanuel Macron (C) and German Chancellor Angela Merkel peered at documents in Brussels on Monday But in their path stood the frugal four Sweden, Denmark, Austria and the Netherlands who made it clear they were sick of bankrolling their poorer cousins. These are old arguments, recalling the furious rows over the bailouts for debt-crippled Greece and Ireland a decade ago. But rarely have they raged with such seething intensity. The Dutch prime minister, Mark Rutte, insisted that any rescue package should involve a commitment to the rule of law, which many commentators saw as a rebuke to Hungarys authoritarian strongman Viktor Orban. Squaring up like a nightclub bouncer, Mr Orban demanded to know the personal reason for the Dutch prime minister to hate me or Hungary. Meanwhile Frances Emmanuel Macron accused Mr Rutte of behaving like a British prime minister, the worst possible insult in the Gallic lexicon. Mr Macron was on fighting form, reportedly thumping the table like an overwrought teenager. At one point he shouted at Austrias chancellor, Sebastian Kurz, for leaving the room to make a phone call. You see? Mr Macron declared. He doesnt care! In fairness, it is easy to see why the French president was so agitated. He sees himself as the guardian of the European soul, yet his fellow leaders are manifestly more devoted to their own national interests. The Franco-German axis, on which European affairs have turned for the last half-century, is in deep trouble. Economic stagnation, national populism, anxiety about immigration and the searing impact of the coronavirus pandemic have taken a heavy toll. So instead of falling dutifully behind Paris and Berlin, more and more European leaders prefer to line up with their likeminded neighbours, from the sound-money Scandinavians to the begging-bowl southerners. Even Italy, the EUs third most populous country, is no longer a reliable FrancoGerman ally. A few weeks ago, Claudio Borghi, economic adviser to the largest Italian party, the populist League, tweeted a World War II poster of a grinning Nazi soldier with the slogan, Germany really is your friend. Time passes, Mr Borghi wrote ominously. But the tactics are always the same. So much, then, for burying the hatreds of the past! The irony is that the EU elite have never talked more fervently about the virtues of their beloved project. Yesterday, even the shattered Mr Michel claimed that the summit had demonstrated the magic of the European project. What rubbish! To an outsider, as we British now are, it is blindingly obvious that European unity is little more than a pious fantasy. In many ways, as callous as it might sound, the coronavirus pandemic was a tremendous opportunity for the EU. This was a chance for it to prove its worth at a time of genuine, lifethreatening crisis. It was an opportunity to proclaim the virtues of Continental solidarity, and to show that federalism really is the future. But, of course, things didnt turn out that way. European Union nations leaders agreed on a budget and a recovery mechanism after meeting face-to-face for a fourth day to discuss plans to respond to the coronavirus pandemic and a new long-term EU budget Right from the start, EU citizens looked to their national governments, not to Brussels. Each member state raced to adopt its own policies, secure its borders and even get hold of its own personal protective equipment. For the hardest-hit countries, such as Italy and Spain, the lack of solidarity was hard to take. Feelings ran so high that in April the European Commission president, Ursula von der Leyen, even offered a limp apology to the Italians, whose requests to their neighbours to send medical aid had gone unanswered. But the lack of solidarity was no fluke. The reality, which the federalist elite refuse to accept, is that most EU citizens still see themselves as members of a nation-state first and as Europeans second. At the height of the pandemic, for example, the Danes closed the famous Oresund Bridge to nearby Sweden, while the Danish police literally turned back Swedes trying to cross the straits by ferry. If, at a time of crisis, people as self-consciously progressive as the Danes and the Swedes insist on putting their national identity first, then how on earth can you expect, say, the Latvians, the Portuguese, the Hungarians or the Romanians to behave differently? All of this, I think, bodes very ill for the EU. The tensions between penny-pinching Dutchmen and bombastic Hungarians, parsimonious Danes and impecunious Greeks arent going to disappear. And if tempers are fraught now, just imagine the mood once unemployment has rocketed and a new wave of national populism has swept across southern and eastern Europe. As the decade wears on and the inequalities yawn ever wider, resentment is bound to build, the fragile bonds of Continental unity fraying almost to nothingness. And although some commentators argue that the EU is bound to muddle through, its perfectly possible to imagine the whole ramshackle edifice falling apart. No multinational entity, after all, lasts for ever. Will Hungary still be there in ten years time? Will Poland? Or will one of the richer northern countries decide that its no longer worth it? As some readers will remember, I voted Remain four years ago. But do I wish our Prime Minister had been there in Brussels, arguing about Rotterdams customs revenue? Do I wish we were joining our Continental friends in their collective borrowing spree? Well, I think you can guess the answer. IRAQ Kadhimi visits Iran, offers assurances Iraq and Iran sought Tuesday to ease bilateral political tensions, as Iraqs prime minister said his government would not allow any threat to Tehran to emanate from Iraqi territory. Mustafa al-Kadhimi, visiting Tehran and speaking at a news conference alongside Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, alluded to Iraqs concern not to become a battlefield between Iran and the United States, which are archenemies. The people of Iraq want good relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran based on the principle of noninterference in the internal affairs of both countries, he said. Kadhimi, making his first foreign trip as premier, later said that Iraq wont allow any aggression or challenge to Iran from its territory. Kadhimi faces a tough balancing act between Tehran and Washington, which have come close to open conflict in the region, particularly on Iraqi soil, over the past year. At home, Kadhimi faces increasing pressure from Iran-aligned parties and paramilitary groups that perceive him as siding with the United States because he has indicated he wants to curb the power of Iranian-backed militias and political groups. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, Irans supreme leader, later also met with Kadhimi. German art curator is kidnapped in Baghdad A German woman who is well known in Iraqs art scene and is an ardent supporter of mass anti-government protests was kidnapped outside the Baghdad arts center where she worked, a security official and activists said Tuesday. The abduction of Hella Mewis prompted alarm among Iraqi activists and other foreigners living in the country. It comes two weeks after the killing of key Iraqi commentator Hisham al-Hashimi by unknown gunmen. Mewis was taken from outside Beit Tarkib, the arts center where she works on Baghdads Abu Nawas Street, around 8 p.m. Monday by armed men in two vehicles, a security official and human rights monitors said. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi has promised to rein in armed groups as pressure mounts amid repeated rocket attacks targeting U.S. installations, assassinations and disappearances. German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, during a visit to Athens on Tuesday, said the German Foreign Ministry had established a crisis task force to deal with Mewiss disappearance, the German news agency DPA reported. Mewis is a beloved figure in Baghdad, where she has resided for seven years and runs an arts program for young Iraqis through Beit Tarkib. She is a supporter of the protests that erupted in Baghdad and across southern Iraq in October over rampant government corruption, poor services and unemployment. Associated Press WHO warns Ebola outbreak in Congo faces funding gap: The World Health Organization said it is facing a "serious funding gap" in its battle against a new outbreak of Ebola in remote corners of northern Congo amid the global covid-19 pandemic. The $1.75 million raised will last only for a few more weeks, the WHO warned. There have been 24 deaths since the outbreak was declared June 1. The emergence of Ebola in Congo's northern Equateur province came just as the world's second-deadliest Ebola outbreak was nearing its end. At least 2,280 people died of Ebola over the nearly two-year span of that epidemic in eastern Congo before it ended June 25. Ousted Sudanese leader in court over 1989 coup: Ousted Sudanese leader Omar Hassan al-Bashir was back in court, this time facing charges of plotting the 1989 Islamist-backed coup that removed an elected government and brought him to power. Shortly after the proceedings opened, the trial was adjourned till Aug. 11 so that the defense could prepare its arguments, said an attorney on Bashir's team. The military overthrew Bashir in April 2019 amid public protests over his rule. Months later, army generals and a pro-democracy movement behind the protests set up a transitional government. Bashir, 76, faces several trials related to his rule. From news services The American Maritime Partnership (AMP) has named Oscar-winning actor Tom Hanks the recipient of the American Maritime Hero Award. The award recognizes individuals or groups of individuals who have added to the rich heritage of the United States as a maritime nation through their professional contributions, courage, outstanding achievements or noble qualities. U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao and World War II merchant mariners were named the AMP's first American Maritime Heroes last year. The AMP said Hanks has drawn attention to the bravery of maritime heroes by starring in the film "Captain Phillips," narrating the documentary short "Boatlift An Untold Tale of 9/11 Resilience," and writing the screenplay and starring in the movie "Greyhound." "Greyhound," released on AppleTV+ on July 10, tells the story of Navy Cmdr. Ernest Krause. Hanks portrays Krause on his first command mission, leading a convoy of 37 merchant marine ships across the chaotic North Atlantic while pursued by a squadron of German U-boats. "Tom Hanks' work throughout his career reflects a deep respect for those who serve," said AMP President Mike Roberts. "This includes American mariners responding to the 9/11 attacks in New York, dealing with piracy off the coast of Somalia and keeping our allies supplied during World War II." The AMP said it is "the voice of the U.S. domestic maritime industry, a pillar of our nation's economic, national and homeland security. More than 40,000 American vessels built in American shipyards, crewed by American mariners and owned by American companies operate in our waters 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and this commerce sustains nearly 650,000 American jobs, $41.6 billion in labor compensation and more than $154.8 billion in annual economic output." Angela Hwang joins the UPS board. (Photo: UPS) UPS Angela Hwang, president of Pfizer Inc. (NYSE: PFE), has been appointed to the UPS board of directors. Story continues Biopharmaceuticals comprises about 80% of Pfizer's revenues and Hwang leads more than 26,000 global employees and has responsibility for bringing over 600 innovative medicines and products to patients around the world. "The UPS board engaged in a thorough search and evaluation to find the right candidate for this role," said UPS Executive Chairman of the Board David Abney. "Angela's expertise in the health care sector will bring added talent to our board as we oversee the company's strategic growth efforts in this area." Hwang is a 23-year veteran of Pfizer and has held numerous leadership roles within the company spanning strategy, product development, marketing, sales and general management. The American Club Shipowners Claims Bureau Inc. (SCB), managers of The American Club, has announced senior appointments to its management team in New York. Dorothea Ioannou took on the role of deputy chief operating officer and Molly McCafferty will become senior vice president and director of claims for the Americas beginning Sept. 1. Dorothea Ioannou is deputy COO. (Photo: SCB) A lawyer by training, Ioannou has more than 22 years of experience in marine insurance. She joined SCB's Piraeus, New Jersey, office in 2005 as a claims specialist. She has served as the managers' chief commercial officer since 2018. McCafferty, also a lawyer, most recently served as general counsel to a leading operator in the bulk trades. She sits on the Society of Maritime Arbitrators' board of governors and is a director of New York Maritime Inc. The American Club is a member of the International Group of P&I Clubs, a collective that together provides protection and indemnity insurance for about 90% of global shipping. South Carolina Ports The South Carolina Ports Authority has been named one of the "Best Places to Work in South Carolina" for the second year. The South Carolina Chamber of Commerce, SC Biz News and Best Companies Group use employee survey responses to determine the rankings. Seventy-four companies were named to this year's list in South Carolina. The SCPA, which employs 735 people, was recognized for its culture of excellence, empowerment and teamwork. Its new headquarters in Mount Pleasant features standing desks, wellness and fitness centers, a walking trail, and a cafe serving healthy, low-cost breakfast and lunch options. Port employees can take part in lunch-and-learn sessions, weekly visits from a rolling farmers market and free physicals, among other perks. "The best people lead to the best outcomes. We have worked together through cooperation and collaboration to build this port up to where it is today," said SCPA President and CEO Jim Newsome. "None of our successes would be possible without our employees, who work so hard every day to move our organization forward. I have never been more excited about our future than I am today." The ranked companies will be recognized during a virtual awards ceremony on Aug. 21. Volga-Dnepr Group Russian air carrier Volga-Dnepr Group has restructured its board of directors. Alexey Isaikin, chairman of the board, is the founder and co-owner of the Volga-Dnepr Group and has more than 40 years of experience in the aircraft and civil aviation industry. Sergey Shklyanik, deputy chairman, also is a group co-owner with more than 40 years of experience in the aviation industry. Tatiana Arslanova, deputy chairman, is the executive operating director of Volga-Dnepr and has held senior positions within the group for more than 15 years. Ruben Vardanyan, independent director, is a Russian business leader, entrepreneur and philanthropist. Giorgio Callegari, independent director, is a member of the boards of public insurance companies Ingosstrakh and Enel Russia and a former member of the boards of Alitalia and Aeroflot. Ella Sytnik, independent director, is a partner at Ward Howell, specializing in organizational transformation and team development management. Stanislav Tillich, independent director, is the former prime minister of Saxony. "Facing the challenges that have led to fundamental changes and revision of the passenger and cargo services value from a biosecurity perspective, we have decided on the necessity for transformation. I am confident that a strong board of directors will help the executive team successfully transform and adapt business leaders to the COVID-reality environment," Isaikin said. Chao, merchant mariners are American Maritime Heroes TT Club loads evidence in cargo security push Career Tracks: Supply chain professor nets CSCMP award Click for more FreightWaves/American Shipper articles by Kim Link-Wills. See more from Benzinga 2020 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved. DUBLIN, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- The "Dinner RTE Foods - Global Market Trajectory & Analytics" report has been added to ResearchAndMarkets.com's offering. The publisher brings years of research experience to this 9th edition of this report. The 207-page report presents concise insights into how the pandemic has impacted production and the buy side for 2020 and 2021. A short-term phased recovery by key geography is also addressed. Global Dinner RTE Foods Market to Reach US$138.1 Billion by the Year 2027 Amid the COVID-19 crisis, the global market for Dinner RTE Foods estimated at US$99 Billion in the year 2020, is projected to reach a revised size of US$138.1 Billion by 2027, growing at a CAGR of 4.9% over the analysis period 2020-2027. Frozen Dinner RTE Foods, one of the segments analyzed in the report, is projected to grow at a 5.4% CAGR to reach US$89.4 Billion by the end of the analysis period. After an early analysis of the business implications of the pandemic and its induced economic crisis, growth in the Chilled Dinner RTE Foods segment is readjusted to a revised 4.5% CAGR for the next 7-year period. This segment currently accounts for a 24.8% share of the global Dinner RTE Foods market. The U.S. Accounts for Over 27.1% of Global Market Size in 2020, While China is Forecast to Grow at a 7.6% CAGR for the Period of 2020-2027 The Dinner RTE Foods market in the U.S. is estimated at US$26.8 Billion in the year 2020. The country currently accounts for a 27.1% share in the global market. China, the world second largest economy, is forecast to reach an estimated market size of US$28.4 Billion in the year 2027 trailing a CAGR of 7.6% through 2027. Among the other noteworthy geographic markets are Japan and Canada, each forecast to grow at 2.6% and 4.4% respectively over the 2020-2027 period. Within Europe, Germany is forecast to grow at approximately 3% CAGR while Rest of European market (as defined in the study) will reach US$28.4 Billion by the year 2027. Canned Dinner RTE Foods Segment Corners a 12.7% Share in 2020 In the global Canned Dinner RTE Foods segment, USA, Canada, Japan, China and Europe will drive the 2.6% CAGR estimated for this segment. These regional markets accounting for a combined market size of US$9.5 Billion in the year 2020 will reach a projected size of US$11.4 Billion by the close of the analysis period. China will remain among the fastest growing in this cluster of regional markets. Led by countries such as Australia, India, and South Korea, the market in Asia-Pacific is forecast to reach US$18.3 Billion by the year 2027, while Latin America will expand at a 3.8% CAGR through the analysis period. Competitors identified in this market include, among others: Findus Group General Mills, Inc. Greencore Group plc Hormel Foods Corporation ITC Limited JBS Nestle SA Schwan's Shared Services, LLC Sigma Alimentos SA de C.V. Smithfield Foods, Inc. The Kraft Heinz Company Tyson Foods, Inc. Unilever N.V. Total Companies Profiled: 66 For more information about this report visit https://www.researchandmarkets.com/r/ptmy6e Research and Markets also offers Custom Research services providing focused, comprehensive and tailored research. Media Contact: Research and Markets Laura Wood, Senior Manager [email protected] For E.S.T Office Hours Call +1-917-300-0470 For U.S./CAN Toll Free Call +1-800-526-8630 For GMT Office Hours Call +353-1-416-8900 U.S. Fax: 646-607-1907 Fax (outside U.S.): +353-1-481-1716 SOURCE Research and Markets Related Links http://www.researchandmarkets.com Its like a dictatorship, Widman, a grandmother of five, said, holding up a sign that read: Grammy says: Please feds, leave Portland. Story continues below advertisement I mean, that he can pick on our city mostly because of the way we vote and make an example of it for his base is very frightening, she said. Advertisement Far from tamping down the unrest, the presence of federal agents on the streets of Portland and particularly allegations they have whisked people away in unmarked cars without probable cause has given new momentum and a renewed, laser-sharp focus to protests that had begun to devolve into smaller, chaotic crowds. The use of federal agents against the will of local officials has also set up the potential for a constitutional crisis and one that could escalate if Trump sends federal agents elsewhere, as he says he plans to do. Federal forces were deployed to Portland in early July, and tensions have grown since then: first, on July 11, when a protester was hospitalized with critical injuries after a U.S. Marshals Service officer struck him in the head with a round of whats known as less-lethal ammunition. Story continues below advertisement Then, anger flared again over the weekend after video surfaced of a federal agent hitting a U.S. Navy veteran repeatedly with a baton while another agent sprays him in the face with pepper spray. Principal Deputy Director of the Federal Protective Service Richard Cline said at a news conference Tuesday that the officers were members of the U.S. Marshals, and the Department of Justice inspector general is investigating. Advertisement Crowds in Portland had recently numbered fewer than 100 people but swelled to more than 1,000 over the weekend and they are once again attracting a broader base in a city thats increasingly unified and outraged. Federal agents again used force to scatter protesters early Tuesday and deployed tear gas and rubber bullets as some in the crowd banged on the doors of the Mark O. Hatfield Federal Courthouse and attempted to pull plywood off the shuttered entryway. The courthouse, which has been a focus of protests, is now covered with graffiti and boarded up, with only thin slits in the plywood to be used as peepholes. Story continues below advertisement The Portland Police Bureau said in a statement that some protesters lit fires in the street and tried several times to light fires at the courthouse doors. It is time for the Trump troops to go home and focus their attention on other activities, Oregon Gov. Kate Brown, a Democrat, said on MSNBC. Advertisement State and local authorities, who didnt ask for federal help, are awaiting a decision in a state lawsuit that seeks to restrain the federal agents actions. State Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum said in court papers that masked federal agents have arrested people on the street, far from the courthouse, with no probable cause and whisked them away in unmarked cars. Story continues below advertisement The federal government faces another lawsuit, filed Tuesday in federal court by The Western States Center, two state representatives and others who argue federal agents violated protesters 10th Amendment rights because they engaged in police activities that are designated to local and state governments. On Tuesday, federal agencies defended their agents actions in Portland, while detailing the tactics they said had been used against them. According to the Justice Department, some in the crowd outside the courthouse this weekend used radio frequency jammers and shot pellet and Airsoft guns to injure officers. The department is also investigating suspicious devices outside the courthouse that could have caused serious harm to those in the building, spokesperson Kerri Kupec said. Advertisement Some of the demonstrators also tried to barricade federal officers inside the courthouse and attempted to set the building on fire, Kupec said. Story continues below advertisement In a news conference in Washington, acting Department of Homeland Security Secretary Chad Wolf said agents have been assaulted with lasers, bats, fireworks, bottles and other weapons and yet the city of Portland takes little to no action. Wolf said the agency has clear authority to protect government property and detain people suspected of threatening personnel or damaging that property. He disputed that unidentified agents have arrested people, noting they have the word police on their uniforms and added that officers wear camouflage, as they do when they work on the border. These police officers are not storm troopers, they are not Gestapo. That description is offensive, Wolf said. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement While federal authorities can enforce federal laws on federal property, state and local officials say the agents have operated beyond their jurisdiction. Constitutional law experts said federal officers actions are unprecedented and a red flag in what could become a test case of states rights as the Trump administration expands federal policing. Homeland Security plans to deploy about 150 of its agents to Chicago to help local law enforcement deal with a spike in crime, according to an official with direct knowledge of the plans who was not authorized to speak publicly and spoke to The Associated Press on condition of anonymity. The Trump administration also sent more than 100 federal law enforcement officers to Kansas City, Missouri, to help quell a rise in violence after the shooting death of a young boy there. For days after the death of George Floyd a Black man who died after a white Minneapolis police officer pressed a knee into his neck protests against racial injustice in Portland attracted thousands and were largely peaceful, though smaller groups vandalized federal property, local law enforcement buildings, and have clashed violently with local police. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Portland police used tear gas on multiple occasions until a federal court order banned its officers from doing so without declaring a riot. Now, anger is building as federal officers deploy tear gas. As crowds have swelled again in Portland, most prominent among them now are the Wall of Moms and PDX Dad Pod, self-described parents who have shown up each night since the weekend by the hundreds, wearing yellow T-shirts and bicycle helmets and ski goggles for protection and carrying sunflowers. Some wielded leaf blowers Monday night to help disperse tear gas as they marched down a major downtown street and joined up with several hundred Black Lives Matter protesters in front of the federal courthouse. Story continues below advertisement Its appalling to me, and its a unifying thing. Nobody wants them here, said Eryn Hoerster, a mother of two children, ages 4 and 8, who was attending her first nighttime protest. Advertisement ___ Associated Press writers Colleen Long, Ben Fox and Michael Balsamo in Washington contributed to this report. ___ This story has been updated to correct that Wolf spoke Tuesday, not Wednesday. ___ Follow Gillian Flaccus on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/gflaccus. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Turkey is now using robots in Libya and other areas of conflict that Ankara is involved in, a Turkish defence source told TRT World on Monday. Since the mid-2010s, Turkey has used its homemade robots in its military and police operations to deal with improvised explosive devices (IEDs). We are now using these robots in Libya, Syria and other places, where our soldiers have a military presence, the sources was quoted as saying by the website of the Turkish state international news channel. This report follows a Sunday tweet by the Turkish defence ministry in which it showed footage of an "indigenous robot TMR II (Kutlu), which enables remote control and safe intervention, [which] is effectively being used by our Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) teams in Libyas Tripoli during the operations of the detonation of IEDs and ammunition. Forces loyal to the Government of National Accord (GNA), who are supported by Turkey, are reportedly planning to launch an attack on the port city of Sirte and in Jufra, which has a major military airbase. The GNA backed by Turkish troops, Syrian mercenaries and Qatar, is based in Tripoli and controls Libyas western and northwestern areas. According to a recent report by the US Defense Department, Turkey sent between 3,500 and 3,800 Syrian mercenaries to Libya fin the first three months of this year. The Libyan National Army (LNA), allied with the Tobruk-based House of Representatives, controls Libyas oil-rich, eastern regions. Egypt, France, Russia and the UAE back the LNA. In June, Egypt's President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi called on Libyan parties to respect the current lines and start negotiations. El-Sisi said that Sirte and Jufra are "considered a red line for Egyptian national security." He also said that Egypt has called for a comprehensive settlement in Libya that involves the elimination of terrorist militias and has participated in Libya-related international conferences. Speaking to Sky News Arabia on Sunday, Brigadier-General Khaled Al-Mahgoub, a leading LNA commander, said Turkey "has fears about the implications of launching an attack on Sirte and Jufra." "In their rooms of operations, the Turks are precisely examining the offensive, and they are afraid about its implications, for the war might get larger in scale and go beyond Sirte and Jufra," Al-Mahgoub said, asserting that the LNA is ready to block any Turkish attack on both cities. "Erdogan was advised to launch a quick and sweeping offensive to fulfil the Turkish objective as soon as possible. But this will not happen because the LNA troops, in addition to the Arab backing, are strongly deployed." The Turkish-backed militias are moving near Sirte as an attempt to inflate the Turkish military power, Al-Mahgoub said. On Monday, Egypt's parliament unanimously approved "sending elements of the Egyptian armed forces in combat missions outside the borders of the Egyptian state to defend the Egyptian national security in the western strategic front against the acts of criminal militias and foreign terrorist elements until the forces' mission ends." Search Keywords: Short link: Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! This article will reflect on the compensation paid to Randy Quirk who has served as CEO of Fidelity National Financial, Inc. (NYSE:FNF) since 2013. This analysis will also evaluate the appropriateness of CEO compensation when taking into account the earnings and shareholder returns of the company. See our latest analysis for Fidelity National Financial How Does Total Compensation For Randy Quirk Compare With Other Companies In The Industry? Our data indicates that Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has a market capitalization of US$9.5b, and total annual CEO compensation was reported as US$9.6m for the year to December 2019. That's just a smallish increase of 6.3% on last year. While we always look at total compensation first, our analysis shows that the salary component is less, at US$1.0m. On examining similar-sized companies in the industry with market capitalizations between US$4.0b and US$12b, we discovered that the median CEO total compensation of that group was US$9.5m. So it looks like Fidelity National Financial compensates Randy Quirk in line with the median for the industry. Moreover, Randy Quirk also holds US$58m worth of Fidelity National Financial stock directly under their own name, which reveals to us that they have a significant personal stake in the company. Component 2019 2018 Proportion (2019) Salary US$1.0m US$1.0m 10% Other US$8.6m US$8.1m 90% Total Compensation US$9.6m US$9.1m 100% Talking in terms of the industry, salary represented approximately 18% of total compensation out of all the companies we analyzed, while other remuneration made up 82% of the pie. Fidelity National Financial pays a modest slice of remuneration through salary, as compared to the broader industry. It's important to note that a slant towards non-salary compensation suggests that total pay is tied to the company's performance. Story continues Fidelity National Financial, Inc.'s Growth Over the past three years, Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has seen its earnings per share (EPS) grow by 12% per year. Its revenue is up 9.6% over the last year. Shareholders would be glad to know that the company has improved itself over the last few years. It's nice to see revenue heading northwards, as this is consistent with healthy business conditions. Moving away from current form for a second, it could be important to check this free visual depiction of what analysts expect for the future. Has Fidelity National Financial, Inc. Been A Good Investment? Fidelity National Financial, Inc. has not done too badly by shareholders, with a total return of 2.9%, over three years. But they probably don't want to see the CEO paid more than is normal for companies around the same size. To Conclude... As we touched on above, Fidelity National Financial, Inc. is currently paying a compensation that's close to the median pay for CEOs of companies belonging to the same industry and with similar market capitalizations. However, it's admirable that over the last three years, earnings growth for the company has been impressive, though the same can't be said for investor returns. As a result of these considerations, we would suggest the compensation is reasonable, but looking ahead shareholders will likely want to see healthier returns. While CEO pay is an important factor to be aware of, there are other areas that investors should be mindful of as well. We've identified 3 warning signs for Fidelity National Financial that investors should be aware of in a dynamic business environment. Important note: Fidelity National Financial is an exciting stock, but we understand investors may be looking for an unencumbered balance sheet and blockbuster returns. You might find something better in this list of interesting companies with high ROE and low debt. 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. Dame Vivienne Westwood suspended herself in a giant birdcage outside The Old Bailey this morning to protest the extradition of Julian Assange to the US. The British fashion designer and businesswoman led a colourful band of protesters chanting 'Free Julian Assange' outside the Old Bailey in central London. Suspended inside the cage, she said: 'Don't extradite Assange - it's a stitch-up.' Using a megaphone outside the court this morning she said: 'I am Julian Assange. I am the canary in the cage. If I die down the coal mine from poisonous gas, that's the signal for all the miners to leave. 'But I am half poisoned already from government corruption and gaming of the system and legal system by governments. I am still whistling away but 7 billion people don't know what the f**k is going on.' Assange, 48, is wanted in the US to face 17 charges under the Espionage Act and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion after the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011. Assange, 48, is wanted in the US to face 17 charges under the Espionage Act and conspiracy to commit computer intrusion after the publication of hundreds of thousands of classified documents in 2010 and 2011 Dame Vivienne Westwood harnessed herself into a giant bird cage outside the Old Bailey A supporter of Julian Assange watches as fashion designer and businesswoman Dame Vivienne Westwood is suspended in a ten foot high bird cage Westwood in the bird cage this morning with a large placard that says: 'I am Julian Assange' He is currently being held in London's maximum-security Belmarsh prison while the court system tries to reschedule his extradition hearing, which was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic. Dozens of supporters gathered around the white cage this morning shouting slogans and calling for Assagne's release. City of London police officers and security guards from the Old Bailey were on standby as the protest spilled out onto the road. The protest ended late morning. The designer appeared on Good Morning Britain about her stunt that was designed by her son Joe Corre. She said: 'I am a canary and canaries are whistleblowers. 'Julian is not exactly a whistleblower, he is the source of publishing whistleblower information. 'He did an amazing thing when he, in 2016, established WikiLeaks as a safe haven for whistleblowers. Dame Vivienne Westwood suspended inside the cage today said: 'Don't extradite Assange - it's a stitch-up.' Dame Vivienne Westwood is suspended 10 Feet high inside giant bird cage in protest for Julian Assange at Old Bailey Activists hold placards as British designer Vivienne Westwood is suspended inside a ginat bird-cage in front Of the Old Bailey this morning Westwood wears a protective mask as she is pictured outside the Old Bailey this morning Vivienne Westwood is helped into the cage before her protest this morning outside the Old Bailey 'We need the truth about Julian Assange and here I am sort of whistleblowing the truth.' She added: 'I am Julian Assange, I am the canary in the cage, he has been trapped by a big net, taken out of the sun and shoved in a cage. 'The problem is they want to send him to America for a sentence of 175 years and stick him in a concrete block for a jail. 'This could happen to every journalist because it is not a crime to publish the truth.' Westwood's activist son, Joe Corre, is behind the protest. Corre, who founded Agent Provocateur, turned down an MBE in 2007, in protest against the illegal war in Iraq that Tony Blair took Britain into. Dame Vivienne Westwood in the cage this morning protesting the extradition of Julian Assange Joe Corre says: 'Julian Assange is being persecuted for speaking the truth'. 'The UK public and the international community must now urgently mobilise to shield him from the 175-year living death sentence awaiting him in the United States'. 'Assange's legal battle is the most important case in our time about press freedom, about whistleblowers, and about holding the powerful to account through the media'. 'The media, the public, the judiciary, the politicians, should be outraged over his treatment'. Assange's full extradition hearing is set to take place on September 7, having originally been scheduled for May 18. The WikiLeaks co-founder's father John Shipton has previously said that extraditing his son to the US would be akin to a death sentence. Vivienne Westwood holds a placard as she demonstrates outside the Old Bailey in support of Julian Assange Following a media briefing in central London, in February this year, he said: 'The extradition is a death sentence - it's the culmination of 10 years of lies, physiological torture of every sort. 'His condition has improved, I saw him last week. 'They have a (fitness) schedule (at Belmarsh) - you could hardly say it's fresh air. 'It's four walls with a grille on the top and you can stand in the rain.' Asked if his son's treatment amounted to torture, Mr Shipton said: 'Absolutely.' He added: 'The extradition ought to be immediately dropped. 'If that's not done then the minister concerned can give me a ring and I'll go out to the jail and pick up Julian as I have a home here ... he has substantial support in the community so he can come home and fight his case from house arrest or bail. It's no problem.' New Delhi: Professional networking site LinkedIn on Tuesday said it is slashing about 960 jobs globally, about six per cent of its worldwide staff, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The company, which is part of tech giant Microsoft, has about 1,200 employees in India. It also has a development centre in Bengaluru. When contacted, LinkedIn did not comment on the impact of the job cuts on its India operations. "...Have made the extremely difficult decision to reduce approximately 960 roles, or about 6 per cent of our employee base, across our global sales and talent acquisition organisations (GSO and GTO)...These are the only layoffs we are planning," LinkedIn CEO Ryan Roslansky said in a note to employees. He added that COVID-19 is having a "sustained impact" on the demand for hiring, both on the company's talent solution business and on the company in general. "In GSO and GTO, there are roles that are no longer needed as we adjust to the reduced demand in our internal hiring and for our talent products globally," he said. Roslansky said affected employees in North America, Brazil, and parts of APAC (Asia-Pacific) will be with the company till August 21, while impacted employees in Dubai will be there till September 29. The company has also begun consultation with employees in Ireland, the UK and Australia about potential impacts to roles, and the company will continue to work through the process locally. The top executive said employees who work in France, Sweden and Spain will learn more about proposed impact to roles during August, and employees in Italy will hear about proposed impacts in September. LinkedIn said it will provide at least 10 weeks of severance pay, and its global immigration team will provide personalised support to those on company-sponsored visas. The executive said the company will hire for newly-created roles, and work with impacted employees to explore these opportunities. Unemployment insurance supplements from the federal government will likely be cut off from tens of millions of Americans next week after Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said he did not expect lawmakers to reach a deal on the next stimulus package in time. McConnell laughed when a reporter asked him Tuesday whether he expected another economic relief bill to be approved by the end of next week. No, the Kentucky Republican responded. The federal $600 weekly unemployment bonus that is set to expire this weekend will mean jobless recipients will only receive state benefits that average around $370 per week. Many will see their total benefits cut in more than half starting next week rather than the end of the month because of the way the CARES Act was written and due to how jobless benefits are distributed. Accused Reddy Sandeep had earlier committed two thefts in Vizag of Andhra Andhra Pradesh. He was arrested and sent to judicial remand. When he was released from jail, he saw a business opportunity in fraud plasma donation. Hyderabad Commissioners Task Force, East Zone Team, Hyderabad city, apprehended one cheating fraudster by name Reddy Sandeep, who cheated the innocent people in the guise of donating Covid plasma and thereby earning easy money. Accused Reddy Sandeep hails from Ponugutivalasa, Rajam, Srikakulam, A.P. He completed his graduation in the year 2016 and also completed computer hardware networking at his native place. Due to unemployment and lack of income source, he also committed two thefts in Vizag of Andhra Andhra Pradesh and was sent to judicial remand after arrest. After releasing from jail, he saw that the society is facing pandemic situation during Covid-19. In this process, he observed that there is a huge demand for plasma of the persons recovered from Covid positive and antiviral drugs for Covid. Subsequently, he started browsing Facebook, Instagram and other social networking apps to find out the persons seeking for plasma donors and seller of antiviral drugs for Covid positive patient. Accordingly, he contacted them over phone and stated that he is a Covid recovered patient and that he is willing to donate the plasma, as per their requirement. In this process, he requested them to send some amount for transportation. As the victim sends the amount to him through online payment apps, hed evade them. He also cheated some people in the guise of arranging Tocilizumab 400 mg drug, which is used as antiviral for Covid. Till now he cheated more than 200 people. The accused along with seized property were handed over to SHO Panjagutta PS, for taking necessary action. It is appealed to citizens to be aware of such fraudsters and not to make any proactive payments. The above arrest were made under the supervision of Sri K.Srinivas, Inspector of Police, Commissioners Task Force, East Zone Team, SIs Sri Govindu Swamy, G.Srinivas Reddy and C.Venkatesh and the staff of East Zone Task Force Team, Hyderabad city . For all the latest National News, download NewsX App TUCSON, Ariz., July 21, 2020 -- Critical Path Institute (C-Path) announced today that the Biomarker Qualification Program (BQP) at the Center for Drug Evaluation and Research (CDER) from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) issued a positive response to the Qualification Plan (QP) for glutamate dehydrogenase (GLDH) as a safety biomarker for drug-induced liver injury (DILI), developed by C-Path's Predictive Safety Testing Consortium (PSTC) and Duchenne Regulatory Science Consortium (D-RSC). In this QP, PSTC and D-RSC provided scientific evidence supporting the use of GLDH as an important and accurate measurement of DILI in clinical trials involving patients affected by inherited muscle disorders, such as Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) or idiopathic inflammatory myopathies, and muscle damage caused by strenuous exercise or drug induced muscle injury. In its Determination Letter, the Agency stated, "FDA has completed its review and has agreed to accept your QP." In clinical trials, alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and total bilirubin (TBil) levels in blood are the current gold standard biomarkers for detecting DILI. Although ALT is a sensitive marker of DILI, this enzyme is also expressed in other tissues, including muscle. This severely limits the reliability of ALT as a biomarker of liver damage in clinical trial subjects with underlying muscle degenerating conditions, such as DMD and related neuromuscular conditions. "This project was launched to address an unmet need in drug development for increased precision in detection of DILI and serves as a powerful example of advancing translational science from preclinical to clinical use," said PSTC Executive Director John-Michael Sauer, Ph.D. "Through PSTC's and D-RSC's efforts, GLDH's sensitivity and specificity for detection of DILI has been demonstrated in nonclinical studies, and this research can now be translated to application in clinical trials. We are improving the ability to more accurately detect DILI through collaboration and data sharing across consortia and industry members." FDA expressed support for the consortia's intent to pursue biomarker qualification for GLDH and invited submission of a Full Qualification Package, the final stage that details how the biomarker demonstrates clinical and analytical validity for its intended Context of Use (COU) as a safety biomarker. PSTC and D-RSC propose the qualification of GLDH levels in serum for use as a specific biomarker of DILI in clinical trial subjects with underlying muscle injury or degeneration, in conjunction with standard hepatic injury monitoring biomarkers, such as alkaline phosphatase (ALP) and TBil. "When ALT levels increase during clinical trials, including in people with underlying muscle disease such as those living with DMD, this can lead researchers to incorrectly conclude a drug candidate is causing liver damage and therefore the study may be discontinued unnecessarily," said C-Path D-RSC Executive Director Jane Larkindale, D.Phil. "Measuring GLDH in addition to traditional biomarkers will provide a new tool for drug developers that generates more accurate and sensitive safety data throughout the clinical trial process." "GLDH will allow drug developers to properly determine the onset of liver injury in clinical trials for novel therapies to treat patients with muscle disease, where the traditional DILI biomarkers may be confounded by active skeletal muscle injury," said Jiri Aubrecht, Pharm.D., Ph.D., Scientific Director, Takeda Pharmaceuticals USA Inc. and industry co-director for PSTC. As part of the 21st Century Cures Act, passed into law in December 2016, public-private partnerships consisting of government entities, including FDA, the biopharmaceutical industry, health care providers, academic researchers, and patient advocacy organizations have been encouraged to work together to foster innovation in development of new therapies by qualifying new drug development tools that can accelerate the process of making new therapies available to patients. Any groups that would like to join in this effort or have information or data that may be useful, can contact Dr. John-Michael Sauer (jsauer@c-path.org) the point of contact for this project or visit C-Path's website at https://c-path.org/programs/pstc. C-Path's PSTC is supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award U18FD005320 totaling $424,450 with 46 percentage funded by FDA/HHS and $490,000 and 54 percentage funded by non-government source(s). C-Path's D-RSC is supported by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) as part of a financial assistance award U18FD005320 totaling $10,000 with 2.5 percentage funded by FDA/HHS and $390,000 and 97.5 percentage funded by non-government source(s). The contents are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily represent the official views of, nor an endorsement, by FDA/HHS, or the U.S. Government. Critical Path Institute (C-Path) is an independent, nonprofit organization established in 2005 as a public and private partnership. C-Path's mission is to catalyze the development of new approaches that advance medical innovation and regulatory science, accelerating the path to a healthier world. An international leader in forming collaborations, C-Path has established numerous global consortia that currently include more than 1,600 scientists from government and regulatory agencies, academia, patient organizations, disease foundations, and dozens of pharmaceutical and biotech companies. C-Path US is headquartered in Tucson, Arizona and C-Path, Ltd. EU is headquartered in Dublin, Ireland, with additional staff in multiple other locations. For more information, visit c-path.org and c-path.eu. ### Media Contact: Kissy Black C-Path 615-310-1894 kblack@c-path.org The President of the Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC), Ayuba Waba, has called for the downward review of the current prices of petroleum products in Nigeria. Mr Waba made the call on Tuesday while responding to questions from journalists in Jalingo, capital of Taraba State. He described the recent increment in the pump price of petrol as a means to exploit Nigerians to enrich a few oil marketers. The labour leader added that with the increase,the Federal Government was aiding the oil marketers to enrich themselves at the detriment of the entire Nigerian population. He stressed that the new pump price was not necessary as the price of crude oil in the international markets had not increased in recent times which was one of the reasons given by the oil marketers. Essentially, it is about the exploitation of Nigerians as the Federal Government seems to be protecting the oil marketers rather than defending the citizens. He said that the government should not leave control of this very important commodity to oil marketers because they said that the exchange rate had gone up. He said that rather, the government should regulate the prices of petroleum products so as to fulfil one of its electioneering campaign promises to Nigerians. And if you say it is because of the oil price which has also not gone up in the international markets, then this is a double tragedy, he said. The NLC President urged all people in power to ensure good governance so as to address inequality and poverty in the country. We need good governance in Nigeria; that is why all of us need to come together to reject some of these obnoxious policies that are meant to exploit Nigerians. We will continue to engage the government and very soon, we will roll out plans and actions that we will do to ensure that the right things are done, he said. The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that Mr Wabba was in Jalingo to commiserate with the workers and the family of the Chairman of NLC in Taraba, Peter Gambo, who died recently. (NAN) Theres a new tropical depression in the Atlantic but its not anything for the U.S. to worry about just yet. The National Hurricane Center upgraded a tropical wave in the central Atlantic to Tropical Depression Seven on Tuesday afternoon and said it could become Tropical Storm Gonzalo by Wednesday. As of 10 p.m. CDT Tuesday, Tropical Depression Seven was located about 1,360 miles east of the southern Windward Islands and was moving west-northwest at 9 mph. Tropical Depression Seven could be upgraded to Tropical Storm Gonzalo by Wednesday. The depression had sustained winds estimated at 35 mph and is forecast to strengthen with winds up to 65 mph, however the five-day forecast doesnt show it becoming a hurricane. Forecasters stressed that the intensity forecast is a low-confidence one, with an added challenge being the storms relatively small size. It should be noted that small systems like Tropical Depression Seven are often difficult to predict as they are more likely to fluctuate in strength compared to larger cyclones, the hurricane center said in its Tuesday night forecast discussion. A system has to have winds of at least 39 mph to be considered a tropical storm and get a name. The hurricane center expects the depression to turn toward the west and pick up speed starting tonight and into Friday. It is forecast to approach the Windward Islands by Saturday. WATCHING THE GULF TOO Closer to home is another tropical wave thats moving into the Gulf of Mexico. The hurricane center said gradual development will be possible as the disturbance tracks to the west-northwest over the next few days. Forecasters kept the probability of a tropical depression forming at 40 percent on Tuesday night but rescheduled a reconnaissance mission by the Hurricane Hunters for Wednesday instead of today. The hurricane center expects the disturbance to approach the northwestern Gulf Coast, generally in the vicinity of Texas and Louisiana, by Thursday or Friday. The National Weather Service in Mobile was keeping an eye on the system and said that as of Tuesday the biggest impacts to the Alabama coast will be a high threat of rip currents from Wednesday through Thursday night and increased rain chances starting on Wednesday. Parts of the sea around the Faroe Islands have turned blood red after more than 250 whales were slaughtered by hunters last week, an environmental group has said. The NGO Sea Shepherd said 252 whales and 35 white-sided dolphins were killed last Wednesday near the village of Hvalba as part of the archipelagos annual whaling season. The group added that meat from the whales would be distributed to participants in the hunt and then given to villages on the southern island of Suuroy, with recipients free to sell their share of the meat. On average, 1500 dolphins are massacred every year in the Faroe Islands, which invoke an ancestral tradition to justify this barbaric practice, Sea Shepherd said. Although the practice of hunting whales and dolphins has been called an annual ritual in the archipelago, the Faroese government has argued the killings take place to provide food for local communities and are fully regulated by law. Recommended Almost 100 whales dragged onshore and slaughtered They have also said the whales are not endangered species and argued that the practice is sustainable. The average catch of around 800 whales a year is not considered to have a significant impact on the abundance of pilot whales, which are estimated at around 778,000, the government said. However, some environmental groups have strongly criticised the hunts, with the group ORCA referring to the practice as an insane blood sport. Captain Paul Watson, an environmental activist and Sea Shepherd's founder, has called for a boycott of Faroese products and tourism over the hunts, which are known as the Grindadrap. When the Grindadrap (translated as "the murder of whales") occurs, entire pods of family units are driven onto the beaches and viciously and mercilessly slaughtered with spears, clubs and knives, Mr Watson wrote on Facebook. Each and every individual is murdered, males, females, mothers and calves. He added: Pressure must be brought to bear wherever and whenever we can to stop this on-going massacre of entire families of innocent, intelligent, self-aware, socially complex, sentient beings. In a statement on last weeks killings, Sea Shepherd said it was the only organisation which had ever opposed the hunts on site. The group said it sent a mission in 2014 to disrupt one of the hunts, which led to the passing of a local law to prohibit Sea Shepherd ships from going to the archipelago. Calling her showboating crime part of an unnerving trend that must be denounced, a Toronto judge has ordered Marcella Zoia known as chair girl to pay a $2,000 fine, perform 150 hours of community service and remain on probation for two years. Sadly, this is not the first instance of a harmful act being posted on some social media site for entertainment purposes and to gain publicity, Justice Mara Greene said Tuesday as she delivered Zoias sentence via teleconference. A strong message must be sent to the community that engaging in dangerous acts as a means to garner attention and notoriety is unacceptable, and will lead to serious penalties. But the judge said after reviewing case law as well as aggravating and mitigating factors, such as Zoias relative youthful age and rehabilitative prospects, she decided against imposing a jail sentence of up to six months asked for by prosecutor Heather Keating. Last November, Zoia pleaded guilty to a charge of mischief endangering life and apologized for throwing an Ikea chair from a condo tower near the busy Gardiner Expressway in February 2019. It was only by sheer luck that someone was not hurt or killed, Greene said. Zoia admitted someone recorded the chair-tossing on her cellphone but denied posting it to her personal Snapchat account, where it went viral. Greene said it was clear she committed a very dangerous act ... for her own pleasure and vanity, and put on a show for the camera things the judge considered when deciding what sentence to impose. At the last minute, Tuesdays in-court sentencing hearing was switched to a teleconference, with Zoia listening from the Queen St. E. office of defence lawyer Greg Leslie. Similar to her demeanour after her arrest, Zoia appeared animated and smiled for the cameras but said nothing after emerging from the office to jump into a waiting SUV and be driven away by a friend. Leslie told the Star his client is elated the case is over, that she has suffered from tremendous stress and anxiety and is looking forward to the next stage in her life. She wants to be a positive influence on young people everywhere, he wrote in a text message. He added the case is precedent setting, because it deals with the problems and complexities and dangers of social media and how it can adversely affect peoples lives. Everybody has to be vigilant on how they navigate social media. The judge called Zoia an intelligent young woman who gained an increased following on her social media accounts but also suffered public shaming as a result of the incident, which was taken into account on sentencing. Greene said it was difficult to identify a clear range of sentences for the offence of mischief endangering life because there are so few reported cases of that crime. Case law also encompasses a very wide range of behaviour, that make it hard to draw parallels between Zoias act and those of others, she noted. The closest on-point case was a decision released this past winter when a judge sentenced a man to seven months in jail and three years probation for throwing a brick over the Bloor Viaduct onto the traffic below, damaging a car travelling on the Don Valley Parkway. No one was hurt. While both cases involved throwing objects onto a heavily traffic area, it was a virtual certainty the brick would hit a car, and that the offender intended to hurt others, the judge said. In this case, while there was a risk of harm, Greene said she could not find that Zoia intended to hurt anyone when she threw that chair. And unlike the brick case, in which the judge found the accuseds lengthy criminal past made rehabilitation unlikely, Im confident Ms. Zoia has learned her lesson and will not commit further offences, she said. Greene said $2,000 was a relatively significant fine that will be punitive and will drive home to Miss Zoia and the public that theres a significant consequence for her actions. On Mustafa al-Kadhimis visit, his first trip since taking office in May, he pledged to protect Iran from attacks. Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi said on a trip to Tehran on Tuesday that Iraq would not allow any aggression against Iran coming from its territory. Speaking at a news conference alongside Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, al-Kadhimi alluded to Iraqs concern not to become a battlefield between arch-enemies Iran and the United States. The Iraqi prime minister faces a tough balancing act between Tehran and Washington, which have come close to open conflict in the region, particularly on Iraqi soil, over the past year. At home, al-Kadhimi faces increasing pressure from Iran-aligned groups that perceive him as siding with the US, because he has indicated he wants to curb the power of Iranian-backed militias and political parties. The people of Iraq want good relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran based on the principle of non-interference in the internal affairs of both countries, he told the news conference, carried live by Iranian state television. Iraq is a country that wont allow any aggression or challenge to Iran from its territory. Balancing act Al-Kadhimi rose to the premiership in May after serving as head of Iraqs National Intelligence Service for nearly four years. He formed close ties to Tehran, Washington and Riyadh during that time, prompting speculation he could serve as a rare mediator among the capitals. In his first two months in office, Iraqi security forces carried out two arrest raids against militias but most of those detained were quickly released. The United States praised those moves and supporters welcome several appointments al-Kadhimi has made in the security forces, including reinstating Iraqs Counter Terrorism Service chief Abdul Wahhab al-Saadi, whose dismissal under the previous government fuelled mass anti-government unrest last year. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif visited Baghdad on Sunday, making a stop at the site where a US drone strike killed Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and Iraqs paramilitary chief Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis in January. That attack brought the region to the brink of a full-blown US-Iran conflict before both sides stepped back. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, during a later meeting with al-Kadhimi, praised the Popular Mobilisation Forces, an Iraqi state-controlled institution that is an umbrella grouping of militias, many backed by Iran. Khamenei also said Iran would not interfere in relations between Iraq and the United States, according to his official website. However, the supreme leader vowed Iran would strike a reciprocal blow against the US for Soleimanis killing. Irans Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei meets with Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi on Tuesday [Official Khamenei Website via Reuters] Heroes Rouhani hailed as heroes his top Iranian general and the Iraqi commander killed together in the US drone strike on Baghdad airport at the start of the year. I deem it necessary to honour the two heroes of the fight against terrorism, martyrs General Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, he said. Rouhani described them as having worked for Iraqs security in previous years a reference to Baghdads fight against the armed group, ISIL (ISIS). Renad Mansour, a senior research fellow at Chatham House, said some Iranian officials believed al-Kadhimi may have played a role in the US drone killings as head of the national intelligence service. It was a very bad relationship at that time, but over the months Iran also felt with all the chaos they needed someone so a compromise was made, and Iran begrudgingly had to agree and help facilitate his premiership, Mansour told Al Jazeera. Clearly it a is a very fragile relationship and the more he goes against Iranian interests in Iraq whether its going against their militia allies or economic practices there will be a lot of back-and-forths and tit-for-tats I would say. Turning point Relations between the two countries were not always close they fought a bloody war from 1980 to 1988. Tehrans influence in Baghdad grew after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. Al-Kadhimis visit, his first foreign trip since taking office in May, was meant to come after a trip to Saudi Arabia but that was cancelled after the Saudi king was admitted to hospital suffering from inflammation of the gall bladder. Rouhani called the visit by Iraqs new prime minister a turning point in the countries relations and vowed to continue supporting the neighbouring Arab nation. The official website of the office of the Iranian presidency later released a photo of Rouhani and al-Kadhimi at a welcome ceremony in Tehran, showing both wearing protective face masks to help prevent the spread of the coronavirus. We are certain that the visit will be a turning point in relations between the two countries, Rouhani said after meeting with the Iraqi leader. We still remain ready to stand by the Iraqi nation and apply efforts for stability and security in Iraq and the region. Al-Kadhimi said Iraqs foreign policy is based on balance and avoiding any alignment. $20bn trade As a former intelligence chief backed by Washington, al-Kadhimi took office in May after he played a significant part for years in the war against ISIL, which was defeated in Iraq in 2017. Rouhani said Iran and Iraq hoped to boost bilateral trade to $20bn yearly. Iran sees Iraq as a possible route to bypass US sanctions that President Donald Trump reimposed on Tehran in 2018, after pulling the United States out of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers. Last year, Irans exports to Iraq amounted to nearly $9bn, the official IRNA news agency reported Tuesday. Under former dictator Saddam Hussein, Iraq waged an eight-year war in the 1980s against Iran a conflict that left nearly one million dead on both sides. He died of shrapnel wounds. One of the two Ukrainian soldiers who were wounded near the village of Pavlopil, Donetsk region, on July 21 has died in hospital. "We are sad to inform that one of the servicemen who have been wounded today near Pavlopil has unfortunately died in a hospital from shrapnel wounds," the press center of the Joint Forces Operation (JFO) Headquarters said on Facebook on Tuesday evening. Read alsoUkraine reports casualties amid 17 enemy attacks in Donbas in past day Thus, as a result of enemy shelling, one serviceman was killed and the other was injured between 00:00 and 19:00 Kyiv time on July 21, the press center updated. The JFO HQ also said in the update that illegal armed formations of the Russian Federation had already violated the ceasefire in Donbas three times on Tuesday. Enemy troops used 120mm mortars near the village of Novotoshkivske in the Pivnich (North) sector and opened fire from grenade launchers near Pavlopil in the Skhid (East) sector. "What is more, the enemy attacked Ukrainian defenders deployed near the village of Hnutove, using hand-held anti-tank grenade launchers," the press center said. The Ukrainian military returned fire to make Russia-led forces observe the peace deal. No violations of the ceasefire were reported at disengagement sites Nos. 1-3. As UNIAN reported earlier, two Ukrainian soldiers were wounded in action near Pavlopil on Tuesday morning. Both were rushed to hospital. She is one of the most in-demand models in the world, known for her edgy sense of style and her passion for activism. And Adwoa Aboah, 28, has penned a powerful open letter about being pushed to 'a dark breaking point' by 'quietly hiding her insecurities and internalising her shame,' while gracing the September 2020 cover of ELLE magazine. The British star opened up about mental health, the Black Lives Matter movement, and asserted that she felt she 'wasn't white enough, nor Black enough' during her teenage years. Powerful: Adwoa Aboah, 28, has penned a powerful open letter about being pushed to 'a dark breaking point' while gracing the September 2020 cover of ELLE magazine On her experience as a teenager, Adwoa confessed: 'I'd watch from the sidelines as certain friends flourished in social situations, all carefree and glowing, while I quietly hid my insecurities and internalised my shame. 'I, like many others before and after me, never felt as though I fit in. I wasn't white enough, nor was I Black enough. Boys weren't into my braids, so I conformed painfully relaxing my hair, which didn't win them over either.' On her experience at school, she admitted her strong desire to 'be like everyone else' but failed many exams. She wrote: 'According to school standards, I wasn't academically strong, pressure that was only made worse by my dyslexia and the multitude of exams I failed. Real talk: The star opened up about mental health the Black Lives Matter movement, and asserted that she felt she 'wasn't white enough, nor Black enough' during her teenage years Candid: Adwoa revealed that, when she started out in the modelling world, she simply 'put on a facade' in order to try and get through, but eventually this way of living took its toll 'I wanted so much to conform, to be like everyone else something that today would be a massive detriment to my career but, at the time, was my deepest fantasy.' The British beauty revealed that, when she started out in the modelling world, she simply 'put on a facade' in order to try and get through, but eventually this way of living took its toll. Adwoa explained: 'When I started receiving more attention and external validation, I hoped these superficial markers could carry me through. 'If I can just put on a facade and keep the messy feelings inside, I thought, they'll magically disappear. Instead, they followed me into adulthood, compounding over time and pushing me to a dark breaking point.' Mental health matters: She admitted that 'the messy feelings inside' they followed her into adulthood, 'compounding over time and pushing her to a dark breaking point' Speaking to the class of 2020, she wrote: 'Between a global pandemic and the fight for racial justice, these are unprecedented times and I am floored by the strength and resilience that I'm seeing from your generation. 'You have been unapologetic and fearless leaders in the quest for equality and have stood up for the most marginalised communities, demonstrating that, indeed, All Black Lives Matter.' Giving advice to the next generation, she urged: 'Speak up and find spaces that let you do so without judgement or shame. I previously did the opposite. 'I learned to not talk about things: the fears I had, that we all have. I wasn't able to articulate them. If I had opened up back then, I would have realised that these things were natural.' During this climate, readers are able to get ELLE UK delivered to their door, either by purchasing a single copy via www.magsdirect.co.uk/elle, or subscribe today and get 6 issues for 15 at www.hearstmagazines.co.uk.' Aboah is one of the freshest faces in today's modelling industry, starring in global campaigns, walking in shows for some of fashion's biggest names and appearing on numerous international covers. She joined British Vogue as Contributing Editor in July 2017 and was the inaugural cover star of British Vogue's December Issue the first issue under Editor Edward Enninful's 'New Vogue. In 2017 Adwoa was named the British Fashion Council's Model of the Year, a prestigious accolade awarded to the person who has had the most global impact on the industry that year. The model added that: 'All I hope is that some little girl out there sees this and realises that her wildest dreams are possible if she puts her mind to it. I hear you and see you, this doll is for you,' she concluded. >>> Activities held to express gratitude to former soldiers, martyrs Visiting families of Vietnamese heroic mothers, martyrs and wounded soldiers, the NA Chairwoman, on behalf of the Party and State, expressed profound gratitude to wounded soldiers, war martyrs and revolutionary contributors for their sacrifice and service during the cause of national liberation, construction and defence. Many activities to express gratitude to martyrs, war invalids and other revolution contributors are being held nationwide on the occasion. The Vietnam Wounded and Fallen Soldiers Day (July 27) is a special chance for the entire country to commemorate millions of martyrs and war invalids who sacrificed their lives and health during the wars. In 1947, just two years after President Ho Chi Minh delivered the declaration of independence, the first decree on preferential policies for war invalids and fallen soldiers was issued. The same year, July 27 was designated as the national war invalids day, which was later renamed the Wounded and Fallen Soldiers Day, to call on the entire community to support war invalids and martyrs families in acknowledgement of their contributions to the nation. The Member of Parliament for Ledzokuku Dr. Bernard Okoe Boye has denied claims that he masterminded a raid on the private office of the opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) parliamentary candidate for the area, Benjamin Ayiku Narh. The Greater Accra branch of the NDC at a press conference accused the government and Okoe Boye of using state security to intimidate its members in the ongoing voters registration exercise. The NDC further alleged that armed security personnel confiscated a desktop computer of the parliamentary candidate and caused the detention of two constituency executives. But speaking to Citi News, Dr. Okoe Boye said claims of his involvement are unfounded. I dont know anything about this case. My strength anytime I go into an election is based on three things; the record that I have had so far, as well as that of my government and then my strength also is on the people. I dont go into an election with the strength of security. Remember, I came into office when we were in opposition so I am not one of those people who will be using [violence]. Detained NDC officials released He subsequently told Umaru Amadu Sanda on Eyewitness News said the police subsequently released the two NDC executives without charging them for any crime. ---citinewsroom Birmingham activist Carlos Chaverst was arrested in three Jefferson County cities Monday on outstanding warrants. Chaverst, the 27-year-old president of the Birmingham Justice League, turned himself in to the city jails in Hoover, Homewood and Birmingham. In Hoover, police on June 4 obtained a warrant for Chaverst for inciting to riot, which is a misdemeanor crime. The charge stems from statements made by Chaverst on social media May 29 which authorities said threatened property damage in Hoover, police said. The Facebook Live, in part, said Were going to burn that (expletive) up. Were fixing to make Hoover our little (expletive). He surrendered to the jail at 3:58 p.m. and was released at 4:53 p.m. to Homewood police on outstanding warrants there. In Homewood, Chaverst is charged with second-degree bail jumping. Under Alabama law, a person commits the crime of bail jumping in the second degree if, having been lawfully released from custody, with or without bail, upon condition that he/she will subsequently appear at a specified time and place in connection with a charge of his/her having committed any Class C felony or any misdemeanor, he/she fails to appear at the time and place. In Birmingham, Chaverst is charged with failure to appear on multiple charges or citations including no insurance, driving with a suspended license, using tag of improper class, impeding the flow of traffic, DUI and two counts of second-degree possession of marijuana. Chaverst released this statement about his arrests: On July 20, 2020 three days after the death of longtime activist and congressman John Lewis death I was arrested by three different departments. Hoover Police Department charged me with inciting to riot on June 4th where there is proof that I was 800-plus miles away in Chicago. Just like Hoover dropped charges on another woman who wasnt in Birmingham at the time, my charges shouldve been dropped also. I then went from Hoover to Homewood where I was the only person in their jail after there was a department-wide memorandum sent out saying Homewood wasnt taking any walk-ins nor transporting people. They purposely targeted by the chief of their department who sent out information to Birmingham where I faced 12 different charges that were frivolously thrown on me. Also learned that I have warrants in Brookside for harassment and inciting a riot when I have never been to or know where Brookside is. This is the blatant targeting on black activist departments do who are afraid of being held accountable. My legal team and I are working to sue each department respectively if charges arent dropped immediately. Advertisement As SGF Congratulates the Officers, Assures Federal Governments Commitment to Ongoing Police Reforms The Inspector General of Police, IGP M.A Adamu, NPM,mni has today, 20th July, 2020 decorated ten (10) newly promoted Senior Police Officers at the Force Headquarters, Abuja. The decoration ceremony comes on the heels of the recent promotion of 6,601 personnel of the Nigeria Police Force including 1 DIG, 4 AIGs, 3 CPs, 3 DCPs, 8 CSPs, 607 SPs, 206 DSPs and 5,769 ASPs. The ceremony was attended by the Secretary to the Government of the Federation, Boss Mustapha. The SGF congratulated the newly promoted officers and charged them to see the promotion as a call for improved services to the nation. He assured of the Federal Governments commitment to the ongoing reforms of the Nigeria Police Force by the Inspector General of Police. On his part, the IGP noted that since his assumption of office in January, 2019, a total of forty-one thousand, eight hundred and sixty-three (41,863) officers and men of the Force across different ranks have been promoted to their next ranks. He stated that the promotion exercises a strategic management approach directed at motivating the workforce in addressing current and emerging internal security threats have been guided by the principles of seniority and merit and reflective of records of discipline and invaluable experience. IGP Adamu, while congratulating the officers for their well-deserved elevation, charged them to deploy their intellect and demonstrate sound professional judgement in all their decisions at all times. The Officers decorated include: DIG Adeleye Olusola Oyebade, mni who until his promotion to the enviable rank of Deputy Inspector General of Police, was a directing staff at the National Institute of Policy and Strategic Studies (NIPPS). He has been deployed as the DIG in charge of the Department of Research and Planning. Also, in line with geo-political balancing considerations, he doubles as the DIG in-charge of the South-West geo-political zone of the country, a void created by the recent retirement of DIG Peter Babatunde Ogunyanwo, fdc. Others decorated are: AIG Amba A.A Asuquo psc, AIG Nkereuwem A. Akpan, AIG Olafimihan Adeniran Adeoye, AIG Aishatu Abubakar, PhD, CP Jonathan Towuru, CP Sikiru Kayode Akande, DCP Johnson Oluwole Adenola and DCP Grema Jibir Isa. Misinformation about coronavirus was allowed to spread virulently across social media because legislation is still not in place to regulate it, MPs have said. The Misinformation In The Covid-19 Infodemic Report, published by the Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS) Select Committee, says an online harms regulator must be appointed now to hold social media platforms to account. The report argues that until the proposed duty of care on tech companies is introduced as part of legislation to regulate social media and online platforms, internet companies will not be compelled to act. MPs also accuse the platforms of using business models which disincentivise action against misinformation while affording opportunities for some to monetise misleading content. Julian Knight, chair of the committee, said: We are calling on the Government to name the regulator now and get on with the world-leading legislation on social media that weve long been promised. The proliferation of dangerous claims about Covid-19 has been unstoppable. The leaders of social media companies have failed to tackle the infodemic of misinformation. The report highlighted the spread of false claims online linking 5G to the virus, resulting in threats being made against telecoms engineers, as a clear sign of the dangers misinformation can pose. It also said it had seen evidence of a serious public health impact from misinformation, with false claims about home remedies and cures for the virus meaning some people have mistakenly turned to unproven home remedies, stopped taking ibuprofen and prescribed medicine, or elsewise ingested harmful chemicals such as disinfectant. MPs said the spread of financial scams online during the pandemic was further evidence of the Government needing to act sooner. Evidence that tech companies were able to benefit from the monetisation of false information and allowed others to do so is shocking. We need robust regulation to hold these companies to account, Mr Knight said. Story continues The coronavirus crisis has demonstrated that without due weight of the law, social media companies have no incentive to consider a duty of care to those who use their services. The committee has called on the Government to publish draft legislation in the autumn, alongside its full consultation response to the Online Harms White Paper, if a finalised Bill is not ready. MPs said the final decision on a regulator should be made now. Earlier this year the Government said it was minded to appoint Ofcom but had not yet confirmed that decision. The committee has also called on ministers to set out a list of online harms to be covered in the legislation, rather than allowing internet companies to do so themselves of what they deem to be acceptable through their terms and conditions. Its other recommendations include empowering the regulator to impose significant fines for non-compliance with the new rules. Responding to the report, NSPCCs head of child safety online policy Andy Burrows said: The committee is right to be concerned about the pace of legislation and whether the regulator will have the teeth it needs to deliver the promise of Britain becoming the safest place in the world to be online. The Government must act with urgency and ambition to publish legislation this Autumn that protects users from all forms of harmful content. They must also ensure the independent regulator has the necessary ammunition, in the form of criminal sanctions, to enable it to succeed. Anything less will be failing young people. A DCMS spokesman said: We are developing world-leading plans to put a duty of care on online platforms towards their users and will introduce legislation as soon as possible. Since the start of the pandemic specialist government units have been working around the clock to identify and rebut false information about coronavirus. We are also working closely with social media platforms to help them identify and remove incorrect claims about the virus that could endanger peoples health. File Photo Chandigarh: The Union Territory of Chandigarh administration said it has written to Punjab and Haryana seeking their consent for imposing weekend curfew in Tri-city of Chandigarh, Mohali and Panchkula following a spike in Covid-19 cases. UT Chandigarh Adviser Manoj Parida said he has written to the chief secretaries of Punjab and Haryana to agree to the union territory's proposal for imposing curfew during weekends. Advertisement Lockdown"...weekend curfew only in Chandigarh will not be effective, unless it is simultaneously imposed in Mohali (Punjab) and Panchkula (Haryana)," said Parida. In a meeting, chaired by UT Administrator V P Singh Badnore, a view emerged that since there is a lack of adequate compliance of social distancing and use of face masks, there is no option but to go for a total curfew in the weekends in the entire Tri-city, according to a government statement here. UT Chandigarh has a total of 739 coronavirus cases, with 12 deaths so far. Advertisement Coronavirus The Administrator stressed there should be more strictness in checking of mask wearing and social distancing among people in public places, such as parks, Sukhna lake, markets etc. The majority of Japanese companies CEOs expect the economy to take at least two years to recover from the fallout of the coronavirus, according to a Nikkei survey, pointing to a grim prognosis as the global pandemic shows no signs of abating. With nearly all of the 145 companies responded resorting to telework, 40% are considering either shrinking office space or tapping share-office services, suggesting that they are bracing for a prolonged battle with the virus. Thirty-eight percent said it will take two years before their respective markets return to pre-pandemic levels. The ratio rises to 55.8% when including respondents who predict a longer slump -- or no recovery at all. The percentage of those predicting a down period lasting at least two years rose 12.4 points from the last poll taken in late May. Driving the deeper pessimism are the infections that continue to rise across the world. "The second wave is certain to hit the West," said a respondent from a food company. "There are concerns about breakdowns in healthcare and part supplies." "It will take two to three years for the pandemic to come to an end," says Toshiba President Nobuaki Kurumatani. "Japan will need to consider issuing superlong-term government bonds with maturities exceeding 50 years, says Kurumatani. Marubeni President Masumi Kakinoki counts on a return of international cooperation to fight the disease. "For the economy to make a full-scale recovery, it's essential for the outbreak to be contained worldwide," said Masumi. The survey was conducted from June 30 through July 15, with respondents including presidents, CEOs and chairpersons. If a second wave of infections were to occur in Japan, 61.4% of corporate chiefs said the subsequent emergency declaration will need to be as strict as the previous order. This camp outstrips the 28.9% of business leaders who prefer looser restrictions than before, and the 5.3% who do not want another emergency order. FP Trending Scientists at the University of Otago in New Zealand, after examining the genes of a kind of algae growing off the country's shores, have found a record of earthquakes in the area that took place many hundreds of years ago. The researchers revealed that the genes of 'bull kelp', which is abundant in the shores of the Southern Island of New Zealand, carries signatures of an earthquake that took place 800 years ago, reported Science X Network. The earthquake was so severe that it raised some parts of the seabed above the waterline. The disaster would have laid bare some of the newly-formed parts of the seafloor, researchers suggest, allowing kelp to occupy new surfaces. Kelp is known to be an aggressive seaweed that migrates when new opportunities to grow and expand come by, the report added. When scientists tried to find out if the newly-formed seafloor might have been populated by migrating kelp, evidence suggested that it had. The findings of the research suggest that information about past geological violence can be revealed by comparing genes across populations of some organisms, according to the New York Times. An intensity earthquake took place in Southern New Zealand along the coastline near Dunedin about 800 years ago. Researchers sampled the kelp inhabiting a 100-kilometre stretch of the same shore. They discovered that bull kelp that lived in a 25-km stretch that was likely thrown into the air during the earthquake, were distinct from their neighbors of the same species on either side, which had not suffered the same geological violence. "We were just gobsmacked when we looked. We could see where the uplift zone was just by looking at the genetics," Jon Waters, a professor of zoology at the University of Otago, told NYT. The results show kelp is a territorial species of algae, according to the researchers. The study outlines evidence of how old and new kelp staying unmixed for over 800 years despite being so closeby in geographical distance. Their findings were published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. Authorities believe an attorney found dead in New York on Monday was the shooter who killed a New Jersey federal judge's son and wounded her husband, law enforcement sources with knowledge told NBC New York. The Federal Bureau of Investigation identified him as Roy Den Hollander, a well-known New York lawyer who has a long history of anti-feminist work. Hollander's body was found in the town of Rockland in the Catskills. A senior law enforcement official said the FBI and the police were investigating whether the man died of self-inflicted gunshot wounds and whether a gun at the scene was the one used to kill Judge Esther Salas' son and wound her husband. Several law enforcement officials said Monday that investigators are also looking into whether Hollander was involved in the killing last week of a well-known men's rights lawyer, Marc Angelucci. Angelucci, who founded a group that "raises awareness about the ways sex discrimination affects men and boys," was found shot to death at his Southern California home July 11. Law enforcement officials said they found printed material in Hollander's car about Salas, Angelucci and Janet DiFiore, chief judge of the New York Court of Appeals and of the State of New York. The officials said the FBI briefed DiFiore about the discovery. In a recently self-published memoir, Hollander called Salas who was appointed to her U.S. District Court seat in Newark in 2011 "a lazy and incompetent Latina judge appointed by Obama." Hollander, who attended law school at George Washington University and whose law office address was listed in Manhattan, first registered as a lawyer in New York in 1987, state records show. He had no record of public discipline, the records show. Hollander filed multiple lawsuits over the years claiming that men were discriminated against. In one suit, filed in 2007, he argued that nightclubs that allowed women in for free but charged men "practiced invidious discrimination." In another suit, filed against Columbia University, the U.S. Department of Education and other school and government officials in 2008, he alleged they violated the constitution by establishing the "religion Feminism" through a women's studies program. Story continues In 2016, Hollander sued journalists from multiple news organizations in federal district court, including NBC News, alleging that they violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act by repeatedly publishing "false and misleading" reports about President Donald Trump's 2016 campaign. The case was dismissed in 2018. Last year, Hollander was the original lawyer in a lawsuit challenging the U.S. military's male-only draft that was heard by Salas. Hollander was later replaced as the plaintiff's lawyer. Esther Salas (Rutgers University) Salas' son and husband were shot at their home in North Brunswick around 5 p.m. Sunday. The 20-year-old son was killed, while the husband was critically wounded. Preliminary indications are that the husband answered the door and was shot multiple times; the son came running to the door and was shot as well before the gunman fled, the sources said. Salas was believed to be in the basement at the time of the shooting and was not injured. The FBI, U.S. Marshals, New Jersey State Police and the New Jersey Office of the Attorney General are all investigating, and the FBI had tweeted it was looking for "one subject" in the shooting. It's not clear what led authorities to the location in Liberty where the man was found dead. Some reports indicated the shooter may have been dressed as a delivery driver. FedEx issued a statement Monday saying only it was fully cooperating with the authorities and, Our deepest sympathies are with Judge Salas and her family at this time." Salas, a judge of the U.S. District Court for New Jersey in Newark, has been in her seat for nine years. Before that, she spent five years as a magistrate judge, and nine years prior to that as a federal public defender. She is the first Latina to serve on the federal bench in New Jersey. Salas has presided over a number of high-profile trials in her tenure, including the trial of former "Real Housewife" Teresa Giudice. More recently, she presided over an ongoing lawsuit brought by Deutsche Bank investors who claim the company made false and misleading statements about its anti-money laundering policies and failed to monitor high-risk customers, including convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein. Her husband, Mark Anderl, is a well-regarded criminal defense attorney. His law partner, David Oakley, said Monday that he remained in critical condition and was undergoing a second surgery. Their son, Daniel, was the couple's only child and he was studying law to follow in his parents' footsteps. He graduated cum laude with honors from St. Joseph's High School in 2018 and was actively enrolled at The Catholic University of America in Washington, D.C. The university plans to hold a mass for Daniel's family 7 p.m. Monday, to be held over Zoom, and counseling resources have been made available for students. "Daniel was a rising junior, enrolled for classes beginning in the next few weeks. He turned 20 last week," a statement from the university read. New Jersey's political leaders were quick to react to the shootings. "I know Judge Salas and her husband well, and was proud to recommend her to President Obama for nomination to New Jerseys federal bench. My prayers are with Judge Salas and her family, and that those responsible for this horrendous act are swiftly apprehended and brought to justice," Sen. Bob Menendez, D-N.J., said in a statement. In a statement, Gov. Phil Murphy said, Judge Salas and her family are in our thoughts at this time as they cope with this senseless act. This tragedy is our latest reminder that gun violence remains a crisis in our country and that our work to make every community safer isnt done. Last week, Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif. crazy), the first white skin privileged woman to be chosen speaker of the House of Representatives, proved that she and by extension the Democratic party is OK with anti-Jewishness and other forms of bigotry. How did she do that? She endorsed and approved of Somali immigrant Rep Ilhan Omar (D-Minn.)'s re-election bid to Congress. In touting endorsements from Pelosi and Minnesota House of Representatives Speaker Melissa Hortman, Omar's campaign said in a statement that the congresswoman "now has the support of the Democratic leaders of both the U.S. House of Representatives and the Minnesota legislature, representing the support of the state and national Democratic party at the highest levels." Omar, and her Mad Squad of other Democratic congresswomen have an extensive and unsavory history of anti-American, anti-Jewish, anti-white, anti-Christian statements and actions. Last year, Pamela Geller posted just a small portion of them, including Omar's. It has grown considerably since then, but the content hasn't changed. Omar has a long history of anti-Israel statements that have included antisemitic themes, such as suggesting that Jews control the world. In 2012, she tweeted: "Israel has hypnotized the world, may Allah awaken the people and help them see the evil doings of Israel." Local Jewish community leaders in Minnesota staged an intervention before she took up her seat in Congress to no avail; she continued making offensive anti-Israel and antisemitic statements. In February, Omar tweeted, "It's all about the Benjamins baby," suggesting (falsely) that a pro-Israel group, the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), bribed members of Congress to support Israel. The implication was that Jews were using money to control Congress. Omar apologized for that tweet, but went on, a few weeks later, to claim that pro-Israel members of Congress owed "allegiance to a foreign country." The chair of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, a fellow Democrat, called her statement a "vile antisemitic slur," but she refused to apologize. In an effort to tamp down the controversy, House Democrats passed a resolution condemning antisemitism but only among other forms of hatred, and without mentioning Omar specifically. After the resolution passed, Omar took a victory lap, claiming (falsely) that it marked the first time Congress had condemned anti-Muslim prejudice. More recently, Omar has supported AOC's inflammatory claim that the migrant facilities are "concentration camps." There is more if you care to read it. At Pelosi's behind-the-scenes weak insistence, Omar periodically spouts a weak sorry-but-not-sorry non-apology apology and then, poof does it again! So who is Omar's Democratic primary opponent? An evil, white skin privileged racist, sexist male whom the Democrats could not, in good conscience, endorse? Hmmm, not exactly. She has a strong Democratic challenger in the primary in her heavily Democratic district. Her challenger is African American Antone Melton-Meaux, whose father is a decorated Vietnam veteran, whose mother grew up picking cotton and whose wife is a surgeon. Melton-Meaux, a graduate of the University of Virginia School of Law, founded a law firm in Minnesota. A recipient of the prestigious Congressional Black Caucus Fellowship, he worked with former Democratic National Committee Chair Donna Brazile. He raised $3,200,000 in the last quarter, compared to $471,000 raised by Omar, and had twice as much money in the bank for the last month of their primary campaign. Oh. So anti-Jewish it is for the Democratic party and its congressional leader, Nancy Pelosi. "But, but...," Pelosi will undoubtedly sputter, "how can I be anti-Jewish when some of my best friends, some of my best colleagues, one of my best sons in law is Jewish?" Easy, peasy, Speaker Pelosi: Because you, as a Democratic leader, tolerate this persistent and deep and widespread anti-Jewish behavior in your party, as do the other Democrats. It is anti-Jewish. And yes, being anti-Israel is anti-Jewish. To paraphrase that wise old saying, "If it walks like an anti-Jewish duck, if it talks like an anti-Jewish duck, it if acts like an anti-Jewish duck, well then, it is an anti-Jewish duck." Image: Gage Skidmore via Flickr. The Brand's First Nobu Hotel in Africa NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Global lifestyle brand Nobu Hospitality, founded by Nobu Matsuhisa, Robert De Niro and Meir Teper, is delighted to announce its continuing global expansion into Marrakech, Morocco. Nobu Hotel and Restaurant Marrakech is a collaboration between Hivernage Collection, MC Hotels, (the owners of the Nobu Hotel Marbella, Marbella Club Hotel and joint owners of the Nobu Hotel Ibiza Bay) and Nobu Hospitality which will lead the transformation of The Pearl Marrakech into a Nobu Hotel and Restaurant in the third quarter of 2021. Where rich heritage meets Nobu Hospitality's contemporary flair, Nobu Hotel Marrakech will be located in the Hivernage district, steps from the historic heart of the city, souks and vibrant Djemaa el-Fna. Transformed into a luxury lifestyle destination, the hotel will house 71 spacious guest rooms and suites, a selection of dynamic dining venues and rooftop spaces, 2,000 square meters of luxurious spa and fitness centre, indoor and outdoor swimming pools and meeting and event space. King Mohammed VI's "Tourism Development Strategy Vision 2020" plan has been the driving force at encouraging foreign investment in Morocco's tourism sector. His Majesty has outlined great vision and Nobu is pleased to be entering the market at this exciting time. Ahmed Bennani, President Hivernage Collection, "The partnership with Nobu Hospitality in the launch of the Nobu Hotel and Restaurant Marrakech will enable our existing Pearl Hotel to be taken to the next level. It is further significant as the launch in Marrakech will be the first Nobu Hotel in Africa. Marrakech as a destination fits seamlessly within the Nobu Hotel collection and we expect it will be embraced by the strong base of European and US Nobu customers." Daniel Shamoon, Director MC Hotels comments, "We are very pleased that Marrakech will become a part of our growing collection of Nobu Hotels joining Marbella and Ibiza Bay. In a time when our global society and economies are fragile, we maintain our continued belief and commitment to hospitality." Trevor Horwell, Chief Executive Officer Nobu Hospitality comments, "We are excited to be working with Ahmed Bennani and his Hermitage Collection, and again with Daniel Shamoon and MC Hotels on this exciting project. An increasing number of hotel owners today want to maintain the integrity of their properties, whilst having an appetite to work with us to enable complete differentiation, revenue advantage, and leveraging our food and beverage prowess. The global health and economic crisis have underscored this, and with Nobu's strong appeal to the local market as well as the international traveler, we are pleased to provide such advantage." www.nobuhotels.com Video - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1216970/Nobu_Hospitality.mp4 McDonalds has announced plans to reopen hundreds of restaurants for dine-in services across the UK from this week. Last week, it was reported that the fast food chain was testing safety measures as it moved towards reopening dine-in restaurants in the near future. The firm has now stated that around 700 restaurants across the UK will be reopened for dine-in customers from Wednesday 22 July. This move excludes chains in Wales, where eating in restaurants is currently restricted. When the restaurants reopen for dine-in customers, some of the franchises will be able to participate in chancellor Rishi Sunaks Eat Out to Help Out scheme. The scheme, which is due to come into effect in August, will allow everyone in England to claim 50 per cent off their meals when they dine in participating restaurants. The discount will allow customers a maximum discount of 10 off per diner, including children, and will apply on Mondays, Tuesdays and Wednesdays throughout the month. Customers will be served via a table service when dining in at McDonalds restaurants. They will be able to order their food either through the McDonalds app or at the fast food restaurants tills or kiosks. McDonalds restaurants are already open across the UK for drive-through and takeaway diners. Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Show all 19 1 /19 Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Two elderly people chat on a street in Valencia, Spain on 4 May EPA Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent People look at the city from Villa Borghese park in Rome during the first day of Italy's next phase in its coronavirus lockdown Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent An elderly couple who has not been outside for nearly two months enjoys the weather as they sit on a bench in a park in Athens on 4 May AFP via Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Henri de Chassey, wearing a protective face mask, kisses his partner Margaux Rebois, who is returning to Paris after spending two months in Brussels on 4 May REUTERS Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A commuter in protective mask wears gloves at an underground station in Brussels as some companies are allowed to bring workers back to the office EPA/STEPHANIE LECOCQ Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Paralympic swimmer Inigo Llopis prepares to swim in San Sebastian, Spain, for the first time since the lockdown began Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A worker wearing personal protective equipment disinfects a school in Athens as Greece relaxes its nationwide lockdown REUTERS Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A Spanish National Police officer distributes protective masks in Melilla, Spain, on 4 May EPA Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent An employee poses in front of halfway-cured hams in a factory in Guijuelo, Salamanca, Spain, on 4 May EPA Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Workers in protective suits disinfect a high school in Athens as Greece moves to reopen schools for final-year students on 11 May EPA Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A worker disinfects a bus as transport vehicles are disinfected several times a day as part of Belgium's lockdown exit strategy Belga/AFP via Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A worker from Textilia haberdashery in Brussels holds a fabric that can be used to make customised protective face masks as Belgium relaxes its lockdown measures REUTERS/Yves Herman Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A bride tries on a wedding dress at a bridal shop in Madrid on the first day that some small businesses are allowed to open during Spain's lockdown REUTERS Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent People walk across the Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II shopping mall in central Milan as Italy eases its lockdown AFP/Getty Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A couple kiss in the Duomo Square in Catania as Italy starts moving out of its lockdown Reuters Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent Mirel Chetan organises the books of the Antonio Machado bookstore in Madrid after 51 days of closure Carlos Alvarez/Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A couple kiss in front of the sea in Catania as Italy begins a staged end to a nationwide lockdown due to the spread of the coronavirus disease ANTONIO PARRINELLO/ REUTERS Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A waiter at Caffe Cracco handles takeaway coffee in Milan on 4 May as Italy starts to ease its lockdown Miguel Medina/AFP via Getty Images Europe emerges from lockdowns across the continent A woman holds a yoga posture as she exercises by the Colosseum monument in Rome on the first day of Italy relaxing its lockdown measures VINCENZO PINTO/AFP via Getty Images Speaking of the move to reopen dine-in restaurants, the firm said: Social distancing measures will be in place and, to prevent congestion, the restaurant will carefully manage the number of customers inside. When arriving, customers will be asked to use the hand sanitiser provided and follow the safety measures laid out in restaurants to help keep them, other customers and restaurant teams safe. Customers who dine in at McDonalds will also be asked to use their smartphones to leave their contact details. Following the governments announced that the VAT on hospitality and tourism would be reduced from 20 per cent to 5 per cent from 15 July to 12 January 2021, McDonalds has recommended that all restaurants reduce the price of popular items and meal deals on the menus. The company said it plans on reducing the price of Happy Meals by 30p, in addition to cutting the cost of breakfast meals by 50p. McDonalds has also recommended that staple items on its menu, including Big Macs, Quarter Pounders and McNuggets, be reduced in price. TEHRAN, Iran, July 21 Trend: Iran is in talks with China regarding cooperation on the West Karun oil field, Iran's Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh said, Trend reports via ILNA. Zangeneh said Iran has held a number of meeting with the Chinese side regarding the West Karun oil field project, and certain agreements were reached. West Karun, located in southwest Iran, includes Yaran and Mansouri fields as well as Yadavaran, North and South Azadegan joint fields with Iraq. Zangeneh went on to remind hat a $1.3 billion deal has been signed with the Petropars Company to develop the West Karun oil field and increase the oil output. "The production of the oilfield will increase from 140,000 bpd to 320,000 bpd, while processing facilities are expected to be established," he added. Zangeneh also reminded that Iran is to sign a development contract on the Farzad oil field with a domestic company soon, as the main contract signing is in the final stage. The minister said India will not be involved in development of the Farzad field, as under the current circumstances no foreign country would be willing to sign any contract. "These companies either have to continue on with their current contracts, or we have to attract domestic companies," Zangeneh said. "We are ready to sign a contract with any country, and ready for investments, but the external activity is currently low," he said. In the wake of the police killing of George Floyd and subsequent protests over police brutality, interest in anti-racist education has exploded among educators and advocates. The case that educators should seek to combat racism seems self-evident. Whats less clear is how the admirable cause of anti-racism is fueling, in some corners, the inclination to denounce universal virtues and useful skills as the product of white culture. Witness last weeks contretemps at the Smithsonians National Museum of African American History and Culture. The museum, which bills itself as the only national museum devoted exclusively to educating the public on these topics, recently debuted the online guide Talking about Race. The guide included a chart cataloguing the aspects and assumptions of white culture that have been normalized over time and are now considered standard practices in the United States. What are these sinister aspects of white culture, you ask? Well, according to the Smithsonian, values like hard work, self-reliance, be[ing] polite, and timeliness are all a product of the white dominant culture. Indeed, it turns out that conventional grammar, Christianity, the notion that intent counts in courts of law, and the scientific method and its emphasis on objective, rational linear thinking are all proprietary to white culture. There are several things that might be said about all this. But the place to start may be by observing just how insidious it is to teach black children to reject intellectual and personal traits that promote personal and civic success in the U.S. or anywhere else. After all, in what land are students well-served when theyre encouraged not to work hard, make decisions, think rationally, or be polite and on time? Among the extraordinarily accomplished people honored by the museum, those such as Frederick Douglass; Harriet Tubman; Jackie Robinson; Martin Luther King, Jr.; Toni Morrison; John Lewis; Oprah Winfrey; Michael Jordan; Condoleezza Rice; and Barack Obama might be surprised to learn that hard work and rational thinking are somehow alien to black culture. A 2020 National Association of Colleges and Employers poll found that four in five employers expected job applicants to exhibit a strong work ethic, the ability to work in a team, and analytical thinking skills. If one asks parents of any race what values they want their kids to learn, more than four out of five will similarly name concepts like hard work, being well-mannered, and being responsible. In fact, black parents are one to three percent more likely than white parents to think traits like hard work, being well-mannered, and persistence are important to teach children. This all makes obvious sense. These are the traits that make for good neighbors and colleagues, and support strong communities. Perhaps weve blinkered vision, but were still looking for the culture, anywhere, where parents say that theyd like their children to slack off, be rude, and shirk responsibility. After an online outcry, the Smithsonian removed the chart on Thursday night but not with any denunciation of the charts content, only the bland understatement that the chart turned out to not contribute to the productive discussion they had wished for. Of course, the lack of productive discussion shouldnt have surprised, given the shoddy scholarship it reflected. The original chart contained a single footnote linking to a one-page PDF asserting, sans evidence, that traits such as hard work, self-reliance, and politeness are common characteristics of most U.S. White people most of the time. Not surprisingly given this foundation, the Smithsonians chart was rife with dubious claims and questionable assumptions. The idea that Christianity belongs to white culture could come as a surprise to the 72 percent of black Americans who identify as Christian, especially when only 65 percent of white Americans do so. The idea that timeliness and objectivity are the province of white culture would probably come as a surprise to air traffic controllers or cardiovascular surgeons in Cambodia and Cameroon, as it turns out that these traits are crucial to their professional competence and success whatever the practitioners race or culture. While it might be tempting to laugh off the Smithsonians chart as political correctness run amok, that would be a mistake. The troubling conviction that admirable, useful, universal values like hard work and politeness are somehow the product of white supremacy has been gaining increasing currency in education circles. Just this month, the influential KIPP charter network announced it was abolishing its motto Work Hard. Be Nice. as part of its push to dismantle systemic racism. As educators rush to act upon the admirable impulse captured by anti-racism, the lesson is that they need to be extraordinarily deliberate about what that means in practice. When all is said and done, in 2020, the Smithsonians caretakers chose to tell our children that values like hard work and rationality are part of the white inheritanceand dont come naturally to those raised in other cultures. If this demeaning caricature was offered up by drawling good ol boys defending Jim Crow in some grainy newsreel footage, wed spot it for the unapologetic racism that it is. The question of the hour, though, is what we call it when educators offer it up in the name of anti-racism. Frederick M. Hess is the director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute. RJ Martin is the program manager of education at AEI. HK cooperates with mainland against 'hypocritical' US acts People's Daily Online (China Daily) 10:12, July 20, 2020 The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region government will fully cooperate with the central government to counter the United States' attempt at hegemony, Chief Secretary for Administration Matthew Cheung Kin-chung said on Sunday. The tough stance was made amid a series of US confrontations with China after the enactment of the National Security Law for Hong Kong, including its ending Hong Kong's special trade status and imposing sanctions on individuals and institutions "undermining Hong Kong autonomy". Cheung wrote in his blog on Sunday that it is "hypocritical" for the US to interfere in China's internal affairs under the pretexts of human rights, democracy and autonomy when it is acting solely out of its own political considerations. He added that Hong Kong's special status as a separate customs territory is not revocable by an individual country, as it was guaranteed by the central government and the HKSAR's Basic Law, and was recognized by multilateral organizations such as the World Trade Organization. Financial Secretary Paul Chan Mo-po also slammed the US hegemony and double standards on Sunday in his blog, citing moves that have breached international laws and norms. Meanwhile, he also stressed, when responding to some concerns raised by the business sector, that the National Security Law won't affect legitimate financial activities in the city. The SAR government will continue to offer a world-class business environment and regulatory framework to investors, Chan said, adding that he believes time will prove that national security will promote market vitality and long-term prosperity. On Friday, the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong expressed regret over the US revoking Hong Kong's special trade status, saying it will hurt American businesses in the city. The chamber is the city's largest international chamber and one of the largest American Chambers outside the US. According to the chamber, there are 1,300 American firms and 85,000 US citizens in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has been a strong market for US goods, the chamber noted in an online statement. Last year alone the United States had a $26 billion trade surplus with Hong Kong, the largest US surplus in the world. That figure included a substantial volume of US agricultural and manufacturing exports that are crucial to many US communities, according to the statement. Also on Friday, Malaysian businessman Chandran Nair said during an interview after an online seminar held by China Daily that the West has always used its power to punish other countries under the pretext of a higher moral objective. He added that many of his American friends based in Hong Kong were disappointed by the US sanctions. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon passed away Tuesday morning after suffering from multiple organ failure at the age of 85. The news of Lalji Tandon's death was confirmed by his son Ashutosh Tandon on Twitter. The late politician breathed his last at 05:30 am on Tuesday. - Ashutosh Tandon (@GopalJi_Tandon) July 21, 2020 In another tweet, Tandon also informed that the funeral rites of Lalji Tandon will take place at 04:30 pm at Gullala Ghat in Lucknow. Prime Minister Narendra Modi took to Twitter to extend his condolences at Lalji Tandon's demise. PM Modi wrote, "Shri Lalji Tandon will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. He played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He made a mark as an effective administrator, always giving importance to public welfare. Anguished by his passing away." In a reply to his own tweet, the Prime Minister also mentioned, "Shri Lalji Tandon was well-versed with constitutional matters. He enjoyed a long and close association with beloved Atal Ji." Shri Lalji Tandon will be remembered for his untiring efforts to serve society. He played a key role in strengthening the BJP in Uttar Pradesh. He made a mark as an effective administrator, always giving importance of public welfare. Anguished by his passing away. pic.twitter.com/6GeYOb5ApI - Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) July 21, 2020 According to an India Today report, Lalji Tandon was admitted to a private hospital in Lucknow and placed on ventilator support. Doctors stated that his condition deteriorated and that his lungs, kidneys, and liver were not functioning properly. The hospital then said, "Lalji Tandon has been put on ventilator support and is undergoing dialysis. His condition is serious, but under control." Tandon was admitted to the hospital on June 11 after breathing issues, difficulty in urination, and fever. His coronavirus test sample came out negative at the time of admission. Stanton Public Policy Center and #PurpleSashRevolution Congratulate New York Planned Parenthood for Removing Margaret Sanger's Name from Clinic Brandi Swindell, Founder and CEO of Stanton Public Policy Center, protests the inclusion of a bust of Margaret Sanger at the National Portrait Gallery in Washington D.C. NEWS PROVIDED BY Stanton Public Policy Center July 21, 2020 WASHINGTON, July 21, 2020 /Christian Newswire/ -- As America currently wrestles with racial injustice and inequity, it is deeply troubling to honor and celebrate Margaret Sanger, an avowed racist and eugenicist, who diminished communities of color and the marginalized. Stanton Public Policy Center sees this as a first step in defunding Planned Parenthood as it is clear Americans do not want public money going to an organization founded by a racist. Stanton Public Policy Center is a women's advocacy and educational group that works on issues of human rights and justice that empower and inspire women. It is affiliated with Stanton Healthcare which has life-affirming women's health clinics in America and internationally. Planned Parenthood removing Margaret Sanger's name from their New York clinic fits into Stanton's national campaign to have Margaret Sanger removed from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C. This national campaign includes: public protests, educational initiatives, petition drives, networking with African-American organizations and members of Congress. Congressman Russ Fulcher, recently sent a letter to the Honorable Secretary Lonnie G. Bunch III, who is the head of the Smithsonian Institution. In his letter, Congressman Fulcher asked for the removal of Margaret Sanger's bust from the National Portrait Gallery. Here is a link which contains Congressman Fulcher's full letter: http://christiannewswire.com/images/Bunch-Letter.pdf Stanton Founder and CEO, Brandi Swindell, states; "Stanton congratulates New York Planned Parenthood for removing Margaret Sanger's name from their abortion center. As America is currently dealing with racial injustice and inequity, it is deeply troubling to honor and celebrate Margaret Sanger, an avowed racist and eugenicist, who diminished communities of color and the marginalized. However, removing the name of Margaret Sanger from a Planned Parenthood clinic is only a first step. The final goal should be removing public funding from an organization founded by a racist and eugenicist. "We also continue to call for the removal of a display honoring Margaret Sanger from the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, D.C." Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Chief Strategy Officer for Stanton Public Policy Center, comments; "The national campaign to remove the bust of a racist like Margaret Sanger from the National Portrait Gallery is not an attempt to rewrite or change history. Rather, it is a way to ensure we celebrate individuals whose lives reflect and embody the very best of who we are as a nation and honor the values we cherish. "As America confronts racial injustice, it is critical our national institutions honor those who have inspired us to be our 'better selves' instead of honoring those who malign and diminish entire communities." For more information or interviews contact: Rev. Patrick Mahoney at 540.538.4741 or stantoninternational.org. SOURCE Stanton Public Policy Center CONTACT: Rev. Patrick Mahoney, 540-538-4741 Related Links stantoninternational.org Share Tweet Richterhammer (Gavel) auf weiem Hintergrund. Symbolfoto fur Gerechtigkeit Wodicka/ullstein bild via Getty Images A 15-year-old Black girl was incarcerated after not doing her coursework during the pandemic, ProPublica reported last week. The girl, identified as Grace, found it difficult to complete her work due to her ADHD. However, completing her school work was a part of the requirements of her probation, which followed larceny and assault charges. On Monday, Judge Mary Ellen Brennan denied Grace's release, according to The Detroit News, and said that keeping Grace incarcerated is "for her own good." "She was not detained because she didn't turn her homework in," Brennan said. "She was detained because she was a threat to her mother." Visit Insider's homepage for more stories. A 15-year-old Black girl in Michigan was sent to juvenile detention in May after failing to complete her virtual coursework, according to ProPublica. The teen who is only identified by her middle name, Grace, for her protection was jailed during the pandemic for allegedly violating her probation when she failed to meet the requirement to complete her school work, the report said. Grace's online classes began in mid-April and due to her ADHD, she found the shift from a live classroom setting to remote learning to be difficult, ProPublica reported. Judge Mary Ellen Brennan of the Oakland County's Family Court Divison ruled that Grace was "guilty on failure to submit to any schoolwork and getting up for school" and called Grace a "threat to (the) community," because of her previous charges, according to the report. Prior to her current detention, Grace was charged with assault and larceny and placed on "intensive probation," Pro Publica reported. Grace was charged with assault for a violent incident against her mother that occurred last November, ProPublica reported. She pulled her mother's hair and bit her finger because she couldn't go to her friend's house. Story continues Weeks after that incident, Grace received a larceny charge for stealing a student's phone, ProPublica reported. "She hasn't fulfilled the expectation with regard to school performance," Brennan said as she sentenced Grace, according to ProPublica. "I told her she was on thin ice and I told her that I was going to hold her to the letter, to the order, of the probation." At a hearing Monday, Brennan denied a motion for Grace's release and scheduled another hearing for September, local news reported. A previous request for the teen's immediate release was also denied last week, according to the report. Brennan at the hearing said that keeping Grace incarcerated is "for her own good," Detroit News reported. According to the outlet, Grace at Monday's hearing said, "I miss my mom," and told the judge, "I can control myself. I can be obedient," before hearing Brennan's decision. "Give yourself a chance to follow through and finish something," Brennan told Grace, according to the report. "The right thing is for you and your mom to be separated for right now." Police were alerted three times for encounters between Grace and her mother, Detroit News reported. During the physical confrontation with her mother, the girl allegedly bit her mother's hand and pulled her hair, the report said. Police have been called out three times for confrontations between the two, Brennan said from the bench. "She was not detained because she didn't turn her homework in," Brennan said, Detroit News reported. "She was detained because she was a threat to her mother." Read the original article on Insider Beijing-based ByteDance spent $500,000 in the three months ended June 30, up from its previous record of $300,000 in the first quarter. Photo: Bloomberg (Bloomberg) The Chinese owner of the popular TikTok video app spent a company record on federal lobbying in the second quarter as it fought allegations that its funneling Americans data to Beijing, according to lobbying disclosures filed with U.S. Congress. Beijing-based ByteDance Ltd. spent $500,000 in the three months ended June 30, up from its previous record of $300,000 in the first quarter, according to the companys lobbying disclosure Monday. TikTok is responding to an onslaught of pressure from U.S. politicians over its Chinese roots tension that has escalated in third quarter, including calls by President Donald Trump to consider banning the app entirely and proposed legislation to disallow downloads on government-issued mobile devices. TikTok also faces a national security investigation into the 2017 purchase of Musical.ly, a lip-syncing app it later merged with TikTok, as well as a parallel probe by the administration, which could culminate within weeks, White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows told reporters last week. The company has also attracted inquiries by the U.S. Federal Trade Commission and the Justice Department over its data-collection practices, according to a consumer advocate who said he spoke to the enforcers about the company. ByteDance, which was founded in China and is incorporated in the Cayman Islands, has repeatedly denied accusations that TikTok harvests data for the Chinese government and says it stores Americans data in the U.S. and Singapore, not in China. More popular than ever with hundreds of millions of people stuck at home during the coronavirus pandemic, teens have used the app to organize efforts to disrupt Trumps re-election campaign. TikTok also has become a political pawn in the fight between Washington and Beijing: Trump and Secretary of State Michael Pompeo have said a ban on TikTok could be one form of retaliation over Chinas handling of the coronavirus. The TikTok app has been downloaded 2 billion times globally, including 165 million times in the U.S., according to data provider Sensor Tower. That makes TikTok even more politically important as users weigh in on issues like race and the upcoming presidential election. ByteDance, which only began lobbying last year, said in the filing that it worked on issues related to internet technology and learning-enabled content platforms and lobbied Congress and the executive office of the president, which includes key White House offices focused on economics and security. It also lobbied on privacy and content moderation, according to a disclosure from Monument Advocacy, one of the companys outside firms. TikTok has been building up its lobbying muscle as it attempts to distance itself from its Chinese ties and convince American politicians that its just a fun-loving consumer app. Former Walt Disney Co. executive Kevin Mayer became TikToks first American chief executive officer in June, and the company earlier this month discussed plans to create a new global TikTok headquarters outside of China, in addition to potential changes to its management structure. TikToks Washington lobbying blitz started last year with efforts to broker meetings between company executives and high-profile senators. Since then, its amassed a 35-person Washington operation and hired longtime policy hands to make its case to American politicians. It named Michael Beckerman, the former president of the Internet Association trade group, to run its policy shop, and hired David Urban, a senior adviser to Trump during his 2016 presidential campaign, as an outside lobbyist. Both are registered as working for ByteDance. ByteDance has also hired former top staff to Republican and Democratic House leaders and has brought on four outside lobbying firms in the last year. In one meeting last year with staffers for Republican Senator Marco Rubio, TikTok staff provided conflicting information, including about where data was stored and how TikTok creates its algorithms, a Rubio spokesman said. Given established connections to China and the inability of the company to answer basic questions from staff about TikToks ties to China and how it treats Americans user data, our office declined to have the Senator personally meet with them, the spokesman said. There is a huge amount of misinformation on TikTok out there, the company said in a statement last week, pointing to its American executives and board seats. TikTok U.S. user data is stored in the U.S. and Singapore, with strict controls on employee access, TikTok said in that statement. These are the facts. Since April, TikTok reached out to the offices of more than 50 key lawmakers to emphasize its independent American leadership, a person familiar with the companys Washington operation told Bloomberg. Contact editor Yang Ge (geyang@caixin.com) United and American Air CEOs Ask European Governments to Loosen Restrictions on Transatlantic Travel American Airlines and United Airlines, along with Iberia Airlines owner International Airlines Group and Lufthansa Group, want regulators to permit more American and Europeans to travel on transatlantic flights, arguing they need more customers on these routes for their businesses to recover. Given the unquestioned importance of transatlantic air travel to the global economy as well as to the economic recovery of our businesses, we believe it is critical to find a way to re-open air services between the U.S. and Europe, the CEOs of the four companies wrote in a joint letter to U.S. Vice President Mike Pence and European Commissioner for Home Affairs Ylva Johansson. All four airline groups fly across the the Atlantic now, serving major routes like New York to Frankfurt, Dallas/Fort Worth to Madrid, and Washington D.C. to Zurich. The problem is the customer pool is tiny, with American and European regulators placing strict limits on who can fly. Most flights are filed with dual citizens, or customers who are transiting in European airports, or passengers exempt from the ban, such as health care workers, and diplomats. It is easier for Americans to visit the United Kingdom, though they must quarantine for two weeks upon arrival. The United States maintains similar restrictions on which travelers can enter from Europe. It first instituted the restrictions in March, during Europes first wave. European Concerns While the letter is addressed to U.S. and European leaders, this issue is probably stickier in Europe, because it has fewer cases, per capita, than the United States. Europeans have said theyre concerned about the rising number of U.S. Covid-19 cases, and theyre fearful that an influx of Americans would lead to more cases. In their letter, the four CEOs acknowledge the Covid-19 problem, but said regulators could mitigate it by creating a joint U.S.-EU testing program. We recognize that testing presents a number of challenges, however we believe that a pilot testing program for the transatlantic market could be an excellent opportunity for government and industry to work together and find ways to overcome obstacles and explore all solutions to protect health, build confidence, and safely restore passenger travel between the U.S. and Europe, they said. A coordinated COVID-19 testing program could be key to providing confidence to permit services to resume without quarantine requirements or other entry restrictions. Subscribe to Skift newsletters for essential news about the business of travel. Britain could avoid another coronavirus lockdown but only if almost the entire population followed hand-washing, social distancing and mask-wearing rules, at least half of the time, research has suggested. Experts based in the Netherlands used a complex computer model to simulate how effective coronavirus-prevention methods would be in halting another crisis. When a combination of the virus-controlling methods are practised by at least 90 per cent of the population, scientists found 'a large outbreak can be prevented'. But the effectiveness of the measures essentially how stringently it is followed must be at least 50 per cent. The peak of the epidemic could be stalled for a significant amount of time up to a year so that scientists have more time to prepare hospitals or find a vaccine. But if the methods are practised properly by fewer than 40 per cent, it would barely have any effect on controlling a crisis, which could see policymakers decide to implement another lockdown. Experts also warned that government-initiated social distancing alone is 'unlikely to be sufficient' for controlling Covid-19. The researchers said the findings could help direct countries out of lockdown while avoiding a devastating second wave of the virus. But scientific models do not always come true because they are reliant on algorithms piecing together data and don't take into account real-life twists and turns in the course of any outbreak. Pictured bottom: 50 per cent efficacy of prevention measures would cause the attack rate to fall to just four per cent, and top: Daily cases at the peak of the epidemic would also be lower If half of the nation sticks to the measures, it would delay the peak of an outbreak by 12 months until the peak of the epidemic In the study, researchers at the University Medical Center Utrecht developed a new model to predict the spread of Covid-19. The model helped to determine how the use of prevention methods would alter three different outcomes, which were: The peak number of diagnoses how many people are being diagnosed each day at the worst point of the epidemic; The time between the first case and the peak the longer it takes, the more time hospitals have time to prepare; The attack rate the proportion that either recover or die after severe infection. The lower the number, the better, because it shows fewer people have been infected; A large outbreak could be prevented either by making one measure, such as handwashing, 50 per cent effective, if used with government enforced social distancing (pictured) IS A SECOND WAVE INEVITABLE? Almost all scientists agree the infection is bound to re-emerge in a second wave in the absence of a vaccine or cure for the coronavirus. Dr Andrea Ammon, the EU's boss on disease control, has warned the virus is not going away any time soon because it is 'very well adapted to humans'. She has urged Europe to prepare for another crisis, which she said was inevitable because so few people will have developed COVID-19 immunity. In an interview with The Guardian on May 21 she said: 'The question is when and how big, that is the question in my view.' Dr Hans Kluge, director for the WHO European region, said he was 'very concerned' a surge in infections would coincide with other seasonal diseases such as the flu. Speaking exclusively to The Telegraph in mid-May, he cautioned that now is the time for 'preparation, not celebration' across Europe - even if countries are show positive signs of recovery. Professor Hugh Pennington, an emeritus microbiologist at University of Aberdeen, has said there is no evidence there will be a second wave of the coronavirus, contradictory to the thoughts of others. Scientists have repeatedly referred to the 1918 Spanish flu pandemic as a sign the world is heading towards a devastating relapse in cases. But the flu is biologically completely different from the coronavirus and should not be comparable, Professor Pennington said. But he added: 'If we get the easing of lockdown wrong, far more likely would be a continuation of infections, many in the form of localised outbreaks, but not waves or peaks.' Writing in The Daily Telegraph , he said Covid-19 tends to cause clusters of cases, which bodes well for the future. Professor Mark Woolhouse, of Edinburgh University, said it is more likely the UK will experience small outbreaks because the R rate of the coronavirus has been squased. At its peak, the reproduction or R R number was between two and three, which meant every infected person passed the virus on to two or three others. It is now between 0.7 and 0.9, putting it below the crucial level of one, which is when cases spiral out of control. Professor Woolhouse, who is part of the Government's Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), told The i: 'Am I concerned that the R number might creep above one? Yes I am. But am I concerned it will go back to where we were at the beginning of the first wave, no Im not. 'There is no prospect whatsoever that its going to go up to two or three again thats far, far from the reality of what we might reasonably expect. Im not so much concerned about a second wave, Im concerned about a second bump. 'The only way that a second wave could happen is if there were a complete collapse in lockdown and everybody just gave up on it despite what the Government said and thats just not going to happen.' The R number has been guiding Government on when to lift lockdown. But the K number will become crucial for fighting a potential second wave, scientists believe. The K number tracks the extent to which new outbreaks are caused by a few 'superspreading events'. Advertisement The three outcomes changed depending on take-up of the prevention methods, which is dependent on how fast awareness about the disease is spread. It also depends on how effective each method is which reflects how well the measure is practiced and how effective the measure itself is for reducing transmission. The prevention methods studies were handwashing and mask wearing, which both reduce the susceptibility to catching the virus, and self-imposed social distancing, to reduce contact with other people who may unknowingly carry the virus. Researchers led by Alexandra Teslya started all the simulations started with just one initial case, and the mathematical model took into account various factors. In a baseline model in which the virus was able to spread naturally, the team predicted it took about 5.2 months to reach the peak of the epidemic, when some 46 cases per 1,000 people were diagnosed each day. The attack rate was about 16 per cent. But all prevention measures helped to reduce this depending on their efficacies particularly when awareness of the disease spread rapidly and therefore uptake was higher. Graphs showed that if individual measures are 20 per cent effective, the peak of the epidemic could be delayed by an extra month. It would lead to around 40 per cent fewer cases at the peak of the epidemic, and the attack rate would fall from 16 per cent to 14 per cent. But for measures with efficacies of 30 per cent or higher, the impact of the epidemic can be significant, according to the researchers. In a scenario where the efficacy of any one of the three prevention measures exceeds 50 per cent, a large epidemic could be avoided completely. It would give an additional 12 months until the peak of the epidemic, reducing the peak number of daily cases by almost 100 per cent. And it would cause the attack rate to fall to just four per cent. Experts said another crisis could be prevented if at least 90 per cent of the population practiced any measure with 50 per cent efficacy, such as handwashing, or any two measures with 25 per cent efficacy each. For example, handwashing alone exceeding 50 per cent efficacy, in combination with government enforced social distancing, could completely prevent a second wave. The study showed that if 90 per cent of the population practised good handwashing and its efficacy was 30 per cent or higher, it could have a 'significant effect. But a rapid spread of disease awareness would be critical for those results in both situations, the paper said. Otherwise it hardly makes any difference to the natural spread of the disease. The researchers wrote in the journal PLOS Medicine : 'For a slow rate of awareness spread, self-imposed measures have less impact on transmission, as not many individuals adopt them. 'However, for a fast rate of awareness spread, impact on the magnitude and timing of the peak increases with increasing efficacy of the respective measure. 'For all measures, a large epidemic can be prevented when the efficacy exceeds 50 per cent.' The researchers said their findings help model how to prevent a second wave as a country comes out of lockdown. They said: 'We stress the importance of disease awareness in controlling the ongoing epidemic and recommend that, in addition to policies on social distancing, government and public health institutions mobilise people to adopt self-imposed measures with proven efficacy in order to successfully tackle Covid-19.' Professor Yuming Guo, of Monash University in Australia, wrote an accompanying perspective which stated: 'Many of the self-imposed prevention strategies have very limited impact on the economy but contribute very significantly to epidemic control and are likely to play a very substantial role in control.' He agreed that improving awareness of self-imposed prevention methods could stop second epidemics. The paper, titled, 'Impact of self-imposed prevention measures and short-term government-imposed social distancing on mitigating and delaying a COVID-19 epidemic: A modelling study', is published here. Jerry Lara, San Antonio Express-News / Staff photographer San Antonio is among the top 10 cities in the U.S. for residents in search of a threesome during the pandemic, according to a report from an online dating app. 3Fun describes itself as the leading threesome dating app used by "open-minded" people who desire a swinger-type relationship. Last week, 3Fun released a report ranking the cities that have used its app the most since the beginning of the pandemic in March. A number of on-demand ride hailing companies are feeling the strain from reduced business, with many consumers still reluctant to travel, and especially to travel in surroundings that might increase the risk of spreading or catching the novel coronavirus. But today, one of the startups in the space is announcing a significant round of funding to continue growing in its target sector of corporate travel, underscoring where there may still be some existing and growing opportunities. Gett, the London and Israel-based company that competes with the likes of Uber and many others to provide private car rides on-demand, has raised $100 million. Gett's CEO and founder Dave Waiser told TechCrunch that the funding is all primary equity capital, and the company says it plans to use it to continue investing in its B2B business, which has been growing -- not shrinking or staying flat -- in the midst of the global health pandemic. "The way people move around in cities is changing dramatically as a result of COVID-19 and businesses are seeking to optimise costs and to put in place efficient and safe ground travel solutions for their employees," said Waiser, in a statement. "Our mobility software is helping businesses thrive by empowering people to be their best on the go. Being fully funded and reaching a key milestone in our profitability journey is an important step for the company. The proceeds will help us grow our unique corporate SaaS platform internationally, while we consider an IPO in the future, to further accelerate our expansion. The company turned operationally profitable in December 2019 and had said it planned to go public in 2020, but it sounds like that timeline, if it happens, has now been pushed back to 2021. Gett says it has met its "original financial targets that were set pre-COVID-19." It also reached profitability in each of its core markets in June, and is on target now to be cash flow positive in 2021, ahead of a "potential" IPO. Story continues "It's a luxury, enabling flexibility for the company to go public when it's best, rather than from the cash needs reasoning as many (money-losing) companies have to do nowadays," Waiser said in an interview. Gett is not disclosing the names of any of its investors in this round except to note that it's a mix of new and existing backers, nor is it disclosing its valuation. Waiser said the reason for that is that the round is still being expanded after getting oversubscribed, so it plans to announce a list of investors (and valuation?) after the expansion closes. For some context, though, Gett has now raised $750 million, with investors including VW, Access and its founder Len Blavatnik, Kreos, MCI and more, and its last valuation was $1.5 billion, pegged to a $200 million fundraise in May 2019. Gett started operations years ago serving both consumers and corporate users going head-to-head with the Ubers of the world for app-based, on-demand rides, but it had always differentiated its positioning by working with (in London) the "black cabs" and in NYC "yellow cabs" -- that is, the established infrastructure of ride-hailing. In recent years, it has honed its focus specifically on business accounts. No surprise, when you think about it, considering the capital intensiveness, competitiveness and subsequent poor unit economics of scaling a consumer-focused ridesharing business (a confluence of factors we've seen played out at Uber, Lyft, Grab and many others). Gett's turn to B2B has seen it pick up some 15,000 corporate customers, including one-third of the Fortune 500. What has been interesting too is the approach Gett has taken to scale: Today, it provides rides in some 1,500 cities, but a large part of that footprint is served not directly by Gett. One of its key partners is Lyft -- the result of a deal Gett inked with the company in November 2019 after Gett shut down its Juno operations in New York City. And it's been expanding that list to include other third-party partnerships in the mix. Partnerships may not yield margins as strong as those Gett has with direct operations. Gett still is the direct link between drivers and riders in its key markets, which include cities like London and Moscow. (It's not disclosing what percentage of its business today is direct versus via third-party businesses.) But on the other hand, Gett has been building its business by providing a plethora of analytics and invoicing services around the actual ride, and what it makes by securing corporate accounts on the back of that software becomes a revenue stream to offset the decline in margins from partnerships. Gett claims that its services ultimately undercut by about 25% other ground transportation options for corporates. While a lot of consumers may have curtailed their Uber rides in recent months, the business market has seen a turn to ensuring that the travel that its users are taking is well-controlled when it has to be done, specifically to meet specific safety standards. That has been the sweet spot for Gett, with its very specific B2B approach. "The completion of the fundraising during the pandemic is a clear expression of confidence by our shareholders and new investors in Getts vision to focus on the corporate market and its plan to expand globally, as well as in the Companys strong operational and financial performance," said Amos Genish, Gett chairman, in a statement. Texas and Florida hit a grim record Monday for daily coronavirus deaths based on a seven-day moving average, as hospitalizations continue to surge in 34 states across the United States. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Both Texas and Florida posted a record in average daily new deaths six times in the previous seven days. Texas had a seven-day average of 118.57 new deaths on Monday, which is nearly 39% higher compared with a week ago, according to a CNBC analysis of data compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The state also reported a record in average daily new cases with more than 10,572 cases per day over the past seven days as of Monday, up more than 15% compared with a week ago, according to CNBC's analysis. The state's average hospitalization number surged by more than 6% since last week after reporting a new high of 10,564 Covid-19 hospitalizations on Monday, according to CNBC's analysis of data from the Covid Tracking Project. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Texas officials and funeral home directors have ordered extra body bags and refrigerated trucks as they prepare for an increase in deaths from Covid-19. The Federal Emergency Management Agency is sending 14 refrigerated trucks to the state this week, in addition to the eight already sent, to serve as temporary mortuaries. "The directors I've talked to in the last week are at capacity or overcapacity, thus the reason they had to bring in the trailers," said Gene Allen, president of the Texas Funeral Directors Association. Last month, Texas Gov. Greg Abbott paused the state's reopening plan after reporting record increases in Covid-19 cases and hospitalizations. After businesses started reopening in May, it has been experiencing a widespread infection of the virus and a significant spike in the number of confirmed cases. Abbott also issued an executive order in early July requiring residents in the state to wear a face covering in public spaces in counties with 20 or more positive coronavirus cases. "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," he said in a press release. Zoom In Icon Arrows pointing outwards Mammoet, a global heavy lifting and transport specialist, has been contracted by Eversendai Offshore for the loadout of the jacket foundation and accompanying piles from its fabrication yard at Ras Al Khaimah (RAK) in the UAE. Covering an area of 235.8 sq km, TenneTs Hollandse Kust (zuid) Wind Farm Zone (HKZ) is a designated wind farm zone located in the North Sea off the Dutch province of Zuid-Holland. Mammoets scope consisted of weighing, land transport and load-out of the jacket and pile sections at Eversendai Offshores fabrication yard. Following operations to weigh the jacket and determine its centre of gravity, the six-legged structure weighing 3,200 tonnes and measuring 40 m long, 47 m wide and 48 m high - was safely transported from the fabrication yard to the quayside. It was then successfully loaded out, using 128 axle lines of SPMT and six power pack units (PPU). Separately, three 220-tonne long piles measuring 75 m long, and three 184-tonne short piles measuring 65 m were loaded out and positioned on the deck of the sea-going vessel. Detailed engineering calculations, thorough planning, and comprehensive risk assessments of the loadout operations and procedures ensured safe handling of the jacket and piles. They are now ready to depart the UAE bound for the Dutch North Sea. The 1.4GW Hollandse Kust Zuid zone comprises four offshore wind farms that will be connected to the HKZ Alpha and Beta substations. Petrofac is responsible for the engineering, procurement, construction and installation of both substations. Eversendai Offshore is in charge of the engineering and fabrication of the jackets and accompanying piles for the substation platforms at its fabrication yard in RAK Maritime City, Ras Al Khaimah in UAE. TradeArabia News Service Syria Held Parliamentary Elections Sunday By VOA News July 20, 2020 Syrians across government-held territory voted Sunday to elect 250 members of parliament. People cast their ballots at more than 7,000 polling stations, including in areas that the army has recaptured from the opposition forces during the last two years. Originally scheduled for April, the parliamentary elections were postponed twice due to the coronavirus pandemic. With the backing of Russia and Iran, Syrian President Bashar al-Assad controls more of the country's territory than at any time during the war, while Kurdish forces control the northeast area and opposition forces only a northwest corner near the Turkish border. It is expected that the ruling Baath party and its allies will win again, marking Assad's 20 years in power. He has presided over nearly a decade war that has killed thousands of people and forded millions to leave the country. Assad's opponents and Western powers denounced the vote as a farce. The United States says the goal is to hold Assad to account for the misery he has brought for Syrian people. More than 1,600 candidates, many prominent businessmen, competed on Sunday for the 250 parliamentary seats. All candidates were pre-approved by the government. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address New Yorks farmers and agriculture businesses are continuing to suffer due to the coronavirus crisis. Survey results released by the New York Farm Bureau today showed that 65% of agriculture businesses consider themselves to be negatively or very negatively impacted by the ongoing pandemic. Just over 530 businesses responded to the survey between June 8 and June 17. New York farmers say their most pressing concern is lost sales, followed by cashflow issues and market disruption. Lesser concerns include lost restaurant business, transportation, supplies and labor issues. Several businesses reported they had shifted to offering online sales directly to consumers, and had ramped up online advertising. One vegetable farmer said this was in response to food service business being decimated, according to the NYFB. Farmers reported they were keeping products in storage for now, in hopes of selling them later. Dairy farmers, who made up 22% of survey respondents, shared anecdotes indicating their sector of the industry was still struggling significantly. A Jefferson County dairy farmer said theyd sold their herd because there wasnt enough demand for their products. A Chautauqua County dairy farmer said they resorted to slashing milk production by 15%, while an Ontario dairy farmer cut production by 12% and cut employee hours by 5%. One Cayuga County dairy farmer said theyd halted an expansion. Many businesses also reported layoffs, while a few said they were actually hiring. A fruit farmer in Wayne County said they hired someone whose job was to develop a Covid-19 response plan and to oversee sanitation and employee safety protocols. One Oswego County fruit and vegetable farmer said theyd had to hire additional workers to meet increased demand. The survey results, while bleak, offered bright spots. Farmers reported that they hadnt had many problems with acquiring personal protective equipment for employees. About 15% of survey respondents said theyd found it difficult to get masks and hand sanitizer at some point. Most respondents felt they had adequate access to health care and testing. The survey included farms and agribusinesses operated by sole proprietors, as well as larger farms with multiple employees. It included a wide spectrum of farming businesses including equine, livestock and maple farmers, with dairy farmers making up the largest bloc of respondents. About 68% of respondents, or 183 businesses, said they had turned to the federal Paycheck Protection Program for assistance during the pandemic. Data analyzed by syracuse.com shows that in Central New York, 418 agriculture businesses got PPP loans, ranging from $730 to between $1-2 million. RELATED STORY: Which CNY industries got the most PPP loans? Small business owners: Have a question or a story to share about how youre coping through the coronavirus pandemic and subsequent shutdown? We want to hear from you. Contact Back in Business reporter Julie McMahon: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992 CNY BACK IN BUSINESS Travel agents pandemic dilemma: What can I possibly do to earn money? Schumer: Central NY small business, nonprofits need second PPP loan PPP in CNY: Top 20 banks, lenders that doled out most loans to local businesses PPP data: What we learned about Central NY businesses that got loans NY travel quarantine order creates confusion for businesses, workers 4 challenges small businesses face now that much of CNY has reopened More from CNY Back in Business Sign up for the Back In Business newsletter to get small business advice delivered to your email inbox An immigration expert has told the Adrian Donohoe murder trial that US officials would have been within their rights to deport a key prosecution witness in the case. The jury has previously heard evidence from Daniel Cahill, a Dublin man living in New York, who testified that he heard the accused admit on three separate occasions to shooting a garda. Aaron Brady (29) denies capital murder and robbery at Lordship Credit Union in Dundalk, Co Louth, on January 25, 2013. This afternoon US immigration lawyer Kerry Bretz was called to give evidence for the defence via-video link from the US. The court heard Mr Bretz has over 30 years experience dealing with immigration law and is certified as an expert in this area. He was examined by defence counsel Justin McQuade BL about the circumstances in which Daniel Cahill made a statement to gardai on July 25 last year. The jury were previously told that Mr Cahill arrived in the US on a 90-day visa in 2013 and had no status at the time of giving a statement. He was detained at his New York apartment by Homeland Security agents and later brought to Yonkers Police Department where he spoke to gardai. Giving evidence Mr Cahill said he would file papers for US citizenship soon having married an American woman in 2018. Kerry Bretz said it was "very odd" that somebody who didn't have status would not apply right away. The lawyer also said it was odd that Homeland Security agents left him at the local police precinct in Yonkers "knowing he wasn't going to be prosecuted" rather than process him for removal. The court previously heard suspected cannabis plants and a quantity of steroids were discovered in the apartment but that the local district attorney did not prosecute these matters. He said that he had not come across a scenario similar to the situation of Mr Cahill himself. Mr Bretz agreed with counsel that agents under the Department of Homeland Security would have been well within their rights to put him on the first available flight back to Ireland. The expert lawyer also said that people facing deportation would be in a vulnerable state and this would be "the time" to make them a confidential informant or witness. Under cross-examination from lead prosecution counsel Brendan Grehan SC, Mr Bretz agreed that US law enforcement, like other police agencies, "enjoy wide discretion" in applying immigration rules to individual cases. Mr Grehan said that Homeland Security were assisting An Garda Siochana with the investigation into the murder of a garda. In particular they were helping with people who might be of assistance to the investigation, he said. Counsel put it to Mr Bretz that there is "ample reason to understand why discretion was afforded to Mr Cahill in this case" which may be outside the scope of his experience. The witness said this was possible. He also accepted that there has been evidence given by Daniel Cahill and Special Agent Mary Ann Wade, attached to Homeland Security, that there were no offers made for him to give a statement or face deportation. The trial continues before the jury of six men and seven women tomorrow morning. Aaron Brady has pleaded not guilty to the capital murder of Adrian Donohoe (41), who was then a member of An Garda Siochana acting in the course of his duty, at Lordship Credit Union in Bellurgan, Dundalk, Co Louth, on January 25, 2013. The accused, of New Road in Crossmaglen, Co Armagh, also denies robbery of approximately 7,000 in cash and assorted cheques from Pat Bellew at the same location on the same date. Eleven Human Rights Institutions are calling for an international investigation into the massacre of the more than 50 Ghanaian and other West African migrants who were killed in The Gambia and Senegal 15 years ago. This follows growing evidence that the murders were allegedly carried out by Gambian security force members acting on the orders of then-president Yahya Jammeh and the inability of the families of the victims to obtain justice. A credible international investigation is needed if we're ever going to get to the bottom of the 2005 massacre of West African migrants and create the conditions to bring those responsible to justice, said Emeline Escafit, legal adviser at TRIAL International. Until now, information has come out in dribs and drabs, year after year, from different sources. On July 22, 2005, Gambia security forces arrested the migrants, who were bound for Europe, after their boat landed in The Gambia, on suspicion of involvement in a coup attempt. Over the next 10 days, almost all the migrants, including about 44 Ghanaians, nine Nigerians, two Togolese, and nationals of Cote d'Ivoire and Senegal, were killed in The Gambia or taken across the border into Senegal and shot and their bodies dumped in wells. I have been fighting for 15 years for truth and for justice for my companions who were killed, said Martin Kyere from Ghana, who jumped into the forest from a moving truck carrying other detained migrants who were killed shortly thereafter. When Kyere returned to Ghana, he began rallying the victims' families. African leaders say that migrants should be treated with dignity but for us, honouring their memory means justice, not lies and cover-ups. While several Gambian soldiers have confessed to the murders and said they acted on Jammeh's orders, the chain of events leading to the killings is unclear. There is still no information on exactly where the migrants were buried in Senegal nor are all the victims' identities known, including eight of the nine Nigerians. The Gambia returned six bodies to Ghana in 2009, but the families question whether the bodies were those of murdered migrants. The groups said that because the crimes took place across two countries Gambia and Senegal involve victims from six countries, and a primary suspect, Jammeh, now resides in Equatorial Guinea, an international investigation would be best placed to uncover all the facts. They said that if neither Gambia nor another country like Ghana would conduct a transnational investigation, they should support an independent inquiry that could investigate in all the countries concerned. Previous efforts to investigate the massacre have repeatedly been stymied or flawed, the groups said. Following initial campaigning by Kyere and Ghanaian families and rights groups, Ghana attempted to investigate the killings in 2005 and 2006 but was blocked by the then-Jammeh government. In 2008, the United Nations and the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) formed a joint investigative team, which produced a report in April 2009. The UN wrote that the report concluded that the Gambian government was not directly or indirectly complicit in the deaths and disappearances, blaming it on rogue elements in Gambia's security services acting on their own. The joint report has never been made public, however, despite repeated requests by the victims and by five UN human rights monitors. The Gambian and Ghanaian governments have said that they do not have copies. A May 2018 report by Human Rights Watch and TRIAL International, based on interviews with 30 former Jammeh-era officials including 11 directly involved in the incident cast serious doubt on the UN/ECOWAS conclusion, however. Human Rights Watch and TRIAL found that the migrants were detained by Jammeh's closest associates in the army, the navy, and the police, and then summarily executed by the so-called Junglers, a unit of Gambian soldiers operating under Jammeh's orders. The Gambian government also destroyed key evidence before the UN/ECOWAS team arrived. In July 2019, three former Junglers testified publicly before the Gambia Truth, Reconciliation, and Reparations Commission (TRRC) that they and 12 other Junglers had carried out the killings on Jammeh's orders. One of the officers, Omar Jallow, recalled that the operation's leader told the men that the order from Jammeh is that they are all to be executed. The groups said that even though the United Nations and ECOWAS had delayed the search for justice for 10 years by wrongly clearing Jammeh in 2009, the fall of Jammeh combined with the new revelations provide the opportunity to move forward. The United Nations and ECOWAS can make a real contribution now by releasing their report and working with Gambia, Ghana and Senegal to uncover exactly how this crime was committed so that the victims can have justice at long last, said Reed Brody, senior counsel at Human Rights Watch, and an author of the May 2018 report. With Jammeh out of power, getting to the truth is just a matter of political will. In a 2009 Memorandum of Understanding between Ghana and Gambia following the UN/ECOWAS report, the two countries pledged to pursue through all available means the arrests and prosecution of all those involved in the deaths and disappearances of the Ghanaians and other ECOWAS nationals. Now that several people have testified as to their role and that of others, political will is needed for arrests and prosecutions, the groups said. Families of the Ghanaian victims have called for Ghana to investigate and prosecute those responsible for the killings under its laws against enforced disappearances. The Ghanaian government announced on May 27, 2018 that it had tasked the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-General's Department to study [the matter] and explore the full extent of its legal and diplomatic implications and also advise the government on the way forward. The Gambian government has pledged to cooperate with any investigation by Ghana. However, no concrete actions have been taken by the affected countries. In 2005, about 44 Ghanaians were cruelly murdered in a foreign country, said William Nyarko, Executive Director of ACILA, who coordinates the Jammeh2Justice campaign in Ghana. We now know who some of the direct perpetrators of these killings were and that the evidence points to Jammeh as having given the orders. The time has come for the government of Ghana to act. In December 2019, Ghana's president, Nana Akufo-Addo, responding to growing impatience from victims, members of the Ghanaian Parliament and West African civil society, told the media that he knew in 2005 when he first sought to investigate the case as foreign minister that Jammeh's government was complicit in the killings. He added that following the confessions by the Junglers, the Gambian government should instigate the trials of the people who had been named. He said that he had spoken to President Adama Barrow of Gambia, who he said answered, Things are still insecure, please give me time. The Gambian government has stated that it is awaiting the recommendations of the Truth Commission, expected in 2021, before deciding on which Jammeh-era crimes to prosecute. The Commission has announced that in addition to the Junglers who testified in July 2019, it will hold hearings on the migrants' case this year. The groups urged the Commission to hear the testimony of three Ghanaians who survived the massacre as well as former Gambian officials involved in the incident and the subsequent cover-up, and the UN and ECOWAS experts who worked on the report. The groups making the call were the Africa Center for International Law and Accountability (ACILA), African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances, Amnesty International Ghana, Commonwealth Human Rights Initiative, Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations, Ghana Centre for Democratic Development, Human Rights Advocacy Centre, Human Rights Watch, Media Foundation for West Africa, POS Foundation, and TRIAL International. To watch the documentary film The Massacre of Ghanaians in The Gambia: Justice in Limbo? please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPj7I0EM2mI&feature=youtu.be To watch the documentary film I Cannot Bury My Father please visit: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sb8v3RXX10g For more information, please contact: In Barcelona, for Human Rights Watch, Reed Brody (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese): +1-917-388-6745; or [email protected] Twitter: @reedbrody In Accra, for ACILA and the Jammeh2Justice Ghana campaign, William Nyarko (English) +233-561-766680 or [email protected] In Accra, for the survivors and victims' families, Martin Kyere (English) +233-591-551-894 In Geneva, for TRIAL International, Jean-Marie Banderet (English, French and German): + 41- 79-192-37-44; or [email protected] Twitter: @Trial In Banjul, for the Gambia Center for Victims of Human Rights Violations, Sheriff Kidjera (English, Mandinka): +220-777-4705; or [email protected] In New York, for the African Network against Extrajudicial Killings and Enforced Disappearances, Nana-Jo Ndow (English, French, Spanish, Portuguese, Italian): +1-929-327-5119; or [email protected] Philip at the Captain General's Parade, his final individual public engagement, at Buckingham Palace in London in 2017. (PA Images) Prince Philip is to make a rare public appearance as he carries out an engagement despite being retired. The Duke of Edinburgh will take part in a ceremony at Windsor Castle on Wednesday when he hands over his role of Colonel-in-Chief of the The Rifles, passing it on to Camilla, the Duchess of Cornwall. As Camilla and the duke are in different places, the ceremony will take place across two homes, starting in Windsor and then transferring to Highgrove House, where she is now living having moved back from Scotland. The duke, 99, will arrive to the sound of four buglers, and the Assistant Colonel Commandant, Major General Tom Copinger-Symes, will salute him to thank him for 67 years of service The Rifles, and their forming and antecedent Regiments. The Rifles has only existed in its current form since 2007, but Philip was Colonel-in-Chief of successive Regiments which now make up The Rifles, a role he took up in 1953. The Duchess of Cornwall, 73, took on the role of Royal Colonel of The Rifles in 2007. Read more: Arise Sir Tom: Captain Tom Moore knighted by Queen in private ceremony Following the salute on Wednesday, the buglers will play the No More Parades call, which marks Philips final ceremony. As that happens, the ceremony will transfer to Highgrove House, the residence of the Duke and Duchess of Cornwall in Tetbury, Gloucestershire. There, the duchess will be welcomed by four buglers, and by The Rifles Colonel Commandant, General Sir Patrick Sanders. She will meet the buglers and a small party from 4th Battalion The Rifles, and then have an audience with Gen Sanders. Camilla will continue to be the Royal Colonel as well as Colonel-in-Chief. Read more: Prince Philip thanks scientists working on COVID-19 vaccine Philip was able to attend his granddaughter's wedding. (Benjamin Wheeler/PA Wire) Since retiring in 2017, Philip has spent most of his time living on the Sandringham Estate, the royals private home in Norfolk. Story continues He has continued to be represented at events by others, but rarely carries out his own duties now. He issued a rare statement during the coronavirus pandemic to thank scientists working on a vaccine. He was also able to attend the wedding of his granddaughter, Princess Beatrice, to Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi which took place in Windsor on Friday. One of his engagements since his retirement involved The Rifles, as he met former commandant General Sir Nicholas Carter and new commandant General Sanders in June last year, at Windsor Castle. The Rifles currently has battalions on deployment in Afghanistan, the Middle East, Estonia, Cyprus and working on the UKs COVID-19 response. New analysis shows that while the survivability of wounds on the battlefield has steadily improved for United States service members since World War II, there were several increases that bucked that trend during subsequent conflicts. By understanding these bumps and making steps to improve readiness between conflicts, troops' lives could be saved in the future. These insights were published in a special supplement of the Journal of Trauma and Acute Care Surgery focusing on the military. "This shows us the big picture of combat casualty outcomes from the beginning of World War II through the modern era, and, at the same time, it also provides significant details on the month-to-month outcomes in each individual war," said the supplement's editor and this study's first author, Jeremy Cannon, MD, the Trauma medical director and section chief of Trauma, as well as an associate professor of Surgery at Penn Medicine. "In all, this is good news because our outcomes have improved significantly over time. However, we see that there is still work to be done--specifically in identifying specific areas for improvement and in keeping our medical corps ready for the next conflict." The researchers examined several different metrics for this study: the case fatality rate (CFR)--a measure of the total lethality of the battlefield, which is determined by dividing the total number of combat deaths by the number of combat deaths and combat wounded; the killed in action (KIA) rate-- the percentage of combatants who died before hospitalization; and the died of wounds (DOW) rate--the percentage of those wounded who died after receiving hospital-level care. Four different conflicts were studied, each required to be at least three years long to properly assess the data: World War II, the Korean War, and Vietnam War, with Operations Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan conflict) and Iraqi Freedom assessed separately as well as together. Since the start of World War II, the researchers found significant gains across two of their measures. The combat fatality rate fell from 55 to 12 percent between the start of World War II and the most recent conflicts, as did the KIA rate (52 to 5 percent). These were all numbers that confirmed historic studies looking at the big picture. However, as the research team dove into the month-to-month outcomes of each conflict, they found instances of major spikes in mortality amid conflicts. In the case of Vietnam, for example, extremely low rates of fatality in the middle of the conflict, approximately 19 percent, rose to 63 percent during the last stages of the war. Cannon and his co-authors have speculated that factors like poor compliance with body armor use and withdrawal of medical assets despite continued combat may have contributed, but this finding also represents an important area for further analysis. Additionally, the start of each conflict they studied exhibited higher than expected fatality rates, given what was achieved in the previous war. This was determined by examining something called the "observed to expected mortality ratio," which takes the lowest sustained case fatality rate from the previous conflict and makes it the benchmark for the next. The reasoning for this number is the belief that progress made in a previous war should carry over to the next. In practice, this study showed that is not universally the case. In every conflict studied, at some point during the first and even into the second year, fatality rates exceeded the previous conflict's best numbers. Rates for U.S. troops in the first year of World War II and Vietnam were more than triple the expected rate through significant parts of the first year, and Operation Enduring Freedom was twice that of the previous conflict at one point. Although the Korean War stayed close to the expected fatality rate through most of its first two years, it did begin above the benchmark and actually closed its second year above it as well. The authors called these unexpected increases "the peacetime effect." "Most major conflicts are separated by a number of years and, in many ways, you're starting from scratch at the beginning of each conflict," Cannon explained. "In the time between wars, those with deployment experience move off into civilian practice, and the lessons learned fade from the military's collective memory. Then, when the next conflict does occur, many medical personnel have never deployed before and many also aren't as versed in military history and the experiences of others." Something else the researchers discovered that was not expected was that the DOW rate stayed roughly the same across all earlier conflicts, until the recent wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, when it increased. "Why specifically did the rate of death increase after casualties reached the hospital?" Cannon questioned. "Although this may be an artifact of being able to more rapidly transport those with worse wounds in the modern era, this finding needs to be examined more closely." Cannon believes that these phenomena could use further studying to better uncover their triggers. But he has an idea that involves using civilian hospitals as training grounds for military personnel to help solve the lapses in fatality after interwar periods. "Busy trauma centers across the U.S. and even internationally can provide a robust surrogate experience for military teams in clinical care," Cannon explained. "At the same time, research advances that benefit both civilian and military trauma victims can also continue during peacetime in these busy civilian centers." ### Other Penn authors on this study include Daniel Holena, MD; Zhi Geng, MD; Yanlan Huang, Wei Yang, PhD; and C. William Schwab, MD. Los Angeles County Officials Trace COVID-19 Escalation to Group Gatherings on July 4 Monday, July 20 Los Angeles Public Officials shared updates on the outbreak of COVID-19. Community leadership stressed the dangers in escalation in positive cases and community transmission found in the last few weeks, Los Angeles is on the cusp of another mandated Safer at Home Order. The L.A. Director of Public Health Dr. Barbara Ferrer shared the latest numbers surrounding the community transmission. The results are showing the root cause of the escalation stems from gatherings that happened during the Fourth of July weekend. Chairwoman of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors Kathryn Barger stated that recent rise in positive cases can be linked to events that took place on July 4, results in spread show up 2-3 weeks after a person has contracted the virus. We cannot stress this enough; we need everyone to do their part and adhere to all the guidelines public health officials have put in place to keep Los Angeles county safe. The need for testing has been amplified, the county plans to meet the demands by mobile and pop-up testing sites. Tests are prioritized to those who are most susceptible to the virus. The cases of hospitalization are on the rise, public officials emphasize the reservation of tests for groups of people that would have the most severe infection if they were to contract the virus. They expressed that staying at home is crucial during these times of uncertainty. Latest numbers surrounding coronavirus shared on July 20, reflected 9 additional deaths, six of these individuals were between the ages of 65 and over, four of them with underlining health conditions. Two people who died were between the ages of 41-65, one victim had preexisting health concerns, this brings the total COVID-19 related deaths in the L.A. County to 4,104. ADVERTISEMENT The relationship between COVID-19 infection and ethnicity were provided. The racial background collected from 3,820 fatal cases shown 11% were African American, 15% were Asian, slightly less than 1% were Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander, 47% were LatinX, 26% were white, and 1% identified as a different race or ethnicity. 93% of those who died due to COVID-19 had preexisting health concerns. Ferrer disclosed on Monday, there were 3,160 new COVID-19 reports. In summary, there is a total amount of 159,045 coronavirus cases in the Los Angeles region. 6,445 incidents were reported in the city of Long Beach and 1,700 cases in the city of Pasadena. Amid the unsheltered, there were 916 positive cases, 314 victims were temporarily housed in a shelter and have been properly isolated. The Los Angeles Public Health department continues to monitor and stay in line with state orders throughout this pandemic, there has been concerning spikes in multiple measurements including hospitalization, community transmission, and death rates. Under the new course of direction, the economy is left vulnerable and in critical condition. Last week Mayor Eric Garcetti announced ten-million dollars has been funneled to the L.A. Regional COVID-19 Team Recovery Program. As previously stated, with recent shutdowns, small businesses are at high risk of not being able to keep afloat during this time. Garcetti announced another step forward in helping local businesses and their staff by providing funds, to help solidify their footing during the waves of closing and reopening of the economy. (Newser) President Trump, apparently undaunted by the failure of last year's effort to add a citizenship question to the census, is taking another shot at narrowing its definition of "persons." In a memo issued Tuesday, Trump called for undocumented immigrants to be excluded from the count when determining congressional reapportionmentthe redistribution of House seats based on population changes, reports the AP. "Respect for the law and protection of the integrity of the democratic process warrant the exclusion of illegal aliens from the apportionment base," the memo said, per the Los Angeles Times. The move is expected to face immediate court challengesand since two-thirds of US households have already responded to the census, which did not include a citizenship question, it's not entirely clear how the order could be enforced. story continues below NBC News reports that, per the memo, Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross is instructed to supply Trump with data on undocumented immigrants so that the president can subtract that number from the census tally provided by officials. On Tuesday, Trump accused the "radical left" of trying to "conceal the number of illegal aliens." Article 1, Section 2 of the Constitution calls for an "actual Enumeration" of "all persons" living in the country. The Supreme Court blocked Trump's attempt to add a citizenship question last year, calling the administration's reasoning "contrived." The census count determines the number of congressional districts per state, as well as the distribution of around $675 billion in federal funding. (Neil Young, who moved to the US illegally in 1966, finally became a citizen this year.) Newburyport police are investigating a possible hate crime after a man accosted a group of young teenagers by shouting a racial expletive, while the middle school-aged students were handing out free doughnut holes last week police said. On July 16, Newburport police responded to State Street for a report of a verbal dispute. Officers were met by a woman who told them a man confronted a group of young teenagers, who had purchased doughnut holes at a local store and were handing them out in the area, police said. The man drove away after making the remark, police said. Over the course of the investigation, police were able to watch cell phone video that shows portions of the incident, authorities said. Police have identified the suspect after a witness also provided them with a complete license plate for the suspects vehicle, though, the investigation is ongoing, police said. The Newburyport Police Department said it will will consult with the Essex District Attorneys Office on whether the incident meets the standard for a hate crime crime. The Newburyport Police Department is actively investigating this incident, using all resources at our disposal, City Marshal Mark Murray said. We do not tolerate acts of racism or bias in our community, and we will pursue this investigation, wherever the facts take us. Related Content: The Pennsylvania Department of Health reported 1,027 new coronavirus cases Tuesday, raising the statewide total to 102,765. This is the third time in July the state has reported more than 1,000 cases. Pennsylvania went about two months without reaching 1,000 new cases in a single day (from May 10-July 9). The state has averaged 870 new daily cases over the past seven days, according to health department data. In mid-June, the health department was reporting around 500 new cases each day. Across Pennsylvania, 7,038 deaths have been tied to COVID-19, including 20 newly reported fatalities Tuesday, according to the health department. About two-thirds of the states coronavirus deaths have occurred in long-term care facilities, such as nursing homes. Gov. Tom Wolf and Health Secretary Dr. Rachel Levine have both expressed concern about the recent uptick in cases in recent weeks. Fewer people are dying or requiring hospital treatment than in the spring, but health officials are worried about the rise of infections among younger adults. The Wolf administration is also worried about the trend of rising cases going into the fall, particularly as schools are slated to reopen in late August, or early September in some cases. A closer look The number of new cases remains well below the peak in April, when the state regularly reported more than 1,000 new cases each day. The peak of 1,989 new cases was reported April 9. Nonetheless, health department statistics show the rise in cases over the past four weeks. June 24-30: 3,910 new cases, an average of 558 per day July 1-7: 4,693 new cases, an average of 670 per day July 8-14: 5,372 new cases, an average of 767 per day July 15-21: 6,094 new cases, an average of 870 per day The health department said it is especially concerned about the increases among young adults, with more cases being reported among those 19-24 years old. The state has conducted 155,796 COVID-19 tests between July 14 and July 20. The health department said 22,287 tests were conducted Monday as of 10 p.m. Since the pandemic began, 952,998 people have tested negative. Hospitals and recovery The health department reports 706 COVID-19 patients are in hospitals, well below the 2,800 hospitalized during the spring. But just under 600 patients were in hospitals earlier this month. Most of those infected endure relatively mild symptoms and can recover at home, but seniors and those with other health issues can suffer more serious complications and require hospitalization. The health department estimates 75 percent of those in Pennsylvania who have been infected have recovered. The department considers individuals to have recovered when they are 30 days beyond the date of infection or the onset of symptoms. Statewide, 7,619 health care workers have been infected with the coronavirus. Nursing homes Across Pennsylvania, 4,809 deaths have occurred in residents from nursing or personal care facilities, according to the health department. The department said 18,789 residents in long-term care facilities have been infected, along with 3,647 employees. A total of 22,436 people in those facilities have contracted COVID-19. Cases have been found at 798 long-term care facilities in 60 counties. More from PennLive Pa. targeted mitigation order FAQs: What counts as a meal at a bar? How it applies to weddings, schools, more No end in sight to coronavirus, Fauci tells doctors at Philadelphia conference The RV industry sees astronomical sales after state shutdown: Its Bonkers Heres a look at back-to-schools plans unveiled by central Pa. school districts Pa. passes 100,000 coronavirus cases: What have we learned along the way? NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Two thought leaders from Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. will host a webinar for the Community of Legal Interns (CLI) Tipping the Scales Summer Webinar Series. The webinar, taking place on Thursday, July 23, will focus on the findings of the 2020 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey: Performance Drivers, providing valuable insights on the factors impacting the transformation of the legal industry. Earlier this year, Wolters Kluwer conducted the 2020 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey: Performance Drivers to assess future readiness and resilience in the legal sector. The survey includes insights from 700 legal professionals across the U.S. and nine European countries and examines ongoing trends in the legal sector and how well-prepared organizations are to drive higher performance. In the upcoming webinar, Nicole Pinard, Vice President & General Manager of Legal Education at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. and Ken Crutchfield, Vice President and General Manager of Legal Markets at Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. will discuss findings from the study, including key observations on COVID-19's impacts on legal professionals. Pinard will share how the survey findings affect law school students and graduates, while Crutchfield will examine how the study's results impact corporate legal departments. "We are pleased to participate in CLI's Tipping the Scales Summer Webinar Series to discuss technology's impacts on the legal profession," said Pinard. "We are looking forward to fostering a conversation on how to better prepare law school students for a legal career in the years to come." "We are excited to share results from the 2020 Wolters Kluwer Future Ready Lawyer Survey as part of this webinar series," said Crutchfield. "The survey offers valuable insights into the drivers that are transforming the legal profession, and we are pleased to share perspectives on the findings for law students and recent law school graduates as well as for professionals in corporate legal departments." The webinar will take place on Thursday, July 23 at 12 PM ET. To register for the CLI's Tipping the Scales Summer Webinar Series, including the "Lecture 2.20 Future Ready Lawyer," click here. With a mission of educating, empowering, and establishing future leaders in the rapidly evolving legal landscape, CLI is an award-winning summer curriculum that aims at creating a community-based movement to connect a legal ecosystem committed to increasing diversity, inclusion, and innovation. About Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Wolters Kluwer (WKL) is a global leader in professional information, software solutions, and services for the healthcare; tax and accounting; governance, risk and compliance; and legal and regulatory sectors. We help our customers make critical decisions every day by providing expert solutions that combine deep domain knowledge with advanced technology and services. Wolters Kluwer reported 2019 annual revenues of 4.6 billion. The group serves customers in over 180 countries, maintains operations in over 40 countries, and employs approximately 19,000 people worldwide. The company is headquartered in Alphen aan den Rijn, the Netherlands. For more information about Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S., visit www.WoltersKluwerLR.com, follow us on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. MEDIA CONTACT: Linda Gharib Director, Communications Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Tel: +1 (646) 887-7962 Email: [email protected] SOURCE Wolters Kluwer Legal & Regulatory U.S. Related Links http://www.wolterskluwerlr.com/ Tottenham and Ivorian defender, Serge Aurier has opened up on the death of his brother after he was shot dead this week in Toulouse, France. Christopher Aurier, 26, was shot in the stomach outside a nightclub in Toulouse on the Boulevard de Thibaud around 5 am on Monday morning, July 13. He was pronounced dead at Toulouse University Hospital. Less than 48 hours after the incident, a suspect in the murder case turned himself into Police on Tuesday evening and admitted to murdering the 26-year-old. READ ALSO Suspect In Killing Of Serge Auriers Brother Hands Himself In To Police Advertisement Speaking to French publication La Depeche, Aurier said: It was 7am. I was in bed at home when a friend sent me the image of a tweet. I asked if he was with his girlfriend. But he had come home and gone out. I had to quickly tell my mother and anticipate it. I stayed in bed all day without moving. It has been a difficult day. I met one of the friends who was with him. Its a girl story. He was talking to an ex from a long time ago. Her new boyfriend wanted him to stop. Christopher did not answer. He ignored him. The guy went to buy food. He came back and shot him. His friend is a brave man. Its hard to be with someone and see them dead the next second. I told him not to be angry. It was his day. Health Minister: Ongoing Wrexham confirmed cases linked to relatively closed community of people connected to Rowan Foods This article is old - Published: Tuesday, Jul 21st, 2020 Wales Health Minister today said the reason there has been no wider sustained community transmission in Wrexham is that new reported cases could be connected to some of the community that works within Rowan Foods. Yesterday saw Wrexham rank top yet again for new confirmed cases, with six, a position it has regularly held in Wales. In the last 21 days Wrexham has seen 103 confirmed cases out of the 400 total in Wales, the next highest being Flintshire with 38 cases. That pattern continues for the more recent reporting timeframes from Public Health Wales at 14 and 7 days. The local outbreak reports have not shown significant increases, and have said there has been no spread to the wider community. Today we noted the figure of six, one less than the entire of Scotland for the same reporting period, and asked Health Minister Vaughan Gething for his understanding of the local ongoing figures and if he had detail on if the confirmed cases were in care homes, hospital, or community transmission. Mr Gething replied: I think the comparison with any other part of Wales or the UK is difficult when we have such very, very low numbers. I indicated at the start, even with cases in Wrexham, our overall total other positivity rate is 0.2 per cent with the figures on Sunday, and so we actually do have very low levels of transmission within Wales and thats a real success story. Within Wrexham though, we dont think they are sustained community transmission. We dont think its been driven by care homes in themselves but of course, we continue to test on a weekly basis care homes in Wales, and if, transmission rates remain very low, well move to a to weekly cycle of regular care home testing. We do think though, that there is an issue of transmission within some of the community that works within Rowan Foods. So its a relatively closed community. Thats why we havent seen sustained transmission. I am still concerned, we get on top of that, and that people take the advice and support thats available, and theyre able to effectively self isolate. Its why Im so concerned about houses of multiple occupancy, because there are people almost always have shared facilities, whether in a house converted for bed sits, or indeed, in something more like a caravan. Thats very difficult for people to self isolate so the opportunities for transmission between people and surfaces is there. But were still in a position where we dont have evidence of sustained community transmission, and that is because even within Wrexham, we are not seeing numbers go up in the way that they would do if you had the sort of scenarios that are driving concern in Leicester, Blackburn and other places within England. We also asked about a new report from the Welsh Parliaments Health Committee, that has a range of recommendations relating to the pandemic response in Wales. One discusses the merits of contact tracing starting when symptomatic, however notes that might not be practical in the winter. We asked the minister about the 24 hour test result recommendation, and if he would be looking at the recommendation that would see contact tracing beginning either on receipt of a positive test, or within 24 hours. Mr Gething said: Im obviously reviewing the recommendations from the committee from the report. When it comes to the advice were receiving, of course, as well as the health committee having a view weve got very clear advice from all four chief medical officers and that is they would like to see us move to a system of either concentrating on symptom, or within a time period. So not the recommendation the health committee have chosen to make, but the recommendation of the four medical officers, and in particular our chief medical officer here in Wales. As I indicated earlier, were in a position where we are getting to high proportions of people already within 24 hours, 80 per cent of index cases within 24 hours, 74 per cent of contacts within 24 hours as well. So we already have an effective system, Im looking to see that build up as we know therell be more stress and pressure as we expect more people with coronavirus-like symptoms through the autumn and going into the winter. There will be more pressure on tests, and then a greater need to see people actually successfully follow up and contacted. If you contact on symptoms, then actually in the autumn or winter you are going to have a very large number of people who dont have Coronavirus who are going to be asked to isolate under that model. Now that would be really disruptive, and part of my concern is if that was the model that we adopted, Id be really concerned that people could have fatigue about being asked to isolate again and again and again. Actually we need people to take seriously advice a given by the NHS Wales test trace protects service to self isolate. That means we need to underscore that, I think, with a positive test result, that means that people are asked to isolate because theyve had a test result that was positive or close contact of theirs has. The Welsh Government ended its daily lunchtime briefings last week, now moving to a regular Tuesday ministerial briefing along with a First Minister briefing on the Friday of the regular 21 day regulation updates. It was mentioned last week there had been 97 daily briefings during the pandemic (with Wrexham.com attending all but a handful, with some noticeable absentees) and they would be resumed if there was a future uptick in the pandemic. You can view todays briefing, and Q&A session on the below video: The provocation committed by Armenia on July 12 in the direction of Azerbaijan's Tovuz in the Azerbaijani-Armenian border was pre-planned, assistant to Azerbaijan's President - head of the Foreign Policy Department of the Presidential Administration Hikmat Hajiyev said at the press conference today. He stressed that unlike Armenia, Azerbaijani armed forces never shell civilian objects, Trend reported. Hikmat Hajiyev also stressed that Armenia, creating illegal companies, is engaged in provision of weapons to the "black market". Commenting on the OSCE Minsk Group activity, he said that Azerbaijan is not going to participate in the imitated negotiations on the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. "The mandate envisions holding negotiations, guided by international principles, the Helsinki Final Act and UN Security Council resolutions," Hajiyev said. The assistant to Azerbaijans president also stressed that the Azerbaijani side expects from the Minsk Group co-chairs to multiply their efforts and intensify the negotiations. Hajiyev said that 11 states are participating in the Minsk process, and it is necessary to hold an extended meeting with the participation of all the states. Spokesperson for the Azerbaijani Ministry of Foreign Affairs Leyla Abdullayeva said that the events of July 12 are a military provocation, an act of terrorism committed by Armenia. Head of the press office of Azerbaijans Defense Ministry, Colonel Vagif Dargahli, in turn, said that Armenia first began to fire at the positions of the Azerbaijani army and settlements on July 12 using large-caliber machine guns, and then shelled them from heavy artillery. Fertility clinics are alien places at the best of times. How did I get here, I wonder while sitting in the waiting room. I don't feel grown-up enough. Surely it was only yesterday that I passed my driving test? They've become stranger still during lockdown. On my first trip back to the hospital in May, to see if I could restart an earlier, aborted cycle of egg freezing, I smiled at a couple beginning a round of IVF. But it's hard to tell if someone's smiling at you from behind a mask, and the husband quickly looked away. It made the clinic seem even colder and I felt a pang of sadness; at least they had one another. I was on my own. My friend's decision to freeze her eggs made me think about whether I should consider it myself. Credit:Getty I started mulling over the idea of freezing my eggs two years ago, when I was 33. My boyfriend and I had recently split up and, a month later, I took a friend to the hospital for her egg-freezing operation. This is what happens at the end of a cycle: after weeks of injecting your stomach with hormones, you pitch up early one morning for a general anaesthetic, before a surgeon pokes a needle through your vaginal wall to hoover the eggs from your ovaries. Hopefully, a good number of eggs, instead of the single one we women mature every month; that's what the hormones are supposed to encourage. Operation over, you go home the same day while the eggs go into the freezer for up to 10 years, waiting to be fertilised as and when you're ready to try for a baby. If an artist were to draw a caricature of the average Republican congressman, Colorados Scott Tipton would fill the canvas. Hes a genial politician, sixty-three years old, who built a career on such standard GOP issues as opposing Obamacare, climate change science, and Trumps impeachment. He has benefited from huge ad buys by tax-cutter Grover Norquist. He kept a low profile in his five terms in Congress. The Onion satirized his obscurity in a 2019 piece, Poll Finds 100% of Americans Blame Shutdown Entirely on Colorado Rep. Scott Tipton. So why would Tiptons primary opponent run an ad grouping him with The Squads Ilhan Omar and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez? Because that candidate is Lauren Boebert, a telegenic, gun-toting restaurateur and political newcomer from Rifle, Colorado, who stunned the state when she shellacked Tipton in the GOP primary in late June. Boeberts style of politics is well suited to this media moment, even if it seems at odds with Colorados Third District, which takes in the western half of the state and the southern city of Pueblo. Its a moderately conservative district that has elected Republican and Democratic congressmen over the years, the best known being Ben Nighthorse Campbell, a Native American who was a member of both parties and later served as a US senator. Boeberts growing fame presents problems for the states press corps, hobbled by covid-19 restrictions and staff cutsparticularly given her reliance on talk radio, social media, and conservative national outlets like Breitbart. She is running on a Trump playbook, says Charles Ashby, a reporter at the Grand Junction Daily Sentinel who has been covering Colorado politics for twenty-five years. Shes calling out rinos and AOC and the Democratic agenda. Her candidacy raises many of the same issues that dog journalists covering national politics. Whats going to get you more circulation is covering the cult of personality, says Mario Nicolais, a Denver lawyer who has worked on state and national GOP campaigns and writes a column for the Colorado Sun. If youre doing truly responsible journalism, Id push the issues. But youre not going to get a lot out of her. The candidates website makes Nicolaiss point. On her homepage, she promises, in boldface capital letters, that she is PRO-FREEDOM, PRO-GUNS, PRO-CONSTITUTION, PRO-ENERGY, PRO-LIFE, PRO-AMERICA and that she will TELL ALL THE LEFT-WING LUNATICS WE DONT WANT MORE GOVERNMENT CONTROL, WE WANT OUR FREEDOM! Theres also a single-page contract with Colorado that features short, boilerplate bromides on guns, abortion, and school choice. Her Democratic opponent, Diane Mitsch Bush, is a former sociology professor and legislator whose site features an On the Issues page with more detailed plans on such issues as public lands and climate and racial and social justice. Sign up for CJR 's daily email Boebert got her first shot at national prominence in 2014, when ABCs Nightline ran a seven-minute segment on her restaurant, Shooters Grill, where the waitresses carry guns. (Boebert has since claimed that Nightline called her place the safest restaurant in America, though those words dont appear in the video or accompanying story.) But she didnt start rising on the political scene until last September, when she drove about two hundred miles to the Denver suburb of Aurora on a Thursday to confront thenpresidential candidate Beto ORourke over his plans for mandatory buybacks of automatic weapons. As ORourke was holding forth, Boebert walked to the front of the crowd, a Glock on her belt, and declared: I have four children. Im five-foot-zero, one hundred pounds, I cant really defend myself with a fist. All youre going to do is restrict law-abiding citizens. And then she took one more swipe: We all know you have a criminal history, apparently referring to ORourkes 1988 DUI arrest. The video was electric. Gun-rights activist Colion Noir featured it on his Facebook page, with 1.4 million followers. Conservative talk show host Glenn Beck played it too, gushing: Did you see the woman who approached Beto and said Hell, no, youre not taking my gun? Pat Gray, Becks cohost, praised Boebert for how she walked right into a hostile crowd of Beto supporters and took the microphone and stood her ground. Pretty impressive. Boebert announced her campaign three months later and didnt even mention Tipton in her initial press release. She had another opponent in mind: Every time AOC and the rest of the Squad pipes up with another crazy idea I will remind them that our belief in God, Country and Family are what built the United States of America into the greatest nation the world has ever known. Local media took the bait, with one newspaper headlining her candidacy: Boebert Aims to Be the Conservative AOC. A few days later, Steve Doocy was featuring her on Fox and Friends. As the campaign geared up in early 2020, reporters faced problems. covid-19 restrictions kept them glued to their computers and spurred additional newsroom cutbacks. So while Boebert could command attention with her growing national prominence, the states press corps was less equipped than usual to scrutinize the candidate. The Third Congressional District is far away from Denver, said Ernest Luning, a reporter for Colorado Politics who has been covering the state for a dozen years. Since March we havent been out traveling at all. Its all done remotely. Through the campaign, Boebert took shots at Tipton, particularly over legislation that many Colorado farmers wanted, to provide a steadier flow of immigrant labor. But she was also spending a lot of time on talk radio, being interviewed by friendly hosts. Part of Boeberts political skill is figuring out how to personalize big issuesnot just guns, as she did with ORourke, but even the coronavirus. Among the hardest-hit areas in the beginning of the pandemic were ski resorts in western Colorado, leading the governor to impose a statewide shutdown. But infection rates were lower in the county where Boebert operates her restaurant. In early May, she defied health orders and reopened her Shooters Grill to in-person dining, telling Luning that our livelihoods are on the line and we need to take action. The county quickly closed her down, and Boebert was on air within days. Did you ever think that in your lifetime you would be labeled defiant simply because you want to run your business in a responsible manner? asked Gail Fallen, a host for KFKA, an AM station in northern Colorado. No, replied Boebert. Flattening the curve turned into communism very quickly. The issue turned out to be a great PR opportunity, wrote Jason Salzman, a progressive journalist and commentator who has covered politics and media in Colorado for fifteen years. She was the star of her own populist story, thrilling far-right Republicans who listen to talk radio shows and populate her sprawling district. Boebert also took the fight more directly to Tipton, particularly on Twitter, where by Election Day she had about four times as many followers as he did. Like Trumps, her tweets were sometimes more strident than accurate. Scott Tipton votes with the Democrats every chance he gets, tweeted Boebert, even though the incumbent lines up with Trump for about 95 percent of his votes. rino Scott Tipton became a standard catchphrase. (Boeberts spokesperson declined to comment.) And Tipton barely responded to Boeberts taunts, despite sitting on a Complete and Total Endorsement from Trump and a cash hoard of more than $725,000. Through all of this, Scott Tipton was doing nothing, said Luning. His campaign didnt do any pushback. Their approach was to ignore her, which turned out not to be very smart. That caused another problem for reporters, given how much the press depends on candidates push and pull to animate political coverage. When one candidate is punching and the other is trying to hover above the fray, stories are deprived of the oxygen of conflict. Theres one area where Boebert has been scrutinizedher flirtation with the fringe QAnon conspiracy group. A QAnon supporter asked her in May if she knew about the movement. Im very familiar with it, Boebert responded. Everything Ive heard of Q, I hope that this is real, because it only means America is getting stronger and better. (Her campaign later told Denver Post reporter Jon Murray that while Boebert thinks theres a deep-state conspiracy against Trump, I dont follow QAnon.) On election night, June 30, Boebert won by more than nine percentage points, and the local press corps was as fooled as the national, recalls Salzman. The press was aware of Boebert because of her PR skills, but there was no indication she would win. And even though she has, in Mitsch Bush, a Democratic opponent whos her opposite in almost every way, Boebert continues to make her campaign national. Mitsch Bushs name doesnt appear in her published statements or on Boeberts Facebook or Twitter feeds. Ten days after the election, she is still portraying Ocasio-Cortez as her opponent. Now that Boebert is facing the general election with a more engaged opponent, reporters see an openingbut also a challengenot to let Boebert become, in Lunings words, the shiny object. As he noted, Its going to be a lot easier to cover Lauren. Shell be making a lot of news. Whats news is whats new. Ashby, known as the dean of the state capitols press corps, is hard on himselfoffering the kind of candor and self-reflection we rarely see in political journalism. Speaking of Boebert, he says, I didnt do enough in the primary to vet her. Thats partly because of covid. And I had the legislative session going on. Were short-staffed. I just dont have the wherewithal to do everything Id like to do. Still, he adds, I should have done more to know more about her. What I did was poor, given hindsight. Ashby said that wont affect how hell cover the race between now and November. My intent is to cover it straight, he says. Boeberts national stature doesnt have any impact on me. Youre a candidate, and now I get to do my job. Editors Note: The authors brother, Mark Grueskin, is a Denver attorney who often represents clients affiliated with the Democratic Party. He is not involved in the District 3 race. Correction: An earlier version of this post included an imprecise quote. Boeberts campaign told the Denver Post she did not follow QAnon, not that she did not believe in it. Has America ever needed a media watchdog more than now? Help us by joining CJR today Bill Grueskin is on the faculty at Columbia Journalism School. He has previously worked as founding editor of a newspaper on the Standing Rock Sioux Indian Reservation, city editor of the Miami Herald, deputy managing editor of the Wall Street Journal, and an executive editor at Bloomberg News. He is a graduate of Stanford University (Classics) and Johns Hopkinss School of Advanced International Studies (US Foreign Policy and International Economics). Topological photonics underpins a promising paradigm for robust light manipulation and smart design of optical devices with improved reliability and advanced functionalities governed by the nontrivial band topology. Nanostructures made of high-index dielectric materials with judiciously designed resonant elements and lattice arrangements show special promise for implementation of topological order for light at the nanoscale and optical on-chip applications. High-index dielectrics such as III-V semiconductors that can contain strong optical gain further enhanced by topological field localization form a promising platform for active topological nanophotonics. In a new paper published in Light Science & Application, a team of scientists, led by Yuri Kivshar from the Australian National University and Hong-Gyu Park from the Korea University, and co-workers have implemented nanophotonic cavities in a nanopatterned InGaAsP membrane incorporating III-V semiconductor quantum wells. The nanocavities exhibit a photonic analogue of valley-Hall effect. Researchers demonstrated room-temperature low-threshold lasing from a cavity mode hosted within the topological bandgap of the structure. The SEM image of the fabricated structure and experimental results are shown in Figure. The cavity is based on the closed valley-Hall domain wall created by inversion of staggering nanoholes sizes in a bipartite honeycomb lattice. In the topological bandgap frequency range, the cavity supports a quantized spectrum of modes confined to the domain wall. The images show real-space emission profiles below and above the threshold. The scientists explain: "In experiment, we first observe spontaneous emission from the cavity. The emission profile shows the enhancement along the entire perimeter of the triangular cavity associated with edge states. When increasing a pump power, we observe a threshold transition to lasing with a narrow linewidth where the emission gets confined at the three corners." When two spots are isolated, coherence of the emission is confirmed by interference fringes observed in the measured far-field radiation patterns. An isolated corner emits a donut-shaped beam carrying a singularity. These findings make a step towards topologically controlled ultrathin light sources with nontrivial radiation characteristics. The researchers forecast: "The proposed all-dielectric platform holds promise for the versatile design of active topological metasurfaces with integrated light sources. Such topological nanocavities have vast potential for advances in nonlinear nanophotonics, low-power nanolasing and cavity quantum electrodynamics". ### THE owners of a "much-loved" Dublin play centre say they are devastated after they were forced to close their business just over five years after starting out. Malahide Play Centre said that a range of factors led to the decision, including the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic, ongoing personal injury claims and the fact its insurer refused to pay out for business interruption during the current crisis. Parents and customers commented in their droves on social media about the closure. One said: "My three-year-old was never a great fan of play centres but he adored yours and would be racing to get in every time. We will really miss it". More than 15 locals - including college students and mothers looking to return to part-time work - were employed at the centre. Owner Kate Fitzmaurice said the decision was made with a "heavy heart", but she felt the business was no longer viable in the current climate. "Up until last year, our insurance had doubled every year," she told the Herald. "This year we got a good surprise in that it was the first year we saw our premium come down. We thought this was a good sign, but then Covid came. "In terms of reopening, we looked at the restrictions and guidelines and our big focus was creating experiences for families and children that were safe, that we felt were of the best standard, but when we factored in everything we just didn't think it was sustainable. Claim "On our Facebook page, there's over 200 comments with disappointed customers and parents, and what really hit us hard is we know we're letting a lot of children down. Our business was great when it came to caring for children with special needs and we had parents say it was the one place their kids found they were comfortable." Ms Fitzmaurice said it was incredibly frustrating when the insurer refused to pay out on a business interruption claim. "How a pandemic can't be defined as legitimate business interruption, I will ever know," she said. There are a number of injury claims pending against the play centre which also affected its insurance. "I don't want to dishearten anyone, everyone's decision is their own, there are lots of play centres that have reopened and I wish them the best of luck," she added. "For us, it hasn't just been about Covid, but ultimately it did force us into the position of realising we are no longer viable." Advertisement Britain must face up to Moscow after 'badly underestimating' the Russian threat for years, MPs warned last night. In a devastating and long-awaited report, they said the UK took its 'eye off the ball' as the Kremlin waged a campaign of hacking, disinformation and political meddling. London nicknamed 'Londongrad' has become a 'laundromat' for dirty Russian money, with Putin-linked elites able to act with 'impunity', the review concluded. The shocking scale of Russian infiltration in Britain was laid bare in the 48-page report by Parliament's intelligence and security committee. Its scathing critique came as sources said the Home Office was planning an overhaul of security laws to crack down on spies, saboteurs and hackers. British Prime Minister Boris Johnson (C-L) speaks with Russian President Vladimir Putin (C-R) during the International Libya Conference in Berlin, Germany, 19 January 2020 Chair of the committee Julian Lewis (centre) with members Kevan Jones and Stuart Hosie - Russia sees the UK as one of its 'top targets' in the West, according to the Intelligence and Security Committee A formal 'register of foreign agents' will make it illegal to secretly work for a foreign power to undermine the UK, the insiders said. The report's publication yesterday nine months after it was cleared for release by spies led to calls from all political parties for ministers to get tougher on Moscow. The MPs and lords on the committee said Russian oligarchs had penetrated to the heart of British democracy by donating to political parties and hiring peers for their business interests. They warned that ministers needed to 'attach a cost' to President Vladimir Putin's actions and take 'immediate action'. The report described Russian influence in the UK as 'the new normal' and said any measures now taken by the Government would merely constitute 'damage limitation'. The report much of which was redacted for national security reasons also exposes how: Peers with business links to Russia are at risk of being exploited by the Kremlin; Lawyers, accountants, estate agents and PR professionals working for wealthy Russians have, wittingly or not, become 'de facto agents of the Russian state'; The UK government failed to investigate alleged Russian meddling in the 2016 Brexit referendum; Russia used its 'sophisticated' cyber capabilities to target the Foreign Office and the top secret Porton Down military laboratory in Wiltshire soon after the 2018 Salisbury poisonings; Social media companies have not done enough to remove covert material posted by hostile states, and the Government should 'name and shame' them; The UK is one of Russia's 'top Western intelligence targets' for disinformation and political influence operations. Russian President Vladimir Putin at a meeting in Kerch, in the Crimea, on Monday. he UK is one of Russia's 'top Western intelligence targets' for disinformation and political influence operations, according to the report In response to the report, Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab said Russia was a top national security priority and the UK was prepared to 'call out' Moscow over issues such as cyber-attacks. Speaking at a press conference alongside US secretary of state Mike Pompeo, Mr Raab said: 'We are not for a second complacent about the threat Russia poses when it comes to cyber.' But the ISC said that 'until recently, the Government had badly underestimated the Russian threat and the response it required'. It noted there was an 'inherent tension between the Government's prosperity agenda and the need to protect national security'. Shadow Home Secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said that 'on every level, the Government's response does not appear to be equal to the threat'. Tobias Ellwood, Tory chairman of the Commons defence committee, said Britain needed to up its game on cyber-warfare. He added: 'If this is the new battlefield we need to upgrade our 21st century offensive and defensive capabilities so we are better protected and better armed.' 'Londongrad laundromat': Oligarch allies of Vladimir Putin have used London to wash illicit Russian money, report warns By Larisa Brown and John Stevens Oligarchs with links to the Kremlin have used London like a 'laundromat' for illicit Russian money, the report warned. Britain welcomed Putin's cronies 'with open arms' because of the cash they brought with them, the Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) said. In damning claims, the report said oligarchs had penetrated British democracy by donating to political parties and hiring peers for their businesses. MPs and peers on the ISC concluded that rich figures from Russia have turned the UK capital into 'Londongrad' by laundering their money, making Russian influence in the UK the 'new normal'. The committee said 'few questions if any were asked about the provenance of this considerable wealth'. MPs and peers on the ISC concluded that rich figures from Russia have turned the UK capital into 'Londongrad' by laundering their money, making Russian influence in the UK the 'new normal' British professionals including lawyers, accountants, estate agents and PR experts have become 'enablers' for these oligarchs and are 'de facto agents of the Russian state', whether they realise it or not. The report said: 'A lot of Russians with very close links to Putin, who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, are accepted because of their wealth.' Britain has become a 'particularly favourable destination for Russian oligarchs and their money'. Aided by the UK's 1994 investor visa scheme, Russian money poured into charities and cultural and political institutions with 'few questions if any asked about the provenance of this considerable wealth'. The ISC warned that Kremlin-linked figures have given money to British political parties in a move that could see them used to 'assist' Moscow. It did not name any of the Russians living in Britain it suspects of having close links to Mr Putin, or specify which political parties have benefited from Russian donations. The ISC said: 'Several members of the Russian elite who are closely linked to Putin are identified as being involved with charitable and/or political organisations in the UK, having donated to political parties, with a public profile which positions them to assist Russian influence operations.' The investor visa scheme, established by Sir John Major's Conservative government, offered 'ideal mechanisms by which illicit finance could be recycled through what has been referred to as the London 'laundromat'.' The report said: 'The money was also invested in extending patronage and building influence across a wide sphere of the British establishment ... contributing to a 'reputation laundering' process. 'In brief, Russian influence in the UK is 'the new normal', and there are a lot of Russians with very close links to Putin who are well integrated into the UK business and social scene, and accepted because of their wealth. This level of integration in 'Londongrad' in particular means any measures now being taken by the Government are not preventative but rather constitute damage limitation.' Responding to the report, the Government said it was determined to tackle 'dirty' money. A spokesman said: 'The UK has one of the world's largest and most open economies. These factors make the UK attractive for legitimate business, but also expose the UK to money laundering risks.' The Government added that it agreed with the ISC that 'transparency' about political donations is important. Will these Lords be forced to list dealings with Russian firms? Peers should have business links with Russia 'carefully scrutinised' to ensure they are not being exploited, Commons committee says By John Stevens Peers should have their business links with Russia 'carefully scrutinised' to ensure they are not being exploited by Vladimir Putin, the Intelligence and Security Committee has said. In its report on Russia's influence in the UK, the committee called for greater transparency about the financial interests of those in the House of Lords. It said members should have to register any individual payments of more than 100 which they receive for employment outside Parliament. Defence: Lord Mandelson (left) & Aluminium: Lord Barker Oil: Lord Skidelsky (left) and Lord Fairfax (right) The ISC, which did not name any peers, said in its report: 'It is notable that a number of members of the House of Lords have business interests linked to Russia, or work directly for major Russian companies linked to the Russian state. Oil: Lord Ponsonby 'These relationships should be carefully scrutinised, given the potential for the Russian state to exploit them.' The committee said it was important that the code of conduct for members of the House of Lords and register of interests 'provide the necessary transparency and are enforced'. According to the members' register of interests, peers with links to Russian companies include crossbencher Lord Skidelsky, a non-executive director of Russian oil refining company Russneft. Conservative peer Lord Fairfax of Cameron is a director of shipping firm Sovcomflot UK, and Labour peer Lord Ponsonby of Shulbrede is a director of Russian oil firm RNG Joint Stock Company. Former Tory energy minister Lord Barker stepped away from the Lords last year to focus on his role as chairman of aluminium giant EN+. Lord Mandelson served on the board of Russian defence conglomerate Sistema and, according to his register of interests, holds shares in it. In 2018, the House of Lords commissioner for standards launched an investigation into Lord Barker and Lord Fairfax after then-security minister Ben Wallace claimed they had 'requested government assistance for Russian associates'. Both peers were cleared of any wrongdoing. In its response to the ISC report, the Government said the code of conduct for peers was 'the responsibility of the House [of Lords] itself'. Scalding rebuke for years of naivety: EDWARD LUCAS, one of the experts who gave evidence for Russia report, presents his damning verdict on Kremlin interference By Edward Lucas As I took my seat in the spartan, bug-swept offices of the intelligence and security committee's anonymous Westminster headquarters in the summer of 2018, my excitement was tempered with trepidation. Since watching the Soviet empire collapse 30 years ago, I had been sounding the alarm about Russia's reluctance to give up its dreams of empire. Yet now the committee was launching a much-awaited, much-delayed inquiry on exactly the topics that have taken up so much of my life: the shadowy fusion of organised crime, big business and the old KGB. On that July day, I was the inquiry's first witness. The Kremlin, I explained, had refashioned the traditional Soviet tools of political espionage, adding sophisticated digital tools and all the opportunities presented by globalisation shell companies, offshore finance, cross-border trade and investment. In short, I said, Britain's response had been pitiful. A view of the Moscow Kremlin and Bolshoi Kamenny Bridge across the Moskva River Yet all those months ago, even I couldn't begin to imagine how devastating yesterday's report would be. Put to one side its dramatic calls for further investigations into the use of money, cyber-attacks and propaganda in the Brexit and Scottish independence referendums, as well as recent general elections. Even the language of the report with repeated use of words such as 'surprised' and 'disappointed' constitutes, in the careful lexicon of government, a scalding rebuke of decades of short-sightedness. For a start, the ISC explicitly highlights the way in which previous governments Labour and Conservative alike have foolishly overlooked the threat from Russia. Such naivety dates all the way back to 1994 when changes to the UK's investor visa scheme allowed holders to smoothly turn them into British passports, with all the rights those precious documents entail, including the ability to make legal donations to political parties. In no uncertain terms, the report sharply concludes that 'the key to London's appeal was the exploitation' of this scheme. But that was just the first in a string of blunders. Indeed, the ISC damningly recalls its previous warnings to the Government, pointedly quoting anonymous spymasters who sheepishly claimed their focus on counter-terrorism took priority. As for the notion that Russia might dare to attack our political system, the report reveals it was barely considered as demonstrated by the fact that MI5 replied to the committee with only six lines of text on that matter. That was enough for the committee to note there was 'credible' evidence of Russian influence during the Scottish independence referendum in 2014. Yet the clueless Clouseaus of MI5 apparently thought this and any other suggestion of Russian mischief was not worth investigating. On cyber-warfare, the ISC notes with shock, nobody appears to be in charge. With concern dripping from every page, it's hardly surprising the report poses more questions than it answers. It however makes immediate recommendations that will directly affect the security of all of us. It confirms that the outdated Official Secrets Act of 1989 needs to be replaced with a new system that ensure the registration of those who peddle political influence on behalf of foreign powers. The Computer Misuse Act of 1990 is similarly obsolete, predating the era of mobile phones. Another much-needed recommendation is for a thorough investigation of Russian meddling in our political system. As the report highlights, the authorities have been scandalously incurious about this. Why does GCHQ, it asks, not look at who lies behind the Twitter accounts that peddle hoaxes and scare stories. Of course, it does seem that our intelligence services have belatedly turned their attention to online political manipulation as demonstrated by some tantalising asterisks, reflecting redaction of secret material scattered throughout the section of the report dedicated to it. But it is all too little, and shamefully late. As for the report's calls for further investigation into pernicious Russian influence, I fear that there is little prospect of the report's forceful conclusions being matched with real action. Take the committee's alarm at Kremlin's pinstriped accomplices the bankers, lawyers and accountants whom it calls unwitting or even witting agents of Russian influence. Dealing with such rot in our system will need new legislation and a revamped National Crime Agency. Even if that were possible, we cannot ignore the fact that it may be too late already. To put it bluntly, our country is afloat on a sea of dodgy money. And the bitter truth is that this is our fault. President Donald Trump and GOP Senators held their negotiations over the next coronavirus relief bill in Capitol Hill on Monday night. With the pandemic still on high gear, millions of Americans are waiting for the Congress to finalize what would be included and excluded from the next bill. The White House meeting came as Congress aims to pass more financial and federal aid before lawmakers are scheduled to leave for a month-long recess in August. With little time left, Republicans are scrambling to get on the same page before they begin negotiations with Democrats. Here is everything that may be included in the next stimulus package. Payroll Tax Cut Trump has thrown a big wrench into the negotiations. The Republican leader demanded that a payroll tax cut be included in the upcoming bill. He also said he would consider not signing the bill if his demand is not met. Leaving the meeting on Monday night, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said the payroll tax cut would definitely be included in the yet-to-be-released bill. White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows also confirmed the news. The policy would come despite not having the support of many Republican senators, the NBC News reported. Unemployment Benefits In May, House Democrats proposed a $3 trillion relief package that included an extension of the $600 weekly payment into 2021. However, that bill did not pass in the Senate. Mnuchin suggested lowering the weekly payment to a monthly payment of $200 or $400. Republicans claim the amount could help support households, while still encouraging Americans to look for work. Senators also proposed coupling the unemployment benefits with a "back to work" bonus. If passed, Americans, who return to work and leave unemployment rolls, could receive an unspecified amount of cash as an incentive, as reported by Fortune. Coronavirus Testing and Tracing During the negotiations, Trump also urged Republicans to reduce or slash funding for coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) testing and contact tracing. According to South Dakota Senator John Thune, Senate Republicans are likely to push back on the idea of cutting the funding for coronavirus testing and containment efforts. Stimulus Checks The administration has voiced its support for another round of direct payments meant to help people. Previously, it was reported that Americans, who earn more than $40,000, may not be eligible for the second stimulus check. While nothing is final, Thune said there is high interest in helping people, who belong on the lower end of the income scale. The next check may be somewhere between $1,000 and $1,200. School Reopening After the meeting, Mnuchin said the bill may include over $70 billion that would go towards restarting school operations. The treasury secretary also met with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnel at the White House earlier Monday, where they discussed a variety of proposals that would help schools receive funding and start conducting classes. Want to read more? Check these out: Government borrowing rocketed to a record high of almost 36 billion in June this year as ministers scrambled to find the cash to pay for the coronavirus crisis. The Office for National Statistics said the pandemic has had an 'unprecedented impact on borrowing' with the amount taken out last month five times higher than in the same period last year. The amount borrowed in June represents the third highest amount for any month on record, according to the ONS, with the preceding May and April the other two record-setters. It means borrowing in the first quarter of the current financial year was more than double that seen in the whole of the previous year. However, the 35.5 billion borrowed in June does represent a substantial drop on the previous month when borrowing was at estimated 45.5 billion. Meanwhile, the public sector debt to gross domestic product ration has now hit its highest level since 1961. The staggering numbers will increase fears about the long term economic damage done to UK PLC by the coronavirus outbreak. Office for National Statistics data published today showed public sector borrowing hit its highest ever levels in April, May and June of this year Boris Johnson's Government borrowed an estimated 35.5 billion in June with total borrowing in the first quarter of the financial year at almost 130 billion The latest numbers published by the ONS show that borrowing in the first quarter of this financial year is estimated to have been 127.9 billion. That is almost 104 billion more than was recorded in the same period last year. It is the highest borrowing ever recored in any April to June period with records having started way back in 1993. Each month of borrowing in April, May and June this year constituted a record for that month. The 35.5 billion figure for June is roughly five times - 28.3 billion - more than was recorded in June 2019. Overall, the provisional estimates suggest borrowing in the first quarter of the current financial year was more than double what was borrowed in the whole of the last financial year running from April 2019 to March 2020. The ONS said that borrowing levels seen during the coronavirus crisis were 'unprecedented' for a UK government. 'The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has had an unprecedented impact on borrowing,' the stats watchdog said. 'Provisional estimates indicate that the 127.9 billion borrowed in the first quarter of the current financial year (April to June 2020) was more than double the 55.4 billion borrowed in the whole of the latest full financial year (April 2019 to March 2020).' However, the ONS did say the figures need to be viewed carefully because they are 'subject to greater than usual uncertainty' and could be revised. For example, borrowing in May this year was revised down by almost 10 billion to 45.5 billion after the emergence of stronger than previously estimated tax receipts and National Insurance contributions. The borrowing numbers for the past three months have had a massive impact on the overall level of public sector debt. At the end of June the number stood at 1,983.8 billion - or almost 2 trillion. That represents an increase on the same point last year of 195.5 billion. Public sector debt at the end of June 2020 as a percentage of gross domestic product was 99.6 per cent. That is an increase of almost 19 per cent when compared to the figure recorded at the same point last year. It is also the highest debt to GDP ratio recorded in the UK since the financial year ending March 1961, according to the ONS. The new complaint is attached. In 2016, the Supreme Court in Fisher v. University of Texas found that UT-Austin's race-based admissions policiesas implemented in 2008were lawful under the Equal Protection Clause. But the Supreme Court warned that "affirmance of the University's admissions policy today does not necessarily mean the University may rely on that same policy without refinement." UTAustin had an "ongoing obligation to engage in constant deliberation and continued reflection regarding its admissions policies," including whether "changing demographics have undermined the need for a race-conscious policy." Things in Texas have changed dramatically since 2008 when Ms. Fisher filed her lawsuit. In 2008, the majority of those admitted to UT-Austin were white. By 2018, however, barely a third of those admitted to UT-Austin were white. Texas's race-neutral Top Ten Percent Plan has driven this increased diversity. Edward Blum, President of SFFA, said: "The Supreme Court did not give the University of Texas a blank check to use race-based preferences in perpetuity, and the university has failed its obligation to reexamine its policies. This blatant failure to follow the Court's instructions is confirmation that Grutter will need to be overruled in order to restore the Equal Protection Clause's command of racial neutrality." SFFA's lawsuit alleges that the university's race-based admissions policies violate federal and state law. The lawsuit seeks an injunction forbidding the university from using race in the admissions process. SFFA is a nonprofit membership group of more than 20,000 students, parents, and others who believe that racial classifications and preferences in college admissions are unfair, unnecessary, and unconstitutional. Current SFFA litigation includes lawsuits against Harvard and the Univ. of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Contact: Edward Blum (703) 505-1922 [email protected] SOURCE Students for Fair Admissions Related Links https://studentsforfairadmissions.org The Vatican told bishops around the world last Thursday they should report cases of clergy sex crimes to police even when not legally bound to do so, in its latest effort to compel church leaders to protect minors from predator priests. The Vatican issued a long-awaited manual for bishops and religious superiors on conducting in-house investigations into allegations of priests who rape and molest minors and vulnerable adults. While the Vatican has had detailed canonical norms in place for two decades, the laws continue to be ignored by some bishops, particularly in the developing world and even Catholic strongholds like Poland. While the manual doesnt have the force of a new law, it goes beyond the current Vatican policy about cooperating with law enforcement agencies, prosecutors and police. That policy requires bishops and religious superiors to report allegations of sex crimes with minors only where local laws require it. The manual says: Even in cases where there is no explicit legal obligation to do so, the ecclesiastical authorities should make a report to the competent civil authorities if this is considered necessary to protect the person involved or other minors from the danger of further criminal acts. And it says church leaders must comply with legitimate subpoena requests. Clergy Excuses The manual, issued in a half-dozen languages, appears aimed in part at depriving bishops and religious superiors of their frequent excuses not to carry out preliminary investigations into accused priests. The manual states, for example, that anonymous allegations should not be dismissed outright, as they often are, and that even hearsay and social media posts can constitute the basis on which to launch a preliminary probe. In addition, the manual says bishops should not ignore allegations just because they fall outside the churchs statute of limitations, since the Vatican can at any time decide to waive the time limit. The only justification for dismissing an allegation outright, the manual says, is if the bishop determines the manifest impossibility of proceeding, such as if the the priest wasnt physically present when the alleged crimes took place. The manual also makes clear that the type of crimes that fall under sexual abuse is quite broad and includes not only sexual relations but any physical contact for sexual gratification, including actions bishops frequently dismiss as mere boundary violations. The manual lists exhibitionism, masturbation, pornography production and conversations and/or propositions of a sexual nature that can occur through a variety of means of communication as crimes that must be investigated. And it warns that bishops can themselves be prosecuted canonically for negligence if they fail to take allegations seriously and investigate them. The manual was published by the Vatican office that investigates priestly sex crimes, the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, and was issued in Italian, French, English, Spanish, Portuguese, Polish and German. 2019 Summit Its origins lie in Pope Francis 2019 sex abuse summit, in which the presidents of all the worlds bishops conferences came to the Vatican for a four-day tutorial on preventing abuse. Francis summoned them after he himself botched a notorious case of abuse and cover-up in Chile, and after he realized that many bishops around the world still didnt understand or take seriously the depth of the abuse problem in the church. On the first day of the summit, Francis issued 21 points of reflection going forward, with the first point a recommendation that the Vatican issue a handbook to help bishops investigate and prosecute sex crimes. While the Vatican has issued a variety of abuse-related documents over the years, the new manual provides a point-by-point instruction on how to conduct investigations, from start to finish. The Vatican has long refused to flat-out require bishops to report abuse allegations to police, arguing that such a universal law could lead to unjust treatment of priests in countries where Catholics are a persecuted minority. Survivors and advocates have long blasted the position, arguing that the Vatican could make a universal reporting mandate with certain exceptions if needed. Anne Barrett Doyle, co-founder of BishopAccountability, an online resource center about abuse, said the manuals non-binding recommendation that bishops should report abuse was incrementally better than the Vaticans past position. But she stressed: Were past the point of should. There is nothing stopping the pope from ordering bishops and religious superiors (to report) all allegations to civil authorities, with exceptions where its not safe. And she insisted that real progress would come when the Vatican institutes a true zero tolerance policy, permanently removing from public ministry any cleric who abuses and any bishop who enables him. That will be progress. That will be the reform that is needed, she said. SNAP, the main victims advocacy group in the U.S., said the issue should be taken out of the hands of the church altogether. Rather than hope that church officials will listen to Pope Francis new suggestion, attorneys general in every single state should be launching independent investigations into clergy abuse, using subpoena power and grand jury to force the truth into the public square and ensure that children are protected from abusers and that enablers are removed form positions of power, the group said in a statement. AP producer Maria Grazia Murru contributed. Copyright 2022 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Topics Abuse Molestation Law Enforcement Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (Reuters) London, United Kingdom Tue, July 21, 2020 16:30 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40668277f5 2 People Wikileaks,Vivienne-Westwood,Julian-Assange,London,Britain,fashion-designer Free Vivienne Westwood, dressed in yellow, was locked into a giant bird cage outside England's Old Bailey court on Tuesday, a stunt to show her support for WikiLeaks founder Julian Assange who is fighting extradition from Britain to the United States. "I am Julian Assange," fashion designer Westwood said. "I am the canary in the cage. If I die down the coal mine from poisonous gas, that's the signal." "Free Assange," she said. Read also: Pink Floyd co-founder joins Assange supporters in London protest march Assange is wanted by US authorities to stand trial for 18 offences including conspiring to hack government computers and espionage. Last year, the United States began extradition proceedings after he was dragged from London's Ecuadorean embassy where he had been holed up for almost seven years. Assange made international headlines in early 2010 when WikiLeaks published a classified U.S. military video showing a 2007 attack by Apache helicopters in Baghdad that killed a dozen people, including two Reuters news staff. To some, Assange is a hero for exposing what supporters cast as abuse of power by modern states and for championing free speech. But to others, he is a dangerous rebel who has undermined US security What would I say about the year 2020 in a letter to the future? The writing of letters is much less common in the 2000s. We dont often put pen to paper. Im old enough to remember real letters. Some were on very thin paper that folded up into an envelope they were called aerogrammes. And friends who lived not far away would write newsy letters on lined paper, sealed in a small stamped envelope. There used to be such a thing as stamp collecting! You hear of people with a terminal illness who write a letter to their child, perhaps to be opened at a significant date when the child is older. Some people include letters with their will. (Its fascinating what is held in solicitors safes, awaiting revelation after a persons death.) This set me wondering. If I were to write a letter to be opened in the future, describing my life in 2020, perhaps it might go like this. Dear Reader, If you are reading this letter, it means that you are alive and have been blessed that God has brought you through a most extraordinary time. To say that the year 2020 was the strangest time is an understatement. Our new year got off to a very bad start. We had a dreadful summer over 201920. Great swathes of farmland and forest in Eastern Australia were devastated by fires of an unbelievable intensity. Houses, properties, livelihoods, infrastructure all gone. Millions of native birds and insects and animals died millions. Then just when we all felt able to breathe again, there came a mysterious new virus: named COVID-19. It started slowly at first, not sure exactly when, in a far-off land and then spread as quickly and unpredictably as the fires. Right across the world. Whole cities, entire countries went into lockdown with citizens confined to their homes, sometimes alone, and afraid. People were very afraid. Suspicion, mistrust, selfishness, filled their hearts and minds. Rumours abounded. Conspiracy theories were off the scale. The blame-game ramped up several notches. Panic drove some of us to hoard food and supplies. Here, shoppers went crazy over toilet paper. Everything except the essentials shut down. Our concerts were cancelled; museums, festivals, conferences, church services all stopped. In fact, we couldnt have gatherings of any kind. Even funerals and weddings were restricted to the barest minimum of attendees. We attended one funeral online. Life was awkward, frightening. Not to mention bewildering. But ... There were some good things. One of these was a prevailing stillness. Traffic noise lessened. We were not rushing about to get to wherever. The air smelled cleaner and fresher no traffic fumes. We have re-fuelled the car just twice since March a considerable saving! Air travel worldwide has decreased by 90 percent and cruise ships virtually stopped. We wont be seeing the UK family anytime soon, sadly. But the atmosphere and the oceans have had considerable respite from pollution. Some things were set up very quickly, like remote schooling and working from home. Radio and tv presenters worked from home, with studios in the spare room. In at least one case this was in a broom cupboard. (Big brooms?) Online shopping really did go viral, as they say, and I must admit I do like having the groceries delivered. The local shops are worth supporting and we have set up a Friday night tradition of takeaway not just the usual greasies but meals from the smaller local places that offer great value with nutritious food. We figured we want them to stay in business and if takeaway is their only option for a while, we can help support that. Another good thing was the internet. Zoom and Skype have been round for ages but suddenly were doing lots of things this way. Chats with the grandies, church, meetings, seminars, exercise sessions, coffee mornings just about anything can Zoom. Of course, nothing beats face-to-face and the screen barrier is a bit constraining, but it can save so much time. No need to dress neatly, drive for half an hour, find a park and pay the meter, then drive home again all for a one hour meeting in the city! Much better use of precious time. Possibly the best thing that came out of this is the sense of community. People of all faiths and none looked out for one another. On the permitted 1-hour-a-day walk with your dog, optional people smiled, said Gday and meant it when they asked Hows it going? Casseroles and cakes were left on doorsteps, there were offers to do shopping or to drive elderly neighbours to medical appointments. So yes, there are bad things happening and as I write this letter Melbourne has returned to lockdown for six weeks and the Victorian border with NSW is closed for the first time in 100 years. But theres so much good that is happening too, as people help each other. Not everyone, but most people are kind and compassionate. We all long to return to normal, but I pray that it will be a new normal, that we can take some of the good things out of this time of pandemic. And so, dear Reader, Lets not forget where God has been in all this. He didnt send this as a punishment, but perhaps we could take it as a prompting to give Him thanks for the world that He has created and given to us to tend wisely. We humans are complex creatures. We can be good and bad, loving and mean, greedy and generous, compassionate and selfish. Sometimes all at once! But however complicated we are, God still blesses us and His grace is often overwhelming. Amid allegations of 'ration loot' by ruling TMC workers, West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday announced that if people keep TMC in power in the upcoming Assembly polls in 2021 then she will give free ration and free healthcare for lifetime to the people. Mamatas statement came amid allegations of alleged malpractices by ruling party workers, who were involved in distribution of relief materials and ration to the cyclone Amphan affecting people in the state. While sounding the 2021 Assembly polls bugle, the TMC chief said, "I know from tomorrow, I will be harassed for raising my voice against 'santrashbadi (extremist) BJP'. But I would like to warn them that an injured tiger is more dangerous than a dead one. I would like to tell you all that there is nothing to worry. Dont fear them..'Hum Hai Na' (I am there.) They are destroying the democratic fabric of our country through conspiracy to topple the elected government in various states. They are flexing their muscles because they are in power. But I would like to tell them that people in Bengal will reject them as Bengal can take care of itself and Bengal doesnt need outsiders to take care of it. She said, "If you elect me once again in the 2021 assembly polls, then I will give you free ration and health care facilities for lifetime. This is my promise. Please don't fall in BJPs trap. They are showering notes (currency) to buy your votes. They are showering notes to topple my government. They are imposing 'Kala Kanoon' to harass people. They are dangerous and they only know the divide and rule policy." Hitting out at Governor Jagdeep Dhankhar, she said, "There are people who are complaining (to the Centre) that there is no law and order in Bengal. I would like to question them, why they are silent over encounters (Vikash Dubey case) in Uttar Pradesh. We all know what happened in Delhi during riots over citizenship issues. Why they are silent over journalists' murder at Ghaziabad. We all know what happened during Gujarat riots. Now Gujarat (hinting at Narendra Modi and Amit Shah) is trying to capture Bengal. I would like to clear their myth that this is Bengal. Our Bengal, will never allow 'santrashwadi' outsiders to rule the state. While calling for a democratic 'bodla' (revenge), she said, "Several TMC workers were killed by BJP. I would like to request all to unite against this evil force (BJP) otherwise they will destroy the peace and democratic rights of the people in Bengal. Ever since they came to power, there is unrest all across the country." She also requested intellectuals not to fall in BJPs trap as they believe in dividing people. She threw a challenge before the BJP by announcing that next years 'Shahid Diwas' will be historic one as the 2021 poll (Assembly) results will be historic in Bengal. "There is no doubt that we are going to form the government in Bengal in 2021 with the blessings of my people. Lets work for BJPs 'Jamanat Japt'. Next year after the historic Assembly poll results, we will commemorate historic Shahid Diwas on July 21, 2021. I repeat, it will be a historic Shahid Diwas in 2021," she added. Bringing back the citizenship issue once again, she said, "I would like to tell them (BJP) that we have not forgotten the Citizenship issue. I would like to tell them that we have not forgotten the loss of lives during the Delhi riots. They are conspiring to overthrow my government in Bengal. They are conspiring to overthrow other governments in India. They indulged in loot of public money and became richer. They converted the election into a dirty game. Why did they overthrow the government in Madhya Pradesh? Why are they trying to topple the government in Rajasthan? They are playing a dirty game to take control of all the states." Kanye West has been making the headlines for all the wrong reasons. After announcing his desire to challenge President Trump and holding a bizarre opening for his 2020 presidential bid, the American rapper has come under fire for scrapping Nicki Minaj's verse from an upcoming song titled, 'New Body'. West recently tweeted about his upcoming album Donda and soon deleted the tweet. The tweet comprised a handwritten tracklist of songs from his upcoming album, including 'Donda', '24', 'Off the Grid', and most awaited song 'New Body'. According to reports, 'New Body' was set to be released with Yandi but didn't make it to the tracklist. It originally had a verse by female rapper Nicki Minaj. After hearing the leaked version of the original track that had gone viral, fans were shocked to find out the changes. Nicki Minaj fans, referred to as Barbz, took to their Twitter accounts to call out West. I guess #kanyewest took #nickiminaj off the new body verse because she prob washed him like she did on Monster. https://t.co/UgDMpkmIol Chenille (@ChenilleToGo) July 19, 2020 Kayne hasnt been a listen-worthy artist since 808s & Mistakes. Removing Nicki Minaj is like sabotaging your own bicycle while riding.#KanyeWest #NickiMinaj pic.twitter.com/tBOsJApnO3 ItsNotYou...its me (@ActionJaxxon84) July 19, 2020 kanye running for president is one thing but taking nicki off new body... unforgivable giabuchi lastrassi (@jaboukie) July 19, 2020 Me hacking Kanye west computer to drop Nicki Minaj version of new body not the gospel version pic.twitter.com/VQLmhG2K5G addiction_espinoza (@espinozapaz_1) July 19, 2020 Nicki is the reason we even wanted that song & you think we gon listen if you take her off? pic.twitter.com/znXWHM5aoD Ju nem (@earringdealer) July 19, 2020 Several tabloids revealed that West is planning to release an alternate version of the song which will be a part of his 10th studio album, titled Donda, which has been named after his mother. The original lyrics of the song reportedly talks about body shaming and the stigma surrounding the aftermath of plastic surgery. However, the new version was reworked by the rapper and now incorporates a positive Christian-themed message. Minaj also confirmed the changes in the song and revealed that the new version of the song is more 'gospel-themed'. Donda is set to release on July 24. Kanye West Reveals He Contracted Coronavirus In February Nicki Minaj Expecting Her First Baby; Says 'Overflowing With Excitement And Gratitude' The boyfriend of a woman killed when a sightseeing bus the couple was on rolled in the Rocky Mountains believes she would still be alive had passengers been wearing seatbelts. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (546 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. Devon Ernest and his girlfriend Dionne Durocher are shown in this undated handout photo. The boyfriend of a woman killed when the sightseeing bus the couple was on rolled in the Rocky Mountains believes she would still be alive had passengers been wearing seatbelts. Devon Ernest was with his girlfriend Dionne Durocher and his cousin in Jasper National Park last weekend when the trio boarded the off-road bus to head up to the Athabasca Glacier. Ernest, who is from Saskatchewan, says the last thing he remembers is hitting the roof of the bus, then waking up next to Durocher who was barley breathing and later pronounced dead. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Devon Ernest The boyfriend of a woman killed when a sightseeing bus the couple was on rolled in the Rocky Mountains believes she would still be alive had passengers been wearing seatbelts. "Seatbelts would have changed everything," Devon Ernest said Tuesday from his hospital bed in Edmonton before he was discharged. Ernest, 23, was with his girlfriend, Dionne Jocelyn Durocher, and his cousin in Jasper National Park on the weekend when the trio boarded the big-wheeled, off-road bus to head up to the Athabasca Glacier. Ernest lived with Durocher, 24, in North Battleford, Sask. He said he planned the trip to Alberta for his birthday and wanted to bring his girlfriend of two years who had never seen the mountains. The couple had been enjoying themselves taking photographs of their trip. Durocher's favourite part had been canoeing on Lake Louise, Ernest said. They boarded the glacier bus on what was supposed to be the final day of their vacation. The red-and-white coaches, which look like buses with monster-truck tires, regularly leave from a visitor centre and take tourists up a rough, rocky road onto the Columbia Icefield. Ernest recalls the bus starting to head down a slope. Next there was the sound of the front wheels sliding. The last thing he remembers is hitting the roof of the bus, then waking up lying next to Durocher, who was awake but barely breathing. The bus had rolled about 50 metres down a moraine embankment before coming to rest on its roof. Thinking Durocher was OK, he ran to find his cousin, who was also injured. "I went running back to my girlfriend and her eyes were closed and she wasn't breathing," Ernest said. "I just lifted up her head and put my sweater underneath her ... I knew she was gone and I just cuddled with her." Pursuit, the company that runs the Columbia Icefield tours, said the buses don't have seatbelts, because the vehicles are not approved to drive on the highway and don't go faster than 40 km/h. "Once the investigation is complete, we will take every recommendation into careful consideration for future operations," communications manager Tanya Otis wrote in an email. Durocher was "physically tiny but large in her heart," her aunt said. "She might be tiny but she's got a big dream, big heart, to go out and explore, see new things," said Rose Durocher. She said her niece wanted to join the army. She had applied for Bold Eagle, a summer military training program for Indigenous youth, but was rejected because she was too small. The young woman was from the Canoe Lake Cree First Nation in Saskatchewan and wanted to be role model for youth there, her aunt said. She came from a tight-knit family with five brothers and two sisters. She was the second-oldest and would regularly keep in touch by Facetime after she moved away from her First Nation. "She was a very compassionate person. She had a lot of friends that she cared about and she would talk to them," said Rose Durocher. "She was a good listener to her friends and she encouraged them." Several family members have travelled to Edmonton as they make arrangements to transport her remains home. A viewing is to be held in Meadow Lake, Sask., this week and a funeral is planned for Saturday in Canoe Narrows. Three people were killed and 24 survivors, many with critical injuries, were triaged out over several hours and taken to hospital after the crash. The cause has not been determined, but police have ruled out a rock slide. The Columbia Icefield is one of the largest non-polar icefields in the world. It spills down from the mountains about 100 kilometres south of Jasper. Stay informed The latest updates on the novel coronavirus and COVID-19 delivered to your inbox every weeknight. Sign Up I agree to the Terms and Conditions, Cookie and Privacy Policies, and CASL agreement. Ernest said he is dealing with the anguish of losing his girlfriend, who he said was a profoundly caring person, and the guilt of having brought her to Alberta. He wants answers about what caused the crash. Ernest plans to return to North Battleford and help gather the clothing Durocher will wear for her burial. "I just want to see my girlfriend." This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 21, 2020 with files from Lauren Krugel in Calgary. Note to readers: This is a corrected story. A previous version said Dionne Jocelyn Durocher had three sisters. Three registrants in the ongoing voter registration exercise in the Hohoe Municipality have been disqualified and would not vote in the December 2020 general elections. A total of 120 registrants have also been challenged on grounds of non-residency and non-citizenship by the end of phase three of the exercise in the Municipality. Mr. Enoch Danso Agyekum, Hohoe Municipal Electoral Officer, who spoke to the Ghana News Agency (GNA), said the three were disqualified based on being non-residents. He noted that one registrant was also challenged on the basis of not being of sound mind. The Committee was made up of a representative from the Electoral Commission (EC), National Democratic Congress (NDC), New Patriotic Party (NPP), National Democratic Party (NDP), Convention People's Party (CPP), Ghana Education Service (GES), the Police Service and the traditional council. A total of 33,407 registrants have been registered and issued voter identity cards in the Hohoe Municipality as at the end of Sunday, July 19, 2020. ---GNA New York, July 21 : A US study led by Indian-origin researchers found that respiratory droplets from cough or sneeze travel farther and last longer in humid, cold climates than in hot and dry ones. The research team developed this new model to better understand the role that droplet clouds play in the spread of respiratory viruses, the study, published in the journal Physics of Fluids. Their model is the first to be based on a fundamental approach taken to study chemical reactions called collision rate theory, which looks at the interaction and collision rates of a droplet cloud exhaled by an infected person with healthy people. Their work connects population-scale human interaction with their micro-scale droplet physics results on how far and fast droplets spread, and how long they last. "The basic fundamental form of a chemical reaction is two molecules are colliding. How frequently they're colliding will give you how fast the reaction progresses," said study author Abhishek Saha from the University of California in the US. "It's exactly the same here; how frequently healthy people are coming in contact with an infected droplet cloud can be a measure of how fast the disease can spread," Saha added. They found that, depending on weather conditions, some respiratory droplets travel between eight feet and 13 feet away from their source before evaporating, without even accounting for wind. This means that without masks, six feet of social distance may not be enough to keep one person's exhaled particles from reaching someone else. "Droplet physics are significantly dependent on weather. If you're in a colder, humid climate, droplets from a sneeze or cough are going to last longer and spread farther than if you're in a hot dry climate, where they'll get evaporated faster," Saha said. "We incorporated these parameters into our model of infection spread; they aren't included in existing models as far as we can tell," he noted. The researchers hope that their more detailed model for the rate of infection spread and droplet spread will help inform public health policies at a more local level, and can be used in the future to better understand the role of environmental factors in virus spread. Press Release July 20, 2020 Dispatch from Crame No. 855: Sen. Leila M. de Lima on the Reported Death of Jaybee Sebastian 7/20/20 My lawyers are still assessing the effect of Sebastian's death on the cases against me, considering that he is or was the Duterte regime's supposed "star" witness. However, all testimonies coming from the inmates and some other so-called witnesses are all fabrications anyway. One less fabrication might be good in my case, but let us not forget all the other testimony fabrications. Whether the fabricator is dead or alive does not change the fact that their stories are all lies, and that the cases against me are all fake. Any judge worth his or her salt and who is still independent of Malacanang would readily see through all this machinated persecution of an opposition figure. He or she will not see the cases on the basis of mere technicality like the number of witnesses, and be extra perceptive on the issue of the credibility of convicted prisoners whose very lives and freedom depend on Duterte. He or she should verily know that of course they are not credible. Duterte holds them all by their throats. The Duterte regime can have 100 live witnesses for all I care. But this still does not change the fact that the charges against me are absolutely false and fictitious. Conversely, the regime's witnesses can all be dead, but this will not prevent Duterte and his operators from inventing other evidence to keep me in jail. My point is, under normal conditions, these cases would have been dismissed a long time ago. But under conditions of a dictatorship where it is the dictator himself who has a very personal stake on the cases, and given the state of our justice system, I will not wonder if dead witnesses can still be made to rise from the grave and made to testify. That being said, I want to raise the alarm again, as I repeatedly did in the past, on the dire conditions existing in our jails and prisons during this pandemic, and even in pre-pandemic times. COVID-19 is not a joke, as the Duterte regime has treated it, especially in our prison system that hosts the perfect conditions for the spread of the virus. Regardless of who the dead are, whether free citizens or PDLs, they shall remain to be counted as the victims of the incompetence, indifference, and impunity of the Duterte Administration in dealing with the pandemic that has resulted in more suffering for our people, not to mention the devastation of the economy after months of lockdown but with absolutely nothing to show for it. It is time for this whole administration to step down, get out of the way, and hand over the reins of government to the more capable and tireless Vice President. ### (Access the handwritten copy of Dispatch from Crame No. 855, here: https://issuu.com/senatorleilam.delima/docs/dispatch_no._855) The members of the Prime Ministers Economic Advisory Council all agree that it is necessary for the State to help state-owned Vietnam Airlines overcome difficulties caused by Covid-19. Tran Dinh Thien, former director of the Vietnam Economics Institute, said the State needs to take responsibility for Vietnam Airlines as the owner. However, he said that the action aims to rescue the economy, not to rescue one enterprise. Duong Tri Thanh, CEO of Vietnam Airlines Who to save and how to save are the issues that need thorough discussion, Thien said. If considering aviation a business field that needs to be prioritized to save to protect the economy, the government would have to clarify the arguments for saving Vietnam Airlines and consider the role of Vietnam Airlines in the economy, he added. Prior to that, Vietnam Airlines, the national flag air carrier, reporting a 50 percent turnover reduction and weak cash flow, asked for a financial support package of VND12 trillion to overcome current difficulties. The words that can be used to describe the situation of the aviation sector are paralysed and frozen. said Duong Tri Thanh, CEO of Vietnam Airlines. After closing all international air routes on March 23, Vietnam Airlines has not had revenue from international transport since April 1 and the number of foreign passengers in June dropped by 99.3 percent compared with the same period last year. According to Thanh, Vietnam Airlines has been making a profit since 2010, but it foresees a loss of VND13 trillion this year because of the pandemic. After closing all international air routes on March 23, Vietnam Airlines has not had revenue from international transport since April 1 and the number of foreign passengers in June dropped by 99.3 percent compared with the same period last year. As for the domestic market, though domestic travel demand increased again, the domestic passenger output 84 percent of that in June 2019 and the revenue in H1 was 46 percent of the same period last year. Thanh said the impact of Covid-19 on Vietnam Airlines has been terrible. The Vietnamese sky has not seen so few flights since 1975, Thanh said, adding that the air carrier only had three flights a day in April. An analyst said rescuing Vietnam Airlines is a must, because aviation is an important sector in the economy and it will save other business fields that interact with it. Other countries also have to choose one or two airlines to rescue, he said. However, many legal problems need to be resolved to rescue Vietnam Airlines. Dinh Viet Tung, deputy general director of the State Capital Investment Corporation (SCIC) said, as a financial investor, SCIC will have to follow procedures, including due diligence, which will take 6-9 months to complete. Meanwhile, Vietnam Airlines needs urgent support. Chi Mai Vietnam Airlines continues expansion of domestic flight network Vietnam Airlines will continue expanding its domestic flight network with July 22 seeing the addition of four air routes connecting different regions nationwide in order to facilitate greater travel demand among local passengers. US President Donald Trump called wearing masks "patriotic," seemingly endorsing the practice after an interview aired just the previous day in which he denied the effectiveness of doing so in curbing the spread of the coronavirus. Trump in his tweet on Monday didn't explicitly say he would don masks from now on, but said "many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance. There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!" Xinhua news agency reported. Along with the words, the president posted a ... On Tuesday morning, a man possessing a bomb and weapon hijacked a bus with passengers in Lutsk, a hostage alert has been announced in the region, the police of Volyn region reported. "This morning, the 102 hotline received a message saying that a man, who possesses a bomb and weapon, hijacked a bus with hostages in Lutsk downtown," the police said on its Facebook page, The hostage alert has been announced in the region. The central districts of the city are blocked to ensure safety of citizens. "All services of the police are working on the spot," the police said. Chief of the Police of Volyn region Yuriy Kroshko said that no information on victims was available. "So far we can see damages in the bus," he said in a live broadcast by on the Interior Ministry's Facebook page. The hijacker has posted a statement on his Twitter page, Kroshko said. "We are monitoring the social media account. There are no demands in his account, just general phrases, discontent with the system, he did not mention which one. We are learning [the situation], trying to hold talks. We called him, but again he did not pick up the phone to clarify his demands," Kroshko said. The number of hostages is being determined. The hijacker is also being identified. He voiced his name, but the police are checking this information. "The situation is under control," the police chief said. Later, the media liaison department of the police of Volyn region said on Facebook that around 20 people were taken hostage on the bus. The ruling meant what would have been a state crime has now become a federal offense if the victim or perpetrator was American Indian and the incident occurred within the historical 11-county reservation boundaries that includes much of Tulsa. The decision has also cast uncertainty as to the validity of dozens of state convictions where the crime occurred in the 11-county region and involved an American Indian. Still others have said the decision could be extended to include four other tribes with similar treaties as the Muscogee (Creek) Nation: the Cherokee, Chickasaw, Choctaw and the Seminole Nations. The three tribes that didnt bolt from the AGs agreement-in-principle issued a joint press release Monday indicating that, upon further reflection and after obtaining feedback from the people we represent, they agreed that more discussion was needed on jurisdictional issues. The three tribal leaders for the Cherokee, Chickasaw and Choctaw tribes said in their joint statement that any path forward requires strong collaboration between the Five Tribes. Seajets, a Greek ferry operator, may have struck a deal to purchase the former P&O Oceana and enter the overnight cruise business, according to Greek media reports. The Iliopoulos-family led operation began passenger transportation in the Aegean Sea in 2002. The company had previously focused on freight transportation. Regular routes travel to Aegean ports including Piraeus, Thessaloniki, and Crete. Travelers can create island-hopping trips to three or more islands through the companys website. One-day special tours from Athens to Mykonos and Crete to Santorini are also available during the summer season. Last year, Seajets had a fleet of 17 ships including two monohull ferries, 12 catamarans, and three conventional ferries. The company touts its high-speed ferries with monohulls and catamarans capable of reaching speeds between 33 and 40 knots. The 11,347-ton Tera Jet has the largest capacity in the fleet with room for 2,000 passengers and 500 vehicles. Seajets did not return a request for further comment. Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 03:29:33|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close KHARTOUM, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Sudan's Irrigation and Water Resources Minister Yasir Abbas said on Tuesday that the mini-African summit on the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam (GERD) dispute agreed to continue the talks to narrow the differences. "The participants in the mini-African summit stressed on African solutions for the African problems and continuation of the negotiations in the coming period to narrow the viewpoints," Abbas said at a press conference in Khartoum. He said that during the summit, Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok explained Sudan's objection to the unilateral measures regarding the GERD. Abbas further announced a Sudanese proposal to overcome one of the differences related to Ethiopia's rights in establishing future projects. "The Sudanese proposal stipulates that Ethiopia has the right to establish future projects if consistent with the international law, and on condition of consent of the downstream countries (Egypt and Sudan)," he noted. A mini-African summit was convened on Tuesday through video link with participation of the Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah Al-Sisi, Sudan's Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdok, Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed and President of South Africa Cyril Ramaphosa, whose country chairs the current session of the African Union. Ethiopia started building the GERD in 2011, while Egypt, a downstream Nile Basin country that relies on the river for its fresh water, is concerned that the dam might affect its 55.5-billion-cubic-meter annual share of the water resources. The GERD is scheduled to be completed in three years at a cost of 4.7 billion U.S. dollars. Enditem This recap contains spoilers from Episode 10 of DCs Stargirl (which premieres new episodes Monday on DC Universe and Tuesday on The CW). This week on DCs Stargirl, while Barbara struggled to process her daughters super secret, Courtney untangled a family tie before embarking on a rescue mission for a semi-inanimate friend. More from TVLine In a flashback to two years ago, we see how Barbara and Pat first met both ordering, and ultimately sharing, a banana split at the diner in Blue Valley, where Barbara was selling her late mothers house. Cut to the present and a far less sweet mood, as Barbara wonders, What the hell is going on?! in her basement, where Court is holding the glowing Cosmic Staff. Pat attempts a detailed download, but Court jumps in to claim that her father was a superhero until Jordan Mahkent killed him, and now she is claiming her birthright. Apoplectic, Barbara insists that Starman was not Courtneys dad, before ordering the teen to her room. Babs then leans into sidekick Pat, contending that their marriage has been a lie. And once she confirms that Court was in no car accident, she sends Pat packing: Get out of this house. Over at the hospital, we realize that Henry Sr. has no memory of the past 10 years his wife Merrys death, by drowning in a pool, included. But he discovers that Junior inherited his gift, and promises to help the lad navigate this frightening ability. When Sr. goes to sleep, Junior hears him thinking about Merry Starman last day. Junior dashes home to cue up Dads tape from the last day of his lab notes. My wife is dead. Just like that, Sr. remarks on the tape. He describes Merry, whom he met during a bank heist, as as the girl of a thousand gimmicks, and someone who stunned him with her pure thoughts to a degree that it made him question Jordan and the larger mission. But Jordan led the JSA to them, and the ISA killed the heroes, including Merrys brother aka Starman! I knew she would never forgive me, Sr. said, and he hoped his missus would go into hiding. But she didnt, he says, cursing out Jordan. There are no more good thoughts to be found. Mary is dead. Story continues As Pat skulks off to crash at his garage, a concerned Mike insists on coming with. Meanwhile, the Cosmic Staff wakes up Courtney, but she rebuffs its invitation and orders it back to the crate. Instead, the staff zips over to Pats bulletin board with the ISA suspects and analyzes Icicle. Jordan himself meanwhile pays Sr. a visit at the hospital, saying that with Dr. Itos machine ready, all they need is his very special brainpower to reshape peoples thoughts en masse. The Cosmic Staff then shows up stag and tries to zap Jordan, but Sr. blocks it with his telekinesis. Frozen in its tracks, the staff is then literally frozen by Jordan, who then takes it and leads Sr. off to Dr. Itos lab to get his memory back. Stargirl 1x10 junior When Court realizes the staff is missing, she freaks out to her mom, but Barbara is having none of it. She reiterates that Starman was not her father, before announcing that they will be leaving Blue Valley soon as she gets back from the office. Alerted by Court, Pat asserts that he needs to get Barbara away from the American Dream building ASAP, so he runs over to her office. Courtney meanwhile has an awkward moment with Mike, who guilt-trips her over not sharing what is going on with their folks, before she heads into town and gets hailed by Junior. He relays all that he has learned that his dad is awake, and his mom was Starmans sister. Youre my cousin?! asks Court, before giving Junior a big hug. Junior reveals that Jordan has the Cosmic Staff, and that his dad doesnt remember the past 10 years. Court wants her staff back, and Junior wants to save his Dad (believing that his mother was in the midst of turning him good), so they agree to team up. Barbara is packing up her office some when she thinks to email Sam Kurtis about Your Daughter, Courtney, saying: Please contact me. Pat shows up a bit later to warn his wife, You cant be here in the most dangerous place in town. Jordan just then swings by with his parents to drop off a thank you gift for dinner the other night. After they leave, Barbara reveals to Pat that she recorded the parents speaking in Norwegian. Over dinner at the diner, Barbara uses an app to translate the recording, which says in part, Once the machine is on, everything will change. Back at Barbaras office, meanwhile, we see that Sam Kurtis has replied to her email. After some deserved squabbling about allying with Brainwaves son, Rick, Yolanda and Beth agree to suit up with Court and Junior and head into the tunnels. Once there, they split up, with Rick and Beth soon coming upon the cell holding Solomon Grundy aka the thing that killed Ricks parents. Court, Yolanda and Junior meanwhile arrive at Dr. Itos lab, where Sr. is strapped to a table and hooked up to some memory gizmo. While still-imprisoned Cindy fruitlessly begs to be let out and kill Stargirl herself (LOL), a fight breaks out between the teen heroes and Snap Dragon Kings minions. The kids hold their own, leading Ito himself to enter the fray and take on Stargirl. But just when he goes for the kill, Yolanda breaks the Cosmic Staff free from its own cage and slips it to Courtney, who zaps her attacker. Angered, Dragon King rips off his mask, revealing his monstrous face. Junior meanwhile frees his dad except Sr. already has his memory back, and is just fine with the sinister status quo. More so, he wants Junior to join him! The kids bolt for the exit, only to eventually run into a set of prison bars. Rick, who had to be forced to give up on getting at Grundy, uses his strength to bend open the bars long enough for Beth to slip through, but then Brainwave shows up and uses his own power to close em up again. With an assist from Juniors bean, Rick opens the bars back up and Hourman first slips through, after which Junior uses his power to force Courtney to go through next. Now alone on the bad side of the bars, Junior faces off with his father, but he is no match. After clarifying that it was he, and not Icicle, who killed Merry back in the day, Sr. chooses villainy over family once again and KOs his kid with a barrage of rubble, before crashing the tunnel roof down on top of him. But not before Junior gets off a final I am sorry to ex-GF Yolanda. What did you think of the episode Brainwave Jr.? Best of TVLine Panaji, July 21 : Goa Governor Satya Pal Malik and Chief Minister Pramod Sawant on Tuesday condoled the death of Madhya Pradesh Governor Lalji Tandon. In a condolence message, Malik said that Tandon was one of the senior-most BJP leaders and a "great administrator, polite and very friendly". "When I relinquished the office as Governor of Bihar, it was Lalji Tandon who took over. During his tenure in Bihar, he worked tirelessly for the education sector. He served as a Minister in Uttar Pradesh for a long time where he worked for the welfare of the people. He had a very close association with Atal Behari Vajpayee and was incharge of his election cell," Malik recalled. Tandon, 85, died in a hospital in Lucknow where he was admitted for the last few weeks. Sawant said: "Saddened to learn about the passing away of Madhya Pradesh Governor and senior BJP leader Lalji Tondon. His immense contribution to public life will always be remembered. My heartfelt condolences to his family in this hour of grief." -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Boris Johnson has said he does not want to become a "knee-jerk Sinophobe" as Britain suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and imposed an arms embargo on the former colony. The British prime minister said he had "serious concerns" about China's behaviour but stressed the need for a "balanced" approach as he resisted pressure from MPs to take a tougher line with Beijing. Mr Johnson is treading a diplomatic high-wire over relations with the world's second most powerful country, which has accused Britain and the US of wanting to start a "new Cold War". While he said the measures announced yesterday were "tough", he stopped short of imposing sanctions on China or on named individuals as Tory hardliners have advised. Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab announced yesterday that Britain's extradition treaty with Hong Kong would be suspended immediately after China imposed a new security law on the region. He also included Hong Kong in an arms embargo in place since 1989 against mainland China, and extended it to equipment that could be used for repression, including shackles and smoke grenades. Beijing had warned of reprisals if Britain took further action over Hong Kong, but Mr Raab insisted the UK "will not buck and bow" in the face of such threats. Five years after David Cameron, then prime minister, declared a "golden era" of China-UK relations, the two countries are at odds over not only Hong Kong but also telecommunications giant Huawei, human rights abuses and Beijing's handling of the coronavirus outbreak. Mr Johnson said: "I'm not going to be pushed into a position of becoming a knee-jerk Sinophobe on every issue, somebody who is automatically anti-China. But we do have serious concerns." He said he would not "completely abandon our policy of engagement" with China, adding: "You have got to have a calibrated response and we are going to be tough on some things but we are also going to continue to engage." Mr Raab has accused the communist regime of committing "gross, egregious human rights abuses" against the country's mostly Muslim Uighur population in north-western Xinjiang province. He was pressed by some Tory MPs to consider sanctions against named individuals, over the alleged treatment of the Uighurs and over Hong Kong, with some calling for Carrie Lam, Hong Kong's chief executive, to be among them. Mr Raab did not rule out sanctions eventually. Metro Manila (CNN Philippines, July 21) The government wants to build hospitals dedicated to treating COVID-19 patients in critical condition, an official said. Chief Implementer of the national policy against COVID-19 Carlito Galvez, during a meeting with President Rodrigo Duterte which aired on Tuesday, said he will recommend the construction of four hospitals in Metro Manila strictly for COVID-19 patients. Several hospitals in Metro Manila have earlier reported that their intensive care facilities for COVID-19 patients have reached full capacity. Galvez said dedicated hospitals for COVID-19 will help address problems of medical centers that also admit non-COVID patients. He said this will avoid compromising the health of other patients like those undergoing dialysis or chemotherapy. He added that the aim is to replicate the construction of Huoshenshan Hospital in Wuhan, China, which was built in 10 days. "We will be recommending na kung magkakaroon ng zoning sa NCR (National Capital Region), na meron po tayong four na COVID hospitals," he said. The national government said on Tuesday that almost 50 percent ICU beds are occupied, with only 693 beds available. (Newser) Richard Wershe Jr., the youngest-ever paid FBI informant, is a free man 32 years after he was locked up for drug crimes. Wershe, 51, was released by the Florida Department of Corrections on Monday; his lawyer tells Fox 2 Detroit he will return to Michigan, where he has a support system including a son he did not get to see grow up. His fiancee reportedly picked him up in Florida. He'll be under supervised release in Michigan for another 13 months, the Detroit Free Press reports. Wershe's story inspired the 2018 Matthew McConaughey film White Boy Rick, which took its title from a childhood nickname of Wershe's that he does not like, per ABC News. story continues below As Vince Wade, author of a book on Wershe, explains at the Daily Beast, he got a raw deal from the feds and his case has been the subject of controversy. He was recruited by the FBI as a drug informant at just 14 in Detroit, but when he was arrested by local police on a nonviolent drug offense at age 17, the feds did nothing to help him out. He was paroled in Michigan in 2017, but was then taken into custody in Florida on a separate stolen-car crime. Wershe is Michigan's longest-serving nonviolent juvenile offender. (Read more FBI informant stories.) Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin (The Jakarta Post) Jakarta Wed, July 22 2020 Malaysia has reopened its borders partially to medical tourists, the Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) stated in a virtual media briefing on Friday. The organizations chief commercial officer Nik Yazmin Nik Azman said that it had allowed Indonesian patients to enter Malaysia, starting on July 1. However, they will need to comply with several conditions. In the new standard operating procedure, medical tourists will need to obtain an approval letter and undergo a polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test for COVID-19. to Read Full Story SUBSCRIBE NOW Starting from IDR 55,000/month Unlimited access to our web and app content e-Post daily digital newspaper No advertisements, no interruptions Privileged access to our events and programs Subscription to our newsletters We accept Register to read 3 premium articles for free Already subscribed? login To the Editor: Re Who Would Get Vaccinated First? U.S. Considers Race in Its Plans (news article, July 10): The debate in the article centers on who should get priority to receive the coronavirus vaccine when it first comes out. Another consideration is where it should first be deployed. Politics may dictate that it go to states that currently have the highest incidence, i.e., many red states. However, many places in those states are not prudently practicing quarantine, masking and social distancing. Would it be fair to those states with sensible policies that they have to wait for the vaccine? Joel Shalowitz Evanston, Ill. The writer is an adjunct professor of preventive medicine at the Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University. To the Editor: You report that policymakers are considering a contentious option whether to put Black and Latino people ahead of others. But does it have to be an all-or-nothing approach, as the article implies? Why not something more nuanced, where individuals in various categories can be scored according to relative risks? For instance, you are assigned a certain number of points if you are over 65, more points if you are Black or Latino, more if you live in a certain ZIP code, more if you have certain underlying conditions, more if you work in proximity to others, etc. THE FAIRIES: An opera banned in Tehran is released in Amsterdam 07/22/20 Source: Persian Dutch Network (PDN) The Persian Dutch Network presents a recording which has been banned in Tehran for three decades: an opera based on a famous poem by Ahmad Shamlu, known as the 'Poet of Freedom' in Persia (Iran). Shamlu was an outspoken advocate for freedom of speech in his homeland, which caused serious restrictions to his activities, imposed by both the monarchy and the Islamic regime. Shamlu was given a Freedom of Expression award by Human Rights Watch in 1991. His poems have been translated into various languages. In 1989 the Persian composer Sheida Gharachedaghi composed an opera based on the English translation of Shamlu's The Fairies. The poem is an allegory of freedom and slavery, and of the complex dependence of absolute human values on particular traditions and cultures. The first Persian opera with an English libretto, it was translated by the celebrated scholar Ahmad Karimi-Hakkak, former Founding Director of the Center for Persian Studies at the University of Maryland. Performance in Toronto instead of Tehran The Fairies faced restrictions in Iran because of the official ban on solo female singing - imposed by the regime since the 1979 Islamic Revolution. Tehran Opera Company was also dissolved at this time but the opera was, nevertheless, premiered in Toronto in 1989. 23rd July 2020 marks the 20th anniversary of Ahmad Shamlu's death and, in commemoration, the Amsterdam-based Persian Dutch Network (PDN) releases the 1989 live recording of The Fairies for the first time. Following the 2018 album Choral Music from Persia (performed by Farah Choir in 1978), The Fairies is the second album, banned in Tehran, that PDN is releasing in Europe. The release of these recordings is an attempt to introduce the unknown, yet fascinating, works of Persian composers to an international audience, and to form a resistance against the censorship imposed by the Islamic government in Tehran. This 2020 production is funded by The Iranian Women's Studies Foundation, based in the United States. The CD is available on Amazon. Sheida Gharachedaghi (b. 1941) studied at the Vienna Music Academy and began her professional career in Tehran. Gharachedaghi founded the music department of the Institute for the Intellectual Development of Children and Young Adults in 1971 and was its director for five years. Whilst there she wrote forty motion picture scores including Downpour, directed by Bahram Beyzaie. Shortly after the 1979 Islamic Revolution in Persia, she left for Germany, and in the mid-1980s moved to Canada. She currently lives in Montreal. The Linux Foundation, the nonprofit organization enabling mass innovation through open source, is launching a new initiative to use open source technologies to help public health authorities (PHAs) around the world combat COVID-19 and future epidemics. The new Linux Foundation Public Health (LFPH) initiative is launching with seven Premier membersCisco, doc.ai, Geometer, IBM, NearForm, Tencent, and VMwareand two hosted exposure notifications projects, COVID Shield and COVID Green, which are currently being deployed in Canada, Ireland, and several U.S. states. LFPH will initially focus on exposure notification applications that use the Google Apple Exposure Notification (GAEN) system and will be expanding to support all aspects of PHA's testing, tracing, and isolation activities. "To catalyze this open source development, Linux Foundation Public Health is building a global community of leading technology and consulting companies, public health authorities, epidemiologists and other public health specialists, privacy and security experts, and individual developers," said Dan Kohn, LFPH general manager. "While we're excited to launch with two very important open source projects, we think our convening function to enable collaboration to battle this pandemic may be our biggest impact." COVID Shield was developed by a volunteer team at Shopify and is in the process of being deployed in Canada. COVID Green was developed by a team at NearForm as part of the Irish Government's response to the pandemic. Since being deployed by Ireland's Health Services Executive two weeks ago, it has achieved extraordinarily high adoption of over 1/3rd of the country's adults. Both apps are available for other PHAs and their IT partners to use and customize and will soon be joined by other open source projects hosted by LFPH. Covid Watch, Kiel University of Applied Sciences, and US Digital Response have also joined as nonprofit associate members. "During this grave global crisis, I'm committed to having all parts of the Linux Foundation community support LFPH," said Linux Foundation executive director Jim Zemlin. "Open source provides an architecture for global collaboration and that's what's needed to build, secure, and sustain critical components of our stressed public health infrastructure. The Linux Foundation has long enabled cross-industry collaboration in over a dozen verticals and Dan Kohn, who led the Cloud Native Computing Foundation to rapid growth that defined a multi-billion dollar industry, is an ideal choice to lead this effort." COVID Shield was developed by a volunteer team of more than 40 developers from Shopify, along with members of the Ontario and Canadian Digital Services. While not an official Shopify project, the efforts were supported by Shopify CEO Tobi Lutke. In addition to COVID Shield and COVID Green, an earlier cross-industry collaboration effort, the TCN Coalition, is merging into LFPH. The TCN Coalition is a global community of technologists supporting the development of privacy-preserving and cross-compatible exposure notification apps during the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially founded to ensure cross-border interoperability and to reduce duplication of development efforts, the TCN Coalition has evolved to include supporting public health authorities in their engagements with app-building teams and IT providers. For more information about this news, visit https://www.lfph.io/. A state appeals court on Monday upheld a San Francisco jurys groundbreaking verdict that Monsantos widely used herbicide caused a Bay Area school groundskeepers cancer and that the company disregarded public safety in marketing its product. But the First District Court of Appeal reduced Dewayne Lee Johnsons damages from $78.5 million to $21.5 million, saying California law does not allow damages for reduced life expectancy. There may be valid policy arguments to support allowing the recovery of damages for a shortened life expectancy, but state law entitled Johnson only to compensation for future harm he was reasonably certain to suffer, Presiding Justice James Humes said in the 3-0 ruling. At the time of the trial in 2018, Johnson, 46, was severely ill with non-Hodgkins lymphoma, with lesions covering his body, and his doctors said he had two years to live. He is still alive. While slashing Johnsons damage award, which already had been greatly reduced by the trial judge, the court said there was evidence to support the jurys conclusion that Monsanto acted with a conscious disregard for public safety by disregarding evidence that its Roundup herbicide was dangerous and attempting to influence regulatory agencies. The trial was the first in the nation among thousands of lawsuits against Monsanto by cancer victims who had used Roundup or a more concentrated version of the product called Ranger Pro. Glyphosate, the active ingredient, is the worlds most widely used herbicide. Two subsequent Bay Area trials ended in damage awards of $25.2 million to Edwin Hardeman, who sprayed Roundup on his property in Sonoma County for more than 26 years, and $86.2 million to Alva and Alberta Pilliod, a Livermore couple who sprayed the herbicide on three of their properties for more than 30 years. With other trials pending nationwide, Bayer AG, which acquired Monsanto for $63 billion in 2018, announced a settlement last month that will pay nearly $10 billion to as many as 125,000 claimants. A separate $1 billion-plus settlement for potential future plaintiffs, which would have been based on the findings of a yet-unnamed scientific panel on the dangers of glyphosate, has been shelved after a federal judge questioned its terms. The settlement will not affect the companies appeals of the three trial verdicts, which are proceeding separately. Johnson, of Vallejo, sprayed Ranger Pro on school grounds in Benicia from 2012 to 2016, even after his cancer diagnosis. Despite wearing a full-body suit and other protective gear, he testified that he was exposed to windblown sprays and was drenched twice with the liquid when his equipment broke. After his symptoms first appeared, he said he twice called Monsanto to ask if the product was dangerous, and was promised a return call but never got one. The International Association for Research on Cancer, an arm of the World Health Organization, concluded in 2015 that glyphosate is a probable cause of cancer on humans, a finding later endorsed by California health officials. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and agencies in many other countries have found it to be safe, however, and no warning labels are required for U.S. products. Jurors awarded Johnson $39.25 million for economic losses and for past and future pain and suffering and $250 million in punitive damages. Superior Court Judge Suzanne Bolanos reduced the punitive award to $39.25 million, citing U.S. Supreme Court limits on such damages, but refused to overturn the verdict. In Mondays ruling, the appeals court said jurors were entitled to find that the product was dangerous based on the international agencys findings, Johnsons expert witnesses, and evidence that Monsanto tried to influence regulatory agencies and research on its product. Drought Map Track water shortages and restrictions across Bay Area Check the water shortage status of your area, plus see reservoir levels and a list of restrictions for the Bay Areas largest water districts. The evidence supported a conclusion that Monsanto was more concerned about defending and promoting its product than public health, Humes said. He rejected the companys argument that the verdict conflicted with federal law, saying the EPAs clearance of the product does not require a jury to find it safe. But the court rejected inclusion in the damage award of $1 million for each year of the normal life expectancy of a 46-year-old male, a total of $33 million. Because state law allows damages only for future pain and suffering that is reasonably certain, Humes said, those damages must be reduced to $4 million $2 million since the suit was filed in 2016, $2 million for the next two years lowering Johnsons compensation to $10.25 million. The court then reduced the punitive damages to an equal amount. Bayer, in a statement, said the damage reduction was a step in the right direction but the court should have thrown out the entire verdict. We continue to stand strongly behind the safety and utility of Roundup, a position supported by four decades of extensive science and favorable assessments by leading health regulators worldwide, the company said. R. Brent Wisner, a lawyer for Johnson, said the overall ruling was a victory for Johnson and his family but that the court should not have barred damages for reduced life expectancy. This effectively rewards a defendant for killing a plaintiff, as opposed to just injuring him, Wisner said, and Johnsons lawyers will ask the state Supreme Court to do something about this irrational law. Bob Egelko is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: begelko@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @BobEgelko Based on the number of cases, closures and stay at home orders being implemented all over the nation, it's safe to there's not a single person who isn't being affected by coronavirus in some way. Some families are being hit harder than others though, including right here in Texas. As reported by Houston Chronicle's Brooke Lewis, Alfonso Rodriguez Jr. of Fort Bend County recently lost his father, 86-year-old Alfonso Anzaldua Rodriguez Sr., his mother, 87-year-old Porfiria Morales Rodriguez and one of his brothers, 55-year-old Rudy Rodriguez. COVID-19 took each family member away within a two week timeframe. It's such a tragic reality, especially considering his father was first told he didn't have the virus. Rodriguez said his dad had been complaining about stomach pains for about a week so he went to the doctor, citing horrible diarrhea and constipation. At the ER, his dad was told he most likely suffering from bowel complications and sent home. Days later, he was admitted back into the hospital then told he had COVID-19. 3 1 of 3 Marie D. De Jesus, Houston Chronicle / Staff photographer Show More Show Less 2 of 3 Provided by family Show More Show Less 3 of 3 In the days that followed, Rodriguez's mother, who suffered from heart issues, diabetes, weak kidneys and lungs, was also complaining of stomach pains. His younger sister Irene, who was staying at the house to take care of their mother and brother Rudy after their dad was transported back to the hospital, was also complaining. And shortly after, so was his younger brother Rudy. COVID-19: Single-day statewide case count drops below 10K mark If you dont think this is for real, youre wrong," said Rodriguez. "Ive lost my mom. Ive lost my dad and Ive lost my brother, all in one fell swoop. This is serious. Rudy passed away June 8, Porfiria passed away June 9 and 10 days later, Alfonso Sr. passed away on June 19. Dr. Prathit Kulkarni, an assistant professor of medicine in infectious diseases at Baylor College of Medicine, told the Chronicle that virus transmission among those living in the same household is happening often with COVID-19. There are certain steps you can take to reduce the risk of spreading the virus among each other though, she said. It really boils down to very specific details, said Kulkarni. Are they separating? Are they not? Are they wearing a mask? Are they eating their meals together? Are they wiping down all the surfaces? What measures are being taken impact the frequency with which it happens. With COVID-19 cases drastically spiking, Hispanic people are being affected in disproportionately higher numbers, Chron.com reported almost two weeks ago. According to Porfirio Villarreal, public information officer at the health department, the Latino community makes up 42 percent of the Houston cases in which our epidemiologists were able to verify race and ethnicity. Thiruvananthapuram, July 21 : M G Radhakrishnan, the editor of Malayalam news channel asianet news, has labelled as unfortunate the decision of the CPI(M) to boycott panel discussions conducted by the channel. Boycotts, excommunication and the likes were archaic and inherently undemocratic whereas debates were a part of the democratic tradition, Mr. Radhakrishnan said in a facebook live while exuding the hope that the CPI(M) would reconsider its decision. A democracy by its nature should witness debates and strongly articulated clash of opinions even among those who profess sharply different views. Boycotts were primitive and anti-democratic. Unfortunately, some political parties and community organisations continued to resort to it, he said. The CPI(M) had the other day issued a statement saying that neither the party nor the left coalition led by it would send a representative to participate in asianet news channels prime time news hour panel discussion programme anymore. In the statement, the party cited the anti-democratic nature of the news channels panel discussions as the reason for its decision. The CPI(M) complained that its representatives were not afforded adequate time in the panel discussions by the channels news anchor to put forth the views of the LDF government and to respond to the charges made by the opposition. The statement also listed out the number of times the news anchor interrupted the representatives of the LDF while they were speaking on the news hour programme. The CPI(M) charged the channels news anchors with siding with the representatives of the congress-led opposition UDF and the BJP during the panel debates. The news anchors routinely interrupted the LDFs panelists and prevented them from articulating their view points. NEW YORK, NY / ACCESSWIRE / July 21, 2020 / Austin Rutherford was born in Columbus, Ohio on May 25, 1993. From early on in his life, he was hustling as hard as he could to make money while attending middle and high school. Any sort of business he could find, or create for himself, he would. If there was a niche to be filled, Austin filled it! "When I was in my teens and in middle school I was always hustling trying to make money. Cutting grass, shoveling snow, buying candy at Sam's Club in bulk and selling it at school for a profit, making and selling buckeye necklaces. I had $25,000 saved and I bought a $225,000 duplex as a rental when I was 20 years old," recounts Austin. Quickly after, Austin realized that the best way to make money quickly was to get involved in the real estate business. Early on, when Austin realized he had a passion for making money, he learned that many people who had made it big had all been involved somehow in real estate. Austin knew that this was his next step. "When I was 18, I read the book Think and Grow Rich, and that set it off for me. Then I read somewhere that 90% of all people who file a tax return with $1M+ on it had real estate in their portfolio, and I thought well, that is the way I am going to get rich then," Austin remembers. Austin then worked his way through the real estate world. At first, he was not the most successful, but he pushed through anyways. He reached out and found a mentor who helped guide him through the process. After working incredibly hard, he was finally able to flip his first house and make a massive profit. "I paid a mentor $25,000 on a credit card to teach me the flipping game when I was 20. Finally, 16 months after paying my mentor grinding everyday, working 60+ hours valeting, and taking 15 credit hours in college, I flipped my first house the week after I turned 22 years old and made $107,000 net profit. I flipped my next house about 4 months later and made $40,000. Then I quit my job, dropped out of college, went full time in real estate, and over the last 5.5 years, moved about 200 properties in flips, new builds, rentals, and wholesales. Now, I am a 27 year old multi millionaire," explains Austin. Austin Rutherford shows no signs of slowing down now. His goal in the upcoming years is to continue to build a personal brand and create his space in the real estate business and real estate education business. His advice for those wishing to start their own business is to take the leap of faith and go for it! "Take the leap! Most never even start because they let fear stop them from ever taking that first step. We all have dreams and goals, but the difference is the ones that succeed, they are the ones that act on those dreams and goals. Most people always say 'well what if you fail' or 'what if it doesn't work out' or 'what if you lose it all?' I like to twist that and tell people to ask themselves 'What if it turns out better than you could ever imagine?'" advises Austin. As a young entrepreneur, Austin had to overcome numerous obstacles that consistently got in his way. The biggest challenge by far according to Austin was just getting over his lack of confidence. After conquering this huge hurdle, everything was possible for Austin. "There are obstacles all day every day. I don't think one is necessarily bigger than all of the others. I just think believing in yourself and being confident in yourself on a daily basis and knocking things out that you fear or that are obstacles without hesitation is huge." remarks Austin. To find out more about Austin Rutherford, you can follow him on Instagram @austinrutherfordofficial. CONTACT: Paula Henderson 646-736-2071 phendersonnews@gmail.com About VIP Media Group: VIP Media Group is a hybrid PR agency. Their diverse client base includes top-class entrepreneurs, public figures, influencers, and celebrities. SOURCE: VIP Media Group View source version on accesswire.com:https://www.accesswire.com/598317/Hustling-His-Way-To-Success-Austin-Rutherford-Found-A-Way-To-Make-Money-Doing-Side-Gigs-Until-He-Discovered-Real-Estate-Now-He-Is-A-Multimillionaire THE Assiniboine Park Conservancy bred and released 19 Poweshiek skipperling butterflies in an effort to save the endangered species from extinction. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 20/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. THE Assiniboine Park Conservancy bred and released 19 Poweshiek skipperling butterflies in an effort to save the endangered species from extinction. The butterflies were released at Nature Conservancy of Canadas Tall Grass Prairie Preserve in the RM of Stuartburn, with the first group released on July 2. DAVID PAVLIK PHOTO Nineteen Poweshiek butterflies bred at Assiniboine Park Zoo are being released into the wild. The APC has been working with the Poweshiek species since 2017 and bred the butterflies on-site at the Assiniboine Park Zoo for the first time this year, according to Laura Burns, research conservation specialist. "This summer, we sort of made the collective decision with all of our partners that we need to try breeding," she said. "The species is really on the brink of extinction, so we needed to try new things to get our numbers even higher for the ones we can raise." Burns said they bred a sister species of the Poweshiek butterfly, which isnt endangered, the last couple of years. She added they learned enough from the process to try it with the Poweshiek species. "We had a couple successful breeding pairs for the first time, which was really really exciting, and its great because were holding those females that bred here at the zoo now and collecting those eggs," said Burns. "We could end up getting up to 100 eggs from each of them, which would be a huge jump in numbers hopefully for our release next year." The conservancy is also analyzing the genomes of the butterflies to limit inbreeding. Burns said with a small and endangered population, genetic diversity could be limited, but inbreeding can have negative effects on the population as well. Assiniboine Park Conservancy works with a lot of partners, but when they release the butterflies its done in co-operation with the Nature Conservancy of Canadas Manitoba branch. 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. "Theyre (Poweshiek) a really important species because when we think about the greater health of the grasslands and those prairie habitats the species relies on, grasslands are one of the most endangered ecosystems in the world and over 90 per cent of native grasslands have been lost," said Melissa Grantham, conservation biologist with Nature Conservancy of Canada. Grantham said the grasslands host dozens of other species that are endangered and it was best to return the Poweshiek butterflies to their natural environment. "Theyre native to that part of the province and in their history, there hasnt been anywhere else other than the tallgrass prairie reserve down in southeastern Manitoba," said Grantham. Burns said the team at Assiniboine Park Conservancy learned a lot from the breeding process and theyre already looking to help another endangered species. "We actually already have our sights on some other endangered butterflies in the province," said Burns. "Were hoping the things we learned from this species will not just help Poweshiek, but will help grassland butterfly conservation across North America." kellen.taniguchi@freepress.mb.ca How the Chinese Regime Weaponized an Entire Society to Eradicate Falun Gong Beijings coverup of the coronavirus outbreak, its heavy-handed tactics in Hong Kong, and what some are calling a genocide of the Uyghurs have forced many people to awaken to the chilling realities of the Chinese Communist Party. But practitioners of Falun Gong have faced this every day, since July 20, 1999, when the Chinese regime banned Falun Gong and sought to eradicate the popular spiritual practice. For the past 21 years, practitioners have been demonized, tortured, and even had their organs forcibly extracted. In this episode, we sit down with Crystal Chen, a Falun Gong practitioner and persecution survivor, and Levi Browde, the executive director of the Falun Dafa Information Center. Their stories and insights offer a window into the threat Chinas ruling regime poses to not just Hong Kongers and the Chinese people, but also to the rest of the world. This is American Thought Leaders , and Im Jan Jekielek. Jan Jekielek: Crystal, tell me about your life before July 20th of 1999. Crystal Chen: Before 1999, my life was very good. I worked as an assistant to the executive in the largest textile import and export corporation in Guangzhou, and I started to learn Falun Dafa with my mom in 1997. Although at that time, my mom suffered a very serious stroke, was paralyzed, and also had breast cancer, miraculously, she recovered after just a few months of taking up the Falun Gong practice. So we practiced Falun Dafa and studied the Fa [Dharma or teachings], and at that time, Falun Gong was very popular in the city. Besides all the meditation sites in the park, there were also some people in my workplace [who] practiced Falun Gong. Even during lunch break, wed have a Falun Gong meditation session at the workplace. Mr. Jekielek: So in your city at the time, how did people practice? Ms. Chen: Every morning, they went to the park, and even in the evening after dinner, we also had a Falun Gong free teaching instruction session in almost all the parks. So life was very good at that time. So just imagine people following the principles of Truthfulness, Compassion, and Tolerance, doing peaceful exercises in the park, and teaching other people. And some people even told us that they [were] just walking on the street, and suddenly they hear a very beautiful song, and they follow the song and then find the practice site, Oh, that is Falun Gong. Mr. Browde: Falun Gong is a Buddhist-based spiritual practice thats centered on Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance. Falun Gong was first introduced in 1992, and by 1999, there were 100 million people practicing. Thats a lot of people, even in a country as populous as Chinathats 1 out of every 13 people. And it was being practiced in every province, from people of all walks of life, high ranking government officials, homemakers, farmersyou name it. Mr. Jekielek: So your mother discovered this practice. She had some amazing healing effects from doing it. Is that how you got interested? Ms. Chen: So my mom used to be a soprano, a singer. So suddenly, her life was brought from a star on the stage to nothing. She couldnt even move her body, so its very sad. But I remember, while she was in the hospital, in the cancer hospital, one day she decided to go out to do some qigong. At that time, I knew nothing about qigong, because I was born and raised in Communist China. I was brainwashed that all the qigong practices or religions are superstitious, that [spiritual teachings] are not good, so I doubted it. But my mom was very, very determined, and she said that someone just sent her a book called Zhuan Falun, which is the main book of Falun Gong, and she thought that it was very good, and she decided to go out for a try. And she told me, You didnt know how miserable I was in the hospital and knowing that it might not be cured. So I was very skeptical, but I love my mom. I decided to go with her and to escort her, accompany her, to see whether this Falun Gong will work for her. Sure enough, it was very good. So my mom recovered miraculously after just a few months of taking up this practice. And I started to think, What is this? This is so new to me, and I started to also read the book. Mr. Jekielek: So lets move to July 20th now, of 1999. So youve been practicing for a few years. What were you doing around that time? Ms. Chen: I remember on July 19, 1999, I learned that several local Falun Gong [practitioners] were being harassed by the government and also arrested. So I decided to join a group of Falun Gong practitioners to appeal at the city and the provincial petition bureau for their release. But we were told that the Falun Gong issue has to be handled by the central government. That is what we were told, so we decided to go to Beijing, the central government, to appeal, and by chance, we got the train ticket for the next day. So I boarded the train on July 20th, and then it took us two days to arrive in Beijing, on July 22nd. We didnt hear anything about the full ban of Falun Gong, because we were in transit. By the time that we went to appeal at the central petition bureau, that was July 23rd. We didnt really know where exactly the petition bureau was, but we knew that its around the Tiananmen Square area. So when we passed by Tiananmen Square, we saw a group of Falun Gong practitioners meditating in the square, and we wanted to join that group of practitioners. And suddenly, all the plainclothes police and vans just rushed to that group, including me, and I was then arrested and sent to Fengtai sports stadium in the Beijing suburb. That was a dramatic scene. I never experienced anything like that. Tens of thousands of Falun Gong practitioners from all over the country were sent to that sports stadium by bus, and we were just forced by the armed police to line up, and we were not allowed to make any noise while the loudspeaker at the sports stadium repeated the news of the full ban of Falun Gong in a loop. I just felt like I was in a gruesome movie. Mr. Jekielek: Its an incredible story. And from what I know, Im not sure if that counts exactly as an arrest, but I know you actually were arrested six times over the coming years. Ms. Chen: Yes. That was the first time, my first experience, being arrested just for attempting to appeal to stop the persecution of Falun Gong and expressing how beneficial Falun Gong is for me and my mom. Mr. Jekielek: I remember that back in 2000, Jiang Zemin, the dictator at the time, said: Were going to eradicate this group. That word, eradicate, now, what did that actually mean? It wasnt like we were going to kill all these people, right, necessarily. But what did that mean, how did this eradication proceed, and is it still happening now? Mr. Browde: Thats a very good question, and it goes to the heart of [it]. Whats behind this campaign? What does it really consist of? Ive seen one scholar call it a cold genocide. And really what it means is: were going to take these hundred million people, and instead of what they do to Jews in World War II and just putting them in gas chambers and killing them physically, were going to transform their hearts and minds, usually through significant torture and high-power brainwashing techniques. But the goal is to actually change what that person thinks, actually change who they are, from someone who is striving to align themselves with Truthfulness, Compassion, and Forbearance to someone whos completely obedient to the state. I think one of the most compelling stories about this, individual stories, was actually in a Washington Post article. Theyve done this story back I think in 2001 [or] 2002, where they found someone who had gone through this process. So this Falun Gong practitioner was taken into custody. Not only was he tortured and underwent these horrific psychological techniques, but once they had broken him, that wasnt good enough. He now had to go to study sessions and start to show that hes taking the communist ideology into his heart. That wasnt good enough. He now had to stand up in front of a camera, and they film him while he professes his allegiance to the party and how great the party was. He came out of this process, and one of the things that struck me at the end is he said, What Ive learned is wehuman beings, hes talking aboutare the worst animals on earth. And his case was, I think, a very vivid example of what Jiang Zemin meant by eradicate. He is going to completely transform who they are into obedient followers of the communist state or theyre going to die in the process. Ms. Chen: I was sentenced to forced labor camp without trial, and I was sent to a detention center, brainwashing center, all sorts of properties that the Chinese Communist regime [uses to] persecute Dafa practitioners. And also I experienced different types of torture, of course not only physical, also mental. I remember my first experience being physically tortured was in a detention center in my city, Guangzhou city, the Tianhe Detention Center. I was forced to have a high-density salt torture, which seems very weird, right? But that torture actually is that I was forced to have this high-density saltwater. Five big, large male detainees put me down on the floor. They cut this water bottle in half as a funnel, and they cover my eyes with a very dirty towel used to wipe the floor. And then they shove this one-pound bag of salt with just a little bit of water in it and shove this opening of the bottle, trying to pry my mouth open. And then I felt the salt all over my nose, my eyes, and I feel really, really hot pain. Its very painful. And at the same time, they used a stick to scratch my feet so that I will gasp and so all this salt will [be] put into my throat, my stomach. So its really, really painful. So I couldnt breathe, I struggled to fight against this pain, but at the same time, I felt that I am going to die. Mr. Jekielek: So theyre basically force-feeding you saltwater, really super high Ms. Chen: High-density salt. The result: It was very painful. I couldnt eat after this torture. I couldnt eat nor excrete, and I vomited blood and salt for the next few days, so its very dangerous. It could kill people. And thats why when we suffered this, we already protested to the prison guards that if [they] continue doing this, [theyre] going to kill people. They stopped. Its just because I remember at the moment that I thought I was going to die, I prayed for divine help for me to endure. But at the same time, I said to myself that I will never give up. I will never give up, but Im praying for divine help for me to endure. Almost immediately at that moment, the chief guard ordered them to stop. It is amazing. And also at the same time, one of the five big guys holding me down fell over. And because of that, they stopped. Mr. Jekielek: Why is it so important for you to keep practicing? Ms. Chen: As I mentioned, before I practiced Dafa, I was completely an atheist. I didnt believe there is a higher being existing, and I didnt even know that there is a way for a human being to become awakened through spiritual discipline. But ever since I practiced Falun Gong, I feel like I got what I want. Because even though before practice, I lead a pretty good lifewell educated, good family, promising career in a big companybut I always asked myself [questions]: Where am I from? What am I doing in my life? Is that all my life is all about? Just get educated, marry, have a good family and have good workthats it? And where are we going if I die? This is the question deep in my heart, but Falun Gong definitely gave me the answer and that was what I was seeking in my life. Mr. Jekielek: What people typically associate with Falun Gong is the organ harvesting issue. There was this China Tribunal this year that followed all sorts of attempts to look at this issue, gather evidence and so forth, again over more than a decade. So people hear about this organ harvesting issue. Can you briefly tell me about the connection to Falun Gong? Mr. Browde: Sure. Organ harvesting. We became aware of it, it came on our radar, [in the] mid-2000s. And just so everyone knows, the practice of forced organ harvesting is essentially taking prisoners of conscience, killing them, extracting their organs and using that in a transplantation operation, and it was fueling a billion-dollar business in China. So it first came on the radar for us when a doctor and a former wife of a doctor came to us, and said, Look, this is happening. And very quickly, we started looking into that and found some very disturbing evidence. In particular, theres some phone calls that undercover investigators did where they actually called these different hospitals and we have recorded doctors admitting [that] yes, you can get organs in just a few days time or week, and yes, theyre coming from Falun Gong people. And after that, a number of journalists and some human rights lawyers logged into the story, and start doing more investigation, and realize that in China, in these various hospitals, you can get organs in a matter of days or weeks, where in most countries, its months or years because if you think about it, you have to wait till somebody just happens to die who just happens to be a match with you has an organ. But in China, they were saying days and weeks for wait times. That could only happen if theres a pool of people that theyve already tested and they can kill to do organ transplantation. So this is obviously a horrific human rights abuse. And we also noticed a correlation. The number of transplants was very low in China, and it took off right at the time that hundreds and thousands of Falun Gong practitioners were being brought and held in labor camps and other detention facilities. So the correlation was direct. Ms. Chen: I remember when I was in a forced labor camp, I was systematically tortured, but at the same time, only Falun Gong practitioners in the labor camps or in detention centers got tested and physical exams. That didnt make any sense to me at that moment because that cannot be motivated by the concern over the health of Falun Gong practitioners, because we are systematically tortured. And I personally got tested several times, including two blood tests. So later on, when I was released and I heard about the organ harvesting, [I understood why]. That is horrible. I couldnt even imagine that would happen, but that answers the question of why we got tested and examined in the labor camps and the detention centers. They targeted innocent and healthy Falun Gong practitioners. Mr. Jekielek: Its unbelievable. I think David Matas, one of the early investigators who was actually youd call him a Nazi-hunterhunting down the last Nazi war criminals in Canada called it [a new form of evil yet to be seen on this planet.] And I actually did a little bit of the early reporting on this back in the day as well. So its still happening? Mr. Browde: Very much so. In fact, the China Tribunal that you had mentioned came out with their final judgement just a few months ago, and not only did they conclude yes, this is happening on a significant scale, its [also] ongoing today. And I think whats interesting is that if you noticed in the news a couple months ago, in Wuhan, they made a lot of fanfare about a double lung transplant. And whats very peculiar about that is it showed all the same red flags that weve had with forced organ harvesting all along. Where did they get these lungs from so quickly and get them to Wuhan? The whole thing is very clear, both from the evidence and the tribunal, that this is something thats still going on today. Mr. Jekielek: Thats an interesting case, because obviously that was some kind of a propaganda push by the regime, This lung transplant, look what we can do, this kind of thing. And this propaganda, of course, fits into this whole Falun Gong story extensively. Before I go there, one of the things that I remember is the reason why people would call and ask if its Falun Gong, is because Falun Gong [practitioners] were known to be healthy, and I think this is a kind of really perverse, twisted aspect of the organ harvesting story. Mr. Browde: That is the sad irony. One of the tragic parts of this is that Falun Gong brought tremendous health benefits to the people of China, and then the CCP seized on that and said, Were going to take these people, because theyre so healthy. Were going to make them the primary victim group, the primary source of organs, keep them in detention and kill them every time we want to do an organ transplant operation. Mr. Jekielek: With a marginalized group, theres a kind of ease of using people in a dictatorship this way, that I think maybe even David Matas was also the one who identified this issue. Can you speak to that a bit? Mr. Browde: I think thats a great point, because it touched on two things I think. [One] is how did Falun Gong become a marginalized group? Because again, if you go back to the 1990s, Falun Gong was everywhere. Its in every park. Again, it was a Chinese thing. After decades of living under communist rule, along comes Falun Gong, that sort of heartland China. Its sort of like apple pie, church on Sunday, and baseball all wrapped into one, the analogy to America. It was very Chinese, and it was something that people were proud about. So how do you take an enormous population within China that is very much part of the mainstream and make them marginalized? That was the first question, and that has been over the course of several years a targeted and very horrific campaign of propaganda to turn peoples minds from admiring Falun Gong to despising it. And once you have people thinking that way, [with] this sort of natural distance, it now becomes much more easy for an institution like the medical institution to take over and do horrific things to these people. And quite honestly, its a pattern weve seen in genocidal activity throughout human history. That is a vital component, to marginalize and dehumanize. Now, once that can be achieved, the rank and file and various institutions can be unleashed to do horrible things and thats really what weve seen with organ harvesting. Mr. Jekielek: How is it that this propaganda works? I just watched this film, Ask No Questions, and you actually appeared in it, and I wasnt expecting that. Its just something thats come up recently. I tend to watch films that have to do with Chinas human rights issues, and it talks about the self-immolation event which is, I think, a central piece of propaganda in all of this. Can you speak to that? Mr. Browde: Absolutely. That was the turning point because back in 1999, the head of the Communist Party at that time, Jiang Zemin, was really the one who wanted to persecute Falun Gong. No one else did, including other members of the Politburo, the highest body of governance in the country. And really, he looked at Falun Gong, and for three reasons, he wanted to do this. One, because it was so popular. 100 million people is a lot of people outside of direct CCP control. Two, was ideology. The Communist Party is sort of an atheist organization, quite literally, and along comes a faith-based group thats very rooted in traditional Chinese culture. So there was an ideological threat there to Jiang Zemin. But I think the real reason, the dominant reason, and perhaps the most tragic part of this was that Jiang Zemin was the first Chinese Communist Party leader who hadnt really participated in the revolution and didnt have any credibility. Even among his peers, he was desperate to build up his legacy. And right as hes trying to do that, along comes Falun Gong, takes the country by storm, everybodys talking about how great it is and essentially steals his thunder. So hes the one who said, We have to stamp this out. We have to take Falun Gong out. There was a bit of a power struggle in the summer of 1999, but he prevailed. And once that started, the persecution was launched. However, as weve been discussing, again, Falun Gong to Chinese people, its not foreign. They know this. They know people. Therere people [practicing] in their family. So how do you get people to turn around? A lot of provinces, a lot of areas, werent taking part in this persecution initially, especially further out in the provinces, and Jiang Zemin actually had to take a tour around the country, especially the southern part of the country, to drum up support and to threaten people and coerce them to do this persecution. And that was having some effect. But it wasnt till the self-immolation that things really turned around. So in January 2001, five people set themselves on fire, allegedly, in Tiananmen Square. The police, for some crazy reason, were there to film it. They were taking pictures, they got the whole thing on camera, and that was used in a propaganda blitz to show the Chinese people just how evil Falun Gong was. Look, people are burning themselves. Isnt this terrible? And the images were so horrific, the narrative so sort of twisted, that really turned the tide inside China, in terms of people thinking, Oh, Falun Gong is great. Its the best of our Chinese culture, to Oh, this is bad. Or at least if they werent even convinced with the propaganda which was running 24/7it was everywherethey were at least so scared of the issue. They just didnt want to deal with it. So the self-immolation was the turning point to get the rank and file around the country to really take persecuting Falun Gong seriously. Mr. Jekielek: In the film, they interview one of the CNN correspondents who actually happened to be on the scene. And theres all sorts of these bizarre inconsistencies. The media say that CNN was somehow provided the footage. CNN said, No, theres no way. We actually had to hide it; pretend it didnt exist. Anyway, the story goes on and theres a lot of evidence that this was actually manufactured even though the actual truth of it probably will never be known, because it was all controlled by the regime. Mr. Browde: Thats right. And the one reporter that was brave enough to look into this, Philip Pan with the Washington Post, went to the hometown of two of the alleged self-immolators and found that no one had ever seen these two people practice. And there was all kinds of anomalies in terms of what they were saying on the square, how they were sittingnone of it looked like Falun Gong. The police were behaving in a very strange manner, waiting until they said stuff so that they could get it on camera and use it for propaganda purposes, before they put the blanket on them or dealt with them, which is completely different from how they deal with Falun Gong people on Tiananmen Square. If you see any of the footage, the minute someone steps on the square and says something positive about Falun Gong, theyre racing out, they tackle them, they take them to the ground, and they get them into the van, trying to make sure they dont say anythingthis was the exact opposite. Several organizations have looked at this and said this was clearly staged, and a lot of these anomalies make that very clear. All the sort of movie techniques they use, but also the fact that these reports came out so quick in a matter of hours. In some cases, I think some of the reports came out before the victims, so-called victims, were even brought to the hospital. Some of the stuff was very quick, and it was a propaganda blitz. Literally 24/7 it was running for quite some time. So it is well-understood that this was staged, but the damage was still done, because inside China, there is only one media, and thats the state-run media, and it had an effect. Mr. Jekielek: Tell me briefly, what ended up happening to your mother and your family? Ms. Chen: I lost my mom because of the persecution of Falun Gong. I was sent to the same detention center and the same labor camp with my mom, but we were separated and never had a chance to see each other for almost three years. But later, some of the fellow practitioners who spent some time with my mom in the prison or in the labor camp told me that my mom also suffered brutal persecution. One of the persecution [techniques] to my mom is electric baton shocks. They shocked my mom for almost two hours without a break, and also they shocked all the very sensitive parts of her body, like the underarm and the inner side of her thigh, and also the ear, the neck. My mom was covered with all these black bruises and burns. You can imagine: two hours of electric baton shocks, and they can even smell the skin burned off my mom. And then my mom was tortured in the detention center, in the labor camp, and also later sent to a brainwashing center. That is a facility that specializes in persecuting Falun Gong practitioners without trial, without any legal protection. Its a black jail. And then after all these years of persecution, my mom died in August 2006 after her release from custody. The persecution of Falun Gong, to me, is not only persecution of the Falun Gong group itself. It is persecution of humanity and spirituality as a whole. People think , Oh, Falun Gong practitioners are being persecuted, but they dont know that at the same time, our families and our coworkers all got threatened. For example, my ex-husband was forced by the 610 Office [the above-the-law police force established to eliminate Falun Gong] to divorce me when I was in jail. And they forced my father to say , Well, if you dont follow what the Communist Party asked you to do, to denounce Falun Gong, were going to cut [off] our biological relationship. That sounds ridiculous, right? But then its what the communist regime forced innocent people to do, to put pressure on your family, to create all this fear, because people dont want to lose their existing benefits, their comfort needs, their livelihoods, their jobs, their freedom, even their lives. The communists just create fear for everyone related. For example, they will force the inmates to torture us, and if they follow what they said, they will get released quickly, earlier. Thats a benefit. If the police will torture us, and also force us to transform and denounce Falun Gong, they get promoted. They get an extra bonus for it. Its all about that. Mr. Jekielek: Lets talk about something thats very fresh in the news right now and frankly has a lot of us really worried and a lot of good friends of mine very worried, which is this new Hong Kong national security law. What are the implications for Falun Gong? Mr. Browde: The implication is actually worse than mainland China in terms of what could happen to a Falun Gong practitioner or anybody that crosses this law in Hong Kong, and thats what I think was so shocking about this. And Ill give you a very specific example: In mainland China, what you tend to see is when they sentence a Falun Gong practitioner to prison, it may be 3 years, 5 years, it goes all the way up to 18 years. On the Hong Kong law, minimum 10 years; it could be a life sentence. So thats one example of how theyve actually outdone themselves where the implication for people inside Hong Kong could be worse. Theres also this draconian aspect of this law where for very vaguely worded reasons, authorities in Beijing could decide Were going to take whoever it is that was just arrested in Hong Kong, were going to bring them to mainland China, and were going to do the trial there, where obviously they have total control over the entire legal system, prosecution, judges and so forth. So it has made Hong Kong as bad, if not worse, than Mainland China. One other thing thats particularly troubling about the law is there are aspects of it that allowed Chinese agents to come in and basically operate in the offices of Hong Kong. And so, the 610 Office, which is sort of the Chinese Gestapo for persecuting Falun Gongthats its sole missionnow has the legal framework to come in and operate in Hong Kong, and so [its] very much a concern for anybody who practices or speaks out or advocates in any way for Falun Gong in Hong Kong. Mr. Jekielek: So this is actually fascinating for our viewers: just the concept that there is an organization like a Gestapo that you described thats solely dedicated to the destruction of Falun Gong. Thats been operating for how long? Mr. Browde: 21 years. Mr. Jekielek: And so tell me about this organization. What kind of powers does it have? What does it actually do? Sure. So the organization is called the 610 Office, and it was formed in June of 1999, which is before they announced the persecution, so they were already preparing this. Its an extralegal agency that reports directly to the Politburo, which means it has jurisdiction over the whole country, over any government agency, over any group of police. And their sole missionthey were created solely to implement Jiang Zemins persecution campaign against Falun Gong, which is kind of how theyve got the name Chinas Gestapo. Thats all that they do, and they can override decisions at the provincial level, the city level, the local level, when they want to go after Falun Gong, and theyve been operating for 21 years. Now, as the CCP has done frequently in other regards, a few years ago, there was an announcement, Oh, were going to dissolve the 610 Office. Were no longer going to have that. But after that, even as early as most recently as this year, weve got documents coming out of China and other evidence to indicate that indeed, this agency is still operational and is still doing the core function of persecuting Falun Gong. So thats what Chinas Gestapo was all about. Mr. Jekielek: So basically, these guys I can come in and commandeer any security resources. Mr. Browde: Thats correct. And again, they report to the Politburo, and so they are really a Communist Party entity above the government. Mr. Jekielek: So Levi, weve been becoming aware, I guess, as the free world, especially over the last few years of how much influence and power the Chinese Communist Party yields over American, international, and all sorts of institutions. FARA reports $19 million was spent just on China Daily inserts in major American media by the Chinese Communist Party. How is the Chinese Communist Party influencing the media? Has it influenced the reporting on Falun Gong or the lack of reporting on Falun Gong? Mr. Browde: I think you have to conclude that it has, and I say that for a few reasons. First of all, if you just look at across industries [the CCP is present], I mean, look at what happened with the NBA, right? Normally you have players and coaches who are very politically vocal, which is great, more power to them. But along comes one person who says something about Hong Kong, and suddenly the CCP swoops in. And everybody goes quiet. No one wants to answer questions. And when they do, they obviously havent done their homework. You see this in Hollywood. You certainly see it in government. Inevitably, youre going to see it in the media. Our media companies are companies; theyre for-profit companies. Many of them have enormous business interest in China. And that aside, weve had several reporters that are very candid with us who tell us that theres only so far they can go in terms of exposing the CCP, because they might be kicked out of China or they might lose these business interests. So it is invariably so that media coverage of Falun Gong is being influenced by the CCP, just like the CCP is influencing all these other sectors. I think theres another interesting aspect of this. And that is, how did we get to this place? How did the CCP become such an entity that would influence us in this regard? The persecution of Falun Gong played a role in that. So again, going back to 1999, youve got 100 million people all around the country, from every sort of walk of life, how are you going to persecute those people? You have to weaponize every institution of society in order to get that done? And what does that mean? Well, one of the prominent features of this we saw over the years is that people who would persecute Falun Gong, who would go along with this, rise in the ranks. Those who would not would be demoted or often sometimes fired. I mean, literally, if youre a leader in a business, if youre the one whos going to say, Okay, Ive identified three Falun Gong people in my work unit, get them off to a labor camp, youre going to go up because of that. We saw this in every industry across China. So what does that do for the culture of the business for the society at large? This essentially criminalizes all these institutions. Geoffrey Nice, actually, who was the lead prosecutor in the China Tribunal that you referenced, said as much in the final judgement. He investigated the forced organ harvesting and came to the conclusion that with the CCP, were dealing with a criminal state. And it really is true, and the implementation of the Falun Gong persecution is a large part of creating that. Now we in the international community have to deal with that, because these institutions that have been weaponized, that have been imbued with the mechanisms of persecutionof having leadership that would do that, having propaganda policies around what they dois now touching our government, our businesses, our media. And were seeing the effects of that. If you look at the NBA, if you look at some of the things that the Chinese regime is doing in calling our members of Congress and asking them to persecute Falun Gong, or do this or do that. The type of influence were seeing in every sector where we interact with the CCP has that character and has that risk to us. Mr. Jekielek: So Levi, this brings to mind another case. Actually, very, very recently, in the middle of 2020, a very affluent woman was sentenced to eight years, as I understand it, purely for practicing Falun Gong. Mr. Browde: Yeah. Whats interesting about her case is shes a Canadian citizen. So lets take a look at what happened to her years ago. Shes the VP of a multi-billion dollar biochemical company in China. Many years ago, several years ago, she was in China. She was pulled out of her apartment, and she was arrested just because shes a Falun Gong practitioner. And for years, the Canadian government has been voicing their concern. The community, obviously the human rights community has been protesting her being detained. And shes been through just some horrific things. Because of the tense situation, her husband was forced to divorce her. There have been 11 lawyers whove tried to take on her case and have not been allowed to. Shes been sort of persecuted while in prison for years. And then at the end of June of this year, suddenly, the CCP announces, Oh, were imprisoning her for eight years. Again, simply because shes a Falun Gong practitioner, and despite all the protests of the Canadian government and the international community, Mr. Jekielek: Levi, looking at this case, this woman has been in jail for a number of years. Now, shes suddenly sentenced to eight more after years of persecution already. The Canadian government is helpless to help its own citizen in this situation. It makes me think of this, lets call it, wild lack of transparency for what happens in China, and this actually has been highlighted recently by the coronavirus situation, the Chinese influence on the WHO, all these things. It reminds me of something that David Matas has written about pretty recently, which is that had we, as the free world, I suppose, demanded more transparency in the realm of organ transplants and other realms of China, maybe this would have never happenedthis whole coronavirus pandemic. Mr. Browde: I think its an excellent point. And its a tragic reminder about how important it is to keep your eye on egregious human rights abuses. In the case, I think the point he was making is that if wed taken this seriously, we would have made sure that not only were they stopping organ harvesting, but we could see it, right? We would have enough transparency into China, we could see that, and had that transparency been in place the pandemic would have never happened. Is he right? I think whats interesting here is Taiwan, because Taiwan is an example. I think that he is right. So lets take a look at Taiwan. Back on December 31st, their doctors were watching the chatter from the Wuhan doctors, and they knew right away [that] we had a deadly virus on our hands, and it was human transmittable. And then so thats the transparency part. They were also one of the biggest victims outside of China of SARS. They were hit very, very hard. And so they also had an awareness that whatever the CCP says about this virus, do not listen to it. Combined with that transparency and the knowledge to not listen to the talking points of the CCP, they got to work. Immediately back on December 31st, more than a month before the rest of the world was doing this, they were already monitoring traffic coming in from Wuhan and the rest of China. Theyve never had to lock down this entire time. Theyve had only seven deaths. In the United States, we have what 130,000? Brazil has 60,000. Seven! You can safely say Taiwan never had the pandemic. Yes, they take precautionary measures. They wear face masks, but they never had to take any of the lockdown measures weve had. And theyve had only seven deaths. They did that because they had transparency into exactly what was happening with China, and they had enough awareness to know not to believe the CCP or anybody speaking for them, and they should act in their own best interest according to their own medical personnel. I think Taiwan proves that David Matas is right. Mr. Jekielek: So Levi, any final words before we finish up? Mr. Browde: Well, [there are] a couple things Id like to say. One is to let people know that this is still going on. Again, day after day, we get cases from China and we know of [arrests]. For example, at the end of June, there was a group of 36 people that were rounded up in the Beijing area, because theyre Falun Gong practitioners. One of them was a 68-year-old woman. Just a few hours later, she dies in police custody. Back on April 19th, I remember this case [involving] a woman who was not a Falun Gong practitioner. Her husband was a practitioner, but she was defending him. The police picked her up; she was abused in custody; and she died. So this is something thats very much continuing and going on, even to this very day. And it remains tragic even after 21 years. The other thing I would say is that its important to stay informed about this kind of thing. Our organization, the Falun Dafa Information Center can be found online at Faluninfo.net And theres a wealth of information there about not only whats happening in China, but what people are doing here in the United States and other countries. Our Congress is taking action. Theres another resolution actually on the Senate side that is condemning the persecution, particularly forced organ harvesting. These things matter; they make a difference. So if you want to help, go to the website, find out whats going on [and] give your congressman or your senator a call, in this case, and let them know this matters to you. Mr. Jekielek: So Crystal, what would you say to all the Hong Kongers that are hoping to preserve freedom in Hong Kong? Ms. Chen: I will say: dont give up. Based on my personal experience, a lot of people right now take a peek at the Hong Kong situation. Thats kind of like a window to showcase the evil nature of the CCP. And thats why people think that there is no hope for people to fight against, because they have the whole apparatus: military, police, even arms. They have everything. Were just innocent citizens without arms. The only thing that Hong Kong people have is an umbrella to fight against. But I will say that there is hope. Some people right now say that Falun Gong practitioners are the only one group to survive the persecution of the CCP for the longest time, more than 20 years. For example, the Tiananmen massacre and all those political campaigns, even the 10 years of Cultural Revolution, didnt last that long. But the Falun Gong practitioners are so persistent. And then they survived for more than 20 years, even though the persecution still exists and is still going on right now at this moment. It never stops. I think its because Falun Gong, actually, is true spirituality. Its not a movement. To me, its spirituality. Like I said, I have been through all this persecution and physical torture. I dont think its because of how strong I am. Im just an ordinary petite size, lady. But when I was in a life and death danger, I would reach out for divine help. I dont think that a human being can defeat the evil force. I can only ask for help from the divine beings to give me strength to endure and to break through. Thats my experience. Mr. Jekielek: Crystal Chen, such a pleasure to have you on. Ms. Chen: Thank you for having me, Jan. This interview has been edited for clarity and brevity. American Thought Leaders is an Epoch Times show available on Facebook and YouTube and The Epoch Times website. ICAO: Decoding black boxes of Ukrainian plane starts in France IRNA - Islamic Republic News Agency Tehran, July 20, IRNA -- Iran Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) announced on Monday that the process of decoding black box of Ukrainian plane (PS752) started in France. ICAO announced on Monday that the Iranian team delivered black boxes of the Ukrainian plane to laboratory of the Bureau of Enquiry and Analysis for Civil Aviation Safety (BEA). It added that the coordination session is now underway that restoration of information in black boxes will start today. Immediately after the accident, the black boxes of the plane have been kept under security care in ICAO. The black boxes were taken to Paris on July 17 observing technical and security protocols under supervision of the expert teams. After landing in Paris, the Iranian team delivered the black boxes to the French authorities and that the French police took the responsibility for their protection. Based on the international regulations, manufacturer of the plane and Ukraine as user of the aircraft will represent the investigation process. Other countries which have somehow been involved in the accident can introduce experts to have access to information. Accordingly, Canada, Sweden, Germany and the UK have requested for participating in the inquiry. Earlier, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a phone conversation with his Canadian counterpart said that Iran is ready to solve legal issues, to compensate losses on the victims of the accident and to compensate for the Ukrainian plane losses but Ukraine has not introduced any delegation yet. A Ukrainian Boeing 737 passenger plane was accidentally shot down by an Iranian rocket near Tehran on January 8, 2020. It happened after the US terrorist attack against motorcade of General Qasem Soleimani, late Commander of Qods forces and his companions at Baghdad airport on January 3, 2020. Iran reciprocated the US terrorist operation by hitting the US Ain al-Assad airbase in Iraq The commander of Aerospace Force of the IRGC Brigadier-General Amir-Ali Hajizadeh admitted that human error was responsible for the air tragedy. 9376**1416 NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address ALBANY Bars that only serve alcohol to patrons were never authorized to reopen during the ongoing pandemic, but have seized on a loophole in New York law in which there is no distinction between restaurants that serve food and establishments that primarily serve drinks, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said. "We never authorized bars to reopen. Most states have not allowed bars to operate," Cuomo said Tuesday morning. "New Jersey doesn't allow bars to operate. Bars are congregations of people milling about and that is exactly what we're trying to avoid." He said it "was just a violation from the beginning" for bars to open outdoor areas to allow patrons to gather and drink. "Outdoor dining is different. You sit down at a table and you eat," he said. "When you are dining, you are at a table; youre not getting up and going table to table not standing, hobnobbing." The governor stopped short of saying that bars would be forced to close, but noted that 27 liquor licenses have been suspended across the state and more than 400 establishments have received citations. "They were never supposed to institute outdoor drinking. The words are 'outdoor dining,'" he said. "They took outdoor dining and used it as an opportunity to do outdoor drinking. That is not what the regulations permitted. ... I'm not changing the rules. They exploited the existing regulation." Also Tuesday, the governor said 31 states are now on the state's quarantine list, as 10 more were added Tuesday and only one Minnesota was removed. Delaware was returned to the list after being removed last week. "Our future is in their hands," Cuomo said of other states where coronavirus is surging. "We may not be unified as a nation the way we should be, but we're going to have national unity in the trajectory of COVID. One state cannot protect itself from this virus." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. New York's infection rates remained steady and low Monday at 1.2 percent, with 724 people hospitalized and two fatalities. "Remember, at one time we had over 800 deaths in a single day," Cuomo said. (Photo by Lev Radin/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images) On Monday, Cuomo had threatened to roll back the phased reopening by closing down bars and restaurants if social-distancing rules aren't adhered to more strictly. "These restaurants and bars are breaking the law and they are going to make it bad for everyone else, because if this continues we're going to have to roll back the reopening plan and close all bars and restaurants," he said. Businessman gets 2 years in penal colony settlement for $630,000 fraud RAPSI, Vladimir Burnov 12:09 21/07/2020 MOSCOW, July 21 (RAPSI) A court in Kemerovo Region has sentenced a businessman to 2 years in penal colony settlement for a 45 million-ruble (over $630,000) fraud, the Investigative Committees press service has told RAPSI. Between January 2015 and December 2017, the defendant ordered his employees of his company to illegally make out service charge receipts with company details but not on behalf of the Passport and Visa Service. He intentionally lowered information on the number of services rendered by his firm, the pres service reports. Thus, the Interior Ministrys Passport and Visa Service received less than due 45.1 million rubles. The companys CEO pleaded not guilty. Assets of the defendant and his firm worth nearly 40 million ruble have been seized, the statement reads. US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo offered unsparing criticism of the Chinese Communist Party while visiting London on Tuesday, describing the leadership's behaviour in regard to the pandemic as unforgivable and slamming "the crushing of freedoms" in Hong Kong. Pompeo said he held "candid" discussions with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab, amid growing tensions between the West and China. In a sweeping broadside, he challenged every nation which "understands freedom and democracy and values" to understand the threat being posed by China's dominant party. "We hope we can build out a coalition that understands this," he said. The session came just hours after Britain suspended its extradition treaty with Hong Kong and blocked arms sales to the former British territory, angering Beijing, after China imposed a tough new national security law. Britain followed the United States, Australia and Canada in suspending extradition agreements with Hong Kong, which became a special administrative region of China after the U.K. returned control of the territory to Beijing in 1997. China's ambassador to Britain, Liu Xiaoming, warned on Twitter that the UK should bear the consequences of damaging bilateral relations. He described the new measure as gross interference on the part of the UK in Chinese internal affairs. Pompeo described his talks in London as being constructive and ranging "from 5G telecommunication to our negotiations for a US-UK free trade agreement." Pompeo also met with senior members of Johnson's Conservative Party, who blocked plans to give Chinese telecommunications company Huawei a role in the UK's new high-speed mobile phone network. The US has lobbied its allies to shun Huawei because it says the Chinese government could use the company's technology to spy on Western nations. Huawei denies the allegations and argues that US protectionism is behind the move. Events in Hong Kong are particularly sensitive for Britain because China agreed to a 'one country, two systems' policy intended to protect the economic and social traditions of the territory for 50 years after the handover. Britain and its allies believe the security law imposed by Beijing threatens that agreement because it restricts free speech and erodes the judicial independence of Hong Kong. The law makes crimes such as promoting secession punishable by a maximum sentence of life in prison. It also allows some cases to be tried on the mainland, which means people extradited to Hong Kong could end up being tried in mainland courts. The UK has already accused the Beijing government of violating the Sino-British Joint Declaration under which Hong Kong was returned to China, and announced it would open a special route to citizenship for up to 3 million eligible residents of the territory. live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More With Rafale jets arriving in Ambala on July 29, the Indian Air Force (IAF) has geared up for their arrival. The 36 jets will be inducted at Ambala station upon arrival. Here's what you need to know about the Rafale deal: The Rafale deal was signed in September 2016. The Indian government had inked a direct deal with the French government to purchase 36 new Rafale fighter jets for 7.87 billion euro, after which the government hiked the defence budget to accommodate these costs. The deal was to bring over 3 billion euro of work to Indian industries over the next seven-to-eight years, The Economic Times reported. The Rafale weapons package outguns all other weapons systems in the region giving India the ability to note enemy jets from a distance without being tracked, The Economic Times reported. The air-to-ground SCALP missile will be able to take down virtually any target with dead accuracy. It also has a range of much over 300 km, giving it the ability to take out targets with extreme accuracy. The Indian jets would not have to cross the Line of Actual Control and conduct strikes from within their own airspace, the report stated. On March 5, 2018, the Supreme Court (SC) decided to look into the deal, following a PIL seeking an independent probe into Centres decision to procure 36 Rafale fighter jets from France and disclosure of the cost involved in the deal before Parliament. On October 10, the apex court asked the Centre to provide details of the decision-making process in the Rafale fighter jet deal in a sealed cover, the Hindu reported. By December 14, 2018, the court said there is no occasion to doubt the decision-making process of the Modi government and dismissed all petitions seeking direction to the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) to register an FIR for alleged irregularities in the jet deal, the report said. While the deal was initially estimated to be worth Rs 54,000 crore, the National Development Alliance (NDA) said it had gotten significantly better terms than those quoted under the original bid made by the United Progressive Alliance government (UPA), The Economic Times reported. A saving of more than 1,600 million euro (350 million euro on the cost of aircraft, with a further reported saving on weapons, allied maintenance, and training package amounting to around 1,300 million euro, or Rs 12,600 crore), was reported by the government. However, the cost breakdown between deals was not revealed, the report stated. In 2017, the Congress party alleged a huge scam in the deal, saying that the contract had violated procurement procedures, the report said. The party also alleged the NDA government for promoting of 'crony capitalist friends at the cost of a defence public sector unit, Hindustan Aeronautics ( HAL ). One of the most recognizable names in meat is now turning his attention to yet another mission: testing and labeling meat for antibiotics. Bill Niman, owner of BN Ranch in Bolinas and original founder of the natural meat company Niman Ranch, is putting his weight behind a new San Mateo company called FoodID, which says it can quickly test meat for antibiotics. It also has created a labeling system with a QR code that grocery store customers can use to find out the test results. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention calls antibiotics resistance one of the biggest current public health challenges, and it is tied to the widespread use of antibiotics in the meat supply. With a lack of clarity on what the label antibiotic-free actually means, Niman hopes FoodID will help shoppers learn more about the meat that they buy. For my entire involvement in the natural meat trade, Ive always been concerned and quite angry about so many of the generous brand claims that are being made, said Niman, who founded the company with Dan Denney, who has a Stanford doctorate in microbiology and immunology. Its pretty concerning. Theres a lot of inauthentic claims. Niman and Denney, who also founded Fremont biotechnology company Genitope Corp., are joined by CEO Kevin Lo, who was previously with Google and Facebook. FoodID will offer tests for beef, pork and poultry that can be done in 10 minutes at the slaughterhouse or meat-processing facilities on behalf of customers like meat companies and fast-food chains. Using either an animals urine or a tissue sample, they check for seven families of drugs that the company thinks represent the vast majority of antibiotics used in the livestock industry. The tests cost pennies per pound, said a spokesman. Santiago Mejia/The Chronicle The concern about antibiotics use in agriculture is focused on how routine use can help develop drug-resistant bacteria that can make humans sick. Though the practice was outlawed for California meat producers in 2015, nationally it is common for livestock producers to use antibiotics routinely to prevent disease and promote growth. In all, 70% of sales of medically important antibiotics by volume come from the livestock industry, according to the nonprofit organization Pew Charitable Trusts, though that partly has to do with the larger size of animals such as cattle. As consumer awareness increases, its common to see antibiotic-free or organic labels on meat that are supposed to ensure that animals were not raised with routine antibiotic use. But skeptics about those labels point out that producers must provide only paperwork showing their animals were raised without the use of antibiotics, not actual test results. Though the U.S. Department of Agriculture is responsible for testing the overall meat supply to make sure it doesnt contain harmful levels of antibiotics, critics allege that its done on a minimal level. To start, Cooks Venture, a company that produces pasture-raised, slow-growing chickens from a facility in Arkansas that also uses regenerative farming practice, will have its chickens tested and labeled by FoodID. Though Cooks CEO Matthew Wadiak said the company doesnt use antibiotics in its chickens, he wants to use the label to pressure other companies to be more transparent in their antibiotic use. The product debuted last year and is sold in grocery stores in the Bay Area and nationwide. He also hopes that using the label will educate more customers on antibiotics and modern poultry practices that often lead to more routine antibiotics use. Use of antibiotics within the supply chain is horrifically abundant and completely negligently managed, said Wadiak, who was previously the chief operating officer and co-founder of the meal kit delivery company Blue Apron. I think a lot of companies turn a blind eye to that. For its part, the Food and Drug Administration said it is taking steps to change how antibiotics can be used in agriculture. The agency has moved to eliminate the use of such drugs for production purposes (i.e., growth promotion and feed efficiency) and bring their remaining therapeutic uses in feed and water under the supervision of licensed veterinarians changes that are critical to ensure these drugs are used judiciously and only when appropriate for specific animal health purposes, it said. Food Guide Top 25 Restaurants Where to eat in the Bay Area. Find spots near you, create a dining wishlist, and more. However, infections continue to increase from a variety of sources. Every year in the United States, there are 2.8 million antibiotic-resistant infections and more than 35,000 deaths as a result, according to the CDC. Thats up from 2 million illnesses and 23,000 deaths in 2015. There are concerns that antibiotics resistance can also play a role in the current pandemic because secondary infections have been shown to play a role in COVID-19 deaths. Ultimately, Niman hopes his new company and its labels could force the meat industry to rein in its use of routine antibiotics. Its going to change how food is produced because if people are concerned about their food and will know how much antibiotics are being used, there will be whole new standards, he said. Theres going to be a bandwagon effect. The consumer is going to demand it. Update: This story was changed to correct the name of the organization that did research on antibiotic sales, Pew Charitable Trusts. Tara Duggan is the San Francisco Chronicles. Email: tduggan@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @taraduggan A landscaping business owner believes he is struggling to hire staff because people would rather pocket the JobSeeker payment than work for a living. Tim Buckle is the managing director of Landscape Solutions, which employs 700 people across Australia and New Zealand. He is looking to fill 20 jobs in New South Wales alone but says he's unable to find workers because of high JobSeeker payments, news.com.au reported. Mr Buckle said it's always hard to get people to fill roles in Sydney but the difficulty has now become 'next level'. Tim Buckle (pictured) is the managing director of Landscape Solutions, which employs 700 people across Australia and New Zealand 'We're now looking to expand again but can't find people to fill the roles,' Mr Buckle said. 'The landscape industry offers the lower end of wages, and the gap between JobSeeker is so close, there's no incentive for someone to go to work.' Mr Buckle's business saw its revenues decline by 15 to 20 per cent due to the pandemic but was unable to secure JobKeeper funds. Landscaping Solutions had to cut 25 staff but since their business bounced back they were able to hire everyone back and need to fill more roles. Mr Buckle said one position - the trade assistant role - pays about $25 an hour and after tax there is a $200 gap between the wage and the JobSeeker payment. Mr Buckle said previously they would get 40 applicants for the position but now receive just two or three, and that is why he thinks the drop in applicants is due to JobSeeker payments. The business owner isn't the only one struggling to fill advertised positions. Jobs such as retail sales assistants, truck drivers, child carers, receptionists, managers and registered nurses are on offer. But employers struggling to find workers have blamed a 'lack of applicants' despite a surge in unemployment in the wake of COVID-19, data from the National Skills Commission showed. In a survey conducted on 5,700 employers with 3,500 vacant positions, 44 per cent said their biggest problem was a small number of applicants. 'The most commonly mentioned occupations that employers have been recruiting for since 7 April 2020 include retail sales assistants, truck drivers, child carers, receptionists, managers and registered nurses,' the NSC report said. 'Around 30 per cent of recruiting employers were having (or expected to have) difficulty filling their vacancies. Mr Buckle said one position - the trade assistant role - pays about $25 an hour and after tax there is a $200 gap between the wage and the JobSeeker payment. Pictured: Project by Landscaping Solutions 'Lack of applicants' was the most common reason (mentioned by 44 per cent of employers having difficulty recruiting), followed by 'applicants lack experience' (27 per cent).' These were followed by the 'location' of the vacancy and 'applicants lack technical skills' (both 20 per cent). In June the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed the unemployment rate is 7.4 per cent - a 0.3 per cent increase on the month before. The government benefits were introduced at the height of the coronavirus pandemic in Australia. A Senate inquiry earlier this year revealed that Newstart payments were inadequate, and they were doubled to create the JobSeeker payment. Mr Buckle said he understands $270 a week was difficult to live on but didn't understand why it was doubled for people who were already unemployed when the pandemic hit. Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Tuesday the coronavirus wage subsidy payment JobKeeper, which currently helps 3.5million Australians, will be reduced in phases as the economy recovers from lockdowns. The payment will be reduced from $1,500 to $1,200 from 27 September, with a lower payment of $750-a-fortnight for people who worked less than 20 hours a week in February, before the pandemic struck. Fewer businesses will be eligible as they must continue to prove a revenue decline of 30 per cent compared to before coronavirus. Mr Buckle said previously they would get 40 applicants for this position but now its just two or three, and that is why he thinks the drop in applicants is due to JobSeeker payments. Pictured: Project by Landscaping Solutions This means that the number of people on JobKeeper is expected to decline from 3.5 million now to 1.4 million between October and December, Treasurer Josh Frydenberg said today. Meanwhile, the JobSeeker supplement will be reduced from $550 to $250, meaning the payment will be worth $800-a-fortnight instead of $1,100 in total. Mr Buckle told Daily Mail Australia that he thinks the drop in JobSeeker benefits would have more people apply for jobs in his business, 'I agree in October we would get more people applying for jobs but what would we do between now and then,' Mr Buckle said. 'The government has created a blanket solution and it needs to be targeted for specific industries.' He said Landscaping Solutions got 'lost in the mix' during the pandemic. 'We weren't able to get JobKeeper and JobSeeker is preventing us from getting staff,' he said. 'We are competing with businesses that did get that benefit. It's almost like we are being punished.' By PTI JAIPUR: The Rajasthan High Court is likely to pronounce its order on Tuesday on a writ petition filed by Sachin Pilot and 18 other dissident Congress MLAs, challenging the disqualification notices issued to them by the state assembly speaker. The petition was taken up by a bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta on Friday and arguments were heard on Monday till evening. On Tuesday, hearing resumed at 10:30 am. The Congress Legislature Party (CLP) is also scheduled to meet at 11 am. The dissident MLAs had moved the court on Friday amid the infighting in the state unit of the Congress, as Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot and his now sacked deputy Pilot tussled for power. Counsel for the speaker Abhishek Singhvi on Monday argued that the petition was premature as a decision was yet to be taken on disqualifying the MLAs from the House. There is no scope for interference by a court over the show-cause notices issued by the speaker, he had said. ALSO READ | 'Will not join BJP, our fight to save Congress by effecting leadership change in government': Pilot camp The speaker is supreme as far as the legislative assembly is concerned and the notices have been issued within the purview of the speaker's power, Singhvi had said. A lawyer appearing for the speaker had told reporters that the chief justice asked is the speaker bound to issue a notice on a petition seeking disqualification of such a nature without recording any reason. Singhvi had argued that there was no requirement to record reasons as it was merely a show-cause notice. The notices to the MLAs were served after the party complained to the speaker that the lawmakers had defied a whip to attend two CLP meetings last week on Monday and Tuesday. ALSO READ | Rajasthan crisis: After Gehlot's outburst, is it the end of road for Pilot in Congress? The Pilot camp, however, argues that a party whip applies only when the assembly is in session. In its complaint to the speaker, the Congress had sought action against Pilot and the other dissidents under paragraph 2(1)(a) of the 10th Schedule of the Constitution. The provision disqualifies MLAs if they "voluntarily" give up the membership of the party that they represent in the House. Pilot was sacked as the Rajasthan deputy chief minister and the president of the state Congress unit after he rebelled against Gehlot. The Juno Inc. and Gett Inc. applications are displayed on an Apple iPhone. Ride-hailing app Gett announced Tuesday that it's raised another $100 million from investors, bringing total funding in the company up to more than $750 million. The company, founded in Israel in 2010, said in a press release that it will use the funding to improve its "ground travel platform for corporates." Like Uber and Bolt, Gett allows people to hail a ride on-demand to get them from A to B. It's all-in-one booking platform is available to businesses in Europe and North America. Perhaps unsurprisingly, the company is increasingly keen to sign up large firms with thousands of employees as customers. However, it's not the only one. India's Ola announced a similar "Ola Corporate" offering on Tuesday while Uber launched Uber for Business in 2014. There are many other firms trying to compete in this space including Addison Lee and Wheely. Despite the competition, Gett said that a third of the Fortune 500 have become clients since it launched its corporate travel service in 2010. Customers include the likes of Google and Disney. Not long after schools transitioned to remote learning this spring, English teacher Shelby Davis started getting messages at all hours of the night. Her 11th graders, whose sleeping schedules had already reset by then, were sending her questions at 1 or 2 am and multiple follow-ups into the early hours of the morning, because I wasnt answering fast enough, she said. Shed wake up to the notifications in the morning and start making her way through them. On Sundays, her schools end-of-week deadline for student work, she felt tied to her inbox, replying to students last-minute questions about assignments. In all, Davis thinks she spent about five hours a day on her email. The sheer volume of communication was overwhelming, and its round-the-clock nature nothing like what she had experienced in the classroom. Before COVID, most students would wait until the next day to ask her questions in person. With distance learning, theres kind of like a blend between days, Davis said. My day doesnt naturally stop at 2:50. Even before the pandemic, texting and school communication appslike Remind or ClassDojohad given students and families new ways to contact teachers 24/7. But teachers like Davis say that school closures have increased the pressure to be always on for students and parents, as remote instruction has blurred the boundaries between work life and home life. And it isnt just messages about assignments. As most families closest connection to their schools, teachers are also fielding worried questionsabout when classes will finally resume in person, or what next year will bringfrom children dealing with the stress of uncertainty. I definitely think I took on more of a counselor role, said Courtney Jones-Stevens, who taught 6th and 7th grade social studies this past school year at KIPP South Fulton Academy, in East Point, Ga. To see them struggling definitely takes a toll on you. Teachers want to be available to their students, to clarify their questions and calm their fears. But its also crucial that teachers set time aside for themselves, and that schools and districts respectand even help createthese boundaries, said Kathleen Minke, the executive director of the National Association of School Psychologists. Developing systems that protect teacher well-being should be a priority for schools in the fall, she said, as the demands of remote learning arent likely to disappear. Some districts are planning for hybrid models, with both remote and in-person classes, and an increasing number are planning to start fully online. I like the metaphor of the stress cup. When your stress cup gets full, it doesnt take much more to get you over the edge, Minke said. Teachers have to think about, how do you empty that cup so that [you] are available when needed? An Internal Battle Over Boundaries This past spring, parents, teachers, and students were all adjusting to a new reality, Minke said. Teenagers sending emails in the middle of the night were figuring out how to set their own schedules; parents who had late-night questions may have had to wait until they were off work, or after they had put young children to sleep, to send their messages. Theres no bad guys in this, said Minke. This is all people doing the best they can with what they know and what they have to work with. Some teachers found that opening up to students and parents about their own responsibilities outside of class helped families understand and respect the boundaries that they set around communication. Shanice Maxwell, a 5th and 6th grade history teacher at a charter school in Bridgeport, Conn., mostly heard from parents early in the morning or late at night. Her school is near a hospital, and many of her students families included essential workers. In the first weeks of distance learning, she felt pressure to respond to parent texts and emails about assignments or technical problems immediately. Throughout the beginning of last school yearher first as a teachershe had worked to build relationships with families. Maxwell, who is Black, said she wanted parents to know that she had a fire in my belly about teaching Black and brown students in this community, and that parents could count on her support. The pandemic brought on an internal battle, she said. Because at first, it was like, I want to make sure they have everything they need, I want to answer their questions But I was ignoring the fact that I, too, need to rest, and I, too, have a family I need to cater to, and I was also in grad school. With about a month left of school, two things happened that changed her experience. Her administration set a policy that teachers didnt have to respond to messages sent after 5 p.m. until the next day. And then, Maxwell shared with parents why she was planning to follow it: She had evening classes for her masters program, and she was also caring for her elderly mother. Her students families were understanding. Parents sent more messages during the day, and when they would send messages later at night, they added an acknowledgement: Its OK if you get back to me in the morning. School support structureslike Maxwells administrations 5 p.m. cut-offcan make it easier for teachers to set boundaries around communication, Minke said. This shouldnt be something that teachers are facing on their own as an individual, she said. This is something that schools should be having conversations about: What are the expectations, and how are they communicating those expectations? One solution: distributing responsibility. Grade-level teams could take turns having on hours, Minke suggested. Its also helpful to have teachers schedules clearly accessible, possibly including them in an email auto-reply, she said. Grasping for Answers Heather Levine, a high school English teacher in Lawrence Public Schools, in Massachusetts, said that most of her 9th graders respected the boundaries she set around her time. Tougher for her was not having answers to the questions kids asked all spring, about what would come next. Students would text her with rumors theyd heard, asking, Is that true? I think everyone was sort of grasping for answers, Levine said. And though the rush of messages from students was daunting at first, harder still was not hearing from some of her 9th graders at all. Levine checked in with all of her students at least once a week. Sometimes I would get an inclination, just by the way that a student would write something, or even by their lack of writing, that something was wrong, she said. One-word responses, or students just saying, Im fine, worried her. She knew a lot of her students were shouldering big responsibilities, supervising siblings or working to support their families after parents were laid off. If she were in class, she could have offered a granola bar, or a hug, or an open invitation to talk. But over text, she had fewer options. Hearing regularly from students about their fearsor not hearing from them much at allcan take a toll on teachers mental health, said James Caringi, a professor and the chair of the School of Social Work at the University of Montana, who studies secondary traumatic stress in educators. Peer support, just talking to other teachers, is an effective way to work through these feelings. But unless you happen to live next to one of your colleagues, its harder to do that now, Caringi said. Schools and districts have a role to play here, providing opportunities for teachers to tap into these support networks virtually, while not adding another to-do to their plates, he said. Jones-Stevens, the social studies teacher in Georgia, said that a group counseling session led by her school psychologist helped her better understand how to reply to the many students asking what would happen in the coming months. The school psychologist talked with teachers about how to be vulnerable with students about uncertainty, and she gave teachers strategies to help students make safe decisions as the state reopened. Jones-Stevens understands why her communication with students became more personal, as they turned to her this spring for reassurance from an adult. Theyre not going to school, theyre not seeing adults outside of their families, so providing that support is very helpful to kids, said Minke, of NASP. But again, within that construct of: We have to set some limits. W hen a company can report a halving in sales to the City and see shares bounce 10%, you know youre living in strange times. The reaction was perhaps a reflection in how far Ted Baker has fallen, and the scale of the hit to retailers, that the stock rose 7p to 77p, just above last months 75p fundraising price. Ahead of its AGM, the fashion retailer posted a 55% fall in revenues to 60.9 million in the 11 weeks to July 18. Newish boss Rachel Osborne, who is leading a strategy overhaul, dubbed the performance encouraging and investors were pleased it has 57 million of cash on the balance sheet after making cost cuts it is axing more than 500 jobs, including 200 in London. The company was already reeling from its founder Ray Kelvins Hug-gate scandal before Covid forced it to shut all of its stores. Liberum analyst Wayne Brown said: Trading is ahead of forecast assumptions with strategic plans already being delivered on. It was an up day in world markets as momentum built from positive vaccine updates yesterday was kept going by EU leaders thrashing out a pandemic recovery package. The FTSE 100 rose 43.8 points to 6305.32. Mining giant BHP saw shares in a hole, off 31pp at 1767p. The Anglo-Australian company posted a 7% rise in fourth-quarter iron ore output but warned that demand for its key commodities remains under threat from a potential resurgence of Covid and it widened its annual production forecast range. Investors climbed aboard rail ticketing site Trainline, as it appointed former eBay executive Jody Ford to the newly created chief operating officer role. He joins the company which has suffered as rail travel has plummeted from photo printing site Photobox, where he was chief executive. The shares accelerated 31p to 430p. Ten Entertainment was also on good form, up 2% at 156p. The bowling alley operator, which has sites in Croydon and Acton, said it plans to reopen its 39 centres in England on August 1. (Reuters) - Canadian foreign minister Francois-Philippe Champagne confirmed on Sunday in a tweet https://bit.ly/30uHtB1 that black boxes of a downed Ukrainian airliner that killed all 176 people on board in January have arrived in Paris. The black boxes of the airliner are expected to be brought to France's air accident agency BEA on Monday, he added. On Saturday, Iran said that it has sent the black boxes from a Ukrainian airliner that it had accidentally downed in January to France for analysis. (Reporting by Sabahatjahan Contractor in Bengaluru; editing by Diane Craft) The North Country Chamber of Commerce is calling on the U.S. and Canadian governments to provide a plan for the eventual reopening of the border between the two countries, which has been closed to routine travel since March, in an effort to combat the spread of the coronavirus pandemic. The two governments have agreed to a series of 30-day extensions on border-crossing restrictions. The latest was due to expire on Wednesday, but both governments agreed to another extension, ending Aug. 21. Mexico is extending its own border closure to the same date. North Country Chamber of Commerce CEO Garry Douglas said the extension was not entirely unexpected. "We remain greatly disappointed, however, at the continued failure of the two federal governments to provide some sense of the eventual pathway forward," Douglas said. Currently, any foreign nationals, including U.S. citizens, are not allowed to visit Canada for purposes of routine travel and tourism. The Canadian government in June relaxed some of the restrictions, allowing foreign nationals who are immediate relatives of Canadian citizens or permanent residents to travel to the country, as long as they agree to submit to a 14-day quarantine. Douglas stressed that he's not calling for an immediate opening of the border, but for a decision laying out the framework of a gradual re-opening. He said he would like to see exceptions for business-related travel and those who own properties, including boats, within 50 or 100 miles of the border. "We are now approaching four months of unnatural separation between American and Canadian neighbors, risking the extremely abnormal seeming almost normal. We must move the dialogue and policy making beyond blanket extensions every thirty days," Douglas said. Prior to the latest extension of the border restrictions, U.S. Rep. Elise Stefanik, whose district includes the North Country, signed a letter along with several other members of Congress with border districts, saying the extensions prolong "uncertainty for both communities and creates unnecessary tension as we approach each new expiration." Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. "Continuing to extend border restrictions at 30-day intervals is untenable for the communities that have been separated from family and unable to tend to their property for over three months," the letter said. Goods and services trading between the United States and Canada amounted to $718.5 billion in 2018, according to the office of the United States Trade Representative. Michael.Williams@timesunion.com Jaipur/New Delhi, Jul 20 (UNI) War of words broke out on Monday between Rajasthan Congress MLA and rebel Sachin Pilot over alleged horse-trading to destabilise the Gehlot government. Congress MLA Giriraj Singh, earlier in the day, alleged that Pilot had tried to lure him with Rs 35 crore to leave Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot fold. "Sachin offered a lot of money. Yes, it was 35 crore to leave the party. But I categorically rejected," Mr Singh told reporters in Jaipur. The legislator, however, said he didn't have any call recording or proof but all his allegations were true. Counterattacking, Mr Pilot, issued a statement categorically refuting the allegations by the Congress MLA and said that he will take legal course against him. 'I will take appropriate and strictest possible legal action against the MLA, who was made to make these accusations," Mr Pilot said in a statement. Mr Pilot said its been done to redirect the narrative and avoid the main issue. "This is done solely to malign me and stifle the legitimate concerns that I had raised against the party leadership of the state, as a member and MLA of INC," Mr Pilot said. Meanwhile, Mr Gehlot once again trained his guns at Mr Pilot but without taking his name and said he (Pilot) and Bhartiya Janata Party have been trying to topple the government since six months. "The MLAs were given the option to resign from the Congress and join the BJP. Also, it was promised that no BJP leader will come in their way during elections," Mr Gehlot alleged. He reasserted that Mr Pilot was getting a full support from the BJP. "Harish Salve from London is fighting his (Pilot's) case. For one date, he takes 40 to 50 lakh rupees. Mukul Rohtagi, former Attorney General of India, close to the BJP, is also standing in the courtroom for him(Pilot). His fee is again 40-50 lakh," Mr Gehlot stated and asked from where is this money coming. "I will give you the answer. It is from corporate houses in Mumbai. He (Pilot) has served as a Corporate Minister in past. And now these big companies want to impress the BJP government and were providing the financial support. It's a big conspiracy," the chief minister claimed. Mr Gehlot complained that Mr Pilot 'never' worked for the state after becoming the deputy chief minister. Mr Gehlot claimed several Congress MLAs are staying at Manesar hotel against their will and want to return but cannot as they were being held hostages. "They (BJP) have taken their mobile phones. Still several MLAs are trying to reach us by making a call through a barber or waiter's phone. They want to return and are crying for help," Mr Gehlot told mediapersons in Jaipur. In the courtroom of Rajasthan High Court, the divisional bench of Chief Justice Indrajit Mahanty and Justice Prakash Gupta adjourned the hearing for Tuesday of writ petition filed by Congress rebels including Pilot challenging the notices of disqualification issued by the Speaker for skipping Congress Legislature Party meeting. Appearing for the respondents, senior Advocate Abhishek Manu Singhvi told the divisional bench that the matter is beyond judicial review. He reminded the court that only notices are served and they (rebels) are not disqualified. The Speaker is slated to hear their replies, Sighvi said. Counterattacking, Advocate Harish Salve told the court if Speaker acts against anyone raising voice against party's chief, it means curbing the rights of dissidents. Moreover, if only notice is issued, that does not mean it is not a violation of Freedom of Speech. Earlier, the Court has asked Speaker C P Joshi not take any action against the rebels till 1700 hrs of Tuesday. Meanwhile, later in the day, an order of Rajasthan government surfaced on social media revoking general consent required for transferring the investigation of a case to Central Bureau of Investigation and making consent of state government mandatory on case-to-case basis. "Prior consent of Government of Rajasthan shall be required to be taken on a case-to-case basis for investigation of any offences.....", reads the order of the Governor signed by Deputy Secretary Ravi Sharma. Ironically, the order comes against the backdrop of the BJP demanding a CBI probe into alleged audio tapes of purported conversations between Union Minister Gajendra Singh Shekhawat, suspended Congress MLA Bhanwar Lal Sharma and middleman Sanjay Jain. Also, as per a media report, Mr Shekhawat has been served a notice by Special Operations Group (SOG) to join investigations in alleged audio tapes case whenever called. The Union Minister has maintained that it is not his voice in the alleged tapes and is 'doctored'. Rajasthan plunged into political crisis after Mr Pilot and his loyalists revolted against Mr Gehlot and left the desert state. Later, Mr Pilot was stripped of the dual posts of deputy chief minister and state Congress president. Mr Gehlot has accused the BJP for toppling his government through horse-trading, a charge categorically rejected by the later. In the present Assembly, Congress has 107 MLAs while Bharatiya Janata Party 72. UNI PS SV 2236 Switzerland to allocate 108 mln francs for humanitarian, technical assistance to Ukraine in next three years Zelensky The Swiss Confederation will allocate 108 million Swiss francs for humanitarian and technical assistance to Ukraine in the next three years, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky said. "Together with Mrs. Sommaruga, we agreed to develop those areas of cooperation that are of mutual interest for both countries. "They are determined by the Memorandum on partnership in bilateral relations signed today. It is important that it has launched a program of cooperation between Switzerland and Ukraine for the next three years. And for the implementation of the program, the Swiss side allocated 108 million Swiss francs for humanitarian and technical assistance," he said at a briefing on Tuesday after a meeting with his Swiss counterpart in Kyiv. Alex Zhu, the former chief executive of TikTok, is now investing in new companies on behalf of TikTok parent company ByteDance. The entrepreneur, who cofounded the Musical.ly app that ByteDance acquired for up to $1 billion and re-branded as TikTok, has been tasked with finding technology firms for ByteDance to take equity stakes in. Zhu became ByteDance's VP of Product and Strategy in May when ByteDance hired Disney streaming boss Kevin Mayer as TikTok's new global chief executive. A blog post said Zhu would focus on strategy and product design at ByteDance but there was no mention of investing. On Tuesday, however, a ByteDance spokesperson told CNBC that Zhu also oversees ByteDance investments as part of his role. ByteDance has invested in 21 start-ups, according to Crunchbase. In October 2016, ByteDance invested in Indian content aggregation platform Dailyhunt and in May this year it backed Beijing financial AI start-up Lingxi. Prior to setting up Musical.ly in 2014, Zhu spent several years working for enterprise software firm SAP. Matthew Brennan, a China-based social media analyst, told CNBC he believes that ByteDance "can't have anyone Chinese as the face of TikTok," which is facing increasing levels of scrutiny in the West. "Alex was a great start-up founder with Musical.ly but he's not in the same league as Kevin Mayer. Both Alex and Louis, the founders, have transitioned at ByteDance into different roles suited to what they are passionate about," he said. TikTok has been trying to distance itself from ByteDance as Chinese companies face increasing levels of scrutiny from Western nations. Some politicians in the U.S. and the U.K. say they are concerned that the Chinese government could use TikTok for espionage purposes and that the company could share user data. In an interview with The New York Times in November, Zhu said he would not share TikTok user data even if President Xi Jinping asked him personally. TikTok was banned in India at the end of June and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he is "looking at" doing the same. Separately, TikTok pulled out of Hong Kong earlier this month after Beijing imposed a sweeping new security law that gave police more powers in the region. Kerala Higher Education Minister K T Jaleel is likely to be questioned in the gold smuggling case, said a senior officer familiar with the probe into the racket. Last week, Jaleel had said that he had accepted a sponsorship for food worth five lakh from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) consulate to distribute as zakat (alms, one of the five pillars of Islam). The ministers phone number had figured in the list of phone calls of one of the prime accused Swapna Suresh. According to the list that was leaked, Jaleel had made nine calls to Suresh in June with the calls ranging from 64 seconds to over three minutes. The accused had also called the ministers office staff several times. Hours after the list surfaced on July 14, the minister had called a press conference and said he had called Suresh who was formerly employed in the consulate in connection with Ramzan kits being offered by the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram. But this clarification only invited more trouble. The minister is not supposed to accept any fund or freebies without the consent of the Ministry of External Affairs, experts said. All such contributions will have to come through the MEA only. A state minister cannot directly interact with the representative of a foreign country and it is against diplomatic protocol and norms, said former diplomat T P Sreenivasan. The Opposition Congress has shot off a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi seeking action against Jaleel while the BJP sought his immediate resignation. The conduct of the minister is punishable under the Foreign Contribution (Regulation) Act. We have requested the PM to include this also in the ongoing probe into smuggling, said Congress MP the UDF convener Benny Behnan who wrote to the PM two days ago. But the minister said it was part of a witch-hunt and he is ready for any probe. I did not accept direct money or fund. I accepted zakat to distribute it to poor people in my constituency. I did it through a government agency. It is sad such a humanitarian move is mired in a controversy, Jaleel said. He also said that during Diwali and Christmas many foreign missions carry out such humanitarian campaigns. But the BJP said the minister was trying to communalise the whole issue. Cornered, now he is playing his favourite communal card, said BJP state president K Surendran. Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan had sent a letter to the PM earlier this month requesting him to include the terror angle also in the gold smuggling probe. But many in the CPI (M) fear that the BJP may use it to embarrass the government when assembly elections are nine months away. We hope the probe will not take a political colour, said senior CPI (M) leader K N Balagopal. The Customs had seized 30 kg gold from a consignment that came in the name of an official of the UAE consulate in Thiruvananthapuram on July 5. On July 9, the Union home ministry asked the National Investigation Agency to probe the racket. Several other central agencies are also involved in the investigation. The NIA has arrested four persons and Customs 13 in connection with the case so far. Two senior officials, the CMs principal secretary M Sivasankar and IT fellow Arun Balachandran, were removed after their name cropped up and many others are under the scanner now. Advertisement The parents and siblings of four children killed when they were hit by an alleged drunk and drug driver recalled the traumatic moments immediately after the crash - as never-before-seen footage emerged showing the kids happily chatting seconds before tragedy struck. Siblings Antony, Angelina and Sienna Abdallah, aged 13, 12 and eight, and their 11-year-old cousin Veronique Sakr, died on February 1 while walking to their local supermarket in Oatlands, in Sydney's north-west, to buy ice cream. The children were celebrating their cousin's birthday on the day of their deaths - and it was the first time they had been given permission to walk to the store without parental supervision. Seven children were struck just before 8pm on Bettington Road, one of the main thoroughfares through Oatlands, allegedly by the drunk son of a former NSW detective, Samuel William Davidson, who is accused of having drugs in his system at the time. Charbel Kassas was trailing behind his cousins on a push bike when they were swiped from behind. He was thrown from the bike, which was crushed in the crash, and was so badly injured his heart stopped at the scene. Antony, 13, Angelina, 12, and Sienna Abdallah, eight, (pictured, left) and their cousin Veronique Sakr, 11, (right) were allegedly mowed down by drunk driver Samuel William Davidson as they walked to get ice cream CCTV footage taken outside the home where the crash took place. The never-before-seen vision showed the children stopped in a circle and chatting animatedly on the sidewalk moments before disaster struck But paramedics performed CPR and the 11-year-old was whisked away to hospital in a critical condition. Charbel spent two-and-a-half months in a coma following the crash, and his family were told to expect the worst. Now, he is known among family and friends as their 'miracle'. 'My cousins that passed away prayed for me to get better,' Charbel told 7News. 'This is how I survived.' He explained how he and his cousins never saw the car coming as they made their way to buy the ice cream to celebrate his older sister's birthday. 'The car came out of nowhere and just hit us from the back and made me in a coma for two months,' he said. 'It made four of my best friends die.' The Abdallah family (pictured) are seen before tragedy struck on February 1, killing three of their six children and their niece Mrs Abdallah (pictured, centre) is seen as she arrived at the scene on the morning after the crash, after the children's father Daniel said he was 'numb' from their deaths Mrs Abdallah told media she 'forgives' Davidson (pictured), despite him being allegedly three times over the legal blood alcohol limit when his Mitsubishi Triton mounted the kerb, killing three of her children Mabelle (left), who's 13th birthday sparked the festivities which brought the children all together on February 1, witnessed the aftermath of the crash firsthand. She said she immediately went to check on Charbel (right) and begged God to keep him alive before going to check on her cousins Antony Abdallah was more than just Charbel's cousin. The pair were also the best of friends. When he woke up, Charbel said he wished Antony had survived instead of him. 'Best, best mates. I just love him. Like, I wish what happened to him happened to me and what happened to me happened to him,' he said. Mabelle, whose 13th birthday sparked the festivities which brought the children together on February 1, wasn't seriously injured in the crash but witnessed to horrendous scene. She said she immediately went to check on Charbel and begged God to keep him alive before going to see if her cousins were OK. She watched the bike her younger brother had been on moments earlier crushed under the weight of the car. 'The passenger came up to me and kept saying sorry,' she said of the aftermath. 'He kept hitting himself in the face. I went to all the bodies to see if they were breathing. They weren't breathing. [But] Veronique was the hardest one to go to because she was over the fence.' As Angelina Abdallah (left), 12, lay lifeless just moments after a horror car crash, Margret Primc sat with her and stroked her head before planting a kiss on her forehead Antony Abdallah (pictured, left), 13, who was killed in the horror crash alongside his 11-year-old cousin Veronique Sakr (right) In the weeks to follow the crash, Veronique's father, Bob, obtained CCTV footage taken outside the home where the crash took place. The never-before-seen vision showed the children stopped in a circle and chatting on the sidewalk. After a few moments, the group stopped talking and once again began moving off camera, which was when the car, allegedly driven by Davidson, ploughed into them from behind. 'Knowing they were unaware, they didn't suffer, the car came from behind them, is the only comfort I get,' Bob told the program. 'She was called back home to God. I know she's up there with her grandparents that she never got to meet on Earth. And knowing her sense of humour... the same as my mother... I feel sorry for everyone else up there.' The parents of all the children who were hit were on the scene within minutes, but it was too late. A documentary detailing the heartbreak felt by the families involved aired on Channel Seven on Tuesday (pictured, the Abdallah family before tragedy struck) Samuel William Davidson (pictured being taken away in handcuffs and shirtless) was charged with 33 offences including manslaughter Leila Abdallah (pictured) is seen grieving the loss of three of her children after they were allegedly ploughed into by a drunk driver in Oatlands in Sydney's western suburbs Danny Abdallah, the father-of-three of the children who died, recalled the exact moment he realised something had gone terribly wrong. 'It was like a warzone,' he said. 'Some guy ran up to me and he kept saying ''we've got to tell their parents''... and I said, ''mate, these are my kids''.' 'I saw them. I went up to each one and I knew they were gone.' Mr Abdallah tried in vain to resuscitate Antony, his eldest son, with mouth-to-mouth. He found Angelina, who he realised was already gone. Then he saw Sienna, his baby girl. 'Sienna wasn't good at all,' he said. 'Veronique wasn't good.' As more police and emergency services poured in, Mr Abdallah was pushed to the side. He watched as each of his children, and finally his niece, were covered with a cloth. Mr Abdallah prayed with his son Antony (pictured) just hours before the horror crash in February The parents of the three children who died, Antony (far right), Angelina, (second right), and Sienna (centre left) used their faith in God to help them heal Police allege Davidson had been drinking with friends at home before he got behind the wheel of his ute. He drove to a Caltex service station about 1.8km away from his Oatlands home to get cash. While on his way home, he allegedly ran a red light before crashing into a group of seven children HOW THE TRAGEDY UNFOLDED * Seven children were riding their bikes along the footpath of Beddington Road, Oatlands, just before 8pm on Saturday, February 1 * The children were on the way to buy ice cream when a Mitsubishi 4WD allegedly ploughed into them *Residents raced to children's aid and frantically tried to save them while waiting for emergency services *Four children - including a boy, two of his sisters and their cousin - died at the scene * Another boy, ten, was rushed to hospital with critical head injuries and remained in a coma for two-and-a-half months * Two girls were taken to hospital with non life-threatening injuries *Male 4WD driver, a 29-year-old from Oatlands, underwent roadside breath test and returned positive result *The alleged driver Samuel Davidson was arrested and taken to Castle Hill Police with his 24-year-old male passenger *Davidson was charged with four counts of manslaughter Advertisement Once he realised there was nothing more he could do at the scene of the crash, Mr Abdallah headed directly to the hospital, where his middle daughter Liana was recovering. 'She was there asking ''where's my brothers and sisters'',' he said. Initially, he decided it would be best to lie to her, and assured her that her siblings were simply resting in another room. But on the advice of a nurse who said she would never trust him again if he was dishonest, Mr Abdallah returned to her room to tell her the truth of the matter. 'I said your brother and sisters have gone to be with God,' he said. Liana was concerned about the prospect of having to be the big sister and devastated by the loss. 'That was probably the hardest thing in my life. When you're a dad, you've got to step up. Even when you've lost half your family. Because you don't want to lose all your family,' he said. Liana's mother, Leila, praised her daughter for the way she handled the tragedy. 'She's becoming resilient,' Mrs Abdallah said. 'She has seen the toughest. She's like ''what is there to be scared of anymore''.' Also at the scene when the family arrived was Davidson, the man accused of killing the children. The 29-year-old builder faces up to 25 years in prison if convicted of more than 30 offences, including four counts of manslaughter and high-range drink driving. Davidson allegedly blew 0.150, three times over the legal blood-alcohol limit, after the Mistubishi Triton mounted the kerb and slammed into the children. Witnesses told The Daily Telegraph Davidson, who was also charged with running a red light, had allegedly been travelling on the wrong side of the road moments before the crash. His passenger gave CPR to the victims while Davidson stayed at the scene until police arrived. CCTV footage captured the vehicle travelling at speed down the street minutes earlier. Police allege the driver had been drinking at home with friends before he got behind the wheel to withdraw cash at a service station. Distressed witnesses were seen being comforted at the tragic scene by emergency workers (pictured) CCTV footage captured a 4WD speeding down Bettington road before the fatal incident He was driving back home from a Caltex on Green Street when he allegedly ran the red light before ploughing into the group of children at about 8pm. One female driver said she witnessed the car careening towards the direction of pedestrians and honked her horn to alert the driver, to no avail. Davidson was arrested at the scene and remains in custody. He was seen being taken away in handcuffs and shirtless. Before the crash he was not known to police. Davidson has been charged with 33 offences in total including four counts of manslaughter, four counts of dangerous driving occasioning death while driving under the influence, four counts of dangerous driving occasioning death while driving in a dangerous manner, two counts of causing bodily harm by misconduct while in charge of a motor vehicle and negligent driving. The matter is expected to return to court later this month. Mr Abdallah, his children and his extended family all remain grounded in their Maronite Christian faith. While the couple have lost so much, they said they will 'always love God'. Mrs Abdallah said she is forever questioning how her children were taken so soon. Their 11-year-old cousin Veronique Sakr (right, with her mother Bridget and brother Michael) was also killed Micheal Sakr, 9, holds his mother Bridget's hand for support as they visit the scene of the tragedy where Veronique, 11, was killed night along with her three cousins 'I still love Him,' she said of her relationship with God. 'But I always ask questions. I ask, why God, why did you take our kids, what more do you want from us?' Her husband agreed. 'I'm human. I get frustrated. I get angry, angry with him. I cry when I pray sometimes. I ask him ''why would you to it to me? Why me?'',' he revealed. But their faith in God has never once wavered. They understand that their children have moved on, and believe they have encountered their children's souls since their deaths. God has always been central to their relationship and has forever guided them in their lives. At 19, Mrs Abdallah met her future husband when he travelled from Sydney to Lebanon to spend time with family. The pair laid eyes on one another at a party, and the next day, he arrived on her doorstep. A small white cross statue sits against a fence in the days after at the scene of the crash A photo of the victims hangs from a fence at the scene where seven children were hit by a four-wheel drive (4WD) in the suburb of Oatlands in Sydney He spoke little Arabic, and she spoke even less English, but they were instantly drawn to each other. 'His first question he asked me was ''do you pray?'' and that was enough for me to fall in love with him,' Mrs Abdallah recalled. Growing up, she had always wanted one of two things: to become a nun, or to get married and start a family. 'Either way, I wanted to honour God,' she said. Mr Abdallah added: 'We always knew God was the centre of our relationship. We always put him first. We grew together.' His six children - three boys and three girls - grew to have a similar relationship with God. Seven children were riding their bikes when they were allegedly hit by a blue 4WD driven by an alleged drunk driver three times over the legal limit (pictured) Leila Abdallah (pictured) the mother of three children killed by an alleged drunk driver, bravely returned to the scene of the crash to pray the rosary on February 3 Mrs Abdallah (pictured) frequently returned to the crash scene with her husband in the weeks after the crash The couple recalled how 'cheeky' Sienna was. They referred to her as their 'diva', even at just eight years old. Angelina was more like a mini mother around the house. She was 'the most beautiful thing I've ever seen on this Earth... beautiful, selfless, courageous,' Mrs Abdallah said. 'They were kids. They were my world. We did everything we could as parents, and their love tanks were full.' But while the family found it in their hearts to forgive the kids' alleged killer, they have not stopped wishing for justice. Mr Abdallah, who was also once charged for driving under the influence while in his 20s, acknowledged that the accused killer likely did not want anybody to get hurt. 'We all make mistakes. I'm not here to tell you how perfect I am because I'm far from it,' he said. 'You learn from your mistakes. I don't think the guy wanted to do what he did, but he did it and there are consequences.' The family are calling for laws to be changed relating to passengers. As it currently stands, the passenger in the car has not been formally charged and will likely not be. 'There should be fines if you're in the car with a drunk driver,' Mr Abdallah said. Later in the segment, Mrs Abdallah described forgiveness as 'a gift from God'. She famously forgave the alleged killer just days after losing her children, and the family urged the public to avoid threatening any form of retaliation. 'Forgiveness is a gift from God,' she said on Tuesday night. 'You forgive not because someone deserves it, but because you deserve to be happy and at peace. 'But at the same time, we want justice.' All four children now share a grave. They were buried in two heartfelt ceremonies earlier this year, surrounded by loved ones and watched by the public. Federal officers in military gear clouds of tear gas crowd control munitions [shots fired] and locals who want those officers gone. What are you guys protecting? Get the [expletive] out of our city! In just over a week, the chaotic scenes in Portland grabbed the nations attention and raised questions about whether the U.S. government is exceeding its authority and violating civil rights. The officers came because of an executive order signed by President Trump in late June to protect federal property from destruction. If we didnt take a stand in Portland, you know, weve arrested many of these leaders. If we didnt take that stand, right now you would have a problem like they were going to lose Portland. So whats going on here? And what methods are the officers using to protect federal sites? Crowd: Breonna Taylor! The protests against racism and police brutality, which started in May, had largely been peaceful and were held across Portland. But after federal officers arrived in the city on July 4, demonstrations became centered around this U.S. District courthouse and this building housing federal agencies. Both are property of the U.S. government. The buildings have clearly been vandalized, and the Department of Homeland Security has a mandate to protect them. Thats usually done by officers from the Federal Protective Service. But on the ground in Portland, we have seen a new task force, including U.S. Marshals BORTAC, a unit of Customs and Border Protection and a special response team from ICE, the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. According to a government memo leaked to The Times, these units are insufficiently trained to perform crowd control. But that hasnt stopped them from trying. Night after night, videos show these officers emerging from the two federal buildings as protesters draw near. Hundreds of videos reviewed by The Times show that although protesters were antagonistic, officers often responded with disproportionate force. [shouting] They blanketed streets with tear gas. Are you OK? They struck protesters with batons and used flash bangs, pepper balls and other less-lethal munitions to clear the streets. [chanting] Their actions often appeared to escalate rather than de-escalate matters. And in some instances, they attacked when there was no apparent threat. On July 11, protester Donavan La Bella was at the federal courthouse when an officer appears to have fired at his head in retaliation for tossing a spent tear gas canister. [expletive] you! [shot fired] La Bellas mother told local media he suffered skull fractures and needed surgery. Later that night when field medics sought officers help for a wounded protester, they were aggressively cleared away. On July 18, a Navy veteran was batoned and pepper-sprayed in another unprovoked attack. His right hand was broken, and he needs surgery. Sometimes members of the press were hit. He got shot in the back, obviously, and hes wearing press This photographer, Mathieu Lewis Rolland, told The Times that a volley of 10 projectiles were fired into his back. Ow, ow, ow! In the middle of all this, protesters were detained in ways that alarmed civil rights advocates and former Homeland Security officials. Can your people identify themselves as law enforcement? On July 15, several federal officers were filmed driving in unmarked vehicles in the blocks around the courthouse. How are we supposed to know who you are? How are we supposed to know youre not kidnapping us and youre civilians kidnapping us? One protester was detained at this location nearby. What are you doing? Federal officers wouldnt identify themselves Use your words! but patches on the right and left sides of their uniforms match those used by members of BORTAC, the tactical unit from Customs and Border Protection. They drove the protester away in an unmarked car. D.H.S. says federal officers have made 43 arrests since July 4. Agents do have the authority to make arrests if they believe that a federal crime has been committed, like damaging federal property or attacking officers. Crowd: Hey, hey, ho, ho, these racist cops have got to go. In recent days, the controversy mobilized a larger and more diverse crowd of protesters. [chanting] A so-called wall of moms led marches through Portlands streets and to the federal courthouse where officers cleared them away. The federal presence has also inflamed tensions. Some demonstrators damaged paneling on the courthouse and tried to set them alight. Others threw water bottles and fired fireworks toward the building. On Wednesday, July 22, Portlands mayor joined the protests and was caught in a cloud of tear gas. This is a egregious overreaction on the part of the federal officers. This is not a de-escalation strategy. This is flat-out urban warfare. At around the same time, a Customs and Border Protection plane was spotted circling overhead. C.B.P. officials told The Times it was sending a live video feed of the crowd to law enforcement on the ground. Crowd: No justice, no peace! Protesters and local officials say this is all a case of federal overreach. Oregons attorney general has sued the federal government to stop arresting people. Gas! Gas! Gas! The president has doubled down, promising to send more federal officers to cities governed by his political rivals. Because were not going to let New York and Chicago and Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore, and all of these Oakland is a mess were not going to let this happen in our country. All run by liberal Democrats. The results could look like a national police force acting under presidential orders, able to ignore local demands and arrest residents. In Portland, it has been a recipe for chaos. [explosion] Not advisable, Trump was told of the approximately 800 troops there, most still engaged in fighting the Islamic State and keeping Russia, Iran and Turkey from expanding their reach. Story continues below advertisement I am sure theyre going to stay in [Syria] until the end of the year, beyond the election, regardless of who wins, a senior U.S. official said in the wake of the meeting. U.S. and foreign officials spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss the sensitive troop withdrawal issue. Advertisement Just weeks later, Trump announced that he was reducing U.S. deployments in Germany by 9,500, from the current total of 34,500. U.S. remains on the sidelines in Libyas conflict as Russia extends its reach Since taking office, Trump has been struggling to fulfill his 2016 campaign pledge to significantly reduce the nearly 200,000 American military personnel then overseas, already the smallest number in many decades. In countries such as Afghanistan, U.S. troops are merely serving as police, he has argued, while Germany, South Korea and others that could afford to defend themselves are getting U.S. protection on the cheap at taxpayer expense. Story continues below advertisement But Trump has been stymied at virtually every turn. While there have been some relatively minor shifts in distribution and since 2017 the Defense Department no longer includes troops in Afghanistan, Syria and Iraq in its unclassified, published tallies the overall total of those serving abroad is believed to have slightly increased since Barack Obama left office. Advertisement In the past, members of his own administration, including military leaders, have talked Trump out of specific withdrawals or employed delaying tactics. When the president ordered him in 2018 to tell Persian Gulf partners to send their own troops to Syria so the United States could get out, former national security adviser John Bolton wrote in his recent book, Bolton slow-walked the idea until it went away. Trump eventually cut the numbers by more than half, without any Arab replacements or financial contribution. Trump has often said that he is treated unfairly. I am the only person who can fight for the safety of our troops and bring them home from the ridiculous & costly Endless Wars, and be scorned, he tweeted in October. Democrats always liked that position, until I took it. Story continues below advertisement The idea of bringing home the troops resonates with many across the political spectrum. But numerous lawmakers of both parties have objected to Trumps efforts. Most recently, senior Republicans have warned that a major reduction in Germany would limit U.S. military flexibility in Europe and beyond, decrease U.S. influence in NATO and be a gift to Russia. Advertisement Late last month, Senate Republicans Lindsey O. Graham (S.C.), Marco Rubio (Fla.) and Mitt Romney (Utah) joined Democratic Sens. Christopher A. Coons (Del.), Tim Kaine (Va.) and Jeanne Shaheen (N.H.) in sponsoring an amendment to the fiscal 2021 Defense Authorization Act that would limit the use of funds to reduce active-duty troops in Germany unless the Defense Department could certify that a long list of restrictive conditions had been met. At NATO, few diplomats believe that a significant troop pullback from Germany a massive personnel and logistical undertaking can be accomplished before the end of the year, or that the infrastructure exists to house them elsewhere in Europe. U.S. opinion polls detailing Trumps plummeting popularity are being closely watched in alliance capitals and at the Brussels headquarters. NATO policymakers say that if Democrat Joe Biden is elected, they expect the troop reductions to be off the table. Story continues below advertisement German officials were furious at having learned of the planned cuts from U.S. media reports. Defense Secretary Mark T. Esper, attempting to allay concerns and smooth ruffled feathers, told NATO on a trip to Brussels in June that the plans were still far from completion, four diplomats familiar with his visit said. Advertisement One senior NATO diplomat said that Esper offered few details but promised to continue to consult with allies. Like they have, the diplomat added with a clear touch of sarcasm. In the meantime, the official alliance position is that the U.S. remains firmly committed to European security, a NATO official said. What we have seen over the last years is actually not a decrease but an increase in the U.S. presence in Europe, said the official, including a strong U.S. commitment to bolstering NATOs eastern flank with rotating deployments and pre-positioned equipment. Story continues below advertisement Army Secretary Ryan D. McCarthy told reporters Thursday as he returned from a multi-stop visit to Europe that he had not had any direct discussions about the repositioning of forces on the continent at this time. That information will be released in the coming weeks, he said. Thats all Ive got to say about that topic. Advertisement McCarthy acknowledged that Poland and Lithuania have both expressed interest in having more U.S. troops in their countries if the United States is reshuffling its European profile. Polish President Andrzej Duda, a Trump favorite, last year offered to build a base there and name it Fort Trump. When Duda visited the White House on June 24, four days before the first round of voting in his reelection bid, Trump granted his wish, saying vaguely that some of the forces to be withdrawn from Germany would go to Poland. Duda was narrowly reelected in a runoff vote last week. Story continues below advertisement Trump has long been harshly critical of Germany, charging that it is insufficiently grateful for U.S. defense and has failed to pay its fair share of NATO expenses. Explaining his plans for the 9,500 troops, he told columnist Marc Thiessen this month that Im bringing about half home and half are going to different places that deserve it, including Poland. Advertisement Pentagon officials have said that the repositioning of forces around the world in large part to confront China is part of a comprehensive and long-overdue review of all U.S. overseas deployments expected to be completed in September. Indications earlier this year that downsizing was likely in Africa, where U.S. forces are fighting militant groups, brought howls of congressional disapproval and warnings of Islamic State and al-Qaeda expansion there. Story continues below advertisement Military officials have long been expecting the U.S. troop footprint in the Middle East and Afghanistan to shrink at least modestly because of a trio of factors, including a reduced Islamic State, a hoped-for political settlement in Afghanistan and, perhaps most important, Trumps desire to reduce U.S. involvement in insurgent conflicts. But critics have warned that a reduced U.S. presence would conflict with the administrations pledge to continue maximum pressure against Iran. Advertisement The first phase of the February U.S.-Taliban agreement a downsizing of the American force in Afghanistan to 8,600 has now been completed, eliminating the force expansion Trump authorized in 2017. The agreement envisions a full U.S. departure by the end of April, providing that the militants meet their commitments to reduce violence and embrace negotiations with the Afghan government. Story continues below advertisement The Pentagon has drawn up plans to reach a waypoint in its own compliance with the deal, perhaps by late fall, by withdrawing another 4,000 troops. But the required Taliban and Afghan government progress in implementing the political aspects of the agreement has slowed, and violence is on the rise. In Iraq, administration officials have said the ongoing presence of U.S. forces, now numbering more than 5,000, is vital to continue training and assisting Iraqs security forces against Islamic State outbreaks, and to help Iraq resist Iranian dominance. Advertisement Many Iraqi lawmakers demanded the full departure of American troops following the U.S. killing of Iranian military leader Qasem Soleimani in a Baghdad drone strike in January. Talks with the new government of Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, who is due to visit Washington this month, are ongoing. Administration officials say they are optimistic and expect only a modest reduction in the force. Since early in his presidency, Trump has demanded that South Korea, where 28,500 U.S. troops are based, and Japan, which hosts more than 55,000, pay more for a robust American military presence. Washington and Seoul struggled to reach a cost-sharing deal in 2018. They ended up with only a one-year extension, to the end of 2019, with South Korea agreeing to pay $926 million, an 8 percent increase. Last year, Trump asked for a fivefold increase in what South Korea pays and threatened to get out of there if we dont get the five-billion-dollar deal, according to Bolton. No agreement has been reached, and in April more than 4,000 South Korean civilians employed at U.S. bases there were placed on unpaid furlough. They went back to work in June, after Seoul agreed to pay them in a $200 million stopgap measure. The Wall Street Journal reported last week that the Pentagon has presented the White House with a list of options to reduce forces there. On Monday, Esper said during a think tank event that he had not ordered any troop withdrawals from the peninsula but was looking at potential adjustments to force levels worldwide. Japan faces the same demand to pay more when its current cost-sharing deal runs out at the end of March. Formal negotiations have not yet begun, and Tokyo, which is closely watching the South Korea situation, is hoping to hold off at least until the U.S. elections. Michael Birnbaum in Brussels, Simon Denyer in Tokyo and Dan Lamothe in Washington contributed to this report. Sudans former president Omar al-Bashir, ousted amid a popular pro-democracy uprising last year, went on trial Tuesday over the military coup that brought him to power more than three decades ago. Bashir, 76, could face the death penalty if convicted over the 1989 Islamist-backed overthrow of the democratically elected government of prime minister Sadek al-Mahdi. Along with Bashir, 27 co-accused were in the dock at the Khartoum court house, which was heavily guarded by police outside with AK-47 assault rifles, batons and tear gas grenades. This court will listen to each of them and we will give each of the 28 accused the opportunity to defend themselves, said the president of the court, Issam al-Din Mohammad Ibrahim. Bashir, who was kept with the other accused in a caged area of the courtroom, did not speak during the trials opening session which ended after about one hour, with the next hearing set for August 11. Outside the courthouse, dozens of family members of the defendants rallied, many shouting Allahu Akbar (God is greatest). It is the first time in the modern history of the Arab world that the architect of a coup has been put on trial for plotting a putsch, although the man dubbed the true brain behind the military overthrow, Hassan Turabi of the National Islamic Front, died in 2016. The trial comes as Sudans post-revolution transitional government has launched a series of reforms in hopes of fully rejoining the international community. Sudan has also pledged in principle to hand over Bashir to the International Criminal Court to face trial on charges of war crimes and genocide in the Darfur conflict, which left 300,000 people dead and displaced 2.5 million in a scorched earth campaign against a 2003 insurgency. Also in the dock were Bashirs former vice presidents Ali Osman Taha and Bakri Hassan Saleh and several of his former ministers and governors. They are accused of having plotted the June 30, 1989 coup in which the army arrested Sudans political leaders, suspended parliament, closed the airport and announced the power grab on the radio. Hostile environment Bashir stayed in power for 30 years before being overthrown on April 11, 2019 after several months of unprecedented, youth-led street demonstrations. Until the end, the idiosyncratic leader with the trademark cane, sometimes known to dance at political rallies, had been defiant, angrily labelling the protesters traitors and rats that should return to their holes. In the 1990s, under his mentor Turabi, Bashir had steered Sudan a country with a plethora of tribes and then divided between the mainly Muslim north and Christian or animist south towards radical Islam. For several years Khartoum hosted the Al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden before expelling him in 1996 under pressure from the United States. Bashir then shifted away from backing Islamist militants to improve relations with his opponents and neighbours. It was under Bashirs rule that ethnically diverse Sudan saw the oil-rich south gain its independence in 2011 after two decades of conflict with the Arab Muslim north. One of the almost 200 defence lawyers, Hashem al-Gali, has charged that Bashir and the others would face a political trial being held in a hostile environment. The trial comes as Sudans joint civilian-military transitional government is introducing a host of reforms and has relaunched peace talks with rebel groups. Prime Minister Abdalla Hamdoks administration has recently abolished rules which restricted womens movements, outlawed the practice of female genital mutilation, scrapped a law against apostasy and relaxed a ban on alcohol. Khartoum hopes soon to be taken off the US State Departments list of countries that sponsor terrorism, a significant hurdle to receiving foreign aid and investment. A coronavirus vaccine the University of Oxford is developing with AstraZeneca showed promising results in early human testing, a sign of progress in the high-stakes pursuit of a shot to defeat the pathogen. The vaccine increased levels of both protective neutralizing antibodies and immune T-cells that target the virus, according to the study organizers. The results were published Monday in The Lancet medical journal. AstraZeneca shares rose as much as 10% in London. "We are seeing very good immune responses, not just on neutralizing antibodies but of T-cells as well," said Adrian Hill, head of Oxford's Jenner Institute, in an interview. "We're stimulating both arms of the immune system." The results will be closely scrutinized as governments around the world seek to end a pandemic that's killed more than 600,000 people and triggered economic turmoil since erupting earlier this year. Moderna Inc., another front-runner, released results last week from an early-stage test that showed its vaccine raised levels of antibodies that fight the virus. Although stimulating production of neutralizing antibodies doesn't prove a vaccine will be effective, it's considered an important early step in testing. Results from testing in animals had already shown the Oxford-AstraZeneca shot provoked an immune response. Across the world, about 160 coronavirus vaccines are in various stages of development, according to the World Health Organization. The Oxford shot is close to the front of the pack and has already begun final-stage tests. AstraZeneca has said it may begin delivering doses to the U.K. as early as September. "We want other companies to have vaccines that work as well because the world will get more vaccine sooner," Hill said. "We just feel there is an advantage of having both arms of the immune system stimulated well." The British drugmaker received a boost when the U.S. pledged as much as $1.2 billion toward development. Under its agreement with Astra, the U.S. could begin receiving supplies as early as October. The U.K. has also struck a supply agreement for the shot, but on Monday it secured access to other drugmakers' experimental vaccines to hedge its bets and garner enough doses to cover its population of 66 million. The government secured deals with Pfizer Inc., BioNTech SE and Valneva SE. Companies and universities are relying on an array of approaches in the fight against covid-19. The Oxford team has developed a technology that can speed up the process by using a harmless virus to carry some of the pathogen's genetic material into cells to generate an immune response. The proposed vaccine is made from a weakened version of a common cold virus that's genetically changed to make it unable to grow in humans. Oxford has inserted genetic material from the surface spike protein of the SARS-CoV-2 virus as a way of tricking the immune system into fighting back. The platform stimulates both antibodies and high levels of killer T-cells, a type of white blood cell that helps the immune system destroy infection. "We're very encouraged," Hill said. While the test doesn't prove the vaccine will work, "I think we're a bit more confident it should work this week than last week." Moderna's initial results were from the first group of 45 patients who received the vaccine Moderna's shares surged in U.S. trading after the results, despite a high rate of side effects among the patients who got the shot. The Oxford shot elicited neutralizing antibodies after a single dose, Hill said. That may be an important advantage in quickly raising immunity. "I don't read that clearly in the Moderna data," he said. "I think they need two doses to see plausibly protective neutralizing antibodies." A large trial is set to begin this month that will test Moderna's vaccine in a two-shot regimen. Astra will also prioritize a two-shot regimen, Hill said. "It gives higher titres of antibodies, which is important going forward," he said. WUHAN, China, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mhome Group (000667.SZ), a leading Chinese real estate developer headquartered in Wuhan, recently hosted its mid-year company conference with a focus on the themes of "High Satisfaction, Low Cost, Fast Speed, Low Profit Margins, Wide-scale Operations and Diverse Services". During the conference, Mhome Group revealed strategic measures for the second half of the year to achieve its core goals. These measures will promote the industrialization of China's prefabricated construction market, provide urban and rural construction services, and realize its vision to enable more people to live a better life. Mr. Liu Daoming, Chairman of Mhome Group, highlighted company's future strategy to create a standardized S-EPC service model that combines "upfront technical services" into the traditional EPC (engineering, procurement, construction) model, to integrate the industrial chain, reduce project costs, shorten construction periods and ensure project quality. Through the S-EPC model, Mhome can better fulfill customer's needs in three categories: to help municipal governments in policymaking, project planning, and gaining market insights; to help developers in land-auction and smart manufacturing and construction; to provide home buyers with high-quality, affordable properties with modern decorations. "At Mhome Group, we believe a good house leads to a good life. Our dream is to allow more people living a better life through beautiful, easy-to-use, and affordable housing. China's construction industry is rapidly shifting from manual labor to industrialization. It is only through standardization that we can achieve wide-scale industrialization," said Mr. Liu. Meanwhile, Mr. He, CEO of Mhome Group highlighted that smart housing manufacturing with advanced technology, such as the Composite Shear Wall System, offers a significant competitive advantage within the prefabricated construction industry. Mr. He reiterated the need for the company to capitalize on its strengths and scale up, with the vision to develop its business model over a 3-to-5 year period. Through high turnover and excellent assembly delivery capabilities, Mhome Group can realize its ambition to become an asset-light company - all whilst ensuring increased patent and model output and enhancing generational development. About Mhome Group Mhome Group was established in 1989 as a developer of residential and urban homes properties and provider of urban and rural construction services. Headquartered in Wuhan, China, Mhome is now a listed company with a prominent presence in multiple industries including smart housing manufacturing, modern agriculture and industrial revitalization of small towns. Bengaluru, July 21 : Karnataka forest department officials have rescued an enfeebled female leopard, trapped at the bottom of an 80-foot deep well for six days at Karapur village in the buffer area of Nagarhole Tiger Reserve, an official said on Tuesday. "We rescued the leopard on Monday evening following a 56-hour complex rescue operation," Deputy Conservator of Forests (DCF) D. Mahesh Kumar told IANS. A villager first saw the 2.5-year-old leopard on top of the abandoned well 5-6 days ago and assumed that would leave soon. However, after three days, he heard echoes of the big cat crying from the depths of the dry well, which prompted him to alert the forest department. "By the time the villager reached out to us, the feline had already spent three days inside the well. We struggled a lot just to analyse and devise a strategy to rescue it," said Kumar. To further complicate the rescue prospects, the leopard was not at all responding to the lurings and tactics of the forest officials such as a trap, bait or meat as it hid inside a crevice at the bottom of the well. "Even a bait failed to attract the animal's attention despite suffering starvation and dehydration for six days. It had absolutely no energy. We even put some ladders for the big cat to climb," Kumar said. Some chicken and mutton did not appeal to the hungry big cat while a live chicken bait also suffered the same fate. After several attempts, on Sunday, the leopard came out to slurp some water which the forest officials had arranged at the bottom of the well. The rescue efforts also included hiring a fabricator to design a makeshift cage for a forest ranger to lock himself in it and descend into the depths of the well, yet he failed to stimulate the leopard for a rescue. Hard-pressed, Kumar said the department also took some technical help to set up a CCTV camera near the crevice with illumination to obtain footage and images of the leopard to monitor its behavioural patterns in a bid to save its life. After all the efforts failed, he said the officials realised that it is better to tranquilise the leopard with an immobiliser injection to net it and raise it up. "Finally, we lowered a sharp shooter to dart the leopard with an immobiliser, put a net and ultimately managed to bring it outside the well," said the Indian Forest Service (IFS) official. Following the animal's retrieval, the veterinarians administered a Reversin injection to revive the leopard for treatment. As it was starved and thirsty for days together, the vets injected intravenous fluids to restore its health and energy. Commenting on the future of the leopard, Kumar said the forest department will take a call after the veterinarians decide if it is fit to be released into the forest. The leopard is found to be in good health now. "More than 100 forest department staff and officers, supported by the local villagers, enabled us to bring out the leopard alive," said Kumar, crediting the success to a team effort. Karapur village in HD Kote taluk is about 200 km southwest of Bengaluru. The Nagarhole Tiger Reserve stretches between Kodagu and Mysuru districts, covering an area of 643 sq km. Some of the animals which thrive in the reserve include tigers, panthers, wild dogs, elephants, bisons, deer, sloth bears, wild boars, common langur, bonnet macaque and a variety of reptiles and birds. (Sharon Thambala can be contacted at thambalasharon@gmail.com) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 20:11:36|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CANBERRA, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The Australian government will start granting international student visas in an attempt to restart international education, Minister for Population and Acting Minister for Immigration Alan Tudge announced on Monday This was in response to pressure from the university sector to help it attract international students. Under the changes, the government will resume granting student visas, allowing international students to enter Australia as soon as the nation's borders are re-opened. Students granted visas will be able to have online study undertaken while waiting to enter Australia count towards the requirements for a post-study work visa, which usually requires applicants to study in the country. Tudge told reporters that "international students should not be further disadvantaged by COVID-19." "These measures back the international education sector, our fourth-largest export sector, and will assist its recovery," he said. Universities in Australia warned in June that the industry would lose up to 16 billion Australian dollars (11.2 billion U.S. dollars) by 2023 due to a collapse in the international education market amid the pandemic. Monday's announcement has been largely welcomed by universities. Margaret Gardner, the interim chair of the prestigious Group of Eight, said that the coalition of elite universities was pleased that the "government has recognized the need for flexibility around visa settings in the current circumstances." "This will ensure students who have been forced to study offshore due to travel restrictions will still have access to post-study work rights," she said. Reading, PA (19601) Today Turning out mostly cloudy and not as cold. There might be a rain or snow shower late.. Tonight Mostly cloudy with some rain and snow showers. Any rain will be early in the night. Omar al-Bashir, the former Sudanese President Omar who was ousted last year following mass protests, has gone on trial in the capital over his role in the 1989 coup that brought him to power. The 76-year-old appeared in court on Tuesday, July 21, alongside more than 20 former officials who are also standing trial in connection with the military coup. The former officials include 10 military personnel and six civilians, including his former vice presidents, Ali Osman Taha, and Bakri Hassan Saleh, as well as former ministers and governors. They all appeared in cages amid tight security conditions. Al-Bashir, who has been jailed since his removal for corruption, faces charges of undermining the constitution, violating the Armed Forces Act and fomenting a coup in 1989 against the democratically elected government of Prime Minister Sadiq al-Mahdi. After hearing an appeal from the defense team, the judge adjourned the trial to August 11. We decided to postpone the trial session to Aug. 11 as we need a bigger hall in order to guarantee social distancing, put different arrangements in place and ensure that the entire defendants have lawyers and other rights, the judge said. In May 2019, Sudanese prosecution opened an investigation into charges against al-Bashir of undermining the countrys constitutional order over the coup. On June 30, 1989, al-Bashir staged a military coup against the government of Prime Minister Al-Sadiq Al-Mahdi, and ruled the country under what he named the "national salvation revolution" for more than 30 years. If convicted, the 76-year-old could face death penalty. 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 Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi on Monday launched Redmi Note 9 with a quad rear camera setup at a starting price of Rs 11,999 for the 4GB RAM+64GB storage variant. The phone also has a 4GB RAM+128GB storage option that is priced at Rs 13,499 while the 6GB RAM+128GB variant comes for Rs 14,999. The Redmi Note 9 in three colours - Pebble Grey, Arctic White and Aqua Green, will be available from July 24, informed the company. "Mi Fans and consumers will definitely appreciate the hardware and software that comes with the Redmi Note 9 and we hope to continue bringing the best to them from the house of Redmi," said Anuj Sharma, Chief Marketing Officer, Xiaomi India. The smartphone features a 6.53-inch full-HD+ (1,080x2,340 pixels) Dot Display with 19.5:9 aspect ratio and Corning Gorilla Glass 5 protection. Under the hood, the phone has an octa-core MediaTek Helio G85 SoC, coupled with up to 6GB RAM. The phone houses a quad rear camera setup that houses a 48MP primary sensor, an 8MP secondary sensor, 2MP sensor and a 2MP depth sensor. For selfies, there is a 13MP camera sensor at the front. The device packs a 5,020mAh battery with a 22.5W fast charger in the box. It runs Android 10 with the MIUI 11 skin on top. Big Brother has certainly been a roller coaster of emotions for the contestants. And host Sonia Kruger experiences all the highs and lows along with them. Despite being present for all the big moments, the 54-year-old has revealed that she still shed a tear during one adorable moment when she watched the series back. Touching moment: Sonia Kruger revealed that she shed a tear at one adorable moment when she watched the series back on TV 'I'm there when they film and I see them editing, but when it's going to air, I'm still yelling at the TV,' she told TV Week. 'I laughed out loud in my lounge room at Dan freaking out over those pigeons, I cried when they brought in Chad's dog Buddy, and I was on the edge of my seat during those crucial challenges.' The mum-of-one also revealed that she lets her five-year-old daughter Maggie watch the Big Brother games. TV time: Sonia revealed that she lets her five-year-old daughter Maggie watch the Big Brother games And while most kids would love seeing their mum on TV, Sonia said that her daughter simply 'laughs' at her. 'When she sees me, she just laughs. For some reason, it's hilarious I'm on TV!' Sonia laughs. Sonia Kruger hosted the reality series for three seasons from 2012 to 2014 before signing on the 2020 Channel Seven revamped series. Hostess with the mostest: Sonia hosted the reality series for three seasons from 2012 to 2014 before signing on the 2020 Channel Seven revamped series But the television presenter admitted to TV tonight back in January, that she originally thought 'somebody new' should have been host. 'I knew that Seven were looking at bringing the show back and I actually thought if they change the format they should bring somebody new in to host it,' she said. 'It was after I signed and technically started at Seven in January, that (Seven CEO) James Warburton called me and said, "We want you to host."' Big Brother continues Tuesday 7:30pm on Channel Seven. After banning 59 apps of Chinese origin, the government on Tuesday directed them to ensure strict compliance to its orders, and warned of serious action in case of any violation, according to an official source. The government on June 29 had banned 59 apps with Chinese links, including TikTok, CamScanner and UC Browser, saying they were prejudicial to sovereignty, integrity and security of the country. The government source told PTI that the IT Ministry has now written to all these companies, warning that continued availability and operation of these banned apps, directly or indirectly, is not only illegal but also an offence under the Information Technology Act and other applicable Acts, which would attract penal provisions. If any apps in the banned list is found to be made available by the company through any means for use within India, directly or indirectly, it would be construed as a violation of the government orders, the source added. All these companies have been directed to ensure strict compliance of the orders of the ministry, failing which serious action will be taken, the source said. The ministry in a communication sent to these companies has mentioned that the ban imposed was in exercise of the sovereign powers and section 69A of the Information Technology Act, and that the said companies should ensure strict compliance to the order issued in this regard. Photo: The Canadian Press President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Ky., and House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of Calif., in the Oval Office of the White House, Monday, July 20, 2020, in Washington. Because it's 2020, anyone anxious about this fall's presidential election has a new problem to worry about: the possibility that a defeated Trump isn't willing to leave the West Wing. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Evan Vucci Because it's 2020, anyone anxious about this fall's presidential election has a new problem to worry about: the possibility that a defeated Donald Trump won't be willing to leave the West Wing. The incumbent U.S. president has turned that anti-Trump talking point into a distinct possibility by refusing to confirm that he'll abide by the results when Americans go to the polls in November. Joe Goldman, president of the public policy foundation Democracy Fund, calls that a fundamental threat to the peaceful transfer of power. Goldman also accuses Trump of actively working to undermine U.S. faith in the democratic process with his persistent and unfounded warning, one he repeated again today on Twitter, that mail-in voting is vulnerable to electoral fraud. Mail-in ballots are widely expected to play a key role in the 2020 election, given the COVID-19 pandemic and the potential dangers of allowing voters to gather in large numbers at polling stations. Goldman says his group's research also suggests an "alarming" number of both Democrats and Republicans are "open to political violence" in the event the election is close and their opponents try to claim a narrow victory. Google has announced that Gmail will now support verified brand logos on Gmail as standard. As reported by 9to5 will allow many smaller brands to take advantage of using the simple software. Should adoption grow, brands will be able to automatically update branding through one system. Google is heavily embracing the new work from home normal in which we find ourselves due to lockdown. It is currently introducing some of Zooms best features to its Google Meet function to help meetings. It has also been a busy couple of weeks for the Gmail software. Earlier in July, a new redesign was leaked for the email system. As many pointed out this was quite an overdue thing for Google to do but were glad it has finally happened. Advertisement Gmail adds support for verified brand logos Google has said that the introduction of Brand Indicators for Message Identification (BIMI) is to help users have confidence in the origin of emails. The brand logo will appear in the existing avatar slot. Viewing on the web this is next to a senders name and address in the top-left corner of a message. On Android and iOS, it will have even more prominence. The logo will show up directly in the inbox. This move to increase users confidence is part of Googles wider focus on keeping people safe whilst working from home. The company has also introduced new security measures for Google Meet, Drive and Chat. These include giving the host of meetings greater control over who is an is not allowed in. Advertisement Some may worry that this gives scammers another way to try to forge the address of brands in an attempt to steal from customers. However, Google is working on methods to combat this. The company is leveraging Domain-based Message Authentication, Reporting, and Conformance (DMARC). This is designed to combat scammers from forging the From address. The idea is that incoming messages will be verified by authenticating the senders domain. Advertisement This means that through DMARC and, in turn, BIMI brands are able to help safely identify themselves. The idea being that if the verification and authentication process works then the brand logo will be a mark of safety. Thus allowing users to identify which emails to take seriously and ones which they can trust. This looks to be a positive step and one which brands will be very pleased with as it should help their identification. So long as the company is able to effectively combat scammers then this system is a very positive move. However, that threat is one which could cause some serious problems. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Azerbaijan and Armenia on Monday to exercise maximum restraint after border clashes between the long-feuding former Soviet republics. "The secretary-general is following with deep concern the current tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He calls for maximum restraint, as a full conflict between these two countries would be disastrous," Reuters cited U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric as saying. The situation on the Azerbaijani-Armenian border escalated on July 12, when Azerbaijan said that the Armenian army had tried to attack Azerbaijans positions with use of artillery systems. On July 17, both sides reported that the situation on the border was relatively calm. A vaccine for Covid-19 developed by Oxford University and AstraZeneca was safe and produced an immune response in early-stage clinical trials, data showed on Monday, raising hopes that the world could soon find a way to stop the virus that has taken an unprecedented human and economic toll across the planet. Published in The Lancet, the peer-reviewed report showed that the 1,077 healthy adults who were given the AZD1222 vaccine did not develop any serious side effects, and their bodies developed an immune response that could protect people for a significant amount of time. The results came separately as two other vaccine candidates one being developed in China and the other in Germany reported positive results from their studies. The Oxford vaccine candidate is largely considered the front-runner since it has carried out trials on the widest set of people among all. Also read: Oxfords Covid-19 vaccine candidate is safe, early results show Adrian Hill, the head of the Oxford Universitys Jenner Institute that invented the vaccine candidate, said that it was possible that the vaccine would become available by the end of the year, news agency Reuters reported. There might be a million doses manufactured by September: that now seems like a remarkable underestimate, given the scale of whats going on, said Hill, referring to the manufacturing capability of partner AstraZeneca. Certainly therell be a million doses around in September. Whats less predictable than the manufacturing scale-up is the incidence of disease, so when therell be an endpoint, he added. The widely followed Oxford vaccine trial is currently at an advanced stage, with studies being carried out in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. A collaboration has already been reached between Oxford, UK government and biopharma major AstraZeneca to produce the vaccine on a mass scale if the final results are also positive. The Serum Institute of India is one of the global partners for its production, a deal that would involve the Pune-based facility producing 400 million doses that will be distributed across dozens of lower and middle-income countries such as India. The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization (WHO) hailed the findings about the vaccine as good news. We now need to move into larger-scale real-world trials, Dr Michael Ryan told reporters at a news conference in Geneva, while warning: theres a long way to go. But it is good to see more data and more products moving into this very important phase of vaccine discovery. There is still much work to be done before we can confirm if our vaccine will help manage the Covid-19 pandemic, vaccine developer Sarah Gilbert said, according to Reuters. We still do not know how strong an immune response we need to provoke to effectively protect against Sars-CoV-2 infection, she said, adding researchers needed to learn more about Covid-19 and continue late stage trials which have already commenced. More than 165 possible vaccines are in various stages of development with US drugmaker Pfizer and Chinas CanSino Biologics also reporting positive responses for their candidates on Monday. Last week, another US company Moderna had its successful first phase trials reported in the journal NEJM. To date, Covid-19 has killed about 610,000 people worldwide and infected over 14 million in 196 countries since the outbreak first emerged in China late last year. Also read | Initial human trial of AstraZenecas Covid-19 vaccine brings hope, found safe: All you need to know Explaining how the Oxford vaccine works, study lead author Andrew Pollard said: It uses a common cold virus (adenovirus) that infects chimpanzees, which has been weakened so that it cant cause any disease in humans, and is genetically modified to code for the spike protein of the human Sars-CoV-2 virus. This means that when the adenovirus enters vaccinated peoples cells it also delivers the spike protein genetic code. This causes these peoples cells to produce the spike protein, and helps teach the immune system to recognise the Sars-CoV-2 virus, he added. The immune system, Pollard explained, has two ways of finding and attacking pathogens: antibody and T cell responses. This vaccine is intended to induce both, so it can attack the virus when its circulating in the body, as well as attacking infected cells. We hope this means the immune system will remember the virus, so that our vaccine will protect people for an extended period, he said. According to The Lancet, an ideal vaccine should be effective after one or two shots, work in target populations including older adults and those with other health conditions, confer protection for a minimum of six months, and reduce onward transmission of the virus to contacts. The Lancet said the current trial is too preliminary to confirm whether the new vaccine meets these requirements, but Phase 2 (underway in the UK only) and phase 3 trials to confirm whether it effectively protects against Sars-CoV-2 infection are happening in the UK, Brazil and South Africa. This is very positive news. A huge well done to our brilliant, world-leading scientists & researchers at the University of Oxford. There are no guarantees, were not there yet & further trials will be necessary but this is an important step in the right direction, said UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson. We are encouraged by the Phase I/II interim data showing AZD1222 was capable of generating a rapid antibody and T-cell response against Sars-CoV-2. While there is more work to be done, todays data increases our confidence that the vaccine will work and allows us to continue our plans to manufacture the vaccine at scale for broad and equitable access around the world, said AstraZenecas Mene Pangalos. (With inputs from Agencies) SHARE THIS ARTICLE ON By PTI NEW DELHI: In a possible breach of regulatory guidelines, borrowers of HDFC Bank were forced to take GPS devices along with the purchase of car for about four years till December 2019, sources said. According to sources, the executives of the country's largest private sector lender compelled vehicle loan customers to get Global Positioning System (GPS) devices costing Rs 18,000-20,000 during 2015 to 2019. Reportedly, these GPS devices were of a particular make indicating at conflict of interest and violation of regulatory norms. On this issue, an HDFC Bank spokesperson said, "As you are aware we have said (Mr Puri's AGM address) what we had to in the matter. And there's nothing further to add. HDFC Bank's Managing Director and Chief Executive Aditya Puri on Saturday while addressing shareholders in the annual general meeting had said that "disciplinary action" has been taken against a few employees from the auto loans business for exhibiting "personal misconduct". Puri denied there being any "conflict of interest" found by a probe launched following whistleblower complaints. "Enquiry did bring out another aspect related to personal misconduct exhibited by a set of individuals for which appropriate disciplinary actions have been taken," Puri had said. There are allegations that GPS devices were bundled along with the loan and those who refused to take it were generally denied loan sanction. The Banking Regulation Act, 1949, stipulates certain businesses that a bank may engage in, apart from its role as a lender. These have been defined under 15 broad sub-categories and the Act clearly states that no banking company shall engage in any form of business other than those referred to in sub-section (1)". A former group head of secured vehicle loans was denied an extension after receiving two post-retirement extensions in March. Auto loans contributed a fifth of the bank's retail loans and a tenth of its overall assets. Outstanding auto loans reduced to Rs 81,082 crore as of June 2020, from Rs 83,935 crore in March and Rs 81,913 crore in the year-ago period. It can be noted that auto sales were also in the slow lane for much of the year. Ayodele Fayose, former Governor of Ekiti State has reacted to the probe of NDDC over alleged fraud, mismanagement of funds. Fayose o... Ayodele Fayose, former Governor of Ekiti State has reacted to the probe of NDDC over alleged fraud, mismanagement of funds. Fayose on Monday said the probe of Akpabio and NDDC before the House of Representative is a clear proof that Buharis government is full of corruption. According to him, Akpabio has made a mess of Buharis fight against corruption His tweet read: Isnt it now clear for all to see that this APC government of Buhari is a family of corruption? Just like Magu Gate and others before it, the looting of NDDC under the control of Senator Godswill Akpabio has again made a mess of their self-professed fight against corruption Akpabio appeared before the House of Representative Committee which is investigating the alleged misappropriation of funds in the Niger Delta Development Commission, NDDC. Birmingham Restaurant Week is set to return this year with guidelines for social distancing and the addition of bars and food trucks. The 11th annual culinary and beverage event will run Friday, Aug. 14 through Monday, Aug. 31, 2020 with 18 days of dining out specials. Normally a 10-day event, organizers Style Advertising and James Little have added an additional eight days to the program to encourage more sales and allow patrons more opportunity to frequent participating businesses in an effort to help establishments recover from the ongoing impact of COVID-19. Birmingham Restaurant Week has also invited locally-owned bars and food trucks to the lineup. This year, Birmingham Restaurant week will expand its dine-in only offerings to allow patrons the opportunity to enjoy Birmingham Restaurant Week at home with to-go and curbside pick-up options, as well as delivery. The traditional dine-in option for BRW will be available for most businesses with safety precautions including socially distanced seating, disposable table items, mask requirements. To-go cocktails, cocktail kits and family-style meal options will also be offered on this years Birmingham Restaurant Week menus. This year, its more important than ever to support our local restaurants among all theyve faced as a result of the pandemic, Bill Stoeffhaas, co-founder of Birmingham Restaurant Week and partner at Style Advertising said in a statement. Each restaurant has created their own unique way of moving forward during this challenging time, and this years BRW provides an opportunity to spotlight that and provide them with the community support and promotion they deserve. Organizers of Birmingham Restaurant Week have decided to keep this years event hyper local. Only locally owned and operated businesses will be allowed to participate. Restaurants, bars, and food trucks from the city of Birmingham and the surrounding areas of Mountain Brook, Vestavia, Homewood, Hoover, Trussville and other neighboring cities are invited to join. Birmingham Restaurant Week is going to be huge for the restaurant industry this year, said Zebbie Carney, owner of Eugenes Hot Chicken, in the same statement. I believe that the restaurant industry has taken a bigger hit than most industries with the influx of customers. Even if people are just ordering to-go or buying gift cards during BRW, it will tremendously help restaurants. All of the hardworking and dedicated individuals who are the heartbeat of the culinary talent in our city have suffered the brunt of this crisis, and its up to us to support and promote them during this time, says James Little. Were asking everyone to take advantage of this years BRW more than ever by ordering to-go or curbside pickup meals, purchasing family packs and cocktail kits and enjoying all that the restaurants and bars are bringing to the table this year. Restaurants, bars and food trucks can sign up for BRW on the Business Sign-Up tab at www.bhamrestaurantweek.com. The deadline is July 24, 2020. Spire Energy is this years presenting sponsor. Companies wishing to sign on for sponsorship can email info@bhamrestaurantweek.com for more information. All other details can be found at www.bhamrestaurantweek.com. Here are some of the restaurants, bars, and food trucks who have signed on to this years Birmingham Restaurant Week: Adored Sweets Baba Java Coffee Bay Leaf Modern Indian Cuisine & Bar Blueroot Dreamland BBQ El ZunZun Eugenes Hot Chicken Filter Coffee Parlor Jinsei Sushi Kayjuns Kuntri Kitchen Marty's GM Michael's Restaurant Pilcrow Cocktail Cellar Post Office Pies Refined ToGo Rojo Slice Pizza and Brewhouse ( Vestavia) Slice Pizza and Brewhouse (Lakeview) Taj India The Recipe Food Truck Unplugged Vino Watkins Branch Bourbon and Brasserie WASHINGTON - Hackers working with the Chinese government targeted firms developing vaccines for the coronavirus and stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property and trade secrets from companies across the world, the Justice Department said Tuesday as it announced criminal charges. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. FILE - In this March 22, 2019 file photo, an American flag flies outside the Department of Justice in Washington. The Justice Department has accused two Chinese hackers of stealing hundreds of millions of dollars of trade secrets from companies across the world and more recently targeting firms developing a vaccine for the coronavirus. Officials expected to discuss the indictment at a news conference Tuesday. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik) WASHINGTON - Hackers working with the Chinese government targeted firms developing vaccines for the coronavirus and stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of intellectual property and trade secrets from companies across the world, the Justice Department said Tuesday as it announced criminal charges. The indictment does not accuse the two Chinese defendants of actually obtaining the coronavirus research, but it does underscore the extent to which scientific innovation has been a top target for foreign governments and criminal hackers looking to know what American companies are developing during the pandemic. In this case, the hackers researched vulnerabilities in the computer networks of biotech firms and diagnostic companies that were developing vaccines and testing kits and researching antiviral drugs. The charges are the latest in a series of aggressive Trump administration actions targeting China. They come as President Donald Trump, his reelection prospects damaged by the coronavirus outbreak, has blamed China for the pandemic and as administration officials have escalated their denunciations of Beijing, including over alleged efforts to steal intellectual property through hacking. The indictment includes trade secret theft and wire fraud conspiracy charges against the hackers, former classmates at an electrical engineering college who prosecutors say worked together for more than a decade targeting high-tech companies in more than 10 countries. The hackers, identified as Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi, stole information not only for their personal profit but also research and technology that they knew would be of value to the Chinese government, prosecutors say. In some instances, the indictment says, they provided an officer for a Chinese intelligence service with whom they worked email accounts and passwords belonging to clergymen, dissidents and pro-democracy activists who could then be targeted. The officer gave help of his own, providing malicious software after one of the hackers struggled to compromise the mail server of a Burmese human rights group. The two defendants are not in custody, and federal officials conceded Tuesday that they were not likely to step foot in an American courtroom. But the indictment carries important symbolic and deterrence value for the Justice Department, which decided that publicly calling out the behaviour was more worthwhile than waiting for the unlikely scenario in which the defendants would travel to the U.S. and risk arrest. The hacking began more than 10 years ago, with targets including pharmaceutical, solar energy and medical device companies but also political dissidents, activists and clergy in the United States, China and Hong Kong, federal authorities said. The charges were brought as Trump administration officials, including national security adviser Robert O'Brien and Attorney General William Barr, have delivered public warnings about what they say are Chinese government efforts to use hacking to steal trade secrets for Beijing's financial benefit and to covertly influence American policy. The hacking is part of what Assistant Attorney General John Demers, the Justice Department's top national security official, described as a sweeping effort to rob, replicate and replace" strategy for technological development. In addition, he said, China is providing a safe haven for criminal hackers who, as in this case, are hacking in part for their own personal gain but willing to help the state and on call to do so." The criminal charges are the first from the Justice Department accusing foreign hackers of targeting innovation related to the coronavirus, though U.S. and Western intelligence agencies have warned for months about those efforts. Last week, for instance, authorities in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom accused a hacking group with links to Russian intelligence of trying to target research on the disease, which has killed more than 140,000 people in the United States and more than 600,000 worldwide, according to figures compiled by Johns Hopkins University. The indictment describes multiple efforts by the hackers to snoop on companies engaged in coronavirus-related research, though it does not accuse them of success in any theft. Prosecutors say Li in January conducted reconnaissance on the computer network of a Massachusetts biotech firm known to be researching a potential vaccine, and searched for vulnerabilities on the network of a Maryland firm less than a week after the company said it was conducting similar scientific work. Li also probed the networks of a California diagnostics company involved in developing testing kits, and a biotech firm from the same state that was researching antiviral drugs. Hacking of vaccine information slows down research as the institution must scramble not only to fix the breach but also to ensure the data it has accumulated has not been altered, Demers said. Once someone is in your system, they can not only take the data, they can manipulate the data," Demers said. We do worry to that extent that there could be a slowdown in the research efforts of that particular institution. The indictment was returned earlier this month in federal court in the Eastern District of Washington, where the hacking outlined by prosecutors was first discovered at the Department of Energy's Hanford site. If it can occur there, we all must know that it can occur anywhere, U.S. Attorney William Hyslop said of his district. 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 Chinese Embassy in Washington, D.C., did not directly respond to the indictment but pointed to remarks made last week by the Foreign Ministry spokesperson, who described China as the victim of groundless speculations" but also a country whose scientific prowess means it does not need to secure an edge by theft." Ben Buchanan, a Georgetown University professor and author of The Hacker and the State, said that though the U.S. has made clear its views on what kinds of economic espionage are permitted and not permitted, it is unclear where it draws the line on espionage related to the coronavirus or what kind of espionage the U.S. might conduct. He said he was not sure that this indictment, without other meaningful consequences, would get China to cease its activities. The upside of spying in this way is simply too high for many governments to pass up, Buchanan said in an email. _____ Associated Press writer Frank Bajak in Boston contributed to this report. The owners of Dreamworld have confirmed they have been charged over the Thunder River Rapids Ride tragedy that claimed four lives almost four years ago, and are facing penalties of $4.5 million. The independent Work Health and Safety Prosecutor Aaron Guilfoyle has confirmed he is bringing three charges against Ardent Leisure over the 2016 ride tragedy. Sydney mother Cindy Low, Canberra mother Kate Goodchild, her brother Luke Dorsett and his partner Roozi Araghi were killed on October 25, 2016, when the ride malfunctioned. The raft carrying the four victims and an empty raft collided at the end of the ride's conveyor belt, causing the riders' raft to flip over. Lucknow, July 21 : He lived in Lucknow and Lucknow lived in him. With his passing away, a part of Lucknow has also ceased to exist. Lalji Tandon, 85, was one of the tallest BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh but, more importantly, he belonged to a generation of politicians that no longer exists. Tandon kept an open house and never hemmed in himself in political boundaries. His friends were found in every party and he would hold impromptu chat session with them on an almost daily basis. Journalists, officers, political leaders, businessmen and people from all walks of life could troop in without an appointment and feel welcomed. Lalji Tandon began his political journey as a member of the Legislative Council, went on to become a minister and then Member of Parliament before he was appointed Governor in Bihar and then Madhya Pradesh. However, he made sure that he remained connected with the people, irrespective of their caste, class or stature. His mornings were spent in his ancestral home in Sondhi Tola in Chowk area. Visitors were invariably treated to steaming hot 'jalebis', 'samosas' and 'makkhan malai' -- a local delicacy. His afternoons and evenings were spent in his official bungalow and fritters were served with endless cups of hot tea. At regular intervals, he would host 'chat' parties and personally attend to the guests amid political banter. A close friend of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, he never flaunted his connections, even though Vajpayee would invariably head to Tandon's home for a meal whenever he was in Lucknow. Lalji Tandon was a moderate when it came to political ideology. Though a committed party worker, he never came to the forefront of the Ram temple movement and steered clear of rabble rousing that was so typical of the era. It was this posturing that endeared him to opposition leaders. Journalists found a father figure in him and, often, vented their ire against the governments in his drawing room. He would simply smile away the blues and veer the conversation to other topics. Lalji Tandon knew Lucknow like the back of his hand. One could spend hours listening to his anecdotes about the Nawabs of Lucknow and the importance of the monuments of an era gone by. A food connoisseur, he knew exactly which dish was cooked to perfection in which restaurant. He would relate the history or a dish, explain the ingredients that went into it and made no bones about his disdain for pizzas and burgers. An excellent host, his parties would be known for their delicious spread -- all vegetarian -- and guests would often ask Tandon to fix the date for the next party even before one was over. In Chowk area, where he lived all his life, Tandon enjoyed a remarkable rapport with the local people and it was only through his efforts that the area could be given a makeover after demolishing an ancient structure located in the middle of the market. With his demise, an era of politics has come to an end in Uttar Pradesh -- an era where views were freely exchanged without rancour and malice, where social interactions rode over political boundaries and where friendships did not depend on class and status. By Baz Ratner LAKE TURKANA, Kenya (Reuters) - Fishermen on the shores of Kenya's Lake Turkana, the world's biggest desert lake, have no doubt about what is to blame for their dwindling fish stocks: a giant hydroelectric dam built by Ethiopia on the River Omo, which feeds the lake. 'We are now seeing Nile perch stocks drastically reduce,' said fisherman Fitbo Lalukol. He says boats must sail much further out into the lake to get a good catch. By Baz Ratner LAKE TURKANA, Kenya (Reuters) - Fishermen on the shores of Kenya's Lake Turkana, the world's biggest desert lake, have no doubt about what is to blame for their dwindling fish stocks: a giant hydroelectric dam built by Ethiopia on the River Omo, which feeds the lake. "We are now seeing Nile perch stocks drastically reduce," said fisherman Fitbo Lalukol. He says boats must sail much further out into the lake to get a good catch. Officials at Ethiopia's ministry of water, irrigation and energy did not respond immediately to a Reuters request for comment on the fishermen's claims. Complaints about the Omo dam have been overshadowed by another major water dispute, between Ethiopia and Egypt. Ethiopia is building the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile, which Cairo says will strangle its lifeline, the Nile. The government in Addis Ababa has said it needs the mega-dams to generate enough electricity for its population of 109 million, only about a third of whom have access to power. But people who live around Lake Turkana, Kenya's poorest region, say the power from Gibe 3 - which is nearly 250 meters high - is produced at their expense. Around 90% of Lake Turkana's water comes from the Omo river. Data from the Unites States Department of Agriculture shows the lake's water level dropped to 363 metres in 2016, when Gibe 3 opened, from 365 metres. Unseasonably heavy rains mean levels are back up, but fishermen fear that is only temporary. "At one point you have the lake totally receding and no fish," said Ikal Angelei, a local environmental activist. Angelei said Kenya and Ethiopia need to share resources so poor communities aren't left behind. "The local community has to be involved in this whole process, both for conservation and economic value," she said. (Writing by Duncan Miriri; Editing by Katharine Houreld and Giles Elgood) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. Pakistani troops violated ceasefire by resorting to heavy firing and mortar shelling on forward areas along the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir's Rajouri district on Tuesday, officials said. The Indian Army retaliated befittingly to the Pakistani aggression, a defence spokesman said. "At about 1715 hours today, Pakistan army initiated unprovoked ceasefire violation by firing with small arms and shelling with mortars along the LoC in Sunderbani Sector of Rajouri district," he said. On July 18, Three civilians were killed when Pakistan violated ceasefire by resorting to unprovoked mortar shelling on forward posts and villages along the LoC in Poonch district. On July 10, an Army jawan was killed in a ceasefire violation by Pakistani troops along the LoC in Rajouri district. The youth have been asked to show a keen interest in the countrys electoral process and ensure that it is transparent enough to guarantee free and fair elections in December. Additionally, they must avoid political entrepreneurs who would use them to cause violence for their parochial interest and to the detriment of the nation's peace and progress. They are also to champion the course of peace and harmony before, during, and after the December 7 polls. Dr. Kenneth Aikins, a Senior Research Fellow at the Department of Peace Studies at the School of Development Studies, University of Cape Coast (UCC) who gave the advice urged them to abide by the principles and values that had sustained the peace in the country over the years. He made the appeal at a days dialogue with youth leaders and other stakeholders on "ensuring a violent free Ghana, before, during and after 2020 election in Ghana: The role of the youth," in Cape Coast. The meeting, organized by the Central Regional office of the National Youth Authority (NYA) brought together key stakeholders including traditional and religious leaders, reps of political parties, and selected youth from across the region to discuss ways to prevent violence and vigilantism ahead of this year's general election. Making an input, Mr. Frank Asmah, the NDC representative, appealed to political parties to refrain from campaigning on ethnic and tribal lines as it tended to cause division among the people. He cautioned political parties to watch their utterances because they were powerful weapons that could either make or break the fortunes of the nation saying whatever tactics that we employ as politicians, we should be mindful of the language and the power of words. On vigilantism, he appealed to all political parties to respect the Vigilantism and Related Offences Act 2019 (Act 999) whilst planning their campaign activities towards election 2020. The enactment of Act 999, he indicated, was born out of the realization that vigilantism could no longer be tolerated in the nations body politic, adding that we have come of age in our democratic dispensation, hence the need to reshape our political activities to catch up with the modern trends of politics. He noted that if political parties respected the Act, the country would once again advance its democratic credentials with yet another smooth and peaceful election come December 2020. Mr. Anthony Sackey, the Regional Youth Organiser of the NPP, called on stakeholders to undertake constructive engagements to arrive at practicable, pragmatic and workable solutions on how to break the cycle of violence in recent times and ensure peace. He appealed to the security forces to be professional and diligent in their work and urged all political party leaders and their supporters to play leading roles in facilitating the conduct of free, fair, and peaceful elections. He re-echoed that there will be no peace if parties engaged in politics of insult, lies, propaganda, and intimidation and urged all parties to respect the electorate and not take them for granted. Mr Sackey said peace does not rest in charters and constitutional provisions alone but also in the hearts and minds of all citizens, hence it behooves on all to ensure national peace. Let me remind all of us that the December 7, election is not a do or die affair, but a contest of ideas and whoever wins is the one we will follow, he emphasized as he urged all to maintain the peace in the region before, during and after the elections. Mr Abdul Majid Coffie, the PPP representative urged all political parties to abide by political codes of conduct and peace pacts they have endorsed to ensure peace in the country. He entreated the youth not to plunge the country into a situation where all the resources invested in the election will go to waste. Nana Kwesi Egyir II, Nyimfahen of Oguaa Traditional Area entreated the youth and all other stakeholders to be law-abiding and not to indulge in any activity that will cause fear and panic during the upcoming election. He urged all the political parties to keep their word and uphold actions that promote peace in the society for accelerated development. 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 Both the Senate and the House of Representatives have passed resolutions insisting that the National Directorate of Employment (NDE) will implement the Special Public Works programme. The lawmakers also urged the Ministry of Finance not to release any funds for the implementation of the Special Public Works programme if it would breach the due process, Appropriation Act 2020 (As Amended) as well as the NDE Act. The resolutions were passed after deliberations on similar motions in both Chambers on Tuesday. Background There have been misunderstandings between the Ministry of Labour and Employment and the National Assembly regarding the implementing body. While the minister of state for Labour and Employment, Festus Keyamo, has said the ministry has to implement the programme, the lawmakers have said otherwise. Mr Keyamo and the joint committee on labour were involved in a war of words two weeks ago over the planned employment of 774,000 Nigerians by the government. This was at a meeting aimed at discussing the progress of the planned employment. N52 billion has been allocated for the Special Public Works Programme in the 2020 budget. Mr Keyamo accused the lawmakers of wanting to sabotage the recruitment process despite receiving 15 per cent jobs slots. The NDE, according to the lawmakers, is meant to implement the recruitment under a special works programme. They had accused Mr Keyamo of hijacking the programme from the NDE. The minister hit back, saying they were the ones trying to take over the project. And the minister made the same counter-accusation. The committee later demanded that the programme be suspended until the modalities for the implementation of the exercise have been explained to the lawmakers. Unsatisfied with the resolution, Mr Keyamo insisted that the programme cannot be implemented without his approval according to the NDE Act. He said the controversy surrounding the programme is an attempt by the National Assembly to bypass him in the implementation of the project. But the federal government had on July 7, announced the commencement of the programme. Mr Keyamo confirmed to Punch newspapers that the president gave him the go-ahead to implement the process. Deliberations Raising a Point of Order, Opeyemi Bamidele said there is the need to go ahead and cooperate with the executive to ensure the smooth and full implementation of the programme as provided for in the revised appropriation law passed by the national assembly. He, however, said while recognising the supervisory role of the Ministry of Labour and Employment, the Senate needs to hold the NDE responsible both for the implementation of the programme and surrendering of accounts for monies appropriated by the programme by the National Assembly. The lawmakers thereafter, resolved that the appropriation of the sum of N52 billion for the 774,000 public works programme is invested in the National Directorate of Employment and therefore must be implemented accordingly and; The Senate will exercise its oversight function on implementation of the programme. In a similar motion at the House sponsored by Toby Okechukwu and Nnolim Nnaji, they noted that the Ministry of Labour and Employment was not named as the implementing agency when the programme was proposed by the executive. By our laws as presently constituted, the NDE is an implementing agency with the Minister of Labour, not Minister of State, an aberration and indeed an entity unknown to the law, is the supervising Minister. They also condemned Mr Keyamos attitude towards the lawmakers and the National Assembly. This attitude may jeopardise the capacity of the National Assembly to oversight and ensure prudence as enshrined in sections 88 and 89 of the 1999 Constitution, part of the motion read. They thereafter urged President Muhammadu Buhari to direct the Minister of Labour recognised by the Constitution and NDE Act, to live up to his lawful responsibility of supervising the NDE, ensuring non-interference and meddlesomeness by any persons in the running of the agency. Rubis Terminal, a joint venture between I Squared Capital, an international infrastructure fund manager, and Rubis, a French listed company specializing in the storage of petroleum products, announces the acquisition of TEPSA, a Spain-based leading bulk liquid storage operator. The agreement was signed today with a planned completion upon approval from the Spanish administrative and antitrust authorities. TEPSA, controlled by Petrofrance S.A., operates four coastal terminals located in Barcelona, ??Bilbao, Tarragona and Valencia with 912,000 m3 of storage capacity dedicated to chemical, biofuel and petroleum products. TEPSA generated 52 million euros of revenues in 2019 and has significant growth potential resulting from its strong positioning in the Spanish market and expansion plans already underway. This transformational acquisition, which increases the size of Rubis Terminal by around 30%, is the first since the Rubis I Squared Capital joint venture was formed in April 2020. This is a strategic transaction for Rubis Terminal, creating a platform to capture product flows in the Mediterranean region, as well as to explore an entrance into high-growth markets in Latin America. In addition to diversifying Rubis Terminal's geographic footprint, this acquisition also increases the relative weight of the growing chemical sector, where commercial synergies are expected with Rubis Terminal's existing positions in France and in the Amsterdam Rotterdam Antwerp area (known as the ARA area). Sadek Wahba, Chairman and Managing Partner of I Squared Capital: "This acquisition shows the strength of the partnership between a large industrial group and an independent, global infrastructure investment manager. We are growing the size of Rubis Terminal by a third, while diversifying its activity, and opening up to other very promising markets. This is just the start: we have great ambitions for our French company, Rubis Terminal, to join the world leaders in the sector in the months and years to come. Gilles Gobin, founder and Managing Partner of Rubis: "This acquisition is only the first step in a strategy which further consolidates Rubis Terminal's leadership position, while diversifying its activities and its footprint. This first acquisition demonstrates the positive dynamism brought by our Franco-American cooperation, based on the common objective to drive long-term growth. Bruno Hayem, CEO of Rubis Terminal: "TEPSA is very close to Rubis Terminal in terms of corporate culture and the high quality of its assets, its leaders and its teams. This strategic alliance will bring significant growth potential and the capacity to strengthen the services offered to our clients." Jacques Nahmias, Chairman of Petrofrance S.A.: "The sale of TEPSA represents an important milestone in the company's history. This transaction allows TEPSA to join a group with an international presence, with common values and which will support its continued development in Spain as well as outside its natural borders." About I Squared Capital: I Squared Capital is an independent, global infrastructure investment manager focusing on energy, utilities, telecommunication, transportation and social infrastructure sectors across North America, Europe, and select high growth economies in Asia and Latin America. About Rubis: Rubis is a French company specializing in the distribution of petroleum products (LPG, fuel oils, bitumen) through its subsidiary Rubis Energie and in infrastructure, transport, supply and service activities via its "Rubis Support and Services" division with leading positions in its markets. It owns 55% of Rubis Terminal. The Rubis group includes 4,000 employees spread across 25 profit centers between Europe, Africa and the Caribbean-Latin America region. About Rubis Terminal: Rubis Terminal is an independent European leader in the storage of petroleum, chemical and agri-food products. Rubis Terminal operates 3.6 million cubic meters of storage capacity at 13 terminals in France, Netherlands, Belgium and Turkey. Rubis Terminal is jointly controlled by Rubis and I Squared-Capital, respectively holding 55% and 45% of the capital since April 30, 2020. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200721005836/en/ Contacts: Media: Brunswick Group LLP for I Squared Capital + 44 207 404 5959 Azhar Khan Fiona Micallef-Eynaud Peter Hesse New Hamburg Property owners in New Hamburg have faced thousands of dollars in damages due to flooding, a survey by the Grand River Conservation Authority shows. In the survey, administered last year, 43 property owners reported flood damages that ranged from $100 up to $100,000. The average reported damage was between $18,000 and $19,500. The survey says many others reported damages between $5,000 and $20,000. The survey of residents and businesses in the flood zones gives the conservation authority a clearer understanding of the cost of flooding to New Hamburg citizens. New Hamburg has a history of flooding, because much of the town is built on the floodplain of the Nith River. The town endured notable floods in 1948, 1954, 1975, 2008, February 2018 and this past January. Apart from surveying residents on the actual costs, the conservation authority also initiated a flood mitigation study to estimate total costs from the various severity levels of floods. The study estimates total financial damages in the town at $922,579 for a five-year flood, $8,187,226 for a 100-year level flood, and $36,824,751 for a regional-level flood. While flood damage estimates can include tangible, financial costs as well as intangible, social costs like inconvenience and mental health impacts, the conservation authoritys estimates focus on tangible costs. Tangible costs can be further sorted into direct and indirect costs. Direct costs include the cost of replacing or repairing things or structures damaged by flood. Indirect costs include things like lost revenue, wages or extra expenses, as well as missed opportunities and the costs of cleanup. Floods are graded in severity based on how likely they are to happen in any given year. RELATED STORIES Waterloo Region No quick fix for New Hamburg flooding problem The conservation authority classifies the floods of 2008 and 2018 as 40-year return period floods, meaning they are likely to occur once every 40 years. Put another way, a flood that severe has a 2.5 per cent chance of happening in any given year. The flood this past January has a five per cent chance of occurring in a year. The highest flood on record in New Hamburg was in 1975. That flood surpassed the 50-year flood level. A pregnant woman was critically injured and her unborn child died after police say one of the teens who was racing through the streets of Philadelphia crashed into her. The crash occurred just before 5 a.m. Monday on the 2100 block of North Broad Street in Philadelphia, NBC 10 is reporting. A 19-year-old man was speeding in a 2003 Ford Expedition when he hit the back of another vehicle, driven by a speeding 16-year-old boy, reports indicate. The impact caused the 16-year-old to hit a tree, and the 19-year-old went off of the road and hit a low concrete wall, where the 27-year-old woman, who was 7-months pregnant, was sitting, reports indicate. She suffered severe injuries and was taken to the hospital in extremely critical condition. Her baby was delivered, but later pronounced dead, reports indicate. Family members identified her as Gina Coleman Seldon, and they say she was outside, on a break from her job at McDonalds, when she was struck, Action News 6 ABC is reporting. "We're mad she lost her child and now she's fighting to pull through herself with three other kids of her own," her brother, Adonis, told Action News 6. The teen drivers did not have a license, and investigators say they will be charged with DUI and related offenses, NBC 10 reports. Action News 6 reports that police identified the 19-year-old driver as Yaaseen Bivines. 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. Assistant U.S. Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers speaks during a news conference in Washington, on Oct. 4, 2018. (Alex Wong/Getty Images) State-Backed Chinese Hackers Indicted for Trying to Steal COVID-19 Research Two Chinese hackers have been indicted for stealing millions of dollars worth of trade secrets and other sensitive information from businesses and government agencies, and attempting to steal COVID-19 research, the Justice Department (DOJ) announced on July 21. The department unsealed an 11-count indictment against Li Xiaoyu, 34, and Dong Jiazhi, 33, on July 21, alleging that the pair hacked into computer systems of hundreds of victims, including companies, government and nongovernmental organizations, individual dissidents, and human rights activists in the United States and around the world in a decade-long campaign. Li and Dong, both trained in computer applications technologies, didnt hack solely for personal benefit, prosecutors alleged. The pair also worked with and were assisted by the Chinese Communist Partys Ministry of State Security (MSS)the regimes chief intelligence agency. Theft Scheme The companies Li and Dong targeted were engaged in high-tech manufacturing and other industries such as defense, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, and civil and industrial engineering. The firms were spread across the globe, including in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Germany, and Japan. More recently, the pair had been looking for vulnerabilities in the networks of biotech companies that were known for their COVID-19 related research, prosecutors alleged. DOJ officials also said the two hackers had on one occasion attempted to extort a victim from whom they had stolen valuable source code. They threatened to publish the code on the internethence destroying the value of the codeunless the victim paid them a ransom. These intrusions are yet another example of Chinas brazen willingness to engage in theft through computer intrusions, contrary to their international commitments, such as their 2015 understanding with the United States and similar understandings with other countries not to conduct or knowingly support cyber-enabled theft of intellectual property, U.S. Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers said during a July 21 press conference announcing the indictments. Demers said the industries targeted by the hackers coincided with industries outlined in Beijings Made in China 2025 plan. Rolled out in 2015, the economic blueprint aims to turn China into a global competitor in 10 tech sectors by 2025. By stealing information from companies in high-tech industries and replicating the technology, Chinese companies can eventually edge out their non-Chinese competitors, Demers said, citing the indictment. He said in one example, the hackers stole gigabytes of data from a Maryland technology and manufacturing firm that would have revealed to competitors the types of products the company was planning to bring to the market. The same data would have also allowed competitors to save on research and development costs, as well as time, thus giving the competitors an advantage in the global marketplace. In another example, the hackers stole presentations, project files, drawings, and other documents relating to projects for the U.S. Air Force and FBI from a Virginia federal and defense contractor, the indictment alleges. Chinas anti-competitive behavior in flagrant disregard for their promises not to engage in cyber-enabled intellectual property theft is not just a domestic issueit is a global issue, Demers said. He added that the indictment also highlights how the Chinese regime is willing to turn a blind eye to prolific criminal hacking operations within its borders, citing some of Li and Dongs alleged criminal activities that were conducted for personal profit. China has now taken its place alongside Russia, Iran, and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cybercriminals, in exchange for those criminals being on call for the benefit of the state, he said. FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich echoed Demerss remarks, saying that the charges were brought with the intention of putting the Chinese officials directing the cyberattacks on notice. There are serious consequences and risks for stealing our technology and our intellectual property, Bowdich said. He also urged nations partnering with the Chinese regime in economic development projects to reconsider their alliances with the communist nation due to its lack of regard for international law. He noted that the regime has engaged in a pattern of underhanded tactics such as using its economic influence to pressure countries not to expose or challenge its illegal actions such as hacking of companies, laboratories, or governmental organizations. This type of economic coercion is not what we expect from a trusted world leader. It is what we expect from an organized criminal syndicate, Bowdich said. Li and Dong have also been accused of targeting individuals of interest to the Chinese regime, such as dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists in the United States, Hong Kong, and mainland China. For example, the pair provided the MSS with email accounts and passwords belonging to a Hong Kong community organizer; the pastor of a Christian church in Xian city, China; and a dissident and former Tiananmen Square protester, the indictment said. They also stole email content from a pastor belonging to a house Christian church in Chengdu city, who was later arrested by local authorities. The two men have each been indicted on a series of charges including conspiracy to commit wire fraud (which carries a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison), conspiracy to commit theft of trade secrets (maximum 10 years in prison), and conspiracy to commit computer fraud (maximum five years). Reactions Responding to the indictment, several lawmakers applauded the departments efforts to protect American research from the Chinese regime. For months, Ive been warning about Communist Chinas attempts to steal or sabotage American vaccine efforts, and todays announcement demonstrates the reality of this threat, Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) said in a statement. Communist Chinas lies and misinformation led to the spread of the coronavirus, and now they want to inhibit our recovery. Scott had previously introduced a billthe COVID-19 Vaccine Protection Actproposing to vet current Chinese student visa holders who are involved in vaccine research, as a measure to prevent the Chinese regime from stealing or sabotaging the research. Similarly, Sen. Ben Sasse (R-Neb.) said that indictments such as the one unsealed on July 21 are an important way to focus attention on an urgent problem. We need to be using more of the tools at our disposal to fight back against this communist aggression, Sasse said in a statement. The announcement comes amid the Trump administrations ongoing efforts to counter the Chinese Communist Partys (CCP) counterintelligence and economic espionage operations. The DOJ launched the China Initiative in 2018 with the aim to counter threats posed by Chinese espionage and other forms of Chinas infiltration in the United States. In a speech earlier this month, FBI Director Christopher Wray said the regimes theft of U.S. technology and trade secrets is on a scale so massive that it represents one of the largest transfers of wealth in human history. Wray said the regime employs a wide range of techniquesfrom cyber hacking to acquisitions of foreign companies to physical theftand involves a full breadth of actors, spanning intelligence services, private firms, graduate students, and researchers in order to steal U.S. intellectual property. He said the CCP is also engaged in campaigns to influence U.S. officials at each level of government, persuading them to take policy positions in line with those of the regime, such as on Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Beijings handling of the pandemic. Attorney General William Barr also made similar comments on July 16, warning corporate America against kowtowing to the CCP. He said Hollywood and many U.S. technology companies have allowed themselves to become pawns of Chinese influence. Cathy He contributed to this report. SAN DIEGO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GAASI), the world's leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), announces that the industry team, made up of Australian partner businesses assembled for the development and delivery of MQ-9B SkyGuardian RPAS for Australia, will now be called "Team SkyGuardian Australia" (TSGA). This replaces the previous team name, "Team Reaper Australia." GA-ASI announced its intention to offer a Medium-altitude, Long-endurance (MALE) RPAS to the ADF during AVALON 2017 with the launch of Team Reaper Australia. Under Project Air 7003, GA-ASI was selected to provide MQ-9B SkyGuardian for the Armed RPAS capability for the Australian Defence Force (ADF). Now known as Team SkyGuardian Australia, this group of robust Australian industry partners consists of 10 world-class Australian companies providing a range of innovative sensor, communication, manufacturing and life-cycle support capabilities. The 10 TSGA members Cobham (TSGA lead industry partner), CAE, Raytheon Australia, Flight Data Systems, TAE Aerospace, Quickstep, Airspeed, Collins Aerospace, Ultra, and Sentient Vision Systems are well positioned to provide a cohesive approach for meaningful and sustainable Australian industry content. The change to the Australian industry team name was made in consultation with the ADF to better reflect the RPAS capability that will be delivered. "GA-ASI is working closely with the ADF and our TSGA partners to deliver a robust Armed RPAS capability to Australia that meets the operational and industry capability requirements," said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. MQ-9B is GA-ASI's most advanced RPAS. In addition to Australia, the UK Royal Air Force recently announced its MQ-9B production contract through UK Ministry of Defence and the Government of Belgium has approved Belgian Defense to negotiate the acquisition of MQ-9B. There has been significant interest from customers throughout the world. The MQ-9B SkyGuardian will provide much-needed protection and support to Australian Land Forces, while having considerable potential to expand support into Multi-Domain Operations through GA-ASI's development of advanced capabilities, including Anti-Submarine Warfare, Electronic Warfare, self-protection and Detect and Avoid systems, along with a range of advanced networking solutions. These roles suit the MQ-9B ideally for ADF future operations envisaged through the recently released 2020 Defence Strategic Update. Hi-resolution images of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian are available to qualified media outlets from the GA-ASI media contact list. About GA-ASI General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems, including the Predator RPA series and the Lynx Multi-mode Radar. With more than six million flight hours, GA-ASI provides long-endurance, mission-capable aircraft with integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent flight that enables situational awareness and rapid strike. The company also produces a variety of ground control stations and sensor control/image analysis software, offers pilot training and support services, and develops meta-material antennas. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com. SkyGuardian, Predator and Lynx are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. GA-ASI Media Relations General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. +1 (858) 524-8101 [email protected] SOURCE General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. Related Links http://www.ga-asi.com Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 22:27:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BEIRUT, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Industry Minister of Lebanon Imad Hoballah announced on Tuesday that the nation has started negotiations with countries in the East to cooperate on various levels, local media reported. "We have started meetings on this level but it needs time to figure out how this cooperation can take place in a way that falls in the interest of Lebanon and other countries," Hoballah was quoted as saying by Elnashra, online independent newspaper. Hoballah explained that cooperation with Eastern countries will not prevent Lebanon from cooperating with the West. "We will do whatever is important and beneficial for Lebanon," he added. He noted that Lebanon is also keen on cooperating with Arab countries but some parties in Lebanon are putting obstacles facing this plan. Lebanon is currently witnessing its worst economic crisis and the country has defaulted on its debts earlier this year. Enditem WASHINGTON - The Pentagon is considering adjustments to its military presence in South Korea and around the globe as it shifts from years of countering insurgencies and militants in the greater Middle East to focusing on China, Defence Secretary Mark Esper said Tuesday. Esper said he has issued no order to withdraw from South Korea. Without discussing specifics, Esper said he favours more emphasis on rotational deployments, as opposed to permanent stationing, of American troops because it gives us, the United States, greater strategic flexibility in terms of responding to challenges around the globe. Espers chief spokesman, Jonathan Hoffman, said later the goal of shifting to more use of rotational forces in Asia and Europe would be to remove some of the footprint of having forces forward deployed and allow troops to train in additional locations, instead of being in one country all the time. He said it also would allow the U.S. to be a little bit more unpredictable. The U.S. has about 28,500 troops stationed in South Korea as a bulwark against North Korea, but the U.S.-South Korea treaty alliance is under great strain, mainly because of the Trump administrations demand that Seoul vastly increase the amount it pays for the U.S. presence. Negotiations led on the U.S. side by the State Department have been deadlocked for months. The Pentagon said Esper spoke by phone Monday with his South Korean counterpart to discuss the payment issue and other matters, including the stalemated U.S. effort to rid North Korea of its nuclear weapons. It gave no details. President Donald Trump has questioned the value of stationing U.S. troops in South Korea and elsewhere in the world, saying Seoul and other host governments must pay more of the cost. In his remarks in a webinar hosted by the International Institute for Strategic Studies in London, Esper said that since taking office a year ago he has sought to review the global U.S. military footprint with an eye to competing more effectively with China and Russia. That has included looking for ways to bring more U.S. troops home so that they can train more directly for missions related to potential conflict in the Asia-Pacific region. Esper said he hopes to visit China this year to enhance co-operation on areas of common interest, improve crisis communications systems, and reinforce our intentions to openly compete in the international system in which we all belong. Hoffman, his spokesman, said the matter is under discussion and he was not sure whether Esper has talked to his Chinese counterpart about the timing. Earlier this month Esper approved the withdrawal of 9,500 troops from Germany, although he has yet to publicly disclose how many of those will be brought home and how many will be shifted to other parts of Europe or elsewhere. He also has reviewed the U.S. presence in Africa. We will continue to look at adjustments in every command we have, in every theatre, to make sure we are optimizing our forces, Esper said in Tuesdays webinar. The U.S. military presence in South Korea dates to the 1950-53 Korean War in which American forces fought in support of the South after North Korean troops invaded and were later supported by Chinese troops. The OnePlus Nord is what happens when the company applies the Never Settle mantra to a mid-range product. It transplanted the main 48MP camera from the flagship OnePlus 8, also the 90Hz Fluid AMOLED and Warp Charge 30T technologies all the while trying to address the ever-rising costs of flagships. OnePlus Nord The phone is powered by the Snapdragon 765G chipset, perhaps the only clear indication that this isnt a flagship product. That said, the 7nm chip is efficient and has enough performance in its ISP and AI cores to run the Nightscape algorithms. In short, it gets the job done. OnePlus realizes that you may currently live outside 5G coverage, but it promises to support the Nord for a while it will release OS updates for two years and security patches for a year longer. This means theres a chance that 5G networks will reach you before the Nord reaches the end of its life. Night shots and group selfies are the kind of photos that the Nord loves to take When you take the phone out of its box, you will be looking at Android 10 through Gorilla Glass 5-covered Fluid AMOLED display a 6.44 panel (1,080 x 2,400 px, 20:9) with 90Hz refresh rate. There are sRGB and P3 display modes, but no HDR support. Security is handled by the in-display fingerprint reader, face unlock is also an option. In the top left corner is OnePlus first dual selfie. It combines a 32MP sensor (IMX616) with 0.8 m pixels. For comparison, the 8-series phones have 16MP sensors with 1.0m pixels. This one has enough resolution for binning, however, so it should have an edge. Even better, its joined by an 8 MP ultrawide angle camera with a 105 lens. The company boasts that this will let you snap selfies with a group of friends without resorting to a selfie stick. Around the back is a 48MP sensor with all the trimmings f/1.75 aperture, OIS and EIS. This is essentially the same module as found on the OnePlus 8 (IMX586 sensor, 0.8 m pixels). Theres no dedicated zoom camera, but the sensor lets you zoom 2x using cropping. The one major difference from the OnePlus 8 is that 4K video recording is capped at 30 fps (strangely enough, the front camera is capable of 4K/60 fps recording). A cine mode is available for 21:9 videos in 4K. Also, the slow motion mode can do 240 fps at 1080p resolution. Moving on to the ultrawide angle camera, it has an 119 lens and an 8MP sensor (compared to 16MP on the OP8). This one cant focus at close distances so instead a 2 MP macro camera is used. The final module is a 5 MP depth sensor. Inside the phone is a 4,115 mAh battery and inside the box is a Warp Charge 30T charger. It can push a flat battery to 70% in half an hour through the USB-C port (note: USB 2.0). Theres no 3.5 mm jack, you can use the USB-C port for wired headphones if you wish. OnePlus also announced a TWS headset today, but well get to that in a moment. The phone isnt officially water resistant or rugged, but the company mentions that a team of 300 engineers subjected it to rigorous tests that included drops and artificial sweat. There are two finishes available for the glass back polished Blue Marble and matte Gray Onyx. You can also choose one of six cases - some are artsy, some are simple and one makes it look like the phone has a transparent back (you can thank JerryRigEverything for this one). OnePlus Nord in Gray (matte finish) and Blue (polished) The OnePlus Nord will launch in two regions first Asia and Europe (notably the North American market is excluded). Below are the countries that are getting it. The phone will cost 400 in mainland Europe and 380 in the UK and it will be notably cheaper in India - INR 28,000 (that's 330 or so). In both cases you will be able to snag one starting on August 4 through the official OnePlus site as well as partner stores and carriers. In India, Amazon will also carry the Nord. These prices are for the base version with 8 GB of RAM and 128 GB storage. There's an upgrade available with 12 GB RAM and 256 GB storage - this one costs 500/470 on the Old Continent and INR 30,000 in India. Note that Amazon India lists an exclusive cheaper version - INR 25,000 - with 6 GB of RAM and 64 GB storage. This one won't be available until September, however. Asia Europe India Hong Kong SAR (China) Malaysia Austria Belgium Bulgaria Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Estonia Finland France Germany Greece Hungary Ireland Italy Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Malta Netherlands Poland Portugal Romania Russia Slovakia Slovenia Spain Sweden United Kingdom Note: in France there will be wired headphones included in the box. But if you want to listen to music the 21st century way, the OnePlus Buds may be for you. These will cost $80 when they launch next week (July 27), in White initially. If you prefer Gray, you will have to wait until early August. Unlike the phone, the Buds will also be available in the US and Canada. However, the "Nord Blue" color combo will be exclusive to Europe and India. OnePlus Buds in three colors The Buds boast impressive Warp Charging speeds 10 minutes are enough to get 10 hours worth of listening. That is 10 hours combining the charge inside the buds and their case. The buds themselves get 100 minutes worth of listening in 10 minutes of charging. When fully filled, the buds and the 430 mAh battery in the case offers 30 hours of listening (for comparison, AirPods last 24 hours). Theres a 13.4 mm dynamic driver hiding inside each bud with Bass Boost and Dolby Atmos options to spice up the audio. The buds are IPX4 water resistant so they arent afraid of splashing water or sweat. They support Fast Pair and offer customizable double tap and long press gestures. OnePlus Buds: in White (available first) in Gray (early August) Blue/green (TBA) PS. where did Nord come from? In many European languages in means north, the OnePlus team was imagining a north-bound journey into nature while designing their new mid-ranger. No further deaths and two positive cases of coronavirus have been reported in Northern Ireland, the Department of Health has confirmed. The total death toll remains at 556, while the total number of infections has risen to 5,859. Seven patients with coronavirus are in hospital, with two of these patients in intensive care. There are nine active outbreaks at care homes in Northern Ireland. Meanwhile, a date for the reopening of pubs which do not serve food is to be given as soon as possible, the Executive has confirmed. Industry group Hospitality Ulster has said it hopes the venues will get the green light to reopen by the end of this month. Read More And Stormont has been thrown into confusion over holiday rules after an MLA sparked controversy by saying she'd be taking a family break to Italy - only to cancel it after she came in for criticism. Alliance health spokeswoman Paula Bradshaw revealed on Monday morning that her family had planned to travel to Italy for a holiday this weekend. Here's how Tuesday unfolded: ANCHORAGE, Alaska - State prosecutors have dropped at least one criminal case because overcrowding at the Alaska Psychiatric Institute caused wait times so long that due process protections were violated. The Alaska Court of Appeals ruled the case of a mentally incompetent Juneau man had to be dismissed because he was imprisoned for nearly a year while awaiting space in the Anchorage mental health institute, The Anchorage Daily News reported Saturday. The man identified only by the initials J.K. was accused of a misdemeanour but deemed mentally ill and unfit to stand trial without treatment. Alaska policy mandates holding mentally ill defendants in jails or in hospital emergency rooms when treatment is unavailable. State law requires residents accused of felonies who are deemed mentally incompetent to undergo treatment in an attempt for them to be competent to stand trial. A judge decides whether treatment is required in misdemeanour cases. The state-owned psychiatric institute is the only location with competency restoration treatment, but it has only 10 beds available for the service. State law prohibits out-of-state treatment. The appeals court decision reinforces a ruling by a Fairbanks judge last year calling for an end to the practice. J.K. was arrested in March 2018, accused of threatening a Juneau restaurant patron with a butter knife. He was imprisoned for 143 days by the time he was appointed a public defender who requested a mental health competency evaluation. After he had spent 149 days in prison, a judge ordered him to undergo treatment at the psychiatric institute, which listed him as number 26 on a waiting list a month later. The amount of time that this seriously mentally ill defendant remained in jail awaiting competency restoration treatment is unacceptable, Chief Judge Marjorie Allard wrote on behalf of a three-judge panel. The court declined to set a deadline for transfers to Alaska Psychiatric Institute but said holding J.K. for such a long time period violated his constitutional rights. A separate case in Anchorage could set a deadline for Alaska, the court said. COLLINSVILLE Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker on Tuesday called plans for the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to send federal agents to Chicago a wrongheaded move on the part of Donald Trump, on the part of the Department of Homeland Security. Pritzker said hes called the acting secretary of the Department of Homeland Security about the matter, but was told he couldnt possibly get back to me until about 48 hours from now. DHS is slated to send about 150 Homeland Security Investigations agents to Chicago to help local law enforcement deal with a spike in crime, according to an official with direct knowledge of the plans who spoke to the Associated Press on condition of anonymity because the official wasn't authorized to speak publicly. The agents, which are generally used to conduct investigations into human trafficking, drugs and weapons smuggling, were expected to stay in Chicago at least two months, according to the official. It's not clear exactly how they will back up local law enforcement or when they will arrive, but they will make arrests for federal crimes, not local ones. In a tweet Sunday, Trump blamed local leaders for violence in Chicago and other cities. The Radical Left Democrats, who totally control Biden, will destroy our Country as we know it. Unimaginably bad things would happen to America, Trump tweeted, referring to his likely Democratic opponent, Joe Biden. Look at Portland, where the pols are just fine with 50 days of anarchy. We sent in help. Look at New York, Chicago, Philadelphia. NO! The move is Trump's latest effort to use an agency created after the Sept. 11 attacks to protect the country from terrorists threats to supplement local law enforcement in ways that have alarmed critics. Trump has already deployed agents to Portland under the mantle of protecting federal buildings from protesters, drawing intense criticism from local leaders who say they have only exacerbated tensions. Chicago has seen 414 homicides this year, compared with 275 during the same period last year, and a spate of shootings in recent weeks as cities around the country have seen an uptick in violence. The president of the local police officers union wrote Trump a letter asking for help from the federal government to help combat gun violence. Pritzker at an unrelated news conference Tuesday morning in Collinsville called bringing in federal personnel "ridiculous." Were going to do everything we can to prevent them from coming, and if they do come were going to do everything we can from a legal perspective to get them out," he said. The Homeland Security Investigations, or HSI, agents are set to assist other federal law enforcement and Chicago police in crime-fighting efforts, according to sources familiar with the matter, though a specific plan on what the agents will be doing -- and what their limits would be -- had not been made public. DHS in Washington did not immediately respond to requests for comment, while the Department of Justice indicated an announcement would be forthcoming on an expansion of what has been dubbed Operation Legend, which saw several federal law enforcement agencies assist local police in Kansas City, Missouri, including the FBI and U.S. Marshals Service. One Immigration and Customs Enforcement official in Chicago, who asked not to be named because they were not authorized to speak on the matter, confirmed the deployment was expected to take place. The official noted that the HSI agents, who are part of ICE, would not be involved in immigration or deportation matters. Federal agents being used to confront street protesters in Portland, Oregon, has raised alarm in many circles. Chicago, too, has dealt with protests that have led to injuries in recent days. At an unrelated news conference Monday morning, Mayor Lori Lightfoot said she has great concerns about the general possibility of Trump sending feds to Chicago based on what has happened in Portland. If Trump wants to help, she said, he could boost federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives resources and fully fund prosecutors. Illinois U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Tammy Duckworth, both Democrats, on Tuesday sent Trump a letter asking that he reconsider. With the right leadership, federal law enforcement can serve as valuable partners in supporting local efforts and helping reduce violence in American communities, rather than contravening local efforts and exacerbating tensions. Its not too late for you to demonstrate such leadership, Durbin and Duckworth wrote. The Associated Press contributed to this report. 10 ways Illinois schools could look different this fall Love 1 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 43 (ANSA) - ROME, 21 LUG - Premier Giuseppe Conte on Tuesday hailed an "historic" EU deal on a post-coronavirus Recovery Fund, reached after the longest summit in the Union's history. He said the result of the summit, which saw Italy increase its initial allocation of funding, had strengthened the government in Rome. After five days of acrimonious talks, the EU leaders agreed on a 750 billion euro post-virus stimulus package, consisting of 390 in grants and 360 in loans. Italy, as worst-hit EU country, will receive the largest single slice of funding, 209 billion, or 28% of the total. The deal was sealed after bitter debates between 'frugal' northern European states led by the Netherlands, which wanted the percentage of loans increased and tied to structural reforms, and southern European members led by Italy. Dutch Premier Mark Rutte, who led his country's opposition to the original plan along with Austria, Denmark, Sweden and Finland, obtained an "emergency brake" provision if any member's spending plans deviate from the Fund's purposes. But thanks largely to Conte's insistence, Rutte did not achieve his goal of imposing veto powers. Conte was received by President Sergio Mattarella after his success at the summit, which saw Italy's piece of the pie increase from 182 billion to 209. Conte said "with 209 billion euros, Italy has improved the intervention in its favour compared with the original plan of (European Commission) President (Ursula) von der Leyen," he said. Conte stressed that the Italian government was now stronger than before the summit. "The Italian government is stronger: the truth is that the approval of this plan reinforces the action of the government," he said. Conte added that a task force to draft the necessary reforms is a priority that will be "defined over the coming days". He said "it must start as soon as possible". The summit also OK'd a 1.074 trillion seven year EU budget, having overcome the final hurdle, northern countries' insistence on tying funding to Hungary and Poland to their respect for the rule of law. (ANSA). CYBERSECURITY CO LAUNCHES GRUELLING 72-HOUR CHALLENGE FOR TOP ETHICAL HACKER JOB TORONTO, July 21, 2020 /CNW/ - Packetlabs, a collective of ethical hackers specializing in real-world simulated cyber-attacks to protect governments, businesses and organizations, has launched an aggressive national search to uncover the country's top hacker for a prime position with the Packletlabs's team. "With dangerous state-sponsored cyber-attacks happening in Australia and around the world we need to know we have the best ethical hackers on our team," said Richard Rogerson, Managing Partner of Packetlabs. "This is a high stakes, active, real-world and hands-on job so we can't just hire based on a resume or a series of interview questions. We need to see them do their thing in real-time and prove they are the best of the best by conquering our rigorous 72-hour hacking challenge." Packetlabs admits they expect a lot from their full-time staff, but they are willing to pay a premium for the right hacker. The job will pay between $70-$100k + benefits, and security training. Packetlabs's Gruelling 72-hour hacking challenge: After submitting a standard job application via LinkedIn, a video screening, CV/resume review, and a technical assessment, the top 20 applicants (on paper) will move on to the brand new Offensive Security Proving Grounds for the active hacking test which will challenge their abilities and skills to hack into a live system within 72 hours. The top 5 candidates who make it through will have a final interview. Packetlabs plan to hire Canada's Next Top Hacker from that group. Challenge participants will be required to write a report outlining the vulnerabilities they've discovered and outline how their client can address the issues found and improve cybersecurity. Applicants will be awarded points based on the amount of systems compromised, and the level of sophistication demonstrated through their attacks. As a fully Canadian owned and operated company, Packetlabs would like to hire a Canadian for the position. "72 hours may not seem like a lot of time, but the Packetlabs team often breaks into organizations that believe they are fully secure - often within hours," added Rogerson. Packetlabs is accepting applications for the position until August 15th, 2020. About Packetlabs Packetlabs are a collective of ethical hackers specializing in real-world simulated cyber-attacks to protect organizations. They offer a variety of services including infrastructure penetration testing, web and mobile application testing, social engineering, red team exercises, source-code reviews and exploit development all to help clients protect their data and customers. Their clients occupy multiple industries, including government, technology, media, retail, healthcare, financial, consulting, law enforcement, and more. Packetlabs mandates each of their consultants with the most advanced penetration testing training available in the industry. SOURCE Packetlabs For further information: Patrick McCaully, Pointman News Creation, [email protected] WASHINGTON Beset by internal divisions and clashes with the Trump administration, Senate Republicans downplayed the prospects Tuesday of enacting new coronavirus relief before key programs like boosted unemployment payments expire. Republicans continue to negotiate among themselves but broadly oppose an extension beyond this week of the $600 weekly federal jobless benefit that millions of Americans are collecting. Complicating Republican talks is the White House, which is trying to cut funding for COVID-19 testing and demanding a payroll tax cut that many in the president's party oppose. Talks with Democrats, who will be needed to pass the bill, haven't even begun. Full coverage of the coronavirus outbreak At a meeting of Republican lawmakers Tuesday, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas cast doubt on the spending talks, asking, "What the hell are we doing?" according to a Republican source familiar with his remarks. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, who was more optimistic about negotiations, and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows were at the meeting. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., said any bill must include enhanced liability protections, but he offered few other details of what he will propose. "I'm going to introduce a bill in the next few days that is a starting place that enjoys fairly significant support among Republican senators, probably not everyone," he said after the meeting. McConnell said Senate Republicans "overwhelmingly" oppose extending the $600-a-week unemployment supplement because they believe it's a deterrent to work, but he said there's "room for negotiation." Sen. Mitt Romney, R-Utah, said after a caucus meeting Tuesday, "There's a lot of disagreement amongst the members." In May, the Democratic-led House passed a $3.4 trillion bill that would extend the emergency jobless benefits through January; approve additional aid for families, workers and businesses; and tack on other progressive provisions. Senate Republicans have roundly rejected the bill but are struggling to unite around an alternative that would satisfy competing priorities within their party. Story continues "We haven't reached a conclusion on anything," said Sen. John Kennedy, R-La. Download the NBC News app for breaking news and politics McConnell said that after he gets Republicans on board, his proposal will be used as a starting point for bipartisan discussion. He needs at least seven Democratic votes. "Clearly, they have the ability to prevent us from passing anything, and that's been their mindset lately," he said. "And so I think it's pretty clear they're not irrelevant. We do have to talk to them." Asked later whether he expects a bill to pass by end of next week, McConnell laughed and said "no," according to a pool report. 'All very 60,000-foot' After the meeting, Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., said that Senate Republicans came to "some recognition that we need to do something more" with jobless benefits but that there was no agreement on what. One of Trump's top priorities, the payroll tax cut, came up "only briefly" and without details, Cassidy said. Funding for state and local governments is "still a little bit of a work in progress," he said. There were no discussions of how much money to put into the Paycheck Protection Program, the loan program for small businesses. Senators and administration officials didn't discuss the parameters of another round of stimulus payments. "It was all very 60,000-foot," Cassidy said. Image: Donald Trump (Evan Vucci / AP) Divisions are widening between Senate Republicans, some of whom are pushing against new spending and others of whom eager to return home next month with assistance for their ailing states. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, who faces a tough re-election battle, said there are "far higher priorities" than a payroll tax cut, which she called "extremely expensive" with limited impact. "It would only benefit individuals who are working. It also would displace other spending that I think is far more important," Collins told reporters Tuesday. McConnell also cast doubt on the idea. "There are some differences of opinion on the question of the payroll tax cut and whether that's the best way to go. And so we're still in discussion with the administration on that," he said. Even Pat Toomey, R-Pa., one of the most pro-business, anti-tax members of the Senate, is undecided on whether to support a payroll tax cut, he told NBC News on Tuesday. McConnell said his one red line is that the bill must include liability protections for businesses, schools, hospitals and other entities as long as they're not "grossly negligent" upon reopening. A headache for party leaders is that some are dead set against new federal spending. "I just came out of a Republican caucus meeting that could be sort of the Bernie bros progressive caucus," said Sen. Rand Paul, R-Ky., comparing GOP senators to supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. "I'm alarmed that we're talking about spending another trillion dollars we don't have." Sen. Ron Johnson, R-Wis., said he's "not supporting any new spending right now," and he suggested that Congress instead repurpose funds that have already been authorized. Sen. Kevin Cramer, R-N.D., said that McConnell wants to limit the cost of a new bill to $1 trillion and that some senators said that would constrain their policy options. The Republican divisions are likely to strengthen the negotiating hand of Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., because failing to act while the number of coronavirus cases is rising could be politically disastrous for Trump and his party heading into the election. Cassidy said top administration officials are holding preliminary talks with Democrats. "Mnuchin and Meadows are meeting with Pelosi and Schumer, I think, this afternoon," he said. "They said we're not negotiating, we're just kind of establishing the framework by which to proceed." Syracuse, N.Y. Returning students who arrive at Syracuse University from a state subject to a mandatory coronavirus quarantine will have to find their own lodging for two weeks in order, according to an email sent to students on Monday. The email, sent by university administrators Mike Haynie and Amanda Nicholson, detailed the processes required for students from 22 states currently on New Yorks quarantine list. At Syracuse, the number of students currently required to complete the quarantine process would be nearly 2,000. Returning students will have to secure their own lodging for a two-week quarantine even if they are planning to live in school housing for the fall semester. For those students, the school said that it is working with local and regional hotels in order to try to secure reduced rates. The school plans to provide a list of hotels to the families of students this week. Returning students will not be required to stay in one of the participating hotels and can stay elsewhere in New York or another permissible state, but the school said they will be required to produce evidence that they complied with the quarantine before moving into campus housing. Given these incredibly difficult circumstances, Syracuse University is prepared to support and assist students impacted by the travel advisory to establish self-quarantine accommodations, the school wrote. This is a difficult time for everyone in our community and we are working to do everything within our power to support all our students, while balancing strict compliance with the quarantine requirement and mitigating the burden on our students and their families. New students and new transfers from quarantine states will be able to arrive on Aug. 2, two weeks earlier than scheduled, in order to complete their quarantine in campus housing. The school said that students who are subject to a mandatory quarantine and live in off-campus housing will also be expected to provide evidence they completed a quarantine before accessing campus facilities. The school said it would engage landlords and request their support to amend leases and rental agreements to allow students to move in earlier if necessary. The school said that students who are unable or choose not to participate in a quarantine will be able to take remote classes instead of attending in person. The school also indicated it would try to support students who are facing a financial hardship. To complete a quarantine, students require access to both an individual living space and an individual bathroom. The bathroom requirement is difficult for colleges since students generally share that facility in residence halls. Haynie, the schools vice chancellor for strategic initiatives and innovation, had previously called the quarantines one of the biggest challenges in the schools reopening plan. Syracuse said it has reached out to state officials to advocate for enhanced testing and modified quarantine protocols for students as an alternative. The school is still hopeful an alternative approach might still be accepted and that some of the quarantine processes wont be necessary, but it wanted to provide families guidance based on the current landscape. For now, compliance with the 14-day self-quarantine remains the only way for students from impacted states to return to our campus in the fall, the school wrote. MORE ON CORONAVIRUS AND COLLEGES Syracuse reopening plan: Nearly 2,000 students could need to quarantine; Sheraton will be used during the year College students confront falls reality: A lot of people are upset were paying more for less Syracuse University may look much different when students return: Sports, parties, office hours, more Syracuse University will require negative coronavirus test from students before they arrive on campus Syracuse University releases suggestions for fall reopening: Dont hold doors and keep 12 months of PPE How will Syracuse University test 20,000 students for coronavirus? By pooling their saliva Contact Chris Carlson anytime: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1639 Did the leading Portland police reformer want a police presence when she addressed protesters Friday night from the front steps of the Justice Center? On Monday, different versions of what happened emerged. Its a sign of the times that the answer to the question has become a political hot potato in demonstration-wracked Portland, now in the national spotlight for use of force by both Portland police and more recently the Trump administrations special federal operatives. Hardestys chief of staff Karly Edwards said she talked to police only as a courtesy. Edwards wanted to let them know that her boss was planning to speak at a candlelight vigil outside the Justice Center, the home of police headquarters thats become a flashpoint for nightly demonstrations. But Deputy Chief Chris Davis said Hardestys chief of staff asked for a couple of officers to be at the event. Hardestys staff then asked that the officers remain out of sight, he said. Hardesty has been one of the most vocal critics of Portland police and the leading voice for police reform in the city, recently convincing the City Council to cut another $15 million for a total of $27 million from the Police Bureaus budget and eliminate the bureaus school resource officers, Gun Violence Reduction Team and Transit Police over concerns about each units disparate policing tactics. Edwards said when she contacted the deputy chief, she wanted to relay Hardestys wish that police in riot gear not be present. We certainly did not want the police there, she said. I assumed they were going to have riot police out there. My request was that there be a more de-escalated presence. I was in contact with police as a professional courtesy. Edwards said she thought police crowd control liaisons might be present for a more non-intrusive presence. They generally wear white polo shirts. Davis recalled that Edwards asked him for a couple of officers to be at the event, just kind of low-key. Before Hardesty began speaking, Edwards met two uniformed Portland officers near the Starbucks at Southwest Third Avenue and Jefferson Street. She said she gave them her cellphone number in case there was any problem. They asked if she wanted police to put out any barricades, Edwards said, and she told them no. She asked that they not be visible during Hardestys address, she said. What we didnt want is for the police to react, thats what we were trying to avoid, she said. The uniformed officers stayed out of sight through Hardestys address and asked Edwards to contact them once the commissioner was done, and she did, Edwards said. The citys mass, mostly peaceful protests to support the Black Lives Matter movement have given way to regular late-night confrontations between city police and a smaller group of people who police say have thrown rocks and other dangerous objects at them, started fires, broken windows, scrawled graffiti or pulled plywood off of downtown buildings. The Trump administration in early July sent special federal tactical officers to Portland to respond. Hardesty on Friday night called for federal goons'' to leave Portland, saying occupying military personnel'' on city streets was unacceptable. She called for a peaceful protest and combined her remarks with a previously scheduled hip-hop event outside the Justice Center. Thousands of people filled Southwest Third Avenue and mostly cheered Hardesty on, except for a few hecklers, who criticized her call for a peaceful protest and questioned Where have you been? the last 50 nights of the city demonstrations against police violence. Hardesty picked up on the question. She said shes been cutting the most racist programs out of the police budget'' and pushing for an independent civilian oversight board of police, answering, Thats where Ive been! At the end of her comments, she said she wanted to thank the police team, as well as the faith-leaders who spoke and the youths who have been rallying nightly since the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. The next day, she sent a message via Twitter, telling Mayor Ted Wheeler that not long after she and other speakers concluded and hip-hop artists were still performing, there was another unprovoked brutal attack by our federal government'' while her staff and other attendees were still present. The commissioner, her staff said, was referencing the firing of tear gas nearby by federal officers as music was still playing, about 20 minutes after Hardesty left. Portland police had issued two warnings when they noticed some people moving fences that had been installed around Chapman and Lownsdale squares across from the Justice Center and the federal courthouse. Federal officers then emerged from the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse next-door to the Justice Center and launched tear gas canisters toward the crowd, which wafted by the Justice Center. Hardesty blamed the mayor for putting her staff in danger. She said on Twitter: If you cant control the police, give me the Portland Police Bureau. On Monday, Wheeler responded with his own statement, saying he will continue to serve as Police Commissioner through this time of transformation. -- 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. On a call with House Democrats on Tuesday, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said she hopes the parties "can resolve our differences and have a bill by the end of next week," according to a source on the call. The end of next week is July 31, and Congress would still need to vote on the legislation even if it can write the bill by the end of the month. Lawmakers are working to iron out a range of differences on how best to structure the bill as the pandemic spreads unabated in the United States. Congress returned to Washington for discussions on the legislation this week as Covid-19 cases and deaths climb across the country , leading states including McCarthy's own to either pause or roll back their economic reopening plans. If lawmakers cannot pass a plan by the end of the month, a $600 per week federal unemployment insurance benefit buoying millions of Americans will at least temporarily expire. The GOP wants to change the policy or reduce the sum, while Democrats hope to extend the assistance as the unemployment rate stands above 11%. "I envision that this bill doesn't get done by the end of July," House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy , R-Calif., told CNBC's " Squawk Box ." He said he expects Congress to approve legislation "probably in the first week of August." The top Democrat and Republican in the House cast doubt Tuesday on whether Congress can pass a coronavirus relief bill in time to avoid disrupting a key financial lifeline. House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., conducts a news conference in the Capitol Visitor Center where he took questions from reporters working offsite because of the COVID-19 pandemic on Thursday, May 7, 2020. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin separately told reporters on Tuesday that he hopes to strike a deal on legislation by the end of next week. Democrats have called for a sprawling package to offer additional aid to jobless workers, send another direct payment to individuals, offer hazard pay to essential workers, give aid to state and local governments facing budget crunches and offer assistance to renters and homeowners as moratoriums on evictions and foreclosures start to expire. Republicans, meanwhile, have previewed a proposal heavy on tax incentives or bonuses that aim to encourage people to return to work and school, along with broad liability protections for businesses and doctors during the pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., told reporters Tuesday that he plans to "introduce a bill in the next few days that is a starting place" for talks with Democrats, and has support from most of the GOP caucus. Here are some provisions of the Republican proposal McConnell outlined during public appearances Tuesday: "Several specific incentives" to encourage companies to hire and retain workers (he did not address how the GOP would specifically handle the unemployment benefit expiration) $105 billion to reopen schools "A targeted second round" of the Paycheck Protection Program "with a special eye toward hard-hit businesses" "Another round of direct payments" (he did not specify how widely Republicans want to send checks) Funding for vaccine development, testing and hospitals Tax incentives to help companies afford personal protective equipment and other measures need to safely operate McCarthy and McConnell met with President Donald Trump, Mnuchin and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows on Monday, and talks will continue on Tuesday. Mnuchin and Meadows attended the Senate GOP policy lunch, then metwith Pelosi and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer later in the afternoon. Trump, during a press briefing Tuesday, expressed optimism that a deal would be finished. Before Republicans strike an agreement with Democrats, they need to find a consensus within their own party. Trump has insisted on a payroll tax holiday a proposal usually met with skepticism on Capitol Hill and opposed new federal funding for coronavirus testing, which GOP congressional leaders support. Asked Tuesday whether a payroll tax break will make it into the final bill, McCarthy said, "I believe it will stay in as one of the elements of what we need to do." McConnell later noted that "there are some differences of opinion on the question of the payroll tax cut and whether that's the best way to go." Previewing a process that could become especially bitter during an election year, McCarthy argued the bill would not pass before August because he expects Pelosi to delay it as she seeks to include her priorities in it. In response, Pelosi spokesman Drew Hammill said, "The House acted on the Heroes Act nine weeks ago a robust package to address both the health and economic crises we face. We don't need any lectures from Republicans who are struggling among themselves to agree on a partisan package with their own White House." The chamber passed a $3 trillion rescue package in May. Senate Republicans dismissed it as unrealistic. Republicans have said they want to keep the price tag of the developing bill around $1 trillion. Pelosi has contended it would not be enough spending to mitigate a simmering health and economic crisis. The enhanced $600 unemployment benefit, which many economists credit with boosting household spending while businesses are shut down, is perhaps the biggest issue left to resolve. Republicans argue it deters people from returning to work because many individuals make more at home than they would at their jobs. Senate Democrats have proposed tying the assistance to state unemployment rates, so that it automatically gets reduced as states recover but does not phase out while the economy is struggling. The measures to support households passed in March as part of a $2 trillion rescue package are broadly popular. A CNBC/Change Research poll this month found 81% of likely voters in six 2020 swing states support a second $1,200 direct payment to qualifying individuals. In addition, a Morning Consult poll last month found 75% of voters support either keeping or increasing the amount of money workers who lost their jobs due to the pandemic receive. In crafting coronavirus legislation, Congress has to work with a president who has seemed intent on denying the severity of the pandemic as his struggle to contain the outbreak harms his chances of winning reelection this year. He has repeatedly downplayed the ever rising Covid-19 cases in the U.S., insisting the increase is due only to testing capacity. Despite the president's stance, McConnell stressed Tuesday that he does not expect the virus to go away soon. "Cases are increasing in the country because the coronavirus is not gone. Clearly this is still with us," he said. CNBC's Ylan Mui contributed to this report Subscribe to CNBC on YouTube. By Ayya Lmahamad Armenia had pre-planned the cross-border clashes started on July 12, Azerbaijani Presidential Aide Hikmat Hajiyev said in a presser today. Hajiyev stressed that before the events, Armenia adopted a new reactionary doctrine, new national security strategy, which showed that Armenia would make a provocation. On July 12, a surprise artillery strike was made on our post in the direction of Tovuz. Armenia claims that a UAZ car was approaching their post. This is unjustified. Azerbaijan has no military targets on the border with Armenia in the Tovuz direction. On this section of the Azerbaijani-Armenian border, preparations are under way to transfer control from the army to the border troops. This is a pre-planned military aggression of Armenia, he said. Presidential aide noted that Armenias goal was first of all an attempt to divert attention from Armenian- Azerbaijani conflict, involve military and political organizations and to cast a shadow on the successful work carried out by Azerbaijan recently at international level. Armenia also sought to damage the East-West transport corridor, oil and gas pipelines, expose the region to new environmental disasters, occupy new territories, gain new advantages along the border, divert attention from internal problems in Armenia. Hajiyev noted that the Azerbaijani army thwarted the Armenian attack causing severe casualties among the Armenian forces. "Inviolability of our borders, protection of civilian population has been ensured. The responsibility for this act of aggression lies with the military and political leadership of Armenia. Armenia is still a threat to the civilized world, he said. Furthermore, he added Armenia has the habit of shooting at civilian objects when it is in a difficult situation. "As in Khojaly, Azerbaijani settlements have again become targets. The Azerbaijani army suppressed the firing points of Armenia. Unfortunately, a 76-year-old civilian died. As a result of decisive measures taken by the Azerbaijani Armed Forces, shelling of civilians was prevented. (..) This attack of Armenia contradicts international documents and agreements. Along with responsibility for these acts committed by Armenia, the military and political leadership of Armenia is also criminally responsible, Hajiyev emphasized. He added that by the order of Azerbaijani President the damage caused to the civilian population and state property is being assessed. Likewise, Hajiyev stressed that the course of events shows that a ceasefire regime alone is not enough, noting that Armenia continues its policy of aggression, behind the ceasefire regime. "In this regard, in response to the appeal of the UN Secretary General, we say that the UN Security Council resolutions must be implemented and the mechanism of their implementation must be reviewed, he added. Speaking about OSCE Minsk group, Hajiyev stated that Azerbaijan does not intend to participate in imitation negotiations. He noted that according to the mandate of the Minsk Group Co- Chairman, the Helsinki Final Act and UN Security Council resolutions should be taken as a basis. "Armenia's attempts to disrupt the negotiations through lies and different pretexts should be stopped. There are 11 states involved in the Minsk process. There is a need to hold an extended meeting of the Minsk Group, Hajiyev said. He reiterated Azerbaijans commitment to the settlement of the conflict within the framework of the Minsk process. Moreover, he stressed that the conducted negotiations did not serve the mandate of the Minsk Group, co- chair countries should also draw a conclusion from this. He said that preservation of the status quo in this form is dangerous and it should be changed, as the goal should be to eliminate the fact of occupation. We are committed to changing the working methodology, not the format. Armenia should not violate the negotiations every time based on any technical issue. There should also be a session of the Minsk Group in a broad format. The illegal settlement in the occupied territories of Azerbaijan is destroying the basis of the negotiation process. Armenia constantly carries out provocations on the line of contact of the troops, on the border. () The mandate also requires that the occupation factor be eliminated. On this basis Azerbaijan is a supporter of substantive negotiations. When opinions are heard in the negotiation process, Armenia, along with political ones, resorts to military provocations. They pursue a policy of disrupting the negotiation process, making provocations on the border, Hajiyev stressed. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Ekiti State Corps Commandant of Amotekun, Brigadier-General Joe Komolafe (Rtd.), has disclosed that they will be deploying ancient, local and modern security techniques to ward off kidnapping, robbery and other heinous crimes from the State. Speaking at Efon Alaaye during a sensitisation tour to Ekiti West, Efon Alaaye and Ijero Local government areas of the State, Brigadier-General Komolafe averred that the neglect of traditional culture and patterns of exposing criminals is one of the reasons for the rising spate of crimes in the South-West region. He charged traditional rulers to deploy their supernatural powers to secure the lives and property of their people. The commandant, who stated that the security outfit would protect the Southwest from invaders who had constantly constituted threat to the region, added that they will employ ancient Yoruba tactics of securing territories and fishing out criminals from their hideouts. On the composition of the security outfit, Brigadier-General Komolafe said the first phase of the recruitment was to establish an intelligence-based outfit and later accommodate Amotekun ambassadors who would serve as informants of the agency. He further disclosed that there will be no age limit to those who would make up the ambassadorial category. Brigadier-General Komolafe said: We want people that can enter the bush and give us native intelligence about criminal hideouts. People before us rose and fought invaders, we also want to rise and fight invaders. These invaders came with all forms of impunity, they kill, maim, rape and destroy peoples farm produce. Source: lindaikejisblog.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 They're currently in Sydney ahead of Big Brother's live grand finale this week. And on Tuesday, some of the Channel Seven's favourite housemates were spotted making the most of their time in The Emerald City. Dressed in a blue button-up shirt, Kieran Davidson, the show's 'mastermind', decided to keep things smart casual as they went out for lunch on Woolloomooloo's famous Finger Wharf. Enjoy it while you can! On Tuesday, evicted Big Brother stars made the most of their downtime in Sydney as they went out for lunch ahead of the show's live grand finale. Pictured: (L-R) Talia Rycroft, Allan Liang, Sarah McDougal, Angela Clancy, Hannah Campbell and Kieran Davidson Kieran had his long sleeves rolled up, and completed his look with black trousers and matching sneakers. The 21-year-old looked world's away from his debut on the reality series last month, showing off his incredible weight loss. He was spotted holding hands with fellow housemate Hannah Campbell as they walked along the wharf, and drank in the sun. Hannah, 26, looked radiant in a navy shirt dress. Fun day out: Some of Channel Seven's favourite housemates were spotted making the most of their time in The Emerald City Hannah wore her brunette locks up in a bun, and accessorised her chic look with a white scrunchie, silver jewellery and a pair of always-fashionable black sunglasses. She showed off her natural beauty as she laughed, opting for light makeup while she completed her look with pink lipstick. The pair were joined by the show's villains - Angela Clancy and Allan Liang. Looking good: Dressed in a blue button-up shirt, Kieran Davidson, the show's 'mastermind', decided to keep things smart casual as they went out for lunch on Woolloomooloo's famous Finger Wharf New couple alert! He was spotted holding hands with fellow housemate Hannah Campbell as they walked along the wharf, and drank in the sun. She looked radiant in a navy shirt dress Angela looked pretty in a pink in a long sleeve mini dress, and chic black stiletto heels. The tea queen accessorised her look with heart-shaped earrings, black sunglasses, a straw hat and a fashionable handbag. Meanwhile, Allan looked the definition of sporty-chic decked out in an Adidas sweater, black pants and high-end designer shoes. Watch out! The pair were joined by the show's villains - Angela Clancy (centre) and Allan Liang (right). Angela looked pretty in a pink in a long sleeve mini dress, and chic black stiletto heels Impressive! The tea queen accessorised her look with heart-shaped earrings, black sunglasses, a straw hat and a fashionable handbag. Meanwhile, Allan looked the definition of sporty-chic decked out in an Adidas sweater, black pants and high-end designer shoes Queen of the house: Talia Rycroft (left) looked every inch the 'OG' in a black long-sleeve dress and white Converse shoes How we laughed: Talia let her long blonde tresses flow, while she accessorised with an array of rings and cat-eye sunglasses Work it: Sarah McDougal (right) and her model boyfriend Nathan Hargrave (left) looked loved up as they strutted their stuff Talia Rycroft looked every inch the 'OG' in a black long-sleeve dress and white Converse shoes. She let her long blonde tresses flow, while she accessorised with an array of rings and cat-eye sunglasses. Meanwhile, Sarah McDougal attended the ritzy nosh up with her model boyfriend, Nathan Hargrave. Work it: The fivesome were joined by co-star Sarah McDougal (centre) and her model boyfriend, Nathan Hargrave (left) She looked divine in a black top and tweed skirt. The pint-sized pocket rocket accessorised her look with a blue denim jacket and black crossbody bag. Her makeup palette was kept simple, with her blonde locks tied back in a bun. The Big Brother grand finale airs Wednesday at 7.30pm on Channel Seven Rajesh Asnani By Express News Service The new Congress chief in Rajasthan, Govind Singh Dotasara says that his predecessor Sachin Pilot did not express his anger or disappointment even once on any Congress forum in the past two years. In an exclusive chat with Rajesh Asnani of The New Indian Express, Dotasara who is also the Education Minister in Rajasthan claims that neither in any party or Cabinet meeting did Pilot claim that he was not allowed to work or was ignored as he has now alleged. Dotasara belongs to the politically powerful Jat community but he says it is not caste factors but his loyalty and hard work for the party that brought his elevation as the PCC Chief to replace Pilot. Youve been given the opportunity to lead the party in Rajasthan suddenly, how do you see this challenge? I am a small Congress worker and have got this post working for the party. Party workers have worked to make sure a Congress government is formed in the state and now they want a strong relationship between the leadership and workers. We will make sure the party workers' demands are understood and we work towards growth. Sachin Pilot revolted saying that CM Ashok Gehlot is not letting him work. You are a Minister in the same cabinet. Is there any truth to these allegations? Any person from the party should complain at the party forum. I never encountered any such situation and did not know of any problem between them. But in one and half years, we never heard any such problem that Sachin Pilot might have encountered with the leadership. If he was facing any such problems, then why didn't he arise them on party forum? The removal of Pilot and Youth Congress President, Mukesh Bhakar has led to dissent amongst youth. What roadmap do you have to keep the workers of the party united? He has betrayed the party. It is not the behaviour of a party worker to join forces with others and work against the party. A party worker should say what he needs to by remaining in the party. We have come this far fighting against BJP's politics, we shouldn't be so weak that we are not even able to communicate with each other. A true party worker stays with the party and never gets agitated. You dont come from a family of politicians but from a teachers. What are the morals you uphold which give you strength even today? My father was a teacher and my grandfather was a farmer. My grandfather used to say that "maal aur maajna" ( money and respect) don't go together. If there is a time to choose between the two, opt respect. My father always said that there is no substitute for hard work. I was also taught that do what is needed to be done and leave those which can't be. Do not lie about them and clearly say that they can't be done. Loyalty, hard work and honesty are some of the values that I have received from my family which have brought me till here. Many people feel that you have been given this post as you come from Jat community, a caste which holds major political clout in the state, what is your take on this? Congress is a party for everyone and it does not take decisions based on caste. If this was the case how could Haridev Joshi, Jagannath Pahadia, Shiv Charan Mathur and Ashok Gahlot become CMs? I have got this post due to my loyalty to the party, my hard work and good relationship with the party workers. There are many problems currently in the state unit as the tussle between Sachin Pilot and Ashok Gehlot split the party into two. The party did not do as well as expected in the Vidhansabha and then did not get a single seat in Lok Sabha polls. How will you correct these problems? The party could not have won the state elections if they had not worked together. What happened in the last one and half years is only known to the CM and hence only he can tell you. They used to sit together in the meetings and on the party stages. I do not know if they had any problems. BJP says that this is an internal problem of the Congress and they are being unnecessarily dragged into it. How do you react? There have been no raids on anybody in the last 4 months due to the COVID-19 crisis in the country. But the properties of all people close to the Chief Minister was raided. We are being harassed and the Haryana government is helping Sachin Pilot and his 19 MLAs. It is not our doing. BJP spokesperson is saying in the press conference that Sachin Pilot is welcome to join their party. This is a strategy of the BJP and some of our people are stuck with them. They want to topple an elected government. Everyone knows who the culprit is, BJP has been badly exposed. Pilot has alleged that Ashok Gehlot is being helped by Vasundhara Raje. What is your take on his statement? This is completely baseless and untrue. No CM will get involved with other party leaders. The tape scandal received many reactions. Some say that this is degradation in politics but Gajendra Singh has commented that this is a strategy to put him down as he won against Ashok Gehlots son. What is the relationship between parking 19 MLAs, offering them bribes and defeating the CM's son? This came to SOG's notice and that is why FIRs were registered. This is an attack on democracy. They ask "why have you captured us on tape", and later claim to be innocent. They should come forward to get their voice samples tested. If they are honest, then why not come forward and help the investigation instead of running away? Does the government have enough numbers to succeed if there is a floor test? 101%. We have the same majority that we had yesterday and we will have it in the future as well. But first, somebody should demand a floor test, nobody has asked the Governor for one yet. Some people feel that Sachin can make a new party as he stated that he will not join BJP. Do you think he can do this and pose a challenge to Congress? This is a hypothetical question and I cant answer it. As of today, he is still a member of the Congress party. So how can I say what will happen in the future? What would you like to say to Sachin Pilot and the other rebel MLAs? If they come back to the Congress fold, then some reconciliation can be definitely worked out with them. CM Ashok Gehlot and you enjoy a good rapport, so are the achche din for Congress coming? Leadership is strong because of the party organisation and we have to work hard to win elections continuously. Workers are part of the organisation and the leadership should consider their demands. The leadership and the organisation should work together for the people. When are you going to form your team? As soon as this crisis is resolved we will form a team. Climate change threatens to create turmoil in the financial markets, and the Federal Reserve and other regulators must act to avoid an economic disaster, according to a letter sent on Tuesday (US time) by a group of large investors. "The climate crisis poses a systemic threat to financial markets and the real economy, with significant disruptive consequences on asset valuations and economic stability," reads the letter, which was signed by more than three dozen pension plans, fund managers and other financial institutions that together manage almost $US1 trillion ($1.4 trillion) in assets. The letter warned that climate change may cause the price of some companies to fall suddenly, the effects of which would then ricochet throughout the broader economy. Credit:AP That financial threat, combined with the physical risks posed by climate change, may create "disastrous impacts the likes of which we haven't seen before," the letter says. It urges the Fed, the Securities and Exchange Commission and other agencies to "explicitly integrate climate change across your mandates." Investors worry that if regulators do not act, climate change may cause the price of some companies to fall suddenly, the effects of which may ricochet through the economy. Providing more information about that risk for example, by requiring companies to disclose more about their greenhouse gas emissions, or which of their facilities are at risk from rising seas could help investors make better decisions. WOODBRIDGE, N.J., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. is pleased to announce that James A. Hicks has joined the firm as Counsel in the Workers' Compensation law team. For more than 30 years, Mr. Hicks has handled cases before the Division of Workers' Compensation of the New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development. He is certified as a Workers' Compensation Law Attorney by the Supreme Court of New Jersey, a designation he has held since 2003. "Jim is a highly accomplished and widely respected workers' compensation lawyer whose knowledge and experience will be of great benefit to our personal injury clients. We are pleased to welcome Jim to the firm," commented Brian J. Molloy, President and Managing Director of Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. Throughout his career, Mr. Hicks has advocated for the rights of injured workers and workers diagnosed with occupational illnesses in Middlesex County and throughout New Jersey, working with employers and insurers on behalf of petitioners to navigate the New Jersey workers' compensation claims process. He joins Wilentz from James A. Hicks, LLC, his own law practice, which he established following over 25 years as a workers' compensation attorney in other New Jersey law practices. "Wilentz has been among New Jersey's leading personal injury law firms for many years and offers an ideal platform to serve my clients. I'm pleased to join their talented team of attorneys," commented Mr. Hicks. Mr. Hicks earned his B.A. from Seton Hall University in 1979 and his J.D. from Brooklyn Law School in 1983. He is admitted to practice in New Jersey. About Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer's Workers' Compensation Practice For over a century, the Workers' Compensation team at Wilentz has advocated for the rights of injured workers throughout New Jersey, handling their claims to obtain medical treatment and benefits. Our team is committed to making a difference in the lives of our clients, helping them receive the proper treatment and care for their injuries, and dedicating the vast resources and knowledge of our firm in order to secure the benefits they deserve. Wilentz Contact: Lynn Tellefsen, 732.855.6102 | [email protected] SOURCE Wilentz, Goldman & Spitzer, P.A. Related Links http://www.wilentz.com SIMMERING disquiet over the so-called Just Transition for Offaly boiled over on Monday. At a meeting of the County Council, one councillor said a warning from 31 years ago had not been heeded, another stated the unjust transition would be the proper label for the process, while a third declared that his doubt about earlier promises had been proved correct. Cllr Danny Owens recalled a newspaper report from 1989 on the job cuts in Bord na Mona then, when a workforce of 6,200 shrank to 4,700. Cllr Owens said that Eddie Joe Dooley, councillor at the time and father of current representative Eamon, said it would be difficult for replacement jobs to be found. Today we face an even bleaker future than we did 31 years ago, the Fianna Fail councillor said. Of the total 2,200 employed by Bord na Mona in 2018, approximately half were in Offaly and the vast majority are general operatives who will find it very difficult to gain employment. Cllr Owens recalled the appearance of Bord na Mona chief executive Tom Donnellan before the local authority when he pledged the creation of 700 new jobs. So far all we can see are job losses. He praised Deputy Barry Cowen and Cllr Eamon Dooley for going to Brussels and successfully lobbying for Ireland's inclusion in the EU Coal Regions in Transition Platform, a fund worth 171m. However, he warned that the funding from Irish sources would not be enough. The 11m fund announced last year, 5m of which will come from the ESB, must now be shared with Meath as well, resulting in it being spread across nine counties. It has been decided that each county must get 5% of that fund regardless of the number of people made redundant. The Killoughey councillor feared that Offaly will not get its fair share from the EU fund if the Irish model for distribution is replicated. If the funding is not linked to job losses Offaly is once again set to be the loser. He said the 1989 warning must be heeded and Offaly must be recognised as the single most impacted county with all financial packages reflecting that indisputable fact. County Councils, including Offaly, should administer the 171m, he added, saying the money should follow the job losses. We in Fianna Fail are very serious about this and very upset about how it has evolved and will be doing everything in our power to ensure that Offaly County Council get to administer the funding in future. Cllr John Leahy, Independent, angrily denounced the application procedure for the 11m pot and said: I'm calling Just Transition an 'unjust transition' as ESB walk away from the Midlands' communities again. The deadline for the first tranche of funding applications passed last Friday and about 150 groups entered the competition for the rescue package. Cllr Leahy said the application process was so complex requiring 20,400 words in a 32-page document that it appeared to be designed to make sure that nobody gets any money out of this. Financial information was required and it got to the point where it was costing community groups money to submit the application. One group said it was the toughest application form they ever filled out and it contained contradictions which he did not have time to list. The Kilcormac councillor said the council would have to write to the Just Transition Commissioner, Kieran Mulvey, because he could not believe he would have signed off on the process. Cllr Leahy also repeated his view that the 20m committed by the previous Government for a retrofitting programme for social housing was merely the State providing money it would have to provide anyway, even without the Just Transition. He held a similar view on the 5m to be channelled by the Government towards Bord na Mona's bog rewetting plan. Cllr Leahy trained his heaviest fire on the ESB, saying that after years of profiteering on the backs of our communities, it was going to walk away and leave a grant of just 5m. He calculated that from the PSO levy (a levy on each consumer's electricity bill because power was being generated from peat in Shannonbridge and Lanesboro) the ESB earned 80m a year and had taken in 1.2bn in total. Cllr Leahy said 5m was about 0.4% of that amount. That's not even half a per cent of what they got on the PSO levy, never mind the profits they are making, he said. It is an insult to the people of Offaly. He proposed that Offaly should ask the ESB for 80m and its chief executive Pat Doherty should be called in to meet the councillors. Cllr Leahy said Offaly County Council, which was already 2.5m in debt, was facing the loss of 4.8m in rates because of ESB and Bord na Mona closures and he believed Minister of State Pippa Hackett, the Offaly Green Party Senator, should also meet the council and exert pressure on Climate Action Minister Eamon Ryan. I call on Minister Hackett to meet us because Minister Ryan has the chance to change this from the unjust transition that I'm calling it, to the Just Transition. The third representative to join the debate at Monday's meeting of the local authority, Cllr Dooley, said he had been accused of being negative when he was dismissive of what he called Bord na Mona's herbs and fishes plan. The Fianna Fail councillor said the 400 jobs for retrofitting were pulled out of the air and a proposal to repurpose the PSO to deliver 20m promised by the former Minister, Richard Bruton, was no longer on the table for legal reasons. Cllr Dooley also pointed out that the EPA had discovered the water temperature in the Shannon was too high at the ESB plant in Lanesboro after 40 years, just before An Bord Pleanala turned down the application to convert the peat plants to biomass. We've been taken for fools in this chamber, said Cllr Dooley, appealing to all 19 councillors to work together to maximise funding for Offaly because the Department of Climate Action always had it in their head to close down this industry. He echoed Cllr Owens' belief that the EU funding will have to be linked to job losses and as Offaly stands to be hit hardest, it should get the most funding. Cllr Dooley had attended an EU meeting online and was told by a top official that Europe believed the monies should go where the job losses are, and that the grants should be administered by local authorities. In addition to meeting Minister Hackett, the council needed to lobby Ireland's MEPs, he said. Cllr Declan Harvey, Fianna Fail, said he always believed the retrofitting and retraining plan was a load of cover-up, while Cllr Noel Cribbin, Fine Gael, said he was very disappointed with the work of the Just Transition team and revealed that he helped one group apply for funding and it was torture. Anna Marie Delaney, council chief executive, said the local authority and Mr Mulvey agreed that they should administer the fund but they were not allowed to do so. Unfortunately the Department of Public Expenditure and Reform advised that legislation would be required at national level to allow us to undertake that process, said Ms Delaney. The Department of Climate Action is administering it and will also be forming the teams which will evaluate the applications. We hope that some of the applications that went in are successful, she said, but added that with 5% of the total going to each of the counties it does mean that it is spread thinly around the region. Cllr John Clendennen, Fine Gael, said getting access to land, whether it be for a coffee shop or an airport, will be key to the success of the process, and he did not know who a developer with an idea should approach. Ms Delaney told him that Bord na Mona and the ESB were independent entities who control their own land. The council agreed to write to ESB chief executive Mr Doherty about their concerns on its portion of the funding. Dear Mirror Lawyer, I have worked at a hotel for the past 15 years. About three months ago, a worker was arrested for stealing some items from the store room and it was reported to the police. The police have started their investigations and are yet to complete the investigations. However, management has decided to dismiss the worker. Our conditions of service provides that any investigations by the management of any allegation against a staff bordering on criminality shall be reported to the police and that management shall be bound by the decision of the police. The union asked management not to dismiss the worker but they have refused. Can we sue management in court? Daniel Allotey, Accra. Dear Daniel, In any such criminal investigations the prosecution is required to establish the guilt of the accused beyond all reasonable doubts. The burden of proof in criminal cases is, therefore, very high and though a worker may have committed the crime he may still be acquitted and discharged for the failure of the prosecution to marshal all the evidence to establish the guilt. Under Common law, an employer has the power to dismiss an employee for any criminal act without involving the police or the courts. That is not to say where there is an incident of criminality in a company, the police should not come in. The police still have a role to play in investigating and ensuring that criminals are punished according to the laws of the land. In the case of LEVER BROTHERS GHANA LTD. v ANNAN; LEVER BROTHERS GHANA LTD. v. DANKWA (CONSOLIDATED) [1989-90] 2 GLR 385, under the contract of employment, the employees could be summarily dismissed by the employers, where the employee had been guilty of serious misconduct such as dishonesty or other serious offence. The contract also provided that where an employee was suspected of having committed any offence - warranting police investigations - the employee might be suspended for 30 days and the matter referred to the police for investigation and the employer was to be bound by the result of such investigation. The employer suspended the employees from duty on the suspicion of their involvement in a fraudulent deal relating to the sale of their products and referred the allegation of fraud to the police for investigation. However, before the conclusion of police investigations, the employers wrote to withdraw the case from the police and summarily dismissed the workers from their employment. The workers sued the company. The court of appeal held that where an employee had been guilty of misconduct so grave that it justified instant dismissal, the employer could rely on that misconduct to terminate the employment in haste or on the spur of the moment and it was not necessary for the employer to give reasons for the dismissal. The court further held that the reference to the police under the contract of employment was not intended to make the police an umpire or arbitrator who would sit as judge to decide on the industrial conflict between the employer and the employee. It also held that the police were not obliged to take instructions from the company to put an end to their investigations bordering on criminality. Also in the case of AFETORGBOR v GHANA AIRWAYS CORPORATION [1989-90] 2 GLR 164 which is on all fours with your scenario, the employee was summarily dismissed from the employment of the corporation. This was as a result of a missing carton of whisky found after a search in one of the Airlines equipment room. The worker in the case was in charge and had the key to the room. A committee of inquiry was set up to investigate the matter after which the worker was summarily dismissal. The worker contended on appeal that his summary dismissal was unlawful in so far as he was not first found guilty of theft by a court of competent jurisdiction and that the employer should have first caused criminal proceedings to be taken against him and that it was only when the prosecution was successful that the corporation could dismiss him summarily. The Court of Appeal held that the contention of the worker that his dismissal was invalid in so far as he was not first found guilty by a court of competent jurisdiction was dangerous and unacceptable because it meant that even if an employee stole an employer's property and was arrested or caught "red-handed" he could not be dismissed summarily for stealing because of the collective agreement that says the worker must, first, be convicted by a court of justice. Based on the decisions of the courts, my advice to the union is that they could only go to court to challenge the termination of the employee if no grounds existed under the contract of employment for the employer to act the way they did. However, if they only want to go to court because the worker has not been found guilty by the criminal court, then I am afraid they are not likely to succeed. Source: Daily Graphic Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video By Nadine Awadalla CAIRO (Reuters) - Actors at the Sitara theatre had just started their production of 'Beauty and the Beast' when the coronavirus pandemic hit Egypt and brought their show to a grinding halt. Months later, and despite the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions, the actors have accepted that they must pack away their costumes in storage and wait for the day they can safely bring their characters back to life once more. Like other countries, Egypt has been trying to revive its economy, hit hard by a coronavirus lockdown that paralysed tourism and other vital sectors and cut growth forecasts for the 2019/2020 fiscal year to 4.2% from 5.6% prior to the crisis By Nadine Awadalla CAIRO (Reuters) - Actors at the Sitara theatre had just started their production of "Beauty and the Beast" when the coronavirus pandemic hit Egypt and brought their show to a grinding halt. Months later, and despite the gradual easing of lockdown restrictions, the actors have accepted that they must pack away their costumes in storage and wait for the day they can safely bring their characters back to life once more. Like other countries, Egypt has been trying to revive its economy, hit hard by a coronavirus lockdown that paralysed tourism and other vital sectors and cut growth forecasts for the 2019/2020 fiscal year to 4.2% from 5.6% prior to the crisis. The actors, like many in the private sector, have been forced to face the reality that their jobs will not return immediately to what they were used to before the pandemic. "Our work mainly depends on gatherings and I understand the country has opened up to a large extent ... but really for me, I don't think it's the safest option as we work mainly with schools and small children in large numbers," said Summer Galal, one of the actresses in the troupe. "[Thinking] of everything we've been through since coronavirus began until bringing things back and putting them away in storage feels very heavy ... the psychological impact has been intense," Galal added. In mid-March Egypt imposed lockdown measures including a night curfew, bans on large public gatherings and the closure of restaurants and theatres. Restrictions were eventually lifted in June, with theatres allowed to operate at 25% capacity. But with several hundred new COVID-19 cases being reported daily, the Sitara decided to stay closed. "We actually closed before the government closed everything because it just felt wrong having children come in and then a whole load of new children come in and also schools were panicking and parents were panicking," said Emma Davies, the artistic director of the theatre. ECONOMIC STIMULUS Egypt has injected 100 billion Egyptian pounds ($6.3 billion) to stimulate the economy and tried to help the poor and the informal sector workers who depend on day labour. Around a third of Egypt's 100 million population lived below the poverty line before the pandemic. But even those who weathered years of tough economic reforms now find themselves pressed for cash. Egypt's state information service did not immediately respond to a request for comment on how the government is helping the private sector. "Employment opportunities are few for managers, even for the staff, because now (cafes) are back to working with a lesser capacity than the usual flow of any restaurant or cafe," said Khaled Mohamed, 52, who used to be a manager but is now unemployed. Egypt's statistics agency reported in June that more than a quarter of those with a job had not been working due to lockdown measures, while more than half of working Egyptians were on reduced hours or days. Its latest data put unemployment at 9.2% in April. June data from IHS Markit's Purchasing Managers' Index for the non-oil private sector showed that Egypt's job market faced worsening conditions, with the rate of job shedding accelerating to the fastest recorded since September 2016 Egypt has so far registered 87,775 cases of the coronavirus, although the number of new cases has fallen in recent weeks. (Additional reporting by Mohamed Zaki; Editing by Ulf Laessing and Giles Elgood) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. A mother from Wisconsin is accused of kneeling on her son's neck and asking him if he wanted to die like George Floyd. The 37-year-old mother, Keriann C. Smith, was arrested by authorities and was charged with strangulation, child abuse, battery, and other counts. Mocking George Floyd According to Kenosha News, on June 20, the assailant pinned her 14-year-old son to the ground and knelt on his throat. The mother, who is 5 feet tall and 135 pounds, allegedly asked her son if he "wanted to know how George Floyd died" and that she added that Floyd died after someone knelt on his neck. She also allegedly asked if he wanted to die just like Floyd. Back in May, George Floyd made worldwide news after he died in police custody. A Minneapolis police officer, Derek Chauvin, pinned him to the ground and knelt on his neck for almost 9 minutes until he died. Chauvin has been charged with murder and the three other officers at the scene are also facing criminal charges. Also Read: Decomposing Body of Unidentified Man Discovered on Roof of McDonald's Branch in New York The death of George Floyd has sparked the biggest human rights movement in history, as dozens of countries also protected against police brutality and systemic racism. While Chauvin had Floyd pinned to the ground, he was heard repeatedly saying that he could not breathe. According to WITI-V, Smith made the same reference to her 14-year-old son, allegedly telling him to tell her that he can't breathe, basically forcing him to beg for his life. Child abuse and drug possession The attack happened inside the apartment of the family in Genoa City, in Northwest Chicago near the Wisconsin-Illinois border. The son called 911 and told the authorities about the incident. His sister recorded the incident on video and shared it with the cops. Smith knelt on the boy's neck for 48 seconds, making him gasp for air and squirm. The cops responded and found the boy with multiple injuries that included scratches on his back, neck abrasions and bite marks on his shoulder. The boy told authorities that he was afraid for his life and his sister's life because his mother has done it before. According to the criminal complaint, the sister claimed that Smith had choked her and punched her. While the authorities were at their house, they observed that when the boy and Smith were near each other, the boy becomes frightened and would jump away, not wanting to be near his mother. The children also showed authorities the different drugs that their mother was using. Smith had Trazodone, a prescription drug that was not for her, and marijuana. She is now facing additional charges related to illegal drug possession. Smith's court hearing is on August 3. If she is convicted, she can be locked up for 14 years. She is on bond and her children have been removed from their apartment, which was what she wanted. According to WITI-TV, while the authorities were at their apartment, Smith allegedly asked the officers to take her children because she does not want them anymore. Related Article: Daughter Beat Parents to Death with Crowbar After She was Confronted for Huffing Paint @ 2022 HNGN, All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. Samsung Card CEO Kim Dae-hwan, left, and Renault Samsung Motors CEO Dominique Signora / Korea Times file By Park Jae-hyuk Samsung Card is drawing keen attention from market observers here who are wondering when the card issuer will unload its 19.9 percent stake in Renault Samsung Motors. The trademark contract between the Korean conglomerate and the French automotive company will end Aug. 4. If they disagree with its renewal, Renault Samsung will need to remove "Samsung" from its company name after a two-year grace period. Samsung Card will also have no reason to hold its stake in the carmaker. Given that their partnership has hardly benefited Samsung these days, most industry officials accept their breakup as inevitable, although both of them have emphasized nothing has been decided yet regarding this issue. Renault Samsung's dividends paid to Samsung Card during the first quarter dropped 9.7 billion won ($8 million) from 21.2 billion won a year earlier, causing the card firm's first-quarter net profit to fall 6.8 percent to 112.2 billion won. It was the only company that suffered an earnings decrease during the first quarter among the nation's seven card issuers. The carmaker was a lucrative source of income for Samsung Card until last year, because it had been distributing 70 percent of its net profit to shareholders. However, Renault Samsung cut its dividend payout ratio to 30 percent amid a labor dispute and the pandemic. It is unlikely to increase its dividends within this year, considering its labor and management are still in conflict. Vehicles using the name of Samsung are also bothersome to the conglomerate which seeks to join hands with various carmakers worldwide to sell its electronic parts and batteries to them. In particular, Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong held a series of meeting recently with Hyundai Motor Group Executive Vice Chairman Chung Euisun to seek cooperation. Lee visited the carmaker's Namyang R&D Center in Hwaseong, Gyeonggi Province, Tuesday, following Chung's May visit to Samsung SDI's plant in Cheonan, South Chungcheong Province. Observers, however, say it will take some time for Samsung Card to sell its share in Renault Samsung, because the card firm will likely face difficulties in finding a buyer of its stake in the financially struggling carmaker. 15-time Grammy nominee Bjork Gumundsdottir announced Monday that she will livestream all four concerts she's staging at Harpa in her Reykjavik hometown next month for charity. 'Dear friends,' the 54-year-old Icelandic pop star - who boasts 5.5M social media followers - said in a three-minute video. 'I would like to invite you to some concerts in Iceland in August to honor the folks who got hit hardest by the coronavirus and to honor the Black Lives Matter movement.' 'I would like to invite you!' 15-time Grammy nominee Bjork Gumundsdottir announced Monday that she will livestream all four concerts she's staging at Harpa in her Reykjavik hometown next month for charity As of Monday, there have only been 1,930 confirmed COVID-19 cases in Iceland leading to 10 deaths - according to Johns Hopkins University. However, it appears that fans who pay to stream the 'unplugged' shows will only have the option to donate to the Icelandic Women's Shelter. 'I feel like we are going through extraordinary times - horrifying but also an opportunity to truly change,' Bjork continued. '[We must] look inside of us and find out all of our hidden prejudices and privileges. Let's all humbly learn together to transform.' In the video, the eccentric style icon wore a bra strap-baring custom red dress made by Kiko Kostadinov womenswear designers Laura & Deanna Fanning based on a SS/20 design. Kicks off August 9! Bjork said the shows will 'honor the folks who got hit hardest by the coronavirus' and 'the Black Lives Matter movement' but fans streaming only have the option to donate to the Icelandic Women's Shelter The Cannes best actress winner said: 'I feel like we are going through extraordinary times - horrifying but also an opportunity to truly change...[We must] look inside of us and find out all of our hidden prejudices and privileges. Let's all humbly learn together to transform' 'All of those arrangements are by me': Bjork also gave shout outs to the hundred Icelandic musicians she's worked with throughout her four-decade career The Cannes best actress winner also gave shout outs to the hundred Icelandic musicians she's worked with throughout her four-decade career. Bjork noted: 'I would like to add that my input into the feminist fight is to brag about that almost all of those arrangements are by me.' Bjork Orkestral is an acoustic, strings-only concert series performed 'without beats and electronics' with guests like the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra. On May 23, the Afterwards songstress was forced to postpone six of her 16 dates until June 2021 due to the global pandemic. Sold out: Bjork Orkestral is an acoustic, strings-only concert series performed 'without beats and electronics' with guests like the Icelandic Symphony Orchestra The Rajasthan Board Class 12 Arts result 2020 will be declared by the Rajasthan Board Secondary Education (RBSE) today at 3:15 pm. The result date and time confirmation was given by Rajasthan's Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra who said that the RBSE 12th RBSE Chairman DP Jaroli will release the result at 3.15 pm today. Once declared the students will be able to check their result at Rajasthan Board Secondary Education (RBSE) official websites are - rajresults.nic.in and rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in. The criteria to pass both class 10 and 12 exams of Rajasthan Board remains the same. To pass the exam, students need to obtain at least 33 per cent marks in each subject as well as on an aggregate. For subjects having different theoretical and practical aspects, students will have to clear both the exams separately. Check live updates on Rajasthan Board Class 12 Arts results 2020 Here's how to check your RBSE Class 12th Arts results online: 1. Go to one of these official websites of the RBSE rajresults.nic.in; rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in 2. Click on the 12th Arts results option. 3. Enter your roll number and other required details. 4. Your result will display on the screen. Official documents supporting the result will be issued by the RBSE after the result declaration. Notably, Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12th Science results 2020 were declared on July 8 and the overall passing percentage was recorded at 91.96. On July 13, the Rajasthan board had announced class 12 commerce results. The Class 12 examination was conducted in March 2020. Some papers were then cancelled due to the outbreak of the pandemic followed by a nationwide lockdown. The remaining papers were conducted from June 18 to 30, 2020 following all the social distancing guidelines Former Vice President Joe Biden announced a plan to build up the nation's caregiving system that he says would create 3 million jobs. (Associated Press) Joe Biden proposed on Tuesday a $775-billion overhaul of the nation's caregiving system, efforts that he argued will create 3 million jobs while freeing up millions of people largely women and people of color to enter the workforce. The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee's plan includes measures to expand care for children, older people and disabled people. Some of the boldest proposals such as providing free universal preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds and creating tax credits to help pay for child care come as the needs of parents struggling to balance caring for their children while working have been thrown into sharp relief by the COVID-19 pandemic and as many schools are opting against in-person instruction in the fall. "This is about easing the squeeze on working families who are raising their kids and caring for aging loved ones at the same time," Biden said, speaking at the Colonial Early Education Program at Colwyck Center in New Castle, Del. "Its about creating jobs with better pay and career pathways for caregivers, and showing them the dignity and respect that they deserve." The caregiving proposal is the third plank of Biden's four-part "Build Back Better" plan to rebuild the United States' economy, which has been ravaged by the coronavirus outbreak and the subsequent displacement of millions of American workers. This month, Biden unveiled a $700-billion proposal to reinvigorate the nations manufacturing sector and a $2-trillion effort to build new renewable energy infrastructure. The final piece of his plan, expected in coming weeks, will seek to address racial inequity in the nation's economy in areas such as housing, education and entrepreneurship opportunities. Biden would pay for ongoing costs in the overall package in part by rolling back some of President Trump's tax cuts for corporations and by raising taxes on the wealthy. The cost of the expanded caregiving $775 billion over a decade would be paid by rolling back tax loopholes on real estate investors with incomes over $400,000 and making the wealthy pay all the taxes they owe, according to the campaign. A senior Biden campaign advisor said the efforts to make sure the wealthy comply with tax laws alone could raise "hundreds of billions of dollars." Story continues The former vice president is laying out these proposals as voters' attitudes about who would be a better steward of the economy are shifting. Though Biden has had a sustained lead in national polling and an advantage in battleground state surveys, Trump held an edge in voters' trust of his handling of the economy. But with millions of laid-off Americans seeking government assistance and businesses struggling to remain open during the pandemic, that advantage has evaporated into an effective tie. A Fox News poll released Sunday found voters trusted Biden to do a better job on the economy, 44% to 43%. In an ABC News/Washington Post poll released Saturday, voters favored Trump 47% to 45%. Women, most often tasked with the care of children and aging parents, are among the key voting blocs in the November election. Though Biden eschewed some of the most liberal Democratic policies during the primaries, such as "Medicare for All" and tuition-free college for all, the Trump campaign is trying to paint him as a figurehead who will channel the party's most liberal voices on issues including the economy. The president's campaign said Tuesday that Biden's economic plans will cost trillions of taxpayer dollars while crushing job creation. "Instead of pro-job and pro-growth policies, Biden is turning to an old friend tax hikes and big government," the campaign said in a statement. Biden in his speech lashed out at the president's handling of the coronavirus pandemic, saying Trump's lack of leadership has made the crisis exponentially worse. He called on the president to move immediately to provide resources and equipment to child-care centers across the country that have had to close and layoff staff. He argued that child- and elder-care shortfalls that existed before the pandemic have been exacerbated by the crisis that forced "the sandwich generation" to work from home, face reduced hours or lose their jobs, while figuring out how to care for dependents. "Even before the pandemic, millions of working families were faced with enormous financial and personal strains trying to raise their kids and care for their parents or loved ones who live with disabilities," Biden said. He reflected on his time as a single father caring for his sons after his first wife and daughter were killed in a car crash, on his parents going into hospice care at his home, and his son Beau's death from cancer. "The joy and love are always there. But its hard. I know it's hard. Its really, really hard. Families are squeezed emotionally and financially. They need help." In addition to creating free universal preschool, Biden called for offering low- and middle-income families up to $8,000 in tax credits to help pay for child care and having the federal government partially subsidize the cost of child care for some low-income and middle-class families. He wants to create a new tax credit to nudge businesses to build day-care centers on site, and expand access to supervision programs during non-school hours. Biden's plan also increases pay and benefits for early-childhood instructors to make them commensurate with those of elementary school teachers, and encourages collective bargaining and unionization. Biden's plan adds 150,000 community healthcare workers in the nation's neediest communities and creates a Public Health Jobs Corps of 100,000 more. Some 35,000 workers would be trained to target the opioid crisis and drug abuse. Biden also pledged to eliminate the Medicaid waiting list of 800,000 people needing home healthcare or community services, and would fund state efforts that look at alternatives to institutionalization. tiktok bytedance china Reuters File Photo Some US investors of Chinese tech giant Bytedance are considering buying a majority stake in TikTok, according to an Information report. A decision has not been made yet. The US investors involved in the deal could possibly include Sequoia Capital, a famed Silicon Valley venture firm. The report comes as Bytedance continues to prepare for a potential US ban on the popular video-sharing app that has played a part in strained US-China relations. Other scenarios, such as TikTok spinning out of Bytedance and operating as its own US firm, are also being considered. Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories. Some US investors of Chinese tech behemoth Bytedance are mulling over whether or not to buy control of subsidiary company TikTok, according to a report from The Information. The small group of investors is discussing such a move with ByteDance's top officials, per the report. The US investors involved in the deal could include General Atlantic and Sequoia Capital, the latter of which has backed the likes of Apple, Google, and PayPal. Per a previous Information report, Bytedance founder and CEO Zhang Yiming has said he wouldn't be opposed to such a sale. The report comes as TikTok's parent company continues to grapple with how to handle security concerns of the ultra-popular app, as ties between China and the US grow increasingly tense. The ubiquity of a China-owned app in the US has rattled lawmakers and called into question how accessible user data is to the Chinese government. The House of Representatives has voted to ban the app from all federally-issued devices. President Trump and other government officials have also considered a broader ban on the app in the US altogether, as India has done. Yet another option, as White House economic adviser Larry Kudlow suggested last Thursday, would be for TikTok to spin out of Bytedance and stand as its own independent US firm to stave off jitters surrounding the company's China connections. As the Information notes, Bytedance could also sell TikTok to a US firm, though its sale to a competing tech company such as Snap could raise additional antitrust concerns of big tech. TikTok is slated to add 10,000 employees to its US workforce over the next three years, according to an Axios report on Tuesday. Read the original article on Business Insider A Chinese-made vaccine against the new coronavirus entered the final stage of testing Tuesday in Brazil, where volunteers received the first doses of what officials hope will be a game-changer in the global pandemic. The vaccine, developed by private Chinese pharmaceutical firm Sinovac Biotech, became the third in the world to enter Phase 3 clinical trials, or large-scale testing on humans -- the last step before regulatory approval. "We're living in unique and historic times, and that's why I wanted to be part of this trial," said the 27-year-old doctor who received the first dose at the Clinical Hospital of Sao Paulo. Her name was withheld for confidentiality. Around 9,000 health workers across six Brazilian states will receive the vaccine, known as CoronaVac, in two doses over the next three months under the study. Sao Paulo Governor Joao Doria said Monday initial results were expected within 90 days. Sinovac is partnering with a Brazilian public health research center, the Butantan Institute, on the trials. If the vaccine proves safe and effective, the institute will have the right to produce 120 million doses under the deal, according to officials. Brazil is the second-hardest-hit country in the coronavirus pandemic, after the United States. Its death toll surpassed 80,000 Monday, and it has registered 2.1 million infections. Because the virus is still spreading quickly in the South American country, it is seen as an ideal testing ground for vaccine candidates. Brazil is also helping carry out Phase 3 testing of another experimental vaccine, developed by Oxford University and pharmaceutical firm AstraZeneca. It has a similar deal to produce that vaccine domestically if it is successful in tests, which are also being carried out in Britain and South Africa. Brazilian health regulators announced Monday they have also authorized Phase 1, 2 and 3 trials of two more vaccines, developed by US firm Pfizer and Germany's BioNTech. Researchers worldwide are racing to develop and test a vaccine for the virus. There are more than 150 projects so far. Studies published Monday in British medical journal The Lancet found two vaccine candidates were safe and produced an immune response in Phase 2 trials: the Oxford vaccine and another Chinese-made vaccine, developed by pharmaceutical firm CanSino Biologics and the Beijing Institute of Biotechnology. The Global Media Alliance (GMA), a marketing communications industry leader, has organized a virtual training session for its staff on the proper observance of COVID-19 safety protocols. The training was part of efforts to retool staff on the fight against the pandemic. Madam Fafa Gbeho, the Head of Human Resources, GMA, in a statement copied to the Ghana News Agency, said as the nation witnessed a spike in the number of COVID-19 cases, it was prudent to provide staff with accurate information on issues surrounding the Ghanaian situation on the pandemic and some strategies that could be adopted in stopping the spread of the virus. She noted that access to accurate information was key in efforts to the fight the pandemic. Dr. Abraham Oppong Adjei, a Specialist in Occupational Health and Employee Wellness, urged all participants to strictly adhere to the safety protocols by the World Health Organisation and the Government of Ghana. He believed frequent hand washing with soap under running water and the use of face masks were important ways to protect oneself from contracting the virus. Wash your hands with soap under running water as much as possible and always keep your alcohol-based hand sanitizers close. However, the use of the hand sanitizers should not be used as a substitute for hand washing. Wear your face mask whenever you step out of your home to crowded areas especially. It is a sure way of protecting yourself. Wearing a face shield with a face mask gives extra protection. However, the use of the face shield alone without the face mask does not guarantee your safety, Mr Adjei added. Mr. Samuel Otuo-Serebuor, a Pharmacist, underscored the need for good respiration hygiene and a healthy, active lifestyle amidst the pandemic, saying, Coughing and sneezing into the air is a major way by which the virus is spread. Thus, it is advisable to cough or sneeze into a tissue, dispose immediately after use and wash your hands with soap under running water or apply an alcohol-based hand sanitizer. He said, In the management of COVID-19, early detection is key. However, there is the need to exercise regularly, take in a lot of water and consume a lot of fruits and vegetables. Doing these would place your body in a better position to fight the virus, the Pharmacist advised. Participants were admonished to stay home as much as possible to reduce the level of exposure to the virus and resort to the use of technology to have their needs met, the statement said. Global Media Alliance (GMA) is an integrated marketing communications Company with over 20 years experience and expertise in Public Relations and Media Consultancy, Event Management and Brand Activations, Creative Designs & Production and Digital Innovations. Its assets include e.tv Ghana, Happy FM, YFM in Accra, Kumasi and Takoradi. 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 New Delhi: As announced by Economic Affairs Secretary Shaktikanta Das, ATMs across the country may begin dispensing Rs 2,000 notes from Tuesday after all ATMs and cash dispensing machines get recalibrated. Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has formed a task force under deputy governor SS Mundra to re-calibrate all ATMs and cash dispensing machines with the new Rs 500 and Rs 2000. Dispensation of notes to ATMs has been an issue for the last three days after the old Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes were pulled out from circulation from midnight on . Many ATMs have still not been stocked with the new notes and are shut even as Rs 100 denomination notes are in short supply. The currency demonetisation to curb black money in the economy has created a short-term liquidity crunch among citizens as ATM's across the nation faced technical issues related to calibration in dispensing the new currency notes.The central Bank has been quick to address the issue and come out with a task force for resolve the currency dispensation issue. The task force constituted for re calibration and reactivation of ATMs shall help in giving broader directions and guidance for aiding the successful implementation of ATMs re-calibration. The re-calibration of the ATMs is a must for bringing out a structured approach in dispensation of the new currency notes. The Mundra led task force will comprise of representatives from the government, large banks like SBI, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, National Payments Corporation of India and select channels. Here are the key points which cover the RBI's press release on the constitution and functioning of the task force: 1. Re-calibration of all ATMs/ Cash handling machines necessary to dispense the new design notes following introduction of Mahatma Gandhi (New) Series Bank notes including a new High Denomination (a 2000) in new designs. 2. ATMs to play a pivotal role in meeting the currency requirements of the public and have become a major channel for disbursement of cash. Re-activation of ATMs extends the availability and disbursal of notes for the customers of banks at convenient time and location in judicious mix of higher and lower denominations. 3. Involvement and coordination of multiple agencies like banks, ATM manufacturers, National Payment Corporation of India (NPCI), Switch Operators, etc, required for successful Re-calibration of ATMs. 4. Task Force has been set up under the Chairmanship of Shri S. S. Mundra, Deputy Governor, Reserve Bank of India to provide direction and guidance - The Task Force will comprise: Representatives from Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Economic Affairs, Member Representatives from Government of India, Ministry of Finance, Department of Financial Services, Member Representatives from Government of India, Ministry of Home Affairs, Member Representatives from four banks with largest ATM network, viz., State Bank of India, Axis Bank, ICICI Bank and HDFC Bank, Member/s Representative from NPCI, Member Chief General Manager, Department of Currency Management, Member Chief General Manager, Department of Payment and Settlement System, as Member Secretary 5. A representative each of ATM office equipment manufacturers (OEMs), Managed Service Providers, cash in transit (CIT) companies and white label ATM (WLA) operators to be invited to the Task Forces deliberations. The Task Force may also invite others as may be needed. 6. Terms of Reference of the Task Force would be as under: Expeditious reactivation of all ATMs in a planned manner. 7. DPSS, CO to provide the secretarial support. Want to participate in a short research study? Help shape the future of investing tools and earn a $40 gift card! For beginners, it can seem like a good idea (and an exciting prospect) to buy a company that tells a good story to investors, even if it completely lacks a track record of revenue and profit. But as Peter Lynch said in One Up On Wall Street, 'Long shots almost never pay off.' In the age of tech-stock blue-sky investing, my choice may seem old fashioned; I still prefer profitable companies like Jersey Electricity (LON:JEL). While that doesn't make the shares worth buying at any price, you can't deny that successful capitalism requires profit, eventually. In comparison, loss making companies act like a sponge for capital - but unlike such a sponge they do not always produce something when squeezed. Check out our latest analysis for Jersey Electricity How Fast Is Jersey Electricity Growing Its Earnings Per Share? Even with very modest growth rates, a company will usually do well if it improves earnings per share (EPS) year after year. So EPS growth can certainly encourage an investor to take note of a stock. Over twelve months, Jersey Electricity increased its EPS from UK0.38 to UK0.41. That amounts to a small improvement of 5.5%. I like to see top-line growth as an indication that growth is sustainable, and I look for a high earnings before interest and taxation (EBIT) margin to point to a competitive moat (though some companies with low margins also have moats). Jersey Electricity maintained stable EBIT margins over the last year, all while growing revenue 9.7% to UK115m. That's a real positive. In the chart below, you can see how the company has grown earnings, and revenue, over time. For finer detail, click on the image. Since Jersey Electricity is no giant, with a market capitalization of UK144m, so you should definitely check its cash and debt before getting too excited about its prospects. Story continues Are Jersey Electricity Insiders Aligned With All Shareholders? As a general rule, I think it worth considering how much the CEO is paid, since unreasonably high rates could be considered against the interests of shareholders. For companies with market capitalizations between UK80m and UK319m, like Jersey Electricity, the median CEO pay is around UK537k. Jersey Electricity offered total compensation worth UK352k to its CEO in the year to . That seems pretty reasonable, especially given its below the median for similar sized companies. While the level of CEO compensation isn't a huge factor in my view of the company, modest remuneration is a positive, because it suggests that the board keeps shareholder interests in mind. It can also be a sign of good governance, more generally. Should You Add Jersey Electricity To Your Watchlist? One important encouraging feature of Jersey Electricity is that it is growing profits. Not only that, but the CEO is paid quite reasonably, which makes me feel more trusting of the board of directors. So all in all I think it's worth at least considering for your watchlist. Now, you could try to make up your mind on Jersey Electricity by focusing on just these factors, or you could also consider how its price-to-earnings ratio compares to other companies in its industry. Although Jersey Electricity certainly looks good to me, I would like it more if insiders were buying up shares. If you like to see insider buying, too, then this free list of growing companies that insiders are buying, could be exactly what you're looking for. Please note the insider transactions discussed in this article refer to reportable transactions in the relevant jurisdiction. 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. A church in Rocklin, Calif., that refuses to stop holding indoor services received at least $350,000 and possibly up to $1 million in Paycheck Protection Program loans, the Sacramento Bee first reported. Destiny Christian Church applied for and received a federal PPP loan in April. The exact amount is unknown, as the U.S. Treasury Department and Small Business Administration database lists ranges, not precise dollar amounts, for each business that received a loan. The nonprofit Destiny Christian is listed as receiving between $350,000 - $1 million for 140 employees. Although Destiny Christian Church initially shut down following Gov. Gavin Newsom's shelter-in-place mandate in March, they reopened for Pentecost on May 31. They currently hold both indoor and outdoor services. "Pastor Greg Fairrington, lead Pastor of Destiny Church, made the courageous decision to remain open, while still maintaining all CDC guidelines of social distancing, mask wearing, temperature taking, and sanitation to continue out of an abundance of care for the people of our church and surrounding community," the church said in a statement. The statement says they "encourage" sick individuals to stay home. In late May, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5-4 that governors have the right to restrict church services during "this extraordinary health emergency." Fairrington continues to tweet and post videos defending his decision to remain open despite evidence that churches are linked to multiple "superspreader" events. "We are not going to allow the government to use data that is not supported factually to shut the church down," Fairrington said in a recent Facebook video. "Govt should not be in the business of picking winners or losers," he tweeted on July 16. "Supermarkets over Salons? Protests over Churches?" The Sacramento Bee story points out the hypocrisy of the church's leadership railing against government regulations while at the same time accepting federal funding. "Destiny's decision to apply for a federal assistance program has no relevance to Destiny's decision to remain open in light of a state order. The reason Destiny applied for PPP was the same as the other 700,000 businesses did in the United States, and that was to protect our employees, who provide critical care and support to the community," the church responded in a statement to the Bee. The church also accused the publication of trying to "vilify a religious establishment." Gold Country Media reports the city of Rocklin is in contact with Destiny Christian Church about adhering to COVID-19 safety rules. MORE CORONAVIRUS COVERAGE: Sign up for 'The Daily' newsletter for the latest on coronavirus here. San Francisco's health director discourages 'hard-to-resist' gatherings Gauging the early impact of Fourth of July gatherings on Bay Area coronavirus spread 'The PPP thing was a joke': Why gov't loans did nothing for this SF neighborhood Were going to be put on the watch list any day now: July 4 COVID-19 transmissions worry officials Calif. Lt. Gov. Kounalakis refutes CNN's characterization of state's virus surge Katie Dowd is the SFGATE managing editor. Email her: katie.dowd@sfgate.com | Twitter: @katiedowd The Tennessee Department of Treasury Unclaimed Property Division returned over 59,000 claims, totaling $62.5 million, to the rightful owners during fiscal year 2020.The Unclaimed Property Division is a consumer protection program of the Tennessee Department of Treasury that works to reunite the millions of missing dollars turned over every year with its rightful owners. As of June 30, there is $1.08 billion waiting to be claimed.From July 1, 2019 through June 30, about $62.5 million was returned by the Unclaimed Property Division to the owners or their heirs, local governments and reciprocal states.While the ongoing pandemic has created one of our nations most financially difficult times, the Division has put money back into Tennesseans bank accounts, with nearly $20 million returned to 18,800 claimants during the months of March through June 2020, officials said.During these challenging times, as our employees have worked remotely, they have diligently continued our responsibility of getting money back into the hands of Tennesseans who have been living with the difficulties of this crisis, State Treasurer David H. Lillard, Jr. said. It has been rewarding to see millions of dollars put back into Tennesseans bank accounts during such a critical time.Unclaimed property is money that has been turned over to the State by businesses and organizations unable to locate the owners. This includes intangible assets such as utility or business refunds, unclaimed wages, credit balances for overpayments, gift certificates, securities, bank accounts, etc.The Treasury Department utilizes various methods to locate owners of unclaimed property, including mailing letters to the address provided when the property was turned over from the business (holder) and sending letters to employers of potential claimants whose Social Security Number has been matched with records from the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development. On average, the Unclaimed Property Division sends hundreds of thousands of letters each year to potential claimants. If you have received a letter, you can verify the information by visiting ClaimItTN.gov.Officials said, "Some third-party companies may send letters alerting individuals to unclaimed property. Beware of any service asking you to pay them to help you get your money back. If you are ever contacted about unclaimed property in Tennessee and would like to check the validity, go to ClaimItTN.gov. To be sure your letter is legitimate, be aware: There is never a fee to claim unclaimed property in Tennessee; and There is never a time limit on when you can claim your property."Anyone can see if they are owed any missing money by searching their name at ClaimItTN.gov and may file a claim online if they find unclaimed property belonging to them. The online database contains all unclaimed property in Tennessee dating to the beginning of the program. Treasury recommends searching for common misspellings of your name and addresses as well, as that may be why the business was unable to return the money to you initially. Our website also includes a link to help you search for missing money in other states." Avanade Logo "As we continue to help our clients around the world respond, reset and renew to the COVID-19 pandemic, were delighted to be invited to join this core group of security specialists, tightly integrating with Microsoft to combat the unabating tide of malicious threats. Avanade, a leading digital innovator on the Microsoft ecosystem, today announced that it has joined the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association (MISA), an ecosystem of independent software vendors and managed security service providers that have integrated with Microsoft Security to better defend against a world of increasing cybersecurity threats. Microsoft launched MISA to enable partners to share insights and drive more integrated strategies and solutions to help their clients to predict, detect and respond to security threats faster. Membership is by invitation only, with Microsoft reaching out to a select core group of managed security service providers from across the cybersecurity industry to be part of the MSSP pilot. Each member brings their own unique expertise. The significant rise in remote working over the past few months is just one example of how organizations are continually needing to defend an ever-increasing attack surface, says Chris Miller, Global Security Lead, Avanade. As we continue to help our clients around the world respond, reset and renew to the COVID-19 pandemic, were delighted to be invited to join this core group of security specialists, tightly integrating with Microsoft to combat the unabating tide of malicious threats. Ryan McGee, Director of Microsoft Security Product Marketing, Microsoft Corp. said, Customers need to be confident that their sensitive data, employees identities, applications, infrastructure, and endpoints are secure. Weve invested in the Microsoft Intelligent Security Association to provide customers with more options to meet their unique security requirements. Avanades security practice works with global clients to assess, identifyidentify, and mitigate threats, bringing top security talent, innovative technologies, and security-as-a-service operating models, that help them rapidly achieve operational resilience. One way in which it does this is through Microsoft Azure Sentinela modern security information event management (SIEM) and security orchestration automated response (SOAR) which cover the entire Microsoft platform and extended security ecosystem covering modern workplace, digital platforms and cloud. Azure Sentinel delivers intelligent security analytics and threat intelligence across the enterprise, providing a single solution for alert detection, threat visibility, proactive huntinghunting, and threat response. In March 2020, Avanade was recognized as Microsoft security 20/20 partner in the Security Advisory category. In July 2020, Avanade and Accenture were also named the Microsoft 2020 Global Alliance SI partner of the year for the 15th time, more than any other partner. About Avanade Avanade is the leading provider of innovative digital and cloud services, business solutions and design-led experiences delivered through the power of people and the Microsoft ecosystem. Our professionals bring bold, fresh thinking combined with technology, business and industry expertise to help fuel transformation and growth for our clients and their customers. Avanade has 38,000 digitally connected people across 25 countries, bringing clients the best thinking through a collaborative culture that honors diversity and reflects the communities in which we operate. Majority owned by Accenture, Avanade was founded in 2000 by Accenture LLP and Microsoft Corporation. Learn more at http://www.avanade.com. Operations Officer, Amman, Jordan Organization: World Bank Country: Jordan City: Amman, Jordan Office: World Bank in Amman, Jordan Closing date: Friday, 31 July 2020 Operations Officer Job #: req8070 Organization: World Bank Sector: Operations Grade: GF Term Duration: 2 years 0 months Recruitment Type: Local Recruitment Location: Amman,Jordan Required Language(s): English, Arabic Preferred Language(s): Closing Date: 7/31/2020 (MM/DD/YYYY) at 11:59pm UTC Description Do you want to build a career that is truly worthwhile? Working at the World Bank Group provides a unique opportunity for you to help our clients solve their greatest development challenges. The World Bank Group is one of the largest sources of funding and knowledge for developing countries; a unique global partnership of five institutions dedicated to ending extreme poverty, increasing shared prosperity and promoting sustainable development. With 189 member countries and more than 120 offices worldwide, we work with public and private sector partners, investing in groundbreaking projects and using data, research, and technology to develop solutions to the most urgent global challenges. For more information, visit http://www.worldbank.org/. Background MNC03 is the country department managing the Egypt, Yemen, and Djibouti country programs. The WBG is a major development partner for all three countries. A rich program of knowledge and analytical work underpins our engagement in all three countries. In Egypt, the Country Partnership Framework was launched in December 2015 and more than doubles IBRD/IFC support to selected transformational programs in the country, with a strong focus on good governance, social inclusion and job creation. There is a strong emphasis on policy dialogue in many different areas, including macroeconomic, energy, business environment, regional development, education, health, agriculture, social protection, and transport. The current portfolio is over $8 bn. In Yemen, IDA is embarked upon an innovative engagement in a country in conflict, pushing the boundaries of development. Over the past year, more than $1 billion in IDA grants have been provided for emergency operations --through a partnership with the UN--to help preserve human and development assets in the country, along with preparations for recovery and reconstruction. The Country Engagement Note (CEN) provides a framework for our engagement. In Djibouti, the IDA-18 has provided a substantial increase to the IDA envelope given the emphasis on FCV. This is supported by significant leveraging of grant resources. There is a growing program to address social vulnerabilities and support enhanced governance. Recent projects include an innovative $20m program to support refugees and host communities under the regional Horn of Africa Initiative. The current portfolio is about $81m. For more information on Yemen, please visit https://www.worldbank.org/en/country/yemen The MNC03 program is managed out of the Egypt country office. The Egypt Country Office has about 80 staff and works as a regional hub for some other functions also. The Yemen program is headed by a Country Manager currently based in Amman (plans to move to Yemen when security situation permits). The Djibouti Country Office is headed by a Resident Representative. The Country Director is based in Cairo. The Country Director is supported in Cairo by 3 Programs Leaders as well as Operations Manager and Senior Operations Officer. In addition, in HQ, the office includes a Senior Operations Officer, Country Officer and a Program Assistant. The Yemen Office is looking to recruit a high-performing Operations Officer reporting directly to the Country Manager. The selected candidate will be based in Amman, Jordan. Roles and Responsibilities The selected candidate will work directly with and under the general guidance of the Country Manager (CM) and will report to the CM. He/she will work in close collaboration with the Country Director (CD), Operations Manager (OM), Program Leaders (PLs) and other members of the MNC03 CMU. The candidate will be responsible for the following tasks: Portfolio monitoring and operational support: Support the Country Partnership Framework (CPF) process and implementation Oversee the active project portfolio and project pipeline, working in coordination with the Country Team and CMU colleagues to ensure quality and timeliness of preparation and implementation support Work with the CM and OM to analyze and monitor portfolio and operational performance, quality and trends, and contribute to problem resolution with task teams Follow-up on actions agreed during periodic country portfolio reviews and proactively highlight issues arising during project preparation or portfolio implementation Contribute with comments to ISRs, ICRs, IEG reviews, Board packages, and other operational documents as needed Assist the CM in country program management, including business planning and work program preparation, monitoring of work program, quarterly reviews and progress reporting Oversee the delivery of the ASA by working with CMU colleagues in ensuring quality and timeliness of delivery and adequate dissemination Serve as a liaison, coordination, and integration point for the extended country team; provide advice on country developments, operational priorities and strategies as needed; help foster teamwork and cross-sectoral cooperation on program preparation and implementation and contribute to country team meetings and activities Serve as focal point for the CO on Trust Fund monitoring and processes and participate in review meetings and advise team on consistency of TF activities with the country program, operational processing and quality assurance Facilitate the preparation of portfolio reviews CPPRs for the Yemen operations and the preparation of other meetings, as well as participate in supervision and other missions, when needed Program briefs, background reports and other materials Prepare briefs as requested by the CM and the CD Contribute to the preparation of the Annual/Spring Meetings and high-level visit briefs, including coordination of meetings with authorities and donors Support the CM in preparing presentations, talking points, PowerPoints and associated documentation for internal and external engagements Tags economic development extreme poverty international relations political conditions political science project preparation reconstruction refugees regional development social inclusion sustainable development General operational support Provide regular country and operational updates to the CM Assist on ad hoc tasks, such as preparation of Donors Meetings, consultations with stakeholders, and in-country visits Participate with the CM at meetings with the authorities and other relevant events, and contribute to maintaining strong relationships with clients, development partners, civil society and private sector entities Participate as a key team member of important strategic products activities; and contribute to or lead the preparation of management briefs Monitor and interpret political, social, and economic developments; develop and maintain understanding of country socioeconomic and political conditions Assist in determining appropriate Bank responses, and draft and review operational correspondence Represent the CM when and as required Specific additional country and program responsibilities may be assigned by the CM as per any evolving work program allocations Selection Criteria Masters in a relevant field (Economics, Business Studies, Political Science, Finance, International Relations, or similar filed relevant to the Banks mission.) Minimum of 5 years of relevant experience. Knowledge of Bank operational policies and business practices would be a plus. Proven ability to think strategically, and to apply this to the design and implementation of country assistance programs. Outstanding inter-personal skills with proven ability to work cooperatively with a multi-disciplinary country team, other groups throughout the Bank, and development partners. Demonstrated initiative, leadership skills and drive for results, including ability to undertake diverse tasks within a rapidly changing and demanding environment on short deadlines. Strong problem-solving skills and solutions-oriented attitude. Political sensitivity and mature judgment; and ability to focus on the big picture, while not losing sight of details. Highly developed spoken and written communications skills; including the ability to draft concise briefs, reports and correspondence. Required COS Competencies: https://worldbankgroup.sharepoint.com/sites/hr/Documents/Career%20Management/Professional%20Family%20Mapping/COS_PFM_Criteria.pdf Poverty has no borders, neither does excellence. We succeed because of our differences and we continuously search for qualified individuals with diverse backgrounds from around the globe. PLAAF sends Y-9 ambulance aircraft for first medical evacuation mission PLA Daily Source: China Military Online Editor: Li Wei 2020-07-20 20:36:49 By Li Min and Cao Fan CHENGDU, July 20 -- The air force under the PLA Western Theatre Command dispatched a Y-9 ambulance aircraft for the air medical evacuation of a sick officer from the plateau area to a major city in northwest China on July 16. This is the first time for the Y-9ambulance aircraft to carry out such a mission since its commissioning. The officer surnamed Zhang is assigned to a base of the air force under the PLA Western Theatre Command. He was injured in the training and got worsened during the treatment in local hospital. Thus, he was then evacuated by the Y-9 ambulance aircraft to a major hospital 5,200 kilometers away in Xi'an of Shaanxi Province for better treatment. Fitted with advanced medical equipment, the Y-9 ambulance aircraft has the capabilities of air evacuation and in-flight ambulance service. And for this mission, the accompanying medical team members covered a variety of departments such as critical care medicine, anesthesia, orthopedics, and surgery, who could provide life-sustaining treatment for the injured during the evacuation process. After arriving at the plateau airport, the medical team completed the transfer of the patient in just 10 minutes. And the onboard mobile rescue platform began to operate as soon as the Y-9 took off. Medical staff used on-board medical equipment including electrocardiogram monitor, infusion pump and sputum aspirator to carry out the in-flight emergency treatment for the patient who already went into a coma. After a brief supply break in the midway, the Y-9 ambulance aircraft landed smoothly after a4.5-hourflightwhich covered more than 5,200 kilometers. As of press time, the patient's vital signs were stable and he was receiving further treatment. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address A woman who escaped from St. Josephs Healthcare Hamiltons forensic psychiatry unit a week ago has been found in Toronto. Crystal Lavergne was found Monday night, Hamilton police said. She was arrested and brought back to Hamilton. The 38-year-old was reported missing from the St. Josephs West 5th Hospital around 1 p.m. on July 14. Later that day, she was spotted in Kitchener, where she had been dropped off by a cab. Police had cautioned the public not to approach her if spotted, but to call police. Forensic psychiatric patients are generally people who have been in conflict with the law but, for mental-health reasons, are found not criminally responsible or are unfit to stand trial. Lavergne now faces a criminal charge of being unlawfully at large. By PTI BEIJING: All foreigners and Chinese nationals should carry the negative COVID-19 test certificate before entering China, an official announcement here said on Tuesday. The certificate should be no older than five days at the time of boarding a flight, said the announcement made by China's Civil Aviation Administration, General Administration of Customs, and China's Foreign Ministry said. At the current stage, the pandemic is under some kind of control in many countries. People to People exchanges and international flights are beginning to increase, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin told a media briefing. In order to reduce the risks China issued a notice on requiring a negative test certificate for foreign travellers before boarding their planes, he said. "This will help to ensure safe and orderly restoration of international people to people exchanges and economic activities, Wang said. All Chinese and foreign passengers should finish the tests five days before they board the flights and airlines are responsible to verify their test results before they let the passengers through, he said. "Chinese embassies will evaluate testing capabilities of their host countries and on the basis of negotiating and reaching consensus with their host countries they will nail down the exact time line of implementing these measures. We will release the details in due course," he said. China has permitted international flights from certain countries but not from India yet after halting them at the height of the coronavirus pandemic. China recently conducted COVID-19 tests for millions of people in Wuhan where the virus first surfaced in December last year, followed by a large number of people in Beijing. One of the most-watched Korean dramas right now is tvN's "It's Okay To Not Be Okay," but it's honestly ironic that it's not so popular in its homeland. Despite the drama receiving global rave and being one of the top 10 popular shows on Netflix from various countries, it's quite surprising that it's not even part of any list in Korea. The drama's ratings for the recent episodes did not even reach cable channel standards. Why so? Is it Kim Soo Hyun's alleged forced acting, or is it just not entertaining enough for Koreans? "It's Okay To Not Be Okay" tells the story of Moon Gang Tae, who works as a health worker in a psychiatric hospital. In most of his life, he was forced to believe that his only purpose in the world is to take care of his older brother, Moon Sang Tae, who has ASD and is a talented illustrator. He adores the famous children's book author Go Moon Young, who has an anti-personality disorder. Moon Gang Tae meets Go Moon Young, and together, they help heal each other's emotional wounds as the story progresses. Despite the healing drama living up to the global hype, one recent post about the drama's low ratings stirred many arguments, questioning if the show is worth watching. Several comments claimed that Kim Soo Hyun's acting was a bit forced. Kim Soo Hyun is one of Korea's most popular actors and is currently the highest-paid actor in the country. Known for his handsome looks, talents, and multiple dramas that he starred in, he has made a name for himself. Mentioning a few of his outnumbered achievements, he has gathered several awards, such as the "Hallyu Star Award" from his drama "The Producers," "Best Actor Award," and "Most Popular Award" from "My Love From The Star." So, is Kim Soo Hyun's acting really the reason to blame for the show's low domestic ratings? Some viewers say the story isn't quite fun, while others shared how the drama lacks that family-friendly vibe to it. That's why most viewers watch it on Netflix using their laptops rather on television with their family. Thus, making it a drama that is only popular on Netflix. Basing from other hit Korean dramas that got very popular in various regions through Netflix are "The World of The Married" and "Crash Landing On You." These dramas had an average of 18.8% and 12.2% ratings, respectively, despite them being popular Netflix shows. Comparing them to "It's Okay To Not Be Okay," the drama's recent episodes have an average viewership rating of 6.1%. According to other sources, ratings of the recent episodes of the show kept declining domestically. Focusing on the brighter side, many fans say how good Kim Soo Hyun and Seo Ye Ji's chemistry is. Some say the story is quite heart-warming due to the drama, emphasizing that people who suffer from mental illnesses are still human beings, and we shouldn't regard them as insignificant. The story also gives viewers knowledge about psychological issues, while also depicting family, healing, sacrifice, friendship, and selfless love. Given that the show hasn't ended yet, viewers will definitely see a rise in viewership ratings for the next episodes! Catch "It's Okay To Not Be Okay" on Netflix, which airs every Saturday and Sunday at 9:00 p.m. KST on tvN. President Donald Trump refused to wear a mask during a non-socially distanced fundraiser at his Washington D.C. hotel Monday evening just hours after he recommended, for the first time since the start of the pandemic, that Americans wear face coverings in public. White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany said the president is fine not to wear a mask because she claims he is tested multiple times every day for coronavirus. 'The president's always been consistent on this, that masks, according to the CDC, are recommended but not required,' McEnany told reporters during a press briefing Tuesday morning. 'The president is the most tested man in America, he's tested more than anyone multiple times per day,' she insisted. 'And we believe that he's acting appropriately.' Dr. Anthony Fauci, the nation's top immunologist, told NPR in an interview published Tuesday morning that he was 'pleased' the president decided to get on board with consistent messaging from the White House on wearing masks. 'I'm not sure [about] a federal mandate,' Fauci said, but added: 'I was very pleased to see the president wearing a mask and tweeting about mask.' 'I think we've turned the corner on the road of a consistent message,' the White House coronavirus task force member continued. Video emerged late Monday night, however, of the president walking through Trump International Hotel, which is less than a mile from the White House, as he participated in a roundtable with supporters of a joint fundraising committee. Also in tow, not adhering to D.C. masks guidelines, were Republican South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham, Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and the president's personal attorney and former Mayor of New York City Rudy Giuliani. The video specifically showed a moment the president, and his entourage, stopped to speak with Madison Cawthorn, the 24-year-old who won the Republican primary for Meadows' seat in North Carolina's 11th district, which he vacated when he joined the administration. Captured on camera: Donald Trump made a mask-less visit to his Washington D.C. hotel for a fundraiser Monday evening with lawmakers, administration officials and other allies 'Don't touch me': Trump introduced 24-year-old Madison Cawthorn (center in blue), who is running for Congress in North Carolina, to his personal attorney Rudy Giuliani who had his mask pulled below his chin and jokingly said 'Don't touch me' as Cawthorn approached him for a handshake Cawthorn also spoke with Trump's Chief of Staff Mark Meadows, who did not wear a mask during the trip, and who's seat the candidate is running for after Meadow's stepped down to join the administration South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham (speaking with Cawthorn) was also in tow at the fundraiser, not wearing a mask 'He's the most tested man in America': White House Press Secretary Kayleigh McEnany asserted Trump can get away with not to wear a masks because 'he's tested more than anyone multiple times per day' Dr. Anthony Fauci said in an interview with NPR that was published Tuesday morning that he was 'pleased' with Trump tweeting about wearing a mask. 'I think we've turned the corner on the road of a consistent message,' he lauded before news of the president's unmasked trip was revealed The president made an introduction between Cawthron and Giuliani, who had a black mask pulled below his chin during the interaction and jokingly said 'Don't touch me' when the candidate approached him for a handshake. 'He won in North Carolina,' Trump told Giuliani of Cawthorn, who is wheel-chair bound following a 2014 car accident that left him partially paralyzed. 'He's a great guy.' Surgeon General Jerome Adams said he is 'pleased' that Trump has worn a masks, but would not comment on the president's violation of city mandates Monday night. 'I'm a physician not a political pundit,' Adams, the leading spokesman on public health in the federal government and member of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, told CBS This Morning on Tuesday morning. 'It doesn't do me any good to get back and forth about the president,' he continued. 'What I can tell you is that I'm very pleased that he actually is now wearing a face covering.' The mask-less trip came the same day Trump finally encouraged the public to wear face coverings to prevent the spread of coronavirus, claiming the act of wearing one is 'patriotic.' 'We are United in our effort to defeat the Invisible China Virus, and many people say that it is Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance,' Trump wrote on Twitter Monday afternoon. 'There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President!' he continues, including a photo of him wearing a mask from his visit to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center earlier this month. His trip to visit wounded troops marked the first and only time Trump allowed photographs to be taken of him donning any sort of face covering since the start of the pandemic in March. The non-socially distanced, mask-less visit to Trump Hotel came as the president suggested Monday it's 'Patriotic to wear a face mask when you can't socially distance.' 'There is nobody more Patriotic than me, your favorite President,' Trump added Trump allowed cameras to capture him wearing a mask for the first time during a July 12 trip to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. The president make the weekend trip to visit wounded troops When Surgeon General Jerome Adams was asked about the mask-less trip Monday, he deflected: 'I'm a physician not a political pundit.' But he conceded he is 'pleased' the president had worn a face covering in public last week As of Tuesday morning, the number of confirmed cases is more than 3.8 million, much more than any other country has reported, and the death toll is nearing 141,000 How Trump mocked Biden for wearing a mask - while Melania and Ivanka wore them Until his recent change of tune, Trump had long resisted calls to wear a mask in public and even mocked his Democratic rival Joe Biden for wearing one in May. After Biden wore a mask at a Memorial Day event, Trump retweeted a post by Fox News analyst Brit Hume which made fun of how Biden looked and said 'this might help explain why Trump doesn't like to wear a mask in public'. Asked about the tweet, Trump said it was 'very unusual' to wear a mask outside and accused a reporter of trying to be 'politically correct' by wearing one himself. Biden called Trump a 'fool' in response, saying in an interview with CNN that 'this macho stuff' was costing lives. Trump previously said he 'did not want to give the press the pleasure' of seeing him with a mask, while saying he had worn one away from the cameras. Melania Trump, by contrast, had let Americans see her in a face mask as long ago as April while urging people to take the health regulations 'seriously'. 'As the CDC studies the spread of Covid-19, they recommend people wear cloth face coverings in public settings when social distancing can be hard to do,' Melania said on April 9 alongside a photo of herself in a mask. A nearly identical message from the first lady was shared on the official White House YouTube channel the same day. Only days earlier, Donald Trump had said he could not see himself greeting 'presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens' while wearing a mask. The president's daughter Ivanka Trump also urged people to follow CDC guidance on April 13, sharing a photo of herself and her daughter Arabella wearing home-made face coverings. Ivanka was seen wearing a mask in public as long ago as May, and her use of face coverings has exposed her to criticism from Trump supporters. Advertisement He did, however, also briefly wear a mask during a tour of a Ford Motor Co. plant in Ypsilanti, Michigan in late May but he did not allow reporters or photographers to capture the moment. 'I didn't want to give the press the pleasure of seeing it,' Trump said. Photos soon leaked of Trump wearing the mask. The president's tweet suggesting Americans wear masks and his maskless trip to his D.C. hotel came nearly four months after Trump insisted mask-wearing was not for him. It also followed an interview with Fox News' Chris Wallace that aired Sunday morning where the president asserted he would not issue a federal-level mandate for people to wear masks, claiming he wanted Americans to keep their freedoms. On April 3, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention put out an updated advisory on coronavirus transmission recommending that Americans wear masks. The president said he wasn't interested. 'Well, I just don't want to wear one myself,' he said at the time. 'I just don't want to be doing - I don't know, somehow sitting in the Oval Office behind the beautiful Resolute Desk - the great Resolute Desk - I think wearing a face mask as I greet presidents, prime ministers, dictators, kings, queens, I don't know. Somehow, don't see it for myself,' Trump continued. 'I just - I just don't. Maybe I'll change my mind, but this will pass and hopefully it'll pass very quickly.' Health officials had originally not wanted to recommend widespread mask-wearing for fear Americans would buy up N95 masks that were desperately needed for healthcare workers and first responders. This led to confusion, which was furthered by the administration sending mixed messages about masks. Vice President Mike Pence took heat when he showed up to the Mayo Clinic in early May sans mask. He remedied the situation by wearing one the next time he traveled out of D.C. Around the same time, Trump went to a Honeywell plant in Arizona - which was making masks - and refused to put one on. At recent Trump campaign events, organizers haven't mandated mask-wearing. Behind-the-scenes, the Associated Press reported, Trump worried he'd look ridiculous in a mask and feared it would be used against him in political ads. He told aides in early May that it would 'send the wrong message.' 'It's a vanity thing, I guess, with him,' House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said of Trump's position to go bare-faced. 'You'd think, as the president of the United States, you would have the confidence to honor the guidance he's giving the country.' After Democratic challenger Biden wore a mask at a Memorial Day event, Trump retweeted a post by Fox News analyst Brit Hume which made fun of how Biden looked. The caption to Hume's post said: 'This might help explain why Trump doesn't like to wear a mask in public'. Asked about the tweet, Trump said it was 'very unusual' to wear a mask outside and accused a reporter of trying to be 'politically correct' by wearing a mask himself. Biden called Trump a 'fool' in response, saying in an interview with CNN that 'this macho stuff' was costing lives. Donald Trump retweeted a post mocking Joe Biden for wearing a face mask at Memorial Day commemorations while the president refused to don one at a ceremony in Virginia Ivanka Trump, pictured yesterday wearing a mask as she distributes food as part of the Farmers to Families program in Washington, has encouraged the use of masks since April Melania Trump had let Americans see her in a face mask as long ago as April while urging people to take the health regulations 'seriously'. Trump announced Monday that he would bring back the daily White House Coronavirus Task Force briefings, which ceased weeks ago and the president stopped attending in April after suggesting people ingest or inject Lysol or bleach to treat the virus. He said they would resume around 5:00 p.m. every day, like previously, claiming it was a good time slot and that there was a large viewership. Dr. Fauci, 79, said he could not guarantee he would be part of those briefings, which he regularly attended months back before reports of clashes between the doctor and president emerged. 'I mean, that's up to the White House,' he said when NPR asked if he would be making an appearance at the press conferences. 'I would imagine that I would be at least in on some of it,' he said of his role with the White House Coronavirus Task Force. 'But we have not hear anything definite yet. I mean, if they want me there, I'd be more than happy to be there. And if they if not, that's OK, too. As long as we get the message across. When Adams was asked if Drs. Fauci or Deborah Birx would be returning to the briefings, the Surgeon General said the White House is 'still figuring that out.' 'I know that as they resume we will be there in our different roles,' he added. More recently, however, some Capitol Hill Republicans have been pleading with Trump to set a good example and put on a mask as coronavirus cases around the country continue to soar. They've even taken their plight public. 'We must have no stigma - none - about wearing masks when we leave our homes and come near other people,' Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor late last month. 'Wearing simple face coverings is not about protecting ourselves, it is about protecting everyone we encounter.' As cases of COVID-19 continue to spike across the country, many states, including Colorado, Arkansas and Alabama, have implemented new face mask requirements. Many retailers have also added requirements for face coverings. On Monday, Gap announced a mask policy in its stores, effective Aug. 1, and plenty of fellow big retailers, like Walmart, Best Buy, Target and CVS, have recently put mask requirements in place for shoppers. But despite all these requirements, refusal to wear a mask has become a political sticking point for some. Now antimaskers have resorted to a new tactic: wearing a mask that doesnt offer any protection. People are sharing videos and tweets of themselves flouting face covering guidelines by wearing masks made of thin material, like mesh, crochet and lace. An antimask protester holds up a sign at a rally in Columbus, Ohio, on Saturday. (Jeff Dean/AFP) Face mask recommendations and laws vary between cities, states and stores. However, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) specifically recommends that people wear a cloth face covering that completely covers the nose and mouth and includes multiple layers of fabric. The World Health Organization (WHO) has taken things a step further, giving specific recommendations for what the masks should be made of. According to the WHO, the most effective face masks have the following components: An inner layer thats made of absorbent material, like cotton A middle layer to act as a filter or barrier: This can be made of nonwoven material, like polypropylene An outer layer made of a nonabsorbent material, like polyester The WHO also recommends that people avoid masks made of stretchy materials (they dont serve as great filters), silk and gauze. While some specify what a mask needs to look like Colorado says a mask should be made of multiple layers of fabric others, like Walmart, simply require face coverings. This has contributed to the rise of these ineffective protest masks and some are even selling them online. One American flag-themed crochet mask available on Etsy bills itself as the mask for people who don't want to wear them. Another mesh one on Amazon, which says its designed for protection from pellets and paintballs, is receiving rave reviews. A third one, a $22 crystal-encrusted mesh face mask is currently a bestseller on Etsy. Reviewers say theyve worn the mesh and crochet masks into stores and have not been questioned, which one said is proof that its not about safety, its about control. Story continues Experts disagree and find the rise in antimasks extremely concerning. Its ridiculous, says Dr. Thomas Russo, professor and chief of infectious disease at the University at Buffalo. This isnt about personal liberty. This is about public health and keeping everyone safe, so we can get the pandemic under control to have more freedom and liberty. Im very disappointed, Dr. William Schaffner, an infectious disease specialist and professor at the Vanderbilt University School of Medicine, tells Yahoo Life. Im not a person to anger, but Im angry. These people are putting others at risk and putting themselves at risk. They think theyre being cute, and theyre not. Video: Dr. Richard Watkins, an infectious disease physician in Akron, Ohio, and a professor of internal medicine at the Northeast Ohio Medical University, says he has trouble understanding why anyone would do this. I treat patients with it every day, and I am as careful as I can possibly be to not get infected, he tells Yahoo Life. People who have been infected months ago still have symptoms. It is not something to treat lightly or think it is not a big deal. But Dr. Amesh A. Adalja, senior scholar at the Johns Hopkins Center for Health Security, tells Yahoo Life that this is predictable given the current environment where masks have been politicized and framed as a method of control. This is a very silly way to try to make a point thats not worth making, he says. If they have a problem with masks, why cant they wear a face shield? Its a good option. Overall, Schaffner says, This is just inappropriate. We all have to help protect each other. These people are contributing to the spread of the illness and perhaps the demise of others. A big sticking point among antimaskers is that theyre complying with local guidelines and laws by wearing these masks, but Adalja says thats not necessarily true. Were already seeing stores talk about what a mask should be, he says. Read the regulations regarding masks for most places: It usually says it has to have some sort of barrier. A mesh, lace or crochet mask that you can see through doesnt fit the bill. If whatever youre wearing on your face isnt a barrier, people may refuse you service based on that, Adalja adds. Its unclear at this point whether this kind of thing would be legally enforceable, but its unlikely that the compliance argument for wearing an antimask would hold up in court, Schaffner says. I dont think they would stand up, he says. Overall, public health experts arent happy with this new trend. I get wearing a proper mask is inconvenient, but its a small price to pay, Russo says. For the latest coronavirus news and updates, follow along at https://news.yahoo.com/coronavirus. According to experts, people over 60 and those who are immunocompromised continue to be the most at risk. If you have questions, please reference the CDCs and WHOs resource guides. Read more from Yahoo Life: Want daily lifestyle and wellness news delivered to your inbox? Sign up here for Yahoo Lifes newsletter. Once at the epicenter of the states coronavirus pandemic, Stamford Hospital is now at the front of a better trend: the overall sharp decline of COVID-19 patients in hospitals across Connecticut. The hospital last week announced it had discharged its last COVID-19 patient and, as of Tuesday, it still had no COVID-19 patients admitted. And although Gov. Ned Lamont reported Tuesday afternoon that hospitalizations in the state had increased by eight since Monday bringing the total number to 62 overall hospitalization numbers have fallen considerably since the outbreak began. You would never know even that COVID hit if you walk around the hospital, said Dr. Maher Madhoun, hospitalist director and infectious disease doctor at Stamford Hospital. The mood is back to normal. Local health officials largely credit the decline to public compliance, and dedicated hospital staff. But experts stressed vigilance to help keep the numbers from popping up again. Though Nuvance Health the system that includes Norwalk, Danbury, Sharon and New Milford hospitals didnt give the number of patients at its properties (due to the fact that numbers can change quickly), chain spokeswoman Amy Forni said the hospitals had only a handful of positive patients. Meanwhile, officials at the states two major hospital chains said theyve seen huge drops in the number of hospitalized COVID-19 patients. The Yale New Haven Health system had a total of 24 patients at its Connecticut properties as of Tuesday morning, including 11 at Yale New Haven Hospital, nine at Bridgeport Hospital and four at Greenwich Hospital. Contrast that to April, when there were 444 patients at Yale New Haven Hospital alone. Weve gone down very substantially across our system, said Dr. Thomas Balcezak, Yale New Haven Healths chief clinical officer. He said, in additional to the low COVID-19 census overall, there are only three patients in all the intensive care units throughout the system, and that there hadnt been a death in a couple of days. Balcezak attributes the falling numbers partly to hard work and good preparation by the hospitals. But a lot of the credit goes to the general public, he said. People are taking this very seriously, extremely seriously, he said Theyve been following guidelines about social distancing and masking. My only plea is that they continue to do so, and not stop. Where we go from here is very much up to the public. An official at another of the states major hospital chains had a similar message. Hartford HealthCare has a total of 17 patients at its hospitals, including three at St. Vincents Medical Center in Bridgeport, and nine at Hartford Hospital. Like Balcezak, Hartford HealthCare Chief Medical Officer Ajay Kumar said Connecticut residents played a major role in driving the numbers down. Theres a lot that Connecticut has to be proud of, Kumar said. But Kumar added that people need to continue to be vigilant if they dont want hospitalizations to jump again. I think its really important to continue social distancing, he said. Masks are important. Limit travel. And protect vulnerable populations. The Three Gorges Dam is discharging flood water in Yichang, China, on July 19, 2020. (AFP via Getty Images) All 3 of Chinas Main Rivers Flooded, With Millions Living in Danger Zones All three of Chinas major riversthe Yangtze, Yellow, and Huai riversoverflowed due to heavy rains on July 21, with water levels at most regions going over alert levels. The three river basins are among the countrys most developed and active grain-producing regions. The rice-growing area of the Pearl River basin, suffered flooding in June. But the Chinese regime did not assess the total damage to the countrys crops. Also, a barrage lake was formed in Hubei Province after mudslides cut into part of the Yangtze River. If the mudslides collapse, large amounts of water could suddenly inundate areas downstream. Authorities warned millions of city residents that floodwaters could enter at any time. Meanwhile, tens of thousands in Anhui Province were in need of rescue, as they were surrounded by floodwaters without access to electricity, clean water, and telecommunications. More heavy rain is forecast for the following days. Flooding At 6 p.m. on July 21, Chinas National Meteorological Center issued a heavy rain warning, noting that regions upstream of the Yangtze River and downstream of the Yellow River, as well as the whole basin of the Huai River, will experience heavy rain in the next 24 hours. The worst-hit regions would have 2.76 inches of accumulation within one hour. Among the three main rivers, Yangtze River is in the south, Huai River is in central China, and Yellow River is in the north. At 8 a.m. on Monday, the Chinese central government ordered the discharging of floodwaters in the Huai River to the Mengwa region in Anhuithe first such occurrence since 13 years ago. Quickly, crop fields in the region, including soon-to-mature soybeans and corn, were destroyed. State-run media Xinhua reported that the water level of the Huai River reached the alert level in the early hours of Monday, meaning an embankment breach would occur along the river. To protect cities downstream from it, authorities decided to submerge the rural areas instead. The report stated that authorities gave locals seven hours to pack up and remove valuables from their homes before discharging the floodwaters. On Sunday, the Anhui provincial government broke two dikes and released floodwaters from the Chu River, a tributary of the Yangtze, to rural areas. In recent days, authorities also discharged floodwaters to rural areas in Hunan, Zhejiang, and Jiangxi provinces and submerged peoples homes and farmland. Guanyinge temple, a 700-year old temple built on a rock, is inundated in the swollen Yangtze River in Ezhou, China, on July 19, 2020. (STR/AFP via Getty Images) This year, heavy rain also caused the Yellow River in northern China to overflow, an unusual occurrence. Since July 1, Xiaolangdi Reservoir on the Yellow River began discharging floodwaters that accumulated, endangering the downstream region. On July 21, floods also inundated roads along the Yellow Rivers upstream in Lanzhou city. Inner Mongolia and other provinces along the river began reinforcing their river banks in anticipation of heavy rains. Lives in Danger Enshi city in Hubei Province, with a population of four million, asked all residents to prepare for an evacuation on Tuesday, noting that the city could be inundated by floodwaters at any time. State-run Xinhua quoted authorities who said a mudslide that occurred near the upper stream of the Qing rivera tributary of the Yangtzeblocked the river and created a barrage lake over 16 feet deep. The bank of the barrage lake may break. Once it happens, the waters will enter downstream [Enshi city], the notice read. The city government also admitted that they discharged more floodwaters from Dalongtan Reservoir upstream of the Qing river, which may cause the water level to rise and then overflow river banks in the city. State-run media Southern Metropolis Daily reported on July 21 evening that discharged floodwaters from Yunlonghe Reservoir, located further upstream, entered the Qing river and broke the top of the mudslide at the barrage lake. But mudslides did not stop on Tuesday. Due to the increased water discharge at Dalongtan Reservoir, the local water treatment plant could not get freshwater to process. The city would not have clean water in the next ten days, according to the news report. Enshi city has been inundated since July 17. Because local reservoirs kept discharging water and rainfall did not stop, floodwaters did not recede until July 21. 10,000 People Guzhen township in Liuan city, Anhui is home to roughly 44,000 people. On the afternoon of July 19, floodwaters entered, submerging all connecting roads and inundating buildings. The town became a virtually isolated island without electricity and clean water. By 2 p.m. on Monday, more than 10,000 people were still stranded inside. A local government official told Chinese media Caixin that two reservoirs upstream from Guzhen discharged floodwaters, causing the local Ji river level to increase dramatically in recent days. After an embankment breach happened close to the town, floodwaters rushed in. Our mayor was dumbfounded when the floods entered, the official said. Locals told The Epoch Times by phone that they were in bad shape. Chen Yan, who lives in the town center, said, They need food They are scared. She left the town before the flooding, but her family members were still stuck there. Chen said that there were many neighborhoods in Guzhen that could not be reached by boat due to the strong flood currents. Mr. Yus parents, in-laws, and four children were stranded at Yutang village in Guzhen. He was anxious, as he could not reach any of them. Caixin reported that there were more than 10 rescue boats onsite, with each boat capable of picking up five people at a time. Bhopal, July 21 : The confusion for the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party over the cabinet formation and department distribution in Madhya Pradesh just got over and now the party is now working on to make a new team in the state. Sources said that the new team will not only be balanced but will also be full of new energy. The BJP has returned to power in the state due to former union minister Jyotiraditya Scindia and the then 22 MLAs who came to BJP with him. In this situation, the BJP was compelled to share the power with those who came with Scindia and their share of power will continue in the future, but this will not happen in the case of the organization. BJP sources said the party returned to power after Vishnu Dutt Sharma took over as the party's state president. This is the reason party is trying to fix everything from last three months. Therefore, the state executive was not formed. Now the party is done with the rest of things and the emphasis in on to form the state executive. Several rounds of discussions have been held between the state president Vishnu Dutt Sharma and the state general secretary organisation Suhas Bhagat regarding the new executive. People who don't have a stake in the government despite merit and experience will be given more importance in the executive. At the same time, the party will give region-wise representation, sources added. Nandkumar Singh Chauhan and Rakesh Singh, who have been presidents before Sharma, did not make much change in the team, but this time the party has decided to make a big change. Sources also said that the favourites of former Chief Minister Uma Bharti, National General Secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya, Union Ministers Narendra Singh Tomar, Prahlad Patel, Faggan Singh Kulaste, Thavarchand Gehlot were not not included in the cabinet and now they could be included in the new executive. Political analyst Rakesh Achal said the BJP is not in favour of giving importance to influential people. The party preferred an youth as the state president and now youths are given the charge of district presidents also. The BJP has started working for 2024 and future. "I had hoped to lead a Department," said a disappointed Dara Calleary following his omission from the Cabinet just three weeks ago. By now the new Agriculture Minister will have a far greater appreciation for the scale of that ambition. The complexity and diversity of the Department's activities will have been laid out for the new Minister in the 800-page 'briefing' document he will have received on his appointment. Secretary general Brendan Gleeson will have taken the new Minister through the brief; line by line, division by division, issue by issue. This is an intense process whereby an immense amount of new information will need to be absorbed. Minister Calleary had a working knowledge of many of the issues as a rural TD, although he was not a prolific contributor to Dail debates on agricultural matters. In many ways the Minister is expected to learn a new language and speak it fluently under the scrutiny of the opposition, the media, stakeholders, voters and, crucially, farmers. Not something for the faint-hearted. From the conveyor belt of briefings, the next task for the Minister will be a gauntlet of meetings with EU Commissioners, counterparts in the Council of Ministers, farm leaders, CEOs of state agencies and industry representatives. The briefings and the meetings are the easy part. There is business to be done and decisions to be made immediately. A 50m cheque to sweeten his relationship with beef farmers may look to some as the perfect opportunity to set off on a positive footing with this volatile sector, but the reality is that it will be the Minister's first exercise in imparting disappointment to farmers. For every term, condition, reference date and maximum payment laid out in the new Beef Pandemic Scheme, there will be farm families the length and breadth of the country ineligible. Think of the enraged farmer from Achill who falls a week outside the reference period. No shortage of grenades for Sinn Fein Agriculture spokesman Matt Carthy to launch. So begin the Dail questions, the debates and press releases bemoaning the Minister's decision to ignore those excluded. Suggestions that Barry Cowen had committed to an August payment date seem fanciful to say the least. New schemes take time. A pre-Christmas delivery would be a win. The rising prospect of a 'WTO' Brexit looms large and demands micromanagement to prepare for 'Border Inspection Posts' and import/export protocols as well as market disruption. There's the piloting of a new REPS scheme which runs the risk of having been oversold as a panacea, a CAP transition period with an apparent hole in the budget and a Climate Bill and carbon budget with demanding sectoral targets. And then there are always surprises. August staycations at meat factory gates? What is it they say about being careful for what you wish for? Jonathan Hoare is a former government Advisor in the Department of Agriculture, Food & the Marine As Nebraska emerges from pandemic restrictions related to coronavirus, the Legislature is preparing to return to Lincoln to complete the last 17 days of the legislative session for the year. There are several priorities they will consider in the short time remaining, but one looms large: property tax relief. Over the last five years, the State has made progress in delivering relief from high local property taxes for hardworking Nebraskans. In 2019, Senators and I delivered significant tax relief by increasing the property tax credit relief fund by over 20 percent. That fund has nearly doubled during my time as Governor, from $140 million to $275 million per year. This is direct property tax relief from the state credited on your property tax statement. While the State has made progress, Nebraska remains at a competitive disadvantage. In my travels across the state, Nebraskans consistently name property tax relief as their number one concern. Given the negative impact that high property taxes are having on Nebraskas working families, both rural and urban, property tax relief remains my number one priority for the Legislature as it reconvenes. This year, LB1106 is the vehicle for property tax relief. If approved, it will provide significant state resources to schools while controlling their spending. Nebraskas farmers and ranchers pay more in property taxes than any of our neighboring states. In fact, the latest Census of Agriculture report by the U.S. Department of Agriculture shows that Nebraskas property taxes on ag producers rank second in the nation only to California. Given the low commodity prices, flooding, and other factors that have compounded pressures on our family farms and ranches, higher property taxes have added another burden making it difficult for farm families to make ends meet. Ag producers arent the only ones hurt by high taxes. A Wallet Hub study released in February showed Nebraska has the 8th heaviest overall property tax burden in the country. Nebraskans pay an effective property tax rate that is higher than every single one of our neighboring states. Our rate is 234% higher than Colorado, 190% higher than Wyoming, 82% higher than Missouri, 45% higher than South Dakota, 26% higher than Kansas, and 13% higher than Iowa. As we work on property tax relief, its important to remember who has the authority to raise and lower your property taxes. Property taxes are exclusively collected and spent by local political subdivisions such as schools, counties, cities, community colleges, and natural resources districts. Of these units of government, schools collect and spend roughly 60% of property taxes. Nebraska schools spend $12,491 per student far more per student on K-12 education than surrounding states. Thats $759 more per pupil than Iowa, $838 more than Kansas; $1,681 more than Missouri; and over $2,200 more per student than either South Dakota or Colorado! While many agree we need property tax relief, the challenge for Senators will be to come to agreement on a plan. A clear majority of Senators support property tax relief, however, in the Unicameral a two-thirds supermajority (33 out of 49 Senators) is needed to pass major legislation. If you want to see property tax relief this session, its important that they hear from you. You can find State Senator contact information at www.NebraskaLegislature.gov. There are special interests that will make arguments to try and defeat property tax relief. Nebraska, however, remains in a strong position to make progress on this critical issue. So far, our economy has been the most lightly affected by pandemic-related restrictions. We have the lowest unemployment rate in the nation, and our GDP was the least affected among all states in the first quarter of the year. Additionally, tax receipts through 11 months of the fiscal year which ended June 30, 2020 were tracking to the forecast of July 2019. This is despite the fact that a significant portion of projected income taxes were deferred to the new fiscal year starting July 1st. Failure to act on LB1106 would have far-reaching consequences beyond higher property tax bills. Many Senators and I believe that we must deliver property tax relief for Nebraska families before we consider corporate incentives. Thus, a failure to move on property taxes would risk our business tax incentives and a major project for the University of Nebraska Medical Center. As we enter the final days of the legislative session, we are at a critical moment for our states future. I will continue to work with Senators, so we can come together around a plan that moves property tax relief forward to grow our state. I urge Nebraskans to engage their Senators on these important issues as they return to work here at the State Capitol. If you have questions about the current tax relief package or any other matter, you are always welcome to email pete.ricketts@nebraska.gov or call 402-471-2244. Pete Ricketts is the governor of Nebraska. The first flight from India under the so-called air bubble arrangement will take off from Delhis Indira Gandhi International Airport (IGIA) at 1.15 am on Wednesday for Washington. The same day, a flight from Washington will also be the first one to land at the IGIA under the newly announced bilateral arrangement. Last Thursday, union civil aviation minister Hardeep Puri had announced that Air France and United Airlines of the US will operate a limited number of international flights under so-called air bubble arrangements with India. The bilateral air bubble refers to a travel corridor between two countries that wish to reopen their borders and re-establish connections with each other. Also read: France, US establish air bubbles for flights to India The bilateral air bubble refers to a travel corridor between two countries that wish to reopen their borders and re-establish connections with each other. Under the new arrangement, while Air France will operate 28 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Paris from July 22 till August 1; United Airlines will operate 18 flights between Delhi, Mumbai, Newark and San Francisco from July 22 until July 31. Since Indian air space was closed in March to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease pandemic, only repatriation or rescue flights for Indians stranded overseas have operated from India to international destinations Some foreign airlines operated similar flights to India. Flights under the air bubbles initiative will be first of its kind which anyone willing to fly to destinations covered under the agreement can avail as per the laid-down procedures, a civil aviation ministry official said on condition of anonymity. Also read | Air bubbles only way forward for international travel during pandemic: Hardeep Puri International flights to and from India have been suspended since March 23 as the coronavirus disease (Covid-19) pandemic spread across the world. Limited domestic flights have since resumed. MANILA, Philippines The conduct of a limited number of protests during President Rodrigo Dutertes fifth State of the Nation Address (SONA) next week will be allowed in Quezon City, Mayor Joy Belmonte said on Tuesday. In a virtual press briefing, Belmonte said demonstrations with limited number of participants will be allowed but would have to comply with the minimum health standards such as the mandatory wearing of face masks and the observance of physical distancing. She also reminded demonstrators who wish to join protests on Monday, July 27, to coordinate with the city government and the police to get a permit as provided for under the law. Belmonte warned that protesters will be dispersed if they fail to comply with the rules. We will be very strict in ensuring that all of these protesters or demonstrators or rallyist will be complying with minimum health standards. Otherwise, we have to right to of course remind them or disperse them peacefully of course kung nakikita natin na nagiging public health hazard na po sila, she said. RRD (with details from Correspondent Joan Nano) The post QC govt to allow limited physical rallies on day of SONA appeared first on UNTV News. Aerospace firm Bombardier in Belfast has signed up to the Ministry of Defence Team Tempest alliance to work on new forms of fighter jets. It's one of seven firms who will work on the 1.9bn Future Combat Air System to develop next generation combat aircraft, known as Tempest. It is to replace the Typhoon war plane. A spokeswoman for Bombardier said: "We are pleased to have signed this agreement and are looking forward to future opportunities with Team Tempest." Economy Minister Diane Dodds also welcomed the involvement of Bombardier, which has signed up along with GEUK, GKN, Collins Aerospace, Martin Baker, QinetiQ and Thales UK. The involvement of Bombardier in Team Tempest is good news after it announced up to 600 job losses among its 3.500-strong workforce. It's also lost work on the A320neo nacelle project for Airbus. Defence Secretary Ben Wallace announced the newest members of Team Tempest at the virtual 2020 Farnborough International Airshow. Mr Wallace said the companies "will bring the ambition, invention and expertise that will deliver the breakthroughs we will depend on for decades to come". "These pioneers will strengthen our ability to develop a next generation aircraft and allow us to continue making vital contributions to UK, European and global security," he explained. The new members of Team Tempest will work with core members such as BAE Systems and Leonardo UK. F ashion designer Dame Vivienne Westwood sat in a birdcage outside the Old Bailey this morning in a stunt to support Wikileaks founder Julian Assange. Dame Vivienne used a megaphone to call for Assange's immediate release, insisting: "This is the most important thing in the world." She wore a yellow trouser suit for the protest, said to evoke the canary in a cage used to test for poisonous gases in a coal mine as well as be a representation of Assange's plight. Assange is currently being detained at HMP Belmarsh while fighting extradition to the USA. He is wanted for alleged espionage over the leak of around 250,000 confidential security cables relating to the Iraq and Afghan wars, but insists it is a politically-motivated prosecution of a journalist. Dame Vivienne, a long-time supporter of Assange, called the case a "stitch-up" and told the crowd this morning: "It's not a crime to tell the truth." Dame Vivienne Westwood protest for Julian Assange at Old Bailey 1 /14 Dame Vivienne Westwood protest for Julian Assange at Old Bailey Dame Vivienne Westwood is suspended 10 Feet high inside giant bird cage in protest for Julian Assange at Old Bailey Getty Images Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Nigel Howard Reuters Nigel Howard PA She argued Assange had published information of public importance which was being kept secret, in the same way journalists do on a daily basis. "This is the most important thing in the world because the world is riddled with corruption, and we are all going to die from climate change and political financial corruption." She said the cage "represents the space Julian will inhabit if he is extradited to the US. Caged: Dame Vivienne during her protest / Nigel Howard For the rest of his life he will become a symbol of what happens to you if you dare to expose the truth." Making a point: Dame Vivienne / Nigel Howard The stunt took place in the street outside the Old Bailey, where Assange's case is expected to resume in September. It has been delayed by four months by the coronavirus pandemic, with three weeks of evidence and legal argument still to be heard. Assange has missed his last three court appearances, citing ill-health. District Judge Vanessa Baraitser has said he must appear in court on July 27 or produce a doctor's note to explain his absence. Due to COVID-19 first half results are more representative of underlying performance than Q2, sales growth of 6% (cc 1 , +3% USD) and core operating income growth of 19% (cc, +14% USD): Innovative Medicines grew sales 7% (cc, +5% USD) and core operating income 16% (cc, +11% USD) Sandoz grew sales 1% (cc, -2% USD) and core operating income 26% (cc, +19% USD) Net sales in Q2 from continuing operations 2 declined 1% (cc, -4% USD) largely reversing forward purchasing from Q1: Key products continue growth, despite COVID-19, including: Zolgensma USD 205 million, Entresto USD 580 million (+40% cc), Cosentyx USD 944 million (+12% cc), Promacta/Revolade USD 422 million (+23% cc), Piqray USD 79 million and Kymriah USD 118 million (+103% cc) Sandoz Biopharmaceuticals grew 19% (cc, +16% USD), with double digit growth in the EU and US COVID-19 negatively impacted demand, particularly: Lucentis and mature ophthalmology (approximately USD 0.3 billion), new patient starts in dermatology and Sandoz retail Q2 core operating income grew 6% (cc, +1% USD) due to lower spending and improved gross margin, driven by productivity and product mix, partly offset by lower sales due to lower spending and improved gross margin, driven by productivity and product mix, partly offset by lower sales Q2 net income declined 4% (cc, -11% USD) mainly due to higher impairments mainly due to higher impairments Q2 free cash flow 1 of USD 3.6 billion (+1%), as favorable working capital offset divestments in prior year as favorable working capital offset divestments in prior year Key Innovation Milestones: Tabrecta approved in US for treatment of metastatic NSCLC with exon 14 skipping mutation Cosentyx approved in EU and US for treatment of active nr-axSpA Zolgensma IV conditionally approved in EU for SMA children up to 21kg Enerzair received EC approval for treatment of uncontrolled asthma Entresto, Tabrecta, Mayzent, Enerzair and Atectura simultaneously approved in Japan Resolved legacy legal matters, including the settlements related to FCPA and US speaker programs 2020 guidance3 for continuing operations tightened within prior guidance ranges - Net sales expected to grow mid single digit; core operating income expected to grow low double digit Basel, July 21, 2020 - commenting on the quarter, Vas Narasimhan, CEO of Novartis, said: "Novartis performed strongly in the first half, despite the impact from COVID-19, demonstrating the resilience and agility of our associates and operations. We continued to advance our broad range of efforts to support the COVID-19 pandemic response. Our growth drivers and launches continue their strong momentum, with Cosentyx and Entresto increasing market share in the US. We are on track to deliver on our commitment to drive consistent margin expansion and are excited by the progress of our deep mid to late stage pipeline to drive long-term growth". Key Figures Continuing Operations Q2 2020 Q2 2019 % change H1 2020 H1 2019 % change USD m USD m USD cc USD m USD m USD cc Net sales 11 347 11 764 -4 -1 23 630 22 870 3 6 Operating income 2 352 2 663 -12 -4 5 096 4 905 4 11 Net income 1 867 2 109 -11 -4 4 040 3 977 2 9 EPS (USD) 0,82 0,91 -10 -3 1,77 1,72 3 11 Free cash flow 3 631 3 612 1 5 652 5 481 3 Core operating income 3 669 3 648 1 6 7 846 6 902 14 19 Core net income 3 108 3 096 0 5 6 657 5 907 13 18 Core EPS (USD) 1,36 1,34 1 6 2,92 2,55 15 19 1 Constant currencies (cc), core results and free cash flow are non-IFRS measures. An explanation of non-IFRS measures can be found on page 54 of the Condensed Interim Financial Report. Unless otherwise noted, all growth rates in this Release refer to same period in prior year. 2 Refers to continuing operations as defined on page 42 of the Condensed Interim Financial Report, excludes Alcon, includes the businesses of Innovative Medicines and Sandoz, as well as the continuing corporate functions. 3 Please see detailed guidance assumptions on page 8 including the forecast assumption that we see a continuation of the return to normal global healthcare systems including prescription dynamics, particularly ophthalmology, in H2 2020. In addition, we assume that no Gilenya and no Sandostatin LAR generics enter in 2020 in the US. COVID-19 Update The COVID-19 situation continues to evolve and is taking differing courses across the multitude of geographies that Novartis operates in. Our primary concerns remain the health and safety of our associates and patients while we also continue to take strong actions to help address the pandemic. During the second quarter, COVID-19 had an impact on our business with forward purchasing from the first quarter largely reversing. Despite this our operations remain stable with record high customer service levels. Our cash collections continue to be according to our normal trade terms, and days sales outstanding at normal levels. Our product portfolio remains resilient despite COVID-19 negatively impacting sales in April and May, particularly: Lucentis and mature ophthalmology, new patient starts in dermatology and Sandoz retail. Sales were mostly affected by lower new patient starts and significant reduction in patient visits to physicians. This impact showed improvement in the latter part of the quarter. Novartis is closely monitoring the situation and will provide an update with Q3 results. We implemented and embraced new ways of working, which include less travel and meeting costs. Novartis remains well positioned to meet its ongoing financial obligations and has sufficient liquidity to support our normal business activities. At present drug development operations are continuing with manageable disruptions, with our SENSE and Site Cockpit digital technologies allowing us to proactively manage our clinical trials portfolio and rapidly mitigate site-level disruptions. Thus far, these measures have limited COVID-related impacts to our expected submission timelines over the next several years. Phase III clinical trials evaluating canakinumab in patients with pneumonia as a result of SARS-CoV-2 infection, and ruxolitinib in combination with standard of care compared to SoC alone, in collaboration with Incyte, are continuing. Data readouts from these studies are expected in the second half of 2020. We continue to support 35+ ongoing investigator-initiated trials involving 10 Novartis medicines. In July, Novartis launched a first-of-its-kind not-for-profit portfolio of medicines for symptomatic treatment of COVID-19. The new portfolio of 15 medicines from the Sandoz division addresses urgent unmet needs of low and lower middle income countries to treat patients with COVID-19 symptoms. The portfolio will be sold at no profit to governments in up to 79 eligible low and lower middle income countries during the pandemic and until a vaccine or curative treatment is available. Resolving legacy legal matters We are continuing our long term journey to build trust with society and during the second quarter we resolved some of our legacy compliance issues. We finalized our USD 678 million settlement relating to a civil suit challenging speaker programs and other promotional events conducted in the US (2002 - 2011) as well as USD 51 million related to the company's support of certain independent charitable co-pay foundations (2010 - 2014). Provisions for these settlements were previously made. Novartis has agreed to new corporate integrity obligations with the US Department of Health & Human Services that will mean we will continue to evolve our approach to peer-to-peer medical education. Such education will transition towards a digital format in keeping with the changes that we have made and seen to be effective in recent months. All Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA) investigations into Novartis are now closed with the settlement that we have reached with the US Department of Justice (DOJ) and the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). As part of the settlements, Novartis and certain of its current and former subsidiaries agreed to pay USD 234 million to the DOJ and USD 113 million to the SEC. Financials In order to comply with International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS), Novartis has separated the Group's reported financial data into "continuing" and "discontinued" operations. The results of the Alcon business in 2019 are reported as discontinued operations. See page 42 and Notes 2, 3 and 10 in the Condensed Interim Financial Report for a full explanation. The commentary below focuses on continuing operations including the businesses of Innovative Medicines and Sandoz, as well as the continuing Corporate functions. We also provide information on discontinued operations. Continuing operations second quarter Net sales were USD 11.3 billion (-4%, -1% cc) in the second quarter. Volume contributed 5 percentage points to sales growth driven by Entresto, Zolgensma and Cosentyx, partly offset by the impacts of COVID-19. Volume growth was offset by price erosion of 3 percentage points and negative impact from generic competition of 3 percentage points. Operating income was USD 2.4 billion (-12%, -4% cc) mainly due to lower sales and higher impairments partly offset by lower spending and improved gross margin. Net income was USD 1.9 billion (-11%, -4% cc) mainly due to lower operating income. EPS was USD 0.82 (-10%, -3% cc), decreasing less than net income benefiting from lower weighted average number of shares outstanding. Core operating income was USD 3.7 billion (+1%, +6% cc) due to lower spending and improved gross margin, driven by productivity and product mix, partly offset by lower sales. Core operating income margin was 32.3% of net sales, increasing by 1.3 percentage points (+2.1 percentage points cc). Core net income was USD 3.1 billion (0%, +5% cc) mainly driven by growth in core operating income. Core EPS was USD 1.36 (+1%, +6% cc), growing faster than core net income benefiting from lower weighted average number of shares outstanding. Free cash flow from continuing operations amounted to USD 3.6 billion (+1%), broadly in line with the prior year quarter, as favorable working capital was offset by lower divestment proceeds. Innovative Medicines net sales were USD 9.2 billion (-1%, +1% cc). Pharmaceuticals BU sales grew 1% (cc), as the launch uptake of Zolgensma and continuing momentum on Entresto and Cosentyx were mostly offset by the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in ophthalmology and new patient starts in dermatology. Oncology BU grew 1% (cc) as the continuing momentum on Promacta/Revolade, Kymriah, Kisqali and Tafinlar + Mekinist as well as the launch uptake of Piqray was mostly offset by generic competition for Afinitor and Exjade and the negative impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in radioligand therapy. Generic competition had a negative impact of 4 percentage points, mainly driven by Afinitor, Exjade and Travatan, and net pricing had a negative impact of 4 percentage points. Volume contributed 9 percentage points to sales growth. Sandoz net sales were USD 2.2 billion (-11%, -9% cc) as volume declined 9 percentage points (cc) and pricing was in line with prior year, benefiting from favorable revenue deduction adjustments. The sales decline was due to COVID-19 negative impacts, mainly the reversal of Q1 forward purchasing and lower retail demand, some contract discontinuations in the US and a higher prior year base that included several first to market launches. The decline was partly offset by global sales of biopharmaceuticals growing 19% (cc), driven by double digit growth in Europe and the US. Continuing operations first half Net sales were USD 23.6 billion (+3%, +6% cc) in the first half mainly driven by Entresto,Zolgensma and Cosentyx. Volume contributed 11 percentage points to sales growth, despite being impacted by COVID-19. Strong volume growth was partly offset by price erosion of 3 percentage points and negative impact from generic competition of 2 percentage points. Operating income was USD 5.1 billion (+4%, +11% cc) mainly driven by sales growth and lower legal expenses, partly offset by higher amortization and lower divestments. Net income was USD 4.0 billion (+2%, +9% cc) mainly driven by higher operating income, partly offset by higher financial expenses. EPS was USD 1.77 (+3%, +11% cc), growing faster than net income benefiting from lower weighted average number of shares outstanding. Core operating income was USD 7.8 billion (+14%, +19% cc) mainly driven by higher sales and improved gross margin, partly offset by launch investments. Core operating income margin was 33.2% of net sales, increasing by 3.0 percentage points (+3.8 percentage points cc). Core net income was USD 6.7 billion (+13%, +18% cc) mainly driven by growth in core operating income. Core EPS was USD 2.92 (+15%, +19% cc), growing faster than core net income benefiting from lower weighted average number of shares outstanding. Free cash flow from continuing operations amounted to USD 5.7 billion (+3%) compared to USD 5.5 billion in the prior year period. This increase was mainly driven by higher operating income adjusted for non-cash items and other adjustments, partly offset by lower divestment proceeds. Innovative Medicines net sales were USD 18.9 billion (+5%, +7% cc). Pharmaceuticals BU grew 8% (cc) driven by Entresto (+50% cc), Zolgensma (USD 0.4 billion), Cosentyx (+15% cc) and the Xiidra acquisition, partly offset by declines in Lucentis and other ophthalmology products, driven mainly by lower demand due to COVID-19. Oncology BU grew 6% (cc) driven by Promacta/Revolade (+28% cc), Piqray (USD 0.2 billion) and Kisqali (+64% cc). Volume contributed 13 percentage points to sales growth. Generic competition had a negative impact of 3 percentage points. Net pricing had a negative impact of 3 percentage points. Sandoz net sales were USD 4.7 billion (-2%, +1% cc). Volume growth of 3 percentage points (cc), partially offset by 2 percentage points (cc) of price erosion, benefiting from favorable revenue deduction adjustments. Sales in Europe grew 5% (cc), while sales in the US declined 12%, driven by oral solids. Global sales of Biopharmaceuticals grew 25% (cc), driven by strong double digit growth in Europe and the US. Discontinued operations Discontinued operations include the business of Alcon and certain corporate costs directly attributable to Alcon up to the spin-off date. As the Alcon spin-off was completed on April 9, 2019, the first half of the prior year includes three months of operating results of the divested business. In the first half of 2020, there were no activities related to discontinued operations. In the first half of 2019, discontinued operations net sales were USD 1.8 billion, operating income amounted to USD 71 million and net income from discontinued operations was USD 4.6 billion, including the non-taxable non-cash net gain on distribution of Alcon Inc. to Novartis AG shareholders which amounted to USD 4.7 billion. For further details see Note 2 "Distribution of Alcon Inc. to Novartis AG shareholders", Note 3 "Significant transactions - Completion of the spin-off of the Alcon business through a dividend in kind distribution to Novartis AG shareholders" and Note 10 "Discontinued operations". Total Group first half For the total Group, net income amounted to USD 4.0 billion compared to USD 8.6 billion in prior year, including the non-taxable non-cash net gain on distribution of Alcon Inc. Basic earnings per share was USD 1.77 compared to USD 3.70 in prior year. Cash flow from operating activities for the total Group amounted to USD 6.5 billion and free cash flow to USD 5.7 billion. Key growth drivers Underpinning our financial results in the quarter is a continued focus on key growth drivers (ranked in order of contribution to Q2 growth) including: Zolgensma (USD 205 million) driven by US sales as newborn screening continues to progress with 28 states representing 60% of newborns. Additional growth was driven by geographic expansion outside of US. Entresto (USD 580 million, +40% cc) delivered sustained growth and increased market share, driven by demand as the essential first choice therapy for HF patients. Cosentyx (USD 944 million, +12% cc) continued growth across indications and grew market share in the US. Growth was impacted by COVID-19 related disruption to dermatology and rheumatology practices. Promacta/Revolade (USD 422 million, +23% cc) grew at a double digit rate in most regions driven by increased use in chronic immune thrombocytopenia (ITP) and as first-line treatment for severe aplastic anemia (SAA) in the US. Xiidra (USD 79 million) was impacted by COVID-19 related disruption as ophthalmology visits declined significantly. Piqray (USD 79 million) grew in the US driven by strong demand. Kymriah (USD 118 million, +103% cc) grew strongly in Europe and US. More than 240 qualified treatment centers and 25 countries have coverage for at least one indication. The EMA approved manufacturing at Novartis owned facilities in Stein, Switzerland. Kisqali (USD 159 million, +49% cc) continued strong double-digit growth driven by demand in all geographies, benefiting from the impact of positive overall survival data from two pivotal Phase III trials (MONALEESA-7 and MONALEESA-3). Tafinlar + Mekinist (USD 371 million, +12% cc) continued to show growth driven by demand in adjuvant melanoma as well as NSCLC. Beovu (USD 34 million) is approved in more than 30 countries. Post marketing cases termed as "retinal vasculitis" and/or "retinal vascular occlusion" that may result in severe vision loss, typically associated with intraocular inflammation and the current COVID-19 situation had an unfavorable impact on US sales. Mayzent (USD 34 million) grew vs. Q1'20 despite new patients starts being impacted by COVID-19. Patient uptake showed signs of improvement towards the end of Q2. Adakveo (USD 21 million) US launch is progressing well, with close to 100% brand awareness among hematologists. Payer coverage is expanding, including published Medicaid policies in 19 states and 85% coverage among commercial plans. The permanent J-code took effect July 1. Biopharmaceuticals (USD 466 million, +19% cc) driven by continued double digit growth in Europe and the US (Biosimilars, biopharmaceutical contract manufacturing and Glatopa). Emerging Growth Markets Which comprises all markets except the US, Canada, Western Europe, Japan, Australia and New Zealand, sales grew 5% (cc) including China (USD 625 million), which grew 20% (cc). Net sales of the top 20 Innovative Medicines products in 2020 Q2 2020 % change H1 2020 % change USD m USD cc USD m USD cc Cosentyx 944 10 12 1 874 14 15 Gilenya 738 -11 -9 1 510 -5 -4 Entresto 580 38 40 1 149 48 50 Tasigna 480 3 5 967 7 9 Lucentis 401 -25 -24 888 -17 -15 Promacta/Revolade 422 21 23 825 26 28 Tafinlar + Mekinist 371 9 12 737 16 19 Sandostatin 341 -15 -13 715 -10 -8 Jakavi 310 9 14 628 16 20 Gleevec/Glivec 288 -11 -8 617 -2 0 Galvus Group 279 -13 -8 617 -3 1 Xolair 289 0 4 596 4 8 Afinitor/Votubia 266 -34 -33 562 -27 -26 Diovan Group 268 -5 0 542 0 4 Exforge Group 238 -10 -5 496 -7 -3 Ilaris 200 21 23 413 31 33 Zolgensma 205 nm nm 375 nm nm Exjade/Jadenu 163 -36 -35 335 -32 -31 Votrient 162 -16 -14 328 -14 -12 Kisqali 159 43 49 320 58 64 Top 20 products total 7 104 0 2 14 494 6 8 nm = not meaningful R&D Update - key developments from the second quarter New approvals and regulatory update Zolgensma IV formulation IT formulation Received EU conditional approval for patients with SMA and a clinical diagnosis of Type 1 or SMA patients with up to three copies of the SMN2 gene. The approval covers babies and young children with SMA up to 21 kg. Commercial product was made available in the EU from July 1. Continued dialogue with FDA on partial clinical hold. Plan to approach FDA for pre-BLA meeting with a BLA submission in 2021. Tabrecta (Capmatinib) Tabrecta (formerly INC280) is the first and only therapy approved by the FDA to specifically target metastatic NSCLC with a mutation that leads to MET exon 14 skipping (METex14). Approximately 4,000-5,000 patients are diagnosed with METex14 metastatic NSCLC each year in the US and may face poor prognoses due to presence of the mutation. Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149) Received EC approval in July, as the first-in-class inhaled LABA/LAMA/ICS combination for uncontrolled asthma, including the first digital companion that can be prescribed with a treatment for uncontrolled asthma in the EU. Cosentyx Received US and EU approval for treatment of patients with non-radiographic axSpA, the fourth indication after moderate to severe plaque psoriasis, psoriatic arthritis and ankylosing spondylitis. Cosentyx also received a positive CHMP opinion for the treatment of pediatric psoriasis. China health authority NMPA approved Cosentyx for the treatment of adults with ankylosing spondylitis. Piqray Piqray in combination with fulvestrant received a positive CHMP opinion to treat HR+/HER2- advanced breast cancer with a PIK3CA mutation. Ilaris Granted a new indication in the US for active Still's disease including Adult-Onset Still's Disease (AOSD). This is the first FDA-approved treatment for AOSD. Xolair Received a positive CHMP opinion for treatment of adults with severe chronic rhinosinusitis with nasal polyps (CRSwNP) inadequately controlled with intranasal corticosteroids. Beovu FDA approved label update to include additional safety information. The update includes characterization of adverse events, retinal vasculitis and retinal vascular occlusion, as part of the spectrum of intraocular inflammation observed in the HAWK and HARRIER trials and noted in the original prescribing information. Ofatumumab FDA extended its review of the sBLA for ofatumumab, a self-administered, targeted B-cell therapy for patients with relapsing multiple sclerosis. Regulatory action is now expected in September 2020. Entresto Tabrecta Mayzent Enerzair Atectura Japan MHLW simultaneously approved five new treatments for Japanese patients. Entresto in chronic heart failure Tabrecta for METex14 mutation-positive advanced and/or recurrent unresectable NSCLC Mayzent in secondary progressive MS Enerzair (glycopyrronium bromide, indacaterol acetate, mometasone furoate) Atectura (indacaterol acetate, mometasone furoate) in different forms of asthma. Regulatory submissions and filings Entresto HFpEF File accepted in the US. Xiidra EU Filing has been withdrawn following objections raised by the CHMP during the application process that Novartis recognized could not be resolved within the available timeframe. Results from ongoing trials and other highlights Beovu A post-hoc analysis presented at ARVO showed that lower levels of any fluid (intra-retinal fluid, sub-retinal fluid or pigment-epithelial detachment volume) were associated with better visual outcomes, suggesting that all three fluids are relevant for visual outcomes in wet AMD. In the post-hoc analysis, more patients on Beovu experienced reduced levels of fluid. Cosentyx Phase III PREVENT data show Cosentyx 150 mg provided significant and sustained improvement in signs and symptoms of non-radiographic axial spondyloarthritis (nr-axSpA) up to Week 52. Ofatumumab A post hoc analysis presented at European Academy of Neurology showed 47.0% and 87.8% of patients treated with ofatumumab achieved no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) within the first (0-12 months) and second year (12-24 months) of treatment, respectively. Kisqali MONALEESA-7 and MONALEESA-3 subgroup analysis presented during the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program showed Kisqali plus endocrine therapy extended life compared to endocrine therapy for patients with liver metastases - showing ~47% and 37% reduction in the risk of death in M7 and M3, respectively. Tafinlar + Mekinist 5-year data presented at the 2020 ASCO Virtual Scientific Program showed more than half of patients with BRAF-mutated advanced melanoma taking Tafinlar + Mekinist were alive and free of a relapse. Enerzair Breezhaler (QVM149) Phase IIIb ARGON study met primary endpoint, demonstrating non-inferiority in improving quality of life in people with uncontrolled asthma compared to a free combination of two existing inhaled treatments, twice-daily Sal/Flu plus once-daily tiotropium (Tio). Adriforant (ZPL389) Based on a full review of an interim analysis of the Phase IIb ZEST trial, the efficacy data did not meet the pre-specified criteria to pursue adriforant (ZPL389) clinical trials in atopic dermatitis. The recommendation to stop the trial was not based on any safety concerns. Capital structure and net debt Retaining a good balance between investment in the business, a strong capital structure and attractive shareholder returns remains a priority. During the first half of 2020, 25.6 million shares (for an equity value of USD 1.2 billion) were delivered as a result of options exercised and share deliveries related to participation plans of associates. In the same period, 1.6 million shares (for an equity value of USD 0.1 billion) were repurchased from associates. Consequently, the total number of shares outstanding increased by 24.0 million versus December 31, 2019. Novartis aims to offset the dilutive impact from equity based participation plans of associates over the remainder of the year. These treasury share transactions resulted in an equity increase of USD 1.1 billion and a net cash inflow of USD 0.7 billion, mainly related to option proceeds. In the second quarter of 2020, Novartis repaid the USD 1.0 billion, 4.4% coupon bond issued in March 2010 at maturity. As of June 30, 2020, the net debt increased by USD 10.6 billion to USD 26.5 billion versus December 31, 2019. The increase was mainly driven by the acquisition of The Medicines Company for USD 9.6 billion and the USD 7.0 billion annual dividend payment, partly offset by USD 5.7 billion free cash flow during the first half of 2020. As of Q2 2020, the long-term credit rating for the company is A1 with Moody's Investors Service and AA- with S&P Global Ratings. The Group has not experienced liquidity or cash flow disruptions during the first half of 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We believe that Novartis is well positioned to meet its ongoing financial obligations and has sufficient liquidity to support our normal business activities. 2020 Outlook Barring unforeseen events Continuing operations(Excluding Alcon from both 2019 and 2020) Net Sales Expected to grow mid single digit (cc) From a divisional perspective, we expect net sales performance (cc) in 2020 to be as follows: Innovative Medicines: expected to grow mid single digit Sandoz: expected to grow low single digit Core operating income Expected to grow low double digit (cc) Our guidance assumes that we see a continuation of the return to normal global healthcare systems including prescription dynamics, particularly ophthalmology, in H2 2020. In addition, we assume that no Gilenya and no Sandostatin LAR generics enter in 2020 in the US. Foreign exchange impact If mid-July exchange rates prevail for the remainder of 2020, the foreign exchange impact for the year would be negative 1 to 2 percentage points on net sales and negative 4 percentage points on core operating income. The estimated impact of exchange rates on our results is provided monthly on our website. Key Figures Continuing operations Q2 2020 Q2 2019 % change H1 2020 H1 2019 % change USDm USDm USD cc USDm USDm USD cc Net sales 11 347 11 764 -4 -1 23 630 22 870 3 6 Operating income 2 352 2 663 -12 -4 5 096 4 905 4 11 As a % of sales 20.7 22.6 21.6 21.4 Core operating income 3 669 3 648 1 6 7 846 6 902 14 19 As a % of sales 32.3 31.0 33.2 30.2 Net income 1 867 2 109 -11 -4 4 040 3 977 2 9 EPS (USD) 0.82 0.91 -10 -3 1.77 1.72 3 11 Core net income 3 108 3 096 0 5 6 657 5 907 13 18 Core EPS (USD) 1.36 1.34 1 6 2.92 2.55 15 19 Cash flows from operating activities 3 961 3 111 27 6 489 5 445 19 Free cash flow 3 631 3 612 1 5 652 5 481 3 Innovative Medicines Q2 2020 Q2 2019 % change H1 2020 H1 2019 % change USDm USDm USD cc USDm USDm USD cc Net sales 9 188 9 326 -1 1 18 943 18 106 5 7 Operating income 2 033 2 564 -21 -15 4 788 4 673 2 9 As a % of sales 22.1 27.5 25.3 25.8 Core operating income 3 301 3 306 0 5 6 908 6 228 11 16 As a % of sales 35.9 35.4 36.5 34.4 Sandoz Q2 2020 Q2 2019 % change H1 2020 H1 2019 % change USDm USDm USD cc USDm USDm USD cc Net sales 2 159 2 438 -11 -9 4 687 4 764 -2 1 Operating income 321 282 14 25 276 555 -50 -40 As a % of sales 14.9 11.6 5.9 11.6 Core operating income 475 501 -5 1 1 148 962 19 26 As a % of sales 22.0 20.5 24.5 20.2 Corporate Q2 2020 Q2 2019 % change H1 2020 H1 2019 % change USDm USDm USD cc USDm USDm USD cc Operating loss / income -2 -183 nm nm 32 -323 nm nm Core operating loss -107 -159 33 34 -210 -288 27 28 Discontinued operations Q2 2020 Q2 2019 % change H1 2020 H1 2019 % change USDm USDm USD cc USDm USDm USD cc Net sales 1 777 Operating income 71 Core operating income 350 Net Income 4 691 4 590 Total Group Q2 2020 Q2 2019 % change H1 2020 H1 2019 % change USDm USDm USD cc USDm USDm USD cc Net income 1 867 6 800 -73 -70 4 040 8 567 -53 -49 EPS (USD) 0.82 2.94 -72 -70 1.77 3.70 -52 -49 Core net income 3 108 3 096 0 5 6 657 6 185 8 12 Core EPS (USD) 1.36 1.34 1 6 2.92 2.67 9 14 Cash flows from operating activities 3 961 3 111 27 6 489 5 523 17 Free cash flow 3 631 3 612 1 5 652 5 419 4 nm = not meaningful 1 Continuing operations include the businesses of Innovative Medicines and Sandoz Division including the US generic oral solids and dermatology portfolio as well as the continuing corporate functions and discontinued operations include the business of Alcon. See page 42 of the Condensed Interim Financial Report for full explanation. 2 Constant currencies (cc), core results and free cash flow are non-IFRS measures. An explanation of non-IFRS measures can be found on page 54 of the Condensed Interim Financial Report. Unless otherwise noted, all growth rates in this Release refer to same period in prior year. Detailed financial results accompanying this press release are included in the Condensed Interim Financial Report at the link below: https://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/resource/download/bed749ce-ebd9-4018-ab0d-27d775c7c2c8 (https://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/resource/download/bed749ce-ebd9-4018-ab0d-27d775c7c2c8) Disclaimer This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, that can generally be identified by words such as "continue," "growth," "expected," "to grow," "demonstrating," "to advance," "to support," "increasing," "to deliver," "to drive," "to evolve," "remain," "taking," "to take," "to help," "trends," "continuing," "allowing," "to start," " evaluating," "will," "until," "to build," "evolve," "launch," "continued," "continues," "to progress," "may," "retaining," "remains," "believe," "including," "can," "to create," "to find," "estimated," "impact," "ongoing," "submissions," "focus," "launches," "launch investments," "innovation," "potential," "guidance," "commitment," "pipeline," "aims," "momentum," "could," "would," "launched," "on track," "growing," "progressing," "expanding," "pending," "strongly," "priority," "filings," "outlook," "unforeseen," "forecast," "prevail," "enter," "to improve," "transformative," "innovative," "inventive," "manageable disruptions," "expect," "planned," "working," "monitoring," "anticipated," "continuously," "on track," or similar expressions, or by express or implied discussions regarding potential new products, potential new indications for existing products, potential product launches, or regarding potential future revenues from any such products; or regarding our estimates of the impact of past and future COVID-19 related forward purchasing on sales and on our performance; or regarding the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clinical trials, and research and development timelines; or regarding potential future, pending or announced transactions; regarding potential future sales or earnings of the Group or any of its divisions; or by discussions of strategy, plans, expectations or intentions; or regarding the Group's liquidity or cash flow positions and its ability to meet its ongoing financial obligations and operational needs; or regarding efforts to provide a not-for-profit portfolio of medicines for symptomatic treatment of COVID-19. Such forward-looking statements are based on the current beliefs and expectations of management regarding future events, and are subject to significant known and unknown risks and uncertainties. Should one or more of these risks or uncertainties materialize, or should underlying assumptions prove incorrect, actual results may vary materially from those set forth in the forward-looking statements. You should not place undue reliance on these statements. In particular, our expectations could be affected by, among other things: liquidity or cash flow disruptions affecting our ability to meet our ongoing financial obligations and to support our ongoing business activities; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on enrollment in, initiation and completion of our clinical trials in the future, and research and development timelines; the impact of a partial or complete failure of the return to normal global healthcare systems including prescription dynamics, particularly ophthalmology, in the second half of 2020; global trends toward healthcare cost containment, including ongoing government, payer and general public pricing and reimbursement pressures and requirements for increased pricing transparency; uncertainties regarding potential significant breaches of data security or data privacy, or disruptions of our information technology systems; regulatory actions or delays or government regulation generally, including potential regulatory actions or delays with respect to the development of the products described in this press release; the potential that the strategic benefits, synergies or opportunities expected from the transactions described, may not be realized or may be more difficult or take longer to realize than expected; the uncertainties in the research and development of new healthcare products, including clinical trial results and additional analysis of existing clinical data; our ability to obtain or maintain proprietary intellectual property protection, including the ultimate extent of the impact on Novartis of the loss of patent protection and exclusivity on key products that commenced in prior years and is expected to continue this year; safety, quality, data integrity, or manufacturing issues; uncertainties involved in the development or adoption of potentially transformational technologies and business models; uncertainties regarding actual or potential legal proceedings, investigations or disputes; our performance on environmental, social and governance measures; general political, economic and business conditions, including the effects of and efforts to mitigate pandemic diseases such as COVID-19; uncertainties regarding future global exchange rates; uncertainties regarding future demand for our products; and other risks and factors referred to in Novartis AG's current Form 20-F on file with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. Novartis is providing the information in this press release as of this date and does not undertake any obligation to update any forward-looking statements as a result of new information, future events or otherwise. All product names appearing in italics are trademarks owned by or licensed to Novartis Group companies. About Novartis Novartis is reimagining medicine to improve and extend people's lives. As a leading global medicines company, we use innovative science and digital technologies to create transformative treatments in areas of great medical need. In our quest to find new medicines, we consistently rank among the world's top companies investing in research and development. Novartis products reach nearly 800 million people globally and we are finding innovative ways to expand access to our latest treatments. About 110,000 people of more than 145 nationalities work at Novartis around the world. Find out more at https://www.novartis.com (https://www.novartis.com). Novartis will conduct a conference call with investors to discuss this news release today at 14:00 Central European time and 8:00 Eastern Time. A simultaneous webcast of the call for investors and other interested parties may be accessed by visiting the Novartis website. A replay will be available after the live webcast by visiting. https://www.novartis.com/investors/event-calendar (https://www.novartis.com/investors/event-calendar) Detailed financial results accompanying this press release are included in the condensed interim financial report at the link below. Additional information is provided on Novartis divisions and pipeline of selected compounds in late stage development and a copy of today's earnings call presentation can be found at. https://www.novartis.com/investors/event-calendar (https://www.novartis.com/investors/event-calendar) Important dates September 01, 2020 ESG investor day October 27, 2020 Third quarter results 2020 November 24, 2020 Capital Markets day Please find full media release in English attached and on the following link: Media release (PDF) (http://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/c3abc817-f573-4b44-9fa2-b4556b8d72ce) Further language versions are available through the following links: German version is available through the following link: ?Medienmitteilung (PDF) (https://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/31c99c1c-7f7e-4ecf-b2cd-1e45389b3fb0) French version is available through the following link: Communique aux medias (PDF) (https://ml-eu.globenewswire.com/Resource/Download/c043f4c9-3e40-4c27-aafc-212b9d2b680f) A long-awaited report published Tuesday on Russian influence in British politics criticised the British government for its slow response to Russian interference in the 2016 Brexit referendum, with its authors saying it was astonishing that no one sought to protect that democratic process. While the report from the parliament's Intelligence and Security Committee said it would be difficult - if not impossible - to prove allegations that Russia sought to influence the referendum, it was clear that the government was slow to recognise the existence of the threat" even after evidence emerged of Russian interference in the US elections back in 2014. As a result, the government did not take action to protect the UK''s process in 2016," the report said. The report's authors criticised the British government for actively avoiding looking into the Russian threat. Serious questions needed to be asked why ministers didn''t look into the issue, the authors said. The report says Russia sees Britain as one of its top intelligence targets in the West. It said Russian influence in the UK is the new normal, and said successive governments have welcomed Russian oligarchs with open arms. The report was finally published Tuesday after criticism that the government delayed its release for more than six months to shield Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party from embarrassment. It was originally submitted to Johnson on October 17. The government initially said the report couldn''t be published until it was reviewed for national security issues, which postponed its release until after the December 12 general election. Further holdups were caused by delays in appointing new members to the Intelligence and Security Committee. Finally, Johnson named five Conservative lawmakers to the nine-person panel in hopes his handpicked candidate would be chosen as chairman and block the report. The gambit failed when a renegade Conservative was chosen to head the committee with backing from opposition parties. The opposition Labour Party has accused the government of failing to publish the report because it would lead to further questions about links between Russia and the pro-Brexit campaign in the 2016 referendum on European Union membership, which Johnson helped lead. Another parliamentary panel - the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee - previously published the results of its own inquiry into disinformation and fake news, which called on election regulators and law enforcement to investigate reports that a British businessman with links to Russia donated 8.4 million pounds ($10.6 million) to the Brexit campaign. The National Crime Agency said in September that it found no evidence of criminal offenses related to the donation. The intelligence committee report covers the full range of the Russian threat to the UK, including election interference, espionage and targeted assassinations such as the attempt to kill former spy Sergei Skripal in the English city of Salisbury two years ago, said Dominic Grieve, who chaired the panel until he left the House of Commons after the election. The government's explanations for delaying the report are simply not credible, Grieve said in an interview with Britain's Channel 4 News. The report''s release comes only days after Britain, the United States and Canada accused hackers linked to Russian intelligence agencies of trying to steal information from researchers working on a potential coronavirus vaccine. C oronavirus will still be with us for decades even if we have a vaccine, experts have warned. Prof Sir Jeremy Farrar, director of the Wellcome Trust, told the Commons health and social care committee on Tuesday: "Things will not be done by Christmas. This infection is not going away, it's now a human endemic infection. The top scientist, a member of the Governments Sage advisory committee, added: "Even, actually, if we have a vaccine or very good treatments, humanity will still be living with this virus for very many, many years.... decades to come." The stark forecast is a blow for Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said last week that he hoped for a significant return to normality by Christmas. Lockdown is set to be eased again on August 1 to allow most remaining leisure venues to reopen, including indoor swimming pools, theatres, bowling alleys and beauty salons, and to encourage employers to reopen offices. Sir Jeremy Farrar warned the virus was here to stay / Parliament TV But Sir Jeremy warned against easing the curbs too quickly, insisting the summer was a crucial phase to reduce the chance of a second spike. "If we have any sense of complacency of 'this is behind us', then we will undoubtedly have a second wave, and we could easily be in the same situation again, he said. The warning was echoed by Prof Sir John Bell, an immunologist from the University of Oxford, who said the pathogen behind Covid-19 will never be fully defeated. "The reality is that this pathogen is here forever, it isn't going anywhere," he told MPs. Prof Sir John Bell, of Oxford University, said the virus would likely keep coming back / Parliament TV "Look at how much trouble they've had in eliminating, for example, polio, that eradication programme has been going on for 15 years and they're still not there. "So this is going to come and go, and we're going to get winters where we get a lot of this virus back in action. He said a continual cycle of vaccinations, and then more disease, and more vaccinations and more disease would last for decades. I think the idea that we're going to eliminate it across the population, that's just not realistic, he told MPs. The comments came hours after Oxford scientists revealed they had successfully completed the second phase of developing a Covid-19 vaccine. Details of the Oxford University vaccine phase 1/2 trial involving 1,077 healthy adults found that it induced strong antibody and T cell immune responses for up to day 56 of the on-going trial, results published in The Lancet showed. Ministers have already ordered 100 million doses of the vaccine from AstraZeneca, which is working with Oxford University, to be rushed out in the UK if it gets the all-clear. Loading.... Meanwhile, Prof Chris Whitty, England's chief medical officer, launched a staunch defence of the Government waiting until March 23 to lock down Britain, saying it was not a "huge" delay. On Tuesday Russia-occupation forces in Donbas handed over to Ukraine from the temporarily occupied territory another unidentified body of a serviceman, the press center of the JFO HQ reported. "Today, July 21, representatives of Russian occupation forces handed over another body of the fallen defender to the territory controlled by the government of Ukraine. For now the identity of the deceased has not been identified," the message on the Facebook page says. It is said that this is probably the third soldier who was still believed to be wounded after the murder of the marines on July 13 near Zaitseve, Donetsk region. "After the identification procedure, the completion of the forensic medical examination and registration of the relevant documents, by the forces of the Evacuation 200 search group, the body will be delivered to the burial place. The date of the hero's funeral to be announced," the JFO headquarters said. As reported, on July 13, Russian-led forces fired at a group of Ukrainian soldiers who were evacuating the body of an Armed Forces soldier near the village of Zaitseve. As a result of enemy fire, a military medic was killed, one soldier was wounded, and another was injured in combat. The bodies of the dead and the wounded soldier remained at the site of the shelling. Negotiations began with the OSCE SMM on their evacuation. On July 15, the body of a serviceman who died on July 13 near Zaitseve was returned from the temporarily occupied territory. The Prosecutor's Office of Donetsk region has begun a pretrial investigation into the violation of laws and customs of war, combined with premeditated murder, by representatives of Russian-led forces. On July 15, the body of a serviceman of the Armed Forces of Ukraine who died on July 13 near Zaitseve was returned from the temporarily occupied territory. It was later reported that the military doctor who died in Donbas was an Estonian citizen. On July 17, an unidentified body of a soldier was transferred to the government-controlled territory of Ukraine. With a partial lifting of the Coronavirus-led lockdown, there is a revival in hiring across sectors in India. The TeamLease Employment Outlook for H1 (April to September 2020) said that the hiring sentiment is showing early signs of revival. According to the report, this hiring sentiment which took a beating and sunk by 86 percentage points from the previous half-year is showing signs of gradual improvement since Unlock 1.0. Until Unlock 1.0, the hiring sentiment (intent to hire) for the current half-year was as low as 11 percent. As per the report, this has now improved to 18 percent. This edition of the Employment Outlook Report uses an Intent to Hire metric instead of the 'Net Employment Outlook'. For the current half-year, the 'Intent to Hire' metric is defined as the percentage of employers that are likely to hire employees during this period. This is different from the previous half-years, where the Intent to Hire metric was defined as the percent of employers that are likely to continue hiring at least the same number of employees in a given period. Out of the 21 sectors analysed barring for travel and hospitality, all the other sectors, though in varying degrees are positive about hiring according to the report. Some of the sectors leading in hiring intent are healthcare & pharmaceuticals, Knowledge Process Outsourcing (KPO), e-commerce & technology startups and educational services. With work from home becoming the new norm, the telecom sector is also seeing a rise in intent to hire with a 15 percent increase since Unlock 1.0. Among the various locations, Bengaluru leads the way with respect to hiring people. This is despite the fact that there has been a significant drop in hiring plans since the October 2019 to March 2020 period. Delhi, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Mumbai, and Kolkata are among the other leaders in the cities looking to hire. Locations like Chennai, Nagpur, Coimbatore, Kochi, and Indore are among cities with the least intent to hire. The report said that the biggest gainer of this marginal positivity in hiring is the blue-collar profile. Here, the hiring sentiment for blue-collar profiles has witnessed a 10 percent growth post-reopening of businesses. Further, as more companies look for talent who can steer ships out of troubled waters, the demand for senior-level is also witnessing a growth in this sentiment. The report also said that hands-on jobs like shop floor roles, repairs and maintenance, door delivery, and some heavy lifting roles are likely to have significant demand. For companies, the one good news is that the lockdown has brought down attrition levels. The COVID-19 crisis has resulted in a nearly across-the-board fall in attrition rates to half or even a fourth of the rates in the previous half-year period, the report showed. The biggest fall in the attrition rate to nearly a fourth or a third of the levels during the previous half-years has been in the travel & hospitality sector. This is followed by manufacturing engineering & infrastructure, construction & real estate, FMCG & D, logistics, retail and BPO/ITeS sectors. The general perception in the market is that it will be tough to find a stable job if one leaves their current employer amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. ZAMBOANGA CITY Eight villages in the southern Philippine province of Sulu are now free from the influence of the pro-ISIS group Abu Sayyaf... India reported 37,148 cases in the last 24 hours, taking the total to 11,55,191, according to the Health Ministry. This is the sixth consecutive day when cases increased by more than 30,000. India, which has a population over four times as big as the US', has conducted 14,381,303 tests in total, or just 10,175 tests per 1 million people. On a postive side, the early-stage human trial data has revealed that the vaccine candidate developed by AstraZeneca and is safe and induces immune response, with mild side effects in some participants, which the scientists say can be treated with the commonly available pain medication paracetamol. This is indeed raising hopes it could contribute to ending the pandemic. Medical experts in India on Monday hailed the results of Oxford University's early-stage human trials with some saying it's the "most scientifically done" among all such exercises, while others expressing hope that the final trials will "bear fruit". US President Donald Trump called wearing masks "patriotic," seemingly endorsing the practice after an interview aired just the previous day in which he denied the effectiveness of doing so in curbing the spread of the Trump will resume his televised briefings. "I think it's a great way to get information out to the public," Trump told reporters at the White House. Listen to the podcast to know more Xiaomi is pushing ahead with MIUI 12.1, the successor to MIUI 12. MIUI 12.1 has already been issued to beta testers, some of whom have outlined what to expect from the next version of MIUI. Working For Notebookcheck Are you a techie who knows how to write? Then join our Team! English native speakers welcome! News Writer (AUS/NZL based) - Details here Xiaomi is still in the process of finalising Round 1 of its MIUI 12 release schedule, with the company having recently upgraded new editions of the Mi 9T, Mi 9T Pro, Redmi K20 and Redmi K20 Pro to the new OS. However, but the company is not waiting until it finishes rolling out MIUI 12 before it begins issuing MIUI 12.1. Instead, the company has already issued MIUI 12.1 to beta testers. To clarify, Xiaomi only operates a beta program on the China branch of MIUI. There is also Xiaomi.EU but this is a third-party project. As MIUI 12.1 is live for beta testers, some people have been digging through the upcoming update to find out what has changed from MIUI 12. According to YouTube channels Technobuzznet & What's New there are several new features contained within MIUI 12.1, including new fingerprint animations, a secure keyboard, new camera filters and greater customisation for Always on Display functionality. The App Vault has also been redesigned, as has the Weather app. Accessibility options has changed too, with Xiaomi now splitting the options into four tabs of General, Hearing, Physical and Vision. Mikel Arteta believes shedding Arsenal's soft-centred reputation must be one of the 'basic' tenets of his rebuild in north London. The Gunners have long been accused of lacking the defensive steel to compete with the very best. But in Saturday's FA Cup win over Manchester City, Arteta's side showed defiance and solidity to reach the Wembley final. Mikel Arteta says Arsenal must shed their soft-centred reputation to succeed in the top-flight 'It's one of the basics that we have to be one of the best at doing it,' Arteta said ahead of their trip to Aston Villa. 'That criticism is sometimes fair, sometimes not. When you win everything is more positive and then doing a very similar performance and you lose and then the perception is different. 'It's about what we are feeling and how we want to do it. In that process it is going in the right direction.' The Gunners have long been accused of lacking defensive steel against their oppositions But Saturday's FA Cup win over Man City showed defiance and solidity to reach the final On changing Arsenal's mentality towards defending, Arteta added: 'I try to convince (the players) that without that we cannot compete with the top teams at the moment because there are other areas that we have to improve a lot. 'If they do it because we have to push them to do it all the time, for me that's not the right way and we're not going to accomplish it long-term. 'If they start to enjoy doing it together and be proud of it, and they can see the results and sense that unity and together, that is powerful. Hopefully we can do that.' Italian police on Tuesday detained 19 Nigerians in a crackdown of an alleged cult-like organized crime group specializing in drug dealing and in trafficking women from their homeland, forcing them into prostitution on Italy's streets. Police said in a statement that the crime cell they targeted operated in the areas of Ancona, an Adriatic port city, and Teramo, also in eastern Italy. The group, known as EIYE, with roots in Nigeria, uses violent initiation rites for its members, investigators said. Most of those detained were in Italy illegally, police said. Four suspects were still at large. In a recent report, Italys anti-Mafia investigators said Nigerian crime syndicates often work out arrangements with Italian mobsters to be able to deal drugs in their area without turf wars. The report by the DIA investigative body said the Nigerian mafias operating in Italy invest money gained from prostitution by trafficked women into their drug trafficking activities. A North Carolina prosecutor accused of using a racist law to prosecute an African American woman for voter fraud has now doubled the charges against her, the Guardian has learned. The case involves Lanisha Bratcher, a 32-year-old woman who voted in 2016 while on probation for a felony assault charge (North Carolina prohibits those on felony probation from voting), as the Guardian reported in December. Bratcher says she had no idea she was ineligible to vote, but the district attorney in Hoke county, where Bratcher voted, decided to charge her with a class I felony for voting while serving a criminal sentence. She faced up to 19 months in prison. The case has been pending since late last year and Bratcher has since begun working at a beauty store and is expecting her third child in December. But in early June, the district attorneys office brought new charges against Bratcher. Prosecutors told her attorney they intended to dismiss the original charge against her, but provided two new grand jury indictments against Bratcher under a different provision of the same law that makes it a felony to knowingly swear a false statement in an election. Related: A black woman faces prison because of a Jim Crow-era plan to protect white voters Its a small tweak that allowed the district attorney to double the charges against Bratcher, who was arrested last year but is out on bond. She was initially just charged with a single felony for illegal voting, but because Bratcher swore she was eligible to vote on both her voter registration and early voting form, the district attorney is now pursuing charges on two felony counts. She now faces a maximum of 19 months in prison for each count, her attorney said, though a judge could sentence her to less or probation of she is convicted. It feels like in some ways shes being punished or targeted for fighting back, said John Carella, Bratchers lawyer. Shes certainly upset this is still going on. She is trying to move on with her life. Story continues The original decision to bring voter fraud charges against Bratcher and three other African American people in Hoke county was unusual. Prosecutors across the state chose not to pursue many cases of illegal voting in 2016, a Guardian review of state data last year found. And nearly a year before she was charged, investigators from the state board of elections wrote a letter to the Hoke county district attorney, Kristy Newton, saying that many felons are not told about restrictions on voting that it was possible Bratcher and the three others just made a mistake, according to documents obtained by the Guardian. The investigators told the prosecutor they did not have the resources to investigate the circumstances of Bratchers case. Newton, the district attorney, chose to bring the charges anyway. After the charges were announced, mugshots of Bratcher and the other defendants appeared on the local news. One of the three other men has since pleaded guilty, Carella said, and charges against the two other defendants are still pending. Carella disputed the original charge by arguing that the law prohibiting those with felony convictions from voting was unconstitutional and racist. In a court filing, he noted that North Carolinas felon disenfranchisement statute dates back to the late 19th century, when white lawmakers used it openly as a tool to disenfranchise African Americans and diminish their political power after the civil war. A North Carolina Democratic handbook from 1898 speaks of rescuing the white people of the East from negro domination. In 1903, Charles Aycock, the states governor, said the solution to the negro problem was to disenfranchise him. Since the 19th century, North Carolina lawmakers have adjusted the law, but its core practice of disenfranchising all felons until they finish their sentence remains intact. Of the 441 people with felony convictions the state suspected of voting in 2016, 68% were black. At the end of 2016, African Americans made up 46% of the 52,000 people on parole or probation and 22% of registered voters in the state. Voters cast their ballots in Charlotte, North Carolina, in 2016. The states felon disenfranchisement statute has been used as a tool to prevent African Americans from voting. Photograph: Chris Keane/Reuters In response to being made aware of the explicitly white supremacist history of the law and the unconstitutional way in which it was applied, the DA decided, rather than to dismiss or back off those charges, to essentially double down with more felonies and try to prevent that history and that unconstitutional challenge from being aired in court, Carella said. The prosecutions serve the same purpose as the original law to intimidate black voters in North Carolina, he added. Its unclear why the district attorney changed the charges against Bratcher. Michael Hardin, the prosecutor handling the case, declined to comment on the case because it was pending. A prosecutor deciding to switch charges can signal that their original case was vulnerable to the defense, said David Freedman, a criminal defense attorney in North Carolina who is not involved in the case. When a prosecutor switches the charges its because they feel, for whatever reason, that the evidence is easier to convict under the new charges than under the old charges, Freedman said. Singling somebody out for this does not seem proper. It doesnt seem like thats justice David Freedman The new charges will require prosecutors to show that Bratcher knowingly made a false statement about her eligibility to vote. Even though Bratcher says she had no idea she was ineligible, prosecutors could rely on the fact that she signed the voter registration and early voting applications, both of which contain warnings that you cannot vote while serving a felony sentence, Freedman said. Having the documents with Bratchers signature, Freedman said, bolsters the prosecutions case. Still, Freedman said it was surprising that the prosecutor in the case was continuing to pursue the charges against Bratcher. Singling somebody out for this does not seem proper. It doesnt seem like thats justice, he said. I dont know why the prosecutor is still pursuing this, with everything else going on. The new charges against Bratcher were brought amid protests across the country focused on systemic racism after the death of George Floyd. Floyd was born in Hoke county and the district attorney secured the new charges against Bratcher just two days after his family, some of whom still live in North Carolina, held a memorial service there. To basically try to silence the argument and increase the punishments and just move ahead with this is just really kind of stunning, that its happening right now, Carella said. LAS VEGAS, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Markman Biologics Corporation (the "Company") ( https://markmanbiologics.com ) today announces the execution of a strategic agreement with one of the preeminent dental research entities in the world, The McGuire Institute, based in Houston, Texas, as principal investigators for an upcoming clinical trial on humans ( http://www.themcguireinstitute.org/index.html ). Markman Biologics Corporation The trial is called A Pilot Study for Healing and Safety Outcomes in Correcting Gingival Recession Defects Using Microsurfaced and Control Acellular Dermal Matrix, and pertains to use of microsurfaced grafts in the treatment of gum recession. The trial is anticipated to take nine months from initiation to completion. Markman Biologics CEO Alan Shinderman stated, "Our proprietary, patented, and next-generation biologics technology will begin this trial on humans and we are hopeful this is the first phase in improving the lives of patients undergoing reconstructive surgery." Several other clinical trails are currently under development. About Markman Biologics Corporation Markman Biologics Corporation, https://markmanbiologics.com, is a first mover in the wound care domain. Markman Biologics, a Nevada corporation, is a biotechnology patent-holding entity to create a value add in the healing of acute and chronic wounds. Markman Biologics' innovative and novel intellectual property pertains to resurfacing current smooth surface reconstructive grafts including, but not limited to, acellular dermal, split thickness skin, and amnion/chorion tissue. Preclinical animal studies have suggested improved cellular response with graft microsurfacing. Moreover, the potential benefits may extend beyond the immediate healing of wounds. About The McGuire Institute The McGuire Institute, http://www.themcguireinstitute.org/index.html, is transforming a passion for evidence-based dentistry into a unique vision for advancing the practice of dentistry through clinically relevant research. We are a not-for-profit organization with the mission of providing research at the highest level of skill and integrity. Safe Harbor Statement This release contains statements that constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 and Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended. These statements appear in a number of places in this release and include all statements that are not statements of historical fact regarding the intent, belief or current expectations of Markman Biologics Corporation, its directors or its officers with respect to, among other things: (i) financing plans; (ii) trends affecting its financial condition or results of operations; (iii) growth strategy and operating strategy. You can identify these statements by the use of the words "may," "will," "could," "should," "would," "plans," "expects," "anticipates," "continue," "estimate," "project," "intend," "likely," "forecast," "probable," "potential," and similar expressions and variations thereof are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Investors are cautioned that any such forward-looking statements are not guarantees of future performance and involve risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond Company's ability to control, and actual results may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking statements as a result of various factors. The Company cautions readers not to place undue reliance upon any such forward-looking statements, which speak only as of the date made. The Company undertakes no obligation to update any forward-looking statement to reflect events or circumstances after the date on which such statement is made. Related Images image1.png SOURCE Markman Biologics Corporation Related Links https://markmanbiologics.com Istanbul The death toll from a migrant boat disaster in Lake Van in eastern Turkey has risen to 54, the governors office said on Saturday, after three weeks of search operations. The boat, which sank on June 27, is believed to have been carrying 55 to 60 migrants, according to Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu. Five people have been arrested in relation to the incident, Reuters reported. Nine bodies were recovered from the lake on Saturday, bringing the confirmed death toll to 54, the governors office said. Lake Van is near Turkeys border with Iran, from where migrants from Iran, Afghanistan and other countries regularly cross into Turkey heading west towards Europe. Seven people died and 64 were rescued when a boat carrying migrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan sank on the lake in December. More than a million people reached Greece from Turkey in 2015-16. Numbers dropped sharply following a 2016 agreement between the EU and Turkey for Ankara to take migrants back in return for funds. Earlier this year, tens of thousands of migrants tried to cross into Greece via land and sea borders after Ankara said it would no longer stop them. Turkey, home to 3.6 million Syrians, the worlds largest refugee population, had said it would open the frontier because it was alarmed by the prospect of another wave of refugees fleeing war in northwest Syria. Mr. Eric Nsarkoh, Sales & Distribution Executive Of MTN Ghana 21.07.2020 LISTEN Accra, July 21, 2020 - MTN Ghana is encouraging customers to update their Subscriber Identity Module (SIM) details to ensure all customer details are captured accurately by the company. In view of this, MTN Ghana is sending messages via SMS to inform customers to update their SIM registration details. Customers will receive messages with a URL link to effect the update. The Regulations on SIM registration requires a subscriber, for the purpose of registering a SIM, to furnish the network operator or service provider with certain details and an identification document. To ensure that the existing details in MTNs database are accurate and up-to-date MTN is inviting both new and existing customers to voluntarily provide their information for identification and validation purposes. The information being updated includes the customers name, date of birth, gender, residential or occupational address (physical address), valid ID number, and details of a valid national identification document of the customer. To complete the process, a Ghanaian customer will have to provide a valid National ID (e.g. Voter ID, Passport, Drivers License and Ghana Card) whilst a foreign national will be required to update details with their National passport. Customers who wish to register or update their details with the National identification card, are advised to do so only at MTN service centers. Commenting on the process, Sales and Distribution Executive of MTN Ghana, Mr. Eric Nsarkoh said, This exercise is an important regulatory requirement. It will also to help us update our customer records to enable us design solutions to suit their needs. Mr. Nsarkoh said We continue to assure our customers that their information is safe and protected with MTN. Data privacy and protection is of greater importance to us. The SIM update process commenced on 1st June 2020 and will continue to the end of December 2020. About MTN Ghana MTN Ghana is the market leader in the increasingly competitive mobile telecommunications industry in Ghana, offering subscribers a range of exciting options under Pay Monthly and Pay As You Go Services and Mobile Financial Services. The company has committed itself to delivering reliable and innovative services that provide value for subscribers in Ghanas telecommunications market. Since its entry into Ghana in 2006, MTN has continuously invested in expanding and modernizing its network in order to offer superior services to a broad expanse of the nation. The Palmer Township community pool will stay closed at least through Friday, according to the supervisors chairman. Supervisors Chairman Dave Colver hopes the pool will reopen Saturday. It will likely have to cut hours due to a loss of employees. The pool was shut down Saturday, July 19, after an employee tested positive for COVID-19. The employee tested positive after returning from out-of-state travel, and immediately self-quarantined, township parks and recreation director Dan McKinney said. The person is symptom-free, Colver said. However, employees have decided not to return to the pool because theyre nervous about contracting the disease, Colver said. Its tough enough to find employees for the pool, but the Centers for Disease Control guidelines mandate even more employees than usual to curb the spread of COVID-19. We just didnt have the coverage and we still dont have the coverage, Colver said. If the pool opens Saturday hours will likely be scaled back. Before the shutdown the pool was open from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. daily. Now the hours may be cut back to noon to 6 p.m. due to the lack of staff. Colver said hed have more details later this week. Its unfortunate that its in the middle of a heat wave but we wanted to do it right and we wanted to do it safely, Colver said. He said the pool has passed tests by the Pennsylvania Department of Health for operating safely. The pool follows the aqua guidelines set forth by the state. He noted the employee contracted COVID-19 out of the area, not at the pool. None of this has happened at the pool itself, he said, noting that no patrons or employees tested positive from exposure at the pool. The pool at 3001 Farmersville Road could be open seven more weeks before closing down Labor Day weekend. Ill know more as the week evolves, Colver said Monday evening. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to Lehighvalleylive.com. Rudy Miller may be reached at rmiller@lehighvalleylive.com. If theres anything about this story that needs attention, please email him. Follow him on Twitter @RudyMillerLV. Find Easton area news on Facebook. Its a sad truth, but many companies wont survive the coronavirus pandemic. Small businesses owners are struggling to stay afloat and hold on to their livelihoods. Giant chains are closing stores and filing for bankruptcy, and businesses shutdowns mean more job losses and added pressure on the states unemployment system. With so much unknown about the economic future of the country and when life may get back to normal, consumers, too, can lose out. If you have a store gift card or a credit at a retailer, theres a good chance you will lose the money if the shop shuts down. Gift certificates, cards or store credit issued by sellers that declare bankruptcy may have no value, said the Division of Consumer Affairs. The Division of Consumer Affairs encourages New Jersey consumers to promptly use any gift cards or store credit if a business announces they will completely cease operations, it said. If you dont use your card or credit in time, you might be able to file a claim under the bankruptcy for the value of the card or store credit. Consumers wont have priority over secured creditors such as banks that hold mortgages, but youll be ahead of many creditors in both Chapter 7 and Chapter 11 bankruptcies for claims up to $3,025, said Gail Chester, vice president of the Consumers League of New Jersey. It applies to consumer deposits or payments on consumer goods that were not delivered or provided, Chester said. That would certainly seem to apply to gift cards or store credits; probably not to returns unless the goods were defective. You have to file a claim with the bankruptcy court in the place where the business filed its bankruptcy. CORONAVIRUS RESOURCES: Live map tracker | Newsletter | Homepage If a company intends to stay in business and files a Chapter 11 bankruptcy which is designed to restructure a companys debt it will often honor gift cards and store credits at their remaining locations or online platforms, Consumer Affairs said. Honoring gift cards isnt up to the company, though. When a store files for bankruptcy, payments are frozen and creditors must file claims in order to get paid, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) said. The court decides whether and for how long to accept gift cards. Thats why its smart, if you think a business is in danger of shutting down, to spend your gift cards while you can. If you have a warranty for an item you bought at the store, see whether the warranty was issued by the manufacturer or by the store, BBB said. If the manufacturer issued the warranty, it will most likely honor it, BBB said. When a company goes out of business, its warranties and services often die with it, unless other agreements have been made. If you purchased something on a credit card and never received it or if it was defective, you can dispute the items and ask your bank to reverse the charge, Chester said. You can do this whether or not the store closed. This is a time of great financial uncertainty for retail merchants and not a good time for consumers to buy gift cards or take home merchandise they arent sure they want, Chester said. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Karin Price Mueller may be reached at KPriceMueller@NJAdvanceMedia.com. It's been nearly one month since Linda Stoltzfoos disappeared in Pennsylvania. Police in Lancaster County say she was kidnapped while she was walking home from church, and she remains missing. Court papers provide information about the alleged abduction and detail what led police to arrest 34-year-old Justo Smoker on a kidnapping charge. According to the criminal complaint, surveillance cameras put Smoker's car in the area where Stoltzfoos vanished June 21. Investigators said the video, which was enhanced by the FBI, captured Smoker's red Kia driving along Stumptown and Beechdale roads between 12:36 p.m. and 12:42 p.m. The video shows a person walking in the direction Stoltzfoos would have been headed and a second unknown person coming from the direction where the Kia pulled off, according to court papers. The affidavit alleges that witnesses told investigators they saw an Amish woman riding in a red car on Amish Road in Gap around 1:30 p.m. that afternoon. Police said another witness reported seeing the vehicle two days later, parked near train tracks in Ronks around 5 p.m. Some of Stoltzfoos's clothing was buried there, according to police. Authorities seek public's help as search continues Search and rescue crews have combed through more than 10,000 acres to try to find Stoltzfoos. A search Friday involved hundreds of volunteers in the woods of Welsh Mountain. Authorities are also seeking tips about Smoker's car. During a news conference last week, Pennsylvania State Police asked residents of East Earl, East Lampeter, Leacock, Paradise and Salisbury townships to contact them if they saw the vehicle on and around June 21. The FBI is also assisting with the investigation and is offering a $10,000 reward for information. People can contact the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or submit a tip online at tips.fbi.gov. Tips can also be submitted online to the Lancaster County District Attorneys Office. Will not join BJP says Pilot camp MLA India oi-Vicky Nanjappa Jaipur, July 21: An MLA From Sachin Pilot's camp on Monday said the legislators supporting the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister will not join the BJP and their fight was to "save the party" by effecting a leadership change in the Rajasthan government. Mukesh Bhakar, MLA from Ladnun, Nagaur, who was dropped as the state youth Congress chief last week, also appealed to the party high command that in order to save the Congress, they must act now and change the state leadership. Pilot rejects Cong MLA's allegation; says it is an attempt to stifle legitimate concerns raised by him Asked about the Congress' allegation that they were under BJP protection in Haryana, a state ruled by the saffron party, Bhakar said, "No one is in a BJP state, we are in Delhi." He, however, did not elaborate. Countering Congress MLA Giriraj Singh Malinga's charge that Pilot had offered him money to join the BJP, Bhakar claimed that it was the Pilot supporters who were being lured for the last one and a half years with money, ministerial berths and contracts to cross over to the Gehlot camp. Bhakar claimed that he as well as other Pilot supporters were still getting offers from the Gehlot camp. "But, we have stood by our leader," Bhakar said. Asked if they could join hands with the BJP, he categorically denied any such plans and said, "We have not met any person from the BJP and neither anyone has contacted us." "We have said this earlier and our leader Sachin Pilot had also made it clear that we will not join the BJP and our fight is for a leadership change in our state," he said. These things are being said to tarnish the image of Pilot and his supporters, he said. Bhakar said he and many other MLAs have made all efforts to convey to the leadership in Delhi over the last year and a half that Pilot was being ignored, but their pleas went unheard. Rajiv Gandhi's killer Nalini attempts suicide in prison and other news|Oneindia News "We met Avinash Pande (AICC in-charge of the state), K C Venugopal (general secretary, organisation) Mukul Wasnik (general secretary) to convey our concerns repeatedly that Pilot was being ignored, but they did not listen," he told PTI. "Gehlot wants Pilot to go from this party and that is why he is making such abusive statements and allegations," the MLA said. Always knew Sachin Pilot as 'nikamma', but kept quiet in partys interest: Ashok Gehlot Bhakar also alleged that the very people on whose hard work the government was formed are being now hounded. Last week, in an open revolt, Pilot and 18 other loyalist MLAs defied a party whip to attend two Congress Legislature Party meetings. He was then sacked as deputy chief minister and PCC chief. The showdown came after the Rajasthan police's Special Operations Group launched a probe into alleged attempts at horse trading to topple the Gehlot government and issued a notice to Pilot to appear during the investigation. SOG had also given a notice to Gehlot. Later, the Rajasthan chief minister had alleged that Pilot was part of the conspiracy by the BJP, which denied these allegations and blamed the Gehlot-Pilot power tussle for the Congress' troubles in the state. Congress MLA in Rajasthan alleges Sachin Pilot offered him money to join BJP Meanwhile, the Rajasthan High Court is hearing a plea by Pilot and other rebel MLAs against the disqualification notices issued to them by the Assembly Speaker. In the 200-member state assembly, the Congress has 107 MLAs, including former deputy chief minister Pilot and 18 MLAs loyal to him. Pilot has been upset since the Congress picked Gehlot over him for the chief minister's post, following the December 2018 assembly elections. For Breaking News and Instant Updates Allow Notifications Story first published: Tuesday, July 21, 2020, 10:55 [IST] San Juan, PUERTO RICO, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- BOTS, Inc. (OTC: BTZI) (GERMAN EXCHANGE: M06.SG), an emerging innovator of products, technologies, and services for the rapidly growing digital robotic automation and manufacturing industry announces the appointment of Yuri Abramov and Simon Rubin to its Board of Directors, effective immediately. "We welcome Yuri Abramov and Simon Rubin to the board as new directors and look forward to the value their leadership will bring. Under Simon Rubin's leadership shareholders of First Bitcoin Capital Corp (OTC:BITCF) witnessed their overall long term market capitalization increase by a staggering 5000% " said Paul Rosenberg, Chief Executive officer. "As we continue our focus on expanding into the field of Robotic Automation, the experience and depth of knowledge of both Yuri and Simon will provide valuable perspective and input. "Yuri is an accomplished scientist, inventor and an experienced Board member in both the public and private sector. We are confident that BTZI will benefit from his directives, business experience and innovative ideas. - added Mr. Rosenberg Simon and Yuri currently serve on the boards of public company, First Bitcoin Capital Corp. Simon served as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for First Bitcoin Capital for the last 10 years . Simon is a serial entrepreneur with a background in programming and web design and Real Estate. Simon also has 15 years of experience in health care equipment management. Simon is an avid crypto currency enthusiast and martial arts expert. Yuri Abramov: Has been director of First Bitcoin Capital since 2004. Master of Science in Theoretical Physics from the Institute of Chemical Physics, Russian Federation. For more than three decades, Yuri has applied his superior analytical skills and expertise to advance the field of applied physics in his work as a mathematician, algorithms and software developer, engineer and inventor. Yuri holds a Master of Science in Theoretical Physics and Chemical Physics from the Institute of Chemical Physics from the Russian Academy of Sciences in Moscow, Russia. Among his numerous unparalleled qualifications and credentials, Yuri is an expert problem solver in the areas of digital signal processing for video-compressions as well as for high speed wireless communications. Yuri is experienced in developing novel algorithms in MATLAB and C/C++ as well as SAW-filters hardware design, which are inherent attributes in many of todays state-of-the-art electronic systems and are developed to improve Tx-Rx Communication Systems by communication sensitivity. In addition, Yuri developed a SAW-coprocessor for wireless modems operating in UWB (ultra-wide band) frequency range that are destined for super-high-speed data communication. His business background includes acting as a projects leader for Soliton-SAW Ltd., for 14 years where he worked in consulting and implementation, algorithms and software development and modeling and designing. Yuri has at least multiple inventions that are registered as patents including Signal Processing Method Utilizing the SAW Velocity Dispersion Effect for Weighting by Shaping the Electrode Fingers of a SAW Interdigital Transducer and Apparatus, signal processing utilizing SAW wave guides, image processing methods for digital quantization and others. Yuri has contributed to nearly 40 scientific publications with various articles on analysis, methods and applications of SAW filters design, algorithms for video encoding and others. He currently works in the field of Ultra-Wide Band Communication applied to coax-cable defects localization. Story continues About BOTS, Inc. Headquartered in San Juan, Puerto Rico, BOTS, Inc. - publicly traded on the OTC Markets under the symbol (BTZI) and on Borse Stuttgart under ticker (M06.SG) - is a diversified company developing and servicing blockchain solutions and robotics for its clientele. The Company is committed to drive the innovations needed to shape the future of digital robotic automation management through digital technology and decentralized blockchain solutions. Management is dedicated to the strong growth of Distributed Asset Technology and Robotic Process Automation (RPA). Bots, Inc. has been featured in media nationwide, including CNBC, Bloomberg, TheStreet.com. For more information, visit http://www.bots.bz Visit us on Facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/Bots.Bz/ Follow us on Twitter @Bots_bz Forward-Looking Statements Certain statements contained in this press release may constitute "forward-looking statements." Forward-looking statements provide current expectations of future events based on certain assumptions and include any statement that does not directly relate to any historical or current fact. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors as may be disclosed in company's filings. In addition to these factors, actual future performance, outcomes, and results may differ materially because of more general factors including (without limitation) general industry and market conditions and growth rates, economic conditions, and governmental and public policy changes. The forward-looking statements included in this press release represent the Company's views as of the date of this press release and these views could change. However, while the Company may elect to update these forward-looking statements at some point in the future, the Company specifically disclaims any obligation to do so. These forward-looking statements should not be relied upon as representing the Company's views as of any date subsequent to the date of the press release. Such forward-looking statements are risks that are detailed in the Company's website and filings. Contact: Paul Rosenberg CEO paul@bots.bz Believers in China are experiencing oppression against their belief by the country's attempt to sinicize areas. On Wednesday of July 15, 2020, a church leader, Wang Hongze, was warned in Hebei province that he cannot join service and conduct bible study at unauthorized religious locations. The Fenggang sub-district office in Nangong city quoted the Regulations of Religious Affairs enacted by the State Council in 2018 when warning Wang Hongze. The warning stated, "Those that have not obtained or have lost religious professional credentials, must not engage in activity as religious professionals; Non-religious groups, non-religious schools, non-religious activity sites, or non-designated temporary activity sites must not hold religious activities, must not accept religious donations." On Sunday of July 12, 2020, elderly members of a Three-Self church, a Protestant organization that stay loyal to the People's Republic of China, were notified that their cross will be taken away. The impending cross removal was declared by local authorities in Huainan city in Anhui province. The Anhui province has been actively removing hundreds of crosses from state-approved churches like the Three-Self churches. With the goal to The Chinese government has been trying to "sinicize," or make Chinese in character or form, churches by erasing religious symbols and images. (Natural News) Even though NYC Governor Cuomo sentenced thousands of nursing home patients to death by putting coronavirus patients in nursing homes and denying them proper care in the hospitals, Dr. Anthony Fauci recently praised New Yorks coronavirus response. Fauci, the famous White House advisor, recently spoke to PBS NewsHour to praise New York for correctly handling the coronavirus pandemic, even though New York City had the highest mortality rate of any city or state. We know that, when you do it properly, you bring down those cases. We have done it. We have done it in New York, Fauci said. The problem is: No health care system knows the full scope of cases that truly existed before and during the lock downs, especially when the Centers for Disease Control cannot design a consistent test that differentiates covid-19 from other RNA viruses or from non-infectious virus debris. The diagnostic tests have routinely proved to be faulty, providing false negatives with non-sensitive, poorly timed testing protocol and false positives from non-infected persons. Health care systems do not care to understand the reasons why people get well without going to the hospital and crowding it, as was the big concern in the beginning. New York, nor any other state has done anything to educate and implement ways to strengthen the immune response of individuals. The coronavirus public health strategy is one-sided and forces people to live in fear and subject themselves to control. Fauci praises the state with the highest mortality rate Why would Fauci praise New Yorks response? New York was one of two states with an excessive mortality rate during the height of the initial emergency lock down from Feb 1 to May 16th. The average expected deaths throughout the US was 105 percent compared to the previous three years. This overall increase in the mortality rate was caused mostly by New York, which had a 131 percent rate, and by New Jersey which had a 137 percent rate. New York City was the deadliest of all, accounting for a morbid 230 percent expected death rate compared to previous years. In comparison, South Dakota had a lower than average rate (92%), and Georgias rate remained about normal (100%). Other heavily populated states like Florida did an exceptional job at keeping expected deaths down (105%), especially considering widespread tourism in the state and aging populations living there. New York was ill-prepared to handle outbreaks of infectious disease. Governor Cuomo made the hasty and deadly decision to mix very ill covid-19 positive nursing home patients with their peers, contributing to rapid spread and increasing virus exposure to the most vulnerable. Approximately 6,400 New York elders died in nursing homes because of this, even as the President brought in the Navy Comfort to handle the excess cases. The Navy Comfort was barely used during the lock down, and treated a mere 179 patients, as immune-compromised nursing home patients were left to die in their chambers. New York State Attorney General is now investigating why coronavirus patients were encouraged back into nursing homes, exacerbating the spread. Back in March, the state Department of Health directed nursing homes to do this. The policy led to demonstrations and eventually a policy shift, as families rapidly lost loved ones. The mortality rate was compounded by the fact that Fauci and Cuomo downplayed the effectiveness of known antiviral medications, depriving patients of life saving treatments like HCQ that could have brought down overall suffering and death. Instead, New York became a death-by-ventilator hotspot, where patient immune systems were disregarded in favor of high financial incentive protocols that required people to be put on ventilators. These ventilators were associated with nosocomial infections (infections acquired from the hospital), which resulted in ventilator associated pneumonia and fatalities of 80 percent or greater. What kind of psychopath thinks that New Yorks coronavirus response was handled correctly? Is Dr. Fauci really this incompetent? Can he even be trusted to interpret data objectively? Sources include: TheWashingtonStandard.com Healio.com NaturalNews.com NaturalNews.com NavyTimes.com BusinessInsider.com President Emmerson Mnangagwa says Zimbabwe has declared a dusk to dawn curfew, saying the country is facing a surge in coronavirus COVID-19 cases. Speaking in Harare in an address to the nation aired by the state-controlled Zimbabwe Broadcasting Corporation, Mnangagwa urged all Zimbabweans to follow the new regulations, noting that the government will severely punish any person who will violate them. He said, All security services must enforce a dusk to dawn curfew daily from 6pm to 6am. Essential services are exempted from these urgent and necessary measures which will curtail freedoms from now on that stand suspended and deferred in the interest of our citizens Mnangagwa said businesses are expected to operate between 8:00am and 3:00pm until further notice. The president also noted that intercity travelling has been suspended due to growing COVID-19 cases in the country. All non-working sections of society will be required to stay at home except when seeking food, water and health services. When travel becomes essential, every Zimbabwean must uphold health requirements set out by the World Health Organization such as wearing of masks, observing strict hygiene regulations like washing of hands, social distancing and other sanitization measures. The Ministry of Health reports that as of June 20th, 2020, there were 1,713 confirmed COVID-19 cases, 142 recoveries and 26 deaths. Some Zimbabweans are currently in the process of organizing a mass protest against corruption and Mnangagwas government on July 31. Police have already arrested protest organizer, Jacob Ngarivhume, and prominent journalist, Hopewell Chinono, who has been uncovering several corruption activities linked to some top state officials. Mnangwagwa recently fired his health minister, Dr. Obadiah Moyo, who was linked to a shady deal signed by the government and Drax International for the purchase of COVID-19 materials. State tender procedures were not followed. The presidents family has been linked to one of the facilitators of the deal but the government has distanced Mnangagwa and his family from the deal. Missouri Gov. Parson Says He Will Pardon McCloskeys Without a Doubt, Calls Charges Outrageous Missouri Gov. Mike Parson said on July 20 that he will without a doubt pardon Mark and Patricia McCloskey. He made the remarks just hours after felony charges were filed against the St. Louis couple who wielded guns as a crowd moved past their property last month. St. Louis Circuit Attorney Kimberly Gardner filed charges against the McCloskeys, who brandished their personal firearms when dozens of people entered their private neighborhood through a gate marked Private Street on June 28. The couple, who are both lawyers, have argued that the activists damaged an iron gate to enter their neighborhood. They also allege that some members of the group shouted threats at them although they stood outside their home, urging the group to keep going and not stop. The couple said they were in fear for their lives at the time. Mark and Patricia McCloskey stand in front of their house holding firearms as activists walk through the gated neighborhood in the Central West End of St. Louis, Mo., on June 28, 2020. (Laurie Skrivan/St. Louis Post-Dispatch via AP) Parson on Monday said that Missouri state has a castle doctrine principle that allows individuals, in certain situations, to protect themselves, their family or their property. The statute, titled the use of force in defense of persons, permits people to employ deadly force if people enter their homes without consent. It also says that a person doesnt have a duty to retreat from a dwelling, residence, or vehicle where the person is not unlawfully entering or unlawfully remaining and from private property that is owned or leased by such individual. The Republican governor told Fox Newss Sean Hannity that he would pardon the pair without a doubt. He said Monday marked a sad day for the state, referring to the felony charges filed against the McCloskeys, which include unlawful use of a weapon and a misdemeanor charge of fourth-degree assault. 1/ Statement from Circuit Attorney Kimberly M. Gardner Today my office filed charges against Mark and Patricia McCloskey following an incident involving peaceful, unarmed protesters on June 28th. Full statement below: pic.twitter.com/zPucQ3MHs5 Circuit Attorney (@stlcao) July 20, 2020 I will do everything within the Constitution of the State of Missouri to protect law-abiding citizens and those people are exactly that, Parson said Monday. They are law-abiding citizens, and theyre being attacked frankly by a political process thats really unfortunate. The governor said he had discussed the matter with President Donald Trump, who also agreed that the St. Louis couple should not be facing felony charges. They had every right to protect their property, their home, just like any of us would, Parson continued. If you had a mob coming towards you, whether they tore down a gate or not, when they come on your property, they dont have a right to do that in an aggressive manner. People have a right to protect their selves, their families, their property. According to a Missouri Law Review of property law (pdf), gated communities have been affirmed in courts as being able to bar entry to non-residents who dont receive invitations to enter. Kim Gardners action toward the McCloskeys is outrageous. Even worse, the Circuit Attorneys office has admitted there is a backlog of cases and dozens of homicides that havent been prosecuted, yet she has accelerated this case forward. Governor Mike Parson (@GovParsonMO) July 20, 2020 Parson later said in a Twitter post that Gardners action toward the McCloskeys is outrageous. The St. Louis circuit attorney previously said in a statement that it is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner. Even worse, the circuit attorneys office has admitted there is a backlog of cases and dozens of homicides that havent been prosecuted, yet she has accelerated this case forward, Parson added. The McCloskeys lawyer, Joel Schwartz, told the St. Louis Post-Dispatch that the charges were disheartening as I unequivocally believe no crime was committed. Separately, Missouri Attorney General Eric Schmitt on Monday night filed a brief seeking to dismiss charges against the couple. The brief cites the Second Amendment and says that the attorney general respectfully requests that the court dismiss this case at the earliest possible opportunity. Mimi Nguyen Ly contributed to this report. Memorandum means undocumented migrants will not be counted when US congressional districts are redrawn. US President Donald Trump signed a memorandum on Tuesday that aims to prevent undocumented migrants in the United States from being counted when congressional voting districts are redrawn in the next round of redistricting. US Census experts and lawyers said the action would be legally dubious, likely benefitting Trumps Republican Party by eliminating the largely non-white population of migrants in the US without documentation. Redistricting occurs both at the state level to draw maps for state house legislatures and at the federal level to draw maps for US congressional districts. The latter are known as congressional apportionment. Proponents of citizens-only voting districts argue each vote should carry the same weight. If one district has far fewer eligible voters than another, they say, each vote there has more influence on election outcomes. Democrats and immigrant rights activists say including non-voters ensures that elected leaders represent everyone who depends on public services like schools and rubbish pickup, regardless of voting eligibility. The memo argues that eliminating undocumented immigrants from congressional apportionment maps is necessary to ensure that only legal US residents have a voice in federal politics. President Trumps Executive Order on Excluding Illegal Immigrants From the Apportionment Base is another decisive step toward fulfilling his solemn pledge to ensure only American citizens have congressional representation, not illegal aliens, a senior administration official told Reuters, speaking on condition of anonymity. Excluding these illegal aliens from the apportionment base is more consonant with the principles of representative democracy underpinning our system of Government, the memo states. It cites one states where there are an estimated 2.2 million undocumented migrants constituting more than six percent of the states population. Counting the migrants for the purpose of apportionment could result in the allocation of two or three more congressional seats than would otherwise be allocated, according to the memo. But the move carries major legal questions, and will probably draw litigation. The US Supreme Court in June rejected President Donald Trumps move to rescind the DACA program that offers protections to 700,000 undocumented migrants brought to the US as children [Nicholas Kamm/AFP] Citizens-only voting districts are viewed as potentially legal for state-level voting districts, but the US Constitution explicitly says congressional apportionment should be based on the whole number of persons in each state. Multiple federal laws have reinforced that reading, and the US Supreme Court has upheld that interpretation. All of this makes Trumps position outrageous, said Joshua Geltzer, a constitutional law expert and professor at Georgetown Law, adding that the move will almost certainly meet litigation. Another question is how the Trump administration would acquire data on undocumented immigrants. The 2020 US Census does not ask respondents whether they are citizens, legal or otherwise. In theory, officials could determine citizenship data through such administrative records as drivers licence databases, along with citizenship estimates gathered in other Census Bureau surveys. But that data is incomplete, and demographers and immigration advocacy groups have argued they are unreliable. The governments census count helps in determining where taxpayer money is spent for building public facilities like schools, hospitals and fire departments, as well as calculating states apportionment in the US House of Representatives. The US Constitution mandates that the US count its population every 10 years. Trumps planned executive order could prove popular with the presidents base of support as he tries to generate enthusiasm for his re-election in November. Trump has spent much of his presidency seeking to limit the number of migrants who illegally enter the US, particularly from Central America, and his executive order was another part of his immigration agenda. It has long been a Trump administration strategy to use the census to identify and limit the political power of undocumented immigrants. But the efforts have faced roadblocks. In 2018, the administration said it would ask respondents to the 2020 census whether they were citizens, a move ultimately nixed by the Supreme Court. Following the defeat, Trump issued an executive order in July 2019 aimed determining citizenship status through a trove of administrative records. The order, which called on states to turn over such data to the US Census Bureau, is still facing litigation from immigration advocates including the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund. Apprehensive of a possible cyber attack by Chinese hackers, the Department of Telecom has asked all departments under it to upgrade security of all websites and web portals. The DoT in its circular also asked all web portals and websites under its ambit to submit a compliance report after securing the system at the earliest. Besides, the DoT has asked all other ministries and departments to migrate their websites and web portals to the gov.in domain by August 31, if they had not done so already. Earlier this month, the DoT also cautioned its staff about possible cyber attacks on government systems through phishing and creation of dubious apps. "In order to disrupt essential public and utility services, attacks are employing distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks where in a multituted of compromised systems attack a single target, thereby causing denial of service for users of the targeted systems. Attackers are using compromised systems of organisations to carryout DDoS attacks on other organisations," said the DoT in its circular. To mitigate the cybsersecurity threat, it is essential to ensure that adequate protections on the ICT systems are put in place at the organisation level. "In view of current situation of Covid-19, many organisations have adopted Work From Home (WFH) concept, where unsecured home computers are extensively used to connect to the organisation work. To mitigate the cybersecurity threats emanating from WFH, user may follow best pratices," said the DoT to its staff. Last month, Singapore-based cybersecurity firm Cyfirma Research had warned India that Chinese hackers had increased their attacks on government establishments and were trying to steal data from sensitive ministries. Amidst massive cyber attack in many countries including Australia in last month, Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT-In) had warned public and business establishment about the possible a large scale phishing campaign in the guise of free Covid-19 tests. Security forces busted a Hizbul Mujahideen terror module on Budgam on Monday (July 20) and arrested 3 terror associates. Acting on a specific input, a joint team of Budgam police, Army 53 RR and 181 Bn CRPF arrested three terror associates from Pakherpora area during naka checking. The arrested terror associates have been identified as Mehrajdin Kumar, Tahir Kumar and Sahil Hurra. Mehrajdin and Tahir are from Pakherpora, while Hurra belongs to Tilsarah. Security forces have recovered several incriminating materials, including 20 live rounds of AK-47, two detonators and 15 posters of banned terror group Hizbul, from the possession of these arrested associates. According to security forces, the arrested persons were involved in providing logistic support and shelter to active terrorists of proscribed outfit Hizbul Mujahideen. The three were active in the area for last few months. A case has been registered in this regard under relevant sections of UAPA at Chrar-e-Charief police station and probe has been launched. On Mondya, the Special Operations Group (SOG) Jammu and the Indian Army busted a terror funding module of the banned terrorist organization Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) too. This module was also busted on the basis of information received from reliable sources. Initial information revealed that the LeT had activated a module of its members for carrying out terror activities in Jammu and Kashmir particularly in the Jammu region and in furtherance to this, delivery of funds was to take place in Jammu. On this information, a team of SOG Jammu and Peer Mitha Police apprehended one Mubashir Bhat, son of Farooq Ahmed Bhat, a resident of Sazan Doda. Bhat is a part of the same module and had been tasked by the handlers from across the border to visit Jammu and collect a consignment of hawala money for further use by the terrorists and their supporters. Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: Thuingaleng Muivah, the general secretary of the insurgent group National Socialist Council of Nagalim (NSCN-IM), air-dashed to New Delhi on Monday. He flew out in a chartered plane along with his wife and seven others. The purpose of his visit was not known but sources said he was in the national capital for treatment. Not much was known about the seven persons who accompanied the rebel leader and his wife. The sources said they were their staff, not other leaders of the group. The 86-year-old Muivah, who is the chief negotiator of Naga peace talks, had some health concerns related to travel. Last week, he had skipped a meeting with the interlocutor of Naga peace talks RN Ravi, who is also the Nagaland governor, in Nagalands commercial hub of Dimapur due to health-related issues. The NSCN-IM had signed a ceasefire agreement with the Centre in 1997. Ever since then, the two sides have held over 100 rounds of peace parleys within and outside the country but the solution to the protracted Naga political problem continues to elude both sides. Among the contentious issues in the talks include the NSCN-IMs demands for a separate Naga flag and Naga constitution. The outfit operates out of the soil of Nagaland, Assam, Manipur, Arunachal Pradesh, and Myanmar. On July 14, the NSCN-IM had sought an official clarification from competent authority on the validity and extent of the ceasefire agreement and set a week-long deadline for the same after six of its members were gunned down by the security forces in Longding district of Arunachal on July 11. As per the Bangkok Agreement, dated June 14, 2001, the ceasefire agreement is between the GoI (Government of India) and the NSCN as two entities without territorial limits, the NSCN-IM had said in a statement issued to the media. The outfit said it had been maintaining the essence of this historic agreement in letter and spirit wherever the Naga Army operates. A clear-cut answer is, therefore, demanded whether there is a ceasefire in Naga-inhabited areas of Arunachal Pradesh state or not. Make your position officially known within one weeks time. In the event of ugly aftermaths evolving spontaneously out of such situation, we shall not be held responsible, the NSCN-IM had warned. The seven-day deadline will expire on Tuesday. Plans for a presumed Amazon distribution center in Western New York have been scrapped after pushback from local residents, according to news reports. Developers pulled a proposal for the nearly 4 million square-foot warehouse in the Erie County town of Grand Island from a town board meeting agenda Monday. The board had preliminarily rejected the project earlier this month by a 3-2 vote. Buffalo Business First has reported that Amazon was behind the plans for the warehouse, officially proposed by developer Trammel Crow. Trammel Crow is also the developer for the similarly massive distribution center in Clay, outside Syracuse. Sources told Buffalo Business First that Amazon was not interested in pursuing an alternative site in Erie County for the warehouse. The online retail giant may look into options in nearby Niagara and Genesee counties, the trade publication reported. The development was pitched as a five-story building on a 145-acre site in Grand Island, The Buffalo News reported. It was supposed to create at least 1,000 jobs. Critics of the project voiced concerns about traffic congestion, particularly on the islands bridges, and the loss of green space. Grand Island officials after initially rejecting the proposal had tried to negotiate a package that would include benefits to the community, including a community center, bike paths and bridge reconstructions. Sources told Buffalo Business First the developers viewed these as too expensive and onerous. Contact reporter Julie McMahon: Email | Twitter | 315-412-1992 The moment the popular governor of Russias Khabarovsk region was arrested and hustled off to Moscow on July 9, locals -- who have taken to the streets in daily protests, with crowds twice numbering in the tens of thousands began wondering who President Vladimir Putin would name as a replacement. A member of the ruling United Russia party, shipped in from Moscow? A local figure with ties to the administration of the arrested governor, Sergei Furgal, and his Liberal Democratic Party of Russia (LDPR)? There was also talk that it could be Mikhail Degtyaryov, an LDPR deputy in the State Duma, the lower house of the national parliament in Moscow, more than 6,000 kilometers away but that notion was dismissed by some as unlikely, unserious, or both. Rumors that it would be Degtyaryov have been circulating for two weeks, said Dmitry Nizovtsev, a Khabarovsk-based activist who works for opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, in an interview with RFE/RLs Russian Service. I spoke with people who know a lot more than I do, asking them if it would be Degtyaryov. And they told me, Seriously? Are you kidding? Of course not. Although there were such rumors, everyone scoffed at them. But on July 20, that is exactly what Putin did, naming Degtyaryov -- a 39-year-old native of the Volga River city of Samara and an engineer by training without any significant executive experience or connection to Khabarovsk as the acting head of the vast region of some 1.35 million people. Putins choice seems unlikely to mollify the protesters, who have now taken to the streets in large numbers for 11 straight days, Nizovtsev said. And it could even anger them further. The main thing that the people of Khabarovsk wanted, their main demand, was Furgals release, he said. That he be tried fairly or not at all. And their second demand was that he be replaced by someone local. They were expecting someone local. The appointment is not simply trolling on the part of the bald one, activist Olga Bulgakova wrote on Facebook in a reference to Putin, it is an act of humiliation. The message to Khabarovsk residents, she added, was: If you dont want someone from United Russia, you can have [expletive deleted]. Degtyaryov is a colorful up-and-comer in the LDPR which, despite its name, is a nationalist party -- and has been mentioned by flamboyant longtime LDPR leader Vladimir Zhirinovsky as a possible successor. He was the partys unsuccessful candidate for mayor of Moscow in 2013, when he came in fifth after Kremlin favorite Sergei Sobyanin, opposition politician Aleksei Navalny, and two others, and again in 2018. However, his career was launched firmly inside the United Russia establishment. From 2001-03, he headed the Samara branch of the pro-Putin activist youth group Walking Together. In 2003, he joined United Russia and the partys official youth group, Molodaya Gvardiya (Young Guard). In 2004, he was elected to the Samara City Duma from the ruling party, but he left United Russia in 2005. He joined the LDPR in November 2005 after being recruited for a local leadership post. A few months later, in April 2006, he was named the partys Samara regional coordinator and an aide to party leader Zhirinovsky. He was elected as a regional lawmaker in 2007 and as a State Duma deputy in 2011. In 2009 and again in 2018, he was included in Putins elite list of young reserve cadres after completing a preparatory course in the presidential management academ (RANXiGS). During his career in the Duma, he has been known as the author of a number of outlandish initiatives, including one to paint the Kremlins red-brick walls white, one that would have outlawed the circulation of U.S. dollars in Russia, one that would have given women two paid days off each month during their menstrual periods, and one that would have banned gay men from donating blood. 'How To Pour Kerosene On A Fire' Once it was announced, Degtyaryovs appointment quickly became a topic of ridicule on Russian social media. Journalist Mikhail Shevelev asserted on Facebook that although Degtyaryov seemed normal early in his career, that is no longer the case. He is a subject for a dissertation in psychology, he wrote. The appointment could be featured in a textbook called How To Pour Kerosene On A Fire, Muscovite Grigory Kislin wrote on Facebook. Journalist and Moscow district council member Ilya Azar posted a photograph of Degtyaryovs office in the Duma which featured a huge scowling portrait of a young Zhirinovsky on the wall and a doormat on the floor featuring a photograph of former U.S. President Barack Obama and the American flag. But the mood on social media in Khabarovsk itself was a bit different, although there were plenty of memes pointing out Degtyaryovs lack of any connection with the region. Nizovtsev told RFE/RL that he was reading local forums both before and after Degtyaryovs appointment became known late on July 20. Before the appointment, people were participating in profound political disputes on topics like should the protests mention Putin, should they collect money for Furgals legal defense, or should they openly come out against Moscow, he said. But as soon as Degtyaryov appeared, everyone simply united, he noted. The most radical voices became louder and the moderates didnt simply become quieter they just fell silent. I didnt come across a single person who supported Degtyaryov, so I cant say how other people would have reacted. WATCH: Weeklong Khabarovsk Protests Culminate In Thousands-Strong Demonstration (from July 18) Moscow-based political consultant Stanislav Belkovsky told RFE/RL that Degtyaryovs appointment indicates that Putin was more concerned with mending fences with Zhirinovsky and the LDPR than with analyzing the demands of the Khabarovsk demonstrators. Putin always thinks that people dont come out into the streets voluntarily and for free, Belkovsky said. If there is a mass demonstration, that means that someone is financing it and organizing it. When the appointment was announced, Belkovsky noted, Zhirinovsky backed away from his previous support of Furgal and said his party had nothing to do with the protests in the region. Belkovsky added that Putin might be misjudging the seriousness of the situation in the Far East because it is being downplayed by his advisers. We shouldnt forget that the presidents perspective is shaped by his advisers, Belkovsky said. Every bureaucrat knows that it is important to show that nothing serious is happening because, just like in the days of antiquity, the person who brings bad news is to blame and hes the one to lose his head. Putin lives in the ether, he concluded. His self-isolation began long before the pandemic. He doesnt think anything extraordinary is happening in Khabarovsk that would force him to fundamentally change his standard political logic of not making any serious concessions to those who are pressuring him. Nizovtsev agrees. Locals are upset that he is not from Khabarovsk, not from the Far East, that as Aleksei Navalny said he has only seen Khabarovsk on television, Nizovtsev said. This has really enraged everyone. This was a huge mistake, but I have the impression that Putin has decided to push it all the way. Written by RFE/RL senior correspondent Robert Coalson based on reporting by RFE/RL Russian Service correspondent Yelena Rykovtseva. With additional reporting by Current Time, the Russian-language network led by RFE/RL in cooperation with VOA. A CBS reporter, who was the first person to die in a Revel moped crash, was not wearing a helmet, according to reports. Nina Kapur, 26, was riding as a passenger on one of the electric scooters when she was killed in Brooklyn on Saturday. Her death follows a series of incidents involving Revel riders including a serious head injury suffered by a 38-year-old man who remains in critical condition. CBS New York reporter Nina Kapur, 26, (pictured) who was the first person to die on a Revel moped, was killed in Brooklyn on Saturday Photos recently shared from the site (above) showed a blue Revel scooter laying on its side across the sidewalk as firefighters and EMS workers strapped a woman on to a stretcher Kapur, of Newton, Pennsylvania, was being driven by a 26-year-old man in Greenpoint who claimed he swerved to avoid a car that was pulling out, according to unnamed police sources. Both Kapur and the driver were thrown on to the roadway but it is thought that neither were wearing helmets. They were taken to Bellevue Hospital where Kapur was pronounced dead. The driver, whose relationship to Kapur was not immediately known, suffered only minor injuries, according to police sources. Photos recently shared by onlookers showed a blue Revel scooter laying on its side across the sidewalk as firefighters and EMS workers strapped a woman on to a stretcher. CBS2 originally shared the tragic news on Sunday but did not provide additional details about the incident at the time. 'We are heartbroken here at CBS2 as a member of our news family has passed away,' the outlet said in a statement. 'Our thoughts and prayers are with Nina's family. She will be missed.' Kapur, a Pennsylvania native, graduated from Syracuse University in 2016 and joined CBS2 in June 2019, where she was 'known for her contagious smile and love for storytelling', the outlet said. Less than a week before her death Kapur had tweeted at Revel, a scooter-sharing service in New York City, and said that she had been trying to contact its customer support center. She wrote: 'Hi I have been trying to contact revel support for an hour an half now. Can someone please help me?' A Revel representative later responded by asking her to send a direct message about her issue. It is thought that neither Kapur (pictured) nor the 26-year-old male driver were wearing helmets at the time of the incident Speaking about Kapur's death, a spokeswoman for Revel told MailOnline: 'Revel extends deepest sympathies to Nina Kapurs family and loved ones for their loss. 'We are aware of reports that she passed away after an accident involving a Revel electric moped. We are actively investigating this incident, and we are in contact with the NYPD to aid their investigations in any way we can. 'Given the ongoing nature of the investigation, we are unable to comment any further on the details of this incident at this time.' It comes after it was revealed last week that Revel had suspended more than 1,000 users in the last month for violating its rules by driving recklessly in the city. There have been a series of accidents involving riders since the electric scooter-sharing firm launched in NYC two years ago. Just hours before Kapur's accident, a 38-year-old man was left in critical condition with a head trauma after an apparent mishap with his Revel scooter, police said. The victim was discovered lying on a pavement in Queens at around 5.30 am before a passerby called 911. There have been a series of accidents involving riders since the electric scooter-sharing firm launched in NYC two years ago (stock image) It is currently unclear if the man fell off the scooter or if he was hit by a vehicle that fled the scene, officers said. He remains in a critical condition at Elmhurst Hospital and the investigation is still ongoing. Similarly, lawyer Daniel Flanzig told the New York Post that he is currently representing two people bringing personal-injury suits against Revel in the Brooklyn Supreme Court. He said: 'New York City is not the proper place to be learning for the first time how to ride a scooter. It's not all that far off from a motorcycle.' One of his clients, Paul Dicesare, is a cyclist who claims he suffered a broken ankle in a June collision with a Revel rider in Downtown Brooklyn, according to papers filed. The suit, which seeks unspecified damages, argues Revel 'was vicariously liable for the reckless, careless and negligent acts of its driver'. Moreover, in a suit filed through another attorney, Revel rider Afadikwei Reyes claims that a Revel scooter locked up mid-ride which caused a crash that left him with two fractures in his leg. Ride-sharing company Revel only expanded into New York earlier this year after being confined to areas of the city's outer boroughs, including Queens. The company even offered free memberships to healthcare workers during the height of the city's COVID-19 outbreak. The company's mopeds can go up to around 30 miles per hour, putting it in a vehicle classification that requires a driver's license, but not a motorcycle license. Riders can apply for a free lesson to 'get comfortable with basic techniques needed to operate' the scooters. Speaking about legal and safety issues, a spokeswoman for Revel told MailOnline: 'While we are unable to comment specifically on active legal matters, safety is our top priority at Revel, and we are committed to working with local officials and communities to promote safe transportation practices across the city. 'Revel has strict safety policies in place, developed in adherence with all local and national regulations. All Revel vehicles are inspected by trained mechanics before they are allowed on the road. Revel offers our users free lessons, and new users watch an instructional video before riding with Revel. 'Additional educational content is also available through our app and website. We are constantly iterating and adjusting our policies to address changing conditions.' A week after the fourth round of military talks between India and China, sources on Tuesday said that Chinese forces are still present at Finger 5 area of the Pangong Tso in eastern Ladakh. The sources added that some thinning has taken place but it's very little. It also added that the next few days will be crucial. On July 14, during the course of the intense and complex negotiations between senior commanders of the two armies that lasted nearly 15 hours, the Indian delegation apprised the Chinese People's Liberation Army about the "red lines" and conveyed that the onus was largely on China to improve the overall situation in the region. Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hua Chunying had told a media briefing that both sides achieved progress for promoting further disengagement of the border troops at the Western Sector of the China-India boundary. "Chinese and Indian border troops held the fourth round of commander-level talks on July 14. Building on the common understanding reached at the previous three rounds of commander-level talks and corresponding implementation work, the two sides achieved progress in further disengagement between border troops as well as easing the situation at the western sector of the China-India boundary," Chunying had said. "We hope that India will work with China to implement our consensus with concrete actions and jointly safeguard peace and tranquillity in the border areas," Chunying had added. The Indian delegation was led by Lt Gen Harinder Singh, the commander of the Leh-based 14 Corps, while the Chinese side was headed by the commander of the South Xinjiang military region Maj Gen Liu Lin. The Lt General-level talks took place days after implementation of the first phase of the disengagement process from the friction points. The PLA has already completed pulling back troops from Gogra, Hot Springs and Galwan Valley and significantly thinned down its presence in the ridgeline of Finger Four in the Pangong Tso area in the last one week as demanded by India. The Indian and Chinese armies were locked in a bitter standoff in multiple locations in eastern Ladakh since May 5. The tension escalated after the violent clashes in Galwan Valley in which 20 Indian Army personnel were killed. Joe Biden released the third plank of his "Build Back Better" economic recovery plan Tuesday, which would cost $775 billion over 10 years and aims to create 3 million new caregiving or education jobs. The big picture: The Biden campaign is trying to make a big splash with their economic policy rollouts, deploying former 2020 rivals to help pitch the plans and sending the former vice president out to give remarks in person in Delaware. These come at a time when the coronavirus pandemic has created an economic crisis just months before the presidential election. Several states are begging for more financial help after they've had to shut down their economies because of the public health crisis. Both parties are working on coronavirus relief efforts in Congress, but time is running out to get things done before members leave for August recess. Details: "The Biden Plan for Mobilizing American Talent and Heart to Create a 21st Century Caregiving and Education Workforce" would cost $775 billion over 10 years. The campaign said it would be paid for "by rolling back unproductive and unequal tax breaks for real estate investors with incomes over $400,000 and taking steps to increase tax compliance for high-income earners." The two main focuses of the plan are childcare and expanding access to care for older Americans and those living with disabilities. Biden will allocate $450 billion to give more people the choice to receive care at home or in supportive community situations, or to have that choice for their loved ones, the plan says. He proposes increasing Medicaid funding to states, eliminating the current waitlist for home and community care services that are available under Medicaid, and investing in community health services. Driving the news: "Our country is experiencing a caregiving crisis," said a senior Biden campaign official during a phone briefing with reporters. Their plan calls for creating a new "child care construction tax credit to encourage businesses to build child care facilities at places of work." Biden would offer universal pre-k, make child care more affordable and accessible, aim to create over 1 million early education jobs. Under this plan, low-income and middle-class families would receive a tax credit (as much as $8,000) to offset childcare costs. Biden also proposes increasing pay for early childhood educators in public schools to "receive similar pay and benefits to elementary school teachers if they have similar qualifications and experience." And it would aim to expand child care for military families, as well as train caregivers who deal with veterans and Americans dealing with substance use disorders. The previous two planks of the economic recovery plan included a pathway to reopening schools safely and a roadmap for protecting the coronavirus supply chain. Go deeper: How Warren is shaping Biden's policies An armed man who took people hostage on a bus in the western city of Lutsk has been detained, and all hostages have been released, Ukraine's Deputy Interior Minister Anton Gerashchenko has said live on the Ukraine 24 television channel. "Our main task was to ensure the freedom of all hostages so that they would be alive and unharmed. That is why we were negotiating with the terrorist," he said. According to him, the hostages have been released "and this is the main result of this special operation." Deputy Head of the President's Office Kyrylo Tymoshenko, in turn, wrote on Facebook that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky had persuaded the culprit to surrender and release all hostages. "A difficult day in Lutsk. There are no victims thanks to the president. First, the president persuaded the culprit to release three hostages - an elderly woman, a teenager, and a pregnant young woman and then to release all others and surrender," Tymoshenko wrote. He also thanked Ukraine's SBU Security Service and National Police officers for their coordinated work for the safety of people. A gunman seized a bus with passengers early in Ltsk on July 21. He said that he had placed an explosive device in the bus, that he had an automatic weapon and a large number of explosives. In addition, he said, another explosive device was placed in a public place and can be detonated remotely. According to the SBU, there were ten passengers on the bus. The real name of the hostage-taker has been established. He is Maksym Kryvosh, who was convicted twice and spent ten years in jail for serious crimes. SBU investigators launched criminal proceedings under Part 1 of Article 258 (a terrorist attack) of the Criminal Code of Ukraine. The gunman first released three hostages in the evening, and at about 22:00 Kyiv time, the bus was stormed by law enforcement officers. President Volodymyr Zelensky said he was closely following the situation. op (Reuters) - Iran will strike a reciprocal blow against America for the killing of top Revolutionary Guards commander Qassem Soleimani, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said on Tuesday in a meeting with Iraq Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhimi, according to Khamenei's official website. On Jan. 3, a U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Soleimani, leader of the Revolutionary Guards Quds Force. Washington had accused Soleimani of masterminding attacks by Iran-aligned militias on U.S. forces in the region. (Reporting By Babak Dehghanpisheh; Editing by Chris Reese) Ministers and experts didn't consider care home residents were being put at risk of Covid-19 because of agency staff working across multiple homes, England's chief medical officer admitted today. Part-time carers and bank staff who were infected but showed no symptoms were able to move freely between care homes at the start of the crisis without being tested. Staff on zero hours contracts also went to work despite feeling ill because they were not guaranteed sick pay, which helped the disease to race through the sector and kill more than 30,000 vulnerable residents. In a virtual grilling by MPs, Professor Chris Whitty acknowledged the error seemed glaringly 'obvious in retrospect' but had not been recognised earlier on in the pandemic. Speaking to the Commons Health and Social Care Committee today, he said: 'The fact that people working in multiple homes, people who were not paid sick leave, that is a clear risk... these were major risks in health and social care settings. 'So I think there are a lot of things that we have learned that we will, we can now do a lot better in social care, and I don't think any of us would look back on what has happened in social care and say the ideal advice was given.' England's chief medical officer Chris Whitty claimed there were 'operational difficulties' that made it difficult to shut the country down in a week. He contradicted his fellow adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar (right), who told the health select committee moments earlier he 'believed lockdown was enforced too late' Boris Johnson provoked fury earlier this month by implying care homes were responsible for their virus death toll by failing to follow correct procedures Boris Johnson provoked fury earlier this month by implying care homes were responsible for their virus death toll by failing to follow correct procedures. But Professor Whitty told MPs today his 'enthusiasm for blaming people for anything is zero, adding: 'That is absolutely not the way we deal with any kind of situation in health and social care and that's across the board. ' I think it's clear that every country that has a care sector has not handled this well. 'The UK is one country that has not handled this well in terms of issues in social care but the same is true, as previous speakers have said, the numbers are very similar or even higher in terms of proportions of deaths in almost every country where you look at this. Coronavirus outbreaks are up to 20 TIMES more likely in large care homes, study claims Coronavirus outbreaks are up to 20 times more likely to occur in large care homes, according to the biggest study of its kind in the UK. Edinburgh University researchers found the risk of an outbreak was as low as 5 per cent in homes with fewer than 20 residents. But for facilities home to more than 60 elderly people it soared to between 83 and 100 per cent, according to the scientists. More visitors and a revolving door of care staff, often agency workers who do shifts at other homes, are thought to be the driving factor behind the increased risk. The finding will pile more pressure on ministers to set out clear strategy for how they plan to protect care homes in the event of as second Covid-19 wave during winter. Failure to protect Britain's most vulnerable people during the first outbreak has seen nearly 30,000 care home residents die from the disease. At the peak of the crisis, 25,000 hospital patients were discharged into care homes without being tested for Covid-19, allowing them to pass it to staff and frail residents. Advertisement 'So this is across the board, this has been a major problem... I think there are a lot of things that we have learned that we will, we can now do a lot better in social care, and I don't think any of us would look back on what has happened in social care and say the ideal advice was given and this is the fault of anyone. I personally would shy away from that.' Deputy chief medical officer Dr Jenny Harries said there had been a change around protecting care home residents 'and it is that knowledge, some of which was missing I think when we first started'. She said one area of increased knowledge was that people could be asymptomatic or have 'very non-specific illness'. Newer measures included testing programmes in care homes, infection control programmes and swift action for local outbreaks, she added. Meanwhile, Professor Whitty and one of the Government's prominent scientific advisers butted heads about whether the UK was too slow to enforce lockdown during the virtual committee meeting. In the uncharacteristically bad-tempered interview, England's chief medical officer claimed there were 'operational difficulties' that made it difficult to shut the country down in a week. During a virtual grilling by MPs, Professor Whitty denied there was no 'huge delay' between ministers being advised to implement the draconian measures and actually following through on the actions. He appeared to contradict his fellow adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar, who told the health select committee moments earlier he 'believed lockdown was enforced too late' and 'should have come earlier', in a sign of a rift between the UK's top experts. It emerged last week that the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had advised the Government to implement lockdown on March 16. But Boris Johnson did not announce the measures until March 23. Professor Whitty was quizzed about whether enforcing the draconian measures a week earlier would have saved tens of thousands of lives, as has been suggested by numerous scientists including Neil Ferguson, nicknamed 'Professor Lockdown' for his grim modelling that swayed ministers into shutting down the UK. The CMO blamed poor pandemic preparations, testing capacity and a lack of PPE for the UK having had the worst outbreak in Europe with almost 300,000 confirmed cases and over 45,000 deaths. And he launched a staunch defence of the government's actions over the Covid-19 pandemic, saying mass testing had to be abandoned early on in the crisis because health chiefs didn't have enough to capacity to cope with the size of the outbreak. The CMO blamed poor pandemic preparations, testing capacity and a lack of personal protective equipment for the UK having the worst death rate in Europe. In a thinly-veiled dig at the committee chair, Jeremy Hunt, who was health secretary for six years until 2018, Professor Whitty said: 'If we wished to build this capacity up, we could have done it in previous years.' Professor Chris Whitty denies the UK was too slow in introducing measures in frosty exchange with MPs The Government's scientific advisers today butted heads about whether the UK was too slow to enforce lockdown. In an uncharacteristically bad-tempered interview, England's chief medical officer Professor Chris Whitty claimed there were 'operational difficulties' that made it difficult to shut the country down in a week. During a virtual grilling with MPs, Professor Whitty denied there was no 'huge delay' between ministers being advised to implement the draconian measures and actually following through on the actions. He appeared to contradict his fellow adviser Sir Jeremy Farrar, who told the health select committee moments earlier he 'believed lockdown was enforced too late' and 'should have come earlier', in a sign of a rift between the UK's top experts. It emerged last week that the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had advised the Government to implement lockdown on March 16. But Boris Johnson did not announce the measures until March 23. Professor Whitty was quizzed about whether enforcing the draconian measures a week earlier would have saved tens of thousands of lives, as has been suggested by numerous scientists including Neil Ferguson, nicknamed 'Professor Lockdown' for his grim modelling that swayed ministers into shutting down the UK. The CMO blamed poor pandemic preparations, testing capacity and a lack of PPE for the UK having had the worst outbreak in Europe with almost 300,000 confirmed cases and over 45,000 deaths. And he launched a staunch defence of the government's actions over the Covid-19 pandemic, saying mass testing had to be abandoned early on in the crisis because health chiefs didn't have enough to capacity to cope with the size of the outbreak. But he accepted ministers and experts failed to recognise 'obvious' risks, such as care home residents being at risk from workers moving between homes and spreading Covid-19. In a thinly-veiled dig during a heated exchange with committee chair Jeremy Hunt, who was health secretary for six years until 2018, Professor Whitty said: 'If we wished to build this capacity up, we could have done it in previous years.' Advertisement But he accepted ministers and experts failed to recognise 'obvious' risks, such as care home residents being at risk from workers moving between homes and spreading Covid-19. In a thinly-veiled dig during a heated exchange with committee chair Jeremy Hunt, who was health secretary for six years until 2018, Professor Whitty said: 'If we wished to build this capacity up, we could have done it in previous years. Asked repeatedly if he was 'content' about the timing of lockdown, Professor Whitty accused Mr Hunt of trying to oversimplify the 'complicated' series of events that led up to decision on March 23. Professor Whitty said: 'Ministers at the time, who were put in an incredibly difficult position, in my view, followed the advice given by SAGE... with a delay that was no more than you would reasonably expect for what are really very difficult things to operationalise and decide. 'I'm not saying now, and I'm not going to say at any point, to be clear, that there was huge delay between the advice that ministers received, given the enormity of the difficulties that we were asking of people and the practical implications of what was being done.' The chief medical officer admitted that quite a lot of the changes implemented before lockdown likely were already driving the R down below one. Recently, an outpouring of scientists have suggested that lockdown was unnecessary and that simple social distancing measures would have been sufficient. Professor Whitty's short-tempered comments came just moments after fellow SAGE member, Sir Jeremy Farrar, tole MPs the UK shut down society too late. Sir Jeremy, director of the Wellcome Trust and a professor of tropical medicine, said: 'Yes, I believe lockdown was too late, I believe lockdown should have come in earlier. 'And indeed, in the weekend following that SAGE meeting [where ministers were advised to shut down on March 16], there were pressure and urgency to lock down immediately, within the next 24 hours of that weekend, in the coming week. 'And I think that delay did lead to the epidemic expanding faster than would have been needed if the lockdown had been imposed earlier, and that week was a critical week for the subsequent events in the epidemic.' There was 'not enough urgency' in January and February, according to Sir Jeremy. 'If I now look back on my time on the Sage committee, I regret that Sage wasn't more blunt in its advice and wasn't more robust. But it didn't have a job in holding people to account, unfortunately, for delivery of interventions that were made.' He added: 'The UK was slow to put in place testing, to put in place extra clinical capacity, and to make sure that healthcare workers were protected with the PPE. And as a result subsequent events led to the epidemic taking off in a way in the UK, which was not the same as in Korea, Germany, or in Singapore, Vietnam.' Last month, Professor John Edmunds, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine and member of SAGE, said the UK should have gone into lockdown earlier and that not doing so had cost 'a lot of lives'. His comments were echoed by former Sage member Professor Neil Ferguson, who said coronavirus deaths in the UK could have been halved if the Government had introduced the lockdown a week earlier. Professor Whitty said last week's comments about lockdown by England's chief scientific officer, Sir Patrick Vallance, had been misinterpreted. Sir Patrick said that SAGE advised on March 16 that more draconian measures were needed, on top of the social distancing, working from home and hand-washing protocols that were already in place. Professor Whitty said today that Sir Patrick had not been referring to full legal lockdown, but the advice on avoiding leisurely travel and meeting up with friends that Mr Johnson issued that day. BRUSSELS After nearly five days of intense haggling, European Union leaders early on Tuesday stepped up to confront one of the gravest challenges in the blocs history, agreeing to a landmark spending package to rescue their economies from the ravages of the pandemic. The 750 billion euro ($857 billion) stimulus agreement, spearheaded by Chancellor Angela Merkel of Germany and President Emmanuel Macron of France, sent a strong signal of solidarity even as it exposed deep new fault lines in a bloc reshaped by Britains exit. The deal was notable for its firsts: European countries will raise large sums by selling bonds collectively, rather than individually; and much of that money will be handed out to member nations hit hardest by the pandemic as grants that do not have to be repaid, and not as loans that would swell their national debts. Those extraordinary steps reflected a difficult consensus among members: that the scale of the crisis facing them required groundbreaking measures to ensure the blocs legitimacy, stability and prosperity. The much-awaited meeting of Nepal's ruling communist party on Tuesday failed to sort out the differences between Prime Minister K P Sharma Oli and the rival faction led by party executive chairperson Pushpa Kamal Dahal 'Prachanda' as political issues did not figure during the brief deliberations held in the absence of the premier. IMAGE: A file photo of Nepalese Prime Minister Khadga Prasad Sharma Oli, shaking hands with executive chairperson of Communist Party of Nepal Pushpa Kamal Dahal, also known as Prachanda, in Kathmandu. Photograph: Navesh Chitrakar/Reuters The meeting of the Standing Committee of the Nepal Communist Party (NCP) was held at the Prime Minister's official residence at Baluwatar in the national capital but it did not discuss political issues, said Ganesh Shah, member of the Standing Committee and a senior party leader. Prime Minister Oli did not attend the meeting of the 45-member Standing Committee, he said, adding that the next meeting of the top body of the NCP will be held a week later. The meeting took place after it was postponed seven times to allow Oli and Prachanda more time to sort out their differences. However, on Tuesday also the meeting was deferred by two hours as Prime Minister Oli held a one-on-one meeting with party's executive chairman 'Prachanda' to settle key issues over power-sharing. The meeting mainly discussed the natural disasters that have hit the country, he said. The next meeting of the Standing Committee was decided to be held on July 28 at 11 am at Baluwatar to review the party's activities, government's performance, finalising division of work among party's cadres and leaders, and proposed general convention among other issues, he said. However, 'informal meetings may take place among the senior leaders of the party before the Standing Committee meeting with the view to resolving the internal feud in the party', Shah said. The members at the meeting expressed sadness over the loss of life and property due to the floods and landslides in different parts of the country as a result of continuous rains and urged the government to carry out relief works in a speedy manner. "There was only one agenda for today to direct the party members to respond to natural disasters," said Narayan Kaji Shrestha, party's spokesperson. "The meeting also expressed condolences to the families of those who lost their lives to floods and landslides and wished speedy recovery of the injured," Shrestha said. At the meeting, a proposal to direct the party members to involve in rescue and relief was tabled, as 233 people have been killed, 98 have disappeared and 99 have been due to the floods and landslides, the Kathmandu Post newspaper quoted Shrestha as saying. Top NCP leaders, including Prachanda, have been demanding Oli's resignation, saying his recent anti-India remarks were 'neither politically correct nor diplomatically appropriate'. They are also against Oli's autocratic style of functioning. The differences grew further after Oli said that some of the ruling party leaders are aligning with the southern neighbour to remove him from power after his government issued a new political map incorporating three Indian territories of Kalapani, Lipulekh and Limpiyadhura. The Prachanda-Nepal faction rejected Oli's allegations, saying it is them who have asked for resignation, not India. Prachanda has said that he will not allow the party to split and any attempt from anywhere to weaken its unity would hurt the fight against the coronavirus pandemic and natural disasters. Prachanda on Monday said efforts were going on to resolve the intra-party differences and ruled out an early general convention of the party as proposed by embattled Prime Minister Oli. "Going for the general convention is not a bad idea but without proper preparations, it is not possible as various issues including the party ideology also need to be sorted out," Matrika Yadav, a Standing Committee member, quoted Prachanda as saying at the meeting. Prachanda's remarks came amid reports that he had reached an understanding with Oli on holding the general convention by November/December and that the prime minister would back him as the party chair. A grandfather was a 'ticking time bomb' after he had to delay his heart surgery due to the coronavirus pandemic and nearly died from it. Jeff Street, 59, from Pocatello, Idaho, was born with a congenital condition that affects the way blood flows from the heart. After the largest blood vessel in his heart became severely weakened, he was referred to a hospital in New York City for surgery - but it had to be delayed when COVID-19 swept across the country. When the hospital opened up again for operations, Street was worried about catching the virus on a plane, or passing it on to his two-year-old grandson. However, he decided to fly for the procedure and doctors say it was a good thing he did because of the blood vessel had torn and he was very close to suffering a fatal rupture. Jeff Street, 59 (left and right), from Pocatello, Idaho, was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, a congenital heart condition that affects the way blood flows through the heart. He had an operation that replaced the valve with a donor valve in 1997 and felt well until he started suffering from nausea and fatigue last year Doctors discovered Street had suffered from an aortic root aneurysm, which occurs when the aorta, the largest blood vessel, severely weakens. Surgery was scheduled for March but postpone due to coronavirus Pictured: Surgeons performing the operation on Street in June Street was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, which is when the valve on the left side of the heart only has two leaflets instead of the typical three. The valve, which regulates blood flow from the heart into the aorta, may not be able to close properly, causing blood to flow back into the heart. This affects about one to two percent of the population and is twice as likely to develop in men. However, Street wasn't diagnosed until he was 37 during an unrelated doctor's visit. 'I had another condition at the time that caused me to have a high fever and a nurse practitioner discovered the murmur,' he told DailyMail.com. In August 1997, Street underwent a Ross procedure, which is an operation usually performed on children, at the University of Oklahoma Medical Center. During the procedure, the diseased aortic valve is removed and an organ donor valve replaced it. On June 9, Street had the operation at Mount Sinai, where surgeons discovered he had a tear by the root, the section that attached to the heart. Pictured: Dr El-Hamamsy who performed surgery on Street Street, who is a professor of business at Idaho State University, said he started feeling ill last winter. 'I've kind of been slowing down for a year or two but I just thought I'm getting older,' he said. 'But when I really first noticed it was between last Thanksgiving and Christmas. I really had no energy, I was a little nauseated, I didn't feel well.' His local cardiologist soon discovered that Street had suffered an aortic aneurysm, which is when the aorta becomes severely weakened. These aneurysms can become deadly if they burst without immediate treatment. Street was referred to Mount Sinai Heath System in New York City, where a more experienced medical team could perform the operation. It was originally scheduled for March but, by then, the COVID-19 pandemic began raging in New York so the operation was postponed and doctors monitored him via telehealth. When surgeries were allowed again, Street was hesitant about himself, being in a high-risk group, flying across the country due to fear of catching COVID-19 on a plane. There was also fear he could pass the virus onto his children or grandchildren, but he decided to take the risk. Dr Ismail El-Hamamsy, System Director of Aortic Surgery at the Mount Sinai Health System, said the surgery, which took place on June 9, lasted between four and five hours and comprised of two parts. The first part consisted of replacing the part of the aorta that had the aneurysm and the second part was replacing the valve. 'We couldn't repair the valve because it was too leaky so we had to replace it using an animal valve,' El-Hamamsy told DailyMail.com. The surgeons were shocked when they discovered that Street's heart had already suffered a small tear that can lead to severe internal bleeding, organ damage or death. Street was told that he was very close to suffering from a rupture that would have likely killed him had the surgery not been performed. Pictured: Street on a bench in Central Park, June 'He was very lucky in his story because that could have gone really bad,' said El-Hamamsy. 'Typically, when you have a little tear, it becomes a big tear and then turns into a rupture and patients die immediately. Every day that goes by was another day where he was at risk of walking and just - boom - dropping dead.' Street says, after the surgery, doctors told him just how close he was to dying. 'When you have a rupture, you have a 50-50 chance of dying right then and you have an 80 percent chance of not surviving surgery so it was quite close it seems,' he said. 'I was probably so close to having a catastrophe with a rupture. The timing was just perfect.' Doctors say the original donor valve is still in good condition but that he may have developed some issues with the aortic root due to scar tissue. The grandfather was discharged to his Airbnb where he was staying near Central Park. By the time he left the hospital, he was taking walks in Central Park when he had previously been unable to walk very far prior to surgery. Street says he's been walking twice a day and is hoping to soon be able to ride a bike. He adds that he hopes his story is a warning to others who may be thinking of deferring life-saving medical care during the pandemic. Vietnam needs transparency and actual public consultation on corporate environmental impacts; and clarity in regulations relating to the environments capacity to withstand pollutants. Nguyen Dang Anh Thi Three years ago, the Vietnamese public was infuriated over the environmental ministry's approval for a proposal to dispose nearly one million cubic meters of dredged sewage by the privately-owned Vinh Tan 1 thermal power corporation. The sewage would have been dumped into the ocean near an important national marine conservation park in Binh Thuan Province. After writing a few articles against this devious disposal plan, I received the good news via emails saying the ministry has approved our plea to cancel the dumping proposal. As glad as I was of the result, I understood that my contribution was small, among countless other strong supporters of oceanic preservation in a long-standing, tough battle. Soon after the Vinh Tan 1 plan, many other private thermal energy corporations attempted the same feat on an even larger scale of up to 2.4 million cubic meters. Backward legislation Studying the Vietnamese Environmental Protection Law, the original in 1993 and two amendments in 2005 and 2014, I was taken aback by the nature of the changes. The 2005 amendment explicitly forbade the disposal of waste into the ocean. However, the following rule, including the 2014 amendment and the 2015 Law on Marine and Island Resources and Environment, implicitly suggested the possibility that it can happen. So what are the types of sewage these laws allow to be dumped into the ocean? They include all dredged waste of maritime vessels, regardless of the wastes ocean-polluting nature. This goes against international norms on waste disposal and its potential impacts on environmental pollution. To prevent inappropriate handling of environmentally toxic waste, the international community has continuously imposed stronger rules and stricter legal punishments. If the environment has already been polluted, it would take an enormous amount of both monetary and human resources to deal with the dreadful consequences. Therefore, it is universally accepted wisdom that prevention is the most cost-effective method of controlling environmental pollution. In fact, this wisdom and realization became an embedded component of international law in 1994, with the introduction of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS), requiring member nations to "take all measures ... that are necessary to prevent, reduce and control pollution of the marine environment" (Article 194 (1), UNCLOS), which has been ratified by 168 nations, including the European Union. With their ratification, all member nations have explicitly accepted the UNCLOS rule as a component of their domestic laws as well. Official lip service In Vietnam, some officials, despite claiming they will "not sacrifice the environment for economic development," have repeatedly turned a blind eye on crucial environmental issues, even during National Assembly sessions. As corporates continue to dispose of industrial waste into the ocean, they are utilizing their opportunity to maximize self-interest, not caring for the environment or for the public in the long run. After many years of working in environmental protection, I have realized the effectiveness of environmental protection at both local and national levels depends on having an executive branch with integrity. It serves as the first defense against lawlessness by imposing a law-abiding attitude on society and terminating trouble-making potential. If only Vietnam had an efficient executive branch, many notorious, nefarious and hugely damaging environmental disasters in Vietnam in recent years could have been avoided. While having stricter laws undoubtedly help prevent wrongdoings, without an efficient law-enforcing government, there is no guarantee for a brighter environmental future for Vietnam. Two shortcomings There are two shortcomings in implementing the law that I hope Vietnamese officials will improve upon, especially on environmental issues. First, Vietnam ought to maintain public transparency and public consultation in the process of evaluating corporate environmental impacts. A person holds fish carcasses that washed ashore in central Vietnam in April 2016 after Taiwanese firm Formosa released contaminated waste into the ocean. Photo by AFP. The insidious impacts of this lack of public transparency were seen in the Formosa issue in 2016. In this case, the Vietnamese environment ministry allowed the corporation to dispose of waste directly into the ocean from 2014, a clear violation of the law on waste disposal. Yet, it was only when wave after wave of fish carcasses washed up on the coast in north-central Vietnam in 2016 that the public became aware of this major violation of fundamental laws. Meanwhile, public consultation in Vietnam on environmental issues is only made for forms sake. Without real consultation with locals and independent specialists, this process has no discernible impact on decisions and conclusions, creating a strong potential for corruption in dealing with environmental issues, not to mention the deleterious impacts such actions will have on the nations natural resources and on the lives of future generations. Second, Vietnam ought to have transparent regulations on the environments capacity to withstand pollutants. Due to unclear laws, in the environment ministers words, "the environmental quality in certain places has degraded beyond acceptable, without the capability of receiving any more waste." Receiving waste is similar to intoxicating the environment, emphasis on the toxic aspect. Once the recipient is overdosed, the only possible outcome is annihilation, not of the earth, but of humans living in it. Even 15 years after ratification, the Vietnamese environmental law has never been imposed on corporations, leading to increasing pollution nationwide. "To take care of the populations health," and "to ensure the universal right to live in a healthy environment" are two stated aims of a recent proposal to amend the environmental protection law submitted to the National Assembly. As idealistic as the proposed amendment sounds, how can the population trust any law ratification and amendment, when there is nobody to take the needed follow up actions? *Nguyen Dang Anh Thi is an expert on energy and environment issues. The opinions expressed are his own. Vietnam has become a bright spot in the world in repelling the COVID-19 pandemic, said Takeshi Kasai, World Health Organisation Regional Director for the Western Pacific. Takeshi Kasai, World Health Organisation Regional Director for the Western Pacific. Photos courtesy of the Ministry of Health He made the statement at an online meeting with Nguyen Thanh Long, Acting Minister of Health on Monday. Kasai congratulated Long on his new position as well as the achievement of Vietnam in controlling the COVID-19 pandemic. The country has so far not recorded any deaths, he said. Kasai also informed Long of the 71st WHO West Pacific meeting which will be held online in October. The meeting will focus on COVID-19, vaccinations and vaccines, healthy aging, as well as safe and affordable surgeries. About 160 COVID-19 vaccine candidates are in development all over the world, he said. However, all vaccines needed to strictly adhere to the prescribed testing stage before being put into use. Kasai said he hoped a vaccine against COVID-19 would be available this year. But he said that mass production would also be a major problem, especially to ensure safety and efficiency. Nguyen Thanh Long, Acting Minister of Health, at an online meeting with Takeshi Kasai, World Health Organisation Regional Director for the Western Pacific. Long said quick tests and COVID-19 vaccines are the two important issues in COVID-19 prevention and combat for Vietnam and the region. The acting minister also expected that WHO would continue to provide technical support for the country so that it would develop test kits that deliver results rapidly, accurately and at low risk. Currently, Vietnam is developing a vaccine against COVID-19 and would like to get WHO assistance, he said. Japan and the Republic of Korea have developed quick test kits, Kasai said. However, according to him, we should have flexibility in using test kits. Kasai said that Vietnam has a very competent research team and proper guidelines so it was possible for the country to develop vaccines. Also present at the event were Dr Kidong Park, WHO Representative for Vietnam, Tran Thi Giang Huong, Director, Division of Disease Control, from the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific and other leaders from health agencies. VNS Made-in-Vietnam COVID-19 vaccine expected within nine months The country is expected to market a Made-in-Vietnam vaccine for the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) within the next nine to 12 months due to the vaccine research and manufacturing project enjoying strong progress, according to researchers. I like to think of myself as objective, politically; I'm not "married" to either big political party. I dislike them both. I feel the root of most of our nations problems is the inherent divisive nature of the two-party system, where so many fall into a trap, pick a team, and then pretend everything that is right because conforms to that teams beliefs, and everything that the other team supports is wrong. Its all simplistic, short-sighted laziness. It results in most of our money and energy being used against each other, not for the common good. As we now can see, the divisiveness reaches new heights when the person on top of either party is particularly strong-willed and abrasive. And, wow, how about these political ads? Ugh! One (Donald Trump) ad states Joe Bidens past support for tough crime bills is the reason our jails are overpopulated. Other ads also by the Trump campaign contradictorily suggest that a Biden-as-president America will not fund any police to arrest anyone. These ads blow the top off of how fake "news" can be. They have Satan-like images of Biden looming about, and the messages are endorsed by Donald J. Trump which is both ridiculous and embarrassing. The most recent ads are particularly interesting, because they use footage of riots in the streets, mostly shot during Trump's presidency. God help us. Anthony Milanese, Paulsboro Stores should mask up those who forget Recently, while I was in a neighborhood discount chain store in Vineland, I witnessed a store associate turn away a customer who entered the store without a mask. Although I, myself, willingly comply with the state's mandate on wearing masks in stores and public places to combat the spread of COVID-19, I don't feel it's right for stores to refuse service to customers who have most likely forgotten their masks, left them in their cars, or who simply don't have them at all. Since there is clearly an abundant supply of disposable masks available for retail sale now, stores should keep a box or two handy behind a counter and give masks to customers who need them free of charge. Medical offices and hospitals do this. So should stores. I believe its true when they say about the pandemic, Were all in this together. But this issue of mask-wearing shouldnt divide us if we are all going to get through it together as a country. George I. Anderson, Vineland If not a hoax, its a Democrat power grab I have a hunch that some doctors are incorrectly listing COVID-19 as the cause of death for some patients. Even under normal circumstances, a cause of death can be difficult to determine. How can it be possible that New Jersey has more coronavirus deaths (at least 15,715) than the whole country of Germany (9,090) as of July 21? I think there are political and economic forces that want the pandemic to continue. The State of New Jersey is essentially being run under martial law. Gov. Phil Murphy and state Senate President Stephen Sweeney, D-Gloucester, support the state borrowing up to $9.9 billion without voter approval for COVID-19 expenses and revenue shortfalls. I consider that to be degenerate fiscal policy. The government worker unions want the borrowed money and the state Supreme Court always gives it to them. (State Republicans havd filed a lawsuit maintaining that this borrowing is unconstitutional.) These unions are an economic army blindly devoted to the Democratic Party. They don't care about small business and they do not want a economy that is independent of government spending. Because government is now the employer of so many New Jerseyans, Murphy and Sweeney feel no pangs of conscience from raising the bar on private businesses over coronavirus restrictions. This will mean the ruin of New Jersey's economy. Government worker unions want their public-employee pensions funded by taxpayers. The retirees will live off of borrowed money; they don't care. Lee Lucas, Gibbstown Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com. Our journalism needs your support. Please subscribe today to NJ.com.eState Republicans have filed a lawsuit maintaining Since everyone is locked up in their homes during the COVID-19 pandemic, people have been finding ways to entertain themselves, and the solution was simple: TikTok. It's where most trends have come from today, including viral dance challenges. Nevertheless, there's a growing trend on the platform, and it's not for the faint of heart. What is Haunted TikTok? Known as Haunted TikTok, these videos range from the outcome of the COVID-19 pandemic and the empty streets to creepypastas, tours of haunted places, stories of alleged real-life haunts, and even performance artists, who create these videos with the intent of creating something haunting and spooky. For those who are not familiar, creepypastas are short horror stories created by amateur writers, often found on Reddit. In a report by Mashable, Haunted TikTok has tons of haunting and creepy videos and just a DISCLAIMER, if you want to check these videos out, you should brace yourself for tons of creepy and disturbing content--and as we said earlier, it's not for the faint of heart. Although if you want to check out some of these contents, you can search the following hashtags: #HorrorTikTok, #GhostTikTok, #CursedTikTok, #ScaryTikTok, and #CreepyTikTok. As it turns out, these videos have become incredibly popular, gaining from one to 11 billion views. Read Also: Did TikTok's Witches Hex the Moon? WitchTok Community is Not Happy Creating a Web Horror Series Among the perhaps tamer videos are the ones from @where_is_everybody, which, according to the news outlet, follows a man known Alexander Nielsen, who has been showing empty streets, replaced by shadowy ghost figures. He's apparently been doing it since October 2019, a few months before the coronavirus pandemic. But as the situation grew dire, so did his videos, showing deserted highways and captions suggesting that food has become more scarce. Of course, the videos were created by a performance artist named John Galascio, who said another web horror series from Twitter inspire the series of videos he created for @where_is_everybody. He also believes that the platform's short-form video format is the best way to tell scary stories like his as 15 seconds is "the perfect amount of time to show an event and keep the viewers intrigued, while also creating a cliffhanger." Although not as shocking as the other haunted videos, these ones are definitely scarier, seeing as it's really happening in real-life, with tons of people staying indoors and the roads outside deserted. Why Creators are Choosing the Platform "The pandemic is already like the ghost that's haunting us," said assistant professor Jessica Maddox from Alabama University, who studies creative media and digital media. "Like all good horror, the Haunted TikTok trend provides us with a sense of control over something scary that we don't have control over in our real lives." Maddox said that the content on the platform's scary side came from web horror, which uses social media platforms to create retellings of old urban legends into the modern age. It's no wonder that creative people are using TikTok, even to share horror stories. Despite the controversy surrounding it now, it's a great app to film, edit, and put together a story that people could easily follow. Read Also: Controversal Chinese TikTok Clone, Zynn, Returns to Android and iOS; What are Zynncheers Points? 2021 TECHTIMES.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission. China steals intellectual property and research which bolsters its economy, and then they use that illicit gain as a weapon to silence any country that would dare challenge their illegal actions, FBI Deputy Director David Bowdich said. This type of economic coercion is not what we expect from a trusted world leader. It is what we expect from an organized criminal syndicate. Read the indictment: U.S. v. Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi The defendants hacked for their own profit but also for the Chinese Ministry of State Security (MSS), a civilian spy agency responsible for counterintelligence, foreign intelligence and domestic political security, the indictment says. They were aided in that effort by an MSS officer, authorities charge. The Justice Department on July 21 said they indicted two Chinese hackers targeting covid-19 related treatment, testing and vaccines. (The Washington Post) Advertisement Story continues below advertisement It marks the first time the United States has charged suspected Chinese hackers with working not only to enrich themselves but also on behalf of the government what prosecutors characterized as a blended threat. The 11-count indictment charges Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi with a wide-ranging conspiracy to hack computers and steal terabytes of trade secrets and other data beginning more than a decade ago and continuing to the present. The indictment says the two men recently researched vulnerabilities in the networks of biotech and other firms publicly known for work on covid-19 vaccines, treatments, and testing technology. The indictment does not indicate whether the alleged hacks were successful in obtaining vaccine research. France won't join the U.S. and UK in banning Huawei, but will instead focus on protecting national security interests, says finance minister Bruno Le Maire. (Reuters) Story continues below advertisement The indictment does not name the companies allegedly hacked by the duo, but the list includes firms in California, Maryland, Washington state, Texas, Virginia and Massachusetts. Advertisement This year the alleged hackers also compromised a British artificial-intelligence firm, a Spanish defense contractor and an Australian solar energy engineering company, the indictment says. U.S., Britain and Canada say Russian cyberspies are trying to steal coronavirus vaccine research The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security warned in May that hackers linked to the Chinese government were targeting coronavirus vaccine research. And China is not the only government eyeing such information. Last week the United States, Britain and Canada issued an unusual joint statement advising that Russian hackers also were targeting firms and university labs developing vaccines to stave off the novel coronavirus. Story continues below advertisement China has now taken its place, alongside Russia, Iran and North Korea, in that shameful club of nations that provide a safe haven for cybercriminals in exchange for those criminals being on call to work for the benefit of the state, here to feed the Chinese Communist Partys insatiable hunger for American and other non-Chinese companies hard-earned intellectual property, including covid-19 research, said John C. Demers, head of the Justice Departments National Security Division. He called the accused hackers a prolific threat to U.S. and foreign networks. Advertisement The Chinese government has routinely denied it conducts or sponsors hacks of foreign networks for purposes of economic espionage. The indictment is the latest salvo by the Trump administration, which has taken an increasingly aggressive stance against Chinese economic espionage and Beijings push to replace the United States as the global leader in the high-tech economy. Story continues below advertisement News of the indictment came as Secretary of State Mike Pompeo was in London meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson to discuss the two allies rising tensions with China. Just last week Britain delivered a significant win to Washington by announcing it was barring the Chinese technology giant Huawei from its nascent 5G wireless networks. Britain bars Huawei from 5G networks, part of a global shift away from the Chinese tech giant The indictment is part of the Justice Departments China initiative, launched in 2018, prioritizing countering Chinese national security threats in line with the administrations national security strategy. Advertisement About 80 percent of all federal economic espionage prosecutions allege conduct that would benefit the Chinese state, and there is at least some nexus to China in about 60 percent of all federal cases of trade secret theft. Story continues below advertisement The intrusions targeted industries outlined in Made in China 2025 Chinas 10-year plan to become a leader in specific advanced-technology sectors, Demers noted. The thefts in this case covered eight of the 10 sectors, he said, including next-generation information technology, robotics and automated machine tools, aircraft components, clean-energy vehicles, biotechnology and advanced rail. The indictment outlined how stealing intellectual property from companies in these industries could help Chinese companies replicate the technology and beat their Western competitors. Advertisement In one case, Demers noted, Li and Dong allegedly stole testing mechanisms, manufacturing processes and supply-chain data from a Maryland technology firm that would reveal what products the firm was intending to bring to market, and would save a competitor time and money on research and development. Story continues below advertisement In another, he noted, Li and Dong allegedly stole source code from a Massachusetts medical device engineering company as it was seeking to protect such data from a Chinese firm with which it had partnered to produce device components. Demers added that he worried that even the attempted hacking of vaccine information can slow down the research because if you do have a breach . . . obviously peoples attention needs to be focused on remediating that breach. The defendants had studied at the University of Electronic Science and Technology in Chengdu, authorities charged. They stole hundreds of millions of dollars worth of trade secrets and other valuable business information, and at least once threatened to post a victims intellectual property on the Internet unless a ransom was paid, according to the indictment. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Their work benefited the MSS, authorities charged in the indictment. In one case, they allegedly gave the spy agency the email and password of a Hong Kong activist. In another, an MSS officer allegedly gave the hackers malware to help them penetrate the computer of a Myanmar human rights group. To gain access to victim networks, the two men primarily exploited publicly known software vulnerabilities in popular Web server software, the indictment stated. In some cases, those vulnerabilities were newly announced, meaning that many users would not have installed patches to correct the vulnerability. The defendants used their initial access to place malicious programs, such as the China Chopper, and credential- stealing software on networks, which allowed them to remotely control victims computers, the indictment stated. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement The first sign of the defendants efforts was detected on computers of the Energy Departments Hanford Site in eastern Washington state, officials said. Analysts said the indictment underlines that the issue is not cybertechnology, which is a means to an end, but the government or actor approving the hacking campaign. We dont have a cyber problem we have a China, Russia, Iran and North Korea problem, said Dmitri Alperovitch, chairman of Silverado Policy Accelerator, a public policy think tank, and co-founder of the cybersecurity firm CrowdStrike. Thats because even when we are not dealing with nation-state activity, we are dealing with these four states that are protecting or even paying cybercriminals operating within their borders. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Jeffrey D. Sachs (The Jakarta Post) Project Syndicate/New York Tue, July 21, 2020 08:36 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a40667fea96 3 Opinion G20,G20-coronavirus-pledge,G20-meeting,COVID-19,pandemic,global-economic-risk Free The Group of 20 (G20) ministers of finance met last week under the auspices of Saudi Arabia, which holds the groups presidency this year. But it is hard to imagine the G20 countries leading the world, as they like to pretend that they do. Most of them cant effectively lead themselves through the current COVID-19 crisis. As the worlds largest economies, the G20s members have one overriding responsibility at the upcoming meeting: to agree on actions to suppress the pandemic. A few G20 countries are doing well; the laggard countries need to take urgent measures to stop the spread of the virus. All G20 countries need to cooperate on global-scale policies to overcome the health crisis. An overview of the G20 countries is sobering. Many are so poorly governed that they have been utterly ineffective in containing the pandemic. Judging by data from the past two weeks, the biggest G20 failure, at 176 new cases per day per million population, is Brazil, led by the reckless populist President Jair Bolsonaro, who has himself now contracted the virus. The second-biggest failure is the United States, led by the Bolsonaro of the north, President Donald Trump, with 137 new cases per day per million population. The two other G20 countries with more than 100 new cases per day per million population are South Africa (129) and Saudi Arabia (112). The next tier of countries, reporting 10-100 new cases per day per million population, includes Russia (47), Mexico (43), Turkey (16), India (15), and the United Kingdom (11). These countries are all at risk of a significant rise in transmission, with Mexico and India appearing to be at the greatest risk. Six of the G20 countries currently report 1-10 new cases per day per million population reasonably low rates that make possible decisive suppression of the virus in the near future: Canada (8), France (8), Germany (5), Indonesia (5), Italy (4), and Australia (3). Only three of the G20 countries report under one new case per day per million population: South Korea (0.96), Japan (0.9), and China (0.01). These three northeast Asian countries have displayed the necessary combination of political leadership, public-health professionalism, and responsible behavior (wearing face masks, maintaining physical distancing, and enhancing personal hygiene). An epidemic is a social phenomenon and needs a social response. As South Korea, Japan, and China have shown, the virus can be suppressed that is, new cases can be brought to near zero if a basic logic is followed. Those who are infected with the virus need to protect those who are not infected. They can do this in four ways during the two weeks while infectious: keep their physical distance; wear face masks; stay at home and away from others; and remain in a public quarantine if the home is not safe. This protection does not have to be perfect; indeed, it wont be. It has to be good enough, however, to ensure that on average an infected individual infects less than one other. All people must be cautious until the pandemic is suppressed. That means wearing face masks in public places, keeping a prudent distance from others, and monitoring ourselves and our close contacts for symptoms. Officials must make available testing sites and support services for the isolation of infected individuals, whether at home or in public facilities. Managers of workplaces must take precautionary measures, including remote work or safe physical distancing on site. The egregious G20 failures have in most cases started at the top. The likes of Bolsonaro and Trump are braggarts, bullies, dividers, and sociopaths. Their countries massive death tolls have moved them neither to expressions of sympathy nor to effective public-health policies. One sees similar perverse behavior among other G20 strongmen. Whereas women leaders (in New Zealand, Finland, Denmark, and elsewhere) have a superior track record on the pandemic, the G20, alas, has only one, Chancellor Angela Merkel. China obviously has much to offer. It has used the worlds most decisive measures to suppress a fulminant pandemic (after the first outbreak in Wuhan) and may well be on the way to producing the first useful vaccine. Yet societal outcomes are not just the result of political leadership. They also depend on culture and social responsibility. The Confucian culture of northeast Asia emphasizes social cooperation and pro-social personal behavior such as wearing face masks. American hotheads, stoked by Trump, loudly proclaim the freedom to reject face masks that is, the freedom to infect other Americans. One would rarely hear such a claim in northeast Asia. What is also notable is the failure of US business leaders to take measures to contain the epidemic. One of Americas leading entrepreneurs, Elon Musk, demanded the reopening of the economy (and his business), rather than using his engineering genius to help contain the virus. Other top business leaders, too, have contributed little or nothing to suppressing the epidemic. This, too, is part of American culture: money over lives, personal wealth over the social good. There is no way to save the economy without stopping the pandemic. Ensuring effective public-health measures is todays essential economic policy. ------ Professor of sustainable development and professor of health policy and management at Columbia University, and director of Columbias Center for Sustainable Development and the UN Sustainable Development Solutions Network Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not reflect the official stance of The Jakarta Post. A judge in Hidalgo County, Texas ordered all county residents on Monday to shelter at home from Wednesday until midnight on August 5 due to rising coronavirus cases in the state. Zoom in: Hidalgo County is reporting more coronavirus fatalities than all other counties outside of Harris, Dallas and Tarrant, but the the sixth-most coronavirus infections in the state, per Texas' health department. Details: The order also issues a county-wide curfew from 10 p.m. to 5 a.m. for everyone over 18, unless residents are out for a medical emergency or to render essential services. The order also mandates that everyone under 17 should be accompanied by a parent or guardian when leaving the house, outside of medical emergencies and essential services. Over 10,569 people are hospitalized from the virus in Texas as of Monday, per the state health department. Driving the news: Texas has set new highs for coronavirus infections recorded in a single day for the past three weeks, according to data compiled by Axios from the COVD Tracking Project and state health departments. Go deeper: Texas hospitals in danger of being overwhelmed as coronavirus surges Police say an arrest warrant notice wrongly sent to a woman who lives near Washington, D.C. was a mistake and not part of any conspiracy to target Black Lives Matter protesters. Hannah Murphy said she received a warrant notice in the mail last week from the City of Hoover on a misdemeanor charge of disorderly conduct for obstructing traffic. Murphy, who formerly lived in Alabama, said she has not even been in the state since November 2019. Hoover police Capt. Gregg Rector released this statement about the incident: On July 4th, a female protester was among a group who was arrested for sitting down in the middle of U.S. Highway 31 southbound traffic. Before she could be loaded onto the jail transport bus, she told officers that she was having a medical emergency and requested paramedics. The Hoover Fire Department responded, and this individual was transported to a local hospital. While gathering information, the arresting officer received incorrect personal identifiers for the subject who was being arrested. Since the arrestee was transported to the hospital, the officer obtained an arrest warrant from the city magistrate. A notice, informing the defendant that a warrant had been issued for her arrest was mailed to her last known address in Sterrett, Alabama. This individual had apparently moved out of state and was able to verify with the magistrate that she was not the individual who was present at the July 4th protest. The arrest warrant was re-called by the magistrate and she was never booked into the jail. Murphy said she wants to see the affidavit that led to the warrant being issued. She said she has spoken to everyone who was at the protest that day and has verified that no one there gave her name to police. Murphy said she moved to Arlington last year for a job opportunity but said she was a protest supporter when she lived in Alabama. I definitely have a connection to that community. Ive been at protests and have supported activists,' she said, but Ive never had any direct interaction with the police so that was definitely a surprise. She said she was horrified when she received the warrant notice and would like an apology. I have seen a lot of friends and activists that I know be arrested for pretty much nothing this yearand its very much in line with what I see going on around the country with peoples First Amendment rights being infringed upon when they are looking to protest,' she said. I just have a real problem with that, and I think this is just one symptom of that overreach that were seeing. I want accountability and I want transparency and I think that if police officers want to work on their relationship with the community, then thats a step they are going to have to take,' Murphy said. This is such an obvious absurd example of the problem people are trying to draw attention to. On Wednesday, Twitter fell victim to hackers who used a coordinated social engineering attack to compromise some of Twitters highest-profile accountsincluding those belonging to Barack Obama, Elon Musk, Bill Gates, and Kanye Westto launch a crypto scam targeting those users followers. The scammers ended up with multiple accounts and more than $120,000 in untraceable Bitcoin paymentsan amount that pales in comparison to the damage to Twitters brand. This was a particularly flashy breach, but in the end, it was just another in a long parade of cybersecurity incidents at high-profile and smaller companies alike. While cybersecurity advances have hardened IT infrastructure and made it increasingly difficult to hack systems remotely, criminals have a logical way around these measures: targeting the employees who are already inside the systems. This wasnt even the first time Twitter has fallen victim to a social engineering attack. In August 2019, Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey was the target of a different type of social engineering attack known as SIM swapping. In that incident, Dorsey briefly lost control over both his personal mobile number and Twitter handle after hackers used his personal information, including knowledge of which mobile carrier he uses, to transfer control of his number to the hackers. Twitter, of course, is not alone. Earlier this year, Shark Tanks Barbara Corcoran was almost scammed out of $400,000 when attackers profiled her organization, obtained basic contact information, and impersonated her bookkeeper in a wire fraud scheme. No organization is immunefrom Target to the Central Intelligence Agency to the cryptocurrency Classic Etherattackers keep finding ways to leverage human weakness to get around security measures. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Attackers look for ways to convince or trick employees into helping launch an attack that bypasses security measures meant to prevent penetration from the outside. They use confidence schemes to hack the human operating system rather than technical means to hack computer systems. There are more than a dozen types of social engineering attacks. The most common are fake phishing emails, whereby a message supposedly from a colleague or a manager asks for a password reset or help accessing a system. It seems like a quick favor for someone in a bindbut it can give a criminal access from the inside. This is a well-known problem in the IT world, and its a difficult one to solve. Yet its not enough to train employees to recognize fake messages. In many cases those messages are indiscernible, even by computer systems, from real ones. The fundamental problem is one of data. There is a massive, growing ocean of information out there on all of us: It is publicly available and easily obtainable on the internet. This data represents a guidebook for hackers, providing them many details on people, from what type of access to company systems they might have to their writing style. This information, often scraped in an automated fashion, allows hackers to generate phone calls, emails, text messages, and social media posts that are personalized and can trick even seasoned security industry veterans. For example, a family vacation picture posted on social media can help a hacker credibly impersonate the vacationer by email. When the email is sent with sufficient detail from a recognized personal email address (perhaps attached to that social media account) mimicking language from posts and other communications, requesting that funds be wired to a third partymaybe even a vendor that references a relationship with the company in a public case studyit may seem perfectly normal. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement In the case of Twitter, the initial breach has been traced to the hackers access of an internal chat channel on Slack. Knowledge of Twitters corporate structure and its employees roles and communication styles likely made the attack smarter and helped plan and affect the breach. Part of the issue is that the data out there is much more actionable than most people realize. Basic research on social media (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, etc.) and Google can reveal enough personal information for a hacker to make contact and design plans to dupe a person. This practice, commonly known by experts as cyber reconnaissance, powers more than 90 percent of successful cyberbreaches today, according to a report from Verizon. That number is not likely to drop soon, especially given that COVID-19 has compounded this problem by forcing so many employees to work from home. Social engineering attacks already rely on remote communicationnaturally, it is much harder to assume the guise of a trusted friend or colleague in person. Advertisement The New York Times has reported that a shadowy figure known as Kirk was the likely ringleader behind the recent Twitter attack. Although it is not yet known which social engineering tactics were leveraged to get that original access, Kirks campaign definitely involved reconnaissance. Beyond that, the attack may have hinged on an employee who was paid off, tricked, or coerced, or a disgruntled employee inside the company may have found a partner in crime on the outside. Each attack method relies on data: finding the proper contact information, knowing whom to impersonate and how or even profiling Twitters employee base to know who might be most valuable (such as users with higher-level privileges) and who might be the most vulnerable (those with exposed personal information such as location, hobbies, contact information, etc.). Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement The worlds investment in hardened security infrastructure over the course of many years has been important, and will grow only more so as we increasingly rely on technology to power every aspect of our lives. One recent report predicts that between 2017 and 2021, cybersecurity spending will exceed $1 trillion cumulatively. But as long as we continue to think of security only as a function of the systems we build, and essentially related to their infrastructure, we miss perhaps the most critical element. The most vulnerable targets inside of companies are actually the individuals sitting at the intersection of our networks, devices, and applications. The next generation of cybersecurity tools needs to focus on cyber hygiene, actively providing a lens on what information about a company and its employees is available in the public, and finding ways to reduce or anesthetize that footprint, protecting not only our companies, but also the privacy and integrity of each individual. Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University that examines emerging technologies, public policy, and society. A disgruntled tradie threatened to kill his former boss in a tirade of violent text messages and Facebook posts after he was sacked. Shane Martin, 42, was let go from his job as a welder in Ipswich, south-west of Brisbane, in September last year. Once he was fired, Martin sent explosive texts to his former employer demanding outstanding holiday pay before threatening violence, Ipswich District Court heard on Monday. Crown prosecutor James Bishop told the court Martin sent messages telling his boss he had 'f**ked with the wrong person', the Courier Mail reported. Once he was fired, Martin sent explosive texts to his former employer demanding outstanding holiday pay before threatening violence, Ipswich District Court (pictured) heard When his messages were ignored he took to Facebook to tell the man: 'Watch yourself c**t. Pay me the money you f**king mutt.' In another message Martin warned his former boss to 'watch your last breath you dumb c**t'. Mr Bishop told the court he had received multiple threatening texts and Facebook posts. The former employer was at a police station reporting the harassment when Martin left two voicemails, including a threat to kill him, which made him fear for his family's safety. Defence lawyer Michael McMillan presented a report by an associate professor that detailed Martin's alcohol problem. But Martin had since stopped drinking excessively, Mr McMillan told the court, and said his client was angry on the day he was fired. 'He made a comment about a firearm which was quite troubling,' Mr McMillan said. Mr McMillan said Martin had just had an angry outburst and was not serious about the threat. The 42-year-old had also sent 'amicable' texts to his former employer about meeting for a beer to discuss the outstanding pay. When Martin's messages were ignored he took to Facebook to tell the man: 'Watch yourself c**t. Pay me the money you f**king mutt' (mock up of the messages pictured) The welder has since come to terms with his alcohol problem and was also going through a relationship breakdown. Judge Dennis Lynch QC acknowledged that Martin was waiting on holiday pay but said the messages quickly became violent. Judge Lynch told the court that Martin's employer was so scared he was considering moving house and changing his car. 'You understand your problem. You have got to deal with it,' Judge Lynch told Martin. Martin pleaded guilty to unlawful stalking with violence between September 3 and October 29 and was sentenced to 12 months jail. He was granted immediate parole and is not allowed to contact his former boss. BAKU, Azerbaijan, July 21 By Ilkin Seyfaddini - Trend: JSC National Bank for Foreign Economic Activity of Uzbekistan (NBU) has attracted a loan from Cargill Financial Services International Inc. company from the US, Trend reports citing the Government portal of Uzbekistan. Cargill provided a loan worth $50 million loan to the Uzbek Bank. "The main reason for such confidence of the American company was undoubtedly stable activity of the NBU, as well as its completion of the first half of the year with a large profit," the report said. In May of 2020, NBU signed an agreement on opening a credit line with the Russian State Development Corporation Vnesheconombank (VEB.RF) in the amount of 14.3 million euros to expand the fleet of electric locomotives of JSC Uzbekistan Railways, the message said. Previously, NBU has attracted credit lines of the State Development Bank of China for $758.3 million to finance small business and private entrepreneurship projects as well as investment projects in the transport sector. Cargill Financial Services International, Inc. provides feed and nutrition management solutions. The Company offers aquaculture, beef and dairy cattle, poultry, and feed additives nutrition solutions, as well as flour, food salt, malts, and other protein products. Cargill Financial Services International serves clients worldwide. --- Follow author on Twitter: @seyfaddini Nigeria has received an $890 million grant from the Global Fund to reduce the burden of HIV, Tuberculosis and Malaria over an implementation period of three years, beginning from 2021 to 2023. The Minister of Health, Osagie Ehanire, announced the receipt of the grant at a news conference on Tuesday in Abuja. The Global Fund to fight HIV/AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (GF) is an innovative international financing mechanism established by the United Nations in 2002, with its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. It is a global partnership of governments, civil society and private donors. It was established for the purpose of attracting, leveraging and investing resources to fund public health interventions to accelerate the eradication of HIV, tuberculosis and malaria in affected high burden countries, towards Sustainable Development Goals. Mr Ehanire said the fund was the largest made to any country in the funding cycle, attributing it to the successful funding request made by the Nigeria Country Coordination Mechanism (CCM). CCM Nigeria, the custodian of Global Fund (GF) grant, is a body of representatives of government, bilateral and multilateral organisations, Civil Society Organisations, patients, communities, the private sector and academia. The mandate of CCM is to oversee the delivery of Global Fund HIV, Tuberculosis, Malaria and Resilient Sustainable Systems for Health (RSSH) grants. He said the CCM, Country Coordinating Mechanism Nigeria is the official national establishment, through which The Global Fund relates with Fund recipient countries. The federal government, through the Federal Ministry of Health, facilitated the establishment of Nigerias CCCM in March 2002 as the recognised entity with the mandate to receive Global Fund grants on behalf of the country. The minister said the Global Fund raised and invested nearly four billion dollars a year to support programmes in countries and communities that are most in need. Mr Ehanire said Nigeria ranked among the largest recipients of Global Fund investments in the world. Since inception in 2002, The Global Fund has committed the sum of USD$2,585,537,824 to operations in Nigeria, which are split into four programme areas: (a) HIV/AIDS, (b) Tuberculosis, (c) Malaria, (d) Resilient Systems Strengthening for Health, (RSSH). Of that amount, Nigeria has, as of date, accessed US$2,436,371,946, representing 94 per cent of the committed amount. Key achievements of the Global Fund investments in Nigeria are as follows: For the HIV/AIDS component, the Fund investment has contributed to placing 1.04 million people living with HIV/AIDS (PLHIV) on treatment in Nigeria. With the support of the Fund, Nigeria has provided life-saving ARVs for 194,900 PLHIV on ART. In addition, the fund supported the 2018 NAIIS survey which provided precise data on the epidemic in Nigeria, confirming HIV prevalence of 1.3 per cent, he said On the TB programme, the minister said with the support of the fund, about 120,000 TB cases were identified and treated annually since the inception while TB services provided in more than 12,000 health facilities. We have provided 398 GeneXpert machines in 36 states and FCT. For malaria, he said the Global Fund had contributed to a decline in malaria prevalence from 42 per cent to 23 per cent from 2010 2018. Eleven million Long Lasting Insecticide Treated mosquito nets are distributed annually through mass campaigns. At least 4 million confirmed malaria cases are treated annually at public health facilities in 13 states supported by the Global Fund. The Fund has also built six Pharma grade medical warehouses, supported procurement of three X-ray mobile vans for screening of tuberculosis in Lagos. Advertisements This is in addition to infrastructural upgrade of health facilities and laboratories and capacity building for frontline health care workers under RSSH. He said Global Fund conducts fund replenishment meetings every three years, where it mobilises contributions from governments, private sector and philanthropists to support its public health programmes around the globe. Nigeria also contributes to these events and has so far contributed a cumulative sum of 28.62 million dollars to the Global Fund since its inception, including 10 million dollars pledged at the replenishment in Montreal, Canada, in September 2016. At the last replenishment conference in Lyon, France, in October 2019, Nigeria increased its contribution to the Global Fund by 20 per cent with a pledge of 12 million dollars for the period 2021-2023. In addition, the minister said the amount approved (890 million dollars) would be to support Nigerias HIV, TB, Malaria and Health Systems Strengthening Programmes. With this amount, Nigerias grant is reportedly the single highest allocation to any country and a demonstration of The Global Funds confidence in the administration and programmes of President Muhammadu Buhari. This grant will complement the investment of the Government of Nigeria and of other Development Partners in HIV/AIDS, TB and Malaria programmes, including the Resilient and Sustainable System for Health, over the period 2021-2023. The approval of this grant came following the review of the proposal that CCM Nigeria submitted on 23rd March 2020, which was adjudged to be technically sound and strategically focused by the independent Technical Review Panel of the Global Fund, he said. Mr Ehanire further said with regard to Nigerias COVID-19 response effort, the Global Fund gave approval to repurpose the sum of 6.2Million dollars out of our on-going grants for HIV, TB and malaria, to support implementation of our initial Incident Action Plan (IAP) for COVID-19. This Fund was used to support rapid expansion of Nigerias diagnostics capacity for COVID-19 through decentralisation of testing to all 36 states and FCT, using existing TB diagnostic instruments the GeneXpert Machine. It was also used for the procurement of Biosafety Cabinets for the GeneXpert Laboratories to be able to conduct COVID-19 tests, without exposing the laboratory scientists to risk of infection, mass campaign of test kits and Personal Protective Equipment (PPEs) for frontline health workers. Similarly, the minister said the Global Fund also approved a grant of 21.9 million dollars to support Nigerias COVID-19 response, the new grant being the result of a proposal Nigeria CCM submitted to The Global Fund few weeks ago. The new grant will be specifically used to procure test kits to support COVID-19 testing with the GeneXpert machine and other molecular laboratory equipment. Overall, The Global Fund grants for COVID-19 will support testing for about one million Nigerians over the next 12 months. On behalf of the President of the Federal Republic and the people of Nigeria, I extend appreciation to The Global Fund for the generous donations to Nigeria over the years, he said. (NAN) Vernon County has launched Vernon Countys Covered, a positive marketing campaign to encourage the wearing of masks in public places. Vernon Countys Covered features photos and stories on social media of community leaders, organizations, kids and residents choosing to wear masks to slow the spread of COVID-19, protect themselves and their neighbors, keep local businesses open, and many other reasons. The campaign launches as a growing chorus of local, state and national leaders, politicians of all parties, healthcare experts, and others call on citizens to wear masks as the most effective strategy to limit COVID-19 community spread. Residents are urged to also continue to practice regular handwashing, practicing physical distancing of at least 6 feet whenever possible, cleaning and sanitizing surfaces, and strongly considering not attending or hosting larger gatherings, especially those held indoors. Do you have Vernon County Covered and use social media? You can win a $25 gift certificate to a local Vernon County business of your choice. Take a selfie, post it to your social media accounts along with your reason for wearing a mask, and add the hashtag #VernonCountysCovered. Visit https://www.facebook.com/vernoncountyscovered to see examples, and like and share widely. Vernon County staff will share your photos, and randomly select a winner each week. If you do not have Facebook, you can send a picture directly to vernoncountyscovered@gmail.com Vernon Countys Covered was created in collaboration with Vernon Countys Health Department, Emergency Management, Economic Development & Tourism, as well as local residents who are passionate and dedicated to response and recovery strategies of COVID-19. Vernon County offices continue to plan for the safe, slow, and phased reopening of county facilities. Many departments continue to offer virtual or curbside services; visit their websites and Facebook pages for details. Visit www.vernoncounty.org for regular updates on the countys response to COVID-19. Love 3 Funny 0 Wow 0 Sad 0 Angry 30 ? Jevgenijs Fedjanins has been elected as the Chairperson of the Management Board of Tonus Elast Ltd ? Previous member of the Management Board of Latvijas Aptieka Ltd Marina Serpova has been elected as the Chairperson of the Management Board of Latvijas Aptieka Ltd The Board of JSC Olainfarm has elected Jevgenijs Fedjanins as the Chairperson of the Management Board of the daughter company Tonus Elast Ltd and Marina Serpova has been elected as the Chairperson of the Management Board of Latvijas Aptieka Ltd. In addition, Dace Mihnenoka and Dzianis Panou have been removed from the Board of Tonus Elast Ltd and Ilmars Pajuste has left the position on the Board of Latvijas Aptieka Ltd. Jeroen Weites, Chairperson of the Management Board of JSC Olainfarm: "I would like to say a big thank you to Mr. Pajuste, Mrs. Mihnenoka and Mr. Panou for their contribution to the business development." "Our goal is to strengthen the management teams of our daughter companies Tonus Elast Ltd and Latvijas Aptieka Ltd and to steer the Olainfarm Group towards sustainable and stable development. Experienced experts with a global perspective are the driving force behind the quality of the Group's operations. In the long run, we want to move towards a unified management practice in all Group companies, and bring new momentum to the company's development. With regard to Tonus Elast Ltd, we have ambitious plans for growth, providing a strong team and purposefully continuing to improve current results by reaching new markets, including Europe, the Arabiaan peninsula, Asia and South America, and developing new products. We are also planning to reach new customers by using new digital channels. Latvijas Aptieka Ltd has also stable positions in our home market," says Jeroen Weites, Chairperson of the Board of JSC Olainfarm. Jevgenijs Fedjanins is an experienced commercial executive having previously held several leading positions in Latvia and abroad. From 2016 to 2019, he worked as a commercial director and board member of Orkla Confectionery & Snacks Latvia, working with well-known product groups in Latvia and worldwide such as Laima, Taffel, Selga and others. He has developed strong team management skills in accordance with modern industry standards. In addition, he has successfully implemented multifunctional and international projects. He has also gained significant experience in globally popular companies such as Monster Energy Europe and Nestle Baltics. Marina Serpova has been working on the board of Latvijas Aptieka Ltd since March 2020. She has 18 years of experience as a CFO, as well as in corporate and financial management in various sectors both in Latvia and abroad. Until now, Serpova has developed important skills in team leadership and motivation and financial and accounting matters. Jevgenijs Fedjanins and Marina Serpova do not own any JSC Olainfarm shares as well as shares or position at other companies. Tonus Elast manufactures high quality elastic medical products and has an experienced team. In September 2020, the company will be 25 years old! Last year 68 pharmacies were operating in 20 Latvian cities within the Latvijas aptieka Ltd. network of pharmacies owned by JSC Olainfarm. JSC Olainfarm is one of the biggest pharmaceutical companies in Latvia with more than 45 years of experience in production of medication and chemical and pharmaceutical products. A basic principle of the company's operations is to produce reliable and effective top-quality products for Latvia and the rest of the world. Products made by the Group are being exported to more than 50 countries and territories of the world, including the Baltics, Russia, other CIS, Europe, Asia, North America and Australia. Bill Clark/CQ-Roll Call, Inc via Getty Images The late Rep. John Lewis, D-Ga., was beaten while marching for voting rights in Selma, Ala., on the infamous Bloody Sunday 1965. While the subsequent Voting Rights Act of 1965 made progress against the overt barriers of that era poll taxes, literacy tests the efforts to suppress the franchise for African Americans and other minorities remained pervasive, insidious and ever mutating at the time of his death on Friday. There is no more fitting way to honor the legacy of the civil rights hero than enacting HR4, the Voting Rights Advancement Act. Lewis held the gavel when the House of Representatives passed the bill, 228 to 187, in December. Only one Republican, Brian Fitzpatrick of Pennsylvania, supported it in the House. Kodai Sato, a senior researcher at Nomura Research Institute, contended that financial inclusion is not Japan's top priority during a recent webinar hosted by The Block. As such, The Bank of Japan (BoJ) has no plans to issue a central bank digital currency (CBDC) at present, Sato remarked during the July 16 event. "At this point, Japan gives various takeaways, for example, financial inclusion isn't always a key issue in Japan as bank account penetration is already 100% or 99% so financial inclusion is not the top priority of Japan as it is for other countries," Sato said. While shedding light upon some of the biggest challenges Japan faces, Sato said, it is important to address the questions behind the need for a digital currency and its role in Japan. This, in turn, would require the amendment of legislation. "There is less theft in Japan compared to other countries, so people are happy to with paper cash and there is no issue carrying bills. Japan is a cash-dominated country, people love cash because it's very convenient." However, Sato said the BoJ's research scope isn't limited to just the topic of CBDCs. BoJ has also been actively researching and examining potential benefits and risks on broader topics, including cross-border payments and privacy of transactions. He shared key takeaways from Japan's point of view regarding digital currency. One of the main projects that BoJ is working on, Stellar, has four phases, he said. The four phases include distributed ledger technology (DLT) as a way to process large-value payments, investigate delivery versus payment using DLT, exploring the solutions for cross-border payments, and privacy issues. Of the four, Japan is especially focused on finding solutions to cross-border payments and privacy issues, according to Sato. "We are actively researching DLT and CBDC topics. There are core issues we need to think about before we actually implement CBDC tech," he said. Story continues Watch the full webinar here or below: 2020 The Block Crypto, Inc. All Rights Reserved. This article is provided for informational purposes only. It is not offered or intended to be used as legal, tax, investment, financial, or other advice. OTTAWA The Pallister government is taking up Ottawas offer of a crash course on how to properly assess the environmental effects of flood-channel outlets after a megaproject planned for the Interlake hit numerous regulatory snags. Hey there, time traveller! This article was published 21/7/2020 (547 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current. OTTAWA The Pallister government is taking up Ottawas offer of a crash course on how to properly assess the environmental effects of flood-channel outlets after a megaproject planned for the Interlake hit numerous regulatory snags. "We work through collaboration," provincial Infrastructure Minister Ron Schuler said Monday. "We are really pleased with the way the federal civil service has been working with our departments, and even at the political level. Were pleased to see were making progress." The Lake Manitoba-Lake St. Martin megaproject, which has been in the works for years, aims to prevent costly, catastrophic floods like the ones that occurred in 2011 and 2014. Premier Brian Pallister has singled out the $540-million project as part of his legacy, and Ottawa has agreed to pay roughly half its cost. But the Impact Assessment Agency of Canada has paused its year-long review multiple times, arguing Manitoba hasnt properly assessed the projects effects. In its latest review, IAAC said on July 10 that Manitoba has again provided contradictory data and insufficient evidence to support its claims, while still not adequately consulting Indigenous communities. Thats despite Manitoba redoing its 2,300-page report this spring, after the IAAC found hundreds of errors and omissions in the report. The July 10 review flags a lack of information in how Manitoba will try preventing the spread of invasive species, the drainage of wetlands, and the disruption to numerous animal habitats. In its letter this month, the IAAC proposed "a technical workshop with federal experts and your team to facilitate a better understanding of the expectations... and to ensure complete responses." Schuler said hell take up that offer. First Nations and Metis have argued the province isnt adequately consulting them on the project. 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 its latest review, the regulator repeated its calls for Manitoba to consult more with communities as far as 500 kilometres downstream from the project. Thats a non-starter for Schuler. "Weve basically come to the conclusion that some of the communities that were identified are, in fact, so distant from the project itself that they dont warrant any further study," he said. "Were always talking to all of our partners; this is not something that were closed on. But our focus has been the communities right around, and impacted most by... where the channels are going to be built." Yet Schuler signalled the province is softening its tone. For months, Pallister has complained about burdensome consultation requirements. Schuler said there was a breakthrough when Pallister visited Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in January, and that Manitoba recognizes the need for large projects to face environmental scrutiny. This months letter once again pauses IAACs clock. The regulator has a year to review the project before the federal Liberals decide whether to green-light it. dylan.robertson@freepress.mb.ca The launch of the game-changing polar vessel Ultramarine with its two twin-engine helicopters, 20 quick-launching Zodiacs and the largest portfolio of adventure options in the industryhas enabled Quark Expeditions to curate a unique Greenland Program in partnership with municipal, regional and national partners, including Tasermiut, a leading outdoor adventure specialist in South Greenland. "The Greenland Adventure voyages are the first expedition voyages in history to be developed in full partnership with local community members and businesses in Greenland, from conception to execution," said Alex McNeil, Director of Expedition Experience and Innovation for Quark Expeditions. "The culture and expertise of the people of South Greenland will be woven into these voyages. Ultramarine's twin-engine helicopters will transport guests to remote locations for unique adventure optionssomething no other operator can provide. Aligned with our Polar Promise strategy, all of these activities are developed sustainably with our local partners." The ground-breaking Greenland Adventure: Explore by Sea, Land and Air expedition program is scheduled to launch in July 2021. Immersive off-ship activities include: Heli-hiking Helicopter-supported trekking on the vast Greenland Ice Sheet Overnight camping (via helicopter transfer) in Tasermiut fjord Helicopter-supported kayaking high up in alpine lakes Exploring Viking history in South Greenland Visits to Kujataa UNESCO World Heritage Site Roaming the tundra with a local chef after which guests enjoy an unforgettable meal made from fresh ingredients. Based on the success of the Polar Learning Channel, Quark Expeditions is hosting Greenland Adventure Week on Quark Expeditions' Polar Learning Channel from Monday, July 27 to Saturday, August 1, 2020 at 12:30 pm EST. The six-day program will feature guests from South Greenland and the Quark Expeditions team who have travelled extensively in Greenland. The audience will be able to listen to 20-minute themed presentations and ask questions. Quark Expeditions, the recognized Leader in Polar Adventure, has been taking commercial travelers to the Polar Regions since 1991. Quark Expeditions is a member of the Travelopia Group, the world's largest collection of travel brands exclusively focused on specialist travel. SOURCE Quark Expeditions The Government said it will take a cautious approach when it decides on a green list of countries later on Tuesday. The Cabinet is meeting this evening to discuss the list of countries that will deemed safe to travel to. The green list, which is expected to be published later, has been labelled as confusing by opposition parties as the public advise against all non-essential foreign travel remains in place. Taoiseach Micheal Martin said that travel has reduced dramatically compared to last year. The Government will be meeting to decide on this issue. We actually postponed this idea of a green list in a cautious approach and we will take a cautions approach in relation to it, he told the Dail. The big question is, how do we all live with Covid-19 for the foreseeable future? We have really tough issues, collectively as a society. Expand Close An Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Brian Lawless/PA) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp An Taoiseach Micheal Martin (Brian Lawless/PA) The health system has been notified of 36 new confirmed cases, bringing the overall tally to 25,802. No more deaths were recorded. Roisin Shortall, the Social Democrats co-leader, said that the big weakness is the failure to control the importation of the virus from abroad. There is huge confusion about international travel, she said. The promised announcement of the green list for countries considered as safe, while at the same time advising against all non-essential travel is inherently contradictory. But of much more concern is the Governments ambiguity about travel from countries that are not on the green list. Those countries regarded as unsafe due to a high prevalence of the virus. Not only has the Government operated a self-isolate policy which has been largely unenforceable over recent months, but inexplicably in the last few weeks the travel advice has actually changed and weakened for those countries. Incoming travellers are now advised to merely restrict their movements. This poses a huge risk to our health, the lives of our vulnerable to our economy. Meanwhile, the HSE assistant national director of public health and child health Dr Kevin Kelleher said that Ireland has done fairly well compared to a number of countries in its fight against Covid-19. Dr Kelleher said: Our numbers of cases are well down compared to other countries. If you take Idaho in the United States with a population of 1.5 million, they are seeing 1,000 cases per day which would be the equivalent of 3-4,000 cases per day here. We never went near that sort of number. Dr Kelleher said the health service is better prepared to deal with a second wave of coronavirus if one happens. I think we have learned a lot, we have got better prepared, we have got better resources available to us in terms of the knowledge we have learned as an organisation and we have got staff who now know what we need to do and we have got PPE in place, he added. Dr Liam Woods, HSE national director of acute hospitals said there is more guidance and training available to HSE healthcare staff but challenges for the health service will remain. The challenge is one that has been flagged to the committee and that is one of addressing the challenge of winter and the challenge of Covid-19 on top of winter. Meanwhile, a GP has said that people should not feel any blame about contracting Covid-19 as it is a highly infectious disease. This is a highly infectious virus and if you think you have been in a high-risk situation, we don't want you to keep quiet about it Dr Sumi Dunne Coronavirus outbreaks are happening in construction, fast food and supermarket workplaces, Irelands acting chief medical officer warned on Monday night. Dr Ronan Glynn said people cannot underestimate how quickly clusters develop. Dr Sumi Dunne, a member of the Irish College of General Practitioners, said there is an overlap between the common cold and Covid-19 and people should get in touch with their doctor as soon as they experience any one of the listed symptoms. She said: I think the key message here is not to feel any kind of blame. This is a highly infectious virus and if you think you have been in a high-risk situation, we dont want you to keep quiet about it. If you have been at a friends house or you have been in a situation where there were more people there than you have expected this is not about blame. Meanwhile, people attending courts have been advised to wear face coverings. The Courts Service said, while face coverings are not mandatory at present, people should wear one, save for those who cannot wear them for medical reasons. Meanwhile, a creche on the north side of Dublin has become one of the first childcare facilities to report a case of Covid-19. Parents of children who attend the childcare facility have received notification that a member of staff had tested positive for the virus, RTE reported. NEW YORK, July 20, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Mazars USA LLP, a leading accounting, tax, and consulting firm, today announced its acceptance into the Microsoft Partner Program. This Program recognizes Mazars as a premier partner for delivering digital solutions and system integration services to help the firm's global clients achieve business agility, efficiency, and growth. Mazars will attend the virtual 2020 Microsoft Inspire Conference to align several key solutions offerings with Microsoft's ever evolving platforms and technologies. Mazars is confirmed by Microsoft to be part of the Partner Program, and that they are excited for the new offerings from Mazars for Microsoft customers. Mazars brings a range of business transformation and information technology (IT) projects and specific products and services to solve critical business needs. Mazars will be working closely with Microsoft Global Strategic ISV Alliance Manger John O'Donnell to establish the Mazars Microsoft solutions offerings. Patrick Wheeler, Mazars USA Principal and Management and Technology Consulting Practice Leader, said "Becoming a strategic alliance partner with Microsoft and offering Microsoft solutions and services to our clients is paramount to broadening our consulting offerings and meeting client needs. Mazars is committed to fueling the growth of the consulting practice with strategic partnerships that support the firm's overall growth strategy. We look forward to working with John and growing the relationship to become a premier partner in this Program." For media inquiries, contact: Mazars USA | Beth More, 732-205-2012 | [email protected] Makovsky | Joshua Goldman-Brown, Anne Hart | [email protected] About Mazars USA Mazars USA LLP is a high-performing accounting, tax and consulting firm with significant national presence in strategic U.S. geographies. Since 1921, our dedicated professionals have leveraged technical industry expertise to develop customized solutions for clients, create value, and Optimize their performance. We offer a broad array of industry specialists providing services to growth-oriented enterprises and individuals. As the independent US member firm of Mazars Group, we deliver seamless access to the expertise of 24,000 professionals in 90+ countries. At local and global levels, we are proud of our value-added services, building lasting relationships with our clients and communities. For more information, visit us at www.mazarsusa.com. SOURCE Mazars USA LLP LONDON - A long-awaited report on Russian meddling in British politics criticized the U.K. government for failing to investigate whether Moscow interfered in the 2016 Brexit referendum, with the documents authors describing the lack of curiosity about this threat to democracy as a major failure at the heart of power. The report from Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee also painted a damning portrait of Russian involvement in British society more generally, including attempts to influence government policy by wealthy Russians with ties to President Vladimir Putin and the British financiers who help them. Stewart Hosie, a committee member and member of Parliament for the opposition Scottish National Party, accused the government of ``actively avoiding? allegations of Russian meddling, which he said was unforgivable after evidence emerged that Moscow had interfered with the Scottish independence referendum in 2014 and the U.S. presidential election two years later. The panel called for the government to appoint a commission to look into the issue and report back to the public. There has been no assessment of Russian interference in the EU referendum and this goes back to nobody wanting to touch the issue with a 10-foot pole,? Hosie said during a press conference after the report was delivered to Parliament. The government stalled publication of the report for more than seven months, with the main opposition Labour Party suggesting that Prime Minister Boris Johnson and his Conservative Party were trying to avoid further questions about links between Russia and the pro-Brexit campaign. Johnson helped lead the campaign for Britain to leave the European Union and has made delivering Brexit his primary goal since he became prime minister last July. Committee members said Russias goal in seeking to influence elections was to amplify existing divisions, and thus destabilize Western political systems. While the report said it would be difficult if not impossible to prove whether Russian meddling influenced the result of the EU referendum, it was clear that the government was slow to recognize the existence of the threat. The report concludes that Russia sees Britain as one of its top intelligence targets, adding that Moscows attempts to influence the U.K. are the new normal and successive governments have welcomed Russian oligarchs with open arms. Russians with very close links to Putin are well integrated into the U.K. business, political and social scene in Londongrad in particular, the report said. In a 20-page response, the government denied that it had badly underestimated the Russian threat and rejected the call for a commission to investigate alleged Russian meddling during the Brexit referendum. We have seen no evidence of successful interference in the EU Referendum, the statement said. But it may prove difficult for Johnson to avoid a further inquiry because the committees recommendation is non-partisan and has the weight of Parliament behind it, according to Nigel Gould-Davies, senior fellow for Russia and Eurasia at the International Institute for Strategic Studies. ``This is a national security issue,? he said. ``The report is very clear that its probably impossible to assess whether Russian operations made a difference or not. But I think everyone with a concern about British national security can share the view that its important to understand the extent and seriousness of that attempt in order, among other things, to make sure that such attempts are not successful in the future. Russian Foreign Ministry spokesperson Maria Zakharova dismissed the committees findings, calling them Russophobia. The reports authors said they were subjected to unprecedented delays in making the document public, with officials stalling its release for more than seven months after it was first submitted to Johnson on Oct 17. The committee didnt offer a theory about why the report was delayed, but claimed the governments explanations were not true. The government initially said the report couldnt be published until it was reviewed for national security issues, which postponed its release until after the Dec. 12 general election. Further holdups were caused by delays in appointing new members to the Intelligence and Security Committee. Finally, Johnson named five Conservative lawmakers to the nine-person panel in hopes his handpicked candidate would be chosen as chairman and block the report. The gambit failed when a renegade Conservative was chosen to head the committee with backing from opposition parties. Another parliamentary panel the Digital, Culture, Media and Sport Committee previously published the results of its own inquiry into disinformation and fake news, which called on election regulators and law enforcement to investigate reports that a British businessman with links to Russia donated 8.4 million pounds ($10.6 million) to the Brexit campaign. The National Crime Agency said in September that it found no evidence of criminal offences related to the donation. Gould-Davies said Russia could not have achieved the type of influence it has in Britain without the support of ``vested interests? within the country. There is an army of people in the financial industry, in the property sector as well, who have served as intermediaries helping Russian money find safe places here, helping in other ways Russians to prosper here at the same time as the Russian state is presenting a growing threat to Britain,? he said. ``And that situation strategically cannot be sustained. The intelligence committee report covered the full range of the Russian threat to the U.K., including election interference, espionage and targeted assassinations such as the attempt to kill former spy Sergei Skripal in the English city of Salisbury two years ago. The report urged British authorities to beef up their defences, saying the clearest requirement for immediate action is new legislation to give British intelligence the tools they need to combat a very capable adversary and tackle the illegal financial dealings of Russian elites in Britain and their enablers. It called for better co-ordination with Western allies, and said Britain should be ready to lead international action and develop new rules against offensive cyber operations. The report also faulted unspecified social media companies for failing to play their part. It said the British government should force the companies to seriously confront ``covert hostile state use of their platforms? and name and shame those that fail to act. If we see our numbers slipping, we may need an order and take drastic measures, Cunningham said in a phone interview Tuesday. We in Lake County are a hot spot. We are on the brink of going backward. We cant afford to do that. We have to do all the things we can, like covering our faces and social distancing. Four persons who unlawfully discharged fire arms and caused damages at a Kasoa Registration Center have been granted a GH30,000 bail each with two sureties by a Cape Coast Circuit Court. One of the sureties must be a government worker earning not less than GH2,000.00, the Court presided over by Mrs. Dorinda Smith Arthur, ordered. The accused persons are 27 year old Sulley Razak, a Mechanic, Suleman Yusif, 25, a trader, 23 year-old Majeed Amadu and Razak Musah, 31, both Businessmen. They pleaded not guilty to the charges of conspiracy to commit crime, causing unlawful damage, and discharging fire arms at a public place. Prosecuting, Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) Daniel Gadzo, told the court that the complainant is Mr. Edmond Kojo Motty, a businessman who resides at Kasoa in the Central Region, while all the accused persons were from Accra Newton in the Greater Accra Region. ASP Daniel Gadzo said on Monday July 20, at about 0930 hours, while the voters' registration was on-going at Peace Town, a suburb of Kasoa, the four accused persons who were armed, fired indiscriminately. The act, he said, resulted in a brawl between the accused persons and the youth at the center and in the process, the accused set on fire three motorbikes packed at the registration center. He indicated that a police patrol team proceeded to the scene and the accused persons on seeing them attempted to escape, but were arrested. ASP Gadzo said a search conducted on them revealed a Pietro Beratta P39031Z pistol plus 15 rounds of 9mm live ammunition and a Voter's Identity card belonging to one Abdul Rashid Mohammed. ---GNA Calgary, Alberta--(Newsfile Corp. - July 21, 2020) - Crestview Exploration Inc. (CSE: CRS) (FSE: CE7) ("Crestview" or the "Company") announced it has staked seven new lode claims at the Divide Mine project. The addition of seven claims increased the property size from 12 to 19 claims. The new lode mining claims were staked around the original claims based on positive field observations and recently acquired geochemical data. The property size increased from 247 acres to 391 acres (158ha). Crestview holds a lease with an option to purchase a 100% interest in the Divide Mine, a high-grade precious metal vein target located in Elko County, northcentral Nevada. This property is comprised of 19 unpatented lode claims covering 391 acres (158ha). The claims cover the majority of the old workings and potential strike extension of the Divide Mine. Additional data on the Divide Mine property can be found on Crestview's website. Map 1 To view an enhanced version of Map 1, please visit: https://orders.newsfilecorp.com/files/7042/60142_19bd5d2d34ebabc2_002full.jpg This News Release was prepared by M.J. Abrams; BS and MS Geology, CPG #11451; Idaho PG #570; California PG#4138; Oregon RG#938. M.J. Abrams is a Qualified Person as defined by NI 43-101 and has reviewed and approved the scientific and technical disclosure included in this news release. About Crestview Exploration Inc: Crestview Exploration is a technology driven, well funded and experienced exploration company focused on finding gold and silver deposits in mining friendly jurisdictions. The company's flagship project Rock Creek as well as the Divide Mine and Castile Mountain precious metal projects are located in the Tuscarora mining district in north-central Nevada, in Elko County. For further information please contact: Glen Watson, Chief Executive Officer Tel: 1-604-803-5229 Email: Glen@crestviewexploration.com www.crestviewexploration.com NEITHER THE CANADIAN SECURITIES EXCHANGE NOR ITS REGULATION SERVICES PROVIDER HAS REVIEWED OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ADEQUACY OR ACCURACY OF THIS RELEASE Forward-Looking Information This news release includes certain information that may be deemed "forward-looking information" under applicable securities laws. All statements in this release, other than statements of historical facts, that address acquisition of the Property and future work thereon, mineral resource and reserve potential, exploration activities and events or developments that the Company expects is forward-looking information. Although the Company believes the expectations expressed in such statements are based on reasonable assumptions, such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those in the statements. There are certain factors that could cause actual results to differ materially from those in the forward-looking information. These include the results of the Company's due diligence investigations, market prices, exploration successes, continued availability of capital financing, and general economic, market or business conditions, and those additionally described in the Company's filings with the Canadian securities authorities. Investors are cautioned that any such statements are not guarantees of future performance and actual results or developments may differ materially from those projected in the forward-looking information. For more information on the Company, investors are encouraged to review the Company's public filings at www.sedar.com. The Company disclaims any intention or obligation to update or revise any forward- looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise, other than as required by law. To view the source version of this press release, please visit https://www.newsfilecorp.com/release/60142 (Reuters) - United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres urged Azerbaijan and Armenia on Monday to exercise maximum restraint after border clashes between the long-feuding former Soviet republics. The secretary-general is following with deep concern the current tensions between Azerbaijan and Armenia. He calls for maximum restraint, as a full conflict between these two countries would be disastrous, U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said. The neighbors have long been in conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. But the latest flare-ups are around the Tavush region in northeastern Armenia, some 300 kilometers from the territory. Russia, which has a military base in Armenia, has urged the two sides to cease fire and show restraint. The Kremlin has said Moscow is ready to act as a mediator. International concern is heightened because of the threat to stability in a region serving as a corridor for pipelines taking oil and gas from the Caspian Sea to global markets. The European Union reached a historic deal early Tuesday morning on a massive coronavirus stimulus plan after nearly five days of intense negotiations. The deal includes $857 billion in grants and loans, the largest joint borrowing in the history of the E.U., which will go towards repairing and rebuilding the economies of the groups 27 members after the devastation wreaked by the coronavirus pandemic. Since the pandemic hit, Europe has sunk into its deepest recession since World War II. This agreement sends a concrete signal that Europe is a force for action, E.U. Summit chairman Charles Michel said at a news conference after the agreement was reached. It is about a lot more than money. It is about workers and families, their jobs, their health and their well-being. I believe this agreement will be seen as a pivotal moment in Europes journey, but it will also launch us into the future. This is a strong deal. And most importantly, the right deal for Europe right now, Michel added on Twitter. The summit began on Friday in Brussels and saw more than 90 hours of intense talks that included a threat from France to walk out and one from Hungary to veto the package. Meanwhile, frugal members led by the Netherlands including Sweden, Denmark, and Finland opposed the package as too expensive. They argued that aid to Mediterranean countries like Italy and Spain that were hit hard by the pandemic should be in the form of loans rather than non-repayable grants. Leading the push for the deal were German Chancellor Angela Merkel and French President Emmanuel Macron, who called it truly historic. The relief package still requires ratification by the European Parliament. After a deal was reached, the Euro rose to a four-month high of $1.147 on Tuesday. More from National Review Adam Berry LONDONBritains Conservative government never bothered to find out whether the Brexit referendum was influenced by the Kremlin, according to a scathing report by Parliaments Intelligence and Security Committee. The extraordinary finding was at the heart of a report that Prime Minister Boris Johnson has repeatedly sought to delaydespite it being ready for publication nine months ago. Kevan Jones, a Labour member of the committee, said it was a scandal that No. 10 had never ordered Britains extensive intelligence agencies to look into the safety of British elections despite seeing evidence of interference in the 2014 Scottish election and the leak of Democratic emails ahead of the U.S. presidential election in 2016. The outrage isnt that there was interference. The outrage is that no one has wanted to know if there was interference, Jones said. The committee members called on No. 10 to launch a full investigation into Russian interference in the Brexit referendum. The question is, Who is protecting the British public from interference in our democratic process? Well, in a nutshell, we found no one is, he said. This needs to be gripped. Now. The Intelligence and Security Committee is a powerful body responsible for overseeing the security and intelligence agencies including MI6, MI5, and military intelligence. When members asked for everything they knew about Russian interference, they were shocked to find that virtually nothing had been gathered. We have sought to establish whether there is secret intelligence which supported or built on these studies. In response to our request for written evidence at the outset of the Inquiry, MI5 initially provided just six lines of text. It stated that [REDACTED]. Although it was not allowed to publicly repeat what MI5, the domestic intelligence agency, had said, the committee made it clear they were disappointed with the response. The brevity was also, to us, again, indicative of the extreme caution amongst the intelligence and security agencies at the thought that they might have any role in relation to the U.K.s democratic processes, and particularly one as contentious as the EU referendum. Story continues Why Putin Is Meddling in Britains Brexit Vote This attitude is illogical; this is about the protection of the process and mechanism from hostile state interference. Stewart Hosie, a committee member from the Scottish National Party, said, There has been speculation that this report was going to reveal either that Russia had interfered in or sought to influence the referendum. In the committees view, its worse than that. The report reveals that no one in government knew if Russia had interfered in or sought to influence the referendum because they did not want to know. The U.K. government has actively avoided looking for evidence that Russia interfered. We were told that they havent seen any evidence, but that it is meaningless if they hadnt looked for any. The public was allowed to go into that election without knowing that the government had not sought to investigate whether hostile states had been interfering in U.K. democratic processes and I find that shocking. The Russia report was mostly compiled by the Intelligence and Security Committee in 2017 and it was completed and ready for publication nine months ago. However, the governing Conservative party refused to release it before Decembers election, prompting widespread speculation that its contents would be damaging to Johnsons party. The government blamed further hold-ups this year on the delayed reconstitution of the committee, which is traditionally chaired by a politician with experience working with the intelligence agencies. The reasons put up for the delay are simply not true, said Jones. No. 10 tried to install a loyalist as a stooge chairman, but that was defeated this month after a Conservative with an independent streak conspired with opposition lawmakers to take control of the committee. The first thing the new chairman did was to announce that there would be no more delays, and the Russia report would be made public before Parliament entered the summer recess. The report concludes that until recently, the Government had badly underestimated the Russian threat and the response it required. It does not offer an explanation for why that might have been, but it does have a lengthy section on the growing influence and political donations of Russians in London, who are close to Putin. Several members of the Russian elite who are closely linked to Putin are identified as being involved with charitable and/or political organizations in the U.K., having donated to political parties, with a public profile which positions them to assist Russian influence operations. It is notable that a number of Members of the House of Lords have business interests linked to Russia, or work directly for major Russian companies linked to the Russian statethese relationships should be carefully scrutinized, given the potential for the Russian state to exploit them, the report said. The committee recommends that Britain create a version of the U.S. Foreign Agents Registration Act, as it is not currently against the law for Kremlin acolytes to seek to influence British politicians so there is a limit to how much the national-security services are able to intervene. The current legislation enabling action against foreign spies is acknowledged to be weak, the report said. Crucially, it is not illegal to be a foreign agent in this country. 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. Human-resident microbes can influence both health and disease. Investigating the microbiome using next-generation sequencing(*1) technology has revealed examples of mutualism and conflict between microbes and humans. Compared to bacteria, the viral component of the microbiome (i.e. the "virome") (*2) is understudied. Somatic tissues of healthy individuals are usually inaccessible for virome sampling. Therefore, there is limited understanding of the presence and distribution of viruses in tissues in healthy individuals and how virus infection associates with human gene expression and perturbs immunological homeostasis. A research group at The Institute of Medical Science, The University of Tokyo (IMSUT) comprehensively described the "human tissue virome atlas" using a public database. "The atlas we described will be useful to address the currently "hidden" associations between the human virome and human health and disease. Moreover, our analytic pipeline is versatile, and therefore, will be applicable to a variety of virological studies including the current COVID-19 pandemic.", said the lead scientist, Kei Sato, Associate Professor (Principal Investigator) in the Division of Systems Virology, Department of Infectious Disease Control, IMSUT. Microbiome in the era of next-generation sequencing (NGS) Advances in NGS methods in recent decades have made comprehensive surveys of a variety of microorganisms possible. Metagenomic analyses(*3) have explored microorganisms, including bacteria, phages, and viruses, in a variety of places on Earth, such as the oceans and soils. Perhaps the most deeply surveyed microbiome is that of humans. The Human Microbiome Project aims to characterize bacteria, viruses, and other microorganisms in the human body. As they often live outside human cells, the human bacterial microbiome has been well described in multiple organs and samples via non-destructive sampling: the bacterial microbiome of the skin, oral cavity, and gastrointestinal tract (including feces) are well described. A major theme emerging from these studies is that, while certain microbial species are associated with pathology, many components of the microbiome likely play a symbiotic role in maintaining human health. What is the "virome" Many viruses are clearly human pathogens: HIV, influenza virus and a novel coronavirus (designated as SARS-CoV-2) are the causative agents of human diseases. On the other hand, similar to the case of the human bacterial microbiome, some viruses can chronically infect a broad range of human tissues without overt pathology. Previous studies have suggested that these viruses nonetheless have detrimental effects. For example, the human respiratory syncytial virus and human rhinoviruses may play important roles in the inception of childhood asthma and atopic asthma, respectively. On the other hand, there are a few examples of viruses that exhibit protective effects. For example, GB virus C infection can be protective against HIV infection and improve survival. Thus, virus infections are associated with multiple aspects of human health, and so revealing the human "virome" would be beneficial for understanding the hidden mutualism and/or conflict between humans and viruses. Previous studies of the human virome have used specimens that are relatively easy to access in healthy individuals (e.g., blood or skin). In other words, it is technically difficult to obtain the somatic tissues from inside the human body (e.g., brain and internal organs) of healthy individuals for virome investigation. Moreover, it remains unclear 1) what kinds of viruses infect various tissues in healthy individuals and 2) how these virus infections influence human gene expression and perturb the homeostasis of these tissues. "Hidden" virome in the human body To characterize the human virome in a tissue-specific manner, the research group performed meta-transcriptomic analysis(*4) using the RNA-sequencing dataset(*5) from the Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) Project(*6) with SHIROKANE, a supercomputer in IMSUT. They analyzed 8,991 RNA-sequencing datasets obtained from 51 somatic tissues from 547 individuals and successfully detected 39 viral species in at least one tissue. The research group then investigated associations between virus infection and human gene expression and human disease onset. They detected some expected relationships; for instance, hepatitis C virus infection in the liver was strongly associated with interferon-stimulated gene upregulation and pathological findings of chronic hepatitis. Presence of herpes simplex virus type 1 in one subject's brain was strongly associated with immune gene expression. While torque teno virus was detected in a broad range of human tissues, it was not associated with interferon responses. Being notable in light of its association with lymphoproliferative disorders, Epstein-Barr virus infection in the spleen and blood was associated with an increase in plasma cells in healthy subjects. Human herpesvirus 7 was often detected in the stomach; intriguingly, it was associated with the proportion of human leukocytes in the stomach as well as digestive gene expression. Moreover, virus infections in local tissues was associated with systemic immune responses in circulating blood. Associate Professor Sato emphasized the work's importance; "To our knowledge, this study is the first comprehensive investigation of the human virome in a variety of tissues in healthy individuals through meta-transcriptomic analysis. Further investigation of the associations described here, and application of this analytical pipeline to additional datasets, will be useful to reveal the impact of viral infections on human health" . ### Research Notes (*1) Sequencing Nucleotide sequencing techniques. The next generation sequencer can be used to determine nucleotide sequence information in parallel and at high speed. (*2) Virome The assemblage of viruses, and a part of the microbiome. (*3) Metagenomic analyses A method to comprehensively analyze the genomic DNA in a sample. It is mainly used to examine the microbial community in a sample. (*4) Meta-transcriptomic analysis A method for exhaustive analysis of the RNA present in a sample. In this study, the profiles of human gene-derived and virus-derived sequences in the RNA-seq data were comprehensively obtained. (*5) RNA-sequencing dataset The sequence information of the RNA present in the sample. It is mainly obtained for the purpose of quantifying gene expression (transcripts). It is also called a transcriptome. (*6) Genotype-Tissue Expression (GTEx) project An ongoing project in the US to build a comprehensive public resource to study tissue-specific gene expression and regulation. About the research Ryuichi Kumata, Jumpei Ito, Kenta Takahashi, Tadaki Suzuki, Kei Sato,2020,"A tissue level atlas of the healthy human virome"BMC Biology DOI: 10.1186/s12915-020-00785-5 Papers Article URL: https://bmcbiol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12915-020-00785-5 Funding This study was supported in part by JST CREST (to Kei Sato) including AIP challenge program (to Ryuichi Kumata); AMED J-PRIDE JP19fm0208006 (to Kei Sato); JSPS Scientific Research B JP18H02662 (to Kei Sato), Scientific Research on Innovative Areas JP16H06429 (to Kei Sato), JP16K21723 (to Kei Sato), JP17H05813 (to Kei Sato), and JP19H04826 (to Kei Sato), JSPS Research Fellow PD JP19J01713 (to Jumpei Ito). The Charger Blog Former Girl Scouts Stephanie Gillespie, Ph.D., and Kristine Horvat, Ph.D., are sharing their passion for engineering with current Girl Scouts, and they are hoping to inspire them to consider careers in the STEM fields of science, technology, engineering, and math. By Renee Chmiel, Office of Marketing and Communications University of New Haven engineering instructors Stephanie Gillespie and Kristine Horvat are sharing their passion for engineering with Connecticut Girl Scouts. When civil engineering major Annie Dengler 21 was in the second grade, she was a Brownie Girl Scout. She had the opportunity to connect with a group of current Girl Scouts earlier this spring as part of a virtual event that enabled her to sharine her passion for engineering and introduce the girls to the many opportunities in the field. I never took part in anything like this, and that is one of the reasons I think the event was so great, she said. An event like this would have helped me figure out that I was interested in engineering at an even younger age.. The event was one of several virtual engineering programs that Stephanie Gillespie, Ph.D., and Kristine Horvat, Ph.D., both engineering instructors at the University of New Haven and former Girl Scouts, hosted for the Girl Scouts of Connecticut, which is led by CEO Mary Barneby, and emeritus member of the Universitys Board of Governors. Scouts from multiple troops have participated, and each event filled within just a few days. "Even when we are unable to meet in person, there are always way to interact and educate one another, said Dr. Horvat, an assistant professor of chemical engineering. I have enjoyed helping these scouts and seeing their excitement when they apply engineering to different projects. I greatly valued my time as a Girl Scout, and it is important to me to help educate young women about the opportunities that the STEM fields offer, just as others did for me. I hope they realize STEM is fun The Universitys Engineering Living Learning Community first hosted a design challenge for Girl Scouts last fall, and the event was an overwhelming success. Dr. Gillespie, a Girl Scout for 12 years and a lifetime member, was planning more events when the coronavirus pandemic hit. She was determined to find a creative way to bring the girls together, so she helped plan a series of virtual events. Girl Scouts created projects with online instruction. Open to junior level Girl Scouts in the fourth and fifth grades, the events endeavor to introduce them to opportunities in the science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) fields. A lot of literature shows that female students will decide STEM isnt for them as early as middle school, said Dr. Gillespie, an engineering and applied science lecturer at the University. I hope through these events they realize STEM is fun, and that they also see role models who have been successful as female engineers. I dont expect all of them will pursue engineering at the University of New Haven, but I hope many of them will consider it. The events, which have included civil, chemical, and electrical engineering, begin with an introduction to the engineering design process, then focus on highlighting a specific problem and design solution. Activities are designed to use supplies that families already have at home. Showed me just how curious they were Keira, age 10, a Girl Scout from Rocky Hill, Conn., took part in the electrical engineering program that focused on simple circuits. I learned that Christmas lights are linked so if one breaks, they all break, she said. I liked the program because the instructors took the time to make sure all the projects worked and gave us ideas to make them better. I cant wait to do more programs. Annie Dengler '21. Adds Samira, age 11, of Stratford, Conn.: I did three University of New Haven engineering programs with the Girl Scouts on Zoom, and I really enjoyed them. It was fun to have explanations and someone to guide me on my computer while I did the projects at home. Dr. Gillespie and Dr. Horvat are hoping to continue their partnership with the Girl Scouts and to continue hosting these events. They want to continue to educate them and get them excited about STEM at a young age. Dengler says the Girl Scouts she interacted with were very engaged and excited about engineering. She asked them questions about the math and science classes they have taken, and she was impressed by the questions they asked her. One of the Girl Scouts asked me if I would have done anything differently at their age to help me better prepare for a career in engineering, she said. Questions like that showed me just how curious and interested they were in engineering. I thought it was great, and I hope to do another event with them in the future and answer more of their questions. The Government of Ghana has so far spent US$35million on testing 346,990 COVID-19 suspected cases. The amount is not part of the expenditure on the expansion of testing capacity. The Government of Ghana has so far spent US$35million on testing 346,990 COVID-19 suspected cases. The amount is not part of the expenditure on the expansion of testing capacity. Dr Bernard Oko Boye, Deputy Minister of Health who represented the Minister of Health, made the revelation when he updated Parliament on Ghanas COVID-19 situation, in Accra, on Monday. He said the cost of one Polymerise Chain Reaction (PCR) test on average was U$100 for a suspected case. The PCR tests were used to detect the genetic information of the virus and also gives indication of the person who is infected with disease, Dr Boye added. He said Ghana has done 346,990 tests with a positivity rate of 7.9 per cent. He said the number of tests done per million of a countrys population gives an indication of the commitment of the country towards fighting the pandemic. He said the higher the test per million population, the more reliable the picture painted for that country. Dr Boye stated that Ghanas total case count as at July 16, 2020 stood at 27,667, with 148 deaths, 23,249 recoveries with an active case count standing at 4,270. He said Ghanas mortality rate deducing from the statistics was 0.5 percent, meaning for every 1,000 cases of COVID-19, Ghana could record five deaths. However, Ghanas COVID-19 death rate remains one of the lowest in the world, adding that the more efficient management of COVID-19 in a country, the lower the mortality rate. Alhaji Inusah Fuseini, Member of Parliament (MP) for Tamale Central, in a remark charged Ghanaians to interrogate government for its handling of the pandemic since the disease does not discriminate in terms of ones party colour, affiliation, and economic status. Ghanaians have a responsibility to interrogate what government is doing, because COVID-19 does not attack as a result of ones party colour, affiliation and economic status, he added. He urged the citizens to hold government accountable in terms of monies approved by the legislature to help fight the disease. Dr Nana Ayew Afriyie, Member of Parliament for Asokore, lauded the government for the effective management of the Coronavirus disease. He said the countrys mortality rate, which was low, was not just by divine intervention, but as result of good decisions, better protocols and the structures put in place by government. Dr Afriyie praised the Government for maximizing the resources allocated to the pandemic efficiently, but however challenged skeptics on the performance of the Government to rather applaud it for putting in measures to contain the disease, with a mortality of 0.5 percent. Other countries have average mortality rates above one percent, Dr Afriyie pointed out, and said that of Ghana was not just a divine intervention, but real decisions that had translated into that achievement. 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 Earlier this month, JetBlue Airways announced that it would abandon its focus city in Long Beach, California this fall after nearly two decades. Instead, the carrier plans to shift nearly all of its remaining Long Beach flights to Los Angeles International Airport (LAX): the region's primary airport. It then plans to embark on an ambitious effort to more than double its schedule at LAX by 2025. However, JetBlue won't be the only airline looking to grow at LAX in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic later this year. Last week, Alaska Air (NYSE:ALK) announced a meaningful growth push of its own in this strategically important market. Doubling down on its strengths Several years ago, Alaska Air bought smaller rival Virgin America to expand its footprint in California. Soon after completing the acquisition, the company embarked on an aggressive expansion in California, including lots of new transcontinental routes. On many of these new routes, Alaska struggled to gain market share profitably from entrenched competitors. As a result, over the past year or so, Alaska Airlines has adopted a more targeted growth strategy in California that leverages its strength in West Coast markets, especially the Pacific Northwest. As part of this shift, it began four new routes at LAX earlier this year: twice daily service to Spokane, Washington and Boise, Idaho and daily service to Redmond/Bend, Oregon and Missoula, Montana. Last month, despite the ongoing pandemic, Alaska announced that it would launch a new route from LAX to Fresno in September, with flights twice a day. Historically, the 209-mile route has primarily served passengers connecting on to other destinations from LAX, but Alaska may be hoping to stimulate local travel demand, including getaways to Yosemite National Park, which is about 65 miles north of Fresno. Alaska finds more growth opportunities at LAX Last Thursday, Alaska Airlines announced seven new LAX routes to complement the four it has already started this year and the Fresno route that is on the way. In October, the carrier will start daily service from Los Angeles to Eugene and Medford in Oregon. Daily flights to Bozeman, Montana will begin in November. All three of these new routes continue Alaska's strategy of connecting major California cities to destinations in the Pacific Northwest, where it is the dominant airline. Alaska Airlines will also launch routes from LAX to two new Florida destinations in November. It will fly four times a week to Fort Myers and once a day to Tampa. It will have a monopoly on the former route, while competition to Tampa is limited as well. Between local leisure demand in both directions and connections to other Alaska Airlines and alliance partner flights from LAX, Alaska has a decent shot at carving out a profitable niche on these new Florida routes. Finally, Alaska plans to launch service to two additional Hawaii destinations from LAX in December. It will fly three times a week to Kona and four times a week to Lihue. With these routes, the carrier hopes to tap into pent-up demand for Hawaii leisure travel. A play for the future Many of the north-south routes Alaska Airlines is adding from LAX this year play to the airline's strengths: namely, its dominance in the Pacific Northwest. With the pandemic raging, it's an odd time to be launching new routes, but most of these routes are likely to be quite successful in the long run. The prospects for the leisure-oriented routes are far less certain. Alaska has been quite successful serving some leisure markets from Los Angeles, but it canceled service from LAX to Cancun, Havana, and Orlando in 2018. This year, it has eliminated its flight from LAX to Salt Lake City while downgrading its route to Fort Lauderdale to seasonal service. The new Hawaii routes seem especially suspect, as Alaska will be offering less-than-daily service in markets where, pre-pandemic, there were four airlines flying at least daily. Like JetBlue, Alaska Airlines seems to be experimenting at LAX. That will allow it to test out various markets during a time when even proven routes aren't guaranteed to cover their costs. Staking out positions on new routes now could also deter some airlines that previously served those routes from returning. Finally, growth at LAX in 2020 could help Alaska eventually secure additional gates at the perennially space-constrained airport, paving the way for more growth once travel demand has recovered. Flash The East Asia Summit (EAS) participating countries pledged to step up practical cooperation to enhance their capacity to respond to and minimize the negative impacts of the COVID-19 epidemic and promote sustainable recovery in the region at a meeting held via video link, Vietnam News Agency reported on Tuesday. The countries also agreed to continue the effective implementation of prioritized cooperation fields including environment, energy, education, finance, health, epidemics, disaster management and food security at the East Asia Summit Senior Officials' Meeting (EAS SOM) held under the chair of Vietnamese Deputy Foreign Minister Nguyen Quoc Dung on Monday night. The document proposals at the 15th East Asia Summit to be held in November 2020 were also agreed, the news agency reported, noting that they included proposals on the contents of the 15th anniversary of the EAS, promoting stable regional economic growth and improving the disease response capacity and the role of women in ensuring peace and security. During the meeting, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) proposed to its EAS dialogue partners to support the bloc in improving preventive medicine capacity. ASEAN also recommended its partners to cooperate closely in information sharing, experience exchange as well as research and production of preventive vaccines and COVID-19 treatment drugs, as well as in the overall efforts to restore and maintain economic links, ensure regional and global supply chains, promote recovery and sustainable growth. The EAS is an annual meeting by leaders of 18 countries, including the 10 ASEAN member states and eight dialogue partners -- China, Japan, South Korea, India, Australia, New Zealand, Russia and the United States. Recent torrential rain disasters have caused a total of about 59.39 billion yen (about $550 million) worth of damage to the agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries in eight prefectures - the seven prefectures of Kyushu and Yamaguchi Prefecture - as of Monday on an interim report basis, according to data compiled by the prefectural governments. Damage in Kumamoto Prefecture accounts for more than 60% of the total, amounting to about 38.72 billlion yen. Agricultural products in which Kumamoto Prefecture leads the nation in production volume, such as tobacco leaves and dekopon citrus fruits, suffered serious damage. It is likely that the cost of the damage will further balloon. Last year the total planting area of tobacco leaves in Kumamoto Prefecture was 98,000 ares and sales were about 5.8 billion yen. Both figures were the highest in the nation. The area in the prefecture's Kuma region was about 46,000 ares. The damage to tobacco leaves caused by the rain and flood disasters in the prefecture is estimated to be worth about 328 million yen. "It is likely that it will take several years until the farmland can return to normal conditions," said Yoshihide Nakayama, a director of the prefecture's tobacco leaf farmers' union. "As many of the farmers are elderly, they may lose motivation to reconstruct their businesses." In the town of Ashikita, Kumamoto Prefecture, one of the largest citrus fruit production sites in the nation, damage to dekopon was especially serious. About 380 farming households mainly grow dekopon on 34,000 ares of farmland. According to the prefectural government and other sources, the harvest volume of the Shiranui brand of dekopon in 2018 was 22,344 tons. The figure was the largest in the nation and accounted for about 40% of nationwide harvests. Though the prefectural government and local entities of the JA group have conducted research on the damage, there have been difficulties partly because some roads to reach the farmland are unusable. Thus, all details of the damage are not yet known. "We want to assist farming households that have experienced damage, so that the farmers can continue their agricultural businesses," said an official of the town government's agriculture, forestry and fisheries division. As of Monday in Kumamoto Prefecture, a total of about 24.1 billion yen worth of damage had occurred to agriculture, including cases in which mud flowed into rice paddies and other farmland. Forestry-related businesses suffered about 14.4 billion yen worth of damage, including cases in which mountain slopes collapsed. Damage to agriculture, forestry and fisheries industries in other prefectures has so far come to 6.08 billion yen in Fukuoka Prefecture, 3.62 billion yen in Oita Prefecture and 3.43 billion yen in Miyazaki Prefecture. (Natural News) A jump in new reported cases of the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in both Texas and Arizona has prompted several counties within these states to summon fleets of refrigerated trucks to handle a surge of new dead bodies. According to reports, cases of the virus are rising to such a degree that local officials are panicking about morgues filling up too quickly. Consequently, they are trying to get ahead of the bodies hitting the floor by bringing in mobile facilities to begin carting them off to other locations. The official data suggests that upwards of 3.5 million people are now infected with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) in the United States, though the vast majority of these cases are symptomless or not even accurate. Upwards of 137,000 deaths have also been reported, but these, too, are not necessarily all confirmed as being directly caused by the novel virus. Even so, government officials are reacting as though the bodies are piling up in the streets of America, with Maricopa County, Arizona, as one example, having recently ordered four portable coolers, with more on the way in the coming days, according to county spokesman Fields Moseley. The local medical examiners office morgue in Maricopa says that 156 people have died in recent days possibly in conjunction with a Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) diagnosis. Since the facilitys surge capacity is just over 200, its workers are beginning to worry about potential overflow. The office made clear, however, that these deaths may not have anything to do with the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) at all, as deaths tend to surge this time of year in Arizona due to the excessive heat. This is probably the real story here, seeing as how Arizona has been suffering from extreme, record-breaking heat waves in recent weeks. Over in Texas, the joined counties of Cameron and Hidalgo are reportedly sharing a large refrigerated trailer in which dead bodies from possible Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) infection are being stored. This is because local morgues, reports indicate, have very little space. Speaking to local news outlet KVEO Cameron County Judge Eddie Trevino Jr. told the public to do your part to help stay alive and keep other people alive to avoid overburdening the local morgue with more dead bodies. Government officials avoid talking about hydroxychloroquine and vitamin D, instead push stay-at-home and face mask orders Rather than encourage the general public to get out in the sun and boost their natural immune systems with more vitamin D, as well as other preventative health measures, government officials and politicians like Trevino are instead emphasizing more social distancing and more wearing of face masks in public. We cant take anything off the table theres absolutely no certainty of what exactly is going to happen next, stated Dr. Barbara Ferrer, the public health director of Los Angeles County, about another potential stay-at-home order that could be in the works. However, if nothing is off the table, then why is Dr. Ferrer not talking about hydroxychloroquine which, like vitamin D, has been scientifically shown to be an effective remedy against the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19), especially when combined with zinc? All of this could easily become a non-issue if these government hacks would simply inform the public or encourage members of the public to self-inform themselves about how to support their own natural immunity. After all, our immune systems were designed to ward off the many trillions of bacteria and viruses we encounter every single day just by existing and living our normal lives. More related news about the Wuhan coronavirus (COVID-19) is available at Pandemic.news. Sources for this article include: StrangeSounds.org NaturalNews.com CNBC.com NaturalNews.com (REUTERS/Brendan McDermid) Aurora Cannabis (ACB.TO)(ACB) is paring back its European operations in the latest chapter of the companys plan to adjust to a smaller-than-expected global pot market. A spokesperson for the Edmonton-based licenced producer said about one quarter of the workforce in select countries and the companys European regional office will be eliminated as a result of the decision. The spokesperson did not provide a precise number of impacted jobs. Aurora has undertaken a thorough analysis of our international operations to better align to current market conditions, continue to meet market demand and drive the company to near-term profitability, the spokesperson said in an email on Monday. We are committed to simplifying all aspects of our business and applying greater efficiency to our operations. The European cuts follow major reduction to the pot producers Canadian operations. Last month, Aurora revealed plans to close five facilities and lay off roughly 700 workers, resulting in a $60 million charge in the coming quarter. In February, the company cut about 500 jobs and announced a $1 billion writedown. Aurora also announced plans on Monday to ramp up production in Denmark. It will also acquire an outstanding 49 per cent stake in its Danish business. Mads Ulrik Peterson, the current CEO of Aurora Nordic Cannabis A/S, will now oversee operations in the region as president of the European organization. Aurora was forced to halt international cannabis sales last December while waiting for permits from Germany to import and distribute medical cannabis from Canada. Sales resumed in February 2020. In its latest quarter, the company reported $4 million in international sales, less than six per cent of its total revenue in the period. Jeff Lagerquist is a senior reporter at Yahoo Finance Canada. Follow him on Twitter @jefflagerquist. Download the Yahoo Finance app, available for Apple and Android. Kolkata, July 21 : West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Tuesday took on the Narendra Modi-led Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government, saying it had deprived Bengal in every possible way. The Trinamool Congress (TMC) chief also launched her party's election campaign for the 2021 Assembly elections. "They are playing dirty game of politics. The BJP is trying to break Bengal. The Centre has not given anything to us. The BJP is purchasing MLAs in different states to topple governments," Banerjee said addressing a virtual meeting on the occasion of July 21 Martyrs' Day celebration. She said the BJP thought they could rule all the states, but that won't be possible in Bengal. "They are maligning our government. The Centre has insulted us by not giving anything even after the devastating Cyclone Amphan. But they will not be able to capture Bengal," Banerjee said. She asked party members to take a pledge to defeat the BJP in the Assembly polls, scheduled next year. "I urge everyone to gear up for the next's Assembly polls so that we can again assemble here on July 21 next year and celebrate our electoral victory. We will defeat them in such a way that all BJP candidates will lose their poll deposits," she said, pointing out that a wounded tigress was even more ferocious. Banerjee said she was not scared of the Centre and urged people to keep faith in the TMC. "I know they (BJP) will start fresh conspiracy against me after this. But I am not scared. I know how to fight and I will not budge. They might torture me also, but I am not scared," she said and added the TMC would form the government in West Bengal in 2021 defeating the BJP and other political formations. "If you trust the BJP, you will suffer and finally end up losing everything. I welcome everyone from the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M), the Congress and the BJP to come and join the TMC. They might have made mistakes, but it's still not too late. The TMC is the only political alternative in Bengal," she said. Reacting to Banerjee's attack, BJP national secretary Rahul Sinha said, "She has understood that the people of Bengal don't trust her government any more. That's why she has targeted the BJP. This is our political success. Earlier in 2019, she had claimed the TMC would secure all 42 Lok Sabha seats in Bengal. But the BJP bagged 18 seats." Senior CPI-M leader Sujan Chakraborty said the people of Bengal had come to know that the TMC was a platform for political extortionists. "She is lying. Whatever she is saying is absolutely false. People will give her a befitting reply at the right time," he said. Azerbaijan, a close ally of Turkey and fellow denier of the Armenian Genocide, has actively sought the eradication of the regions indigenous Armenian inhabitants and traces of their millennia-old civilization, writes Alex Galitsky in the Jerusalem Post. "Throughout Soviet occupation, the Azerbaijani SSR denied cultural, political, linguistic and economic rights to the Armenians of Artsakh (also known as the Nagorno-Karabakh) and Nakhijevan, and in the late 80s and early 90s, Azerbaijani authorities started to engage in government-backed pogroms and massacres of Armenians in Azerbaijan to suppress calls for Artsakhs independence. These pogroms also targeted Jewish communities, which began to flee Baku en masse in response to the increasing incidents of harassment," he noted. "Azerbaijans assault on the regions Armenians ultimately culminated in a full-scale war which ended with a ceasefire that effectively secured the establishment of an independent and democratic Artsakh." "For the last 30 years, the Azerbaijani government has frequently deployed rhetoric advocating for the ethnic cleansing of Armenians in Artsakh and the Republic of Armenia itself regularly referring to Armenians as enemies of the state and denying the thousands of years of Armenian civilization in the region. "Throughout the early 2000s, some 28,000 Armenian cultural monuments in Nakhijevan were destroyed by Azerbaijan as part of an unprecedented cultural genocide. Independent reports have also found that Armenophobi or anti-Armenian sentiment has become so entrenched in government, media, and state institutions that an entire generation of Azerbaijanis have grown up listening only to hate speech towards Armenians. "This dissemination and inculcation of hatred has incited shocking incidents of violence against Armenians, including that of Ramil Safarov, an Azerbaijani soldier who murdered a sleeping Armenian soldier during a NATO English-language training program in Hungary. "Safarov was extradited to Azerbaijan six years into a life sentence handed down by Hungarian courts but upon his arrival was pardoned, promoted in rank and lauded by the media as a national hero for doing his Azerbaijani patriotic duty by killing an Armenian. "Over the course of this week, Azerbaijan has engaged in major acts of aggression against the Republic of Armenia itself, targeting civilian populations with heavy artillery and drones. In Azerbaijan, tens of thousands came to the streets chanting Death to Armenia and calling for a war with Armenia. These scenes, the result of the Azerbaijani governments decades of propagating Armenophobia, are all too reminiscent of the virulent antisemitism expressed in neighboring Iran. The institutionalization of state-sponsored racism towards Armenians should be an immediate cause of concern for any nation that has not only experienced genocide, but continues to struggle against the promulgation of racist and discriminatory rhetoric by those who deny it its fundamental right to exist. But in addition to Azerbaijans flagrant disregard for minority rights, the country has also long worked against the strategic interests of Israel. "AZERBAIJAN HAS been found to have funneled substantial amounts of money into sanctioned Iranian businesses as part of the Azerbaijani Laundromat corruption scandal. Similarly, Azerbaijans major oil pipeline is 10% owned by Iran allowing the country to bypass international sanctions and to profit from Azerbaijans oil industry. "Additionally, despite its overtures to Israel with respect to weapons contracts, oil supply and the monitoring of Iran, Azerbaijan has succumbed to regional pressure when it comes to issuing political support for Israel particularly in the forum of the UN. "Azerbaijan has also refused to open an embassy in Israel due to regional pressure. On the other hand, Armenia has consistently taken tangible steps towards good faith relations with Israel including a commitment to establish an embassy in Tel Aviv. "Given that Armenia has been made partially reliant on Iran due to the fact that 80% of its borders are under illegal blockade by Turkey and Azerbaijan, it is clear that unlike Azerbaijan Armenia will not succumb to the pressure of malign regional actors when it comes to building relations with Israel. "Armenia, like Israel, has long fought for its very right to exist in a hostile region of states that would revel in its destruction, and has against all odds established vibrant democratic states in a sea of dictatorships. The nations share a history dating back millennia, with Jerusalem being home to the first Armenian diaspora. So integral to the cultural milieu of Jerusalem, the Armenians occupy their own quarter of the Old City, separate from the Christian Quarter. Both nations are bound by the tragedy of genocide and survived its unimaginable horrors. "And it was thanks in large part to the contributions of prominent members of the Jewish diaspora that the world became aware of the torment inflicted upon Armenian people; from former US ambassador to the Ottoman Empire Henry Morgenthaus eyewitness accounts, Raphael Lemkins coining of the term genocide in reference to the Armenian Genocide and Holocaust, to the outspoken advocacy of Elie Wiesel and the monumental academic contributions of Israel Charny, Yair Auron and many others. Israel and Armenia are bound in many intangible, human ways that have prospered despite Israels refusal to recognize the Armenian Genocide, and its partnership with Azerbaijan. "Israel has chosen to take Azerbaijan at face value, accepting its oil in exchange for arms that have been deployed against Armenian civilians in ongoing border confrontations. 'Peer beyond the facade Azerbaijan presents, and Israel will find a regime that has consistently supported its adversaries, and is hellbent on eradicating the regions native Armenian population a clear affront to what the promise of Israel represents; self-determination and sanctuary for the persecuted and marginalized. "Israel knows first-hand the challenges Armenia faces, and has long fought against the type of state-sponsored racism Azerbaijan propagates. The two nations share an ancient history, and are bound by their experiences as long-stateless diasporic people whose resilience has allowed them to not merely survive, but to prosper. In light of this, its time for Israel to rethink its relationship with Azerbaijan. "The writer is communications director of the Armenian National Committee of America Western Region, the largest Armenian-American grassroots advocacy organization in the United States," the author concluded. The search for Ireland's most talented family is back! TG4 and Adare Productions are looking for families who can sing, dance or play music to take part in the TV talent show Realta & Gaolta. The TV producers are looking for the countrys best to come and battle it out on TV for the title of Irelands Most Talented Family. Can you and your siblings sing? Do you and your relatives like to rock out? Are you and your cousins the most musical family in Ireland? Did you and your parents perfect the family bands party piece during lockdown? Are you Longfords most talented family? Are you the next Clancy Brothers, The Corrs or Jedward even? If so Adare Productions wants to hear from you. This unique TG4 television show wants to showcase Ireland undiscovered talented families. The competition has previously been won by the sean-nos singing sisters Etain and Maire Ni Churraoin and by the Operatic couple Gavan and Nicola Ring. The series will be filmed in the RTE studios at the end of September 2020. For more information and to apply please contact Adare Productions by phoning Brid at (086) 0542486 or emailing realta@adareproductions.ie The minister emphasized the unprecedented high level of cooperation between the United States and Ukraine in the military-technical sphere. Ukrainian Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba has said the U.S.-made patrol boats, which were approved for sale to Ukraine last week, will strengthen the country's Navy and help contain Russia's aggressive efforts in the Black and Azov Seas. "I'd like to emphasize the unprecedented high level of cooperation that has developed between the United States and Ukraine in the military-technical sphere," Kuleba said at an online briefing on Tuesday, according to an UNIAN correspondent. Read alsoU.S. Javelin anti-tank missiles delivered to Ukraine, defense ministry confirms "This decision, namely to sell boats, strengthens our Naval Forces, and therefore our capacity, together with partners, to contain Russia's aggressive actions in the Black Sea basin, which of course also applies to the Sea of Azov," Kuleba added. As UNIAN reported earlier, on July 18, the United States approved the sale of 16 Mark VI patrol boats and related equipment to Ukraine worth US$600 million. Eight fifth-generation F-35 fighters of the American corporation Lockheed Martin, originally intended for Turkey, will be bought by the US Air Force for $862 million, learned BulgarianMilitary.com citing the press service of the Pentagon. In a statement, the military department notes that the acquisition of eight F-35s already manufactured for Turkey [in total, Turkey intended to buy 100 fighters] is carried out as part of a modification of the contract already signed with Lockheed Martin. Also, the manufacturer will make the necessary changes for the US Air Force in the supplied aircraft. As reported by BulgarianMilitary.com, the Russian S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems [SAM] have become a reason for discord between Turkey and the United States. Washington said that Ankara was barred from participating in the F-35 program. It all came from Turkeys decision to buy Russian S-400 missile systems at a time when it was one of the main players in the program for a fifth-generation F-35 aircraft.This provoked angry reactions from the United States, which said it was unacceptable for a NATO member and a direct participant in the F-35 program. Two scenarios are unfolding simultaneously in Nigeria which have occupied much of our media space and national conversations. These are the currently running Big Brother Naija and the investigation of the spate of corrupt practices at the Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC) by the National Assembly. The reactions of Nigerians to the two incidents tells you why Nigeria is in cesspools of corruption and the quandary of gross underdevelopment. The responses of Nigerians to these two matters explains why Nigerian political elites are emboldened to ensure that the vicious circle of mass poverty, political instability and wanton destruction of the opportunities of advancements by the youths are maintained without let or hindrance. Ironically, the younger generation of Nigerians have embraced the hedonistic lifestyle of watching irrelevant television soap of Big brother Naija that teaches them nothing but nudity and debauchery. These twin events are at the same time related and unrelated and by so doing have defied the logical law that states that nothing can both be and not be at the same time. Nigeria it would seem defies all natural laws. For instance, the natural law that goes to show that natural resources are to be harnessed for the greatest good of the greatest percentage of the people has been twisted to mean that the bulk of the natural resources of Nigeria are to be deployed to service the HEDONISM of the ruling class. I make the above assertion bearing in mind that both of those scenarios have become the major talking points in both the orthodox and unorthodox or rather main and online media as a result of the aforementioned scenarios playing out on the television and from the National Assembly. However, one thing that strikes me most is that the clear majority of the young Nigerians are in no way moved by the stench of filth and corruption oozing out of the green chambers of the National Assembly and so the youths are not moved to stage any protest to demand comprehensive accountability and transparency. The apathy and lack of interest amongst the youth is symbolized by their inclination to stay glued to their paid television and watch the nudity that is the Big Brother Naija show than to find time to stage street demonstrations and clearly, the timing of the television programme that coincided with this investigation of the National Assembly's lower chamber, is harmful to our national interests. There is the suspicion that the ruling party may have organised the charade of a show by the South African satellite TV owners known as Multichoice so as to serve as perfect distractions from the groundswell of mismanagement of the National wealth of Nigeria by the government at all levels. The Youth of Nigeria are missing an opportunity of a life time to regain control of the political governance of Nigeria by not minding how the current holders and wielders of political powers carry on with their duties. This is because, if you look at a place like the United States of America and much of Europe, whereby there have been massive street protests in support of the Black Lives Matter, the clear majority of these demonstrators are young people. The spate of street protests over the killing by the police of a black man George Floyd have been understandably led to revolutionary changes and the entire globe is right now recognising the need for the black populations of the world to be treated with dignity and honour like all other members of the global community of humanity. it was to the credit of the persistent protests on the streets of the United States of America that made the Prosecutors to file charges of first degree murder against the police officers that killed the black man. In Nigeria, the youths are busy watching the soap opera known as Big Brother Naija whilst right before our faces, there are revelations of mind blowing corruption by the political elites who ought to set the standards of good governance. These members of the thieving political elites are progressively robbing the nation of the resources that ought to be used to fix the broken down infrastructures to train the manpower of the younger generation of Nigerians. Watching the appearances before the Federal House of Representatives Investigative Committee on Niger Delta Development of Commission of the minister of Niger Delta Affairs Mr. Godswill Akpabio and the acting Managing Director, have thrown up a lot of issues that can be situated on the urgency of the now for the younger population of Nigeria to give more energetic attention to what goes on in government to avoid a collapse of Nigeria. The dramatic scenes that played out at that public hearing in the Federal House of Representatives, reminded me of the book Straight to hell which is the true tales of deviance, debauchery and billion dollar illicit deals. The book written by John Lefevre was described by a British tabloid the Daily Mail as a book which makes the Wolf of Wall Street look like a pussycat. This is same way that the emerging spiralling evidence of widespread corruption within the NDDC has made politicians look like thieves who should be jailed. These disclosures of how a set of Nigerian political office holders who ought to clean up the mess within the system of governance of the Niger Delta Development Commission was also implicated in a widespread theft of the resources that ought to be deployed to fix the decadent infrastructures of the crude oil rich but criminally neglected and marginalized Niger Delta Region. To borrow from the book aforementioned, Nigerians witnessed the felonious mentality of Nigerias current political class and should serve as a clarion call for all good Nigerians to work hard to ensure that we achieve a 'letting the bad political eggs out' of Nigerias political space so we do not stand by and see the eventual collapse of Nigeria. This house looks like something that could fall at any time if no remedial and revolutionary actions are put in place to effectively bring about good governance standards. The way to go about it is for the young people to embrace governance monitoring duties and to mount social pressures for the right steps to be taken to follow due process in the discharge of official duties by all and sundry. Unfortunately, it looks like those who currently occupy political offices, especially those species running the affairs of the NDDC have mastered the art of fraud described in the book aforementioned as follows: if you can only be good at one thing, be good at lying... because if you are good at lying, you are good at everything. The above dubious and ridiculously illogical Mantra contained in the book 'straight to hell' by John Lefevre, is the working document of much of the members of the ruling political class today. This attitude must change. Who then stand in the vantage position to change the bad situation for good if not the youth who constitute the clear majority of the population of Nigeria? This monster of corruption has become like a hydra headed creature which must be clinically crushed. Can we recall with a law professor that the promulgation of the Anti-Corruption Act 2004, is no doubt a turning point on the history of criminal law administration. This he argues is because, the law not only created all manner of conceivable offences, just to catch a prospective corrupt person, but also created an independent body the Independent Corrupt Practices and Other Related Offences Commission (ICPC) whose responsibilities include investigation and prosecution of offences under the Act. It is now about ten years (it's actually over a dozen years) since the Act came into being and we are yet to see the impact of the law given the Presidents enthusiasm on the date of the signing of same into law. This perspective of the law teacher included in his book written years back is about the same kind of impression most people have about the ICPC and the second institution created by then President Olusegun Obasanjo. Relatedly, the author added that apart from the above legislation, the Obasanjo administration also promulgated the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission Act, 2004 to help other existing statutes to fight corruption in the country. This according to the University Don, is notwithstanding constitutional provisions against corruption that are often overlooked such as the Code of Conduct for Public Officers; power of the legislature to conduct investigations into actions of public officers; the Auditor-Generals powers to audit public accounts; power of the electorate to recall erring legislators; and impeachment provisions against corrupt chief executives, to mention but these. Like Nostradamus who saw tomorrow, this author of the book we will name soon stated that notwithstanding these laws, the problem of corruption continued with its crushing effects on the countrys image, her development and growth as a nation-State. His words: "For the year 2000, Transparency International (TI), ranked Nigeria as the 1st out of 89 countries that were studied by the anti-corruption NGO. Since 2001, we have maintained second position until 2004 when the country was placed on the overall 2rd position as the third most corrupt nation on earth. On October 26, 2009, Chief Olabode George (former PDP National Vice Chairman, South West Nigeria) was convicted with five others by Federal High Court, Lagos for corruption. Also in the same 2009, five Chief Executives of five major banks in Nigeria namely: Intercontinental Bank Plc (Erastus Akingbola), Oceanic Bank (Mrs. Cecilia Ibru), Union Bank Plc (Bartholomew Ebong), Afri Bank (Sebastine Adigwe) and Fin Bank. The Crime of Corruption in Nigeria: Laws, Issues and Solutions (Ben O. Igwenyi, MON). This book was written some half a dozen years back and as we can see the challenges posed to our development by the high levels of corruption amongst top federal government officials are significant. Tope Ajeigbe wrote that even the Devil will tremble. He then asked- Do you really understand this NDDC matter? He responded by stating that an Interim Management Committee of the NDDC Spent N81.5 billion as sundry expenses, including graduation ceremonies in the United Kingdom during lockdown?; Spent N3.14 billion for COVID-19 palliatives for staff; Spent N1.3 billion on community relations; Spent N85.6million for travels during lockdown between February and May 2020; Spent N122.9 million on condolences between February May 2020.; Spent N23.8million on consultancy; Spent N2.6 billion on medicals; Spent N790.9million as imprest; Spent N1.9 billion on Laser fever; Spent N706 million on legal services; Spent N1.121billion on public communication. Then he significantly observed that: "In all these spending, nothing was "spent" for the common man for whose purpose the Commission was set up." This is interesting. Hearing the minister of Niger Delta Affairs making the unbelievable claim that the interim management committee blew away billions of Naira around the issues of covid-19 because the 60% of the mandates of the commission revolves around health, make me weep for Nigeria. How can an agency set up to bridge the infrastructures gaps in the crude oil producing communities be said to be exclusively set up for health care? Is NDDC a specialist hospital? This is ridiculous. The minister also claimed that over 60% of the contracts in NDDC were awarded to legislators so he can keep his job. If we may ask, is the oath of office he swore not supposed to direct him to comply by the due process of the law and not to be governed by his selfish interests to retain his job by all means? In a sane society, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs would have been invited by the Police or EFCC to clarify that statement which amounts to admittance of wrongdoings. The circus show has continued today with the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila, giving the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs, Godswill Akpabio, 48 hours to name the lawmakers who received contracts from the Niger Delta Development Commission. Akpabio as we have stated times without number had said before a House committee on Monday that 60 per cent of the contracts awarded by the NDDC was given to lawmakers. The ministers claim had generated controversy and questioned the integrity of the committee set up to probe the alleged N81bn fraud perpetrated by the NDDC. Addressing the House on Tuesday, however, Gbajabiamila, who has been a federal lawmaker since 2003, said he had never received any NDDC contract before. He subsequently gave Akpabio 24 to 48 hours to reveal the identities of the lawmakers that received the contracts or face severe sanction. The Speaker said, This is my 5th term here and I have never for once collected anything from the National Assembly and I know I speak for a great majority of members of this House, a great majority. And because of that, I will take this allegation and accusation very seriously. And I will give the minister (Akpabio) 24 to 48 hours. Clerk, I want you to back this up with a letter from this House. Give the minister 24 to 48 hours to publish the names, the contracts so given, the dates because obviously these things will be documented; unveil the companies of the 60 per cent projects that were given to members of the National Assembly. Gbajabiamilas ultimatum received applause from a large section of the lawmakers. These are grandstanding that won't take us far. What should be done is for the Federal Government to constitute a JUDICIAL COMMISSION OF INQUIRY into the management of the Niger Delta Development Commission and for all the officials named in the heist of the resources of the people of the Niger Delta Region to be rounded up and prosecuted for theft. A stitch in time they say saves nine. President Muhammadu Buhari should be quick to rescue his collapsing anti corruption crusade which is believed to be a huge gamble and a monumental fraud. Emmanuel Onwubiko is the Head of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria [email protected] ; www.emmanuelonwubikocom; www.thenigerianinsidernews.com ; [email protected] Japan's push to help revive its virus-ravaged economy with a "Go To" travel campaign has dealt a double blow to Tokyo, whose residents were cut off from promised travel subsidies and businesses are set to miss out on tourists. The program, promoting domestic travel by offering discount vouchers to boost an ailing tourism industry, starts Wednesday ahead of a four-day holiday weekend. But Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government last week decided to remove Tokyo residents after daily confirmed coronavirus infection cases hit records in the capital and stoked worries the plan could spread the virus. Having staked its prospects for an economic recovery on demand, Japan, which has relied heavily on Chinese tourists in recent years, has gone further than most countries by encouraging domestic travel after almost 100% decline in foreign visitors during the pandemic. The resurgence of cases in major urban centers, however, highlights the challenges governments face as they try to balance rebuilding their economies with a constantly evolving health crisis. Tokyo residents, who pay the biggest share of income taxes of any Japanese region, are angry over not receiving travel subsidies and have raised questions about the legality of their exclusion. Businesses say cancellations have led to lost revenue and the government response is muddled. Tokyo-based software engineer Takehito Fukui is caught in the mix. He booked a $2,800 (300,000 yen) four-day vacation to Okinawa for his family last month after the campaign was announced, expecting at least a third of the trip to be subsidized. "I honestly feel like I've been swindled," Fukui said in an interview. Following public criticism, Transport Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said the government will pay for cancellation fees for trips to and from Tokyo booked between July 10 and July 17. But the troubles with the program have been viewed by many as another misstep in Abe's management of the virus, which many have seen as, at times, being slow and haphazard. About 60% of respondents said they weren't happy with the government's virus response, a weekend survey by the Mainichi newspaper and Social Survey Research Center showed. On Tuesday, Microsoft continued its drumbeat of enhancements to Microsoft Teams and its other collaborative apps, announcing new features and readying others for deployment into preview or other modes. Microsofts announcements were made at Inspire, its annual partner conference thats now evolved into a virtual showcase. There, Microsoft showed off Microsoft Lists, the latest app in its Microsoft 365 suite. Meanwhile, Microsoft Teams has emerged the star. Microsoft simply cant stop adding more to the Teams platform, which now has its own internal apps. Microsoft also added a fresh coat of paint to Yammer, and the company plans to release a cloud-printing solution that could pick up where Google Cloud Print leaves off. Meet Microsoft Lists Lists was disclosed earlier this year at the companys Build developer event, and now its officially being brought into the Microsoft 365 stable. Microsoft said Lists will join Microsoft 365 in late July, and Teams in August. YouTube / Microsoft Microsofts Lists are available in a number of templates Lists represents Microsoft at its finest. On the surface, Lists takes the notion of a list to almost ridiculous levels. In an enterprise environment, however, Lists becomes one of many moving parts in collaboration and project management. Microsofts Lists actually builds on SharePoint Lists, another enterprise tool. Lists will be accessible from the Microsoft 365 grid or waffle, most commonly found in the upper-lefthand corner of Microsoft 365 web apps like Outlook. In August, it will be integrated directly into Teams. In either app, a list begins with one of Microsofts templates, which can be populated with data imported from Excel or created manually. Preformatted templates include a bug list, a launch planner, contact info, or more. Where they can get complicated is that Lists arent just liststhey can be cards, a grid view, or even a calendar. Naturally, Lists can be shared. In fact, theyre designed to be. Where Lists gets really complicated is with the application of ruleswhich changes Lists from an app to a platform. Building rules is as easy as writing a sentence, Microsoft explained in a lengthy blog post. Once you decide on the outcome, click-fill if/then steps to design your rules. Choose people, status, and value changes to send notifications or programmatically update values elsewhere in the list. Finally, use rules to set reminders to keep everyone informed. Where Lists gets confusing is when you consider Microsoft To-Do, Planner, and Outlooks own Tasksall of which overlap with Lists functionality. All three are already integrated in Microsoft 365 to some extent. Outlooks web app, for example, has its own Tasks function, plus a link to To-Do in the sidebar. Its possible that Microsoft thinks of this as an app-specific function of the modalities its built into Windowsyou dont have to use touch or a pen to interact with Windows, but those options are there. Microsoft would also like you to think of To-Do as a checkoff app, one where tasks disappear once theyre completed. In Tasks, the task remains, so that users can see what has been completed and what remains to be done. But Tasks doesnt appear to interact with either To-Do or Planner yet. Microsoft Teams gets its own apps, too It seems like just yesterday that Microsoft was adding its Together Mode to Teamsbut no, that was actually a bit more than a week ago. Now, theres even more integration with other Microsoft services. Developers will now be able to take Power AppsMicrosofts tools for users to create their own no-code web and mobile appsand hook them into Teams. Microsoft said this will allow developers to add features like Power Virtual Agents chatbots to Teams, which could lend AI assistant features to Teams chats. Power Apps will be available in early August in a preview, Microsoft said, with the Power Virtual Agents capabilities appearing in late August in preview, too. Microsoft Microsoft says its building in support for apps and additional functionality to be added to Teams calls, like this one. Microsoft is extending the concept of Teams-as-a-platform to the base Teams interface, too. Currently, a Teams meeting includes chat, a shared file folder, meeting notes and a whiteboard, as well as the ability to record and transcribe the meeting. Microsofts saying that apps can now be added as tabs or sidebars to Teams meetings, which sounds quite a bit like a web app that can be opened inside of a browser. This capability will be available in late July in preview form, according to Microsoft. Microsoft Walkie-Talkie is a mobile Teams feature that allows users to broadcast audio messages. While the Teams mobile Walkie-Talkie feature might be controversialallowing supervisors to blast notifications via push-to-talk capabilities to mobile phonesthat feature is now also in public preview, Microsoft said. Walkie-Talkie works in conjunction with a capability called Shifts, which Microsoft has enhanced with the ability to add team schedules. That feature is listed as coming soon, Microsoft says. Yammer tries out a new look Microsoft has given Yammer a new look, consistent with some of the Fluent Design elements that its tried to work into Windows and other apps. This new UI is immediately available to everyone, Microsoft said, beginning today. Microsoft What does Yammer do that other Microsoft apps, like Teams, does not? That answer isnt clear? Yammer was originally designed as a social network of sorts to share information around a company. Since then, however, Microsoft has developed Teams, and the two apps now look somewhat alike on the surface, with the capability to share polls, links, and videos. Microsoft says that Teams is better for collaboration on a regular basis, while Yammer enables open conversations centered around a companys culture. Yammer is open to the company at large, while Teams teams are managed and restricted. Still, both apps look very similar. Teams can even add a Communities app, which provides a full-fledged Yammer experience within Teams, to make the distinction even more difficult. Universal Print nears completion In March, Microsoft quietly announced Universal Print, Microsofts take on the Google Cloud Print service that supported Chromebooks for years. Google is shutting down Google Cloud Print at the end of the year, incidentally. Can Microsoft do better? Well see. Like Google Cloud Print, Universal Print replaces an on-premises print server, shifting print management to the cloud and eliminating the need to install printer-specific drivers on a users PC. The user experience, though, is supposed to be the same: Select a nearby printer and print. Universal Print is now in public preview, Microsoft said. While Canon was the first to sign on to Universal Print, HP, Konica Minolta, and Lexmark have also agreed to make Universal Print-compatible hardware, Microsoft said Tuesday. Rome, July 21 : The northern Italian region of Lombardy, the one-time epicentre of the country's coronavirus pandemic, has seen notable improvement in its COVID-19 data recently. The region that includes the Italian financial centre of Milan, is home to around one-sixth of Italy's population of more than 60 million, reports Xinhua news agency. It reached a positive milestone on Sunday: no single death from the COVID-19 in the region and just 33 new infections. On Monday, cases rose slightly with 56 new cases and eight deaths. But for a region that has seen nearly half of Italy's total COVID-19 mortalities -- 16,796 of the country's 35,058 total deaths -- Sunday's low totals were praised by Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte and Minister of Health Roberto Speranza, as well as Lombardy Regional President Attilio Fontana. The recent positive developments in Lombardy mirrored those on a national level. On Monday, Italy recorded just 13 deaths; the day before, only three. There were just 190 new infections nationally on Monday, down from 219 a day earlier. It has now been nearly two weeks since Italy had more than 30 COVID-19 deaths in a day, more than a month since it had more than 50, and it has not recorded more than 100 since May 30. But despite the positive trends, officials urged caution, noting that while Italy has made great strides in curbing the spread of the coronavirus, the country still remained at risk. "We need to be patient and prudent," Speranza said. Walter Ricciardi, senior advisor at the Ministry of Health, on Monday called for the government to step up testing even as the numbers improve, adding the government should be ready to "act quickly" at the first sign of a new wave of infections. Over the last two weeks, Italy has seen a handful of isolated COVID-19 clusters and the overall infection rates have inched marginally higher than their lowest points during the pandemic in late June. But measures taken to halt further spread have so far proved effective. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text The president was laconic on the issue, Yaremenko says. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky sys he does not support the idea of resuming fresh water supplies from mainland Ukraine to the Russian-occupied Crimean peninsula. That's according to MP with the ruling Servant of the People Party, former diplomat Bohdan Yaremenko. "I stand against [such resumption]," President Zelensky reportedly said, answering Yaremenko's direct question on his attitude to the matter. Read alsoUkraine's NSDC secretary names condition for resumption of water supplies to Crimea The answer was "laconic", the deputy said. In the comment section to his post, Yaremenko was asked about the president's opinion on whether Russian artists touring the peninsula that Russia has grabbed in 2014 should be allowed to visit mainland Ukraine. In response, the people's deputy said that he would never ask Zelensky such question. "There is legislation, there is common sense. This is enough to address the issue without involving the president," he wrote. As UNIAN reported earlier, activists recently rallied at the dam of the North Crimean Canal against the resumption of water supplies to the occupied peninsula. Foreign Minister Dmytro Kuleba earlier noted that Ukraine would not be helping Russia amid fresh water shortage in Crimea as the occupying power "must bear full responsibility" for whatever happens in the occupied territories. Prime Minister Denys Shmyhal has also stated that Ukraine will not supply water to Crimea for industrial and military needs. Russia has been militarizing the peninsula since the start of the occupation in 2014. Delhi seems to have hit the COVID-19 peak with the number of daily cases declining significantly, AIIMS Director Randeep Guleria said on July 20, but cautioned against any lowering of guard. He also said cases are increasing in certain states and they will reach a peak later, but there is not much evidence of community transmission of COVID-19 at the national level. "However, there are hotspots even in cities where there is a spike of cases, and it is likely that local transmission is happening in those areas that is why containment zones need aggressive action," he said. Listen in | Coronavirus Essential podcast: Delhi is past its COVID-19 peak, says AIIMS Director 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 Asked if COVID-19 cases in India have hit the peak, Guleria said, "My feeling is that certain areas have hit their peak. Delhi seems to have done so because the cases have declined significantly. But certain areas are yet to reach their peak. Cases are increasing in certain states. They will reach a peak later," he said. Some states in the South, Ahmedabad in Gujarat and the central part of Mumbai also seem to be showing a decline, he said. "But then having hit the peak does not mean that you have to let your guard down. In many cities outside India, especially in the US, when people felt the peak is over and started not following social distancing and not wearing masks, there has been a spike of cases," he said, underlining that even if number of cases come down, infection control and containment measures along with other dos and don'ts have to be followed to sustain that trend. Reaching a peak is a sign that the curve of the number of infections is flattening and the number of cases are coming down. Follow our LIVE blog for the latest updates of the novel coronavirus pandemic The Union Health Ministry has reiterated on several occasions that there is no community transmission of COVID-19 in the country. At a press briefing on July 9, Rajesh Bhushan, Officer on Special Duty in the Union Health Ministry, had said India has not reached the stage of community transmission. "In some geographical areas, there have been localised outbreaks. We should not forget that in our country, 49 districts alone account for 80 percent of COVID-19 cases. In a country of more than 733 districts, if 49 districts account for 80 percent cases, then it is not justified to talk about community transmission," he had said. YEREVAN, JULY 21, ARMENPRESS. Foreign Minister of Armenia Zohrab Mnatsakanyan gave an interview to France 24, during which he in particular touched upon the recent escalation provoked by Azerbaijan on the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, as well as Turkeys unconstructive policy on the matter. Armenpress presents the full interview: Question: Mr. Foreign Minister, for the past week violent clashes have occurred between Azerbaijan and your country Armenia. The two countries have been at loggerheads for decades now over the fate of the Nagorno-Karabakh region. However unlike in previous flare ups the latest round of violence has occurred far from this disputed region - at the north of the border between the two countries. At least 16 people have lost their lives - the worst death toll since 2016. We have seen a lull in the fighting for the past few days. Are you optimistic that the fighting is now over or you are still concerned that it could resume very soon? Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Thank you very much. Indeed we had a situation over the past week: on 12th of July, we had an attempted aggression, attempted infiltration of the Armenian positions by the Azerbaijani armed forces across the Armenia-Azerbaijan border to the north-east of Armenia. This has been decisively thwarted. It has been followed subsequently by missile attacks at Armenian positions, also civilian infrastructure and the population. We have been decisive in our defense. And we have also been working very hard with our partners with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, comprising France, the United States and Russia, in order to halt the hostilities and in order to restore the ceasefire. Now what happened in fact is a material manifestation of the ongoing warmongering and hate induced rhetoric that was very intense over the past weeks and months from Azerbaijan. Apparently they have been testing the resolve and the capacities of Armenia far from Nagorno-Karabakh. And this was, of course, a very dangerous development. We have managed to calm the situation so far. Since Thursday we have again through the engagement of the Co-Chairs, the Russian Co-Chairmanship in strong coordination with the other partner France and the US, we have managed to restore ceasefire. This is again a shaky situation. So far it is holding and our intention is to make sure that we firmly restore ceasefire. In fact take further specific measures to reinforce the ceasefire regime and to deny any further challenge to the calm across the border and across the line of contact in Nagorno-Karabakh. This is, of course, a very big priority that we have before us now. Question: Azerbaijan says that you started the fighting. It has also threatened to strike the nuclear plant, the Metsamor Nuclear Plant, if you continue what they call your provocations. What is your response to that? Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Well, on the first question. We have been quite insistent on establishing measures to reduce risks of escalation and to investigate ceasefire violations. We are very insistent on that. We are very insistent on further measures including the expansion of monitoring, the establishment of a direct line on the ground. And those are the measures that will help us to control the ceasefire regime. Azerbaijan has not been very forthcoming to accept those proposals and to establish such measures which would deny opportunities for further ceasefire violations. So, once again I am calling upon them to come to reason and to accept those proposals, and to work with us towards strengthening the ceasefire regime. So far as the threats to the nuclear power plant are concerned, I think this is a very vivid manifestation of irresponsibility, of threat to the broader region, a threat in fact to their own people. This is very disturbing and this demonstrates a crisis of reason. And I think it is very important that they come to their senses in Baku. Question: Who is responsible? I imagine you are pointing the finger at Azerbaijans leader Ilham Aliyev who has publicly said a couple of weeks ago that the efforts to bring a peaceful solution were leading nowhere, or are you also thinking that Turkeys president Rejep Tayyip Erdogan might be the real reason for what happened at the border? Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Well, I would reiterate in very strong terms Armenias full commitment to the strictly peaceful resolution of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. The war is not an option. The war is a total catastrophe for the entire region. Armenia is capable to defend. Nagorno-Karabakh is capable to defend. But war should be totally ruled out in this. We are fully committed to the peaceful resolution of the conflict in a way that needs the interests of Armenia and Nagorno-Karabakh in equal measure as it is expected for Azerbaijan. This is the compromise-based solution that we are working for and we will continue to invest every effort in the peaceful settlement. This has been and remains the commitment of Armenia. So far as Turkey is concerned, again this is particularly concerning, because we have been observing a very destabilizing role of Turkey in its other neighbourhoods - the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa, the Middle East. Now what we are observing is an attempt to export this factor of instability in our region, in the South Caucasus. This attempt has been also laced with a notion of historical mission of Turkey in the South Caucasus. Now you understand that for Armenia such historical mission revives very sad memories of the Armenian Genocide at the beginning of last century, and of course, we received this with serious concern. We also observe that the impunity for these atrocities against the Armenians is also the reason in which Turkey decisively claims any role in the South Caucasus. Question: I am going to ask you maybe very bluntly, you have mentioned the example of Turkeys role in Syria and Libya. Are you concerned that Turkey could play a more direct role in this dispute with Azerbaijan, including militarily? Is this a concern, or you believe they are just talking, declaring their support? Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: There is no role for Turkey in this. The peaceful resolution concerns Armenia, Nagorno-Karabakh, and Azerbaijan, and we will continue to work closely in a very constructive manner with Azerbaijan on finding a solution together with Nagorno-Karabakh. We need to work on strengthening and steeling the very firm ceasefire regime, we have to hear from Azerbaijan the firm denouncement of the threat or use of force. We need to work on an environment, which favors progress in the negotiations. We have to work on such a balance of commitments that helps to achieve a measurable compromise, it has to be a compromise-based solution, a maximalist position of Azerbaijan is not helpful in this. So we will continue to work for this purpose within the internationally agreed format of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship. We value very highly the role of the Co-Chairs - France, Russia, and the United States, and their contribution is very solid, their commitment and engagement is also very solid. Within this format and within this arrangement we will continue to work for peace. Question: I am going to repeat my question. Are you concerned about potential Turkish intervention, a more direct intervention in this conflict? Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Obviously, we cannot be indifferent, because this role is a role of instability, and of course we cannot receive this indifferently; of course its a matter of concern. Question: You mentioned the Minsk Group Co-Chairmanship, but it has not worked. I mean all these negotiations have led to nowhere. Why not to rejuvenate this negotiation format and do something else? Why continue something that has not worked so far? Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: Well, I cannot agree that it hasnt been working. It has been working very effectively, it has been a very solid basis, very solid platform, in which all the three countries - Russia, France and the United States, have been working in a very engaging manner. They continue to make very important contribution to the peace process. I do consider this is a very positive role and we do not see any reason why it should change. Question: Just let me ask one last question. Do you think in order to break the impasse, a meeting between the leaders of both countries is something that would play a decisive role in calming the tensions. Zohrab Mnatsakanyan: We are committed to use every measure, every way of promoting the peace process. The meeting between the leaders is part of the process, it has been happening before and it will happen again, I am sure. But these meetings have to be prepared carefully, so that we do strive, we do aim to establish a good foundation for progress. So there is a direct engagement of the foreign ministers who negotiate and the foreign ministers prepare the work of the leaders. We will continue to work in the most serious way towards achieving progress in negotiations. So leaders meeting will happen when we prepare the good grounds for this meeting to happen, so that we establish progress in negotiations. SAN ANTONIO, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- This past month, the Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF), in partnership with the Qatar Harvey Fund (QHF), announced Endeavors as the recipient of an expedited grant to address support for Veterans who are still impacted by Hurricane Harvey and continuing to struggle, and are further affected by the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The Foundation awarded a total of $2.1 million to organizations that provide much-needed programming and services to Veterans, caregivers, and military families affected by COVID-19. Endeavors Veteran Supportive Services offer emergency financial assistance (such as short-term emergency housing, rent, utility payment, etc.), and one-on-one case management services, (such as obtaining VA benefits and services and offering resources to mental health and substance abuse programs, and other public benefits). Additional services include referrals for financial counseling and legal assistance, job placement assistance, parenting programs, and skills workshops. "It is an honor to have been awarded this grant by the Bob Woodruff Foundation to quickly respond to support to Veterans and their families impacted by Hurricane Harvey, and now COVID-19," said Jon Allman, Endeavors President & CEO. The communities along the Texas Gulf Coast recovering from Hurricane Harvey are now experiencing compounded hardship stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic, including illness, isolation, unemployment, economic uncertainty, and mental health concerns. Many Veterans across the region have lost their jobs in the restaurant and bar industries, retail, construction, and oil and gas sectors. Many military families struggle to afford utilities, car payments, lodging, insurance, and food and forced to make decisions that increase their debt. "The COVID-19 crisis has brought an extraordinary time of need for many in our Texas communities. We are thankful for the support from the Bob Woodruff Foundation, in partnership with the Qatar Harvey Fund, to ensure Veterans and their families will continue to receive services for recovery efforts," said Chip Fulghum, Endeavors Chief Operating Officer. Endeavors operations are continuing to work 100% remotely for the safety of our staff and clients, as they continue to meet urgent needs. Endeavors' Disaster Case Management program provides client-focused services for short-term relief and long-term recovery for disaster victims continuing to recover from Hurricane Harvey in Texas. Endeavors will provide emergency financial support for at least 150 Veteran households recovering from Hurricane Harvey. This grant is made possible by a partnership between the Bob Woodruff Foundation and the Qatar Harvey Fund to support Veterans affected by Hurricane Harvey. If you or someone you know needs assistance, please give Endeavors a call today at 210-431-6466 or learn more at www.endeavors.org . The Bob Woodruff Foundation is continuing to raise funds to support veterans and their families during the COVID-19 crisis and beyond. For the full list of programs awarded by the Bob Woodruff Foundation's 2020 Expedited Grants, addressing urgent needs related to COVID-19, to support Veterans impacted by Coronavirus, check out bobwoodrufffoundation.org/2020-expedited-grants/ . ABOUT ENDEAVORS Endeavors, a San Antonio based nonprofit, is a longstanding national nonprofit agency that provides an array of programs and services in support of children, families, Veterans and those struggling with mental illness, disabilities, disasters or emergencies. Endeavors serves vulnerable people in crisis through personalized services. For more information, please visit www.endeavors.org . ABOUT THE BOB WOODRUFF FOUNDATION: The Bob Woodruff Foundation (BWF) was founded in 2006 after reporter Bob Woodruff was hit by a roadside bomb while covering the war in Iraq. Since then, the Bob Woodruff Foundation has led an enduring call to action for people to stand up for heroes and meet the emerging and long-term needs of today's veterans. To date, BWF has invested over $70 million to Find, Fund and Shape programs that have empowered impacted veterans, service members, and their family members, across the nation. For more information, please visit bobwoodrufffoundation.org or follow us on Twitter at @Stand4Heroes . MEDIA CONTACT Shannon Gowen, Chief Marketing Officer, Endeavors 210-431-6466 x126 | [email protected] SOURCE Endeavors Related Links http://www.endeavors.org T wo people have been taken to hospital after a stabbing at a park in north London. Officers were called at 2.40pm to reports that a group of men were intoxicated and fighting in Finsbury Park. "Officers attended and found one man with apparent stab wounds," a spokesman for the Metropolitan Police said. "The London Ambulance Service attended and the man has been taken to hospital, his injuries are not thought to be life threatening." The LAS said paramedics were called to reports of "a stabbing and assaults" in the park. "We dispatched three ambulance crews and an incident response officer," a spokeswoman told the Standard. "We treated three people at the scene and took two to a major trauma centre." A man has been arrested on suspicion of causing grievous bodily harm. A crime scene is in place. More follows... Salman Khan who always manages to release a film on Eid, couldnt do so this year due to the pandemic and the resultant lockdown. However now that the unlockdown has begun and the industry is gradually resuming work, Salman Khan was to resume the shoot of Radhe: Your Most Wanted Bhai next month. And the film was to release on the Diwali weekend this year. However, a leading daily reports that Salman Khan won't be shooting for the film next month. The actor was going to shoot at a studio in Bandra in Mumbai. But now that the World Health Organisation has stated that the fatal virus can be an airborne disease, the superstar has decided to cancel the shoot. A source revealed to the daily saying, However, on Sunday, Salman called off the impending schedule after discussing with his team and co-producers Atul Agnihotri, Sohail Khan and Nikhil Namit. He felt that filming indoors could pose a risk to the health of the cast and crew. On the other hand, an outdoor shoot was not feasible in the monsoon. So, he has decided to hold off the stint till October end, post which the unit will film the remaining portions including a song at outdoor locations. The source further added, Salman's first priority is the safety of his team members. The makers are now eyeing a 2021 festival release; by then, the theatres will have also reopened. Sooryavanshi will So it looks like Bhai fans have to wait a bit longer. Radhe also stars Disha Patani, Randeep Hooda and Jackie Shroff. With Radhe being pushed to next year, looks like Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif starrerwill have a solo release this Diwali. The California-based builder of hundreds of electronic pull tab machines that were shut down in North Dakota by state order two weeks ago is suing the state in federal court. Powerhouse Gaming attorneys say the company was unfairly targeted by the states top law enforcement official and gaming director, and they're asking a federal judge to allow it to continue operating in North Dakota. The company also claims the July 8 order was issued without advance warning or notice except apparently to Powerhouse Gamings manufacturing competitors who were waiting in the wings to replace its machines, the company says in court documents. Liz Brocker, spokeswoman for Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem, on Tuesday said the attorney general was not available for comment and added we do not discuss or comment on pending cases. Powerhouse built nearly 500 machines that were operating in the state -- about one-fifth of the roughly 2,500 machines at about 600 sites across North Dakota, according to the attorney general's office. Stenehjem suspended Powerhouse's gambling license because he said the company had failed to show it had purchased a software license for each device in the state. He also ordered that the companys machines in North Dakota be immediately disabled. The suspension is to stay in effect until the company can prove it is in compliance with gambling regulations. Stenehjem said Powerhouse was using illegal or pirated software in the machines, terms the company says are slanderous. Powerhouse said the suspension order costs it $60,000 per week and threatens the jobs of 69 employees in five states because of the loss of business and harm to the companys reputation. Powerhouse attorneys argue that the company owns one type of software in the machines and that the state has no regulatory authority over another type of software. Even so, they say, the company complied with the state's request for evidence, and that no other gambling manufacturer has been required to provide such proof, the documents state. Powerhouse President Nathan Freels claims Stenehjem and Gaming Director Deborah McDaniel have interfered with his business and contracts and violated his right to due process. The two exercised pre-hearing discretion to enforce a temporary licensing suspension which in reality had a final effect, according to the documents. Stenehjems claims in a news release were made maliciously, recklessly and with intentional disregard for the truth, the documents state. Freels asks a judge to stop enforcement of the suspension order and McDaniels order of violation, and halt further issuance of an email McDaniel sent to the states charities, bars and distributors that the company says poisons the well for Powerhouse Gaming with all those entities. A temporary restraining order would allow the company to turn machines on in locations that are willing to take them, but most of the charity locations have replaced (them) with competitor machines, the documents state. Powerhouse in documents claims McDaniel has exhibited a pattern and practice of singling out the company for particularly harsh oversight, in her interpretation of marketing regulations and enforcement of unwritten rules. She also forced the company to undergo laboratory testing of its equipment when she claimed she got inconsistent sales and payout numbers from reports she ran on Powerhouse Gaming's server, the lawsuit alleges. That was a step no other manufacturer has had to complete, the company claims. Reach Travis Svihovec at 701-250-8260 or Travis.Svihovec@bismarcktribune.com Love 0 Funny 1 Wow 2 Sad 0 Angry 5 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. A memorial service with military honors is planned this week for Joseph Peterson, Wyandottes longtime mayor and a retired police officer. The service, planned by the Peterson family, is scheduled for 2 p.m. July 23 at Our Lady of Hope Cemetery, 18303 Allen Road, Brownstown Township. It is open to the public. Peterson died May 17 of an apparent heart attack, but he had been ill for a number of years due to complications of exposure to Agent Orange during the time he served in the Vietnam War. Last November, the city recognized his accomplishments and many years of service by dedicating the Joseph R. Peterson Justice Building in his honor. The building houses both the Police Department and 27th District Court. Peterson spent 27 years as a Wyandotte police officer before retiring. He served on the City Council from 2005 to 2009, when he was elected mayor. He was in his third and final term as mayor when he died. BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - U.K. stocks rose on Tuesday, with a combination of vaccine optimism and fiscal stimulus boosting sentiment. The euro hit its strongest level since early March after the European Union (EU) struck a historic deal on a 750 billion ($857 billion) coronavirus recovery fund and the bloc's long-term budget. On the data front, the U.K. budget deficit increased sharply in June, data from the Office for National Statistics showed. Public sector net borrowing excluding public sector banks increased GBP 28.3 billion to GBP 35.5 billion, which was the third highest deficit in any month on records. Borrowing for May was revised down by GBP 9.8 billion to GBP 45.5 billion. The benchmark FTSE 100 rose 39 points, or 0.63 percent, to 6,300 after rising half a percent on Monday. GVC Holdings slumped 9 percent on news that HMRC had ordered the firm to hand over info relating to its former Turkish facing gambling business. Telecom firm TalkTalk Telecom slid half a percent after its fiscal first-quarter revenue fell. Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX Werbehinweise: Die Billigung des Basisprospekts durch die BaFin ist nicht als ihre Befurwortung der angebotenen Wertpapiere zu verstehen. Wir empfehlen Interessenten und potenziellen Anlegern den Basisprospekt und die Endgultigen Bedingungen zu lesen, bevor sie eine Anlageentscheidung treffen, um sich moglichst umfassend zu informieren, insbesondere uber die potenziellen Risiken und Chancen des Wertpapiers. Sie sind im Begriff, ein Produkt zu erwerben, das nicht einfach ist und schwer zu verstehen sein kann. Joe Biden said Monday that four Black women are on his list of potential running mates, and that his vetting team has so far briefed him on a total of four candidates with more to come. The big picture: Biden is expected to announce his VP pick, which he has pledged will be a woman but not necessarily a woman of color, before the Democratic National Convention on Aug. 17. "It's important that my administration, I promise you, will look like America from vice president to Supreme Court to Cabinet positions to every major position in the White House," Biden told MSNBC's Joy Reid. The state of play: Biden said his team is finishing up its six-week "detailed analysis" of each candidate, and that he's received two-hour vetting reports on about four of them so far. MILAN (Reuters) - A new viaduct in the Italian port city of Genoa will open next month, built to replace a motorway bridge that collapsed almost two years ago, killing 43 people. 'Genoa's Saint George bridge will be inaugurated on Aug. MILAN (Reuters) - A new viaduct in the Italian port city of Genoa will open next month, built to replace a motorway bridge that collapsed almost two years ago, killing 43 people. "Genoa's Saint George bridge will be inaugurated on Aug. 3 at 1830 local time (1630 GMT)," Genoa Mayor Marco Bucci said on a post on his Facebook account. Bucci is also the state-appointed commissioner for the replacement of the bridge. Connecting Italy with France, a section of the old bridge broke apart on Aug. 14, 2018, sending dozens of cars plunging to the ground. The disaster prompting national outrage and triggered a bitter dispute between the government and infrastructure group Atlantia , whose motorway unit managed the viaduct. Hundreds of workers in a consortium including inspection and engineering services group RINA, builder Webuild and shipbuilder Fincantieri , have been working day and night since January 2019 to erect the new structure in a project led by Genoa-born architect Renzo Piano. (Reporting by Francesca Landini; Editing by Alexandra Hudson) This story has not been edited by Firstpost staff and is generated by auto-feed. WASHINGTON, July 21 (Reuters) - U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper said on Tuesday he hoped to visit China by the end of the year to discuss areas of mutual interest, even as he condemned Chinese maritime activity in the South China Sea. "Before the year is out, I hope to visit the PRC for the first time as secretary in order to enhance cooperation on areas of common interest, establish the systems necessary for crisis communications and reinforce our intentions to openly compete in the international system," Esper said, using an acronym for the People's Republic of China. Esper also said that he had not given any orders to withdraw U.S. troops from South Korea, but the Pentagon was looking at forces around the world. (Reporting by Idrees Ali and Phil Stewart; Editing by Andrew Heavens) Capital One froze a SoCal customer's credit card because it was concerned that a bank transfer to pay off $14,000 in debt might have been made by a scammer. (Associated Press) Scammers are responsible for all manner of fraud and mischief, including the theft of people's identities, cash and financial information. As as far I know, however, no con artist has ever maliciously paid off someone's credit card balance. So I couldn't help but be intrigued when a Capital One customer told me about his recent experience having his card frozen and undergoing a fraud investigation after he paid off the more than $14,000 outstanding on his plastic. "I kept asking them if they thought some random person had paid off my account," said Erik Castro, 48. "They said they just needed to know that the money was legitimate." Even now, the frustration was clear in his voice. "The payment was from the same Bank of America account I use for all my payments," the Granada Hills resident said. "Why wouldn't it be legitimate?" Before we go any further, let's pause to acknowledge that fraud protection for credit cards is a very valuable service. Most cardholders likely are grateful any time a financial institution spots a questionable transaction and steps in to prevent losses. Castro doesn't disagree. He said Capital One flagged some dubious iTunes purchases a few years ago and quickly alerted him that his card may have been hijacked. It had been. A new card was immediately issued. On the other hand, Castro said Cap One overlooked someone using his plastic last year to purchase a high-end baby stroller. He had to report that fraudulent transaction himself, which once again resulted in a new card being issued. According to the Federal Trade Commission, acts of fraud resulted in nearly $2 billion in losses last year. Identity theft accounted for about 20% of all fraud reports. And of those, credit card fraud was the leading form of ID theft. So it would be foolish for anyone to want card companies to be less vigilant in keeping scammers at bay. That said, Capital One seems a bit overzealous in its efforts even considering the company was itself a cybercrime victim last year after a hacker accessed the personal data of more than 100 million people and small businesses. Story continues Castro told me he's never missed a card payment but started carrying a hefty balance after plunking down thousands of dollars for season tickets to Las Vegas Raiders games. Then the coronavirus hit, his work hours were reduced, and he and his wife decided they needed to tighten their belts by making smaller monthly card payments. Before too long, Castro was carrying a debt load on his plastic of $14,300. That changed a few weeks ago after he refinanced his mortgage and used some home equity to pay off the balance. The next day, Castro said, he received a call from Cap One saying a fraud investigation had been opened. "They wanted me to upload copies of my bank statements to prove that I made the payment," he recalled. Castro balked at the request. He asked to speak with a supervisor and was told one would call him back. No one did, he said. What did happen, though, is that when he tried to buy some stuff at a Ross store, the cashier told him his Capital One card had been rejected. "It was embarrassing," Castro said. He called Capital One and was informed his account had been frozen until he complied with the request for bank documents. "I told them it was the same bank account I've been using for years for all my payments," Castro said. "I said they were making me feel like a criminal." Nevertheless, he uploaded the bank statements. A week passed. His card remained frozen. Castro called Cap One again. This time a rep had him wait on the line while she set up a conference call with Bank of America. BofA verified that, yes, the over $14,000 payment was indeed made from Castro's checking account. Capital One in turn unfroze his credit card. Castro isn't bothered that his card issuer was looking out for his financial well-being. "That's a good thing," he said. "What bothers me is how they handled this," Castro said. "They couldn't protect me from baby-stroller fraud but they were more than ready to protect me from myself." Ariel Brown, a Capital One spokeswoman, told me that "when an unusual transaction occurs, which is defined as something out of pattern based on a customers account history, our system flags the incident as potential fraud." "In the case of Mr. Castro," she said, "a transaction that was unusual based on his account history was flagged by our system." Capital One froze his card "to ensure Mr. Castros financial safety," Brown said, adding that the account was reactivated after the company "ultimately confirmed no fraud had taken place." She declined to address why paying off a balance, albeit in an out-of-the-ordinary transaction, would be flagged as potential fraud, especially in light of the fact that the money came from the same BofA account Castro used for all his payments. Was Cap One worried that he'd filled his checking account with stolen funds? Did they think Castro had scammed someone else out of the cash? There may be some who wonder why he doesn't just cancel his Capital One card and get a new credit card. The answer to that, he told me, is the roughly 190,000 miles he and his wife have accrued on the card for a future trip. "If I cancel, I lose them," Castro said. Not necessarily. He should look into transferring his miles to an airline affiliated with the card company. These include JetBlue, Air France and Singapore Airlines. When I called Cap One, a service rep said transferring miles to an airline is impossible. But when I persisted, she looked into it and confirmed that mile transfers to some carriers are indeed possible, but you get only 1.5 miles for every two miles transferred. And here's a thought: If Capital One (or any card company) is worried that a transaction is fraudulent, how about doing a little due diligence before turning a customer's life upside-down? In Castro's case, a lot of hassle could have been avoided if Cap One had simply contacted BofA and confirmed at the outset that the $14,300 card payment from the usual checking account was legit. If a customer's permission is required for such a call, then get it. Capital One's Brown declined to address that. If nothing else, how about simply exercising a little common sense? If a questionable transaction involves paying off card debt, it seems highly unlikely an act of fraud is being committed. Pro tip: Scammers focus pretty exclusively on taking people's money, not paying their bills. You're welcome, Cap One. Three teen girls are behind bars and charged in the death of 17-year-old Lesley Luna Pantaleon in Montgomery. Montgomery police on Tuesday announced capital murder charges against TaNiya Merriweather, Erin Taylor and Tyeshia Whisenant. All three are 16-years-old. Pantaleons body was found July 4 in Catoma Creek. Montgomery police and firefighters responded to the lake on Old Selma Road after receiving a report of a possible body in the water. The teens body was taken to the Alabama Department of Forensic Science for an autopsy and later confirmed to be Pantaleon. Pantaleon had last been seen June 24 and state authorities had requested the publics help find her. Montgomery Capt. Saba Coleman said evidence led them to investigate Pantaleons death as a homicide. The investigation shows that the victim and the three suspects were involved in a physical altercation during which Pantaleon sustained injuries that ultimately led to her death. Court records state Pantaleons death happened during a robbery. All three teen suspects were taken into custody Monday. They are charged as adults and are being held in the Montgomery County Detention Facility. Their mugshots are not yet being made public because of their ages. Iran Executes Man Convicted Of Giving U.S. Information On Soleimani By RFE/RL July 20, 2020 Iran's judiciary says the country has executed a man convicted of providing information to the United States and Israel about a top Iranian commander later killed by a U.S. drone strike in Iraq. "Mahmud Musavi-Majd's sentence was carried out on Monday morning over the charge of espionage so that the case of his betrayal to his country will be closed forever," the judiciary's Mizan Online website reported on July 20. Iranian authorities in June said Musavi-Majd passed on information about the whereabouts of Qasem Soleimani, commander of the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps' (IRGC) elite Quds Force, who was killed in a U.S. air strike near Baghdad in January. The judiciary said last month that Musavi-Majd's death sentence had been upheld by the Supreme Court and would be carried out "soon." The execution came a day after three men linked to anti-government protests last November received stays from the death penalty amid a massive social-media campaign calling for Iran to halt state executions. In retaliation for Soleimani's killing in the early hours of January 3, an Iranian ballistic-missile strike on an Iraqi air base left some 110 U.S. troops suffering from traumatic brain injuries. Hours later, Iranian forces shot down a Ukrainian passenger airliner taking off from Tehran, killing all 176 people on board. Iran blamed a misaligned missile battery and miscommunication between soldiers and superior officers. Iranian officials did not say whether Musavi-Majd's case was linked to Iran's announcement in the summer of 2019 that it had captured 17 spies working for the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). It said some of them had been sentenced to death. The report comes after Iran's judiciary announced on July 14 that a former Defense Ministry worker convicted of selling information to the CIA had been executed. Judiciary spokesman Gholamhossein Esmaili said on July 14 that Reza Asgari had been in touch with the CIA during his last years serving at the Defense Ministry and sold the agency information about Iran's missile program. Esmaili said Asgari was executed a week earlier, adding that he had worked in the aerospace department of the Defense Ministry and retired four years ago. A recent online protest against executions has been joined by many Iranians -- including ordinary citizens as well as intellectuals, former politicians, and prominent artists. In the face of the protest, Iran's judiciary ordered a retrial for Amir Hossein Moradi, 25, Said Tamjidi, 27, and Mohammad Rajabi, 25. Their lawyers said they were maintaining hope that the sentences could be reversed. But the head of Iran's judiciary, hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi, downplayed that possibility. "You should listen to protests, but unrest and riots that endanger the country's security are our red line," Raisi said on July 20. The three were among many who were arrested in a brutal crackdown against demonstrators who took to the streets in dozens of cities and towns across Iran in November 2019. Analysts said the social-media campaign was unprecedented in its scope and the level of participation of Iranians both within and outside Iran. Amnesty International recorded 251 executions in Iran during 2019, making Iran second to China in state executions. With reporting by RFE/RL's Radio Farda, dpa, AFP, AP, and Reuters Source: https://www.rferl.org/a/iran-executes- man-convicted-of-giving-u-s-information -on-soleimani/30736845.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 Southeast Texas officials on Tuesday painted the most dire picture of the coronavirus pandemic in the region yet. A facility designated for surge capacity is already almost full and local hospitals have requested additional medical personnel and a mobile medical unit from the state to meet the demand. Despite the fallout of growing infections, the Beaumont City Council voted 4-3 Tuesday to reopen city facilities such as the Julie Rogers Theatre and the Event Centre on or after July 31. The vote wasnt without a back-and-forth conversation that underscored some of the biggest issues in fighting the pandemic recently voiced by health officials misinformation and disinformation and a lack of unified messaging from elected leaders. The vote came almost immediately after Public Health Director Sherry Ulmer explained to the council that many of the cases causing the current spike are coming from households or private gatherings of close friends and family. She also noted her belief that government bodies need to give residents clear, united messaging because with so much information swirling, its easy to get confused. I think when citizens hear open, even if its partially open, they dont understand partial, she said. When they hear open, they think the pandemic is gone theres not a chance of them getting the pandemic because it no longer exists. There is no benefit to them to go to a party. Avoiding large crowds is one of the techniques we know will decrease the spread of the virus. Related: Virus response: Personal responsibility, unified messaging But Councilman Mike Getz said the number of positive cases confirmed has continued to increase despite city facilities remaining closed. He said its time for the city to allow residents to make their own decisions and take personal responsibility for their health. More Information Coronavirus testing sites When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. today Where: Journey Community Church, 1534 S. Main, Lumberton When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Thursday Where: Rogers Park Community Center, 1455 Dowlen Road, Beaumont When: 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday Where: Central Park Community Center, intersection of Fourth Street and Fannin, Beaumont When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday Where: Journey Community Church, 1534 S. Main, Lumberton When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 28 Where: Sterling Pruitt Community Center, 2930 Gulf, Beaumont When: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. July 27 to 31 Where: Cristo Rey Parish, 767 Ave. A, Beaumont See More Collapse Councilman Randy Feldschau, after noting that Ulmer is the health expert, added that the city council also has to consider the spiritual and emotional health of its residents as well as the economy. Getz, Feldshau and Councilmen Taylor Neild and W.L. Pate made up the winning coalition. Neild and Pate could not be reached for comment after the meeting. Beaumont Mayor Becky Ames after the meeting said she believes the decision is premature and couldnt in good faith vote to open city facilities that are non-essential at this time due in part to the rise in positive cases along with the other issues. She added that she is in favor of reopening the economy, but the majority of other Texas cities havent reopened their public facilities. And her vote was based on advice from members of the medical community. Top hits: Get Beaumont Enterprise stories sent directly to your inbox Similarly, Councilman Audwin Samuel, who originally raised the issue, said he believes theres no benefit to reopening the facilities at this time and its too soon as virus cases continue to grow. But my conscience is clear because I feel I did what I needed to do. I wasnt in favor of making another hot spot, he said. By opening, were showing people its not that serious, but were not going in the right direction. Reached after the meeting, Dr. Ray Callas, a Beaumont doctor who serves on the Texas Medical Association Board, said the community cant inundate hospitals with patients. Such a swell could require a tent hospital or a new care facility. However, similarly to the council members who voted to reopen city facilities, he noted that residents themselves need to wash their hands, socially distance and wear a mask so the economy can be reopened responsibly and students can be sent back to school. Sharing his outlook that Southeast Texas was not yet at a crisis point, at least one area health system said it was still on track to manage the surge in cases. Kevin Dolliole, a spokesperson for Christus, said medical staff at St. Elizabeth and elsewhere in the network were facing a hard road caring for an increasing number of patients, but the system was still in a position to hold strong. The number of cases and the community spread continue to be a challenge for us, but one that we stand willing and able to meet, he said. We are optimistic that the rate of new hospitalizations in Southeast Texas could slow. Yet, we have had to take innovative measures in the last couple of weeks. ICU capacity has been increased in Jefferson County and a limited number of nurses have been called in to lend a hand, according to the system. In the meantime, confirmed cases of coronavirus and the virus-related death toll continued to rise across Jefferson County. Elective procedures are still being scheduled at St. Elizabeth and Jasper Memorial Hospital. Related: Five SE Texas schools face delayed start to fall sports season The Beaumont and Port Arthur health departments together confirmed 125 new cases of the virus on Tuesday, bringing the county to a total of 3,338. The deaths of a 65-year-old Beaumont man and a Port Arthur man in his early 60s both reported on Tuesday bring the countys death toll to 48. For weeks, the number of people in Jefferson County ICU beds has run high. And on Tuesday, all 86 ICU beds in the county were in use the maximum number of beds without activating surge capacity according to data from the Southeast Texas Regional Planning Commission. But Tuesday was the first time officials described how critical, in the words of Ulmer, the hospital situation truly is. Jefferson County Judge Jeff Branick, who has for weeks been watching the number of people in ICU beds, on Monday evening was made aware for the first time that coronavirus patients also were being taken to the countys surge facility. Related: Trump says virus in US will get worse before it gets better During a Tuesday meeting of the County Commissioners Court, Branick said the allocated beds at that facility are almost full. After the meeting, he said the county has discussed with state officials potential additional surge capacity. Callas said some of the third-party facilities being considered include hotels and convention centers. Any final decision would be guided by Gov. Greg Abbotts office and other state and county officials. However, at this point, additional options have been ruled out by state officials, Branick said. The issue right now would not be finding a place so much as it would be staffing and equipping a place, he said. That personnel shortage already is affecting local hospitals, Ulmer said. Related: Public shame wont work against antimaskers The city has requested a paramedic strike team to be sent by the state of Texas and a local hospital has requested a nurse strike team as well as a mobile medical unit all to help accommodate the rising number of COVID-19 patients in local hospitals. Even as she spoke Tuesday, she said an ambulance patient had been waiting outside a local hospital for at least 45 minutes because there wasnt yet staff available to receive that patient. To accommodate additional patients in beds, she said local hospitals have gone on and off diversion for at least the past two weeks. Hospitals have been monitoring which patients can be moved out of intensive care to make room for additional people. We had some people that I know that have been on a breathing machine in the ER because no ICU beds were available, Callas said. But there is no reason to go into alarm mode. However, Ulmer and other local health officials have been sounding at least minor alarms as they watch some people get caught up attempting to calculate the percentage of positive cases compared to the number of people being tested. Related: Christus transfers COVID patients from Beaumont to Jasper Even during Tuesdays council meeting, Pate noted that some residents may be confused at all the different numbers being thrown at them and they should specifically focus on cases in Beaumont. He referenced information that has since been proven false that the Centers for Disease Control was including cases of influenza in coronavirus counts and that there likely are many local residents who have already recovered from the virus, so the figure of 2,160 confirmed cases in Beaumont could be misleading. However, city reports show of 2,297 cases across northern Jefferson County, only 333 people have recovered from the virus. Ulmer said getting too focused on the percentages and other minutia can cause residents to miss the full picture of the stress the most dire cases are putting on the local hospital system. She said she was hoping the council would come to an understanding of the critical times before voting on whether to reopen city facilities at the end of the month. But were public health and our job is to continue to fight the pandemic, she said. At least for now, she expects that job will continue for some time as all signs point to the pandemic getting worse for Southeast Texas before it gets better. kaitlin.bain@beaumontenterprise.com jacob.dick@beaumontenterprise.com View live politics updates ChevronRight A three-judge panel said there was sufficient evidence to support the jurys guilty verdict, including wiretapped conversations and hundreds of documents establishing that Atilla was a knowing participant in the sanctions evasion scheme that involved routing hundreds of millions of dollars through the U.S. financial system. Story continues below advertisement Atillas arrest and prosecution drew an outcry from high-level Turkish officials, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who called Atillas conviction on five charges a scandalous verdict. Advertisement The prosecution attracted new attention recently with the publication of a book by John Bolton, President Donald Trumps former national security adviser. In the book, Bolton claims that Trump assured Erdogan in 2018 that he would take care of things regarding a probe of a Turkish firm believed to be Turkeys state-run Halkbank. The bank has since been criminally charged and pleaded not guilty to evading U.S. sanctions. A March 2021 trial date has been set. Story continues below advertisement Atilla was an executive at Halkbank when he was sentenced to two and a half years in prison. The sentence was far below the life term recommended by U.S. probation authorities and the 20 years urged by prosecutors. He has since returned to Turkey. A message was left Monday seeking comment from his Washington-based attorney. The trial of Atilla featured testimony by wealthy Turkish-Iranian gold trader Reza Zarrab, who pleaded guilty in a deal with prosecutors. Zarrabs arrest a year before Atilla initially attracted considerable attention to the case because he was married to Turkish pop star and TV personality Ebru Gundes. Advertisement Zarrab testified that he paid over $50 million in bribes to Turkeys finance minister to help the sanctions-busting scheme flourish. Story continues below advertisement For a time, former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Michael B. Mukasey, a former attorney general in President George W. Bushs administration, attempted to negotiate a resolution to the case with Erdogan and Trump administration officials. The talks in 2017 failed to produce a deal. Copyright 2020 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission. Complementing local acute care services, the hospital will care for patients recovering from debilitating illnesses and injuries including strokes and other neurological disorders, brain injuries, spinal cord injuries, amputations and complex orthopedic conditions. The hospital will provide physical, occupational and speech therapies that aim to restore functional ability and quality of life and 24-hour care by registered nurses, many of whom are certified in rehabilitation nursing. The medical staff will be comprised of physicians experienced in physical medicine and rehabilitation as well as other specialties such as internal medicine, cardiology, infectious disease and nephrology to assist in the medical management and support a complex patient population. "The hospital we will build in Lakeland is a freestanding, state-of-the-art physical plant. The design is specific to caring for rehabilitation patients and is based off our experience operating 12 hospitals in Florida and 136 hospitals throughout the nation," said Linda Wilder, president of Encompass Health's southeast region. "Additionally our staff is dedicated to, trained and singularly focused on the specialty practice of physical rehabilitation, which will make the services we bring a high-quality complement to the existing strong healthcare services in the area. We are very glad to have the opportunity to serve the patients and community of Lakeland and the surrounding area." The hospital will feature all private patient rooms, a spacious therapy gym with advanced rehabilitation technologies and an activities of daily living suite, cafeteria, dining room, pharmacy and therapy courtyard. The planned hospital, once opened, will become part of Encompass Health's national network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals and home health and hospice agencies. The Company's Florida footprint currently includes 12 inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, a hospital under construction in north Tampa and 19 home health locations. A construction timeline for the hospital has not yet been established. About Encompass Health As a national leader in integrated healthcare services, Encompass Health (NYSE: EHC) offers both facility-based and home-based patient care through its network of inpatient rehabilitation hospitals, home health agencies and hospice agencies. With a national footprint that includes 136 hospitals, 245 home health locations, and 83 hospice locations in 39 states and Puerto Rico, the Company is committed to delivering high-quality, cost-effective, integrated care across the healthcare continuum. Encompass Health is ranked as one of Fortune's 100 Best Companies to Work For. For more information, visit encompasshealth.com, or follow us on our newsroom, Twitter and Facebook. Forward-Looking Statements Statements contained in this press release which are not historical facts, such as those relating to the likelihood, timing and effects of the completion of this hospital project, are forward-looking statements. In addition, Encompass Health may from time to time make forward-looking public statements concerning the matters described herein. All such estimates, projections, and forward-looking information speak only as of the date hereof, and Encompass Health undertakes no duty to publicly update or revise such forward-looking information, whether as a result of new information, future events, or otherwise. Such forward-looking statements are necessarily estimates based upon current information and involve a number of risks and uncertainties. Encompass Health's actual results or events may differ materially from those anticipated in these forward-looking statements as a result of a variety of factors. While it is impossible to identify all such factors, factors which could cause actual results or events to differ materially from those anticipated include, but are not limited to, the regulatory review and approval process, any adverse outcome of various lawsuits, claims, and legal or regulatory proceedings that may be brought by or against the Company; the possibility this project will experience unexpected delays; the ability to successfully complete and integrate this project consistent with Encompass Health's growth strategy, including realization of anticipated revenues, cost savings, and productivity improvements arising from the related operations and avoidance of unforeseen exposure to liabilities; the continued spread of COVID-19, including the speed, depth, geographic reach and duration of the spread; the actions to be taken by Encompass Health in response to the COVID-19 pandemic; changes in the regulation of the healthcare industry at either or both of the federal and state levels; competitive pressures in the healthcare industry and Encompass Health's response thereto; the hospital's ability to maintain proper local, state and federal licensing; potential disruptions, breaches, or other incidents affecting the proper operation, availability, or security of Encompass Health's information systems; Encompass Health's ability to attract and retain nurses, therapists, and other healthcare professionals in a highly competitive environment with often severe staffing shortages and the impact on Encompass Health's labor expenses from potential union activity and staffing shortages; changes, delays in (including in connection with resolution of Medicare payment reviews or appeals), or suspension of reimbursement for Encompass Health's services by governmental or private payors; general conditions in the economy and capital markets; and other factors which may be identified from time to time in Encompass Health's SEC filings and other public announcements, including Encompass Health's Form 10-K for the year ended Dec. 31, 2019 and Form 10-Q for the quarter ended March 31, 2020. Media Contact: Hillary Carnel | 205 970-5912 [email protected] Investor Relations Contact: Crissy Carlisle | 205 970-5860 [email protected] SOURCE Encompass Health Corp. Related Links http://www.encompasshealth.com Yard signs are aplenty throughout Essex as people proudly display who theyll be voting for next week -- or have already voted for with their House lawmakers have signed off on a proposal calling for the military's sixth branch to adopt the Navy's ranks and structure. The amendment to the 2021 National Defense Authorization Act, proposed by Rep. Dan Crenshaw, R-Texas, would require the Space Force to use "the same system and rank structure as is used in the Navy," according to a summary of the text. Crenshaw, a former Navy SEAL, medically retired as a lieutenant commander. Read Next: Marine Corps Begins Shutdown of All Tank Battalions The House approved proposed amendments to the NDAA legislation in a 336-71 vote Monday; it is expected to vote on the overall bill this week. "A good reason to use Navy ranks in the Space Force is to better distinguish [Space Force] personnel from Air Force personnel, kind of like [the Marine Corps] using different ranks than the Navy," Todd Harrison, director of the Aerospace Security Project at the Center for Strategic & International Studies, said last week via Twitter. Harrison had previously told Military.com that Gen. John "Jay" Raymond, head of the Space Force, getting the title of "chief of space operations" is similar to the Navy's "chief of naval operations" role -- hinting that the newest branch of the military could follow in the Navy's footsteps. A naval command structure would align with strategic similarities space operations have to laws of the sea, Lt. Col. Peter Garretson, then-deputy director of the Schriever Scholars program at Maxwell Air Force Base, Alabama, said in an interview last year. He has since retired. "In maritime theory, navies exist in order to secure commerce," he said. The space domain, Garretson explained, has evolved beyond putting equipment in orbit to extract information and now involves fast, free movement for commercial purposes, much like ocean shipping routes. The commercialization of space will evolve even faster with businessmen such as Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk, who are monetizing the domain and plan to create space colonies, he said. "Once that happens, it starts to look a lot more like naval power -- the logistics, location," Garretson said last year. The Space Force has yet to disclose its rank structure, but last month announced how its personnel will be organized, down to the squadron level. The service will operate with three primary field commands: Space Operations Command (SpOC), which will support combatant commanders with Space Force personnel and capabilities; Space Systems Command (SSC), which will acquire space systems from industry; and Space Training and Readiness Command (STARCOM), which will be responsible for training space professionals, according to a news release. In the Air Force, the service headquarters has subordinate major commands, which are composed, in descending order, of a numbered air force, wing, group, squadron and flight. By comparison, the Space Force will have only three echelons of command: field commands, deltas and squadrons, officials said. Other pending Space Force decisions include uniform updates, insignia and a logo design. Officials are also deciding what to call its members. -- Oriana Pawlyk can be reached at oriana.pawlyk@military.com. Follow her on Twitter at @Oriana0214. Related: Space Force Selects More Than 2,400 Airmen to Join the New Service Suhana Khan has shared a fresh bunch of photos from a home photo shoot, looking all tanned and glowing as she throws sultry glances at the camera. While her Instagram followers have been going ga-ga over the photos, best friend Ananya Panday said she looked stunning in them. The 20-year-old daughter of Shah Rukh and Gauri Khan posed in the library of their house for the shoot, wearing a black singlet with a green crochet skirt. Ananya simply commented "Stunnnnnnnn" to highlight how good Suhana looked in the photos. In the first picture, Suhana is seen flipping through a book on Hollywood icon James Dean. In the caption, she wrote, "walked into the room, you know you made my eyes burnn it was like James Dean." The lines are from Lana Del Rey's song Blue Jeans. Zoya noticed the book and the lyrics. She commented, "Love that you like Jimmy Dean and Lana Del Rey." Suhana replied, "Of course!! So iconic." Suhana creates headlines each time she puts up a new post on Instagram. A few weeks ago, she showed how to style jewellery in an Instagram post. Suhana shared pictures of herself flaunting jewellery. She accessorised her outfit with multiple bracelets, rings and stunning neckpieces. She captioned the post, "Details." Suhana started her term at New York University last year. Talking about Suhana's career plans, Shah Rukh had said earlier, "Suhana wants to be an actress. I see that zeal in her. She's extremely good on stage, I've seen her performances. But my point is simple you need to complete your education before doing anything. That's the only thing I have told my children. Otherwise, they are free to be in the film industry, not be in it and do whatever they like. I will be supportive of whatever they want to do." Prime Minister Scott Morrison has confirmed he and China's President Xi Jinping have not spoken in over a year. Mr Morrison told the ABC he last spoke to the leader of Australia's biggest trade partner at the G20 summit in Japan in June last year. He insisted the relationship was important, despite the lack of communication at a tense time between the two countries, but he suggested Australia would not compromise. Prime Minister Scott Morrison (pictured) has confirmed he and China's President Xi Jinping have not spoken in over a year 'The relationship is important and we have no intention of injuring it, but nor do we intend to do things that are contrary to our interests,' Mr Morrison told the ABC's 7.30 program on Tuesday. Trade Minister Simon Birmingham has spent months unsuccessfully trying to get a response from his Chinese counterpart after Beijing imposed hefty tariffs on Australian exports. Relations with China have become fraught since Australia pushed for a World Health Organisation investigation into the origins of the coronavirus. China has placed an 80 per cent tariff on Australian barley, blocked beef imports, and warned tourists and students not to travel to Australia because they say it's unsafe and racist. And this month, China accused Australia of interfering in its affairs after Canberra offered safe haven to Hong Kong residents and strengthened travel warnings. Iran Official Says Natanz Explosion Different From Other Recent Incidents Radio Farda July 20, 2020 The Head of Iran's Passive Defense Organization on Sunday said the incident at Natanz nuclear facilities is different from other recent explosions and fires in Iran none of which according to him is "security-related". Commenting on the recent wildfires and blazes at several power stations, Brigadier-General Gholamreza Jalali said these incidents belong to the "safety" category, not "security" but the incident in Natanz is different and is currently being investigated by the Supreme National Security Council (SNSC). Jalali added that the Passive Defense Organization has submitted its own report on the incident to the SNSC. Some analysts believe the explosion at the vast Natanz enrichment facility on July 2 will set Iran's nuclear program back by two years. A previously unknown group called "Homeland Panthers" claimed responsibility for the incident in an email sent to foreign-based Iranian journalists. The Supreme National Security Council on July 3 said that the cause of the explosion had been determined but would not be made public "due to security considerations". "There's a good and acceptable level of safety in our defense infrastructures but given Trump's war threat, the SNSC should make a decision and respond," Jalali said in reference to U.S. President Donald Trump's alleged authorization of CIA cyberattacks against Iran. "The same kind of threat to attack infrastructures of a country is considered as acts of war by Americans", he added. A Yahoo News report on 15 July quoted a former U.S. government official as saying that a secret authorization known as a presidential finding signed by President Trump has given the CIA the authority "to really take the fight offensively to a handful of adversarial countries" including Russia, China, Iran and North Korea. Jalali insisted that other explosions and fires around military, nuclear and industrial facilities and several suspicious wildfires, that many have attributed to planned acts of sabotage, were caused by "flaws in safety measures" and accused the media of spreading unfounded suspicions and "engaging people's minds". Authorities have blamed most of these mysterious blazes to gas and oil leaks or faulty electrical devices. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/iran- official-says-natanz-explosion-different-from- other-recent-incidents-/30737321.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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 21:27:05|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close LONDON, July 21 (Xinhua) -- "Our collaboration with Huawei for years has yielded good results, and I will be really upset if we lost that collaboration just because of the Huawei ban," Rick Chandler, chairman of the Communications Management Association (CMA), told Xinhua. An expert in telecommunications and IoT (Internet of Things), Chandler had experience of working with Huawei for nearly 20 years. He said that it will be a great loss for Britain if the collaboration stops. The British government recently announced that buying new Huawei 5G equipment will be banned after Dec. 31, 2020 and all Huawei equipment will be removed from 5G networks by the end of 2027. Chandler, who used to work at the British telecommunications operator BT, said that he did not see any evidence of security breaches of Huawei. What made Chandler worried about is the scale and depth the ban might involve. "If it's not just about the 5G but goes further down to the underlying broadband networks, that would be catastrophic," he said. British Digital Secretary Oliver Dowden admitted that the decision will lead to "a cumulative delay to 5G rollout of two to three years and costs of up to 2 billion pounds (about 2.52 billion U.S. dollars)" in the country. For years, Chandler has witnessed the cooperation in various technology sectors between China and Britain. As for Huawei, it has invested massive amounts of money in research in Britain and worked with businesses and universities, which have yielded great results, he said. "I was really delighted with Huawei's proposal to build a chip design facility near Cambridge, where ARM (a chip designer) is based," he said, adding that it's a good opportunity for both sides to look at the future of chip design and manufacturing. With Brexit, Britain will also be looking for engineering and technology partners around the world and China is such a big market and manufacturing center which couldn't be ignored, according to Chandler. "When talking about this, big Chinese names with good technology like Huawei, Alibaba, Tencent and Xiaomi will jump into your mind, we have to acknowledge it," he said. The bilateral cooperation potential is not just about 5G but can be seen in many other fields including AI (Artificial Intelligence) and IoT, he added. Chandler was looking forward to going to China with a delegation of British engineers to meet their Chinese peers later this year. "I want to show them how advanced the technology is in China," he said. Enditem Actor Vidyut Jammwal trended at number one on Twitter after being the only Indian to be featured on a global list called "10 People You Don't Want To Mess With," uploaded by a YouTube channel 'The Richest.' Vidyut has received appreciation for mastering the tough martial art of Kalaripayattu that he is learning since the age of 3. Vidyut took to Twitter to diligently thank his friends and fans who showered him with love for his achievement. He tweeted the link to the YouTube vidoe and wrote, "Jai Hind," with the Indian flag. Somebody please throw a party for me https://t.co/4H0pW4L6zj Vidyut Jammwal (@VidyutJammwal) July 21, 2020 The list also features Russian president Vladimir Putin and British adventurer Bear Grylls. The Commando actor expressed his gratitude to be featured alongside Grylls and wrote an appreciation tweet for him. "Watched and followed @BearGrylls, all your adventures in awe and admiration. You defy the impossible and make it look so easy. A true blue warrior that no one should MESS WITH..Congratulations," Vidyut wrote. Watched and followed @BearGrylls, all your adventures in awe and admiration. You defy the impossible and make it look so easy. A true blue warrior that no one should MESS WITH..Congratulations Vidyut Jammwal (@VidyutJammwal) July 21, 2020 His Commando 2 co-star Esha Gupta also took to Twitter to congratulate him, and called him the strongest man in the industry. "Ive always said, Vidyut is the strongest man in our industry, @VidyutJammwal, I dunno about the Russians, but you are in your own league my friend. You always stood for me, and m ever so grateful for that, shine away." To this, Vidyut replied, "Love and respect to you forever." Love and respect to you forever https://t.co/w0cQWGCHXG Vidyut Jammwal (@VidyutJammwal) July 21, 2020 Fans also showered him with love and praises. Take a look at some of the tweets below: @VidyutJammwal represents the mother of all martial arts #Kalaripayattu at the world stage and has made his presence felt through sheer hard work and dedication.#India needed someone like him to spread this ancient knowledge. Wish to meet him someday. Best of luck brother. https://t.co/MnwAJJb5dI Sutarpan Banerjee (@sutarpanbanerji) July 21, 2020 You dont mess with #VidyutJammwal he made india proud pic.twitter.com/XzS0ZZthz1 Prasad Pawar (@Prasad01441428) July 21, 2020 Nepotism can hit him very hard Whole bollywood can ignore him But he will be recognized by God if he has a true skill and true determination Example is : VIDYUT JAMMWAL WE ARE PROUD OF YOU Because YOU MADE US PROUD #VidyutJammwal pic.twitter.com/toTJMY5gBe Vishwa Mallikarjun (@iamvishwa02) July 21, 2020 #VidyutJammwal ko Kalaripayatu bhi aata hai... Yaar ye adami kitna talented hai Plus, he is also one of the "10 people you don't want to mess with" list by #TheRichest Meanwhile, Bollywood is like "who Vidyut" ? #nepotisminbollywood pic.twitter.com/GQxC6SPUZs Vaidehi (@dharmicverangna) July 21, 2020 My favorite actor and MA #VidyutJammwal has achieved a feat that is completely different in itself, he has joined a list of "COURAGEOUS PEOPLE WHOM NO ONE CAN DARE TO MESS WITH" alongside Vladimir #Putin and Man vs Wild host @BearGrylls He has made India proud. @VidyutJammwal pic.twitter.com/EFfpnfpfLP Manasv1 DK Mehta (@SoneKaaZakheera) July 21, 2020 The actor will be next seen in Tigmanshu Dhulia's Yaara, along with Amit Sadh, Vijay Varma, Kenny Basumatary and Shruti Haasan. The film will be released on July 30 on Zee5. He will also be seen in Faruk Kabir's Khuda Hafiz, along with Shivaleeka Oberoi and Aahana Kumra, which will be released on Disney+ Hotstar. The U.S. Department of Justice on Tuesday accused two prolific Chinese hackers of stealing terabytes of data in a global computer intrusion campaign that allegedly targeted domestic and international companies, including American companies working on COVID-19 testing, treatment and vaccines. In a virtual press conference with reporters, Assistant Attorney General for National Security John C. Demers announced the charges originally filed on July 7 against defendants Li Xiaoyu and Dong Jiazhi. The indictment, filed in the Eastern District of Washington, alleges that the hackers illegal activity spanned over a decade, from September 2009 to July 2020, and was supported by the Chinese government. There's been a huge array of sensitive and valuable trade secrets, technology, data, information, personal individual information, that has been stolen by hackers operated from China, both for their own gain, and with the assistance and the benefit of the Chinese government's Ministry of State Security (MSS), U.S. Attorney William D. Hyslop for the Eastern District of Washington told reporters. The charges arrive at a time when the global race for a coronavirus vaccine is heating up, with several major U.S. firms leading the charge for a potential breakthrough. Just last week, the U.S. also accused Russia of attempting to hack COVID-19 research. Although the hackers also recently researched vulnerabilities of biotech firms working on COVID-19 related research, Demers said the DOJ does not allege that information from those firms was actually obtained. FBI Deputy Director David L. Bowdich speaks during a press conference Tuesday, July 21 to announce the unsealing of an indictment against two alleged Chinese hackers. Targeting intellectual property According to the indictment, the alleged hackers conspired with the MSS to infiltrate the systems of 13 U.S. companies and 12 international companies engaged in industries that included civil and industrial engineering, software development, pharmaceutical research and development, among others. In addition, the prosecutors said hundreds of victim companies were targeted. Li allegedly threatened to expose a target victims stolen source code on the internet unless the victim transferred to Li $15,000 in cryptocurrency. Story continues The campaign targeted intellectual property and confidential business information held by the private sector, including COVID-19-related treatment, testing, and vaccines. Hackers also targeted the online accounts of non-government organizations and individual dissidents, clergy, and democratic and human rights activists in the United States, China and Hong Kong, Demers said. In total, the defendants together with the Chinese government are responsible for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars worth of trade secrets, intellectual property, and other valuable information, Hyslop said. Two pharmaceutical companies located in Massachusetts and California are listed in the complaint, along with a medical device manufacturer in Massachusetts. The alleged breaches infiltrating pharmaceutical companies are said to have taken place between February and March of 2019, before the outbreak of COVID-19. Breaches impacting the device company occurred during the same time period, as well as in January 2020. Demers also blasted Chinas 2025 Made in China plan, calling it as much of a roadmap to theft as it is a guide to innovation. The indictment specifically outlines how stealing intellectual property from the companies in these high-tech industries can help Chinese companies replicate the targeted technology and eventually edge out their non-Chinese competitors, he said. The comment echoed those of Attorney General William Barr who on Friday held a press conference to warn American companies of Chinese companies that seek to exploit American know-how. FBI Deputy Director David L. Bowdich said despite the Chinese governments state sponsorship of economic coercion, the indictment does not mean that the U.S. should avoid doing business with China, or welcoming Chinese students or visitors. Our concern is not with the Chinese people, or Chinese Americans, Bowdich said. What we are concerned about is with the Chinese government and the Chinese Communist Party. He warned other nations that they should closely consider their alliances with China based on its governments little regard for international law. Alexis Keenan is a legal reporter for Yahoo Finance and former litigation attorney. Follow Alexis Keenan on Twitter @alexiskweed. [Click here for more of Yahoo Finances coronavirus coverage: Personal finance tips, news, policy, graphics & more from Yahoo Finance] Follow Yahoo Finance on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Flipboard, LinkedIn, and reddit. Find live stock market quotes and the latest business and finance news. Tough times never last but tough people do, can best be used to aptly describe the steadfastness and resilience of Ghana's leading steel and iron manufacturing company, B5 Company Limited, in sailing through the Coronavirus induced economic crisis. Organizations and businesses around the world are facing dire economic challenges due to the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic. Some have even sank or are sinking due to the virus. But B5 Plus continue to be the touch-bearer of the steel and iron manufacturing company not only in Ghana but across the West African sub-region. And as characteristic of B5 Plus, the company is still moving on with its coveted awards-winning tradition which has spanned several years. In the month of July 2020 alone, the B5 Plus Company Limited and its Chairman, Mukesh Thakwani, have won three prestigious industry awards. Two of the three prestigious awards are personality-based awards presented separately to Mr. Thakwani at the Ghana Manufacturing Industry Awards, and Ghana Entrepreneur & Corporate Executive Awards. At the Ghana Entrepreneur & Corporate Executive Awards, Mr Thakwani was honoured with the Outstanding Iron & Steel Entrepreneur Of The Year (2010-2020) Award. He won the Personality of The Year Award at the Ghana Manufacturing Awards. B5 Plus also once again won the Steel Manufacturing Company Of The Year Award. Speaking in an interview with journalists, Mr Thakwani thanked staff of B5 Plus for their hard work and dedication to the company. He said without his staff, it would not have been possible for the company to win such awards. Touching on the general economic situation during the coronavirus lockdown in Ghana, he said 2020 has been "rough." However, he stated that B5 Plus was sailing through the tough times successfully. According to Mr. Thakwani, B5 Plus has not sacked any employee since the outbreak of the pandemic. He said in such difficult times, if companies cannot create new jobs, they should at least try not to fire workers who have been with them for months, weeks and years. Mr. Thakwani said that despite the difficult economic situation, B5 Plus continue to honour its corporate social responsibility duties. He reiterated that more than 1,000 boxes of free meals have been provided to families of B5 Plus employees and residents within communities in which it operates. Mr. Thakwani further reiterated that B5 Plus has donated Ghc 300,000 to Ghana National Covid-19 Fund. In addition, he stated that the company continues to provide free oxygen to government and private hospitals towards the fight against coronavirus. According to him, B5 Plus continue to work hard to remain the leader in the industry. When you are the number one it is important that you keep doing the right thing to stay on top, keep providing the right services, he says. Two decades back, B5 plus used to import its products from Togo, Nigeria, South Africa, Cote d'Ivoire. Mr Thakwani said today, B5 Plus has become the net exporter of steel and iron products to those countries and other West African nations. According to him, B5 Plus was employing at least 5,000 people direct and indirectly. He thanked the Ghanaian Government for prudently managing the coronavirus situation. However, he appealed to Government to include water and electricity supply in its new industrialization program. Source: Peacefmonline.com/Ghana Disclaimer : Opinions expressed here are those of the writers and do not reflect those of Peacefmonline.com. Peacefmonline.com accepts no responsibility legal or otherwise for their accuracy of content. Please report any inappropriate content to us, and we will evaluate it as a matter of priority. Featured Video Some businesses and schools operating in Quebec gave incorrect advice to international students about how many hours they are allowed to work after the federal government temporarily changed the rules. Organizations say they tried in good faith to apply rules intended to support students during the COVID-19 pandemic. But confusing and contradictory language in a government document led some to unintentionally mislead them instead. Worried that their immigration status could be affected, some students opted to reduce their work hours. "That was huge confusion for me," Rahul Patel, a student from India at Montreal's Matrix College told CBC News. Change meant to help cope with pandemic Federal Immigration Minister Marco Mendicino announced the change on April 22. Normally, international students can work a maximum of 20 hours a week while classes are in session. Mendicino lifted that restriction, provided students were working in an essential service, until the end of August. The confusion in Quebec started when the province gradually began reopening businesses last month. Some colleges and employers assumed the reopening meant Ottawa's rule change no longer applied, since many services were no longer officially deemed essential by the province. They told international students they had to stop working more than 20 hours a week, but that advice turned out to be wrong. Justin Tang/The Canadian Press When Patel heard in April that he could work more hours at his part-time job at Tim Hortons, he jumped at the chance. "With tuition fees and cost of living here, it's getting difficult," Patel said. "That helps support your needs, and makes you less dependent on your parents. That's really helpful." Patel started working 32 hours a week instead of his usual 20. But two months later, he started hearing rumours from other international students that the rule change no longer applied. Patel's roommate works for meal kit delivery company Goodfood. In late June, the company sent a note to employees saying that international students could no longer work more than 20 hours a week. Story continues Patel checked government websites, but couldn't find a clear answer. And he knew if he broke the rules, his status could be threatened. No one at his school or at Tim Hortons asked Patel to stop working more than 20 hours a week, but he decided to do it anyway. "I was feeling confused and I am scared of that, so I didn't know what to do," he said. Confusion widespread Rahul Patel CBC News heard from other international students, most of whom not wanting to be named, who were equally confused because of guidance they received from their employers and schools. An email sent by Vanier College on June 26 told international students in its continuing education program that they must return to working no more than 20 hours per week. "As a result of all of the reopenings, the Quebec government has decided to stop considering any business as essential. Thus, in Quebec, there are no more 'essential services,'" the email said. It explained that with no formal notice of a change, "discovering this information required quite some digging on our part, including multiple calls to both Canada and Quebec immigration and employment offices." Problematic paragraph Employers and educational institutions contacted by CBC News said they based their decisions largely on a federal government document attached as a link to Mendicino's announcement in April. The document is called Guidance on Essential Services and Functions in Canada During the COVID-19 Pandemic and includes a detailed list of services the federal government considers essential. The confusion comes in a paragraph at the bottom of the document, where it's explained that the list is only meant to serve as a guideline for provinces. Facebook "If you are looking to determine if a specific job or service is deemed essential, please review the list of essential businesses / services / functions published by your province or territory," the document says. "Your provincial or territorial government, not the federal government, has the authority to make these determinations." Goodfood spokesperson Roslane Aouameur says it was this paragraph that prompted the company to tell international students in Quebec that their service was no longer considered essential. Rowena Selby, a spokesperson for Vanier College, said the college sent guidance to its continuing education students based on advice from the provincial federation of CEGEPs. A spokesperson for the federation told CBC News it also based its advice to institutions across the province largely on that paragraph. A spokesperson for Quebec's Immigration Ministry referred CBC News to the same document when asked which international students in the province could still work for more than 20 hours per week. Paragraph doesn't apply Remi Lariviere, a spokesperson for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, told CBC News in an email that employers should be consulting the federal list. "It is the appropriate guide for a federal measure, rather than using specific lists that differ from province to province and change frequently. This list is the list by which essential services under this temporary policy is defined," Lariviere said. This is despite the fact the guide itself recommends checking with provinces and territories for the final ruling on which services are deemed essential. International students and employers are still both clearly confused. Selby said Vanier College was being cautious when interpreting the rule and is waiting for more details. "We have so far received no information from them that this has indeed been clarified," she said. Goodfood's spokesperson says the company is also looking for answers from the federal government. "We have received (verbally) conflicting conclusions. We are looking for a written confirmation so we can move forward," said Aouameur. Bengaluru, July 21 : With 3,649 new COVID-19 cases, Karnataka's tally breached the 70,000 mark on Tuesday, while 61 more patients succumbed to the infection, health officials said. After the addition of fresh cases in the last 24 hours, the state's tally went up to 71,069, the officials added. As many as 61 persons with COVID-19 infection died across the state, taking the toll to 1,464. With 1,714 infections, Bengaluru continues to report the highest number of cases, raising its tally to 34,943 cases, out of which 26,746 are active. The tech city accounts for 61 per cent of all the active cases in the state. Among the new cases, excluding the city, Ballari accounts for 193 infections, followed by Dakshina Kannada (149), Mysuru (135), Yadgir (117), Uttara Kannada (109) and Hassan (107) among others. Severe Acute Respiratory Infection (SARI) has been identified to be the most common medical condition among the deaths, with fever, cough and breathlessness being some chief symptoms. In a positive development, 1,664 patients have been discharged from various hospitals in the state, raising the total number of discharges to 25,459. Of the total 71,069 cases, 44,140 are active and 583 of them are in the ICU. Commenting on the number of Covid tests being conducted in the state, Medical Education Minister K. Sudhakar said 10.64 lakh tests have been conducted until now. "Karnataka conducted 43,904 tests in a single day on Tuesday. So far we conducted 10.64 lakh tests across 88 labs in the state," said Sudhakar. Similarly, to ramp up testing in containment zones, he said the government has procured 2 lakh rapid antigen test kits and supplied them to the districts. The highest number of kits, 1.15 lakh, have been supplied to Bengaluru Urban district. "Fifty thousand antigen tests will be conducted in Bengaluru rural and districts. Our target is to conduct 35,000 antigen tests per day," he added. Latest updates on Coronavirus (COVID-19) Founder and Head Consultant at MiM Essay 97% Success Rate | 5000+ Admits in Top Schools | 5 Million Euros in Scholarships Book a free strategy session: Abhyank SrinetFounder and Head Consultant at MiM EssayBook a free strategy session: https://www.mim-essay.com/book-a-strategy-session/ Signature Read More INSEAD' relaxations for GMAT/GRE in the view of the PendamicYou can now apply for INSEAD Master Programmes without a GMAT, GRE, EA or TOEFL test score, with the option to submit a score as you are able.You can now apply for INSEAD Master Programmes without a GMAT, GRE, EA or TOEFL test score, with the option to submit a score as you are able.Provisions for Online/At Home examsExamGMAC has opened registrations for its exam, an interim alternative to the test centre version. They have appointments available for test dates as early as April 20, 2020 and through to June 15, 2020.GMAC has opened registrations for its exam, an interim alternative to the test centre version. They have appointments available for test dates as early as April 20, 2020 and through to June 15, 2020.GRE at HomeGRE Test at Home can now be taken anywhere in the world with the exception of Mainland China and Iran._________________ The work for laying a dedicated water supply line for Wagholi has started after a follow up of more than two years by local residents. The Rs 22 crore worth 5 million litres per day (MLD) water pipeline project will solve the decade-old water crisis in the area. HT had highlighted the crisis two years ago, despite paying taxes to the Pune Metropolitan Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) the residents of Wagholi were subject to buying water and the residential societies total expenditure for water was more than Rs 50 crore annually. This included the bills of private water tanker owners. The water crisis issue was taken up with the previous government by the Wagholi Housing Societies Association (WHSA) who presented tabulated data of purchase of water from private water tankers at exorbitant costs. The WHSA pointed out that when residents were paying taxes regularly, then a dedicated water supply line must not be denied to them. WHSA had even complained to the police department that the citizens were being forced to buy water at a very high cost from private sellers and had demanded that their problem be solved at the earliest. Despite an approved work order, no progress on the construction was made for eight months. The villagers, elected representatives and residents of housing societies had demonstrated outside the Pune Metropolitan and Regional Development Authority (PMRDA) office seeking an early start of the project. The PMRDA authorities said that 5 MLD water supply scheme would cater to the rising needs of the burgeoning population of the area. WHSA director Sanjeev Kumar Patil said that the water crisis had created lot of difficulties for the residents of over 200 residential societies in the area. The water tanker operators were charging huge sums and each of the society has been bearing an amount ranging between Rs 5 to 6 lakh per month as water bills. The residents thought that when they were paying over Rs 60 lakh as taxes then why was a dedicated water pipeline being denied to them. We took up the issue with the highest level of government and the work was finally sanctioned and now has started, he said. Wagholi gram panchayat rural development officer Anil Kumbhar said, The PMRDA has sanctioned Rs 22 crore for the water supply line laying project and the work is likely to be completed in the next one and half year time. The Wagholi gram panchayat is entrusted with supervisory and executive control exercised by the Pune Metropolitan and Regional Development Authority (PMRDA), the parent body looking after the gram panchayat. The area residents require 2, 70, 00,000 litres per day while the water supplied by panchayat is only 20, 25,000 litres per day. Wipro announced that it has won the 'Oracle UK & Ireland Partner of the Year 2020' award in 'Customer Experience' category. The award by Oracle honours companies that employ Oracle technologies while demonstrating excellence in innovative solution development, sales and delivery in the UK and Ireland. Wipro was recognized for its outstanding contribution to sales, delivery and solution expertise in Oracle CX domain to drive digital transformation for customers. Powered by Capital Market - Live News (This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.) Prasanta Mazumdar By Express News Service GUWAHATI: The United Nations on Tuesday said it stands ready to support India if required in fighting the devastating floods in Assam. The world body offer was made by Stephane Dujarric, the spokesman of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres. Meanwhile, two more persons died in the floods taking the toll to 87. The latest deaths were reported from Nagaon and Morigaon districts of Central Assam. Combined with 26 deaths in the rain-triggered landslides earlier, 113 people died so far. According to the Assam State Disaster Management Authority, over 24.19 lakh people from 2,323 villages and localities across 24 of the states 33 districts are still reeling under the flood. Cropland affected was in areas of over 1.10 lakh hectares. Altogether 397 relief camps in 16 districts were still operational where 44,498 of the marooned were taking shelter. Personnel of the State Disaster Response Force, police and locals were engaged in rescue operations. Major rivers such as Brahmaputra, Dhansiri, Jia Bharali, Kopili, Gaurang, Kushiyara and Sankosh were flowing above the danger level at several places. The Siang in Arunachal, which along with two other rivers flow down to Assam and form the Brahmaputra, was also in a spate. At the Kaziranga National Park in Assam, 116 animals, including 11 rhinos, perished so far due to various reasons including drowning and vehicle hits. The incidents of vehicle hits occurred on a national highway that traverses beside the park. The Garo Hills region of Meghalaya is also battling a flood. According to official sources, five people lost their lives there. An estimated one lakh others were also affected. In a telephonic conversation with Chief Minister Conrad Sangma on Tuesday, Union Home Minister Amit Shah took stock of the situation. He assured all possible support to the state from the Centre in dealing with the situation. Around one in 100 women carry a gene that raises their pain threshold and allows them to give birth without any anaesthetic, a study has revealed. The rare gene variant, called KCNG4, is believed to inhibit how pain is processed by the nervous system and acts as a 'natural epidural'. Researchers from the University of Cambridge found that it was present in women who had carried their first-born child to full term and did not request any pain relief during an uncomplicated vaginal delivery. It remains unknown whether some men also have the pain-resistant genetic variant, as the study only looked at women during the severe stress from childbirth. Scroll down for video Around one per cent of women have much higher pain threshold than others due to the rare variety of a gene called KCNG4. University of Cambridge researchers studied women in labour to find the variant (stock) Dr Ewan St. John Smith, senior co-author of the study from the university of Cambridge, explained: 'The genetic variant that we found in women who feel less pain during childbirth leads to a "defect" in the formation of the switch on the nerve cells. In fact, this defect acts like a natural epidural. 'It means it takes a much greater signal in other words, stronger contractions during labour to switch it on. 'This makes it less likely that pain signals can reach the brain.' A group of women at Addenbrooke's Hospital, part of Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust were studied who did not request any pain relief during childbirth. This level of pain tolerance, researchers state, is not the norm. 'It is unusual for women to not request gas and air, or epidural for pain relief during labour, particularly when delivering for the first time,' said Dr Michael Lee, joint first author. Academics took these women and did various tests to gauge pain threshold, which included heat and pressure as well as having their hands plunged into icy water. A group of women who did require pain relief during a similar birth also underwent these same tests. Unsurprisingly, the researchers say the group who did not opt for pain relief in labour had a much higher pain threshold. After finding a clear difference in how individuals coped with significant pain, the academics sought out an explanation. Dr St. John Smith, senior co-author, explained: 'The genetic variant that we found in women who feel less pain during childbirth leads to a "defect" in the formation of the switch on the nerve cells. In fact, this defect acts like a natural epidural' What is an epidural? An epidural is an injection in your back to stop you feeling pain in part of your body. Epidurals can be used: during labour and childbirth, including Caesareans during some types of surgery after some types of surgery Steroid medicine can also be given with an epidural injection, to treat pain in your back or leg that's caused by sciatica or a slipped (prolapsed) disc. They are regularly used during labour to reduce pain when giving birth naturally. Advertisement Genetic analysis of the women revealed a higher than normal prevalence of a gene variant called KCNG4. This chunk of genetic material is integral in controlling how the human body propagates pain from one nerve to the other. If women have a rare version of this gene, the protein that sends electrical signals through the body is numbed, resulting in a lessened experience of pain. Dr Van Lu discovered the trend in the human women and a colleague from the Department of Pharmacology at Cambridge University, by Dr Ewan St. John Smith, tested it on mice. His research confirmed the initial findings and discovered that the specific KCNG4 variant takes longer to activate a pain signal, raising the tolerance threshold. Senior co-author Professor Frank Reimann says the team is hopeful the discovery of the specific variant could lead to new pain-management drugs. 'This approach of studying individuals who show unexpected extremes of pain experience also may find wider application in other contexts, helping us understand how we experience pain and develop new drugs to treat it,' said Professor David Menon, senior co-author. The research was published in journal Cell Reports. The federal government will begin issuing new study visas and allowing overseas students learning remotely to keep graduate work rights amid fears coronavirus restrictions will drive them to other countries. The move comes as plans to allow groups of overseas students into Australia through quarantine hotels have been derailed by a resurgence of COVID-19 in Victoria. The international tertiary sector contributes $40 billion a year to the economy and funds much of Australia's university research. After months of lobbying by universities concerned by a pause in visa processing, the government said on Monday it would resume giving out student visas at "all locations" outside Australia, so students could arrange travel as soon as restrictions were lifted. London, July 21 : The River Thames in London has some of the highest recorded levels of microplastics for any river in the world, scientists have estimated, adding that 94,000 microplastics per second flow down the river in places. The quantity exceeds that measured in other European rivers, such as the Danube and Rhine, the BBC reported on Tuesday. "Flushable" wet wipes were found in high abundance on the shoreline forming "wet wipe reefs". Researchers at Royal Holloway, University of London, are calling for stricter regulations on the labelling and disposal of plastic products. They warn that careless disposal of plastic gloves and masks during the coronavirus pandemic might make the problem of plastic pollution worse. "Taken together these studies show how many different types of plastic, from microplastics in the water through to larger items of debris physically altering the foreshore, can potentially affect a wide range of organisms in the River Thames," the BBC quoted Professor Dave Morritt from Royal Holloway, as saying. "The increased use of single-use plastic items, and the inappropriate disposal of such items, including masks and gloves, along with plastic-containing cleaning products, during the current COVID-19 pandemic, may well exacerbate this problem." Tiny bits of plastic have been found inside the bodies of crabs living in the Thames. Crabs contained tangled plastic in their stomachs, including fibres and microplastics from sanitary pads, balloons, elastic bands and carrier bags, the researchers said. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text Reforms to make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders in England and Wales to take control of their homes have been recommended by the Law Commission (PA) Reforms to make it easier and cheaper for leaseholders in England and Wales to take control of their homes have been recommended by the Law Commission. This would strengthen the powers available to leaseholders, while at the same time reinvigorating the system of commonhold as an alternative to leasehold. The Commission said the leasehold system is not working for millions of home owners. The system, which has been described as medieval, has attracted controversy amid concerns about leaseholders paying high and unfair charges and being faced with further costs if they want to change their situation. Were concerned that leasehold homeowners have been unfairly treated and misled by certain housing developers. Our concerns include: Increasing ground rents Misleading information Unreasonable fees Read more: https://t.co/i1dyMmTwXP pic.twitter.com/KkQwnhQXsY Competition & Markets Authority (@CMAgovUK) February 28, 2020 With a leasehold home, people own their property, often a flat, for the length of their lease agreement with the freeholder. The leaseholder does not own the land the property is on and may be charged ground rent. When the lease ends, ownership returns to the freeholder, unless the lease can be extended an option which may be expensive. A property with a short lease remaining could also be hard to sell on. The Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) has recently raised concerns about leasehold home owners having been unfairly treated. Its concerns included home owners having to pay escalating ground rents, which in some cases can double every 10 years. People can struggle to sell their homes and find themselves trapped, the CMA said previously. It has been estimated there are at least 4.3 million leasehold homes in England alone. The Law Commission said that if enacted, its reforms would reinvigorate commonhold which allows people to own a flat with a freehold title, no landlord and no lease to expire as an option to replace leasehold for newly-built flats. Its recommendations would also give leaseholders a route out of leasehold by making it easier to convert to commonhold. Conversions to commonhold would not need the agreement of every person, although there would be safeguards to protect those who have not agreed. This would prevent those who are opposed and who currently have a veto from wrecking the process. The Commission also suggested making it easier and cheaper for leaseholders to take over the management of their building without buying the freehold, by exercising the right to manage. This right would allow leaseholders take control of services, repairs, maintenance, improvements, and insurance. It also said there should be a new right to a lease extension for leaseholders of both houses and flats, for a term of 990 years, in place of shorter extensions of 90 or 50 years under current law. There would be no ongoing ground rent under the extended lease. It also recommended that leaseholders who already have a very long lease should be able to buy out the ground rent without extending their lease. The leasehold system is not working for millions of home owners in England and Wales. We have heard how the current law leaves them feeling like they don't truly own their home. Professor Nick Hopkins At the moment, leaseholders are required to pay their landlords uncapped costs, when they buy the freehold or extend their lease, the Commission said. It recommended that leaseholders liability to pay their landlords costs should be eliminated or controlled. The Commission said its proposals would work in tandem with planned Government changes to create fit-for-purpose home ownership across England and Wales. Professor Nick Hopkins, commissioner for property law, said: The leasehold system is not working for millions of home owners in England and Wales. We have heard how the current law leaves them feeling like they dont truly own their home. Our reforms will make a real difference by giving leaseholders greater control over their homes, offering a cheaper and easier route out of leasehold, and establishing commonhold as the preferred alternative system. The reforms will provide a better deal for leaseholders and make our homes work for us, and not somebody else. The Government needs to come forward with legislation and finally end this medieval injustice Mike Amesbury, shadow housing and planning minister Luke Hall, Minister for Rough Sleeping and Housing, said: This Government is determined to improve transparency and fairness in the residential leasehold market to help thousands of leasehold homeowners up and down the country as well as future home buyers. We are clear that the current system needs reform, which is why we asked the Law Commission to carry out this important work. We will carefully consider the Law Commissions recommendations, which are a significant milestone in our reform programme, as we create a better deal for home owners. Mike Amesbury, Labours shadow housing and planning minister, said: Home buyers dont need another consultation, they need action: the Government needs to come forward with legislation and finally end this medieval injustice. Julie James, Minister for Housing and Local Government, Welsh Government, said: The Law Commission have undertaken a mammoth task in unpicking the current law, engaging widely on the options for change, and putting forward comprehensive recommendations and Im grateful to them for their excellent work. New Delhi, July 21 : Air India trade unions have complained to Civil Aviation Minister Hardeep Puri that the government has now turned a blind eye to the managements ethnic cleansing at lower levels through compulsory leave without pay (LWP), redundancies and wage cuts. In a letter to Puri, the Joint Action Forum of Air India unions said, "We are deeply ashamed to say that it seems that after praising our Air Indian Corona Warriors at grand functions, respectfully, the government has now turned a blind eye to this management's ethnic cleansing of Air Indians at the lower levels, through compulsory LWP, redundancies and wage cuts." The Joint Action Forum of Air India unions strongly opposes this Compulsory Leave without pay scheme as it is an illegal practice and is not a voluntary scheme. "In fact the Board resolution itself empowers the Chairman and Managing Director with extraordinary powers, which seem akin to a High Court, to pack off employees on 2 years leave (extended to 5 years) at CMD's discretion or at the arbitrary whim of the Regional heads," the trade unions said. "This said Compulsory LWP scheme violates every labour law put in place by Parliament and orders of the Supreme Court and various other courts and seeks to dispossess the lower categories workers of their legally guaranteed rights," it added. The trade unions have pointed out that the redundancies are at the elite management cadre level and not the workers. "We are indeed shocked that the management of Air India could prepare and formulate a scheme for compulsorily sending workers on leave without pay, which is akin to an illegal lay-off, under the garb of a Leave Without Pay, when ironically the redundancy actually lies in the upper echelons of management and not with the humble workers of Air India, who have slogged to make our Airline the treasure it is," they complained to Puri. "It must be noted that out of 11,000 permanent employees, our management occupies almost 25% as Executive Cadre, with little or no accountability. Solely amongst the Elite Management Cadre, we have 121 top officers ranking from DGMS, GMs, EDs to Functional Directors, most of whom are either performing duplicate job functions or are indeed redundant and not to mention the retired relics serving as consultants and also the CEOs of various subsidiary companies," they added. Trade unions said the redundancy or compulsory leave without pay scheme if any at all, has to apply only to these Executives, more so, when they do not even have protection of labour laws or Supreme Court orders. Strangely, the topmost corporate executive cadre and the backroom Generals, have saved themselves from the axe of wage cuts, by sacrificing a piffling of a few grand, whilst the frontline warriors of flying cabin crew, engineers, ground staff have borne the biggest brunt head on, the unions said. -- The story has been published from a wire feed without any modifications to the text That is unsurprising: Insurers have been problematic since at least 2017. A review then found that their corporate governance scores were deteriorating. Companies like Huaxia Life Insurance Co., one of the seized firms, were selling policies that flouted rules and improperly disclosed policyholders information. The insurance regulator said it was determined to weed out illegal and improper practices. It also found that companies were falsifying funding sources and leveraging the same assets for multiple loans.The takeovers come a year after the seizure of Baoshang Bank Co., when we wrote that counterparty and solvency risks had arrived together. Regulators tried to say then that it was a one-time solution. Yet, the most recent events point to these issues becoming acute, and spreading. At some point, the chain of lending and liquidity will be disrupted.Beijing has once again shied away from letting the market price such likelihoods. The dilemma is fundamental, as analysts at Rhodium Group wrote after the Baoshang incident. Authorities can allow the market to digest failures, or try to maintain stable production of ever-riskier forms of credit. They cant have both. By effectively assuming counterparty risk, regulators are hurting market credibility at a time of rising jitters as financing channels are squeezed.To be fair, they didnt have much choice. Heavily leveraged, a single-digit percentage drop in asset value induced by Covid-19 could wipe out these firms equity book value. Take Huaxia Life. Over the last decade, via aggressive selling of high-yield savings products, it has become the fourth-largest insurer in China, with close to 600 billion yuan in total assets at the end of 2019. Its assets-to-equity ratio stood at a whopping 26 times. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Its not hard to imagine large asset writedowns behind closed doors. As the impacts of Covid-19 distressed businesses in the second quarter, the worst bond rout in a decade caused investors to nurse losses on even relatively safe wealth management products, not to mention riskier non-credit investments. In the first three months of the year, data provided by CLSA Ltd. show that Huaxia Lifes book value shrank by 23% quarter-on-quarter, due to mark-to-market losses of its investments. Its no wonder that the insurer is on regulators radar, or that theyre trying to send a message. Still, Chinas financial woes extend beyond a fugitive businessmans overly extended balance sheet. Since 1995, only 12 firms have been seized by the central bank or other agencies half of them over the last year, excluding the ones last week. Some large trust companies have fallen afoul of authorities, unable to pay back investors principal and interest in recent months. Under the latest takeovers, regulators will send teams to take the roles of shareholders, directors and management. Other financial firms, including some of Chinas largest insurers and securities houses, will end up as trustees. In theory, theyll push to shrink the troubled businesses and monetize assets. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement Call it what you want, but this is Chinas version of financial contagion. Just plugging holes will no longer cut it. How many firms can regulators try to salvage? How much capital will be injected? Can they find willing shareholders and white knights? The answers to such questions wont come without pain. According to CLSA, 11 insurers with about 15% of the market and 2.4 trillion yuan in total assets would be walking a tightrope with regulators. On average, if their asset value was 2% to 5% less than what they showed in 2019, their surplus capital the capital over the minimum regulatory red line would have been wiped out. If Beijing ever needs to rescue them all, the costs would be enormous. If not, the insurers would have no choice but to dump assets, which could threaten the broader market. So far, Beijing hasnt successfully unwound troublesome financial empires. In the two years since the overextended buyer of New Yorks Waldorf Astoria, Anbang Insurance Group Co., was seized, attempts to dispose of its assets and find strategic investors have turned into a prolonged and painful process. Advertisement Story continues below advertisement It may be time for Beijing to face its fears and let some companies fall off the cliff. In doing so, it may finally be able to save the ones that really matter. This column does not necessarily reflect the opinion of the editorial board or Bloomberg LP and its owners. Anjani Trivedi is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering industrial companies in Asia. She previously worked for the Wall Street Journal. Shuli Ren is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Asian markets. She previously wrote on markets for Barrons, following a career as an investment banker, and is a CFA charterholder. For more articles like this, please visit us at bloomberg.com/opinion 2020 Bloomberg L.P. With under two years to the next assembly election parties should be starting to strategise. But that must be nearly impossible in the middle of two crises, Brexit and Covid 19. Covid places us all in a context that was unimaginable just at the beginning of the year, when the Executive parties were making up and returning to their desks. Brexit has faded from our concerns after a couple of years of total preoccupation with the damage it might cause or the hopes it raised in some reckless hearts. And if the world can change so much - twice! - then who's to say it won't change again in unpredicted ways before we get to vote? Still, the parties have to devote time now to planning their uncertain futures. Arlene Foster and the DUP have to address the declining available voter base as the Protestant population loses its coherence and its majority status. There was a time not long ago when unionists were called "the majority", as if that was a stable reality which secured the Union for all-time. Next year we will have a census and it is expected to show a further slide in the numbers who identify as Protestant and unionist. The Union relies now on people who prefer not to call themselves unionist but look to the future without feeling any urgent determination to create a united Ireland. That being the case, the DUP has to reach those people and start winning some votes from them. Its immediate problem is that the Alliance Party has already beaten it to that demographic. Alliance has a problem, though. It wouldn't be fair to dismiss it as a personality cult, but it follows the most impressive political leader we have, Naomi Long. She is articulate, witty and sharp. But parties that identify themselves too strongly with a leader tend to wither a little when the leader moves on. Stephen Farry has the brains but perhaps not the same facility in gutting an opponent. Long at her best will put Stephen Nolan or Mark Carruthers back in his box. Farry does well if he merely survives a hard interview. The Ulster Unionist Party might be better placed to win soft small 'u' unionists than the DUP. Robin Swann has had an impressive profile during the Covid-19 crisis. He had the courage to take the health portfolio, seen as a dangerous one for a minister even before the pandemic. This seemed at odds with his previous decision to step down as leader of the party. And there may be a price to pay yet if future enquiries into the handling of the virus point up crucial mistakes. But for now he is looking good. His party leader seems almost invisible, but there is further muscle behind him in Doug Beattie. Beattie has understood what others have not; that you are better answering Nolan's phone and getting the experience the show gives of having to fight and hold your own. Claire Hanna understood that too and has developed into a popular and confident debater. The SDLP generally is doing well with a generation of young and able contenders. And the abortion issue, on which several members chose to go against the public mood for religious reasons, has at least gone away. Sinn Fein strategises like no other party but currently looks half-hearted. Michelle O'Neill's standing in the current Assembly should be as joint First Minister, not Deputy. That was the legacy of the 2017 election which it opted not to capitalise on. Now, after the Storey funeral O'Neill looks like an indulged junior partner while Foster takes the podium alone to address us on the changing rules and guidelines on the virus. The big Sinn Fein issues of a border poll and an Irish Language Act are getting no airing currently. And with Gerry Adams and Francie Molloy both in recent days dismissing core principles of the Good Friday Agreement, one is tempted to wonder if it is already planing an alternative route to a united Ireland. The end of the Brexit transition and the census coming after may tempt it to feel that the case for a border poll is about to get stronger. And the argument will be reinforced by the experience of the virus and the logic it presented that the island should be treated as one jurisdiction. In Scotland the case for independence has grown stronger in the background while the news agenda was focused on the pandemic, so perhaps something similar is happening here. Nicola Sturgeon has gained huge credit from her handling of the crisis, and she is personable in a way that Foster and O'Neill are not. Sturgeon tweets about the novels she is reading and thanks people for their birthday greetings. She has just turned 50 and is not coy about that. She has established a relationship with the public that no one here has got and that only Long could aspire to. So where to now for our local parties? If I was advising Foster I would urge her to show that she has a bit of hinterland beyond the church, reverence for the monarchy, the Army and the loyal orders. It would do her good to be seen sunning herself bare legged on Rossnowlagh beach and reading a Marian Keyes novel. If I was advising O'Neill I would say that she has to prove that she isn't a puppet but an actual leader who can stand up to her own party. She is damaged by her failure to adequately defend her participation in the funeral of Bobby Storey. She could start by disowning Molloy's criticism of the Good Friday Agreement. If I was advising Long I would say she is right to bring forward young talent like Sorcha Eastwood, who has a nice, sharp sting in her tweets while seeming to have a real life outside politics. Alliance is also developing party structures in rural areas, which is good. The SDLP is doing well, lifting its profile through Westminster successes, but the climb back to real prominence is long and slow. It's new idea is a New Ireland Commission, which will need to get unionists into a conversation about constitutional change. The UUP also has to find a way of distinguishing itself from Alliance and a DUP that must liberalise too. And then there are the Greens and People Before Profit. They should keep their independence from other parties and preserve the integrity of their arguments. Learn from Jim Allister. A lone voice can shake pillars. TALLAHASSEE Florida reached its sixth straight day of 10,000-plus new coronavirus cases Monday as the states largest teachers union sued the Gov. Ron DeSantis administration over plans to reopen schools for in-person instruction next month. The state added 10,347 new COVID-19 cases overnight, bringing Floridas total cases to 360,394. Another 90 deaths occurred, with 5,072 Florida people now lost to the disease in the state. While the number of coronavirus tests fell to 78,993, the lowest level in almost a week, the rate of positivity rose to 14.7%, its highest mark since July 13. DeSantis had been pointing to the lower levels as a sign that community spread was easing in some parts of Florida. In its lawsuit filed in Miami state circuit court, the Florida Education Association said the school reopening order violates the Florida Constitution, which requires that a uniform, efficient, safe, secure and high quality system of public schools exist. FEA President Fedrick Ingram cited Mondays case numbers and deaths as the backdrop, for the unions action. No one wants to be back in a classroom and reopen our school buildings more than educators, Ingram said. We are teachers... thats what we live for... but we want to do it safely and we dont want to put people at risk. Joining the FEA in the lawsuit are several teachers, along with the NAACP state chapter and its national organization. Defendants are DeSantis, Education Commissioner Richard Corcoran and Miami-Dade County Mayor Carlos Gimenez. The union says decisions about the reopening of schools whether in-person, online or a hybrid system should be made at the local level. But there seemed to be little support among union leaders for any county moving forward with bringing students back to campus while Floridas coronavirus numbers continue to surge. Marie Foster, a reading teacher at Workman Middle School, is reflected along with a message on her car before fellow educators and parents begin their "Car Parade for the Safe Reopening of Schools" in Pensacola on Thursday, July 16, 2020. While they are eager to get back to the classrooms, they are calling for safe conditions before doing so. Ingram said that a survey of FEA members found that 90% were opposed to any plan that involved opening traditional schools five days a week. He also said that 39% of teachers are considering leaving the profession this year, if their only option is returning to the school campus. Story continues Florida news: Florida restaurants under no obligation to report employees who test positive for COVID-19 Educators said schools should do whats best for their own communities, rather than follow DeSantis and Corcoran, who they said appeared intent on meeting the goals of President Donald Trump and Education Commissioner Betsy DeVos, who want states to reopen traditional schools this fall. It might look very different in a community, depending on the infection rate in that community, said Lily Eskelsen Garcia, president of the National Education Association, who joined state officials on a call to discuss the lawsuit. But this order that just mimics Betsy DeVos and a federal edict that we will open all schools, all day, all week, students sitting shoulder-to-shoulder no matter what doctors say. Thats asking us to sacrifice our students and their families and our educators and their families, she added. What went wrong: Timing, testing, tourism and mixed signals in Florida DeSantis has been trying to walk back much of the orders strictest return to the classroom language since it was issued two weeks ago. On Monday, at an appearance in Orlando, DeSantis was heckled by several protesters who yelled, Youre lying to the public, when it came to his daily updates on how the state was dealing with the virus. The governor, though, again tried to distance himself from the back-to-school order, pointing out, I didnt do an executive order. That was the Department of Education. He also said that for parents and students choice is paramount when it comes to the type of classroom that will reopen next month. Our guiding principles have been, Number 1, that ultimately parents need to be free to choose the best environment for their student, their kids, DeSantis said. That means if they prefer distance learning because theyre not comfortable with having kids in school, then thats their decision as a parent. If people want a hybrid, (districts) can offer hybrid. And, obviously, those parents that believe kids need to be in school, we want to provide them with an option to do that as well, DeSantis said. DeSantis last week acknowledged that the state hadnt moved forward with any kind of protocols for on-campus testing, isolating of students and teachers who test positive for the virus, or how to manage the possibility of quarantining an entire classroom or school. But Monday, the governor repeated that there were liabilities to online learning for many students. We dont want folks to fall behind and we really want to focus on the best interest of our students and giving our parents the maximum amount of choices to make the best decision they can, DeSantis said. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY NETWORK: Florida teachers union sues Gov. Ron DeSantis over reopening plan Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-22 05:20:54|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close CAIRO, July 21 (Xinhua) -- The tally of COVID-19 cases in Iran edged toward 280,000 on Tuesday, while the total cases in Iraq came closer to 100,000, amid continued resurgence of the COVID-19 pandemic. Iran, the hardest-hit country in the Middle East, recorded 2,625 new COVID-19 cases during the past 24 hours, bringing the total infections to 278,827. Sima Sadat Lari, spokeswoman for Iran's Ministry of Health and Medical Education, said that the death toll from the virus in Iran rose to 14,634 after 229 new deaths were added. So far, there have been 242,351 recoveries, while 3,589 patients remained in critical condition, she added. Saudi Arabian Health Ministry announced 2,476 new COVID-19 cases and 34 more deaths, raising the tally of confirmed cases in the kingdom to 255,825, and the death toll to 2,557. The total number of recoveries from the disease rose by 4,000 cases to 207,259, the ministry said. Iraq's Health Ministry on Tuesday announced 2,466 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total infections nationwide to 97,159. The death toll in Iraq rose to 3,950, after 81 more deaths were recorded during the day, while the tally of recoveries increased to 64,950 after 2,114 more patients recovered. Manar Abdul-Mutalib, a female member of the Iraqi parliament, called for lifting both the full and partial curfews imposed in Iraq, noting that the "time has come to coexist with the coronavirus." Israel registered the biggest single-day rise in COVID-19 cases, at 2,039, pushing the total number of confirmed cases to 54,042. The death toll in Israel rose to 425, after 10 more fatalities were confirmed, while the total recoveries surged to 22,743 after 589 more patients recovered. In Turkey, Turkish Health Minister Fahrettin Koca reported 928 new COVID-19 cases, raising the total confirmed cases in the country to 221,500, including 5,526 deaths and 204,011 recoveries. Turkish Interior Ministry ordered governors to lift the working hour restrictions on cafes and restaurants in the country. Businesses such as restaurants, cafes, tea houses and clubs were reopened in June after months of closure due to the pandemic. Turkey's national flag carrier Turkish Airlines on Tuesday resumed flight to China's southern city of Guangzhou, the company's press office told Xinhua. It also announced on its website that it planned three flights per week from the biggest Turkish city Istanbul to China's Hong Kong, starting from Tuesday. In Oman, the Ministry of Health announced 1,487 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 69,887, including 337 deaths and 46,608 recoveries. Oman decided to ban traffic between the governorates for 15 days from July 25 to Aug. 8, to prevent social and family gatherings during the upcoming Eid al-Adha holiday. Egypt on Tuesday reported 47 new deaths from COVID-19, the lowest daily record since June 13, as the death toll from the coronavirus climbed to 4,399. Egyptian Health Ministry said that 676 new COVID-19 infections were confirmed, raising the total cases in the country to 89,078. Egyptian Health Minister Hala Zayed announced that the provinces of the Red Sea and South Sinai recorded no infections in the past 24 hours for the first time since the coronavirus outbreak in Egypt. Kuwait on Tuesday reported 671 new COVID-19 cases and four more deaths, raising the tally of infections to 60,434 and the death toll to 412. Palestine registered 404 new cases of COVID-19, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 10,924, which includes 2,106 recoveries and 67 deaths. Qatar's Health Ministry confirmed 393 new COVID-19 cases, increasing the total confirmed cases in the Gulf state to 107,430, including 160 deaths and 104,191 recoveries. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Tuesday announced 305 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 57,498. The total recoveries rose to 49,964 and the death toll increased to 341 in the UAE. Morocco registered 180 new coronavirus cases, taking the tally of infections to 17,742, the Ministry of Health said. The death toll from the infectious disease in the country stood at 280, while the total recoveries climbed to 15,389. The National Center for Disease Control of Libya on Tuesday reported 108 new COVID-19 cases, bringing the total confirmed cases in the country to 2,088, including 479 recoveries and 50 deaths. Enditem Police are looking for a man they say threw a child out of a car and assaulted the childs mother in Lancaster County on Sunday. Tyree V. Berry, 34, of Lancaster, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, simple assault and terroristic threats, according to online court dockets. Manheim Township Police say Berry was in a moving vehicle with a woman and 2-year-old child along Route 30 West at the Manheim Pike on Sunday. Berry is accused of repeatedly telling the woman he was going to kill her, which caused the woman to pull over and try to flag down another car for help. Berry then tried to take the toddler out of the backseat of the car, biting the womans finger when she tried to stop him, police say. At one point, Berry got the child out of the seat and threw the baby onto the shoulder of the highway, just outside the fog line, police say. Berry then ran before officers arrived, police say. Police are actively searching for Berry, and ask that anyone with information on his whereabouts contact Manheim Township police at 717-569-6401, or submit a tip through the departments Crimewatch website. Read more on Pennlive: An oil spill in the Mesurado River in the Liberian capital Monrovia has prompted hundreds of people to rush to collect the fuel, as environmental experts warn the contaminated river is creating a worsening environmental disaster. The spill occurred early Monday while a vessel was loading fuel on to one of the storage facilities, according to Marie Urey Coleman, managing director of the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company. Coleman confirmed to RFI that some 3,000 gallons of oil spilled over during the loading exercise. The Mesurado River lies between Central Monrovia and Bushrod Island where the Petroleum Refinery Company and the Free Port of Monrovia are situated. The situation resulted in an early scramble for fuel oil as a crowd lined the banks with jerry cans, bits of foam mattress and various utensils, hoping to soak or scoop up the fuel floating on the surface of the water and resell it. Some also used canoes to go deep into the river to collect the fuel. A number of potential clients were at the scene to buy the oil. 'A blessing' Due to the current economic hardship in the country, Sekou Masalay, 32, says that he and many others risked their lives to fetch the oil from the river. This is a blessing from God to us the slum dwellers because we are suffering a lot in this country. I have collected 36 gallons already, he said. Money from the sale of the oil collected would put food on the table on 26 July, Liberias Independence Day, says Hawa Kiazolu, 28. A gallon of fuel oil on the market is now L$550 (2.40 euros), so I will auction mine for L$400 (1.75 euros), Kiazolu told RFI. We came here at 6:30am. We have collected 50 gallons. We are happy, she said, beaming. The management of the Liberia Petroleum Refinery Company said it has now brought the situation under control at its terminal. Fishing no longer safe Story continues In a telephone interview, Randall M. Dobayou, the acting executive director of Liberias Environmental Protection Agency said that his agency and other related entities have launched an environmental impact assessment of the situation. Obviously there is an environmental impact but the level...will be known during findings from the investigation, he indicated. The Journalists for the Protection of Nature (JPN-Liberia) say they are worried about the situation. Group head Joseph Sayon said that the river has been polluted from garbage and other waste dumped into it by residents over the years, and the oil spill will intensify the damage. Until the Mesurado River can be cleaned-up, anyone eating fish or anything from it will be at risk and we think stakeholders should immediately intervene to stop people from fishing in the river, he said. 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. BETHESDA, Md., July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- RCLCO Real Estate Advisors, a leading national real estate advisory firm, announced today that the metro areas of Charlotte, Austin, Denver, Seattle and Raleigh have topped their 2020 STEM Job Growth Index (STEMdex), published annually in partnership with office investment management firm CapRidge Partners. The STEMdex tracks STEM job growth momentum across the country. Rather than simply identifying where STEM jobs are today, the STEMdex seeks to understand where they might be going in the future. Key changes noted regarding the 2020 listing include: Charlotte shoots to the top shoots to the top Orlando and Portland are in the top 10 for the first time and are in the top 10 for the first time Indianapolis , Tampa and San Antonio appear on the list for the first time "Quality of life, favorable cost of doing business, and strong job markets - especially STEM jobs - are the leading indicators for healthy investment markets," said Adam Ducker, Senior Managing Director of RCLCO. "Understanding where these jobs exist today and where they may concentrate tomorrow is essential to decision makers and real estate investors, as STEM jobs will likely play an even more significant role in economic growth in a post-COVID world. We would expect to see regions with more STEM jobs recover from this recession much faster than regions whose jobs are more concentrated in effected industries." The economic impacts of COVID-19 have caused the United States to enter a recession, however STEM jobs, with their historically lower rates of unemployment and higher wages, may prove to be more resilient, as many are better-equipped to transition toward remote working. Read the full report online at: https://www.rclco.com/publication/2020-stem-job-growth-index/ About RCLCO Since 1967, RCLCO has been the "first call" for real estate developers, investors, public institutions and non-real estate companies seeking strategic advice regarding property investment, planning, and development. RCLCO leverages quantitative analytics platforms and a strategic planning framework to provide end-to-end business planning and implementation solutions at entity, portfolio, or project levels. RCLCO is headquartered in Bethesda, MD, and has offices in Los Angeles, CA, Orlando, FL, and Austin, TX. SOURCE RCLCO Related Links https://www.rclco.com While it has a lawsuit pending against federal law enforcement, the American Civil Liberties Union also Monday sent a letter to Attorney General William Barr urging he appoint a special counsel to investigate alleged civil rights or criminal violations against protesters, journalists or legal observers in Portland. This Administration must immediately cease these violent uses of force and the Department of Justice must begin the necessary, independent, and thorough process of appointing a special prosecutor to investigate and, if warranted, prosecute, those responsible for ordering and carrying out attacks on protesters,' the letter said. The ACLU urged Barr to recuse himself from the selection or oversight of a special prosecutor, suggesting Barr has been complicit with President Donald Trumps push to send federal tactical forces to Portland and his promise to send federal officers to other cities. In particular, the agency urged the federal Justice Department to investigate alleged instances of police brutality against journalists, legal observers and protesters through the indiscriminate use of tear gas, impact munitions, stun grenades and loud acoustical warning devices, as well as reports of federal forces sweeping protesters up and whisking them away in unmarked vans without probable cause. The letter comes as the city of Portland marks the 54th night of demonstrations in the city following the May 25 death of George Floyd, a Black man who died after a Minneapolis police officer knelt on his neck for more than eight minutes. Local, state and Congressional leaders from Oregon have urged the federal government to pull out the extra federal tactical teams deployed by Trump to the city that have led to heightened tensions outside the Mark O. Hatfield Courthouse and Multnomah County Justice Center in downtown Portland. Jann Carson, interim executive director of the ACLU of Oregon, signed the letter, as well as the agencys political director and legislative counsel. The ACLU of Oregon is currently representing 10 journalists, photojournalists and legal observers in a suit pending in U.S. District Court in Portland. Last week, U.S. District Judge Michael H. Simon allowed the agency to add the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Marshals Service and Federal Protective Services as defendants, as it seeks to bar the federal officers from using tear gas, impact munitions or other force against journalists or legal observers when dispersing crowds. A hearing is set for Thursday on the ACLUs requested temporary restraining order against the federal law enforcement agencies. In a Twitter message Sunday, Trump wrote that the city of Portlands leadership has, for months, lost control of the anarchists and agitators and that federal officers must protect Federal Property, AND OUR PEOPLE.' Under an executive order, he sent officers from U.S. Customs and Border Protections tactical team known as BORTAC, the U.S. Marshals Special Operations Group and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement to be part of a new Department of Homeland Security Protecting American Communities Task Force to support Federal Protective Service officers. He promised to send the officers to other cities. -- 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. Rep. Matt Gaetz (R-Fla.) called on House Republican Conference chair Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) to "step down or be removed" after a heated conference meeting on Tuesday. The backdrop: Rep. Jim Jordan (R-Ohio) and other members of the conservative House Freedom Caucus attacked Cheney, the most senior female Republican in the House, for breaking with President Trump on several occasions and supporting a primary opponent against Rep. Thomas Massie (R-Ky.), Politico first reported and Axios can confirm. What they're saying: "Liz Cheney has worked behind the scenes (and now in public) against @realDonaldTrump and his agenda," Gaetz tweeted. "House Republicans deserve better as our Conference Chair. Liz Cheney should step down or be removed. #MAGA" Donald Trump Jr. quote-tweeted Gaetz and wrote: "We already have one Mitt Romney, we dont need another... we also dont need the endless wars she advocates for." Behind the scenes: About five or six members of the House GOP conference are upset at Cheney, but the majority support how she has carried herself, a source familiar with the meeting told Axios' Alayna Treene. Teachers in Queensland will be given two extra days' leave as a peace offering after missing out on their scheduled pay rise this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The state government made the proposal after it was announced public servants wouldn't see any wage increases until 2022, when they will receive their 2.5 per cent per annum pay rise in double. Queenslands 12,000 police officers and 48,000 teachers were legally entitled to a pay rise in July. The Queensland Teachers' Union President Kevin Bates said teachers would consider the proposal on Friday and be encouraged to agree to the offer. The state government made the proposal after it was announced teachers wouldn't see any wage increases until 2022 Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk denied the union's claims that the two extra leave days was damage control after fierce backlash 'Our members were rightly angry about the Government's actions in breaking a signed deal a legally binding agreement that should have seen that pay increase paid,' Mr Bates said. 'We really find ourselves in this situation where the Government saw fit to make some concessions, or make some offers that would hopefully go some way to addressing the concerns that teachers and principals have raised. 'The wage deferral was really a huge slap in the face given what they'd gone through with the COVID crisis.' There are currently about 1.7million unemployed Australians on $1,100-per-fortnight JobSeeker payments. But from September 24 the JobSeeker supplement will be reduced from $550 to $250 per week, after it was bumped up from the Newstart Allowance at the start of the pandemic. Scott Morrison also announced JobKeeper, which currently helps 3.5million Australians, will be reduced in phases as the economy recovers from coronavirus lockdowns. The payment was due to end on 27 September but instead it will be decreased from $1,500 to $1,200-a-fortnight. A lower rate of $750-a-fortnight will go to people who worked fewer than 20 hours a week in February, before coronavirus struck. Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk denied the union's claims the extra leave is damage control after fierce backlash. 'It's called pandemic leave is anyone going to criticise our police and teachers for getting pandemic leave? I don't think so,' Ms Palaszczuk said. 'It was always my intention, and it's my intention to look at health professionals as well, who I also believe deserve some pandemic leave for the extraordinary work they're doing.' The Queensland Teachers' Union President Kevin Bates said teachers would consider the proposal on Friday and be encouraged to agree to the offer Education Minister Grace Grace said the state's teachers deserved the extra time off after their 'extraordinary effort teachers put in during COVID-19'. 'Some teachers worked during their own personal time to make sure that after the Easter break we were ready to start with remote learning,' Ms Grace said. 'We think that two days, because of the unprecedented work that they put in, is to say a big thank you to all of our school communities.' If teachers vote in favour to the proposal, schools in the north and west will go on holidays on December 2, while those in the south east of the state will break on December 9. Earlier this month it was announced Queensland police officers will get a one-off $1250 bonus and two weeks extra leave for going 'above and beyond' during the pandemic. The Queensland Police Union struck up the deal with the state government after 'thorough negotiations and discussions'. The two weeks of extra leave would be classified as 'COVID-19 leave,' with the $1250 payment deposited into members' accounts. Christopher Quinn died on Mweelrea when he was hiking with his daughter Emma An experienced Dublin climber who scaled Kilimanjaro collapsed and died on Mayo's highest mountain as his daughter tried desperately to save him. Christopher Quinn (63), an aircraft engineer, of Hampton Court, Clontarf, was climbing Mweelrea with his daughter Emma when he complained of feeling unwell on September 4, 2019. An inquest recorded a verdict of death by natural causes after a post-mortem found Mr Quinn died of cardiogenic shock. In this condition, the heart suddenly cannot pump enough blood to meet the body's needs, due to coronary sclerosis accompanied by physical exertion. Ascent Emma Quinn told Mayo Coroner's Court she and her father were avid hikers and had stayed in Clifden the night before their ascent of the 2,671ft mountain. They were three hours into the climb when they stopped to take a rest. Mr Quinn complained of indigestion and within five minutes said he needed to get off the mountain. "He took five steps and fell back and collapsed," Ms Quinn said. "He called my name and it was all gurgle coming out of his mouth. I believe he took his last breath there." She contacted the emergency services and carried out CPR on her father for 40 minutes. A rescue helicopter attempted to reach them on the mountain but driving wind and rain prevented it from making a safe landing. Almost four hours passed from the time Ms Quinn called for help and Mountain Rescue volunteers arrived. Robert Hunt, the team leader with Mayo Mountain Rescue on the day, told coroner Pat O'Connor he received a call at 12.53pm and set up an incident-control unit. Numerous attempts were made to contact Ms Quinn. The coastguard was unable to assist because of the weather but confirmed the location of the Quinns on the mountain. At 1.50pm, first responders undertook the climb, reaching the Quinns at 3.30pm. When they arrived there was no sign of life and rigor mortis had set in. A full evacuation team brought Mr Quinn off the mountain and he was pronounced dead at 7.44pm. Consultant pathologist Dr Tamas Nemeth said the cause of death was cardiogenic shock. Recording a verdict of death by natural causes, coroner Mr O'Connor recommended people engaging in physical activity have regular medical check-ups. Shock He said it was apt that an avid climber like Mr Quinn passed away on a mountainside but it was a great shock for his daughter and his wife, who was waiting for them back at the hotel in Clifden. He commended the gardai, including Garda Colm Boyle and, in particular, Mayo Mountain Rescue. "We often read about the great work you do and thankfully it doesn't always end in a passing," said the coroner. "I want to convey the public's thanks for the great work done by the group - it's unenviable but commendable." Mr Quinn's daughter Emma and wife Maria indicated their support for Mr O'Connor's praise for the emergency services. The coroner's commendations for the mountain rescue volunteers were also echoed by Sergeant Margaret O'Connor, on behalf of An Garda Siochana. Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia Anna Naghdalyan answered the following questions from social network users during a Facebook question-and-answer on RFE/RL Armenian Service today: Question: After the July 12 incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia declared that Azerbaijan had treacherously violated the ceasefire. What was the agreement that Azerbaijan treacherously violated? Anna Naghdalyan: On the very first day of the incident, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Armenia issued a press release stating that the Minister of Foreign Affairs is in contact with the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. During my press conferences, I stated that the ministry has worked on stopping the military operations. There have also been interactions with the Russian Co-Chair of the OSCE Minsk Group and military circles, and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said there was a ceasefire agreement that had been violated. Question: What actions is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs taking to return Narek Sardaryan, who found himself in the territory of Nakhchivan? Anna Naghdalyan: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has contacted the authorities of Nakhchivan. The issue is in the domain of the Red Cross and Red Crescent in Armenia, and I cant provide any information, including information about his health condition due to confidentiality. What happened Shares of some of the largest independent oil producers in the U.S. are rocketing higher today on news that the European Union has reached agreement on $2.1 trillion in economic stimulus. News of this mega-deal to help businesses and families struggling under the weight of the severe global recession is lifting oil prices to the highest levels in more than four months. The following oil producer stocks are some of the biggest gainers on the news: Oil producer Price change on 7/21 Matador Resources Company NYSE:MTDR) 10.5% Devon Energy Corporation NYSE:DVN) 11.3% Diamondback Energy NASDAQ:FANG) 9.4% Murphy Oil Corporation NYSE:MUR) 9.5% WPX Energy NYSE:WPX) 10.1% Apache Corporation NASDAQ:APA) 10.3% QEP Resources NYSE:QEP) 14.5% Comstock Resources NYSE:CRK) 8.6% Northern Oil and Gas NYSEMKT:NOG) 9.4% Parsley Energy NYSE:PE) 8.2% Callon Petroleum Company NYSE:CPE) 8.9% So what Both Brent and West Texas Intermediate futures prices are up more than 2% today, as oil traders consider the implications of more than $2 trillion in economic stimulus helping drive up demand for oil in Europe. Europe is a major market for U.S. crude and crude products, so there's certainly reason for oil prices to climb on today's news. It's not just higher prices that have investors' hopes climbing, either. The past four months have been some of the most brutal in oil industry history. The shock to demand from the coronavirus pandemic hit U.S. producers after years of fast growth, catching them flat-footed and with production that was well above what the market was able to soak up. Output has fallen off sharply, but between imports that have stayed relatively stable and demand that's still down by double digits, crude prices are still at levels that haven't sustained for this long and low in well over a decade: Now what The EU's stimulus deal is significant and massive. But it's also just a temporary lift for a problem we don't yet have a permanent solution for. The novel coronavirus that causes COVID-19 remains an enormous threat to human lives. There are several hopeful vaccine candidates, but it takes long-term studies over more than a year to understand the risks of side effects across a broad cross section of the population. In other words, even a medical breakthrough could be further away than investors either understand or want to acknowledge. Next, investors need to consider the economics of oil and the ongoing struggles the industry still faces. With oil prices still in the low $40s, most U.S. oil producers will struggle simply to break even, much less make a profit. And with global giants like OPEC and Russia primed to turn on their pumps at the first signs of demand recovery, the path forward isn't going to be easy for U.S. producers. Today's news is positive, but it's like a box of band-aids at a knife fight. U.S. oil producers remain one of the highest-risk segments of the market right now. Most simply are not equipped with the tools -- low-cost oil and plenty of liquidity -- to make them worth taking on the risk that economic conditions will improve sooner rather than later. NEW YORK, July 21, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p04676769/?utm_source=PRN The global nematicides market size is estimated to be valued at USD 1.3billion in 2020 and is projected to reach USD 1.6billion by 2025, recording a CAGR of 3.4%. The usage of biologicals and the provision of customized solutions targeted toward specific pests are some of the opportunities in the nematicides market. The adoption of nematicides has gained huge market share in the last few years due to the increased infestation of nematodes affecting the growth of the plants.The growth in population and consequent increase in demand for food has led to conventional agriculture being highly dependent on chemicals for pest control and elimination. But the rise in concerns of consumers and governments about food safety and depletion ozone levels has led to growers exploring new environment-friendly methods to replace or at least supplement the current chemical-based practices.The use of bionematicides has emerged as a promising alternative to chemical pesticides. Nematicides has become a significant part of the increasing crop protection industry. These factors are projected to drive the growth of the market in the next few years. The recent COVID-19 pandemic is expected to impact the global nematicides industry.The supply chain has been disrupted due as the result of government imposition of lockdown across many regions. This has reduced many stakeholders involved in supply chain from taking the products to destined place.The demand is relatively stable, but the limited supply to the distributors or retailors is stopping the produce to reach out to the farmers. The labour shortage and reduce supply of raw materials is a major issue due to the restrictions on the movement of people or vehicles.However, many companies have piled up stocks enough for most part of the year. But if the lockdown continues, it might affect the delivery of goods, ultimately leading to loss of revenue for the companies. However, many companies are managing to run the sales despite of imposed restrictions and are focusing to cope up in the coming quarters. Vegetables: The largest growing segment in the nematicides market, by nematicides crop type". Vegetables accounted for the largest share in the nematicides market in 2019.This is attributed to the increasing acreage being brought under vegetables. Countries such as India and China, being the major producers of vegetable crops across the globe, contribute to the growing domestic and international demand for vegetables. The various products offered by major players also cater to nematode management in vegetable crops. Granular: The largest growing segment in the nematicides market, by nematicides form". By form, the market for nematicides is segmented into granular and liquid.The granular segment is estimated to hold a larger share owing to the ease of applicability and economic viability. Companies such as BASF SE (Germany) and Syngenta Crop Protection AG (Switzerland) cater to the growing demand for nematicides in the granular form. This high availability in the granular form catering to crops such as cotton, soybean, and fruits & vegetables drives the growth for the granular form of nematicides. North America: The largest-growing segment in the nematicides market". In 2019, North America accounted for the largest share in the nematicides market owing to the increasing number of product launches from major players in the market, such as Bayer AG (Germany), Nufarm (Australia), and Valent BioSciences (US).The adoption of organic farming and sustainable agricultural practices has also increased the use of bionematicides. Major crops grown in the region such as soybean, corn, and cotton are attacked by soybean-cyst nematodes, root-knot nematodes, and lesion nematodes. The growing international demand for crops has increased the demand for nematicides in the region from countries such as the US, Canada, and Mexico. Break-up of Primaries By Manufacturer (Designation): Managers & Executives-60%, Junior-level Employees -20%, and Managing Directors-20% By Designation: CXOs30%, Managers - 50%, and Executives-20% By Country: US 20%, India 55%, Spain 20%, China 5% Research Coverage This report segments the nematicides market based on type, crop type, nematode type, form, mode of application, and region. In terms of insights, this research report focuses on various levels of analysescompetitive landscape, end-use analysis, and company profileswhich together comprise and discuss the basic views on the emerging & high-growth segments of the nematicides industry, the high-growth regions, countries, government initiatives, market disruption, drivers, restraints, opportunities, and challenges. Reasons to buy this report To get a comprehensive overview of the nematicides market To gain wide-ranging information about the top players in this industry, their product portfolios, and key strategies adopted by them To gain insights about the major countries/regions, in which the nematicides market is flourishing Read the full report: https://www.reportlinker.com/p04676769/?utm_source=PRN 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. Contact Clare: [email protected] US: (339)-368-6001 Intl: +1 339-368-6001 SOURCE Reportlinker Related Links www.reportlinker.com He said, however, the churches Brown builds all over the country have similar construction to what has been selected for the jail project. Former North Platte city engineer Tom Werblow said he has worked with all three construction companies in the past and all three are qualified to do the work. I understand the concern about Browns (experience), Werblow said. I think we have to be careful to differentiate between the company and the individuals within the company, because some of the people within Brown have the experience. Support Local Journalism Your subscription makes our reporting possible. {{featured_button_text}} Werblow said he agreed with TreanorHLs consensus. I dont see Brown as a problem for doing this project, Werblow said. Woodruff said one reason the discussion about experience arose was because Brown was the lowest bidder. The lowest bidder sometimes is a good idea, sometimes not, Woodruff said. With that in mind, if we were going to go with the lowest bidder, I wanted to make sure we got the best bid, too, and the capability to do the work. K anye West has said Kim Kardashian West tried to get a doctor to "lock me up" after he told how the couple considered an abortion while expecting their first child. West, who says he is running to be president of the US, told a crowd in South Carolina on Sunday that a message from God convinced him to keep the baby. His wife Kardashian West gave birth to their first child, daughter North, in 2013. The rapper, who has been open about his bipolar disorder diagnosis, has now claimed his wife tried to bring a doctor to his ranch in Wyoming, comparing the situation to 2017 horror film Get Out. Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance 1 /12 Kanye West makes his first presidential campaign appearance AP AP AP REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS REUTERS He tweeted: "Kim was trying to fly to Wyoming with a doctor to lock me up like on the movie Get Out because I cried about saving my daughters life yesterday. "Everybody knows the movie get out is about me." Jordan Peele's hit horror film sees disturbing psychological tricks used on Daniel Kaluuya's character, Chris. The claim was made in a series of distressing tweets in which he demanded Kardashian and his mother-in-law Kris Jenner "call me now". "I put my life on my God that Norths mom would never photograph her doing playboy and thats on God Im at the ranch ... come and get me," he added. He said Vogue editor-in-chief Anna Wintour "looked at me like I was crazy" when he told her about the deal to sell his Yeezy fashion line through Gap stores. West also shared a picture of himself with his four children. West has since deleted the majority of the tweets. Reality TV star Kardashian is yet to publicly respond. West's tweets came a day after his headline-making event in North Charleston, South Carolina, where he discussed his presidential bid. The 43-year-old wore a protective vest during the event and had "2020" shaved into his head. He floated the idea of giving struggling mothers one million dollars to discourage abortions. However, it has since emerged West has missed the deadline to appear on the presidential ballot in South Carolina. He did not submit a petition of 10,000 signatures by noon local time on Monday and would therefore not appear on the ballot, a state official said. South Carolina State Election Commission spokesman Chris Whitmire said: "The deadline has passed for any candidate to submit a petition for the November 3, 2020, General Election. Kanye West did not submit a petition." While he missed the South Carolina cut off, Fox News reported he made the Illinois deadline to file as an independent candidate. West is from Chicago and Illinois is his home state. Fox said an Illinois State Board of Elections spokesman confirmed representatives for West filed 412 petition sheets and officials would count the signatures to check if they amounted to the 2,500 needed for a place on the ballot. West, a rap superstar, billionaire and fashion designer, announced his White House bid in a tweet on July 5, though doubts persist over how seriously to take his tilt at the top job. Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West - In pictures 1 /57 Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West - In pictures Evan Agostini/Invision/AP Reuters May 2, 2016 Kim and Kanye pose upon arrival for the Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology Met Gala in New York, NY, USA Getty Images December 19, 2018 Kim Kardashian West and Kanye West relax on a couch at the Travis Scott Astroworld Tour in Inglewood, CA, USA Getty Images May 12, 2012 Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images May 12, 2012 Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Los Angeles Lakers and Denver Nuggets Game 7 of the Western Conference Quarterfinals in the 2012 NBA Playoffs in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images July 1, 2012 Kim Kardashian and Kanye West arm in arm for the 2012 BET Awards in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images July 4, 2012 Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Valentino Haute-Couture show as part of Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France Getty Images September 12, 2012 Kim and Kanye attend the Marchesa spring 2013 fashion show during Mercedes-Benz Fashion Week in New York, NY, USA Getty Images October 22, 2012 Kanye and Kim arrive for the Angel Ball 2012 in New York, NY, USA Getty Images December 25, 2012 Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the NBA game between the Denver Nuggets and the Los Angeles Clippers in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images March 3, 2013 im Kardashian and Kanye West hold hands at the Givenchy Fall/Winter 2013 Ready-to-Wear show as part of Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France Getty Images May 6, 2013 Kardashian and Kanye West pose upon arrival for the PUNK: Chaos to Couture Met Gala in New York, NY, USA Getty Images September 29, 2013 Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Givenchy show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear in Paris, France Getty Images October 26, 2013 Kim and Kanye arrive at the Tao Nightclub to celebrate her birthday in Las Vegas, NV Getty Images December 4, 2013 Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend DuJour Magazine's event to honor artist Marc Quinn in Miami Beach, FL, USA Getty Images May 5, 2014 Kanye puts his arm around Kim at the Charles James: Beyond Fashion Met Gala in New York, NY, USA Getty Images May 23, 2014 Kim and Kanye leave their residence before their upcoming nuptials in Paris, France AFP/Getty Images September 2, 2014 Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the GQ Men of the Year awards in London, England Getty Images September 25, 2014 Kim Kardashian and Kanye West sit together for the Balmain show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Spring/Summer 2015 in Paris, France Getty Images September 28, 2014 Kim cradles her daughter, North, as she and Kanye attend the Givenchy show as part of the Paris Fashion Week in Paris, France Getty Images November 1, 2014 Kim and Kanye pose upon arrival for the 2014 LACMA Art + Film Gala honoring Barbara Kruger and Quentin Tarantino presented by Gucci in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images January 8, 2015 Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend John Legend Celebrates His Birthday And The 10th Anniversary Of His Debut Album Get Lifted in New York, NY, USA Getty Images February 7, 2015 Kim and Kanye debut Yeeze 3 sneakers as they arrive at Roc Nation Pre-Grammy Brunch in Beverly Hills, CA, USA Getty Images February 8, 2015 Kanye and Kim kiss on the red carpet of The 57th Annual GRAMMY Awards in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images February 12, 2015 Kanye poses with Kim and Rihanna backstage at the adidas Originals x Kanye West YEEZY SEASON 1 fashion show during New York Fashion Week in New York, NY, USA Getty Images March 5, 2015 Kim Kardashian and Kanye West have a cuddle at the Balmain show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2015/2016 in Paris, France Getty Images March 5, 2015 Kanye West and Kim Kardashian attend the Lanvin show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter in Paris, France Getty Images March 6, 2015 Kardashian West and Kanye West watch the Balenciaga show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2015/2016 in Paris, France Getty Images March 11, 2015 Kanye West and Kim Kardashian arrive for the Louis Vuitton show as part of the Paris Fashion Week Womenswear Fall/Winter 2015/2016 in Paris, France Getty Images April 9, 2015 Kim and Kanye are seen talking their daughter, North, on a walk close to the Geghard Monastery in Armenia AFP/Getty Images World at Jazz Kim Kardashian and Kanye West attend the Time 100 Gala celebrating the Time 100 issue of the Most Influential People in New York, NY, USA AFP/Getty Images May 4, 2015 Kim and Kanye share a moment during the China: Through The Looking Glass Met Gala in New York, NY, USA Getty Images June 1, 2015 Kardashian and Kanye West pose upon arrival for the 2015 CFDA Fashion Awards in New York, NY, USA Getty Images August 30, 2015 Kim and Kanye arrive for the 2015 MTV Video Music Awards in Los Angeles, CA, USA Getty Images September 11, 2015 Kanye West and Kim Kardashian arrive for the Givenchy fashion show during Spring 2016 New York Fashion Week in New York, NY, USA Getty Images May 2, 2016 Kanye West fixes Kim's hair on the red carpet for Manus x Machina: Fashion In An Age Of Technology Met Gala in New York, NY, USA Getty Images August 28, 2016 Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend the 2016 MTV Video Music Awards in New York, NY, USA Getty Images September 7, 2016 Kanye West and Kim Kardashian arrive for the Kanye West Yeezy Season 4 fashion show in New York, NY, USA Getty Images September 9, 2016 Kim and Kanye have a cuddle on the red carpet for Harper's Bazaar's celebration of ICONS By Carine Roitfeld presented by Infor, Laura Mercier, and Stella Artois in New York, NY, USA Getty Images September 29, 2016 Kanye West joins Kim and her sister, Kourtney, for the Off-white 2017 Spring/Summer ready-to-wear collection fashion show in Paris, France AFP/Getty Images December 2, 2018 Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West attend the the Versace fall 2019 fashion show in New York, NY, USA Getty Images December 3, 2018 Kanye West and Kim Kardashian West arrive at The Cher Show Broadway Opening Night in New York, NY, USA Getty Images Last week, he qualified to appear on Oklahoma's presidential ballot, the first state where he met the requirements before the filing deadline. However, that deadline has passed in several states. West drew sharp criticism for his comments during Sunday's event about Harriet Tubman, one of the most revered figures in US history. Tubman was a 19th century abolitionist who led slaves to freedom. West said the Underground Railroad conductor "never actually freed the slaves, she just had them work for other white people". State Sen. John Velis first listening session with family members of veterans who died of COVID-19 contracted at the Soldiers Home in Holyoke lasted for more than three hours on Friday. There wasnt a dry eye in the house, according to the newly elected senator from Westfield one of six Western Massachusetts legislators appointed to a legislative oversight committee investigating an apparent management failure at the long-term care facility when coronavirus overtook patients and staff in late March. By June, 76 veterans had died and 84 survivors had tested positive for the virus, as did more than 80 staff members. Gov. Charlie Baker commissioned an independent analysis on the matter by Boston attorney Mark Pearlstein. The former federal prosecutor conducted 100 interviews, delved into 114,000 pages of records and concluded ousted Soldiers Home Superintendent Bennett Walsh failed miserably along with his top clinical staff. Walsh, fired the day the report was released in late June, argues state officials early criticisms were outrageous. His attorney has said publicly Walsh has been unfairly scapegoated. Bennett has scheduled a news conference Thursday. He held another conference May 26, releasing a stack of emails between Walsh and state officials that appeared to debunk early accusations Walsh was trying to hide the outbreak. At that time, the death toll at the Soldiers Home continued to climb. Pearlstein used words like catastrophic and baffling when assessing decisions top staff made during the early days of the crisis, also portraying state officials as checked out on the Soldiers Home until the crisis peaked. Velis said families of veterans reported watching helplessly, and in horror, until they were prevented from visiting their loved ones altogether. The family members, more so than anybody, were there when all this was happening, said Velis, a former state representative and combat veteran. You dont need a medical degree to make observations, and you better believe Im going to bring those observations back to Boston. Velis was named to the Special Joint Oversight Committee on the Holyoke Soldiers Home along with Sen. James T. Welch of West Springfield and state Reps. Joseph Wagner of Chicopee, Michael Finn of West Springfield, Aaron Vega of Holyoke and Mindy Domb of Amherst. All are Democrats. The western delegates will join 11 of their colleagues from eastern Massachusetts including Rep. Linda Dean-Campbell, D-Methuen, and Sen. Walter Timilty, D-Milton, who also head the legislatures Joint Committee on Veterans and Federal Affairs. The oversight committees review will occur in tandem with ongoing investigations by state Attorney Maura Healeys office and Massachusetts U.S. Attorney Andrew Lellings office. It is unclear whether those probes will take administrative or criminal paths, but sources with knowledge of the investigations say neither agency has yet to convene a grand jury. While the oversight committee has been afforded subpoena power, it also unclear how that may bump into potential criminal subpoenas by the other law enforcement agencies scrutinizing the crisis. Welch said he believes only one other legislative committee the Senate Committee on Post Audit and Oversight has been afforded such powers, and hes not sure whether that body has ever used them. I suppose the ability to use it is significant, but it should be used wisely and only in circumstances where appropriate, Welch said. Both he and Velis agreed the committee is uniquely positioned to make key decisions on future funding and policy changes relative to the Soldiers Home. If we make recommendations on funding and policy, I think we want to make sure its based on our own work, Welch said. Velis said that, unlike the Pearlstein report, which focused on what went wrong, he sees the legislative committee focused on making things right for future generations of veterans. He has homed in on women veterans, amputees and veterans who dodged the physical casualties of modern wars but suffer from the long-term mental and emotional tolls of combat. The committee has yet to schedule a meeting, but has a deadline of March 2021 to submit its initial report and list of recommendations. This can never happen again, Velis said. And the way you go about doing that is doing that deep dive into funding and looking into how more holistically to ensure how do we avoid this ever happening again? Related Content: A huge lag in the time it takes for Oregonians to learn if theyve tested positive for COVID-19 is severely hampering the states efforts to curb the rapid spread of the disease, state and local officials said Monday. In some cases, its taken up to 14 days for Oregonians to learn if theyve contracted the novel coronavirus, according to the Oregon Health Authority. By then, they might have already infected untold others during their most contagious period. By then, when public health officials finally call, those infected might already have forgotten some of the places and people theyd visited weeks earlier. Thats rendering contact tracing -- the system of tracking down all known contacts of the infected person to warn them to quarantine or get tested -- much less effective. This, of course, makes our ability to keep up with the virus very difficult, said Dr. Jennifer Vines, health officer for Multnomah County. Vines and other public health officials say a crucial window for containing the virus is being missed. One study found that people are most infectious about 17 hours before they start showing symptoms. On top of that, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, most people with mild or moderate symptoms probably are no longer contagious 10 days after they first started showing symptoms. Oregon officials say national shortages in testing kits and supplies have spurred the long delays for test results, especially as demand soars in hot spots such as Florida, Arizona, Texas and California. Nationally, labs also are reporting turnaround times of up to two weeks, when ideally test results should be available in 24 hours or less. Officials at the Oregon Health Authority say the lengthy delays arent just a fluke: Theyve been receiving widespread reports of extended turnaround time from commercial laboratories. Were working diligently on this issue, but given that the supply chain disruptions are national, this is a difficult problem to solve, said Dr. Melissa Sutton, senior health advisor at the Oregon Health Authority. The holdup appears to be mostly at commercial or private laboratories. The states public health lab is reporting turnaround times of one to three days. Vines, Multnomah Countys health officer, said the prolonged waits are coming at a time when the virus is reaching numbers never seen before in Oregon. On Sunday, Multnomah County broke its previous record for new cases, with 123 positive test results. That same day, the state reported 436 new cases -- one shy of the record set on Thursday. Monday, Vines pleaded with the public to take COVID-19 as seriously as they did in the first days of the pandemic, after the governor issued her statewide stay-at-home order on March 23. After the governor started lifting the order May 15, people relaxed many of the protocols that had kept the virus at bay: Refraining from socializing with others, especially indoors; keeping at least six feet from people they dont live with, avoiding travel, consistent mask wearing and frequent hand washing, Vines said. She said the virus transmission is accelerating because of the individual choices Oregonians make. Its people mixing with their close family and social contacts, probably letting down their guard in terms of distancing and masking and other precautions that may not feel natural to do around people you know well and consider loved ones, Vines said. Vines gave the example of friends renting an Airbnb together. She said returning to the workplace and sending children to daycare also is leading to the kind of social mixing that fuels the spread of this virus. Worsening the situation, public health officials are encountering a new reluctance among some people whove tested positive to shares the names of people theyve been in contact with, Vines said. Some businesses also have been unwilling to cooperate, she said. That could be contributing to an unsettling result: Contact tracers have been unable to track down the sources of 47% of the people whove been infected. Thats an all-time high since the state began reporting the data in early May -- and far above the threshold of 30% or less that the state has set as a goal to control the spread of the virus. In the Portland area encompassing Multnomah, Washington and Clackamas counties, the untraceable case figure is even higher: 54%, according to the latest figures available for the week of July 5-11. Public health officials say those figures also indicate that the virus is spreading uncontrolled in the community, in what they call sporadic spread. Vines said public health officials and the governors team are closely watching the situation. The ultimate decision about whether to rollback reopening of the state, however, rests solely with the governor. Were clearly headed the wrong way, and I think well be having some very active discussions this week on what will be the next steps, Vines said. Charles Boyle, a spokesman for Gov. Kate Brown, told The Oregonian/OregonLive in an email Monday that Oregons delays in testing result turnaround times are incredibly concerning. He also said the growth in cases across Oregon is alarming. But he didnt directly answer a question about what would prompt the governor to rollback the states reopening or issue an all-out stay-at-home order again. We are implementing targeted interventions such as wearing face coverings and maintaining physical distancing that are proven to be effective and can stop the spread of COVID-19 and keep our communities and businesses open if we all work together, Boyle wrote. However, if Oregons COVID-19 cases continue to rise further, Governor Brown will issue more restrictive measures to prevent our health care systems from being overwhelmed. Coronavirus in Oregon: Latest news | Live map tracker |Text alerts | Newsletter -- Aimee Green; agreen@oregonian.com; @o_aimee Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. History-Making DIY Pocket-Sized Storage Solution While small in form, the OWC Envoy Express is big news. For the first time ever in the history of Thunderbolt, users can buy a bus-powered Thunderbolt certified enclosure and install their own drive in it. Finally, a DIY kit that allows users to break free of pre-configured choice limits in order to build a pocket-sized storage solution that meets their specific needs. And rebuild it anytime those needs change. More options. More usability. More functionality.first and only from OWC. The Power of Build Your Own Options Build the Envoy Express with a brand-new drive for a fast boot drive. Re-task an existing drive replaced during an upgrade for added storage and backup capacity. Use Envoy Express to regain access to files on a drive removed from an inoperable machine. Whatever the reason for building a bus-powered Thunderbolt enclosure, Envoy Express has the power to make it happen. Backup, Play and Edit. Faster. Whether backing up growing photo and music libraries, sharing files, playing your favorite games and movies anywhere, even capturing and editing up to 8K video, the Envoy Express does it all. And it's built to support super-fast sustained data transfer rates up to 1553MB/soften faster than a machine's internal drive performance! Uses Today's and Tomorrow's Drives Designed to support any 2280 M.2 NVMe SSD, the Envoy Express gives users freedom of flexibility to use any drive today - including OWC Aura SSDs up to 4.0TB capacity - as well as being ready for tomorrow's 8.0TB, 16TB and future capacities without limit. Highlights Certified: first bus-powered enclosure meeting stringent Thunderbolt power requirements. Compatible with any Thunderbolt 3 or 4 equipped computer. DIY easy: uses any 2280 M .2 NVMe SSD available today and in the future .2 NVMe SSD available today and in the future Super-fast: supports up to 1553MB/s real-world performance 1 Convenient: ready to go with 10.2-inch Thunderbolt 3 cable Compact: shorter than a ballpoint pen and weighs only 3.3 ounces with drive Silent: runs cool and distraction-free Stylishly rugged: Black anodized aluminum provides "field-tough" data protection Gets onboard: includes back of laptop screen slide mount for safe, out-of-the-way use Gets Onboard with Macs and PCs When working space is limited, the Envoy Express mounting system is the solution. Today's office is where you make it - a cramped airplane seat, a tiny coffeeshop table, on your lap in a remote location. There's no power outlet and not enough room for an external drive. Besides being the industry's first Thunderbolt 3 bus-powered (no power adapter required) enclosure, the Envoy Express is the first to include a laptop mounting system. Super-strong, removable adhesive gel and a lightweight yet durable plastic holder secure the Envoy Express to the back of a Thunderbolt 3-equipped Mac or PC laptop screen. Need to share the Envoy Express? It can work cross-platform with Macs and PCs using OWC's MacDrive software. "The entire team at OWC is excited about this first-to-market offering of a bus-powered Thunderbolt certified enclosure," said Larry O'Connor, Founder and CEO of OWC. "We receive requests all of the time from customers as to what they need from OWC. Our development team and engineers worked closely with Intel on the Envoy Express, and we are proud to continue to bring our customers cutting-edge offerings that allow them to work to peak performance. The Envoy Express DIY kit allows OWC customers to build a certified ultra-portable storage solution that meets their exact needs. We have always prided ourselves on providing the best customer service, and now, with the ability to order and ship directly to our EU customers from our Belgium location, we are happy to say we can get the Envoy Express to them quickly and with none of the customs charges US orders would receive." OWC's Aura P12 SSDs provide a perfect fit for the Envoy Express, with an optimized blend of speed and reliability. With speeds up to 3400MB/s, the Aura P12s offer dependable speed and data protection for large media files including 8K video, high-res photos and audio files. With faster data transfer, users can quickly move to the next phase of their projects, worry-free. The Envoy Express comes complete with the tools required for easy drive installation. OWC also offers a wide variety of the toolkits users need to support servicing of Macs, PCs and other electronics. The OWC Envoy Express is available for pre-order now, with special, all taxes and delivery inclusive pricing of 79,00 for a limited time. Units begin shipping in August. For customers in the USA and other regions, the limited-time pre-order special is available here. OWC EU Headquarters, located in Belgium, offers shorter shipping times throughout Europe as well as local language customer service and warranty support. For sales, service or support, call 0031202610709 or email support@owc.eu. About OWC Other World Computing (OWC), founded in 1988, is dedicated to helping Mac and PC enthusiasts do more and reach higher. We believe in sustainability and OWC solutions are truly built to last, and enable users to maximize the technology investment they have already made. OWC's operation provides leadership in business sustainability, with our headquarters among the first in the world awarded LEED Platinum OWC features an award-winning technical support team as well as an unparalleled library of step-by-step DIY and informational videos. From the home desktop to the enterprise rack, to the audio recording studio to the motion picture set and beyond, there should be no compromise, and that is why OWC is here. Get social: follow OWC Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. 2020 Other World Computing, Inc. All rights reserved. Apple and Mac are the trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. Intel and Thunderbolt are trademarks of Intel Corporation registered in the U.S. and/or other countries. Other marks may be the trademark or registered trademark property of their respective owners. Disclosures #1: Drive not included. Performance results will vary depending on user-installed drive. 1553MB/s performance based on testing a 2.0TB OWC Aura Pro P12 equipped Envoy Express connected to an iMac Pro Late 2017 (iMacPro1,1) with 32GB RAM and 3.2GHz processor running AJA System Test (4K-Full resolution, 16GB file size, 10bit RGB codec, single file test). #Thunderbolt3 @getthunderbolt Photo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/1216471/envoy_express_hero.jpg Logo - https://mma.prnewswire.com/media/728366/OWC_Logo.jpg Related Links http://www.macsales.com SOURCE OWC Nouakchott, Mauritania (PANA) The International Organisation of Migration (OIM) has commended the Mauritanian government for its effort in curbing human trafficking and illegal trafficking of migrants Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 01:11:30|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close BUCHAREST, July 20 (Xinhua) -- An outbreak of COVID-19 was declared at a chicken slaughterhouse in Vaslui County, eastern Romania, with 59 of the employees tested positive, local health authorities confirmed on Monday. The cases were detected from about 100 who were sampled, after three employees were confirmed with the novel coronavirus last week and it was decided to test all those who came in contact with them, according to Mihaela Vlada, executive director of the Directorate of Public Health (DSP) in Vaslui County. The epidemiological investigation at this unit is currently underway, and a decision will be made on whether activities in the slaughterhouse should be halted, she added. Employees tested positive worked in different departments, and most likely the virus has spread because employees commute by the same minibus. "Most are asymptomatic. We organized the hospitalization of those who want to be hospitalized, otherwise they were isolated at home," Vlada told local media. This is not the only outbreak of coronavirus in meat processing factories or slaughterhouses in the eastern European country. A major meat processing plant in the western county of Timis was suspended on Saturday after 93 people had been diagnosed with COVID-19 over the past week. In fact, mass infections of COVID-19 have been detected in meat plants in several European countries and experts believe that a large number of people working close together indoors in a cold environment is very conducive to the proliferation of viruses, which might be a contributory cause. The COVID-19 epidemic has rebounded sharply in Romania since mid-June, with average daily new cases of 741, greatly surpassing the average of less than 200 cases per day in the first half of June. Enditem Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray is among the invitees for the Ram temple bhoomi pujan ceremony in Ayodhya, former NCP MP Majeed Memon said on Tuesday, but opined that head of a secular democracy should refrain from promoting a "particular religious activity. The 'bhoomi pujan' ceremony is scheduled to be held at Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to attend it on August 5. "Uddhav Thakrey is among invitees for bhoomi pujan of Ram Temple. He may participate respecting Covid 19 restrictions in his personal capacity. The head of a secular democracy should refrain from promoting a particular religious activity," Memon, who is also a lawyer, tweeted. The Shiv Sena, which has been pitching for construction of the temple for three decades, formed a government in Maharashtra with the ideologically-different NCP and Congress last year. Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut on Monday claimed his party paved the way to the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya and removed roadblocks in the temple construction for the cause of Hindutva and not for politics. It needs to be seen how many people will be invited for the temple's ground-breaking ceremony next month and what social distancing measures will be taken at the event (in view of the COVID-19 outbreak), Raut said. "What 'political social distancing' they will observe remains to be seen," he said. Chief of Police of Armenia Vahe Ghazaryan today held a video call with Ambassador of the European Union to Armenia Andrea Wiktorin. Ambassador Wiktorin greeted Vahe Ghazaryan and congratulated him on being appointed police chief. She expressed gratitude to the Police of Armenia for their excellent service in the fight against the coronavirus pandemic, touched upon the effective cooperation within the scope of the EU TAIEX and Eastern Partnership programs and presented the upcoming programs. Ghazaryan greeted the Ambassador, attached importance to the close cooperation and expressed gratitude for the support that the EU has provided for the to-be-created Patrol Service and the operational management center. The parties also discussed the activities being carried out to establish cooperation with Europol and the efforts being made to fight against domestic violence in Armenia, in the context of the fight against the pandemic. The leadership needs to put all other government business aside, control the pandemic and save human lives. Searchlights are going to be held by the world community in the weeks and months ahead as the fatality rates start shooting up and Indians die like flies, warns Ambassador M K Bhadrakumar. IMAGE: A health worker collects a swab sample in Mumbai, July 17, 2020. Photograph: Francis Mascarenhas/Reuters Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan publicly acknowledged on Friday, July 17, that community transmission has begun in certain coastal regions of the state. In essence, Pinarayi 'declassified' what must be a 'top secret' at the all-India level. The chief minister has chosen to be upfront on a sensitive issue, when his peer group is playing safe and is in denial mode. But how can a pandemic be fought when the rulers are in denial mode? The fact of the matter is that community transmission began quite some time ago in our country and has begun appearing lately in Kerala too. Pinarayi has been personally conducting the daily briefings on the march of the pandemic in his parish to educate the public opinion. Indeed, how do you fight a pandemic unless the public is aware of the gravity of the crisis? In Kerala, community transmission is limited at present to the fishing villages where social distancing norms are difficult to enforce, as fishermen are also 'migrant workers' who go wherever there is good catch. So, 'triple lockdown' has become necessary in select coastal areas to prevent the fishermen from travelling to neighbouring states where the pandemic is raging. Hasn't the time come for PM Modi to announce that community transmission has begun? Of course, it is unpleasant news. But the number of infected people crossed the 1 million mark in India on Thursday, July 16. At this rate, how can one take lightly the prognosis by the hugely prestigious Indian Institute of Science in Bengaluru that the number of infected cases will exceed 3.5 million by September 1 and could rise as high as 12 million (over 3 million 'active' cases and half a million fatalities) by November 1? The IISc study by a group of noted scientists says that by New Year, January 1, 2021, India would have possibly close to 30 million infected cases (over 6 million 'active' cases and 1 million fatalities). The pandemic is not expected to 'peak' before March next year. This is an apocalyptic scenario. The international community anticipates a massive crisis spiralling out of control and is closely watching India which counts for one-sixth of humanity. IMAGE: Medical personnel attend to a patient suffering from COVID-19 in the Intensive Care Unit at the Lok Nayak Jayaprakash hospital in New Delhi July 17, 2020. Photograph: Danish Siddiqui/Reuters The Newshour programme on BBC Radio World Service gave top billing to the pandemic ravaging India. The highlights of the discussion were as follows: The rate at which the infection is going up in India is 'worrisome'. There are many more infections that are to be counted beyond the official figures. Vast cities like Mumbai and Delhi are the worst hit but the pandemic is spreading to other cities and towns too and lockdown is being reimposed in some areas. The situation is 'absolutely bad' in Delhi where alongside the pandemic-related issues, there is also the collateral effect on people's lives. The migrant labourers who are trying to get back to their homes are hard up, as once again the government has stopped the transportation, the trains as well as the bus services. The migrant labourers who are trying to get back to their homes are hard up, as once again the government has stopped the transportation, the trains as well as the bus services. The number of migrant workers has only increased in Delhi. Most of them want to go back to their homes. The unemployment rate has drastically increased and many industries are refusing to take back their employees. The unemployment rate has drastically increased and many industries are refusing to take back their employees. The grim reality in Delhi is that massive unemployment is leading to hunger, and this is posing a graver challenge than the COVID-19 situation. The government has announced 'huge schemes and everything, but on the ground those schemes are yet to reach.' If the help doesn't reach the people within the month, 'it will become very difficult to handle the situation.' The government has announced 'huge schemes and everything, but on the ground those schemes are yet to reach.' If the help doesn't reach the people within the month, 'it will become very difficult to handle the situation.' Overall, there is a sharp increase of cases all over the country and the epidemiologists and scientists are of the opinion that the government needs to take a strong stand and admit there is community transmission so that steps are taken to see that the epidemic can be brought under control. Given the number of cases, community transmission is surely happening. The active states are concentrated in a few states and although there is a steady increase of cases all over the country, the 'alarming increase' is happening at present in a few states and there too, confined to a few districts. Perhaps, the government does not want to 'scare the public' by admitting there is community transmission and this could be one of the reasons behind this denial mode. Perhaps, the government does not want to 'scare the public' by admitting there is community transmission and this could be one of the reasons behind this denial mode. The fatality rate has not been high compared to other countries. But this is changing, as more tests are being conducted and more cases come to light and there is also an incidence of acute cases. Plus, the hospitals are 'getting flooded' and are increasingly unable to handle the severe cases. Therefore, the fatality rates are going up. Plus, the hospitals are 'getting flooded' and are increasingly unable to handle the severe cases. Therefore, the fatality rates are going up. Proportionately, the number of infected cases is relatively low, as compared to the United States and Brazil. But the reality is that India is facing 'a very precarious situation'. Since the infection cases are going up 'at a very alarming rate', the situation can 'go out of control at any point' from now onward. Since the infection cases are going up 'at a very alarming rate', the situation can 'go out of control at any point' from now onward. One problem is that people are not taking 'social distancing' seriously in the far-flung regions of India. Therefore, it is small comfort that India is doing relatively better than the US or Brazil as of now. The truth is that India is in 'a very precarious position' and needs to be 'very, very careful to make sure that the situation does not explode.' Things are going to get a lot worse before they get any better in India. If this account is anywhere near the truth, our leadership is behaving like an oligarchy by twiddling their thumbs, revelling in video conferences and Twitter exchanges at a time like this. Who are they kidding? The world community must be aware that the Indian people are grappling with an existential crisis and for a foreseeable future, the Indian economy will be in the doldrums, and its capacity to perform on the 'global commons' is severely restricted. To my mind, the leadership needs to put all other government business aside and begin to work on controlling the pandemic and saving human lives. All resources available with the central government must be deployed to this end. India's credibility as a democratic country is at stake here. The IISc study becomes a benchmark to judge the performance of the government. Searchlights are going to be held by the world community in the weeks and months ahead as the fatality rates start shooting up and Indians die like flies. p>Feature Production: Rajesh Alva/Rediff.com S cientists were "shocked" to discover crab bodies full of plastic fragments in the River Thames as a new study declared plastics contaminating the river a major issue. Separate studies from researchers at the Royal Holloway, University of London revealed the River Thames has some of the highest levels of microplastics compared to any other river in the world. The researchers estimated that 94,000 microplastics per second flow down the river at Greenwich. The quantity surpasses measures found in rivers such as the Danube in Germany and the Rhine in Romania. Ingested microplastics, which are defined as particles smaller than 5mm, were reported by the researchers in nine species of fish in the river, including 75 per cent of its European flounder population. "Flushable" wet wipes, glitter, masks, gloves, microbeads and food packaging were all found in water samples taken from Putney in south-west London and Greenwich in the south-east of the capital. Plastic waste lies on the banks of the River Thames by Hammersmith Bridge at low-tide / Getty Images The scientists also estimated that 5,041 microbeads which come from exfoliants in cosmetic products flow down the Thames every second at Greenwich. The researchers added that it was unsurprising that microplastics had been found in 80 per cent of Londons tap water. One of the studies involved examining 135 crabs from the River Thames which revealed that 95 per cent of mitten crabs had tangles of plastic in their stomach. These tangles can fill the crab's stomachs and lessen the need to feed, restricting growth for the wildlife. A volunteer joins a clean-up operation in Putney / PA The scientists removed 874 tangles of plastic from their bodies, with each tangle consisting of up to 100 pieces of plastic. Fragments of sanitary pads, balloons, elastic bands and carrier bags were among the materials found in the crabs' stomachs. Typically, microplastic ingestion is low in many species, with the exception of some groups, such as seabirds," said researcher Alex McGoran. "Upon bringing these crabs back to the labs at Natural History Museum, it was shocking to find that they were full of plastic. "Tangles of plastic were particularly prevalent in the invasive Chinese mitten crab and we still dont fully understand the reason for this. We propose that when crabs moult (shedding their exoskeleton to grow) that plastic is trapped in the discarded gut lining." Wildlife on the Thames 1 /8 Wildlife on the Thames Seals (pictured) have been spotted between Tower Bridge and Westminster and there have also been nearly 100 sightings of dolphin on the Thames Jonathan Kemeys/ZSL Pictured are seals spotted in June last year as part of the seal survey Jonathan Kemeys/ZSL Pictured is an oyster cultch. ZSL now has an annual grey and harbour seal census, a European eel monitoring and oyster restoration project as well as many citizen-science initiatives ZSL Pictured are native oysters. The Thames is now home to 125 species of fish, including perch, carp, pike and bream ZSL Pictured are native oysters from the Thames ZSL Fisherman with a basket of native oysters ZSL Katharine Rowley focused her studies on examining microplastics in the water of the River Thames. Her study found that 93.5 per cent of microplastics in the water were formed from larger plastic items, with food packaging believed to be the main source. Three of Londons major institutes, Royal Holloway, the Natural History Museum and the Zoological Society of London came together to collaborate on the research. Professor Dave Morritt from the Department of Biological Sciences at Royal Holloway, said: Taken together these studies show how many different types of plastic, from microplastics in the water through to larger items of debris physically altering the foreshore, can potentially affect a wide range of organisms in the River Thames. Thames Water remove 40 tonne fatberg from sewer The increased use of single-use plastic items, and the inappropriate disposal of such items, including masks and gloves, along with plastic-containing cleaning products, during the current Covid-19 pandemic, may well exacerbate this problem." The Thames is the UKs second longest river, stretching about 215 miles (346km) across southern England. It drains the whole of Greater London and its tidal section is said to be home to some 125 species of fish. Professor Morritt added that Thames Water has recently reported a spike in wet-wipe blockages of sewer systems. We must not forget that, although these studies illustrate the problem on a local scale, plastic pollution is very much a global issue," he said. Anna Cucknell, ZSLs Thames Project Manager, expressed concerns of the impact of plastic pollution on seal species, sharks and seahorses and the critically endangered European eel that call the Thames Estuary home. Plastic pollution is devastating for aquatic ecosystems and I was shocked by the densities we found," said Ms Cucknell. "Our study showed the majority of microplastics in the Thames are created by larger plastic items breaking down which is why the #OneLess campaign, led by ZSL and partners, is working to reduce single use plastic water bottles in London. "To date it has eliminated 4.4 million single-use plastic water bottles from London's supply chains and removed 114,000 from the Thames. "Thanks to decades of conservation two species of seal and more than 100 species of fish including sharks, seahorses and the Critically Endangered European eel, call the Thames Estuary home. We must not let plastic pollution threaten their survival. Felony charges have been filed against a St. Louis couple who pointed guns at protesters marching past their home last month in an episode that was captured on video and drew the attention of a divided nation, including President Donald Trump. The couple, Mark and Patricia McCloskey, were charged Monday by the Circuit Attorneys Office in St. Louis with unlawful use of a weapon, exhibiting. The charge is a Class E felony that carries a possible penalty of up to four years in prison. The circuit attorney in St. Louis, Kimberly M. Gardner, said the couple created a dangerous situation involving peaceful, unarmed protesters. It is illegal to wave weapons in a threatening manner at those participating in nonviolent protest, she said in a statement. Gardner, a Democrat, said she would not seek jail time for the couple were they to be convicted, but rather would seek to place them in a diversion program, like community service. Late Monday night, the attorney general of Missouri, Eric Schmitt, a Republican, filed a motion to have the charges against the McCloskeys dismissed, saying in a statement that state law provides broad rights to Missourians who are protecting their property and lives from those who wish to do them harm. In a statement, the couples lawyer, Joel J. Schwartz, called the charges disheartening. He said that his clients, who are personal injury lawyers, support freedom of speech. However, he added that it must be balanced with the Second Amendment and Missouri law, which entitle each of us to protect our home and family from potential threats. The governor of Missouri, Mike Parson, a Republican, has come to the couples defence, saying in a radio interview that he would most likely pardon them and that I dont think theyre going to spend any time in jail. The couple recently appeared at a virtual campaign event for Trump, who said last week that prosecution of the couple was a disgrace. Asked about Parsons comment about a possible pardon for the couple if they are convicted, Gardner said, Right now, its still an open case so theres been no disposition to pardon. I think thats a waste of taxpayer dollars to look at this issue when there has not been a final disposition, she added. Sen. Josh Hawley of Missouri, a Republican, called for a civil rights investigation into Gardner last week, contending that the pending case is a politically motivated attempt to punish this family for exercising their Second Amendment rights. The Circuit Attorneys Office responded to Hawleys call on Twitter, saying that it was baseless and that Gardner would not be bullied by a U.S. senator or anyone else. Gardner said Monday that the call for a Justice Department inquiry was a failed distraction by leadership, from the White House down to the governor, from the coronavirus pandemic. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department, who previously said it was reviewing the senators request, did not immediately return a call Monday night seeking comment. On June 28, protesters marched past the McCloskeys home, which is on a private street, on their way to the home of Mayor Lyda Krewson, a Democrat, who lives nearby. Krewson had angered local residents after she read the names and addresses of people who said the police should be defunded on Facebook Live. As demonstrators passed the house, Mark McCloskey, 63, held a semi-automatic rifle and Patricia McCloskey, 61, held a semi-automatic handgun, according to the complaint and probable cause statement from the prosecutors office. Both pointed their weapons at the protesters, the prosecutors office said. Patricia McCloskeys finger was on the trigger and she acted with an excited demeanour, the office noted. Mark McCloskey has said he and his wife feared for their lives. He said in an interview last month with KSDK, a local television station, I really thought it was storming the Bastille, that we would be dead and the house would be burned and there was nothing we could do about it. He continued: It was a big crowd and they were aggressive, wearing body armour and screaming at us and threatening to harm us. And how they were going to be living in our house after they kill us. In the interview, Mark McCloskey said he supported the Black Lives Matter movement. The McCloskeys have a long history of conflict with others over private property, according to The St. Louis Post-Dispatch, which reviewed public records for a report on the couple last week. Researchers at EPFL are able to get paralyzed rodents walking again by stimulating the animals' damaged spinal cords. This promising treatment has already helped paraplegics regain mobility during clinical trials at Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). Now, using artificial intelligence, the researchers can pinpoint which neurons are involved in the gait reacquisition process. The results, which have been published in Nature Biotechnology, could lead to the development of new approaches, making treatments even more effective, as well as paving the way for advances in other areas of biomedical research. Rodent spinal cords - like those of human beings - contain some 50 different types of nerve cells, or neurons. Not all of these cells, however, respond in the same way to the gait recovery treatment developed at EPFL, which is based on a combination of exercises and electrical and chemical spinal cord stimulation. By precisely identifying the types of neurons involved, however, researchers can better understand what happens at a cellular level when these stimuli result in immediate gait recovery. They can then specifically target those neurons that are activated by stimulation, thereby boosting the treatment's effectiveness. As part of these efforts, Gregoire Courtine's laboratory has developed a machine learning method that can be applied to any kind of single-cell technology, and identify which cells are most important for the task at hand. The application of this method to single-cell biology is particularly exciting as techniques such as single-cell RNA sequencing provide precise cell-by-cell measurements of all the genes a cell could express, allowing researchers to pinpoint the key cellular mechanisms. The scientists compared their results using two groups of mice: ones that had relearned how to walk after a spinal cord injury and those that remained paralyzed in their lower limbs due to a lack of treatment. However, when such a treatment could change the expression of thousands of genes, identifying within these massive datasets the specific neurons that aid in the mice's recovery is a challenging problem. To tackle this, Courtine's team developed a machine-learning method. Dubbed Augur, it is capable of learning to pinpoint the cell types that best account for differences between two conditions by automatically considering the expression levels of thousands of genes. Augur provides a priority score, predicting which cells display the greatest differences between paralyzed mice and those that have regained mobility. When Augur prioritizes a certain type of neuron, it means that that neuron is critical to gait recovery induced by electrochemical stimulation. Conversely, neurons that are not prioritized by Augur behave in a similar manner in mobile and non-mobile mice and therefore probably do not play a major role in the response to treatment. It is a robust statistical method that can be applied to any perturbation. The more accurately Augur can assign a particular type of neuron to the two groups of mice, the more relevant those particular nerve cells are. They are therefore more likely to be involved in gait recovery." Michael Skinnider and Jordan Squair, paper's two first authors Using this method, the researchers were able to identify a type of neuron that plays an important role in gait recovery in mice. They can now observe the mechanisms at work in greater detail, and also target them with pharmacological treatment to increase the overall effectiveness. This method will be of interest to many biomedical studies, according to Courtine: "Whether you are working on cancer, Crohn's disease, COVID, or multiple sclerosis, the central question remains the same, what type of cell is at the source of the problem? Our method speeds up the investigative process, and for this reason we have made Augur freely available." By Azernews By Ayya Lmahamad Presidential Aide Shahmar Movsumov has said that the strict quarantine regime in the country might be eased after August if there is positive trend over COVID-19. Addressing the Operational Headquarters briefing on July 20, Movsumov said that positive trend is already visible with the number of recoveries being more than the number of new infection cases, adding that more economic spheres of the economy will be resumed if the positive trend continues. We will gradually move to the opening of all areas of activity, but it is necessary to make sure that the conditions for the transition to the strict quarantine regime are not created again, he added. "Recent statistics show that the number of recoveries is increasing and the number of those infected is declining. We hope that this trend will continue. This is the result of the efforts of each of us, of the society as a whole. The more positive the trend is, the more activity will be resumed in more areas. This time, hairdressing salons and a number of other spheres of activity have been opened, he said. Movsumov stressed that in the next phases, the transition to quarantine regime mitigation will be gradual. Touching upon reopening beaches and borders to countrys regions, presidential aide stressed that this was a very risky step, as it could increase the rate of virus spread. Moreover, he emphasized that to date, support in the amount of AZN 95.6 million has been provided to preserve the salaries of more than 212,000 hired workers. In addition, AZN 63 million was sent to support micro-entrepreneurs, and AZN 254 million was paid to 689,000 people in social sphere. Movsumov called on every citizens to follow the quarantine rules everyday. Presidential aide added that today Azerbaijan is fighting on several fronts. "Today we are fighting Armenians in the Tovuz direction, another direction is the fight against coronavirus. Together we will win on all fronts, Movsumov stressed. A white man was recorded hurling racist abuse at an African-American sanitation worker in Manhattan's Upper East Side over the weekend, before assaulting a bystander who filmed the disturbing exchange. The incident occurred on East 85th Street, between First and York Avenue at approximately 6pm on Saturday. The man appears to be frustrated by a traffic up ahead and is seen getting out from his silver 2009 Pontiac Vibe to confront the source of the obstruction. 'Hey yo, it'll be smart to get out of the middle of the street a**hole,' the man is heard yelling toward a sanitation worker situated further down the street, who is not in frame. 'F***ing n*****,' he remarked, as he climbed back into his vehicle, which bears Connecticut license plates. Scroll down for video A white man was recorded hurling racist abuse at an African-American sanitation worker in Manhattan's Upper East Side over the weekend The man appears to be frustrated by a traffic up ahead and is seen getting out from his silver 2009 Pontiac Vibe to confront the source of the obstruction As the man climbs into the car, he notices a man recording him from the sidewalk. 'Are you recording me?' he asks the bystander, before asking him why he's pointing a camera in his face. The bystanders clarifies that he's recording 'because you're an a**hole.' 'I'm an a**hole? Honey, look in the mirror okay. The only person who is an a**hole is you for recording,' the man retorts, while holding a cigarette in his hand. The bystander sarcastically remarks, 'Oh you are so fierce,' in response to the driver's insults. 'I know. I am, thank you. Are you gay too?' the man asks. 'No? Well you look like it.' The man then quizzes the bystander what he intends to do with the recording. When the bystander responds that he intends to post it online, the man laughs, before adding: 'Okay. I'll get fans, honey. That's what I'll do.' Seemingly no longer sure about his declaration, the man threatens to 'beat the s***' out of the bystander, before exiting his vehicle and then approaching him. 'What am I going to do? What am I going to do?' he tells the bystander, his voice growing more agitated. 'I'm going to take you f***ing phone' he tells him, before pulling the device out of his hand. A second angle captured by another onlooker shows the man assaulting the bystander and throwing his phone across the street. 'I'm an a**hole? Honey, look in the mirror okay. The only person who is an a**hole is you for recording,' the man retorts, while holding a cigarette in his hand A second angle captured by another onlooker shows the man assaulting the bystander and throwing his phone across the street. Prior to the recording, the man is alleged to have repeatedly racially abused the sanitation worker, yelling 'you're a n*****', prompting several nearby residents to race down to the street. City Council candidate and Brooklyn Black Lives Matter organizer Anthony Beckford tweeted the video, calling the man a 'racist on the Upper East Side.' 'This racist called a Black NY Sanitation worker the n-word. I will not tolerate that ever. After putting out the call, we were able to identify the racist aggressor. White man caught on video screaming n-word. He attacked the pedestrian filming him,' he said. DailyMail.com has not yet been able to verify the man's identity. The video has since been viewed hundreds of thousands of times on social media, with thousands condemning the racist behavior depicted. Numerous members of the LGBTQ community were quick to disavow the man, saying he didn't represent the views of the community and was no longer welcome in it. 'A gay man who knows oppression yells a racial slur then assaults an individual for filming his actions,' one user wrote. 'This individual needs to be caught and charged with a hate crime and aggravated assault This young man needs to look back at his own gay history. Back in the day up until present, minorities have united.' 'This breaks my heart,' opined another. 'As a gay man he should know how hard we have fought and continue to fight for our rights and he should be on the right side of history by lifting up black people instead of using racial slurs. I am ashamed of him and I'm ashamed he is part of my community.' Three COVID-19 patients were declared to have recovered on July 20 (Photo: VNA) Hanoi A Russian expert has tested positive for COVID-19 after his arrival in Vietnam, raising the national tally to 384 as of 6pm on July 20, announced the National Steering Committee on COVID-19 Prevention and Control. The 27-year-old man landed at Tan Son Nhat international airport in Ho Chi Minh City on July 11 and had been put under quarantine right upon his arrival. After moving to a quarantine area in the southern province of Ba Ria - Vung Tau, he tested negative to the SARS-CoV-2 that causes COVID-19 on July 13. Five days later, he showed symptoms of fever, sore throat and back pain. His sample was sent to the Pasteur Institute in HCM City and he was found to be positive for the virus. Earlier, nine patients on the same flight were found positive for COVID-19 and had gone into quarantine in Ba Ria - Vung Tau. Vietnam marked the 95th straight day without community transmission of the COVID-19 on July 20. Up to 244 of the 384 confirmed patients are imported cases who were quarantined upon arrival. On the day, three more patients were declared to have recovered, bringing the number of recoveries to 360, and there are no related deaths. Most of the remainders are in stable condition, including four negative for the virus once and another at least twice. There are 11,697 people having close contact with confirmed cases or coming from pandemic-hit areas in quarantine at present, including 141 in hospitals, 10,486 in other quarantine sites, and 1,070 at home or accommodation facilities. Blurring the lines between beauty and Pharma, founder Amy Gallant Sullivan created an intellectually sleek brand ethos, where the logo is the maxim. "We're expanding the toxic beauty conversation to preserve the homeostasis of the eyes," said Gallant Sullivan. Having worked in the field of ocular surface disease for two decades, she discovered an unmet need for eye-friendly products to address the burgeoning vanity-inspired-wellness trend. With determination to ameliorate the deleterious effects of cosmetics on the eye's ocular surfacewithout sacrificing function and stylea brand was born. "We've poured decades of eye science into this line to inspire radiance and confidence, without compromising eye health," expounded Gallant Sullivan. Uniquely formulated for sensitive eyes and skin, contact lens wearers, and sufferers of dry eye disease and digital eye strain, the brand wins backing from leading eye care specialists. Gallant Sullivan collaborated with laboratories in the U.S., Canada, and Italy to realize the brand's full spectrum. "In our 'new normal' world, the eyes are more vulnerable than ever," said Ophthalmologist Christopher E. Starr, Assoc. Professor of Ophthalmology at Weill Cornell Medical Center in New York City. "The exponential increase in screen time, lower indoor humidity, and airflow from the top of masks have led to alarming rates of ocular surface dysfunction and eye dryness. With ubiquitous mask-wearing, our eyes are now the primary means of facial identification, triggering a greater attention to vanity. Ironically, the cosmetics many reach for can ultimately damage their eyes and eyelids. Today, your eyes really are the story, and in order to keep them feeling and looking their best, I recommend EYES ARE THE STORY." Incubated by FRANCELAB Beauty Architects (a Marie Claire Group subsidiary in New York, Paris, Hong Kong), EYES ARE THE STORY has more than 100 affiliates lined up to sell. Optometrist and investor Dr. Bridgitte Shen Lee is excited to offer EYES ARE THE STORY to patients at her Houston practice and its online store. "My dry eye patients are very happy with these products because they can wear makeup and contacts comfortably all day again," said Shen Lee. "With the seductively modern design of EYES ARE THE STORY packaging, they leave my clinic with a similar feeling as when they're walking out of an Apple Store or a La Perla boutique." Gallant Sullivan anticipates her two-tier strategy of clinical practice retail and e-commerce direct selling will bear fruit, and is already seeing demand from a more conscientious beauty buyer in the wake of COVID-19. Products are vegan, cruelty free, and formulated according to EU regulations, banning more than 1,300 ingredients frequently found in mainstream cosmetics. The full collection of EYES ARE THE STORY is available online and sold exclusively in select eyecare and dermatology practices throughout North America. Gallant Sullivan is building out a self-care ecosystem that fuses safe beauty, hormonal health, eye nutrition, ocular hygiene and digital eye awareness all told through the prism of EYES. Get more of The Story at eyesarethestory.com SOURCE EYES ARE THE STORY Related Links https://eyesarethestory.com PORTLAND, Ore. - He came to the protest with a question. He left with two broken bones in a confrontation with federal officers that went viral. Christopher David had watched in horror as videos surfaced of federal officers in camouflage throwing Portland Ore., protesters into unmarked vans. The 53-year-old Portland resident had heard the stories: protesters injured, gassed, sprayed with chemicals that tugged at their nostrils and burned their eyes. David, a graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy and former member of the Navy's Civil Engineer Corps, said he wanted to know what the officers involved thought of the oath they had sworn to protect and defend the Constitution. So, he said, on Saturday evening, he headed to downtown Portland to ask them. That night's protests outside the federal courthouse - the 51st day of ongoing demonstrations - began with a line of local moms linking arms and demanding the federal agents stop targeting Portland kids. David, who had never attended a protest before, hung back and watched. He was trying to keep his distance, he said, as a host of health problems have made him especially vulnerable amid a still-raging coronavirus pandemic. He asked one woman when the feds would show up, but she said it was also her first protest since the Department of Homeland Security deployed tactical units from U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement and U.S. Customs and Border Protection to bolster protections for federal buildings and officers in the Pacific Northwest city. Just as he was about to leave, David said, the federal officers emerged. They rushed a line of protesters nearby, knocking protesters to the ground. David walked toward a gap in the line, calling out to the officers. "Why are you not honoring your oath?" he bellowed. "Why are you not honoring your oath to the Constitution?" An officer trained his weapon on David's chest as several agents pushed him, sending David stumbling backward. But he regained his center and tried again. Another agent raised his baton and began to beat David, who stood unwavering with his arms at his sides. Then another officer unloaded a canister of chemical irritant spray into David's face. That was all he could handle, David said, he turned and walked away, flipping off the federal forces as he went. A video taken by Portland Tribune reporter Zane Sparling that captures David's moment of resistance has, as of early Monday, been viewed nearly 9 million times. Unable to see from the chemicals burning his eyes and blurring his vision, David said, he stumbled into a cloud of gas that made him cough and retch. He found his way to a bench in the park, where a street medic aided him and eventually pulled him away from the advancing officers. Special Investigation 147 NY dams are 'unsound,' potentially dangerous Thousands of dams have not been inspected in over 20 years. At the hospital, he said, he learned his right hand had been broken in two places. In the time since, he has been hailed on social media as a hero. Some have dubbed him Portland's own man of steel, a defender of the city, an anti-fascist super-soldier. David said he is none of those things. "It's just us normal people out there," he said. "There were a whole group of pregnant moms standing out there linking arms and they got gassed. You hear people like [President] Trump say it's just a bunch of wacko fringe people in liberal cities who are out there, but no way. We're all just normal people who think what's happening is wrong." Ukraine's president says a hostage situation in his country is "under control". An armed man seized a long-distance bus and took people in it hostage in Lutsk, northwestern Ukraine, on Tuesday launching an hours-long standoff with police. Zelenskiy held a joint news conference with Swiss President Simonetta Sommaruga after holding talks in Kyiv. He also said Switzerland has agreed to help people affected by the conflict in eastern Ukraine. Zelenskiy stated Switzerland would aid drinking water supplies and infrastructure projects. Sommaruga's visit to Ukraine is her first foreign trip since the coronavirus pandemic. The meeting with Zelenskiy was planned for March 2020 but postponed because of the outbreak. (Image Credit Pixabay) Democrat Joe Biden urged Muslim Americans on Monday to join him in the fight to defeat President Donald Trump as he addressed an online summit hosted by the advocacy organisation Emgage Action to mobilise Muslim voters ahead of the presidential election. I want to earn your vote not just because he's not worthy of being president, the presumptive presidential nominee told participants. I want to work in partnership with you, make sure your voices are included in the decision-making process as we work to rebuild our nation. Biden also reiterated a pledge to overturn a Trump administration ban on travellers from several predominantly Muslim countries, calling it vile. Wa'el Alzayat, CEO of Emgage Action, said by email that the organisation was seeking to maximise Muslim American turnout in key battleground states. In Michigan alone one of the states where the organisation has chapters and where Trump won in 2016 by fewer than 11,000 votes he said he believed there are more than 150,000 registered Muslim voters. Several prominent Muslim American elected officials endorsed Biden for president in a letter organised by Emgage Action ahead of the summit. Among those who signed the letter are Minnesota Rep. Ilhan Omar, Minnesota Attorney General Keith Ellison and Indiana Rep. Andre Carson, all Democrats. Omar, one of the first Muslim women elected to Congress, served as a high-profile surrogate for Bernie Sanders before he exited the presidential race in April making her support for Biden potentially helpful as the former vice president seeks to mobilise Muslim voters this fall. Muslim American voices matter to our communities, to our country, Biden said. But we all know that your voice hasn't always gotten recognised or represented. Emgage Action has titled the event Million Muslim Votes, underscoring its emphasis on boosting Muslim turnout in November. Joe Biden's presence serves not only to galvanise Muslim Americans to cast their ballots but to usher in an era of engaging with Muslim American communities under a Biden administration, Alzayat said by email before the summit. The pro-Biden letter from Muslim American elected officials decried a number of Trump's domestic and international policies, including his administration's travel ban and his pullout from the Iran nuclear deal. A Biden administration will move the nation forward on many of the issues we care about, the letter said, citing racial justice, affordable health care, climate change and immigration. The Muslim American officials also praised Biden's agenda for their communities. Among other goals, Biden has vowed to rescind the travel ban affecting Muslims on Day One if he's elected. In his address, he pledged to include Muslim American voices in his administration, if elected, and to speak out against human rights abuses against Muslim minorities around the world. I'll continue to champion the rights of Palestinians and Israelis to have a state of their own as I have for decades, each of them a state of their own, he said. Other states- and local-level Muslim American officials signing onto the pro-Biden letter hail from several states, including Michigan. Elsa Hernandez, a mother of two children, lives with her husband in a two bedroom apartment paying $2613 a month in rent in the Mission District in San Francisco. (Gary Coronado/Los Angeles Times) At least once a week in the mornings, Elsa Hernandez walks the mile from her apartment to the Mission Language and Vocational School, sometimes falling in line behind hundreds of other Latinos picking up groceries from the Mission Food Hub. But on a recent Thursday afternoon, she stood in a different line near the hub. Wearing a mask, her red glasses propped on her head, Hernandez, 44, a longtime resident of San Francisco's Mission District, took a COVID-19 test under a tent, while dozens of others waited their turn. We, as Latinos, dont have the opportunity to work from home, said Hernandez, a housekeeper who was seeking her second test in part because the pandemic has hit her community so hard. Elsa Hernandez helps her son Mathew Reyes with online schooling at their apartment in the Mission District in San Francisco. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) A Times analysis has found that across California, people of color have been hit disproportionately hard by the coronavirus, with Latino residents three times more likely to test positive than white residents. At least part of the inequity can be explained by the large numbers of Latino and Black Californians who serve as essential workers, unable to do their jobs from home and therefore more at risk of exposure to the virus. Some of those with the lowest pay are reluctant to get regularly tested out of fear they could lose their job with a single positive test. In San Francisco's Mission District, a community task force aims to address those fears and help essential workers through hard times. From left, San Francisco State University nursing instructor Linda Mariscal and nursing students Philip Valdivia, Luis Villafranca, Annie Chen and Kathryn Domingo before they give COVID-19 tests to residents of the Mission District. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) The Latino Task Force successfully advocated for a citywide wage replacement program to encourage people to stay home and quarantine if they test positive. Public policy and labor experts say this "right-to-recover program" provides a social safety net for workers, especially as states across the U.S., including California, see a spike in cases. People are willing to expose themselves because they have to live, they have to survive, said Jon Jacobo, who chairs the task forces health committee, which partnered with UC San Francisco to conduct a study in the Mission to test Latinos. The program, he said, aims to give people an incentive to stay home and not have to worry about paying bills. Story continues Formed after San Francisco's original stay-at-home order was implemented in March, the task force, comprising four women and one man, originally focused on urging people to wash their hands. But as the need has grown, so have their efforts. They now help people apply for healthcare coverage, rental assistance and unemployment. Most recently, they pushed for a COVID-19 testing site at the cultural center on Alabama Street, where volunteers hand out boxes of food to about 7,000 families each week. Many of the volunteers are sometimes on the receiving end of the help. In San Francisco, the Mission District is home to most of the city's Latino population, and the neighborhood's rich history of activism and culture is depicted on the many murals that line the streets. It's the hardest-hit ZIP Code in a city where Latinos have paid the pandemic's steepest price. In San Francisco, Latinos account for 15% of the population but make up nearly half of all positive COVID-19 cases. Prior to the pandemic, longtime residents of the Mission were struggling with San Francisco's other crisis: gentrification. Rising rents had pushed thousands out of the neighborhood and forced some families to double up in overcrowded dwellings, adding to the risks once the coronavirus arrived. In Hernandez's case, she worked three to four days a week cleaning homes. Now, shes hanging on to four cleanings a month not enough to pay bills and rent and feed her two sons and husband, who works in construction. We, as Latinos, dont have the opportunity to work from home. Elsa Hernandez, housekeeper Because she is undocumented, she cannot rely on the government programs that are keeping some Americans afloat. Under the CARES Act, many Americans received a check for $1,200, but millions of others were left out. California began offering $500 stimulus checks to residents without legal immigration status, but that money is still being disbursed. On a recent Friday afternoon, Hernandez stayed home with her sons, Dylan, 12, and Mathew, 5. At lunchtime, she joined Mathew for a call with his teacher and classmates on a laptop. Mathew munched on a taco de huevos and slurped on a Popsicle as he caught up with his friends. When the pandemic first hit, Hernandez and her husband dug into their emergency funds to cover their bills, because her work had stopped completely. She had no paid sick leave, and none of her clients offered to keep paying her when they asked her to stay away. She said she has not applied for services like food stamps because she doesnt want to become a "public charge." She and her husband pay $2,613 monthly to rent a two-bedroom apartment, and that will probably go up. She said she has considered moving away after living in the city for 16 years but feels drawn to San Francisco and her neighborhood, where she feels supported by the community and sees leaders like those in the task force advocating for people like her. I have lived in other cities, and none of the services that we have here are accessible in those places, she said. Yes, this is an expensive city, but the truth is, there are truly a lot of services here that you can access. Its a very kindhearted city. Josefina Coronado of San Francisco takes a COVID-19 test administered by Annie Chen, a nursing student at San Francisco State University. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) In April, a UC San Francisco study confirmed what many task force organizers already suspected: Low-wage working Latinos were among the most vulnerable to the coronavirus in the city because sheltering in place was largely not an option. Of the people who tested positive, 95% were Latino; more than 80% of those who tested positive made less than $50,000 a year. One task force member, Valerie Tulier-Laiwa, said the group negotiated with the public health department to start testing at the cultural hub so that Latinos, who make up two-thirds of the neighborhood's population, could be screened while seeking food or other help. Cesar Moran waits to receive a COVID-19 test at the Mission Language and Vocational School. A UC San Francisco study shows that economic factors fueled COVID-19 transmission in Latino essential workers and their families. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) When people live in poverty, they don't just have one problem or one issue, said Tulier-Laiwa, who grew up in the Mission but was forced out during a wave of gentrification. There are multiple issues impacting people who are poor. So for us, we know that it's not enough for them to receive results. There needs to be follow-through, too, she said. On a recent Wednesday morning, Mission District resident Yani Gonzalez arrived at the school at 6:15 a.m., an hour before volunteers showed up, to stake her place in line. The line wrapped around the block and down for several more, with people standing six feet apart. That day, Gonzalez, who has been out of a job for two months and just received her first unemployment check, took home a box of vegetables, fruit, chicken and a gallon of milk just before 11 a.m. The surprise item was a box of Velveeta macaroni and cheese. But the real prize, said Roberto Y. Hernandez, the task force member who started the food pantry in his garage before the group took over its warehouse space, is la masa. Hernandez said the senoras in line will often ask whether the corn flour, a home staple, is available that day. It's important for him to source food that is part of the culture of Latino families, Hernandez said. Over the years, Hernandez has decried gentrification and advocated for affordable housing units. In some cases, people are set up in tents behind homes and charged rent, he said, or crowded into any space they can get, from closets to garages. Volunteer Margarita Gonzalez prepares boxes of food to be distributed to some 1,800 families by the Mission Food Hub. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) You go from one crisis to the corona crisis, he said. Hes on the front lines with the task force, providing for the Mission District residents being left behind by government programs, often immigrant Latinos. We know nobody else will do it for us. The government has failed us on a local level, on a state level, on a federal level, he said. When it came to finding a solution to keep workers quarantined at home, the task force found an ally in Supervisor Hillary Ronen. Jacobo, chair of the task forces health committee, said they had already been raising money privately to replace lost wages for people who tested positive, when Ronen, who sits on an oversight committee for the citys emergency fund, Give2SF, suggested tapping that for the program. With $2 million, they created the right-to-recover program, which doesnt require information about immigration or current employment status. They began disbursing funds in July, she said, and so far, more than 200 people 81% of them Latino have qualified. While the idea was born in the Mission, residents in other areas, like Bayview, a historically Black neighborhood, and Chinatown, which is predominantly Asian, can also apply. Nothing happens this quickly in San Francisco, Ronen said. But because the money is coming from donors, the task force was able to bypass a long implementation process. Were just really trying to make it possible for people to rest and get better and quarantine. Jamila Michener, co-director of the Cornell Center for Health Equity, said essential workers often face choosing between the lesser of two evils. Pedestrians on 24th Street in the Mission District. The mural in the background, "Alto al Fuego en la Mision" (Ceasefire in the Mission), is dedicated to victims of police shootings and immigration violence. (Gary Coronado / Los Angeles Times) Nobody wants to go to work when they think they have COVID-19 and expose people. But if the choice is between that and seeing your children go hungry, you will expose people to this virus," said Michener, who teaches about race, public policy and poverty. But she questioned the program's reliance on its current source of funding. "I dont think that the survival, the access to basic resources and the human dignity of people" should be dependent on the generosity of wealthy people, she said. The future of the program will rely on philanthropy. Joaquin Torres, director of the San Francisco Office of Economic and Workforce Development, said that with the city facing a $1.5-billion budget deficit, officials will look to donors to keep the program going once the $2 million runs out. Once the funds are out and they identify the need, we can go back out to philanthropy and say, this is an absolutely viable, valuable program that serves the communities in need, said Torres, whose office is supportive of but not part of the Latino Task Force. The actions of the task force have inspired others like Raymond Whitley, a 31-year-old Bayview resident, who said the struggles of the Latino and Black communities are often the same. He said he wanted to take what is happening in the Mission seeing the task force advocate for more testing and resources and bring it to Bayview, where Black residents also shy away from getting tested for fear of losing their jobs. "We have to do it for our community, and we have to step up and speak up," he said. "We do need it, too. Times video journalist Jackeline Luna and photojournalist Gary Coronado contributed to this report. An Afghan girl shot dead two Taliban fighters and injured several more after they dragged her parents from their home and killed them for supporting the government, AFP reported referring to officials. The incident happened last week when militants broke into the home of Qamar Gul, a teen from a village in the central province of Ghor. Militants were looking for her father, local police chief Habiburahman Malekzada noted. Malekzada said her father was a supporter of the government, so Taliban fighters came to his house and dragged him and his wife out into the courtyard and killed them. "Qamar Gul, who was inside the house, took an AK-47 gun the family had and first shot dead the two Taliban fighters who killed her parents, and then injured a few others," he said. Gul is aged between 14 and 16, and it is common for many Afghans to not know their precise age. Several other Taliban fighters later attacked her home, but villagers and police fought off the attack. Afghan security forces have now taken Gul and her younger brother to a safer location. Over the past few days, a photo of Gul wearing a headscarf holding a machine gun in her lap has gone viral. "Hats off to her courage! Well done," wrote Najiba Rahmi on Facebook. "Power of an Afghan girl," wrote another Facebook user Fazila Alizada. Indian Air Force has confirmed that the first batch of five Rafale fighter jets is likely to be inducted into the IAF on July 29. In an official statement, IAF said that the final induction ceremony will take place in second half of August. "The first batch of five Indian Air Force Rafale is likely to arrive in India by end of July. The aircraft will be inducted at Air Force Station Ambala on July 29 subject to weather," the IAF said. Reports suggest that the Rafale jets are likely to be deployed in the Ladakh sector on the Eastern Border with China in view of the border row with the country. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh received the first of 36 Rafale fighter jets and flew a sortie in the MMRCA fighter jet from a French airbase in Paris to gain first-hand experience of the aircraft. Rafale was handed over to Singh on the foundation day of the Indian Air Force. The first Rafale bears a tail number RB 01', where 'RB' stands for Air Chief Marshal R.K.S. Bhadauria, who played an important role in negotiations for procuring 36 Rafale jets in the flyaway condition. Heres a look at the history and specifications of the Dassault Rafale to understand what makes this Fighter Jet so special for the Indian Air Force- Importance of Rafale After the Indian Air Force struck a Jaish-e-Mohammed camp in Balakot in February this year, Prime Minister Modi said, "Rafale fighters could have delivered even better results". His reference was apparently to the stealth of Rafale, an air-dominance aircraft manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Dassault Aviation. Since India was waiting for deliveries of Rafale when the attacks happened, the Indian Air Force deployed a dozen Mirage-2000 aircraft, made by the same company to hit the targets. Rafale is a Medium Multi-Role Combat Aircraft (MMRCA) that is said to boost Indias air dominance exponentially, currently safeguarded by fighter jets like Russia made Sukhoi Su-30MKI and MiG 29, along with French Mirage-2000 and indigenously built HAL Tejas. A look at why India wants the Rafale combat aircraft. (Image: Network18 Creative) Origin of Rafale Rafale is a French word meaning "gust of wind" and is a French-origin Delta winged, twin-engine multirole fighter aircraft manufactured and designed by Dassault Aviation. The initial requirement of Rafale came into light in the mid-1970s, when both the French Air Force and Navy expressed a requirement for a new generation of fighters. In early 80s Dassault was formally announced to build aircraft for the French government and the testing started in 1991. The production of the first aircraft series started in late 1992 but was suspended in 1995 due to political and economic uncertainty. The production was restarted in 1997 after an initial order of 48 aircraft was placed by the Ministry of Defence followed by further order of 59 Rafale in 2004 and 60 aircrafts in 2009. The French Air Force first operational Rafale squadron, EC 1/7 Provence, was stationed at Saint-Dizier airbase in 2006. Along with the French Military including Air Force and Navy, countries like Egypt and Qatar are the current operators of the Rafale MMRCA, while India will join the list this year itself. File photo of a Rafale fighter jet. Combat Proven The Dassault Rafale has been combat-proven and has actively taken part in many wars in the last 13 years. From 2006 to 2011, French Air Force and Navy Rafale fighters were engaged in countless combat missions in Afghanistan where they demonstrated a high proficiency. In 2011, French Air Force and French Navy Rafale fighters were engaged in coalition operations over Libya. They were the first fighters to operate over Benghazi and Tripoli and carried out the whole spectrum of missions. French Air Force Rafales have taken a leading role in Mali, helping destroy enemy infrastructure and support friendly troops in contact. More recently, Rafales were engaged in support of peace-keeping operations in the Central African Republic, and as part of a wide international coalition in Iraq. #RafaleInduction : BRIEFED & READY!!! The Hon'ble Raksha Mantri, all set to fly the Rafale jet at French Air Force Base Bordeaux, France. The Vice Chief of the Air Staff, Air Marshal HS Arora, accompanies him for the induction ceremony. pic.twitter.com/Xo5qIhs9ng Indian Air Force (@IAF_MCC) October 8, 2019 India and Rafale Deal Though the idea to induct additional fighter jets in the IAF has been since 2001, the actual process began in 2007. The current IAF fleet largely consists of heavy and light-weight combat aircraft. So the defence ministry considered bringing in intermediate medium-weight fighter jets. The Defence Acquisition Council, headed by then Defence Minister AK Antony, approved the Request For Proposal to buy 126 aircraft in August 2007. This kick-started the bidding process. The plan included acquiring 126 aircraft, 18 of them in fly-away condition and the rest to be made in India at the Hindustan Aeronautics facility under transfer of technology. Dassault Rafale cockpit. (Image: All Things Aviation/ Flickr) Dassaults Rafale was not Indias only choice as several international aviation manufacturers expressed interest upon knowing the Indian governments mammoth plan to revamp its air force fleet by introducing MMRCAs. Six renowned aircraft manufacturers competed to bag the contract of 126 fighter jets, which was touted to be the largest-ever defence procurement deal of India. The initial bidders were Lockheed Martins F-16s, Boeings F/A-18s, Eurofighter Typhoon, Russias MiG-35, Swedens Saabs Gripen and Dassaults Rafale. All aircraft were tested by the IAF and after careful analysis on the bids, two of them Eurofighter and Rafale were shortlisted. Dassault bagged the contract to provide 126 fighter jets as it was the lowest bidder and the aircraft was said to be easy to maintain. After Rafale won the contract, the Indian side and Dassault started negotiations in 2012. Though the initial plan was to buy 126 jets, India scaled it down to 36, that too in ready condition. The first squadrons of the Rafale are set to join the IAF fleet by 2019. A Dassault Rafale fighter jet performs his demonstration flight at Paris Air Show, in Le Bourget, east of Paris, France. (Image: AP) Specifications The Rafale is a modern fighter jet known for its agility, speed, weapon holding capacity and attack capability. The Dassault Rafale has a delta wing design and is capable of g-forces as high as 11g (in case of emergency). The Rafale is available in both single and dual seating cabin (India ordered 28 single and 8 dual seater Rafale). The Rafale is 15.27 metre long and a wingspan of 10.80 metre. The empty weight of Rafale ranges from 9900 kg to 10600 kg depending on the variant and maximum take-off weight of 24500 kg. The Rafale is powered by two SNECMA M88 engines, each capable of providing up to 50 kilonewtons (11,000 pounds-force) of dry thrust and 75 kN (17,000 pounds-force) with afterburners. The engines push the Rafale to attain a high speed of 1.8 Mach (1912 kmph) and a range of more than 3700 km with 3 drop tanks. A view of Rafale Jet at its Dassault Aviation assembly line, in Bordeaux, France. (Image: PTI) Dassault has also loaded the Rafale with a Martin-Baker Mark 16F "zero-zero" ejection seat, capable of operation at zero speed and zero altitude. In terms of weapons, the Rafale can be equipped with air-to-air missiles, air-to-ground missiles, and air-to-surface missiles along with Nuclear weapons. For avionics, the Rafale is also equipped with AESA radar, SPECTRA Electronic Warfare System and IRST System. The Rafale jets will come with various India-specific modifications, including Israeli helmet-mounted displays, radar warning receivers, low band jammers, 10-hour flight data recording, infra red search and tracking systems among others. With Input from PTI Perez Chapel International has denied social media rumours that its founder, Bishop Charles Agyinasare, ever took loans from now-defunct financial institutions FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company, as well as GN Bank. A statement signed by Apostle Raymond Acquah, Administrative Bishop, Perez Chapel International, on Monday, 20 July 2020, described the rumours as false, ridiculous and mischievous. I am to state on authority that Bishop Charles Agyinasare has never applied for, nor secured any loan from the collapsed FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company and the GN Bank, the Administrative Bishop insisted in the statement, clarifying that although the Presiding Bishop of the church was once a Board Chairman of FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company, the allegation is a complete fabrication. Bishop Charles Agyinasare never applied for, nor ever received a loan from FirsTrust Savings & Loans, either before, during or after his Chairmanship of the Board of FirsTrust Savings & Loans, the statement emphasised, stressing: Bishop Charles Agyinasare or the church he presides over has never applied for nor ever received a loan from GN Bank or FirsTrust Savings & Loans. Read the full statement below: FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FASLE ALLEGATIONS AGAINST BISHOP DR CHARLES AGYINASARE It has come to our attention that some ridiculous and mischievous information is circulating on social media and on some unsuspecting news portals. It is a known fact that if one dares to speak about the ills of society, attack dogs are readily unleashed to sustain the crippling culture of silence in our dear country. I am to state on authority that Bishop Charles Agyinasare has never applied for nor secured any loan from the collapsed FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company and the GN Bank. The allegation is a complete fabrication and is, therefore, false. For the records, I am to clarify and confirm the following; 1. Bishop Charles Agyinasare was one time Board Chairman of FirsTrust Savings & Loans Company. 2. Bishop Charles Agyinasare NEVER applied for nor ever received a loan from FirsTrust Savings & Loans, either before, during or after his Chairmanship of the Board of FirsTrust Savings & Loans. 3. Bishop Charles Agyinasare or the church he presides over has NEVER applied for nor ever received a loan from GN Bank or FirsTrust Savings & Loans. We are by this press release urging the media and the general public to disregard the lies and falsehood and ask that those persons circulating such lies and unfounded allegations put an end to it. We ask the general public to disregard this failed attempt to malign Bishop Charles Agyinasare. Thank you and God bless us all. Apostle Raymond Acquah (Administrative Bishop, Perez Chapel International) 050 479 9780 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 Dr Mark Assibey-Yeboah, Chairman of the Finance Committee of Parliament, on Tuesday, said calls on the Minister to account for the monies approved by Parliament to fight COVID-19 pandemic during the mid-year budget review are wrong. He explained that all the countrys expenditures at the end of each year, are submitted to the Auditor General to audit, after which he submits the accounts back to the House. Dr Assibey-Yeboah gave the opinion at the Parliament House, Accra, ahead of the presentation of the mid-year budget review to Parliament by the Finance Minister on Thursday, July 23, 2020. Dr Assibey-Yeboah asked: How can the Minister who have been given money come to the House to say, I am accounting for this it is for the Auditor General to vet the accounts and submit a report to the House? Dr Assibey-Yeboah also explained that the Minister was expected to appraise the legislature on how the Government of Ghana intended to realign government expenditure, the public debt stock, the financing and revising of the projected GDP of 6.8 percent growth and exchange rate depreciation, which he said would be difficult to achieve because of the pandemic. In the mid-year budget review, the Minister of Finance is expected to appraise Parliament on the macro-economic figures of the country for the first six months as well as an update on the full year 2019 numbers including the revenue and expenditure of the Government. The mid-year review spells out what is required of the Finance Minister to do under section 28 of the Public Financial Management (PFM), Act. Dr Assibey-Yeboah also indicated that the Minister was likely to inform the House about the shortfalls in revenue in addition to the GH9.5 billion gap in the budge as well as projections for the end of year December. He revealed that the government had used GH 20 billion for the banking sector cleanup, which he recognized would add to the governments debt stock but not part of the countrys deficit. Mr Ras Mubarak, Member of Parliament (MP) for Kumbungu in his reaction described as outrageous a comment by Dr Assibey-Yeboah that the country has run a deficit budget all these years and was not expecting it to go away anytime soon. He criticized the government for not being prudent in managing the economy, saying, the government was spending more than they earn in revenue. We must accept that we are spending more than we earn in revenue and the deficit is happening because we are not prudently raising more than we are spending, he said. Mr Mubarak said when the Finance Minister came for the COVID-19 fund as part of the conditions to allow him to take the money from the Contingency Fund, it was for him to report back to the Parliament how he intended to pay that money. He said they expected that even if he comes back to tell Parliament that the gap has increased, what has been given him how does he anticipate to spend that. 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 Get the SC business stories that matter. Our newsletter catches you up with all the business stories that are shaping Charleston and South Carolina every Monday and Thursday at noon. Get ahead with us - it's free. Depressed global demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) continues to drive buyers of U.S. LNG to cancel cargoes for loadings in September, sources in the industry told Reuters on Tuesday. Earlier this year, when demand for natural gas across the world plunged due to the pandemic, buyers began to scrap loadings of U.S. LNG, as gas in storage from Europe to Asia was abundant after a milder winter and the coronavirus that wiped out a lot of previously expected demand. The pace of the cargo cancellations for September, however, looks to have slowed, according to Reuters sources who estimate that between 15 and 26 U.S. cargoes of LNG may have been cancelled. This is nearly half the expected 45 cargoes cancelled for August, with cancellations similar to the number of U.S. LNG cargoes that were canceled for July loading. For June loading, the cancellations were fewer but still substantialanywhere from 20 to 30. The cargoes canceled for September loadings were mostly the result of the low prices in Europe, which has its storage capacity full, according to two of the sources who spoke to Reuters. Historically low natural gas prices from Asia to Europe and lower demand in the pandemic have resulted in U.S. exports of LNG crashing by more than 50 percent this year, from 8.1 billion cubic feet per day (Bcf/d) in January to an expected export volume of just 3.2 Bcf/d in July, the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) said last month. Milder winter, lower demand in the pandemic, and high inventories, especially in Europe, have sent natural gas prices at the key benchmarks in Asia and Europe to record lows in recent months, making U.S. exports of LNG uneconomical. Based on the number of canceled cargoes for the coming months, the EIA expects U.S. LNG export capacity will be utilized at less than 50 percent in June, July, and August 2020. The decline in LNG exports is dragging down domestic U.S. natural gas prices as lower shipments are threatening to aggravate the already higher-than-average gas inventories in the United States. On Monday, the spot price at the U.S. benchmark Henry Hub crashed by 5 percent. By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com More Top Reads From Oilprice.com: The current wage revision for PSBs, as well as some private lenders, is due from November 2017 for five years - up to October 2022. Banks will resume talks with trade union leaders on the much-delayed revision in wages, on July 22 - a first such meeting after the pandemic impacted economic activities in India. The Indian Banks Association (IBA), which represents the managements of banks, is scheduled to hold a meeting of its negotiating committee with associations of workers and officers, in Mumbai. The last such bi-partite meeting took place on February 29, before a two-month national lockdown was enforced in March to manage the Covid-19 pandemic. What makes the talks significant is that the impact of the pandemic on banks finances will be factored in. The current wage revision for public sector banks or PSBs, as well as some private lenders, is due from November 2017 for five years - up to October 2022. Rajkiran Rai G, managing director and chief executive officer of Union Bank of India, is chairman of the negotiating committee, while bank employees will be represented by the United Form of Bank Unions. During the previous meeting, the IBA had enhanced its offer to a hike of 15 per cent on payslip cost. This essentially meant a 15 per cent hike in the wage bill of banks - which includes salary and other components like pension and paid leave. This, in itself, had a cost implication of Rs 8,000 crore for banks, when the impact of Covid-19 wasnt factored in. Prior to the February meeting, bank unions had called for a three-day strike in March - which was deferred following a positive development from the talks. Union leaders, who have organised multiple strikes over the past three years dissatisfied by the wage revision proposals, said that the discussions will be held afresh. The pandemic will certainly impact the paying capacity of banks, especially since we are talking about wage negotiation for 1 million employees, a top bank union leader said. The IBA and union leaders have held informal talks over the past few days. Any wage negotiation talk without incorporating the Covid impact will be difficult. "The private sector has taken cost rationalisation measures, and so has the central government, with no additional dearness allowance for its employees, said the union leader. Banks have started conducting stress tests to gauge the impact of the pandemic on their balance sheets, asset quality, profitability, and capital adequacy for FY21, following up on the RBIs advice. RBI Governor Shaktikanta Das said in an event on Saturday the medium-term outlook was uncertain, and depends on the Covid-19 curve, as the pandemic would result in higher non-performing assets and capital erosion of banks. Based on the outcome of such stress tests, banks and non-banking financial companies have been advised to work out possible mitigating measures, such as capital planning, capital raising, and contingency liquidity planning, Das said, adding that recapitalisation had become necessary. Photograph: Ajay Verma/Reuters US lawmakers remained far apart Tuesday on a deal to provide more financial relief for Americans as European leaders thrashed out a plan for their pandemic-ravaged economies. Meanwhile, testing of an experimental vaccine showed it may produce an immune response against the coronavirus. The urgency of such research is rising with the pandemic still gaining momentum in parts of the US, India and elsewhere in the developing world. India added more than 37,000 new cases for a national total that now exceeds 11,55,000, the third most behind the US, with more than 3.8 million, and Brazil, with 2.1 million, according to a tally by Johns Hopkins University. Lebanons health minister said the financially troubled country, which had previously managed to contain the coronavirus, was sliding toward a critical stage with a new surge in infections, more than a fifth of them untraceable, after lockdown restrictions were lifted and the airport reopened. The danger of community spread is still possible because the country has opened up, the minister of health, Hamad Hassan, said in an interview with The Associated Press late Monday. As coronavirus outbreaks wax and wane, much hinges on the effectiveness of contact tracing of newly discovered cases. In Spain's Catalonia and other regions an early detection system meant to snuff out outbreaks and prevent cascades of cases appears to be inadequate, doctors and patients said. Spain imposed a three-month lockdown earlier this year to rein in a devastating first wave of infections that left at least 28,000 dead. Now, Barcelona and an agricultural area in the same Catalonia region have become the two areas hit hardest by a resurgence of the virus. We are seeing a rise in cases and community contagion that worries us, Dr. Jacobo Mendioroz, the epidemiologist in charge of Catalonias virus response, told Catalonia Radio on Sunday. The system of contact tracers can still be improved. Now we have 300 tracers and we are going to add another 600 shortly. Worldwide, almost 6,10,000 people have died from COVID-19, according to Johns Hopkins, with more than 14.7 million people infected. Both numbers are widely acknowledged to be lower than the true toll of the disease. Weary after four days and nights of haggling, European Union leaders clinched an unprecedented 1.8 trillion euro ($2.1 trillion) budget and coronavirus recovery fund to confront the biggest recession in the history of the region, which faces an estimated economic contraction of 8.3%. A 750 billion euro ($858 billion) coronavirus fund will finance loans and grants for countries hit hardest by the virus. That comes on top of the seven-year, 1 trillion euro EU budget. We have laid the financial foundations for the EU for the next seven years and came up with a response to this arguably biggest crisis of the European Union, said German Chancellor Angela Merkel. The pandemic has killed around 135,000 people in EU countries. The U.S. has surpassed that, with nearly 141,000 dead, according to the Johns Hopkins data. As the first round of U.S. federal relieve expires, the political stakes of providing more support to the American economy are high and rising ahead of the November election. Unemployment claims have topped 1 million for 17 straight weeks, leaving many households in a cash crunch and at risk of losing employer-backed health insurance coverage. Congressional Republicans remained at odds with Democrats over how much money is enough to ease the financial burden as businesses endure repeated closures to contain the spread of the virus. Democrats have passed a $3 trillion package in the House. The Republican plan totals about $1 trillion. State governments strapped for medical resources have been forced to borrow billions of dollars and slash costs by furloughing workers, delaying construction projects, cutting school aid and even closing highway rest areas. Businesses also are being squeezed. Potions in Motions, a catering company in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, would ordinarily be in high gear for summer weddings, graduations and corporate events, but is down to micro-events of eight to 15 people and has had to cut most of its staff. Were trying to just stay alive," said company founder Jason Savino. Theres no support coming from any government or anywhere that are accommodating these businesses that are being ordered to dial their business back. Financial markets pushed higher on Tuesday, tracking overnight gains on Wall Street after scientists at Oxford University said their experimental vaccine had prompted a protective immune response in hundreds of people in an early trial. The head of emergencies at the World Health Organization hailed the results as good news but warned theres a long way to go. We now need to move into larger scale real-world trials, Dr. Michael Ryan told reporters in Geneva. In Asia, the latest virus flare-ups in Australia, South Korea and Chinas far west appeared to be coming under control. Australian military personnel were helping health authorities in Victoria state, where the countrys second largest city, Melbourne, has shut down to combat a rebound in infections. Were still very much in the hard part of this fight, as you can see from the daily case numbers, and Im not expecting that to change a lot in the short term, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison said. And we just need to keep working the problem. South Korea reported 45 new virus cases, 25 of them among quarantined people arriving from abroad. In many Asian countries, most newly reported infections are among those new arrivals, raising hopes that local outbreaks may be under control. But Japan has been reporting hundreds of new cases daily, especially in Tokyo, and its death toll has risen above 1,000, with nearly 26,000 total infections. Jaipur: The Rajasthan Board Class 12 Arts result 2020 was declared by the Rajasthan Board Secondary Education (RBSE) on its official website at 3.15 PM on Tuesday (July 21, 2020). The results are now available at Rajasthan Board of Secondary Education (RBSE) official websites - rajresults.nic.in and rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in. This year, the overall pass percentage is 90.70%, which is better than the passing percentage last year (88 per cent). A total 5.26 lakh (5,26,726) students cleared the exam out of 5.80 lakh (5,80,725) students appeared. This year too, the girls have outperformed boys in the class 12 Arts result. The pass percentage of girls has been recorded at 93.10 per cent while for boys at 88.45 per cent. Out of the total 10,451 students who took the English Literature exam, 10,345 passed making a pass per cent of 98.98%. The Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12th Arts result 2020 was declared by RBSE president DP Jaroli. The date and time of announcement of the result were earlier confirmed by Rajasthan's Education Minister Govind Singh Dotasra who said that the RBSE will release the result at 3.15 pm today. The criteria to pass both class 10 and 12 exams of Rajasthan Board remains the same. To pass the exam, students need to obtain at least 33 per cent marks in each subject as well as on an aggregate. For subjects having different theoretical and practical aspects, students will have to clear both the exams separately. Check live updates on Rajasthan Board Class 12 Arts results 2020 Here's how to check your RBSE Class 12th Arts results online: 1. Go to one of these official websites of the RBSE rajresults.nic.in; rajeduboard.rajasthan.gov.in 2. Click on the 12th Arts results option. 3. Enter your roll number and other required details. 4. Your result will display on the screen. Official documents supporting the result will be issued by the RBSE after the result declaration. Notably, Rajasthan Board RBSE Class 12th Science results 2020 were declared on July 8 and the overall passing percentage was recorded at 91.96. On July 13, the Rajasthan board had announced class 12 commerce results. The Class 12 examination was conducted in March 2020. Some papers were then cancelled due to the outbreak of the pandemic followed by a nationwide lockdown. The remaining papers were conducted from June 18 to 30, 2020 following all the social distancing guidelines. Thousands of people planning to attend a Black Lives Matter protest in Sydney next week will be hit with $1,000 fines, according to the NSW Police Commissioner. More than 4,000 are expected to take to the streets next Tuesday demanding justice for Indigenous man David Dungay Jnr who died in custody in 2015. He was just 26 years old when he died after being forcibly removed from his Long Bay prison cell when guards rushed to stop him from eating biscuits. But as NSW battles to control a second wave of COVID-19 spreading from Victoria, Police Commissioner Mick Fuller has appealed to the Supreme Court to have the rally blocked. More than 4,000 ralliers are expected to attend a Black Lives Matter protest on July 28 in Sydney. Pictured protesters at rally in Sydney on June 6 Police spray protesters with pepper spray inside Central Station following the protest in Sydney on June 6 (pictured) as tensions spilled over NSW Police Commissioner Mick Fuller (pictured) urged Sydneysiders to pledge their support for the Black Lives Matter movement in alternative forums 'I don't want to see the same thing happen in NSW, and getting a big group together for a Black Lives Matters protest in Sydney, when you know the dangers, is playing Russian roulette with the nearly eight million people who live in the state,' Commissioner Fuller told The Australian. 'We'll be going to the Supreme Court to stop it from going ahead win, lose or draw, if anyone turns up and breaches public health orders, we'll start writing tickets for a thousand dollars.' Mr Fuller said organisers had lodged an application for the protest in late July, but police were prepared to fine those attending. 'We are taking a tougher approach to breaches because there is a real feeling we are on a knife's edge at the moment,' he said. The Police Commissioner urged protesters to pledge their support for the Black Lives Matter movement in other forums. 'Whether I can write two or three thousand tickets, I don't know. But do you want to be that person to get the first ticket?' he earlier told 2GB Radio. 'It's just not the time. 'We know from Victoria that lives will be at risk and it's just not worth it.' Huge crowds turned out at the march on June 6 (pictured) which began at Sydney's Town Hall and soon spread across the city A woman screams at police while inside Central Station in Sydney following the protest for Black Lives Matter (pictured on June 6) Victorian health authorities confirmed six attendees among the 10,000 at the Melbourne BLM protest on June 6 had since tested positive to the virus. However the Department of Health refuted claims the protest was linked to an outbreak cluster in Melbourne's public housing towers, which has contributed to a second wave of new infections that has spread interstate. New South Wales recorded its highest number of cases in months on Monday with 20 new cases, in addition to 18 on Sunday. Victoria recorded its second biggest spike in cases on Tuesday with 375 confirmed overnight. The last Black Lives Matter rally in Sydney was held at The Domain (pictured) on July 5 with another planned for July 28 Protests held in Sydney last month erupted into chaos when around 30,000 people stormed the city's CBD. Dramatic scenes at Sydney's Central Station saw police using pepper spray on protesters, leaving some screaming in pain and laying on the ground after tensions boiled over. Chants of 'f**k the police' rang out through the city as ralliers demanded justice for Indigenous Australians. Mr Dungay died in a Sydney jail in 2015 and told officers who were pinning him down 'I can't breathe' 12 times before his death. The organisers for the July 28 protest which will also demand equality for Indigenous Australians, have urged people to stay at home if they have any flu like symptoms. More than 4,000 people have expressed their interest for the protest and ralliers are required to keep 1.5 metre distance. In NSW people are restricted from gathering together in groups of more than 20. Mr Fuller says people attending the protest will be fined up to thousands of dollars. Pictured ralliers at Sydney's Town hall on June 12 Fuel Your Pipeline. Close More Deals. Our full-service marketing programs deliver sales-ready leads. 100% Satisfaction Guarantee! Learn more Amazon is rolling out a system that combines artificial intelligence and augmented reality to help workers maintain social distancing in the workplace, the company revealed Tuesday in its Covid-19 blog. The new system has been deployed at a handful of Amazon buildings, but the company plans to deploy hundreds of the units in the coming weeks, the giant online retailers leader of robotics initiatives Brad Porter revealed in the blog. He explained that his team uses augmented reality to create a magic-mirror-like tool that enables workers to see their physical distance from each other. Inspired by existing use cases, like radar speed check signs, the system, named Distance Assistant, gives workers real-time feedback about their social distancing with the use of a 50-inch display, camera and computing device. The standalone unit uses machine learning models to differentiate people from their surroundings, Porter wrote. Combined with depth sensors, it creates an accurate distance measurement between associates. He explained that as people walk past the camera, a monitor displays live video with visual overlays to show if associates are within six feet of each another. Green circles are displayed around workers who are six feet apart, while red circles are shown around those too close together. The on-screen indicators are designed to remind and encourage workers to maintain appropriate distance from others, Porter noted. The self-contained device requires only a standard electrical outlet, and can be quickly deployed to building entrances and other high-visibility areas, he added. Whats more, Amazon plans to open source the technology so it will be free for other businesses to use. Nothing is more important than the health and well-being of our employees and well continue to innovate to keep them as safe as possible, Porter wrote. Worker Lawsuits Some employees, though, dont think Amazon is doing all it can to protect them from Covid-19. Two lawsuits were filed against the company this month by workers alleging Amazon is putting workers and the public at risk by conditions its fostering in its warehouses. In a lawsuit filed in San Francisco Superior Court, its alleged that Amazon failed to implement reasonable safety protocols, placing essential workers at needless risk of Covid-19 infection and endangering public health. It added that cramped conditions, re-use of employee protective suits without cleaning, and quotas that make it impossible for workers to practice social distancing or sanitization have exposed workers and the public to risk of catching the coronavirus. In the other lawsuit, filed in a federal court in Brooklyn, N.Y., its alleged Amazon is fostering the spread of the coronavirus by mandating unsafe working conditions, that caused at least one employee to contract the virus, bring it home, and see her cousin die. The lawsuit also contends that Amazons JFK8 fulfillment center, which employs some 5,000 people on Staten Island, has become a place of danger by impeding efforts to stop the virus from spreading and by boosting productivity at the expense of safety. In a statement to the press, Amazon noted it spent US$4 billion from April to June on coronavirus initiatives, including $800 million during the first half of the year on temperature checks, masks, gloves, enhanced cleaning and sanitization, extended pay and benefits options, testing and more. AR a Valuable Tool As for Distance Assistant, it shows how artificial intelligence and augmented reality can be worthwhile additions to the workplace. AR can be a valuable tool and assist people to maintain a social distance, not only in the workplace but in any location, including airports, shopping malls and other public places, Eleftheria Kouri, a research analyst for ABI Research, a technology advisory company based in Oyster Bay, N.Y. told the E-Commerce Times. Amazon isnt alone is applying AR to social distancing. Kouri noted that Google has launched a web-based AR app called Sodar to help people maintain a two meter distance between each other. Meanwhile, Snapchat, in collaboration with the World Health Organization, has introduced new lenses that assist users in visualizing distances. AR smart glasses have already made inroads in the workplace and could be programmed to add social distancing to their repertoire. If the glasses support spatial understanding, they can play an important role and assist employees in maintaining social distancing by overlaying safe virtual paths on the ground in a users field of view, Kouri observed. AR smart glasses are more efficient because they provide immediate feedback and notifications regarding social distancing, consequently a user is more proactive in maintaining a distance, she explained. She also pointed out that glasses can be used hands-free, unlike a cellphone, and are hard to ignore, unlike a 50-inch display. Fever-Detecting Glasses Smart glasses could take AR beyond social distancing. On the back of this global pandemic, were seeing increased activity around AR glasses, which includes headset makers exploring thermal imaging for disease detection, said George Jijiashvili, a senior analyst with Omdia, a research and consulting firm in London. Nreal and Vuzix are examples of AR headset companies who have revealed thermal imagining capabilities as part of the effort against the pandemic, he told the E-Commerce Times. It is important to highlight that the rollout and integration of AR glasses into workplaces has so far been relatively slow, due to the complexities of system integration and the initial cost, he added. However, the growing demand for innovative safety solutions in the current climate could accelerate ARs adoption. The pandemic isnt only driving rapid development of safety solutions. Ive heard from multiple organizations that digital transformation plans that they expected to take years to complete have been done in a matter of months because of the coronavirus, said Liz Miller, vice president and a principal analyst withConstellation Research, a technology research and advisory firm in Cupertino, Calif. With the coronavirus, you have to be digital, whether thats empowering a digital workforce or utilizing new tools to manage and interrogate data differently, she told the E-Commerce Times. Tug-of-War with Tech While AI and AR tools can contribute to keeping workers safe and productive, those contributions can come at a price for the individual. These AR solutions for measuring a safe social distance will raise similar privacy concerns as did the introduction of smart glasses and surveillance cameras in the working environment, Kouri said. What Covid has done is elevate the awareness of many consumers to what privacy truly means to them, Miller added. Josh Crandall, CEO and co-founder of NetPop Research, a market research and strategy consulting firm in San Francisco sees solutions like Distance Assistant camped on the frontier of humanitys tug-of-war with tech. On the one hand, using AI to maintain social distancing is undeniably beneficial, he told the E-Commerce Times. Itll keep us safer in pandemic times. On the other hand, he continued, we are becoming further entwined and dependent on data-driven, computerized solutions that are generic, devoid of contextual knowledge. Without recognizing and appreciating the context in which decisions are made can lead to bias and false outcomes, he said. Thus, the application of this technology, while beneficial on the face of it, may lead to false accusations, social stigma or worse. Silicon Valley has a long history of benefiting off of user data for profit, he added, and look where we are today. Courtesy of VH1Tamar Braxton is reportedly alert and responsive, and will receive specialized mental health treatment, after being hospitalized over the weekend. According to The Blast, the 43-year old songstress is "awake and alert" after being rushed to the hospital Thursday night after her boyfriend, David Adefeso found her unconscious" and unresponsive in their hotel room. Tamar has been transferred to another facility for further evaluation and treatment. Out of respect for Tamars privacy and that of her family, no additional information is available at this time," says a spokesperson for Tamar, per The Blast. The unspecified rep also thanked Tamar's fans and friends for their support on her road to recovery, writing, "the outpouring of support that Tamar has received is a testament to the light that she brings to people." Tamar was originally rushed to the closest hospital to her location -- she was staying at the Ritz Carlton Residences in downtown Los Angeles, according to an initial report by The Blast. After she was stabilized, she was reportedly moved to another hospital with top specialists who deal with mental health, including depression, anxiety, and sexual assault trauma. The Blast also confirmed Tamar will remain in a treatment facility, as doctors determined what type of further treatment she will need. The LAPD previously confirmed to ABC News that it received a call Thursday night for a medical emergency at the Ritz Carlton regarding a patient matching Tamar's description who was transported to the hospital. At the time, the LAPD did not identify the patient as her. By Rachel George Copyright 2020, ABC Audio. All rights reserved. Netflix has decided to scrap production on a Turkish original series called If Only after Turkish officials refused them a filming license unless they removed a gay supporting character from the script. Netflix remains deeply committed to our Turkish members and the creative community in Turkey, a Netflix spokesperson told TheWrap Tuesday. We are proud of the incredible talent we work with. We currently have several Turkish originals in production with more to come and look forward to sharing these stories with our members all around the world. The eight-part relationship drama starring Turkish actress Ozge Ozpirincci was ordered in March and was being made by Turkish production outfit Ay Yapim, with Ece Yorenc serving as creator and showrunner. Also Read: Netflix Pulls 'Designated Survivor' Episode From Turkey After Turkish Censors Objected Here is shows logline, from Netflix: The series tells the story of Reyhan who is unhappy and disappointed in her marriage with Nadir. On 27th of July 2018 at 8:19pm, during an evening where she was feeling exhausted of her husband whom shes known since his circumcision, of their marriage, their 9 year-old twins that were conceived as a result of a broken condom, the life she leads but mostly of herself, the strongest blood moon eclipse of the past 500 years takes place. And thanks to a miracle, Reyhan travels in time, to the turning point of her life, the night Nadir proposes to her, but this time with the wisdom of her 30 year old self. According to a person familiar with the situation, Turkish officials are allowed to see scripts before they approve or deny filming permits. Producers would not have been able to continue filming If Only in Turkey unless they removed the gay character from the script, so the decision was made to cease production rather than give up creative control of the project. Netflix currently has three other Turkish Originals on the platform, including Love 101, The Protector, and The Gift, the latter of which has been renewed for a third season. The streaming service has at least two other series in development. Read original story Netflix Scraps Turkish Original If Only Over Government Censorship of Gay Character At TheWrap Congratulations to Bonhomme for winning Site of the Month June for the Delassus website. Thank you to everyone who got involved with the votes, the winner of the free Pro Plan in our Directory for Digital Creatives can be found at the end of the article. Delassus website is the second project Bonhomme has designed for Delassus Group. Our first project was the award winning website Duroc, one of Delassus branch dedicated to small tomato production. Both projects were based on the same idea: create an unexpected brand identity through generous art direction and a playful navigation. Delassus Website Design. Client Delassus group is a Moroccan grower of snacking tomatoes, citrus, grapes, avocados and flowers. It manages 3,000 ha and exports up to 1000 000 t/year. It employs 6200 dedicated employees. Challenges Delassus is one of those projects where the challenge begins at the first second. How can you communicate in 2020 about a food production company and capture the attention of its audience? Delassus Gallery Design. Our main problem was the content. We wanted to produce a dedicated content reflecting the company activity, but not all the products are available at the same time of the year. Meaning a photoshoot of the products was not possible. Besides, the website architecture provided by the client was really close to the one we made for Duroc, and we had to make something different. Brand Content To get around the problem of product seasonality, we thought about a graphic identity that did not involve photography. We contacted Paris Se Quema, a Parisian graphic studio renowned for its expertise in paper cut art. Paper cut art by Paris Se Quema. The various productions of the company were represented in a playful way, thanks to a polygonal treatment. Thanks to this artistic approach, we have succeeded in putting all of the group's structures on an equal footing, and creating real uniformity. This approach makes it possible to standardize all activities and create a global brand identity. A stop motion film was designed to highlight all the specifics of the company A whole universe, representing a chain of packaging, fields of culture and the products of the structure was imagined and made of paper. A stop motion film was designed to highlight all the specifics of the company. Every fruit has been made by hand, and every scene is composed of hundreds of pictures. From this movie, we extracted all of the content we needed to give life to the website. Website We had great ambitions for the website. It had to be different from the Duroc website while retaining the same original and entertaining character. Unlike Duroc, the Delassus group project features several distinct activities and it is essential that users understand the range of know-how from the first seconds of navigation. In order to give a playful dimension to this slider we played with several technical tricks Homepage Weve decided to think of a carousel displaying each activity though a composition of products. Each product is on a colorful background used in its activity page. In order to give a playful dimension to this slider we played with several technical tricks: First of all, weve build the scene in a way that users can control the camera with their mouse. Products are floating on the screen as if there were no gravity. This idea is underlined by the shadows on the floor. Depending on their cursor position, products move around the screen. Thanks to this parallax, we enhance depth to the scene. Secondly, the change of background color is very smooth. It turns from one color to the other by reaching all of the colors between them. There is no separation from one scene to the other. Finally, weve worked on a font deformation to give a playful aspect to the carousel. By drag and dropping the scene, user see the stretch of one of two letters in each word. Finding the right balance between something too extended or too subtle was not easy. Delassus - Homepage Transitions Another specific thing we had in mind while designing the website was to have a fluid experience. We didnt want any cuts from the homepage to a product page. This how we started to design a product page that has on top the same amount of pictures as it has on the carousel. Delassus - Interactivity The product page is revealed with a play on a mask, and the element present on the home page simply slides on a side of the page to give space to content. Technologies Home Slider The management of the slider core is a house code that we use on many of the carousels / sliders that we design for different sites. The goal here was to have a playful and intuitive navigation, it was necessary to obtain a very fluid rendering of this part. Because of that, our choice fell on Pixi.js, a wonderful library that we had already used several times, notably on Duroc, another site developed for Delassus. On top of that, we associate different house codes except Hammer.js that we use for drag. Except for the transitions pages, no external libraries were used here for the animations. Animations Apart from the home slider, most of the animations are managed by Gsap3. In addition to Gsap, we use a parallax management library that we have developed in-house. Core Except for the routing where we use Router5, all the code is made from scratch. It wasn't necessary here to use a specific framework. Assets All the images are hosted by Cloudinary, which allows us to obtain the images in the lightest format and with the necessary dimensions according to the capabilities of the browser and according to the device. Build We use Gulp for all the build tasks coupled with Webpack, Babel, Nunjucks, Post CSS and others tools. Server-side Nothing specific here, Apache Server, few Symfony tools, Twig and custom code we made. Company Info Influenced by art, architecture, object design and applied arts, Bonhomme breaks borders to offer a powerful and global brand experience. Thanks for all your tweets, the winner of the Pro Plan, which includes a free submission and other perks is @glenncatteeuw, please DM us to collect your prize! Austin, Texas USA, July 21, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- In order to better serve it's growing customer base ePac Flexible Packaging, the leader in fast time to market custom printed finished pouches and roll stock, has announced an expansion in operations to serve its rapidly growing customer base. Throughout 2020 ePac has been adding new manufacturing facilities in North America, expanded internationally, and added printing and finishing equipment to its existing operations. These expansion projects will continue to run through the balance of 2020 and into 2021. With its core mission to serve locally based small and medium-sized brands, the additional capacity will drive down lead times while enabling the company to also handle longer run length jobs. Virag Patel, ePac's Chief Operating Officer, explains: "When we first opened ePac our strategy was to run with two HP Indigo 20000's in each plant. We've revised that thinking and are now adding a third press along with additional downstream processing equipment in many of our locations. With the added capacity, along with our interconnected facilities across the US, we'll continue to push the envelope in service delivery time." According to Jack Knott, ePac CEO: "With 14 plants in the US plus one each in Canada, the UK and Indonesia, we'll exceed $100M in annual sales this year and double again in 2021. From a Greenfield less than four years ago with no assets or customers, ePac will soon break into the top 25 of flexible packaging converters." About ePac Flexible Packaging: ePac is the first company created based entirely on break-through digital printing technology from HP, Inc., the Indigo 20000. This technology platform enables the company to provide fast time to market, economical short and medium run length jobs, customization, and the ability to order to demand to avoid costly inventory and obsolescence. ePac's digital platform is inherently eco-friendly while offering several sustainable film options. Attachment Were sending law enforcement, Trump told reporters at the White House. We cant let this happen to the cities. Impeached and manifestly unfit U.S. president Donald Trump said on Monday he will send federal forces to more 'Democrat' cities, as a federal crackdown on anti-racism protests in Portland, Oregon, with unmarked cars and unidentified forces angered people throughout the nation. Trump called out New York, Chicago, Philadelphia, Detroit, Baltimore and Oakland, CA, as places to send federal agents, and disparaged the cities' mayors as "liberal Democrats." From Reuters: "We're sending law enforcement," Trump told reporters at the White House. "We can't let this happen to the cities." State and local leaders in Oregon, as well as members of Congress, have called for Trump to remove Department of Homeland Security secret police forces from Portland, Oregon, after videos showed unidentified federal personnel rounding up people and whisking them away in black minivans. "Not only do I believe he is breaking the law, but he is also endangering the lives of Portlanders," the city's mayor, Ted Wheeler, tweeted, having previously called the federal presence "political theater" in an election year. Trump, trailing in opinion polls behind Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden, in June declared himself "president of law and order" and threatened to send the U.S. military into cities after sometimes violent protests and looting in the aftermath of African American George Floyd's death in police custody in Minneapolis. Read more at Reuters: Trump to send federal forces to more 'Democrat' cities Separately, The Chicago Tribune reports that DHS is making plans to deploy an estimated 150 federal agents in the city this week. With only one drug so far proven to save the lives of Covid-19 patients, doctors are desperate to find more treatments to bolster their arsenal ahead of any second wave of the disease. One of the most promising therapies revolves around the Dracula-esque practice of giving hospitalised patients the blood of coronavirus survivors, in hope it will train their body to fight off the life-threatening infection. More than 90,000 coronavirus survivors have answered the NHS' call to donate their blood plasma to help prove once-and-for-all whether or not the treatment really is a life-saver, including Health Secretary Matt Hancock. The trail-blazing research being tested as part of Oxford University's landmark RECOVERY project sees the 'liquid gold' extracted from survivors' blood and transferred into patients struggling to fight off Covid-19. It is thought coronavirus-specific antibodies in the yellow-coloured fluid bind to the virus once inside the patient and stop it attacking cells, buying the immune system valuable time to re-group and muster a response to the pathogen. Here, MailOnline speaks to five survivors that have donated their blood plasma to the trial, including one 29-year-old model and actress who signed up to the trial because it was 'the least I could do'. Another 53-year-old carer admitted she will keep travelling to donate plasma for 'as long as doctors need' after signing up when she was left 'powerless' over being able to do nothing to save coronavirus-stricken residents in her home. NHS Blood and Transplant, which is leading two clinical trials testing the treatment, is appealing to those with high antibody levels to sign up to the trial. You can sign up here. Bo Bene, 29, donated her antibodies to the NHS trial at a London clinic. She said she was motivated to make the donation after seeing photos of people suffering which 'absolutely broke my heart'. She had coronavirus symptoms a week after lockdown Miss Bene revealed she had coronavirus symptoms a week after lockdown Bo Bene, 29, model and actress. She has appeared in prestigious publications including Vogue and Tatler, and advertising campaigns with M&S, House of Fraser and Dorothy Perkins. Bo, who lives in London, appeared in 2015 movie Burnt. I had it literally a week after lockdown. My symptoms were more like the flu, feeling lethargic and tired... My husband and I both lost our sense of smell. For two days we couldn't get out of bed. I called the NHS and talked to a doctor at the time but they said I didn't qualify for a test. Later I got an antibody test and that came back positive. I was glad to know that was that, and I've done it! It was a relief. My husband's colleague tested positive a week before we got ill, and my mother-in-law works in a nursery, but we have no idea where it came from. It could have been anywhere. When I saw all those photos of people suffering - it absolutely broke my heart. I felt so useless at the time - I'm an actress, you know, what can I do? I thought this donation was the least I could do. So many of my friends are key workers. One's at M&S, another's a nurse... You see all these people and, like, I want to help. Bo Bene said she was offered tea, biscuits and crisps during the donation. She is pictured above at a modelling shoot in Cape Town, South Africa I first read about donating plasma on social media. I clicked on the link and applied. When I went to the clinic they started off with so many questions - where have you been? All that sort of stuff. Then they put a needle in my arm and I was hooked up to a machine for 45 minutes. I remember at one point the machine was beeping - I was really concerned - and this man came over to stroke my face and say I was doing really well and it's okay. They had tea and biscuits too - and crisps - I opted for the crisps. It was such a lovely feeling to donate, it really warmed my heart. Angela Curtis, 53, had paramedics called out twice while she suffered from coronavirus Angela Curtis, 53, mother-of-three. She also works as a senior carer at a care home in Swindon. Her youngest son is 20 years old, while her older son and daughter are both married. I think I had all the symptoms of Covid: A high temperature, loss of taste and smell, pains in my joints I even had a really sore burning nostril. Every time I breathed in it felt like I was breathing in water. It was so bad I ended up having paramedics out twice. The first time I had a tight chest and I wasnt sure if it was coronavirus. They said I should book to get tested. I did and three days later it came back positive. The second occasion was when my oxygen levels dropped to 84. I ended up with a Covid clinic ringing every morning to check on me as I was getting good days and I was getting bad days. One really bad day, they decided due to the pain in my chest and right lung they would put me on steroids and antibiotics. My family, they were upset, they were scared, they were worried. Id seen first-hand that coronavirus can go two ways and I didnt know how it was going to affect me. In the home where I work we had eight people in quarantine, out of 43 residents. Only some of them made it through. The whole thing lasted for about two weeks - I took 18 days off. The senior carer at a care home in Swindon said she had a covid clinic ringing her every morning while she was suffering from the virus. She was thrilled to beat the virus and donate her antibodies I survived coronavirus! How do I sign up to donate blood plasma? NHS Blood and Transplant is appealing for men and women who survived coronavirus to donate their blood plasma. So far more than 118,000 have volunteered to help. A spokesman said they are now particularly looking for males that have survived coronavirus. You can register to donate your blood plasma here. Advertisement I decided to donate my coronavirus antibodies after I saw an advert on their site and registered an interest. Im a blood donor anyway and when I was going to give blood in late June, I had lots of missed calls. I told the donation centre and they asked me to wait. Then they said, Would you like to hold off? Wed like you to donate your blood plasma instead. When I went to Oxford for it they started with all the paperwork and explaining what the machine does, questionnaire and so on. The machine is fascinating to watch. You can see your blood going out of your body and coming back in. Ive found Lucozade is quite good for recovery afterwards. After I gave my first donation they rung a week later to confirm I had a high antibody count. I then gave my second donation this month. As long as they need my plasma, I will keep travelling to donate it. My dad has been a long-term donor and I took over that from him. I felt powerless while looking after them people in the care home. All we could do is comfort them. I saw this and thought, this is a way to help. After having coronavirus, I get tired and my joints still ache. But Im just glad to be alive and I live every day to the full. I see the grandchildren, do a bit of fishing with my son - well he fishes and I teach him - and Im looking to go on lots of holidays. Its given me a different outlook on life. Angela told MailOnline: 'I felt powerless while looking after them people in the care home. All we could do is comfort them. I saw this and thought, this is a way to help.' Steve Franklin, 54, has donated blood plasma to the NHS trial five times Steve Franklin, 54, ex-helicopter pilot. He saw service in Cyprus, Canada, Kenya and other countries. After a successful career as a firefighter, he recently switched to working in a special needs school. He lives in Birmingham. I caught coronavirus in a flash - I was at work and suddenly my lips went numb, I felt light-headed and I started to cough non-stop. I went home and immediately went to bed. It lasted for ten days and honestly I can't remember ever being so poorly. My partner wanted to call me an ambulance. I had loss of smell, taste, terrible back pain - I've heard the virus also has a go at your kidneys. I saw a message online asking for people that had fought off the virus to give plasma. I made an appointment and just went to the centre. They prick your finger to check iron content, whether you're okay to donate, you know what I mean. The whole donation to about 50 minutes. There was constant tea and biscuits. I sat and read a book. It was about a serial killer in New York. It's the same motivation I've always had why I donated, just giving something back. I remember my father, all the blood he used to have, because of his cancer treatment. Even after having coronavirus, I'm still breathless. I'm a runner. I can still go out and knock out a five-miler but if I push it I get breathless. Or if I run up flights of stairs I get breathless. He told MailOnline that he just sat and read a book while making the donations in Birmingham Bhairvi Sampat, 40, donated her blood plasma after fighting off the virus in March Bhairvi Sampat, 40, NHS nurse at a south London Hospital. She works as a Senior Infection Control Nurse, and has been on the frontline throughout the pandemic. I got coronavirus at the end of March but had no classic symptoms. I just had an ear ache, no sore throat, no cough, no temperature. I had loss of taste, but assumed that was due to a really bad cold. I did have body-ache but I was working crazy hours and not having a break - so I put it down to that. In the end I went to A and E for a test and it came back positive. My husband had the same symptoms too about the same time as me. My son escaped it. He's ten. What is the coronavirus blood plasma trial? The coronavirus blood plasma trial is investigating whether blood plasma from Covid-19 survivors can help those still battling the disease. In the trial, blood plasma is extracted from volunteers that fought off coronavirus and transferred to those still suffering from it. Survivors' blood plasma is highly valued as it may contain antibodies produced as their bodies fought off the virus. This, it is thought, can help others. NHS Blood and Transplant is donating to two clinical trials - both being ran by Oxford University - looking into the treatments safety and effectiveness. They are particularly searching for donors with high levels of antibodies. They said these are most likely to be male, over 35, to have been ill enough to be treated in hospital, and to be from Asian communities. You can register to donate your antibodies here. Health Secretary Matt Hancock donated his blood after recovering from coronavirus in March Advertisement I first heard about donating my blood plasma when they circulated a notice through our internal communications. I was nervous and anxious two days before I went. I was in two minds about it. I had to drive for an hour to the donation centre. I was worried about that. Will I be okay to go there? And then drive back? But it was fine. The whole thing took about 45 minutes. It wasn't like you take the blood out, take out the plasma, and put it back in. It was all a one-way system. Bhairvi, from London, told MailOnline that she decided to donate her antibodies to fight against the stigma over donations in the Asian community. She said she was also motivated by seeing people struggling in intensive care My family were shocked when I told them about it. 'Ooh why you going for this?,' they said. 'What you doing that for?' I had phone calls from all over. We have a very big family - I had about 800 people at my wedding that were just family members. There's a stigma against getting the virus itself in the Asian community, and against giving blood. 'Oh what if things don't go well? What will happen?' But I was in intensive care. I say people struggle and thought; If there's anything I can do to help, why not? I was lucky enough to have only slight symptoms. Rosie Murphy, 33, midwife in south-west London. Part of her job involves triaging emergency calls and queries about women wishing to give birth at home. She lives with her husband and children - a son aged five and a daughter aged two. It was in early April when I contracted it, and I had very very mild symptoms. I realised when I was filling in the COVID tracker app. In those days I couldnt just say I felt normal - I was looking down the Covid symptoms and erring on some for a few days consecutively. Then I was baking with my daughter - shes two - and suddenly I really needed to sit down. You get that with small children anyway, but I didnt think that time was normal. I called the NHS to say I think Ive got a mild viral illness and, when I got to the top of the stairs, she could hear I was out of breath. I was off work, got tested, and spent the whole weekend feeling like a fraud. I got the text message to say the results had come back positive within 30 minutes of Boris Johnson being sent to hospital. Family and friends I told were just like I hope it doesnt get any worse. Rosie Murphy, 33, from south-west London, has also donated her antibodies. She said she suffered from very very mild symptoms of the virus I spent my time off feeling fine and waiting for it to get worse - but it never did. Within two weeks I was back at work. My two-year-old had a temperature for two days and she was a bit grumpy, but my husband and son never showed any symptoms. They havent been tested so we dont know if they also caught the virus. I suspect I contracted it the day we went into lockdown. I saw an advert to donate coronavirus antibodies on Facebook and myself and a colleague registered. I was fairly well drilled and not squeamish about it. Id given blood before - and one time Id nearly fainted and been sick in the waiting area. In this they take blood, centrifuge it to remove the plasma, and put it back in. I thought Id be able to read a book but I had to keep watching this graph to make sure my blood pressure was fine, and keep clenching my fist. It wasnt hard to convince me to do this as Im all over research. It was a nice feeling too - like youre genuinely giving something back. If you have survived coronavirus and would like to register to donate your antibodies to the clinical trial, you can do so here. The Department of Telecommunications (DoT) has asked all websites and portals to conduct a security audit amid the rise in threats of cyber-attacks by Chinese hackers. The notice comes after the recent border dispute in the Galwan region of Ladakh and the governments ban on 59 Chinese apps over data security concerns. DoTs circular states that these websites and portals should carry out an audit and also upgrade the security of systems used by officials in the ministry. Most of these attacks are in the nature of DDOS (distributed denial of service), phishing, data exfiltration, remote access tool malware and keylogging, an official told The Indian Express. Another official stated that most of these attacks and malware have Command and Control (CnC) servers in China. Right after the (border) clashes, we observed up to 10,000 attack attempts per day. It has come down a bit but we have to be alert, the official added. The DoT had previously asked the websites and portals under it to conduct a security audit by November 2019. The latest reminder also states that websites that do not have a valid security certificate will need to conduct an audit on an immediate basis. The Computer Emergency Response Team (CERT) had previously issued an advisory warning that the potential phishing attacks could impersonate government agencies, departments and trade bodies that have been tasked to oversee the disbursement of government fiscal aid. The National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) email server was also attacked in June but prompt action resulted in no data loss. Also check: Cybersecurity attack: Your questions about what it is, its various types & how to be safe answered The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology had warned against a large-scale cyber attack against individuals and businesses She's currently on holiday with daughter Stormi and on/off boyfriend Travis Scott in nearby Laguna Beach, California. And during her Southern California staycation, Kylie Jenner took the time to promote her Kylie Cosmetics brand. The 22-year-old also reposted a note about Leo mother's from Sisters Village, an astrology focused Instagram account. Looking great: During her Southern California staycation, Kylie Jenner took the time to promote her Kylie Cosmetics brand on Tuesday The entrepreneur rocked her Sweater Weather lip kit in the boomerang, which her brand posted on its Instagram page. Kylie originally posted it on her own Instagram stories. The mother of one chose a striped button up shirt that featured white, red and silver tones. Kylie wore her medium brown tresses wavy around her with defined brows and brow:n eye shadow on her eye lids. Wow: The 22-year-old also reposted a note about Leo mother's from Sisters Village, an astrology focused Instagram account Pretty: The entrepreneur rocked her Sweater Weather lip kit in the boomerang, which her brand posted on its Instagram page She also reposted a Leo focused post from Sisters Village; Kylie, who was born August 10, is a Leo. In the post, titled 'The Leo Mother,' it read: 'She is deeply loyal and devoted, family means absolutely everything to her. Her children are the centre of her world, she is supportive and always has their best interest in everything that she does. She is enthusiastic and lively, her children love her playful spirit.' 'She is fiercely protective over her children, she will move absolute mountains for them. She just wants them to know how loved they truly are by her.' Kylie also shared a snap of Stormi on her stories as she posed in her own Stormi World tie dye pieces - from her second birthday party - and while toting her new mini orange Prada bag. So cute: Kylie also shared a snap of Stormi on her stories as she posed in her own Stormi World tie dye pieces - from her second birthday party - and while toting her new mini orange Prada bag Before leaving with Stormi, two, and Travis, to Laguna Beach, Kylie posed at home in her vintage Jean Paul Gaultier newspaper printed dress, adding sneakers and her Chanel handbag and gold and diamond jewelry. The beauty also reposted Jamie Foxx's post about Black Lives Matter, which noted how many days have passed since the deaths of Ahmaud Arbery, Breonna Taylor, George Floyd and Rayshard Brooks at the hands of police. Jamie had written: 'Black lives still matter. Today, tomorrow, and every day after that.' Wow: Before leaving with Stormi, two, and Travis, before Laguna Beach, Kylie posed at home in her vintage Jean Paul Gaultier newspaper printed dress, adding sneakers and her Chanel handbag and gold and diamond jewelry Family is everything: Kylie and on/off beau Travis Scott welcomed Stormi on February 1, 2018; the trio pictured on August 27, 2019 at his Netflix Travis Scott: Look Mom I Can Fly premiere The Network of Journalists for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa (PROMOAFRICA) has through a press statement condemned violence acts being experienced at registration centers in the ongoing Voter Registration Exercise. Since the Electoral Commission (EC) commenced the compilation of a new voter register last month, it is almost as if incidences of violence are recorded at multiple centers every other week. In the reported cases, the common variable is the alleged involvement of the New Patriotic Party (NPP) or National Democratic Congress (NDC) followers. On Monday, a similar incidence occurred at Step to Christ registration centre in the Awutu Senya East constituency when the MP for the area Hon. Mavis Hawa-Koomson was touring some of the registration centers. Making reference to that incidence which saw the MP firing a gunshot, PROMOAFRICA says it was very disheartening to see persons with disability on a wheelchair, aged persons, pregnant women, or lactating mothers at the polling station. The group have therefore condemned the ongoing politically driven violent acts as they appeal to the National Security apparatus and the National Peace Council to step in and crack the whip without fear or favour. The Network of Journalists for the Promotion of the Rights of Persons with Disabilities in Africa (PROMOAFRICA), per this statement condemn the growing act of political violence and shootings by known ministers of states and political actors at the ongoing EC registration centers across the country, a statement signed by Mariam Nyarkoah Amponsah who is the Executive Director of the Group has said. In addition, PROMOAFRICA is calling on H.E President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo Addo to respect the African Charter on Human and Peoples Rights on the Rights of Persons with disabilities in Africa to take appropriate and effective measures to protect and promote the rights and dignity of persons with disabilities. Below is the full statement from PROMOAFRICA: When the summer sun burns bright, melting snow and glaciers on the slopes of Oregons tallest peak, trails open up to hikers in search of the few, spectacular waterfalls that grace Mount Hood. To be honest, Mount Hood is better known for its ski areas, lakes and alpine meadows, as most waterfalls are found just north in the Columbia River Gorge (a veritable waterfall wonderland). But what these plunges lack in number and size, they make up for in their setting on the flanks of a towering Northwest volcano. While the hikes themselves arent particularly challenging, at least when compared to some of the other popular treks on Mount Hood, accessing the waterfalls isnt always straightforward. There may be some dangerous conditions that require caution, physical fitness or proper seasonal timing. Extra precautions are also in order during the coronavirus pandemic, including carrying a face mask and hand sanitizer, maintaining six feet of social distance when possible and not hiking with anyone outside your immediate household. Its also important to come prepared with a plan B or C in case the trailhead is too crowded. With a little precaution and good timing, Mount Hoods waterfalls are worthy destinations for day hikes this summer as you explore the slopes of our beloved mountain. A summer morning at Tamanawas Falls, a 109-foot waterfall found at the end of a two-mile hike on the east side of Mount Hood. Jamie Hale/The Oregonian TAMANAWAS FALLS Distance: 3.7 miles, out and back Difficulty: Moderately easy Amenities: Vault toilets, picnic tables at parking area The 109-foot waterfall on the eastern flank of Mount Hood is the mountains most beautiful plunge. Made of several uneven ribbons of water, Tamanawas Falls is found in a natural stone amphitheater at the end of an easy, 2-mile forested hike. Its accessibility also makes Tamanawas Falls a popular destination. The trailhead parking lot on the side of Oregon Route 35 accommodates several dozen cars, and it tends to fill up fast on warm days and summer weekends. Show up early in the morning or late in the afternoon if you want to avoid the crowds and enjoy the waterfall in peace and quiet. Cars at the trailhead must display a valid Northwest Forest Pass, day pass or equivalent interagency pass (available online or at local retailers). To find the Tamanawas Falls trailhead, take Oregon Route 35 south from Hood River and look for the trailhead parking area on the right after 24 miles. Follow signs to the waterfall. Ramona Falls is illuminated on a sunny afternoon in late September on Mount Hood. Jamie Hale/The OregonianJamie Hale/The Oregonian RAMONA FALLS Distance: 7.5 miles, out and back Difficulty: Moderate Amenities: Portable toilets at parking area With spectacular mountain views, quiet forest trails, a glacier-fed river and a waterfall at the end, the hike to Ramona Falls remains one of the very best day hikes on Mount Hood. The waterfall itself isnt a classic plunge like most we tend to think of, but is rather more of a tall cascade of spray down the side of a basalt cliff. Ramona Falls is still a phenomenally beautiful site, especially if you reach it when the sun peeks through the trees, casting rainbows in the spray. Reaching the waterfall, however, requires a potentially dangerous crossing of the Sandy River, which claimed the life of a hiker in 2014. With no bridge over the river, hikers need to cross on fallen logs when the water is low, typically late in the summer. IF THE RIVER IS RUNNING HIGH OR FAST, DO NOT ATTEMPT TO CROSS. Cars at the trailhead must display a valid Northwest Forest Pass, day pass or equivalent interagency pass (available online or at local retailers). To reach the Ramona Falls Trailhead, take U.S. 26 east through Sandy to East Lolo Pass Road. Turn left and follow the road for about four miles, then turn right onto Muddy Fork Road. Follow signs for the Ramona Falls Trailhead. On the trail, follow signs to Ramona Falls. Umbrella Falls cascades along the East Fork Hood River on the southeast side of Mount Hood The Umbrella Falls-Sahalie Falls Loop Hike runs about 4 miles on the southeast flank of Mount Hood.Jamie Hale/The Oregonian UMBRELLA FALLS AND SAHALIE FALLS Distance: 4.1 to 5.5 miles, round trip Difficulty: Moderate Amenities: Vault toilets at parking area You can get two waterfalls for the price of one on this moderate loop hike on the southeast side of Mount Hood. In addition to views of Umbrella Falls and Sahalie Falls, hikers can enjoy miles of forested trail, several great looks at the volcanic peak, and grassy meadows that in winter are ski runs at Mt. Hood Meadows (complete with a chairlift overhead). Of the two waterfalls, Umbrella Falls is the standout with easy access and a lovely viewpoint at the halfway point on the loop hike. Sahalie Falls is a little more complicated to see, requiring either a tricky climb down a treacherous side trail or an additional mile of walking, up and back down a paved forest road. Instead, hikers can take a safer route by making the short drive to the Sahalie Falls viewpoint after returning to the Elk Meadows and Sahalie Falls Trailhead, which is less than a mile away. Cars at the trailhead must display a valid Northwest Forest Pass, day pass or equivalent interagency pass (available online or at local retailers). To reach the Elk Meadows and Sahalie Falls Trailhead, take U.S. 26 east from Portland to Oregon Route 35. After 7.5 miles, turn left following signs to the Elk Meadows Trailhead. To complete the loop hike, take the Sahalie Falls Trail north, then turn left onto the Umbrella Falls Trail, crossing over the ski runs. At the second junction with the Sahalie Falls Trail, stay straight to reach Umbrella Falls, then return and follow the Sahalie Falls Trail to the paved road. Turn left to get back to the trailhead, or go right to reach a viewpoint of Sahalie Falls in .6 miles. --Jamie Hale; jhale@oregonian.com; 503-294-4077; @HaleJamesB Subscribe to Oregonian/OregonLive newsletters and podcasts for the latest news and top stories. Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev signed an order on July 20 on measures to eliminate the damage caused to the civilians and state property, including the infrastructure facilities as a result of the intensive shelling of Azerbaijans Tovuz district by the Armenian armed forces, Trend reports. Following deliberate targeted intensive shelling of settlements in the direction of Tovuz district near the Azerbaijani-Armenian border by the Armenian armed forces by using large-caliber weapons and heavy artillery since July 12, 2020, serious damage was caused to the civilian population and state property, including infrastructure facilities. The Azerbaijani Ministry of Economy, together with the Ministry of Emergency Situations, have been instructed to quickly assess the damage caused to the civilians and state property including the infrastructure facilities as a result of intensive shelling of Tovuz district by the Armenian armed forces and to provide obtained information to the Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers in order to eliminate the caused damage, to speed up the repair and construction work and fully restore the damaged facilities. The Azerbaijani Cabinet of Ministers was instructed to submit the proposals on the funds required to eliminate the caused damage, accelerate the repair and construction work and fully restore the damaged facilities to the Azerbaijani president according to the information provided in the order. --- Follow us on Twitter @AzerNewsAz Chicago's mayor Lori Lightfoot last night pleaded with Donald Trump not to send 'secret federal agents' to the city, after the president threatened to extend his intervention in Portland into Democrat-led cities across the country. The White House is poised to send up to 150 paramilitary personnel to Chicago after 12 more gun deaths over the weekend, but Lightfoot wrote in a letter to the president that the armed cops 'would spell disaster' for the city. 'Secret, federal agents who do not know Chicago, are unfamiliar with the unique circumstances of our neighborhoods and who would operate outside the established infrastructure of local law enforcement would not be effective, regardless of the number, and worse will foment a massive wave of opposition,' Lightfoot said. Scores of Border Patrol police and federal marshals in combat fatigues were dispatched to Portland last week and Trump said yesterday that 'we're looking at Chicago, too' along with other cities such as New York and Detroit. Chicago's mayor Lori Lightfoot (pictured at a press conference in the city last Friday) last night pleaded with Donald Trump not to send 'secret federal agents' to Chicago The Trump administration has sent federal officers to Portland (pictured near the federal courthouse last night) and is threatening to adopt the same tactic for other cities Donald Trump (pictured at the White House yesterday) blamed Democratic authorities for outbreaks of violence and threatened to send federal forces into more US cities According to reports, DHS was preparing to send 150 paramilitary personnel to Chicago after police there clashed with demonstrators seeking to tear down a statue of Christopher Columbus. Separately, 63 people were shot and 12 killed over the weekend in ongoing gun violence, according to local media. 'How about Chicago? Would you say they need help after this weekend?,' Trump said. 'You know the numbers that you hear, the numbers? Many, many shot. Many, many killed.' 'We're looking at Chicago, too. We're looking at New York,' Trump told reporters at the White House. 'Look at what's going on. All run by Democrats, all run by very liberal Democrats, all run really by radical left. We can't let this happen to the city.' 'I'm going to do something, that I can tell you, because we're not going to leave New York and Chicago and Philadelphia, Detroit and Baltimore,' he said. In a statement, DHS said it 'does not comment on any allegedly leaked operations'. Lightfoot said the deployment of secret, federal agents who 'arrest, and detain residents without any cause' is a bad idea and urged the president not to do it. 'What we do not need, and what will certainly make our community less safe is secret, federal agents deployed to Chicago,' she said. 'Any other form of militarized assistance within our borders that would not be within our control or within the direct command of the Chicago Police Department would spell disaster,' she wrote. Lightfoot, a frequent Trump critic, slammed the president in the letter for 'unhelpful' rhetoric and detailed ways the federal government could help the city to reduce violence. These suggestions included gun safety reform, public safety support, community outreach and community investment. 'Reasonable local police officials, including our superintendent, know that it is a dangerous road for us to go down,' Lightfoot said late Monday in an interview on MSNBC. ' 'We are not going to have people who don't know our streets don't know our neighborhoods and then who are engaging in clearly unconstitutional conduct operating at will in our city.' Lightfoot, a former assistant US attorney, said she could file a lawsuit to block efforts to place federal agents not under the direction of Chicago police in the city. According to reports, DHS was preparing to send 150 paramilitary personnel to Chicago after police there clashed with demonstrators seeking to tear down a statue of Christopher Columbus Armed federal officers in Portland last night after they were sent by the federal government in a move criticized by state and city authorities People protest in Portland last night in yet another night of the demonstrations which began after the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis on May 25 The Trump administration sent federal officers to Portland after weeks of protests that followed the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis. Oregon's governor and Portland's mayor have expressed anger with the presence of the federal agents, saying that the city's protests had started to ease just as the federal agents started taking action. After the DHS force arrived, video showed them taking some demonstrators away in unmarked vehicles. Most have been freed, but critics - including Oregon's governor and senators - likened it to 'secret police' in more repressive societies. Oregon has sued DHS for rights violations, while the state's governor, Kate Brown, demanded the officers be withdrawn, calling the deployment a political 'photo op.' But Trump praised the officers' actions and said he was looking to send agents to other cities. Trump is facing an uphill battle to win re-election in November and has made 'law and order' a central theme of his campaign in recent weeks. Demonstrators crowded in front of Portland's federal courthouse and the city's Justice Center late last night night, before authorities cleared them out as the loud sound and light of flash bang grenades filled the sky. The DHS claimed that federal agents were barricaded in the courthouse at one point and had lasers pointed at their eyes in an attempt to blind them. 'Portland is rife with violent anarchists assaulting federal officers and federal buildings,' the DHS said. 'This isn't a peaceful crowd. These are federal crimes.' Police also said protesters had gathered on Saturday evening at the Portland Police Bureau's North Precinct, vandalizing patrol vehicles and taunting officers who were reporting for work. Later, as police dispersed a group that had gathered near North Interstate Avenue, people allegedly threw rocks and paint-filled balloons at officers. Federal agents use crowd control munitions to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters in Portland last night Federal agents use tear gas to disperse Black Lives Matter protesters near the Mark O. Hatfield courthouse in Portland on Monday night A sign on a fence in Portland demands that federal forces 'get out now' and declares that the Black Lives Matter movement is 'here to stay' The American Civil Liberties Union of Illinois rejected any deployment of federal forces in Chicago, vowing to hold the 'Trump administration and any such federal forces accountable for unconstitutional actions.' None of the weekend shootings were connected to a Friday night protest where people marching against police brutality and racial injustice tried to topple a statue of Christopher Columbus, and Trump did not specifically reference that. Video shows officers using batons to beat protesters, some of whom threw fireworks, pieces of pipe and frozen bottles of water at police. 'We're going to have more federal law enforcement, that I can tell you,' Trump told reporters in the Oval Office. Trump's comments about Chicago come after the president of the local police officer's union wrote him a letter asking 'for help from the federal government' to help combat gun violence. The city has seen 414 homicides this year, compared with 275 during the same period last year. Fraternal Order of Police President John Catanzara, a vocal supporter of Trump, called Lightfoot a 'complete failure who is either unwilling or unable to maintain law and order'. However, he did not say what kind of help he was asking for or whether he wants federal troops to be sent to the city. Lightfoot in turn called Catanzara 'an unhinged leader of the Fraternal Order of Police who is craven and trying to get attention.' Trump's comments Monday were not the first time he has made disparaging comments about Chicago leaders, and what he says is their inability to control violence. Just last month, Trump sent a letter criticizing Lightfoot and Democratic Gov. J.B. Pritzker for a 'lack of leadership' in stemming gun violence. Lightfoot dismissed Trump's letter as a 'litany of nonsense.' As for the protest Friday night, more than 20 complaints have been filed against police, according to the Civilian Office of Police Accountability. They included claims of excessive force and unnecessary use of pepper spray. The agency is also investigating video of an officer striking 18-year-old Miracle Boyd, an activist who says at least one of her teeth was knocked out. Lightfoot also said video had surfaced showing a small group of people had broken off from marching protesters, changed into black clothes and, using umbrellas to shield themselves from view, threw the items at police. 'That's not peaceful protest, that's anarchy and we are going to put that down,' she said. Police Superintendent David Brown said 49 officers were injured, 18 of whom required hospital treatment. 'Peaceful demonstrations have been hijacked by organized mobs,' said Brown, adding that he will order officers to wear 'any and all protective gear' at protests. Share this article Whatsapp Facebook Twitter Linkedin Hong Dam-young (The Korea Herald/Asia News Network) Seoul, South Korea Tue, July 21, 2020 17:34 547 6657ac82168da9fa101c8a406682cd87 2 Entertainment music,Golden-Child,K-pop,South-Korea Free Having returned with "Lucid Dream", Golden Child recently sat down with The Korea Herald to quench fans thirst for a lively chat filled with fun-filled details. The conversation took place at the Herald headquarters in Seoul, where the bandmates played Whos Who game and answered Twitter questions, unleashing their most natural, fun selves. Although the broadcast took place on a rainy Monday morning, the studio was brightly lit by the boys unbridled energy. Only six members of the 10-piece band, Joochan, Jibeom, Seungmin, Tag, Jaehyun and Y, took part -- the other bandmates had conflicting schedules -- but the void was not felt. After introducing themselves in English, the boys played Whos Who game via Navers V Live where they answered questions on whos most likely to do certain actions. Jaehyun, who was picked as the member whos most likely to get nervous onstage, said, I have a habit of tapping on my arms before going onstage for better blood circulation. I recommend you try it! Tapped as members who make most mistakes during dance practice, Jaehyun, Tag and Y jokingly said they would make up for it and showcased the choreography for Lucid Dream without a hitch. Asked what kinds of songs they would like for a soundtrack for Golden Childs movie, Y chose Im Falling while Joochan sang You Turn Me on Baby and Jibeom lent his voice to Let Me, a lighthearted song by the group. Spicing up the mood, Jibeom went onto sing November Rain by Jannabi, one of his favorite bands, so that viewers could get over the rainy Monday blues. The group shared that the most emotional member is Joochan, as he often sheds tears after watching sad movies but orders chicken right after that, while Y got chosen as the member who sings most in the shower. Each member also took time to shine, with Joochan imitating the sound of raindrops and Tag comically dancing to Ah-Choo by the groups label mate Lovelyz. Pumping up the mood, Jibeom and Jaehyun entertained viewers by putting on a goofy freestyle dance battle. Read also: SHINees Onew returns from military service Switching between Korean and English, the six musicians kept communicating with global fans throughout the hourlong session that racked up over 3.1 million hearts and 22,000 views. The Twitter Q&A session also saw them answering various queries, such as which countries theyd like to be born in other than Korea, how they would like to be remembered as a group, what they would say to their younger selves and what they would be doing 10 years from now. Even after 10 years, wed like to keep continuing activities as Golden Child, said Tag. Just like theres a certain celebrity who immediately draws out a smile and joy, wed like to give a bit of smile to people, as life sometimes could be succession of pain, added Jibeom. Golden Child dropped its fourth EP Take a Leap, featuring new single Lucid Dream, in June. The group recently competed in Mnets idol competition show Road to Kingdom. 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 Senator Godswill Akpabio faces a possible perjury charge if he cannot substantiate the allegation he made on Monday that 60 percent of NDDC contracts were given to National Assembly members. Speaker of the House of Representatives, Femi Gbajabiamila on Tuesday gave Akpabio, the Minister of Niger Delta Affairs 48 hours to publish the names of lawmakers awarded contracts by Niger Delta Development Commission (NDDC). He also challenged him to publish the contract details. Should the minister fail to publish the names, the speaker said the entire House will employ the full wrath to ensure he does so. Gbajabiamila issued the ultimatum to the minister, a day after the minister swore to an oath to say the truth, and claimed before the Houses NDDC committee, that most of the contracts awarded by the NDDC were awarded to lawmakers. He was reacting to a point of order brought under matters of breach of his privileges by the minority leader, Ndudi Elumelu. Mr Elumelu urged the house to invite Mr Akpabio to mention those who got contracts from the NDDC. Reacting to Mr Elumelus point of order, the speaker said it was unfortunate that journalists help him in amplifying what we all know is untrue. Ive never once collected contracts from the NDDC and I know I can speak for many other members, Mr Gbajabiamila said. I hereby call on the minister to within 24-48 hours to publish the names, contracts, date and unveil the companies of the 60 per cent projects that were given to the National Assembly. He said failure to do so would leave the house with no other option than to bring the full wrath of the law. The minister owes it to himself, committee, Niger Delta and the people of Nigeria to publish details of those who have been given contracts, the speaker said. Related The suspects are unlikely to be brought to trial because China does not have an extradition treaty with the United States. The charges were the latest in a continuing effort by the Justice Department to secure indictments against private groups and intelligence officials involved in hacking campaigns as a deterrent and to raise awareness of the threat that such groups pose. On Tuesday, David L. Bowdich, the F.B.I. deputy director, called the hacks part of a campaign of economic coercion akin to what we expect from an organized criminal syndicate. The suspects targeted hundreds of computer networks around the world and caused unnamed companies to lose hundreds of millions of dollars of intellectual property, according to the indictment. For example, they stole research on radio and laser technology from a California defense firm and engineering drawings for a gas turbine from a company working in the United States and Japan, court papers showed. Justice Department and F.B.I. officials said the hackers were pursuing information and research about the coronavirus vaccine from American biotech firms but described it as an attempt to steal the data. The indictment, which was filed in the Eastern District of Washington, did not say that the hackers successfully stole information or research on the vaccine. The pair did try to hack a Massachusetts biotech firm researching a vaccine as early as Jan. 27, according to the indictment. On Feb. 1, the pair tried to find vulnerabilities on the networks of a California biotech firm that had announced it was researching coronavirus antiviral drugs. Then, in May, Mr. Li investigated a California diagnostic firm developing virus testing kits. While the indictment named only the two suspects, unlike the larger group of Russian hackers accused of seeking vaccine data, the Justice Department portrayed their work as far-reaching and long-running, going back to at least 2009. American officials first detected the suspects five years ago, when they stole a gigabyte of information including personnel and administrator accounts from the Hanford Site, an Energy Department facility in Washington State where plutonium was produced during World War II, according to the indictment. More than a quarter of Britons suffered from mental health problems during the first month of lockdown, a study has found. Manchester University researchers surveyed 17,500 people in April, when the public was ordered not to leave home unless it was absolutely essential. They found more than a quarter (27 per cent) of participants experienced 'significant mental distress' during that time, up by fewer than one in five pre-lockdown. Women under the age of 25 were the hardest hit, with 44 per cent having difficulty sleeping, concentrating or feelings of being overwhelmed. The study, published in the Lancet Psychiatry, is the first peer-reviewed research into how the draconian measures affected people's mental wellbeing. Researchers behind the paper say they are 'concerned the economic fallout from the crisis will cause mental illness to rise even now that lockdown has been lifted. The graph shows how levels of mental distress were in men and women across ages in April 2020. Women under the age of 25 have the highest levels of significant mental health distress, according to a survey in April, at 44 per cent The study involved people who had previously been part of the UK Household Longitudinal Study (UKHLS). UKHLS has been tracking mental health in 40,000 households for more than ten years, and so is a useful tool to measure how mental illness in the population is changing over time. Between April 23 and 30, one month after the UK lockdown was introduced on March 23, people who had responded to the most recent UKHLS surveys were invited to complete an online poll about their mental health. A FIFTH OF BRITAIN'S REPORT A WORSENING OF RELATIONSHIPS AFTER LOCKDOWN Britain's lockdown has ruined people's relationships with friends and loved ones, according to a study. A fifth of 70,000 respondents admitted they had grown distant from friends outside their own home and 18 per cent said the same had happened in their relationship with their partner, according to the research. University College London academics say the draconian restrictions on socialising had driven a wedge between swathes of people. However, there is also evidence Britons have united during the crisis and are helping others more often, they said. The results come from an ongoing survey that started in March and was funded by the Nuffield Foundation. It began a week before lockdown and has continued through the past few months, measuring how Britons have fared through the unprecedented measures. A quarter of people said they had a worse relationships with colleagues. Since Prime Minister Boris Johnson advised Britons to work from home as much as possible and millions ended up furloughed, contact with co-workers fizzled out. Tensions were also high at home a fifth of people polled reported a worsening of relationships with other adults they lived with. The research did not dig deeper into why people felt their relationships had deteriorated. Relationships could have been impacted either by effect of spending more or less time with certain people. Advertisement Some 17,452 people over the age of 16 responded to the survey, which used the 'General Health Questionnaire (GHQ)' to score people's mental health. Participants were asked 12 questions, which included how often they experienced symptoms such as difficulties sleeping or concentrating, problems with decision-making or feeling overwhelmed. Each question is rated between 0 and 3, giving a total potential score of 36, where higher scores represent higher levels of mental distress. The mean score increased from 11.5 last year to 12.6 in April 2020 - an increase of almost 10 per cent. People living without a partner (13.8/36) and those with a pre-existing health condition that would make them more vulnerable to Covid-19 infection (13.7/36) had higher levels of mental distress than the average population (12.6/36). However, comparison of individuals responses before and after lockdown did not reveal a larger than average increase in mental distress for these groups. Mental distress was more common among people living in low income households (average score 13.9/36 in households of lowest income, compared with 12.0/36 for highest income homes). In addition, people who were unemployed before the lockdown had higher mental distress scores than those in employment (unemployed: 15.0/36, employed: 12.5/36). Women, young people and those living with pre-school children were the most affected, according to the researchers. Young people between 16 and 24 saw their score jump by 2.69 points on average, the highest of all age groups. Some 36.7 per cent were categorised as having significant levels of mental distress in April compared with 24.5 per cent the year before. When looking at genders and age together, 44 per cent of women aged 1624 reported clinically significant distress in April, 2020, compared with 32 per cent in 2018-2019. But the researchers said mental distress in men may be more likely to manifest in ways not captured by the survey, such as alcohol misuse or gambling. Dr Matthias Pierce, the lead researcher from the University of Manchester, said: 'It appears to be the mental health of the young and of women that is disproportionately affected by Covid. 'This may flow from the Government's pandemic response and strategies to mitigate transmission of the disease. 'The higher mental distress in women widens established mental health inequalities and highlights how important it is that providers make sure to maintain people's access to services for domestic violence, sexual and reproductive health. Availability of childcare is also urgently needed.' There were some mental health inequalities between groups that were present before the pandemic and persisted, but did not widen. For example, people who are single, have an underlying health condition, are poor or unemployed already had higher levels of mental illness which didn't get worse over lockdown. However, a slight increase in mental distress was discovered in people who had jobs at the time of the survey compared to the unemployed (0.63 compared with 0.48). This group includes those who may have been furloughed, lost their job or worried about losing their job, as well as those shifting to working from home. The researchers say this trend should be monitored closely as the effects of the pandemic on employment take hold and expected redundancies come to fruition. Another inequality that emerged is that people living with young children aged five and under. On average their mental health score rose by 1.45 compared with those in a child-free house (0.33). The researchers, including from King's College London and City University, concluded: 'By late April, 2020, mental health in the UK had deteriorated compared with pre-Covid-19 trends. 'Policies emphasising the needs of women, young people, and those with pre-school aged children are likely to play an important part in preventing future mental illness.' Sally McManus, joint senior author, of City, University of London, UK, said: 'The pandemic has brought people's differing life circumstances into stark contrast. 'We found that, overall, pre-existing inequalities in mental health for women and young people have widened. 'At the same time new inequalities have emerged, such as for those living with pre-school children. 'These findings should help inform social and educational policies aimed at mitigating the impact of the pandemic on the nation's mental health, so that we can try to avoid a rise in mental illness in the years to come.' There were too few responses to examine changes in mental health within ethnic groups from before and after the pandemic. Average mental distress scores were higher for Asian people than white British - but the study was 'not powered to detect a change for other ethnic groups'. China launched its military build-up in the mid-1990s with a top priority: keep the United States at bay in any conflict by making the waters off the Chinese coast a death trap. Now, Chinas Peoples Liberation Army (PLA) is preparing to challenge American power further afield. Chinas shipyards have launched the PLA Navys first two Type 075 amphibious assault ships, which will form the spearhead of an expeditionary force to play a role similar to that of the US Marine Corps. And like the Marines, the new force will be self-contained - able to deploy solo with all its supporting weapons to fight in distant conflicts or demonstrate Chinese military power. The 40,000-tonne Type 075 ships are a kind of small aircraft carrier with accommodation for up to 900 troops and space for heavy equipment and landing craft, according to Western military experts who have studied satellite images and photographs of the new vessels. They will carry up to 30 helicopters at first; later they could carry fighter jets, if China can build short take off and vertical landing aircraft like the US F-35B. Also read| We are a battleground now: In Southeast Asia, US-China tensions flare on social media The first Type 075 was launched last September and the second in April, according to reports in Chinas official military media. A third is under construction, according to the May edition of a Congressional Research Service report. Eventually, the PLA Navy could have seven or more of these ships, according to reports in Chinas official military press. Chinese military commentators quoted in official media say Chinas shipyards are now building and launching amphibious ships so rapidly it is like dropping dumplings into water. The military rivalry between China and the United States is only growing sharper. Last week, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo declared most of Beijings claims of sovereignty in the South China Sea illegal, throwing Washingtons weight behind the rival claims of Southeast Asian nations over territory and resources in the strategic waterway that were supported by international law. China said the US position raised tensions in the region and undermined stability. Chinas nascent amphibious forces still lag far behind those of the United States, but the speed of Chinas military rise has already shifted the balance of power in Asia. Over the past two decades, China has deployed an arsenal of missiles and a massive surface and sub-surface fleet to deter potential enemies from sailing in its coastal waters. Now, as part of an accelerated modernization of the PLA since Chinese President Xi Jinping came to power in 2012, these new amphibious ships and the specially trained marines they carry will boost Beijings firepower and political influence far from its shores, according to Chinese and Western military analysts. As shipyards churn out amphibious vessels, China is expanding its force of marines under the command of the PLA Navy. These troops are being trained and equipped to make landings and fight their way ashore. China now has between 25,000 and 35,000 marines, according to US and Japanese military estimates. Thats a sharp increase from about 10,000 in 2017. Without an amphibious force, any military force is greatly constrained in where and how it can conduct operations, said Grant Newsham, a retired US Marine Corps colonel and researcher at the Japan Forum for Strategic Studies. Newsham advised the Japanese military on the formation of Tokyos own Amphibious Rapid Deployment Brigade, formed in 2018. Jets can drop bombs and ships can fire missiles at the shore - but you might need infantry to go ashore and kill the enemy and occupy the ground. Chinas Ministry of National Defense and the Pentagon did not respond to questions from Reuters. At home, too, the PLA marines have become an important tool in the ruling Communist Partys efforts to showcase Chinas increasingly powerful military to its domestic audience. The state-controlled media regularly reports on the gruelling training and military skills of the Jiaolong, or Sea Dragon commandos - a unit from the marines special forces brigade based on Hainan Island off southern China. We should be the point of the sword in joint operations to strike terror into the heart of the enemy, said Gong Kaifeng, a Jiaolong commandos company commander, in a report last year on the units training broadcast on state television. When the Type 075 ships enter service, China will have the capacity to combine them with its other new amphibious and support vessels, Chinese and foreign analysts say. These self-contained fleets can be sent to distant conflicts, deployed as a show of force to deter potential enemies or to protect Chinese investments and citizens abroad. They would also allow the PLA to provide disaster relief and humanitarian assistance, competing with the US for prestige and soft power. INVADING TAIWAN For Beijing, these amphibious forces will also contribute to the PLAs mounting capacity to make a landing on Taiwan or seize other strategically important or disputed territory in Chinas offshore regions, according to specialists in amphibious warfare. Beijing regards self-governing Taiwan a province of China. Xi Jinping has said unifying Taiwan with the mainland is a vital step in realizing the Chinese peoples dream of a powerful, rejuvenated nation. In a key speech early last year calling on Taiwan to open talks on peaceful reunification, Xi warned that this long-standing dispute could not be deferred indefinitely. We make no promise to renounce the use of force and reserve the option of taking all necessary means, Xi said. China has this year stepped up military operations and exercises around Taiwan, according to US and Taiwanese military analysts. PLA Air Force jets, including at least one bomber and a fighter, briefly entered Taiwans air defense identification zone on June 22, before being warned off by the Taiwanese air force, the islands military said. It was the eighth such encounter in two weeks, the military said. Taiwan launched its annual Han Kuang defense exercise on July 13 with an emphasis on joint operations between land, sea and air forces to defend the island from attack, according to the islands military. The exercise also involved an expanded role for reservists as the military strives to boost its firepower, senior Taiwan government officials said. Our military is always working hard to prepare for war, closely monitoring the dynamics of the Chinese Communists military and the development of the situation in the Taiwan Strait, Taiwans Defense Ministry said in response to questions from Reuters. We have a complete defense plan and appropriate actions to deal with the threat of the Chinese Communists attacking Taiwan and the seizure of offshore islands, which can ensure national security. Experts on amphibious forces note the PLA already has powerful army units that are trained and equipped to make the kind of landings necessary for an invasion of Taiwan. In expanding the marines, they argue, PLA military planners are looking at operations across the globe, in places where China has extensive offshore investments. These commercial interests are likely to multiply as Beijing presses ahead with its Belt and Road Initiative, an ambitious bid to put China at the center of global trading routes. Chinas marines will also be important to man what is expected to become a network of strategic military bases around the world, including fortifications on territory Beijing has seized in the South China Sea, according to Chinese and Western military commentators. Beijing has already deployed marines and their armored vehicles to its first overseas base at Djibouti on the Horn of Africa, according to Pentagon reports. Marines are also deployed on the flotillas China sends on naval anti-piracy missions to the Gulf of Aden, these reports said. We are currently only seeing the tip of the iceberg, said Ian Easton, the senior director of the Project 2049 Institute, an Arlington, Virginia-based security research group. Ten years from now, China is almost certainly going to have marine units deployed at locations all over the world. The Chinese Communist Partys ambitions are global. Its interests are global. It plans to send military units wherever its global strategic interests require. Short of war, capable amphibious forces will also become a powerful diplomatic or coercive tool for Beijing, military analysts say. So far, Washington has had a monopoly on this type of engagement with other governments, routinely sending marine expeditionary units abroad for port visits, joint training exercises and disaster relief. US expeditionary flotillas, packed with marines, all their heavy equipment and air support, are a potent reminder of American power. A raw demonstration came in the tense period in 1999 when an Australian-led United Nations peacekeeping force intervened to stop violence in what was then Indonesian-controlled East Timor. American forces didnt become heavily involved on the ground. But the presence of the USS Belleau Wood, a 40,000-tonne amphibious assault ship carrying 900 marines and heavy lift and attack helicopters, served as formidable back-up as the UN troops restored order without any significant resistance from Indonesia. SEIZING ISLANDS Chinas first two Type 075 amphibious assault vessels are now berthed together undergoing final fit-out at a state-owned Shanghai shipyard, Chinas official military media has reported. Photographs in the official media and commercial satellite images show that the 250-meter-long vessels appear similar to flat-top amphibious assault ships in service with other advanced navies, including the US fleet. America currently has a fleet of eight Wasp and two America-class amphibious assault vessels. However, in a blow to US efforts to blunt the challenge from China, the Wasp-class amphibious assault ship USS Bonhomme Richard caught fire on July 12 while tied up at its home port in San Diego. The ship was extensively damaged in the fire which burned for four days. It was unclear if the ship would be salvaged, the US Navy said. Since 2005, China has also built a fleet of six Type 071 amphibious ships, according to a 2019 report from the US Defense Intelligence Agency. These vessels can carry up to four air-cushion landing craft, similar to the hovercraft carried on US amphibious landing ships, as well as four or more helicopters, armored vehicles and troops on long-distance deployments, the report said. A seventh Type 071 is under construction, according to Western military analysts. Chinas official shipbuilding industry journals have reported the 29,000-tonne Type 071 has command and control capabilities, a medical unit and accommodation for hundreds of marines. The 210-meter long vessel has a range of 10,000 nautical miles and reached a speed of 25 knots in trials, these reports said. To build the force that will embark on these ships, China began a rapid increase in the size of its marine force in 2017, according to Pentagon reports. Earlier, marines had been a low priority in the decades when Chinas military built a massive ground force to defend the mainland. A regiment of marines was formed in 1953 and expanded to a division but then disbanded in 1957, according to an official timeline of major events in PLA history. It was reformed in 1979, the timeline shows. The US Defense Intelligence Agency report said Chinas marine force is now organized into seven brigades, each with armor, infantry, artillery and missiles, and is the strongest force of this type among the rival claimants to disputed territories in the South China Sea. Chinas marines can simultaneously seize multiple islands in the Spratlys, the report said, referring to a contested group of islands and reefs in the South China Sea. They could also rapidly reinforce Chinas outposts in the Paracel Islands, another disputed territory in the same waterway. China does not publish detailed accounts of the disposition of its forces. Amphibious warfare specialists say these marines would also be useful for seizing other disputed territory, including the uninhabited group of isles in the East China Sea that are claimed by both Tokyo and Beijing - known as the Senkaku islands in Japan and the Diaoyu islands in China. Selected army units are being transferred to the marines to boost the forces capability, according to reports in the official Chinese military media and Western defense analysts. Chinas official military newspaper, the PLA Daily, reported in April that two army units trained in aerial assault had been transferred to a marines brigade dedicated to helicopter landings. The Pentagons annual report on Chinese military power in 2018 revealed that a newly established headquarters under the command of the navy was responsible for staffing, training and equipping the expanding force. And, the report said, a new commander had been appointed to lead the marines. Chinas state-controlled media has identified him as Major General Kong Jun, a former army officer who transferred to the marines in early 2017. Despite this build-up, the Pentagon and other Western military experts argue the PLA marines remain far less capable than the 186,000-strong US Marine Corps, with its extensive experience of amphibious and land operations. In its 2019 report on Chinas military power, the Pentagon said most of the new PLA marines brigades were not yet manned and equipped to be fully operational. It said Chinas marines lacked sufficient armored vehicles, helicopters and training to conduct complex amphibious operations. Some Western military experts suggest one reason for this: The top priorities for the PLA brass are the army amphibious units and air force airborne troops that would spearhead an attack on Taiwan. So, the marines dont have priority when it comes to things like amphibious tanks and helicopters, said Easton of the Project 2049 Institute, who has written a book, The Chinese Invasion Threat, on the PLAs preparations to conquer Taiwan. The ruling Communist Party has long wanted control of Taiwan for political reasons. The island also has huge strategic importance. It would give the PLA a key foothold in the so-called first island chain, the string of islands that run from the Japanese archipelago through Taiwan, the Philippines and on to Borneo, enclosing Chinas coastal seas. From bases on Taiwan, Chinese warships, strike aircraft and missiles would dominate the sea lanes vital to Japan and South Korea. And Taiwan would be an ideal jump-off point for operations aimed at seizing further territory in the island chain. Newsham, the retired US Marine colonel, said the PLA had assembled a formidable army amphibious force and sufficient ships, military and civilian, to probably land enough troops on Taiwan as part of a full-scale attack that includes air, missile, naval and cyber assaults. The PLA already has a lot lined up, he said. Its popularity spread throughout western Europe, and in 1569 it arrived in Rome, where Pope Pius V declared it repulsive. The history of chocolate goes back millennia, but its popularity at Easter is much more recent. Chocolates place in European history and in the hearts of sweet tooths and chocoholics worldwide can be traced back to the New World. The Spanish explorer Hernn Corts is credited with discovering chocolate as it was consumed by the Mayas in what is now Mexico, and with bringing it back to Spain in 1528. There, the pure chocolate was mixed with other ingredients including cinnamon, nutmeg, vanilla, almonds and sugar to create a more palatable drink (it was originally consumed in liquid form). Its popularity spread throughout western Europe, and in 1569 it arrived in Rome, where Pope Pius V declared it repulsive, but that drinking it on Fridays during Lent did not break the fast. It wasnt until almost a century later that chocolate became a fashionable drink throughout the continent, and in 1662 the Roman Catholic Church restated that the liquid didnt break the fast, but that chocolate confections a new phenomenon could not be consumed until Easter. The emergence of chocolate Easter candy is more elusive. We know that Easter was originally a pagan celebration of spring, which was subsequently incorporated into the Christian calendar by missionaries as their celebration of the resurrection of Christ. The rabbit existed as a symbol of fertility and new life since pre-Christian times too, although it was Germany that first celebrated Easter with edible bunnies made of pastry and sugar in the early 1800s. When chocolate became the medium for Easter sweets is difficult to pinpoint, but it must have been some time in the 19th century, when fondant chocolate was first developed, and when candies were first mass-produced and affordable to the general public. In Italy today the main secular symbol of Easter is the egg also a symbol of new life, rebirth and hope. And as tradition states, spring is a great time to celebrate life with a substance that has historically been considered an ancient currency, an upper-class beverage and an aphrodisiac. Luckily for Rome residents and visitors, there are a handful of artisans in the historic centre that specialise in making chocolates, all of whom feature special designs for the Easter holiday. Moriondo & Gariglio This chocolate shop near the Pantheon is the oldest in Rome. The company was founded in 1850 in Turin (one of Italys chocolate meccas) as confectioners to the royal Savoy family, and moved to Rome about 1870. Not much has changed since then. Theyre still using the same recipes and pure chocolate in their candies, and their chocolates flavoured with fruit (try the banana) and nuts (the famed nocciola) hark back to a time before preservatives. For Easter, Moriondo & Gariglio offers eggs wrapped in brightly-coloured foil with gifts inside for children, and filled simply with chocolate for "adult" baskets, which make lovely centrepieces for a holiday table. Via del Pie di Marmo 21-22, tel. 066990856. Valzani This chocolate and confections shop has been in Trastevere since 1925, and is famous for its chocolate Easter eggs of all sizes. Theres even a poem, written in dialect for the store owners after world war two, that speaks of these eggs: "belli, boni e co poca spesa / ca mette puro la sopresa" (pretty, delicious and inexpensive / they even have a surprise inside). Eggs range from the tiny and solid to life-size and larger ones with gifts inside, at a cost of 5.80 to 43.50. Theres even a huge egg of chocolate and painted marzipan that weighs in at about 35 kg, picturing i dolci romani a couple embracing while watching a Roman sunset. Valzani is the locale for chocolate Easter eggs served up with a bit of local history. Via del Moro 37a/b, tel. 065803792. Quetzalcoatl Named after the feathered Aztec god who supposedly descended from heaven carrying a cocoa tree from paradise, this boutique is owned by a French woman and her Italian husband with an unwavering love of fine chocolates. Using only high-quality Valrhona chocolate from France, this emporium offers everything from pralines to truffles and macaroons, all home-made and served with an expiry date card to ensure freshness. Here one finds chocolates filled with ganache, flavoured with limoncello liqueur, fig grappa, chilli pepper, lavender, tea, cinnamon and basil, to name a few varieties. For Easter, Quetzalcoatl offers a range of moulded chocolate treats, from small and large eggs (about 84 for a very large one) to bells, doves, ducks, bunnies, fish, lambs and chicks. Each is set neatly in Easter "grass" and packaged simply with a brightly-coloured ribbon perfect for gift giving. Via delle Carrozze 26, tel. 0669202191. Dolce Idea The newest addition to the Roman chocolate scene has Neapolitan roots. Started in 1979 by Gennaro Bottone, this outlet in Trastevere is the fourth franchise, and the first shop outside Naples. Everything is of high-quality chocolate and the selection is vast, featuring 60 different pralines, as well as chocolate "sculpture": a chocolate vista of the Bay of Naples and a dark chocolate espresso pot for example. For Easter, Dolce Idea features the usual bunnies, lambs, chicks and eggs, here given a new twist with the optional addition of puffed rice or gianduia. Via S. Francesco a Ripa 27, tel. 0658334043. By Dana Klitzberg To the editor: On June 7, I saw a different Midland. More than 1,200 people of all ages and races gathered for a student-led Rally for Racial Justice, calling for justice for George Floyd and many others murdered, simply because of their skin color. Listening as a white woman, I was challenged: (1) to mourn the fallen and apologize to our friends of color; (2) to become knowledgeable of our countrys violent race history; and (3) to partner with people of color to shape a society free of racism. Following Floyds murder, it was reported that Attorney General Barr ordered Lafayette Square to be cleared, resulting in peaceful protesters being tear gassed, to facilitate President Trumps photo opportunity at a church. General Mark Milley, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, apologized for what he described as his inappropriate participation. A further affront to the African American community was President Trumps rally scheduled in Tulsa, Oklahoma on June 19. Referred to as Juneteenth, this date commemorates African American Emancipation. On June 19,1865, news of freedom reached Texas two years after the Emancipation Proclamation. The date of the rally was changed to June 20; however, the Tulsa location was problematic given that Tulsa was the site of the 1921 Race Massacre, where a white mob killed 100-300 African Americans, leaving 10,000 black people homeless, and property and real estate loss of more than $2.25 million (equivalent to $32 million in 2019). On June 20, President Trump spoke for 1 hour, 37 minutes. Having read the entire transcript, I can tell you he never mentioned George Floyds name and never addressed the police violence that eliminated this mans life. We must become a country where African Americans can live without fear of violence from their leaders and those who are paid to protect them. The young people at the Rally for Racial Justice reminded us to vote for leaders who share this goal. Let us not forget that President Trump chose to not address the police violence that took George Floyds life less than one month before. KATHY MCCREEDY Midland BMA Northern Ireland has urged the minister of health to make a swift decision on a pay rise for doctors. Doctors in England, Scotland and Wales were on Tuesday awarded a 2.8% increase by their governments for the 2020/21 financial year. The BMAs Northern Ireland Council chairman, Tom Black, said: The last four months of the Covid-19 pandemic will have been one of the most stressful periods of doctors working lives and yet they responded to it with commitment, hard work and innovation, willingly working long, unsociable hours away from their loved ones and putting their own wellbeing and lives at risk in the process. Expand Close Robin Swann (Kelvin Boyes/PA) PA / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp Robin Swann (Kelvin Boyes/PA) He said there have been significant delays to the pay award in Northern Ireland in recent years which has affected morale and contributed to lack of pay parity, particularly during the months of delay. Dr Black said: Doctors and other frontline health service workers will be called on again to work above and beyond for our health service during what will be the busiest winter period it might see yet. The very least the Department of Health can do is to recognise these efforts by implementing the 2020/21 pay uplift in a timely fashion. In April, Health Minister Robin Swann said a 2020/21 award fully established pay parity with England. A Department of Health spokesman said: The minister wants those on the health and social care front line in Northern Ireland to be properly rewarded for their work and commitment. STATEMENT: BMA Northern Ireland urges timely decision on pay uplift for doctors https://t.co/yNE3rtVwtR BMA Northern Ireland (@BMA_NI) July 21, 2020 He is also keen to see this years pay award for doctors and dentists resolved more quickly than has been the case in recent years. Decisions on public sector pay awards are taken in the context of the annual public sector pay policy set by the Department of Finance. A Review Body on Doctors and Dentists Remuneration said the delays to the pay award process in Northern Ireland continue to be unacceptable. We expect pay awards to be made in a timely fashion following the submission of our reports, and this has unfortunately not been happening in Northern Ireland for some time. This in turn undermines the credibility of the pay determination process amongst the remit group and is likely to have a negative impact on morale. This Is Still Happening is a feature in which Slate will attempt to offer an update on senior-level administration corruption, what could be done to bring the officials to account, and what Democrats are doing in response (generally, nothing). The 10th installment is about the acting secretary of homeland security, one of the authors of family separation and the current head of a secret federal police force deployed in Portland, Oregon. The Official: Chad Wolf, acting secretary of homeland security and under secretary of homeland security for strategy, policy, and plans Advertisement What Is Still Happening: The Department of Homeland Security has been at the heart of the Trump agenda, symbolically and substantively. Even as the presidents other campaign messages or promises have been lost to incompetence or indifference, each head of Homeland Security has pushed forward the Donald TrumpStephen Miller agenda of making the United States as hostile as possible to immigrantsa program of genuine white nationalism, meant to halt the countrys long-term movement toward demographic diversity. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Since taking over as acting secretary of homeland security this past November, Wolf has gone further than any of his predecessors to thwart immigration and to deport foreign-born residents, with little regard for law or process. Now, though, he has extended that approach to sending his federal deportation force against American citizens exercising their First Amendment rights, as footage emerged last week of unmarked forces under Wolfs command abducting protesters off of the streets of Portland, Oregon. Advertisement Advertisement Wolf is perhaps the perfect person to lead this particular dystopian innovation of the Trump presidency, having previously authored an infamous memo advocating for a short-lived but horrific policy of separating family units to deter undocumented immigration. Wolf has graduated from advocating kidnapping children from their parents at the border to kidnapping grown adults in American streets. In video taken last week, unidentified federal officers in paramilitary uniforms in Portland chased down a protester, captured him, and placed him in an unmarked van. Subsequent reporting established that this jump-out squad was a U.S. Customs and Border Protection unit. Similar abductions have reportedly happened on multiple occasions, and on Monday the president bragged that these federal officers had grabbed protesters and placed a lot of people in jail, and he threatened to bring more federal law enforcement to cities run by liberal Democrats. It was further reported on Monday that 150 such agents from the Department of Homeland Security and under Wolfs command would be deploying to Chicago in the coming days. Advertisement Advertisement These roving squads operate without giving their names or badge numbers, so Wolf has served as the face of Trumps new secret police program, touring a federal courthouse in Portland last week, outside of which his federal agents would tear-gas moms and other peaceful protesters. Or, as Wolf declared in a since-deleted tweet last week along with a photo of him speaking to these secret paramilitary agents: Our men and women in uniform are patriots. We will never surrender to violent extremists on my watch. Advertisement Advertisement Wolf continued his publicity tour on Monday, telling Fox & Friends that agents were there to protect federal facilities from violent anarchists and extremists. What were not going to do is allow them to attack a courthouse and then simply step across the street onto city property and say, You cant touch me. Thats not how this works, Wolf said, apparently describing the logic behind the abductions. Almost all of our activity has taken place in the one, two, or three blocks around that courthouse and will continue to do so. Advertisement Advertisement Multiple parts of the Bill of Rights bar unidentified federal agents from conducting secret abductions and tear-gassing peaceful protesting moms. While Wolf has attempted to use a bizarre and narrow legal interpretation to justify these clearly unlawful practices, he and his roving paramilitaries have already been sued by the ACLU as well as Oregons attorney general. Advertisement Advertisement Still, the fact that kidnappings conducted by federal agents are plainly immoral and unlawful has never stopped Wolf from suggesting them before. While serving in a previous role in the Department of Homeland Security in December 2017, Wolf drafted a memo of immigration policy recommendations that included separate family units. Wolfs plan was to announce that DHS is considering separating family units, placing the adults in detention and placing minors under the age of 18 in the custody of [the Department of Homeland Security] as unaccompanied alien children. The plan, which had already been piloted in Texas, was put into effect that April, and ultimately thousands of children were illegally separated from their parents before a federal judge declared the program was brutal, offensive, and fails to comport with traditional notions of fair play and decency and was a clear violation of the constitutional right to family integrity. Advertisement Advertisement Wolf does not specialize in extrajudicial detentions alone. Some other dubious actions he has taken since rising from a lower-level DHS apparatchik to the head of the sprawling 240,000-person agency include the following: Earlier this month, Wolf wrote a paean to the federal role of statue protection in the Federalist that served as a preview of his Portland tactics. As he wrote, DHS was deploying special units to defend our national treasures from rioters and would leverage every tool and authority in our arsenal to make sure these landmarks remain intact. (While his agencies were not reported to have been involved in Trumps violent assault on pastors and other peaceful protesters in D.C.s Lafayette Square last month, Wolf did praise the actions in the name of protecting statues.) Advertisement Advertisement After the protests against systemic racism in the wake of the murder of George Floyd, Wolf told ABCs This Week that I do not think that we have a systemic racism problem with law enforcement officers across this country. This, of course, ignored disparities in police violence against Black people, but also the violently racist Facebook board that nearly 10,000 members of Wolfs Border Patrol were last year exposed as having taken part in. After the Supreme Court ruled that his departments effort to end the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals protections for Dreamers were unlawful, Wolf accused the court of issuing a ruling that usurps the clear authority of the Executive Branch to end unlawful programs and threatened to find a way to end the unlawful program. Doing so would subject hundreds of thousands of former childhood arrivals with deportation from the only home theyve known. Advertisement Wolf has used the pandemic as pretext to significantly curtail immigration to the United States and begin quickly expelling en masse asylum-seekers who had previously been given the opportunity to fully adjudicate their claims while in the United States. He also led an aborted effort to rescind visas from foreign students at universities that are opting to move to online-only classes for the safety of students and faculty. Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Advertisement Throughout February, Wolf repeatedly assured the American people that the overall coronavirus threat to the American public remains low. As late as Feb. 24, he was repeating this line on Twitter. The day after that, during Senate testimony, Wolf couldnt answer basic questions from Republican Sen. John Kennedy of Louisiana about the coronavirus and its spread. He further compared the death toll from COVID-19 to that of the flu and downplayed the effects of the disease that has since killed more than 140,000 people in this country, suggesting falsely that a vaccine would be available in several months. Advertisement Wolf was in charge of DHS in March when Trumps abrupt announcement of his European travel ban resulted in catastrophic bunched waits in airport security lines at the height of the initial spread of COVID-19. Prior to international travel being shut down indefinitely throughout the United States because of the administrations incompetence, Wolf attempted to block New York residents from applying for TSA Precheck in apparent retaliation for some of the states friendlier policies toward undocumented immigrants. How Long It Has Been Going On: Wolf started his career in the federal bureaucracy with a job in George W. Bushs Transportation Security Administration bureaucracy at the start of the 2000s. He then became a high-paid lobbyist for the airline industry and other organizations for a more than a decade, before returning to government at the start of the Trump administration with a job as the TSA chief of staff. Advertisement Advertisement Wolf moved around in the Department of Homeland Security in lower-level roles, including as former Secretary Kirstjen Nielsens chief of staff, before being appointed to his first Senate-confirmed job as under secretary for strategy, policy and plans. He worked for Nielsen at a time when she repeatedly lied to the public and to Congress about the existence of the family separation policy that Wolf had recommended to her on paper. Advertisement During Wolfs under secretary confirmation process last year, he himself lied to Congress about his role in family separation, telling Nevada Sen. Jacky Rosen that he only became aware of the policy in April 2018. He had actually written a memo recommending the policy in December 2017 and had been in multiple meetings throughout the spring of 2018 with Stephen Miller and others, listed on the official calendar as dealing with ending catch and release, the issue of family separation, and Separating Children and Families. Advertisement Still, he secured Senate approval for his position. When the previous acting secretary, Kevin McAleenan, left the department in November, that left Wolf as one of the few available officials with the Senate-confirmed status required for Trump to legally install him in the top post. Advertisement Advertisement What Would Normally Happen: Prior to this administration and after the end of slavery in this country, its hard to think of a government official who has not once but twice authorized federal law enforcement agents to carry out kidnapping programs in the interior of the United States. Beyond what hes done with his position, the way he holds the job remains deeply irregular. If a previous president had used a revolving collection of acting officials to avoid Senate confirmation hearings for a Cabinet secretary, it would have at least drawn scrutiny from Congress. For comparison, when it became clear that the Senate would refuse to approve Elizabeth Warren as head of the newly formed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, President Barack Obama nominated someone else rather than leaving her to run the bureau as an unconfirmed special adviser. Trump has no such qualms about his revolving door of acting appointments, and nobody shows any intention of stopping him. Advertisement What Democrats Have Done: So far, the opposition party has complained a little, but not much, about Homeland Security forces going after the presidents political opponents, or Wolfs other excesses. Last week, Rep. Veronica Escobar called for Wolfs resignation over the Portland abductions. Other House Democrats have sent a letter requesting that he and other Cabinet officials testify about Trumps brutal crackdown on peaceful protests in Lafayette Square. They have not issued subpoenas, though, and appear unlikely to secure Wolfs testimony before the election. What Is Likely to Be Done: Democrats could attempt to issue subpoenas and exercise inherent contempt if officials refuse to testify. They could open an impeachment inquiry and call witnesses to family separation and to the Portland abductions. They could also wait until Nov. 3 in the hope that Joe Bidens steady but not earth-shattering polling lead carries through the election and Trump and cronies like Wolf are removed from office by voters. They are clearly crossing their fingers and taking the last course. How Removable This Stuff Is: Even before Portland, Wolf deserved to be tried criminally for advising the kidnapping of thousands of children from their parents with no plan to return them and for perjuring himself in front of Congress about those kidnappings. The best-case scenario at this point is that he doesnt kidnap many more immigrant children or Americans before Trump is removed from office next year. 10 out of 10. This article is part of the On Tech newsletter. You can sign up here to receive it weekdays. Technology is part of the tug of war between the United States and China. But let me offer some advice: When you hear an American technology executive mention China, put on your hmmmm face. Ditto when you hear a U.S. government official talk about China in the context of technology. U.S. tech companies love to suggest that anything that hurts them somehow opens the door to Chinas technology dominance. And American politicians sometimes appear to fan fears of Chinese technology for selfish reasons. There are legitimate concerns about Chinas shaping global technology norms, seeking to swipe Americas tech secrets, sponsoring criminal hackers or using tech for political aims. But how can the American public fairly evaluate technology policy when powerful people and companies use but China as a catchall boogeyman? I get a pain behind my eyes when a U.S. tech boss brings up China. Breakup strengthens Chinese companies, read notes from Facebooks Mark Zuckerberg for a congressional hearing two years ago. Well likely hear lines like this when he and three other American tech C.E.O.s testify at a congressional hearing next week about their companies power. The opposition National Democratic Congress (NDC) is demanding the immediate release of its Ledzokuku constituency executives over claims that they are being held on trumped-up charges. According to the party, its members including Ledzokuku Constituency Chairman and Organizer were taken by armed military men who invaded the private office of the parliamentary candidate on suspicion that he was registering voters at Anumantu and Teshie Tsuibleoo on Sunday, July 19, 2020, at 7:00 pm. The party in a statement what it described as "unwarranted and senseless harassments adding "four-member military patrol team from the Teshie Southern Command, armed to the teeth, led by one Captain Dominic N. Nakpaja together with other un-uniformed heavily built men stormed the office and disrupted a meeting between the Parliamentary Candidate for Ledzokuku Constituency, Ben Ayiku Narh, some party executives and some traditional leaders. The statement added that the party executives followed up to the Accra Central Police and were detained upon arrival. "The Constituency Chairman and Organizer and some others followed it up to the Accra Central Police Station where Captain Nakpaja claimed to have lodged an official complaint. Upon arrival at the Station, the police CID in charge said he had been instructed by the powers that be to detain the Constituency Chairman and Organizer for reasons or crime we are yet to be told". "Our fear is that if these things continue, the citizens may be forced to use unauthorized means to defend and protect themselves. The military should be the last agency to bow to NPP's pressure and desperation to explore crude tactics to hang onto power. "We demand that our Constituency Chairman, Organizer, and any other person being detained in respect of these false and unintelligent allegations be released immediately. We do not expect anybody to ask us what we will do when they are not released..." Read the full statement below; GREATER ACCRA REGIONAL NDC CONDEMNS SPONSORED MILITARY INVASION AND HARASSMENT OF IT'S PARLIAMENTARY CANDIDATE FOR LEDZOKUKU, BEN AYIKU NARH AND DEMAND IMMEDIATE RELEASE OF IT'S CONSTITUENCY EXECUTIVES Good morning ladies and gentlemen of the press, we have once again invited you to our Regional Office this morning, as usual, at a very short notice for a briefing on the reckless use of executive power by the Akufo Addo-led New Patriotic Party government to hound, harass and intimidate political adversaries and innocent Ghanaians in the ongoing voter registration exercise. It is no news that the ongoing registration exercise is tainted with reported cases of violence at registration centres in the region. Shamefully, these acts of violence were and are being engineered by state sponsored brigands of the NPP with the support of some State security officers who have sadly been reduced to internal security of the New Patriotic Party. Ladies and gentlemen, NDC Parliamentary candidates and executives have, since the start of the registration exercise, reported cases of unwarranted and unprovoked attacks on our agents, and in some cases, on executives themselves, to the Ghana Police Service. Videos and pictures of NPP thugs unleashing vicious attacks on innocent Ghanaians have been submitted to the Police to aid their investigations. In some instances, these NPP thugs, under the guise of National Security Operatives, openly beat people in the presence of State Security officials. In all of these sordid spectacles, no action has been taken by State Security agencies mandated by law to protect innocent citizens on who's sweat and toils they feed. The latest of such vicious display of State sponsored attack on innocent citizens which has necessitated this press briefing, ladies and gentlemen, was an unwarranted, needless, jejune and superfluous invasion of a supermarket and filing station, Maxxon Supermarket and filing station, owned by our Parliamentary Candidate for Ledzokuku Constituency, Hon Ben Ayiku Narh at Anumantu, Teshie Tsuibleoo on Sunday, July 19, 2020 at about 7:00pm. For the unnitiated, Maxxon Supermarket and filing Station, like any other filing station, is a public place where people from all walks of life are at liberty to drive or walk in to buy items of their choice. It is however important to point out that, the same building houses the private office of our Candidate and incoming MP for Ledzokuku, Ben Ayiku. Needless to say, it is open secret that strategic political meetings of the PC are held there. It is therefore not out of place to spot known political heads of the NDC there on any day. Ladies and gentlemen, suffice to state that, at the start of the ongoing registration exercise, our PC and the Constituency Executives agreed to use his office as 'collation centre'. Beginning from June 30 when the exercise begun, all daily printouts, i.e. start of day and end of day, were assembled at his office and the total number of registered voters for each day keyed into a desktop computer at the office. On Sunday, July 19, the PC and Executives had arranged to meet some traditional leaders in his office in the evening. While the meeting was ongoing, our agents came to the office with print outs for day one of the third phase of the ongoing exercise. While at it, a four member military patrol team from the Teshie Southern Command, armed to the teeth, led by one Captain Dominic N. Nakpaja together with other un-uniformed heavily built men stormed the office. Captain Nakpaja and his men, together with the un-uniformed men, which were later indentified as members of NPP's criminal group, Invincible Forces, unintelligently claimed they had picked intelligence that the NDC had set up a registration centre at the PC's office and was registering people at night. The officers, together with the NPP hoodlums, obviously acting on the instructions of the failed MP for Ledzokuku, Dr Bernard Oko Boye, locked up our PC, traditional leaders and all those in the office and held them incommunicado. For a moment, the place was turned into a scene akin to invasion by armed robbers. The officers said they had instruction from the dreadful but unknown inaudible 'orders from above' to search the office and seize the supposed registration machines. The PC and his team, rebuffed the allegation and pointed to a desktop computer that the Party's IT officer was using to collate the registered voters for the day. Bent on carrying out the orders, the officers and their criminal gangs counterparts from the NPP insisted on searching the office and seizing the desktop computer. This was fiercely resisted as the officers and NPP hoodlums could not produce any search warrant. Funny enough, the military men and their gang invaded the office ostensibly to arrest NDC registering voters at night without the knowledge of the Kpeshie divisional command. It will also interest you to know that at the time the illegal invaders came, and as we speak, the EC has not complained or reported that any of it's BVR kits is missing. The illegal invaders nonetheless attempted to use force to seize the computer but the good people of Teshie, incensed my the failed leadership of Oko Boye and the Akufo Addo government, massed up in their numbers and resisted them. It took reinforcement from the Teshie Southern Command to disperse the crowd amidst gunshots. They however succeeded in confiscating the desktop computer and EC's print outs from the various registration centres for the first day of the third phase. The Constituency Chairman and Organizer and some others followed it up to the Accra Central Police station where Captain Nakpaja claimed to have lodged official complaint. Upon arrival at the Station, the police CID in charge said he had been instructed by the powers that be to detain the Constituency Chairman and Organizer for reasons or crime we are yet to be told. It should be on record that the illegal invaders of our PC's office did not see any of the 8000 BVR kits deployed by EC for this exercise, save a desktop computer and daily printouts. We are at lost how a once credible institution like the Ghana Armed Forces made up of men and women with unmatched intelligence, will invade private office of a private citizen at night and claim that a desktop computer is being used to register potential voters. It is also on record that no EC official was seen or arrested at the private office of our PC. If the officers made any such arrest, we challenge them to make their details known to the EC for them to be punished. Questions however still remain unanswered as to who was doing the Registration, which machines were being used for that purpose and onto which system was the supposed night Registration feeding on or into? Ladies and gentlemen, we are not unaware of how the NPP has regretted calling for compilation of new register and as a result, have plotted to cash in on the new siege to use State security and it's gangsters disguised as National Security officers to intimidate, harass and frustrate key leaders of our party, and by extension Ghanaians. The NPP, particularly Dr Oko Boye is called upon to note that, the people of Ledzokuku are already aware of the truth in all issues leading to this senseless invasion of Maxxon supermarket and filing station. The daily impressive turnouts at the registration centres, which has sent Oko Boye quivering, is indicative of the fact that the people of Ledzokuku have a collective agenda to convert the 'new register' into new President and new MP on December 7. Dr Oko Boye and his NPP have lost it. No amount of schemes will save him. His days as MP for Ledzokuku are numbered and it'll surely end on December 7. He can import the dreaded salafist militant organization, Al-Qaeda, or the jihadist terrorist group, Boko Haram to Ledzokuku, he and his NPP will still suffer excruciating defeat. We salute the good people of Teshie for manningng up and resisting the tyrannical tendencies of Oko Boye and Akufo Addo. The display of the people's power is a foretaste of how they have ready themselves to once again give Ledzokuku it's befitting leadership on December 7. To President Akufo Addo, we want to remind him that his privileged position as Commander in Chief of the Ghana Armed Forces is not a license for him to transform our revered Armed Forces into NPP Forces. While we condemn these unwarranted and senseless harassments in the strongest of voice and energy, we call on the Chief of Defence Staff, Lt General Obed Boamah Akwa to guard against the enviable reputation of the Ghana Armed Forces. Recent happenings, particularly in the ongoing registration exercise is blemishing the respect that the military commands in this country. Our fear is that if these things continue, the citizens may be forced to use unauthorized means to defend and protect themselves. The military should be the last agency to bow to NPP's pressure and desperation to explore crude tactics to hang onto power. We demand that our Constituency Chairman, Organizer and any other person being detained in respect of these false and unintelligent allegation be released immediately. We do not expect anybody to ask us what we will do when they are not released. Whoever wants to know what we will do in the unlikely event they are not released should ready him or herself to witness what will happen thereof. Thank you 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 Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 18:48:56|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close HARARE, July 21 (Xinhua) -- Zvishavane District Hospital in Zimbabwe's Midlands Province has suspended admissions and other health care services after 25 workers, most of them nurses, and three officials from the district registrar's office tested positive for COVID-19. The latest infections put to the fore concerns by health workers at the front that they remain at high risk from contracting the virus. Three other healthcare workers at Claybank Private Hospital in Gweru, also in the Midlands Province, have also tested positive to the virus, adding to the increasing number of infected healthcare workers after at least 13 nurses from Mpilo Hospital in Bulawayo fell victim. Midlands Provincial Affairs Minister Larry Mavima, who is also the provincial COVID-19 taskforce chairperson, said in a statement released on Tuesday that 29 samples were taken at Zvishavane District Hospital last week after some health care workers had tested positive. "On the 13th of July 2020, Zvishavane District Hospital received eight PCR positive results of which two were of health care workers. "These results prompted the testing of other health care workers and other probable contacts within the hospital on the same day. "The hospital received the results today 20 July 2020 and 25 out of 28 health care workers tested positive. There are three staffers from the district registrar's office who also tested positive," said Mavima. He said the hospital was now under quarantine with investigations underway to establish the source of the infections and that health authorities were tracking contacts of the 28 positive cases, including visiting their homes in and around Zvishavane. "Investigations are underway to establish the source and the pattern of transmission of the infections. Measures being taken include contact tracing and testing of other members within the institution," he said. Enditem Beijing may target British companies if 10 Downing Street sanctions China Global Times By Chen Qingqing Source: Global Times Published: 2020/7/20 21:33:40 Last Updated: 2020/7/20 22:54:18 The British government has been urged to make a "smart choice" and not to burn bridges by continuing to provoke China on matters such as Hong Kong, Xinjiang, Huawei and the South China Sea, and dance to the tune of Americans. Otherwise, it will face severe consequences of souring UK-China ties, officials and observers warned. Before US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's visit to the UK on Monday, UK Foreign Secretary Dominic Raab has been escalating his harsh rhetoric on China, announcing that the British government has suspended its extradition treaty with the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR). In the face of escalating tensions not only with the UK but also with the US, retaliation is always the last choice for the Chinese government, some observers said. However, if the UK, as part of the Five Eyes, upholds such a hostile attitude toward China, Beijing may have no other choice but to strike at British companies like HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover in response to the sanctions imposed by 10 Downing Street, observers noted. Such a move is seen as "symbolic," as the UK has parroted US' tone in rejection of China's recently passed national security law for Hong Kong. The UK's possible move is also dangerous as it is very likely to further undermine China-UK relations, particularly after the Huawei ban, which is widely believed to be a disastrous decision of taking China - the UK's most important business partner - as its enemy. China is firmly opposed to Raab's remarks about suspending the extradition treaty with the HKSAR, urging the UK not to go further down the wrong path to avoid further damaging China-UK relations, Wang Wenbin, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesperson, told a routine press conference on Monday. The UK's recent misrepresentations and actions on Hong Kong affairs have ignored the fact that the national security law for Hong Kong has helped stabilize the "one country, two systems," and have seriously violated the basic norms of international law, which is also a blatant interference in China's internal affairs, Wang said. Sacrifice UK-China ties Pompeo is scheduled to meet British Prime Minister Boris Johnson and Raab on Monday, to discuss the coronavirus outbreak, issues related to the HKSAR, as well as US-UK Free Trade Agreement negotiations, according to a statement on the US Department of State's website. Britain followed the Trump administration's instructions in banning Huawei last week, even though it argued strongly that the decision had nothing to do with the US. "This visit serves as a 'pep talk' for the UK, following London's rejection of Huawei and other matters," Wang Yiwei, director of the institute of international affairs at Renmin University of China in Beijing, told the Global Times on Monday. Packed with the American hawks, the Trump administration has been launching a comprehensive suppression of China, and the UK seems to have been determined to follow the steps of the US, even at the cost of sacrificing UK-China relations, Wang noted. Banning Huawei from its 5G network construction is considered a symbolic move, signaling that the UK might have taken China as potentially a hostile country. Chinese Ambassador to the UK Liu Xiaoming warned that the Johnson government will bear the consequences for politicizing business activities, which also hurt the country's reputation as an open economy. In addition to accusing China's national security law for Hong Kong of "breaching the Sino-British Joint Declaration," the UK government also mulled to send an aircraft carrier to confront China, further souring the bilateral relations. Faced with a possible reaction from the UK on Hong Kong affair, Liu said in an interview with the BBC that Britain ending its extradition treaty with the HKSAR is wrong, and if the UK government goes as far as to impose sanctions on any individual in China, China will resolutely respond to it. "I think the UK should have an independent foreign policy rather than to dance to the tune of the Americans, like what happened to Huawei," Liu said. Options on the table Some Chinese scholars said they do not believe China-UK relations would eventually evolve to a full-scale tit-for-tat situation, like intense China-US tensions. But it does not mean the Chinese government won't adopt necessary countermeasures to defend its legitimate rights. "When former PM David Cameron met the Dalai Lama in 2012, UK-China ties had been hit hard, especially on the business side," Wang said, noting that China has plenty options of countermeasures on the table. Forming strong business ties with China has already been a major focus of the UK in the post-Brexit era, not to mention in decades, experts noted. The UK has been the largest recipient of Chinese investment in Europe, and China has also been the UK's third-largest export destination after the US and Germany, according to industry analysis. Many British companies have been successfully expanding in the Chinese market, ranging from financial services to the pharmaceutical and automotive sectors, and brands like HSBC and Jaguar Land Rover are familiar with the Chinese public. "We won't launch massive countermeasures at every major aspect of UK-China relations, as China still needs to evaluate the consequences. We will react in a reciprocal manner," Cui Hongjian, director of the Department of European Studies of China Institute of International Studies, told the Global Times on Monday. The UK is going to pay the price for its further moves against China, observers said. Documents obtained by the Global Times showed that the HSBC intentionally played a dirty trick by setting up a political trap for Huawei's senior executive Meng Wanzhou, and colluded with the US government. Given deteriorating China-UK ties, some observers forecast that the London-based bank may become the first target on the list of China's countermeasures. Some Chinese netizens expressed outrage on Monday over the UK's stance on China related matters. One suggested that other British brands like Jaguar Land Rover and BP may face the same fate as how the Boris government treated Huawei. "The UK government needs to rethink its decision on China-related issues. Gradually, the Chinese side may take comprehensive measures to fight back when necessary, touching on more aspects, including diplomacy, economy, culture and people-to-people exchanges," Cui said. NEWS LETTER Join the GlobalSecurity.org mailing list Enter Your Email Address Karnataka to regulate Remdesivir supply to pvt hospitals to check black marketing India pti-PTI Bengaluru, July 21: Karnataka's COVID-19 task force on Tuesday decided that the state government will regulate the supply of Remdesivir, the drug used in the treatment of coronavirus infected patients, to private hospitals to check black marketing and hoarding. "Remdesivir which is currently available in the government hospitals will be supplied to private hospitals through the government. This will help curb black marketing of this drug," Medical Education Minister K Sudhakar's office said in a release. Bengaluru lockdown ends, restrictions only in containment zones: CM Yediyurappa confirms Along with Sudhakar, other task force members, including Health Minister Sriramulu, Deputy Chief Minister C N Ashwath Narayan and Chief Secretary T M Vijay Bhaskar attended the meeting.However Home Minister Basavaraj Bommai was not part of it as he was out of Bengaluru. At the meeting, the government has also fixed the rate for Covid tests in private labs- Rs 2,000 for government referred cases and 3,000 for self-reporting cases. It was also decided to purchase 4 lakh antigen test kits and 5 lakh swab test kits to ramp up testing, the release said, adding that approvals have also been given for additional drugs for treatment of Covid -19 patients. The decisions also included increasing monthly salary for Ayush doctors to 48,000, MBBS doctors to 80,000 and nurses to get 30,000 for next 6 months. The task force also made it clear that private hospitals have to reserve 50 per cent beds for the government for Covid treatment. The remaining 50 per cent can be used by the private hospitals for Covid and non-Covid treatment. Private hospitals provide treatment under Ayushman Bharat scheme (ABARK) for Covid patients. Those cases in which treatment does not cover under the scheme can be charged as per the user charges, the release said. A committee will be formed to supervise and recommend purchase of equipment and medicines for Covid treatment, which will be headed by ACS, ITBT Department. Karnataka crosses 50,000 mark with record 4,169 new Covid-19 cases Approval has been given for procurement of N-95 masks and lakh PPE kits for the safety of healthcare workers. Decision also has been taken to connect oxygen pipeline to 4,736 beds in 17 government medical colleges, which will enable high flow oxygen for these beds besides being beneficial for future use as well. Amarnath Yatra cancelled amid Covid-19 pandemic & surge in cases | Oneindia News According to the release, 16 RTPCR and 15 Automated RNA extraction units will be established to ramp up testing and this will help achieve the target of 50,000 tests per day. "On the whole approvals given for purchase of equipment and upgradation of existing facilities at government hospitals is estimated to be about Rs 500 Crore," it added. Tehran (AFP) - Iran's supreme leader told Iraq's visiting premier on Tuesday that Tehran will not interfere in Baghdad's relations with Washington, but warned that the US presence next door to the Islamic republic was a cause of insecurity. Prime Minister Mustafa al-Kadhemi of Iraq met Ayatollah Ali Khamenei in the Iranian capital during his first trip abroad since taking office. "Iran will not interfere in Iraq's relations with America but expects Iraqi friends to know America and realise that their presence in any country causes corruption, ruin and destruction," the Iranian leader said, according to his official website. "The Islamic republic expects... (the Iraqi) parliament's decision to expel the Americans to be adhered to since their presence is a cause of insecurity." Khamenei pointed to the US killing of Iran's top general Qasem Soleimani in a January drone strike in Baghdad, after which parliament voted to expel US troops. "They killed your guest in your house and blatantly confessed to it." Iran "will never forget this and will certainly deal a reciprocal blow to the Americans", Khamenei said. Iran retaliated for Soleimani's death days after by firing a volley of missiles at US troops stationed in Iraq, but US President Donald Trump opted against responding militarily. While the attack on the western Iraqi base of Ain al-Asad left no US soldiers dead, dozens suffered brain trauma. According to Khamenei, Iran was opposed to "whatever may weaken the Iraqi government" in contrast to the US, which he said did not want "an independent, strong Iraqi government elected by popular vote". - Tug-of-war - Kadhemi had been scheduled to visit Iran's regional rival Saudi Arabia as his first trip abroad, then quickly follow it up with a trip to Tehran, in a carefully calibrated balancing act. The Saudi leg was postponed after King Salman was hospitalised on Monday. Story continues Baghdad has often found itself caught in the tug-of-war between Riyadh, Tehran and Washington, which Kadhemi is also set to visit within weeks. Kadhemi rose to the premiership in May after serving as head of Iraq's National Intelligence Service for nearly four years. He formed close ties to Tehran, Washington and Riyadh during that time, prompting speculation he could serve as a rare mediator between the capitals. His trip to Tehran comes after he received Iran's top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif in Baghdad on Sunday. Relations between the two countries were not always close -- they fought a bloody war from 1980 to 1988. Tehran's influence in Baghdad grew after the 2003 US-led invasion of Iraq toppled the government of Saddam Hussein. Iran is now said to have significant leverage over many of Iraq's Shiite political groups. - $20 billion trade goal - Iraq's delegation includes the ministers of foreign affairs, finance, health and planning, as well as Kadhemi's national security adviser, some of whom also met their Iranian counterparts. Kadhemi also held talks with President Hassan Rouhani to discuss closer trade ties, fighting the novel coronavirus and efforts to ensure regional stability, state television said. "The two governments' will is to expand bilateral trade ties to $20 billion," Rouhani said after their hour-long meeting. Iraq is one of Iran's main markets for non-oil exports but trade has dipped as the COVID-19 pandemic forced temporary border closures. Rouhani said Iran was ready to "stand with Iraq for the stability and security of Iraq and the region". He hailed as "heroes" Soleimani and an Iraqi commander killed alongside him in the US drone strike near Baghdad airport. "I deem it necessary to honour the two heroes of the fight against terrorism, martyrs General Qasem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis," he said. The Iranian president also pledged to help Baghdad fight coronavirus. Iran says COVID-19 has claimed more than 14,600 lives and infected 278,800 in the country, while has reported close to 4,000 virus deaths and 97,000 cases. The Department of Telecommunication (DoT) has written a letter to all web portals and websites used by officials in the ministry to conduct a security audit and submit a compliance certificate amid reports of a spike of cyberattacks by Chinese hackers. The DoT has also requested to all other ministries and departments to migrate their websites and web-portals to the gov.in domain by August 31. The Chinese cyberattacks included phishing, data exfiltration, remote access tool malware, and keylogging (tracking every keystroke made by a user), The Indian Express reported. Hence, the DoT has urged its officials to upgrade their online security and systems. Meanwhile, a report on possible cyber-attacks and security aspects of sensitive government websites have also been submitted to the Indian Computer Emergency Response Team (Cert-In). There have been multifold cyberattacks since the Galwan Valley skirmish and the ban on 59 Chinese apps in India. A government official told the daily that one common pattern in these attacks and malware was -- CnC (Command and Control) servers in China. He added, "Right after the (border) clashes, we observed up to 10,000 attack attempts per day. It has come down a bit but we have to be alert". BusinessToday.in had reported in June that there was a 200 per cent increase in cyberattacks from China towards India after the Galwan face-off. Last month, Cyfirma Chairman and CEO Kumar Ritesh had told BusinessToday.in that a host of companies like SBI, ICICI Bank, Air India, LIC, Nuclear Power Corporation, Indian Oil, Reliance Jio, Amul, Karbonn Mobiles, HAL, Hero MotoCorp, Dabur, SAIL, Wipro, and others were being targeted by Chinese hackers. In October 2019, DoT sent a similar note to all web portals and websites, but that yielded no results. In that letter, the DoT wrote that a security audit was necessary for the "robustness of information systems and associated networks". The DoT had sent the letter after it was found that "data exfiltration" was taking place from one of the web portals of the ministry that did not have a valid cyber-security audit. Also read: Check Point to protect IoT devices and networks against advanced cyber-attacks Also read: 200% rise in cyberattacks from China in a month; India tops hit list post Galwan face-off MIDDLETOWN On July 15, Mater Dei Prep (MDP) student Emma DeBiase, (MDP 23) attended The United Nations World Youth Skills Day Conference virtually. Emma was attending as a High School Representative for UN NGO Pathways to Peace and as a student leader in The Mater Dei Prep Global Leaders Program. Her platform was to connect with other UN Global Representatives and student leaders and look for opportunities to discuss our MDP Educational Tool Kit and our campaign with The Peace Traveler initiative called #mymaskisforyou. This campaign encourages teaching the conversation in peace building and mask protection as an action.View the campaign on the schools website in their news section.Emma was able to interact and learn from numerous global speakers such as Columbias First Lady H.E. Maria Juliana. The First Lady of Columbia spoke of how we need to think about the three Es, Entrepreneurship, Education, and Employ. UN Rep David Bungallon of the Philippines, as well as other diplomats and representatives from UNESCO, Sri Lanka, and Indonesia all were in attendance. All representatives addressed how the youth will be the source of new technology and how we need to work together to reshape the education of MDP students.Emma contributed to the conference by submitting a question regarding the success of youth and what organizations would participate. The question/statement centered on, To create a sustainable change, the youth must be able to own and initiate their skills into our communities. With the support by organizations such as the UN and other local organizations, what do you recommend that would create opportunities for success?Emma came away from the meeting by feeling incredibly lucky to be a part of something bigger than herself. She looks forward to using the lessons she learned in building more peaceful and sustainable societiesThat afternoon Emma, a Matawan resident, attended her second UN Meeting. She participated in a Pathways to Peace Executive committee meeting with Tezikiah Gabriel, Executive Director of PTP; Deborah Green, Founder of PeaceTraveler and George Anthony, Head of the MDP Global Leaders program.The meeting focused on the Mater Dei Prep Global Leaders Campaign #mymaskisforyou. Deborah spoke about the professionalism of working with Alexis Lombardo (MDP 21) in editing the #mymaskisforyou YouTube video. Deborah will be using segments of the video featuring Mater Dei Prep Global Leaders to spread a global message that in wearing a mask people are Peace Building in action by committing a caring act. The Trenton Monitor Diocesan News Magazine will be featuring the MDP #mymaskisforyou project. The article was written by MDP Alumnus John Spinelli.Chiara Del Cogliano, MDP Faculty member, will be attending an upcoming UN High Level Commission on The Status of Women Conference on Gender Equality as a UN CSW64 Stakeholder. The Conference is scheduled for tomorrow, July 21.To view the conference, please go to www.unweb.tv.orgThe Global Leaders Program continues to build platforms for peace and leadership and looks forward to developing a new cadre of students for the coming year. The Government of Japan will now be giving subsidies to their national companies worth 57.4 billion yen or roughly $536 million to shift production to Japan from China, according to Bloomberg. The new subsidies will help Japanese corporations invest in factories in Japan and other Southeast Asian countries, in an effort to reduce their reliance on Chinese manufacturing. A total of 57 companies have been given the subsidy, including Sharp Corporation, that is known for making displays and other gadget-related products. Reuters Japan made the announcement on 18th July and also said it will be assisting an additional 30 firms to invest in countries like Thailand, Vietnam, Myanmar and other southeast Asian countries. The METI (The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry) may not have named China in their statement but strongly stated that the country needs to bring production back home. In April, the Japanese government already announced 220 billion yen to help companies move their factories out of China and it seems like they are doubling-down on that commitment. In the report, it was said that firms will also source raw materials for their products locally instead of acquiring them from suppliers in China. Reuters There have been increasing tensions between China, and other countries such as the U.S., India and Japan where each country has been discussing to cut ties with the countrys supply chain for products. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, Japan was Chinas most important trading partner and Japanese companies have even set up manufacturing plans in the country. However, with the outbreak of the Coronavirus and the Xi Jinping-led government's aggressive strategy to take over sals in the East China Sea, Chinas image has been tainted in Japan. India has also experienced border tensions from China recently that caused the ban of 59 apps by the Indian government. It also led to an increasing anti-China sentiment in the country that has directly resulted in smartphone shipments being halved in Q2 2020. India may have to follow a similar tactic where the government may have to assist Indian companies to establish a local supply chain. As of now, almost every industry is heavily reliant on Chinas supply chain which has caused disruption in almost every sector thanks to the COVID-19 outbreak. Source: Bloomberg Ms. Sgamma and Mr. Kreutzer said that, because it was clear that the Trump administration would have a different policy on methane from the Obama administration, career staff members at the E.P.A. agreed that continuing with a requirement to collect data on releases of methane no longer made sense. It would have been a waste of time to submit data that werent going to be used, Ms. Sgamma said of her email. I merely called this to their attention. Mr. Kreutzer, who rejects the scientific consensus on climate change and is now a senior economist at the Institute for Energy Research, a research organization that supports fossil fuels, said he did not recall any push back or controversy over the decision. It would have been the worst sort of bureaucratic indifference to impose a costly burden to collect information that no longer had a purpose, he said. Mr. Obamas 2015 methane regulation was part of a groundbreaking series of federal climate regulations. With a goal of cutting methane emissions in half by 2025, the rule, which was completed the following year, required companies to install technology to detect and fix methane leaks in all new and heavily modified facilities. Under the Clean Air Act, when the E.P.A. moves to regulate pollution from new sources, the agency must also develop pollution standards for existing sources. In preparation for developing a second regulation for existing facilities, the agency in late 2016 required companies to report information about their emissions, their equipment and their methane controls. The so-called information collection request became known as the I.C.R. When Mr. Trump took office, the government became more receptive to the concerns of the oil and gas industry. In addition to eliminating the reporting request, the E.P.A. also moved to weaken the Obama administrations methane rules for new facilities. A final version of those regulations are expected out this summer. According to the emails made public in the lawsuit, Ms. Sgamma reached out to Mr. Kreutzer on Feb. 2. I know youre under water right now, she wrote, but she hoped they might find time to talk about the reporting requirement that she said was creating confusion for companies. In this undated photo released by Ukrainian Police, who they identify as Maksim Krivosh holding a gun, who is identified as the man who has taken some 20 people hostage inside a bus in the city centre of Lutsk, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday July 21, 2020. The assailant is armed and carrying explosives, according to a Facebook statement by Ukrainian police. Police officers are trying to get in touch with the man and they have sealed off the area.(Ukrainian Police Press Office via AP) A view shows a passenger bus, which was seized by an unidentified person in the city of Lutsk, Ukraine July 21, 2020. REUTERS/Mykola Martyniuk An armed man has seized a long-distance bus and taken people in it hostage in north-western Ukraine, launching an hours-long standoff with police, authorities said. About 10 people were being held, Ukraine's Security Service said in a Facebook statement. Police had earlier put the number at 20. It was unclear how many people had been on board to start with, and whether any escaped. Officers sealed off the centre of Lutsk, a city 250 miles west of the capital Kyiv. The assailant is armed and carrying explosives, police said. He has refused the authorities' offer to deliver water and food to the hostages. At one point, he threw explosives out of a bus window, but no one was hurt. He also fired several shots at a police drone. President Volodymyr Zelenskiy said negotiations with the man are under way, adding: "We're doing everything to free the hostages." The man called police after taking control of the bus and introduced himself as Maksim Plokhoy, deputy interior minister Anton Gerashchenko said. Expand Close In this undated photo released by Ukrainian Police, who they identify as Maksim Krivosh holding a gun, who is identified as the man who has taken some 20 people hostage inside a bus in the city centre of Lutsk, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday July 21, 2020. The assailant is armed and carrying explosives, according to a Facebook statement by Ukrainian police. Police officers are trying to get in touch with the man and they have sealed off the area.(Ukrainian Police Press Office via AP) / Facebook Twitter Email Whatsapp In this undated photo released by Ukrainian Police, who they identify as Maksim Krivosh holding a gun, who is identified as the man who has taken some 20 people hostage inside a bus in the city centre of Lutsk, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of Kyiv, Ukraine, on Tuesday July 21, 2020. The assailant is armed and carrying explosives, according to a Facebook statement by Ukrainian police. Police officers are trying to get in touch with the man and they have sealed off the area.(Ukrainian Police Press Office via AP) In a Telegram account reportedly belonging to him, Plokhoy apparently admitted taking people on the bus hostage, said "the state has always been and always is the first terrorist", and demanded that senior Ukrainian officials release statements on their social media pages calling themselves terrorists. According to Mr Gerashchenko, police have identified the man as Maksim Krivosh, a 44-year-old Ukrainian born in Russia. He had allegedly been convicted twice on a wide range of charges - robbery, fraud, illegal arms handling - and spent a total of 10 years behind bars. Interior minister Arsen Avakov travelled to Lutsk to supervise operations. Ukrainian media reported that gunshots were heard at the scene. It was not clear whether anyone has been injured. According to reports, Krivosh tried to reach out to journalists through hostages and their phones, demanding they spread the word about his demands and get more reporters at the scene. Mr Zelenskiy said earlier on Tuesday that he was personally monitoring the situation. Two More Fires In Iran Raise Questions Again About Possible Sabotage Radio Farda July 20, 2020 Two more mysterious fires in Iran on Sunday, July 19 have once again raised questions about similar recent incidents, including a suspected explosion and fire at the uranium enrichment facility at Natanz. Other suspicious events were a large fire at a sensitive military region near Tehran and a shipyard in Bushehr on the Persian Gulf and numerous other fires at refineries and other infrastructure facilities. One of today's fires also occurred in a power plant that feeds the Natanz uranium enrichment facility in Isfahan. Although the early morning fire caused no injuries, it raised more questions about recent puzzling blazes across the country. The Islamic Republic's official news agency, IRNA, reported that a large fifty-year-old transformer exploded at a power station in Isfahan but cited officials as insisting that the damage was being repaired and the power supply was uninterrupted. A "worn out transformer at Isfahan's Islamabad thermal power plant exploded at around 5:00 am today," the managing director of Isfahan's electricity company Saeed Mohseni told the agency. Also, a fire broke out at a cellophane factory in northwest Iran, the state-run Iran Labor News Agency ILNA reported, posting a video of thick black smoke rising from the site. According to eyewitnesses in northeast Iran, the blaze on Sunday occurred near or at a thermal power plant, but local media said the fire was at a cellophane factory. Iranian authorities called the Natanz fire an accident without elaborating and later said they would not reveal the cause, citing "security reasons". The string of fires and explosions have prompted speculation that they may be the result of sabotage by Iran's arch-enemy Israel, AFP reported. Western observers have closely watched the recent consecutive fires in Iran, and some have attributed them to covert operations by Israel or Western intelligence agents. The New York Times cited a Middle Eastern intelligence official as saying earlier this month that Israel had been behind the fire that hit the Natanz nuclear facility and severely damaged it. Without naming any sources, Israeli TV reports also said the blast destroyed the laboratory in which Iran developed faster centrifuges. According to Israeli experts, the Natanz facility incident will delay Iran's plan to upgrade its centrifuges for two years. Source: https://en.radiofarda.com/a/two- more-fires-in-iran-raise-questions-again-about -possible-sabotage/30736276.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 KABUL (Reuters) - A suicide car bomber in central Afghanistan targeted a convoy of Afghan army troops, killing eight soldiers, the defence ministry said, while Taliban Islamist militants claimed responsibility for the attack amid a nationwide escalation of violence. Clashes have grown in recent weeks between Afghan government forces and Taliban insurgents after the government failed to free hundreds of jailed Taliban as part of a prisoner swap agreed by the warring sides. In a statement, the defence ministry said a car bomber targeted army troops in Monday's incident in the district of Sayed Abad in Wardak province, killing eight soldiers and wounding nine more. The Taliban, claiming responsibility, said dozens of Afghan special forces were killed in their latest deadly assault on government forces, who have suffered many casualties in the recent fighting. A pact signed by the United States and Taliban in Doha in February laid out plans for a withdrawal of foreign forces from the war-torn country in exchange for security guarantees from the militants. But negotiations between the Afghan government and the Taliban for a peace settlement to end the 18-year-old war have been delayed over the release of nearly 600 Taliban prisoners Kabul says were involved in major attacks. As part of the Doha deal, the Afghan government has released more than 4,000 Taliban prisoners and the militant group has freed hundreds of government troops. (Reporting by Abdul Qadir Sediqi; Writing by Hamid Shalizi; Editing by Clarence Fernandez) Representative image live bse live nse live Volume Todays L/H More Termination of a Chinese firm's contract for a signalling project in Uttar Pradesh may turn out to be the trigger which provides impetus to Indian rail manufacturers looking to execute big-ticket projects. As the government looks to build on the 'Atmanirbhar Bharat' initiative, homegrown companies are looking to make the most of the opportunity and bag projects which will catapult them to the big league. One such company is Kalindee Rail Nirman. The latter offers services in the areas of signalling, telecommunications and track and information systems. It has plans to further diversify into electric traction system, traffic management systems, traffic surveys and project evaluation. The firm has written to the Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation (DFCCIL) saying it is willing to take over the project. An official of Kalindee Rail Nirman, who is not authorised to speak to the media, told Moneycontrol the decision was not taken at emotional value. "Discussions are going on at the highest level on the next course of action. It was a practical decision. This is a very prestigious project and there have been delays. The reputation of the country is at stake and we thought this is the right time to step up.This is also a very important step in the Make in India vision. So, it is a very thoughtful decision and was not swayed by emotions," the official said. Moneycontrol also reached out to Anurag Sachan, Managing Director, DFCCIL, for queries related to the project and the latest development but is awaiting a response. The news of the Chinese firm Beijing National Railway Research and Design Institute of Signal and Communication Group Co getting ousted comes at a time when anti-Chinese sentiments were at its peak due to the flashpoint in Galwan Valley. The company has moved the Delhi High Court to prevent DFCCIl from encashing its bank guarantee. In June 2016, it had bagged the contract for signalling works of over 400 km railway lines in the Kanpur-Deen Dayal Upadhyay section for Rs 470 crore. The rise in anti-China sentiment has led to calls for boycott of Chinese goods. Calls to halt trade with China were witnessed around the country, with people burning Chinese appliances. In a poll conducted by Network18 digital platforms last month, 70 percent respondents said they are willing to boycott Chinese goods while a whopping 97 percent wanted Indian celebrities to stop endorsing Chinese products. Last month, the government banned 59 Chinese apps, including the hugely popular TikTok. The move has given a fillip to homegrown apps like Mitron and Chingari. Follow our coverage of the coronavirus crisis here CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla. - Astronauts squeezed in one last spacewalk Tuesday before turning their attention to the all-important end to SpaceXs first crew flight. Making their fourth and final spacewalk in under a month, NASAs Bob Behnken and Chris Cassidy whipped through a variety of maintenance tasks outside the International Space Station. Instead of swapping batteries, they routed cables, hooked up a tool storage chest and removed thermal shielding from a docking port that will house a commercial airlock later this year. Behnken had to scrape away a shiny metallic blob some sort of debris from the round rim of the port. This port is the future home of a domed airlock provided by the Houston-based company Nanoracks to release satellites and experiments into open space. SpaceX will launch this first-ever commercial airlock this fall. It was the 10th spacewalk in each astronauts career, tying the U.S. record set by previous space station residents. Tuesdays 5 1/2-hour outing put Behnkens total time out in the vacuum of space at 61 hours and Cassidys at nearly 55 hours. Its a little more comfortable on the 10th one than the first one, said Cassidy. The views always amazing, though. In less than two weeks, Behnken and Doug Hurley, who monitored the spacewalk from inside, will depart the orbiting complex in the same SpaceX Dragon crew capsule in which they arrived at the end of May. SpaceX is aiming for a splashdown off the Florida coast in August the first splashdown for astronauts in 45 years. Weather permitting, the Dragon capsule will parachute into the Gulf of Mexico off the Florida Panhandle. NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said once Tuesdays spacewalk is finished, the astronauts are going to be focused like a laser on coming home. Bridenstine said the SpaceX test flight has gone exceedingly well so far. And Im knocking on wood because it is not over until Bob and Doug are home, he said at a Space Foundation panel discussion Monday The first-stage booster used to launch Behnken and Hurley on May 30 blasted off for a second time Monday from Cape Canaveral. It landed on a floating platform in the Atlantic after hoisting a satellite for South Koreas military, to be used again for another flight. Cassidy and two Russians will remain aboard the orbiting lab until October. ___ 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. Kabul, July 21 : A list of Taliban prisoners held by the Afghan government has revealed that most of the inmates were from the four provinces of Kandahar, Helmand, Nangarhar and Farah, the media reported. The list, which was prepared by the National Security Council, seen by TOLO News on Monday shows that the prisoners from all 34 provinces have been released. It indicates that the least number of prisoners were from Panjshir, Bamiyan and Nuristan. Sources close to the Taliban said there has been progress in recent days on the release of 592 prisoners about whom there were disagreements between the government and the militant group. The Afghan government has so far released at least 4,200 Taliban members, while the militants have freed 845 detained security forces. The process is intended to be followed by the intra-Afghan negotiations once the government completes the release of 5,000 Taliban prisoners and the Taliban releases 1,000 inmates. Cebu Pacific, the Philippines largest national flag carrier, has issued passenger guidelines for those flying between Dubai and Manila to ensure smooth travel. These guidelines outline the documentary requirements and procedures that passengers need to prepare for before departure or have to undergo upon arrival at their destination. Cebu Pacific stresses that non-adherence to these guidelines may result in passengers being denied check-in or boarding for the flight. As the situation is very fluid and subject to change, Cebu strongly advises passengers to regularly check with concerned government authorities for updates before departure. Passengers flying from Dubai to Manila have to do the following: 1. Undergo a Covid-19 RT-PCR (swab) test upon arrival. 2. Undergo mandatory quarantine procedures in approved isolation facilities whilst awaiting test results. 3. Prior to departure from Dubai, register on the Electronic-Case Investigation Form (e-CIF) system of the Philippine Red Cross to expedite airport procedures. Passengers can pre-register at https://e-cif.redcross.org.ph/. 4. For OFW passengers, complete the OASIS Online Registration at http://oasis.owwa.gov.ph/ before departing from Dubai 5. Fill up the Philippine Immigration Arrival and Health Declaration Form at https://13.229.233.113/PAHD-Form/Register Passengers flying from Manila to Dubai have to do the following: 1. Present a negative PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test certificate no more than 96 hours before departure. 2. Present a valid health insurance that can be used in the UAE, as required by the Dubai Civil Aviation Authority (DCAA). 3. Prior to departure from Manila, they may fill out the health declaration form from the website of DCAA. Otherwise, they can fill out the declaration form upon arrival. 4. Prior to departure, register on the Covid-19 DXB app. 5. For UAE residence visa holder, secure return permit from the General Directorate of Residency and Foreigners Affairs in order to re-enter Dubai. Cebu Pacific passengers have to follow the Contactless Flights guidelines, which include: Checking-in online at least a day before your flight Bringing all the required documents Being at the airport three hours before the flight, and completing check-in and bag drop procedures as counters close one hour before the flight Bringing a maximum of one hand-carry per person with a maximum weight of 7kg Observing physical distancing The airline reminds passengers to eat a heartymeal before the flight, as well as pack their safety essentials. Travellers may opt to conveniently add CEB TravelSure to their booking from the comfort of their homes. This travel insurance with medical, health, accident, lost, stolen or damaged personal belonging and trip cancellation coverage is available for purchase up to two hours before flight. CEB TravelSure is different from the valid health insurance requirement by DCAA. New bookings may be made through www.cebupacificair.com or the mobile app, available both in Google Play and App Store. Those who prefer to pay in cash may pay over the counter at any branch of Al-Ansari Exchange and Al Rais Travels located across the UAE, within 24 hours of making a booking online. - TradeArabia News Service Online bachelor's in mass communications launches in fall Tuesday, July 21, 2020 MANHATTAN Kansas State University's A.Q. Miller School of Journalism and Mass Communications is launching an online bachelor's degree in mass communications designed to offer students the skills needed in today's media environment. The bachelor's degree, for 120 credits, officially launches on Aug. 17 with new classes starting every eight weeks. Tuition for the degree, which is accredited by the Accrediting Council for Education in Journalism and Mass Communications, is $461 per credit hour or $13,830 per year for full-time students. Students can apply through K-State Online. The program includes specific coursework in journalism or strategic communications. The journalism sequence prepares students for work in broadcast, news reporting and media design. Strategic communications focuses on advertising and public relations with an emphasis in social media. "We will be one of a handful of accredited journalism and mass communications programs in the world to offer an entire undergraduate degree program online," said Steve Smethers, director of the A.Q. Miller School. "This fits nicely with K-State's cyber land-grant university leadership, and we are proud to be among the programs on campus making this vision a reality." Envisioning this degree program and facilitating the launch was K-State alumnus Alan Boyer. A member of the A.Q. Miller School's JMC National Advisory Council, Boyer is based in Atlanta and is a longtime marketing executive and an adjunct professor of strategic communications at K-State. "We quickly assessed the opportunity, developed a road map to moving the in-person curriculum online, mobilized the JMC faculty to select areas of online teaching interest and identified solutions to create an interactive learning environment that equals the in-person experience," Boyer said. "This program will serve both our current students and prospective students from around the world who will now have access to this school's talented faculty." According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, nationwide demand for trained professionals in public relations, advertising and journalism is expected to grow by 4% over the next eight years. In addition, the bureau reports the median for entry-level salaries will range from nearly $40,000 to more than $72,000 for writers, producers, announcers, editors, public relations specialists, advertising copywriters, photographers, social media assistants and related jobs. The online bachelor's in mass communications is ideal for the following prospective students: Students who started courses on any campus and want to transfer credits to finish stronger and safer online from home. Recent high school graduates who want to become advertising, public relations, journalism or digital media pros. Working professionals who want to boost their career opportunities on their own time. Military service members and veterans looking for opportunities to gain new skills that enrich life experiences. Homeschooled students who want to continue learning at home. While many of K-State's mass communications courses have been available online, the recent COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent move to remote teaching accelerated the creation of this program, Smethers said. The school also offers an online master's in mass communications. "The bachelor's program offers students the chance to get hands-on experience working in the media while earning their degree," Boyer said. "The curriculum in both sequences emphasizes communication across platforms, preparing each student for a long career in a communications industry that is constantly changing and evolving. "This program will serve both our current students and prospective students from around the world who will now have access to this school's talented faculty." More information on the mass communications bachelor's degree can be found at online.kstate.edu/programs/mass-communications-bachelors/. Tue, 01/18 (12pm ET): How to Get off the MBA Waitlist; Your 6 Actions will Impress BSchool AdComs Source: Xinhua| 2020-07-21 21:03:11|Editor: huaxia Video Player Close DAMASCUS, July 21 (Xinhua) -- A total of five fighters with the Iranian Islamic Revolution Guards Corps were killed in the overnight Israeli missile strikes on military targets in Syria's capital Damascus, a war monitor reported Tuesday. The Israeli missile attacks targeted Iranian positions in the southern suburbs of Damascus on the administrative border with the southern province of Daraa, said the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights. The Britain-based watchdog said seven other fighters were wounded in the attacks. Meanwhile, state news agency SANA reported that the Syrian air defenses responded to an Israeli missile attack over Damascus on Monday evening. It added that the Israeli warplanes launched their attack from over the Israel-occupied Golan Heights. The Syrian state media said several Israeli missiles were intercepted before reaching their targets. Throughout the Syrian crisis, Israel has carried out hundreds of airstrikes against Iranian targets in Syria, as well as convoys transporting weapons to the Shiite militant group Hezbollah, a Lebanese militia allegedly supported by Iran. Enditem Protesters show a banner "Librate Hong Kong, Revolution of out time" and gesture with five fingers, signifying the "Five demands - not one less" in a shopping mall during a protest in Hong Kong. The slogan had just been banned by the government under the new legislation, stating that it had separatist connotations. (AP) Hong Kong: It was one of the first protests in Hong Kong after a feared national security law came into effect. Among a dozen or so lunchtime demonstrators at a luxury mall in the Central business district, a man raised a poster that when viewed from afar read in Chinese, Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times. The government had just banned the slogan, saying it had separatist connotations and so ran afoul of the new security laws prohibition of secessionist acts. Shortly after, riot police entered the mall, shooing away onlookers. They detained the man, telling him the slogan was banned. But when officers looked at the poster up close, no words could be made out. It merely had circular shapes against a contrasting background. They snapped a few photographs of the poster and let him go. Since the imposition of the security law - which bans secessionist, subversive and terrorist activities, as well as collusion with foreign forces, with penalties of up to life imprisonment - anti-government protesters in Hong Kong, and those supporting the movement, have adapted their methods to try to make their voices heard without violating the legislation. Before the law took effect June 30, protesters often held up colorful posters plastered with slogans that ranged from condemning the Chinese government to calling for Hong Kongs independence. Since then, they have become creative in obscuring their messages. Many of the protesters at the luxury mall held up blank pieces of white paper to protest against Chinas white terror of political repression. Other posters are designed to circumvent bans on slogans. The government has not yet made clear if such forms of expression are illegal. The law has had a chilling effect on yellow shops that support the protest movement. Many have removed protest artwork and sticky notes bearing words of encouragement from customers, out of fear that they could land them in trouble with the authorities. Some shop owners, like Tan Wong, have instead put up blank sticky notes to show solidarity with the movement. We are doing this right now because (the shop) is private property. We are trying to tell Hong Kong people that this is the only thing that we yellow shops can do, said Wong, who runs Kok Kok Chicken, a Korean fried chicken store. If we do not persist, we would no longer be able to deliver our message to others, he said. Yu Yee Cafe, a Hong Kong-style diner that serves fast food, has covered its windows with blank sticky notes and even displays an origami figure of Winnie the Pooh, a playful taunt of Chinese President Xi Jinping. Chinese censors briefly banned social media searches for Winnie the Pooh in China after Xis appearance was compared to the cartoon bear. I wonder if theres still rule of law if sticking a (blank) piece of paper on the wall is illegal, said Eddie Tsui, one of the diners customers. Its just using a different way to express our demands. If you dont allow us to protest that way, well find another way. The use of blank paper or sticky notes to protest is a changing form of resistance, according to Ma Ngok, an associate professor of politics at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. They put up blank notes so that even if the government wants to prosecute them, there is nothing that can be used against them, he said. Protesters in Hong Kong have also come up with alternative slogans to circumvent the ban on Liberate Hong Kong, revolution of our times. Some users quote the initials of the romanization of the eight Chinese characters in the banned slogan - GFHG, SDGM. Others have changed the words entirely to terms that sound similar but mean very different things. One alternative slogan now reads Patronize Hong Kong, Times Square, a reference to a popular shopping mall in the city. A popular protest anthem, Glory to Hong Kong, has had some of its lyrics changed, with protesters replacing the words with numbers in Cantonese that sound approximately like the lyrics. The circumventing of bans on slogans is reminiscent of how mainland Chinese internet users come up with creative ways and similar-sounding words to talk about sensitive issues without triggering censorship under the Great Firewall of China, where censors delete posts containing sensitive terms and make such keywords unsearchable on online platforms. There is a long history of censorship where we know that people will find ways to circumvent the system, no matter how you regulate, said Fu King-wa, associate professor at the University of Hong Kongs journalism school. Sometimes, censorship can backfire, triggering more people to discuss an issue because they think that if it is censored, then it must be something important, he said. A Levi's truck in a society in Gurugram (Image: Twitter/@Grammar_nazzzi) Even as malls and retails stores across the country have started lifting their shutters to welcome customers, people are wary of stepping out to shop just yet. The coronavirus pandemic has made even regular mall-goers wary, forcing them to avoid their haunts for fear of contracting the infection. However, some brands are not ready to give up just yet. While online shopping is an option most people are resorting to during this pandemic, some brands are going door-to-door to enable their customers to make offline purchases. Like food, ice-cream and grocery trucks, shops-on-wheels is now a thing. Brands like Levi's and Forever New are reportedly taking trucks around residential areas in the hope of selling their products. According to a Business Insider report, popular retail denim brand Levi's is taking its truck around in Delhi and Gurugram, and hopes to extend the idea in other parts too. Similarly, women's apparel brand Forever New is offering its consumers the option of home shopping, sending its staff to their homes with a range of products to pick from. In Mumbai too, Max Fashion has started experimenting with the idea of shops-on-wheels. While the concept is not a new one and has been adopted across the world by retailers, ranging from grocery chains to book stores to fashion brands, it has taken off in India only recently. Actor Shah Rukh Khans daughter Suhana on Tuesday posted new pictures of herself. Suhana wrote: Walked into the room, you know you made my eyes burnn it was like James Dean. Her fans were clearly delighted to see her and lavished love on her post. While Shweta Bachchan Nandas daughter Navya called her beauty, Suhanas cousin Alia Chhiba, wrote: My beautiful sister, cant get over these. Suhana is quite a star on social media, even without having made a formal entry into filmdom. Suhana, who is currently pursuing filmmaking in New York, flew back to India just before the first lockdown came into place. She celebrated her birthday in May at her home in Mumbai. Also read: Swara Bhasker mocks Kangana Ranauts comment, says she got independence for India in 1947. Her team hits back Shah Rukh, meanwhile, has been very vocal that his kids have to finish their studies before they think of joining films. In September last year, when Suhana had joined college in New York, her mother Gauri had shared a video of her daughter and written: A glimpse of a college freshman day. #NYU, Gauri captioned the video. Suhana is definitely interested in acting. The fact was corroborated by Suhanas childhood friend and now an actor Ananya Panday, who had told Pinkvilla in an interview, that Suhana was surely joining Bollywood. I think she wants to finish her education and make the most of that and then whenever she wants to she will come back and act. She is really, really talented and I cant just wait. Follow @htshowbiz for more Although Sudans transitional government, which is jointly led by civilian and military leaders, indicated earlier this year that it was ready to send Mr. al-Bashir to The Hague, there has been little sign of that happening. Instead, the new administration has appeared to shy away from a trial on Darfur, probably because its own leaders might also face accusations. Lt. Gen. Mohamed Hamdan, a powerful figure in the transitional government, leads the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces, a group linked to some of the worst atrocity accusations in Darfur. When Mr. al-Bashir, a brigade commander, took over in 1989, the country was sinking into decline. The army was battling a tenacious uprising in the south, and Mr. al-Mahdis elected government was unpopular and beleaguered. After he seized power, Mr. al-Bashir suspended the Parliament and other state institutions, closed Khartoum airport and announced the coup over the radio. Later, he embarked on a vicious purge of potential rivals, imposed Islamic law, and introduced harsh laws that severely restricted freedoms for Sudanese, especially for women. It quickly became clear that the ideological drive for the putsch came from a small group of Islamists led by Mr. al-Turabi, an erudite, Sorbonne-educated cleric who dreamed of leading a Pan-Arab Islamist renaissance. Mr. al-Bashir had a reputation as a malleable, less sophisticated figure. Bashir was the frontman but the Islamists were more powerful, said Alex de Waal, a professor at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University, and an expert on Sudan. They manipulated him. Guwahati, July 21 : The Assam Human Rights Commission (AHRC) has asked the state government to submit an action taken report by August 5 about the enforcement of the COVID-19 protocols in the Guwahati Central Jail, officials said on Tuesday. There are reports that a large number of inmates in the Guwahati Central Jail were infected by the COVID-19. The AHRC, headed by Justice T. Vaiphei, issued the notice to Assam Chief Secretary and Inspector General (Prison) on Monday following a complaint filed by opposition leader Debrabrata Saikia. Saikia, a senior Congress legislator, had earlier complained to AHRC about negligence in providing suitable healthcare facilities, hygiene and foods to the prisoners and undertrials of the Central Jail in Guwahati and other jails and correctional homes across the state. The Congress lawmaker also cited the non-compliance of the mandatory COVID-19 protocol by the jail authorities. Saikia had also earlier written letters to Assam Chief Secretary Kumar Sanjay Krishna and Inspector General (Prison) Dasharath Das demanding an inquiry into the matter and also sought the release of undertrial prisoners, while referring the Supreme Court's March 23 order that had directed state governments to release prisoners on bail or parole in a bid to decongest the jails across the country owing to the COVID-19 pandemic. 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. Assam has registered 25,092 COVID-19 positive cases till Tuesday night, while 17,095 patients have recovered from the infection and 58 succumbed to the virus. Assam has 7,936 active cases. 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